I Wrote a Book About Public Enemy

On Friday, my book about the greatest hip-hop group ever, Public Enemy: Inside the Terrordome, comes out. I am both excited and anxious. Because I have loved Public Enemy most of my life, it was intimidating to write about Chuck D, Flavor Flav and their cohorts. I was filled with a sense of responsibility: This was a book I had to get right.  

Inside the Terrordome is what I call a critical biography. It covers the highlights of the band's career, but it also digs into the importance of the group and its albums. On that note, I'm particularly pleased with the amount of writing that goes into PE's post-heyday. (In other words, I cover the albums since Apocalypse 91, which is around the time that most fans dropped by the wayside. C'mon, Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age wasn't that bad.) Culturally, musically and historically, Public Enemy is major. I hope my book does them justice while, at the same time, discusses their low points and missteps.

In the meantime, you can enjoy an excerpt from the book over at Playboy. This section covers the making of the group's seminal 1990 album Fear of a Black Planet. And if you'd like to order Inside the Terrordome, you can do that right here through Amazon. Thanks so much.

(Update: Alas, the Playboy link no longer works. But you don't have to take it from me that my book is good. Chuck D himself is a fan.)

What's the Greatest Kanye West Song Ever?

With So Help Me God supposedly coming to us sooner rather than later, I decided to dive into a massive project: ranking every single Kanye West song. My god, what fun -- also, good heavens, was it hard. But, seriously, fun. My complete list is over at Playboy.

It's an Honor Never to Be Nominated: The Oscar Overlooked

For Playboy, I made a list of 10 great actors, filmmakers or composers who have never been nominated for an Oscar. This is an embarrassing collection of talent that's never gotten its due from the Academy. You can read my appreciation of folks like Jim Carrey right here.

The Best Non-Disney Animated Movies on Netflix

For Playboy, I decided to to put together a handy-dandy list of great animated movies that are currently streaming on Netflix. (The catch: They couldn't come from Disney.) Some observations:

1) There are plenty of great candidates that currently aren't on Netflix.

2) Many of these are geared more to adults than kids.

3) It's a cheat, I admit, but I had to include Team America: World Police.

You can read the list here. (Don't worry: The site is SFW.)

'Nas: Time Is Illmatic' Vs. 'Illmatic'

In honor of the 20th anniversary of Nas's groundbreaking debut Illmatic, the documentary Nas: Time Is Illmatic will be opening this week. For Playboy, I wrote a little about the film, and why I think it can't do justice to the album that inspired it. Hope you enjoy.

In Praise of Seth Rogen

Seth Rogen has been a movie star for almost 10 years. With his great Neighbors about to come out, I decided to devote some time thinking about what makes him stand out among contemporary comedians. Those thoughts form the basis for this week's Playboy Culture Club column. (Hint: He's a lot smarter than his onscreen stoner persona suggests.)

See This/Skip That: Summer Movie Edition

For my Playboy column Culture Club this week, I took a look at 10 movies coming out this summer that may be terrible. In their place, I recommended worthy alternatives: movies or books that are just about guaranteed to be better. This was a lot of fun.

The Pixies, 'Indie Cindy' and the Dangers of Mystique

Next week, the Pixies release their first album in over 20 years, Indie Cindy. That should be a big deal, but it isn't. For my Playboy column Culture Club, I explain why that is. I hope you enjoy.

Couchella > Coachella

Perhaps you've heard of "Couchella": It's the term used by people who watch Coachella's live webcast at home rather than trekking down to Indio, California to experience the festival in person. This past weekend, I spent a decent amount of time on the Coachella webcast, and I have to say: I was impressed. For this week's Culture Club column in Playboy, I detail why live shows are actually better online. I hope you enjoy.

Nicolas Cage in 'Joe'

For years, Nicolas Cage has seemed lost in the wilderness, but his latest film, the indie drama Joe, offers him one of his best roles in a long time. I marvel at the Cage of old in this week's Culture Club column for Playboy.

What Movies, TV Shows and Music Defined the George W. Bush Years?

The Unknown Known, a documentary about Donald Rumsfeld, opens today in New York and Los Angeles, and then opens elsewhere (including on-demand) on Friday. In honor of that great film, I decided to make a list of the 10 pop-culture items that best encapsulated life during the Bush administration. Idiocracy made the list, of course: Click here to see the other nine.

'Mistaken for Strangers' and Male Competitiveness

The National are releasing a documentary this Friday called Mistaken for Strangers. It's not really about the band, though: It's about the simmering sibling rivalry between lead singer Matt Berninger and his dopey screw-up of a younger brother Tom who tags along with the band during a European tour. The movie affected me in a personal way: As a competitive person who sometimes has problems with male friendships, I found myself feeling for both Matt and Tom. So I devoted this week's Culture Club column at Playboy to the phenomenon of male rivalry. I really hope I'm not alone in feeling these feelings -- and I hope you like the piece.

'Nymphomaniac' and CGI Sex

Director Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac: Vol. I isn't one of his best -- I haven't seen Vol. II yet -- but it does perhaps suggest what the future of cinematic sex might look like. Maybe the NC-17 movie will emerge from the ghetto? I ponder such issues in this week's Playboy column.

Why Are Video-Game Movies Always Terrible?

That's the question I try to answer with this week's "Culture Club" column at Playboy. (Watching Need for Speed helped put some ideas into focus.) You can read my piece here.

I Love the Silly, Boring, Ridiculous Oscars

Every Oscar season, we're beset with a series of articles about "How to Fix the Academy Awards." But what if they don't need fixing? What if they're perfectly good the way they are? That's my thesis for this week's Playboy column. Hope you enjoy.

Eric Church, 'The Outsiders' and Country's Rock 'n' Roll Attitude

Eric Church's The Outsiders came out last week, and today for Playboy I discuss the album in the wider context of how country music has transformed into the new rock 'n' roll. Rock is becoming more and more dull, while country actually seems more engaged in the wider world. How did that shift happen? Here's my column.

Cold as Ice: Sex and 'House of Cards'

For my weekly Playboy column, I turn my attention to House of Cards, which is back on Friday. Specifically, I dig into how the show depicts sex and love. It's a cold, cold world out there, people. Here's my column.

On 'Mitt' and Being a Loser

One of my favorite stories of this year's Sundance Film Festival happened the day before the festival. A few colleagues were in Park City on Wednesday, January 21, getting set for all the craziness that would kick off the following day. They went to the one major grocery store in the town to get supplies when they stumbled upon a guy shopping all by himself: Mitt Romney. Apparently, it was like spotting a unicorn: He was just there looking at bananas and going about his business like an ordinary guy. He was in town (I assume) because the documentary about him, Mitt, was premiering at the festival, but still there was something cheering and sweet about the image of Romney being normal. It was the one impression we never got of him from the campaign.

I thought about that a lot while watching Mitt, which isn't a great film but is an interesting one, particularly in how it examines the unpleasant phenomenon of failing. Americans aren't comfortable with losers: Mitt addresses the topic head-on. I wrote about that for Playboy.

The Super Bowl and the Joy of Rooting Against Teams

For this week's Playboy column, I wrote about the fact that, because I don't have an NFL team to call my own, I root against teams, not really for them. So for Super Bowl XLVIII, I'll be cheering against the Seahawks. Why am I such a petty person? And what do I have against the Seahawks? I explain both here.

Bruce Springsteen - 'High Hopes' Review

For this week's Playboy column, I wrote about Bruce Springsteen's new album High Hopes. But more specifically, I got into my issues with the Boss since his 21st-century renaissance. I've always loved the guy, but in the past decade or so, it's been significantly harder to do so. I go into my reasons here.