It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the constant stream of articles, posts, and tweets. It’s hard to know what you’ve missed. To help with that, I compile a list of each month’s posts and reviews (i.e., the Reader’s Digest version of Opus).
26 songs that provided me with moments of beauty, serenity, hope — and yes, maybe even a little fun.
Jan 1: January 2021’s Best Streaming Titles: Enter the Dragon, The Truman Show, Dr. Strangelove, WandaVision, Mad Max: Fury Road
Bruce Lee, Jim Carrey’s reality TV, precious bodily fluids, WandaVision, stunning post-apocalyptic mayhem, and more.
Jan 4: “Norte” by Adiós Cometa
The Costa Rican dreampop band is the latest member of the Velvet Blue Music family.
Jan 5: “Mood Swing” by Glixen
Seriously, what is it with Arizona and fuzz-laden shoegaze/dreampop par excellence?
Jan 5: The Paradox Men by Charles L. Harness (Review)
A blend of hard science, historical philosophy, and “B” movie escapades that’s by turns fascinating, fun, and frustrating.
Jan 6: Trump’s Chaos
He would rather watch our country burn than ever admit that he was wrong, or worse, that he lost.
Jan 8: Supporting Opus in 2021
If you enjoy reading Opus, then there are several ways that you can support my efforts.
Jan 10: New Subscriber Playlist: “Harold Budd”
A tribute to the celebrated minimalist and ambient music composer.
Jan 11: Opus in Numbers (2020 Edition)
Opus experienced some slow, steady growth during 2020, which is very gratifying.
Jan 12: “Fab Tool” by Carpenter Brut (feat. David Eugene Edwards)
The synthwave maestro is joined by one of American music’s most distinctive voices.
Jan 12: “Altered States” by Woob
Darkly pulsing synthwave channeled from the shadowy recesses of the ’80s.
Jan 13: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Makes the Galaxy a Much Bigger Place
This successful video game uses what’s familiar about Star Wars to show us new things in a galaxy far, far away.
Jan 17: Cornerstone 2007 Band Photos
A collection of band photos from the final Cornerstone Festival that I attended, featuring Starflyer 59 and State Bird.
Jan 22: Alice in Borderland by Shinsuke Sato (Review)
Netflix’s manga adaptation is an entertaining blend of angst-y melodrama and dark, bloody suspense.
Jan 25: Godzilla vs. Kong’s Trailer Gives Us a Taste of the Monster Smackdown We’ve All Been Waiting For
Well, everyone knows that Godzilla is a good guy. What this trailer presupposes is… maybe he isn’t.
Jan 25: “Towards the Light” by Hiroco.M
The perfect soundtrack for experiencing a world covered in newly fallen snow.
Jan 26: Hold You Up by Zelienople (Review)
The Chicago trio’s shadowy post-rock is hypnotic, meandering, and consistently captivating.
Jan 31: Mark Dacascos’ Drive Is Getting the 4K Blu-ray Treatment
This hidden martial arts action gem from the late ’90s is finally getting the exposure it deserves.
Click here to read everything I posted on Opus in January 2021.