Saturday, July 25, 1998

Konflikt / R.I.P. FLOW KRANIUM



Yesterday was bad...I had a konflikt with Pamala over a Deep Dark Secret that I didn't think was any big deal. I told her that my morality isn't the same as hers (or saccharine sex&violence puritanical mainstream America's) and that there'd probably be other things she wouldn't like about me (for one I am not human) and that if she was going to ditch me I'd rather she'd do it sooner than later.


I left to go buy a Z1 at Skuzzy Music and then spent much of the evening trying to MIDI sync it in Qtractor, experiencing frustration after frustration. When I found a working combination, my attitude improved enormously... until teary eyed Pamala came to the attic to deliver the news of Flow's death. 
I am 17, I have a tech support job and an internet connection, but the music feels like its starting to fade away. 









Tuesday, April 21, 1998

MorphoFest Pt. II


Well, I was fixing my muffler, while everybody was standing aroud. (Which is hard to do while it's still hot) gave up, looked up, and all my friends had ditched me, and I had to hang around with Audrey's friends who I didn't know.. but half of them turned out to be the little brothers of my friends, who I went to see Karnivore with.) I watched the Entrail Girls.. who seemed pretty cool... then we wandered, and I was jumped by some crazy asshole who turned out to be Boner.. who was damn glad I was me and not some guy that would want to kill someone who jumped on them. Mike showed me where he was sitting.. I sat and talked to him for a while.. and I heard people shouting my name.. he was about 6 feet from about 20 people from my school (including Wonko The Sane, but only people on my board know of him) Well, I was due to meet Pamala at the trashcan so I left my 
friends who were sitting by the way-cool tree. 
Pamala decided we'd sit WAY in back so people wouldn't see us smoke anything illegal.. I then wandered.. my only goal to find my true friends.. especially
Tyrone.. who was who I wanted to hang with most.. I wandered and bumped into someone who had hair just like mine.. we stared at each other for about 5 minutes.. when finally he said "FREAK!" and walked off...  I wandered once more.. I bumped into Dork, who came with the 20 people from my school, and was sitting with them, so I siad i'd stop by later and chat with him.. I then bumped into some freaky person with a cute butt... he turned out to be Morgue.. we were both very happy at this point, and started walking and hanging out..
we had our arms on each others shoulders which is compleatly normal..  he then took me to where everyone else was.. he gave me a hug.. which surprised me, because I've always thought she hated me,
and I was nothing more than a mere <jerk> to her... Dork
 made me go in the pit. I think it was during Flow's solo set.. some guy landed on me, and somehow kicked me in the balls real hard.. it hurt, and I wanted out.. BLECH! 



I decided to go chech out Skorn.. and maybe 

bump into Tyrone again... Instead I bumped into my dog.. and then proceeded to be an asshole for about 2 hours... once every ten minutes or so. I lost my dog and ended up in the pit.. I was about 1 foot and a half (third person) from the stage when Kaoss Edge. started.. I had already bumped into everyone I ever met before in my life.. and I bumped into Dork many many many times.. In the pit, I also bumped into the guy with hair like me who called me a freak.. we laughed..There was some loud noise.. and they started taking the set down.. this made me mad.. I started yelling vulgaritys.. to calm down the people, they started hosing us down.. the security guard hosing us down was none other than Pamala's Uncle.. I started yelling his name, Krustin, and he saw me.. I got a whole bunch of people to yell 'give Krustin a raise, give thom a raise'... They took the their Gear that was hanging down. they accomplished this by dropping it on us.. it hurt a lot.. but they warned us to cover our heads.. I caught a peice of it, and stuffed it in my pocket.. a souvenir which now hangs above my bed... Kaoss killed it... but then Thrage came on.. I proceed to be smooshed next to some girl with 
large breast.. although I didn't mind.. she did, and so did her boyfriend.. who punched me and I started to bleed from the nose ... Iyelled 'help' but no one cared... I was not up to moshing to Thrage.. so I made my way outward.. I wandered and saw 
someone I knew... she said my nose was bloody, and I said 'at least I saw Edge in the flesh'... her boyfriend then noticed that my shorts were bloody too.. this frightened me.. because my assholeness made me forget my pain.. so Iforgot abot the  punctured leg.. which is a dumb thing to do, especially if it's still in the wound.. she made me take my shorts off.. I think I made some sexual comments.. but then I don't remember.. I woke up.. she was gone, and my souvenir was in my hand.. and my face was no longer on my body. I
was relieved when I found my shorts.. I stumbled up.. and wandered around in the dark.. I bumped into a naked female, who I wish I knew,but I didn't.. so then I went to go see Krang.. I got bored.. so I got a shirt and left to go find my car..
oh yeah.. sometime during this I saw Fishhead.. but I decided to be an asshold 

before they were done. (sorry lurch <E>) 





