Guess what? In honor of the recent announcement that Matador Records is re-releasing Butthole Surfers' catalog on remastered vinyl, it's Butthole Surfer's Week!!!
Taken from their 1986 album Rembrandt Pussyhorse, "Mark Says Alright" is the first song I remember hearing from Butthole Surfers' back catalog. A few years earlier while still in High School, 1993's Independent Worm Saloon briefly put the Surfer's on Empty-V's radar with the single/video release of "Who Was in My Room Last Night," which was cool despite in no way preparing me for the absolute madness of their early albums. I remember hearing this track on a cassette Mr. Brown brought around to our practice spot above my Parents' garage, a strange little gem that factored into many mind-altered evenings after we finished working on the set list and early demo for Wink Lombardi and the Constellations.
You can order the newly remastered Rembrandt Pussyhorse, along with 1985's Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac and the live PCPPEP 12" directly from Matador HERE. There's even a bundle, which I won't be needing as I already have both Rembrandt and Psychic on vinyl. Can't wait for the re-release of Locust Abortion Technician, though!
Watch:
We finally have a trailer for Harmony Korine's new film AGGRO DR1FT, the one that is shot entirely in infrared.
I know I complain about trailers and try not to watch them. However, there's really no way the trailer for a Harmony Korine movie can tell you what it's about because with some of his films, you watch them and you still don't know what they're about. This one will be polarizing, but aside from Trash Humpers, I don't think I've ever not liked anything by him I've seen, so I'm in.
Playlist:
NIN - Year Zero
Arab Strap - As Days Get Dark
Pixies - Trompe le Monde
Fugazi - Red Medicine
The Butthole Surfers - Rembrandt Pussyhorse
Matt Cameron - Gory Scorch Cretins
The Knife - Silent Shout
Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven (pre-release singles)
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• XVII: The Star
• Five of Pentacles
• Five of Wands
An explosive burst of creative energy will be a struggle to commit to.
This showed up in my youtube feed last night and frankly, listening to it was so exciting I had a bit of trouble falling asleep afterward. This band continues to amaze me; while this track obviously bears more than a little passing resemblance to the standard 'Zeal & Ardor Sound,' there's more than enough that's 'new' here to show that Manuel and crew are continuing to stretch that signature sound in new directions, without eschewing the core ideas that made them so awesome in the first place. Not an easy thing to do, but they're doing it. So coupled with Baphoment, the new track K and I saw them play at the Roxy back in August, that's two new tracks. Let's hope we get another new album sooner than later. That said, don't rush it guys. Just keep doing what you're doing.
**
Tuesday night after work I drove up to Hollywood, and my friend Keller and I attended something of a dream event - Harmony Korine's 1997 film Gummo in 35mm at the Egyptian Theatre, with Korine present after the film, interviewed at the front of the room by a long-time friend.
It was magnificent. Gummo has, since shortly after I first saw the film back in, oh, probably '99, occupied a spot in my top-five favorite films of all time. And while the movie disgusts many folks, this screening cemented my observation that it is both one of the most ugly and simultaneously one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. There is such life here! After the movie, Korine talked about casting, and how he wanted to put people in the movie that you normally would never see in a movie. You can argue that there's an element of exploitation here, but to that I'd counter that Korine documents and puts himself in the film, which to me dissolves the barrier between filmmaker and subjects. He's one of them, not above them, and I think he makes this very clear. I feel real love in Gummo, and while there's definitely some terrible stuff contained within, it's documented objectively, not celebrated or diminished.
**
Because I was out late Tuesday, I'd already secured yesterday off from work. The caveat to myself though, was if I stay home, I have to work. So, I spent the entire day, from about 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM working to finish Shadow Play, with only the distraction of the occasional break to read a comic and several loads of laundry between sessions. There was some major dialogue sculpting I had to do in some of the final chapters, and one serious flaw in a certain character's logic that caused a massive reassessment and overhaul of the last ten chapters. Nothing plot-wise, but all the tiny nuances that go into this disparate collection of characters' lives and machinations all coming to a head in a penultimate moment needed to be massaged something fierce. You know, you change something here, you have to follow the ripples through to the end and make sure they all gel. And although I was exhausted and in need of an ice cold Sierra Nevada by 6:15 PM, I am quite happy with the work. Four more chapters to record and I'm ready for that final go-through. Can't wait.
**
I worked with such focus yesterday, that I was able to ignore two major trailers that dropped and had everyone talking. I'll post them here now as I watch them for the first time.
Wow. Kudos on the use of Baba O'Riley. Also, that's quite the monster near the end, right? And this one, well, I just can't wait for this one:
Playlists from the past few days:
3/20:
John Carpenter and Alan Howarth - Prince of Darkness OST
3/19:
Talking Heads - Remain in Light
The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium
Finn Andrews - One Piece at a Time
Kevin Ayers - Bananamour
Canadian Rifle - Peaceful Death
John Carpenter and Alan Howarth - Prince of Darkness OST
Card of the day:
I keep seeing this one. There's definitely something more below the surface here, something I don't have the time to research at the moment. Deep dive later on.
Ghostland Observatory released a new album today. This is a band I very much dig, but who fell off my radar quite a few years ago. Good to see them back in action.
I've been thinking quite a bit about the bands that kept me afloat in the 00s. These guys were definitely one of them, along with a lot of more electronic-based artists. My general musical inclination has shifted over the last seven or eight years, so that I generally listen to heavier music these days (although Sunn 0))), The Ocean and High on Fire were staples for much of the 00s). That has a lot to do with writing - I just find it easier to write to heavier stuff. Most of the time. Also, it tends to fit my tone.
Oh! Mr. Brown sent me a link to the new film by Harmony Korine. Looks great, and I love the fact that Korine has kind of - for the time at least - reinvented himself with this Neon Beach Noir look.
Playlist from yesterday:
The Ocean - Permian: The Great Dying (Pre-release Single)
White Lung - Eponymous
Dead Rabbits - The Ticket That Exploded
Soundgarden - Super Unknown
The Cramps - Flame Job
John Carpenter - Big Trouble in Little China OST
Black Sabbath - Volume 4
Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
Card of the day:
Dogma. Well, what am I dogmatic about? I don't draw this card often, and when I do I don't always attribute it the respect and fascination it deserves. In my general temperament, I'm used to thinking of this card as being followed by or juxtaposed with XVI The Tower, as in law or dogma in a state of upheaval. Alone, I have to wonder if I am supposed to look deeper into my belief systems, which are ersatz for sure, as I decided long ago the word belief is much akin to the word prison. Maybe that doesn't have to be the case? Most people would read this - I think - as beware your belief structures. I'm wondering if I need to fine-tune my own, as lack of belief is still, ironically, belief.
Since the first time I saw it, back in 1999, Harmony Korine's Gummo has been one of my all-time favorite films. You can say it's exploitative, disgusting, morose. Whatever. It is partly all those things. But it is also a deep and fragile beauty that I feel it is good to be reminded of, as in reminded how to find that beauty in the often ugly and disturbing world we live in.
If you've not seen it, I strongly suggest watching it. Here's a link to the entire film on youtube:
