Here’s the track list for my Christmas present to you, which can be downloaded here.

1. “Wholehearted Mess” (Pink Skull remix) – Bear in Heaven

2. “Economics” – Blakfish

3. “Answer is Zero” – Dappled Cities

4. “Reborn” – FACT

5. “Cutis Anserina” – Fiasco

6. “Wander Aimlessly” – Foreign Born

7. “Arrive” – HORSE the Band

8. “Skipping Across the Autobahn” – Banzai

9. “Meddler” – August Burns Red

10. “Sound Guardians – Lightening Bolt

11. “Unfolding” – Former Ghosts

12. “Heavy Cross” – Gossip

13. “Chip Away” – Jane’s Addiction

14. “Non-Entity” – Nine Inch Nails

15. “The Oath” – Street Sweeper Social Club

So I’ve been listening to Dark Matter for a few months now and I have always wanted to call in and ask a question. On tonight’s Dark Matter, I did it! Dark Matter is an internet radio show that goes on at 1am (eastern time) hosted by Dave Navarro (my favorite guitarist) and his friends Todd, Jessica, and Dan. They have guests and music and nothing seems to be off-limits. It’s also put on a podcast channel for free, which is where I listen most of the time on my ipod in my car.

I was in the chat and listening live, but about 10 minutes in my internet that I’m stealing from neighbors at work went all screwy. (I work in a private residence, and we don’t have our own internet…so I steal. Lol) The internet was fast enough to pick up the chat but not fast enough to let me listen to the radio? Who knows. So I chatted with some other listeners and worked up my nerve to call!

By two am (11pm-west-coast-time) I had finally talked myself up to call. I’m a nervous person by nature and my anxiety has been pretty sky-high today so I had the jitters and the pounding heart and all of that. I think I was mostly nervous out of the fact that I wasn’t listening to the show live and wasn’t sure if I was going to be a downer on whatever topic they were talking about.

I got through right before the end of the show, and I think I did ok! My question was about therapy and mental health stuff, because throughout the time I’ve listened to Dark Matter and read Dave’s book, I’ve noticed some pretty interesting parallels in our mental state even though our lives are totally different. He mentioned once that he’s bipolar and that stuck with me, and then in one of the Q and A’s on 6767.com someone asked if he’d struggled with self-injury, and he said he had. He’s also struggled with eating disorders and is a recovering addict.

Bipolar disorder and self injury are my two biggest mental health obstacles. At 11 years old I started cutting myself, and at my worst I was cutting 8 times a day. At 15 years old, I was hospitalized for a week on some kind of psych ward suicide watch (they took my shoelaces and shampoo! Lol) and diagnosed with bipolar disorder and adjustment disorder…and then they proceeded to begin tossing pills at me. I’ve been compliant with my medication from that time (June2003) through this January when I took myself off of the pills because I felt like a zombie. I have managed to severely decrease my self-injurious behavior as in cutting, and I’ve only cut twice since November 2007 (Nov2007 & Sept2009). That’s not to say I don’t have other self-destructive behaviors. I have had social anxiety issues ever since I can remember and have been having really severe panic attacks this year. I started seeing a new therapist this past Saturday and I’m feeling better about myself already. I’ve got a long way to go, though. My other self-destructive behaviors are pretty associated with my moods and addictive behaviors. I can be a heavy drinker, I don’t drink everyday but sometimes I feel out of control. I smoke marijuana from time-to-time even though I don’t smoke as much as I used to (I was smoking 2-3 times/week in part of the summer, now I’m about 2/month). I’ve never had any other substance issues…but mostly because the only other drug I’ve been around are prescription pills and they scare me. I take xanax for the panic attacks. I took lortab this year when I got my wisdom teeth taken out and it was terrifying. (I decided to drive to McDonald’s for food at midnight one night, I have no recollection of it but I woke up covered in french fries with the salt all licked off and smashed up mushy bits of a filet-o-fish…enough said.). I was very codependent as a teen when I dated guys who did heroin/coke/pills so I never tried them, but now my reasonable mind says I’ll still never try them but I know when I’m really manic, my mind has such an invincibility complex that I’d do anything if it were offered. My depression seems to keep me in check even if I am just in the house bawling my eyes out alone, atleast I’m safe. (Not a suicide risk, because of my grandfather’s suicide having a profound effect on my life. That’s another can of worms to open, though.) My mania seems to make me completely insane and doing everything to excess: drinking, smoking, staying awake, talking, fucking, cutting, thinking, spending money. I can’t be involved with anyone on an emotional romantic level and I’m starting to recognize a level of self-destructiveness and a possibility that I have a lot of qualities of a sex addict.

So that’s my history…and when I hear that people who are successful but have any mental health issues, it gives me hope. It makes me sad that other people have felt as I have, but no one is alone and hopeless for this reason. Calling in to Dark Matter to talk to Dave about what’s worked for him and have a laugh or two at our own expense was awesome, even if I was really nervous. I wish I would’ve mentioned something he said that was so true for me a few weeks ago on the show, when he said about being bipolar that you don’t plan ahead because you don’t know how you’re going to feel. Couldn’t have said it any better myself.

I don’t wish mental health issues on anyone but at the same time, I don’t wish I didn’t have my own. I’m a creative person at heart and it definitely makes my life interesting and entertaining if nothing else. At 21 years old, I’ve finally learned that nothing is ever going to be easy for me and I’m ok with that even though I seem really bitter about others who have things come easily to them. I’ve somehow managed to survive this far and on the outside, on paper, I look damn good. I’ll have a bachelor’s degree in May, and I might begin a master’s degree program in special education after that. I work in an extremely rewarding job. I have a group of friends who not only tolerate me and my bullshit, but they love me and wouldn’t change me for the world. I just feel feelings so strongly, and maybe it’s because my feelings were dulled down for so long by medication, but this year has been really intense for me. I like feeling my feelings, though…I don’t want to be a zombie ever again. I was so apathetic for so many years.

Saying that though, I hope that in my call no one thought I was anti-medication. I’m open to the idea of medication and have the potential to be compliant with the right regimen. Just when I was diagnosed, I never saw anyone to talk about my issues. I just got pills prescribed and saw a psychiatrist who didn’t really care, who saw me every 3 months for 15 minutes and ended up degrading and offending me so much that I never went back and I weaned myself off of my medication. (When I told my psychiatrist last November that I was going to school for human services and counseling and was thinking about being a therapist, the response I got was “Do you really think that’s a good choice for you?” in a very condescending tone…that was the last straw in a series of rude situations that I had dealt with in this psychiatrist’s office.) But when I was under 18, in high school and still a minor, I didn’t have a choice. In my parents’ house, it was take your medication or go back to the hospital. That’s it, that’s all. I don’t know why actual therapy was never suggested or an option. I honestly didn’t know of all of the choices I had until I begun college for my human services degree.

I feel the adrenaline of finally calling in starting to slow down now. I’m stuck at work until atleast 8:30 am, and then I’m going to my dad’s house to open christmas presents. This was the first year that I can remember that I didn’t spend the night at my dad’s house on the 23rd, but we went out this past Sunday to see “It’s a Wonderful Life” onstage and have dinner, which was usually something we did on the 23rd. It’s kind of weird. I’d always lie awake all night regardless in anticipation of opening gifts (This is why I don’t do well with surprises!) and not sleep, so this year I figured I should put my anticipation and sleeplessness to good use by working an easy shift and making time and a half for it. I’m actually tired right now, which is no surprise considering how earlier when I got off work at 11am I went to lunch with Whitney, Kiara and Brandon across the bridge near the river in Indiana. After our big feast, we decided to go over to the Falls of the Ohio State Park a few blocks over and run around there in the rocks since the river was up. It was a lot of fun, and it wasn’t terribly cold outside either. I got some nice pictures on my digital camera with the manual controls. In conclusion, in the past 24 hours, I’ve only slept 5 of those hours and they were restless. I tossed and turned. After presents and getting over the excitement of new stuff, I am going to pass the fuck out…that’s for damn sure.

I hope everyone has happy holidays, even though I haven’t felt in the spirit all month outside of listening to sad christmas songs (“Blue Christmas” comes to mind.). I plan on starting to update more often. I really love the therapeutic quality of journaling and I also want to get back into poetry. I need to make a goal list for this coming year, so much needs to be altered in my life.

I’ve been really into the Smashing Pumpkins this week, here’s a line from “Today”.

Pink ribbon scars
That never forget
I tried so hard
To cleanse these regrets

Fashion will go one step further. It’ll be more than heroin chic. It will OD. FASHION SUICIDE….

Oh if those words were true. Too bad they were only in a bubbly Jennifer Gardner movie- 13 going on 30.

I miss the 90s and I feel like I am the only one. I miss Kate Moss on the runway- before she had too much money to decide that she doesn’t like to walk the runway. And I miss James King looking strung out in every fashion campaign. Please see photo….

I miss 90s rock.

Where’s Jane’s Addiction? Where is the classic Red Hot Chili Peppers? Where is the anti attitude? Anti happiness? Anti 80s excess? Where are the singer songwriters of the 90s that would rock out the Lilith fair? Nine Inch Nails  isn’t even touring anymore- I mean c’mon people! The 2000s are so LAME!!! With the rise of horrible teeny bopper bands such as Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, the “Jo Bros” and Miley Cyrus there isn’t much to live for musically anymore.

Music used to mean something other than money. It used to express emotions other greed and mindlessness. People used to get high and actually think! Can you believe that? There used to be people in the world that had drug addictions that would willingly escape reality only to come up with some of the best lyrics some of the best thoughts- ideas on the face of the earth. Not that I’m supporting drug use, addiction or experimenting with any of those. What I am trying to say that it’s sad that now a days “musicians” can’t come up with decent lyrics. They can’t create magic or that feeling people used to get by listening to a really great song. No one gets goosebumps anymore by just listening to that one song on the radio. Today kids go “OMG that’s the jam! That’s my song!” But really what are these songs saying? That we should put our hands in the air- oh my bad it’s not even “AIR” anymore it’s “Ayer” like we just don’t “Cayer”. How more idiotic can this country be?? Am I the only one that is disappointed in the direction today’s culture is heading and/or has already gone? *sigh*

Bite me- Literally.

This fall I had the pleasure of stumbling across Tim Thornton’s The Alternative Hero. Funny and real, Thornton hits on the inherent nerdiness and enthusiasm of any dedicated music fan. Clive Beresford, fanzine writer and pop-culture obsessive, one day unwittingly spots Lance Webster, the former front man for the Thieving Magpies, a man now more famous for his explosive antics than musical contributions. Beresford then crafts a plan to befriend the singer, in hopes of making sense of both Webster’s mysterious meltdown and Beresford’s own existence. Hilarious, captivating, and an impressive melding of real rock history and fictional events, The Alternative Hero is one of my favorite reads in recent memory.

TAH author Tim Thornton obliged us in creating a mix for M|H, based on the book.

From the author:
For this compilation I decided to be a bit conceptual. In The Alternative Hero there’s a scene where Alan, the protagonist Clive’s best friend, wistfully recalls listening to a compilation made by the elusive object of his desire, Nicola Cartwright. So here’s my reconstruction of that very tape. Lightly gothy with an indie underside… here it is… enjoy.

ALAN’S BIT OF STUFF

1. THE WONDER STUFF – A SONG WITHOUT AN END
The Wonder Stuff get a lot of stick and I’m always the first to defend them. John Peel apparently only ever played one Wonder Stuff song on the radio, and it was a ‘B’ side. Perhaps it was this one.

