terrainsaur’s going aural

that’s right, just did my first potery reading evar this evening. it went well: i managed to get into and emote a bit without it being forced, and i brought the house down in a manly, one-poem rock session. people really seemed please by the thing. and it was an exciting pome for me because i don’t even remember writing it just found it in my book today and it’s good. i’ll post it tomorrow (it’s bedtime now and i’m very tired). i’m very excited by the success of this reading, and plan on doing more. i’ll let you fellas know when one’s coming up.

also: heart of darkness kicks ass. i’m glad i’ve already watched apocalypse now many times. it makes the book better. seldom can one say this about a movie adaptation, but f.f.c.’s version is artful to the point where it interacts with the book, adding to it as much as it takes. he’s just sort’v riffing on conrad’s thing in a way where the two come together as respective pieces of art and complement eachother. almost like how elvin riffs on coltrane’s solos. it’s amazing the way it works and i can’t think of another movie/book thing where that happens. hats off to francis!

in other news i think i’m getting sick. it’d been a while. damn.

the blast majesty is awesome

with some bands you listen. with some band you watch. with the blast majesty it’s neither. with the blast majesty you rock the hell out.

this isn’t to say they don’t merit “critical listening” or whatever. i mean, tyler’s bass playing is some formidable shit, their riffs stretch back past punk into sweeter days. this being said, they are the punkest of punk fucking rocks, and in the best way. more in a early meat puppets way than anything else.

it also isn’t saying there’s not visual appeal, chad falling all over the place, tyler holding the hell down, stallion dallas playing the drums the way every one should in a punk band: realizing that in drumming there’s relatively little precision involved so you can essentially let loose and wail.

no, this is just to say that, on a primitive level, on a purely physical level (because who among us hasn’t flailed themselves to exhaustion listening to meat puppets one when no one’s around?) on a straight up punk-the-way-punk-should-be way, the blast majesty slay, and the best way to enjoy such tearing is to shut off one’s mind, close one’s eyes and rock the hell out. and this i did, with my lady rocking similarly by my side, in a room mostly full of good people doing the same. there was much sweat and smiling and a tacit, unspoken agreement that it was a particularly good show.

last trains again

last night went out to the wandering goat to see the last trains. it was really comforting, seeing a band that’s good like that. it just sort of centers you. you go “ok, so this is exactly what rock should be, without any pretense or concept-heavy experimenting or showoff moves.” it’s straight from the goddamn soil, people, and it’s awesome. i was in a pretty terrible mood before they came on (thanks, armitage shanks for playing for like six hours, jesus) and they managed to have me beaming within the first few notes. the songs on that myspace page don’t do their live toughness justice, but they give you an idea. and plus the songs themselves are damn good.

there are many, many things i could say about this band. i could deconstuct their awesomeness and present it in fragments of information embellished by whatever words my faltering diction cann grab a. but i feel my attempts would be in vain, and that it would be more suitable to give an impression by this statement alone: they’re everything i like in a rock band. i couldn’t give them a higher recommendation, people, being somebody who will always love rock first and foremost amongst musics. if you get a chance to see them, do so. if your twnny one or over, you could see them at tiny’s next thursday. if not, why not start forging an id card now, instead of wasting your time on the internet?

the eighth youtube single

1) doesn’t the word eighth look disgusting? like the startled ejaculation of some wizened-unto-ancient scot?

2) these are the two best songs on that alb, and two of the only good ones (yeah, i said it)

3) that queen jane video is the best. i mean . . . it’s like . . . horses, man!

bob dylan – like a rolling stone (that one really famous live one from ‘66)

bob dylan – queen jane approximately

poetry entry 023

this is the trundling thrull of clean social cancer
laughter like claret drifting pleasantly
peasant chieftain plain solid epics sound in the garish tones of all around

the pulse of culture hums in me

even in this tender headed soft joy morning

terrainasaur attends rock show

feels like it’s been too long since last i went to a show. didn’t know camper van beethoven was playing until too late, so i missed that one. but i did just go see a stonehenge lineup, and was not disappointed.

