Wow,

Its been so long since Ive posted on here.  The past months have been absolutely crazy finishing up my third semester at Algonquin College.  A LOT has happened but first before I bore you with some of my stories I’m going to break the mood by showing you, yes you lucky reader you a video that recently helped me find a new favourite band.  City of Black & White is the name and here is a brilliant documentary done by Charles Son. http://www.vimeo.com/8092666

Great video and great band to keep you entertained if you’ve got 4 minutes to spare.  Now on to me, some of you know me for my love of video,  I just love it and have been recently been thrown a number of opportunities that are the beginning stage of sculpting my life.  It’s a weird feeling growing up, meeting deadlines, accepting responsibility.  I sometimes think back and laugh at how I used to think things were rough when I had to do the dishes AND take out the garbage ON TOP of going to school on that day.  Lately I have seen 5 am far to often and one day I was in the computer lab for 36 hours straight.  When did I become such a nerd?  I donno but the product of those 36 hours were the completion of my portfolio video found here and the a video for the new Student Commons building coming to Algonquin College.  This was also featured on the main page of http://www.algonquincollege.com/ .

Now with this video came another opportunity where we filmed the president of Algonquin College do his Christmas message.  Now this was crazy, 3 hours setting up lights for the green screen and the president comes in on camera for a total of 8 minutes.  4 Takes which was pushing the limit apparently, this will most likely be the most important person Ill ever film hahaha.  He was so busy he had two secretaries on hand telling him the message and what his next appointment is.  A very cool neat professional experience that lucky for me my teacher Chris McFarlen gave to me.

Im ranting to long, Ive given you three videos to watch and there is no way I will keep your attention this long talking about myself.  It’s good to be back at the end of the semester finally done, finally having time to do the things I want to do.  Like update this blog.

Thanks for reading,

Take Care

Brandon Brule

Dors ma ville aux pluies d’automne
Odeurs de craie qu’enfant griffonne
Trottoirs mouillés
Les marronniers
Bonsoir (…)
Oh! ma ville aux pluies d’automne
Un jour, si ton parfum m’étonne
Cheveux mouillés
Gorge serrée
Du soir.”

Je ne sais pas si vous le ressentez mais avec le gris de l’actu, il y a comme une bouffée d’automne qui monte en nous. Un absolu besoin d’ors et d’ocre qui s’inscrit dans notre esprit. Des envies de paysages or sous le gris du ciel. La nécessite d’être dehors et de rouler le long des champs et des vignes où l’on brûle les ceps ou les feuilles mortes (photo FB).

Ces impressions étonnantes de bonheur moelleux que chante si bien Julien Clerc dans “J’ai eu trente ans”. Un texte écrit par Maxime le Forestier qui était invité pour les trente ans de Juju et qui n’avait pas eu le temps d’acheter un cadeau. Ah si un jour, pour notre anniversaire, quelqu’un pouvait nous offrir une telle brassée d’impressions !
Donc voir la route couper toutes ces couleurs sous le peuple des nuages, s’amuser en scooter à poser le pied par terre en roulant dans les feuilles mortes et de les accumuler devant moi. Se sentir écolier sur le chemin de la classe, randonneur fou de lumières et de senteurs, ramasseur de champignons, chasseur. Oui chasseur à la “passée” comme jadis avec mon père, quand nous attendions le soir les grives qui allaient se coucher dans la montagne et qui volaient bas, un peu ivres après s’être gavées des raisins qui restaient dans les vignes.

Se sentir à la fois bien et mal. Heureux de cette douceur. Triste comme d’une fin. L’automne est une vie qui passe. Mais bizarrement se dire qu’il rassemble toutes les sensations : le feu, l’humide, les odeurs, les douces pourritures. C’est une saison paradoxale où l’on sait que tout passe et où pourtant on laisse faire, on laisse s’envoler les feuilles sans les retenir. Parce que, sans doute, quelque chose reviendra, renaître.
C’est ainsi que les saisons vivent et les pensées parfois les suivent.
Nous avons envie de tweed et de velours, de pulls marrons et d’écharpes précieuses. Nous avons envie d’une cheminée qui ne tire pas bien pour avoir une odeur de fumée sur nous. Nous avons envie de genévrier qui brûle vite dans l’âtre. J’avais envie de sanguins au feu de bois. Nous avons envie de mettre une canadienne de notre père et de retrouver un mot de lui dans la poche.
Nous avons tous envie d’automne sur les pentes du Ventoux, les routes de la Drôme provençale, les collines de la Cadière d’azur, les Gorges de la Nesque, la Castagniccia, les hauteurs de Saint-Michel l’Observatoire et tous les sentiers de nos coeurs.

