Alternative music, cult films, and pop culture explored through a Gen X lens — with reviews, interviews, and a deep-dive podcast.
April 5th, 2015 marked the 13th anniversary of the death of Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley. The singer passed away in 2002 after battling heroin addiction. Eerily, fellow Seattle grunge icon Kurt Cobain would take his own life on that same date in 1994. But while Nirvana are still seen as alternative icons, Alice in […]
Prong-Songs From The Black Hole Review: Prong crafts a unique and entertaining collection of songs that honor their hardcore influences. [rating=4] Prong have been on a roll. In the past three years they’ve released two acclaimed albums (the most recent being 2014’s Ruining Lives), proving that founding member-guitarist/vocalist Tommy Victor isn’t resting on his laurels. He’s […]
Just a few months after burying the hatchet on a years long feud Billy Corgan and Marilyn Manson have announced a co-headlining tour. The End Times Tour will be in support of Manson’s latest album The Pale Emperor and the Smashing Pumpkin’s 2014 album Monuments to an Elegy. Click here for my Pale Emperor review and […]
Royal Thunder ‘Crooked Doors’ Review: rocky breakup = hard rock bliss. [rating=5] I don’t why some songs can induce the chills. All I can say is that it’s a rare occurrence, but when it happens you know you’ve heard something special. That was my visceral reaction to Time Machine, the powerful opening track to Royal Thunder’s new album […]
The Prodigy ‘The Day Is My Enemy’ Review: veteran dance act brings the noise in grand fashion…but some variety would have been nice. [rating=3] The Prodigy have always been the punks of electronica. Aggressive, brattish and abrasive, they created a carefully tailored sonic assault that has won them millions of fans and made them one of the few […]
Stream The Prodigy’s New Album ‘The Day Is My Enemy’: band is streaming aggressive new release on iTunes Radio. Techno titans The Prodigy will be releasing their new album The Day is My Enemy on March 30th. The band is giving fans a free preview of the material all this week via iTunes radio. Click here […]
SXSW Review and Analysis: Scott Weiland at the Parish, March 21, 2015. Today marks a special milestone with SLIS: here’s our first full length post from a contributor other than myself, my good friend Dave Dierksen, who gives a refreshingly honest appraisal and commentary of Scott Weiland’s SXSW showcase. Enjoy! I have a SXSW playbook […]
The Church SXSW 2015 at Emo’s Concert Review: Australian alternative act’s euphoric set ends this year’s SXSW in grand fashion. [rating=5] SXSW 2015 closed out on a gloriously psychedelic note at Emo’s. Following sets by performance artist GABI, garage rockers Gateway Drugs and shoegazers Swervedriver, Aussie alt-rock stalwarts The Church gave a searing headlining set. Frontman […]
Failure SXSW 2015 Concert Review at Yahoo’s Brazos Hall: reunited space rockers create sonic euphoria on a rainy Austin evening. [rating=5] Heading into the Yahoo SXSW Showcase at Brazos Hall, felt like going into a time machine. I went it in the year 2015, and emerged back in the mid-1990’s. This was fitting, given headlining space-rock […]
Albums Revisited: Depeche Mode’s Violator Turns 25: a look at back the 25th anniversary of an album that turned a synth-pop group into an arena rock band. Depeche Mode’s Violator celebrates its 25th anniversary on March 19th. And to fully understand that 1990 album’s definitive impact, one has to rewind the clock back to 1988. The […]
