#popculture84: Whose House? Run-DMC Debuts, Straight Outta Hollis

The good news is that there is a crew. Not five, not four, not three, just two.

by Rich Watson 

Rap music began in the late seventies but took off in the mainstream during the eighties, through the black neighborhoods of New York.

One of its biggest success stories was Run-DMC, who debuted in 1984–a group from a part of Queens which spawned a number of stars.

#popculture27: “Sunrise” and the Rise of German Expressionism in Film

This Hollywood silent film was the product of a unique cinematic movement in Germany.

by Rich Watson 

The early decades of film saw it developed in different ways in different countries. 

In post-World War One Germany, the unusual style developed there led to an influential movement. It led to some of the medium’s greatest early films, such as the 1927 drama Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans.

#popculture27: The Gershwins Make the Musical “Funny Face,” Starring Fred & Adele Astaire

The songwriting brothers—and the dancing siblings—teamed up for a Broadway production, with songs that endured in future shows.

by Rich Watson 

The story of modern American musical theater would be incomplete without George & Ira Gershwin. Their heyday was the twenties, but their influence endured for longer.

One of their hit musicals is little remembered today but it inspired future ones: the 1927 show Funny Face.