OST: Into The Wild / 2007 Lakeshore / 36 Tracks / http://www.intothewild.com / http://www.lakeshorerecords.com / For those that do not know Michael Brook, ey first made a splash in the music industry in 1985, when U2 used eir “Infinite guitar†to make the distinct sounds that were commonplace on their seminal “The Joshua Treeâ€. Brook also worked on Peter Murphy (Bauhaus)’s 1995 album Cascade, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s 1996 work…
Memphis, Tennessee’s Egypt Central will release their self-titled debut today on Fat Lady Records, in conjunction with Warner Music Group’s Independent Label Group (ILG).  Egypt Central, featuring John T. Falls (vocals), Joey Chicago (bass), Heath Hindman (guitar), Blake Allison (drums), and Jeff James (guitar), originally recorded the album in 2006, which was mixed by Josh Abraham (Velvet Revolver, Korn, Linkin Park). The insanely catchy, hard-driven disc was re-mixed, re-mastered,…
Dumb Jersey White Boy No.2 / $1 / :10 / http://mark.mcmurray.de / joikmeister@hotmail.com / This zine has kin in all of those horrid Jazz-infused cartoons of the sixties that had nothing but movements and actions to define what the characters were doing. When the main character (I’m assuming this is Mark detailing all the things that happened in the earlier part of eir life) is talking about something, a picture…
Fader #50 / 1:45 / 212M / http://www.thefader.com / This marks Fader’s fiftieth issue, a milestone that few magazines actually get to. As has been the case with previous issues of Fader, there is a pretty even amount of advertisements to actual articles. Despite the fact that Fader has more advertisements present in it than some other magazines, the abilities and skills shown by the writers in this issue make…
Innovative West Coast electronic wizard seamlessly blends rave, R&B, hip-hop, electro, and acoustics into his most dance-friendly live set yet. “Live at Low End Theory” Out January 22nd on Alpha Pup Records. MP3 “Now’s The Time”: http://terrorbird.alphapupserver.com/music/08NowsTheTime.mp3 One of L.A.’s most daring producers, Daedelus weaves together a true “love-sound” that falls between honeyed melodies and avant-electronics He chops and splices disparate acoustic sources into incredible works of staggering resonance. Contrasting…
The Whigs – Mission Control / 2008 ATO / 11 Tracks / http://www.thewhigs.com / http://www.atorecords.com / “Like A Vibration†starts out “Mission Controlâ€, and the amount of styles that come forth from the first minute or so of The Whigs’ album is amazing, to say the least. Hints of psychedelic, sixties-rock, At The Drive-In, and even Social Distortion all play into the creation of a distinct and ufn track. The…
Metal Mind Productions presents a long awaited release of the debut album by Pyorrhoea, one of the most promising Polish bands. “Desire For Torment†includes 14 songs of pure death grind carnage which sound like ‘Napalm Death meets Terrorizer’. Beware: Pyorrhoea takes no prisoners!
