parodies by nacrowe

HIP HOP CULTURE is a lot of things to a lot of people, but a genre or venue for aging GRACEFULLY is not one of them.  in fact, arguably more than its JAZZ, ROCK N ROLL or POP peers and counterparts, HIP HOP in particular is all about YOUTH CULTURE and maintaining an ear to the NOVEL, UNEXPLORED and CUTTING-EDGE.  its the LIFEBLOOD of the genre and historically leaves little to no breathing room for so-called LEGACY acts taking up air space as with other genres (examples being AEROSMITH, BILLY JOEL, KISS, PEARL JAM, MADONNA or U2 still drawing ARENA-SIZED crowds despite being culturally RELEVANT literally decades ago).  again, you dont see that with HIP HOP.  you dont see veteran groups like WU-TANG CLAN, NAS, EPMD, RAKIM or DE LA SOUL selling out MADISON SQUARE GARDEN multiple dates every few years like their DINOSAUR ROCK N ROLL band compatriots.

so for me the BEASTIE BOYS are a complete OUTLIER.  right up until their breakup after the TRAGIC PASSING of ADAM 'MCA' YAUCH from PAROTID CANCER in 2012.  with each subsequent release they were given the latitude by their fanbase, and more importantly each other, to truly EXPERIMENT and EVOLVE on wax as musicians as well as individuals.  case in point was the conscious mid-career choice to ACKNOWLEDGE their previous MISOGYNY on stage and on record and PUBLICLY APOLOGIZE for such.  and not only apologize publicly with mere lip service, but meaningfully ADVOCATE on behalf of charities and groups that work in those AFFECTED arenas.  in HIP HOP with its OVERWHELMING FETISHIZING of ANTIQUATED cultural concepts like AUTHENTICITY and SELLING OUT, where one is in disincentivized from ACKNOWLEDGING WEAKNESSES and FAULTS out of FEAR of PUBLIC SHAMING and LOSING FACE, the result of such is ironically a lot of bullshit POSTURING and FRAUDULENT claims of personal hardship.  over the years of being a HIP HOP fan, the BRAVERY of the BEASTIE BOYS in celebrating their friends and loved ones and getting that FRAT BOY crap they embodied on the first record and tour just comes off as more and more COURAGEOUS and NECESSARY as they transitioned into EMPATHETIC, QUESTIONING, SELF-REFLECTIVE, THOUGHTFUL adults.

likewise when MCA became a BUDDHIST and started bringing that perspective into the music, both lyrically and even sonically on tracks like "BODHISATTVA VOW", both ADAM 'AD-ROCK' HOROVITZ and MICHAEL 'MIKE D' DIAMOND went along with it. rather than feeling threatened by this MAJOR LIFE CHANGE, they openly SUPPORTED and CELEBRATED their friend as he continued to EVOLVE on his own PERSONAL journey.  

ive long wondered why the BEASTIE BOYS were able to carve out this wide lane while their peers and ARTISTIC compatriots have had to largely compete with their younger selves ad infinitum.  was it the fact that the BEASTIE BOYS had a large ALTERNATIVE ROCK following unlike peer groups in CYPRESS HILL or RUN-DMC?  one would think that given their race in a black-dominated art form they would be even more prone to being culturally pigeon-holed.  i dont know the answer.  maybe its just because they did it, damn the consequences.  either its a pretty COMPELLING narrative, even in retrospect over a decade after their breakup.

embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the BEASTIE BOYS.  enjoy!

the legacy of OL' DIRTY BASTARD to me is one of UNBRIDLED ORIGINALITY and FEARLESS EXPERIMENTALISM.  it may be APOCRYPHAL, but it has been said that the dude entered the booth and went about his LYRICAL DEXTERITY without even listening to the BEAT itself.  which kind of makes sense.  much of what makes HIP HOP so INTOXICATING musically is the extent to which a GIFTED MC can layer a set of PERCUSSIVELY-EXECUTED RHYMES over an EXISTING track, creating a series of POLYRHYTHMS much like a WEST AFRICAN drum circle where such ODD TIME SIGNATURES ebb and flow from one another and create a MANTRA-LIKE effect.  this is on full display with LYRICAL CRAFTSMEN in the TRADITIONAL school of ARTISTS like RAKIM, NAS, JAY-Z, EMINEM and THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. among others.  in contrast, the UNORTHODOX RHYME SCHEMES of OL' DIRTY BASTARD are inherently UNPREDICTABLE and IRREGULAR in NATURE, so any POLYRHYTHMIC effect is entirely RANDOM and CIRCUMSTANTIAL, making his AESTHETIC entirely UNIQUE and AUTHENTIC unto himself.  to date, no one sounds like him.

there is also a STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS vibe to his VOCALS, with much of it seemingly coming from the top of his head in the moment.  the effect, especially among first time listeners, is quite MESMERIZING as if this HIGH WIRE ACT is meant to lose balance and topple over.  which of course never happens, instead stumbling into the next VERSE with added MOMENTUM and DESTRUCTIVE potential.  the absolute CLASSIC tracks off his debut RETURN TO THE 36 CHAMBERS: THE DIRTY VERSION (ELEKTRA, 1995) are "SHIMMY SHIMMY YA" and "BROOKLYN ZOO," which both showcase this invigoratingly ERRATIC sensibility on FULL DISPLAY, with OL' DIRTY BASTARD switching up topics and introducing NON SEQUITURS at a FURIOUS pace.  with the WU-TANG CLAN, the only LIKE-MINDED rapper was GHOSTFACE KILLAH who similarly was all over the place with an OFF-KILTER DELIVERY, the difference being his GRITTY LYRICAL NARRATIVES were entirely COHESIVE with an overflowing of MULTIFACETED details shotgunning from his mouth.  with OL' DIRTY BASTARD the plot as well as the details were always up for INTERPRETATION, much like an ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST painting.

i was in my final year of undergrad when OL' DIRTY BASTARD PASSED AWAY and i took it pretty hard, which was ODD because i am normally quite INDIFFERENT to CELEBRITY DEATHS.  with him i felt like there was so much QUALITY WORK left on the table, as he was recently let out of prison (where he was incarcerated on a NONVIOLENT cocaine possession rap) and was in the process of reintegrating with society and getting his LYRICAL BEARINGS back when he PASSED from an ACCIDENTAL overdose of cocaine and an opioid prescription for pain.  as an ENGLISH student in college where i was trained to be HYPER-FOCUSED and concerned with things like METER, RHYME SCHEME and CADENCE, OL' DIRTY BASTARD was the prime example of a writer that literally MARCHED TO THE BEAT OF HIS OWN DRUM and created some DIZZYINGLY-EXECUTED GEMS that were HUMOROUS, COMPLEX and highly AFFECTING on an emotional level.  still miss the dude twenty years later.

