The Explosive Generation

What to do, what to do?

Two different friends are having events at the same time on the same day. Both are potentially fun in different ways. But in essence, it is a battle between Kitsch & Reality.
There’s the Tiki party with Jen

And then a performance where a friend is playing called “PROVING GROUND” at Little Joy (which you can read about HERE).

I think I’m committed to the Tiki, but wish I could do both.

Share on Facebook

Tuesday was kind of a drag. I was looking forward to seeing one of the HEAVIEST pop bands around, Jesu (and their first ever US gig) at Spaceland. But apparently, the US govt. are holding up their entry visas, so they had to cancel their first week of gigs (and of course, LA).

Meanwhile, I offer a song from the new cd Conqueror as a small consolation.

Medicine

Share on Facebook

(and that’s saying something!)

I’ve waited nearly 15 years to see the rarely-screened “Mutter Krausens Fahrt ins Glück” (1929)…and thanks to the “Starring Berlin” program at the Goethe-Institut, I finally got my chance.

There’s something in it for everyone: incest, molestation, adultery, radical politics, murder, suicide, social critique.

Perhaps most interesting to me were both the very modern sensibility regarding love and sex, and the fine acting from both Alexandra Schmitt and Ilse Trautschold.

No wonder it was Fassbinder’s favorite film (in fact he kinda remade it with “Mother Kusters Goes To Heaven“). You can read a tiny bit more about it here.

It’s easily up there with “Kuhle Wampe” (1932) as a supreme example of inspiring left-wing filmmaking just a few years before National Socialism came to power and destroyed German cinema (until the mid-sixties). And yet, there is also a lyricism about proletarian life evident every bit as inspiring as in “Menschen Am Sonntag” (1930), and the mix of love and politics is almost like early Godard. In fact, there is one scene I am willing to bet money on that Guy Maddin stole for his short “Heart Of The World” (2000).

Share on Facebook

Some music I’ve been listening to this week:

Bill Callahan [aka SMOG]-”Sycamore“
(from Woke On A Whalesheart)

I’ve been on a been Smog kick lately and even though Callahan is starting to release records under his birth moniker…it still is Smog. The most accessible stuff yet from this fine songwriter.

Field Music-“Tones Of Town”
(from Tones Of Town)

I’ve been proselytizing the gospel of Field Music ever since I saw them at Spaceland awhile back.

White Hills-”Glitter Glamour Atrocity”
(from Glitter Glamour Atrocity)

Trippy, rhythmic, psychedelic rock. (If I’m not mistaken they are using samples from the movie “The Corporation” towards the end of this).

Nine Horses-”Money For All”
(from the Money For All ep)

The latest project of David Sylvian (of Japan fame). Whereas Japan’s lyrics were always somewhat oblique towards the end, Nine Horses words are much more rooted in tangible topics (money, greed, politics, etc…). Always loved his voice.

Maximo Park-”Our Velocity”
(from Our Earthly Pleasures)

Maximo Park was another group that I was always trying to push on to people. This is from their forthcoming second album and still rocks out.

Dinosaur Jr.-”Been There All The Time”
(from Beyond)

This the first Dinosaur Jr. record (with the original line-up) since 1988. So that’s almost 20 years ago. Was it worth the wait? Not really, but some of the songs are quite good.

Feist-”My Moon My Man”
(from The Reminder)

Leslie Feist is just cool.

Blonde Redhead-”23”
(from 23)

I think this sounds like Lush. This record continues their movement towards accessibilty.

Share on Facebook

Another entertaining evening was spent at Lucha Va Voom this year. Click the flyer to see what happened. If you don’t know anything about Lucha Va Voom, then click HERE

Share on Facebook

(from the BBC)

Top US general doubts Iran proof

The most senior US military officer has said there is no proof the Iranian government has directly armed Shia groups fighting in Iraq. Gen Peter Pace, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, appeared to contradict claims made by US officers in Iraq.

The US presented evidence this week it said proved the “highest levels” of Iran’s government were supplying arms used by Shia militants in Iraq. Gen Pace said all it proved was “things made in Iran” are being used in Iraq. “We know that the explosively formed projectiles are manufactured in Iran,” Gen Pace said while visiting Australia. “But I would not say by what I know that the Iranian government clearly knows or is complicit.” In the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, Gen Pace repeated his assertions. “What [the evidence] does say is that things made in Iran are being used in Iraq to kill coalition soldiers.”

(more…)

Share on Facebook

(from AP)
Putin says US aggression feeds nuclear ambitions

The Russian president took aim at the Bush administration, saying the US was stoking a new nuclear arms race by overstepping its borders. In a speech on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed US policy for inciting other countries to seek nuclear weapons to defend themselves from an “almost uncontained use of military force” — a stinging attack that underscored growing tensions between Washington and Moscow.

“Unilateral, illegitimate actions have not solved a single problem, they have become a hotbed of further conflicts,” Putin said at a security forum attracting senior officials from around the world. “One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way.” In what his spokesman acknowledged was Putin’s harshest criticism of the US, the Russian leader attacked US President George W. Bush’s administration for stoking a new arms race by planning to deploy a missile defense system in eastern Europe and for backing a UN plan that would grant virtual independence to Serbia’s breakaway province of Kosovo.

(more…)

Share on Facebook

Here are a few shots of me and Jen hanging around different places on the weekend. (Click the photo).

It’s gonna be a crazy week coming up. There’s Lucha Va Voom (ringside!!!) on Valentines Day, the play “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf” on Thursday, Camera Obscura and Portastatic on the weekend and that’s just for starters.

Share on Facebook