Assemblog: December 13, 2013

Out of the Furnace

New this week on Popshifter: Brad was less than impressed with Paradise, but excited about Streets Of Fire; I explore the unexpected gravitas of The Wolverine and pay my respects to the new Melvins album Tres Cabrones; LabSplice shows how Arrow fights crime the Bill Gates way through product placement; Jeff waxes nostalgic about holiday tunes; and we’ve got Best Of 2013 lists for you from David Barras (Electric Man), singer/songwriter Willie Nile, our own Danny R. Phillips and Jeffery X Martin.

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Assemblog: December 6, 2013

Spring

New this week on Popshifter: I review the bizarre time capsule that is Saâda Bonaire and have some constructive criticism for Sebastian Grainger after his latest solo release, Yours To Discover; Paul discusses where R&B is now and where it’s heading with Toronto musician Jhyve and explains why Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound is a labor of love; Brad reviews an underrated classic (Body Bags) and a new could-be classic (Bounty Killer); and Jeff waxes nostalgic and gloomy with Depeche Mode’s “Black Celebration.”

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Assemblog: October 25, 2013

Here Comes The Devil

New this week on Popshifter: Lisa enthuses over the new horror anthology Comfort Foods from the Nashville Writers Group; Jeff suggests five Italian horror movies that you may not have known about and wraps himself up in Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours; Melissa argues that sitars and flutes are more influential than previously thought in her review of The Dawn of Psychedelia and is disappointed in the new Fratellis album, We Need Medicine.

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Assemblog: October 11, 2013

Open Grave

New this week on Popshifter: I am somewhat confounded by The English Teacher (now out on DVD), rather addicted to Thick Snow Magic, the new EP from After The Ice, caught in the throes of Mustang, Electric Six’s latest, and delighted by The Walking Dead Season 3 on DVD; Melissa is on a roll with reviews of a Joe Tex reissue, the latest album from Seasick Steve, and a much-loved Alex Chilton bootleg; Chelsea loves Rookie Yearbook Two, the print counterpart to Tavi Gevinson’s popular website; Jeff is terrified of Al Stewart’s “Year of the Cat” but urges everyone not to miss Goblin on their current tour; and Julie brings us a hysterically funny recap of 15 laughably horrible videos.

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Assemblog: October 4, 2013

Locke

New this week on Popshifter: Jeff is terrified of V/H/S/2, besotted with Sunset Graves’ Variant, and a little embarrassed about “Torn Between Two Lovers”; Paul provides a fascinating treatise linking Blade Runner to The Weeknd and Janelle Monáe; Melissa might be in love with both Blitzen Trapper’s VII and The Wood Brothers’ The Muse albums; Chelsea thinks Just Desserts, the new Waitresses retrospective, is quite tasty; and I thrill to White Lies at Toronto’s Opera House, and recommend new music from Blouse and Terry Malts.

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Assemblog: September 27, 2013

I stole this photo from SPIN. It’s totally appropriate.

New this week on Popshifter: LabSplice says DO NOT WANT to Ulli Lommel’s Black Dahlia; Chelsea likes the way Gimme The Loot portrays a side of New York that’s normally unseen; Jeff learns about double entendres in “Midnight at the Oasis”; Paul gets to know Irish singer/songwriter Tiger Cooke; Lisa compares Daniel Jacksons in her article on Stargate; Melissa reviews lots of new releases: Tom McDermott, Allen Toussaint, Kelley Stoltz, and Headstones; I think Simon Killer is an outstanding film and encourage everyone to check out the new Blu-Ray of Two Men in Manhattan; and say a sad farewell to Pat Fear.

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Assemblog: September 20, 2013

Under The Skin

New this week on Popshifter: Tim says goodbye to D.O.A. and hello to the new Robocop trailer; Jemiah calls Kenny Feinstein’s Loveless: Hurts To Love a masterpiece; Melissa has mixed feelings about Ha Ha Tonka’s Lessons; Jeff approaches bridges and A chords in a new installment of Waxing Nostalgic; and I find The Exquisite Corpse Game remarkable.

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Assemblog: September 13, 2013

Director Jim Jarmusch is still recovering from that embarrassing “Did it hurt?” question at the Only Lovers Left Alive Q&A

I’ve been busy writing over at the TIFF Vanguard Blog, but guess what? TIFF is almost over! So we’ll soon be back to our regularly scheduled Assemblogs. In the meantime, here’s what’s new on Popshifter this week.

Brad has the scoop on new releases from Scream Factory, I Come In Peace and X-Ray/Schizoid; Melissa has good things to say about San Fermin’s debut and the latest from Glen Campbell; Jeff talks about phasing in this week’s Waxing Nostalgic; Chelsea examines ZZK Records comp ZZK Sound Volume 3; I am impressed by the creature design in Frankenstein’s Army, overwhelmed by the wonderful Forever by Holograms, and grateful to have seen Brazilian Western and iNumber Number at TIFF.

—Less Lee Moore, Managing Editor

Assemblog: September 6, 2013

New this week on Popshifter: Less Lee finds “much to celebrate” on Ty Segall’s Sleeper, compares Italian new wave compilation Mutazione to “an excellent mix tape made by a music-savvy friend”, and selects her top 20 picks for TIFF; Brad “nearly drowns” in the “radical” Deranged; I get down with “the legendary Barrence Whitfield” and his new album with the Savages, Dig Thy Savage Soul; Jeffrey waxes nostalgic over the Moody Blues; and Paul observes that pro wrestling “is as good a place as any for creativity”.

Our Fearless Leader is still guest-blogging for the Toronto International Film Festival. Do you think she’d notice if I turned the Assemblog into a carefully curated page of corgi gifs?

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Assemblog: August 30, 2013

Our beloved editor is typing her fingers to the bone, blogging for TIFF 2013, but that doesn’t mean you can’t check out all the great new stuff on Popshifter this week!

The Internet lost its hive-mind this past week when it was announced that Ben Affleck had been cast as Batman in the sequel to Man of Steel, but Paul makes a great case for why it doesn’t matter at all; Melissa gets greasy with Lux Interior; Chelsea gets ethereal with The Copper Gamins; new contributor Tim shines a spotlight on the venerable Pere Ubu; Brad goes into the light with his review of Fire in the Sky; Less Lee provides her recap of FanExpo Canada 2013; and finally, I start a new Waxing Nostalgic series and offer an essay about when movies were movies, not digital presentations.

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