Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Spectrum Culture

@spectrumculture.bsky.social

Twentieth century, go to sleep! Our trip through R.E.M.'s discography gets Pleistocene.
spectrumculture.com/2025/11/20/d...

Discography: R.E.M.: New Adventures in Hi-Fi - Spectrum Culture

Looking back, there’s a wistfulness and restlessness to New Adventures in Hi-Fi, one that’s hard to shake.

spectrumculture.com

November 22, 2025 at 1:28 AM

Spectrum Culture

@spectrumculture.bsky.social

Not the one you've heard about, we're talking about another Roadhouse.
spectrumculture.com/2025/11/19/s...

Shutaro Noguchi & the Roadhouse Band: On the Run - Spectrum Culture

On the Run has an occasional melancholy about it, but little of the drama of a last waltz or the end of the road.

spectrumculture.com

November 21, 2025 at 4:17 PM

Reposted by Spectrum Culture

The Malcontent, now Bluer and More Sky-ish

@keviniskevin.bsky.social

Also in @spectrumculture.bsky.social, I wrote about the debut (and presumably only) album from Snocaps, which retains the scrappiness of early Waxahatchee/Swearin'/P.S. Eliot while sounding more mature: spectrumculture.com/2025/11/17/s...

Snocaps: Snocaps - Spectrum Culture

From the outset, the quartet presented this as something with lower stakes, a return to a simpler, more spontaneous way of making music after years of scaling upward.

spectrumculture.com

November 21, 2025 at 3:00 PM

Reposted by Spectrum Culture

Eoghan Lyng

@mightylyng.bsky.social

#MontyPython fans, this book on Terry Jones is very good:

spectrumculture.com/2025/11/20/s... @spectrumculture.bsky.social

Seriously Silly: The Life of Terry Jones: by Robert Ross - Spectrum Culture

It’s something of a love letter, which might cause some academics to raise their eyebrows, but Seriously Silly ultimately does justice to a man who was unfairly underappreciated during his lifetime.

spectrumculture.com

November 21, 2025 at 8:21 AM

Reposted by Spectrum Culture

The Malcontent, now Bluer and More Sky-ish

@keviniskevin.bsky.social

This week at @spectrumculture.bsky.social, I took a look back at Whipping Boy's Heartworm, a personal favorite and one of the great Irish rock albums that, sadly, never quite made it outside of Ireland: spectrumculture.com/2025/11/19/r...

Rediscover: Whipping Boy: Heartworm - Spectrum Culture

Though more celebrated in their home country of Ireland, in America, Whipping Boy’s Heartworm is a forgotten rarity of quality ‘90s Irish rock worth listening to.

spectrumculture.com

November 21, 2025 at 2:58 PM

Spectrum Culture

@spectrumculture.bsky.social

Is "The Lobster" all its cracked up to be? Or are we just being crabby?
spectrumculture.com/2025/11/19/c...

Criminally Overrated: The Lobster - Spectrum Culture

Films that don’t offer easy answers work best when the unknowable and unexplained elements at the margins of the picture actually enhance the story. The Lobster is the opposite; it mistakes vagueness ...

spectrumculture.com

November 20, 2025 at 11:09 PM

Spectrum Culture

@spectrumculture.bsky.social

@bourbonandvinyl.bsky.social Sent you a DM!

November 20, 2025 at 8:18 PM

Reposted by Spectrum Culture

Bill Cooper

@hopebillhelps.bsky.social

Today on @spectrumculture.bsky.social, I reviewed Stop the Insanity, a documentary about a memory-holed '90s health infomercial icon, Susan Powter:

spectrumculture.com/2025/11/19/s...

Stop the Insanity: Finding Susan Powter - Spectrum Culture

Stop the Insanity has the potential to be a hard-hitting documentary about financial hardship and inspirational new beginnings, but due to weak details, viewers will have to look elsewhere for answers...

spectrumculture.com

November 20, 2025 at 7:15 PM

Spectrum Culture

@spectrumculture.bsky.social

The Staples center.
spectrumculture.com/2025/11/19/m...

Mavis Staples: Sad and Beautiful World - Spectrum Culture

At 86 years old, the peerless Mavis Staples uses her incredible voice to wring every iota of feeling and significance from a set of songs ranging from the unexpected and inspired to the well-worn and ...

spectrumculture.com

November 20, 2025 at 5:49 PM

Spectrum Culture

@spectrumculture.bsky.social

Scene Report: Boris gave us PINK eye in Portland.

Concert Review: Boris - Spectrum Culture

Rather than play the record front to back, the band peeled the album apart, performing it in a different run order, interrupted by a handful of tracks from the band’s nearly 35-year career.

spectrumculture.com

November 19, 2025 at 7:41 PM

Spectrum Culture

@spectrumculture.bsky.social

Just do the Du.

Hüsker Dü: 1985: The Miracle Year - Spectrum Culture

Even in retrospect, 1985 feels almost miraculous for the punk band Hüsker Dü, and new box set 1985: The Miracle Year captures that moment through a hefty set of live recordings from a wild season.

spectrumculture.com

November 19, 2025 at 5:35 PM

Reposted by Spectrum Culture

Bill Cooper

@hopebillhelps.bsky.social

"Packed with five releases from 1978 to 1982, along with rarities and remixes, it’s a definitive place to start when uncovering this oft-forgotten late artist."

Wrote about the new Nicolette Larson Warner Bros. Box Set on @spectrumculture.bsky.social:

share.google/43zTBoEU8suk...

Nicolette Larson: Look in My Direction: The Warner Bros. Recordings - Spectrum Culture

Look in My Direction is the definitive starting point for uncovering the oft-forgotten ‘70s pop artist, Nicolette Larson.

share.google

November 18, 2025 at 10:57 PM

Spectrum Culture

@spectrumculture.bsky.social

Scene Report: Sigur Ros: Orchestra for Wordless
spectrumculture.com/2025/11/17/c...

Concert Review: Sigur Rós with Wordless Music Orchestra - Spectrum Culture

The beauty of Jónsi’s voice, the majestic swell of strings, the surprising stab of a trumpet and the tasteful light show overcame an unlikely venue.

spectrumculture.com

November 18, 2025 at 8:58 PM

Spectrum Culture

@spectrumculture.bsky.social

Is there a better record by guys with worse hair than "Pyschocandy"?

November 18, 2025 at 5:07 PM

Reposted by Spectrum Culture

Charles Johnston

@charlesjohnston.bsky.social

I knew the director Michael Dowse in Calgary back in the day, and visited the set for a feature he produced that once finished he decided to completely scrap. His Fubar films are brilliant and he's the real deal. I reviewed his latest movie, Trap House, for @spectrumculture.bsky.social.