tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3857089976420731442024-03-15T21:09:54.063-04:00Fine Enough, I Supposea music blog: alternative country, rock, hardcore punk, metalThat Cheerful Soundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01394915264267227397noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-12109078190155870122024-02-29T22:44:00.002-05:002024-02-29T22:48:22.346-05:00Song Highlight: Black Tusk - Brushfire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y0h2RxoDJOo" width="320" youtube-src-id="y0h2RxoDJOo"></iframe></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I did not grow up listening to heavy music, but started to garner an appreciation for it in my later years of college and into my time in graduate school. Perhaps it was the air of frustration and stress that helped make dejected and angry music seem more appealing? The specific subgenre of metal that drew me in the most was sludge metal, with its combination of punk rock aggression and down-tuned distortion of doom metal. It is a style that wallows in a despondent groove, one that is largely devoid of the self-indulgent guitar theatrics that are a mainstay of a lot of heavy metal. One of the bands of the sludge metal style that first pulled me in was Savannah, Georgia's Black Tusk. They started out as a three piece with Andrew Fidler (guitar), Jonathan Athon (bass) and James May (drums). One thing that really drew me in was each member of the band would provide vocals to the songs, their varying vocal styles helping to add an interesting texture and variety to the songs. The band released four awesome full length albums before the untimely passing of Athon in a motorcycle accident in 2014. The band decided to continue on after the tragedy, honoring their fallen brother-in-arms with more gnarly riffs and pummeling drums.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">April 2024 will see Black Tusk releasing their second full length album since Athon’s passing, aptly titled <i>The Way Forward</i>. The first single from the album is called “Brushfire,” and it feels right at home with their rollicking legacy. “Brushfire” is able to take the murky oppressiveness of sludge and make it surprisingly catchy. This new album adds both Derek Lynch (bass) and Chris Adams (guitar) to the line-up. “Brushfire” is apparently Lynch’s first time performing abrasive vocalwork and you would not be able to tell it was his first foray into the territory. The song is over in a brisk 2 minutes and 22 seconds, but that means you can just start it over and listen to it again! <span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I am excited to hear what else </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Way Forward </span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">has to offer. April 26th cannot come soon enough!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Buy Black Tusk’s music <a href="https://blacktusk.bandcamp.com/album/the-way-forward" target="_blank">here</a>!</span></p>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-33352084983627573642024-01-31T23:52:00.007-05:002024-02-01T22:49:08.334-05:00Under the Dice Fest 2024<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsMa1vGEPca23auejMPvM7IvH0RSas_m_IWTfx_p1xRtJmW__fBYADdofn3pLJlIrIyyO6QkkKET_-7sBB6IGH15MUC0h758401A3civc9UQjluwKhS62KvkzpnutP2TrIWmug7LQ5Ub-9M1X3XMMny1rSPMGhHkDaF9mG9FOS5Ph6qZIa2W9JfMpoL_dV/s834/FLYER_UPDATED.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="834" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsMa1vGEPca23auejMPvM7IvH0RSas_m_IWTfx_p1xRtJmW__fBYADdofn3pLJlIrIyyO6QkkKET_-7sBB6IGH15MUC0h758401A3civc9UQjluwKhS62KvkzpnutP2TrIWmug7LQ5Ub-9M1X3XMMny1rSPMGhHkDaF9mG9FOS5Ph6qZIa2W9JfMpoL_dV/w400-h270/FLYER_UPDATED.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>On the last weekend of January, I was fortunate to be able to attend <a href="https://underthedice.com/" target="_blank">Under the Dice Fest 2024</a>, a small festival in Massachusetts celebrating miniature-based tabletop wargaming. The festival was designed to appeal to those who shy away from the mainstream iterations of the miniature wargaming hobby, focusing on those who want play the games on their own terms, sometimes outside of the scope of the game rules as written, or those who want to play old games which are no longer supported by their publishers. It is highlighting those who are more concerned with telling a story with the miniatures they build than with creating something that would be optimal in terms of a game’s rule system. A punk rock approach to the miniature wargaming hobby, if you will. Beyond the opportunity to play games like Mordheim (a fantasy skirmish game released in 1999 by Games Workshop, set in the remnants of a city destroyed by a comet), a host of musical performances were planned for Saturday evening. The musical guests were from around the New England area and thoroughly rooted in the underground music scene.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>The majority of the artists that performed fit somewhere in the ambient electronic/dungeon synth genre to provide a fitting backdrop to the games being played. The first performance was by <a href="https://basilisk-ost.bandcamp.com/album/into-the-city-of-the-damned" target="_blank">Basilisk</a>, who had composed a soundtrack for the New England Mordheim Open (NEMO) event in 2023 titled <i><a href="https://basilisk-ost.bandcamp.com/album/into-the-city-of-the-damned" target="_blank">Into the City of the Damned</a></i>. Basilisk is a solo musical project of IIII, though to perform live, IIII enlisted their friend Ryan to perform dramatic readings to accompany the music. It was exciting to hear live renditions of some of the material on <i><a href="https://basilisk-ost.bandcamp.com/album/into-the-city-of-the-damned" target="_blank">Into the City of the Damned</a></i>, and despite the gloomy nature of the music, it was evident that both IIII and Ryan were having a good time.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyrcm82xgKvTAcaSHndXzWmeiKmmrXVIx-5E0sP2zEuARtgdyrnlOy1J_tqB2e5xRtagiCa2x1g0AJaKptxk5bC6RJCS7irZoFffTBVqXxqeUV03I-dwfqKJkXvKqWwr9iJFE_IEgvUIjGZvgJathMpMWzutkevrCtDwyY71_7mqU3PajYJtQ7SLFUANC7/s4942/01_Basilisk_DSF1274.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3706" data-original-width="4942" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyrcm82xgKvTAcaSHndXzWmeiKmmrXVIx-5E0sP2zEuARtgdyrnlOy1J_tqB2e5xRtagiCa2x1g0AJaKptxk5bC6RJCS7irZoFffTBVqXxqeUV03I-dwfqKJkXvKqWwr9iJFE_IEgvUIjGZvgJathMpMWzutkevrCtDwyY71_7mqU3PajYJtQ7SLFUANC7/w640-h480/01_Basilisk_DSF1274.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">IIII sets down ominous beats as Ryan intones portents of our doom as Basilisk!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>The second performance was by <a href="https://ozeregroth.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-shadow-of-gloomspire" target="_blank">Ozeregroth</a>, a Providence, Rhode Island dungeon synth artist. They performed in a cloak and their face was adorned with corpse paint in the style of the black metal bands that helped define the dungeon synth genre. With a simple keyboard, Ozeregroth was able to whisk us away to forlorn corridors in a lonely castle.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs_ll9z_oRkUkAAJjBPloKR9YWNBVNnGifgGYLo-hdnhrwbksdPT3Xe7K7QNOSSWJUbwxLjWY3MgJFZL-5bPZsC_b2UTpguM7lkmyAY38i399oomy_d81nS_b-CgGAlFaTAkuxR_7jPTvRNZa4alCzDOh4tC__htQf6gpAo3kfQpY4pTPn2XAnyW3nv2LG/s4426/02_Ozeregroth_DSF1279.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3320" data-original-width="4426" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs_ll9z_oRkUkAAJjBPloKR9YWNBVNnGifgGYLo-hdnhrwbksdPT3Xe7K7QNOSSWJUbwxLjWY3MgJFZL-5bPZsC_b2UTpguM7lkmyAY38i399oomy_d81nS_b-CgGAlFaTAkuxR_7jPTvRNZa4alCzDOh4tC__htQf6gpAo3kfQpY4pTPn2XAnyW3nv2LG/w640-h480/02_Ozeregroth_DSF1279.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ozeregroth in solemn reflection, undoubtedly pondering lonesome winter nights and snowy vistas.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>The third performance was by <a href="https://unsheathedglory.bandcamp.com/album/a-journey-through-realm-and-region" target="_blank">Unsheathed Glory</a>, a dungeon synth artist from Boston, Massachusetts. Unsheathed Glory had never officially performed live before, though you would not have known based on how deftly they handled the keyboard, effortlessly transporting to a world of high adventure.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74b5C_alV-bf5hyhimUrkDV5939blLzWMDCDDBBFhVakrZ_cu6E-ivywuysfRtIaE8rjCEgpL2oD7D5rAFFvFtSmn85xvnlxHs3BABBAmRKHbkQLRzZTjrmgxYZhkbhTvvPpP4a2DM7TQiotXS9Quh_Xe9OLltKDUu81oPHAm4G-w75EPdQgD9h_38kHc/s5084/03_Unsheathed_Glory__DSF1289.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3813" data-original-width="5084" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74b5C_alV-bf5hyhimUrkDV5939blLzWMDCDDBBFhVakrZ_cu6E-ivywuysfRtIaE8rjCEgpL2oD7D5rAFFvFtSmn85xvnlxHs3BABBAmRKHbkQLRzZTjrmgxYZhkbhTvvPpP4a2DM7TQiotXS9Quh_Xe9OLltKDUu81oPHAm4G-w75EPdQgD9h_38kHc/w640-h480/03_Unsheathed_Glory__DSF1289.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Unsheathed Glory beckoned us to momentarily forget our troubles and be enveloped in warm and adventurous sound.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>The final dungeon synth performance (but not final performance of the night) was by the Worcester, Massachusetts dungeon synth band, <a href="https://sombrearcane.bandcamp.com/album/realmsong" target="_blank">Sombre Arcane</a>. The band consists of two members, Shane (Phranick the wizard) and Josh (Naginah the bard), both sharing keyboard duties. Throughout the performance, Josh played a plucked string instrument and some percussion, and Shane played guitar, nicely complementing the keyboards. It was quite the theatrical performance, with both thoroughly dressed the part, Shane in a cloak with a staff and sword and Josh in leather armor. Their brand of dungeon synth is one of adventurous grandeur, evoking more of the high fantasy vibe of the genre rather than the reflective tone of some dungeon synth artists.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3Ekwdj0r7AHap83GCtOq_CxvHdrNcgSRDw4Kn_V6VoyftOr-7Kql3QH8_O8RHVSRUcYE0kwqDJDwthyphenhyphennfpZPdDqZHd3gyvMVxJqo3WcosuMdFPHlvd8EKKNFsW0PzctdadvB47b1m49MWRpYp4uimXNXAGziop7CiQhpxI5Oe8NnQBEh5t-o8dD-7srm/s5320/04_Sombre_Arcane_DSF1433.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3990" data-original-width="5320" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3Ekwdj0r7AHap83GCtOq_CxvHdrNcgSRDw4Kn_V6VoyftOr-7Kql3QH8_O8RHVSRUcYE0kwqDJDwthyphenhyphennfpZPdDqZHd3gyvMVxJqo3WcosuMdFPHlvd8EKKNFsW0PzctdadvB47b1m49MWRpYp4uimXNXAGziop7CiQhpxI5Oe8NnQBEh5t-o8dD-7srm/w640-h480/04_Sombre_Arcane_DSF1433.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Phranick the wizard and Naginah the bard enchanted their audience with the sounds of high adventure. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The final musical act of the night was the Springfield, Massachusetts sludge metal band, <a href="https://chainedtothebottomoftheocean.bandcamp.com/music" target="_blank">Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean</a>. I had <a href="https://www.fineenoughisuppose.com/2023/05/song-highlight-chained-to-bottom-of.html" target="_blank">written about them last year</a>, shortly after they released the album <i><a href="https://chainedtothebottomoftheocean.bandcamp.com/album/obsession-destruction" target="_blank">Obsession Destruction</a></i>, which I can now safely say was my favorite metal album released in 2023. While the other musical acts of the night were melodic and auditorily pleasing, Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean was an oppressive barrage of guitar feedback, searing riffs, pummeling drumwork, and screeched vocals (in the best possible way). The sound system at the venue was dialed in perfectly to distinctly hear the contributions of each of the band members. Even the vocals were clear enough to make out the words the singer was screaming, a rarity amongst the metal shows. It did not take long for most of the room to be enthusiastically banging their heads to the audible misery erupting from the speakers.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSgNqdMLVN3S_g2nlvEHX8CjR8MAXPw5ZCfXJ9xVvI6unqy34BVE_FPebXz_aGa7zHoyHDz60v869mT9A9iI7vpxlzW-BeciL36YNbATn5cGDNdM0EW8kWcgD6FMMPyW_f1tqFoH1VNHhtF8N1U77R6u5E9oQ1ADx9Ov67x85AXWla_c4Bxv8_NIhqxrZ/s5080/05_Chained_DSF1494.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3810" data-original-width="5080" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSgNqdMLVN3S_g2nlvEHX8CjR8MAXPw5ZCfXJ9xVvI6unqy34BVE_FPebXz_aGa7zHoyHDz60v869mT9A9iI7vpxlzW-BeciL36YNbATn5cGDNdM0EW8kWcgD6FMMPyW_f1tqFoH1VNHhtF8N1U77R6u5E9oQ1ADx9Ov67x85AXWla_c4Bxv8_NIhqxrZ/w640-h480/05_Chained_DSF1494.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"<a href="https://youtu.be/AElBgHUttdU?si=FQs7ZQ_c7S-cNRFI" target="_blank">Walk into the room with nothing to lose. Watch how fast I fade. Watch me fucking seethe. Walk into my life then walk right back out</a>".</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9aDPJoaDFjKyGDqAm09mUsX9KTMzEBl6L5yqByOBl_ZMsdbYlgZSA2lQGlfqEtZanGDGo-8zB2nPo0co63wDzrivM5oce7JMKcPmSNMaVxwDI5QgdcVc4jfqrPmQfN2LF8qnYk_Jkm-619N33Yr9En4xOejy3gSI14SdXfJrViluW-4SR03LgjgrI0z7S/s5279/06_Chained_DSF1539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3959" data-original-width="5279" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9aDPJoaDFjKyGDqAm09mUsX9KTMzEBl6L5yqByOBl_ZMsdbYlgZSA2lQGlfqEtZanGDGo-8zB2nPo0co63wDzrivM5oce7JMKcPmSNMaVxwDI5QgdcVc4jfqrPmQfN2LF8qnYk_Jkm-619N33Yr9En4xOejy3gSI14SdXfJrViluW-4SR03LgjgrI0z7S/w640-h480/06_Chained_DSF1539.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean, playing music is grim work.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5X5yIHs3VrHlENK5ueZuQOah0jeRDz3VCuKBerGX9qK8Lt9Ji3TTGg8FFESpGW0F56gDdG9zo9GFTHg5ZznTD0xLLg2j8NzMHA-WqX7hy4Y7yvf-w6U3HdacaKhxEy-fjTwptAPaUxq0ZrWsC6yAJh-XXdkNFD46gE2x248AVUJumJ7BGB9BKwwKCVc74/s5547/07_Chained_DSF1601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="5547" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5X5yIHs3VrHlENK5ueZuQOah0jeRDz3VCuKBerGX9qK8Lt9Ji3TTGg8FFESpGW0F56gDdG9zo9GFTHg5ZznTD0xLLg2j8NzMHA-WqX7hy4Y7yvf-w6U3HdacaKhxEy-fjTwptAPaUxq0ZrWsC6yAJh-XXdkNFD46gE2x248AVUJumJ7BGB9BKwwKCVc74/w640-h480/07_Chained_DSF1601.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Misery loves company.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Under the Dice Fest was an awesome experience, combining two of my favorite things, music and miniature wargaming into a single event. I had not had the opportunity to see any dungeon synth artists perform before, though now I have seen a few! I am hoping to attend <a href="https://www.betweenthebolterandme.com/2023/04/dragged-into-turbolasers-northeast.html" target="_blank">Northeast Dungeon Siege</a> (a dungeon synth festival in Worcester, Massachusetts) in a few months to see even more!</div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-71330782300984386092023-12-31T23:58:00.008-05:002024-01-01T23:04:55.408-05:00Hole Dweller and Dungeon Synth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BGRhQurwMKk" width="320" youtube-src-id="BGRhQurwMKk"></iframe></div><p>Despite my love of angry and abrasive music, I have started to become more and more interested in somber and reflective music as a respite from the harshness of my normal listening regime. This interest arose from my discovery of experimental drone metal bands like <a href="https://youtu.be/HCh8O3aem5s?si=ZNFhgEjQ_VopNus4" target="_blank">Locrian</a>, who were mixing echoing drones with melodic post-rock guitar lines, all supplemented with crackling noise, guitar feedback, and sparse percussion. Locrian, along with other minimalistic drone bands like <a href="https://youtu.be/BIkzkc4C1JA?si=IkLdtcyM2YYJ9d6n" target="_blank">Earth</a>, helped show me that there was a whole world of compelling music outside of more conventional, vocally-orientated music. This discovery had me scouring music blogs and websites for similar work and the forerunners of the style, and somewhere in those searches I learned about the genre of ambient music. