HOLY SHIT.

New Maudlin of the Well.

http://www.maudlinofthewell.net/01.html

This is surprising.

Officially engaged.

That's pretty righteous.

Por qué trabajas tú por all?
Por qué no estas aquí en casa?
La la la, yo no sé... sólo me pregunto
Porque no soy feliz en la escuela?
Es que puedo confiar en alguien que no est?
Yo no sé...

Es que puedo fumar cuando soy ma viejo?
Es que puedo creer en el ídolo que queremos?
Digame si es justo que no estés aquí?
Para ayudarme, yo no sé, sólo me preguntan
Yo no sé, no sé, no sé...

Why are you working over there?
Why are you not here at home?
La la la, I don't know... I'm just asking
Why am I not happy at school?
Is it that I can't trust someone that ain't there?
I don't know...

Is it that I can smoke when I'm older?
Is it that I can believe in the idol we love?
Tell me if it's fair that you are not here?
To help me, I don't know, They are just asking me.
I don't know, don't know, don't know...

In his organ solos, he fills 'round the keyboards
Knowing he must find the noisiest notes for you to hear

And when I know that he's found them
I feel so good... but I still can't see
Why people listen, instead of doing it themselves

But I'm grateful all the same
You're very kind and I don't blame you
I don't mind if you just watch
In fact I'd welcome it, welcome it, welcome it...

Thank you Noel and Mitch
Thank you Jim for our exposure to the crowd
And thank you for his coattails Mike you did us proud

"The Aggravating Truth" is how it has been summed up in my head.

Big changes big changes big changes big changes big changes!!!!! What to make of them is the big idea of the big changes. What's left to do before I start out on something that I might not be able to change my mind on? I could always change my mind, but in doing so I'd defeat the very purpose of said changes.

Then there's the "Aggravating Truth" that these changes might not be so big and that I'm hyping and simply setting myself up for disappointment. There's a bad precedence for things like this in my family and many people I know. Hardwork and dedication come to mind. It's much easier if I was depending on only myself, but then again, I've been largely doing that for the past two years and it has gotten me no where.

Little changes little changes little changes little changes????? You never know. What beats the hell out of me is that I can't really get sage advice from anyone. Everything's taken from a Yes/No perspective. Black and white, no middle ground. While I've largely stopped and concluded that things are in their infancy, and if kept on the same track then my good life's fidelity is almost assured. Few agree. Hrm.

The "Aggravating Truth". The truth that I'll always have to contemplate decisions. Sometimes it's a good quality in people but I've never seen it that way. I don't want to be carefree. I want to care.

Again with the band thing. I suppose I'm going to try and start up a new outfit. Try something different. While I'd have liked to continue on with the ideas that were created within these past six months or so, I'm more inclined to simply start fresh with fresh musicians. The hard part is finding the right set. The drummer I had in mind has recently become a father for the second time and is too busy taking care of his spawn. Real shame, figured it to be a near perfect fit. One thing I'm for sure of though is that I don't think I want to play with a guitar player for a while. So many tend to think that playing the guitar gives them de facto leadership. I need a Robbie Robertson as badly as I need to play La Grange again. Blech.

I'd like to play with some particular persons down ways in Baton Rouge, but that's just too big of a trip to make anything serious happen.

Too bad.

Too bad.

I kinda want to go to a Jonas Brothers show now.

...uncertainties of you...



Bullet list:

- New apartment

Crazy ass preggo girlfriend of my brother pretty much put a split between me and him. A house that me and him fixed up and paid for together promptly became a pretty aggravating "home" when the aforementioned preggo bitch would whine about me "stealing" "her" sodas. For one thing, I never once cared when my brother would take anything that I bought, and for another it's not "stealing" "her" stuff when she doesn't have a job and doesn't pay a single dime for anything. It's not so much as theft as it is quid pro quo between brothers. And why would you even bother whining over a 65 cent can of soda?

Then there's the hilarious incident over her hiding my mothers cookie sheet "because it never gets cleaned", when the last person to use it was her for some biscuits. She also broke her water when I took one of the 10 biscuits that she had piled onto the stove. Scandalous. I'm a southern boy. Biscuits is whats we eats.

