Note: people and organizations have been rendered as anagrams.
In my corporate experiences over the last decade, I've discerned two basic types of "work environment." While some might accuse me of taking metaphors a bit too far, the imagery I'm about to employ has come to me via the medium of my dreams and, of course, my nightmares. I have processed my experiences through symbols, and I know them to be true (or at least valid in their metaphorical intent). I am not disgruntled, but I am horrified. I am filled with remorse that this is what our society has created, and that once great places of work have been turned into wage slavery camps.
I will state that I have been working in the graphic- and Web design realm for the last decade, and this is important in only one regard: I have never held a position of rank or power in these environments (e.g., I never managed other people). My role has largely been that of the expert, perpetually honing a skill; for me, work has always been about doing work, about being creative, as opposed to getting paid well to do nothing (e.g., managing other people).
That said, I'll begin with a description of the more positive of the two work environments. First up...
The Hive
While for some people this might conjure images out of the Alien films, or killer bees, I'm thinking more along the lines of honey bees. You know, our little friends who are responsible for a majority of the fruits and vegetables we eat. In the Hive work environment, individuals exhibit largely autonomous behavior, which is informed by notions of success or failure for the larger business. In this work environment, experts are allowed to be experts. Control over individuals is not essential, since control destroys productivity and the creative impulse. A tolerance for a lack of cohesion is what is important in a Hive. A Hive's shape can stretch and skew, bend and warp, yet the whole remains intact, functional.
I've worked in the Hive model before, and it is generally rewarding; stress levels rise and fall. Pressures increase and dissipate. People laugh. People complain. People form loose meta-hives to focus their collective skills to solve problems. None of it is rooted in cut-throat strategies or the themes of survival and competition. Is the Hive perfect? Perhaps not. Whole areas of the Hive can often be so out of touch with the central authority that they risk being cut off from the main, their worth forgotten in the wake of efficiency; however, individuality is often rewarded. A good Hive lets the workers themselves elevate its members. It is less about some abstract layer of management deciding someone has done a good job, and more about one's peers honoring the fact that you make their jobs easier. Admittedly, this is an idealized view of the Hive, but for the most part, it can and does exist. It's out there. Yet, similar to the plight of the honey bees, the Hive work environment seems to be in danger. Which brings me to the Hive's antithesis...
The Infestation
In this work environment, workers are parasites, attached to a money-dispensing host. Daily routine is based solely on the necessities of the environment: dishonesty and greed are the order of the day. Loyalties are bought via unwarranted promotions or secret wage increases. Relationships between people do not actually exist.
Am I exaggerating?
I watched in horror, a few years ago, as an Infestation consumed the Hive I worked in. I have written about this elsewhere, so I won't go into details, but the reality is this: the Infestation does not care about the individuals that make up the whole. The Infestation does not care about the host that it infests. The host, in fact, does not even know it is infested. Perhaps it is something the Infestation injects into the bloodstream of the company? A foul toxin of anesthetizing promises? The Infestation values contractors over full-time employees. The Infestation rewards incompetence because it is, itself, founded on incompetence. The individuals that comprise it are overpaid and lack talent. The Infestation gets things done by brute force. Throw a pile of twitching greedy organisms at a problem, and it either goes away or it gets solved.
A Scene from an Infestation
Every few weeks, the "Master Recruiter" from an IT staffing agency would show up, two dozen bagels in hand. He'd place the bagels on a shelf in one of the hallways. He'd give the sign, and an administrative assistant would send out an alert email: "Tom has brought bagels and cream cheese. They're in the usual spot."
I often made sure I was there before the announcement was made, if only to ensure a good vantage point. It was like watching wildlife from behind a blind.
A flood of people would soon appear. The Mass, I called it. My co-workers, silent; fifty people, shuffling into view. The only sounds were those of bagel packages and cream cheese being opened; plastic forks and knives clacking. No one spoke. No one laughed. Bagel obtained, they'd return to their cubes to put their sucking mouths back onto the Money Teat. Most of the Mass left empty-handed. The symbolism was powerful: play the game. Compete and you eat. There were only twenty-four bagels, recall. Twenty-six if the baker was happy. Twenty-six bagels for a floor of at least two hundred workers?
I witnessed this event many times over the last year, and I was always astonished by the dire faces and total lack of social interaction within the Mass. It was like watching exotic foreign fish being fed, trapped behind glass. Joyless and starved. Owned and observed. The only thing of value to the people who willingly participate in the Infestation is the blood of the corporation - the money. And the upsetting part is that the people that perpetuate this kind of work environment can't see it for what it truly is.
The Origin?
It saddens me that a company like Allpour Goop, Inc. would be unaware that the IT shop affixed to its underbelly is nothing more than a seething mass of greedy parasites, contradicting the very mission the company was founded upon. Do the Phono Fixe University students currently enrolled in the Information Technology program know what lies ahead of them? Or, chillingly, is the Phono Fixe University itself the problem? Has the for-profit education system spawned the monstrous mass that destroyed its once great IT shop? Is the Phono Fixe University partly responsible for the Infestation?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Las Plagas and Allpour Goop, Inc.
Note: people and organizations have been rendered as anagrams.
Las Plagas ("The Plagues" in Spanish) are a breed of parasitic organisms from the Resident Evil 4 survival horror video game. They are currently masquerading as CEO, CIO, directors, managers, usability experts and web designers at Allpour Goop, Inc.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
As a shareholder (and as a former employee of more than six years), I find myself incapable of not commenting on the ripple effect of novice CEO Bairn Mullere's black/white “coaching style” of thought, and what it brought to those of us working down in the trenches (or, down on the hardwood, to use a metaphor he might understand).
I should clarify that there were once two distinct IT shops, each serving a different company. One served Allpour Goop, Inc. (the parent company of Phono Fixe University) and the other served the Phono Fixe University's spin-off Phono Fixe University Online (a separate company). It should also be noted that eventually PFU and PFU Online recombined and became the same company once more, which meant that the two IT shops were merged as well; the fact remained, however, that the division between these two IT shops was palpable. Their methods differed dramatically. In early 2006, the original Allpour IT shop was destroyed in a hostile takeover by the Online IT department, with the support of Bairn Mullere. Everyone in Allpour IT, from the CIO on down to the management layer, was removed and replaced; just prior to this reorganization, a barrage of promotions took place in Online IT. After the takeover, those of us who remained in the wreckage of Allpour IT were forced to align ourselves with new masters, many of whom had been our distant subordinates or peers only hours before.
The unethical specifics beyond this point are not truly important. What I would like to consider, therefore, is how the differences between these two IT groups first defined, and then redefined (for me, at least), the notion of "career" at Allpour Goop, Inc..
As a Web designer for Allpour Goop, Inc., I have two very distinct experiences of the management methods used in the two IT groups. I can summarize these experiences by using a single question, but rephrasing it to match the dominant outlook of each organization.
So imagine you're a dedicated employee; you've completed all manner of projects, received awards from various business units, and you're confident that there is room to grow within the company. Imagine that you actually care about your projects.
In the former Allpour IT (where I spent four years), the question asked of me during a performance evaluation was simple: "What have you done for us this past year?" And while it didn't always sound this way, or use these particular words, the question itself flows from the emphasis that Allpour IT placed on professional development for its employees. It placed the positive before the negative, and was aimed squarely at retention.
Post-takeover, in the new Allpour IT, the question became “What have you done for me lately?” This revised question flows from an emphasis on the negative, and is rooted in the concept of the performance-based work environment (e.g., a single negative trumps any and all positives). It's right off the sports page, and has nothing to do with careers or retention.
Notice how the language has changed, rooted in the carefree arrogance and self-obsession of the Incompetent ("what have you done for me"); this approach to the individual employee flows, to some degree, from Bairn Mullere's sports-centric view of the company as some sort of gigantic basketball game.
In my own experience, the “me” in the question was the inept manager or director (or in sporting terms, the team captain). In turn, managers and directors were asked the very same question by their superior, the puppet CIO (the assistant coach), who was then similarly queried by the CEO (the head coach).
Since I hate basketball, I'll use hockey (a far more interesting sport) to summarize what this means: as a player, I may have scored 2 goals and had three assists the game before last, but since I’m judged to only be as good as my last game, wherein I happened to have been held off the score sheet, the prior five point night counts for nothing; next game, I find myself at the end of the bench and given limited ice-time. When contract talks come around, I'm told I won't be getting a salary increase because of "gaps" in my on-ice performance.
