there needs to be two bands. one called "Leather Tuscadero" and another called "Count Malachi". i don't care what kind of music they play...but preferably somewhere between Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Caroliner...only dressed like S&M Greaser Mimes.
i dunno...just a thought.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Breakfast-Farts vol. 6
NP: Thom Yorke - Black Swan
i have a ritual before practice/shows. sort of an anti-ritual, i suppose, since "ritual" is usually equated with some sort of action. what i do is more of a deprivation-exercise.
- Don't eat: if i eat, i get hiccups within the first few vocal lines and sound like a cunt-muscle. i drive myself to vomiting almost all the time (more so at shows since i move around at an increased rate than at practice, where i am for the most part stationary), and a full-stomach just makes it worse.
- Don't cum: i don't have the luxury of a Jake Lamotta "no-sex before fighting" rule, as i am currently (and perpetually) without a sexual partner. but, i do jerk off enough. while i find that jerking off eases some tension, it also can ease too much tension, thus i've got no pent-up energy, which has an adverse effect on both my vocals themselves and my performance (aka running around and falling on the floor).
- Don't relax: i'm a nervy, anxious person, and am always imagining the worst. why be so negative? i'm not a superstitious man, or a theologian, but it seems like when i trick my brain into imagining worst case scenarios, those situations never materialize, and it makes for a good night. it is when i become complacent and at ease that shit hits the fan from the front and the back.
when i adhere to these anti-rituals, it makes for a more feverish, cathartic, and stronger performance on my part. i have the (musically) least challenging responsibility in the band, so i should be at my best.
jesus, sometimes i really think the world of myself. like my bullshit makes any difference. no one talks to me after a performance, no one truly gives a shit. i'm just a clown yelling about who-gives-a-fuck.
gotta piss.
i have a ritual before practice/shows. sort of an anti-ritual, i suppose, since "ritual" is usually equated with some sort of action. what i do is more of a deprivation-exercise.
- Don't eat: if i eat, i get hiccups within the first few vocal lines and sound like a cunt-muscle. i drive myself to vomiting almost all the time (more so at shows since i move around at an increased rate than at practice, where i am for the most part stationary), and a full-stomach just makes it worse.
- Don't cum: i don't have the luxury of a Jake Lamotta "no-sex before fighting" rule, as i am currently (and perpetually) without a sexual partner. but, i do jerk off enough. while i find that jerking off eases some tension, it also can ease too much tension, thus i've got no pent-up energy, which has an adverse effect on both my vocals themselves and my performance (aka running around and falling on the floor).
- Don't relax: i'm a nervy, anxious person, and am always imagining the worst. why be so negative? i'm not a superstitious man, or a theologian, but it seems like when i trick my brain into imagining worst case scenarios, those situations never materialize, and it makes for a good night. it is when i become complacent and at ease that shit hits the fan from the front and the back.
when i adhere to these anti-rituals, it makes for a more feverish, cathartic, and stronger performance on my part. i have the (musically) least challenging responsibility in the band, so i should be at my best.
jesus, sometimes i really think the world of myself. like my bullshit makes any difference. no one talks to me after a performance, no one truly gives a shit. i'm just a clown yelling about who-gives-a-fuck.
gotta piss.
Friday, July 20, 2007
I Dunno, Just a Thought vol. 12
NP: Air - Playground Love
this is in lieu of smothering myself right now... or swallowing an inordinate amount of brightly colored meds.
i've got that heavy feeling again. you can feel tears well up and around your eyes, but that "fucking men" thing in your brain keeps them from dropping, from leaving thin salt traces down your face. so you put a sad-sounding song on repeat and hope the melodies will overtake the atmosphere and you'll float with the contentment of a soul whose host was restless and miserable for far to long.
i don't like to think that i ask for much...but asking for much may be the problem. i should expect nothing. fall into a jaded nonchalance and do nothing but work a boring job and have bad sex with bad people. forget writing and music and being creative cause it will never get you anywhere and the only real signs of maturity are in crippling banality and vague morals.
i'm writing, but i'm not feeling any better. if you are reading this...make me feel better. you win. i'm sick of being miserable. i'm sick of my "intense" personality. no one wants that anymore. it's never been a pose, but maybe i need a pose.
i dunno, just a thought.
this is in lieu of smothering myself right now... or swallowing an inordinate amount of brightly colored meds.
i've got that heavy feeling again. you can feel tears well up and around your eyes, but that "fucking men" thing in your brain keeps them from dropping, from leaving thin salt traces down your face. so you put a sad-sounding song on repeat and hope the melodies will overtake the atmosphere and you'll float with the contentment of a soul whose host was restless and miserable for far to long.
