Music Review: Various Artists, The Dawn Of Psychedelia

By Melissa Bratcher

After listening to Cherry Red Records’ vast two-CD set The Dawn Of Psychedelia, I feel that I can say without a doubt that the humble flute launched the psychedelic revolution. Or possibly the sitar. Or a combination of both.

The Dawn Of Psychedelia attempts to trace back the origins of the Aquarian Age that defined the music of the ’60s. Sometimes, it hits the nail on the head. Other times, it sounds a bit like filler.

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Waxing Nostalgic Connecting The Dots: Fleetwood Mac, Rumours

By Jeffery X Martin

1977 changed everything. Whether you think of it as The Year Punk Broke or The Year Star Wars Came Out, 1977 flipped the game, changed the rules, and destroyed the playing field.

It was released on February 4, 1977. I don’t know precisely when Fleetwood Mac’s album Rumours entered the household, but once it was there, it seemed like it always had been. It settled in, immediately becoming part of the fabric of the house. It was the aquarium. It was the faux brick finish in the kitchen. It was “Second Hand News.” It was the green shag carpet. We put the album on, made it a pot of coffee, and sat down around the kitchen table for donuts, gossip, and “Gold Dust Woman.”

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Old Italian Horror Movies? Yes, Please!

By Jeffery X Martin

Halloween is coming. You will watch horror movies. You will do so for reasons you yourself do not comprehend. You will do so because the leaves have turned colors. You will do so because fear is now a corporate commodity. You will do so because it is what society demands.

This year, make a small stand. Put some effort into your scary movie watching. Do not pretend an unkillable man-child in a hockey mask is scary. Do not act like slow zombies are a threat to you in any way. Seek out something new, even if it is a few years old.

This year, go Italian.

The great New Wave of Italian Horror has been over for a while, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great movies in there that a lot of people haven’t seen. Here are some I think you’ll enjoy, because I personally know you so well and have all of your best interests in mind.
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Book Review: Comfort Foods: This Ain’t Your Momma’s Cooking!

By Lisa Anderson

October is here! And just in time for Halloween, the Nashville Writer’s Group presents Comfort Foods, a horror anthology edited by Nashville author Nikki Nelson-Hicks. The collection includes 13 short stories from local writers, many of which have distinctly Southern, if not uniquely Nashville, flavor to them. Some of these tales offer new takes on classic chills such as ghosts or zombies, and others invent entirely new nightmares for the reader.

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ICYMI: October 18, 2013

New this week on Popshifter: Less Lee Moore reviews three new movies: Electric Man (now on VOD), the wickedly hilarious Hellaware, and The Battery (screening Saturday at Toronto After Dark); Melissa praises Social Music from Jon Batiste and Stay Human and James Booker’s Classified: Remixed and Expanded; Alexandra West explains why Le Trouble is worth their name; and Jeffery describes how “Carry On, Wayward Son” resonates with memories of childhood fears.

Concert Review: Le Trouble at The Garrison

By Alexandra West

Toronto, ON
October 15, 2013

There’s a lot to be said for a band that can play a back room like their headlining tour has just hit Madison Square Garden, but that exactly what the Montreal-based band Le Trouble did last night at The Garrison in Toronto. It was a quiet night; the only marking besides the sandwich board outside was the artfully scruffy group of smokers. Tucked away in an unmemorable room on Dundas Street, The Garrison offers shows to those in the know and Le Trouble did not hesitate to take the stage with unrelenting energy while the small crowd looked on.

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TADFF 2013 Movie Review: The Battery

By Less Lee Moore

What would happen if the only other person remaining after the apocalypse was your annoying co-worker who always had his headphones on? What if the only other person smelled terrible? It may sound comical, but these are the hard questions you have to ask yourself when watching The Battery. Despite taking place after an apocalypse (of the Z-word variety), there are definitely funny moments, but on the whole, The Battery is a brutal movie. Things get fucked up and people die.

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Waxing Nostalgic Connecting the Dots: Kansas, “Carry On, Wayward Son”

By Jeffery X Martin

I grew up listening to the Moody Blues, so I was no stranger to pseudo-mysticism and lyrics that some people would consider “heavy.” In third grade, I knew what The Lost Chord was. I understood revolution in the streets as well as how to call occupants of interplanetary, most extraordinary, craft. Was I a weird kid? Were all pre-teens in the Seventies like that?

Maybe we were all weird kids, regardless of when we were born.

Carry on, my wayward son . . .

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Movie Review: Hellaware

By Less Lee Moore

One of the greatest things about Kids in the Hall was the show’s ability to convert the utterly banal into comedy. It requires far more skill to underplay a scene and still get laughs, as the audience imagines a waggling finger pointing at the object of the joke. Hellaware, from writer/director Michael M. Bilandic, achieves this so well it leaves the viewer breathless, both from amusement and admiration. At 75 minutes, Hellaware is expertly paced, wringing the most out of every detail in every scene and each seemingly throwaway secondary character.

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Music Review: Jon Batiste and Stay Human, Social Music

By Melissa Bratcher

Jon Batiste was born into New Orleans musical royalty—it is not mere coincidence that Wendell Pierce’s character Antoine shares the surname. On their debut album, Social Music, Jon Batiste and Stay Human dip effortlessly into different genres and make a remarkable album. It’s warm and engaging, and Batiste’s piano prowess is awe-inspiring.

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