And here I thought I could get through all of November without skipping a day. Hmmf. Now I’m on a 4 day dry spell with more business ahead of me and a plethora of issues on my plate. Oh well. I’m currently reviewing some advertising possibilities for this page. I know, I know, I’m selling my soul. The game is capitalism here though. I can’t be blamed for simply being born into it. I had an excellent holiday weekend. Saw some old friends and great family. Not that I haven’t been doing anything in terms of this life. I’d been working on a piece I was writing for a short story contest. It’s probably one of the most fucked things I’ve ever done — take it or leave it — and I’m not sure if I’ll win (or even receive an honorable mention). Everything’s worth a try though, right? Well, besides murder I ’spose. I’m seeing Doomtree Saturday, into it. I kinda want to go check out The Road at some point (which I’ll review), even though it seems impossible to adapt to film. I just liked the book so much, it’d be hard for me not to go see it. It’s mind boggling the Academy is doing 10, yes 10, Best Picture nominations starting THIS year. I don’t think there’s even been 10 films worth seeing in the theater this year. Jesus. I’ll be back.
A great piece of pop cultural writing by Bridget Johnson was recently offered up to me like something deep fried on a stick. In “Watching Pulp Fiction With Quentin Tarentino“, she delves into what the legendary film could have become. Some of the more interesting tidbits include:
There was originally a scene of Mia Wallace’s pilot, Fox Force Five, in the script, the third story was at one time completely different, bringing in new characters, Paul Calderon, who had a short scene as the bartender, was Tarantino’s favorite to play Jules Winnfield, Miramax kingpin Harvey Weinstein had plans to open a chain of Jack Rabbit Slims in the wake of the movie’s success, Vincent Vega was supposed to be the brother of Vic Vega (Michael Madsen) in Reservoir Dogs (though this is pretty much common knowledge to any Tarentino fan), Butch the boxer (Willis) was written for Matt Dillon, and Daniel Day-Lewis was interested in John Travolta’s role.
Oh my… Secrets nearly as juicy as a Big Kahuna Burger. If you read the ARTICLE, scroll down to the comments. It’s nearly a 50/50 split on QT lovers/haters. He’s a polarizing film-maker, no doubt. So was Orson Welles and Fritz Lang though. So… ya know.
The HEY YOU GUYS!charity event seems to be a Art gallery type party thrown for DonorsChoose.org (a charity that “makes it easy for anyone to help students in need”). They’re playing the original Ghostbustersthis year and as such inviting artists to submit Ghostbuster-themed art. Click on any of the above links to donate, or simply check it out. The event is on December 5th, in Pasadena. Details at the site. Here’s a couple samples of art:
I can’t believe people are already asking me to list my “Top 10 Albums of the Decade”. I can’t even begin to put that type of list together. It’s hard enough at the end of the year to do, let alone 10 years worth in one sitting. Besides, what I’ve done in the past here (in December sometime) is put albums I thought were good only into vague and trivial categories. I don’t RANK them. I understand people who [supposedly] love music wanna be critics, but it just seems wrong to do as a music lover. This isn’t weight lifting or NFL football we’re talking about, this is music. Art. Ya know? This isn’t a competition. Fuck, I’ll pick a big list of my favorites from 2009 (hell, even the decade), but that’s all it is: a list of favorites in no particular order. That’s the other aspect to this. If I can’t pick 10 from a year only, how am I supposed to pick 10 from 10 years worth of music? I counted 50 albums — on the nose — from my 2008 albums list. That’s how much music I give chances to, genuinely enjoy, and feel are worth mentioning at the end of the year. I don’t do 10, that’s too hard for me. Plus… I don’t even remember 2002. Let alone what albums came out in 2002. Lists are fucking overrated anyway. But there’s something especially shitty about ranking albums as if they were college football teams headed to the BCS.
Shame on anyone who calls themselves a “music lover” but will push music into the pits of competition with a snap of the fingers. Shame on you.
The Giraffesare a hedonistic and heavy rock and roll band from Brooklyn, New York. Fearless Musicis a television show that airs on Saturday nights (late) featuring indie bands performing live. The Giraffes played a song last night on the show (you can go vote for them), which hasn’t been cranked into the Internet yet. When it does — probably sometime this week — I’ll be sure to embed it. The band also played the show years ago, when their self-titled album came out. On Fearless’ website their dubbing the song “Having Fun With Our Souls” when any Giraffe fan or Giraffe himself would call it “Having Fun With Assholes” (the real title). Quite a difference in meaning there. Besides, anyone who knows the band knows these guys don’t have souls. Either they were born without them, or they sold them one a piece each for a ringed six-pack of Diesel-Talls. Here’s a good vid of “Louie Guthrie Wants to Kill Me” off Prime Motivator. Notice how many beers, bottles, cups, and drinks are thrown on the singer and his reaction (or lack of), that should give you a good indication of what type of band this is.
- Boeing Laser Systems Destroy Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Tests. “The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] in May demonstrated the ability of mobile laser weapon systems to perform a unique mission: track and destroy small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)… As part of the overall counter-UAV demonstration, Boeing also successfully test-fired a lightweight 25mm machine gun from the Laser Avenger platform to potentially further the hybrid directed energy/kinetic energy capability against UAV threats.”
- Police Open Up to Social Media. “PC Ed Rogerson is on Twitter. He is one of about 20 or so police officers that have turned to the micro-blogging service. He started using Twitter in October in a bid to reach more of the people that live along the streets he patrols in Starbeck, Harrogate. Even before MyPolice gets going some forces are pioneering widespread use of social media.”
- Chinese Military Site Draws Hackers. “The Chinese military defense website was subjected to 2.3 million hacking attempts in its first month, according to officials. “When there were major events taking place related to the military and national defense, the number of (cyber) attacks rose,” said editor Ji Guilin.” In an NBC news piece I saw the other day an ex-US government official was claiming that a hack into the military’s primary system (2006, I think?) had been by the Chinese. He said, “I don’t blame them. They do it to us, we do it to them.”
Who knew Eggo’s were even still popular?? The time before the last time I went to Costco I grabbed the massive bulk pack — I think it comes with 60, 4 bags of 15 — and ate them til I couldn’t eat them anymore. Yup, ran out of syrup and everything. It lasted me one season and well into the next (Spring to Summer?). Well, last time I went they didn’t have this mega-pack. In fact, they didn’t have any Eggo’s at all! I told myself this was a good thing, that I didn’t actually want that many (or any) more Eggo’s, and that they’ll spell both the end and rebirth of some future civilization (along w/ Twinkies). I’m wrong, we’re still standing — and not eating one another — even though a plant flooding down at an Atlanta Kellogg factory triggered a shortage of their tasty goodness. Combine this tragedy with equipment/technical troubles at another plant in Tennessee, and we’re hit with the largest Eggo drought the world has ever known. Light the beacon, sound the alarms, activate emergency protocol! The president’s address earlier this week on the matter confirms his lack of leadership in disastrous circumstances; after all, this could be a terrorist attack. “This is a matter that needs to be dealt with swiftly, and we’ll all have to sacrifice as a people. There are plenty of imitation Eggo’s out there, now’s the time to act”, he ordered of the people with his snobbish East-coast liberal elitism. To which the general public replied: “You really are a muslim who wasn’t born here, aren’t you?”
The apocalypse is coming. Board ur windows and burn ur Apple products. You’ve been warned.
Steve Jobs and co. are ready to patent a new advertising technology which practically defines “intrusion” in both a technological and marketing sense. The new idea is to display advertising on nearly anything with a screen: “computers, phones, televisions, media players, game devices and other consumer electronics.” Apple’s calling it their “enforcement routine”, which makes users watch ads they don’t want to watch, unwarranted. Apparently it demands attention. Yes, it freezes your device until you either click it, answer a question, or simply demonstrate you’ve noticed the fucking thing. The tech would be embedded into the hard drive/CPU of the device, and ads would appear at any time they’re programmed to (and yes, one could easily program random times). So, obviously, it would only come on Apple products like iPods, Mac Notebooks, and Apple TVs (because you know they’re working on that too).
Microsoft lovers shouldn’t get too cozy either; the software giant is reportedly working on developing the same technology. Here’s the article. Found via Warren Ellis’ site.
For me personally, the announcement that Aesop Rockwas producing this album, this summer at the infamous Colorado venue Red Rocks, was a nice shot in the arm.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Ant. I think he’s brilliant (who else uses slide guitar in Hip-Hop). But after a brand new Alirecord this year produced entirely by him (which is a great record), as well as Lemonslast year and a whole slew of local work, I was ready for something different. Now, I guess us locals got that in some very atypical Hip-Hop releases this year from the Twin Cities: Eyedea & Abilities‘ “By The Throat” takes the boundaries of rap music and slices them to pieces with revolutionary turntablism and pseudo-singing, and POS‘ newest album is both melodic and heavy with both singing and screaming (I hear he’s up for some MTV awards?? Good for him). But bringing in a Def Jux dude like Aesop Rockto produce the new FELT record is simultaneously similar to the “Hip-Hop variation” previously mentioned, and something else entirely.
I’m not sure why, but I’ve always had a thing for the Def Jux sound. El-P, Cage, Mr. Lif, Rob Sonic, I love all those guys. My favorite set at this year’s Soundset festival was probably Dibbs and El-P (although, seeing DOOM was dream-like). And that particular sound is very much felt on FELT 3 (I couldn’t resist it, I’m an assbag, I know). Aesophas been making his own beats since he began. Since then, his music has refined itself to a sort of trance-y, industrial-hop that’s catchy and weird at the same time. 2007’s solid “None Shall Pass” had it, and so does this album. There’s a good balance of complexity/simplicity in his production; tracks might contain verse rhythms with very little to them, a few drum hits and some bass, but they’ll quickly evolve into a layered “wall of sound” (I wonder of Phil Spector will be fucked with in prison?) type production with melody and hook. It’s the type of thing that keeps one’s ears perky, that’s for sure. And, like I drove at earlier, it’s very refreshing to hear.
SLUGand MURSare good rappers, in general and on this album. That should come as no surprise to anyone even thinking of reading this. Murs not only seems to get better and better with time, he also seems to expand his reach more and more with time (what a combo, eh?). He’s a little bit snarky on this album, talking shit and taking names, but it works for him and he isn’t a dick about it. Murs is still a hard-working everyman’s type of MC who relishes in connecting to the listener (this is probably more obvious on “Murs For President“), and it still feels like he’s out to show the listener he’s there for them, and his skills as an MC.
Slug, on the other hand, feels like he’s to the point where he doesn’t feel like he needs to prove anything to anyone. This is both good and bad. Even on the latest Atmospheredisc, it felt like he was stepping backwards from irony splashed quick witted rhymes of his previous self. The good news is his lyrics are more mature, they’re immensely thought-out and carefully delivered. The bad news is they don’t seem as desperate (in a good way) as they once were. It’s like he’s turned from a young blue-collar type to a retired old writer of novels sharing his wisdom with the world. It’s interesting to listen to, and beautiful in a way, but not quite as much fun as it once was.
But the three indie rap icons come together well in the end. I really think the highlight is the production — and who knew Aesopcould scratch like that? — although there’s really no two rappers who didn’t come from the same crew with as good a chemistry as Slug and Mursdo. And that meet-up at Fifth Elementlooked awfully fun, too bad I missed it.
I haven’t spoken about Hip-Hop in a while. I could use it, put my mind onto something else, might be good for my psyche. Two of my most anticipated Hip-Hop albums of the year is a good place to start. I just threw in Felt 3, and I like to listen to an album straight through before saying anything about it (see, there IS a reason why I never talk shit about U2’s “No Line on the Horizon”). So I’ll start with one of my favorite new rapper’s debut LP…
I first heard of Walevia his “Mixtape About Nothing“. I thought he was skilled, quick witted, funny as hell, and borderline experimental (at least in our current state of “mainstream” Hip-Hop). I still do, but that isn’t necessarily who he is on his recently released debut studio album “Attention Deficit“. Wale seems himself, and some tranquilized version of himself at the same time. His wordplay is less funny, more serious throughout the album. I don’t blame him for that, it’s his debut album and he doesn’t want to be seen as just a mixtape hooligan putting an album out, but it sucks when your favorite part about him is his humor and wit. He’s still good, don’t get me wrong. His flow is there. And I guess his wordplay works in the context of the album.
When I read that David Sitek (of TV On The Radio) would be producing this record, I celebrated with party hats, blowers, and cake. Well, not really. But I was uber-excited about the whole thing. The mastermind behind on of my favorite new bands working for my favorite new rapper?? Why wouldn’t I eat cake? Unfortunately, this isn’t really the case. Sitek’s only produces TWO tracks on the entire disc. These tracks are probably my two favorites on the musical front. Which is why this was so disappointing for me. Sitek’s beats are not ABOVE the others, but they are the most ear-catching, unique, and perfectly layered. Sure,Green Lantern and Mark Ronson make their mark with a catchy (if not a little slow) song with a repetitive hook. Ronson’s first solo track is good too (with Bun’B). Best Kept Secret, Cool and Dre, Ronson, The Neptunes, none of them suck. And each makes a valid contribution to the disc, but when I listen to this album I always come back to the question: “Wouldn’t this be WAY better if it was a Sitek/Wale ONLY project?”
That’s the other problem, here. Wale’s got too good a chops to be featuring someone else on nearly every single track. When Raekwon(or an MC of that ilk) does it, it makes sense. But Wale’s always been a solo entity. He’s never with a crew in any of his photo ops, when he plays live it’s just him and his band, and his mixtapes (mixtapes are typically more guest-heavy than albums) feature only about 4 or 5 tracks with other artists. On Attention Deficit it’s the opposite, only 4 tracks feature him ONLY. That just ain’t right for him; again, it feels like he’s not being himself. He might need Lady Gaga to help him sell records, but he sure as shit doesn’t need her to be a better artist or make a better track (in fact, I think it’s almost limiting). Granted, this might not have been his choosing. The album was originally put out by Allido Records, but Interscope has some stock in it. I could see them putting pressure on a relatively unknown rapper like Wale to feature a lot of “guest appearances” as it helps with marketing and publicity. But I honestly would’ve liked to have heard more lone Wale.
The album’s worth checking out if a) you’re a fan of Wale to begin with (or Ronson or Best Kept Secret), b) you’re tired of boring rappers sounding the same but independent Hip-Hop’s too weird for you, or c) you’re curious about David Sitek beats. It’s not like it’s a waste. In fact, it’s a pretty decent first step towards a discography that will take us well into 2020. Yup, Wale will be around when we’re flying hover cars.
- There’s downtime between girlfriends for Liam Gallagher apparently; and by girlfriends I mean bands. It was only months ago when Oasiscame out publicly to call it quits. I remember, cause I was in Hawaii at the time (one of those little tidbits you’ll remember from a vacation, even though it had nothing to do with the vacation). Liam spoke to an Italian radio station late last week. Needless to say, he dropped some bombs:
The epitome of the “break-up” was when Noel grabbed one of Liam’s guitars, a gift from his wife, and smashed it in front of him. So Liam went and did the same to one of Noel’s babies.
Liam has already started a band with all the ex-Oasis members, he made it clear this wasn’t another “Oasis”.
He and this band will start gigging “in the next few months”.
No word yet on the band itself. What it’s called, how Oasis-esque it is, etc.
- The physical copy of The Road Original Soundtrack — Nick Cave & Warren Ellis — will be available weeks after the film’s release on January 12th. MP3s will be available on sites like iTunes on November 23rd however. I’d advise looking into it.
- I’m not sure how I feel about The Whodoing the Super Bowl Half-Time Show. I like the fact of going after the “legends”, especially after the Timberlake/Janet and Aerosmith/Spears/Nsync debacles. But I don’t think American football fans really give a shit about The Who. They’d probably get WAY better ratings with someone like Carrie Underwood/Taylor Swift. People who like 60’s music are aging. Does the committee who selects these bands realize they’re alienating a decent chunk of the under-50 crowd, a moderate chunk of the under-40 crowd, and a massive chunk of the under-24 crowd. I love The Who, they just don’t belong at an NFL event. Who will they select next year, Neil Young? Just kiddin’, he’d NEVER do it.
SUBTEXT is an art gallery & bookstore down in San Diego (“outskirts of downtown”) that showcases Pop, Urban, and Lowbrow art and hard to find books. From He Himself:
“Born in September 2006, Subtext took aim on San Diego’s under-served design market. After repeated trips to cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, partners Don Hollis and Dylan Jones wanted to bring some more eclectic sources of creative inspiration a little closer to home. With an inventory truly connected to all things design, Subtext aptly fills the void. As a one stop shop for design, art, architecture, photography and illustration, Subtext provides an environment dedicated to high design intended to nourish creative spirits for years to come.”
The best closing line to any episode of The Simpsons has got to be: “Tell him I’m going to the backseat of my car with the woman I love, and I won’t be back for 10 minutes!” This, astonishingly, was released in 1990, titled “Life On the Fast Lane“. 20 years ago. What happened since then? If I were to graph out my liking the Simpsons since it debuted back then to now, it would probably look like a plateau with steep ridges coming up from a valley, with hills to the East (fairly steep incline up to a fairly flat peak, fiarly sharp decline down to a low point, then up only a smudge). Wait, so my taste for the show resembles the Rohanian capital of Edoras? That’s just weird. I was probably the happiest n.e.r.d. EVER when word got out a two-part adaptation of The Hobbitwas being made and that Guillermo del Toro was directing in Peter Jackson’s stead. I might be stoned in the street for this… but honestly, the only bad thing about The Lord of the Rings film trilogy was the directing. The production design, the acting, the locales, the effects, almost everything about it was stellar BESIDES Jackson, yet he gets all the credit (I guess it was “his vision”). And I know, “yeah but Jackson won Best Director!” blah blah. It’s shit. Best Director is a joke. You wanna know you NEVER won Best Director? Oh, just Hitchcock, Altman, Fellini, Kubrick, Bergman, Lynch, Lumet, to only name a few. Seriously, Best Director means less than even the Nobel Peace Prize now-a-days. Might as well throw that award at the Simpsons’ writers for plotting The Simpsons Moviearound environmental disaster.
Behind a great wooden door – etched with the very history of the man in himself, in carvings so small a magnifying glass barely helps – a white bearded mystic absorbs the life from a stiffening filing clerk with a penchant for cheating. Cards, wives, work. The body lays neatly on a sanded slab of glowing blue stone. It’s cold, save the smoldering chest where an intricate symbol made of smoke rises up, hitting the old man’s face and dissipating upon impact. Minuscule threads of matter whirlpool below his hands, stretched to the brink with a silver ring on each finger above the torso. Nothing his study hasn’t seen before.
A crusted servant made of Earth dismembers and disposes of the cadavers when need be; he’ll drop the drained pieces down a chute leading to a stone chamber, buried underground holding a creature not from this Universe. A diseased man with machine parts for a face gave the creature to the mystic in exchange for a spell in a jar, it evolves at an accelerated pace. The study ceiling encloses four stories up. All the way to the top, the walls are covered with bookshelves. Filled with a barely mortal life’s worth of knowledge. Encyclopedias, records, maps, novels, texts, journals; walls stocked of history and tragedy. All sorts of globes spin slowly, orbiting around the room. He once said it resembled his “perfect solar system”, before he lost his vocal chords. Rows of chambers trace a curved walkway on the floor. They’re golden, complex locking mechanisms with a small oval window. Inside each window pieces of slippery flesh squirm for freedom. The mystic’s lidless black eyes wander up to a dull silver knife on a shelf as the study fades and time shifts.
He’s a young man. He grips a heap of long blurry hair with his left hand, slamming the thief’s head onto the market table. Right eye splits open, splinters of wood barb into the skin. People are shouting. The young mystic tears open the man’s shirt with the same knife, revealing the veins of his wet neck. “NO!”, a woman cries behind him. He pushes her backwards, mob hands grab her. The star of light gleams onto the steel. As he places the thief into a catatonic state, the woman breaks free and grabs him from behind. He instinctively shoves at her again without looking. The woman begins sobbing, barely audible through the angered crowd. At this, the young mystic turns, eyes fading to blackness. The woman collapses to the ground; it is his own mother, face soaked with tears. He drops the knife and falls to his knees with her. As an onlooker picks up the blade and slices the man’s throat open wide, he returns to the empty shell in front of him.
The body steadily starts to shake as the mystic drains out the last bits of self. Purify the wicked by draining them dry. Something’s wrong though. The shriveled corpse turns to fire, not stone, in the mystic’s vision. Blue flame hot. He reaches a thin hand up past his flowing white beard to his nose, it’s bleeding profusely. Ears too; Blood flowing out of each, down to his neck. He keels over before the flaming corpse, he singes his palm grasping at it. His obsidian eyes peer to the far wall, second shelf, a thick frayed book marked only with a symbol of circles large and small. He crawls towards it, struggling to retain consciousness. The blood from his face and neck drips onto the wood floor. SPLAT – as loud as a gunshot. Just short, the mystic falls forwards, smashing his face onto the bottom of the shelf. Motionless except spastic twitches.
The collision knocks several books down, pages flapping as they land on or near the decimated old man. The symbol of circles falls opened to page 638: …citizens of Univ.Y3 – E1 will not resemble their Univ.X2 – E1 counterparts physically or spiritually, they may… Across the room, closer to the door, a beautifully carved brass and marble washbasin stems up through the floorboards. It’s engraved with ancient writings in a continuous pattern around the outside. Filled with water that changes color based on a triangular clock attached to the edge. The water begins to bubble and steam wildly. From inside, a man dressed in red and white traces a pattern onto the water’s changing surface. He’s writing something, a message: “luferac eb … nepo altrop 1E-2X\\1E-3Y”. This, the mystic did not know.
Sometimes my mind sprints off into a very specific spot, like a dog finding his exact spot to shit on the lawn. It works I guess. I just never seem to completely nail a concept (or handful of concepts) on the button the way I imagined the day before. The last piece of fiction I put up here I’d been mulling over in my head for what felt like years. First it was “Ooo! Got it: a science fiction version of Heart of Darkness!”, mehhh. Then it morphed into “Okay, that works… but turn it into a memoir type satire from the guy responsible”. No. Horrible, miserable, awful garbage. I’m less than zero. I switched focus back and forth from so many different concepts, it felt like I was penning Spiderman 3 (what a pile that flick was; what up w/ Sandmanbeing the “real killer” of Uncle Ben? Lame). In the end, I think I got the point across; I hope anyways. The signature consumerism and corporate consumption of the West invading the East. The very notion of Capitalistic Communism. Internet censorship in the People’s Republic of China. Bailouts. Corporations the business world and nations themselves are so utterly dependent on, they’ll do anything to keep them afloat. Greed. Blah, blah blah blah. There are times though, times where I think the real essence of what I like to do peeks out, times where I rear back like Nolan Ryan and throw everything I got at the keys almost without thinking. Those are the times I like. And, according to the few chaps who have accepted my submissions, some others do too. So was the case yesterday, and spilling over into this morning. This as of unnamed piece isn’t doing or saying anything Earth shattering. It isn’t tackling politics or corruption. It isn’t tackling anything… of this world. Or real. This is my subconscious spilling out of me. Filthy green bile that smells bad and seems otherworldly. It is a part of me, I guess. Some small edits, a name, a package and a stamp, should be here tomorrow?? I’m just an asshole, man. Just an asshole…\
And here we all thought the “supergroup” thing was finished. I guess it isn’t. First Monsters of Folkin 2009 and now this: the rather likely, if not predicable, trio of Homme/Grohl/John Paul Jones. Predictability is as standard to Rock and Roll as first person shooters are to PC gaming. When AC/DCfinishes a song in a gigantic arena with a giant bell or inflatable chick in the vicinity, you know Angus Young is about run across that stage, jump up into the air with his SG, and land on the last A or E to end it, that’s just the way it is. For AC/DC fans, that doesn’t make it any less cool. So it goes with THEM CROOKED VULTURES. If you know anything about 1) Grohl and Homme’s pasts, specifically that Grohl drummed 2004’s awesome Songs For the Deaf, or 2) the musical stylings of latter-day QotSA, then you must have some idea of how this album will sound. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. More on that in a bit.
