Roundup Music At the risk of jumping the gun, I low-key think 2026 is shaping up to be a great year in music. After a slow start, we've suddenly already had good to brilliant albums from Baby Nova, Ratboy, Jill Scott, Charli xcx, Mumford and Sons, and Claire Rozencranz. Then last week saw the triumphant … Continue reading Culture Roundup (March 7, 2026): Trusting the Reader… or not
Roundup Music After a slow start, the past couple of weeks have been busy and buzzy with new album releases. Last week featured the Charli xcx's soundtrack to the highly controversial Wuthering Heights film adaptation and a hotly anticipated new release from '00s RnB star Jill Scott, To Whom This May Concern. Both are likely … Continue reading Culture Roundup (February 21, 2026)
Overall the start of my pop cultural year has felt a big sluggish. So I'll reflect on that a bit during the deep dive section today. But first, the roundup. Roundup Music The past couple of weeks have been slow again for new album releases, with the only standout for me being indie group Ratboy's Singin' … Continue reading Culture Roundup (February 7, 2026): On Diminishing Returns
You may have guessed from the lists of books I mention here every other week that I'm a quick reader. But it's also true that I have a strong preference to shorter fiction, which plumps up the numbers of books read. But much of the past two weeks since I last popped in here were … Continue reading Culture Roundup (January 24, 2026): On Big Books
The new year is well under way now (and, judging from the news cycle, it's going to be a doozy - Lord have mercy!). I thought it would be fun to think of some resolutions, some things I hope to either continue or change from how I engage with pop culture. So, after my usual … Continue reading Culture Roundup (January 10, 2026): Pop Culture Resolutions
Matthew Root 