The Wax Conspiracy

Not So Live Music

It can boil down to the question on whether or not the distillation of the raw energy of sound in a open space competes well with that of the closed session. It may even determine the movement of the masses or the travel of the bits downstream to the many peer-to-peer network jackers. Jacked in and into the stream of consciousness that can be given and taken from the aural stimulants found breathing and pulsating on the shiny side of things to come. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, regrets and misgivings for the future to come.

quebec by Ween

Belvedere Jehosophat - Friday, August 15, 2003

I’ve been craving this album as badly as what a junkie craves his first hit of grade-A skag in the morning; it being the first new studio album since 2000’s White Pepper.

Ween albums are hard to listen to, not only because of the genres they traverse and their often jarring nature but also because each album makes you redefine exactly what you think Ween are doing. Is it some sort of surreal satire? Are they genuine? ETC? ETC.

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A Diptych of "I'm not really sure that I should have bought these" - (X-ray Spex + Wire)

Belvedere Jehosophat - Tuesday, August 5, 2003

Hoo, boy!

X-ray Spex - The Anthology

Read the rest of A Diptych of "I'm not really sure that I should have bought these" - (X-ray Spex + Wire) review

Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher

Belvedere Jehosophat - Thursday, July 31, 2003

prescript: the horror express review was cruelly excised much like an employer would do to a redundant staff member because it was deemed to be of low standards.

The first time I heard any Prefuse 73 was when he (it's one guy (Scott Herren), not a band) released an album called Vocal Studies and Uprock Narratives. I'd never heard of Prefuse 73 before; I was just drawn to the album cover, which looks like this:

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Melvins - Salad of a Thousand Delights - Live DVD

Belvedere Jehosophat - Friday, July 11, 2003

The Melvins are a band that I've always respected but one whose records I’d never gotten around to buying.

After spotting this bad boy for 10 bucks I couldn’t really say ‘no’. Well, I could have, but that would have been decidedly stupid.

Read the rest of Melvins - Salad of a Thousand Delights - Live DVD review

DJ Format - Music for the Mature B-Boy

Belvedere Jehosophat - Friday, July 11, 2003

I'd had the lofty goal of heading into the city and buying a CD or two, a goal soon subverted when my friend at the CD store handed me two CDs. Those CDs were DJ Format's Music for the Mature B-Boy and the Black Eyed Peas' Elephunk.

Elephunk was quickly dismissed for two reasons, 1) their last album, Bridging The Gap, while good, only endured several listens before being relegated to the back of my CD collection; and, 2) it guests both Papa Roach and Justin Timberlake.

Read the rest of DJ Format - Music for the Mature B-Boy review

A Diptych of Punk - (Subhumans + Descendents)

Belvedere Jehosophat - Saturday, July 5, 2003

I bought these two albums concurrently and I will review them as such.

Subhumans – The Day The Country Died

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Boredoms - Pop Tatari

Belvedere Jehosophat - Thursday, July 3, 2003

I’ve owned Pop Tatari by Japanese noise-rock band the Boredoms for a few years now. I decided to review it because I had nothing to do as I was listening to it.

I have no idea where I first heard of the Boredoms. I think the first thing that I heard about them was that they would routinely open concerts by having two of the members, EYE and Yama-motor, run from opposite sides of the stage and crash into each other.

Read the rest of Boredoms - Pop Tatari review

Mit Gas - Tomahawk

Jimmy Weasel - Thursday, June 19, 2003

Once again with the music up and the windows down, the latest thing to cause tinnitus is Tomahawk's newest album.

The album design is on the minimalist side. No liner notes or much text at all. The case is black, with a neat white title, and sparkling gold patterns everywhere. Such a stark contrast is also available right from track 1, where "birdsong" staples nature samples to some savagely malevolent bass.

Read the rest of Mit Gas - Tomahawk review

AFI - Sing the Sorrow

Alex Yamakazi - Wednesday, June 18, 2003

I have a feeling that somewhere out there in the USA there is a record label A&R guy who lost his job over this one. It's obvious cash has been poured into this project. It's certainly slickly produced and stylishly presented. It got some great reviews in the music press. I've had it for about a month now and I'm still trying to work out why. Surely the label can't have spent THAT much on advertising space.