Thus, in the new Allpour IT, full-time employees essentially became anathema to the system, since they can't be forced to work 70 hour weeks, and they are almost impossible to get rid of. They take vacations, they call in sick, and they have benefits! Each one of these is a negative. And all it takes, apparently, is a single negative, and your career is over.
The idea of having a “career” in the new Allpour IT is an impossibility. Which is why 98% of Allpour IT is now made up of contract employees. Contractors are easy to dump back to the minors (the staffing firms) when they don’t put in 16 hour days. Allpour IT, while coached by Bairn Mullere and his All-Star Team of Incompetents, has been transformed into a white-collar sweat-shop. For a company that often takes pride in affecting its customer's lives positively, the reality behind the key-carded doors of the company is in diametric opposition.
It's time to view the Incompetent at Allpour IT as what they truly are: parasites, destroying their host. The Las Plagas are among us. Bairn Mullere's coaching-oriented approach to management was dead on arrival in my view, and if you aspire to management, I hope you never resort to such a system. It shouldn't happen. Anywhere. Not even in Resident Evil.
Las Plagas ("The Plagues" in Spanish) are a breed of parasitic organisms from the Resident Evil 4 survival horror video game. They are currently masquerading as CEO, CIO, directors, managers, usability experts and web designers at Allpour Goop, Inc.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
As a shareholder (and as a former employee of more than six years), I find myself incapable of not commenting on the ripple effect of novice CEO Bairn Mullere's black/white “coaching style” of thought, and what it brought to those of us working down in the trenches (or, down on the hardwood, to use a metaphor he might understand).
I should clarify that there were once two distinct IT shops, each serving a different company. One served Allpour Goop, Inc. (the parent company of Phono Fixe University) and the other served the Phono Fixe University's spin-off Phono Fixe University Online (a separate company). It should also be noted that eventually PFU and PFU Online recombined and became the same company once more, which meant that the two IT shops were merged as well; the fact remained, however, that the division between these two IT shops was palpable. Their methods differed dramatically. In early 2006, the original Allpour IT shop was destroyed in a hostile takeover by the Online IT department, with the support of Bairn Mullere. Everyone in Allpour IT, from the CIO on down to the management layer, was removed and replaced; just prior to this reorganization, a barrage of promotions took place in Online IT. After the takeover, those of us who remained in the wreckage of Allpour IT were forced to align ourselves with new masters, many of whom had been our distant subordinates or peers only hours before.
The unethical specifics beyond this point are not truly important. What I would like to consider, therefore, is how the differences between these two IT groups first defined, and then redefined (for me, at least), the notion of "career" at Allpour Goop, Inc..
As a Web designer for Allpour Goop, Inc., I have two very distinct experiences of the management methods used in the two IT groups. I can summarize these experiences by using a single question, but rephrasing it to match the dominant outlook of each organization.
So imagine you're a dedicated employee; you've completed all manner of projects, received awards from various business units, and you're confident that there is room to grow within the company. Imagine that you actually care about your projects.
In the former Allpour IT (where I spent four years), the question asked of me during a performance evaluation was simple: "What have you done for us this past year?" And while it didn't always sound this way, or use these particular words, the question itself flows from the emphasis that Allpour IT placed on professional development for its employees. It placed the positive before the negative, and was aimed squarely at retention.
Post-takeover, in the new Allpour IT, the question became “What have you done for me lately?” This revised question flows from an emphasis on the negative, and is rooted in the concept of the performance-based work environment (e.g., a single negative trumps any and all positives). It's right off the sports page, and has nothing to do with careers or retention.
Notice how the language has changed, rooted in the carefree arrogance and self-obsession of the Incompetent ("what have you done for me"); this approach to the individual employee flows, to some degree, from Bairn Mullere's sports-centric view of the company as some sort of gigantic basketball game.
In my own experience, the “me” in the question was the inept manager or director (or in sporting terms, the team captain). In turn, managers and directors were asked the very same question by their superior, the puppet CIO (the assistant coach), who was then similarly queried by the CEO (the head coach).
Since I hate basketball, I'll use hockey (a far more interesting sport) to summarize what this means: as a player, I may have scored 2 goals and had three assists the game before last, but since I’m judged to only be as good as my last game, wherein I happened to have been held off the score sheet, the prior five point night counts for nothing; next game, I find myself at the end of the bench and given limited ice-time. When contract talks come around, I'm told I won't be getting a salary increase because of "gaps" in my on-ice performance.
Thus, in the new Allpour IT, full-time employees essentially became anathema to the system, since they can't be forced to work 70 hour weeks, and they are almost impossible to get rid of. They take vacations, they call in sick, and they have benefits! Each one of these is a negative. And all it takes, apparently, is a single negative, and your career is over.
The idea of having a “career” in the new Allpour IT is an impossibility. Which is why 98% of Allpour IT is now made up of contract employees. Contractors are easy to dump back to the minors (the staffing firms) when they don’t put in 16 hour days. Allpour IT, while coached by Bairn Mullere and his All-Star Team of Incompetents, has been transformed into a white-collar sweat-shop. For a company that often takes pride in affecting its customer's lives positively, the reality behind the key-carded doors of the company is in diametric opposition.
It's time to view the Incompetent at Allpour IT as what they truly are: parasites, destroying their host. The Las Plagas are among us. Bairn Mullere's coaching-oriented approach to management was dead on arrival in my view, and if you aspire to management, I hope you never resort to such a system. It shouldn't happen. Anywhere. Not even in Resident Evil.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Literary Vacuum: Religion in Science Fiction
This article is part of an on-going series intended to clarify and expand upon elements of the dystopian novel The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism and its sequel Hemegohm’s Tendril.
The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism is a complex speculation on what will constitute the religious experience in the year 2167. It extrapolates on current trends, some of which have actually come to pass ("megachurch") and posits others that hopefully will never manifest. Religion as a topic, especially in science fiction, represents a massive philosophical challenge. In my view, religion can and will take on any form over time (primarily because of its wholly human origins). Before someone takes issue with this statement, let me clarify the foundation of that stance: I accept that true divinity (whatever that may be) is beyond words. It is beyond expression. The most astute religious thinkers in our time accept that organized religion is, by definition, incomplete; the modern experience of "the divine" merely gestures toward an overarching mystery, while cementing the adherent in place with familiar concepts and visualizations (both metaphorical and physical, e.g., god-of-your-choice dashboard figurines, lenticular saints with eyes that follow the follower, the retardation of "Christian metal" as a music genre, etc).
My view is that true religious experience is something completely inward, and has nothing to do with groups, churches, or society (spirituality in group form is neither spiritual nor truly religious within the pages of The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism). In my own experience, the only thing I can liken "true divinity" to is the experience of love. And I don't mean puppy love or love at first sight or something Lennon sang about. I mean the kind of transcendent place that two people can find themselves in that generates an output that is more than the sum of its inputs. Admittedly, this is rooted in my own understanding of pair-bonding, but if you've experienced this (a marriage that really works, for instance), you'll understand. If not, don't take issue. My point here is not to debate true divinity. I felt I needed to clarify certain positions in an effort to support what comes next.
Though a satire, The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism deals with the following ideas: the clash of evolved (or derived) philosophies; the future potentialities - both positive and negative - of highly synthesized drugs; and ultimately, the transcendence of the limitations of human sense perception (the five senses) and the impact of what may lie “beyond.”
You can see how these topics dovetail with age-old religious concepts, both in the traditional sense, and the shamanic. The conflicts in the narrative flow from religion's use as an engine of commerce and galactic expansion in the year 2167. Religion is so infinitely splintered in the future, that it has become much like the way people in our current society get their news: from a source that solely supports their world view. Of course, being a satire, the protagonist (Simon Shadow) is clearly an anti-hero, and some horrible things happen both to him, and to those around him. No one world view can become dominant within the construct of the society in 2167. Society itself (ruled by the "World Order" in the novel) acts as the engine that allows the infinity of religious experience to begin with, and it is all rigorously controlled; it is authoritarian and very governmental. This speculation points to the evil of corporations, themselves abstract entities existing solely to maximize profits and minimize responsibility to the individual (thank you, Ambrose Bierce). In his book Why Religion Matters, religious scholar Huston Smith leveraged the idea that religion, or the religious experience, is shaped within a tunnel of "influences." Imagine one wall is occupied by the media. Imagine the other walls represent education, law, and science. As religion passes through this tunnel, it is transformed by these forces. In The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism, I speculate on the evolution of such a structure. Instead of media, law, education, and science forming the walls of the tunnel, with religion passing through, it is the individual who moves towards the light at the end, surrounded by religion, business, law, and politics (science being innate to the individual). Those four forces comprise what I have termed the "World Order" - which essentially ascends to total societal control in the face of global crisis.
