A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the In The Garden LP by Holy Sons. Even at first sight, those who are familiar with Holy Sons – the solo pet project of Grails drummer Emil Amos – will know that In The Garden is an important release for the artist. Why? Well, they’ll know it must be of particular importance; In The Garden is Holy Sons’ fourth album for Partisan, but it is the thirteenth to bear the project’s...
Mike Watt Ball-Hog or Tugboat? The juggernaut that is Mike Watt hasn’t always been the unstoppable force we know him as now. The death of his best friend and Minutemen comrade D. Boon made him a broken man, pondering what was next for him. On the documentary We Jam Econo, Watt chokes up when he thinks about D. Boon’s death. “That was a tough day for Watt,” he says. Mike Watt has certainly come a long way since his debut...
Breaking Bad The Final Season Hello readers, and welcome to the first ever edition of TV Party Tonight! Here at Ground Control, we’re known mostly for our impeccable music coverage, but as of late, we’ve ventured into impeccable literary coverage and now impeccable movie and TV coverage. We’re turning into the AV club, I suppose, except with a less-manageable website. Anyway, it’s not certain what route we will be taking with this column (whether we will be focusing more...
Bracket The Last Page It seems like Bracket’s career will always be as unappreciated and bittersweet as those characters they sing about in their songs. Or maybe they’ve been singing about themselves all along. Whatever the case, there’s a certain sad sweetness to their songs that’s undeniable. That and a tendency to contain some of the greatest melodies and harmonies ever recorded in punk rock. One would think that’s a recipe for success, but instead has turned out to be...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Head Carrier LP by The Pixies. In music history, there have only been a few bands who have been able to make a truly great “petty rock,” “grudge rock” or “revenge rock” record (some might say Pink Floyd have done it, it could be debated if Smashing Pumpkins did it) but the Pixies have definitely added their name to that tradition with their sixth album, Head Carrier. As is already a...
The Secret History of Twin Peaks by Mark Frost It’s been over twenty years since Twin Peaks aired, and after having rewatched the entire series and seen the movies in anticipation of the series’ return, there are still plenty of unanswered questions. I’ve come to realize that with this series, that will always be the case. Twin Peaks has a habit of taking reality and turning it on its head. The natural laws of physics don’t apply here, so don’t...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Stadium Way’s self-titled 7” EP. While the idea of the members of punk bands starting side projects in order to express ideas which won’t fit the form of their main band is not a new one, few side projects in recent memory are quite as compelling as Stadium Way. Formed by Matt Henson and Kenny Dirkes as a getaway from their duties as bassist/singer and drummer in rough housing punk band Noi!SE,...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Thirtieth Anniversary, Legacy Celebrates edition of the Raising Hell LP by Run-D.M.C. Without attempting to get too colorful or indulgent about it, Run-D.M.C.’s third album, Raising Hell, is one of the most important and influential albums to come out of the second half of the twentieth century. That fact is beyond dispute; it was Raising Hell which really got producer Rick Rubin noticed by a whole crew of hip tastemakers when...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Twentieth Anniversary 2LP reissue of Bringing Down The Horse by The Wallflowers. It might not have been the single most obvious thing, but those who remember the times during which The Wallflowers released their sophomore album know the world was a very strange place from an artistic standpoint. At the time (1996), the departure of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana had left an enormous cultural hole that many sounds and bands attempted...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Exit Stencil reissue of the Sings Blues and Hymns LP by Cat-Iron. In my life, I have had three perception-altering experiences with the blues. The first was when I heard Howlin’ Wolf; when I first heard the moans and growls which came off songs like “Smokestack Lightning,” it rattled me to the core and hooked me with the inherent danger of it. The second time the blues changed my life was...