How ironic: As a society we consistently become lazier, but our video game controllers keep adding buttons. And joysticks. And vibrating packs that are supposed to make your hands feel like you’ve actually been shot, or hit by a car, or snuck by a gargoyle, or something. Playing today’s popular video game systems is less […]
Tim Goodwin
Posted inMusic
Mixed emotions: how we get the music to talk for us
I so make the best mix tapes. Seriously. Give me 60 minutes of your time and I’ll show you where it’s at, and how to get there. That is, if you really like your mix tapes chockfull of Mike Patton noise projects balanced by a smattering of Brownesville Station, with a nod to Charlie Parker, […]
Posted inMusic
The man behind the Masque
Some people are lucky: They experience a moment where they realize rock ‘n’ roll can save their lives. You can sit down with a lot of music fans and let them tell you the time they first heard this band, or how their older sibling got them into that band, and the nutty things they’ve […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
NASCAR: not just talking moonshine
Let’s do away with all your high-horsed jokes before we continue. Yes, NASCAR’s roots are in the Deep South, where terms like “y’all” and “you’ve got a pretty mouth” are common vernacular. Yes, NASCAR apparel is the most ungodly thing ever created, full of wraparound-print T-shirts and hats that are louder than a hot […]
Posted inMusic
Lighting the way
There was a time when all I had to do to get in touch with DJ Green Lantern was open up a file cabinet in the office of my record store, pull out a folder of consignments from local artists, and give him a ring. “Green,” I’d say, “We need, I dunno, about 10 more […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
With friends like these…
I’m now friends with Jim Shapiro. That’s right. Jim “The Hammer” Shapiro: telelawyer supreme with the trademark bark of an empowered nerd. I hadn’t been part of the ultra-hip online community of Friendster.com for three days and already I was buddies with a celebrity in a population of about 1.5 million users. Friendster […]
Posted inMusic
Rape me
It is a little weird, when you think about it, how we ignore people’s privacy when they’re dead. Anything they might have said or wished concerning their legacy gets overlooked, as if the living know better what to do with the deceased’s mental remains than they did. When Kafka was on his deathbed, he asked […]
Posted inMusic
Superduty moves your booty
“It’s totally a history lesson,” says DJ superDimensional, dressed today as Tony Bacchiocchi, a customer at a local record store in search of vinyl. He looks more like the associate art director at Kodak who pays his bills than one-half of Rochester’s Framers of Funk, Superduty. Describing Superduty’s upcoming show (October 25, at The Bug […]
Posted inMusic
A nice bunch of guise
There’s this… thing about Mike Patton; this spooky, almost intimidating vibe. For years now, Patton has been flying below radar, creating challenging and experimental music. Naturally, accompanying this kind of output is the perception that he’s as unnerving as his discography, in the same way that parents once thought Ozzy was the Prince of Darkness […]
Posted inMusic
Beat nuts
What you need to understand before we begin is that hiphop is a culture. It’s a theory, a philosophy. But like the Tao, or trying to define exactly what “porn” is, it’s hard to nail down. Hiphop incorporates breakdancing, MCing, DJing, and graffiti, but it is not defined by those elements alone. It’s a movement […]
