Sunday, October 19, 2014

...and then I'll laugh like a motherfucker

A year ago no one even knew there was a Cuppa in front of the petrol bunk. Sundays used to be peaceful and lazy where a cold coffee would take 40 minutes to arrive. Word seems to have spread though. It was full today. Like literally. Loud conversations, cigarette smoke and fried potatoes of various shapes. It was like a cheap local bar minus the booze. I'm not sure if I like it.

I must confess. I spent all of last night listening to these 3 songs on repeat. Lydia Ainsworth's Malachite is some strange experimental pop and its captivating even without the video.  Azealia Banks' 212 was impressive early on with the rapping but when she sang those few lines it became a really memorable piece of pop. Finally I heard Grimes and her Oblivion.Pitchfork is calling this the song of the decade so far. The first time I heard it I thought it was boring. Then last night I found it to be delightful. It made me smile and the video made a big difference. Then this morning I read up on the song and I wish I hadn't. Its a nice bit of off beat pop but will I remember it in another 5 years?




I'm on the verge of something. Soaring. This Herder is so good. Its managed to drown out all the noise outside. Deepawali. I wish you were celebrated differently.

This blog must never die. People stare. I do too. The beautiful people of Bangalore. No concept of space, time or common sense. 


The new season of American Horror Story got off to a pretty good start. After Coven though, I'm watching this mostly for Sarah Paulson. She's quite fabulous. Still Twisty the clown is pretty good and the freaks are just right. Its going to be another season of highly exploitative horror and will offend but I think that's the charm of the whole thing. How far will they go?

Today's been a bit more metal. Herder, Stone and Manilla Road. The original mix of Mystification is raw and manic. Its the only album of theirs I really like though. It has a wild sense of freedom. On the verge of falling down the stairs but managing to hold on. I've suddenly gone back to listening to a fair bit of straight up heavy metal in the last year. Revisiting classics and listening to new stuff. The new Riot is fun but that Mekong Delta album is truly one for the ages. Great album.

Here's 10 songs I'd like to cover.

Sunday, September 07, 2014

sundays

The more I listen to this Iron Void, the better it gets. Even with a song like burden of regret and it's thinly veiled "tribute" to Candlemass. I still haven't heard The W'izard album from last year. Witch's Brew doesn't have a bandcamp page and ordering from the label costs 40 euros with shipping. What the fuck.

Listening to jumalhamara. Finnish black metal. One song lasting 17 minutes. I'm at the mid-song interlude. All drone and atmosphere. Then the band kicks in with some wild percussion, noise and static. This is quite arty and avant-garde stuff. The first 8 minutes made no impact at all and then they show of all their different influences. Noise, shoegaze, drone, a little bit of post punk and goth and amidst all this, black metal is just the canvas. 18 minutes well spent.


What is it about South American stoner/ psych/ doom bands? La Hell Gang is the latest and they sound like old Ganjas. Yeah, that's pretty much it. Just listen to The Ganjas instead.


List your top 10 stoner/ psych/ doom bands from South America. Now there's a list I could sink my teeth into.





Sunday, August 31, 2014

Where does a body end?

We start recording again this week. Excited. Maybe put down some vocals over the weekend. I Zombie, Hangman's Hope, Bones of My Brothers, Mortal Science, Harvest of Kings and Doombringer.  Doombringer came together very quickly. Maybe a bit too quickly. Feels a little on the short side. It's going to be a long album unless we use mortal science and Harvest separately. Flight of Sand has mostly been discarded now which is a pity. I liked that song. Maybe a couple more will get done too by the time we're finished. Should be fun.

This Ogre is just great. Still on the playlist. It hasn't really changed all that much since March. Thou and Lord Mantis are still firmly on top. Ogre, Greenleaf, Godhunter, Grand Magus, Herder, Ride for Revenge, Howls of Ebb and Mekong Delta round out my top 10. The new Earth sounds great; Godflesh and Witch Mountain are going to have albums out but I don't see anything else breaking into that list.


Listening to The Great Annihilator. It's been a Swans Sunday.



Tuesday, March 04, 2014

see that my grave is kept clean

It's always a pretty great feeling to go to show where I'm not playing and still see a couple of random people in djinn T-shirts. Went to Insurrection last night to watch Orchid and Nihilus and both bands were pretty good. Also bumped into a friend I hadn't seen in some 4 years and the general vibe was friendly and peaceful. I think trendslaughter last weekend didn't work for me simply because of the whole attitude. A bunch of uber kvlt people who are all just trying a bit too hard and it sometimes just feels a bit fake. Walked out halfway through Dying Embrace's set and didn't stay for Impiety but Orator was absolutely brilliant. Could have done without the drunken idiot storming the stage and waving that human skull over his head though.

In other news I've been on a massive JCVD trip lately. Saw Wake of Death, 6 Bullets, Enemies Closer and Welcome to the Jungle over the last couple of weeks and all 4 movies were entertaining to various degrees.

In still other news, AMC has announced they'll be bringing The Preacher to the small screen. I guess this was inevitable after the success of The Walking Dead but I'm unsure about this.

...and djinn is sort of back again. we're playing in thane sometime in may and then hopefully record the rest of the songs by the end of the year. if we have a 2nd album up on bandcamp by this time next year, then i think i'll be quite happy. Thane should be good. Last time was great. 

Watching India play in New Zealand right now is quite depressing. There's plenty of talent but it's not coming together. Although Ishant Sharma is doing well in the tests, Jadeja and Shami continue to grow. Good signs but will be a while before we win abroad. 

And saw a few more movies. Confession of Murder is the most fun action/ thriller movie I've seen in a long time. The car chase scene was ridiculous but the movie had just enough bite to be quite good. Thor: The Dark World was surprisingly entertaining and so was Arnold's The Last Stand. Stoker was pretty good too. Effective and creepy. American Mary had so much promise but the last 30 minutes just ruined it a bit for me. And the fucking cop with the strange Brit accent. Katherine Isabelle was great though. The most likable horror heroine in a long while.   

This new Ogre is something else. Some absolutely killer jams, great songs and the nasal ozzy light delivery somehow fits perfectly. Album of the quarter. Other mentions go out to Godhunter, Indian, Grand Magus, Dephosphorus, The Wounded Kings, Conan and Mustach. It's been a pretty great year so far and a lot more to come.