Kingdom of Uza

Real friends have spine; acquaintances are mollusks

2012-01-26T00:03:00.002+01:00

Meg Myers – Monster (2011)

Pepe deluxé - A night and a day (2011)

The one AM radio - A rush and a push and the land is ours (The smiths cover)

Foxy Shazam - The church of rock and roll (2012)

Termites – Ammo (2011)

Generation P (Victor Ginzburg, 2011)

Welcome to the plagueround

2012-01-13T00:59:00.004+01:00

Lee Fields - You're the kind of girl (2011)

Lazarus and the plane crash - Horseplay (Antique beat, 01/01/2012)

&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://lazarusandtheplanecrash.bandcamp.com/album/horseplay"&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Horseplay by Lazarus and the Plane Crash&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

ThePetebox – V.O.D.K.A (2012)

Villagers - Cecelia and her selfhood (2011)

The Maxines – Drugstore (2011)

Never take candy from a stranger (Cyril Frankel, 1960)

Püha Tõnu kiusamine (The temptation of St. Tony) (Veiko Õunpuu, 2009)

Rundskop (Bullhead) (Michael R. Roskam, 2011)

Tabloid (Errol Morris, 2011)

The execution of the delusional evolutionary psychologist

2011-12-31T19:46:00.004+01:00

Xenia Beliayeva ft. Tristy Nesh – Acting sane (2011)

Molly Nilsson - You always hurt the one you love (2011)

Colour Sun - … (Bandcamp, 01/12/2011) http://music.coloursun.co.uk

&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://music.coloursun.co.uk/album/-"&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;... by Colour Sun&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Lil daggers – Ghost herd (2011)

Night and the city (Jules Dassin, 1950)

As if I am not there (Juanita Wilson, 2010)

Chienne d'histoire (Barking island) (Serge Avedikian, 2010)

Essential killing (Jerzy Skolimowski, 2010)

Tyrannosaur (Paddy Considine, 2011)

Uza's favorite albums of 2011 – part 2

2011-12-17T11:03:00.021+01:00

In a time when this is even an option, the following acts are our last line of defense. These were the outstanding albums by which Uza will remember 2011 favorably.

Andrew Liles - Muldjewangk, Morgawr and other monsters (Tourette, 14/02/2011)

http://andrewliles.com/

It is a la mode to diss concept albums. Given the time we live in (and the average music "critic"), where the only thing that can keep you focused from more than 140 seconds/characters is a fucking legal drug, it comes as no surprise that the young crowd has developed an innate aversion to concepts of any shape, form and style. However, everybody knows that young means stupid, so what do they know? In the case of our dear friend Andrew Liles they know Jack shit. Liles, a longtime collaborator with the titan of anything experimental (Steven Stapleton for you) has a monster fetish, and no, it has nothing to do with Lady KaKa. He has devoted several albums to the exploration of this fascination but this last one tops the bill. MMaOM is a pristine textbook example of what experimental should be like. On the one hand you must show a firm grip and a steady hand in this basic thing we call composition or song-writing. In the second, you go full body Tourette and bounce off every wall possible. Spoken word, industrial, found sound, musique concrete, old-school European techno, what have you. A common pitfall for those who attempt navigating their ship in such troubled waters is that they try to do too much, but the veteran and well-seasoned Liles knows his craft cover-to-cover and makes zero mistakes in handling the delicate task of taking wild turns seemingly woven into the preceding ones. This is, hands down, the best experimental album of the year, not only for being truly loyal to the meaning of the name, but also for providing a stellar exemplar to that effect.

Ane Brun - It all starts with one (Balloon ranger, 07/09/2011) http://anebrun.com/

Boy, do the Scandinavian have a penchant for melodrama. Ibsen, Dryer, Bergman. Sooooooo heavy, uber-dense, slow-pacing, emotionally pounding and relentlessly pushing all the buttons in your guts. Ane Brun is no different, she just likes to do it with music. Press play on this one, and thick, dark syrup will slowly start oozing from the speakers, creating long stalactites, crushing on the floor with a thunderous thump. Brun anguishes with every sentence and each bar, giving birth to a musical fetus whose head is just too big. The labor is excruciating and no string arrangement will facilitate delivery. However, the newborn is a beautiful and magnificent beast: 75 minutes of concentrated Nick Drakesque music, backed by an orchestra that pulls you back with a death grip so to keep the pace as slow as possible. This is probably the best drone album of the year without even being one. This is not a listen for the emotionally unstable (she even makes Alfonsina y el mar sound as a soundtrack for a Swedish documentary about teenage suicide in Lapland), but for everybody else it's a must buy.

