Earlier this week, I woke up to an email from one of my editors, asking my thoughts on Anna Gaca‘s ruthless take on Imagine Dragons‘ recent College Football Playoff Championship Game halftime performance. I was offered the opportunity to rebut the claims Gaca made that, among others, “to listen to Imagine Dragons is to be a victim of circumstance.” Why was I the one asked to tackle this? Because anyone who knows me knows that I love Imagine Dragons. More importantly, I couldn’t care less if that makes me uncool. Continue reading “In Defense Of: Imagine Dragons, in Response to Spin‘s Slam”
It’s that time of year again! Time to scour through pages and pages of SF Sketchfest listings, trying to decide what shows to buy tickets for, and never actually going to anything because it’s all too intimidating. Well, fear not! Instead of thinking for yourself, just go to everything I tell you to. Because I have fantastic taste, and you’ll love all of these.
Don’t trust me? Well, you can always go straight here to pick out shows and buy tickets.
The powers-that-be behind BottleRock Napa Valley never fail to impress me. This year’s festival lineup was announced this morning, boasting so many exciting artists it made my head swim a little: Imagine Dragons. Logic. OneRepublic. Sylvan Esso. Jenny Lewis. AJR. Anderson East. The Dandy Warhols. Neon Trees. Just Loud. Shannon Shaw. Flora Cash. And that’s just day one!
Days two and three add to the excitement, with Neil Young + Promise of the Real, Pharrell Williams, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Gary Clark Jr, Cypress Hill, Elle King, Sir Sly, Mumford & Sons, Santana, Bishop Briggs, Skylar Grey, Houses, and so many more. Also, anyone who watches Top Chef may have noticed that this year’s winner will have a slot on the culinary stage, which is always a fun place to check out between sets.
It’s hard not to look at this list and know you’ve got to be there. I think the hardest part will be, as usual, determining how to get from point A to point B in such a way that you catch at least parts of all the acts you don’t want to miss! Until BRNV releases an actual schedule, however, there’s not much to do but listen to these bands and look forward to May in eager anticipation. To help you do that, I made a little playlist: I’ve included some of my favorites from the artists that are generating the highest levels of impatience. Let’s hope these next 4 ½ months fly by, and I’ll see you this summer in Napa!
It seems I’m developing a bit of a reputation for my love of metal music. Sure enough, most of my tastes gravitate in a heavy, guitar crunching, angry spitting, violent dancing, political attack that much of metal shares with the world. This is why it should come as no surprise that I leapt for the chance to see Ministry at the Fonda Theatre one Thursday afternoon. However, this was no ordinary metal show, for Al Jourgenson and his cohorts were sharing the stage with 80s horror synth revivalist Carpenter Brut – whom I’ve also become deeply enamored with over the past year since Leather Teeth was released – and newcomers Alien Weaponry from New Zealand.
It’s that time of year again… That time when you’ve read every other music site’s Album of The Year list, and have hated all of them because you haven’t seen the best one yet! We have an incredibly diverse group of records… Some you’ve seen on other lists, some you haven’t, and some you’ve likely never heard of before clicking on this post!
What were your favorite films of 2018? There were lots of worthy contenders, and choosing just ten can be challenging, but Spinning Platters Film Editor Carrie Kahn has given it a go. Below Carrie shares her ten favorite films of 2018, presented in descending rank order. You can also check out her list from last year, here.
Aquaman (Jason Momoa) strikes one of his favorite poses.
Yes, I know that headline is a real groaner, but so is the movie that inspired it, so fair is fair. Aquaman is the latest DC Comics superhero to headline his own picture, and, unfortunately, this idea is one that never should have floated to the surface. Australian director James Wan (of the Fast and Furious and Saw franchises) throws in a bit of everything with Aquaman, but ends up with a whole lot of spectacle, and — if you’ll forgive me another water pun — not a lot of depth. Continue reading “Film Review: Aquaman“
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been nearly six years since last I saw Aaron Lewis at the Uptown Theatre in Napa. I promise I’ll never say this again, but I’m shocked to look back and realize that I can say yes, in fact, it’s been awhile. What never occurred to me, however, was how those several years could make such a difference. Last time, Lewis toured with his first full-length country album, The Road. This time, he’s back with Sinner, and he’s fully embraced his country side with no apologies. The evolution of Lewis’ music from rock-tinged to full-blown country is not the only important shift, however – last time I saw him, the world was a different place. When I turned up with a girlfriend to see him earlier this month (December 8, to be exact), I would soon discover that some things were very, very different… Continue reading “Show Review: Aaron Lewis with Kyle Phelan at Uptown Theatre Napa, 12/8/18”
The Headhunters are probably best known as Herbie Hancock’s backing band from the 1970’s, when the great jazz pianist began branching out into fusion and funk. He recruited players like Bernie Maupin (sax), Mike Clark (drums) and Paul Jackson (bass) and the recently deceased Wah Wah Watson. They produced the eponymous first album, then Hancock moved on to other projects – but the band continued in various guises up until today. Continue reading “Show Review: The Headhunters at Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff, Wales, 12/6/19”