Religion in science fiction is not as common as you would think. When it appears, it is often used as a broad stroke in the background, but religion as a primary theme does occur. Think of the philosophical underpinnings of Frank Herbert's Dune series, or of how religion is presented in some of Robert Heinlein's work. To really take on the topic in a singular way is rare (a good example is Walter M. Miller Jr's A Canticle for Leibowitz). This might have more to do with the fact that if not done properly, dealing with religion in a novel is tedious for the reader. Finding yourself mired in a miasma of fictional spirituality is no different that being a human alive in the 21st century, surrounded by religions of every flavor, all in direct competition with each other. Religions often lack a true connection to modern societies; and being abstractions of an ineffable experience (e.g., the experience of the divine), they exist as anachronisms. As a subject for a writer to take on, however, religion can be overwhelming. The writer inevitably asks "What do I really know about this?" (as a cosmicist, it certainly weighed heavily on me). What I came to realize was that the question itself is a very natural response to the varieties of religious experience within all societies, both modern and ancient. The awareness of a multitude of axioms, scattered like puzzle pieces on the living room floor of every society, quickly overwhelms. It can make the writer feel as if they are not truly informed - as if they do not know enough to write with authority. Writers are often told to "write what you know" - so how can anyone write with any semblance of fairness about a topic so vast, so ancient, and so wholly convoluted? In my case, though I started the novel in 1989, it was not finished until 2001. I spent a majority of that time reading books on the topic, and talking to people of different faiths (admittedly, when I encountered them naturally, in the wild).
Ultimately, my solution was to take a page from religion's play book. To deal effectively with religion in science fiction I was forced to embrace what religion does best, in the broadest sense: mystery. As you approach an experience of the divine it just seems to accelerate away from you; there are no answers. Unfortunately, by claiming, as most modern religions do, that they have all the answers, mystery itself is trumped, and thus, wholly wasted. In writing The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism, mystery had to retain its power, so I planted it within the fertile (and draconian) policies of the World Order. Religion in the year 2167 has been transformed into an incomprehensible engine of commerce. It is against this backdrop that the speculative power of science fiction can go to work; embracing mystery absolves readers from the frustration of trying to acclimate to yet another incomplete approach to the divine, and lets them focus on the story itself.
The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism is a complex speculation on what will constitute the religious experience in the year 2167. It extrapolates on current trends, some of which have actually come to pass ("megachurch") and posits others that hopefully will never manifest. Religion as a topic, especially in science fiction, represents a massive philosophical challenge. In my view, religion can and will take on any form over time (primarily because of its wholly human origins). Before someone takes issue with this statement, let me clarify the foundation of that stance: I accept that true divinity (whatever that may be) is beyond words. It is beyond expression. The most astute religious thinkers in our time accept that organized religion is, by definition, incomplete; the modern experience of "the divine" merely gestures toward an overarching mystery, while cementing the adherent in place with familiar concepts and visualizations (both metaphorical and physical, e.g., god-of-your-choice dashboard figurines, lenticular saints with eyes that follow the follower, the retardation of "Christian metal" as a music genre, etc).
My view is that true religious experience is something completely inward, and has nothing to do with groups, churches, or society (spirituality in group form is neither spiritual nor truly religious within the pages of The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism). In my own experience, the only thing I can liken "true divinity" to is the experience of love. And I don't mean puppy love or love at first sight or something Lennon sang about. I mean the kind of transcendent place that two people can find themselves in that generates an output that is more than the sum of its inputs. Admittedly, this is rooted in my own understanding of pair-bonding, but if you've experienced this (a marriage that really works, for instance), you'll understand. If not, don't take issue. My point here is not to debate true divinity. I felt I needed to clarify certain positions in an effort to support what comes next.
Though a satire, The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism deals with the following ideas: the clash of evolved (or derived) philosophies; the future potentialities - both positive and negative - of highly synthesized drugs; and ultimately, the transcendence of the limitations of human sense perception (the five senses) and the impact of what may lie “beyond.”
You can see how these topics dovetail with age-old religious concepts, both in the traditional sense, and the shamanic. The conflicts in the narrative flow from religion's use as an engine of commerce and galactic expansion in the year 2167. Religion is so infinitely splintered in the future, that it has become much like the way people in our current society get their news: from a source that solely supports their world view. Of course, being a satire, the protagonist (Simon Shadow) is clearly an anti-hero, and some horrible things happen both to him, and to those around him. No one world view can become dominant within the construct of the society in 2167. Society itself (ruled by the "World Order" in the novel) acts as the engine that allows the infinity of religious experience to begin with, and it is all rigorously controlled; it is authoritarian and very governmental. This speculation points to the evil of corporations, themselves abstract entities existing solely to maximize profits and minimize responsibility to the individual (thank you, Ambrose Bierce). In his book Why Religion Matters, religious scholar Huston Smith leveraged the idea that religion, or the religious experience, is shaped within a tunnel of "influences." Imagine one wall is occupied by the media. Imagine the other walls represent education, law, and science. As religion passes through this tunnel, it is transformed by these forces. In The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism, I speculate on the evolution of such a structure. Instead of media, law, education, and science forming the walls of the tunnel, with religion passing through, it is the individual who moves towards the light at the end, surrounded by religion, business, law, and politics (science being innate to the individual). Those four forces comprise what I have termed the "World Order" - which essentially ascends to total societal control in the face of global crisis.
Religion in science fiction is not as common as you would think. When it appears, it is often used as a broad stroke in the background, but religion as a primary theme does occur. Think of the philosophical underpinnings of Frank Herbert's Dune series, or of how religion is presented in some of Robert Heinlein's work. To really take on the topic in a singular way is rare (a good example is Walter M. Miller Jr's A Canticle for Leibowitz). This might have more to do with the fact that if not done properly, dealing with religion in a novel is tedious for the reader. Finding yourself mired in a miasma of fictional spirituality is no different that being a human alive in the 21st century, surrounded by religions of every flavor, all in direct competition with each other. Religions often lack a true connection to modern societies; and being abstractions of an ineffable experience (e.g., the experience of the divine), they exist as anachronisms. As a subject for a writer to take on, however, religion can be overwhelming. The writer inevitably asks "What do I really know about this?" (as a cosmicist, it certainly weighed heavily on me). What I came to realize was that the question itself is a very natural response to the varieties of religious experience within all societies, both modern and ancient. The awareness of a multitude of axioms, scattered like puzzle pieces on the living room floor of every society, quickly overwhelms. It can make the writer feel as if they are not truly informed - as if they do not know enough to write with authority. Writers are often told to "write what you know" - so how can anyone write with any semblance of fairness about a topic so vast, so ancient, and so wholly convoluted? In my case, though I started the novel in 1989, it was not finished until 2001. I spent a majority of that time reading books on the topic, and talking to people of different faiths (admittedly, when I encountered them naturally, in the wild).
Ultimately, my solution was to take a page from religion's play book. To deal effectively with religion in science fiction I was forced to embrace what religion does best, in the broadest sense: mystery. As you approach an experience of the divine it just seems to accelerate away from you; there are no answers. Unfortunately, by claiming, as most modern religions do, that they have all the answers, mystery itself is trumped, and thus, wholly wasted. In writing The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism, mystery had to retain its power, so I planted it within the fertile (and draconian) policies of the World Order. Religion in the year 2167 has been transformed into an incomprehensible engine of commerce. It is against this backdrop that the speculative power of science fiction can go to work; embracing mystery absolves readers from the frustration of trying to acclimate to yet another incomplete approach to the divine, and lets them focus on the story itself.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Literary Vacuum: Symbolic Anachronism
This article is part of an on-going series intended to clarify and expand upon elements of the dystopian novel The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism and its sequel Hemegohm’s Tendril.
Many of the characters in this novel are forced, out of necessity, to use a form of public communication terminal (e.g., a pay phone) to communicate, but the concept itself seems very anachronistic for the year 2167. Recently, I re-read Frederik Pohl's novel Gateway; he won some major awards for this one, and understandably so. The narrative is a juggernaut. The very premise itself is enough to push you to the next page (prospectors taking potentially one-way rides into deep space in misunderstood alien star-ships, with the promise of untold wealth should the ship manage to make it back to the Gateway artifact); but when you read this novel now, you find references to magnetic storage media; to cassette decks and "books on tape." While in 1976 this idea simply blended in, a modern reader finds it highly anachronistic. Here you have a story taking place far in Earth's future, yet you find references to decidedly "ancient" technology by 2007's standards.
