Music N' Other Drugs

Whenever I assemble a list such as this, I always stress the distinction between “best” and “favorite” due to the social media matrix’s unquenchable thirst for negativity. Theoretically, everyone welcomes free speech and differences of opinion, but I’ve been doing this dreadful writing thing long enough to know that members of the hive are just like the teenage vampires in Joel Schumacher’s “The Lost Boys” in that they never grow old, they never die, and they must feed on everyone with whom they disagree.

Not even a topic as innocuous as one’s taste in popular culture is immune to the vitriol that modern day discourse is made of, because we’ve reached a point where no criticism is good criticism. People want their opinions reinforced and rarely feel compelled to converse with anyone on the opposite side unless they can control the narrative.

Say what you will about Charlie Kirk, but at least he was willing to engage with those who considered every word that came out of his mouth to be an affront to common decency. He actually thrived on the challenge, which is a quality sorely lacking in his counterparts on the Left.

I recently watched “The Long Walk,” the latest adaptation of a Stephen King novel to hit the big screen, and there’s a moment where the main character laments the possibility that the execution of his fellow walkers will get easier to stomach the longer the walk goes on. That’s where we’re at as a culture in 2025. Rather than acknowledge our shared humanity, the initial reaction of both the Left and the Right following a tragedy is to hope that the culprit is on the other side so that they can continue to demonize their perceived enemy.

Is that really the message we want to send to the next generation?

To riff on what Marisa Tomei asks Joe Pesci in “My Cousin Vinny,” if a fuckin’ bullet rips off part of your head, would you give a fuck what kind of politics the son of a bitch who shot you subscribed to?

I would like to think not, but that’s why I really have no use for either side as they’re currently constructed.

One of my goals with Music N’ Other Drugs from Day One has been to remain honest and authentic while offering musicians from all walks of life the chance to have a conversation. That’s why you’ve seen interviews with Ted Nugent, Kinky Friedman, and Mark Farner, as well as Chuck D, Eilen Jewell, and Sophie B. Hawkins. They all had something important to add and I wasn’t about to deny my readers the opportunity to hear them out.

There’s no doubt in my mind that my audience would be bigger if I went to the extreme in either direction, but I just can’t do it.

Because of the hypocrisy and animosity seething from all sides, I wanted to lighten the mood by taking a look at 1995, a year that saw a new James Bond, a shocking-to-this-day depiction of teenagers in New York City, and the first film generated entirely using CGI.

What I remember most about that year at the movies is seeing “Jumanji” twice, convincing my dad to stop at the mall to get me a “Batman Forever” t-shirt on the way to see the film on opening day, and having to leave “Casper” at the drive-in early due to rain. I didn’t get to experience “Apollo 13” during its initial run, but I did play the film’s official pinball machine on more than one occasion and that ought to count for something.

As I said, my list is a combination of films that are considered the finest of the year and others that I love despite what the establishment thinks about them.

“Se7en” – Directed by David Fincher

“Casino” – Directed by Martin Scorsese

“Higher Learning” – Directed by John Singleton

“Heat” – Directed by Michael Mann

“Crimson Tide” – Directed by Tony Scott

“The Usual Suspects” – Directed by Bryan Singer

“Mr. Holland’s Opus” – Directed by Stephen Herek

“Dolores Claiborne” – Directed by Taylor Hackford

“Copycat” – Directed by Jon Amiel

“A Goofy Movie” – Directed by Kevin Lima

Honorable Mentions – “The Quick and the Dead,” “Batman Forever,” “Toy Story,” “Braveheart,” and “Empire Records”

Cooper’s List

“The Indian in the Cupboard” – Directed by Frank Oz

“A Goofy Movie” – Directed by Kevin Lima

“Toy Story” – Directed by John Lasseter

“Jumanji” – Directed by Joe Johnston

“Casper” – Directed by Brad Silberling

“Batman Forever” – Directed by Joel Schumacher

“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie” – Directed by Brian Spicer

“Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls” – Directed by Steve Odekerk

“Pocahontas” – Directed by Eric Goldberg and Mike Gabriel

“Heavyweights” – Directed by Steven Brill