metallica

Aziz Ansari-Right Now

/ James P. Crowley / Leave a comment
            With the release of Right Now, the largest comeback attempt yet of the #MeToo moment has been enacted.  Yes, Louis CK has popped up at comedy festivals, and Kevin Spacey releases weird videos into the internet’s void, but Aziz Ansari’s new special is a Netflix-cosigned release where Ansari is trying to rediscover himself in a post-Babe.net world.  The previously larger-than-life comic’s return to the stage with a candid, casual, and most importantly thoughtful special that is second most importantly, his best.

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Weezer-Weezer (The Black Album)

/ James P. Crowley / Leave a comment

If you’ve never seen the 2007 Jason Lee-starring children’s film Alvin and the Chipmunks, I implore you to watch it before listening to the latest Weezer record, The Black Album.  Of course, it was only a matter of time before Weezer entered this Spinal Tap realm that was mostly occupied by Metallica and Jay-Z, but it was developed with loathing diehard fans.  While Weezer is a cultural touchstone, and their Teal Album was the subject of ire from many critics, The Black Album is like Alvin and the Chipmunks in that it’s really enjoyable in a mind-numbing way. Continue reading →

Place Your Bets: 60th Grammy Awards

/ James P. Crowley / Leave a comment

The Grammys are usually predictable, but not painfully so, like this year.  This has been a year with a lot of heartache, and after the Grammys have blown it in nominating rock artists of consequence or giving the album of the year to an undeserving pick two years in a row, it’s hard not to get a little cynical, but here are my best guesses of who will win and should win:

Album of the Year

Will Win: Lorde-Melodrama Continue reading →

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 →

2016 Albums to look forward to in 2017: Albums We Missed

/ James P. Crowley / 2 Comments

There was a lot of good music that came out in 2016, and it’s terrible.  Of course, no one is complaining about the excellent tunes, but the greater amount of good music, the harder it is to keep up with.  There’s so much music that you couldn’t possibly give everything a thorough listen; therefore, here are some of the albums that won’t make my best-of list and may be on my honorable mentions list, but I still plan on giving a much more complete listen to in the end of 2016 and in 2017.

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