photo & text by nacrowe
CECIL AND JORDAN IN NEW YORK STORIES (DRAWN & QUARTERLY, 2009) is a collection of graphic short stories by BRITISH-AMERICAN ALTERNATIVE cartoonist GABRIELLE BELL. most of these narratives deal with the INTERIOR LIVES of young women as they navigate the ADULT WORLD and the pressures of maintaining friendships and the looming threat of INDEPENDENCE and RESPONSIBILITY. at times this is expressed through the realistically-depicted REBELLIOUS actions of characters while at others wild and FLABOYANT IMAGININGS and SPRAWLING IDEATIONS of fancy that fly far from any NATURAL depiction of REALITY. the through line that roots and connects the narratives together is a EMOTIONAL grounding in the characters' reactions. even if the plot is in essence quite a bit FANTASTICAL. it should also be noted that parts of CECIL AND JORDAN IN NEW YORK STORIES were the basis for the MICHEL GONDRY section in the anthology film TOKYO! (COMMES DE CINEMAS, 2008), himself no stranger to all CREATIVE things WONDROUS and ABSURD.
i think for anyone that survived adolescence it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to not remember a time when one's IMAGINATION could serve as a distraction from the COLD, SOBER REALITIES that surrounded them. for me that vehicle of escape was film, travel, art and especially music. for others it is the wondrous capacity of literature that can allow for a temporary respite from reality while also helping one redefine such in an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE and HEADSPACE. it is that TRANSCENDENT power that individual EXPRESSION provides which helps us SELF-IDENTITY and modify our working BELIEF STRUCTURE. for me listening to SKINNY PUPPY, MASSIVE ATTACK or THE CARS allows me to channel different aspects of my IDENTITY and helps alleviate STRESS and provide CLARITY on a current situation. or perhaps distract me from such temporarily. reading through BELL's short stories gives me that same sense of individual adventure in enjoying the process of BECOMING. that sense when one is an adolescent of transitioning into a person you are not familiar with just yet as your introduction to your FUTURE SELF is just beginning. i think BELL very much brings that feeling of emerging IDENTITY come to life throughout these short narratives. definitely recommended.
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photo & text by nacrowe
THE STRAY CATS were always a bit of a CULTURAL ANOMALY when they first emerged in the late 1970s in the wake of the PUNK ROCK revolution. their SLICK look and AGGRESSIVE ROCKABILLY sound was decidedly inspired by the 1950s and thus their stateside commercial success in the 1980s made sense as RONALD REAGAN and his followers looked back to that specific era as a political golden era that was pre-CIVIL RIGHTS, pre-FEMINISM and pre-VIETNAM WAR. from today's PERSPECTIVE it is hard not to see THE STRAY CATS as a bit of an ANACHRONISM at best and an INNACURATE reading of the past at worst. the PROBLEMATIC CONFEDERATE FLAG tattoos dont help much either (looking squarely at you BRIAN SETZER). arent they from LONG ISLAND, anyway? what gives?
intelligently enough, LEGENDARY drummer SLIM JIM PHANTOM in his A STRAY CAT STRUTS: MY LIFE AS A ROCKABILLY REBEL (THOMAS DUNNE, 2016) memoir sidesteps and steers well clear of such MURKIER aspects of their LEGACY. all told, his book is an UPBEAT recounting of a decidedly CHARMED career that found him able to meet and befriend his heroes and ultimately POSITIVELY impact AMERICAN culture. the ROCKABILLY revival that they initiated was curiously in essence fully embraced by all factions of the BRITISH ROCK AND ROLL establishment in the early 1980s. PUNK ROCK peers in members of THE DAMNED, THE SEX PISTOLS, MOTORHEAD, THE CLASH and THE RAMONES as well as BRITISH INVASION luminaries such as GEORGE HARRISON (THE BEATLES), MICK JAGGAR, KEITH RICHARDS and BILL WYMAN (THE ROLLING STONES) all supported THE STRAY CATS from the outset as they found common ground in the TIMELESS music of CARL PERKINS, ELVIS PRESLEY, DUANE EDDY, JERRY LEE LEWIS, EDDIE COCHRAN, ROY ORBISON and so on. PHANTOM even makes a point that during the 1980s and into the 1990s that many former ROCKABILLY acts returned due to the NEWFOUND INTEREST in the genre. the fact that they were able to effect cultural change enough to bring popular interest back and even the potential for financial support to their heroes is an accomplishment PHANTOM cherishes. another is the 14-year run of his CAT CLUB bar and live performance space on the SUNSET STRIP, that saw numerous NOTEWORTHY collaborative musical weekly spectacles by PROMINENT musicians on its small INTIMATE stage. A STRAY CAT STRUTS feels a bit LIGHTWEIGHT and LESS THAN TRUTHFUL in places, given PHANTOM's CHEERY DISPOSITION, but that sense of ARTIFICE