A very attractive female tells you why the government is doing way more harm than good in fighting a useless drug “war.”
Category Archives: rant
Sittin On My Ass, Be Creative Tomorrow…
I rarely do this and this is more of a reminder for myself, but I am using this post to let y’all know of two future entries I will be publishing. 1) Bo Burnham- Comedy Show Review. 2) Zombieland- Film Review. Almost 3) Australian Pink Floyd, but nooooo I had work and missed it! The world can be a cruel place sometimes… Anyway, you may be asking why are you not posting these reviews now? Well, frankly my deer I don’t give a dayemmm aka I’m too tired after work (actually not that bad, tho tiring) papers, and lack of sleep and I’d rather watch the second half of Malcolm X accompanied by some mouth watering chicken fingers and waffle fries. See you soon.
Chris
Rage Against the American Movie Trailer
When I journey to the local cinema to view a film I highly anticipate, the last thing I want to see is a shitty trailer for a shitty flick. Even if the movie turns out to be decent, I always look back at the trailer and remember absolutely dismissing it. Why? Well, I’ll tell you why! Firstly, like I said before I want to dive right into the film I paid hard earned cash to see, not be inundated by poor excuses for marketing, which includes commericals, a major no no in a cinema. We see commercials everyday at home on TV, but, that’s not enough for the corporate cocksuckers, they have to follow you all the way to the movie theater as well. Secondly, this is going to sound ludicrous, even stupid perhaps, but the main flaw with trailers is the fact that their purpose is to make you see the movie. I know it sounds dumb, but I don’t like being coercioned into buying a product. Trailers suck the art right out of the films so they can appeal to certain demographics. Just watch the trailer for Fight Club it’s aimed towards “tough,” “manly” men, when that is exactly the kind of attitude the film condemns. I really disdain when the directors of these trailers try sooo hard to incorporte the “funny” parts: meaningless one liners, the “dramatic/sad” parts: meaningless one liners again, this time sadder and more pathetic, and the “scary” parts: lots of screaming, menacing music, and the most cliched and my most despised technique, the creepy, little girl voice. I fucking can’t stand that! Trailors should make you want to see the flick, but not make it obvious!
In spite of all this ranting, I must admit several trailors are unique and/or at least effectively use the aforementioned “boring” techniqus to woo me into checking out their movie. So, what’s my favorite trailor? 3 way tie: Pulp Fiction, Clerks, and The Devil and Daniel Johnston. So, here they are:
Chris
Things I Miss…
Substitute teachers.
Haven’t had a substitute teacher in college yet, but I’m pretty damn sure they wouldn’t be as awesome as high school subs. Where else do you get to meet the following: a retired engineer/mathematician with expensive sports cars, a former writer for Rolling Stone, an unemployed college graduate with a degree in “art,” a twenty-something hipster, a creep with a huge ass hand, a man who walks with a perpetual limp, a former postman, and a guy who can quote Napoleon Dynamite like it’s part of his job. That’s what I miss.
This Ain’t No Prog Blog…
Random title indeed. This is an extremely brief commentary or rant if you will on something that occurs quite often when I am discussing music with other music devotees. Here’s the setup:
Someone asks me if I like some Progressive Rock band like Dream Theater or King Krimson and then I respond that I’m not really into Prog Rock, yet every time this incident happens I am sporting a shirt with one of the few prog bands I listen to (i.e. Tool, Pink Floyd). Most of the music related shirts I wear would be appropos, like the Ramones or the Black Lips, but for some strange reason, I am never seen wearing such shirts when this question arises. I don’t know, I think it’s slightly amusing enough to make a post out of the situation…. and I’m also procrastinating my french homework.
Chris
Things I Miss:
When No Age used to tour regularly!
They still are on the road like 98% of the time, don’t get me wrong, but they were here in July ’08 then November ’08 and then April ’09 (on a special occasion). My luck they’ll schedule a date here the same night as the Pixies or Sonic Youth show.
CD Review: The King Khan & BBQ Show
Artist: The King Khan & BBQ Show
Title: The King Khan & BBQ Show aka The Supreme Genius of Mark Sultan*
Label: In the Red (2007 Re-release), Goner (U.S), Hazelwood (Europe)
Year: 2004
1) Waddlin’ Around- 9.8- Classic King Khan! Perfect opener and terrific love song. Truly amazing, soulful vocals from Mark Sultan, just a harbinger of what is to come.
