it is very difficult to fathom empathizing with or even comprehending the depths of AVARICE and EGOMANIA that are at the root of a TORTURED mind like that of the late LOU PEARLMAN.  this is since it is not merely about the fact that his crimes of confidence both DEFRAUDED elderly retirees of their life savings (or an estimated $250 million), as well as that of lending banks (also an estimated $250 million) in one of the most callously orchestrated PONZI SCHEMES in recent memory pre-BERNIE MADOFF, it is the fact that he did it with such a BRUTAL level of INTIMACY.  and it is that CHUMMY FAMILIARITY which the main focus of this recent THE BOY BAND CON: THE LOU PEARLMAN (1620 MEDIA, 2019) documentary which attempts to elucidate on and showcase not just the extended FRAUD itself, but more importantly the real-world ECONOMIC and PERSONAL DAMAGE that lay in its wake.

PEARLMAN often met with his victims, personally CHARMING and OVERWHELMING them his success and close association with commercially POPULAR BOY BAND groups like THE BACKSTREET BOYS and NSYNC as part of his CON.  his showering of attention on his new "clients" belied a COLD-HEARTED RAPACITY that knew no ethical bounds and obeyed no CODES OF CONDUCT or COMMON DECENCY.  PEARLMAN was a particular breed of SOCIOPATH who preyed on the less advantaged and UNDERSERVED with a smile and it is that level of EMOTIONAL RAPPORT with his victims is what makes his case so INTRIGUING.  not his eventual capture by the FBI on the run in BALI in 2007,  or his much-publicized trial and 25 year sentence, or even his DEATH in prison in 2016. 

as aforementioned, in and amongst all that FRAUD PEARLMAN hit absolute pay dirt with THE BACKSTREET BOYS and NSYNC, both of whom he literally created and groomed with funding from his ILL-GOTTEN gains.  unsurprisingly, his penchant for MANIPULATIVE and PREDATORY behavior worked well as a controlling SVENGALI-like figure in the establishment of both BOY BANDS.  his contracts with both FINANCIALLY RAPED all involved, to the point that the members had to sue him and his company to vacate their signed deals.  PEARLMAN throughout the process leveraged his seeming FRIENDSHIP and GOODWILL against the band members individually, many if not all saw him as a SURROGATE FATHER, UNCLE or BIG BROTHER figure.  he psychologically wanted the band members to know that they owed everything to his GENEROSITY and that their ungratefulness was a BETRAYAL of sorts, in spite of the unequivocal fact that it was in fact him that was his treachery that instigated the legally WELL-FOUNDED lawsuits.  this narrative throughout the film is attested to as his modus operandi by the likes of A.J. MCLEAN of THE BACKSTREET BOYS, LANCE BASS, J.C. CHASEZ and CHRIS KIRKPATRICK of NSYNC, ASHLEY PARKER ANGEL of O-TOWN and lesser known members of PEARLMAN-constructed POP groups like INNOSENSE, TAKE 5 and C-NOTE.

there is also the sinister subtext surrounding PEARLMAN's sexuality, as his mansion had interior cameras nearly everywhere.   TIM CHRISTOFORE of TAKE 5 even attests that PEARLMAN even tried to show him ILLICIT videos of GIRL GROUP INNOSENSE undressing in a room with a suntan machine.  ANGEL likewise speaks of another group, LFO, whose main singer was solicited by PEARLMAN for SEXUAL FAVORS.  the film has a DIFFICULT time pinning down these LONG-STANDING GROOMING ALLEGATIONS since those specific members at the center of such rumors didnt participate in the film.  it is INTERESTING that solo artist AARON CARTER (RIP) felt the need to defend PEARLMAN in EMOTIONAL and PERSONAL terms that were not convincing in the least.  CARTER towards the end of his life (when this documentary was filmed) was not well and in the midst of a serious battle with DRUG ADDICTION that he eventually succumbed to, so i dont fault him personally.  if anything he is another DAMAGED soul in this ever-present, slow-playing TRAGEDY with PEARLMAN at the center.

​watching this you are constantly asking yourself how this could all happen.  just in basic legal terms.  why werent laws enforced and where were the lawyers?  then you realize this FLORIDA and this story is CRONY CAPITALISM run AMOK.  the documentary makes a point to mention that despite internal interest from FLORIDA authorities regarding multiple allegations of FRAUD by investors, PEARLMAN was successful in cutting off any investigation at the pass by helping fund the CORRUPT gubernatorial campaign of one CHARLIE CHRIST.  you get the sense that in FLORIDA this is how private enterprise functions as a matter business. 

and to me that is the REAL TRAGEDY of it all.  the fact that traditional guardrails in this country are so MANIPULATED and WARPED in the service of the POWERFUL and the WELL-CONNECTED.  i dont care about PEARLMAN as a fat child with no friends who saw money as a means of being loved.  he mercilessly PREYED and FUCKED OVER INNOCENT people and effectively ruined their lives, including a WORLD WAR II veteran who fought valiantly and literally SUFFERED at the hands of the NAZIs.  PEARLMAN's psychology is IRRELEVANT in the face of such widespread financial CARNAGE and widespread personal TURMOIL.

i was not expecting much from this LANCE BASS-produced documentary on YOUTUBE, but it was pretty COMPELLING and very much worth checking out irrespective of your interest in the late 90s BOY BAND craze.

i have hard time believing that when JERZY KOSINSKI wrote his SATIRICAL NOVEL BEING THERE (HARCOURT BRACE, 1971), he was not somehow channeling PLATO's PHILOSOPHICAL mind experiment ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE and the PROFOUND effect of education on one's nature.  in PLATO's scenario, there is a man trapped inside of a cave since childhood forced to look at backlit shadows against a wall.  that cave and those shadows are his REALITY and all that he is aware of, which becomes complicated once he is let out of the cave and forced to come to terms with the OUTSIDE world.  in a very real sense this man has no tools for contextualizing, describing or comprehending what he it is he is seeing in this EXPANDED REALITY.  PLATO's basic point is that such is man's dilemma when attempting to understand DIVINE and METAPHYSICAL matters that are not limited by our senses and their narrow constructions of REALITY.

in BEING THERE, the reader is confronted with a man named CHANCE who is a caretaker of walled-in GARDEN for a wealthy man.  his childhood and upbringing was limited strictly to looking after the GARDEN and watching TELEVISION in an upstairs bedroom, his food regularly brought to him by support staff.  outside of the wealthy man, those servants, his bedroom and that GARDEN, CHANCE has had MINIMAL social interactions and no concept of the REALITY outside his immediate threshold.  TELEVISION in this context provides an ALTERNATE REALITY.  for most viewers it would represent a mirror to their own REAL-LIFE experience, but for CHANCE and his uniquely siloed imprisonment, it provides a glimpse of another WORLD with internally understood CONVENTIONS, PLOT TWISTS, STRUCTURES, MEET CUTES and SOCIAL CUSTOMS.  for CHANCE these SHADOWY figures in a very REAL sense are that of his TELEVISION and his GARDEN.

and then the old man dies and CHANCE is set adrift outside, which is where the FUN begins.

the novel takes place over a few days and immediately upon walking outside the building he is struck by a limousine and brought to another wealthy man's house for recuperation.  there his literal descriptions of the nuances of his GARDEN are taken for ASTUTE, PLAIN-SPOKEN aphorisms about the state of the AMERICAN ECONOMY.  this new singularly POWERFUL caretaker then introduces him to the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES who is similarly taken by him, as well as ambassadors and foreign dignitaries, each projecting themselves and their SELF-CONFIRMING BELIEF SYSTEMS into apparent METAPHORICAL LANGUAGE issued by CHANCE (whose name is misinterpreted to be CHAUNCEY GARDINER). 

