Nevermind The Posers

See ya in the pit.

DIRTY HOUSE MUSIC + CIRCUS PARTY = MADNESS! June 15, 2010

Filed under: Music You've Been Missing,TNT Concert Calendar,Too Cool for a Category — NVMP @ 12:58 PM
Tags: , , , ,

Join me for a night of madness at WEBSTER HALL JUNE 19th! I’ll be spinning the latest and greatest in-house, tech, and tribal on the main floor til 1am, alongside resident DJ’s Tengo and Mike Chach!!


You do not want to miss this: DIRTY HOUSE MUSIC + CIRCUS PARTY = MADNESS !
Make sure you check out the pics and links below to get an idea of the sensory overload this party is!

Go to the guest list line and say you’re on “Stigz List” for reduced admission-half price – ($20). For more info and bottle service shoot me a message on Facebook, click here for the event invite.

Get ready for an “Aural Beatdown!”  Hear all the dirty filthy beats you love that I drop on the radio shows each week, and some brand new tracks that are too hot for the airwaves.

WEBSTER HALL
JUNE 19TH
19 to Remember, 21+ to forget
STIGZ
TENGO
MIKE CHACH
CIRCUS by SHANE SAVANT

STIGZ LIST FOR HALFPRICE ADMISSION!

PEACE.LOVE.MUSIC
– Stigz

* To check out what ManhattanStyle.com said about DJ Stigz, click here

 

Top 5 Songs That Remind You of Your Dad June 14, 2010

Filed under: Manic Monday Top 5 — NVMP @ 6:46 PM
Tags:

Happy Father’s Day!  No, you didn’t miss it, the real holiday is Sunday June 20th.  This week, our Top 5 celebrates Fathers all around, this bud’s for you…I mean Top 5.

Tina’s Top 5
(for Grandpa)
5. “Company’s Comin'” by Porter Wagoner
4. “Hit the Road Jack” by Percy Mayfield
3. “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” by John Denver – “Cakes on the griddle!”  haha
2. “I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash – Gpa is a huge Cash fan, good music runs the family.
1. “Rock Around The Clock” by Bill Haley and his Comets – Grandpa’s favorite song.  He always joked when he came to any concert or performance I participated in, asking when he was going to hear some “Rock Around the Clock”

Stigz’s Top 5
5. “Blueberry Hill” by Fats Domino
4. “Run Around Sue” by Dion
3. “Maybellene” by Chuck Berry – This, Dion, and Fats Domino all remind me of my pops because I can remember being a wee-lad driving around with him in the city listening to the oldies station, then 101.1 FM.
2. “Street Life” by The Crusaders
1. Anything by Sinatra….Literally anything.

Mark’s Top 5
5. “Karma Police” by Radiohead – During my freshman year of high school, my Dad became a fan of Radiohead’s album OK Computer, and let me play this tune every morning for a year straight while we talked about a dozen different subjects crammed into a five-minute ride.  This memory probably means the most to me.
4. “Heartbreak Hotel” by Tones on Tail – Being that my Dad is such a big Elvis fan, this song always reminds me of him, and how much he doesn’t like this radically reworked version of an old favorite.  It has sparked quite humorous and enjoyable conversations over the merits of this newer version.
3. Perfecto Presents: Ibiza by Paul Oakenfold – I always thought that because we had such radically different tastes in music, that  Dad was out of the loop with anyone that I listened to.  I was sorely mistaken, as he purchased this album for me because he remembered that it was one I didn’t have.
2. “Touch Me” by The Doors – Being that this is the only Doors song that I really like, it gives me a slight bonding point with my Dad when it comes to this band.
1. “Riders on the Storm” by The Doors – My Dad is a HUGE fan of both the Doors and the Lizard King himself, Jim Morrison.  Although my Dad is a pretty solemn guy, I remember how excited he was when I got him a copy of The Very Best of the Doors.  What makes this choice so special is that sometimes I catch my Dad pulling up in front of our house blasting this tune in his trusty Dodge Durango, rocking out to his favorite song.

