A quick note of disappointment

I just want to express my disappointment with Amazon/Itunes' "Audible" system. Quite frankly, it was a failure on all fronts for me. The interface, and downloading instructions were difficult, if not impossible. The software didn't work and was incompatible with my Itunes software, and if not for precautionary software I already had, uninstalling would've been a real bitch, too. All I can say is that I don't support piracy, but it would've been easier, quicker, and better to just find a torrent of Samuel Jackson reading "Go the F*ck to sleep", so until the legal software can catch up to the illegal, I really can't say that I blame others for pirating. The only reason why I don't pirate is because I worked for so many years in the entertainment system, that it feels wrong to me to not pay the "cover charge". Seriously, that's it. The legal system is full of jackasses (Hello, RIAA!) and the software they peddle is lousy (Hello everything from DRM-infected downloads to Audible, to even Adobe) and most pirates seem like good people to me, but I cannot make the leap because of my personal history.

Metal Rulez!

I keep on saying that I'm not a metal head, yet I keep on writing about the metal bands I'm listening to. I can understand how that might seem like the kind of pretentious denial that indie hipsters have been practising since the media discovery of youth subculture. You know the "don't label me" tripe?
The issue, there, though is that I don't care if you label me. You want to say I'm a Metalhead, Punk, poseur, Indie hipster, aging grunge head, whatever, I don't care. It's your call, because it won't affect me.
The reason why I wouldn't label myself as any of the above is because my aesthetics don't conform to the rules of the genres. I don't care about virtuoso musicianship- I see that as a trap. I don't think loudness or distortion prove much of anything- they're just tools to get across feelings and thoughts. I don't care about tempo because I'm not much of a dancer. I could care less about which clothes the musicians wear, and I don't care what instruments they play either. I'm not one for "authenticity" in the music- by the time I get to hear it, it's in the world of commerce anyway, so quite frankly, authenticity, "being real", and so forth are already compromised. I don't believe that a song, in and of itself, does anything- it's what people do in reaction to it that counts. So, when I say I'm no metalhead, no goth, or no punk, it's not me trying to put myself above it- I'm warning any potential readers that my tastes are bound to disappoint you, if you are one of these.
I can give you two examples from this morning.
I've been listening to the new Pain cd- "You only Live Twice", and the last Surfact Cd "Euphoria". So, Pain, as you may or may not know, was Peter Tagtgren's side project from Hypocrisy, his thrash/death metal band. I say "was" because the sales and longevity of Pain are starting to eclipse Hypocrisy's. So, "real" Metalheads are prone to hating Pain, because it's taking Peter bit by bit away from "true metal' and more into experimental dance pop. Certainly, there's tons of industrial metal on even this new record, and it's probably heavier than several of the prior Pain records, but the parts that are bringing in a bigger audience and that I like about Pain, and not Hypocrisy is the reliance upon Pop songcraft- there are hooks, choruses, and relatively straight forward dance beats. There are harmonies, and moments of reflection, not constant intensity. This isn't a top 40 Pop confection, to be sure, but still, as compared to Hypocrisy, it's ABBA. Now, I really am a big fan of Pain (the band, silly) because I'm not a big fan of Pain (the physical sensation, dummy)- and that's what the "real" metalheads seem to be missing. They like everything to be intense. The terms they'll use from "shredding" to "brutal" all convey the intensity adequately- they like pain. I don't. So, I'll listen to Pain, all day long before I'll listen to Hypocrisy. Some intensity, some moments of extremity are valuable as shade to the light, but I don't want everything to be about that. I like some sunshine with my rain.
Which brings me to Surfact. Now, if you're not in Denmark, there's a good chance you won't know who I mean. They're a Danish rock band that sound, for all the world, to me, like Filter, but with much better production. We're talking American Pop Princess levels of production. The kind of studio glitz that makes everything into a kind of midrange hum and drone. You know that very comfortable buzz that makes stuff on the radio pleasant enough to hear that you don't change the channel, but you cannot remember a single note? That kind of production. So, why listen to Surfact, and why not just listen to Britney Spears? Because it's still rock, underneath all that shiny glitz. It's like diamonds- where it's very, very pretty, but sharp enough to cut through glass. The edge that it has isn't about hurting or cutting, though. It's more about urgency and plaintiveness. That kind of vulnerability, that kind of humanity inside the glitz is far more intriguing to me than either the raw honesty or cool glamour that most pop music serves up. Surfact sound like teenagers given shiny new sportscars by Daddy. I can understand how some folks would hate them, but I feel for them, a bit, having been given things they don't really seem to grasp. I'm willing to bet, they thought they were gonna be an Ozzfest styled band, and had no idea that they were being made into Linkin Park's poppier cousins. Enjoying that runs a bit counter to the punk and metal stylebook, don't you think?
So, If you want to think I'm any kind of purist do so at your own peril....

