As the front man of Spandau Ballet, Tony Hadley was the purveyor of slick, soulful songs. His rich voice was perfect for their tracks of intrigue, drama, and yearning love. And, as Tony Hadley’s The Christmas Album shows, he’s still soulful and slick.
Continue reading ‘Music Review: Tony Hadley, The Christmas Album’
On this episode of TV or GTFO, we’re going to introduce you to a little-known indie actor named RYAN GOSLING, via the extremely Canadian hit (???) series, Breaker High!
Watch as Ryan and his pals sail around the world to several countries (inasmuch as “taping a flag to the wall of a nondescript room” is another country) under the guise of getting an education from a high school on a boat. We ask how these horny kids manage to avoid every STD on the planet while sailing around in what amounts to a petri dish, whether the girls in the cast have telepathic abilities, why there’s a bully on the ship that seems older than any of the teachers, and how anyone could possibly think that dropping a bunch of teenagers into a Japanese monastery would result in any cultural sensitivity whatsoever.
We’re sailing the seven seas with the blandest, Canadianest high school that ever decided to raise the anchor! AND RYAN GOSLING! An ultra-low budget 90210 on a freakin’ boat? GTFO!
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By Tyler Hodg
Hi, my name is Tyler Hodgkinson and I am a total horror n00b.
In this series, I’ll be taking a look of classic, cult classic, and modern horror films with ignorant eyes. Its concept is scary simple. Continue reading ‘Tyler Talks Horror: The Exorcist’
The Flat Five’s debut album, It’s A World Of Love And Hope, is perfect antidote to the weird awfulness of 2016. Full of exquisite, goosebump-inducing harmonies and ear-worm melodies, it’s a vacation on vinyl (or digitally, as you do). The songs lull you with prettiness and then… you listen to the dryly hilarious lyrics. It’s the perfect marriage of those two factors and endlessly relistenable.
Continue reading ‘Music Review: The Flat Five, It’s A World Of Love And Hope’
The life of a Lyon is never easy. Constantly hunted, often abused, and subjected to the threat of confinement. When Season 2 of Empire wrapped up, the Lyon family was in shambles. Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) and Laura’s (Jamila Velazquez) fairytale wedding was broken up by a gun-toting, fight-starting, wasted Shyne Johnson (Xzibit) and Anika (Grace Gealey), still carrying Hakeem’s baby, was subpoenaed to testify against patriarch Lucious. In order to avoid this, Lucious (Terrence Howard) decided to hijack poor Hakeem’s wedding and force his whole family, including Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), to watch him marry Anika, a woman he clearly despises since she can’t testify against him if they tie the knot. Cookie finally swore off Lucious for good, but this predictably lasted about one minute because he’s just that charming. More on that later.
Continue reading ‘TV Review: Empire S3 E01, “Light Into Darkness”’
By Tim Murr
Opeth began challenging the parameters of death metal in the 1995 debut Orchid. Mixing in clean vocals, piano, and acoustic instruments, the band was destined to stand out. Frequent lineup changes occurred, leaving Mikael Åkerfeldt the only constant member. These days, the death metal connection seems tenuous at best, given the greater prog rock direction Opeth has taken. And that’s fine.
Continue reading ‘Music Review: Opeth, Sorceress’
By Tim Murr
Aberdeen’s Melvins have been around since 1983 and remain one of America’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands. That’s not hyperbole; that’s just a fact. They have released a slew of albums exploring the boundaries of stoner, doom, sludge, and grunge music. King Buzzo and Dale Crover have been the only constant members with several different bass players coming and going. Which brings us to the new album, Basses Loaded.
Continue reading ‘Music Review: Melvins, Basses Loaded’
By Tyler Hodg
Hi, my name is Tyler Hodgkinson and I am a total horror n00b.
In this series, I’ll be taking a look of classic, cult classic, and modern horror films with ignorant eyes. Its concept is scary simple.
Continue reading ‘Tyler Talks Horror: The Changeling’
The last time we checked in with Shovels & Rope, they had released Busted Jukebox Vol. 1, a collection of covers and collaborations. That was in 2015. Now, they have followed up with Little Seeds, an intimate, confessional return to form. It’s breathtaking in its honesty, chronicling some life-altering events in Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent’s lives.
Continue reading ‘Music Review: Shovels & Rope, Little Seeds’
I’m going to admit this right off the bat: there were a few times in listening to Julia Jacklin’s fascinating debut, Don’t Let The Kids Win, that I couldn’t quite make out what she was saying. On the opening track, “Pool Party,” I was drawn to the languid retro feel, a slow dreamy sway of a song, and the unusual timbre to Jacklin’s voice. I just had no idea what the lyrics were (and to me, as a reviewer, lyrics are important). But it didn’t actually matter, because the feelings are evident; there is a heaviness, a sadness that runs through the Americana-esque song.
Continue reading ‘Music Review: Julia Jacklin, Don’t Let The Kids Win’