Thought I would put this up…legendary Killing joke bassist who died a few years back…The song is “Seeing Red” by Killing Joke.

…and here he is way back when on the TUBE with that woman who Bob Geldof either hated or married

For fans only

Archive, koncert Klub Eskulap Poznań, 19.01.2010. Kup bilet na koncert!

Renata Przemyk – ” ODJAZD” Centrum Sztuki IMPART koncert Wrocław, 30.01.2010. Kup bilet na koncert!

WILD KNIGHT, CRYSTAL VIPER, LONEWOLF, supporty, Klub Muzyczny Progresja, Warszawa, 30 stycznia 2010. Kup bilet na koncert!

Killing Joke, koncert Warszawa, Klub Palladium, 28.04.2010, 20:00. Kup bilet na koncert zespołu!

Killing Joke, koncert Katowice, Mega Klub, 27.04.2010, 20:00. Kup bilet na koncert zespołu!

THE QUIREBOYS, DAVID CROSS BAND, Klub STUDIO Kraków, 28.02.2010. Kup bilety na koncert w Krakowie!

THE QUIREBOYS, DAVID CROSS BAND, Klub STUDIO Kraków, 27.02.2010. Kup bilety na koncert w Krakowie!

Jak już przyłożymy, to przyłożymy, nie trzeba nagłośnienia – tak o najpotężniej brzmiącym zespole kameralnym mówi jego lider Tadeusz Kassak. Puzonista Polskiej Filharmonii Bałtyckiej po 30 latach gry ma tuż nad ustami odcisk po ustniku. – “Blaszaki” grają sobą – tłumaczy filharmonik. – Źródłem dźwięku są usta, stąd ten ślad. Taki znak jest pewnie tym wyraźniejszy, im więcej energii grający wkłada w grę. A Kassak Brass Ensemble chce grać najgłośniej w tym kraju. Więc dziesięciu muzyków grających na instrumentach blaszanych dmie, ile pary w płucach. Towarzyszą im perkusista i kontrabasista.

asymetry festival II bilety 2010

Wśród dęciaków: trzech trębaczy, dwie waltornie, tuba i cztery puzony. W repertuarze m.in. toccata i fuga d- moll J. S. Bacha, preludium e- moll F. Chopina, fantazja nt. opery “Carmen” G. Bizeta. Tę część muzycy grają w smokingach.

koncert kassak brass ensemble gdańsk

Bogusław Kaczyński zaprasza
31 grudnia 2009 r. – TORWAR (kameralna część nowoczesnej, ogrzewanej hali z wygodną widownią i parkingiem)
Bogusław Kaczyński zaprasza na SYLWESTROWĄ GALĘ GWIAZD z udziałem największych artystów świata operetki, musicalu i piosenki. Wystąpią: Grażyna Brodzińska, Kamila Cholewińska, Małgorzata Długosz, Zbigniew Macias, Witold Matulka, Arnold Rutkowski, Jacek Wójcicki. Usłyszymy ŚWIATOWE HITY OPERETKI, MUSICALU i PIOSENKI w SZAMPAŃSKIM NASTROJU z KANKANEM w TLE! Nie zabraknie specjalnych efektów i atrakcji sylwestrowych! Koncert odbywać się będzie we wspaniałej atmosferze i scenografii wiedeńskiego pałacu. Całości dopełni symfoniczna Orkiestra Filharmonii Śląskiej.
W PRZERWIE POCZĘSTUNEK! PRZEKĄSKI z TOASTEM!!!
Czas trwania – koncert z poczęstunkiem ok. 3,5 godz.

sylwestrowa gala gwiazd torwar bilety

Po sukcesach niezwykłych spotkań ze sztuką Brazylii, po odnalezieniu wspólnych korzeni z muzykami z Afryki, po ubiegłorocznym porozumieniu ponad podziałami gatunków wśród najwybitniejszych polskich artystów, BMW Jazz Club poszukuje kolejnych wyzwań i inspiracji.

Jest absolwentką Akademii Muzycznej w Warszawie w klasie fortepianu, studiowała też na wydziale jazzu w Manhattan School of Music w Nowym Jorku. Stypendystka warszawskiego Towarzystwa im. Fryderyka Chopina i nowojorskiego Columbia University.

W 1997 roku z piosenką Ale jestem reprezentowała Polskę w Konkursie Eurowizji, który odbył się w Dublinie. Zajęła 11 miejsce. Kilka miesięcy później ukazał się jej debiutancki album Ale jestem, który zdobył status złotej płyty.