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>The name “ambient music” was coined by <a href="https://youtu.be/jl_z5JvrKlc?si=w05SB10eF-oQbKS5" target="_blank">Brian Eno</a> for a type of minimalistic electronic music which, in Eno’s opinion, needed to be "as ignorable as it is interesting". And while he did not pioneer the genre, he gave it a name and helped popularize it with his 1978 album <i><a href="https://youtu.be/vNwYtllyt3Q?si=Szy4nf4qsK5Q_dJt" target="_blank">Ambient 1: Music for Airports</a></i>, which he conceived to be meditative and relaxing music to be played in a bustling airport. He created it by splicing together sections of magnetic tape (with improvisational piano music recorded to it) in a loop and playing it on a reel-to-reel tape recorder to create repetitive sound patterns. Currently, the use of tape loops is not as common in music production due to the introduction of synthesizers, which can create the same sounds and tones without the fiddly work of splicing together tape. Despite the demise of tape loops, ambient music is anything but dead. It was taken up by extreme metal bands in the 1990s (most commonly in the genre of black metal) to serve as interludes between songs. These interludes were performed on synthesizers and often had an adventurous tone and a fantasy theme. Before long, musicians were recording and releasing entire albums of this fantasy-inspired ambient music, one of the most prominent artists being <a href="https://youtu.be/3KDMEiqi55s?si=e5UMP_64YiqMQgO-" target="_blank">Mortiis</a> (Håvard Ellefsen), a Norwegian musician that started his career as the bassist of the black metal band Emperor. This style of music has seen something of a resurgence in recent years, and has become known as Dungeon Synth.</p><p>One of the more recent Dungeon Synth artists that I have been listening to is a project called <a href="https://holedweller.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Hole Dweller</a>. It is the work of musician Tim Rowland, and it is themed around the fantasy creations of J.R.R. Tolkien, specifically the Hobbits of the Shire. The music is light and has a bold and undaunted tone to it, the sort you might imagine accompanying a young Hobbit embarking on a daring journey! To coincide with the holiday season and the winter season, a new Hole Dweller song was released, appropriately titled “<a href="https://youtu.be/BGRhQurwMKk?si=2giPh9z7twAxOSH7" target="_blank">Winterlude</a>”. It is a fantastic track to solemnly contemplate the end of 2023, and to reflect on your struggles and your accomplishments.</p><p>Buy “Winterlude” <a href="https://holedweller.bandcamp.com/track/winterlude-single" target="_blank">here</a>!</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-69160435869210235502023-11-30T23:51:00.005-05:002023-11-30T23:53:18.190-05:00Song Highlight: Dead Moon - Parchment Farm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UEDZQlVv0d0" width="320" youtube-src-id="UEDZQlVv0d0"></iframe></div><p>The world of rock and roll music is filled with great bands that never quite got the recognition that they deserved. Portland, Oregon’s three-piece garage rock band Dead Moon is a prime example. Formed in 1987 by singer/guitarist Fred Cole, singer/bassist Kathleen "Toody" Cole (Fred Cole’s wife), and drummer Andrew Loomis, Dead Moon forged a fiercely independent path through the music industry for more than 20 years. Musically, they combined the jangly guitar sound of the 13th Floor Elevators, the downtrodden sadness of country, and the urgency of punk rock into a musical construct that always felt like it was on the verge of falling apart. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>The song “Parchment Farm” is from Dead Moon’s first album, <i>In the Graveyard</i>, released in 1988. It is a cover of jazz pianist Mose Allison's "<a href="https://youtu.be/DB1CYXBSHP0?si=OQzd0A9gMypJ3DGg" target="_blank">Parchman Farm</a>," which is itself a reworking of a song of the same name by the Delta Blues musician Bukka White: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0cFcE4ogw-U" width="320" youtube-src-id="0cFcE4ogw-U"></iframe></div><p>White's song was about his own experiences in Mississippi State Penitentiary, also known as Parchman Farm, where he was sentenced to hard labor for being convicted of a self-defense shooting. Allison's reworking of the song bears little resemblance to White's, replacing the acoustic guitar and blues chords with a jaunty piano line:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DB1CYXBSHP0" width="320" youtube-src-id="DB1CYXBSHP0"></iframe></div><p>Allison's song is also about doing time on Parchman Farm (though Allison’s song is not autobiographical): </p><p>"Well, I'm sittin' over here on Parchman Farm. And I ain't never done no man no harm."</p><p>The song closes with Allison revealing that he will be on Parchman Farm for the rest of his life, because he shot his wife.</p><p>Dead Moon makes the song their own, sonically sounding very distinct from Allison’s song, with a driving drumline and a remarkably catchy guitar riff lording overtop. Fred Cole belts out Allison’s lyrics in a reedy shout, with Toody Cole yelling alongside in harmony. Unlike Allison’s song, Dead Moon wastes no time informing you that the song narrator shot his wife, revealing it in the second verse:</p><p> “Well, I feel like I'll be here for the rest of my life. All I did was shoot my wife.”</p><p>The song never lets up on its rollicking pace and is over in just 3.5 short minutes, beckoning me to hit the repeat button. I am not much of a fan of Mose Allison's "<a href="https://youtu.be/DB1CYXBSHP0?si=_YFOlVIf-_pRXGQ4" target="_blank">Parchman Farm</a>," but both <a href="https://youtu.be/UEDZQlVv0d0?si=9ObvfAOmzJD1AWM8" target="_blank">Dead Moon’s</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/0cFcE4ogw-U?si=KueqtioKjOsiI6Fl" target="_blank">Bukka White’s</a> are essential listening.</p><p>Buy Dead Moon’s music <a href="https://deadmoonnight.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">here</a>, and help them get the recognition that they deserve.</p>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-8642643246669728942023-10-31T23:30:00.001-04:002023-10-31T23:30:25.854-04:00Camping in Alaska - why can't i be snowing?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6XvQzyt0LQ0" width="320" youtube-src-id="6XvQzyt0LQ0"></iframe></div><p>Anyone who has stuck around here long enough will know that I have a soft spot for Midwestern Emo, a subgenre of emo music that does not necessarily hail from the midwest. The genre revels more in the melodic guitar lines of indie rock than the unrestrained anger of the emo’s forefathers in the hardcore punk scene. YouTube’s algorithms have done a great job of helping me find Midwestern Emo, with the band Camping in Alaska being one of the highlights. </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>When I first heard Camping in Alaska a few years ago, there was very little to be found online about them, other than their debut EP, <i>Please Be Nice</i> (2013), which was on YouTube. From reading YouTube comments, I gleaned that the band wrote and recorded the songs when they were 17, and the songwriter, Austin Davis, now hates the songs. There is a certain amount of youthful exuberance to the songs, tempered by a healthy amount of teenage angst and shimmering guitar lines. The vocals have something of an amateurish quality to them, unrefined and occasionally gruff, though that is the style that I tend to lean towards, so there is no complaint from me. A lot of the songs on the album are about hanging out with friends, unrequited love, and gradually realizing that you might not be as great of a person as you always thought you were. I can understand Davis looking back on things that he wrote at 17 and cringing a little, particularly when the songs have titles like “<a href="https://youtu.be/uFfToWMsT1c?si=ljSt30Qclvd2ffpx" target="_blank">c u in da ball pit</a>” and “<a href="https://youtu.be/KIX1cvQT4Gw?si=iEmDX3Pzk7ILwk80" target="_blank">there’s no “brian” in team</a>”. Regardless of Davis’ derision, the songs have an earnestness to them that stands out and resonates with me and, given the play counts on YouTube, a lot of other people.</p><p>My favorite track on <i>Please Be Nice</i> is the second track, “why can’t I be snowing”. The song opens with Davis’ gruffly singing about listening to the song “<a href="https://youtu.be/BqIrfc1JDOc?si=1_sXNEsaII_rrpbg" target="_blank">Pump Fake</a>” 3000 times. “<a href="https://youtu.be/BqIrfc1JDOc?si=1_sXNEsaII_rrpbg" target="_blank">Pump Fake</a>” is a song by the Pennsylvania band Snowing, a short lived emo band with twinkly guitar lines and whiny screamed vocals (they are essential listening). Lyrically, the song is concerned with Davis’ insecurity about the songs and music that he writes, and how they are not finding an audience: </p><p><br /></p><p><i>I listened to pump fake 3000 times</i></p><p><i>And thought about my friends for generations</i></p><p><i>Sitting home alone</i></p><p><i>After a fucking shitty show</i></p><p><i>Where no one showed up like they said they would</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Perhaps my favorite part of the song comes around 1:20 into the song where Davis screams “two, three, four” and then proceeds to the lines:</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Fuck this</i></p><p><i>Fuck everything</i></p><p><i>No one even cares</i></p><p><i>Oh how I wish that they would care</i></p><p><i>I hope that I die</i></p><p><i>So some people might</i></p><p><i>Listen to the songs I write or wrote</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Again, he is thinking about how no one is listening to the music he is writing. Though, he goes as far as wishing that he would die, thinking that maybe that would prompt people to care about his music. At this point, the song also reveals that beyond wishing he had an audience, he wishes that the person he is in love with would share those feelings for him:</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Now we're awakened staring at the ceiling I know it's hard</i></p><p><i>When you're young and feel as if the world is closing in around you</i></p><p><i>Now we're awakened different buildings and on different sides of town</i></p><p><i>You know I think about you but more than you think about me</i></p><p><br /></p><p>And finally, Davis explains that he wishes his band was the aforementioned Snowing, because then maybe people would love him and his music:</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Why can't I be snowing</i></p><p><i>Why can't you fucking love me</i></p><p><i>Why can't I be snowing</i></p><p><i>Why won't you fucking love me</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Even if no one seemed to care about Davis’ music when he was writing <i>Please Be Nice</i>, a lot of people seem to care about it now. The band just released a 3 song EP called <i>Hollow Eyes</i> and went on a short tour celebrating the ten year anniversary of Please Be Nice. Unfortunately, I did not learn about the tour until it was over. But, upon learning about their new songs, I discovered that they had released two albums after <i>Please Be Nice</i>, 2014’s <i>Bathe</i> and 2016’s <i>Welcome Home Son</i>, which I did not know about somehow . So, at least I have a bunch more of their music to keep me occupied with until they hit the road again. Apparently, the band fell apart after <i>Welcome Home Son</i> due to drug problems, with Davis struggling with a heroin addiction. The re-emergence of the band in 2023 hopefully means he was able to pull himself out of the prison of drug addiction. </p><p>Buy Camping in Alaska’s music <a href="https://campinginalaska.bandcamp.com/music" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-89990001981154678282023-09-30T12:33:00.004-04:002023-09-30T12:33:31.239-04:00Song Highlight: The National - Smoke Detector<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vACGIhzwUu0" width="320" youtube-src-id="vACGIhzwUu0"></iframe></div><p>“Music for people on the verge of a midlife crisis” is how I would describe the music of The National, the Brooklyn-by-way-of-Cincinnati rock band. They are not a band portraying the wistfulness of youth and young romances, rather they plumb the depths of adult life from unfulfilling jobs to stagnant relationships. They write songs about the banalities of a normal life, something that not many bands succeed in writing compelling songs about, or even try to do, for that matter. </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>One of the most striking things about the band is vocalist Matt Berninger’s deep baritone voice and his obtuse lyrics, brimming with specific details. Even if these lyrics are sometimes hard to interpret, the sentiment of the songs always shines through. I first discovered the band in 2007 shortly after the release of the album <i>Boxer</i>, which received a lot of critical acclaim and was the start of the band skyrocketing to indie rock stardom. It also largely marked the end of Berninger’s more unhinged vocal performances, where his baritone would meld into frantic shouting, as demonstrated in songs like “<a href="https://youtu.be/P1BjndTZvQY?si=1ETBrYUosG8SOw02" target="_blank">Abel</a>” and “<a href="https://youtu.be/vMrMFA2fMYs?si=80uqmIQeFoX89erG" target="_blank">Available</a>”. It was actually these songs that forced me to take a stronger look at the band, and helped me realize they were more interesting than another somber indie rock band.</p><p>The band’s last few studio albums have been beautiful, lushly arranged musical affairs that I have thoroughly enjoyed, though they have lacked some of the unrestrained energy of their earlier efforts. The National recently released their 2nd album of 2023, called <i>Laugh Track</i>, and the very last track is a searing 8 minute post-rock guitar epic called “Smoke Detector”. The song feels like a return to The National’s uninhibited rock songs, screaming guitars and militant drumming. While Berninger never starts yelling in the song, much of his vocal performance is an urgent rambling of images, the sort that I can only imagine him really letting loose in live performances.</p><p>Berninger had a <a href="https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-nationals-matt-berninger-talks-battling-depression-and-writers-block-3429125" target="_blank">bout of writer's block</a> during the worst of the COVID pandemic, which seems to be part of the focus of the song:</p><p>“Sit in the backyard in my pharmacy slippers</p><p>At least I'm not on the roof anymore</p><p>In a year or so, I hope nobody remembers</p><p>This, this run of episodes of my time on the floor</p><p>Need to recharge, light from the stars</p><p>Won't really reach anything, will it?”</p><p>He is glad that in this depressive episode he is no longer suicidal, and is hoping that no one remembers this low point in his life. With luck and good fortune, Berninger has found his way out of those dark times.