i got there a bit late (i had a dear friend to tend to) and only saw the last three songs of conlan james murphy’s set. he was the boy half of a the seemingly fleeting two piece tom and morgen, whose two internet-available songs have treated me damn good in past months. when i came in, mr murphy was doing a tragic story-ballad-epic thing on a banjo. the three songs were good, but obviously not outstanding for yours truly because i’ve already almost entirely forgotten them. still, i look forward to future musical espousals by this young man, be they live or committed eternally to recorded format.

second was ghost to falco (i like the band name). it was, like all the bands on this bill, ONE MAN. contrary to the picture on his webpage, he was not shirtless. he, in fact, was very well-dressed. i was impressed and pleased by his attire ( a suit ). but his set was not awesome. it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t awesome. it lacked something, a certain intangible something that will be discussed shortly. his setup was super elaborate: guitar with loopers and all sorts of other pedals that i couldn’t describe (while i do love making walls of guitar noise, i’ve never strayed far past the distortion pedal [never had the need, SO THERE] so my pedal knowledge is highly limited). at moments he did really great things with endlessly looped guitar parts stacked on each other to create what would have been waves of sound, if he had played louder. i guess that was his main problem, is quietness. that and it seemed like there was too much concept and not enough working the concepts into practical reality, yknow? maybe you don’t. and his singing: why the fuck does everybody have to sing like they’re in an indie rock band these days? i’m getting fed up with that crap. seriously. “indie” has taken the same nose dive that punk took. we just keep having to rename the same thing because the names get appropriated and homogenized. now indie rock is taking its turn on the chopping block. it’s all getting so predictable and bands’ unique qualities are getting more and more token in the face of this plasticization. but anyway: at good moments ghost to falco’s vocals left breathiness land and entered into this tough, growly sort of rock voice. so propers for that. and after ghost to falco was dragging an ox through water.

what is it that makes a band good? surely there a countless describable factors, but it seems like there’s this essential thing that really determines it. you can just tell when a band is good. duke ellington once said something about there only being two kinds of music: the good stuff and the other stuff. maybe i shouldn’t use the work “good” because they can have and still be dumb or whatever. but solid. together. yknow? anyway, dragging an ox through water had it, in a way that the other two did not. his set was the first time in a while where a live band has brought me close to tears (although not in such a dramatic way as that sounds. yknow when a song is pretty and some tears sort of well up in your eyes and you get this swelling in your breast? it was that.) this guy played on an amplified acoustic that had a tone almost like a koto. he also had some pedals and little amps and stuff and would take interludes to generate all these wailing, crashing, screaming, dying, distorted electronic noises. his songs were very good and his voice was a country howl, hard Rs and all. i could only understand half the lyrics, but got the impression that they were pretty in a heartbreaking, simple and wise way. i very much enjoyed it.

but left before his set ended, when my attention span died and i decided not to lie to myself that i could sit through it and keep enjoying it. i left toward the end and barreled on bicycle down the huge hills, belting chest cavity’s gimme regression most of the way, but pulling out soul love for the home stretch.

then i got home and cooked up some absolutely heinous nachos (had barely enough cheese to suit my needs) and devoured them in seconds flat. late dinner can be that way. no school tomorrow. work tho. at least it’s payday. i’m gonna blow some coin on a kickass bicycle (can you believe my trusty rosalie got stolen? ouch).

ok dudes, friends, families and the occasional stranger. the terrainus shogunate has been dishing out some heavily long entries. hope you like it that way. young man’s got a lot to say, i guess.

oh yeah: dan jones posted this hols video on his weblog some time ago. pretty much ever since then “lazy” has been stuck in my head. along with the following words, names and phrases:

phrenology

garge cadarver (pronounced “jarj”)

claribone

pagination

” . . . easier and faster when you fall”

jean de daumier-smith

and so on

now i believe i may take a bath with my friend conrad. that is, joseph “hear of darkness” conrad.

volcano divers, captain spanish

would you all see a band called captain spanish? i like it: it’s silly, iconic and poetically sound.