2) Fish Fight- 10- Instant classic! This one is a highly catchy rocker. Great for pogoing and moshing (I can imagine and will get back to you after I see them live!). Great, simple, guitar work
3) Get Down- 9.6- Catchy lyrics, nice, fast paced guitar and drums. Gets me in the mood to “get down.”
4) Hold Me Tight- 9.7- Wow! One word to describe this song: Cool. You could roll down the street picking up some fine looking ladies to this guitar riff…. probably not though, but it gives us hope haha. My favorite part is the “Holdddd Me Tight.” Brings me back to Montrose Elementary School Halloween dances when they played those old ‘Graveyard Smash’ songs. The vocals in that part are extremely reminescent of said tunes. Brought back some great memories.
5) Love You So- 9.9- One of the top tracks on this record and in their entire discography for that matter. It’s another love ballad from the BBQ, Mark Sultan. Incredibly simple lyrics, yet ultimately endearing in both sound and passion. Doo Wop influence is most prevalent here.
6) Got It Made- 9.5- Poppy, BBQ Ballad. Catchy lyrics, innocent song.
7) Am I the One- 8.8- Decent, but didn’t really hit me like the others. Cool King song about his gee tar.
8) Take Me Back- 8.5- It’s a good song, but does not bring as much new to the table. Sultan’s vocals and the overall song really, sound too much like previous tracks. Fine song, but nothing new.
9) Pig Pig- 9.9- Love this one. Balls out rock, screeching vocals, fast guitars, loud drums. In this track, King’s gal is a little, diryt, piggy, “covered in shit” haha. No lovey dovey innocence here, which makes this number really stick out. Perhaps the punk rock influence clawing it’s way into the recording.
10) Shake Real Low- 9.7- Fun (as stated in the song) Rock and Roll you can shake your ass to. Kids and everyone else should flooding the dance floor, rocking to this music, instead of the bullshit they play at dances and clubs, which sucks the fun right outta of the music. I don’t understand how our world works. Ohh well, I’m still having fun.
11) Bimbo’s Theme- 8.8- It’s somewhat catchy, but I think it goes on for too long. I dig the dueling vocals of King and the BBQ at the end though. I also really like when King freaks out and wildly screams.
12) L’il Girl In the Woods- 8.9- Sounds pretty hot lol. Cool song, but nothing special compared to the other greats. I liked when the ‘L’il Girl’ chimed in too.
13) Outta My Mind- 9.0- Funny number, great vocals from both the King and the BBQ. Very catchy. One of my favorite lines from this album, ” Ohh baby, you just ripped my heart out and left it out to dry,” which are spoken. In fact, there’s a little section of King doing some funky spoken word. I can feel the pain of not being able to get some gal ‘outta your mind.’ The emotion is very effective on this track.
14) Mind, Body, and Soul- 8.5- Doesn’t do all that much for me per se, but certainly not a bad track. It is one of those album closers that is specifically longer than other tracks, just to have an epic closing. I typically am not a fan of those. I would have preferred some catchy tune as a closer, like “Outta My Mind.”
Overall Grade- A: Fun, romantic, raw, garagey doo woppy, punky, dirty, rock and roll. These guys have recustiated the early 60s doo wop/pop genre of rock better than anyone in the universe… and they do have some fierce competition.
* Not actual title lol.
Chris
Subversive Book Club: Black Panthers Speak
Title: Black Panthers Speak
Author(s): Phillip S. Foner. Includes writings by all your favorite Panthers: Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, Fred Hampton, Angela Davis, and Stokely Carmichael, amongst others.
