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‘Led by former Generation X member Tony James, the new wave group Sigue Sigue Sputnik raised selling out to an art form. The concept behind Sigue Sigue Sputnik was simple: the band adopted a postmodern, ironic style and sound, and marketed it to the hilt, saturating the media with slogans and interviews. James didn’t even intend the band to be musical; he recruited Martin Degville, Neal X, Chris Cavanagh, and Ray Mayhew partially because they lacked extensive musical experience. After a publicity campaign designed to solicit a record contract, the band signed with EMI; they released their first single, “Love Missile F1-11,” in early 1986, and it hit number three on the U.K. charts. Sigue Sigue Sputnik sold the space between tracks to advertisers on their debut album, Flaunt It. Despite the massive marketing campaign, the album fell on deaf ears, as did the more serious follow-up, Dress for Excess (1988), which featured the slogan “This time it’s music” on the album cover. The group split soon after.’ — sputnikworld.com

Sigue Sigue Sputnik ‘Love Missile F1-11’ (live)

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‘We’ve sent some turkeys to the Eurovision Song Contest in the past, but the smiley, sparkly, high-haired twins Jedward might just have what it takes to win next Saturday night. It’s a relentless charm offensive that has involved answering such incisive questions as: “Do you ever breathe?” The pair have also been extremely busy jumping around, doing cartwheels, wearing sparkly jackets and stage gear inspired by Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson while explaining the philosophical aesthetic behind their trademark blond quiffs: “It’s like angelic halos and like a flame.” In their debut rehearsal this week, Jedward’s performance was as visually arresting, enthusiastic and madcap as some of the more successful entries in recent years. And at their first press conference, when asked to sing an a cappella version of the song, Jedward appeared to be singing in tune without the aid of special effects.’ — Irish Times

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‘Specimen are a British band formed in the 1980s. Their music has been described as spanning many different genres of music, including glam, goth, punk and post-punk, and the band is widely credited as one of the pioneers of the Gothic movement, both musically and stylistically. The band formed in Bristol, England during 1980. Their first show was at a street party celebrating the wedding of The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. In 1982, the band relocated to Soho, London, where they would play many shows at the infamous club known as the Batcave. Specimen’s vocalist Olli Wisdom founded and ran the club during 1982-1983. Unusual for a keyboardist, Jonny Slut became the face of the band and its most famous member, due largely to his striking image and fashion sense. While the band were together, they never released a full album, only singles and a mini album. However, in 1997 two full-length compilations were released featuring various Specimen songs.’ — Wiki

Specimen ‘The Beauty of Poison’

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‘Originally intended to be the second coming of Jesus, The GazettE is the result of a tumultuous set of aglaphotis-related accidents that completely botched the original concept. At the end of all the mess, it turned out that the resulting being was not our lord and savior, but a pagan deity inspired by four basic doctrines; Red, Yellow, Purple and Blue. What religion this deity is pagan to, exactly, remains a mystery. While the fractions of the god themselves have existed since forever, the band was only recently begun in the late 20th century due to the recent invention of cross-dressing. The group has now become popular in the underground of Japan, America and The Czech Republic, mostly among 12 year old girls. They are currently featured in countless examples of Yaoi fanfiction, which they will deny reading or supporting if asked. After appearing on numerous magazines and engaging in plenty of fanservice, their fame finally had absorbed enough of the fangirls’ life energy to achieve ‘super sayan’ mode, thusly becoming super fame.’ — uncyclopedia

The GazettE ‘Akai One Piece’ (live)

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‘In mid-December 1972, Jerry Brandt, Carly Simon’s former manager, overheard a demo tape being played by Clive Davis at CBS Records. Davis rejected the tape as “mad, unstructured and destructive to melody”, but Brandt was quick to step in. Jobriath later remarked “that coming from a man who discovered both Patti Smith and Barry Manilow…so much for sanity and structure!”. Brandt located Jobriath in California, where he was living in an unfurnished apartment and working as a prostitute. Brandt became smitten with Jobriath, not only as an artist but romantically, and made no secret of it. Brandt signed Jobriath to Elektra Records for a reported $500,000; allegedly the most lucrative recording contract of its time. The label’s president, Jac Holzman, later remarked “I only made two mistakes when I was at Elektra and one of them was Jobriath. It was just so over the top and crazy.” A huge marketing campaign and media blitz ensued, including full-page advertisements in Vogue, Penthouse and Rolling Stone magazines, full-length posters on over 250 New York City buses and a huge, 41’ by 43’ billboard in Times Square. All featured the forthcoming debut album sleeve design by noted photographer Shig Ikeda, which featured a nude Jobriath, made to resemble an ancient Roman statue. Plans were announced for a lavish three night live debut at the Paris Opera that December, at a cost of $200,000 and a subsequent tour of European opera houses. Jobriath informed the press that the show would feature him dressed as “King Kong being projected upwards on a mini Empire State Building. This will turn into a giant spurting penis and I will have transformed into Marlene Dietrich.” Elektra, concerned about spiraling production costs, postponed the Paris Opera shows until February, later canceling them due to expense.’ — championstudios.com

