Friday Not-a-Farce: Round and round the heavy psych-groove-doom-about in approx 40 years

Too busy for much in the way of words today, hopefully you get the idea though.

From Allmusic.com:

Setting heavy metal's evolutionary clock back to the stone-age days of Saint Vitus with their debut Volume One was seemingly not enough for San Jose's Sleep, who decided to time travel all the way back to the pre-historic days of earliest Black Sabbath with their second album, Sleep's Holy Mountain. Indeed, while Kyuss' Blues for the Red Sun and Monster Magnet's Spine of God are more frequently cited as the most influential and important albums in launching the American stoner/doom metal scene, not even these landmark releases compare to Holy Mountain for sheer devotion to unadulterated doom and copious weed consumption. In fact, as monolithic opener Dragonaut descends into a bass solo at its conclusion, one would be forgiven for expecting the band to segue straight into N.I.B. -- such is their similarity to classic Sabbath. Instead, they grind into The Druid, which despite a quick nod to the Sabs' Electric Funeral, actually begins to establish Sleep's personality, as riff upon massive riff in the form of songs like Evil Gypsy/Solomon's Theme and the groove-heavy Aquarian flow from the speakers like molten lava. In an age of machine-gun double-bass drums, Sleep's most startling quality had to be their seemingly endless patience. As they slowly embark upon the mammoth power chords of the title track and From Beyond, they also prolong the buildup of tension before delivering a final release of cathartic proportions. Besides greatly inspiring next generation doomsters like Electric Wizard, such unwavering dedication to weed would also set the stage for their controversial and unfortunate swan song Jerusalem -- featuring a single, mind-bending 52-minute track.

After the demise of Sleep, Matt Pike (guitar) went on to form the hugely successful High on Fire; the remaining two members Al Cisneros (bass, vocals) and Chris Hakius (drums) are now in the hypnotic psych-rock Om.

Sleep - Dragonaut (1992) (4.02 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

There's no escaping the Black Sabbath connection:

Black Sabbath - Into The Void (1971) (4.02 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

Fifteen years after the demise of Sleep, it's descendant Om has released it's third amazing, incredible album in a row: Pilgrimage.

From a review at PopMatters:

It definitely takes some time to get into Om, but don’t let impatience hinder you from experiencing the epic combination of peace and chaos that Al Cisneros and Chris Haikus convey through their music.

--by Rajkishen Narayanan

Om - Pilgrimage (2007) (6.13 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

Which (sonically) brings us right back to 1967 and Pink Floyd's second album A Saucerful of Secrets:

Pink Floyd - Set the controls for the heart of the sun (1969) (4.93 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

Oh, you're so observant! Yes of course that's not the cover of A Saucerful of Secrets: it's Ummagumma (1969). And the version of Set the Controls... is from the live part of that same album. It's a better version.

First BBQ of the season

Yesterday was a luverly day, and so it was decreed by Ms. K and a number of friends that we would barbie the q. Hence I raced home from work, out again for charcoal and kindling and balsamic and wine, back home once more.. and proceeded to build a miniature raging inferno in the back yard (see left).

We used my choice little portable barbie which I picked up two summers ago for about $20 at the Big Red Shed. When it's folded up and packed away it's basically a big metal handbag.

I cooked 12 sausages, 2 half-chickens and some chicken breast fillets on it. The only thing I might have done differently would have been to wait a few more minutes before whipping the meat out, because the sausages charred a little too much. But I tell you what, when you've got people snapping at your heels, hurrying you to get the food cooked -- people who just don't understand the fine art of cooking with fire -- people who think barbequing on gas is the bee's proverbial.... well it's hard to stand around casually poking things with a stick saying "You gotta wait.. you gotta wait".

Harry was no help at all, sifting around, trying to get at the chicken and sausages; he was also very funny though, because he found that if he got too close, the invisible (!) heat from the coals made his eyeballs start to melt and he spent a lot of time sneaking around on his belly, blinking in bewilderment. You can see him there on the left, taking stock of the situation and licking at his harbalz. (Harry! Company! Stop it!)

Some BBQ music:

Herbie Hancock - Chameleon (7.21 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

Goodness I'm bald....

Cum on feel the noize

Stuff.co.nz: Quiet Riot singer Kevin DuBrow found dead from unknown causes at his home in Las Vegas. He was 52.

Bugger it. I'm saddened.

Best known and loved for their 1983 cover of Slade's Cum On Feel The Noize, Quiet Riot were pretty huuuuuuuuge for me there for awhile.

Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear The Reaper (2.92 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

I wish these rockstars and musicians would stop dropping dead. Here's the video for Cum On Feel The Noize.

Christchurch: party capital of the south

So, Lorna Catherine Harrow-Hodginson participated in a multiple-participant sexual act on a balcony in downtown Christchurch, one Friday afternoon.

In full view of the public.

However, it all may not be as simple as all that. First of all, a bunch of drugs were involved. I mean, no shit (read the story). You'll also notice that the judge who bailed her forbade her to return within 100m of Latimer Square, and said:

"If you work, I would prefer you work in the more open area of Manchester Street, rather than (Latimer) square."

Latimer Square, which has a reputation as being used by young people hooking for trade. Work as in hooking. Manchester Street as in the "red-light" district.

So what we're really talking about is a party with drugs and hookers in the middle of the afternoon, which spilled out of the hotel room/apartment it was being held in and onto the balcony.