W 2000 roku rozpoczęła karierę międzynarodową wydając płyty Barefoot (2000 r.) i Secret (2005 r.)

W 2002 roku nagrała płytę Upojenie ze światowej sławy amerykańskim gitarzystą Patem Methenym.

W urodziny wokalistki, 14 grudnia 2008 ukazało się wydawnictwo zatytułowane Dwa Serduszka Cztery Oczy, zawierające książkę, 88 fotografii oraz 3 płyty: ID, Jo&Co oraz płytę zatytułowaną Spoza zawierającą 14 niepublikowanych utworów. Wydawnictwo to ma być pożegnaniem z projektem ID i zapowiedzią dłuższej przerwy w nagrywaniu nowych płyt.

bilety na koncerty w gdańsku

Prywatnie jest żoną Marcina Kydryńskiego (od 31 stycznia 1998) i córką Stanisława Jopka, tenora Zespołu Pieśni i Tańca Mazowsze. Ma dwójkę dzieci: Franciszka (ur. 12 maja 1998) i Stanisława (ur. grudzień 2000).

anna maria jopek koncert gdańsk bilety

Katatonia – “Night Is The New Day”

A miało być tak pięknie… Mogłoby się wydawać, że trzy lata to wystarczający czas, by nagrać naprawdę dobrą płytę. Okazuje się jednak, że niekoniecznie. Szkoda tylko, że przydarzyło się to jednemu z moich ulubionych zespołów.

Inspiracje panowie Renske i Nystrom mają coraz lepsze, ale co z tego, skoro większość kawałków na “Night Is The New Day” to taka gorsza wersja stron B ich wcześniejszych singli? Gorzki i twardy cukierek w ładnym opakowaniu. Niby nazwa ta sama, ale gdzieś zniknęły chwytające za pikawę melodię. Owszem, smutek pozostał, ale obawiam się, że wynika on raczej z faktu, że musieli się bardzo spieszyć z zakończeniem pracy nad nowym krążkiem. Podobno naciskała wytwórnia, a Szwedzi nie potrafią pracować w nerwowej atmosferze. Na dodatek pojawiło się hasło “writer’s block“, co już nie wróżyło dobrze. W końcu co nagle, to po diable. Czyli w przypadku death metalu może przynieść złe (czytaj: dobre) efekty, ale już przy okazji “suicide rock”, jak nazywa się teraz muzykę Katatonii, raczej nie.

Dwie dobre piosenki na 12 (odpakowałem właśnie pięknie wydaną wersję w digibooku) to za mało. Nie przekonał mnie opethowy “Idle Blood”, udostępniony jako pierwszy “Forsaker”, ani promujący całość “Day And Then The Shade”. Powoli “chwytają” “Onward Into Battle” i “The Promise of Deceit”. Reszta? Wpada jednym uchem, wypada drugim. A w przypadku tego zespołu taka sytuacja jeszcze nigdy nie miała miejsca. Jestem już po dziesięciu przesłuchaniach. Do “The Great Cold Distance” wystarczyło pięć, ale tutaj nie ma utworów na miarę “Soil’s Song” czy nawet “My Twin”.

Żeby jednak nie popaść całkiem w minorowy ton: w kwietniu na dwa koncerty przyjeżdża do Polski Killing Joke!

091105 – Yesterday.

Seventh floor, somewhere in Chocolate City, just down the street from the Big White Building, where all the troubles of the world are born. Wringing an existence from this town means elevator speeches, and learning when to nod your head and just say “Yeah…”

Listening to: Clutch, Killing Joke and Nick Cave, amped off my face on a cup of heavy fuel – Colombian, black, two sugars.  Waiting for: assignment feedback.

My task, photograph a roomful sullen adults attending what must be the single most boring event on the planet; a teleconference, in which a wisened figure in enormous glasses drones on about contractual requirements, and the proper formating thereof: “Now when I… started doing this in nineteen seventy… five, we didn’t have… the same template… that you see on the screen.  We had something… different.”

I can geek out on most anything. Add this to my ‘except’ list.

I enter quietly and wait against the back wall, waiting, thinking it through.  How to shoot this? Low light, and the room looks empty, uninteresting.  Lining them up against a wall won’t work, and whatever interest they have in the subject matter must be preserved in order to look real.

The instructor calls for a break and I spring into action, explaining myself and my purpose as I begin rearranging some of the furniture, visually reducing the size of the room. Moving with certainty and speaking authoritatively will take you far in this world.