2. THE HOUSE OF LOVE – I DON’T KNOW WHY I LOVE YOU
In a parallel universe, The House Of Love became as big as REM and this was their “Losing My Religion”. But of course, they didn’t and this wasn’t. Great song though.

3. THE SUGARCUBES – BIRTHDAY
And a thousand indie fans check their record player is working properly. How gloriously weird is this song, Bjork already displaying all the things which later made her huge.

4. THE CURE – FASCINATION STREET
Instantly conjuring memories of rainy nights, raging hormones, flat Walkman batteries and empty bottles of cider. And a bassline so meaty it’s practically edible.

5. THE PIXIES – No. 13 BABY
Probably their only song to mention the word “chinos”. And the “tattooed tit” line is also pretty rare.

6. ALL ABOUT EVE – SHELTER FROM THE RAIN
It’s been a while, and I’m afraid time has not been kind. But it had to go on. My poor friend with his never-ending unrequited love.

7. VIOLENT FEMMES – ADD IT UP
The first 50 times I heard it, I thought it was a big joke. I remember dancing at Camden Palace on a Tuesday, wondering, “did he really say ‘why can’t I get just one f-‘??”

8. THE SMITHS – HANDSOME DEVIL
Partly picked because of the “mammary glands” line. Do I have a breast fixation on this compilation? Possibly.

9. PRIMAL SCREAM – I’M LOSING MORE THAN I’LL EVER HAVE
Not trying to be an elitist or anything, but we liked this song way before they turned it into “Loaded”.

10. NEW MODEL ARMY – VAGABONDS
A hundred crusties dancing in a circle on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Reading Festival. And us trying to steal their booze.

11. THE JESUS & MARY CHAIN – APRIL SKIES
I recently read in Anthony Kiedis’ autobiography that JAMC were the only band on the ‘92 Lollapalooza tour who were permanently drunk, grumpy and devoid of all party spirit. Gawd bless ‘em.

12. THE CURE – A NIGHT LIKE THIS
Not only is this one of the finest and most underrated Cure songs, it is also just about the only song in the history of the world to get away with a saxophone solo.
Of course, officially it’s a faux pas to put two songs by the same band on a compilation tape, but conceptual accuracy must prevail…

13. JANE’S ADDICTION – SUMMERTIME ROLLS
Every goth’s favourite summer song. Actually, make that every goth’s only summer song.

Tracks 1-6

Tracks 7-13

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For an excerpt from The Alternative Hero and an interview with Tim Thornton, click here. You can also find out more here and here.

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As if the mix wasn’t enough, Knopf has kindly provided us with copies of The Alternative Hero to give away! From now until 11:59:59 PM Central Time, December 31, 2009, you can enter to win a copy (and maybe some other secret goodies). There are two ways to win!

1) Leave a comment letting us know your favorite part about The Alternative Hero, Alan’s Bit of Stuff, or Mixtapes|Heartbreaks. Make sure to sign up with a valid email address, that’s how we’ll contact you.

or

2) Follow us on Twitter and retweet our contest messages to win!

Air Date: December 11, 2009

Playlist: System of a Down, The Nightwatchman, Iron Maiden, The Electric Sheep, Jane’s Addiction, Jakob Dylan, Rage Against The Machine, Jimi Hendrix, Black Eyed Peas & Justin Timberlake, Tom Morello & Bruce Springsteen, M.I.A. and Aerosmith.

Download: http://axisofjustice.net/audio/Axis_121109_part1.mp3

More: Axis of Justice Website

Air Date: December 11, 2009

Playlist: System of a Down, The Nightwatchman, Iron Maiden, The Electric Sheep, Jane’s Addiction, Jakob Dylan, Rage Against The Machine, Jimi Hendrix, Black Eyed Peas & Justin Timberlake, Tom Morello & Bruce Springsteen, M.I.A. and Aerosmith.

Download: http://axisofjustice.net/audio/Axis_121109_part2.mp3

More: Axis of Justice Website

WARNING! Spoilers for Richard Kelly’s The Box, and semi-sort-of-not-really spoilers for John Sayles’ Limbo…

Richard Kelly is now three for three. In terms of bad movies pretending to be thought-provoking artistic statements marrying SF, philosophy, pop culture, and visually uninteresting motifs, that is. His notorious and oft-lauded feature debut was Donnie Darko, a TERRIBLY MYSTERIOUS SF thriller about a boy, a weird rabbit, and something about time-travelling through an Einstein-Rosen bridge, all wrapped in pilfered Lynchian atmospherics. It also featured the line “Go suck a fuck”, which annoyed me so much at the time I think it made my brain come unglued in my head. That said, it also featured some interesting ideas.

Kelly was smart enough to take the filmmaking capital he earned with that movie and instantly spend it on Southland Tales, a love letter to Los Angeles that doubled as a hyper-stylised satire of the political state of America post-9/11, with surveillance culture running out of control and alternate fuel technology creating some kind of instability in the space-time continuum. Seeking to comment on every hot-button political issue at once, it ended up saying nothing. It didn’t help that Kelly couldn’t keep his imagination-dick in his brain-pants, and thus saturated the movie with dozens and dozens of TERRIBLY MYSTERIOUS events that remained unexplained by the time the credits rolled, even if you read the bewildering graphic novel he wrote as a prologue. It was a 21st Century Wild Palms, only 3000 times more self-indulgent and, regrettably, not co-directed by Kathryn Bigelow.

It was a critical and commercial disaster, premiered in rough cut at Cannes to an audience that hated it and then unleashed on a world that just didn’t care about it. As with any visionary SF movie a cult sprung up around it, but even though I have been known to champion all kinds of flawed but ambitious projects, Southland Tales made me livid. Kelly tantalises us with yet more interesting ideas, but these are left unformed or unexplored, leading to a finale of desperately opaque meaning. Either Kelly created an intentionally vague movie to cynically provoke discussion, or he doesn’t know what the hell he is doing. This interview features a telling paragraph:

As “Southland Tales” was going down in flames at Cannes, Mr. Kelly was still sorting through the details of his back story. He wrote the first book before the shoot and completed the second just before Cannes. He wrote the third while re-editing the movie. Working on them simultaneously helped clarify the big picture. “I needed to solve the riddle in my own mind,” he said.

I’ve heard most writer-directors say they figure out what story they are telling during the editing process, but I always thought that was a metaphor. This disjointed, sprawling nonsense – Short Cuts, as directed by a cross between Philip K. Dick and Cartman — is the work of someone with no concept of discipline. His magnum opus turned out to be little more than a bloated Pez dispenser filled with dreary hallucinations, alt-rock standards, and misunderstood quotes from T.S. Eliot. Other than entertaining performances from Seann William Scott, Amy Poehler, Wood Harris and (especially) The Rock, it was worthless.

And yet I’ve been desperate to see The Box ever since it was announced. During a recent Twitter conversation about Donnie Darko, I said that what had disappointed me most was that it was exactly the kind of movie I would make if I had been given a camera and lots of money when I was younger, but seeing it onscreen showed me that my ideas were too woolly and unformed to be committed to celluloid (be grateful I’m just a blogger with a bug up his ass, film fans). Nevertheless, you can tell Kelly has a restless mind, and if he could focus that energy and that imagination into a coherent narrative with a beginning, middle, and end, we might get something truly special. As The Box is based on a classic Richard Matheson short story (“Button, Button”), it seemed like Kelly had learned his lesson and was going to tell a simple but effective SF story with a philosophical dimension.

Sadly, that simple story has been expanded to become another intentional vague and melodramatic conundrum, this time about aliens, the afterlife, and bad 70s wallpaper. As with Matheson’s story, struggling parents Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) are offered a chance of a lifetime by a mysterious stranger, Arlington Steward (Frank Langella, with a CGI hole in his face). This chance comes in the shape of a box with a red button on it. If pushed, someone they do not know will die, but they will be given one million dollars. Wracked with uncertainty about their future, Norma pushes the button, and instantly they both regret this decision. What happens next is certainly challenging, but ultimately silly, baffling, and emotionally empty, no matter how hard Kelly tries to convince the viewer otherwise.

That said, The Box did give me an insight into Kelly’s filmmaking style. Or should I say, artistic sensibility, as he once called it at the bottom of this article in Variety. There are ten simple rules to making a Richard Kelly movie:

1. Make everything in the movie look as ugly as possible. Film in grey and orange exclusively. A complex palette is your enemy.
2. Overlight every shot. No shadows. Shadows are for those other film directors who have no artistic sensibility.
3. Hipster music is essential. It will either lend flat scenes an energy they don’t deserve (Southland Tales) or will totally overwhelm your visuals (Arcade Fire’s soundtrack for The Box).
4. Direct your female cast members as poorly as possible (see Diaz and Celia Weston in The Box, Mary McDonell in Donnie Darko, and Mandy Moore, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nora Dunn, and Cheri Oteri in Southland Tales).
5. After your first edit, remove five scenes at random to create the illusion of mystery in your story.
6. Include visuals about water and bland CGI space-time tunnels or vortices or something. These are your THEMATIC CONSTANTS and are TERRIBLY MYSTERIOUS!
7. Cast Holmes Osborne in a supporting role. He’s an okay enough actor, but it’s fun to have someone be in all of your movies. Proper directors do things like that.
8. Quote clever people like Eliot and Sartre. This is what artists do.
9. If David Lynch does it, it’s okay to do it too (e.g. have people standing around staring like zombies, or slowly zoom in on people cackling). That bit in Lost Highway with Robert Morse telling Bill Pullman he is in two places at once? Do a pastiche of that. Lynch won’t mind. He obviously enjoys putting TERRIBLY MYSTERIOUS things in his movies for no reason and everyone loves him.
10. If you’ve spent more than a couple of weeks editing your movie, you’re doing it wrong. Just slap it together. The audience enjoys puzzling this shit out. Anyone who demands more coherence from their movies is a fraud and an imbecile.

These concerns are mostly surface annoyances with Kelly’s stubborn adherence to a set of stylistic tics. Even a humbling experience like Southland Tales‘ reception couldn’t dissuade him from reusing them. Nevertheless, it’s also worth breaking down the narrative dead-ends, holes, and ambiguous complications in Kelly’s “plot”, as they provide evidence that he has no idea what he is doing. Certainly he squanders that fantastic, thought-provoking central premise: would you press the button even though it would kill a stranger? Matheson certainly uses this starting point to make a wry comment on whether we ever really know anyone, even our loved ones, and Kelly addresses this original ending in a hilarious, poorly written philosophical debate between our protagonists (he also alludes to the alternate ending from the Twilight Zone episode that Matheson disowned).

Of course, Kelly — who has never written a recognisably human character when he can create a thinly-sketched caricature with a wacky name instead — is never going to make a movie that truly ponders that question, not when he can throw in “creepy” shots of mind-controlled humans standing around being “creepy”, or repeatedly cut to a poster of Edwin Austin Abbey’s Quest of the Holy Grail which also features Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law. That only seems to have been included to allow Kelly to add all sorts of visual splurge with the excuse that hey, it’s alien and advanced so it can look like however I want. He can also add a reference to Purgatory because then he’s making challenging movie about aliens being God and this plane of reality being a form of punishment, or something. Because, you know. Deep.

