juliecampbell522

Quick Hits: August 1

Happy birthday, Michael Penn! One of my all-time favorite musical artists, Penn is an accomplished singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer who has flown under the radar since his debut single, “No Myth”, became his only top 40 hit, peaking at #13 on the Hot 100. Penn’s refusal to play by record label rules (or cash inContinue reading “Quick Hits: August 1”

The Dog Days of Summer

We’re going to take a break from talking about pop culture to talk about dogs. But don’t worry, we’ll still be pop culture-adjacent. Today is my friend Alyssa’s birthday. Alyssa and I met working at a dog daycare. Alyssa is sweet and kind and compassionate. She gives the best hugs. She’s an amazing listener. SheContinue reading “The Dog Days of Summer”

Quick Hits: July 25

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis made their debut at The 500 Club in Atlantic City on this day in 1946. Their success at 500 ultimately led to an engagement at New York City’s Copacabana, a radio show, a television variety series and a movie contract. The duo made their final appearance together at the CopacabanaContinue reading “Quick Hits: July 25”

Quick Hits: July 23

Philip Seymour Hoffman would have been fifty-four years old today. I’m working on a longer post in his honor, but it’s not quite ready to publish. In the meantime, I’ll just leave this here: And this: Tidal, Fiona Apple’s brilliant debut album, was released on this day in 1996. Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart was classically trainedContinue reading “Quick Hits: July 23”

Walking on the Moon

On this day in 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle and became the first men to walk on the surface of the moon (or not, if you’re one of those people who believe The Shining was Stanley Kubrick’s admission of guilt for his part in the fakingContinue reading “Walking on the Moon”

Quick Hits: July 18

Content warning: this post contains references to stalking and murder. Inhaler entered the UK album chart at #1 last week with their debut album, It Won’t Always Be Like This. I’ll admit I clicked skeptically when I learned that Inhaler’s lead singer is Elijah Hewson, offspring of Bono (nepotism has no place in music), butContinue reading “Quick Hits: July 18”

Quick Hits: July 15

Content warning: this post contains a reference to suicide. Die Hard, one of the most perfect movies ever made, was released on this day in 1988. Based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp, Die Hard made Bruce Willis a superstar and ushered in a new era of action heroes – flawed,Continue reading “Quick Hits: July 15”

Live Aid

On Saturday, July 13, 1985, an estimated 1.9 billion people across the globe gathered around their television sets and radios for Live Aid, a benefit concert for famine relief in Ethiopia. An additional 150,000 saw the event live from Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The roots of Live Aid go backContinue reading “Live Aid”

Quick Hits: July 10

The trailer for No Man of God was released yesterday. The film portrays the interviews that took place in the 80s between Ted Bundy and FBI analyst Bill Hagmaier, who was a member of the famed Behavioral Science Unit. As a cinephile and a true crime buff, I’m pretty excited to see this one. OnContinue reading “Quick Hits: July 10”

Beauty and the Beat at 40

On July 8, 1981, I.R.S. Records released the debut album by The Go-Go’s, Beauty and the Beat. Beauty and the Beat would eventually hold the top spot on the Billboard album chart for six weeks, yield two top-twenty hits – “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “We Got the Beat” – and become the second biggest-sellingContinue reading “Beauty and the Beat at 40”