</p><p>It is exciting to see that The National still has it in them to write the sort of songs that first drew me to them. I do not expect to see a return to this style for future releases, but maybe it is not out of the question.</p><p>Buy The National's music <a href="https://thenational.bandcamp.com/album/laugh-track" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-69546997653186077812023-08-31T22:48:00.002-04:002023-08-31T22:48:11.856-04:00Spanish Love Songs - Bellyache<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XjNN1TOdIRQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="XjNN1TOdIRQ"></iframe></div><p>Anger and sadness are the emotional states that I am most drawn to in music. But of these two, if I was forced to pick a favorite, I would have to choose sadness. It is an emotion that we are all forced to grapple with during our lifetimes, so it is something that everyone can resonate with in some capacity. Maybe it is the stage of my life that I am in, or my music snobbery, but happy music does not sound genuine to me. Fortunately, there is no shortage of sad music. The Los Angeles, California-based pop punk band Spanish Love Songs has been an ample supplier of sad music since I discovered them in 2018, shortly before the release of their second album, <i>Schmaltz</i>. Any devotee of melodic punk music will liken their sound to that of the early <a href="https://youtu.be/O-RZjxnaxSA?si=K8EFxtiD2ZSV1m6t" target="_blank">Menzingers</a>' releases, back when the Menzingers still had some gruffness to them, and dwelt in unhappy places. </p><span></span><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>Spanish Love Songs’ first album, <i>Giant Sings the Blues</i>, served as a means for the singer, Dylan Slocum, to explore self loathing, depression, and the pain of a failed marriage, whereas <i>Schmaltz</i> saw Slocum examining the ramifications of being in his 30s, miserably acknowledging that he has no plan to secure a happy future, as he continues playing house shows to a handful of people. Indeed, I was able to see them touring in support of <i>Schmaltz</i> at the now defunct Chameleon Club in Lancaster, PA, playing to a crowd of about 15 people. Slocum’s songs point a critical eye towards his own faults, and how they help keep him in a perpetual state of disappointment and unhappiness. Slocum has a knack for vividly portraying scenes and emotions, making them feel very specific, while being nebulous enough to feel relatable. </p><p>My favorite song from <i>Schmaltz</i> is called “Bellyache”. In the song, Slocum describes apathetically waking up another day in the arms of a stranger, realizing they are already another year older, and how nothing seems to matter: </p><p><br /></p><p>“Woke up far from home with a pattern on my face</p><p>Another night on the couch</p><p>TV on, I'm faced away</p><p>Another night in the AC</p><p>Trying to find some room to breathe in the arms of a stranger</p><p>But it is what it is and all this shit is worthless</p><p>Take the five to my name and I'll buy something frivolous”</p><p><br /></p><p>Slocum goes on to acknowledge that his depression and apathy is not something that is easily fixed:</p><p><br /></p><p>“Because I don't think I can fix this if I found God</p><p>And there's no drug in the world</p><p>That can possibly wash this off</p><p>Can't even go down to the river</p><p>And stick my fucking head in it”</p><p><br /></p><p>Musically, the song starts with rhythmic and spare drumming with a single guitar strumming, allowing Slocum’s vocals and imagery to take center stage. After the first vocal passage, the full band comes in with a fist-pounding intensity. When Slocum returns to the line about God not being able to fix his sadness, almost all of the instrumentation falls away but the hum of guitar feedback. This leads to a gradual build of a single guitar chord strummed repeatedly, in unison with the pounding of the drums until the song reaches a tremendous climax where Slocum is practically yelling, voice nearly cracking. The emotional heft is undeniable.</p><p>I found <i>Schmaltz</i> at a difficult time of my life, and every time I listen to it, I am wisped back to those times and emotions. I am thankful that Spanish Loves Songs was able to create an album that helped me find some kinship in those times.</p><p>Spanish Love Songs have just released their 4th studio album, <i>No Joy</i>. Musically, it is a slight departure from the melodic punk of their first three albums, adding a lot more electronic elements. As the album title suggests, the band has not abandoned their pessimism, though rather than wallowing in negativity, the songs have an air of hopefulness to them. If you have not given the band a listen, you should remedy that. You cannot go wrong with any of their albums.</p><p>Buy Spanish Love Songs' music <a href="https://spanishlovesongs.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-26536252424578074792023-07-31T23:12:00.001-04:002023-07-31T23:12:41.489-04:00Song Highlight: Left Lane Cruiser - Overtaken<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tKoVcbap9IY" width="320" youtube-src-id="tKoVcbap9IY"></iframe></div><p>As I had mentioned in a <a href="https://www.fineenoughisuppose.com/2021/05/song-highlight-junior-kimbrough-done.html" target="_blank">post about Junior Kimbrough</a>, I did not grow up listening to the blues. When I considered the blues, my mind sprang to middling and unexciting Eric Clapton songs. My true love was guitar-driven rock and roll music, and while I intellectually knew that rock and roll came from the blues, nothing that I had heard really sold me on that notion (other than maybe Led Zeppelin's cover of "<a href="https://youtu.be/JM3fodiK9rY" target="_blank">When the Levee Breaks</a>”). I have come to see the error of my ways, and it was from hearing bands like Left Lane Cruiser, an electrifying two piece blues rock band from Fort Wayne, Indiana. The band consists of Freddie “Joe” Evans IV on slide guitar and vocals and Brenn Beck on percussion (ranging from the traditional drum kit to a washboard). Left Lane Cruiser takes the hypnotic groove of the North Mississippi hill country blues, like the aforementioned Junior Kimbrough, and injects it with the frenetic energy of punk rock. Joe’s vocal style is a gruff and unrefined bark that sounds like it was raised on a little too much Jim Beam and Miller Lite, which is appropriate given his description of the music as “dirty drinkin’ blues”.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>To the fortune of lovers of live music, Left Lane Cruiser has toured across the United States tirelessly since their inception, stopping nearly everywhere from traditional venues to BBQ shops. They always make it a point of visiting Lancaster, a small city in Pennsylvania that I grew up near, and one that most musicians bypass on the way to larger cities like Pittsburgh or Philadelphia. Since I first saw them perform at a blues festival in Lancaster in 2019, I have been able to see them a total of seven times (a number that would almost certainly be higher if it had not been for the Coronavirus pandemic that put a halt to live music for a while).</p><p>They played at <a href="https://zoetropolis.com/" target="_blank">Zoetropolis Theater</a> in Lancaster this past Friday, and when they asked the crowd what songs they wanted to hear, I suggested “Overtaken”, one of my favorite tracks on their 2013 album <i>Rock Them Back To Hell</i>. To that request, they laughed and remarked that it was a song that they have never played live, but added that it was inspired by their time touring in Europe. Whenever one of their hosts would urge them to pass another vehicle on the road, they would say “overtake this motherfucker.” Brenn added that “overtake” sounds a lot cooler than “pass”, and I tend to agree. With a little luck, they will try to incorporate the song into their live repertoire in the future.</p><p>The song does a good job of showcasing Bren Beck’s unconventional use of percussion, with the prominent use of a cow bell throughout. And while Joe’s guitarwork is central to the song, it is a slightly more reserved loping rhythm that allows some of the focus to be on Brenn’s drumming. Lyrically, the song is pretty funny with some choice lines like “the police breaking down, shaking down with technology, baby yeah. You get a ticket in the mail, say they caught you on photography.”</p><p>If you have not done so yet, <a href="https://www.alive-records.com/artist/left-lane-cruiser/" target="_blank">buy a few of Left Lane Cruiser’s albums</a> and try to catch them live whenever they come to town!</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-63594649626612241302023-06-30T21:52:00.006-04:002023-06-30T21:52:56.603-04:00Nightlands Festival<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyXmj4wxVgAhsXrluyWs-j3awAiPzGYoDca1keuBOsXBpMvxBcdBegfwlInqV6ea8EffcIguftyM_8edHV1LhZAyNBm7r7ie0twzfZC6nLPMzPe_jU0T3560p162r5IlsQcfin7xGoeu_anptsWtY0wPmSU1srgEdi-L2-9OkMZ0bvGwHJFjrV-ymEpi4/s871/Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="871" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyXmj4wxVgAhsXrluyWs-j3awAiPzGYoDca1keuBOsXBpMvxBcdBegfwlInqV6ea8EffcIguftyM_8edHV1LhZAyNBm7r7ie0twzfZC6nLPMzPe_jU0T3560p162r5IlsQcfin7xGoeu_anptsWtY0wPmSU1srgEdi-L2-9OkMZ0bvGwHJFjrV-ymEpi4/w400-h181/Logo.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Anyone who has been to shows will be able to recall a handful of formative events in their lives, ones that astounded them and set the standard to which they measure all other experiences. I can safely add the Nightlands Festival to my own list of formative experiences. Nightlands is a festival dedicated to celebrating supernatural horror in literature through live spoken word readings of weird fiction, all set to music composed specifically for the stories and performed live. </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>The Nightlands Festival took place on June 2nd and 3rd, 2023 at the Kathedral Event Center in Hammonton, New Jersey, and was organized by the indomitable <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records</a>. As a record label, <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records</a> has been tirelessly promoting weird fiction, both newer and older authors, with amazing spoken word recordings of short stories, each with their own musical accompaniment. Since their start in 2015, they have produced a staggering number of releases featuring classics by H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, Clark Ashton Smith, and M.R. James, along with newer authors like Thomas Ligotti, Jon Padgett, and Matthew M. Bartlett. They are able to bring the stories new life by pairing them with the perfect voice and adding a suitably ominous musical soundscape. <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records</a> has hosted a few performance events in the past where they recreated some of their record releases live with the associated vocal talent and musician/composer performing to a live audience. I have been fortunate enough to attend two of these events, Jon Padgett, Chris Bozzone, and Barry Knob performing Thomas Ligotti’s “The Bungalow House” and the same cohort performing Thomas Ligotti’s “The Clown Puppet.” Both of these were tremendous experiences, with the prior introducing me to both the work of Thomas Ligotti and Jon Padgett. The Nightlands Festival was <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records</a>’ first large scale live event, spanning two full days with performances of more than eight of Cadabra’s record releases, spanning numerous vocal talents and musicians. Beyond just celebrating the auditory component of Cadabra Records, many of the artists Cadabra has featured were able to attend the event, as well.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhINQZekfYjXmWCWWHGZBjvNWnaIwxzzkMhzMwYRH4MxUWFKxF0W7zvJMLtRsVLGurNvu2zWAlndOIFvAQez9iLlyhmu5kNytS5Oxpz_hjwFiKOLizgdEoGskXf95wRyHKdJCoaQnSdjQ4DtWSIQ3SS7MVkTHOxvZDhdJHoqNwHKBdN6hhlyRVOo23e6Rcr/s6240/Nightlands_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="6240" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhINQZekfYjXmWCWWHGZBjvNWnaIwxzzkMhzMwYRH4MxUWFKxF0W7zvJMLtRsVLGurNvu2zWAlndOIFvAQez9iLlyhmu5kNytS5Oxpz_hjwFiKOLizgdEoGskXf95wRyHKdJCoaQnSdjQ4DtWSIQ3SS7MVkTHOxvZDhdJHoqNwHKBdN6hhlyRVOo23e6Rcr/w640-h426/Nightlands_01.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Nightlands festival was held at a repurposed Catholic Church!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Day 1: Friday, June 2nd</p><p>I attended the Nightlands Festival with my brother Eric (who took all the pictures in this post) and a close friend, and we arrived early Friday afternoon at the Kathedrel Event Center, an old Catholic Church that has been turned into a venue. It seemed very appropriate to hold an event celebrating supernatural horror in the belly of a cavernous old church. The far end of the building featured a large stage with a table situated at the center for the vocal performer to sit and read, and then two other tables behind to the left and right, one for Barry Knob’s sound equipment and synthesizers (Knob has produced and provided musicianship to a sizeable number of Cadabra releases) and the other for Chris Bozzone’s musical equipment (Chris performed the music for the majority of the weekend). To accommodate the audience, a huge arrangement of sturdy fold up chairs (enough for at least 300 people) took the place of what surely had been pews when the venue had been a church. At the back of the main room, a collection of tables was set up for vendors, including the venerable Hippocampus Press and a number of the artists Cadabra has employed over the years: Jeremy Hush, Paul Romano, Dave Felton, Matthew Jaffe, and Josh Yelle.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeCKBRpVMrBw0E--FQ62lI3evpyOxmdwgkBQ13olMsXtSAiMnfkkas1QGqf0S3FVG3gUwiFBQ7leGvfMFQkkIeaUGsYsHsXQe8lc1-NgFqKBWy4v2ahkE3-iqpERrhF3N0o9xCgYnVgDFBELuQ5AGrz2ctqfOhj2hnHHOkYJYHoG_TREpkJSVxN1X5MZW/s6240/Nightlands_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="6240" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeCKBRpVMrBw0E--FQ62lI3evpyOxmdwgkBQ13olMsXtSAiMnfkkas1QGqf0S3FVG3gUwiFBQ7leGvfMFQkkIeaUGsYsHsXQe8lc1-NgFqKBWy4v2ahkE3-iqpERrhF3N0o9xCgYnVgDFBELuQ5AGrz2ctqfOhj2hnHHOkYJYHoG_TREpkJSVxN1X5MZW/w640-h426/Nightlands_02.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>The day began with the story “Count Magnus” by M.R. James. Excitingly, the story was introduced by literary critic S.T. Joshi, who is perhaps the world’s foremost expert on supernatural horror in literature. Joshi touched upon the interesting life that James led, having lived seemingly three very productive lives, as distinguished medieval scholar, as professor at Cambridge University, and as a writer of ghost stories (for which he is now best remembered). The story was read by Robert Lloyd Parry, a literary storyteller who specializes in readings of M.R. James’ work. Music was performed by Chris Bozzone with Barry Knob monitoring audio levels and providing extra atmospherics. It is a great story and perhaps one of my favorites of Cadabra’s recent releases. In it, the narrator describes a series of papers that they acquired, written by a British travel guide writer (Mr. Wraxall) describing a single experience in Sweden, the account of which terminates shortly before Wraxall’s own death. His time in Sweden takes him to an old manor house which had been in the domain of Count Magnus De la Gardie, who went on the Black Pilgrimage in a quest for eternal life. Wraxall’s own quest for knowledge pertaining to the Black Pilgrimage and the Count proves to be his undoing. The story was a fitting way to start the weekend, as it did an apt job foreshadowing the entire event. It is a story with a careful eye for detail and historical context, and features a ghost that is not an ectoplasmic phantom. Like all of the weird tales performed at Nightlands, it eschewed the trappings of popular horror fiction, making for a much more unsettling and unearthly experience.