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...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into The Flatliners’ New Ruin LP. In the twenty-year duration of The Flatliners’ career to date, it’s actually pretty remarkable to observe the turns that the band’s music has taken. After beginning with some respectable (if not terribly memorable) ska-core in 2005 and then taking a couple of years to develop (see how it works with 2007’s The Great Awake), The Flatliners really hit the big time hard with 2010’s classic Cavalcade and...

Lou Reed Words and Music, May, 1965 (Light In The Attic) One question repeatedly comes up in writers’ groups, especially with beginning writers: “How do I copyright my work?” I resist the temptation to say, “Do you really think someone is going to steal your poetry?” and tell them, “Mail it to yourself.” As long as you don’t open the package, the postmark establishes that you wrote the enclosed material on or before that date. Lou Reed did that with...

Sailor MoonComplete First Season We seldom get second chances in life. I’m not talking about the big stuff, I’m talking about the stuff that matters: the little things. As an anime fan in general, I always dismissed Sailor Moon as being silly, for children, or just simply embarrassing (having established the short skirts and speed lines trope which prevails judgement of the anime genre). However, it’s presence (read: ubiquity) in Japanese pop culture is inescapable, and as more...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Stranger Things 4 – Soundtrack From The Netflix Series 2LP compilation. I usually steer clear of soundtracks because I’m not the greatest fan of compilations in general; when I throw on a record, I usually want to hear an artist’s idea seen through from start to finish as well as all of the developments included along the way. I want to seen an album grow and develop and see the things...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into The Raw and Primitive Sound of The Christian Family LP by The Christian Family. With the success of bands like The White Stripes, The Black Keys, Death From Above and Japandroids in hand, making a guess about the probable sound of The Christian Family – another two-piece American band – seems like it should be simple: they’re going make liberal use of drums and guitar, factor the use of volume to create...