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‘Holland is a land of wooden shoes, windmills, and tulips. Famous paintings and music have come from this land and it played a role in the field of World War II. If you think of the Netherlands at all you likely never express fear of the land, people or symbols of this European nation. But for some the fear known as Dutchphobia is a real and present worry.
‘What Causes Dutchphobia? The question itself seems almost strange. Why does anyone fear someone from another culture? The feelings can be personal. For example they might have experienced issues with someone of Dutch descent that caused them to fear. I suppose the fear could be related to World War II, but in most cases the fear of any culture is lodged in a lack of understanding about the culture.
‘This may include language barriers, regional customs, music, history or even location. The fear can be derived from the input (intentional or otherwise) of someone in your past. A family member may have routinely said they mistrusted a neighbor of Dutch descent. While you never knew why they weren’t trusted you may have concluded they weren’t to be trusted. That mindset can lead to a lifetime of fear. As with most phobias the easiest ‘out’ is to simply avoid that which you fear. In the case of all things Dutch they can be somewhat easier to avoid than more common fears such as spiders, mice or dogs.
‘When phobic individuals can take the time to rationally explore the potential of understanding the object of their fears they may be able to see a phobic response isn’t really required. Knowledge is powerful in turning fear, but there may need to be a therapist who can help turn the fear. This is true because the brain of a phobic is wired to always respond emotionally to the object of their fear. If it can be retrained to consider the object rationally then at the very least the intensity of the fear may be greatly reduced.’ — Fear of Stuff
________
Cinderella
‘Cinderella was a Dutch psychedelic band who only released one single “From town to town” during their brief existence. The mostly female members came from different places in Holland like Zaandam, Oegstgeest and the Hague. On this single, they were backed up by the boys of the band Blue Planet. A tape of other Cinderella recordings were discovered in the late 90s, and bootleg editions of these recordings have gained the group a cult following among connoisseurs of psychedelic rock’. — psychedelicfolk.com
‘From Town to Town’ (1973)
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Group 1850
‘Group 1850 is an interesting, if sometimes exasperating, late-’60s Dutch band who ranks among the most accomplished and original Continental rock acts of the era, though they made little impression in English-speaking territories. Starting as a more or less conventional beat band in the mid-’60s, they had taken a turn for the more psychedelic and bizarre by 1967. Determined to drive into the heart of the psychedelic beast, their songs (performed in English) are quite eclectic for the era, shifting from doom-laden tempos with growling vocals to sunny, utopian passages with breezy harmonies. Agemo’s Trip to Mother Earth was one of the most ambitious psychedelic albums to emerge from continental Europe in the late ’60s. The LP’s nominal concept was, like many early such endeavors, obscure, involving something like the journey of Agemo from a paradise-like planet to the more chaotic imperfection of Earth.’ — Mesmirization
‘live’ on TV (1975)
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Luv’
‘In 1976, record producers, Hans van Hemert and Piet Souer, and manager Han Meijer, twenty years before the Spice Girls phenomenon, decided to form a girl group, inspired by the German disco trio Silver Convention. They had already recorded the music of a self-penned track (“My Man”) and were looking for singers. They recruited three women: José Hoebee, Marga Scheide, and Patty Brard. They scored a string of hit records in Continental Europe (Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Denmark) as well as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada
and Mexico in the late 1970s and early 1980s.’ — Wiki
‘My Man’ (1978)
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Tedje en de Flikkers
‘Tedje en de Flikkers, a group of homosexuals (“flikkers” is Dutch for “faggots”) from Nijmegen, was one of the most infamous punk formation of the Netherlands. They sprang from the left wing and gay movements that thrived in Nijmegen during the 70s and 80s. Their provocative performances (politically more than musically) often literally resulted in orgies of sex, drugs and noise. They existed only for three years (1977–1980).’ — Wiki
‘Van Agt’ (1979)
_____
The Ex
‘The Ex are an anarchist band from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. They formed in 1979 at the height of the original punk explosion and have released nearly twenty full-length albums since, making them one of the longest-lived and most influential punk bands (along with The Fall) still in existence. They are known and respected worldwide for their longevity, their explosive, energetic live shows and their political edge.’ — lastfm