Yes, Kelly can’t just tell a morality tale. He has to tell a morality tale with added aliens. Again, this is worryingly close to the sort of hare-brained nonsense I sometimes think would make for good drama when drifting off to sleep. As far as can be deduced from Kelly’s maddeningly tortuous plotting, the button is created by an alien intelligence, one that has arrived via lightning to take control of Arlington Steward’s dead body to test the morality of humans by giving them the opportunity to chase instant gratification at the expense of another’s life. As he’s doing this one couple at a time, with a large group of brainwashed minions who gawp and haemorrhage through their noses (a TERRIBLY MYSTERIOUS visual image, that), it suggests this alien has the patience of a saint. Why test us? If we fail, we are obviously on a slippery slope to destroying ourselves, and therefore the aliens will annihilate us. Why can’t they just leave us to it, then? It’s hinted that it’s because of our exploration of Mars, but as this is not stated outright, this is mere conjecture.

Norma and Arthur’s decision to press the button sets in motion a series of ill-defined yet terrible events (including the pretentious graffiti shown above) that hint they are being punished for their decision, just as many others have in the past. That’s pleasingly neat, though it does make explicit something the Twilight Zone adaptation only hinted at, to greater effect. However, the initial morality test only really works if you believe pressing the button will kill a person. Norma and Arthur have no reason to believe it does, simply because it’s an empty box given to them by a stranger with half a face, and that belief that the button will do nothing seems to inform Norma’s decision to press the button. What happens next seems awfully cruel considering they did it half-thinking they were the butt of a joke.

The chain of bizarre events that follows lead to a heavily telegraphed finale in which Norma and Arthur’s child Walter is kidnapped, though with one unexpected development: the alien intelligence renders Walter blind and deaf. They are then given another choice. If Arthur shoots Norma in the heart, their child will be cured. If not, he will remain impaired. As Norma suffers from a deformity and what seems to be a fear of disability, the choice is easy to make. Arthur shoots her at the same time another couple presses the button, as happened earlier in the movie. It has the air of being very well thought through, though it’s rich to try to turn the movie back to being about wrenching philosophical quandaries when the middle section of the movie sees Arthur travelling through water-portals and Arlington’s brain-controlled minions stalking Norma or congregating in sinister groups. That are “creepy”.

Any emotional charge that the final scene could have conjured up is dissipated by the nonsensical plot convolutions, untied loose ends, and dreary effects sequences that brought us to that point. As with Russell T. Davies on the recent Torchwood: Children of Earth mini-series, Kelly has come up with what he sees as a fascinating moral quandary (how far would we go to protect our children?), but to get to that point has to mash any plot together. Again, the end result is a plot that resembles a blob of Silly Putty squished in a fist instead of rolled into a nicely linear sausage. Without a sturdy narrative framework to give these characters a believable reason to face this problem, it has zero heft, and the tearful, super-dramatic finale is not earned.

The issue is muddied further as another button is pushed by another woman at the same time Marsden fires. Are we to assume he has no free will? If so, where’s the tragedy? If not, and he fires of his own accord, then the button has nothing to do with the killing, and Arlington is potentially skewing the results of this game so that he can report back to his “employers” that we are doomed, and then justify their plans to destroy us. This is the most interesting idea thrown up by the film, and one that makes me think Kelly is actually onto something. Arlington even seems fond of Norma and Arthur: his final scene is riven with regret. In that case, maybe he has already made his mind up that humans are beyond saving, and Norma and Arthur are unfortunate casualties of this. If that is the case, I like the movie a little more.

However, these moments are less than ambiguous, and more like inconclusive, and this explanation has a whiff of fanwankery. Am I constructing a coherent explanation from clues left by Kelly? Or writing an alternate explanation using supposition and exaggeration from my own misinterpretation of the plot “tea-leaves” Kelly has swirled around the bottom of the teacup that is his movie? I’m all for pondering the meaning of a vague ending, but only when I think the writer or director is using inconclusive plotting to muddy their otherwise clearly expressed intentions. Compare any of Kelly’s endings to one of the truly great unresolved endings ever: John Sayles’ infuriating but brilliant Limbo. That movie has no concrete ending because Sayles is making a point about how real stories and lives have no satisfying ending. It invites speculation from the viewer, but offers no hints. It’s just the mystery of the next moment of our lives rendered in more dramatic — and humbling — style. (See also several open-ended Coen brothers movies.)

Kelly’s endings tend to mean less than nothing. Not “Oh the world has come to nothing and we must bear witness to the pointlessness and randomness of it all”. I mean “there is no ending as I couldn’t think of one. But there are a lot of TERRIBLY MYSTERIOUS things that have already happened, so mix-n-match those until you have something that seems logical. Jane’s Addiction roolz!” We’re not given enough concrete information to make up our minds what is happening, and so we can spin hypothetical explanations until the cows come home. A great way to keep your movies in the minds of your acolytes, but a boring and frustrating experience for those of us who think Kelly is a fraud who would rather namecheck Kurt Vonnegut or Jean-Paul Sartre than finish any of his potentially interesting ideas.

For example, Darko ended with a Christ-like sacrifice from Donnie, but left the reasons for the events unclear, though eventually explained by Kelly as a form of gibberish about Tangent Universes that seem to be describing a movie he made in his head while making an entirely different movie in the real world. Southland Tales ends with the return of Christ being thwarted by a disaffected asshole with a rocket launcher while two alternate versions of Seann William Scott create a portal that will something something. I think the world was doomed. Again, I had to finish the story for Kelly, coming up with my own interpretation. Same with The Box. Arlington’s actions make sense when I make them make sense, but then a bunch of other events make that interpretation false. Perhaps further viewing will make this interpretation clearer.

Nevertheless, this is the kind of faux-intellectualism that appeals to stoners who have read A Brief History of Time and Slaughterhouse 5 and think the universe is looping in on itself so that time is just space turned into a twelfth dimensional gas, man. In a way that could be appealing or forgivable. Gaspar Noé’s Enter The Void (one of my favourite films of the year, and one that has a couple of similarities to the inferior Donnie Darko) is woolly-headed and naive, but it is such a mesmerising and beautifully rendered rush of sound and image that any silliness is forgiven. Kelly doesn’t have the technical skill to pull this kind of thing off, relying instead on dispiriting compositions, eye-scorching overlighting, bombastic music, and indifferent art direction. Imagine Altered States made by the director of a straight-to-DVD sequel to American Pie after he’s eaten a bad batch of ’shrooms. That’s what this feels like.

Even worse, he doesn’t know what to do with his actors. Diaz gives yet another terrible performance as Norma, overplaying her big scenes, underplaying her quiet ones, and speaking with an accent oozing with so much Southernness I spent much of the movie waiting for her to raise a lace-gloved hand to her forehead and bellow, “Well ah do declayuh!” She’s never been good at doing anything other than be goofy (she was likeable enough in the first Charlie’s Angels movie), but after her unforgivably bad, tension-killing overacting here and in Nick Cassavetes’ disastrous My Sister’s Keeper, hopefully now filmmakers will stop casting her in dramas. Shades of Caruso favourite James Marsden fares better, probably because he’s a much better actor, but every so often a ludicrous, over-written line of dialogue will defeat him. It made me want to rewatch his triumphant turn in Enchanted for the ten millionth time, just to remind me of happier times.

Frank Langella’s impressive work is no surprise: the man is usually the best thing about every movie he is in. Though he is an eerie presence for much of the movie, even he is undone during a scene opposite Diaz in which she proclaims something about how “you wey-uh yo pay-un uh-pon yo fay-uss!”, and Langella’s look of regret is either brilliant acting showing Arlington’s sadness over the effect of his test, or Langella momentarily revealing his horror at Diaz’ continued employment. He is similarly unable to save a terrible, pretentious speech triggered by an NSA agent asking him why the alien morality test involves a box, which sounds like Kelly anticipated some confusion from the more curious members of his audience. Unfortunately his rationale is that we live in boxes, drive in boxes, watch boxes, and end up in boxes, so why not? Langella intones this monstrous wodge of contrivance as if he were playing King Lear, but the outrageous profundity-lite still reduced me to amazed giggles.

It would have been nice for Kelly to pose more questions about his authorial decisions, either to provide more amusement or to actually explain why anything happens in the film. How many people are in on Arlington’s plan and who why? How culpable is the government in this? Are they working with Arlington or against him? Why is it only women who ever seem to press the button? Why is there a rehearsal dinner and wedding in the movie? Is it just to get our characters in large groups where they can be menaced by creepy teenagers who laugh creepily? Why does Arthur travel through a portal in the middle of the movie? How much of this was just mood-setting, and how much necessary to the plot? Why is disability so important to the plot? Etc.

Actually, there is a potential answer to one question that threw me: why does NASA feature so prominently? We know Kelly’s father was a NASA scientist, and the movie is set one year after his birth, so is this somehow autobiographical? I’d be much more interested in it if that were the case, and that would certainly make the movie more than just a mixture of The Quatermass Experiment, The Astronaut’s Wife, and the pulp SF that gets namechecked in a mid-movie segue. For the first time we would see a connection to humanity amidst these dreadfully self-conscious exercises in intentional vagueness and poorly orchestrated atmospherics. The fact that all of these movies feel of a piece with each other, sharing similar motifs and concerns, make me wonder if Kelly is trying to tell a single story and failing no matter which direction he attacks it from.

It’s as if he once had a dream about water and tunnels and time travel and is constantly trying to figure out what it meant by telling different stories. Who knows, perhaps there really is a coherent story being told here about Living Receivers and how water is a Fourth-Dimensional Construct but he has yet to figure out how to make the pieces fit together. It’s this suspicion that brings me back to his movies even though I dislike all three of them. Perhaps one day Kelly will figure out how to tell this one story coherently, or to create some kind of key that makes all of the stories fit together, or just learn to modulate his glaring and annoying lighting scheme or find out that just referencing religious themes is not the same as fleshing out an SF story with a spiritual dimension. Either those revelations or he will get over his weird phobia of water. It’s just liquid, not a portal to the Nth dimension where the Judgemental Dream Aliens live, you crazy son of a bitch.

At that moment I will give him a break, and happily take back every negative thing I have ever said about him. Hard though it may seem after this lengthy rant, but I’m really rooting for him. I want that alternative explanation for Arlington’s test to be true, not just because it would justify spending money on his previous movies, or the countless hours I will inevitably spend pondering his ill-defined ideas, but because it would show Kelly has improved as a storyteller and has managed to hide a jewel of an idea at the centre of a tedious labyrinth. The tragedy is that, after sitting through so much uninspiring and downright exasperating chaff, I cannot believe Kelly has managed to pull off that feat. It’s a crying shame.

The race is over and I survived!

Today I reached an unbelievable personal goal, completing a half-marathon after about two months of training. I started on this project as both a personal challenge, and as a way to inspire people through the American College of Endocrinology Power of Prevention program. Along the way, I have heard from so many of you who are following my progress, have been inspired yourselves, or who are just rooting me on to success. On this Thanksgiving Day, I have to tell you all how grateful I am for all of your support.  What started out as a project to inspire others has certainly changed my life, and a significant part of that comes from all of you.

Now, on to race day.

First, a brief note.  I did not run with my iPhone, so I did not take any pictures.  Sarah took some, and I will work to add them later in the day.

So, I guess the story begins with dinner last night. My good friend Britt has been following my progress in this training regimen, and was sorry to tell me that he would not be able to come out to the run and see me finish, due to the fact he is out of town today. But he did offer to help me carbo load the night before. So last night our two families went out and enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner. In fact, I had to stop loading because I was too full. (I had an awesome shrimp alfredo Sicilian style pizza. Pictures forthcoming as well. I promise you will be jealous).

