Archive for the Features Category

Doppelgängers: Mastodon and Metallica

Posted in Doppelgängers, Features with tags , on 02/17/2023 by korzeck

Metallica, the biggest metal band ever; and Mastodon, one of the best metal bands of this century, share a lot in common.

For starters, Mastodon started publicly crediting Metallica as major influence shortly after the Atlanta crew became a band in 2000. Six years later, Mastodon covered Metallica’s instrumental classic “Orion” for a tribute album tied to the 20th anniversary celebration of Metallica’s Master of Puppets.

James, Lars and the gang returned the favor a couple of years after that. The thrash gods gave the Atlanta sludge-rockers a huge break by crowning them as the openers for two of Metallica’s European tours. For good measure, 2009’s Guitar Hero: Metallica featured Mastodon’s “Blood and Thunder” as one of its playable tracks.

But the common bonds don’t stop there. There’s a truly uncanny coincidence in two songs by the metal bands, both of which deserve to sit on the Iron Throne. The numbers will be familiar to fans: “Welcome Home (Sanitarium),” from Metallica’s best (or second-best) record, 1986’s Master of Puppets; and “Megalodon,” a gem of a track from Mastodon’s breakthrough record, 2004’s Leviathan.

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Doppelgängers: ‘It Follows,’ ‘Hereditary’ and ‘In the Mouth of Madness’

Posted in Doppelgängers, Features with tags , , , , , on 01/31/2023 by korzeck

Three of the scariest horror films from the past 30 years deeply affected audiences for radically different reasons.

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Guilty Pleasures: Dez Dare Digs Grand Funk Railroad, More

Posted in Features, Guilty Pleasures, Lists with tags on 01/12/2023 by korzeck

Dez Dare is up to something. Scratch that: psych/punk/garage vet Dez Dare is always up to something. 

Starting on the first day of this year, the indefatigable U.K.-based punk-rock vet posted five cryptic Instagram posts piquing fans’ interest. Each post alluded to a big announcement that Dez — a.k.a. Darren Smallman — plans to make imminently.

Dez promises “records a plenty + weird videos + odd touring + a slick new website” in the posts.

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Bad Penny of the Year: Nicolas Cage

Posted in Essays, Features with tags on 12/17/2022 by korzeck

If you check out this website, you probably know it’s almost exclusively focused on music. But we’re making an exception here, because Nicolas Cage is about as rock and roll as they come. (And, for the record, his characters actually do sing sometimes, too.)

When Cage legendarily shelled out millions, as if he were allergic to money, he bought dinosaur skulls, a two-headed snake, a haunted house and shrunken pygmy heads.

That’s pretty metal, in our book. Plus, if Cage can be a presenter at Revolver‘s Golden God Awards, he’s allowed to be part of the Bad Penny family.

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Top 10 Songs With the Same Titles as Great Novels

Posted in Lists, What You Readin' For? with tags , , , , , , , , , on 07/07/2022 by korzeck

1. “1984” by David Bowie (book by George Orwell)

2. “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Metallica (book by Ernest Hemingway)

3. “The Right Stuff” by New Kids on the Block (book by Tom Wolfe)

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Memento: A Spellbinding Set List From Bewitcher

Posted in Concert Reviews, Features, Mementos, Reviews with tags , , , , , on 07/04/2022 by korzeck
Bewitcher’s frontman, Unholy Weaver of Shadows & Incantations

Bewitcher, Portland’s most scintillating speed-metal band since Toxic Holocaust, blew the garage doors off the Shredder in Boise once again on Friday night. It was an exhilarating set played by the band that played the same venue with Nile in mid-April, and with Exhumed and Creeping Death in November 2021.

The 50-or-so attendees danced and rubbed knocked elbows during each song, before and after which Bewitcher’s gracious frontman — who goes by the tough-to-memorize moniker Unholy Weaver of Shadows & Incantations — frequently expressed his appreciation for the crowd.

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Bob Odenkirk’s New Memoir: 20 Key Takeaways

Posted in Comedy, Lists, Reviews, What You Readin' For? with tags , , on 05/03/2022 by korzeck
Bob Odenkirk’s Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama: A Memoir

Thanks to his breakthrough role as Saul Goodman a.k.a Jimmy McGill in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Bob Odenkirk finally got his due in mainstream culture starting in 2009. Landing the part was a game-changer for the actor/writer/director/sketch-comedy icon who had spent more than a decade toiling on dozens of projects that never saw the light of day.

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Cover Story: Lord Huron

Posted in Features, Interviews on 07/15/2018 by korzeck

Lord Huron screen shot

I recently interviewed Ben Schneider about his rock band Lord Huron for the July cover of Music Connection. Check out the full article here.

Cover Story: Thirty Seconds To Mars

Posted in Features, Interviews, Sound Off with tags , on 06/11/2018 by korzeck

Jared Leto cover story

I recently interviewed Jared Leto about his rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars for the April cover of Music Connection. Check out the full article here.

Woods Of Ypres’ David Gold And Crash Test Dummies’ Brad Roberts: Doppelgängers

Posted in Doppelgängers, Features with tags , , , on 03/21/2012 by korzeck

Since David Gold is no longer alive, we’ll never get to hear him sing Crash Test Dummies’ “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm.”

But that shouldn’t stop Brad Roberts of fellow Canadians CTD from tackling Woods of Ypres at some point.

Long live the bass-baritone.