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Archive for June, 2022

La Femme / Cumgirl8 (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, June 4, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Cumgirl8, La Femme, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry on June 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 4, 2022] La Femme / Cumgirl8

I heard about La Femme through the Levitation Sessions releases.  I have enjoyed just about everything that Levitation has released in this series–most of it trippy psychedelia.

La Femme is a different beast though.  While still trippy, the are more of a disco-based, Kraftwerk-inspired form of Parisian punk psych pop.  They could be trashy psych as played by techno acts, or prickly electro as louche sophisti-noir.  Whatever the case, I though they’d be fun to see live.

I found out about this show pretty late in the game and it happened to be on the same night as the Crawlers show that my daughter really wanted to go see.  So I hope La Femme comes back around sooner rather than later.

Cumgirl8 sounds like the name of a band that is trying too hard.  But they are getting some good review for their music.

Like this from V Magazine.

Founded on the idea of taking back control and fighting against toxicity, cumgirl8 is true adventurist-punk group. The group has received praise from the likes of Stereogum and Fader, and their latest song, “dumb bitch,” has already garnered over 15,000 listens on Spotify.

They remind me of a British 70s punk band ala The Slits (I thought they were British–they are not).  The music is weird, with a pulsing bass that follows the main vocal line and jagged, echoing guitars.

Here’s an interesting factoid about the band: singer and bass player Lida Fox and guitarist Veronika Vilim are both models, as in big baller runway Marc Jacobs type shit, with drummer/synth tweaker/producer Chase Noelle having played in BOYTOY and others.

I wonder how much durability they’ll have.

 

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Terry Pratchett–The Fifth Elephant (1999) [Discworld #24] [Watch #5]

Posted in Anachronisms, Angua von Überwald, Carrot Ironfoundersson, Cheery Littlebottom, Death, Detritus, Discworld, Dorfl, Dwarfs, Fred Colon, Funny (ha ha), Gender, Lady Sybil Ramkin, Lord Vetinari, Magic, Nobby Nobbs, Political Humor, Politicians, Samuel Vimes, Technology, Terry Pratchett, The Watch, Vampires, Violence, Werewolves, Wizards on June 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: hiatus

[READ: April 2022] The Fifth Elephant

This is a story of Ankh-Morpork and progress.  Ankh-Morpork has just introduced a series of clacks–semaphore towers–to provide quick communication between distant places.  It’s expensive, but businesses in the know are all getting c-mail addresses.

Incidentally, the movie The Fifth Element came out in 1997 and was clearly an inspiration for the title–although very little about that film falls into place here.  Rather, the fifth elephant of the title is believes to have been one of the elephants who held up the world but who fell to the Disc and caused craters of fat deposits that are found underground in Uberwald (which produces the best fat on the disc).  Fat deposits are a very valuable commodity.

Uberwald factors heavily in this story.  Ankh-Morpork now has the largest dwarf city on the Disc.  And the progressive dwarfs in Ankh-Morpork are able to sway elections back home–where the more traditional dwarfs (deep down dwarfs) don’t think highly of the dwarfs who have left.

An upcoming election for Dwarf king was swayed by the Ankh-Morpork contingent and Rhys Rhysson, a progressive dwarf is set to become King.  But this has made many old school dwarfs very unhappy and rumors of an internal war start brewing. (more…)

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Natural Information Society (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 3, 2022) [KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS]

Posted in Full show video, Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Natural Information Society, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 3, 2022] Natural Information Society

Since the last time I saw Kurt Vile (2018), S. has become a huge fan of Kurt and his music.

So when he announced a tour that would be culminating at Union Transfer, obviously we were going to go.  I’m a fan of the opener Chastity Belt, but I was bummed that they weren’t opening our leg of the tour.  So that left two possibilities for us: Sun Ra Arkestra or Natural Information Society.

I had seen Sun Ra Arkestra and enjoyed their wild free jazz craziness.  I knew S. wouldn’t like them.  But it turned out that the question was moot because I was taking my daughter to another show on the Sun Ra night anyhow.  So Natural Information Society it was.

