in high school i got into DEVO and in college i discovered KRAFTWERK.  for whatever reason, those TWO BANDS that are completely SEPARATE both in terms of AESTHETICS and INTENTION are connected in my IDIOSYNCRATIC, EXPERIENTIAL TRAJECTORY as a MUSIC FAN. 

DEVO is very much utilizing FORMAL COMPOSITIONS with highly IRREGULAR ARRANGEMENTS and ELECTRONIC SONIC TEXTURES as a means of jarring its AUDIENCE into an ESCAPIST REALM / MINDSET that is meant as a PARODY of CONTEMPORARY CONSUMER CULTURE and CAPITALISM more broadly via its likewise FABRICATED WORLD of TELEVISED ADVERTISING.  they were very much a heady ARTISTIC, MULTI-MEDIA RESPONSE to an apparent DOMINATING, ALL-CONSUMING corporate takeover of most ASPECTS of AMERICAN LIFE, a PERSPECTIVE that has only grown evermore PRESCIENT in the decades that have followed.

KRAFTWERK on the other hand was part of a GENERATION of GERMAN MUSICIANS that sought to create a NEW CULTURAL "YEAR ZERO" that took no CUES or INSPIRATION from what came before, as such led to the rise of FASCISM and the THIRD REICH ultimately.  so no VEILED REFERENCES to FOLK TRADITIONS or CELEBRATED GERMAN CLASSICAL COMPOSERS like BEETHOVEN, BRAMS, SCHUMANN, STRAUSS, HANDEL, MENDELSSON or especially WAGNER, nor RELATED AUSTRIAN COMPOSERS such as MOZART, BRUCKNER, SCHOENBERG, HAYDN, SCHUBERT or MAHLER.  so the utilization of SYNTHESIZERS, SEQUENCERS and the like was a means of politically drawing a line in the sand and establishing a NEW PARADIGM moving forward.  that sort of FOCUSED INTENTION based on SOCIO-HISTORICAL CONCERNS of liberation from a tainted past is what makes KRAFTWERK and their KRAUTROCK PEERS so COMPELLING.  and an entirely DIFFERENT ANIMAL from DEVO, whose SENDUPS of AMERICAN CORPORATE CONSUMER CULTURE was a PRODUCT of a DIFFERENT ERA, having came out more than half a decade later.

what makes THE MAN-MACHINE (KLING KLANG, 1978) ALBUM such an INTERESTING listen is how despite its CONSCIOUS DESIGN as MUSIC devoid of the HUMAN ELEMENT, such is still in spite of itself quite EMOTIVE and even MELANCHOLIC in DELIVERY.  in terms of LYRICS, the RECORD outright references MODERN SCIENCE FICTION LITERARY TROPES based around TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES and openly questions the embedded UTOPIAN IDEALS associated with such.  specifically i am speaking of TRACKS like "SPACELAB," "THE ROBOTS," "THE MAN MACHINE" and "METROPOLIS" that are concerned with ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, SPACE COLONIZATION and a FUTURE WORLD of TECHNOLOGICAL WONDER that renders HUMANS OBSOLETE and ripe for EXPLOITATION.  i always find it INTRIGUING how the VISUALS associated with THE MAN-MACHINE make EXPLICIT REFERENCE to the pre-NAZI period of the UFA (and LEGENDARY FILM DIRECTORS like FRITZ LANG), the REVERED GERMAN MOTION-PICTURE PRODUCTION COMPANY.  in a SONG like "THE MODEL," you get a BITTER sense of ROMANTIC ISOLATION that it is DIFFICULT to discern if such is from a SYNTHETIC or ORGANIC PERSPECTIVE, a ROBOT or a HUMAN or perhaps more fascinatingly, something in between.  

maybe MACHINES do have an EMOTIONAL CAPACITY, since they are but an EXTENSION of US.  in the CURRENT AGE of GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, this line of INQUIRY and EXPLORATION is still beyond PRESCIENT and RELEVANT to our CONTENTIOUS LIVED EXPERIENCE coming to terms with a TECHNOLOGY (much like NUCLEAR WARFARE, CLOUD COMPUTING and SOCIAL NETWORKS beforehand) that is beyond our COLLECTIVE CAPACITY to effectively rationalize and CONTROL.

THE MAN-MACHINE along with COMPUTER WORLD (KLING KLANG, 1981) and AUTOBAHN (PHILIPS, 1974), i find myself constantly returning to the CATALOGUE of KRAFTWERK for AURAL INSPIRATION.  the EXECUTION of their VISION is UNMATCHED and wholly its own thing, which has INSPIRED EVERYONE from APHEX TWIN, BIG BLACK, DAFT PUNK and U2 to RAMMSTEIN, DEPECHE MODE, AFRIKA BAMBAATAA, NEW ORDER and DAVID BOWIE. 

required listening in my opinion.

parodies & text by nacrowe

when i got into DEPECHE MODE in earnest during my time as a PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER in ALBANIA, what connected with me the most was that UNDENIABLE sense of GROOVE and just SEX that palpably emanated from those VIOLATOR (MUTE, 1990), SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION (MUTE, 1993), ULTRA (MUTE, 1997)  and EXCITER (MUTE, 2001) era SOUNDSCAPES.  the SYNTH POP and ELECTRONIC MUSIC i was familiar with up until that point were more things like early NEW ORDER, PET SHOP BOYS and DEVO which seemed a bit more consciously BOXY and CLUNKY, albeit in an aesthetically COOL way, but not something id categorize as a SEXY or even remotely DANGEROUS sounding.  maybe its SINGER DAVE GAHAN's SLITHERY VOCAL DELIVERY and songs about AMBITION, SEDUCTION, REDEMPTION and MORAL PERIL or GUITARIST MARTIN GORE's melodically SOPHISTICATED yet intensely DANCEABLE COMPOSITIONS that made the difference, all i know is that once i jumped in that pool i was immediately in the deep end.

