The last thing you think about after you have a near-death experience is when the next good show is coming to town. But, I love music. It’s funny, because I got hospitalized right after the last show I attended in November, and after you rehab and try to get back into your routine, the thought inevitably pops back into your head: when am I going back out there to catch a show? Starting a new demanding job didn’t help either:...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into The Vapids’ Revenge Therapy LP. Beyond a certain point, it’s understandable how fans of any given punk band lower their expectations of new albums, when they’re announced. Part of that might have to do with the age of the band playing a role; whether they admit it or not, fans of four-chord punk expect the bands making the music to be young and snotty. It could be argued that such is the...

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm The mind plays tricks on us. Especially, the child’s mind. Haven’t you gone back to something you remember loving as a kid and realizing it’s total shit? Distance is probably what’s making the heart grow fonder. I was having these feelings during the first 15 minutes of Batman Mask of the Phantasm. I remember the cover clearly as a kid, renting it from my video store, and rewatching it relentlessly. I watch movies...

WHO: Aesop Rock WHAT: Integrated Tech Solutions WHY: Boy, this was a close one. Aes’ last two albums had failed to resonate with me and I was starting to fear that either his best days were past him or that I was unable to relate to the guy’s music. I delved into Integrated Tech Solutions hesitantly and, luckily, after spending time with it, was able to finally crack it open. ITS is another example of Aesop Rock’s unmatchably verbose rapping...

Six Weeks in Russia, 1919by Arthur Ransome I look at Arthur Ransome’s Six Weeks in Russia, 1919 with both awe and disdain. It’s a thin book, definitely, and it’s also probably the last book I’ll be completing for a long time. After getting sick to the point of hospitalization and realizing I’ve taken on a new job which has very little interest in providing work/life balance, I’ve come to the realization that any opportunities to relax and “read a book”...

Barbie Hey Barbie, you gotta help me out here, OK? Look, I love Greta Gerwig. There was no chance in hell I was going to see Barbie if it weren’t for Gerwig’s involvement. The fandom behind the movie was dumb. It’s full of stunt casting and I knew it was going to be all hype. BUT… it’s Greta, you know? Weren’t we all shocked this became suck a smash hit? Sure, Margot Robbie reportedly predicted it, but who cares...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Spencer Burton’s North Wind LP. Since going solo in 2010 with Grey Kingdom (his project following the first lapse in Attack In Black’s activity), there’s no question that Spencer Burton has successfully developed an excellent and unique authoritative voice both as a singer and songwriter – but the greatest surprises have come his turns toward folk and country music. While 2021’s fantastic Coyote album established a new peak in Burton’s development, North...

WHO: Teenage Fanclub WHAT: Nothing Lasts Forever WHY: Sometimes, things fall through the cracks. Last year, it was Nothing Lasts Forever. I had heard it, and enjoyed it, but it took a while to click. By the time that happened, we were already in 2024. If I were to tell you that Teenage Fanclub is a California band, you’d believe me. But I’d be incredibly wrong. Try across the pond and way north. They’re not even close to being teenage!...

Yo La Tengo This Stupid World They say half the work is knowing. The other half is doing. Does that make sense? Does anyone say that? I don’t know, but it does apply to music in some way. Like my “love” of Jawbreaker. It’s a tainted love.  I own their entire catalog and played them relentlessly back in the day, yet I can only remember three songs (Want, Fine Day, and Boxcar). I completely forget entire albums of theirs until...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Crisis Actor LP by Billy Liar. It feels unlikely on the surface because, like Henry Ford, punks often want to proclaim that, “history is bunk” – but the fact is that some of the permutations of punk rock that have passed through the mainstream are possessed of an undeniably accessible quality. Even on first listen, sometimes there’s just something about the music which is capable of hooking listeners really really hard...