Woah!!!! New Look!!!


Yeah, I figured after a year plus of the same old thing, it was time to do a little re-working... I hope you like it... I goofed up the logo for my comments screen (which now holds its place at the top of this page), but I will remedy that, shortly...

Also, when you click an article link, it takes you to the end of the article instead of the beginnning (so you have to scroll up to the beginning if you wanna read what you're looking for)... anyone with any help on fixing that little problem can email me here.

Listening to: Frank Zappa - "Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch" (1982)

Todd Rundgren Lashes Out at Labels


Todd is one of my most favorite musicians of all time... He is quite the intelligent guy, as you will soon see... This letter is awesome...

The following is reprinted from dmusic.com

Musician Todd Rundgren is known for such 1970s pop hits as "Hello It's Me," but his wizardry as a producer, music video pioneer and explorer of computer technologies is legendary in the industry. Since 1998, his recordings have been underwritten by PatroNet, a subscription service that gives his loyal fan base online access to works in progress.

"Music is a sacrament. This has been true for thousands of years of human history, save the last 100 or so. I'm sure it was not Edison's purpose to debase such an important aspect of our collective liturgy, but what would one expect when something that was once ephemeral and could only be experienced at the behest of other humans is reduced to a commodity on a shelf.

The mechanisms of music, how and why it affects us the way it does, are still mystical even to a cynical older record producer like myself. Anyone who denies the depth and power of this medium has simply forgotten, in the face of the relentless Philistine argument, that all things can be commoditized regardless of their sacred origins -- that all music is worth exactly what the RIAA says it is.

Most musicians who have enjoyed any success under this model are in an ethical bind: On one hand, you may believe that your survival depends on effective marketing of a commodity; on the other, you realize that your truest expressions are being trivialized to fit properly into a prealloted space. How many times have I heard the argument, "Love the record, but we don't hear a third single -- back to the studio"?

I must remind my fellow players that for the vast majority of history we have only been appreciated for the quality of human expression we could produce at the moment. Great performances were only memories in the minds of those who witnessed, each unique except perhaps for the calliope at the local merry-go-round which was, of course, a machine.

The plain reality is that, except for a few notable aberrations, musicians will always be more appreciated, certainly in a financial sense, by live audiences than by labels and the listeners they purport to represent. The seemingly quaint idea that recordings were promotion for great performers is no less true today. Ask Phish.

Ask also whether, as a musician, you ever believed the RIAA was actively protecting your interests until they got into a fight with their own customers and started using your name, your so-called well-being, as justification. And when the customers became skeptical they became the enemy. And to follow the RIAA's logic, customers are therefore the enemies of musicians. Let us ignore the fact that if you ever got compensated for your contribution, it would have been because your manager and lawyer (and many before) forced the labels to recognize your labor in financial terms.

The reason why the RIAA comes off as a gang of ignorant thugs is because, well, how do I put this -- they are. I came into this business in an age of entrepreneurial integrity. The legends of the golden age of recorded music were still at the helm of most labels -- the Ertegun's, the Ostins, the Alperts and Mosses by the dozens. Now we have four monolithic (in every sense of the word) entities and a front organization that crows about the fact that they have solved their problems by leaning on a 12-year-old. Thank God that mystical fascination with the world of music has been stubbed out -- hopefully everyone will get the message and get over the idea that the musician actually meant for you to hear this.

The RIAA protects musicians like the musicians union protects musicians: They reward hacks and penalize those outside the system. The labels are not making this stink out of principle. They are not interested in the rights of musicians who don't sell any records for them. That myth was exploded when Warners dropped Van Morrison for "lackluster sales."

This stink is about a bunch of dumb-asses blaming the public for doing what the labels could have -- and should have -- done 10 years ago. I know because I told them so, each and every one individually and relentlessly: Put the music on a server so you can deliver on-demand services to people's homes. Seems so stupidly simple now.

After nearly 40 years in this business I know who my friends are. I know it isn't the labels who lost interest in my "fringe audience" decades ago. It is that fringe audience who still await any recording or performance I may come up with despite the RIAA trying to drive some symbolic wedge between me and my listeners just because their ass is in a sling. Don't do me any favors.

Audiences and musicians are on the same side. Musicians come from the audience (unlike record execs who come from the ranks of failed musicians). We experience together the mystical sacrament that a musical performance can represent. Additionally, we will be comfortably if not handsomely compensated by that audience if we can deliver a suitably affecting performance with some regularity.

It's time to let the monolith of commoditized music collapse like the Berlin Wall. Musicians can make records if they feel like it, or not. Wide open pipes are ready to transport us, mainstream and fringe alike, into the ears of an eager audience who appreciates us and is more than willing to financially support us. Get out of the way if you can't lend a hand because ... you know the rest by heart."

Listening to: Depswa - "Two Angels and a Dream" (2003)

Jesus Christ, Scott Weiland... Are You Just Ignorant, or What?


Yes, folks... He's back in the news, again... for just what you think...

Stone Temple Pilots / Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland is in trouble with the law, yet again... After celebrating his 36th birthday on Monday (apparently a little too well), Scott drove his BMW into several parked cars... at 6:30am... He tried to leave the scene but was quickly caught by the police... He was charged with DUI & misdimeanor hit & run and released on $15,000 bail...

Okay... I'm starting to think that Scott Weiland suffers from acute poor judgement, or something...

Listening to: Ill Nino

Nelly Robbed of Jewelry


From the "That's what y'get" department:

Rapper Nelly was robbed of $1.2 million of jewelry from his Las Vegas hotel room, Monday night... $1.2 million??? Holy shit... what an ass... first off, anyone that brings $1.2 million in jewelry with them deserves to be robbed. Throw in the fact that it's a dumbassed rapper/r&b bling-bling head... Well... I say that's what y'get...

Listening to: Ill Nino - "Confession" (2003)

Courtney Love... on Virgin Records?


Do I even have to speak about the fundamental wrongness of this??? And no, I'm not talking about the fact that she's signed to a label named "Virgin..." I'm talking about her big falling out with Richard Branson after being arrested on a Virgin Airlines flight after losing her shit... There was tons of namecalling and stuff... it was really ugly, as I remember... But somewhere, Branson must've mistaken her armpit stink for the smell of money or something... Without other people to help her write songs (like that one guy she killed... what was his name, again? damn... it's slipping my mind...), she's gonna do what she does best... suck...

But her solo release is apparently slated for release in February... hold me back... (and that, kiddies, is what sarcasm smells like - kinda like cookies...)

Listening to: Mushroomhead - "XIII" (2003)

Eddie Vedder to Release Layne Staley Tribute on "Lost Dogs" CD


The day that Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley was found dead of a drug overdose, Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder locked himself in the studio and wrote "4/20/02," featuring just a guitar and vocal track... It was tossed around as an inclusion on Pearl Jam's 2002 release, Riot Act, but later scrapped due to it's "intenseness..."

Stone Gossard on Riot Act: "The record overall has such a universal feel to it, much more so than some of our other records..." hmmm... "universal feel..." more like "suck feel," probably due to the fact that (former Soundgarden drummer) Matt Cameron wrote most of the songs... a killer drummer, he is... a good songwriter, he ain't...

