Photos by Corwin Wickersham...

Lolitaby Vladimir Nabokov Oef. This is the year I want to educate myself literarily. I want to read the classics to have some perspective. Read what the greats had to say. Train the old noodle, as it were. I felt like I should tackle Nabokov, and after hearing what the experts had to say, it turns out he is indeed considered one of the greats. And Lolita IS the best place to start with him. I went in with a...

Unrequited Infatuationsby Steven Van Zandt I don’t think I ever could have prepared myself for Unrequited Infatuations. I have been a Springsteen fan for a while now, but never dug deep into the history. I honestly didn’t really know about Steven Van Zandt, and only after watching Sopranos did he really pop up on my radar. I chalked him up to being a sideman with a big personality but it’s only after listening to the Best Show did my interest...

All photos by Brittany Rose Queen. Follow her on Instagram @rosequeenphoto for her coverage of the Boston...

Scott Pilgrim vs the WorldOriginal Movie Soundtrack If you haven’t seen Scott Pilgrim Vs The World stop what you’re doing right now and go watch it. I’ll wait. Done? Good, we can talk now. It’s so good, right? If you appreciate good movies, this one should become a mainstay in your quoting catalog. If you’re like me, your whole life might change. I don’t think anyone can really prepare themselves for just what this movie has to offer. Scott Pilgrim...

WHO: The Copyrights WHAT: Alone in a Dome WHY: I don’t know if the Copyrights get the credit they deserve. I think I’m definitely guilty of this as well. I keep confusing them with the Dopamines. Are they the same band? Look, you’re not going to get anything groundbreaking with the Copyrights, except some solid catchy power pop punk. Alone in a Dome is one of those records that remind you why you fell in love with pop punk in...

Dune 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 directing. The man has proven himself...

Sellout: The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore (1994–2007)by Dan Ozzi Punk rock has come full circle. It started with a feeding frenzy from the major labels wanting to cash in on the movement/music in the 70s (remember, the Clash were on CBS Records and the Ramones on Sire, which is technically Warner Brothers), then became reviled by the mainstream, and now it’s back on the yacht (comfortably solidifying its place as hackneyed when the Met Gala...

Czarface & MF DoomSuper What? photo: turntablelab It’s a funny thing when it hits you that an album you’ve been enjoying is your favorite album of the year. The only way I can describe it is that the world stops for you when you put it on. That’s when you know you’re onto something special – that an album means a lot to you. Unexpectedly, that was the Czarface & MF Doom collaboration Super What? The world is a sadder...

If you’re a punk rock fan and you don’t know the Spits, then I pity you. You need to get on that. You need to get on the mystery that is the Spits. Their entire existence is a big ol’ question mark. You want to define their music? It’s lo-fi garage punk rock, both futuristic but hopelessly old fashioned. Kind of like futuristic for the 50s. Imagine big robots which are actually just spray painted carboard boxes. And who are...