A rustling can be heard in the hedges of Irish Independent music, something wicked this way comes. Wicked in the mid 90’s skateboard slang sense of the word obviously, because Dublin based alt-rock band ABAM definitely have a bright future ahead of them. With the surge in popularity in Irish bands at the moment every musician wants their moment in the spotlight based on similarly commercial music. The fresh, experimental and yet progressive quality to ABAM separates them from the rest as they create something completely new for the Dublin scene. Their sound is almost indescribable as every song you hear offers something different, from catchy riffs that cause uncontrollable dancing to exploratory music with hyper-speed drumming that draw some comparison to bands like The Mars Volta. Cynics may say this is not a band for the present but regardless, they are a band for the future. Connected caught up with Neil Adams (guitar) and Kev Curran (drums) at a recent show to chat about the next steps in the ABAM journey.
Hi Guys, Great show! You seem to lose yourselves in the music on stage. Do you pride yourselves on live performances?
Neil: I think our live shows are the most important thing of all. We have been in the studio and recorded a few EPs but when we are jamming and rehearsing its all about getting right for the next show.
Is the imagery on stage important to you?
Kev: Do you mean Neil’s green Pants? (Laughter ensues)
Neil: yeah, the green pants are very important! We like to wear bright colours and just get crazy on stage, Its not just about public perception but about our own comfort on stage.
You have two more shows in the next month, so you are very busy with gigs. Are you concentrating on that predominantly or is an album a priority?
Neil: At the moment we are still writing the album, and the gigs we are doing give us the chance to test and develop new material. We plan to record before the start of June so it should be finished by the summertime
Kev: We aren’t quite sure WHERE we are going to record it yet…
Neil: Yeah but its going to be mega!
Kev: It’s going to be awesome!
You spent some time recording in the States last summer too. What did you take from the experience?
Kev: It was deadly. (Again, laughter ensues)
Neil: We went to Los Angeles, had a great time and got to play some live shows over there too and count ourselves really lucky that we got the opportunity. We even got a chance to record with Jimmy Coup and Rich Mouser in the Mouse House Studios, which may I add was the absolute nicest studio I have ever been in! It had swimming pools and numerous bedrooms, even though I didn’t have my own room…
Any Plans to return?
Kev: Yeah definitely, we’d like to organise some sort of tour up the east or west coast.
Neil: We don’t want to just stay in one place like we did in LA, we want our next trip over to be a bit more…Scattered.
Neil, with you and Connor being brothers, do creative differences ever take a more personal twist?
Kev: No way! They have some sort of weird telepathy. They both understand instantly what the other is doing; they don’t even have to talk about it. They just start playing and, it just works. It’s like magic pours out of both guitars!
Neil: I don’t know about that! It is great how we compliment each other though. Like, when one of us writes a riff the other would instinctively know what we both think would sound cool playing over it.
Kev: I don’t understand how you two do it at all. When you listen to each of their contributions singled out on their own, they sound completely wrong for each other. But when you put them both together, it mixes perfectly.
A lot of your influences come from video games which is shown in lyrics and song titles such as Red Shell. Are video games a big part of your life or childhood?
Neil: I just bought an N64 with Goldeneye and Mario Kart!
So it’s still a huge influence today?
Neil: Absolutely. I had recently bought Mortal Kombat and all through the following nights gig I was thinking about doing Fatalities, so much so that my antics on stage led to me falling over an amp during a song. I had to stay lying on the amp until we finished!
Kev: Goldeneye is great for nostalgic reasons and it paved the way for Halo and Call Of Duty which I love.
Neil: The classic stuff will always be my favourite. In fact, one of our songs is named after the SNES game “Zombies ate my Neighbours” which is crazy because we play the song so much I forgot about the origin of its name.
Kev: That new game Left for Dead is pretty cool too.
It looks like you guys have a plethora of resources still untapped!
We will never get tired of writing music about computer games. Ever.
ABAM will be playing the Twisted Pepper on the 30th of April; alternatively you can check them out at http://www.myspace.com/ABAMband.
Words by Dave Quinn
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Connector.ie Meet Up Number 8 - Review
The connector meet-ups organised by Conor Lynch are designed to encourage self motivated independent professionals to mingle on an informal basis with the hopes of gaining interest in each others work. They all want to help each other, which is a rare yet vital commodity for Dublin’s Independent circuit. Connectors Meet Up No.8 which took place in Renards Bar on Fredrick Street, Dublin on Thursday 26th of March, stirred up quite an amount of interest with more than one hundred people in attendance. The event was extremely well organised, with sponsorship from Bulmers and Ben and Jerrys, who had promotions in house to further advertise the event.