Jobriath ‘I’maman’

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‘After Bill’s parents divorced at his age of 7, Bill and Tom were raised by his mother. Gradually influenced by his mother-s new boyfriend who is a guitarist, Bill got interested in music (later on his mother married Gordon). When Bill was 10 years old, he founded a band with the help of his stepfather. He began to play the song that he wrote by himself in a club. During his teenage days, he was considered as a fancy dressing boy among his classmates in his hometown, because he wore the suits and clotheses that he made manually. Soon after, Gustav and Georg joined in their band and they worked very hard under the name of Devilish. However, there were rarely good performances. Fortunately, Bill participated in a show program called Star Search. In the show, he sang “It’s Raining Men”, and he lost in the quarter-final, which drew the attention of a famous producer. He grasped the opportunity to be a super star and finally the band signed a contract with Universal Music Company in 2005. Then after they made their debuts, Tokio Hotel created a big sensation not only in Germany but also all over the world.’ — ultimatetokiohotel.com

Tokio Hotel ‘Darkside of the Sun’

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‘Il est des gens que vous pensez / savez / imaginez inabordables, pour plusieurs raisons : à cause de leur notoriété, à cause du poids économique qu’ils représentent (genre là, 300 000 exemplaires pour Mister Mystère, le 5e album du bonhomme en question, si l’on compte Labo M), à cause de leurs collaborations si nombreuses que leur agenda se rapproche davantage de celui d’un ministre de la période De Gaulle (à l’époque où les élus bossaient pour la nation, et non pour raconter des conneries à la télé). -M- (Matthieu Chédid) fait partie de ces intouchables. Enfin … faisait partie.’ — le-hiboo.com

-M- ‘Chedid’ (live)

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‘Meet the strangest known band from the pre-punk dayze of glam. Formed in LA in 1973, Zolar X made a name for themselves by playing pulsating rock that both forecasted punk as well as saluted glam… and also by claiming they were from outer space. A sound like no other and a story as out there as The Monks. We’re talking commitment here – spacesuits, Spock ears, even antennae feelers – onstage, on the street, and wherever they made the scene. ZOLAR-X spoke their own language, and insisted they really were from outer space to anyone who could get past their unique hairdos long enough to listen. A teenage Jello Biafra rolled his eyes when he saw Zolar X featured in Lenny Kaye’s Rock Scene, but never forgot the band. Years later a semi-official bootleg appeared, and everyone Jello played it for was floored – the missing link between Chrome and The Stooges?’ — Punknews.org

Zolar X

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‘Seremedy is a fresh, young Visual Rock band from Sweden that aims to shock the one-sided, monotone western music-market with their extravagant, androgynous looks. Combined with a modern metal/pop sound, they’ve developed a two-sided view on the world. One side is heavy and dark, aggressive yet melodic. The other is more colorful, cheerful and happy. Starting for real with a complete line-up in January 2010, they’ve been gaining an ever growing number of fans from all around the world. Only 6 months after their formation they played their first show abroad in Moscow, Russia. In Sweden they are already an established, popular act among the various Japanese Pop-culture Conventions such as UppCon, MeuwCon, WhateverCon and ConFusion.’ — ninetonenation.com

Seremedy (live)

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of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes: ‘The pseudo-nihilistic punk rockers of the 70’s created an impossible code in which no one can actually live by. It’s such garbage. The idea that anyone who attempts to do anything commercial is a sell out is completely out of touch with reality. The punk rock manifesto is one of anarchy and intolerance. The punk rockers polluted our minds. People who wanna be artists have the hardest time of it ’cause we are held up to these impossible standards. We’re expected to die penniless and insane so that the people we have moved and entertained over the years can keep us to themselves. So that they can feel a personal and untarnished connection with our art. The second we try to earn a living wage or, god forbid, promote our art in the mainstream, we are placed under the knives of the sanctimonious indie fascists. Unfortunately, there isn’t some grand umbrella grant that supports indie rockers financially and enables us to exist outside of the trappings of capitalism….Selling out, in an artistic sense, is to change one’s creative output to fit in with the commercial world. To create phony and insincere art in the hopes of becoming commercially successful. I’ve never done this and I can’t imagine I ever will.’ — Stereogum

of Montreal ‘Beware Our Nubile Miscreants’ (live)
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*

