Primer

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  Primer A beginner’s guide to the music of The Cure

  Explore The Cure’s body of work, from late-blooming goth-rockers to epic stadium-fillers.

  April 18, 2013 | 12:00am -

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  Primer A beginner’s guide to comedy legend Harold Ramis

  Explore the career of Harold Ramis, master of the slobs-vs.-snobs comedy.

  March 21, 2013 | 12:00am -

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  Primer A beginner’s guide to the music of Kanye West

  Where to start when exploring the career of hip-hop’s king of the world.

  January 3, 2013 | 12:00am -

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  Primer A guide to the James Bond films

  An introduction to five decades’ worth of Bond movies. 

  November 8, 2012 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer A beginner’s guide to the Spike Lee Joints

  Exploring the filmmaker’s diverse, unfailingly personal, body of work.

  November 1, 2012 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer A guide to the Universal Studios monster movies, 1923-1955

  A series of horror movies established how monsters would look, sound, and behave for decades to come.

  October 25, 2012 | 11:00am -

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  Primer A beginners’ guide to the heyday of power-pop, 1972-1986

  Power-pop was a hooky, hard-edged backlash against rock’s ponderousness.

  October 11, 2012 | 11:00am -

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  Primer A guide to the music of Joni Mitchell 

  Exploring the artist who created the female confessional singer-songwriter archetype. 

  August 30, 2012 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer A guide to the music of Motown 

  "A guide to the Detroit label that soundtracked the '60s and beyond."

  August 16, 2012 | 11:00am -

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  Primer A guide to the fantastical work of Joe Dante 

  Navigating the career of a filmmaker who merges fantasy, horror, and humor. 

  July 26, 2012 | 11:00am -

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  Primer A guide to the best (and a bit of the worst) of prog rock

  Exploring the misunderstood world of a rich rock sub-genre. 

  June 7, 2012 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer A guide to Bob Dylan, from the ’60s to now 

  Need some help navigating 50 years of a folk master? This detailed guide covers his highlights and lowlights. 

  May 31, 2012 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer A guide to Japan’s Studio Ghibli, home of Totoro and Spirited Away 

  A discussion of the themes and films of the studio behind many beautiful, challenging animated films. 

  May 17, 2012 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer A guide to the freewheeling films of Richard Linklater 

  Amble the freewheeling path of one of America’s most eclectic directors. 

  April 26, 2012 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer Robert Bresson

  A guide to one of film’s most forbidding, and rewarding, directors.

  February 9, 2012 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer Primer: Leonard Cohen

  Catching up with the exquisite melancholy of Canada’s premier singer/songwriter.

  February 2, 2012 | 12:00am -

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  Primer Francis Ford Coppola

  Untangling the career of one of America’s greatest directors, and one its most unpredictable.

  January 19, 2012 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer Autobiographical comics 

  A guide to the writers and artists who have laid their lives out on the page. 

  December 15, 2011 | 12:01pm -

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  Primer TV Christmas Specials

  A guide to Christmas specials, from the classic to the forgotten.

  December 8, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  Primer John Carpenter 

  Halloween and The Thing are just two highlights in the career of a suspense master.

  October 27, 2011 | 12:01pm -

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  Primer Newspaper Comics 

  What you need to know about newspaper comics past and present, from Alley Oop to Ziggy. 

  September 1, 2011 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer Elvis Presley

  How to get beyond the preconceptions and appreciate the brilliance of one of music’s most iconic figures.

  August 18, 2011 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer Robert Altman

  From documentaries to TV to filmed plays to ’70s classics to late-career masterpieces, Robert Altman did it all

  June 23, 2011 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer Albert Brooks

  Surveying the work of a wildly funny, extremely influential comedian, actor, filmmaker and, most recently, author.

  June 16, 2011 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer 1980s TV Dramas

  When television dramas got serious, and seriously good.

  April 28, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  Primer Walter Hill

  An overview of the director of The Warriors, 48 Hrs., and many more films, which he claimed were all Westerns.

  April 14, 2011 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer Brian De Palma

  A guide to watching director Brian De Palma’s movies about watching.

  March 10, 2011 | 12:30pm -

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  Primer MGM Musicals

  A guide to the essential moments, and key turning points, in the output of the studio whose name became synonymous with musicals.

  February 10, 2011 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer 1980s sitcoms

  The 1980s: When the sitcom died and then rose from its own ashes.

  January 13, 2011 | 12:00pm -

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  Primer Miles Davis

  Exploring the world of Miles Davis.

  December 9, 2010 | 12:00pm -