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOssrhzmeFXl4PuXPLWTm3LLQWd28ih9fUjAxht5KyoDELKyIHIvK5Kmwl5HsN_lgdjDyV7RY0lNI01Bug0eha5zCUB0g_tSxjgiCrnkbduEcpfdHl2j1PSkpb455YL33_tOmTF4BYf9BQyGIOEBft0jk-7yjbcfhFTBDP6Tq6hPLv7chNJ_R0caagtsD/s4619/Nightlands_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3464" data-original-width="4619" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOssrhzmeFXl4PuXPLWTm3LLQWd28ih9fUjAxht5KyoDELKyIHIvK5Kmwl5HsN_lgdjDyV7RY0lNI01Bug0eha5zCUB0g_tSxjgiCrnkbduEcpfdHl2j1PSkpb455YL33_tOmTF4BYf9BQyGIOEBft0jk-7yjbcfhFTBDP6Tq6hPLv7chNJ_R0caagtsD/w640-h480/Nightlands_03.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Robert Lloyd Parry enchanting us with his reading of Count Magnus: “His besetting fault was pretty clearly that of over-inquisitiveness, possibly a good fault in a traveller, certainly a fault for which this traveller paid dearly enough in the end.”</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The next story of the day was Thomas Ligotti’s “The Clown Puppet” read by Jon Padgett with music performed by Chris Bozzone and atmospherics again by Barry Knob. I had the pleasure of experiencing a live performance of the story in July of 2022 at Barry Knob’s recording studio, Retro City Studios. I was eager to hear the story again, as Padgett is an incredible performer, able to apply just the right intonation to each word to evoke the appropriate emotion. In the story, the unnamed narrator describes how his life has been punctuated by visitations from a puppet in the guise of a clown, each of these visitations while he is employed at mundane and lonely jobs, every visitation at a new place of employment. These visits, the narrator suggests, demonstrate how their existence consists of nothing but the most “outrageous nonsense”. In describing one particular late night visit at a medicine shop, the narrator comes to suspect that there is nothing unique or special about his puppet visits, or his life in general. I was again thrilled with Padgett’s ability to fully take on the essence of the character in the story, capturing their changing moods, from resigned acceptance to barbed sarcasm. Padgett’s performance was complemented by the layer of synthesized atmospheric sound the Bozzone was performing, punctuated by solemn piano, mounting throughout the story to mimic the mounting distress of the narrator.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglJ_In9PHfcbBrrr7MOU3VGWUdPAiWS19WX4-QmgMx8OZoiPS-gdw9ctcv9cGvG3yN6K7xcL8RMIkh1GKbn6J3i18qQl8v119XpiDPJK9GO7L7K3qy96Ge9Ap_sEBIv8kHrcS-ZjAnGpA_wnyj7sYHZWDKcjiLhJJx2HAoJMarrSFQIGOjivUJdHJsPZ5/s6074/Nightlands_04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4049" data-original-width="6074" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglJ_In9PHfcbBrrr7MOU3VGWUdPAiWS19WX4-QmgMx8OZoiPS-gdw9ctcv9cGvG3yN6K7xcL8RMIkh1GKbn6J3i18qQl8v119XpiDPJK9GO7L7K3qy96Ge9Ap_sEBIv8kHrcS-ZjAnGpA_wnyj7sYHZWDKcjiLhJJx2HAoJMarrSFQIGOjivUJdHJsPZ5/w640-h426/Nightlands_04.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jon Padgett, with the help of Barry Knob (left) and Chris Bozzone, demonstrates the nonsensicality of our lives with a spirited performance of “The Clown Puppet”.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Along with a performance of “The Clown Puppet”, Padgett also read Thomas Ligott’s “The Red Tower”. It is another remarkable story, where the narrator describes a deserted three story factory of crimson brick (the titular Red Tower) and its history of creating grotesque novelty goods. The narrator believes that the Red Tower was constantly at war with the barren and greyish desolation of the surrounding landscape, positing that the factory only gained its red hue as a means of defiance to the greyish landscape. The desolate landscape attempted to reclaim the Tower and return it to nothingness, leading to the evaporation of all of the Tower’s manufacturing machinery. The amount of information the narrator knows about the Red Tower, and in exquisite detail, is surprising given the apparently clandestine nature of its operations, and calls into question the veracity of their statements.</p><p>The day also featured a performance of Edogawa Rampo's “The Human Chair” read by Laurence R. Harvey with music by Slasher Film Festival Strategy, and H. P. Lovecraft's "The Lurking Fear" read by Andrew Leman, with music by Chris Bozzone. Come back in the near future for a more complete write-up about these performances, and discussion of the second day of the festival!</p>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-44843696425195097282023-05-29T20:34:00.001-04:002023-05-29T20:42:02.379-04:00Song Highlight: Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean - The Chalice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sJgOBMWyIxE" width="320" youtube-src-id="sJgOBMWyIxE"></iframe></div><p>The prolific Louisiana sludge metal band Thou have a song on their first full length album called "<a href="https://youtu.be/EtA7J2aAovU" target="_blank">Fucking chained to the bottom of the ocean</a>". The song does an excellent job of giving a sound to the bleak oppressiveness of confinement. There is something extremely evocative in the song title alone, conjuring images of someone eternally shackled in the icy darkness below the ocean’s lapping waves. The Massachusetts sludge metal band Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean must have thought as much, as they most certainly took their name from the song. If we needed any more evidence that Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean are fans of Thou, they recorded a cover of “<a href="https://youtu.be/qpjO1Xn7UiQ" target="_blank">The Chain</a>” which <a href="https://youtu.be/D3crXD4ezAs" target="_blank">Thou and The Body performed at the KEXP studio</a> in 2015, which is a cover of Fleetwood Mac's classic "<a href="https://youtu.be/JDG2m5hN1vo" target="_blank">The Chain</a>".</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>After a series of excellent EPs, Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean have just released a full length album called <i>Obsession Destruction</i>. I have spent a lot of time listening to it in the two weeks since its release, and have been very impressed with it. Like the band Thou, Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean are able to combine elements of crushing ugliness with moments of melodic beauty, creating some very affecting songs. The album artwork for <i>Obsession Destruction</i> is equally impressive, a commission from the late <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mariusz_lewandowskiart/" target="_blank">Mariusz Lewandowski</a>, which features a trapped deity trying to tear its way out of a veined amniotic sac. It is an image that feels right at home with Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean’s oppressive music. </p><p>It is hard for me to choose a favorite song from the album to talk about, but I have decided to write about “The Chalice”. This is a song that I first heard a snippet from the opening of the podcast <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/2o4NlAulKi4URrqyeMqx60?si=5c34461af286408d" target="_blank">Hive Scum</a>, a podcast dedicated to miniature wargaming with a focus on things both grim and dark.</p><p>“The Chalice” begins with some controlled feedback and deliberately held out guitar riffs and percussion, until it reaches a confident stride with a gnarly guitar riff complemented by vocalist's harsh rasps. The galloping pace recedes back into feedback and the controlled riffage.</p><p>When the vocalist starts singing again, they are describing a dire situation of some personal duress:</p><p>“Your grip is iron.</p><p>Blood slips from my teeth.</p><p>You pour over me</p><p>until I am broken.</p><p>Melted, mended, innocent.</p><p>The last time I'll cry</p><p>until I see God.”</p><p>As the song comes to an end, the instrumentation falls away, and is replaced by a distorted guitar riff, and the vocalist screams something that sounds like “fuck”, and the entirety of the band picks up again in an intensity that will surely cause anyone in the pit at a live performance to go wild. The vocalist projecting his vitriol with the final searing pronouncement:</p><p>“When I meet my maker,</p><p>he'll have to kill me twice.</p><p>No more forgiveness,</p><p>just a hole in my life.”</p><p><br /></p><p>If you like harsh and uncompromising music, you should not sleep on Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean! </p><p>Find their music here: <a href="https://chainedtothebottomoftheocean.bandcamp.com/album/obsession-destruction">https://chainedtothebottomoftheocean.bandcamp.com/album/obsession-destruction</a></p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-54733383430853220642023-04-30T18:05:00.001-04:002023-04-30T18:05:52.605-04:00Song Highlight: The Birthday Party - Junkyard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8U9eu3nm3dg" width="320" youtube-src-id="8U9eu3nm3dg"></iframe></div><p>One of the first bands that showed me that a band could be aggressive without resorting to death metal growls and down-tuned guitars was <a href="https://youtu.be/w8C14NGeloI" target="_blank">Big Black</a>, Steve Albini's punk rock band from the early to mid 1980s. The clanging and screeching guitars coupled with the monolithic pounding of their Roland TR-606 drum machine created an intense listening experience the likes of which I had never heard before (I discovered Big Black after graduating college in 2009, while reading Michael Azerrad’s book about the American underground music scene in the 1980s, <i>Our Band Could Be Your Life</i>). That discovery helped introduce me to the world of noise rock, specifically to the band <a href="https://youtu.be/PZLK1DtPgHA" target="_blank">The Jesus Lizard</a>, with the unmatched vocals of David Yow, his stuttering yelps and wails ornamenting the muscular power of the band’s rhythm section and the minimalistic metallic sheen of Duane Denison’s guitar playing.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>I have always known that music does not emerge in a vacuum, and that people take influences and craft them into their own unique visions, but this fact made itself abundantly clear to me in the last few weeks as I have been listening to the Australian post-punk band, The Birthday Party. After listening to their song “Junkyard" from their 1982 album of the same name, I can't help but think that Albini was taking cues from the Birthday Party. In the song, Rowland S Howard’s guitar has a clanging screech to it as it is propelled forward by Tracy Pew's pummeling and ominous bassline. All the while, vocalist Nick Cave’s warbling baritone occasionally morphs into shrieks about being “the king.” Here again, I would be surprised if David Yow did not take some inspiration from Nick Cave to help fashion his own unmistakable vocal style.</p><p>There is a live version of “Junkyard” from 1982 that is readily available on Youtube that manages to capture all of the intensity of the album version, if not more. All of the band members exude a sort of casual disinterest, most of them having cigarettes hanging from their mouths. Cave saunters around the stage thrusting his hips around and flailing his arms, as he yells about “garbage being in honey’s sack again”. As the song reaches its climax at about 4 minutes and 20 seconds mark, bassist Tracy Pew gets lost in the sound, arching backwards and vibrating to the point where his cowboy hat falls off and he topples over. On the ground he keeps playing, thrusting his pelvis around. The whole performance is really something to see.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UhecfKyKxfU" width="320" youtube-src-id="UhecfKyKxfU"></iframe></div><p><br /></p><p>If you are not familiar with the Birthday Party, but are a fan of abrasive punk rock, you should check them out!</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-62813775663516800652023-03-31T21:27:00.006-04:002023-04-30T18:06:05.761-04:00Song Highlight: The Goddamn Gallows - In League with Satan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3UCkDoa3kL8" width="320" youtube-src-id="3UCkDoa3kL8"></iframe></div><p>A few months ago, I wrote about <a href="https://www.fineenoughisuppose.com/2022/11/song-highlight-iv-and-strange-band-train.html" target="_blank">IV and The Strange Band</a>, and their ability to combine a host of disparate sounds to make compelling music. The Goddamn Gallows from Detroit, Michigan are another band that are able to do this with aplomb. In the simplest sense, the Goddamn Gallows are a folk punk band, but they take their sound well beyond those confines by adding bluegrass and metal, all with a sort of rollicking mania. They have released seven albums since their formation in 2004, with their style gradually evolving from the rockabilly (self-described as gutterbilly) of their earlier albums to the darker and doomier sounds of their newest records. All of these sounds have been tested and perfected on the road with a relentless touring schedule (I was lucky enough to see them open for <a href="https://youtu.be/XNzzb9fK6cA" target="_blank">Weedeater</a> in Baltimore in 2020).</p><span></span><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>The Goddamn Gallows has taken to ending their live shows with a searing cover of Venom’s “<a href="https://youtu.be/D5wUr4Lut4A" target="_blank">In League with Satan</a>” (Venom is a legendary English metal band that helped coin the term black metal). For the cover, their drummer (who goes by Baby Genius and looks a little like a cross between Steve Buscemi and an emaciated Post Malone) gets up from behind the drum kit to provide vocals for the song. Rather than sing, Baby Genius has a piercing shriek that makes the song seem far more hostile and menacing than the original. If Satan were real, I think he would be proud.</p><p>Support the Goddamn Gallows as they <a href="https://www.thegoddamngallows.com/tour" target="_blank">scour the USA on their tour</a> this April through July!</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-41426641934463523152023-02-28T23:55:00.004-05:002023-03-01T20:46:51.098-05:00Song Highlight: The Mountain Goats - Autoclave<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jFrC1c5hbeA" width="320" youtube-src-id="jFrC1c5hbeA"></iframe></div><br /><p></p><p>Last month, I wrote about John Darnielle of the folk rock band the Mountain Goats. Now a full month later, I am still listening to his music on a regular rotation, so I want to talk about another of his songs. He is an excellent lyricist, often coming up with clever analogies to help sell his stories. This is on display in the song “Autoclave” from <i>Heretic Pride</i>, where he describes his heart as an autoclave. For those unaware, an autoclave is a device that uses pressurized steam to sterilize glassware and surgical implements for medical and scientific purposes. </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><br /></p><p>“Hand me your hand, let me look in your eyes</p><p>As my last chance to feel human begins to vaporize</p><p>Maybe it's the heat in here, maybe it's the pressure</p><p>You ought to head for the exits, the sooner, the better</p><p><br /></p><p>I am this great, unstable mass of blood and foam</p><p>And no one in her right mind would make my home her home</p><p>My heart's an autoclave.”