Posts by Ian Cohen
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Everything You Wanted to Know About Aphex Twin But Were Afraid to Ask (Before Today’s Release of ‘Syro’)
Let’s say you’re a fan-not-fanatic, the type of person who can say with objectivity that Aphex Twin is one of the most respected and innovative electronic producers ever and that you owe ‘Syro’ a good deal of your time. That’s where I’m at, too, and speaking as objectively as possible, there’s a lot to like immediately.
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The Sound of Settling: Looking Ahead to Death Cab for Cutie’s Post–Chris Walla Future
Yesterday, Death Cab for Cutie announced their first album in nearly four years and most people acted like they had broken up instead. This is because their return was bundled with the news that guitarist/producer Chris Walla was quitting after 17 years with the Washington band.
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‘Never Hungover Again’: A Little Bowling Alley Time With Torrance Pop-Punkers Joyce Manor
We spend some quality time with the band in anticipation of today’s release of ‘Never Hungover Again.’
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‘Beast’ Mode: The Return of Greg Dulli and the Afghan Whigs
If there were ever such as a thing as an older, wiser Afghan Whigs, it’s ‘Do to the Beast.’ Which isn’t to say it’s tamed or domesticated; the difference is just that it doesn’t sound like Dulli is putting himself through psychosexual stunt work.
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In Praise of Virginia: The Mediocre, Miraculous No. 1 Seed
Program-wise, Virginia has become a warm-weather version of Wisconsin. The Cavaliers are a no. 1 seed and it’s not not weird. But it’s a no. 1 seed that allows the same elitism and inferiority complex to mingle.
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Rick Ross’s ‘Mastermind’: True Lies From the Superstar Machine
‘Mastermind’ is the realest album he could make, one that reflects what he truly is — a bankable rap superstar making the kind of hedge-betting, self-aware records that bankable rap superstars make in 2014.
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The ACC’s No Good, Very Bad Week, and Why It Doesn’t Matter
On the morning of December 31, 2013, Florida State was an 8.5-point favorite in the BCS Championship and Clemson stood as a three-point underdog against Ohio State in the Orange Bowl. As the calendar year flipped, neither of the spreads moved. And why should they? There were certainly ways each spread could’ve endured an “Aaron […]
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Remembering the Music of Benjamin Curtis of Secret Machines and School of Seven Bells
Musician Benjamin Curtis passed away this Sunday at the age of 35, and while his death is certainly a tragedy, it wasn’t a total shock — the founding member of Secret Machines and School of Seven Bells had been battling cancer for nearly a year, with a website (SupportBenjaminCurtis.com) dedicated to raising funds for treatment, […]
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This Sweetness Will Not Be Concerned With Me: A Day at Music Producer Mark Trombino’s ‘Rock Doughnut’ Shop
Mark Trombino is in the business of legitimizing guilty pleasures — the cultured aesthete may scoff “too cloying,” “kid stuff,” “not recommended more than twice a week,” and they could not be more wrong. But enough about the records he produced for Jimmy Eat World and blink-182, let’s talk about Trombino’s new venture, Donut Friend. […]
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Mark Richt, the Carousel, and the Difficult-to-Define ‘It’ Factor
As head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, Mark Richt has spent 13 years giving the Bulldog faithful an average of 10 good reasons for his continued tenure and three rationales for his ouster that often seem far more compelling. He perennially appears on the coaching hot seat lists while different names tell the same story: […]
