A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the All Killer No Filler (1977 – 2001) 2LP by The Senders. It’s funny how, as perfectly well-exposed as a scene and its associated lore might be, there are always bits which are obscured by shadows. In the New York punk scene of the 1970s, for example, everybody knows many of the stories and associated minutiae for The Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie and many others – even The New York Dolls and...
Three Thousand Years of Longing What an odd movie for George Miller to follow up Mad Max Fury Road with. And what an odd thing to start a movie review with a sentence that ends in a preposition. But, there you have it. Let’s accept that. I went into this movie knowing nothing about it, but certain that I love Tilda Swinton and was indifferent to Idris Elba. Let’s be honest, he’s an OK actor at best and skates by...
Joe Strummer 002 The Mescaleros Years 7LP Box Set It’s strange to think how Joe Strummer’s music is essential, considering his output isn’t exactly large. Or maybe it’s just right and easy to grasp, which is what makes it easier to reckon with. As far as the Clash is concerned, that music is just required listening and everyone should be familiar with it. Yes, all of it, including Cut the Crap. The Clash’s music has withstood the test of time...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into both the Black Skies EP and the Waiting EP by Bishop’s Green. Bishop’s Green Black Skies EP (Pirates Press Records) As cool as some album covers are (and the cover of the Black Skies EP is definitely very cool), the peril is often that the image on the cover of a record just doesn’t match the music. It could easily be argued that Black Skies falls hard into that trap; with crows...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Growin’ Up LP by Luke Combs. I confess that it took a few days of listening to Luke Combs’ third album, Growin’ Up, constantly in hopes of finding a lede into the music before I finally found one which explained why I liked it as much as I do. I mean, the lyrics about hometown kicks aren’t terribly new or unique, and the performances are about as orthodox as it’s possible...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into NastyFacts’ Limited Edition “Drive My Car” 12” single. As every punk knows, it’s not terribly uncommon for many bands of a certain vintage to have a pretty abbreviated catalogue of releases. The idea of “one and done” isn’t uncommon at all, really – but it’s still saying something when a band’s total output was limited to ONE SINGLE before they closed up shop. That’s not small, that’s infinitesimal – so of course...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Otherness LP by Alexisonfire. The cool thing that Alexisonfire has always done (and this is not a claim that many bands can make) is that they have always challenged their audience without making it look intentional. When the band’s first album appeared in 2002, for example, the idea that three bands (Condemning Salem, Helicon Blue and Plan 9) could converge and intermingle punk, metal and emo DNA into one unit and...
WHO: Tim Heidecker WHAT: High School WHY: I never thought I’d be so into a Tim Heidecker album, but maybe it’s because I never thought he was worth giving a chance. Boy, was I wrong. High School is an album about just that, and Heidecker’s experiences are pretty relatable even to someone who went to high school in a much different place. The sound can probably be described as easy listening/alternative with influences of classic rock, which again, I never...
Happy-Go-Luckyby David Sedaris I forget every time I crack open a new David Sedaris book how this guy isn’t as popular as he should be. Oh, I realize he’s a rich famous author with enough money to throw around to own multiple houses, Picassos, and shop for useless overpriced things that he’s probably never even going to take out of the wrapping, so he’s clearly successful and widely read. But, it’s just the humanity of it all that I think...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Second Nature LP by Lucius. Not so long ago, an article was published outlining the concept and idea of “post-genre” pop, and the very idea made this critic scoff. “Attention spans have grown shorter,” I thought. “The way that many young people define themselves, the things they like and the things they don’t like have seemed to become even more codified.” It took a couple of minutes, but I finally figured...