Most band names are nonsense, picked more for how they sound than what they mean. Some are chosen for how they fit the sound of the music (think Spiritualized, Low). Then there are the occasional names that lend themselves to practical application. Like Placebo. I have a friend named Imp who’s been smoking for more […]
Jamie S. Rich
Posted inMusic
Two is the Magic Number
The Yin and Yang of Low
Superstition insists that things come in threes. For instance, if two celebrities bite the dust within a short timeframe, death-pool aficionados begin to take bets on who will be next. But we Geminis know that really, three is not the magic number. Two is. There are two sides to every story, both sides of a […]
Posted inMusic
Dampen the Corners
Does Malkmus Care?
Ask me what I think of Pavement, and I’ll tell you it’s good when it’s not full of holes. Cheeky bit of clever-clever there, but then, what more could you expect when talking about the seminal ’90s indie band whose stock and trade was clever cheek? In all honesty, I was always a cursory fan. […]
Posted inArt
Jimmy Corrigan
Art Review
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth Chris Ware (Pantheon Books) Now that graphic novels have acquired a little bit of critical repute, receiving discussion in the New York Times Review of Books and elsewhere, some like to play the game of “What is the greatest graphic novel of all time?” Many stump for Alan […]
Posted inBooks
Grosse Pointe Girl
Book Review
Grosse Pointe Girl Sarah Grace McCandless (Heavy Flow/Future Tense Books) I find it difficult to turn down stories of adolescence. Perhaps it’s the catharsis of someone else knowing the angst I knew, of seeing a fictional character enter the stage of life where he or she can no longer falsify innocence by wiping away hard […]
Posted inMusic
Confessions of a Pop Junkie
You Can Have My Record Collection When You Pry It Out of My Cold Dead Hands
YOU CAN TELL when I’ve found something. I actually put my hand to my mouth and gasp, like Holly Golightly seeing priced-to-sell diamonds at Tiffany’s. So there it was. I was so used to seeing empty spaces in front of the plastic header cards marked The Housemartins that I wasn’t really sure it was true. […]
Posted inMovies & TV
THE JAPANESE INVASION
59 years ago today, the Japanese swooped down on Pearl Harbor and kicked the stuffing out of our snoozing troops; we retaliated by introducing them to the H-Bomb. It was then that our resourceful neighbors to the west decided to kick our ass again and again in every possible commercial endeavor, including animation. In honor […]
Posted inMusic
Music: Response
Making the Bourgeoisie and the Rebel Come Together
SHOOTING DOWN Interstate 5 between Oakland and Fresno, CA, late evening Thanksgiving Day, this review changed. Alone with my thoughts, nursing a broken heart, blasting both albums at full tilt, I realized I was getting it all wrong. My plan had originally been much more staid. Both Blur: The Best of and Familiar to Millions […]
Posted inMusic
Introducing the Man
Sylous, the Artist as a Modern Flashboy
WHEN I FIRST MET SYLOUS, I didn’t know who I’d met. I was working at Ozone Records, disgustedly selling kids Tori Amos CDs for change they’d hustled on the street. A boy approached the counter with immaculately combed hair, neatly pressed suit, and a briefcase in hand. He wanted to order the import of the […]
Posted inMovies & TV
You’re a Steaming Pile, Mr. Grinch
Hey, I Don’t Remember the Dog Getting a Rim Job in the Book!
I KNOW WHAT you’re going to say, so don’t bother. You think I didn’t approach Ron Howard’s calamitous Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas in the right mindset. I needed to watch it with the eyes of a child and not the harsh vision of a critic. Now, let’s say you’re right, I walked […]
Posted inMusic
Spacemen Glee
King Black Acid: Regents of Rock Orbit
BANDS GATHER HISTORY. Like a river taking on water in heavy rain, myths build up around rock ‘n’ roll. Example: King Black Acid. Since their first album in 1995, the psychedelic enclave’s become a bit of a local legend, with frontman Daniel Riddle taking on much strange cargo. By many accounts, he’s a reclusive nut […]
Posted inMusic
Ian McLagan
Music Bio
LONG AGO AND WORLDS APART: As the organist for ’60s British quartet The Small Faces, Ian McLagan was responsible for creating the prototypical mix of blues vocals, r&b rhythm, and rock guitar that would forever be associated with the mod subculture. Teen dreams in their own country, with fans that included The Who and The […]