Alternative music, cult films, and pop culture explored through a Gen X lens — with reviews, interviews, and a deep-dive podcast.
Riot Fest 2015 Lineup Revealed: this year’s formidable lineup includes Faith No More, Billy Idol, Iggy Pop and….oh just read the whole piece. There’s a LOT. Riot Fest has just announced their official 2015 lineups for Chicago, Denver, and Toronto. And just as in past years, they have proven superior to every festival held in […]
Austin City Limits 2015 Lineup Leaks Early: possible leak of 2015 ACL lineup includes Foo Fighters, Billy Idol, Tame Impala, TV On The Radio and more. According to Austin 360, it looks like the 2015 ACL lineup has been announced…or has it? Apparently, the lineup appeared on the festivals official webpage, only to be taken down […]
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 […]
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 […]
SXSW 2015 is almost upon us, and like always, it can be a bit hectic planning out your music schedule. How to choose between new buzz bands, revered veteran acts and cult oddities? Well I’m here to help, with a list focused on pleasing lovers of alternative rock, metal and psychedelia. So without further ado, here […]
The Grassy Knoll’s Nolan Green Talks New Album Electric Verdeland Vol. 1 The Grassy Knoll were one of the most unique electronica acts of the 90’s, forging a connective tissue between trip-hop beats, 70’s arena rock and jazz textures. But the project, led by the Austin, TX based producer/multi-instrumentalist Nolan Green has kept a low profile as […]
The Grassy Knoll ‘Electric Verdeland, Vol. 1’ Review: Austin based electronica project makes for an immersive and hallucinatory listen. [rating=4] It’s been 12 years since Trip-hop-jazz-rockers The Grassy Knoll’s last album, but they’ve returned with the intriguing Electric Verdeland, Vol. 1. The Grassy Knoll is the musical alter-ego of one-man-band Bob Nolan Green, and past efforts have […]
Top 10 John Hughes Movies: upon its 30th anniversary, see where The Breakfast Club ranks among Hughes’ best films. This week (February 15th to be exact) marks the 30th anniversary of director John Hughes teen dramedy The Breakfast Club. It became a pop-culture touchstone for Generation X, and an 80’s time capsule moment. But it’s themes of social hierarchy and […]