The Goldilocks mean

Yeah, I bet that if you've heard of "The Golden Mean", that's about all the deeper you've gone into it. That's fair enough. I'm not going to get all didactic on you, and try to teach you that it's not quite a 1:1 ratio. Instead, I'll use the common misconception to talk about sludge metal.
See, most folks see it more or less like the Goldilocks story- this porridge is too hot, this is too cold, but this final bowl of gruel is just right. The problem is that folks miss the subjectivity. What's too hot to one is too cold to another. So, there's no one good balance, right?
Well, it becomes easier if you see it more or less as a range, as most people will grudgingly concede. But, I'm not most people. Rather that put it into a nice blurry sludge like that, I'd prefer to see it as competing spikes. The low end around the edges would be the extremes that you don't like, and the peak of the spike is what you like, exactly. You have your spikes, for your tastes, and I've got my spikes for mine. With me so far? Then, you'll surely follow me through to understand that just like spiked belts, the continuity is established when your spikes and mine are roughly the same, but if they're not, you end up with one of those horrible mismatched wierd-ass pseudo metal belts that the disco dollies wore a few years back to try to look like "rock chicks". What I'm getting at, to return to Goldilocks, is that you have to start with the same kind of gruel for the comparison to mean anything- if your starting point is very different from mine, it's meaningless to have us on the same scale, or the same range. It only works if we're the same kind of spikes, geddit? So, that's what we're gonna call the "goldilocks mean".
So, If you agree with me that sludge metal is, in essence, a mix between retro-70's elements (from prog/metal types like Blue Cheer, Deep purple, Uriah Heep, and most especially Black Sabbath) and Thrash (from more metallic types like Discharge, Tragedy, Cro Mags, DRI, COC and so on) with an over-arching post punk aesthetic ( either Goth or hardcore, but never New Wave) then, let's talk about what makes the mix "right".
See, a lot of bands go way overboard on the retro end of things. From Fu Manchu, to Lo Pan, a lot are basically 1970's boogies with a few bellows thrown in. I'm not really into that, thanks. Now, I love some stuff that dips pretty heavily into that end of the muck- but usually, that's the exception, not the rule- so this would be the lower, flatter end of the spike ( Even if I do like some Clutch, and the aforementioned Lo Pan's "Salvador" is a new one worth giving a listen).
Still other bands try way too hard to be hard. Everyone from Eyehategod to Black Tusk gets a bit too screamy and belligerent. Dudes, I have news for you- it's only music. You're not firing guns, you're not physically threatened, you're playing in a rock band. It can look pretty damn silly. So, again, we're near the belt, not the sky.
Such extremes are obvious. What gets harder to define is the peak of the spike. I would submit it's bands like Torche, Kylesa, the newly revitalised Red Fang, and now, Coliseum. I had written them off as a sublevel thrash band, so I've only recently heard last year's "House with a Curse". I actually picked it up because I heard it dissed so hard by former fans of the band. When I see some 19 year old jaded hipster hardcore type in tattoos and skinny jeans say a band "used to be good, but now they're all mainstream" I get a bit interested. When I hear a clip like Blind in One Eye I get far more intrigued. Now, this is "Coliseum" mind you, not "Colosseum" who do doomy- sludge completely not my style. And tell me that this track doesn't win you over. If not, you may like the other Colosseum. And you're on another spike. But, for me, that's the Goldilocks mean.