The novel The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism is like a recursive parable. There are many symbols in play. When I first started writing, I found myself perpetually frustrated by prevailing science fiction concepts, foremost among them all, the idea of the "communicator" (think Star Trek). Back in 1989, pervasive cell phone usage was nonexistent. There wasn't even a market. Even so, in terms of constructing a story, the concept of instantaneous personal communication was having a limiting effect on dramatic tension. If the police, for instance, were merely a simple call way, the writerly hoops I was forced to jump through to create tension became unwieldy. To use an example from a different medium, I find myself cringing when a film's director is compelled to show me an extreme closeup of the protagonist's phone's "no bars" display.
So I took Simon Shadow's communicator away. I got rid of the communication satellites ringing this new planet. I put him in a wilderness, which was appropriate for the story itself. These characters, whether on the planet's surface or in orbiting battleships, are all living on a frontier. Furthermore, the planet they have left behind was one of such profound religious control (both of thought, action, and expression) that it seemed reasonable that there might also be a limiting of the individual's ability to communicate, even in a distant colony. On an overpopulated Earth, in the year 2167, life is controlled. On the periphery of human expansion, however, the symptoms of this control are still evident. People have moved beyond the solar system, but they are still citizens of Earth. They are living in a controlled variation of the society that they've left behind; such is the power of the World Order, the worldwide theocratic construct that has risen to dominate a besieged population. When Simon Shadow is taken to the desert to die at the hand's of his oppressors, he can't call for help. Public terminals used for communication litter the colony, but in the deep desert, he is alone, and the ability to communicate is out of reach. Even if he had a way to call for help, the colony police force is merely an extension of the World Order's will, intended solely to protect the business of religion.
The effect of this concept on the reader, however, is debatable. I am not sure if this hurts the narrative or improves it, or if it simply exists in a mutable, ever-changing "sphere of anachronism." The concept is powerful, however. Jumping back to films, recall the image of Mia Farrow hiding in a phone booth in Rosemary's Baby, paranoid, terrified, desperate to make contact with her doctor. The power of that scene is negated in modern society, where six-year-olds have calling plans. The onus is now on writers to craft equivalents of such tension. It is difficult, however, when the default is to show the closeup of "no bars." In The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism, an indirect form of tension is achieved by limiting the characters ability to communicate. The prevalence of public communication devices also suggests that the World Order may, in fact, be watching, even across the light years. Does it feel anachronistic? It does. But it is also symbolic, and within The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism, anachronism itself is a symbol. The suggestion is that religion, in all of its forms, when placed within the context of a modern society, is wholly anachronistic.
Many of the characters in this novel are forced, out of necessity, to use a form of public communication terminal (e.g., a pay phone) to communicate, but the concept itself seems very anachronistic for the year 2167. Recently, I re-read Frederik Pohl's novel Gateway; he won some major awards for this one, and understandably so. The narrative is a juggernaut. The very premise itself is enough to push you to the next page (prospectors taking potentially one-way rides into deep space in misunderstood alien star-ships, with the promise of untold wealth should the ship manage to make it back to the Gateway artifact); but when you read this novel now, you find references to magnetic storage media; to cassette decks and "books on tape." While in 1976 this idea simply blended in, a modern reader finds it highly anachronistic. Here you have a story taking place far in Earth's future, yet you find references to decidedly "ancient" technology by 2007's standards.
The novel The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism is like a recursive parable. There are many symbols in play. When I first started writing, I found myself perpetually frustrated by prevailing science fiction concepts, foremost among them all, the idea of the "communicator" (think Star Trek). Back in 1989, pervasive cell phone usage was nonexistent. There wasn't even a market. Even so, in terms of constructing a story, the concept of instantaneous personal communication was having a limiting effect on dramatic tension. If the police, for instance, were merely a simple call way, the writerly hoops I was forced to jump through to create tension became unwieldy. To use an example from a different medium, I find myself cringing when a film's director is compelled to show me an extreme closeup of the protagonist's phone's "no bars" display.
So I took Simon Shadow's communicator away. I got rid of the communication satellites ringing this new planet. I put him in a wilderness, which was appropriate for the story itself. These characters, whether on the planet's surface or in orbiting battleships, are all living on a frontier. Furthermore, the planet they have left behind was one of such profound religious control (both of thought, action, and expression) that it seemed reasonable that there might also be a limiting of the individual's ability to communicate, even in a distant colony. On an overpopulated Earth, in the year 2167, life is controlled. On the periphery of human expansion, however, the symptoms of this control are still evident. People have moved beyond the solar system, but they are still citizens of Earth. They are living in a controlled variation of the society that they've left behind; such is the power of the World Order, the worldwide theocratic construct that has risen to dominate a besieged population. When Simon Shadow is taken to the desert to die at the hand's of his oppressors, he can't call for help. Public terminals used for communication litter the colony, but in the deep desert, he is alone, and the ability to communicate is out of reach. Even if he had a way to call for help, the colony police force is merely an extension of the World Order's will, intended solely to protect the business of religion.
The effect of this concept on the reader, however, is debatable. I am not sure if this hurts the narrative or improves it, or if it simply exists in a mutable, ever-changing "sphere of anachronism." The concept is powerful, however. Jumping back to films, recall the image of Mia Farrow hiding in a phone booth in Rosemary's Baby, paranoid, terrified, desperate to make contact with her doctor. The power of that scene is negated in modern society, where six-year-olds have calling plans. The onus is now on writers to craft equivalents of such tension. It is difficult, however, when the default is to show the closeup of "no bars." In The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism, an indirect form of tension is achieved by limiting the characters ability to communicate. The prevalence of public communication devices also suggests that the World Order may, in fact, be watching, even across the light years. Does it feel anachronistic? It does. But it is also symbolic, and within The Rise and Fall of Shimmerism, anachronism itself is a symbol. The suggestion is that religion, in all of its forms, when placed within the context of a modern society, is wholly anachronistic.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Synesthetic Response 3
This is not review. This is response. Quite a bit of extraordinary material in the last few months. Also, the debut of a completely subjective (and therefore arguably meaningless) rating system: 1-10, 10 being the highest, with 11 reserved, no decimals, and you'll never see anything below 8; the ratings 1-7 are reserved for everything that isn't written about here.
Neurosis :: Given to the Rising
(2007, Neurot Recordings)
Score: 10
Unconscious and pervasive veneration of this work will be its legacy. It will influence all who hear it, whether they know it or not. Similar to Tool's 10,000 Days, or Meshuggah's Catch Thirtythr33, I find myself listening to Given to the Rising on constant loop (iPod stats are consistent and alarming: 37 on the play count for each track; nothing else has touched my ears for the last week). Beginning to end, the scope of the album is cyclopean. I'll leave it to others to talk about the history of Neurosis (for they can do it better than I). Their use of quiet/massive is in ascension here, refined in a way that sends the mind voyaging, soaring over ancient battlefields on a distant planet. Each track, epic in length and always interesting, features some of the finest "set pieces" I have ever heard: the haunting ambient intros; the aching analog psychology of the title track's quiet passages, or the chilling throat-clenching vocal of Into The Wind which literally detonates 5:31 in. Album of the Year for 2007 - but not on this planet, sadly.
Skinny Puppy :: Mythmaker
(2007, Synthetic Symphony)
Score: 8
Following up the brilliance of their prior album (The Greater Wrong of the Right) was always going to be difficult; that said, Skinny Puppy delivers another sonic masterclass of structure and chaos with Mythmaker. The mix is superb, the complexity of the electronics is awe-inspiring, and the overall effect stays true to the new direction that Skinny Puppy are pioneering. Having returned from a very dark place, this music is vital and the lyrics are important. This is an album for the iTunes visualizer + headphone crowd; a work of endless discovery. The complexity may seem overpowering, but the result is a work that grows in stature with every listen.
Nine Inch Nails :: Year Zero
(2007, Nothing Records)
Score: 9
Dark (so dark), digital and the most electronic NIN work to date, Reznor seems to have taken cues from the pantheon of electro-gods (RDJ?) and rendered a grim message; it comes from the disturbing future that many of this country's drones are currently participating in ("drones" being those people who will never read these words, nor hear any of the music described herein). In This Twilight is simply one of the finest tracks NIN has ever recorded (positioned at #15 in the sequence of 16 tracks, it has the effect of propelling you into listening to the whole album once more, if only to get back to track 15). A call to action for those who consider themselves rational, Year Zero is the most important artistic statement of 2007, and perhaps the decade. 75% (possibly more) of Reznor's speculative tale is already with us. Though it feels like science fiction, it isn't. Just listen, and look around.