from which i have yet to recover.

in ALBANIA and my time traveling around EASTERN EUROPE in general there is a GENERAL BLANDNESS to the ARCHITECTURE and UNIFORM CONFORMITY to the CULTURE that derives from being in a location from the post-SOVIET SPHERE-OF-INFLUENCE (albeit ALBANIA was DIFFERENT than YUGOSLAVIA in that they were POLITICALLY-ALIGNED with CHINESE COMMUNISM, not RUSSIAN).  for whatever reason, i found DEPECHE MODE to be a PERFECT SOUNDTRACK to my experiences in the setting.  with their use of SYNTHESIZERS and the UNWAVERING RIGIDITY and AUTOMATIC REGIMENTATION of DRUM MACHINES, the FOUNDATION for their SOUND can feel CLAUSTROPHOBIC and UNFORGIVING at times.  then the MELODY kicks in and their SOUND opens up often into those TRANSCENDENT and MEMORABLE CHORUSES.  i think being in ALBANIA felt that way at times, given your STATUS as an OUTSIDER you were being constantly monitored and judged by the LOCALS until you were taken in and treated like a LONG-LOST, EXTENDED MEMBER of the FAMILY.  that SOCIAL BARRIER is what made that EXPERIENCE FASCINATING in retrospect, likewise DEPECHE MODE's ABILITY to find MELODY in strict RHYTHMIC STRUCTURES feels like a WORTHY EXPRESSION and ANALOGUE of such a DYNAMIC.

i doubt such was INTENTIONAL, but such a SERENDIPITOUS CONFLUENCE of IDEAS is what makes being ALIVE ENJOYABLE and worthy of putting yourself out there to discover new places and be open to UNFAMILIAR ART.  there is always NEW MUSIC to discover, even in NEW JERSEY.

embedded below is a past DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating DEPECHE MODE.  enjoy!

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

​and does.

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

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

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

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

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

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

parodies by nacrowe

i remember one weekend during my junior year of high school in KUWAIT i was watching this temporary televised feed of a FOREIGN music video channel called CHANNEL [V] AUSTRALIA way past midnight because there was a marathon on some ECCENTRIC ICELANDIC SINGER-SONGWRITER id never heard of called BJÖRK.  itd be another year and another hemisphere away until i discovered TRIP HOP in earnest to be able to help describe what i was hearing, but at the time i was just completely transfixed with how ECLECTIC her SOUND was (combining ELEMENTS of HOUSE, BIG BAND JAZZ, FOLK, ALTERNATIVE ROCK, SYNTH POP, TRIP HOP, CLASSICAL and other AVANT-GARDE MUSICAL TRADITIONS) and how IDIOSYNCRATIC and utterly UNIQUE her SINGING STYLE was.

it was both IMMERSIVE and INTOXICATING while being totally ALIEN to anything id ever come across before.

and similar to my much later experience of discovering the NOVEL SONIC SOUNDSCAPES of APHEX TWIN, BJÖRK was so left-of-center and beyond my ability to comprehend what i was listening to at the time that i connected to such instantaneously on a VISCERAL and distinctly EMOTIONAL level.  it basically bypassed my CONSCIOUS MIND that liked to parse out contextual clues and actively deconstruct what i was listening to as i was listening to it.  i knew nothing of ICELAND or her work in THE SUGARCUBES.  i was perfectly NAIVE.

that would change and the next year would find me transported to a relative's house in SACRAMENTO in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, which happened at the beginning of my senior year of high school.  it was also the year of the release of her fourth effort VESPERTINE (ONE LITTLE INDEPENDENT, 2001), which was more reflective and refined in TONE with a more SONG-ORIENTED, FOLK-inspired outlook with AMBIENT and ORGANIC SONIC TEXTURES courtesy of an INSPIRED collaboration with the SAN FRANCISCO EXPERIMENTAL DUO MATMOS.  at the time it felt like my world had been thrown into a complete SPIRAL, being half a world away from family and callously stuck in a cultural backwater with no friends.  what made matters worse was that my relative worked as an UNPOPULAR teacher at the public school i attended some 45 minutes from his home which resulted in my inability to have people over or conversely stay out with potential people i met.  i was utterly STUCK and ALONE and i knew it.  for me VESPERTINE was the soundtrack to that experience.  that album in particular seemed lyrically resigned to the idea that real-life is DIFFICULT, COMPLEX and UN PREDICTABLE and that the adult reaction to such is just to take it all in stride.  to meet the moment as it comes.  on some level that album in particular helped me emotionally get through a tough year and for that reason i am still very much attached to it two decades later, arguably more than her earlier records that are more generally CELEBRATED by critics and the public alike.

embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the wildly CREATIVE and EXPERIMENTAL ICELANDIC SINGER-SONGWRITER BJÖRK.  enjoy!