The Goth King Sings

Peter Murphy just released his ninth solo album, appropriately, if simply, called "Ninth".
So, let's get the obvious out of the way: was I a big fan of Bauhaus? Yes, I was. However, I'm not enough of any kind of purist to consider myself a goth, or an ex goth, or whatever. I never wore all black, never wore makeup, didn't like a ton of "Goth" mainstays, like Alien Sex Fiend, The Mission, and latter day Christian Death. I got into some bands that got called "goth" like Joy Division, Killing Joke, Bauhaus, and Kommunity FK not for some kind of creepy death obsession of bad poetry. I thought they were all pretty good post punk, that's all. I don't see a huge difference, musically, between Bauhaus and "Sandanista" era Clash. Sure, they like minor keys, but so did Japan at the time, and who calls them Goth?
So, I didn't buy this for goth nostalgia. Also, the last Peter Murphy I bought was "Deep", in 1990. No, I'm not pining for his 1990's output. What I liked about Should the World Fail to Fall Apart, Love Hysteria, and Deep and what I like about this brand new one is the full range of emotions, and he only seems to have that whenever he's just left Bauhaus. Seriously- he left the first time in the mid 1980's, and between Dali's Car, and the first couple of solo records, he's on Bowie-esque fire- going from hard glam to lushly orchestrated neo-standards track to track. Now, he left Bauhaus in 2009, and he puts this out, and I was expecting a return to the failed Turkish pop of Dust, but instead this is again, a Bowie-esque mix of standards and Glam rock- like Bing Crosby joins Slade. I've downloaded it to my itunes, and listened to it twice, and it came out yesterday. Get the notion? Yes, it's very sweeping melodramatic music, with serious mood swings, and Murphy's odd croon. But- I've not heard glammy post punk with this kind of range since Murphy and Andrew Eldritch were locked into some kind of race to see who could out "Heroes" Bowie ( and if you can't hear the debt to Bowie, I'd suggest you go back and re-listen to everything Bowie put out from 1976 to 1982, then get back to me) Highlights are the singles "I spit Roses" and "Seesaw Sway" but also rockers like "Uneven & Brittle".
Is it nostalgia, because he's returned to a sound I wish he'd never left? I guess it could be. But, I don't want a Peter Murphy album where he plays a bunch of dubstep and baroque folk music. I like him doing a particularly glammy and theatrical kind of Alt rock and pop. I like the songs to have some reverb on the guitars, some fretless bass, and that baritone croon. That's his sound, his corner of the market, and so I'd call it no more nostalgia than I'd say that Levi's are doing nostalgia for making jeans. So, fine, call him the Goth King. If you want to reduce it down to that, feel free. But just listen to him sing...

Alice, Sweet Alice

I'm a freak. I don't mean that to say that I'm a hippie, stoner, Punk Rocker or some other fad. See, I'm always that one step off. As an example, I've been thinking about how much I loved Alice Cooper. Not so strange? Here's the thing, I kinda sorta hated the 1970's Alice Cooper ( a couple of songs were worthwhile, but otherwise, useless to me) and I definitely hate the sober, resting on his laurels Alice of the 1990's onwards. The Alice Cooper I love is the blackout drunk from the early to mid 1980's. Yup, the totally disowned records: Flush the Fashion, Special Forces, and Zipper Catches Skin. I still listen to those records, but when I mention how much I like Alice Cooper, people think I mean stuff like Only Women Bleed, and School's Out, both of which are absolute drek to me, and were part of the reason I hated music in the 1970's.
So, I mention song I like, such as "Who Do You Think We Are" and "Grim Facts" and "I like Girls", and people have no idea. I think that the reason why I like them, and the reason why Vincent Furnier was so self destructive while making them are two sides of the same coin: this is the point where the wheels had come off- where the pieces were worn out and couldn't be made to work. See, that's right where a shock rocker becomes truly shocking. He wasn't playing at being a monster, he was doing everything he could to stop the monster he was becoming, even if it killed him. The music was furious and thrashing, like the band, even was trying to escape from Rocknroll. That's where it gets interesting to me, because that's an honest tension, and something I can understand- the point at which you cannot continue with where you've been going, but you don't yet understand where you should go next. So, you do fake new wave songs dressed half in drag, and half like Rambo. That clicks with me.I can relate to that. See, that's what I mean by saying that I'm a freak- I've always been on that edge where the past has to be dropped, but I can't see the future, just yet. I've grown comfortable with that feeling. I don't think Alice ever did, and so, believe it or not, I feel sorry for the man Vincent Furnier has become.