i don't like to think that i ask for much...but asking for much may be the problem. i should expect nothing. fall into a jaded nonchalance and do nothing but work a boring job and have bad sex with bad people. forget writing and music and being creative cause it will never get you anywhere and the only real signs of maturity are in crippling banality and vague morals.
i'm writing, but i'm not feeling any better. if you are reading this...make me feel better. you win. i'm sick of being miserable. i'm sick of my "intense" personality. no one wants that anymore. it's never been a pose, but maybe i need a pose.
i dunno, just a thought.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Despising Diety Via Optics
Eyehategod has meant a lot to us here in scrawlshop zine - even the aesthetics of the print version directly came out of listening to their CD's / vinyl drunk & stoned & doing collages inspired by the album sleeves... since the early 90's all of us, most of our readers and tons of other bands, zines and artists and writers have done a lot of partying, introspection all sorts of other things, with Eyehategod's music lyrics & artwork an inspiration and constant companion, black days or not. we promised to get the interview for #11 - we managed to track down vocalist Mike Williams in Louisiana for a cool interview (many thanks, man) on the Eyehategod lifestyle, from his own point of view. put on any of their records on your damaged stereos, and take a few double shots...
Ahh those shows went fantastic, we always get good crowds around Mardi Gras cos there’s a lot of out-of-towners here for the carnival spectacle. As far as crazy partying, just your normal everyday boozin’, smokin’, and pranks. When you live in New Orleans, it’s Mardi Gras 365 days a year. There’s always a reason (maybe ‘excuse’ is a better word!) to drink way too much.
what do you think of the many bands, artists and zines you've inspired, in different genres, when you see or hear their stuff?
I think it’s a beautiful thing to have inspired such ugliness! It is a really cool thing and I am proud as piss to be a part of their worlds. I appreciate the bands that go the musical route and use the slow and heavy riffing, but I especially love when they are influenced by the art and lyrics but not so much our sounds. One case in point is the band LickGoldenSky. They got their name from some of my lyrics and their own lyrical style is kinda similar to my own, pretty cryptic and done in a stream-of-consciousness fashion. Their music is great as well, totally original and sick, but not a trace of EHG blatant plagiarism. I love to hear everyday about artists, writers, and musicians who’ve been influenced by EHG. That, to me, is the reason that makes playing in this band all worthwhile.
have you checked out the EYEHATEGOD tribute that emetic is putting out? which bands would be your favorites and what do you think of brutal truth reuniting after they recorded your song sister fucker?
Yeah, of course. The “For the Sick” double LP is fucking brilliant. Chris Johnson (our tour manager) and Emetic Records did a great job .I like Bloody Panda, Byzantine, Brutal Truth, Unholy Three, If He Dies He Dies, Ozenza, Watch Them Die, Rue et al. I’m glad to see Brutal Truth back together. I sang on a Germs cover song “Media Blitz” with them a long while back, so having worked with them before, it’s great to hear them cover one of our songs. They do a top-notch job. Let’s hope they stay together this time. All great kids, those Brutal Truth fellas. The whole project is flattering to say the least, I never thought we’d have anything like this out. Y‘know I’d always see other band tributes and think what was the point ,but when its our music it’s a whole ‘nother feeling. I wanna thank all those groups personally someday for showing us the love..
they say albums are like documentations of a specific time or era in a bands career. what are your favorite ehg albums/releases and what was the atmosphere going on bandwise at the time you were recording them?
My favorite EHG records I’d pick as far as the experience I had during which they were recorded would be ALL of them. But every record we’ve done has been fun and is a fucked up snapshot of the band, warts and all. If I had to pick one over the other, it’d be “Take as Needed…” I was living on the streets of the French Quarter in an old ambulance that I’d bought for 500 bucks from one of my stripper ex-girlfriend’s parents at the time, drinking booze excessively. The other guys were engulfed in smoke, and I remember me & Jimmy getting in a disagreement ‘cos I needed beer money, but they wanted a couple of ounces of the green. I figured that we’d split it up evenly, even though I wanted some of both. This was 1993. We had run of the studio, which was in an old 18 story building downtown, on the 13th floor. Is that bad luck? I ain’t know.
in the "dopesick" and "take as needed for pain" days, eyehategod came up with some really sick and fucked up riffs and lyrics, can you say that drugs were helpful to the band creatively during that time?
Oh yeah, sure, drugs definitely influenced some of those lyrics one way or another, but I don’t know if I’d say that they were helpful, because no matter what they’ve inadvertently done for me creatively, they sooner or later can be a hindrance. On “Take as Needed” I’d say alcohol was more of a staple for me than drugs. Not to say that I didn’t smoke a little and partake in minor pharmaceuticals. Although during the “Dopesick” sessions, things were a total fucking mess. I believe anything and everything were ingested and I think it ultimately affected the final mix. In my opinion, I’d love to re-record that LP. Plus the bass playing on this one was pretty much not up to par either. Overall, it’s a good raw album, but the state of mind we were all in probably took a toll. EHG would sound like this I think, whether drugs were involved or not. At least I’d like to think so.
