10.31.2012

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - October 2012

Eels

POSTED ON THE OFFICIAL EELS WEB SITE:

10/19/12: Hi.

HE'S NOT DEAD!!!!!
WOOOOOOO!!!!!

And, if that wasn't exciting enough (which it TOTALLY was), on October 22nd, a BRAND NEW EELS ALBUM WAS ANNOUNCED!!!!
It's called Wonderful, Glorious* and is slated for release on February 5th, 2013.
Here is a link to the full album write-up from the official web site.

Below is the cover art and track list.




01  bombs away
02  kinda fuzzy
03  accident prone
04  peach blossom
05  on the ropes
06  the turnaround
07  new alphabet
08  stick together
09  true original
10  open my present
11  you're my friend
12  i am building a shrine
13  wonderful, glorious

I am...SO unutterably happy a.) that E is not dead and b.) that, after his first contact with the outside world in OVER A YEAR, three days later, he drops a track list, cover art and a release date. Boom. THAT, my friends, is how it's fucking done. None of this cryptic, blurry image, "I'm very excited to be working on something I can't tell you about ever and you won't hear for a decade and which might not even be real but would be really cool if it was but anyway it's due out in 2022 for sure maybe unless I have two fucking kids" bullshit.
Fucking boom.
I'll see you in February, E.
I look forward to two singles and a music video before then.
PRAISE JESUS! E IS NOT DEAD!!!!

Aaaaand, speaking of the aforementioned cryptic, blurry, etc. etc. bullshit...


Nine Inch Nails

Something. Is actually. Finally. Happening.
And I'm going to mercilessly criticize it and tear it down because it isn't exactly what I want, when I want it.
Let's do this.

First off, some Trenty Reznory business.

On October 16th, Trent posted the following on his Facebook page:


Some of you may have read that I have begun working with Beats By Dre. For the past year I have indeed been involved with Dre, Jimmy Iovine, Luke Wood, and the rest of the team on a number of very interesting projects that will start to emerge next year. I have been wanting to experiment and focus my energy and creativity in some different directions, and Beats has afforded me that very opportunity. The process has been challenging and fascinating and as much as I'd like to tell you about the things we've dreamed up... I just can't. 

Not yet...

(I can tell you it's probably not what you're expecting!)

Great.
Another nebulous, potentially non-existent thing to look forward to and then ask about in twelve years only to have Reznor smile knowingly and say "soon" to. WHY are you teasing things THIS FAR OUT?! If you have no details to share, fucking keep your god damn mouth shut!! Remember that Year Zero HBO mini-series he was working on? Since 2007? No? THAT'S BECAUSE IT DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE.
We'll all be long dead before any Nine Inch Nails/Dre collabo drops.
Truth.


And now, here's a little fuckrant I've entitled: How to destroy expectations_ "A fuckrant_"

On October 8th, Zane Lowe's ridiculous show over on BBC 1 debuted a brand new How to destroy angels_** track from their upcoming EP, "An omen EP_"***, entitled, "Keep it together".
While I enjoy the textures and the juxtaposition between the thudding, sludgy bass swamp and Mariqueen's glassy, almost birdlike voice, it reminds me of both "BBB" and "The Believers", and I wish it had kept evolving rather than just repeating the middle of itself.
And that's all I'm saying about the song.****
You can watch what might be the most exciting music video ever for "Keep it together" here.*****
Reznor also had a little phone chat with Lowe, during which Zane practically begging Reznor to reveal anything, which he did not.
But...what could he possibly reveal that we can't intuit from his signing with Columbia?
Now that he is back on a major label, a whole lot of mystery has been removed from HTDA.
When you are independent, you can release a song, video or entire album with, literally, no notice whatsoever.
You update your site with a link, then post on Twitter that "fans should probably head over to whatever.com for a surprise", and I fucking LOVE that freedom. I LOVE being surprised by stuff like that and Reznor LOVES doing it.
But, now he's back on a label...
The biggest downsides I can see that come with signing to a major label, from a fan's perspective, are the time between "this album is done" and "here is the album" and also the rigidity of the release schedule. The release schedule for the new HTDA album, coming in "early 2013", was probably written down and signed  and approved by dozens of people not even tangentially associated with the creation of the band or the music, months ago.
The release cycle officially began a few weeks ago with the announcement of the EP and the official website update.
From this point on, everything is on rails and has a date next to it.

Image #4 (wires and soundboard w/microphone):
to be posted no later than 00:00:00 EST 10/11/12
           Dave Sitek remix of "Keep it together":
    to be posted no later than 15:19:00 EST 10/18/12

    In-studio video clip #2 feat. sound loop B    (w/Mariqueen's fingernails):
    to be posted no later than 00:00:00 EST 11/02/12

Etc.
And, you remember back in July when Reznor said "we are doing a different type of distribution this time so it's taking a bit longer to coordinate stuff"?
Well.
Get ready to have your brains exploded from the backs of your heads.
The day after its debut on BBC 1 and their official website and Pitchfork and YouTube and everything else...one could purchase this song in a format called "mp3" from an Internet store front called Amazon.com...
I'll give you a second to recover, catch your breath and all that.
That's right, Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails/How to destroy angels_/ultra-innovative, bleeding edge music distribution technology fans! The future is...when was Amazon.com founded? 1997? 1995?
The future is 1995!!!!
*sigh*
As I said before: you aren't going to reinvent the wheel of music distribution here, so just get the music to the people that want to hear it.
As much as I enjoy HTDA and NIN and Reznor and all that, I do grasp that this is NOT for everybody. Honestly, who saw one of those clips with the big fuzzy guitar noise or the menacing buzzy thing or the disinterested looking dude playing bass and was like, "this, THIS is what I've been waiting for!!!"?
And, even if they did, they saw it, did some searching on the Internet and then discovered that this cool sound loop is indicative of something not coming out for over a year!
I don't know...Reznor just seems to be fighting himself when it comes to all this release date calenderization.
It's a shitty place for an artist: either you're indie and get all the freedom in the world, including the freedom to have no one hear your music EVER or you lock in with a huge, dying, cash-hemorrhaging record label staffed with people that see you as ink on a spreadsheet but who will get you interviews with the hottest new MTV VJ there is...and you STILL might end up not having anyone listen to your shit!
This is why I only make/release really bad stuff, because, that way, I'll never have to worry about any of this bullshit.

Anyway.
The new How to destroy angels_ EP, "An omen EP_"****** is set for release no later than 00:00:00 11/13/12.
Make sure to check it out, or they won't shift any units and the grandad robots will powder their eggs into chicken baskets what?


Beck

Beck did a remix (although this is so much more than a remix) of Philip Glass' "NYC: 73-78" which "includes snippets from more than 20 Glass songs, which (he) cut together and re-imagined". It's over 20 minutes long and it's one of the reasons I still haven't written this space case motherfucker off. You can check it out here. It's pretty amazing.

And, he announced recently that artists "known and unknown" would be recording the twenty songs off his new "album", Song Reader.
Not him though.
Never him.


They Might Be Giants

Nothing on the music front (unless you count the fact that I got the two superspecialexclusive IFC vinyls converted to .wavs...and I do. With their next vinyl mailing thrown in alongside the 2011 and other 2012 musical offerings, there's actually going to be about an albums worth of completely original TMBG music for those in the IFC. Worth. The money.), but there has been some movement on the Pizza Front.
Which is a thing.
I just made up.
So, do any of you recall that I shot, directed and starred in a They Might Be Giants video for their song "Can't Keep Johnny Down"?
Of course you don't. Neither did fucking John Hodgman.
Hang on.
*breath*
Okay, so They Might Be Giants put up a contest to make your own video for their new single. The grand prize winner would receive a thousand dollars and a pizza from John Hodgman, as he was to be the sole judge of said contest. Long story short, I was chosen by Hodgman as one of the runners up ("Best Use of Polaroids") and I was to receive a free t-shirt from TMBG and a free pizza from John Hodgman. The contest ended in July of 2011. I have yet to receive my pizza. I've tweeted Hodgman and he told me to e-mail him. I emailed him and he never responded. I e-mailed him again, and he continued to not respond. Jump forward to about a week ago.
I figure, since they thought up the contest and, as a member of the IFC, I have direct access to them, that I should take the matter upstairs, as it were.
So, I explained the situation to Flans and asked if he could do anything.
Guys, I didn't expect anything.
Flans asks me the address of the pizza place and what day I want the pizza.
I told him around 8 pm on Saturday night..
And it did not happen.
I blame both Hodgman and Hurricane Sandy.
But the hurricane is over, Hodgman, and I want my fucking pizza.



In more Trent Reznor related news*******, he, Atticus Ross and Alessandro Cortini remixed a track by Ladytron wannabes, Telepathe, as a favor to Dave Sitek (of TV On The Radio) who is starting his own label, Federal Prism.
I feel bad for Telepathe because everyone is going to check out the TR/AR/AC remix of "Destroyer", then check out their album (coming early next year) and then ignore the album and go back to the remix, wishing all the while that Reznor had produced it.
SO bittersweet...
The Sitek remix (which might serve as the album version, I'm not sure) is pretty good, but Reznor and friends' mix is outstanding, starting off kind of annoying with metallic blips backing up the bland vocals, and then evolving into something that Telepathe will never be on their own.
Anyone who has heard and enjoyed the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo score will dig this version a lot.
I'll keep an ear out for their upcoming stuff but don't be surprised if I never refer to these girls again.
Sorry.
Also, you misspelled "telepath".
Or "telepathy".

Marilyn Manson has a new video out for "Hey, Cruel World" that is sort of an ad for his tour I suppose?
It's a lot of live footage and close ups of him sticking his fingers in his mouth which, hopefully, he washed before this shoot because I honestly can't think of anything dirtier than Marilyn Manson's hands. Nothing really interesting going on, but there are some cool masks.

Next, the brand new tweaker album, Call The Time Eternity, came out on the 23rd.
You can read the review of this disappointing release here.

And, finally, thanks to Christina, I have been listening to Maximum Balloon, an collaboration between TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek and a bunch of folks, including Little Dragon and the rest of TVOTR. There is a lot of really great stuff on there, like "Tiger", which has the energy and boogie of a Prince song, "The Lesson" which is melodic, dark and hot, and "Apartment Wrestling", which must have been recorded during/right before the Love This Giant sessions, because it's SO David Byrne from Love This Giant that...aw man it's awesome. It came out in 2010 and somehow we missed it until just now, but we're happy to have it in our ears.

And, totally finally for real, I picked up the Philip Glass remix album (Rework) where that cool Beck thing is from, just today, October 31st, so I may or may not have something to say about that next month.
I don't really know much about Glass except for the fact that he likes notes to go up and down fast and frequently, so this could be an enlightening and confusing experience for me.
And.
That's it.





* Which has to be good because naming it as such opens it up for a lot of mockery if it isn't.

** Again, that's "How to destroy angels_", not "How To Destroy Angels". Because capitalizing all the letters at the beginning of each of the words in your band name and not have underscores is decidedly UN-indie. Make a note, assholes.

*** Ugh, fucking get over yourselves.


**** I can feel both your surprise and relief. You're welcome.

***** Slightly more exciting music video here.

****** Already done with this weird spelling/typeface bullshit...

******* One song and one remix?! This is a motherfucking avalanche of Trent Reznor!!!!

10.25.2012

Me and S. Pellegrino: We Cool/The World Premiere of Unker & Physia

So.
Some weeks ago, I was told I had an audition. The day before the audition, I received an e-mail stating the client had cancelled the audition. The morning of the audition, I was told it was back on and was asked if I could get there within the hour. Since I was already in the neighborhood and since I really like the production place and the people at the production place where it was being held (Hobo audio), I went. I thought it went well, the folks at Hobo thought it went well, I left feeling pretty okay and then thought nothing of it.

A few days later, I was put on hold for the recording, which was to take place two days later. Two days later, I was put on hold for the following two days. And two days after that, I was put on hold for two days the next week. And then, at the start of that next week, I was informed that the project was not going to happen.

Three weeks later, I was informed that I had booked said gig for yesterday, Wednesday, and then, minutes later, that the booking had been moved from Wednesday to today, from 10 am to 2 pm.

During all this, I had not asked what the rate was, mainly because if I didn't book it and it was a lot of money, I'd be bummed.
Or course, on the other side of that, there was a chance I would book it, and it would be paltry.
After my manager confirms and reconfirms with me that we are, in fact, 1000%, recording today, I ask what the rate is.
Paltry.
For me.
After bitching at Chris about not being given enough money to talk*, she suggests I call my manager and see if I can get more money.
Hm.
That is what managers do in the movies...
So I call him and say, look, they have me booked from 10 am to 2 pm and, when you break down the fee to an hourly rate, it's almost insulting AND they've been jerking us off for about three weeks, changing the hold, cancelling the project, rescheduling the hold etc.
He says that he agrees with me and that he'll see what he can do.
This morning, I wake at 9:20 and get ready to head out to Hobo. I check my e-mail and find that my manager has gotten the clients to almost double my fee.
Hot.

I arrive at Hobo and jump in the booth. The engineer does some magic, and suddenly I can hear three or four random voices speaking Italian in my headphones like a river full of sunlight.
Italian is such a beautiful language...
They tell me this version of the script, the English version, is all about trying to describe what it's like to be an Italian (the good parts). They play the Italian spot and it's fabulous, this guy sounds amazing, so passionate, so sexy, yow.
I tell them that English will never be able to express what that guy had just said as beautifully as him, but that I would do my best.
Eventually, we record; I turn on the hot buttered sex voice that they NEED to get their Vespas going and, after six takes, we're done.
One of them said, "motto bene" and I nearly squeaked.
They said, "Grazie!", I said "Grazie!"
They said, "Ciao!", I said, "Ciao!"
It was...motto bene.

