Not that my proclivity towards nigh-arrogant ranting and circuitous introspection demands any apologies*, but I realized this weekend there are some significant though well-concealed advantages to being a self-absorbed navel-gazer.
You’re going to need me to back that one up, aren’t you?
OK, let’s start with this brilliantly clever circle graph that received its fifteen minutes of fame when it landed on the front page of HuffPo last Friday.
To some, this may seem like an outright insult to Christians on a national level. To others, it comes off… well, it comes off exactly the same way; it’s just that this group of people delights in the insult instead of taking offense to it. It’s why we have wars, you know.
But what if the philosophical implications of this graphic are deeper than either of those cramped assumptions? Isn’t it possible the obvious joke is only there as an appetizer for your brain? Could there be something beyond the glib comparison of three movie monsters to the Messiah?
And if I can get you to see what I’m pointing at, can I then use the same similes and metaphors to confuse things and diminish the entire thing back down to a trite GraphJam entry?
Only one way to find out, I guess.
So anyway, being an artist by profession, I have an appreciation for color that perhaps my non-creative friends lack. Nevertheless, most people who see the above image would take note, albeit to varying degrees, of what could potentially be the most significant aspect of the illustration: that the hues change tint as they overlap. Oh sure, it’s done primarily to distinguish the individual circles while avoiding the clutter of each circle having a black stroke around it. But if we’re willing to assume a respectable level of intelligence for the graphic artist, we can very easily contrive some other, more important symbolism in this design.
For example, considering the person’s artistic nature, we can decide that the three circles are a subliminal color-mixing palette. Voila! Instant Philosophical Proposition! We are now conveniently positioned to make the symbol represent whatever we want simply by piously stating, “The final question is this: do you see God as additive or subtractive?”
The beautiful cleverness of this is that we’ve now opened up the argument for what defines something as additive and what makes something subtractive. Further applying these parameters to an omnipotent being keeps the idea immortal by giving rise to mutually exclusive factions, each with its own specialized and unequivocal interpretation of the image.
The Three-Circle Purists say the underlying message merely reinforces the graphic’s original idea that God is the culmination of all monstrosities to the point of becoming the blackest monster of them all. They refer to the very manner in which the tints darken as they progress towards Jesus Christ as their evidence. Declaring him to be a subtractive deity, they give God the name “Simmik” (spelled cmyk) and dub him the Bringer of Blackness.
The Paradoxicals, however, insist that the diagram represents Jesus’ tendency to spend the majority of his ministry in the presence of the most misguided, baleful sinners and that the choice of colors is intended as a subtle testament to that necessary irony. They claim repeatedly – almost to the point of recitation – that it is light from which God and all good things are born and thus, just like light, God must be additive, To them, the completeness of God results in a clean, perfect whiteness. He is given the title “Regrebloo the Pure”. Countless hymns are composed rejoicing in the promise of that glorious day when all colors will come together to form the most perfect White.
Of course, the cynical 3-CPs are all over that with shouts of racism and accusations of a religiously driven eugenic agenda. Science fiction novels begin to be regularly presented as oracular tomes. PK Dick and Isaac Asimov become revered as great prophets.
The Doxies then issue a collective sardonic snort by taking out full-page ads and erecting billboards likening fundamentalist 3-C doctrine to that of the Church of Scientology, citing as fact the very arguable notion that L. Ron Hubbard was also a science fiction author. This campaign fails miserably, however, as does their droll attempt to humiliate their adversaries by referring to them as “C-3POs”.
The battle rages for decades. Nonsensical self-help books emerge with titles like I, Robot. U Can’t Subtract! and Paradoxicals Do It With Guile. Passion becomes petulance and devotion turns into duress. A purist menacingly holds a 2x4 like a baseball bat and a doxie pulls his handgun…
Then, only after countless lives have been lost to the argument, does the illustration’s creator (by now aged 106) finally issue a public statement declaring that he is, in point of fact, completely colorblind.
And just like that, the sum of time and energy dedicated to either side of the debate is fully devalued. All the stock placed in both ideals is instantly obliterated. Every measure of strength and motivation imbued by the conflict is just as effectively depleted.
There was really never anything more to the illustration than an insensitive jape…
…right?
*In fact, some people actually like that sort of thing. I simply provide a service – an abrasive but oddly arousing service. So do hookers, but unlike a prostitute, I service you free of charge.
