Night Shift, 1982
New this week on Popshifter: Best Of 2012 lists from Danny, Emily, Paul, Jeffrey, and Chelsea; Jemiah reviews the Django Unchained soundtrack; and I come up with ten more holiday tunes that won’t make you sick.
Despite The Gods
New this week on Popshifter: Danny is not very fond of the film 360, out now on home video; Chelsea is over the moon about the new Big Dipper album, Big Dipper Crashes on the Platinum Planet (and shares their new video for “Robert Pollard”); Lisa voices unpopular opinions about It’s A Wonderful Life; Cait raves about the new white vinyl 7″ from Concrete Blonde; I express admiration and frustration for Take This Waltz; and Elizabeth talks about Community, Disney, Netflix & Verizon in a new installment of “TV Is Dead, Long Live TV.”
Dark Skies
New this week on Popshifter: I give thanks and praise to “Echoes From The Sleep Room,” the last lecture in The Black Museum’s series and explain how shaking off the movie Excision is a lot harder than I thought it would be.
Broken, image from The CillianSite
New this week on Popshifter: I take a look at the excellent Jay Reatard documentary Better Than Something and the upcoming What The Brothers Sang album by Dawn McCarthy and Bonnie “Prince” Billy; Cait provides a beautiful review of Bert Jansch’s recently reissued Heartbreak and encourages music lovers to check out the latest single from the Explorers Club, “No Good To Cry.”
Skyfall
New this week on Popshifter: Cait has the scoop on the newest Marshall Crenshaw single and subscription service, reviews the reissue of 1985’s Romance from David Cassidy, and is delighted by The Edie Adams Christmas Album; I have good things to say about School of Seven Bells’s new EP Put Your Sad Down as well as The Barrens on Blu-Ray; and Elizabeth outlines your options if you’re thinking of ditching your cable TV subscription.
Sinister, 2012
New this week on Popshifter: I give a wrap up of Toronto After Dark; Chelsea reviews The Red Machine, reminisces about ’90s Boston band Tribe, and raves about Sophie Auster’s debut EP The Red Weather; Danny wonders if Creedence Clearwater Revival’s new Ultimate box set will prove they’re the American Beatles; and Julie praises Firewater’s International Orange! as well as their recent concert in Cleveland.
Post Halloween blues by sachiko-no! on Flickr
I’ve got the post-Halloween blues! It’s been a long and exhausting month, and even though I skipped out on last week’s Assemblog, I’m going to have to skip this week’s, too. Sorry everyone. But we do have a lot of articles from this week for you to enjoy.
New this week on Popshifter: My review of the delightfully weird Wrong (for all my Toronto After Dark Film Fest coverage, go here); Jemiah describes The Ganzfeld EP from Matmos as a “pleasing appetizer” to their upcoming full-length; Cait has fun with the hilarious and nostalgic reissues of Zacherle’s Monster Mash & Scary Tales; Chelsea explains NaNoWriMo for the uninitiated; Elizabeth discusses fan-funded TV in this installment of “TV Is Dead, Long Live TV;” and I review three quite different but worthwhile new releases: ESP’s self-titled EP, Majeure’s Solar Maximum, and Wazu’s Robobo.
—Less Lee Moore, Managing Editor
Don’t cry, Vlad. You’ll ruin your makeup.
Okay you guys, truth: I’ve been way too busy with Toronto After Dark to do a proper Assemblog this week. It will be okay, though. We’ll make it through together. In the meantime, here’s what’s new this week on Popshifter.
You can read my ongoing Toronto After Dark 2012 Film Festival coverage here, including reviews of American Mary, After, Citadel, and Resolution.
Danny ponders the hype machine in his review of Gary Clark Jr.’s Blak and Blu; I call out the haters in my assessment of Prometheus on Blu-Ray; Chelsea discusses the legendary Rick Berlin and his latest, Always On Insane; Ricky thinks Black Moth Super Rainbow’s Cobra Juicy is their most accessible album yet; Emily defends black cats on Halloween; Jemiah suggests Zombie Eye for the Living Guy as a guideline for the would-be undead; and Emily bids a fond farewell to Ceefax.
—Less Lee Moore, Managing Editor
Beyond The Black Rainbow
New this week on Popshifter: The full schedule for the Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2012 is out; I profile one of my top five picks for the festival, American Mary; and Elizabeth weighs in on The Rumble 2012 in her new installment of “TV Is Dead, Long Live TV.”
This week’s Assemblog (and probably next week’s) will be bare bones; I’m working on lots of good stuff for the next few weeks.
Still, you can enjoy all the new articles on Popshifter this week if you haven’t read them already:
I think Ty Segall’s Twins is “deliriously enjoyable,” call Merchandise’s Children of Desire “unique and bracing,” am overwhelmed by Beyond The Black Rainbow, but disappointed in Wrath; Danny says Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs’ Sunday Run Me Over is the “prime example of what country music should sound like;” J declares Peggy Sue Play The Songs Of Scorpio Rising is “flat-out brilliant;” and Cait adds another chapter to the “Book of Long Lost Albums” in her review of the recently issued Elton Duck.
—Less Lee Moore, Managing Editor