Writing is Fighting

Crack the Skye - Album Review......Sorta

    

While I profess to be a music journalist, I know my limitations. I have listened to Crack the Skye a number of times, yet it is hard to articulate Mastodon's latest offer. Should I do a comparison to their last album, 2006's Blood Mountain? Should I talk about how proggy it is? The bizarre concept behind the album? I couldn't make up my mind, so I decided just to talk about what I liked about the album and why you should haul yer ass to the record store and buy it. No iTunes - get a hard copy of the cover art and liner notes, please. Yes I know I'm old school but I like liner notes.  

With many bands, even my absolute favorite band of all time, Judas Priest, it always seems like the first couple of albums are usually considered their best. The rawness of the first and / or second album usually signifies the hunger of a band who are desperate to show the world what they have to offer. When they get into their third and / or fourth album, bands tend to get a bit lazy - or desperate. The laziness might come from having a substantial fan base and because they have earned even more money that they initially thought they would, they lose that creative spark that initially propelled their uniqueness in the conformist and bland musical landscape. Money? Well, some have gotten caught up in all the material trappings of the stereotypical rock n' roll lifestyle and their social and personal lives have become more important than creating art and pushing themselves to explore new and intriguing ways to create music for the masses. 

I think that one of the many reasons why I think that Crack the Skye is so unbelievably good is because even though it is Mastodon's fourth disc, it is so unbelievably different and unique from their stellar full-length debut, Remission - in a good way. The first time I heard 2002's Remission I thought that the back of my head was going to fly off. It was so loud, brutal and gritty, yet there was an experimentation that existed that challenged the standard metal listener as to what their standard definition of what 'Metal' really is. I appreciated that, as well as the bands further explorations into unique sounds, layers and signature time changes in both 2004's Leviathan and Blood Mountain.  

Blood Mountain was a critical,if not a commercial success - to the level of  Britney Spears or the Jonas Brother's million dollar sales statuses. All the hipsters loved it, as I witnessed ( with dismay) at the Brooklyn show last year. But Crack the Skye really is a masterpiece. Not everyone will love it, but they have to appreciate that Mastodon really took a creative jump with this album, a concept album in which the protagonist goes on a harrowing journey to self-discovery? Czar Russia and Rasputin(?) I was trying to convince a friend of mine via Facebook why she should take a listen and I initially said, 'If you appreciate Pink Floyd or Yes, you'll like this.' 

But in hindsight, It was unfair to really compare this album to bands of the past because it infers that they are attempting something similar, which is not the case. I like the undeniable fact that Mastodon, despite the accolades they have received from the Indie and metal press, have always done what they wanted, regardless of the risks. The music is beautiful and harrowing, soft and melodic but with ravaged edges. No this is not a standard 'metal' album - it's too melodic and experimental, but just as bruutal as anything they have created in the past. I listened to "The Last Baron" for the fourth time today and I still cannot even describe the complexities (including a surprising foray into free form-ish jazz) the ups and downs of the 13 minute track. Previously I've waxed poetic about 'Divinations' which despite being the album's more user friendly single, really was a exciting glimpse of what was yet to come. Brett Hinds and Troy Sanders actually sing on all of the tracks, except for 'Crack the Skye' which was handled by Neurosis' Scott Kelly. Despite the alleged nutcase Hinds supposedly is, he has got an amazing, albeit nasal voice and Sanders (besides being totally hot) is just incredible. I have heard that drummer Brann Dailor sings on this too (I'm guessing the opening track 'Oblivion' but correct me if I'm wrong).

Anyway, I know that I am totally giving this album a total, ahem, 'hand job' but I am really appreciative of this effort. Again, it will challenge your definition of what you once considered a metal band, but it is well worth the consideration. I think that music lovers should really appreciate artists that despite this era of manufactured pop shit that crowds the airwaves and video stations.... and makes untalented people very, very rich, that there are at least four men from Atlanta who feel strong, confident in their talents and are staying true to their artistic vision.....and are willing to take risks. The tanking economy and the dismal decline of the music industry, be dammed!

Lakeview Terrace

I hesitated for quite awhile before renting this movie. I am a big fan of director Neil Labute and I also like actors Patrick Watson and Kerry Washington....and of course Samuel Jackson, who was amazing in this film. But early reviews put me off and the subject matter worried me. The portrayal of interracial relationships by a white dude in a mainstream film had the potential of being a train-wreck - I know I've offended at least a handful of people by saying that, but whatever.

