White Stripes Elephant Photo: turntablelab.com   The White Stripes’ elephant is an important album both for me personally and in the wider scope of musical history as it gives good perspective on what was going on with music at the time.  For me personally it conjures up memories of driving through the redwoods for the first time, wondering how exactly Meg White manages to hit her drums so hard. It was also the first song we learnt as a band...

Katy Perry Witness   It’s truly interesting to watch what has been happening to Katy Perry this year. Sure, she never appealed to everyone, but the woman has solidified herself as a pop music heavy hitter ever since she broke on the scene in 2008. And no, her Kate Hudson Christian rock phase does not count.   For some reason, it seemed like Katy Perry was taking a different approach to pop music. While most artists seem to unabashedly embrace...

Wonder Woman   Is anyone surprised Wonder Woman turned out to be such a success this Summer? I know, I know, the movie studios claim this was a bad Summer for movies, which they equate to lower-than-expected profits on their movies. They even blame Rotten Tomatoes for pointing out that most of the Summer movies have been shit, not on the fact that they themselves put out shitty movies. But Wonder Woman? This movie made almost $900 million worldwide....

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Full Circle split LP by Round Eye and Libyan Hit Squad. After I discovered Round Eye with the help of the band’s self-titled LP a couple of years ago, I was hooked. Like a fan of any band, I began singing the group’s praises to anyone who would listen; I talked about the band, I wrote about them and I listened to that first album constantly. I loved it – I...

Artist: Baby In Vain Album: More Nothing Label: (Partisan Records) After seeming to appear from nowhere with an EP which was capable of absolutely levelling listeners even if they did see it coming with pure unadulterated Riot Grrl power last year, it’s unlikely that fans of Baby In Vain expected to see a full-length album appear so soon – but the band is not only back with a full-length album now, they’ve found ways to further refine their sound in...

Myers+Chang at Home: Recipes from the Beloved Boston Eatery by Joanne Chang & Karen Akunowicz One of the joys of living in Boston is that it’s exposed me to the wonderful cooking of Joanne Chang. She’s reached almost superstar status with her flagship Myers + Chang restaurant in the South End: a spot my wife and I cannot seem to get enough of. It’s a must-go especially on Mondays and Tuesdays when they have their date nights and their tasting...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into This Means War’s self-titled 10” EP. The catch, when it comes to trying to be in a good melodic hardcore band, is that trying to navigate the waters of punk rock is fraught with risk because the region is so over-populated. Unfortunately, there are lots of “melodic hardcore” bands which aren’t particularly melodic (read: the singer can’t carry a tune on his back) and aren’t exactly poster boys for hardcore either, for...

The Dopamines Tales of Interest My history with the Dopamines goes way back. I remember driving on the highway in Aruba years ago rocking them in my headphones, soaking in the sounds. It was one of those situations where the music permanently became embedded in the setting for me. The Dopamines are a part of that Midwestern pop punk sound that graces bands like the Copyrights (who I used to think were the same band), Teenage Bottlerocket, and Banner Pilot....

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Mid-Century Sounds – Deep Cuts From The Desert 2LP compilation. It might not be the first location which comes to mind when one thinks of “music hot spots” (and there is some irony in saying that – believe me), but those in the know are well aware of just how rich and the artistic soil is in the state of Arizona. Arizona was, of course, the birthplace of such grand musical...

It’s no secret that we’re fans of movies here on Ground Control Magazine, and with all the movies we watch, it’s really refreshing when an original one comes along. Extra points for it being independently produced. Say what you will about Dave Made a Maze but chances are you’ve never seen anything like it, and that it will be a movie people will want to talk about. So talk we did to the film’s cinematographer Jonathan Boal.   So Jon,...