Urge Overkill – Exit The Dragon LP – “Jaywalkin'” A deeper look into the grooves on the Porterhouse 2LP reissue of Exit Th Dragon by Urge Overkill. After the breakthrough that Urge Overkill’s 1993 album, Saturation, turned out to be , cheif songwriters Nash Kato and Ed Roesser found themselves in the unenviable position of trying to...

It’s funny to think that, at one point, you were either a Damned or a Clash “guy.” According to Captain Sensible they hated each other. I guess the punk scene in the UK was pretty competitive back in the day. Whatever the case may be, the Damned can rightfully claim to have had the first punk rock release in the UK with Neat Neat Neat and New Rose. My good friend, who I was in a band with and knew/knows...

We all wrote off Ben Weasel, right? After what happened at SXSW 15 years ago, we thought it was all over for him. His band quit on him, he put out a statement actually TAKING the blame for something he did, and all the punk rockers started disassociating with him, including his label. After all this time, I still don’t know how to process it. It’s a low point for everyone involved for sure, and it’s something Ben Weasel has...

The Land and Its Peopleby David Sedaris I kind of forgot about David Sedaris. I don’t know why. He didn’t go anywhere. If anything, he’s a road dog, he’s constantly touring and putting out books. I’ll always think fondly of David Sedaris as a fun, relaxing read in the Summer while enjoying a cold Sam Adams. Sedaris hasn’t put out a book of new essays in a while. Last time I was reading him, I was in a completely different...

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Where does one even START with Public Image Ltd and John Lydon. Is he divisive? Absolutely. Is he talented? Arguably, yes. Did he revolutionize music? In some people’s minds, including his own, this is probably true. I’ve always wrestled with Lydon’s music and personality post-Sex Pistols. I love the Sex Pistols. Probably more than I should, but Public Image Ltd has been a band I’ve wrestled with. Post-Sex Pistols, it seems like John Lydon has been the only one who’s...

Butthole Surfers – Electriclarryland 2LP – “Thermador” A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Butthole Surfers’ Electriclarryland 2LP. Only in the Butthole Surfers’ world could the band’s greatest commercial success also mark the beginning of their collapse. By the time they began making their seventh album, the Surfers were finally beginning to see some of the increased interest that they had worked so hard to generate; they had already made an album with a member of Led Zeppelin producing...

Eraser I’ve always been an Arnold guy. I don’t know why that is. Between him, Sly, and JCVD, he always came first. I loved the idea of the foreigner hero, which is why Arnold and JCVD always beat out Sly in my book. I love Sly (Rocky! Demolition Man! Judge Dredd!), but if he spoke with an accent, I think I’d be more endeared to him. And even though JCVD was pretty pretttyyyy foreign, he didn’t have the kind...

WHO: Beck WHAT: Ride Lonesome WHY: Because after that terrible misstep with Ferrell on Hyperspace, whatever the hell that was, Beck decided to go back to basics and do an acoustic album a-la Sea Change/Morning Phase and it’s glorious. Ride Lonesome is deep, emotional, rich, uplifting, and has one of the best songs of Beck’s career in If You Don’t Know What Love Is. He’s done it AGAIN. Listen to it on a mainstream stream service because he’s too cool...

I Hear a New Worldby Alan Moore I love Alan Moore. I love him so much that I still think about his comic books and “book” books on a regular basis. I even love interviews of him talking about his books or society in general. So, I wanted to love I Hear a New World. At the very least I wanted to like it. But, that was hard for me to do. I didn’t exactly love The Great When and...