- New release

Actually already had something released this year. Expo 70/iamseamonster split. But already working on something new. Gonna give Max of The Goslings a call and see if that extra material for the self titled EP is ready for a re-release (we agreed it would be nice to pad the thing out, and Max is a huge quality control nut. Hence, why so little Goslings material is out there). If not, then I have a few more ideas in my head. Probably a CD or CDr release, simply because in each and every way, CDs are much easier to deal with than vinyl.

- New band/kicked out of new band

Some of you may or may not know about the old group. Chris Millstein from Home and Jah Division was on drums. Me on bass, and two friends of mine on guitar and synth/organ. Killer psyched out jams. The other two fellas weren't really into the whole mindset, but me and Chris were pretty good about controlling the output and direction. Chris went back to New York, synth player developed an awesome heroin addiction, and guitar guy started having seizures from whatever the hell he was taking. Oh, and we were getting blown off for him to gig for an R&B group that, surprise surprise, never paid him for his services.

Lots of interest from interesting labels. Not Not Fun, Holy Mountain, and a few others. Killed. Not gutted. I spoke to lemming_radio the other day to see if I can still get our demo released. I'd like to get it out there simply to have it out there, and he has a nice micro label setup. I figured I can help him get them all sold without a problem as well. We'll see where that goes.

So, there was a new band. At first it was a continuation of the old band. Then we dropped that (no love lost there). We got a new drummer who, while an excellent musician in most regards, simply didn't have the capacity to play at anything other than 90 miles an hour. Things were going great. Reworked some old songs. Started focusing on lots of improv.

Then the improv started moving to crappy ZZ Top riffs. Now, ZZ Top is great, but I can only play that La Grange blues riff about once every five years otherwise I'll rip my head off. Then it was difficult getting anything I wrote to gel. "We'll work on that later, it's kinda complicated. Here, let's play this blues riff." So I stopped going to practice. Then the drummer/guitarists old lead singer started jamming, and the band morphed into a new iteration of their old band.

"We figured you wouldn't want to play with us. I know you'd be bored."

And yous right!

What's really funny is that when most of my friends heard "the news", it wasn't "hey man, that sucks". Constantly, "You knew that would happen. Why waste your time? You're too good." I mean, compliments are nice and all, it's not that they couldn't play what I wanted. Just that they didn't want to.

Guitar and me still hang, and he said he still wants us to keep going in that direction, but just with a new outfit. We'll see. I connected with some guys in Jackson for an improv show a week or two ago, and had a great time. Maybe I'll hit them up.

- New girlfriend

Some of you have known about her for a little while now. Actually, plenty shared their opinions on what I probably should and should not do. Well, hopefully without impunity, I can call her my girlfriend with seriousness. You may or may not get your "I told you so's". If you do, it won't be through any fault of my own. She says she loves me, and through the ways she looks at me, things she does and says, I'm pretty confident in her. She knows my limits and I couldn't think of a good reason for her to throw me away, and I certainly don't see myself casting her aside. Some of my more close friends know I'm pretty fickle about the ladies and long term relationships. Not a fear of commitment, just that she has to be good enough. If I think I've found that, then casting doubt doesn't make me feel good about it, even if it's done out of concern.

- Same old job

Not much to say about this one other than, yup.

- No new music

Besides a new found love for Soft Machine. In the past I had only heard Volume One. Dug it, but it never blew me away. I got around to listening to Third and absolutely love it. So I picked up Second and dig it. Fourth is great too. Not sure about picking up Fifth or Sixth though. Really dig Hugh Hopper.



- Books

This year: Shakey, Invisible Cities, Altered Carbon, Last Exit to Brooklyn.

Gonna finish up Literary Outlaw and start on Miracle at St. Anna soon.

but hell, the way things are going, if things don't change pretty soon, we might all actually get to find out what the world would be like without aQ....
Andee - Aquarius Records


BUY FROM AQUARIUS

Whelp, first things first.

Cicada Creek is dead. Like most stories of Rock and Roll, we lost a band member to things as simple as disinterest while another was lost to drug use, all in the middle of speaking to a couple of really good labels regarding a debut release. That is how it goes.

This upcoming Wednesday I'll be playing with the Mississippi Improvisational Alliance, a musical entity that "seeks to promote, produce, educate, foster, fester, support, and create art that exist within the world of improvisation". There are some good tracks up on the MySpace. The ensemble I'll be performing with is, to quote the curator, the most "electronic based" group yet. I'll be there bass in hand, with a few tricks up my sleeve. There will be photographers and projectors there, as well as dancers.



