Thomas Dolby, Oceanea EP

By Jemiah Jefferson

Those expecting a return to the bleepy electro-funk of the early releases of Thomas Dolby will likely be disappointed with the Oceanea EP; its sound tends more to the supperclub-jazz singer-songcraft reminiscent of Dolby’s early track, “I Scare Myself.” Those willing to listen more closely, however, will be rewarded by Spanish rhythms, nuanced piano, and storytelling lyrics that make each song like a snapshot from a complex relationship.
(more…)

Duran Duran, All You Need Is Now

By Jemiah Jefferson

In 2011, what does “relevance” mean? A term heavily bandied about by the music press, especially in the UK, a band’s relevance is of paramount importance, ranking ahead of sexiness, competency, or pure enjoyment. Perhaps for these reasons, Duran Duran hasn’t been necessarily “relevant” since their second album Rio set a new bar for all musical artists everywhere.
(more…)

Don’t Give Up: Go Stir Crazy

By Jemiah Jefferson

“I only have one speed: balls out.”

One of the essential films of my childhood was released in 1980, and I am almost completely certain that I saw it in the theater, being an avid fan of both Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder by the age of eight. Besides hearing Pryor’s comedy albums, I had also been lucky enough to catch Silver Streak on late-night TV as a wee one, and I most absolutely had seen The Wiz in the theater, and loved the hell out of it. And I am fairly certain I came out of the womb as a fan of Gene Wilder; no one can prove otherwise.

(more…)

Duran Duran, Three To Get Ready

By Jemiah Jefferson

“No obscure cheeses.”
—John Taylor, giving directions of what the band wants on its tour rider

The film opens on a very dry, very droll Nick Rhodes rejecting most of a series of recent photos of the band. We see that he’s joined with Simon Le Bon, just as dubious about most of the pictures, but he does helpfully supply, “I like the shape in the middle.” The empty space might have once been occupied by their departed band mates, Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor. Without even meaning to, this signals a new Duran Duran than expected by the legions of loyal global fans seduced by their mixture of surrealism, style, and raw sensuality, but accustomed to the five faces and iconic mops of expertly teased hair.

This is Three to Get Ready, the 1986 documentary depicting a band all too aware of their market share, refusing to be fractured, and yet straining towards expressing the creativity embodied in the core members of Le Bon, Rhodes, and the remaining Taylor: John, a former art student, lover of punk rock and disco, and at this time, in the grips of raging cocaine and hashish addiction yet no less tenderly gorgeous as he manifested in the earliest days of Duran Duran (and was barely out of his teens).
(more…)

Killer Instinct: Ten Psychotics With Style

Idea by Matt Keeley
With Contributions By . . .

Everyone knows that psychos in movies are good at one thing: killing. But honestly, that’s unfair. So many of these “homicidal maniacs” as some might call them have other interests. After all, are YOU just one thing? It’s time we set the record straight and give credit where it’s due, so here’s Popshifter‘s list of top multi-faceted murderers in alphabetical order because we don’t want to play favorites and take chances incurring their wrath!

(more…)

Friday The 13th: Not Your Mother’s Serial Killer

By Jemiah Jefferson

“Ki ki ki ki, ma ma ma!”

The frequent playground refrain from my childhood, where playing “serial killer” added extra spice to the tired old trope of Tag, came from this movie, not one of the seemingly countless similar others released around that same time.

Starting with the classic Halloween in 1978 (which I was lucky enough to see in the cinema when I was all of seven years old; it didn’t scare me a bit because I fell asleep), the next decade unleashed an onslaught of teen slasher flicks. I wasn’t a fan of gore until my college days, thus most of these movies came and went with nothing more than a dismissive sniff from me. In the interim, though, I’ve become an avid aficionado of gore, shocks, and assorted modes of on-screen death, where no panty shot goes unpunished. It was time for me to finally see Friday the 13th.
(more…)

Near Dark: The Night Is So Bright It’ll Blind You

By Jemiah Jefferson

Near Dark was released in 1987, the same year that The Lost Boys came out and stole all its thunder. Unfortunately for Kathryn Bigelow’s vampire film, it was the last one produced under the DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group, which went bankrupt almost immediately after Near Dark had finished production, and thus was robbed of a proper publicity process.

I certainly had never heard of it by the time it came on cable (Cinemax, probably) when I was 16, whereas I’d seen The Lost Boys in the theater. I avidly watched The Lost Boys, another cable staple, crushing very hard on the beauty of Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Patric, and seriously digging the slash-worthy homoerotic tension between their characters, and yet even then I got the sense that Near Dark was the superior film, much darker, more complex, bloodier, and Corey-free.
(more…)

The Prids, Chronosynclastic

By Jemiah Jefferson

Fully recovered from an intensely bad 2009, the black-clad Portland-based quartet emerges as if from a chrysalis, their sound now fully formed. These days, the Prids have a sound all their own, no longer reminiscent of New Wave pastiche and riffs cribbed from old goth favorites. The Prids are their own group now, with a sound as distinctive and unique as any of their inspirations while allowing enough room to shout out as the mood strikes.
(more…)

The Birthday Cakes, Expansion Pack

By Jemiah Jefferson

Okay, these guys are total freaks. And I think I love them. Don’t be fooled by the cheerful grins on this trio of damn handsome ginger brothers, nor by their love of really dreadful ’80s sweaters and paint-streak-patterned T-shirts: The Birthday Cakes are ready to rock your face off and make you howl at the moon (or at least roll up a really good werewolf mage).
(more…)

Summer Cocktails

By Jemiah Jefferson

Whaddya know—it’s summer again! And if you’re bored with drinking the usual longneck beers and dodgy box-wine sangria, give these party-worthy drink recipes a try. All of them have been extensively vetted by the author and her pals during the chillier months of spring, but a touch of hot weather should only improve the sipping experience.
(more…)