In Print This Week: Rusko, Municipal Waste, Time and Energy, Ask Exene

By Nate Jackson Thu., Nov. 8 2012 at 6:45 AM

Categories: From the Print Section

Municipal Waste

[Editor's Note: Every Thursday, in addition to bombarding you with blog posts, this newspaper does something really crazy...we write a print version! Here's a taste of our top stories this week.]

1) Our lead feature explains Rusko's evolution from ska nerd to EDM wunderkind. For those of you embittered about the state of North American dubstep, this selector from Leeds, England is definitely your savior. For starters, he was actually lured into dubstep through dub music (what a concept!) and continues to favor irie island vibes over industrial aggression. More importantly, he talks about his process of improvising and creating his mixes on the fly. It allows him to act like he's in a band, despite being a control freak with an undying lust for orchestration. In any case, you definitely find him riding the spacebar on his laptop.

2) Our second feature highlights the bearded, psychotic gore-a-holics of Municipal Waste. Take a look at any one of their album covers to find out what these guys are about. Just make sure you don't stop there. Trading in a mix of furious skate punk and metal shredding, songs like "Headbanger Face Rip" and "Sadistic Magician" create a certifiable soundtrack to the horrifying zombie apocalypse that will one day consume us all. We talk to this wild, Virginia-bred four-piece who explain how the ineffable pedigree of the camp and carnage in their music is just another way to make sense of our violent world.

3) Our Locals Only feature investigates the history of Time and Energy. After starting the band a few years ago, this duo continues to thrive on complex loop pedal arrangements, acoustic soul and a little cosmic luck. At least that's how we describe the band's brush with chaos when their tour van caught on fire with all their gear inside and all their gear managed to survive. With the release of their sophomore album Strange Kind of Focus, we examine just how Brennan Roach and Jorge Rios are able to stretch the limits of psychedelic pop music with two brains operating the sounds of a five piece band.

4) Our Ask Exene column is for all you cougars out there. Wanna catch yourself a cub who wants more than a one night stand? It probably is as hard as you think it is.

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