p.s. Hey. ** Pilgarlic, Hey. Is it just me, or does Donald Ray Pollock sound like a serial killer name? I think I’ve decided I’m going to wait and read his novel first since it comes out soon and I’m in a novel mood. By the time 6 pm Paris time rolled around, I was so deadset on survival that it was already after 7 pm before I noticed. ** David Ehrenstein, Indeed it does. ** Dan Callahan, Hey. Oh, fantastic, I can’t wait to read your piece. That’ll happen the moment I’ve launched this parade here. Everyone, the very fine writer and d.l. Dan Callahan has written a piece on Terrence Malick’s sublime ‘Tree of Life’ over at Slant Magazine, and given the totally ‘can’t lose’ combo of Callahan and Malick, I urge you with all the strength and logic in my remaining body to go read it. Thank you a lot, Dan. Oh, and I’m very happy to see that your Barbara Stanwyck book has a set February 2012 launch date. All respect to you. ** Empty Frame, Hey. I’m good, thanks. I would have rushed to see ‘The Ladyboys of Bangkok’. Generalizing is for the birds, but I like Thailand-based ladyboys, at least in theory, and I hope to meet one or more of them someday. That Festival sounds pretty cool. I want to hear everything or lots at least about that ‘Haunted Houses of Brighton’ event please, pretty please? ** Chaitd, Hello there. This is a ‘welcome to the blog’ situation, am I wrong? Oh wait, iced tea … hm, having popped over to my FB news wall briefly this morning, maybe you’re not such a newbie after all. In any case, iced tea is my favorite oral lubricant, and milk for breakfast cereal only. ** Sypha, I’m with you on the going back to nature thing. A nice hike once in a while is okay. Hawaii is pretty. But that’s about it. Sure, the term blind faith works too and just as well, absolutely. Good luck with the Lady Gaga. ** Jebus, Hi, Jebus. Nice to see you. Always very happy to find someone talking with great positivity about Robert Pollard. For whatever reason, I was in love and obsessed from the first listen. A friend said he thought I would really like GbV back in the early 90s, and I bought the newest thing of theirs at the time, which was the ‘Japanese Spin Cycle’ EP, and it was like discovering part of myself or something. I guess Pollard’s genius and what he’s doing with it is so connected to the way I think about making art, and what I most want art to do, that the familiarity or something there allowed me to get the whole complex nature of his music from the start. But, ultimately, I don’t really know why it came to me so quickly. It was just like I was hearing both the perfect music and being shown that a form of greatness that I recognized and wanted to achieve within my work was possible and just far enough out of my talent’s reach to make me want to try really hard. Strange, but amazing. Thanks for asking me that. ** Robert-nyc, Hey, Robert! You’re the veritable sight for sore eyes, man. Awesome that you got to go to the Tim Dlugos reading. What I would give to have been there. I’m really hoping it was recorded and that the recording will wind up in some accessible place. Yeah, I’ll be in NYC for the book lunch stuff, and it would be great to see you! How are you doing? Tell me what’s going on if you have the time and don’t mind. ** Jeff, Hey, man. That was a beautiful and very wise comment and thought. Thanks a lot for imbedding it here. ** Steevee, The anti-piracy thing makes sense, yeah. ** Allesfliesst, Ha ha, yeah, that’s me in a nutshell, ha ha. I think when my horniness acts up, I give it a puzzle to solve and, given that it’s hard to solve a puzzle when you’re horny, I just end up monitoring its efforts, and that’s sex to me. Sometimes, mind you. ** Tender prey, Howdy, Marc. Yeah, I first saw it on somebody’s Facebook wall, maybe Oscar’s, and then I grabbed it. Oh, I think it’s fine. I don’t have any problem with it at all. I don’t find it difficult to look at really, and, even if it were, difficulty is cool. No, I like it. ** Alan, The Mike Young is terrific. It has always seemed from his poetry that he’d have this special, awesome knack for fiction, and sure enough. It’s a real honor that Christopher Higgs let me be in the second group of interviewees. I’m not so sure how interesting my answers are. One of the reasons I’m excited is that I’m in the same group with Dodie Bellamy and Eileen Myles who are my peers, age-wise, and both of whom I consider to be writer comrades of mine, and yet I suspect their answers to the questions will be really different from mine, and I can’t wait to find out. Yeah, I’m definitely good with the apocalypse not having happened. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben! ** Andrew, Hey. But, see, that’s what I was trying to say. You’re talking about people having faith and trundling through life routines in a general way. I think that as soon as you start seeing people in groups, you’re losing sight of them. Each person has a specific reason for doing what he or she does, and their participation in societal routines and their adherence to organized religious beliefs is window dressing. You simply can’t know why those individuals fall into those things unless you know them well if even then. To even try to understand people in that way is a losing proposition, to my mind. I find it better to embrace the confusion and inaccessibility of their reasoning and then find that unknowability interesting. Yeah, the trouble you have finding a way to communicate must be really hard. Why don’t you try to be specific with the therapists? That’s what they’re there for and what interests them. Unless they’re creeps, they’re not going to judge you for that difficulty. Yeah, Flit has a good point, I imagine. Growing up so physically isolated from people whose interests are like yours would seem to naturally cause you to develop your social skills to suit internet communication, for instance. I don’t know. If you could get yourself into a less isolated situation and be around people who like, well, us on this blog, say, you might be surprised by how unstrange you really are. No, you didn’t come off as selfish in the slightest. There’s tons of room here for everyone to say whatever they want. ** Postitbreakup, Oh, man, I’m so sorry to hear about the lay-off. Shit. What’s your game plan now? ** MANCY, Hey. Thanks a lot for getting your work off to Five Years. I really wish you could be there, man. I’ll take lots of photos and stuff, at least. Great to read about your experiences with Pollard’s stuff. Thanks for that. ** Inthemostpeculiarway, Hey. iCycle, yikes, but of course. Yeah, you do see people pissing on the street — well, in the bushes and on somewhat discrete portions of walls — rather often here. I mean, not every day or anything. And they don’t seem drunk in many cases. Maybe it’s because everyone drinks so much coffee in cafes here or something. That walk you took was such a beauty. Another novel-worthy paragraph. Dasani bottle, ha ha. Even though that was true, making it a Dasani bottle is such a good touch, I don’t know why. I guess because I think of Dasani as one of the also-ran bottled waters. Is Dasani a place? I guess so, right? Even with your quibbles, you made me really want to see ‘Tourist Trap’. I mean … house of mannequins, how promising is that? Your neck was a hit. Is, I mean. Maybe you can use its power to get you things. Not that I’m suggesting you become manipulative. You started feeling sick again? Oh, shit. Maybe you should ask a doctor what’s up or something? I hope you’re feeling better now. My day: I finished answering those questions for the HTMLGIANT thing and sent them off. Mr. Higgs wrote back to say that they were fine, so I was glad about that. Then I walked down to this prearranged cafe to meet with Gisele before our meeting with the Pompidou higher ups. We sort of decided what we were vaguely going to propose for that festival, and then she caught me up on the stuff I missed by not being on the recent mini-‘Kindertotenlieder’ tour or being in Geneva for the ‘LS,AP’ opening. Everything was/is a hit and all that, which is great. Gisele almost got punched by some drunk, obnoxious German guy after the most recent ‘Ktl’ show, and that guy subsequently almost got punched by Stephen O’Malley, but Gisele broke up their fight. There are some new gigs for our theater pieces. Other stuff. Then we met up with the Pompidou guy and his, I think, assistant at this other cafe to talk about the Festival thing. He explained more clearly what the guidelines are re: what we can do, and that helped, and some of our proposals turned out to be too ambitious and some didn’t. Anyway, nothing is decided yet, but, so far, the idea is that we’ll show ‘Last Spring, a Prequel’ and Gisele’s 40 or so photographic portraits of the dolls in our work, and do a handful of performances of ‘Jerk’, and there will be a big Mego Records night where a bunch of the artists on Peter Rehberg’s label will perform, and hopefully there’ll be two performances of ‘Them’ if the funding for that comes through, and then we’ll curate a series of daily events/ lectures/ performances/ screenings, maybe 18 in all, and so now we’re working on figuring that part out. So, blah blah, it went well. We all parted ways, and I came back here and worked on the zine thing for while, but that went kind of badly and discouragingly. My HP editor sent me this fantastic blurb that Gary Lutz wrote for ‘The Marbled Swarm’, and that made me really happy because he’s as amazing a writer as America makes, so his high praise is really an honor. And I think otherwise I just did some blog stuff, ate, watched a little TV, and not much else ’til bedtime. How did Tuesday treat you, man? ** Killer Luka, So, so happy about the show being solo and about the gallery representation. Fuckin’ A! Such great news! You are very kind, but you are 100% responsible for all of that good, my dear. ** Misanthrope, Hey. Yeah, McClanahan is awesome, and ‘V’ is his best yet. I guess I was glad mostly because I like that Little Show’s big investment in the WWE is emotional as well. That seems important for some reason. That is part of it, yeah. The excuses. I guess it’s guilt. I guess you’re supposed to absolve them. I bet you did because you’re a nice guy. ** That’s that. I wanted to do a kind of flamboyant blog gig, but not just any flamboyancy-themed gig, this one. Why this one, you ask? Even if I fully understood my motivations, I’m not sure I would tell you. Or would I? See you tomorrow at the latest.

