In 1997, U2 took the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards and completely misread the room—or perhaps they gave the performance of their lives. Stripping away the technicolor irony of the Pop era, they handed a shiny industry crowd a raw, bleeding prayer for peace in Northern Ireland.
Tag Archives: clippings
Marginalia: Bon Qui Qui / MADtv Clip
There’s a clip that resurfaced today—Anjelah Johnson-Reyes playing her MADtv character Bon Qui Qui, working the register at a fictional fast-food place called King Burger. It’s not just the joke that lands first. It’s the certainty in the performance. The character is loud, yes—but more than loud, she is absolute. There’s no hesitation in the way she speaks,ContinueContinue reading “Marginalia: Bon Qui Qui / MADtv Clip”
Marginalia: JOHNNYSWIM, “Bridges”
Sometimes a song changes once you know who’s singing it. Back in 2019, I stumbled across JOHNNYSWIM’s “Bridges,” and the performance itself immediately grabbed me. Today’s listen showed it still has that power. Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramirez move through the song with this mix of joy, conviction, flirtation, and earned weariness that makes the wholeContinueContinue reading “Marginalia: JOHNNYSWIM, “Bridges””
FROM THE WEB: Ivan & Alyosha – Running For Cover (Live on KEXP) – YouTube
We (The Plain Travelers) heard this band with the odd name of Ivan & Alyosha back in the mid-2010s at a club in Austin called The Parish. I’m rediscovering them today, and this tune, “Running for Cover” has some heavy lyrics wherein I’m hearing about a garden, a fall, and taking the blame… If IContinueContinue reading “FROM THE WEB: Ivan & Alyosha – Running For Cover (Live on KEXP) – YouTube”
FROM THE WEB: U2 > News > Wake Up Dead Man
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, was a blast, especially considering the topics it hit upon amidst the murder-mystery. Discovering that the film’s composer was a U2 fan was lagniappe, and this quote from the article linked below really resonated with me: “I grew up in a particular strand of American evangelicalism thatContinueContinue reading “FROM THE WEB: U2 > News > Wake Up Dead Man”