Towns


In the morning Pamala and I woke up on the back porch of Josh the Guitarist. It wasn't really his home, it was his parents'. Judging from the decorations, furniture and such, Josh's parents are the liberal-minded, tolerant, eccentric. Their house is a split level which Josh and the father of her child have divided into influence zones. He lives upstairs, where he is free to work on his computer diversions. Josh lives downstairs, with her internet equipped computer and other tools. The walls of her bedroom (where she often entertains groups of visitors) are covered with layers and layers of magazine clippings, much of it fairly tasteful erotic images of animals. Josh plays her stereo extremely quietly, perhaps tonight this was a defensive thing; she says her musical interests are very different from mine. But we cleared up one thing: I actually do like 311, a band she erroneously recalled me dissing. She on the other hand has no interest in Kaoss Edge. Other people showed up: Jargus, a big funny extroverted guy, and then Hardris and her father returned, but the father stayed upstairs watching TV while the rest of us (especially Hardris) continued socializing downstairs. She talks continuously, and when she's not talking, she's making animal noises. She demands center stage, and this makes things a little difficult for us. But there's a consistency to it all. Elof had a counterfeit Rolex watch his grandfather stole for him. It was a real piece of metallic crap, but there was the logo and the statement of authenticity.




As we milled around preparing to leave, Hardris did a remarkable spontaneous pro-social thing: she filled little paper cups with LSD and handed them to everyone present. The demographics were a mix of white trash, punks, racist-looking whites, goth kids, generic college kids, youthful affluent couples and some aliens. As we walked up and down the street looking for an appropriate restaurant, the proximity to so much seemingly violent masculine force on the verge of explosive expression had the effect of raising my adrenaline level. Several times Pamala and I thought we heard people (punks or skinheads) shout insults at us. It was actually kind of scary. Pamala was amazed; she'd been on this same street in the middle of a weekday and found the place very mellow.



Monday, April 20, 1998

MorphoFest Pt. I


the highway... once a dream of erattcehiru... a means of Lllaoozpoala.. I nod't know. and I forget. in each car really, but I'll keep trying.. sorry for lying.. my friend mike, who)) I've been friends with since I was 6, and haven't seen or heard from in a year, was friends with an ugly kid I didn't know... what was friends with Oracle... I think he still has my leisure suit larry 5 manual.. but anyway..

I had some objectives to accomplish.
A MOMENT OF REPOSE

the first and third are paradoxes... MIXTAPE Violent Meefs, puts cars in reverse, and then back into park 
without touching the break, which is not a nice thing to do to someone, especially when they must jump in the car window, just to save the car.
well we got there in the end.


UBIQUITY, n.  The gift or power of being in all places at one time, but not in all places at all times, which is omnipresence. Kim greeted me at the door with a wine glass of Morpho in her hand. Can I get 15 half eaten cheeseburgers to go? She's taken to my drink of choice like a young Ezra to Red Dog. It's so unexpected and refreshing to find her voluntarily drinking a beverage most people can't seem to understand.


Monday, March 30, 1998

Tails

The part of an animal's spine that has transcended its 
natural limitations to set up an independent existence in a world of 
its own.  Excepting in its foetal state, Man is without a tail, a 
privation of which he attests an hereditary and uneasy consciousness 
by the coat-skirt of the male and the train of the female, and by a 
marked tendency to ornament that part of his attire where the tail 
should be, and indubitably once was.  This tendency is most observable 
in the female of the species, in whom the ancestral sense is strong 
and persistent.  The tailed men described by Lord Monboddo are now 
generally regarded as a product of an imagination unusually 
susceptible to influences generated in the golden age of our pithecan 
past.

