I was a KGB agent - that is, I wanted to be a KGB agent. I used to hang out at the Soviet Embassy pretending I wasn't just picking up Russian magazines and newspapers.
Across the road, rumour had it the NZ security service photographed everyone who came and went. Sometimes I'd wave - just to be a smartarse - at other times, I'd slink out holding magazines up over my face.
I guess if New Zealand had important secrets - and I was party to them - the Russians may have been more interested. At any rate, I was never recruited, nor caught in a honey trap. Pity - I would've liked being caught in a KGB honey trap.
'Notorious Soviet spy arrested!' the headlines would scream. There would be me - face shielded from the cameras with a copy of 'Spotlight on Astrakhan' by Panorama Press. I think I would've liked being 'notorious.'
Leningrad was far more interesting in those magazines than in the flesh. It was cold, it was full of architecture and tourists - not unlike most old European cities. It was cluttered with drunken Finns and plain clothes cops - militsya in shades and ill-fitting suits.
The cops were more worried about the Finns pissing in the seventeen century fountains than the clusters of illegal foreign currency traders.
Leningraders wanted dollars, Levi jeans, T-shirts and rock records. Dealers called Yuri would descend - all the while nervously watching for the militsya, who couldn't give a fuck, but, they wanted a percentage.
1979 - the Soviets had just entered Afghanistan offering fraternal assistance to the Afghan people. It said so in Tass, and to prove it, smiling Soviet Tajik soldiers offered cigarettes to smiling Afghan soldiers.
What was the opinion of socialist youth? A shrug, and 'I'll give you ten rubles for your watch.'
I went back to Stockholm with the opinion that THAT socialist paradise wasn't exactly MY socialist paradise. There were too many cops, too much paranoia, as much capitalism as anywhere and utterly boring newspapers.
I stayed with the local 'Trots,' the Swedish Socialist Workers. With social legislation light years ahead of just about anybody, I wondered why the Hell they had a Socialist Workers Party. I made friends with the 'raggiare,' Swedish retro rockers who liked old American cars and faded denim.
1979, too, was the onset of the Iranian Revolution. I was down in Copenhagen and the hostel was full of an interesting mix of ex employees of the Shah and members of Iranian Communist Youth - still wearing their red neck scarves.
These disparate refugees found common cause to lay every Western woman under the age of eighty. In this enterprise they were only partially successful, but even so, an extraordinary number of English female backpackers succumbed to their charms. I wished there was something more than a curtain separating the sleeping areas.
For all that, the Iranians were smart, interesting people with passable English. Most had been educated in Europe and America - middle class and from Tehran and Isfahan.
Had they been in fear of their lives? Sort of - they'd mostly escaped the draft.
Lentils, Talking Heads, nocturnal humping and Iranian draft dodgers are my memories of that godawful Danish hostel.
In 1992 I married an English/Iranian. I'm thinking of applying to the spy department of the Iranian Revolutionary Council. Life seems to have this weird symmetry.
Don
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
grrrls 3
L7 - Influential, hard case, and gained a degree of popularity with a major label deal and tough image. I've listened to a fair bit of L7 but they don't quite do it for me. Whereas some bands seem to be on a mission, L7 are the brawlers of the genre, IMO.
They tend to lapse into the one beat, risking tedium, ponderous and unvarying. Bitter Wine off 'Triple Platinum' is one of my favourites.
Still, I'm listening to Donita Sparks's and the Stellar Moments' Transmiticate and it's growing on me.
SLEATER-KINNEY - woohoo! I came to these old grrrls a few years back and never looked back. Polished, innovative, original, with Corine's down tuned guitar as bass and sonic warble. S-K should be outselling Madonna - they are simply great!
I've tracked down all their albums and none of them has disappointed. No favourites - just put any S-K on the stereo, turn up the volume, and STFU.
RED AUNTS - anarchic Ramones fanciers from LA. All songs are short, rapid, breathless. Scratchy Epiphone guitars, lots of screaming and howling - great stuff!
THE GOSSIP - Portland's finest. Formed 1999 (so outside of the time frame) But I'm absolutely sold on these ladies. Jealous Girls, Standing in the Way of Control - Beth Ditto is astonishing. Signed to Sony - waiting with baited breath for their next release.
Worthy of mention but outside of the genre - Le Tigre, Peechees, Katastrophy Wife, Jack Off Jill, Lunachicks...
They tend to lapse into the one beat, risking tedium, ponderous and unvarying. Bitter Wine off 'Triple Platinum' is one of my favourites.
Still, I'm listening to Donita Sparks's and the Stellar Moments' Transmiticate and it's growing on me.
