ever since HOWARD STERN left TERRESTRIAL RADIO and the editorial confines that came with that format he has transitioned gracefully into a long-form interviewer of the first order.  this is due in part to the UNIQUE opportunity afforded him by having his own channel on SATELLITE RADIO with no time or editorial constraints.  i believe transformation is likewise also the result of years of THERAPY that made the former CONFRONTATIONAL and AGGRESSIVE media personality more INTROSPECTIVE, CONSIDERED and prone to listening and engaging more fully with his guests.

COMES AGAIN (SIMON & SCHUSTER, 2019) is less a memoir and more a curated transcript of some of his most insightful interviews in his later years where he has garnered such newfound respect as a THOUGHTFUL and EMPATHETIC interlocutor capable of conducting fruitful discussions with his high-profile guests including the likes of ANDERSON COOPER, OZZY OSBOURNE, COURTNEY LOVE, CHRIS ROCK, LADY GAGA, ROSIE O'DONNELL, DAVID LETTERMAN, HILARY CLINTON, JAY-Z, BILL MURRAY, KIM KARDASHIAN, CONAN O'BRIEN, LARRY DAVID, JON STEWART, TRACY MORGAN and former DISGRACED president DONALD TRUMP among many others.  given this books presentation as a compendium of interviews, i have read most of it out of order over the past half year.  it is almost more of reference document since there is no discernible narrative other than STERN's personal introductions that contextualize each interview.

for me the most ENGAGING and HEARTENING of these interviews is with ROSE O'DONNELL, a public comedic figure that was seemingly at odds with STERN and caught his ire and mockery throughout the 90s.  most of such was undeserved and in retrospect comes off as her sense of FEMININITY contrasted strongly with that promoted by STERN's male gaze (i.e. famous models, playmates and porn stars).  i have no doubt that TRUMP's ascension to power shook STERN to his core since the DISGRACED former president seemed to both inhabit and warp the CAVALIER and frankly CHAUVINIST attitudes promoted by the radio show.  same for HUGH HEFNER and PLAYBOY.  TRUMP was the embodiment of a mode of MASCULINITY that was a CULTURAL ANACHRONISM by the time of his inauguration.  a throwback to a LESS ENLIGHTENED period.  i think STERN realized quickly that the common area in the venn diagram of MAGA supporters and his radio audience was pretty SIGNIFICANT and this book is an attempt to rewrite his legacy.  he profusely thanks O'DONNELL for her grace and humility in accepting his apologies for past abuse and both have garnered a level of mutual RESPECT and FRIENDSHIP that heretofore was absolutely unforeseen.  it was a gift from her that he truly cherishes as it redeems his sense of identity as a father of three young adult women.

id argue that COMES AGAIN is probably the DEFINITIVE STERN publication, more so than the OUTLANDISH and PERFORMATIVE MISS AMERICA (REGANBOOKS, 1995) and PRIVATE PARTS (SIMON & SCHUSTER, 1993).  what makes it so much more ENJOYABLE is his ability to listen and ask PERTINENT, PROBING questions with a sense of COMPASSION and HUMILITY that never existed in his previous incarnation as a "shock jock" pushing societal buttons for ratings.  in its place you get INTRIGUING dialogue on the nature of comedy, the mass media, beauty, love, pain, death and celebrity.  and i imagine the best is still yet to come.

the conceit of the graphic novel HUNGRY GHOSTS (DARK HORSE, 2018) is that of an EDO-period JAPANESE PARLOR GAME called HYAKUMONOGATARI KAIDANKAI (or "a gathering of one hundred supernatural tales") that found samurai telling stories to each other about GHOULISH TALES and FOLKLORE, each snuffing out one of a hundred candles after each story.  as the room got DARKER with each passing candle being snuffed out, the samurai would continue until the 100th was extinguished thus allowing for a haven for the spirits to commune in their realm.  according to custom theyd stop at 99 for that EXACT reason.

given that this graphic novel was co-written by the CELEBRATED chef and television personality ANTHONY BOURDAIN shortly before his death, the spin with HUNGRY GHOSTS is that these stories are told about food-related TRANSGRESSIONS and ABOMINATIONS against nature.  themes of EXCESS, GLUTTONY and GREED in the face of other's need for want in order to maintain basic survival pervade throughout these stories ranging geographically from SPAIN, FRANCE, the AMERICAN MIDWEST and JAPAN.  i dont wish to give away the ending but there is a BUDDHIST karmic sense of MORALITY at play with being  MODEST in your INDULGENCES, less they define or literally consume you in the process.  eating meat is not the issue, but rather the MORAL IMPLICATIONS of succumbing to your NEEDS and DESIRES while maintaining the suffering of others in close proximity in the process.

for someone with such an close relationship with food and its UNIQUE potential to initiate human relationships and maintain community interactions (as dining with people is an INTIMATE experience), it is quite compelling that BOURDAIN decided to use this same trope of a collective group meal to showcase such CLASS DIVISION and MORAL DEPRAVITY at the hands of the host, guests and kitchen staff at a formal dinner hosted by a RUSSIAN billionaire with presumed ILL-GOTTEN gains.  its an INTERESTING reversal that works because of how ICONIC the dinner meal is as a GLOBAL cultural and even religious institution.

i should mention that HUNGRY GHOSTS was co-written with JOEL ROSE and the tales were manifested by DISINTGUISED, TOP-TIER visual talent in PAUL POPE, JOSE VILLARRUBIA, SEBASTIAN CABROL, ALBERT PONTICELLI, LEONARDO MANCO, SAL CIPRIANO, FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA, IRENE KOH, MATEUS SANTOLOUCO and VANESSA DEL REY.  definitely worth checking out.

RIP ANTHONY BOURDAIN

i'll admit i was late to MAC MILLER.  i was aware of him by reputation via various online music publication, but the little i saw of him, including those early music videos, left me with the UNDERWHELMED impression that i was witnessing the second coming of white frat rapper ASHER ROTH, whom i absolutely DETESTED.  interestingly it wasnt until i was teaching high school abroad in VENEZUELA that some of my clued-in HIP HOP-minded seniors urged me to give his new material a second look, this being around the WATCHING MOVIES WITH THE SOUND OFF (ROSTRUM, 2013) era.  what i witnessed was something more CONFESSIONAL, INTROSPECTIVE and AUTHENTIC then the BRASH, ENERGETIC, DERIVATIVE and JUVENILE early material i associated with him.  that was when my opinion shifted on MAC MILLER.  plus i learned shortly thereafter that my cousin's studio in BROOKLYN was utilized for sessions for the follow-up GO:OD AM (WARNER BROS, 2015) album.  just want to make biases apparent upfront.

all that being said, PAUL CANTOR in his restrained and sobering biography MOST DOPE: THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF MAC MILLER (ABRAMS, 2022) about the doomed PITTSBURGH rapper, who was only 26 when he passed on from a drug overdose in LOS ANGELES after years of SELF ABUSE, a portrait emerges about an exuberant talent with a pure love of music finding his way to COMMERCIAL SUCCESS and hard-won ARTISTIC CREDIBILITY in a notoriously SAVAGE and often CANNIBALISTIC entertainment industry largely alone.  and its that last part that is difficult to not emphasize further, as MAC MILLER gained success with no cosigns and negligible community support (or even help from onetime label-mate and fellow PITTSBURGHER WIZ KHALIFA).  his journey was one that was largely SELF-PROPELLED and SELF-NAVIGATED.  it was a journey of continual ARTISTIC EVOLUTION in spite of major setbacks like naysaying critical gatekeepers at prominent online music blogs, the CULTURAL APPROPRIATION claims / baggage / guilt / privilege that comes with being a caucasian rapper and a spiraling ADDICTION that insulated him from both the public, his inner circle and even his family.

