One To Watch - The Shield

Television Series: The Shield
Starring: Michael Chiklis, Walton Goggins, Catherine Dent, Benito Martinez
Creators: Shawn Ryan

When I tell people about The Shield the general replies fall along the lines of “a friend’s raved about it, I really need to check it out.” I’m still yet to come across any of my friends’ friends who have passed on this awesome recommendation. Not that hard, considering the title of this blog.

So this yarn isn’t an overview of The Shield, as such. It’s more of homage. Those who dig reading James Ellroy novels, this is up your street. I’d be extremely surprised if Ellroy fiends haven’t come across this yet. The grainy and raw-as-fuck cinematography is one of a kind in modern day television. A distinguished vein creator, Shawn Ryan, and cinematographer, Rohn Schmidt, tapped into throughout the seven seasons of one of the finest cop series to grace television.

Naturally, a good series isn’t complete without a slew of awe-inspiring characters and Vic Mackey (played by Michael Chiklis- No Ordinary Family) and Shane Vendrell (played by Walton Goggins - Justified) spearhead a gritty no-holds-barred cast. There's even grounds for debate that Vic Mackey is as bad ass as Tony Soprano. That debate can wait for another day, perhaps? 

The inexorable waves of emotion you experience when watching The Shield leaves you running on empty. It’s as physically exhausting as Oz, coupled with the brains and brawn of Ellroy’s LA Quartet series.

The first six seasons of The Shield is in association with all your cutting edge goodness that’s appeared on television; however it is Season Seven that’s placed The Shield amongst the vanguard of greatness. Your regulars, The Wire, The Sopranos, Oz, Six Feet Under and in more recent times, Breaking Bad and Mad Men: All era defining pieces of work in their own right, however the aforementioned isn’t complete without The Shield. It's as simple as that.

IMBD page.

By Simon K.

Tour News: Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks

I’ve always enjoyed Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks. To the contrary of many, and without sounding too controversial, I’d even go at lengths to say I enjoy their music just as much as Pavement.

Stephen Malkmus seems more focused with this project. Hardly surprising, taking into account maturity with age and all the other platitudes most us experience in this life. With this, maybe it’s unfair to compare SM&Js and Pavement? Given the latter’s cult status there’s always going to be that evaluation between the respective projects or anything else Stephen artistically dabbles in.

SM&Js albums hold an impenetrable feel. Something not really associated with Pavement and its slacker essence. Stephen Malkmus is probably my favourite album out the bunch, with Real Emotional Trash trailing not too far behind. Pig Lib and Face The Truth are solid works, too. Many even suggest that PL is the pinnacle out of the bunch.

Mirror Traffic (Matador, 2011), their latest, left me a little flat. I felt it was unfocused, perhaps a band running out of steam. However, true to form, after hearing their announcement for the Brisbane Festival in September, it was time for a revisit and 12 months down the track it started to come together. Yes, impenetrable no more. This one just took a little longer, but I finally got there. I’d slot it somewhere in between PL & FTT, which is good enough for me. ‘Senator’ got me from the outset, but after revisiting, ‘Brain Gallop’, ‘All Over Gently’ and ‘Fall Away’ also shape up to the quality we’ve come to expect. Summation: I’m a happy camper and even happier with the below tour dates. You should be, too.

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks Mirror Traffic Tour Dates:

Tuesday, 25 September 2012 Spiegeltent, Cultural Forecourt, South Bank *
Wednesday, 26 September 2012 Spiegeltent, Cultural Forecourt, South Bank *
Friday, 28 September 2012 Rosemount Perth WA

Saturday, 29 September 2012 Wave Rock Weekender Hyden WA
Wednesday, 3 October 2012 Corner Hotel Melbourne VIC

Friday, 5 October 2012 Factory Theatre Sydney NSW
 

* As apart of The Brisbane Festival. Tickets & Information: here

By Simon K.

