A deeper look at the grooves pressed into both the Black Skies EP and the Waiting EP by Bishop’s Green. Bishop’s Green Black Skies EP (Pirates Press Records) As cool as some album covers are (and the cover of the Black Skies EP is definitely very cool), the peril is often that the image on the cover of a record just doesn’t match the music. It could easily be argued that Black Skies falls hard into that trap; with crows...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Growin’ Up LP by Luke Combs. I confess that it took a few days of listening to Luke Combs’ third album, Growin’ Up, constantly in hopes of finding a lede into the music before I finally found one which explained why I liked it as much as I do. I mean, the lyrics about hometown kicks aren’t terribly new or unique, and the performances are about as orthodox as it’s possible...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into NastyFacts’ Limited Edition “Drive My Car” 12” single. As every punk knows, it’s not terribly uncommon for many bands of a certain vintage to have a pretty abbreviated catalogue of releases. The idea of “one and done” isn’t uncommon at all, really – but it’s still saying something when a band’s total output was limited to ONE SINGLE before they closed up shop. That’s not small, that’s infinitesimal – so of course...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Otherness LP by Alexisonfire. The cool thing that Alexisonfire has always done (and this is not a claim that many bands can make) is that they have always challenged their audience without making it look intentional. When the band’s first album appeared in 2002, for example, the idea that three bands (Condemning Salem, Helicon Blue and Plan 9) could converge and intermingle punk, metal and emo DNA into one unit and...

WHO: Tim Heidecker WHAT: High School WHY: I never thought I’d be so into a Tim Heidecker album, but maybe it’s because I never thought he was worth giving a chance. Boy, was I wrong. High School is an album about just that, and Heidecker’s experiences are pretty relatable even to someone who went to high school in a much different place. The sound can probably be described as easy listening/alternative with influences of classic rock, which again, I never...

Happy-Go-Luckyby David Sedaris I forget every time I crack open a new David Sedaris book how this guy isn’t as popular as he should be. Oh, I realize he’s a rich famous author with enough money to throw around to own multiple houses, Picassos, and shop for useless overpriced things that he’s probably never even going to take out of the wrapping, so he’s clearly successful and widely read. But, it’s just the humanity of it all that I think...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Second Nature LP by Lucius. Not so long ago, an article was published outlining the concept and idea of “post-genre” pop, and the very idea made this critic scoff. “Attention spans have grown shorter,” I thought. “The way that many young people define themselves, the things they like and the things they don’t like have seemed to become even more codified.” It took a couple of minutes, but I finally figured...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into The Flatliners’ New Ruin LP. In the twenty-year duration of The Flatliners’ career to date, it’s actually pretty remarkable to observe the turns that the band’s music has taken. After beginning with some respectable (if not terribly memorable) ska-core in 2005 and then taking a couple of years to develop (see how it works with 2007’s The Great Awake), The Flatliners really hit the big time hard with 2010’s classic Cavalcade and...

Lou Reed Words and Music, May, 1965 (Light In The Attic) One question repeatedly comes up in writers’ groups, especially with beginning writers: “How do I copyright my work?” I resist the temptation to say, “Do you really think someone is going to steal your poetry?” and tell them, “Mail it to yourself.” As long as you don’t open the package, the postmark establishes that you wrote the enclosed material on or before that date. Lou Reed did that with...

Sailor MoonComplete First Season We seldom get second chances in life. I’m not talking about the big stuff, I’m talking about the stuff that matters: the little things. As an anime fan in general, I always dismissed Sailor Moon as being silly, for children, or just simply embarrassing (having established the short skirts and speed lines trope which prevails judgement of the anime genre). However, it’s presence (read: ubiquity) in Japanese pop culture is inescapable, and as more...