when you think of cultural figures like AMY WINEHOUSE, HEATH LEDGER, JIMI HENDRIX, PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN or PRINCE among countless others that passed on from a acute drug usage there is a sense that beyond the TRAGEDY of their demise is the idea that their PUBLIC PERSONA and CHARISMATIC APPEAL functioned to effectively insulate them from outsiders rendering help.  when so much outside capital investment and livelihoods are riding on the ability of an artist or actor to perform it creates a unique dynamic and incentive structure that is not always beneficial to the creative individual at the center of it.  when my cousin and i had our recording studio, i remember having long discussions about what type of behavior we would or would not tolerate by our clientele.  this after one rapper was particularly abusive after an extended bender.  my argument was that if the dude dies on our premises, that such is that something we want on our conscious, irrespective of a recording studio being technically part of the service and hospitality industry.  even hotels will boot out unruly patrons.  the next morning after that heated discussion news came out that MAC MILLER had passed.  an artist my cousin actually engineered sessions with. 

point made.

the story of MAC MILLER is one of a CHARISMATIC, highly EMPATHETIC musician making it big despite all the odds based on his WORK ETHIC, WARM DEMEANOR, MARKETABILITY and artistic INSTINCTS to INNOVATE and EVOLVE.  it is also the story of a person that became more ISOLATED as he gained more clout to the point that nobody could call him out.  which was to his own detriment.  this is some TRAGIC HERO level shit.  if i was still teaching SOPHOCLES' ATIGONE, CHINUA ACHEBE's THINGS FALL APART, SHAKESPEARE's MACBETH or HAMLET or even F SCOTT FITZGERALD's THE GREAT GATSBY to secondary school students the figure of MAC MILLER would be a prescient modern example of such noble figure with a TRAGIC CHARACTER FLAW.

he was only 26.  years later it is still SAD.

MOST DOPE is a WELL-CONSTRUCTED, exhaustively RESEARCHED book that details INTIMATE aspects of MAC MILLER's life narrative without reading as EXPLOITATIVE or SENSATIONALISTIC, which is ever more astounding given its publication only a few short years following the untimely demise of the CELEBRATED lyricist.  

FRIENDSHIPS and ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS are prone to change and ultimately ATROPHY, much like the universe and its accelerated cosmic expansion that leaves us all ISOLATED and devoid of meaningful interaction.  or such is the underlying guiding principle at play in the graphic novel OUR EXPANDING UNIVERSE (TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS, 2015) by ALEX ROBINSON, which follows the changes that CHILDBIRTH brings to the FRIENDSHIP of three men in their late thirties as they navigate RESPONSIBILITY and the quickly changing demands put on them by their PARTNERS.  what feels like a DRIFTING APART and reordering of priorities is actually just the natural evolution of a healthy functioning adult.

in this narrative there are two extremes presented. 

one of the three male FRIENDS is a confirmed bachelor with no long term ROMANTIC PROSPECTS on the horizon.  TALKATIVE with numerous pet theories and prone to OVER-INTELLECTUALIZE just about anything, this dude does not have to implement his concepts into actual practice through any kind of MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIP and is basically reliving a younger version of himself who smokes pot and seemingly plays XBOX all day.  he never has to be truly VULNERABLE and thus make any meaningful GROWTH as a person.

another of the three males is married with two CHILDREN but has cheated on his wife at least twice.  this is due to his perceived sexual needs that cannot be provided by a PARTNER who has physically CHANGED due to the EXTREME demands of childbirth.  though economically stable as a teacher and nurturing and THOUGHTFUL as a supposed model of adult RESPONSIBILITY, his HYPOCRISY showcases the DOUBLE STANDARD of how men and women perceive their POWER in RELATIONSHIPS and how such alters over time and with the addition of CHILDREN in the mix.

its an interesting mix since the third male friend is basically navigating the impending birth of his DAUGHTER with his PARTNER with these two DYSFUNCTIONAL models of TROUBLED MASCULINITY.  seemingly the glue in this close-knit group of friends, he is EMOTIONALLY AVAILABLE and somewhat NONJUDGMENTAL about their SHORTCOMINGS.  he is EMPATHETIC to a point and makes his own life decisions related to his FAMILY informed but INDEPENDENT of their opinion.  and i think such a dynamic is HEALTHY.  its not indicative of a loss of supposed INTIMACY over time or the atrophying of the cosmic order as our collective FATE, it is a man growing into his own decision-making process as his PERSPECTIVE and RESPONSIBILITIES expand.

i personally have never had a CHILD but have been around people my age who have going back twenty years.  i can only begin to imagine and appreciate the significance of such a TRANSFORMATIVE experience as CHILDBIRTH and the manner in which such an UNCONDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITY responsibility must have for one's sense of IDENTITY and relationship to the outside world.  i have witnessed FRIENDS and FAMILY transition gracefully into such a role and others struggle.  but at its core i never felt that such a transition was indicative of my stature being minimized.  if anything it just meant more LOVE, more COMPASSION, more LIFE in the mix.  if at all this expanding community was MOVING FOWARD together, albeit slightly REDEFINED.

i really enjoyed how much this graphic novel thoughtfully illustrated how navigating these tense waters of ADULT RESPONSIBILITY was a manifestation of owning one's own SHORTCOMINGS and addressing them head on.  if anything we are all on that same trajectory whether we choose to accept such or not.  OUR EXPANDING UNIVERSE is a THOUGHTFUL comic book well worth checking out.

there were several points while reading CELEBRATED actor/director/comedian SETH ROGEN's IDIOSYNCRATIC memoir YEARBOOK (CROWN, 2021) that made me laugh so hard i needed to put the book away and calm down for fear of fainting.  not that i think his ambition or objective with this memoir was to HUMOROUS per se, more that it presented a COHESIVE WORLDVIEW throughout various anecdotal happenings in his life; from discovering drugs and pornography in CANADA to dealing with NICOLAS CAGE during meetings with an inexplicably forced BAHAMANIAN accent.  that and other MEMORABLE stories revolving around RIDICULOUS encounters with the likes of KANYE WEST, GEORGE LUCAS, TOM CRUISE, his grandparents, SACHA BARON COHEN, STEVE WOZNIAK, EDDIE GRIFFIN, JERRY SEINFELD and KIM JONG UN among many others.

whether dealing with anti-semitism or making sense of an absolutely INSANE situation (with or without the added variable of drug intoxication) the through line the connects all of these disparate anecdotal essays is ROGEN's VOICE.  it is readily apparent that he is a TALENTED writer and that one can effortlessly imagine him narrating this memoir as the combined CADENCE, RHYTHM and SARCASTIC TONE of his well-publicized public PERSONA is so effectively captured throughout these narratives.  one can only imagine that reading one his scripts would be a similarly hilarious experience.  you also get the sense that ROGEN at his core is an INCLUSIVE soul whose motivation is to entertain while diving headfirst into the absurd and find nuggets of TRUTH and HUMOR, rather than to trade on the character assassination of people.  even the celebrities he mentions in these anecdotal stories are mentioned, at times, due to the excessive lengths to which their ACTIONS and BELIEFS have led them astray from anything resembling a normal REALITY.  ROGEN in this sense is VIRGIL leading us on a curated tour through the various levels of WARPED realities encountered amidst HOLLYWOOD power players as well as the CONVOLUTED and INEFFABLE process by which the sausage of moviemaking is conducted.  for whatever reason (maybe his nuanced marijuana advocacy or public support of sex workers) ROGEN's public PERSONA would have him pegged as BUFFOONISH or an unreliable narrator, but within YEARBOOK he is a CONSIDERED, ARTICULATE, CREDIBLE and DELIBERATE voice of reason in a sideshow circus profession that is often too FARCICAL to be believed.

