Pop Culture Roundup

I'm between books at the moment, but I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of my pre-ordered copy of Three and Out by John U. Bacon. Bacon was given unfettered access to the Michigan Wolverines football program during Rich Rodriguez's entire stint as head coach, and this is his account of that experience. Apparently nobody comes out looking very well as he details the fractures that took place before and during Rodriguez's tenure that helped contribute to the absolute crappiness of the last three seasons. Part of me is not thrilled about reliving those years, but this is a must-read not just for Michigan fans but for anyone curious about the day-to-day happenings in any major college football program.

We watched Tangled this week, Disney's version of the story of Rapunzel. I didn't know much about the story beyond the "I have long hair, climb up" bit. Rapunzel, voiced by Mandy Moore, is indeed trapped in a tower, but she isn't really aware that she's trapped: her mother (who actually kidnapped her when she was little) forbids her from leaving, saying that the outside world is too dangerous and she wants her to be safe. See, Rapunzel's hair is magical so long as it isn't cut: it has Fountain of Youth-type powers that Evil Stepmom likes taking advantage of. This is all well and good until a thief hiding from the palace guard climbs up and helps her out. It's a good animated film, with lots of goofy humor and, of course, singing including a fun song in a tough guy bar.

A friend of mine sent me a copy of Arcade Fire's The Suburbs, which won "Album of the Year" at this year's Grammys. I haven't had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet, but I've really enjoyed what I've heard so far, perhaps especially "Ready to Go:"



And here are two guys doing awesome things with drums: