there was a whole COHORT of PROMINENT POST-HARDCORE bands that emanated out of the TRI-STATE area, specifically NEW JERSEY (THURSDAY, SENSES FAIL, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE) and LONG ISLAND (GLASSJAW, BRAND NEW, I AM THE AVALANCHE) in the early 2000s that seemingly took INSPIRATION from the DISSONANT SONIC INTENSITY of CLASSIC 1980s HARDCORE (BLACK FLAG, DEAD KENNEDYS, MINOR THREAT, D.O.A.) and 1990s PUNK ROCK (FUGAZI, BAD RELIGION, QUICKSAND) as well as the EMOTIONAL AVAILABILITY and VULNERABLE DIRECTNESS of ALTERNATIVE / INDIE ROCK (R.E.M., THE CURE, RADIOHEAD, THE CURE, NIRVANA) from those same ERAS to create a HYBRID AESTHETIC im RETICENT to use the term EMO to describe.  just a REDUCTIVE GENRE TAG if there ever was one.

for me the poster boys of that whole REJUVENATED TRI-STATE POST-HARDCORE / EMO MOVEMENT were undoubtedly LONG ISLAND's TAKING BACK SUNDAY.  around the time of the release of their debut album TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS (VICTORY, 2002), i was in my freshman year of college.  at RUTGERS UNIVERSITY in NEW JERSEY where i was attending, i remember my sophomore year having access in my dorm to MTVU, which was a COLLEGE-ONLY CHANNEL, and the video for "YOU'RE SO LAST SUMMER" (complete with a cameo from FELLOW STRONG ISLANDER FLAVOR FLAV of PUBLIC ENEMY!) was basically OMNIPRESENT.  they became so POPULAR that my CLUELESS distant NEW JERSEY COUSINS were heavily into them, which was really saying something considering only a few years earlier they were so LAME they started unironically wearing FUBU and lecturing my BROTHER and i about how GREAT a RAPPER PUFF DADDY was. 

obviously that didnt age well.  at all.

i feel like i somewhat understood the APPEAL of TAKING BACK SUNDAY at the time as they had a DYNAMIC and CHARISMATIC FRONTMAN in ADAM LAZZARA whose HIGH CHEEKBONES, SKINNY JEANS and requisite ASYMMETRICAL HAIRCUT made him visually standout.  his CONFESSIONAL LYRICS, MUFFLED VOCAL DELIVERY and decidedly EFFEMINATE GESTURES and STAGE MANEUVERS to me represented a much needed NEW, more INCLUSIVE, ALTERNATIVE model of MASCULINITY than the RETROGRADE CHAUVINISM of the CONCURRENT NU METAL MOVEMENT.  TAKING BACK SUNDAY's SOUND was AGGRESSIVE and DISSONANT enough, but with a sense of TRADITIONAL MELODY and SONG DYNAMICS that made such never sound completely ABRASIVE or UNINTELLIGIBLE.  there was a CONSCIOUS BALANCE maintained on that end.  it was INDICATIVE of that EMERGING ERA of ROCK AND ROLL, which was CONTROLLED CHAOS that never spilled over into OVERT DANGER. 

or particularly EXPERIMENTAL.

for me the standout bands from that ERA where GLASSJAW, THE BLOOD BROTHERS,  and AT THE DRIVE-IN who seemed more akin to SONICALLY ADVENTUROUS PAST-AND-PRESENT acts like THE STOOGES, DEFTONES, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, early PINK FLOYD, THE FLAMING LIPS, THE RESIDENTS, SWANS, THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION, WEEN, THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS and SONIC YOUTH than their then-CONTEMPORANEOUS PEERS.  i always thought of TAKING BACK SUNDAY and their songs like the idiosyncratically titled "TIMBERWOLVES AT NEW JERSEY," "CUTE WITHOUT THE 'E' (CUT FROM THE TEAM)," "GREAT ROMANCES FROM THE 20TH CENTURY," "YOU KNOW HOW I DO," "YOU'RE SO LAST SUMMER" as perfectly PALATABLE but not particularly INSPIRED.  i feel like they differentiated THEMSELVES on the later ERIC VALENTINE-produced LOUDER NOW (WARNER BROS, 2006) release as they really upped their game SONGWRITING and CRAFT-WISE.  but for me their debut TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS wasnt something i gravitated towards and saw as INTERCHANGEABLE with other bands from the PERIOD like SILVERSTEIN, FINCH, THE USED, THRICE, SPARTA, ALEXISONFIRE and THURSDAY.  i suppose if you are into the POST HARDCORE / EMO of the 2000s, then TAKING BACK SUNDAY is as good a starting point as any other.  but yeah, again, id quickly pivot to GLASSJAW and AT THE DRIVE-IN quickly thereafter.

not even going to try and describe the DENSE CACOPHONY of STYLES on display in the EXPERIMENTAL CREATIVE OUTPUT of BROOKLYN INDIE ROCK band BEAR IN HEAVEN.  they havent put out a record in a decade, but i very much find their sound to be inspiringly IDIOSYNCRATIC and just plain WIERD.  ive seen tags online that describe them as a cross between DREAM POP, KRAUTROCK and SYNTH POP but really they just seem to be playing by a DIFFERENT RULEBOOK where literally anything SONICALLY goes. 

​and does.

BEAR IN HEAVEN are definitely worth checking out for FANS of everything from CAN, MY BLOODY VALENTINE, KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD and WEEN to BATTLES and CAPTAIN BEEFHEART.  much recommended.

parody by nacrowe

there is just something about SNARLING, WELL-EXECUTED PUNK ROCK BANDS that is hard to not be sucked in by.  when done correct, that sense of UNBRIDLED, INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM and CREATIVE ABANDON becomes SYNONYMOUS with POUNDING RHYTHMS and DISSONANT, FEED-BACKED GUITARS that feel right on that VOLATILE PRECIPICE of all out SONIC CHAOS.  like absolute lightning in a bottle.  GROUPS that immediately came to mind that fit this bill include PAST-AND-PRESENT PROTO-PUNK, ALTERNATIVE, HARDCORE, GARAGE ROCK and POST-HARDCORE BANDS THE STOOGES, BIKINI KILL, FUGAZI, RAMONES, AT THE DRIVE-IN, BLACK FLAG, GLASSJAW, BAD BRAINS, ACID DAD, BIG BLACK, CONVERGE, DEAD KENNEDYS and BLACK SABBATH.

add to that list THE COATHANGERS.

ever since this ATLANTA PUNK ROCK / GARAGE ROCK group became a THREE-PIECE in 2013, there has been this PALPABLE, COMBUSTIBLE ENERGY propelling them forward with what are SPARSE yet exceptionally WELL-CRAFTED, MEMORABLE SONGS.  must be something about the OPEN SPACE of a POWER TRIO in the lineage of culturally REVOLUTIONARY past BANDS ranging from MOTÖRHEAD, SLEATER-KINNEY, CREAM, AGENT ORANGE, NIRVANA and HÜSKER DÜ to THE JAM, RUSH, GREEN DAY, ZZ TOP and THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE. 

all three BAND MEMBERS sing, but there is just something about the SINGULAR JUXTAPOSITION of GUITARIST JULIA KUGEL's and DRUMMER STEPHANIE LUKE VOICES that differentiates their MELODIES from everyone.  KUGEL has a DELICATE, almost CHILDLIKE BARK that is an EVOCATIVE INSTRUMENT capable of much subtlety while LUKE has a GNARLY, RASPY VOICE that is quite POWERFUL and comes off BADASS, HARD-FOUGHT and EARNED like she has been chain-smoking while swallowing razorblades her whole life.  the INTERPLAY of both, often in CALL-AND-RESPONSE REFRAINS (along with FORMIDABLE BASSIST MEREDITH FRANCO) is EFFECTIVE and quite INDELIBLE, especially coupled with their CONSIDERABLE SONGWRITING CHOPS.

im pretty much always on the lookout for any NEW MATERIAL from the THE COATHANGERS or their VARIOUS SIDE PROJECTS, including WHITE WOODS and JULIA, JULIA.  they havent released anything in a minute, but they are definitely a BAND worth checking out and keeping an eye out for.
​
embedded below is a past DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the INCREDIBLE ATLANTA-based PUNK ROCK BAND THE COATHANGERS.  enjoy!

from the BOLD DECISION to use the CONTROVERSIAL THICH QUANG DUC photograph (of the MONK committing SELF-IMMOLATION on an URBAN SAIGON street in protest of the SOUTH VIETNAMESE government's PERSECUTION of BUDDHISTS during the VIETNAM WAR) as the album cover, to the STRIDENT SONIC EXPERIMENTALISM and CURIOUS re-imagining of the GUITAR as a DJ TOOL, to the SYNCOPATED PRESENTATION of leftwing POLITICAL SCREEDS in RAPS normally the SOLE TERRITORY of HIP HOP, it is without doubt that the SELF-TITLED debut RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE album RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE (EPIC, 1992) is a consciously PROVOCATIVE adn REVOLUTIONARY record for the ages.  it is right up there with anything inspirations like PUBLIC ENEMY, MARVIN GAYE, BOB MARLEY, NINA SIMONE, CRASS, PETE SEEGER, GIL SCOTT-HERON, NEIL YOUNG, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and DEAD KENNEDYS or later peers in SYSTEM OF A DOWN, BIKINI KILL and NOFX ever came up with. 

recorded mostly live off the floor at SOUND CITY in VAN NUYS, the same STUDIO that NIRVANA had then-recently tracked NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991), the dry SOUND of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE is a mostly NO THRILLS AFFAIR PRODUCTION-WISE.  and that was by CONSCIOUS DESIGN as the band wanted this recording (as well as the follow-up that was recorded in their rehearsal space) to SOUND like they did LIVE, which was unbelievably TIGHT and IN-YOUR-FACE.  speaking of being IN SYNC, the RHYTHM SECTION of BASSIST TIM COMMERFORD and DRUMMER BRAD WILK is arguably the SECRET WEAPON of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, as their almost TELEPATHIC ABILITY to GROOVE and stay firmly IN THE POCKET allows the rest of the band to soar and fly off into the stratosphere, both LYRICALLY and SONICALLY.  the SHEER AURAL AGGRESSION and BRUTALITY of this LEGENDARY record derives its FORCE and PRECISION from those two criminally UNDER-APPRECIATED MUSICIANS. 

it is not HYPERBOLE to state that GUITARIST TOM MORELLO in essence reinvented the INSTRUMENT, forgoing his IMMENSE TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE and TRAINING for an INNOVATIVE and highly EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH that saw him wholesale shed and disregard TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUE and MUSIC THEORY to deconstruct and reveal the GUITAR for what it actually is: a piece of wood with some STRINGS and ELECTRONICS.  he saw such as an INSTRUMENT anew as means of generating NOISE and mimicking the SCRATCHES and WARPED SOUNDSCAPES of a DJ.  MORELLO utilized his bare hands to rub against the STRINGS above the PICKUPS to maintain PITCH and TEMPO, as well as played with the AMPLIFIER FEEDBACK, a DIGITECH WHAMMY PEDAL and the EXPOSED GUITAR CABLE to create SQUEALS and PULSATING SIREN NOISES.  the result is that while some POLITICALLY-MINDED bands of the past (namely THE CLASH) TALKED THE TALK but just recycled REHASHED CHUCK BERRY RIFFS, whereas RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE literally WALKED THE WALK sonically by pushing the music forward with an ARTISTIC DISREGARD for AURAL PRECEDENTS.

this all brings me to FRONTMAN ZACK DE LA ROCHA, who is a TRANSFORMATIVE FIGURE in his own right.  previous to him there was no HYRBID to speak of between the ALTERNATIVE ROCK and HIP HOP communities.  you can point to bands like FISHBONE, BEASTIE BOYS, FAITH NO MORE and even early RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS that all somewhat danced around the same SONIC TERRITORY, but DE LA ROCHA made such EXPLICIT.  RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE was a band that was firmly a part of both MUSICAL TRADITIONS, they were as much indebted to CYPRESS HILL, KRS-ONE and the GETO BOYS as they were to FUGAZI, JANE'S ADDICTION and the BAD BRAINS.  all that MUSICAL INNOVATION would have been for not had DE LA ROCHA not been half the CHARISMATIC and INCENDIARY FIGURE that he was.  the DUDE was RIGHTEOUS ANGER PERSONIFIED and his SCREEDS about DOMESTIC and GLOBAL POLITICAL INJUSTICE on RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE still set the STANDARD by which all other POLITICAL bands and later RAP ROCK groups are JUDGED.  naming SPECIFIC tracks is kind of a POINTLESS ENDEAVOR given that this RECORDING is an OBVIOUS CASE of ALL KILLER NO FILLER, but STANDOUTS include CLASSIC tracks like "BULLET IN THE HEAD," "KNOW YOUR ENEMY," "BOMBTRACK" and  "KILLING IN THE NAME."   even writing that im thinking, yeah but "TOWNSHIP REBELLION," "FISTFUL OF STEEL," "WAKE UP," "TAKE THE POWER BACK" and "FREEDOM" are also ABSOLUTE BANGERS, though they are less CELEBRATED than those aforementioned ICONIC songs.  and right there i just listed basically the ENTIRE TRACK-LISTING.

so yeah, its a total fool's errand to isolate SPECIFIC MOMENTS on RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE.  this is an album for POSTERITY and is undoubtedly one of the great ARTISTIC ROCK AND ROLL highlights of the 1990s that is very much the equal of NINE INCH NAILS' THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL (INTERSCOPE, 1994), MASSIVE ATTACK's BLUE LINES (VIRGIN, 1991), PJ HARVEY's RID OF ME (ISLAND, 1993), SLOWDIVE's SOUVLAKI (CREATION, 1993), RADIOHEAD's OK COMPUTER (PARLOPHONE, 1997), NIRVANA's NEVERMIND and IN UTERO (DGC, 1993), PORTISHEAD's DUMMY (LONDON, 1994), BECK's ODELAY (DGC, 1996), U2's ACHTUNG BABY (ISLAND, 1991), MY BLOODY VALENTINE's LOVELESS (CREATION, 1991), THE FLAMING LIPS' THE SOFT BULLETIN (WARNER BROS, 1999), BLUR's PARKLIFE (FOOD, 1994), BJORK's DEBUT (ELEKTRA, 1993), POST (ELEKTRA, 1995) and HOMOGENIC (ELEKTRA, 1997), SMASHING PUMPKINS' SIAMESE DREAM (VIRGIN, 1993) and MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS (VIRGIN, 1995), DEPECHE MODE's VIOLATOR (MUTE, 1990), TRICKY's MAXINQUAYE (4TH & B'WAY, 1995), OASIS' DEFINITELY MAYBE (CREATION, 1994) and (WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY? (CREATION, 1995) and SOUNDGARDEN's SUPERUNKNOWN (A&M, 1994) and so on.  definitely worth checking out and repeat listens from now until ETERNITY.  an ESSENTIAL album no doubt, regardless of your opinion on their POLITICS.

GENE WILDER is one of the most BELOVED COMEDIC ACTORS of his or any other generation, due in no small part to the AUTHENTIC HUMANITY he imparted on his CHARACTERS.  to me he represents an often OVERLOOKED ASPECT of MASCULINITY that is secure in showcasing EMPATHY and COMPASSION unto others and acknowledging the UNDERLYING VULNERABILITY that in essence defines the COLLECTIVE HUMAN CONDITION we all share.  REMEMBERING GENE WILDER (HEALTH POINT, 2023) is a recent lovingly created documentary about his life from FRIENDS, PEERS and LOVED ONES still affected by his MEMORY almost a decade after his passing in 2016 from COMPLICATIONS associated with LATE-STAGE ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (a DIAGNOSIS he kept HIDDEN from his FANS out of LOVE and not wanting to impart any further MELANCHOLY on the world).

and that core PEOPLE-PLEASING TRAIT is the through-line of both his CHARACTERS and his LIFE as argued in this film.  after his MOTHER returned home from the hospital after recovering from a HEART ATTACK, a PHYSICIAN told a YOUNG JEROME SILBERMAN (WILDER's given birth name) not to argue with his MOTHER as such may literally kill her.  from then on WILDER internalized his EMOTIONS and developed a certain COMPASSIONATE GENTLENESS and AFFECTIONATE QUALITY throughout his LIFE.  in the theater he could stretch out and showcase a FULL-RANGE of EMOTIONS, but offstage his CARING NATURE defined him.  enough anyway that his LATE CO-STAR on a BROADWAY, ANNE BANCROFT, suggested him as PERFECT for a PART being written by her THEN-BOYFRIEND MEL BROOKS that would later materialize in the LEGENDARY BLACK COMEDY THE PRODUCERS (EMBASSY, 1968). 

the rest is history.  

i dont believe this film is a HAGIOGRAPHY of WILDER, but it definitely has an in memoriam feel to it rather some HARD-HITTING EXPOSE on his LIFE and CAREER.  take for instance his WORKING RELATIONSHIP with BROOKS, which produced some TRANSCENDENT COMEDIES for the ages in the AFOREMENTIONED THE PRODUCERS as well as BLAZING SADDLES (WARNER BROS, 1974) and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (20TH CENTURY-FOX, 1974).  according to WRITER PATRICK MCMILLIGAN in his EXTENSIVE MEL BROOKS: FUNNY MAN (HARPER, 2019) BIOGRAPHY, WILDER felt that BROOKS had taken PUBLIC CREDIT for what was essentially his SCRIPT and chose never to work with him thereafter, effectively ending their WORKING RELATIONSHIP.  that WHOLE TOPIC is never broached or even suggested in REMEMBERING GENE WILDER, which makes sense given its AFFECTIONATE, NOSTALGIC and decidedly ROSE-TINTED TONE.  normally i would see such as a DETRIMENT to the QUALITY or OBJECTIVITY of the film, but given the PERSPECTIVE of this film, it is DIFFICULT to fault such an OMISSION.  WILDER himself seemed to possess a certain NAIVE AUTHENTICITY that gave him the ability to tap into a CHILDLIKE AMORALITY both in his CHARACTERS and in his interviews that affected his audience and rendered such MISGIVINGS as holistically relatively UNIMPORTANT in the long arc of LIFE.

my favorite part of this film are the TESTIMONIALS by CO-STARS who speak of his COMPASSION and GENEROSITY as an ACTOR, giving them CREATIVE SUPPORT and SPACE in what is normally quite a BRUTAL and INTENSE BUSINESS where MARQUEE STAR PERFORMERS are pampered and normally have little to no TIME or MIND-SPACE for the needs of others.  WILDER apparently treated his CO-WORKERS, regardless of their title, role or function, as EQUALS, or at least  such was attested in this documentary by FORMER CHILD ACTOR PETER OSTRUM who played CHARLIE BUCKET in WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (PARAMOUNT, 1971) and BURTON GILLIAM who played LYLE of TAGGART'S OUTLAWS in BLAZING SADDLES among others.  OSTRUM, the PRODUCT of a WELL-REGARDED regional theatre program in CLEVELAND, was adjusting to the new TECHNICAL CONSTRAINTS of filmmaking and attests that WILDER was nothing if not SUPPORTIVE and exceedingly PATIENT with him to the point that he looks back at such, his only film, decades later as a POSITIVE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE.  as is widely known, such is sadly not the case with most CHILD ACTORS.