whether or not you are fan of his films like SUPERBAD (COLUMBIA, 2007), PINEAPPLE EXPRESS (COLUMBIA, 2008), THE INTERVIEW (COLUMBIA, 2014) or THIS IS THE END (SONY, 2013), his writing on the last season of THE ALI G SHOW (HBO, 2004) or his notable acting roles in KNOCKED UP (UNIVERSAL, 2007), DONNIE DARKO (UNITED ARTISTS, 2001), STEVE JOBS (UNIVERSAL, 2015) or ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO (WEINSTEIN COMPANY, 2008), YEARBOOK is well worth checking out as it unveils the CREATIVE mindset and HUMOROUS perspectives of an ENGAGING comedy mind.  that and its one of the funniest things ive read in a long time.

its hard to describe culture shock to people that have not experienced such.  its a level of DEPENDENCE and outright VULNERABILITY that is difficult to verbalize for those that have never ventured out of the confines of their native country.  ive been lucky enough to have experienced such a few times during my years spent in AFRICA, THE MIDDLE EAST, EASTERN EUROPE, SOUTH AMERICA and ASIA and thing about it is that it never gets any easier.  you are basically HUMBLED by the fact that processes and procedures you took for granted dont exist and you are forced to confront your own HELPLESSNESS in a foreign land.  in essence you need to adapt to them, not the other way around.  it very much is a situation that makes you value the immense cultural and personal hardships that make up the IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE.

SHENZEN: A TRAVELOGUE FROM CHINA (DRAWN & QUARTERLY, 2000) is a graphic novel memoir that FRENCH cartoonist GUY DELISLE wrote about his three-month stay in SHENZEN as part of a temporary position overseeing an animation studio.  much like his other illustrated memoirs, this graphic novel is less about his work and more about the CULTURAL DIFFERENCES one comes across as a foreign national in a new country, even for a short stay.  SHENZEN is just due north of HONG KONG, but culturally and political is more indicative of mainland CHINA than THE WEST.  it is a major business city which means that much of its population is TRANSITORY in nature, with heavy traffic and dense daily geographic population shifts.  DELISLE is often confronted with a culture that yields for nobody and has SPECIALIZED RITUALS that dont make run for niceties such as privacy or the celebration of the individual.  making friends or acquaintances is difficult due to the LANGUAGE BARRIER, as even ENGLISH-speaking natives are GUARDED and PERIPHERAL with their opinions.  there is an unspoken sense of hesitation at saying the wrong thing to the wrong person by his new colleagues, both in and out of work.  this never subsides. even DELISLE' learning of a colleague's deep artistic appreciation for the celebrated DUTCH painter REMBRANDT, which he utilizes in finding a book for said acquaintance in HONG KONG as a gift, results in no acknowledged, feedback or verbalized appreciation.

the joy of SHENZEN: A TRAVELOGUE FROM CHINA is experiencing that dilemma anew through the eyes of DELISLE.  its impossible to not put yourself in that same space and wonder how you would react to all of these scenarios, in and out of a professional setting.  i can say from experience that it is absolutely EXHAUSTING and EXHILARATING at the same time, something you dont fully appreciate until you are back home in more familiar confines.  or at least you think such.  after a two year PEACE CORPS stint in ALBANIA it took me at least three months to fully be back mentally stateside after a serious bought of REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK.  that totally took me by SURPRISE.

i always wonder when reading and pondering over any of DELISLE's illustrated travel memoirs what he took back with him to FRANCE and if REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK ever reared its ugly head on him.  its interesting to consider and explore what aspects of foreign cultures manage to grab hold of one's PYSCHE and SELF-IDENTITY and dont let easily go.  i know after living in JAPAN for a year, it took me 6-8 months to stop bowing.  just became second nature.

SO REAL IT HURTS (SEVEN STORIES PRESS, 2019) is a compendium of CAUSTIC SCREEDS written by the VISIONARY NO WAVE musician and TRANSGRESSIVE author LYDIA LUNCH on everything ranging from WAR, CHILDHOOD, SLEEP, DEMOCRACY, MOTHERHOOD, DEATH, AIRPORT SECURITY, ADDICTION and writers HUBERT SELBY JR and HERBERT HUNCKE among other topics. 

to state that these essays are well-written is a major understatement as LUNCH is HYPER-LITERATE in her ability to voice with pinpoint VERBAL AGGRESSION all the woes of society that beguile and assault her.  in fact, her writing style is so unrelentingly ABRASIVE and AGGRIEVED that the experience of reading her work is one of CLAUSTROPHOBIA and SUFFOCATION.  you are basically entering a BASE realm where all the MUCK of existence is analyzed for all of its HYPOCRISY and TRUE DEBASED NATURE.  its not that she is necessarily wrong in her assessments of RETROGRADE VIEWS held by ORDINARY AMERICANS towards WOMEN, MINORITIES or anyone consider OUTSIDE OF SOCIETY, it is just that i dont want my face shoved in it.  and forcing her readership to wallow, inhale and imbibe the FILTH OF OUR PRIVILEGED EXISTENCE is LUNCH's speciality.  much like with her EXPERIMENTAL musical excursions with TEENAGE JESUS AND THE JERKS, her writing is an OUTRIGHT CONFRONTATION.  a PREMEDITATED ASSAULT even, meant to jolt us out of our SOLIPSISTIC DAYDREAMING and force us to acknowledge our COMPLICITY in the DEBAUCHED state of national and global affairs.

at least that is what i think she is getting at.  it doesnt appear to be UNADULTERATED NIHILISM, there does seem to be a purpose to the EXTREME BILE and VITRIOL being spit at the reader.

im glad i read these essays, but im likewise relieved i dont have to do it again.  im EXHAUSTED.

MYCELIUM WASONII (ANTHOLOGY EDITIONS, 2021) by BRIAN BLOMERTH is one of the more UNIQUE graphic novels i have come across in recent years.  its narrative centers around VALENTINA WASSON, the pediatrician wife of R GORDON WASSON, and her influence on her husband's PIONEERING investigative work related to PSYCHEDELIC MUSHROOMS.  being RUSSIAN, she was raised with knowledge related to which FUNGI was edible and which was not and turned her husband on to the topic.  this led them both to research the history of, including corresponding with ENGLISH writer ROBERT GRAVES, and popularize the traditional applications of MUSHROOMS in world cultures, including INTENSE PSYCHOACTIVE experiences.  such revolutionary research during the first half of the 20th century even landed VALENTINA on the cover of LIFE magazine before her death in 1958 from CANCER.  the WASSON name was proposed as the name of a new species, but such was overruled.

in a sense, MYCELIUM WASONII is a cultural correction to the historical record that seeks to give credit to the influence of VALENTINA in the field of scientific research related to PSYCHEDELIC FUNGI, which is still very much a MODERN concern given advancements in the PALLIATIVE application of such.  as is the case with other NATURAL PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES, much MISINFORMATION and CULTURAL FABRICATION is rampant.  in terms of the actual narrative at hand in MYCELIUM WASONII, the message transmitted is a SOBER and ANALYTICAL as a couple that connected over the topic sought to present investigative data for the public to utilize and scrutinize.

in artistic terms, BLOMERTH presents ANTHROPOMORPHIC hound-like creatures in a plainly drawn but vividly colored FANTASY world.  the panels are very much IMPRESSIVE in how BIZARRE and PHANTASMAGORICAL the visions of the couple were under the influence of MAGIC MUSHROOMS.  some panels are WARPED, DISSOLVED or turned over and the use of color is both STRIKING and BEAUTIFUL.  BLOMERTH does such an bold job of showcasing multiple HALLUCINOGENIC VISIONS that it almost overshadows the narrative.  what grounds everything is the sense that such trips are done under the guise of a local guide and that they showcase the INTENSE INTERCONNECTEDNESS of us to each other and the NATURAL ORDER.  rather than aiding us to escape reality, MYCELIUM WASONII seems to espouse that said visions are a portal to a deeper understanding of the one we are all already bounded by.  its an INTRIGUING story of historical value that is expertly executed and quite the visual / literary achievement.  definitely worth checking out, even if you are a square like me relative to the topic of PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES write large.