(left: destroying CBGB ; right: Eyehategod crowd action at a Zeppelin's show)
when you were in jail were you able to come up with any lyrics or musical ideas? some musicians say jail does kill creativity in some way, is this true on your part?
All I most definitely did was read and write constantly. The new stuff that I’ve written since Katrina and the first jail stint are not directly influenced by those events. In other words, if you read them you can figure out that I’ve probably been through some more shit. That’s life, but it’s not obvious in the writing. At least, not to me. It’s disturbing and messed up and strange either way (that’s life, again). I simply couldn’t stop thinking about what new bands I wanna start, or books to do, etc… but back to the lyrics, they’re different, but the same. Life can kill creativity, much less anything or everything else. It’s such a dichotomy, you’re either influenced or discouraged by daily events, good or bad. Jail is no place for anyone. Sleeping with one eye open ain’t fun.
New Orleans has been a direct influence on Eyehategod's music and lyrics, what is it about NOLA do you think heavily affects your work?
Man, New Orleans, to me, has been a source of motivation to no end. As far as why, I dunno, but the oppressive heat, the fucked government, the corrupt cops, as well as the super hospitable folks, the beautiful architecture, and the “free” atmosphere, have all contributed to all the NOLA bands sounds, each and every one different in their own original way.
can you tell us something about your other bands, OO, arson anthem + noise collaborations, etc.
Outlaw Order has the “Legalize Crime” 7” out on CD at the moment and is probably getting a new drummer as we also have a bunch of songs from before the hurricane that we wanna record and don’t want to just waste them The Arson Anthem band is an 80’s style punk metal band that I sing for with Hank Williams III on drums and Phil Anselmo on guitar and our friend Colin Yeo on bass. I just got the mastered LP and it’s going to be out soon. The new Down LP has been kinda priority with Philip at the moment, but I talked to Shelton and we (A.A) are going to do some shows once we all get time. I’ve done a bunch of noise/power electronics, most notably and recently with Chicago weirdos BloodyMinded. I’m also starting another band with my friend Louie who was in a local band , the Persuaders a while back.. He also does a one man band which is pretty fucked up. That group with him is gonna be all lo-fi punk shit. Tons of ideas , not enough hours in the days to get ‘em all put together.
(left: Preaching the end time message at Zeppelins; right: more Eyehategod crowd action at Zeppelin's)
i heard your 2nd book is already finished, when are you releasin' it?
Yeah, the 2nd book I’ve written is typed and ready. I just need a publisher, or money to do it myself. If anybody wants to help, write to me. I have some of my art in a magazine called “Timeless” from Italy that’ll be out soon. These type of things are what I want to do more of, especially writing. I do contributions to literary and rock journalism magazines as well. My first one, “Cancer as A Social Activity” is almost sold out and I’m hoping to get it picked up by a bigger company and doing the second printing.
which writers or artists do you think have made an impact on you and your work and why?
William Vollman, Jeff Vandermeer, John Fante, Charles Bukowski, Clive Barker, William S. Burroughs, JP Sartre, and that one guy who writes on the wall at the local barroom … As far as the “why?” ….why not?
do you still hang out or are in contact with ex members? how about the old vocalist?
Most of the guys, yeah. Jimmy talks to the old singer sometimes. I haven’t seen him since he came to see us in San Diego fucking years ago. I see Steve Dale, the first bassist; Danny Nick, an old bassist; Marc, another old bassist - I guess that they are all bassists that we’ve kicked out.
(big pimpin' at CBGB's pics by Ralphy Boy of Disassociate)
any comments on the current state of heavy music right now - do you still check out the newer bands?
Yeah, I try to keep up with the majority of ‘em. Bands like Wake Up On Fire, Witchcraft, 400 Blows, Coliseum, Inepsy, Severed Head of State, Hellshock ,Black Eye Riot, Alehammer…I’m listen to a lot of old records right now, punk and Oi and such, so I don’t keep up with the newer bands as much as I should. It’s overwhelming. I make lists of all the cool groups I read about and wanna hear, but there’s so much stuff to look for, that I just don’t have the time. When someone sends me a CD or demo though, I usually listen to it possible.
lastly i was reading a few old interviews and i've seen this band crazy band called fuckmouth (i hope i got the name right) supposedly a grindcore band, mentioned in some eyehategod articles can you tell us more about them?
