Reel & Read
Reviews of film, music, literature, and travel — plus reflections on teaching and creativity, by William Edward Villano.
recent posts
- Joshua Tree National Park Travel Review — Desert Landscapes, Rock Climbing, and Cactus Candy | by William Edward Villano
- If— by Rudyard Kipling: A Poem of Strength, Balance, and Moral Compass | by William Edward Villano
- Blackbird (2007) Album Review — Alter Bridge’s Soundtrack of Youth, Memory, and Loss | by William Edward Villano
- Saving Private Ryan (1998) Review — Sacrifice, Courage, and Spielberg’s War Masterpiece | by William Edward Villano
- Hidden Gems of Hawaiʻi’s Big Island — Green Sand Beach, Rainforest Paths, and the Hilo Farmers Market | by William Edward Villano
about
Category: Music Reviews
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When I think back on the last CD I ever owned, I think of Blackbird by Alter Bridge. I was around 14 or 15, and by then MP3 players had all but replaced CDs. Still, on my birthday, my mom handed me this album from a band I had never heard of. It ended up…
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Tool has been part of my musical landscape for as long as I can remember. My dad introduced me to them when I was younger, and their songs were a fixture on rock radio in the early 2000s. I also discovered them through video games — most memorably Guitar Hero: World Tour, where I spent…
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I first listened to Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city in 2020, on a bus ride to a cross country meet where I was coaching during the pandemic. I had enjoyed rap music before, but in that moment something shifted. This wasn’t just entertainment. This was poetry. From the opening tracks, it was clear Kendrick…
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I first listened to Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory around the same time I discovered Green Day’s American Idiot. Both albums came to me on CD, and I remember going back and forth between them, wearing down the discs with constant replay. If American Idiot gave me rebellion, Hybrid Theory gave me release. As an adolescent…
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In fifth grade my parents gave me a CD player, the kind that felt like a treasure chest of possibility. The very first album I slipped into it was American Idiot by Green Day. I can still picture myself sitting in the back of my grandmother’s minivan, my brothers beside me, as the opening chords…
Reel & Read 