SLEATER-KINNEY - woohoo! I came to these old grrrls a few years back and never looked back. Polished, innovative, original, with Corine's down tuned guitar as bass and sonic warble. S-K should be outselling Madonna - they are simply great!
I've tracked down all their albums and none of them has disappointed. No favourites - just put any S-K on the stereo, turn up the volume, and STFU.
RED AUNTS - anarchic Ramones fanciers from LA. All songs are short, rapid, breathless. Scratchy Epiphone guitars, lots of screaming and howling - great stuff!
THE GOSSIP - Portland's finest. Formed 1999 (so outside of the time frame) But I'm absolutely sold on these ladies. Jealous Girls, Standing in the Way of Control - Beth Ditto is astonishing. Signed to Sony - waiting with baited breath for their next release.
Worthy of mention but outside of the genre - Le Tigre, Peechees, Katastrophy Wife, Jack Off Jill, Lunachicks...
grrrl 2
SEVEN YEAR BITCH - was next in my journey into riot grrrl. Selene Vigil was backed by some first class axewomen in Elizabeth Davis on bass and firstly Stephanie Sergeant then Roisin Dunne on lead.
Big friends and devotees of Mia Zapata, her horrible death, and the OD of Stephanie Sergeant, nearly finished the band. Elizabeth Davis put her grief to good use in founding 'Home Alive' to fight domestic violence.
SYB were frustrating and I think never reached their potential. They never quite found a groove, IMO. Punk, rap, metal, what? 'Knot' is astonishingly good - off 'Sick em' with a great live version on the movie 'Hype.' It's punk, it's rage, it's from the heart.
Selene Vigil has a great voice, but she persists with a kind or rap/talking which annoys me. Davis and Vigil harmonize really well, but there's not enough of it. Selene can howl like a banshee - but, she doesn't do enough of that, either. When they do hit their straps it's wonderful. I just wish they'd done it more often.
For all that, I love the 'Bitch.' (RIP - Stephanie Sergeant)
BABES IN TOYLAND - Ahhh!!! scary, wonderful!!! Setting aside the major label CD 'Nemesisters' few can deliver the vitriol quite like our Kat Bjelland. Whereas Courtney was clever, Kat cuts loose with abuse that would shame a stevedore. Awesome live, Kat is four foot nothing of fury.
Almost imploded following the murder of Joe Cole, roadie and partner of their first bass player, Maureen Herman admirably stepped into her shoes. Lori Barbero is a weird drummer - after the fashion of Mo Tucker of the Velvet Underground.
Courtney Love, Kat Bjelland and Jennifer Finch - Sugar Babydoll? Where are those lost tapes? I wanna hear them!! (RIP Joe Cole)
BIKINI KILL - Punk purists and ground zero for riot grrrl. Kicking guys out of the mosh pit for hassling the grrrls, Kathleen Hanna was unofficial spokeswomen of a movement that eschewed 'alternative hierarchies.' Trendsetter with a shrill voice, Hanna was whom the press descended on. Four foot nothing, she bounced around like a superball with ferocious energy.
Better live than on record, nevertheless, their collaboration with Joan Jett produced 'Rebel Girl,' a classic. 'Reject all American' is my favourite BK album, and IMO, the most varied and listenable.
THE GITS - from Ohio's Antioch College via Seattle. Mia Zapata was Godmother to the riot grrrls with her punk sensibilities and throaty. bluesy voice. Three of the Gits were guys - with guitarist Andy Kessler Mia's partner. Arrived in Grunge Zero Seattle late 80s and established themselves as a class act on the scene.
Mia was an alcoholic who expressed her battle with addiction through her confessional, tragic lyrics. 'Seaweed' 'Precious Blood' 'Second Skin' 'Social Love' iconic, anthemic, intense, moving songs and drum-tight musicianship.
The band splintered following Mia's rape and murder in April 1993. Became 'Dancing French Liberals of '48', then 'Evil Stig' with Joan Jett on vocals.
I listen to at least one Gits song a day - does it show? (RIP - Mia Zapata)
BRATMOBILE - Allison, Erin and Molly. Allison's voice takes a bit of getting used to. Solid feminist cred - Allison Wolfe's mother founded the first women's health clinic in Olympia.
Along with Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox, and Toby Vail of BK, became the political heart of riot grrrl.
Went to DC for the summer in the early 90s and eventually relocated there following the fall out over the deaths of Mia Zapata and Kurt Cobain.
Very DIY - good, but not great, IMO. Allison Wolfe has a current project called Partyline, better, IMO than the Brats.
