The glass bottom boat of the cultural press
In the news today: Electric Six, Romy, A Giant Dog, Hip Hop 50 Year Anniversary, Run-DMC, Snoop Dogg, Fugees, Juneteenth, Best Board Games, Tina Turner, Trugoy the Dove, Shannen Doherty, Bad Omens, Kindness and Care, Jen Lush, Halsey, Lilith, Drew Barrymore, Brendan Small, Ratboys, Slipknot’s Clown
The first wave of UK punk crested and shrank back, but the Mekons are still thrashing and foaming.
Bride of the Devil (Metropolis Records). Review by Carl F Gauze.
How Dare You? (Metropolis Records). Review by Carl F Gauze.
Fresh Blood For Tired Vampyres (Metropolis Records ). Review by Carl F Gauze.
Human Zoo ( Metropolis Records). Review by Carl F Gauze.
Top Less Gay Love Tekno Party. Review by Carl F Gauze.
Mustang (Metropolis Records). Review by Carl F Gauze.
Heartbeats and Brainwaves (Metropolis Records). Review by Carl F Gauze.
Zodiac (Metropolis Records). Review by Carl F Gauze.
Electric Six set the crowd on fire at Orlando’s best small club. Carl F Gauze was close enough to get singed.
Ian Koss has seen the future of boy bands, and boy, does it have one #&@% of a potty mouth. Skip the bar, and settle in for the latest batch of music to piss off your parents.
Where Did All My People Go (Long Nights, Impossible Odds). Review by Carl F Gauze.
Carl F Gauze takes an armchair tour through old Atlanta, courtesy of Zeus Henderson’s super-8 camera.
It matters not that they seem to play The Social every six months or so, Orlando will always come out, drink up, and have a great time to the sounds of Detroit’s Electric Six. Jen Cray finally showed up to see what all the fuss was about.
Fire (XL / Beggars). Review by Stein Haukland.
“Melodic with a touch of groove and an anemic, very white approach to the vocals, but still soulful.” Gail Worley talks to Johnny Marr, currently of The Healers and formerly of the Smiths, and manages to keep it together. Mostly.
Danger! High Voltage (XL/Beggars Banquet). Review by Kiran Aditham.
Just in time for the heavy metal Christmas shopping season, European author Alexandros Anesiadis delivers his latest — a thorough and riveting encyclopedia-type account of the hard-working DIY American bands that created an important underground music scene that’s well worth remembering.
In a beautiful testament to Peter Weir’s vision, the director’s 1985 classic, Witness, gets a fresh restoration from Arrow Video.
Ready for a cold one this season? We thought so! Enjoy, as Christopher Long reflects on his favorite VINYL releases of 2023 — an intoxicating (and satisfying) “six-pack,” to be sure.
Concert addict Jeremy Glazier talked with A.J. Croce near the beginning of his year-long Croce Plays Croce tour about embracing his father’s music and his own while honoring both their familial bond and shared influences.
For Lily and Generoso, 2023 was a fantastic year at the cinema! They select and review their ten favorite films, six supplemental features, and one extraordinary repertory release seen at microcinemas, archives, and festivals.
The hidden gem of the French New Wave, Le Combat Dans L’île gets a lovely Blu-ray from Radiance Films.
This fall, Ani DiFranco brought new Righteous Babe labelmate Kristen Ford to Iowa City, where Jeremy Glazier enjoyed an incredible evening of artistry.
This week Christopher Long grabs a bag of bargain vinyl from a flea market in Mount Dora, Florida — including You’re Never Alone with a Schizophrenic, the classic 1979 LP from Ian Hunter.
Bob Pomeroy gets into four Radio Rarities from producer Zev Feldman for Record Store Day with great jazz recordings from Wes Montgomery, Les McCann, Cal Tjader, and Ahmad Jamal.
Bob Pomeroy digs into Un “Sung Stories” (1986, Liberation Hall), Blasters’ frontman Phil Alvin’s American Roots collaboration with Sun Ra and his Arkestra, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and New Orleans saxman Lee Allen.