DVD Review: A Plague So Pleasant

By Jeffery X Martin

Anyone with a decent camera phone and at least two acquaintances can make a zombie film. It’s that simple. Because of the simplicity of the basic set-up (don’t get eaten), we’ve gotten a lot of zombie flicks that are the same thing over and over. Eat that leg. Yank out those entrails. Cut off those zombie heads and for the love of all that’s profitable, don’t stray from the formula!

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Comic Review: Jim Shepherd: Negotiate Nothing

By Tyler Hodg

To many, the name of musician Jim Shepherd isn’t significant. Aside from signing with Rick Rubin’s American label just two years prior to his death, he spent the majority of his career underground, recording his and others’ music to no quantifiable success.

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Music Review: The Pollies, Not Here

By Melissa Bratcher

There’s something amazing going on in Alabama. The bands coming out of the Cotton State are incredible right now. From the Banditos to St. Paul & the Broken Bones to, of course, Alabama Shakes, to the Drive-By Truckers and that nice fellow Jason Isbell, there’s an earthiness and a rootsy flavor in the music, and these bands are breaking in such an exciting way. Add to that list The Pollies.

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Music Review: Hollywood Vampires, Hollywood Vampires

By Tyler Hodg

Hollywood Vampires is a “supergroup” consisting of core members Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, and Joe Perry, with guest appearances by Brian Johnson, Dave Grohl, Slash, Perry Farrell, and Paul McCartney, to name a few. Yes, this is a real thing.

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An Imaginary Patti Smith Mix Tape

By Tim Murr

Patti Smith’s new memoir, M Train, is coming out on October 6. It will continue the journey through her life that she began with her previous book, Just Kids, which focused on her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Just Kids is a moving book that I couldn’t put it down. I encourage everyone to pick it up.

For me, Patti has been such a strong source of inspiration for so long. Every time I listen to her debut, Horses, I’m struck by how timeless it is. Released at the end of 1975, about two months before the Ramones released their debut album, there is a quality to its sound that doesn’t scream any era, but simply sounds like Patti Smith music. The build up to the chorus on “Gloria” still makes my hair stand on end. I’d call it one of the best moments of any rock song on any album ever produced.

So with Patti Smith’s new book around the corner and 2015 being the 40th anniversary of Horses, I thought I’d make a mix tape of her top 20 songs for the uninitiated to download right now. I chose from across all eras and offer them in particular order. For the bold, I’d say just buy Horses and then each album in order of release, but I recognize that people buy music differently these days. So, here’s the Patti Smith mix tape track listing I’d make for you, if ya know, we were friends or dating or something…

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Concert Review: Riot Fest 2015 in Toronto

By Tyler Hodg

Coheed and Cambria

Toronto music fans came out in droves to witness this year’s Riot Fest. The traveling festival made a stop in “The Six” on September 19-20, with international artists such as Weezer, The Prodigy, Motorhead, Wu-Tang Clan, and Canada’s hardcore darlings Alexisonfire all showcasing their stellar live shows to a very hungry crowd.

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Movie Review: Scorpions, Forever And A Day

By Jeffery X Martin

Somewhere around the halfway point of this rockumentary, I came to an odd realization. Here I am, a man who lived through the Eighties, watched the rise and fall of Hair Metal, and yet I have taken the band, Scorpions, completely for granted. After all, has there ever been a world where “Rock You Like a Hurricane” hasn’t existed?

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Music Review: Spooner Oldham, Pot Luck

By Melissa Bratcher

Muscle Shoals keyboard stalwart Spooner Oldham (who has possibly the greatest name of all time) has had his fingers on myriad classic tracks. Co-writing hits like the Boxtops “Cry Like A Baby,” Percy Sledge’s “Out Of Left Field,” and James and Bobby Purify’s “I”m Your Puppet” with collaborator Dan Penn might be enough to secure a spot in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (which he was inducted into in 2009), but he also lent his keyboards to music from Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, the Stones, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. He’s frequently toured with Neil Young and in 2007, toured with the Drive-By Truckers. His pedigree is incredible.

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The Official Popshifter Podcast, Episode #02: 57 Maidens

Welcome to The Official Popshifter Podcast, Episode #02, “57 Maidens and No Wrestling at TIFF”

Featuring Managing Editor Less Lee Moore and Featured Contributor Jeffery X Martin! Enjoy and thanks for listening.

Reviews:

La Grande Bouffe Blu-Ray

Ghost, Meliora from Dirge Magazine

Iron Maiden single, “Speed Of Light”

Music Review: Dr. John, The Atco/Atlantic Singles 1968-1974

By Melissa Bratcher

If there’s one thing Dr. John does well (though he does loads of things well), it’s setting a scene and creating a vibe. In listening to Omnivore Recordings’ Dr. John collection The Atco/Atlantic Singles 1968-1974, there is such a rich, immersive feeling—a deep swamp that reaches slippery fingers up to pull you down—that it is like taking a trip to the Bayou, sans surprise alligators. Dr. John’s mix of blues, funk, and psychedelia is inimitable, much like his trademark boozy vocal yawp. He’s a one of a kind.

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