I'm not adverse to a bit of genre bending but AFI really don't seem to know what they want to be. There are leanings toward the epic feel of Metallica and the Tea Party. The AFI boys certainly LOOK like they are trying to do the whole overblown gothic drama thing. Eyeliner aplenty.

Read the rest of AFI - Sing the Sorrow review

Disco Montego - Self Titled

Alex Yamakazi - Tuesday, June 17, 2003

Why God Why did I spend $30 on this? Well the single I saw on Rage U Talkin To Me? was funky. It kind of sounded like early Prince. It was cute, clever and kind of sexy. The music video had girls in tight leather garments. Last year I took a chance on an out of the blue song with Come with You by Millionaire and ended up discovering one of the best albums of the year. Sometimes you have to take a chance... but Disco Montego was a foolish, foolish, stupid purchase. The warning signs were all there. Chaos didn't have it in stock. There was a collaboration on it featuring Katie Underwood. Still, I insisted on purchasing it.

Now that I own it I'm considering giving it away. It's a liability to my image like the Vengaboys album. It could be plucked from my collection at any moment by a visiting friend and all my credibility could be destroyed just like that. POW!

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Hail to the Thief by Radiohead

Belvedere Jehosophat - Monday, June 16, 2003

As you may have noticed from the postscript to my Dr. Strangelove article/review I had recently received a copy of St. Anger.

This CD was recently exchanged for Hail to the Thief by Radiohead.

Read the rest of Hail to the Thief by Radiohead review

Children Should not Quarrel: The Mabobs

Jimmy Weasel - Saturday, June 7, 2003

I've reviewed The Mabobs before, but that was a live show. And it was prior to the release of this, their first album. I should have heard it a while ago, but sabbaticals occur, and communications are severed by stagnation. But when the performing starts up again, it yields tasty fruits. Fruits of an experimental and crazy musical nature.

This is the music of The Creative. A rare breed; often citing influences as Primus, Ween, Mr Bungle, Frank Zappa and the like. This is music where talent and creativity take the helm and steer the band towards Obscurity. Which is a damn shame; this is just the sort of thing the kids at home need to hear.

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Deftones - Self Titled

Alex Yamakazi - Thursday, June 5, 2003

Nu-metal is a genre that might need a name change in the not too distant future. Perhaps not so nu-metal? It's also a genre with a few quality issues. A lot of it is seriously lacking in (a) artistic talent (b) originality and (c) intellectual content. So perhaps Nu-metal is a box that Deftones have been unfairly packed into. In fact after listening to their new album I'm beginning to think that they deserve a box all of their own!

Not only do these boys not fit into a genre box they also don't fit into any traditional rockstar mould. They are real and genuine people that just happen to have become international megastars. No tacky product endorsements, no carbon copy pretty boy looks. The Deftones boys are themselves and they're damn comfy in their skins. In an age of unattainable ideals the Deftones manage to convey an accessibility and connection with their fans second to none.

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Where in Kentucky - Mammoth Cave National Park
Monstrously, and seemingly neverending, sitting under the home ground of Colonel Sanders, the world's largest cave system. Yucatan comes nowhere close. Not even Cocklebiddy poses a threat. No comparison. Small holes looking up at a big fat long one. Sadly, with possible age and lack of food, no minotaurs to be found within the lime walls.
Homebrew Diary - Wheatbeer of misery
If what can turn a foul mood around becomes the harbinger of the foul mood, what happens next? Turn it into a learning experience. And when that learning curve makes a late break over the plate, you'd better start to swing away.
Homebrew Diary - Blackrock IPA + Hops
It doesn't take a big man to admit that he drinks. It takes a big man to get wasted and perform impromptu sermons naked from a balcony; raving upon the ravages of the insanity of stata bylaws and noisy offspring in adjoining arpartments...

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