the film likewise talks about the TRAGEDY surrounding his PERSONAL LIFE, first with his flowering if not COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP with third WIFE GILDA RADNER that was cut short by her all-too BRIEF BATTLE that culminated with her DEATH from OVARIAN CANCER at 42 and later his own TERMINAL BOUT with ALZHEIMER'S after finding LOVE and HAPPINESS again with fourth WIFE KAREN BOYER.  what is presented is a LIFE brimming with the TRUE SURVIVALIST's capacity to choose and embrace CONNECTION and INTIMACY even after taking absolutely DEVASTATING PERSONAL LOSSES while soberly acknowledging whole-heartedly the DUAL NATURE of being ALIVE and PRESENT.  i can remember witnessing an EMOTIONALLY MOVING later life 2005 appearance on THE LATE SHOW WITH CONAN O'BRIEN promoting his UPCOMING memoir KISS ME LIKE A STRANGER: MY SEARCH FOR LOVE AND ART (ST. MARTIN'S GRIFFITH, 2006), where despite looking OLDER and noticeably FRAIL, WILDER appeared UNFAZED about his VANITY and reacted with COMPASSION and SENSITIVITY to a YOUNG O'BRIEN and provided EARNEST WISDOM on a living a FULL LIFE WELL-LIVED sans jokes with a sense of GENUINE HUMILITY.  when at one point he even held O'BRIEN's hand, you could sense how genuinely moved the COMIC HOST was at the EMPATHETIC GESTURE.  usually the FORMAT itself is less about establishing a sense of CONNECTION and more about presenting a PUBLIC FRONT or PERSONA in order to promote CORPORATE CONSUMERIST ENDS.  this was something RARE and DIFFERENT entirely.

and to me that is the WILDER i take in as an ADMIRER from afar.  he seemed more like a BODDHISTAVA, more concerned with the plight of others than a COMEDY GENIUS for the ages.  and to that end he represents a DIFFERENT, more ENLIGHTENED kind of MASCULINITY then the SHALLOW, VAIN boasting and EMPTY BOMBAST of today's TOXIC and thoroughly INSECURE variety.  his is one defined by concern for others, COMPASSION, COMMUNITY-BUILDING, and the INTENTION of making us collectively laugh as a TEMPORARY RESPITE from the ENDURING PAIN OF LIVING. 

that is GENE WILDER i take with me.

back in undergrad as part of a MODERN BRITISH LITERATURE CLASS i was tasked with JULIAN BARNES' FASCINATING TALKING IT OVER (KNOPF, 1991) NOVEL, which essentially deals with the FALLOUT from a LOVE TRIANGLE.  and not like in some sexually VULGAR, titillating or even PROVOCATIVE MANNER, but more just the EMOTIONAL and PSYCHOLOGICAL DAMAGE that comes with TRAUMA of INFIDELITY and the FRACTURED TRUST and WARPED sense of SELF-IDENTITY therein.  it is a HEADY BOOK because it is asking you to talk sides.

but what makes INTERESTING is that all three CHARACTERS involved are UNRELIABLE NARRATORS.  at a certain point, at least in my EXPERIENCE, you give up attempting to parse out who is telling the the TRUTH and who is really to blame and just embrace the FLUIDITY of it all.  all three CHARACTERS are telling the TRUTH, or at least a TRUTH being their TRUTH, and paradoxically all three are very much lying through OMISSION, INTERPRETATION of FACTS, and just their DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE on what is an incredibly UNCOMFORTABLE SITUATION.  in fact id argue the real CORE FOCUS of the BOOK is not the LOVE TRIANGLE itself, but the INHERENT, UNSPOKEN MALLEABILITY of LANGUAGE itself and its COMPLICATED, and UNDEPENDABLE,  RELATIONSHIP with the CONSTRUCTION of a SHARED MEANING and a COMMON UNDERSTANDING of REALITY.  as HUMANS, we all are the main CHARACTERS in our own SELF-NARRATIVE.  its our NATURE.  and LANGUAGE is our IMPERFECT VEHICLE for connecting emotionally and psychologically with one another, and that SELF-INVOLVED BIAS is always there.  in a sense, TALKING IT OVER is a META-NARRATIVE about how LANGUAGE itself instrumentally contributes to a MUTABLE NATURE OF REALITY that none of us can truly share with one another. 

now back to this BRITISH LITERATURE CLASS.  we had a major assignment where we had to compare TALKING IT OVER to another BOOK that similarly used LANGUAGE in this manner.  the PROFESSOR was on loan from COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY so my CLASSMATES were attempting to impress her by comparing such to JAMES JOYCE's ULYSSES (SHAKESPEARE AND COMPANY, 1922) or HERMAN MELVILLE's MOBY-DICK (HARPER & BROTHERS, 1851), DAVID FOSTER WALLACE's INFINITE JEST (LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY, 1996), FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY's CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (THE RUSSIAN MESSENGER, 1866) and AYN RAND's ATLAS SHRUGGED (RANDOM HOUSE, 1957).  to what end i still dont remember or understand outside of trying to impress her.  i was completely stunned when in the following CLASS the PROFESSOR quoted from my paper and explaining to the CLASS how this TOMMY LEE guy from a MEMOIR called THE DIRT: CONFESSIONS OF THE WORLD'S MOST NOTORIOUS ROCK BAND (HARPER ENTERTAINMENT, 2001) was very much engaged in the exact same ACTIVITY regarding the DUPLICITOUS NATURE of LANGUAGE and how such warps IDENTITY, MEANING and TRUTH from the BARNES' NOVEL.  it was arguably my greatest college MOMENT to have this PROFESSOR speak at length about MOTLEY CRUE in such an ELEVATED LITERATURE COURSE.  but THE DIRT itself was written CHAPTER by CHAPTER, like TALKING IT OVER, from the PERSPECTIVE of one of the BAND MEMBERS and each was basically responding arguing in their CHAPTER why their version of the history of the band was CORRECT and why the others were completely FULL OF SHIT.  in the end you believe none of them and leave with a NOISY, COMPLICATED and APOCRYPHAL NOTION of the band itself and their RELATIONSHIP to one another.  same STRUCTURE, same OBSTACLES, same absolute AUTHORIAL UNRELIABILITY, same RESULT.

so yeah, my RECOMMENDATION is to read both BACK-TO-BACK.  probably TALKING IT OVER first because it very much is a CAPTIVATING and UNIQUE LITERARY ACHIEVEMENT.  and then you can read about how TOMMY LEE slept with everyone's GIRLFRIENDS and WIVES back in the 1980s.  itll all somehow make sense.

back when i lived and worked in YOKOHAMA for a year, one of my FAVORITE WEEKEND SPOTS was to venture into the OCHANOMIZU neighborhood in nearby TOKYO and take in what is no doubt the most INSANE GUITAR RETAIL DISTRICT in the world.  some INFORMED AMERICANS might immediately think of 48th street in NYC back in its heyday for comparison with the NOW-DEFUNCT likes of MANNY'S MUSIC, the first SAM ASH store, RUDY'S MUSIC SHOP, TERMINAL MUSIC, SILVER & HORLAND and  GRECO'S CUSTOM GUITARS amongst others, but this is way beyond that in SHEER SIZE and SCOPE.  the JAPANESE have this UNIQUE AFFINITY with AMERICAN CULTURE that goes back to the POST-WAR period where they basically purchase and hoard everything related to very specific aspects of that we basically overlook or have long since moved past.  for instance in the HARAJUKU section of TOKYO, i remember their being a SMALL CLUSTER of shops that specialized in VINTAGE CONCERT TOUR SHIRTS.  i recall they had ORIGINAL LOLLAPALOOZA SHIRTS from every year in multiple sizes, not to speak of the fact that they had a DEVO SHIRT from their 1981 NEW TRADITIONALISTS tour, which was all kinds of SICK.  same goes for SNEAKERS, MOTORCYCLES, STREETWEAR, VINYL RECORDS, ROCKABILLY GEAR and so on. 

so it is not hyperbole to state matter-of-factly that OCHANOMIZU is literally the MECCA of all things GUITAR-related.

i only bought one GUITAR in OCHANOMIZU.  it was soon after i moved to YOKOHAMA and it was a GIBSON CUSTOM SHOP SINGLE-CUT LES PAUL JR model in TV YELLOW that usually would have been well out of my price range but fell well within it because of one MINISCULE, unnoticeable MINOR DING on the back side.  an almost INVISIBLE BLEMISH that would never be regarded as a DEAL-BREAKER in the UNITED STATES market, but in JAPAN if something is not perfectly PRISTINE it is severely marked down accordingly.

any, this is all prologue to say that on YOUTUBE i am always drawn to videos of people investigated and searching that same OCHANOMIZU district of GUITAR STORES.  for me that place is almost MYSTICAL and MAGICAL like a young child would look at DISNEYLAND or something. and thats how i came across the A FLASH FLOOD OF GEAR channel.  the channel follows the BOUTIQUE ONLINE RETAILER out of CENTRAL FLORIDA that specializes in IMPORTED JAPANESE manufactured instruments (i.e. FENDER, TOKAI, ARIA PRO II, GUYATONE, ESP, ORVILLE, EDWARDS, BURNY, YAMAHA) and RELATED PRODUCTS meant for the DOMESTIC market, as well as more STANDARD, VINTAGE and PLAYER GRADE AMERICAN fair (FENDER, GIBSON, GRETSCH, GUILD, MUSIC MAN, IBANEZ, MARTIN).  watching their channel is basically an education into the history of the JAPANESE market and the quality control of factories like FUJIGEN and DYNAGAKKI over the decades.  the OWNER ALEX BUDNICK and his small dedicated STAFF are all WORKING MUSICIANS who make regular trips to JAPAN as well as all over the CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES in search of new inventory and their CHANNEL is a backseat to that seemingly NEVER-ENDING GEAR SAFARI, which for a HOPELESS GEAR NERD like me is essentially CATNIP and endlessly FASCINATING to watch.  especially since BUDNICK's taste in GUITARS, like me, is somewhat towards FENDER offsets and LES PAUL JRs.  here are links to their two bands' YOUTUBE channels (CONVERSATION PIECE and SECRET KEEPER), which sway stylistically towards POST-HARDCORE, which makes sense given that their business name is an ENTER SHIKARI REFERENCE.