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11/10/09 Pike Room Pontiac, MI
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11/11/09 Horseshoe* Toronto, ON 11/12/09 Motore* Montreal, QC 11/13/09 Space* Portland, ME 11/15/09 Middle East* Cambridge, MA 11/16/09 Bell House Brooklyn, NY 11/17/09 First Unitarian* Phila, PA 11/18/09 9:30 Club* Washington, DC 11/19/09 UVA Chapel Charlottesville, VA 11/20/09 Grey Eagle* Asheville, NC 11/21/09 Earl* Atlanta, GA 11/23/09 Bottletree* Birmingham, AL 11/24/09 One Eyed Jacks NOrleans, LA 11/26/09 Walter’s* Houston, TX 11/27/09 Mohawk* Austin, TX 11/30/09 Modified Phoenix, AZ 12/01/09 Casbah San Diego, CA 12/02/09 Troubadour* Los Angeles, CA 12/04/09 Great American Music* SF, CA 12/11/09 "The Crocodile"* Seattle, WA 12/12/09 Mississippi Studios, OR with PGM |
+ abridged album review
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J Tillman ♥ Music Box |
Year in the Kingdom remembers a simpler era that Tillman was not alive to experience. Softer tracks cite 60s folk influences like Joni Mitchell, had Mitchell penned her songs in a humble log cabin, without basic comforts save for canned beans and a faithful canine companion. The sparse “Age of Man” is a few twangs/few stringed instruments short of Americana territory, while “Though I Have Wronged You” reminds us that Tillman isn’t seriously concerned by FF comparisons. At times matter-of-factly somber (“There is No Good in Me”), the album lulls its listeners into a false feeling of peace (albeit reflective, disquieting peace) that does not prepare the ears for the sheer force of Tillman’s live rocking.
Kingdom-the-album clashed awesomely with Friday night’s show at the Music Box Theatre in Minneapolis. I now have a physical point of reference for the expression “it blew my mind,” as I’m pretty sure I lost a piece of my skull when Tillman blew my mind. Similar to the structure of the studio tracks—gentle start, build-up, full instrumental progression—the show began as one would expect had they listened to Kingdom: Tillman + band = traditional 3-dimensional engagement. Then, maybe a third of the way into the set, all hell broke loose. Cue roar of full instrumental capacity, skin-tingling whine of amped slide guitar, psychedelic transformation, and crazy apeshit thrashing. On top of everything unholy, we, the audience, bore witness to grown men playing plastic recorders and finger cymbals. Surely I wasn’t the only one to lose some head mass by the end of the night.
Cerebral hemorrhage notwithstanding, strong tracks like “Though I Have Wronged You” sounded ridiculously swollen with intensity and deliberate flair. Not showy, per se; rather, phrenic but perverted by foggy invention. It was like walking into the Louvre for the first time—extraordinary but strangely unfocused, as if the senses were forced into overdrive. Had I lapped a taste of Tillman’s sweat*, the experience would’ve been complete. Unfortunately, there was no exchange of bodily fluids; there wasn’t even an encore (a mumbled “thanks” and the musicians made their hasty exit). It didn’t matter. How do you follow an act like yourself?
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J. Tillman is currently on tour in support of Year in the Kingdom. Upcoming shows include stops in Chicago and New York. For more information or to listen to select tracks, visit his Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/jtillman.
* I’m not a creeper, promise.
11/09/2009 03:26:24 ♥ lara (
/lara206.vox.com)
♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ myspace.com/jtillman
I wanted to take some nice photos of my scooter. So today was a nice perfect weather day to do it! I woke up early before dim sum and took some pictures of Kirby.
Werewolf vs Freddy ♥ Sheraton Hotel, Minneapolis (11/07/09)
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This year, the merchandise room was reduced to a size of a
large bedroom, so you walk in and out in about a minute. I did manage
to pick up some stuff, but they weren't cheap. Celebrities prints are
costs anywhere from $20-40, we weren't allowed to take pictures (if you
did purchase a print, then taking pictures would cost an extra $5).
Last year, most of the nicer stars let us take pictures for free.
As for merch, the usual bootlegs, toys, horror t-shirts were
there, but because of the smaller room - it feels like there weren't a
lot of choices. Some commonly seen t-shirts were Nightbreed and
Hellraiser, which I thought were cool, since I have always thought
Clive Barker is genius.
