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Black Pus and Foot Village @ The Smell, with Street Buddy and Clipping [Concert Review]
Last Monday night I caught a fantastic show featuring BLACK PUS with FOOT VILLAGE, STREET BUDDIES, and CLIPPING at the LA venue THE SMELL (kind of an odd bodily theme going on with the names).
Random Access Memories by Daft Punk - Softer, Slower, Stronger for It [Music Review]
Releasing “Get Lucky” as a single was a decidedly ballsy and bold move; some would say the act was bolder than the actual song. After all, didn’t we expect Daft Punk to roar on return, with synths, vocoders, and samples ablaze? What’s this nonsense with the retro-disco, where the hell are the drops? One reviewer was honest enough to say what I thought was on the minds of most: “underwhelming.” After sitting down with the whole album though, I can tell you that the verdict is premature. With Random Access Memories Daft Punk achieves a more than respectable return, but in a far quieter manner than anyone would’ve expected. The word I’d use is stroll.
Bates Motel - Midnight [TV Review]
After ten episodes of exploring the lives of the Bates family, the finale to season one of Bates Motel is here. While it didn’t have a proper set up with last week’s episode, the first half of this episode does a lot of making up for that. The latter half is filled with answers and many pay offs. The biggest payoff of them all, the one which this whole series is based around, was also done with great care, really showing off the strengths of the show.
Star Trek Into Darkness [Movie Review]
The big summer blockbuster movie season is in full swing now, with Iron Man 3 just out and Man of Steel on its way. The flavor of the week now though is Star Trek: Into Darkness. Does it live up to its predecessor? Is it worth your time and money? Read on to find out.
'Modern Vampires of the City' by Vampire Weekend [Music Review]
'Modern Vampires of the City' Wander into the Sunlight, Run Frantically in Circles, and Mutter Americana Ramblings Before Bursting into Flame
I never considered myself a VW hater. Of course I thought they were snobby, of course I thought they flaunted the grey matter maybe a bit too much and for questionable purposes, but tut-tutting the Ivy-League vocab-dropping and the general popping of polo shirt-collars never made all that much sense to me; it’s the music business, let's be a little snobby, let’s put on a show, yes? And besides, the self-titled debut was un-de-ni-ably catchy, so who cares if they like to throw in mentions of Argentinian admirals and Dharamsala? The overall package justified the parts, which is what I wanted to say about Modern Vampires of the City, but could not.
Bates Motel - Underwater [TV Review]
Underwater, as an episode, is very underwhelming for a show like Bates Motel. While it does move the plot forward, nothing in it seems particularly interesting. Also being the penultimate episode of the season, it doesn’t seem to have much excitement or build up for next week’s finale.
The Undertow by Dan Coyle [Music Review]
For his sixth full length release, The Undertow, New York based troubadour Dan Coyle, one of this country's up and coming singer-songwriters, begins to slowly slink his way from the shell that has incubated his talents over the last several years. Instead of opting for his typical traditionalist approach of solo guitar and voice, The Undertow finds Coyle joined for the first time by a full band. Well, sort of.
Bates Motel - A Boy And His Dog [TV Review]
It seems that Bates Motel enjoys hitting its audience with one emotional punch after another. With these characters that we have invested ourselves into, their emotional traumas seem to become even worse with this week. It seems that there are a number of things still unanswered that Bates Motel isn’t quite ready to reveal just yet.
Clinic Brings Hip-Hop Beats and Demented Rockabilly-Stomp Numbers to the Troubadour [Concert Review]
I feel it's easy for a band to get into the mindset of just focusing on achieving an expressive and magnetic sound while overlooking the visual aspect, which is unfortunate. I saw Interpol when I was about 15, and do I remember what they sounded like? Not at all, I wasn’t into them then except for the singles, but damn do I remember the light of Paul Banks’ cigarette under a fedora, and Carlos D’s slick, Nazi-youth wardrobe. Presentation matters, as Clinic can probably tell you.
'Iron Man 3' is a Terrific Conclusion to the Trilogy [Movie Review]
I think I start just about every Avengers-related movie review this way, but the original Iron Man has a special place in my heart because it was the first movie I ever reviewed for this site (please don't actually read that). I say this because I want you to know I might be somewhat biased when I say that Iron Man 3 is freaking awesome.