I got home and had a good night’s sleep.  This morning when I woke up, my number one priority was my pre-race preparations. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go here to get up to speed, but suffice it to say, I was very nervous about making sure this was not a problem today.

Not joking, I resorted to jumping jacks in the living room, but it all came out fine in the end (did I really just type that?)

Sarah and I headed out to the run at about 6:45.  Race time was 8:00, but we wanted to get a decent parking spot and I also wanted to do a mile pre-run before the race to get loosened up.

People up north can complain about this next sentence, but it was cold this morning.  It was probably only 50 degrees when we got to the race site. I was not concerned about the race, because I know how much I heat up when I am running, but I was definitely freezing waiting for the race to start.

Sarah and our friend Melissa were running the 6k at the same time.  The starting line and starting time were the same, so we got “in the blocks” together and waited for the run to begin. After a pre-recorded National Anthem from Lee Ann Rhimes, the race was set to begin.

We had positioned ourselves towards the middle of the group.  We knew we were not fast enough to be in the front, but did not want to get stuck behind the walkers in the back, either. The gun sounded and we were off.  It took about a minute or so to cross the starting line. I’m glad this was a chip race, because I’m interested to see how off my chip time is from the race time. The first mile was the typical jockeying for position that you see at any race. I tried to keep my pace slow and steady, but it is definitely hard with the adrenaline of all the other runners around you.

Around mile one, the course split for the 1/2 marathoners and the 6k, so the crowds thinned considerably at that point. It was about this time that I realized I had forgotten to start the timer on my watch. This is a dual problem, because I had no way to track my time, and because it was not recording my heart rate (long time readers know that I have a history of overheating when not monitoring my heart rate closely). So I started the timer and hoped that at some point there would be a timer on the course that would allow me to get some idea of how I was doing.

The first course clock did not come until mile two.  The race time at that point was 19 minutes. That meant that even if I had been at the front of the pack, I was pacing at sub-ten minute miles. This was both exciting and troubling. Exciting, because I did not feel like I was moving at that pace and felt fairly good. Troubling because I was not sure I could maintain this pace for eleven more miles.

The next few miles were relatively uneventful. I was able to maintain that 9:30ish pace and was not feeling tired. One thing I did not do was take water at the water stations. I have learned from experience that I get bad cramping if I drink anything while running. I had tried to hydrate myself well before the race, and was banking on that being good enough.

The race was actually quite uneventful in general until about mile eight. Right about that time my feet began to really hurt, especially on the instep. I know that I am due for new shoes, but did not want to get them so close to race time. Many runners have told me that’s a recipe for disaster with blisters and real problems on race day. But what was a mild nuisance at mile eight had become a real pain by mile nine.

The mile nine refreshment center had something I can only refer to as runner’s goo. It came in a foil packet, and had the consistency of Vaseline.  But it tasted good, was packed with sugars and caffeine, and really gave me a bit of a boost when I really needed it.

By mile ten, I was in uncharted waters. Ten miles is the previous longest run I had ever done, and I still had a full 5k to go to finish. I resorted to counting miles, not in distance, but in songs. At my pace (I had slowed to about an even ten minute mile pace, by now) I knew it was about two and a half songs between miles. So I just focused on the music and plowed ahead.

At mile eleven, the pain in my feet moved to my calves. This was a new experience for me. Whenever I run, the only true obstacle is breathing. I never have physical pain in my legs that prohibits me from going forward. So this really caught me off-guard. I knew that I only had two miles to go, however, and was determined to power through it, no matter what.

At mile twelve, I could smell the finish line, and so could the rest of the group running at my pace. Everyone kicked it up a notch at that point. I did the same, despite what my legs were screaming to me (R-rated, can’t repeat here). That lasted maybe a quarter of a mile. That’s when I thought I was going to collapse. Despite the fact that I had made it more than twelve miles without stopping once, I had to stop and stretch out my legs, then walk for about 30 seconds. I regret this terribly, but really don’t think there was anything else I could do at that point.

Once I started back up again, I decided to keep the pace slower and just get to the finish line. Two songs later, I was crossing the thirteen mile marker. At this point I knew that I had a 1/10 mile sprint in me, so I kicked it in and raced to the finish line, passing up a couple of guys down the stretch!

Final time: 2:07:18! Official results here: http://www.1stplacesports.com/obdc09halfres.htm

I looked around for Sarah, who had finished the 6k about and hour and 20 minutes earlier, but could not see her anywhere. So I got some water and tried to work out my legs a little bit. About 7-8 minutes later Sarah spotted me in the crowd and came over. I had anticipated finishing between 2:15 and 2:30, so she had gone home and got the turkey and stuffing in the oven, then was going to come back and watch me finish and take some pictures. Since I beat my goal time by about eight minutes, she missed the finish.

She’s more upset about that than I am. I’m glad she came back at all, and I appreciated the support in any case.

So we met up with some friends and compared times, then headed over to get a banana… AND THEY WERE OUT! So I settled for some orange slices and a couple of Michelob Ultras. Sarah also grabbed an Ultra, that she was actually getting for me.

As we walked to the van, I saw a sign for a “Brazilian Honey Bakery”. Having no idea what in the world that is, we headed inside and asked the question “What in the world is a Brazilian Honey Bakery?” The proprietor proceeded to give me a sample of a cheese bread pastry, which was so good, I immediately ordered a dozen.

And with that, we packed into the van, and headed for home. I received all of your well wishes on email, Facebook, and Twitter. You really have no idea how much that means to me. I am thankful today for all of you who have supported me through this training, and I look forward to sharing with you my next plan…

Until then, you know the drill…

Vital Statistics:

Workout: 13.1 Miles

Time: 2:07:18

Pace: 9:43

Playlist:

Neither Can I – Slash’s Snakepit

Estranged – Guns N Roses

Believe – Disturbed

Always On The Run – Lenny Kravitz

Sure Shot – The Beastie Boys

The Battle of Evermore – Led Zeppelin

I.R.S. – Guns N Roses

Brain Stew – Green Day

Miss Independent – Ne-Yo

Rusty Cage – Johnny Cash

The Way You Make Me Feel – Michael Jackson

Best I Can – Queensryche

All Along The Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix

Get It Together – The Beastie Boys

Strength Beyond Strength – Pantera

Hella Good – No Doubt

Hanger 18 – Megadeth

Used To Love Her – Guns N Roses

One – Creed

Razor – Foo Fighters

After The World – Disciple

Hollaback Girl – Gwen Stefani

Elvis Is Dead – Living Colour

Jane Says – Jane’s Addiction

Territorial Pissings – Nirvana

Madagascar – Guns N Roses

No Rain – Blind Melon

Monkey Wrench – Foo Fighters

It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over – Lenny Kravitz

There Is No God – Extreme

Un saludo cordial a todos los lectores de los oídos vírgenes, gracias por sus comentarios y visitas.

Los Jane’s Addiction es una banda de rock oriunda de Los Ángeles, California, Estados Unidos, conformada por Stephen Perkins en la batería, Eric Avery en el bajo, el talentosísimo Dave Navarro en la guitarra y el excéntrico Perry Farrell en la guitarra, en el año 1990 lanzán su segundo disco llamado Ritual de lo Habitual, un trabajo que mezcla el rock psicodélico con el rock progresivo, en donde destacan los solos de guitarra a cargo de Navarro y las potentes baterías y bajos por parte de Perkins y Avery respectivamente, junto a la peculiar voz de Farrell; el disco tiene dos partes bien marcadas las primeras cinco canciones son más rápidas y psicodélicas de fácil escucha, mientras que las últimas son más largas, densas y progresivas; la canción Three Days narra la historia sobre un fin de semana de perdición que pasaron Perry Farrell, su novia Casey Niccoli y Xiola Bleu (que falleció posteriormente y a la cual esta dedicada la canción) mientras que la canción Then She Did… narra el suicidio de la madre de Farrell cuando éste contaba con cuatro años de edad.

A mi opinión uno de los mejores discos del año 1990, con nueve temas buenos en donde esta banda derrocha todo su talento histriónico, mis favoritas son Three Days, Of Course y Stop! (que tiene un curioso intro en español).

TRACK LIST
1. “Stop!” – 4:14
2. “No One’s Leaving” – 3:01
3. “Ain’t No Right” – 3:34
4. “Obvious” – 5:55
5. “Been Caught Stealing” – 3:34
6. “Three Days” – 10:48
7. “Then She Did…” – 8:18
8. “Of Course” – 7:02
9. “Classic Girl” – 5:07

DESCARGA
PASS: oidosvirgenes
Hasta la próxima entrega

Após um bom tempo desaparecido deste blog, principalmente devido ao TCC e outros compromissos inadiáveis, volto ao mesmo para ajudar a aquecer esse que talvez seja o maior show do ano no Brasil! (Alguém ai disse que o do KISS foi melhor?).

Diferentemente do Maquinaria, onde descobri que meus amigos não gostam do Faith No More e/ou Jane’s Addiction e os que gostam não estavam dispostos a desembolsar 200 pilas para assisti-los, para o show do AC/DC o ingresso já está em mãos!

A banda fará sexta-feira, dia 27, seu magnífico show, com direito até a uma locativa no palco do bambi Morumbi. A setlist me parece “boa”, até mesmo porque falta minha música preferida, Jailbreak. Também gostaria que o show começasse com Thunderstruck, mas essa ainda é tolerável, a primeira não.

**Just for the record, quem vai abrir o show é o Nasi, nada contra mas…

E o album que deu origem a essa turnê foi o Black Ice, de 2008, que tem uma capa bem legal e em quatro versões diferentes. Liderados pelos irmãos Angus e Malcolm Young, guitarristas e o vocalista Brian Johnson, não abandonaram o bom, velho e simples Rock’n'Roll que consagrou a banda. Talvez esse seja o segredo da banda!

E para não me estender muito, falarei das possíveis músicas que irão compor o show e pertencem ao Black Ice. A principal, porém não a melhor, é Rock’n Roll Train, só acho que o refrão poderia estar com um backing vocal melhor (e para quem não viu, esse clipe também existe em excel, é só dar uma googada):

Big Jack talvez seja a mais legal de se cantar no show! War Machine é muito boa, mas o vocal está baixo e o baixo está alto (?), e com certeza terá um massivo solo do Angus durante o show. Anything Goes é uma música mais felizinha, porém não é certeza de que aparecerá no show.

A música que fecha o album é a homônima Black Ice, sendo a mais legal do disco:

Ou seja, será um show muito bom! E como recomendação do site do evento:

“Como se comportar dentro do estádio

A principal recomendação é não ser um mané. Não fique empurrando os outros para chegar na frente, isto atrapalha você e a todos que querem ver o show. Também não cause brigas. E muito comum as pessoas passarem mal durante o show e se isso ocorrer você irá ser levantado pelo pessoal a sua volta e levado para frente da grade ou nas laterais para ser atendido (será uma boa oportunidade de se sentir um astro do rock). Vá ao banheiro antes de entrar no estádio. Dentro do local estarão disponíveis banheiros químicos, mas se você sair do seu lugar será difícil voltar (na pista). Combine com seu amigos um lugar para se encontrar depois show para caso vocês se percam.”

=D

Assim que anunciaram dois grandes festivais de rock que aconteceriam EXATAMENTE no mesmo dia em Sampa, veio a dúvida cruel: em qual dos dois ir? Afinal, a distância e impossibilidade de teletransporte não possibilitariam a presença no Planeta Terra E no Maquinária Festival.

