Culture Vulture

Metal Bands Per 100,000 People

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:33:00 -0400

Metal Bands Per 100,000 People

Re-soundtracking Twin Peaks

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:32:58 -0400

Re-soundtracking Twin Peaks

Sunset Tree.

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:56:49 -0500

Sunset Tree.

[Via Helena] Finally the second best show on television is back.

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:05:09 -0500

[Via Helena]

Finally the second best show on television is back.

Damien Jurado’s eleventh studio album, Maraqopa, arrives...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:14:00 -0500

Damien Jurado’s eleventh studio album, Maraqopa, arrives next week. In celebration, The Seattle Times is steaming four Jurado covers, all by Seattle artists. Here’s Jeremy Enigk doing “Last Rights”.

William Bowers' Hunter S. Thompson-esque Journal of the Paradise Lost Tour is a Really, Really Fun Read

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:47:49 -0500

William Bowers' Hunter S. Thompson-esque Journal of the Paradise Lost Tour is a Really, Really Fun Read:

slowblog:

“My poor adopted state takes so much guff. Some people cling to an ‘idea of Florida,’ that our sidewalks are split between befuddled senior citizens and topless Spring Breakers, that we all wake in the morn, do body shots off each other, feed a tourist to our pet alligators, swing by the painkiller clinic to pick up our groceries, and then ride the public airboat system to our jobs in the thong district.”

No one ever expected Seth Rogen to be a leading man after Freaks...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:32:00 -0500

No one ever expected Seth Rogen to be a leading man after Freaks and Geeks. Not like Hollywood’s attempt to make Jack Black a leading man, but a real one. Judd Apatow spent the majority of the aughts establishing himself as this generation’s John Hughes and select members of his cast into go-to comedic stars.

As Slate’s Dana Stevens points out, the female faction of the Freaks’ cast, both Linda Cardellini and Busy Philipps, have experienced minimal success.

I’ve waited a long time for the wayaward Freaks and Geeks’ cast and crew to be vindicated. First, last year, with Paul Feig’s bachelorette version of The Hangover and now with Cardellini’s first proper role since Freaks, in Return. Cardellini was always one of the strongest links in Freaks short lived run and Return hopes to establish her as a great actress and not just a character from a fan-obsessed cult television series.

Vigilantes and Anti-Heroes

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:48:00 -0500

Anti-hero stories tend to be ways of explicating problems, rather than offering solutions. Futzing around with criminals’ backstories is an act of sympathy, but it’s also an attempt to figure out why crime happens in the first place and to consider whether we could have prevented it.

Alyssa Rosenberg on why conservatives love vigilantes while liberals love anti-heroes.

The Jibroni

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:20:10 -0500

A friend and old co-worker of mine does a (sometimes) weekly podcast with his roommates and assorted guests covering a mix of topics; tech trends, pop culture, music, etc. A few months ago I sat down and talked about god knows what. Take a listen to the episode I was featured on, along with the others.

Last week I watched a twenty-five year old randomly place stamps...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:19:10 -0500

Last week I watched a twenty-five year old randomly place stamps and address on an envelope — when corrected about the placement he defended himself by explaining he had actually never sent any snail mail. This video also has a kids these days feeling to it.

Spotify Adds 8,000 Users Daily

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:12:00 -0500

Let’s just get this out of the way — I’m a huge fan of Spotify. Along with plenty of other folks, it’s helped provide a legal gateway for me to explore new music and expedite my workday. Outside of their coupled ambition with Facebook to create the world’s nosiest interface, Spotify’s services, both complimentary and premium, are great.

As of now they are currently averaging 8,000 new users daily, surpassing both Netflix and Sirius FM.

I remember reading an interview with R.E.M. sometime during the...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:51:00 -0500

I remember reading an interview with R.E.M. sometime during the 90s praising the endless merits of Big Star, but by that point I was too engulfed in Los Angles punk rock from the previous decade to put energy into seeking out any of their records.

My first real exposure to Big Star, like so many others, started with The Replacements. At that point in my life I was listening to a lot music from the 70s and early 80s: Thin Lizzy, Television, Elvis Costello and, of course, The Replacements. Falling in love with Alex Chilton lead me to Big Star and to picking up #1 Record/Radio City. Those albums look and feel like the 70s to me; full of great songs that have a certain buoyancy that so many bands from that era lacked.

“You Get What You Deserve” is one of my favorite Big Star songs, and one my favorite songs in general. Over the years I’ve included on it countless mixes and playlists. The 2009 box set, Keep An Eye On The Sky, has two versions — both equally great, but this demo version exhibits just the kind of grace that made me fall for them the first time around.

"Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; Art can be ugly at first but it becomes..."

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:42:00 -0500

““Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later;
Art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful later.””

- Steve Jobs

8-bit Gatsby

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:25:09 -0500

[Via Owen Renn]

I’m guessing no one ever anticipated a video game inspired by a book that’s kept Brooks Brothers in business for years.

Steinbeck On Patience and Love

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:29:03 -0500

John Steinbeck is hands down one my favorite authors and a personal hero. He is the ubiquitous American writer — unlike Don Delillo, Norman Mailer or Thomas Pynchon, he is someone often associated with high school curriculum (e.g., The Grapes Of Wrath, The Pearl, etc), and even more recently with Oprah’s book club, an undeserved fate at best.

In this collection, Steinbeck: A Life In Letters, he addresses a myriad of topics in letters written to family, friends and colleagues. His letter addressed to his son, Thom, on matters of love and patience is well worth the read.

I’m normally opposed to bands with names like this on...

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:41:53 -0500

I’m normally opposed to bands with names like this on pragmatic level; the name sounds like either: A) a band with three superfluous members playing triangles and pretending to like R&B, or B) the reality that combining animal names has been passé for quite sometime, causing the band to name themselves after arbitrary household items. That being said, First Aid Kit apparently covered a Fleet Foxes track a few years back and Hypemachine, amongst others told us we should care. Either way, being late to the game is fine by me, and this track spiked my interest enough to check them out.

Their new record, The Lion’s Roar, drops Tuesday, January 24th. We should all pick it up.

Balmorhea make music that sounds like it was made for a...

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:13:00 -0500

Balmorhea make music that sounds like it was made for a different time or place. I doubt I’ve spent half as much time listening to a single band in the last two years as I have listening to Balmorhea. All is Wild, All is Silent and Constellations both see almost daily rotation for me, and deservingly so. This yet-to-be titled track is live, no over-dubs; showcasing the band’s multi-instrumental capacity and dexterity as a live band.

Clear Heart Full Eyes Streaming

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:49:58 -0500

NPR’s First Listen is streaming the new Craig Finn album here.

R.I.P. Lookout! Records

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:45:00 -0500

Lookout!’s demise has been a long time coming. Losing Green Day’s back catalog, signing a lot of shitty bands, both pre and post-Ted Leo, but Lookout! was a great label and made a huge impact on me as a teenager in the 90s. Screech Weasel’s, My Brain Hurts, was the first piece of vinyl I ever bought myself. The later years were without question suspect, but the label’s impact and assistance in mainstreaming punk rock in the 90s is undeniable.

The Future

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:22:17 -0500

Here’s an excellent collection of predictions from The Ladies Home Journal in December of 1900 for the year 2000.