// Category Archive for: Reviews

Crudbump, NA$TYJAM$

By Adam McIntyre

The latest effort/persona from Drew (of Toothpaste For Dinner, Married To The Sea, and others): Crudbump.

Bathe in its magnificence. . . wait, did you hook up a subwoofer? I told you to hook up your subwoofer. Pretty sure I did tell you. You’re going to need it.
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Quantizing Your Pulse: The Heart Is A Drum Machine

By Adam McIntyre

“Why music?”

The Heart Is A Drum Machine attempts to answer that question in several ways with testimonials from musicians, actors, scientists, and doctors. Bookending the film are two little pieces with Ann Druyan, producer of the Cosmos television series (starring her husband, the late astrophysicist Carl Sagan) and the human responsible for choosing the music on the Golden Record included during the deep space probe of Voyager. Even if you don’t believe in life on other planets, including this record on Voyager is a gesture of poignant optimism; it’s entirely likely that the record would be damaged or misunderstood in purpose when discovered.
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Joy Division’s Grandkids: Ceremony: A New Order Tribute & Reissues From The Other Two

By Emily Carney

Tony Wilson, the pretentious but well-meaning head of Factory Records (lovingly and hilariously immortalized by Steve Coogan in the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People) may be no more, but it goes without saying that his legend still exists—and how could it not? This is the man who made possible such bands as Joy Division and the Happy Mondays (who were good in their heyday, really). Since his death, the bassist for the now-defunct New Order, Peter Hook, has sort of appointed himself as the ambassador of Manchester’s musical history.
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Hypernova, Through The Chaos

By Matt Demers

I’m not going to lie: I volunteered to review Hypernova because of their name. I mean, as a nerd, the word “nova” has certain. . . gravitas towards it, be it for the physics reference or one of the few words to pull off the “badass v” consonant.

But I was pleasantly surprised by their new album, Through The Chaos; there were no songs that I vehemently hated on the album. This is a bit of a feat for me, as when I listen to most records there seems to be one or two tracks that stick out like sore thumbs. In the best case, they serve as annoying distractions and at worst, they can derail an entire album. An album that is cohesive as an album (thematically or otherwise) definitely wins points in my mind.
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Review: Hot Tub Time Machine

By Laura L.

The moment I saw the commercials for the new movie Hot Tub Time Machine starring Rob Corddry, John Cusack, and. . . two other guys, my friends and I jumped at the chance to see it. Not because it looked to be a fine piece of cinema, but as fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000, we love making fun of craptastic movies. For the record, we have all also been to public showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a movie I cannot watch on my own because, let’s face it, it’s not that great on its own. [Blasphemy!—Ed.]
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The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Dirty Shirt Rock ‘N’ Roll: The First Ten Years

By Noreen Sobczyk

Jon Spencer is a man of many faces. He is a crazed preacher proselytizing the electric gospel. He is a musical ringmaster with Tourette’s Syndrome repeatedly proclaiming, “the blues is number one.” He is the majestic mumbling Boomhauer of rock and roll. He and the Blues Explosion are here for one reason: to save rock and roll. And they do it repeatedly, as though it simply flows from their veins; as if they were born to do it. If you’ve ever seen them live, you know two things for certain: they take no prisoners and they are not fucking around.
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From Page To Screen: Shutter Island

By Maureen

When I saw the trailer for Shutter Island, I was instantly intrigued. My first celebrity crush, Leonardo DiCaprio, delving into my current career field, mental health? Seemed too good to be true.
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The T.A.M.I. Show, Collector’s Edition DVD

By Noreen Sobczyk

Perhaps you’ve seen some incarnation of this historic program via bootlegs, but this is the first time The T.A.M.I. Show (Teenage Awards Music International) has seen an official release. Little Steven has been quoted as saying “It’s the greatest rock movie you’ve never seen.” That may be debatable, but The T.A.M.I. Show sure is a treasure.
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Blank Generation On DVD

By Less Lee Moore

Richard Hell got me my first paying job in the music industry. Sort of.
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Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, I Learned The Hard Way

By Noreen Sobczyk

Every music lover has undoubtedly been asked the same question at some point: “So what kind of music do you like?” It’s one of those tricky questions that sometimes results in a snarky answer, such as “the kind with melody and rhythm.”
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