it is not hyperbole that discovering APHEX TWIN's debut album SELECTED AMBIENT WORKS: 85-92 (R&S, 1992) was a SINGULAR and TRANSFORMATIVE experience that basically ALTERED and RE-CONTEXTUALIZED my EXPECTATIONS regarding music in general.  i believe for the longest time i was stuck in a rut of always expecting the TRADITIONAL SONG STRUCTURES and FAMILIAR SOUNDS a la BLUES-based ROCK N ROLL and all of its myriad of DERIVATIONS therein that i grew up on as a child, as EXEMPLIFIED by THE BEACH BOYS, BUDDY HOLLY and THE BEATLES.  living abroad in NIGERIA during my middle school years i discovered both FELA KUTI and HIP HOP, which was arguably the first crack in that wall.  then in high school i came across SONICALLY ADVENTUROUS TRIP HOP groups like MASSIVE ATTACK and PORTISHEAD as well as EXPERIMENTAL SHOEGAZE bands like SLOWDIVE, MY BLOODY VALENTINE and THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN, which further EXPANDED my CONCEPTION of what music could be.  but i consider the dam fully being dismantled in college when i came across APHEX TWIN and specifically this early compilation.

that is not to say that APHEX TWIN came out of nowhere.  there is a proud TRADITION of AMBIENT MUSIC that utilizes DISCORDANT DRONING and NONTRADITIONAL SONG STRUCTURES going back to BRIAN ENO and postwar KRAUTROCK bands like HARMONIA, TANGERINE DREAM, CLUSTER and KRAFTWERK, and early 20th century FRENCH DADAIST COMPOSERS like ERIK SATIE.  but what caught my ear was just that OTHERWORLDLINESS of the those ALIEN SOUNDSCAPES immediately apparent on tracks like "XTAL," "THA," "AGEISPOLIS," "PULSWIDTH" and "HELIOSPHAN."  it was like being transported to another DIMENSION, but not in any CORNY, PSYCHEDELIC sort of manner.  more like the impossibly ANTISEPTIC CLEANLINESS of an EXTRATERRESTRIAL vessel with a REFINED future PLAYLIST instituted onboard that seemingly draws no PARALLELS or REFERENCES to anything remotely ORGANIC or EARTH-BASED.  i can remember in college getting so worked up over having to write term papers that i needed a way to ESCAPE myself and all that TENSION and ANXIETY i carried.  i found it particularly HELPFUL to just listen to SELECTED AMBIENT WORKS: 85-92 and completely zone out and REFRAME my EMOTIONAL HEADSPACE.  listening to that record helped me push away my SUPEREGO and just focus on writing and executing my IDEAS sans that NEVER-ENDING INNER-DIALOGUE and CONSTANT SELF-CRITICISM going on in my head.  on that level alone this record is MEANINGFUL and completely NOSTALGIC for me.

and i bring that up because sometimes when you hear FAMILIAR-SOUNDING music, your CONSCIOUS MIND cannot help but immediately parse out the PROCESS OF PRODUCTION involved in the manufacture of such.  at least i do when i hear a KILLER GUITAR RIFF or DRUM PATTERN.  but when you come across something completely ALIEN for the first time, like a COMPLEX FELA KUTI POLYRHYTHMIC GROOVE or a WARPED SOUL SAMPLE MORPHED and SKEWED beyond RECOGNITION on a MASSIVE ATTACK or THREE 6 MAFIA record, you entertain said COMPOSITION on a DIFFERENT level.  i'd argue an EMOTIONAL one.  that is what was so COMPELLING about APHEX TWIN for me, i literally had no clue how RICHARD DAVID JAMES came up with such intoxicatingly EXPANSIVE and distinctly UNFAMILIAR SOUNDSCAPES.  it was an experience where i explored a part of my PSYCHE that i didnt even know existed.  just REVELATORY and a complete REORDERING of my EXPECTATIONS regarding the EMOTIONAL CAPACITY and POTENTIAL of ELECTRONIC MUSIC in general.  some have compared APHEX TWIN to JIMI HENDRIX and i understand such on a VISCERAL level, just that THRILL of initially EXPERIENCING the UNKNOWN.

for me that is the legacy of APHEX TWIN and specifically their debut SELECTED AMBIENT WORKS: 85-92, which is an absolutely ESSENTIAL record for anyone interested in QUALITY music sans consideration of GENRE.  its just GREAT music.

photo manipulation & text by nacrowe

years ago i remember witnessing the most MIND-BENDING music video id ever seen of a camera rolling back (in a single take RUSSIAN ARK STYLE)in a warehouse with all of these increasingly INTRICATE staged scenes taking place in a TRANCE-LIKE RHTHYM.  it was only recently that i rediscovered such and learned that the song "PURSUIT" was by an INNOVATIVE FRENCH DJ / PRODUCER MIKE LEVY that went by the PLAYFUL MONIKER GESAFFELSTEIN, a play on the name ALBERT EINSTEIN and the GERMAN TERM for TOTAL ARTWORK.

this may very well be the most REVOLUTIONARY ELECTRONIC MUSIC FIGURE ive discovered since APHEX TWIN in college and DAFT PUNK way back in high school.  there is both an OUTRIGHT FUNKINESS and a STOIC AESTHETIC about GESAFFELSTEIN that is both UNNERVING and completely ENGAGING, like some FASCIST ALIEN commanding you from above to get down on your BAD SELF.  just WEIRD and absolutely worth checking out.

