Dick Clark

Rest in peace old man. For the man, himself, I hope he had a good life, and that his passing was easy for him and his family.

As a cultural force, however, he wasn't much to me. I got into radio more for Shadoe Stevens, Casey Kasem, and Rodney Bingenheimer. I think Don Cornelius, Dick Cavett, Steve Allen and Johnny Carson were better television hosts.

Dick Clark's persona, as the World's Oldest Teenager, diminished rock and roll, and our culture, as a result. I think he served as the face of the homogenization of American culture. So, no, I don't mourn Dick Clark. Again, I hope that life was good for the man, himself. I don't hate him. But I hope that something better replaces him in our culture.

Return of Da King

Well, not everything is music. I got the new Mark Leyner book, though I've not yet got a chance to read it. Who's Mark Leyner? Well, I discovered his high powered absurdist pop culture satire with his book "Et, Tu, Babe" back in the mid 1990's. Then I read some of his Esquire articles, and I even read "Why do men have nipples" which is the closest thing to non-fiction in his canon. So, I was happily surprised to hear he's got a new fiction out, called "The Sugar Frosted Nutsack". From the sounds of things, this time it's pop religion, reality TV and procedurals that gets his blown out hyperbolic satire. It should be good. I realize, I'm basically a hack journalist who's not even bothering to edit on this blog, but I swear, I've got decent taste in writers, and actually know that Leyner is, in certain technical aspects, a better Satirist than our esteemed Dr Hunter S Thompson.

So, give it a look-see, huh?

Coachella day 3

Well, I couldn't watch very much- had work early this morning, so I couldn't stay up to see HoloPac, but I did see Wild Flag and The Hives. Wild Flag were decent. Honestly, I was a bit let down. I mean, Carrie had some fierce guitar pyrotechnics, but a fair number of the songs reminded me of church when I was a kid. In church, you've got a bunch of older folks who maybe were never great singers, but they certainly aren't any good, now. You've also got a few good singers, and they try to guide the rest of the flock, but it usually works against them. Every time Wild Flag tried to get it together, it just seemed to highlight the flat notes, and missed cues. When they just jammed for a bit, all was forgiven, and I couldn't hate 'em if I tried, but it really wasn't the best set I've ever seen.

The Hives, though, still brought the goods. They brought the fire. Between Pelle's patented stage banter, and the high energy precision garage punk, they managed to ignite the crowd. I don't think I saw the crowd more animated during the rest of what I saw of the festival. Watch the performance of "Tick Tick Boom" and tell me I'm wrong. Rock ain't dead- between The Hives and The Refused, it just has been hiding in Sweden...

Coachella Day 2

Well, I've got to go to work tomorrow, very early, so I don't think I'll be watching much more, but I saw Buzzcocks , We Were Promised Jetpacks, Kaiser Chiefs, Noel Gallaghers High Flying Birds, and Kasabian. There were others I wanted to see, but that's still a pretty killer line-up. Because of the set up, I couldn't exactly "channel surf" quite like I otherwise would have- we had the laptop set up with powered external speakers on the bed so the Wife and I could watch in pyjamas (ahem), so not everything was my choice, which was absolutely fine. In my opinion,then, Buzzcocks and Kasabian killed it. Wow! Proper respect must also be given to Ricky Wilson of Kaiser Chiefs- the man can work a festival crowd like few others can, and really takes advantage of anything around.

But Buzzcocks managed to put on a real punk rock show, amidst all the luxury and pop perfection, and that was really stellar! Likewise, Kasabian brought their yobbish hip hop inflected Brit Pop with so much attitude, it was also like a punk rock show.

Now, had it just been me, I probably would've gone with a slightly different list of bands to watch, but I actually prefer that it was a bit more for my wife than me- it made it just a bit more like a real concert experience, and simultaneously more surreal, as, I'd never go to a show in my bedroom....

