Nov 23, 2021 By Austin Trunick

The year’s best gifts for roleplaying and board gamers. More

Nov 22, 2021 By Steve King

25 years ago, Star Trek: First Contact was released in theaters and fundamentally altered the Star Trek universe forever. First Contact had it all. Time travel, the Borg, the first warp flight, and tommy guns! Though the Next Generation crew had already graced the silver screen in Star Trek: Generations, that film was more of a hand-off from the Original Series films to the Next Gen crew. Captains Kirk and Picard shared the adventure, and with Kirk’s death (SPOILER!), the reins of the franchise were passed to Picard. But First Contact was next level Trek. More

Nov 17, 2021 By Austin Saalman

A psychological product of the band’s rigorous touring schedule, the often delirious Meddle was recorded incrementally during their downtime, and upon its October 31, 1971 release was greeted with positive reception, the influence of David Gilmour’s increasingly prominent presence being noteworthy to some critics. In terms of atmosphere, Meddle feels heavier and murkier than Atom Heart Mother, whose largely sunny disposition had been responsible for much of its charm. Like its predecessor, however, Meddle boasts a brief but diverse tracklist that wastes no time dithering over devotion to one specific genre. More

Oct 28, 2021 By Austin Saalman

When singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright burst onto the scene with his eponymous 1998 debut, the 24-year-old son of folk giant Loudon Wainwright III surprised audiences and critics with his powerful vocals and solid songwriting abilities, successfully stepping out from beneath the looming shadow of his father. With Jon Brion and Van Dyke Parks as contributors, and Lenny Waronker as an executive producer, the star-studded Rufus Wainwright earned the young musician his first Juno Award the following year, placing him on the radar of a broader audience. More

Oct 25, 2021 By Austin Saalman

Released over a week subsequent to the 9/11 attacks, Eels’ Souljacker showcased Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett’s—better known by his stage moniker “E”—typically grim worldview, which suddenly seemed almost indicative of the times, although his creative misery predated the incident by a number of years. More

Oct 22, 2021 By Austin Saalman

Rarely does a popular songwriter so drastically shift into an entirely different creative direction and sound so great in doing so that their original style is hardly missed at all. The year 2007 marked such a turning point for singer/songwriter Sam Beam, better known by his stage moniker Iron & Wine. More

Oct 20, 2021 By Austin Saalman

Upon the release of their 12th studio album in May 2001, alt rock giants R.E.M. had experienced their commercial breakthrough over a decade prior, earned three Grammy Awards, and established themselves as a major influence on ’90s popular culture. More

Oct 06, 2021 By Austin Saalman

There is a curse cast upon those bands unfortunate enough to outdo themselves before there is truly an established self to outdo. Strong debuts spawn high expectations straight out of the gate and such acts are pressured to run before they’ve learned to walk, each subsequent album resulting all too often in an endless barrage of conversations and debates concerning the “old stuff.” More

Oct 04, 2021 By Austin Saalman

Rising to prominence in the 1950s as a teen idol on his parents’ long-running sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, on which he portrayed himself, actor and musician Rick “Ricky” Nelson began his career as a popular recording artist in 1957 at the age of 17. Consisting entirely of covers, Nelson’s chart-topping debut album Ricky introduced the world to the rockabilly and country pop fixations upon which he would expand throughout the remainder of his 28-year musical career, gradually evolving toward and settling upon a firmer country rock sound with the release of Rudy the Fifth 14 years later. More