A FLASH FLOOD OF GEAR is definitely worth checking out if you are addicted to MUSIC GEAR like me.

in the wake of the UNEXPECTED SUCCESS that was the ALIVE! (CASABLANCA, 1975) LIVE PERFORMANCE RECORDING, KISS was effectively put on the spot to follow-up the PROMISE of such with all of its OVER-THE-TOP BOMBAST and SHOWMANSHIP with a NEW STUDIO ALBUM that would match and actually serve the goods, unlike their frankly UNDERWHELMING previous efforts.  for a generation ROCK AND ROLL FANS, mostly CHILDREN, back in the 1970s, there is no doubt that their SEMINAL DESTROYER (CASABLANCA, 1976) album did just that and effectively captured a whole generation of MUSICIANS and MUSIC FANS.  the influence of such is usually downplayed next to that of their more CONVENTIONAL PEERS in everyone from LED ZEPPELIN, AC/DC,  RUSH and AEROSMITH, but the proof is in the pudding as KISS has influenced everyone from NIRVANA, PANTERA, WEEZER, FUGAZI, ALICE IN CHAINS, DINOSAUR JR, NINE INCH NAILS, SONIC YOUTH, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, ANTHRAX, MISSION OF BURMA, MELVINS, SLIPKNOT, GUIDED BY VOICES, TOOL, MUDHONEY, PAVEMENT, MARILYN MANSON, SOUNDGARDEN, MINUTEMEN, WHITE ZOMBIE and PEARL JAM to name but a few.  and that LEGACY along with ALIVE! is probably rooted in the DESTROYER ALBUM.

i think that undoubtedly part of the APPEAL of the band, other than the ICONIC KEN KELLY ILLUSTRATED COVER ART of the band in full KABUKI MAKEUP, is the ANTHEMIC NATURE of the SONGS themselves.  KISS wasnt concerned with SCI-FI ALLEGORIES of MODERN ALIENATION (RUSH) or ARTHURIAN and TOLKIEN MYTHOLOGY (LED ZEPPELIN) or even REFERENCES to EXCESSIVE DRUG USE (AEROSMITH) in their LYRICS.  instead (like AC/DC) they focused on PLAINTIVE, identifiably DIRECT FEELINGS of PERSONAL EMPOWERMENT ("GOD OF THUNDER," "SHOUT IT OUT LOUD") and COMMUNITY ("DETROIT ROCK CITY," "FLAMING YOUTH").  its UNDERSTANDABLE how these EVERYMAN THEMES played so well, coupled with the ECSTATIC NATURE of their LIVE PERFORMANCES, with the YOUTH of AMERICA at the time. 

dont believe me?  i look at ALICE IN CHAINS and their former TROUBLED FRONTMAN LAYNE STALEY, who famously battled a HEROIN ADDICTION that ultimately claimed his LIFE.  after coming out of a LONG PUBLIC ABSENCE (as a result of his INABILITY to effectively combat his ADDICTION) to record a ONE-OFF ACOUSTIC SHOW that would eventually be released as MTV UNPLUGGED (COLUMBIA, 1996), the last with STALEY, it was the ALLURE of opening for KISS on their REUNION TOUR that found the SINGER garnering enough WILLPOWER to make it through three shows before bowing out.  just the IDEA of opening for KISS was so POWERFUL an INCENTIVE that STALEY bravely attempted to fulfill a WILD CHILDHOOD DREAM for as long as he physically could before his FRAIL STATE dictated terms otherwise.  that example is INDICATIVE of the type of pull on the IMAGINATION that KISS has secured on a generation of ALTERNATIVE ROCK, METAL and INDIE ROCK MUSICIANS that came of age in the 1970s.

some may consider DESTROYER a CRASS, CYNICAL MARKETING PLOY designed to sell LICENSED LUNCHBOXES and ASSORTED MERCHANDISE and they wouldnt necessarily be wrong with such an ASSERTION, but the REASON that such business acumen worked were ultimately the SONGS.  okay, maybe not "BETH."  that SONG is admittedly TERRIBLE and an ABOMINATION absolutely beyond REDEMPTION, but the STAPLES of their LIVE SHOW ad nauseam are perfectly COMPETENT, if HARMLESS and STRAIGHTFORWARD ROCK AND ROLL TUNES that have stood the test of time as any CASUAL STROLL into a guitar shop will undeniably attest.  if there is an ESSENTIAL KISS STUDIO ALBUM, DESTROYER is it.  not for everyone, no doubt, but if you can get past some of the GOOFINESS in the PRESENTATION there is much to enjoy in some of these CLASSIC ROCK ANTHEMS for the ages.

as i have said before, i am a COMPLETE SUCKER for MELODY. 

and the TORONTO-based INDIE POP band TALLIES has such in spades with their ETHEREAL SOUNDSCAPES of IMPRESSIONISTIC guitars drenched in waves of DELICATE REVERB and those LILTING VOCAL LINES cascading over one another in manner reminiscent of past CELEBRATED DREAM POP bands like BLONDE REDHEAD, ASOBI SEKSU, COCTEAU TWINS and SLOWDIVE.  in SINGER / GUITARIST SARAH COGAN TALLIES has an ENCHANTING VOICE that, at least to my ears, echoes the HAUNTING and ACHING VULNERABILITY of RACHEL GOSWELL of SLOWDIVE or even DEB DEMURE of DRAB MAJESTY.  at the very least she is a MUSICIAN to watch out for moving forward.

definitely a band worth checking out.

parodies by nacrowe

maybe its just me, but i think for most FANS of ROCK AND ROLL and the CULTURE surrounding it there is a DEARTH of APPRECIATION for how culturally TRANSFORMATIONAL a period the FIRST WAVE of THE GREAT MIGRATION (roughly 1910-1940) actually was.  after the initial haphazard efforts surrounding RECONSTRUCTION largely failed, the UNITED STATES government for VARIOUS REASONS surrounding POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY and BALD-FACED RACISM, basically allowed the SOUTHERN STATES to impose RACIAL SEGREGATION LAWS (i.e. JIM CROW) that lasted from 1877 on through the 1960s when the VOTING RIGHTS ACT was enacted.  this resulted in an ESTIMATED 1.6 million BLACK SOUTHERNERS relocating en masse to MAJOR URBAN CENTERS in DETROIT, CLEVELAND, PHILADELPHIA, LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK CITY, WASHINGTON DC, SAN FRANCISCO and CHICAGO.  it should be mentioned that this trend continued with another SECOND WAVE until 1970 with an ESTIMATED six million MIGRANTS involved in total.

particularly these BLACK SOUTHERNERS from RURAL TOWNS in the DELTA REGION, i.e. ARKANSAS, LOUISIANA and MISSISSIPPI, quite literally carried with them the BLUES TRADITION that itself was an extension of generationally INHERITED CULTURAL HERITAGE going back to WEST AFRICA and THE MIDDLE PASSAGE.  when these MUSICIANS came to CHICAGO, it was the early years of MODERN AMPLIFICATION TECHNOLOGY that transformed the GUITAR from an ACCOMPANYING INSTRUMENT to that of a LEAD INSTRUMENT.  the CHICAGO BLUES was that INFLECTION POINT when the DELTA BLUES became ELECTRIFIED and thus served as the FOUNDATIONAL TEMPLATE for RHYTHM & BLUES, i.e. ROCK AND ROLL. 

people are MISTAKEN and point to BUDDY HOLLY or even ELVIS PRESLEY as the PROGENITORS of the ROCK AND ROLL GENRE when they should really be focused on the CHESS RECORDS roster of CHUCK BERRY and BO DIDDLEY, as well as the CHICAGO BLUES GREATS that preceded them in MUDDY WATERS, HOWLIN' WOLF, ELMORE JAMES, SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON, OTISH RUSH and so on.  it just seems like TRAVESTY that we are coming up to the 75th anniversary of the CHESS RECORDS founding in 1950 and the label and its ARTISTS are still not given their full due by the PUBLIC, who have moved on to other things.

part of such makes sense, as time moves on and with it the PUBLIC IMAGINATION, but there are other INFLECTION POINTS in AMERICAN CULTURE that are continually CELEBRATED that had NOTHING of the ENDURING impact of the CHICAGO BLUES.  sorry, not THE BEATLES on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW, not BOB DYLAN at NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL, not JIMI HENDRIX at WOODSTOCK, not HAIGHT-ASHBURY or the SUMMER OF LOVE, not the advent of MTV, nor even the introduction of the APPLE IPOD.  the CHICAGO BLUES along with its IMMEDIATE DELTA BLUES PREDECESSOR is AMERICAN CULTURAL BEDROCK.

i just wish it was REVERED that way.

embedded below is a past DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the LEGENDARY CHICAGO BLUES and FOUNDATIONAL ROCK N ROLL label CHESS RECORDS.  enjoy!

THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE (RCA, 1999) occupies a PIVOTAL moment in the FOO FIGHTERS CAREER. 

going back, famously their debut FOO FIGHTERS (CAPITOL, 1995) was a SECRET AFFAIR and for-all-intents-and-purposes a GLORIFIED SOLO PROJECT that re-acclimated FORMER NIRVANA DRUMMER DAVE GROHL with the idea of making MUSIC again in the wake of the TRAGIC PASSING of his FRIEND and BANDMATE KURT COBAIN.  the group name itself was plural as a ploy so that friends and family wouldnt think it was just him, but an ACTUAL band.  he discovered in tracking that ALBUM by himself with the help of FRIEND and PRODUCER BARRETT JONES that MUSIC was the very VEHICLE for his RECOVERY from such a DEEP and very public EMOTIONAL BLOW.  the follow-up THE COLOUR AND THE SHAPE (CAPITOL, 1997) was a more DRAWN-OUT and TUMULTUOUS AFFAIR with ACCLAIMED PRODUCER and NOTORIOUS TASKMASTER and PERFECTIONIST GIL NORTON (PIXIES, BELLY, THROWING MUSES, CATHERINE WHEEL).  by this point the FOO FIGHTERS were an actual unit, with the ICONIC PUNK ROCK GERMS / NIRVANA GUITARIST PAT SMEAR on board as well as the rhythm section of the recently DISBANDED POST-HARDCORE standouts SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE in BASSIST NATE MENDEL and DRUMMER WILLIAM GOLDSMITH.  ultimately GROHL replayed all of GOLDSMITH's parts on the RECORDING, which understandably crushed his will to be in the band and he soon exited on band terms.  he was replaced by ALANIS MORISSETTE's DRUMMER TAYLOR HAWKINS and there was a bit of MUSICAL CHAIRS going at guitar with SMEAR leaving and FORMER SCREAM GUITARIST FRANZ STAHL stepping in, then leaving.  by the time you get to the third ALBUM THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE, the band was down to three members in GROHL, MENDEL and HAWKINS.

with all the TURMOIL in the lineup caused by an overly EXTENSIVE TOURING SCHEDULE schedule (SMEAR) and CHEMISTRY ISSUES exacerbated by the INTENSE RECORDING and SONGWRITING PROCESS (GOLDSMITH and STAHL), GROHL decided this go around to quietly reconvene back in the COMFORTABLE confines of his home state of VIRGINIA and setup shop in his ALEXANDRIA basement and self-record there with the technical help of PRODUCER ADAM KASPER at a slow MANAGEABLE pace.  and you can definitely pick up on that laid-back vibe in tracks like "NEXT YEAR," "AIN'T IT THE LIFE" and the standout "AURORA."  the first two FOO FIGHTERS RECORDS are ICONIC ALTERNATIVE ROCK ALBUMS with mostly AGGRESSIVE songs that are DISSONANT yet MELODIC and consciously influenced by everything from BIG BLACK, HUSKER DU and PIXIES to MELVINS and the BAD BRAINS.  GROHL has stated in interviews that for THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE he was going for more of the consciously POP and overtly MELODIC MUSIC that was on the AM RADIO in his MOTHER's car throughout his 1970s SUBURBAN VIRGINIA youth.  specifically AM GOLD / YACHT ROCK ARTISTS like ANDREW GOLD, GERRY RAFFERTY, PHOEBE SNOW, 10cc, HELEN REDDY, CARLY SIMON, ANDY GIBB and the BEE GEES.  so yeah, this ALBUM was a total DIFFERENT VIBE.   

especially "AURORA" which might be the most BEAUTIFUL SONG GROHL ever wrote.  maybe.  its at least up there.

but that is not to say the band totally abandoned their SOUND.  TRACKS like "STACKED ACTORS" (reportedly an UNSUBTLE takedown of LONGTIME FRENEMY COURTNEY LOVE), "BREAKOUT" and "GENERATOR" all pair nicely with the more AGGRESSIVE NUMBERS from the first two records, but are largely not as MEMORABLE.  "LEARN TO FLY" is the departure that marries the aforementioned MELODIC and LAIDBACK VIBE with the DISSONANT ALTERNATIVE ROCK that one would expect from GROHL, but the SWEEPING MELODIES are what make it transcend such.  this was the FOO FIGHTERS SONG that as much as i wanted to hate it, just couldnt because it was so well constructed and executed.  it is just a classic ROCK AND ROLL song that melodically soars and one doesnt need to imagine very hard such being a successful SING-A-LONG NUMBER at a packed arena.  i wouldnt know FIRSTHAND since the last time i saw FOO FIGHTERS play was back in 2000 at a RANDOM CONCERT in RHODE ISLAND when they were on tour for the SECOND ALBUM with the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, who themselves were promoting their CLASSIC CALIFORNICATION (WARNER BROS, 1999) ALBUM at the time with GUITARIST JOHN FRUSCIANTE back in tow.  GREAT SHOW by the way.

THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE is by no means my FAVORITE FOO FIGHTERS album, such is a tie between THE COLOUR AND THE SHAPE and the much later WASTING LIGHT (RCA, 2011), but within the CONTEXT of their GREATER CATALOGUE, it showcases a band artistically succeeding when internally they felt like they had their backs against the wall.  sadly there would be more ADVERSITY in the future, but i feel that will to persevere and fight is baked into their DNA as a group at this point.  part of the reason their fans are so DIEHARD and LOYAL.  they know that GROHL and company authentically live through their CRAFT.  gotta respect that.

when the SEMINAL IRISH ROCK AND ROLL band U2 played its last show on THE JOSHUA TREE TOUR in CORK in late 1987, the group found itself at the physically EXHAUSTED and spiritually DEPLETED end of a CREATIVE STREAK that had lasted and sustained them since their founding more than a decade earlier in 1976 as SCHOOLCHILDREN.  after six albums released over seven years that in totality spread a HUMANISTIC MESSAGE of SOCIO-POLITICAL UNITY, PEACE and HOPE that was informed by their INTIMATE APPRECIATION as IRISHMEN of the PERILS OF WAR and CIVIL UNREST, and found the band touring the UNITED STATES to ever-increasing crowds to the point of filling stadiums, the band had come to a CROSSROADS.  

in essence they were sick of THEMSELVES.

their COLLECTIVE PUBLIC PERSONA throughout that first phase of their career was EARNEST, POLEMIC, RIGHTEOUS and STRIDENT to an EXTREME.  counter to the personalities their FRIENDS, FAMILY and CLOSE ASSOCIATES knew intimately, the band came off as HUMORLESS as well.  by the time they embarked on their RATTLE AND HUM (ISLAND, 1988) FILM PROJECT that saw them encounter and explore AMERICAN ROOTS MUSIC, (i.e. BLUES, GOSPEL, ROCKABILLY and the like), the band on stage had turned into a BLOATED PRODUCTION of MULTIPLE BACKUP SINGERS and CRINGY white bread takes on the AMERICAN SONGBOOK STANDARDS that was a world away from the LEAN, SPRITELY, ECONOMICAL POST-PUNK SOUND and MINIMALIST AESTHETIC of their youth.

what makes the FROM THE SKY DOWN (UMG, 2011) DOCUMENTARY about the PROCESS behind the GENESIS of the CELEBRATED ACHTUNG BABY (ISLAND, 1991) album so COMPELLING is that it showcases a band in TRANSITION.  not just CREATIVELY but INTERPERSONALLY as well.  in order to push ahead LOGICALLY one must leave something behind in the PROCESS and that ALBUM represented a CONSCIOUS shedding of one's PUBLIC PERSONA in the most striking of terms.  rather than point the proverbial finger at the ILLS of society, this RECORD found them pointing such at THEMSELVES.  especially MAIN SONGWRITERS BONO and THE EDGE.  both became enamored with the then-CURRENT MADCHESTER scene and its particular brand of ACID HOUSE and DANCE MUSIC that was at the forefront of INDIE ROCK CULTURE at the time, as well as rediscovering more EXPERIMENTAL FAIR in the KRAUTROCK of their youth with bands like KRAFTWERK, NEU! and CAN. there was also a keen interest in the related UNDERGROUND INDUSTRIAL scene at the time best exemplified in the work of EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN, DIE KRUPPS and KMFDM.  this HEADY mix of INFLUENCES was a world away SONICALLY and PHILOSOPHICALLY from the PUNK ROCK that first prompted the MEMBERS to start a band.  PUNK was about being ACCOUNTABLE and attacking the problem of society's ILLS, whereas ACID HOUSE and DANCE CULTURE was more about ESCAPISM, KRAUTROCK a new MUSICAL VOCABULARY and TRADITiON for a GERMAN POST-WAR GENERATION not interested in their PARENTS' (i.e. NAZIs) experience and INDUSTRIAL MUSIC the EFFECTIVE ERADICATION of the HUMAN ELEMENT from ART entirely.  all of which offered U2 a path forward.

with SONGS like "ONE" and "THE FLY," the band was able to find a SPIRITUAL IDENTITY in the NEW MATERIAL.  this did not happen without much PERSONAL CONSTERNATION, INTERPERSONAL STRUGGLE, and ARTISTIC TREPIDATION.  the band famously went to HANSA STUDIOS in BERLIN with RETURNING PRODUCERS DANIEL LANOIS and BRIAN ENO.  the later of which was involved in DAVID BOWIE's LOW (RCA, 1977) and HEROES (RCA, 1977) RECORDINGS as well as IGGY POP's LUST FOR LIFE (RCA, 1977) ALBUM, which were all recorded at the site.  the CONCEPT was that the change in scenery and focus on the ALBUM would help initiate their next step by OSMOSIS.  this didnt happen.  the SONGS came together through DETERMINATION and much EFFORT, but the result was SPECTACULAR.  gone were the sermons and instead where more IMPRESSIONISTIC and ALLEGORICAL MUSINGS on POST-MODERN LIVING, especially in this NEW AGE of 24/7 cable television.  BONO for one on TRACKS like "EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING" and "ZOO STATION" feels LIBERATED and REINVIGORATED by channeling this DISAFFECTED LOU REED-inspired NEW CHARACTER to play against type and very much intelligently deconstruct his own previous HOLIER-THAN-THOU PUBLIC PERSONA with HUMOR and GUSTO. for me the highlight of the ALBUM was "LOVE IS BLINDNESS," which THE EDGE wrote in SULLEN ANTICIPATION of his IMPENDING DIVORCE.  it is one of the most startling BLEAK SONGS ever written and is contrary to everything the band stood for pre-ACHTUNG BABY in TONE and SUBSTANCE.  there is no RESPITE or HOPE, just the BRUTAL COLD REALITY that LOVE has ended and nothing is there to adequately fill that PAINFUL chasm.  NO OPTIMISM, NO MORAL VICTORIES, just DEATH. 

it is such a REAL SONG.  everyone has been there.  everyone is familiar with that FEELING.

