To be at the front of the line. All I wanted. That was all I wanted. And by leaving at 4:30 for a 7:30 concert, I got that wish. Tonight, I would be seeing noted Indie darlings The XX at the illustrious Cain’s Ballroom. I was to be accompanied by my friends Nick and Taylor. (Editor who is also the [...]
Well, ladies and ladies and gentlemen. It’s that time o’ the year again. It’s time to discuss my favorite things of the year. Movies, music, music, music. So, I might be a little narrow minded when it comes to discussion topics. Oh well. I’ll try to branch out more next year, so we can discuss more things in a years [...]
So, you know when you see a piece of media and it completely breaks all pre-conceived notions you had about what that media could be? House did that to me with Cinema. Now, I watch a lot of movies. Especially horror movies. And House has taken a time-tested horror-movie formula (teenage girls go to a haunted house), given it acid, spun it around a [...]
Broken Social Scene were a Canadian collective of musicians that formed around the early 2000s. The band could have up-winds of 45 musicians at any given times. It really was a scene in itself. This album is their true debut as a band. It is commonly referred to as one of the most influential records of the decade, effortlessly melding indie rock, [...]
Metal is a tricky genre to tackle. It has so many different styles, genres, sub-genres, scenes, back-stories, and figures that it can be very difficult to know where to start. I mean, what is the difference between Brutal Death Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, Funeral Black Metal, Thrash Metal, etc? If you were just starting in the genre, you’d be completely lost. I myself [...]
Way back in October, I reviewed the film Suspiria. Since that review, the film has done nothing but grow in my favor. It currently resides in my Top 5 Favorite Films and is my favorite horror movie. But that film is not the only Argento film worth a watch. Not in the slightest. And what a lot of people don’t know [...]
Seeing as how I am utterly and madly in love with Annie Clark, I figured it was about time for me to review one of her St. Vincent albums. This is a tough task for me to partake in. Not reviewing the album, that shouldn’t prove too hard. No, the challenge comes from picking which of her albums to review! I [...]
This is the third of my requested reviews. The first was Knife Man by Andrew Jackson Jihad, followed by Glistening Pleasures by Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head. Welcome back to Vinyl Insert a.k.a. “Holy Crap! That guy STILL hasn’t written a new review?!?”. In my review-crosshairs today is the album Treasure by Cocteau Twins. I’m struck by the atmosphere of this [...]
The second of the recommended albums that I will be reviewing. The first was that Andrew Jackson Jihad record. Up next is Treasure by Cocteau Twins. Oh My God. I’ve found it. The pure distilled essence of Hipsterdom. It’s this album. Ironic lyrics, overwhelming 80s fetish, song title with your spelled as Yr., colorful sunglasses, chick backup singer, lead singer with less than traditional [...]
The energy in the air was electric. Not from a crowd, but from me. This was about two hours before we would even leave for the venue. I’d been stoked since March, and it was beginning to show in the air currents. Time seemed endless. For all I could tell, it was. My mind was a mish-mash of various snippets [...]
Pitchfork.com has asked for it’s readers to make a list of their favorite albums in the time span of 1996 (the year Pitchfork was founded) to 2011. After hours of slaving away, revising and removing and adding albums, my list ended up looking like this. This is pretty definitive of what my favorite albums in that time frame look like. [...]
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OK, first things first. This review won’t be as in-depth or as long as some of my previous reviews. I’m doing it as a favor to my friend Nathan and I figure it can act as a sort of snack to tide you over until I finish the bigger review I’m working on right now. And aye, it doth be [...]
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Yes, I’m back. I give you all of my apologies for the Grand Canyon sized gap between reviews. I’m very surprised that its taken me this long to mention Mr. Dylan. You see, Bob Dylan is the most important artist to my musical growth. He was the first true progression from artists that were either Beatles or Green Day related. He was [...]
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Dedicated to my friend Brandon, because this is his favorite album. Every once in a while, the clouds part and a beam of brilliance shines down from up above. Sometime around 1996, one of these beams decided to rest upon the shaggy haired head of Jeff Mangum, leader of Louisiana based lo-fi band Neutral Milk Hotel. Neutral Milk Hotel had [...]
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Black Sabbath was some heavy stuff. It was heavy back then and it’s heavy to this day. The pounding drums, the down-tuned guitars, Ozzy Osbourne’s deathly screech. Nobody quite captured that feeling of doom and dread like early 70′s Black Sabbath. It’s too bad that Ozzy Osbourne went on to a generic Hard rock solo career. He had some potential. [...]
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To start, I would like to state that I enjoy the music of Coldplay. Really, I do. I think that both Parachutes and Viva La Vida are among the best albums in their release years. They are good and perfectly enjoyable. Honest. But Coldplay are Radiohead with a slightly different paint job. Let’s face it. The mainstay of Coldplay’s sound is [...]
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Christmas time is here. I’ll always be a Halloween kind of guy but that doesn’t mean I am a Scrooge. Christmas time is great too. It makes me think of staying inside, warm and comfortable as some Jazz record spins. Christmas has inspired some really great tunes over the course of music history. I’d like to talk about 10 of [...]
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Elvis Costello is angry. He’s angry at you, me, his ex-girlfriend, her new love, the media, the fashion industry, and everyone who isn’t named Elvis Costello. This Year’s Model is one of my most favorite albums and has been for at least two years now. It’s the greatest New-Wave album ever recorded. It has some of the best lyrics I’ve [...]
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The Beatles. What could I possibly say about the Beatles. Well from a critical point of view, nothing. Everything that could ever be originally said about The Beatles has, at one point or another, been said. That well is dry. I can, however, write about them on a personal level. You see, The Beatles are the most important band to [...]
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Alas, Halloween time is over. I am not overcome with despair, however. November is one of my most favorite months. The weather is not quite the terror that is December chill or the overcoming heat of July. It’s quite nice out (at least, around here anyways) and I love music that reflects this feeling. Robyn Hitchcock is a singer-songwriter in [...]
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