The Odyssey

Say Zues’s Law one more time… I was gifted a perfect preview of this film before watching the latest James Cameron Av...

joshbeckman.org

Drumless Mix by Caribou, Floating Points, & Fred Again..

I’m listening to this again today while the extreme heat and humidity break into thunderous downpours in Chicago stre...

joshbeckman.org

The Wailing

The bumbling cop kept taking me out of any slowly building suspense. If you want me to be afraid of a zombie, then th...

joshbeckman.org

Thief

The Chicagoan just wants to do a good job. The Chicagoan knows how to do the job good, if you just leave it alone. Th...

joshbeckman.org

Breathe Well+ by Air Credits

I think BROADCASTED was a fantastic first album from Air Credits but then I was less wowed by their interim releases ...

joshbeckman.org

Orange Smoke Day in Chicago

We’re having another wildfire smoke day in Chicago (previously), with air so thick that your nose gets black and you ...

joshbeckman.org

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

This was scarier than I expected from its 50-year age. And it wasn't from the gore! Sure, Leatherface is scary, b...

joshbeckman.org

Please by DJ Plead

It was calming to play this while working today, but it’ll melt off my brain like rain on my window pane. ...

joshbeckman.org

WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA by Slayyyter

I’ve been listening to this album when lifting weights at the gym recently. The Justice bass pushes me so hard I find...

joshbeckman.org

TON UP by Gold Panda

This new work from Gold Panda sounds like he spent the winter with Daphni and came out convinced of the power of the ...

joshbeckman.org

Enemy of the State

I kept gasping at how much of this film is a callback to The Conversation - and then Gene Hackman showed up! I swear ...

joshbeckman.org

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie

You can make some amazing things with just some random bits of your past, a deft deployment of movie making/writing s...

joshbeckman.org

Obsession

I enjoyed this film so so so so so much. (Big crooked smile.) It's loud. It twisted the knife in every scene, ten...

joshbeckman.org

Open-Source as Corporate Canary

Something that occurs to me while reading posts like these from Simon Willison is that: it’s worthwhile for corporati...

joshbeckman.org

This is Why I Like Working at Shopify

joshbeckman.org

Loud Bloom by Olof Dreijer

I started listening to this without any context and thought: this sounds like a little bit of The Knife and a little ...

joshbeckman.org

Tears of Injustice by Mdou Moctar

This isn’t as exciting as the source album, but the melancholy is the point. {{ “https://music.apple....

joshbeckman.org

Inferno by Boards of Canada

Okay, I can get on board with ambient techno like I’m working inside the office Lumon of Severance. {...

joshbeckman.org

Nine Inch Noize by Nine Inch Noize

Closer and The Warning are absolutely the best songs on the album but the whole thing wrenches itself out of your spe...

joshbeckman.org

My Split-Flap Display Now Shows the Weather

The seven-digit split-flap display in my studio used to count the hours since I was born. Now it shows the forecast: ...

joshbeckman.org

Backrooms

This review may contain spoilers. This film does a good job of pulling your attention just around the corner....just ...

joshbeckman.org

Obsession

I enjoyed this film so so so so so much. (Big crooked smile.) It's loud. It twisted the knife in every scene, ten...

joshbeckman.org

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

I think Mary Bronstein bet her husband that she could invert almost everything about Uncut Gems and still make the au...

joshbeckman.org

Roast Notes: Bubbe's Blend by Metropolis and Schneider Deli

We were lucky enough to have Schneider Deli open a new location just down the street from us and they have a custom r...

joshbeckman.org

Project Hail Mary

Yes I’m going to like a space travel story. Yes I’m going to like Ryan Gosling. Yes I’m going to love a faceless mons...

joshbeckman.org

Every giant leap is actually a series of small steps.

Masters make the amazing look simple, because they show you the small steps, and they are able to take the giant leap...

joshbeckman.org

The Scene Inside and Outside The House

It’s May 4th and I’m working from home in the sunshine.

joshbeckman.org

big Sis and Gelli Haha at Schubas Tavern

I had been looking forward to seeing Gelli since their album last summer and immediately bought tickets when they ann...

joshbeckman.org

The Fly

Jeff Goldblum is unbelievably perfect for this role. I was electrified. He glues together an already tight script wit...

joshbeckman.org

Roast Notes: Brazil Cerrado from Printer's Row

I picked up Printer’s Row Coffee Co.’s Brazil Cerrado only a couple days after it was roasted. We walked over as a fa...

joshbeckman.org