The reason why I say that is because the portrayal of a black woman in a relationship with a white guy is a touchy subject. Let me generalize here: Interracial relationships, despite being waay more common than in the past, are still tenuous. Especially black women with white boys.

Black women are supposed to 'hold out' for their black brethren - despite the fact that many seem not to want to date black women (I know I'm going to catch hell for this, so let me just say....in Canada, that is). Many of my black girlfriends bemoan the fact that brothers would rather date a white / Latina / Asian chick - especially those men who are, quote-unquote 'successful' or consider themselves professionals, figuring that they can move into certain circles easier with a light(er)-skinned girl on their arm. My friends, all educated, intelligent, beautiful women, feel that they are never going to find a black dude who is going to appreciate them for who they are.

Me? I couldn't care less - outside of feeling angry to see my girls in pain. I gave up on that foolishness a long time ago.

Anyhoo, for those of us who have dated white boys, the path has not always been pleasant. We wonder if they are only with us for some bizarre, sapphic fantasy, whether we are only perceived as dating material, i.e 'flings'  and not marriage material, or simply with them so they can brag to their frat-boy buddies that they tried some 'chocolate.' Trust me, I've experienced all the above. So I was a bit hesitant at watching this movie.

After Homegirl saw it and raved about it, I decided to give it a go. And I enjoyed it. As mentioned earlier, Sam Jackson was amazing, playing a LA cop who transforms from being an angry widower who is frustrated by trying to raise two teenagers by himself and who takes an immediate disliking to his new neighbors, played by Watson and Washington, into a man who is saddled by his wife's mysterious death, his problems as an (seemingly to him) under-appreciated cop who is seeing his life pass him by - and someone who justifies his psychopathic behavior as trying to save his own pride and sanity.

Washington and Watson are totally believable as an interracial married couple, and the film does not shy away from the tensions - both within their marriage and from outsiders - about their coupling. You sense that their families are not that pleased, and in one storyline, Washington stops taking her birth control pills in a bid to see how committed her husband really is. Her husband, feeling overwhelmed, feels like you think you probably wouldn't like to think. 'Love' is not everything, as he realizes, feeling a bit overwhelmed at always having to prove himself, his love and the credibility of their relationship to outsiders and his wife, and it takes a toll on his commitment. But you do not blame him - it is what it is.

Because I am so filled with anxiety that I have a hard time concentrating on sitting and watching a movie in its entirety, I watched 3/4's and then watched the last section and extras the next night. In between viewings, I called Homegirl and asked for her perspective - minus any clues about the ending. "'I dunno, it seems like the movie is saying that interracial relationships don't work," I said. "Well, watch the extras. Labute has an interesting take on it," she replied. And she was right.

Labute says that to him the screenplay was about 'space' - how people are trying to live their lives in spaces that are confining. The movie takes place in a cul-de-sac, where despite the relative upper middle-class opulence of the homes, people cannot help but get into their neighbor's business. Living in a overpopulated apartment building in downtown Toronto? I can certainly agree with that sentiment. But with Labute, if you have seen any of his earlier work - he tends to take a simple story and reveals the ugly underbelly that no one really wants to see. And that's what this movie is. Great acting, simple but unwavering and an uncompromising story, but a definite rental. check it.

Rough Francis

So this is the band of Bobby Hackney Jr., the son of one of the member's of the band Death, that I spoke about a couple of weeks back.Check it - oh, and check out the NY Times piece on the band (funny, it seems as though the NYT - one of the largest newspapers in North America is always so slow to report black music and culture).

Witnessing a Racist Act - What would you do?

First, Mastodon's Crack the Skye is streaming in its entirety over on their MySpace page. Me? I'll wait until next Tuesday. I'm still digging 'Divinations' though.........

Anyhoo, wanted to write about this situation for a couple of weeks. Wasn't until I was over at Racialicious today that I actually felt compelled to sit down and write it out.

