If there’s anything we anticipate from a Terry McCarthy album, it’s his warm strumming guitar, sharply observed lyrical details, and mildly groan-worthy titles indicating which number record this is for him: Wait, a Second!; The Charm; Go Fourth. But with his latest release, the Nutley, New Jersey-based singer/songwriter brings it all back Home. Indeed, if there’s an overarching theme to this collection, it’s that despite life’s ups and downs, there’s a hard-won comfort at home and in love.
That bright acoustic strumming matches the bright lyrics of devotion in the opening track, “A Thousand Mornings.” McCarthy’s sturdy vocals are framed by gentle piano from Bob Cannon and violin from Nicole Scorsone. Cannon also contributes a tasteful electric guitar solo. The next track, “Perfectly,” sounds like the hit single to me. It features dreamy backing vocals from Bernadette Malavarca and Catherine McGowan of Bern & the Brights. Meanwhile, throughout the record, the rhythm section of Gerry Griffin of the Porchistas on bass (he also produced the album at his Temple of Tuneage studio) and drums and percussion from Mike Shapiro and Tom Monaghan keeps things anchored.
No apology necessary for “Most Sorry” — the song was recently featured on WFUV’s New York Slice segment. It’s a jaunty tune led by Charlie Potters’ accordion, and Cannon lends a twangy guitar solo. Cannon then switches to piano for the intro to “Our Scene” in which our narrator confronts a past love, borrowing that “all the world’s a stage” simile from some old British guy. There’s some bitterness in McCarthy’s lyrics here, yet the chorus is like a gentle flashback, further cushioned by harmonies from Malavarca and McGowan.
The title track is a simple ode to the joys of home, from fresh-cut flowers to cooking smells. Ah, but there’s a touch of mystery: “They took me so far away from all of you.” Yet that robust strumming tells us everything’s OK now. Next, in “The Moment,” strum, violin, and shukka-shukka percussion set us up calmly, McCarthy repeating the refrain “And the moment was as pretty as the girl,” before we get the musical payoff: big horns from local faves the Defending Champions.
Now, I do have one criticism about this batch of tunes. I was really looking forward to a song called “Jangly Guitar.” The jangle pop of the ’80s has a very, very special place in my heart. So I press Play on track 7 and McCarthy’s playing that acoustic and I’m waiting and waiting but… no jangly guitar! Where’s my ringing Rickenbacker?? Bah strumbug!
All gripes forgiven and forgotten as the final song arrives, “Too Precious.” It slowly builds to something truly majestic, layering on violin, a Beatlesque section, and sunshiny horns courtesy of those Defending Champs. With only 8 songs in about 23 total minutes, Home may qualify as a mini-album, but that just means there’s no waste — no bloated solos or purple poetry. Terry McCarthy has crafted a concise collection of quality, intelligent folk/rock/pop material. He gives us a smile, a wistful thought, a tapping toe, and before you know it he’s gone. We didn’t even get a chance to thank him!
The Who — “Summertime Blues” [ALTERNATE THEME] Teenage Halloween — “Summer Money” The Speedways — “Just Another Regular Summer” Castle Black — “Premonition” Isley Brothers — “Summer Breeze” Special Moves — “Our Summer” Disturbios — “Summer Loves” Lana Del Rey — “Summer Sadness” Sylvan Esso — “Ferris Wheel” First Responder — “Dog Days” Fascinations Grand Chorus — “On a Summer Holiday” The Last — “Every Summer Day” [7″ version] Kicker — “One Summer” The Planes — “Kill the Summer” Scott the Hoople — “Calling All Summers”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME] Elvis Presley — “Don’t” Talulah Gosh — “Don’t Go Away” The Beths — “Don’t Go Away” The Minders — “Don’t You Stop” The Cars — “Don’t Cha Stop” Peter Holsapple — “Don’t Ever Leave” Jennifer O’Connor — “Don’t Talk to Me” Dennis Diken with Bell Sound — “Don’t Let Me Sleep Too Long” Freedy Johnston — “Don’t Fall in Love With a Lonely Girl” Hüsker Dü — “Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely” Public Enemy — “Don’t Believe the Hype” Petey & Friends — “Don’t You Like Rock n’ Roll (Memphis Trainwreck)” Tammy Faye Starlite and the Angels of Mercy — “Don’t Make Me Pregnant” Warren Zevon — “Don’t Let Us Get Sick”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
At some point in the past few years, I watched The Conjuring on HBO, and liked it well enough that I soon watched The Conjuring 2. I was suitably amused/creeped out by these based-on-actual-bullshit tales of real-life spook searchers Ed and Lorraine Warren (of Amityville Horror fame), plus I’m a fan of both Patrick Wilson and Vera “Norma Bates” Farmiga. I decided if they made another Conjuring flick, I’d see it in the theater. So, I can’t really say the devil made me do it.