Then, as I was scheduled to come back to Hobo at 1:40 for an audition, I asked if I could do it now, if it wasn't a problem (it was not yet 11 am).
It wasn't a problem and I was led into a different studio where the head of Hobo and all-around awesome guy, Howard, gave me the breakdown and ran the session.
Afterwards we talked a bit, specifically about if he knew the hobo-centric works of John "Pizza Miser" Hodgman. He said yes and that he had, in fact, contacted Hodgman about maybe doing a promo or something for Hobo audio, and that Hodgman never got back to him. I told him about my pizza dilemma and he suggested I make a YouTube video a la "United Breaks Guitars" and get that goddamned pizza.
And I just may.

Anyway, all this to say that today, while long, was pretty great and that San Pellegrino and I are cool once again.
It's alllll bene.

Tomorrow is yet another early and long day, during which I will be shooting the final episode of the first "season" of Unker & Physia. Thank Jebus we're shooting just down the street from my house...I might have time to shower before work...
This has been quite a roller coaster ride, but, last night's screening went very well, a full house full of people happy to be there and happy to see Jess and I being wonderful.
Afterwards, we went to a nearby drinking place where I had a subpar burger and some amazing conversation with Dave Ratura, Rachel Goulet, Gia (and her uncircumcised friend, Alex) and Fitzy. Dave and I need to create something...something...horrible...
He promised me that he'll watch Human Centipede 2 and then call me.
Big, huge, mad props to Chris who had to sit between Dave and I as we talked about the more gruesome details of Human Centipede 1. I can only be thankful that had yet to see the second film.

It was a really fantastic night and I'm so happy people were able to make it out and share in this thing we've been creating over the past months.
There is a lot more to come, so keep your eyes and ears open.









* I know, I know, "Go fuck yourself."

10.23.2012

A review of tweaker's "Call The Time Eternity"

Angry.
And sad.
Angry and sad.
Not how the latest (but not last, according to a recent post from tweaker's Twitter account) tweaker album sounds, but rather how I feel with regards to the latest tweaker album, Call The Time Eternity.
Angry, because it's been eight years since the dark, beautiful and almost perfect 2 a.m. Wakeup Call was released, which utterly blew away tweaker's strong yet unfocused debut album, The Attraction To All Things Uncertain.
Eight years that saw Chris Vrenna chained to the stinking, sinking poop ship that was Marilyn Manson.
Eight years waiting for this album.
And sad because I really, really, really wanted this to be an amazing piece of art; the continued evolution of tweaker, the next step, sonically, thematically, musically, lyrically...but it is absolutely nothing of the sort.

Ponygrinder
The fact that "Ponygrinder" is a strong opener makes the rapid decline and collapse of the rest of the album even more bitter. Although, it isn't even that strong. It sounds like the background for an awesome Nine Inch Nails remix...from the late 90's. I do really love the "there are no more destinations" sample and there are some really cool sounds in this, but they get reused again and again without anything significant added to the mix so that by the time it's done, I was almost relieved. Not a great feeling to have at the start of an album...

Nothing At All
But, the end of the first track inevitably brings about the beginning of the second track. I'm not going to take the snarky, easy joke about how there was "nothing at all" I liked in this track, because that would be a lie. I love the sound of it and the sounds in it, I love the call back to "Happy Child" from the first album, I love thinking that maybe this woman is the object of obsession that Will Oldham was singing about in that song, but all this is completely undone by Jessicka Addams horrible talksinging. Talksinging, in general, is awful, but her overly affected "little tough girl" voice is so insanely annoying that I was, honest to God, having trouble finishing the song. The only problem with this song is its vocals (and the "isn't it cool how I made these drums sound superloud" effect). If this had been an instrumental, true, the call back would have been less direct and effective, but it would certainly be less obnoxious. And, just to be clear, I'm not saying I don't like the way Jessicka Addams sings, I listen to a lot of bands with annoying lead vocalists; I'm just saying I wish she weren't singing on this.

A Bit Longer Than Usual
Aside from the bridge and a few of the ingredients tossed into this sonic scrapple, this sounds like something you'd assemble with the basic loop pack that comes with Acid. It sounds like a demo song: something soulless and uninteresting used to advertise music editing software. And this crushes me.

Areas Of The Brain
"Brains" starts off great (there I go, getting my hopes up again) but takes a shockingly sad and disappointing turn as soon as the vocals kick in. WHY ARE THE VOCALS ON THIS ALBUM SO SHODDY?! THE FIRST TWO WERE PERFECT FITS!!! Sorry. Anyway. The laughing is not scary. It's not creepy. It's not unnerving. It sounds forced and ridiculous. Once again: TALKSINGING IS NOT GOOD. EVER. NO. Even when you're trying to sound like Maynard James Keenan.

Hoarding Granules
"Hoarding Granules" is really and truly an interesting track. It's made up of what sounds like aural found footage and has a great mood. At times the samples or vocals or whatever you want to cal them  feel a bit overwrought, they still kind of work. Great sound on this.

Getting Through Many A Bad Night
This has a good beat, very engaging. It reminds me why Chris Vrenna got his start programming and drumming and remixing for Nine Inch Nails. Though I do not love the samples. This is almost a good track, but it feels like it's missing something...something intangible...is it vocals or more instrumentation or...but, before I can think of what, it ends. Hm. Fine. Never mind.

Grounded
Finally...FINALLY: A track on which the vocals WORK. More than that, they're perfect; they reflect so exactly just how damaged the track feels and how the album should feel but does not. kaRIN sounds a bit like Claudia Sarne from 12 Rounds but less abrasive. Great ending with that glitchy guitar and beat.

This Is Ridiculous
This one, which reminds me of something by Cut Chemist, might be my favorite track on here. Well done, Mr. Vrenna. Bouncy, high energy and then things get weird and it sounds like Aphex Twin covering "Microsized Boy" from Attraction. Then the fun comes back with some great stuff floating in the background. Ends too abruptly, I could have enjoyed it more...

I Don't Care Anymore
Look, I know this is a cover so I don't know if I should blame Phil Collins for making it or Chris Vrenna for remaking it...wait, yes I do. I blame Vrenna as this is his album. I think my biggest problem is Jesse Hall's voice. Same problem with "Movement of Fear", the worst track from their previous album. This was a weird choice that didn't really work for me.

Wasted Time
Great bass on this. Upright and...not...upright. Nice beat. The deep rumbles offer a nice juxtaposition to the bleeps. The typewriter is a nice addition for long time tweaker fans and, I'll be honest, made me smile. Very nice. This makes me wonder if maybe Vrenna should have had more organic instruments on CTTE... Maybe on some of those remixes he keeps talking about...? The talking here is a little better although I'm not sure how I like the album's vaguely ethereal, vaguely sinister title just being thrown out there, sans context. I'd have liked it to have been part of a longer passage. This, too, ends sooner than it should.

Fine
Nice creepy siren here and great bass once again, but then...guess what comes along and ruins it? If you guessed talksinging, well, you get a donut...no, you get my copy of Call The Time Eternity. Aside from the rambling, shouting, blathering voices, this track also feels threadbare. Almost like Vrenna forgot to unmute a track or two before rendering it... Solid drums though*.  Oh, and just tossing in the sound from the end of the first album does not a reference make, what it does make is a huge fan who's waited almost a decade and who was really looking forward to an amazing follow up to your last album angry and sad.