Fuckmouth is a band that follows EHG occasionally on tour and in NOLA. They’ve been known to force their way into the clubs and on stage, only to assault my band members, resulting in violence and battery back, commandeering equipment and playing 2-3 second blast beats and grind songs, fighting audience members, then disappearing thru stage exits, and then, only after the smoke clears, calling our cell phones and inciting more drama, issuing threats ‘til the next “confrontation”…. Bastards…. I hate ‘em…. If they’re reading this: one day fuckers, one day… thanks rallye -- be cool, folks
----------WORD ASSOCIATION LIST---------
LSD---OPENS DOORS
DMT---NOT YET
HEROIN---SEXY
PILLS---ROBBERY
VINYL---BEAUTIFUL
WHISKEY---SMOOTH
ABSINTHE---HARD TO FIND
VODKA---LEMONS
SPEED---EXHAUSTING
ST. VITUS---FOREFATHERS
ANAL CUNT---COMA CORE
OPIATES---ALL CONSUMING
NIHILISM---NEWEST RELIGION
SLEEP---HOLY MOUNTAIN
SLEEP DEPRIVATION---HALLUCINATE
OM---AL’S BASS
JAPANESE NOISE---JOYFUL
ACID BATH---SHORT LIVED
HIP-HOP/RAP---SOMETIMES
EAST COAST---WU-TANG
WEST COAST---NWA
EUROPE---INCREDIBLY GREAT
ASIA---GREATLY INCREDIBLE
ZINES---BIBLES
EYEHATEGOD MYSPACE---NETWORK
CENTURY MEDIA---OWES MONEY
PHOBIA---GOOD KIDS
SLIPKNOT---NOT BAD
thanks!
***************************************************
click here for the Eyehategod through time lineup list.
http://myspace.com/eyehategod
http://myspace.com/outlaworder
http://southernnihilismfront.com
you can send correspondence, zines and stuff through: Mike Williams, PO Box 4362, Covington, LA, 70434 -4362 USA
images borrowed from myspace sites, ralphy boy's site and southernnihilismfront.com - thanks!
Friday, July 13, 2007
We Are the Sproket Holes vol. 2
Movies I've seen in the last 2 months and the ratings;
The Nomi Song - 8.5/10. Documentary on Klaus Nomi. lots of amazing performance footage. He really was one of the most uniquely talented individuals of all time. i liked that they spent most of the time on the music/performance aspect, and they kept the whole "he's a damn weirdo" and "he could fucking belt it out" pretty balanced.
Sleepaway Camp - 7.5/10. very dated and silly, but still a blast to watch. not nearly as gory/mean spirited as some of the slashers of the day, but makes up for that with one of the strangest plot twists (that Neil Jordan lifted for the Crying Game) and that final image of the protagonist with her jaw agape is still haunting.
The Departed - 7.5/10. extremely disappointing. it was great to see Nicholson in a role with some meat to it, but the huwhatatwist-fest at the end was smacking its own lips in the face of its stupidity and directionlessness. It wasn't terrible, but when you consider that this film gave Scorcesse his first Oscar win and NOT Raging Bull, it's just baffling to me.
Mr. Frost - 2/10. nonsensical "psychological thriller" starring Jeff Goldblum as the titular character, a serial killer who believes he is the devil. looks like a soap opera and stinks like one too. fucking atrocious.
Transformers - 7.5/10. already wrote the review. Megatron kicked some ass. Starscream needed more screen time...maybe they could've taken some away from that annoying Pseudo-Soundwave Gremlincon and given that to Starscream. hopefully the next one will have Starscream in all his insubordinate cunt glory...and Unicron would be an amazing visual as well.
Nightmare Detective - 9.5/10. brilliant film from Shinya Tsukamoto ( Tetsuo: the Iron Man). sort of an Existentialist's take on Nightmare on Elm Street.
the Notorious Bettie Page - 7/10. Gretchen Mol is gorgeous and lovable in this, but the rest of the cast just felt like props.
Thank You For Smoking - 7.5/10. Falls apart completely in the third act. otherwise it was a fun subversive film with an impeccable cast. Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, J.K. Simmons, Robert Duvall, Sam Elliot, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy and David Koechner were all pretty excellent. can't wait to see Eckhart play Harvey Dent in the Dark Knight.
Rubber's Lover - 7/10. fucked up Japanese cyber-punk nightmare film. some strong visuals and cool F/X sequences.
the Keeper - 5/10. Transient Exotic Dancer (Asia Argento) is held captive in the basement of frighteningly religious cop/children's puppet show host (yeah) Dennis Hopper. this is the movie that Black Snake Moan and Captivity ripped off, but those films i'm sure are a million times better than this piece of shit. two great talents completely wasted with a bonehead script and visionless cinematography that looks like a bland Sci-Fi channel original movie. the film makers rely too much on Argento's inate sexiness and Hopper inate insanity to properly create characters for them to work with (or for the audience to care about). but it was Asia and i could watch her in almost anything....almost.