If I can, I'll watch Wild Flag, this evening, but other than that, my little taste of Coachella, here in Brunswick is over. I sincerely hope that other festivals do the live streaming thing as well, because most times, I have to go to concerts and shows with my son, or alone, as my wife has some health concerns that make it more difficult for her to go. Hey, and to be fair, I'm getting older as well- I can't spend 3 hours in the Pit like I used to, and even if I could, it's a lot of bother and awkwardness just to be "that crazy old guy- what's he doing here?" On top of that, how does this math grab you- cost ( in USD, for two) to go to Coachella-

tickets 500-600

plane fare 600-800

Hotels, taxis, etc- 200-300

lost work time- 400-500

Total:1700-2200

And cost for this:

Internet connection, so 0-5, depending upon how you calculate- my Internet connection costs me roughly 70 a month, so two days worth is 4.5 dollars, but I would've been paying for that anyway- hence, the cost was either nothing, or a few dollars. I honestly would have paid more- so for any promoters who may be reading- there's another revenue stream for you- I, personally, would have paid a few more dollars- nothing crazy mind you, but a few more- say up to 20 dollars a day.

Anyway, I have to go, my suburban life is calling....

Coachella So Far

Didn't watch as much as I could have, and the feed doesn't play all the artists performing, but I saw Madness, Pulp, Mazzy Star, the Black Keys, and The Refused. Staqndout, by far, was the Refused. By far. But Pulp was very meta- and very snarky, so I liked that, Madness were very good as well. Mazzy Star was uninspiring, and The Black Keys literally put me to sleep. I realize watching a live stream on Youtube isn't nearly as cool as being there, and the impression is probably very different if you're there- but even judging from audience reaction, The Refused owned the night. As well they should. I will try to watch the Buzzcocks and Kasabian tonight, but I've got plans, so we'll see....

Currently watching Coachella

you can too: http://www.youtube.com/coachella

For once, I agree with Axl

Mark your calendars- I actually agree with W Axl Rose. This may be a first and a last time....

Relapse

There is more to life than Killing Joke, of course. There are bands who are influenced by Killing Joke.

So, yes, I got the new Ministry CD- Relapse. Here's the quick Backstory- Al is impossible to work with. I know it from first-hand experience. He's a psycho, and a drug fiend. He may or may not be clean, right now, but there you go- with or without drugs in his system, he's a psycho junkie. He's also a fairly intelligent musical visionary, with no edit button. That's incredibly valuable, and frustrating as well. Because you'll get rare moments of transcendence and power, majesty, and yes, beauty. You'll also get meaningless rants, and pointless torture for nothing. You also never know when he's lying, or honest, joking or serious. The really frustrating part is that none of this is a dichotomy all of it is part and parcel of the same thing. Well, it even takes a toll on the man himself. He nearly died from a bleeding/ruptured (take your pick) ulcer. I happen to know what that's like, and I know what causes it- abusing yourself in an extreme manner. Basically, you've got to ignore painful symptoms for years, and continue down what's clearly an unhealthy path. Pretty good metaphor for Al's life, and career, yeah?

But, what about the music? It's the thrashy electro metal we've come to expect. Al rants on top of it, in a heavily processed voice. If that sounds typical, that's because of how many people rip off Al's sound. Since Ministry now is Al, Mike Scaccia, Tommy Victor, Tony Campos, and guests, it's got a lot more guitar solos. But, fortunately, Victor brings his Prong-ish Killing Joke worship, and Campos is a more rooted (pun intentional) bass player, so it's less straight Thrash as the Bush trilogy was- there's some space between the blast beats, a lot less claustrophobia in the mix, and the result is a much more listenable release than Al has done in awhile. The fact that he's not afraid of some self-parody also opens it up a lot. You get less of a 'late night cable access psychotic rant" feel off it, a more (un)fair, and (un)balanced ride.

I actually like Al's spoken bits, because he's much more clearly playing a character, and it suits.