Que me desculpe Mr. Iggy Pop, mas eu cresci alimentada por “Epic”, “Falling To Pieces”, “Digging the Grave”, “From Out of Nowhere” e “Easy”, portanto, não poderia deixar de ir ao show do FNM.

Chegamos no meio do show do Sepultura e já notamos que a infraestrutura do festival era algo que não se via há muito tempo: tudo muito organizado, telões com imagens extremamente nítidas espalhados pelo local, bares com boas opções de alimentação e vários atendentes. Coisa rara de se ver mesmo, ainda mais em um festival que ainda está em sua segunda edição e que no ano passado teve ares mais “independentes” no Espaço das Américas com a presença de bandas como Misfits e Tristania.

Voltando aos shows, ainda não tinha visto o Sepultura sem o Igor na bateria, mas confesso que me surpreendi com o Jean Dolabella. O cara manda muito bem nas baquetas e não faz feio ao tocar as músicas antigas, entretanto, acho que minha cota de Sepultura já está mais do que saturada. Os respeito muito como banda, mas confesso que não tenho mais “pique” para assistir a um show deles ou ouvi-los em casa.

Derrick Green e Andreas Kisser - Sepultura (Foto: Silvio Tanaka - Abril.com)

 Após o Sepultura, veio a primeira atração internacional: Deftones.

Não conhecia a banda, mas sabia que eles faziam um som mais HC/New Metal. O show deles foi cheio de energia e fiquei surpresa com a presença de palco do Chico Moreno, pois o cara canta todas as músicas totalmente em transe, fechando os olhos, realmente sentindo tudo aquilo que expressa e interagindo muito com o público. Muito melhor do que muitos caras por aí que sobem ao palco, cantam e vão embora como se estivessem fazendo nada mais do que sua obrigação.

Chico Moreno - Deftones (Foto: Silvio Tanaka - Abril.com)

Porém, presença de palco e carisma foi algo que não faltou nessa noite de 7 de novembro.

Durante o show do Deftones, meus amigos e eu conseguimos nos infiltrar e ficamos, literalmente, grudados na grade que separava a pista normal da pista VIP. Ou seja, dali não saímos de jeito nenhum até o fim do show do FNM.

Depois de Deftones, chegaram os alucinados do Jane’s Addiction.

Pergunta 1: O que é Perry Farrell no palco? Como li em algumas resenhas por aí, o cara é uma mistura de Ney Matogrosso com Morrissey e, até mesmo, um pouco de androgenia “David-Bowieana-setentista”.

Em nenhum momento escondeu a satisfação de tocar no Brasil pela primeira vez e fez jus a isso: rodou, pulou, gritou, conversou com a galera todo o tempo, tomou vinho na garrafa, caiu e se levantou como se nada tivesse acontecido, simulou várias posições sexuais, enfim, tomou conta do palco. Ah, e ainda nos convidou para conhecer L.A. (se eu tiver estadia em sua casa, certamente vou – rs).

Pergunta 2: O que é Dave Navarro no palco? Sem dúvida, um dos sex symbols do Rock’n Roll arrancou muitos suspiros das meninotas no local. Entretanto, diferente de Farrell, ele estava lá totalmente técnico, com cara de “me tirem logo daqui” e ainda deu chilique com os fotógrafos (o que fez com que o show fosse simplesmente parado do nada, e, depois que retornaram, Navarro não foi mais filmado ou fotografado). Um puta guitarrista, mas mostrou uma antipatia sacal, muito diferente dos outros artistas que se apresentaram naquele dia.

Pergunta 3: Onde estava Eric Avery no palco? Definitivamente, o cara é um puta baixista e foi deixado lá, no cantinho do palco, como se nem existisse. Farrell, deixa o Navarro um pouco de lado e dê atenção ao Eric também. O cara é realmente bom!

Resumindo: show muito bom, com direito a japonesas seminuas e bateria da Nenê de Vila Matilde no final.

Pontos altos do show em “Been Caught Stealing” e “Stop!”, que levantaram o povo.

Perry Farrell - Jane's Addiction (Foto: Silvio Tanaka - Abril.com)

Pontualmente às 21h20, quando todo o povo estava realmente pegando fogo, chega uma chuva pra lavar a alma da galera. Chuva “épica”, como alguns trocadilhos disseram, para anunciar a chegada da tão aguardada banda da noite.

Com uns 20 minutinhos totalmente toleráveis de atraso, sobe ao palco o FNM.

OBS.: Outro detalhe para a organização do Festival: todos os shows começaram sem atraso (exceto o do FNM devido a essa chuva).

Mr. Patton entra todo vestido de vermelho, em um terno clássico com direito a flor branca na lapela, portando guarda-chuva e bengala. Com isso, a banda começa com a canção “ReUnited”, cover de Peaches & Herb, que tem sido a música de abertura dos shows desta turnê (The Second Coming Tour). Confesso que neste momento fiquei com um sorriso idiota nos lábios me sentindo aquela menininha de 11 anos que via os clipes do FNM na MTV. E já com essa música dá pra “ver” e ouvir o potencial vocal de Patton (ainda todo arrumadinho antes de baixar o espírito maligno dos cantores de Rock – rs).

Abertura do show do FNM (Foto: Silvio Tanaka - Abril.com)

Quando o espírito baixou, veio “From Out of Nowhere” e acabou com todo o “glamour”.  Neste exato momento percebemos que, mesmo quarentões, os caras do FNM deixam muita banda novata no chinelo. A bateria de Mike Bordin, o teclado de Roddy Bottum, a guitarra de Jon Hudson e o baixo de Bill Gould são os ingredientes que finalizam essa mistura e loucura musical.

Como disse o Paulo Fioratti em seu review no blog LineUp Brasil, “Aí os caras já tinham o público nas mãos. Se eles sentassem e ficassem dando tchauzinho durante duas horas, todo mundo sairia feliz.”  Tenho que concordar plenamente com essa afirmação.

E assim continuou com:

• Be Agressive (do álbum “Angel Dust”)
• Caffeine (também do “Angel Dust”)
• Evidence (do álbum “King For a Day, Fool For a Lifetime” que foi cantada em português e dedicada ao Zé do Caixão)
• Surprise! You’re Dead! (do álbum debut de Mike Patton na banda, o aclamado “The Real Thing”)
• Last Cup of Sorrow (uma das minhas preferidas, – do álbum “Abum of the Year” - mas que, aparentemente, não foi tão ovacionada pelo povo)
• Ricochet (um dos clipes que eu mais gosto dos caras, do álbum “King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime”)
• Easy (a famosa balada-cover do Commodores, que fez todo mundo querer dançar)
• Midlife Crisis (do “Angel Dust”, com direito a “crise” de tosse de Patton ao final da música)
• Caralho Voador (nesta, Patton fez uma brincadeira com a música “Ela é Carioca”, de Tom Jobim e Vinícius de Moraes, e cantou “Ela é Pauli’xs’ta” – rs)
• The Gentle Art of Making Enemies (outra que adoro, do álbum “King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime”)
• King For a Day (que também não teve a merecida euforia)
• Ashes to Ashes (quando a autora deste humilde blog surtou consideravelmente)
• Just a Man (com direito a loucuras de Patton: comeu o microfone, desceu no vão entre a galera e o palco, bateu nos seguranças e ainda deu um selinho em um dos fãs mais empolgados)

Neste momento, Patton se despede dizendo que aquela TALVEZ seria a última apresentação deles no Brasil. TALVEZ!

Eles voltam para o primeiro Encore com um “Olê, olê, olê, Palmeiras, Palmeiras” (lógico que a Palmeirense aqui ficou mais encantada ainda) e começam a tocar “Stripsearch” e “We Care a Lot”.

Para o segundo Encore, já nos momentos finais, eles apresentam mais um cover, agora de Burt Bacharach, chamada “This Guy’s in Love With You” e finalizam, como uma pancada no estômago, com “Digging The Grave” (o que, pra mim, foi uma troca justa ao invés de tocar a tão pedida “Falling To Pieces”).

Enfim, as palavras trocadas em português, o carisma, a loucura, a técnica vocal e mais uma porção de atributos que só Mike Patton pode mostrar, o tornam um dos melhores frontmans de todos os tempos.

Show que ficará no Top 5 com toda certeza.

Vejam abaixo 3 videozinhos do show em Sampa:

• Este é da abertura do show, com Reunited, gravada em HQ:

• Ashes to Ashes – Este foi gravado por mim (som razoavelmente bom, mas a imagem péssima - devido a distância do palco – e com direito a expressão eufórica de baixo calão no começo do vídeo – rs):

• Final matador com Digging the Grave:

See ya!

The summer tours are coming thick and fast now and alongside festival appearances, most acts are fitting in sideshows across Australia…

JANE’S ADDICTION

Tuesday 23 February – Sydney, Enmore Theatre [Licensed All Ages]

Wednesday 24 February – Melbourne, The Palace [18+]

HEALTH

Wednesday February 24 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne

Thursday February 25– The Step Inn, Brisbane

Friday February 26 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Saturday February 27– Perth Festival

CALEXICO

Friday, 26 February 2010 – Perth Festival Music Box Perth WA

Sunday, 28 February 2010 – Hotel Great Northern Byron Bay NSW

Tuesday, 2 March 2010 – HI-FI Brisbane QLD

Wednesday, 3 March 2010 – Metro Theatre Sydney NSW

Friday, 5 March 2010 – WOMADelaide Adelaide SA

Saturday, 6 March 2010 – WOMADelaide Adelaide SA

Sunday, 7 March 2010 – Golden Plains Festival VIC

Monday, 8 March 2010 – Prince Bandroom, Melbourne VIC

Tuesday, 9 March 2010 -Thornbury Theatre Melbourne VIC

THE HORRORS

Wednesday 20 January – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Wednesday 27 January – Corner Hotel, Melbourne

Saturday 30 January – Amplifier Bar, Perth

DEAD WEATHER

Friday 19 March – Forum Theatre, Melbourne

Tuesday 23 March – The Tivoli, Brisbane

Friday 26 March – Enmore Theatre, Sydney

Monday 29 March – Metro City, Perth

PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART

Wednesday 17 February – East Brunswick Club, Melbourne

Friday 19 February – Perth Festival Beck’s Music Box

Saturday 20 February – The Zoo, Brisbane

Sunday 21 February – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

BRIGHTBLACK MORNING LIGHT

Thursday 14 January – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Friday 15 January – The Zoo, Brisbane

Saturday 16 January – Summer Tones – The Corner, Melbourne

Sunday 17 January – East Brunswick Club, Melbourne

Ver o Janes Addiction nessa época de intolerância juvenil em universidades Unitalebans foi um marco anti-caretice… seu hino “Jane Say´s” é um poema marginal e mostra o mundo real urbano… saca só :

…She gets mad
Starts to cry
She takes a swing but
She can´t hit
She don’t mean no harm
She just don’t know
What else to do about it…

O show foi hippie/maluco/psicodélico/rock… teve Dave Navarro fazendo pose e tocando muito… a bateria tribal característica com o grande Stephen Perkins … as linhas de baixo do início de cada canção por Eric Avery, que é o cara e mostra muito brilho… e finalmente o Sexo/Glam/Estilo de Perry Farrell … a alma da banda e do espírito Indie Rock dos 90/2000. É uma figura e mentor de “n” bandas, tendências e do festival Lollapalooza. (Precisa mais…?)

