Alternative music, cult films, and pop culture explored through a Gen X lens — with reviews, interviews, and a deep-dive podcast.
Album Review: With ‘Bloodsports’, Suede return after 13 years with their best album since 1996’s ‘Coming Up’. [rating=5] Brit-pop pioneers Suede (aka The London Suede, for those of us in the states) imploded in 2002. Their album ‘A New Morning‘ showed a palpable sense of burn-out. But it seems the long rest in-between albums was needed, because […]
One year ago today, I had a vague goal; to channel my middle-age angst into championing all that I love in pop culture and goofing on all the stuff that I don’t. I was hoping I’d find enough people who felt the same way. I told myself I’d give it a year. If I’d made some […]
Why am I not covering SXSW this year? Pick a reason…I have several. Every year I get the same anxiety pangs about SXSW. Even more so now that I’m a music blogger. Yet I haven’t checked out the festival since wayyyyyy back in 2000. Okay, last year I did catch the free SXSW Cult show, […]
Album Review: ‘Sound City: Real to Reel’. Dave Grohl and The Sound City Players makes a soundtrack worthy of his excellent documentary. [rating=4] Last month Dave Grohl released his wonderful documentary ‘Sound City‘ (click here to read my review). It told the history of the studio where he, and many other famed musicians recorded many iconic […]
Director John Morrison’s work hearkens back to the Golden Age of Music Videos. [rating=5] Recently I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Steve Kilbey from Australian alt-rock legends ‘The Church‘,where we discussed his excellent recent solo album The Idyllist. (Click here to read the interview) While researching for the interview I discovered a video for the […]
Album Review: With ‘The Next Day’, David Bowie returns with his best album since 1997’s ‘Earthling’. [rating=4] Ever the man of mystery, David Bowie has come out of exile with his first new album in 10 years. And it was worth the wait. ‘The Next Day’s‘ sound reflects its album cover, which replicates the cover […]
This is part 2 of my interview with Steve Kilbey. Click here to read Part 1, where we discussed his new solo album ‘The Idyllist’ and his upcoming projects with Martin Kennedy and Greg Dulli. For this segment, we discuss what keeps his creative fires burning, working solo versus collaborating, blogging, and the tenuous future of […]
Steve Kilbey is one of the most prolific songwriters in rock. Through his work with seminal Aussie alternative band The Church, his solo projects and various collaborations, the man has been a flurry of activity. He recently released “The Idyllist“, an excellent solo album that showcases his versatility and clever lyrical gifts (click here for my […]
Stream David Bowie’s New Bowie ‘The Next Day’ for free on iTunes until March 12th. In anticipation of its March 12th release, David Bowie album “The Next Day” is now streaming in iTunes in its entirety. Click here to listen . This is the Thin White Duke’s first album in 10 years, reuniting him with long […]
Album Review: Kavinsky ‘Outrun’; Kavinsky crafts a synth-driven soundtrack to the coolest 80’s movie that doesn’t exist (except in his head). [rating=3] French electronic artist Kavinsky’s previous claim to fame was ‘Nightcall’, the haunting synth-pop track which was featured on the ‘Drive’ Soundtrack (which made our list of Best Movie Soundtracks Of All Time). That soundtrack perfectly […]
