Month: July 2017

Tyler, the Creator-Flower Boy

/ James P. Crowley / 1 Comment

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Brian Posehn has this joke that he tells about comedians having kids.  He mentions that he hates his favorite comics had kids, because they lost their edge and stopped being funny.  Now, Posehn’s joke is easy to transpose to other artistic mediums, especially music. Metallica changed their style when they cut their hair.  Eminem softened up when he stopped doing drugs.  It’s notable that both artists newfound maturity showed detrimental to their music.  Tyler, the Creator’s fourth full-length Flower Boy is his most mature work to date, and unlike Slim Shady and Metallica, it’s his best album to date. Continue reading →

30 Years of Appetite for Destruction

/ James P. Crowley / Leave a comment

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I’ve never known a time when Guns N’ Roses weren’t one of the biggest, most important rock bands of all time.  I was born in 1994, right before the band dissolved into the Axl and company show that they were for most of my life.  The first time I ever heard GN’R was about 12 years ago, at my cousin’s baptism.  An older cousin lip-synced and air-guitared to “Welcome to the Jungle,” a song that I’ve always had a shifting perspective on.  Living in a post-Guns-Reunion world makes the 30th anniversary of Appetite for Destruction that much more bizarre. Continue reading →

Waxahatchee-Out In The Storm

/ James P. Crowley / 1 Comment

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John Darnielle made a name for himself recording simple songs into a boombox, mostly by himself, some people say that the Mountain Goats lost their touch once Darnielle brought in the rest of the band and began recording more polished albums.  Any good Mountain Goats fan knows that the band has only improved as they’ve gotten older, then why did I apply the former philosophy to Waxahatchee?  Katie Crutchfield’s debut album American Weekend was such a masterpiece that I ignored the following two albums, until Out In The Storm, which captures the lyrical essence of Waxahatchee, with wider, warmer production. Continue reading →

Captain, We’re Sinking-The King of No Man

/ James P. Crowley / Leave a comment

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There are plenty of pop-punk bands.  Had I been maybe 10 years younger, I’d probably adore Knuckle Puck, Real Friends, or Neck Deep, but I’m a cynical 23 year old.  My pop-punk requires a little more substance.  Bands like The Menzingers, The Wonder Years, or Modern Baseball are all able to provide this to me.  There are unique aspects to the brands of pop-punk that each of these bands provide, where the first three all sort of blend together.  Maybe it’s just the Barnett connection to the Menzingers, but my better senses tell me that Captain, We’re Sinking’s The King of No Man really shouldn’t be a record that I love as much as I do. Continue reading →