Back To The Future Part II – Original Score 2XLP By Alan Silvestri More complex movies do exist of course, but few are as transcendent or as satisfying as Back to the Future. It’s been said that the script is like a Swiss watch: so well crafted. The BTTF trilogy is such a monument to cinematic achievement that collectively we know all the parts to the movies, but still haven’t seen them enough to truly merit such academic scholarship. The...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Chew LP by Muskets. As bands like Able Baker Fox, Into It. Over It., Citizen and Tiger’s Jaw have appeared (or reappeared, in some cases), discussions around the re-emergence of emo have become a discussion point, but longtime fans have been very, very careful to get on board with it, to this point. A lot of that has to do with the fact that fans know this has been a thing...

Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History by Katy Tur Think back to the morning of November 9th, going to work and thinking “How exactly did this happen? How could we not have seen this coming?” Now imagine you’re journalist Katy Tur, on the campaign trail for 500 days, and on election night wondering the same thing. It wasn’t until it was too late that she realized what was going to happen. By then it was...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Undivided Heart & Soul LP by JD McPherson. The beauty of JD McPherson’s new album is that calling it a “classic” or “fantastic new album” is definitely apt and accurate, but neither phrase affords the album the distinction it deserves. From note one, Undivided Heart & Soul employs a directory of time-honored songwriting and performance staples which have historically spun yards of platinum for those who have used them previously. At...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Bubblegum Brainwaves LP by Weird Owl Weird Owl is a genuine anomaly in the music industry in several ways: since forming in 2004, the group has not let anything – not lineup changes, not label changes, not changes in focus or sound – deter them from keeping a consistent release schedule. The band’s fifth full-length (sixth release) finds the band nailing a genuine and true presentation of psychedelic rock – that...

Katy Perry Prism Photo:Turntablelab.com I remember the summer of 2010, on route 22 in Harrisburg driving in a car with friends and talking about Katy Perry. At this point, she had already begun to win me over as a listener and during our discussion of her music and her newest music video for California Gurls, someone mentioned that it was inarguably the song of the summer. “I bet we could look for it on the radio right now and find...

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson I’ll never quite understand all the shit that gets flung at Neil deGrasse Tyson (NDT). Sure, he can come across as arrogant at times, but often we try to shoot the messenger. I think part of the problem here is that we like living in our fantasy worlds and cherish mystery and wonderment when in fact there is a clear scientific explanation for many of them. It’s healthy to have...

Alien – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 2XLP By Jerry Goldsmith There are many scary movies out there, but few captivate their audience to a degree that they become their own franchise. That’s because few movies are as iconic as Alien. I can’t remember ever seeing the entire first movie until 6 years ago, but I already knew most of its iconic scenes. That chestburster scene must have been spoofed to death by now (get it?), and it even pops up...

L7 L7: Pretend We’re Dead DVD/Blu-Ray (MVD Visual) In the twenty-first century, it’s so unusual to simultaneously feel excited and infuriated as one watches a movie – but that’s what happens when one one watches Pretend We’re Dead – the documentary film which chronicles the rise, fall and rebirth of L7. The reason for the excitement and, really, the joy of this film is that there’s no question every member of the band – Donita Sparks, Suzi Gardner, Jennifer Finch...

Fascism: What It Is and How to Fight It by Leon Trotsky It’s strange to think that fascism is getting so much attention these days. In our current political climate things are getting so divisive that it’s much too common to label people as either fascists on the right or I-don’t-know-whats on the left. But for a word that gets thrown around so much, maybe we should know precisely what it means before we fling it around so carelessly. Leon...