Snow day

The highlight of yesterday was staring out the windows at the desolate icy streets of New York. I don't know how the city was so unprepared for the snowstorm, and maybe other neighborhoods were better cleared, but there was so much snow downtown that it looked like Omega Man. Cars and roads and sidewalks were buried, leaving no way for people to get around. Occasional brave souls stumbled and slid, following the rough tracks left by a rare delivery truck, but for the most part you could pretend it was after the end of the world. It got me thinking about the way that an expanse of snow can make the landscape feel so much more desolate, the vastness that ice creates. I'm pretty sure that people who work in the arctic can go crazy from the unbroken horizon the same way that sailors do.

This desolation has been used to great effect by filmmakers. The suburban loneliness in Let The Right One In definitely benefits from its snowy setting, the same way that the Hoth scenes in Empire Strikes Back let you know how far the rebels will go to hide out. Pretty much the only good thing about Quintet is the setting, with the limitless winter telling a much better story than the script. Below are four snow day picks with enough storms and snow to convince you there's no one left on earth.

1. The Last Winter














This movie rules! Starring both underdog quarterback Matt Saracen and Tami Taylor (coach's wife) from Friday Night Lights, it tells the story of an Alaskan drilling operation that is quickly unraveling due to bad weather, damaged psyches, and something much worse! Their arctic isolation is inescapable, and its hostility nicely mirrors the tangible danger surrounding them. Will scare you without grossout.

2. The Thaw














But if you want grossout... The Thaw is one of those "Ghost House Underground" DVDs that I think make most people skeptical. Low-budget horror is dangerous territory. The Thaw has the added gray area of Val Kilmer, who stars as a scientist doing research in the unforgiving north. The melting ice caps reveal a wealth of specimens, one of which could turn the tide of humanity, leaving Kilmer with a difficult decision. Better than expected, and blood looks really good on snow.

3. Eight Below



Tearjerker! Eight sled dogs are abandoned at an Alaskan fort after an emergency evacuation. It's too dangerous for their human friends to return and rescue them until after the winter, so the dogs much survive the cold and ice for 5 months on their own. After the first few minutes there aren't any people in it at all, just the dogs fighting killer whales and eating reindeer and stuff. Insanely dramatic, a good one to watch on your own. If it meant the world would be like this forever, I'd be totally okay with a new ice age.

4. The Thing














No movie takes better advantage of a winter setting to build fear than The Thing. John Carpenter's study of the claustrophobia of hiding indoors vs. the vulnerability of the snowy wilderness is so powerful the alien is almost incidental. But then the alien rules too and it's like a WIN WIN WIN scenario. I love the story that this movie came out a week after E.T., providing the most ghastly, brutal counterpoint to a family favorite. The best!

2010 ECLIPSE WITH BONUS FEATURE.

I woke up in the middle of the night to catch a glimpse of this. The solstice made the moon appear red. Wow, space...

DON VAN VLIET

When I was in the 5th grade my interest in heavy metal was starting to wane. I began listening to classic rock radio and soon found a record store in the neighboring town that carried vinyl. Around that time I visited my aunt who lived in Queens. One evening while flipping through the channels on her tv, I settled on watching an old episode of Saturday Night Live featuring musical guest Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band. The next few minutes would have a lasting impact on me and the way I thought about music. After that weekend I returned to the record store to ask if they had heard of this man and his band. I ended up buying a copy of Trout Mask Replica and like most people, forced myself to believe I liked this music.  Later, in my late teens I bought a copy of Safe As Milk and it took months or maybe a year until it went out of regular rotation.

SMALL FORTUNE: PETER'S HOUSE MUSIC REMIX

Peter made a phreshhh remix of Small Fortune. The original will be on our new record.

 SmallFortune PHMremix by silkflowers 

SANTA'S MAIL BAG

Richard Dawkins reads his holiday mail.