So......a few weeks ago I met a friend for lunch. We were walking down Bloor street around noonish ( for T.O folks, you can guess how busy it was at that time) and I noticed this guy in a wheelchair stopped on the sidewalk- perched close to the street so he didn't block foot traffic. There were these two young Asian women in front of us, just chatting and minding their own business and as a group of us ( there was a number of people walking closely behind us) walked passed him. All of a sudden, the guy in the wheelchair starts screaming, "fucking Taiwanese. Fucking gooks! I should have killed you all in the war!

He went on an on as we passed. I was stunned into silence, but the first thing I remembered doing was staring at the back of the two women in front of me, waiting for their reaction. They didn't seem to acknowledge the guy and about a few steps further, they stopped and were pointing at some expensive shoes at Holt's. I realized - from overhearing their conversation as me and my friend passed, that there was a good chance that they didn't speak English, and hopefully, didn't understand it, either. Thank goodness.

But what bothered me most about this situation was my response. I did nothing. My friend, also black and pretty open on her views on race relations / racism, just muttered something incomprehensible under her breath and kept steppin.' The people walking behind us, a group of young-ish white dudes who looked like white-collar employees on their lunch break, did and said nothing. Should we have done something?

Now the dude in the wheelchair was very old, looked like he had been through a lot and maybe was missing a few marbles. But what stayed with me after that random, 5-second altercation was, should I have said something to him? Reprimanded him in some way, or was he simply crazy and looking for attention?

There were so many things that came to mind and honestly, things that in hindsight I wasn't proud of. First, if the women were black, would I have reacted in a different way? Pushed him and his wheelchair into lunchtime traffic? Was it because they were Asian that I kept my mouth shut? Second, why didn't anyone else say something, like 'dude. That's not cool. Keep your opinions to yourself, you old bigot.' Why didn't I?

As I consider myself an anti-racist activist, I assumed that I believed that everyone, regardless of their ethnocultural background should be treated and regarded as equals, so my inaction bothered me. On the other hand, during conversations with certain friends and black acquaintances, there seemed to be this 'I'll defend my own people - you defend yours' mentality that meant that if they saw someone else being treated in an offensive discriminatory manner, they wouldn't help them. Some had previously been in situations where they were racially harassed and / or discriminated against by someone of another ethnocultural group and had a 'fuck all y'all' mentality. Some held some pretty racially offensive views about others and simply thought that each man should be out for themselves.

Now I would like to believe that if this old guy suddenly jumped out of his wheelchair and clocked one of the women over the head, myself and others would have rushed to their rescue, but I don't think so. Years ago, an Aboriginal man punched me as I got off the subway during rush hour, and no one came to my aid. I called the cops, and they basically did nothing. I wasn't physically injured, but that incident has stayed with me for years - I remember the people who were on the platform just looking away like they hadn't seen anything, and I was so angry,hurt - but the worst part was that for a second, I honestly thought that maybe they - and even a small part of me - felt that is was okay. I seemed to represent a whole lotta negative things to that man, and because of that inaction, it made me feel like maybe the bystanders felt like I deserved it.

I never really wanted anyone else to really go through that but guess what? I kinda did. So I ask you, my faithful, loyal readers, what would you have done?

Random Thoughts and Musings, Pt. 24 - Kara Walker Redux and Napalm Death

Okay, I admit I might have jumped the gun a bit with my last post. I actually was able to catch the lecture with Kara Walker after all. The March 6th lecture was cancelled - I happened to check out the Art Gallery of Ontario's website the next day. So it was re-scheduled for last night, but it was sold-out. On a whim I decided to email the AGO and requested that if anyone cancelled, if I could get a ticket. On Wednesday, they called me and I bought a ticket. Yipee!

It was really interesting, and Walker is a very interesting woman. She used a Powerpoint presentation, showing her earlier work to the present work she is doing. I am totally inspired, yet she didn't quite delve into the meaning of her work as much as I would have liked.

Let's face it: The sold-out lecture was about 95% white (old, rich, pretentious) folks - oh, and their prerequsite gay black male friend. One young black woman, who was there with a group of university students asked her a question that I would have asked (if I wasn't exhausted from writing all day). And even then, she answered the question in a half-assed way. Whatever. I was still inspired and intrigued by her work.

Naplam Death

If you are on my Facebook you would know that I was friggin pissed that they delayed the release in Canada of Time Waits For No Slave. And then the HMV in my 'Hood didn't even carry it! Whatthefuck?