Anyhow, "4/20/02" will be released on Lost Dogs, featuring Pearl Jam rarities... the track won't be listed but will appear a few minutes after the last listed track, "Bee Girl" (possibly about also-OD'd Seattle singer Shannon Hoon, maybe?)...

Listening to: The Black Crowes - "Three Snakes and One Charm (1996)

Elloit Smith (1969 - 2003)


I'm gonna have to go along with my brother here, in that it's time for cool songwriter people to stop passing away...

Elliot Smith was found in his L.A. apartment with a self-inflicted knife wound... He had battled drug addiction a few times, and had seemed to be on the right track to recovery...

A damned shame...

Listening to: King Crimson - "The Power to Believe" (2003)

Scott Weiland's On-Again Off-Again Divorce Back On-Again


Yep, Scott Weiland's marriage is over... again... for the moment... This time, instead of wife Mary filing, it is Scott's doing... stay tuned... maybe.

Listening to: Vernon Reid - "Mistaken Identity (1996)

Metallica to Release Documentary Behind Making of St. Anger in '04


WHO FUCKING CARES?!?!?

Ha!

Listening to: Sevendust - "Seasons" (2003)

Primus Reunites!!!!


The "original" lineup of Primus has reunited for a tour (dubbed the Tour de Fromage).
NOTE: "original" lineup is kind of debateable, if you consider that Primus' "original" drummer was, in fact, Jay Lane and not Tim Alexander... but who cares, right? Primus is back together!!!!.

The band will also be making the audio from every show on the tour available (for a price) at the website PrimusLive.com starting November 7th.

The highlight of the tour tour is the featuring of a two-set performance... one unique set each night, followed by Sailing the Seas of Cheese in its entirety... a la Pink Floyd with Dark Side of the Moon in '95...

Tour dates are as follows:

Oct. 18: Los Angeles (The Wiltern)
***Oct. 21: Denver (The Fillmore)***
Oct. 22: Salt Lake City (Salt Air)
Oct. 25: Eugene, Ore. (Hult Center)
Oct. 26: Seattle (Paramount)
Oct: 28: Eureka, Calif. (Municipal Auditorium)
Oct. 29: Santa Cruz, Calif. (Civic Center)
Oct. 30-31: San Francisco (The Warfield)
Nov. 6: Minneapolis (State Theater)
Nov. 7: Chicago (Aragon Ballroom)
Nov. 8: Milwaukee (Eagles Ballroom)
Nov. 9: Detroit (State Theater)
***Nov. 11: Columbus, Ohio (PromoWest Pavillion)***
***Nov. 12: Cleveland (Agora Theater)***
Nov. 14: New York (Roseland)
Nov. 15: Philadelphia (Tower Theater)
Nov. 17-18: Boston (Orpheum)
Nov. 19: Newiston, Mass. (Central Maine Civic Center)
Nov. 20: Burlington, Vt. (Memorial Auditorium)
Nov. 24: Syracuse, N.Y. (Landmark Theater)
Nov. 25: New York (Roseland)

Listening to: Depswa - "Two Angels and a Dream" (2003)

RIAA Goes After Grandma - Suh-WING and a Miss!


The Recording Indistry Association of America recently named 65 year-old artist, school teacher, and grandmother Sarah Ward in a suit declaring that she was illegally sharing music from her home computer...

They later dropped the suit after claiming that she was using KaZaa to download the music... "So what," you ask? Well, one small problem... KaZaa software is only available for the PC. The computer Ward is accused of sharing the music using KaZaa? A Macintosh... D'oh!!!!

Listening to: Sevendust - "Seasons" (2003)

Long-Awaited Release From Probot on the Way


Dave Grohl, best known for his drumming with Nirvana... or is it his guitar and vocals for Foo Fighters? ...or is it his drumming for Queens of the Stone Age? Well, however you know him, he's preparing to release his album of his "heavy metal" project, Probot.

The album was actually recorded before the last Foo Fighter and QotSA installments, with Grohl playing all the instruments, but this time around, doing no singing... So, who did he get to sing for him? Well, all kinds of metal goodness - the likes of Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead), Kurt Brecht (DRI), Max Cavalera (Soulfly, Sepultura), Mike Dean (old C.O.C.), Denis "Snake" Belanger (Voivod), Lee Dorian (Napalm Death), and King Diamond... Also appearing on the King Diamond-backed track is former Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil.

The first video will be "Shake Your Blood" featuring Lemmy and the video will feature the "Internet community's" Suicide Girls...

The album is slated for a Feburary '04 release, but there will be a single released next month, according to the album's label, Southern Lord Records. Go there for a sneak peek at the new music... It's seriously chunky, heavy stuff...

Listening to: Kyuss - "Welcome to Sky Valley"

Crazy Quebecers


After members of the UK-based punk band The Exploited were not allowed into Canada to perform a show, angry fans rioted in the streets of Montreal, setting cars on fire and all that great rioty stuff like that...

Luckily for the rioters, there was a construction site nearby, providing angry youth plenty of materials to aid in the mayhem...

In one block alone, twenty-four cars and six businesses were demolished... Go Canada... You'd think the Nordiques just won the Stanley Cup... oh, yeah... that's right, the Nordiques are now the Colorado Avalanche... D'oh!

Listening to: King Crimson - "THRAK" (1995/2002)

Yichhhh...

Yicchhh...


Apparently, people (aka "goobers") all over the world have been waiting for the release of the new LimpBizkit video (a cover of the Who's "Behind Blue Eyes") so they could watch Fred make out with Halle Berry... Why the Hell would you want to do that? They must've paid her the big bucks to make out with the crapweasel...

Well, for those of you that do want to see this disgrace to the Who and the defiling of Ms. Berry:

Real Player stream
Windows Media stream

My condolences to Ms. Berry...

Listening to: TooL - "Lateralus" (2001)

Okay... I Give In... Johnny Cash Was Okay... I Guess...

Okay... I Give In... Johnny Cash Was Okay... I Guess...


Yeah, I'm one of apparently, like, six people on earth that didn't think that Johnny Cash was all that important a figure in music... in fact, I always looked at him as pretty much what he was... a cranked-up speedfreak, maniacal drunk that sang gospel music to try to atone for his sins (well, at least from the '60s to the '80s, that was pretty much his thing)... but he did some good, I guess... if you think that telling Elvis to wear skintight pants and shake his weiner at girls "good" (obviously because he was too ugly to get away with it, himself)...

I also happen to think that producer Rick Rubin is a bit of a choad (considering what he tried to do with the Black Crowes)... so it was probably proper that he produce the "American" series of records for Cash (where he proceed to talk Johnny into doing some weird covers that were, well, whatever - that video for "Hurt" was just a bit sad more than anything... it always tended to kill my appetite), and proceed to fuck up what could have been a pretty decent "send-off album" by putting people like Glenn Frey and Fiona Apple (what the fuck? Somebody give that waif a burger) on it... I'm surprised he didn't try to get Johnny to rap at some point...

