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Excerpts from Electric Degeneration, Degenerate Press' semi-weekly e-zine, free and ad-free. A full episode contains sections for music reviews, upcoming events, blasphemy, classifieds, and anything else we feel like saying. If you'd like to subscribe just contact us.

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2/28/2001

ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES A PARTY
This Saturday is our big threesome party! If you don't have an invite in hand head to http://www.degeneratepress.com/invite and print those directions! We'll probably kick things off about dark. Don't forget to bring two pals! We'll have some beverages of varied types but if there's something specific you want you'd better bring it. We'll have a few snacks too but don't blame us if the hordes consume everything before you arrive. And goddammit you'd better show up this time. Yes, YOU, slacker! There will be music of all sorts, people of all sorts, sort of a bar, sort of a buffet, and you'll have a tough time sorting out the blurry details the next day, guaranteed or your money back!

EAR PLUGS
We got some new pictures up in the Ear Plugs for Atlanta Gallery, including a nifty pick of Jucifer: http://www.degeneratepress.com/earplugs/gallery/
If you'd like the handy dandy interactive version check out: http://www.degeneratepress.com/earplugs/gallery/slideshow.htm
Degenerate JH sent us this report:
The Mudcat show was the usual hip-shakin' good time. I dragged LK there against her will, assuring her she would get her second wind. She never really did, but we ran into Degenerates DC and B_ so at least she had someone to talk to. A couple of other friends were there as well. We got there about 10:30 and the band was in full swing. The place was packed with guys, the majority of them obviously Techies. We had to settle in the back and jostle at the bar to get a beer. Some line-up changes were noted in the band, a female saxophonist being the most obvious addition. She seemed a little tenative on joining in the jams, and her solos were competent but uninspired. She may improve after more time with the band. The sound is a good addition though, I think. More troublesome is the goofy way she shook her head around when she wasn't playing, drawing attention away from the rest of the band. She also happened to be standing in the only real spotlight on the stage. There was also a woman on drums, who I think is new since I last saw them. Mudcat scorched out some great licks on some of their usual boogie, shuffle-type numbers, and they threw in some entertaining covers i'd never heard them do, like a thoroughly reworked "Rainy Day Women" and a funky "Chevrolet Blues" (a Taj Mahal standard). Lori Beth Edgeman, who has been singing with the band for some time, is apparently leaving the group, but was there on Saturday and sang a few solo numbers as well as dueting and backing up Mudcat. The band took what was promised to be a short break a little after midnight. When 1 o'clock rolled around and the band still had not returned it was time to take LK home before she slid off her stool. The band was just starting again when we pulled out. The band could have been tighter, but Mudcat's fret work always grabs me, and he was as good as ever on Saturday.

FILM FLAM
By degenerate SW
I got some free movie passes from WRAS' Nitrate 88 show and was disappointed to find crappy winnings. Momma said not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but Hollywood generates some real bad movies these days and I got passes to most of them. But with nothing else to do on a Thursday evening, we ventured to the preview screening of Monkeybone. Mistake! It's awful. It's not just awful, it's God-awful. It's the kind of movie that makes you wonder who is running things in Hollywood. Actors can be let off the hook for participating in such bad flicks because they ultimately have no control over how the movie is cut or who does the rewrites. So with that in mind, I forgive Bridget Fonda for signing on to this project. But director Henry Selick and screenwriters Sam Hamm and Kaja Blackley (on whose comic book the film is based) have no excuse and will surely burn in cinematic hell for their pitiful efforts. Do not see Monkeybone. Do not rent Monkeybone. It's not even worth viewing for the special effects, for Rose McGowan's breasts, or the rubbernecking pleasure of seeing the train wreck that it is. Leave it alone and maybe it will go away.
The one decent pass I received was to a screening of Pollock, the new biopic of painter Jackson Pollock. This movie should be seen. Short of grabbing you by the short hairs and dragging you to the theater myself, I can't recommend it enough. Ed Harris does double-duty both staring and directing, and he nabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in the process. Marcia Gay Harden plays Pollock's pre-women's-liberation feminist wife Lee Krasner, and she too garnered a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. This film should have been nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Example of How To Make A Movie About A Famous Person. You don't have to be a fan of modern art or Jackson Pollock to appreciate the subject matter. The movie is as much about the relationship between Pollock & Krasner as it is a chronicle of the events in his life. It's about a self-destructive, disturbed, talented individual who found an artistic outlet and a devoted lover & promoter and through those efforts managed to push the modern art movement into the postwar era. This is a quiet and slow-paced film with many scenes devoid of dialogue, so consider yourself warned. It's not flashy or action packed and it's not a vanity role for Ed Harris either. He poured heart, soul, a decade and his physique into bringing Pollock's story to the screen. One example of his affection is evident in the obligatory scene where a crouching Pollock discovers art in random paint splatters. Even though you know it's coming, Harris delivers it with a wonder and revelation that makes your heart race with enthusiasm. Additional kudos to Cinematographer Lisa Rinzler for such beautiful and intimate shots. The movie also provides interesting cameo roles by Bud Cort (unrecognizable from his Harold & Maude days), Val Kilmer, former Victoria's Secret model Stefanie Seymour, and Sada Thompson (from TVs "Family"). Definitely make plans to go see this film. More importantly, get to a gallery or museum where you can see Pollack's work first hand.

TELEVISION, THE DRUG OF THE NATION
The Sopranos third season starts this Sunday, finally. We got addicted in the second season after hearing months of glowing reviews. I tuned in one night, prepared to be disappointed only to become an instant fan. Any episode is better than 99% of the other crap on television, but I think the strength really lies in viewing several episodes. They let you get a connection with the lead, Tony, head of the local mafia and family man. You see his trouble and strife in his home and really feel for him. And they let you keep that connection for an episode or three, then remind you of who he really is by showing him murdering a friend or bankrupting another. So you get mad at Tony for a while, but then he's at home trying to make up for his disconnection to his wife or son. He's there for his daughter's graduation. You forget, briefly, that he's a ruthless, slimy parasite on society then they pull you back to reality. It's an exercise in tension that is done extremely well, with ironic music, dramatic cinematography and symbolic images in every corner. Time has an article about season 3 online. Warning - it is a bit of a spoiler if you're watching the show: http://www.time.com/time/sampler/article/0,8599,100425,00.html

CON
As mentioned, the crazy kids at Fantasm have some fun contests going on where you can win free passes to the con and get your creative efforts published in the convention program. Go to http://www.fantasm.org for details. There's a rumor that the Playboy Channel may do some filming there for their Sexcetera show, something along the lines of HBO's Real Sex series from what I gather. We'll let you know if they confirm.

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