| (no subject) |
[Jan. 28th, 2010|12:51 am] |
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All of the Statesmen are dead. There are none left. |
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| Music, music, music and more music. |
[Jan. 26th, 2010|03:37 am] |
I went to one of the last kick ass music stores left in this city and paid some cashy money for a few 12" vinyls to add to my analog collection. I scored big time, and after I got home, I decided to geek out on my overall music collection. Today's items are Foetus: Calamity Crush & Wash/Slog & Rife (2 disc picture disc), Wiseblood: Dirtdish, Doubting Thomas: Father Don't Cry, (not pictured) The Young Gods: Play Kurt Weill (not pictured). I also picked up some 30 clear plastic sleeves to protect my vinyls; I'll need 32 more in order to have them all in plastic. I haven't counted all of my vinyls yet, but I'd estimate I have between 100 and 120. A pretty modest collection, but it's a good start.
First up is all of my Foetus related material, including Wiseblood and Garage Monsters, a sufari-inspired recording from the early 90's. When I finally got all my stuff organized, Emily and I decided I should photograph the collection for posterity. Until tonight, I didn't realize just how much Foetus I have. Jesus Christ.
Next is Ministry and related projects. I left out the new "RevCo" as I don't feel it counts. I used to have all of Ministry's and RevCo's 2000's-era stuff, but got rid of it. It was crap. The highlight for me of this particular collection is the 12" version of Twitch. I finally found one in good condition a few months ago.
Front Line Assembly and related projects (Noise Unit and Intermix). Mostly CD-based. Lots of Wax Trax! originals though.
And 242. Not a huge collection by any stretch as I only have one post-'93 release. Still one of my favorite bands though. Tried to find the original Wax Trax! releases whenever possible. Didn't think to add C-Tec.
I'm considering doing some photos of collections based on other criteria, like record label, or year, or subgenre. My collection isn't anywhere near as impressive as some other people's I've seen, but I'm rather proud of the quality and hard to find releases I've gathered over the years. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 24th, 2010|09:16 am] |
In my not so humble opinion, Concentration by Machines of Loving Grace is one of the finest albums ever made. It's one of only a handful of albums I can actually listen to from start to finish on a regular basis, and one of the only albums I love even more than when I first heard it over a decade ago. As I've gotten older, I've come to understand the record on a different level, the themes and intent are much clearer, the musical approach is more poignant. I appreciate it considerably more as a result.
The sophistication of the album's lyrics and composition make a lot of similar efforts from the same era look awfully silly by comparison. It's an intelligent, masterful disc that blends styles, genres and subject matter seamlessly.
It frustrating that so many present day industrial acts have sound as though they took their cues from things like MADONNA rather than bands like MOLG. |
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| Interview with Gabriel Shaw |
[Jan. 22nd, 2010|09:56 am] |
Gabriel Shaw Gabriel Shaw is one of the hardest working members of the industrial music community, having toured with bands with VNV Nation, Chemlab, Imperative and Ayria. Also a roadie with Nitzer Ebb, Combichrist and others, Gabriel discusses his experiences with some of the bands he's worked with and life on the road.
If there's anyone out there who qualifies as under appreciated, it's this guy. |
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| New Website |
[Jan. 17th, 2010|08:44 am] |
So a few weeks ago I started a new website, this time for Hive, a club night here in Portland I've worked for off and on for quite some time.
Church of Hive
The site contains information such as directions, DJ schedule, and a few other tidbits. It's also where I'm making a home for my next round of journalism projects. I've published a few sets of concert photos, and I'm partly finished with my first round of record reviews.
The first interview I've completed for your reading enjoyment is with bay area electronic rock outfit We Got This Far, specifically bassist Jason Silva.
I've been down this road before over the past 6 years with other sites and working with other people on those sites. I had a lot of fine moments, and also a lot of frustration. For about a year starting in 2006 I ran a site by myself, brianbacklash.com, and that was the least stressful and most successful venture to date. The site I started after was based in large part on brianbacklash.com, but I brought in a number of people and tried to make it a behemonth of the local scene. It died a quick death; too many gears had too little grease. In that light, the new site is being produced solely by myself, with Hive-related information provided by Hive's maestro Dean.
In spite of past failures, or perhaps because of those failures, I'm hopeful that this site will finally evolve into what I strove for on my previous digital media ventures. This site and the content I will be producing for it will be occasionally difficult to complete, and certainly time consuming. It's ultimate success or failure is up to me. But after all this time, I finally understand what's required and what's necessary to make something like this work, and be a living, breathing entity in it's own right. For those of you who've been continually supportive during those ups and downs, thank you. You're the people I don't even need to explain why I'm doing this or what I hope to accomplish, you already get it. As for the people who've told me it's a bad idea or a waste of time during those years, people like you are always going to be around to shit on people when they try to do something constructive. I hope you find succor in that pettiness.
I hope that you guys like what you see, and that you enjoy what I write. But most importantly, my goal is that I'll be able to turn you on to some great music. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|11:18 am] |
I personally could not be more thrilled to now be walking around and going about my every day affairs in a completely fresh decade.
The 00's were a sham. I'm not going to explain why as any one reading this should have figured it out. Instead, I'll highlight a few of the things we can expect during the 2010s (it looks snappy even in print).
1. Our first mission to Pluto, New Horizons, will arrive at its destination in the middle of 2015.
2. The Space Shuttle mission will draw to a close, and we will begin manned missions with an entirely new spacecraft (and not the one we've been working on, it seems).
3. We will have 2 or possibly 3 different people serve as President during this decade.
4. Incandescent light bulbs will be phased out of the American household (laws already in place).
5. The countless deaths of many more self-serving celebrities.
I recognize this isn't much of a list, but fuck it. It's a new decade and so far no one's ruined it. |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 4th, 2009|08:54 am] |
And this is why I love the Butthole Surfers. |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 3rd, 2009|02:34 am] |
I should have voted for Ron Paul. He wanted to dismantle our overseas bases, reduce the size and expenditure of the Federal government and he was staunchly against this endless, pointless war. He was an outsider in his own party and still ran for the office of President long after the Republican primaries had ended. He was the Libertarian candidate in 1988, and his political viewpoints are quite similar to my own. His voting record in the Senate was also very consistent with his statements and goals as a politician.
Instead, I voted for Barack Obama. At this point I can't seem to remember why.
Obama has allowed oil companies to start drilling in ecological and environmentally delicate arctic preserves. He has allowed the health care bill to become too watered down, to the point there's nothing worthwhile left in its pages. He helped bail out corrupt and greedy Wall Street firms and auto companies (isn't the idea of a free market system that if a business model fails, it fails? And then somebody else gets a shot?) and lastly is going to increase troop levels in Afganistan for the second time this year.
He was swept in with an incredible mandate by millions of people who were fed up with corporate greed, wanted to end to the war, and a reaffirmation of science, not religion, in informing our decisions as a nation.
On the very last point, he's made some marginal progress.
But at this point, I'm unimpressed. His party is ineffectual and trips over it's own feet trying to find the most bland, mundane middle ground. The Democrats have little backbone, and don't even know how to properly use their power now that they have it back.
He's lost my vote for reelection. This does not mean I'll vote for the republican. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 1st, 2009|01:33 am] |
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So long and thanks for all the mix CDs. |
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| Hive On Halloween Night! |
[Oct. 29th, 2009|09:23 pm] |
This will also be my last night as a DJ. Hope to see some old faces :) |
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brianbacklash's journal