what makes PUNK PARADOX: A MEMOIR (HACHETTE, 2022) such a COMPELLING is how it voices the INHERENT CONTRADICTIONS, OPPORTUNITIES, LIMITATIONS, FREEDOMS, IN-GROUP/OUT-GROUP DYNAMICS and SOCIETAL EVOLUTIONS presented by the surprisingly ENDURING and AGILE CULTURAL INSTITUTION known as PUNK ROCK.  as both a key member of 1980s HARDCORE icons BAD RELIGION as well as a TRAINED evolutionary biologist (with a CORNELL PHD to boot), GREG GRAFFIN is uniquely positioned to elucidate on such matters from a seemingly ELEVATED, macro-level perspective.  i see this memoir as less focused on his personal narrative, albeit such details are included, and more as an EXTENDED meditation on the RISKS and BENEFITS of pursuing an INTELLECTUAL LIFE in a career [entertainment] whose format, supporting industry and audience expectations find such SUPERFLUOUS.

when i got into HARDCORE from LOS ANGELES through a childhood friend in ORANGE COUNTY, i was made privy to a whole host of bands from the neighboring area.  places like the SOUTH BAY (BLACK FLAG, DESCENDENTS), VENTURA COUNTY (DR. KNOW, RICH KIDS ON LSD, ILL REPUTE), SAN DIEGO COUNTY (BATTALION OF SAINTS), LOS ANGELES COUNTY (THE BAGS, THE GERMS, X, THE WEIRDOS, WASTED YOUTH, FEAR) and even the SAN FERNANDO VALLEY (THE DICKIES, BAD RELIGION).  all of this in addition to several bands from nearby ORANGE COUNTY cities (AGENT ORANGE, THE VANDALS, SOCIAL DISTORTION, ADOLESCENTS, D.I., THE MIDDLE CLASS) near where i spent my first twelve years before moving to NIGERIA with my family. 

BAD RELIGION stuck out from their cohorts immediately due to the LYRICAL BENT and INTELLECTUAL ACUITY of GRAFFIN whose hyper-focus was on utilizing music as a vehicle for elevating the level of DISCOURSE with his audience.  it felt like a contradiction in terms, as PUNK ROCK during this period generally was POLEMIC in nature, espousing CAUSTIC, ACCUSATORY VERBAL BOMBS at targets with machine-gun flurries of REPETITIOUS barbed statements that relayed a sense of urgency as well as a PSYCHIC LOSS of personal self-control and greater DISILLUSIONMENT with one's place in the world.  HARDCORE in this sense was a FEELING, an ATTITUDE, an IDENTITY.  GRAFFIN was the RARE wordsmith and intellectually ADEPT and CURIOUS songwriter that was able to take on heady CULTURAL and SOCIETAL ISSUES related to runaway MATERIALISM, ATHEISM, TRIBALISM, MISINFORMATION / DISINFORMATION, INSTITUTIONAL RACISM , JUDICIAL MALFEASANCE and POLITICAL CORRUPTION and construct COGENT points in SHORT, TIGHT, MELODICALLY SATISFYING outbursts.  listening to BAD RELIGION felt like experiencing an oxymoron, a complete contradiction in terms, like the what-if test case of what THE RAMONES sounded like if they had genuinely INTELLIGENT lyrics.

my big take from PUNK PARADOX: A MEMOIR is that all INSTITUTIONS are useful in and of how they interact with the population and if needs change over time, they likewise change course and evolve.  PUNK ROCK as a PUBLIC INSTITUTION shares this dynamic and is not what it was back in the early 80s when BAD RELIGION started out in a SAN FERNANDO garage, much less than what it started out as back in the mid 80s on NEW YORK CITY's lower east side.  it is a form that will continue evolve and maintain relevance.  or it wont and die like RAGTIME or NU METAL before it. 

i wish this book would have been around when i was in high school and felt obligated to the tired arguments with SELF-APPOINTED "punk rock police" advocates who shunned some bands and lionized others for seemingly juvenile reasons.  GRAFFIN does a great job of eviscerating the whole UNREALISTIC NOTION of the DIY ETHIC, as nothing related to being in a band is done on your own.  in fact, it is the opposite as a band is the central organism that relies on a wider COOPERATIVE and INTERDEPENDENT NETWORK of ROADIES, MANAGERS, PROMOTERS and other INDUSTRY SPECIALISTS that make the whole mutually beneficial ECOSYSTEM SUSTAINABLE.  if anything i found this book to be one of the most HONEST, NO BULLSHIT reflections on what it actually means to be in a band since HENRY ROLLINS' CELEBRATED tour diary GET IN THE VAN: ON THE ROAD WITH BLACK FLAG (review linked HERE).

does PUNK PARADOX: A MEMOIR become a little LOQUACIOUS at times, a bit overly SESQUIPEDALION? sure.  but it never comes off is PEDANTIC in the least, more so that you are dealing with someone that put the time and thought into their memoir and likewise expect the same of the reader.  much like what BAD RELIGION regularly expect from their audience.

i thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone interested in THOUGHTFUL deliberations about the meaning of art and the artist's responsibility to him/herself and their audience.  it also touchingly showcases the GENERATIONAL DAMAGE caused by DIVORCE even under the best of circumstances and intensions on both sides.  if you are looking for a more CONVENTIONAL history of BAD RELIGION, then definitely check out author JIM RULAND's recent book DO WHAT YOU WANT: THE STORY OF BAD RELIGION (review linked HERE) or maybe even history professor DEWAR MACLEOD's KIDS OF THE BLACK HOLE: PUNK ROCK IN POSTSUBURBAN CALIFORNIA (review linked HERE), MY DAMAGE: THE STORY OF A PUNK ROCK SURVIVOR (review linked HERE) by KEITH MORRIS of BLACK FLAG ,CIRCLE JERKS and OFF!, VIOLENCE GIRL: A CHICANA PUNK STORY (review linked HERE) by ALICE BAG of THE BAGS or UNDER THE BLACK SUN: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF L.A. PUNK (review linked HERE) by JOHN DOE of X.

PEPLUM (NEW YORK REVIEW COMICS, 2016) by FRENCH comic book author BLUTCH (CHRISTIAN HINCKER) is an INTIMATE tour-de-force that showcases the contextual and NARRATIVE potential of EMOTIVE illustrations within GRAPHIC NOVELS.  BLUTCH also makes use of INTERTEXTUAL ALLEGORY ELEMENTS from ANCIENT GRECO-ROMAN MYTHOLOGY, the new testament and the works of much later prominent english authors.  these LITERARY ALLUSIONS are usually just brief asides in a meandering JOURNEY (a la ODYSSEYS) that doubles as a FIGURATIVE trip through the heart and soul of the ROMAN EMPIRE.  the NAMELESS protagonist is a COMMON PLEBIEAN who comes across the fallen relative of a senator and steals his name and cargo, a BEAUTIFUL likewise ANONYMOUS woman encapsulated in ice. 

the journey this imposter takes on throughout the EMPIRE, through good fortune and bad, seems to be set up as a POIGNANT ALLEGORY for the vacillating INDECISIVENESS and eternal mysteries of FATE.  at times his IMPETUOUS nature is rewarded and at other times used against him by POWER STRUCTURES that seemingly may or may not have a used for him, and that context is ever shifting.  even resolved in POWER as a SENATOR at the NARRATIVE'S CONCLUSION, he is still rendered ISOLATED (the woman trapped in ice is DEAD) and STERILE by a PAMPERED community of overly-PRIVILEGED PATRICIANS who are DISCONNECTED from the realities of the REALM they control, of which he knows intimately from his travels and experiences.

the narrative is OBSCURE, CHALLENGING and ultimately REWARDING but the central power of this GRAPHIC NOVEL are BLUTCH's STARK ILLUSTRATIONS, often rendered in BLEAK CHIAROSCURO as if to emphasize the FALLEN and FRAUDULENT nature of the NAMELESS PROTAGONIST.  the nearest artistic analogue i can think of are PAINTERS like CARAVAGGIO or GOYA, who both utilized LIGHT as an imprimatur of their subjects' extreme DEBASED and DEBAUCHED personalities.  in PEPLUM, seemingly everyone is rendered in this manner, which seemingly provides a DAMNING JUDGEMENT on the state of humanity during the ROMAN EMPIRE, both on a macro and micro level.  just being involved in the enterprise of the massive POLITICAL and ECONOMIC system itself has rendered everyone as MORALLY CULPABLE in the process.  its hard not to read that as a critique of today, given how much of modern society is based not only on the POLITICAL and ECONOMIC systems innovated by the ancient ROMANS, but the unique ARTISTIC and AESTHETIC preoccupations of that ancient civilization as well.