When little 18 year-old girls started running around my university campus in '96, talking about how cool Johnny Cash was (thanks to the Soundgarden cover, "Rusty Cage," it seems), well, besides wanting to smack the snot out of these little trendy things and their pillhead boyfriends, it just reminded me of how much people are tagalong sheep and will latch on to anything that Mtv, Rolling Stone or Spin says is "cool." If you asked them to name another Johnny Cash song, chances are they wouldn't have a clue, besides maybe the ones that you would see on one of those country music collection CD commercials that packaged him alongside other legends like Boxcar Willie and Slim Whitman...

Yeah it's sad that he's gone... His life with his wife June was probably the most interesting part of his life beyond the music, and when she passed away, it was only a matter of time (as is the case in many long relationships)... In that sense, I felt really sad for him, because it was obvious that he really cared for her (despite the things he did that put their marriage in a state of turmoil for many years)...

But in the end, Johnny Cash contributed stuff to the music world that I guess we can't do without... Songs like "Delia's Gone," that chronicles a woman that cheats on "him," so he kills her (sweet, huh?)... but, well, besides that... he made it cool to be bad, I guess... which is totally okay by me...

Shit, I almost forgot... I wear black clothing... not as much as I did when I was, like, 16, when neon pink was all the rage (just ask Paul Stanley)... but still... I guess Johnny Cash made it cool for me to wear black in the first place... So, here's to you, Johnny. My old wardrobe thanks you for what you gave me... ;)

Yeah, flame away... See if I give a flying fuck...

Listening to: The Cult - "The Cult" (1994)

Rolling Stone Revolutionizes the Magazine Industry!!! ...and Then They Woke Up...

Rolling Stone Revolutionizes the Magazine Industry!!! ...and Then They Woke Up...


From the "We Think We're Trendsetters" department:
Rollong Stone Magazine has announced that their 12/11/03 issue will contain a 9-song CD sampler... umm... wow...

You can read the full article here.

This is probably the best part of the article:
"Rolling Stone editor and publisher Jann Wenner said the deal 'comes at a time when the record business could use some excitement, some innovation, some added value.'"

Innovation??? Give me a fucking break... Magazines like the College Music Journal (CMJ) have been putting out CD samplers for years - and they're, like, 20-song samplers, at that... and they don't put crap on their CD's like RS undoubtedly will - like P.Weasel, Britney Aguilera, Missy "I'm a Full-on Felony" Elliot, John Go Awayer, and drivel for the masses like that... and it's goobers like RS readers that are responsible for the downward trend in CD sales in the first place... What, with their thousand dollar Oakley watches that mommy & daddy bought, Tommy Buttfinger wardrobe that mommy & daddy bought, and bad-assed computer (that mommy & daddy bought) with the latest in music-theft software (a.k.a. KaZaa, Morpheus, etc.) hooked up to a T1 line in their college dorms...

***sigh***

Listening to: Taproot - "Welcome" (2002)

Lenchantin Leaves Zwan

Lenchantin Leaves Zwan


Yeah, I've been griping about her leaving A Perfect Circle to join Billy Corgan's new band-thing... and I guess she heard me... a few months ago... Supposedly, Paz left Zwan in mid-August, causing them to cancel the rest of their tour. She is reportedly working with Papa M, now - which is the band of her former Zwan bandmate David Pajo... go figure...

Zwan's debut CD, Mary, Star of the Sea had what could best be described as "dismal" sales (probably because it sucked), which could have played a part in Paz's decision to "move on to other projects..."

Listening to: Sevendust - "Seasons" (2003)

Hell on Earth, Part Eleventy Billion

Hell on Earth, Part Eleventy Billion


Well, I guess you could say that all has been revealed... finally... and it pretty much turned out like I thought in the first place... bullshit.

Shane Bugbee, host of Three Ring Radio on RadioFreeSatan, has unearthed the hoax that was the "suicide show."

Apparently, Shane advertised the suicide video "FOR SALE" on his site at one point last week, in hopes that the family and friends of the "victim" would come forward and try to stop him from selling it, or that the "suicidal friend" would come forward and expose the hoax... Of course, Bugbee never intended to actually sell the video. What ended up actually happening was that Shane's site was hacked and taken offline for 3+ days... His ISP told him to get lost... Hell on Earth frontman Billy Tourtelot quit calling Shane every day (presumeably because he was unhappy with Bugbee's attitude towards the scam)... The FBI visited Shane... twice...

According to Shane, most of the people he has spoken to regarding his site being hacked have suggested that the band is behind it... well, at least someone associated with the band - I'm not sure that collectively they have the IQ or computer skills to hack a hairball, let alone a server... which could spell some pretty serious trouble for them if that's the case...

Anyhow, Shane has turned over all the video footage that was given to him to ogrish.com, because it seems he's ready (and rightfully so) to wash his hands of the whole ordeal... But save your time... Ogrish only posted a 20 second clip of Tourtelot telling non-believers to fuck off... There is no footage of a suicide taking place, simply because it doesn't exist...

So, there you have it... Lameness to the extreme... A shitty band getting ready to release a CD of shitty music wanted to get some publicity, and they certainly did... Now, little morbid fuckstickls from all over the planet that think guys fucking dead calves onstage is cool will get their CDs and claim to have been hardcore fans from the start and all this ridiculous shit...

Mission accomplished, Billy Tourtelot... but at the end of the day, you're still a cheap-assed, lame, no-talent douchebag...

Listening to: Sevendust - "Seasons" (2003)

Websites Return After Absence

Websites Return After Absence


Both HellOnEarth.net and EvilNow.com have returned to the internet after a conspicuous absence. No updates have been made to either page since before the whole "suicide show" thing was to have happened. In fact, the Hell On Earth site seems to be even a little older than before... a bit odd, to say the least...

I've been trying to reach Shane Bugbee from EvilNow for a couple days, but I haven't heard back... I know he had another show to get ready for this week and such, and with the problems with his website absence (his wife's site was also been down, as well), and at last word, he was still being swamped by reporters... so the lack of updated info on his page is certainly excuseable, but I'm not sure what's up with the Hell On Earth page's "non-currency..." yet...

Listening to: my bones creak...

Stone Temple Pilots Greatest Hits to Feature HUGE DVD

Stone Temple Pilots Greatest Hits to Feature HUGE DVD


The greatest hits CD, entitled Thank You, will come with or without a DVD featuring video of thirty-two songs... Here's the list:

"Dead & Bloated"
"Army Ants"
"Interstate Love Song"
"Silver Gun Superman"
"Crackerman"
"Plush"
"Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart"
"Hollywood Bitch"
"Big Empty"
"Long Way Home"
"Down"
"Meat Plow"
"Tumble in the Rough"
"Sex & Violence"
"Wicked Garden"
"Atlanta"
"Where the River Goes"
"Pop's Love Suicide"
"Sweet Emotion"
"Big Bang Baby"
"Pretty Penny"
"Lounge Fly"
"Wonderful"
"Creep"
"Too Cool Queenie"
"Wichita Lineman"
"Sex Type Thing"
"Vasoline"
"Lady Picture Show"
"Sour Girl"
"Days of the Week"
"Hello, It's Late"

Daaaaamn... that's quite a list...
The CD (which contains fifteen tracks) is slated for release on November 11.

Listening to: NFL Pregame on Fox...

