Punish Your Fucking Machine

So I was enjoying Sunday brunch this morning at a semi-local diner restaurant. Next to me at the counter were two twenty-somethings talking about electronic music, dropping names of effects, software and hardware that I'm relatively familiar with. My curiosity was peaked and I felt compelled to ask them what they're doing with all this gear. From the conversation I heard, they seemed quite knowledgable about all the features and functions inside and out. When faced with this question, their answer was simply "house music." This made me sad, I didn't tell them this directly, but it reminds me of my days working for an ISP doing tech support. When the brand-spanking new all-powerful Macintosh G4 came out, the possibilities were seemingly endless. I was always curious to know what people were doing with such an expensive and powerful hunk of machinery the government wouldn't even let out of the country. Much to my dismay most of the customers were just rich people who love blowing their cash on useless things - "we're using it at the home for our spreadsheets and to browse the web." This is the time of year for giving and receiving, so with this in mind, be sure that if you've been good and get some wonderful gear (you can treat yourself, too, you know) USE IT! Scientists say that humans only use a small percent of their brain, don't do this with your gear.
18989 Hits

Winter Warmer

There's a tradition this time of year for those of us in colder climates that I'd love to share. Gather a small group of some close friends (who happen to be music fans) and prepare a night of music listening while sipping some tasty hot mulled cider.
Ingredients:
  • 1 Gallon of Fresh Apple Cider (not that alcoholic processed garbage, but the real stuff you can find in your grocer's refridgerator)
  • Cloves
  • Cranberries
  • 2 Oranges
  • Orange Juice
  • Cinnamon Sticks
  • Ground Cinnamon
  • Ground Nutmeg
  • Brandy (Ginger Brandy recommended but not necessary)
Directions:
    Dump approximately 1/2 gallon of cider in a large pot, slice up two oranges and add them with a handful of cranberries. Add only a small splash of orange juice. Add some cloves but don't go overboard. Add the ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg to your desire and let sit on a low heat for at least a half-hour. When the oranges have sunk and look pretty drunk and the cranberries have gone soft, it's time to enjoy! Ladel the cider into some thick mugs, add the brandy and a cinnamon stick. Wander out to the livingroom and gather around the stereophonic hi-fi for an evening of socializing around some of the finest selections to suit your evening.
I did this on Friday night with three close friends and it was a certified success. As an added bonus, the pleasant and warm aroma of hot apples, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg lingered around my house throughout the following day. With many long weekends coming up, it's a wonderful time to be close to your friends during these cold and dark months.
12978 Hits

Brainwashed endorses Ralph Nader

In the US Presidential election the winner is going to be either Al Gore or George W. Bush. This is understood, but this is why we're encouraging a Nader vote: If Nader gets 5% of the vote, the Green Party will get Federal Matching funds in the next election. This means that we can indeed live in hope for a more truly democratic future. Currently, Nader's only on the ballot for 44 states. Mathematically he could win, but more than likely he will not.

The most important vote however on Election Day is never the president. Your local and state politics are most important since they will effect you the most. Pay attention to ballot questions because it's your chance to say what you think is right for your state. Read the questions carefully and keep in mind that while tax cuts look good on paper, they might be cutting into education or other necessary funding. Pay attention to who's supporting which question and ask yourself who's causes would you rather support,... Whatever you do, get out there and vote.

11417 Hits

Sigur Ros on the cover of the NY Times(?)

On Tuesday this past week, "Rekyavik Rocks" appeared on the cover of the New York Times. Open to the Arts section and there was a large feature on the Icelandic music scene, with lots of attention paid to Sigur Ros. I'm pleased to see this, truly, as video outlets like MTV, VH-1, coupled with the commercial radio outlets (mainly those posing as alternative) are absent minded when it comes to fresh, exciting movements in new music.

It's nice that the New York Times will feature something like this, as these budding scenes should not go unrecognized. Reading further through the article, I'm somewhat disturbed when I find my former boss, Leigh Lust quoted. Lust was my boss at Capitol in A&R, now he works for Elektra in A&R, and he still doesn't get it. The man's a great man, but he talks about how the Icelandic bands should collaborate with English writers so their songs can be done in English, thus making them more commercially viable abroad. Is he that much of a buffoon to think that the people of Iceland don't already know English and choose to sing in Icelandic?

