From my boy paWL (via Alaska, both of the legendary Hangar 18 crew), a positively put, election-related video. To be more specific, watching President-Elect Obama’s acceptance speech inspired Paul and friends to create something in response. They felt compelled to capture the spirit of that night in a way that would begin to explain the import of this election and how personal it was to so many people. At the same time, it asks everyone to look forward, keep the momentum established in the Obama campaign and THINK BIG about our future. Continue reading “Think Big, Live Without Limitations”
Reality Sandwich: Of Campfires and Computers
When Daniel Pinchbeck invited me to write something for Reality Sandwich, I sifted thorugh the piles of pieces I was already working on (some of which have been developed on this site) and put this together. It’s sort of an amalgamated excerpt from my book-in-progress. Here’s a polemical taste: Continue reading “Reality Sandwich: Of Campfires and Computers”
Maker Faire, 2008: Austin, Texas
Wow, where does one start? The makers of the world convened in Austin, Texas one weekend in October to make, build, rebuild, battle, and exchange their stuff and their ideas. I even had visitors from two other states join in the fun. Perhaps the best way to approach a summary of Maker Faire’s controlled chaos, of this menagerie of goods and good-doers, of this DIY carnival, of the impossible to sum up is a list with occasional pictures… Continue reading “Maker Faire, 2008: Austin, Texas”
The FREESTYLIN’ Book
Earlier this year, Mark Lewman somehow conned Nike into funding the FREESTYLIN’ Magazine reunion book he’s been wanting to do since FREESTYLIN’ stopped printing pages in the early 90s. Having finally received my copy, I am glad he did. Continue reading “The FREESTYLIN’ Book”
Reality Sandwich and Disinformation Present A Sneak Preview of 2012: Science or Superstition
From my friend Gary Baddeley at Disinformation:
Come out for a night of thought-provoking cinema and conversation on one of the most fascinating subjects of our time. On December 21st, 2012, the “Long Count” of the ancient Mayan Calendar comes to an abrupt end, finishing off a grand cycle that spans 5,125 years. Some believe it portends an apocalyptic End Times of earth-shattering cataclysms; others disagree, claiming the date as the start of a new era of enlightenment and advanced human consciousness. Continue reading “Reality Sandwich and Disinformation Present A Sneak Preview of 2012: Science or Superstition”
Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies Review
The Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies at the University of San Francisco chose Follow for Now as its book of the month for September, 2008. Ellis Godard, who is Assistant Professor of Sociology at California State University, Northridge, wrote a deep and insightful review of the collection. Continue reading “Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies Review”
New Zine: labcabinalabama
With all of this digital stuff, sometimes it feels good to go back to the analog world. I find making a real, honest-to-paper-pulp zine every once in a while keeps things in perspective. As many of you know, I spent the summer of 2008 in my old haunts in southeast Alabama. Well, I made a zine to commemorate the last few months of skateboarding, correspondence, and heat. Continue reading “New Zine: labcabinalabama”
Space-Based Solar Power FTW
My friend and mentor Howard Bloom created this video with Buzz Aldrin, Edgar Mitchell, and a crew of renegade NASA insiders to raise awareness about space-based solar power as a possible remedy for the global energy crisis. They introduce the piece with the line “A Message for the Next President of the United States.” Continue reading “Space-Based Solar Power FTW”
33 1/3: Books About Records
Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.
The line above has been attributed to several voices — Elvis Costello, Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, and Lester Bangs, among others — but if the roof is on fire, I say we dance. Continuum’s 33 1/3 Series, helmed by the insightful and inimitable David Barker, is good books all about good records. Not just “good” records, but records that changed the face of music in one way or another — records that set the roof aflame, and the two I just read — Paul’s Boutique by Dan LeRoy and Loveless by Mike McGonigal — are just that.
I know, what can possibly be said about Paul’s Boutique and Loveless that you haven’t already heard some drunken music geek say jumping up and down waving his or her (probably his) hands? I thought the same thing, but having been that drunken, hand-waving music geek more than once in the past, I was still interested.
Coming out of the wake of the Hip-hop parody that was License to Ill (Def Jam, 1986), The Beastie Boys surprised everyone with the sample-heavy psychedelia of Paul’s Boutique (Capitol, 1989). Upon its initial release, the record’s public response could be described as “doom” for The Beastie Boys’ career, but over the years it has proven itself one of the most important records of its time, and possibly the most creative sample-based record ever made.
