What do you do when you're a shut in?

It's happened to everyone. You get ill, or injured, and you're stuck at home for a day or two .I've been stuck at home for a week. It was emergency surgery, due to bad surgery in the past. So, I'm stuck at home for a week or two.  Apart from the internet, and the blog posts I've already made, here's some media I've consumed;
Magazines: Popular Science, Esquire, Popular Mechanics, Men's Journal, Shop Smart, Rolling Stone, Backpacker, Psychology Today, Outside,American Frontiersman, and Consumer Reports Best & Worst New Cars
TV Series: Feasting on Asphalt, Walking Dead, Rescue Me,  How I Met Your Mother, Portlandia, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Movies: Near Dark, Marnie, Brick, The Runaways, Inglourius Basterds, Dead Man, and  Akira
Books: The Portable Henry Rollins,Portlandia: a Guide for Visitors, Violence Girl, and  Undisputed

What do I have to say about my past 5 days of media?
1. I gotta get back to hiking and camping, it's been too long.
2. Feasting on Asphalt demonstrates how Alton Brown makes superior TV to Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain might be more interesting as a person, but Brown makes better TV- the fact that Bourdain is more popular only shows that, conclusively.
2. Rescue Me will always be my favorite show. But I'm open to new things. Portlandia is very good, Walking Dead can be excellent, and Boardwalk Empire ( which I didn't watch, yet) is probably a better miniseries than ongoing TV show, even if it's equally high quality Television. Oh, and the Prisoner is right up there with Rescue Me, but it, too, functions like a miniseries.
3. Near Dark is a great movie, but it is starting to get a bit dated. Marnie I ended up watching for the costumes and the mid 1960's aesthetic, not because the movie is worth a damn.
4. While Henry and Alice are some very, very angry people- it strikes me that Chris Jericho is trying to be as charming as Portlandia, but he's seen more actual violence than both of them. I wonder what that really says about the nature of truly violent people?

Anyway, nothing too deep- but I figured at least one post about how we actually consume media wouldn't be a bad idea.

Mike Atta

Mike's an old friend. While no one deserves cancer, and we all die sooner or later- it sucks extra hard when our friends get sick, or are in extra danger of dying. So, I'm asking you to consider donating. Even if you don't think you can help Mike, you might help Van. Right here: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/6Otz6

Exciting new music!

Have you heard the new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club? It's a really good, I think. A re-imagining of a song by the Call, the band fronted by the singer's late father, it's got that druggy loose vibe that I look for from BRMC, but it rolls with the swing and heft of a much heavier band- like QOTSA or maybe later Led Zeppelin.
Then, as I mentioned, I've been ill and in hospital, and so I really got a chance to dig into the new Joy Formidable LP, "Wolf's Law". I have to get rid of the bad first: if you've been paying attention over the past year, you have already heard the highlights- "This Ladder is Ours", and "Cholla", and they do have the tendency to plunder from the same vein again and again. Also, they do have a sophomore album disease- this thing is over-produced even beyond what Thirty Seconds to Mars, Muse and Placebo do to their music- and that clearly is the crowd that The Joy Formidable are shooting for, these days. That having said, I prefer this to the Big Roar- there is a lot more range and dynamics this time around. The songs still tend to resolve themselves into a big dizzy blur, but they hold off a bit more, and it brings out the songs a bit. So, call it a near miss, as opposed to "hit or miss" as the Big Roar was. But, if the thought of Siouxsie meets Lush meets pop-rock Gods level Muse amuses you, as it does me, this is well worth it. I mean take "Bats"- there are sections that sound like a feminine version of mid-1990's Killing Joke- tell me that's not worth it! Or, consider the Maw Maw song, which combines a rolling fuzz bass, icy electronics and a big prog rock chorus, like Thirty Seconds to Mars meets Rush, but with lyrics that seem like a piss-take of all the above. There's nothing on here that truly carries through on the promise their sound implies- some kind of profound melodramatic take on shoegazer music, but it's still better than their male peers in that neo-prog genre that they're inching towards.
Then, I also heard the new Bad Religion- True North. Umm, well, it's a Bad Religion record. Rarely have I heard a band that clings so closely to their formula. Seriously, since the late 1980's they sound pretty much exactly the same. Now, it's a decent sound- syrupy sweet vocal harmonies, on fairly verbose socio-political pop punk, held to the tightest structure this side of Rockabilly.So, yes, it's ear-pleasing, and there's nothing to  complain about, and I actually find it comforting to listen to, and, if I'm honest, I'll admit that it's very appealing to me. However, Bad Religion are a super-group. You've got members from best-selling most influential etc, etc punk rock artists here- from Hetson being in Red Cross to Baker being in Minor Threat. With that pedigree, I'd expect more- and they've hinted that this is it- their last record. Why not go out on some kind of statement? I suppose following the formula is the statement- this is Bad Religion, and nothing more or less. So maybe if you have found a sound you should just make that sound and allow others to find their sounds?
I don't know, I find that hard to swallow. I find it more exciting, and more engaging when a band is trying to find sounds to express who they are today, even if that's more volatile with a bigger chance of failure, than of success. But, is it the point of music to be exciting? what of pleasure? What of comfort? What of warmth and nostalgia, and sentiment? I don't know if I'm right to want more, I just know that I do want more.