Arabrot - Solar anus (Fysisk format, 09/09/2011) http://www.arabrot.com/

In the last three years it has become clear that there is only one metal act that is really worth a damn, and that's the Norwegian duo Arabrot. Now, many connoisseurs of alternative/indie have developed a penchant for metal in the last decade, perhaps countering the disastrous hipster culture and their obsession with mainstream culture. Within this framework, ridiculous (not to say puerile) obsession with Finnish folk metal, French black metal and anything that has the word drone in it has emerged. People playing watered down, slowed-downed to a grinding hold versions of metal have been heralded as geniuses and avant-garde. Well, you know what? Those acts are the exactly the opposite: they are those that even metalheads in high school would bully. And then there's Arabrot: you don't wanna fuck with them. They bring back to metal the sense of pride it once had without compromising metal sensibilities and that means loud, aggressive, angry, pummeling, thundering, visceral, boiling angst. They ARE metal because they understand what metal as a culture is and dare take it to new places. Only two

Evangelista - In animal tongue

(Constellation, 20/09/2011) http://carlabozulich.com/

I am running out of superlatives to describe the work of Carla Buzolich. When the album came out, I wrote this: "Carla Bozulich is becoming not only synonymous with true avant-garde but a real staple of quality. Her previous albums, under the moniker Evangelista, were shiny gems and the new album, though taking a different turn and style, is a fine example of how swimming against the current gets you to the right place". Buzolich and her gang are another example of the theme guiding this list: when you do something truly different you cannot go wrong – you either make a stellar achievement or you fail miserably, but even a botched attempt at experimental is better than following the crowd. Fortunate for us, Buzolich has yet to have failed.

Future of the left - Polymers are forever EP (Xtra mile, 14/11/2011) www.myspace.com/futureoftheleft

Put simply, nobody does this kind of (intelligent?) rock better than these Scotts. A combination of angular punk math with pop sensibilities a-la early Beaufitul south and dry British humor give birth to this killer EP. This album behaves as if it wants to go into the charts so that once it settles in the top 40 it'd start to wreak havoc and devour its neighboring artists whom it despises and loathes. This would satisfy anyone looking for pounding rock without compromising style, unique vice, originality and lyrics.

Gablé - Cute horse cut (Loaf, 01/04/2011) http://www.gableboulga.com

Gablé showed initial signs of promise in previous years, but it was only this year that their experimental pop project has come to fruition. This is a message from the future, a glimpse at what quality pop should be. With zero compromises, this French act maintans pop sensibilities while adorning them with pyrotechnics and perfect 10 gymnastics. Every left and right turn here are calculated to perfection, planting surprises where one has become used to expect the obvious. Gablé lead, and we follow, not only down the rabbit hole, but also up, sideways and back again. They have so many tricks up their sleeves that it seems almost unfair: maybe they have stolen this bounty of original ideas from poor souls that now wonder in musical limbo? Whatever they have done to produce this album, it is a masterpiece nonetheless.