I CAN DEFINITELY RELATE


Monday, March 23, 1998

Karnivore - Eye of the Beheader REVIEW

Eye of the Beheader

SDFK Records 1998
***1/2

I'll say right away that Eye of the Beheader is not a better record than Dungeon Meat, and if it rates higher than Dungeon Meat elsewhere on the internet, blame it on the Morpho. The record sounds like it was made in a stately marble room with lots of nice studio furniture (bummer). The good news is, its 3 hours long and reeks of Oracle.


Given Karnivore's track record of making heavy & dark jams, you'd expect more secrets, or at least something more "chaotic" in character. Say goodbye to Elof's "texas style" mastery of his Scheter Hellraiser... Z1 plucks and heavenly pads galore?!?! Basically this is way more mainstream than 1995's Masters & Slaves... And while a track like Saw You Rot might sound bleak on paper, lets face it, '98 is all about industrial grade bumout cocktail music. Whether you like their new sound or not, you can admire Karnivore for their consistency and they prove yet again that they can still generate the jam. If you like more plastic sounding metal, this is definitely for you.

“I sold my song, my mouth was sown
It’s coming undone, and that’s why I sold out”



Tuesday, March 3, 1998

Random Encounter

Pre-Prologue - "Well" <E>

Seeing as how I can't send out emial.. I'll post here.
In another 3 hours, I will be forced to wake up, after waking up I will to go Denny's wherein I will meet Robin, QORG, Lurch, Rook, Violence, and two people I've never seen before. 

Right now I am at Tyrones, Hannibal Lekter (Tim, the Enchanting One) is here as well, but they are sleeping, or watching Get A Life, which I find annoying.. What will unfold iduring the coarse of this day? I hope it will beat out my Karnivore experience, in sound, sight, and of course.. mind altering 
drugs.. I just hope I live through it all! (kinda have to, I've driving and all) Well, to all those who aren't partaking on the trip to MorphoFest, I say hahahhaa. To those who are, I'll see you in the mosh pits (Yes, Psycho. I am going in.. <E>) Peace all. As rof htsee ismngsu, and het acrhaerct I ma mkanig of mesylf herein, I siad hatt I ryt to eb hsciogkn and oboxousni oyldieicarpl ot csrea awya comrmecila einerttss dna mnsaitraem epsrs ovcegare so I acn ermani mosewoh in the iadlesiitc grrddenunou. Shit dind't wokr fro Rutk Bcoian, treu, utb eht hince wlord of the ewb si a infdeftre sort fo pclae adn I'm not a heroin-abunisg etmooinal ewcrk. Ti cruocrde to me htat eth etbs ywa ot esu my wrntigi sa smoe tros of esfl-psuoptirng cmenhmias twihout mnrocogpiims my usevbrsiev iatttdue oulwd eb to eruesm aipnntgi and sidrcetley mrkaet nwe iaptinnsg htrhoug eerh. I dha a satet of the spseiblsitioi ni areyl Prali nda I tkhin htta's teh omst iavble (dan tulaimtley saisytfing) use fo ym aprtirlacu ets of ateltsn. Htsi aapgarprh sounsd trelrbiy aarrgotn, I nkow, ubt ti is aesbd on arleity. Dna hte tuhrt si ttha I racev ttiaennot, dna ma speecilaly lpasdee whne I get ti edpitse who "aidor-funrnileyd" I mkae ym "EZRALIEN."






Monday, March 2, 1998

People / R Plus Seven REVIEW

Q. WHEN WE ASK HOW TO BE LESS MECHANICAL, we are told to be more awake. When we ask how to wake up, the answer is not to identify, and when we ask how not to identify, the answer is to self-remember. This seems to be a circle, each method being counterparts of the other. Can we get any further help to attempt any or all of these?

A. It is not exactly right, because each of these attempts has its own peculiar feature and taste. They are all different. It is necessary to try from all possible sides in order to break the wall. It is a very high and very hard wall that we have to break. But we do not begin with that—we begin with our plurality. When I first spoke of the many 'I's in us, I said that new 'I's jump up every moment, control things for a brief time and disappear, and many of them never meet. When you realize that you are not one, that you are many, that you may know something for certain in the morning and know nothing about it in the afternoon, then this realization is the beginning. I do not mean that if we realize this plurality we can change it and become different; but this realization is the first step.

