Reacher, Season 3 arrived on AMAZON Prime Video this week with three new episodes. The other five episodes of the series will be released on Thursdays from February 27 to March 27.
This new series is based on Lee Child’s seventh book about Reacher, Persuader (you can read my review here). So far, the current episodes follow the book fairly closely.
Reacher sees a sinister figure from his Past in the Army days…a man who is supposed to be dead. The plot becomes tangled as Reacher joins forces with a Federal operation in order to find the mysterious man who may be at the heart of a criminal scheme…and a lot more.
Are you a Reacher fan? GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards a B+
Barry N. Malzberg died in a hospice in New Jersey on Thursday, December 19, 2024 at the age of 85. I’ve read Malzberg’s Science Fiction, mysteries, and horror stories since the 1960s. Malzberg wrote some of the most stunning novels and short stories in Science Fiction history!
From 1967 to 1976, Malzberg wrote at least 68 novels and seven story collections along with scores of still uncollected stories published in many magazines and anthologies.
What impressed me about Malzberg was his ability to write successfully in a variety of genres beyond SF including mystery, psychological thrillers, erotica, and Men’s action/adventure fiction. The Lone Wolf series written under the pseudonym of “Mike Barry” took readers on a 14 book thrill ride into the drug-infested world of a character on a vengeance rampage after the murder of his lover.
Malzberg wrote his last SF novel in 1983, but he continued to be a prolific writer of short stories about political assassinations, paranoia, astronauts going insane, political corruption, and horse racing for years afterward.
Stark House’s latest omnibus edition, The Last Translation/Scop is a fitting tribute to a great writer by bringing together two of Malzberg’s prime concerns: the Kennedy Assassination and the death of political trust in America.
SCOP (1976): Scop is a time traveler from 2040 on a mission to prevent the Kennedy assassination. Malzberg mixes in Abraham Zapruder who films the assassination from the Grassy Knoll in Dealey Plaza, Dallas along with Jack Ruby murdering Oswald. In addition, Scop seeks to prevent the James Earl Ray assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.. and Robert F. Kennedy being assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan.
Scop’s plans to change the Past in order to alter his Future have ominous consequences. GRADE: B
In his Introduction to The Last Transaction in this new Stark House edition, Malzberg tells the story of how the editor-in-chief of Chilton Press (publishers of Dune) was told, “Get rid of this. Presidents don’t talk or write this way…. Let him keep the advance and dump this.” Roger Elwood managed to get Pinnacle Books to publish The Last Transaction.
The Last Transaction (1977) captures the desperation of an ex-president of the United States who is attempting to complete the memoirs of his complicated life. Unfortunately, his failing physical and mental health affects his grip on reality as his ability to think clearly and act rationally diminish. The story of his presidency lurches from incident to incident: the failure of his first marriage, the death of his son, his second marriage to a far younger woman, and a national crisis). His failed reelection campaign of 1984 accelerates his decline. President William Eric Springer tries to make sense of his life which has turned into a nightmare. GRADE: B
If you’re looking for a book to engage with one of the most unique SF writers, The Last Translation/Scop is the perfect place to start.
I’m always fascinated by how music groups come together, make their own special brand of music, and handle the success and fame that comes with it. The Name of This Band is R.E.M.: A Biography (2024) presents the history of a band who stayed together for 30+ years. Peter Ames Carlin interviews many key figures around R.E.M. and shares the stories of the band’s successes…and mistakes.
Four college friends – Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry – banded together in the Spring of 1980 to play their very first performance at a college party in Athens, Georgia. That led to a record contract with a small record company, I.R.S. Records, and five albums later, R.E.M. was one of the top bands in the U.S. In 1988, R.E.M. then signed with Warner Records and their album sales soared!
Although the 1990s was a transition period for the band, R.E.M. managed to continue to build their audience, to tour internationally, and to increase sales. Are you a fan of R.E.M.? Do you have a favorite R.E.M. song? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction: The Things They Wouldn’t Do — 1
Part I The Music of Dissent
1 Super Fucking Famous — 13
2 Birdland — 16
3 Bad Habits — 27
4 An Oasis for Artists and Misfits — 33
5 Dance This Mess Around — 39
6 Let’s Make a Band — 44
7 Don’t Rock ‘n’ Roll, No! — 49
8 A Party in the Church — 60
Part II “We’re Still Laughing. It’s a Real Shock.”
9 Picture James Brown Fronting the Dave Clark Five — 69
10 We Weren’t Really Close in a Lot of Ways — 77
11 Hey, He Really Knows His Shit! — 87
12 A Certain Amount of Chaos — 93
13 Sit and Try for the Big Kill — 101
14 Lots of Impressive First-Time Songs — 108
15 Wolves Out the Door — 115
16 Chronic Town, Poster Torn — 124
17 Murmuring — 129
18 R.E.M. Submits — 136
19 A Collective Fist — 144
Part III This One Goes Out
20 Here We Are — 155
21 My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord — 162
22 Shadowfax — 167
23 So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star — 172
24 Gravity Pulling Me Around — 178
25 A Magic Kingdom, Open-Armed — 187
26 What If We Give It Away? — 196
27 Life’s Rich Demand — 206
28 Things We Never Thought Would Happen Have Happened — 212
29 Conquest — 222
Part IV The Monster
30 Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi — 235
31 Are You Ready to Rock ‘n’ Roll? — 241
32 The Fever — 251
33 A Breath, This Song — 257
34 Near Wild Heaven — 262
35 Shiny Happy — 270
36 The Most Improbably Successful Group in Music Today — 277
37 These Are Days — 284
38 Does Everyone Still Want to Do This? — 295
39 Enter the Monster — 308
40 Did Someone Put a Curse on Us? — 319
Part V The Name of This Band Is R.E.M. and This Is What We Do
Back in 1965, a new Science Fiction award, The Nebula, showed up to give the Hugo Award some competition. The stories that won the Nebula Award and some of the nominees were collected in an anthology each year. Nebula Award Stories Number Two (1967) includes an Introduction and Afterword that puts the year of publishing into perspective.