Also, this year they had music as part of the show. The person that was supposed to give me a pass to the music area was not at the ticketbooth and I didn't feel like paying extra to see music. Besides, all of the bands seems to be either punk or metal, not really my cup of tea, so I didn't bother to make much effort in getting the pass.
With the disappointing cancellation, incorrect/false information (is
updating a website too much to ask?), the smaller space, and
expensive admission ($30 at the door) - this will be the last year that
my group will attend. 11/08/2009 02:54:28 ♥ vu (
) ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
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11/08/09 Aquarium* Fargo, ND
11/09/09 Waiting Room* Omaha, NE 11/11/09 Brick Kansas City, MO 11/29/09 Oxford O2 Academy 3, UK 11/30/09 Relentless Garage London 12/01/09 Thekla Bristol, UK 12/02/09 Wedgewood Portsmouth, UK 12/03/09 Cabaret Voltaire Edinburgh 12/04/09 Bodega Nottingham, UK 12/05/09 Brickyard Carlisle, UK 12/06/09 King Tut’s Wah Wah Glasgow 12/07/09 Ruby Lounge Manchester, UK 12/08/09 Plug Sheffield, UK 12/09/09 Academy 2 Dublin, Ireland 12/10/09 Stiff Kitten Belfast, Ireland 12/12/09 Concorde 2 Brighton, UK 12/13/09 Barfly Cardiff, UK * with Bang Bang Eche Read More |
Opening up for Har Mar Superstar are three very different genre and acts. Starting with Koo Koo Kangeroo (official / myspace), whose music styling is that of hip hop - for toddlers. Their songs are dead simple, like "AOA" (sample lyrics: "aye oh aye oh aye") and "Cheh Cheh Chi" and "LMNOP", but they're catchy and easy to sing along. The highlight of their set was when they threw down a white tarp-like covering and the audience was dancing under it like a party fort.
Wow, Bang Bang Eche (myspace) are young. Someone told me that they're about 18 years old, but they certainly look much younger. Their music is very punk high-energy and reminds me a bit of Arctic Monkeys influenced. My easily favorite song from their set is "Fist Full of Dollars", perhaps a reference to Sergio Leone classic film? They ended their setlist with "Die Hippy Scum". Oh, also, it's worth noting that bassist T'Nealle sported a three keyboard cat moon t-shirt. Adorable.
The odd group on the bill was two-person group, Lookbook (myspace). The band is basically guitarist Grant Cutler, who plays guitars and handles the pre-recordings, with vocalist Maggie Morrison. Their music sounds like 80s pop, not exactly the "body-moving" type of music that you'd think Har Mar's audience would demand. Not really much to say, except I think Maggie looks really cute and I will be talking about them in further detail on my "book"-theme news on Sunday.
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Har Mar Superstar ♥ Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (11/06/09) |
After the first song, he took off his hat. After "DUI", he took off the overall to reveal a Prince "Purple Rain" shirt. He kept taking off articles of clothing as the night went on. From "EZ Pass", to "Girls Only", to "Creative Juices"... the audience was loving it all.
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Har Mar and Melinda Park singing "Powerline"
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The very last song, Har Mar sang an a cappella version of Boyz II Men's "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday". He would pretend the song ended and everyone would clap... only he would continue to sing the refrain. After the third false ending and after he said "goodnight", he came back and sang some more.
Har Mar's latest album is Dark Touches, available from Dilettante Recordings. Read Andrew's review of the album, pick up a copy at amazon
11/07/2009 04:22:06 ♥ vu ()
♥
harmarsuperstar.com
♥ myspace.com/harmarsuperstar
♥ twitter.com
No, it's not the name of a new Disney after-school TV series. Sorry to disappoint.
The title of this post is actually referring to a couple of super-awesome photos from Amanda's recent trip to Colorado, where she enjoyed the rare and thrilling experience of having her face tasted by a full-grown wolf. Not many can say they've done that, you know, because usually they are dead or unable to form words through all the scar tissue...
