May 2023 – Fooyah – Ian Parish

May 30 2023May 26 2023

Zombie Live – Rob Zombie

I’ve seen Rob Zombie live. At M’era Luna one year. It was a really good show. I couldn’t tell you if this album is a good one but I expect it is. You would only really publish a live album if you thought it was worth it and well produced. Sometimes I think there is too much Zombie on my phone.

The more important fact about this album is that it is the last in the current round of album reviews. I started this just over ten years ago on 28 April 2013 with a communication about AC/DC’s Live At Donington Album. Zombie Live is the last. Ten years and the idea was that writing about albums would give me something to write even when I didn’t have anything going on or thoughts I wanted to get out there. In those ten years I’ve been through a lot. Ten years is a long time really. It’s also roughly the length of time that my music taste has diverted off into electro-industrial, aggrotech and EBM. So, guess what? I’ve bought new albums!

There will be a second round of album reviews, this time covering albums by bands I’ve discovered in the last ten years. Some albums have already been reviewed and so that causes a mild problem as I will have to check this site before writing the next review. I might try and indicate where the review did happen in the before-times. So, the next round of album reviews will cover bands like the following:

Aesthetic Perfect
Combichrist
Hocico
:SITD:
Wumpscut

I might manage to get this round of reviews done before the ten years is up. It depends on when I get time to edit this thing. I’ve been distracting myself with Fortnite, flight sims and cadet stuff.

May 29 2023June 3 2023

You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby – Fatboy Slim

You know what? I like this album. I know it’s not my normal level of stuff but the way it’s mixed and the hooks and beats are impressive. Teenage me would have hated this as it’s just taking other people’s work and making it your own but that feels like cheating. Older me appreciates that if it emotionally affects you then it’s probably a good piece of music. I guess it could make you happy or even sad, both of those outcomes would still make it an impressive piece of music.

Right here, right now
The Rockafeller Skank
In Heaven
Praise you

These are the songs that stand out when looking through the track listing. It doesn’t mean that these are the only ones I like. Just that these are the ones I know and could probably name if I had them playing. I suppose a good video – Praise You – helps a song too!

May 28 2023May 26 2023

Youthanasia – Megadeth

Youthanasia is not on my phone. This album list is made from a list on my network drive provided by my Sonos system. There are two areas of music on my NAS drive. One area is my iTunes library which is synchronised with my phone and the other area is music I could possibly listen to when I’m at home but don’t want on my phone. I suppose I should probably update my Sonos listing a little as I’ve not done a hardware update communication for a while. Things have slowly changed since the last comm. The fact that this album does not appear on my phone gives you all the information to understand what I think of it.

May 27 2023June 3 2023

Zeit – Rammstein

This is the latest – at time of writing – offering by Rammstein. It’s a very good, well crafted album. The problem is I don’t think I’ve listened to it enough to know all the songs. Here’s the thing with Rammstein. You know what you are getting and you know it will be excellent. There will be heavy riffage and amazing vocals with little bits of genius keyboard. They make great music. So, even without actually knowing all the details of this album I’m going to say it’s brilliant. Because it will be.

May 26 2023

You Goddamned Son Of A Bitch (Live) – Revolting Cocks

This band are part of the godfathers of industrial. Beers, Steers and Queers was the first RevCo song that I heard and got me into them. I probably bought this album to see what their other stuff sounded like. It’s great. I saw this band live at Infest Festival and they were pretty good there too.

This album has songs such as; We Shall Cleanse The World, 38, Attack Ships On Fire, Union Carbide, and No Devotion. All of these are great and I highly recommend all the Revolting Cocks back catalogue to you.

May 21 2023

Third Or Fourth Time

So, I’ve had Covid, again. I felt utter rubbish a week ago and after a couple of days, before going back to work I decided to use one of my few covid tests. It turned out to be positive, which was a bit of a surprise. There followed five days of isolation. I got better slowly and have reached the point when I hope my viral load is low enough not to infect other people. I would say that I felt like poo for around six days. I slept a lot. Had a headache. Ached. I think I feel fine now, but am worried about some longer lasting effects. I want to have a run but I am actually quite bothered that my lungs aren’t up for it.