GeishaNo - Dystopia (Bandcamp, 05/01/2011) http://geishano.bandcamp.com

This explains why they are here

http://kingdomofuza.blogspot.com/2011/02/geishano-dystopia-album-review.html

Gevolt - AlefBase (Gevolt, 02/2011) http://www.gevolt.com/Discography/AlefBase/

Continuing the amazing year Israeli indie had, are the suburban Russian immigrant band Gevolt, and they are here on account of their huge balls. When was the last time you've heard an Yiddish album? Was it by any chance a rock album? Off course not. So enter Gevolt, with a mission: metal covers of Yiddish ghetto songs. This can only go in one of two ways: complete and utter insult to the ear and mind, or an outstanding salute to a cultural heritage that only does it grace. Fortunately for us it is the latter. Gevolt do not fall into the horrid pitfalls of modern metal which is a slave to pyrotechnics and warships technical abilities. They know that their raw material is strong enough to the front stage and they use drape it with fitting metal attire. They do not growl, as this lowly technique will only offend the very language they try to revive. This album is so good simply because it opens a window to real life and culture gone while adoring it with contemporary soundtrack. It's not the best metal album of the year (this is still Arabrot's job) but it need not be. Instead, it is the most beautiful and moving musical homage in recent memory.

Immortal technique – The martyr (mixtape) (Self released, 28/10/2011) http://www.immortaltechnique.info/

IT is here not because of his music. Don't get me wrong: it's great, but no end-of-the-year-great. IT is here because of the violent juxtaposition to the banal, apathetic, bling-bling driven, sinister and sordid state of hip-hop today. If Lil B and Odd future pass as quality of any sort, than hip hop is in its Pompeii days and IT is the prophet at the gate. He is obviously not all alone (B. Dolan, Dead prez, Paris just to namedrop a few) but in a year of political turmoil, it is IT's time to shine. An erudite and eloquent orator, a true disciple of culture jam, a strong and confident voice that shows us that Americans have been bamboozled to believe things have changed somehow. He's not the first to say those things, and not the first to bring them to music or to hip hop, but hopefully he will be the one to cross the bridge and preach not only to the choir but also to the neighboring congragations.

Jenny Wilson - Blazing (Gold medal, 06/04/2011) http://jennywilson.net/

Blazing is a reworking of Wilson's 2009 Hardships. Blazing got it's place here because Wilson has managed to take an outstanding album and make it even better. How many artists do you know that took one of their albums, in its entirety, and improved upon it? I cannot think of an example. What Wilson did was to gospelize the hell out of Hardships and I for one cannot think of a better rendition to complement this album. Putting aside her personal ordeal which might have drown her to this form of liturgical music, this combination of clever Swedish pop and a gospel choir is so captivating and engrossing that one has to be made of antichrist molecules to resist it. To top it all off, in the second CD of this double album, Wilson goes experimental, as if she knew Uza would purr stronger. Is it divine? As an agnostic I have a problem with this whole religious terminology I got drawn into, but this album does provide for an experience with an added-value. Make of it what you will….

Otep - Atavist (Victory, 26/04/2011) www.myspace.com/otep

Ever since Queen Adreena, I have become obsessed with female-fronted metal bands. That was long ago. Well, Katie Jane Garside has changed direction by now, but luckily, Otep Shamaya is here to save me. How good is she? Well, it's the only other metal album in this list beside Arabrot. Good enough of a recommendation for ya?

Mirel Wagner - Mirel Wagner (Kioski, 23/02/2011) www.myspace.com/mirelwagner

Folk is probably the oldest of all popular genres, so how can you make it interesting after all these years? Ask Ethiopian-born Finnish phenomenon Mirel Wagner. Building upon the murder ballad tradition Wagner manages to breathe fresh air into a genre that has not only stagnated, but also believed to be immutable, with only her guitar and mesmerizing voice.

Shitty CT - Humus lahamonim (2011) www.myspace.com/shittyct

As was the case with Immortal technique, Shitty CT are not here on account of their music. They play old-school (old-fashioned), straight nu-metal. Enface, this is a reason to ignore them completely and on any given Sunday I would BUT it is the thing beyond the music that got them here. It is yet another band of Russian immigrants working far away from the "lime lights" of Tel Aviv (see Gevolt), and form this position they are best situated to put a zerkalo in the face of Israeli society. One would expect Israel to be rife with political acts, a strong punk movement or some troubadours roaming the country side fighting the many social maladies. Au contraire mon ami! The poverty of political involvement on behalf of Israeli musicians borders the criminal, but Shitty CT are here to rectify the matter. While suffering a bit from political naivety, they managed to precede the social "uprising" by several months by attacking the apathy and ignorance of the diminishing secular sector, obsessed with all the wrong things. Needless to say, this album flew well under the radar of almost all Israeli blogs, since the Tel Aviv bon ton is to stay away from both metal and anything that is created outside the city. I only hope these guys will continue educating themselves more and improve musically, so that they will be able to break through and deserve the recognition they deserve.

