V01I07 - 09201998
KEEP IT FLOWINGI just had eye surgery this past week, and lemme tell you, it's not the most fun thing in the world. So, I haven't seen any movies, bought any new CDs so I left this issue up to outside contributors for the most part. - Jon Whitney
IN BRIEF
How much fun it must be to be able to release material like this. 27 tracks of mind-warping weirdness from the heralded Masters who brought you the marvelous Datacide project series. This disc is quite the curiosity! Not as similar-sounding to Datacide as one might initially be inclined to think, MU is a mindset prism, a refraction device for the headphonaut's moods. Many seemingly incongruous tones and atmospheres are strung together until anticipation and nostalgia become indistinguishable. And don't be deceived, this multitude of sonic segments continuously flows into 3 continuous pieces that convey the feel of the pleasantly overextended experimental style AND the well-seasoned and time-tested sound. And this won't be your average please-don't-peal-me-off-the-couch-man chill-out session. Only the all-terrain ambienteers will survive, as the listener frequently deals with counterintuitive changes and sequencing contradictions. Grinding, trickling, howling, warbling, squeezable metallic textures will help melt down those rational thoughts and aid in the discovery of new, more potent mental alloys! I suppose there may only be 2 stand-alone song-like tracks here, #18 (Backward Journey) and #23 (Rather Sleep Then Dance). This latter track was also subsequently released in a slightly altered form on the Real Intelligence (RI033) compilation, and may be suggestive of both the post-partyvibe schools of philosophy and reality-permeating synchronicities. If you ever see this disc for sale and don't buy it, particularly if you're a Datacide fan, you will regret it till the end of your days when, that is if, you hear it.... - Noah Jurcin (guest contributor and generous house-sharing friend in Chicago)
As always, check out the latest update of NEW RELEASES brought to you by Greg and Feedback Monitor.
REVIEWED
I saw David Lynch's "Eraserhead" for the first time recently. For a long time it wasn't available anywhere around here, but a West Coast Video that just opened carries it (I'm happy to see Blockbuster Video getting some real competition). I believe this is Lynch's first film although i may be wrong. It is a very raw yet very surreal film which shows Lynch at some of his most unbridled moments. This film is an amazing example of Lynch's ability to use sound and visuals together to create a very surreal and compelling atmosphere. Although the techniques are less refined than on more recent films such as Lost Highway they still work amazingly well. I wont reveal any of the storyline here since i think it would ruin the experiance but if you havent seen it already i think its a definite must for anyone who enjoys surrealist, experimental or just plain weird forms of art in general. - Jason (mindport@ezonline.com) - guest contributor
KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE
Kiki's Delivery Service includes the voices of Kirsten Dunst as Kiki, Phil
Hartman (to whom the film is dedicated) as Jiji the cat, Debbie Reynolds
and Janeane Garofolo.
The movie follows a young witch named Kiki. When witches turn 13, they
leave home on the full moon and find a city or town to watch over. Kiki
and her cat, Jiji, hop onto her broom (her flying skills are suspect at
best) and find a beautiful city by the sea, where she sets up shop, makes
friends and runs a broom-powered delivery service.
Hayao Miyazaki shows once again that he understands the devil's in the
details with amazing animations where grass ripples, wind blows, crowds
bustle and clouds float. It's one of those rare films where you visit
another world and don't want to come back. The movie is gentle enough for
a three year old, but charming and with enough pathos for any age.
- Thomas Guttadauro
When I first heard that Disney was buying up Hayao Miyazaki's animes, I got
worried. I feared the Americanization of two of my fave children movies
(and up there in my list of adult movies, too), My Neighbor Totoro and
Kiki's Delivery Service. My fears were not based on solid ground however.
Both films were left with the culture intact and very (very!) good dubbing.
THE FISHER KING
In many twists and turns, Jeff finds himself saved from street thugs
by a loony bum (played by Robin Williams). Jeff finds comfort in his new
life as a street wanderer, befriending Robin. You see -- Robin's wife
was cut down by shotgun fire by -- you guessed it, the angry caller whom
Jeff gave ill advice. Therein lies the twisted bond. Jeff is then led
through Robin's plight of hallucinations of a giant dragon, knights, and
other nasties. Jeff seeks through it all to seek forgiveness from Robin.
In the end he must seek Robin's vision of 'The Holy Grail' to earn
forgiveness. - John Silverson (guest contributor)
Jeff Bridges plays a popular radio shock jock. His success is short lived, as
he gives out the wrong advice to a regular caller. Distraught, the
caller unleashes his anger in a crowded bar from the barrel of a
shotgun. Jeff hears the news after dancing around toaking from a fat
joint marvelling in plans to port his radio success over to TV. Quickly
finding his way into a nervous breakdown, he ends up slumped over a
fountain downtown drunk, mumbling his troubles to a wooden doll.
Subject: re:what's in your cd player?
Hello brian people
I was just wondering about your "What's in your cd player" section in
your online mag. Do you simply accept email from anyone who cares to
contribute, or do you have select people in charge of giving their
contributions?
I ask one favor of you. In the past 4 months, I have contacted
established businesses via email with questions of various nature
(approx. 24 emails) and not a damn one of them will even reply, much
less answer the question. If you would be kind enough, I would even
accept a degrading response full of explicit language from you. I
don't even care if you don't answer my question. You can even tell me
of all the items you can think of that I should cram up my ass. Just
give me that glimmer of hope... something to cling to.
Thanks,
Weasel Fish
I was stumped as how to respond with a witty 'auto-generated' type response, but all I could think about was "how do you expect people to respond to a name like Weasel Fish"? Come on...
OF THE
WEEK
Looking back to this past summer, we can all reflect on various Amusement Ride Accidents.
SICK OF THOSE TAMAGOTCHIES?
You can play Godzilla vs. Tamagotchi right here.
Have you seen websites with ".to", ".nu", or even ".tm" lately? Well, it's no surprise, they're the fastest growing registered domains out there.
To give you a clue as to what this really is: .to is representative of The Kingdom of Tonga - an island in the South Pacific with about 100,000 inhabitants and about 10,000 domains registered (that's about 1 domain for every 10 people). Turkmenistan is represented with ".tm" - a former Soviet Republic, with people registering domains to make it look like they trademarked a website! The most alarming one, however is ".nu", representative of Niue, a small island, also in the South Pacific with about 2,000 inhabitants and about 20,000 domains registered. Why? Greed, money, everything that makes everyone feel so much better about themselves. I'm happy right where brianwashed is, personally. - Jon Whitney
YOUR CD
PLAYER?
Bed of Roses: The Kissing Tree (new Big-Hat/My Scarlet Life sideproject)
My Scarlet Life: Buzzbomb
Happy Rhodes: Many Worlds are Born Apart
Shai nO Shai: Human Condition
Marta Sebestyen: Kismet
Aether: Smoke of Vanished Kisses
Legendary Pink Dots: Nemesis Online
- Alan Ezust
JOHN SIDDIQUE
zero time - tontos expanding head band
outside - jowonio productions
studio kinda cloudy - keith hudson
the nodding god - c93
superfly - curtis mayfield
- John Siddique (guest contributor & shameless self-promoter)
Brianwashed Rocket Fuel
PO Box 7
Arlington MA 02476
USA