Agora, bem que o show podia ter começado de noite e o som estava estranho, só melhorando do meio em diante.

Com isso, o público começou meio parado mas veio “Mountain Song”, “Whores”, “Been caught stealing” , “Stop” e “Up the Beach” e pronto… o clima hippie passou a dominar a galera com o show engrenando de vez.

As bailarinas foram sensacionais e deixaram o espetáculo e performance de Mr.Farrell mais libidinosa, com alusões explícitas ao disco Nothing Shocking.

O final da apresentação com o som tribal e incrível execução e catarse de “Jane Say´s” valeram o dia, a semana e o mês.

Demorou mesmo… ninguém imaginava… mas o Jane´s Addiction finalmente veio e mostrou sua força…

Direto de Los Angeles (Parties Wild … Women Wild…Man Wild…) Juanas Adiccíon … para o Brasil como falou toda hora o herói do rock Mr.Farrell…. TKS … TOP 2010

I had the privilege of photographing Jane’s Addiction at Voodoo Experience this year.  Now, for those that haven’t met me, I’m pretty short and it was a pretty intense photo pit, so I was only able to get shots of Dave Navarro and Perry Farrell.  Still, I think they came out pretty well for being blocked by tall chicks on stools and my inability to breathe.  Enjoy!

natural born bad

natural born killers, another great movie from great director oliver stone and sick story by quentin tarantino, film jadul ini adalah sekian dari film film berkualitas yang temanya sangat nyeleneh, mengapa menyeleneh? tentu saja gila jika di film ini menceritakan keasikan pasangan gila yang hobi membunuh tanpa berpikir panjang, keasikan mereka dalam membunuh yang sampai pada akhirnya direkam diabadikan oleh seorang wartawan yang pada akhirnya ikut terbawa “gila”.

film yang menceritakan pasangan gila mickey dan mallory knox, hobi membunuh, berlatar belakang acak acakan, broken home, cukup menjadi alasan agar keduanya bisa membunuh dengan santai siapapun yang ditemuinya, akhir kata ini adalah film yang membawa kita ke dunia pembunuh berantai suka dukanya menjadi sepasang pembunuh hingga penjelasan dari konsep membunuh menurut mereka, yeah they’re just natural born killers.

disini anda akan disuguhi visualisasi yang gila, seperti angle kamera yang diambil secara acak dan suka suka si sutradara sendiri, mayoritas berwarna black and white kadang berwarna diikuti rekaman rekaman amatir dan masih banyak lagi. tidak lupa film ini soundtracknya diisi oleh banyak artis yang kebetulan beberapa adalah favorit saya, sebut saja nine inch nails, RATM, hingga jane’s addiction. jadi bila anda belum menontonnya, mungkin ingin mencoba?

Dois festivais no mesmo dia, uma merda né?
Ainda mais quando de um lado você tem Jane’s Addiction e Faith No More e no outro lado você tem Ting Tings e Iggy Pop & The Stooges.

Maquinária
Jane’s Addiction: Banda do grande Perry Farrel e também do ex-Chili Peppers Dave Navarro. Pensei que nunca ia assistir o show dessa banda ao vivo.
Faith No More: Uma grande banda, com um ótimo e polêmico vocalista. Confesso que Mike Patton calou minha boca. Eu tinha má impressão dele mas depois de assistir ao show, DEVO me permitir a reconhecer que ele é um dos melhores vocalistas que eu já vi ao vivo. Um showman.

Planeta Terra
Iggy Pop & The Stooges: Não tem o que falar né? Iggy Pop é um ícone do rock! Costumo dizer que é o “pai” do Anthony Kiedis. Sim o cara ta velho, mas sempre será um enorme prazer aos amantes do rock ter a oportunidade de assisti-lo ao vivo pela primeira vez.
The Ting Tings: É uma banda que, apesar do estilo, gostei muito do álbum que é cheio de energia e muito dançante. Tinha muita curiosidade de ver se tinham a mesma pegada ao vivo.

Fora isso, ainda tinha Deftones de um lado e Móveis Coloniais de Acaju no outro. A primeira eu já tinha visto em 2001 no Rock In Rio, no mesmo dia que o Red Hot Chili Peppers e gostei do que eu vi, a segunda eu já vi umas 7 ou 8 vezes aqui em São Paulo e nunca irei me cansar de ver.

E ai, o que fazer numa situação difícil dessa?
Mas pera, não foi tão difícil assim…

Primeiro round – Bandas: Maquinária 1 x 0 Planeta Terra

Faith No More é uma banda esperada a mais de 10 anos, voltaram agora e dificilmente irão voltar ao Brasil mas se voltar, melhor.
Jane’s Addiction é uma banda com ótimos músicos e com um ex-Chili Peppers. Mas nunca se sabe quando será a próxima separação da banda então quando se tem uma oportunidade dessa, tem que aproveitar.

Dai no outro lado temos Ting Tings que é uma banda nova e terei mais chances de assistir, se a dupla acabar e eu não ver, sinal que não conseguiu sustentar a expectativa de todos aqueles (eu inclusive) que gostaram do primeiro álbum. E Iggy Pop que apesar da idade, tem muita saúde pra poder voltar aqui até mesmo para um pequeno show solo.

Segundo round – Localização: Maquinária 1 x 1 Planeta Terra

Mas nem tudo são flores e já encontrei um problema, localização. A Chácara do Jockey é num lugar absurdamente ridículo de longe e com um estacionamento zuado. E não há condições de deixar em alguma rua próxima pois a região não é tão amigável. Todos que foram no Radiohead sabem do que estou falando. Já o Planeta Terra, que já tinha um ótimo lugar nas edições passadas, foi para o Playcenter (T In The Park brasilis??) que fica na Barra Funda, ótimo para ir de metrô ou ônibus.

Terceiro round – Identidade Visual: Maquinária 2 x 1 Planeta Terra

Por que Identidade Visual? Oras por motivos óbvios. É algo que eu adoro e tem a ver com minha profissão, não tem como eu ver toda identidade visual do Maquinaria e nãoa fazer um elogio. Simplismente arrebentaram com o site.

Quarto round – Ações de Marketing: Maquinária 3 x 1 Planeta Terra

Esse ano, o Planeta Terra demorou muito para fechar o line-up, talvez na esperança de fechar com com Kings Of Leon, e com isso fez com que as ações de divulgação demorassem um pouco. Até ai tudo bem, o festival já está bem sucedido por aqui e não precisa de muita divulgação. Mas acontece que o Maquinária, e seus apoiadores, fizeram ação de marketing muito mais pesada, utilizando principalmente as redes sociais como Twitter.
Todo dia eu via no mííííínimo de 5 à 10 ingressos sendo sorteados pelo twitter oficial ou nos twitters parceiros do evento. Sem contar que fizeram o famoso Meet & Greet com algumas bandas do segundo dia.

Quinto e último round – Público: Maquinária 3 x 2 Planeta Terra

O Planeta Terra sem dúvida ia estar mais cheio, tanto pelo espaço físico quanto pela quantidade de indies e paga-paus que existe nessa cidade.
Ok, nem todos, claro. Mas todos meus amigos que foram curtir os shows no PT sabem que lá tinha um monte de gente que estava mais pra desfilar com roupinhas “descoladas” e óculos RayBan cafona do que pra sentir a vibe de um show.

Mas é fato que no PT, sempre tem mulheres bonitas hehehehe ponto positivo. Mas não adianta, porque eu pago pra ver as bandas que gosto, não pra ver mulheres. Quem quer pagar pra ver mulher que vá num puteiro. Mulher a gente vê, e conhece em outras ocasiões (depois do show por exemplo)…
Placar final: 3×2

Decidido qual festival ir (fácil), resolvi que iria tentar encontrar com Dave Navarro ou Perry Farrel para tentar entrevista-los para o site do RHCP, afinal, eles mesmo sabem que ambas as bandas tem certa ligação e que muitos fãs do RHCP gostam do Jane’s e vice-versa.
Então iria fazer perguntas sobre essa volta do Jane’s, se há possibilidade de álbum novo, etc…
Fui no Hotel Hilton, onde todas as bandas estavam, e fiquei lá um bommmm tempo até encontrar Dave Navarro que não foi tão simpático mas eu já esperava hahaha (quem acompanha o mínimo que seja, sabe). Ele foi apenas educado tirando foto comigo e com mais 3 fãs e apresentando sua namorada para nós. Depois saiu e não quis muita conversa.

Quem foi MUITO, mas muito carismático foram o pessoal do Maxïmo Park, que é uma banda que eu nem curto. Eles iam se apresentar no Planeta Terra.
Tinha 3 fãs, mas fãs meeeeesmo deles lá no hotel e eles atenderam a todos, tiraram fotos, conversaram e deram autógrafo. Eu fiquei só acompanhando de longe, sem atrapalhar os fãs da banda, mas ai depois fiquei surpreso com a simpatia deles e mais surpreso ainda ao ver o vocalista Paul Smith chegando com a camisa do Santos F.C.. Não deu outra, fui zoar ele dizendo que o melhor time no Brasil era o São Paulo F.C. hahaha Então ele explicou o porque comprou a camisa: Pelé
Os outros integrantes da banda também gostam muito de futebol e eu falei para todos sobre o SPFC. Um deles, o guitarrista Duncan Lloyd, estava visivelmente feliz em saber que tinham fãs no Brasil, o mesmo me deu 2 ingressos para o PT sem eu pedi, eu apenas comentei que não tinha ingresso =P
Depois dessa eles até merecem uma chance então vou tentar ouvir denovo os álbuns pra ver se dessa vez eu goste de alguma coisa.

Com isso, eu tive a oportunidade de ir no Maquinária ver os super shows do Jane’s Addiction e do Faith No More e ir bem rápido, de carro, para o Planeta Terra ver o Iggy Pop & The Stooges.

Dois festivais na mesma noite praticamente, pois consegui ver as 3 bandas que eu mais queria.
Perder The Ting Tings não foi lá tão ruim, segundo algumas resenhas feitas na internet e comentários. Mas ainda assim, espero um dia ter a chance de ve-los ao vivo e rezar pra fazerem valer a pena a espera.

Bom, minha availiação acima é 100% baseada na minha opinião pessoal, quem foi no PT claramente terá motivos para discordar. Mas os motivos que me levam a escolha de uma banda ou outra nunca falham. Ainda mais quando se tem 10 anos de história e espera como eu tenho com Jane’s Addiction por causa do Dave Navarro

Abaixo segue alguns artigos que li no dia seguinte.

MAQUINARIA:

Chino Moreno canta no meio do público em show do Deftones no Maquinária

Jane’s Addiction faz show visual e mostra antigos sucessos no Maquinária

Chuva atrasa show do Faith no More, que toca com o coro dos fãs no Maquinária

Showman do rock

Faith no more conquista SP no grito e nos palavrões

PLANETA TERRA

The Ting Tings prova que é melhor em disco do que no palco e eletrônica encerra festival Planeta Terra

Iggy & The Stooges reestreia com show caótico e repertório perfeito em São Paulo

Patrick Wolf e Metronomy mostram diferentes vertentes da mistura de rock e eletrônica

Sonic Youth mantém sonoridade experimental embaixo de chuva no Planeta Terra

Primal Scream aquece fãs de Sonic Youth com barulho; Maximo Park mostra energia no palco

Eu sei que todo mundo vai ficar falando do festival Planeta Terra e do quão apertadas eram as calças skinny dos indies no Playcenter, mas eu quero obviamente falar do melhor festival do ano, o Maquinária. Onde eu, pela primeira vez em meus 24 aninhos e meio de existência vi no palco uma das melhores bandas da história. FAITH NO MORE!