is a shield from the SORRY TROPES and CLICHES of musician biographies and rockumentaries alike. to publicly complain about being a ROCK AND ROLL star is not something PHANTOM is willing to indulge in as he is intimately aware of how LUCKY he is to have the SUCCESS he's endured and made the friends along the way that he has. i totally respect that, yet part of me would wishes he'd present material about those musical heroes that didnt quite live up to their image or even disappointed him in person. dude is a class act, i get it. thats just my only complaint, you need some shade to truly bring out the light. not sure id recommend this memoir but i definitely enjoyed reading PHANTOM's WILD STORIES and PERSONAL ANECDOTES about behind-the-scene happenings and tour stories. THAT STUFF NEVER GETS OLD. especially when its subject is JERRY LEE LEWIS, GEORGE HARRISON or LEMMY KILMISTER. i just wish i came out of this book with a BETTER UNDERSTANDING of THE STRAY CATS and yet they still remain a COMPLETE ANOMALY to me. maybe that is for the better, more MYSTERY. they are a one-of-one that subsequent generations of ROCKABILLY-inspired bands havent been able to match in terms of SONIC INTENSITY, STYLE, SONGWRITING and STRAIGHT-UP MUSICIANSHIP. they are a complete REVELATION in a live context, as i was LUCKY enough to catch them with a friend on a reunion date at PIER 17 in NYC pre-pandemic (linked HERE). so my argument would be to skip the memoir and just go see them play. the live show is all you need to know about their enduring INTENSE appeal to generations of ROCK AND ROLL fans writ large. photo & text by nacrowe
to experience a MICHAEL DEFORGE graphic novel is to be submerged in a PHANTASMAGORIC VISION that plays within its own STRUCTURES and MECHANISMS and is visually a feast that has an INTERNAL LEXICON all its own. his graphic novel ANT COLONY (DRAWN AND QUARTERLY, 2014) is no disappointment on either front. he presents ARRESTING DEPICTIONS of GENOCIDAL VIOLENCE on a micro scale between an ANT COLONY and its local competition in PUGNACIOUS SPIDERS, AMORAL CENTIPEDES, UNAWARE HUMAN CHILDREN with magnified sunlight that is almost ZEUS-like in its arbitrary DESTRUCTIVE capacity and especially ULTRA-MILITANT RED ANTS. its a CONFRONTATIONAL VISION of life as a succession of THREATENING NEIGHBORS and the potential for WIDE-SCALE WANTON ANNIHILATION around every corner.
what is INTERESTING is how DEFORGE provides the ants with highly individualized and ANTHROPOMORPHIZED personalities with dreams and objectives, yet MYSTICAL outside forces such as pheromones ultimately govern their FATE. you cannot read this narrative and not come away with the fact that our lives are conducted under a similar thread of WIDESPREAD VIOLENCE and annihilation at the hands of a small number of politicians with access to nuclear codes and the like. all our physical and creative efforts at securing a future and providing for the next generation is just window dressing for a far more SEEDY and UNSTEADY REALPOLITIK that is churning just outside of our VISION that is constantly in TENSION and never not at play. the DEFORGE visuals are so BIZARRE and so EVOCATIVE that there is a certain VIOLENCE against our own senses of BEAUTY that is under attack when taking in and sussing out the narrative. id argue that the illustrations are so confrontationally VIVID that they effectively endear the story with a PALPABLE REALISM and AUTHENTICITY that is seemingly counterintuitive on paper. it should take you out of the narrative but it draws you further in. i very much feel it is quite an achievement that has MORAL IMPLICATIONS beyond one's sense of AESTHETICS. it makes that graphic novel have a sense of MORAL WEIGHT and GRAVITY, as if these warring tribes whose JARRING sense of INSATIABLE BLOODLUST is normal and justified by their very nature as SMALL INSECTS. the MORAL IMPLICATIONS to our own sense of justification around STATE VIOLENCE is STAGGERING and ultimately UNSETTLING. i cant wait to seek out more of his catalogue. i am intrigued by how DISCONCERTING the experience of reading ANT COLONY was for my personal sense of individuality. i want more! definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
THE SUM OF US: WHAT RACISM COSTS EVERYONE AND HOW WE CAN PROSPER TOGETHER (ONE WORLD, 2021) by noted policy advocate and academic HEATHER MCGHEE is a devastatingly SOBER and EXHAUSTIVE account of how the ZERO-SUM FALLACY of WHITE AMERICA has writ large INFECTED our national sense of SOCIAL SOLIDARITY and COLLECTIVE IDENTITY as AMERICANS throughout our HISTORY. the underlying WHITE SUPREMACIST IDEATIONS that form the root of this CANCER and inform this DESTRUCTIVE PERSPECTIVE counterintuitively harm those who embrace it as well in MATERIAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL and PSYCHIC terms.
