Author: newimprovedrachel

MusicLeave a comment

Artist Spotlight: Gorillaz

newimprovedrachel

Gorillaz is a band that plays… well, it’s hard to figure out what exactly they play, because it exists at a strange crossroads of rock, soul, electronic, and hip-hop that usually somehow hashes out to be a peculiar sort of pop. Like, I think, most mainstream fans of the band, I discovered them through the singles that supported the release of their 2004 album Demon Days. The band consists, within its own internal fiction, of four members: terminally-stupid, terminally-pretty lead singer Stuart “2D” Pot, demonic bass player Murdoc Niccals, genetically-engineered supersoldier turned rock god Noodle, and metaphorically- and literally-haunted drummer Russel … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Gorillaz

MoviesLeave a comment

Series Spotlight: Heisei-era Godzilla

newimprovedrachel

After the generally terrible audience reception to 1975’s Terror of Mechagodzilla(it was the first Godzilla film to sell less than a million tickets in total!) Toho’s biggest star spent nearly a decade out to pasture. It’s true there were failed attempts at a revival for the big green guy during that time– ranging from a color remake of the original 1954 film to a crossover with Adam West’s Batman to the story of how Godzilla battled the actual, literal Devil, but ultimately none materialized. It took until 1984 and a 10,000-strong letter-writing campaign from a group of Japanese fans known as … Continue reading Series Spotlight: Heisei-era Godzilla

MusicLeave a comment

Scene Spotlight: The Dungeons and Dragons Old-School R(something), or: D&D goes Punk Rock

newimprovedrachel

In 1974, a pair of historical wargaming enthusiasts from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin published what they termed “rules for Fantastic medieval wargames campaigns, playable with pencil, paper, and miniature figures.” Their initial print run was a thousand copies. They expected this quantity to last them for years to come– wargames of the sort they preferred were a niche hobby among niche hobbies then, and they remain one now. Instead, they found themselves on back-order within a month, having set in motion a phenomenon that would change the landscape of entertainment forever. This is not their story. Well. It’s a little bit … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: The Dungeons and Dragons Old-School R(something), or: D&D goes Punk Rock

MusicLeave a comment

Artist Spotlight: Daft Punk

newimprovedrachel

Daft Punk is the House band you’ve heard of even if you don’t listen to House. Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem have actually been collaborating for a lot longer than you might expect. They first met as schoolmates and by 1992 had formed a rock band, Darlin’, along with French alt-rock guitarist Laurent Brancowitz. While Darlin’s sound isn’t much like them at all, one of their notable influences (and the source of their name) was the Beach Boys, whose song of the same name they covered. Darlin’ broke up in 1995, but Brancowitz and the bots have remained friends … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Daft Punk

MusicLeave a comment

Artist Spotlight: Pink Floyd

newimprovedrachel

This is going to be a fairly music-heavy spotlight, since I believe that in many cases the music speaks for itself better than I could. Pink Floyd’s origin story is somewhat murky and hard to explain, to make it short, they coalesced from about 1963 to 1966 in Cambridge, England, where most of the band had gone to school. In their early lineups they were known as Sigma Six, later the Tea Set, but upon finding another band also called the Tea Set, lead singer and guitarist, Roger Keith “Syd” Barret, improvised a new name based on his record collection, … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Pink Floyd

Page 7 of 7
1 … 5 6 7