The night began as a social experience with people given time to take initiative in making important introductions to other attendees. After sufficient time was given to this clever yet possible unscripted process, presentations began. The Highlight of these was without doubt Co-creator and CEO of Daft.ie Eamon Fallon, who gave a descriptive insight into his professional career from school to his current position. The presentation was highly motivating for anyone with desires to create a website and inspiring to those who have attempted yet become disillusioned. The following section of the night was the open-mic style presentations, with members given the opportunity to present and promote themselves or their business for one minute. Everyone from PR companies to photographers took the stage and gained great exposure.
In a nutshell, the event was successful in regards to the publicity it received, with the turn-out being exceptional. The presentations and general social interaction of the people was also a very positive step for Connector. With the popularity and content of the site growing rapidly, I guarantee this is still only the beginning. Given time there will be no need to keep your ear to the ground as Connector.ie will be louder than ever.
The night began as a social experience with people given time to take initiative in making important introductions to other attendees. After sufficient time was given to this clever yet possible unscripted process, presentations began. The Highlight of these was without doubt Co-creator and CEO of Daft.ie Eamon Fallon, who gave a descriptive insight into his professional career from school to his current position. The presentation was highly motivating for anyone with desires to create a website and inspiring to those who have attempted yet become disillusioned. The following section of the night was the open-mic style presentations, with members given the opportunity to present and promote themselves or their business for one minute. Everyone from PR companies to photographers took the stage and gained great exposure.
In a nutshell, the event was successful in regards to the publicity it received, with the turn-out being exceptional. The presentations and general social interaction of the people was also a very positive step for Connector. With the popularity and content of the site growing rapidly, I guarantee this is still only the beginning. Given time there will be no need to keep your ear to the ground as Connector.ie will be louder than ever.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Recent Albums of quality worth mentioning...
After venting my frustrations about some of the poor music released in the last year (one album in particular, obviously) I decided to first of all shorten my rants and secondly to be more positive. With that in mind I thought it appropriate to talk about some of the albums which were equally anticipated but received a warmer response from me.
The first was by a band who in their last outing created such a backlash from fans there were reports of mass burning of the album at bonfires in the States. What kind of music is capable of such wrath, you ask? It is Heavy Metal, of course! The cremated album in reference was Metallicas St. Anger, which stirred up quite an angry broth amongst true fans. The album, along with "making of" documentary Some Kind Of Monster,the bands re-release into the wild seemed a tad pretentious. They needed a big bang to mark their territory as the long reigning lords of metal after the debacle of St. Anger.
The new album Death Magnetic was more than just a bang, it was an explosive scream bursting the eardrum of every pessimistic critic in the land. The album reminds me of a time when Metallica were competing with the likes of Slayer, bringing back the old metal roots of Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning. It is truly a breath of fresh air to a genre clouded in smog music from bands like 30 seconds to Mars. Real metal musicis dying and hardcore followers have to rely on the stuff of old, which to be frank never gets old. Slayer, Pantera and even some older Slipknot would be chosen ahead of Metallica these days, but now the band can realistically hold their heads up high and proclaim, "We are still one of the best". Fast pedals and heavy guitar shredding is all I need to satisfy the metal craving and finally, some original work has come from such a talented band worth banging your head to.
The second appraisal is regarding an album with a very mixed reaction and I am here to tell the negative opinion pushers to pull their stubborn head out of the sand realize the quality of the album. The band is The Prodigy, the album Invaders Must Die. Since its arrival all I have been hearing is they now sound like a sub-standard Pendulum, which is ridiculous based on the opinion that Pendulum are below par in general. As the Market for that style of music is so popular recently, the prodigy are immediately compared to what is current and being labeled based on them sounding different. After Always Outnumbered was released Liam Howelett promised an album which felt like the prodigy of old, and I defy anyone to play Experience/Jilted Generation back to back with the new record without seeing massive similarities. The cold hard truth for those pessimists is that the Prodigy are back at the top of their game with a fresh mix of heavy electro, jungle and drum n' bass music that originally put them in the spotlight all those years ago.