RIP RUSSELL TYRONE JONES.  WU-TANG FOREVER.

ive never been able to get a read on JULIAN SCHNABEL.  even before watching the recent JULIAN SCHNABEL: A PRIVATE PORTRAIT (BUENA ONDA, 2017) RETROSPECTIVE DOCUMENTARY that serves as a PERSONAL narrative regarding his CREATIVE OUTPUT, as well as the MEANINGFUL relationships he amassed along the way, i knew him through his UNCONVENTIONAL and highly PERSONAL FILMS.  namely BASQUIAT (MIRAMAX, 1996), BEFORE NIGHT FALLS (FINE LINE, 2000) and THE DIVINE BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (MIRAMAX, 2007).  each being its own UNIQUE CINEMATIC UNIVERSE unto themselves with the through line being his ability to defy audience expectations and invariably impress upon them a highly AFFECTING FOCUS on MOOD and the EMOTIONAL INTERIORITY of his character's PSYCHE.  i have walked out all three of his movies with an ELEVATED sense of my own PERCEPTUAL EXPERIENCE as a human and how such affects my relationships and sense of SELF.

but that could all just be me projecting unto his WORK.  which i believe might be the point of any TRUE ARTIST. 

although still INDECIPHERABLE, this documentary showcases a REFLECTIVE PROCESS with his WORK that finds him EVER-AWARE and even HYPER-VIGILANT for new opportunities and avenues of EXPRESSION, whether such be 'mistake' on CANVAS or in the EMOTIONAL pull of a CINEMATIC SCENE.  everything is mined for its emotive potential in service of ITSELF.  this ability to both improvise as a COMPOSITIONAL COMPONENT to his FILMS is partly what draws such TALENT and ADMIRATION from actors such as WILLEM DAFOE and AL PACINO, both participants in this FILM.

arguably the moment in the FILM where these threads of EXPRESSION (MUSIC, ART and CINEMA) come together is in MULTI-MEDIA PRODUCTION surrounding LOU REED's late-career PERFORMANCE of his MUCH-HERALDED but famously DEBAUCHED BERLIN (RCA, 1973) album.  what REED does with WORDS and MELODY, EVER-SHIFTING around his catalogue to his latest ARTISTIC PREDILECTIONS irrespective of audience expectation is essentially the model of SCHNABEL on CANVAS and CELLULOID.  for me that moment was more INSIGHTFUL and MEANINGFUL than past FAMILY memories of NEW YORK and TEXAS, where he grew up.  the SPONTANEOUS act of CREATION and being completely FEARLESS about such is what makes this FILM COMPELLING, if not entirely MYSTIFYING and OPAQUE.  im still not sure entirely what i make of SCHNABEL or what i learned given this FILM, but at least it makes me aware of how perplexing the PROCESS of ARTISTIC GENERATION actually is since it comes from a place of INCREDIBLE INTENT, FOCUS and EMOTIONAL VULNERABILITY.  such a state i'll likely never fully appreciate.

JULIAN SCHNABEL: A PRIVATE PORTRAIT is an EVER-INTRIGUING FILM that i will no doubt revisit in the future.

i always felt INDIGNANT whenever encountering RELIGIOUS ZEALOTS and HOLY ROLLERS growing up and i especially felt for their kids.  in a very REAL sense they were innocently trapped in a FANTASY WORLD of bullshit MAGICAL THINKING.  case in point, a friend of my brother's lost a FATHER because his mother's HARDCORE CHRISTIAN BELIEFS precluded him from getting brain surgery for an operable tumor.  the POWER OF PRAYER or something.  dude lost a FAMILY MEMBER over this type of STUPIDITY. 

in that sense, reading the RAVE (DRAWN & QUARTERLY, 2022) graphic novel by JESSICA CAMPBELL was viscerally PAINFUL to take in due to its NARRATIVE examining that same PSYCHIC TERRAIN of the socially ADVERSE ramifications of AGGRESSIVE RELIGIOSITY on IMPRESSIONABLE minors who are still DEVELOPING and exploring their sense of identity.  the plot centers around a young girl in secondary school dealing with the AWKWARD HARDSHIPS of being a NORMAL TEENAGER with the added burden of choosing whether or not to internalize the OUT-OF-TOUCH LESSONS from her nearby EVANGELICAL PASTOR and his EXTREME SERMONS that advocate a DOOMED world full of SINNERS and US-VERSUS-THEM THINKING.  the NARRATIVE follows this QUEER girl as she comes to challenge that CLOSETED MINDSET through exploring her own SELF-DETERMINED EXPERIENCES, FEELINGS and SEXUALITY independently from what her FAMILY and COMMUNITY seemingly advocate so forcefully. 

thankfully i never had to deal with that sort of MENTAL PRISON at the behest of SOCIALLY-ADVOCATED,  RELIGIOUS or POLITICALLY-INFORMED MAGICAL THINKING.  but i intimately know people that had to deal with such HURDLES and it took much PERSEVERANCE and heartache to transcend such.  it meant leaving people behind, including FAMILY MEMBERS. RAVE gets at the very heart of that CENTRAL MANIPULATION at play in CULT-LIKE BEHAVIOR and the social PERILS and outright COURAGEOUSNESS of breaking away from GROUPTHINK and SELF-ADVOCATING your INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE, SEXUALITY or IDENTITY against an UNSUPPORTIVE BLOB.  this story took me right back to the day i found out that this father passed on, the one who coached little large baseball teams i played against growing up overseas and was always WELCOMING and CHARMING.  a dude that seemingly did walk in the path of JESUS CHRIST in how he treated others but seemingly took it a few steps too far and DIED for his mistake in not trusting MODERN SCIENCE in the face of FAMILY-imposed MAGICAL THINKING.  but he was an adult who made his own DECISIONS and his sons abandoned the FAITH thereafter.  and have maintained a STRAINED bond with their MOTHER ever since, whom they personally blame for his PERMANENT ABSENCE from their lives.

i think CAMPBELL is very much on to something PROFOUND with RAVE in that all BELIEF SYSTEMS that impose BLIND FAITH are DANGEROUS.  it is a form of COERCION and thankfully the main character sees her way out of it when the curtain of her life sheds light on the INSANITY, lack of EMPATHY and outright HYPOCRISY at the heart of her PASTOR's MESSAGE.  she moves on.

i absolutely adored this graphic novel and will likely seek out other titles by CAMPBELL moving forward.  RAVE is definitely worth checking out.

so back in 2016 when i was teaching abroad in JAPAN i was lucky enough to be nearby the YOKOHAMA MUSEUM OF ART who was putting on an exhibition curated by the RENOWNED ARTIST TAKASHI MURAKAMI that included wildly ECLECTIC PIECES from the likes of ANSELM KIEFER, KIM GORDON, YOSHITOMO NARA, HENRY DARGER, BARY MCGEE, KAWS, SEONNA HONG and AI HABARA to TERRY RICHARDSON, NAOYA HATAKEYAMA, JAMES JEAN, CLAUS OLDENBURG, RICHARD HAMILTON, ROBERT RAUSCEHNBERG, ANDY WARHOL, ROY LICHTENSTEIN, JAMES ROSENQUIST, BARBARA KRUGER and DR. LAKRA.  it was easily one of the CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS of my time living and working in YOKOHAMA.

out of all that SURREAL, vividly colored, ANIME and POP CULTURE-inspired fair from that exhibit (titled TAKASH MURAKAMI's SUPERFLAT COLLECTION: FROM SHOHAKU AND ROSANJIN TO ANSELM KIEFER), the work that hit the hardest were these INTIMATE and UNSETTLING black-and-white photographs by a JAPANESE PHOTOGRAPHER i was hitherto UNFAMILIAR with named NOBUYOSHI ARAKI, or ARAKI.  the PHOTOS were from an extended three-part series devoted to his wife AOKI YOKO that showcased her at different points in their relationship, from their 1) their honeymoon in 1968 to 2) her demise and ultimately her passing from OVARIAN CANCER in 1990 and 3) the empty apartment she left thereafter.  it is INTRIGUING, partly since today ARAKI is NOTORIOUS and internationally celebrated for his TRANSGRESSIVE portfolio of PHOTOGRAPHS related to EROTICISM and KINBAKU, or ROPE BONDAGE. 