‘Money’ (1980)
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Golden Strings
‘Golden Strings are an obscure Dutch band from the early 80’s from the city of Maastricht.’ — Wiki
‘Everybody Else’ (1982)
___________
Clan of Xymox
‘Clan of Xymox have been in the unfortunate position of always being compared to other bands since their inception. Whether it’s the Cure or Joy Division, Clan of Xymox have never been able to shake off the similarities to their influences. Nevertheless, the group has produced an impressive body of work that consistently absorbed new sounds while remaining faithful to the ’80s goth rock menu. The band’s presence on Dead Can Dance’s U.K. tour caught the interest of 4AD Records, and the label eventually signed them. Since the late 1980s, the band has changed labels, line-ups and names many times.’ — 4ad
‘A Day’ (1985)
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Psychick Warriors ov Gaia
‘Just as lighthearted ambient house began to hit the mainstream in the early ’90s, Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia foreshadowed a move to sinister downtempo music, more influenced by Coil and Psychic TV than the Orb. The Dutch group’s shadowy nature and lack of connection to the close-knit dance community mystified some (their live shows were often performed behind large screens), but the band’s sound — organic tribal-trance with an understated use of samples — became quite influential, as many groups mirrored the move to darker rhythms later in the decade.’ — fusionanomaly.net
‘Exit 23’ (1991)
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Bettie Serveert
‘Although they didn’t cross over into the mainstream the way some of their peers did, Holland’s Bettie Serveert became significant college radio stars during the ’90s with their jangly, sweetly melodic, at times surprisingly muscular guitar pop. The band’s sound was familiar, even archetypal, yet with its own distinct flavor that suggested any number of reference points and made exact comparisons elusive. Much of Bettie Serveert’s reputation rested on their 1992 debut, Palomine, and even though critical opinion of their subsequent work was divided, they continued to maintain a cult audience through the decade.’ — allmusic
‘Tom Boy’ (1992)
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Speedy J
‘Speedy J (real name Jochem Paap) is a Dutch techno producer based in the city of Rotterdam. Speedy J is unanimously considered to be one of the first techno producers to come from the Benelux. Together with people like Laurent Garnier, Aphex Twin and Richie Hawtin he helped raising the genre just after it had escaped the Detroit delivery room. Since the early nineties, Speedy J releases on labels like Plus 8, Warp and Novamute. The sound wizard exchanges flowing, harmonious techno for a much more complex sound, filled with colliding samples, crackling rhythms and tremendously thrilling turns.’ — lastfm
‘Ping Pong’ (1995)
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Altar
‘With the release of their demo-tape And God Created Satan To Blame For His Mistakes back in 1992, the band started to become well-known in the death metal underground scene. It sold worldwide very well and soon every insider had heard of the brutal music and message ALTAR tried to spread. Five young guys with the same musical interest and all grown up in a small-town christian society, they wanted to destroy the laws of their boring surroundings with the loudest statements ever! Dutch label Displeased Records dared to come closer and signed the band. The first real ALTAR-album Youth Against Christ released in 1994 hit the scene with a shock. The intense brutality on this album got great reviews everywhere; it even went into the Dutch alternative charts. ALTAR built up an infamous live reputation and in several cities their shows got cancelled because christian politicians were afraid to burn their asses.’ — Tartarean Desire
‘God Damn You’ (1999)
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Rotterdam Terror Corps
‘Rotterdam Terror Corps is
a Dutch gabber group formed in 1993 that is known for its very hard beats and is considered by many to be a pioneer of the genre. Rotterdam Terror Corps was the dark answer to a shiny, happy rave scene. Their white skull logo has a 99,5 % recognition factor in the harder dance scene worldwide and through the years hundreds of thousands enjoyed the music, the live act and everything RTC stands for…. Real hardcore no bullshit and still kicking ass around the globe.’ — The Pirate Bay
‘Unleash Hell’ (2002)
_________
Deinonychus
‘Deinonychus (pronounced die-NON-ee-kus) is Greek for “terrible claw”, and is a dinosaur. Deinonychus were rumored to be a nazi band after the release of their Warfare Machines album, which deals heavily with themes of World War II. However, the band members have denounced such claims. Deinonychus is not connected to NS ideologies in any case. Deinonychus started off as a black metal band in the autumn of 1992 in Brunssum, Netherlands. Over the years, Deinonychus established themselves as a doom metal/dark metal band with as main ingredient; melancholy. The lyrics mainly deal with pain, sorrow, stress, misery, and death. Deinonychus split up in 2008 but reformed to record another album in 2011.’ — Encyclopaedia Metallum
