A Thousand Violins From Open Air

I'm a sucker for grindcore, metalcore and hardcore from Massachusetts. There's one guy whom I've had the pleasure of knowing for nearly a decade now, and has churned out bands, ideas and designs with a productive ferocity that I don't see often. To this day, I still miss my Ventilation Through A Grating t-shirt - a piece of cloth that represented the outlet for many of his collective projects and continues to thrive as a gateway to his crazy, creative mind.

The latest installment to note since the downfall of The Taste Of Silver is Heisai Yasokawa's EMPTY ORCHESTRA.

(In other news, Surkin is at Hearthrob right now, but I'm 4 hours away and going to sleep. It's midnight...let's be old.)

Speaking In Code

This is a long time coming. For years now, I've been hearing about what I'd already declared my favorite film of all time. Having been fortunate enough to see a raw screening several months ago with 4 other people, Speaking In Code - a film by Amy Grill that features David Day, Philip Sherburne and a vast array of genius within the techno genre in the last 15 years - surpassed all expectations. I wanted a film that would be an absolute apex of what electronic music means to me as well as everyone else. That inexplicable element of unity that surges through everyone a part of passionate music scenes (be it punk, techno and others) is indescribable, but Amy Grill has been able to capture enough and encapsulate it into a full-length documentary; an incredible story.

After the film, we will be partying our asses off at the Middlesex Lounge where Make It New - the greatest party on the planet Earth - will commence 'til 2am. After that, who knows? :)

For more information on the world premiere later today, and how to get tickets and attend, please check out the Facebook page here.

CHRISTOS ANESTI, Y'ALL

Today is the Greek Orthodox Easter. Come to think of it, it may be the Easter Sunday for all Eastern Orthodox religions (Russian and other nationalities that do not fall under the Roman Catholic realm). Hoping to break plates, drink ouzo and eat lamb from the spit, we will return to our regularly scheduled mischief come the new work week. The last 10 days or so were spent traveling, and while there are some interesting things to note it's worth it to just move forward. So, ONWARD...and OPA!

Who's [Not Really] Watching the Watchmen?

Often I lay down to sleep at an ungodly hour, knowing that if I don't pass out soon it's going to hurt in the morning. Nevertheless, a recent memory comes to mind and morphs into an inquiry which soon snowballs into a larger idea. That's when I find myself grabbing for my laptop in the dark so I can discuss...my thoughts on Watchmen.



Last summer, we had a small clique that went to see the Dark Knight a few times in the theater. One of the highlights was actually the first 10 seconds of the Watchmen trailer, where I believe a friend and I were the first two people in the packed theater to recognize it and gasped in long-awaited excitement. That we went home and immediately rewatched the trailer several more times was a common follow-up for many Dark Knight viewers, and considering the brilliant success that movie did, the popularity was seamlessly transitioned from Nolan's hand to Snyder's. Watchmen is, no doubt, an incredible book and would have garnered a great amount of promotion and attention on its own, but with the initially strong coattails of DK to hold on to, there was an even greater head start.

Days before opening weekend, I fretted a bit about not having a ticket. For the first time, I was insistent that it be IMAX and when plans had to be canceled on opening day I nearly had a minor panic attack. Eventually, I ended up seeing it (in IMAX) on the last showing of opening weekend. At times, it was one of the most loyal frame-by-frame depictions I'd seen, given that the Tales Of the Black Freighter series was taken out for the film, and the ending was altered...sort of. There were moments where the characters and scenery were so convincing that to see them come alive on screen was such a rush.

The part that boggles my mind tonight is thinking of how it's been about a month since the film's release, and no one seems to care. The Dark Knight had longevity that lasted nearly the whole summer (and perhaps that has much to do with the advantage of being a summer blockbuster), but it seems that my interest in this movie quickly waned. The quick decision was that it was/would be so good it required a second viewing, but it was much like mediocre sex: it did the trick, but by the time you've gone back to your apartment, taken a shower, and the fresh pot of coffee has brewed you are rather indifferent to the experience. Now the Black Freighter DVD is on its way and while Watchmen is still in theaters, it's really lost its explosive hype. Hardly anyone reviewed it as groundbreaking and life-changing, but I think most critics feel that it was a proper homage to something that required a rare form of dedication. I certainly do.

Stupidity, Alcohol and More Alcohol

FlowingData is a site on my personal RSS that I don't actually look at on a daily basis. It's reserved for late nights such as this where I'm not entirely prepared to go to sleep and I want to fill my brain with interesting but extremely trivial information about the world around me. FlowingData is also good for situations like this on late nights because it often offers snazzy visuals to make you go "ooooh."

