Christgau on Robert Crumb's Book of Genesis Illustrated. Religion is like football to me: I have almost no comprehension of how it works. I wasn't raised religiously at all. I accompanied my great-grandaunts Loretta and Arlene to church a handful of times because they always went on Sundays, out of sheer curiosity, which turned to boredom quickly. My sisters and I were all baptized Catholic, a holdover from my mom's early schooling. But that's it: I never attended Sunday school (as my sisters did for a while), never read the Bible, and never had any kind of training in it. I saw Catholicism as something you turned on or off as you saw fit for pretty much my entire growing up, which led to uncomprehending and absolutely wonderful behavior on my part toward kids at school who were immersed in it from birth: I'd make fun of them for not swearing or liking dirty jokes or whatever other inappropriate things I was up to at the time. I though all those floods and resurrections sounded like Hollywood bullshit.

Four years ago I grabbed Tom Shone's Blockbuster off the free table at the Weekly, always intending to read it but never getting around to it. Packing for Brooklyn, I knew I'd need it--I'm working on a project that I figured it would be useful background for, which it has been. It's also been enjoyable: I began reading Tuesday and am one chapter away from finishing, which is fast for me--I'm a slow reader. Shone can be Brit-crit cutesy at times, and a few passages clunk along; he also commits the no-no-by-me of prefacing most chapters with a juicy quote that is then repeated within the chapter. (Those should always stand alone.) But the bulk of the writing is fine, and he's got a real overview of Hollywood blockbusterization--it's not a blow-by-blow about the making of the movies he details, though there are good tidbits on them, so much as an analysis of what each film contributed to the overall aesthetic of the blockbuster. His discussion of Top Gun gets at "high concept"--"an idea in shoulder pads"--and notes that it arrived as the ancillary market (read: video) for movies outstripped actual theatrical releases. Batman is discussed as a game-changer in that it was pre-sold more thoroughly in terms of merch than anything before it--and that it opened bigger and dropped off faster than any blockbuster before it, shifting the terms of that type of movie to opening weekend alone. Best quote, from producer David Glier: "Alien is to Star Wars what the Rolling Stones were to the Beatles."

[xxxxx] wrote the way everyone else empties an ashtray.

2009 Q3 Top 50 Tracks

1. Joy Orbison, “Hyph Mngo” (Hotflush)
2. DJ Kaos, “Love the Nite Away (Tiedye Mix)” (Rong/DFA)
3. Ghostface Killah ft. Fabolous & Shareefa, “Guest House” (Def Jam)
4. Joker & Ginz, “Purple City” (Kapsize)
5. Lone, “Joy Reel” (Werk)
6. DJ Morgoth, “Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit Up” (MP3)
7. DJ Quik & Kurupt, “Hey Playa! (Moroccan Blues)” (Mad Science)
8. Scheme, “Respect the Art” (Molemen/Sound Merchants)
9. New Era, “Pockets on My Pannies” (MP3)
10. Toddla T ft. Herve & Serocee, “Shake It” (1965)

11. Natalie Imbruglia, “Want” (Island)
12. Freddie Gibbs, “County Bounce” (mixtape)
13. Cooly G, “Love Dub” (Hyperdub)
14. Ne-Yo, “I Don't Care” (MP3)
15. Imogen Heap, “Hide and Seek (Enigma Remix)” (MP3)
16. Syran Mbenza & Ensemble Rumba Kongo, “Infidelité Mado” (Riverboat)
17. Christina Milian ft. The-Dream, “Chameleon” (MP3)
18. Heartland, “Mustache” (Permian)
19. Pink Dollaz, “I'm Tasty” (MP3)
20. Kream Kidz, “I'm Nasty” (MP3)

21. Vibes, “Psychic” (Not Not Fun)
22. Professor Green ft. Chynaman & C.O.R.E., “Upper Clapton Dance” (MP3)
23. Keri Hilson, “Slow Dance” (Mosley/4 Zone)
24. F.Y.I., “Nasty Girl” (MP3)
25. Charlotte Hatherley, “White” (Hubba Hubba)
26. Royal P, “Between Us” (Rhythm Division)
27. Ikonika, “Millie” (Hyperdub)
28. Clothesz Off Movement ft. Rome, “Better Than You” (MP3)
29. “Weird Al” Yankovic, “Craigslist” (RCA/Jive)
30. Lusine, “Crowded Room” (Ghostly International)

31. Love and Theft, “Runaway” (Lyric Street)
32. Naam, “Skyling Slip” (Tee Pee)
33. P-Money ft. Vince Harder, “Everything” (Dirty/Grindin’)
34. Method Man & Redman, “Mrs. International” (Def Jam)
35. Nicki Minaj ft. Lil Wayne, “I Get Crazy” (MP3)
36. Bloody Mary ft. Argenis Brito, “Sed Non Satiata” (Contexterrior)
37. Silkie vs. Mizz Beats, “Purple Love” (Deep Medi Musik)
38. Shakira, “Loba” (Sony)
39. Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas, “Skal Vi Prøve Nå?” (Eskimo)
40. Millie & Andrea, “Temper Tantrum” (Daphne)

41. The Invisible, “London Girl” (Accidental)
42. Still Going, “Spaghetti Circus” (DFA)
43. High Places, “Late Bloomer” (Post Present Medium)
44. Burial & Four Tet, “Wolf Cub” (Text)
45. The Champagne Socialists, “Blue Genes” (Slumberland)
46. Carolyn Mark and N.Q. Arbuckle, “All Time Low” (Mint)
47. Animal Collective, “Summertime Clothes (Dam-Funk Remix)” (Domino)
48. Aeiress Ent., “Billy” (MP3)
49. Bon & Rau, “Cloverleaf Days” (Smallville)
50. Pill, "Trap Goin' Ham" (mixtape)