the plot of BEING THERE is in essence a SARDONIC TESTAMENT to the WARPED nature of POWER.  how one's own CONFIRMATION BIAS and SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECIES very much alter one's grasp of REALITY and how such SELF-ABETTING tendencies are at the heart of the MUCH-INTERTWINED WESTERN POLITICAL, INDUSTRIAL, BUSINESS and INTELLIGENCE apparatus.  it is a particularly PROFOUND insight that has only come to bear fruit over the decades in understanding the role of the MASS MEDIA in miseducating the population for specific political outcomes (i.e. GEORGE W BUSH administration's PROPAGANDIZED buildup to the second IRAQ WAR, DONALD TRUMP's ELECTION FRAUD lies and so on).  in the figure of CHANCE / CHAUNCEY GARDINER you have the very PHYSICAL EMODIMENT of an UNDECIPHERABLE cypher from which power players project their INNERMOST DESIRES and find JUSTIFICATION for such, with literally no actual there being there.

embedded in this scenario is the BITING CRITIQUE that being REAL or AUTHENTIC is not nearly as IMPORTANT as the APPEARANCE of being REAL and/or AUTHENTIC.  especially on TELEVISION.  if one presents as INTELLECTUAL and WELL-INFORMED, then the POWER of the media (and especially TELEVISION) will confirm those SUPERFICIAL cues on the public with potentially DISASTROUS effects.  look to the TELEVISED JOHN F KENNEDY versus RICHARD NIXON debates in 1960 and much later TRUMP and his adroit MANIPULATION of PRESS COVERAGE as historically POTENT examples of such.

i see KOZINSKI's point about the irrelevance of core competency and the supremacy of PRESENTATION in the age of TELEVISION, and it is still unnerving to consider now that we are more than a decade into the SOCIA MEDIA era where this same dynamic plays out in REAL-TIME without end.  in fact, it is absolutely CHILLING.

BEING THERE is required reading in my opinion, much as the PETER SELLER's cinematic vehicle that KOZINSKI participated in the screenplay of shortly thereafter.  its an AMERICAN PARABLE that never becomes tired, in fact it becomes more RELEVANT with each successive tweet and repost.

with ELEVATED BORROWING COSTS spurred on by HIGH INTEREST RATES effectively shutting out young people STATESIDE from entering the CURRENT HOUSING MARKET, it is not particularly surprising that there has been a collective growing interest in ALTERNATIVE HOUSING solutions.  it is the goal of just about everyone to avoid paying RENT as a solution since no EQUITY is amassed in that process.  it is effectively money wasted.  thus on YOUTUBE there are whole host of channels dedicated to more SUSTAINABLE (and RENT FREE) and truly ALTERNATIVE forms of HOUSING OPTIONS such as REFURBISHED VANS, BOATS, BUSES and CAMPERS as well as TENTS, YURTS, CABINS, EARTH SHIPS, TREE HOUSES, STRAW BALE and SHIPPING CONTAINER HOMES.

arguably one of the BETTER YOUTUBE channels revolving this GLOBAL movement towards minimizing one's ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT through the CONSCIOUS downsizing of one's LIVING QUARTERS and becoming SUSTAINABLE through OFF-GRID measures (i.e. electricity from SOLAR PANELS, COMPOST TOILET, PASSIVE TEMPERATURE REGULATION SYSTEMS, RAINWATER COLLECTION and PURIFICATION) is the LIVING BIG IN A TINY HOUSE series hosted by NEW ZEALAND musician/actor/activist BRYCE LANGSTON.  for the past decade LANGSTON has traveled extensively throughout AUSTRALASIA, EUROPE, NORTH AMERICA and EAST ASIA to see the extent to which ordinary people have ingeniously fashioned and detailed their REDUCED SPACES to meet their individual needs.

in a global situation that will inevitably have increasingly LIMITED NATURAL RESOURCES (especially DRINKABLE WATER) throughout the remainder of the  century, the multi-faceted discussion being spurred here surrounding CLIMATE CHANGE, SUSTAINABILITY, DIET, CONSUMERISM, PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINTS by LANGSTON is an unequivocally POIGNANT one that all of us will have to come to grips with sooner or later.  at this stage is very much just food for thought and quite a deeply affecting one at that.   

in summation, LIVING BIG IN A TINY HOUSE is worth checking out.  it has definitely made me reconsider the purpose of all the shit i have amassed in my HOME for starters.

growing up with an IRISH last name, you get a fair dose of INHERITED information about the struggles of distant relatives long-since deceased who emigrated out of IRELAND to both the UNITED KINGDOM and the UNITED STATES in search of a better life.  its one of those things about IRISH IMMIGRANTS and their antecedents that i have a hard time understanding, the fact that a people whose IDENTITY is centered around COMMUNITY, SELF-SUFFICIENCY and RESILIENCE, who had such a rough go internationally at making a living on AMERICAN and BRITISH shores turn around and make it that much harder on the next influx of IMMIGRANTS.

IDENTITY and NATIONALISM is a FUNNY thing, especially with regard to IMMIGRANTS.  the IRISH are not alone in this PREOCCUPATION.  sometimes a band shows up that spurs ideas of NATIONHOOD and NATIONAL IDENTITY.  for me when i think of IRELAND i think of the country that not only brought us U2 (via DUBLIN) and STIFF LITTLE FINGERS (via BELFAST), but also ENGLISH bands like THE POGUES (via LONDON), OASIS and THE SMITHS made up of the children of IRISH IMMIGRANTS.  for me, being IRISH is almost as much about being away from IRELAND as it is about the place itself.  its INTERESTING.

my family derives from LIMERICK, which intriguingly enough is also the home of 1990s ALTERNATIVE ROCK band THE CRANBERRIES who put out one hell of a major-label debut album in NO NEED TO ARGUE (ISLAND, 1994).  the most STRIKING feature of their music is the INTENSE vocals of singer DOLORES O'RIORDAN, who somehow seemed to ooze the PAIN, DESPERATION and VULNERABILITY of the FRACTURED IRISH psyche during THE TROUBLES that lasted from the late 60s well into the late 1990s.  this is most PROMINENT in the PUNISHING brutality of "ZOMBIE," a eulogy of sorts to the WANTON PHYSICAL and PSYCHIC DESTRUCTION of the NEVER-ENDING CONFLICT.  when i consider the lyrics of SHANE MCGOWAN and THE POGUES i think of a very CATHOLIC thread of ROMANTICISM in maintaining a sense of IDENTITY and COMMUNITY abroad while dealing with ISOLATION and DISTANCE.  to me that longing is deeply IRISH.  U2 and VAN MORRISON likewise trade on a POETIC LYRICISM that is the TRADITION of IRISH FOLK MUSIC.  with THE CRANBERRIES they came across as unapologetically CURRENT and DIRECT in their approach.  

sometimes with ALTERNATIVE ROCK, the PAIN being emoted is of an OPAQUE nature.  it almost seems to be more a form of general DISSATISFACTION at the state of the world rather than actual PHYSICAL or PSYCHIC DAMAGE.  in the case of several NOTABLE SEATTLE bands (ALICE IN CHAINS, NIRVANA, SCREAMING TREES), the SUFFERING expressed almost seems related to SELF-INFLICTED drug dependencies run amok.  in contrast, THE CRANBERRIES came across as AUTHENTIC and the AGONY expressed was of an EXISTENTIAL nature framed by their country's seemingly ENDLESS tolerance for churning out its young in a UNCEASING CONFLICT that only succeeded in producing mutual DEATH and MISERY.  even by the standards of the time, their music stood out to me.  and the connection to LIMERICK only deepened that bond.

cant recommend NO NEED TO ARGUE any more forcefully.  it is a beast of a record well worth reinvestigation, even if you aren't IRISH.  their message is a UNIVERSAL one that finds its home in countless STRUGGLING NEIGHBORHOODS and COMMUNITIES, from the past sectarian ethnic TRAUMA of SARAJEVO to the current DEPLORABLE political and economic state of CARACAS.  its arguably more RELEVANT now than ever before.