I find this particular chart to be of most interest. I don't fully endorse it, and as friend commented that it is definitely a "touchy subject," I don't know...I wish Nickelback was much lower. (Literate/college graduates like Nickelback? Really?) Titled "Music That Makes You Dumb" it crosses genre with average SAT scores. The intro paragraph reads:

Virgil Griffith, a CalTech graduate student, follows up books that make you dumb with music that makes you dumb. "Dumb" people listen to Lil' Wayne and "smart" ones listen to Beethoven, that is, if you believe that SAT is a good judge of smarts. I'm not sure if this is actually new or just became popular again because it was in the WSJ. Virgil put up the book version over a year ago. Oh well, it's Friday. I'm personally all over the board on this one. What kind of music do you like?

For my source, you can go here. Two other charts that caught my eye was the world map of legal drinking ages (if any), and a display of where you can actually find the best beer in America.

Virginia Is For Lovers. Slanties Are For Assholes.

Whether I like or dislike something, I'm going to write about it here. Also, I especially prefer to explain myself when I highly dislike something because otherwise I really don't see why you would care otherwise. Why read the blog to find out what I do or do not like? It's more relevant to know the "Why" because it might open you up to a new idea. My subjects are usually tangible products, but the surrounding idea is priceless.

However, this post is an exception.



These are "slanties."
These are the hot new thing that might replace shutter shades once they launch in Baltimore on the 17th of this month.
THESE ARE FUCKING RETARDED AND IF YOU WEAR THEM YOU WILL LOOK LIKE AN ASSHOLE.

That's really all I have to say about that.
Don't be an idiot.

Website: Slanties

The Way Out My Ass

It's funny how the Los Angeles Times and I just don't agree on some things. The very first sentence of Laurel Maury's review of Jesse Ball's The Way Through Doors (Vintage) begins: "Jesse Ball's 'The Way Through Doors' is a lovely, unpretentious little thing -- about as promising and sweet as a second novel can be."

Rarely do I abandon a novel before reading it to the end. Something just doesn't feel right about it, but given the right (or wrong, rather) item I have been known to discard out of windows, burn with fire or simply put a book in the recycling. It happens so rarely that I find something so awful that I choose not to pass it on to someone with differing tastes that might enjoy it. Ball's second novel truly hurt the nerve endings in my eyes as they rolled harder within their sockets with such ferocity and frequency. Not pretentious? This is probably the most pretentious garbage I have ever read.

The metaphysical idea of a door is such an expansive subject to take on. It's an entrance. It's an exit. It's a portal. What's on the other side? What is on this side? Inject this into the personal lives and relationships of fictional characters and put them in settings from ministry offices to Coney Island boardwalks and you've got yourself a difficult format to tackle. I believe this book would be loved by all that appreciate the most abstract of novels, but while I endlessly love just about everything Borges has ever written I once again see how I am very much a cut 'n dry kind of story girl. I recently read Collins' Beginner's Greek and Harry, Revised, the debut novel from Elegant Variation blogger Mark Sarvas. Both were wonderful.

Is there an acquaintance that you generally avoid talking to because his or her storytelling seems to be solely for their own satisfaction, and not with any attempt to give you, their unfortunate listener, any rope to grab on to in their endless babble? Yes? Well, then you may have already read this book. The easy way out for me is to say that Ball simply falls too deep into abstraction and his poetic backbone that he abandons stories with his whimsical pace. I say this because while my instinct is "No, finish this book and then...then if you still declare its suckage, write about it"...I didn't. I returned it to the library from whence it came, and breathed a rather audible sigh of relief while doing so.

Kill The White Stripes

Actually, don't. I am a fan. Allison Mosshart - originally of underrated band Discount but better known for being one half of The Kills - has joined forces with Jack White of...come on, you know this one...to form The Dead Weather. With little out there, there's great intrigue. A writer friend spelled out the equation as such:

the white stripes = bluesy-rock two-piece
the raconteurs = the white stripes + "sensitive vocalist" + better drummer
the dead weather = the raconteurs + female vocalist

Could be true, but we can always see where it takes us. If Brody Dalle (The Distillers, Spinnerette...new album in June, y'all!) were to duo up with her husband and baby-daddy Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age), I imagine it to sound a lot like this two.

Ultimately, you can't deny that these are two charismatic and talented people. So much hotness to go around, too.

Trent Reznor, My Hero

It's been quite a while. There are so many good goodies to point out on the Internet that I've been meaning to mention, but I always figured that something big was going to come along to light that fire under my ass. To no surprise, Trent Reznor is the reason behind it.



In continued efforts to mock Chris Cornell for his awful new album, Scream, coupled with his horrendous attempt of sucking money out of everyone, Trent Reznor has a mock album titled Strobe Light. Not one chance to poke fun at Chris Cornell has slipped through the cracks. Enjoy!

I've also included the link to Reznor's Twitter profile. As much as I love/hate the web 2.0 social media frenzy, there are certain celebrities who sincerely use the site, and it allows them to seem so much more human. Reznor's is such the case, filled with complaints, nerd-outs and general passing thoughts...it's pretty fucking hilarious sometimes.

Website: Nine Inch Nails - Strobe Light
Twitter: Trent Reznor