Githead :: Art Pop
(2007, Swim)
Score: 8
I'm a hardcore Wire fanatic, so Colin Newman's (the vocalist for Wire) new band Githead is filling the void left by the fact that Wire can't be Wire for 365 days a year (though I get the distinct sense that something is gestating and thus looming on the Wire horizon). Art Pop is very much a progression from Githead's last outing Profile, and it is just as good. I find myself at a loss to describe this music, other than to say it is a sort of proto-pop, the well from which all pop music might have come, the aural fountain that was once hidden but which is now revealed. But this is artful, intricate, playful and decidedly thought-provoking. Which means it isn't pop music, right? I'm convinced that most of the lyrics have been cobbled together by an algorithm that pulls phrases out of the collective hive-mind of the Internet. Or it could just be Newman's penchant for exploring language ("I'm forgetting to remember / I'm remembering to forget"). Whatever Githead is, they have now proven themselves to be completely necessary.
Crushed :: My Machine
(2007, No Relief Records)
Score: 8
Crushed's new disc My Machine is a seemingly natural hybrid of Gothic subversion and the power of metal. While that may be hard to visualize, the guys in Crushed are perfectionists. You can sense it. They are musicians of the highest order, and it shows. With a massive following here in my home town, I admit to being slightly biased (you may recall guitarist/keyboardist Harry McCaleb's name in the acknowledgments section of my science fiction novel). Bias aside, Crushed have it. They know how to write music; they know how to craft a song. There is an infectious thread that runs from start to finish, warping, twisting and snaring you with hooks of rare power. What Kind of Love is the perfect track to begin the journey of My Machine; you'll spend a few listens getting to know this band, but then the album takes off; it possesses almost limitless replay value. If you've seen Crushed live, you'll appreciate the fact that Mike Clink's production captures Mark Lauer's stunning voice with absolute ease (Clink has worked with Guns N' Roses, Megadeth ,UFO... to name but .001% of his work).
Jesu :: Conqueror
(2007, Hydra Head)
Score: 8
Like the incomprehensible nano-matter of the Kalabi-Yau spaces of string theory, Justin Broadrick's latest Jesu album seems to inhabit one of the "higher dimensions" of the very fabric of the metal universe. While I have used the term meta-metal to describe this work, I only do so because of my fondness for Broadrick's past (namely, his band Godflesh). Think about this: there are people buying this album who may know nothing of Godflesh. For me, Broadrick's latest work is informed by his past; knowing where he's come from is what makes listening to Conqueror such a deep experience. Despite the lack of soaring emotional content that seemed to be a staple of the first two discs, this is still a work of resolute power and ethereal wandering.
Neurosis :: Given to the Rising
(2007, Neurot Recordings)
Score: 10
Unconscious and pervasive veneration of this work will be its legacy. It will influence all who hear it, whether they know it or not. Similar to Tool's 10,000 Days, or Meshuggah's Catch Thirtythr33, I find myself listening to Given to the Rising on constant loop (iPod stats are consistent and alarming: 37 on the play count for each track; nothing else has touched my ears for the last week). Beginning to end, the scope of the album is cyclopean. I'll leave it to others to talk about the history of Neurosis (for they can do it better than I). Their use of quiet/massive is in ascension here, refined in a way that sends the mind voyaging, soaring over ancient battlefields on a distant planet. Each track, epic in length and always interesting, features some of the finest "set pieces" I have ever heard: the haunting ambient intros; the aching analog psychology of the title track's quiet passages, or the chilling throat-clenching vocal of Into The Wind which literally detonates 5:31 in. Album of the Year for 2007 - but not on this planet, sadly.
Skinny Puppy :: Mythmaker
(2007, Synthetic Symphony)
Score: 8
Following up the brilliance of their prior album (The Greater Wrong of the Right) was always going to be difficult; that said, Skinny Puppy delivers another sonic masterclass of structure and chaos with Mythmaker. The mix is superb, the complexity of the electronics is awe-inspiring, and the overall effect stays true to the new direction that Skinny Puppy are pioneering. Having returned from a very dark place, this music is vital and the lyrics are important. This is an album for the iTunes visualizer + headphone crowd; a work of endless discovery. The complexity may seem overpowering, but the result is a work that grows in stature with every listen.
Nine Inch Nails :: Year Zero
(2007, Nothing Records)
Score: 9
Dark (so dark), digital and the most electronic NIN work to date, Reznor seems to have taken cues from the pantheon of electro-gods (RDJ?) and rendered a grim message; it comes from the disturbing future that many of this country's drones are currently participating in ("drones" being those people who will never read these words, nor hear any of the music described herein). In This Twilight is simply one of the finest tracks NIN has ever recorded (positioned at #15 in the sequence of 16 tracks, it has the effect of propelling you into listening to the whole album once more, if only to get back to track 15). A call to action for those who consider themselves rational, Year Zero is the most important artistic statement of 2007, and perhaps the decade. 75% (possibly more) of Reznor's speculative tale is already with us. Though it feels like science fiction, it isn't. Just listen, and look around.
Githead :: Art Pop
(2007, Swim)
Score: 8
I'm a hardcore Wire fanatic, so Colin Newman's (the vocalist for Wire) new band Githead is filling the void left by the fact that Wire can't be Wire for 365 days a year (though I get the distinct sense that something is gestating and thus looming on the Wire horizon). Art Pop is very much a progression from Githead's last outing Profile, and it is just as good. I find myself at a loss to describe this music, other than to say it is a sort of proto-pop, the well from which all pop music might have come, the aural fountain that was once hidden but which is now revealed. But this is artful, intricate, playful and decidedly thought-provoking. Which means it isn't pop music, right? I'm convinced that most of the lyrics have been cobbled together by an algorithm that pulls phrases out of the collective hive-mind of the Internet. Or it could just be Newman's penchant for exploring language ("I'm forgetting to remember / I'm remembering to forget"). Whatever Githead is, they have now proven themselves to be completely necessary.
Crushed :: My Machine
(2007, No Relief Records)
Score: 8
Crushed's new disc My Machine is a seemingly natural hybrid of Gothic subversion and the power of metal. While that may be hard to visualize, the guys in Crushed are perfectionists. You can sense it. They are musicians of the highest order, and it shows. With a massive following here in my home town, I admit to being slightly biased (you may recall guitarist/keyboardist Harry McCaleb's name in the acknowledgments section of my science fiction novel). Bias aside, Crushed have it. They know how to write music; they know how to craft a song. There is an infectious thread that runs from start to finish, warping, twisting and snaring you with hooks of rare power. What Kind of Love is the perfect track to begin the journey of My Machine; you'll spend a few listens getting to know this band, but then the album takes off; it possesses almost limitless replay value. If you've seen Crushed live, you'll appreciate the fact that Mike Clink's production captures Mark Lauer's stunning voice with absolute ease (Clink has worked with Guns N' Roses, Megadeth ,UFO... to name but .001% of his work).
Jesu :: Conqueror
(2007, Hydra Head)
Score: 8
Like the incomprehensible nano-matter of the Kalabi-Yau spaces of string theory, Justin Broadrick's latest Jesu album seems to inhabit one of the "higher dimensions" of the very fabric of the metal universe. While I have used the term meta-metal to describe this work, I only do so because of my fondness for Broadrick's past (namely, his band Godflesh). Think about this: there are people buying this album who may know nothing of Godflesh. For me, Broadrick's latest work is informed by his past; knowing where he's come from is what makes listening to Conqueror such a deep experience. Despite the lack of soaring emotional content that seemed to be a staple of the first two discs, this is still a work of resolute power and ethereal wandering.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Synesthetic Response 2
This is not review. This is response. The best night of the year has been made better by two things.
ISIS: In the Absence of Truth
(2006, Ipecac Recordings)
Score: 9
"Nothing is true, everything is permitted" is the subtitle to the new document from ISIS. After watching them battle Tool to a draw at Cricket back in September, we knew Great Sonic Things were looming, and now In the Absence of Truth is here... and it is deep. In fact, I'd wager it's one of the deepest albums ever recorded. It is the Great Wall of Sound. It is the Seventh Layer of Complexity. It is one million miles from Earth, neuro-modded and floating at L2. Be ready. This preternatural album will consume you. You will see in infrared.