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Promo: ‘Locust Abortion Technician’, mid-80s

‘This album starts off with waves of blissful, ethereal music. Calming strings, harps, bliss…and the following dialogue: “Daddy?” / “Yes, son?” / “W-w-w-what does regret mean?” / “Well, son…a funny thing about regret is that it’s better to regret something you have done, instead of something you haven’t done. And if you see your mom this weekend, be sure and tell her…SATAN!!! SATAN!!! SATAN!!!” … and we’re shot headfirst into a sludgy, slow, bashing mangling of Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf”, with Gibby snarling something that sounds like “RAPE!!! OF DESIRE!!!” through a pile of delays and other electronic rubble. The effect of going from that intro to THIS is about as close as you get musically to the experience of being thrown into a pit of alligators.Welcome to Locust Abortion Technician, folks…one of the two arguable peak products of the Texan juggernaut of sheer psychosis known as the Butthole Surfers.

‘To attempt to describe everything on this album is pretty much impossible. Just trust me when I say that ANYWHERE you put the needle down on this slab is going to be totally over-the-top insanity, like some deranged miswiring of rock machinery from Cologne, Detroit, Houston, and Alpha Centauri hooked up in some way that’s almost certain to cause the whole mess to explode!

‘This thing is a total mental meltdown. That’s really the only term for it. It’s beyond psychedelia, and off into some turf that would land average people in the rubber room. Musically, it’s primal, primitive, assaultive…and damn close to unique. Even their previous effort, “Rembrandt Pussyhorse”, while still being a real brain-roaster, doesn’t have the attack stance this does. There was once a rave sampler called “Only for the Headstrong”…but those who thought they were down with that would probably be psychologically incinerated by “Locust Abortion Technician”. It just ain’t right, as they say down there in the Lone Star state. If you think you can handle this, be my guest, but don’t come complaining to me when the back of your head explodes JFK-style all over the wall behind your couch. I _warned_ you, dammit. ‘ — Julian Cope, Head Heritage

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Track 1: ‘Sweat Loaf’

”Sweat Loaf’ utilizes a warped riff similar to the verse riff from the Black Sabbath song ‘Sweet Leaf.’ Sounding like the soundtrack to the mind of a deranged psychopath and then some more, it belongs in the pantheon of “Most Repulsive Songs Ever Committed to Tape”.’ — Earthworm Jim

Studio version w/ fan video

live version at the Variety Arts Center, Los Angeles 1987

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Track 2: ‘Graveyard’

‘The first version of “Graveyard” lurches and crawls all over your forebrain, tape running at the wrong speed, everything dragging like some sort of hybrid of NEU!’s “Super 16” and The Stooges on dental anaesthesia.’ — Julian Cope

Studio version w/ fan video

live version at Lollapalooza, 1991

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Track 3: ‘Pittsburgh to Lebanon’

‘”Pittsburgh to Lebanon” is basically a Chicago blues played in Surfers-mode and with suitable lyrics (“When I crawled out of my mama, well I was blind as could be, I bought my first shotgun at the age of thirty”) that mercilessly abuses the genre.’ — guypetersreviews

Studio version w/ fan video

live version at Paradise, Boston, 2009

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Track 4: ‘Weber’

”Weber’ is 35 seconds of what is basically noise. It’s no-holds-barred experimental approach is bold and daring, tried only by the fearless, and listened to by the same. Some of it may admittedly be a racket, but it’s a fearless, edgy and focused racket which is presumably meant to provoke a reaction in the listener.’ — J. Roberts

Studio version w/ fan video

live version at Music Hall of Williamsburg, 2010

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Track 5: ‘HAY’

‘The song “Hay” is actually a redone, reversed version of “22 going on 23.” The last part of “22 going on 23” what seems like mooing, is actually the main lyrics of “Hay”, only reversed and stretched. Also,in the final part of “Hay”, there is something that seems to be a high-pitched voice speaking gibberish. This is the speaking in the beginning of “22 going on 23”, including the repeated words.’ — Wiki

Studio version

Studio version slowed down and played backwards

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Track 6: ‘Human Cannonball’

”Human Cannonball’ is probably the most straightforward piece of rock music on the CD – that’s not saying it’s still not bizarre – it’s a hard-driving, bass-heavy mosh pit-inducer full of some ultra groovy lead guitar work and Gibby’s enthusiastic singing and screaming.’ — teamfreak16 @ epinion

Studio version w/ fan slideshow

live version in Houston, 2002

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Track 7: ‘U.S.S.A.’