​JAPAN is a traditionally an extremely socially CONSERVATIVE place, so this subject matter inherently is regarded as TABOO and incredibly SUBVERSIVE in-country.  that his early PHOTOS are these lovingly depicted CHERISHED moments with the love of his life as their relationship was blossoming is as HEART-WARMING as it is emotionally DEVASTATING.  even when i didnt know the personal story behind the PHOTOGRAPHS, there seemed to be a MELANCHOLIC aspect to them.  as if that documenting of such an INTIMATE moment, now distanced by time, is highly EMOTIVE and BITTERSWEET in its PURITY.

i remember being immediately taken by these PHOTOGRAPHS in a similar way to that of other PROVOCATIVE PHOTOGRAPHERS such as DIANE ARBUS and ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE.  the SHOCK VALUE in my mind is derived from the unyielding INTIMACY of the subject with that of the PHOTOGRAPHER.  ARAKI's WORK, especially those three series centered around his much BELOVED deceased life partner are the epitome of such and are highly AFFECTING and POWERFUL. 

RIP AOKI YOKO

seemingly every popular CULTURAL MOVEMENT has their TRANSCENDENT, FRONT-OF-MIND acts that capture the collective imagination of the public such as with THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES and THE WHO with the BRITISH INVASION during the early 1960s and arguably outshine similarly STELLAR acts like THE ANIMALS, THE YARDBIRDS and THE KINKS.  alright, maybe THE KINKS should be in the former category and not the latter but you get the idea, the strength and depth of a CULTURAL MOVEMENT is likely the quality of those ALSO-RAN acts as much as the frontrunners.  in the 1990s you had the BRITPOP scene that REVITALIZED BRITISH ROCK AND ROLL and undoubtedly was dominated by OASIS and BLUR, and to a lesser extent SUEDE, PULP and ELASTICA.  below even that was a tier of bands that id argue were similarly UBER-TALENTED including SLEEPER, SUPERGRASS and THE VERVE.

in the public imagination, THE VERVE was in essence a public front for the gifted SONGWRITER RICHARD ASHCROFT and their third album URBAN HYMNS (HUT, 1997) is his MAGNUM OPUS.  the band was primarily known for EARNEST SONGS about COMMON WORKING CLASS life, often delicately strummed on an acoustic with MINIMAL INSTRUMENTATION that put the aural focus on ASHCROFT's voice a la SONGS like "SONNET," "THE DRUGS DON'T WORK" and especially "LULLABY."  there are also more SPACEY numbers like "THIS TIME" and "THE ROLLING PEOPLE" but those are less successful than his STRIPPED-BACK fair.  

with one quite NOTABLE exception.

"BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY" is arguably one of the BIGGEST singles from the entire BRITPOP movement, being outshined in comparison to "WONDERWALL" or "DON'T LOOK BACK IN ANGER" by OASIS, "PARKLIFE" or "SONG 2" by BLUR or "COMMON PEOPLE" by PULP.  maybe.  whereas those other bands had other NOTEWORTHY singles, "BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY" represents THE VERVE's lone SHINING moment and it was definitely BITTERSWEET, give that its use of a orchestral sample off a ROLLING STONES SONG was not cleared by the COPYRIGHT holder, LEGENDARY manager ALLEN KLEIN, and subsequently the band lost all of its revenue from the single.  their BIGGEST HIT was their BIGGEST DEBACLE and is an INFAMOUS CAUTIONARY TALE to date about the risk of not properly clearing all SAMPLES before publication.  in 2019, ten years after KLEIN's passing, the bequeathed COPYRIGHT holders passed on the COPYRIGHT to ASHCROFT.  but the DAMAGE was done.  the SONG itself, with its LILTING STRING SECTION, is an UPLIFTING paean to living one's life to its fullest given the brief time we all have here in this physical realm.  the SONG has been included on various greatest-songs-of-all-time lists and seemingly perfectly captured a deeply felt sense of unbridled OPTIMISM that took place during the BRITPOP era and the REVITALIZATION of BRITISH MUSIC and POLITICAL CULTURE during this period.

that this career peak became a career low is a testament to the BRUTALITY of the MUSIC INDUSTRY and the need to have a skilled and loyal support team at the ready.  URBAN HYMNS is definitely worth checking out, albeit i consider it a lesser album than those put out at the time by their BRITPOP peers in OASIS, BLUR, PULP, ELASTICA and SUEDE.

i tend to have a thing for bands that i have a hard time describing.  the ECLECTIC SONGWRITING of GUSTAV EJSTES and his DUNGEN project is a HEADY SONIC mix of FOLK, PROGRESSIVE and PSYCHEDELIC ELEMENTS, almost like an OBSCURE SWEDISH HYBRID of acts like NICK DRAKE, CAN and 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS.  but its absolutely LISTENABLE!  it is always AURAL TREAT to hear something UNFAMILIAR yet reassuringly MELODIC and MEMORABLE.  again, my words are failing me here.

ill just leave it at DUNGEN is most definitely worth checking out.

parody by nacrowe

AMY WINEHOUSE was such a RAW and POWERFUL SONGWRITER.

her passing was DEVASTATING to me in a way that few CELEBRITY DEATHS have ever been.  part of that was just the nature of her MUSIC, which was so brutally HONEST and EMOTIVE yet DELICATE and preternaturally MELODIC.  that DICHOTOMY pulled you in as a listener and never let go.  when CELEBRITIES PASS AWAY, i try to be mindful of the fact that this person had a FAMILY and circle of FRIENDS that loved and cared for them irrespective of their GIFT.  i recognize that my appreciation of them is a REFLECTION of me PROJECTING VALUES, AMBITIONS and IDEALS to their ART and PERSONA that is entirely separate from them as a PERSON.  that when they PASS ON, that spark they initiated grows dimmer as well.

that being said, i can count the amount of CELEBRITY DEATHS that really effected me on one hand, those being that of CHRIS FARLEY, LAYNE STALEY (ALICE IN CHAINS), OL' DIRTY BASTARD (WU-TANG CLAN) and WINEHOUSE.  part of it is undoubtedly that sense of PROJECTING i already described, but beyond that there is a clear SELFISH sense (on my part) that they had UNREALIZED potential and FUTURE ART left on the table to the COLLECTIVE LOSS of EVERYONE.  their PAIN and their SUFFERING and their LOSS equated to a diminish of my QUALITY OF LIFE is what it comes down to i guess.  again, pretty SHALLOW and SELF-CENTERED but TRUE.  most CELEBRITY DEATHS we acknowledge as individuals but dont necessarily grieve.  these individuals i honestly can say i did so as their ART deeply resonated with me.  FARLEY, STALEY, the  ODB and WINEHOUSE all had in common the TRAGIC fact that they were immensely TALENTED ARTISTS, that publicly SUFFERED and senselessly succumbed to their ADDICTIONS in spite of much psychic effort to transcend such by them, their FAMILIES and their LOVED ONES.

