Wild in the streets. Erratic and unprofessional. Jaded and enthusiastic rantings of a menace to pop culture. Anti-plastic. Wild sounds. Maximum resistance. Hardcore Noise and Soul.
I am a shitty blogger. If my blog were a pet it would have died a horrific death by now, attributed to some type of bacterial atrophy eating itself to death from the inside, dehydrated. And you would have seen me on Animal Planet getting my ass kicked by Rop Vasquez on his new show where he beats animal abusers senseless in cage matches. That show is gonna rule.
"The devotion of the greatest is to encounter risk and danger, and play dice for death." ~Friedrich Nietzsche
It's been quite a year, but I'm not making any more excuses for why I haven't been updating this blog. It is what it is, so here you go, the first blog entry of the decade for Post Traumatic Sound Disorder, and it's not about black metal, punk rock, or french Pop.
In the face of uncertain danger, and a political climate at it's boiling point, Thompson reveals himself to be a man without fear, guided by a sense of purpose. His perspective is logical and his composure is calm. The Gonzo King Of Cool.
"I've been pushing it for awhile... about 10 years now... 15, or 20 and, I'm not looking for the end, but, I'm not that worried about it either. I've had a good time, and... I've made a few points. I don't know if that really justifies doing... kill-crazy things, or suicidal things. If I really thought it was suicidal, I wouldn't go back in. But, the fact is that it's... not safe. There are a lot of people who know the situation better than I do, would call it suicidal. They've all left and admitted they didn't want any part of a suicide orgy. I don't think many of the people over there do, though I'd say there's an easy 10 or 20 percent, who welcome it for reasons their own. I don't know those reasons. I sort of like my life, and enjoy it. But I've come this far, and it's my story, and I blew the last one over in Africa, and I think... it all has relevance to me. Which means going right back into the eye of the storm. And it will be a storm, we don't have much doubt about that."
Released in concurrence with the Magnolia Pictures film release of, Gonzo:The Life And Work Of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, directed by Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney, Gonzo Tapes is a fascinating treasure trove of insight for fans of Hunter S. Thompson and basically the raw data,the genesis, for all his most important works.
The headliners of the KINGS OF BLACK METAL Festival 2009 in Giessen, Germany, and Norway's INFERNO festival, are Sweden's Watain. According to the bio on their My Space page, "Watain performs Black Metal in it's original form; dangerous, passionate, sinister and magical. Drenched in blood, swept in mystery, shunning no sacrifice. You have been warned." Vocalist and bass player, Erik Danielsson, proclaims, "the Black Metal we want to inspire people to produce, if any, must be built upon the pillars of chaos, madness, lawlessness and boundless darkness! Fuck the world and its futile currents, and let’s make art that is timeless and world-less!"and the band succeeds in their mission. The darkness and the power in Watain's sound is magic to behold. Listening to the songs on 2007's landmark, Sworn To The Dark, you can't shake the feeling that this band is tapped into some supernatural phenomena.
"I believe that black and death metal originally comes from a place that very few of the people involved in this kind of artform know about or have been intentionally in contact with, and some bands along the way during the 20 years that this form of music has existed have been in touch with that place, or whatever you want to call it, and, we are one of them. And we have found ways to communicate with that place and that is what makes our music other worldly."~Erik Danielsson, Watain, Metal Show podcast interview.
Six songs that clock in at just under eight minutes. This is the envelope of hardcore punk pushed in a direction of pandemoneous hooks, rhythms, and growls, that Death Crisis command with authority and contempt. Manic, jet-speed riffs and beats take you by surprise, leaping at you like a rock and roll exorcism, hammering your skull, and pumping you with adrenalin. When it's over, you feel exhilherated and want more.
It's no surprise this band hails from San Diego with a ridiculously noteworthy pedigree consisting of former members of Life Crisis, Los Kagados, Chicken Farm, and The Rabbits (to mention just a few). After years in the game, the members of Death Crisis have obviously concluded that the only direction to go with their sound is straight into the fire. Screaming over the bedlam is the commanding voice of Alberto Jurado. His animated vocal delivery is rabid and melodic, carried with urgent ferocity like some insane mexican soldier in a cinematic bloodbath.
There is also a heroic element to his persona that shines in the momentary calm between songs throughout the band's 16 minute live set, as demonstrated in his oratory prelude to the song, "Broken Spirit", in which he reminds the audience that no matter how self-destructive our lives can become, that each of us has the ability to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off, as long as we believe in ourselves, as he points out, "Remember, you are all gods." In Spanglish, Jurado spews socio-political venom with conviction, warmth, and tongue-in-cheek delivery. His character shifts effortlessly from sage to madman to comedian. It's this honesty and authority in his presentation, coupled with the voice of an all-time great punk singer, that seals the deal with Death Crisis and demonstrates to the audience the undeniable truth that they are in the presense of masters.
Death Crisis encourages the sharing of these six songs I've ripped from vinyl for your listening pleasure. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Metallica.
Welcome to my world. Well, not entirely my world, because I really do have a life outside the internet, albeit questionable at times. The purpose of this blog? I'm mostly going to be sharing good stuff here. Because for me, that's what life is all about. Without the good stuff, you're not really living life. I've been dealt enough shit in my life to have left my subconscious mind in a state of post traumatic stress, but I don't let that get me down. Instead, I feed my appetite for the good stuff in life, which pretty much manifests itself in my obsession with music. I have made rock and roll my religion. Going to shows, playing in bands, writing about bands, photographing bands, recording bands, collecting records, fanzines, t shirts, buttons, etc., these are the rituals of my religion. Some may think I have tunnel vision, or call these things distraction, I call it focus and inspiration.
"Life! Life is the only thing worth living for!"-Flipper
To download Mp3s from this blog, simply right click and select "save target as" or "save link as". Enjoy, and buy the whole cd from the bands when they play your town.
A joke about musician Chris Squire, whose short list of past band affiliations includes Heroin, Tit Wrench, Labrador, The Mach 5 Overdrive and Tiltwheel, is that he's 107 years old, though he doesn't look a day over a weathered 27. That's because he's been entrenched on the front lines of San Diego's music scene for decades, and if it's true, he's a damned rambunctious, busy centenarian. -Ken Smith, San Diego City Beat