</p><p><br /></p><p>Darnielle is describing his love and affection as something that destroys anything it comes into contact with, much like an autoclave will devastate any bacterial strain. I find it a very unique way of approaching a love song, and one devoid of the platitudes of the common love song. It actually has something to say, rather than just being a throw away track to fill out an album.</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/BQneGlBna7E" target="_blank">My favorite version of the song</a> is a live recording of Darnielle playing to a handful of people on an acoustic guitar. He really puts his all into the song, adding to it a real sense of urgency that makes the song shine ever brighter. I always gravitate towards musicians that are earnest, and Darneille radiates earnestness in the live recording.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BQneGlBna7E" width="320" youtube-src-id="BQneGlBna7E"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><div><br /></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-47161359734897235162023-01-31T23:57:00.002-05:002023-02-01T00:07:27.067-05:00Song Highlight: The Mountain Goats - Lovecraft in Brooklyn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZqULKXftGM4" width="320" youtube-src-id="ZqULKXftGM4"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>When considering prolific songwriters, John Darnielle of the folk rock band the Mountain Goats quickly comes to mind. Since the Mountain Goats’ inception in the early 90s they have 21 studio albums and countless other releases, ranging from their early recordings that were largely just Darnielle, an acoustic guitar, and a Panasonic RX-FT500 cassette deck Boombox, to more refined recordings with a full band. Darnielle has a talent for painting flawed and realistic characters in his songs, whether that is him putting his own demons on display or crafting a character to fit the story he wants to tell.</div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div><br /></div><div>There are so many great Mountain Goats’ songs that deserve discussion, though the one I ultimately decided upon was “Lovecraft in Brooklyn” off of 2008’s <i>Heretic’s Pride</i>. The song is propelled by prominent baseline, clattering percussion, and strident guitarwork, all helping to display a sense of paranoia and anxiety. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lyrically, the song is about someone feeling alienated from society and others, feeling like an outsider and struggling to find companionship. To help sell this notion, Darnielle compares it to H.P. Lovecraft and his time living in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. Lovecraft was an American author of supernatural horror fiction, now world-renowned for his bleak outlook on life and humanity’s insignificance in the universe. While the impact of Lovecraft’s work on the horror genre is undeniable, a discussion of his work is not complete without acknowledging his virulent racism. Lovecraft’s racism was born of his fear of immigrants, which came to a head when he left his childhood home of Providence, Rhode Island to live with his wife in New York City. He had hoped the move would inspire him, but instead he found a crippling sense of oppression and horror. When Darnielle says the character in the song feels like Lovecraft in Brooklyn, that simple description goes a long way towards describing their mental state: ostracized, alone, and terrified. As the song progresses, Darinelle’s vocal delivery becomes more anxious and unhinged. When he sings “Woke up afraid of my own shadow. Like, genuinely afraid,” you can feel an almost palpable level of distress.</div><div><br /></div><div>Darinelle also provides some obvious nods to Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos, alluding to the enigmatic Mi-Go, a group of fungoid extraterrestrials who famously put human brains in jars in the story <i>The Whispers in Darkness</i>: </div><div><br /></div><div>“Someday something's coming</div><div>From way out beyond the stars</div><div>To kill us while we stand here</div><div>It'll store our brains in Mason jars.”</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>If you haven’t yet, you really owe it to yourself to give John Darnielle a listen. He has an amazing way of crafting touching, and often humorous, lyrics without resorting to trite phrases, and is not stuck continuously writing about his teenage years, but continues to grow, as we all do, <a href="https://youtu.be/eetIgGXH6DA" target="_blank">this year</a> and the next.</div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-44158974949987258992022-12-31T12:27:00.007-05:002022-12-31T12:27:58.320-05:00Song Highlight: Tom Waits - Eyeball Kid<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CfHrCwL1bcQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="CfHrCwL1bcQ"></iframe></div><p>Tom Waits has had quite a career trajectory, starting out with fairly conventional folk songs in the early 1970s, before becoming a jazzy crooner grounded by one of the most gravelly voices in popular music, to eventually transitioning into what sounds like the spokesman to a carnival ushering in the apocalypse. Waits has always been interested in exploring themes of isolation and death, focusing on deadbeats, alcoholics, and lost souls, but it was really with the 1992 album <i>Bone Machine</i> that he truly became a troubadour of the End Times. The songs on <i>Bone Machine</i> are even more unhinged than his previous work, which had started to become more and more unconventional, the songs are carried by sparse instrumentation and clanging, awkward percussion. His 1999 album <i>Mule Variations</i> took the sonic weirdness of <i>Bone Machine</i> and combined it with downtrodden, bluesy ballads of his earlier work, creating an album that is much more approachable to the uninitiated. </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>The song “Eyeball Kid” is the least played song from <i>Mule Variations</i> on Spotify, but is one of the most distinctive and memorable. It is punctuated by clangs and haphazard percussion hits and vocal welps and screeches, and at one point the spit-fire rambling of an auctioneer as an extra texture. The song is about a child born with one large eyeball as a face, the titular “Eyeball Kid,” and his forays in show business. It is told from the perspective of the Eyeball Kid’s manager, who first encounters him in Saigon:</p><p><br /></p><p>“Well the 1st time I saw him</p><p>was a Saigon jail</p><p>Cost me 27 dollars</p><p>Just to go his bail</p><p>I said your name will</p><p>be in lights</p><p>and that's no doubt</p><p>But you got to have</p><p>a manager that's what</p><p>it's all about</p><p>People would point</p><p>People would stare</p><p>I'll always be here</p><p>To protect you and to</p><p>cut down on the glare”</p><p><br /></p><p>What brought the Eyeball Kid to be in jail in Saigon is never explained, but it is little details like that which really bring the story Waits is telling to life. His manager wants to make money off of the Eyeball Kid’s unique physiognomy:</p><p><br /></p><p>“He's just a little bitty thing</p><p>He's just a little guy</p><p>but women go crazy</p><p>for the big blue eye</p><p>They say how does he</p><p>dream? How does he think</p><p>when he can't ever speak</p><p>and he can't ever blink?”</p><p><br /></p><p>Towards the end of the song, Waits mentions that we are all blind and lost in this world, but maybe the Eyeball Kid could help people see what really matters. Likely not, with everyone clamoring for the next spectacle:</p><p><br /></p><p>“We are all lost in the</p><p>Wilderness we're as</p><p>blind as can be</p><p>He came down to teach us</p><p>how to really see”</p><p><br /></p><p>The final interesting thing that I want to point out is that the song mentions the Eyeball Kid was born on the 7th of December, 1949, which happens to be Waits’ own birthday. So perhaps there is something of the Eyeball Kid in Waits himself?</p><p>If you have not listened to Tom Waits, I suggest you remedy that! <i>Mule Variations</i> is a pretty good place to start. Buy it <a href="https://tomwaits.bandcamp.com/album/mule-variations-remastered" target="_blank">here</a>!</p>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-35755616161422452312022-11-30T23:40:00.002-05:002023-11-13T21:24:15.239-05:00Song Highlight: IV and The Strange Band - Train<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/98_1UxCP-70" width="320" youtube-src-id="98_1UxCP-70"></iframe></div><p>I spend a lot of time talking about abrasive music on this website, though I did not grow up listening to such things. My younger years were spent with classic rock radio, where I harbored a disdain towards anything that was harsh. That slowly started to change when I was in college, as I began to branch away from late 60s rock. In my junior and senior years, I was engrossed with punk rock and alternative country. I appreciated how many artists in those genres were willing to experiment with sounds outside of the norm. In the realm of alternative country, I found bands like <a href="https://youtu.be/ZfEniWnvinc" target="_blank">O’Death</a> who were injecting darker and more unhinged elements into folk and country music. My delving into alternative country eventually led me to <a href="https://youtu.be/uLRGmyGSEbw" target="_blank">Hank III</a>, the grandson of the legendary country singer/songwriter Hank Williams (Senior). Hank III’s music is an interesting mixture of traditional country in the vein of his grandfather and hard rock, punk, and metal. The first metal show I ever attended was a Hank III show in 2009 at the now defunct Chameleon Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In the first half of the set, Hank III had an acoustic guitar and played his traditional country music. He then let his hair down and replaced his acoustic with an electric guitar and launched into his hard rock songs (a style he prefers to call Hellbilly) followed by his thrash metal/death metal songs (with a band called <a href="https://youtu.be/HJrhwZttM2A" target="_blank">Assjack</a>). It was fascinating to see so many distinct musical genres on display at one show, and sometimes within a single song. It has now been approximately 9 years since Hank III has released any new music, but fortunately for us, Hank III has a son named Coleman Williams, and he released an album this year!</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>Coleman Williams releases music under the moniker of “IV”, a clear homage to his musical legacy as a Williams. Simply by being a fourth generation of one of the most iconic individuals in country music, the expectations were always going to be high for Coleman. Assumptions would be made about the sort of music he was going to play. To push against this, Coleman did not go into music right away (though he spent his youth playing in punk and metal bands and writing country songs on the side). He went to college to study literature, and spent time teaching. Part of the drive to study literature was to help him evolve as a songwriter and to focus on the importance of wordplay. Now, at 30 years old (Hank Williams, Sr died at 29) Coleman has released his first collection of songs as IV and The Strange Band, titled <i>Southern Circus</i>. Like his father’s work, Coleman takes the framework of country music and injects it with elements from the punk and metal world. Fortunately, the songs on the record feel distinctly his own, not just something you might find on a Hank III record. There is a real variety on the record including fingerpicked acoustic numbers to banjo-led punk rock songs, one of which ends with a sludgy doom metal segment that blends in perfectly.</p><p>My favorite track on <i>Southern Circus</i> has changed multiple times over the past few months listening to the record, so it has been hard to pick one to talk about for this post. In the end, I decided on the opening track of the album, a song called “Train.” It is a restrained folk song with acoustic guitar and the beamish plucks of a banjo. In it, Coleman sings of his experiences hitching rides on freight trains with an air of wistfulness, though never in a way to glorify the practice. The song is a fairly simple one, but one that has left a lasting impression upon me, certainly helped by the earnestness in Coleman’s voice.</p><p>If you have any interest in country music, or even punk and metal, you should give Coleman Williams music a <a href="https://ivsonofiii.bandcamp.com/album/southern-circus" target="_blank">listen</a>. <i>Southern Circus</i> is one of my favorite records I have heard this year!</p><p>Buy <i>Southern Circus</i> <a href="https://ivsonofiii.bandcamp.com/album/southern-circus" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-71670977434791572332022-10-31T22:53:00.002-04:002022-11-30T23:45:34.989-05:00Song Highlight: Thou - Eulogy<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dbdX5BjlZIs" width="320" youtube-src-id="dbdX5BjlZIs"></iframe></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is hard to think of a band that works harder than Thou, the prolific doom/sludge metal band from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Since their inception in 2005, they have released a staggering number of releases, including five studio albums and an absurd number of splits and EPs. These have been released across a wide array of record labels, nearly all of them smaller independent labels, helping to show the band’s insistence on a “do it yourself” aesthetic, never wanting to be tied down by the constraints of an overbearing record label. They have used all of these releases to broadly experiment with the genre of sludge metal, thoroughly straying outside the bounds set by pioneering bands of the genre like Eyehategod. I can think of no band that is able to combine the wretchedly ugly with profound beauty as adeptly as Thou. For a genre largely defined by crushing and slowly churning guitar riffs, something like a shimmering post rock guitar line might seem wildly out of place, but Thou do it with a naturalness that makes you question why you ever would have questioned its inclusion.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-ce8f8af5-7fff-f32a-8294-5a32acfed7ae" style="font-family: arial;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With a band with such a large body of work (the band allows you to <a href="https://noladiy.org/thou/downloads/" target="_blank">download all of it freely from their website</a>), it can be intimidating to find a place to first venture into it. And much to your potential disappointment, I am not attempting to offer that here. Rather, I am going to talk about a song that has recently excited me, a track from their 2014 EP, </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the Sacrifice</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The song in particular is called “Eulogy”, and leans more towards Thou’s brutally punishing work.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Eulogy” starts with a searing bout of guitar feedback, before the song erupts with a seething guitar riff delivered at a galloping pace and vocalist Bryan Funck’s vitriolic rasps. Gradually the guitar riff morphs into something that verges on being catchy at the 1:40 minute mark, though it is no less grimey. Lyrically, the song functions as a eulogy to the loss of idealistic youth, where people ultimately set aside their beliefs and settle on making a life in the society they had railed against:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Extol a life of compromise</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Resigned to quiet submission</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Welcome boredom and banal normality</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Farewell to joy and laughter and trust</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Welcome fear, suspicion, and hatred”</span></p><div><span><br /></span></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After those defeating lines, the song gives the listener a little breathing room as the roiling guitar riffs fall away. This respite is short lived, as the muddy guitar riffs arise again, as if trying to pull you back into the mire. All the while, Funck is lamenting all those who give in and choose to set aside their principles in exchange for an easier life.