http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php Section for blog posts. en metzger.richard@gmail.com Copyright 2010 2010-03-10T04:56:53+00:00 http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/meredith_monk/ http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/meredith_monk/   I adore Meredith Monk. She has a voice like no one else. I finally got to see her live in a small recital hall in the Los Angeles Public Library six years ago. It was one of the strongest performances that I’d ever seen a single person give. She sang accompanying herself on piano or acapella. The highlight was when she did the magical Gotham Lullaby, which is probably her best known piece of music. (Bjork often performs it live; here at the Coachella Music Festival in 2002) She also happens to stunningly beautiful, looking WAY younger than her 67 years. Controversial director Peter Greenaway’s fantastic Meredith Monk documentary from his Four American Composers series, which also included Philip Glass, John Cage and Robert Ashley can be viewed on UbuWeb. It’s excellent. I most highly recommend it. Below a clip from Monk’s 1988 film Book of Days. You can get a DVD at her website. There is also a new CD of her early work, including a phenomenal piece called Candy Bullets And Moon performed with Don Preston of the original Mothers of Invention out now called Meredith Monk: Beginnings     It’s Her Party: Four Decades of Meredith Monk: Underground music’s matriarch throws herself a live retrospective at the Whitney (Encore) Art, Heroes, Music 2010-03-10T04:56:53+00:00 http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/cum_and_get_it_natural_harvest_-_a_collection_of_semen-based_recipes/ http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/cum_and_get_it_natural_harvest_-_a_collection_of_semen-based_recipes/   I was once in a sushi bar in Hollywood, a tiny little place on the Sunset Strip across from the Roxy Theater and at one point the topic topic of conversation turned to a particular Japanese delicacy, one rarely encountered, but served in this very same restaurant at certain times of the year, Fugu shirako or Blowfish semen sashimi. I was fairly blase about trying it, but the table consensus was “This stuff is super expensive. We’re on an expense account. They’ve got it. Let’s go for it” and so we did. I don’t remember that much more about it, but I do recall thinking it was pretty good at the time, I must say. From the description of Natural Harvest on Lulu.com Semen is not only nutritious, but it also has a wonderful texture and amazing cooking properties. Like fine wine and cheeses, the taste of semen is complex and dynamic. Semen is inexpensive to produce and is commonly available in many, if not most, homes and restaurants. Despite all of these positive qualities, semen remains neglected as a food. This book hopes to change that. Once you overcome any initial hesitation, you will be surprised to learn how wonderful semen is in the kitchen. Semen is an exciting ingredient that can give every dish you make an interesting twist. If you are a passionate cook and are not afraid to experiment with new ingredients - you will love this cook book! Some of the reviews are priceless. And did you hear about the chef in NYC who made cheese out of his wife’s breast milk? Waste not, want not. Isn’t that what they said during the last Great Depression? Thank you Paul Gallagher! 2010-03-10T00:31:04+00:00 http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/buried_bones_ann_magnuson_and_tindersticks/ http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/buried_bones_ann_magnuson_and_tindersticks/   Yesterday when I was posting the Pulsallama video, not surprisingly, YouTube displayed several videos featuring Dangerous Minds pal, actress/singer Ann Magnuson and I played one of them (see below) and now I can’t get this song out of my head. Taken from the third studio album by Tindersticks, Curtains, this track Buried Bones is a duet between Ann and Tindersticks leader Stuart Staples. I think you’ll agree that it’s a memorable, moving, absolutely gorgeous piece of music. The lyrics remind me of just about every woman I’ve ever fallen for (but not all, thankfully). The fan made video, below, cut with scenes from Amelie works pretty well, I think. I was lucky enough to be in the audience for the sole one of probably only two live performance of the duet, at the Mercury Lounge in New York City. Sublime! Afterwards, Ann and I went to a Moroccan-themed restaurant on 2nd Street with the entire band and the owner—someone Ann knew—insisted we try the house drink, which was delicious, but the insane hangover that resulted—there was tons of sugar in it—put both of us off alcohol, literally, for years. The next time I had a drink, I was with Courtney Love and two bottles of absinthe, but that’s another story entirely. And one that doesn’t end pretty… at least for my insides…   Music 2010-03-09T23:19:12+00:00 http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/coil_colour_sound_oblivion/ http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/coil_colour_sound_oblivion/ Peter Christopherson is releasing the entirety of Coil’s studio and live output in a massive honking box set full of schwag, remix and karaoke versions, and fuzzy shit. (Sorry, that’s “fuzzy items.” I should be careful to be specific with language in this case.) The box contains: 1. an individually numbered disc (similar to those worn by dancers in go-go bars). Numbers in the Patron’s Edition (ie from #1 - 200) are in RED (as shown), numbers in the Official Pre-Order Edition are in BLUE (#201 - #however many are ordered in the next four weeks)... 2. Four hand-made cloth bags in the same (or similar) fabric Coil’s costumes were made from, each containing the dvds of concerts where those costumes were worn… FLUFFY, GLOWING, REFLECTIVE (mirrored) and SHROUDED… 3. The dvd collection itself, features 14 show dvds (of which the first two, being shorter and without extras, are very rare half-silvered dvds) plus a two dvd “COIL RECONSTRUCTION KIT” containing more than 4 hours of projection animations and processed footage PLUS the accompanying backing-tracks to all the songs in question, Karaoke-style (though without super-imposed lyrics). These are here released under a Creative Commons License, by which you are free to sample, re-loop and otherwise, “molest” or “interfere” with Coil’s music and animations to your hearts content (as long as its not for commercial gain)... 