​RIP DOLORES O'RIORDAN

it is quite difficult not to feel JADED when confronted with OPTIMISM in MODERN CULTURE.  as a consumer you are conditioned to question and criticize the motivation for such, whether there is a marketing plan involved or some other ingenious surreptitious agenda at play assumingely to squeeze value from usable idiots.  i find myself rechecking the calendar to see if this is a seasonal thing or whatever holiday is fast approaching (i.e. thanksgiving, christmas, valentine's day, mother's day, etc.) when confronted with such POSITIVE sentiment.

which is all just a long-winded way of stating that the former GOTHENBERG-based INDIE POP band LOVE IS ALL makes some stirringly UPLIFTING and JOYFUL music.  end stop.

maybe its because they are from SWEDEN and life is good, but i find myself falling under their spell pretty quickly, especially the sweetly NAIVE vocals of singer JOSEPHINE OLAUSSON who sounds remarkably similar to peer and fellow SWEDE KARIN DREIJER of the ELECTRONIC duo THE KNIFE.  maybe their is in affectation involved in singing NON-NATIVE ENGLISH from a SWEDISH enunciation perspective, but whatever it is, it works.

definitely check out the three long-playing releases by LOVE IS ALL. highly  recommended.

cover & text by nacrowe

so much went on in terms of CLASSIC MUSIC in the 20TH CENTURY that it is unfortunate that oftentimes it is forgotten in the COLLECTIVE MEMORY given the enormity of the tidal swell that was the proliferation of POPULAR MUSIC genres from BLUES, RAGTIME, JAZZ and GOSPEL to the development of R&B, ROCKABILLY, ROCK N ROLL, ELECTRONIC MUSIC and HIP HOP that culturally defined what is arguably the AMERICAN century. 

but to look past MODERN COMPOSERS would be a mistake.  if anything it was their innovations and expansion of the very MUSICAL LEXICON accepted in sophisticated circles that allowed for this expansion of SONIC EXPRESSION, from JOHN COLTRANE through THE BEATLES to DR DRE.  it is all the same tree and the same through-line of connected artists playing with the same MUSICAL ELEMENTS created at the beginning of the century by the likes of KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN, IGOR STRAVINSKY and ARNOLD SCHOENBERG among many others.

so lets be specific.  CLASSICAL ELEMENTS that MODERN POPULAR MUSIC continually plays with and utilizes include that of DISSONANCE, SERIALISM, ATONALITY, MINIMALISM and LOOPING.  my entry point into this world was upon watching the EXPERIMENTAL, NONLINEAR and NONVERBAL KOYAANISQATSI () film my freshman year of high school as part of a literature class.  the only thing that experientially grounds the film, other than its LUSH cinematography which evocatively attempts to express the UNIVERSAL NATURE of our COLLECTIVE HUMANITY, is the MINIMALIST PHILIP GLASS score.  hearing those repetitive patterns unfold on each other and create this induced MANTRA of SOUND was absolutely INTOXICATING and something i had hitherto not experienced.  from their i reached forward and back and learned about the lies of other COMPOSERS ranging from STEVE REICH, JOHN CAGE, KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI, DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH, BERNARD HERRMANN, BELA BARTOK, TERRY RILEY and GEORGE GERSHWIN among others.

its journey i am still on, but the INTRIGUING aspect is the expanded CONCEPTUAL NATURE of those COMPOSERS and how their work interweaves and contextualizes CONTEMPORARY MUSIC not consciously aware of these past innovations.  if that is not a metaphor for AMERICA in general i dont know what is.

embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating 20TH CENTURY MODERN COMPOSERS.  enjoy!

throughout the SMASHING PUMPKINS' extensive catalogue it is more than apparent that the generationally TALENTED songwriter BILLY CORGAN had been influenced by and seemingly fully internalized various MODERN genres of ROCK N ROLL, everything from POST PUNK, PSYCHEDELIA, THRASH METAL, POWER POP and SHOEGAZE to PROG ROCK, GLAM ROCK, INDIE ROCK, FOLK MUSIC and  PUNK ROCK among others.  arguably more than any other peer band of the era, this UNIQUE and largely SEAMLESS INTEGRATION of DISPARATE ELEMENTS is what makes ALTERNATIVE ROCK truly ALTERNATIVE.

the debut SMASHING PUMPKINS' album GISH (CAROLINE, 1991) stands out in their stacked discography for being sonically and stylistically more in line with the more aggressively DISSONANT and FUZZED-OUT SHOEGAZE and PSYCHEDELIA end of their influences than the later more REFINED and paired back offerings of later releases.  this can probably be owed to the pronounced influence of SEMINAL LOS ANGELES ART ROCK band JANE'S ADDICTION and their likewise POWERFUL sound that played with the SUBLIME UNPREDICTABILITY of PSYCHEDELIA, the PRECISE TECHNICALITY of METAL and the OFF-KILTER, ANGULAR RHYTHMIC lull of POST PUNK.  all through the IDIOSYNCRATIC PERSPECTIVE of PERRY FARRELL, arguably the originator of the what came to be the 1990s ALTERNATIVE ROCK movement a few years preceding GISH on their second album NOTHING'S SHOCKING (WARNER BROS, 1988). GISH and NOTHING'S SHOCKING to my ears are like sister releases, since there is obviously connective tissue there, not that the former is an artistic approximation of the later. 

big statement GISH tracks like "SIVA," "I AM ONE," "BURY ME" and "TRISTESSA" just sound COLOSSAL with big DRUM PARTS and MASSIVE swells of DISTORTION that shoot off into space.  its almost like the PRODUCTION on a QUEEN album in that respect.  speaking of which, this album marks the first CORGAN collaboration with BUTCH VIG, who would follow this a record with NIRVANA's NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991) before following-up with the SMASHING PUMPKINS again on SIAMESE DREAM (VIRGIN, 1993).  the EXPERIMENTAL SONICS and PUNCHY nature of the more sonically AGGRESSIVE SOUNDS on GISH is very much a credit to VIG at this stage in his career and what he could achieve on a modest budget.  the STANDOUT track to me on GISH is undoubtedly the more SUBTLE and NUANCED "RHINOCEROS," with its slow build-up and AFFECTIVE crescendo.   it is the first in a long line of hauntingly BEAUTIFUL yet TENDER and HEARTFELT CORGAN songs that would come on subsequent releases like "LUNA," "MAYONAISE" and "DISARM" off SIAMESE DREAM, "PORCELINA OF THE VAST OCEANS," "1979," "CUPID DE LOCKE" and "THIRTY-THREE" off MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS (VIRGIN, 1995) , "PUG," "APPELS + ORANJES" and "PERFECT" off ADORE (VIRGIN, 1998) as well as "AGE OF INNOCENCE," "STAND INSIDE YOUR LOVE," "I OF THE MOURNING," "RAINDROPS + SUNSHOWERS" and "TRY, TRY, TRY" off MACHINA: THE MACHINES OF GOD (VIRGIN, 2000) among others.  in my estimation, that lineage of tracks that kicks off with "RHINOCEROS" is the very reason the SMASHING PUMPKINS are an ESSENTIAL band of the ALTERNATIVE ROCK era.  it is where they differentiated themselves from their peer groups in terms of both IMAGINATION and DEDICATION to an elevated nod to TRADITIONAL SONG-CRAFT.

