Posts

Nov 5, 20213 min read

Mitch Easter, The Caropop Interview

This dates me, but I first saw Mitch Easter when his band, Let’s Active, was opening for R.E.M. in the fall of 1983 on my college campus....

2 comments

Another restaurant quandary: Eat or send back?

Mark Caro

Nov 1, 20211 min read

Another restaurant quandary: Eat or send back?

Two women were seated next to each other at separate tables along a banquette. A food runner delivered what appeared to be a fried...

5 comments

Mark Caro

Oct 29, 20212 min read

Costello, Spoon bringing the rock

Elvis Costello and Spoon have released new songs over the past couple of days, and both boast a throwback rock energy. The new Elvis...

1 comment

Riccardo Muti and the death and rebirth (we hope) of culture

Mark Caro

Oct 28, 20213 min read

Riccardo Muti and the death and rebirth (we hope) of culture

Sitting in the Symphony Center lower balcony on the evening of Sept. 23 was a surprisingly emotional experience for me and, I assume,...

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Marlon Brando as the Sundance Kid and other casting near-misses

Mark Jacob

Oct 26, 20214 min read

Marlon Brando as the Sundance Kid and other casting near-misses

Movie casting remains a popular spectator sport, as evidenced by the reaction to Deadline's report yesterday that Brendan Fraser will...

1 comment

Mark Caro

Oct 25, 20212 min read

Python seduces 'SNL'

A couple walks into a meeting with a man who seduces the wife, much to the husband’s chagrin. Is this an original idea or a standard...

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Digging into War with founding member Lonnie Jordan

Mark Caro

Oct 21, 20213 min read

Digging into War with founding member Lonnie Jordan

War is one of those bands that I always liked more than I knew. I’d enjoyed the sing-along choruses and laugh-along verses of “Why Can’t...

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'Love, Charlie' captures the compelling complexity of Chef Trotter

Mark Caro

Oct 19, 20215 min read

'Love, Charlie' captures the compelling complexity of Chef Trotter

I’d never seen my head so big. That wasn’t my main takeaway from the Chicago International Film Festival world premiere of Rebecca...

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Kathy Valentine: Going to the Rock Hall with the Go-Go's but not done pushing the beat

Mark Caro

Oct 15, 20213 min read

Kathy Valentine: Going to the Rock Hall with the Go-Go's but not done pushing the beat

Kathy Valentine and the Go-Go’s made me do something I didn’t want to do. I think the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as a concept, is stupid....

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Will ABBA hold the record for the longest gap between albums? And what are the best 70+ songs?

Mark Caro

Oct 13, 20213 min read

Will ABBA hold the record for the longest gap between albums? And what are the best 70+ songs?

Forty years passed between the release of Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood” and that of the Clash’s “London Calling.” Forty years also will...

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If a restaurant no-shows, does it owe you anything?

Mark Caro

Oct 12, 20213 min read

If a restaurant no-shows, does it owe you anything?

I made the reservations Monday on Resy for a late-summer Sunday brunch at 12:15 p.m. on the patio. There would be four of us, two coming...

2 comments

Mark Caro

Oct 11, 20216 min read

5 thoughts about 'Ted Lasso'

1. The reason viewers are exerting so much effort to analyze Ted Lasso is that the Apple TV+ show has done a remarkable job of making us...

4 comments

Mark Caro

Oct 8, 20211 min read

Your Friday Cage Match

"Rock and Roll" vs. "Rock & Roll" vs. "Rock 'n' Roll." Discuss.

1 comment

Mark Caro

Oct 7, 20213 min read

Bruce Thomas: The Caropop interview

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge Beatles fan, but I went nuts for them in retrospect, imagining what it would have been like to hear,...

1 comment

Why most prequels don't work, including 'Many Saints of Newark'

Mark Caro

Oct 6, 20214 min read

Why most prequels don't work, including 'Many Saints of Newark'

Years ago I was in a novel-writing workshop in which the professor counseled us to follow our characters to their natural destinations...

5 comments

Mark Caro

Oct 4, 20215 min read

Listen, Listen: Diving back into vinyl

My high-school age daughter enjoys asking me, “What did you like to do when you were my age?” “I’d go in my room and listen to records,”...

3 comments

At long last: R. Kelly officially guilty

Mark Caro

Sep 28, 20214 min read

At long last: R. Kelly officially guilty

“Chicago singer and songwriter R. Kelly used his position of fame and influence as a pop superstar to meet girls as young as 15 and have...

0 comments

Mark Caro

Sep 27, 20212 min read

Can Jennifer be a ‘Natural’ Aretha?

Casting Hudson as Franklin is a no-brainer, but can she make you think she’s Aretha Franklin while reminding you that she’s Jennifer Hudson?

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