The Barbarellatones Temple of Shiva, 2008
This stuff is like some future,
bastardized version of the Beach Boys, but tripped out in an alternate reality, to segue the passage of a cosmic deity from one plane of existence to the next. Imagine if Christ were alive and well to this day, having been made immortal, by the bite of an astrovamp centuries ago. He would be rocking the stage with these fellows. In fact, he may be one of them in disguise. Well streamlined, for the most beneficent mind-surfing endeavors, this music is as catchy as a bat hidden in your boxer shorts, for later release upon an unsuspecting crowd. Its theme is very much influenced by the Eastern traditions of India and plays well to a passerby on the street, from your boom box, as you are cruising Venice Beach for some hot ass. Namaste.
www.myspace.com/theofficialbarbarellatones
Hardwire - Glow-Room Records
Not only a band, but also a nascent paramilitary outfit, these gentlemen have mastered the industrial genre and are a leading force in the movement against musical pedantry. I managed to catch them at our own Central Saloon last month, just as their wave began to break. Uncannily enough, it was in that dead zone between revolutions, in which there should have been an entire arena full of crazed fans chanting their name, but rather was attended by a dozen odd adherents, one of whom had just come in from a nearby soccer game and was drunkenly dancing the running man, while wearing a sombrero. Go figure that they need more time to gain acclaim, and you’ll realize how right you are.
www.hardwirecentral.com
Machines Against Hunger
Sigsaly Transmissions Media, 2008
Disbelief may kill, and inaction upon the unknown may drive you to further lengths of somnolence, but in the matter at hand, this two disc compilation set, meant to expose the glamorous nefariety of the goth-industrial scene to a willing audience, any sense of absolution becomes rectified. Through this fortitude, are two dozen some odd tracks of material, that have shown themselves to be worthy of exposure to a large scale audience, of the same cabal, in this world’s collective consciousness. These espousements, garnering an enamoration of all that is absorbable, will go toward the ACF International Network’s, ‘Action Against Hunger Campaign’, with every purchase. Have at it.
www.myspace.com/machinesagainsthunger
TAD - Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears
This is as fresh as it gets. Christ
ventured down to Earth for a very singular purpose. It was to create a bloodline that would one day find itself in the sounds and images contained in this DVD. Back in the beginning there was a movement forged by bands such as Green River and Mudhoney, as well as the nascent act known as Malfunkshun. Led by the great Andrew Wood before his tragic and untimely death to a heroin overdose, came the eternal group Mother Love Bone. Their album, which has inspired ilk such as Jane’s Addiction, and Guns n’ Roses, was called Apple and its release turned the world’s eye upon our little hamlet of Seattle. Grunge was born.
Then came the big five. Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana, and Tad. Equally as good as the others in terms of both skill and intent, this cadre somehow managed to fly under the radar of conventionality to such a degree that when the world famous label, Sub Pop, signed them. They were an instant hit. The front man is an individual whose massive physique belies a voice only appreciated by the more truly benevolent angels. This film contains a masterful array of documentary, conceived in such a fashion that when you begin to understand what these people had to go through to arrive at their inevitable conclusion of worth, it all makes sense. Soldiers kill, butchers chop meat, and these guys venture into surrealism’s unknown by bringing back the music.
I won’t divulge any of the finer details, but suffice to say that what you will see may send your soul soaring to new heights of trepidation in a catharsis of pure euphony, just for the sheer pleasure of it. Also included are five outstanding music videos that will stand the test of time for their absolute expression in multimedia. The work has a collusion quality that eases the fact that dotcom yuppies have invaded our town and set up elite communities through the systematic destruction of all previous culture. In fact it may make you realize that the only reason for life is to live it, in order to find the true purpose that binds us as one.
Love what you see, because the first shot is always the best. If you were to meet Tad on that street, you would probably not recognize that he is one of the main hallmarks in the annals of our city’s history, but match him up with this program and you will realize that within the body, of what can easily pass as an everyman, lies a forge upon the crucible of will. The creature within hungers to be released and this video does it for ya. More than anything, we come to understand that through art, in all its variegated forms, comes a lesson of venture, in propagation. Go ahead and check this one out, for it’s education in musical history, with all the nuances therein is sure to guide you down whatever path it is you are walking on, with impunity.
www.myspace.com/tadrocks
Counting From Ten and Other Stories
Stone Pine Press, 2004
A few years back, I got wind that a local horror author would be doing a reading of his latest work at a Capitol Hill coffeehouse known as The Aurafice. On Halloween night, an intimate gathering of his fans assembled to hear him speak of fear and madness. His tone was calm and erudite. We were entranced. Over the course of an hour, the crowd was plied with a litany of ghoulish delight and was left wanting more. This came in the form of his first collection of stories, an accruement of cautionary tales meant to entertain and reveal. What lies beyond the other side is not necessarily what we are meant to unearth.
Recently, the two of us sat down to discuss the work therein. Michael is Seattle’s answer to Stephen King. His work has a class and variety to it that makes the reading quite salient, and the fact that its author hails from our region, provides an extra bit of sustenance. A couple of the shorts could easily be made into works of cinema, and oftentimes, you leave one thread without realizing that you’ve stumbled into the next. Fear and love are blended together, like the Masai tribe’s staple concoction of milk and blood. This collection will tantalize the palate of most anyone’s literary taste.
www.bloodletters.com
Rocket Roll - Killing Pig Records, 2005
The following is a brief segment of an alien transmission that was recently beamed into my subconscious memory banks, by a passing interstellar rawk n’ roll class freight carrier, whilst in slumber, now remembered for you to enjoy.
The Space Cretins have arrived from beyond the stars, come straight down out of the alpha-centauri quadrant on a stray gamma beam (6.7mhz), at which point their souls were solidified into light then corporeality, to eventually find their way to your soul. In the intervening duration, their collection of energy was decrypted and transposed into the form of a three man band, whose mission is to teach you how to love while high, and do so while putting on some of the world’s best rock shows. We hope that you continue monitoring their activities as we have found it is in their nature to give you what they enjoy best...supermutative, cyber-jived psychotropia for the stars to glow on. Transmission over.
www.myspace.com/spacecretins