Big friends and devotees of Mia Zapata, her horrible death, and the OD of Stephanie Sergeant, nearly finished the band. Elizabeth Davis put her grief to good use in founding 'Home Alive' to fight domestic violence.
SYB were frustrating and I think never reached their potential. They never quite found a groove, IMO. Punk, rap, metal, what? 'Knot' is astonishingly good - off 'Sick em' with a great live version on the movie 'Hype.' It's punk, it's rage, it's from the heart.
Selene Vigil has a great voice, but she persists with a kind or rap/talking which annoys me. Davis and Vigil harmonize really well, but there's not enough of it. Selene can howl like a banshee - but, she doesn't do enough of that, either. When they do hit their straps it's wonderful. I just wish they'd done it more often.
For all that, I love the 'Bitch.' (RIP - Stephanie Sergeant)
BABES IN TOYLAND - Ahhh!!! scary, wonderful!!! Setting aside the major label CD 'Nemesisters' few can deliver the vitriol quite like our Kat Bjelland. Whereas Courtney was clever, Kat cuts loose with abuse that would shame a stevedore. Awesome live, Kat is four foot nothing of fury.
Almost imploded following the murder of Joe Cole, roadie and partner of their first bass player, Maureen Herman admirably stepped into her shoes. Lori Barbero is a weird drummer - after the fashion of Mo Tucker of the Velvet Underground.
Courtney Love, Kat Bjelland and Jennifer Finch - Sugar Babydoll? Where are those lost tapes? I wanna hear them!! (RIP Joe Cole)
BIKINI KILL - Punk purists and ground zero for riot grrrl. Kicking guys out of the mosh pit for hassling the grrrls, Kathleen Hanna was unofficial spokeswomen of a movement that eschewed 'alternative hierarchies.' Trendsetter with a shrill voice, Hanna was whom the press descended on. Four foot nothing, she bounced around like a superball with ferocious energy.
Better live than on record, nevertheless, their collaboration with Joan Jett produced 'Rebel Girl,' a classic. 'Reject all American' is my favourite BK album, and IMO, the most varied and listenable.
THE GITS - from Ohio's Antioch College via Seattle. Mia Zapata was Godmother to the riot grrrls with her punk sensibilities and throaty. bluesy voice. Three of the Gits were guys - with guitarist Andy Kessler Mia's partner. Arrived in Grunge Zero Seattle late 80s and established themselves as a class act on the scene.
Mia was an alcoholic who expressed her battle with addiction through her confessional, tragic lyrics. 'Seaweed' 'Precious Blood' 'Second Skin' 'Social Love' iconic, anthemic, intense, moving songs and drum-tight musicianship.
The band splintered following Mia's rape and murder in April 1993. Became 'Dancing French Liberals of '48', then 'Evil Stig' with Joan Jett on vocals.
I listen to at least one Gits song a day - does it show? (RIP - Mia Zapata)
BRATMOBILE - Allison, Erin and Molly. Allison's voice takes a bit of getting used to. Solid feminist cred - Allison Wolfe's mother founded the first women's health clinic in Olympia.
Along with Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox, and Toby Vail of BK, became the political heart of riot grrrl.
Went to DC for the summer in the early 90s and eventually relocated there following the fall out over the deaths of Mia Zapata and Kurt Cobain.
Very DIY - good, but not great, IMO. Allison Wolfe has a current project called Partyline, better, IMO than the Brats.
grrrls 1
riot grrrl has fascinated me or over ten years now. I'm not sure why, I just latched onto the music, maybe around 1996, perhaps, and then followed on from there.
It not hard to track down the origins, but it's difficult, particularly from a foreign perspective, to separate fact from hype.
I get that riot grrrl was originally a fanzine and the name coined by Toby Vail and Molly Neumann. The name should be written lower case with three 'r's - according to Alison Wolfe.
I understand as a dynamic force it had mostly blown over by 1993/4 with the dispersal of bands to Washington DC, Portland, etc, following the heroin deaths of Stephanie Sergeant, Kristen Pfaff, Andrew Wood, the murder of Mia Zapata, Joe Cole and lastly the suicide of Kurt Cobain.
What also interests me is the politics - the conflict between agendas aggravated by commercialism - the effect of media hype and corporate money - and the effort to keep the music pure through all of this. There's a familiar theme that runs through all of this.
I kinda thought I'd run through the bands that interested me for various reasons. Feel free to add comments and anecdotes.
HOLE - Not strictly a riot grrrl band, but my entry into the genre. Pretty on the Inside was Kim Gordon's attempt to make a Sonic Youth album in the Northwest. It's scratchy, quirky, obnoxious and tough to listen to in one sitting. As a debut, it reminds me a little of Nirvana's first record, but less focussed.