Tour News: Heathen Skulls (Various Artists)

 

In the field of tour promotion, Heathen Skulls qualify as the most giving. Over the years, majority of promoters throughout Australia have developed a nasty habit for skipping the likes of Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane as far as International bands are concerned. Not Heathen Skulls. HS is the tour promoter for the people. 

Two years ago when owner, Robert MacManus, brought Dead Meadow down under I managed to chew his ear about various bands, making the typical fan boy passes to get certain bands out for a tour (Godflesh and Crippled Black Phoenix, anyone?). After I thanked him for his gestures to music enthusiasts across the country in his efforts to continually share the goodness, his reply was simply that "someone's got to do it, it might as well be me." Two years on, Heathen Skulls continue to tour "niche bands" with a consistency that keeps us happy. September onwards is packed with goodness for those who like their riffs and drone. Details below.

Russian Circles (supported by Eagle Twin)

Friday 28th Sept – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Saturday 29th Sept – Fowlers Live, Adelaide
Sunday 30th Sept – The Bakery, Perth
Thursday 4th Oct – ANU Bar, Canberra
Friday 5th Oct – The Zoo, Brisbane
Saturday 6th Oct – Hi Fi Bar, Sydney

Earth

Sunday 9th Sept – The Zoo, Brisbane
Thursday 13th Sept – Hi Fi, Sydney
Friday 14th Sept – Fowlers Live, Adelaide
Saturday 15th Sept – The Rosemount Hotel, Perth
Sunday 16th Sept – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne

Tortoise

Thursday October 11 – Hi Fi Bar, Sydney
Friday October 12 – The Zoo, Brisbane
Saturday October 13 – The Corner, Melbourne (with Grails)
Sunday October 14 – This Is Nowhere, UWA, Perth

SUNN O))) (Supported by Pelican)

Wednesday 24th Oct – The Tivoli, Brisbane
Thursday 25th Oct – Hi Fi Bar, Sydney
Friday 26th Oct – Hi Fi Bar, Melbourne
Saturday 27th Oct – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Sunday 28th Oct – Capitol, Perth

For more information, including ticket purcahse, visit the Heathen Skulls Website.

Simon K.

Album of the Week: Rodan - Rusty

 

Artist: Rodan
Album: Rusty
Label: Qauterstick Records
Release Date: April, 1994

Louisville, Kentucky provided a creative hub in the late eighties/early nineties. The likes of Will Oldham and Slint occupied its landscape, delivering some of the most left of centre sounds at a time when Nirvana and college rock were gaining majority of the attention in the ‘indie’ circles.

You could almost feel the oppression seeping out of Slint’s music. The narrative, the disjointed rhythms and overall simmering aggression that willed listeners towards every tone rendered. It wasn’t an aggression from the stomach, though. It may’ve formed from there, but frontman Brian McMahan evidently delivered from the heart. Look no further than ‘Washer’.

Although a little younger than the two acts mentioned above, there was another band from Louisville, Kentucky who dabbled in the same circle. However their aggression didn’t come from the heart. It was via a one way ticket from the depths below. That band was Rodan.

Rodan consisted of Jeff Mueller (vocals/guitar), Jason Noble (vocals/guitar), Tara Jane O’Neil (bass/vocals) and Kevin Coultas (drums). Although each respective band member has gone on to form various other projects (more on that later), there’s no doubt that each member flushed out their anger with this initial project.

Their only album, Rusty (produced by Shellac’s Bob Weston), consists of six pieces that threaten to mess with your internal organs. It’s a dangerous album. It's an album that has soul. In some ways you could argue that breaking up after this album may have been to Rodan's benefit. Hard to fathom but after listening to Rusty it’s at least plausible. Burning out transcends above fading away so forth, so on....

Opening track, ‘Bible Silver Corner’ is straight up meandering post-rock. If any track is out of place it’s this one, which makes it even more noticeable considering it’s the album’s opener. ‘Shiner’ is two minutes and thirty seven seconds of chewing up grunge and spitting it out its bones, as Mueller howls “pop pop, down goes the enemy,” through the chorus, with blistering chords gouging through the speakers.