what comes out of that ALBUM for the band is a RENEWED bond of AFFECTION for one another built on MUTUAL RESPECT and TRUST.  it is arguably the BIGGEST left turn of their career and no one was PHYSICALLY or CREATIVELY LEFT BEHIND.  the fact that the band didnt break up, but instead authentically reinvented THEMSELVES for the second phase of their INIMITABLE career is beyond REMARKABLE and the REAL ACHIEVEMENT documented with a deep well of COMPASSION and LOVE in this documentary which is required viewing for any U2 fan.

back when i was teaching my FAVORITE GENRE to cover in a class was no doubt MAGICAL REALISM.  there is just this SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF that happens when you shut off that part of your brain that detects things at FACE VALUE like AUTHENTICITY and FIDELITY to EXPERIENCED REALITY and you just focus on what SUBJECTIVE and FIGURATIVE INFORMATION the AUTHOR is presenting to you.  HYPERBOLE and all.

in this IMMERSIVE yet OPAQUE graphic novel INTERPRETATION of HOW TO TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES (DARK HORSE, 2016), a previously PUBLISHED NEIL GAIMAN (THE SANDMAN) SHORT STORY illustrated by BRAZILIAN ARTISTS FÁBIO MOON and GABRIEL BÁ, that MYSTERY and WONDER is channeled as two ENGLISH teenage ADOLESCENT BOYS in the 1970s enter the WRONG party at a LONDON flat and try to pickup OLDER WOMEN. 

whats INTRIGUING about the NARRATIVE is that NO CONTEXT is ever fully given to who these women are, where they are from, or what they are all doing at this residence other than dancing amongst themselves while listening to MELANCHOLIC NEIL YOUNG SONGS.  the AWKWARDNESS of the conversations that the more TIMID of the two BOYS, ENN, has with three WOMEN is only matched by the LACK OF LOGICAL COHESION in the conversation itself.  is such a DISCONNECT caused by the FOREIGN LACK OF COMMAND of the ENGLISH language of these WOMEN or the INABILITY to listen and hold ATTENTION of ENN himself.  VIC, the more classically HANDSOME and CONFIDENT of the two BOYS, finds himself presumably hooking up with the WOMAN that answered the door, only to drag both them out in an abrupt HURRIED FASHION back onto the street for UNKNOWN REASONS.  all we know is the UNBRIDLED RAGE eminating from the WOMAN as she DEATH-STARES him while walking down the stairs.  again, NO CONTEXT or EXPLANATION provided.  its all INTERESTING because ENN was in the midst of listening to a poem from another YOUNG WOMAN in a language he DIDNT UNDERSTAND but was wholly ENTRANCED by nonetheless, as if he was saw the FUTURE and the PURPOSE OF THE UNIVERSE in just the sound of it.

thats as GREAT an EXPLANATION of the PROFOUND MYSTERY between the sexes as any ive come across.  what is the CAUSE of ATTRACTION between two people (regardless of GENDER, GENDER EXPRESSION or GENDER IDENTITY).  defies LOGIC, LANGUAGE, TIME, SPACE, GEOGRAPHY, CONTEXT or HUMAN COMPREHENSION.  if anything, BASE CONSTRUCTIONS like WORDS and MEANING dilute such in the PROCESS.

makes sense to me.

ive recently been on a RED DWARF (BBC2, 1988-1999) kick.  was introduced to this zany BRITISH SCI-FI-themed SITCOM back when i was in middle school through my FATHER.  havent the FOGGIEST how he learned of it.  regardless, my family had a PAL series of videotapes we got in ENGLAND one summer.  the CONCEIT of the SERIES centers around a LOWLY MINING SPACESHIP TECHNICIAN named DAVE LISTER (CRAIG CHARLES) who mistakenly gets put in SUSPENDED ANIMATION for three million years, only to awake learning he is the last human alive and that the only other "BEINGS" with him onboard are a HOLOGRAM of his annoyingly JOYLESS, GUTLESS and DELUSIONAL former BUNKMATE ARNOLD RIMMER (CHRIS BARRIE), a DROID named KRYTEN (DAVID ROSS) and the exceedingly VAIN HUMANOID descendent of his former PET CAT named CAT (DANNY JOHN-JULES).

what shines in this SERIES beyond the PERFORMANCES is the quality of the WRITING, which like MONTY PYTHON adroitly oscillates between LOW BROW and HIGH BROW COMEDY in a typically DROLL MANNER that only the BRITISH can seemingly pull off.  LISTER is an EFFECTIVE EVERYMAN put in beyond RIDICULOUS SITUATIONS and finds the HUMOR, not horror, of the opportunity of his UNIQUE PREDICAMENT.  RIMMER is the REAL STAR of the SHOW with his BOTTOMLESS NARCISSISM and quirky PERENNIAL INABILITY to see beyond his own SELFISH INTERESTS, NEEDS and DESIRES for STATUS and RESPECT, achieving neither.  again, sounds like the basis for a terrorizing PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER but instead its the basis for one of the truly TRANSCENDENT SCRIPTED COMEDIES of all-time.  not only that, but the SCI-FI CONCEITS of INDIVIDUAL EPISODES were rooted in LEGITIMATE and then-CURRENT UNDERSTANDINGS of THEORETICAL PHYSICS and the manner in which TIME, SPACE and REALITY play out in an EXPANDING UNIVERSE governed by GENERAL RELATIVITY.  the fact that one minute the PLOT demands that its viewers grasp the CONCEPT of SPACE-TIME while seamlessly transitioning such into an EXTENDED JOKE about CONSTIPATION is basically my reasoning for returning to RED DWARF again and again.  for better or worse the BRITISH, unlike their AMERICAN COUSINS, assume some modicum of INTELLIGENCE in their audience. 

definitely worth checking out to the UNINITIATED.  guarantee you will not be disappointed.

back when i my family lived in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA during my preteen years i was a bit of a JOCK.  given my height and frame i was on the traveling teams in SOCCER, BASEBALL, TRACK and BASKETBALL but the later was my TRUE PASSION.  to date i love watching BASKETBALL and dissecting OFFENSIVE and DEFENSIVE SCHEMES and STRATEGIES like a FOOTBALL FANATIC would evaluate a team's IMPLEMENTATION of a west coast offense.  part of the RITUAL of going to a game or meet in the GREATER LOS ANGELES / SAN DIEGO area was a SOUNDTRACK built around JIMI HENDRIX, specifically "VOODOO CHILE (SLIGHT RETURN)."  that line where he sings 'well i stand up next to a mountain / and i chop it down with the edge of my hand' was practically my PERSONAL MANTRA entering a COMPETITION.   it always got me pumped up.  later on in college when writing term papers that track served a similar PURPOSE in boosting my CONFIDENCE before what would prove to be a mentally TAXING ACTIVITY.

and that was always my relationship to the MUSIC of HENDRIX in general, one of transforming my MINDSET and CONSCIOUSNESS as i was always by nature more TIMID and INTERIOR despite my PHYSICAL STATURE or INTELLECT.  and i feel thematically that his final album with THE EXPERIENCE in ELECTRIC LADYLAND (POLYDOR, 1968) is very much about that DEEP-SEATED, MYSTERIOUS, almost spiritually TRANSFIGURING POTENTIAL that comes with emotionally aligning with MUSIC.  when i list to tracks like "BURNING OF THE MIDNIGHT LAMP," "RAINY DAY, DREAM AWAY" "GYPSY EYES," and especially his EPIC BOB DYLAN cover "ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER" it is not even about the CHORDS, PRODUCTION, RHYTHM or even the SUNG MELODY, instead it feels like HENDRIX was about connecting to HUMANITY at large on a HIGHER PSYCHIC PLANE.  one in which a VIBE or feeling bypassed the INTELLECT into something much deeper.  like an EVOLUTION in being at balance with one's EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE.  to me such is the state of play with TRULY PSYCHEDELIC ROCK.

and its FUNNY that my relationship to his MUSIC was based on such at an early age, long before i investigated his TROUBLED BIOGRAPHY and FRAILTY as a mere MORTAL HUMAN.  to me such INANE DETAILS are SECONDARY to the MUSIC and its CAPACITY to expand CONSCIOUSNESS and EMOTIONAL AVAILABILITY.  ELECTRIC LADYLAND to me, along with AXIS: BOLD AS LOVE (POLYDOR, 1967) seem to be the releases where he truly spread his CREATIVE WINGS in the studio and let his ABSTRACT LYRICS fully intertwine with LUSH and revolutionarily CREATIVE SOUNDSCAPES that still serve as the SOUNDTRACK to SELF-DISCOVERY generations later.  i feel that same sense of LIMITLESS interior PSYCHIC EXPLORATION when listening to the work of APHEX TWIN, J DILLA, THELONIOUS MONK or GUSTAV MAHLER.

a LEGENDARY album by an AMERICAN ARTISTIC JUGGERNAUT for the ages.  absolutely ESSENTIAL and well worth checking out and revisiting on the regular.

