1. GWAR .. What Is It Good For?
As you may have heard, the lead singer of the epic band GWAR passed away this week.. and what you may not know, is apparently, he lived life to the fullest..
In case this picture didnt tip you off..
Anyway, for more on this man's fascinating life..
The Best, Most Deranged Story About Gwar You'll Ever Read
The main gist...
Don't ask how it came to this. It's a long and painful story. But the bottom line is this: It's 2pm on a Thursday, and Decibel is in Richmond, VA, smoking crack behind a Dumpster with GWAR front-cretin Oderus Urungus. His giant rubber cock, which he calls the Cuttlefish of Cthulhu, grazes our leg as he leans in to make sure we're not burning his rocks. "The first time I smoked this shit, I locked myself in a men's room and proceeded to drink all the water out of the toilet," he croaks as green spittle drenches our face with what is almost certainly a hideous disease of some kind. "Smoking is a waste of butane, though. Now I eat it, like an apple-or maybe a baby's skull. But you get way higher using it as an anal suppository."
But he wasnt all fun loving, rubber cock dangling, crack smoker...From those who knew him best..
My Friend Oderus Urungus: GWAR’s Dave Brockie Was a High School Punk Legend
RIP Oderus...
2. And Then There's Cactus
Besides the stunning revelation that he's just like you and me from this Globe profile..
The new album is sonically dense, but its songs are relatively concise. “I like to just listen to the radio and hear songs that draw me in and I can sing along to, like the average American,” Gordon says.
There's also a nice piece on the groundbreaking technology he's incorporating into his solo tour. Looking forward to seeing it first hand tonight.. or at least, being in the same building as it.. hoping not to "see" much of it at all..if you know what I mean..
Go to This Concert and Prepare to Play With the Band
Mike Gordon at the Fillmore. Photo: Brian L. Frank/WIRED
At the top of Mike Gordon’s resume is his role as the bass player in Phish,
a band that’s earned its stripes with three decades of fiery,
improvisational performances. But Gordon also has a vibrant solo career
with four albums to his name. Beyond music, he’s a filmmaker, an author,
an artist, and a lover of visual tomfoolery—just check out his Instagram feed.
He’s a born trickster, and over the years, his deadpan sense of humor
has bled into his stage performances. He uses the live concert
environment to playfully confuse and confound audiences, like a Willy
Wonka for the jam-band set.
So when the kids show up to his current tour in support of his newest album, Overstep,
they may expect a rock gig. But Mike, being Mike, has surprises in
store. If he has his way, the show will be something closer to an
interactive art installation—albeit one with a funk-flavored prog-rock
soundtrack.
“I like the idea of breaking down boundaries,” Gordon says. “And that
boundary at the front of the stage, the line between the performer and
the audience, is not often broken. It’s been done, like when Wayne
[Coyne] from The Flaming Lips goes in the hamster ball and rolls across
the crowd. But pushing it to the max would be letting the audience play
the band.”
3. Oh Well, Whatever...
In honor of the Kurt Cobain suicide case being re-opened, and re-closed.. GQ re-posted their Oral History of Nevermind
DAVE GROHL
drummer, Nirvana
That year I went from being a poor high school dropout who toured in
vans to have fun and worked manual labor to buy pot, to recording that
album. When you’re standing in front of 50,000 people at Reading and
they’re singing along with every word, it’s hard not to look out and
think, How the fuck did this happen?
Of course, the truth of the matter is.. Kurt's not dead at all.. he's kickin it tropicalia style..
4. Obituary of the Week
In other dead guy news.. RIP to a quality character.. actor. Yoy may know him as Carrie's dad on Homeland, or the guy who said "It's Only A Game, Focker!" in Meet The Parents... but to me, he'll always be George Wilbur in "My Cousin Vinny"... but I digress..
5. End Game
The final season of Mad Men is fast approaching.. and the usually tight lupped Matthew Weiner (inser your own pun here).. is actually pretty forthcoming in this interview about how it will play out. Of course, he's not giving any details, but just broadstrokes (insert another pun here).
