Memphis blues and soul man John Paul Keith is wiser than most about the music industry. Clocking years in playing affords him a certain perspective. “We were coming back home from Baton Rouge on a Sunday afternoon. I was driving the van, and you think, ‘God, this is a long drive,’” he said. “It occurred […]
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Double R — Dr. Digital
Crazy, but good. It’s totally sporadic and unpredictable, which would be a detriment elsewhere, but works here. It’s like swimming in his id: a sunny, jazz-inspired melody here; a swampy, Gothic hook there. These indulgences are overwhelming and exciting, especially in the darkest of moments. It’s your best, worst nightmare. Double R works as much […]
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Giving them hell
You’ve heard The All-American Rejects’ mythology before. Talented small-town Stillwater high schoolers’ album gets scooped from the trash by a record label intern: music videos, hit singles, major-label deals, high-grossing worldwide tours and dalliances with celebrities ensue. In short, all the stuff that constitutes the first half of an episode of VH1’s Behind the Music: […]
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Kam they do it?
Oklahoma City rockers The Kamals recall many bands on first listen; some moments sound like Queens of the Stone Age, while others like vintage Black Keys or, even more old-school, Robert Johnson. If there’s one descriptor that ties it altogether, it’s sweat, and the five-man crew shed a lot of it recording its debut EP, […]
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The Nurses Collection
Part of the label’s ongoing and hopefully never-ending “Roger Corman’s Cult Classics” line, The Nurses Collection presents a quadruple feature of the sexy, soapy, seriocomic flicks on two DVDs: 1974’s Candy Stripe Nurses, 1972’s Night Call Nurses, 1971’s Private Duty Nurses and 1973’s The Young Nurses. As you may have noticed, they’re not presented in […]
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Outrage: Way of the Yakuza
Here, a member of one crime syndicate unknowingly attempts to rip off a member of the other crime syndicate, via fleecing his nightclub bill. The insult eventually escalates to an all-out war as each side takes its turn exacting revenge, from several sacrificial fingers and a purposely botched act of dentistry to the most cruel […]
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Dark Shadows: Fan Favorites / The Best of Barnabas
It’s de rigueur for the Collins clan of Dark Shadows, the long-running Gothic soap opera from the late 1960s and early 70s, and a cult sensation ever since. Because the TV show is due for a modern reboot as Tim Burton’s take hits the big screen on May 11, MPI Home Video is naturally mere […]
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Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXIII
As for the four films contained within? Well, they’re all horrible, naturally, which means they’re hilarious when pitted against Joel Hodgson or Mike Nelson and their robot friends, who sit in silhouette at the bottom of your screen, mocking all the way. In this set, we’re treated to a true variety of genres that previous […]
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‘Royal’ treatment
Johnny Royal joined the society six years ago, and is now a Master Mason and officer at the Elysian Lodge 418 in Los Angeles. The idea of making a documentary on the world of Freemasonry came to him last May. This week, he and his crew will be in Guthrie shooting for the film, The […]
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Josh Sallee — Probable Flaws
Besides doing away with hooks that skewed frat-boy (“So Chill”), what were spitfire thoughtful lines on Sender have become genuinely compelling storytelling. “Lately wanna rage on the daily / Mainly ’cause the pain go away” is the most easily repeatable lyric on “Like Girl, Like Guy,” but it’s far from the most intriguing. The guy’s […]