Meshuggah: Nothing
(2006, Nuclear Blast)
Score: 9
What better album to listen to on Halloween? This is a "reissue" or perhaps a "remaster" or... possibly an artifact from some parallel time stream. With entirely new guitar tracks and adjusted tempos, Meshuggah has gone back in time to correct an error only a perfectionist could perceive. Nothing is the album they wanted to release, back in 2002. Causality violations aside, this is a staggering snapshot of the future of Mind. This is mathematics melding with the boiling metallic core of Jupiter. I'm at a loss, in fact, to truly describe the mechanized grandeur and power of this work. If you need a familiar reference, think of this as the prequel to 2005's Catch Thirtythr33. Singular and astonishing, Meshuggah is like no other band on the planet.
ISIS: In the Absence of Truth
(2006, Ipecac Recordings)
Score: 9
"Nothing is true, everything is permitted" is the subtitle to the new document from ISIS. After watching them battle Tool to a draw at Cricket back in September, we knew Great Sonic Things were looming, and now In the Absence of Truth is here... and it is deep. In fact, I'd wager it's one of the deepest albums ever recorded. It is the Great Wall of Sound. It is the Seventh Layer of Complexity. It is one million miles from Earth, neuro-modded and floating at L2. Be ready. This preternatural album will consume you. You will see in infrared.
Meshuggah: Nothing
(2006, Nuclear Blast)
Score: 9
What better album to listen to on Halloween? This is a "reissue" or perhaps a "remaster" or... possibly an artifact from some parallel time stream. With entirely new guitar tracks and adjusted tempos, Meshuggah has gone back in time to correct an error only a perfectionist could perceive. Nothing is the album they wanted to release, back in 2002. Causality violations aside, this is a staggering snapshot of the future of Mind. This is mathematics melding with the boiling metallic core of Jupiter. I'm at a loss, in fact, to truly describe the mechanized grandeur and power of this work. If you need a familiar reference, think of this as the prequel to 2005's Catch Thirtythr33. Singular and astonishing, Meshuggah is like no other band on the planet.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
You see... this means everything to me.
Just got back from seeing Gary Numan at Martini Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ... an astonishing performance! The material from Jagged was rendered with supreme ease, and the power of the music was on display in ways I've not previously experienced. Analog veils of piercing sound washed over the crowd - controlled and powerful. Are 'Friends' Electric? was the most extraordinary version I've yet seen Numan perform. It seemed to be a summary, of sorts. As he spoke during the interlude, the sweeping gesture he made, to his band and to us, was a summation of 25 years of mind-blowing sonic vistas. "You see," he said, "this means everything to me."
The set:
1. Intro
2. Pressure
3. RIP
4. Metal
5. Halo
6. Films
7. Slave
8. Down in the Park
9. Jagged
10. Are 'Friends' Electric?
11. In a Dark Place
12. Pure
13. Haunted
14. Prayer for the Unborn
15. Cars
16. Dark
17. Blind
The set:
1. Intro
2. Pressure
3. RIP
4. Metal
5. Halo
6. Films
7. Slave
8. Down in the Park
9. Jagged
10. Are 'Friends' Electric?
11. In a Dark Place
12. Pure
13. Haunted
14. Prayer for the Unborn
15. Cars
16. Dark
17. Blind
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
DS = Dual Sexy
On Sunday, June 11th, I picked up my Nintendo DS Lite. I think the 'S' in 'DS' might now stand for sexy. I don't often apply that term to hardware, but it certainly applies here. The default brightness level of the DS Lite is actually twice the brightness of the original unit's highest setting, and thus, warrants immediate purchase. It is curious to note that I now regret trading in various DS titles over the last few years, because no matter what you slot into the DS Lite, it seems like an entirely new gaming experience. Even venerable favorites like Advance Wars: Dual Strike seem tantalizingly refreshed. Then there are titles like Electroplankton. If you haven't already special-ordered this directly from Nintendo yet, please do so. The DS Lite's new brightness levels transform the title into a stunningly psychedelic experience. If you've ever sat in a dark room with Electroplankton fed into a hi-fi, you'll understand what I'm getting at. Those you're performing for will thank you too. Trust me.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Synesthetic Response 1
This is not review. This is response. Some of the bits below (impressions for albums from 2004) were rescued from an online forum where they were originally posted.
Tool :: 10,000 Days
(2006, Volcano)
Score: 10
We have all waited - and at last, the long emptiness is over. Tool's 10,000 Days is beyond comprehension. Having listened now over 20 times, I am still coming to grips with what Tool have bestowed upon us. The listener could get lost in the packaging itself (stereoscopic goggles are built-in) before the disc even starts. But once those first notes manifest... the story that Tool tells us is powerful, complete, unending and inscrutable. 10,000 Days is an album of unspeakable aural complexity. Astonishing vocals, hypnotic drumming, and guitar and bass work of the rarest quality. You will perceive things via headphones that can't be perceived in any other way. The album overflows with recursive details. The last third is a miracle of mood, a spiraling maelstrom of ideas and places. Right in Two is (possibly) the finest track Tool has ever recorded. Evidence of evolution. Onion peelings. The Great Beast returns. Recommendation: invest in some real headphones. This album is worth it.
Killing Joke :: Hosannas from the Basements of Hell
(2006, Cooking Vinyl)
Score: 8
Killing Joke has always had the injustices of the world in its cross-hairs, setting fire to society's greed-infused surfaces through Jaz Coleman's flame-thrower-like lyrics and vocals. On Hosannas from the Basements of Hell, Coleman is as powerful as at any moment in the band's history, but the difference this time is one of elevation. Killing Joke have gone underground - and they are tunneling at a frenetic pace. Much has been made of the ancient labyrinth of cellars in Prague where the band recorded, and the music seems to emerge from below; it echoes of the pit and instead of fire, Killing Joke is eroding the very foundations of its targets with a sonic assault. These tracks are laced with power and repetition, akin to some of Killing Joke's finest musical moments. Geordie's guitars are vital, alive, and Paul Raven's bass lines stab from the darkness. Coleman's masterful contributions on keyboard give some of the tracks a truly cinematic feel (the orchestral aspects of Invocation are mind-blowing).
Jesu :: Silver
(2006, Hydra Head)
Score: 9
It's been a while - too long, in fact, since Jesu released Jesu (or S/T, for self-titled?) in 2004 (for more on this album, scroll down a bit). Now Justin K. Broadrick has returned with Silver, and this four track EP is one of the finest pieces of modern meta-metal that I've ever heard. While Broadrick has described it as "perfect for drifting off and smoking too much dope" (he's got that right), Silver finds the overt menace and distortion of Jesu's last release toned down a bit; if the first album kept one rooted to the ground, wrapped in an ethereal battle between light and dark, Silver lets us fly into the neuro-sphere that lies between. There is a new brightness here, but the epic structure that Jesu is so fond of persists. Broadrick's vocals are filled with a distant yearning, yet they never take precedence over the music itself, which is consistent, driven, mysterious and satisfying.
Gary Numan :: Jagged
(2006, Metropolis Records)
Score: 10
Numan's new disc Jagged is an astonishing return, steeped in a well of electronic sounds that we haven't meaningfully heard since 1981's The Pleasure Principle. Numan has always had a knack for the epic - generating great analog veils of synth that send the mind into deep space. Numan is not repeating himself, however. His new tracks are given power by the past, fueled by the journey that Numan fans have been on for over 20+ years. Numan's lyrics are as thought-provoking as ever. Jagged is easily his best album of the new millennium.
ISIS :: Panopticon
(2004, Ipecac Recordings)
Score: 9
This is mesmerizing, down-tempo metal with a real wall-of-sound approach. Songs typically start slow, with some great melodic structure, and suddenly you find yourself overwhelmed with heavy, powerful guitars... like the sudden crash of a wave on the shore. I'm not surprised that ISIS toured with Jesu (Justin K. Broadrick's post-Godflesh experiment), but while Jesu is clearly the more distorted of the two bands (and the far deeper experience), ISIS are doing something wholly original. The vocals take a back seat here, but the power of the guitars, and the supremely listenable wall-of-sound methodology has kept this album in weekly rotation on my iPod.
And speaking of Jesu...