‘To Diagnose The Fortunes Of Paranoia Consuming Consciousness And Sanity’ (2004)
____
Adept
‘Holy shit, these guys were awesome. While I’m at pains to describe what five minutes of hyper-low end bass saw-toothing along to two bars of industrial drum machine beats looped indefinitely can do for your sinuses, what I really loved about this band was the temper tantrums they threw to end each song. People can throw the terms “primal” and “rabid” around, but these breakdowns were more “short bus retarded,” and that was what made Adept one of the funniest bands I’ve ever seen.’ — Impose Magazine
‘live’ (2007)
__
zZz
‘zZz is a Dutch band from Amsterdam, founded in 2001, formed by Björn Ottenheim and Daan Schinkel. On their first album, the instruments of the band only consisted of an organ and a drumkit. They have since incorporated other electronic and live elements into their sound. In 2007, they opened the exhibition Nederclips in Stedelijk Museum ‘s-Hertogenbosch SM’s by recording a video for the track “Grip”, with producer Roel Wouters, for a live Audience. “zZz is playing: Grip” has been screened at festivals all over the world.’ — Excelsior Recordings
‘zZz is playing: Grip’ (2007)
__________
Yuri Landman
‘Yuri Landman started as a comic book artist. In 2000 he formed the noise band Avec Aisance (aka Avec-A) with drummer/producer Valentijn Höllander and released a CD, Vivre dans l’aisance in 2004. Since quitting Avec-A in 2006, he has focused mainly on instrument building. Landman is musically untrained and cannot play chords. While with Avec-A, Landman began creating and building several experimental string instruments, including electric zithers, electric Cymbalum, and electric Koto. Most of them are not regular instruments, but look more like multi-string crossbows and their sounds derive from string resonance, microtonality and overtoning spectra based on the no wave aesthetics of Glenn Branca and the microtonal consonant theory developed by Harry Partch. He has made experimental electric string instruments for many artists including Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Liars, Jad Fair of Half Japanese and Liam Finn.’ — Consequence of Sound
Yuri Landman & Le KRRGHH live at the Gideon Festival (2010)
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*
p.s. Hey. Oh, if anyone is reading this in Paris, I want to give an alert about a recommended reading event happening here tomorrow, the 5th, at the great literary event space Storie in Montparnasse. Specifically, the author Gerry Hadden will be doing a reading and presentation re: his memoir ‘Never the Hope Itself’, which details his time as NPR’s correspondent for Latin America and Haiti over five years. It’s a pretty terrific book, and the event itself should be very good. Here’s the info you need. ** David Ehrenstein, Hey. Yeah, I figured you knew Boy Culture well. I think I had a brain scramble. ** Kyler, Hi there! How are you doing? I don’t know that Richard Mason book, no, but it does look very interesting, and I’ll investigate it further thank you! ** Cobalt91, Hi. That new piece you’re working sounds really interesting. ‘Experiment with obsessive structure’ are magic words to my ears. And the novel you’re working on sounds extremely up my alley too. Very cool. The third person is really tricky, or I think so. I mean, it’s the go-to voice for the great majority of fiction writers, but I’ve always felt like it needed to be bombarded by the first person and other stuff to keep it awake or something. I’ve ended up working exclusively if really variously with the first person ever since I finished the Cycle. For some reason, it seems to have so much more room within it in which to work, and I feel like you can shift and fluctuate tone and distance so much more easily and maybe effectively there. I’m curious to see what you do with that third person voice. I’m trying to mess around with one right now re: something new, and it still feels like I’m playing with a rock or something. I love hearing about your work and how you work. Thanks! ** Bernard Welt, Hi, B. We’re only in Strasbourg for two full days, and I think we’re going to use one day up by taking a shuttle tour of the villages and castles and wineries and stuff in the surrounding area, so I figure we’ll just do the medieval area — the hotel we’re staying in was built in 1560, and is pretty amazing looking in photos at least — see the famous cathedral, blah blah. Thanks for the tips, man. ** Paul Curran, Thank you, Paul. All great about you novel. Yeah, of course, I’ve been aching to read that thing for what feels like forever. ** Alan, Hey. You think it’s sad? I guess I think of the apartment not really as a tomb but more as a personalized perfect eternal space for himself, and I find that idea kind of really dreamy. And, with the photos, since he shot them himself, I have this idea that they’re probably layered wi