EXPERIMENTAL POST PUNK-influenced ELECTRONIC MUSIC acts like NEW ORDER, DEPECHE MODE, TEARS FOR FEARS, THE PET SHOP BOYS and the EPIC JOHNNY MARR (THE SMITHS) / BERNARD SUMNER (JOY DIVISION, NEW ORDER) COLLABORATION vehicle ELECTRONIC were always my thing growing up, but it wasnt until i was introduced in high school to CONTEMPORARY HOUSE-influenced POP MUSIC via EUROPEAN acts like DAFT PUNK, BASEMENT JAXX, AIR and THE PRODIGY along with later groups like JUSTICE and CALVIN HARRIS, that i realized i very much had a thing for intelligently COMPOSED and EXECUTED DANCE MUSIC.  maybe its the extraneous baggage i took on via my PUNK-indebted UPBRINGING and NATIVE CULTURE that mistakingly viewed DANCE MUSIC as INFERIOR, but such BULLSHIT receded over time as i realized such was ultimately LIMITING, cutting me off from another universe of EXPRESSIVE SOUNDS (especially via STELLAR TRIP HOP acts like MASSIVE ATTACK, PORTISHEAD, early BJORK and the SNEAKER PIMPS).

anyway, i consider MELBOURNE's MIAMI HORROR to be another PHENOMENAL group in that same LINEAGE, EVER-EXPANDING their SOUND with new collaborations with ENIGMATIC and CREATIVE PRODUCER / SONGWRITER BENJAMIN PLANT.  their SOUND is OPTIMISTIC, UPTEMPO, ANTHEMIC and PERFECT for DANCE parties in DARK CELEBRATION of our impending COLLECTIVE DOOM and the coming TRUMPOCALYPSE this november. 

​regardless their CATALOGUE is absolutely well worth checking out.

that whole PANDEMIC era was such a CONFUSING time.  all that ISOLATION.  all that time spent in your own head thinking about what you would do, could do, did do before COVID-19 rendered you as a PRISONER effectively in your own head.  for most people it was a CHALLENGING time, but the recent documentary CHARLI XCX: ALONE TOGETHER (GREENWICH ENTERTAINMENT, 2021) provides a COMPELLING case study: what happens when a SELF-IDENTIFIED COHORT of individuals who are partially construed of OSTRACIZED members of society lose the physical ability to be in each other's SUPPORTIVE presence? 

for many of the LGBTQIA+ FANS (and their ALLIES) of BRITISH SINGER-SONGWRITER CHARLI XCX, her music and the INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY she built around such is a GLOBAL NETWORK that functions as a de facto EMOTIONAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL and SPIRITUAL SUPPORT SYSTEM for these fans.  she may be speaking her truth in song form, but the fans of CHARLI XCX take such AUTHENTIC and EMPATHETIC sentiments to heart and allow others to be heard and show REAL STRENGTH in numbers through being VULNERABLE.  what is INTRIGUING is that during the PANDEMIC, there was a bit of an inversion of that dynamic involved, with the singer herself relying on that same ONLINE NETWORK for assistance as she dealt with CRIPPLING feelings of INADEQUACY and SELF-HATRED through the forty-day WRITING and RECORDING PROCESS of her PANDEMIC album HOW I'M FEELING NOW (ATLANTIC, 2020), which was written at times in collaboration with her FANBASE as well as recorded in ISOLATION at her LOS ANGELES residence.  in essence, CHARLI XCX through inviting her fanbase to directly participate in her CREATIVE PROCESS, allowed for a COMMON EXPERIENCE as everyone came to terms with living in this new WEIRD reality of MANDATED SELF-ISOLATION. 

something to be PROUD of.  something to look forward to.

and it wasnt from a place of MARKETING RESEARCH or GROUP TESTING, but an ORGANIC outgrowth of a mutually felt CONNECTION between ARTIST and AUDIENCE.  its all quite INSPIRING.  and it really gets at the heart of the MEANING and PURPOSE of ART writ large.  CREATIVE EXPRESSION, POSITIVE or NEGATIVE, is a SOCIAL ACT by the very token that such will be on display for others to judge and engage with.  by blurring the lines just a bit, CHARLI XCX has provided a vehicle of SELF-EMPOWERMENT and COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT during a period where such an offering was in DESPERATE need.  the songs themselves thematically revolved around her deep reservoir of FEELING for her long-time BOYFRIEND, whom she was able to see for the first time for an EXTENDED period in years due to the obvious break in her HECTIC schedule, an experience that led her to feel intimately LOVED, SUPPORTED and APPRECIATED apart from her PERSONA as a POP STAR.  she was in need of the situation just as much as her FANS it can be concluded.

an INCREDIBLE film that gets at the heart of the relationship between ARTIST and FAN.  CHARLI XCX: ALONE TOGETHER is definitely well worth checking out.

ever since i went head over heals for EL GUINCHO's POP NEGRO (YOUNG TURKS, 2010) album more than a decade ago, ive been on the lookout for something that was as equally SONICALLY and AESTHETICALLY ADVENTUROUS, INNOVATIVE, INVIGORATING from HISPANIC HIP HOP.  much like its ENGLISH-language cousin, most of what is churned out is PATHETIC trend-hopping pablum.

in the ARGENTINE EXPERIMENTAL HIP HOP/ELECTRONIC MUSIC duo CA7RIEL & PACO AMOROSO, i may have found an answer.  while their MUSIC VIDEOS are often VIVID and EXOTIC as they are TRANSGRESSIVE challenges of entrenched and OUTMODED notions of ENGLISH MASCULINITY, the MUSIC to me is what takes center stage.  its just FUN and INFECTIOUS with an IDIOSYNCRATIC MUSIC PRODUCTION AESTHETIC that more than matches their OUT-THERE VISUALS.  definitely a group to pay attention to and well worth checking out.