Homme, Grohl, and JPJ are about to peck your eyes out... with RAWK!
That’s not to take anything away from John Paul Jones, who does his best to put a different spin onto the off kilter Queens (notice the “s”) type tracks with a knack for disrupting rhythms and layered guitars. Although, it’s a little deflating that it seems John, as the senior member of the band, didn’t take a more aggressive lead in the sound and just opted to ride it out with what Grohl and Homme would be creating with any other bassist. Maybe JPJ came up with some of the riffs, I don’t know; but even if he did, he tweaked those riffs to fit the two younger members of the band, not the other way round. It’s kinda too bad, because John Paul Jones was the bridge to the land of Not-Another-QotSA-Type-Band land.
When you’re mates are Homme and Grohl though, just going with the flow isn’t so bad of a thing. Fans of Rock and Roll, the few who are left, KNOW what Grohl and Homme bring to the table, just as they themselves do as well. It’s kinda like going to a director you love — pick your poison here; Guy Ritchie’s a good example (minus Revolver; and no, I don’t love him) — and knowing exactly what you’re gonna get. First to last, that’s the thing with Them Crooked Vultures, predictability is their essence. In a good way. When I threw on my headphones and walked a mile or two to listen to this album straight through this morning, it was almost exactly like I thought it would be. I pictured it in my head, the tones, the riffs, the production, the instrument chemistry, even the levels, and it all came out about like I’d imagined. Combine this with the fact that what I imagined was a pretty damn cool Rock and Roll record, and the band’s got absolutely nothing to apologize for. For these three guys innovation is a train that left them early in their careers: Grohl w/ early Nirvana, Homme w/ Kyuss, and Jones w/ experimental Zeppelin. Now they’re in the business of straight Rock. And straight Rock hasn’t been innovative since 1953.
But I was never interested in this album for innovation’s sake. I was interested in it to hear a Songs For the Deaf-era QotSA-esque album with John Paul Jones on bass instead of Nick Oliveri. And that’s what I got.
- Mastodonis a heavy metal band from Atlanta who’s latest album taps into the Ruskie legendary mystic Ratsputin and his rebirth/reincarnation as an omnibus force of the Universe. Jonah Hexis a DC on-going comic book which tackles the American West/the American Civil War with eyes of cynical disdain stained blood-red. Unlikely mash-up? Perhaps. But I’ve just read that Mastodon will be creating an original soundtrack (OST) for the film adaptation of the comic starring Josh Brolin as Jonah Hex. Bassist Troy Sanders describes the new material for the film:
“Some of it was heavy, some of it was very moody, a lot of it was spacey. Melvins B-sides, Pink Floyd-like, surreal outer space, like Neil Young’s Dead Man. Swirling, nausea music.”
Yikes. Sounds like I’ll be buying another film adaptation’s soundtrack in addition to Nick Cave & Warren Ellis‘ The Road soundtrack. Too bad Megan Fox is in the movie (Hex, that is).
- One of the most badass responses to an honest business letter I’ve ever read. Wizard Entertainmentis a toy/comic/gaming magazine publisher, one which regularly holds conventions of said industries. Scott Kurtz writes a web-comic called PvP (Player vs. Player); this is a part of how he responded to the company asking him to appear at one of their events in 2010. Jeeezzus:
“Your conventions are total horseshit, so it’s wise to stop branding them with the name Wizard. But no amount of polishing is going to make me want to attended any of the 5 turds your company is going to crap out in 2010, especially when you schedule them against other shows in some bullshit dick measuring contests that serves no other purpose but to fracture an already dying industry that I have nostalgic ties to.”
- The OTHER Warren Ellis’s (the writer, the wacko, the futurist, the bearded one) cool-as-hell animated version of GI Joe — it’s called GI JOE: Resolute — is finally available on DVD. The whole thing debuted on the Internet at first, then [Adult Swim]showcased all the episodes back to back, as they were meant to be seen. This is the opening episode:
I saw the Coen’sA Serious Manjust hours ago and… well. I’m not quite sure what to say about it at this point. I think I’d probably need to give another viewing — or maybe several more viewings — to really formulate a true opinion on the movie. I know I LIKED it. I’m just not really sure how I feel about it, or maybe how to put that into words. This isn’t a jab at it either. No. In fact it’s the complete opposite. This film digs so very deeply — with a gigantic amount of subtlety, mind you — into the roots of spirituality and existentialism, it’s easy to feel a specific way about it, but it’s hard to vocalize or even know you’re own true thoughts about it. It was very inspiring to me personally (in terms of ideas and writing and concepts). Hopefully I’ll be coming back to the film on this site soon. Or at least, again at all.
