I Wants to Plays Lead Guitars!

I LOVE DETHKLOK. It's not every day a band made up of five cartoon characters can actually put real bands to shame. Metal has become such an easy target for ridicule, it was only a matter of time before someone decided to take it to this level. But the mockery is all in good fun, and the music recorded by "Dethklok" is actually really awesome metal, with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

I was a bit of a metalhead in middle school. My tastes matured and grew, but I still love me some good old fashioned chug-n-shred. And "Metalocalypse" has truly rekindled my love. So don't be surprised if I do a piece on Slayer, Cannibal Corpse or Cradle of Filth in the near future.

Now since it's the holidays: here's a very Dethklok Christmas moment:

Shock and Aaaagh!

Hi everyone!
I wanted to talk a little bit about Adam Lambert's "shocking" AMA performance. If you missed it, Lambert did a little bit of bump and grind with a male dancer's face,and frenched his keyboardist. ABC was subsequently hit with 1,500 complaints, which really isn't that much, but was enough to probably scare ABC from inviting Mr. Lambert back next year.
Look, I get that this program aired during prime time, when young children might be viewing it. But seriously, knowing that Lambert is both openly gay and shamelessly flamboyant might have clued people in to the fact that his performance might be a bit, er... eye-opening. Just because he was on American Idol, people are expecting a "cute and cuddly homo", not the flaming ball of flame that he is.
You know what I'm sick of? Parents who think everything is TV's fault. If you have half a brain, you know music awards shows are always somewhat risque, although the AMA's really have nothing on MTV's annual VMA flesh-parade. So if you don't want your kids exposed to that kind of thing, just turn off the damn TV! They may whine and cry about missing that singer they really like, but that's why parenting isn't called "happy, happy fucking candy sunshine time" okay!? TV programs like the AMA's are designed for a pretty broad audience, but they aren't made specifically just for a few thousand stuffy, homophobic sociopaths with nothing better to do than call TV networks to bitch about their programming!!!

-SD

By the way, I've decided to only do one album review a month, as trying to do one each week is probably a bit too ambitious. See you after Thanksgiving!

Marilyn Manson is a crybaby. (Record review: Kill Hannah)

So, the one time king of shock rock, Marilyn Manson, is embroiled in controversy over his video for "Running to the Edge of the World" in which he depicts himself severely beating (and possibly sexually assaulting) a mostly naked look-alike of his ex-GF, Rachel Evan Wood.

As expected, the video has drawn fire for glamorizing domestic violence. But that's not really what disturbs me about it. Manson has used violent, sexualized imagery for years, and this isn't all that surprising. Also, it's still just a music video, and what's occurring here is still, distasteful as it is, artwork. It's purely a fantasy outlet for

Manson's rage and bitterness over the end of his relationship with Wood.
And that brings me back to the "crybaby" thing. The first 4 minutes of the video is nothing but a close up of Manson, eyeshadow smudged with "tears", singing directly at the camera. For. Four. Minutes.

You want to talk about whiny emo douchebags? Manson is almost in his 40's. And here he is acting out revenge fantasies like a youtube addicted 16 year old who just broke up with that girl from 3rd period chemistry. And they were, like totally in love, even though they only dated for three weeks.

Manson's shtick is beyond tired. I felt bad for him when he was basically blamed for Columbine. That was unfair, and at the time I respected him for handling the whole thing with some measure of grace and good humor. But in the years since then, MM has morphed into a desperate attention seeking megalomaniac.

I don't know if it's from habitual drug use, too many bad relationships or just surrounding himself with too many "yes" men and fake friends who can't keep him grounded in reality, but I think Manson has lost it.

He's called out other bands for supposedly biting his "style" (which he aped from Reznor, Bowie and Alice Cooper to begin with), threatened to "hunt down" anyone who defames him in the media and repeatedly claimed to be god's gift to music.

No, Manson, you're still just Brian Warner, a big nosed, awkward journalism major from the suburbs who fell ass-backwards into superstardom, while dangling from the coattails of your more talented mentor. The goodwill you earned in the early years has albeit been pissed away. Maybe it's time to retire and stop embarrassing yourself.


Album Review:
Wake Up The Sleepers
Kill Hannah
Chicago goth-pop-rockers Kill Hannah flirted briefly with top 40 success with the Single "Kennedy." An electronica-tinged alt-pop tune that hit just a bit to early. The "emo" explosion was still a few years away, and synths wouldn't become fashionable until the Killers and The Bravery became some of the biggest acts in the country.
So Kill Hannah disappeared into a grueling tour schedule, and even released another album (Until There's Nothing Left of Us) in 2006. The band had developed a cult-like following, but mainstream success still eluded them.
Yet, 2009 finds Kill Hannah signed to a major label, sounding energized and confident with the best record of their career to back them up.
"Wake Up The Sleepers" builds upon the groups signature sounds: Atmospheric synths, alternately shimmering, and grinding guitars, and singer Mat Devine's androgynous, breathy vocals.
But "WUTS" has some new tricks up it's sleeves. There's a heavier emphasis on dance beats, with many songs utilizing drum machines and dirty, fat synths seemingly borrowed from The Faint or Julien K. Lead single "New York City Speed" makes excellent use of a vocoder, and "Why I Have My Grandma's Sad Eyes" rides a spare, hip-hop-esque drum groove.
Even the songs that sound like vintage Kill Hannah throw in little treats like stacked harmonies, skillful guitar leads, hand-claps and even some female back-up vocals. It may sound like a calculated capitulation to current music trends, but it's all come about organically, since KH has been cultivating this sound for years, and the music world is just now catching up. I'd like to think that Kill Hannah's days of relative anonymity are numbered.