MINIMALIST, ANGULAR BASS GUITAR STABS stabs over SYNTH-HEAVY BEATS with STOIC, DISAFFECTED VOCALS is basically hitting me right in the SWEET SPOT, which is why ive totally taken to the LOS ANGELES POST PUNK-influenced INDIE ROCK three-piece AUTOMATIC.  given that their DRUMMER LOLA DOMPE is the daughter of POST PUNK ROYALTY KEVIN HASKINS of BAUHAUS / TONES ON TAIL / LOVE AND ROCKETS FAME, i probably shouldnt be quite that surprised.  the group, which also includes KEYBOARDIST IZZY GLAUDINI and BASSIST HALLE SAXON, have a UNIQUE triumvirate situation with regard to VOCALS, which results in some particularly LUSH HARMONIES that juxtapose nicely over their more FORMAL and RIGID RHYTHMIC CHOICES.  at times its all very EVOCATIVE in STYLE and PRESENTATION to that DEVO, one of my favorite bands.

it also goes without saying that their MUSIC VIDEOS that are very CLEVER and are seemingly EVOCATIVE and REFERENTIAL of past TACTILE and ANALOG AESTHETICS from a long-passed generation of FILM CULTURE. its all very  much appreciated.  given that they are on the ever-IMAGE CONSCIOUS STONES THROW RECORDS, this should likewise come as no surprise.  AUTOMATIC is definitely a band worth checking out and keeping a future eye on.

parodies & text by nacrowe

the SLANDER against COURTNEY LOVE is one of those things ive been confused about since CHILDHOOD.  i first came to know about HOLE via their LIVE THROUGH THIS (DGC, 1994) release back when i was still in elementary school.  even at that age i could detect that with this particular SINGER there was a FIERCE INTENSITY and NO BULLSHIT DIRECTNESS that cut through everything i was hearing on the radio, namely the ALTERNATIVE ROCK CULTURAL BEHEMOTH KROQ 106.7FM transmitting out of NEARBY LOS ANGELES.  to me LOVE was and always will be a ROCK STAR of the first order just based on those FOUNDATIONAL AURAL EXPERIENCES i had.

and i was BEYOND NAIVE back then.  again, i was in elementary school during a pre-internet age.

it was only later that i learned she was the WIDOW of KURT COBAIN, how they had a child, how she survived ADDICTIONS and a CHAOTIC and PERIPATETIC UPBRINGING, her early stint with FAITH NO MORE, and how her TALENT was only matched by her ability to shit stir and alienate PEERS, ALLIES and ENEMIES alike.  take away her GENDER and much of this is pretty PEDESTRIAN stuff related to what degenerates like OZZY OSBOURNE (DRUGS, ANIMAL CRUELTY, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE) and MOTLEY CRUE  (DRUGS, VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER and DOMESTIC VIOLENCE) did back in the 1980s.  and i think that is kind of the point.  there is aN INHERENT MISOGYNY to the greater press narrative of LOVE that is rooted in some PURITANICAL DOUBLE-STANDARD of what constitutes FEMININITY in AMERICA and that being a REVOLUTIONARY and culturally TRANSGRESSIVE ROCK N ROLL ICON does not fit such an UNREALISTIC and WARPED IDEAL.

and it goes further.

id argue that LOVE is one of the BETTER LYRICISTS of her generation.  put her lyrics to "VIOLET" next to anything COBAIN or TRENT REZNOR wrote in the 1990s and youll see what i mean.  its not even close in terms POETICISM and INTELLIGENCE.  yet she often gets pegged as being the coattail rider of first COBAIN and later BILLY CORGAN on CELEBRITY SKIN (DGC, 1998), as if she didnt write her own songs on those two GENERATION-DEFINING albums.  read COBAIN's LYRICS pre-and-post LOVE, which is basically NEVERMIND (DGC, 1991) versus IN UTERO (DGC, 1993) and youll see the UNMISTAKABLE INFLUENCE of her over his music on a PURELY LYRICAL LEVEL.

regardless, youd think that in 2024 with all the GENERATION Z-ERS reevaluating past CULTURAL MILESTONES by everyone from EMINEM and the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS to GREEN DAY, MADONNA and even METALLICA that there would be a RE-EVALUATION of LOVE at some point. 

but no.

hasnt happened yet.  it should though.  she is a SINGULAR ICON of the 1990s, on par with her LATE HUSBAND, REZNOR, CORGAN, THOM YORKE, BECK, PJ HARVEY, RIVERS CUOMO, SHIRLEY MANSON, EDDIE VEDDER and DAVE GROHL, and yet she is still severely UNDERRATED in my opinion.  i have a feeling, no, i know for a fact that if she was a MAN and not a WIDOWED MOTHER that none of this BULLSHIT would have ever have been thrown her way.

embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating all things COURTNEY LOVE.  enjoy!

THE GREAT ESCAPE (FOOD, 1995) represented the end of a certain MODE OF SONGWRITING for the BRITPOP ICONS in BLUR, one in which FRONTMAN DAMON ALBARN wrote through CHARACTERS that represented aspects of BRITISH SOCIETY that he had a CONTENTION with.  a RECURRING OBSESSION was the loss of COMMUNITY and the literal PHYSICAL TRANSFORMATION of the BRITISH SUBURBAN LANDSCAPE and COUNTRYSIDE with the PROLIFERATION of AMERICAN-style CORPORATE RETAIL OUTLETS throughout the 1990s that pushed out mom-and-pop SMALL BUSINESSES that had previously given each town their UNIQUE IDENTITY.  on PARKLIFE (FOOD, 1994) this LYRICAL and THEMATIC PERSUASION was NOVEL, but by THE GREAT ESCAPE it had turned to something of a crutch.  same with the MUSICAL APPROACH which had become BLOATED with MASSIVE ORCHESTRAL ARRANGEMENTS that pushed the limits of CREDULITY for this once tight four-piece.  change was in need all around.

for me BLUR (FOOD, 1997) is the album where ALBARN somewhat abandoned COY and CLEVER CHARACTER-BASED OBSERVATIONS of BRITISH society as a SONGWRITING VEHICLE (in the great TRADITION of RAY DAVIES, PAUL MCCARTNEY and DAVID BOWIE) and turned inward at himself and got REFLECTIVE and PERSONAL.  in particular INSPIRED tracks like "BEETLEBUM" and "DEATH OF A PARTY" seemed to be MOURNFUL CODAS or ELEGIES on a BRITPOP scene that had run its course but was now in decline as a CULTURAL MOVEMENT.  there was a new found DIRECTNESS and MUSCULARITY to the SOUND, courtesy of GUITARIST and fellow SONGWRITER GRAHAM COXON whose INTEREST in the LO-FI, DISCORDANT and EXPERIMENTAL end of AMERICAN INDIE ROCK (bands like PAVEMENT, SONIC YOUTH and MISSION OF BURMA) came to forefront on BLUR on largely IMPROVISATIONAL tracks like "CHINESE BOMBS," "M.O.R." and most memorably, "SONG 2." 

COXON around this period also stepped out as a COMPETENT LYRICIST and VOCALIST in his own right with the AMBIGUOUS "YOU'RE SO GREAT," which could have been about love just as much as it could have been about ALCOHOL, since during this period he was well into the depths of his ADDICTION.  this tact would continue and be mined on the likewise STELLAR and SIMILARLY-THEMED track "COFFEE & TV" from the follow-up album 13 (FOOD, 1999).  in fact, the use of controlled substances as a SONGWRITING VEHICLE is also found on "BEETLEBUM," which some have interpreted as potentially also being also about the LASTING DAMAGE and loss of WILL and SELF-IDENTITY that comes with PROLONGED HEROIN ADDICTION.  in the late 90s, it was common knowledge that many a BRITPOP band and their entourage had fallen VICTIM to NARCOTICS at the expense of their CAREER, LIVELIHOOD and POTENCY as ARTISTS.  seems all CULTURAL MOVEMENTS eventually hit that CLICHE OPIATE STAGE when everything begins to dismantle and become ENTROPIC.

i always find it INTRIGUING that a record which found its origins in abandoning what worked before and wholesale embracing UNCERTAINTY through PERSONAL LYRICAL THEMES and EXPERIMENTAL DISCORDANT SOUNDSCAPES turned out to be one of the most artistically SATISFYING albums of their CAREER.  not only that, but the ONE-OFF, RANDOM, THROWAWAY lark of a track "SONG 2" is identifiably the BLUR song of ALL-TIME, being used as a CODED SIGNAL for UNBRIDLED CELEBRATION at sporting events the world over at times of SUDDEN VICTORY.  for me the UNDISPUTED HIGHLIGHT is "BEETLEBUM," not just for the AMBIGUOUS LYRICS, but that HAUNTING GUITAR LEAD at the end which seems to distill all that BUBBLING UNCERTAINTY and PAIN into a severely MEMORABLE MUSICAL REFRAIN.  its arguably the most INTENSE and EMOTIONALLY-WROUGHT moment on any BLUR recording.  it was also the moment i saw COXON as an EXPRESSIVE GUITARIST on par with my other BRITISH GUITAR HEROES in JOHNNY MARR, DANIEL ASH, ROBERT SMITH, ROBERT FRIPP and JOHNNY GREENWOOD.

goes without saying that BLUR is a MEMORABLE and absolutely ESSENTIAL album well worth checking out.

im kind of fascinated by this movie.  even just the fact that it exists.

on one level the shamelessly UNAPOLOGETIC PRODUCT PLACEMENT HAGIOGRAPHY that is AIR (AMAZON MGM, 2023) is basically the ultimate UNDERDOG STORY of how an UNDERPERFORMING (and patently UNCOOL) NIKE BRAND successfully REPOSITIONED itself against COMPETITORS CONVERSE and ADIDAS in the mid 1980s.   NIKE was a BASIC RUNNING SHOE company POPULAR at colleges that through the UNLIKELY PURSUANCE of a MAJOR SHOE DEAL with newly drafted ROOKIE BASKETBALL PLAYER MICHAEL JORDAN utterly transformed itself and the FUNDAMENTAL TRAJECTORY of SPORTS HISTORY, including its INTERPLAY with COMMERCE and CULTURE to date.  it is not hyperbole to state that this SPECIFIC DEAL made NIKE an absolute BEHEMOTH in the ATHLETIC FOOTWEAR and APPAREL MARKET, effectively dominating the CONVERSATION and influencing how ATHLETES are deified in the BROADER CULTURE for decades.  so i get that WHOLE PERSPECTIVE.