Princeton Student Sued for Paper on Defeating CD Copy Protection


Sunn Comm Technologies, Inc. is suing a Princeton Graduate Student from publishing a paper on how to defeat the MediaMax CD-3 copy-protection technology.

So, how is it done, you ask? Well, according to Alex Haldermann (the student in question), all you have to do is hold down the Shift key as you insert a CD protected by the software. He also said it can be defeated by stopping a driver which is loaded when the CD is first played. Sunn Comm says that Haldermann violated the Digital Millenium Copyright Act by divulging the existence of the driver file.

I am only aware of one CD at tyhis time that uses the technology (Anthony Hamilton's Comin' From Where I'm From), but that doesn't mean more don't (or won't) exist... and be defeated by something as simple as hitting the Shift key...

Listening to: Dar Williams - "The Beauty of the Rain" (2003)

LimpBizkit Sued by "Fans"


In a move reminiscent of what fans did to the band Creed, 172 fans have filed a class-action lawsuit agaist Fred Durst and his company, Limp Bizness (what a queer name), for "breach of contract." The suit comes after fans felt they were cheated out of ticket value of a July concert in Chicago, where LimpBizkit ended their show after only seventeen minutes after being contracted by the venue to play for ninety minutes...

Now this is classy: The suit claims that Durst and company cut its set short after displaying "obscene and profane messages to the crowd via four giant monitors," which of course made the crowd really happy with them, which made Fred happy right back at them, taunting them in return with "explicit sexual putdowns" and "disgusting homophobic and anti-gay statements." What a great guy.

Of course, it has always been my contention that Fred likes to sling anti-gay stuff around because he is, in fact, gayer than a football bat...

Good luck to the filers of the suit... I wish they could just sue him for his right to be in public ever again, but this is a good step for now...

Listening to: Dar Williams, cont'd.

Oh, My God... Could it Be??? It IS!!!
Flavors, Volume IX is Here!


Greetings... It's been a while since I've done this, but it's not like I've forgotten how to talk about music that I like to listen to... SO, with that said... let's get on with it, already...

+*+*+
A Perfect Circle - "Thirteenth Step" (2003, Virgin)
Finally... I've only been waiting for three and a half years, now... well, with singer Maynard James Keenan's other commitments (such as, oh, being the lead singer of that one other band... oh, what is their name, again?), I guess I can forgive them... Anyhow, after a couple lineup changes (bassist Paz Lenchantin leaving to join ex-Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan's new project, Zwan (a.k.a. "Smashing Pumpkins v. 2.0... but not as good") and guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen jumping ship to join up with Queens of the Stone Age), APC picked up ex-Marilyn Manson bassist Jeordi "Twiggy Ramirez" White and ex-Smashing Pumpkin guitarist James Iha to round out the new lineup... and didn't skip a beat in the process. Unlike Mer de Noms, Keenan takes a much more active role in Thirteenth Step, including the role of executive producer.
Not unlike its predecessor, Thirteenth Step is another one of those "throw it in and let it go" kid of CDs that is best when listened to from start to finish. Also, like TooL albums, there are several layers of emotions going on in the music. The opening song, "The Package," is a prime example, moving from "soft and sweet" to loud and angry... back to soft at the end...
I have always been a fan of how A Perfect Circle could take me on a roller coaster both with their music and within their music. This album is a little quieter than Mer de Noms, but that's certainly not a problem, or anything like that. In fact, it's another example of their singularity in the rock world.
A Perfect Circle

*+*+*
Soundtrack from the motion picture "Underworld" (2003, Lakeshore Records)
About three weeks before the movie Underworld came out, I was browsing through Target (pronounced "tar-JAY"), I saw the soundtrack sitting there for a whopping $9.99. I picked it up and flipped it over. Upon seeing who was on it, dropped it into my little basket-thingie. Produced by Nine Inch Nails' Danny Lohner (a.k.a. "Renholder"), the soundtrack features bands such as The Damning Well (ex-Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland, Filter's Richard Patrick, APC's Josh Freese and Lohner), Puscifer (Lohner and Maynard James Keenan), former Helmet frontman Page Hamilton, David Bowie (with Maynard), Dillinger Escape Plan, the quiet version of trustcompany's "Hover" that was formerly only available as a bonus MP3 on their CD (with music by ex-APC's Paz Lenchantin - "Earth to Paz... Earth to Paz... What the hell were you thinking leaving APC for ZWAN???"), as well as a cool, heavier remix of APC's latest single, "Weak and Powerless." Also featured is a remix of "Judith" that was previously only available on a couple different APC import CDs (although this version has the "Thank your god" line instead of the original). Anyhow, if you're into the darker side of things, see the movie, buy the soundtrack, enjoy.
Enter the Underworld

*+*+*
Frank Zappa - "Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention" (1985, Rykodisc)
Another one of those albums that I discovered at my brother's place back in the '80s. It takes its title after the infamous Parent's Music Resource Center (PMRC), which managed to get a Senate committee to hold hearings regarding what they referred to then as "porn rock," in which Zappa among many, many other musicians testified in the defense of free speech. One of the results were those little "voluntary" parental advisory stickers that adorn so many of today's CDs that contain (what some people view as) "questionable lyrics." Another result was the release of edited versions of CDs. I am one of the people that think that the edited versions are the ones that should be stickered and not the (possibly) offensive versions... something along the lines of "The copy of this CD that you are purchasing is not the author's original intended version. Changes have been made to protect your ears from words and ideas that you encounter everyday, everywhere else on the planet." It's worth noting that this album bears its own "warning label" of sorts: "Warning: This album contains material which a truly free society would neither fear nor repress."
Many of these songs were composed by and performed pretty much solely by Zappa on the Synclavier (a sequencing/sampling device), but there are other shining examples of classic Zappa/Mothers ensemble lyrical and musical genius.
This album also contains three of my all-time favorite Zappa tunes - "Alien Orifice," the original version of "What's New in Baltimore?" (featuring one of the coolest electric sitar parts ever, courtesy of then-member Steve Vai) and "Yo Cats," which chronicles the lengths that some musicians have to go through to get a gig... Well, you'll just have to listen to it for yourself (also worthy of mention is one of the earliest uses of the term "ho," years before the rap world would catch on). Also appearing on this album is the song "Porn Wars," which sort of chronicles the whole Senate hearings, at least where Zappa was concerned, and features snippets of dialogue from then US Senators Danforth, Hollings, Trible, Hawkins, Exon, Gorton, and Gore (who proclaims his admiration of Zappa), as well as his wife, Tipper (who was head of the PMRC at the time).
Maybe not his best overall piece of work (compared to classics like Broadway the Hard Way, Apostrophe, Overnight Sensation, Sheik Yerbouti, or Joe's Garage), but if you are, or ever have been a Frank Zappa fan, this is an album to listen to... many, many times...
Zappa.com

