Alternative music, cult films, and pop culture explored through a Gen X lens — with reviews, interviews, and a deep-dive podcast.
The 19 Best Rock and Metal Albums of 2019: saying farewell to a great year for music as this decade comes to a close. Welp, it’s hard to believe that we’re not only about to say goodbye to 2019, but also to the decade. It has been a very strange, stressful year (and let’s face […]
Concert Review: Melvins and Redd Kross at The Mohawk, Austin: two cult favorites that taste great together warm up a frigid Austin crowd. Not even a miserably cold and rainy tonight could keep away the Melvins faithful. Anticipation was high for yet another blowout set from the sludge/grunge progenitors, and this evening didn’t disappoint. Openers […]
Episode 32: 25 Albums Turning 25 in 2019-The Best Albums of 1994-SLIS Podcast: tackling the best releases from another amazing year of music. Following our podcast episode ranking the best albums from 1989, co-host Chris Logan and I dive in to the best 25 albums from 1993 turning 25 this year. ’94 was a HUGE […]
Confrontational ‘Under Cover of Darkness’ Review: Italian synthwave artist honors his 80s influences on inventive covers album. CONFRONTATIONAL (aka Italian musician Massimo Usai) have been at the forefront of the synthwave scene, a musical subgenre that has seen the revival of film-inspired electronic music indebted to soundtracks by the likes of John Carpenter, Tangerine Dream […]
Swans ‘Leaving Meaning’ Review: Michael Gira sheds one musical skin for another on an album full of equal parts doom and hope. Swans are not your typical group. Where most bands start off with youthful verve (1982 to be exact) only to wane with age, Michael Gira’s post-punk outfit has only grown stronger. And longer–with […]
Episode 31: Medicine’s Brad Laner Talks New Covers Album ‘Scarred For Life’-SLIS Podcast: American shoegaze mastermind discusses new covers album, reuniting with his original vocalist, his creative legacy and more. On this week’s podcast my special guest is Brad Laner, best known as the guitarist and songwriter for Medicine, one of the most interesting and […]
Bent Knee ‘You Know What They Mean’ Review: Boston indie rockers go deep and unique on latest release. Boston art rock collective Bent Knee have been making music for over a decade, weaving an ever more complex and engaging sound in the process. And on their new album You Know What They Mean (Oct. 11 […]
The Darkness ‘Easter is Cancelled’ Review: Brit hard rockers get messianic on new concept album. It seems somewhat remarkable that The Darkness have never made a concept album before: with their grandiose riffs, flair for the dramatic and whip-smart wit, they seem a perfect fit for the format. Better late than never, the UK rockers […]
Bauhaus’ and Love and Rockets’ David J discusses his epic new double album and tour, the upcoming Bauhaus reunion and more in this week’s podcast episode. This week’s guest is David J, best known as the bass player for goth legends Bauhaus and as the bassist and co-vocalist of post-punk icons Love and Rockets. His […]
Concert Review: Nick Cave Gets Confessional at ACL Moody Theatre–Aussie alternative icon brings empathy and humor to intimate Austin, TX performance. It takes a mighty big musical presence to compete against this year’s ACL festival. But Nick Cave pulled off this hat trick with a two night residency for his Conversations tour. But with a […]
