What a year it’s been, and especially for music. The bounty has been so good that, even though we’re giving you our top 20 choices for music this year, our list could have easily extended into the top 30. But we don’t have the stamina for that. Also, these albums are all winners and even though they’re in order, this could have easily been different depending on our mood. Regardless, these are our recommendations for best music (and some movies...
Last Action HeroVHS-era Classic – Mill Creek Entertainment I remember Last Action Hero and I remember it well. Too well. I don’t know if it was actual commercial hype or the fact that there were multiple video games based on the movie. Whatever it was, I wanted in. I remember being blown away by it when I finally watched it, having never been exposed to this kind of self aware humor. I thought this was high art. But I never...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Guide Me Back Home 3LP by City and Colour. I must confess that most regularly, live albums don’t thrill me. City and Colour albums do not often thrill me either, for that matter (long story short, while I was a big fan of Alexisonfire back in the day, I found the first two City and Colour albums staggeringly overwrought); I don’t know that I’d call my distaste for the band absolute...
A History of Video Games in 64 Objectsby World Video Game Hall of Fame I used to be addicted to video games and totally immersed in the culture. I wasn’t much of a reader growing up, but when I did, it would be video game magazines. I would religiously collect issues of Electronic Gaming Monthly and all its offshoots, and my friends and I would trade issues, comparing reviews and features and get excited about what games we would spend...
Talib KweliRadio Silence In a way, Talib Kweli will never get his due, and that’s just fine. By that, I mean that he should be ten times more popular than he is right now. He’s got everything you’d want in good music: talent, execution, wit, intellect, and a message. But unfortunately, that’s not synonymous with mainstream rap. Nope. Mainstream rap is all about image, excess, money, and fame. Like MF Doom said, the reason he wears a mask is to...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into EP by Dad Brains. Now over forty years since it first appeared, it was inevitable that punk rock was probably going to take on something that resembled a fatherly voice, somehow. How could it not? With Green Day having made concept records already and both Fat Mike Burkett and Mike Watt having produced punk rock opera albums, punk and its pillars have already begun taking on “grown up projects” (or at least...
Weeeeellll it’s that time of year again. We know you come to us for the best in media consumption: music, live shows, movies, TV shows, and books. But, did you know we also have exquisite taste in consumer goods? Yes, we do! Like every year, we’re very glad to show you some of the coolest products this side of the Mississippi. Regular readers will notice some regulars here (we can’t get enough of them, which is why we keep coming...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Spencer Sings The Hits LP by Jon Spencer. That the fidelity, equalization and overall sound found on a vinyl recording is unmatched by any other musical mediumto date is a claim which has been proven several times over in many place by a great many people (including by several in this column, several times over too), and one of the great examples can be found on a vinyl copy of Spencer...
Dog Party Hit & Run Listening to Dog Party brought back some sweet memories from my college days. Days when I first starting getting into the Ramones. I had been exposed to punk rock in high school and it made a lasting impression but it was only in college that I started doing my homework and learning the basics. NOFX only takes you so far, after all. So, listening to the Ramones consisted of a pattern that’s all too familiar...
The Big Lebowski 20th Anniversary Limited Edition In my old age, there are but a few joys left in my life. My afternoon coffee is one. My time alone in the toilet is another. But another joy of mine is getting to talk to you about the Big Lebowski. The Big Lebowski is a movie that’s important because it transcends. It’s a movie that’s appreciated both by college jocks, to female bookworms, to college professors, to budding youths, to...