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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11/2/2004
DEGENERATES ABROAD
Phoenix, Tucson, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas – where else you gonna find
this kind of coverage?
http://www.degeneratepress.com/vault/southwest_2004/
FILM FLAM
There’s a review of Shaun of the Dead tucked in our Wild West Review above. In
other movie news, we got this from degenerate VS:
UPN's "Atlanta Tonight" will be filmed LIVE from the Starlight on
Wednesday November 3rd!!! The crew will set up at 6:30, and the movies start
At 7:30.
So bring your family, tell your friends, and come out to the Starlight to enjoy
a fine evening of entertainment. Check the website for movie listings!!!
www.starlightdrivein.com
BLASPHEMY
I’ve used it before, but it’s the only tune that fits.
Elected
Alice Cooper
(Cooper/Bruce/Buxton/Dunaway/Smith)
I'm your top prime cut of meat, I'm your choice,
I wanna be elected,
I'm your yankee doodle dandy in a gold Rolls Royce,
I wanna be elected,
Kids want a savior, don't need a fake,
I wanna be elected,
We're all gonna rock to the rules that I make,
I wanna be elected, elected, elected.
I never lied to you, I've always been cool,
I wanna be elected,
I gotta get the vote, and I told you 'bout school,
I wanna be elected, elected, elected,
Hallelujah, I wanna be selected,
Everyone in the United States of America.
We're gonna win this one, take the country by storm,
We're gonna be elected,
You and me together, young and strong,
We're gonna be elected, elected, elected,
Respected, selected, call collected,
I wanna be elected, elected.
"And if I am elected
I promise the formation of a new party
A third party, the Wild Party!
I know we have problems,
We got problems right here in Central City,
We have problems on the North, South, East and West,
New York City, Saint Louis, Philadelphia, Los Angeles,
Detroit, Chicago,
Everybody has problems,
And personally, I don't care."
EAR PLUGS
Instead of working up a nice pictorial review for the pre-Halloween show
reviewed below, we’re just giving you the text version so we can spend our
photo-processing time and effort for our Halloween review. Enjoy this old school
throwback while it lasts. Next episode it’s back to living color!
Friday we hit the Earl early and had a drink on the sidewalk before heading into
the back for the show. The Selmanaires were already on the little side stage in
the corner cranking out some low-energy, organ-based instrumental music, sort of
jazzy, lounge stuff that didn’t do a thing for me. They were joined by local
girl Anna Kramer for a song, then cranked out another instrumental or two. Their
final number had a bit of a funk edge that kept me from fleeing the room, but
just as they got my attention they finished their set.
On the main stage, the six members of Sea Ray clambered between their heaps of
equipment, cranked up a video projector, lighting them and the wall behind them,
and started into dense, layered, subtle music with vocals that were mixed a bit
too quietly to discern. With the trippy video, I was reminded of psychedelic
acts of the 60’s, but the sound was far more modern, mixing effects machines
with cello and subdued electric guitars. Good stuff, especially when they picked
up the pace. Excellent drummer too.
Jeff Clarke regularly complains about The Tom Collins, so I figured they must be
good. He often compares them to Led Zeppelin, which isn’t a bad thing in my
book. He’s right in the comparison – the lead guitar gave me a serious sense of
Jimmy Page déjà vu. You don’t get Robert Plant’s keening wail, but the badass
guitar is right up front. It got the rock and roll chicks in the front row
shaking head to toe and I don’t ask for a heck of a lot more for my $6.
The Selmanaires returned to the side stage, this time ditching the vaguely
loungy jazz organ for sorta punky 80’s sounding stuff with percussive guitar. It
was fun, but grew redundant after the third tune. We opted to sit in the back
and chat instead.
Last up, A Fir Ju Well, celebrating the release of their CD. They started off
with a girl playing a full sized harp on stage, leading into some quiet, melodic
tunes. During one of the countless Chinese firedrills that make up their act,
she was carted off stage and replaced by other instruments. Accordion, horns,
keyboards – it seems like every member of the band can play every instrument and
they make a point to prove it. Every song involves a lineup switcheroo, yet
there’s only subtle differences from song to song. It’s one of those times I
should know more about music so I could tell you exactly why their stuff is so…
droopy? But hey, if I knew more about music I’d probably be torturing Jeff
Clarke with my efforts on stage. Suffice it to say, I think the members of A Fir
Ju Well are all skilled and talented, but the assembly of the parts doesn’t do a
thing for me. There’s something sort of circus like about it, both in the
endless switching of players and in the sound itself. Cheesy organ often takes
the lead and you can’t help but think it’d make great background music for a
David Lynch sideshow.
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