Pretentious Record Store Blog

1) Pearl Jam Backspacer 1a) Arctic Monkeys Humbug 2) Monsters of Folk Monsters of Folk 3) Julian Plenti Julian Plenti Is Skyscraper 4) Modest Mouse No One’s First, and You’re Next 5) Muse The Resistance

The Decade in News by Pitchfork Staff The most important news story of the past decade doesn’t concern a specific band or genre or trend. It’s the story of how music news itself has changed. Think back to the turn of the millennium: How did you find out that your favorite band had a new […]

From Rolling Stone Magazine From Weezy and Mariah to Weezer and the Flaming Lips, some of 2009’s most anticipated albums are hitting stores this season. Big debuts from Adam Lambert and Monsters of Folk are due, along with eagerly awaited releases by Pearl Jam, Mariah Carey, 50 Cent and Shakira. Read up on 60 of […]

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the Monsters of Folk are Jim James, Mike Mogis, Conor Oberst and M. Ward and their album drops next Tuesday, September 22nd. Run out and pick it up on CD or on vinyl. For tour dates and to find out more, check out the Monsters of Folk website. The wide-ranging instrumental […]

Muse The Resistance Out Now

What did you do today? I listened to the entire remastered Beatles catalog and then played Beatles Rock Band all day long, but first I came up with 50 All New, Brand New Cool Band Names today because my genius should not be kept to myself and lately I’ve been feeling generous, so enjoy my […]

This is like opening up a bottle of awesome and then washing it all down with a side of amazing…

A while back, I wrote and drew a strip of Kevin Wolf’s wonderful comic Pangaea, one of my favorite web comics out on the information super highway.  You can see it here: http://www.paradeoffreaks.com/2008/09/29/kevin-wolfs-pangaea-with-wings/ Now it’s time for Kevin to return the favor, which he did by drawing Pretentious Record Store Guy in his natural habitat.  […]

Dial 9-9-9 if you really want the truth. The Beatles (Remastered Stereo Box Set) Release Date 09.09.09 The albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios in London. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release. Box Set […]

1) Phil Collins Face Value 1a) Phil Collins No Jacket Required 2) Eric Clapton Slowhand 3) Simon and Garfunkel The Sound of Silence 4) Kanye West College Dropout 5) U2 The Joshua Tree

1) 100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso 2) Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli 3) Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips 4) Stray Bullets by David Lapham 5) Sin City by Frank Miller

This Wednesday, August 19th, marks the official launch of Vertigo’s new crime and noir imprint– Vertigo Crime– with two new novels: Filthy Rich by Brian Azzarello and Victor Santos and Dark Entries by Ian Rankin and Werther Dell’Edera.  I, for one, have been greatly anticipating the launch of Vertigo Crime because, let’s face it, every […]

1) Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba.and Then Lost It to the Revolution by T. J. English 2) One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War by Michael Dobbs 3) The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes […]

Pretentious Record Store Guy spent the last week hanging out in the friendly confines of suburban Chicago, specifically Rosemont, for the Chicago Comic-Con (formerly WizardWorldChicago) and had the best con of his life! It was great to meet all the cool fans of Pretentious Record Store Guy, to make a bunch of all new fans, […]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Movies that may not look great can no doubt look great and entice the casual listener to pick up matinee tickets just for a the amazing eye candy aspect of the art.  In fact, that’s how most B-Movies used to do it. Ah, the beauty in design, […]