th private levels of fetishization and obsession and consequent meaning that no one else but him could see. ** Sypha, I like how you’re very loyal to your favorite bands. I think I’m more of a hard ass with mine. Shape up or ship out, and that sort of thing. ** MVdA, I’m glad you thought the post was okay. Oh, right, you haven’t been there, I remember that now. Anyway, thank you again for the turn-on. I hope your project and book are going really well. ** L@rstonovich, Thanks a bunch, man. Aw, for some reason it does my heart good to hear that you returned to the airwaves, even as a guest-pilot. Well, I guess the reason isn’t so mystifying. Naturally, I’ll be listening to that podcast imminently. And your cheery tone when talking your writing and painting makes me very happy. Yes! Everyone, d.l. L@rstonovich is a d.l./artist of many talents, as I believe you know. One of them used to be DJ back when he did the late, lamented radio show Skullcrushing Hummingbird, and now he has briefly returned to the airwaves to guest spin on DJ Sonik Attack’s show, and you can hear the result sans any problem whatsoever, and I suggest you do that, and here’s where. ** Popzeus, Hi Pz! Yeah, that’s totally right and great: ‘ … kind of shrugging their shoulders in a really complicated and stylish way.’ I think that’s really the key right there. I think you cracked it. Nice. And I don’t think a shruggy tone is anywhere near as easy as it sounds like it would be. I mean, there’s a kind of lackadaisical tone that’s very popular right now among some younger writers that could be mistaken for a shrug, but it’s very different. It’s still full of attitude, and its self-deprecation is very self-conscious and is even about that very self-consciousness, and it’s kind of a sponge, whereas Brainard’s and Pym’s shrugginess kind of floats wittily and shyly but very attentively over content or something. I don’t know. I’m rambling. Like you said, it’s a hard thing to articulate, like most great things tend to be. But, yeah, good eye, Zeus, good eye. I bow. ** Steevee, I haven’t seen that Minaj vid, but I’ll check it out today. Pizzazz sounds good. That’s all I really want from her. Cool about the Alex Ross Perry interview, and I’m most curious to hear your thoughts on ‘Bully’ ‘cos, yeah, the hype, whoa. ** Ian Tuttle, Ha ha, right. As a self-imposed Proust virgin, I like Mollino’s angle. I got your email. I’ll send you my phone # today. Great! Mm, I don’t think I’ve read that Seymour Krim piece, no. I’ll see if it’s online somewhere. That kind of ‘day ruining’ sounds refreshing at the moment. Thanks for the tip, man. ** JoeM, It wasn’t actually so dark where you were stabbing. I think maybe you found the right mood lighting. Anyway, I’m grateful, and I’ve been running through what you wrote in my head in a kind of reverie. Do you know that band Luv’ who’s in the gig post today? I didn’t before I made the post, but I thought you might. ** _Black_Acrylic, Thanks, Ben. MdVA gets a lot of credit. ** Chris Cochrane, I had this momentary brain freeze where I thought you were referring to Mark McGuire the baseball player, and I thought, Now that’s an interesting turn. But of course, the MM of whom you speak, *heart*. I hope your weird ass week has pivoted. ** Bill, Too long, that’s my Bill! It did look awfully long when I picked up a copy in S&Co.; the other day though, yeah. ** Zack, Would be awesome if you did a post for your blog about those Detroit happenings and your current reading. I would be serious traffic there. I don’t know that Sherl book. Duly noted. I loved ’80s jangle pop a whole lot too, and, well, I still do, but I haven’t made an appropriate playlist yet, which your comment yesterday has already put on my agenda. Oh, a question: what’s your opinion on The La’s? I like them, but I’ve never quite gotten what the mega-reverence re: them is about. Same goes with Stone Roses for me, to mention a different kind of beast, other than those two great singles. Yeah, I think surrendering is often the way to ‘get it’. I think (and talk) a lot about charisma, and how creating charisma is a really important tool/power to try to use in writing, and charisma is all about ‘how the fuck did he/she/it do that?’ and ‘what the fuck am I feeling?’, etc. ** Misanthrope, Oh, that’s why you freaked. I didn’t think you’d freaked. Maybe I’m too freaky to notice when other people have their freak on. I haven’t seen that Lynch video yet. I had the option yesterday, but I wasn’t in the mood for some reason. Surely by the time I see you tomorrow. So, do you think the WWE pays the wrestlers more when they’re assigned to a match where bruises and blood and stuff is required? I think they must be given bonuses or something in those cases, no? This is the choice of the all time #1 WWE match by that guy I mentioned. ** Okay. Off you go into the sound of the Netherlands as hand-picked by your truly, and I hope there’ll be some toe-tapping and fist pumping around here today. Would be cool. See you tomorrow.