‘The Everyday World of Bodies’ is the focal point of this album. If one needed to be introduced to Rodan through one track, then ‘‘Bodies’ is the undeniable ticket. Mueller yelps alongside dissonant chords in the early stages, with the song slowing down once Tara Jane O’Neil brings a soothing quality with plucky guitar notes that present an instrumental splendour. The track ends in dramatic fashion, as Mueller screams “I will be there, I will be there, I swear.”

‘Gauge’ would probably be ‘TEWOB’ closest rival in the stakes of awesomeness, the aggression still paramount in between the poetic narratives that intertwine throughout this album.

 ‘Tooth Fairy Retribution Manifesto’ closes the album, with Tara Jane O’Neil spitting out dark poetic anecdotes over a murky rhythm section and distored chords.

It’s quite frankly an injustice for band this good to be continually overlooked. There’s hardly ever a head nod in Rodan’s direction, which again, is a travesty. They undoubtably blurred the lines with Rusty. So many bands have picked at Rodan's carcass it's not funny. Some of my favourite bands, even. The below side projects are all very admirable and for those wondering where bands such as the ones below originate from, it may make more sense by starting from the top. Listening to Rusty could make it all clearer.

Rodan off-shoot projects.

Jeff Mueller: June of 44, Shipping News

Jason Noble: Rachel’s, Shipping News

Tara Jane O’Neil: Retsin, The Sonoara Pine, Tara Jane O'Neil


Simon K.

Book Review: Martin Amis - Money

Author: Martin Amis
Titled: Money
Publisher: Vintage
Released: 1984

A good book stays etched into your brain for months after reading it. Years, even. So why does Martin Amis’ Money stay ensconced between my ears even though I didn’t like it?

Good or bad, I try to get through a book every ten days or so. I can safely say that books I don’t like fail to stay in my mind after reading them. I’m usually hankering to get onto the next book and leave any bad thoughts behind.

For some reason Money is different gravy. Why? Who knows? I don’t think it will be one of those situations where subconsciously I will grow to like it two weeks or even two years from now. I guess that’s the beauty of a subconscious, though. You just don't know.

“Towards the end of a novel you get a floppy feeling. It may just be tiredness at turning the pages. People read so fast – to get to the end to be shot of you. I see their problem, For how long do you immerse yourselves in other lives? Five minutes, but not five hours. It’s a real effort.” Page 354.

After getting through this novel (the first 150 pages were some of the hardest I’ve read), Martin Amis sums it up right here.  

It was the first Martin Amis novel I’ve read. It won’t be the last. I like when authors write about horrible people. I also admired the fact that Amis introduced himself as a character midway through the story, dispelling any suggestions that the main character was an autobiographical account of himself (this is where I was intrigued for 30 pages or so). The former admiration is quite prevalent of the world, or so a miserable fucker like me thinks. Overall, though, something with Money just seemed off.

Was it a British writer making majority of the setting in New York and failing to depict its surroundings? Not really. Perhaps it was the main character. He just didn’t seem very British to me. At times my mind was casting back to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Last Tycoon. Maybe because of the similar industries the respective main characters were in, but to me at times it just felt like Money was the other side of the coin. The perverse side.

Lucky Jim (Martin’s father’s 1954 cult novel) hit all the heights that Money didn’t. Shoes too big to fill? For me it was the narrative. Lucky Jim worked so well in third person. Jim Dixon terrorising the upper class in humourous ways, whilst still coming out on top of the pile. Money may have worked better with an adopted third person narrative. In fact, I’m almost certain of it.

A book written in the same year as Money was William Boyd’s Stars and Bars. That, too, was hard work for the first 150 pages or so, however from there a sequence of great hooks throughout the story transformed this novel into something intriguing and great in a slow burning kind of way. Along with Lucky Jim, Stars… was also written in the third person, and funnily enough, consisted of a British character based in America. Where Henderson Dores succeeded, John Self failed and on more levels than just the respective stories.