PEPLUM is an OPAQUE and COMPLEX NARRATIVE that is exquisitely rendered and THOUGHT-PROVOKING long after consumption.  i still debate myself on what BLUTCH was attempting to accomplish, which is the sign of any great ART.  most definitely worth checking out.

i remember when reading SARA MARCUS' GIRLS TO THE FRONT: THE TRUE STORY OF THE RIOT GRRRL REVOLUTION (review linked HERE) about the largely PACIFIC NORTHWEST-based RIOT GRRRL movement a few years back it was evident that there was much thought, intention and goodwill into initiating an arts scene that promoted and supported FEMALE MUSICANS by WOMEN and for WOMEN.  specifically the scene at EVERGREEN COLLEGE STATE COLLEGE in OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON reminded me quite vividly of the people i met while attending a NEW ENGLAND boarding school during my high school years.  these people were EDUCATED, EMPOWERED, SOCIALLY-CONSCIOUS and on the whole EMPATHETIC, but they all were quite NAIVE and had limited experience living or understanding people that were outside of the social groups they inhabited and were raised around, i.e. WHITE PEOPLE.

the RIOT GRRRL scene of the early 1990s lacked an understanding of what is now understood to be INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM.  in other word they treated womanhood as a monolithic identity and didnt consider how RACE, CLASS, LGBTQ and other MINORITY statuses influence such.  that particular scene, though WELL-INTENTIONED, was largely BLIND to the complexities and differences in hardships facing WOMEN of various INTERSECTIONAL IDENTITIES by PATRIARCHAL STRUCTURES. this miscalculation was rooted in their unknowing assumption of taking their own experiences as WHITE WOMEN to stand for that of ALL WOMEN everywhere.

all that being said, part of what makes THE SPITBOY RULE: TALES OF A XICANA IN A FEMALE PUNK BAND (PM PRESS, 2016) by MICHELLE CRUZ GONZALES (a.k.a TODD of SPITBOY) so interesting is how i knowingly provides a counter-narrative to the popular understanding of FEMALE bands of this period (undoubtedly influenced by the RIOT GRRRL scene).  SPITBOY was an stridently political BAY AREA HARDCORE band from the same GILMAN STREET scene that brought about NEUROSIS, GREEN DAY, CRIMPSHINE and ECONOCHRIST among many others.  being composed entirely of WOMEN, their music was AGGRESSIVELY CONFRONTATIONAL based on their experiences dealing with the bullshit brought on by AMERICAN PATRIARCHAL STRUCTURES.  the band identified as a HARDCORE band and consciously did not associate SPITBOY with the CONCURRENT RIOT GRRRL scene.

GONZALES is a UNIQUE and COMPELLING figure given her status as the only non-white member of SPITBOY, rendering her essentially an OUTSIDER in a band of OUTSIDERS.  PUNK ROCK had a way of blanketing and superseding all other forms of one's previous IDENTITY, which suited her just fine as an OUTSIDER both ETHNICALLY and GEOGRAPHICALLY in the BAY AREA scene.  unlike her band members, she also grew up POOR with a single mother.  music, first with BITCH FIGHT, later with SPITBOY, was a means of ESCAPE, EXPRESSION and TRANSFORMATION.  as her career moved forward and she became recognized with the scene, and even internationally, there was a sense of tension within herself about her IDENTITY as a WOMAN OF COLOR in a scene where such was a novelty.  feeling like an OUTSIDER in a band that identified itself as an OUTSIDER is quite the feat and makes this complicated book entirely fascinating.  even ALICE BAG of THE BAGS in a previous generation, as written about in her memoir VIOLENCE GIRL: A CHICANA PUNK STORY (review linked HERE), had others within and outside her band and that original late 1970s LOS ANGELES PUNK ROCK scene that identified and were proud of their LATIN heritage.  some even incorporated such into their music explicitly, like THE ZEROS and THE PLUGZ.  its interesting that such was not the case with the more arguably more influential HARDCORE scene that followed by and large.

just reading through GONZALES' experiences touring on the road really makes you consider how much being in a PUNK ROCK band requires an all-encompassing, OBJECTIVE-ORIENTED GROUP MENTALITY.   its a machine that needs to work efficiently in order to function and survive in environments far from home.  it makes total sense that one's sense of INDIVIDUALITY is COMPARTMENTALIZED and DISCARDED in such a seeming extreme situation.  this memoir feels like a working through of such experiences and sheds light on the personal repercussions of such a complicated state of affairs, especially when there is an audience that projects so much of their sense of IDENTITY on to you.  that is a veritable carnival house of mirrors level mindfuck to deal with that i cant imagine.

THE SPITBOY RULE is one of the more FASCINATING memoirs by an artist or musician i have come across in recent years.  it is most definitely worth checking out.

SMALL VICTORIES: THE TRUE STORY OF FAITH NO MORE (JAWBONE PRESS, 2018) is an exhaustively RESEARCHED and adroitly CRAFTED biography of the expansive GENRE-DEFYING creative unit that is FAITH NO MORE.  since discovering the band via a BRITISH classmate's taped copy of ANGEL DUST (SLASH, 1992) back in middle school shortly after arriving in NIGERIA in 1996, the band has continued to be one of my all-time FAVORITE groups (along with DEVO, THE SMITHS, MASSIVE ATTACK and JANE'S ADDICTION) through all of its iterations.  reading this book was a bit of REVELATION, as it truly ENLIGHTENED and EDUCATED the reader to the inner personal dynamics of the group and the INSPIRATIONS and ALLUSIONS present in much of their EXTENSIVE catalogue.  reading this book is not necessary to properly appreciate the music of FAITH NO MORE, but it brought their CAREER and LEGACY into a proper focus that i had hitherto not fully appreciated.

