Jon Spencer should be worshipped. There, I said it. But I think he should be worshipped in 30 years, because right now the man is too busy being an underappreciated living legend. How great is he? Well, when Marc Maron interviewed Steve Albini he specifically singled out Jon Spencer as a man who’s work ethic he admires. He knows exactly what he wants and knows how to get it. Another reason is that Jon Spencer is purely a music man....

Norm MacDonaldHitler’s Dog, Gossip and Trickery According to SNL alum, one of the questions Lorne Michaels asks you when you’re auditioning is which cast of the show did you grow up on. Who were your guys? Mine was the Will Ferrell/Cheri Oteri/Norm Macdonald cast, so he was my guy for Weekend Update and it became obvious very quickly that either you got Norm Macdonald or you didn’t. On the one hand, he never became a superstar like Molly Shannon or...

ThoroughbredsOriginal Motion Picture Soundtrack by Mondo Tees The great thing about the movie soundtrack vinyl revolution (for lack of a better word) is that it’s not just allowing for the appreciation of an underrated art form and the reissue of long forgotten music, but also that it’s given the small guys a chance. Maybe no movie deserved the title of underdog last year more than Thoroughbreds, which was ambitious, dark, hilarious, and tragically underrated. And who would have guessed that...

A Quiet Place Original Score Marco Baltrami (Mondo Tees) I love rooting for the little guy and so should you. Though A Quiet Place isn’t exactly a sleeper hit, it did start out from humble beginnings. Sure, a $17 million budget sounds like a lot, but it made twenty times that in the box office. Compare it to Black Panther and Avengers Infinity War which were the big hits of the year and cost $200 and $300 million, and that...

Adventure TimeCome Along With Me(Mondo Tees) Kudos to Adventure Time for figuring it out. And by it I mean IT. It was a show that everyone could enjoy, because it was simplistic in its design but deep in content. It can be appreciated both at a superficial level, as the adventures of Finn and Jake living in a fantasy world, or as an exploration of human nature. The show moved quickly and looked great while doing it. It told funny...

Marc MaronToo Real How’s the comedy bubble? Has it burst yet? Sure, for comedy fans, the comedy bubble was a godsent, bringing in a new crop of comedians who pushed the envelope and freshened things up a bit. That much was clear. But another thing that’s clear is that people are as unfunny as ever. That being said, it’s worth mentioning that most standup comedy is unfunny. Maybe I’m a curmudgeon, but the in-your-face high octane comedy with shiny powerpoint...

Sorry to Bother You 2018 was such a friggin’ good year for movies. Maybe because the artform has started opening the playing field to its audience and allowing more people than ever to make movies. A thing that musicians figured out a long time ago was a good thing. Who knows? I’ve never made a movie nor do I understand the intricacies of making one. What I do know is that independent movies are getting more attention than ever. Probably...

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 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...