It’s 1896 and Sherlock Holmes (David Thewlis) seeks the kidnapped Doctor Watson and Watson’s wife. Holmes’s maid has been murdered as a warning for Holmes not to take active investigations. A young woman from California arrives in London and seeks out Holmes. Her name is Amelia Rojas (played by Blu Hunt) and she claims she’s Sherlock’s daughter. Sherlock is skeptical, but sees that Rojas has potential to assist him without endangering Watson and his wife.
Amelia Rojas has her own agenda: she wants to discover who murdered her mother. Holmes promises he will train her in his detective methods. Together, Holmes (in disguise) and Rojas, posing as a maid, investigate the kidnapping of the daughter of the American Ambassador to England. Plenty of suspense!
I’ve watched the two episodes available for viewing and intend on watching all eight episodes that drop on Wednesdays. If you’re a Sherlock Holmes fan, Sherlock & Daughter will entertain you. GRADE: Incomplete, but trending towards a B+
My favorite character in Garth L. Powell’s Embers of War (2018) is the sentient starship (now semi-decommissioned by having most of her weaponry removed) called Trouble Dog. The war between two human factions has more or less been resolved by a gruesome act that destroyed much of the opposition. But the embers of war (hence the title) are burning and plots are being hatched to start another war.
While this is going on, mysterious alien artifacts become the object of desire by both human factions and some other aliens. The artifacts are constructed by advanced technology that no one can understand.
Needless to say, shooting begins and Trouble Dog yearns to return to her warlike ways. If you’re a fan of Space Opera, you’l enjoy the action and strategy of Embers of War. The Good News is that Embers of War is the first book in the Embers of War trilogy. I’ll be reading and reviewing Fleet of Knives (2019) and Light of Impossible Stars (2020) in the weeks ahead. GRADE: B+
Lost and Found in the Seventies: Songs You’ll Never Forget is a mixed bag of tunes. I love “I’ll Take You There” by The Staple Singers but I could do without Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz.”
Some of the choices are a bit obscure. I haven’t heard Roxy Music’s “Love Is The Drug” since the Seventies. The same for the Dwight Twilley Band’s “I’m On Fire.”
My favorite song on this CD is Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good.” How many of these songs from nearly 50 years ago do you remember? Any favorites here? GRADE: B
I started reading the New Yorker in the mid-1960s. I loved the cartoons and some of the short stories, especially Donald Barthelme’s loopy tales. I admired John Cheever’s crafted stories…but they are all downbeat. I became a fan of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Cynthia Ozick.
During the 1970s and 1980s I subscribed to the New Yorker erratically–when I got a 6-month inexpensive offer, I’d jump on it…then let it lapse when the full-price offer arrived. Also, it seemed that every doctor’s Waiting Room had copies of the New Yorker so I caught up on issues that way, too.
A Century of Fiction in the New Yorker 1925-2025 is a massive tome: 1125 pages! It includes 78 stories from that 100 years of publishing. Some years are favored with multiple stories, other years…nothing. Some of the famous stories are included: Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and J. D. Salinger’s “A Perfect Day for Bananafish.” Almost all the famous writers of the century are represented.
