The Fifth Risk Michael Lewis I love it when Michael Lewis does what Michael Lewis does best. And that’s breaking down a complex issue into easy to understand chunks. What’s more, he’s able to do it with topics that sound boring as hell. Who would have thought Sabermetrics and baseball lineups could ever be told in such an interesting story as Moneyball? Same goes for Glass Boys and its analysis of the stock market. I’ll go on a limb and...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the One Family, One Flag 3LP compilation from Pirates Press Records. Now twelve years after the last installment came out, the whole world seems to have changed a couple of times but punk fans have started looking back and feeling some nostalgia for the great punk compilation series Punk-O-Rama is pretty understandable. Punk-O-Rama was once an impressive beast, the release of which used to be hotly anticipated every year; once, Punk-O-Rama young...
Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military by Neil deGrasse Tyson & Avis Lang I know I’m not the only one who holds Neil DeGrasse Tyson in high regard. Even though he’s the most visible proponent for science these days (move over Dawkins and Nye), the man has been met with criticism. Most of them stem from people who, honestly, don’t like their bubble being burst. But they do live in a bubble, and they should...
BlackkKlansman I have one question for Spike Lee: how dumb does he think his audience is? I had high hopes for Blackkklansman. I heard good things from friends and the internet. Both touting it as entertaining and impressive. After all, when has the internet ever been wrong or hyperbolic? However, after finally watching it I realize that the internet is dumb. And maybe my friends are dumb too. Certainly, Spike lee thinks his audience is dumb and...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the 30th anniversary picture-disc reissue of Volume 1 by The Traveling Wilburys. The term “classic” gets thrown around a lot and, often, in directions for which it isn’t actually deserved. A true, genuine-article classic is a thing that sets an enduring impression and standard to which others aspire, and/or would claim to be of a similar lineage; it’s an important portrait of a moment. The Traveling Wilburys’ first album is such a...
Rage Against the Machine The Entire Catalog vinyl reissue Let me start off this review by painting a picture of just how important Rage Against the Machine were to my development as a teenager. Growing up in Aruba in the 90s, completely isolated from the world, we craved outside culture. We didn’t have a good idea of what was going on in the cool parts of the world (like the USA), so we’d rely on word of mouth from kids...
WHO: Joe Strummer WHAT: Joe Strummer 001 WHY: A knowledge of Joe Strummer is almost mandatory for any music fan, and this new anthology certainly is a great introduction to the man’s pre- and post-Clash output. It does a perfect job of documenting Strummer’s musical evolution which always remained rooted in rock and roll. Fans of his music will enjoy revisiting the man’s life in chronological fashion and will be delighted by how much original and unreleased material they’ll hear...
Metropolis You might not know this, but the secret to a good sci-fi movie is world-building. The plot is almost secondary. What people really want to see is how the future is being represented (or the past, for that matter). Don’t believe me? Watch Blade Runner and think about what happens. A character is given a job, and it takes him 2 hours to do it. What makes Blade Runner truly great is the world in which...
Astral Weeks by Ryan H Walsh There are many questions floating around in my head after reading Astral Weeks. Near the top are “Should I finally put in the time with Van Morisson’s Astral Weeks” and “How did I miss all this!”. Astral Weeks is more than just history, it deserves to be studied. And really, you shouldn’t complain because Ryan Walsh did all the hard work for you. In this deceptively dense book, Walsh focuses on a particular location...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Night Guy at The Apocalypse, Profiles of a Rushing Midnight LP by Hamell On Trial. In the spirit of full disclosure, yes -I am a fan of Hamell On Trial. I was totally won over by Ed Hamell when the singer’s eighth album, Tough Love, came out in 2003 and have excitedly checked and weighed) in and given consistently positive coverage to each album that has come along since then. I...