While Canadian singer Fefe Dobson dressed up as a dead Amy Winehouse for Halloween this year, it was not too long ago that Dobson fought off critics about her own image and strived to stay true to herself in the music industry. In this interview, Dobson talks about her upcoming album, Joy, her single, “I Want You,” being featured on VH1 promotional spots for the reality show, “Megan Wants a Millionaire,” and so much more.
Racket Gail: How was your Halloween?
Fefe Dobson: It was amazing, I had such a blast. I …

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Edward R. Pressman Film/Nu Image Entertainment
1/10
Bad being in the title should have been my first warning. This film stars Nicholas Cage as a strung-out crack addicted police lieutenant who would smoke your lawn clippings and inject your contact lens solution if left alone in your house for 5 minutes who’s abuses of his badge are only exceeded by his partner’s nihilistic world view and glib racism. Add to this a hefty dose of art-house weird and you start to get the picture. The film …

The National Rifle
Man Full of Trouble
Unsigned/self-released
7/10
The last thing anyone thinks of when they think of Philly is indie music. Seattle, most definitely. Portland—awesome (in a related note, this writer has yet to visit either city, despite a close call)! Philly, well, not so much. Well, The National Rifle is out to change all that, and no, they have nothing to do with the National Rifle Association. The unsigned band has just cut a third album, Man Full of Trouble, and it’s everything antithetical to the …

     Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Snoop Dogg and DJ Quik concert at Club Nokia. In addition to those performances was the dance crew , The Syrenz, and Snoop Dogg Records artists, Nipsey Hussle and The Hustle Boyz. Apparently, there was quite a lot of hustlin’ goin on that night! But word, I was a little too late to catch The Syrenz and The Hustle Boyz after dealing with the hassle of parking at LA Live. It was pandemonium out there with the Lakers playing at …

NOFX
Cokie The Clown /My Orphan Year EPs
Fat Wreck Chords 8/10
You know what, I dislike Fat Mike. I do. A fair amount. Everytime I have met him he has left a bad impression. But I fucking love NOFX. It doesn’t hurt that I think Melvin is cool as fuck, but still. Between the nostalgia of simply being NOFX and the actually really fun songs, they have a serious set of EPs. “Straight Outta Massachusetts,” the final track on the Cokie EP, is the epitome of the sing-along nonsense I have long …

Nadia Ali
Embers
Smile in Bed
8/10
After writing countless reviews and listening to so many different arrangements that could make a person’s head explode, there comes a time when lyrics really do make or break an artist’s record. As long as I’ve been with Racket, I haven’t come across many albums with impressive lyrics because the music overpowers the words most of the time. As a result, I am left feeling disappointed because the potential to harness a true emotional connection with the audience is lost in the fancy machine of studio mixing …

The Lawrence Arms
Buttsweat and Tears
Fat Wreck Chords
9/10
FUCK. YES. The first bit of new tunes since Oh! Calcutta back in ’06 and it doesn’t disappoint. Brendan Kelly and Chris McCaughan trade vocal duties fairly fifty-fifty, while Neil Hennessey blasts away on the drums. It’s crazy to see this band, going as hard and fast as they have, still maintaining their level of intensity ten years after their inception. I’m starting to believe that they are being pushed by the sheer will of their rabid fans. Opening with Kelly’s signature rasp, the …

Fest 8
Halloween Weekend 2009
Gainesville, FL
The Festies – Best of the Fest
Well, ladies and gentleman, another year’s gone by and another wonderful Fest has been etched in the annals of history. This Fest had all the makings of a great one: lots of partying (mostly done responsibly), lots of bands and good music, lots of friend-making and lots of revelry. Mix in plenty of walking and standing around in lines and you’ve got yourself a Fest. In honor of this monumental annual happening, Racket presents it’s “Best-of” for Fest 8, which …

Capgun Coup
Maudlin
5/10
Capgun Coup, you are SO lucky that the iTunes random went into the middle of the album recently as I HATED the first track. Vocals lost to reverb and chaos are not what I am interested in. However, once you get into the meat of the album, you start to see the breadth of musical styles these guys can employ. From a waltz “Ari Ar We” to a weird surf sound “Fishlip” to the psychedelic (and exceptionally offensive) “I Wish I Was a Fag”, Maudlin is worth checking out, …

Rammstein
Liebe Ist Für Alle Da
Universal/Vagrant
7/10
Goddamned Germans. I swear to God they try to be as weird as fucking possible, while rocking as hard as possible. Rammstein returns for it’s sixth full length complete with head banging riffs and…German. I don’t speak German. I bet the songs are metal as fuck jams based solely about getting to work on time and ensuring that your oil changes are done every 3,000 miles.

Crocodiles have been the act that’s been on the lips of almost every blogger for this past year. I sat down for a brief interview with Brandon and Charles to discuss their inclusion of a full band, kissing boys, and tour buddies.
RacketRick: So how are you guys doing?
Crocodiles: Uhhh…good.
RR: So I guess the big news right now is that you guys have a full backing band now. How’d that come about?
CrocCharles: Well, they’re just friends of ours who happened to help us out on prior tours and it just …

C. Albritton Taylor, Donovan Leitch, Jim Rugg
One Model Nation
Image Comics
6/10
It’s rare for us here at Racket to review a graphic novel, let alone admitting to have read them. [Emperor's note: That's not accurate, I have a profound fascination with graphic novels, as does Caitlin.] The last time this reviewer touched a comic book was perhaps ten years ago, and that’s not counting stuff slugged for school newspapers and the like. So when we found out about One Model Nation, we were skeptical. It turns out that skepticism …

The Downer Party
Ego Driven Lust Creatures
Popsmear records
6/10
Given the brevity of The Downer Party’s EP “Ego Driven Lust Creatures”, I feel absolutely no guilt whatsoever in abandoning all hopes of presenting you, the reader, with a lengthy, verbose, eloquent detailing of what is quite frankly, a slightly above average group of songs.
First, the positives! Yes, it isn’t anything groundbreaking. It isn’t anything hugely inventive or subversive. But what we DO have is a collection of catchy, sugary, punk songs styled in the vein of bands such as The Grates, Be …

Josh Ottum
Like the Season
Cheap Lullaby Records
8/10
By all accounts, Josh Ottum is the quintessential come-from behind artist. No, really. He literally recorded songs in his basement and then suddenly burst out of nowhere to rave reviews. Is it cliché? Probably, but there’s no denying his musical talent. There’s plenty proof of it on his debut album, Like the Season, a mellifluous mix of beats and chords that’ll keep listeners tapping their toes.
The first line of evidence, “It’s Alright,” is a smooth, poppy melody that is …