*+*+*
Pantera - "Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits!" (2003, Elektra/Rhino)
Pantera has been out of the metal limelight for a few years, now, thanks to a bunch of nü-metal cloned-out-by-the-thousands bands... and also to the fact that their last couple albums (101 Proof Live and Reinventing the Steel) were a bit less than desireable (maybe due to the fact that singer Phil Anselmo has his finger in about twenty different side projects, perhaps taking a little something from his concentration on the band that got him here in the first place)... but this latest offering, albeit a greatest hits offerring, has made me a happy boy, again. Although it's missing some of their best music (such as Far Beyond Driven's "Throes of Rejection" (featuring possibly the baddest-ass guitar solo of all metaldom), it does cover their catalog quite well, as well as providing some previously unreleased material (like a cover of the Nuge's "Cat Scratch Fever") My friend Jarrod and I always thought that Pantera would do a totally righteous cover of Hendrix's "Crosstown Traffic..." Maybe in the future?
But the highlight is not the aduio CD, but the accompanying DVD, which features all twelve of Pantera's commercially-released videos (including two live videos from their insanely awesome performance at the Moscow Peace Festival)... I never knew there was even a video for "Drag the Waters," thanks no doubt to the fact that at that time, Mtv had totally scrapped any kind of rock music from their airplay, in favor of P. Doody and other really shitty acts like that.
Another nice feature of this compilation is the price. I got this in a totally mega-overpriced music store in a mall for $12.99... with a DVD...
Pantera

*+*+*
Chris Whitley - "Rocket House" (2001, ATO)
Okay... I'm trying to think of something to say about Chris Whitley that I haven't said already. He's a genius... an incredible poet... an icon of eclecticism... a guitar guru (known for his many non-standard guitar tunings and an "inability" to play a song the same way twice). Rocket House is yet another fine example of Whitley in the electric universe (he tends to flop back and forth between electric and acoustic albums). This album was also released on Dave Matthews fledgling label, ATO Records and features Matthews along with Bruce Hornsby and DJ Logic among others...
I've been a major Chris Whitley fan since back in the days when Mtv actually played videos and they showed "Big Sky Country" from his debut CD, Living With the Law, one late night in '91. I bought the import version of Dirt Floor back in late '97, which contained some bonus tracks, one of which featured his then very young daughter, Trixie (who has been living in Belgium since she was about seven years old), on background vocals. I always thought it was kind of "cute" more than anything... Well, apparently Trixie did a lot of growing in the years that have followed... I was listening to Rocket House and the song "Chain" comes on, with an ethereal female backing vocal... I was sort of wondering who it was, because it was a really nice voice (and I have been searching for probably ten years trying to find a wicked female vocalist to work with, so every time I hear an unrecognizable voice, I like to know who it is)... bang... it's Trixie... Well, without taking up too much more space on the subject, I will be eagerly awaiting her musical debut (if not hopefully working on it, myself)...
Anyway, Chris Whitley's music is some of the coolest music ever to grace my ears. I turned my friends Duncan, Mike, and Steve on to him way back in '91 and they have been hooked ever since, as well... My hopes are that maybe I can turn some of you on to him, too. It's not for everyone (in other words, all you wanksters that think that Limp Bizkit is "killer tuneage, dude" should probably move along, and take your red Yankees hats with you), but if you enjoy the eclectic, this guy might be your next cup of tea.
Chris' Website

*+*+*
Warren Zevon - "The Wind" (2003, Artemis)
The world lost a really cool fellow when Warren Zevon passed away September 6th after a battle with mesothelioma. Before he passed away, he had a chance to record The Wind. Many of his friends came to help him with the recording, like Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, John Waite, Billy Bob Thornton, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmidt, and Ry Cooder to name a few...
I have to say... this album is pretty bittersweet and spooky... He covers Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door..." and it's creepy... Other songs like "Numb as a Statue," "Please Stay," and "Keep Me in Your Heart..." creepy (the latter being the last song on the CD and... well... extremely sad and stuff...
I don't want to make it sound like this album is hard to listen to... because it's not... it's just when you realize that Zevon created this album as his "farewell" to us all, it's just sad, y'know?
Warren Zevon was a really cool, genuine man, and a great musician. He will be missed by many, many people...
Warren's Website

*+*+*
Depswa - "Two Angels and a Dream" (2003, Interscope)
I really don't know how to describe Depswa... Take one part deftones (maybe even two parts), one part Chevelle, one part Systematic, one part nonpoint, one part Korn - mix it all together in a bowl with some egg and butter and you get Depswa. Two Angels and a Dream is a very impressive entry into the rock market of 2003. Singer Jeremy Penick flat out has a great voice... I'm talking fantastic. Superb guitar playing, and the rhythm section certainly should not be overlooked, either. The songwriting is some of the best I've seen since A Perfect Circle's top-notch composing.
Basically, if you're looking for something heavy that won't make your ears bleed from the abrasiveness, pick up a copy of Two Angels and a Dream.
Depswa

*+*+*
Dave Matthews - "Some Devil" (2003, RCA)
I make no bones about the fact that I DO NOT like the Dave Matthews Band. I think the violin player (Boyd Tinsley) totally ruins songs, the saxophone player is weak, and the rest of the "band" doesn't do much for me, either. But I have always dug Dave Matthews when he works with a guitarist by the name of Tim Reynolds. Usually, it involves just the two of them in acoustic performances (such as "Live at Luther College," where Matthews and Reynolds do DMB songs the justice they deserve, performing them in their purest forms). Some Devil brings Matthews and Reynolds together in a "band-oriented" scheme, along with special guest Trey Anastasio (formerly of Phish, another band I totally could not ever enjoy one second of music from).
I'm not going to say I was "pleasantly surprised" with how good this album turned out to be, or anything like that, because quite frankly, I knew it would be a good album. Dave Matthews is a great songwriter, and when you combine him with the guitar-mastery of Tim Reynolds, you get a great product.
Also included in this CD is a second limited-edition CD featuring Mattews with Reynolds live at various places around the US performing five acoustic songs... It's almost worth it just for that.
Yes, all the little Dave Matthews Band groupies (I'm sorry I don't have a better term for you guys, but "parrotheads" was already taken) will undoubtedly love this album, too, and many of them will even probably think it is a Dave Matthews Band CD (everywhere it's popped up online I have seen lists it as such, even), but this is a chance for Dave to grab ahold of a new audience... like, people like me, who can't stand the Dave Matthews Band stuff, but realize or will realize that he is a great songwriter and a very accomplished musician...
Dave's Website

*+*+*
David Gilmour - "About Face" (1984, Columbia)
When I would play cuts from this album on my old radio show, inevitably people would call the station and ask me to play some of that "new Pink Floyd." When I would inform them that it was actually "old David Gilmour," they would usually always reply the same way... "Oh..." No folks, you weren't stupid, or anything like that... just a little out of touch.
I would go stay at my brother's when he was an undergrad at OSU all the time. He would go do his college stuff and I would stay in his room and listen to records... This record became one of my faves of my freshman year of high school... I taped a copy of it and played it so much, the tape broke (either that, or I used a cheap-assed tape).
This, his second solo album, features a fine list of "guest stars," if you will, with the likes of (one of the best bassists in the world) Pino Palladino, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Winwood, Jon Lord, and Roy Harper.
With this release, Gilmour proved he was every bit the songwirter as his by then ex-Pink Floyd bandmate, Roger Waters. About Face paved the way for the 1987 "return" of Pink Floyd with A Momentary Lapse of Reason and helped to solidify David Gilmour as one of the premiere musicians of the rock world.
Pink Floyd (I don't know if this is really an official site... but it worked for me...)