Red Fang

So, yes, I like hard rock. I wouldn't exactly call myself a punk or a metal head, though. I just like really loud rocknroll. I think that fits Red Fang, as well. They've been called Stoner Metal, Doom indie, Sludge punk, and (my favorite) Beer Metal. But, really, they just play really loud Rock. They've got an active sense of humour, and a bullet belt of "Hell Yeah!" riffs, to pair up with their love of facial hair and beer. You'll probably think of bands like Black Sabbath, and Queens of the Stone Age, but I'm hearing everything from AC/DC to ZZ Top. They're just damn fine, very loud rock music. With Pabst. And foot long beards. and sleazoid guitars that appear to be welded pieces of other intruments, fished out from the Puget sound. Oh, and Tecate. Maybe some Schaefer.
Look, I was thinking earlier about how hard it is getting to trust anyone or anything, when everybody seems to want to sell you on something. Everybody from your favorite politician to that girl who smiled at you at the gas station, that you thought might be flirting, but then, you realized was smiling that same way to every guy who came in. Rock bands, especially want to sell you on some concept, or some marketing ploy, so's you'll buy an extra T shirt at the merch table. I'm not trying to sell you on anything, here. I make a pretty good salary, enough that I can afford to buy somewhere around 100 CDs a year, and download a bunch more stuff. Between that and the free stuff, I bet I hear about 365 new releases per year. I know most folks can't keep up with that. Most folks I know maybe download 20 songs in a month, if that. They might buy 6 CDs in a year. So, if you went out and bought everything I suggested, you'd be pretty poor, pretty quick.
All that having said, if you do buy just 1 CD per month, go stream some Red Fang, and decide for yourself if you want to buy it. I'm seriously happy I bought the new one Murder the Mountains. I wasn't the biggest fan of their first record, but it had some moments. This one is an instant classic to me. I'm getting the same joy from this that I did when I heard Rated R by QOTSA: a band that I sorta liked suddenly was awesome. So, yes, I think Red Fang are awesome.

