OK, so I’ve been slacking on reviews, but listening to a few albums both in my car and on my way to work. I am giving myself the next 53 minutes of lunch to bust this shit out. GO!
The Lonely Island
The Wack Album
Republic Records
9/10
Started to listen to it at work, 2.6 seconds in and I realized I could probably be fired for any number of HR offenses. Fuck, I want to get drunk with these dudes. The trio of awkward crackers/rappers stick to the formula that’s worked so well for …
When the 2013 Coachella line up was announced, it was mind-boggling that Mumford and Sons wasn’t one of the headliners. Luckily, I didn’t have to sit through three days of burning Coachella Valley heat to see them, as they stopped by the San Manuel Amphitheater in San Bernardino, CA. Now, this place holds a lot of memories for me. My first festival, my first mosh pit, my first pepper-spraying, and my first drunken concert were all there. I’ve been to SMA through several name changes, but never has it looked …
As I sit here at a sports bar eating happy-hour nachos (the ENTIRE reason I am here) and glancing up at screens showing UFC fights, motocross and… I’m not sure what the other screen’s showing, right now it’s a Geico commercial. I have a two-hour break at my day job to study for a class (which, I am obviously NOT doing right now) that I don’t really want to study for on top of working 11 hours today. While staring vacantly at the plethora of sports programming, I notice the …
There was once I time where I wrote album reviews for Vice, earning shit-tons of hipster credits that I have yet to turn in to get my free fixie. Some shit ruled, some shit sucked. One time I reviewed an album and thought “Wow, they actually have to TRY to sound this bad. You can record it better on your phone.” It turns out that that band was friends of an editor, which is why I don’t write for Vice anymore. That got me thinking, how easy is it …
Oh, raves. Drum-fueled machines for drug-addled, bracelet-wearing kids who love living life in excess. Well, we went to one, but it wasn’t long into it that the idea of $13 beers sent me home to my grill and a $9.99 12 pack of Guiness’ Black Lager. But, before we left, we got took some shots of some insanely accessorized people who were obviously having the time of their lives.
-Jonathan Yost
So, we keep getting shit to review on a daily basis, and while I would love to listen to every one a few times, get an idea of the whole flow of the album, the production values, the songwriting and just whether I like it or not, but there’s no fucking time. So, rather than doing something like that, I’m going to judge not the albums, but the cover art.
A Criminal Risk
The Art of Dropping Names
5/10
I was disappointed that the white text wasn’t, you know, names that they were dropping. …
So, last time I wrote something about the Angel City Derby Girls, I discovered firsthand the fury of kombucha-powered heckling. It was, well, just like any other internet trolling: lots of impassioned insults that were ultimately silent when proven to be on the losing side.
So, imagine my surprise when the ladies of ACDG tells me that the unwashed masses of Santa Cruz were not their main rivals, that slot was saved for the Sacred City Sacrificers (Terrible name, by the way. Who do you think you are, JESUS?!).
Well, anyways, the …
I recently flew from Southern California to San Francisco. The flight itself is about an hour, but between the TSA, packing, check-in and the wonderful world of “additional screening,” the process of getting TO the plane can take longer than that. Especially when you have tattoos, piercings, and bad taste in clothing that generally includes back patches and 12 pounds of spikes and studs. I’ve been travelling more and more as I have gotten older and have picked up a few tips and tricks, especially for those of us who …
Tegan And Sara
Heartthrob
Vapor Records/Warner Brothers Records
7/10
Sounds kinda 80’s
Twins seem like they’re happier
Goodbye teenage angst!
Masked Intruder
Self-Titled
Fat Wreck Chords/Red Scare Industries
10/10
Holy fucking shit
Best shit Fat’s put out in years
Teenage me is stoked
Fake Problems/You Blew It Split
Topshelf Records
8/10
These four songs kick ass
Insert 7” joke here
I want some nachos
Robert DeLong
Just Movement
Glassnote Records
9/10
Beep boop beeeeeep boop boop
Sounds like robot sex music
Hey! Robot boners!
The Gonads/Uprisers split
Skinflint Music/Black Hole Records
6/10
It’s like a punk GWAR
Without the fake blood and shit
Blood’s probably real
Nataly Dawn
How I Knew Her
Nonesuch Records
7/10
Yes, I know she’s cute
And she’s really good at tunes
But damn, is …
I like beer. I mean, who doesn’t. Assholes, that’s who. Anyways, Riverside’s Inland Empire Brewing Company are having their fourth annual Beer and Food Truck Festival at 1PM on Saturday, February 23rd, and if you’re local, you better be there. 40+ breweries, 10 “gourmet” food trucks. Why did I use quotation marks on “gourmet?” Because as much as I LOVE the idea of a truck called Baconmania, I can’t call it gourmet with a straight face.
Well, for $40 (+$2.39 service fee), you get fifteen 4-oz tasters, access to the trucks …
Steve Juliano is a weird dude. He loves chick flicks, has a self proclaimed “unhealthy fascination with death” and apparently loves Cutting Crew. We had a chance to send Juliano some questions since his latest group, Requiem For The Dead, released a new EP on Valentine’s Day.
So, what brings you to launching a new EP on Valentine’s Day? Is this a gift for someone?
We finished the ep and found that all the pressing of our merch and cds and all that other good stuff was going to be done middle …
It’s been a few days now since my friends and I found out that Huell Howser died. I’m not good at eulogies. I couldn’t think of anything to say at my grandparents’ funerals, partly because I had the chance to tell them everything I wanted to already. This is one of the very few “celebrity” deaths that has ever bothered me and I still don’t know if this will adequately portray the raw feelings that I have had these last few days, but I have to try. For Huell.
If you’re …
So, as with all of our gift guides, I’ve compiled a shit-ton of stuff that I really want. So, friends, family or that hot co-ed down the hall, I’m sure someone you know will want anything or everything on this here guide. So, here you go, the guide to awesome stuff that will make your girlfriend forget about that time you fell asleep during your girlfriend’s tirade about her boss.
Audio/Video Tech
Chambers by RZA
So, of course there’s the beats by Dre, but I had a friend hand over her Chambers by …
Are you much of a sexter?
You know, I’ve never partaken in sexting. But I’m about to go on tour, and I’m thinking I’m going to have to sext my girlfriend a little bit.
It’s like porn where you know the person and it’s delivered directly to your hand-held device. If you had an iPad and some kind of messaging service, I bet that would be pretty good, too. You could get in on that retina display. Hi-res and shit. So, I hear San Jose has a lot of drugs.
I wouldn’t know.
Dude, …
It’s been a year since Flattus Maximus has been called back to the stars, and GWAR, like a stank and bloody phoenix, has risen from the ashes with the arrival of Pustulus Maximus. I sat down with Dave Brockie to conduct an interview, but Oderus came in to find Brockie dangerously close to his crack and vaporized him. With Oderus fully cracked out, we began discussing how the newest member of GWAR is adjusting to his life on Earth. And, as a bonus to actually getting to the end of …
So, I hate bureaucracy. I hate the way it’s spelled, I hate the way it works and I hate the complete lack of common sense involved in its implementation. So, when I heard that the makers of Nanodots, those cool mini-magnetic-ball-thingies, were jumping through hoops to ensure that theirs was the safest mini-magnetic-ball-thingies on the market, I wanted to see what’s up.
Apparently, parents who buy the other brands can’t read warning labels that say HEY! DUMMY! THESE ARE NOT TOYS, DON’T GIVE THEM TO YOUR KIDS! and keep giving them …