in the broad wake of the ALTERNATIVE ROCK explosion there was a likewise shift in STATESIDE CULTURE where genres began to bleed into one another and audiences were look for NEW SOUNDS, not just reinterpretations or OBVIOUS interpolations of PAST TRADITIONS.  this was typified by the entrance of a new breed of GENRE-LESS MUSICIANS like BJORK, TRICKY and BECK who took delight in mashing together NOVEL AURAL TEXTURES and VARYING PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES to create NEW SONIC TAPESTRIES hitherto UNEXPLORED.  in the mid 1990s part of that wave of EXPERIMENTAL SOUNDS thrown in the MIX was the POPULAR emergence of BIG BEAT ELECTRONIC ACTS like THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS, THE PRODIGY, BASEMENT JAXX, THE CRYSTAL METHOD and  the BRITISH DJ FATBOY SLIM.  that is not to mention other PHENOMENAL FRENCH ELECTRONIC ACTS from the period like DAFT PUNK and AIR.

people forget now, but i can recall hearing FATBOY SLIM tracks from his second album YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY (ASTRALWERKS, 1998) like "PRAISE YOU" and "ROCKAFELLER SKANK" on REGULAR ROTATION on the massively INFLUENTIAL ALTERNATIVE ROCK radio station K-ROCK 92.3FM out of NYC throughout that decade, much like other ACTS like BEASTIE BOYS and DAFT PUNK.  it felt for a time like what constituted "ALTERNATIVE" had clearly expanded well-beyond the CONSERVATIVE confines of PUNK and INDIE ROCK TRADITIONS and included some ELECTRONIC MUSIC, DANCE, REGGAE and even HIP HOP ELEMENTS into the MIX.  post-9/11 this DIVERSITY and EXPANDED PALETTE would sink back reductively to SOUNDALIKE POST-GRUNGE BANDS, but there was a GOOD few year period where a sonically EXPANSIVE BAND like LUSCIOUS JACKSON or CIBO MATTO had a GENUINE opportunity for ROTATION at MAINSTREAM ALTERNATIVE ROCK stations. 

so that was my entry point to FATBOY SLIM, who seemed to be a master at re-contextualizing VINTAGE VOCAL TAKES with a GRAINY LO-FI TEXTURES with a phantasmagorically VIVID and ENERGETIC SOUNDSCAPES that were both UPLIFTING and MIND-EXPANDING.  i feel like that sense of transformation between the MUNDANE and the FANTASTICAL is ELEMENTAL to the EXPERIENCE of DANCE MUSIC in general. that feeling of entering a TRANCE-LIKE state where you are counterintuitively OUTSIDE-OF-YOURSELF while feeling more in-tune with your physical self and its VIBRATIONS than ever before.  i dont think its any coincidence that SPIKE JONZE decided on having a bunch of AMATEUR dancers perform BASIC choreography haphazardly in a public setting on camcorder footage to prove that point.  DANCE MUSIC is not ELITIST.  it is a transforming EXPERIENCE available to anyone and everyone capable of going for it and leaving their sense of FEAR and SHAME of RIDICULE at the door.  i believe that ALTERNATIVE ROCK and its core message of being ANTI-IMAGE (which is in itself a form of IMAGE CONSCIOUSNESS) opened the door for this type of mass adoption of DANCE CULTURE, if for a time. 

life is short, just go for it.

when i think of FATBOY SLIM and his music's innate UPBEAT sense of COMMUNITY and POSITIVITY, the contrast to such is the later decidedly more SOMBER, DOWNBEAT and internally INTROSPECTIVE work of MOBY on his PLAY (MUTE, 1999) release which utilized those same VINTAGE BLUES VOCAL SAMPLES for an entirely different end.  those two records are almost mirror opposites of each other and represent a shift that happened in the wider CULTURE, even pre-9/11.

i think YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY absolutely holds up and is well-worth checking out, especially now that we live in a MUSICAL CULTURE where genre limitations are fairly IRRELEVANT and audiences have grown to appreciate a wide palette of SOUNDS and INTRIGUING SONIC JUXTAPOSITIONS as a matter of course.  i think FATBOY SLIM was a part of that evolution in audience expectation more than two decades ago.

when the ICONIC NEW JERSEY METALCORE outfit THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and their legendarily VOLATILE and UNPREDICTABLE live show decided to call it officially quits in 2017, pretty much everyone in the broader METAL scene was awaiting to hear what new projects followed suit shortly thereafter for the FORMER MEMBERS.  somewhat expectedly, GUITARIST BEN WEINMAN joined LONG BEACH CROSSOVER THRASH veterans SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, BASSIST LIAM WILSON joined the SWEDISH MELODIC DEATH METAL band IN FLAMES, and DRUMMER BILLY RYMER joined fellow NEW JERSEY PUNK RAP duo HO99O9.

against type and arguably most intriguingly, BALTIMORE-based FORMER THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN VOCALIST GREG PUCIATO joined forces with NEW ORLEANS-based MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST, COMPOSER, PROGRAMMER and all around ELECTRONIC MUSIC WIZARD JOSH EUSTIS (TELEFON TEL AVIV, NINE INCH NAILS, PUSCIFER, BLACK LIGHT BURNS) to form the LOS ANGELES-based SYTHWAVE project THE BLACK QUEEN.  this project provides a new UNFAMILIAR SONIC CONTEXT and set expectations surrounding PUCIATO's EMOTIVE range as a SINGER.  whereas THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN found him matching and even force multiplying the CHAOTIC and MANIC nature of their SKITTISH and abrasively EVER-SHIFTING COMPOSITIONS, THE BLACK QUEEN presents a more DELIBERATE and somewhat TRADITIONAL attempt at MELODY over a LUSH bed of truly CAPTIVATING aural SOUNDSCAPES comprised of SYNTH PADS and other ELECTRONIC SONIC MANIPULATIONS. 