In the pandemic meantime, I watched Conjuring Universe films Annabelle Comes Home (3 stars) and Annabelle: Creation (2 stars). If you’re not familiar with the concept of “universe” series, they’re the kind of offshoot movies where Wilson and Farmiga lean into frame in the 83rd minute and ask, “Oh hey, we were away for the weekend. Everything OK with you guys?”
And now it was time to return to the Conjuring mothership. I actually tried to see this on opening day, last Friday. But two things told me we are getting that much closer to normal: The multiplex had a full slate of daily screenings (instead of just 2 or 3 showings at night) and, annoyingly, the next two showings were sold out! I came back on $7 Tuesday.
Early on, there’s a blatant visual nod to The Exorcist (#re2pect) and the initial “Out, cursed demon!” sequence involving an 8-year-old boy is genuinely thrilling and scary. But uh-oh, the evil spirit jumps into the kid’s older sister’s boyfriend Arne (got that?). As we delve deeper into the unexplained, we also wonder why Arne’s 1981 haircut looks significantly more modern. Ooooh that’s scary stuff, kids!
Speaking of appearances: OK, fine, the Warrens were real people. But if there was one element in this entire series where filmmakers insisted on strictly adhering to the The Truth, did it have to be Lorraine’s godawful sense of style? The lovely, sexy Farmiga is saddled with ghastly frilly tops and an absurd 1940s school-marm hairdo. Not a good look, my friends!
No spoilers but Arne does a bad, bad thing and the Warrens set out to prove that… the devil made him do it. But here’s the rub: Placed against the backdrop of the legal system, this Conjuring mumbo-jumbo really starts to seem terribly silly. It doesn’t help that the script, um, demonizes Satan worshippers; it felt like ’80s fuddy-duddies blaming Judas Priest and Ozzy for dirtweed teens acting out.
We do get a pretty exciting drawn-out climax. And, it’s nice to see our old pals from the Conjuring Universe: Same actors return as the weary priest, the videographer, and the Warren daughter (who only gets a couple of lines). The Conjuring 3 is a decent enough entry in the series. And I will admit to coming home and loading up Universe title The Nun on my on-demand. Taissa Farmiga is in it. I do love me some Farmigas.
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME] ATV — “Action Time Vision” Le Tigre — “TKO” Ming Tea — “BBC” Naughty by Nature — “O.P.P.” ABBA — “S.O.S.” Edwin Starr — “Stop Her on Sight (S.O.S.)” Jay Reatard — “DOA” Jay-Z — “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)” They Might Be Giants — “P.S.O.K.” Sweet — “A.C.D.C.” Robyn Hitchcock — “NASA Clapping” Village People — “YMCA” Guided by Voices — “Teenage FBI” The Beatles — “P.S. I Love You” The Four Deuces — “W-P-L-J”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Have you been back to the movies? Talk about a quiet place! As we crawl back to some semblance of normalcy, I noticed this was the first flick since before-times to have multiple afternoon showings. Like, a regular schedule! However, we’re quickly reminded that things have been a little “off” when a pre-movie video has John Krasinski earnestly thanking us for coming to the theater. Desperate much, Hollywood?
