Month: August 2012

Posted on: August 31, 2012 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Blues Traveler – Suzie Cracks the Whip (CD)

The summer of 2012 will likely go down as the “Summer of 90’s Nostalgia”. Every Gen Xer (myself included) who rolled their eyes through childhood while the Boomers re-lived every inane musical milestone of their generation somehow found themselves carrying the torch over the past few months, as everyone from Everclear to Marcy Playground trotted out new records and tours packed to the gills with graying musical acts. Joining the…

Posted on: August 31, 2012 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Boardwalk Empire –The Complete Second Season (DVD Set)

Steve Buscemi’s Nucky and his corrupt Atlantic City political pals (is that redundant?) are back in the second season of one of HBO’s best dramas. If you missed the first season, adapted by Soparnos vet Terence Winter, stop what you’re doing and get caught up. It’s that good. Season two finds Nucky on the ropes after being betrayed by his brother and his new crew. There is competition in the…

Posted on: August 30, 2012 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

SOS – A Guide to Better Living (CD)

“Bumblefuck” begins the album, and it really shows SOS as a band that meshes together a number of different traditions. For those into the current state of rock music, there seems to be more than a hint of Disturbed-like riffs. Riffs also resemble Metallica and the thrash-rock of old Anthrax, while the tempo is more reminiscent of early punk music. “Star Killers” is more of the same, but what is…

Posted on: August 30, 2012 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Sophe Lux – Waking The Mystics (CD)

“Target Market” starts off “Waking The Mystics”, and it shows Sophe Lux as being very influenced by The Turtles and The Doors, with more than a passing hint to Spanish guitar work and ambient music being tied in to their music. The eclectic sound of Sophe Lux is enough to allow individuals from all different genres to pick up the album and find something that they appreciate. The strong female…

Posted on: August 30, 2012 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Sons and Daughters – The Repulsion Box (CD)

The way that Sons and Daughters start off their “Repulsion Box” is far and away one of the best ways to get individuals to listen in. “Medicine” is a straight-forward rock track (with more than its fair share of punk influence) that will cause any listener to focus in and devote eirself to the music completely, even as their body bounces to the beat. Sons and Daughters do not let…

Posted on: August 29, 2012 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Incubus – Incubus HQ Live Special Edition (CD Set)

I’ve always felt a little bad for California’s Incubus (though not too bad, once you factor in all the money they raked in and the hot and cold running groupies… but I digress). Coming on the radio in the mid-to-late-90’s their record label took the easy route and simply tried to cram them into a box alongside the other nu metal mooks who were ruling the world at the time.…

Posted on: August 29, 2012 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Slave’s The Experiment

Kent, Ohio’s Slave has just released a new track / DJing tool. Slave provides some backstory about the cut: “Here’s a short bootleg track I put together while at Big Dub Candy Mountain, first played when I opened for Doctor P. There’s not that many transition pieces like this out there, so I’m making this a free download in hopes that my fellow DJ’s will find it useful during their…

Posted on: August 28, 2012 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

And When She Was Good by Laura Lippman (Book)

It’s almost frightening how good novelist Laura Lippman is at churning out top shelf books that take a twisted view of suburbia. Her latest, And When She Was Good, her 11th, showcases Lippman at her best. It’s not technically a mystery or even a thriller – though there are certainly some white knuckle passages toward the end – but the story is impossible to resist nonetheless. Helen, the protagonist, is…

Posted on: August 28, 2012 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Storage Wars – Volume 3 (DVD Set)

As the third season of this popular realty series about bidding on abandoned storage units comes out on DVD, I’ve taken it upon myself to come up with the Storage Wars Drinking Game. Those who have never seen the show before just sit this one out. You’ll catch soon enough. Here goes: ·         Every time couple Jarrod Schulz and Brandi Passante toss an insult at each other, take a drink; ·         When the missing…

Posted on: August 27, 2012 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Blur – Box Sets (CDs)

Despite the best efforts from U.S. music mags to try and recreate the same Blur vs. Oasis rivalry that their British counterparts had been able to set up and milk for years, the competition never really caught on over here. In fact, Brit Pop as a genre never really made as much as an impact in the U.S. as it did in Europe. But for those of us who did…