Antes de falar do show principal, é de bom tom falar sobre a organização do evento que em resumo, achei muito boa. Não peguei tanto trânsito pra ir, nenhum tumulto na porta e todos os show começaram na hora. Não faltou bebida, e o espaço da área VIP era bem legal, mesmo vendo personas como Badauí zanzado por ali.

Me muni de todas as cervejas e copos de Smirnoff Ice que consegui bancar e comecei assistindo Deftones, que mandou muito bem no pôr do sol de sábado. Eu fiquei bem emocionada viu, fazia tempo que não ia num show tão bom. Logo depois veio Jane’s Addiction e foi aí que a coisa começou a ficar boa mesmo. Mano, DAVE NAVARRO, are you serious? Que bofe! Que body! Como eu amo o rock n’ roll!!!!!

Perry Farrell foi um show à parte, com um look de deixar qualquer um babando. Glam Rock é vida!!!!!! Quando tocaram “Been caught stealing” minha vida toda passou na frente dos meus olhos.

Logo após o show, a chuva veio coroar os roqueiros que se aglomeravam na frente do palco principal esperando por qualquer grunido que o mestre Mike Patton podia fazer a qualquer instante. Porém ela asustou, já que o vento fazia com que todos os instrumentos do palco ficassem encharcados. Compra capa, tira cara, coloca capa, tira de novo, e desistimos, já molhados e felizes que o show estava por vir. E começou, com a banda MARAVILHOSA, em uma sintonia perfeita tocando um cover de Peaches & Herb, chamada “Reunited”. A versão original é muito boa, dá uma olhada:

De terno vermelho e usando um distintivo no estilo “xerife”, Mike fez graça, falou em português várias vezes, levando todo mundo ao delírio. Coitados dos microfones que foram praticamente estuprados por ele. Enfim, saí com a alma lavada depois de um show que valeu cada um (dos muitos) reais que investi.

No domingo ainda rolaram outros shows meio emos, mas confesso que fiquei mordida por não ter ido ver o Duff McKagan. Mas não dá, eu também tenho que comer, não é mesmo minha gente?

As fotos são do Daigo Oliva, exímio fotógrafo do G1.

O primeiro dia do Maquinária Festival foi um exemplo a ser seguido, bem organizado, com os horários sendo cumpridos, bom atendimento nos bares e restaurantes e principalmente excelentes shows de rock.  Abaixo conto para vocês tudo que aconteceu no primeiro dia do festival.

Nação Zumbi, Sepultura e Deftones

A primeira banda a subir no palco foi a Nação Zumbi, que apesar do público pequeno, a banda com seu som experimental conseguiu conquistar os presentes, misturando músicas novas, com sucessos da época do Chico Science.

Logo em seguida no palco principal veio a maior banda de metal do Brasil, o Sepultura, o grupo fez o esperado, tocaram os seus maiores sucessos e agitaram os seus fanáticos seguidores, que não paravam de gritar o nome da banda. Sendo um fã mais antigo, ainda acho muito estranho ver a banda sem o Igor Cavalera na bateria, seu substituto Jean Dollabella toca muito bem, mas não é a mesma coisa.

Quando começava a escurecer em São Paulo, os americanos do Deftones entraram no palco e foram recebidos por um grande número de fãs que estavam ansiosos pelo show. A banda que no começo era considerada mais uma banda do new metal, mostrou um amadurecimento,  o vocalista Chino Moreno foi o grande destaque, não parou quieto e a cada novo grito o público delirava.

O show mais estranho foi com certeza do Jane’s Addiction, começando pelo andrógino vocalista Perry Farrel, que usou um macacão dourado, que chamava atenção até demais e parecia estar um pouco alcoolizado, tanto que caiu no palco duas vezes.

A banda preferiu investir em um repertório com o seus sucessos antigos e não tocaram nenhum música do último álbum de estúdio, o Strays de 2003. Dave Navarro que é um bom guitarrista, ficou surpreendente quieto, fez seus grandes solos e nada mais.

Impossível não comentar sobre  as dançarinas que ficavam dançando seminuas no palco, fazendo dançås sensuais com Farrel, o problema é que elas chamavam mais atenção do que a própria banda.

A organização teve uma boa ideia inicialmente de colocar um segundo palco, chamado MySpace, onde bandas menos conhecidas se apresentavam nos intervalos dos shows principais. O único problema é que as bandas escolhidas não conseguiram chamar atenção do público, exceto a banda Lotus que chamou atenção com um punk rock bem tocado e com boas letras. O pior momento foi o show do Supla e seu irmão João, a dupla que se apresentou antes do Faith No More, não conseguiu chamar atenção do público e passaram despercebidos pelo Festival

Faith No More

Com um pequeno atraso por causa da chuva em São Paulo, a grande atração do festival subiu ao palco, claro que estou falando do Faith No More . O simpático vocalista, Mike Patton entrou usando sua famosa roupa vermelha, óculos escuros e um guarda-chuva e cantou com sua banda a balada dos anos 70, Reunited. Foi emocionante ver a maioria dos presentes com lágrimas nos olhos ao ver a banda no palco.

A banda que adora o Brasil, tocou bossa nova e até uma versão curiosa de “Carruagens de Fogo”, Patton falou várias vezes em português, brincou com o público o tempo todo e cantou a famosa música do grupo, Evidence em português.

O vocalista da banda é um show à parte, com seu enorme talento, consegue gritar em algumas músicas e em outras canta como um tenor.  Mas esse show histórico não aconteceria sem ajuda dos outros músicos da banda, Mike Bordin arrasando na bateria, Roddy Buttom mostrando porque é um dos melhores tecladistas do mundo; Billy Gould tocando seu baixo perfeitamente e pulando como um jovem de 20 anos e o guitarrista Jon Hudson provando que merece seu lugar no grupo.

Foram duas horas inesquecíveis, sucessos como Easy, Last cup of sorrow não ficaram de fora, incluindo ainda um emocionante cover de Burt Bacharach, com a linda música “This guy’s in love with you“. Claro que Patton fez suas famosas loucuras, indo para perto do público e dando um enorme trabalho para os seguranças.

Depois do segundo bis, o Faith No More terminou o show com a clássica música, Diggin the grave” e saíram do palco aplaudidos e já deixando saudades para os fãs paulistas.

Pois é minha gente, depois de tipo uns 15 anos mais oi menos eu finalmente verei esses caras …

Vocês não tem idéia de como estou me sentindo, é algo que realmente não tem explicação, sim, é pra quem gosta de rock e sim, é pra quem tem culhão !

Maquinaria Festival, com Nação Zumbi, Sepultura, Jane’s Addiction, Deftones e Faith no More!!!

Acredito que música é vida, é alegria, é descontração, é se sentir bem acima de tudo, música está na minha vida desde que nasci, ouvindo Beatles e Pink Floyd, fui rigidamente criado ouvindo isso olha que dó! Não precisei passar na boquinha da garrafa muito menos escutar Julio Iglesias hahaha!

Enfim, no show twittarei algumas coisas que ocorreram no show portanto fiquem espertos também em www.twitter.com/thenobodies

Bjo a todos e hasta luego!

Oasis

A finales de Agosto conocimos la noticia de que Noel Gallagher abandonaba Oasis por la mala relación que tenía con su hermano Liam. Desde entonces, mucho se ha especulado sobre el futuro del grupo y de los componentes.

Ahora comenzamos a conocer las verdaderas intenciones de los miembros de una banda y, por desgracia, de momento apuntan a caminos separados. Oasis no continuará sin la guitarra de Noel como se había dicho y, hasta el momento, parece que no volveremos a disfrutar de nuevos trabajos del grupo.

Noel Gallagher ha confirmado el inicio de su carrera en solitario, aunque no creo que le sorprenda a nadie dado que era el principal compositor de la banda, Oasis se ha perdido, pero su talento para componer sigue vivo. Si esto es así, ¿le dedicará alguna canción a su hermano o a la banda quizás? o ¿preferirá no hacer referencias al pasado?.

Por otro lado, también conocemos las intenciones de Liam Gallagher. Quiere formar una nueva banda, considera que aún tiene mucha música dentro de él y que prefiere tocar con un grupo que comenzar una carrera en solitario.

Andy Bell, el último bajista que tuvo Oasis, se encuentra ya grabando su segundo álbum en solitario como dicta su página web. Para este nuevo disco se supone que contará con colaboraciones como las de Perry Farrel de Jane’s Addiction y Kate Pierson de The B-52s’.

De Gem Archer (guitarra) y Chris Sharrock (batería) todavía no tenemos nada confirmado, pero es más que probable, como apuntan distintos medios de comunicación, que acaben dentro del nuevo proyecto de Liam (en el que empezará a trabajar en Enero y que posiblemente también cuente con Andy Bell).

Veremos qué depara el futuro, sigo pensando que volveremos a verlos juntos en un futuro como las ‘tropecientas’ veces que se separaron antes.

October 30 – November 1, 2009
New Orleans, LA

Jane's Addiction

The Voodoo Experience in New Orleans is in its eleventh year and still going strong.  This year’s event attracted a reported 100,000+ people during Halloween weekend. The line up – which included Eminem, Jane’s Addiction, Kiss, Mutemath, Wolfmother, The Flaming Lips, Lenny Kravitz, Janelle Monae, The Black Keys, Gogol Bordello, Silversun Pickups, and Widespread Panic – definitely helped draw the sizable audience.  In addition to the impressive line up, the festival benefits from taking place in New Orleans during Halloween weekend, and offers a diverse range of entertainment and New Orleans cuisine.

Janelle Monae

In the spirit of Halloween, Friday was disguised as a warm sunny day, only to reveal its stormy nature following a captivating set by Janelle Monae.  Earlier this year, I attempted to see Monae in Austin during SXSW.  However, the club where she performed was too small to accommodate the crowd.  We made it inside the venue, but couldn’t see Monae through the packed audience. Nonetheless, we could feel her energy and she sounded great.  Monae’s SXSW appearance peaked my interest enough to ensure we arrived at The Voodoo Experience in time to catch her set (even forgoing a visit to Cafe Du Monde).

Monae is an engaging performer whether she’s dancing with fervor or singing while elevated on a chair.  She commands the stage and the audience with her expressions and energetic dancing, but Monae doesn’t let you forget that what she came to do is sing.  Her voice is beautiful and music is a full-body expression for Monae.

Marching through the mud

“The day wouldn’t be complete without muddy feet,” became the mantra of this year’s Voodoo Experience after Friday’s torrential downpours turned the festival grounds into a muddy obstacle course for the remainder of the weekend.  Contrary to what you may expect, the wind, rain, cold temperatures, and mud, added to the experience as good-humored music fans and dedicated musicians braved the elements, in the name of music.

Silversun Pickups meeting fans before the storm

Due to the heavy rain and winds, Silversun Pickups had the option of rescheduling their set and playing a club in New Orleans later that night.  Just moments before they were due at the main stage, the band decided to perform their set as scheduled, at the festival grounds, during the worst part of the storm. Their fans were appreciative and didn’t seem to mind enduring the pounding rain while the band played.