Still, I was excited to see this, as the original film was my No. 6 best movie of 2018. It was SCARY with a capital S and the other letters too, but a smart kind of scary. One nice thing about that film is that it started right in the middle of the action and we were all “w-w-wait why do they all hafta be quiet? What the hell is happening here?” Almost to reward us — and also to give Krasinski some screen time — the sequel begins in flashback to Day 1. It’s a genuinely thrilling sequence that also serves to introduce us to the family’s neighbor, Cillian Murphy, who is looking more and more like Grant Goodeve.
And then we’re back at Day 400-and-something, and Emily Blunt and the two kids, wait three because of THE BABY (shhhh!!! stop crying!!!!! they’ll hear us!!!) pack up the wrecked homestead and head to a flame in the distance which turns out to be Cillian’s survival compound. The cast is pretty solid: Blunt remains the dedicated, frantic-but-trying-to-hold-it-together mom who would literally do anything for her kids. Young Millicent Simmonds continues to ooze soulfulness; I truly hope there are more quality roles ahead for this terrific deaf actress. Young Noah Jupe basically cries and looks shocked the whole time, but he looks like a young Krasinski so points for that. And Cillian pulls off a solid American accent and is believable as a weary dad whose world has crumbled.
So, the pieces are in (a quiet) place, but, like oh so many sequels, it just ain’t as good as the first one. There is tension and scares but maybe not as many? I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of Part I and that was unfortunately not the case here. Blame must fall squarely on Mr. Krasinski. He directed both movies, and the moviemaking is fine — we’re clearly in the same world as we were before. But while the first film was written by three people, this time Kras went it alone. Jim Halpert’s TV background betrays itself with a sitcommy plot outline: Millicent and Cillian head out for one story and Blunt and Jupe stay behind for another. And Jupe’s character arc is too simplistic: Will this really nervous kid maybe stop being so nervous?
All that said, it’s an entertaining movie that will occasionally make you say AHHHH! and if you loved A Quiet Place, you might as well see part II. I mean, what are you gonna do, stay at home another 15 months?
The Who — “Magic Bus” [ALTERNATE THEME] John Cozz & the Rippers — “Greyhound” Simon & Garfunkel — “America” Skeeter Davis — “Bus Fare to Kentucky” The Replacements — “Kiss Me on the Bus” The Hollies — “Bus Stop” Fastbacks — “Bus Stop” Cinema Red and Blue — “Ballad of a Bus Stop” ZZ Top — “Waitin’ for the Bus” Vehicle Flips — “Bus Pass” Cayetana — “Bus Ticket” The Minders — “Red Bus” The Smittens — “First Bus” Karl Hendricks Trio — “The Last Bus”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME] Big Dipper — “He Is God” James Mastro — “My God” The Magnetic Fields — “God Wants Us To Wait” The William Loveday Intention — “God’s Reason Why” XTC — “Dear God” New Order — “Touched by the Hand of God” Super Furry Animals — “God! Show Me Magic” Television Personalities — “God Snaps His Fingers” The Original Sins — “Little Piece of God” Daniel Johnston — “God” Guided by Voices — “God Loves Us” Crowded House — “There Goes God” Mrs. Magician — “There Is No God” O.V. Wright — “I’m Going Home (To Live With God)”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
The Who — “Happy Jack” [acoustic; ALTERNATE THEME] Cyndi Lauper — “Money Changes Everything” Little Richard — “Money” Slim Harpo — “I Need Money (Keep Your Alibis)” The Poor Boys — “(I’m) Gonna Spend My Money” The Psychedelic Furs — “All That Money Wants” The Magnetic Fields — “’94: Haven’t Got a Penny” Reverend Horton Heat — “400 Bucks” Johnny Ace — “No Money” Ray Charles — “Busted” The Kinks — “The Moneygoround” The Lovin’ Spoonful — “Money” Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift — “Follow Your Money” Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin — “Stuff They Call Money” Woody Guthrie — “Do-Re-Mi” Willie Nile — “Best Friends Money Can Buy”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Jack Silbert, curator