those AFFECTING tracks and the VULNERABILITY they represent are also the basis for the INTENSE disappointment i felt regarding CORGAN when he made his UNFORTUNATE heel turn in the 2010s with his alignment with the CONSPIRATORIAL and PREDATORY ALEX JONES / DONALD TRUMP crowd.  but that is a topic for another time, probably when i get around to making an episode regarding the band for my radio show.  until then, GISH is well worth checking out again and rediscovering.  it is an INCREDIBLE debut effort from a TRAILBLAZING band.

after reading guitarist GRAHAM COXON's recent ENGROSSING VERSE, CHORUS, MONSTER! (linked HERE) memoir i sought out the relatively OBSCURE BLUR tour documentary STARSHAPED (PARLOPHONE, 1993) from the earlier 1990s.  the band at the time were rather GREEN and touring in support of their early releases LEISURE (FOOD, 1993) and MODERN LIFE IS RUBBISH (FOOD, 1993) while participating in music festivals such as READING and GLASTONBURY for the first time.  aside from the performances, most of the FLY-ON-THE-WALL road footage showcases the band in some stage of INEBRIATION.  im sure when this film was haphazardly recorded by their friends there was some hope of this footage being ENTERTAINING, but what comes across most prominently is the inanity and BOREDOM of being a TOURING MUSICIAN.  ALCOHOL seemingly dulled social and performance ANXIETY while also bringing out a more EXTREME (and frankly EMBARRASSING) version of each of the bandmates.  such was being YOUNG.

interestingly, this early 1990s era also predates MODERN widespread internet-enabled TELECOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY by at least a decade, so you get the PALPABLE feeling that these YOUNG MUSICIANS felt like they were out to sea on an adventure with nothing to document such but the film itself.  my family moved to AFRICA in late 1995 and calling friends stateside was an EXPENSIVE and incredibly TRICKY thing.  this was all well before EMAILING, TEXTING, FACETIMING, POSTING, DM-ING, SKYPING, ZOOMING and all that.  it felt initially like i was deserted on an island.  i can only imagine what being an INTERNATIONAL TOURING MUSICIAN for the first time must have felt like during that period.  everything is NOVEL, EXHILARATING and UNKNOWN.  touring now is different since SOCIAL MEDIA makes everyone OMNIPRESENT and APPROACHABLE everywhere, all the time.

​obviously, the ALCOHOL backfired further down the line as the COXON / DAMON ALBARN creative relationship was ultimately STRAINED for a number of years because of the dual accumulated toll of MISCOMMUNICATION and INSECURITY that was masked through DRINKING.  COXON himself describes how the bottle was able to numb his DEEP ANXIETY and drowning sense of DEPRESSION, which gave excuse for the EVER-CURIOUS ALBARN to seek other artistic collaborations and projects (i.e. GORILLAZ, THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE QUEEN, ROCKET JUICE & THE MOON, etc).  what is COMPELLING about STARSHAPED is the ability to watch those dynamics organically metastasize seemingly in REAL-TIME.

STARSHAPED is not the most ENGROSSING or WELL-EDITED documentary, but that is also its charm.  it was obviously a product meant to cash-in on the ascending popularity of both BLUR and the emerging BRITPOP movement writ large.  you very much get to witness a band coming into their own and arguably project themselves for the last time with MINIMAL ARTIFICE.  that would soon change as the band grew in popularity and the downside of FAME and its pressure caught up.

i was never a fan of RACING.  just want to be forthright about my bis straight from the jump.  i never understood the AESTHETIC APPEAL of incredibly VOLATILE VEHICLES, designed and manufactured at the very limits of AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY, making a PREDETERMINED  series of left turns on a CIRCULAR TRACK at exceedingly EXCESSIVE rates of speed.  i understood that there was TALENT involved, but it never spoke to me at anywhere near the same level of GRACE and FINESSE as a WELL-TRIANGULATED FOOTBALL assist, an ELEGANT contested jump shot in BASKETBALL or the low parabola of a base hit that barely overshoots the grasp of a shortstop's outstretched glove in BASEBALL.

reading THE DEATH OF AYRTON SENNA (VIKING, 1995) by RICHARD WILLIAMS helped me see RACING in that same EXPRESSIVE vein.  WILLIAMS in his LYRICAL and borderline METAPHYSICAL accounting of the innate SYNERGISTIC BEAUTY of the late LEGENDARY BRAZILIAN FORMULA 1 driver AYRTON SENNA, vividly presents not only the DELICATE balance between ART and DEATH inherent in the SPORT, but also the PHILOSOPHY for living that motivated who is largely considered the GREATEST RACE CAR driver of all-time.

and its INTRIGUING to consider the position of a driver. 

in what is ostensibly a highly COLLABORATIVE TEAM SPORT that continually pushes the limits of AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY innovated and provided by corporate partners in an incredibly CUTTHROAT and COMPETITIVE environment, where success is measured literally in millimeters and seconds, the EXPERIENCE of the driver is largely solitary.  the driver is where TECHNIQUE, FINESSE and RISK integrates with MECHANICAL, SOFTWARE and METALLURGICAL TECHNOLOGY.  SENNA since childhood, is said by WILLIAMS to have had an INNATE and PRETERNATURAL ABILITY to palpably SENSE and FEEL the TECHNICAL LIMITATIONS of his equipment, whether they be GO-KARTS or FORMULA 1 RACE CARS.  the acuity of his MEMORY regarding shifts in the functionality of his vehicles was second to none and was a COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE for the engineers he collaborated with throughout his career.  not only that, he had the ABILITY to PSYCHOLOGICALLY INTIMIDATE his opponents by driving incredibly aggressively, especially around turns that were not classically considered TRADITIONAL PASSING OPPORTUNITIES.  this extreme COMPETITIVENESS was interpreted as RECKLESSNESS by his rivals and FEARLESSNESS by his admirers, but that MENTALITY shifted the sport form its post-WAR roots to that of the MODERN era.  he was constantly pushing his own TECHNIQUE, FITNESS, KNOWLEDGE and most importantly his WILL to push the extent of his ABILITIES in the EVER-ASSING present moment.  and that sense of OPPORTUNISM and ELITE CONFIDENCE is the crux of what made THE DEATH OF AYRTON SENNA so COMPELLING a read.

because in that drive to OUTSMART, OUT-INNOVATE and OUT-WILL your opponent is the very real RISK and UNSPOKEN CONSEQUENCE involved with overplaying one's hand on the track, which is DEATH.  and not just your life but potentially that of your competitors and even that of the spectators.  with the exception of maybe AMERICAN FOOTBALL, the potential LETHALITY of RACING is PARAMOUNT, OMNIPRESENT and inherently a part of its MYSTIQUE.  not to me, but to fans worldwide.  part of the allure of SENNA also is how a SOUTH AMERICAN, albeit a PRIVILEGED one, came to DOMINATE what is largely a euro-centric SPORT and became a SINGULAR icon to his home nation of BRASIL.  in my review of the CELEBRATED film SENNA (linked HERE), i mentioned the fact that when i went to RIO DE JANIERO almost a decade ago, i was expecting to see yellow PELE SOCCER jerseys with the ICONIC number 10 everywhere, but instead what i saw in small shops and side streets were little DECORATIVE yellow racing helmets with  horizontal green and blue stripes.  thus was my introduction to SENNA more than two decades after his PASSING.

and much like the SHOCKING and untimely DEATH of a BELOVED musician, actor politician or artist, the PASSING of SENNA is a part of the legacy.  the EXTRAORDINARY VIGOR, SACRIFICE and AMBITION in which he courted DEATH on the track in pursuit of PERFORMANCE was UNPARALLELED and shook the SPORT to its core.  that balance between ART and DEATH was EVER-PRESENT and followed him into his final seventh lap at SAN MARINO GRAND PRIX at the IMOLA CIRCUIT in BOLOGNA in 1994.  WILLIAMS attempts to not romanticize such but there is no clear answer about the reason for the CRASH, whether it was MECHANICAL or HUMAN ERROR in nature.  his SKILL was such that no one sincerely believes it was the fault of SENNA, instead believing that the EXPERIMENTAL nature of the VEHICLE and its UNPROVEN TECHNOLOGY over-road his ABILITY to instinctually NAVIGATE his way out of a FATAL circumstance.