its truly COMPELLING to witness such a VOICE presented in an UNEXPECTED new light which makes THE BLACK QUEEN very much worth checking out.

parodies by nacrowe

i feel like part of the price of participation in today's DIGITAL SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETPLACE where ATTENTION and eyeballs is at a premium, there is an implicit bias towards CYNICAL, INAUTHENTIC and quite frankly OUTLANDISH behavior.  same goes for music and the promotion thereof.  each new generation is a wellspring of NEW PERSPECTIVES, CONTEXTS and IDEAS just waiting for the opportunity to shine in public view, but i cant help but think that our social media ecosystem and its decided bent to towards ENRAGEMENT ENGAGEMENT largely snuffs out such PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS effectively before they began.

enter CARPARK RECORDS.

this WASHINGTON DC label that specializes in quality EXPERIMENTAL ROCK N ROLL and ELECTRONIC MUSIC of the INDIE variety quietly delivers QUALITY records by EMERGING ARTISTS of note, most decidedly LEFT-OF-CENTER with PERSONALITY but stray far from CONTROVERSY or BRUTISH BEHAVIOR.   i discovered them via one of their recent flagship acts, THE BETHS, an INVENTIVE INDIE ROCK band from NEW ZEALAND who specialize in TIGHT SONG-CRAFT with QUIRKY, ANGULAR HOOKS and WARM, INVITING and FRIENDLY yet IDIOSYNCRATIC  LYRICAL CONCEITS.  i almost think of them as a MODERN-DAY PIXIES or THROWING MUSES.  through them i discovered and explored the CARPARK RECORDS catalogue.  but i am a music nerd (maybe snob).  i love the process of finding out about new talent and UNFAMILIAR sounds, its all a LEARNING EXPERIENCE.  i feel like an outlier in that respect.

i just wonder how independent record labels like CARPARK go about their business quietly when the INSTITUTIONAL PRESSURE would seemingly favor finding a more OUTSPOKEN and CONTENTIOUS ARTIST that could drive more ATTENTION online.  to me the label feels like a WELCOME anachronism to a former dynamic in the MARKETPLACE when LIKE-MINDED music fans supported labels and institutions that mirrored their ETHICS and AESTHETICS.

maybe that is still happening and i am too terminally online.  probably the latter.

embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the WASHINGTON DC-based INDIE MUSIC label CARPARK RECORDS.  enjoy!

im kinda on the fence about this. 

the musical and lyrical ENCYCLOPEDIC website GENIUS has long had this ongoing interview series on their YOUTUBE channel called VERIFIED in which PROMINENT SONGWRITERS explain the LYRICS to their HIT SONGS.  the variety of said offerings is STAGGERING an covers every genre IMAGINABLE and skews heavily on recent MATERIAL with NEW and EMERGING ARTISTS.  LEGACY ARTISTS need not apply unless they have brought something NOVEL to the table worth explaining to a DIGITALLY NATIVE CONSTITUENCY that has no time for REHASHED past glory days or you-should-been-there moments.

my contention is not with the ARTISTS, its with the CONCEIT itself.  i just dont think that LYRICS are a PARAMOUNT concern when it comes to enjoying MUSIC.  when i am listening to MUSIC i am participating in a COMPLICATED INTERACTION that includes EMOTION, PSYCHOLOGY, MEMORY and AESTHETICS, often all at the same time.  to have the LYRICIST come out and pour over what their CREATION means to them is largely IRRELEVANT to the ALCHEMICAL PROCESS of contextualizing MATERIAL to your own PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.  in a sense the TRACK is no longer theirs, it instead belongs to the PUBLIC.

that beings said, some of these are INTRIGUING regarding the CREATION PROCESS for these ARTISTS.  where their heads were at, what they were feeling, how the CONCEPTION and RECORDING of this SONG affected them is all COMPELLING information.  but that is where i tend to draw the line.  any context after that which seems to limit the scope of a SONG seems COUNTERPRODUCTIVE in my mind, but they can do what they want.

not sure what i make of it still, but its an INTERESTING series to dabble in once in a while.

photo & text by nacrowe

i was aware of LCD SOUNDSYSTEM's second SOUND OF SILVER (DFA, 2007) release, but it wasnt until visiting my cousin [a RECORDING ENGINEER] at his RECORDING STUDIO in GREENPOINT one summer after returning from abroad that i became privy to the idea that their frontman's [JAMES MURPHY] record label, DFA RECORDS, was a major CULTURAL FORCE worth exploring.  to me SOUND OF SILVER was the DANCE SOUNDTRACK to dealing with GRIEF, which seems on the face of it like a COMPLETE OXYMORON, but a song like "SOMEONE GREAT" is acutely HEARTBREAKING while being CATHARTIC with a substantial VISCERAL weight.  it basically transformed my opinion of the EMOTIONAL possibilities of DANCE MUSIC.