Live Through This, by contrast, is absolutely brilliant. Courtney Love spears each of her targets with clever lyrics and Nirvana inspired arrangements. Kat Bjelland, Kathleen Hanna, the Evergreen College alumni, and herself, gets royally nailed by CL with thunder and rage. One of my favourite records of all time and, IMHO, better than Nevermind.
Ask For It- an EP with a great cover of Greg Sage and the Wiper's 'Over The Edge.'
Celebrity Skin - too many hands in the pie, not enough gas in the tank, too many mixed metaphors. I know there was a lot of pressure to get the CD finished and save Geffin's arse, but it should've been an EP. 'Reasons to be Beautiful' is okay and 'Northern Star' is nice. I'm not sure why 'Wedding Dress' wasn't in the main CD, because it's way better than a lot of stuff that was included. It went platinum - go figure?
Courtney Love is one of these people who you either love or loathe. Outspoken, erratic, vengeful - I'm glad I'm neither her friend nor enemy. But there's no doubting her intelligence and, when she throws away the Rhyming Thesaurus, she writes brilliant lyrics.
She was quick to dump the riot grrrl tag - likely when she hooked up with Nirvana and began to screen the women who hung around the band. Mary Lou Lord, Juliana Hatfield, Kathleen Hanna all were on the thick end of her jealousy, insecurity and ambition. A grade A controller, I'm in admiration of the musicians who stuck with her, Eric Ehrlandson, Patty Schemel and Melissa auf de Maur. (RIP - Kristen Pfaff)
More to follow...
It not hard to track down the origins, but it's difficult, particularly from a foreign perspective, to separate fact from hype.
I get that riot grrrl was originally a fanzine and the name coined by Toby Vail and Molly Neumann. The name should be written lower case with three 'r's - according to Alison Wolfe.
I understand as a dynamic force it had mostly blown over by 1993/4 with the dispersal of bands to Washington DC, Portland, etc, following the heroin deaths of Stephanie Sergeant, Kristen Pfaff, Andrew Wood, the murder of Mia Zapata, Joe Cole and lastly the suicide of Kurt Cobain.
What also interests me is the politics - the conflict between agendas aggravated by commercialism - the effect of media hype and corporate money - and the effort to keep the music pure through all of this. There's a familiar theme that runs through all of this.
I kinda thought I'd run through the bands that interested me for various reasons. Feel free to add comments and anecdotes.
HOLE - Not strictly a riot grrrl band, but my entry into the genre. Pretty on the Inside was Kim Gordon's attempt to make a Sonic Youth album in the Northwest. It's scratchy, quirky, obnoxious and tough to listen to in one sitting. As a debut, it reminds me a little of Nirvana's first record, but less focussed.
Live Through This, by contrast, is absolutely brilliant. Courtney Love spears each of her targets with clever lyrics and Nirvana inspired arrangements. Kat Bjelland, Kathleen Hanna, the Evergreen College alumni, and herself, gets royally nailed by CL with thunder and rage. One of my favourite records of all time and, IMHO, better than Nevermind.
Ask For It- an EP with a great cover of Greg Sage and the Wiper's 'Over The Edge.'
Celebrity Skin - too many hands in the pie, not enough gas in the tank, too many mixed metaphors. I know there was a lot of pressure to get the CD finished and save Geffin's arse, but it should've been an EP. 'Reasons to be Beautiful' is okay and 'Northern Star' is nice. I'm not sure why 'Wedding Dress' wasn't in the main CD, because it's way better than a lot of stuff that was included. It went platinum - go figure?
Courtney Love is one of these people who you either love or loathe. Outspoken, erratic, vengeful - I'm glad I'm neither her friend nor enemy. But there's no doubting her intelligence and, when she throws away the Rhyming Thesaurus, she writes brilliant lyrics.
She was quick to dump the riot grrrl tag - likely when she hooked up with Nirvana and began to screen the women who hung around the band. Mary Lou Lord, Juliana Hatfield, Kathleen Hanna all were on the thick end of her jealousy, insecurity and ambition. A grade A controller, I'm in admiration of the musicians who stuck with her, Eric Ehrlandson, Patty Schemel and Melissa auf de Maur. (RIP - Kristen Pfaff)
More to follow...
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Ducklings, Redwoods and Stupidity
The Birdman gives racist bigotry a bad name. His jokes are predictable and thus rendered tedious by the punch line. 'There was this Englishman, Irishman and Maori...' I sidle towards the door, hoping he won't notice I've left.
