this is maybe not particularly creative, but it's pulling out references to a large number of things i recognize, from ministry to pink floyd to tortoise. if you hit enough vertices in my record collection, you're going to eventually generate some interest in me. a more interesting question is whether it's sustained, and i think they're going to have to take it to the next level, mostly in terms of intensity, to get to that point.
but, i think this is worth a beer as an opening act - at least until they find themselves, anyways.
https://metempsychosis.bandcamp.com/
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
i'm actually not sure if the samples of his mom are better described as touching or gimmicky, it's certainly straddling a line, but this nonetheless works fairly well as background music, even if i suspect a live presentation would be fairly boring.
https://josephshabason.bandcamp.com/album/anne
https://josephshabason.bandcamp.com/album/anne
Friday, July 26, 2019
you don't hear a lot of actual punk music nowadays. so, this is kind of refreshing.
it's not screamo. it's not thrash metal. it's just old school punk.
https://hotelmurder.bandcamp.com
it's not screamo. it's not thrash metal. it's just old school punk.
https://hotelmurder.bandcamp.com
this is one of the shows that i missed in the spring, although they're doing a show in toronto in mid october that might align with my trip in.
this style of female-driven hardcore tends to fall into a number of cliches nowadays, and they're certainly playing in that space, but they're also pulling in some poppier influences and some thrashier influences. all in all, it's a good update on a style that's been sort of overdone.
they probably want you to focus more on the lyrics, and i'm going to sort of step back and acknowledge my age rather than criticize it. there's a few points where they opt more for blunt anger than savvy analysis, although i'll also take honest reflection. i'm not 19 anymore, so the guttural anger seems pointless to me. in a sense, that's what they want you to do: yell at the wall, burn yourself out, and accomplish nothing. the system is designed to be impossible to navigate, enough to make you scream at the sky sometimes, certainly, but it's entirely pointless to do it, and while it's sometimes a necessary release, you also need to be vigilant that you don't fall into that trap. but, i don't remember that being obvious to me 20 years ago, either.
https://waronwomen.bandcamp.com
this style of female-driven hardcore tends to fall into a number of cliches nowadays, and they're certainly playing in that space, but they're also pulling in some poppier influences and some thrashier influences. all in all, it's a good update on a style that's been sort of overdone.
they probably want you to focus more on the lyrics, and i'm going to sort of step back and acknowledge my age rather than criticize it. there's a few points where they opt more for blunt anger than savvy analysis, although i'll also take honest reflection. i'm not 19 anymore, so the guttural anger seems pointless to me. in a sense, that's what they want you to do: yell at the wall, burn yourself out, and accomplish nothing. the system is designed to be impossible to navigate, enough to make you scream at the sky sometimes, certainly, but it's entirely pointless to do it, and while it's sometimes a necessary release, you also need to be vigilant that you don't fall into that trap. but, i don't remember that being obvious to me 20 years ago, either.
https://waronwomen.bandcamp.com
Saturday, July 13, 2019
yesterday was in fact a very long day, so this long sleep was natural and expected, regardless of anything else. i think i'm up now.
i've been going to late night parties in detroit for a while now, and the legal licensing of more late night spots is starting to mix the crowds up a little. i would be on the side of the bar owners, actually, in mostly keeping more exotic drugs out of the space. and, of course the bar owners want you to drink, regardless of their own habits. see, that's kind of the irony of the mess, right - when the cops go in to these places, the reason they go in is to shut down the drinking, even when the truth is that only a small number of people are actually drinking, which they must actually know.
and, alcohol has bad statistics, truly, but it's also by far the most widely used substance, so it suffers from a lot of questionable causations from what are admittedly clear correlations. i'm not really convinced that alcohol makes people more violent than other drugs, for example - i'm only convinced that more violent people have easier access to alcohol than they do to other drugs. there's a loop there; if you're a violent person, you're going to get cut out from various social circles, leaving you with old legal alcohol as your last choice. then, when you're violent, they blame the substance, rather than recognizing that the alcohol dependency is a consequence of the anger issues in the first place. it would follow that substituting for something else isn't going to actually solve anything, because it's not actually the problem in the first place.
but, i digress; i'm just pointing out that you need to be skeptical about alcohol statistics. the truth is that i actually don't run into a lot of drunks, or a lot of obvious ones, anyways.
following the crackdown in 2016, the late night spots were all nitrous bars for a few years, which meant i got to experience some people cracking out on what is really a weird drug. i never tried it; initially, i hadn't done the research (and, if you're going to try something, at least read up on it first), and after i had, i really didn't want to. i'll dabble in psychedelics infrequently, but pretty much the only drugs i have any interest in are marijuana and alcohol - i'll turn down pretty much anything else. watching people try to move in any way, let alone dance, after a nitrous hit is pretty eye-opening, though. i don't really want to make fun of people with neurodegenerative diseases, but it's along the lines of what it actually looks like.
you didn't see people come into these spaces with other drugs, though, besides maybe cocaine, and you don't really see people experience cocaine, or at least not from snorting it. i guess it's too short, really. no mdma, for example.
so, i'm recently becoming re-acquainted with the e-tard, and it's a different reality because they're all a little older, now, you see.
i met one last night that couldn't find a charger for his phone, and couldn't handle that fact. it was a serious crisis; i don't think he ever figured it out. and, he looked a little older than me, which would put him in his mid 40s.
i walked by another one to stamp out a cigarette that apparently felt smothered by male attention and was in some kind of desperate requirement of female attention. she was about my age, maybe a little older. she just kept looking at me and stuttering "female", as though she was e.t. or johnny 5 or something. she seemed to want me to sit beside her; if there was a further request, i'm not certain what it was, and in the face of such poor articulation, i actually didn't feel particularly obliged to help, so much as i felt an urge to walk off. a small posse of men cleared a spot for me, though; they seemed to want me to sit down, too. in the end, did she find a girl to rub up against, and perhaps awkwardly try to make out with? i don't know.
i did have fun dancing, though, as i always do. the night ended a bit before 4:00, but it was a bit of a ride back to the tunnel, and the bus was there before 6:00. factoring in that i needed to take walks for urination and coffee, and that i needed to finish my "mountain dew", i didn't spend much time waiting. i expected that finding another party for 4:00-6:00 wouldn't be worthwhile, so i didn't look; i think that was the right decision, that night. the 4:00 end time on a friday night is always iffy - 3:00 is too early, and 5:00 is just right. when i'm a block from the tunnel, it tends to lend itself to awkward waiting, but it was fine for last night. this is different from saturday night, when the bus doesn't come until 8:30 on sunday morning, and you need to find a party until 5:00 or 6:00 or even 7:00, depending on where it is.