The trout ran strong and swift, the stream ran cold

and clear, and both ran past a pair of felt-

soled boots.  The angler in the boots stood long

alone and watched the water rushing by.

The hair beneath his hat was graying, but

the hands that held his pole were still as thick and

hard as when they guided softer hands

and smaller boots down muddy banks to take

that first enchanting step on mossy rocks.

He turned and looked at tiny, gleaming drops

of sunlight dancing upstream where the boy

had caught a rainbow on a fly he’d tied

himself.  Around the bend, a little way

beyond where he could see, was where the boy

had caught his first and found his private joy.

He watched the water, waiting, aching to see

the colored pebbles that were not what they

seem rise through swaying shafts of light and hold

near ripples, glitter-capped and quick, until

they tap the surface, take a bite and flash

away.  He watched the Mayflies lift and fall

on gossamer wings that fluttered helplessly

against the breeze until they failed.  The frail

and floating insects, their genetic task

complete, returned the river’s gift.  He looked

across to where the boy and he had sat

to wait for countless suns to sink and call

the trout to rise.  There, in the cool of grass

still soft, still moist, still shaded by the trees,

the words were easy.  Fears had fallen there

and drowned beneath the current.  Dreams were born

and carried high on summer winds.  So sweet

was one, it swept away the dreamer–yet

no sweeter than the one that brought, and kept,

the other here.  The angler bowed his head

toward the stream and, smiling, waded in.

* Jakarta Globe, 12 October 2009

In these fast-paced times where information is at your fingertips and news tend to overlap, Monocle magazine provides a breath of fresh air.

A news magazine dealing with international affairs, business, culture and design, Monocle purports to be a return to old-fashioned journalism.

Editor Andrew Tuck said the magazine intended to step back, reinvest in journalism and resources and print beautiful pages. “[Monocle] is all about going back to what made us love newspapers and magazines 20 or 30 years ago,” he said.

Launched in February 2007, the magazine is the brainchild of Tyler Brule, former editor of Wallpaper*, an international design and lifestyle magazine. With headquarters in London, Monocle is currently available in 82 countries worldwide with distribution figures reaching 150,000. The magazine’s reach includes Indonesia, Australia, Korea, America, Sweden, Norway, Japan and Brazil.

With a target readership of wealthy and well-read urbane professionals, Monocle prides itself on its exclusive world reports. By commissioning stories out of London, New York and Tokyo, it ensures coverage of the world’s different time zones and events.

Functioning more like a wire service than a periodical with its far-flung correspondents, the reporters are able to take the time to unearth stories untouched by other international media as they are free from the daily news grind. When Nairobi correspondent Steve Bloomfield was assigned to report on the growing influence of China on Africa, he wasn’t burdened with looming deadlines.

“We didn’t worry about what he was doing each day as long as he found a good story,” Tuck said.

That attitude, according to foreign editor Sophie Arie, gives reporters a better chance to do original reporting.

“We can’t write stories that the local media have done. We work on the basis that we distribute in many places in the world,” said Arie, who handles correspondents in Beirut, Bogota, Milan, Moscow, Nairobi, Stockholm, Sao Paulo, Washington and Tokyo.

Though it embraces aspects of old-school journalism — film photography is still used for 50 percent of its images — the magazine is a forward-thinking one. During tough economic times when many print publications have folded, Monocle has thrived by providing information on a multi-platform level.

Subscribers can also view films, slide shows and listen to audio on the Web, as well as view archived issues of the print version. Another source of alternative income for the magazine are Monocle shops in London, Los Angeles and a seasonal one in Palma, Majorca, which sell merchandise, including bags, watches by Japanese retailer Beams, jackets by Italian brand Aspesi, leather notebooks by Milanese brand Valextra and fragrances concocted by Comme des Garcons especially for the magazine.

