American Idiot, 5 years later (4 stars out of 5) I distinctly remember negative emotions towards American Idiot when it first came out. My habitual response is still negative. Why? The same reason any level-headed guy comes to despise a good, popular album he should like: Overexposure. Green Day immediately went from the most underrated…
Here’s the concept. I consider each of The Beatles’ twelve studio albums in their best form (i.e. their British releases) and rank them according to which albums I most want to listen to, end to end, right now. I’m ignoring the Yellow Submarine soundtrack (which most people like to pretend doesn’t exist) but including Help!,…
This is Dan’s half of the Pinkerton point-counterpoint review. Read Grant’s half here. I have this funny image in my head of Rivers Cuomo, the bespectacled frontman and songwriter of Weezer, performing the music of his first album in neatly trimmed suit with a smile. Then, just as the fans start yawning “novelty” and move…
For this post, I wanted to try something new for the site: Discussing some TV. I know our tagline is (edit: was) movies and music, but TV is really an offshoot of film, and, in many ways, I think the serialized, episodic medium begets more interesting discussion. Here, I discuss the first season of Veronica…
Rating: 2 stars (out of 4) I didn’t like the sixth Harry Potter movie. I really expected to; I’m an apologist for the series, and David Yates’ effort before this was my favorite yet. Unfortunately, Half Blood Prince let me down. I’m here to tell you why it got way too much positive press from…
Rating: 2 stars (out of 4) It’s easy to write Yes Man off as “Liar Liar 2″ as so many critics have. But Yes Man, a zany Jim Carrey movie about a man who can’t say no, has a more true and powerful center. Moreso than other high-concept Carrey comedies — Liar Liar, Me Myself…
If you haven’t heard, Oasis broke up last week. Even though smart money is on the band getting back together within a few months, I figure now is as good an opportunity as I’m going to get to reflect on the band and their work. In their honor, here is a brief summary of the…
Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 4) I’ll assume whoever reads this has seen The Matrix. According to IMDb, it’s not only one of the most beloved movies of this generation, but one of the most widely seen. If you haven’t seen it, you’re in for a treat; though Keanu Reeves’ acting is a bit stiff,…
As an introduction to the site and our tastes in movies, we decided we would each share our current top ten favorite movies along with brief explanations about why we love them. This list is subject to change, of course, but here’s how my top ten currently stands. 1. Rudy People scoff when I say…
Rating: 5 stars (out of 5) When I take a look the artists that have left the most tremendous impact on me, most of them are pretty objectively great. To name a few: Billy Joel, my first musical love, sells out arenas. Relient K, the first modern band I took seriously, has had their latest…