like most fans, i am obsessed with the work of MIKE PATTON, in and of his involvement with FAITH NO MORE.  he's been on a CREATIVE STREAK for years with his myriad of COMPELLING yet DISPARATE projects like the seminal MR BUNGLE as well as FANTOMAS, TOMAHAWK, LOVAGE, PEEPING TOM and COLLABORATIONS with the likes of ZU, HANDSOME BOY MODELING SCHOOL, THE DUB TRIO and composer JOHN ZORN among many others.  PATTON is very much a singular entity in modern music well beyond the confines of ALTERNATIVE ROCK and is UNIVERSALLY CELEBRATED by most modern rock musicians, end stop.  SMALL VICTORIES makes the INTRIGUING CONNECTION between the CHARACTER STUDIES he inhabits in his lyrics and his formal pre-band STUDIES as an ENGLISH major in college, which i was most definitely not aware of.  but it makes total sense since his FEARLESSNESS as a VOCALIST and writer come from a PERFORMATIVE need to due the MATERIAL justice (regardless of its author), not of SELF-EXPRESSION per se.  case in point, PATTON's abundant ENTHUSIASM to sing "BE AGGRESSIVE" on ANGEL DUST, a song about the pleasure of homosexual oral sex as written by bandmate RODNEY BOTTUM about his own experience with the subject.  for PATTON, this was a SINGULAR professional OPPORTUNITY and CHALLENGE presented to him that he did hesitate from, instead throwing himself into the track.  something arguably most IMAGE-CONSCIOUS frontmen from the period would have second thoughts regarding, not wanting to associate themselves with what was then still very much a TABOO subject that would raise questions about their MASCULINITY (which we all know is bullshit).  it is a FASCINATING dynamic that the singer, usually the focal point of a band, within the context of FAITH NO MORE, is just ANOTHER INSTRUMENT.  in fact, the core of the creative unit is essentially BASSIST BILLY GOULD and KEYBOARDIST BOTTUM (who were childhood friends) and DRUMMER MIKE BORDIN.  this means that one of the truly INNOVATIVE and INVENTIVE modern rock bands was steered in general not by the GUITARIST or lead SINGER, but rather by the RHYTHM SECTION.  its a wholly UNIQUE situation in that regard and a sign of each members' ability to control their ego for the sake of the whole, especially the VOCALIST.

that being the case, the band was blessed with two entirely DIFFERENT yet highly EFFECTIVE generationally TALENTED frontmen in CHUCK MOSELY and MIKE PATTON.  this was after years of a rotating cast of stand-ins that even famously included COURTNEY LOVE at one point.  for GOULD, BOTTUM and BORDIN the focus was on the quality of the INSTRUMENTALS and the VOCALS was an ancillary necessity in order to secure live gigs.  same with GUITARISTS.  if you listen to ANGEL DUST the CRUSHING guitars fo not take center stage but act as a rhythmic bed for the EXTENSIVE PRODUCTION elements like the PROMINENT SAMPLES and KEYBOARDS and processed VOCALS.  that immersive aural landscape is what provided contextual COMPLEXITY for the more traditional DISSONANT guitar tones of JIM MARTIN, and is what made that record such a MIND-MELTING experience for the listener.  FAITH NO MORE were not a straight METAL band, or arguably a METAL band at all, but their SOUND transformed sonic expectations for the genre through such EXPERIMENTATION, as well as their SPECIALIZED sense of HUMOR and CONTRARIAN penchant for ABSURDISM that bucked audience and industry expectations.  ultimately it is that STUBBORNNESS that has led them to be such a BELOVED cult(?) band.

SMALL VICTORIES shines in its attention to important details and its fondness for SESQUIEDALIAN passages that immerse the reader into the MINDSET of individual band-members through time.  i recommend this book to anyone interested in FAITH NO MORE or the cultural underpinnings and history of the pre-NIRVANA ALTERNATIVE ROCK movement of the late 80s and early 1990s.  i am most definitely going to seek out more publications by the author ADRIAN HARTE.  SMALL VICTORIES is quite an achievement and one of the better biographies i have read since beginning this blog.

RIP CHUCK MOSLEY

with MUDBITE (FANTAGRAPHICS, 2018) and its two stories "MUD RIVER" and "BUG BITE" find DAVE COOPER's EDDY TABLE character at the center of ABSURD PLOT-LINES and phantasmagorically SEXUALLY-CHARGED imagery that feels like the id run WILD.  making sense of both PLOTS seems besides the point as if COOPER is more interested in a sort of anything goes, FREE-ASSOCIATIVE approach to STORYTELLING, where his CHARACTERS are pulled into their deepest urges and oddly unconcerned with the consequences of such ADVENTURISM and SELF-DISCOVERY.

that being said the ILLUSTRATIONS are astonishingly LURID and deliciously DEBASED with a muted palette that RUBANESQUE, PILLOWY FLESHY figures with wide EXPRESSIVE eyes in DREAMY LANDSCAPES that meld into one another.  im hesitant to refer to the IMAGERY as DRUG-LIKE but that is more than an apt description of such.  in fact the whole EXPERIENCE of consuming MUDBITE feels akin to an ILLOGICAL and HALLUCINATORY MISADVENTURE with NO MEANING embedded or lessons learned.  it just starts and ends in a seemingly endless loop of MISCHIEVOUS and consciously PERPLEXING GOBBLEDYGOOK.

do i recommend MUDBITE?  not really.  even for me this publication was a prime example of someone being WEIRD solely for the sake of being WEIRD.  its OPAQUE NARRATIVE and LUSCIOUS ILLUSTRATIONS seemed to be a distraction from the fact that NOTHING MEANINGFUL was being communicated. 

at least i didnt get it.  but then maybe i am not the right audience for this.  thats probably it.

i thought the premise was INTERESTING: a book that recounted the life narratives of several women who raised sons and daughters that went on to become NOTABLE and INFLUENTIAL musicians.  in practice unfortunately it came out a bit INCOHERENT and TEDIOUS, almost like reading a book report.

that is not to say that i have anything against the late VIRGINIA HANLON GROHL, mother of DAVE GROHL of FOO FIGHTERS / NIRVANA fame. like her, i was an high school ENGLISH teacher so inherently i feel a sense of obligation in and of that connection to support my fellow brethren.  teaching is an identity and is something i have not been able to shake in the intervening years (this blog included), so i understand intimately that deep need to NURTURE, EDUCATE and ELEVATE others.  as such, you can palpably feel the LOVE and EMPATHY that went into creating FROM CRADLE TO STAGE:  STORIES FROM THE MOTHERS WHO ROCKED AND RAISED ROCK STARS (SEAL PRESS, 2017) and the intensive process of intelligently relaying the disparate paths of women in raising and unconditionally supporting musicians like MICHAEL STIPE (R.E.M.), MIKE D (BEASTIE BOYS), AMY WINEHOUSE, WARREN HAYES (GOV'T MULE), DR. DRE (N.W.A.), TOM MORELLO (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, AUDIOSLAVE), PHARRELL WILLIAMS (N.E.R.D., THE NEPTUNES), HAIM, ADAM LEVINE (MAROON 5), DAVE MATHEWS, MIRANDA LAMBERT, ZAC BROWN, JOSH GROBAN and KELLY CLARKSON among others.

one issue is that the narratives tend to bleed into each other and taken together become a bit PREDICTABLE (i.e. tales of ENERGETIC, RAMBUNCTIOUS kids that discover music or an instrument as a preteen and then become uninterested with formal their studies, yet maintain a near compulsory self-ingrained drive to create and explore music well into high school and beyond).  there are variations to this script but those pre-teen years seem to be the through line in the lives of most of these musicians which makes EMOTIONAL and PSYCHOLOGICAL developmental sense.  i appreciate how GROHL utilizes her own narrative with her son to anchor down a base narrative to compare all others to.  that was a smart organizational device.

another issue is that the premise of this book very much downplays the role of fathers and men in the lives of their children.  unquestionably women play a gargantuan part in the EMOTIONAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL and INTELLECTUAL development of their children, but men play some role as well.  even in ABSENTIA as with the handful of musicians from divorced, single-parent households.  i thought it was an COMPELLING choice to at least not pay lip service to the contributions of the fathers that were an ACTIVE part of their child's lives, but then that is outside of the conceit of the book.  which is silly in retrospect.  i suppose that was beyond GROHL's capacity as a mother to intuitively speak AUTHENTICALLY about being a mother and not a father.  i am just point out the UNFORTUNATE omission.

far and away my favorite running feature of this book were the TOUCHING vignettes that GROHL wrote about her son that touch on his early years, musical development and later career highlights.  these vignettes very much take you behind the scenes on his INCREDIBLE career trajectory from the perspective of his mother and how the choices she made regarding his upbringing and education impacted such, pre and post-fame, during high and low points therein.  through such you get the sense that UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, SUPPORT and SECURITY is what she provided to a son that participated in an industry that is notoriously SAVAGE and CUTTHROAT.  if anything, this sense of being a one-person support network is a common dominator of all these mothers.