SENNA was the pinnacle of NATURAL BORN INSTINCT, but in the years before his DEATH the SPORT was transforming with the integration of new onboard AUTOMATED COMPUTER SYSTEMS that took over key components of the VEHICLE.  such SOFTWARE provided a DISTINCT COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE to his rivals, which was his reasoning behind him switching TEAMS the year before his PASSING from MCLAREN to WILLIAMS.  unfortunately those SYSTEMS were outlawed after his transfer and the WILLIAMS car sans those AUTOMATED features was an INFERIOR and UNDER-ENGINEERED VEHICLE.  he DIED in a VEHICLE he was largely UNFAMILIAR in an effort to stay the competition. 

there is a parable in there somewhere, but WILLIAMS in an ARTICULATE and EMOTIVE fashion elucidated the appeal of RACING for me in a manner i was unprepared for, with ART versus DEATH at its central crossroads. 

THE DEATH OF AYRTON SENNA is a RIVETING book well-worth checking out.

i love it when you come across an ARTICLE, VIDEO or PODCAST where one particular component ELEMENT of an ensemble entity gets plucked out and analyzed in detail.  such is the case with the recent SNARE series by LAUTEN AUDIO that touches on the subject of that VENERABLE PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT that is traditionally used to establish PULSE and TEMPO (as well as ACCENTS for added FLAIR) in a band setting. 

each of the three current episodes follows the specific SNARE DRUM DECISIONS (and settings) of a drummer on their CELEBRATED RECORDINGS.  this includes ALTERNATIVE ROCK drummer BRAD WILK of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and AUDIOSLAVE, THRASH METAL drummer PAUL BOSTAPH of SLAYER, EXODUS and TESTAMENT and the LEGENDARY R&B session and touring drummer JAMES GADSON who has played on recordings by everyone from BILL WITHERS, THE TEMPTATIONS, BECK, ALBERT KING and MARVIN GAYE to WILCO, D'ANGELOU, MARTHA REEVES, QUINCY JONES and B.B. KING among many others.

what comes across in this series is the SIGNIFICANT extent to which this GEAR CHOICE impacts the TECHNIQUE and FEEL of the players (from varying genres), which undoubtedly translates on the RECORDINGS.  being that the drums are what instigate the SKELETAL STRUCTURE and MOVEMENT of these tracks, it is not hyperbole to suggest that such an OVERLOOKED ELEMENT as the SNARE DRUM is quite INSTRUMENTAL and IMPACTFUL in determining the SOUND of the final product as all the other ELEMENTS of the ensemble take their sonic cue from such.

inevitably you begin to wonder what these RECORDINGS would sound like sans that particular SNARE SOUND.  which is kind of the point.  SNARE is beyond INTERESTING and i hope LAUTEN AUDIO continue making more episodes out there in NORTHRIDGE at STUDIO 606.

i first came across the LEGENDARY BRONX rapper BIG PUN and the sole album released during his lifetime, CAPITAL PUNISHMENT (LOUD, 1998) back shortly after its release in the late 1990s when i was a freshman in high school.  i was at a boarding school and literally the dude next door to me had that record on repeat day after day ad nauseam, so i feel like i learned that album practically by osmosis. 

and to tell you the truth, i wasnt a fan.

HIP HOP from the jump has long been about AMBITION and SUCCESS and the projection of DREAMS of better conditions unto the future that will hopefully materialize and lead to an improved financial future for one's family.  a lot of the CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION and CHEAP BRAGGADOCIO related to the GAUDY flaunting of MATERIAL GOODS (CHAINS, CARS, CLOTHING or even literal MONEY itself) comes from that DARK REALITY of UNDERREPRESENTATION, INEQUALITY and loss of opportunity (OCCUPATIONAL and EDUCATIONAL for starters) that comes from decades of LACK OF COMMUNITY INVESTMENT that has long been a real pox on the inner-city.  CAPITAL PUNISHMENT came out during the BLING ERA of HIP HOP during the late 90s and early 00s when the VULGAR and COPIOUS display of MATERIAL WEALTH was a given for most MAINSTREAM rappers.  when i heard a track like "STILL NOT A PLAYER" back in that context of my high school dorm room and its lyrical focus on bragging about SEXUAL CONQUESTS and the accumulation of MATERIAL OBJECTS, i was uninterested and turned off effectively immediately.  much like i was similarly DISMISSIVE (and still am) about the similar efforts of particularly EGREGIOUS offenders such as PUFF DADDY, T-PAIN, JIM JONES, LIL JON and the like.  i was raised on a previous generation of HIP HOP in CYPRESS HILL, PUBLIC ENEMY, BEASTIE BOYS and A TRIBE CALLED QUEST and in time would grow to appreciate similar artists upon discovery in ERIC B & RAKIM, DEL THE FUNKY HOMOSAPIEN, MOBB DEEP, MF DOOM, NAS, GANG STARR, BIG L, MADLIB, EMINEM and especially the WU-TANG CLAN, all RENOWNED lyricists known for their TECHNICAL ABILITY, FLOW, INVENTIVENESS and STREET-LEVEL perspective.

at the time BIG PUN to me was more like the PUERTO RICAN version of PUFF DADDY.  and for the record PUFFY is and always will be irredeemably LAME.

where i should have been looking was the NOTORIOUS B.I.G. for a comparison.  like BIGGY, BIG PUN was an EXPERT lyricist who championed his community and embodied the ASPIRATIONAL lifestyle that came with chasing MATERIAL OBJECTS.  in the intervening years i have come to correct my initial reaction and respect the WORDPLAY and CRAFT of BIG PUN on tracks like "YOU AIN'T A KILLER," "TWINZ (DEEP COVER)" and "YOU CAME UP."  the dude was particularly comfortable with RAPID-FIRE INTERNAL RHYME SCHEMES and bending WORDS and PHRASES to his will in an EFFORTLESS and INTERCHANGEABLE manner between both ENGLISH and SPANISH, which is something i still have not come across to same extent in years since.  obviously BIG PUN is still much BELOVED in THE BRONX as well as PUERTO RICO and his untimely passing from a heart attack at 28 back in 2000 is a tragedy for that borough specifically as well as the greater HIP HOP community in general.  posthumously the peer he is mostly compared to his EMINEM, with his penchant for turning REAL-LIFE experiences into rarified ALLEGORICAL LYRICAL CONTENT with an UNBRIDLED, CREATIVE FLOW that was both highly TECHNICAL and CRAZY CLEVER.

obviously i got over my initial dismissal of BIG PUN and have seen the error of my ways.  i feel like a lot of artists from that era i need to revisit and reassess.  but thats on me.