another thread is that WINEHOUSE was only a few months older than me and her PASSING in a very REAL sense was a STARK and PALPABLE reminder of my own MORTALITY. similar markers of such over the years include watching LEBRON JAMES' prolific basketball career or reading about MARK ZUCKERBERG's rise to power (and the TRAGIC unforeseen societal repercussions of such) or witnessing in REAL-TIME the HORROR that is ELISE STEFANIK's CRAVEN political capitulations to one AGENT ORANGE.  all are within a year of my age.

i didnt know WINEHOUSE other than her MUSIC.  i didnt bear witness to her DREAMS, FLAWS, HOPES, INSECURITIES or AMBITIONS outside of what she choset to present to the world on vinyl, on stage or in interviews.  being a fan is a PASSIVE activity at heart.  you are the receptacle in an UNRECIPROCATED arrangement that clearly only goes one way.  yet  somewhat counterintuitively the POWER of ART is one of RESONANCE and SELF-IDENTIFICATION where the viewer/listener completes the circuit so to speak.  it makes sense that one feels a sense of LOSS when the other link is denied in that bond through the very real and very human process surrounding MORTALITY.  the situation surrounding WINEHOUSE is emblematic of such and permanently colors our opinion of her art in a similar manner to other PERSONALITIES and SONGWRITERS that arguably DIED prematurely at their creative peak like KURT COBAIN (NIRVANA), BUDDY HOLLY, TUPAC SHAKUR, HANK WILLIAMS, IAN CURTIS (JOY DIVISION), JANIS JOPLIN (BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANY), THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G., DUANE ALLMAN (THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, DEREK & THE DOMINOS), PATSY CLINE, BRAD NOWELL (SUBLIME) or JIMI HENDRIX among way too many others.

RIP AMY WINEHOUSE

embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating THRASH METAL.  enjoy!

arguably the most universally CELEBRATED METAL album of the 1990s, PANTERA's uncompromisingly BRUTAL second album VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER (ATCO, 1992) defiantly waved the flag for the genre during the height of the ALTERNATIVE ROCK revolution that saw other legacy acts effectively bow down and acquiesce to its will (looking at you METALLICA, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX and SLAYER).  its accomplished predecessor COWBOYS FROM HELL (ATCO, 1990) set the stage for this release with its GUITAR HEROICS via DIMEBAG DARRELL and their ZZ-TOP inspired attention to all things GROOVE, but VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER took it all to another level of INTENSITY and SONG-CRAFT.

UNDENIABLE tracks like "FUCKING HOSTILE," "MOUTH FOR WAR," and "A NEW LEVEL" where live show highlights for the rest of their career and showcase a FOCUS, COHESION and INTERNAL CHEMISTRY that the band built upon with later releases but never equalled again.  although decidedly more MELLOW and SLOW-PACED, the ballads "THIS LOVE" and "HOLLOW" likewise showcased a SINGULAR attention to craft with MEMORABLE VOCALS and GUITAR MELODIES that intertwined to HYPNOTIC effect.  arguably the STANDOUT track from an absolutely LOADED record is the single "WALK" with its INDELIBLE opening hammer-on, hammer-off GUITAR RIFF and that absolutely CRUSHING CHORUS that comes crashing in with SLEDGEHAMMER FORCE and ABRUPTNESS.  that song in particular is a case study in efficiency and how less really can mean more to a track's EFFECTIVENESS.  many consider "WALK" PANTERA's finest moment.  not sure id go that far [my personal FAVORITE is "FLOODS" off of THE GREAT SOUTHERN TRENDKILL (ELEKTRA, 1996)], but point taken.

the LEGACY of VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER is both its MEMORABLE songs and the context of which it was released.  most of the LEGACY THRASH METAL bands turned in SUBPAR records in the 1990s attempting to follow suit with the  ALTERNATIVE ROCK predilections for minimizing (if not skipping altogether) GUITAR SOLOS and [from a metalhead's perspective] hiding behind excessive DISTORTION instead of showcasing both TECHNIQUE and MUSICIANSHIP.  METALLICA's LOAD (ELEKTRA, 1996), MEGADETH's YOUTHANASIA (CAPITOL, 1994) and later SLAYER's DIVINE INTERVENTION (AMERICAN, 1994) were more STREAMLINED affairs that seemed to capitulate to the MUSICAL AESTHETICS of the era whereas VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER and its successor FAR BEYOND DRIVEN (ELEKTRA, 1994) just came off like a giant MIDDLE FINGER to it all.  remember, the PANTERA dude's were close longtime friends with the likes of ALICE IN CHAINS and the FOO FIGHTERS, even shared the stage with them on numerous occasions so there wasnt any personal ANIMOSITY at all.  but in terms of the FRACTURED FRATERNITY that is the greater METAL COMMUNITY, PANTERA is nearly universally REVERED since they stood firm against the cultural tide when others patently SAID UNCLE to the music industry.  and that BRAZEN STEADFASTNESS is as much a part of the popular lore surrounding VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER as the songs themselves and has singularly stood as a TOUCHSTONE for all METAL bands moving forward, from LAMB OF GOD, DEFTONES and HATEBREED to SYSTEM OF A DOWN, MUDVAYNE, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and beyond. 

VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER is a LEGENDARY record that continues to live up to and exceed its own hype and is absolutely ESSENTIAL for anyone interested in METAL.  end stop.

it was a bit hard to get a decent read on the intent behind the brief DAMIEN HIRST: MORBID FASCINATION (ENTERTAIN UK, 2022) documentary, which focused on the NOTORIOUS BRITISH PAINTER and CONCEPTUAL ARTIST.  the most FAMOUS of the YBAs (Young British Artists) that came out of GOLDSMITH'S COLLEGE in the late 80s and early 90s, which coincidently rose to CULTURAL PROMINENCE around the same time as the BRITPOP movement of young INDIE ROCK bands, DAMIEN HIRST is the embodiment of BRITAIN's return to CULTURAL RELEVANCY in the EUROPEAN ART scene and beyond. 

and for that he is much BELOVED and HATED.  some see him as an ABSOLUTE CHARLATAN whose WORK is POMPOUS, SUPERFICIAL and highly OVERRATED.  others see him as a MODERN conceptual extension of the likes of CONCEPTUAL ARTISTS such as MARCEL DUCHAMP, ANDY WARHOL and JEFF KOONS in how he isolates innately PROVOCATIVE objects and ingeniously RE-CONTEXTUALIZES them to spur popular discussion and critical evaluation of COMPLEX and INTERRELATED EXISTENTIALIST themes such as NATURE, MORTALITY, RELIGION, IMPERMANENCE, BELIEF and CONSUMER CULTURE.  like i said before it is difficult to get a sense from where MORBID FASCINATION stands on this issue as it doesnt seem to advocate for either side, more just presenting both sides as equally RELEVANT.  this is FRUSTRATING since the fact that there is interest enough in HIRST in the first place to take the necessary TIME and ENERGY to film, edit and manufacture this product proves his INHERENT VALUE enough as an ARTIST to be considered WORTHY of being critically analyzed and dissected.  somehow this line of inquiry feels so TRAGICALLY BRITISH, since only they will seemingly go through the effort to produce a documentary about the merits of making said documentary.  i dont much care about your reasoning, just get on with the task at hand already.

