THIS is a CLOSE-UP?

I've been writing album reviews for Bust ever since the Aug/Sept '07 issue, and as I haven't heard from the editorial brain trust in some time, I'm assuming that I used to write for them. Here's my sum total of half-assed slipshod writing: Aug/Sept '07 -- The Mix Up ( Beastie Boys ), You Follow Me ( Nina Nastasia and Jim White ) Oct/Nov '07 -- In Our Bedroom After The War ( Stars ), Colossal Youth ( Young Marble Giants ) Dec/Jan '08 -- Cold & Kind ( The 1900s ), Oblivion With Bells ( Underworld ), La Cucaracha ( Ween ) Feb/Mar '08 -- Crystal Castles ( Crystal Castles ), The First EP ( Kerowack ) Apr/May '08 -- Funplex ( The B-52s ) June/July '08 -- Pop-Up ( Yelle ) Oct/Nov '08 -- The Singles ( Free Blood ) Dec/Jan '09 -- Fucked Up Friends ( Tobacco ) Feb/Mar '09 -- Rombo EP ( The Bloody Beetroots ) June/July '09 -- Further Complications ( Jarvis Cocker ) Oct/Nov '09 -- Love 2 ( Air ) Dec/Jan '10 -- ...

Man, this was a good year for shows. As always, I'm sure there are concerts I saw that are lost to the mists of my mind, but what follows is still a solid list. The Eagles [The Palace of Auburn Hills 2.15] -- Now, this was kind of exciting, as this was their Hell Freezes Over first reunion tour where they still actually appeared to enjoy themselves, and I was in the front row, directly in front of Don Felder and Joe Walsh. (Got a guitar pick from Don, too.) It was also the most I'd ever paid for a concert ticket up to that point: $85. Went with a bunch of co-workers from Boomers and got a free hotel room for the night all by myself. Oasis [Orbit Room, Grand Rapids 3.20] -- Their first U.S. headlining tour, off their debut album Definitely Maybe (still their best, full stop). Someone threw something at Liam, and in his nearly indecipherable accent he told the crowd he'd walk off the stage if he was hit again; of course, he was promptly hit again, and he stormed off as prom...

It's true: Jimmy Fallon can be funny sometimes.

One of the nice things about paying as much as I do per month to Charter Communications is that I have a decently robust OnDemand service. (And as a momentary aside, isn't it crazy that I'm paying for a shitload of channels in my basic and expanded service that I have never and will never watch? Why is cable one of the only areas of modern society exempt from the "free market" mentality, where the personal choice of the consumer drives media consumption? In other words, we should be at an a-la-carte approach to cable television, regardless of the urges to maintain of a digital version of corporate welfare with channel bundling. But I digress.) Anyway, part of this service includes some television (I caught up on episodes of 30 Rock as well as the first two eps in the six-part Monty Python documentary) as well as a nice mix of new and new-ish films. Quick snapshots of four recent buys are below: Trick 'r Treat -- How bad could a seasonal scare-fest be if it feat...

When a movie that was made for just over $11,000 in 2007 has a $20 million weekend in a limited amount of packed theaters just before Halloween 2009, you have the makings of a story that bobs above the sea of pop culture static, and Paranormal Activity is just that story. It's deceptively simple -- a couple (one of whom has conveniently purchased a new video camera) finds themselves beset with possible contact from the spirit world beyond this physical plane. And in a fashion that's both captivating and incremental, the camera captures the evidence that, well, something is going on in the dead of night. What happens next is a snowball of dread and fright that gains momentum until it smacks you in the chest at the very end, as all good horror films should. But the real story is why this film took so long to make it to the mainstream, given that it's been killing at film festivals for the past two years. Better late than never, I guess, because this is the best horror phe...

Have you seen this ghost? He usually is in the company of a pink Frankenstein and a mocha Count. But this year, he and his Berry friend are quite hard to find. (Count Chocula, not so much. That shit seems to be everywhere.) So if someone can point me in the (local) direction of this sugary spirit, I would be grateful...FROM BEYOND THE CEREAL GRAVE!!!

They haven't toured America in a decade, and the show was 1/3 full at best. But leave it to Manic Street Preachers to give the Majestic Theater a full stadium energy in a small club, rocking the pubes off of the Detroit faithful. Their new album Journal For Plague Lovers is the first to feature lyrics from their presumed dead bandmate Richey Edwards (who vanished near a notorious suicide spot in 1996) culled from his notebooks. Produced with austere power by Steve Albini, Journal For Plague Lovers continues their late-career resurgence first sparked on Send Away The Tigers from '07, with a renewed rock vim and vigor that had all but vanished from their recorded output for years prior. In other words, if you want rock and roll, you got it. Here's the set list from the recent Detroit show: Motorcycle Emptiness No Surface All Feeling Peeled Apples Your Love Alone La Tristessa Durera Jackie Collins Existential Question Time Let Robeson Sing Faster Enola/Alone Marlon J.D....