HEALTH – DEATH MAGIC

The Loudness Wars are over. One of the last over the trenches were L.A. band HEALTH, though their contributions to the victorious effort – measured in the maximalism of modern pop music – were overshadowed by the final wave of reinforcements. In the wake of the searing synths of their compatriots Crystal Castles, the drum-machine…

Alfredo Castro in Tony Manero (2008)

Tony Manero (2008)

The story of a 52 year old Chilean man, Raúl Peralta (Alfredo Castro), obsessed with Saturday Night Fever competing in a television show’s Tony Manero-lookalike competition seems perfectly pitched for a light-hearted comedy. A farce featuring oblivious characters trying their best, failing, but learning something important in the process. Tony Manero is not that film.…

A Band Called Death

A Band Called Death (2013)

A Band Called Death is an oral history of a band called Death (surprise), the first black punk band (and one of the first punk bands, full stop, even if they didn’t call themselves that at the time). Formed in Detroit in the early ‘70s, their music was vital and visionary, but never caught the…

Extended Cut: Daft Punk – Random Access Memories (2013)

(Extended Cut posts are articles where I’ll exceed my usual 200-word limit to allow for more detailed discussion) Daft Punk’s hotly anticipated new album, Random Access Memories, doesn’t sound much like their previous albums, but this is hardly a surprise – none of Daft Punk’s albums sound that much alike. The vibe here is very…