TIM ARMSTRONG really does not need any introduction.  or further publicity from blogs like this for that matter. 

he has long been a MODERN PUNK ROCK legend.  this was his legacy even before his much-CELEBRATED long-term band RANCID got off the ground in 1991 due to his previous participation in the likewise ICONIC SKA PUNK outfit OPERATION IVY.  much like his peers in GREEN DAY, BAD RELIGION, NOFX, PENNYWISE, SUBLIME and THE OFFSPRING (maybe), the personal narrative of ARMSTRONG is arguably synonymous with the narrative of the genre itself.

that being said, ARMSTRONG's TIM TIMEBOMB & FRIENDS project is a USEFUL vehicle that allows him to temporarily park the ambitions of his legacy project in RANCID and deep-dive into his eclectic appreciation of REGGAE, FOLK, ROCKABILLY, NEW WAVE, COUNTRY, DUB, CLASSIC ROCK, AMERICANA, and all things SKA, as well as outside projects such as his musical ROCKNROLL THEATRE film series.  it also allows him the ability and freedom to collaborate with outside musicians.  at this stage in the game ARMSTRONG is such a BELOVED SONGWRITER, no doubt due to his penchant for MELODY and the deeply PERSONAL / AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL nature of his LYRICAL CONTENT, that a project vehicle that allows him to branch out of his pocket and further develop his artistic potential sans the self-imposed genre confinements of PUNK ROCK feels like a WELCOME and APPROPRIATE thing. 

and much DESERVED. 

much like every RANCID release has delivered the goods, i likewise look forward to TIM TIMEBOMB & FRIENDS releases since it provides a perspective on where his heart is at during the current moment.  definitely worth checking out.

parody by nacrowe

there is a whole litany of SUCCESSFUL second acts in MODERN MUSIC HISTORY, especially of the SOLO ACT variety coming off a massively INFLUENTIAL and commercially LUCRATIVE group project, but i am hard pressed to think of another ROCK N ROLL example other than NOEL GALLAGHER who has been able to match (if not succeed) the quality of output of his former band, i.e. OASIS.  JOHN LENNON's post-BEATLES output was rather SPOTTY, albeit with some spellbindingly TRANSCENDENT highlights.  dont get me started on the embarrassment that is PAUL MCCARTNEY.  the caliber of company i can come up with are SEMINAL SOLO ARTISTS like MORRISSEY (THE SMITHS), IGGY POP (THE STOOGES), OZZY OSBOURNE (BLACK SABBATH), NEIL YOUNG (BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD, CSN & Y) and LOU REED (THE VELVET UNDERGROUND).

what is INTRIGUING about that list is that arguably those ARTISTS were the stars of their former groups.  yes they all had FORMIDABLE and LEGENDARY COLLABORATORS and CO-SONGWRITERS with the likes of JOHNNY MARR (THE SMITHS), JAMES WILLIAMSON and the ASHTON BROTHERS (THE STOOGES), TONY IOMMI (BLACK SABBATH), STEPHEN STILLS (BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD, CSN & Y) and JOHN CALE (THE VELVET UNDERGROUND), but in contrast the case of NOEL found him to not be the star, but the sole SONGWRITER and LYRICIST [for the majority of OASIS' career] in CREATIVE and ARTISTIC support of his VOCALIST younger brother, LIAM. 

so in a very REAL sense, OASIS was NOEL and NOEL was OASIS.  cant say that about MORRISSEY, POP, OSBOURNE, YOUNG or REED.  or even LENNON or MCCARTNEY. or for that matter STING (THE POLICE), BRYAN FERRY (ROXY MUSIC), RAY DAVIES (THE KINKS) or ROBBIE ROBERTSON (THE BAND).

so when he went solo in 2009, NOEL effectively took the CREATIVE BRAINTRUST of OASIS with him, and the intervening years have seen that eye for QUALITY SONG-CRAFT expand into new SONIC TERRAIN with songs that juxtapose his penchant for MEMORABLE MELODIES with AMBIENT and ELECTRONIC TEXTURES as well as DANCE rhythms.  such excursions into DANCE CULTURE might seem on the face of it COUNTERINTUITIVE and in stark contrast to the traditional ROCK N ROLL ethos that OASIS represented to many an ALTERNATIVE ROCK and BRITPOP enthusiast, but you have to consider that his FORMATIVE years were spent at the HACIENDA in MANCHESTER during the peak years of the ACID HOUSE explosion of the late 1980s.  OASIS and NOEL were children of the MADCHESTER scene so such later EXPERIMENTATION with such is not really that odd when viewed in context.  what is COMPELLING is that those SONIC EXPERIMENTS lead to some QUALITY tracks such as "BLACK STAR DANCING," "BLUE MOON RISING," "THIS IS THE PLACE" and "SHE TAUGHT ME HOW TO FLY" that rank up with his best work.

and in essence that UNIQUE capacity to INNOVATE and continually EVOLVE his sound in a manner that builds on his FORMIDABLE strengths as a SONGWRITER is what makes NOEL so FASCINATING a CULTURAL FIGURE.  he is not dredging up the past or attempting to be something he was back in his 20s.  if anything, he is in the moment.  THIS MOMENT.  and i am forever looking forward to checking out his new material.

​embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the solo work of the ICONIC BRITISH songwriter NOEL GALLAGHER.  enjoy!

arguably the defining moment of my life (so far) was when my family moved to NIGERIA from SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA in the mid-1990s.  shortly after arriving during this pre-internet era a classmate introduced me to 311 via their breakout self-titled 311 (CAPRICORN, 1995) album and from there i sought out on subsequent overseas trips their previous MUSIC (CAPRICORN, 1993) and GRASSROOTS (CAPRICORN, 1994) albums.  needless to say, these three records as well as the subsequent TRANSISTOR (CAPRICORN, 1997) release was an INTEGRAL part of my soundtrack to the TRANSFORMATIONAL experience of living and exploring WEST AFRICA as a teenager.

and for me that UNIQUE interplay between my memories growing up in a foreign culture and the music itself is what makes 311 such an emotionally loaded topic for me, as i am sure it is for all people and the CONSEQUENTIAL ART, LITERATURE, FILM and MUSIC they consumed at a PIVOTAL stage in their life.  but i will try.  it is evident with even a CURSORY listen of GRASSROOTS tracks like "TAIYED," "LOSE," "GRASSROOTS" and especially "8:16 A.M." that co-vocalist / rhythm guitarist and main songwriter NICK HEXUM seemingly knows his way around EVOCATIVE and SOOTHING JAZZ-based PROGRESSIONS.  the sonic juxtaposition of MEMORABLE SINGLE-NOTE FUNK-based GUITAR RIFFS with HIP HOP production and vocal cadence, as well as REGGAE-indebted RHYTHMS and a layering of those SOPHISTICATED JAZZ CHORD INVERSIONS immediately differentiates the MUSICAL STYLINGS of 311 from that of likewise artistically FORMIDABLE, HYBRID ALTERNATIVE ROCK peer groups at the time like the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and later INCUBUS.  drummer CHAD SEXTON likewise adroitly fuels this CONTAGIOUS kinetic energy and RHYTHMIC FORWARD MOMENTUM with patterns that are often HARD-DRIVING SHUFFLES, which makes sense given the SOPHISTICATION of the MELODIES and underpinning CHORD PROGRESSIONS at play, especially on COMPLEX showcase tracks such as "SIX," "NUTSYMPTOM," "LUCKY" and  "APPLIED SCIENCE".  worth mentioning also are the indelibly LYRICAL SOLOS of lead guitarist TIM MAHONEY that are reminiscent of THE GRATEFUL DEAD's JERRY GARCIA's lead work, especially with his IDIOSYNCRATIC penchant for the AUTO-WAH GUITAR EFFECT.  STANDOUT moments include the MAHONEY leads on "LOSE" and "TAIYED."

for me the highlight of the album (and arguably 311's catalogue) is the BROODING and emotively CHURNING buildup of the last track "1, 2, 3."  the way the song EBBS and FLOWS and seemingly FLOATS along a MYSTERIOUS ethereal plane until it CRESCENDOS into a satisfying RESOLVE that gets me every time.  its just musically SOPHISTICATED in a way that doesnt necessarily show-off that capacity, but leaves you as a listener SATISFIED and CONTENT.  almost like a great PSYCHEDELIC BEACH BOYS or FLAMING LIPS track that takes you along on a LUSH AURAL JOURNEY.  its an experience.  lyrically the songs seems to be dealing with how to deal with REGRET for the past and the PSYCHIC PAIN and CONFUSION that comes with FORGIVING ONESELF and MOVING FORWARD.  letting the past be in the past.  life in NIGERIA could be quite BRUTAL at the time, dealing with all that comes with being a foreign child of PRIVILEGE amidst a military dictatorship.  WANTON DEATH, POVERTY, INEQUALITY and HUMAN SUFFERING was something i witnessed at an INTIMATE distance as a teenager.  it was easy to feel HELPLESS and completely IMPOTENT to effect change in that environment, never mind the social awkwardness of going through puberty.  "1, 2, 3" was a song in particular during that period that i relied on to CALM ME DOWN and get me through some truly TERRIBLE days and for that i still feel decades later a SPECIAL affinity for 311 and their music.  to me GRASSROOTS is their greatest moment in a career full of highlights, but that is probably more of an assessment based on my personal narrative then theirs.

either way, GRASSROOTS is well worth checking out.  much like the RICH and ECLECTIC 311 catalogue in general.  enjoy.