Hearing somebody sing in their native tongue and reading along with translated lyrics in a booklet is like watching a foreign film with subtitles while having the songs re-done in English is like watching a foreign film dubbed. A person like Lust has been so involved inside the music biz for so long, that it seems he's forgotten what art means. Score 1 for the NY Times, 0 for the major-label music industry.
12917 Hits

Rediscovering Death In June

First off, let me get this out of the way: I have only recently discovered DIJ, though being a fan of Coil and Current 93.
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11379 Hits

Need Another Reason to Boycott the Majors?

This past week, 28 U.S. states filed suit against the five major labels and three of the biggest retailers, demanding "hundreds of millions of dollars" in damages.
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10384 Hits

Major Label Boycott

Until further notice, brainwashed will actively ignore major label music.
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10246 Hits

Every Generation Gets the Vanilla Ice They Deserve

I have to admit that I like Eminem. I don't like his music and don't necessarily agree with whatever he's saying but he's good for the music industry in many ways.
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10212 Hits

A Tribute?

Jon Whitney used to think I was a woman.
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9833 Hits

"Wierd Al" Responds to Napster

I have very mixed feelings about it.
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11831 Hits

Innovation Deprivation

While watching The The perform on Friday night, various thoughts swimming about in my head came together and trends became more clearly understood.
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10060 Hits

1999 Readers Poll - The Results

http://brainwashed.com/common/images/covers/graal002.jpgAlbum of the Year

   1. Coil, "Musick to Play in the Dark, Vol.1 "
   2. Nurse with Wound, "An Awkward Pause"
   3. Autechre, "EP7"
   4. three way tie:
      Tom Waits: "Mule Variations"
      To Rococo Rot: "The Amateur View"
      godspeed you black emperor: "Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada"
   5. Stereolab, "Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night
   6. Labradford, "E luxo so"
   7. two way tie:
      Low, "Secret Name"
      Nine Inch Nails, "The Fragile"
   8. two way tie:
      Trans Am, "Futureworld"
      Jim O'Rourke, "Eureka"
   9. four way tie:
      Mogwai, "Come on Die Young"
      Add N to (X), "Avant Hard"
      Sonic Youth, "Goodbye 20th Century"
      Plaid, "Rest Proof Clockwork"
  10. six-way tie:
      Angels of Light, "New Mother
      People Like Us, "Hate People Like Us"
      Pan Sonic, "A"
      Mouse on Mars, "Niun Niggung"
      Plateau, "Spacecake"
      Flaming Lips, "The Soft Bulletin"


BAND
OF THE
YEAR

    



   1. Coil
   2. godspeed you black emperor!
   3. Legendary Pink Dots
   4. two-way tie:
      Stereolab
      Squarepusher
   5. Low


SONG
OF THE
YEAR

    



   1. Aphex Twin, "Windowlicker"
   2. Coil, "The Dreamer is Still Asleep"
   3. godspeed you black emperor!, "Moya"
   4. Mogwai, "Stanley Kubrick"
   5. godspeed you black emperor!, "Blaise Bailey Finnegan, III"


MUSIC
VIDEO
OF THE
YEAR

    



   1. Aphex Twin, "Windowlicker"
   2. Bjork, "All is Full of Love"
   3. three-way tie:
      Add N to (X), "Metal Fingers in My Body"
      Beck, "Sexx Laws"
      Leftfield, "Afrika Shox"
   4. three-way tie:
      Lamb, "B-Side"
      U.N.K.L.E., "Rabbit in Your Headlights"
      Meat Beat Manifesto, "Prime Audio Soup"


NEW
BAND
OF THE
YEAR

    



   1. Angels of Light
   2. five-way tie:
      The Beta Band
      Cyclobe
      Plone
      Pole
      The All Seeing I


CONCERT
EVENT

    



   1. Labradford/godspeed you black emperor! (notably in various combinations including Low, Mogwai and Matmos)
   2. Trans Am / Pan Sonic
   3. Tom Ze with Tortoise
   4. Current 93 NYC
   5. four-way tie:
      v/vm
      Stereolab / Papa M
      Legendary Pink Dots
      Man... or Astro-Man??