just treated myself to some scuba divers and a tall glass of milk. it’s been a while since i played the scuba diver game. can you believe that demon little debbie raised the pirce to thirty five cents? i mean, she’s already giving you these “cakes” that are seriously bad for you and make you feel terrible, does she really need to gouge you that extra ten cents? i’ll admit: as far as junk food goes, they’re top notch. personally, i like a dessert that really lets me know i’m inflicting punishment on my body. if i’m gonna pig out on junk food, i’ve gotta feel like crap. it’s s necessary part, like the demian thing: the good’s intrinsically wound up in and confused with the bad, creating this whole and perfect entity. that’s what scuba divers do for me.

santi and jesse and i just got some serious nerd on. we pulled out risk 2210, rush 2112 and nerded the hell out. there was even this great part where santi’s mom brought us dinner. classic nerd fun. then we went out and played baseball in the street with a giant, half-eaten jawbreaker, which ended in us fleeing after hitting someone’s house (santi’s foul).

let me tell you the great thing about my job. the great thing about my job is that i can listen to books on tape at work on headphones. last time i listened to chandler’s _trouble is my business_ as read by my main man elliot gould. needless to say it was excellent. gould really nailed marlow on film, and does a good job reading the stuff, too.

anyway, today jesse and i went to the library to get some books on tape (he works at the labeling plant, too). i scored steinbeck’s _sweet thursday_ (one of my alltime favrite books, of course) and vol one of the bros karamozov. jesse got the lotr trilogy, and has a bunch of twilight zone on his mp3 player. damn, are we so set.

i’m considering starting a little trash spotting group. any takers? we could be the official eugene trash spotting club.

the record label goes well, other than the fact that we haven’t made a sale yet. still, i feel it’s working more smoothly than the mess (albeit glorious) that pyramid head was. we’ve got a potential (probable) new addition to our ranks, and william’s droppin some mad euro on an eight track so he can record in holland. i’m slowly warming up to write and record another certain kind album. song count is at something like four or five. anna’s cordising an alb as we speak (or rther read/write).

i recommend you buy something from us, dear anonymous reader, so i can at least feel justified in calling it a label and putting all my hard-earned labeling dollars up in it. five bucks is not a lot of money. you could get five ranger cookies or a cd that will last forever if you love it right.

ok that’s all i can think of for now. except for this: the current music phase is smart chicago rock — gastr del sol, joan of arc, sea and cake, various oldhams and so forth. i’m making tapes. i’m making tapes.

where my wimminz

   

   

   

 

oh dude, who kilt that monster

yeyah! just had the first dead monsters practice EVAR. dead monsters is my sister cora (nine) on guitar and singing and me on whatever backing instrument she wants me to play. it took me a while to convince her to be the songwriter for the band, but now she’s doin it and it’s awesome. seriously, her lyrics blow me away. totally remind me of some velvet sidewalk. way less nine-year-old than i expected. i often forget how freaking advanced she is for her age. it’s like the franny and zooey of what i think is cool. this is exciting.

saw obama on friday. the dude’s freaking cool. the only thing he didn’t address (short of the inherent evils of the capitalist mode of production) was nemesis clinton. he was way more badass than i expected. this dude’s our best hope, guys and girlss.

saw thrones last night. thanks, joe, for reminding me how much i like crushing, sludgy metal. crazy thing about a thrones show is, of course, the fact that they’re a one member band, joe preston playing bass over pre programmed music. this totally changes the dynamic. usually with live music the players are driving the music. you get the idea that they’re in control of the sounds, and could go “off script” or whatever at any time. seeing thrones was like some sort’v abstract japanese theater; epic, crushing metal with an undefinable trace of tragedy.

as far as the music itself goes, the riffing was great and the music was loud in the best way: open appreciation of the potential greatness for eardestroying amplified sound. he did a long, ambient style song that, in phrasing and in mood, reminded me of the stuff on the apocalypse now soundtrack (yeah, we own dis rekkid. it’s good shit!). that song was very cool.

and also : NEW MORNING RECORDINGS IS ALMOST BIRTH. we’re releasing the latest certain kind record soon. i expect you all to buy it. please. actually i’ll be flattered all to shit if even ONE person buys it. the abovelinked site contains instructions for mail ordering, so you could even send in an advanced order NOW and it would get to you some time next week. fr rlz, this shit’s goin down.

ok that’s all.