Angela’s Top 5
5. “Benny and the Jets” by Elton John
4. “Barracuda” by Heart
3. “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd
2. “Dirty Deeds” by AC/DC
1. The Entire White Album by The Beatles – It’s a long story but lets just say it was our main soundtrack on a 10 hour drive home from Ohio.

Dan’s Top 5
5. “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel
4. “Rudy (Main Title)” by Jerry Goldsmith
3. Beauty and the Beast soundtrack – Oddly, it’s my dad’s favorite Disney movie and whenever I hear music from it, I think of him.
2. “Jungle Love” by The Steve Miller Band – One of my dad’s favorite shows is ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ and they play this song during a dance clip montage.  Every time I hear this song I think of him cracking up to that show.
1. The Forrest Gump soundtrack – Another of his favorite movies of all time.  And it has a fantastic soundtrack.

 

Offbeat Site Makes Use and Humor of the Various Music Scenes June 10, 2010

Filed under: Rants,Too Cool for a Category — NVMP @ 3:27 AM
Tags:

Just For Giggles – a blurb by Alexander “Stigz” Castiglione

One of my coworkers at 89.5 FM-WSOU turned me onto this site, and I used it in an on air bit.  However, a picture is worth a thousand words and I had to post this up.


The site yourscenesucks.com is nothing short of hilarious – especially to fellow scenesters or people who hit up tons of shows and venues and see more and more people dressing spectacularly different from “status quo,” yet inadvertently all looking the same.  Besides this phenomena being an epic fail of the highest proportions for these tools yearning for individuality yet all shopping in the same dumpster – it’s great comedic material.  Whether it’s the fake mesh tattoo sleeves and white makeup, or the Indie-leg warmer wearers, or even the Emo crowd, this site takes them all into account.  Besides the cleverly placed blurbs about what they’re wearing ranging in comments from “massive amounts of piercings” to “back-up sunglasses,” it also gives a short and humorous description of the scene it’s ripping on.  If that isn’t enough, it gives you a playlist and what websites they frequent.

Some are more accurate than funny, like with the HXC Toughguy wearing a “Hateblood” hoodie (as if we didn’t know that was a poke at Hatebreed) and has Jamie Jasta’s website as one of his pseudo-bookmarks.  Others are just plain hilarious, commenting on posers that wear flamboyant gear and listen to washed up rappers.  And other entries are way too accurate.   Case and point: The Christcore Rocker who looks exactly like Underoath/The Red Jumpsuit Aparatus’ frontman Spencer Chamberlain.  Even the expressions of the character’s faces are priceless: whereas the emo boy and girl look like they’re going to cry and write a poem about it and the “MySpace whore” has the skank-pose down pat.

As a radio DJ, club DJ and general music aficionado, I thought I knew about almost every scene under the sun: not the case.  Crabcore, Skramz Revitalist, and Orgcore Punker were some names I saw and scratched my head at. However, when you see the pictures and playlists that accompany these weird derivations, you’ll immediately be like “Oooo I know a dude that dresses like that- that looks like ____.”  This, again, makes the site even funnier, as I found myself saying “that looks just like this friend or that chick if it wasn’t for the neck tattoo/glasses/over the top hair.”

In short, this isn’t hard hitting music journalism, hey, this isn’t even journalism.  This is just me telling you to check out this site, it’s definitely good for a laugh, and was extremely well thought out from characters, to blurbs, to fake playlists and websites, to side-splitting descriptions.  Check it out : www.yourscenesucks.com

 

Recoil @ Le Poisson Rouge, May 18. 2010 June 8, 2010

Filed under: Concert Reviews — NVMP @ 6:31 PM
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

To the vast majority of the United States, Recoil is known more as a definition in the dictionary than as a musical entity.  But to fans of Depeche Mode, and a small but dedicated following, Recoil is known as former member and sound architect Alan Wilder, who took up his side-project full-time after his departure from DM in 1995.  Surprisingly, during its entire 20+ year existence, Recoil has never toured or performed live in any manner, due to Alan Wilder’s assertion that Recoil is essentially a studio project[1].  And yet, through either good fortune or the advent of greater audio technologies, Alan Wilder has chosen to take his project on the road for the first time with A Strange Hour: Recoil Selected Events, a mini-world tour in support of his latest release, Selected.