somewhere in this book GROHL makes mention of the fact that she has nothing but TRUST and FAITH that teachers will find ways of bridging the curriculum and lesson activities to the varied interests of their students.  this was something she took great pride in as an educator.  case in point she allowed her students to rap a scene from a SHAKESPEARE play rather than act out the actual lines of the play in class to great aplomb, so much so that decades later she was sent the original handwritten lines of the rap as a gift and token of appreciation.  this is undoubtedly a prime example of the MAGIC of the classroom and the potential for TAILORED instruction by a CONFIDENT, ENGAGED educator.  what GROHL makes explicit soon after is her lack of TRUST and FAITH in school administrators who are distanced from the classrooms and student populations they are set out to advocate on behalf of.  amen sister.  the later was my experience in no uncertain terms, which is SAD and UNFORTUNATE. 

and this is the related bigger point, the fact that our schools are FAILING students whose TALENTS and INTERESTS lay just outside the purvey of the curriculum.  many of these mothers had intensely CREATIVE sons and daughters who just got by in school and saw the whole experience as TEDIOUS and a DISTRACTION from their true calling in life.  DAVE GROHL didnt fail in his attempt to pass high school. THE EDUCATION SYSTEM FAILED HIM in not being able to support his gifts much like his family did. 

pointing that SYSTEMATIC FAILURE is such an ASTUTE observation.  this was undoubtedly my biggest takeaway from this book, which hitherto such seemed to not have a larger agenda.  i should have known and expected such from a seasoned educator and colleague.  ye of no FAITH that i am.  GROHL in essence managed to neatly sum up all my deep FRUSTRATIONS and HEARTBREAK over the education system in a TIDY little bow.  book report, indeed.

​RIP VIRGINIA HANLON GROHL

FRENCH cartoonist DAVID B through his HALLUCINATORY and vividly PHANTASMAGORIC drawing style depicts a series of impenetrably PSEUDO-RELIGIOUS, MYTHOLOGICAL ALLEGORIES within the graphic novel THE ARMED GARDEN AND OTHER STORIES (FANTAGRAPHICS, 2011).  based loosely on PERSIAN and CENTRAL EUROPEAN TRADITIONS, the narratives within convey man's inability to discern and appreciate matters related to the DIVINE.

all three narratives depict the search for DIVINE PROVIDENCE and esteem as a potent cudgel to be utilized for POWER and INFLUENCE in the physical realm.  its hard not to read into such and deduce that with matters of the METAPHYSICAL REALM, our daily struggles and squabbles are beyond MEANINGLESS.  DIVINITY and the concept of PARADISE is seen in these narratives to be beyond constraints of space and time, or even earthly bodily forms for that matter.  it is a DEGRADATION of sorts to even involve such in our psychodramas related to POWER and INFLUENCE, but that is what the characters repeatedly do to their own peril.

the highlight of these graphic novels is not the plot or the subtext of the narrative, but just the INCREDIBLE artwork DAVID B provides that seems to split the difference between ESOTERIC MYSTICISM, ISLAMIC FOLKLORE and more than a little AUBREY BEARDSLEY.  it is very much a visual treat, even if the narrative itself feels a bit CLUTTERED and UNFOCUSED in comparison.

as a former secondary english teacher i love wading in the pools of OBTUSE references and deliberate OPAQUENESS.  but if you dont definitely check out DAVID B's more traditionally written and depicted graphic novel EPILEPTIC (review linked HERE) which is a memoir related to his family's experience living with his older brother's UNCONTROLLABLE and DANGEROUS bouts with epilepsy.  that is probably a better starting point than this lovingly depicted yet largely INCOMPREHENSIBLE historical narrative.

the music business is notoriously BRUTAL and filled with SHARKS and VAN HALEN were no different as articulated by their former manager, the late NOEL E. MONK in his memoir RUNNIN' WITH THE DEVIL: A BACKSTAGE PASS TO THE WILD TIMES, LOUD ROCK, AND THE DOWN AND DIRTY TRUTH BEHIND THE MAKING OF VAN HALEN (DEY STREET, 2017).  for all its BAWDY behind-the-scenes detailing of the MORAL DEPRAVITY, CHEMICAL OVERINDULGENCE, SEXUAL DEBAUCHERY and unrestrained EGOMANIA of this INFAMOUS band at their peak, what actually made the book captivating was its LUCID and SOBER depiction of FRAYED INTER-PERSONAL RIVALRIES and business dealings and maneuverings from a management perspective.  the running thesis for the book are THE LENGTHS (EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, SPIRITUAL) a competent manager must endure to keep a growing business intact that is paradoxically DETERIORATING as it is expanding.  for me that dynamic of having to appease the unappeasable, of having to manage an UNSTOPPABLE FORCE (VAN HALEN) meeting an IMMOVABLE OBJECT (their INSATIABLE GREED, DRUG ABUSE and utter LACK OF LOYALTY), is what makes this memoir so COMPELLING.

im just gonna come out and say that the band fired MONK after the touring cycle for their blockbuster 1984 (WARNER BROS, 1984) album.  there was no financial malfeasance or bad career advice on the part of MONK, the band had just decided to find new management utilizing connections through their expanded family network.  they effectively cut MONK out of a merchandising operation he spearheaded to expand their revenue and offered him crumbs as a possible booking agent.  all in all it was a brazenly COLD and DISRESPECTFUL end to a relationship that saw the band benefit from his renegotiating their contract with WARNER BROS (due to a clerical mistake the he caught) as well as nurturing their remarkable journey from a promising local act from PASADENA to arenas and world stadiums the globe over.  MONK's immediate previous gig to VAN HALEN was ironically the infamously doomed SEX PISTOLS' AMERICAN tour.  if anything, surviving that TORTUROUS FIASCO of a moving operation intact proved his worth to the brass at WARNER BROS that initially positioned him with VAN HALEN as their touring manager.  he effectively taught them the ropes of becoming an effective entity on the road.  its just interesting that this FRANKENSTEIN that he nurtured grew to consume him with it.

it is hard to take any lessons from this memoir.  it was his relationships that he leveraged on their behalf and in the end the band BETRAYED him.  BETRAYED his efforts.  BETRAYED his loyalty.  but that in essence is the gig.  it seems COUNTERINTUITIVE that in business one must be able to rely on others while concurrently TRUST NO ONE.  but that seems to be the message of RUNNIN' WITH THE DEVIL.  DAVID LEE ROTH, ALEX VAN HALEN and EDDIE VAN HALEN come off as supremely TALENTED yet overly PETULANT children with next level NARCISSISM.  only bassist MICHAEL ANTHONY comes off with his reputation in tact as a PLEASANT, AGREEABLE person who keeps his indulgences relatively in check and his moral compass somewhat unblemished.  goes without saying he got SCREWED OUT OF ROYALTIES by the other three in the process as well, relegating him to a wage earner in the band in spite of his sacrifices and years of service to VAN HALEN.

what i learned from this memoir was the INCREDIBLE extent to which both ROTH and the VAN HALEN brothers were irredeemably SELFISH ASSHOLES.  that is to say not much since i already had a confirmation bias regarding such going into the book.  in business there are seemingly no rules and no moral victories, at least where VAN HALEN is concerned.  they make MOTLEY CRUE as depicted in THE DIRT (review linked HERE) come off like a bunch of morally upright choir boys.  in odd circuitous way, that group with its legendary EGOMANIA is still a touring entity and its members are still somewhat looking out for the interest of one another in complete contrast to VAN HALEN.  who knew?

