Alan explores the eponymously named "Contemporary Color," referring to a ballet-like artistic elaboration of the flag-bearing marchers that perform at half-time shows of sporting events. The film focuses on a competition held in New York at the instigation of David Byrne, the multi-level genius that fronted for Talking Heads.
Mr. Neutron's audio tribute to Tacoma band Girl Trouble, who weaves a magical web of lava lamps, black light posters, and shag carpeting.
The Lone Reader draws a bead on Mary Shelley's classic monster novel, seen by many as the first science fiction work. Music: "Under the Porcelain," by Good Noise Bad Noise vs Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel.
Alan kicks off the library's Frankenfest celebration by reviewing James Whale's dual masterpieces, 1931's Frankenstein and 1935's Bride of Frankenstein . Alan will lead discussions of the two films on Saturday, Oct. 27 in the Main Library Auditorium, 2702 Hoyt Avenue. The showings begin at approximately 11:30am. Music: "Kompat Project test recording," by Krisztina Zsolnai and Gabor Varadi; "Evoked Potentials, (signal-to-noise Ratio)" by Cage Cabarrett.
Mr. Neutron sketches sixty years of Pacific Northwest rock.
The Lone Reader, Cameron Johnson, ruminates upon iconic film editor Walter Murch's tidy tour-de-force about filmmaking.
Newtown is an unexploitative, honest, yet shocking saga of the massacre--and aftermath-- of Newtown, CT's 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, which took the lives of twenty children and six adults.
Mr. Neutron samples The Funhouse Comp Thing 2, a raw, dirty-sounding, dangerous compilation of bands who played in Seattle's Funhouse, a punk bar that closed in 2012 to make way for an apartment building.
The Lone Reader looks at Susan Hitchcock's book about the 200-year cultural reverberations emanating from Mary Shelley's 1818 publication of her groundbreaking novel, Frankenstein .
Alan Jacobson evaluates Faces Places , a academy award-winning documentary about French New Wave director Agnes Varda and her graffiti-artist collaborator JR as they travel through rural France making and placing giant murals of ordinary people.
Mr. Neutron analyzes the psychedelic roadtrip, fuzz, reverb, and patchouli served up by Seattle's own Night Beats. chord fragments: "Something's Missing," by Brett Edmonds. Courtesy of Internet Archive.
Cambridge historian Mary Beard takes a fresh look at the origin and decline of the Roman Empire. Music: "The Lyre of Orpheus" by Jerald Franklin Archer.
Alan Jacobson plumbs Andrew Haigh's unsung, underseen 2015 masterpiece.
They're young, they're fresh, they're huge in Spain! Hear fuzz, psychedelia, hooks courtesy of Paul Revere and the Raiders, Yardbird guitar solos, and a trip to the garage circa 1966.
Jim Loomis gives a soup to nuts guide to passenger train travel in North America. Music: Railroad Blues, by the Yerkes Southern Five
A "youthquake" of a road movie: Homeless teens party, explore America, and sell magazines. Additional music: "Beats," by Crooked Vision, courtesy of Internet Archive.
Mr. Neutron surveys the Country/Power Pop/Cuddle-Core output of our own Neko Case. Mr. Neutron theme music by Ron Averill.
The 1980 eruption of Washington State's Mount St. Helens, through a human lens. Music: Praludium, by Carl Nielsen. Sir James Galway, Carion Quintet, CC-BY-SA 2.0
Master director Sidney Lumet's 1970s New York City life drama, crime caper, and anti-establishment social statement, all rolled into one exhilarating package.
Mr. Neutron provides a snapshot of a truly dynamic era in Everett music.
Percy Wollaston's Homesteading tells the devastating story of Eastern Montana homesteaders of the early 20th century, most of whom lost everything in proving that dry-land farming techniques of the time did not work. Music: "Pastures of Plenty," by Woody Guthrie. Public Domain. Courtesy of Internet Archive.
Alan Jacobson gives "The Treatment" to 2015's near-future apocalyptic film Into the Forest , with Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood. A dark tale set in the dark woods.
Seattle-area instrumental music of the fifties and sixties is the focus of Mr. Neutron's latest foray.
The Lone Reader looks at Dayo Olopade's account of how Africans succeed despite oft-broken social, governmental, and economic systems. Music: Public domain Kenyan tune
Mr. Neutron looks at the Mods latest, English Tapas , a strange, innovative work, a slightly warped version of music we've heard before.
Starring Claudette Colbert, who appeared in two other Oscar-nominated films in 1939. The script for Midnight was written by Billy Wilder, early in his career. He later wrote and/or directed such masterpieces as Sunset Boulevard , Double Indemnity , and Some Like It Hot .
Seattle free-lance writer Neiwert looks at the roots of the radical right and its effects on mainstream politics. Music: "Mars", by Gustav Holst US Air Force Band, public domain
Alan Jacobson treats Hitchcock's overlooked masterpiece Foreign Correspondent.
Sheriff Walt Longmire tracks a murderer whose weapon of choice is an archaic buffalo rifle. Craig Johnson is 2018's "Everett Reads" author. Everett Reads is an annual celebration of authors, books, and reading. Music: "Country Cookin'" by Fender Guitar Player.
Featuring Jason Webley and Oliver Elf Army. Sound effect: 70043_juskiddink_sci-fi-2, from freesound.org Image of Jason Webley performing in Gdynia, Poland, courtesy of Blueye, via Wikimedia Commons
