The Week in Review

We have entered the giving holiday season here at This Recording. I thought it was a dirty little secret that Santa gave Jewish children coal in their stockings, but it turned out my mother was just screwing with me all those years. Things rarely seem as hilarious at the time, and Jackie Kennedy's last happy holiday moments with her husband weren't all shits and giggles. At least there was little in the way of porn stars back then.

kennedy christmas card for 1962In the haze of Christmas morning, I also believed Jesus was a satanic elf for a brief period in the late 1980s. Times were hard, our idea of Christmas was relatively inflexible and included a menorah largely for giggles. For a country like ours to survive this difficult period, we must avoid playing jokes on our Jewish sons, and harken back to the Christmas of olde.

Enjoy our week of holiday-based content:

The wonders of depression-era dating according to Meredith Chamberlain...

We unveiled the top 20 albums of the year...

Ray Zhong on Jason Reitman's Up in the Air...

Almie Rose on the promiscuous, sex positive Grace Kelly...

William Gass' letter for the ages...

All the vampires left New York...

Eleanor Morrow on the films of Yasujiro Ozu...

The aging oeuvre of Nancy Meyers...

The story of Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud...

The young auteurs of You Won't Miss Me...

Tao Lin discussed Thomas Bernhard...

Rufus Wainwright's iTunes playlist...

Elaine de Kooning remembered Mark Rothko...

Bob Dylan met John Lennon...

You can catch up on past Week in Reviews here.

"The Children" - Yeasayer (mp3)

"Madder Red" - Yeasayer (mp3)

"I Remember" - Yeasayer (mp3)

harry truman taking a christmas break in independence

The Week in Review

After fighting off a hostile takeover attempt by Kraft, This Recording has moved onto greener pastures. The weeks to come will feature our year-end lists, which I generate largely from putting Lambert into a light coma and performing experimental brain surgery. Let's just hope the inside of her brain doesn't rank that weird Jim Jarmusch movie No. 1.

Enjoy these ventures into the unknown before we are absorbed by a cheesy conglomerate:

Giorgio De Chirico on his surrealist friends...

Beatrice discussed her difficult relationship with her father...

Molly Langmuir reviewed Chris Weitz' New Moon...

Alex Carnevale went to see The Fantastic Mr. Fox...

Edward Dorn's memoriam for Richard Brautigan...

The intersections of Pauline Kael and Bonnie and Clyde...

The adventures of Will Hubbard and R.V. Neuman...

Maryse Conde's youth in Paris...

Durga looked back at The Beatles' Rubber Soul...

The weird love of John Lennon and Yoko Ono...

Patrick Bateman recalled the days of Revolver...

Having a drink with Paul McCartney...

The wit and wisdom of Georgia O'Keeffe.

You can find past Week in Reviews here.

"Let the Wind Blow" - The Beach Boys (mp3)

"Can't Wait Too Long" - The Beach Boys (mp3)

"Cool, Cool Water" - The Beach Boys (mp3)

"Meant for You" - The Beach Boys (mp3)

The Week in Review

As the dead of winter approaches, now is the time to get into a mutually unsatisfying artistic relationship with a member of the opposite sex. The ideal foil should be limber, internet-savvy, and judicious with wordplay.

Enjoy these places we have been, and remember them as if they were only yesterday:

John Ashbery remembered his first meeting with Jane Freilicher...

Elizabeth Gumport explored the world of Dawn Powell...

Danish Aziz introduced you to the SF of yore...

Jessica Hopper discussed the feminist view of Lars Von Trier...

T.K.'s weekly investigation into Poems Newly Appeared...

Matthew Henriksen on the ghosts of Frank Stanford and Gram Parsons...

Ben Lambert's Halloween megamix...

Colin Dickey's amazing broadside on a bunch of recordings...

Literary legend William Gass wrote this letter that will shock and stun u...

When Julie Benz isn't doing a nude scene, she's on Dexter...

Molly Young's fastidious tanning regime...

Think of how much more complicated and enjoyable your life is sure to become.

You can find past week in reviews here.

"Bloody Hands" - Mark Olson and Gary Louris (mp3)

"The Wind Comes Up" - Mark Olson and Gary Louris (mp3)

"My Gospel Song for You" - Mark Olson and Gary Louris (mp3)