Good read for MM fans..and while we're here..
6. Clash of the Titans
Amazing read and trip down memory lane from old friend, Bill Simmons this week.. breaking down the list of Heavy Weight Action Hero Champions... An article only he could right, and perhaps only I would enjoy so much...but if this is the kind of thing that brings back warm fuzzy feelings of nostalgia for you.. then you might like it too..
7. And Speaking of Flash Backs
Talk about a movie I hadn't thought about in a decade..
The Movies of ’94: 33 1/3 Observations Upon Re-Watching ‘Naked Gun 33 1/3’
In
the year 1994, the movies were great. Greater than usual. Blockbuster
or indie, rom-com or action thriller, there was something indelible
about so many of them. Throughout 2014, Grantland will look back at some
of the most memorable, beloved, and baffling releases of that magical
time around their 20th anniversaries. Today: Amos Barshad on Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, released March 18, 1994.
8. Diversify Your Bonds
I've got some good news and bad news.. the good news, Wu-Tang has a new album coming out! Okay, thats not necessarily good news, because I mean, come on, is the Wu really the Wu without this guy..
Now for the bad news.. they are selling just 1 copy..and they're expecting to fetch millions. Yes, Million-zzz..
I think we need an explanation..
Below is the official press statement from Cilvaringz and RZA.
#Norules.
History demonstrates that great musicians
such as Beethoven, Mozart and Bach are held in the same high esteem as
figures like Picasso, Michelangelo and Van Gogh. However, the creative
output of today’s artists such as The RZA, Kanye West or Dr. Dre, is not
valued equally to that of artists like Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst or
Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Is exclusivity versus mass replication really the 50 million
dollar difference between a microphone and a paintbrush? Is contemporary
art overvalued in an exclusive market, or are musicians undervalued in a
profoundly saturated market? By adopting a 400 year old
Renaissance-style approach to music, offering it as a commissioned
commodity and allowing it to take a similar trajectory from creation to
exhibition to sale, as any other contemporary art piece, we hope to
inspire and intensify urgent debates about the future of music. We hope
to steer those debates toward more radical solutions and provoke
questions about the value and perception of music as a work of art in
today’s world.
While we fully embrace the advancements in music technology, we
feel it has contributed to the devaluation of music as an art form. By
taking this step, we hope to re-enforce the weight that music once
carried alongside a painting or a sculpture. The album will be put on
listening display in renowned galleries, museums, venues and exhibition
spaces around the world for only the most dedicated to experience before
it disappears into the private collection of a buyer. The public will
know that what they will hear will be a once in a life time experience.
A notable few have explored original and creative economic
models. Prince, Radiohead and more recently Jay Z and Beyonce have all
introduced new financial and distribution models and challenged the
industry structure. In 1993, the Wu-Tang Clan introduced the
revolutionary ‘Wu-Tang deal’ which allowed the group to sign with one
record label as an entity, but sign separate deals with other major
labels for solo releases. It was an approach adopted by many groups that
followed. Now 21 years later a new approach is introduced, one where
the pride and joy of sharing music with the masses is sacrificed for the
benefit of reviving music as a valuable art and inspiring debate about
its future among musicians, fans and the industry that drives it.
Simultaneously, it launches the private music branch as a new luxury
business model for those able to commission musicians to create songs or
albums for private collections. It is a fascinating melting pot of art,
luxury, revolution and inspiration. It’s welcoming people to an old
world.
9. Full Show Firday
Because Friday wouldnt be Friday without a Full Show..
Full Show Friday | Grateful Dead In Passaic 1977
Many fans count 1977 as one of the best years in the history of the Grateful Dead and we'd have to agree. The band was firing on all cylinders, had a slew of fantastic new material and delivered exceptional performances nearly every night. For today's Full Show Friday selection we share outstanding black-and-white video from the group's April 27, 1977 show at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ that recently surfaced.
10. P.S.
Some other non-print notables this week..
Happy Friday, yawl...
.JPG)
