Before the idea of moving to Africa was even a thing, my love affair with Johannesburg musician/rapper Spoek Mathambo was moving beyond crush-level. There was something about Spoek’s 2010 debut, Mshini Wam, that seethed with an unplaceable “Otherness” that we Westerners can only associate with Africa. Like a funhouse mirror, the distortions of Western musical output came back to us only to highlight our deep-seated insecurities. … read more
Beer Reviews – February 2012
This month always seems to lead people into the dark side of things. Maybe it’s the shit-filled love fest, maybe it’s the winter gloom, maybe even the financial repercussions of spending all your hard-earned Christmas dough on a couple of assholes in your life that didn’t bother to bring beer back home from out of state. I hope this set of reviews will help you embrace the darker side of things, especially when they hit your palate. At least the booze will soothe the pain until it passes. … read more
Movie Reviews – February 2012
This month, Jimmy Martin reviews Contraband, Joyful Noise and Man on a Ledge. … read more
Beautiful Godzilla: Night Riders
As the weather warms up—Ok, who are we kidding, it never really got cold—my favorite kind of bicycle rides, night rides, become more comfortable and, thus, more frequent. Riding a bike at night is awesome for various reasons: There’s less traffic, the inversion clears out in the winter and it’s cooler in the summer. The number one reason? A lot of fucked up shit goes down with the sun, and your bicycle’s the best saddle in the house to see it all. … read more
Video Game Reviews – February 2012
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Rage are reviewed. … read more
A Woman of the World: An Interview with Sibyl Buck
After over a decade of practicing yoga while pursuing various careers and ambitions, it dawned on Sybil Buck that sharing her love of the practice (and love of life) was truly what she wanted to do. She decided to put in the hours and training to become a certified yoga instructor. “[When I tried it,] I felt at home in my skin in a way that I had never previously felt, or at least not since I was a kid—it was fun,” says Buck. … read more
Local Reviews: OK Ikumi
Local musician OK Ikumi’s new album made me escape into a world of melancholy colors and whimsical melodies. Simple but hypnotizing drum patterns, teasing synths and eerie but friendly samples gave the album a strong, reposed vibe. … read more
Book Reviews – February 2012
Aerosmith: The Ultimate Illustrated History of The Boston Bad Boys, The Armageddon Chord, College Humor. The Website. The Book., The Skateboard: The Good, the Rad, and the Gnarly: An Illustrated History, The Hollow Walls and The Unofficial U.S. Census are reviewed. … read more
Local Reviews: Pretty Worms
Side “Acid” takes punk beats and droning bass grooves and combines them with electronic noise and glitched-out mechanical melodies. Pretty Worms play a style of noise rock that is pretty unusual at first listen, but if you give it some time, the incoherent vocal loops and seemingly random atonal synthesizers might begin to make sense. … read more
Avante Garde: The Future of Indoor Training at Snogression
“Basically, you grab this bar, push the green button and hold on.” These were the words from Snogression owner and innovator, Kevin Brower. I stood atop the synthetic snow in-run, looking towards the kicker and foam pit. My palms began to sweat and my pulse quickened. With a mechanical whoosh, I was hurtling down the “slope” and before I knew it, I was airborne. Milliseconds later, I came crashing down into the pit. Let’s do it again, and again and again! … read more
Local Reviews: Pretty Worms/Blackhole
“Killers Galore” is a ride through noise punk hell on a groovy bass and a light, punchy drum rhythm. Punctuated with sound clips of sirens and yelling, part of the song’s appeal is the sublime strangeness with which they approach a very basic song. … read more
Music Reviews
New and recent releases from Barry Adamson, Damon & Naomi, Earth, John K. Samson, Napalm Death, Sharon Van Etten, Skrillex, Yuksek and many more are reviewed. … read more