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You have the look of a hollow shell</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You have the look of a rotting corpse</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Entombed under intolerable weight</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the delusions of wish fulfillment</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Escape the standards of youth, find sanctuary</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a cringing half life”</span></p><div><span><br /></span></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The highlight of the song is when Funck shrieks the final dejected lines of the song: </span></p><div><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s called moving on, it’s called growing up</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s called giving up</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lurking in the shadow, the shadow of your past</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lurking in the blackness of acquiescence</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pathetic acceptance”</span></p><div><span><br /></span></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the song begins with guitar feedback, it ends with a wall of feedback and a wellspring of scathing noise. If you have a fondness of harsh music, this is essential listening.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy the EP with the song "Eulogy" <a href="https://roboticempire.bandcamp.com/album/thou-the-sacrifice" target="_blank">here</a>, or <a href="https://thou.bandcamp.com/album/algiers" target="_blank">pay what you wish</a> for the compilation album, <i><a href="https://thou.bandcamp.com/album/algiers" target="_blank">Algiers</a></i>.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or download all of Thou’s music <a href="https://noladiy.org/thou/downloads/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p></span>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-41138676764558954432022-09-30T19:00:00.004-04:002022-11-30T23:40:56.807-05:00Song Highlight: Melvins - If I Had An Exorcism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vM2DOfleFuI" width="320" youtube-src-id="vM2DOfleFuI"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>When it comes to heavy music, my preference is for it to be slow, heavy, and abrasive. I was not attracted to metal for flashy guitar solos and theatrical vocals. Of the myriad of subgenres in heavy music, my favorite is sludge metal. Music of this style takes the slow, down-tuned aspects of heavy metal music and combines them with the aggression of punk rock. One of the early practitioners of this style was the Melvins. Guitarist Buzz Osborne started the Melvins when he was in high school, playing fast hardcore punk music in the style of Black Flag. That all changed when Black Flag released <i>My War</i> in 1984, and slowed tempos down to a crawl on the second half of the album, in the vein of Black Sabbath. Osborne and drummer Dale Crover began to experiment with slower music themselves and helped give birth to sludge metal and drone metal. In the band’s almost 40 years of existence, they have released a lot of albums and have experimented widely with sounds and styles, though it is primarily for their slow and heavy material that they are known.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>“If I had an Exorcism” is a track off of the Melvins’ third studio album, <i>Bullhead</i>, released in 1991. It does a good job of demonstrating the weirdness of the band along with their characteristic heaviness. The song begins with clattering percussion and Osborne mumbling nonsensical lyrics:</p><p><br /></p><p>"It's not like a you could feel just</p><p>Like what you want more metal, heh!</p><p>Hangin' from your neck like</p><p>Feels too good to be real</p><p>Like somebody took a coathanger</p><p>Munched it and tore it from the sign</p><p>Stin...stern...st'nning</p><p>Numzph-numonh, bleeargh"</p><p><br /></p><p>As Osborne is gargling out those last few nonsense syllables, the guitar comes crashing in with the bass guitar churning along in unison. At a little over a minute into the song, everything falls away except for the guitar strumming the same note repeatedly, which it continues for the rest of the song! Eventually the bass guitar comes back in with a very compelling groove and the drumming picks up, bringing the song to a powerful close as Osborne incoherently snarls in the background.</p><p>If you are interested in experimental and heavy music, you need to spend some time with the Melvins.</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-51210258631827336222022-08-08T19:00:00.006-04:002022-08-28T18:29:27.171-04:00Cadabra Records: Thomas Ligotti's The Clown Puppet "Live"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyuz_bylB6S0wGvqlLl0ZjnXeOwPTQZi5UgjgN12ss3-SxawrwnLQ7OLCm7D8IQycxLzNYj6mdFclwDqSzlqZCRMl038C7TfuLJ9GI2qlzRLExR90aT5ltTj93PF5gTR2bZm3qskMlGCPpkeZtrIlX46tuI_J2QJOHjxz8zklljtJuxPn45aemz2rx9Q/s2000/Padgett.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyuz_bylB6S0wGvqlLl0ZjnXeOwPTQZi5UgjgN12ss3-SxawrwnLQ7OLCm7D8IQycxLzNYj6mdFclwDqSzlqZCRMl038C7TfuLJ9GI2qlzRLExR90aT5ltTj93PF5gTR2bZm3qskMlGCPpkeZtrIlX46tuI_J2QJOHjxz8zklljtJuxPn45aemz2rx9Q/w640-h426/Padgett.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of the <a href="https://www.fineenoughisuppose.com/2021/10/cadabra-records-bringing-weird-fiction.html" target="_blank">most affecting and memorable live performances of my life</a> was seeing <a href="https://jonpadgett.net/" target="_blank">Jon Padgett</a> doing a reading of Thomas Ligotti’s short story “The Bungalow House”, accompanied by live guitar and electronics performed by <a href="https://www.chrisbozzone.com/" target="_blank">Chris Bozzone</a>. It was my first introduction to the work of Thomas Ligotti, a contemporary horror writer who espouses a particularly dismal world view, and uses his work as a means to explore this outlook. Padgett, a fantastic author of weird fiction himself, did an amazing job invoking the crushing loneliness of the narrator of “The Bungalow House”. I was utterly spellbound, hanging on every word, caught up in a horror that was far more affecting than the hackneyed violence that is the hallmark of many modern horror tales. I came away from the event as a fan of Ligotti’s fiction, and of Jon Padgett, as well. He read his own story “<a href="https://pseudopod.org/2015/04/09/pseudopod-433-20-simple-steps-to-ventriloquism/" target="_blank">20 Simple Steps to Ventriloquism</a>”, and I was astounded at his ability to take something as mundane as a guide book (the story is presented as a guide to becoming a skilled ventriloquist and beyond), and turn it into something deeply unsettling. This event was hosted by <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records</a>, who had just released a spoken word vinyl record of “The Bungalow House”, with Jon Padgett doing the reading and Chris Bozzone handling the instrumentation. This event was a live recreation of that release, and the first event of its kind hosted by <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records.</a> Although it is hard to believe now, this event occurred back in May of 2019, more than three years ago! I have been eager for <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records</a> to host similar events, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic prevented that.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>Much to my excitement, <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records</a> planned more reading events in the summer of 2022, the first of which being a reading of Ligotti's "Gas Station Carnivals", again performed by Jon Padgett and Chris Bozzone. That event was in Florida, and I was not able to attend. Fortunately, I did not have to wait very long for another opportunity, as <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records</a> set up a second event on the last Saturday of July at Retro City Studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was another celebration of the work of Thomas Ligotti, focusing on recreating <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/">Cadabra Records</a>’ production of “The Clown Puppet”, in a live setting. Jon Padgett was back to do the reading and Chris Bozzone to provide the accompanying instrumentation. Retro City Studio is where many of <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records</a> releases were recorded. Barry Knob, the owner of Retro City Studios, has been the producer for most of <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records </a>releases. The choice of Retro City Studio as the venue made the event seem all the more special, due to its deep history with the label.</p><p>When my brother Eric and I arrived at Retro City Studios, it was a warm July evening, the studio nestled in a calm residential region in the northern part of Philadelphia. A small number of eager fans of weird fiction had gathered outside. When we were let into the studio, Cadabra Records owner, Jonathan Dennison, gave each attendee a 10” record that was pressed specifically for the event: “Chris Bozzone – Selected Themes Inspired By Thomas Ligotti”. Furthermore, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dfeltonillustration/" target="_blank">Dave Felton</a> was handing out a minicomic that he made specially for the event called “Puppet Nonsense”. Felton has done artwork for Cadabra Records in the past, notably for the record of Padgett’s “Origami Dreams”.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQfUFu3Ngv_f3g8lKz7QZ9s-aRFLnVj0iDhNCQxV_TV3w_njh6k8NvkmlQ0Fx4iCeqgymvrNlyNYCs56cOCZzFjawjoKJs6d4RHwKI4VKMN-X01xUkyjj7zALw2bS-LSf3MDJ3LWYCOera7bEt1PkRTVehDZ3LvQl217LUtaV8kIXT9eYoFbLGTAxCw/s1995/01_Record_front.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1777" data-original-width="1995" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQfUFu3Ngv_f3g8lKz7QZ9s-aRFLnVj0iDhNCQxV_TV3w_njh6k8NvkmlQ0Fx4iCeqgymvrNlyNYCs56cOCZzFjawjoKJs6d4RHwKI4VKMN-X01xUkyjj7zALw2bS-LSf3MDJ3LWYCOera7bEt1PkRTVehDZ3LvQl217LUtaV8kIXT9eYoFbLGTAxCw/w640-h570/01_Record_front.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 10” record pressed for the event: Chris Bozzone – Selected Themes Inspired By Thomas Ligotti, and a minicomic created by Dave Felton for the event: Puppet Nonsense!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxuHs5fyqvV0QIMWHk1E5krQ3koHir1q4CWI3Gx_jD8nJx-SKp-U8eud6IAKLo30F6JhNcA1rSbd3n4FWRoAXjLowyGBxJuHgQIwnc7QOhO3IfmdqOA-HhrF0wQfjq9s1Fm0KW7uceoWd-SYB03WtY14QwDD6gLaxwVxK74d9ZyCGVdyVo6zBCxamJiw/s2321/02_Record_back.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2321" data-original-width="1761" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxuHs5fyqvV0QIMWHk1E5krQ3koHir1q4CWI3Gx_jD8nJx-SKp-U8eud6IAKLo30F6JhNcA1rSbd3n4FWRoAXjLowyGBxJuHgQIwnc7QOhO3IfmdqOA-HhrF0wQfjq9s1Fm0KW7uceoWd-SYB03WtY14QwDD6gLaxwVxK74d9ZyCGVdyVo6zBCxamJiw/w486-h640/02_Record_back.jpg" width="486" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only 33 copies of the record were pressed, one for each of the attendees of the event.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBqIARXgAKRapPFwuVHXekh68fKAHz2WYkyo4lJLeuEgALCQO2Fw5IlnDr8OfZAUGCU7qEKHFHatO6KvqtfKKlSBtyYJM6cHPYQ40smOP896gPQIbOJ_NCYD3BrHhs-h-5XRGCSTx1E7S6faqJLnAF3ml00sBPfaB5fNmIZ2yq9H9hnsWHWXVbZ9gLA/s1951/03_Puppet_Nonsense_01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1313" data-original-width="1951" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBqIARXgAKRapPFwuVHXekh68fKAHz2WYkyo4lJLeuEgALCQO2Fw5IlnDr8OfZAUGCU7qEKHFHatO6KvqtfKKlSBtyYJM6cHPYQ40smOP896gPQIbOJ_NCYD3BrHhs-h-5XRGCSTx1E7S6faqJLnAF3ml00sBPfaB5fNmIZ2yq9H9hnsWHWXVbZ9gLA/w640-h430/03_Puppet_Nonsense_01.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interior pages of “Puppet Nonsense”. The artwork features Jon Padgett reading significant passages from the story “The Clown Puppet” and images of Chris Bozzone playing guitar.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXfaf82uaJhNlTUgl3r-PexjSALx9Mx1l4bKp_yAd2BBhPJoMtOrFnuqS2BYHWz2Tc_F_0Q57CiGiBRk7yVglhqVzyJFvO5LEofn65Xlrs1v6WSrpHE6EOtykxsiU-sY19siUE2NWZy7VmPjSqYdTs_3aLEdxYmrZgqmKd9lxkmqe_OI3WW3iiJPQjMA/s1913/04_Puppet_Nonsense_02.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1321" data-original-width="1913" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXfaf82uaJhNlTUgl3r-PexjSALx9Mx1l4bKp_yAd2BBhPJoMtOrFnuqS2BYHWz2Tc_F_0Q57CiGiBRk7yVglhqVzyJFvO5LEofn65Xlrs1v6WSrpHE6EOtykxsiU-sY19siUE2NWZy7VmPjSqYdTs_3aLEdxYmrZgqmKd9lxkmqe_OI3WW3iiJPQjMA/w640-h442/04_Puppet_Nonsense_02.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interior pages of “Puppet Nonsense”. The artwork features a clown puppetmaster and an image of Jonathan Dennison holding some of his vinyl records.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQwHOwAijjkzqDJMoVB8lk0rDU5ex4ib5NV6DBeDeeUhRHwpdK0ObPBaIsxE8T7cDI05k-DaoK1YLxjrE0vQtmgW9pGPX56T1Ac8puOjUUBN005rxx7HZXwkvaeG7o5l7SvxIXxXrg0y4SLSY-t75fE8pBAS-zJ43nFoXeyZsTgmTt6wRfe5sIoC28A/s1877/05_Puppet_Nonsense_03.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1717" data-original-width="1877" height="586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQwHOwAijjkzqDJMoVB8lk0rDU5ex4ib5NV6DBeDeeUhRHwpdK0ObPBaIsxE8T7cDI05k-DaoK1YLxjrE0vQtmgW9pGPX56T1Ac8puOjUUBN005rxx7HZXwkvaeG7o5l7SvxIXxXrg0y4SLSY-t75fE8pBAS-zJ43nFoXeyZsTgmTt6wRfe5sIoC28A/w640-h586/05_Puppet_Nonsense_03.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back cover of the minicomic “Puppet Nonsense” and a pin with Dave Felton’s skull icon.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>The main room of the studio was small with maroon walls and red curtains against the far wall, with a piano and a collection of synthesizers set up for the performance. As it was a studio, it was clearly not built to contain an audience, though a collection of folding chairs were set up for all of the attendees. A small puppet in the form of a clown was hanging above the frame of one of the doors leading out of the main room, doubtlessly added specifically for the evening.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWAOyPPNrzbjtLNvZVB_zT3zdbqp1mC6bCR1Ep7DSPwHGKzraxoqhgUdgXgLFX64axSujOXJbHJmP42foKyoCNWTiBi4KZfKRoFHQcXeSuafzT6k7FQk9PBZE33Sh_p4YACB3UPuh9LX00iWHmTab59-UZgjxQhNwkGvAIYVEYYRenL9Z0DwPbnCfvyQ/s2000/06_Setup.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWAOyPPNrzbjtLNvZVB_zT3zdbqp1mC6bCR1Ep7DSPwHGKzraxoqhgUdgXgLFX64axSujOXJbHJmP42foKyoCNWTiBi4KZfKRoFHQcXeSuafzT6k7FQk9PBZE33Sh_p4YACB3UPuh9LX00iWHmTab59-UZgjxQhNwkGvAIYVEYYRenL9Z0DwPbnCfvyQ/w640-h426/06_Setup.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stage is set for an incredible night of horror at Retro City Studios!</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPqPNiXavWTnMfOpf7YtY7_ych9cwvoHS2ka4OLJaj__Kk3WZVQSGIBsXVBaMXhhDTeP-MnFfEWxvhurp3V1jtKfbQzJtSunhdGgDOpbjC4EzM3WiO7Y7FXDWI9b4w3ph-JAs4TbaLhLu_oubGmIfaOT1EzjASb3By7KXAmz2MRiY1TcQw6BcKVD_Mg/s2000/07_mainroom.