The Beastie Boys were seemingly riding high after their many tours supporting License to Ill. On the contrary, they were ready for a break and ready to get paid, but their bosses at Def Jam were not about to offer them either of these. The suits neuvo there were stuck in a cashless lurch with their newly minted distribution deal with Columbia and anxious for a new record from the Beasties. This would not do. So, our heroes bounced to the Left Coast, found some new friends, some new collaborators, a lawyer, and a new label. Finally paid by a sweet advance from Capitol, the boys were set to blow off some steam and start work on what would become their undisputed masterpiece.
While the Beastie Boys were sorting out their post-License to Ill lives, a loose-knit group of DJs and producers was busy creating the soundtrack to their next era. Among these were John King and Simpson (The Dust Brothers), Matt Dike (DJ, promoter, Delicious Vinyl founder), and Mario Caldato Jr. (studio engineer). Paul’s Boutique would eventually include the music of many — real (?) and sampled.
Dan LeRoy’s book gets at how this all came together, and — it’s an interesting and illuminating read about a particularly mysterious time in the Beasties’ history. LeRoy’s insightful epilogue regarding nostalgia is also not to be missed.
Say what you will about The Beastie Boys, but Paul’s Boutique is the record that synced their placement in the alphabet and their placement among music legends: right between The Beach Boys (Pet Sounds) and The Beatles (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band).
Not unlike Paul’s Boutique, My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless (Creation, 1990) is widely considered — and rightfully so — one of the most important and influential records of the 90s. Also like Paul’s Boutique, its making is shroud in rumor. Such myths (e.g., that it cost half a million dollars to record and bankrupt their label Creation only to be saved by Oasis, Kevin Shield’s notorious studio meticulousness, that there are thousands of guitar overdubs, etc.) are either clarified or dispelled herein.
Mike McGonigal does some digging for the roots of the signature My Bloody Valentine sound that was refined on Loveless and defined an era and countless imitators (also mentioning such worthy influences as Sigur Rós, Mogwai, M83, and Caribou, but spending a disproportionate number of pages on Rafael Toral), but how he went the whole book without mentioning Robert Hampson, I do not know. He does warn that writing about this record can make you “start believing it’s the most transcendent record ever,” and that “it’s too easy for this album to turn you into a pretentious twat. Be very careful!!!” Thankfully, he avoids hyperbole except where appropriate and taps into why this beautiful wall of guitar noise remains the touchstone that it is.
These two books pull back the curtain on their respective subjects, giving us a glimpse behind the mystery surrounding both. So, if you’ve been that drunken, hand-waving music geek or know someone who has, these two books (as well as the rest of Continuum’s 33 1/3 Series, including books on Reign in Blood by Slayer, Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth, …Endtroducing by DJ Shadow, Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division, Led Zepplin IV, Bee Thousand by Guided by Voices, among many others) will help explain the phenomenon.
Now if I could just convince David Barker to let me do one… (Right?)
—
I cannot resist adding the video for My Bloody Valentine’s “To Here Knows When” (runtime: 4:43) from which the cover art for Loveless was gleaned. It’s absolutely perfect.
Naked Raygun: Combat Rock
Melodic punk rock with strong views and a solid spine might not be a rare commodity, but it sure doesn’t come around like this very often. Naked Raygun has consistently taken the punk sound to new places. They are as catchy as they are aggressive, as loud as they are intelligent, and as fun as they are serious.
Steve Albini once said of Chicago that “things like music, art, and other creative pursuits tend to be done as passions and for camaraderie rather than as careers. Careerism brings with it an ugly insincerity and conservatism.” That’s not to say that sincere music doesn’t come from other places, but punk rock from the Midwest (e.g., Hüsker Dü, Jesus Lizard, Albini’s own Big Black, et al.) tends to be very serious. Naked Raygun is no exception.
Emerging from Chicago in 1981, Naked Raygun took cues from the art-punk of Gang of Four and Wire, but retained a more confrontational attitude. The core members — singer Jeff Pezzati, bass player Pierre Kezdy, drummer Eric Spicer, and guitarist John Haggerty (future Big Black member Santiago Durango played with them early on and Bill Stephens stepped in to replace Haggerty for the final record) — soldiered through the fickle music industry until 1991, only to return in 2006 to a fan base hungry for their brand of war-torn punk rock. I caught up with Eric Spicer to talk about Naked Raygun past, present, and future.