*+*+*
Todd Rundgren - "...and His Friends" (2002, Purple Pyramid)
Everyone on the planet has heard music from Todd Rundgren... maybe they just don't realize they have. For example, every Friday, some silly radio station plays "Bang the Drum All Day" at 5:00 to welcome the weekend... He was responsible for much of the music heard in "Dumb and Dumber." He scored chart hits with songs like "Can We Still Be Friends?" and "Hello, It's Me." ...and His Friends features Rundgren covering his own music, not unlike the bossa nova remake album With a Twist... This time around, the versions are very faithful to the originals... with the help of some of his friends (as the title implies) like Vivian Campbell, Edgar Winter, (a remarkably restrained) Dweezil Zappa, Gary Hoey, Steve Lukather, Tony Levin, "Skunk" Baxter, Ritchie Kotzen, Steve Stevens, Bruce Kulick, and Derek Sherinian.
There's a few people that I think got left out of the "friends" list that would have made this a possible masterpiece... Prince (who has said, "If there was no Todd Rundgren, there would be no Prince..." That's heavy talk from the little, freaky man) would have made an excellent addition. I also think that Hall & Oates should have shown up on there, somewhere. After all, they got their start with Rundgren's help. I'd say they owe him a favor or twelve. Finally, considering all the "guitar hero" people on the CD, I also would have liked to have seen Eddie Van Halen contribute something... I mean Hell, it's not like he's busy, or anything... Anyway, Todd pulls off another tricky album with a finesse that only Todd can...
Todd's Crazy-assed Webpage


Well, there you have it... I'm sorry about the huge delay... Thins have been a bit hectic in recent months... but now, I have almost three full Flavors columns in waiting... so that shouldn't be a problem, any longer... See you next time.

All rights reserved, 2003 - Anthony Phillips/Xtatic Media
No portion of this may be reprinted without permission from Xtatic Media.

WHY Are These Guys Still Making News?


It seems that cock-rockers Great White just don't want to stay out of the music news... I guess as long as they're still talking about you, it doesn't matter what they say, just keep talking...

The night they played at the Station in Rhode Island and killed all those people, their fee was $5,000. After that, they started playing "charity shows" to raise money for the victims of the Rhode Island fire... their fee? $6,000... and that's after all the "charity..." They claim to be "incurring more costs" on this leg of the tour and complete bullshit like that. Well, maybe they are... maybe they've developed an extra $1,000 a day heroin habit after dreaming about watching their lame-assed pyrotechnics burn a hundred people alive night after night in their sleep (which is the least that they deserve, honestly)... The truth of the matter is that they are just as big a bunch of lame, hairsprayed jagoffs now as they were in 1988... they sucked then, and they super-suck now... and why they expect people to pay them more money is beyond me... if anything, they should pay people to come watch them play (and to be honest, you'd have to pay me a hell of a lot to go see them)...

Jack Russell, you're a geek... you didn't fool anyone with your crocodile tears after you burned all those people to death, including your own guitar player (and didn't have the balls to go to his funeral). Your band isn't worth fifty bucks a year, much less six thousand a night. Do yourselves a favor and just go away... or else I shall keep taunting you until you cry...

Listening to: NOT Great White, that's for sure...

The Cult's Website Changes


The Cult have changed their website and their URL. The old one, thecultnet.com, isn't up anymore... the new address is the-cult.com... The link in the bands section has been updated... update your bookmarks, as well...

Listening to: The Cult - "Beyond Good and Evil" (2001)

Hell on Earth Site Still Down... and SO is Shane Bugbee's


There's been no signs of life at the Hell on Earth website since Saturday afternoon... hmm... wonder why? (okay, so I don't, really...)

What's a little more curious is the fact that Shane Bugbee's site, EvilNow is down, as well... If I remember correctly, they (totally coincidentally) use the same hosting service... and Shane has been planning to air the video he received that purportedly depicts the possible suicide in question at some point this week... hmmm.... [scratches chin] do I smell a conspiracy?

UPDATE: After getting basically no response from Shane's site, I am now getting a "Forbidden" message, instead... that just seems so... so... not right...

Listening to: Shinedown - "Leave a Whisper" (2003)

Rotten to Adapt Autobiography for the Big Screen


John Lydon, better known as Johnny Rotten, is reportedly working with director Penelopee Spheeris (Wayne's World) on a movie version of his autobiography, "Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs," which chronicles the rise and fall of the Sex Pistols.

The book, which is set to be reissued in January, 2004, ten years after its original issue... It gets its title from a sigh=n that hung from a hotel that the Sex Pistols once stayed at...

The Sex Pistols only ever needed one album (Nevermind the Bollocks, 1977) to put themselves on the rock map forever... They were more of a slap in the face than Marilyn Manson ever dreamed he could be. Their scathing, satirical, politically-motivated lyrics were far beyond anything that bands were doing at the time...

So... who should play Rotten? Johhny Depp? No... he wants to play Ozzy in a movie... Ewan MacGregor? Nah... Trainspotting was punk enough for him... hmmm... Maybe it will be some no name... Fuck, I'll do it, then...

Listening to: The Who...

Ozzy to Perform Sabbath's "Changes" on Wife's Show... (ugh) With Daughter, Kelly...


The performance is tying in with the re-relase of Kelly's album Shut Up which contains a studio version of the duet.

Originally released on Epic Records to dismal sales... Kelly was dropped by Epic, and father Ozzy soon followed in protest. The album was reissued on Sanctuary Records in late September.

Pretty much the only way you're gonna sell anymore copies of that piece of tripe (have you ever actually seen tripe? pretty foul...) is if you release it with Ozzy on it, somewhere... better yet... remove Kelly's voice, replace it with Ozzy's voice, and call it an Ozzy album... No, no... even better... Remove Kelly's voice, remove the music, replace the music with different music, have Ozzy sing... and call it an Ozzy album... there we go...

Y'know... I love Ozzy. I always have. I still have my copy of Bark at the Moon on vinyl... I just replaced my copy of Blizzard of Ozz on CD less than a week ago... I haven't owned much of Ozzy since the pre-Zakk Wylde days... but I totally love Sabbath. How in the name of all that is sacred can he justify defiling such a cool old Sabbath song like "Changes" by putting his daughter's wretched voice on it? Good googlie mooglie...

Oh, well... At least it wasn't a remake of that crappy duet-thing he did with Lita Ford back in the '80s, "Close My Eyes Forever." That would have been really messed up...

Listening to: The Who - "Live at the Royal Albert Hall" (2003)

Yep, That Was Him...


If you took the time to read the last post regarding Shane Bugbee and his interview with Hell on Earth's Billy Tourtelot... well, good for you. I found the interview to be pretty insightful on the whole issue, thanks to Shane. It's hard to say what I would think if the interviews had been conducted by anyone else in this particular situation...

And yes, that really is a comment from Shane Bugbee, himself, in the comments section at the end of the post... I have verified it, and it yes indeedy was... My thanks to Shane for swingin' by and checking out the article... I have actually been in contact with him recently, and if all goes well, you will hear all about it, right here... EXCLUSIVELY!!!

