A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Modern Pressure LP by Daniel Romano. If we can all agree that the key to having an enduring career in music lies in an artist’s ability to always have listeners guessing excitedly at what they might have in store next from album to album, there’s no chance that interest in Daniel Romano’s music will wane anytime soon. Since the singer first appeared fronting a hardcore band in 2005, Romano has leapt...

The Red Turtle The Red Turtle comes at a very interesting time. Its calm and subtle style is in stark contrast to the current movie climate of jump cuts, fast-paced-action, and obvious plot lines. Even more, this obviously “western” project (Dutch director and European team) is produced by Studio Ghibli. So who is this movie for? Marketed by an anime studio, yet westernized in its look, mythical and ethereal in its tone? I think it’s important to have the right...

Pulley No Change in the Weather   Pulley will always have a special place in my heart. As a doe-eyed teenager, committed to punk rock and soaking up music like a sponge, I remember going to the local CD Warehouse and looking through the CD racks trying to find the perfect two punk rock CDs I was going to buy with my hard earned money (that I had to beg my dad for). Back then we were going for quantity...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Visuals LP by Mew. Without intending to come off as terribly cynical, it’s rare to be genuinely and truly surprised by by some new music recorded in this current age of formula and digital sameness now present in every quadrant of popular music. Often, it seems as though artists set the tone for what they plan to do on a new release within seconds of its beginning, and the success or...

Serial Mom Collector’s Edition John Waters is a man I’ve never quite been able to figure out. He’s all over pop culture; appearing in everything from the Simpsons to a political guest on Bill Maher. The man is eccentric both in style and opinions and definitely leaves a mark on everything he does. But I think it would be fair to describe John Waters first and foremost as a writer and director. I’ve always heard of the strangeness of Pink...

Judas Priest Turbo 30 (Legacy/Columbia/Sony Music) Skim through the catalogues of any number of rock bands who have enjoyed a lot of popularity and, invariably, it’s easy to find the fly in the creative ointment that fans abhor; that album was Into The Unknown for Bad Religion, it was Unmasked for KISS and Metallica has yet to live down Load. Maybe it just wasn’t the right time for those albums or maybe they were just weak and generally ill-advised...

A Load of Hooey by Bob Odenkirk Let me start this review, just like Bob Odenkirk starts his reviews in this book, by saying that I am a huge Bob Odenkirk fan. So of course someone like me is going to be absolutely ecstatic at the idea of Bob Odenkirk writing a book. Even more so one that it;s being put out by the fine folks at McSweeney’s. And lo and behold, I was quite pleased with the content of...

Deciding What’s True: The Rise of Political Fact-Checking in American Journalism by Lucas Graves, I can’t think of a time when we’ve been more aware of the facts we’ve been consuming. Of course that has a lot to do with our political climate, claims of what’s true and what’s fake news and what responsibility we have as news consumers to look at our diet more critically. Whatever your political leanings, we can all argue that we’d all prefer to read...

The Autopsy of Jane Doe   They say we live in a new golden age of television, and I think that might be true. But the same is the case for movies. Mostly because writers and directors have more freedom and, for once, independent TV and movies are being given the recognition they deserve. And nothing stands out from Hollywood schlock like a fresh story.   The Autopsy of Jane Doe has to be one of the best movies I’ve...

ROBERT JOHNSON The Centennial Collection – The Complete Recordings Vinyl 3LP (Record Store Day) Photo: Turntablelab.com   What do you expect from a legendary bluesman who reportedly sold his soul to the devil? Who knows if it’s true (who are we kidding — probably not), but Robert Johnson’s impact on music and pop culture can be felt to this day. Although some feel his music had little impact on black music, one can’t imagine bands like the Rolling Stones, Bob...