SOUNDTRACK: SUNN O)))-Flight of the Behemoth (2002).
I hadn’t really heard Sunn O))) until this record (which may not be typical as they collaborated with Merzbow on this one). I knew that Sunn O))) played loud droney “music.” And so it is here. On “Mocking Solemnity” (9 minutes) and “Death Becomes You” (13 minutes) (which meld into each other seamlessly), the songs are mostly slow drones on electric guitar. The chords are heavy and heavily distorted and they ring out for a few bars–not until the chords die naturally, there is a kind of pacing involved, but for a few bars until the chords are played again (often the same chord). This is for those who thought Metal Machine Music was too complicated.
On paper this sounds unimpressive (or downright awful, depending) but in reality it is a very physical experience (if played loud enough).
The staticy noise of “Death” melds into track 3 “O))) Bow 1” which adds what sounds like radically modified piano playing a kind of melody. It’s about 6 minutes and it really changes the tone of the record to suddenly add an atonal racket to the almost calming drone of the bass. But by the middle of the song, the piano becomes what sounds like a chainsaw. Merzbow mixed that track and “O))) Bow 2” which is 13 minutes of the same slow pulsating noise. It’s not exactly soothing.
The final track is “F.W.T.B.T.” a “remake” of “Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” I can’t hear a thing that sounds like the original, but that’s what makes a cover interesting. Although admittedly around the four and a half minute mark there’s some faster chords (for this band anyhow) that could be Metallica-like. There are also drums (and vocals, although I have no idea what they are saying) on this ten-minute workout.
Not for the faint of heart (or fans of melody).
[READ: November 17, 2012] How to Be Alone
I read most of the articles in this book already. But I read them over two years ago, so I thought it would be safe to wade into the world of Franzen again. What I find most interesting about the title of this book is just how many of these articles are about being alone, wanting to be alone or feeling like you are alone. Obviously that is by design but it seems surprising just how apt the title proved to be, especially given the variety of subjects his father’s brain, being a novelist, the US Postal Service, New York City.
I’m not going to go into major detail about each article this time, although I am providing a link to the earlier review–my feelings didn’t really change about the pieces (except that from time to time I got a bit exhausted at his…whininess? No, not that exactly…maybe his persecution complex. But I will give a line summary about each one just to keep everyone up to speed. The four pieces that I hadn’t read before I will give a few more words about.
One overall feeling is that when Franzen isn’t writing about the state of the novel (which he is very passionate about) his articles are well researched well documented which is kind of surprising given the state of panic he seems to be in the novel articles. It’s also kind of funny how out of touch these articles seem (some are almost 20 years old and are kind of laughably outdated), but it’s also funny to see how poorly his predictions panned out. The death of the novel is rather overrated (just see the success of his own Freedom.
So the book contains: (more…)
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Back in the 1990s I loved My Bloody Valentine. I can recall checking the racks in Newbury Comics on a weekly basis just to see if there was some kind of follow up to Loveless (this is before the internet told us when things were coming out). After waiting some 20 years I basically gave up on the band. When mbv came out, I didn’t even bother listening to it, the hype was so much.
I Just Read About That... 