i did make it out to see the psych/punk band early, although i missed the first few tracks. they were making more of an attempt to be abstract, but it sill wasn't quite enough for me; i would have preferred something that was trying less to be generic punk and trying more to be weird, but it's a fine line, and they're not me. the second act that night struck me as a little bit safe and kind of boring. they were doing a video shoot, which is maybe a big step forwards for them in terms of exposure, even if what i actually heard was a small step backwards for them in terms of interestingness.
and, that is that. for a while. next weekend might be long and wacky, let's hope it works out.
for now, i have a lot of legal writing to do.
reviews will appear here periodically as i sort through the massive list of tabs i built up.
i've been going to late night parties in detroit for a while now, and the legal licensing of more late night spots is starting to mix the crowds up a little. i would be on the side of the bar owners, actually, in mostly keeping more exotic drugs out of the space. and, of course the bar owners want you to drink, regardless of their own habits. see, that's kind of the irony of the mess, right - when the cops go in to these places, the reason they go in is to shut down the drinking, even when the truth is that only a small number of people are actually drinking, which they must actually know.
and, alcohol has bad statistics, truly, but it's also by far the most widely used substance, so it suffers from a lot of questionable causations from what are admittedly clear correlations. i'm not really convinced that alcohol makes people more violent than other drugs, for example - i'm only convinced that more violent people have easier access to alcohol than they do to other drugs. there's a loop there; if you're a violent person, you're going to get cut out from various social circles, leaving you with old legal alcohol as your last choice. then, when you're violent, they blame the substance, rather than recognizing that the alcohol dependency is a consequence of the anger issues in the first place. it would follow that substituting for something else isn't going to actually solve anything, because it's not actually the problem in the first place.
but, i digress; i'm just pointing out that you need to be skeptical about alcohol statistics. the truth is that i actually don't run into a lot of drunks, or a lot of obvious ones, anyways.
following the crackdown in 2016, the late night spots were all nitrous bars for a few years, which meant i got to experience some people cracking out on what is really a weird drug. i never tried it; initially, i hadn't done the research (and, if you're going to try something, at least read up on it first), and after i had, i really didn't want to. i'll dabble in psychedelics infrequently, but pretty much the only drugs i have any interest in are marijuana and alcohol - i'll turn down pretty much anything else. watching people try to move in any way, let alone dance, after a nitrous hit is pretty eye-opening, though. i don't really want to make fun of people with neurodegenerative diseases, but it's along the lines of what it actually looks like.
you didn't see people come into these spaces with other drugs, though, besides maybe cocaine, and you don't really see people experience cocaine, or at least not from snorting it. i guess it's too short, really. no mdma, for example.
so, i'm recently becoming re-acquainted with the e-tard, and it's a different reality because they're all a little older, now, you see.
i met one last night that couldn't find a charger for his phone, and couldn't handle that fact. it was a serious crisis; i don't think he ever figured it out. and, he looked a little older than me, which would put him in his mid 40s.
i walked by another one to stamp out a cigarette that apparently felt smothered by male attention and was in some kind of desperate requirement of female attention. she was about my age, maybe a little older. she just kept looking at me and stuttering "female", as though she was e.t. or johnny 5 or something. she seemed to want me to sit beside her; if there was a further request, i'm not certain what it was, and in the face of such poor articulation, i actually didn't feel particularly obliged to help, so much as i felt an urge to walk off. a small posse of men cleared a spot for me, though; they seemed to want me to sit down, too. in the end, did she find a girl to rub up against, and perhaps awkwardly try to make out with? i don't know.
i did have fun dancing, though, as i always do. the night ended a bit before 4:00, but it was a bit of a ride back to the tunnel, and the bus was there before 6:00. factoring in that i needed to take walks for urination and coffee, and that i needed to finish my "mountain dew", i didn't spend much time waiting. i expected that finding another party for 4:00-6:00 wouldn't be worthwhile, so i didn't look; i think that was the right decision, that night. the 4:00 end time on a friday night is always iffy - 3:00 is too early, and 5:00 is just right. when i'm a block from the tunnel, it tends to lend itself to awkward waiting, but it was fine for last night. this is different from saturday night, when the bus doesn't come until 8:30 on sunday morning, and you need to find a party until 5:00 or 6:00 or even 7:00, depending on where it is.
i did make it out to see the psych/punk band early, although i missed the first few tracks. they were making more of an attempt to be abstract, but it sill wasn't quite enough for me; i would have preferred something that was trying less to be generic punk and trying more to be weird, but it's a fine line, and they're not me. the second act that night struck me as a little bit safe and kind of boring. they were doing a video shoot, which is maybe a big step forwards for them in terms of exposure, even if what i actually heard was a small step backwards for them in terms of interestingness.
and, that is that. for a while. next weekend might be long and wacky, let's hope it works out.
for now, i have a lot of legal writing to do.
reviews will appear here periodically as i sort through the massive list of tabs i built up.
Friday, July 12, 2019
ok.
so, i want to make a public announcement about this because bars seem to have this thing backwards. they seem to think that if they don't post set times then people will show up at doors and wait until the band comes on.
personally, if you don't post set times then chances are that i'm not going at all - because i'm not going to show up at doors and wait around at the bar all night.
the loving touch has given me a four hour window(20:00 - 00:00) to guess when what is probably going to be an hour show is going to happen. meanwhile, there's two other things i'm planning around. there does not appear to be an opening band. i've asked for set times and received no response. so, i'm going to have to scratch the we were promised jet packs show off the list.
if they were to post set times, i'd be able to plan around the other two shows; if they don't, then i can't work that show into my plans tonight.
that said, the other venue is playing later tonight than i expected. my initial plan was to stop in hamtramck on the way to ferndale. if i can get a setlist, i may go to ferndale and then back to hamtramck. but, i'm probably not going to want to go to hamtramck for a 22:00 show at all.
right now, it seems like i'm going straight to marble, but the loving touch still has time to post setlists and fix that.
so, i want to make a public announcement about this because bars seem to have this thing backwards. they seem to think that if they don't post set times then people will show up at doors and wait until the band comes on.
personally, if you don't post set times then chances are that i'm not going at all - because i'm not going to show up at doors and wait around at the bar all night.
the loving touch has given me a four hour window(20:00 - 00:00) to guess when what is probably going to be an hour show is going to happen. meanwhile, there's two other things i'm planning around. there does not appear to be an opening band. i've asked for set times and received no response. so, i'm going to have to scratch the we were promised jet packs show off the list.
if they were to post set times, i'd be able to plan around the other two shows; if they don't, then i can't work that show into my plans tonight.
that said, the other venue is playing later tonight than i expected. my initial plan was to stop in hamtramck on the way to ferndale. if i can get a setlist, i may go to ferndale and then back to hamtramck. but, i'm probably not going to want to go to hamtramck for a 22:00 show at all.
right now, it seems like i'm going straight to marble, but the loving touch still has time to post setlists and fix that.
ok, so i think i've got the next week cleared out pretty well.
next friday is probably empty.
saturday is torche/baroness, as well as a marching band show in the park in the afternoon. there will be another marching band show in a different park on sunday afternoon, and then sunsquabi in the evening. so, that's a good weekend, and i might take it all in one chunk.
i'm going to hope that clearing out the week is good enough, and that i can plan to go in one day next week sometime around the middle of the week. i have the day picked out, and it works out because the show that the band is playing in detroit is sold out, i'm just iffy on buying tickets until i see the exact nature of the case i'm building. i mean, i have a pretty good idea, but i don't want to buy a ticket to toronto and then realize i missed something.
i was considering going over for the weekend just for the experience, but that's actually pretty unnecessary. it was built around the idea of the screaming females show being in london, and working around it, but it's on a sunday so it kind of doesn't actually work. if i go in early on a weekday morning, i should be able to serve everybody through the day, see a show at night, catch the early morning bus to london, file, and then be home by the next afternoon. this is a long day, no doubt, but i shouldn't need to take two or even three nights of lodgings on top of everything else, that way.
so, unless i get this done very quickly, tonight should probably be my last night out for a solid week. and, i need to get a move on it.
next friday is probably empty.
saturday is torche/baroness, as well as a marching band show in the park in the afternoon. there will be another marching band show in a different park on sunday afternoon, and then sunsquabi in the evening. so, that's a good weekend, and i might take it all in one chunk.
i'm going to hope that clearing out the week is good enough, and that i can plan to go in one day next week sometime around the middle of the week. i have the day picked out, and it works out because the show that the band is playing in detroit is sold out, i'm just iffy on buying tickets until i see the exact nature of the case i'm building. i mean, i have a pretty good idea, but i don't want to buy a ticket to toronto and then realize i missed something.
i was considering going over for the weekend just for the experience, but that's actually pretty unnecessary. it was built around the idea of the screaming females show being in london, and working around it, but it's on a sunday so it kind of doesn't actually work. if i go in early on a weekday morning, i should be able to serve everybody through the day, see a show at night, catch the early morning bus to london, file, and then be home by the next afternoon. this is a long day, no doubt, but i shouldn't need to take two or even three nights of lodgings on top of everything else, that way.
so, unless i get this done very quickly, tonight should probably be my last night out for a solid week. and, i need to get a move on it.
no, really.
i hope they thought ahead and made sure that the elo show next saturday is wheelchair accessible.
they probably won't have to ask people to turn off their cell phones, but they should ask them to make sure they change their diapers.
i should be quiet before i end up a casualty in the battle of michigan avenue. that's a different way to define "mobile devices"; it would be tiananmen square all over again.
i'm sorry. really. have fun, if you go.
i hope they thought ahead and made sure that the elo show next saturday is wheelchair accessible.
they probably won't have to ask people to turn off their cell phones, but they should ask them to make sure they change their diapers.
i should be quiet before i end up a casualty in the battle of michigan avenue. that's a different way to define "mobile devices"; it would be tiananmen square all over again.
i'm sorry. really. have fun, if you go.
i've been stumbling around detroit looking for some like-minded musicians for a while now, and it's kind of not working, so i'm going to try something else.
this is a video of me performing some guitar tracks in ottawa in 2012 at an occupy ottawa fundraiser to shut down the tar sands [think of it like an anti-keystone thing from the canadian side]. it's a little sloppy, but the bizarre syncopation is entirely intentional and actually kind of the point. this is not screwing around, it's a composition. easily deconstructible influences here include jimi hendrix, frank zappa, kurt cobain, billy corgan, efrim menuck, adam jones, jimmy page, norman westberg, renaldo/moore, steve hackett, john mclaughlin, al di meola, colin marston, jack white, omar rodriguez, carlos santana, kevin shields, mike keneally, tim smith & greg hetson....as well as debussy, rachmaninov, steve reich and philip glass. and leo brouwer.
i would like to find a drummer that is brave enough to take this on. please help if possible.
i may duck out for a few minutes on saturday to a local show at villain's, but i probably won't.
i'm in on sunday and monday.
unless i hear otherwise, the tunnel closes at 20:00 all next week, meaning i'm stuck for over nights every night. and, i'll probably skip all of them....
but, there's an experimental/jazz show on tuesday north of newtown and a couple of psych-ish and/or electronic-y shows on wednesday that are long shots if the tunnel re-opens, or i get done the paperwork faster than expected. i guess i'll get these up as i look into them more closely.
so, i'm through the week and on to planning next weekend, which should be a little faster because i think it's clear. the big question is: torche/baroness or james/psychedelic-furs?
i'm in on sunday and monday.
unless i hear otherwise, the tunnel closes at 20:00 all next week, meaning i'm stuck for over nights every night. and, i'll probably skip all of them....
but, there's an experimental/jazz show on tuesday north of newtown and a couple of psych-ish and/or electronic-y shows on wednesday that are long shots if the tunnel re-opens, or i get done the paperwork faster than expected. i guess i'll get these up as i look into them more closely.
so, i'm through the week and on to planning next weekend, which should be a little faster because i think it's clear. the big question is: torche/baroness or james/psychedelic-furs?
for $10, i expect my free nike shoes to be personally signed by colin kaepernick.
this is not that notable, actually, but the girls just want to have fun cover is very tainted love, and that's a hole nobody's filling. although, you'd have wanted to give them lots of space if you had asked coil to file a hole, so you want to be careful with such a request.
