What's been spinning this week:Eugene Chadbourne: New Directions in Appalachian Music (pictured), with Phil Minton and Paul Lovens. Absolutely great. Am following it up at the moment with Della 5 Banger, some of his solo banjo rambles.
Diamanda Galas: Guilty, Guilty, Guilty (her new CD of songs/piano - the "Long Black Veil" cover works.
Brian Jonestown Massacre: My Bloody Underground. I can't figure out if I like this or not. Interesting sounds, interesting approach - but it almost feels like someone "faking" a sound, making weird music not as honest self-expression but as some sort of attempt to appeal to a demographic. I like bits of it, but I don't trust it. Yet. See "Just Like Kicking Jesus" on the link above (their Myspace).
Erin of Shearing Pinx and Her Jazz Noise Collective: Les Beyond. Proof that women can wank, too! (Solo electric guitar noise, some inspired bits of textural skronk and squiggling, and some stuff that just sounds like any ol' session of guitar noise. Really neat packaging, tho'!). Erin's touring with the Shearing Pinx right now, but those interested in Her Jazz stuff can come see i/i, with Peter Plett and Anju of Her Jazz, at Pub 340 tonight...
not digging the new brian jonestown massacre record- too meandering for my taste. that said, i have a pretty amusing Anton Newcombe story. A year, year-and-a-half-ago, OC Weekly did a story on Newcombe (http://www.ocweekly.com/music/music/not-fade-away/26403/), and for whatever reason I was compelled to write a letter to OC Weekly regarding the article, in which I declared it right on and said that Newcombe reminds me of a lot of my friends who live in the area in which he grew up- doped-up slackers whose lack of direction results in the kind of "near miss" status in their endeavors that Newcombe has repeatedly suffered from. A week or two goes by, my letter is published, I think nothing of it. One afternoon, I have a message on myspace- from some guy who is apparently friends with Anton. Apparently Anton was deeply offended by the article, but even moreso by my article. I guess he told his buddy to find me via myspace...not only that but he posted my myspace and livejournal on a BJM livejournal community and told people to attack me. Their reaction? 0 Comments. Anyways, the guy told me what an idiot I was, how Anton is a misunderstood genius who has feelings too, that I those who talk shit behind others backs should watch theirs, and that I was probably a "Starbucks drinking hipster who is more directionless than Anton will ever be." It wasn't until I realized you could block users that I was able to put a stop to it, and even then some mysterious user with different pictures of Anton as the main userpic kept trying to add me. I assumed at the time that this guy was just a friend or particularly nutty fan of Anton's, but my friend Ryan told me that on one of Anton's own myspace bulletins he posted pictures of me alongside pictures of George Bush and Hitler along with my myspace URL.
ReplyDeleteTo this day I can't listen to much BJM without rolling my eyes.
I would say that you touched a nerve!
ReplyDeleteDo you know Bev Davies? She's a famous Vancouver punk photographer, interviewed by me here:
http://alienatedinvancouver.blogspot.com/2008/02/bev-davies-never-too-late-for-punk-rock.html
She's a huge BJM fan, and really likes the new album. I'm going to forward your comment to her! Maybe she can attack you on Myspace...
Heh.
Eugene Chadbourne: the same E.C. that wrote for Maximum Rock N' Roll in the early 90's & contributed to They Might Be Giants' 1st album?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised. I know Eugene has written books, magazine articles, and entries for the All Music Guide; appearing in Maximum Rock'n'Roll seems a bit of a stretch, since he's not a punk, really (his range runs through avant-garde, jazz, country, folk, psychedelia, and a sort of cartoon/novelty music), but it's not impossible - he was signed, briefly, to Alternative Tentacles, if memory serves. As for collaborators, I don't really know what he's done with They Might Be Giants, but he's worked with the Violent Femmes - mostly Brian Ritchie and Victor deLorenzo, who back him up on a number of projects (most famously, CORPSES OF FOREIGN WAR, but it's very goofy and light - I'd recommend, for hardcore weird music enthusiasts, looking for their collaborations, say, on the INSECT AND WESTERN series. He also has done a lot of stuff with Camper van Beethoven (he's on the "Interstellar Overdrive" cover on III and did a bunch of projects with them under the moniker Camper van Chadbourne). He's one of my favourite musicians... Been listening to a lot of his solo banjo lately, which is often quite loony, but strangely soothing.
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