Anyhoo, I did have to travel a bit but I picked it up the day it was released. And. It. Is. Awesome. Pick it up!

It's interesting to me how I could have listened to so much Death / Grindcore last year but as soon as I heard this album I realized how many new-ish bands have copied this band, who have been around for over 20 years. Simply awesome. Great to work out to, btw (god, I'm such a girl!) 

Chris Brown and Rhianna

Enough. Already. Please.

I, like many people have definitely formed an opinion on this subject and I sincerely hope that if Brown is found guilty, his black ass is thrown in jail.

Rhianna? Bitch should be put in jail along side of him for being such a dumbass (if true) by taking him back. What are you? Moron. Look, whatever happens to them doesn't affect my life, but both of these young people are role models to a whole lotta kids, and this sends a horrible message.

A few years ago, a man put his hands on me and I called the cops. I was frightened and went through all that bullshit, but when it came down to it I knew that I would never be able to live with myself if I had let him get away with it. Unfortunately from what I hear, there is a good chance that the person in question didn't learn his lesson and has probably stalked / assaulted other women.

I looked at it this way: I love my Pops and by the grace of God, my father never spanked me or hit me. I grew up with parents who ( well my mom was intimidating!) never laid a hand on us. I don't understand physical violence and I know that I am blessed. Maybe because of this or maybe because it simply doesn't make any sense to me.... There is no godamn way I would ever let that happen to me again. Hell, even if my Dad did spank or hit me, I would still never take that shit from anyone. While this is not a 'Black' issue, Black women really need to build our self-esteem and self worth ( and I know it's hard because society doesn't really support us) to realize that just to have a man in our lives does not mean that we need to put up with verbal and / or physical abuse, cheating and / or emotional alienation. Life is too short for this shit.

  

Random Thoughts and Musings, Pt. 23 - Kara Walker

 

There is a cruel irony in this life I am living. I happened to find out that the artist Kara Walker is speaking tonight at the Art Gallery of Ontario as I was eating my dinner. The talk started at 7:00pm - I read the paper at 7:20pm. Hence, I will not be seeing Ms. Walker speak about her work this evening. I have seen her work previous to this, but tonight I realized that we share the exact same birth date and year, which made me even more intrigued with her art.

Today I found out I didn't get a grant that I applied for, seven months ago. It was so I could take some time off  and travel to complete interviews for my book. So while I was disappointed, I have faced so many delays and disappointments in the last two months that I just felt that I would have to just shrug off another setback and keep on movin'. But it's hard to keep on movin'. Even though only a small percentage of writers get these grants, I can't help but wonder if the nature of my book had anything to do with it.

But reading a bit more about Walker tonight made me feel a bit more optimistic. Apparently, Walker's work, which is predominately centers around imagery (black cut-outs on stark backgrounds) of the tenuous relationships between blacks and whites - predominately, such as in the above video - of Africans  and slave masters during slavery in the U.S. Her images are disturbing, sexually  and visually aggressive. Interestingly, there has been some backlash from other African-American artists who take offense to Walker's work. They have argued that she is provocative just to curry favor with white artists; that she should be only showing the 'positive' images of black life - both historical and contemporary - yet they seem to ignore the powerful messages within her work. She stands true to her art and her message, which is a feeling that I needed to get through today. For that, if not that alone, I find her interesting.

We all have to keep on keepin' on.

Dates Announced For Mastodon's North American Tour

Just saw this posted on Blabbermouth.

I'm kind of surprised that their stop in Toronto is at the Opera House (updated 1:38pm - the band plans to play clubs / smaller venues on this leg. They will  be supporting Metallica at larger venues later in the year) as the venue is a bit on the small side. Not bad though. Another great thing are the opening acts - Kylesa and Intronaut, which is going to be awesome. Crack the Skye drops next week on March 10 24th (I'm hoping that the Canadian release date is not delayed like Napalm Death's Time Waits For No Slave)......