oddly, it seems like marble is both the cool kids club and the new goth club in town, just as leland is trying to escape from it's old reputation; as soon as goth has a moment, the goth club goes dubstep, right as it is in itself dying. grargh. but, i've been saying for years that the latter place is just badly managed.
http://virginthorns.bandcamp.com/
this is not that notable, actually, but the girls just want to have fun cover is very tainted love, and that's a hole nobody's filling. although, you'd have wanted to give them lots of space if you had asked coil to file a hole, so you want to be careful with such a request.
oddly, it seems like marble is both the cool kids club and the new goth club in town, just as leland is trying to escape from it's old reputation; as soon as goth has a moment, the goth club goes dubstep, right as it is in itself dying. grargh. but, i've been saying for years that the latter place is just badly managed.
http://virginthorns.bandcamp.com/
Thursday, July 11, 2019
the doom band that i was maybe going to check out briefly last night, which it turns out is from italy, is doing a second show at the same venue, which is also not that far from a new dance club that is having an opening night.
you can see what i was thinking, but it's not going to work - the price for the opening night is a little inflated for what amounts to some unremarkable techno, and the doom band is not interesting enough to check out on it's own merit. i'm going to scold myself if i go to that, so i shouldn't.
however, this is the band that is opening for the doom band, and it's quite an interesting piece of work. i'm not going to get out to see this on saturday, but i hope i get another chance to see them relatively soon.
torus and float here forever could do a "euler characteristic zero fucks" tour together. but, torus would have to rename themselves "coffee cup". and float here forever would have to avoid conflict with the mobius strip show.
i'm sorry.
and, i'll check this out eventually.
https://torusdetroit.bandcamp.com/releases
you can see what i was thinking, but it's not going to work - the price for the opening night is a little inflated for what amounts to some unremarkable techno, and the doom band is not interesting enough to check out on it's own merit. i'm going to scold myself if i go to that, so i shouldn't.
however, this is the band that is opening for the doom band, and it's quite an interesting piece of work. i'm not going to get out to see this on saturday, but i hope i get another chance to see them relatively soon.
torus and float here forever could do a "euler characteristic zero fucks" tour together. but, torus would have to rename themselves "coffee cup". and float here forever would have to avoid conflict with the mobius strip show.
i'm sorry.
and, i'll check this out eventually.
https://torusdetroit.bandcamp.com/releases
i almost never go to "real" rock shows like this - i've never been in the main pit of the masonic theatre - but, in the current musical climate, a jack white show, however many bands removed, so long as he's still actually making new music, would be just about as likely as i'd get to going to one.
i'm actually not at all familiar with this project. the reviews are suggesting it's a rock record and return to form, but that is predictable marketing and i'm going to dissent a little - this is still a country or folk or roots or americana or whatever record in construction, even if the guitars are (presumably) a little more forward in the mix.
what's striking me as more notable about the record is actually the production. i'd guess most people aren't going to give a fuck, but he's running his guitar through something that i've never really heard it run through before. a midi synth? a real time computer effects processor? a lot of the guitar work is kind of almost frippian, which is maybe a contradiction with his fan base, but it's been there the whole time, too.
and, if i were to spend some more time with the record, i'd no doubt find a few more little twists, like the irony that comes out at the end of the very queenish track "don't bother me".
but, what it's reminding me of is one of those paul mccartney records from the mid-70s when he was working with people he liked, rather than people he respected, and is at this point mostly lost to history. but, i bet the people that saw wings in 1974 had fun anyways, right?
there's also the premise of giving jack white another $45 (usd). i know, he's gotta eat too, right? i'd get over it pretty quickly in a different context, but this is legitimately not speaking to me.
so, i'll leave the seat open for somebody else to take - and i'm sure somebody will take it.
https://theraconteurs.bandcamp.com/
i'm actually not at all familiar with this project. the reviews are suggesting it's a rock record and return to form, but that is predictable marketing and i'm going to dissent a little - this is still a country or folk or roots or americana or whatever record in construction, even if the guitars are (presumably) a little more forward in the mix.
what's striking me as more notable about the record is actually the production. i'd guess most people aren't going to give a fuck, but he's running his guitar through something that i've never really heard it run through before. a midi synth? a real time computer effects processor? a lot of the guitar work is kind of almost frippian, which is maybe a contradiction with his fan base, but it's been there the whole time, too.
and, if i were to spend some more time with the record, i'd no doubt find a few more little twists, like the irony that comes out at the end of the very queenish track "don't bother me".
but, what it's reminding me of is one of those paul mccartney records from the mid-70s when he was working with people he liked, rather than people he respected, and is at this point mostly lost to history. but, i bet the people that saw wings in 1974 had fun anyways, right?
there's also the premise of giving jack white another $45 (usd). i know, he's gotta eat too, right? i'd get over it pretty quickly in a different context, but this is legitimately not speaking to me.
so, i'll leave the seat open for somebody else to take - and i'm sure somebody will take it.
https://theraconteurs.bandcamp.com/
this is on saturday at the far bar in pontiac.
while it's still - unfortunately - unusual to hear a female-fronted act of this type, this doesn't seem to transcend the problems that the genre has, overall: boxy songwriting, without much attempt to break out of it. in that sense, i've already written this review a dozen times. it's a good start, but there's a long way to go.
https://covetband.bandcamp.com/album/effloresce
while it's still - unfortunately - unusual to hear a female-fronted act of this type, this doesn't seem to transcend the problems that the genre has, overall: boxy songwriting, without much attempt to break out of it. in that sense, i've already written this review a dozen times. it's a good start, but there's a long way to go.
https://covetband.bandcamp.com/album/effloresce
ok, i have a good path on friday. no stretching. no guessing. no waiting. i don't want to cut these sorts of things out, i just need to be disciplined enough to ensure that the nights i plan are as tight as this one.
fri - 12th - concert of colors (guitar set)--->paint thinner--->we were promised jetpacks---->texture
fri - 12th - concert of colors (guitar set)--->paint thinner--->we were promised jetpacks---->texture
on the other hand, this is maybe more what i was looking for on monday night, even if it's done early. or, maybe i'm walking into the same thing.
hrmmn.
could i check this out early, then go to ferndale? possible.
i really don't want to be in the video, though. really.