Jesu :: Jesu
(or S/T)
(2004, Hydra Head)
Score: 10
This is what happens when metal meets the metaphysical. Meta-metal, perhaps. If I had to choose one word to describe Justin K. Broadrick's new project, that word would be... beautiful. The music is heavy, driving, and yet pleasingly listenable - soaring, at times, into a dark, down-tempo stratosphere of melodic, flickering intrigue. This is music for standing on a dark cliff, with a cool wind on your face. The vocals are haunting, and filled with a sense of anticipation, though Broadrick does sound a bit like Nyarlathotep (the Creeping Chaos from Lovecraft's canon, and thus, Godflesh of old) on track 7 - men/women - rendering a savagely heavy portrait, in a mere 9:29, of what Godflesh might have sounded like had they progressed further into the 21st century (at the 5:53 mark, it sounds as if Godflesh itself suddenly manifests, with their classic, loping, bass-grinding gait). With no track less than 9 minutes, Jesu is a triumph for Godflesh fans, and perhaps a scintillating new experience for those willing to listen. What it does differently than Godflesh is embrace an exploration of space, both real and imagined. Perhaps the influence of Loop can still be heard here (for Robert Hampson was once a member of Godflesh). Repetition leads to breakthrough.
Skinny Puppy :: The Greater Wrong of the Right
(2004, Hunter)
Score: 10
Deep, thought-provoking electronic/industrial soundscapes, rich in texture, overflowing with complex imagery. Listen with headphones. Admission: I have no "favorite" Skinny Puppy album. I really love them all. They are each unique documents, and comparing them, especially to one another, somehow seems disrespectful. These guys have always been on another plane of existence. We're just lucky they've returned; and fortunate that they've brought something back with them... something darkly terrible, wonderful, and purely evolutionary.
Tool :: 10,000 Days
(2006, Volcano)
Score: 10
We have all waited - and at last, the long emptiness is over. Tool's 10,000 Days is beyond comprehension. Having listened now over 20 times, I am still coming to grips with what Tool have bestowed upon us. The listener could get lost in the packaging itself (stereoscopic goggles are built-in) before the disc even starts. But once those first notes manifest... the story that Tool tells us is powerful, complete, unending and inscrutable. 10,000 Days is an album of unspeakable aural complexity. Astonishing vocals, hypnotic drumming, and guitar and bass work of the rarest quality. You will perceive things via headphones that can't be perceived in any other way. The album overflows with recursive details. The last third is a miracle of mood, a spiraling maelstrom of ideas and places. Right in Two is (possibly) the finest track Tool has ever recorded. Evidence of evolution. Onion peelings. The Great Beast returns. Recommendation: invest in some real headphones. This album is worth it.
Killing Joke :: Hosannas from the Basements of Hell
(2006, Cooking Vinyl)
Score: 8
Killing Joke has always had the injustices of the world in its cross-hairs, setting fire to society's greed-infused surfaces through Jaz Coleman's flame-thrower-like lyrics and vocals. On Hosannas from the Basements of Hell, Coleman is as powerful as at any moment in the band's history, but the difference this time is one of elevation. Killing Joke have gone underground - and they are tunneling at a frenetic pace. Much has been made of the ancient labyrinth of cellars in Prague where the band recorded, and the music seems to emerge from below; it echoes of the pit and instead of fire, Killing Joke is eroding the very foundations of its targets with a sonic assault. These tracks are laced with power and repetition, akin to some of Killing Joke's finest musical moments. Geordie's guitars are vital, alive, and Paul Raven's bass lines stab from the darkness. Coleman's masterful contributions on keyboard give some of the tracks a truly cinematic feel (the orchestral aspects of Invocation are mind-blowing).
Jesu :: Silver
(2006, Hydra Head)
Score: 9
It's been a while - too long, in fact, since Jesu released Jesu (or S/T, for self-titled?) in 2004 (for more on this album, scroll down a bit). Now Justin K. Broadrick has returned with Silver, and this four track EP is one of the finest pieces of modern meta-metal that I've ever heard. While Broadrick has described it as "perfect for drifting off and smoking too much dope" (he's got that right), Silver finds the overt menace and distortion of Jesu's last release toned down a bit; if the first album kept one rooted to the ground, wrapped in an ethereal battle between light and dark, Silver lets us fly into the neuro-sphere that lies between. There is a new brightness here, but the epic structure that Jesu is so fond of persists. Broadrick's vocals are filled with a distant yearning, yet they never take precedence over the music itself, which is consistent, driven, mysterious and satisfying.
Gary Numan :: Jagged
(2006, Metropolis Records)
Score: 10
Numan's new disc Jagged is an astonishing return, steeped in a well of electronic sounds that we haven't meaningfully heard since 1981's The Pleasure Principle. Numan has always had a knack for the epic - generating great analog veils of synth that send the mind into deep space. Numan is not repeating himself, however. His new tracks are given power by the past, fueled by the journey that Numan fans have been on for over 20+ years. Numan's lyrics are as thought-provoking as ever. Jagged is easily his best album of the new millennium.
ISIS :: Panopticon
(2004, Ipecac Recordings)
Score: 9
This is mesmerizing, down-tempo metal with a real wall-of-sound approach. Songs typically start slow, with some great melodic structure, and suddenly you find yourself overwhelmed with heavy, powerful guitars... like the sudden crash of a wave on the shore. I'm not surprised that ISIS toured with Jesu (Justin K. Broadrick's post-Godflesh experiment), but while Jesu is clearly the more distorted of the two bands (and the far deeper experience), ISIS are doing something wholly original. The vocals take a back seat here, but the power of the guitars, and the supremely listenable wall-of-sound methodology has kept this album in weekly rotation on my iPod.
And speaking of Jesu...
Jesu :: Jesu
(or S/T)
(2004, Hydra Head)
Score: 10
This is what happens when metal meets the metaphysical. Meta-metal, perhaps. If I had to choose one word to describe Justin K. Broadrick's new project, that word would be... beautiful. The music is heavy, driving, and yet pleasingly listenable - soaring, at times, into a dark, down-tempo stratosphere of melodic, flickering intrigue. This is music for standing on a dark cliff, with a cool wind on your face. The vocals are haunting, and filled with a sense of anticipation, though Broadrick does sound a bit like Nyarlathotep (the Creeping Chaos from Lovecraft's canon, and thus, Godflesh of old) on track 7 - men/women - rendering a savagely heavy portrait, in a mere 9:29, of what Godflesh might have sounded like had they progressed further into the 21st century (at the 5:53 mark, it sounds as if Godflesh itself suddenly manifests, with their classic, loping, bass-grinding gait). With no track less than 9 minutes, Jesu is a triumph for Godflesh fans, and perhaps a scintillating new experience for those willing to listen. What it does differently than Godflesh is embrace an exploration of space, both real and imagined. Perhaps the influence of Loop can still be heard here (for Robert Hampson was once a member of Godflesh). Repetition leads to breakthrough.
Skinny Puppy :: The Greater Wrong of the Right
(2004, Hunter)
Score: 10
Deep, thought-provoking electronic/industrial soundscapes, rich in texture, overflowing with complex imagery. Listen with headphones. Admission: I have no "favorite" Skinny Puppy album. I really love them all. They are each unique documents, and comparing them, especially to one another, somehow seems disrespectful. These guys have always been on another plane of existence. We're just lucky they've returned; and fortunate that they've brought something back with them... something darkly terrible, wonderful, and purely evolutionary.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Night of the Hunters
I've just been playing Metroid Prime: Hunters on the Nintendo DS. Some of you may be in possession of the (collectible?) MP:H demo game-card (First Hunt) that was included with all Nintendo DS launch systems. If so, you'll appreciate just how far MP:H has come. If not, you're in for an extraordinary experience.
What can you expect? On a presentational level, this game sets a standard. The sound is futuristic, highly evolved. The music flows directly from the Gamecube editions of this series; it's dark, brooding and mysterious. The visuals are extraordinary. You won't quite believe what you're seeing on the DS screens. The framerate is glorious. The environments are breathtaking.
As I often do with Wi-Fi DS games, the first thing I did after booting was log in for some multi-player action. Within a minute or so I found myself in combat. Flawless. I got my ass handed to me 7 to 2, but that had more to do with the fact that I hadn't configured the controls to my liking (should have set it up prior to logging in - let that be a lesson to you all).
The menu systems are excellent, and though wholly focussed on the stylus user or thumb navigator, you can still get around with the control pad and buttons - quickly and without error.
I've only just dug into the single-player experience (and having glanced at the guide, there were 60+ pages of walkthrough). It seems deep, with hundreds of Logbook Entries (creatures, events, places, objects). In multi-player, there are 26 arenas. This game has some longevity built-in.
