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...
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...
WHO: OPEN CITY WHAT: SELF-TITLED WHY: There’s so much that Open City gets right on their debut. A solid foundation featuring members of Paint it Black, Kid Dynamite, and Ted Leo. Compliment it with Rachel Rubino (Worriers) and her blown out distorted vocals and the whole sound of Open City fits together perfectly. The results are intense, melodic, and threatening. Philly hardcore is being too good to us. Stream the album...
The MAXX: Maxximized, Volume 5-7 by Sam Kieth, William Messner-Loebs The Maxx has to be, hands down, one of the most underrated comics of all time. Throughout the course of the series, Sam Kieth managed to take the tired familiar scenario of superhero/supervillain fighting for the honor of a lady and turn it into a complex, fantastical, psychological and very personal story. The Maxx started off as one thing and ended up as something entirely different. The first four books in...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the They Call It Justice 7” by The 45 Adapters. It might sound a little strange at first, but the 45 Adapters and their new 7”, “They Call It Justice,” are coming at the perfect moment in history for the band’s brand of Oi to really get over with audiences. Why? First, a pretty significant portion of the world’s population is good and pissed off with the political climate in the United...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Record Store Day 2017-issued 2×7” set by Alice In Chains. Over the last few years in particular, Record Store Day has really seemed to cater to a “collectible” market over a market wherein fan interest is the focus. That has proven to be a little frustrating; because of it, record stores get glutted by people one day a yearhoping to score something they can resell – not necessarily something they can...