“The traditional way that magazines make money is through newsstands and subscriptions. This is a new take on the media model. No one else has done it,” Tuck said.

A regular Monocle reader since it entered the Indonesian market in 2007, Hidayat Jati defined the stereotypical Monocle reader as being clad in Cuccineli cashmere while lying on a Scandinavian sofa, drinking organic coffee and pretending to worry about nuclear weapons.

Jati, a media executive for one of Indonesia’s largest publishing companies, said, “Their goal is to be like Wallpaper and Economist, which is ballsy, though a bit pretentious.”

That the magazine may be putting on airs is not a matter that concerns Tuck, who has confidence in the content of his pages, but is irked by the fact Monocle is perceived simply as a jetsetter’s journal.

“[For instance], if you look at the fashion pages, you don’t see million pound necklaces, dripping with jewels or expensive items. The fashion is calm, crafted, about quality and taste, not about money — like the magazine. Our readers are 20-year-olds who study foreign policy, are in the ministry or in the EU,” Tuck said.

Tuck doesn’t deny the readership is mainly from the upper echelons of society. Though it is not, he said, about the readers’ wealth, but their global state of mind.

“What they like about Monocle,” Tuck said, “is that we find the whole world interesting.”

Indeed, it is the forgotten pockets of newsworthy stories that add to the refreshing appeal of the magazine. Readers are more likely to come across a story of how the police chief of Karachi spends his day dealing with the threat of terrorists than a general overview of the Al Qaeda insurgency in Pakistan.

The magazine is all about looking for new angles and in-depth dispatches, such as their last issue entitled “Weapons of Mass Seduction: Why Soft is the New Hard,” which reports on winning friends and influencing opinions through music, sport, design and your very own news channel.

As opposed to doing another story on the genocide that afflicted Rwanda, the October issue of Monocle features how the country is rapidly thriving and becoming East Africa’s communication hub.

“We go away from cliches and set ideas people have of parts of the world that daily news reinforces,” Arie said.

News for the monthly publication, according to Arie, is not simply about telling the bad news that is reported in daily publications, but identifying people who find ways to cope and can add to a reader’s sense of a certain place, giving them an additional understanding.

But even the magazine’s most thorough reports can’t please everyone all the time. Jati is one reader who professes he can’t take their supposedly serious pages of politics or business too seriously.

“At times, it can be too bourgeoisie, sterile, safe, too ‘manicured’ and not enough humor. But I still like it overall,” he said.
To learn more, go to www.monocle.com

Monocle is available in Jakarta at Aksara bookstores

Just a bit of an update from yesterday’s post. Dustin Penner skated on the left side with Shawn Horcoffand Ales Hemsky, J-F Jacques skated with Sam Gagnerand Patrick O’Sullivan, Ryan Stone played left wing withGilbert Brule down the middle and Mike Comrie on right wing and Andrew Cogliano centred Ethan Moreau andZack Stortini.

Also, Steve Staois is not expected to play and instead will be replaced by Jason Strudwick.

Hopefully the new lines will help the Oilers give the Flames their first loss of the season.

Jan Michael Looking Wolf for Artist of the Year, Joanne Shenandoah & Michael Bucher’s Bitter Tears Sacred Ground for Best Compilation, Jana’s rendition of A Change Is Gonna Come for Song/Single of the Year,  Kevin Locke’s Earth Gift for Record of the Year, and American Idol Semi-finalist Charly Lowry for Best Video Among Those Honored

Niagara Falls, NY – On Saturday October 3, 2009 the Eleventh Annual Native American Music Awards (N.A.M.A.) was held at the Seneca Niagara Hotel & Casino in Niagara Falls infront of a packed house that featured consistently outstanding live music performances along with an emotionally charged  Hall of Fame induction in honor of the late Ritchie Valens.

Taking this year’s top honors are;  Joanne Shenandoah & Michael Bucher’s Bitter Tears Sacred Ground for Best Compilation, Jana Mashonee’s rendition of Sam Cooke’s, A Change Is Gonna Come with Derek Miller for Song/Single of the Year, Jan Michael Looking Wolf for Artist of the Year,  Skylar Wolf for Debut Artist of the Year, Will and Lil Jess for Debut Duo/Group of the Year, Kevin Locke’s Earth Gift for Record of the Year, and American Idol Semi-finalist Charly Lowry for Best Video for her long form video featuring her song, Movin On.