The aprons - Sound stains (Hi fidelity, 23/11/2010) http://theaprons.bandcamp.com/album/sound-stains

Go here to understand why they've made the list

http://kingdomofuza.blogspot.com/2011/08/aprons-sound-stain-album-review.html

The bastard (Leigh & Blake) - The bastard (02/2011) thebastard.bandcamp.com

Only the second representative of hip hop in this list, The bastard are as far as possible from the birth place of the genre. This Irish duo is the salvation and redemption of a style that has betrayed everything it once stood for, and they do so simply by thinking outside the box and taking hip-hop to different, better places. Call it experimental, call it doom-hop, whatever. This is by a mile and a nose the most interesting and challenging hip-hop made this year.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://thebastard.bandcamp.com/album/the-bastard"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;The Bastard by The Bastard AKA Leigh and Blake&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

The book of knots - Garden of fainting stars (Ipecac, 14/06/2011) www.thebookofknots.com/

Just like Gable, BoK is a project that required some additional time in the oven, and now, fully baked, it's a pure delight. BoK decided to join forces with a stellar line up of collaborators (Blixa Bargeld, Trey Spruance, Mike Patton, Mike Watt), which allows for a multi-faceted representation of different takes on the state of experimental music today. This is a journey deep into the next-generation sound carried out by top-notch musicians. A must buy.

Tom Waits - Bad as me (Anti, 24/10/2011) http://badasme.com/

Someone please call me when this guy makes a mediocre album. Simply put, he's more infallible than the pope, the man who cannot go wrong. If (when?) he does, it'd be the end of times. Was that dramatic enough of an exposition?

Uza's favorite albums of 2011 - part 1

2011-12-16T17:13:00.005+01:00

Each year I deliberate how to present this list. This year, mostly for lack of time, I decided to make it simpler and divide it into two lists. The first (aka the one you're reading now) is for those albums that shone in the turbid, murky and dark waters of the ocean of mediocre music, but still were not good enough to make the cut for greatness. The second list will honor those albums that will linger in memory long after this year has ended. So, without further ado, here is the "close but no cigar' list

[Me] - Naked EP (Lizard king, 18/03/2011)

Applause - Where it all began (3ème bureau, 06/06/2011)

Atari teenage riot - Is this hyperreal (Dim mak, 07/06/2011)

Cavalera conspiracy - Blunt force trauma (Roadrunner, 29/03/2011)

DJ Shadow - I'm excited EP (Island, 29/07/2011) http://djshadow.com/

Gin Wigmore - Gravel & wine (Island, 07/11/2011)

Gusgus - Arabian horse (Kompakt, 09/05/2011)

Le butcherettes - Sin sin sin (Rodriguez Lopez productions, 10/05/2011)

Minkus - The shape of things to come (Watermelon, 01/03/2011)

Mother mother - Eureka (Last gang, 15/03/2011)

Psychologist - Propeller EP (Not even, 27/07/2011)

Remission - Winds of promise EP (React!, 15/01/2011)

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://remissionhc.bandcamp.com/album/winds-of-promise"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Winds Of Promise by Remission&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Rock bottom - Your demise EP (Harvcore, 2011)

Saint saviour - Suukei EP (Guerrilla, 02/10/2011)

Sepultura - Kairos (Nuclear blast America, 12/07/2011)

Sparrow and The workshop - Spitting daggers (Distiller, 30/05/2011)

The do - Both ways open jaws (Get down, 07/03/2011)

The pack A.D. - Unpersons (Mint, 13/09/2011)

Whores – Ruiner (Self released, 2011) http://whores.bandcamp.com/

High time to cook the famous cook

2011-12-03T02:21:00.003+01:00

Doldrums - I'm homesick sittin' up here in my satellite (2011)

Blaenavon – Denim patches (2011)

Gin Wigmore - Black sheep (from: Gravel & wine, Island 07/11/2011)

The whip - Keep or delete (from: Wired together, PID 27/09/2011)

The correspondents - Cheating with you (2011)

Eight bit tiger – Numbers (2011)

Polkadot cadaver - Starlight requiem (2011)

3 women (Altman, 1977)

It's too happy here today (or is it?)