To pass the time I’ve been playing computer games and working through some television series. I’ve played Gran Turismo, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Minecraft Dungeons. I’ve also been flying around the world in X-Plane flight simulator. It’s an on-going project and I am flying up the eastern seaboard of the USA. I’ve just landed in Nantucket. Next is probably Boston or maybe Nova Scotia.

The television shows I’ve watched have been The Last Of Us. Which I enjoyed about fifty percent of. I’m not sure it’s as great as I had heard. I think the world gets caught up on memes a lot now. For instance I’ve not watched Tiger King or Squid Games. I’d rather wait and watch this stuff in my own time, I don’t like getting carried away with the hype. I have historically found that hyped shows and films turn out to be not good. I’ve also watched the first season of Altered Carbon, which was good looking although I needed pins and yarn to keep up with whatever the fuck was happening. Oddly in that series the best character is not the lead but a hotel.

I’ve been reading too. I spend around an hour on each activity and then circle around the things I’m doing. Adding stuff on this site is also a good distraction from time. I read Beneath the World, a Sea, by Chris Beckett and I can honestly say it was one of the most disturbing books I’ve read for a while. I will liken it to Heart Of Darkness although I am pretty sure someone else will have made that comparison before me. I really enjoyed the book and will be buying more by the same author. I’m just about to start a book about a scientific look at psychology and what pseudoscience there may be used around the world.

While doing boring house stuff I’ve been listening to podcasts and one of the main ones I’ve been enjoying is The Curious Cases Of Rutherford and Fry. It’s a short podcast covering science stuff and answering listener questions each episode. It’s a delight and the relationship between the presenters and producer is excellent. I was aware of both presenters before the podcast having read books by Rutherford and watched some TV by Fry. In a recent episode Hannah Fry asked people to download an app to their phone to help scientists model a pandemic outbreak. This freaked me the fuck out and I looked at the date of transmission and it was either December 2017 or January 2018. What the actual fuck?!

I know science has spent a lot of time looking at pandemics and how they spread. But this seemed prescient. Although, ask a thousand questions and eventually one will seem important. To think of what we’ve been through since the end of 2017 and the struggles the world has faced. How many people died because of Covid and the people who couldn’t see each other. It’s been horrific. There is a television programme associated with the science study and it’s called Contagion, because of course it is, and was broadcast or streamed on BBC4. It’s not available at the moment on iPlayer but I am definitely going to watch it. To see what happens.

May 19 2023August 9 2023

First Flight – It’s A Place

As part of my journey around the world in a flight simulator I am heading up the eastern seaboard of the USA. I’ve just left Florida and was looking for another place to land when I saw an airstrip called First Flight. This made sense when I looked on a map as it is at Kitty Hawk Sands in North Carolina. I landed at the airport and then saw something so I taxied my plane to it.

X-Plane - I Went There — X-Plane – I Went There

Hopefully the plane has off-road capability. After the flight I looked this stuff up and it’s all monuments to the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight. I’m impressed with the scenery in the simulator. The only thing it doesn’t get right is the grass being a shit colour instead of green.

I’m slightly amused by the monument as there is a road in a circle around it so you don’t have to walk around the thing. Just park up somewhere and see it from a distance.

I landed on runway 21 and then taxied up to the monument which was a bit cheeky really. My next flight is going to be over Norfolk Navy base and then maybe on to Washington DC to see what the scenery there looks like. I don’t think it’s going to be too long before I’m back home and at RAF valley where this thing started.

May 18 2023May 19 2023

Ron DeSantis’ Florida

As part of my around-the-world tour I have made it to Florida. Currently, the state is suffering from what we would call – WLS – or wanker leader syndrome. It’s a shame really. I really liked my time there at the Kennedy Space Center, but I don’t think I’d want to visit now. Other places with more liberal laws can have my money.

Nasa VAB - Kennedy Space Centre — Nasa VAB – Kennedy Space Centre

May 17 2023June 8 2023

It’s Gotta Hurt

I was playing some Team Rumble mode Fortnite the other day trying to get headshots with an assault rifle for some stupid quest. Then I got Thundersticked.

I died shortly after that. But not from the stick through the chest!!

