box set

Rocky: The Knockout Collection Growing up I was both a Schwarzenegger and Stallone fan. Maybe more a Schwarzenegger fan because he seemed tough, scary, and a lovable goof. Of course I loved Stallone in Rocky, Judge Dredd, and Demolition Man, but I think at the time I was most tuned into movies, Schwarzenegger was making the more bonkers stuff. Now, as a grown-up, I’ve learnt to appreciate Stallone more. He’s kind of in a class all by himself,...

The Strokes The Singles Volume 1 (Legacy Recordings/Sony Music) The Strokes might be singlehandedly responsible for bringing the alternative renaissance of 2000-2010 to the masses. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Well, in that decade, there was a kind of rock music style (not necessarily new) that, for a lack of better term, was becoming more mainstream. That era saw the ascent of bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, LCD Soundsystem (to a lesser degree), The White Stripes, and The...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the 3LPs in the Acid Box by Acid. There’s no question that bands have come up with some pretty unusual items to include with their albums and/or box sets in the twenty-first century, but Acid – the band formed by Jeff Hassay and Imaad Wasif (Wasif – the guitarist who filled in for James Iha in the Smashing Pumpkins in the Nineties, formed The New Folk Implosion with Lou Barlow and collaborated...

Lord of the Rings Trilogy If you’ve ever wanted an example of New Zealand’s kiwi can-do attitude look no further than the Lord of the Rings. The cultural impact these movies have had on our society has been monumental. It not only brought hobbits, elves, and wizards to the mainstream, it made fantasy cool again. The nerds and jocks could be united as one (that is, until the Marvel universe completely dominated the entire stratosphere of culture). But...

Star Trek Picard Movie & TV Collection Here on Ground Control we plan on going where no man has ever gone before – to cover the entire Star Trek series home releases for your enjoyment. Well, not really, but we are terribly excited about the new Picard series debuting on CBS. Star Trek has a long and rich history, and though it’s had many ups and downs, it’s probably most known for the Next Generation series with...

As a music fan, you have a job to do. I know that sounds counter intuitive but hear me out. It’s not enough to listen to music and catch up on the new stuff. You gotta go back to the source as often as possible. You have to understand the lineage and the evolution and the precursors for the music that you love in the present. Sometimes it’s hard work. But that’s just how it is: music should be fun,...

WHO: Joe Strummer WHAT: Joe Strummer 001 WHY: A knowledge of Joe Strummer is almost mandatory for any music fan, and this new anthology certainly is a great introduction to the man’s pre- and post-Clash output. It does a perfect job of documenting Strummer’s musical evolution which always remained rooted in rock and roll. Fans of his music will enjoy revisiting the man’s life in chronological fashion and will be delighted by how much original and unreleased material they’ll hear...

Sharpling and Wurster The Best of The Best Show box set (Numero Group) You know what we’re going to do right now? We’re going to push a collection of sixteen CDs containing radio comedy bits on you. These CDs don’t even have MP3s, but play in real time. For the twenty-first century, this is a truly baffling format. So what exactly is wrong with us? Nothing, dammit. I’m doing this for your own good. The Best of the Best Show...