Articles

Happy Birthday, Fool.

It's Mr. T's BIRTHDAY

2 Comments

It may just be time for the Saturday Night Live producers to face facts. They cannot turn a 90 second skit into a 90 minute movie. A short skit on television allows the viewer to mildly chuckle at the stupidity and promptly forget it. A feature length movie provides far too much time for a person to grow tired of the repetitive antics and desperately wish they were watching something else. It would be unfair to say that SNL has never succeeded in turning a skit into a good movie. Notable exceptions, such as The Blues Brothers and Wayne’s World, immediately come to mind. For every one that succeeds, though, countless others fall short. MacGruber becomes the latest in a long line of failed attempts at an SNL movie.

4 Comments

DAILY RECORD: Delay – Plain Language Cassette/CD/LP

Delay is the most wholesome, corn-fed, all-American pop-punk band since the Ramones. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean corn-fed in terms of an awkward Midwestern middle school dance with too many chaperones. These guys aren’t afraid to get dirty. They drop an F-bomb in the second verse of this album’s first track. Then, they turn around and censor that lyric in the fu#%*& insert. See what I’m getting at? Apple pie, baby.

Comment

Unconditional Faith : An Independent Catholic Community In Richmond Makes Acceptance The Foundation Of Faith.

Donna Kaye is used to listening when God calls her – even in traffic.

When she felt called to make a quick right down Ellwood Avenue as she exited the Downtown Expressway two years ago, she didn’t hesitate to turn the steering wheel.

What caught her attention – what had spoken to her so strongly – was an unobtrusive, whitewashed sign set cattycorner on a lawn at the corner of Ellwood and Cameron Street.

“I see ‘Independent Catholic’ and ‘11 a.m. service’ and I think ‘Oh, I can sleep in, and it’s independent!’” says Kaye, a divorced former Catholic schoolteacher, who’d spent the past decade or more living in a church-imposed spiritual purgatory.

Comment

A Look Back at my Top 5 Faith No More tracks.

fnm 03.jpg

Tony asked me for a Top 5 Faith No More Songs list in light of their ongoing reunion, and he definitely found the right guy for the job. FNM is my favorite band, and as such, this is going to be really, really tough. In fact, this could be the most perplexing Top 5 ever simply because I am so in love with this wonderful band and all the great songs scattered throughout their impressive legacy.

10 Comments

DAILY RECORDS: Coheed And Cambria, The Hold Steady, Sleigh Bells

Coheed And Cambria - Year Of The Black Rainbow
People call these guys emo, but it's time that everyone recognized their genius in the field of epic, triumphant metal. They combine complex, technical instrumentation with unforgettable choruses to create a feast of over-the-top awesomeness. No comparison could do it justice; listen, and you will achieve enlightenment.

The Hold Steady - Heaven Is Whenever
The first few Hold Steady albums were brilliant. They made being a dad-rock bar band sound awesome, and Craig Finn's punk-rock Springsteen lyrical narratives were unorthodox and brilliant. But now his lyrics are becoming cliched, and the band just sounds tired. We should've known it couldn't last forever.

Sleigh Bells - Treats
Former Poison The Well guitarist Derek Miller teams up with vocalist Alexis Krauss to create the most overdriven, distorted dance music ever. People are calling it a response to digital clipping and the "Loudness Wars," but really, Sleigh Bells' brilliantly moronic jackhammer beats defy thoughtful analysis. Stop thinking and dance.

1 Comment

DAILY FIX: The Dead Weather "Treat Me Like Your Mother"

3 Comments

HOUSE SHOW: POOPS, Cheap Girls, RVIVR, & The Riot Before

Sunday was a huge confidence booster for music in this city. A multitude of shows took place around the city, and all appealed to a mixed group of attendees. I made it to two, starting my day with the matinee show at Gallery 5 and catching sets from Hail Hydra, Black Wine, Night Birds, Bad Advice, and Wasted Time. I really enjoyed all of the sets and the Sunday matinee format at Gallery 5 has been a huge success so far. Against all prior evidence indicating that shows in Richmond start at least two hours after the advertised time, people are coming out to the matinees, and they are coming at early enough times that the shows are still considered matinees. I really hope both the venue and the crowds keep up the good work.

3 Comments

The Owners of Lamplighter on Judge Mathis.

If you have been to the Lamplighter you know they have great coffee but did you know the nice couple that own it were on the Judge Mathis show? Watch this funny clip of them in dispute with a former roommate.