so what is a ZERO-SUM view of the world? it is a perspective that contends that a win for you must mean a loss to me. MCGHEE contextualizes this MENTALITY with the example of the public pools that dotted the country in the first half of the 20th century. they were meant to be a focus of CIVIC LIFE that would find all the races sharing a public resource and lead to SOCIAL HARMONY. WHITE PEOPLE literally leveled and cemented over these pools throughout the country (or made them private and effectively EXCLUSIONARY), rather than share them. that dynamic is shown throughout THE SUM OF US to describe what happens with DOOMED efforts to expand the benefits of nearly every facet of CIVIC LIFE including CIVIL RIGHTS, EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, HOUSING (and associated LOANS and MORTGAGES), HEALTH CARE, VOTING RIGHTS, LABOR ORGANIZING and so on to non-white populations. at each turn WHITE AMERICA basically chooses en masse to maintain the status quo, and this is key, even when such is not materially in their personal best interest. MCGHEE shows example after example where such PIGHEADED SHORT-SIDEDNESS and BALD-FACED WHITE SUPREMACIST IDEATION actually ricochets and harms them. it is impossible to read THE SUM OF US and not come away with the bedrock concept that AMERICA, despite what DELUSIONS we were told in middle school, was founded on INEQUALITY and GENOCIDE based on race. to go through the iterations of our HISTORY and examples of such is beyond he scope of this review. just know it is COMPELLING and OVERWHELMING and MCGHEE makes expert use of STATISTICS, recent RESEARCH studies and an EXHAUSTIVE list of CITATIONS meant for academic consideration and review. my experience reading this book was one of deep INTROSPECTION and PAIN considering how as a WHITE GUY i have benefited personally from SYSTEMATIC RACISM. its a FACILE and ultimately DISHONEST gesture to point the finger elsewhere at this immensely COMPLEX problem that is ingrained in the very SOCIAL FABRIC of our society over generations from even before the founding of our nation. this book forces you to consider your own CULPABILITY and that is where the true VALUE of the dialogue MCGHEE is initiating is located. i consider this book required reading for all AMERICANS, but especially WHITE AMERICANS. it is an absolutely BRUTAL and personally DEVASTATING conversation that needs to happen (again, especially in WHITE COMMUNITIES) in this country for any sense of growth to be established. a NEW MORAL CENTERING of who we are as a country and how we interact with one another that is based on where we've been and how we avoid the same MISTAKES and IN-GROUP/OUT-GROUP BIASES that currently define the AMERICAN experience despite what can only be described as the DISHONEST, DELUSIONAL and SELF-SERVING PROPAGANDA we deceive ourselves and INFECT our children with. you figure if GERMANY can work through its checkered history with GRACE and HONESTY then so should we as AMERICANS. it is time to BREAK THE CYCLE already. THE SUM OF US is probably the most CONSEQUENTIAL book ive read since starting this review column almost four years ago. cant advocate on its behalf any stronger. photo & text by nacrowe
HEADS OR TALES (FANTAGRAPHICS, 2012) is a FANTASTICAL collection of INTIMATE short fiction stories by the UNCONVENTIONAL LOS ANGELES-based MULTI-DISCIPLINARY visual artist LILLI CARRE. currently instructs at CAL ARTS in EXPERIMENTAL animation department.