1990, again

In 1990, a lawyer sued the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), claiming that a $15,000 grant given to the artist David Wojnarowicz for the exhibition "Tongues of Flame" displayed "open and notorious hostility toward religion." Much of the work in the exhibition demonstrated outrage at the silence of the government and religious right and their inaction regarding the AIDS crisis. I don't want to get into "the open and notorious hostility" toward victims of AIDS or gay people in general, in particular during the first decade of the crisis, but I do think it's worth remembering that in 1990 it was illegal for HIV positive people to travel to the US, Reagan was advising mandatory HIV testing and quarantine, and nearly half the American population believed that "AIDS might be God's punishment for immoral sexual behavior."
In the past 20 years, it's important to note that a lot of progress has been made regarding HIV/AIDS (for example, as of 2007, only a quarter of the American population believes that AIDS is God's punishment), so it's a bitter surprise to hear that David Wojnarowicz's video "Fire in My Belly" (1987) has been pulled from the current exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian in Washington D.C. The reason? The Catholic League has complained that the video was "designed to insult and inflict injury and assault the sensibilities of Christians."
Blake Golpnik wrote an excellent summary and response to this action for the Washington Post. I haven't yet seen any organized response to the censorship, although I have written an email to the National Portrait Gallery Director Martin Sullivan. As of 2009, an estimated 35 million people are living with HIV, and nearly a quarter of HIV/AIDS care is provided by Catholic ministries. A lot of progress has been made since Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell's hate mongering (at least with regards to AIDS)--hopefully this bullying is a misstep, rather than a indicator of things to come.

PS Former Ghosts was amazing last night!

New single, Band of Color, off our new record on PPM, Ltd. Form. Out February 8th.

 

THE COURSE OF EMPIRE

        

GUILTY PLEASURES: WE'VE ALL GOT 'EM

JUDGE- Like You

I think I'd have to consult NASA to get an accurate idea of how many times I listened to this song in my adolescents. The thing I find most appealing about it is that, unlike most other straight edge hardcore songs,  there's not a lot of blame here. He's seeing something he dislikes in himself in someone else. That's pretty honest. Especially in their world.

Judge is an interesting band to me because they were older and came around after the hey day of New York hardcore. Mike Judge (the singer) was playing in bands during the early 80's and this band didn't really fully form until 1989ish. Plus, you just don't see a lot of guys with beards and dew rags in that scene in general. He was trying to do something more personal and emotive but, they split up when their shows became so violent that they felt their audience was really missing the point.

Fun Fact: Mike Judge was from a neighboring town where I grew up in NJ. He worked at this arcade that was converted from a church (there's a cemetery across the street) where kids from school used to have their birthday parties!

GREAT WHITE NORTH

CANADIAN WEEKEND

10/21/10    North Hampton, MA    Elevens

10/22/10    Montreal, QC    Interstice

10/23/10    Toronto, ON    Shop Under Parts & Labor

10/24/10    Hamtramck, MI    7 Brothers

Silk Flowers remix "Rosary" by Dream Boat

We recently remixed the song "Rosary" by Providence, Rhode Island's Dream Boat. The original appears on the LP "Visions", just released by the Prague homies, AMDISCS. The remix you can hear below:

Dream Boat - 11 Rosary (Silk Flowers Remix) - Visions - 2010 (AMDD023) by AMDISCS

WIERD WEDNESDAY

September 29th, 11:30 pm. Wierd night at Home Sweet Home. 131 Chrystie Street. 

PETS NEED JOBS

Times are tough. And I don't think it would be too much to ask of our pets to contribute a little more to the house hold. There are plaenty of careers out there for those dogs and cat's willing to work.

Our 100th show

MNDR and SILK FLOWERS at MERCURY LOUNGE
seriously an early show so get there by 7pm! Home before dark!

CONSTRUCTION TIME AGAIN

Back to work on the new LP with the help of Amanda and Emmett.

Supporting cast:

Oberheim Xpander and Tron notebook.

Dave Smith Voyager.

Yamaha 246 XY keyboard. 

When asked for production references, I said I'd like it to sound like Sly and Robbie backing Emmanuel Lewis.

So expressive...

Room with a view.

Here's a preview:

Emmett's hard work started to take it's toll. Time for a break!

SFSGS SUBMISSION

This photo was submitted by our good friend from Belfast, Neil Brogan. It is an abstract interpretation of the society's initials. Neil plays in a band called Girls Names alongside our other mate Cathel. If you are interested in submitting sea glass finds, email ramtownusa@gmail.com. 

SFSGS: THE SHORES OF THE EMERALD COAST

PASS! THE! ROCK!

Question: How do you pass the time between arriving to a show and the time doors open?

Answer: PASS! THE! ROCK!

First, find a rock. The flatter the better.

Next, place the rock on top of your foot and pass it to the person next to you without using yours hands or letting it fall on the ground.

Like so.

SUCCESS!