“Uh, excuse me? Why is this photo being taken?”  The demanding voice of dissent belonged to a dumpy, dour-faced thing toward the back, a half-empty bottle of Diet Product Placement on the table before her.

“Just doing my job, ma’am.”

“Well, I don’t want to be in it.”  Arms crossed over her chest, disapproval written across her forehead. Good luck, wild horses. “Why can’t you just do a group photo or have us stand in front of the screen?”

“That takes you out of context, ma’am.” We are nothing without our manners. Thumbs are good, too. “I was assigned to capture a certain shot a certain way. Putting you in front of the projector means you get a bright light in your eyes, resulting in an even funnier face.”  Oops. I’d taken my mouth off of the ’safety’ setting again.

“Who do you work for?” The rest of the room were subtly ignoring her, or helping me move furniture. I remained motionless, meeting the glare of her tired eyes. I could have been an ass about it, but I calmly fed her a string of department numbers, and name-dropped my supervisor, who sits pretty far up on the food chain.  I ended the sentence with “ma’am.”

“Well…” Her response was non-commital, as she thought this through. I hadn’t really won, and she hadn’t really lost. I got my shots, left.  The rest of the day crawled by like a bowl of unhappy oatmeal.

Last night: my train to Maryland smelled like a lion had taken a crap in the air ducts. I tried to picture this taking place.

Later, another coffee house, another page filled, another pen spitting its last.  The never-ending quest to capture the blitzkrieg butterfly of the brain. Feel the bright red burn of an idea, the resulting smell of smoke and burning tissue, the urge to capture a concept - seal it in a jar, paste it in a book, put it on display, cup it in the hands, take a picture of it, sketch it in pen: “There is something else in here with me, something staring back from behind the curtain!”

Listening to an older couple discuss the unsexy mechanics of relationships: household chores, bank accounts, wills.  Use the following words in a sentence to your loved one: “Well, when you die…”

Watching a new relationship take hold and bloom is like watching two massive spherical computers, each bristling with spikes and amature.  At the end of those arms are various ports and devices; plugs, nodes, hardware, software.  These represent likes and dislikes, concerns, needs, skills, and must-haves:

“Does your port/need #11,345 mesh with my port/need 12,345?  If  it’s at least a v.2, we can discuss. If not, it’s a mark against. Conversely, I shall strive to meet your expectation for cleanliness, #556.  My own port is a #400 series, but I make up for it with my grandmother’s recipes, represented here by nodes #223 – 470.”  The sound of servos whirring, sphere rotating on their X,Y in an effort to be compatible.

“Reptiles. Yeah, now see, they’ve got scales and stuff. They have their babies in eggs.  Sure, like birds. Now mammals, they have their babies live, kicking and screaming, already worrying about college, playground heartbreak, and the child’s 21st birthday hangover. Do alien species ever have to sweat this kind of shit? ‘Dragnor supped of the brew of the Lathgor, and suffered from an excess of chuth’lah.’”

There will be sandwiches,

This is my first post on downloads – these are going to be songs that you need to add to your collection immediately. Not all of them are new – some of the are forgotten classics. My goal is to broaden your horizons in music and help you to engulf yourself in sound from today all the way back to 1950. Get ready for a cultural experience and get ready to enjoy some great jams. I will be doing this everyday so I hope you keep checking back for some “daily downloads”. Five a day will help you play so do what I say and follow my way. Belong are some songs that will blow you away.

John Mayer – Who Says: “Who says I can’t get stoned” are the first words in the song. John Mayer has come a long way since “Your body is a Wonderland” and he continues to grow as an artist. This is such a great jam about being who you want to be and the more I listen to his new music the more I’m impressed. His next CD, “Battle Studies” is set to be released on November 17th. I wouldn’t be shocked if this turns out to be his best work yet.

Killing Joke – The Death & Resurrection Show: Who knows where this song came from. I don’t like most of the stuff that Killing Joke has produced but this song is a huge exception. Dave Grohl plays drums on this battle anthem and it is well worth your time. I can’t really say you should go out and download a lot by Killing Joke, but I recommend the album this song was released on, Killing Joke (2003).

Black Eyed Peas & Papa Roach – Anxiety: Another group that I’m not a huge fan of [of course Will-I-AM is one of the best producers out there] and Will-I-Am does shine here. The song was released on “Elephunk” which i think can be avoided but no collection should be missing this song.