there is an UNFORTUNATE preoccupation in this film about HIRST's MARKETING PROWESS and preternatural ability to PROMOTE and SENSATIONALIZE his WORK in the press and thus draw a SUBSTANTIAL PRICE for such at auction.  again, that is a BORING topic since such a discussion doesnt confirm or deny the MERIT of his WORK, just its current MARKET VALUE.  my hope when watching this documentary was to get a better sense of his ARTWORK and how its THEMES interplay with the work of his PEERS, both preceding him like FRANCIS BACON or concurrently such as fellow NOTABLE YBA SARAH LUCAS.  regrettably most of this short film was dedicated to his NOTORIETY and supposed CONTROVERSIAL STATUS within the ART COMMUNITY without naming names.  it all just comes across as SUBPAR and lacking any real DEPTH.

not gonna lie, DAMIEN HIRST: MORBID FASCINATION felt like WASTED OPPORTUNITY on a subject that is innately INTRIGUING and whose WORK is demonstrably WORTHY of a critical eye.  the never-ending UNCRITICAL focus and SUPERFICIAL preoccupation with MONEY was the TRUE "MORBID FASCINATION" of this film, and not HIRST or his ARTWORK.  probably best to search for better fair elsewhere since this film is definitely not worth checking out.

at the heart of the long SELF-PERPETUATED national narrative regarding AMERICAN MASCULINITY, there is this CORE BELIEF in HARD WORK, AMBITION and DETERMINATION paying off.  that through some INGENUITY and plenty of elbow grease, the AMERICAN DREAM of personal AGENCY and FINANCIAL SECURITY is within reach.  if anything, through his LISTLESS, PERIPATETIC and SEMI-AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL alter ego, HENRY CHINASKI, in the PICARESQUE FACTOTUM (BLACK SPARROW PRESS, 1975) novel, CHARLES BUKOWSKI is interested in absolutely none of that. 

if anything, BUKOWSKI through CHINASKI is more concerned with addressing the counter-argument of what is left for the rest of us.  you know, those NORMAL folk that are LESS INTREPID, GIFTED, EDUCATED, INSPIRED and endowed with the INSTINCT to further their MATERIAL INTERESTS.  that majority of the LABOR FORCE who are just stuck as a cog in the grinding gears of CAPITALISM in UNAPPRECIATED roles at DEAD-END jobs with no sense of DIGNITY or real future.  to me that is the focus of FACTOTUM.

set stateside during the 1940s, including the war years, when available WORK was supposedly PLENTIFUL for any able-bodied person, CHINASKI is an ASPIRING writer who takes on a long series of DISPOSABLE JOBS throughout the country (LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK CITY, NEW ORLEANS, MIAMI, ST. LOUIS, PHILADELPHIA and so on) in order to temporarily fund his DRINKING and attempts at SEXUAL PURSUITS.  these TEMPORARY WORK and residential circumstances are always abandoned and the relationships he picks up along with way, both of a PLATONIC and SEXUAL nature, are similarly just as DISPOSABLE.  there is no real DEVELOPMENT or AMBITION for CHINASKI throughout FACTOTUM beyond getting DRUNK and attempting to seek a warm body for the evening. 

and that lack of consolidation or climax in that narrative arc of FACTOTUM is kind of the point for this type of LISTLESS and DIRECTIONLESS figure in AMERICAN SOCIETY.  it speaks of a vein of MASCULINITY that has rejected self-identification with past TRADITIONAL markers such as participation in CONSUMER CULTURE or MILITARISTIC GLORY as stand-ins for one's ACCOMPLISHED sense of personal AGENCY and VIRILITY.  instead you are left with this apparent husk of a man who has failed on all accounts, succumbing to to his CHEMICAL and SEXUAL INDULGENCES, but yet still comes off as wholly INDEPENDENT, SELF-MADE and SELF-DETERMINED in a WARPED manner.  did AMERICA fail him and those like him or is this the path he chose, to reject SOCIETY and abide by his own VALUES and CODE OF CONDUCT.  i woudnt call CHINASKI a REBEL or an ANTI-HERO by any stretch of the imagination inasmuch as he isnt consciously against anything specific, more navigating his IDIOSYNCRATIC path on INSTINCT.  what i think he is, is an example of someone that falls and is FORGOTTEN between the cracks of the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.  it is hard to pin down why such happens (technology, lack of education, entrepreneurial spirit, poor finances, lack of networking opportunities, etc.), but it is not hard to look around currently and see CHINASKI in many aspects of a SILENT, UNDERVALUED and OVERLOOKED majority that dont materially benefit from AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS and TRADITIONS.

and in that respect, FACTOTUM is beyond prescient to the TOXIC mindset of our current UNRECOGNIZED WORKING POOR that has metastasized and grown BITTER and has largely REJECTED BEDROCK AMERICAN TRADITIONS in recent years.

i can never get enough of these LIVE PERFORMANCE SERIES that have proliferated ONLINE for the past decade, and COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO's OPENAIR LIVE MUSIC SERIES on INDIE 102.3FM out in the DENVER metropolitan area is no exception.  most of the STANDOUT PERFORMANCES i located were of the INDIE ROCK variety with past participants in THE BETHS, LA LUZ, SNAIL MAIL, SHAKEY GRAVES, BOYGENIUS, FRANKIE COSMOS and MURDER BY DEATH.

the locations are SPARSELY DECORATED studios, which visually reinforces the fact that the central focus for the STATION with this project is squarely on the SOUND.  these PERFORMANCES on OPENAIR are definitely worth checking out for anyone interested in PUBLIC RADIO and UPCOMING MUSICIANS.

i came across an INTERESTING cassette while at REPO RECORDS in PHILADELPHIA recently.  all i knew about it going into the purchase was that the SONGWRITER was from ALBANIA and, truth be told, as a former PEACE CORPS volunteer who lived and worked in that country for 2+ years, i was already INTRIGUED.  it is just so RARE to come across anything from that OBSCURE BALKAN country in the UNITED STATES, such that even a LIMITED-RUN, LO-FI INDIE FOLK record on an OBSCURE stateside INDIE label was something i was absolutely game for. 

from what i could gather, GEA is a MULTI-MEDIA ARTIST based in TIRANA and her sophomore effort EVERYONE IS WORRIED ABOUT ME (LONELY BIRD, 2023) is a welcome surprise because it is a SPARSE, EERY and lyrically DARK record with overt themes related to SELF-HARM and DEATH.  reminded me immediately of the ELLIOTT SMITH and NICK DRAKE in that regard, just the way the bare instrumentation really puts the focus and EMOTIONAL weight on the vocals.  it all just sounds so DEVASTATING, especially on SOMBER tracks such as "CAT/DOG," "AND THEN YOU WEREN'T" and especially "BIRTHDAY SONG."

