Call me old fashioned, but sometimes I think the modern day slasher formula has ruined the contemporary horror film. While some movie makers adhere to the Hitchcockian pillars of suspense and atmosphere, it seems far easier to scare by showing rather than implying. On one hand I can understand: dread, especially of the supernatural variety, can be so difficult to manufacture consistently. It’s far easier, and far more instantly gratifying, to scare the audience on the most basic of grounds: […]
Monthly archive August, 2011
Aging Hip Replacement #11: The One About The VMAs
I decided that I was going to write about something light this week. I’ve gotten a little flak from friends and family who have said my last few columns were a little too dark, a little too heady all in a row. Of course, I’m writing about my feelings of being flung towards middle age and beyond, not the happiest of experiences in my book. I wasn’t sure where I was going, started a few ideas (which all seemed to […]
Spin Cycle: Mike Doughty’s “Yes And Also Yes”
There are not many artists in 2011 as prolific as Mike Doughty . He’s just unleashed his first entirely electronic album (Dubious Luxury: check out the review later this week), there’s a book due next year, oh, and a little thing called Yes And Also Yes which you are reading about right now and hopefully buying after finishing this. Of the music that is thrown at consumers/listeners year after year, it’s very rare that you find one single album that is consistently […]
The Blerd13 with…Mike Doughty!
Mike Doughty is a busy man. There’s the electronic/samples Dubious Luxury record which was released in early August, a new solo album due this week, and then the highly anticipated book due early next year. Mr. Doughty recently answered some burning questions that Popblerd! had about the book, the albums, label changes and some interesting musical collaborators . Keep reading to see if some of your questions were answered, too! 1. With a new album, book, and tour coming up, it seems like […]
New Release Report 8/30/11…Or Is It 8/29/11??
This week’s not a typical new release week. Why? Because this week’s releases came out on Monday as opposed to Tuesday. So, our column’s late, and you may have very well purchased one or more of this week’s new albums already. So while this column might be giving you information you already know, hopefully you still find it quite enjoyable! Have you read our reviews of Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ I’m With You yet? You should. Even though Drew […]
Spin Cycle: Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “I’m With You”
Dear Red Hot Chili Peppers, Greetings from a fan! Before I start, let me thank you for the richly-textured, impossibly alive soundtrack you provided for my adolescence through my young adulthood. I haven’t been with you quite since the beginning – you, as a band, have existed longer than me, as a person – but I’ve been eagerly buying your records since I can remember. I love them – cherish them, even. You’ve soundtracked parties for me, long drives through […]
Spin Cycle: Lil’ Wayne’s “Tha Carter IV”
Rapper Lil’ Wayne once said, via an album title, I Am Not A Human Being. Listening to his new album, Tha Carter IV, it’s not difficult to see where Wayne was coming from – it’s not difficult to envision the rapper being dropped from a UFO into someone’s Hollywood backyard on a quiet, chilly night. The objective? To ruin hip-hop by turning it into an exaggerated version of its worst stereotypes, to behave in a deliberately bizarre fashion to court […]
2011 MTV Video Music Awards Live Blog
It’s the 2011 version of the VMAs and really, other than who has a hot single, what’s the real difference from year to year? You take a bunch of famous pop stars, give them tons of alcohol, and just let them act the fool on live TV. I think the real question should be: Who is going to do something that makes the Twitter go crazy? Kanye, Lady Gaga, or how about Kanye? My money’s on Kanye. I have my […]
CSS liberate you from boredom on latest.
Electro-rock is alive and well in 2011 thanks to bands like Cansei Der Ser Sexy also lovingly known as CSS. Their latest, La Libreacion, is, quite simply, a slab of danceable electro goodness. For those of you who love the video game aesthetic of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, La Liberacion is for you. If you love Ladytron but wish they weren’t so serious all the time, La Liberacion is for you. Album number three starts off the best way any album could with a song […]
Spin Cycle: That Handsome Devil’s “The Heart Goes To Heaven, The Head Goes To Hell”
I imagine that relatively few people decide to go to a rock concert twenty minutes before it starts. But, see, my wife and I were spending the week in Boston, and we had a Friday night with nothing on the docket. There was talk of a movie; there was talk of dinner, but ultimately, we wanted to do something unique, something singular. Take in a play, or some jazz, or climb a mountain (which, to be fair, is kind of […]