Umm:
1. Isn't 17 a bit young for a girl to be working as a prostitute? I'd have to check the law, but surely the legal age is at least 18?
2. Either way, I trust that young Lorna is in no way being exploited, abused, coerced or otherwise forced against her will into any "group sex on balconies in the middle of the afternoon".
3. Who the hell does Christchurch think it is? Las Vegas?

POSTSCRIPT
Lorna was picked up in Latimer Square again on Friday, and held in custody over the weekend (Poor wee mite! All that noise! All that piss and vomit!). This time the judge has given her a 7pm to 7am curfew. Not that that's gonna get in the way of any more group sex on balconies in the middle of the afternoon.

Which is just as well, and for that one really has to say, Praise the Lord. If there's one thing I think we can all agree on, it's that there should be more group sex on balconies in the middle of the afternoon. In fact, in answer to the ubiquitous question "What Does Wellington Need", I really only have one answer: "group sex on balconies in the middle of the afternoon".

Awesome.

I wonder if council community-project funding could be arranged.

Neu!

Hey.

++

You still coming here?

It's been pretty quiet, aye? I've been pretty busy, is why.

Hope to get back to regular blogging shortly.

I feel a wreck without my, Friday Farce

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's panic attacks in the morning. Absolutely not. Won't have a bar of it. Makes it so hard to get out the door and off to work, I tell ya. And as for keeping my hand in with this *cough* tedious *cough* minutiae of berlogging? Forgeddabouddit.

(Ok, just kidding about the tedious minutiae.)

But so sometimes yer just have to have a bit of tenderness, dontcha. And not the Otis Redding kind. I'm talking the "I'm Iggy Pop and I'm coming down from the whirly-wind ride of the fallout from the implosion of the Stooges and I'm hanging out in Berlin with my new BFF David Bowie and we're gonna make a weird proto-electro rekkid" kind.

Iggy Pop - China Girl (4.69 MB mp3: right-click and Save As to download; play using the handy little embedded player below)

(image courtesy of The Rising Storm.)

In 1976, The Stooges had been gone for two years, and Iggy Pop had developed a notorious reputation as one of rock & roll's most spectacular waste cases. After a self-imposed stay in a mental hospital, a significantly more functional Iggy was desperate to prove he could hold down a career in music, and he was given another chance by his longtime ally, David Bowie. Bowie co-wrote a batch of new songs with Iggy, put together a band, and produced The Idiot, which took Iggy in a new direction decidedly different from the guitar-fueled proto-punk of The Stooges. Musically, The Idiot is of a piece with the impressionistic music of Bowie's "Berlin Period" (such as Heroes and Low), with it's fragmented guitar figures, ominous basslines, and discordant, high-relief keyboard parts. Iggy's new music was cerebral and inward-looking, where his early work had been a glorious call to the id, and Iggy was in more subdued form than with The Stooges, with his voice sinking into a world-weary baritone that was a decided contrast to the harsh, defiant cry heard on Search and Destroy. Iggy was exploring new territory as a lyricist, and his songs on The Idiot are self-referential and poetic in a way that his work had rarely been in the past; for the most part the results are impressive, especially Dum Dum Boys, a paean to the glory days of his former band, and Nightclubbing, a call to the joys of decadence. The Idiot introduced the world to a very different Iggy Pop, and if the results surprised anyone expecting a replay of the assault of Raw Power, it also made it clear that Iggy was older, wiser, and still had plenty to say; it's a flawed but powerful and emotionally absorbing work.

-- allmusic.com

Oh hell yeah.

Two quick things while I think of it

Fuck me, it's Wednesday already. Wow. Y'see what happened is that on Friday morning I was horsing around with Ms. K -- we do that a bit, horsing around... you know, all-in wrestling, slap wars, that kinda thing -- and in doing so I managed to cause myself grievous bodily harm in the lower back department.

So commenced a heady and delicious 48 hours or so of a combination of extreme pain and opioid-induced delirium. That's right, I doped myself up on Norflex, Codeine and Ibuprofen and I went back to bed. And that was it until midday Sunday. I did get up and play cricket on Saturday, still extremely high -- and honestly it wasn't much fun. It was important to try and keep moving just a little, though.

Importantly, I had just the right record to play during those long and contented hours warm under the duvet, and I'll be touching on that shortly. But for now, let me present Tron Guy:

... and then The World of Grace Jones:

Parkour

Yeah, so I posted some videos of some friends (and other people) doing some parkour in Wellington.

The Garbage and the Flowers

Over on the Wellingtonista I also pimped the very excellent Garbage and the Flowers' show tomorrow night at Happy.

They're playing tomorrow night (Friday Nov 2nd) at Happy with Birchville Cat Motel and Panel of Judges.

Maximum Joy Number Two (crosspost)

Over on the Wellingtonista I pimped the very excellent DJ Name's upcoming night at Mighty Mighty.

DJ Name was my partner on the decks when we did the krautrock thing a whiles back.

You could probably pop along to this after you see The Garbage and the Flowers (with Birchville Cat Motel and Panel of Judges) at Happy.

seht-tastic: Duck and Cover

I'm pleased but somewhat shy and embarrassed to note that a guy called Jamie wrote a kinda-career overview-slash-review of my seht solo-project. It's on a blog which he contributes to called Duck and Cover.

It's a pretty good music blog, too, although he likes Battles and I don't. You should check it out.

(PS: my other site is here, including a discography. Thx.)