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Count Five: John Reis' Favorite Tiki Bars

John Reis is a staple of the San Diego music scene from his days with Rocket From the Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes and the Nightmarchers, his latest adventure in sound. Reis also runs Swami Records, the spawning ground for several of his other projects, including his former stripped-down combo the Sultans. Beside his obsession with music, Reis also likes to seek out tiki bars while he is on the road. He put together a list of his top Polynesian libation outposts that you will need to make note of on your next trip.

1. La Mariana Sailing Club, Honolulu: The real deal, pieced together over decades. It exudes soul in ways that contemporary bars (tiki or otherwise) can't compete nor can compare.

2. Tiki Ti, Los Angeles: A tropical refuge amidst urban turmoil and the gloom of sooty skies. Potent libations and a magnificently welcoming atmosphere.

Continue reading Count Five: John Reis' Favorite Tiki Bars

Count Five: Weezer's Favorite Double Albums

Today, Weezer unveil their sixth album, dubbed 'The Red Album,' which boasts a maturation lrom that of their debut 'Blue Album.' Frontman Rivers Cuomo rocks the Texas look on the cover with the borderline ironic 'stache, while drummer Pat Wilson maintains Weezer's classic retro. The band curated their very own top five list influential double albums exclusively for Spinner to celebrate the release of their own effort Note: Kiss did not make this list.

Count Five: Weezer's Favorite Double Albums No. 5



5. Jimmy Hendrix, 'Electric Ladyland':
Unsuspecting kid heard 'Crosstown Traffic' on the radio asked around and was given this album to listen to. I was never the same.

Count Five: Weezer's Favorite Double Albums No. 4



4. Pink Floyd, 'The Wall':
This album sounded how I felt as a kid. I knew I wasn't the only crazy person in the world. I listened to it everyday for one year.

Count Five: Weezer's Favorite Double Albums No. 3



3. Led Zeppelin, 'Physical Graffiti':
There's so much amazing music on this record, it really makes me want to play bass.

Count Five: Weezer's Favorite Double Albums No. 2



2. The Beatles, 'The Beatles (White Album)':
It covers all the colors of the rainbow for me. Happy, sad, scared and mad. Simply some of the best music in the world.

Slug -- the poster boy for indie hip-hop -- is just about the most punk artist out of "Minne-snow-ta" since the Replacements. The founder of Atmosphere has curated a countdown of his top five dolls for Spinner. "I don't really consider myself a toy collector, but I do collect things that make me laugh and I do collect things that will make my friends laugh," he tell us. "These are my five favorite dolls that I have had the pleasure of obtaining, none of which were bought online," he boasts, adding, "All of them were found and purchased from stores upon original release, because I am that awesometastic."




1. Pee-wee Herman:
How could you not buy this -- it says different things when you push his belly! No explanation needed.

Freak? I know you are, but what am I?

Count Five: Slug's Favorite Dolls No. 2

2. Christopher Walken as the "King of New York": This movie was great! I am a fan of anything that involves Christopher Walken or Schoolly D. But to have them both in the mix? Get outta here!

What is the doll doing with his hand?

Count Five: Slug's Favorite Dolls No. 3

3. Al Pacino as "Scarface": As a rapper, I am required to have a love for 'Scarface.' What better way to show that love than to own the dolls? I have practiced and mastered both of these facial expressions. I will show you sometime.

Look at the doll money!

Count Five: Slug's Favorite Dolls No. 4

4. Master P: Plastic bling; camo gear. If you push his chest, he says, "Uhhhhhhhhh nah-nah-nah-nah," and then he waits for a few uncomfortable seconds before he repeats it. Awesome!

I just wish they'd have let Pen & Pixel design the package.

Count Five: Slug's Favorite Dolls No. 5

5. Cheech Wizard: If you are not a graffiti writer, or a comic collector, or a pervert, you probably have no idea who Cheech Wizard is. And I am probably breaking some sort of code by exposing you to him. Deal with it.

I consider myself an amateur historian of country music, or the world's most enthusiastic fan of country music's female artists. And it bugs me how some amazing artists are virtually unknown to the general public. So here's my initial attempt to change all that, courtesy of Spinner's Count Five -- Country Music's Greatest Underappreciated Female Artists (you won't find these names in the Hall of Fame):

1. Molly O'Day: A booster of the young Hank Williams, O'Day recorded several of his songs before Hank was famous. She thrived on rural radio's airwaves, appearing on dozens of stations across the Southeast under such stage names as Dixie Darlin' or the Mountain Fern. Her singing and banjo playing had a fire-and-brimstone edge and gospel fervor unmatched by anyone in country music today

2. Jean Shepard: At first she was a little bitty slip of a girl who whomped the bass fiddle and sang with a great big voice, conquering the airwaves and jukeboxes of the early 1950s with hits like 'Dear John.' She became a fixture of the Grand Ole Opry along with her husband, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and was widowed by the tragic plane crash that took his life and that of fellow Opry star Patsy Cline. But she persevered and is still belting out songs to Opry audiences on a regular basis.

Continue reading Count Five: Laura Cantrell on Country Music's Underappreciated Women

Alison Sudol, who does her music-making under the name A Fine Frenzy, doesn't have a lot of rainy days to herself. That's a by-product of both living in perpetually sunny Los Angeles and being a perpetually busy singer, songwriter and pianist who last year released her debut album, 'One Cell in the Sea.'

However, when one of those rare wet Southern California days does occur, Sudol says that "there's nothing quite as cozy as a blanket-wrapped, couch-bound movie-watching marathon. If I were to be a total bum and watch an entire day of films, these would be my selections":

1. 'Sabrina': Audrey Hepburn is as elegant as can be, Humphrey Bogart is gruff and wonderful, the story is heart-burstingly lovely, and I can't help but smile every time I watch it.

2. 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest': I haven't seen this in a while, but I'd like to watch it again with fresh eyes. From what I remember, it's shocking, funny and horribly sad. It will probably take the next three movies to cheer me up, but it's worth it.

Continue reading Count Five: A Fine Frenzy, aka Alison Sudol, Lists Her Top Rainy Day Movies

Devonte Hynes, the former Test Icicles member now better know as Lightspeed Champion, gives the lowdown on his all-time favorite comic books. Although his music has progressed and matured radically over the years, Hynes has always found inspiration in graphic novels.

1. 'Madman,' by Michael Allred:
It's one of my favorite comic characters and one of my favorite artists. Basically, nobody knows who he was – he died. A guy called Dr. Boiffard brought him back and then nicknamed him Frank Einstein, after Frank Sinatra and, obviously, Einstein. He's perfectly scarred but he's completely insane.

2. 'Unlikely,' by Jeffrey Brown: There's an honesty to it. I don't actually read a lot of comics like this. Its all about girls usually, but the pacing of each frame is just perfect.

Continue reading Count Five: Lightspeed Champion's Favorite Graphic Novels

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