Hosted with grace, class, style, humor and even professional music talent by actor Gil Birmingham, others on hand at the Awards ceremeony  included: Shane Yellowbird who won for Best Country Recording, Atsiaktonkie who won for Best Folk Recording, Flutist of the Year JJ Kent, Wind Spirit Drum whose recording Amazing Grace took Best Gospel Inspirational Recording, Thunder Hawk Singers for Best Historical Recording, Gabriel Ayala for Best Instrumental Recording, Bryan Akipa For Best Male Artist, Eagle & Hawk for Best Rock Recording, Rezhogs for Best Rap Hip Hop Recording, Oshkii Giizhik Singers for Best Traditional Recording, Michael Searching Bear for Best World Music Recording, and Michael Brant DeMaria for the Native Heart Award.

Other nominees in attendance included; Benjamin Grimes, Kelly Montijo Fink, Jackie Tice, Mike Serna, Pappy Johns Band, Jimmy Shendo, Augusta Cecconi Bates, Douglas Blue Feather, Yvonne St Germaine and Donna Kay who all participated in the program.

Capping the evening’s ceremonies were consistently transcendant and flawless performances beginning with drum group Young Gunz, Dallas Washkahat and Fawn Wood, classical guitarist Gabriel Ayala, Eagle & Hawk, soprano opera singer Jennifer M Stevens accompanied by composer Augusta Cecconi-Bates, Joanne Shenandoah and Michael Bucher who performed material from their award-winning recording,  Lifetime Achievement Recipient Stevie Salas pumped it up with original Pearl Jam drummer Dave Abbruzesse and bass player TM Stevens of Shocka Zooloo and the late James Brown, and a spectacular rendition of Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Pride & Joy by the show’s host Gil Birmingham and nominee Jimmy Wolf.  Darryl Tonemah gave a rising performance in his trademarked barefeet, Jana’s riveting vocals were unmatched, Shane Yellowbird showcased material for his upcoming Grand Ole Opry appearance, and new artist Jace Martin captured the audience with his Ritchie Valens tribute song, We Belong Together.

Tommy Allsup, original guitarist of the Buddy Holly band who flipped a coin with Ritchie Valens for the last seat on their ill-fated plane, bought the audience to tears as Allsup, who became emotional and choked up as he recapped and retold the story of his tour mate Ritchie Valens and his tragic end.

Following the Hall of Fame induction and Ritchie’s sister, Irma’s acceptance speech, Tommy Allsup, who is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, joined Ritchie’s little brother, Mario, and his group, The Backyard Blues Band, who rocked the house and performed a special extended rendition of “La Bamba.”

N.A.M.A. and its Advisory Board contingency would like to congratulate all the winners and nominees and proudly honors these legendary performers and songwriters who have been leading forces in the Native American music community.

The Native American Music Awards & Association, founded in 1998, is the world’s leading membership-based association consisting of music industry professionals directly involved in the recording and distribution of traditional and contemporary Native American Music initiatives. The growing success of the Awards show now features over one hundred and fifty nominees annually, with at least one third of those nominees being new artists. For the past eleven years the Awards has set industry standards for professional Native American musicians who are gaining greater acceptance and exposure from both national and international audiences.

See below for a complete list of winners

ELEVENTH ANNUAL AWARD WINNERS

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jan Michael Looking Wolf
The Looking Wolf Project

BEST BLUES RECORDING
Dancing In The Rain
Graywolf Blues Band

BEST COMPILATION RECORDING
Bitter Tears Sacred Ground
Joanne Shenandoah & Michael Bucher

BEST COUNTRY RECORDING
Life Is Calling My Name
Shane Yellowbird

DEBUT ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Skylar Wolf
Devil’s Son

DEBUT DUO / GROUP OF THE YEAR
Will & Lil Jess
Reservation Nights

BEST FEMALE ARTIST
Joy Harjo
Winding Through The Milky Way

BEST FOLK RECORDING
Four Wolves Prophecy
Atsiaktonkie

FLUTIST OF THE YEAR
JJ Kent
Ta Te’ Topa Win

BEST GOSPEL/INSPIRATIONAL RECORDING
“Amazing Grace”
Lenape Spirits
Wind Spirit Drum

