C.A.T.: White Light/White Heat

The Velvet Underground – White Light/White Heat (1968)

Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of White Light/White Heat. Like to the day. It was released EXACTLY fifty years ago TODAY. Just want that to sink in. Now onto this week’s “Classic Album Tuesday”.

I got into The Velvet Underground when I was in college and have vivid memories of how the Velvet’s consumed my life for the better half of a year. It started during a “Class 3 Killstorm” which is an extreme way of saying it was during winter when it was snowy. Cooped up inside, I paged through my Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums magazine and decided it was time to go underground.

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Post-Everything

Jeff Rosenstock – POST-

Some people seize the moment, while others wait for the moment to seize them. In the Fall of 2016, Jeff Rosenstock seemed to be doing a bit of both when he released his break-out solo effort WORRY. at a precise moment in time when all anyone with half a brain could do was worry. After years of playing in various punk bands with a fiercely DIY-aesthetic, Rosenstock finally seemed to be taking advantage of all his skills at once, by releasing an album that seemed to embody all the anxiety and frustration that would befall America a mere 3 weeks after its release. Which is why despite WORRY. making a respectable #7 on my top ten of 2016 list, it was undoubtedly the album from that year I kept listening to the most while clenching my way through the dregs of 2017. Continue reading →

Top Ten Movies of 2017

2017 in film has come and gone, but here Sean, John, and Colin take a look back at it one last time. And also for the final time this year, we whip out the old Top Ten Thursdays format of talking about a long list of things in-depth, and then trying the listener’s patience debating whether something like The Florida Project is more of a number 7 or a number 8 (sorry for the spoiler). But if there’s one thing these guys can agree on, it’s that 2017 was an all-around great year for movies, bursting at the seams with great releases primed to get us through the dregs of January.

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Sean’s Top 10 Video Games of 2017

I wonder if 2018 will be the year I get back into video games? The past few years, being a gamer has become something of a secret shame, since you could argue that the alt right came out of the Gamergate controversy. Plus, video games are the most time-demanding media to make a hobby out of; it takes way more time to play a game than it does to check out a show or a watch movie or listen to an album… I guess reading books maybe take longer. Anyway, after watching the Last Jedi backlash, I’ve been reminded that all fans are terrible and just because other, bad people like a thing doesn’t mean I can’t like it too (I hope).

So I wish I had played more games last year. I regret not getting to play Divinity: Original Sin II the most, it looks so good and I never even bought it. I had a policy last year, it was my New Year’s resolution, to only buy a game if I was going to play it that night. Even with that, I still ended up with copies of Splatoon 2 and Persona 5 that I never got around to because I’m a sucker for that Prime 20% discount thing. I hope to do better this year.

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Top Ten TV Shows of 2017

There was a lot of television in 2017. There will probably be even more television in 2018. The point is, Colin, Sean, and John tried to watch a lot of it, but probably still didn’t watch as much as the supposed average American who watches more than 5 hours of television a day (are there just a ton of mega-bingers inflating this number? That seems like a lot). But they still watched well over 10 shows in 2017, which gave them enough to make their annual lists. And here, as every year, they talk about which ones were the best of the best. Or at least, the best out of the ones the had the time watch. Continue reading →

Sean’s Top 10 Movies of 2017

As it always tends to be, picking 10 movies from a whole year to call my favorite was pretty hard to do. Especially since the year just ended a little more than a week ago, it’s hard to say with certainty what will age poorly and what will remain in my good graces. I mean, hell, maybe we’ll find out more actors are creepy sex perverts and their movies will be ruined by that. My point is, these lists are hard because they’re so absolute and life doesn’t work that way. To make my job a little easier, I decided to have a theme for my list this year, so, without further ado… 2017: The year of the mom.

(Oh, and just because it wasn’t even in my top 15, shout out to Landline for also being a good motherhood movie.)

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Colin’s Top 10 Films of 2017

I know I talked about this year being a “just pretty good” year for television, and that may have to do with the fact that I was distracted by a ton of great movies that came out in 2017. And even though few of them made my list, I agree with the sentiment that this was a particularly good year for big budget blockbusters. Though it is a bit dispiriting to see how rapidly the theater business has been declining business-wise. Because I much prefer going to the movies than watching them at home, since it is always a better experience and always leaves a bigger impact on you. Which is evidenced by the fact that I didn’t watch a single one of the films on my list in the so-called comfort of my own home. Continue reading →