Tom Waits – Get Behind The Mule: Ok, this is a little bit weirder than  what most of you will really connect with but Tom Waits has such an original sound that I feel everyone should have some of his music on their computer. A little bluesy, a little rough and a little raw. It’s one of my favorite songs by him and so, naturally, I feel you should check it out.

Micheal Buble – Cry Me A River: A little unexpected I know. Buble has continued to prove he has one of the best voices in the industry and the “New Age Sinatra” dazzles on this cover. While I agree that it would be nice to hear some original material I really enjoyed his version of this song. It sounds a lot like a James Bond theme song.

Band adatta al clima vagamente rabbioso del mio stato attuale, gruppo a cui NIN e System of a Down devono tutto o quasi.

I had mentioned in passing that my Joker collection had already outgrown it’s space again well I moved it again last night. The worst part is this isn’t even all of it (I own more Joker figures they just haven’t all found their way downstairs yet ^^;) and there is more on the way. Not to mention I have figures of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy still floating around the apartment.

The comics in the shelf are the “read stack” I have another pile next to be bed just as large that is the “to be read stack”.

Looking at this you would think I only like the Nolan- version of Joker but that is really not the case, I love basically all versions of Joker but there just happens to be a lot more Dark Knight-centric merchandise available right now and since I didn’t really start collecting until this year most of my merchandise is Dark Knight-centric. I did get the lego Harley Quinn kit as a Christmas gift last year but I believe all the other stuff was acquired this year.

Last week I was doing a talk at a conference at Leeds University about Post Punk.

It was an interesting event and made more interesting by the fact that post punk has become a thing, a scene, and a definable set of rules to be picked over years later by academics.

I guess it was Simon Reynolds excellent book that started this. It was great that he pushed the spotlight onto the insane activity that poured out of the breach created by punk rock- the DIY labels, fanzines and bands that were re-writing music on their own terms.

The only problem is that it has made a scene that had no rules and no boundaries become very linear. Post punk has become fashionable in the past few years but it has become narrowed down to the Gang Of Four and The Fall and maybe A Certain Ratio when someone feels a little but funky. I don’t remember it that way. I remember a blurring of boundaries after punk with a simultaneous leap into the future and a re-affirmation of the past as the shackles of the punk rock Year Zero were thrown away. And whilst the aforementioned bands were key bands of the period there was also great music getting made by Killing Joke and Bauhaus and other bands who have been lumped in with the Goth scene.

It may not fit into the newly neat narrative but the so called Goth scene was equally innovative with both Killing Joke and Bauhaus incorporating dub into glam and tribal musics and creating whole new soundscapes.

The early Adam And the Ants were also making some strange and unsettling music and I’ve often wondered if these bands were a bit too strange and in some cases a bit too pretty with a touch or eye liner (or in the case of Killing Joke – dark and ugly with manic face paint) to be taken seriously by the lumpy academic brigade.

It’s a curious fact of rock history that the journalists will always put the bands that look like them on the pedestal and write the other ones out of history. At the time most people I knew seemed to be thrilled by both types of bands and few saw it as separate scenes- the battle lines were drawn up later and the so called Goth bands were annoyingly written out of history even though their influence has been far bigger.

Personally I don’t care that much I have all the records but I often wonder when I look out at the students learning about this fantastic musical time when there were no rules and hope that they are not being short changed by the revised histories of those times.

Si los Killing Joke tienen algo parecido a un “himno” , igual hasta es esta maravilla.

Although this event has been running for 15 years, this was my first time attending….and how I regret not having gone before.

OK, for the Punk purist its probably too commercial/popular/wrong crowd but for those of us who are nearing 50, love the music, the atmosphere, the seaside and the beer – it was amazing. I got to see some great bands that I would otherwise never have heard of, met some heroes and felt at home.

Charlie loves the Shirt

Thanks for the cheesy photo opportunity to Charlie and the Captain.

My brief review of what I saw, and remember, is as follows, (its my opinion which means it doesn’t have to comply with anyone else’s).

Thursday – Drove up from Southampton in time to catch Geoffrey Oicott – the only band I know that can make cricket seem interesting – hilarious. Max Splodge was value for money in the Acoustic bar and in the Ballroom for Cute Lepers – crap, Blood or Whiskey and Flogging Molly – great performances but I’m not really into Irish Rebel music even if it is played at 100mph. Highlight of the day for me though was Outl4w. Probably my age, but they looked about 12 but made the noise I was there for…fantastic energy, got the crowd going and left the ears ringing. I think they should have been in the Ballroom rather than the Arena…they deserved a bigger audience.

