Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

Even before I knew I was a film buff, I watched USA Up All Night, which ran from 1989 to 1998 for over 900 episodes on USA Network, learning more about B Movies than I probably ever needed to know as a teenager. I would enthusiastically tune in most Friday and Saturday nights to watch Rhonda Shear or Gilbert Gottfried screen a particular doozy of a b-movie. Before commercial breaks and between the films, they provided humorous commentary on the films and performed in skits. A notable one with Gilbert Gottfried involved him contending for the position of the fifth Ramone. The films on the show varied in quality and classic status, but many of them were movies that would not have had so prominent a platform on other networks during the time period. Many became cult classics. These films included much of the Troma catalog, including The Toxic Avenger (1984) and Class of Nuke 'Em High (1989). Both of these movies blew my mind as I was unprepared for the low budget film making, lev...

I recently finished watching the last season of Longmire , a show that I believe only got better when it moved to Netflix. A & E cancelled it, despite good ratings, because it did not directly appeal to the 18-35 age demographic. The writing and plot development improved as the show started focusing more on major themes and story lines and not story-of-the-week subplots. While the show's general premise is typical cop show fare, the strong characterization and settings give the show a primacy over similar procedurals. While I enjoyed the show, I never got around to reading the books even though I watched dutifully for six seasons. Once I started reading The Cold Dish , I realized how hard it will be not to binge the book series. The books are a treat. Craig Johnson's prose is punchy, and the characters are even better realized. Walt Longmire's love for Rainier beer and obscure literary metaphors, as well as other character's predilections and habits, become crys...

Matthew Sweet's "Sick of Myself," the first track from 100% Fun is the type of pure power pop mastery that is good for whatever ails your tired old soul. From the palm-muted opening to the first full clean power chords, the song makes its intentions known, rocking heavily with tight drumming and blasting guitars. The song was a call-to-arms in 1995, and its even better now. Sweet's everyman vocals have a bit of sweetness to them, and it sounds like he's having so much fun. The track harks back to 20/20, the solo work of Chris Bell, and the like, but there is a larger guitar presence, if not a Phil Spector attention to detail. Sweet doesn't take himself too seriously and even with the backing of guitar legends Robert Quine and Richard Lloyd, both members of the far artier, yet no less explosive Television, the song maintains a ramshackle vibe. Listen to the sloppy, but spectacular, solos. Sweet's lyrical bent is pure power pop love and loss. His word ...