I could quibble about the choices Editor Deborah Treisman made. Is “The Ladder” the best V. S. Pritchett story ever published in the New Yorker? I have my doubts. But, all in all, this weighty anthology does capture the morphing of the New Yorker from a humor magazine to a literary standard bearer. Do you read the New Yorker? How many of these 78 stories have you read? GRADE: A
Table Of Contents:
Introduction — Deborah Treisman
ix
“Life Cycle of a Literary Genius” — E. B. White (1926)
3
“Over the River and Through the Wood” — John O’Hara (1934)
5
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” — James Thurber (1939)
12
“Such a Pretty Day” — Dawn Powell (1939)
18
“The Weeds” — Mary McCarthy (1944)
28
“A Perfect Day for Bananafish” — J. D. Salinger (1948)
51
“Children Are Bored on Sunday” — Jean Stafford (1948)
64
“Symbols and Signs” — Vladimir Nabokov (1948)
75
“The Lottery” — Shirley Jackson (1948)
81
“The Ladder” — V. S. Pritchett (1949)
90
“The Five-Forty-Eight” — John Cheever (1954)
104
“The State of Grace” — Harold Brodkey (1954)
119
“I Live on Your Visits” — Dorothy Parker (1955)
133
“A Father-to-Be” — Saul Bellow (1955)
140
“A Summer’s Reading” — Bernard Malamud (1956)
151
“The Happiest I’ve Been” — John Updike (1959)
159
“Defender of the Faith” — Philip Roth (1959)
175
“Where Is the Voice Coming From?” — Eudora Welty (1963)
205
“The Indian Uprising” — Donald Barthelme (1965)
211
“The House of the Famous Poet” — Muriel Spark (1966)
218
“The Cafeteria” — Isaac Bashevis Singer (1968)
227
“City Lovers” –Nadine Gordimer (1975)
243
“Voices Lost in Snow” — Mavis Gallant (1976)
254
“The Book of Sand” — Jorge Luis Borges (1976)
265
“Father’s Last Escape” — Bruno Schultz (1978)
270
“The Burning House” — Ann Beattie (1979)
275
“The Shawl” — Cynthia Ozick (1980)
290
“The Bookseller” — Elizabeth Hardwick (1980)
295
“Where I’m Calling From” — Raymond Carver (1982)
309
“The First American” — Lore Segal (1983)
325
“The Red Girl” — Jamaica Kincaid (1983)
341
“Love” — William Maxwell (1983)
352
“The Way We Live Now” — Susan Sontag (1986)
356
“Emergency” — Denis Johnson (1991)
374
“The Pugilist at Rest” — Thom Jones (1991)
385
“Bullet in the Brain” — Tobias Wolff (1995)
404
“How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie)” — Junot Diaz (1995)
410
“People Like That Are the Only People Here” –Lorrie Moore (1997)
415
“Brokeback Mountain” — Annie Proulx (1997)
446
“The Telephone Game” — William Trevor (1998)
471
“The Third and Final Continent” — Jhumpa Lahiri (1999)
482
“Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” — ZZ Packer (2000)
501
“U.F.O. in Kushiro” — Haruki Murakami (2001)
521
“Seven” — Edwidge Banticat (2001)
536
“The Courtesy” — John Berger (2002)
548
“My Father Addresses Me on the Facts of Old Age” — Grace Haley (2002)
571
“Gallatin Canyon” — Thomas McGuane (2003)
580
“What You Pawn I Will Redeem” — Sherman Alexie (2003)
593
“A Rich Man” — Edward P. Jones (2003)
615
“Chicxulub” — T. Coraghessan Boyle (2004)
635
“The Plague of Doves” — Louise Erdrich (2004)
646
“Last Evenings on Earth” — Roberto Bolano (2005)
660
“Dimension” — Alice Munro (2006)
681
“Good People” — David Foster Wallace (2007)
707
“Another Manhattan” — Donald Antrim (2008)
714
“In the South” — Salman Rushdie (2009)
735
“Old Wounds” — Edna O’Brien (2009)
749
“Midnight in Dostoevsky” — Don DeLillo (2009)
766
“The Other Place” — Mary Gaitskill (2011)
787
“Going for a Beer” — Robert Coover (2011)
801
“Tenth of December” — George Saunders (2011)
804
“What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank” — Nathan Englander (2011)
829
“Black Box” — Jennifer Egan (2012)
850
“An Abduction” — Tessa Hadley (2012)
896
“A Voice in the Night” — Steven Millhauser (2012)
915
“The Embassy of Cambodia” — Zadie Smith (2013)
933
“The Christmas Miracle” — Rebecca Curtis (2013)
956
“Apollo” — Chimamanda Negozi Adichie (2015)
979
“Cold Little Bird” — Ben Marcus (2015)
990
“The Midnight Zone” — Lauren Groff (2016)
1010
“Cat Person” — Kristen Roupenian (2017)
1021
“Chaunt” — Joy Williams (2018)
1039
“All Will Be Well” — Yiyun Li (2019)
1049
“Playing Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” — Jamil Jan Kochai (2020)
Why is our political system so dysfunctional? The Dark Money Game–a two part documentary–lays it all out. “Inspired by investigative reporter Jane Mayer’s book Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, Gibney’s project traces the impact of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision on modern politics. That 2010 ruling struck down laws limiting independent spending by big corporations and unions on political races, opening the door for deep-pocketed companies and individuals to place millions into sometimes-secretive groups categorized as 501(c)4 organizations, which largely aren’t required to disclose their donors. They are supposed to operate independently from political parties and candidates – but sometimes, as Gibney shows, they do not.” (NPR)
Money is warping our Congress, Executive Branch, Judicial system, and even local politics. Elon Musk spent millions of dollars in Wisconsin trying to affect the Election of a State Supreme Court Justice. Basically, the Supreme Court has legalized bribery with their rulings and we’re seeing massive corruption at every level of government in the United States.