4. In addition the box contains a Collection of more than 100 postcards, 6” × 4” to fit the Patron’s Edition frame, in a velour bag. These pictures (almost all unseen till now) taken by Coil or our friends, are a very personal record of life on the road with Coil… Fortunately there is not a guitar to be seen, though there may be one picture of a a tour bus! If there are any pictures of groupies, they may well be in uniform, carrying Kalashnikovs… 5. Lastly Colour Sound Oblivion also contains a couple of small printed pamphlets or booklets - One containing Sleazy’s thoughts, anecdotes, reflections on the being part of Coil Live, and thanks to everyone he can remember - The other a facsimile of the Order of Service of Geff’s (Jhonn Balance’s) Funeral, which took place a month pretty much to the day, after the last show in this Collection… This latter will only be included in the Patron’s and Pre-Order Editions. This looks to be the definitive record of the band, similar to the “TG24” box set for Throbbing Gristle. Some of the most beautiful and damaged music ever recorded, enough to fuck your mind for good. (Threshhold House: Colour Sound Oblivion) Below: Coil on Hello Culture! Music 2010-03-09T20:46:30+00:00 http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/the_muppet_wicker_man/ http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/the_muppet_wicker_man/ Somebody re-created the entire Wicker Man movie with the muppets, and made a flip-comic out of it. It’s about 500% better than the Nicholas Cage remake, I’ll give them that! (Via Swen’s Weblog) (The Wicker Man) Movies 2010-03-09T20:44:52+00:00 http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/what_the_hell_is_going_on_here/ http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/what_the_hell_is_going_on_here/   Delightful! How to torture a polar bear while wearing a polar bear hat. Why didn’t I think of this?   (via HYST) Amusing 2010-03-09T16:56:44+00:00 http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/easter_bunnies_will_steal_your_soul/ http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/easter_bunnies_will_steal_your_soul/   Here’s a frightening photo blog dedicated to those creepy mall Easter bunnies.   Easter Bunnies Will Steal Your Soul   (via Yay! Everyday) Amusing 2010-03-09T07:18:28+00:00 http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/pulsallama_the_devil_lives_in_my_husbands_body/ http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/pulsallama_the_devil_lives_in_my_husbands_body/   Pulsallama were an all girl percussion band in New York circa 1980 to 1982 who put out a handful of 12” singles and played at the Danceteria. I own all of their records. Their distinct sound—think a New York version of Rip, Rig and Panic—can work wonders on an unsuspecting dancefloor. Here’s a brief description of them from member Jean Caffeine’s website: In 1980, this damsel moved to New York to become a fabulous nightclub D.J. and stumbled upon Club 57, church basement which was a clubhouse to Downtown celebrities such as the late, John Sex, Keith Haring and Wendy Wild where the Ladies Auxiliary of the Lower East Side (founded by Ann Magnuson - star of stage, screen and Bongwater) were banging on percussion instruments and hanging up meat bones in preparation for their “Rites of Spring Bacchanal.” Jean joined on drums and Pulsallama was born. Pulsallama toured the East Coast as well as England and opened several shows for the Clash. They released a controversial, yet comical ditty, “The Devil Lives in my Husband’s Body,” for London’s Y Records which was a hit on alternative and college stations. Pulsallama was beloved for their rhythmic cacophony, theatrical stage antics, props and costumes, and their primal, yet glamourous absurdity. They had lots of fun, got their picture in Interview magazine and had 15 minutes of fame. The video below was directed by Dangerous Minds pal Paul Dougherty   2010-03-09T05:11:16+00:00 http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/pussy_galore_make_them_all_eat_shit_slowly/ http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/pussy_galore_make_them_all_eat_shit_slowly/   I think when I tally up all the shows I’ve seen in my lifetime, I believe that the band I saw the most often was Pussy Galore. I must have seen them playing around New York City anywhere up to twenty times, including once in what seemed like a squat in the East Village (with Richard Kern’s band, The Blacksnakes) where everyone was given a tab of acid when they walked in with the admission fee. I confess to taking mine! (The handbill, below)     Pussy Galore were the band with the heaviest GROOVE I’d ever experienced, an almighty GROOVE, that moved entire audiences as one piece. They were what I’d call a body band. You really felt them in your gut. Their shows were normally so loud that you were helpless to resist that fucking insane GROOVE. You and everyone else in the room. But they never got even close to capturing their live sound on record. It was always a tinny approximation of what their live shows sounded like and their albums were annoyingly low-fi and deliberately annoying at that. Nihilistic ear bleeders, they were. I could never play them. But live it was a totally different story. They almost bordered on funky live! The Brain Mush audio blog has a neat Pussy Galore rarity and that is the cassette only cover version they made in 1986 of every song on Exile on Main St.! I bought mine at the legendary East Village fanzine store See Hear (I lived down the block and stopped in there frequently. I’d often see Thurston Moore who seemed to show up there as much as I did). Apparently they got a cease and desist letter from the Stones lawyers real fast and it became an instant collector’s item. Now it can be yours.   2010-03-09T02:24:33+00:00 http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/whats_in_my_bag_with_xeni_jardin/ http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/whats_in_my_bag_with_xeni_jardin/   Xenorita Jardin of Boing Boing shares the musical spoils of her visit to Amoeba Records in Hollywood, probably the best record store I’ve ever been to. Believe me when I tell you, ‘cos I’ve shopped for records all over the world. Amoeba is a record collector’s heaven. I have spent many an afternoon (and paycheck!) there. (Dig the Alan Lomax in Haiti box set! Holy shit! First I’m hearing of this. Looks amazing.) Pop Culture 2010-03-09T01:44:23+00:00