I know the purists, and the metal heads will not like it. It's not as "intense", but more fun. A couple of bits are almost dance-y. To use a Metal metaphor, it's more like Megadeth than Deicide, and that's a good thing.

Really, your best bet is to listen to each track, and download what works for you, unless you're crazy like me, then, you'll want the CD.

Killing Joke MMXII

I'm a gatherer. I am a fan of everything Killing Joke does. Maybe not unquestioningly so, maybe not equally a fan of everything, but I really do see the value in everything they do. Furthermore, I agree with the basic mindset the band espouses- we, in humanity, are on the brink. We might pull out of the death spiral we're in, we might not, but that might not be the most important thing. What might be the most important thing is that life continues. I believe in things seen and unseen. I have a spiritual side. I am half-godly and half beastly.

So,naturally I want to hear out the new record by Killing Joke. I know that the music will be awe-inspiring, because it always is. Musically, it's much more keyboard driven than the past few Killing Joke releases but retains the straightfoward guitar-riff based structure that Killing Joke has had since the Pandaemonium record. The harmonies are close, and modal- giving that "middle eastern" flair. The overall sound is perhaps less jagged, more of a midrange chug. Which means I really like it, but it's not the worldchanging tribal grind that I know Killing Joke can do. I think it's partially suffering from an odd choice in production- the mix brings up Jaz's "atmospheric" keyboards usually a bit higher than Geordie's guitar, and compresses the high end off the bass- meanwhile, Jaz is getting older, so I understand why they're adding a lot of extra processing to his voice- he always has a fair amount of echo, and doubles his vocals with pitches from the song- usually, again, those keyboards- but there's a lot more on this one. The problem with all this is that it gets more than a bit mushy. I'd really like to hear an unmastered mix, because the songs, themselves, are the Killing Joke I pay good money to import and I know that minus some of the production choices, the songs would be more what I expect.

The Lyrics are thought-provoking as always, and I know that while I'm open-minded, I'll disagree with about half of what Jaz believes. But, I have to get this out of the way- the Mayan Calendar stuff is completely laughable. It's an Apocalypse that deserves the Michael Bay styled CGI fest of a movie that it got. Seriously, the Y2K bug was more believable . However, Jaz, as always has his finger on a pulse- ably converting occult subjects such as Geomancy, The basic injustice of our Shock capitalism, Ecstatic trance states, Biotechnology, the Food Court, Solar Storms, and memorials into not only a coherent and compelling narrative, but sometimes into poetry. I cannot fully explain, but it boils down to this- you're either on the side of the Planet, or you're not, and it's surprising how many are not.

I cannot sum up the record, because I'm a gatherer. I treat Killing Joke records like they're Sacred. But I can describe the record a bit- it's less "Extremities" more "Brighter than a Thousand Suns", but of a piece with "Absolute Dissent". Play it very loud and decide for yourself, but know this- your favorite band probably likes Killing Joke almost as much as me, and there's a reason for that.

Sure to jack up my stats-hunger games

(And by Jack up, I mean both cause them to rise, and cause a big mess) So, I saw the Hunger Games. It was good. I don't have any desire to read the books, and I might watch the sequels or I might not. As product, wow! the production values were right up there. Also, it was great to see Asheville, NC. It's a good town, up there with Tucson, Portland, Flagstaff, and Sacramento. Not to mention, Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, and Josh Hutcherson were really quite good.

The film was seamless, and the direction flowed seamlessly.

The story was a bit rote, and I could see where it was put together; for example, you never see Katniss ( our Heroine) get her hands bloody, so the kids watching will still identify with her. Likewise, I think there were enough vague symbols that you could interpret the theme in a variety of ways. The KOS has my favorite interpretation. And it's not exactly a ground-breaker. My favorite version of the Deadliest game, as filtered through our oversaturated media-fixated times would be Series 7: the Contenders ( Girls VS Boys on the soundtrack!)

But overall, it's a big damn improvement over the Twilight Franchise, so let's be thankful for that.