‘The first track of side 2 was my first intro to the Buttholes. I had spent the previous evening on some particularly heavy acid, and while coming down paid a visit to my collaborator in my ambient ensemble at the time. Jim had this manic grin on, and said “Have a seat…I have something YOU need to hear…RIGHT NOW!” And he dropped “USSA” on at full-blast. I have yet to recover from this. The whole thing starts off with industrial hammering while Paul Leary spuzzes along in the key of R. Then some sadistic bastard grabs the tape speed controls, and everything lurches violently, then Gibby starts screaming “USSA!! USSR!! USA!! USR!!!” through a fatally-damaged prison PA system as someone starts scratching a record. No, not as in hip-hop. Literally. Brutally dragging the tone arm back and forth as ‘percussion’. Good Christ. Leary returns to play such great notes and “KREEANNG!!” and “SPRAIIIGNNN!!!” and “BLEAAANNNGG!” over the whole demonically-possessed mess before it all just stops.’ — Julian Cope

Studio version

live version in 1989 (audio only)

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Track 8: ‘The O-Men’

‘Sometimes considered their best song, this tour de force of metal, hardcore, bad acid and juvenilia is alternately one of the most hilarious, most experimental and most sincerely disturbing turnes of all time. “The O-Men” is the closest anyone has ever come to truly recreating the sounds of a nitrous oxide hit. Not that many other bands have even tried.’ — Mike McGurk, Rhapsody

Studio version w/ fan video

live version at Music Hall of Williamsburg, 2010

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Track 9: ‘Kuntz’ (unknown Thai artist)

‘”KUNTZ” takes a Vietnamese pop tune and subjects it to electronic manglery to get the vocalist to start going “KUNTZKUNTZKUNTZKUNTZ…”…which gets worse and worse and more brain-damaged as this short treatise on what NOT to do with effects continues.’ — Alternative Tentacles

Studio version w/ fan video

The original Thai song w/ fan slideshow

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Track 10: ‘Graveyard 2’

‘”Graveyard” is a slab of droning sludge, with incomprehensible lyrics, impossibly low and grinding bass and a pace that’s terrifyingly slow and only bands like The Melvins dare to employ. Paul Leary squeezes the weirdest solos imaginable out of his guitar, often sounding like Jimi Hendrix on a bad acid trip, or a slow motion version of Tony Iommi.’ — Rockeroll

Studio version

live version at CBGB, 1986

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Track 11: ’22 Going on 23′

‘The song “22 going on 23” brought the band to wider UK attention when it was voted number 44 in John Peel’s 1987 Festive Fifty. “22 Going on 23” gets started with a snippet of radio psychology about someone who ‘cannot sleep’ before the sludge-o-tastic Surfers kick in over the top in a groove that sounds like a poppy and upbeat…ahhh…Melvins? Over this, swirling around in stereo like evil spirits, are voices repeating fragments: “…sleep problem…”, “…anxiety…”, “…medicine…”, and the woman at the beginning who keeps releating “I cannot sleep…” It sounds like pure insanity. It IS pure insanity. And with the sound of cows mooing, the whole episode is over.’ — Julian Cope