The first was by a band who in their last outing created such a backlash from fans there were reports of mass burning of the album at bonfires in the States. What kind of music is capable of such wrath, you ask? It is Heavy Metal, of course! The cremated album in reference was Metallicas St. Anger, which stirred up quite an angry broth amongst true fans. The album, along with "making of" documentary Some Kind Of Monster,the bands re-release into the wild seemed a tad pretentious. They needed a big bang to mark their territory as the long reigning lords of metal after the debacle of St. Anger.
The new album Death Magnetic was more than just a bang, it was an explosive scream bursting the eardrum of every pessimistic critic in the land. The album reminds me of a time when Metallica were competing with the likes of Slayer, bringing back the old metal roots of Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning. It is truly a breath of fresh air to a genre clouded in smog music from bands like 30 seconds to Mars. Real metal musicis dying and hardcore followers have to rely on the stuff of old, which to be frank never gets old. Slayer, Pantera and even some older Slipknot would be chosen ahead of Metallica these days, but now the band can realistically hold their heads up high and proclaim, "We are still one of the best". Fast pedals and heavy guitar shredding is all I need to satisfy the metal craving and finally, some original work has come from such a talented band worth banging your head to.
The second appraisal is regarding an album with a very mixed reaction and I am here to tell the negative opinion pushers to pull their stubborn head out of the sand realize the quality of the album. The band is The Prodigy, the album Invaders Must Die. Since its arrival all I have been hearing is they now sound like a sub-standard Pendulum, which is ridiculous based on the opinion that Pendulum are below par in general. As the Market for that style of music is so popular recently, the prodigy are immediately compared to what is current and being labeled based on them sounding different. After Always Outnumbered was released Liam Howelett promised an album which felt like the prodigy of old, and I defy anyone to play Experience/Jilted Generation back to back with the new record without seeing massive similarities. The cold hard truth for those pessimists is that the Prodigy are back at the top of their game with a fresh mix of heavy electro, jungle and drum n' bass music that originally put them in the spotlight all those years ago.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The Most Disappointing albums of the last 12 months
The Public have been longing for a publicised mega album to come along and deliver on the hype it creates. So far in the last year many have attempted the feat but have failed. Bands at the top of their game create a buzz for a forthcoming release to large to fill and the result is always the same, a below-par record from a presumed above average band.
The first to spring to mind would be the fifteen year anticipation train that was Chinese Democracy by Guns N’ Roses which not only failed on the hype but disintegrated as a rock album in general. I personally gave special attention to its arrival but inevitably found myself skipping track after track waiting for at least one stand out tune, but to no avail. I couldn’t help but ask myself “why did this tripe take so long to come to fruition?” The answer in my opinion lies with what is left of a now tattered and worn outfit – Axel Rose. While other members of the original line up were being proactive in their post Roses work, Axel found it hard to let go and seemed to become obsessed with making Guns N Roses live again. After the longest delay for an album release I have ever heard of, he failed miserably and the album was a huge disappointment to say the least.
For the more commercially minded, the album next on the chopping block is Coldplays Viva La Vida, which is by no means a complete waste of talent in comparison to the previously mentioned. No, in fact the album itself isn’t exactly the horror show you would expect from the title of this article nor did it have as large an anticipation as the Axel nosedive. The problem I have with this album is that it began to fall under the radar and nobody prevented it. The sad side to this story is that the public may be starting to get sick of Chris Martin, who is beginning to portray the standard “celebrity in the spotlight” therefore taking notice away from the record. Am I the only one who thinks he is slightly too egotistical for his 18th Century fashioned boots? (Seriously, he has been wearing that Master and Commander stuff non stop!). Unfortunately the public media or whoever else you want to blame has caused the album to fall short of expectations after gaining worldwide recognition with X/Y. The extreme attention given to the people in the band have drawn critics away from the music which caused a chain reaction of people ignoring the album because they just don’t care. The only upside is they can actually make good music sometimes, so the wait begins again for album number five. Fingers Crossed!