Needless to say, it was quite the momentous occasion for myself and fans alike walking into Le Poisson Rogue on May 18th for the long-awaited chance to see Alan Wilder in action.  The show began on a subtle note with two plus hours of  DJ’s Alex English and Shred spinning underground Electro and New Wave tunes that one would certainly associate with Depeche Mode and Recoil.  Although there were some good selections, the sets were really nothing to write home about.  I couldn’t even tell when one DJ transitioned to the other, although several lone dancers around me seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Rating for DJ’s Alex English and Shred: Ok.

As far as I was concerned, the true opener of the show was a finely tuned Texas bluesmen by the name of Joe Richardson, who is also one of Recoil’s most recent collaborators (on the 2007 release SubHuman).  Admittedly, it did seem like a quite peculiar choice to have such a genre open the show for a sonically complex electronic musician, but when you think about how complex blues itself is as a sonic art-form, it made perfect sense.  Led by a trusty electric guitar and harmonica, Richardson eased his way into a roaring and crowd rocking set, filled with his original Recoil demos and two original songs with the charm that could only come from a seasoned and experienced pro.  It was the perfect set-up for things to come.

Rating for Joe Richardson: One of the reasons blues has survived this long.

And after another irritatingly long DJ break, Alan Wilder and his current studio/live collaborator Paul Kendall finally took the stage, led by a loop of machine-like dissonance and frenetic chants of “Recoil”.  What unfolded before the packed crowd was a 90 minute multi-media live DJ experience; a continuous mix that both outlined the track listing of the current release Selected, and ran through the majority of Recoil’s past releases.  The set included an appearance by past collaborator Nicole Blackman, who writhed her way through a seductive spoken word set (and who in my opinion, is one of the sexiest vocalists that I have ever seen work a mic), and the re-appearance of Joe Richardson.
All synchronized against a backdrop of surreal, often nightmarish mini-films (filled with nameless G-men, sleazy strippers, ghostly apparitions, shadows and double negative effects) that acted as a silent navigator through the similarly themed sonic spectrum.  The exceedingly surreal journey also contained the expected references to former band Depeche Mode, as he subtly slipped in segments of “Never Let Me Down Again” late in the set, and even a nod to Recoil’s label head Daniel Miller (of Mute Records), with segments of “Warm Leatherette”, from Miller’s former musical alter-ego The Normal.

And at the end, Alan did a proper meet and great with the fans, thus bringing a perfect evening to a close.  Here’s hoping for a return visit from Recoil in the near future.

Rating for Recoil: Fucking fantastic.  Please come back soon.

Nicole Blackman: Again… incredibly Sexy.  I think I have a mini-crush.

www.recoil.co.uk
www.myspace.com/recoil

-Mark B.

[1] From the interview section on http://www.recoil.co.uk

 

Top 5 Most Played Songs On Your iTunes June 7, 2010

Filed under: Manic Monday Top 5 — NVMP @ 6:38 PM

No holding back, no shame!  This week we asked a few of our writers what songs are played the most through their iTunes and here are the results:

TNT’s Top 5
5. “Good Day” by Jukebox the Ghost
4. “Camera Talk” by Local Natives
3. “Airplanes” by Local Natives
2. “David” by Honey Honey
1. “Movie Loves A Screen” by April Smith and The Great Picture Show

Daniel Edward’s Top 5
5. “Maneater” by Nelly Furtado
4. “Dance In My Blood” by Men Women & Children
3. “The Name of the Train is the Hurricane” by Men Women & Children
2. “The Church of Hot Addiction” by Cobra Starship
1. “In My Arms” by Kylie Minogue

Mark’s Top 5
5. “Soluble Words” by Ken Andrews
4. “Keep Me In Your Pocket” by Charlotte Martin
3. “In A Big Country” by Big Country
2. “Little Secrets” by Passion Pit
1. “Flaming June” by BT