As far as me... Been alright. Complacent. Strange things going on these past six months. Opportunities, friendships, and relationships gained and lost. You know how these things go though. Pleasant most of the time... Trouble shaking that grand old feeling of doubt in the others. Always seems like I'm someone's comfort food. Always a Bride's Maid. Never a Bride. Etc etc. Etc.

I'll have a new place at the end of the month. Maybe sooner, as I got a call earlier stating that the place was up and ready. Not looking forward to hauling two years worth of things into a new place, but it's just down the road and with a little bit of luck I can do it all in one solid trip.

I'm about to be an uncle. I sharpened my teeth on being a semi legitimate god father. Sadly, I'm the one who has to deal with the preggo nonsense since my brother is off working most of the time. Necessitating in part the new apartment. Thankfully I won't have to sit in my car and listen to music till 3am anymore! I'll be able to drink and play my tunes in the comfort of my own space!

Finished three books in the past two months. Old Man and the Sea, Shakey, and Last Exit to Brooklyn.



It's to dark to put the key in my ignition!

If it weren't for that empty flask I don't think I'd have had the courage to get out.

I'll have pics of the upcoming show. I'll also have more whiskey by then.

www.shortforest.com

If we've learned from a mistake and become better for it, shouldn't we be rewarded for the learning, rather than punished for the mistake?

What if our world worked differently? Suppose we could tell her: "I didn't mean what I just said," and she would say: "It's okay, I understand," and she would not turn away, and life would really proceed as though we had never said that thing? We could remove the damage but still be wiser for the experience.



Me and my brother were pretty much playing it together last night. We'd get a good laugh at how to solve some puzzles, find it hilarious that the game was intentionally screwing with me, and generally worked together to figure some puzzles out. Plenty of, "Oh. I get it!" moments, along with, "Dude. Check this out."


The music is great. I've always been a fan of ambient sounds and it really compliments the game's art style and environments.

Braid's puzzles can be a little frustrating at first but once I figured them out I never felt like they were "cheap", like, crazy logic wise. Of course, I haven't beaten the game, but I've yet to see some of the ALL CAPS posts about it like I used to see back on USEnet with some adventure games. Loads of moments where you'll go, "OOOOOOOOOOOOH. GOD I'M AN IDIOT FOR NOT SEEING THAT."

Aesthetically, the game is pretty impressive. I like how "World 1" is just the outside and inside of the house. I don't think the game is as totally forward thinking as it was made out to be. Gameplay? Yes, definitely. It's fun, it's completely different, and it requires you to think differently. Just like Portal. Unlike Portal, which has a really distinct presentation, Braid still suffers from a few problems. It's probably due to the nature of the game itself, it's going to be difficult mixing story, setting, and gameplay together in a platformer. The story is pretty much told to you, optionally, before each level. You enter a level, have access to books that spell out the situation, and then you go on to complete it. The writing is ok.

Apparently there are some secrets left.

I wonder what the bathroom is for.

If I had to assign a numerical value to this game, so far it's a 9 out of 10. Great gameplay, great artwork, great music, decent setting and premise, and the way the game is presented is incredibly fresh. It rewards curiosity and there are several moments in Braid that I really enjoyed either a quirky NPC, the "power" you use in that world, the solution to a puzzle, or just the puzzle itself.

Jonathan Blow, you're really onto something here. With an introduction like this, I don't think you'll have any trouble finding an outlet for future games. Whether they'll be similar in design or not, I'll trust you to keep the production values high, and the game interesting.

Thank you for a very enjoyable, gaming experience.

Here's a link to the music featured in Braid:

“Maenam”, by Jami Sieber, from the album Hidden Sky.


“Undercurrent” and “The Darkening Ground”, by Jami Sieber, from the album Lush Mechanique.


"Tell It By Heart” and “Long Past Gone”, by Jami Sieber, from the album Second Sight.


“Downstream”, by Shira Kammen, from the album Music of Waters.


“Lullaby Set”, by Shira Kammen and Swan, from the album Wild Wood.


“Romanesca”, by Cheryl Ann Fulton, from the album The Once and Future Harp.

I interviewed King Buzzo from The Melvins for an article on the band. Article will be in the next issue of Ghetto Blaster magazine. Buzz was a nice guy to speak with. I had a list of questions prepared for him, but the conversation was pretty laid back so I opted to just have a chat with him instead. He's proud of his work, for sure, and definitely doesn't care for the state of punk rock now days.