On the 4th February Metal Mind Productions will release the second album of one of the most promising Polish bands, Spinal Cord. The album entitled “Stigmata Of Life” consists of 12 songs of pure devastation which will surely take you to hell and back! Faster, heavier, more to the point than it was in the case of the debut album -Â that’s what the second effort of this Polish death-thrash…
Sleeper Car – Love & Anxiety / 2007 Self / 6 Tracks / http://www.sleepercarband.com / “Lay It Down†is the first track on Sleeper Car’s “Love & Anxietyâ€m, and the use of strings during this track imbues the track with a folksy sound not far removed with that put out by a Banhart. However, Sleeper Car takes a different tack during “I Won’t Break Downâ€. During this track, the band…
Dagger #39 / $2|$3.50PPD / 1:15 / http://www.indiepages.com/dagger / Dagger is one of those zines that I am not sure if I am comfortable reading. There are so many acts that I’ve never even gotten close to hearing (this issue features The Cat’s Miaow, Slovenly, Colin Clary, and Surefire Broadcast), and those acts that are more established are very few (Mission of Burma and The Decemberists this issue). Furthermore, I…
Dog in Space #5 ($2, 4007 Dorcas Drive, Nashville, Tennessee, 37215-2210) / Reviewed : 16 October 2003 / Dog in Space #5 ($2, 4007 Dorcas Drive, Nashville, Tennessee, 37215-2210) Jess is a zinester I correspond with fairly regularly. The reason for this is because of ey’s zine, Dog in Space. Done in a personal style, Dog in Space is about Jess, the workings of eir mind, and the events that…
Diatribe #2 / Half Sized / 16 Pages / diatribezine@yahoo.com / $1 / This is a personal zine that is immensely political. Or maybe vise versa, but I really don’t know. Aaron Cynic does a good job in doing very emotionally-charged pieces for ey’s magazine, describing many of his pieces with glimmers of hope that are almost at odds with ey’s self-chosen nickname. While the first issue (one I did…
RANCID ENTERS STUDIO  Band Teams with Long-time Producer Brett Gurewitz to Record Follow-up to 2003’s Acclaimed Indestructible  (Los Angeles) The incomparable punk band Rancid began recording today in a studio on the California coast with long-time friend, producer and label president Brett Gurewitz, who has worked with Rancid on virtually every record in their extensive, accomplished career.
‘For more than two hours, the gods delivered.’ – Rolling Stone In the midst of one of the most highly anticipated and successful tours of the year, Van Halen announced today that they will extend their historic tour into 2008. Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Alex Van Halen, and Wolfgang Van Halen, together for the first time in 22 years, will kick off the New Year by extending their…
Dog in Space #4 / Half-Sized / 32 Pages / Dog in Space c/o Jess, 4007 Dorcas Drive, Nashville, TN 37215 / lovelikeadrug@hotmail.com / http://livejournal.com/~lulabydisection / I must say, I love Jess. I love all that ey does. I’ve tried to help sometimes to help print Dog in Space, but this issue is early enough that I’m pretty sure that it came out before I met eir. This whole issue…
The Dillinger Escape Plan confirmed their performance on the main stage at Metalmania Festival 2008! The 22nd edition of the Festival – the biggest metal fest in Central-Eastern Europe – will take place on 8th March 2008 at Spodek Hall in Katowice, Poland. The Dillinger Escape Plan – US metalcore band known for their speed, technical proficiency of their music and the intensity of their live shows. The band’s music…
Dead Society #4 / Half-Sized / 24 Pages / $1 / Karim c/o Dead Society, P.O. Box 1138, Somerton, AZ 85350 / dead_society@juno.com / Dead Society is the zine I wish I would have done back in high school. This zine features a lot of pieces about politics, written from a somewhat centrist set of people. For example, there is a piece describing the need for weapons in the upcoming…
Singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow will release her sixth studio album, Detours, on February 5, 2008. The album marks the return of producer Bill Bottrell, who previously worked with Crow on her breakthrough debut album Tuesday Night Music Club, which earned the singer three Grammy Awards, and sold more than ten million copies worldwide.
Hatchet / 2007 Starz / 84 Minutes / http://www.hatchetmovie.com / http://www.starzhomeent.com / Hatchet is the latest release by Anchor Bay, and this horror (directed by Adam Green, who only had one movie – Coffee & Donuts – to eir credit before releasing this movie). There is some star power to this movie; Joel David Moore (Dodgeball), Deon Richmond (from Scream 3) and Mercedes McNab (Buffy) are all given substantial roles…
As a collective, Mahjongg believe that the body of human knowledge is our most prized asset, and that the harmonic proportions of music are universal in other fields of endeavor. They are fighting for the power of science. Many are against science, but Mahjongg believe in the power of Humanity, and influence people to dance, to make love energy, to love each other and care for each other. They creatively…