Friday – Best day of the weekend, managed to catch the whole of Bad Town (Kiwi Ska/Punk), Septic Psychos, Sensa Yuma, Demob – last ever gig, and the Subhumans – fantastic performance from Dick and the boys. Also managed to see bits of The Crack, SNFU, The Business, Drongo’s for Europe (superb), Splodge, Lurkers, Sick on the Bus, Vice Squad, The Exploited and the Damned. (Hugely disappointed with Dave Vanians vocals. I believe Brian James described his version of New Rose as an attempt to be Frank Sinatra. I agree – shit). Act that shouldn’t have been there – Adrian Edmunson and the Bad Shepherds….what is that all about? Best act of the day goes to another band that should have played the Ballroom – the Restarts, fuckin ace.

The Captain says Hello

Saturday – Started with Urban Scum, fantastic band and also caught full performances from Citizen Fish, Goldblade, The Freeze, Anti-Nowhere League…is it me or does the Hoff front them now? Caught bits of Newtown Nuerotics, the Freeze, Last Resort, Riot Squad. Biggest disappointment – The Adicts. Band of the Day and in fact the weekend for me, The Rabble. Great set, great attitude, great atmosphere. Put them in the same venue as the Restarts and Outl4w…they are better than a sideshow act.

Sunday – Saw all of Gimp Fist, Dirty Revolution (Ska/Reggae – brilliant), the Dickies, Leftover Crack. Caught bits of Middle Finger Salute, Killing Joke, (boring), King Blues (why?), UK Decay, Chron Gen, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Charred Hearts. Band of the day – The Stupids…clearly didn’t give a fuck but made a fantastic noise. I’ve already booked my B&B for next year….can’t wait.

The Dark Knight Returns y The Dark Knight Strikes Again, escritas por Frank Miller, han sido catalogada por la crítica y el público como la mejor saga de la historia de Batman.

Razones sobran y la mera mención de Frank Miller debiera bastar para dar una idea de la orientación que tomó el hombre murciélago a partir de esta saga. Fue Miller junto a Alan Moore y Dave Gibbons (Watchmen) quienes le dieron un giro mucho más maduro a la historia de los comics de superheroes y su legado ha gestado las historias más interesantes y más ricas del género.

The Dark Knight Returns muestra por primera vez a un Bruce Wayne avejentado y obsesivo, una evolución natural de sus traumas psicológicos, que debe volver a ponerse el traje del murciélago y luchar contra el mismo gobierno de estados unidos y su perro guardián por excelencia, Superman. El desenlace de esta extraordinaria historia es verdaderamente épico y su influencia en el género del comic, extraordinariamente amplia.

La intensidad de esta historia daría pie a la adaptación cinematográfica más interesante en cuanto a superheroes se refiere. El Batman de Christopher Nolan está ampliamente basado en el Batman que mostró el 86 Frank Miller en esta saga.

Por primera vez en formato de lujo, con tapa dura y material extra, Absolute Batman: The Dark Knight recopila el trabajo de Frank Miller y lo pone a disposición de fanáticos y coleccionistas.

The Absolute Batman: The Dark Knight, Edición de Lujo, tapa dura, papel de alta calidad, material extra. $52.000.-

DC Comics se ha empeñado en entregar no sólo ediciones de colores remozados y papel de alta calidad sino también de incluir material adicional de alto interés. En esta edición de Absolute Batman se incluyen bosquejos del cómic original y una introducción por Frank Miller.

Otros comics importantes en la historia de Batman tambien se encuentran en ediciones especiales, de lujo y con tapa dura.

"Absolute Batman: Long Halloween", edicion de lujo de la saga autoria de Jeph Loeb y Tim Sale, $42.000.-

Batman: The Killing Joke, Tapa Dura, $16.000.-

Batman: The Killing Joke, escrita por Alan Moore, narra una batalla psicológica entre Batman y su archirival The Joker. Es un clásico inmortal en la historia de los comics y posiblemente el más codiciado por los seguidores de las aventuras de Batman. Esta es la edición de lujo que cuenta con tapa dura y papel de alta calidad.

The Joker, por Brian Azarello. Edición tapa dura. $17.000.-

Brian Azarello, elogiado creador de 100 Bullets, le da una noche de libertad en Ciudad Gotica al más peligroso de los psicopatas del universo Batman. Una historia cruda y violenta que nos da un paseo por las excentricidades y crueldad del villano, mientras busca recuperar los bienes arrebatados por El Pinguino, Dos Caras, El Acertijo y otros.