my cousin was a MASSIVE proponent of their SELF-TITLED LCD SOUNDSYSTEM (DFA, 2005) debut and especially the TRACK "LOSING MY EDGE," which was about getting older and feeling like your time has passed you by with all these younger generations of kids creeping up and taking over.  to my taste that song lyrically was a bit PRECIOUS and SELF-IMPORTANT about what was an INSULAR MUSIC SCENE, but i took note.  if anything, that INTIMATE sense of being part of a NASCENT CULTURAL MOVEMENT and spurring along COLLECTIVE creativity seems to be the MOTIVATING ETHOS of DFA RECORDS.  there are so many strong DANCE-inflected EXPERIMENTAL BANDS on their roster over the years including HOLY GHOST!, BLACK DICE, HOT CHIP, THE CRYSTAL ARK, SHIT ROBOT, HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR, YACHT, GUERRILLA TOSS, THE RAPTURE, FACTORY FLOOR and the aforementioned LCD SOUNDSYSTEM. 

it seems rather daft that i held such a REDUCTIVE opinion about DANCE MUSIC for so long.  i imagine that such was INHERITED and comes from the INTRANSIGENT CULTURAL BAGGAGE associated with the internalization of the DISCO SUCKS movement writ large and the FALSE SUPERIORITY of supposedly "real" ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTS over their SYNTHETIC brethren.  nevermind the AWFUL ANTI-HOMOSEXUAL, ANTI-BLACK, ANTI-LATINO undercurrents that came with that REVANCHIST CULTURAL MOVEMENT which seemed to be clinging to an idealized (and undeniably CAUCASIAN) concept of AMERICA that was already an ANACHRONISM.  when i think of DFA RECORDS and similar labels of its ilk, i think of REVOLUTIONARY MUSICIANS that are assisting in shedding the last vestiges of that HORRENDOUS legacy and allowing EMERGING generations to take in EXPERIMENTAL SOUNDS sans PAST CULTURAL BULLSHIT.

and for that i thank them.  even if it feels like the OVERWHELMING forces of CULTURAL REGRESSION are winning the war at the moment.

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

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

definitely worth checking out.

i remember when i discovered DAFT PUNK in high school and how EXHILARATING and even LIBERATING it felt to listen to ELECTRONIC MUSIC for the first time that seemingly was the PERFECT execution of architecting a confluence of DISPARATE ELEMENTS into a UNIFIED whole.  id never experienced anything like that with my whole world being a manipulated mixture of PERCUSSION, GUITAR, BASS and VOCAL ELEMENTS with sometimes a little KEYBOARD synth for TEXTURE and AMBIENCE.  this was an entirely DIFFERENT beast that incorporated JUXTAPOSING TEXTURE based on a multitude of past RECORDING STYLES inherent to the SAMPLES and PITCH / TEMPO / MODULATION EFFECTS galore.

CARAVAN PALACE, another PARIS-based ELECTRONIC MUSIC collective, gives off that same GOOD-TIME VIBE with CATCHY, OFF-KILTER MELODIES and COMPELLING HOOKS from a variety of OBSCURELY-SOURCED SAMPLES that bring to the IMAGINATION DANCEABLE visions of everything between DJANGO REINHARDT and ABBA.  definitely  worth checking out.  plus their videos are absolutely KILLER.

parody by nacrowe

i was talking to someone at the radio station the other day and the subject of HENRY ROLLINS comment about NU METAL in the AMERICAN HARDCORE (SONY PICTURES, 2006) documentary came up, which paraphrased was something to effect of that the way in which those songs are STRUCTURED with the BIG GUITAR RIFF payoff after a whispered DOWNTEMPO PRE-CHORUS was something he would have absolutely been into as a teenager.  it got me thinking of what that specific experience was for me of being confronted with a band or genre that up my first listen absolutely instantaneously defined my experience as a young person. 

for me that was first coming across the ENGLISH ELECTRONIC MUSIC of THE PRODIGY and specifically their STELLAR THE FAT OF THE LAND (XL, 1997) album during my middle school years in NIGERIA.  i can still recall that WIDE-EYED surge of adrenaline when that initial MASSIVE BASS DROP hits in the intro for "SMACK MY BITCH UP."  in less than a minute of my first listen to a THE PRODIGY song i was hooked.  it was beyond anything i had come across in the more FORMULAIC world of ROCK MUSIC and just seemed intently designed to make adolescents like myself go completely MENTAL.  same with other singles like "BREATHE" and "FIRESTARTER," but for me "SMACK MY BITCH UP" is the obvious highlight.  other tracks i absolutely adored off that album were "MINDFIELDS," "FUEL MY FIRE" and especially "NARAYAN," which all seemed to have an INTERIORITY about them,  as if they were meant as a mantra for an induced COLLECTIVE MIND-SPACE and SHARED CONSCIOUSNESS.  i have never taken MIND-EXPANDING drugs, but that concept of shared emotional INTIMACY through RHYTHM and DANCE made immediate sense upon my introduction to THE PRODIGY.

fast forward a few years to high school and i am now at a boarding school in MASSACHUSETTS.  somewhere along the way i obtained the preceding album MUSIC FOR THE JILTED GENERATION (XL, 1994) which is songwriting-wise is less traditionally structured and more EXPANSIVE with harder-hitting UPTEMPO beats, COMPLEX POLYRHYTHMS and OBSCURE SONIC TEXTURES.  i was on a break staying with my uncle in BROOKLYN, who was then still working in lower MANHATTAN, and i was supposed to meet him somewhere near the WORLD TRADE CENTER for lunch before heading up to LINCOLN CENTER, where a charter bus was waiting to take me back to boarding school.  needless to say i missed the lunch and barely made the bus.  my experience was that i was listening to HARD-CHARGING  MUSIC FOR THE JILTED GENERATION tracks like "BREAK & ENTER," "VOODOO PEOPLE," "POISON," "THEIR LAW" and "FULL THROTTLE" while on the subway and loss track of time.  this was before cell phones were UBIQUITOUS and in my defense my watch's battery died, leaving it permanently stuck near noon.  my uncle called the police and national guard apparently and almost gave him a heart attack.  but yeah, i was somewhere else on planet JILTED GENERATION obliviously running around the city having a great time.  arguably one of my FAVORITE experiences in high school.  almost felt like FERRIS BUELLER running around seeing stores and visiting a museum in the process.

