Blu-Ray Review: At The Devil’s Door

By Brad Henderson

As a cinephile I’m often asked the question, “what is the scariest film you have ever seen”? I have a list of scary films but not too many actually scare me. I’ve been watching horror films since I was 4, so I’m a little desensitized at this point in my life. I get creeped out of course, but it takes a little bit more for me to look over my shoulder at the end of the film.

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DVD Review: My Name Is A

By Brad Henderson

Movies push the limits constantly. Sometimes I go into a film knowing that it is going to hit me hard, but every once in a while a film comes out of nowhere to punch me right in the face. A few years ago the controversial A Serbian Film screened at South By Southwest and word spread quickly on social media that it was “the most fucked up movie ever made.” I agree A Serbian Film pushes the envelope a number of times and I mostly agree that it’s fucked up. However, there isn’t any realism in for it me and I believe it’s realism that’s scarier and sticks with you more. Films like A Serbian Film, Martyrs, and The Human Centipede are brutal but I have to give up a big portion of my suspension of disbelief because there is no realism to these films at all.

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Best Art Prints Of 2014: Kevin Burke, Filmmaker

I’ve had a great year as an art fan. It was really difficult to come up with a short list of my favorite releases, especially given that my own personal collection grew by almost 50 prints this year, but I’ve divided a list into two categories of some of my personal favorites of this year, in no particular order.

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Podcast Alert: 20th Century Nostalgia

By Less Lee Moore

If you’re looking for a fun new music podcast, might I suggest this one? 20th Century Nostalgia! From their Mixcloud page:

It’s 2014 and music is dead. We long for the glory days of 1920s blues, 1930s country, 1940s bebop, ’50s rock and roll, ’60s girl groups, ’70s punk, ’80s new wave, ’90s alternative, and everything in between. We focus on music and pop culture from 1900 to 1999—no later! Join us as we complain about the decline of pop culture and obsess over musicians who died before we were born. We post, discuss, and podcast about anything and everything, as long as it’s good (or funny) and from the past.

Their newest podcast “We R Thankful 4 Prince” is now up, just in time for the holidays!

Notable Christmas Albums: Past, Present, and Future

By Brenna Chase

Tired of the same worn out Christmas songs you’re subjected to every season, but still want to get into the holiday spirit? While there are tons of dispensable versions of every yuletide tune in existence, there are still some notable albums worthy of consideration.

Christmas Albums Everyone Should Try At Least Once

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Best Of 2014: Noreen Sobczyk

The Muffs, Whoop De Doo: 100% satisfaction guaranteed with this album.

TRS-80, Volume One: A great compilation of remastered early works by a fantastic electronic band.

Jack White, Lazaretto: A terrific album with phenomenal, record-setting vinyl format bells and whistles.

OFF!, Wasted Years: It gave us the gold standard for punk rock and more recently, some pretty excellent videos, too.

Omnivore Recordings: They recently announced the imminent release of two Jellyfish reissues with new liners and over 50 tracks.

Pee Wee Herman: He’s back and making his presence known on social media and television. Pee Wee’s Playhouse was remastered and the news of that long-awaited movie seems very promising.

The Walking Dead: It continues to set the standard for good television. From the premiere to the mid-season finale, I think this has been my favorite season.

David Bowie Is, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois: A staggering amount of memorabilia and information with backing audio, providing even the most ardent fan some surprises.

Dolenz Jones Boyce & Hart reissue from Cherry Red: A must have for any die-hard Monkees fan and a better bet than most of the band’s later recordings.

Best Of 2014: Jeffery X Martin

True Detective

This was a shit year. It’s hard to find a “best” thing about a terrible time frame, so it’s no surprise that my Best Of list is exceeding dark. We are the times, and times is hard, Missus Lovett. But my choices, all of them, provide small glimmers of hope, muted rays within the coal dust, a little something to grab for. In a year like 2014, it’s the best I can do.

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Best Of 2014: Johnette Napolitano, Concrete Blonde

Top Ten Happy Things of 2014 (that I can recall)

1. The good folks at Pioneer Feed in Joshua Tree finding me an awesome new truck, ending almost two years of vehicle hell.
2. Watching my horse, True, mellow out into the sweetheart I always knew he could be.
3. Singing the “Ave Maria” live in Lexington, Kentucky.
4. Seeing and hanging out with my old school pals Toto out here in the desert.
5. Finding amazing Flamencos to open for me in Las Vegas, and the cool ride back to the hotel with the security guys in the squad car.
6. Emo Roadie
7. Best show I’ve ever played with Flamenco LA at Hotel Cafe, Hollywood
8. Ride up to No Cal with Ben Woods and getting all schooled up on music on the way. . . and hanging with old bandmate Jerry Harrison
9. East Coast with Laurie Sargent, accidentally finding we needed to get on a ferry two minutes before it left.
10. Too many ghost stories.

Johnette Napolitano is in the middle of a solo North American tour. Her book, Rough Mix, is available on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Best Of 2014: Steve Wynn, The Dream Syndicate

1. Minus 5, Scott The Hoople in the Dungeon of Horror
2. The War On Drugs, Lost In The Dream
3. The Black Keys, Turn Blue
4. Ryan Adams, Ryan Adams
5. Leonard Cohen, Popular Problems
6. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Hypnotic Eye
7. Tamikrest, Chatma
8. Beck, Morning Phase
9. Sun Kil Moon, Benji
10. Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, Wig Out At Jagbags

Steve Wynn has played with The Dream Syndicate and Miracle 3, among others. His previously unavailable 1990s recording sessions have recently been released on Omnivore Recordings as Sketches In Spain.

Movie Review: Copenhagen

By Noreen Sobczyk

Mark Raso makes his feature film directorial debut with Copenhagen, for which he also wrote the screenplay. The film was highly anticipated; Raso won the Student Academy Award (Oscar®) Gold Medal for his short film Under. Copenhagen had a very successful festival run, receiving six festival prizes prior to its recent US theatrical release. I eagerly offered to review the film, certain I would love an award-winning film with great viewer buzz and critical acclaim, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

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