https://paint-thinner.com/album/the-sea-of-pulp
hrmmn.
could i check this out early, then go to ferndale? possible.
i really don't want to be in the video, though. really.
https://paint-thinner.com/album/the-sea-of-pulp
i'll wait until they're done the filming, thanks.
https://moonwalks.bandcamp.com/album/in-light-the-scales-in-the-frame
https://moonwalks.bandcamp.com/album/in-light-the-scales-in-the-frame
what i remember thinking about this wave of acts that came up, which also included cymbals eat guitars, is that it went to shit essentially immediately. but, i didn't connect to this as much as i connected to why there are mountains.
listening to this now, what it actually reminds me of is a newfoundland-via-montreal canadian (do newfies get upset when you call them canadian? more or less so than when they call them newfies? hey, here's a cool joke: seven newfies walked into a bar and played an awesome set.) indie/post-rock act called hey rosetta, who i sort of miss, and i'm not sure you really get the kind of separation from that broader sound with this than you did with some of the noisier things that came from the late 00s. that is, this record could have been released closer to 1999, even if there maybe wasn't yet reason to be pissy about not having jet packs.
i can at least get a good path on friday, and this is the only reasonable option on the board (i don't want to be in anybody's photo or video shoot). but, i'm going to sit on it for a bit.
listening to this now, what it actually reminds me of is a newfoundland-via-montreal canadian (do newfies get upset when you call them canadian? more or less so than when they call them newfies? hey, here's a cool joke: seven newfies walked into a bar and played an awesome set.) indie/post-rock act called hey rosetta, who i sort of miss, and i'm not sure you really get the kind of separation from that broader sound with this than you did with some of the noisier things that came from the late 00s. that is, this record could have been released closer to 1999, even if there maybe wasn't yet reason to be pissy about not having jet packs.
i can at least get a good path on friday, and this is the only reasonable option on the board (i don't want to be in anybody's photo or video shoot). but, i'm going to sit on it for a bit.
that was an unexpected loss of almost a full day, but i'm back to where i was at and hope to get a lot done.
i never completely shook off whatever i inhaled yesterday morning and could probably sleep another ten hours. but, i'm dragging along with some coffee and am going to keep pushing. it's kind of still sitting at the back of my eye sockets, in that way you get when you're hungover....
i dunno. but, i actually felt great yesterday, before that.
he's gone for the day, but there's a female upstairs coughing again. i've been through this before. it seemed like she came in for the day, because she knocked on the door a few minutes before he left. it's not the first time, either. it's very strange behaviour, isn't it? why would somebody come in right before he leaves? it's almost as though somebody came in to take the next shift, as though somebody is working up there. and, what kind of job would that be?
in fact, i noticed that in the last apartment, too, although it was for downstairs rather than upstairs. they insisted there was only one person living there; i counted at least three.
i don't even care. i just have two requests. please keep the air down or off altogether (i would prefer off altogether) and please smoke down the street if you're going to smoke at all.
so, i'm back at what i was doing, and have cleared out up to saturday. to be clear: i am not going out tonight. friday is iffy. saturday is unlikely. and, i hope to have the rest of the week worked out in the next day or two.
i never completely shook off whatever i inhaled yesterday morning and could probably sleep another ten hours. but, i'm dragging along with some coffee and am going to keep pushing. it's kind of still sitting at the back of my eye sockets, in that way you get when you're hungover....
i dunno. but, i actually felt great yesterday, before that.
he's gone for the day, but there's a female upstairs coughing again. i've been through this before. it seemed like she came in for the day, because she knocked on the door a few minutes before he left. it's not the first time, either. it's very strange behaviour, isn't it? why would somebody come in right before he leaves? it's almost as though somebody came in to take the next shift, as though somebody is working up there. and, what kind of job would that be?
in fact, i noticed that in the last apartment, too, although it was for downstairs rather than upstairs. they insisted there was only one person living there; i counted at least three.
i don't even care. i just have two requests. please keep the air down or off altogether (i would prefer off altogether) and please smoke down the street if you're going to smoke at all.
so, i'm back at what i was doing, and have cleared out up to saturday. to be clear: i am not going out tonight. friday is iffy. saturday is unlikely. and, i hope to have the rest of the week worked out in the next day or two.
so, that was 11 hours of sleep and i'm still feeling blurry.
it's easy enough to point to my habits, but you wouldn't actually be making any sense, if you did. this didn't happen last week, or the week before, or the week before that. further, i'm telling you that i have a clear cause and effect, as i have had all of the other times this has happened: i smell the marijuana, i get a very unpleasant "high" (that is really more like an awful low) for an hour or two, and then i pass out for around 10 hours. it's consistent. this is what second-hand marijuana does to me over and over, and it's miserable and i want it to stop.
so, i'm not just complaining about the smell. i don't like the effects of non-consensual drugging, and there should be regulations in place to prevent it from happening. marijuana is not something that belongs in residential areas, and it's not something you do inside your house by yourself; marijuana is something that belongs in bars and parks, and something that should be done in broad, social settings. but, i'm repeating myself.
i don't know what i have to do, at this point, to find a home where i can live and not be drugged against my will by my neighbours.
and, listen - this is all very consistent with itself at least. witnesses around town will testify that i get pretty stoned on a very small amount of pot. and, any time anybody has given me any kind of pot in any kind of concentration - be it shatter or brownies - i've ended up stationary, immobile or passed out. this is actually well documented, if you ask around, or if you read my blog. so, i have a very, very low tolerance for pot, and i know that. if anybody is going to find themselves affected by second-hand smoke, i'm the person...
and, in the end, this is an empirical question, and one i've actually demonstrated with a urine test. i actually, really tested positive for thc from exposure to second-hand smoke. i can show you the lab report. really.
it's ridiculously nice out right now, but at this moment i'd no doubt be heading to the diner any minute to get some coffee and sit and wait for the bus until 6:00, scolding myself for a wasted night.
even though it's really absolutely beautiful out....