Batman: Arkham Asylum, por Grant Morrison y Dave Mckean. $16.000.-

En Arkham Asylum están encerrados los psicópatas más peligrosos de Ciudad Gótica. Batman tendrá que internarse en un edificio lleno de sus peores enemigos y a la vez librar una batalla psicológica contra sus propios temores. Escrita por Grant Morrison e ilustrada por Dave McKean.

Recuerda que podemos traerte cualquier cómic y libro de colección que no puedas encontrar en Chile. Si te interesa consultar por alguno escribenos a kthulu.shop@gmail.com.

Cheers!

6 minutes and 57 seconds of sheer insanity.

Holy Bejezus, I LOVE THIS SONG!

Tydzień temu odszedł John Hughes, co w polskich mediach przeszło niemal bez echa, w Stanach natomiast niemal każdy dorastający w latach 80. osobnik poczuł się trochę osierocony.

Hughes, reżyser i scenarzysta, który stał się ojcem kina nastoletniego niepokoju lat 80., jak nikt inny ukazywał młodzieńcze lęki i obawy, zgrabnie balansując pomiędzy patosem a farsą i uzupełniając swoje filmy piosenkami, których tekst był swoistym aneksem do obrazu.

John Hughes z aktorami z “The Breakfast Club“

Ścieżki dźwiękowe ilustrujące jego filmy są ucztą samą w sobie – Hughes jak mało kto miał dar do wybierania kawałków ówczesnej alternatywy muzycznej nonszalancko zestawiając je z popowym mainstreamem. I tak w jego filmach obok siebie znalazły się utwory The Smiths i Kajagoogoo, Simple Minds i Nik Kershaw, Killing Joke i Wham, Echo&The Bunnymen i Los Lobos.

Dla wielu dzisiejszych trzydziesto-paro latków The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off czy Sixteen Candles pozostały ich pokoleniowymi portretami, które nadal wiele mówią o nich samych i latach, w których przyszło im podejmować życiowe wybory.

by:  Maria Durska 2009

En este episodio hablamos exclusivamente sobre bandas de la discografica MeteorCity. Oiréis temas completos de los siguientes grupos:

Snail
Elder
Eighteen Wheels Burning
Flood
Leeches Of Lore
Black Pyramid
Farflung
New Keepers of the Water Tower

También hablamos sobre los siguientes grupos:

Corrosion of Conformity, Killing Joke, Hawkwind, Monster Magnet, CKY, Stoner Rock, Space Rock, Doom Metal, MeteorCity, www.meteorcity.com

El podcast se puede descargar en formato que prefiere desde aquí:

O escucha online aquí:

In amongst the invariably heavy, variably mundane metal, mud and Monster energy drinks lies the overblown majesty of Knebworth House and its legendary surrounding fields where this weekend, the likes of Metallica, Linkin Park and Nine Inch Nails join the ephemeral ranks of Led Zeppelin, Queen and um Robbie Williams amongst those to have rocked the stately home. Bizarrely, where the turn of the new Millennium marked the resurgence of Nu-metal, infusing Hip-Hop with drop-D master classes before regurgitating musings bereft of meaning over the top, a genre which has since become almost entirely obsolete occupies prime position for the weekend’s Apollo Stage onslaught.

Not all that indebted to Zack de la Rocha’s anti-corporate nude activist statements are Alien Ant Farm. Essentially one-hit wonders with a hit they in fact owe credit and the entailed royalties to the late, great MJ, they too appeared to sink without trace like Bud Light at a frat party. Tearing and gurning their way through ancient hard-hitters Movies and of course the aforementioned Smooth Criminal, Dryden Mitchell’s outdated but never outgunned whine is a nostalgia trip back into adolescent angst that’s about as welcome as a shower. Next stop: Spotify scouring. Rewinding a fair few years further are Björn Again, playing their four thousand and first show in perhaps the shock slot of the weekend. Taking to the somewhat subdued, sun-drenched Saturn Stage their impeccable musicianship, choreographed-within-an-inch-of-its-life routine and Enter Sandman cover give the heftiest of hell raising guitar slingers a run for their money. Secret sing-alongs and guilty pleasures well and truly unearthed, the likes of opener Waterloo, reinvigorated Mamma Mia and the 80s electro thunder of Gimme Gimme Gimme throw up an early show-stealer from the prime purveyors of validated impersonation. Who needs an ABBA reunion these days?

