How Do I keep Getting Myself Into These Messes?

A creative individual has no ethics when he first starts. He doesn’t judge or think or compare. He doesn’t know a good idea from a bad idea, a good opportunity from a bad opportunity, he just wants to express and utilise his creativity, he follows his naïve instincts of self-expression. Once he gets experience, he develops what could be known as ethics. He begins to implicitly know a good idea from a bad idea, he begins to know a good opportunity from a bad one. These experiences mould the creative individual into what is often referred to a professional. But maybe being a professional isn’t necessarily desirable. In becoming a professional what is often lost is that first flush of enthusiasm, that first flush of wanting to be part of something or create something greater than yourself, and its that enthusiasm that is the by-product of hunger and desire. When you’re new it’s that hunger that makes you take any idea, good or bad, any opportunity and want to do the best job you can possibly do, and you don’t handicap that enthusiasm by criticizing everything or anything before you begin. You just jump into it, because what else are you going to do?

It’s the professional attitude to say, “Look, it’s a job. Let’s just do it the best we can. It’s not a good idea, the budget is too small, we’re not getting paid enough, etc.” but the guy who is hungry, who has that desire, who has that enthusiasm, he says “No. No I’m going to do it! I’m going to do it better than anyone else would do it! I’m going to do it better than anyone else could do it!” and he’s the guy that wins, because his dream is stronger than just making a living. Maybe it’s not the greatest thing in the world, but the result is the best thing possible with what he had at his disposal at that point in time. If he jumps in enough times, he’ll get better and better at maximising those resources. It’s the guys who sit and wait around for the perfect “professional” conditions that go nowhere and say nothing.

This BLOG is indebted to John Cassavetes.

Anecdotes from the Debris

/Jeremy

Dragonsclaw - "Defenders of the Skies"

Here's a little video made for Dragonsclaw. I hope it helps them get a record deal. The video was picked up by Blabbermouth.net and then a slew of other sites ran with it, so it's getting out there. Their album is really great and they deserve some recognition for their musical chops and fantastic song writing.

Dragonsclaw play the kind of heavy metal I grew up listening to, very reminiscent of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, Helloween, Manowar, etc. A lot of modern bands tend to imitate that style but they never get it quite right. It's kind of like modern exploitation films, the originators were trying to make the best films they could under relatively limited budgets and at times, relatively little skill. Regardless of quality, there was a sincerity to them that made them appealing. When guys like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez try to do it, it always seems so contrived, disingenuous and phony mostly because they have access to so many resources. For the originators it was an expression, for the copycats its just a gimmick. Dragonsclaw buck the trend and manage to sound genuine and passionate in a sea of the contrived wannabes.

One of the reasons Dragonsclaw buck the trend is they've managed to retain and aggressive edge in their songs and performances that has all but dissipated from modern power metal in favor of mindless speed (Dragonforce) and/or cringe inducing, saccharine encrusted and ultimately unmemorable melodies (Lord). However the standout feature of Dragonsclaw is their songwriting craftsmanship. Dragonsclaw have a great ear for heavy metal melodies and write catchy choruses that could only come from people who live and breathe this music. They have developed an innate understanding of the genre; an almost instinctual comprehension of what works and why. Sure they don't re-invent the wheel but nothing feels forced or contrived, it feels honest; like a celebration of the genre rather than an imitation.  It's because Dragonsclaw pay such careful attention to the craft of heavy metal song writing that their songs hold up against their influences, rather than come across like a cheap knockoff. A good comparison would be how The Hellacopters always came across more like a long lost contemporary of the MC5 rather than a bunch of yokels trying to sound like the MC5. The 'Copters "got it", a band like Jet didn't. Dragonsclaw get it, Lord don't. If you can't hear the difference, then I'd suggest you don't get it either. Just my opinion.

When it comes to air combat heavy metal anthems, Iron Maiden has a pretty captive market with classics like "Aces High" and "Tailgunner". As far as air combat heavy metal videos, no one has done it better than Maiden's "Aces High". I think Dragonsclaw are echoing their love of those songs in "Defenders of the Skies" so I tried to capture some of the vibe of that video too, just with less spandex and way less of a budget.

As the song is about air combat during the Second World War, I dug into the World War 2 footage archives. I found some incredible stuff there; especially the Frank Capra directed propaganda films. They're all public domain now, so free for D.I.Y artists to muck about with. I spliced a bunch of stuff from various sources together to create some dynamic action montages. I tried to tell little pockets of stories with each of them that visually punctuate the song's lyrics and moods. The whole thing is totally historically inaccurate and probably culturally insensitive to some, for those critics, I'd say: "I'm guilty... but lighten up. ". It's an entertaining video for the web and it's a great song for fans of the genre.

