Talking About Revolutions: an interview with Experiment 34's Matthew Makin

Politics have leaked into everything, and a lot of toxic ideas have been normalized into daily discourse. It’s gotten so bad, many individuals had to radically rethink their just-passed holiday plans for fear of ruining them with interfamily fighting.

published on 01/23/2019

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Reintroducing The Jelly Jam: A Discussion with John Myung and Ty Tabor

The members of the band The Jelly Jam – Ty Tabor (King’s X) on guitar and vocals, Rod Morgenstein (Winger & The Dixie Dregs) on drums, and John Myung (Dream Theater) on bass -- are known much better for those other bands they are in, and every music magazine profile about the power trio will tell you this. What’s not likely to come out is how long this band has actually been together, in some form or another.

published on 08/19/2016

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REVIEW: Van Halen At The PNC Arts Center, August 10, 2015

Ordinarily I do not like reviewing concerts. Unlike movies, television or music releases, you cannot take this advice and experience it for yourself afterward. The moment is lost to you, and anything said now might not rise above the level of a humble brag. “I was so lucky to see this show, and you didn’t.” Yet there are a few extenuating circumstances that could have altered the evening completely, and that’s worth discussing.

published on 08/18/2015

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REVIEW: Inside Out

Continuing an unspecified cycle of films about growing up, the subesquent loss of innocence, and loss in general, directors Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc., Up) and Ronaldo DelCarmen may have made Disney’s most personal picture yet with Inside Out. Oh, it is still a Pixar animated film. Docter hasn’t gone the path of Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ghost Protocol) or Andrew Stanton (Wall-E, John Carter). Yet the story of a young Hader covers Fear, and in a casting move that is the definition of “this part was written for you,” Lewis Black is Anger.

published on 07/18/2015

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How The Selfie Culture Created A Cinematic Monster

There are some things you need to know about the current glut of movie remakes, reboots, and sequels clogging up the theaters. Actually, you probably already know why -- because, money -- but there are some details to that understanding that deserve consideration.

published on 06/16/2015

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Is The American Dream Still With Us?

Published in two volumes in 1835 and 1840, Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America did not introduce the notion of the "American Dream," but it certainly extolled that most democratic of ideals -- that with will and determination by your side, anyone could make their success a reality in America, regardless of prior circumstances. The genesis of the book came in 1831, when Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont were sent from France to study aspects of this new, big idea. On the whole, Tocqueville was impressed by what he had seen. While not a complete whitewash -- he correctly predicted that business wealth would play an outsized role in how the country would function, and not necessarily in a democratized manner -- it was clear that he saw this as the way forward, as opposed to the aristocratic France where status, privilege, and wealth dictated your social mobility from the cradle to the grave.

published on 06/01/2015

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The Virtues Of Being Bored And Brilliant

Sometimes it seems the universe is a comedian. Prior to this interview with the host of the New Tech City podcast host and new media journalist Manoush Zomorodi, a fire alarm and evacuation prompted a delay-of-game. When the conversation was able to convene, the ancient speakerphone kept cutting off. It was because we were going to talk about the podcast’s Bored and Brilliant project, I’m sure of it.

published on 03/19/2015

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No More Pain Stakes A Claim For Prog Rock In New Jersey

The genre of progressive rock, known affectionately by its fans as "prog," has a few distinct regions of origination. Most notably, the U.K. gets namedropped most often, followed by New York and California. But aside from Monmouth County stalwarts Symphony X in the prog-metal ranks, New Jersey simply isn't a hotbed for the complex and theme-driven eccentricities of prog.

published on 02/22/2015

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NPR's Alix Spiegel and Lulu Miller Stare Into The Invisibilia

People live with intangible things every day. Philosophies, psychologies, fears, beliefs, and "isms," while not present as seen influencers or barriers, are nonetheless very present. Few can say unequivocally that they have never felt a sudden burst of confidence -- rational or otherwise -- that pulled them through a situation, or the creeping doubt and the weight of "what if" that stopped them from doing something. It's this unseen aspect of life that takes the spotlight in a new radio show and podcast, Invisibilia, which premiered on NPR member stations on January 9.

published on 01/18/2015

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The Alan Parsons Paradox

What you know, and what you think you know, about the career of Alan Parsons are two very different things.

published on 01/18/2015

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How The Road To Voyage Led Elsewhere: Author And Media Commentator Eric Deggans

Sometimes unfortunate things happen for a reason, or so we're told. The brass ring that is so close to being grasped may not be the one meant for us. It is a comforting thought in moments of disappointment, but there are often far too few real-life examples to justify the shiny aphorisms. Here's one.

published on 08/18/2014

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"Weird Al" Yankovic Returns With "Mandatory Fun"

In mid-July, the Internet was buzzing with the release of "Weird Al" Yankovic's purported final traditional album, Mandatory Fun. Starting on Monday, July 14 and running for several days, a different track appeared in video form, taking over pop culture sites and Facebook alike. It started with "Tacky" spoofing Pharrell Williams' "Happy"; followed by "Word Crimes" which went after Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines"; and then "Foil" which recast Lorde's "Royals" as a TV chef's spin into conspiracy theoretical madness. As the premiere week rolled on, people wondered why RCA Records failed to collect the videos for the CD release. They had done such a combo with both the Super Audio version of Straight Outta Lynwood and Alpocalypse. They had made a huge marketing deal out of doing the same with 2013's self-titled Beyonce album.

published on 07/19/2014

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Here Come The Reign Again

Here Comes The Reign Again brings together an amazing roster of indie musicians to give their updated takes on the classic British hits of the '80s. This is the follow up to Drink A Toast To Innocence: A Tribute To Lite Rock which paid homage to those AM radio favorites of the late '70s. Dw Dunphy discusses the CD with Andrew Curry, the man behind the compilation.

published on 07/18/2014

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Dw Dunphy Talks About The Last Stand For Jasmine Jett

Dw Dunphy sat down for a conversation about his new novella, The Last Stand For Jasmine Jett, now available from Amazon Kindle.

published on 04/28/2014

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Another View Of SXSW

This week's media news was dominated by the happenings in Austin, Texas at the South By Southwest Festival (known to the trendies and ADD crowd as SXSW). The event was a thought and question provoking one. Topics that were sparked from it included "how much, or how little, must one self-promote during their performances," "does quality still trump presence, and will it eventually succeed where bald-faced advertising might not," and "why the hell would anyone actually want Google's talking sneakers?" (Yes folks, this apparently is a real thing.)

published on 03/21/2013

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