It’s really amazing how many people hate the film. Well, maybe it isn’t. I honestly think a lot of people didn’t like No Country For Old Menas much as they claimed they did. Especially after seeing that in the theater and hearing the hordes of grumbles in reaction to the ending, even in an “intellectual” part of town. Over on IMDB right now there are several topics just spewing with hate on the boards. Interesting that a lot of people who liked the film are saying that the point of the movie is it has no point. I discussed this with Her on the way home, originally finding this to be true; but the more I think about the movie, the more I think otherwise. On the contrary, this movie is about a whole boatload of things which brings my mind back to Arthur’s notebook full of incomprehensible scribbles. A Serious Man is in fact so jammed full of “points”, it’s hard to pick one out to go with. It’s about consequences, God, modern suburbia, karma, infidelity, growing up, existence, mathematics, ALL OF IT. It’s simultaneously about everything and about nothing.
Wow, so I said I wasn’t going to talk about it, and now I’m talking about it. Jeez. I need some sleep.
I just discovered David Derrvia the Art Database and wow am I impressed. He says he’s all about “layers of imagery” leading to “creator and viewers creative thoughts are set free to explore unexpected paths”. He’s good. Here’s some of his work:
I watched Charlie Rose for the first time in a long time last night. I just love the “no frills”, as Comcast calls it, approach of the dude. Visit his website, it’s just as “no frills” as his television show is. Ironic that I had just posted, that very same day, my latest piece of flash-fiction involving the blooming Chinese economy. The second guest, on an economy based episode, was Harvard Professor Niall Ferguson. Ferguson specializes on the American/Chinese economic relationship, which he calls “Chimerica” (a relationship resembling a broken house-hold drowning in debt and the credit card company taking them on). His interview with Charlie proved a eye-widening wake up call even for me (I’m fairly pessimistic about America’s future as a super-power). Apparently at this rate, by a mere 2027 the Chinese economy will overtake the US economy; not in terms of GDP, just in plain old terms of “who’s got more cash?”. I believe he said the Chinese economy right now grows annually by about 10%, which is absolutely massive. Consider this: a depression-like US economy grew 3% this fiscal year, and we’re calling that a victory. In a more historical and political context though, what does that 2027 date mean exactly? Ferguson says there are two options for America, just as there were two options for post-War England:
Accept the Inevitable. Accept the fact that the Chinese is the next super-power, succumb to that fact, and make fast friends with them just as England did with America going into the 50’s.
Or, Resist and Make New Friends. The US could however, very easily considering the political environment and Chinese communism, become rivals with China and befriend neighboring emerging economies (India, the obvious example) just as England did with Germany.
It’s a dangerous time for heroics and nationalism. And if it isn’t yet, it will be in 20 years. THIS very concept (in addition to many other things like bail-outs and government censorship) is what drove me to write such a story involving a massive contract from the world’s largest corporation with a Totalitarian system, and what becomes of such BIG business. I know, I’m a shitty writer.
The PRC Modernization Project was to take upwards of six years to complete originally. With one of Earth’s largest corporate conglomerates, the Chinese government reached deep into its mainland with reflective silver technetronic fingers. Nothing could stop it. Even the remnants of Qing were all but lost. Department stores spread deeper inland. Western civilization’s own McDonald’s and Walmart laid waste to The Battle of Muye and Five Dynasties/Ten Kingdoms. The sacred Temple of Wuwei surrendered to an outdoor sprinkler system, private contractors from the coast for renovations, digital wall displays set to a Confucius quote loop, and several SmartSoft P-PATs (private personal access terminals). The idea wasn’t really to “modernize” China’s storied mainland, nor was it to make life easier or faster for the billion-some people carrying water on their backs up the cilffs of Dulan. No, the idea was control. With all of communist China’s people and places wired to one central hub, giant sized automatons beeping and buzzing in a protected vault in China’s Ministry of National Security, control became only natural.
“Give access to your citizens, that way at least you can control content,” pleaded then SmartSoft CEO Vince Lyons back in 2032 in a very private meeting with government officials. Children were given bootleg Cinderella DVDs and recycled copies of God of War in villages. Images from western media embedded into flash drives for PCD consumption sold and sold again. The Chinese government needed to muzzle its people into comfortable submission.