Now for my primary target, a controversial pick which may disgruntle the majority audience. Some call me a music snob for my following opinion but I simply see it as a disillusioned fan sticking to his guns. And I am not the only one, for this argument has played out in a plethora of social situations always ending with an even ratio for each side of the dispute. The album referenced is none other than the huge commercial success of Only By The Night by Kings Of Leon. They literally are kings of the music world at present after mass sales of the singles Sex On Fire and Use Somebody, and big things were expected from their fourth outing together. This expectation was fueled by the brilliance of their first two albums and the ever so slightly sub-standard third. To put things into perspective, let it be known that Aha Shake Heartbreak is one of the greatest modern albums ever created with every song showing an outstanding quality to fuse southern blues and hard rock into a new Indie market. I foresee this album being remembered in twenty years the same way Led Zeppelin II, Who’s Next and Back In Black are today. It is for these reasons that loyal fans kept the torch burning when Because Of The Times was released. The album has many bright sparks but doesn’t capture the same glow as its subsequent record. Enjoyable? Yes, therefore the void we felt can relate to fans setting the bar higher than any follow up to Aha Shake would ever reach. Naivety was our poison. So with that realisation forced to the front of our minds we awaited the new edition to the catalogue, knowing that only a miracle would cause the release to exceed Aha Shake in quality. I, however, still expected a great album. What I got was something which I can only assume was a direct way to immediately change their target audience and abandon the avid fans that have followed them all the way.
Only By The Night is so well received publicly because they have succeeded in the audience change, from a cult following of southern rock lovers to Pop guzzling teens looking for the “U2” of their own generation. KOL have completely and knowingly changed their sound to reach a more mainstream level of acclaim and left behind everything we originally fell in love with. The words SELL OUT spring to mind. My first listen of the album instinctively drew me to what would soon become their first number one, Sex On Fire, reason being that it was of only a possible five tracks even worthy of release. The song itself is now my most hated as a result of an almost “Killers” style abuse of marketing with the track played eighteen times a day. In fact, the only song worth repeating on my stereo is the opening track Crawl, oozing rock n’ roll but still sounding progressive in what used to be their style. It is blatantly obvious that what they have created is specific for stadium venues to create a sense of anthemia and openly want to follow in the footsteps of U2, Coldplay and the Killers when they should be sticking to what they do best, creating raspy rock tunes that remind us sometimes whiskey, cigarettes and parties are acceptable.
Truth be told, the original and previously loyal followers have lost respect for the band, and with lead singer Kaleb adding such fuel to the fire as being quoted in Q magazine saying that playing their older songs “make him want to die”. The reality is Kaleb; the new material is having just that same affect on me.
Words by Dave Quinn
The first to spring to mind would be the fifteen year anticipation train that was Chinese Democracy by Guns N’ Roses which not only failed on the hype but disintegrated as a rock album in general. I personally gave special attention to its arrival but inevitably found myself skipping track after track waiting for at least one stand out tune, but to no avail. I couldn’t help but ask myself “why did this tripe take so long to come to fruition?” The answer in my opinion lies with what is left of a now tattered and worn outfit – Axel Rose. While other members of the original line up were being proactive in their post Roses work, Axel found it hard to let go and seemed to become obsessed with making Guns N Roses live again. After the longest delay for an album release I have ever heard of, he failed miserably and the album was a huge disappointment to say the least.
For the more commercially minded, the album next on the chopping block is Coldplays Viva La Vida, which is by no means a complete waste of talent in comparison to the previously mentioned. No, in fact the album itself isn’t exactly the horror show you would expect from the title of this article nor did it have as large an anticipation as the Axel nosedive. The problem I have with this album is that it began to fall under the radar and nobody prevented it. The sad side to this story is that the public may be starting to get sick of Chris Martin, who is beginning to portray the standard “celebrity in the spotlight” therefore taking notice away from the record. Am I the only one who thinks he is slightly too egotistical for his 18th Century fashioned boots? (Seriously, he has been wearing that Master and Commander stuff non stop!). Unfortunately the public media or whoever else you want to blame has caused the album to fall short of expectations after gaining worldwide recognition with X/Y. The extreme attention given to the people in the band have drawn critics away from the music which caused a chain reaction of people ignoring the album because they just don’t care. The only upside is they can actually make good music sometimes, so the wait begins again for album number five. Fingers Crossed!