Unfairly dismissed and backhanded compliments

So, I don't always play fair. Sometimes, I don't give things enough credit. I can think of two that I've done that with in he past year. First- the  Riverboat Gamblers- The Wolf You Feed cd released back in may. I still don't think it's outstanding. It's merely catchy and tight garage rock with a punky edge. I think it's telling that  Mike Wiebe, the singer, has been putting more into his comedy career as of late. But, as compared to most of the pop punk released, this stuff has much more solid songwriting. Dillinger Four and The Bronx both do it much,  much better, but I think the Gamblers at least deserve a mention.
Second, I should have at least talked about Metz. A lot of folks have hyped them, and I've heard them, and, unlike many of their "sloppy noise" band peers, I don't hate them. I mean in contrast- consider Blacklisters. For every decent bar of one of their songs, there's at least another bar that sounds directionless, and basically, a rest for the musicians to figure out what they're doing next. As a listeners, that's really not challenging, nor enjoyable, so overall, I'm not interested. Metz at least retain their focus. So, while I wouldn't put them on a "best" list, exactly- they do have the dubious honour of being the best of a bad lot- the neo- noise rock that appears to be hip, this past year.

Excuses, excuses

Sorry, I was planning to post stuff about the new Joy Formidable and Bad Religion records this weekend, but I got really ill last thursday morning, and had to go in for emergency surgery. I just got home, today, and still feel pretty awful. I will post about them and more in the next few days....

Short Bits

I've been listening to some shorter things: EPs, 7 inch records, singles and the like. I'm not going to talk about all of them, but there are some stand outs:
Baroness just put out a video for one of the three best songs from their Yellow and Green LP, March to the Sea. It's a melodic thumper about drug addiction ( the trope is addiction as intentional drowning) with some of the sweetest riffing to come out of the whole Southern Sludge thing.
Also, I've been listening to the Aeges 7 inch "Southern Comfort b/w Stars". It's pretty amazing- it features some truly whacked out guitars playing very melodic riffs. Seriously, there's a point during "Southern Comfort" where the guitars are so distorted the notes are merely suggested under the noise. It's like a Pelican  track with vocals. The B side "Stars" has lyrics that, at first blush seem like Everclear type homespun homilies, so plainspoken that you might miss the poetry, but there is a twist; "distracting us from this boring life", the end result with the heavy, but pop-structured melodies reminds me of late 1990's great Hum. Then, it breaks up the rhythm in a twist, like a skipping record. Pretty awesome...
We cannot forget Torche with Harmonslaught, a crushing return to the Bomb string ( no that is not a bass, that is a guitar tuned as low as it will go. It sounds like an explosion) in service to a pop-metal-punk grinder that might just be the encore they'll play if you see 'em live. The B side has a funny title "Rock N Roll Mantasy" but this pop metal nugget is no joke. Both songs are classic ( read "first album Torche") and both rock very hard.
Then, Today, I heard the new Coliseum track "Black Magic Punks", and it just rules. It rules so very much that it's worth hearing on Pitchfork's website....

Sometimes trendy stuff has soul...

I don't care if you hate the Beatles, this should melt your heart. A flash mob does a Beatles song in a Spanish Unemployment office, just to bring some joy. Revolutions are made of this.