but on another level this film is more about LABOR EXPLOITATION and how the SHOE and APPAREL INDUSTRY caved in to the CONTRACT DEMANDS JORDAN out of sheer GREED, whose MOTHER DELORIS fought for him to get a PERCENTAGE of all future GLOBAL SALES of anything produced by NIKE with his name on it.  such was a TRANSFORMATIONAL AGREEMENT was an ABSOLUTE GAME-CHANGER that all SUBSEQUENT ATHLETES have benefited from.  in fact, witnessing the process that the JORDAN family went through when being courted by firms is one of the more INTRIGUING ASPECTS of the film, especially regarding CONVERSE who at the time had sponsored both LARRY BIRD and MAGIC JOHNSON.  they essentially viewed JORDAN as being on that tier of ATHLETICISM such that he was WORTHY of wearing their SHOES.  NIKE in turn had a PITCH that JORDAN was a SINGULAR ATHLETE destined for GREATNESS and that his PERSONALIZED LINE of PERFORMANCE BASKETBALL SHOES, the AIR JORDAN MODEL, should reflect such.  they were SPECIAL because he wore them, not the other way around as had been the PITCH from CONVERSE and ADIDAS.  that REALIGNMENT of the RELATIONSHIP, both in STYLE and SUBSTANCE, can be seen in the personalized SIGNATURE SNEAKERS of COUNTLESS BASKETBALL PLAYERS in the intervening years since on various BRANDS, such as KOBE BRYANT (NIKE / ADIDAS), LEBRON JAMES (NIKE), ALLEN IVERSON (REEBOK), LAMELO BALL (PUMA), DAMIAN LILLARD (ADIDAS), CHRIS PAUL (JORDAN BRAND), STEPHEN CURRY (UNDER ARMOUR), GRANT HILL (FILA), KAWHI LEONARD (NEW BALANCE), JA MORANT (NIKE), DWAYNE WADE (JORDAN BRAND / LI-NING), DERRICK ROSE (ADIDAS), AARON GORDON (361 DEGREES), CHARLES BARKLEY (NIKE), JAYSON TATUM (JORDAN BRAND), SHAQUILLE O'NEIL (REEBOK), SCOOT HENDERSON (PUMA), KLAY THOMPSON (ANTA), ZION WILLIAMSON (JORDAN BRAND), DONOVAN MITCHELL (ADIDAS), KYRIE IRVING (NIKE / ANTA), RUSSELL WESTBROOK (JORDAN BRAND), KEVIN DURANT (NIKE), ATHONY EDWARDS (ADIDAS), PAUL GEORGE (NIKE), SPENCER DINWIDDIE (361 DEGREES), JAMES HARDEN (ADIDAS), SHAWN KEMP (REEBOK), GORDON HAYWARD (ANTA), DEVIN BOOKER (NIKE), TRAE YOUNG (ADIDAS), LUCA DONCIC (JORDAN BRAND) and GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO (NIKE) among others.  and that is before even mentioning the HUGE EXPANSION into SPONSORED ENTERTAINERS in the intervening years including PHARRELL WILLIAMS (ADIDAS / LOUS VUITTON), KANYE WEST (NIKE / ADIDAS), RIHANNA (PUMA), KENDRICK LAMAR (CONVERSE), TRAVIS SCOTT (NIKE), CARDI B (REEBOK), DONALD GLOBER (NEW BALANCE), MEGAN THEE STALLION (NIKE), SELENA GOMEZ (PUMA), BILLIE EILISH (NIKE), J BALVIN (JORDAN BRAND), TYLER THE CREATOR (CONVERSE), BEYONCE (ADIDAS), GIGI HADID (REEBOK), BAD BUNNY (ADIDAS), DUA LIPA (PUMA), PUSHA T (ADIDAS) and DRAKE (NIKE).

the film is supposedly based on NIKE CO-FOUNDER PHIL KNIGHT's memoir SHOE DOG (SCRIBNER, 2016), which is INTERESTING since such was explicitly about his pre-JORDAN EXPERIENCE with the company, building it up gradually from a REGIONAL ASICS IMPORTER and DISTRIBUTOR for their ONITSUKA BRAND called BLUE RIBBON SPORTS to a PRIVATE, then PUBLICLY-TRADED company that specialized in RUNNING SHOES and APPAREL.  the book recounts how FRAUGHT those early years were, both from a LEGAL and a FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE.  the doubling down, tripling down, quadrupling down on DEBT in order for the firm to SURVIVE just showcases how IMPERFECT a PROCESS it is building a company to even a NOMINAL PRESENCE in a COMPETITIVE INDUSTRY and how UNSTEADY and PRECARIOUS such as a POSITION is.  it really is amazing that this "adaptation" of sorts addresses the one thing that is omitted from SHOE DOG, which is the JORDAN DEAL and the financial windfall that came with it.  obviously that NARRATIVE centers around the efforts of his MARKETING EXECUTIVES, namely SONNY VACCARO, and not KNIGHT himself, who was a MINOR (if not highly CONSEQUENTIAL) PARTICIPANT.  given the ELEVATED STATUS of the AIR JORDAN and many of its later ITERATIONS in POPULAR CULTURE, where such is commonly fetishized as a LUXURY item INDEPENDENT of its former function as an OUTDATED PERFORMANCE BASKETBALL SNEAKER, it makes total sense why the book was optioned to speak on an ISSUE it never addressed in print.

which is CRAZY.  entertaining film from both a CINEMATIC and a strictly BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE.  i wonder how much of it is actually TRUE.

for whatever reason i am attracted to these largely EXPLOITATIVE ALTERNATIVE ROCK BIOGRAPHIES published by ST. MARTIN'S GRIFFIN in the mid-to-late 1990s.  bands like SOUNDGARDEN, NIRVANA and the like.  what i find INTRIGUING about them is that you get a somewhat CONTEMPORANEOUS sense of their PERSONAL NARRATIVE and ARTISTIC TRAJECTORY, not a RETROSPECTIVE ACCOUNT filtered through the HAZY and often INACCURATE GAUZE of TIME and INEVITABLE critical DISAPPOINTMENT.  these books were written and published in short order with the TIME-SENSITIVE OBJECTIVE of taking advantage of their SUBJECT's POPULARITY at its RELATIVE peak.

for MARTIN HUXLEY's unimaginatively titled NINE INCH NAILS (ST. MARTIN'S GRIFFIN, 1997) BIOGRAPHY of TRENT REZNOR, what comes across is the COMPELLING PORTRAIT of a VISIONARY and deeply AMBITIOUS and INNOVATIVE SONGWRITER who attempts to find CATHARSIS in his CRAFT but ends up amassing INNER-CONFLICT and TURMOIL in the process.  born and raised in RURAL WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA, the PERSONAL NARRATIVE of REZNOR is one defined by BOREDOM.   for some the countryside is a PASTORAL IDYLL of TRANQUILITY that promotes a ROOTED BALANCE with NATURE.  for REZNOR there is a RESTLESS QUALITY that came with being out of reach of MAINSTREAM CULTURE.  its not surprising that he left college early to pursue MUSIC and life in a bigger city, of which he chose NEARBY CLEVELAND.  there he found a SMALL but FRACTURED and INTERNECINE COMMUNITY of MUSICIANS, many of which were STRUGGLING by playing bars in cover bands and the like.  its not like OHIO was a CULTURAL NEXUS on par with LOS ANGELES or NEW YORK CITY, but the ISOLATION worked in his favor as he was able to find work as an ASSISTANT in a STUDIO and basically work for RECORDING TIME while subsisting on BASIC NUTRITION.

the BOOK deconstructs the PERSONA of REZNOR as this MYSTERIOUS and UNDERGROUND AVENGING ANGEL of INDUSTRIAL MUSIC and all things ALTERNATIVE, instead rooting his success in his SONGWRITING GIFTS, CREATIVITY and PRETERNATURAL ABILITY to dissect and RECONSTITUTE a version of himself on wax.  i tend to agree with that ASSESSMENT since what separated his MUSIC from PREDECESSORS in DEPECHE MODE, KMFDM, SKINNY PUPPY, MINISTRY and so on was the INTERIOR NATURE of his LYRICS.  those SLASHING DISSONANT GUITARS, ARPEGGIATED ELECTRONIC KEYBOARD RUNS and PROGRAMMED POLYRHYTHMS were but an INGENIOUS SOUNDSCAPE to buttress LYRICS that entirely exposed his INSECURITIES and deep-seated EMOTIONAL VULNERABILITIES.  somehow these UNCONVENTIONAL mechanized and INORGANIC AURAL ELEMENTS made these INTIMATE ADMISSIONS hit that much HARDER.  over time when finding some semblance of footing as an EFFECTIVE LIVE DRAW, especially in HIGH PROFILE TOURS / GIGS like LOLLAPALOOZA, WOODSTOCK 94 and an opening slot for DAVID BOWIE, REZNOR adroitly understood how his PUBLIC PERSONA had shifted. 

and for me that RELATIONSHIP between him and his PERSONA is the real crux of his CAREER circa THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL (INTERSCOPE, 1994) ERA and beyond.  witnessing and being culpable in your own PUBLIC PERSONA becoming a wildly DISTORTED CARICATURE of yourself.  the BOOK ends during this CONSEQUENTIAL PERIOD and hints at FUTURE PROJECTS.  of course we all know about the EXTENDED SABBATICAL REZNOR took thereafter to get a grip on himself, his CAREER and his life.  these early BELOVED YEARS of his CAREER provided his fans with an EFFECTIVE SOUNDTRACK to exorcise PAST TRAUMA and PAIN, but at the expense of his MENTAL HEALTH.  i appreciate that REZNOR had the FRAME-OF-MIND to look after and consolidate himself and return all the STRONGER YEARS later with a match DEEP FOCUS and MOTIVATION to create MEANINGFUL ART, albeit from a PERSPECTIVE that doesnt feed off SELF-LOATHING and SELF-DEFEATING IMPULSES.  for his sake and that of his FANS.

NINE INCH NAILS is a perfectly PEDESTRIAN quick read with some INTERESTING TIDBITS thrown in enough to satiate COMPLETISTS and REZNOR FANATICS.  im sure once REZNOR gets around to writing an AUTOBIOGRAPHY or participating in a SANCTIONED BIOGRAPHY that a more COMPLETE PICTURE will flesh out his PAST CHOICES.  until then this INESSENTIAL BOOK will somewhat suffice.  NOT TERRIBLE, but NOT GROUNDBREAKING either.  only HARDCORE FANS need apply.