Which brings this sad, angry train to its sad, angry halt. I'm so bummed. So, so bummed. The album isn't awful. There is some new and interesting ground being broken here and some truly great, stand out tracks, two or three anyway ("Grounded" and "This Is Ridiculous" are really all that jump to mind)...but nothing comes close to 2 a.m. Wakeup Call. This is an unworthy follow up to that opus; a themeless, unfocused collection of songs which, for the most part, have awful vocalists and seem to be missing key elements. Plus, "Nothing At All" is a direct reference to the first album, which creates a nice sense of continuity and cohesiveness, but, aside from that one track and that lazy "reference" at the end of "Fine", there's nothing else. It just feels...unfinished, I suppose. Unfinished and muddled, and not in an intentional way.
This feels like a step back to the themelessness of the first album, but without the novel and inventive sounds to alliviate that lack of focus.
What else can I say?
Angry and sad.

Note: Today, October 23rd, is the release date of the new tweaker album, and yet, Amazon.com isn't going to ship the album until November 6th-12th. Because of a "database error", according to Metropolis Records. So, that makes things better. Also, Vrenna stated earlier today that the album's theme is "manicness". Ah, of course, "manicness". So that's why it sounds so unfocused. Nice try, Chris.







* Although I really shouldn't have to keep pointing that out...side projects created by drummers SHOULD, at its lowest points, have solid drums, and, at its highest points, blistering, astonishing, facemelting drums.**

** Or no drums. Just to freak people out and get away from the "drummer" branding.

10.19.2012

Let's Get Sloughy!

Slough.
Fistula.
Rectourethral.

These were this weeks' buzz words here at the Hospital with Jen. I believe all three can be made sexy if spoken huskily enough, a task I am more than happy to accept.

...fiiistulaaa...

I believe that "slough" is the most disgusting onomatopoetic word there is, although I'd be happy to discuss this.
No?
All right then.

I've had THREE acts of Subway fuckery in THREE days and I'm ready to fill the tunnels with the screams of the children of those that run the MTA. And each time they broke it off in me, I was in a car full of their self-aggrandizing, "cute" ads for how great they are and how smoothly things run because of them.
Oh such rage...such impotent, impotent rage...
How is it that I have NEVER, ONCE had a Subway meltdown?
More often than not, I'm pressed against some unwashed fucktard, covered in sweat and told by some chipper robot that "You're going to be fifteen minutes late just because! Eat a dick and then pay us $100 a month for the privilege and the pleasure, cuntface!"
Hm.
Maybe, all this rage I've been swallowing my whole life is what has made me so tall.
I'm made of rage.
Awesome.

Moving on, the last three days (technically two days, but it was going to be three days) have been thick.
Wednesday at 9:15 in the morning (which can be converted to 3:15 in the morning for everyone with a 9 am to 5 pm job) I had to rise and be acting until I then went to work. Which was awful. Then, that evening, I carried out my second digressive_obscenity recording with Will, which went excellent after a ten or fifteen minutes false start due to shitty audio, but, aside from having a great session, I have now figured out how to patch in anyone with an iPhone, thus solving the problem of interviewing anyone who isn't in the room with me. Once November rolls around and my schedule clears a bit, I'll focus on DO and really get things swinging. I spent the past few days working on some transitional music and also on creating some art for the podcast, mostly with some glitch art apps. Some really cool looking stuff coming soon.

The next morning I was up early for an audition that well very well...no...an audition at which I, personally, sounded really good. Yeah. So, we'll see.

Then, I was to be up hella early this morning to shoot the FINAL episode of Unker & Physia after rerecording some stuff for TransPerfect on my home rig as well as some silly audition of Target, but, thanks to rain, I slept about ten hours.
Which I needed.
It's hard to be good at acting with such little sleep...
And now the only day we have left to shoot that final episode is the day that I might be booked to record something, so...fuck.

All right, enough of that.

Yesterday, the new tweaker album, call the time eternity, was posted on Revolver's web site and last night I listened to it.
And now I'm really sad.
I'm going to spend more time with it, maybe try a headphones/versus speakers comparison but...yeah, as of right now, I'm really sad.
God damn it.

This weekend will be spent killing the shit out of some more zombies (but only for a fraction of the time spent killing the shit out of zombies a few weeks ago), and finishing the decorations for the Halloween party. I think, for ONCE, Chris and I will have this thing ready before the actual party begins next Saturday.

Then, on the 30th, I shoot my stuff for the pilot of Becca's webseries, then two days of rehearsal for Electromagnetic Theater (radio show/podcast thing) then two days of recording that weekend.

Then, I am fucking done.

Nothing to deal with except for my wedding.
Oh.
Oh shit.

Just kidding, it's going to be awesome and Save the Dates just went out so that's all good.
Again, cannot wait for my schedule to clear up.

Go.
Be free.

10.17.2012

Some Movies I've Watched Recently

This post is about rough, throbbing, wet sex.

Just kidding, it's about some movies I've watched recently.

First, I finally watched Super 8, and, aside from admiring the solid child actors, I really didn't give much of a shit about it. Who knew that Spielberg and Abrams would make such a bland pudding?

Next, Chris and I watched Cronenberg's Videodrome, which I had never seen.
Wow.
Wowy wowy wow.
Cronenberg.
W the fuck.
This man can get your attention and hold it, I will say that. He can also provide a juicy bag of nightmares for anyone who watches his films. I was saddened to hear that his latest film was a wash.  I'm probably going to take another look at Existenz as I remember it was pretty awesome. And maybe Crash. The good one. With the leg-wound coitus.
Also, how did the FCC not have a problem with Dave Matthews saying repeatedly in the 90's that he wanted to "come into" that woman? I mean...that's pretty racy. They censored the word "gun" in music from the 90's, but you're allowed to come into people?
What up, double standard?
And speaking of Dave Matthews, have you noticed that his songs are all about fucking or drugs or murder? I saw him in concert with Will on his tour supporting "Before These Crowded Streets" and neither of us knew what the big deal with having his violinist sing was. We didn't pay for that. Play your fucking violin.

Put in a lot of work on Unker & Physia this morning before work. Re shot some stuff that got messed and then did a bunch of bumpers and little things that turned out pretty great. The final U&P shoot for a while is set for Friday morning...if we can find that special lady...the lady that Unker is going to fall in love with...
After the shoot this morning, work. I'm going to have to face the shattering fact that, not only is Jen going to be gone from this place in a matter of weeks, but that she is never going to work here because of some really horrible people she has come into contact with. One really horrible person anyway.
And it isn't me.
Asshole.
Once I get home (in about an hour or so), the second digressive_obscenity podcast shall be recorded.
This time it is one of my best friends, Will (the guy I saw the DMB with).
I'm going to do my best to have this be something that he is proud to have his full name on.
Well...not proud.
But at least he won't plead for anonymity, as with BTR.
Oh, shit, BTR...
I forgot to mention that Andy Omega (one half of the Bookend Tiger Radio Dynamic Duo) has up and fucking moved from the L.A. to the N.Y.C.! So, this means two things: one, there will be a delay in the posting of my return to BTR and, two, the next bunch of BTR will be recorded at my very own DO studios...maybe. Fingers crossed.
Mofo visits New York for a week then pulls up stakes and freaking moves here.
I love his balls.
No homo.