The Earth had become increasingly smaller since SmartSoft’s inception out of a single-car garage in Arkon, Ohio. Third and fourth world countries weren’t even immune. A mother posted a now infamous video of her son slain with a machete in Lubutu, Congo; the killers were all identified, but never caught or charged. A cartel from Guyana’s network manager and accountant was bought off by the International DEA; he relinquished all information and passwords for a fortune and a life in global witness protection. He was shot and killed in his Munich home, the program had been hacked and the contracts were flying off the shelves.
In the form of the PRC Modernization Project, globalized connectivity aimed next at the mountain towns of the far East. The contract made SmartSoft the most powerful corporation on Earth and the 8th richest entity in the world, nations and government bodies included. In addition to the hundreds of billions of dollars for implementation alone, SmartSoft demanded all of China switch over to their service for a predetermined number of years/amount of profit (whichever came first), effectively monopolizing the market of the largest and richest nation on the planet. It was win/win.
Until over 4 years into the project a seasoned SmartSoft employee of 16 years, the number 2 man on the 4th tier Board of Directors (team “Tethys”) refused to come back from a tiny village on the south end of the Tsaidam Basin. “What the hell am I looking at?”, asked Lyons. There floated a blob of infinite blue pulses, hundreds of tiny icons, and millions of IP addresses on a cubicle MDM with big wigs huddled around in office light. The shot was from space. One of SmartSoft’s many multi-purpose satellites picked up the radio-frequency identification tags immediately, but the watcher originally thought nothing of it. A simple glitch on the scope. He continued watching as it grew to metropolitan tag levels. Great Wall of China, RFIDs from the Tsaidam Basin, seen without zoom from 16 thousand miles outward. Polar orbit. The 1st Board of Directors, Lyons’ men, panicked. He immediately ordered the termination of that region’s network, to no avail. The corrupt agent placed a block onto the administrative options. He used a 18 character, mostly numbered, encrypted key which was changed by a hired hand every other hour.
The news quickly broke through the global media machine, the news networks were all but extinct, and pressure mounted on SmartSoft and Lyons to make a decision. With no other available options, SmartSoft was forced to pull the plug on the PRC feed to trinket number 2 man’s damage. Turns out he was logging in mass amounts of villagers to the SmartSoft corporate accounts — under tents, hidden from the eyes in space — via unsecured login names he’d create on an individual basis. A digital sweat shop of sorts. They were paid very poorly to skim money off the top, into an international account. Decimals at a time, everyday over and over again until the feed was sliced. Since his name wasn’t literally attached to any of the transactions, according to PRC laws he could not be charged. Unlike the massive amount of villagers, who almost all faced jail time at a Republic work camp. As for SmartSoft, owner of nearly 14% of the world? The deal threw them into chapter eleven, but global private industry simply could not afford such an entity to collapse, so they split the loan to prop the company back onto its feet. It was win/win.
Bram Gieben — Texture — is probably the closest thing I have to friend across the pond. He runs Weaponizer, but he’s also a musician, journalist, and a poet. In today’s episode of the FEED he takes digital distribution to the max with an examination of said means, specifically within the music industry, and the webtastic debut of he and his mates’ new online/digital record label Black Lantern Music. The goal of Black Lantern is to offer “DRM-free, high quality mp3s completely free of charge. As independent musicians, we are beholden to nobody – we make and release exactly the kinds of music we want to hear”. Sound like a waste of time? Hardly. Texture delves into the debate on his website, stating exactly what “free music” means in this increasingly changing world we live in:
“What it comes down to is this – by giving away what was traditionally thought of as the ‘core product,’ you can potentially reach a much larger audience, who are all grateful for getting a free album / EP / whatever. These people are then more likely to become ‘true fans’ who will come and see you at a show, or will perhaps buy the limited edition, custom designed items you sell in small numbers, but at a higher price.”
A band called Hoots and Hellmouth, from Philly,approaches music in a similarly charming way. Their MySpace page “About” exemplifies what is best about music, and what it means to people:
“The exchange of music is a bond, a way to build community, an environment in which to share an experience. Sing with us! Dance with us! Lay your weary burden down and get lifted for a spell. Let’s break away from the traditional roles of performer and audience.
We’d love to provide space with our music where anyone and everyone can come and feel free to just be…free to check your job titles, family roles and “demographic buying habits” info at the door. No demands, no pressure.
We’re not trying to sell you a product or influence you in any particular way. We’re not espousing any ideology other than that which builds community on a local level. All religions, no religions, political shades all across the spectrum (including the infrareds and ultraviolets)…we welcome you! We’re bringing what we know – music – to the party. What will you bring?“
They’re touring right now. I never knew anything about this band until I discovered I will (hopefully) be seeing them soon. I’ll admit, I wasn’t drawn to the bill for Hoots & Hellmouth however. No – it was that sly devil from Iowa William Whitmorewho caught my eye. Be sure to catch him before he heads to Europe. Most likely with Hoots & Hellmouth. As of now, cashed…