GROUP OF THE YEAR
Brule’
Lakota Piano II

BEST HISTORICAL RECORDING
Native Pride
Thunder Hawk Singers

BEST INSTRUMENTAL RECORDING
Tango!
Gabriel Ayala

BEST MALE ARTIST
Bryan Akipa
Songs From The Black Hills

BEST NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH RECORDING
Peyote Ways
Primeaux & Mike

BEST NEW AGE RECORDING
Deep Within
Tony Redhouse

BEST POP RECORDING
Na Unu Nahai (Shape Shifter)
Apryl Allen

BEST POW WOW RECORDING
Band of Brothers
Midnite Express

BEST PRODUCER
Kelly Parker
Out Of The Blue

BEST RAP / HIP HOP RECORDING
All Day All Night
Rezhogs

RECORD OF THE YEAR
Earth Gift
Kevin Locke

BEST ROCK RECORDING
Sirensong
Eagle & Hawk

SONG/SINGLE OF THE YEAR
“A Change Is Gonna Come”
Jana Mashonee

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Samantha Crain
The Confiscation: A Musical Novella

BEST SPOKEN WORD RECORDING
The Great Story From The Sacred Book
Rain Song/Terry & Darlene Wildman

BEST TRADITIONAL RECORDING
It Is A New Day
Oshkii Giizhik Singers

BEST VIDEO
“Movin On”
Charly Lowry & Aaron Locklear

BEST WORLD MUSIC RECORDING
Ceremony
Michael Searching Bear

NATIVE HEART
Michael Brant DeMaria
Siyotanka

LIVING LEGEND
Tommy Allsup

HALL OF FAME
Ritchie Valens

Submitted by Native American Music Awards

Sur le Post, Danny, responsable enquête à la SPA de Perpignan, donne des nouvelles de Mambo, gravement brûlé.

Mambo et Virginie Pocq, présidente de la SPA de Perpignan.
Max PPP

Un petit chien a été sauvagement brûlé, dans la nuit du 10 au 11 août, vraisemblablement par deux adolescents du village, à Espira-de-L’Agly, dans les Pyrénées-Orientales.

Depuis, les réactions d’indignation et de soutien pleuvent, et le petit chien, baptisé Mambo tente de survivre.

Sur Le Post, Danny qui a recueilli le petit chien et souhaite l’adopter, ne cesse de s’inquièter pour son avenir.

Comment va Mambo ce samedi?

Il est toujours dans le même état. Comme les jeunes l’ont maintenu debout, le feu aurait pris à l’abdomen, brûlant ses organes génitaux.

Mais il y a plus grave, en le brûlant à l’abdomen, ses muscles se sont rétractés et compriment encore ses organes, ce qui pourrait lui être fatal.

Va t-il s’en sortir?

Même s’il s’en sort, il va devoir se faire opérer plusieurs fois. Cela pourrait être très handicapant pour lui, dans l’avenir. Au niveau des brûlures corporelles, il a été très bien soigné, les équipes vétérinaires ce sont relayées jour et nuit.

Lundi, nous verrons si on peut le sauver ou si nous sommes obligés de l’euthanasier, mais je le prendrai très mal si il meurt.

Avez-vous reçu des lettres de soutien suite à cette affaire?

De nombreuses personnes sont indignées, si il décède, tout le monde sera révolté. Je reçois des lettres adressées à Mambo, certaines viennent même de l’étranger. Beaucoup d’associations nous ont téléphoné. Air France et des sociétés pharmaceutiques nous ont même envoyé des dons pour rembourser les soins!

Je tiens aussi à remercier le jeune homme qui a eu le courage de raconter la scène à sa mère, parce qu’il ne faut pas avoir peur de parler dans ces moments là.

Que va-t-il se passer pour les deux jeunes accusés de l’avoir brûlé?

Le garçon était mineur, il a été libéré avec interdiction de sortir le soir jusqu’à son jugement. La jeune fille a 22 ans, elle comparaîtra en correctionnelle courant décembre.

The Edmonton Oilers, parent club of the AHL’s Springfield Falcons, have agreed to terms with defenseman Ladislav Smid on a two-year contract, and with forwards Gilbert Brule and Ryan Stone on one-year, two-way deals.