ROCK N ROLL seemingly came to MATURITY in the 1970s.  the 1950s with the advent of mass produced solid-body guitars (and amplification) and televisions presented the world a with an early HYBRID ROCKABILLY / R&B form with the likes CHUCK BERRY, THE EVERLY BROTHERS, LITTLE RICHARD, BUDDY HOLLY and ELVIS PRESLEY among others.  the 1960s STREAMLINED the sound, presentation and recording of such with ENGLISH BLUES aficionados in BRITISH INVASION acts like THE BEATLES, THE KINKS, THE ANIMALS and THE ROLLING STONES reintroducing such back to an AMERICAN audience.  the 1970s in comparison was a bit of a CULTURAL FREE-FOR-ALL with the TURMOIL from the late 1960s coming to fruition in the form of CHAOTIC proto-PUNK bands like the MC5 and THE STOOGES, as well as later HEAVIER acts like LED ZEPPELIN and BLACK SABBATH was well as the whole PUNK MOVEMENT at the end of the decade.  the originally DETROIT-based CREEM MAGAZINE is an artifact of that period and channeled the REBELLIOUS ETHOS of that UNSETTLING period.  the recent CREEM: AMERICA'S ONLY ROCK 'N' ROLL MAGAZINE (BOY HOWDY, 2019) documentary is an attempt at explaining and contextualizing the publication and is somewhat of a love letter to such as it is produced by the son of the late founding publisher BARRY KRAMER. 

at the center of that magazine during its peak years was the ever-CONTENTIOUS TRIUMVIRATE of the aforementioned KRAMER, EDITOR DAVE MARSH and LEGENDARY CONTRIBUTING WRITER LESTER BANGS.  the push-and-pull dynamics between those three saw the magazine overlap into POLITICS, CULTURAL CRITICISM and SOCIAL COMMENTARY with a SARDONIC, IRREVERENT flair that would not be tolerated into today's polite society.  and not without good reason.  some of the content was outright TOXIC with INAPPROPRIATE and UNBRIDLED HOMOPHOBIA, SEXISM, FAT-SHAMING and RACIALLY-MOTIVATED NATIVISM being the UGLY norm.  all seemingly done in an effort to be EDGY, CONFRONTATIONAL and seemingly attempting present a highly REDUCTIVE "every man" perspective.  but hey, it was the 70s, right?   errrrrrrrr.  im glad that they didnt choose to gloss past such, but it is quite embarrassing to witness in hindsight.

CREEM was consciously very much in contention with the SAN FRANCISCO-based ROLLING STONE.  they viewed themselves as channeling the ETHOS of the COUNTERCULTURE and the WORKING CLASS, whereas the independently wealthy JANN WENNER-led ROLLING STONE in comparison was above the fray and not engaged with POPULAR CULTURE at a STREET-LEVEL.  this thesis has only been openly discussed fairly with WENNER's propensity to whitewash coverage of AFRICAN-AMERICAN artists as well as consider them (as well as WOMEN) intellectually insignificant cultural actors as evidenced by his recent much-maligned book.  to get a sense of his inability to be in tune with the ZEITGEIST, consider for example that as  ROLLING STONE was repeatedly promoting JAMES TAYLOR, at the the end of the 1960s as the future of ROCK N ROLL, CREEM was in contrast championing THE STOOGES.  enough said right there. 

for me the most COMPELLING aspect of the CREEM narrative is the fact that it was started by complete AMATEURS with no training or supervision in a distinctly WORKING CLASS environment, with all that such entails.  it was BRASH and UNREFINED and no doubt broke with JOURNALISTIC (and some would say MORAL) STANDARDS, but it was also honest and spoke directly to an emerging audience in a way that came off as distinctly AUTHENTIC.  thus it became throughout the decade the perfect vehicle for ARTISTS to champion and in turn bring them closer to their public on a HUMAN LEVEL.  and that is essentially the LEGACY that is claimed in the film.  the other being the tragic and sadly PATHETIC passings of both KRAMER and BANGS, victims of the ROCK N ROLL lifestyles they so fervently and eloquently championed in print.

notable interview participants include MICHIGANDER MUSICIANS such as WAYNE KRAMER (MC5), JAMES WILLIAMSON (THE STOOGES), ALICE COOPER, NIAGARA DETROIT (DESTROY ALL MONSTERS), DON WAS, CHAD SMITH (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS), TED NUGENT, SUZI QUATRO, MITCH RYDER and SCOTT RICHARDSON (SRC) as well as other ARTISTS of the period like JOAN JETT (THE RUNAWAYS),  GENE SIMMONS & PAUL STANLEY (KISS), CHRIS STEIN (BLONDIE), PETER WOLF (J GEILS BAND) and LENNY KAYE (PATTI SMITH GROUP).  also worth mention are other later MUSICIANS that were influenced by the magazine that were interviewed including MICHAEL STIPE (R.E.M.), KEITH MORRIS (BLACK FLAG, CIRCLE JERKS, OFF!), KIRK HAMMETT (METALLICA), JEFF AMENT (PEARL JAM), PATRICK CARNEY (BLACK KEYS), STEVE & JEFF MCDONALD (REDD KROSS), SCOTT KEMPNER (THE DICTATORS) and THURSTON MOORE (SONIC YOUTH).  the list goes on to include VISUAL ARTISTS SHEPARD FAIREY and LAMAR SORRENTINO, DESIGNER JOHN VARVATOS, ACTOR JEFF DANIELS, MODEL BEBE BUELL and NOTABLE WRITERS / EDITORS / PUBLISHERS like CAMERON CROWE (ROLLING STONE), GREIL MARCUS (ROLLING STONE), LEGS MCNEIL (PUNK / SPIN / NERVE) and JOHN HOLMSTROM (PUNK).

all that being said, CREAM: AMERICA'S ONLY ROCK 'N' ROLL MAGAZINE is a FEARLESS film well-worth checking out as it presents the narrative of a major CULTURAL publication with a particular VIEWPOINT, warts and all.