2011-11-26T21:15:00.006+01:00

An amazing song from a great film

Elmer gantry (Richard Brooks, 1960)

Dillon - Tip tapping (2011)

Dillon - Thirteen thirtyfive (2011)

Saint saviour - Red sun (2011)

Pepe Deluxé – The storm (2011)

Marie Madeleine - Swimming pool (2011)

Escort - Cocaine blues (2010)

The other tribe - Don't need no melody (2011)

Factory floor - Two different ways (2011)

The whip - Wired together (PID, 27-09-2011)

Notic nastic – Cyanide (2011)

F for fake (Orson Welles, 1972)

Pasteurized pastors

2011-11-13T15:40:00.003+01:00

The Felice brothers - Fire at the pageant (2011)

SimpleSongs - Contact/Impact (2011)

&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://simplesongs.bandcamp.com/track/contact-impact"&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Contact/Impact by SimpleSongs&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Tingle in the Netherlands - I lost my heart to a starship cleaner (2011)

Imperial teen – Runaway (2011)

The Jonbarr hinge - Spinning rocks (2011)

Future of the left - Polymers are forever EP (Xtra mile , 14/11/2011)

Danko Jones - Mouth to mouth (2011)

San taam (Mad detective) (Johnnie To & Ka-Fai Wai, 2007)

From the galley to the gallows in 3 easy steps

2011-11-06T02:22:00.002+01:00

There is a reason why hip-hop is dead – it has betrayed its roots and completely sold itself to the evils against which this subculture rose against. It's easy to buy "production values" when you have enough money to throw in the air in clubs but the truth remains that those wannabes (to avoid Tom allusions here) are pathetic, vacuous, and disrespectful ignorant sell outs. Commercial hip-hop that is. Underground HH is alive and kicking, and at the forefront are titans like Dead prez, Paris, Immortal technique and Pharoahe monch. They are the democrats to the Lil' B & Minaj republicans. They are the voice that America needs to hear but prefers to mask with the bling shit of Jay Z and Drake (Drek in Yiddish fits better). The analogies can go on forever, but simply prick your ears to this interview IT gave while visiting Occupy Wall street. Then download his latest effort called The martyr. It's free, and it has some killer tracks.

The Brandt Brauer Frick ensemble ft. Emika – Pretend (from: Mr. Machine, !K7 24/10/2011)

Brown bird - Fingers to the bone (2011)

We cut corners - Pirate's life (2011)

The aprons - Firefly (from: Sound stains, Hi fidelity 11/2011)

Der Räuber (The robber) (Benjamin Heisenberg, 2010)

The age of rage

2011-10-22T15:21:00.005+02:00

Julia Holter - Try to make yourself a work of art (from: Tragedy, Leaving 30/08/2011)

Whitehorse (Melissa McClelland & Luke Doucet) - Killing time is murder (2011)

Up – Figured out (2011)

Steven A. Clark – Stranded (2011)

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://stevenaclark.bandcamp.com/track/stranded"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Stranded by Steven A. Clark&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Cave birds - Some lightning thrill (2011)

Trash talk - Awake (True panther, 11/10/2011)

Maybe the more conservative, closed, racist and money-obsessed a society is the more bleakly intense its true artists are. I thought that Haneke was hardcore (which he is), but then cam Seidl. Stark realism? With all due respect move aside Loach (I'm not talking about the Korine joke). No one comes close to such a brutal, grim, cold, hopeless and dismal portrayal of modern society as this guy. Now that I live in Vienna, I can understand why only they can make such films.