what i appreciate about her cartoons is their ability to evoke a passing TRANSITORY EMOTIONAL STATE, sometimes even multiple ones, at the same time. in life we are often looking for external cues to help navigate us through what is in essence an INTERNAL EXPERIENCE of being alive. her stories often populated by characters that are either OVERWHELMED or UNINHIBITED by said guideposts which allows the reader to consider what the trajectory of their own sense of IDENTITY would be like devoid of such external cues. all those small choices we make every day concerning AESTHETICS or GEOGRAPHY or people we surround ourselves with shape our lives in totality, but what if we were INDIFFERENT or not in control of such. how would our sense of SELF be affected? would it? i think about this sort of thing all the time given that since i left SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA at age twelve ive had a pretty PERIPATETIC existence ever since, traveling to over sixty countries and living in eight over five continents. i wonder all the time how id have turned out if id never left ORANGE COUNTY as a pre-teen. would i be a DIFFERENT person? a BETTER VERSION of myself? the work of CARRE seems to be focused on TRANSITORY expressions of IDENTITY and how one transitions from a TEMPORAL EMOTIONAL STATE to the next while maintaining a core sense of SELF. its an INTRIGUING METAPHYSICAL DYNAMIC to consider. is there a core ESSENCE to any of us or are we just reconfigured atoms in a never ending state of FLUX and TRANSITION. id argue the latter but its FUN to consider. regardless, HEADS OR TALES is well worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
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. photo & text by nacrowe
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 photo & text by nacrowe
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. photo & text by nacrowe
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. photo & text by nacrowe
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. photo & text by nacrowe
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. photo & text by nacrowe
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. photo & text by nacrowe
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. photo & text by nacrowe
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. photo & text by nacrowe
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. BOOK REVIEW | "THE SPITBOY RULE: TALES OF A XICANA IN A FEMALE PUNK BAND" BY MICHELLE CRUZ GONZALES3/27/2023 photo & text by nacrowe
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. BOOK REVIEW | "GABBA GABBA HEY!: THE GRAPHIC STORY OF THE RAMONES" BY JIM MCCARTHY & BRIAN WILLIAMS3/20/2023 photo & text by nacrowe
the unlikely story of PUNK ROCK originators THE RAMONES is one for the ages. coming out of the QUEENS cultural wasteland known as FOREST HILLS, the group was made up of three social outcasts that could not be more different in demeanor and personality, i.e. the FRANTIC speed freak bassist DEE DEE, the RECALCITRANT RIGHT-WINGER guitarist JOHNNY and the NERVOUS and SOCIALLY AWKWARD BIPOLAR singer JOEY. original drummer TOMMY was their initial manager and producer who took up the sticks as a means of necessity and made way for MARKY after a two albums. the fact that such a VOLATILE and IN-COHESIVE mix of clashing personalities managed to survive as a creative unit and have the LONG-LASTING impact on AMERICAN culture writ large as they did.
THE RAMONES did nothing less than revitalize a DEAD, BLOATED corpse and breathed AUTHENTICITY and confrontational INTENTION back into the form, paving the way not only for PUNK and HARDCORE, but virtually every major ROCK N ROLL variant and sub-genre thereafter, from ALTERNATIVE ROCK, POST HARDCORE and POP PUNK to STONER ROCK, METALCORE, INDIE ROCK and GRINDCORE. the graphic novel GABBA GABBA HEY!: THE GRAPHIC STORY OF THE RAMONES (OMNIBUS, 2013) very much gets at the heart of the DYSFUNCTIONAL inner-workings and INTIMATE inter-relational dynamics of the LEGENDARY band. most of which center around JOEY and JOHNNY who for decades didnt speak after the latter married the former's ex-girlfriend. that SCHISM was one which never got repaired. how the unit functioned was one of differentiated labor in which JOEY's sphere of influence was the lyrics and vocal melody and JOHNNY (with help from DEE DEE and drummer/producer TOMMY) as the de facto musical director. that is not to say that such a state of affairs is UNUSUAL in ROCK N ROLL history, where CELEBRATED songwriting tandems from ELTON JOHN and BERNIE TAUPIN, HENRY ROLLINS and GREG GINN to MORRISSEY and JOHNNY MARR had differentiated responsibilities in the process. there is a thread throughout of the FUTILITY of such a BROKEN MARRIAGE within the band. the fact that they never achieved the financial success that they felt they earned, despite decades of touring and creating consistent quality records. watching up-and-comers like NIRVANA, GREEN DAY and the like take their innovations to the bank was an ever-present FRUSTRATION, despite the EFFUSIVE and constant PRAISE of both for THE RAMONES in the press. the picture presented of their career almost feels analogous to that of NEW YORK YANKEE great MICKEY MANTLE, who in his rookie season he infamously tore his ACL on a drain pipe while deferring a pop up to JOE DIMAGGIO in centerfield at YANKEE STADIUM during the fifth inning of the second game of the 1951 WORLD SERIES. as hard as it is to believe, in essence MANTLE's whole HALL OF FAME career was conducted on one good leg, thus creating one of the biggest "what ifs" in sports history. it just makes you wonder how the career of THE RAMONES may have been DIFFERENT if the two leaders of the group actually spoke with one another for the majority of their career. maybe such would never happen given their INCONGRUOUS personalities, but one would think they may have been better able to take on new opportunities if there was a better meeting of the minds rather than kicking those decisions to outsiders like managers. feels like their whole career is HANDICAPPED in retrospect. and with that self-imposed limitation in place, they are still on a short list of the most INFLUENTIAL ROCK N ROLL bands of the 20th century, easily right up there with THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES, LED ZEPPELIN and BLACK SABBATH. which is an INCREDIBLE accomplishment for a few glue-sniffing pinheads from the eternal cultural abyss known QUEENS. GABBA GABBA HEY is lovingly written by JIM MCCARTHY and illustrated by BRIAN WILLIAMSON and is most definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
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 photo & text by nacrowe
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. photo & text by nacrowe
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 |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
May 2024
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