Brule, 22, split last season between the Falcons and the Oilers. In 39 games with Springfield, Brule had 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points and 58 penalty minutes. He had two goals and one assist for three points and 12 penalty minutes in 11 games for Edmonton.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound center has played in 157 career NHL games with 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points and 64 penalty minutes.

Drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft (6th overall), Brule was acquired by the Oilers in exchange for Raffi Torres on July 1, 2008.

Stone, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound native of Calgary, Alta., was originally selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2003 National Hockey League Entry Draft. He was acquired, along with goaltender Dany Sabourin and a fourth-round draft choice in 2011 from the Penguins in exchange for goaltender Mathieu Garon on January 17, 2009.

Prior to being aquired by the Oilers, Stone played 38 games with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2008-09, recording nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points. In 39 games with the Falcons after the trade, he notched eight goals and 20 assists for 28 points.

In 258 career AHL games, Stone has registered 49 goals and 115 assists for 164 points. He also has 11 goals and 22 assists in 43 career postseason AHL games, reaching the Calder Cup Finals with Wilkes-Barre in 2008.

In eight career NHL games, the 24-year-old center has recorded one assist and seven penalty minutes.

Smid, 23, established career highs in assists and points with 11 in 2008-09. He also had 57 penalty minutes in 60 games played.

The 6-foot-3, 226-pound defenseman has played 202 career NHL games, all with Edmonton, recording three goals and 22 assists for 25 points and 152 penalty minutes. He was originally drafted ninth overall by Anaheim in 2004.

Toffees show Lescott loveThrashers sign UFA’s Vernace, Gratton

Un utilisateur hollandais a fait la mauv aise expérience de voir son moblie pommé prendre feux, acheté, il y a seulement deux mois, son iPhone 3G a littéralement créé un trou dans le siège passager !

L’iPhone n’était pas relié à l’allume-cigare et était simplement en veille. Peter, l’infortuné conducteur, s’est éclipsé un moment et a eu la mauvaise surprise à son retour. Le téléphone est complètement brûlé, tandis que le siège est à remplacer… Contactés, ni T-Mobile ni Apple n’ont voulu prendre en charge les dommages.

Pendant ce temps, on a appris qu’une jeune fille anglaise de 11 ans a eu la surprise de voir son iPod Touch de 1 mois littéralement exploser dans son jardin.
Son père raconte que l’iPod presque neuf s’est mis à faire un bruit bizarre. Surpris, il l’a pris en main et a commencé à sentir que ce dernier chauffait de plus en plus. Croyant voir sortir de la fumée, il a ouvert sa porte et l’a posé au sol dans son jardin. Et quelques secondes plus tard, il a entendu un bruit sourd avec un vol plané pour l’iPod Touch.

Et quand on voit la photo de l’appareil, on se dit que cela a vraiment du chauffer à l’intérieur…
Autant dire qu’il a été plutôt mécontent de sa mésaventure. Après avoir contacté à plusieurs reprise les services clients du revendeur et d’Apple, il a eu la surprise de recevoir un joli courrier de la firme à la pomme lui annonçant le remboursement intégral de l’iPod… en échange de son silence et de ne pas porter plainte contre l’entreprise.
Inutile de dire que ce courrier ne lui a pas vraiment plus et il a décidé de parler de l’affaire au Times. La suite de cette affaire se jouera sûrement devant les tribunaux…

L‘ Élévation est ma seul préoccupation

Instoppable est ma détermination

Brule en moi le feu d’une vérité

Révolte incessante finalement maitrisé

Enracine en moi force et volonté a la pointe d’une mine sur le papier

Soon-D

Yesterday, June 10, 2009, I found four US Census documents all featuring my grandfather’s family. Which is a big break through in the research front after the big wall I hit a couple weeks ago. As for the Michaleks I have yet to even find them listed in a Census, saying that is strange would be an understatement

Il y a une raison de se réjouir en ce retour de long week end, c’est la sortie du nouvel album d’Asyl ! “Brûle brûle brûle”, second album studio des Rochelais (Merci Roger ) arrive aujourd’hui dans les bacs des disquaires survivants.

Pourquoi est-ce une bonne nouvelle ? Parce qu’Asyl est tout simplement le meilleur groupe de rock français en exercice et de loin !