SD

ps. I know it's been a long time between posts. Mostly I was just waiting for something interesting to write about. There will be a new post next Thursday, rain or shine.

Introductions

Greetings one and all. I thought I'd kick things off with a little background on my musical history.

>>Raised on Classics
I grew up surrounded by music. My dad and his brothers were all amateur musicians, though his brothers went on to play in a few bar bands while in their 20s. By the time I was born my dad just played guitar as a hobby. He (and my mom) also played a lot of old records by the Beatles, CCR, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis and The Who. Classic rock radio was the soundtrack to most trips in the car with my dad through most of my childhood.
>>The Unfortunate Wigger Phase
In elementary school, I was obsessed with Elvis. I even got my mom to do my hair in a pompadour a couple of times. Some time around 4th grade I started to listen to rap and hip hop, like a lot of clueless white kids my age. This lasted until about 6th grade. Parts of that phase were regrettable (particularly the backward baseball caps and oversized JNCO jeans), but led me to some good stuff and oddly enough got me interested in punk.
>>Anarchy in the 7th Grade
Rage Against the Machine actually led me to discovering punk. Basically, my affair with hip-hop was ending, and in the seek for ever more dangerous and edgy tunes I stumbled on something that felt edgy and politically charged (even if they were still just another corporate rock band).
Anyway, my obsession with Rage led me to scribble the Anarchist "A" on all of my notebooks and even some of my clothing, though I probably looked pretty stupid for doing so, it got me in with a couple of the punk kids, who introduced me to NOFX, Green Day, the Exploited and Agent Orange. From there I wanted to learn as much as I could about punk and it's history. That's when I discovered the Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones and the Damned. Hearing them was like losing my virginity, and from there I decided to widen my horizons to punk's surly cousins; grunge and metal.
>>ANGST, ANGST, ANGST!!
As I entered the 8th grade, I had transitioned from punk, ska and grunge into darker territory. While I still listened to some of those groups, I had now discovered the joys of goth. It started with NIN and Manson, but I quickly stumbled upon The Cure, Siouxie and the Banshees, The Cramps, Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, Depeche Mode and Joy Division.
At this time I was also listening to techno, electroclash and some straight garbage like Korn, Limp Bizkit and (shudder) Creed. Don't ask me how I reconciled the two, I honestly think puberty makes it hard to discern what's good and what's crap.
>>Birth of a Starman
High School was when I first started to dream about being in a band. It's also when I rediscovered my dad's music. Garage rock was just becoming popular again about that time, and rap-rock was gasping it's dying breath. I started learning guitar.
Even with the garage rock revival happening, emotive Pop-punk was the reigning soundtrack of mainstream radio, and bands like Taking Back Sunday, Jimmy Eat World and Finch where pretty popular at my school. Even though I recognized how incredibly different these bands were from the punk bands of the 70's and even those of the 90's, I still loved the seemingly raw and earnest emotion paired with poppy melodies and crunchy guitars.
Simultaneously, I started really enjoying the big, glammy sounds of T-Rex, David Bowie and Queen. The makeup, androgyny and subtle raunchiness were a welcome shock to my still-developing id.
I should mention that somewhere between my punk and goth phases (neither of which have completely left my system) I discovered a dark hardcore bad called AFI, who became one of my favorite bands and showed me you could wear black eyeshadow and still go insane in the pit.
So, somewhat in secret I started indulging my glam/goth side. Still, the spectre of columbine and the prejudice against goths was still hanging int he air, and I wasn't sure if my friends or parents would understand how I was expressing myself.
>>College Rock
Like everyone in college, I listened to plenty of Indie rock, however, I found I was now a lot more comfortable with how divergent my tastes where from each other. I liked Manic Street Preachers as much as I liked My Chemical Romance, I loved The JAMC, but I was addicted to Kylie Minogue's dance pop. I became a walking contradiction. In short, a fairly well rounded music listener.

These days, I'll pretty much listen to anything that Isn't generic top 40 pop or boring adult contemporary. I have even warmed to country, excluding some of the awful poppy crap that passes for country these days. I'll take Johnny Cash, Nick Cave and hell, even the Dixie Chicks aren't that bad.

So I hope that gives you an idea what to expect. I will try to update every week on Thrusdays with a piece of music news, an opinion on said news and a review of an album or song I'm currently listening to. Which means you may see reviews for brand new albums and songs, or you'll see a review of something from a few weeks, months, years or even decades back.

Ciao,
Skully