I don't feel too affronted by the man, though. He had a tough childhood. Besides that, there's a ludicrous quality about him - like he's stuck in some fifties timewarp - a regular Rip Van Winkle.
Outside it's raining, but, I consider it preferable than the cringing unease inside as the Birdman launches into another joke. Gardeners seem to have thicker skins than mine - I guess being outdoors all the time does it.
I'm besieged by ducks hopeful for a handout. They're mingled with ducklings so small I doubt they'll survive the cold snap. How can little things like puffballs be so robust? Feral cats and children will account for a few, that's true. But a good many will survive to learn where the gardener's lunchroom is.
Way off towards the camellias there's stand of totara and a lone confused redwood that stabs the grey sky above me. This one is a beauty - I so love these trees. The stand is where I go to do crazy things.
A bunch of Bikini Kill found its way on my iPod mix today and Kathleen Hanna screeches sarcasm into my ears. It's so good, appropriate, and I dance away under the Redwood where no-one can see.
On Monday I did a perk job for this old guy. He paid me in beer, which far exceeded the value of the work - it was Monteith's, a good brew. I felt obligated to listen to him.
He told me he did his edges by drenching them in creosote. Creosote is a wood preserver and my Father's generation used it as a weed killer. It's highly toxic and you can't use it where it can leech into the water table. This guy couldn't honestly give a shit. My dad also used DDT and 24D way up to when it was banned in the early 70s. I shudder to think what my dioxin level is. (More Agent Orange sprayed on the chickweed in our backyard than Vietnam's Central Highlands.)
"I suppose the hairy leg, tree huggers would have a fit," he tells me.
"Uh, yeah," I reply, clutching my beer.
I didn't want to disappoint the guy or he might take back his beer. But it was fucking outrageous that this old boy should pour poison on his garden and not give a shit. These days they have stuff like Glyphosate that will break down after a few days. There's no excuse to use shit like Creosote.
I figured this guy and the Birdman would get on famously. They could happily peel back a generation or two of environmental technology secure in the knowledge it's all being done to frustrate them. They can toss in a little racist and sexist bigotry to go along with it.
"Never did us any harm, eh?" he grunts as I make an excuse and leave.
"Good luck with the DNA," I call back, loading the man's beer into the truck.
"Huh?"
Don
I don't feel too affronted by the man, though. He had a tough childhood. Besides that, there's a ludicrous quality about him - like he's stuck in some fifties timewarp - a regular Rip Van Winkle.
Outside it's raining, but, I consider it preferable than the cringing unease inside as the Birdman launches into another joke. Gardeners seem to have thicker skins than mine - I guess being outdoors all the time does it.
I'm besieged by ducks hopeful for a handout. They're mingled with ducklings so small I doubt they'll survive the cold snap. How can little things like puffballs be so robust? Feral cats and children will account for a few, that's true. But a good many will survive to learn where the gardener's lunchroom is.
Way off towards the camellias there's stand of totara and a lone confused redwood that stabs the grey sky above me. This one is a beauty - I so love these trees. The stand is where I go to do crazy things.
A bunch of Bikini Kill found its way on my iPod mix today and Kathleen Hanna screeches sarcasm into my ears. It's so good, appropriate, and I dance away under the Redwood where no-one can see.
On Monday I did a perk job for this old guy. He paid me in beer, which far exceeded the value of the work - it was Monteith's, a good brew. I felt obligated to listen to him.
He told me he did his edges by drenching them in creosote. Creosote is a wood preserver and my Father's generation used it as a weed killer. It's highly toxic and you can't use it where it can leech into the water table. This guy couldn't honestly give a shit. My dad also used DDT and 24D way up to when it was banned in the early 70s. I shudder to think what my dioxin level is. (More Agent Orange sprayed on the chickweed in our backyard than Vietnam's Central Highlands.)
"I suppose the hairy leg, tree huggers would have a fit," he tells me.
"Uh, yeah," I reply, clutching my beer.
I didn't want to disappoint the guy or he might take back his beer. But it was fucking outrageous that this old boy should pour poison on his garden and not give a shit. These days they have stuff like Glyphosate that will break down after a few days. There's no excuse to use shit like Creosote.
I figured this guy and the Birdman would get on famously. They could happily peel back a generation or two of environmental technology secure in the knowledge it's all being done to frustrate them. They can toss in a little racist and sexist bigotry to go along with it.
"Never did us any harm, eh?" he grunts as I make an excuse and leave.
"Good luck with the DNA," I call back, loading the man's beer into the truck.
"Huh?"
Don
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