J’ai pris conscience de ça en Avril 2003, alors que je me faisais atomiser la tête par un gang rock alors en découverte au Printemps de Bourges. Le post-punk anguleux, sec et nerveux des gars de Asyl m’avait instantanément convaincu. Il y avait tout, le charisme du chanteur, le sentiment d’urgence dans les compositions, l’énergie sauvage de ceux qui ne calculent pas. Leur premier album “Petits meurtres entre amis” sorti à l’époque est toujours pour moi le meilleur album de rock français depuis “Tostaky” de Noir Désir.

On peut déjà découvrir le single ” Les Dieux sont des rois” en vidéo ci-dessous avant de découvrir les douze titres du nouvel essai d’Asyl.

Mort de froid
J’ai cherché le feu
Plus de sang dans les doigts
Et les lèvres toutes bleues

(refrain)
Mon p’tit soleil
Grille ma peau gelée
Mon p’tit soleil
Brule ma liberté

Si les contraires s’attirent
Nous on s’est plutôt frappés
A coup de projets d’avenir
Et de brillantes idées

(refrain)

Mon étoile reste grise
Tu débordes de couleurs
Ta flamme danse rouge vive
Et je suffoque de chaleur

(refrain)

Mais voilà mon p’tit soleil
Je vis encore au  froid
Même ton soupire dans mon oreille
Ne me fait plus chef Inca

C’est le printemps, le pollen brûle les yeux et le soleil mord la peau. Si je peux vous donner un conseil: évitez de vous endormir lorsque vous bronzez, surtout si vous avez encore vos lunettes sur le visage. Ca vous évitera de poster des photos scandaleuses sur Twitter comme Kim Kardashian.

A priori, le reste de son corps est cramé aussi, mais elle a décidé de ne pas le montrer, m’empêchant par la même de sortir le fameux dicton “le corps d’une femme c’est comme le poulet, le meilleur c’est le blanc”. Une vanne pourrie d’évitée, c’est un weekend qui s’annonce bien.

As he sat upon his throne in the Hall of Society and gazed upon the courtiers, the ladies, the lords, the statesmen, he seemed to see their faces as things of illusion, things unreal, existent only as shadows and mockeries of substance. Always he had seen their faces as masks, but before he had looked on them with contemptuous tolerance, thinking to see beneath the masks shallow, puny souls, avaricious, lustful, deceitful; now there was a grim undertone, a sinister meaning, a vague horror that lurked beneath the smooth masks. While he exchanged courtesies with some nobleman or councilor he seemed to see the smiling face fade like smoke and the frightful jaws of a serpent gaping there. How many of those he looked upon were horrid, inhuman monsters, plotting his death, beneath the smooth mesmeric illusion of a human face?

Kull, exiled barbarian warrior of Atlantis and King (by his own hand) of the unspeakably ancient and crumbling empire of Valusia, was the sword and sorcery hero who preceded Conan.  Indeed, as I’ve mentioned before, the last Kull story (“By This Axe I Rule!) was reworked into the first Conan story (“The Phoenix On the Sword”).

But Kull, unlike Conan, is a thinker.  While he is a warrior, and a barbarian, Kull prefers to ponder cosmic mysteries and converse with philosophers, whereas all the philosophy Conan needs is “I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content.”*

This propensity for contemplation and brooding gets him into a lot of trouble throughout the series, of course, but luckily Kull’s hetero lifemate Brule the Spear-slayer has his back.  (There are more potentially-homoerotic overtones in this story than there are in the Biblical account of David and Jonathan, and that’s saying something).  Brule, an untamed barbarian, provides a touchstone for Kull, a link back to the purity and strength of his savage upbringing, before the corrupting decadence of civilization got its hooks into him (Two-Gun Bob was not ambiguous in expressing how he felt about human civilization in general).  Brule is also a Pict, and thus Kull’s ancestral enemy (and part of the unbroken lineage that leads from the days before Atlantis rose, to the time after it fell, through the collapse of the Hyborian Age and on down through the generations until the last King Bran Mak Morn fell in battle against the Roman Legions), but that blood feud is forgotten in the face of the threat of FREAKING SERPENT MEN FROM THE AGE BEFORE TIME!

*Special bonus story: “The Queen of the Black Coast,” one of the best of the Conan yarns.