 

TNT’s Playlist 6/4/10 June 4, 2010

Filed under: MySpace Music,New Music — NVMP @ 5:51 PM
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday again, ready for some new music?  This week’s playlist has songs I’ve heard over the past couple of weeks that I love.  Hopefully you will love them too!  As always, follow this link to our MySpace Music page, pop-out the playlist, and enjoy!
Like what you hear?  Click on the name of each band to be directed to their MySpace or websites.
– TNT

TNT’s Music 6/4/10

1. “Strawberry Quick” by Sandman Viper Command – Great track!  Good for any situation walking, driving, chilling, drinking strawberry quick, whatever.  Indie infused with a garage sound that’s actually catchy.  They’re playing NXNE June 17th and 18th, if you should happen to find yourself in Toronto, ON.
2. “Paint The Town Red” by The Hotcakes – This is my favorite song from The Hotcakes and it was amazing live (saw them 5/25 @ Mercury Lounge).  A great anthem, I always try to out sing this track.  Although I never do, the important thing is that I feel like I do.
3. “Pin Down” by Leah Siegel – Such a NYC gem!  Leah Siegel’s voice gives me the chills while scaring the shit out of me; a dark Judy Garland who plays guitar, if you will.  You need to listen to all of her clever lyrics and seriously catch a live show (sign up for her mailing list for show announcements).  Just saw her 6/2 @ Bowery Electric w/ bassist Tim Luntzel; her haunting, soulful voice had the room’s full attention.
4. “Age Of Reason” by American Classic – Another up and coming band to keep an eye on is American Classic.  Their set at Maxwell’s last night was addicting, leaving me wanting more.  Kevin Lyman- put this band on VWT 2011, I’m sick of hearing crappy punk rock wannabes with minimal talent.  Do not miss American Classic on 6/19 @ School of Rock in S. Hackensack, NJ
5. “Johnny Got A Boom Boom” by Imelda May – Rockabilly/Blues from Dublin?  Why not!  Imedla May performed “How High The Moon” with Jeff Beck at the 2010 Grammy’s and I’ve been enthralled with her ever since.
6. “I Need $$$” by The White White Lights – I think we can all relate to this song, hence, why it’s on this list.  Also, The White White Lights rock; they remind me of what the Yeah Yeah Yeahs used to be.
7. “Coma Politik” by Theodore Grimm – Another amazing rock band from northern NJ, Theodore Grimm will rock your face off.  I hear psychedelic rock that you can dance to.  I am well overdue to catch a live show.  Check out the song “Pullin Shape” too, ce magnifique!
8. “Home” by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Hoverbee says:  I didn’t like “Home” at first, but it grew on me ridiculously.  I like the male/female call and response singing/talking action, the whistling, the tambourine, the horns, and in some parts, the guy’s voice reminds me a bit of Johnny Cash.  It manages to be country without sucking which is, in my opinion, REALLY hard to do.  They are definitely folk and also a bit gospel, which also kicks ass if done correctly.  It’s more about the feelings the songs give me: like I don’t live in 2010.
9. “This Fiction” by Adelaide’s Cape – This acoustic folk/rock band from the UK deserves your attention.  I love all the finger picking in their music, don’t know why, they just do it well with their catchy rhythms.
10. “Another Time” by Brahms – I saw Brahms on 5/25 @ Pianos and let me tell you, they might just make list of bands that I’d hire for a house party.  Currently on tour with Passion Pit and Tokyo Police Club, Brahms is making their electro rock voices and laptops heard all over major cities in the US.
11. “Passion Pit Sleepyhead Remix” by The Knocks – I’m not a huge Passion Pit fan, but I do enjoy this remix by NYC Duo The Knocks, another group to keep an eye on this summer!  Originals (loving “Can’t Shake Your Love” at the moment) or covers, The Knocks can conquer any sound.
12. “Burn It Down” by AWOLNATION – When NVMP meets up with Andrew W.K. @VWT 2010, the first thing I want to ask him is “When are you teaming up with AWOLNATION?” because I think both bands would tear the stage up for an unforgettable show.  Oh!  And to have your mind complete blown out of your head, check out www.haveyougoneawol.com.  It’s too cool to even describe, but I will tell you that it’s in 3D!

