WHO: Superchunk WHAT: Wild Loneliness WHY: Not even COVID will stop these guys. Recorded in lead singer and songwriter Mac McCaughan’s house and mixed to perfection, Wild Loneliness is Superchunk’s 12th album and is remarkable in the sense that it proves this band still has something to say. Although a bit less rocking than its predecessor, these tracks are poignant, masterfully arranged, and have added depth that comes from one of the best lyricists of our generation. Wild Loneliness is...
Don’t Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Lifeby Seth Stephens-Davidowitz I read mostly non-fiction because I consume so much fiction already (whether it’s TV or movies) that it’s my only avenue for learning. And self-help books don’t count, because let’s face it, they’re all a complete waste of time. Most of the time, they just tell us what we already know or what we want to hear. However, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz has taken it upon...
Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythmby Dan Charnas It’s about time someone wrote a book on J Dilla. A legendary producer who I only recently became aware of, his music is intriguing and sounds vaguely familiar, and as it turns out, it’s because of certain unique element that have since become a norm of sorts in modern hip hop. J Dilla seems both a God and an underappreciated element in the...
Pearl JamNo Codephoto: turntablelab.com Few albums were as impactful in my formative years as Pearl Jam’s No Code. I was just getting into music and had very little for a starting off point. It was Rage Against the Machine’s Evil Empire, Bush’s Razorblade Suitcase, and Pearl Jam’s No Code. I saw music, and particularly rock music, as a vehicle to coolness. Rock music was edgy and if you liked the right bands it made you cool. Unfortunately, for me No...
DuneOriginal Motion Picture Soundtrackby Hans Zimmer Can you believe they made a Dune movie AGAIN? And that it turned out THIS good? Jodowosky’s Dune opened my world to the mythos surrounding the book and to Jodorowksy himself. My cultural world was changed after watching that documentary, so of course, after seeing David Lynch’s movie, the idea of a new Dune movie is a loaded proposition to me. What was a good sign was that Denis Villeneuve would be directing. The...
Edge of Tomorrow It might be time for us to rehabilitate Tom Cruise. He’s long reigned supreme as America’s favorite weirdo actor celebrity, and it’s his own fault. Who could forget that appearance on Oprah years ago when we all realized just how strange of a bubble the man lives in. That just opened up a pandora’s box of oddness that directly relates to the shady organizations the man associates himself with. We’re a small-time website here, so we’re...
The ClashCombat Rock + The People’s Hall40th Anniversary Edition Let’s add something more what has already been said about a 40 year old album by one of the most important bands in history. If you’re a punk, you’re already familiar with the Clash’s Combat Rock. If you’ve never heard the Clash and are curious to get into them, and want to understand them in true “album form,” Combat Rock offers the perfect starting point. It’s an incredibly ambitious album that...