BEST
LABEL

    



   1. Warp
   2. Kranky
   3. three-way tie:
      Thrill Jockey
      Mute
      Matador
   4. World Serpent
   5. Fat Cat
   6. Soleilmoon / Staalplaat


BEST
PRODUCER

    



   1. John McEntire & Jim O'Rourke
   2. Timbaland
   3. Jack Dangers
   4. Steven Stapleton
   5. Howie B


WORST
BAND

    



   1. three-way tie:
      Nine Inch Nails
      Limp Bizkit
      Backstreet Boys
   2. Korn
   3. six-way tie:
      Coil
      Britney Spears
      Blink 182
      Plone
      Marilyn Manson
      Kid Rock


WORST
ALBUM
YOU
BOUGHT

    



   1. Nine Inch Nails, "The Fragile"
   2. Tricky, "Juxtapose"
   3. Mogwai, "Come on Die Young"


BEST
COMP

    



   1. Warp's 10th Anniversary collections
   2. Reach the Rock Soundtrack
   3. v/vm, "AuralOffalWaffleTenPintsOfBitterAndABagOfPorkScratchings"
   4. five-way tie:
      Fight Club Soundtrack
      Matrix Soundtrack
      Eyes Wide Shut Soundtrack
      Matador's 10th Anniversaty
      Soundbombing II


BEST
MOVIE

    



   1. two-way tie:
      Blair Witch Project
      Being John Malkovich
   2. Eyes Wide Shut
   3. Fight Club
   4. two-way tie:
      American Beauty
      The Matrix
   5. two-way tie:
      Run, Lola, Run
      Dogma
   6. Sixth Sense
   7. two-way tie:
      South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
      Sleepy Hollow
   8. three-way tie:
      Princess Mononoke
      Iron Giant
      eXistenZ
   9. The Straight Story
  10. Man on the Moon
  11. American Pie


BEST
TV SHOW

    



   1. The Simpsons
   2. Futurama
   3. South Park
   4. That 70s Show
   5. X-Files
   6. two-way tie:
      Law and Order
      Just Shoot Me


BEST
BOOK

    



   1. The Onion Presents, "Our Dumb History"
   2. "Wreckers of Civilization," by Simon Ford


BEST
ACTOR

    



   1. Kevin Spacey
   2. Ed Norton
   3. three-way tie:
      Johnny Depp
      John Cusak
      Tom Cruise
   4. John Malovich


BEST
ACTRESS

    



   1. Christina Ricci
   2. three-way tie:
      Nicole Kidman
      Heather Donahue
      Annette Benning
   3. three-way tie:
      that chick in Run Lola Run
      Jennifer Jason Leigh
      Cameron Diaz


BIGGEST
DISAP-
POINTMENT

    



   1. Star Wars
   2. Y2K and all the other hype
   3. Blair Witch Project
   4. The Haunting


EVENT

    



   1. Columbine High
   2. Seattle Riots
   3. New Year's Eve
   4. Coachella Music Festival


WEBSITE

    



   1. brainwashed
      geez, can't you get more original!
   2. Superbad.com
   3. Pitchforkmedia.com
   4. Disinfo.com
   5. hamsterdance.com


HERO
    nobody got more than one vote
VILLAIN

    



   1. Bill Gates
   2. A four-way tie: Milosevic
      the Media
      Richard D. James
      George W. Bush


MOST
ANNOYING
TREND

    



   1. Pokemon
   2. gay teen bands (N'Sync/Backstreet/98 Degrees) / teen popstars (Britney Spears)
   3. three-way tie:
      Y2K fever
      Millennial surveys/polls
      Piercings
   4. two-way tie:
      Emo
      Cargo Pants