 

Black Taxi – Things Of That Nature June 2, 2010

Filed under: CD Reviews,Music You've Been Missing,TNT Concert Calendar — NVMP @ 10:35 PM
Tags: ,

Remember when we introduced you to Black Taxi?  Of course you do, it was back in April. (click here to refresh your memories)


Daniel Edwards had some things to say about Things of That Nature:

I absolutely love Black Taxi’s Things of That Nature.  I hesitate to call this engaging and varied album indie-rock for fear of people dismissing it based on that moniker, but Black Taxi takes the indie-rock sound and infuses it with their unique blend of pop, new wave, alt-rock, classic rock…the list goes on; “Pretty Mama” and “Shoeshine” incorporate ska-esque horn sections; “Can’t Bring Myself To Care” evokes a longing, harmonized country vibe.  Things of That Nature is like a conversation with the band; every track reveals a little bit more about them, painting a big colorful portrait of their sound.  I wouldn’t skip a track on the CD, and I’d pay special attention to “Head on a Pike.”  Everyone should listen to Black Taxi’s Things of That Nature.

Check out Black Taxi on June 10th, The Studio @ Webster Hall

New Music, Listen Up.

 

Top 5 Cover Songs June 1, 2010

Filed under: Manic Monday Top 5 — NVMP @ 9:04 PM

Memorial Day weekend means summer is around the corner, which also means hearing some of your favorite cover songs!  NVMP presents our Top 5 Cover Songs this week.  Good luck crawling out of your hangover and getting back to your work week.

A cover here and there are okay, but let's keep it to a minimum and work on developing something original. Cool?

TNT’s Top 5
5. “Suffragette City” (originally David Bowie) by The Get Up Kids
4. “Scarlet Begonias” (originally The Grateful Dead) by Sublime – Its made my list before, but what can I say?  It’s a great cover…that’s not a full cover at all, but a decked out Sublime style cover still rocks.
3. “Mama Said Knock You Out” (originally LL Cool J) by Lagwagon – It was on a mixed tape from middle school.  I love me some punk covers!
2. “Crimson and Clover” (originally Tommy James and the Shondells) by Joan Jett – I’ll fight you to the death on this one, I like her version better.  End of story.
1. “Drive Me Crazy” (originally Britney Spears) by Sugarcoma – Oh Sugarcoma, thank you for taking a terrible song and making it better.  All it needed was a driving guitar and some heavy drums while screaming the chorus.  Sorry Spears, your version drives me crazy in a bad way, this version is better.  (I don’t think this UK band is still together, but I suggest checking out the album Becoming Something Else.)

Mark’s Top 5
5. “Enjoy the Silence” by Failure – One of the finest covers of a Depeche Mode song ever, reworked and molded into a creepy, distorted space rock journey, led by Ken Andrew’s distinct gruff vocals, here peppered with odd  pronunciations.  It’s a track that wouldn’t be out-of-place on a soundtrack to a David Lynch or David Fincher flick.
4. “Cars” by Fear Factory – Lead singer Burton C. Bell had name checked Gary Numan as an influence on his music, so it comes as no surprise that his band would eventually cover the 1979 original, giving it a FF make over with crunchy rhythmic guitars layered over crisp drumming and digital bleeps, while still  managing to stay true to the original song.
3. “Barbie Girl” by MxPx – A staple of my DJ sets, it is a quick, pointless, and funny as fuck cover of Aqua’s sugary pseudo-sexual original.  It always gets a laugh, while still managing to sound really cool and get people moving.
2. “Angel” by Charlotte Martin – What once was a slow-paced trip-hop jam, with middle-eastern feeling vocals, becomes a beat heavy, mid-tempo track that you could actually dance or mellow out to, courtesy the re-arrangement by good ol’ CharMar.
1. “Moonlight Sonata” by Depeche Mode – Although credited to DM as a B-side, the real star of this tune is Alan Wilder.  He performed this one-off cover of Beethoven’s masterpiece as a way to kill some time in between sessions.  It’s a bit abbreviated and sped up, but still an amazing cover that somehow manages to maintain the intended vibe of Beethoven, while at the same time keeping in line with the sonic themes of DM’s music.

