December Boys Soft Peaks Unleash September EP Featuring [I wish it was longer] Beatsmith John "Jumbled" Bachman Behind The Drumkit (Bandcamp self-released)

"It’s been a little while, but Baltimore’s Soft Peaks are back with another EP! Three songs that were recorded a while ago, but sometimes life gets in the way. Band members went back to school, started families, and trying to find time to practice, in between dinner and putting the kids to bed," reads a rather quaint email I received from Baltimore's Soft Peaks early Sunday morning. Its core members include lead guitarist and vocalist Jonathan Moore, second guitarist and vocalist Eben Dennis, and drummer, engineering teacher, and Hip-Hop producer John "Jumbled" Bachman, bassist Tim St. Clair, and keyboard and accordion player Michael Lambright. I've previously worked with Bachman on a number of occasions for this various publication, including a recent Scratching The Surface interview; although, to my surprise, he had never once mentioned he played drums in his own self-described "Power Pop" band during any of our countless emailed conversations. Soft Peaks have been playing together for about 3.5 years and guitar players Jonathan Moore & Eben Dennis both attended college in Greensboro, North Carolina with John's wife and Soft Peaks EP designer Rachel Bachman, before moving to Baltimore upon the band's 2012-13 inception.

"I was playing in Grind[core] and Punk bands for a while, but had pretty much retired from Punk. We started practicing some songs. We added friend Tim St. Clair on bass... This EP was started in a studio and tracks were layered at home. Final mixes were layered by everyone, including keyboardist and accordion [player] Michael Lambright," Bachman detailed concerning December Boys EP's creation, via email. "The World Is Exploding," "Driveway," and "I Want to Believe" were recorded "a while ago" at Loyola College, where St. Clair was teaching, at the time, and final mixes were further layered and recorded at home by all five band members; "We've been on somewhat of a hiatus this summer due to kids being born and work schedules—but I'm hoping we can start recording our full-length soon... with about 10-15 unrecorded songs," Bachman continued. Soft Peaks' three-track December Boys EP is currently available for purchase from their Bandcamp page for an incredibly reasonable $3, along with their previous Altocumular EP, Soft Peaks EP, and "Father Christmas." John Bachman's latest, and might I add, impeccable, album [I wish it was longer] released under his Jumbled beat-making guise is currently available for purchase in either digital or hand lathe-cut 8-inch formats.

"Let Me Shine for You:" Lindsay Lohan for Playboy (Winter 2011-12 Leak)

Lindsay Lohan essentially embodies exactly "What NOT to Do In Hollywood :" Fame, fortune, success... sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll . Within a fairly short period of time, Lohan somehow managed to obtain a plentiful helping of POWER @ a very young age. This gradual rise-downfall was captured on film; Between 1998-2010, she portrayed a wide array of roles across the silver screen in movies including: Mean Girls, Bobby , Herbie Fully Loaded , Georgia Rule, Machete , and Freaky Friday . Between rapid-paced film shoots, Lindsay Lohan also found time to record 2 Pop Rock albums for Casablanca , Speak (2004) and A Litter More Personal-Raw (2005). Needless to say, Lindsay Lohan has gotten roped up in a lot of troubles and woes with the law over the last 3-5 years... a vicious cycle of drugs, arrest, court, rehab, "daddy issues," jail time [Repeat]. That's the pure basics of it - But Google that shit for additional info, if necessary. Towards the end of

[W]reckless, Topless American Youth: Lana del Rey - "Born 2 Die" (Britney Spears Birthday 30)

Lana del Rey [Lizzy Grant] effectively became 2011's "It Girl" with the release of her phenomenal debut single, "Video Games" (Stranger) . Like many struggling singer-songwriters, Grant has been signed, dropped, and significantly changed her public image since bursting onto the scene (2009). With that said, it can be assumed that Lana del Rey has collected just as many "haters" as she has avid supporters. To be perfectly honest, the only other artist I can think of that made this much commotion... garnered so much wide-spread buzz/hate and critical acclaim -- right out of the gates -- with just one track is Britney Spears . And maybe in this post- Mike musical era, that's the true synthesis of Pop Culture: Britney Lynn Spears . After months of repeated teasing and speculation, Lana del Rey 's major label debut, Born 2 Die will [finally] be released this coming Jan. 30-31, 2012. Pitchfork reports that it will feature "Off to The Ra

Liberty Bell Cracked In 1/2: Ween - "Freedom of '76" (Gene Ween's Final Send-Off)

Chocolate & Cheese (1994) was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was in some sort of BMG Music Club , where you'd buy 5 CD's and then get 10 for "FREE." It was all sent through mail order and you picked the titles from some special booklet. I'm almost positive that Chocolate & Cheese's side boob-baring album cover was what initially drew me in... mind you, I was 12-15 and the zany Ween logo/middle finger CD graphic really didn't hurt either. Honestly, I forget how I really felt about it @ the time, but a few years later, my older cousin Josh told me that Ween were this BIG college "jam band." CKY did some sort pf 93.3 radio takeover to promote their new album and played "Freedom of '76" late that night on air. Needless to say, I re-visited Chocolate & Cheese @ about 20-something this go 'round and I fucking loved it! Ween were really weird, yet talented... almost too talented. I can vaguel

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