Archive for the Features Category

Cover Me: Cougar

Posted in Cover Me, Features, Interviews with tags , , , , , , , on 12/31/2009 by Kurt Orzeck

An ongoing series in which musicians reveal the artists they’d most like to hear covering their songs. If you’re not familiar with Cougar, meet them right here. Continue reading

Mastodon’s Brent Hinds And Actor J.C. Quinn: Doppelgängers

Posted in Doppelgängers, Features with tags , on 12/30/2009 by Kurt Orzeck

If the name “J.C. Quinn” actually rings a bell, then you’ve probably seen “Turner and Hooch” way too many times. Which is to say, even once. The poor dude – he died in a car crash in 2004 – also appeared in “The Abyss” (pictured to the right), “The Prophecy” and “Barfly.” Plus he was slated to appear in the subsequently scrapped TV pilot “How I Met the Mother of Mastodon’s Brent Hinds.”

More Doppelgängers:

Axl Rose and GW Bush
Brad Penny and Barney Gumble

Brad Penny And Barney Gumble: Doppelgängers

Posted in Doppelgängers, Features on 12/30/2009 by Kurt Orzeck

Nirvana’s In Utero: Un Vínculo Progresivo Entre Los Mundos Del Rock Mainstream Y Rock Independiente

Posted in Essays, Features with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 12/30/2009 by Kurt Orzeck

Eleven years ago, I studied for five months in Santiago, Chile. As part of my education regiment, I chose a class on the history of rock and roll. You might think that’s as much as a cop-out as taking a class in bowling or frisbee golf. But as someone who had mostly shunned classic rock till that point, I actually learned a lot. My teacher was obsessed with Deep Purple and Cream, and explained to us how Ozzy Osbourne was rock’s first psicótico.

I like to think I returned him the favor by teaching him a bit about Nirvana, of whom he wasn’t much aware, in my final paper. The self-generated topic: How Nirvana ushered indie-rock, rougher production values and anti-corporate attitudes into the mainstream with In Utero. El profesor told me I worked harder than any of his Chilean students in the class, and that I nailed the exam (70 out of 70), too.

These days, my Spanish is a bit rusty, so I couldn’t tell you what most of the paper means. But here it is for your archival viewing pleasure. PDFs are included in case the images are too taxing on yer eyes:

Continue reading

David Cross’ ‘I Drink For A Reason’: Loaded With Laughs – And Typos

Posted in Features, What You Readin' For? with tags on 12/29/2009 by Kurt Orzeck

I’m not going to say much about David Cross’ “I Drink for a Reason,” which came out in August, because no one is capable of escaping the derision of the funniest man alive. Continue reading

Day Job: Cougar

Posted in Day Job, Features, Interviews with tags on 12/29/2009 by Kurt Orzeck

When David Henzie-Skogen sits down to write a song, it isn’t always for his band, the instru-/experi-mental five-piece Cougar. Sometimes he’s writing songs for kids. Continue reading

From the Vault: Michael Jackson And Kurt Cobain, Suicide Kings?

Posted in Essays, Features with tags , on 09/29/2009 by Kurt Orzeck

With July 4 fast approaching, it seems fair to say that the real fireworks happened eight days ago, when the country lost someone who has quickly become regarded as something of a patron saint. Much to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s chagrin (see below), the coverage has been ceaseless since that Thursday afternoon, and will almost certainly continue unabated at least until the details of his death finally congeal.

But while it’s hard to flip on the tube and not see an image of Michael Jackson, someone else keeps getting resurrected in my mind.

Continue reading