Studio version w/ fan video

live version in Barcelona, 2008

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*

p.s. Hey. ** Armando, Hey, man. After the real Ziggy and I got back in touch for a while, we lost touch again unfortunately. He was sort of moving around, so I have no idea where he is. But he’s a fascinating guy. Yeah, there’s definitely comedy in ‘TMS’, but it doesn’t run the show like it mostly did in ‘Ugly Man’. I hope you like it, obviously. Sometimes certain old Leonard Cohen albums work for me when I’m depressed, i.e. presenting a bottomed out place whereby I can right myself by comparison, and he’s still alive, and that helps too. Take care. ** ASH, Hey, man! Really nice to see you! Thanks about my stuff. How can I read yours? Possible somehow? I’d love to. Nice latest blog entry by you. I need to get that new PJ Harvey. I still haven’t for no good reason. No England readings planned at the moment. I’m going to London in early June for an art show thing that I’ll be saying more about here soon and maybe also if the ICA presents one of the theater pieces, which is in ‘talks’. How’s stuff with you? ** David Ehrenstein, There are still Hard Rock Cafes in the States, for better or worse. At least two in LA, last I checked. Planet Hollywood is the one that went defunct, although there’s still one of them over here on the Champs Elysee catering to the foreigners who really should know better. Yaki Soba sounds quite tasty. I’m going to see if I can find it or do something with the ingredients or something. Hope you had fun with your text-based doppleganger! ** Colin, Hey, man! ** Sypha, Hi, James. It’s sad when wispy twinks try to escape their hallowed destiny. Twink porn stars often try to butch up in their mid-20s hoping to extend their careers, but it only works one of out of maybe a dozen times. ‘The Celestine Prophecy’, wow. I haven’t heard that title mentioned in … decades? One decade at least. How was/it that? ** Bernard Welt, Thankfully for me, Alan was an interrogator of the golden age type, Walter Cronkite without the … Cronkite? Oh, goodness, I’m sorry to hear that about the lunch. I suppose it would rude to propose instead a picnic along the banks of a hot tub? ** Bollo, As much as I like the idea of an evil museum wing, I hope you’re right too. Business cards … well, aren’t you fancy. I personally much prefer it when people hand me their business cards than promise to text me their info. That’s what those little pockets in wallets are for, right? Hope the paintings finished up at your command. ** Andrew, Yes, I did. Weird. She must have paid for her utilities awfully far in advance. She must have had very disinterested friends. I mean, that’s the weirdest part for me. I hope some wing of the media sticks around that story long enough to solve its niggling mysteries. ** L@rstonovich, No, they don’t, in a word. Or, rather, I’ll find out, but, to take a guess, no they don’t. East coast trip, nice. Where and for how long? What’s on your Eastern to-do list? ** Math, Hello! ** Schoolboyerrors, It’s not only priceless, it’s absolutely true, which is why it’s priceless, ultimately. You can’t put a price on truth. You’re doing pretty damned good for a blocked guy. I’ve read comments by blocked people that would make your hair stand on end. You’re doing good, man. I’m cool with tattoos, I just don’t want to get any. Well, I wasn’t so cool with all that modern primitive tattooing back in the mp/radical fairy fad days. I mean I was cool with it, but I thought it was kind of, I don’t know, lame? Or something. Yours sounds top drawer, btw. Albers, abstract structures meets the organic, etc. I’m all for and into that. A photo once it’s implanted please? ** Steevee, Nice going on the pounds, man. The only thing by Melanie Gillian that I’ve seen is this multi-part series also called ‘Crisis in the Credit System’. Based on the short maybe? It was pretty interesting. I couldn’t get a feel what exactly what she does in general from it, but it was smart and stylish and intriguing. Curious to hear how that piece is, if you go. Some interesting things in the MIgrating Forms Festival this year. Wish I was there for it. ** Pisycaca, Aw, thanks, pal. Earliest I could get my new laptop is Friday, so … we’ll see. Love from me. ** Alan, Hey, man. Thanks, you know, a lot again, you know. No, the break-ins surely helped. It’s just that in computer years, mine was already pushing it a year ago. ** The Dreadful Flying Glove, ‘Immortals’ is an interesting test. How many weird, interesting artists have said, oh, if I was rich and successful, I could even more and better weird, interesting things, then, upon finding said success, quickly blanded out? Well, I don’t have that number at my fingertips, but there must be a lot. Guitar, good, that’s no lose choice. Be like Fahey. The world needs a new Fahey. We’ve had a million new Dylans but no new Faheys or any that spring to mind this morning. ** Polter, Hey! It’s always so nice to see you! Exams definitely wouldn’t help spring be what spring is supposed to be, which is … what .. a time of flowering and rebirth, I guess, historically or mythologically. That’s true and beautifully said about dreaming what you see more realizing it’s there. Wow, that was nice. I think maybe you’re thinking more clearly than you think you are? Living on the stars with living stuffed animals would be a really nice death. It’s guess it’s remotely possible? Very, very remotely possible? I hope so. I had pets as a kid, and they all dried tragically, so maybe not having had them has a positive side? I’d love to see you whether you cut the strings or not. But of course you will. Cut mine while you’re at it. Love from me. ** _Black_Acrylic, Well, unfortunately the real PR interview is a whole bunch of me meandering on about substructures and stuff. The storm after the calm. ** Alfonso, Hey. That’s probably just a problem of the brevity of your encounter with him. I suspect he was just talking about himself, and you were, due to the surprise and quickness, functioning as a trigger of his own past, and that if you guys had talked longer, the real stuff he thinks about you would have come spilling out. I’m with you about thinking the past was meant to be that way and fuck wishing you could revise it. Yeah, Calhoun was based on a real person too. He and I are