Opening an album with a song called ‘If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, Then I Will’ might feel like the most comprehensive way possible to announce that things aren’t quite right in a band’s camp. Yet for PUP, it almost seems par for the course. Their second album, The Dream Is Over, is packed to the brim with self-deprecating humour which suggests that they might not be quite as close to self-destruction as that song suggests.
Let’s All Boo Seth
Extreme Rules went off the air with Seth Rollins standing tall over his former brother, Roman Reigns. It raised a simple question, would WWE steer into the cheers that Rollins was receiving or would they try and turn against the current and continue with the sham that is Roman Reigns’ face run? The answer to that question was given loud and clear on Raw. Rollins – for the time being – is bad to the bone.
Sing Street
Music and cinema are natural bedfellows. From the piano led accompaniment of silent films to the pop soundtracks of Quintin Tarantino. However, very few directors have merged the two as effectively as John Carney. His breakout film Once was the first hint at that talent before Begin Again cemented it. Somehow, though, he has topped both of those with the quite frankly incredible Sing Street.
Extreme Rules Review
WWE are doing a good job of keeping interest in the generally barren months after WrestleMania. The self-proclaimed ‘New Era’ may be a little bit less fresh than it first appeared but it is still change. However, none of that matters if when the big shows come about they fall flat, so let’s see whether Extreme Rules kept up the game.
Kvelertak – Nattesferd
There is something wonderfully unhinged about Kvelertak. Their first two albums took that combination of punk rock, rock and roll and black metal and created a unique concoction of controlled chaos. It was wild and dirty, but most importantly it was fucking fun. Therefore, it’s weird that Nattesferd has slipt out without much fanfare. Surely a band like this should be getting lauded by all comers?
Extreme Rules Preview
A mere handful of weeks after WWE Payback we are back with the next PPV/whatever it is you call a show that is mainly watched via the Network. Special show? Who knows. Either way, there is a sense of deja vu about this. In many ways, this is just a rehash of what we got at Payback and even as someone who enjoyed that show, it all feels a bit lazy.
Green Room (2016)
There’s something thrilling about punk rock on film. The wild and pissed off nature of it lends itself to any number of scenarios. However, very few films have captured that nature in the way Green Room does. When punk band The Ain’t Rights walk into a room full of Neo-Nazis and launch into a cover of The Dead Kennedys‘ ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’ it taps into the rebellion that lies at the heart of that scene. That that moment is encamped in a film that takes the siege horror genre and twists it in a whole manner of fucked up ways is just an added bonus.
Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
The story of Florence Foster Jenkins is a mix of the bizarre and the inspirational. A New York socialite who was robbed of her status as a piano prodigy due to injuries to her hand, she went on to become a great supporter of the arts. However, she wasn’t content with just supporting them and decided to make steps into opera singing. Sadly, the only person unaware that she was awful, was herself, and she was kept ignorant of that right up until the moment she sang at Carnegie Hall.
Gene Simmons
The sun will rise, the tides will change, Arsenal’s Premier League campaign will fall apart in January and Gene Simmons will open his big fat mouth, and shit will spew out. These are the facts of life. This week Simmons has decided to outshine the other three however by commenting on the passing of Prince, describing his death at ‘pathetic.’ A claim which led bandmate Paul Stanley to say he was ’embarrassed’ by the comments.
Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
WARNING: this review will contain a whole load of Richard Linklater loving, and if you ain’t down for that you should move along. Everybody Wants Some!! is the latest work from a man who over the course of thirty years has produced films as diverse as Boyhood and School of Rock. However, in among those vastly different films, there are themes that pop up time after time and the same goes for Everybody Wants Some!! Themes of growing up, love and philosophy that Linklater seems naturally drawn to.