....and disappointingly cold in here, too.
it's easy enough to point to my habits, but you wouldn't actually be making any sense, if you did. this didn't happen last week, or the week before, or the week before that. further, i'm telling you that i have a clear cause and effect, as i have had all of the other times this has happened: i smell the marijuana, i get a very unpleasant "high" (that is really more like an awful low) for an hour or two, and then i pass out for around 10 hours. it's consistent. this is what second-hand marijuana does to me over and over, and it's miserable and i want it to stop.
so, i'm not just complaining about the smell. i don't like the effects of non-consensual drugging, and there should be regulations in place to prevent it from happening. marijuana is not something that belongs in residential areas, and it's not something you do inside your house by yourself; marijuana is something that belongs in bars and parks, and something that should be done in broad, social settings. but, i'm repeating myself.
i don't know what i have to do, at this point, to find a home where i can live and not be drugged against my will by my neighbours.
and, listen - this is all very consistent with itself at least. witnesses around town will testify that i get pretty stoned on a very small amount of pot. and, any time anybody has given me any kind of pot in any kind of concentration - be it shatter or brownies - i've ended up stationary, immobile or passed out. this is actually well documented, if you ask around, or if you read my blog. so, i have a very, very low tolerance for pot, and i know that. if anybody is going to find themselves affected by second-hand smoke, i'm the person...
and, in the end, this is an empirical question, and one i've actually demonstrated with a urine test. i actually, really tested positive for thc from exposure to second-hand smoke. i can show you the lab report. really.
it's ridiculously nice out right now, but at this moment i'd no doubt be heading to the diner any minute to get some coffee and sit and wait for the bus until 6:00, scolding myself for a wasted night.
even though it's really absolutely beautiful out....
....and disappointingly cold in here, too.
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
in the end, my body made my choice for me.
that nap turned into a hard crash, and my eyes just got completely welded shut - i felt stoned, and in the bad lethargic way, where you just want to sleep for weeks at a time. yuck. i don't understand why anybody pretends to like that feeling - these people are addicted, and that's all there is to it.
the guy upstairs was gone for most of the last two weeks, and came back a few days ago. while he was gone, the air quality was actually quite nice. no second-hand tobacco, no second-hand marijuana. it did not take long for him to come back before the problem reasserted itself again, indicating that it's clear enough what the actual problem is.
again: i don't care what he does. i don't remotely care about him in any fathomable way at all. but, why would somebody sign a non-smoking lease and then smoke inside? it's completely baffling to me. and, it's completely baffling to me that he seems to actually have some kind of interest in smoking these highly sedative strains that make you feel like you smoked something laced with heroin.
so, i got knocked out by the second-hand pot from upstairs. again.
and, i'm consequently in for the night.
i could have maybe made it if i skipped showering and shaving, but i can't do that, i'd die of embarrassment if i ever showed up in detroit without shaving and somebody saw me. like, i'd probably start crying.
and, i'm really torn on this. i'm regretting the fact that i missed it, but i'm pretty sure i'd regret going if i actually did, too. i think i'm fucked either way.
i'm going to make some coffee and get back to what i was doing, if i can stay awake.
that nap turned into a hard crash, and my eyes just got completely welded shut - i felt stoned, and in the bad lethargic way, where you just want to sleep for weeks at a time. yuck. i don't understand why anybody pretends to like that feeling - these people are addicted, and that's all there is to it.
the guy upstairs was gone for most of the last two weeks, and came back a few days ago. while he was gone, the air quality was actually quite nice. no second-hand tobacco, no second-hand marijuana. it did not take long for him to come back before the problem reasserted itself again, indicating that it's clear enough what the actual problem is.
again: i don't care what he does. i don't remotely care about him in any fathomable way at all. but, why would somebody sign a non-smoking lease and then smoke inside? it's completely baffling to me. and, it's completely baffling to me that he seems to actually have some kind of interest in smoking these highly sedative strains that make you feel like you smoked something laced with heroin.
so, i got knocked out by the second-hand pot from upstairs. again.
and, i'm consequently in for the night.
i could have maybe made it if i skipped showering and shaving, but i can't do that, i'd die of embarrassment if i ever showed up in detroit without shaving and somebody saw me. like, i'd probably start crying.
and, i'm really torn on this. i'm regretting the fact that i missed it, but i'm pretty sure i'd regret going if i actually did, too. i think i'm fucked either way.
i'm going to make some coffee and get back to what i was doing, if i can stay awake.
yeah.
tonight might have been cool if the bus was running normal hours. it would have been an early run over, an early jazz show from about 20:00-22:00, and i could have maybe snuck in for the doom set at the phoenix up at tenth mile, before making it to trumbullplex for a drone set. sounds like a great night, actually, right? jazz, doom, drone - and a lot of biking. perfect.
that was my logic last week.
but, even if i were to hang out at the trumbullplex for a few hours, which happens sometimes, i'm still looking at a roughly five hour wait for the bus, overall. i'm going to inevitably end up back in the fucking diner....
normally, the bus would come a little after 1:00, and i could get from trumbull to the tunnel in around ten minutes. it would have actually been great timing. but, i'm not doing this a third time this week - not when i've scolded myself for it both times.
the jazz show is also going to be empty, sadly.
but, blame the construction.
i'm actually going to take a nap. there's an obscure chance i could wake up and change my mind, but i think i'm in.
tonight might have been cool if the bus was running normal hours. it would have been an early run over, an early jazz show from about 20:00-22:00, and i could have maybe snuck in for the doom set at the phoenix up at tenth mile, before making it to trumbullplex for a drone set. sounds like a great night, actually, right? jazz, doom, drone - and a lot of biking. perfect.
that was my logic last week.
but, even if i were to hang out at the trumbullplex for a few hours, which happens sometimes, i'm still looking at a roughly five hour wait for the bus, overall. i'm going to inevitably end up back in the fucking diner....
normally, the bus would come a little after 1:00, and i could get from trumbull to the tunnel in around ten minutes. it would have actually been great timing. but, i'm not doing this a third time this week - not when i've scolded myself for it both times.
the jazz show is also going to be empty, sadly.
but, blame the construction.
i'm actually going to take a nap. there's an obscure chance i could wake up and change my mind, but i think i'm in.
and, i actually would like to try to check this out some time, but i'd rather check it out early on a sunday morning in a crowded dance club downtown than late on a thursday night in an empty cafe on the outskirts of town.
you actually don't bump into interesting techno in detroit very often. when i first moved here, i checked out somebody called five star hotel a few times, who ended up moving to, i believe it was cleveland. very interesting stuff. but, he couldn't find an audience.
there's an off chance that i could get stuck in tonight via an unexpected rain storm, as we have high humidity right now. but, it doesn't actually really make sense, given i'd have to wait until 6:00 to get home.