Fingers are crossed...

(learning that he is, in fact, not a white supremacist and just an "equal opportunity hater" (hell, I know plenty of those) has helped me feel quite a bit more comfortable with him, as well)

Listening to: Black Label Society - "The Blessed Hellride" (2003)

Shane Bugbee and Hell on Earth


I've been following this whole Hell on Earth "suicide show" thing for a couple weeks, now... The show went on Saturday, but whether the suicide actually did or not, I'm not really sure at this time... The show and the sucide were to take place at two separate locations... The website was supposedly "taken down by hackers," therefore nothing was aired on the website as scheduled...

Enter Shane Bugbee. Shane is a Chicagoland "promoter turned 'shock' jock..." He also promotes the book Might is Right (a book highly regarded by the Church of Satan and thousands of "white supremacists" all over the world)... Shane does an internet radio show called "Three Ring Radio" on Radio Free Satan. This week's broadcast of Three Ring Radio is dedicated to the whole Hell on Earth suicide show thing... He also claims to have the video of the show that Hell on Earth performed Saturday evening and video of what is purported to be the suicide... Bugbee also conducts an interview (actually conducted over several days prior to and after the show) with Billy Tourtelot, lead singer for Hell on Earth...

I listened to the show at 2:00am MDT, tonight. When I read the stuff about the whole Might is Right thing and such, I was prepared for the show to suck and for it to have been a total waste of time. Well, the first hour pretty much did (and was), but I kept listening, because honestly, I am intrigued by this whole thing pretty deeply... I mean, I have played a lot of music, done a lot of live shows with bands that were famous, soon-to-be famous, and never-will-be famous... and regardless of my personal views on death, suicide, or the right to die, I have never ever pondered being involved in something quite so outrageous and ridiculous as a "public" suicide as a vehicle to help promote my band... which no matter what Billy Tourtelot will say in public, he was totally using this as a way to promote his band... and it obviously worked.

At one point of the interview with Bugbee, Tourtelot actually has the stones to start talking about his "integrity" and all this crap... and how the band is not, in any way, assisting suicide (which is totally debateable - I tend to think they are, in fact, facilitating the act and would, therefore, be guilty of assisting suicide, despite what Tourtelot or his cousel would say)... he also says that "the band does not condone suicide... we think it's the weak way out... but what this person is doing is really courageous..." Y'know, if the guy had any real integrity, I'm not sure he would have been involved in this stuff in the first place... but you need look no further than some of the schlock on the band's website to see his true "integrity." Speaking of, I haven't seen a flicker from their website since I checked for it the day of the "performance."

In another section of the show, Bugbee is called by CNN correspondent Susan Candiotti (and is interrupted by about thirty phone calls from newspaper reporters)... Bugbee says that he will be airing the content sometime this week... He also tells Candiotti at one point that the hack of hellonearth.net is not coming from Hong Kong, but "from a government organization" (or so he has been told by his Internet Service Provider). He kind of fails to mention this at any point in the actual broadcast, but it's not that big of a deal... He then goes on to broadcast Susan Candiotti giving him her personal office number at CNN... beautiful stuff... (I wonder how many calls she got from listeners?)

Part two of the show kicks off with more extremely shitty music from this less-than-remotely-good band (a.k.a. Hell on Earth)... I've honestly heard my cat make better music horking up a hairball... Then he gets back on the phone with Tourtelot, discussing why and how the servers were taken down... Bugbee says that after he talked to the server people, they don't think there was any hack attempt from Hong Kong (or even a hack at all, apparently).

Tourtelot apparently has extensive knowledge of the english language, particularly the word "fuck."

Bugbee engaged Tourtelot in a bit of questioning the validity of the whole thing... He told Tourtelot that the whole thing was planned so poorly (which it was)... Tourtelot supposedly met the terminally-ill guy (or at least judging from the conversation, it is a man) only one time, ever and they then only exchanged notes through a "secret meeting place" and such... He also never discussed anything with the teminally-ill person about their family's wishes or concerns (which does strike me as odd - I mean, even if I was the dumbest fuck on the planet, I would be asking this person about their family and how they feel, how the person thinks this act will affect them, etc.). Tourtelot went on to say that he has no idea if the guy actually committed suicide the night of the show, and that he was going to place a call to (Tampa disc jockey) "Bubba the Lovesponge" asking him to broadcast a request to the person that if he is still alive to call the station and confirm he's living... Bugbee claimed that at the beginning, he thought it was "50% hoax, 50% real... we'll see when someone drags a body out of a building..." It was a bit more obvious that near the end of the interview, his tone changed a bit more towards the "it's bullshit" angle...

At the end of the show, Bugbee claimed that the end of the video footage he has (and says will air sometime this week) contains images of a person with a bag over their head (Tourtelot makes reference to the "plastic bag method" in the interview, where someone takes tons of narcotics, washes it down with alcohol and then sticks a bag over their head and passes out before they die of asphyxia)... he also questioned whether it is legit or actually just "Billy's drummer..."

Shane Bugbee might be a bit misguided in some of his views and such (at least in my opinion), but he is a smart guy and he ended up asking a lot of good questions... I was ready to write this guy off as nothing more than some hate-preaching could-be-white-supremacist (from the background I've been able to gather, I can't really tell, although his studio does sport rebel flags and such...) who got lucky enough to score his own radio show... but after listening to the show, I won't say I respect the guy any more or anything, but he showed that he is an intelligent guy, and he handled the burden of having stuff basically dumped in his lap quite well.

Will I listen to another broadcast of Three Ring Radio? Well, probably so. Thank Maynard that I have the power to judge for myself if the guy is talking shit or not... and if so, I can always just turn it off...

Now Listening to: The Mars Volta - "De-loused in the Comatorium" (2003)

Just a thought...


Y'know how Christina Aguilera has spawned this whole, completely stupid "Xtina" thing, right? I was in Coldstone Creamers the other night (a place that sells some wickedly good ice cream - I actually saw them on Food Channel before I ever moved here), and there was this girl wearing a hooded sweatshirt with "Xtina" embroidered in the ass-region. I got to looking at it (the embroidery, not her ass) and it kept striking me as a bit odd... Okay, the whole "X" thing... she's trying to make the "X" short for "Chris," right? Well, "Xmas" is short for "Christmas" (if you're a lazy ass and such)... so then "X" is "Christ," with a "t," right? So then, "Xtina" is "Christtina," right? Or did someone pass a law saying that "X" can be short for "Christ" or just "Chris?" If so, does that mean I can start referring to my friend Chris as just "X" from now on?
Either way, Christina Aguilera is skanky... I think the girl at the ice cream store wishes that she was skanky, too...

Listening to: Kyuss - "...and the Circus Leaves Town" (1995)

***SHITTY BAND UPDATE***
Hell on Earth "Postpones Performance" Due to "Web Attack"


WHY did I have a feeling that it wouldn't happen? According to Jason Trindade, the host of hellonearth.net, the site was "attacked Saturday evening by a flood of data from computers somewhere in Hong Kong..." Whether that is actually the case or not remains to be seen... I certainly can buy that the traffic coming into the site around 7pm Eastern was probably incredible, and that could bring a server to its knees in a hurry... I don't know whether I believe a DoS (Denial of Service) attack was the culprit or just another step in a pretty shitty bit of a publicity stunt...

