Jul 01, 2009 Books

Robert Greenfield’s A Day in the Life chronicles the rise and fall of two lovers so engrossed in various self-serving pursuits that they often bordered on sheer subversion.  Susan “Puss” Coriat and Tommy Weber spent their early lives sheltered by wealthy families with the good grace of beauty to carry them well beyond their means. By the late ’60s, their indulgence in drugs and living on the edge day-to-day shifted them into a world of oblivion and reckless abandon, which led to Puss’ suicide in 1971. More

Jul 01, 2009 Music

In 2007, Norwegian singer/songwriter Hanne Hukkelberg released her sophomore album, Rykestraße 68. Developing on the established themes of her lighthearted debut, the album featured an affable marriage between playful Jon Brion-style atmospherics performed on a series of found objects and Hukkelberg’s haunting off-kilter voice—glittering with a simple and pleasing whimsy. More

Jun 30, 2009 TV Web Exclusive

Michael Bay’s sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has just redefined what a bad movie can be, and coming out to coincide with the cinematic apocalypse is Shout! Factory’s celebration of the original animated series’ 25^th anniversary. The set is a notable improvement on the now out-of-print original Rhino releases from 2002 that included cut versions of some episodes and missing animation. This new release has taken great pains to restore as much of that footage as possible to appease the diehards. More

Jun 30, 2009 Video Games Web Exclusive

Punch-Out!! is back and on the Nintendo Wii, and after being out of the ring for 15 years, it’s better than ever! Little Mac is ready to rumble against all those international stereotypes you remember so fondly. You’re going to need to dust off the old strategies of dodging, blocking, and face- and gut- punching to make your way to the title bout. More

Jun 29, 2009 Music Issue #26 Spring 2009 - Bat For Lashes

White Rabbits not only avoid the sophomore slump, they build on the success of their debut, Fort Nightly. With Spoon's Britt Daniel at the helm, White Rabbits tighten the reins on their percussive sound over the course of ten lean and muscular tracks. More

Jun 29, 2009 Live

Thursday June 25th at seven p.m., I saw Michael Jackson on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. across from the Troubadour. We didn’t exchange pleasantries. To be honest, clutching a withered “I love you” balloon, single tear streaking out of his left eye; he looked like he’d had a hard day. Even for an Amanda Palmer concert—a place where marauding punks, theater geeks, and other characters that would make my mother nervous, flock to with almost a religious fervor—it was weird. More

Jun 28, 2009 TV Web Exclusive

What do you do when you are not a high school jock anymore? When your university scholarship is over? When your career in the major leagues stalls due to an injury? You go back to said high school as a teacher/ coach, and start up a sideline career as a man-whore. What else? More

Jun 27, 2009 Music Web Exclusive

In the same tasteless fashion in which they made their name, the artwork for Cover the Earth! features Tesco Vee and a new crop of Meatmen masturbating over a globe. Cover the Earth! (a covers album, duh) is The Meatmen’s first recorded material in 12 years. More

Jun 26, 2009 Music Issue #26 Spring 2009 - Bat For Lashes

Although their previous effort, Get Yr Blood Sucked Out, was an admirable showcase of Anita Robinson's guitar-shredding psychedelic rock assault, the album itself worked like most Viva Voce releases: an unfocused mishmash of styles simultaneously shot out of a cannon onto a canvas Jackson Pollock- style. Husband and wife duo Kevin and Anita Robinson's habit of throwing in everything and the kitchen sink (with varied results) is something Viva Voce has been slowly shedding with each successive release.  More