Higher Learning - raped in the ass with a rat-feces-envenomed screwdriver/10. puerile exploitive humorless irony-deficient trash that can only be taken seriously by the most simple of "revolutionaries" and whiny white-guilt cunts. there are so many embarrassingly awful moments that how a film of this ineptitude was made/attracted a list of "name" actors, let alone granted a wide release by a major studio is beyond all reasonable comprehension. Tyra Banks screaming "WHYYYYYYY????" after she's been shot in howl so calculated it would make Nancy Kerigan blush, as well as the Legion-of-Doom-Level Super Villianly of the Aryan Brotherhoods, rank among those moments.
Vital - 9/10. yet another masterwork from Shinya Tsukamoto. one of the most heart breaking, beautiful films i have ever witnessed.
Mermaid in a Manhole - 8/10. a surprisingly touching piece of macabre from the infamous Guinea Pig series. a really twisted gore film mixed with fairy tale elements.
He Never Dies - 7.5/10. satire of suicide. another from the Guinea Pig series. funny little piece of mayhem.
The Untold Story - 10/10. hands down the most misanthropic, unapologetically brutal film ever made. must be seen to be believed.
Stuart Saves his Family - 6/10. Love the SNL bit. the movie? not so much. i did like that it was kind of dark and mean spirited, but i wish they would've taken it further.
the Devil and Daniel Johnston - 10/10. Hypnotic, Beautiful, Psychotic, Romantic, Unpretentious...everything Johnston's music has always been. a truly astounding piece of work. the music and the story an all the interviews and footage were eye opening. it may be the single most inspiring film i have ever seen. an incredible insight into a very complicated man.
Rocky Balboa - 6.5/10. i like the cold somberness of the first act. immediately looses steam when the fight talk starts up. the fight itself was weak, and had no drama or real conflict. Antagonist Mason "the Line" Dixon (nice to see Stallone hasn't lost his penchant for stupid-ass names) is the weakest of all Balboa's opponents. he has none of the Ali-Meets-Billy-Dee-Williams charismatic arrogance of Carl Weathers' Apollo Creed, nor the evil pro-wrestler attitude of Mr.T's Clubber Lang, nor is he the Icy Meta-Human that was Dolph Lundgren's Ivan Drago. Balboa may be a better film than the other sequels, but it suffers from lack of a real opposition, same way Rocky V suffered. at least the other ones were fun, chewing on their own melodrama, vomiting in a blender, hitting "liquefy", than injecting the solution into our veins. this film was just a bland character study capped off with an anti-climatic pseudo-symbolic fist-fight.
The Nomi Song - 8.5/10. Documentary on Klaus Nomi. lots of amazing performance footage. He really was one of the most uniquely talented individuals of all time. i liked that they spent most of the time on the music/performance aspect, and they kept the whole "he's a damn weirdo" and "he could fucking belt it out" pretty balanced.
Sleepaway Camp - 7.5/10. very dated and silly, but still a blast to watch. not nearly as gory/mean spirited as some of the slashers of the day, but makes up for that with one of the strangest plot twists (that Neil Jordan lifted for the Crying Game) and that final image of the protagonist with her jaw agape is still haunting.
The Departed - 7.5/10. extremely disappointing. it was great to see Nicholson in a role with some meat to it, but the huwhatatwist-fest at the end was smacking its own lips in the face of its stupidity and directionlessness. It wasn't terrible, but when you consider that this film gave Scorcesse his first Oscar win and NOT Raging Bull, it's just baffling to me.
Mr. Frost - 2/10. nonsensical "psychological thriller" starring Jeff Goldblum as the titular character, a serial killer who believes he is the devil. looks like a soap opera and stinks like one too. fucking atrocious.
Transformers - 7.5/10. already wrote the review. Megatron kicked some ass. Starscream needed more screen time...maybe they could've taken some away from that annoying Pseudo-Soundwave Gremlincon and given that to Starscream. hopefully the next one will have Starscream in all his insubordinate cunt glory...and Unicron would be an amazing visual as well.
Nightmare Detective - 9.5/10. brilliant film from Shinya Tsukamoto ( Tetsuo: the Iron Man). sort of an Existentialist's take on Nightmare on Elm Street.
the Notorious Bettie Page - 7/10. Gretchen Mol is gorgeous and lovable in this, but the rest of the cast just felt like props.
Thank You For Smoking - 7.5/10. Falls apart completely in the third act. otherwise it was a fun subversive film with an impeccable cast. Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, J.K. Simmons, Robert Duvall, Sam Elliot, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy and David Koechner were all pretty excellent. can't wait to see Eckhart play Harvey Dent in the Dark Knight.