Done.

10.16.2012

A review of tweaker's "2 a.m. Wakeup Call"

While Chris Vrenna has said the concept of 2 a.m. Wakeup Call was birthed from his wife's battle with insomnia, I think it comes from falling asleep under a broken, malfunctioning clock, as there seems to be a massive one lurking just behind and underneath and, sometimes, intertwined with each and every song on the album.

Ruby
The album starts brilliantly with Will Oldham's quavering, almost childlike voice reflecting on the subjects of dreams and sickness and how "the color of his dreams, if he had dreams, would be you, ruby" over a simple guitar that explodes at the chorus, only to retreat momentarily before once again exploding, this time accompanied by Oldham screaming at the top of his lungs.
This first track, "Ruby", sets the tone perfectly for the journey into dreams and nightmares the listener is about to embark upon.


Cauterized
All right. From the first time I heard this track, I wanted it to be the theme to a new, darker animated Batman series. The series from the mid to late 90's is timeless and works perfectly with its full orchestral score, but "Cauterized" would be perfect for a less stylized, more realistic Batman cartoon.
Hm.
All right, I just "said" the words "a more realistic Batman cartoon".
Okay, forget everything I've said about this track thus far and just picture Batman kicking some dudes asses when it plays. There. Leave me alone.

Worse Than Yesterday
Depression = sleep
This seems to be about that. Maybe it was raining when the sleeper fell asleep. Everything feels slowed, gelled. Etc.

Truth Is
Easily the biggest name associated with tweaker, Robert Smith, was made for this track...or, much more likely, this track was made for him. His overly dramatic delivery fits so well with the hyperbole and pathological lies that make up the lyrics. And that bass? Feel it in your chest...damn! So slinky and durty...just right for the tone of this track. And the nonchalance and glee with which Smith confesses at the end of the song? Brilliant.


Remorseless
"Remorseless" sounds like the EKG for some dark, slumbering disco robot monster...or perhaps an alarm alerting us that said dark, slumbering disco robot monster has broken loose from its restraints and has started dancemurdering again. Either way, they had me at dark, slumbering disco robot monster.


Pure Genius
I'd like to base a dramatic television show about a private detective on "Pure Genius". It would be on Fox and only last one season...but it would have a small yet loyal following. The song would also be perfect for a dark and cerebral remake of Ocean's Eleven, maybe directed by Chris Nolan.


It's Still Happening
While Hamilton Leithauser's voice works great with "It's Still Happening" and there's a lot of interesting stuff going on sonically, the track tends to get a bit repetitive. Maybe some more lyrics or another bridge or something would have brought it all the way home, but, what can you do?

2 a.m.
"2 a.m." has some nice ambiance and textures hiding behind, and occasionally getting swallowed up by, the lovely, unassuming acoustic guitar. Perhaps this track is meant for Vrenna's wife, who inadvertently originated the concept for this album. A really excellent aural representation of a dreamscape...and there's that broken clock again.

Movement Of Fear
Ugh. If every masterpiece needs a wet fart, then I suppose that this is it. This sounds less like a "Movement Of Fear" and more like a "Movement of A Gritty, Sad, Scummy, Sticky Titty Bar On The Outskirts of Las Vegas".
It's just so over the top...
"this-is-a-move-ment-of-fear!!!"
Ugh again.
Too much cheese for this to move anywhere.

Sleepwalking Away
After the bowel movement of fear, we have another weak link in the otherwise solid tweaker album, "Sleepwalking Away". Nick Young howling the words "Sleepwalking away! Sleepwalking awaaaaaay!!!" is neither what I expected nor what I wanted from this song. It's especially jarring after (most) everything else on this has been right on the nose. It's incongruous to the point of curiosity. In a nutshell, I think this album, as a whole would have been better without this.


The House I Grew Up In
Things start to get better with the penultimate track, "The House I Grew Up In".

Crude Sunlight
As "Ruby" is the perfect opener, "Crude Sunlight" is the perfect closer. Jennifer Charles' vocals flawlessly capture that languid, syrupy quality of existence on the infinitesimal, vast continent between asleep and  awake while the music, led tenuously forward by a searching, watery piano, sounds just like something one might hear at the tail end of a dream. At times, she chooses veracity over clarity and almost slurs her words, as if you're hearing someone talk in their sleep, and, although you can't always make out exactly what she's saying, the sense of struggling to remember something from a dream, maybe important, maybe not, is always crystal clear.

And then, after a final swelling of sadness: you're awake. Just like that.
The dream is over.
The nightmare is over.
The night is over.

The third and final* tweaker album, call the time eternity, is coming out in exactly one week. I've seen nothing but favorable reviews and, while my hopes are high, Vrenna is really going to have to outdo himself to even come close to knocking 2 a.m. Wakeup Call from its pedestal.
But I'm excited to hear him try.







* Just Tweeted by @tweakermusic: "to clarify 'call the time eternity' may or may not be the last tweaker album. sometimes the end is only the beginning. " A ray of hope..?

10.08.2012

So Much Stuff

Fucking hell.

Okay...in no particular order...

Chris and I finally finished rewatching Firefly and we're both still confused and angry that there is nothing else*.
After the last episode rolled credits, Netflix suggested that I watch Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog...something I had never seen before**.
Yes, it was great and yes, it was what everyone in the world has already said before, but, what I took away from DHSAB was that, even in a forty-two minute web series with, ostensibly, three characters, Joss Whedon still killed off the most likable character.
And that is pure, fucking hilarity.

This is one of the reasons I enjoyed The Cabin In The Woods so much (aside form the fact that it was 100% amazing), it was a chance for Whedon to get as dark as he wanted to get; no PG-13 or TV Standards and Practices holding him back: a nice, sanguine R.
Don't get me wrong, there are pitch black elements to a lot of Whedon's stuff, which is one of the reasons he's so sought after and lauded, but, imagine a villain like Jubal Early in the next Avengers movie..
Chills.

After those forty two minutes were up and they STILL had not uncancelled Firefly, Netflix suggested something called The Guild, simply because Felicia Day (who I'd never seen before Dr. Blog) was in it. Over the next few days, I proceeded to watch all that, which was mostly great. And then I found out that Will Wheaton (who I'd also never seen before) was a TMBG Super President (shhhh...) like me, at which point I mentioned that fact on Twitter and, to my surprise and delight, got a response from the Wheat Man himself.
Occasionally, I enjoy the Internet.

After the fifth season of The Guild...well, that's where I am now as far as solo TV, although Lisa and Jen and fucking everyone in the world is telling me to watch Community, so I just may do that.