If you were hopeful that our political system might be improved by a mid-term Election in 2026 , The Dark Money Game shows how deep the problem is. No quick fixes… GRADE: A
I’ve been a big fan of The Vinyl Detective series for almost a decade. You can read my reviews of the previous books here, here, here,here, here, here, and here.
Underscore (Titan Books, 2025) is the eighth book The Vinyl Detective series. The Vinyl Detective and his girlfriend, Nevada, are approached by Chloe Loconsole–a record producer– with a dual proposition: find a rare copy of the soundtrack to Murder in London (aka, Bikini of Blood, The Black Dog Murders, The Mermaid Murders, and The Doberman Murders) from 50 years ago. Murder in London was shot in London but the movie was aimed at an audience of movie goers in Italy.
The gifted composer, Loretto Loconsole–Chloe’s grandfather–created a brilliant soundtrack to Murder in London with the best British musicians of the 1960s. But, just as the soundtrack was about to be released, the body of one of the lady frogman from the film was found murdered. Loretto Loconsole–who was having an affair with the stunt woman–was accused of the crime. But Loretto was able to provide an alibi which cleared him of arrest. But, the scandal caused the record company to cancel distribution of the soundtrack. Loretto had distributed copies of the soundtrack to the musicians working on the record, actors in Murder in London, and a few copies to record reviewers.
The Vinyl Detective realizes that finding a 50-year-old vinyl record that was never released by a record company was a nearly impossible task. But he and Nevada accept the challenge and actually find some clues to where the soundtrack might be found. But one of the record reviewers of Murder in London gets attacked by a Doberman–just like in the movie. A podcaster, who is investigating the murder of the lady frogman, gets bashed in the head. Someone is trying to silence any links with the murder.
If you have any interest in vinyl records and a twisty plot with some humor thrown in, give Underscore a try. GRADE: B+
The Joan Osborne “Sings the Songs of Bob Dylan” concert in the Mary Seaton Room of Kleinhans Music Hall attracted about 300 fans. Osborne alternated between banging on a drum and strumming an acoustic guitar. She was backed by a guitarist and a keyboard player who alternated between a Nord Stage Three synthesizer and a grand piano.
My favorite songs from this performance were Osborne’s version of “Tangled Up in Blue”–also a song on her Joan Osborne Songs of Bob Dylan CD and “Man in the Long Black Coat.” Osborne gravitates towards some of Dylan’s more obscure songs.
Joan Osborne and her backup musicians came out for a three-song Encore. Osborne sang her biggest hit, “One of Us,” from her Relish album (1995). I was hoping Osborne would sing my favorite Joan Osborne song, “What’s Become of the Broken Hearted”–the Jimmy Ruffin Soul Classic from The 2002 movie Standing In The Shadows Of Motown–but no dice.
Paula Rabinowitz opens her informative book about Pulp Fiction and paperbacks with the story of how quality paperbacks came to be. One day in 1935, the publisher Allen Lane was standing at the railway station and realized that he had nothing to read for his journey. The newsstand only offered “popular magazines and poor-quality paperbacks”. Lane’s idea to produce high-quality, pocket-sized books at an affordable price led to the creation of Penguin, which in turn led to American equivalents: New American Library (NAL) and Signet Paperbacks. Unlike Penguin’s sober designs, the Signet covers were brassy and unrestrained, with lots of cleavage. Other American publishers like DELL and Pocket Books followed suit.
