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.