Now for my primary target, a controversial pick which may disgruntle the majority audience. Some call me a music snob for my following opinion but I simply see it as a disillusioned fan sticking to his guns. And I am not the only one, for this argument has played out in a plethora of social situations always ending with an even ratio for each side of the dispute. The album referenced is none other than the huge commercial success of Only By The Night by Kings Of Leon. They literally are kings of the music world at present after mass sales of the singles Sex On Fire and Use Somebody, and big things were expected from their fourth outing together. This expectation was fueled by the brilliance of their first two albums and the ever so slightly sub-standard third. To put things into perspective, let it be known that Aha Shake Heartbreak is one of the greatest modern albums ever created with every song showing an outstanding quality to fuse southern blues and hard rock into a new Indie market. I foresee this album being remembered in twenty years the same way Led Zeppelin II, Who’s Next and Back In Black are today. It is for these reasons that loyal fans kept the torch burning when Because Of The Times was released. The album has many bright sparks but doesn’t capture the same glow as its subsequent record. Enjoyable? Yes, therefore the void we felt can relate to fans setting the bar higher than any follow up to Aha Shake would ever reach. Naivety was our poison. So with that realisation forced to the front of our minds we awaited the new edition to the catalogue, knowing that only a miracle would cause the release to exceed Aha Shake in quality. I, however, still expected a great album. What I got was something which I can only assume was a direct way to immediately change their target audience and abandon the avid fans that have followed them all the way.
Only By The Night is so well received publicly because they have succeeded in the audience change, from a cult following of southern rock lovers to Pop guzzling teens looking for the “U2” of their own generation. KOL have completely and knowingly changed their sound to reach a more mainstream level of acclaim and left behind everything we originally fell in love with. The words SELL OUT spring to mind. My first listen of the album instinctively drew me to what would soon become their first number one, Sex On Fire, reason being that it was of only a possible five tracks even worthy of release. The song itself is now my most hated as a result of an almost “Killers” style abuse of marketing with the track played eighteen times a day. In fact, the only song worth repeating on my stereo is the opening track Crawl, oozing rock n’ roll but still sounding progressive in what used to be their style. It is blatantly obvious that what they have created is specific for stadium venues to create a sense of anthemia and openly want to follow in the footsteps of U2, Coldplay and the Killers when they should be sticking to what they do best, creating raspy rock tunes that remind us sometimes whiskey, cigarettes and parties are acceptable.
Truth be told, the original and previously loyal followers have lost respect for the band, and with lead singer Kaleb adding such fuel to the fire as being quoted in Q magazine saying that playing their older songs “make him want to die”. The reality is Kaleb; the new material is having just that same affect on me.
Words by Dave Quinn
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Let The Blogging Begin!
Well, It has begun.
Now anyone who has an interest in my writing and latest goings on in my attempt at a career in Journalism can check out my articles as frequently as they are posted. Look out for the group on facebook for updates on new posts in the future.
Enjoy!!
Dave
Now anyone who has an interest in my writing and latest goings on in my attempt at a career in Journalism can check out my articles as frequently as they are posted. Look out for the group on facebook for updates on new posts in the future.
Enjoy!!
Dave
Just Another Day At The Office - Short Script
Just another Day At The Office
A Short Screenplay
By
David Quinn
Copyright 18/03/2009
INT. Office Floor – Day
A large office floor with many cubicles. Murmurs of telephone conversations fuse with the feint sounds of printing and fax machines.
INT. Cubicle – Day
A desk scattered with stationary and take-away cups of coffee. A hand is spinning a pencil between the fingers. The computer screen shows a game of minesweeper being played. Turn to see Sebastian Hemp as he sits slouched in his chair, staring motionless at the screen in front of him. He wears a white shirt and pink tie combination but both are shabbily worn and less than presentable. He wears a telephone headset with the left side purposely not covering his ear and a thin wire comes from his left ear which is attached to an Ipod. The telephone rings, and after the fifth ring Sebastian puts huge effort into reaching for the phone and presses answer.
Sebastian
Good afternoon and welcome to Intershop.ie customer support.
My names is Steven, can I please have your ID number?
Caller
Don’t hang up on me… I mean it, don’t hang up or I’ll… I’ll… you wont
Listen, you never listen. If I’m in pain you might listen.
Sebastian
… Ok… Sir… I’m here to listen…
What can I help you with?
Caller
HELP… Help… Jesus man, I can’t fucking take it… It’s too fucking much
To deal with… I can just end it all… You would love that wouldn’t you?
A woman is walking past the cubicle and catches Sebastian’s eye. He covers the microphone on the headset and calls to her.
Sebastian
Carol!
Carol
Sebastian? What’s the matter?
Sebastian
Get Derek now!
Caller
Hello! I can’t believe this, Hello! I am literally about to jump out this
Window, are you going to talk to me?
Sebastian
Yes, Sir… Hello, I’m still here. Would you like to tell me the problem and I can try my best to help.
Caller
I don’t know if you can anymore… It’s too late.
Sebastian
Please Sir, you called for help and I am trying my best to offer
what I can. I want to help and would feel personally responsible if something… Happened to you.