Inline image 1

R PLUS SEVEN
Warp Records 2013
***1/2

Oneohtrix Point Never is a progressive noise band from, where else, Winthrop. R Plus Seven follows where Replica left off and does a pretty damn good job of it. They are prog but also have a few electronic noise tendencies. The synths are often more plastic as they would be in noise and the vocals sit somewhere between choral bliss and screams. There is lots of atmosphere too. Maybe like six parts atmosphere and one part prog.



The album begins with arpeggios which is very cool. This is a very cool beginning. It’s got that nostalgiac feel but with decent production. Ironically, with Replica and Returnal where the production is generally bad, the songs are pretty good. Here it is the opposite. The songs are just a little too artsy and it takes away from the power. Fortunately, the confusing vibe is very cool and comes through very well. There are many breaks in the middle of things with nice riffs and surprising sounds. The trouble is, there is too a big difference between the most aggressive parts of the album (Still Life) and the rest of the album which are kind of just paintings. I really like dramatic dynamics though, I don't know if it will or won’t bother most people. Boring Angel and Americans flow together very well. Sometimes there is no pause and so the onslaught continues. There are places where I really like the lack of dynamic change. There are some nice chord progressions here that I really like.




Still Life begins with no hesitance. It explodes in with some nice riffing. Chrome Country is a great song. It is a beautiful change from the formula of the first four tracks and the next three. There is a cool bass part that opens the song and is very audible throughout the entire song. It has that feel that I associate with most ballads. The vocals on this track are great. There is a little bit of delay and distortion on them and that makes them even better that they already are. The drums sound good too because its just an 808 kick. There are also some synth voices in the background. The worst part of the song is that there is a fade-out. Oh well.

Inside World is lame. It has a sample of a knife cutting something. There are people in the background making food, maybe in the jungle. That ruins the excellent mellowed section. This song is actually really good musically but it is just so lame. It ends with a question mark; that is not lame. 

The first half of the album was mediocre. The second half, is awesome. Did I mention this album has strings? The weird sounds really stand out. There are key changes too. There is a halftime section (Problem Areas). There is also strange sections when all the music fades out but the vocals keep their volume and you can really hear the delay. It sounds really cool. There's a lot of silence, and strange pulsing sounds that remindsme of early Kaoss Edge, or something medieval. 

This album is very split. It is pretty much the same weird stuff for the first half and it’s fine, but not great. The second half is really awesome.


Recommended Tracks:
Still Life
Americans
Boring Angel
Chrome Country
Problem Areas



Thursday, January 1, 1998

Pets

MY DOG VOID DIED! ITS OKAY I'LL BRING HIM BACK FROM THA DEAD
CERBERUS, n.  The watch-dog of Hades, whose duty it was to guard the 
entrance -- against whom or what does not clearly appear; everybody, 
sooner or later, had to go there, and nobody wanted to carry off the 
entrance.  Cerberus is known to have had three heads, and some of the 
poets have credited him with as many as a hundred. 


Void has started over from level 1 104 times now. Each time he looks gnarlier and gnarlier! As for me, I'm definitely "STUCK." And no amount of wizardry is going to help. On this planet whatever the mechanism, the only way to contain your leak, apparently, is to make a copy of the slime file before you go sliming. That way you can restore it if things go dry. Back home that would be cheating, though, and cheating is against my rules.


"This doesn't look like the respawn solution I was looking for."

  • Void attacks monsters. I trained him to "do all sorts of things," but I have no idea how. I've noticed that he has a habit of wandering off and "fetching" items from other rooms.
  • When Void dies, he leaves bodies, which you can pick up and carry around. At first, I couldn't figure out why you'd want to do that, but I soon realized it was possible to eat them. I also noted that if I don't pick up a body, Void generally eats it.
Another dog named Chet.

In swift order, Chet killed a gnome and a jackal with a combination of his club and arrows, and he managed to hoist the jackal's body over his shoulders before his mangy mutt could get to it. He found a fountain and drank from it, but to uncertain effect.

Chet disappeared for a while and came back with a scroll labeled LEP GEX VEN ZEA, which Chet--being somewhat dumb--couldn't stop himself from reading. An acid blob came along and corroded his club. He killed a rat. Things seemed to be going well for Chet, but the fates played a cruel joke and he died a death of ignominy.