The Benjamin Gate — Untitled

8/10 When I DJ’d at KLSU, my show had several regular callers. One of my favorites was “Thundar,” who often got off of work during the middle of my Sunday night show. Every week, Thundar called without fail, and every week, he requested “something good.” It was always implied that what he meant was, “Play

Louisiana, Late October

Nothing like waking up to cool air, getting a wife-on-the-way-to-work-sent text that says thanks for the Coldplay CD, u a good one, waking up your son, feeding him and watching dolphins and whales jump on the TV lazing in bed, heading over to Bluebonnet Swamp, not even caring that you forgot your camera because it

Becoming the Archetype — Dichotomy

8/10 A progressive death metal band like Becoming the Archetype could only come from the South. I say this because only in the South are we this crazy.Dichotomy is Becoming the Archetype’s third album for Solid State records. It is purportedly based on the C.S. Lewis novel, That Hideous Strength. I haven’t read the book,

Beck — The Information

9/10 If Beck’s Midnite Vultures is the party before the apocalypse, his highly underrated The Information is the party after. However, while Beck’s lyrics were the sore spot on the former, they are the most intriguing element of the latter. Nausea Lyrics:i’m a sea sick sailoron a ship of noisei got my maps all backwardsand

Now Look What Scientology Did!

With all this effusive praise for Beck’s music and joking around, I don’t want anyone to think I’ve gone soft on Scientology. Scientology certainly hasn’t gone soft on anyone.In November of 2005, The Nicsperiment gleefully reported on South Park’s hilarious “Trapped in the Closet” episode, which mocked Scientology’s beliefs and behavior. As South Park regularly

Beck — Sea Change

10/10 Some albums are just depressing. If you are up, these albums can drag you down, and if you are already down, they can pull you further. “Misery Wallows,” I like to call them…as in, I just coined that term as I was typing that sentence, and I liked it. More rarely, there are albums

Beck — Midnite Vultures

7/10 Beck’s Midnite Vultures is the party before the apocalypse. Released a month before the near world-ending Y2k (so close, end of the world, so close!), Midnite Vultures has the strange distinction of being at once Beck’s most fun album, but also his most difficult. The reason Midnite Vultures is so difficult? Because it is

Beck — Odelay

9/10 Is Beck a Scientologist?Yes. There, googlers, I hope you are happy.Odelay is Beck’s fourth album, but his first work with the producer duo, the Dust Brothers. Bologna is awesome and chocolate is awesome, but the two don’t go that great together. In this case, Beck is chocolate, and the Dust Brothers are peanut butter.

On the Way to the Fourth Decade Pt.1

* A series of observations as my 20’s end * One of the oddest things about the back half of my 20’s:An inverse in beverage preference.In my early 20’s, I wanted and drank beer, and I loved it. Then, somewhere around 26 or 27, something changed: my tastes completely regressed. Beer started to taste like

So Now What Do You Think About the Beatles? Well, I’ll Tell You! Reflections on Seven Years of Beatlemania in Three Weeks

Nothing is real.Well, that was intense. I’ve never been the type of person to go through phases. I like to think I’m a pretty well-rounded individual. Listening to almost nothing but one band for three weeks is something I’m completely foreign with. At times I felt like The Beatles were taking me hostage, even though