https://floorbaba.bandcamp.com/album/gamewave
you actually don't bump into interesting techno in detroit very often. when i first moved here, i checked out somebody called five star hotel a few times, who ended up moving to, i believe it was cleveland. very interesting stuff. but, he couldn't find an audience.
there's an off chance that i could get stuck in tonight via an unexpected rain storm, as we have high humidity right now. but, it doesn't actually really make sense, given i'd have to wait until 6:00 to get home.
https://floorbaba.bandcamp.com/album/gamewave
i found her jazz work somewhat interesting, but this isn't doing it for me.
https://therealthrowaway.bandcamp.com/album/live-on-wcbn
https://therealthrowaway.bandcamp.com/album/live-on-wcbn
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
so, i should have stayed in canada and went to the jazz show. i got some rest when i came back, anyways; i was actually operating on a late day, as i woke up on sunday night. so, i went out on saturday night, came home on sunday morning, slept all day sunday, then went out again on monday night without sleeping again, came back on tuesday morning and slept all day tuesday. as of right now, i don't expect to sleep again before i'm out around this time tomorrow night....
why should i have stayed in canada? because last night was really a complete waste. i came down on myself for going out on saturday without a path to a late show, but i at least had fun at the actual bar. monday night was really, legitimately just a waste of time.
and, the thing is that i should have known better - that is, i should have expected the outcome that actually happened. it's not like something didn't work out. i went out looking for a blistering psychedelic show that would linger until 4:00 in opposition to all evidence, which was that i was going to get a passive mope-rock show that would be over by 2:30 at the latest. and, what i actually got was what i should have expected to get. so, it's entirely my own fault for wasting my own time.
there were moments of cacophony, but it was a pretty boring show, overall.
i spent some time after the show talking to some older guys that claimed they knew just about every personality in the historical detroit rock scene, including kid rock (who one of them claimed to have gone to school with), alice cooper, john lowery (who had relatives that they claimed to know quite well), iggy pop and even jack white (these guys claimed to have recently been in his house). i'm not willing to take much of what they said seriously, but it was at least entertaining to hear them talk.
but, it was largely a long night, and i should have listened to the sage advice: save your money, don't go to the show.
why should i have stayed in canada? because last night was really a complete waste. i came down on myself for going out on saturday without a path to a late show, but i at least had fun at the actual bar. monday night was really, legitimately just a waste of time.
and, the thing is that i should have known better - that is, i should have expected the outcome that actually happened. it's not like something didn't work out. i went out looking for a blistering psychedelic show that would linger until 4:00 in opposition to all evidence, which was that i was going to get a passive mope-rock show that would be over by 2:30 at the latest. and, what i actually got was what i should have expected to get. so, it's entirely my own fault for wasting my own time.
there were moments of cacophony, but it was a pretty boring show, overall.
i spent some time after the show talking to some older guys that claimed they knew just about every personality in the historical detroit rock scene, including kid rock (who one of them claimed to have gone to school with), alice cooper, john lowery (who had relatives that they claimed to know quite well), iggy pop and even jack white (these guys claimed to have recently been in his house). i'm not willing to take much of what they said seriously, but it was at least entertaining to hear them talk.
but, it was largely a long night, and i should have listened to the sage advice: save your money, don't go to the show.
Monday, July 8, 2019
the jazz show on wednesday is clearly far superior to the one tonight.
and, i don't need two jazz shows this week. i mean, i could have two jazz shows, i wouldn't complain, but it isn't necessary. i'd rather mix things up, in general.
see, here's the problem, though. if i go to detroit tonight and it's all feedback and fuzz and long instrumental sections, i'm going to enjoy it. but, if i go to detroit tonight and it's shorter, poppier songs for a mass audience, i'm going to wish i went to the jazz show. so, i'm taking a risk - it's a gamble.
so, do i feel lucky?
punk?
and, i don't need two jazz shows this week. i mean, i could have two jazz shows, i wouldn't complain, but it isn't necessary. i'd rather mix things up, in general.
see, here's the problem, though. if i go to detroit tonight and it's all feedback and fuzz and long instrumental sections, i'm going to enjoy it. but, if i go to detroit tonight and it's shorter, poppier songs for a mass audience, i'm going to wish i went to the jazz show. so, i'm taking a risk - it's a gamble.
so, do i feel lucky?
punk?
so, here's the deal on tonight, then.
the jazz band at phog - apollo suns - has failed to wow me. so, it's froth's night to steal. i'm going to get some fruit and listen to an older record of theirs. if it wins me over, i'm doing the late night at the ufo, which i haven't been to since they reopened. if not, i'll head down to phog for a beer and check out the jazz band.
the jazz band at phog - apollo suns - has failed to wow me. so, it's froth's night to steal. i'm going to get some fruit and listen to an older record of theirs. if it wins me over, i'm doing the late night at the ufo, which i haven't been to since they reopened. if not, i'll head down to phog for a beer and check out the jazz band.
if you're going to try and work through this thinnish kind of telecaster rock sound, you need to be able to compensate with something - weird riffs, saucy vocals, whatever. i'm not sure yet if they're pulling it off, but i think they're trying. as it is, it's somewhere in the early speedy ortiz or middle pile space, and kind of struggling to pull itself together, despite giving it a go. sometimes you do everything right and just fail, right? but, they might take a failure comparison as a compliment.
i'm not going to this tonight - i learned the hard way that trumbullplex is serious about it's no punk time rule, and then i'm at the ufo factory until close, anyways. it wouldn't make sense to pay cover twice, tonight.
https://okwasher.bandcamp.com/album/all-aboard
i'm not going to this tonight - i learned the hard way that trumbullplex is serious about it's no punk time rule, and then i'm at the ufo factory until close, anyways. it wouldn't make sense to pay cover twice, tonight.
https://okwasher.bandcamp.com/album/all-aboard
so, i kind of need to alter my initial analysis.
i thought i was dealing with a younger, unknown artist that was demonstrating a little bit of unrealized potential. but, it seems as though the potential was already realized on her previous records, and she's in a typically disappointing reinvention phase.
the potential i was hinting at is actually over here:
https://gabbysworld.bandcamp.com/album/eskimeaux
that's a much more abstract, interesting sound; if she can work a little bit more of that sound into her newer approach....
