How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee by Bart D. Ehrman I’ve been reading Bart Ehrman ever since my journey away from Christianity first started. And although I’ve found some of his writings more compelling than others, I’m still glad there’s someone like him out there doing God’s work. Or not-God’s work, which is actually more important. How Jesus Became God mainly deals with the questions and issues church figures were dealing with when they...

In Search of Mike Watt. By Ollie Ottoman Photos by Steve Garcia. Originally conducted on May 1st, 2009 @ The Chameleon Club in Lancaster, PA It’s been said before, I’m sure, but Mike Watt needs no introduction. If the name doesn’t sound familiar to you, a quick search on Wikipedia will change your perspective on that name. The important thing to me on May 1st was that I was going to meet Mike Watt and talk with him briefly about his...

WHO: The Subprime Lenders   WHAT: On the Automile   WHY: New England has no shortage of great bands and no matter how hard I try I will always be way behind on who the cool new act in the area is. What I do know is that the Subprime Lenders most definitely qualify as one of the outstanding bands in Boston (though technically they’re from Lowell). Their latest release (although a couple years old) pulls from all the right...

Artist: Mike Doughty Album: Haughty Melodic (CD reissue) Label:ATO Records I must preface this review by saying that I have been a Mike Doughty fan for an incredibly long time. I first became a fan when I discovered Soul Coughing; at that time, I had grown tired of grunge’s (by then) floundering, poor self-image (the genre as a whole really had difficulty regaining its strength and composure after the death of Kurt Cobain) and was looking for something which was...

Thee Oh Sees A Weird Exits Wow, where to even start with Thee Oh Sees? OK, did you know they release an average of 1.5 albums a year? Yeah, that should get your attention. Honestly, with such a massive output of stellar material, it’s hard for me to admit that this band and frontman John Dwyer are still a mystery to me. Maybe it’s because I’m too busy listening to Thee Oh Sees to worry about what goes on behind...

The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy by Kliph Nesteroff Books like this one are what it’s all about, people. I am a comedy nerd and the current comedy boom is the sweet stuff that dreams are made of. My dreams, anyway. Yes, with any boom comes an excess of participants. Most will fade away when said boom goes bust, forever forgotten. Unless of course some avid fan (read: nerd) writes a book about them. Enter...

Twin Peaks: The Original Series, Fire Walk With Me & The Missing Pieces blu-ray How does describe or even explain a show like Twin Peaks? It’s reputation definitely precedes it, and for good reason. Twenty five years and countless questions later we’re no closer to getting to the bottom of this show. But one thing is certain, unless you get on board early on and accept that Twin Peaks follows its own bizarre rules, you’re in for a rough ride....

Big Star – Radio City I’m not one of those jaded music fans that think the best decade for music has passed. The truth is that we are living in the best time ever for music in this very moment. As such, I still get a spring in my step when I put a new batch of music on my iPod to consume like the nerdy fool I am. However, as a music fan, I also understand the importance of...

WHO: Bracket WHAT: The Last Page WHY: Don’t you dare called Bracket old-timers. They’re old school, man. Once firmly established as a Fat Wreck band, Bracket has most definitely taken creative control over their music: self-recording and self-releasing their albums for a while now. And while they may be known for injecting AC/DC-like riffs into Beach Boys-like harmonies, they still manage to progress and challenge themselves with their latest release The Last Page, which consists of a single 70+minute song....

The Goon, Volume 15: Once Upon a Hard Time by Eric Powell   I’ve got nothing but love for the Goon. Ever since I was a wee lad in my late 20s, I have had the pleasure to see this underdog of a comic book mature and flourish into a juggernaut. The Goon’s universe operated by very basic and simple rules. A mysterious man defends his town from the powers of evil and the undead. Of course, the fact that...