My Top Five Summer Movies

By Christian Lipski

I was going to do my top five summer camp movies, but as I looked back through history, it seems that summer camp movies are, as a rule, not very good. So with the kind permission of my editor I expanded to include summer movies in general. These are the films that make me feel cool in the desiccating heat of the Pacific Northwest, the ones full of the possibilities of summer.
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You’re So Good To Me: Why “Hot” May Be The Perfect Pop Song

By Christian Lipski

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I do not like Avril Lavigne’s corporate persona. It may have had a grain of truth to it six years ago when she released her first CD at the age of 17, but it’s gotten increasingly hollow as she has grown up. For fans of the Venture Bros., she’s the Master Billy Quizboy of the music world. For the rest of you, she’s the mom who insists on wearing belly shirts and toe rings even though she’s 50. The discrepancy between her character and her actual age is growing with every passing day, but as long as it attracts buyers, the label will still insist on it. And as long as the label has a contract, Avril’s gonna do it.
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A Funny-Animal Comic Book: Cerebus

By Christian Lipski

I am reading a funny-animal comic book called Cerebus.

That’s what I imagine people say when I try to explain what Cerebus is all about. There are so many questions to get past before you can really get down to why the epic is worth reading, but here are a few answers to those questions. . .
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New Kids on the Block, Hangin’ Tough

By Christian Lipski

I’m cheating a little on this one, as I didn’t actually own this album. But I do definitely remember when it was released, and when it exploded into a phenomenon. I would see the video for “Please Don’t Go Girl” from time to time, back when the boy band was a relatively new concept in the U.S. (at least for those who didn’t remember the Osmonds). It wasn’t until a couple years later that I really started getting into the NKOTB, but I did dip back into their “old school” stuff when “Step By Step” came out.
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If Money Talks Then He’s a Mime: Dick Valentine

Towne Lounge, Portland OR
April 5, 2008

By Christian Lipski

Dick’s band, Electric Six, is known for its loud-rocking electronic dance style, so when I heard that the lead singer was going to be appearing as a secret special guest in a solo acoustic show, I had to go. Plus the show was five dollars for four bands.
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Popshifter‘s Secret Garden of Crushes

By Less Lee Moore

Pizzazz of The Misfits

WFMU’s Beware of the Blog is a fabulous resource for discovering music, movies, and art that I would likely never know about if left to my own devices. Sometimes, however, my favorite blog entries are the first-hand accounts of the often-perverting effects of pop culture.
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Andrea, Lynda, Margot, and Erin

By Christian Lipski

Wonder Woman

When I was seven or eight, Annie came out on Broadway, and they published an article in one of those newsprinty school magazines that you’d get for free. The picture was of Andrea McArdle as Annie, and something just clicked in my head, and I desperately wanted her to be my girlfriend. I filled up all the blank space in the picture with little drawn hearts. I kept that picture for a long time.
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Those Old Melodies: Songs Rediscovered

Intro by Less Lee Moore

Recently I was listening to The Vines’ Highly Evolved album again. My history with this album is intriguing, and proves my theory that some music needs to be fully digested before you can appreciate it.
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How Music Travels With Me

By Christian Lipski

I’m lucky enough to be able to travel a little, and no matter where I go, I always have music with me. If I had to choose between bringing a book and bringing my iPod on a long voyage, it would not be a tough choice. I was thinking on my last vacation that besides just providing entertainment for ears, music serves a couple of additional purposes for me on my travels.
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Punk Rock and Picasso: Q & A With Billy Zoom

X’s 13 x 31 tour in Portland, Seattle, and Cleveland

Intro by Ladycakes
Questions by Christian Lipski
Seattle photos by Gully Foyle, Cleveland photos by Julie Finley

Photo © Gully Foyle (more…)