Now available in North America 
wow that was a great ps… thanks for your generosity in letting us see
Hi sir (I keep calling you 'sir,' which seems to be taking on the shadings of a submissive what with everyone calling you just "Dennis." Nothing against submissives, mind — I just had this really weird encounter with a guy back when I was really poor and webcamming for as much money as I could get, and this guy referred to me as sir all the time, and was into being humiliated by his partner, and anyway, now, when I'm trying to be polite and say "sir," I'm always reminded of him. Which is odd-ish.)
"Playing with a rock" is a very good term for it; I just haven't been able to get the prose to sing. But then again, I tried reading JG Ballard's 'Unlimited Dream Company,' (do you know it? surreal first-person novel) and I just found myself constantly thrown out of the text by this narrator who treated all these crazy goings-on with total logic, etc; but not like crazy dream logic, just this weird hyper-British flaccidity, and just couldn't get into it. (I have "Crash" coming for me in the mail though; it seems much cooler.)
And I love what you did with sort-of-first person in "The Sluts." I've told people that's the best novel about the Internet in maybe ever. That and the cover always starts conversation.
I should thank you though, because that did get me thinking about maybe playing with first person and seeing what happens. The problem with my MC is he's supposed to be sort of boring (I think that may be suicide), but as the novel goes on, we realize there's a great deal about him the text may not be telling us. But it doesn't change the fact that for the first 50-100 pages, you have a boring protagonist.
Thanks for the kind words, by the way, and as always the encouragement,
JF
Betty Serveet I know — the rest are new to me. Interesting.
I know tedje en de flikkers. I got their (only) record. as a kid i was more into luv though! and there were a string of ohter girl-groups in their wake, the dolly dots were the biggest rivals. luv performed in wim t. schippers neo-dada tv shows.
nice to see the tedje footage. the record is pretty awful apart from one song about cruising in the park .
that Luv song sounds like big ABBA rip-off, ain't it?
Hi Dennis, dang, these last two days have been pretty incredible here- I can't wait to dig into all this Dutch music later today, and yesterday's Mollino collection is beyond amazing, as you promised! I really am considering breaking my ban on spendy art book purchases to get "Un Messaggio dalla Camera Oscura" especially, but also the furniture one. The book about messages from the darkroom is beyond intriguing but the price is way too high, obviously. Have you seen any of these in person? I'm very much interested in visiting the museum someday soon.
MVdA— Please do report if you do get to go, I'd be fascinated to hear details! Thanks in advance!
The rest of the trip was really great, and Florence is pretty fascinating. We got to see some interesting palace interiors not usually open to the public, and also a great apartment, owned by a new friend there, crammed into the rafters of an ancient palace, all short stairways, rooms connected by a small network of halls, and every surface densely covered with old art and new art, itself a great example of a home museum. Very enthralling. The sad thing is that I messed up my schedule and so missed out on seeing a very old branch of the very old natural history museum, which apparently has a super huge collection of very old wax anatomical models. I guess next time.
Sort of relatedly, have you ever seen the Soane Museum in London? I've been interested in visiting that for a while too.
BULLY is powerful, if flawed. It's fairly crude filmmaking and marred by the fact that the director never talks to any bullies or looks into larger cultural, adult-driven sources of the fear of difference that lead to bullying. However, the footage he captures of one of the kids being repeatedly tormented on the school bus is horrifying, and the kid's nonplussed reaction – "I got strangled, and someone called me his bitch, but that's OK" – speaks volumes about how one can learn to live with constant cruelty. (The director intervenes about halfway through the film to show this footage to his parents and principal.) His interviews with parents, including two fathers whose kids committed suicide, are also quite moving. Despite the ratings controversy, there's actually not that much profanity – I suspect the MPAA's usual homophobia played a role in the R rating.
d-
oooooh, altar look fun. i want one of yuri landman's guitars so muchly (? i'm going to pretend it's a word and you should too).