Supposedly, the website was up and had a link to another site and a caption that read "Next week the show will go on," but at my last check (a couple seconds ago), the site was still not responding...

Bandleader Billy Tourtelot (who earlier stated, "There's nothing bad about [it]. It's giving the right to die with human dignity and compassion for those that we love." so... offing yourself in a public forum is dignified and compassionate there, assjockey?) said he would "defy threats of criminal charges" for facilitating and/or assisting suicide (a second-degree felony in Florida which carries fifteen years in prison)... Go ahead, Billy... Defy it all you want... and then, after it's over, try to defy your cellmate, Bubba, from pounding you in the ass on an hourly basis for the next fifteen years...

The terminally-ill person in question is supposedly doing it to show his support for "right-to-die" views...

My personal message to this person is this:
"People all over the planet are now well aware of your wishes and your views... Some shitty no-name band has helped you get the word out that you want to die... There are a lot of people that would disagree with your decision, but that's not important... If it's that important to you, if you are, indeed, suffering so badly at this point that you feel you need to end your life... fuck the band, fuck the Internet, and fuck the people that disagree with your decision... do yourself, end your suffering, and let the rest of us get on with ignoring the lame-assed band that you're such a big fan of..."

Listening to: APC

Hell on Earth Website Currently Down

The concert set to feature a man committing suicide live on stage is set to begin in fifteen minutes... but the website, which was supposed to carry the concert live, is currently down... ha!

The service provider for the site said he would not take the site down unless forced to by law enforcement... maybe he was forced? Well, the site has been the victim of hackers a couple times over the past week, so it could have been hacked, again... but I'm thinking that Johnny Law could have very easily showed up and told the guy that if he ran the show, he was gonna be in trouble, big heap...

So, if it was a big publicity stunt, it paid off, because they got a ton of press over it... but in the end, their music still sucks, and they're cheap...

Listening to: Oklahoma vs. Iowa State

Calendar of Events Added


If you notice down the left side, I've added a calendar of musical events... good idea, no? I plan on including events going on in my former stomping ground (a.k.a. Ohio), as well... as soon as I can get people to get me the info...

Listening to: the Braves/Cubs game...

Courtney Love... the Latest...


Courtney Love was arrested Thursday morning outside of a house in L.A., where she had broken windows in an attempt to gain entry. She was charged with being under the influence of an illegal narcotic... surprise, surprise... She was released on a mere $2,500 bond.

A few hours later, police and paramedics responded to a call of a drug overdose... It was Courtney Love... As I am writing this, her condition is unavailable... but as far as I'm concerned, as long as her condition is "still alive," then she didn't OD as good as she could have... damnit...

You Ever Notice?


When you go searching on song lyrics websites, a lot of them carry a "top ten list" of songs that people have viewed... Have you ever noticed that the number one song is almost always a rap song? Is this because the song is so popular? Well, I don't think so. I think it's usually because you canna understand fucking word one that's being said... Where the Hell is "Right Thurr," anyway... ;)

Listening to: Jeff Buckley - "Grace" (1994)

P. Diddy

It seems that Sean "Don't Call Me Puffy" Combs is training to run the New York Marathon in the hopes of raising a million dollars for three separate children's organizations... that's a million total, not each... and, of course, being the cheeseballed bandwagoners they are, Mtv is following him around and taping it all in an effort to make it seem like he's doing something better than he really is (in a two-part piece aptly (read:"queerly") entitled Diddy Runs the City)... which, don't get me wrong... it is something good for these groups... but... okay... he's trying to raise a million dollars... of other people's money... to give to charity...

Hey, P. Doody... you wanna do something really impressive??? Howsabout giving a million dollars of your own money to these charities? Or what about just one of your platinum and diamond-encrusted dollar sign necklaces? Or maybe those cheesy porno pinky rings? Or the profits from one week of sales from your "Sean John" clothing line (that, funny enough, I only see rich, suburban, white kids wearing)? Oh, yeah... I didn't think you'd like that idea...

"Wha'? Huh? Nah, nah... Not my moneys... What you think I is? Stupid? C-can I get one for Biggie?"

I guess what I'm trying to say is that while it's cool that he's raising other people's money for charity (I doubt I would carry enough weight to raise a million dollars for any charity (including the Make Tony a Millionaire charity I've wanted to start for some time, now)), I find it rather lame that he's not being a true philanthropist and giving away any of his bazillions of dollars... because he is, in fact, a greedy asshole...

Listening to: Chris Whitley - "Terra Incognita" (1996)

Damn...

Great White played in Trinidad (Colorado), tonight... Many of you will remember them from their totally horrible, cheesy-assed music from the 1980's... others will remember them for causing a fire at a show this past February in Rhode Island that left 100 people dead, including their guitarist (who was originally from Ohio), and how none of the band showed up for his funeral... and how they still don't think they were at fault in any way for that fire... which they were...
I wish I would have known... so I could go and just boo and hiss until I got thrown out... or threatened by some mullet-headed reject from 1988 in a Twisted Sister shirt, reeking of Drakkar Noir... That would have been worth it...

NOTE: my original thoughts on the fire and such can be found here and subsequently here.

Listening to: THRICE - "The Artist in the Ambulance" (2003)

Scott Weiland Launches New Record Label

Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland has formed Softdrive Records in a joint venture with Interscope Records. The company's first release will be an offerring from the newly reunited Campfire Girls (who can also thank Weiland for spearheading the reunion) entitled Tell Them Hi, scheduled for an October 14 release.

Weiland is also preparing to release his second solo album and is continuing working on the Velvet Revolver project that features Weiland with former members of Guns 'n' Roses, including Slash and Matt Sorum (also of The Cult). That album is slated for release sometime in 2004.

All I can say is, "Good job Scott... now, if you'll just do us a favor and stay off the smack..."

Listening to: the latenight rerun of South Park in the background...

Okay... "Live and Let Live" and all that crap... but What THE Fuck?

I caught a snippet of this story the other day about a band from St. Petersburg called Hell on Earth that was planning on performing a suicide of a teminally-ill person live onstage - and luckily was able to track down a little more about it... and the St. Pete city council's response of passing a law making "suicide for entertainment" illegal (that sounds ridiculous to even say, much less "perform," or whatever the hell you wanna call it)... The venue then immediately cancelled the show, and reportedly, other venues turned the band away, as well... The band states on their website that the suicide will go on, as scheduled, in an unknown location within the city limits, and will be broadcast live on the band's website this Saturday (October 4)...
After roaming around their website, I am pretty much convinced that these guys are pretty low on the talent scale and pretty high on just trying to be "shock 'n' roll..." or "schlock 'n' roll," too... douchebags with guitars... yay...
The teminally-ill person in question has publicly thanked the band for the "...opportunity to end his life with dignity..." ... ... ummmm... okay... whatever, jackass...

Listening to: "The Very Best of War" (2003)