Music: Recently I've been listening to a band I've heard about for months, but only lately have heard. They're called The Mars Volta, and they're amazing. If you're into well-written, hard rocking, head-nodding music with more breakdowns and bridges than a Beck album (no joke), give them a listen. I wouldn't call them heavy, but they certainly have their moments. I downloaded their only release, "De-Loused in the Comatorium," a concept album that defies description. Take this, from their site:
"Julio Venegas, an artist from El Paso, Texas, committed suicide in 1996. A free spirit and noted provocateur, 'He was definitely someone who lived life to the fullest,' remembers his friend, Cedric Bixler Zavala. 'Toward the end, he acquired a really bad limp from being in a coma. He had tons of scars all over his body and some of his closer friends used to call him Frankenstein. He had big cut marks on his throat, welts and bruises and bumps, and his arm had been shriveled up from shooting up rat poison. He acquired so many scars it was like a walking map.'
When Cedric sang for At The Drive-In, he wrote a lyric--‘Embroglio’ on 1996’s Acrobatic Tenement--about Venegas, who had killed himself while that band were rehearsing. 'I didn’t feel it really did him justice,' he continues, 'I felt like a whole record should be dedicated to him.'
That record is De-Loused In The Comatorium, the astonishing first album by The Mars Volta. De-Loused In The Comatorium is an iridescent, fearless, brain-busting hour of music, a fictionalized celebration of Julio Venegas’ life. Based on a story written by Cedric, it is a concept album in which the hero tries to commit suicide by overdosing on morphine. Instead of dying, he falls into a coma for a week, and experiences fantastic adventures in his dreams, elemental battles between the good and bad aspects of his conscience. At the end, he emerges from the coma, but chooses to die."
Holy crap, what a great album. If you appreciate good music, if you consider yourself a music fan, you have to give it a try. I recognize it's not for everyone, but I'm in love with it.
OK, that being said, one of my favorite bands, one which happens to be from my home state, Grüvis Malt, is putting forth a new album. "Simon" will be released on May 21st at their cd release party at the Green Room in Providence. It's $8. GO!! Support them! They deserve all the recognition and credit. They're an amazing band with tight ties to their fans and a fun, energetic live show. Talk about worth your money... pay the $8, and bring another $20 to spend on their albums alone. Seriously... I can't wait.
Politics: I've been told that a vote for Bush in November is essentially a vote for a draft by February. That sucks. Don't vote for Bush. Please don't vote for Bush. The draft is being considered because of the mess he's gotten this country into. Our troops are being stretched thin (a friend of mine, a resident on my floor, will be in "the big sandbox" some time in June) and they're hardly adequately protected. Don't let this administration get away with it. We can't try them for war crimes, and impeachment, however well-merited, is difficult and improbable (remember.... Congress is Republican). So, do not vote for him. Please. Or else I'll be forced to burn my draft card and move to Europe. As wonderful as that would be, I don't want to move to Europe. But I don't want to die in a Wall Street war, either.
"People have not been horrified by war to a sufficient extent ... War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige as the warrior does today."--John Fitzgerald Kennedy
