V02I17 - 04251999
MEMORIAM
This has indeed been a sad week all around. With the recent disaster in Colorado and the passing of a friend and fellow music enthusiast, Mikael Djurvall. Mikael lost his battle with leukemia on Tuesday of this past week at the age of 19. Although many people have not had interacted with him directly, his contributions can be seen on web pages like the one here for Throbbing Gristle and The Residents. He was more than just a music enthusiast and fan, he passionately went the distance to share his knowledge and the music with as many people as he could. He never second-guessed any of his convictions about the bands either. His presence will surely be missed all around. I found this page from a fellow Residents fan - a document of his time spent with Mikael this past February - freespace.virgin.net/v.coulman/rez/sweden.htm.
Jon is taking a hiatus through May 13th. The Brain will still be published and hopefully will feature new stuff each week. If this goes up late or not at all, then hopefully this'll explain things...
FRIDGE ON THE ROAD
Fridge is doing a 5-day mini English tour with Germans palandromists, To Rocco Rot. Check out the website for more info.
IN BRIEF
Australia's Pretty Boy Crossover (or PBXO) are not worried about
getting you on the dancefloor. In fact, they don't seem too worried
about getting played in the chill room, either. No, PBXO make music that
is more the late-night/early morning soundtrack to your drive home.
Straddling the musical fence which separates ambient working Aphex Twin
and Kraut looping To Rococo Rot, most of the tunes here flow like spilt
mercury and follow rhythm like a story, with a definate beginning and
end. Tracks like "High School Damage Sequence" and "Snowstorm" seem to
be built from flurries of My Bloody Valentine feedback, while "Pencil
Box", the albums opus, has a Skam-like beat to match it's subliminal
keyboard hums and swirls. With the exception of that track and one
other, though, most of the tracks here float in a beatless ether,
perfect to read/sleep/write/cook to... yes, I cook to music! This album
may suffer in the US market from poor distribution, and should reach a
lot more ears than it will. A 7" on US indie is in the pipeline, but do
youself the favor and track this Cd down, before you have to pay
outrageous collector prices for it in six months.
- Jason Olariu
ADD N TO (X), "AVANT HARD"
If you're new to Add N To (X) then you might want to consider a avant-mod soundtrack music created by electronic instruments of the late 60s. Add the cut-up technique, a lot of groove and remove all seriousness associated with 'electronic artists' and you've got the latest offering from Add N to (X). If you're familiar with their music, this album can be more kitch than previous albums. The beats are chunkier than before. It's fun, light and cute in parts and downright hard in others. The first "single" from this disc, 'Metal Fingers In My Body' is a sexually explicit animated video featuring sex between robots and humans. You can check this out on their wonderful shockwave-enhanced website, www.AddNtoX.com. Deeelicious! - Jon Whitney
JOWONIO PRODUCTIONS, "THE AVERAGE BEAUROCRAT"
The haunting soundscapes (I never thought I'd use that word, but boy does it fit well here) are like musical poetry; intelligent and rhythmic. Layers of noise challenge your brain and get those neurons firing. I suggest a good loud listen so you don't lose any of the subtle nuances that it has to offer. (Though if you listen too loud, your cats may climb the walls like mine did). This is the only work I've heard from Jowonio Productions, so I can't compare it to anything else you may have heard by him, but I can say it's extremely enjoyable. At times it's reminiscent of the Hafler Trio, at other times it seems slightly Coil-esque, but it's a bit of a stretch to make any real comparison. I find myself without much frame of reference with which to even try. I'm not sure how good I really am at reviewing this cd, mostly because it's still burrowing its way around in my head and it hasn't settled down yet. My cd player says it clocks in at 99.59 minutes, but I suspect some clever trickery from Jowonio, since it certainly felt like a small moment of hypnotism. My one criticism? It needs to be longer.