As for the sport of Tandem Television Watching, Chris and I finally started up the fifth season of True Blood, which is exactly what one would expect from the fifth season of True Blood...thus far... I'll say it's kind of heartbreaking to watch the writers desperately trying to get the viewers to give a shit about Terry SO HARD that they have now introduced ifrits to the show.
Whatever.
Flame on.

Chris also bumped a lot of good female comedies (written by and directed by, usually) to the top of our queue and we took in Bridesmaids again which, mostly, held up, and Friends With Kids, which was like an alternate universe version of Bridesmaids because it starred the entire cast of Bridesmaids pretty much, plus Scott Adams and Jon Hamm's wife. I had a few issues with this one: specifically the fact that Scott Adams' character is so smart in it, but he doesn't realize that this chick he's been best friends with for almost two decades has a thing for him. "Help! My emotions are stupid!!!"
Other than that, Jon Hamm continues to amaze me, Maya Rudolph looks like a gargoyle and Chris O'Dowd needs to be in a lot more American stuff. Maybe as Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's brother...?

And then there's Resident Evil 6...

Over this past weekend, I had Lisa and Jen for a sleepover, during which I recorded my first podcast (more on that later), ate more meat than a doctor would agree is healthy for me and played (some of) the fuck out of Resident Evil 6.
Lisa was my navigator/backseat snoozer and Jen was my co-op partner for Jake's first two chapters and Leon's first three chapters; basically about one quarter or so of the game.
Something positive about all these shitty reviews the game has been getting: it really lowers one's expectations and makes the game better.
That, plus I don't think a lot of these reviewers are really correct about a lot of the shit they're slinging.
Yes, the trial and error QTE's and insta-kill areas get frustrating, very much so, but other than that, we enjoyed ourselves quite a bit.
Some of these complaints..."this isn't the same Resident Evil as it was in 1998...", "your characters feel too powerful" and "they put too much stuff in/made the game too big" seem...what's the right word...fucky. These complaints seem fucky.
I look forward to having another sleepover (maybe with more people because I FUCKING LOVE SLEEPOVERS (even though, at one point, my bottom touched the freezer door at the supermarket and my bottom got cold)!!!

Now, for those of you who remember the beginning of that last paragraph, you'll recall that I mentioned my podcast. This is NOT to be confused with my second appearance on the epic, 2.5-billion-listener-strong digital opus that is Bookend Tiger Radio which I recorded last Wednesday, no. I've had an idea kicking around in the back of my head for a while, and I figured that having Lisa and Jen over for a huge amount of time would be a great impetus to upgrade it from idea to reality.
And I did so thusly.
The...episode?...had a nice bookendy quality, seeing as I was talking with my oldest friend and my newest friend.
The idea is pretty straightforward; some basic intro stuff, then a set of questions for the guest(s), then some conversation starters, some guest-specific questions, then the guest(s) has to pick a word that I invented and define it.
We recorded for 94 minutes total and I can probably cut that down to...slightly less than 94 minutes as I honestly believe it was interesting and enjoyable the whole way through and will be enjoyed by others.
Maybe.
One can never fucking tell with the Internet, can they.
No.
But Lisa and Jen did an excellent job with what some might have thought of as an awkward situation.
I have a pretty extensive list of friends I'm planning on interviewing, so if I call you at some point...don't answer your phone unless you'd like to be asked to come on my podcast.
My reasoning behind this whole thing is that, after thirty or so years, I have quite a collection of cool and interesting friends with their own cool and interesting stories/experiences/lives, so why not get to talk with them and get to know them/get random people to know them better?
Although I really have no clue who my audience is or will be...maybe if I interview all my friends, then all my friends will listen, and that's, like, forty people listening!
WOO! INTERNET MONEY!!!***
I'm going to do it up right, with production value and transitional music and all that.
I mean, I have that superdope mic set up and since someone hasn't written any more books for me to narrate...well, I might as well use it for something, yes?
Waste not, haste not, yes?

And, speaking of creative things...while we are still a few days of shooting away from wrapping on my very first web series, Unker & Physia, we are premiering the project on Wednesday the 24th of October at a place in downtown New York City call AI.
Or AI New York City.
You know? Here's the link, go have a look and, if you're around and interested, maybe join us.
Also, "like" the Facebook page, follow us on Twitter (@UnkerAndPhysia) and kiss us if you see us on the streets.
Thanks.

The other web series I'm going to be working on (conceived by Becca Kopec and written by Mary Beth Walsh and Alan Kistler)...some time...which might or might not be titled "My Super(?) Life" or "Superhero(ish)" or something along those lines, shoots on Octobr 30th. The plan is to shoot a pilot and put it up on Kickstarter to raise some funds to shoot the whole series. The writing is snappy as hell and steeped in great female characters and pop/geek culture "out the butthole", as they say in the biz.
I play the Trenchcoat Man.
He wears a trench coat.
Or maybe he doesn't, depending on costume availability and script changes.

Then, there is my upcoming (later this week or perhaps this weekend) reappearance on the most popular and erotic podcast on this here Internet, Bookend Tiger Radio. Since Andy O. was in NYC for the week, we recorded at my studio (digressive_obscenity) and linked Danny D. into my M-Box via a gnarl of cords. The results...well, let's just say that long time BTR listeners will be STUNNED at the quality.
The audio quality at any rate, as there is no discussion of either of the Human Centipede films.
Why even bother listening, right?

THEN, there s Electromagnetic Radio, which is, for lack of a less 1920's term, a radio play. I was hooked up with the director, David, through Becca and auditioned for a few characters last weekend. Turns out he liked my stuff**** and wants to record some stuff at the end of October/beginning of November! Hopefully my schedule will allow for that, because it looks like a fun project, and one where I'll get to talk all different!!
Which I enjoy.

Suddenly, BAM, back to media...the new Bond theme was released a few days ago and, well, although it's super classic, I don't love it. Adele's voice works just fine, but the music doesn't have that "grab you by your balls and make you watch the new Bond movie while somone is grabbing your balls" feel that "You Know My Name" and "Another Way To Die" do.
But perhaps that has something to do with the tone of the film...the first line of "Skyfall" is, after all, "this is the end". And, speaking of "the end", in honor of how fucking excited I am to see the new Bond movie and the fiftieth birthday of James Bond, I am going to wrap up my Bond movie reviews.
You may***** remember the first run I did some years back, but I'm pretty proud of them and only stopped because I had written either one or two more and lost the goddamn paper on which they were written.
Fuck paper though, becaudse now I own a fucking iPad.
I'M SAVIN' MY SHIT TO THE CLOUD, BITCHES!
Below, please find a list of the first batch of Bond movie reviews and the links to the aforementioned Bond movie reviews.
Thanks you.
Thanks you lot.