the graphic novel EMBROIDERIES (PANTHEON, 2003) by celebrated FRENCH-IRANIAN cartoonist MARJANE SATRAPI sheds insight on the often TABOO and often UNDISCLOSED and UNDISCUSSED SEXUAL ATTITUDES and personal lives of IRANIAN WOMEN.  the graphic novel revolves around the remembered gathering of SATRAPI's GRANDMOTHER with her DAUGHTER as well as close friends and relatives, all WOMEN, for an evening samovar tea and PRYING discussion.

and that talk centers around SEX.  at times SALACIOUS, these cascading tales of the physical and emotional disappoints and cultural DOUBLE STANDARDS of being a WOMEN are both SOBERING and INSIGHTFUL.  they depict a GENDER SOCIAL LANDSCAPE that doesnt seem much different from WESTERN CULTURE, where woman are still prized for their physical attributes and MEN still hold much INSTITUTIONAL POWER.  the title even references the lengths WOMEN will go to reestablish their untouched VIRGINAL state through PAINFUL, INVASIVE surgeries aimed at pleasing their MALE PARTNER, as well as the INTERWOVEN tapestry and mutually SUPPORTIVE network of experience witnessed in this all-FEMALE gathering.  though these PERSONAL narratives that the WOMEN share with one another often depict past selves in LESS EMPOWERED circumstances, what they all share in common is a SUBVERSION to GENDER EXPECTATIONS surrounding FIDELITY.  often this is shown through a leveraging of their DOMESTIC duties or SEXUAL DOMINANCE over an OLDER, SLUGGISH and wholly INEPT MALE PARTNER.  even the ending shows the PATRIARCH of the SATRAPI family pushed back to his room with no input or fight of his behalf in the matter.  its an INTERESTING metaphor for the lives of WOMEN in IRANIAN culture that although their public lives are STRICT and PREDETERMINED, the inner dynamics on the home front are not up for discussion.

and none of this should be any surprise to anyone. GENDER DYNAMICS are a manifestation of a much larger conversation regarding one's ability to self identify and public express one's INDIVIDUALITY.  generations of WOMEN in IRAN brought this state of affairs regarding CONSERVATIVE GENDER RELATIONS and SEXUAL MORES to fruition through either SUBMISSION, COLLABORATION or quiet acquiescence to AUTHORITY.  i question whether these closed circles of INTERGENERATIONAL FEMALE networks have the potential to change the state of affairs.  such is definitely currently in play in IRAN in the wake of the police custody death of 22 year-old student MAHSA AMINI and the PROTESTS that have followed.  interestingly, MEN have joined their ranks.  its a dynamic still being played out and the discussions elucidated in EMBROIDERIES definitely seem PRESCIENT to that movement.

seriously, i should have known better reading anything by NORM MACDONALD.

this "memoir" ironically entitled BASED ON A TRUE STORY: NOT A MEMOIR (RANDOM HOUSE, 2016). comes from none other than MACDONALD, a man whose job description is to DEFY EXPECTATION.  can't say it is not an accurate title, since being "based on true story" is an admittance of sorts that what you are about to enter is not entirely factual, true or based in any demonstrative reality that humans encounter on a daily basis.

the world of this "memoir" is one that allows MACDONALD to go on a series of inane trips and encounters that have NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING.  things like going on a drug fueled bender in LAS VEGAS gambling away life savings to hopefully garner funds for a ranch in MONTANA while reminiscing about how you once took a MAKE-A-WISH patient to CANADA to help him fulfill his dream of stabbing a baby seal between the eyes.  and so on.  only interspersed between this seemingly random INSANITY are brief asides about SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, meeting CHRIS FARLEY, hosting WEEKEND UPDATE and his film DIRTY WORK (MGM, 1998).  and how did he go about securing the much heralded WEEKEND UPDATE gig you may ask?  through peddling opiates to show producer LORNE MICHAELS, of course.

reading this book is akin to listening to MACDONALD's legendary "moth" joke (embedded below from a celebrated CONAN appearance).  in fact, the joke is included in BASED ON A TRUE STORY as being said by a doctor at a hospital before getting into a fight with MACDONALD.  

this non-memoir is in essence an ENDURANCE TEST.  all premise and no punch line or paint.  but maybe that is the joke.  the joke is on me for spending time and energy to read it expecting anything.  and that is why i love MACDONALD.  just the fact that he would write a memoir that defied all expectations of the genre.  talk about playing the long game.  well played sir, well played. 

​you are still missed.

RIP NORM MACDONALD

with an absolute minimum amount of exposition, NORWEGIAN cartoonist LARS FISKE in his mostly wordless graphic novel GROSZ: BERLIN - NEW YORK (FANTAGRAPHICS, 2017) vividly depicts the life and career of noted GERMAN DADAIST painter GEORGE GROSZ in a style that expertly imitates his EXAGGERATED, CARICATURISTIC style.  there is a certain NIHILISM to the work of GROSZ, especially that from the 1920s in which he showcased the PSYCHIC, MORAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL and PHYSICAL DAMAGE of the first world war on the collective GERMAN psyche.  this was shown through a series of BRUTAL paintings depicting the DEBAUCHED nightlife of the WEIMAR REPUBLIC and all the opportunists, prostitutes and elites that frequented the bars and cabarets. 

often compared to MODERNIST GERMAN peers like OTTO DIX and MAX BECKMANN, GROSZ had a harsh SARDONIC tone all his own which seemed to depict humanity as CORRUPTED and easily MANIPULATABLE, almost like DISCARDED marionettes once their value to the war machine has expired.  this unbridled ability to hold a mirror to GERMAN society got him fined numerous times during this period, leading him to jump ship to the UNITED STATES in the early 1930s right as the NAZIS came to power.  not surprisingly, HITLER had GROSZ's bitterly CAUSTIC paintings confiscated and deemed "degenerate art" alongside EMIL NOLDE, ERNST LUDWIG KIRCHNER, PAUL KLEE, MAX BECKMANN, MARC CHAGALL, OTTO DIX, WASILLY KANDINSKY, JOAN MIRO, OSKAR KOKOSCHKA, FERNAND LEGER and MAX ERNST as well as that of more famous artists like HENRI MATISSE, PABLO PICASSO, EDVARD MUNCH and VINCENT VAN GOGH. 

what i love about FISKE's style is that it cleverly utilizes GROSZ's style in order to pass JUDGEMENT on his character and life decisions.  id argue that this decision places GROSZ as a key part of a much larger tableau of GERMAN society, not separate from it as an outside observer.  it seems to suggest that his experiences, perspectives and sense of FRACTURED IDENTITY are an outgrowth of this society that is largely in a state of FLUX.  meaning here is fluid and so are the rules that govern society and the relationships that makeup politics and personal relationships.  in this book it feels like everything pre-NAZIS is CULTURALLY, SEXUALLY, and ARTISTICALLY up for grabs.  almost a year zero mentality that sees the forces that led to the CATASTROPHE of the first great war of being worthy of SCORN and DISMISSAL.  but therein lies the problem of what to fill the void with and that is the world depicted in GROSZ: BERLIN - NEW YORK.  at least in the early first half of the graphic novel before he moves to NEW YORK.

it is quite an achievement that such a dense depiction of such a notable artist was rendered efficiently utilizing such a minimum of words and almost completely through the power of GESTICULATION and TABLEAU.  by presenting the multiple perspectives that made such a WARPED, FRAGMENTED reality possible very efficiently showcases the potential of the post war period and how that sense of fluid opportunity also gave way to the unleashing of the DARKEST RECESSES of the human id and our collective susceptibility to such.  in the era of boundless GRIEVANCE and digital platforms that monetize such that is the DONALD TRUMP era, GROSZ and his artwork feels all the more RELEVANT and even PRESCIENT, probably more so than in the many decades past the second world war.  GROSZ: BERLIN - NEW YORK is definitely worth checking out, especially for fans of MODERNISM and DADAISM or even that of EFFICIENT and thoughtfully executed storytelling constructs.