"It's not dead, it just sucks."

Apparently things are going silky smooth with Big Business. He recommended some Libertarian literature for me, but most importantly, I spoke to him briefly about playing a gig down in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I spoke to John Littlejohn from Before I Hang, who is very close friends with Phil and Marla Irwin from Alcoholics Unanimous, who are in turn very close friends with The Melvins. Props to social networking. I figured if Before I Hang can pack The Thirst Hippo, then The Melvins shouldn't have a problem. BIH can bring the crowd, they can stay for Buzz's hair.

I have the MP3 of the conversation online for a few of ya if you're bored.

Jazzfinger is selling ok. It spurred a few sales of WOLFMANGLER as well.

I'm working with Small Doses on a joint release that will be a split between Expo 70 and iamseamonster. Very excited. Both are great ambient artists.

Finally, I'm playing bass in a new band called Cicada Creek. Got some very rough rehearsals on the MySpace page. "Degobah Sound System" parts 1 and 2 are pretty much our most put together material, even if you can hear a cellphone go off in the middle of the song. All recorded in my living room through a two track into my MacBook. It's a nice beginning. Degobah had to be extensively edited to get it to comply with MySpace's file size limitations. Part 1 is experimental drones and noise, that slowly builds into one long jam, Part 2. Ideally it's one long track, but MySpace has something against 20 minute Krautrockish jams. The other two tracks are just some nice sounding jams we had. Eno isn't anything fleshed out, and is the last minute of the song. Tracers, however, is a reworking of another song, that will need further work before we can play it live.

We've been described many different ways by many different people. The Stooges, Iron Butterfly, Earthlings?, etc. I'm happy with the direction things are going in. We'll be playing our first show in about two or three weeks. We'll buckle down on our set list in the coming rehearsals. Will be playing Baton Rouge first, I believe, followed by Hattiesburg. I'm discussing Jackson and Oxford as well, and I have some people in Starkville that can make things happen.

Our guitar player has been in a few local bands. Keyboard player in a goth/industrial band out of Texas and I believe Oxford. Our drummer is the drummer from Home, Charter Oak, and Jah Division.

Me and Chris, the drummer, have tons of musical interests in common. He was surprised, actually. He moved down here from Brooklyn New York and didn't expect anyone to dabble in obscure music trivia. The band really does benefit from our individual tastes though. Hopefully you'll check us out.

Mogwai - Young Team remaster 4LP

Got the covers in yesterday, have assembled around 100 of them so far. Very happy with the outcome.


www.shortforest.com

acre002 - Jazzfinger "Prayer Wheel/Soar Pt. 1" 7inch

Jazzfinger are the masters of the ethereal, and this release is a continuation of their esoteric and singular
sound. Their abstract and mystical sounds are perfectly framed by images created by Richard Forbes - Hamilton. Hand assembled, limited.

Don't miss out on this stunning set of art.

8.50 shipped in the US. 9.50 shipped to Canada. 10.50 to the rest of the world, or check with your local distributor!

PayPal shortforestrecs@gmail.com








I still have some WOLFMANGLER - Hungry Hungry Wolves 7inches available as well.

Interested in both 7 inches? Order both for combined shipping!
14.00 US 17.00 CAN 18.50 World

Shot an eMail to Joe from Growing, hoping to entice them to play with Boris at the Spanish Moon in Baton Rogue, LA once Boris returns here after their Euro tour. The situation seems despondent. Not just for Growing, but maybe touring in general.

hey man,

we don't leave for the BORIS euro trip for a couple weeks, but yeah it should be fun.

they asked if we wanted to play some US shows on their US tour, but they haven't yet decided who they're going to take with them, and even if we did, we'd probably just play some east coast dates.

it's really hard for us to play the middle of the country right now. gas is too expensive, we don't get paid enough to miss work in NY, and so we end up in the hole when we get back from a lot of tours. also, our van is getting pretty old, unreliable, and we can't afford to buy a new one.

we like living in NY but it makes touring much harder because our rent is more expensive than it was 5 years ago when we were both in olympia. the climate for bands like us has really changed. most venues don't want to guarantee us enough $$ to make the trips worthwhile. just a reality of the times i guess.

hopefully our fans in the middle and west coast understand. we'd get there if we could. and we're always trying to find ways to make it work. but we're too old to take big financial hits anymore.

best,

joe.

