Proving loud and beautiful can coexist, Missouri’s Life & Times has been able to live up to the hype surrounding their 2003 EP. The trio, including former Shiner founder Allen Epley, manage to sound a lot bigger than just three guys. Tragic Boogie, the group’s latest full length, though not perfect, is still a solid step in the right direction. With its swirling guitars and light industrial feel (Think My…
Cincinnati’s favorite sons, 500 Miles To Memphis, obviously have their share of Willie and Waylon CDs in constant rotation on their tour bus. Probably best described as country punk, the band blends the noise and energy of Social Distortion with the song writing of the Highwaymen. John B. Moorewww.neufutur.com
If Billy Bragg, God forbid, decided to finally put his guitar back in his case and call it a day, rest assured Damion Suomi would be ready to pick up the slack. Playing the role of folksy, rock-tinged singer songwriter, Florida-based Suomi has turned in a fantastic debut. Comprised of just 10 songs, there is little filler on the self-titled record and plenty to leave the listener wanting more. Songs…
None of the arguments put forth by Glenn Greenwald in his latest rant against the Right, “Great American Hypocrites,†is going to come as a shock to anyone who has ever made a donation to MoveOn.org. But, that’s not to say it’s not highly entertaining read full of great argument starters. John B. Moorewww.neufutur.com
On the surface, the concept behind HBO’s drama In Treatment doesn’t seem to elicit the same excitement as say a show about Jersey mobsters or Hollywood hangers on, but given a chance the series is remarkably addictive. Adapted from a popular Israeli TV series, Gabriel Byrne plays Paul, a psychologist with his own emotional and family problems. John B. Moorewww.neufutur.com
Six records into his career, Eric Elbogen (aka Say Hi) has just turned in his best album in an already respectably solid cannon. Oohs & Aahs is insanely catchy, from start to finish. Up until a couple of years ago, the band once known as Say Hi to Your Mom, used a home PC to record their lo-fi, indie pop albums. John B. Moorewww.neufutur.com
Those looking to Ronen Kauffman’s book “New Brunswick, New Jersey, Goodbye,†hoping to find a definitive history of New Jersey’s storied hardcore and punk rock scene are better served looking elsewhere. There are mentions and anecdotes of a slew of bands from the mid-90’s scene like the Bouncing Souls, Lifetime, The Degenerics and Endeavor, but the main focus is one man’s discovery and ultimately his passion for the world of…
When it first aired in 2002-2003, it was pretty obvious the sitcom Andy Richter Controls the Universe was never going to make it. It was original, there was no laugh track and it was on Fox, the temporary home to shows like Arrested Development and The Tick (a network gifted with spotting hilarious sitcoms, putting them on the air just long enough to hook people and then giving them the…
Even diehard Chris Cornell fans have to admit the sound of the former Soundgarden front man backed by Timbaland’s electronic beats is a tad bit disconcerting. Now imagine an entire album of this Cornell hip hop hybrid. John B. Moorewww.neufutur.com
Five minutes into Ricky Gervais’ latest stand-up special he launches into a series of jokes about cancer. It’s at that point you realize that the heir to the late George Carlin’s brilliantly frank comedy has been found. Over the course of just over an hour, Gervais tackles everything from obesity (which is decidedly funny coming from the portly British comic) to the top 10 alternatives to risky gay sex (compliments…
Let the Pitchfork reading hipsters disagree, but Radiohead’s three best releases came out in the early to late 90’s, before the band became obsessed with synth-driven experimental songs. It’s satisfying then that Capitol chose to put out Special Collectors Editions of Pablo Honey, The Bends and OK Computer. John B. Moorewww.neufutur.com
Twelve years into it, South Park still manages to be surprisingly fresh. Any argument against that statement is squelched with the third episode into this collection, “Major Boobage,†an homage to the classic stoner cartoon Heavy Metal thanks to cat urine. Sure the cartoons are still crudely drawn and the jokes even cruder, but let’s be honest you either think fourth graders saying “fuck†is funny or you don’t. John…
Writing a great rock novel is a whole lot harder than it sounds. There have been countless attempts over the years and the result is usually a collection of boring tour urban legends and rejected VH1 Behind the Music scripts. It’s a pretty big feat then that both Michael Shilling and Jason Buhrmester have managed to turn in solid rock stories just months apart from each other. Shilling’s Rock Bottom…
I’ve never really understood the fascination with concert DVDs. They always seemed to be a bit like dry humping to me – not even close to the real thing. The whole point of a going to a show is the experience: sweating your ass off, getting beer spilled on you, leaving the club with ringing ears and your voice shot. Thankfully, NOFX’s latest video tour diary – originally aired on…
One look at the band photo and it’s easy to dismiss the Dallas-based five piece Artist Vs Poet as little more than hoodie-sporting, auto-tune dependent Millennials with influences that don’t go deeper than last year’s Hot Topic best-sellers. A rash, slightly unfair judgment call, but pretty damn accurate if their 5-song EP is any indication to what the future holds. Sure there’s nothing flat out offensive about the music, aside…
It’s hard to overplay the importance of 1989’s Paul’s Boutique to the success of the Beastie Boys. The follow up to the band’s sophomoric, party album Licensed to Ill, the Dust Brother produced Paul’s Boutique took the band from novelty white rappers to a legitimate musical talent, pushing the boundaries of a still new genre at the time. There is still plenty of humor, just much less chauvinistic posturing with…
It’s a little surprising that the religious right, usually front and center, picket signs and bull horns in hand at any movie even vaguely touching on Christianity, never bothered to turn out in force to picket Bill Maher’s wickedly funny, and powerful documentary on religion. Judging by the early rumblings against the soon-to-be-released sequel to the Da Vinci Code, it can’t be that they have finally learned that this is…
Long Island’s Danny Rocco aims pretty high with his debut The Future is Now, going beyond the staid and routine songs his peers have been churning out. Unfortunately he doesn’t always reach the intended heights. The acoustic strumming, singer songwriter (backed by the band End the Stars) starts the album of with the strongly original, addictive title track “The Future is Now,†but the rest of the album tries, and…
At 75 and with a legacy as a national musical treasure already firmly cemented, you’d think Willie Nelson would at least take a little time off to relax. On average, the prolific cowboy churns out at least two or three releases a year. This year looks to be no different. John B. Moorewww.neufutur.com
Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan has somehow stumbled on that rare combination of a fantastically gripping story, the perfect cast and excellent writing. Not since The Sopranos have all of the elements for a truly great TV drama series come together so quickly. The series centers around Walter (played by Bryan Cranston), a brilliant scientist, now stuck teaching chemistry to apathetic high schoolers in Albuquerque and worrying about day-to-day bills.…