LEONARD COHEN You Want It Darker (Columbia) Everybody knows that 2016 was a cruel and unusual year. Intolerably cruel. Everybody knows that war is over and everybody knows the good guys lost. So I am only half-kidding when I ask: How can we possibly be expected to endure the abominable presidency of Donald Trump without David Bowie, Prince or Princess Leia? But I’m dead serious when I say we can’t do this without Leonard Cohen, who died at the ripe old age of 82 on the day before the election. As ever, his timing was impeccable. It goes without […]
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BEST OF: Our Favorite Albums Of 2015
In the immortal words of the Chairman Of The Board, it was a very good year. So was last year, and the one before that and the one before that and so on. Why? Mostly, we can thank the disruptive, game-eating power of the Internet. The best thing that ever happened to music was the web-abetted collapse of the music industry’s one-size-fit-most paradigm and the death of radio as the prime determinant of what people like. Now people find music everywhere, it literally rains out of everything with an electric pulse, which has triggered a radical re-calibration of the vectors […]
THIS IS OUR MUSIC: Our Favorite Albums Of 2014
We said it before and we’ll say it again: Quoth the Chairman Of The Board, it was a very good year. So was last year, and the one before that and the one before that and so on. Why? Mostly, we can thank the disruptive, game-eating power of the Internet. The best thing that ever happened to music was the web-abetted collapse of the music industry’s one-size-fit-most paradigm and the death of radio as the prime determinant of what people like. Now people find music everywhere, it literally rains out of everything with an electric pulse, which has triggered […]
The Definitive Consumer’s Guide To Superbowl Ads
BY MIKE WOLVERTON SPORTS GUY That game was pretty good. I was rooting for Baltimore, so I’m happy. On to the commercials. They only count if they air during the game (kickoff-to-final gun, no halftime). I’ve thrown out the car ads, movie trailers and CBS promos and rated everything else that tried to be funny or cool. With a nod to the old axiom, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” I’ve changed the grading system from a 10-point scale to letter grades. The past three years have played out thusly:
SPORTO: Superbowl XLVI Ad Game Play By Play
BY MIKE WOLVERTON SPORTS GUY So the Giants won. I hate them. At least the Patriots lost. Hate those cheaters too. Now let’s review the commercials. A true Super Bowl Ad can only air while the game is being played, so pregame and halftime ads are out. Forget the “straight” ones too…the car commercials, movie trailers, TV promos and others that just aren’t going for a laugh. The rest were trying to be funny or cool, and I’ve given them a ranking from 0-10. Anything that scored a six or higher I considered funny. The strategy now is to try […]
SPORTO: Are You Ready For Some Playoffs!?!
BY MIKE WOLVERTON SPORTS GUY It was an ingenious move by MLB to switch the end of the regular season to midweek instead of Sunday. Who wants the last day of games to collide with a full day of NFL football? By making the move, baseball had the spotlight all to itself Wednesday night, and gave us what is being called “one of” the best regular season days in the sport’s history (simply by saying “one of”, sportscasters avoid having to step out on a limb or defend their statement). The Phils and Braves went extra innings, so did the […]
IGGLES: The Week That Was
[Photo by SUNNYDAYZ87] BY MIKE WOLVERTON SPORTS GUY Today’s Eagles game got really boring in the 2nd half. The good kind of boring. As in no drama, no uncertainty, complete control. An Eagles win seemed so secure, but then you’d look at the scoreboard and see 24-13 and realize that the Rams were still within reach, even though it felt like it was over. This game reminded me of last year’s Week 2 contest at Detroit (Vick’s first start). On the road, in a dome, against a poor but improving team. If you remember that game from last year, you’ll […]
Q&A With Scott McCaughey Of The Baseball Project
BY JONATHAN VALANIA The knock on rock music since, well, time immemorial is that there’s nothing new under The Big Rock Sun, that it’s all been done before and everything after is just a distant echo of the big bang that ended on or about 1969. The Baseball Project puts the lie to all that. I submit to you that they are doing something that’s never before: An indie rock supergroup that writes catchy songs about the lore and the legends of America’s pastime. If there is an ur-text for the Baseball Project, it’s “Take Me Out To The Ball […]
MY AWESOME GEEZER CONCERT ADVENTURE: A Perfect Circle At The Festival Pier Saturday Night
BY MIKE WOLVERTON In a parallel universe, A Perfect Circle would be Rock-and-Roll Gods, appealing in equal measure to metal meatheads, pretentious art-rockers and even the ladies. But in this universe, A Perfect Circle has a problem. Their dynamic singer, Maynard James Keenan, is also the frontman for a much bigger band (Tool), which is his top priority. That means that while Tool is recording or touring, A Perfect Circle is stuck in a holding pattern, working around Keenan’s availability. The excellent debut album (2000’s Mer de Noms) was followed in 2003 by the fantastic Thirteenth Step. A year later […]
MY AWESOME GEEZER CONCERT ADVENTURE: How I Learned To Stop Worrying About Styx & Love Yes
BY MIKE WOLVERTON Styx became my first favorite band around the time of 1980’s Paradise Theatre album, when I was all of 11. Well, the Beatles were my first favorite band, but Styx was my first favorite active band. I’ve never caught them live, because by the time I started going to concerts my tastes had, um, evolved. It had crossed my mind to catch them as they’ve toured these last few years, but they always seemed to be playing with REO Speedwagon (I will admit I was tempted when they shared a bill with The Fixx). When I saw […]
EARLY WORD: Stoned In The Queen Age
BY MIKE WOLVERTON The first time I went to see Queens of the Stone Age was in New York in January of 1999. I was just getting into Kyuss at the time and had caught wind of this new project involving some of those guys. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to go, it was a Friday night and I had already had way too many drinks. I called an old work buddy and invited him to go with me, thankfully he turned me down. I somehow stumbled downtown to this dive on Saint Mark’s Place, where I […]
SPORTO: Sussing Out The Super Bowl Ads
BY MIKE WOLVERTON SPORTS GUYThe game was entertaining enough, good job Green Bay. Now onto the important stuff: The commercials. They only count if they air during the game (kickoff-to-final gun, no halftime). I’ve thrown out the car ads, movie trailers and FOX promos and rated everything else that tried to be funny or cool. Ratings on a 10-point scale, 6 or above is funny, 5 and below is not. You can watch them all HERE and judge for yourself. I did it so you don’t have to, but don’t let that stop you. First Half Bud Light, “Hack […]
SPORTO: After The Fall
[Photo by pimpdisclosure] BY MIKE WOLVERTON SPORTS GUY You can’t say the Eagles deserved to win that game. You can certainly say they had chances to win. I thought the best chance was the short pass to DeSean Jackson on the opening play of the final drive. He’s magic, I really thought he might go all the way. And if Desmond Bishop hadn’t caught him by the shoestrings, he just might have taken it to the house instead of just 29 yards. Then four plays later it was all over. Did the Eagles shoot themselves in the foot? Would anyone […]