Tag: Music

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Babyland, bb

So, here we are at another post about me being a big music necro. If you like noise, improvised drums, harsh vocals, and synths then you will probably like Babyland. Labeled junk punk, it fits closely enough with industrial that I’d heard the name several times, but never had the chance to hear the music. I finally got around to chasing them down on Spotify, and now I’m a fan. Of course the band has been dead since 2009, but that’s not going to stop me from enjoying them alongside all my favourite long deceased bands.

I also stumbled upon the Babyland’s Bandcamp page while looking for their last album, Cavecraft, which was released by Metropolis records. I feel kinda honored to currently be the first “supporter” of the “Decade One” complication (also a little WTF!?). Of course, if I want to get Cavecraft in Australia, I have to buy it off fucking iTunes or get a physical CD sent out. I could rage about the absurdity of this and a hundred other similar incidents but I’ll leave that for another day. I don’t know if it’s Metropolis that deserves the “fuck you” or some budget two-shits domestic partner. Ok, leaving it alone for realz now.

And finally, there’s Continues, the project by the singer of the defunct, Babyland. Mostly its sort of cheesy synthpop stuff (maybe that’s your bag) but there are some tracks I don’t mind.

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Bacon, death, and industrial-metal

Today I woke up feeling like doing anything was stupid. Instead of doing stuff I lay in bed thinking about dying. Eventually I decided to make scrambled eggs. I cut a  finger while dicing onion. There were no bandaids, so I was trying to stem the bleeding with tissue. It wouldn’t stop bleeding, but I was set on getting the meal done. I’d chop a bit and then wipe blood away. Occasionally a drop would drip into the food. What do I care. Food just gets turned into blood and shit anyway.

Some people will always succeed but I don’t care

Eventually, still bleeding, I returned to bed with the my booty of scrambled goods and coffee.  It was pretty good eats. Instead of doing anything important, I got back to reading the gonzo account of rockstar, Al Jourgensen (Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Lard etc). I would laugh here and there but I couldn’t concentrate, and most of the time was spent reading the same pages over and over. I also found it a little depressing (but maybe a little bit inspirational too) that this crazy character could be so fucked up on drugs and booze (and be depressed), yet still do like a thousand albums. I don’t even care about waking up in the morning.

Chicken coop massacre

Around 1 pm I mustered all the rock-star inspired OMPH! I could pull together to go check the animals. I discovered the poor chickens had been massacred – probably a dog jumping the fence in the wee hours of the morning. No bodies, but lots of feathers. That was kinda depressing.

Then I managed to use the phone (something I have a near phobia of) to book an appointment I’d been putting off for weeks. Then I showered and now I’m fucking exhausted.

 

 

 

I want wine

 

 

My favourite Ministry album

 

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Juke-Joint Jezebel: the track that began it all

As a kid I was a big fan of the Mortal Kombat games. I was technically barred from playing violent video games by my parents. BUT I PLAYED THEM ANYWAY! Of course, when the movie adaptation came out, I (successfully) pestered my parents into letting me see it. The movie was dumb. Some cool effects and some reasonable action sequences wasn’t enough to convince 11 year-old Jim. The soundtrack, however, was a revelation!

For me, KMFDM’s Juke Joint Jezebel was the highlight of the album. It was different to just about anything I had heard at the time. It was heavy, it was dark, it had guitars and electronic stuff, but it was curiously different from everything else. I liked it!

So this track was in the background for years to come, but I never cottoned onto this stuff called industrial music. To me, it was too close to the mainstream genres to strongly indicate the wealth I was missing out on. Even if I had chanced onto other stuff, unlikely given my sheltered childhood, and limited music distribution of the time (living in the sticks ‘n all that jazz), I might not even have known what to make of it.

Finally finding love

A whole decade it was until the name KMFDM lead me down the industrial rabbit hole. It might have been sooner if I hadn’t taken a detoure down a neo hippie dead-end. Anyway, it was a decade, and it has been love ever since. At first I stayed with bands that were on the rock/metal side of the equation, but here I am, another decade on, with a full-blown love of not just the digestible, dancable, but also of the avant-garde roots.

The Mortal Kombat movie may have been a huge disappointment to me (what could I have expected?) but I dug most of the OST, which heavily influenced the development of my music tastes.

Other highlights from the Mortal Kombat OST

The super cheesy, sample heavy, theme song by Utah Saints, even back then, was a guilty indulgence.

Orbital’s Halcyon +On +On – what is a track this beautiful even doing in a movie about fighting in a tournament to save Earth from trans-dimensional invaders?

Fear Factory’s Zero Signal, along with GZR’s The Invisible were too heavy for my sensitive tastes, but would later become favourites.

Sister Machine Gun’s Burn, probably one of the band’s best tracks, was a safe favourite of young Jim’s.

Type O Negative’s Blood & Fire (Out of the Ashes Mix) was another track that pushed me along in developing an interest in metal.

 

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Killing Joke – Killing Joke – Best Album Ever

Perhaps an overstatement to call Killing Joke’s debut self-titled album (1980) the best ever, but it is certainly a post-punk classic. I’m not going to music on about it much. I suck at talking about music, except for pointing out what i like and don’t like.

It’s good. It’s full of delicious droning and throbbing, interesting (doom-heavy) lyrics and Jaz Coleman’s vocal stylings are good.