Roy Christopher: You guys planned to reunite for Chicago’s annual punk festival in 2006, but stayed together afterward. What about the show prompted the reunion and what kept you together after?
Eric Spicer: Yes, we played Riot Fest 2006. I saw the line up for RF 2005 and thought, “Wow, that’s really cool.” I didn’t get to go to either of the shows for whatever reason, but I liked the idea. I got in touch with Mike, the promoter. I asked him if he would be interested in having Naked Raygun play the next year. He got back to me right away and said, “Hell Yes.” I told him that we hadn’t played out in a long time and I wasn’t sure if anyone remembered us. Keep in mind that after our reunion show in 97, I was totally out of the music scene, and since we hadn’t played for such a long time, I expected Naked Raygun to be a lost memory. Mike said not to worry about it! So, I got in touch with Pierre and Bill. It took a while to nail Jeff down. Eventually we got our collective shit together and played RF 2006. We knew that if we were going to play RF 2006, we’d need to practice a lot, so we thought why not play some shows after that? We got along with Mike and eventually asked him to manage us. It’s worked out well. We’ve played a bunch of shows and did a West Coast tour.
We picked up where we left off, as far as the line up goes: Jeff, Pierre, Bill, and me.
RC: What’s keeping John Haggerty from returning to the fold?
ES: I don’t know what’s up with John. I called him a couple of times before the documentary DVD was released. We wanted him to be a part of it, but he wouldn’t have anything to do with it. He has some deep-seated problems from long ago that primarily have to do with money. I tried to tell him he should get over it, none of us ever made any money playing in this band anyway. He has his issues and won’t return my phone calls.
RC: With the web in full effect these days, how are things different now than they were when you guys split?
ES: Ah yes, The World Wide Web… For the most part, I think it’s very cool. MySpace in particular. I’ve been in touch with people I haven’t heard from in years. And the instant accessibility is amazing, that’s probably the biggest thing. Anyone can just Google your name and contact you with a few mouse clicks. I really haven’t had any bad experiences online. The one difference is that when a band has a show booked, they just put out a bulletin or post flyers on friends pages. I can remember me and Camilo sitting in the back of a Chicago bus with flyers, glue, and a pint of whiskey. We would get hammered and put up flyers. Those were good times.
RC: Is Punk dead?
ES: I imagine you snickering as you wrote this question, Roy. As we all know, “Punk” was a media term attached to a sub-genre of late 70’s and early 80’s music. Music that I love and still listen to today. Is it dead? I don’t think so. There are lots of bands out there that are making some really good music that are influenced by Punk. Rise Against is a great band. They are some of the most ethical and socially conscious guys you’ll meet, as well as good guys and personal friends of mine. Rancid is one of my favorite bands. Tim Armstrong, the singer, wrote and produced songs for Pink. They are actually pretty good songs. Is he any less “Punk”? I guess what I’m thinking is that Punk is more spirit than anything else. There was a bowling alley in Chicago called the Fire Side Bowl that used to let Punk bands play there. Alkaline Trio, Fall Out Boy and Rise Against all played there. They’re all very popular, but if you asked them whom they listened to growing up, it would be a list of Punk bands.
RC: Is there new Naked Raygun material in the works?
ES: I sure hope so. We told each other that we would work on new stuff. It’s hard in the sense that we don’t want to write songs that suck, and anything new that’s released will be held up and compared to everything else we ever wrote. Know what I mean? I’m sure we will have something new out in the not too distant future.
RC: What’s next?
ES: I don’t know. Getting this band together for anything is like herding cats. It’s tough, ya know? We all have jobs, wives, and children. And we’re not twenty-years old anymore. I would love to quit my job like I used to, tour the East coast and then fly over to Europe for a two-month tour. That’s just not possible, it takes a lot of planning and is a complete logistical nightmare. Hopefully we’ll play some shows out East this fall, maybe play Chicago later this year, get back out West soon, and I’ll buy a gun and a longer rope and get the strays into the recording studio.