Playing at the heart of a Jagermeister truck and later in the eye of the storming crowd, Watford scamps Blackhole thrill a modest mound of revellers with their brand of suburban screamo. Front man Rich Carter may well have bro Frank hanging from the Gallows if they carry on ripping grass and hair out of festival circuits with such visceral enthrallment. Coheed & Cambria ought to be penning the next saga to their apocalyptic comic book wizardry on the Apollo Stage right about now although they’re stranded on a ferry. When they do finally burst through Sonisphere’s heralded gates of steel, they gaze out onto a humid full house within the Bohemia tent. Opening with juggernaut Welcome Home, perhaps they required another ferry to carry their monstrous metal across to Blighty from wherever it was they got stuck in the mud. Up next, Ten Speed pretty much cements such a theory before monotony begins to set in amongst Iron Maiden covers and outstayed, ongoing guitar solos as the foundations crumble and a watered-down Blood Red Summer winds up the disappointment of all that could have been.

Overblown but far from outstayed are Californian Nu-metal megastars Linkin Park, whirring through an elated hour of jilted scratches, cracked violin screeches and blasts from the past with as much throwback impact as 10p liquorice and Space Invaders. From the bombasts of Numb, Bleed It Out and What I’ve Done to the beautifully basic balladry of Breaking the Habit, they’re faultless. Up until front man Chester Bennington quenches his urge to let solo project Dead by Sunrise loose, at which point the crowd duly disperses. The ‘Park eventually return to belt out Transformers thrasher New Divide as well as a beefed-up re-run of One Step Closer. Whether Metallica will favour their subtle set or flame throw and melt the Knebworth sky only time will tell although as the festival’s house band, what’s the likelihood of the princes of ironic heavy metal renouncing their crown that easily?

Far less certain is the extent to which Killing Joke have in fact become a jovial parody of themselves. Adorned in Polartech sweat shirts, every wonky electro metal gem churns gracefully, from the Robert Smith swagger of Love Like Blood to the gritty howls of Requiem. Undoubtedly out of this world both mentally and musically. Equally barking are Atlanta, Georgia’s mythic enthusiasts Mastodon. Opening with the most breathtakingly twisted kaleidoscopic metallic anthem this side of dodgems and ferris wheels, twin guitars and synchronised shrieks offer the perfect respite to the often turgid arthritis-inducing desert composed of Jackson guitars and Mesa Boogie amplifiers. Over in Bohemia, Slipknot’s Corey Taylor has rammed the tent to the rafters, with lines of hoodie-clad devotees swarming around its innumerable entrances. Unfortunately, masks aside Taylor’s pathless acoustic meanderings infuriate rather than soothe battered ear drums. Bridging the gaping black hole between metal and the mainstream alongside The Prodigy and Pendulum (both can be previewed blaring out of every tent and iPod over the weekend) are Grant Nicholas’ Feeder who attract melancholic mellowers with a lethargic set littered with quintessential British indie linchpins Seven Days in the Sun and Buck Rogers. Some things are destined never to change. Further proof required? Look no further than Fred Durst’s Limp Bizkit; having lost out on court cases to NIN having seen his deprecation of Reznor’s Closer, Hot Dog, sued to breaking point and forced Machine Head to reconsider their Sonisphere appearance, Durst’s still the immature imbecile he never disproved himself to be. Stomping across the colossal Apollo stage like a chimp in a baseball cap, he throws himself onto guitarist Wes Borland who, for some unknown reason, is splattered with talcum powder as he distorts his way through the lost trash of My Generation, My Way and every other apathetically hopeless rap-metal horror they’ve ever spawned. Durst’s vocabulary could still fit on the back of a postage stamp as he vulgarly spits and swears his way through a hideous hour of disaffected dread. The only vaguely significant altercation to his ignorance is his seeming desire to build bridges burned at a time when he could afford a beer, a luxury he now allegedly lacks, by praising Machine Head as they “don’t give a fuck and their shit‘s harder than a motherfucker” and Nine Inch Nails for inspiring the work of his soggier-than-ever Limp Bizkit. Trent Reznor watches through aviators stage right planning his razor-edged vengeance and whilst Borland’s dressed up as the Joker, the real clown of this show is Durst. At least Jacksonville must be delighted to have offloaded the village’s idiot…

