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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3/16/2003
BLASPHEMY
Last episode got quite a few responses:
Funny that such a big fan of Capitalism would be so against using the shift
key... (And don't get me started on the apostrophes!)
Degenerate BS
if you want to see my thoughts on iraq, and phpBB in action, check
out http://dtek.tv/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=402&start=15
unlike former degen JH, i've been loving your iraq pieces...
Degenerate AH
Indict Saddam Hussein for War Crimes
To take action on this issue, click this link or copy and paste it
into your browser:
http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?itemid=14635
Degenerate RH
http://www.cnn.com/US/9812/16/clinton.iraq.speech/index.html
Thought this was very interesting because it sounds like it could be a head
line from this month, just change the President's name.
When Janeane Garafelo was asked where the protesters were at this time, she
said, (to her credit of being honest), "that it wasn't hip to protest against
Clinton" Don't blow a gasket, just throwing this out there as
research material...
Degenerate DD
(Editor's note: no gasket blown here. I even enjoyed Bill O'Reily's
recent expose of how much France and Russia have to gain, financially
speaking, by keeping Saddam in power. Though in what I read of it, he
failed to also mention the US involvement in keeping him there for
the first 20 years of his reign.)
Several degenerates sent us links and emails like this:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/wlee1433/emergency.html
The Daily Show had a hilarious take on the government's preparedness
web site, and the jokes just keep coming. Thanks to degenerate AA for
that particular version.
Lastly, this from degenerate JDP:
Conservatives of all stripes have done well for themselves during the past
five decades fulminating about the liberal thought police who spin,
supplant and sometimes suppress the news we all consume.
In "What Liberal Media," recently released by Basic Books, Nation
columnist Eric Alterman directly confronts this argument in
"well-documented, well-argued, compulsively readable form," as Publisher's
Weekly said in a very favorable review.
For more, go to: http://www.whatliberalmedia.com/
EAR PLUGS
Saturday we hit the Star Bar for the grande finale of 6X, one of my
favorite local acts. They announced their demise back in December but
didn't get around to a final show until this month.
Things kicked off with a previously unscheduled appearance by Boss, a
pleasant surprise. Punky rock with Star Bar owner Dave's girlfriend,
Mitsu, up front. Kelly, the drummer, and Mitsu used to be Dottie's
regulars back in the day so it was fun to see familiar faces in a
band. Mitsu could easily be the next Jennifer Craft - local rock
critic object of desire. The band cranked out a mix of originals and
interesting covers, like Berlin's "Riding on the Metro," and
Blondie's "Sunday Girl," even including the French verse.
"I can sing in French!" Mitsu said after the number.
"Don't you mean 'Freedom'?" I responded.
I was reminded of a joke a wrestling announcer on TBS made a few
years back. Turner had just sent out word that on his networks they
would no longer use the word "foreign", but would instead use
"international."
So later that week I was watching wrestling. The announcer noticed
one of the wrestlers had whipped out brass knuckles or something to
use on his opponent and says "I think he's got an international
object of some sort," getting giggles from his fellow announcer and
all of us in TV land who'd heard about the word change edict.
(As if this country doesn't have enough to worry about, I can't
believe people are getting their panties in a wad over the French and
hopefully if enough people make fun of the ignorant morons in this
country they'll all shut up and maybe even just die of embarrassment,
if we're lucky.)
Anyhow, back to the music review.
Crank County Daredevils, from Ashville NC, took about 45 minutes to
set up a drum kit that looked like, as the lead singer himself joked,
"we borrowed the drums from Ratt." Add to that a bandana-wearing
bassist who slung his guitar so low he had to crouch to reach it and
you had a strong 80's influence in presentation. But then the lead
singer sports a ripped punk t-shirt and a mohawk, looking like a
cross between Joe Stummer and Travis from Taxi Driver, making you
think 70's. But then the other guitarist stepped up and was straight
out of 90's alternative style a la White Zombie. Three decades of
rock fashion! (If only the drummer had sported tie-die they could
have covered almost the entire spectrum of rock fashion.)
Speaking of covering the spectrum, they covered a wide swath of the
narrow spectrum of heavy/hard rock/metal with some good guitar work
and typical rock lyrics about sex, drugs, and well, you know.
Nothing surprising or different, but it still got thumbs up from me
and other degenerates in the crowd.
But degenerates SW and CD didn't approve and fled for the sanctuary
of the downstairs bar while the meager crowd upstairs rocked out.
After another 45 minutes breaking down Ratt's drum kit, 6X set up and
walked on stage, each one in Gene Simmons KISS makeup. But Rob Gal
wouldn't stop smiling, making him seem more like Marcel Marceaux than
Simmons.
They started into their set of power pop punk with plenty of energy.
Goddamn, what great music. Another big loss on the Atlanta music
scene. It is my opinion, as I've stated before, that we are
witnessing the death of rock and roll as we know it. Not only are we
losing the best acts of the last 10 years, but the vacuum is so
profound that acts of days long gone are resurrecting just to fill
the void - Nine Pound Hammer? Flat Duo Jets? Pretty Vacant AND The
Plastics?
Goddamn, 6X's last show and the place was half empty.
"Where it's at
Two turntables and a microphone"
Beck
I wrote the above in my notebook while watching the show, then came
home to read an email announcing the demise of Greasepaint.
Shit.
Sure, other acts are taking their place. No cultural or creative
movement comes to a sudden halt, there's always the drawn-out dying
gasp, the stage of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and
finally it's just passé. Sure, there will always be retro radio
stations (more every day in Atlanta, it seems) for your aging
populace's nostalgia needs, even retro live acts (did I mention
Pretty Vacant?), but it sure seems harder and harder to find a good
show on an average weekend in this town, and when you do the joint is
1/2 empty.
Sigh.
Lust came on stage, the ladies done up as cheerleaders, the
keyboardist done up as a leprechaun, and the drummer as a typical St.
Patrick's day celebrant. Funny reference jokes followed, but Lust is
always better holding my eyes than ears, so we called it a night and
headed home.
"Rock is dead
Rock is dead
Long live rock"
The Who
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