ACID NUN (SILVER SPROCKET, 2022) by CORINNE HALBERT is not a conventional comic book by any stretch of the IMAGINATION.  instead it is more of a TRANSGRESSIVELY-conceived, highly ALLEGORICAL EXORCISM of past REAL-WORLD TRAUMA in a vividly-depicted PHANTASMAGORIC  world of the OCCULT with the DEVIL, DEMONS, BAPHOMET and ACID-TRIPPING NUNS aplenty.  reading this SUBVERSIVE graphic novel very much reminded me of the latin quote [that some have attributed to the 16th century ENGLISH playwright / poet CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE] "quod me nutrit, me destruit" which roughly translates to "what nourishes me also destroys me."  there is a real sense that the DEEP-SEATED PERSONAL EXPERIENCES HALBERT is attempting to PURGE and RESOLVE through the creation of this graphic novel have led to hard-gained WISDOM and CONFIDENCE.   in a sense the APPALLING actions depicted in this ADULT-THEMED ALLEGORY can be understood to be the valley needed to be traversed in order to make it to the SUMMIT.

that being said, all the FRANK depictions of RANDOM COPULATION,  BRUTAL SEXUAL VIOLENCE and COPIOUS DRUG USE that HALBERT employs seem geared not towards generating SHOCK VALUE per se, but more of an unimaginably INTENSE expression of the depths of PAIN and SUFFERING that come from surviving SEVERE CHILDHOOD TRAUMA.  its a WARPED reality with a WARPED MORAL CODE in which the figureheads of the underworld are the protagonists despite their REPETITIVE, HEDONISTIC behavior.  given that there are several guest artists that have provided their take on the ACID NUN character and her ugly voyage towards SELF-DISCOVERY, makes me consider that HALBERT has a SUPPORTIVE community that supports this DEBAUCHED endeavor to plumb the depths of DEPRAVITY and basic human decency. 

i find the whole thing quite LIBERATING.  that idea of sublimating all that RAGE, FRUSTRATION and SELF-EVISCERATING FEELINGS into a POSITIVE ARTISTIC EXPRESSION that will likewise hit home for likewise AFFECTED individuals out there.  this graphic novel is definitely not for everyone, but neither is the creative work of KATHY ACKER, WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS, ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE, G.G. ALLIN, FRANCIS BACON, J.G. BALLARD, LYDIA LUNCH, HUBERT SELBY JR, LOU REED or ANDRES SERRANO. 

to HALBERT's audience i think this work is a godsend.  pun intended.  definitiely worth checking out if you are into more extreme fair and gloriously pseudo-religious, vibrant depictions of the sublime and the unspeakable.

parodies by nacrowe

check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO  celebrating the AUSTRALIAN PUNK ROCK / ALTERNATIVE ROCK singer-songwriter BRODY DALLE!
​
​​past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives.

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THE BEATLES' EPIC SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (PARLOPHONE, 1967) record gets perpetually credited for being this LANDMARK CONCEPT album, but to tell you the truth, i dont see it.  not that the songs are not TRANSCENDENT, with INNOVATIVE and absolutely SPECTACULAR tracks like "LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS," "BEING FOR THE BENEFIT OF MR. KITE," "SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND" and the STARTLING, GAME-CHANGING, MULTI-SECTION track "A DAY IN THE LIFE," this album is very much worthy of the praise it has received through the generations.  but outside of the first song that sets up the LYRICAL CONCEIT of an extended outfit of lonely people in what i presume is a marching band, the whole "CONCEPT" falls apart.  which is FINE since, as i said before, the songs stack up and more than hold their weight in their ECLECTIC and INVENTIVE GENIUS.

famously in 1966, THE BEATLES gave up touring after years of being unable to hear themselves play and decided to retreat to the more EMPOWERING and FULFILLING confines of the RECORDING STUDIO.  gone was the pretense for creating something that could be recreated or facsimiled live and instead was the artistic gambit to truly utilize the STUDIO as an INSTRUMENT and push it as far as they creatively could.  that sense of AMBITION and loss of pretense for REAL-WORLD applications is the actual CULTURAL LEGACY of SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND and set a STANDARD for generations of ROCK N ROLL bands to attempt to follow.  everyone from THE BEACH BOYS, ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, BLUR, THE FLAMING LIPS, RADIOHEAD and KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD have seen the scope and scale of this particular project as a beacon and an open invitation to likewise not limit their own CREATIVITY.  that being said, its technically a MIRACLE that it exists given the PRIMITIVE state of the RECORDING TECHNOLOGY back in the late 1960s, as this album was recorded on a four-track ANALOG TAPE MACHINES.  that means that all those layers of instruments, percussion and vocals had to be paired down to one of those four tracks with no ability to go back and revise.  today with DIGITAL RECORDING TECHNOLOGY there is an ENDLESS amount of TRACKS that can be individually tweaked with near LIMITLESS parameters.  SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND in that sense is as much a TECHNICAL feat as it is a CREATIVE one and the work of longtime producer GEORGE MARTIN and engineer GEOFF EMERICK should be duly commended.

when i think about THE BEATLES, i always have to remind myself that their artistic partnership and UNPARALLELED EVOLUTION as a creative entity lasted only seven years across thirteen studio albums.  it is absolutely MIND-BOGGING the PACE and QUALITY CONTROL of those releases.  admittedly the first few releases from PLEASE PLEASE ME (PARLOPHONE, 1963) up through BEATLES FOR SALE (PARLOPHONE, 1964) had a litany of cover songs to pad their track-listings, but from HELP! (PARLOPHONE, 1965) onwards through ABBEY ROAD (APPLE, 1969) they essentially recorded whatever songs they had available.  its ASTOUNDING that these records are as COHESIVE as they are, with MODERN bands having numerous finished songs left on the CUTTING ROOM FLOOR as par for course.  back in the 1960s there was no sense that this ROCK N ROLL movement or the BRITISH INVASION cohort of bands would be anything but a FLASH-IN-THE-PAN, MOMENTARY CULTURAL PHENOMENON, so PARLOPHONE and other labels likewise pushed their artists for more PRODUCT.  meaning at least two full-lengths a year with holiday non-album singles that also had original b-sides.  i mean just the b-sides alone of THE BEATLES are amazing.  all of this is to say that the POPULAR CONCEPTION of the making of SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND is that it was this huge masterplanned effort, when in reality these were just the next batch of songs.  it is INTERESTING that GEORGE HARRISON and RINGO STARR are low on their assessment of such given their lack of creative participation relative to past efforts.  i love this record, but from this PSYCHEDELIC, sonically ADVENTUROUS and EXPANSIVE period of the band, i prefer the truly DADA-esque and FREE-ASSOCIATIVE nature of the songs on its LESS-CELEBRATED follow-up MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR (CAPITOL, 1967).

regardless, SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND is absolutely ESSENTIAL and worthy of all the hype through the generations.  it is most definitely worth checking out.

LONG NECK were one of the STANDOUT INDIE ROCK bands we came across when we were filming our OFF THE M live performance series of videos at the TRANS-PECOS and MARKET HOTEL venues in NYC.  it was instantly apparent that this JERSEY CITY-based POWER POP band had STAGE PRESENCE and that these were some SERIOUS songs.  lyrically their songs, composed by TALENTED songwriter LILY MASTRODIMOS, had a CEREBRAL and deeply REFLECTIVE, almost CONFESSIONAL quality to them.  the TONE of the lyrics led to an INTRIGUING LIVE DYNAMIC whereby the ODD SONIC TEXTURES and TIME SIGNATURES employed in the music both served as a stark contrast and a strangely supportive soundscape to the decidedly THOUGHTFUL vocal content.  at first glance in a live setting, they appeared to be in absolute FULL COMMAND.

i should mention that back in AUGUST of 2020, MASTRODIMOS participated in a absolutely SICK version of THE REPLACEMENTS' "KIDS DON'T FOLLOW" with  TED LEO and members of RISE AGAINST, GOUGE AWAY and CONVERGE for TWO MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT's BEDROOM COVER series of COLLABORATIVE performance videos.  similarly, before that LONG NECK curated a livestream live music series called AROUND THE CAMPFIRE with like-minded INDIE bands throughout the pandemic.

i have longstanding ties to NEW JERSEY, so i am completely biased in my support of local bands from the GARDEN STATE.  i also unabashedly love their band name, since in my mind there is absolutely no such thing as a bad THE LAND BEFORE TIME (UNIVERSAL, 1988) reference.  their past two recordings, SOFT ANIMAL (PLASTIC MIRACLES, 2022) and WORLD'S STRONGEST DOG (TINY ENGINES, 2020), are well worth checking out with CLEVER lyrics and MEMORABLE hooks.

i am on the lookout for their next move.