still good friends and have never stopped being so against the odds, which is great. It really does sound like the right direction is where you’re going. I’m looking forward to following your progress. Oh, yes, Ricci Forte. I know about ‘Macadamia Nut Brittle’, and I’ve been in touch with them a little via Facebook, but I didn’t get the chance to see that piece. I can’t remember if it played in Paris or not. I’m very curious about it, naturally, and they seem very cool. Great that you’re doing a workshop with them. If you want, let them know that you and I are pals and say hello to them for me. ** Christopher/ Mark, Hi, Mark! Yeah, I think Hard Rock Cafe still has a firm grip on certain parts of America. You can’t even get iced tea at Starbucks here. It’s bizarre. Really, the only places in Paris where you can get iced tea that’s not some horribly artificially flavored and bottled item is at Hard Rock Cafe and this tiny little restaurant in the Marais called American Breakfast that specializes in, yes, American breakfasts. I hope you’re doing great, man! ** Ken Baumann, If they made a movie about the life of Michael Bay, which I suppose they will some day, and if Leonardo DiCaprio played Bay, which is not inconceivable, I suppose, then there could be a really moving scene where ‘Bay’ writhes in agony and gesticulates at a cruel God while trying to figure out the tone problem in his work. I’ll co-write the screenplay with you, if you’re game. You’re so lucky about the Herzog., Fucking France, man. Wtf?! ** Chris Cochrane, Good name for a drag queen too. ** Bill, It’s weird when writers’ books start to kind of bloat once they get successful. Clive Barker, De Lillo, Phillip Roth, and on and on. I don’t think ‘Dhalgren’ counts as best seller, no. Not to me. Was it a best seller? If ‘Dhalgren’ was, it seems like it must have been one of those lucky break best sellers like ‘Infinite Jest’ or, uh … I’m trying to think of another best seller that was also pretty great. And I can’t. How was the Villaronga? ** Inthemostpeculiarway, That cockroach story was a true story. Man, you want to talk about being grossed out. I’m just counting the minutes until the combination of the Apple factory in China and the unlovely French postal service solves my Mac problem for me. For now, I’m still typing like I’m holding a little mirror under a possible dead body’s nostrils. That was intense about your angry/ crying friend. I liked the paragraph that both was and wasn’t a dialogue. It was quite formally interesting. Oh, gosh, about your friends’ theatrically cutting roommate. I wouldn’t know what the right thing to do was. Call their … boyfriend/ girlfriend, best friend, mom, … ? I don’t know. Or maybe, yeah, the tough love approach like she’s doing is right? I’m glad I’m not her much less the cutter. Based on how you wrote it, it doesn’t seem sexist necessarily to me. It’s quite odd and telling about something or other about him though. Your song of the day was moody and nice. I guess I have a song of the day because it was playing on the sound system of the supermarket, and then it got stuck in my head only because was a big hit here a few years and has a catchy thing going on in it, and this is it. My day yesterday was actually pretty busy. Uh, first this guy Isaac from Love Magazine came over to interview me. He was really cool, and it was actually fun and interesting to talk to/with him. He even said he would put together a guest-post for the blog about … well, you’ll see. Then it was time for the photo session, so he and I cabbed it over the 13th arr., which is this part of Paris where you never go unless you live there unless I’m missing something, because Love Magazine was using a studio there to shoot the portraits of the Paris-based interviewees: me, Christophe Lemaitre, and Charlotte Rampling, not in that order obviously. So, anyway, the photographer and all the magazine people there were very nice, and they managed, thanks to an undercoating of organic white cotton, to dress me up and style me to a point where they were okay with me and I wasn’t suffering apart from a slight numbness that I get when the allergy thing is set off in a mild way. I was in a high collar Dolce & Gabanna shirt, a Kooples jacket, a bowtie by some fashionable bowtie designer whose name I didn’t catch, and with an Alexander McQueen overcoat draped over my shoulders. I turned down the hats and gloves they wanted me to wear. They let me be myself from the waist down because they were doing a roughly head and shoulders portrait. Then they shot me moving my head and eyes around slightly at their commend for about forty five minutes. They asked me if I wanted to see the photos, and I said no, but I did see one of them in the corner of my eye as I was leaving, and I thought I looked like an eighty year-old vampire, so I don’t want think about the portrait anymore until it’s published and I have to. Then Isaac metroed back here with me, and he went off to take a nap before, I think, interviewing Charlotte Rampling. So, it was okay, and hanging out with Isaac was cool. Then I ate food quickly, met up with Kiddiepunk, Oscar, and Yury, and we went to see Hunter Hunt-Hendrix perform at the gallery where the show of Gisele’s photos is currently on display. H-HH might be familiar because I posted something by him in the last Varioso, and he heads up the band Liturgy. So, he performed — chanting which he looped and looped into this dense drone then played complicated drone guitar over which he looped and looped and then chanted again and looped that until he was finished. I really liked it. Afterwards, I talked to him for a while, and he was cool, and he was already interested in the theater pieces by Gisele and Stephen and me, and we made plans for all of us to meet up when Liturgy comes back to Paris on tour in the fall. Then I came home, did some internet stuff, watched an episode of ‘Twin Peaks’ dubbed into French on Arte, and crashed. That was my day. How was yours? ** Misanthrope, Is that true about big heads? Interesting. But … what about the Elephant Man? Wait, I guess he was successful in a kind of horrible (for him) way. Let them eat sheet cake! ** Okay, your gig this time centers around an ultra-great album by the younger and ultra-great Butthole Surfers, so everyone wins today, and congratulations! See you tomorrow.