Caller
You can’t SAVE me! I need someone to pour my heart out to, so I can go in peace. You are just a robot. An automated voice on the end of a premium fucking line!
Sebastian
NO Sir. I am real, I am a person and I want to help. I WANT to.
I am asking you to talk to me… Look, my real name is Sebastian.
We are told to use an alias as to not endanger ourselves. But I want you to know me so you feel comfortable enough to tell me whatever is on your mind. I’m sure you’re not a bad guy and you have friends and family that care about you. People care enough about you that they’d be heartbroken if you did anything to yourself. Please, for their sake, talk to me and lift the weight from your shoulders.
As Sebastian rambles on the telephone, Derek, his line manager enters the cubicle and stands over him to monitor the situation. Sebastian turns to him once finished his speech and gives a positive wink.
Caller
I’m sorry friend… The weight is just too heavy.
The line goes dead.
Sebastian
Hello? Hello? Sir? HELLO?
Derek
Well? What was all that about?
Sebastian slouches back into his chair, clicks play on his Ipod and opens a window on his computer with a new game of minesweeper on it. He yawns.
Sebastian
Nothing much, Boss. Just another Issue 49, but I handled it.
Derek nods and leaves the cubicle. Sebastian continues staring motionless at the screen and eventually breathes an under-enthusiastic sigh.
THE END
A Short Screenplay
By
David Quinn
Copyright 18/03/2009
INT. Office Floor – Day
A large office floor with many cubicles. Murmurs of telephone conversations fuse with the feint sounds of printing and fax machines.
INT. Cubicle – Day
A desk scattered with stationary and take-away cups of coffee. A hand is spinning a pencil between the fingers. The computer screen shows a game of minesweeper being played. Turn to see Sebastian Hemp as he sits slouched in his chair, staring motionless at the screen in front of him. He wears a white shirt and pink tie combination but both are shabbily worn and less than presentable. He wears a telephone headset with the left side purposely not covering his ear and a thin wire comes from his left ear which is attached to an Ipod. The telephone rings, and after the fifth ring Sebastian puts huge effort into reaching for the phone and presses answer.
Sebastian
Good afternoon and welcome to Intershop.ie customer support.
My names is Steven, can I please have your ID number?
Caller
Don’t hang up on me… I mean it, don’t hang up or I’ll… I’ll… you wont
Listen, you never listen. If I’m in pain you might listen.
Sebastian
… Ok… Sir… I’m here to listen…
What can I help you with?
Caller
HELP… Help… Jesus man, I can’t fucking take it… It’s too fucking much
To deal with… I can just end it all… You would love that wouldn’t you?
A woman is walking past the cubicle and catches Sebastian’s eye. He covers the microphone on the headset and calls to her.
Sebastian
Carol!
Carol
Sebastian? What’s the matter?
Sebastian
Get Derek now!
Caller
Hello! I can’t believe this, Hello! I am literally about to jump out this
Window, are you going to talk to me?
Sebastian
Yes, Sir… Hello, I’m still here. Would you like to tell me the problem and I can try my best to help.
Caller
I don’t know if you can anymore… It’s too late.
Sebastian
Please Sir, you called for help and I am trying my best to offer
what I can. I want to help and would feel personally responsible if something… Happened to you.
Caller
You can’t SAVE me! I need someone to pour my heart out to, so I can go in peace. You are just a robot. An automated voice on the end of a premium fucking line!
Sebastian
NO Sir. I am real, I am a person and I want to help. I WANT to.
I am asking you to talk to me… Look, my real name is Sebastian.
We are told to use an alias as to not endanger ourselves. But I want you to know me so you feel comfortable enough to tell me whatever is on your mind. I’m sure you’re not a bad guy and you have friends and family that care about you. People care enough about you that they’d be heartbroken if you did anything to yourself. Please, for their sake, talk to me and lift the weight from your shoulders.
As Sebastian rambles on the telephone, Derek, his line manager enters the cubicle and stands over him to monitor the situation. Sebastian turns to him once finished his speech and gives a positive wink.
Caller
I’m sorry friend… The weight is just too heavy.
The line goes dead.
Sebastian
Hello? Hello? Sir? HELLO?
Derek
Well? What was all that about?
Sebastian slouches back into his chair, clicks play on his Ipod and opens a window on his computer with a new game of minesweeper on it. He yawns.