Only Partly about Music: White Zombie

So, as of late, I've been writing a lot about different musical groups, primarily alt rock. You'd be forgiven for thinking that this is a music blog. I suppose, it is partially. But, primarily, it's my pop culture blog- operative word being "my"- which for those few who know (I think that's maybe 3 people at this point) means that I don't see the arts as discreet separate entities. Sometimes, the best part of a film is the soundtrack, sometimes the best part of a book are the pictures, sometimes a band looks cooler than their music is, sometimes a comedian is a better dramatic actor, and so on. It all blurs together, for me. To give you some concrete examples, let me present today's subject: White Zombie.
Primarily, they were a band. At times, they were a great rocknroll band. However, if you subtract the graphics, they're greatly diminished. If you further strip away the psychotronic poetry of their endless pop culture references embedded in the lyrics, they're getting to be pretty insignificant. On top of that, if you remove their remixes, they've got only about 60 minutes of decent music. Then, if you want to straight jacket them only to the Alt-Metal sound they popularized, you're left with a handful of singles. So, to appreciate them for what they really were, you've got to re-align how you define the Arts- they were a performance troupe, playing music, making graphics, doing disguised pop culture criticism, constructing sideshow dramas, and creating personas.
So, If I'm going to talk about them, I've got to not only talk about the music, I've also got to talk about the T shirts, the stage show, the references, and so on. For example, the point of their apex, musically, is mixed : some of Soul Crusher, when they played noise rock, is right up there with the Birthday Party and Sonic Youth for skronk with a purpose, and much better than better lauded peers like Live Skull and Pussy Galore. It wasn't until Astro Creep that they matched the musical vision, albeit in a different genre (by now, they were more definite, and played a metallic boogie rock, like the Allman brothers, minus swing but on steroids)Graphically, however, they never topped out- though I think there are several weak points, musically with their breakthrough record "La Sexorcisto..."- graphically, it's a tour-de-force of what we can call "Zombieland", a strange carnivalesque pastiche of Rat Fink, classic Horror flicks, psychedelia, professional wrestling, punk rock, and 1970's tabloid exploitation, and exceeded only by the addition of the dystopian scifi elements of Astro Creep. What I am saying is that I don't think I'd go out of my way to get the CD, but I'd pay decent money to get one of the T shirts from around the Sexorcisto era.The real deal, though would be the live show- a zombieland combination of Kiss and Gwar with a large amount of American sideshow.
What brings it up is that I'm reading Sean Yseult's "I'm in the Band". Like most musicians, Sean is no writer. At her best, she reaches a "teen Beat" style of gushing, and she relies a lot of testimonials from others. However, she's a gifted photographer, and there's some really great photography. Also, her more cartoon-y take on Zombieland is charming, almost cuddly. The graphics are actually much more communicative than the writing: I'd almost prefer to see this as some kind of a PowerPoint presentation, sold on a thumb drive, or something...
So, that got me to dig out the CD/record collection. Yes, Astro Creep, and Supersexy Swingin' Sounds are just as amazing as you probably remember, but I am struck by how complete, and devastating Soul Crusher is. It's truly under-rated: from the weird biker-movie homage-montage of the cover art ( it's like cramming "Wild Angels" into a photo)to the pioneering use of samples, to the completely unhinged vocals ( Rob never sounded quite so psycho, again) to the ramshackle chug of the tunes it neatly sums up the early 1990's... in 1987! The next two records are really tame, by comparison. Make Them Die Slowly is metallic in all the wrong ways- it sounds about like how it would feel to try to actually eat the CD, and the songs are artsy-fartsy fanboy attempts at Thrash metal. It even looks bland. La Sexorcisto, looks amazing. From the super-groovy tattoo flash graphics to the glow in the dark translucent vinyl (yes, I have the vinyl) Yes, Thunderkiss is a great mash up of Kiss and Pantera. But, most of the songs meander about in search of a hook. The guitars sound very shiny and clean, which betrays all the supposed psychotic babble of the lyrics. It's just not right. The EP "Nitecrawlers", allows Sascha from KMFDM to correct the musical flaws, and he (rightfully) turns White Zombie's sound to a kind of metallic disco stomp, which suits the dichotomy of creamy guitars with twisted lyrics. I think it was that lesson that allows them to make Astro Creep- which is a stone classic, and you should already own it.I don't think main man, Rob Zombie has topped Astro Creep until he went into films. So, rather than talk about his solo career, I'd prefer to talk about his films- and by "his Films" I mean House of 1000 corpses and The Devil's Rejects. (Again, see what I mean about how I don't see White Zombie as being complete if you just talk music?) House of 1000 corpses is a fantastic slasher film, that takes a left turn in the last third, into a surreal monster movie. Honestly, I cannot think of another movie quite like it. It's structured just like a classic grindhouse slasher film, until the real mayhem gets unleashed, and then it gets crazier than a Jodorowsky film. You've got everything from respirators to bunny costumes to zombies to mutants, to fields on fire to hallucinatory sound montages. Absolutely amazing. The Devil's Rejects is yet another amazing mash up- this time between Revenge movie (Billy Jack, Standing Tall, etc) Slasher Film ( I spit on your grave) and outlaw biker flick ( think Hell's Angels on Wheels) There are moments in it that are genuinely disturbing (the scenes with Bill Mosely and Priscilla Barnes come immediately to mind) and some moments of beauty not seen outside of Westerns in American films.
See, again- it's not about one form, it's about finding those artistic moments that appeal to you. That's what I'm about. I might concentrate pretty heavily on music, but that's because it's the form that speaks loudest to me. Heck, keep in mind, I'm a trained Cameraman, in addition to being a sound engineer- in fact, I think that there are those who'd argue I'm a better videographer than anything else I've done. As should be obvious, here, I also am not unfamiliar with the English language so I can write, too. Ergo, why would I put all my eggs into a CD basket? That'd be a real Zodiac Mindwarp. (hehehe)

Seen the New Jane's Track, yet?

Well, stop delaying. It's right here, and it is awesome.
One warning- if Nekkid Women offend/worry/bother you, it might be a bit much for you.