I had never heard of them and had no idea what they were like. (more…)

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Aurora (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 2, 2022)

Posted in Aurora, Norway, Philadelphia, PA, Sub Urban, T., Union Transfer on June 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 2, 2022] Aurora

I love Aurora.  She puts on a great show and is just chock full of positive energy.  We saw her two years ago and I was excited to see her again.

After a break, Aurora came out.

Last time, she had giant jellyfish hanging from the ceiling.  This time she had a curtain in the back of the stage a giant circle behind her.  It acted as a backdrop and a light source.

Her new album, The Gods We Can Touch had just come out and she played a number of songs from it.  Even though many of her songs are dancey, she had an acoustic guitar for “everything Matters” (along with electronic keys and drums).  

Her song “Blood in the Wine” is a wonderfully passionate song with a fantastic hook that I can’t get out of my head.

Of course, Aurora has her dedicated fans.  Several of them brought her gifts.  Someone even gave her a teapot.  (How would she bring that home in her suitcase?)

It’s easy to think of Aurora and her fan base (“Warriors”) as a bit too much, as she is practically a living embodiment of a Norwegian fairy.  But she is so sincere, that her passion as she talks between songs (in her near-perfect English, faltering just enough to make it all the more effective) is palpable.  And if you aren’t moved by a song like “Warrior” (which everyone sings along to) then you are too hardened by life.

Aurora seems like her music would be ethereal and aloof, but a song like “A Temporary High” has a pounding drum beat. (more…)

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Terry Pratchett–Carpe Jugulum (1998) [Discworld #23] [Witches #6]

Posted in Agnes Nitt, Bela de Magpyr, Cook Book, Count de Magpyr, Death, Death, Discworld, Esmerelda Margaret Note Spelling of Lancre, Fairy Tales, Funny (ha ha), Granny Weatherwax, King Verence, Lacrimosa de Magpyr, Magic, Magrat Garlick, Nanny Ogg, Terry Pratchett, Unfinished series, Violence, Vlad de Magpyr, Witches on June 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: hiatus

[READ: March 2022] Carpe Jugulum

It’s so hard to believe that Carpe Jugulum (Discworld book #23 of 41) is the last one to feature the Witches! Especially since it is quite clearly about vampires.  Actually, other books feature Granny Weatherwax (the Tiffany Aching books feature her a lot), but it’s the last one that features the classic trio of witches.

Queen Magrat and King Verence have figured out the whole bedroom thing (Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax weren’t sure they’d every actually figure it out) and are pleased to announce their first child–a girl.

The King has invited everyone to their naming ceremony.  That includes the vampires from Uberwald.

Since the vampires have been invited they are pretty much free to do as they want.  It turns out that they are quite clear about their plans–they are going to move into Lancre Castle and basically turn all of the humans into their cattle (as they have done in Uberwald).  But because of a kind of hypnotism, no one is upset by this–nor do they seem to fully get what the threats represent. (more…)

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Terry Pratchett–The Last Continent (1998) [Discworld #22] [Rincewind/Wizards #6]

Posted in Anachronisms, Death, Discworld, Disembowel-Meself-Honourably Dibhala, Funny (ha ha), Hex, Josh Kirby, Magic, Mustrum Ridcully, Ponder Stibbons, Racism, Rincewind, Terry Pratchett, The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Bursar, The Chair of Indefinite Studies, The Dean, The Lecturer in Recent Runes, The Librarian, The Luggage, The Senior Wrangler, Wizards, Wizards on June 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: hiatus

[READ: March 2022] The Last Continent

The Last Continent in Discworld is Australia. Or as Pratchett says “This is not a book about Australia. No, it’s about somewhere entirely different which just happens to be, here and there, a bit Australian.  Still… no worries, right?”

In the previous Rincewind story, he was sent to Four Ecks in exchange for a kangaroo.  He has been there for a time and has been adjusting reasonably well–only nearly everything wants to kill him.

But suddenly he meets Scrappy–a talking kangaroo.  Scrappy believes that Rincewind is a hero of sorts who is going to bring the wet (Rain) back to the continent.  Turns out that it has not rained in Four Ecks for a long time, although it is surrounded by forbidding storms that make the continent almost inaccessible from outside.