Dan’s Top 5
5. “What You Waiting For?” (originally Gwen Stefani) by Franz Ferdinand
4. “It’s My Life” (originally Talk Talk) by No Doubt
3. “Make You Feel My Love” (originally Bob Dylan) by ADELE
2. “Bitches Ain’t Shit” (originally Dr. Dre) by Ben Folds Five
1. “All Along the Watchtower” (originally Bob Dylan) by Jimi Hendrix

Klone’s Top 5
Covers are a staple of the music world, and for those of us fans who are also musicians, part of what helped us learn to play.  Here are the ones I’ve grown to love as my Top 5, plus a slew of honorable mentions.  “The greatest flattery is imitation.”
5. “A Little Respect” – originally by Erasure, Cover by in.spite.of
4. “Cinnamon Girl” – originally by Neil Young, Cover by Type O Negative
3. “All Along The Watchtower” – originally by Bob Dylan, Cover by BT & Bear McCreary (BSG Season 3 Soundtrack)
2. “I Love You Always Forever” – originally by Donna Lewis, Cover by Jukebox The Ghost (performed on 5/29/2010)
1. “Whiskey In The Jar” – originally by Thin Lizzy, Cover by Metallica

Honorable Mentions: Metallica – “Breadfan” – originally by: Budgie, “Stone Cold Crazy” – originally by: Queen, “Astronomy” – originally by: Blue Oyster Cult
Guns N’ Roses – “Hair Of The Dog” – originally by: Nazareth, “Mama Kin” – originally by: Aerosmith, Sublime – “Scarlet Begonias” – originally by: The Grateful Dead, Lou Reed – “This Magic Moment” – originally by: The Drifters, Blue Man Group – “White Rabbit” – originally by: Jefferson Airplane, “Baba O’Reilly” – originally by: The Who, Alien Ant Farm – “Smooth Criminal” – originally by: Michael Jackson,Gus – “Don’t Fear The Reaper” – originally by: Blue Oyster Cult, Paradise Lost – “How Soon Is Now?” – originally by: The Smiths

Stigz’s Top 5
5. “Turn The Page” by Metallica (Originally Performed by Bob Seger) – They lost me after Load and only slightly won me back with their cover album, which this is on.  However, this take on the Bob Seger track kicks some serious ass.  The whole Napster debacle is another story…
4. “Anyway You Want It” by Rise Against (Originally Performed by Journey) – Despite it being a classic jam in true Journey fashion, Tim McGrath owns this cover and injects it with his own flavor.
3. “I’m Your Boogieman” by White Zombie (Originally Performed by KC and the Sunshine Band) – I know, I was stunned when I heard it to, but any 70s revisit by a Zombie, whether its solo Rob or White, is rocking nonetheless.
2. “No Ordinary Love” by Deftones (Originally Performed by Sade) – Chino’s haunting voice brings an entirely new element to this song.  It was sexy when she sang it, and even more haunting when the Deftones lay down this track.
1. “All Along The Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix(Originally Performed by Bob Dylan) – Jimi…Dylan…That’s all I have to say.

Note: I do a segment on my show every Friday on 89.5 FM WSOU from 4pm-8pm where I play all kinds of covers, so this was extremely hard to narrow down.  I also didn’t want to punk out and pick tracks from cover albums like Punk Goes Crunk and Punk Goes Pop : toooo easy.

 

Tell All by Chuck Palahniuk May 27, 2010

Filed under: Book Reviews — NVMP @ 7:55 PM
Tags: ,

A Book Review by Alexander ‘Stigz’ Castiglione

Anyone that knows Chuck knows what to expect when they crack the spine of one of his gritty novels.  They know that they are about to get hit with a hyperbole-soaked, loathing-enriched story that’s high in distaste for the human condition and low in moral fiber.  This piece is no different, and its disturbing qualities are only exceeded by its truthfulness, no matter how hard it is to accept.