  • Requiem – a gorgeously constructed piece. Gives me chills, man.
  • Wardance – good too
  • Tomorrow’s World – chilling, throbbing, good
  • Bloodsport – The album picks up the pace here. It’s pretty good
  • The Wait – pretty good too
  • Complications – pretty good also
  • S.O.36 – slow and brooding. I like it
  • Primitive – good track. Cool droning guitars
  • Change – pretty decent track to close with – nuff said

For a review by someone who knows how to talk music, check out the review on Sputnikmusic.com. It’s pretty good.

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Close to the post

I’m working on a longer than usual comic strip, which might run over a couple of installments, so I don’t have much to say on the topic of nothing today. I do, however, have a song to share, Closer (To The Edit) by Art of Noise. I’m sure everyone, except me, has herd the track, but since I stumbled upon this gem from my birth year (84) it has been getting a lot of play on my lists.

Sure, there are more popular songs by the band such as Peter Gunn, Kiss (with Tom Jones), and Moments in Love (admittedly a beautiful track), but screw that stuff! For me, the meat of the band is in the more experimental  avant-garde gravy!

Close to the edit is a delightfully quirky electronic track from the early days of sampling technology (something the band made heavy use of). They used a nifty machine called the Farlight CMI Sampler, which was invented right here in my homeland, Australia. As a fan of old-skool electronic tunes, this track has become a favorite.

Enjoy

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Jim’s Industrial Musics

silly industrial music banner - rusted

So, out of all the things I could have done today I ended up spending almost all of it listening to music. It was fabulous! A friend (meet on a certain disreputable social media network) and I decided to swap playlists. She listens to a lot more of the current crop of Aggrotech, harsher electro-industrial, and industrial metal, where as I’m more into Old Skool Industrial and EBM, with some industrial rock/metal.

If you don’t know what these genres are the TVTropes website has one of the best brief articles on the genre, and of course, Wikipedia also has good stuff too. You can also hang around and check out my playlist, for a more hands on approach (because you all want to hear what I listen to).

Now, I’ve been sniffing around this music for a long time, but I wouldn’t consider myself an elite. Genre distinctions still confuse me, and I haven’t heard ALL of the precursor and formative bands. Occasionally I do get into the mood to go dig around though, so over the years I have amassed a reasonable repertoire.

So the real takeaway from today is that my friend reconnected with with Suicide Commando, which lead me to rediscover :Wumpscut. My thanks to you.

The musics

Also, if you’re on VampireFreaks, or want a social network that’s quirky and a little bent, hit me up. Don’t let the name fool you, it really is full of freaks (and some cool ladies and gents).

IM GOING TO DRINK WINE

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Why A Perfect Circle’s “Passive” Describes My Relationship With Miss X


A dark and broody song, this was a favourite of this angsty teenager, and it was one of the first songs that conveyed the feelings I had about the apocalyptic breakup of my last relationship. As with any symbolism or metaphor, this song does not perfectly represent the situation, but it is as close as any song has been. Miss X, and many others in my life, would say that said relationship is so far gone and dead that there’s nothing to even be angry about now – nothing left to discuss or fight about, or for. But here I am, still just as and angry; still just as thirsty for answers.

Miss X is the woman I love and hate with equal strength. She is someone I always want to see, but if I came upon her a hundred-thousand years from now, it would still be too soon. Compound this issue with the fact we have a child together – yep she’s in my life for now and ever. She’s someone I would feel very conflicted about knowing they were having a bad and horrible life.

In this way she is a prime candidate to become my perfect enemy, but she has never faced me, never given me any answers – just walks away – just plays dead. This lack of closure is very disappointing. There is no conflict to pour the immensity of my deeply conflicted emotions into. I am now walking away in disgust. She is obviously better off keeping her reasons to herself, too afraid to face me and admit the truth. At the best, I can expect passive aggressive bullshit. So deeply unsatisfying from someone I care/d for so much.

I will certainly be better off for moving so far away, where she can’t rely on me to be there for her needs, while completely ignoring my own. You fucking disappoint me.

Now, regale me with your comments telling me to get over it.

Dead as dead can be
The doctor tells me
But I just can’t believe him
Ever the optimistic one
I’m sure of your ability
To become my perfect enemy

Wake up and face me
Don’t play dead ’cause maybe
Someday, I’ll walk away and say
You disappoint me
Maybe you’re better off this way

(The only answers I ever got amounted to nothing. The breakup is still a raw and bitter deal for me. To me it could have always been salvaged. Now I can’t even

Leanin’ over you here
Cold and catatonic
I catch a brief reflection
Of what you could and might have been
It’s your right and your ability
To become my perfect enemy

Wake up and face me
Don’t play dead ’cause maybe
Someday I’ll walk away and say
You disappoint me
Maybe you’re better off this way

Maybe you’re better off this way
Maybe you’re better off this way
Maybe you’re better off this way
You’re better off this
You’re better off this
Maybe you’re better off

Wake up and face me
Don’t play dead ’cause maybe
Someday I’ll walk away and say
You fuckin’ disappoint me
Maybe you’re better off this way

Go ahead and play dead
I know that you can hear this
Go ahead and play dead
Why can’t you turn and face me?
Why can’t you turn and face me?
Why can’t you turn and face me?
Why can’t you turn and face me?
You fuckin’ disappoint me

Passive, aggressive bullshit
Passive, aggressive bullshit
Passive, aggressive bullshit