Sebastian
Nothing much, Boss. Just another Issue 49, but I handled it.
Derek nods and leaves the cubicle. Sebastian continues staring motionless at the screen and eventually breathes an under-enthusiastic sigh.
THE END
Film Review - Naked Lunch
NAKED LUNCH
For those who are unaware of writer William S. Burroughs previous work or writing style in general may be shocked to find after watching Naked Lunch that the film is so close an adaptation to the book that the only difference is the creative imagery predominant in the direction of David Cronenberg. This to some may seem like a match made in heaven. Cronenbergs gift for gruesome special effects and dark twisted plots fit like a glove onto the hand of writing genius Burroughs, famous for previous works Junkie and Queer. However things took an even stranger turn with the creation of Naked Lunch which further investigation reveals that the book is almost autobiographical, with Burroughs taking many hallucinogenic drugs during the writing process which further warped his since of reality. David Cronenberg adapted the book in a literal sense and with a gripping performance from Peter Weller as protagonist Bill Lee, the story (however nonsensical it may seem) is enthralling. Set in the 50’s Weller starts out playing an Exterminator using a type of powder to extinguish termites and cockroaches. The powder starts going missing and it is revealed that his wife Joan (Judy Davis) has been freebasing it as a drug similar to heroin. As they are both recovering drug addicts they succumb to the urges of this new high and Bill is eventually arrested. While being interrogated by Police he is left alone with what he sees as a giant insect. The Insect tells him that his wife is a spy for a company called Interzone Incorporated and must be killed, all of which is entirely too implausible for Bill to accommodate as he comes to the conclusion that the powder is making him hallucinate. He escapes and returns home, completely dismissing the insect’s accusations. But after a tragic and fatal accident involving his wife Bill is forced to flee to a fictional port town in Africa known as Interzone (the supposed headquarters of the previously mentioned espionage organization). While hiding here he begins to write reports on his following missions, one of which is to find a Doctor Benway by seducing a woman known as Joan Frost, who is a carbon copy of his now deceased wife Joan Lee. The story begins to unravel eccentrically has Bill experiments with more drugs and is caught up in a conspiracies involving typewriters which transform into giant insects and alien heads that are used to extract a potent drug known as Mugwump Gism. The film is quite graphic due in no small part to the imaginative and visually descriptive mind of David Cronenberg, and times may make little sense to the viewer. At many stages you are almost expected to piece together the storyline yourself, however scattered it mat be. There are references and metaphors through out the film, sometimes subtle and other times blatantly obvious (notably the Insect in command who quite literally talks from his anus) and even though the story may seem to spiral off into tangents, its theme and morals are clear from beginning to end. For those not used to either the style of the director or the writing of William S. Burroughs, then this film may be one to avoid. However, if you love nothing more than to sit down an a Sunday evening with your favorite collection of Cronenberg and even David Lynch movies, than this should be top of the pile. The book has caused more controversy than any other of its time, especially since the scenarios vaguely describe Burroughs own life. He had many problems with drugs and even shot and killed his wife “Joan” in a drunken game of William Tell. Many of the other characters are also based on real life acquaintances and the book can almost be looked at as Burroughs biography, or at least a chapter of it. But with controversy comes inspiration and most notably are writers like Hunter S. Thompson and Irvine Welsh. To read the book before watching the film is quite clichéd in today’s modern society when the writers themselves are happy with the screen adaptation and this is a perfect example of there being no obligation to follow one with the other. This film will jump out at you regardless of you expecting it or not and may not be liked at all. Take this as preparation and make your own judgment, if it sounds appealing than it may be something for your personal collection. To fully prepare yourself for this film you may need to get into a certain frame of mind, so start off by watching Scanners, Videodrome and Erasurehead. After a three tier insanity cake like that, Naked Lunch should be a walk.
* * * (3 out of 5)
Interview with Noise Control
Interview with Noise Control at Muzu studios South William Street on 21/02/2009.
Every hard working band tries to follow a step by step process to gain the recognition they feel they deserve. These steps must include a debut single and distribution.
Dublin based rock/electronica band Noise Control have already checked of some of these boxes, having released double A-sided single Cities of Dreams/Mudbath last year in the U.K. and gaining “single of the week” status. Now they tackle what could be considered the biggest promotional step in the bands history – the music video.
They aim to release the video for new single “Addiction” into the mainstream market in the coming months. Connected sat down with guitarist Kevin Whyms and drummer Declan Herbert during the shoot.