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1375" data-original-width="2000" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPqPNiXavWTnMfOpf7YtY7_ych9cwvoHS2ka4OLJaj__Kk3WZVQSGIBsXVBaMXhhDTeP-MnFfEWxvhurp3V1jtKfbQzJtSunhdGgDOpbjC4EzM3WiO7Y7FXDWI9b4w3ph-JAs4TbaLhLu_oubGmIfaOT1EzjASb3By7KXAmz2MRiY1TcQw6BcKVD_Mg/w640-h440/07_mainroom.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crowd eagerly awaits the start of the storytelling!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie1KTRXkKv4GK3-MEe_CxgVsZ9PtaZwnye2uLBpoTQwlsoejeisttB17Dgy3ndScV2OvBQuSM5F5uTSL0v7wEllfx0o82CKcEweQjvqLEP7hOe02Juv6PxnpxirMZ4H1Fg8jBQ5csXMl0IX7Hv3vSgq5hvBDcbsFfYrGlDGIFD3wxXHe50stHw9GKg1Q/s2000/08_puppet.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie1KTRXkKv4GK3-MEe_CxgVsZ9PtaZwnye2uLBpoTQwlsoejeisttB17Dgy3ndScV2OvBQuSM5F5uTSL0v7wEllfx0o82CKcEweQjvqLEP7hOe02Juv6PxnpxirMZ4H1Fg8jBQ5csXMl0IX7Hv3vSgq5hvBDcbsFfYrGlDGIFD3wxXHe50stHw9GKg1Q/w640-h426/08_puppet.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A creepy clown puppet was hung from one of the door frames.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>The performance began with Chris Bozzone greeting everyone and detailing the outline for the night’s events. He introduced us to Barry Knob and touched upon the history of Retro City Studio. The first story of the night was one of Padgett’s own stories, “<a href="https://youtu.be/bLI9jKjtGY0" target="_blank">The Mindfulness of Horror Practice</a>”, and was being recorded for a future <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records</a> release. The story is set up like a guided meditation, but quickly moves past the relaxing aspects of a conventional meditation and focuses on the horror of living. Much like Padgett’s “20 Simple Steps to Ventriloquism”, it subverts expectations to create something truly memorable. Just the notion of being in the room while one of Cadabra Records’ releases was being recorded was a thrill, to be part of it beyond just purchasing them and listening to them.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU7ID-xSgOgewicTC_e9Glm4GVTHb9BB81TTyTT-RCNkHwfiiaUJEIJc9GRhQYxYcJw0P7OlSiVLrHzKpTIKbhxw-BL14dARLZUpL57qfnjWaHXq-Eu2OW53P3Ddw4KcoxY9_d2sfJjupL1qjIxp5zq5TnzwJ_qSqy-K7joWLZEEpPRVn4WmzNXBd7fQ/s2000/09_Bozzone.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU7ID-xSgOgewicTC_e9Glm4GVTHb9BB81TTyTT-RCNkHwfiiaUJEIJc9GRhQYxYcJw0P7OlSiVLrHzKpTIKbhxw-BL14dARLZUpL57qfnjWaHXq-Eu2OW53P3Ddw4KcoxY9_d2sfJjupL1qjIxp5zq5TnzwJ_qSqy-K7joWLZEEpPRVn4WmzNXBd7fQ/w640-h480/09_Bozzone.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Bozzone prepared us for a night of disquieting stories.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>After “The Mindfulness of Horror Practice”, Padgett read the titular story of the night, Thomas Ligotti’s “The Clown Puppet”. In the story an unnamed narrator recounts his visitations by a puppet clothed as a clown, and relates how they are just one example of how his existence consists of nothing but ridiculous nonsense. In particular, he describes his visit by the clown puppet while working at an out-of-the-way medicine shop in the dead of night. While the narrator has been visited by the clown puppet throughout his life, always while he was employed at some dreary occupation, the medicine shop visit was unique in several distinct ways. While I will not ruin any of it for those who have not read the story, the narrator comes to suspect that there is absolutely nothing special or unique about his own life or his puppet visits. Padgett is a natural performer, knowing just the proper cadence and rhythm to adopt while reading the story. His inflection perfectly changed to capture the narrator’s moods throughout the piece: indifference, annoyance, desperation, and a resigned acceptance of his nonsensical place in the universe. All of this was heightened by the somber piano playing of Bozzone, augmented by synthesized tones and the occasional appearance of acoustic guitar. He expertly played with volume, at times staying subdued, whereas at moments of the narrator's duress, the sound would crescendo to almost deafening levels.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvrlrPOJX1jrCOHp7C1WUr3vUe-5UY7cqh7GZznkeYXAZvxuDaGGcrx9PzTUFiwbo9gvT6ZBUa_BZz7V7YJhnBVy4o5nP5vI7WpJ7KJyLbnkMvt0OnvFXVIgWFkSXM9GD8IX1HxGpHdjbbDRbit13mneyjVWrLpnD5nFIxROPZlrqJCncISoz5ACIExA/s2000/10_Nonsense.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvrlrPOJX1jrCOHp7C1WUr3vUe-5UY7cqh7GZznkeYXAZvxuDaGGcrx9PzTUFiwbo9gvT6ZBUa_BZz7V7YJhnBVy4o5nP5vI7WpJ7KJyLbnkMvt0OnvFXVIgWFkSXM9GD8IX1HxGpHdjbbDRbit13mneyjVWrLpnD5nFIxROPZlrqJCncISoz5ACIExA/w640-h480/10_Nonsense.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jon Padgett expressing how our existence is composed of “nothing but the most outrageous nonsense”.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtAQayUMzl3_B8bcLpuDcGAxs5EcH4qdO7v90Q1r-nwywGTQrlaBOa1G6DCTY44FaWXi7_3a5WvXBMvSf7hPySuED8pdWxZJCUyWNdOUN8oJiT37JUsExg3q8qHHKVfoemeVHZ-oFEsmct0B6AjZR7x7gV4_r8xwFJyTz1yR-yBvSxQnPEIpKL5j02Zw/s2000/11_Performance.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtAQayUMzl3_B8bcLpuDcGAxs5EcH4qdO7v90Q1r-nwywGTQrlaBOa1G6DCTY44FaWXi7_3a5WvXBMvSf7hPySuED8pdWxZJCUyWNdOUN8oJiT37JUsExg3q8qHHKVfoemeVHZ-oFEsmct0B6AjZR7x7gV4_r8xwFJyTz1yR-yBvSxQnPEIpKL5j02Zw/w640-h426/11_Performance.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was amazing how closely the live event recreated Cadabra Records' recordings, though the intimate studio setting helped elevate it to new heights.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>Beyond “The Clown Puppet”, three other Ligotti stories were performed: “The Red Tower”, “I Have A Special Plan For This World”, and “This Degenerate Little Town”. These three stories were included on <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records</a> second Ligotti record. It was a night full of tremendous Ligotti stories, each presented with an eye for even the smallest detail, and bringing them to life in the most exhilarating way. </p><p>After the festivities, my brother and I were afforded the opportunity to talk with Padgett for a short time, discussing our favorite Ligotti stories. I expressed to him how intrigued I was with the perspective of the story “The Shadow at the Bottom of the World”, as if in first person plural. Where “I” is replaced with “we”, and the narrator relates the feelings of all of the inhabitants of a single town. He told me that William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” is written in the same way. I am very excited to read through that story now. We also talked with Jonathan Dennison at length about our mutual appreciation for weird fiction. His passion for <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records</a> and exposing people to eclectic pieces of weird fiction was evident, ensuring that the future is bright for the label! If you have an interest in weird fiction, or even just storytelling, I strongly encourage you to check out <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/" target="_blank">Cadabra Records</a>.</p><p>Buy Cadabra Records "The Clown Puppet" <a href="https://cadabrarecords.com/collections/lps" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-72544236281582097332022-07-29T21:36:00.000-04:002022-07-29T21:36:45.463-04:00Song Highlight: Chat Pile - grimace_smoking_weed.jpeg<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q53GWPaLEHg" width="320" youtube-src-id="Q53GWPaLEHg"></iframe></div><p>Today is a special day for anyone enthralled by noisy and harrowing music, because it is the release date of Chat Pile’s first full length album, <i>God’s Country</i>. Chat Pile resurrect the churning noise rock menace of <a href="https://youtu.be/U4VQPo_gQF4" target="_blank">Big Black</a> and the <a href="https://youtu.be/HW8UUKqQGO4" target="_blank">Jesus Lizard</a> and combine it with the feedback-drenched sludge of <a href="https://youtu.be/xSSoDiSXGI8" target="_blank">Eyehategod</a>. As I mentioned in <a href="https://www.fineenoughisuppose.com/2021/07/song-highlight-chat-pile-dallas-beltway.html" target="_blank">my post</a> about their song <a href="https://www.fineenoughisuppose.com/2021/07/song-highlight-chat-pile-dallas-beltway.html" target="_blank">Dallas Beltway</a>, Chat Pile have a knack for writing songs that are actually unnerving. They tackle subjects that are not uncommon to extreme metal bands, like murder and depravity, but they are able to present it in a way that does not feel exploitative. These are not subjects that they are presenting to seem edgy or “cool.” They are drawing attention to some of the wretchedness that festers in the United States of America, and society in general.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>The final track of <i>God’s Country</i> is a punishing 9 minute epic that is humorously titled “grimace_smoking_weed.jpeg”. It follows the increasingly erratic and distressed rantings of the narrator who is getting high in his room, and being haunted by the presence of a “purple man”. Based on the song title, I think we are to take the “purple man” to be the McDonald’s purple mascot, Grimace.</p><p><br /></p><p>“Normal night</p><p>It should be</p><p>Just trying to live a</p><p>Normal life</p><p>OK?</p><p>It was the image that brought me back but</p><p>Listen, I don't want your presence</p><p>Purple man</p><p>Smoking weed in my bedroom</p><p>Don’t want you</p><p>I don't need you</p><p>Don't think I’d forget</p><p>You hurt me in a past life</p><p>And you were so strange once</p><p>At least stranger than you are now”</p><p><br /></p><p>As the song progresses, the narrator turns towards self loathing and a desire to put an end to his suffering:</p><p><br /></p><p>"Purple man</p><p>Stop coming into my room</p><p>Stop looking at things that aren't meant for</p><p>You</p><p>Purple man</p><p>Stop coming into my room</p><p>Stop looking at things that aren’t meant for</p><p>You</p><p>I'm twisted</p><p>And frail</p><p>Broken up</p><p>I'm purple</p><p>I'm purple man, too</p><p>I’m purple man, too</p><p>I'm purple man, too</p><p><br /></p><p>I'm trying to kill myself</p><p>If you don't mind</p><p>That's why I locked the door</p><p>I just need some privacy</p><p>If you mind I'm gonna</p><p>Open the window now</p><p>And jump out</p><p>Face first</p><p>I know we're not that high</p><p>But if I do it right</p><p>I could break my neck</p><p>I don't want to be alive</p><p>I don't want to be alive”</p><p><br /></p><p>The song ends with the narrator deciding to go through with his plan, and shouting the name of the “purple man”:</p><p><br /></p><p>“No more</p><p>No more</p><p><br /></p><p>Face first</p><p>I don't want it</p><p>But here it is</p><p><br /></p><p>Grimace.”</p><p><br /></p><p>While the concept of being tormented by one of McDonald’s mascots is humorously ridiculous, the narrator’s anguish sounds chillingly genuine.</p><p><br /></p><p>Buy Chat Pile’s music <a href="https://chatpile.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-15686421246491058702022-06-30T22:58:00.006-04:002022-06-30T22:58:59.832-04:00Song Highlight: Leatherface - Cabbage Case<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/94PzmVLDyPQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="94PzmVLDyPQ"></iframe></div><p>Leatherface is one of those bands that never gained the following that they deserved, but to those who know them, they are a big deal. The UK-based punk band combined the melodic sensibilities of <a href="https://youtu.be/ayw4tkZ6NMw" target="_blank">Hüsker Dü</a> with the hoarse bite of <a href="https://youtu.be/3mbvWn1EY6g" target="_blank">Motörhead</a>. Unlike many punk bands of their time, Leatherface put a great emphasis on melody. Their songs are immediately catchy, with infectious guitar lines all held together with a pounding rhythm section. And while that is not necessarily unique to Leatherface, their vocalist Frankie Stubbs has a vocal rasp unlike any other (the most apt comparison being to Lemmy Kilmister of <a href="https://youtu.be/3mbvWn1EY6g" target="_blank">Motörhead</a>). It is not a harshness that feels forced or put on, like you might find in genres of extreme metal. Of all of the aspects of Leatherface’s music, it is Stubb’s vocals that can be something of an acquired taste. But to me, that is just part of Leatherface’s unique charm. Even if you cannot always make out exactly what Stubbs is singing, you can feel it. The emotive impact is always present.</p><span></span><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>Leatherface’s first album, <i>Cherry Knowle</i> was just remastered and released by <a href="https://radgirlfriendrecords.bandcamp.com/music" target="_blank">Rad Girlfriend Records</a> and <a href="https://littlerocketrecords.co.uk/" target="_blank">Little Rocket Records</a>, making the long out-of-print record available again! I have been listening to it a lot this past month, and think that the track “Cabbage Case” is my favorite on the album. The guitar riff has the listener hooked within the first few seconds. Another hallmark of Leatherface’s music is evocatively setting a scene with poetic lyricism, and that is on display here. “Cabbage Case” is about the perils of intravenous drug use, but it does not need to say it explicitly, you can practically feel it:</p><p><br /></p><p>“Terraced slum filth dwellings fall, lead in air stunts our fall</p><p>Self inflicted self disgrace, sentenced to an armchair death in outer space</p><p>Inject me life, inject me anything at anytime</p><p>Cabbage case, squalid little being in an attic mess</p><p>And you will steal my fucking life to have a good time”</p><p><br /></p><p>If you have even a passing interest in punk rock music, you need to give Leatherface a listen.</p><p><br /></p><p>By Leatherface’s music <a href="https://leatherface.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-19939895584454084502022-05-31T23:22:00.001-04:002022-05-31T23:22:03.216-04:00Song Highlight: Armchair Martian - You Deserve This<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3EAK6Vyy9eQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="3EAK6Vyy9eQ"></iframe></div><p></p><p>When I consider the songs that had a profound impact on my life, and ones that made me a music enthusiast, the music of Armchair Martian sits towards the top of the list. It was 2007 and I was midway through college. A friend of mine was introducing me to the world of punk rock outside of The Clash and The Ramones. In particular, he showed me <a href="https://youtu.be/sA7uKdduqmQ" target="_blank">Bad Astronaut’s cover</a> of the seminal NOFX song, "<a href="https://youtu.be/6axOY4PBusk" target="_blank">Linoleum</a>". Bad Astronaut was the side project of Joey Cape, the singer of the California skate punk band Lagwagon. Cape wanted an avenue to be more exploratory with the music he was writing, and work beyond the confines of the punk that Lagwagon was playing (<a href="https://www.brooklynvegan.com/bad-astronaut-release-first-new-song-in-15-years-give-first-ever-vinyl-reissues-to-classic-lps/" target="_blank">the members of Lagwagon would balk at the notion of incorporating a keyboard into a song</a>). Bad Astronaut’s version of Linoleum is less abrasive, and slower, focused more around Cape’s great voice, and mounts to an explosive second half. I loved it and I was immediately looking for more of Bad Astronaut's music, which brought me to <i>War of the Worlds</i>, a split album between Bad Astronaut and Armchair Martian, where each band played the other's songs. </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>Armchair Martian’s music had a quality to it that I had not heard before. The singer, Jon Snodgrass, had something of a country twang in his voice, but the music was wholly unlike what I was accustomed to with such a voice. It was pounding rock and roll, with a slightly unrefined edge. Armchair Martian’s music was the first that I started to notice a band incorporating guitar hum and feedback into their songs. Those things added a vitality to the songs, almost as if I was hearing them live, with the hum of guitar amplifiers and all. It felt unlike most of what I had grown up hearing, which was perfectly recorded to remove all of that. Of all the songs on <i>War of the Worlds</i>, the song “You Deserve This” stood out immediately as my favorite. Snodgrass’ voice is front and center in the song, adding a sense of sadness to the slightly nebulous lyrical content of the song. </p><p>Armchair Martian was the band that helped me realize that I liked country-tinged rock music, and set me on a path to seek out more music in that vein. It was also one of the first musical discoveries of mine that really felt like my own, not just something that someone else showed me. I set about trying to find everything that Snodgrass was a part of, which included his excellent country band, <a href="https://youtu.be/XnLMAGSlQMY" target="_blank">Drag the River</a>. All of these records were put out by small record labels which helped me find even more melancholy country rock music. The desire to buy a record player was partially to start supporting these smaller labels and the lesser known bands they were promoting. Furthermore, starting this blog was an effort, albeit a small one, to help support musicians like Jon Snodgrass and to spread the word (to the point that the blog’s name comes from an <a href="https://youtu.be/6WqObmosPEU" target="_blank">Armchair Martian song</a>). Without Armchair Martian, this blog would not exist and I am not sure that my love of music would be what it is today.