LIKE HOARDERS, WITHOUT THE CRUSHED CAT SKELETONS

Stuff I bought or received in the mail today:

Thomas Köner, Nunatak/Teimo/Permafrost 3CD set
Macc & Dgohn, Some Shit Saaink
Neurosis, Live at Roadburn 2007
Plastikman, Kompilation
The Qemists, Spirit in the System
Roots Manuva Meets Wrong Tom, "Jah Warriors (Feat. Ricky Ranking)" single
The Sword, Warp Riders
US Christmas, Run Thick in the Night
Various Artists, Dark Matter: Multiverse 2004-2009 2CD set
Various Artists, Ninja Tune XX: 20 Years of Beats & Pieces 4CD set
Scott Sigler, Ancestor
Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski: A Film Legacy 6DVD set incl. Aguirre, the Wrath of God; Nosferatu; Fitzcarraldo; Woyzeck; Cobra Verde; My Best Fiend

PHELPS "CATFISH" COLLINS, 1944-2010

Phelps "Catfish" Collins, older brother of William "Bootsy" Collins, has died of cancer at age 66. I don't know what I can write that won't be better expressed by this clip, which is a different version of one I've posted before. This was the best band James Brown ever had; the Collins brothers' unbelievable rhythms combined funk with the raw energy of punk before punk, and Robert "Chopper" McCullough's damn-close-to-free-jazz saxophone solos put the whole thing over the top. Check it:



The CD version of the above show, Love Power Peace: Live At The Olympia, Paris, 1971, is one of those life-changing albums. You really should own it. I have a question, though: The YouTube footage above shows a Bootsy Collins bass solo, and a James Brown organ solo, that are not present on the Love Power Peace CD. So clearly the CD was edited down somewhat (it's only about 65 minutes long). I want that extra music. If anybody knows of the existence of a bootleg of the complete Olympia show, with all the solos and any other songs that may be shortened on, or totally excised from, the CD, please, please, please (sorry) let me know.

POSTED WITHOUT COMMENT

(Title of image file: Satanic_Illumination02.jpg. No, really.)

Direct quote from a press release I got today:

"The forthcoming SARGEIST album took us more than five years to make. After two albums, the standard we had raised was needed to be met with a liturgy surpassing the previous works, and for that reason alone, it took such a long time to complete the new work. Finally, when everything started to fall in place, it didn't take long. Lyrically, Let the Devil In is a continuation of the heinous path we had chosen - that of black magic, necromancy, and worship of Satan. The result is definitely the strongest of SARGEIST yet, taking all the assets of our past with a new Satanic illumination."

THE BORIS BRAND

I'm listening to the BXI EP, four songs recorded by Japanese rock band Boris with vocals (on three tracks) by Ian Astbury. The usual wave of hype that surrounds anything and everything Boris does is slowly building. It will crest in a week or so—the disc comes out on August 17, the same day as the new Iron Maiden album, which I also wrote about today, over here.

Anyway, BXI. The first song, "Teeth and Claws," sounds like Sonic Youth circa Daydream Nation with Astbury on vocals. The guitar riff is slightly "off" and distorted/fuzzy in that way SY perfected on "Teen Age Riot." But the histrionic Cult vocalist doesn't really fit with the music. Things get quirky when a small child begins reciting lyrics toward the end of the song. (I think it might be the daughter of Boris guitarist Wata and drummer Atsuo, whose name I can't remember. Nice kid; I met her when Boris were having their photo taken for Metal Edge.) The second track, "We Are Witches," is fuzzier and more in the hard psych-rock vein of Boris's Pink album. The drums are heavily effected for a sound that reminds me of late '90s "alternative metal." The third track is a cover of the Cult's "Rain," sung in a very breathy voice by Wata. Based on this evidence, she should sing more Boris material. They become quite a convincing shoegaze/dream-pop act with her up front. The fourth and final track, "Magickal Child," starts with Astbury imitating Bruce Springsteen as Wata makes enraged-hornet guitar noises like John McLaughlin on Miles Davis's "Go Ahead John," minus the speaker-switching effect. There's a big crashing sound when the whole band comes in, but they disappear again. This is the pattern for the whole track, which isn't a song so much as five minutes of music.

If this EP was by a band you'd never heard of, and you randomly slotted it into your CD player or streamed the tracks from MySpace, you'd probably quit about halfway through the first song. It's occasionally pretty, but it's not compelling stuff, and Ian Astbury's vocals are, if possible, even more of an acquired taste than they were in the late '80s, when his ultra-earnest attempts to be Jim Morrison won the Cult a medium-sized following and got them on Headbanger's Ball during the hair metal era. And frankly, the songs are underwritten. It feels like the band said, "Hey, it'd be fun to work with Ian Astbury!" and he said yes (because Cult records aren't selling, and the version of the Doors he fronted isn't on the road), and nobody thought it was necessary to invest more than ten minutes in writing material.

I don't get why people like Boris as much as they do. I saw them a few years ago, and thought they were deadly dull live, despite Atsuo's over-the-top theatrics (he's got a big gong, and he likes to use it). Their albums are almost always middling, wedded to a concept or a conceit rather than being built around a collection of strong songs, and have a rushed feel like they're already impatient with the concept, and can't wait to get to the next one, even as they're recording the material. And yet, they've somehow become a cult band, and a brand. So people are gonna buy this record out of brand loyalty. Which disappoints me, but I'm sure it pleases them, 'cause it means they don't have to change their strategy to hold onto their fan base.

I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS (AND SO ARE YOU)

Video of the day: "Stupid Boy" by T. Mills. Culled from Stuff You Will Hate, a blog that will either fill you with joy or the kind of rage that ends with a news reporter standing in a Taco Bell parking lot saying "...before turning the gun on himself."

I can't really explain this any better than SYWH's own Sergeant D did, so here you go:

When I interviewed him the other day for Substream, he made it sound like they filmed the video in some sick mansion like you would see in a high-budget porn movie, but this looks like they filmed it at my girlfriend's sister's apartment in Ontario, CA (only hers has a pool, whereas this one just has a dirty little walkway behind it where you probably put your trash for them to pickup or whatever). But that's actually perfect, because it captures the vibe of an Inland Empire house party to a tee, even down to the details like the off-white carpeting and cheap blinds on the windows.

Enjoy!