during my time in ALBANIA i was involved with conducting interviews in neighboring KOSOVO as part of my work with the university in VLORA.  most of these were related to their TROUBLED history with SERBIA in the 1990s and their STRUGGLE to survive, mount a resistance effort and ultimately the UPHEAVAL and TRAUMATIC experience of seeking refuge with their ethnic kin in ALBANIA.  this is all to say that my admittedly LIMITED understanding of what makes up the ALBANIAN sense of IDENTITY is COMPLICATED.  there is a strong sense of cohesion and deep-seated COMMUNITY, but often such tight bonds degrade into UNBRIDLED CORRUPTION and lack of any semblance of POLITICAL TRANSPARENCY.  i can see how navigating such SIDE-DEALING as a native would feel wholly ISOLATING and FRUSTRATING beyond comparison.  not to mention the at-times DEGRADING and REGRESSIVE attitudes surrounding women.  my experience through ALBANIAN television was one of everyone attempting to be the next VACUOUS POP icon a la BRITNEY SPEARS, CHRISTINA AGUILERA or DUA LIPA (who coincidently is ethnically ALBANIAN).  that something as emotionally wrought and lyrically COMPLEX as EVERYONE IS WORRIED ABOUT ME is coming from such an ISOLATED CULTURE makes me feel counterintuitively better about the country's long-term prospects.  perhaps it may be waking up from a long slumber and finally seeing itself accurately in relation to its CULTURAL, POLITICAL and ECONOMIC INTEGRATION into EUROPE and the wider COMMUNITY.

or i could just be projecting.  either way, check out this recent release from GEA.  definitely a welcome surprise i did not see coming.

i recently revisited this upstate NEW YORK duo PHANTOGRAM i hadn't thought about in a while.  back in the early 2010s i came across a RANDOM CD sampler at VINTAGE VINYL, COMPACT DISC WORLD or PRINCETON RECORD EXCHANGE (cant remember which) that had this deeply AFFECTING and SUPER CATCHY song "MOUTH FULL OF DIAMONDS" that seemingly bridged the gap between INDIE ROCK and TRIP HOP.  just a WELL-CRAFTED POP song with these HAUNTING, HARMONIZED vocals a la SARAH BARTHEL and JOSH CARTER.  for some reason they seemed reminiscent of ELECTROCLASH acts like LADYTRON and THE KNIFE but less DANCE-Y and more INTROSPECTIVE and SOULFUL.  more than a decade and three albums later and they are still very much going strong.

definitely worth checking out.

parodies by nacrowe

it was my understanding back in middle school that the only type of METAL was THRASH METAL. 

end stop. 

it was the summer of 1996 and my family was stateside in NEW JERSEY visiting after my first year living in NIGERIA.  that was the time that METALLICA's LOAD (ELEKTRA, 1996) came out and i can still remember the display at a local record store that had their entire DISCOGRAPHY on discount as a promotion.  i liked LOAD so i remember on a whim going back to the store and picking up RIDE THE LIGHTNING (MEGAFORCE, 1984), MASTER OF PUPPETS (ELEKTRA, 1986), ...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL (ELEKTRA, 1988) and METALLICA (ELEKTRA, 1991) in one fell swoop.  id later come across KILL 'EM ALL (MEGAFORCE, 1983) from a friend back in AFRICA.  not only did those previous ALBUMS, especially the earlier ones, completely blow me away beyond that of LOAD, it made me interested in investigating other THRASH METAL bands within the year including SLAYER, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT, SEPULTURA and EXODUS.  this was back in the mid 90s before streaming, YOUTUBE or downloading when to get new music you effectively had to either buy PHYSICAL PRODUCT or borrow such from your IMMEDIATE NETWORK OF FRIENDS and buy CASSETTES to create MIXTAPES.

for me, THRASH METAL was ground zero when it came to EXTREME MUSIC.  from their i went chronologically backwards to NEW WAVE OF BRITISH HEAVY METAL bands like MOTORHEAD, DIAMOND HEAD, IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST and even further to  BLACK SABBATH.  years later in high school and college id become familiar with DEATH METAL, BLACK METAL and GRINDCORE among other sub-genres, but THRASH was essentially the foundation.  to my ears the recipe of THRASH was two parts the TECHNICAL MUSICIANSHIP and FEROCITY of NWOBHM (especially MOTORHEAD and JUDAS PRIEST) with one part the SNARLING ATTITUDE and immediacy of HARDCORE PUNK ROCK (a la THE MISFITS and DISCHARGE).  within CLIFF BURTON-era METALLICA there was also this added NEOCLASSICAL ELEMENT that also provided those early string of ALBUMS, especially RIDE THE LIGHTNING and MASTER OF PUPPETS with a COMPOSITIONAL and EMOTIONAL SOPHISTICATION that has not been matched since across all sub-genres, even by the band themselves.  and for me personally as much as i love the increased AURAL ASSAULT and OUTRIGHT BRUTALITY of MODERN EXTREME METAL bands like PIG DESTROYER, FULL OF HELL, DEATH, ENTOMBED, NAILS, TERRORIZER and NAPALM DEATH, it still all comes down to those two key METALLICA RECORDS, as well as SLAYER's REIGN IN BLOOD (DEF JAM, 1986) and SOUTH OF HEAVEN (DEF JAM, 1988), SEPULTURA's CHAOS A.D. (ROADRUNNER, 1993) and MEGADETH's RUST IN PEACE (CAPITOL, 1990) as the foundations of my appreciation for the THRASH METAL genre at large.

​embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating THRASH METAL.  enjoy!

the way i view PEARL JAM, their fifth album YIELD (EPIC, 1998) serves as kind of a CAPSTONE ARTISTIC STATEMENT that encapsulates their early cycle of releases that in essence represents the first phase of their long career.  many saw it at the time as a RETURN-TO-FORM given their more STREAMLINED SOUND with RECOGNIZABLE commercial SINGLES as well as use of TRADITIONAL promotional methods (i.e. televised interviews and music videos) and EXTENSIVE TOURING.  famously during their VITALOGY (EPIC, 1994) touring cycle they took on TICKETMASTER (and lost) and with the follow-up NO CODE (EPIC, 1996) there was a concerted effort to be lyrically OBLIQUE and quite CONTRARIAN with a sonically DISSONANT and aggressively ANTI-COMMERCIAL track-listing.  it is arguable that from here on out their CREATIVE OUTPUT has been steady but more INSULAR and SELF-REFERENTIAL in nature.  gone are the BIG SWINGS that marked several of the releases during this early cycle, but with that lessening of expectations surrounding NEW MATERIAL the band has transformed into a steady NOSTALGIC TOURING JUGGERNAUT with a cult following rivaling that of THE GRATEFUL DEAD, PHISH or RADIOHEAD.

