HONOURED 2

After the praise lavished on Join Hands last week, felt compelled to lay my hands on The Scream. This really brought back pleasant memories. I even recall once being inspired to learn every guitar note of this album - and indeed, whatever happened to those brilliant original members?

Most times, nostalgia is best left for the memory as the reality can disappoint. Not here though - this is a perfect timeless album with inspired production, performances, compositions, and presentation. If only The Velvet Underground had been this good.

Also, returning to the original theme, it's clear the musically inferior Joy Division (to name but one band) snatched a great many ideas from The Scream.

And lastly, that rarest of things, a cover version that blows the original out of the fucking water, or out of the fairground in the case of Helter Skelter. The other best example of that which occurs to me was The Residents' Satisfaction.

PRAVDA 2

Continuing the love affair with Pravda.

USA Officially Becomes Police State
Melodramatic headline it undeniably is, the truth is that the US does now seem to model itself on a South American fascist state like, say, Peronist Argentina, and we turn to Russia to learn about it.

Anorexic And Hairy Prostitutes
Great story - you've got to love its complete lack of prurience, there's even a cheery upbeat feelgood tone; contrast this to how western media would report related subject matter. Also, note the juxtaposition of the girl in the 'sea turtle' picture below it.

North Korea Resumes Public Executions
When did they in fact stop? As the UK kleptocracy blunders onwards down the path towards the North Korean model, surely it won't be long before public hangings will be introduced in the Queen's Speech.

PRAVDA 1

ANATOMY

Fear is such a widespread and versatile commodity; one that is commonly and effortlessly exploited as there is always a steady and willing stream of buyers and rebuyers. One reason for that is that any counter-argument allows the accusation that somehow the terrible thing in question is being defended. Even when that thing doesn't really exist in the way described, or if in fact at all.

A few years ago Daniel Radosh did a fine job deconstructing an example of this which focused on the world of 'internet sex-slave trafficking'. And lo and behold, the real exploiters have duly arrived, inevitably in the guise of Hollywood, and made a film entitled Trade about the original subject matter as if it did really happen. Even if you pick out a negative review, its essential criticism is that this undeniably exploitative movie isn't real enough. That the movie "does little justice to the young girls who are prey to these bands of international slime".

In other words false presuppositions (original article) loaded onto false presuppositions (the movie) loaded onto false presuppositions (the movie reviews) that become almost impossible to challenge without (in this case) taking a pro child internet sex-trade stance.

I would suggest that it's this fearmongering cycle that causes much real collateral damage. But when's someone going to challenge the fear itself - and its mongers? I don't see a queue forming.

KLEPTOCRACY 2

Stuff like this happens and these muppets want to inflict ID cards on us, not mentioning the 53 pieces of information before you undertake any overseas travel. What's funny is the sheer incompetence of repression. While making momentously short-sighted and self-serving decisions that involve staggering amounts of public money, these cheap suited n00bs with their fourth rate law degrees wouldn't truthfully know how to plug a fucking USB mouse in the right way.

HONOURED

Surprisingly, amidst a reasonably extensive music collection here, there are only two punk/new wave albums remaining: The Banshees' Join Hands and Joy Division's Closer. The tremendous Join Hands has aged amazingly well, while most music from that era, albeit exciting at the time, has not. Closer is no exception: a production style that once sounded spacious and original, is now, to these ears, rather weedy and hollow.

That notwithstanding, it's still a moving collection of dark mournful songs, a vast improvement over their first album, and I recall it forming the personal soundtrack to several chapters of Juliette.

So, having never seen even a reasonable music biopic, I was prepared to really hate Anton Corbijn's Control. Even more so because I can't stand the whole stupidly overrated Anthony Wilson/Factory/Madchester/Hacienda scene. But no, totally and utterly wrong. Go see it for yourself.

Ironically, the music in it is neither here nor there, because what's special for me is the moving tale of a vulnerable human being; the kind of candid working-class portrait Mike Leigh has often unsuccessfully attempted. It may well be Deborah, Curtis' widow, who is co-writer here, that should get the credit.

Yet more ironically, lead actor Sam Riley is so extraordinary in his role that he effortlessly outdoes Curtis in almost every way: for mystery, for charisma, for looks, for singing ability, you name it.

ECHOES

Funny to see the art direction of the poster for this new movie September Dawn, I just wish it was a good film (it isn't).

DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL 2

After a comment in the original post a couple of emails came in asking how one is not an atheist while disbelieving the existence of any god. It's because atheism I see as essentially a construct that wouldn't have existed without the fundamentalist intolerance of post-gnostic Christianity; historically, people were, and to a certain extent still are, forced to make a choice to accept or reject.

However, I think there's a cuter way to articulate this.

A chimpanzee doesn't recognise any deity, nor is he or she an atheist. There is no god, and you can't prove that which doesn't exist; it's not a belief, it's a state. I'm with the chimp.

PRAVDA

Who needs boring western media? You find some of the best stories at Pravda these days - just go and check this one out about some alien-looking creatures recently discovered and photographed. It might not now be what it once was, yet - since the fall of the USSR - Pravda was taken over by its erstwhile journalists and after much confrontation and drama with the authorities they now look after this online version. It's stylistically quite tabloid and yet there's still a really unusual, slightly edgy perspective on world affairs in its reporting that makes for a really nice change.

Some other recent stories I enjoyed there:

Top Russian Super-rich It-girls
Check out Kira, the fifteen year old fashion designer bankrolled by daddy to the tune of $100m.

Foolish British Spies
You don't get headlines like that in The Daily Telegraph...

Treated Like Garbage
... nor that on Fox News.

BARRAGE IRAQ

Am slightly shellshocked this evening having just sat through Redacted, an extremely painful, punishing yet deeply affecting film about Iraq by Brian De Palma. It's a multifaceted fictionalised account of a real life atrocity committed by US forces in Samarra.

You can't help but be impressed by the fucking bravery of the guy for making it, because make no mistake, he's guaranteed himself a hard time amongst all sorts of quarters back in the States. It's the kind of movie that, like War Hunt (1962), will be recognised as a classic in years to come.

SIGNIFICANCES 6

#11: experience

Of course, reminding me of this word was our recent vinyl reissue of Birthdeath Experience. It's particularly useful for unconscious communication for, just by saying the word, a listener will begin to do the mental process suggested because of the inherent nature of discourse being filtered referentially through first person.

I'll never forget the experience of eating that red hot spicy Mexican food.

Make up your own examples. It's just like the following pseudo-question language pattern used experientially, 'have you ever seen a pig flying across a blue sky?'. I say pseudo-question because, rather than requesting a genuine answer, it forces the experience in question; you cannot avoid imagining that flying porker. It's an example of one of the loopholes in the way that language works that's commonly exploited.

There are many members of this particular magical lexical family including wonder, feel, conceive, consider, realise and others, yet experience is the best. It's such a far-reaching word that manages to refer not only to how you're directly affected by something but to all the peripheral and associated aspects too.

Birthdeath Feeling just wouldn't have resonated so well.