Aggravating. Gas and rent and economical problems are obvious. Lack of support? That's new to me. It's strange. A few years ago, bands like these were a dime a dozen. Sunn makes bank on their notoriety. Earth made a brilliant return. Every metal label had a dronedoom act. Growing, Sunn, Earth, Stars of the Lid, Labradford, etc etc... Love these bands, was at least excited to see them make moves. I didn't expect the situation to be so much of a fad, I had hoped that there really was such a large fan base for such a polarizing and esoteric art form.

I suppose I was wrong.

Goslings - Occasion on Not Not Fun

Same label that released a Gosling's 7inch last year. Now we have another full length. If you aren't familiar with The Goslings, now is the time to get there. Pick up Grandeur of Hair if you can.

Beautiful and destructive. A perfect balance.

I spoke to Max about a week or so ago. They've had another baby. He reported that once he gets back in the studio and gets some new material to supplement the release, Short Forest will have a Gosling's 12inch to deliver to the world.

http://www.notnotfun.com/presents/present.html

The Thirst Hippo was yet again host to a pretty solid night of gettin down, this time the boogie was provided by the psychobilly The Catatomics and the black country jive of Scott H. Biram.

Along with drinking to the point of nearly being sick and a successful raid of the Waffle House, I managed to take a few striking photos.

The Catatomics were great, as was expected. I knew John and Eric from Before I Hang, so there wasn't an issue of a bland show. I knew at least one group was gonna kick my ass.



( Check the jump for more... )


The real surprise was Scott Biram. I knew The Catatomics were gonna kill, but I had absolutely no idea about the headline. I had a drink with Mr. Biram before the show and he seemed pretty laid back. So I was pretty surprised when his live show was anything but.

( More... )

Show was incredibly energetic and ran from bluegrass and blues inspired dirges to gospel (WHAT'S HIS NAME? JEEEEESUS!), finalized with a quick exercise in good old fashioned sludge.

SPEED FREAK SPEED FREAK I'LL GIVE YOU A WEEK UNTIL YOU DIE DIE DIE.

I missed some of the show (there's that nearly sick part), but I'll definitely make sure to catch him when he comes around again. If you didn't see the Catatomics and live in the area, shame on you!

Did you notice the shots of his FX set? If you know me, you know I dig wanton noise, and Mr. Biram ended his show with some nice feedback. So, thats psychobilly, punk, gospel, and sludgey goodness all in one night. Score.

I'm gonna take you to the river and hold your head underwater. It could be baptism, it could be murder. No matter what, YOU'LL SEE THE LIGHT!!!

Duncan from Black Mayonnaise says hello.

Obviously, cold weather in Mississippi is no match to a stocky so-and-so from Ohio. He also has no problems drinking Bud Light, telling crazy stories, referring me to Rusted Shut, and discussing music business practices.

To summarize - Nice Guy!

TTSSATTSR is hopefully going to be re-released on vinyl with new material. I forgot to ask him what else he had coming up, but that re-release should go well with the 7inch I'll be doing.

Dexter, Season 2 finale.




To feel something that deeply. Anything. That's why you hang out in recovery groups. You're emotionally colorblind. You use the right words, you pantomime the right behavior... the feelings never come to pass.

You know the dictionary definition of emotions. Longing, joy, sorrow. You have no idea what any of those things actually feel like.

You want to have feelings for me, but they're just impulses. Primative responses to immediate needs.

You know all the words but you can't hear the music.

...

I passed through the flames and rose from the ashes. Again. I've never been one to put much weight into the idea of a higher power, but if I didn't know better I'd have to believe that some force out there wants me to keep doing what I'm doing.

Not long ago I had a dream that people could see me for what I am and for a brief instant in time the world actually saw my bodies of work. Some even cheered. But as it turns out, nobody mourns the wicked. Sorry James. I think Harry knew that from the start, that's why he gave me the code. It cost him his life but it kept me alive through incredible trials. The code is mine now, and mine alone, so too are the relationships I cultivate. They're not just disguises anymore... I need them. Even if they make me vulnerable. My father might not approve but I'm no longer his disciple. I'm a master now. An idea transcended into life.

And so this is my new path, which is alot like the old one. Only mine. To stay on that path I need to work harder, explore new rituals. Evolve. Am I evil? Am I good? I'm done asking those questions. I don't have the answers.

Does anyone?

( I can't wait for season 3 )