for me the music of THE PRODIGY is indicative of where my musical tastes permanently shifted and expanded upon leaving CALIFORNIA and first living abroad.  i have long wondered what i would have gotten into if i had stayed put in the UNITED STATES and not been subject to that IMMENSE CULTURE SHOCK at such a tender age.  i'll never know.

​embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the INFECTIOUS ELECTRONIC MUSIC of THE PRODIGY.  enjoy!

RIP KEITH FLINT

i mean the title says it all.  THE HAÇIENDA: HOW NOT TO RUN A CLUB (SIMON & SCHUSTER, 2009) book by LEGENDARY JOY DIVISION / NEW ORDER bassist PETER HOOK goes into excruciating detail about the MISMANAGEMENT and horrendously BAD DEAL-MAKING at the heart of one of the most CELEBRATED NIGHTCLUBS of all-time. 

for its part, the MANCHESTER venue THE HAÇIENDA out of dumb genius or FINANCIAL NECESSITY (one person was less costly then putting up a whole band), is credited with elevating the figure of the DJ in the 1980s to a pedestal they still hold in MODERN DANCE CULTURE to date.  inspired by the inclusive underground dance venues like the DANCETERIA in NEW YORK, THE HAÇIENDA sought to establish a similar void in BRITISH culture.  what is interesting is that it took nearly a decade and the melding of sorts with another DANCE CULTURE, that of the party isle of IBIZA, with its use of a new DRUG called ECSTASY, that saw the emergence of ACID HOUSE under its own watch and became the epicenter of a WORLD-WIDE DANCE PHENOMENON from roughly 1988-1990.

the narrative HOOK presents is one where NEW ORDER and its label FACTORY RECORDS basically stumbled into one CULTURAL SUCCESS after another despite their combined efforts to the contrary.  from the start, THE HAÇIENDA made NO FINANCIAL SENSE and its INSATIABLE need for CASH INFUSION throughout its history OVER-LEVERAGED all INVESTORS involved, including the band members themselves who were liable for any OUTSTANDING DEBT.  not NEW ORDER was overly concerned or involved enough in the day-to-day to see what a drain the operation was on their bottom line.  they lived in a COCOONED ALTERNATIVE REALITY with little interest or regard for the combined extracurriculars of manager ROB GRETTON and label head TONY WILSON, for them the venue was a clubhouse of sorts where they could hang out when back home in MANCHESTER from tour or recording.

like everything FACTORY-related, the whole enterprise was more of an ASPIRATIONAL ART PROJECT than a CALCULATED BUSINESS OPERATION.  as HOOK's other books about JOY DIVISION and NEW ORDER will attest, this naive modus operandi basically carried over to all BUSINESS ASPECTS of their career as guided by GRETTON and WILSON.  so much with THE HAÇIENDA was wrong from the get go.  the BUILDING itself with its high ceilings and rooftop was not conducive to a NIGHTCLUB in terms of SOUND or ATMOSPHERE.  FACTORY brought in a designer who OVERSPENT on the interior design.  they OVERPAID for a CRAPPY sound system.  OVERPAID for bands.  took out LOP-SIDED BAD LOANS.   made BAD BUSINESS DEALS with vendors and contractors.  the list is NEVER-ENDING.  but somehow  eventually nearly a decade in, it all worked despite itself.

until it didnt.

after the peak years of THE HAÇIENDA and the MADCHESTER scene, LOCAL GANG interest reared its head due to the money made on PARTY DRUGS and basically infiltrated the scene, which led to VIOLENCE and AGGRESSION that winnowed away regulars and provided OPPORTUNITIES for EMERGING rival VENUES to exploit.  the book is written in sequential year-to-year chapters with figures about REVENUES and EXPENDITURES as well as notes regarding event calendars and FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES for the coming year included in the mix.  you can see how it all financially spiraled out of control as well as the dominance of regular DJs over time.  it really is a REMARKABLE top-down look at a BUSINESS VENTURE that stayed afloat in spite of itself.

the question i keep coming back to in my mind is what would have happened if THE HAÇIENDA was actually run well throughout its run.  would it have been more PROFITABLE?  its GLOBAL  CULTURAL IMPACT more sustained?  could it possibly have been more successful?  somehow i doubt it.  the rolling SHAMBOLIC nature of the FINANCIAL ARCHITECTURE that propelled the VENUE had an energy all its own and the conspiring players in the midst all played a part in its success and eventual downfall.  despite everything, the long-defunct VENUE today is a BRITISH LANDMARK that still has an IMMENSE CULTURAL CACHE attached to it.  for a FAMOUS BUSINESS FAILURE, and it was surely that, it oxymoronically sure was a CULTURAL SUCCESS for the ages.  it is part of the ENDURING MYTHOLOGY of JOY DIVISION, NEW ORDER, FACTORY RECORDS and by extension MANCHESTER itself, just as much as OLD TRAFFORD or FREE TRADE HALL.