in terms of the actual album, the STANDOUT YIELD tracks include the singles "DO THE EVOLUTION" and "GIVEN TO FLY" as well as the HARD-CHARGING "BRAIN OF J" and the PLAINTIVE "WISHLIST."  its honestly a perfectly SERVICEABLE effort that fits seamlessly into a BACK CATALOGUE of similarly paced MATERIAL.  from my recollection, the only reason it stood out at the time was the fact that the previous NO CODE effort was such an ODD aberration of a record seemingly designed to alienate and divide a devoted fanbase a la NIRVANA's IN UTERO (DGC, 1993).  YIELD in comparison was more of the same FEEL-GOOD, EARNEST song-craft the band was previously known for as if nothing had ever happened.  unfortunately i think their time had passed as by this point the CULTURE had moved past ALTERNATIVE ROCK and was entering a new phase dominated by overly AGGRESSIVE and EXAGGERATED MACHISMO (and quite frankly quite MISOGYNISTIC) typified by HYBRID METAL / HIP HOP acts like LIMP BIZKIT, KORN, DISTURBED, MUDVAYNE, SLIPKNOT, PAPA ROACH and EMINEM as well as more THOUGHTFUL, EXPERIMENTAL and ARTFUL fair like DEFTONES, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, INCUBUS and SYSTEM OF A DOWN.  to me YIELD just feels like the last hurrah of a great band entering out of the peak years of their career and the beginning of their much longer run, much like their peers in the FOO FIGHTERS, as a VETERAN LIVE ACT in the spirit of ELTON JOHN, THE ROLLING STONES, TOM PETTY, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and especially NEIL YOUNG. 

and there is nothing wrong with that.

YIELD is definitely worth checking out but i would strongly suggest starting off with either TEN (EPIC, 1991), VS (EPIC, 1993) or VITALOGY to begin with as a primer.  those are the absolutely ESSENTIAL PEARL JAM releases.

i didnt have cable in the 90s as a kid and neither did any of my friends, so animated NICKELODEON shows like RUGRATS, DOUG, HEY ARNOLD! and THE REN & STIMPY SHOW were never a part of my childhood.  when stuff got put on DVDs in the 2000s was when i went back and sought out some of the more ADVENTUROUS stuff that came out during my youth including PEE-WEE'S PLAYHOUSE, DARIA, MR. SHOW, DEXTER'S LABORATORY, BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, THE STATE, JOHNNY BRAVO and THE KIDS IN THE HALL among other titles.  becoming acquainted with THE REN & STIMPY SHOW in my twenties i was pretty SHOCKED by how SUBVERSIVE and TRANSGRESSIVE some of the material was, especially the lovingly depicted GROSS-OUT HUMOR as well as the PAINED expressions that bordered on the TORTUROUS.

i was floored.

HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY: THE REN & STIMPY STORY (LADIES & GENTLEMEN, 2020) is a recent documentary about the origins of the show and the rise and fall of its CONTROVERSIAL creator, JOHN KRICFALUSI.   in terms of LEGACY, it is difficult to not seen the influence of KRICFALUSI and his WARPED ANIMATED SENSIBILITY in the later work of likewise VISIONARY creator-centric and deeply PERSONAL projects (and not of the market-researched excuses for toy lines variety) of MIKE JUDGE (BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD), MATT STONE & TREY PARKER (SOUTH PARK), VAN PARTIBLE (JOHNNY BRAVO), JHONEN VAZQUEZ (INVADER ZIM), CRAIG MCCRACKEN (THE POWERPUFF GIRLS) and STEPHEN HILLENBERG (SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS) among countless others.  

during its peak popularity after the first season, when THE REN & STIMPY SHOW was a absolute runaway success and CULTURAL PHENOMENON, its appeal was the result of a SINGULAR CREATIVE VISION that could only be achieved from an extremely HANDS-ON CREATOR who ruled over a small cabal of GIFTED ILLUSTRATORS and ANIMATORS with an IRON FIST.  KRICFALUSI, undoubtedly the emotionally and psychologically STUNTED victim of a NEGLECTED childhood where his emotional needs were not met by an OVERBEARING and AUTHORITARIAN father, likewise ruthlessly DOMINEERED his employees at the SPUMCO animated studio.  when NICKELODEON ordered twenty episodes for the second season (due to overwhelming demand) the increase in production ruined KRICFALUSI since he could not control three times the personnel with the same attention.  he caved in on himself and effectively ALIENATED his allies within corporate and was eventually dismissed from his creation.  that hands-on LOVE and ATTENTION, albeit misaligned and executed with the BROWBEATING PRECISION of a drill sergeant, worked to an extent at the BOUTIQUE level but could not be replicated at scale, which is how most if not all animated productions function.  in that sense the whole enterprise was DOOMED from inception. 

whats tragic is how the story plays out for KRICFALUSI post-THE REN & STIMPY SHOW.  cocooned in his SELF-PITY and alienated from his peers, some of which summarily quit SPUMCO after his departure which further divided the once somewhat COHESIVE community to date, KRICFALUSI got a second swipe at the apple in the early 2000s when SPIKETV ordered six episodes from him of a series called REN & STIMPY ADULT PARTY CARTOON.  gone was the balance of emotions and DIGNITY that marked the original show and on full display was a more RAUNCHY and SEXUALIZED HUMOR that did not fit well with the network.  only three episodes were ever aired.  i dont think people look at MICKEY MOUS and psychologically make inferences about WALT DISNEY's mindset, much less CHUCK JONES and BUGS BUNNY.  but REN & STIMPY as characters largely were aspects of KRICFALUSI in animated form, which is why his REAL-WORLD ABUSE of those characters is so MISGUIDED, PATHETIC and just SAD.  KRICFALUSI during this later period allegedly SOUGHT OUT RELATIONSHIPS WITH UNDERAGE TEENAGERS and GROOMED them.  no other way to say it. 

that alleged fact has essentially TAINTED the whole REN & STIMPY franchise.  makes IDIOSYNCRATIC behavior and EXTREME emotions emanating from the screen instead of coming off ECCENTRIC and WACKY seem emblematic of something much DARKER and VIOLENT.  it feels like all of those TALENTED PRODUCERS, ILLUSTRATORS, WRITERS, LAYOUT ARTISTS and ANIMATORS interviewed for this film were negatively affected by KRICFALUSI and his fall from GRACE.  it reframes a REVOLUTIONARY and intensely CREATIVE period of animation into a basic footnote for an alleged DEVIANT's WARPED scheme of SEXUAL DOMINATION over the YOUNG and VULNERABLE.  it is just TRAGIC.  you feel for everyone involved. 

