I’ve never been a huge fan of the Deftones. In fact, I found them a little on the over-rated side but having said that, they did stand out from the rest of the sickly irritating ‘Nu-Metal’ movement that spawned them. Apart from their blistering debut, they’ve released a slew of bloated, pretentious and misdirected follow-ups but for some reason or another, I would always take time to check them out nonetheless. As a live act, they are simply incredible. I saw them a while ago on a Cure tribute performance and they floored me with how good they sounded. So full of atmosphere, depth and genuine emotion. I said to myself, ‘now why can’t they be like that on their albums?’ Someone must have heard me because on the latest opus ‘Saturday Night Wrist’ - they have blown me away. This is a multi-layered, textured slab of music that gets better with each passing listen. Magnificently produced by one of the genuine supremos of the production world - Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, KISS) - the sounds on this album are vast. Emotive and cathartic. ‘Saturday Night Wrist’ is a sinister and moody fuck that becomes more memorable each time you venture through the tuneage on offer. An incredible listening experience that always gets my attention every time I fire it up on the iPod.
I paid a visit to my fave comic book store ‘Alternate Worlds’ yesterday afternoon. Whilst I practically grew up reading comic-books from a very young age, these days I find I just don’t have the time to collect and read them anymore. Still, I like to visit comic-book stores at least once every couple of weeks to check out what new goodies are in. And I am glad I did yesterday as they had this sensational new Deadwood book in stock which was just screaming to be purchased. Entitled, Deadwood: Stories of the Black Hills, the book has been written by show creator David Milch and it stands as one of the most gorgeously designed books I have seen in a long, long time. The photography and typography throughout have left me staring at the pages with mouth agape in total shock and awe at the sheer beauty of this veritable tome of Al Swearengen badness! Check out the HBO site for a sneak peek.
Still, one can’t help but to feel bemused about HBO’s decision to wrap up the show with two movie-length episodes next season. Not a decision that has been met well with fans of the show, as well as the store attendant yesterday as we were in deep discussion about the permeations and happenings at the town of Deadwood. If you’re a fan of the show, take it from me, this book is an essential companion.
I’m starting to get more comfortable with the Canon 400D as it is allowing me to to experiment and be more daring. It is allowing me to capture images as I see them in my head a helluva lot easier than my previous point-n-click camera ever did. I’ve been going out for night shoots armed with a tripod and shooting at ISO 100. The results are soooo cool and I’m loving the warm colors I’ve been managing to capture.
And this being my final week before I begin full-time work next week, I wanted to enjoy as much of my free time before it all tapers away.
The photo above is of the William Barak Bridge in Melbourne’s sporting precinct. If you look closely you can spot the MCG in the background. I’ll be working pretty close to where this is shot as of next week.
Also, I have been getting several requests for wallpapers of some of my pics - so hopefully when time permits, I’ll set up a wallpapers repository for all. Frankly, I am flattered at the requests and will only be too happy to provide some hi-res versions of my pics for people’s desktops.
On the Edge of Bladerunner. A fascinating insight into one of the best sci-fi flicks ever.
I’m showing my age here, but having been a KISS fan since 1975… it is astounding to realize that I have been following this band for most of my entire existence! Although, I don’t consider myself a die-hard these days, I do have an interest in the classic KISS line-up from their glory years. And that is exactly what the KISSOLOGY DVD features… KISS from 1974 to 1977 when they truly were the hottest band in the world!
Watching some of these early moments in the band’s history is quite a marvelous revelation. The determination, ferocity and out-right hunger that drove the band to stellar heights - is all evident throughout the KISSOLOGY DVD. There is a breathtaking performance at Detroit’s Cobo Hall from January 1976. The band blitz through a killer set of their classic early material and watching Peter Criss pound his drums with ferocity and poise is a sensational treat. He was an amazing innovative and creative drummer in the early days but became a shadow of his former self in his later years where his playing is, well, pretty horrid. Also novel to see Simmons’ hair catch fire in his ‘Firehouse’ stunt as well as him forgetting the lyrics to ‘Let Me Go Rock ‘N’ Roll’ as he starts to sing ‘Rock and Roll All Night’ instead!
Continue reading ‘Kissology: Volume One 1974-1977′
Vox Populi
RSS