Rabinowitz takes a semi-chronological approach to the history of paperbacks. She focuses on certain writers–Richard Wright, Isak Dinesen, Borges, etc.–and certain publishing movements those books triggered in the reading public.
My favorite chapters are on Lesbian Pulp and Science Fiction. If you have an interest in paperbacks, American Pulp offers plenty of stories about its development. Rabinowitz includes plenty of facts about the American publishing industry and its eventual decline. How many paperbacks do you own? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface ix
1 Pulp: Biography of an American Object 1
2 Pulp as Interface 40
3 Richard Wright’s Savage Holiday: True Crime and 12 Million Black Voices 82
4 Isak Dinesen Gets Drafted: Pulp, the Armed Services Editions, and GI Reading 109
5 Pulping Ann Petry: The Case of Country Place 131
6 Señor Borges Wins! Ellery Queen’s Garden 159
7 Slips of the Tongue: Uncovering Lesbian Pulp 184
8 Sci-Unfi: Bombs, Ovens, Delinquents, and More 209
9 Demotic Ulysses: Policing Paperbacks in the Courts and Congress 244
It’s hard to believe that Toys in the Attic is 50 years old and Madman Across the Water is a little older. I bought both albums when they first came out in the 1970s and played them many times. These 50th Anniversary editions are remastered and include bonus features. “Tiny Dancer” never sounded so good!
“From the start, Aerosmith was hellbent on becoming the American equivalent of the Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin. Two years after forming, Aerosmith signed with Columbia Records in 1972 and released its first, eponymous LP in 1973. “Toys in the Attic” boosted sales of Aerosmith’s previous two releases, turned the group into a marquee act and helped set new rock standards for arena concerts that included compact songs and clear delivery at a high volume. In the end, the band exceeded its founding wish for fame: According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Aerosmith has sold 86 million records in the U.S., more than the Rolling Stones’ 69 million.” (Wikipedia)
I’ve included Marc Myers’s review of Toys in the Attic from The Wall Street Journal below. Are you a fan of Elton John and Aerosmith? Did you buy these classic albums? GRADE: A (for both)
TRACK LIST:
Original Remastered Album
A1
Tiny Dancer
A2
Levon
A3
Razor Face
A4
Madman Across The Water
B1
Indian Sunset
B2
Holiday Inn
B3
Rotten Peaches
B4
All The Nasties
B5
Goodbye
Demos, Live And Alternative Versions
C1
Indian Sunset (Live Radio Broadcast)
C2
Madman Across The Water (Original Version)Featuring – Mick Ronson
C3
Rock Me When He’s Gone
C4
Levon (Mono Single Version)
D1
Razor Face (Extended Version)
D2
Rock Me When He’s Gone (Piano Demo)
D3
Rock Me When He’s Gone (Full Version)
E1
Madman Across The Water (1970 Piano Demo)
E2
Tiny Dancer (Piano Demo)
E3
Levon (Piano Demo)
E4
Razor Face (Piano Demo)
E5
Madman Across The Water (1971 Piano Demo)
F1
Indian Sunset (Piano Demo)
F2
Holiday Inn (Piano Demo)
F3
Rotten Peaches (Piano Demo)
F4
All The Nasties (Piano Demo)
F5
Goodbye (Piano Demo)
BBC Sounds For Saturday
G1
Tiny Dancer
G2
Rotten Peaches
G3
Razor Face
G4
Holiday Inn
H1
Indian Sunset
H2
Levon
H3
Madman Across The Water
H4
Goodbye
TRACK LIST:
SIDE ONE: 1. SAME OLD SONG AND DANCE 2. LORD OF THE THIGHS 3. SPACED 4. WOMAN OF THE WORLD
SIDE TWO: 1. S.O.S. 2. TRAIN KEPT A ROLLIN 3. SEASONS OF WITHER 4. PANDORA’S BOX
Wall Street Journal Reivew:
By 1975, Aerosmith was polished and more widely known. Shortly after its third studio album—“Toys in the Attic”—was released 50 years ago this month, the LP jumped to No. 11, and by August had sold a half-million copies. The record had a stronger sonic punch and was more cohesive and dimensional than the previous two. It also included two hit singles, “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way.”
