Young Poor & Angry Press

It takes a hell of a lot to impress me in the punk genre. I love punk music, but I also love good punk music. I love stuff that makes me wanna drink beer, hang out with my friends, read a newspaper and get pissed off. Without a doubt Angel City Outcasts is one of the most unique bands I’ve heard in a really long time. Trying to pinpoint what you like about this band is like trying to find out what got you into rock and roll to begin with.

Whether it’s blistering fast tracks like Five Guns West or a little slower anthem-like sing-a-longs like On My Way/Exodus they rock in a way I’ve not heard since I first listened to Appetite for Destruction when I was like twelve. Personally two of my favorite tracks is Going Crazy which is country/punk/rockabilly rolled into one and Sidewinder which is just damn good psychobilly pure and simple. The album clocks in at 47 minutes which usually would make me fall asleep. That being said, if you fall asleep listening to this you’re probably a deranged nut-job.

Brooklyn’s Finest starts off with a bang and never seems to let up. Director Atoine Fuqua the director of one of the coolest martial arts films The Replacement Killers comes back to capture the inner workings of Brooklyn’s city streets and the different ways each cop copes with them.

Thing I liked about this was how real and gritty each of the characters were. You didn’t know whether to love or hate them at times. All of them are flawed in their own way and have vices whether it be drinking, friendships, money problems or for one character racism. There are times when watching this you can’t help but wonder if you should be cheering or booing a character’s actions. To answer is neither, because in the end the film shows you just how uneven things really are when it comes down to being a cop in any major city.

I’ve got no real love for law enforcement, but this movie made me respect how tough it is for some like the NYPD. Not everyone is going to like this film. It’s not happy, it’s got no real morality and at times it can be a bit confusing. Though over all I think director Anoine Fuqua and new writer Michael C. Martin did a bang up job.

I’d been hearing about Kevin Smith’s directing of a buddy cop comedy for some time through his twitter. I waited with anticipation to get to see this. I’m forever complaining about the death of the buddy cop comedy movie. I grew up with Beverly Hills Cop, Lethal Weapon and Turner and Hootch. All that nostalgia comes rushing back when you go see this flick.

From the cheesey background music during intense seens between Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis. These two work so well off of each other it’s actually a real pleasure to watch. Morgan on his own is hilarious when dealing with his wife, and the scenes between Willis and Jason Lee’s cameo are priceless. Never knew Lee could be such a dick! The movie is packed with random stars like Adam Brody and Kevin Pollack as well as Sean William Scott’s hilarious idiot cat burgler role.

Much like other Smith directed films this one doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a fun movie meant to be laughed along with, not over analyzed for it’s cliches. Kevin Smith pays homage to the buddy cop genre well, I’d be stoked for a sequel.

If you’re looking for something to play to the pub, at the pub and on the way home (hopefully in a Taxi) from the pub than look no further than the band with the weirdest name ever, Neck. Neck at first listen might sound a bit like Flogging Molly or Dropkick Murphy’s, but when they kick out hard pub anthems about drinking and fighting it doesn’t much matter. The rough and tumble boys do a bit of everything on their new album, and in most aspects they do it spot on.

Come Out Fighting should be played for UFC matches, it’s punk style guitars and aggressive nature separate the track from a lot of the album. I really enjoyed Hello Jakey a lot, and found myself singing it while walking to get my mail every morning. Ourselved Alone is played so damn fast that it reminds me a lot more of something Iggy Popp would have put out than this band. This is what makes this Neck album so amazing, each song is better than the next, from the ballad The Homes of Donega to the fast paced jig Barely Hair. This is about the most skinhead band I’ve seen in a decade. I simply fell in love with Neck. If you don’t rock this album than you’re no longer cool.