Chris Sunami

“We All Try”: Philosophical Music

May 16, 2019May 16, 2019 Chris SunamiChristian Existential Humanism

Repost from 2015 Hip-hop singer Frank Ocean is well-known to march to the beat of a different drummer, and nowhere is that more apparent than in We All Try, a lovely and plaintive existential humanist[…]

The Dangerously Talented Miriam Makeba

January 17, 2019January 17, 2019 Chris SunamiMusic

Repost: Parisian audiences famously rioted at the premiere of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Although often cited as evidence that the audience simply didn’t understand what they were hearing, the opposite is arguably true –they recognized[…]

Is Our World a Computer Game?

December 27, 2018December 27, 2018 Chris SunamiGames

I’m glad to announce I’ve expanded the below post into an entire book-length series that will be premiering in January 2019 on Partially Examined Life. In the meantime, please enjoy this repost of the original.[…]

Top 10 Movies: #1 – Children of Men

July 19, 2018July 18, 2018 Chris SunamiBest

Repost: Just rewatched this amazing film recently, and what once felt like a warning from the near future now feels ripped from the headlines… Today, most people know director Alfonso Cuarón as the first Latino[…]

Alt Classical: The Innovators

June 21, 2018June 21, 2018 Chris Sunamialt-classical

Reposted from 2015 This week brings a new installment of my series on alt-classical music –music that combines the instrumentation, elegance and sophistication of classical music with the vitality of newer and more modern approaches[…]

Alt Classical: The Jazz Connection

January 18, 2018January 19, 2018 Chris Sunamialt-classical

Repost from 2014 A month or so ago, I explored the “cover songs” side of alt classical music, a genre that combines the pleasures of classical music with the vitality of more modern forms. This[…]

Alt Classical: Cover Tunes

September 14, 2017September 13, 2017 Chris Sunamialt-classical

Nothing Else Matters – Apocalyptica (Metallica) Repost from 2014 When I was a child, my parents listened almost exclusively to classical music –it was years before I realized their radio could tune in other stations! […]

Image by DesPop

Reconstructivist Art: Smooth Criminal

August 24, 2017August 23, 2017 Chris SunamiArt

In honor of Michael Jackson’s birthday this week, please enjoy this essay about his song, Smooth Criminal, considered as an exemplar of Reconstructivist Art. Michael Jackson’s hit single Smooth Criminal is an object lesson in[…]

Bingo board by Grant Snider

The Mysterious Disappearance of the Strangely Beautiful Woman

August 10, 2017August 10, 2017 Chris SunamiLiterature

Please enjoy this repost of an affectionate parody of one of my most favorite authors, Haruki Murakami I was in the bathtub, playing with my rubber duck, when the phone rang. It rang exactly five[…]

Mind the Rap

April 20, 2017April 20, 2017 Chris SunamiChristianity

Repost: Originally from July 17, 2014 The free Amazon music samplers are one of the great hidden treasures of the internet. There, buried deep on their digital downloads page is a link to literally hundreds[…]

The Pop Culture Philosopher

Books, Music, Movies and Philosophy (Updates Thursdays)

Author: Chris Sunami

The Dangerously Talented Miriam Makeba

Is Our World a Computer Game?

Alt Classical: The Innovators

Alt Classical: The Jazz Connection

Alt Classical: Cover Tunes

Reconstructivist Art: Smooth Criminal

The Mysterious Disappearance of the Strangely Beautiful Woman

Mind the Rap