/Jeremy Belinfante

Death Minge

I was talking to a friend of mine over the weekend about the lousy Australian music scene and it's history. The topic of bad local rock journalism (it's bad everywhere but it's worse here) came up and I mentioned this review, so I figured I'd dig it up.

I wrote this almost 3 years ago. It's a mock review of a real gig some friends of mine put on. If I might wax pretentious about the review... What I tried to do was write what I really thought about the gig but in the most pretentious, ridiculous language I could muster. Kind of riffing on the idea that a good villain shouldn't necessarily be wrong in his intentions just in his methods. Everything is exaggerated to the point of absurdity, but the sad fact is it's not too far removed from some slabs of 70's rock journalism.

The name Kenneth Allen was based on what "Know It All" translated to in Dutch... I think. I don't really remember. I was going to write more stuff with this character with the gimmick that he was some legendary music journalist or A&R guy no one had heard of...

I think it's pretty funny...

Death Minge – The Sandringham Hotel – 15/01/2009

Scouring the sterile pretentious wasteland that is the Sydney music scene, you’d have to dig through endless muck to find a skerrick of vital hard rock. Sure, there are elder statesmen such as The Hard Ons, but many new bands seem to be caught up in the pseudo-intellectual snobbery that comes with dreadlocks and Mr Bungle fellatio; boring droning neo-post-post rock or generic metalcore dreck; the garbage that develops when Slipknot fans go through puberty and discover either black metal or Sigur Ros. On the other side of the septic tank there is the vacuous vainglorious glam rock revival which would be best labeled a bunch of imitators, if they only had a clue what they were imitating, not to mention a pint of humility. Of course, if you dig through a mound of shit long enough, you’re bound to find a kernel of corn. I found Death Minge.

Death Minge’s one night stand at the Sandringham Hotel was billed as a secretive gig amongst friends and fans of Sydney’s UK Bound rockers SHAKE. However, the allure for most was the debut of the much talked about Sutherland Shire based vocalist, Blackrat. The quaking quintuplet consisting of bass, drums, guitar and tag team vocalists, Sam Dillon and the aforementioned Blackrat delivered a performance that questioned and challenged every convention of musical live performance and funneled it into a smoldering synthesis where instead of the music functioning merely as an impression of life, life was depicted as an impression of music.

The songs clattered about with raucous and rough vitality abandoning tradition in favor of articulating a unique and original consciousness. The dueling cascading vocals showcased the essential cry of concurrent joy and anguish that is conducive to life in the urban environment. Blackrat delivered strained, yet honest vocals shrouded in a manifestation of madness and destruction. His GG Allin-esque stage presence was masterfully contrasted against the more polished showmanship and vocals of Sam Dillon. Their dynamic unpredictable theatrics functioned as a satire on the homophobic / homoerotic duality that lies at the heart of the Sutherland Shire male psyche.

The rest of the band put on a clinic that meshed, flowed and excited in a way that almost none of the self-conscious, overly safe bullshit of the aforementioned Sydney scene could dream of. The predominant reason for this is that while many other groups simply seek to imitate, picking up all of the trappings and none of the toppings of various foreign trends, Death Minge are in essence a pasty white stream of honest uncultured energy, blurring the lines of real life and performance with minimum fuss. Much like the finest jazz artists, there are no mistakes, there is simply performance, and anything and everything that occurs in the space of the room is integrated into their act. Explosive yet diffuse music that would stretch, tear and distend the limited vocabulary of the average punter.

I’m sure there would have been many who just figured Death Minge some kind of private joke, a poorly rehearsed porridge of funky noise and toilet humor. But those fools would be oh so mistaken. This was a band with a vision. While many shoe gazer acts piss about in bad diatribes on the human condition, Death Minge ARE the human condition; Unabashedly confronting yet strangely familiar; Death Minge are the aural depiction of mankind playing with it’s own fecal matter; a tour de force artistic statement, simultaneously absurdest artifice yet poignantly satirical. It’s not just the foot that’s in the mouth; it’s the whole lower torso; cock, balls, asshole, (minge?) and all.

Kenneth Allen

 

Money In Their Bank

I wrote this at 6.30 am on the morning of the “Money in the Bank” pay-per-view.

18-07-2011 – Money In Their Bank

A pet peeve of mine with online wrestling fans is the frequent argument about whether or not a storyline, match or character  “draws money”. These arguments are usually backed up by decontextualized statistics and sprinkled with amateur sociology. It's a pet peeve because, whether a wrestler, an angle or a match draws money is only important to the company offering the product. All the audience should care about, is whether they are entertained or not. A smart mark is still a mark, so know your role and shut yer mouths.

