Jason Buel is a student of film and popular culture. He edits poetry submissions for The Peel literary magazine and teaches classes in video production and film studies.
Features
Sunday, May 31 2009
Something Wrong with the Machinery: Prince's Pop Paradox
When Jason Buel was in a rock-band called the Royals, he played some shows to metalheads and was met with indifference. When the band broke out a cover of "Computer Blue", however, everyone noticed. Here, Buel takes us on a journey into what precisely made Prince a figure that could transcend genres so easily, and why his songs are just so ripe for covering.
Reviews
Thursday, August 20 2009
I'm Not Hanging Noodles on Your Ears by Jag Bhalla
From the Russian translation “forehead to forehead”, meaning the same as “face to face” in English, to the utterly bizarre French phrase “to fart in silk” is an idiom for “to be very happy”.
Monday, July 20 2009
The Collected Doug Wright
Wright’s work is exceptional and it holds a special, though occasionally contentious place in Canadian popular culture.
Monday, June 15 2009
And Then There's This by Bill Wasik
Wasik examines nanostories and how they are spread through the viral culture of the Internet. This may be one of the most important works of non-fiction on the digital age.
Thursday, June 11 2009
The Other Half of the Sky by Lili Almog
This intriguing work of photographic portraiture divides China's ethnic minorities into categories defined by their environmental surroundings: “Mountain”, “Backyard”, “Factory”, “Lake”, “Street”, and “Land”.
Tuesday, May 26 2009
Johnny Cash and the Paradox of American Identity by Leigh H. Edwards
Even though he toured with Reverend Billy Graham and frequented Baptist churches, Cash also denounced organized religion and was anti-denominationalist.