Blackmail

There are probably too many bands with "black" as part of their name, so points deducted for the name.
On top of that, there's something willfully obscure about the band. They sing in English, but they're a decidedly German band. I mean, the only way I could get any of their music was either illegally, or via German Itunes or German Amazon. So- unless I'm a German who speaks English, I'm afraid I'd be out of the target demographic- and thus it's very likely that unless you are a German who speaks English, you won't have heard of Blackmail, apart from the criminal act. But such is my dedication that when i was told I should hunt them down, I did. I could not afford to get several of their releases, so I did skip buying the new one, "Anima Now!" which upon streaming it, it does sound pretty, and resonates well. Instead, I threw in my lot with 2008's "Tempo Tempo"- and it's very rewarding. This is fairly gritty Indie Rock, along the lines of latter-day grunge. I could seem them on a bill with the Afghan Whigs, Toadies and Hum. However, the songwriting is stronger than that might indicate. Actually, I can see some Greg Dulli in the songwriting, which is a fairly high compliment. There's also a solid Mod component- shades of the Who and Kinks are present fairly often. Seeing as most folks won't share my enthusiasm for northern European Indie Rock ( Hey, I'm self-aware enough to know it's an obsession of mine. If it was made by folks somewhere north of France, west of the Ukraine, and East of England, I'll give it a shot, pretty much without question) why am I bothering to tell anyone about my purchase of a three year old record by a band readers will not have heard, and most likely won't try to hear? Because I would encourage them to do likewise. Maybe you have a yen for Japanese Oi!, or Mexican Jazz. Follow that muse! Go with it, because the miracle of the Information Age is that it is possible to follow that out. Yes, that is miraculous- consider, I heard of the band, for the first time on Wednesday. Today is very early Saturday. I streamed records on Thursday, and downloaded my selection Friday morning,burned a CD from my Itunes library within 20 minutes, listened to that CD in the Car, and my Ipod during the day- and here we are, with me expressing my joy with the band. Now, imagine it's 1981. First, I would have had to somehow actually visit their part of Germany long enough to hear the band, and figure out where I'd order the record from, assuming that such a thing were possible. Then, I'd type up my review, Xerox my fanzine, maybe offset the printing, and you'd have to randomly find my Zine. That's a pretty amazing change, in only 30 years- as big a change as from horses to planes. It also makes it such a shame that most people simply accept the Top 40 with minor variations, around the globe. There are such treasures out there, that it's almost crime to settle for the Black Eyed Peas, or Doughtry.
So, if you want to hear a German band that mixes Who-ish Power Pop with Afghan Whigs styled high tension grooves, Blackmail are your boys, and I'd hunt them down if I were you. But, more than that, I'd say to follow that format- hunt down whatever strange niche you enjoy- the days of the finite choices are not now.

Partial Vindication in Studebaker's Blacksmith Shop

I mentioned the band before, stating that they were good, but held back by somewhat stiff vocals. Well, they've got a newer release out, called "Excuse me, are you Sick?" and it's getting much better. The vocals are still a bit stiff in parts, but the music has gone far less stoner, and far more plain old "alt rock', so the vocals sound less out of place, even if they get overly formal still. For some reason, the end effect reminds me a bit of Belly, but that's probably something strange from the back of my brain.
I think the best way I can describe this altered direction is that similar to Garcia, they've injected a lot of pop music into a stoner-alt base. I mean, I can hear the Queens of the Stone Age influence, but also some Nine Inch Nails, with some of The Gathering and now, some of Pandora's.box (yes, I can finally hear the connection) So it's getting to be pretty good robot rock. I really like the electronic flourishes and when Kerstin scrapes up her voice a bit. So, yeah, "Asshole Dance" is a standout for me. So is album closer "Therapy". Hey, it's free, if nothing else, but seriously, that's not the best reason to get it. There are literally hundreds of thousands of free albums out there. The main reason to get this is that it's good music, that blows away the weak drek you'll hear even on "Alt Rock" American Radio stations. I will admit, I'd like a little more polish on the production, and a bit more rawness to the performances, but it's still unique music- stoner electro rock with female vocals- and the vision is becoming much more clear.