WHO: Snuff WHAT: Come And Have a Go If You Think You’re Rachmaninoff WHY: My love for the band Snuff knows no bounds. They’re one of those bands from my formative punk years that have remained relevant and continued on an interesting path. Speaking of interesting is this album. This time, Snuff have reimagined their old songs in an acoustic more ballady format. The arrangements are elegant and it helps conjure a new-found love for these songs. I’m glad I’m...

Brutal YouthRebuilding Year Sometimes there’s an itch I just can’t scratch. Sometimes you’ve given up on scratching that itch until someone unexpectedly hands you the perfect backscratcher. Finding new music can be an impossible ordeal. Most people’s taste in music sucks after all, but in reality, the more you listen to music, the more you know what will speak to you. Every year it’s a never-ending cycle of listening to new music that have been recommended by friends and magazines...

Renfield I gotta say, I wasn’t going into Renfield with high hopes but I was kind of surprised. It’s a very cool concept, but cool concepts often get ruined by poor executions or lack of vision by the team. Renfield is a little of column A and a little of column B. The movie wasn’t a huge hit and no one in their right mind is a huge fan of Renfield or wants more of the Renfield-universe, so that’s...

There is no doubt that the Oh Sees (formerly Thee Oh Sees, then just OCs, then OSEES) are an unstoppable force. Releasing what seems like their 40th album this year and another one already announced, it’s important sometimes to step back and assess what you’re getting with this band because their catalog can easily meld together into a metropolis of music. With all this published material, what would front man John Dwyer choose to highlight in a live set? The...

Illegitimate AuthorityFacing the Challenges of Our Timeby C.J Polychroniou Do I need to tell you who Noam Chomsky is? I don’t, right? If you don’t know who he is, you’d best Google him and learn about the stuff he’s written and said. Whether you agree with his viewpoints or not, Chomsky is always worth reading and his perspective always worth considering on topics. He’s our lifetime’s Bertrand Russell: always eloquent, informed, and sharp. His noggin holds the kind of information...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots 20th Anniversary 5LP Super Deluxe Edition Box Set by The Flaming Lips. While The Flaming Lips had already established themselves in the pop and rock communities by the time Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots was released in 2002, the album holds the distinction of being the one that really took the band to another level – and equally impressive was the manner in which they managed...

Superman I-IV5-Film Collection Boy did we forget the giant favor the Superman movies did for us in the 70s. The 70s! Can you believe that? Superhero movies had a life before they became the unstoppable monster they are now (even though they are showing signs of weakness as of late). Sure, you can say Mask of Zorro or movies like that were superhero movies, but not as we know them today. Superman was the grand daddy of them all. At...

Seeing Ted Leo play live is not something I take lightly. It’s deeply embedded in my DNA at this point. It’s something I started doing 20 years ago with people who would go on to become some of my closest friends. Seeing Ted Leo and listening to him is more than just the music: it’s a walk down memory lane. And as the man took a break from music, I took a break from that connection. Ted Leo has now...

Rocky: The Knockout Collection Growing up I was both a Schwarzenegger and Stallone fan. Maybe more a Schwarzenegger fan because he seemed tough, scary, and a lovable goof. Of course I loved Stallone in Rocky, Judge Dredd, and Demolition Man, but I think at the time I was most tuned into movies, Schwarzenegger was making the more bonkers stuff. Now, as a grown-up, I’ve learnt to appreciate Stallone more. He’s kind of in a class all by himself,...

WHO: Die Spitz WHAT: Teeth WHY: Is this an EP or a short full length? Who knows! Those riffs, man. Those riffs! Every song on this album is absolutely brutal and full of hooks. It’s punk with a heavy lean on metal and rocks from top to bottom. There’s nothing revolutionary about what this band is doing, but they stick to what they know and they do it well. Teeth is one of the must-hear albums of the year. Those...