There is a welcome feature in multi-player that has been missing from prior Wi-Fi DS games - the ability to instantly log an opposing player as a "rival" so you can search for them online at a later time. The system still uses Friend Codes, and features a Hunter's License to track your rank and progress. It logs wins in all game variations, connection history, win ratio, win streak, "lucky" arena, favorite weapon, headshot kills, favorite mode, biped kills, alt-form kills, kill streak, Wi-Fi and wireless play time and total game time. I suspect there may be more. The game features a large list of unlockables. There is also an interesting mode called Rival Radar - which puts your DS into a sort of waking-dream mode. As you make your way in the real world, your DS is scanning your surroundings for other DS owners who happen to have their own DS in Rival Radar mode; if two or more DS units locate each other, "rival" data and Hunter Licenses are exchanged. Next time you look at your rivals roster, it will have grown.
For now that's all I can relate. I need to dig deeper. It is time for battle.
What can you expect? On a presentational level, this game sets a standard. The sound is futuristic, highly evolved. The music flows directly from the Gamecube editions of this series; it's dark, brooding and mysterious. The visuals are extraordinary. You won't quite believe what you're seeing on the DS screens. The framerate is glorious. The environments are breathtaking.
As I often do with Wi-Fi DS games, the first thing I did after booting was log in for some multi-player action. Within a minute or so I found myself in combat. Flawless. I got my ass handed to me 7 to 2, but that had more to do with the fact that I hadn't configured the controls to my liking (should have set it up prior to logging in - let that be a lesson to you all).
The menu systems are excellent, and though wholly focussed on the stylus user or thumb navigator, you can still get around with the control pad and buttons - quickly and without error.
I've only just dug into the single-player experience (and having glanced at the guide, there were 60+ pages of walkthrough). It seems deep, with hundreds of Logbook Entries (creatures, events, places, objects). In multi-player, there are 26 arenas. This game has some longevity built-in.
There is a welcome feature in multi-player that has been missing from prior Wi-Fi DS games - the ability to instantly log an opposing player as a "rival" so you can search for them online at a later time. The system still uses Friend Codes, and features a Hunter's License to track your rank and progress. It logs wins in all game variations, connection history, win ratio, win streak, "lucky" arena, favorite weapon, headshot kills, favorite mode, biped kills, alt-form kills, kill streak, Wi-Fi and wireless play time and total game time. I suspect there may be more. The game features a large list of unlockables. There is also an interesting mode called Rival Radar - which puts your DS into a sort of waking-dream mode. As you make your way in the real world, your DS is scanning your surroundings for other DS owners who happen to have their own DS in Rival Radar mode; if two or more DS units locate each other, "rival" data and Hunter Licenses are exchanged. Next time you look at your rivals roster, it will have grown.
For now that's all I can relate. I need to dig deeper. It is time for battle.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Age of Microsoft
I don't normally partake of anything Microsoft in my personal life, but Age of Empires DS: Age of Kings seemed like a winner. The maddening nature of RTS games had been jettisoned in favor of the elegance of turn-based combat. Being a huge fan of Advance Wars: Dual Strike (still the superior title), I used some trade at EB Games to pick up AOE:DS.
During the Battle of the River Crossings in Japan (1159-1160), I faced a fearsome opponent: Yoshinaka, a distant cousin who'd led a surprising revolt against the ruling Taira. Little did I know, he was in league with the dark forces of Microsoft. As I took the main bridges, cornering him, he used his special power: CRASH THE NINTENDO DS SYSTEM.
Now, admittedly, all the commanding officers in the game have special powers - but this is just ridiculous, wouldn't you say? I suppose the Mark of the Beast (Microsoft logo) on the packaging should have been a warning.
To be honest, I don't even want to play the game anymore. I have never had a hand-held game crash on me. Ever. In my whole life. From the thumb-battering Mattel blip-fests of the 70s to the Lynx and a whole slew of Gameboys, not once have I seen a game freeze. Reports on the web have revealed that this crash can cause a fatal error in the gamecard. It can never be used again. My own gamecard seems to function after a hard reset. Others haven't been so lucky.
So where do I want to go today? How about to a planet that isn't infested by Microsoft? Or perhaps back to EB Games, before my copy of Age of Empires DS is... history.
During the Battle of the River Crossings in Japan (1159-1160), I faced a fearsome opponent: Yoshinaka, a distant cousin who'd led a surprising revolt against the ruling Taira. Little did I know, he was in league with the dark forces of Microsoft. As I took the main bridges, cornering him, he used his special power: CRASH THE NINTENDO DS SYSTEM.
Now, admittedly, all the commanding officers in the game have special powers - but this is just ridiculous, wouldn't you say? I suppose the Mark of the Beast (Microsoft logo) on the packaging should have been a warning.
To be honest, I don't even want to play the game anymore. I have never had a hand-held game crash on me. Ever. In my whole life. From the thumb-battering Mattel blip-fests of the 70s to the Lynx and a whole slew of Gameboys, not once have I seen a game freeze. Reports on the web have revealed that this crash can cause a fatal error in the gamecard. It can never be used again. My own gamecard seems to function after a hard reset. Others haven't been so lucky.
So where do I want to go today? How about to a planet that isn't infested by Microsoft? Or perhaps back to EB Games, before my copy of Age of Empires DS is... history.
New Word: copstipation
Main Entry: cop-sti-pa-tion
Function: noun
Date: 21st century (2/23/2006)
1: abnormally delayed or infrequent lane changes usually caused by the presence of a police car on the freeway.
This has got to be the single most irritating phenomenon on the freeways. In my experience, it seems that highway patrol cars tend to exceed the speed limit (obviously in pursuit of evil). Yet, a large number of police cruisers (attempting to avoid their crime-fighting duties on surface streets) drive approximately 1 or more miles under the posted speed limit on the freeway. The clog of moronic drivers (terrified to "pass") that collect behind this police cruiser is completely maddening. One is forced to contemplate this passive-agressive stance on the part of the city police. What message, exactly, are they trying to send us through this behavior?
Function: noun
Date: 21st century (2/23/2006)
1: abnormally delayed or infrequent lane changes usually caused by the presence of a police car on the freeway.
This has got to be the single most irritating phenomenon on the freeways. In my experience, it seems that highway patrol cars tend to exceed the speed limit (obviously in pursuit of evil). Yet, a large number of police cruisers (attempting to avoid their crime-fighting duties on surface streets) drive approximately 1 or more miles under the posted speed limit on the freeway. The clog of moronic drivers (terrified to "pass") that collect behind this police cruiser is completely maddening. One is forced to contemplate this passive-agressive stance on the part of the city police. What message, exactly, are they trying to send us through this behavior?
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Intelligent Warming?
Is anyone else amused when evangelical Christians suddenly embrace science? Why this sudden fear of global temperature increase? It was in the news this week - a consortium of evangelicals have united against this human-generated apocalypse. But why now? I'm tempted to say its because of all the SUVs they've purchased to haul around their personal Armies for Jesus (e.g., their brainwashed children). Are they feeling the pang of personal responsibility instead of hiding behind their faith?
This reminds me of the bumper-based war of pursuasion that rages on our roads and highways. First came the Christian fish symbol - an identity badge. I am not sure why it became important to announce one's faith to other motorists, but I suspect it may act as a warning for the rest of us. The response of the rationals was to give the Christian fish legs and place the word Darwin inside the body. The Christians, without much thought, responded by forcing their fish to consume the legged fish of Darwin, while also placing the word Truth inside the body of their icon. Clearly, the debate, if it could be called that at all, died at this moment, since the Christians stole a concept from biology ("the big fish eat the little fish") and thus, seem to have inadvertantly defended Darwin's ideas about natrual selection. It seems logical that if you reject the life sciences, you can't in turn leverage the life sciences to make some sort of point about an irrational worldview. As the evangelicals continue their bid to repurpose our language (e.g., turning theory into a naughty word), they also seem quite willing to repurpose science to do their own, inscrutable bidding.
This reminds me of the bumper-based war of pursuasion that rages on our roads and highways. First came the Christian fish symbol - an identity badge. I am not sure why it became important to announce one's faith to other motorists, but I suspect it may act as a warning for the rest of us. The response of the rationals was to give the Christian fish legs and place the word Darwin inside the body. The Christians, without much thought, responded by forcing their fish to consume the legged fish of Darwin, while also placing the word Truth inside the body of their icon. Clearly, the debate, if it could be called that at all, died at this moment, since the Christians stole a concept from biology ("the big fish eat the little fish") and thus, seem to have inadvertantly defended Darwin's ideas about natrual selection. It seems logical that if you reject the life sciences, you can't in turn leverage the life sciences to make some sort of point about an irrational worldview. As the evangelicals continue their bid to repurpose our language (e.g., turning theory into a naughty word), they also seem quite willing to repurpose science to do their own, inscrutable bidding.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Sunday, October 23, 2005
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