Hot damn, this is fun! Y'know, I might come off like I'm abrasive an' I might jus' be a mean motherfucker, but goddamn I'm havin' fun wit' these weekly raids! Grabbin' alla this stuff for you fine junkies has put a new spring in my step – 'at's fer sure – an' people have noticed it when I come their way inna real world. Somebody mentioned it to me not too long ago; I might still be a miserable reprobate,...
Today, there are an incredibly few people who are able to say that they either don't know someone currently battling a form of cancer or have lost a loved one to it. The joyous tones in which most people speak when describing a survival case are remarkably affecting, and just as affecting are the efforts to raise funds for cancer research. Jay and Rene Épinat have both: a heart-wrenching tale of battling cancer, and a story of a grassroots effort...
Ever been totally shocked by an album that you figured you had pegged on name recognition alone? It's dangerous to make assumptions like that, and the most recent proof exists on There Is A Hell Believe Me I've Seen It, There Is A Heaven Let's Keep It A Secret. The first minute and fifty-six seconds or so of the album's opening song, “Crucify Me,” are exactly what every fan AND detractor expects; screamer Oli Sykes sounds as though he has...
You have to love and respect the bravery some bands obviously possess when they call themselves a metal band. The trend of feminizing metal – the most hyper-masculine musical genre in popular song – has been going on for at least three decades now and, in that time, it practice has proven to be the comic gift that keeps on giving; the Eighties begat hair metal and other novelty bands like Jackyl and Stryper, and portions of the “metal” community...
The truth about Glen Matlock's continued existence and any music he might make is as simple as it is unfortunate; no matter what he might do in his life, he'll always be the guy who was bounced out of the Sex Pistols (for liking The Beatles – as the story was at the time), was replaced by Sid Vicious and was then asked to rejoin the band when it reformed first for the Filthy Lucre Live tour in 1996, and...
Without question, the most difficult reviews to write are those about “guilty pleasure” albums. Why? For the writer, it's impossible to trash a guilty pleasure album because it wouldn't be doing the band justice. The writer knows he shouldn't like something but, for whatever reason, cannot pan it in good conscience. For the reader, it's easy to get confused or lost in the resulting prose because the average guilty pleasure review often reads in a very conflicted way; again, because...
The Marked Men are a lost cause. Here we had one of the most catchy and true bands, reaching their stride, and no one noticed. Their last album Ghosts came and went, and not only did it go unnoticed in the musical mainstream, but it didn’t even make a dent in the punk rock audience (save for a few passionate mentions in Razorcake). It’s a real shame too, because Ghosts had some of the most brilliant, honest, toe-tapping, buzz-pop songs...