The New Orleans Bingo! Show

Knowing we would see Silversun Pickups in LA the following week, we opted for shelter and took cover in the Bingo! Parlour circus tent during the storm.  Thankfully, Voodoo Experience offers a wide range of quality entertainment.  Inside the Bingo! Parlour we were treated to none other than The New Orleans Bingo! Show.  This isn’t your grandma’s Bingo — The New Orleans Bingo! Show includes aerialists, clowns that smoke and drink, dancers, and theatrics that transport you to another era.  Clint Maedgen takes the lead on vocals, pump organ, keyboard, guitar, tenor saxophone, squeaky dolphin, and more.  At the same time, an aerialist hangs upside-down above the crowd, doing tricks on the trapeze.  Dancers and clowns add to the experience.  Not only did we forget about the rain, we forgot where we were. The New Orleans Bingo! Show kept us dry, smiling, and dancing for an hour and a half.

“If you were in New Orleans and you didn’t see Eminem, then you missed everything!!” the Starbucks barista told us as he handed over our Saturday morning caffeine.  Friday night’s performance was Eminem’s first full concert in 2009.  Well, we missed it, and the city wouldn’t let us live it down.  With the constant reminder of our Venti lattes in hand, we hailed a taxi to the festival Saturday. “Did you see Eminem last night??” the driver asked when we told him where we were headed.  Before we could answer the question, the driver proceeded to tell us that Eminem last played The Voodoo Experience nine years ago.  “Eminem,” “Eminem,” “Eminem” – you could hear his name ringing throughout the festival grounds early Saturday as fans reminisced about the set he played Friday night.  Just when we were beginning to feel like we might have missed the highlight of the festival, The Voodoo Experience hit us with a wave of great music, exceptional live performances, and the reminder that there’s more than one highlight at Voodoo Experience.

Mates of States fans sing along

When we arrived Saturday afternoon, we were greeted by sunshine and the uplifting music of Mates of State.  Costumed fans sang along as Kori Gardner (keyboard/vocals) and Jason Hammel (drums/vocals) played their catchy tunes.  Mates of State got the crowd amped up which turned out to be essential because that energy was necessary for the back to back music that hit next.

Mutemath's Paul Meany raises the bar

Mutemath played immediately following Mates of State.  Not only did they further set the tone for the day, they raised the standard for live performance in general.  A separate review of the Mutemath show will follow because enough can’t be said here.  Between their brilliant music, Paul Meany’s voice and keyboard handstands, Darren King standing on top of his drum and diving into the crowd, Greg Hill’s guitar pedal wizardry, and Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas on bass and whatever else he could get his hands on, Mutemath quickly became a favorite of festival goers.

Gogol Bordello

It should be noted that in addition to the music reviewed here, there were at least 3 other artists performing concurrently on other stages at the festival.  Since I still haven’t mastered being in 4 places at once, I stuck with a friend’s recommendation and caught Gogol Bordello.   Now I know why this band has been on my to-see list for a while.  Gogol Bordello had the majority of the audience jumping, clapping, and singing along throughout the duration of their set.  When their show came to an end, the crowd demanded an encore and  Eugene Hütz and the dynamic band delivered an even more energetic, lengthy encore.

Wolfmother

The Voodoo Stage and Playstation/Billboard.com Stage faced each other on opposite ends of a running track.  So when Gogol Bordello finished their set on the Playstation/Billboard.com stage, we turned around and walked toward the Voodoo Stage to catch Wolfmother.  I’ve seen Wolfmother perform at other festivals, but something about their set at Voodoo blew me away and exceeded my expectations (which are high).  First of all, I was able to hear Andrew Stockdale’s amazing voice in a way that I hadn’t heard before.  The entire band seemed to play much tighter than when I saw them previously.  This may, in part, be due to the fact that two of the original band members have been replaced.  I ran into Stockdale and Ian Peres a few times during the festival.  In addition to being exceptional musicians, they are extremely funny and kind.  Although, there was that incident with Hotshot Robot. . . More on that in the additional, forthcoming Wolfmother review.

Wolfmother with a beheaded Hotshot Robot

So up until this point, you’ve got Mutemath, Gogol Bordello, and Wolfmother absolutely crushing it.  Fans, whose feet otherwise may have been tired from standing, were blessed to have the cushion of mud to soften the impact from 3 hours and 45 minutes of incessant jumping. Some people began losing their voices from screaming and out-singing their neighbors and others opted to forgo food and restroom breaks so they wouldn’t miss anything.  These are bands who just got on stage and played music.  No light shows.  No dramatic stage set-ups.  No real spectacle.  They entertained, they crowd surfed, and at times they banged on things in an unconventional manner, but they did not succumb to an over-the-top stage setup or seizure-inducing light show.  And they don’t need to.  Mutemath, Gogol Bordello, and Wolfmother can blow you away simply by playing music.

Cut to Jane’s Addiction and Kiss, who rounded out Saturday’s line-up.  These are seasoned musicians who’ve been doing this forever.  Perhaps they add spectacle just to keep themselves from getting bored – who knows? The question is: do they need it?

Jane's Addiction

I’ve seen Jane’s Addiction several times over the years, including a very cool “rehearsal show” at a sound stage in LA.  Sometimes they’re great.  Sometimes they’re a little less than great.  But irrespective of my subjective opinion of any given performance, Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins always nail it.  If Navarro weren’t a musician, I think he’d carry a portable stage around with him, set it up daily, and just strut around.  And I’ll bet people would watch him too – that guy was born to be a performer.  It also doesn’t hurt that he can PLAY guitar.  Perkins, I could listen to or watch for hours, even if he were playing unaccompanied.  He’s a phenomenal drummer.  It’s also good to see Eric Avery back on bass.  It was original Jane’s doing what they originally set out to do – play music and entertain.

Kiss playing (safely) with fire

Kiss, on the other hand, I had never seen live.  That band is all about spectacle.  Although, being live music veterans, they’ve learned to do things in moderation.  Sure they’ve got face paint, hair, and silver and black outfits, but forget pyrotechnics (perhaps because paint is highly flammable).  So when they perform, Kiss simply shows images of flames surrounding them on screen.  The part about not using pyrotechnics is not entirely true – there was a nice fireworks display at the end of their set.  While there were a lot of fans who have been with these bands for many years, it was nice to see a new generation of music fans enjoying Kiss and Jane’s Addiction at The Voodoo Experience.

Sunday was another beautiful day in New Orleans.  By this point, there were enough paths made through the mud and it was considerably easier to navigate the festival grounds.  We spent much of the day enjoying the non-music activities offered.  We checked out several food vendors and sampled desserts including fried Oreos and white chocolate bread pudding ice cream (be on the lookout for New Orleans Ice Cream, rolling out nationwide!).  We stumbled upon the special Vooboo  stage set up for kids and watched families enjoying the festival experience together.

JJ Grey

Eventually we made our way over to see JJ Grey & Mofro.  I had been curious about JJ Grey ever since this I saw this clever music video.  Well, they left the barbies at home for this show, but JJ Grey & Mofro were able to get the crowd groovin’ on their own.

Trombone Shorty

Next up, Trombone Shorty.  The first time I saw Trombone Shorty he was opening for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band in Los Angeles.  He was so good that I actually forgot where I was and thought I was in New Orleans.  So to see Trombone Shorty in his hometown of New Orleans was better than a fried Oreo.  Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews has been playing New Orleans clubs since he was 12 years old.  He’s now 23 and if there had been tables to dance on at Voodoo Experience, people would have been on them.  If you have the opportunity to see Trombone Shorty, then do it (even if The Flaming Lips are playing at the same time).

The Flaming Lips shooting confetti

That said, we did head over to catch part of The Flaming Lips‘ set.  I know I just suggested you do one thing and then I did the opposite thing, but with that experience behind me, I stand by my original recommendation — see Trombone Shorty.  I do like the Lips, but the sole reason we ventured across the muddy field to see them was out of sheer curiosity, to see if they did anything different.  I’ve seen them perform for years.  I stopped seeing them perform for years.  I revisited them during their tour this summer.  And then, thinking they may pull out something new for the festival crowd, I saw them again at Voodoo Experience.  If you’re somebody who doesn’t like change, rest easy – The Flaming Lips are doing exactly the same thing they were doing years ago.  The show begins with Wayne Coyne rolling out on top of the crowd in a large bubble.  Then, there’s confetti, enough balloons for everybody to play, and furry creatures dancing on stage.  Songs may be performed in a slightly different tempo – “Fight Test” was played ultra slow at Voodoo – but essentially a Flaming Lips show is a Flaming Lips show.  They provide good old-fashioned fun that you can always count on.

Voodoo Experience: good times guaranteed

Similarly, New Orleans Voodoo Experience provides good fun and music you can count on.   However, that may be the only constant.  New Orleans Voodoo Experience is truly unique and offers a diverse range of entertainment and activities.  There’s something for everyone at Voodoo Experience – that’s why more than 100,000 people showed up.

No sábado, dia 7 de novembro, realizo mais um dos meus sonhos, vou assistir, ao vivo em São Paulo, o Jane’s Addiction. Não escondo minha excitação para escutar os grandes clássicos da banda como:

01 - Jane’s Addiction - Stop

02 - Jane’s Addiction - Been Caught Stealing

03 - Jane’s Addiction - Ocean Size

04 - Porno For Pyros - Sadness

05 - Porno For Pyros - Cursed Female

No começo dos anos 90 quando o Jane’s Addiction acabou, o Perry Farrell montou com o Stephen Perkins, o Porno For Pyros. A pegada era a mesma, o bom rock’ n’ roll da antiga banda, misturado a outros elementos como o punk e o funk. Lembro COM PRECISÃO que depois que escutei “Sadness” e “Cursed Female” pela primeira vez, uma interrogação ENORME ficou em cima da minha cabeça e eu me perguntava: “e agora?”

06 - Porno For Pyros - Freeway

O baixo dessa música é tocado pelo Flea, do Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Em 1999, o Porno For Pyros já havia encerrado as atividades e o Jane’s Addiction tinha acabado pela segunda vez. Nesse mesmo ano, uma compilação oficial chamada Rev foi lançada. Nela havia o material das duas bandas mais algumas músicas inéditas do Perry Farrell em carreira solo.

07 - Jane’s Addiction - Superhero

08 - Jane’s Addiction - Idiots Rule

09 - Jane’s Addiction - Standing In The Shower Thinking

 10 - Porno For Pyros - Tahitian Moon

O disco Good God’s Urge do Porno For Pyros é menos rock’ n’ roll que o primeiro, mas não faz feio ao legado da banda. Bons exemplos são “Tahitian Moon” e “100 Ways”.

11 - Porno For Pyros - Pets

Tenho boas lembranças de 1993, que na minha história foi “o ano que não devia terminar” (*). “Pets” encaixa PERFEITAMENTE como trilha sonora desse ano.

12 - Porno For Pyros - 100 Ways

13 - Jane’s Addiction - Mountain Song

Essa música é um dos maiores clássicos do Jane’s Addiction. Além do vocal IMPECÁVEL, os riffs de guitarra do Dave Navarro são inconfundíveis. Não à toa o cara é considerado como um dos melhores guitarristas da sua geração.

14 - Jane’s Addiction - True Nature

15 - Jane’s Addiction - Thank You Boys

(*) Usei parte do título do livro “Feliz 1958 - O Ano Que Não Devia Terminar” do Joaquim Ferreira dos Santos, para expressar o quanto 1993 foi importante na minha vida.

Clique aqui para saber mais sobre o livro.

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