Leaning heavily on lascivious band-written songs sung by Steven Tyler and played forcefully by lead guitarist Joe Perry, rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer, the LP (produced by Jack Douglas) was thunderous. The band’s cocky, guitar-saturated sound would influence Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe, Metallica and many other hard-rock and heavy-metal groups formed in the late 1970s and ’80s.
Aerosmith’s third album and first headlining tour couldn’t have been better timed. The Rolling Stones were performing in the U.S. without a new record to promote, and the first half of Led Zeppelin’s “Physical Graffiti” tour had been marred by band-member injuries and illness, canceled dates and venue violence.
Also assisting Aerosmith’s widening popularity were its concerts in the American Rust Belt, where audiences had been weaned on loud, scorching rock since the Stooges’ and MC5’s regional tours in 1968. National arena audiences found in Aerosmith a lead singer who looked like Carly Simon, had the stagecraft of Mick Jagger and sounded like Robert Plant. They also heard a lead guitarist who played like Jimmy Page. As the Stones and Led Zeppelin graduated to cushy, logo-clad chartered jets, Aerosmith felt more working-class and relatable.
“Toys in the Attic” opens with a headlong title track, featuring a frenzy of layered electric guitars led by Mr. Perry’s chunky riff and wailing solo. The song celebrates a dark refuge where fantasy springs to life: “In the attic lights / Voices scream / Nothing’s seen / Real’s a dream.”
“Uncle Salty” is a dark, midtempo grinder centered on a creepy orphanage worker reflecting on the abuse of a girl who resided there: “Her mamma was lusted, daddy he was busted / They left her to be trusted till the orphan bleeds / But when she cried at night, no one came / And when she cried at night, went insane.”
One of the album’s many high points is “Adam’s Apple,” featuring a corkscrew guitar riff by Mr. Perry. Mr. Tyler’s lyrics on the biblical morality narrative are particularly masterly: “Even Eve in Eden / Voices tried deceivin’ / With lies to show the lady the way.”
The bouncy “Walk This Way” began as a funky concert soundcheck riff by Mr. Perry in late 1974. Mr. Tyler’s rhythmic, sexually charged lyrics came later in New York, with the title inspired by the film “Young Frankenstein” and actor Marty Feldman’s directive to Gene Wilder to “walk this way.” Mr. Perry overdubbed a fiery guitar track and a solo after Mr. Tyler’s vocal was recorded.
The album’s sole weak spot is “Big Ten Inch Record,” a cover of Bull Moose Jackson’s 1952 R&B single. While plenty suggestive, it lacks the rest of the LP’s inventive hard-rock sass.
“Sweet Emotion” is a sultry shuffle fueled by a pounding bass, hissing guitar lines and taut riffs. The song has a Zeppelin feel, with lyrics that Mr. Tyler has said were in reaction to Mr. Perry’s then-girlfriend: “Well, I got good news, she’s a real good liar / ’Cause the backstage boogie set your pants on fire.”
“No More No More” grooves with the taunting jag of Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” paired with a Stones-like vocal. The lyrics bemoan touring’s hardships: “Holiday Inn, lock the door with a chain / You love it and you hate it / But to me they’re all the same.”
The grinding “Round and Round” is the heaviest piece on the record, merging a metallic interpretation of churning heavy machinery and a vocal akin to Mr. Plant’s. Prominent are Mr. Whitford’s shrieking lead guitar, Mr. Hamilton’s pounding bass and Mr. Kramer’s thrashing drums.
“You See Me Crying,” the closer, is a vulnerable power ballad featuring Mr. Tyler on vocal and piano and Mr. Whitford on lead guitar. A symphony orchestra smartly enhances the empathy and drama.
