Weird Al vs. Prince

Ryan Klemek January 14, 2022 0 Editorial, Music Ace of Base, Alternative Polka, B-52's, Bad Hair Day, Beyonce, Brad Roberts, Closer, Craig's List, Crash Test Dummies, Danny Elfman, Dare to be Stupid, Devo, Dweezil Zappa, Even Worse, Frank Zappa, Fugazi, Genius in France, Hamilton, Headline News, Jimmy Fallon, John Cougar Mellencamp, Like a Surgeon, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Literally! With Rob Lowe, Madonna, Mr. Popeil, Nightbreed, Nine Inch Nails, Oingo Boingo, Prince, Rite of Spring, Talk Heads, Taylor Swift, The Beatles, The Doors, The Monkees, The Rolling Stones, Wanna Be Yur Lovr, Weird Al Yankovic, You Make Me

Portraits of Weird Al and Danny Elfman, done by the author

On the podcast Literally! With Rob Lowe, Rob often asks his guests if they prefer the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. If anyone were to ask me, I’d say the Monkees. It’s not that I think the Beatles or the Stones are bad, it’s just that I don’t see how they’re better than any other bands. The Monkees didn’t play their own instruments, but at least they had a funny TV show. I saw them live, actually. In Latham, New York, back in 1986. Really, though, I was there to see their opening act: Weird Al Yankovic. Al ran out onto the stage wearing surgical scrubs to perform “Like a Surgeon”, then later in the set, he and his band donned those silly red Devo hats when they did “Dare to be Stupid.” I was only 11 years old at the time, but it was an amazing show. I’ve seen…
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Album Review: Shostakovich Symphony 11

Ryan Klemek November 26, 2021 0 Music, Reviews Andris Nelsons, Berliner Philharmoniker, Boston Symphony Orchestra, BSO, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, CSO, Dmitri Shostakovich, George Lucas, Gustav Holst, Mars the Bringer of War, Oleg Caetani, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Star Wars, The Planets, Wiener Philharmoniker

Available at Presto Music

The first time I heard Dmitri Shostakovich’s 11th Symphony, I was training for a marathon. I had just finished a 22.3-mile run—my last long one before the race—and was chugging a kale banana walnut hemp seed Greek yogurt orange juice smoothie while skipping around on Spotify. When I found that thunderous section of wild percussion and howling brass in the second movement, I got so fucking high that I started crying like a baby elephant. Endorphins + exciting music = quite a bonkers trip. Film Music Snobby critics often shit on Shostakovich 11 because they think it sounds too much like film music. By this, I assume they mean it’s too melodramatic, too loud, and overly sentimental. Anyone who thinks that is an idiot deserving of a swift kick in the taint, which I will gladly deliver while forcing them to listen to this recording. Is this music dramatic, loud,…
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