A deeper look at the grooves pressed into The Flaming Lips’ Greatest Hits Volume 1 LP. As a general rule, I must confess that Best-Of compilations seldom thrill me. While the odd set does prove to be the rule’s exception (like Nirvana’s black album, the set that Morphine released several years ago, ChangesoneBowie, Hot Rocks and All For Nothing/Nothing For All turned out to all be great sets) and which does present the band in question at its best, most...

Mission Impossible Anthology Say what you will about Tom Cruise (go ahead, say it), but the man knows his way around an action movie. And he’s known for decades. Yes, he’s fallen from grace in the mainstream over the years, but that phenomenon is probably just American. It makes sense that when Paul F Tompkins met him, he referred to him as “the most famous person in the world.” And whether the movie script is garbage or...

Die Hard 30th Anniversary I care less about how Die Hard is a Christmas movie and more about how Die Hard is a good movie. I don’t think that gets talked about enough these days. Sure, I like going to showings at my local art theatre around Christmas time, but Die Hard probably should be appreciated for being much more than that: for all the things it gets right and its staying power. My attraction to Die Hard...

The funny thing about punk and hardcore bands has always seemed to be that, no matter how caustic they may have sounded when listeners first began paying attention, the desire to get louder/harder/more aggressive as soon as MORE people begin listening to them is nearly immediate. A perfect example of this tradition can be found in the recorded output of Vancouver’s rising stars NEEDS; upon first appearing with their self-titled album in 2015, the band shattered expectations by delivering a...

No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need by Naomi Klein Naomi Klein is responsible for some of the most import and in-depth reporting on the left. Ever since I saw her on the Corporation documentary more than 10 years ago, I’ve tried to follow her reporting. She’s surprisingly not in the mainstream very much. Her previous work No Logo is a phenomenal look into the outsourcing of mainstream brands and how that’s essentially...

I don’t know if Brooks Wheelan will ever shake his time on SNL, but I for one am glad his appearance on the show put him on my radar. Since leaving, Wheelan has been responsible for some of the best stand up shows I’ve seen. His departure from the show helped him focus on his album This is Cool, Right? which is simply a phenomenal debut. As solid as that album was, Wheelan has continued to focus on his stand-up...

I’ve been intrigued with Brooks Wheelan ever since I saw him on SNL. Sure, the show didn’t give him much to do, but his desk pieces on Weekend Update were definite standouts and I still play them from time to time. Having noticed (and liked him) from the show, it only made sense that I would check out his debut album This is Cool, Right? Then it hit me: Wheelan’s standup is most definitely my cup of tea, and there...

A Quiet Place I love a good success story. Especially one that gives credit where it’s due. There’s no denying that A Quiet Place has been a resounding success at the box office. It’s made over $300 million worldwide with a “measly” budget of “just” $20 million. Well done, Mr. Krasinski. Of course, we have to be careful before we resoundingly applaud Hollywood, because plenty of garbage movies make a bundle of money. Just look at the Fast...

Someone somewhere may be surprised, in some way, that Deadpool 2 will be receiving a fancy, picture disc treatment when it gets released on vinyl on August 17, 2018, but others will argue that it’s really the only way this soundtrack could be presented effectively. After all, how could any self-respecting soundtrack for a comic book movie not have some pretty illustrations on it? Of course there are going to be pictures on the vinyl pressing of the soundtrack, but...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Booze & Glory’s 12” die-cut “London Skinhead Crew” single. Rare is the single which features the better of two tracks on its B-side, but such is undeniably the case when it comes to Booze & Glory’s “London Skinhead Crew” 12” single. This time out, the London-based punk band unlaces its collective boots a bit and presents a reggae-infused impression of their excellent call-to-arms anthem, “London Skinhead Crew” before going ahead and presenting...