Alternative music, cult films, and pop culture explored through a Gen X lens — with reviews, interviews, and a deep-dive podcast.
Greg Puciato ‘Mirrorcell’ Review: ex-Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist indulges his love for 90s grunge and 80s new wave on sophomore solo album. The Dillinger Escape Plan may have broken up in 2017, but former frontman Greg Puciato has still been plenty busy. In the ensuing years he’s released two albums from his electronic project The […]
Concert Review: Puscifer at Bass Concert Hall, Austin: Maynard James Keenan’s art-music collective channels and parodies modern angst in explosive performance. Puscifer are a hard act to quantify, their mix of electronic tinged rock/comedy troupe/performance art is unconfined, elastic and multi-dimensional. And while their discography is formidable, the project formed by Tool / A Perfect […]
Billy Howerdel ‘What Normal Was’ Review: A Perfect Circle mastermind strikes out on his own with impressive solo debut. “This is me stepping back into my early teen self and making the record I would have made if I had the means and the knowledge when I first picked up a guitar—just in 2022. It’s […]
‘Double Indemnity’ 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray [Criterion Collection] Review: iconic film noir gets the deluxe treatment it deserves with new release. Film noir remains one of the most compelling cinematic genres in film history. Between the stark black and white cinematography, and characters who exist in shades of gray, it allowed for more complexity than other […]
Blu-Ray Review: Tool ‘Opiate2’: band celebrate 30th anniversary of debut EP ‘Opiate’ with deluxe Blu-ray featuring re-imagining of title track. 30 years ago Tool released their debut EP Opiate, which featured the labyrinthine title track that would become a fan favorite. In honor of the anniversary of both song and EP, Tool released Opiate2, a […]
Concert Review: The Darkness at The Mohawk, Austin. UK rockers bring sunny vibes on a sultry night to playing songs off latest release Motorheart and a bevy of classic cuts. Austin has had some crazy weather lately, but the past few days have been cool and breezy. But not last night. Local news stations said […]
Somebody to Love: A Tribute to Taylor Hawkins. Dave Dierksen discusses the impact Hawkins’ had on his life as well as others, along with a Spotify playlist highlighting his body of work. I heard about Taylor Hawkins’ death in the middle of the night, checking my phone while I let my dog out. While still in […]
Concert Review: Ministry, Melvins, Corrosion of Conformity at Emo’s, Austin: ‘Industrial Strength’ tour pulverizes rabid crowd. The last time I was at a concert was January of 2020. I have avoided shows since COVID reared its ugly head. And even once lockdown was eased up and bands began touring again, I was still reticent to […]
35 Albums Turning 30 in 2022: The Best Albums of 1992: a list of the best alternative, metal, hip-hop, indie and experimental releases from 1992. Last year I boldly declared that 1991 was the best musical year of the 90’s. And I still stand by that. But by damn, 1992 is a very close second. Whereas […]
Placebo ‘Never Let Me Go’ Review: alternative rock vets sound reinvigorated on first new (and very topical) album in nearly 10 years. It’s been almost a decade since Placebo put out a studio album (2013’s Loud Like Love). Fans could be forgiven for wondering if the band had splintered or ran out of juice, because […]
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