​except KRICFALUSI.

its always INTERESTING to investigate the CREATIVE PROCESS of ARTISTS, whether that be EXPLORATORY SKETCHES used by PAINTERS or NOTES and ROUGH DRAFTS of short stories by NOTEWORTHY AUTHORS. such is the case with cartoonist ADRIAN TOMINE's 32 STORIES: THE COMPLETE OPTIC NERVE MINI-COMICS (DRAWN & QUARTERLY, 2002) which is a compilation of his entire early series of (mostly) NON-INTERRELATED and (mostly) SEMI-AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL vignettes concerning post-adolescent life in the 1990s. 

originally SELF-PUBLISHED, these mini-comics were sold on consignment as TOMINE began his career as a CARTOONIST and there is a definite PALPABLE sense of EXPERIMENTATION going on with the presentation and execution of that INTRIGUING ALCHEMY that happens between TEXT and IMAGERY.  over time the drawn lines in each panel become more CONFIDENT and STYLIZED while the DIALOGUE likewise showcases less EXPOSITION and become more EVOCATIVE and psychologically IMMERSIVE in nature.  in essence you are becoming acquainted with an ARTIST learning their CRAFT in REAL-TIME, even including DUDS, HALF-MEASURES and outright FAILURES.  some of these brief vignettes just end, which is FINE and VALID, but comes off less determined and artistic and more just the result of outright ABANDONEMENT.

in my opinion the most COMPELLING of these 32 stories include those that examine the DISCOMFORTING relationship between SOLITUDE and LONELINESS, where one can be in a relationship yet feel ABANDONED and ALONE with no sense of SECURITY or COMPANIONSHIP.  likewise their is the PECULIAR vein of LONELINESS that come with feeling REJECTED or TIRED and FALLING OUT OF LOVE with a romantic interest.  those COMPLICATED feelings that come with both being in and out of relationships are what make some of these short narratives really click, irrespective of the quality of the ART.  and that is the other major point observed through reading this compilation, that the quality of the story trumps that of the ART.  its what separates great ART from a more visually STUNNING but VACUOUS and PREDICTABLE PLOT presented that unveils little of SUBSTANCE and relies on spectacle, which is how i feel about SUPERHERO COMICS versus that of the more PERSONAL ALTERNATIVE COMICS movement.

i'd definitely recommend his later WORK over this OPTIC NERVE series, but that is kind of the point.  this is in essence a primer to help contextualize his later PROJECTS and witness the EVOLUTION FIRSTHAND.  an absolutely INTRIGUING and BRAVE PRODUCT to release to the world given TOMINE's embedded admission of FALLIBILITY.  too bad other ARTISTS dont follow suit more often.

there something about the INVIGORATING EXPERIENCE of watching a LIVE PERFORMANCE and being a part of the COMMUNITY that celebrates and supports it.  its hard to explain since it is about FEELING a certain sense of CAMARADERIE of being on the same EMOTIONAL and PSYCHIC WAVELENGTH with a bunch of total strangers, all taking in the ENERGY of the environment and elevating it as a SINGLE ENTITY.  at least that is what i felt when i saw MEMORABLE shows of yore like the DEFTONES at OZZFEST 99 in JERSEY, AFI at WARPED TOUR 2000 in VENTURA or MOTORHEAD at the STONE PONY in 2003.

​whats cool about the CALIBERTV YOUTUBE channel and its in-house produced LIVE SHOWS of METALCORE, POST-HARDCORE and POP PUNK bands like THE USED, WE CAME AS ROMANS, FALLING IN REVERSE, SUM 41, EMMURE, UNDEROATH, WHITECHAPEL, CHELSEA GRIN and STATE CHAMPS, is that the cinematography and audio mixes very much effectively translate that CONTAGIOUS and COMBUSTIBLE ENERGY of a LIVE PERFORMANCE.  this series is SPECIAL because these performances are not clever branding exercises or byproducts of OBSCURE radio station sessions, CALIBERTV is solely focused on making you eager to go out and get in the pit as soon as possible.  most definitely worth checking out.

i mean, where do you even begin with THE DOORS? 

to my ears they are the DEFINITIVE LOS ANGELES ROCK AND ROLL band of all-time fronted by arguably the greatest frontman of his generation in WILLIAM BLAKE-quoting FLORIDA transplant and the once and future LIZARD KING JIM MORRISON.  some harp on the quality of his poetry in retrospect but nobody can question the UNBRIDLED CHARISMA and sheer SEXUALITY he brought to the equation.  every SEDUCTIVE and CONFRONTATIONAL frontman from IGGY POP forward is molded in his REVOLUTIONARY aura. to many MORRISON is the very embodiment of the SEXUAL REVOLUTION that was the arrival of the 1960s COUNTERCULTURE passing into the mainstream.  before THE DOORS and especially their self-titled debut THE DOORS (ELEKTRA, 1967) release, POP stars were WELL-MANICURED and GROOMED to present well to a WHOLESOME AMERICAN public, even THE ROLLING STONES.  post-MORRISON it was game on.  THE DOORS were the POETICIZED, SEXUALLY UNRESTRAINED, GRITTY personification of the AMERICAN DREAM for that era and undoubtedly influenced generations of musicians to come, everyone from the aforementioned IGGY POP (THE STOOGES), PATTI SMITH, NICK CAVE (THE BIRTHDAY PARTY, THE BAD SEEDS), IAN CURTIS (JOY DIVISION), MARK LANEGAN (SCREAMING TREES), CHRIS CORNELL (SOUNDGARDEN) and IAN ASTBURY (THE CULT) among many others.

along with ARTHUR LEE's LOVE, pre-record deal THE DOORS were regulars at the FAMED WHISKY-A-GO-GO venue on the SUNSET STRIP.  in fact they were the house band and de facto opener for larger touring outfits throughout the entirety of amassing the songs that would become THE DOORS album.  most FAMOUS of which are the CELEBRATED singles "BREAK ON THROUGH (TO THE OTHER SIDE)" and "LIGHT MY FIRE."  both speak of ROMANTIC LOVE as a means of PSYCHIC TRANSFORMATION that opens up and transcends our PEDESTRIAN DAILY EXPERIENCE.  the LAIDBACK and decidedly more PSYCHEDELIC "ALABAMA SONG (WHISKY BAR)" really plays up on the OTHER-WORDLY tonal possibilities of keyboardist RAY MANZAREK's VOX CONTINENTAL organ on this highly IDIOSYNCRATIC KURT WEILL-composed, BERTOLT BRECHT cover song.  for me this song in particular really sets up the SWIRLING, CARNIVALESQUE PSYCHEDELIA that is the tone of the IMMEDIATE follow-up STRANGE DAYS (ELEKTRA, 1967) release, especially on tracks such as "PEOPLE ARE STRANGE" and "STRANGE DAYS." 

​but to me the most SIGNIFICANT THE DOORS track is the appropriately titled last number on the track list, "THE END," which is a HAUNTING OEDIPAL-tinged song that focuses on the ISOLATED DESPERATION and severe DARK UNDERBELLY of the drug and SEXUAL EXPERIMENTATION of the period, not to mention the VIETNAM WAR itself.  it is a song that oozes out the HOLLOW feeling one experiences when loosing their INNOCENCE, however one defines such: POLITICAL, SEXUAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL or CHEMICAL in nature.  there is a reason that along with BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD's "FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH" off their debut BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD  (ATCO, 1966) release and CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL's "FORTUNATE SON" off their WILLY AND THE POOR BOYS (FANTASY, 1969) album, "THE END" is the most overused song in cinema depicting the VIETNAM WAR era, whether in conflict abroad or the bifurcation of sentiment back at home. 

as LEGENDARY ROCK N ROLL debut albums go, THE DOORS is arguably one of the most IMPACTFUL, right there with those of GUNS N ROSES, VAN HALEN, THE RAMONES, JOY DIVISION, OASIS and THE VELVET UNDERGROUND.  whether you are a fan of THE DOORS and JIM MORRISON or not, it is an absolutely ESSENTIAL release well worth checking out.