A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Undefeated LP by Frank Turner. After releasing nine albums in seventeen years (and that’s just the studio albums – there are more comps and live albums that have appeared, as well), many fans may have a bit of difficulty getting excited about a new Frank Turner album. Granted, the singer has never made any gross missteps along the way in his catalogue, but it could easily be argued that fans feel...

In Penelope Spheeris’ Decline of Western Civilization Part I, X are depicted as the gatekeepers or elder statesmen of LA 70s punk rock. It’s hard to say whether that label really stuck, but whatever the case, they never asked for it. One thing is for sure, X have been a machine always on the move for the past 40 years, and the creative juices of “leaders” John Doe and Exene Cervenka’s never stopped flowing. X’s influence in music over the...

Stress Dolls Queen of No (Sun Pedal Recordings) Queen of No, the new Stress Dolls album, lives up to the band name. It is a journey through head Stress Doll Chelsea O’Donnell’s anxieties, ranging from health issues (she suffers from Crohn’s Disease), relationships, social media and more existential questions. Though the music is firmly based in pop-punk, a variety of styles illuminate the various themes which run through the album. In general, the more declarative songs — where she directly...

Cool Club and the Lipker Sisters Dancing Into Your Dreams (CD Baby) One of the recurring pleasures I’ve experienced over the past few years has been attending concerts by Cool Club and the Lipker Sisters. It’s always fun, always energetic, always a tremendous display of musical talent – I catch them whenever I can and, luckily, they play locally often. So I eagerly awaited their new album, Dancing Into Your Dreams, which was released on September 4 and, for the...

WHO: Minneapolis Uranium Club WHAT: Infants Under the Bulb WHY: Like if Minutemen and Dead Milkmen had a very loud baby. There’s a certain edge with the clean sound of guitar, and smarts to these lyrics you just don’t hear anymore. The songs in Infants Under the Bulb are catchy, bouncy, bubbly, and there’s a certain urgency to Brendan Wells’ lyrics. There’s a deep (deceitful?) intelligence that’s being delivered by these songs. D Boon would be proud. Even the story...

Rocky: Ultimate Knockout Collection Growing up I was both a Schwarzenegger and Stallone fan. Maybe more a Schwarzenegger fan because he seemed tough, scary, and a lovable goof. Of course I loved Stallone in Rocky, Judge Dredd, and Demolition Man, but I think at the time I was most tuned into movies, Schwarzenegger was making the more bonkers stuff. Now, as a grown-up, I’ve learnt to appreciate Stallone more. He’s kind of in a class all by himself,...

Dune Part TwoOriginal Motion Picture Soundtrackby Hans Zimmer Can you believe they made a Dune movie AGAIN? And that it turned out THIS good? Jodowosky’s Dune opened my world to the mythos surrounding the book and to Jodorowksy himself. My cultural world was changed after watching that documentary, so of course, after seeing David Lynch’s movie, the idea of a new Dune movie is a loaded proposition to me. What was a good sign was that Denis Villeneuve would be...

Heyooooo! It’s that time of year again! Look, the world is getting dumber and dumber and I blame mainstream media. No, not news (well, a little the news), but just terrible music, movies and TV shows. So, it’s more important than ever that we focus on our scholarly duties and try and get smarter in a world hellbent on lowering our standards. Of course, it wouldn’t be a new school year without school goodies. Yes, books and food are more...

WHO: Redd Kross WHAT: Redd Kross WHY: Ever wondered what the Beatles and the Kinks would have sounded like as a garage punk band? Redd Kross injects some much needed crunch into that familiar musical sty;e. Yes, I’m late to the game on Redd Kross, but this self-titled is scratching an itch I didn’t know I had. Or at least, it’s endlessly fascinating. I wish it was a bit shorter, but this new self-titled just has its own story to...

The Fall Guy What the hell happened with this movie? It flopped colossally and no one knows why. Was it marketed incorrectly? That seems to be the only explanation, because The Fall Guy looked so dumb that it somehow elevated the collective consciousness. But, sometimes, Rotten Tomatoes actually does what it’s supposed to, and a movie gets a second chance. Is Fall Guy a cult classic now? I’m not sure. Boy, am I rambling. Look, I wasn’t even going to...