Is Fan still short for Fanatic?

What does it mean to be a "fan"? I'm not certain but I'm certain that is has changed. I see and hear people saying things like they're a "fan" of sunlight or peanut butter, and at the same time, I would have said that you're a fan of a band if they owned everything that they put out, but with Amazon, and Ebay and Itunes, that's hardly the commitment it once was. So, is being a fan simply a matter of a passing fancy, or having surplus cash? Is it more involved than that, or should it be? Have you seen the episode of Portlandia where Carrie and Fred hire Aimee Mann as their maid? Some interesting questions there about what it means to be a fan- is it a demand made upon the artist? Is it some kind of obsessional fantasy projection? What does a Fan owe the subject of their Fandom? What do those subjects owe their fans?
I  believe the answers to those questions have changed, and I don't think that's either bad or good. It's just different. I might be stuck in an outmoded viewpoint, but I think that while no one owes anyone in a "fan" type of relationship, there is a certain amount of devotion necessary to call someone a "Fan"- the only real question is in which way it is appropriate to express that devotion.

Assuaging My Guilt

Ok, so I spent some money today. More than I usually do. I'm a bit, errr, umm,errr "practical" on my budgets. Truthfully, I know that I'm middle class for an American, which makes me wealthy for many other parts of the world. However, it's all about perspective and context. My family is, by and large, European, from an austere  background, but well-educated and currently enjoying the high standard of living afforded Finns, and Netherlanders, and Swedes and certain Ukrainians enjoy, so I always feel a bit behind. As you might suspect, I'm self-aware enough to know that my viewpoint is skewed, but not enough to convince limbic system....
So, I've got strangely arbitrary "rules" about what to spend on which items. It seems practical to me, but I know that it's a bit, ahem, idiosyncratic.So, partially, I don't talk about fashion on this blog too often because I'm hardly budgeting for trends.
Still, serendipity happens, and today, I happened to chance across a Neiman Marcus Last Call  . Thinking it was above my budget, I went in, just to please my wife. Now, I still spent more than my budget usually allows, but I was surprised, pleasantly. For men's fashion, there are few things I think are better than my "Trinity"- Ben Sherman,Original Penguin, and Fred Perry.  They had all three. However, I usually do not allow myself such things. $200.00 US for a casual jacket simply isn't allowed in my world. But, I purchased 4 Polo shirts, for under $100.00 US- 2 Original Penguins, and 2 Fred Perry shirts.   The Original Penguin shirts were in "The Earl" style, which I think is a pure classic that only some UFC-worshipping meathead would pass by, while the Fred Perry shirts were the original "Twin Tipped" style, which are a clue as to where my sense of style originates. Yes, I usually have rather short hair. No, I'm not one of "them". Yes, I do have an extensive collection of Dr Martens boots and shoes. No, I don't own anything by Skrewdriver.
So, while I feel guilty for spending so much on such frivolous things, I assuage my guilt by writing about it, because these things, this fashion helps to denote who I am, culturally. Yes, I think that plays into what I like in music, and what kind of movie will excite me, and so on. I don't expect to be held to some kind of tribal norm, however. I draw from where that style originates, but I'm not limited by it. Just like, if you came from Grunge, I would expect some flannel in your shirt pile, and some fuzztone on your stereo, but I wouldn't expect you to have stopped purchasing music as of 1997, and zero khaki trousers in your hamper. I also was more Anarchy than Fascism, and, as always, would be an uncomfortable fit into any one category, just like you. Still, I come from a Skin/Mod type of sensibility, and I think it's useful to note that.  While I enjoyed some Oi!, I was more drawn to Ska, Northern Soul, Mod and Reggae than to simplified punk rock. Mostly, though, I liked American Hardcore, so my take on Skinhead was much more filtered. I came to Skin by way of Youth Brigade more than by Blitz, and more Henry Rollins than Malcolm Owen. I still was aware of it all, so yes, Fred Perry over Hanes Beefy T, any day. However, I still don't like Sta Prest....

New Music from Left Field

I was telling a friend that more than the stuff I know is coming out, I get excited by stuff that surprises me. So, today was good for that. Go here to hear the new Clutch song "Earth Rocker". Then, go here to see the new video from David Bowie "Where are we now?" Both are good tracks, and I wasn't expecting either one, exactly....