last couple days have been busy but mostly in less than awesome ways. practice fell through on monday, so we're trying again for friday. between thursday and friday evening, i'll work another 24 hour shift. and then i have a doctor's appointment on saturday morning. so i'm going to be burning the candle at both ends and probably trying to light it in the middle too.
so i noticed something odd in the husker du bio that came out in '10. the author mentions yr interview with mould and refers to it as an 'allegedly unscrupulous handling' of mould's sexuality. but when i read the interview, i never noticed anything untoward within it. in fact, i thought it was handled wonderfully. weird how people misinterpret stuff, yeah?
oh yeah, so we're working on an EP. but knowing us, it'll end up being a full-length LP by the time it's recorded. i'm pretty excited, though.
finished house of leaves again the other night. i always end up taking a couple days to get through the first 300 pages or so, and then just reading the last half of the book in one marathon session. it's amazing that i can pee while standing and read a book at the same time. just skilled, i guess. anywho, i noticed another little cryptogram in it. i need to grab a notebook to start recording observations and solutions for that one. same for TMS.
currently downloading suburbia and the decline of western civilization part 1. made my roommate watch instrument and we jam econo last night, and she's way into fugazi now. so that's pretty rad too.
how's the week going? still going to be stateside this month?
i'm gonna go eat some ice cream. talk soon.
-me.
I like that Yuri Landman can't play chords.
I read this today in that Tolstoy book I mentioned, "All French novels… are all works by people suffering from erotic mania. These people are apparently convinced that, since their entire life, as a result of their morbid condition, is concentrated on the smearing about of sexual abominations, it must mean that the entire life fo the world is concentrated on the same thing. And the entire artistic world of Europe and America imitates these people suffering from erotic mania."
I immediately thought of TMS (the only book of yours I've read so far) and started laughing. This was in 1898! I love it.
Ciao.
I'd never heard of Luv – but then I've never heard One Direction (you know, the New Beatles), don't know why they of all UK boy bands have become instantly huge when the likes of Take That didn't take off in the US. Oh X.Factor/Simon Cowell. I see…
Well given that Luv were influenced by Silver Convention they just had to be good. I really liked it. Obvious ABBA influence in sound and video – they've cleverly cut out the middle man in the videos (Bjorn/Benny) and substituted another girl. I'm surprised they never had a hit in the UK. Or better still, won Eurovision.
wow.. that was pretty awful.. i did get to send a youtube of a hippy prog rock band my mate hadn't heard of so an espresso to you my good man
i was hoping the faggot lot would get things going but they pussied.. weird that the two best cuntries at control also make the best music/k.. the french must bless their baguettes for rap.. finally they are musically cool
X all
and then there's the new Robert Pollard and to some extend the new Dr john, something you probably won't listen to – good to hear from Ish finally, maybe we'll all talk over the weekend – things just get weirder and weirder – mostly work stuff – article on Camus in the New Yorker, better stop, I'm babbling on and on
JoeM, One Direction is essentially 5 Biebers. And they've got a hell of a marketing push behind them. To me, they're S Club 7 without the girls. They sound just like them.
Riggers, The faggot lot will always let you down.
Dennis, Man, I'd be so mad if a band released one song, I really liked it, and they never released anything else. That's gotta suck for fans of Cinderella.
Ha, I didn't really freak. I just used that word because I couldn't think of anything else. But I did feel supernaturally dumb there for a bit. 😛
Hmm, I can't imagine there aren't some bonuses in the contracts for the crazy stuff. I mean, all athletes get bonuses for going above and beyond (300 hits or 40 homers or 100 tackles, etc.). McMahon seems to treat the wrestlers pretty well, so…maybe?
Yeah, that was a great match. I watched bits and pieces of it and really enjoyed it. It sucks that I totally missed the whole Stone Cold-Rock-Lesnar-Hart-Mankind-Angle era. I got back into it when Little Show started watching it, about 4 years ago or so.
Btw, Lesnar's back. He showed up at the end of Raw Monday night and did his finisher on Cena.
It must be a little weird for Cena: he's worked so hard to be the face of the WWE, then The Rock and Lesnar come back and suddenly everyone's booing him. I think the goody-goody image is finally hurting him. It's so boring.
Oh, I got some good news today. My lab results came back and…my total cholesterol is high, my good cholesterol is low, and my vitamin D and calcium are low. Yay! So much closer to the grave. :'(
Oh, and what about the Lynch video? You watch it yet? 😀
@steevee – great review of "Bully" but I kinda of already told you that on Twitter, heh.
