Mastodon Medium Rarities There’s a reason why Mastodon is currently one of the biggest metal bands that still matters. They don’t pack in stadiums, I know, but they’re not playing tiny venues either. They’re big enough to play all the late night shows (I’ve seen them on Letterman, Kimmel, and Fallon), and even occasionally do the oddball appearance (remember when they were on the Human Giant show?). Also, they have a sense of humor about themselves. These are all good...
Authority(Southern Reach Series Book #2)by Jeff VanderMeer Chalk Annihilation up to one of those books that was loaded with potential and was unsuccessfully adapted for the big screen. It’s a shame too, because few books are as intriguing, spooky and downright chilling at that first Annihilation book. It’s such a gripping rich story that the cliffhanger ending (almost literally) eggs the reader to keep reading. I don’t know if the Southern Reach Trilogy was originally intended as such, but I...
Ghost in the Shell: 4K/Blu-Ray When speaking of classic Japanimation, the words Masamune Shirow and Ghost in the Shell are standards. And if they’re not, they should be, because Ghost in the Shell is one of my favorite movies. Adapted from the masterful mangas (read: Japanese comics) of the same name, Ghost in the Shell is one of those films that has been lingering in my mind ever since I saw it, which last was about 10 years ago. While...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Hum LP by Alain Johannes. It’s about time guitarist, songwriter, producer and engineer Alain Johannes got around to releasing another solo album (his solo debut, Spark, came out in 2010 and his sophomore album, Fragments and Wholes vol 1 came out in 2014 – so he’s due). Johannes’ career in the music business actually began in 1984 (with What Is This, the band he started with former Red Hot Chili Peppers...
Scharpling & WursterRock, Rot, and Rule I mean it when I say that Tom Scharpling and Jon Wurster will go down in history as one of the great comedic duos of our time. Maybe the greatest. For those of you who are uninitiated, don’t feel bad because I didn’t know who they were a year ago either. But one thing is certain, if you get what they’re doing, you won’t be able to get enough. What these guys are good...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Working With God LP by The Melvins. It has long gone overlooked and under-reported (maybe because they’re from Washington State, maybe because they first gained popular notice with the waves of alt-rock and grunge bands of the Nineties – there’s any number of possible explanations), but the fact is that the members of The Melvins are actually pretty funny guys. Each of them has a really good sense of humor. Each...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Way Down in the Rust Bucket 4LP set by Neil Young and Crazy Horse. In the fifty-two years which have made up his career to date, Neil Young has been a lot of things – an activist, a fortune teller, an elder statesman, a folkie, a rock star, a filmmaker and other titles too – but he has never seemed to be lighthearted. The singer has been interested in making a...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the 40th anniversary, 2LP reissue of Signing Off by UB40. Maybe it’s just an extension of the unapologetic non-conformist in me, but I have never been able to stop myself from being drawn into music which goes out of its way to challenge expectations and/or just endeavor to go against the grain, defiantly. I know that, at least occasionally, I turn an ear toward music which doesn’t make me feel comfortable, in...
We Saw Scenery: The Early Diaries of Merrill Markoeby Merrill Markoe About two thirds of the way in, I thought I might be the wrong person to review this book, because I wasn’t aware that I knew who Merrill Markoe was. But then it turns out I did, and it made me want to start over with that information in mind. Markoe was the head writer and creator of the Late Show with David Letterman and I read many of...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Kings LP by Antagonizers Atl. While it is far from un-tread terrain, it’s impossible to not get excited by the promise contained in the grooves of Kings – Antagonizers’ sophomore full-length album. This time out, the band has allowed the gang chorus/gang vocal power in them to build and season for a while before unloading it in a set of ten slabs which ignore the now long-worn costume that punk rock...