- Robin Zebrowski
REPORT
I don't think I've ever felt like this before in concert. Pan(a)sonic took the stage and flooded the entire club with sound waves and frequencies that were both emotionally and physically stimulating. My mind was clear and my ear drums were massaged very nicely, while vibrations were making my pant leg shake. This is such a rare show and something NOT to miss. Trans Am, however have played better concerts. Their music took a turn and went a little more keyboard-friendly and added lyrics. Even though the lyrics are all muffled by a vocoder, it still was a different show. Not as much crunch or distortion as before, but the drummer still pounded on. They're very talented and fun to watch, and maybe I was just spoiled by the energy of their previous tours when it was something new to watch and enjoy, but it is much different now. - Jon Whitney
RELEASES
* Coil - North 7" [repress on white vinyl, ltd to 300 copies] (World Serpent, UK)
Current 93/Michael Cashmore/Christoph Heeman - untitled LP [vinyl edition of last month's CD release, ltd to 1500 copies on clear vinyl] (World Serpent, UK)
Der Blutharsch/Deutsch Nepal - Apocalyptic Climax II 10" [ltd to 404 copies] (World Serpent, UK)
Fire Escape - Abandon Head CD [new project from Johnny Stephens of Meat Beat Manifesto] (Iris Light, UK)
GF - t.b.a. 12" (KK Trax, Belgium)
Gus Gus - This is Normal CD (4AD, UK)
Kreisel [Mike Ink] - Kreisel 99/17 7" [ltd edition] (Kreisel, Germany)
Lo-Fi Generator - Stereo CD (Underground Sounds, UK)
Mishka - Give You All The Love two CDEPs [mixes by Smith & Mighty and Mad Professor] (Creation, UK)
Moby - Run On 12"/two CDEPs (Mute, UK)
Nobody & Leutha Meet - You Will Hate Yourself In Me CD (World Serpent, UK)
Nurse With Wound - An Awkward Pause CD (World Serpent, UK)
Sternklang - Neolounge CD (Beatservice, Norway)
Thievery Corporation - Lebanese Blonde (Version Francais) CDEP [special 8 track mini-album] (4AD, UK)
Urban Species - Woman 12"/two CDEPs [mixes by Rae & Christian & more] (Talkin' Loud, UK)
Various - Estheticks of Cruelty 2xLP (Cold Meat Industry, Sweden)
TUESDAY
DJ Vadim with Dilated Peoples - Friction 12" (Ninja Tune, UK/Canada/US)
Fantastic Plastic Machine - Luxury CD (Emperor Norton, US)
Fantômas [Mike Patton and friends] - Fantômas CD (Ipecac/Caroline, US)
Front Line Assembly - Implode CD (Metropolis, US)
Gus Gus - This is Normal CD (4AD/Warner, US)
Subgenius - Orange CD (Invisible, US)
Tom Waits - Mule Variations CD/2xLP (Epitaph, US)
SATURDAY
David Kristian - Beneath the Valley of the Modulars CD (Alien8, Canada)
David Kristian - Woodworking CD [remix album with mixes by Justin Broadrick, Lowfish and others t.b.a.] (Alien8, Canada)
Merzbow - Door Open at 8 AM CD (Alien8, Canada)
Various - Coalescence CD (Alien8, Canada)
In light of an absence of an editor this week, this listing might be slightly inaccurate. For a more comprehensive release schedule stretching far into the future, please check out the NEW RELEASES brought to you by Greg and Feedback Monitor.
REVIEWED
The highlight of this sci fi film is the score by Jerry Goldsmith , very
unique, it definitely gives you the feel of the 23rd century, despite the
fact that the sets and clothing depict that of a 70's television show. The
story is very good, it's a time when people can only live up to the age of
30. Logan is much like a police officer who chases 'runners' when their time
is up. He himself is being chased after falling in love with a woman who is a
runner. The woman played by Jenny Agutter doesn't believe in ending their
lives at 30, she believes in a place where everyone can be free, a place
called sanctuary. They both leave the city in search for sanctuary only to
find a destroyed past civilization. The movie stars Michael York, Richard
Jordan and Peter Ustinov. I personally love this film, it may not be the best
film, but it's definitely worth a rental. - John "Star Traveler" Beck
Subject: Coil Song of the Week
hey,
whatever ya choose to do with song of the week, well.. obviously thats up
to you.
just want to drop a lttle note that says thanks! i really apprecate it!
the song of the week concept is the shit.
thats all
Song of the Week at the Coil website is disabled while Jon is out of town. There are no plans to resurrect it or discontinue it when he gets bacl.
OF THE
WEEK
We know the real reason why everybody watched Solid Gold in the 80s - it wasn't the music, the humor nor Marilyn McCoo, it was of course the Solid Gold Dancers. Check out the only website devoted to them, the Solid Gold Dance Connection at www.best.com/~sgdc.
This past week, by the power of the media, we witnessed the aftermath of the deadliest high school shooting in US history (and possibly the world for all I know). It's a sad state of the country when we are forced to confront the reality that life is fragile and the richest, whitest most suburban schools are not necessarily the safest. It's also tragic that we have to watch this happen at least once or twice a year these days. It's shocking to me that through all the tragedy, fear, hurt, and loss that we're so quick to try to find a scape goat other than ourselves. People are too quick to blame the internet, blame rock music, blame movies like Basketball Diaries, yet nobody is stepping up and taking the blame themselves. How do teenagers get a hold of guns? Why aren't their gun suppliers (parents, grandparents, friends or anyone who they could have stolen from for that matter) charged as accessories to murder on 13 accounts? When a person is driving drunk and gets into an accident and kills, they are charged with vehicular homicide - they didn't intend to kill anybody but it was their own stupid fault they let themselves lose control. It is our own fault as parents, friends, councelors to let ourselves lose control to let a catastrophe like this happen.
YOUR CD
PLAYER?
Diodes, wires and lots of dust...
- Tim J. DuFour
Brainwashed Paper Products
PO Box 7
Arlington MA 02476
USA