Rubber's Lover - 7/10. fucked up Japanese cyber-punk nightmare film. some strong visuals and cool F/X sequences.
the Keeper - 5/10. Transient Exotic Dancer (Asia Argento) is held captive in the basement of frighteningly religious cop/children's puppet show host (yeah) Dennis Hopper. this is the movie that Black Snake Moan and Captivity ripped off, but those films i'm sure are a million times better than this piece of shit. two great talents completely wasted with a bonehead script and visionless cinematography that looks like a bland Sci-Fi channel original movie. the film makers rely too much on Argento's inate sexiness and Hopper inate insanity to properly create characters for them to work with (or for the audience to care about). but it was Asia and i could watch her in almost anything....almost.
Higher Learning - raped in the ass with a rat-feces-envenomed screwdriver/10. puerile exploitive humorless irony-deficient trash that can only be taken seriously by the most simple of "revolutionaries" and whiny white-guilt cunts. there are so many embarrassingly awful moments that how a film of this ineptitude was made/attracted a list of "name" actors, let alone granted a wide release by a major studio is beyond all reasonable comprehension. Tyra Banks screaming "WHYYYYYYY????" after she's been shot in howl so calculated it would make Nancy Kerigan blush, as well as the Legion-of-Doom-Level Super Villianly of the Aryan Brotherhoods, rank among those moments.
Vital - 9/10. yet another masterwork from Shinya Tsukamoto. one of the most heart breaking, beautiful films i have ever witnessed.
Mermaid in a Manhole - 8/10. a surprisingly touching piece of macabre from the infamous Guinea Pig series. a really twisted gore film mixed with fairy tale elements.
He Never Dies - 7.5/10. satire of suicide. another from the Guinea Pig series. funny little piece of mayhem.
The Untold Story - 10/10. hands down the most misanthropic, unapologetically brutal film ever made. must be seen to be believed.
Stuart Saves his Family - 6/10. Love the SNL bit. the movie? not so much. i did like that it was kind of dark and mean spirited, but i wish they would've taken it further.
the Devil and Daniel Johnston - 10/10. Hypnotic, Beautiful, Psychotic, Romantic, Unpretentious...everything Johnston's music has always been. a truly astounding piece of work. the music and the story an all the interviews and footage were eye opening. it may be the single most inspiring film i have ever seen. an incredible insight into a very complicated man.
Rocky Balboa - 6.5/10. i like the cold somberness of the first act. immediately looses steam when the fight talk starts up. the fight itself was weak, and had no drama or real conflict. Antagonist Mason "the Line" Dixon (nice to see Stallone hasn't lost his penchant for stupid-ass names) is the weakest of all Balboa's opponents. he has none of the Ali-Meets-Billy-Dee-Williams charismatic arrogance of Carl Weathers' Apollo Creed, nor the evil pro-wrestler attitude of Mr.T's Clubber Lang, nor is he the Icy Meta-Human that was Dolph Lundgren's Ivan Drago. Balboa may be a better film than the other sequels, but it suffers from lack of a real opposition, same way Rocky V suffered. at least the other ones were fun, chewing on their own melodrama, vomiting in a blender, hitting "liquefy", than injecting the solution into our veins. this film was just a bland character study capped off with an anti-climatic pseudo-symbolic fist-fight.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
I Dunno, Just a Thought vol. 11
the rules of "it's over" have never been properly outlined. psoriasis leaves its calcium-deposit equivalent in a white-scab...an accumulation of dried gel flakes sheathed over the bumps in my head. i don't feel like sleeping. i don't deserve it. i've done nothing to be deemed worthy of such a reward. i ate hot dogs, listened to industrial music, and screamed for twenty straight minutes. everyone else worked. everyone else earned a wage. i'll let them have my 8 hours. you're the only ones who speak the truth to me and you don't even know it. you've got obligations...people who depend on you...i've got Kathy Acker and Boredoms heading for my mailbox. i've got Isabella Soprano and Cytherea waiting up for me, eager to simulate a "good boy" grin before my spilled fuck. i've got Klaus Nomi at 6 am. Pam and Jim at 9 pm. than i can sleep 'till Monday.
I Dunno... Just a Thought.
I Dunno... Just a Thought.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Tired of Haulin' Oats! vol. 2
| |
| |||
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Imaginary Guest List
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Retributional Sodomy's Imaginary Guest List. This is where i talk to myself about my favorite things, in a vein attempt to salvage any sense of intellect or sanity or joy that i may have left.