Ever since CM Punk cut THAT promo a few weeks ago, I’ve seen an obscene number of online discussions and “debates” on whether or not the angle will “draw money” and whether or not CM Punk “connects” with “key demographics”. Who cares? Unless you have access to WWE’s accounts, there is no possible way you will ever know. All you can know is whether or not you are being entertained by CM Punk’s performance and whether or not the angle has captured your imagination. I’ve read so many comments along the lines of “While I found these segments entertaining, I’m not so sure if the rest of the audience will understand it.” This is then followed by some random ratings statistics and some comment about “drawing money”. It entertains, if you are entertained. It draws money if YOU pay for it.

I’ve often wondered why modern wrestling fans care so much about the “draw” of a match. Most fans of fringe sub/counter - cultures, such as punk rock, heavy metal or comic books resent popular opinion. In fact, mainstream acceptance is seen as “selling out” and perverting the purity of the product. Why are wrestling fans different?

One reason could be that because professional wrestling exists in the intersection of sport and performance, a lot of wrestling fans are predominantly sports fans and don’t think in terms of “performance” or “art” or “theatre” (and bless them for that). Numbers are important to sports fans. TV Ratings, merchandise sales and pay per view buys are a seemingly objective gauge in a sport where wins and losses don’t really matter. For the armchair booker, these figures are ammunition for their hyper textual dialogues of no consequence. Unless you have the breakdown sheets for those numbers AND the know how to interpret them, those numbers are utterly abstract statistics and totally meaningless.

If someone tells you the quality of a movie is judged by it’s box office gross, then that person is a moron. Lady GaGa draws more money than Frank Zappa ever did but she is to music what a castrati is to fertility. Sales can only tell you about a product’s popularity, and popularity only matters to the insecure. Modern society is largely based around making people feel insecure about everything and then selling a product to temporarily numb the insecurity. The idea of promoting a product with goofy pitches about chart numbers, best seller lists and box offices is designed to make the consumer feel they are joining a big popular club by consuming a certain cultural artifact. They (whoever THEY are) are not selling a product as much as they’re selling solidarity.

If you’re a wrestling fan over the age of about twelve, chances are someone, somewhere, at some point in time has tried to insult you about it. There are such human beings as “closet wrestling fans”, who hide their interest because they fear they will be humiliated by being outed as a pro-wrestling fan. That insecurity leads to a fixation with wrestling being / becoming socially acceptable through mainstream popularity and visibility.

World Wrestling Entertainment are very aware of this audience, and it seems that their television shows are produced by people who are, likewise, ashamed of the medium / genre.  This probably explains the rationale behind the company removing words like “wrestling” (It’s “SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT) and “wrestler” (They’re “SUPERSTARS”) from broadcasts, merchandise and promotional material. It’s also the reasoning behind all those cheesy “Did You Know?” graphics featuring statistics showing how many people watch the show, how many people are in attendance, or how many countries the show is broadcast in. While the goal is to display and instill public pride for their product, the campaign hasn’t really worked.

Since WWE has become more and more corporate and “brand” orientated, my interest in the product has waned to almost non-existent levels and likewise I hear similar comments from my friends. Why has WWE’s marketing, for us, backfired? In my opinion, those graphics and especially that inane terminology feels like an embarrassed cry for mainstream attention. There are few things more unattractive or unappealing than someone begging for something. If they get it, it’s out of pity or charity. Go figure the mainstream media only want to cover professional wrestling when there has been a tragedy.

I want professional wrestling to be more widely accepted because, to me, a great wrestling match, with a great angle, is the finest form of poetic storytelling possible. I wish more people saw it that way, but few give it the chance. I believe fans want wrestling to be popular but only on it’s own terms, and essentially that’s what CM Punk’s character is struggling with the WWE brass over. That’s one small component of why I feel he resonates with the audience, because fans, such as myself, are struggling with the same thing.  Whether it’s a shoot or a work, it feels real because the sentiment is real to us. 

The CM Punk storyline has captured my imagination and that’s the first time a wrestler or a wrestling storyline has done that since the relaunch of ECW. Unfortunately World Wrestling Entertainment has a recent history of setting up a hot angle and then disappointing me with the pay off.  I’m buying the “Money in the Bank” pay-per view today and it’s the first time I’ve bought a non-Big Four WWE pay per view since “WWECW One Night Stand 06”. So yes, this angle has drawn money, my money, and I’m just hoping it doesn’t let me down.

Scraping away mental crust at 6.30am…

/JB