Year: 1995
Pages: 328
Good Guys: Black Panthers and some of their vanilla comrades who fought beside them in the black struggle
Bad Guys: Oppressive, White AmeriKKKA: Police, businesses, the entire U.S. Government (particularly the most rotten pigs, the FBI), and average, apathetic, ignorant citizens
My Rating: A-
Why Subversive?:
I suppose it is “strange” for a white, suburban kid to walk around, clutching a book of militant black politics demonizing the wahhitte man and all his evils. But, then again I am a “strange” guy. So, why did I read this gem of incendiary material? Well, two main reasons: 1) I’m chiefly a propagandist, if anything. Without a doubt the Panthers are accountable for some truly outstanding propaganda. They are completely biased, unabashedly, may I add and write for their side/interests. The point of their works is not to offer you a fair look at how our society works or how certain events went down. Ohh no, they share their perspective of what it is like to be a free-thinking black revolutinary in an extremely racist and violent country that does not value them as human beings. If one were to read “objective” newspapers of the day they would not have the same reaction. The media was never fair to the Panthers, because they served and still serve the government. So, the Panthers fought the mainstream propaganda with their own propaganda and successfully did so. Crucial events such as the Chicago Conspiracy trial, Huey P. Newton’s manslaughter charge, the brutal murder of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark at the hands of Chicago Police with connection to the FBI are discussed extensively. 2) This book has helped me better understand how fucked up our nation was and still is and how ignorant, we white Americans are. Of course, by reading this or anything else, it does not immediately make me an expert on race relations and I certainly can not say I understand what it was or still is like to be a minority in the US of A. But, it does offer me an awareness of the American Nightmare for blacks, minorities, revolutionaries, and especially black revolutionaries (longer sentences than white revolutionaries). If the Weathermen were black they would all have been imprisoned. For those that doubt the sinister nature of our government, please look through the lens of the black experience in America. If you are privileged and white, then you will not be able to relate to it, but you will have a better understanding of how our vicious, racist system works.
I’m not saying I agree with all the Panthers’ tactics, but this subversive book at least demonstrates how positive and successful the Panthers were in their individual communities. They were a national organization and in each of their many chapters, they had schools, free breakfast for children programs, free medical clinics, and drug rehabilitation for poverty-stricken blacks. Unfortunately, history textbooks and other media outlets place too much emphasis on the violent conflicts and militancy of the Party and not as much focus on their positive, survival programs. Don’t get me wrong, the militancy was an important factor, after all their name was the “Black Panther Party for Self-Defense” and these were clearly violent times with extreme Police Brutality. In the following video, Co-founder, Bobby Seale details the Party’s Ten Point Program/Platform:
If you like this subversive book and/or want to learn more about the Black Panthers, the Black Struggle, or racist white scumfucks, then I recommend the following:
Soul On Ice By: Eldridge Cleaver
Seize the Time By: Bobby Seale
The Autobiography of Malcolm X As Told To Alex Healy
Malcolm X Speaks
Live From Death Row By: Mumia Abu-Jamal
Seen above are Co-Founders, Bobby Seale, Chairman (left) and Huey P. Newton, Minister of Defense (right). Very badass.
Chris
September Was Awesome!
September sure was a great month to be a rock and roll fan living in the Boston area. On September 5, fellow KLYAM correspondents Ben, Chris, John and I journeyed to the Middle East Downstairs to catch The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. A couple of weeks of rest followed before two nights of Walkmen gigs at M.E Downstairs. Night One (September 18) was superb, but Night Two (September 19), which Ben and Chris attended, will go down in the books as amongst the best shows I’ve seen. A few nights later on September 23, the Rifles were in Allston at Great Scott. Their 1+ hour set, which John was present for, was memorable. And just a few nights after that on September 27, John and I went back to Great Scott to see California noise aficionados Wavves for a moshing experience. That was 4 concerts in 9 days for me and I can’t say I regret doing it.
October’s looking pretty good with Jay Reatard on the 2nd, the Lovely Feathers on the 8th, King Khan and BBQ Show on the 29th, and many other shows that may or may not be attended by yours truly. But will it top September?
Hopes For Tonight + Tommorow
I have the privilege (or rather the money) to see the Walkmen two nights in a row at the Middle East Downstairs (voted my favorite all-time music venue). I don’t have a lot of expectations, but I do have some hopes:
I hope for the Walkmen to play the following songs:
– You and Me in its entirety
– “We’ve Been Had” and the “Crimps” off The Walkmen
– “Red River”
– The first eight tracks off Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone
– “Yellow Kid” and “I’m Your Son” covers
– Their four Leonard Cohen covers!
– Bows and Arrows in its entirety
Okay so what’s going to probably end up happening is this: they play at least half of You and Me, “Lost in Boston” for sure, no covers, a new one or two, and a select few tracks off their other albums, including a couple that I’ve never extensively listened to before. Whatever they do (somewhere between 10 and 20 songs for sure) I won’t be complaining!
My other hope is for front row both nights. I can make some adjustments if I don’t get front row tonight (aka get there earlier tommorow night), but as always it is more desirable that way. I anticipate a pretty big crowd both nights.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 