So, after this rant I still find myself no closer as to why I just can’t feel any love for this book. The one that got away, I’d say.

Simon K.

One To Watch - Generation Kill

Television Series: Generation Kill
Starring: Alexander Skarsgard, James Ransone, Stark Sands, Lee Tergesen
Creators: Evan Wright, David Simon, Ed Burns
Directors: Susanna White, Simon Cellan Jones

2003 - The War in Iraq. Who better to form a depiction than The Wire creators, Ed Burns and David Simon. If it’s one thing this pair doesn’t do is sugar coat. Based on the book from Rolling Stone journalist, Evan Wright, Burns and Simon, along with British directors Susanna White and Simon Cellan Jones, bring us a miniseries that encapsulates the pointlessness of America’s occupation of Iraq.

Based on the United States Marine Corps 1st Reconnaissance Battalion’s engagement on Iraq soil, Generation Kill conveys a hard-boiled illustration of what troops experienced throughout the first days of this war. Indecision and incompetence throughout the chain of command, those at the top of the hierarchy appear to have one thing in mind; looking after themselves while company leaders lead their respective teams into the bowels of uncertainty.

Over trained and unsure as to the reasoning of their involvement, the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion is as perplexed as the viewer on what is to be achieved by their actions. Oil? Anti-liberal and at the hands of the Government (who ironically failed most of them throughout their juvenile years, only to be rewarded with some good old fashioned “action in the field”), most don’t believe this when Rolling Stone reporter Evan Wright (played by Lee Tergesen who most notably starred in HBO series, Oz, as Tobias Beecher) willingly points out this ‘blinding’ fact; the elephant in the room to most outside of the camouflage and bayonets. “Liberal dick suck” was the response from Josh “Ralp” Person (played by James Ransone - The Wire, How To Make It In America), however Sergeant Brad Colbert (played by Alexander Skarsgard: True Blood) knows the score:

“Machinists: semi-skilled labourers,” says the ‘Iceman’. The dialogue between Colbert and Person lightens the mood throughout one of the darkest times in recent history, paying lip service to pop culture and the class division throughout their country, taking the viewer off on a tangent. That aside, the above quote is quite possibly the most telling sequence throughout this series, closing the deal on what people were thinking all along.

Some will see a similarity with rival HBO war series, Band of Brothers. However unlike World War II, The War in Iraq’s objectives lay at the other end of the spectrum. In fact they weren’t even on the spectrum, even without the assistance of hindsight. You only need to look at the likes of ‘Captain America’ (played by Eric Nenninger - 24) to realise this. Michael Herr’s assessment of war summed up the likes of GK’s most disturbing character. “Look into his eyes, it tells you the whole fucking story,” wrote Herr in his book, Dispatches.

There’s very little bloodshed as far as the First Recon. Battalion is concerned. Hardly surprising considering their enemy comprises of untrained militia. The streets are littered with civilian body parts and an endless bloodshed, while majority of the soldiers’ continue to be baffled by their “employer’s” decision to send them in. That pesky journalist Wright and his theories couldn't be right, could they?

For more check out the IMDB page.

Simon K.

R.I.P: Adam Yauch - 1964-2012

Adam Yaunch, co-founder of inspirational New York hip-hop collective, the Beastie Boys, has lost his battle with cancer. I'm in no way shape or form qualified to elaborate on his achievements as an artist, film producer and activist. This is merely a just a post to share my thoughts on the legacy that's been left from a band who defied all the odds.

I had the pleasure of seeing the Beasties back in 2005 as a part of the Big Day Out as well as their own shown at the Hordern Pavillion in Sydney. Moments throughout that show remain firmly in my mind to this day and for that, I thank them. Obviously MCA" contributed heavily to this.

R.I.P, Adam. My thoughts go out to your surviving family members and close friends.

Obituary at the band's official website.

Simon K.