Apr. 10 - Workplay Theater - Birmingham, AL
Apr. 11 - House of Blues - New Orleans, LA
Apr. 13 - Granada Theater - Lawrence, KS
Apr. 14 - Fox Theatre - Boulder, CO
Apr. 16 - Martini Ranch - Phoenix, AZ
Apr. 18 - Coachella - Indio, CA
Apr. 19 - Great American Music Hall San Francisco, CA
Apr. 21 - Hawthorne Theatre - Portland, OR
Apr. 22 - Neumo's - Seattle, WA
Apr. 23 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
Apr. 24 - MacEwen Ballroom - Calgary, AB
Apr. 25 - Starlite Ballroom - Edmonton, AB
Apr. 26 - The Odeon - Saskatoon, SK
Apr. 28 - The Garrick - Winnipeg, MB
Apr. 29 - Fine Line Music Hall - Minneapolis, MN
Apr. 30 - Metro - Chicago, IL
May 01 - Crofoot Ballroom - Pontiac, MI
May 02 - Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, OH
May 04 - Le National - Montreal, QC
May 05 - Opera House - Toronto, ON
May 07 - House of Blues - Boston, MA
May 08 - TLA - Philadelphia, PA
May 09 - Fillmore @ Irving Plaza - New York, NY
May 10 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
May 12 - 9:30 Club - Washington DC
May 13 - Cat's Cradle - Carbarro, NC
May 14 - Orange Peel - Ashville, NC
May 15 - Center Stage - Atlanta, GA

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

A couple of weeks ago, I have having a conversation with my best friend that started off talking about usual stuff - work or lack thereof, how life sucks, boys, etc, and then we started talking about the human condition. I was telling her about the most disturbing movie I have ever seen in my life, Salo or 120 Days of Sodom. The Italian movie, which was filmed in 1975, was about a group of Nazi sergeants and officials during Mussolini's regime during WW2.

The officials were given a three-month 'vacation' at a mansion in rural Italy, close to a village. Right before their stay, army trucks would drive through the village and kidnap any child under 16 and take them to the mansion. Any adult ( who seemed to know that this was a regular thing) who tried to stop them would be killed. When the 9 children reached the mansion, they were raped and tortured and made to do some pretty disgusting acts, both to each other and the officials. At the end of the 120 days, the officials tortured all the children to death.

After seeing the movie, about 8 years ago when I was going though a phase where I only watched European films (Michael Haneke and Lars Von Trier being favorites) I couldn't sleep for a week. To this day, some of the imagery from the movie is embedded in my mind. I later did some research on that time, and based on rumors, some say that circumstances that were portrayed in the film actually did happen during the Second World War.

So when I was talking to my homegirl, I was arguing that we are socialized to behave in ways where we will do no harm to others. Our human condition is to kill or be killed; to essentially be savages. Those who kill and rape are 'blips' in our adopted social conditioning - those who are simply behaving the way that we, as animals, are naturally conditioned to behave. In the movie, men raped little boys and girls; they used their 3-month respite from the war to act out any fantasy that they had, to fully act like the savages they really were. To them, it was freedom - to the children, it was hell.

"Have you ever read The Road?" Homegirl asked. She gave be a brief outline of the book, initally published in 2006, which apparently will now be a movie and is slated for release this summer. She told me that it was a story about a man and his son who were survivors of a post-apocalyptic world. The mother, realizing that the world will never be what she remembers and has no hope for a positive future, commits suicide. The book never tells you what exactly happened, or the exact location, but the environment has radically changed to a bleak, ash-ridden world where everything is gray and dark. Animals and birds are dead. There is an unknown populace of people who have survived to the present day and are doing what they need to do to survive - which means murder and cannibalism. The man and his son, who are never named, make their way from the North to the South, presumably in the U.S. for a warmer climate, finding constant reminders of those who did not make it as far as they did. You do not know if their survival is actually beneficial; or wheter they would be better off dead.

I picked up the book the next day. After three sittings, I completed it.

The writing reminds me of my favorite novelist, Hubert Selby Jr. Sparse with little grammatical flourishes, it is in some ways, plain, but very powerful and descriptive. In some of the reviews, they say that the book is actually a social commentary on what could potentially happen to the environment; some say that it is about the power - or lack thereof - of faith. In the book, people are forced to do what they need to do to survive, which is to prey on those who they consider weak and use them to sustain themselves for their own survival. We are never told they are evil; it is just the way it is. The book is nothing like Salo except it does make you think about the human condition and how close we are to being complete savages. We are just one step away.

Anyway, I would highly recommend this book. It is haunting and frightening with many layers. But ultimately It is left up to the reader to determine what layers they want to peel away and investigate and what layers they feel are best left uncovered.