Back in the 1960s, there were NOT a dozen different categories for stories (and later media). Things were pretty simple. Nebulas for BEST NOVEL went to Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes and Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany. Yes, it was a tie!
The Nebula for BEST NOVELLA went to Jack Vance’s classic “The Last Castle.” The Nebula for BEST NOVELETTE went to “Call Him Lord” by Gordon R. Dickson. The Nebula for BEST SHORT STORY went to Richard McKenna’s “The Secret Place.”
That’s it. Sweet and simple. Today the Award environment is messy and convoluted. And, I would argue, less effective at celebrating great SF stories. If you can find early Nebula Award anthologies, maybe the first dozen or so, they hold plenty of great stories for your enjoyment. GRADE: A
Director Scott Derrickson and screenwriter Zach Dean have a complex premise at the heart of The Gorge so the setup takes about a half hour of movie time. Sure, The Gorge starts slowly but if you hang in there, there’s action and romance and scintillating stunts to entertain you.
Levi (Miles Teller) and Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy) are elite snipers from different world powers who have been assigned to guard a secret location, a massive gorge in an undisclosed country. Sigourney Weaver hires Levi and the KGB hires Drasa. They are not supposed to communicate during their year stint at The Gorge.
The Gorge is referred to as the Door to Hell, and Levi and Drasca’s job is to keep watch over it, gunning down the creepy creatures known as “Hollow Men” that attempt to kill them. Despite the numerous weapons and bombs protecting the watchtowers from the Hollow Men assaults, Levi and Drasa learn they have to work together in order to survive.
If HALLMARK made a horror movie, it would be similar to The Gorge with romance, scary creatures, and a clever plot. I really liked the score from Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor. Check out the list of songs in The Gorge below. If you’re in the mood for horror, action, sci-fi, and romance mixed together, The Gorge delivers. GRADE: B+
So, here are all the songs in The Gorge.
“Suite No. 1 in G Major, BMV 1007: Prelude” performed by Jeff Taylor
“Suite No. 1 in G Major, BMV 1007: Prelude” performed by Martynas Levickis
“Ilgiausių Metų (Traditional)”
“Spitting Off the Edge of the World (ft. Perfume Genius)” by Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs
“Blitzkrieg Bop” by Ramones
“Silent Night (Traditional)” performed by Anya Taylor-Joy
“(All Along The) Watchtower” performed by Devlin
“O Come All Ye Faithful” performed by Twisted Sister
“I Feel Love (Every Million Miles)” by The Dead Weather
I watched Saturday Night Lives premiere episode which was hosted by George Carlin on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC’s Saturday Night. Sure, I haven’t watched every episode of SNL, maybe 50%. When Patrick and Katie arrived in the 1980s, it was harder to stay up late to watch SNL.
During the 1990s, the cast was in flux. Chris Farley and Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Spade, and Chris Rock, would come to be known as the “Bad Boys of SNL” for their outrageous comedy style. Fearful of cast members leaving for film careers, Lorne Michaels increased the SNL cast (there are 27 cast members today!). This caused a rift between the veteran members and the new, younger talent. In addition, this new staffing increased competition for the show’s limited screen time, and an increasing reliance on “younger”, less subtle humor–also not funny.
One of the highlights of SNL in the 2000s was Tina Fey, who was a cast member and head writer from 1997 to 2006. Fey returned to the show during the 2008 presidential election for several critically acclaimed guest appearances as vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
SNL’s political sketches attracted me in 2016. The show frequently parodied Donald Trump’s first presidency. The ongoing impression by actor Alec Baldwin led to a significant increase in ratings and a “shot of relevance” for the show. Later, Maya Rudolph returned to play Vice President Kamala Harris.
I started watching Saturday Night Live from the beginning. And, a least at the start, the music featured on the show one one of its highlights. Included in this documentary, directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Oz Rodriguezhere, are some of the key music moments:
An in-depth analysis into the show’s relationship with new wave bands (the B-52’s) as well as eclectic and experimental acts (Captain Beefheart)[5]
Elvis Costello switching songs live on air in 1977, and his supposed “ban” from the show
The show’s hip-hop history, including the 1981 debut of Funky 4 + 1, the first rap act on national television
Rage Against the Machine‘s explosive 1996 spot, during which they attempted to hang upside-down American flags on their amps in protest of billionaire host Steve Forbes[13]
Ashlee Simpson‘s infamous 2004 appearance in which she lip synced
Kanye West‘s history on the show, both his impact on guests’ visual capabilities and many controversies, including a 2018 MAGA rant
The 3-hour documentary came about with Thompson’s commitment and quality control. Directing the feature required that Thompson view every episode of SNL—900 by the time of its creation—which was a daunting task. To prepare, Thompson watched between three and seven episodes daily. The result is a comprehensive and entertaining journey through 50 years of music. Don’t miss this! GRADE: A
To get you in the mood for Valentine’s Day here’s Valentine Musical Selections from 1997. These 16 songs are not the usual mix of love songs. Yes, there’s Curtis Mayfield’s “Oh So Beautiful” but I’m guessing most of you are not familiar with Holly Palmer’s “Come Lie With Me” or Nu Flavor’s “Heaven.
For Smooth Jazz fans there’s “Seduction” by Boney James and Hiroshima’s “Love How You Love Me.” If that music doesn’t get you the the mood for amour, nothing will. Do you have any plans for Valentine’s Day? GRADE: B+