Import/Export (Ulrich Seidl, 2007)

Die at coke

2011-10-14T18:28:00.001+02:00

Dead sons - Shotgun woman (2011)

Band of skulls - The devil takes care of his own (2011)

Big Scary - Gladiator (2011)

Matthew Herbert - One pig (Accidental, 10-10-2011)

Snowtown (Justin Kurzel, 2011)

Jûsan-nin no shikaku (13 assassins) (Takashi Miike, 2010)

Thinking outside the box holds only for people already in it

2011-10-05T12:38:00.004+02:00

This is visually stunning, actually the most eye-popping movie I've seen since Bibliothèque Pascal. Such a shame the story and acting don't match, but THEN we get the bonus of Mike Patton, providing not only the song below but also the entire narration throughout.

Bunraku (Guy Moshe, 2010)

Juno reactor ft. Mike Patton - Putting on the blitz (2011)

So here's another Patton, just for fun

Foetus - how to vibrate (Mike Patton mix) (2007)

Mustard pimp ft. Alec Empire - Catch me (2011)

Combat wombat ft. Ozi Batla - Alternative energy (from: Unsound $ystem, 2005)

Azealia Banks – 212 (2011)

The rebel spell - It can't be just me (2011)

Emika – 3 hours (2011)

In this age of information, one would expect that public knowledge would be assimilated better, at least superficially. Well, expectations and reality don't really coincide. Remember the Milgram experiment? Apparently other don't. A team of Belgium researchers reports that people change their perception of a patient depending on their own personal experience with her. In particular, if someone doesn’t like you, she would gladly discount your pain. The team showed 40 subjects photos of 6 patients, accompanied by either positive (e.g. friendly or honest), neutral (reserved) or negative (arrogant, egoistic) descriptions. Those patients suffered from shoulder pain and the team prepared short clips of them undergoing physiotherapy assessment. Subjects were asked to rate the intensity of the pain suffered by each patient after each clip and to characterize them as being un/sympathetic, dis/agreeable or negative/positive. The results clearly show that subjects dismissed the pain of those they have rated as having a negative personality. This is yet another example of how personal, subjective judgment of character modifies the way we perceive objective phenomena. It works every time, be it in advertisement, medicine, or genocide.

De Ruddere L et al. 2011. When you dislike patients, pain is taken less seriously. Pain. 152 (10): 2342-2347

An entertainer on retainer

2011-09-26T14:06:00.003+02:00

Over lunch during a workshop held over this past weekend, a prominent anthropologist accused the late Stephen Jay Gould of delivering the most destructive blow to evolutionary theory's cause in its fight against creationism, even more than poster boy Richard Dawkins. The argument was that Gould had failed to realize that humans have detached themselves from the laws of nature and that Gould never understood or investigated humans. Well, the pseudo-Nietzchean argument can be dispensed with effortlessly simply because it is moronic. The second accusation is false and could have been avoided had the anthropologist read Gould's 1991 article in Journal of Social Science. It amazes me every time a new that the biggest enemies evolutionary theory has are from within. Today's post is dedicated to SJG, may he rest in peace knowing that there are still some who think he was one of the greatest minds in modern biology (I'm not so sure he'd approve of the music here, but what to do)

Gum takes tooth - Silent cenotaph (Tigertrap, 13-06-2011)

Elephant 12 - Diet Coke (2011)

Princess Chelsea ft. Jonathan Bree - The cigarette duet (2011)

Possessed (Curtis Bernhardt, 1947)

Who would've guessed it? Ad-men can be clever (real clever)!

I love the smell of burning bridges

2011-09-18T10:45:00.003+02:00

Carla Bozulich is becoming not only synonymous with true avant-garde but a real staple of quality. Her previous albums, under the moniker Evangelista, were shiny gems and the new album, though taking a different turn and style, is a fine example of how swimming against the current gets you to the right place.

Evangelista – Artificial lamb (from: In animal tongue, Constellation 20/09/2011)

Tasseomancy (formerly Ghost bees) - Heavy sleep (from: Ulalume, Out of this spark 30/08/2011) http://soundcloud.com/tlobf/sets/tasseomancy-anubis

The mast - Wild poppies (Channel A, 21-06-2011) http://themast.bandcamp.com/album/wild-poppies

The FLK – Idiot Starkey riot in a jam jar (2011)

Dubioza kolektiv - Euro song (2011)