"From Russia With No"

"Thunderfinger"

"On Her Majesty Only Twice"

"Live And Let Diamonds"

"The Spy Who Loved Gun"

"For Your Moonraker Only"

"An Octopussy To A Kill"

Coming soon:

The Living Kill

Tomorrow Never Eye

The World Is Not Die

Quantum Casino

Two last bits: watched the first half of the last season of Breaking Bad and...my soul hurts.
And, with all the talk of Borderlans 2 being great, I finally got around to popping in my pre-owned copy of Borderlands I bought and never played over a year ago.
I played for several hours and decided that it's like Fallout 3 but without the talented voice work and interesting, engrossing story.
Not planning on playing anymore of this.

There might be more, but I'ma let you finish.














* I'm not counting the movie, not because it wasn't good but because IT'S MY BODY, HOLLYWOOD, MINE.

** Or, to be more precise, I'd seen the first minute, during which NPH does his evil laugh then comments on it and then I decided I wasn't in the mood.

*** Which is not a thing.

**** My butt.

*****Read: don't.

10.03.2012

A (sort of) review of Tori Amos' "Gold Dust"

Just as someone cannot (and should/ought not) to review a "best of", I don't feel real great about reviewing Tori Amos' latest release, Gold Dust, so I'll just, sort of, talk about it...occasionally praising or criticizing aspects of it...and then assign it a numerical value out of 10...just kidding...about the "assigning it a numerical value out of 10" thing...not the first part...so...let's just get started...

I've been into Tori's unique and sometimes controversial* sound since I was in high school. Most of it, at least. I tend to either love or ignore songs of hers with very few ever actually growing on me with repeat listens. In fact, there's not one album I can put on and just listen to all the way through, although To Venus and Back (the first disc) and From The Choirgirl Hotel come close. I have always considered myself a fan though (despite that Adult Contemporary phase she went through in the 2000's, give or take American Doll Posse), and I was excited to see the new direction she took with her bold and complex 2011 release, Night of Hunters, which she recorded with ostensibly nothing but her piano and an orchestra. The addition of an orchestra allowed the timeless nature of her music and voice to break free from any contemporary restraints she had gotten tangled up in and it was, I feel, a breath of fresh air that blew open a whole castle full of doors for Tori and her future creative endeavors.
To put it another way: Tori Amos had recontextualized herself as a musician, and nothing is more exciting and intriguing than that.

Gold Dust isn't a "best of". It's a collection of songs from Amos' two-decade career rearranged, rerecorded, reinterpreted and reimagined with the aforementioned orchestral motif. Some, like "Silent All These Years" and "Winter" are among her most well known songs while others, like "Snow Cherries From France" and "Flying Dutchman" are far less popular, but they are all loving recrafted here.
The benefits of the reworking ranges from track to track; with some, like "Yes, Anastasia", the difference is palpable, it sounds massive and historical and fully realized, with others, like "Flavor", the changes are absolutely noticeable and work very well, showing a different side of the song, and, with a few, "Programmable Soda" for instance, the versions are so similar that I barely noticed any difference. Although it's completely her right to do so, Tori did a great job of not trying to reinvent the beautiful wheels she's created over the past twenty years, but rather highlight or enhance different aspects (as with "Cloud On My Tongue" and "Silent All These Years").
Another very interesting element of the Gold Dust versions versus the original versions** is noticing how Tori's perspective seems to change. On "Silent All These Years", we see the girl from the original song reminiscing about her experiences from that time in her life as the woman she has become. The vulnerability of the girl is gone, replaced by the woman who has gotten her voice back. The woman who remembers. This perspective shift adds a lot to this, one of Tori's most beautiful and heartwrenching songs, and also to "Flying Dutchman" (which has recently become one of my favorite tracks of hers), the original version of which feels so carefree and joyous and young. The new version has less of the childish glee and youthful abandon, almost as if the original is Tori as a child and the Gold Dust version is Tori as that child's mother, watching her from a distance.
There are a few tracks I've never really gotten into ("Snow Cherries From France" and "Marianne") which I'd have happily swapped out for a number of others, but I don't really have a problem with any of them. The only track whose reenvisioning I actively do not like is "Jackie's Strength", originally from Choirgirl Hotel. This new version sounds too forced in its reflection, too lacking in the original's vulnerability.
But, again, that is one track of fourteen.

On the whole, every song is given a brand new life or, at least, a new perspective, as a result of this treatment; at the very worst, the new version might seem a bit unnecessary, simply spurring one to want to relisten to the original recording of the song in question, a fact that further speaks to how expert a songwriter Tori Amos is.
If I could have voted or selected more or different songs to be redone, I would have, but I'm incredibly happy, not only at how Gold Dust turned out, but at the simple fact that it exists. I love this approach to older material as a substitute to the typical half-assed and loathsome "best of" collections that artists seem to default to as their careers meander on. To revisit a work and see it in a different light, whether that light is tragedy or motherhood or merely the passage of time, is always exhilarating.
A little introspection can go a long way, as Tori has shown us here with her "song girls"; you should make a point to come and visit them and see how they've grown, and who they've matured into.











*Would you be surprised to learn that some people think Tori Amos' singing is horribly annoying?
** I found myself discerning between calling them "original" and "old"; usually in the cases where I liked the "original" version better than the Gold Dust version, or the Gold Dust version better than the "old" version.

10.01.2012

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - September 2012

Nine Inch Nails

At 12:22 am on Thursday, September 19th, Trent Reznor posted the following on Twitter: "Yes."
As staid and irrefutable as a simple negative can be, this "yes" is, literally, its diametric opposite.
It speaks volumes.
"Yes" to what?
A new NIN album?
The long-awaited How To Destroy Angels LP?
The edited HD footage from the final Nine Inch Nails shows?
Something totally different streaking towards us from out of left field?!
With that "yes"...there are no obstacles, just promise...the future is completely unwritten...anything is possible...
Or, you know, go fuck yourself.
That one word was retweeted 1,364 times and favorited 430 times (as of this moment).
Quadruple fuck yourself because the day after he posted this epic fart marks the thirteenth anniversary of The Fragile.
Which I'm sure he probably forgot; just like he forgot about the tenth anniversary deluxe edition...due out three years ago.*
I have to say, for an artist so worried about his own relevance, he sure does love to test out just how long he can go without releasing stuff and, thusly, how far he can fade from peoples' minds.
But, hey, right now it's still Thursday, September 20th. At the stroke of midnight, nin.com could suddenly update with details and links and candy and rainbows; he's pulled awesome shit like that before.
You may never know these sentences even existed because they could be replaced with the screaming ardor of the tiny fanboy living in the back of my brain who is always ready to sing the praises of everything Trent Reznor has ever done EVER.
Although, to be honest, I'm thinking "No."

Also, Reznor is set to appear on October 14th in L,A, for an evening talking about music with David Byrne and some dude, where he'll probably let slip the amazing news that something will be released in some capacity...soon....maybe...
Then he'll literally shit on the stage and 1,364 Nine Inch Nails fans will tweet about it while 430 of them roll around in it, chanting lyrics from their favorite songs off of The Fragile.
I can see it so clearly that I can smell it.

Heh.
So, THE DAY I typed the above, Reznor posted the following:

Sorry for the radio silence lately... I've been busy! There's a number of things to be revealed over the coming months. Some you may expect, others you may not. Patience, my friends.

