“Donna Summer would be remembered as a ground-breaking artist today even if she'd retired the day after she recorded 'I Feel Love' in 1977.” IfsFeelsWould BeTodayArtistSummerRememberedRetired Author:Rob Sheffield
“Julia Louis-Dreyfus is just perfect in 'Veep.' She gets to show off the spiky claws beneath her patrician finesse. The obvious way to play 'Veep' would be to make Louis-Dreyfus a folksy heroine, one with more common sense or populist heart than her enemies. But she isn't one.” WayHeartPlayShowsWould BePerfectCommonEnemyObviousCommon SenseShowing OffHeroinesClawsJuliaPopulistFinesseSheffield Author:Rob Sheffield
“Like many other touchstones of twenty-first-century pop culture, 'The Sopranos' was hatched in the late Nineties, predicting a future that never arrived. It was designed for a decade that would be just like the Nineties, except more so, in an America that enjoyed seeing itself as smarter and braver and freer than ever before.” FirstsWould BeAmericaCultureSeeingCenturyLateTwentiesPopsDecadesEnjoyedSmarterPop CulturePredictingTouchstonesSopranos Author:Rob Sheffield
“You'd think if anyone could charm America into caring about the evening news, it would be Katie Couric, the Tri Delt from Virginia who became America's sweetheart on the 'Today' show. But her ratings have been dismal - she comes in last place every week.” IfsThinkingHas BeensShowsWould BeTodayLastsAmericaWeekNewsCaringEveningCharmVirginiaRatingSweetheartKatieLast Place Author:Rob Sheffield
“The way I pictured it, all this grief would be like a winter night when you're standing outside. You'll warm up once you get used to the cold. Except after you've been out there for awhile, you feel the warmth draining out of you and you realize the opposite is happening; you're getting colder and colder, as the body heat you brought outside with you seeps out of your skin. Instead of getting used to it, you get weaker the longer you endure it.” WayFeelsBodyWould BeUsedNightRealizingGriefColdHappeningsStandingSkinsOppositesEndureWinterWarmHeatWarmthDrainingWinter NightBody Heat Author:Rob Sheffield
“If all music did was bring the past alive, that would be fine. You can hide away in music and let it recapture memories of things that used to be. But music is greedy and it wants more of your heart than that. It demands the future, your future. Music wants the rest of your life. So you can't rest easy. At any moment, a song can come out of nowhere to shake you up, jump-start your emotions, ruin your life.” IfsWantHeartMomentsWould BePastUsedSongEasyMemoriesEmotionAliveFineDemandMusic IsUsed To BeRuinsShakesOur FutureGreedyYour FutureRest Of Your LifeRest Easy Author:Rob Sheffield
