It's life Jim, but not as we know it
Not as we know it, not as we know it

counterculture's been to the movies this week, with reviews of Scorsese's Gangs Of New York, Star Trek: Nemesis and the big screen silliness of Jackass: The Movie.
    And we've taken time out to listen to the Jackass: The Movie soundtrack CD, as well as discs from Johnny Cash, Jesse Malin, Ours, Sum 41 and System Of A Down.
    Also gracing our pages are live show reviews of Foo Fighters, Gomez, Moby and Nickelback, plus book reviews of Between The Dark And Light - The Grateful Dead Photography Of Jay Blakesberg and Rock And Roll Doctor - The Music Of George Lowell And Little Feat.
    Finally, we take a short retrospective look at the highs and lows of 2002 in 2002: A Year In Review.

The first of the year
As we nurse our hangovers . . .

A small update today, as we're feeling a little delicate . . . we've got new silver discs from Blondie, The Hope Conspiracy and Gary Cherone's Tribe Of Judah all reviewed by our stateside scribe.
    We've also managed to rustle up a pair of tickets to see Counting Crows at the Birmingham NEC on January 21. If you want to be in with a chance of winning those, you'll be looking for our Counting Crows competition.

Back so soon?
Albums of the year and much more

Check out the first of two retrospectives with 2002: Albums Of The Year; counterculture's top 20 pick of the best and brightest.
    Reviewed this time around: Audioslave and Crazy Town on CD, Batman: Dark Victory and Blue Melody - Tim Buckley Remembered in print, James Bond's Die Another Day at the flicks and Ian McNabb live in Brighton.

The old and the new
Santana to Lavigne

Guitar-wrangler Santana turns in the follow-up to Supernatural with Shaman, and counterculture catches both Pink and Avril Lavigne live in London.
    In print we've got The Stones 65-67 - a collection of Gered Mankowitz's Rolling Stones pictures, and Phil Rickman's latest Merrily Watkins supernatural mystery, The Cure Of Souls.
    Those with longer memories may remember our glowing review of Andy Babiuk's Beatles Gear tome. Well, we've managed to brow-beat publishers Backbeat Books into letting us give away six copies to lucky counterculture readers. Fancy one? Head on over to the Beatles Gear competition.

Happy trails to you
Until we meet again

In print: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Haunted, and the first volume of Alan Moore's The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
    On CD: Foo Fighters' One By One, Four Star Mary's Welcome Home, The Libertines' Up The Bracket, the Transplants debut and 80s retro compilation The Very Best Of The Tube.
    Rounding things off for this update, the masked men of Mushroomhead hold-up London's Marquee.

You don't write, you don't phone . . .
Ashcroft, Coxon, Holmes and 1 Love

As a prelude to the next update, which is shaping up to be ominously massive, counterculture brings you shiny new discs from Richard Ashcroft, Graham Coxon and David Holmes' new outfit The Free Association. We also take a listen to the War Child benefit 1 Love, featuring Sugababes, Faithless, Oasis and Jimmy Eat World.