Today's news is about my band How To Destroy Angels. I'm happy to announce we've formally partnered with Columbia Records for our next series of releases. The first of these will be available in November and it's called An Omen EP. As you may have guessed, it's an EP. It contains six songs, some of which are from our full-length LP which is coming early next year.
We are making some videos, we are going to be performing live, and that's all the details I have for now on those matters.

Regarding our decision to sign with Columbia, we've really spent a long time thinking about things and it makes sense for a lot of reasons, including a chance to work with our old friend Mark Williams. There's a much more granular and rambling answer I could give (and likely will in an interview someplace) but it really comes down to us experimenting and trying new things to see what best serves our needs. Complete independent releasing has its great points but also comes with shortcomings.

We are all very excited about you checking out the new stuff. Wish I could tell you more, but you know how this works... it would take all the fun out of it!

Stay tuned! — with Atticus Ross, Rob Sheridan and Mariqueen Maandig Reznor.

So....lot of emotions while reading through this....hm...you know, that would be a lie. There was one sentence while reading this: "November?** Early next year? Fuck you."
HAS IT NOT BEEN LONG ENOUGH?!

Whatever.
I'm too tired for any more bile today.
Prediction: we'll get some pictures, we'll get a song, we'll get a video, we'll get the EP, we'll get another song, we'll get the album.
The above sentence will take place from now until...I don't know...May of next year?
Wake me when it's November, then bury me in a stasis pod with the EP until it's "early next year" in mid-2014.
Check out their new site design and weep with the rest of us.


Beck

Good: Beck has a track on the new Tribute To Caetano Veloso album.
Bad: It's available for download in the Brazilian iTunes store.
So...thuck you?


They Might Be Giants

I've done some research and it looks like I can get all the vinyls from the IFC transferred to .wavs for about $50. Money well spent, as there is some pretty great stuff on these things.
Will I share them?
No, not unless the person I'm sharing with is a huge fan (probably just Jade, Gia and Sylvia).
Am I okay with them no longer being trapped on vinyl?
Yes, yes I am.
Flans has informed us there will be another vinyl mailing around the holidays and I've suggested that TMBG go back and rework some old tracks of theirs, maybe try some new stuff or perhaps take an approach they didn't take originally (a studio version of "Hey Mr. D.J., I Thought You Said We Had A Deal" with their recent horn arrangement would be tasty...). Both Flans and the IFC community seem to think that is a good idea.
I, also, think it is a good idea.
Since I now have the ability to talk directly to Flans, I asked him if he knew/liked any of my other favorite bands (except for NIN because I don't want to freak him out...) and he responded that he's met Beck several times and "he's a gent" and that he likes the video for the Eels song that his friend AJ directed. He also said he thought that Dan Miller is a Cake fan but that he also likes them and their guitar/horn arrangement.
The fact that Beck and They Might Be Giants know each other...I don't know, it kind of makes me warm on the inside.


As I'd hoped and expected, the David Byrne/St. Vincent album, Love This Giant, is excellent, truly something new in a sea of dead and dusty sound.
Seriously, those horns are so god damn versatile.
You can read my review (which, according to an Amazon robot, helped someone to purchase said album!) here or on Amazon!!! I'M IN THE BIG TIME NOW!!!! THE BIG TIME!!!! NOW!!!!!!!

Moments after posting the August Bitchfest, I discovered that Tori Amos had released a track from her upcoming...cover album?...remake album?...reinterpretation album?...Gold Dust.
Since then, over the course of the month, the whole album has been put up.
The majority is absolutely beautiful; the tracks have a freshness and vitality that wasn't missing but just wasn't there...what? Not really sure how to put it... Some of them have a new life and some of them were fine just the way they were.
Thanks be unto suet that Tori figured out how to escape that adult contemporary corner she was painting herself into the past few...decades.
I swear, there's nothing that basing an album around strings or horns cannot accomplish...
I've been spending some time with her recent live album (just her and a piano), From Russia With Love.
That lady...has still got it.
As much as I love Reznor, he will never be as good at writing a song or playing a piano or singing as Tori Amos, even though he does have better pronunciation than her.
I don't think I'm going to write a full on review for Gold Dust, I might just compare the originals with the new versions and discuss which I like better...if you're good...and pure...and can stand...and be true.

Now, some sadness as Tweaker released two tracks (one called "Nothing At All" and the other, the last track off the album, called "Fine") from their third and final album, call the time eternity. There's some sort of remix contest on AcidPlanet that allows one to hear and remix "Fine" and...aw, man...it's really not that great.
It's not a great song, it's not a great Tweaker song and, as what might be the last song they'll ever create...it's really, really not a great song.
I want nothing more than to love Tweaker and all the stuff they do, but songs like this make it difficult.
I know about judging books and covers and all that, but I'm not judging the whole album...I'm judging the end of the album.
And it's a disappointing ending.
The other track is sort of an...evolution of a song from their first album called "Happy Child". It features Jessicka from Jack Off Jill on vocals and, well, it seems that I don't really like Jessicka from Jack Off Jill.
On the chorus she sounds all right, I guess, but the verses are spoken in what I keep finding myself calling "tough girl talk singing".
It's sort of talking along with the beat with an affected voice?
It's fucking horrendous.
The biggest problem I have with both these tracks is that they feel like demos, like they're both missing something, some instrumentation or studio polish to make them better...oh man I hope these things aren't too indicative...
You can hear "Fine" here and "Nothing At All" here and then be a judgemental asshole like me.
Woo.

But, as I am, in my heart of hearts, an optimist, I have some really good news with which to end this here Bitchfest.
I was searching for info about a new Thom Yorke solo album (as I enjoyed The Eraser more than any Radiohead album in recent memory) and, aside from a few random tracks he's released (which range from all right to repetitive and overly obtuse), I discovered that Atoms For Peace had just put up their official site.
Originally, "Atoms For Peace" was a track off of Eraser and now, it's a supergroup made of Yorke, Flea,  Nigel Godrich, Beck drummer Joey Waronker and some crazy Brazilian percussionist. They had released their first single, "Default", literally days before I stumbled onto them and it's really solid. So much so that I wrote a review of it.
For a song not done by Nine Inch Nails or Trent Reznor or How To Destroy Angels or Beck or Cake or Eels or They Might Be Giants.
It's that good.
I've been listening to it again and again, on repeat, and finding new elements and a deeper appreciation for it every time.
There's not a whole lot of info on them right now, but, apparently, the full length album is set for early 2013.
Very much looking forward to that.
Go to the Atoms For Peace web site and you can hear "Default" and see the accompanying simple yet effective video.










* This is what Nine Inch Nails fans call the Mathematics of Sadness.
**November 13th, to be specific, and, although solid dates do make these things better, I'm still pissed that the album has been done for at least 7 months and we're just starting the patented Reznor Release Cycle NOW. I wonder if he ever looks back on his days of wanting to get his music out to the world as soon as possible, maybe while masturbating, and I wonder if that's what he uses to bring himself over the top into climax...