unsolicited criticism
Album Review: &’s by Higgins
4 stars out of 5 Click to listen or purchase Allow them to reintroduce themselves, their name is H to the I to the double-G, I to the N to the S. It’s been five years since Higgins’ last release, Straight A’s. Now, the duo of Kevin P. Fish and drummer Brian Kantor has returned […]
Album Review: ‘Wax Diamond’ by the Planes
3.5 stars out of 5 Click to listen or purchase Like an indie-pop Sully Sullenberger, Stephen Perry brought the Planes in for a safe landing a couple of years ago. The band had a nice little run on the New York/Brooklyn scene, recording, touring, doing those things bands do. But alas, it was time for […]
What I’ve Been Watching: Edition XII
So I set up my dad with Amazon Prime on a Kindle Fire. But do *I* have Amazon Prime? Do *I* have a Kindle Fire? Nooooooooooo! Hey, it’s all just part of being the selfless guy I am. But here’s my biannual rundown of the new shows I’ve watched recently, mostly via my old-fashioned cable. […]
Book Review: ‘I Formed a Band’ by Eddie Argos
4 stars out of 5 Click to purchase I don’t remember how the band Art Brut entered my life a decade ago — did I read a review? did my friend Christine recommend them? — but that debut album, Bang Bang Rock & Roll, really did it for me. Soon my buddies Allan and Jim […]
Album Review: ‘Now’ by Speed The Plough
4 stars out of 5 Click to purchase on 180-gram vinyl (with download code) A silhouette of a baying coyote in a bathtub. I first saw that compelling logo during my junior year in high school, on the Full Time Men record sleeve. I bought that EP at the Princeton Record Exchange because Peter Buck […]
My Highly Subjective List of the Best Movies of 2015
Eh, keep yer IMAX 3D Ultra Panavision 70 Dine-While-You-Watch Reserved Seating hoo-ha; I don’t need gimmicks to get excited about the movies. (Plus, I feel like a real jagoff if I spend $23 for a ticket and it’s still crummy.) Here are the films from last year that I thought were the best. Of the […]
What I’ve Been Watching: Edition XI
So I just subscribed to Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime, HBO Now, CBS All Access, and Sling TV, and it’s only going to cost me $4,000 a month more than my cable bill! Score! Hey, you do what ya gotta do when you love the TV. Speaking of, here’s my biannual rundown of the new […]
Album Review: ‘Hysterical Fiction’ by A Nero
4.5 stars out of 5 Click to listen or purchase You remember Nero — guy supposedly fiddled while Rome burned. Well, I’m casting my vote for A Nero to be the house band when Brooklyn meets its inevitable end. But until that time, we have their excellent album Hysterical Fiction to enjoy. Genre-wise, I’ll categorize […]
What I’ve Been Watching: Edition X
“TV is my friend,” sings Colleen Green, “and it has been with me every day from an early age.” I have initiated legal action against Ms. Green for obviously plagiarizing my life. While I wait for my briefs to be be filed (hey now!), here is my biannual rundown of the new or new-to-me shows […]
Jack Silbert, curator