May 16 2023

Worship Music – Anthrax

This is quite a good album but I couldn’t tell you anything more than that. I bought this after meeting someone at a Testament gig and they mentioned it was a worthwhile purchase. I have played this a few times but, for me, there’s nothing as memorable as the other albums I’ve got by Anthrax.

May 14 2023August 9 2023

Rendition Flight

I’m flying around the world in my Flight Sim – X-Plane. There are communications giving my progress, but I’m in the Caribbean at the moment heading to that hellscape that is Florida. I think my last stop before USA [again] is Havana. But, and this is the most important bit, I landed at Guantanamo Bay air station from the Turks and Caicos. I was in a little private jet and somehow it seemed fitting to land there and then depart quite quickly. I left my cargo there to be abused of process and tortured.

Tripping over Cuba — Aircraft flying over Cuba. Heading to Havana.

The things the “west” have done over the last thirty years distress me immensely. I have a suspicion that if I looked at most of history I would find that it’s all rather terrible and the “west” has pretty much fucked everything up. Anyway, onto Florida where the current governor has banned medical help for women and trans people because – fuck you. I don’t understand people full of hate.

May 9 2023May 8 2023

World Painted Blood – Slayer

There are some Slayer albums that I’ve listened to a lot. This is not one of them. I hate to say it but after a time the output of Slayer merges into one sort of sound and I can’t really tell the songs apart. It’s not just Slayer – it’s all bands. I think they produce some excellent early work when they are refining working together and then it’s pretty much down hill after that. I don’t want to listen to the fourteenth Iron Maiden album which sounds just like the 13th. I want power and interest. Having said that AC/DC pretty much never changed their style and I like nearly all their albums. I have no idea why that is.

May 8 2023

Conflicted

I recently found out that I will be getting a medal for the coronation that took place two days ago as I write this. I already have a jubilee medal and the requirements were very similar – basically have been involved for more than five years. These medals spark some very uncomfortable feelings in me. I am a republican and so wearing these seems to signal my appreciation of the monarchy and all they stand for. I haven’t really done anything to deserve the medal. No one died, no one fought, I haven’t contributed to the country any more than in my little corner of the globe. I don’t feel I deserve a medal when compared to members of the armed forces who have most definitely earnt them.

There are other very strong feelings and thoughts about the history of this country and the medals we give out. For instance, if you are “recognised” you might receive an OBE. This is something along the lines of Order of the British Empire. The British Empire. Still, in 2023. Britain banging on about the Empire. The Empire – the forced colonialisation of most of the world. The death and slavery caused by the Empire is something to be atoned for. The Empire was a racist march over lands used by others to steal and enrich this country. The current wealth of the country owes itself to the racism and wankership of our ancestors. Britain pillaged the world for it’s own gain and now it likes to stand on its crumbling step calling out others for being a little naughty.

The coronation puts on show all of the things that annoy me. A hereditary system of governance, plenty of religion, racists [mainly the current government but also most institutions], stupid symbolism, overt displays of stolen wealth, pomp and ceremony as if that makes a difference. What a load of shit.

So I am conflicted. The cognitive dissonance I employ is strong. Fortunately I only need to wear the medals two or three times a year. I will. But not as an endorsement, as a symbol of the recognition of my time spent messing around in the CCF.

May 6 2023

Wolfmother – Wolfmother

I nearly bought this album when I was in Melbourne, Australia. I think I was in a Blockbuster there and having a movie day because nearly three weeks on holiday was quite hard work. I’m not sure why I didn’t buy the CD but I ordered it when I got home. It’s a great album. A mix of Sabbath and Zeppelin. I really like it. They deserved to do well with this one.

Fair use, Link

May 6 2023

Just Another List

I’ve always enjoyed playing computer/console type games. Ever since the classic Commodore 64 with Chuckie Egg and Manic Miner. So, here’s some of the recent games I am enjoying:

Fortnite
Minecraft
Gran Turismo
Minecraft Dungeons
X-Plane

I tend to have quite a bit of imposter syndrome so I think if I was asked I would say that I’m not a gamer. But then I have nearly 800 hours on Minecraft so maybe I am.