</p><p>Find Jon Snodgrass’ music <a href="https://www.jonsnodgrass.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-38935790420419930402022-04-30T08:13:00.003-04:002022-04-30T08:13:53.900-04:00Song Highlight: Black Sheep Wall - Metallica<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/92g7Y4m68n8" width="320" youtube-src-id="92g7Y4m68n8"></iframe></div><p>It is hard to write a compelling 33 minute song, especially if the song features a handful of repeating guitar riffs extending ad nauseam. Remarkably, this is exactly what the Southern California-based sludge metal band Black Sheep Wall have done with the song “Metallica.” The song is of their 2015 album I’m Going to Kill Myself, which features memorable album art of two colorful monsters, as if out of a children's book, with one telling the other “I’m going to kill myself.”</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><br /></p><p>The song “Metallica” is a narrative where the protagonist decides that he no longer wants to be alive anyone, and writes a suicide note, the entirety of which is presented in the song. He is disgusted with himself and dreadfully bored with his life, remarking that the most significant accomplishment in his life was waking up everyday for 38 years. The vocalist screams every word of the suicide note in a protracted manner, as if each word were its own sentence. This is all set to the monolithic pounding of a guitar riff that drones on, repeating over and over, with very little modulation. It is as if the very structure of the song was crafted to emulate the incessant boredom of the protagonist. Despite this repetition, I cannot help from being mesmerized every time I listen to the song as I get lost in the pounding thrum of the guitars. </p><p>If you have a spare 30 minutes, listen to the song and read the lyrics, presented below for your convenience:</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Slower than life itself, Jon opened his eyes, and Karen beamed back with the same fake optimism she'd had since Bible study when she was nine</i></p><p><i>"Rise and shine, love."</i></p><p><i>Jon grinned back, searching for a trap for his eyes, but the mole on her neck was the best he could find. She rose from bed with a yawn that couldn't have fooled a bigot and approached the bathroom. Jon caught a glimpse of her wings tattoo and privately scorned as if to compensate for having just slept in her bed. His mind wandered to nowhere and back. He was still laying in a shrine of reminders he wished were covered. As if there weren't enough, the alarm clock went off to Karen's favourite Taylor Swift song and Jon took a moment to embrace life's harvest before turning it off. The shower ran and Jon picked up the remote; he applied it with force. It was the most control he had with anything, even the car's brakes were going out. There was nothing on so some infomercial did the trick; a hole that his attention fell in and never found its way out</i></p><p><i>It seemed like seconds before Karen's necklace graced his nose as she kissed him goodbye. Jon's lips mustered a circle, but applied no pressure or suction; a ritual that kept him from any awareness. She reminded him about the laundry, and left in a hurry even though she was early. Jon walked to the kitchen and found a pen and paper. He began to write:</i></p><p><i>"Those who know me will say it makes no sense, let me offer you this - I agree. Consider this the script of my head, a declaration of the things I haven't said. I'm 38 years deep in skin I wish was dust. And before you jump to any conclusions, I'll admit it, I'm tired of all of you but it's myself I just can't stand. This isn't depression or a crisis, I'm just so fucking bored. If someone could have talked me out of this, I'm glad they didn't</i></p><p><i>Mom, guess I'll address you first. You should have known from the cesarean birth, I haven't ever desired to exist. Thanks for the food I guess. We both know Todd was your favourite and I don't blame you. I don't give a shit what Freud would say. Boring is about the extent we have in common. Shouldn't have cheated"</i></p><p><i>Karen burst through the door, "Forgot my report!" Jon waited for her to be on her way again and looked her in the eye for the first time in weeks. Confidently, but without emotion or dramatization he opened his mouth, "Bye", and she left. He started where he left off...</i></p><p><i>"on Dad, we knew you'd end up alone. Judging by your boredom at Grandma's funeral, I imagine you'll be the same at mine</i></p><p><i>Dad, there aren't enough sighs left in me to show you anything. If guilt exists in these lungs, it's for you and I'm sorry. We could have been closer if it weren't for me. Too many barriers got in the way, like the time I got the belt on Christmas Day. I've been your burden and I appreciate the roof, thank you. But your greatest lesson was in misogyny. Between Mom and Cheryl you know just how to pick them. I knew I'd hate my wife someday. You know exactly what I mean</i></p><p><i>Todd, best of luck with the UFC thing</i></p><p><i>Karen, don't know how the will thing works but you can have it all. I looked into life insurance but it doesn't cover suicide. There's a penny in the account for every vibrant verb you wish I was. I've never had goals to succeed in disappointment but I can feel yours in me, let's make it easy on you. I know you've always hated the ring, and I hate mine too, but not because of the way it looks. Life is just easier when I take it off. Since the day I promised "I do" I've been watching us fade to black - maybe that's what Hetfield meant. We're some kind of monster that couldn't bear an infant. As much pain as you are, at least we never had kids... it's easier to beat them in my head. Regardless, I'm happy this is on my own accord. Remember the time you caught me jerking off to Groupon? That wasn't the first time or the last. I'd rather watch senior porn than deal with the biannual anniversary sex. Those files in my computer are bound to shock you so be cautious. If you ask me, it's a miracle I've made it this far. My greatest achievement is waking up 14,000 days in a row</i></p><p><i>While pictures may inspire deceit, I'm already as dead as I'll be in five minutes. Say what you want, but take my guidelines into consideration: If they call me brave, remember that I was weak. And if they call me careless, be honored I took the time to write the note. Just don't ever call me special</i></p><p><i>I'm going to kill myself."</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Buy Black Sheep Wall’s music <a href="https://blacksheepwallband.bandcamp.com/album/im-going-to-kill-myself" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-87306049548935374402022-03-31T22:25:00.008-04:002022-03-31T22:32:55.264-04:00Song Highlight: Nine of Swords - Wild Strawberries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NwypNBE-OGg" width="320" youtube-src-id="NwypNBE-OGg"></iframe></div><p>As I have started to get older, I yearn for bands to play shorter sets, such that I can get home from a show at a more reasonable hour (better for a set to be short and sweet than to drag on). And to go along with this, I sometimes find myself wishing that a show will not have very many opening acts, so things can progress to the headliner more quickly. I need to stop wishing this, as I have discovered so many amazing bands/artists playing as opening acts. Case in point, I recently was introduced to the incredible hardcore band Nine of Swords when they opened for <a href="https://youtu.be/cjXNMzZ7JMY" target="_blank">Portrayal of Guilt</a>.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>When I went to see Portrayal of Guilt, I assumed the openers would all be aligned somewhere in the metal genre, given the sort of sludgy grindcore they play. However, when Nine of Swords took the stage, none of the band members fit the conventional metal look (tattoos and black t-shirts), with their collegiate sweatshirts and singer Rachel Gordon’s stylish black buttoned jacket. In quick order they were tearing through a <a href="https://youtu.be/XcbDuXjwwgs" target="_blank">ferocious 20 minute set</a> of hardcore punk. I was especially impressed with Gordon’s stamina considering the barrage of visceral, throat-destroying screams that she provided for each song. As their set came to an end, I was thinking that I would not have minded it to be a little longer! After the show, I made sure to look into the band, and have had them on repeat for most of the past month.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYAv4bWw3Ru_w86w7ngg3OWTNp5wSOST02qCdhAVwABHVCyspd6GnXkMXGGkGDePgO6Q2n0fqTJRaYfeKqBiax1bfEtnbPeNpCf939lDliRDetTrdfLLvUIO_oXS9nWy-F3wXCaY-B29UX05tnkM4d24_Wa10XhciNtqblG4knVdDs2N6TpwX6R89tg/s1244/Nine_of_swords_live.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="937" data-original-width="1244" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYAv4bWw3Ru_w86w7ngg3OWTNp5wSOST02qCdhAVwABHVCyspd6GnXkMXGGkGDePgO6Q2n0fqTJRaYfeKqBiax1bfEtnbPeNpCf939lDliRDetTrdfLLvUIO_oXS9nWy-F3wXCaY-B29UX05tnkM4d24_Wa10XhciNtqblG4knVdDs2N6TpwX6R89tg/w640-h482/Nine_of_swords_live.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nine of Swords at Original 13 Ciderworks, Philadelphia, PA, March 3, 2022</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>“Wild Strawberries” is probably my favorite track on their most recent album, <i>You will never die</i>. It opens with an extremely catchy guitar line carried by a driving drum beat. While most of Gordon’s vocals for the song consist of enraged screaming, she briefly breaks it up with a segment of clean singing (though one could argue that it verges on simply talking). For a song that is over in well under two minutes, it is filled with distinctive and memorable portions, which is not something you can say from all hardcore punk music. </p><p>Lyrically, the song is about a questionable relationship, where Gordon is continually left out to dry:</p><p>“Weeknight, you leave me on the fence. No harm done if you tell me no offense. Weekday, it always is the same. Who am I to anticipate change?”</p><p><br /></p><p>And furthermore, this friend is putting words in her mouth and speaking for her:</p><p>“When you insist on speaking on my behalf, what am I supposed to say?”</p><p><br /></p><p>The song ends with the scathing admonishment:</p><p>“Doesn't matter if you didn't mean it, no one gets a gold star for giving a shit.”</p><p><br /></p><p>Nine of Swords is a reminder to me to get to shows early and give every artist a chance. I am eagerly awaiting what new music they have in store for the future.</p><p><br /></p><p>Buy Nine of Sword’s music <a href="https://thenineofswords.bandcamp.com/album/you-will-never-die" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-385708997642073144.post-70243961716888386812022-02-28T20:13:00.001-05:002022-02-28T20:13:11.610-05:00Song Highlight: Timeshares - Ladder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ny-Vr5YqPSQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="Ny-Vr5YqPSQ"></iframe></div><p>About 10 years ago, <a href="http://www.fineenoughisuppose.com/2012/08/song-of-week-menzingers-good-things.html" target="_blank">I first heard the Menzingers</a> as an opening act for The Bouncing Souls. The Menzingers were the highlight of that show, and they have gone on to become one of my favorite melodic punk bands. This month I saw the Menzingers in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, almost 10 years later. The highlight of this show was their first opening act, a New York state punk band called Timeshares. They combine the punk aggression of early Menzingers material with some alternative country leanings, ala the Drive By Truckers. Anyone who has followed this blog for a while will know that I have a special affinity for rock music with a country-tinge to it. Hearing a sorrowful twang in their music was cause for much excitement, and I went home and bought some of their music straightaway. </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>Timeshares’ earlier material reminds me of the gruff aggression of Hot Water Music, with dueling vocalists and energetic guitar lines. The aforementioned country-tinge is more on display on a collection of EPs that they have released in the last few years. Their 2018 EP <i>On Life Support</i> (2018) ends with the song “Ladder”, which was probably the song I have listened to the most in February. </p><p>“Ladder” is a touching song about reconciling with a loss, which in this case, pertains to the passing of vocalist Jon Hernandez’ father. The song starts with moments of willful denial:</p><p><br /></p><p>“And I never stopped to think, because thinking just could kill you.</p><p>And I spent the night awake. Does it sound familiar?“</p><p><br /></p><p>It then moves to pondering how his father would reply to the questions swirling around his head:</p><p><br /></p><p>“I’ve got something more to ask you. </p><p>When the vessel starts to go, did it feel like life passed you? </p><p>Is there weight to be given to the parallels I’m living?</p><p>I get shaken down by heights, and the ropes upon my back are giving way.”</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, Jon comes to the realization that, despite his sadness and longing, he has to keep pushing on:</p><p><br /></p><p>“What else can I do, old man? I'll keep climbing.”</p><p><br /></p><p>This is a surprisingly hopeful way to end a very wistful song. It is often easy to get caught up in your own struggles and wallow in them, not being willing to put one foot in front of the other. Even though this can be exceedingly difficult, Timeshares reminds us that we all need to keep climbing.</p><p>Buy Timeshares’ music <a href="https://timeshares.bandcamp.com/album/on-life-support" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><div><br /></div>Gregory Wierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04773235150604731258noreply@blogger.com0