11/07/09 Grog Shop Cleveland, OH
11/09/09 Horseshoe Tavern Toronto
11/10/09 IL Motore Montreal
11/11/09 TT Bears Cambridge, MA
11/12/09 Music Hall Brooklyn, NY
11/13/09 Kung Fu Necktie Phila, Pa
11/14/09 Rock Hotel Washington DC
11/16/09 Basement Nashville, Tn
11/17/09 Bottletree Birmingham, AL
11/18/09 Earl Atlanta, Ga
11/19/09 Social Orlando, FL
11/20/09 Cafe 11 St. Augustine, FL
11/22/09 One Eyed Jacks N Orleans, LA
Brazos (official / myspace)
warmed up the crowd around nine. What I liked about them is that they
have a lot of lyrics in their song. The highlight of their set is the
Adrienne Rich poem turned into song. I didn't recall the title, but I'm
sure it had "Africa" in the lyrics.
Brazos ♥ 400 Bar, Minneapolis (11/04/09)
Personally, I thought the best song on their setlist is "Feeding Frenzy", featuring these lyrics "We're interlocking, we're interlocking. It's a bitter conflict, this staring contest."
In contrast to the lyrics-thing, White Denim
are more like crazy pyschedelic, garagey, experimental rock 'n roll -
with minimal lyrics. Whatever singer James Petralli spouted out, it
didn't matter because you were so in awe of his amazing guitar-playing
ability. You can just tell the guy is a rock god, the way his fingers
frantically moved up and down the neck of the guitar.
White Denim ♥ 400 Bar, Minneapolis (11/04/09)
I reckon these Austin lads don't care so much to slow down or
stop, so all their songs are medleys - one song flow into the next, and
pretty soon about six songs have passed before they have to take a
breather.
If you like your music loud, loud, and loud, White Denim is the band for you. Be sure to bring earplugs.
White Denim's latest album is called Fits and is available now at their record label, Downtown Music, or amazon.
11/05/2009 22:52:12 ♥ vu () ♥ whitedenimmusic.com ♥ myspace.com/bopenglis
I watched the season premier of V last night and loved it. There was a lot going on in one episode even though it seemed a bit rushed at points I thought the characters and the acting was awesome.
I was just giving it a chance. I said if this first episode sucks I won't be dvring it again but since it was extremely awesome I will be looking forward to watching it on Tuesday Nights.
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The Grates Setlist ♥ 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (11/03/09). Tour Dates
11/05/09 Radio Radio Indianapolis, IN
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11/07/09 Schubas Chicago, IL 11/08/09 Magic Stick Detroit, MI 11/14/09 Bowery Ballroom NY 12/31/09 Purple Sneakers Sydney |
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Patience in the Audience ♥ 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (11/03/09) |
That's the kind of weird stories you hear from her, even on stage, they're referencing strange things like trying to hi-fi-ing the "fat guy with the beret" or asking if there were any vikings in the audience. But before I get to all those crazy details from the 7th Street Entry last night - opening up for them was Zoo Animal (official / myspace). I had seen singer Holly Newsom before, but as a soloist. This time, she's doing Zoo Animal songs, not just her solo material.
Holly made some jokes, like how 'grate' the Grates should be to noticing that They Might Be Giants were playing next door and how "we might be miniatures". Most of the audience that showed up early, I think showed up because of Zoo Animal and possibly Ice Palace.
Unfortunately, at the last minute, Ice Palace canceled (I am told the singer was sick), they were replaced by Story of the Sea (official / myspace). Bassist John admitted that they only had a five hours notice. Despite the feedback and false starts, I thought they held up pretty well all things considering.
I will say that they seem older, for the kind of crowd that was there last night. Their music sounds like classic progressive rock. I don't know any of their songs, but I did like the song that had something to do with eyes and being gone.
Other things I learned from Patience: if you eat enough of your hair, you'll have to take a pill to poop out the hair. Hence "hair butt". Fist-bumping, she tells us is called "boning". She likes to climb onto things, or jump into the audience and singing... while using a twirling baton. Fun to watch, but they also require audience interaction.
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If you are looking for a good time or see cuteness in action, check out Brisbane's export, The Grates touring through your area. They are quite approachable, so please have a friendly chat with them after the show. Their lastest album is called Teeth Lost, Hearts Won, which if you get it on vinyl, will come with a bonus CD. I might also suggest checking out their debut album, which four singles from that album made it onto Triple J Hottest 100. I'm sure Sally will keep us informed of the 2010's Hottest 100.
Bonus: Enjoy "Trampoline" from Til Death Do Us Party: Live At The Forum DVD
