Welcome to the new monthly column taking a look at what media I’ve consumed over the month that didn’t make it into a full post. Today being the first of March, let’s look at some titles from February.

I haven’t read them yet but recently Barnes & Noble had a sale, buy one magazine get one half off. I’ve never seen such a sale and picked up Scary Monsters and Filmfax. Two magazines with black and white interiors packed full of information. What they save in glossy images they make up for with an encyclopedia of facts about cult, sci-fi, and horror. I’m kicking myself for not picking up Zero Tolerance magazine, which details the latest releases in “extreme” metal and best of all comes with a free CD full of new songs from the thrash, death, black, and doom corners of metal.

Speaking of all corners of metal, with the exception of the local morning show – which I love – I think I am done with radio. My work commute is 20-30 minutes depending on a couple factors. In the morning I usually catch one segment for part of the ride, plus a song or two and commercials. Any other time of day though, this station could play absolutely anything you can imagine. As long as all you can imagine is Red Hot Chili Peppers. That and way too much Shinedown. I know, they’re “great”. They have tons of hits that everyone knows yet no one knows, make millions off of successful ambiguity, and take air time away from better bands that could use the exposure more. I’m going to say it. Shinedown is America’s Nickelback. Debate in the comments.

Thanks to that I have been exploring more options for music and Spotify is coming through as the winner. Even using the free version, everything is on there. I have never had a search come up empty. But the greatest thing is the custom Monday playlist. Hey Kevin, you’ve been playing certain genres of music all week. Maybe you would like to check out these bands. It’s not even brand new, but it is new to my ears. Carousel, Tygers of Pan Tang, Huntress, the list goes on and on. I’m only two Mondays in and this is at the tops of things I look forward to every week. Load a list and enjoy any car ride, or putzing around at home. If I’m going to listen to a song I don’t like I would much rather have it be brand new and not clicking for me than a song I have heard a hundred times and still dislike. I highly suggest starting a familiarity with Spotify to enjoy this as well.

In other enjoyment this month, the whole family went to see Lego Movie 2. If you’ve seen the first movie I think that hurts this one a bit. The third act twist of the first movie was huge. It took the movie to another level. But once you know that “joke” it makes a lot of this movie a bit too obvious. For an adult. It’s still going to blow a kid’s mind. Speaking of adults, there are tons of pop culture jokes for those able to drive themselves to the theater and older. At one point I turned to my wife and said, “who is this movie for?” Not that that was a bad thing, it just surprised me.

If there’s anything taking up way too much of my time it’s something else meant for kids but enjoyed by adults. YouTube sensation Ryan’s Toy Reviews has a mobile game and I generously put it on my phone so my son could play it. Next I knew I’m getting mad I can’t complete certain tasks and debating spending money, real money, on upgrades. I’m also getting really mad that he’s better than I am. I need to either get better or sabotage him. I’m not sure which one is less work.

I have about 5-6 YouTube shows to catch up on, a DVD I borrowed over a month ago plus a stack of comics to read. And who knows what else I’ll discover in March.