First of all guys, how do you feel the shoot went today?
We are really excited about it. Its our first ever music video and we are ecstatic over the level of professionalism involved. We tried making a video for Addiction before but it didn’t quite work out. It was at a live show which was prematurely shut down. Lets hope the second attempt goes better! We hope to get it on to MTV in the coming months as a promo, that’s the ultimate goal.
Following a busy 2008, HotPress were quoted stating they expect more great things in 2009. What is most important for the band in the next ten months?
We really just need to keep our heads down and make sure the album is finished this year. We have put a lot of work into it. We plan to tour England and do some festivals too.
Do you have any upcoming festival slots?
We Hope to play the major Irish festivals, namely Oxegen and Electric Picnic, although nothing is set in stone. We are quite keen to play Leeds this year also and hopefully some other UK festivals too.
Would this be inclusive of your plan to tour England?
The plan is to head over in June in time for the festivals but we want to go back over in late August for some showcase gigs and support slots in order to secure some headliners in the future.
How do you find being unsigned during these harsh economical times?
If we got signed that would be huge for us. The money is obviously a big factor, more money leads to better PR. But even so, everything we have accomplished to date we have done ourselves and we are extremely proud of that. The singles, the distribution and now the video have all been completely independent.
Some of your biggest exposure has come from the world of video games. Disney picked up your double A-sided single for their Xbox video game Pure. How long did you work on it and what was the end result?
We worked on it for about a year. It was quite important for us because we looked at this as quite commercial regardless of the method of media. In the end the tracks were chosen to be used on the main title screen on rotation so that was a huge success.
Do you know anything about the game itself?
It’s about Quad bikes!
Liam Howlett also personally picked you to support The Prodigy for the Irish leg of their “Their Law” tour. What was it like touring with a high profile band? Any crazy/fun stories?
To be perfectly honest the guys are really down to earth. We are so grateful for the opportunity and they looked after us a lot. They seem to have a passion for rooting for the underdog and thankfully they saw that potential in Noise Control.
I’m going to take advantage of the fact that Mark-Kid (vocals) is still shooting to ask a question about his name. Why his name is hyphenated?
(The two have a chuckle)… I don’t think he wants a hyphenated name anymore! For a long time his nickname was The Kid so eventually we just added the Kid part to his name, but these days he’s not such a kid!
And finally, do you shop in Lidl of Marks and Spencers?
Definitely Lidl. I think we will be shopping there forever!
The new video for Noise Control’s “Addiction” will hopefully be hitting our screens in the coming months.
Dave Quinn
Connector.ie - At First Glance
With the world of online social networking increasing rapidly by the day, every Internet entrepreneur is trying to find a new niche in the market. There have been a lot of murmurs recently about a blog site which may have taken grasp of such an opening, a website designed to use social networking in the interest of those who have connected and want to promote themselves or their business in the world of independent media. For those still not in the loop of this new window of opportunity, Connector.ie is the place to start your research. As an outside observer new to the scene myself, I also began at the core.
The website is a blog run by Conor Lynch, who is already somewhat decorated in the media industry having won many awards within Interactive Marketing such as Golden Spiders, Investor Awards and Digital Media Awards. Although he claimed to once be elusive, he welcomes public contact and boldly posts all contact details on the site to get in touch with him.
The blog site is primarily designed to connect people such as writers, filmmakers and other web entrepreneurs creating links between these people for possible collaborations in the future. It also gives these people the ability to promote themselves to the other members and to the public without expense. This is done through meet-ups and event organising where the members can socialise with each other face to face. The attention is ever growing with the site, especially with the anticipation of the new eMag and the latest event, Connector Meet-Up 8, which will be designed as an open mic night for those wishing to promote themselves or their business. The preparation for the eMag is in full flow with Conor shooting videos spots for the upcoming first edition. The site growth and large community interest may have resulted in the blog becoming somewhat of a cornerstone and in some cases a key starting point for anyone wanting to make some vital connections in the world of media. The blog itself is still active with daily posts including video links and links to the sites with more information along with regular updates on upcoming events.
For those who feel they have a creative talent with no ability to vent, or for those post graduates who just cant seem to get their feet off the ground, log on to Connector.ie and become a member. Once you attend an event or meet-up which attracts one hundred people plus, you will open a door to the world you have always wanted to explore. You will meet people with common interests and goals and can give you the creative boost you have needed to mould tour talents and qualifications into a career.
Words by Dave Quinn
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