Posts by Zach Johnson

Ever wish every day was Weirdo Wednesday? Although that’s technically not the case today and tomorrow, fellow weirdos can rejoice, given we’ll be spotlighting the late great Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart) this week. Indeed, when it comes to the good Captain, practically all of his output could be characterized as “weird” given his […]

Rounding out our tribute to the late great Brent Hinds, who passed away in a tragic accident last week, for today’s Weirdo Wednesday, we’re taking a look at his peculiar side band Fiend Without a Face. As the name suggests, the band would typically perform wearing black pantyhose over their faces, a nod to the […]

On a typical Saturday afternoon in Chicago in the summertime, there’s no shortage of leisurely options for one to spend their time. You could head to the beach, check out a neighborhood street festival, hit up Wrigley Field, or maybe even just take in a matinee. In the case of this writer, the latter option sounded like […]

Rounding out our spotlight on the Deftones this week, whose 10th studio album Private Music drops this Friday, today we’re vibing out with the curiously titled “U,U,D,D,L,R,L,R,A,B,Select,Start” from their somewhat underrated 2006 album Saturday Night Wrist. This remarkably moody instrumental track is a perfect example of what has helped Deftones stand out from their contemporaries […]

Continuing our salute to the Deftones this week in the run-up to their new album Private Music (out this Friday), today we’re taking a look at this straight-up vicious performance of “Bloody Cape” live on Last Call with Carson Daly from 2003. This was an interesting time for the band, as there was a lot of pressure […]

In anticipation of Deftones’ first new album in roughly half a decade (Private Music drops this Friday), this week we’ll be spotlighting some choice material from the band’s esteemed 30-year career. Just re-reading that, it’s hard to believe it’s been literally three decades since the band first burst onto the scene with their 1995 debut […]

Rounding out our summer salute to The Specials this week, for today’s Weirdo Wednesday, we’re taking a look at the last performance of the original lineup on Top of the Pops where Terry Hall, Lynval Golding, and Neville Staple announced they were leaving the band. According to Golding, they were not in a good place […]

Continuing our spotlight on The Specials this week, as evidenced by yesterday’s Manic Monday offering, the band was quite good at bringing the ruckus back in their prime. But if you’re looking to discover what truly made them such a, eh, “special” band (pardon the pun), one should definitely visit their relatively lower-key, more pensive […]

As we’re all in the pit of the so-called Dog Days of August, this week we’ll be spotlighting a classic band whose music always felt tailor-made for the steamy and oppressive heat that feels so prevalent this time of year: The Specials. Hailing from Coventry, England, the band rose to prominence in the late 70s […]

Rounding out our tribute to the Osees this week (who have a new album coming out this Friday), for today’s Weirdo Wednesday, we’re taking a long and disorienting look at their video for “The Daily Heavy” off their (somewhat underrated) album Face Stabber. Indeed, while the band is primarily known for their frenetic and exhilarating […]

Continuing our salute to the Osees in the runup to their new album Abomination Revealed at Last (which drops this Friday), today we’re throwing it back to 2015 with this incredibly awesome performance live from Paris. And while there is plenty of footage out there of the band delivering absolutely killer performances, this one does […]

While we often devote much of our nostalgic attention in these columns to 20th century acts, there has certainly been no shortage of compelling and visceral bands that have emerged this side of the millennium. And one of the most prolific and consistently enthralling bands on the “Manic” front would have to be the Osees […]

Rounding out our salute to Ozzy Osbourne this week, it’s probably fair to say that his reputation as heavy-metal’s preeminent “wildman” (for lack of a better term) over the years proceeded him. Granted he really played-up that persona in the early 80s in particular, as we all know the antics, the stories, etc.. But what […]

Continuing our tribute to the late great Ozzy Osbourne this week, for today’s Tuesday’s Gone, we’re throwing it back to the very earliest beginnings of his career with this remarkable performance of “War Pigs” live from 1970. But this performance is so early it differs from the studio version of the song that everyone would […]

No doubt everyone has already heard the news that we lost a true rock n roll legend last week, as Ozzy Osbourne passed away on July 22nd at the ripe old age of 76. What’s interesting about Ozzy is that he was probably best known to your average person for his notorious antics in the […]

Rounding out our salute to Minutemen this week, it’s probably fair to say that being “weird” was an essential part of their musical DNA. This is, after all, a band that incorporated everything from country, polka, jazz, and other eclectic influences into their distinctively quirky brand of So-Cal flavored punk. So of course, it was […]

Continuing our spotlight on Minutemen this week, as mentioned in yesterday’s Manic Monday column, the band was nothing if not eclectic. For best evidence of this, one should look no further than their classic 1984 album Double Nickels on the Dime. Throughout its sprawling 44-song tracklist, the band dabbles in everything from country, blues, spoken […]

Throughout punk rock’s long and storied history, many bands have pushed the boundaries of what the genre can sound like over the years. For example, Wire practically invented post-punk with 1978’s Chairs Missing, following the release of their classic debut album, Pink Flag, the year prior. And the Meat Puppets made a hard left turn into quirky psychedelic […]

Continuing our spotlight on The Police this week, when thinking about the band in their prime, which album best captured them at the height of their powers? In fairness, that’s a tough (not to mention highly subjective) question, but your answer probably depends a lot on whether you prefer their punky, more rhythmic early material […]

It’s mid-July, which effectively means we’re in the very pit of summer heat for most folks in the northern hemisphere. Indeed, if mid-January is the “dead of winter”, conjuring up feelings of bleakness, darkness, and harshness, then surely mid-July should be the antithesis of that idea, right? And for those of us who have a […]