...but i think i kind of get that she's moving away from this sound because she wants to, too. it's not some kind of accident or something.
i want to be clear: i pointed out that the added depth on the new record separated it from most music in the genre, and that's a compliment, i just didn't grasp the actual, correct context. what i thought was a step towards something interesting is actually too small of a step; listeners have every reason to expect something more elaborate than that, and this hinted at potential is actually probably a bit of a disappointment for a lot of people.
that could still rectify itself.
i thought i was dealing with a younger, unknown artist that was demonstrating a little bit of unrealized potential. but, it seems as though the potential was already realized on her previous records, and she's in a typically disappointing reinvention phase.
the potential i was hinting at is actually over here:
https://gabbysworld.bandcamp.com/album/eskimeaux
that's a much more abstract, interesting sound; if she can work a little bit more of that sound into her newer approach....
...but i think i kind of get that she's moving away from this sound because she wants to, too. it's not some kind of accident or something.
i want to be clear: i pointed out that the added depth on the new record separated it from most music in the genre, and that's a compliment, i just didn't grasp the actual, correct context. what i thought was a step towards something interesting is actually too small of a step; listeners have every reason to expect something more elaborate than that, and this hinted at potential is actually probably a bit of a disappointment for a lot of people.
that could still rectify itself.
on second thought, this seems front-loaded, too. and, for whatever reason, ripping off sonic youth doesn't seem to bug me.
but, at least i'm pretty confident that ufo will be open past midnight and at least a few people will be there. i can't say that for the other options. and, of course, if i stay here i'll likely be in by midnight.
right now, i think i'm in tonight, but i'll have to think about it.
https://versing.bandcamp.com/album/nirvana
but, at least i'm pretty confident that ufo will be open past midnight and at least a few people will be there. i can't say that for the other options. and, of course, if i stay here i'll likely be in by midnight.
right now, i think i'm in tonight, but i'll have to think about it.
https://versing.bandcamp.com/album/nirvana
this is frustrating, because with a guitar tone like this, you want them to do something more substantive than sound like a third-rate beck knock-off. but, again: it seems like you're not allowed to make this kind of music unless you're explicitly trying to be really boring. being exciting is apparently incredibly uncool right now....
that said, the other band on the bill seems to be a little more interesting to me, and if i can hang out around ufo for a while, the bus should be in at 5:55. hrmmn.
https://froth.bandcamp.com/album/duress
that said, the other band on the bill seems to be a little more interesting to me, and if i can hang out around ufo for a while, the bus should be in at 5:55. hrmmn.
https://froth.bandcamp.com/album/duress
i would be more interested in a full record in the style of the first couple of tracks, but i guess if you're going to be a real 90s band then you have to have a singer that secretly wishes they were a sappy pop star.
i could check this out some other night, maybe.
https://antighostmusic.bandcamp.com/album/animal-panic
i could check this out some other night, maybe.
https://antighostmusic.bandcamp.com/album/animal-panic
see, this is tricky because the record has a lot of guitars and the ep doesn't, so you're left wondering what you're actually going to get. but, then, if you listen to it more closely...
the first track is called an iberian peninsula (are there a few of them?), and features a direct di meola lift. the second is called a study in red, and is exactly that - red being the crimson record of the same name. direct rip. an impossible bond is...yeah. bond theme. there's a pattern developing: this is a jam band, but it was probably initially a cover band.
so, the answer to the question is probably that the show will feature some open jamming.
but, it's nice out.
and, i don't think i really want to deal with a long wait for the bus in the morning.
https://apollosunswpg.bandcamp.com/album/each-day-a-different-sun
the first track is called an iberian peninsula (are there a few of them?), and features a direct di meola lift. the second is called a study in red, and is exactly that - red being the crimson record of the same name. direct rip. an impossible bond is...yeah. bond theme. there's a pattern developing: this is a jam band, but it was probably initially a cover band.
so, the answer to the question is probably that the show will feature some open jamming.
but, it's nice out.
and, i don't think i really want to deal with a long wait for the bus in the morning.
https://apollosunswpg.bandcamp.com/album/each-day-a-different-sun
i don't know if these are actually bob seger covers or not, but this is actually a pretty solid opening band.
https://pettytheftmi.bandcamp.com/
https://pettytheftmi.bandcamp.com/
my initial reaction to this was "ugh. one of those bands.", and this is certainly an overdone sound at this point that was never very interesting to begin with, but the track clicked in a split second before i got to the 'x', which made me give it a closer listen, and i do have to at least identify this as a little more interesting than it's contemporaries, even if it still pretty much sucks. the difference is mostly in the arrangements, which are a little more developed than i'm used to hearing in this genre. judging by the vocals, she's clearly a big belle & sebastian fan, even if she doesn't quite get to that level of detail, yet.
so, if you actually like this neo-hippie bullshit that's been floating around for a few years now, you might interpret this as brilliant. it's still not enough for me, though - she needs to find a way to get it up to the next level of intensity, and kind of get away from the cliches. but, if she were to do that, she'd probably lose her audience, right? it's kind of fundamentally the genre she's working in that's the problem - there's almost nothing you can do to unborify this broad style without escaping it altogether. the genre is pretty much designed to be boring, on purpose, and if you ignore that, people get excited and lose interest.
that said, it might also be the best show in detroit tonight. i shouldn't be wavering on this, but i suspect it might be worth attending...
see, there's legit potential here.
and, the funny thing about the tunnel being closed right now is that the outer limits makes more sense on a monday night than something close to downtown does.
https://gabbysworld.bandcamp.com/album/beast-on-beast
so, if you actually like this neo-hippie bullshit that's been floating around for a few years now, you might interpret this as brilliant. it's still not enough for me, though - she needs to find a way to get it up to the next level of intensity, and kind of get away from the cliches. but, if she were to do that, she'd probably lose her audience, right? it's kind of fundamentally the genre she's working in that's the problem - there's almost nothing you can do to unborify this broad style without escaping it altogether. the genre is pretty much designed to be boring, on purpose, and if you ignore that, people get excited and lose interest.
that said, it might also be the best show in detroit tonight. i shouldn't be wavering on this, but i suspect it might be worth attending...
see, there's legit potential here.
and, the funny thing about the tunnel being closed right now is that the outer limits makes more sense on a monday night than something close to downtown does.
https://gabbysworld.bandcamp.com/album/beast-on-beast
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