Away

For the holidays. Don't let the Xmas goblins getcha!

5th Dimension

Been doing some research for a potential drum machine purchase. There's a freaking TON of gear out there, but so far, it's looking like the Alesis HR16 is a good option for harder sounds (Godflesh used it, so really, what else do you need to know?) Or maybe the Roland TR 707, which is somewhere between the Alesis and the super analog-sounding ones, which require a whole lotta money. Best of all would be an Akai MCP 1000, which is actually a drum machine sampler, so you could rock any of the classic machines using just this one little guy.

Crazy thing is, that's just the tip of the iceberg. All these analog instruments contain an alternate universe of bastard sounds if you know how to unleash them, like Reed Ghazala, the kook considered the father of "circuit bending," accidentally discovered over 40 years ago. Here is a cool primer on this shadowy and mystical phenomenon, followed by some choice words from Mike Patton.

I Put a Spell on You

70s psych from Zambia that makes J. Mascis and co. look like a bunch of honky chumps.

While I'm at it, check out this here documentary on real-life Haitian voodoo and zombie potions. This is some evil shit.

Lemmy goes to the mall

Rockin Til Midnight

From the state that brought you such international sensations as John Waters, Good Charlotte, David Hasselhoff, Edgar Allen Poe, and the legendary Kixx, now comes the sequel to everyone's favorite white trash parade: Heavy... Metal... PICNIC!

According to the Youtube comments Pentagram and the Obsessed played that weekend. No evidence of Pentagram as of yet, but don't miss a glimpse of the Obsessed at :44!

Wild Combination

Watched the Arthur Russell documentary this weekend. Dazzling stuff, especially the performance footage and his partner's memories of their life together, which was incredibly tender and moving.

Here's a video my sis made for an annual Arthur Russell tribute party in NY (I believe this is one of the few songs he was remembered for until a couple albums worth of material surfaced in the early 2000s) and a great article from Yeti magazine about the unprecedented cross-pollination of music and art in the downtown New York scene of the 70s and 80s.

Random Thoughts

1) Forgive me. I've been collecting alot of quotes lately, something I've always thought was a little hokey (anyone who's ever received an email with a Ghandi quote at the end knows exactly what I mean). But for some reason I find myself wanting to hold on to the funny, poignant, or just downright outrageous ones, so expect some of those to be archived here.

Life is like Sanskrit read to a pony.

-Lou Reed

2) Know that feeling when you realize that a band you like, or you think you might like, is responsible for a song you HATE? Case in point (and this isn't that strong an example): I'm seeing Primal Scream, thinking "man, this is so great" and then they go into "Get Your Rocks Off," from that one record I really want but can never bring myself to pay for, and all the corporate alterna-rockers in the crowd start dancing and singing along. No, this isn't quite HATE, but it certainly taints the experience. Anyways, something like that happened this morning while listening to my new Big Pink LP, when on comes "Dominoes," a song so atrocious on so many levels, that they just can't be forgiven. Of course, these are always the ones that get stuck in your head all day, taunting you like a motherfucker.

To wipe the pain away, here's the best song from that Primal Scream album. I won't even dignify the Big Pink with a good song of theirs, I'm so bitter.



3) Saw Burial last night, a German band playing "Burning Spirits" style Japcore ala Death Side, Tetsu Arrei, etc. Not bad, but I couldn't stop thinking about the absurdity of Germans playing a uniquely Japanese brand of music, which then got me thinking about the even weirder combo of Japanese bands playing black American R&B, like Blues Creation's "Mississippi Mountain Blues," or to a lesser degree, Stackwaddy (who are English) singing "I'm going to Kentucky... oh yeah... I'm going to Kentucky." Ridiculous, I tell you. RIDICULOUS. Anyways, this is an amusing video in that vein.