Growth

I’m liking A Drowning more and more with each listen.

Predictable for a fanboy to remain critical for only so long before caving, I admit. But I feel the growth in appreciation and enjoyment is quite genuine.

Keeping mum

After his nuptials with associated time out, and after all the talk of a hiatus and other statements committing to nothing of certainty if anything at all, Trent Reznor has begun posting semi-cryptic images on the NIN website.

Most recently, after a lot of close-ups of hardware etcetera, there was this of him at the mic.

I’m glad to see the pot is still boiling away, and my fanboy senses are keen to find out what the meal will be…

An oldie for a newie

Since E6′s new album ‘Kill’ hasn’t been released in Kiwiland yet (I’m waiting on the phone call), I’ve been reminiscing.

Here’s the classic ‘Danger! High Voltage’ as performed on Live With Jules Holland.

Kill

Electric Six always have been hedonistic.

The classic albums ‘Fire’ and ‘Senor Smoke’ were defined by their free-for-all fun. Not every track was a hit, but that was the point. They were albums made on month-long benders, or so they sounded. But there was craft too, in the less sloppy moments cut with wit (‘Gay Bar’ for instance).

Then along came ‘Switzerland’ and I lost faith. Overall, their sound became too considered, really.

Now, a couple of albums later and we have ‘Kill’ – and the single ‘Body Shot’. The track is genre-cheating, sleazed-out porn rock. The kind of thing they do best, but which they also overly depend upon.

The video is an explosion of crassness, as though the distinct but subtly played sleaze of ‘Danger! High Voltage’ has been exponentially and uncontrollably exploded away from. But, my! how wonderfully it achieves its crassness.

It might just be enough to win me back.

Yeah, I’ll still see it

Seeing the trailer, I was worried at first by Keisha Kastle-Hughes’ casting as Celeste, and not just because a little maori girl doesn’t look like a little french woman…

Now, from comments following its premier at Toronto, it sounds like the very core of The Vintner’s Luck, one of the greatest novels I’ve ever read, has been stripped out by Nikki Caro in the translation to film…

… which seems to involve, amongst other atrocities, a hetero whitewashing.

Rumour has it that Elizabeth Knox is somewhat less than cheery.

Does look lush though.

W4V3 G00D8Y3

Gutted as I was to miss this show…

Some dedicated nerdy fans have compiled a video of NIN’s performance of the Downward Spiral – the first time the whole album has ever been played live – from HD footage taken at the show by other fans.

Credit also must go to Trent and the band for encouraging an open video policy at their concerts – full knowing that open source media and an eager community can only mean good things.

The only down side is the sound quality, which is better than most bootlegs I’ve heard, but obviously nowhere near soundboard quality.

Apparently NIN themselves couldn’t record this one-off landmark occasion because of exorbitant fees demanded by the venue. Other shows from their Wave Goodbye tour have been captured with high res audio and sound, and you can hear them playing Cars and Metal with Gary Numan himself on their website.

I look forward to whatever release the band puts out from this as well.

From the fan produced video, here is The Becoming…

Maybe even both my lungs!

Lucky bastards.

The entire Downward Spiral album…

I would give my left lung to see NIN play a set like that.

I love getting Prick online

A package containing 5 beautiful, glossed, slipcases (with CDs inside) arrived today, along with a LIVE disc and… a sticker!

Yes, in record time (less than a week) my online order of Prick / Lucky Pierre has arrived from the US.

Turns out that The Wreckard is one of the best albums I have heard in, well, longer than I realised until I heard it. Kevin McMahon’s website describes it as “trouble”. The slipcase explains that it was “inspired by a selection of surviving entries from the audiojournal of an unbalanced aerialist.” And the songs sound… like they were composed during sleepless nights, recorded in some high-tech underground bunker, dumped into a rusty blender and diced, then reassembled into this… strange and beautiful chaos.

Trouble indeed.

I’ve also managed to consume ThinKing, which is altogether more straight forward and upbeat, and has also managed to rub my aural pleasure gland into wonderful excretion.

I’m undecided as to whether I like the album version of Attitude better, or the acoustic clip.

But now, where to stick that sticker.

(PS: “Lucky Pierre” is the guy in the middle.)

Lucky Prick

I first encountered Prick in the cheap bin at a Tauranga music store, and recognising the Nothing record label figured it’d be worth giving a go.

I was quite right. The self-titled album has held a precious spot in my CD collection ever since.

Kevin McMahon‘s words and music are quirky, playful, tenacious, and have a stonking industrial drive that mix shockingly well with the chaotic and often retro throw-back rythms. The stonk bears the distinct production stamp of Trent Reznor, with whom McMahon eventually had some kind of falling out.

Mention should also be made of McMahon’s wickedly cracked vocals. He is a man with Attitude.

After some time, a follow-up Prick album called The Wreckard was released. It was made available only through McMahon’s website and I never got around to purchasing it. Then the site went away, and I had to pack my pride away with it.

But now, there is www.luckypierremusic.com. Lucky Pierre being another of McMahon’s incarnations (once featuring Reznor), which actually predates Prick.

Interestingly, the self-titled Prick album is not being sold through the site, like a disowned child, but oh so many other glorious releases are.

Last night I put my order in for a special pack of 6 albums – including The Wreckard and a live CD of Prick self-titled and Wreckard songs. All up it cost just over $NZ100 – including postage from the US.

Somebody wipe down my seat and pick me up off the floor… !

Lucky Pierre

Fear of Blue

ThinKing

(sic)

The Wreckard (Prick)

Prick Live in Boston

B4TTL3

Placebo sent fans a link and a password to listen to a pre-release of their latest album, Battle for the Sun.

Being a fan, I got my link, and entered the appropriate details on the interweb site I had been directed to.

And I listened.

And I smiled quite a lot.

The password was good for a window of just a few days, with a maximum of 5 plays, and showing a certain lack of real commitment, I logged in on the final day, an hour before I was due to be elsewhere. So I’ve only heard it once.

But what I heard was big noise, smatterings of horns and synths, several nice spotlights on the new drummer’s talents, Molko screeching, and a sound as heavy as your fat mother’s ass.

Molko’s lyrics haven’t improved terribly since the band’s prime time (WYIN). But they’re not all bad. Some are even pretty good. And Molko delivers them all with sterling vitality.

I look forward to repeated spins upon its official release.

PS: Their INTERNATIONAL page now has STUFF in it. Worldwide reviews, articles, concerts, etc.