Favorite Songs of the Past Year;
so far;
Oxbow - Down a Stair Backward
Pig Destroyer - Jupiter's Eye
Bjork - Earth Intruders
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Helpless Corpse Enactment
Favorite Older Songs at the Moment
Integrity - Lundgren/Crucifixion
Joanna Newsom - Emily
Depeche Mode - Walking in My Shoes
Fields of the Nephilim - Chord of Souls
Death Cab for Cutie - Tiny Vessels
Thoughts of Ionesco - Learning an Enemy
YDI - Violently Raped
Soft Cell - Say Hello Wave Goodbye
Favorite New Band
this is a tough call. so many "new" bands i hear turn out to have been around for quite sometime. i'll do my best and say it's a tie;
- Nadir : my band the Communion played w/ them back in April. some of the most savage fast grindcore i've heard in a long ass time. sort of like Discordance Axis when they were a little more Johou and a little less Jon Chang is a Pretentious Dingbat it's a shame to many "grinders" are preoccupied with riding a medicore wooden dildo than with actually checking out bands that play from the gut, but whatever. some people like pizza and some people are retarded.
- Portal : Best Death Metal band on the planet right now. twisted, demented, and DARK. the music of Immolation coupled with the bleak showmanship of Caroliner.
Favorite Song Ever
"November" by Tom Waits. everything i adore about that man is in this one perfect song. it's sad and gloomy and poetically isolating without sacrificing the whimsical circustry. the lyrics are above and beyond my favorite Waits words; "My Hair Slicked Back with Carrion Shellac" maybe one of my all-time favorite lines in any song.
Best Recent Concert
Made out of Babies/Rwake @ Club Midway. hanging out with Rwake frontman C.T. was fun times. one of the jolliest dudes i've ever encountered. awesome band as well. Made out of Babies broke my heart in as forgivable a fashion as the first girl i ever fell in love with. devastating, heavy, and no trace of the sillyness you would think a band of that nature would posses. they were just tragic and lovable.
Last Great Film I Saw
Shinya Tsukamoto's Nightmare Detective.
Last Great Book I Read
High Life by Matthew Stokoe
Favorite Piece of Musical Equipment
Piano. probably because i don't use it, nor am i surrounded by people who use it. but lately i have been picturing myself playing the piano.
Favorite Record Shop
Generation Records in Manhattan. I almost never walk out of there empty handed. The used section is a godsend and the staff is always really cool. they also have a gorgeous pair of cats that just chill in the store.
Best Purchase of the Past Year
Accused - Martha Splatterhead. great find at a reasonable price.
Best Thing I Did This Year
Hugged my future wife.
Favorite Venue
rapidly becoming Club Midway. a year ago i would've said ABC No Rio, but they're starting to run themselves into the ground, at least as far as my interest in their shows is concerned. it's turning into a vapid smell-your-own-fart collective of converted preachers and preached converts. but i digress...
Favorite TV Show
the Whitest Kids U' Know.
Favorite Songs of the Past Year;
so far;
Oxbow - Down a Stair Backward
Pig Destroyer - Jupiter's Eye
Bjork - Earth Intruders
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Helpless Corpse Enactment
Favorite Older Songs at the Moment
Integrity - Lundgren/Crucifixion
Joanna Newsom - Emily
Depeche Mode - Walking in My Shoes
Fields of the Nephilim - Chord of Souls
Death Cab for Cutie - Tiny Vessels
Thoughts of Ionesco - Learning an Enemy
YDI - Violently Raped
Soft Cell - Say Hello Wave Goodbye
Favorite New Band
this is a tough call. so many "new" bands i hear turn out to have been around for quite sometime. i'll do my best and say it's a tie;
- Nadir : my band the Communion played w/ them back in April. some of the most savage fast grindcore i've heard in a long ass time. sort of like Discordance Axis when they were a little more Johou and a little less Jon Chang is a Pretentious Dingbat it's a shame to many "grinders" are preoccupied with riding a medicore wooden dildo than with actually checking out bands that play from the gut, but whatever. some people like pizza and some people are retarded.
- Portal : Best Death Metal band on the planet right now. twisted, demented, and DARK. the music of Immolation coupled with the bleak showmanship of Caroliner.
Favorite Song Ever
"November" by Tom Waits. everything i adore about that man is in this one perfect song. it's sad and gloomy and poetically isolating without sacrificing the whimsical circustry. the lyrics are above and beyond my favorite Waits words; "My Hair Slicked Back with Carrion Shellac" maybe one of my all-time favorite lines in any song.
Best Recent Concert
Made out of Babies/Rwake @ Club Midway. hanging out with Rwake frontman C.T. was fun times. one of the jolliest dudes i've ever encountered. awesome band as well. Made out of Babies broke my heart in as forgivable a fashion as the first girl i ever fell in love with. devastating, heavy, and no trace of the sillyness you would think a band of that nature would posses. they were just tragic and lovable.
Last Great Film I Saw
Shinya Tsukamoto's Nightmare Detective.
Last Great Book I Read
High Life by Matthew Stokoe
Favorite Piece of Musical Equipment
Piano. probably because i don't use it, nor am i surrounded by people who use it. but lately i have been picturing myself playing the piano.
