WHO: SNUFF WHAT: There’s a Lot of it About WHY: Snuff will always be one of the underappreciated bands in punk rock. A shame, because they’re the band that made Fat Wreck more than just a punk label. There was a debt and silliness to them that made them both approachable and underrated, and whenever I listened to their albums I could expect something familiar, completely different, and still find something new to discover every time. Their new album is...
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More with Feeling Original Cast Recording Growing up on a tropical island in the Caribbean in the 90s has its benefits and drawbacks. The benefits are that you’re on a tropical island in the Caribbean and there’s no way your puny developing brain will be able to comprehend how good you have it for several more decades. The drawbacks (maybe?) are that, culturally, you might be a little deprived. Sure, far be it for me...
The Melvins Pinkus Abortion Technician It’s mind-boggling how such a prolific band can be so under-appreciated. Krist Novoselic of Nirvana fame has said that the Melvins are the only band left standing from the grunge-rock cacophony of the Nineties (take that, Pearl Jam), and even the new kids like Mastodon have gone on the record as saying they’re one of the greatest bands on earth. Of course, the Melvins don’t care what people say about them – they’re too busy...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the HumanWorld LP by Peter Perrett. As of 2019, saying that singer/guitarist Peter Perrett has had a storied career would be a laughable understatement. After forming (and then collapsing) Glory in 1976, Perrett formed the fantastic Only Ones in 1978 where he established one of the greatest songbooks in the history of power pop. Perrett has ridden The Only Ones, off and on, ever since then (the band has broken up and...
Mannequin Pussy Great Scott – Allston, MA – September 19, 2019 One of the joys of being an avid music listener is getting absolutely blindsided by a band you’ve never heard before. I try never to pay too much attention when listening to new music, which is a perfect way to let an album kick your ass out of nowhere. This year that album is definitely Mannequin Pussy’s Patience. It turns out I had actually heard of them before, having...
WHO: Mannequin Pussy WHAT: Patience WHY: It doesn’t happen often that a band comes out of left field to completely blow us away. As a first exposure, Patience absolutely demands the listener’s attention. In a turbulent 25 minutes, it manages to be funny, sad, emotional, desperate, furious, gentle, elaborate, and sharp. It gives you its heart of a platter and leaves you hungry for more trying to decipher how exactly did all the parts fit. The bar has been set...
The Dwarves Take Back the Night Love ’em or hate ’em, the Dwarves have been at it for a long time, man. And for good reason: they are quite good at what they do. As far as garage rock is concerned, there’s probably no one doing it better than them. Their album Blood Guts and Pussy frequently makes it at the top of best-of lists. As far as filthy offensive punk rock is concerned, these guys might also have set...
Lessons of October by Leon Trotsky There can be no doubt that Leon Trotsky had an astonishing life. From humble beginnings, to revolutionary, to major political leader, to “disgraced” outcast, the man’s life has been extensively analyzed and will continue to be interpreted for decades, maybe even centuries, to come. And it only takes a cursory knowledge of what exactly went down in the Soviet Union to understand that, through it all, Trotsky got the short end of the stick....
Ways of Hearingby Damon Krukowski There is no doubt that Damon Krukowski is the right guy to be talking about music. He understands it at an intimate level where I either wished I could talk about it the same way, or that I could spend a couple hours picking his brain over a cup of coffee. Ways of Hearing is a curious book that doesn’t really have a thesis and is more of a work-in-progress. It discusses different aspects of...
Shazam! How is Shazam! not the biggest movie of the year? It certainly was a big success and made a whopping $364 million vs its $100 cost, so it is was indeed a giant hit. So much so that a sequel is being developed. But Shazam! didn’t become a cultural phenomenon like the Marvel movies have. And that’s quite a shame, because DC movies will never get the same recognition as Marvel movies no matter how original they try...