Dennis, funny you should mention The La's. I kind of have good memories associated with them since I bought their CD while on vacation in California, back when CDs were still a viable thing. However, I agree you with: they're not all that spectacular – perhaps because they only chose to make one album. "There She Goes" is as perfect a pop gem as there is, I won't take that away from them, and I enjoy the song "Feelin'" but other than that the album is a bit flat for me. I think a large part of the reverence for them stems from the simple fact that they 'came first' with the whole 90's Britpop thing.
Stone Roses are kind of a different animal. For the most part I can say I like their first LP in its entirety but it is completely overshadowed by track 1, "I Wanna Be Adored." That song looms so large for me in terms of just being a perfect expression of its sentiment and also serving as a huge influence on the whole shoegaze/dream pop genre. It's one of those songs where you're like "nothing else the band did ever came close – and they made it the first track on their debut album!"
How's your week shaping up? If I'm being honest, I had a good day. I've been exercising all week so far and I got the first draft of a short story done today.
And I've been enjoying you and Cobalt91 talking about the writing process.
Whoa. I have 3 Clan of Xymox albums. I guess I am not ashamed to admit that now.
word.
D-
Thanks as always for the DJ endorsement… wondering if you made it past the incessant insects.
Knee deep into the brand new Brautigan bio. Really enjoying it, well-written and incredibly detailed, glad to get past his childhood and into San Francisco, but it was cool to read about Eugene in the early 50's, that's where my wife grew up.
Re-read Girl With Curious Hair recently and took away a lot more from it then when I was 20. That's how I first heard of DFW, a chick who lived with my college g/f showe us the book. She had him as a teacher a year before I got there. Fucked for timing man. Apparently in shit i've read later when he was teaching at Emerson was during one of his super low periods. Well I got Bill Knott so there is that.
Ok, thanks again mi amigo.
-L
yes this was just what i needed.
Dennis, "closer" looked soooooooooo cool!! that i soooo wish i could see in real life. there's so much to look at!! ugh!
the other day, at green apple books, it's on clement not to far from the presidio, and there was a copy of "safe." i bought it, i haven't read it yet though because I've been writing this insane paper about dostoyevsky, yulia tymoshenko, alexander lukashenko, and aung san suu kyi. i just finished last night. well i read the first few pages on the bus when i got it and yeah, i'm so excited to read itt.
i was in la last week! it was great. the weather was nice, it rained a little, but other than that t was sunny. i planted the vegetable garden for this year with everything! I can't wait to come down for most of may and relax with my tomatoes and borage. i'm finally finishing up like three projects, i've been so behind. but only because i've been kind of out of it, i don't have a good reason. i blamed it on prozac so my professors aren't upset at least. this is my getting back on track and being in control weekend so we'll see how that goes. i need to get to business i have like an un godly amount of printing to to do, oh and an essay. geez, i forgot about that one. but yeah, i've been thinking about performance… but in a way that I'm telling a story… with like drawings and kind of sculptural elements, i guess sort of like a fort. i've followed a few people around… guys, and tried to pick up trash or wrappers or receipts left behind and I'm trying to tell some sort of story with it, but i'm sell trying to figure it out. This'll be my final for one of my classes I think. See!! I'm already thinking getting on top of things. progress. hope all is well en paris.
I must say I really appreciated this post. I am a bit of an audio enthusiast, especially for music that requires a bit of digging. I really laughed at the feverish piano playing on the Luv video! hah. Wow! I can't believe I had never heard of Yuri Landman! His music employs so many things that vibrate with my own connectivity to music. The sheer size of the ensemble, the outdoor location, and the constant steady pulsing reminded me (initially) in some obscure way to the Boadrum 11/11/11 event… or maybe in its use of texture in both altered timbres and microtonal instruments, to Kemialliset Ystävät. They both seem like comparisons in different directions and extremes, but popped in mind nonetheless.
The PST initiative took place right when I moved to the desert for a different change of pace and focus on my work. During the period when PST was happening I would travel to LA proper in order to do studio visits and preparatory meetings for the Ball of Artists gala. I really wanted to see the LA Free Music Society performances among many other events and festivities. Though I participated in it, I missed most of the proceedings due to proximity. Anyhow, I will be back living in LA within the next couple months, and would love to do a studio visit when you are in town.