3098 Hits

1998 Readers Poll - The Results

http://brainwashed.com/tortoise/images/tnt.jpgAlbum of the Year

   1. Tortoise, "TNT"
   2. Autechre, (self titled, LP5) tied with Meat Beat Manifesto, "Actual Sounds + Voices"
   3. Legendary Pink Dots, "Nemesis Online"
   4. Massive Attack, "Mezzanine"
   5. Boards of Canada, "Music Has the Right to Children"
   6. godspeed you black emperor!, "f# a# to infinity"
   7. Coil, "Time Machines"
   8. Coil, "Autumn Equinox" (it's really an ep) tied with Ritalin, "Bedside Toxicology"
   9. Belle and Sebastian, "The Boy with the Arab Strap" tied with Current 93, "Soft Black Stars"
  10. Sonic Youth, "A Thousand Leaves"

Band of the Year

   1. Coil
   2. Tortoise
   3. Meat Beat Manifesto tied with Legendary Pink Dots
   4. Autechre
   5. Massive Attack

Song of the Year

   1. Coil, "Amethyst Decievers"
   2. Current 93, "A Gothic Love Song"
   3. Meat Beat Manifesto "Acid Again" tied with Coil, "Moon's Milk"

Music Video of the Year

   1. Aphex Twin, "Come To Daddy"
   2. Squarepusher, "Come on My Selector
   3. Beastie Boys, "Intergalactic

New Band of the Year

   1. godspeed you black emperor!
   2. Boards of Canada
   3. Arab Strap tied with Ritalin


Concert Event

   1. Legendary Pink Dots
   2. Meat Beat Manifesto
   3. Tortoise / Isotope 217


Favorite Label

   1. Kranky
   2. Thrill Jockey
   3. Soleilmoon / Staalplaat
   4. Warp
   5. Nothing (for basically releasing Warp stuff most people said...)


Producer

   1. John McEntire
   2. Steve Albini
   3. Jim O'Rourke


Worst Band

   1. Marilyn Manson
   2. Backstreet Boys
   3. Matchbox 20
   4. Rammstein
   5. Barenaked Ladies


Worst Album You Bought

   1. Marilyn Manson, "Mechanical Animals"
   2. A four-way tie:
      Meat Beat Manifesto, "Actual Sounds + Voices
      Ritalin, "Bedside Toxicology"
      Front 242, "Re Boot"
      Tricky, "Angels with Dirty Faces


Best Compilation

   1. Coil & Friends, "Foxtrot"
   2. Pi Soundtrack
   3. We Are Reasonable People
   4. A Tribute to Spacemen 3
   5. Remix Dystemper


Best Movie   

   1. Pi
   2. Saving Private Ryan
   3. The Trueman Show
   4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
   5. The Big Lebowski


Best TV Show

   1. The Simpsons
   2. The X Files
   3. South Park
   4. Sifl & Olly

Best Book

   1. "Smoke and Mirrors" by Neil Gaiman tied with "Lords of Chaos" by Michael Moynihan
   2. "About a Boy" by Nick Hornby tied with "A Man in Full" by Tom Wolfe

well, they didn't get many votes, but there's hardly any book readers any more...

Best Actor   

   1. Bill Clinton tied with Johnny Depp

nobody could agree on the rest


Best Actress


   1. Christina Ricci
   2. Gilian Anderson
   3. Parker Posey

Parker can do better next year, come on guys!

Biggest Disappointment   

   1. Titanic
   2. Waking up

I'm losing faith in our readership

Event of the Year   

   1. Clinton Sex Scandal
   2. LPD tour the USA

this category's answers aren't helping either

Web site of the year   

   1. brainwashed
   2. The Onion
   3. Warp Records tied with suck.com

flattery will get you nowhere

Hero   

   1. me (yes, everybody voted for themselves)
   2. Edward Ka-Spel

Villan

   1. Kenneth Star
   2. A four-way tie:
      me (yes, voting for themselves again)
      Bill Gates
      Marilyn Manson
      my boss


Most Annoying Trend   

   1. Swing
   2. Tommy Hilfiger
   3. Body Piercing tied with "Any trend"

4340 Hits
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