For the rabid Palahniuk punks, this book is a synthesis of earlier works, like Diary, Survivor, Invisible Monsters, and a few nuances of one of his most offensive pieces (as if everything Chuck writes is not omnisciently offensive and equally unnerving), Snuff. The story is simple: It follows a washed up Hollywood starlet and her personal assistant/savior/guide/maid/confidant.

From a literary standpoint, it is equal with all his other works when it comes to storyline and plot points, however, voracious fans of the nihilistic writer (like myself) will most likely have the whole story figured out by page 70.  However, this book, unlike other pieces by Palahniuk, is unusually short – only weighing in at around 170 pages.  Don’t be mistaken though, it’s dripping with disdain and laced with equally lovable and loathsome characters throughout.

With this particular book, I cannot really say much without giving away the plot, but do yourself a favor and read it!  It’s not a hard read like Pygmy, his previous release, and film buffs will love the name dropping that he subtly ties into the subtext.  He comments on film legends like John Ford and DeMille, but also draws light on the lesser known tragedies of the silver-screen starlets in true Chuck fashion.  Like every other book, you will be full of useless knowledge and disturbing factoids about the world’s most timeless and well known faces and behind-the-scenes geniuses. From Bogart to Hitchcock to Minelli, no name is safe and no star in the sky of Old Hollywood is given refuge.  He bares his literary teeth, and bites the ass of America’s favorite past-time: Sitting back and watching someone else live their ideal life.  Like I said, this is pure Chuck, however brief the novel and nobody is safe.

Like his other work, he continues to find new and interesting narrative devices to separate him from the rest of the post-modern, post-anything writers that live on the shelves of bookstores worldwide.  Just like his journalist in Lullaby using the newspaper ads to tell us something or via the false medical diagnosis in Choke, he writes through the eyes of Hazie, who is writing her screenplay as we read the book.  In this particular piece, he indirectly calls out the cancer of name-dropping and brand name subservience that, more and more in today’s fast paced world, everybody is contracting.  I don’t want to ruin it, but by page six, you will have heard enough about this actor or that director, this face cream or that designer purse.  And he lays it on thick, as always, to really have you thinking outside of the standard framework of modern decadence and look at the absurdity of it all.

Rabid Chuck fans: Go out now and get a first edition!  Newcomers to the poet Palahniuk: read his earlier stuff and then devour this: you will not be disappointed.

 

Diamond Eyes by Deftones May 25, 2010

Filed under: CD Reviews — NVMP @ 5:20 PM
Tags: ,

A CD Review by Alexander ‘Stigz’ Castiglione

The Deftones’ new release, Diamond Eyes, finally brings back the same relative sound of ALL of their earlier work, but with a new edge on some tracks.

In this respect, Diamond Eyes cuts through the proverbial bullshit of “the band’s sound evolving” and actually brings it back to the fans, and brings it hard.  From the title track forward, this 11 track CD does not pull punches, it does not hold back, and it does not leave you pissed off.  What does it do?  It has you completely stoked that a band “evolving” isn’t equated with losing the sound that made you like them in the first place.  Not to throw any musicians under the bus, but of late, many have done this.  Alkaline Trio, Alexisonfire, and so many other bands have let us down, and it’s awesome to see a band sticking with a formula that works rather than “growing as musicians” and subsequently decimating their fan-base.

Tracks like “Beauty School” and “Prince” give us that melodic and downbeat drawl that we know and love from the Deftones, but then we get more brutal tracks like “CMND/CTRL” which keep your pulse racing and head banging.  And, for the first time in a while, the title track “Diamond Eyes” hits all the notes we want to hear as fans.  As I have said before, the true measure of a good album is how many times you hit the “next” button.  In this case, the track forward button got very, very lonely and the repeat button had a full dance card on my CD player.

In closing, this album gets a 9/10 by my tally.  Go pick it up.