I caught Band of Skulls at this year’s bedlam in Austin, SXSW, and they blew my face right off. Just the right mix of sludgy stoner metal and throwback rock and roll (à la T. Rex) makes Band of Skulls sound simultaneously familiar and unique. On Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, they embody those sounds’ many facets. That is, they can riff it up and mow you down, but also lull you into sweet psychedelic daydreams. Live and on record, Band of Skulls are a rare gem indeed.
—Roy Christopher, 27 March 2010
High on Fire took their sweet time getting this record recorded and released, and it is well worth the wait. If Lemmy sang for heyday-era Slayer, they might sound like this, though Matt Pike’s hell-fire fret-shredding, monolithic riffs, and barbed-wire growls are second to none. “Frost Hammer” sounds just enough like “Angel of Death” (that breakdown is sick in the same way) and more than enough like High on Fire to make it a worthy replacement for the former. Adding Snakes for the Divine to their already hefty body of work, High on Fire might just be the best metal band working today. (Sorry, Mastodon.)
—Roy Christopher, 27 March 2010
Terry Gilliam is a director that you have probably already decided whether or not you like. His past works have all teetered between genius and madness with varying rates of success. In The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which is incidentally Heath Ledger’s last film, Gilliam gets his Wizard of Oz / Alice in Wonderland on. It’s a dark tale of good versus evil and the triumph of imagination—and Tom Waits plays The Devil?! Does casting get any better than that?
—Roy Christopher, 23 February 2010
It seems like cover records come in three flavors: cop-out, contractual obligation-fulfiller, or rookie mistake. Well, that’s just not the case here. While I must admit to hating this record upon first listen, I can now say with honesty that it is good. Damn good. The first thing that struck me was that two of my favorite things about Peter Gabriel records—besides the lengendary genius that is Peter Gabriel, of course—were missing: the drums (Peter Gabriel records always have banging drums) and Tony Levin (King of the Low End). Scratch My Back is just Peter and an orchestra. I realize
—Roy Christopher, 23 February 2010
The word “poetry” is a quick and foolproof social litmus test. Its mention will usher honesty swiftly to the lips of whomever is listening. They either adore it or abhor it. Some may secretly love it, but no one lies about liking poetry. If you find someone who shares your love of verse, you’ve found something real in this world. With that said, Nate Pritts is one of the best currently doing it and his new collection, A Wonderfull Yeare, is out on Cooper Dillon books. The book is a seasonal shepherd’s calendar made up of four poems, each season a different style but none any less sad or beautiful than the one before. “Is there a better life than this?” I think not.
—Roy Christopher, 23 February 2010
When Antipop Consortium threw down the progressive hip-hop gauntlet on 2002’s Arrhythmia they didn’t expect to have to reunite several years later to pick it up—but they did. Their recent Fluorescent Black answers every challenge presented on Arrhythmia and then some. It’s weird, it’s word, and it’s war. The lyrics are abstract but tight and the beats are quirky but banging—and the whole package will stomp a mudhole in your ass.
—Roy Christopher, 08 February 2010
The Cure’s principle videographer for much of the 80s, Tim Pope, once said that a concert film is the greatest thing in the world to the fans of the band and means very little to anyone else—or something like that. Well, Iceland’s Sigur Rós may have finally shattered that mold. Combining concert footage of their 2006 tour of small venues in their homeland, interview clips and sweeping landscapes, Heima (“at home”) is a visually beautiful piece of film whether or not you’re that into the music of Sigur Rós. It might even make you a fan.
—Roy Christopher, 08 February 2010
In honor of the new Spike Jones movie, Girl Skateboards has released a series of Where the Wild Things Are decks. All the characters—and appropriate widths—are available. (I got the 8″ Rick McCrank featuring Emil’s big mug on it.) What better way to commemorate the movie event of the year than with some wild tre flips and impossibles on a board featuring one of the Wild Things?
—Roy Christopher, 01 September 2009
In his directorial debut, Moon (2009), Duncan Jones—son of David Bowie—creatively recycles elements from a bygone era of sci-fi. Pieces from films past include a resurrection of HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) in the moon base’s in-house computer GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey), a nod to the hallucinations of Steven Soderburgh’s Solaris (2002), and a similar use of the memory implants from Blade Runner (1982). Also like Solaris, Moon is more concerned with inner space than outer space (and Clint Mansell’s score recalls Cliff Martinez’s best work). Sam Rockwell plays the lead astronaut in a role written specifically for him by Jones. If this movie doesn’t finally make the underrated Rockwell an A-lister then I am no longer qualified to write about movies. If you like the pre-CGI “golden age” of science fiction, Moon is your next destination.
—Roy Christopher, 22 August 2009
What else is there to say? Slayer is the best metal band on the planet. Period. They’ve been burning it down for almost thirty years and if you haven’t seen them play live, you must. They’re currently destroying the country with a million other metal bands on the Rockstar Mayhem Festival tour (which I caught last week in San Antonio, Texas) but with Slayer on the bill, no one else matters—and I’m not the only one who thinks so.
—Roy Christopher, 20 August 2009
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