What with Sonisphere marking the beginning of what’s set to be a two-year hiatus for Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails, they’d bow out with a rollickingly rocking greatest hits set, wouldn’t they? After all, this is the man that once demanded animalesque fornication whilst feeling from the inside and backed up Nietzsche by proclaiming the death of God. Yet sandwiched in between nemesis Durst and Hetfield’s impending onslaught and final hurrah of the best new festival to grace this year’s circuit, Reznor serves up quite the opposite: a delicate, touching farewell to entice the tears out as the sun sets on the horizon. Throughout the Wave Goodbye tour he’d promised to lace his subdued sets with fan favourites, ditching the glitz and glamour of previous light shows only to replace them with the sheer raw charm that began to drill his nails into hearts and minds two decades ago. As the hospital electronics of Wish kick in, he flicks a glimpse into all that could have been were we to experience the expected yet the ambulances swerve off course, taking us away into a vague land of genuine ambient genius. Reznor seemingly pained and emotionally imbalanced, the hauntingly vacuous piano opening of Something I Can Never Have makes NIN seem about as out of place on the running order as Fred Durst in a graduation gown, before the beautiful lilt of The Frail swathes headlong into a brutal Kalimba-led enhancement of The Wretched. It may not have turned out the way you wanted it to but by God, Hurt provides the climax to the closest an hour can humanly come to musical perfection.

All that remains is for Metallica to rip open the cellophane to the fireworks and fulfil expectations, hopes and dreams, shredding through unfathomably ideal heavy metal that every (Rock)band has covered all weekend long, from Master of Puppets to One and then on to Nothing Else Matters and Enter Sandman. Nine Inch Nails did everything to demonstrate how alive and well the beating heart to the heavier end of the musical spectrum is and whilst NME may veer a few thousand miles clear of it, Sonisphere can be sure of injecting itself into its coursing veins.

isn’t she pretty in pink?  well isn’t she?

john hughes is dead.  not the kinda thing i’d usually mention.  he did direct probably steve martins last decent film.  he did get molly ringwald to flash her panties.  musically speaking hugheses films totally turned me off simple minds and totally turned me on to psychedelic furs.  good things i think for an impressionable youngster.

i have a france-like love/hate relationship with the eighties.  i essentially am a child of the much (and often unfairly) maligned decade.  ten years of synths and coke and artificiality and cheap money nastiness and thatcher and reagan we’re told by professional mong paul ross and assorted fucking celeb nothings on tv space fillers.  but ’twas the decade of ugly rock and big black and killdozer touch and go.  when eddie murphy was good.  beverly hills cop and predator and stallone on vhs.  jim belushi was burning brightly.  video game arcades on every street corner.  alan moore for fucks sake.

and for a change there’s a fairly decent article in the wire this month (from keenan) about his made-up musical genre hypnagogic pop.  essentially psyche noise informed by eighties fantasy.  the whole skaters (and their numerous offshoots), ducktails, pocahaunted thang.  for once i was ahead of the curve.  been pimping john carpenters soundtracks long before these punk pups came along.

so this is a mess of that and hughes and eighties and soundtrack shit.  i’m tired.  there’s no coherency anymore.  the story serves only to further the narrative.

1. the vaselines: mollys lips
2. ben tramer: halloween theme
3. the crests: sixteen candles
4. ducktails: beach point pleasant
5. gary war: for cobra
6. james ferraro: untitled
7. killing joke: eighties
8. neil young: the round stones beneath the earth
9. psychedelic furs: pretty in pink
10. ray parker jr: ghostbusters

R.I.P. John Hughes

As I’m sure many of you are already aware, classic 80s movie director & producer John Hughes passed away today. It is such a sad day for us 80s kids who grew up watching such classic films as The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Uncle Buck (to name only a few). These are movies that literally defined a generation!

The soundtracks to these teen flicks were also classic. In fact, I can’t NOT think of his movies when I hear these great songs…

“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds (The Breakfast Club)

“If You Leave” by OMD (Pretty in Pink)

“Weird Science” by Oingo Boingo (Weird Science)

“Eighties” by Killing Joke (Weird Science)

“Love Missile F1-11″ by Sigue Sigue Sputnik (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

“Oh Yeah” by Yello (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

“Wild Thing” by Tone Loc (Uncle Buck)

(And yes, I did, and still do, like Tone Loc!)

Thank you John Hughes… for the movies and the memories.

You will be missed.

From the shows in NYC and Chicago in October of 2008. If you’ve been to a KJ show, then you’ll understand how these “mistakes” actually embody the energy of the gatherings. A cathartic melange of exorcism via music.