Favorite Record Shop
Generation Records in Manhattan. I almost never walk out of there empty handed. The used section is a godsend and the staff is always really cool. they also have a gorgeous pair of cats that just chill in the store.
Best Purchase of the Past Year
Accused - Martha Splatterhead. great find at a reasonable price.
Best Thing I Did This Year
Hugged my future wife.
Favorite Venue
rapidly becoming Club Midway. a year ago i would've said ABC No Rio, but they're starting to run themselves into the ground, at least as far as my interest in their shows is concerned. it's turning into a vapid smell-your-own-fart collective of converted preachers and preached converts. but i digress...
Favorite TV Show
the Whitest Kids U' Know.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
We are the Sprocket Holes vol.1
Transformers (2007)
directed by Michael Bay
Transformers is a scathing indictment of Western Civilization's priorities. The film suggests that our materialism-based values and near-fetishistic dependence on industrialized militaristic authority will be our downfall, that we will find ourselves at a point where our weapons, cars, and even toys will themselves fight to death for our affection and our fate, oblivious to the casualties that will be an inevitable result in their grandiose crossfire.
Transformers displays a left-leaning slant when presenting the audience with it's view of the U.S. Military Complex and American Police Forces, by making the Decepticons (the antagonists of the piece) either military vehicles (Blackout is a large helicopter, Starscream a fighter jet, etc) or, as in the case of the character of Barricade, a cop car. In the world of this film, Authority is not to be trusted. Authority seeks to devour and overthrow, lulling them into a false sense of security before letting them choke to death on the illusions to which they have conjointly abetted, though the humans are joined in the dillusion more out of an apparent, almost naive dependence on "security" than in the iron-fisted malevolence displayed by Decepticon leader Megatron (voice courtesy of Matrix villain Hugo Weaving) and his demonic squadron.
Transformers says that we are foolish to trust the Police and the Military, suggesting that all we can believe in are the objects of our wide-eyed hedonism; namely fancy cars. The protagonists are the Autobots, who morph into slick, modern automobiles (Jazz, voiced by Family Matters star Darius McCray, transforms into a Pontiac Solstice, for instance) that when coupled with an breathtaking angenieux like co-star Megan Fox, become the masturbatory incarnate of adolescent male fantasia. simply put; all we can ever really depend on in this life is our own imagination, that reality is a soul-crushing lie....a deception, if you will, and the only real truth lies in feverishly blending the nostalgia of a 6 year olds action-figure afternoons with the tumultuous satisfaction of a moody teenager's wet-dreams.
Transformers dares to assault the status quo, however secretly. it appears to be a harmless summer blockbuster; 1/2 car commercial 1/2 toy commercial, but much like the title characters, there truly is more than meets the eye. Under the plastic veneer there is a deeper theme; destruction is only exceptable as a way to preserve harmony. entropy is the only real order we as a society will ever have. without conflict, we cannot have resolution.
So despite some leftist leanings, by the end of the film all Transformers really has done is reinforce the status quo it assumes itself to be against. The film in the end is in favor of war and materialism. Transformers in fact salutes such things as triumphs of the human race. That the best is not in us, but represented by what we own and our willingness to sacrifice ourselves for people who hate us or ideas in which we don't believe. That in actuality...WE are the Robots in Disguise.
More Than Meets the Eye indeed.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
I Dunno, Just a Thought Vol. 10
NP: Radiohead - Airbag
ego bruises easily. the only true protection from the inevitable barbs of the world is to thicken skin.
consider yourself lucky that's the dawn of hardcore is over. you would've been stomped into a light brown mud puddle, rippling with even the most gentle gust of wind. they would hate you forever.
The Articles of Faith.
the Minor Threats.
the Black Flags.
the Voids.
even the Whipping Boys.
you'd be a lot more than crying. you would have no internet to hide behind...no cybertronian mask... disguised as a robot in disguise.
no message board irony.
no messenger bag futures.
no Williamsburg condescension.
just the feeling of weightlessness as your in even more over your head.
open your mouth and shut the fuck up.
i dunno.... just a thought.
ego bruises easily. the only true protection from the inevitable barbs of the world is to thicken skin.
consider yourself lucky that's the dawn of hardcore is over. you would've been stomped into a light brown mud puddle, rippling with even the most gentle gust of wind. they would hate you forever.
The Articles of Faith.
the Minor Threats.
the Black Flags.
the Voids.
even the Whipping Boys.
you'd be a lot more than crying. you would have no internet to hide behind...no cybertronian mask... disguised as a robot in disguise.
no message board irony.
no messenger bag futures.
no Williamsburg condescension.
just the feeling of weightlessness as your in even more over your head.
open your mouth and shut the fuck up.
i dunno.... just a thought.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