Four Ecks is also a time travel parody of sorts, because Rincewind is able to see himself (and the other wizards) in cave paintings that are thousands of years old but which just appeared in front of him.

Meanwhile, back in Ankh-Morpork, the librarian seems to be going through something.  His magical field (which tunrned him into an orangutan) seems to be failing.  He keeps turning into various shapes, and the senior wizards (Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully, The Dean, The Bursar, The Chair of Indefinite Studies, The Lecturer in Recent Runes, The Senior Wrangler, and Ponder Stibbons) are keen on fixing him–even if that means turning him back human–which he does NOT want, Indeed, the librarian destroyed all record of his original name–which would be essential for creating a spell to revert him to his original shape.

They decide that Rincewind might know a thing or two about the librarian since he was the librarian’s assistant.  They think about dragging Rincewind back, but soon realize the danger of that (and actually stop their plans before anyone can get hurt). (more…)

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Sub Urban (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 2, 2022) [AURORA]

Posted in Aurora, Benee, Billie Eilish, Philadelphia, PA, Sub Urban, T., Union Transfer on June 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 2, 2022] Sub Urban

I love Aurora.  She puts on a great show and is just chock full of positive energy.  We saw her two years ago and I was excited to see her again.

I had no idea who Sub Urban was, but I enjoyed the name (it’s kinda clever and he’s from Ridgewood, NJ, right near where I grew up and also where the band Real Estate is from!).  Turns out that Sub Urban actually had a viral hit called “Cradles.”  

In fact, before the show started when I was waiting for my daughter to come out of the bathroom I saw a little girl with her dad and I said something about how great Aurora was and the girl reply “I’m not here for her, I’m here for Sub Urban.”  Huh.  

He also had a new single called “UH-OH” which featured New Zealand Singer Benee (who sounds so much like Billie Eilish it’s insane).  And, indeed, Aurora guests on one of his songs as well (“Paramour” which he did not play). (more…)

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Terry Pratchett–Jingo (1997) [Discworld #21] [Watch #4]

Posted in Anachronisms, Angua von Überwald, Carrot Ironfoundersson, Cheery Littlebottom, Death, Detritus, Discworld, Dorfl, Dwarfs, Fred Colon, Funny (ha ha), Golems, Guns, Lady Sybil Ramkin, Leonard of Quirm, Lord Vetinari, Magic, Nobby Nobbs, Racism, Samuel Vimes, Terry Pratchett, The Librarian, The Watch, Vampires, Violence, Werewolves on June 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: hiatus

[READ: March 2022] Jingo

With a title like Jingo, you know that Terry Pratchett isn’t holding back.  And indeed, this is a story about two countries fighting each other over disputed territory–and the unenlightened attitudes that people have about “foreigners.”

What is great about Pratchett is how much he is able to get his point across without being preachy.  Some of the unenlightened characters say offensive things, but they are quickly discoruaged from such attitudes–not with bludgeoning and hysteria, but with rational comments.  It’s very well done.

But what causes this trouble?  Well, out of nowhere, an island has surfaced.  The island of Leshp was submerged forever, and suddenly, it floated to the surface amid two fishermen.  Solid Jackson of Ankh-Morpork (and his long-suffering son) and Greasy Arif from Al-Khali, the Klatchian capital.  They often fought over their prey (the Curious Squid), because they sailed the same waters that were between the two countries.

While this is going on, diplomatic business is occurring in Ankh-Morpork.  The prince of Klatch, Khufurah, is in Ankh-Morpork to receive an honorary degree (Doctorum Adamus cum Flabello Dulci) in Sweet Fanny Adams.

Hostilities between A-M and Klatch are high.

Several leaders of the city are there to complain to Lord Vetenari about Klatch.  Watch Captain Sam Vimes is there to add a level head and sarcasm.  When someone complains that Klatch wouldn’t accept ten boatloads of cabbages, Vimes says out loud to himself “everyone knows caterpillars add to the flavor” and later “Meat is at its best when it’s going green.”

And of course, the Patrician knows his way around diplomacy: “it is no longer considered…nice…to send a warship … to show Johnny Foreigner the error of his ways.”

Later, the Prince meets with Vimes and asks him about the word he’s heard shouted at him: “towelhead.” (more…)

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