Category Archives: Nihilism

That hes appearing as part of the London jazz festival signals that, at least at first, this punk-pioneering former Stooge does not wanna be your dog tonight. Instead, Iggy Pop explores the subterranean corners of his darkly jazzy new album Free, much of which was written by trumpeter Leron Thomas, who lends sonorous squall to the groups Berlin-Bowie turbulence.

Tanned, sinewy and the only person who could convincingly pull off a Rachel haircut in 2019, Pop leans on his mic-stand, crooner-style, his rumbling vocal basso mucho profundo. Hes a static presence to begin with, conjuring the doomed lovers and the desperate loners wandering through his new songs. He introduces Page as concerning the damage and weirdness of a relationship ending, sounding like Kurt Wagner as he sings, all gravel and smoke and bittersweetness. The Dawn, he says, is about depression, and finds him musing I dont know where my spirit went, before growling like Lee Marvin: But thats all right.

Hardly Lust For Life, then. No, tonight Iggy sounds exactly like a man who has buried his best friends (Bowie, the Asheton brothers), whose inimitable swagger now betrays some arthritic stiffness. But abandoning the heady nihilism of yore to stare into uncertainty and darkness is its own act of punk fearlessness, the shadow of mortality lending his baritone ruminations a compelling resonance.

Iggys not ready for the grave yet, however. Announcing some music from the 70s and hurling his mic-stand to the wings, the cold funk of Sister Midnight sees him hurtling wildly across the stage, Lazarus-like, and leaping into the stalls for a commendably feral Death Trip, fans vaulting flights of stairs so they might touch the 72-year-olds legendarily punished flesh. A scabrously autobiographical rewrite of Sleaford Mods Chop Chop Chop, meanwhile, sees Pop listing various chemical/sexual misadventures, then howling but, somehow, I survived!, thumbing his nose at the reaper with profane panache.

After his band finally file off stage, Iggy hobbles along one last circuit of his audience, pressing flesh and sharing with us some poetry. Do not go gentle into that good night, he rasps, before giving the Dylan Thomas verse a spin thats gleefully his own: Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Visit link:

Iggy Pop review fearless punk rages against the dying of the light - The Guardian

Its official: Joker has now earned one billion dollars worldwide, making it not only the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time but, according to several sources, the most profitable comic book movie ever made. After weeks of hot takes and fears over its content and all manner of online nonsense, film has done all that Warner Bros. wanted it to and more. Todd Phillips, the director, took to his Instagram account to thank fans for bringing the movie to this point. Joker is easily the highest-grossing film hes ever directed, having made a hefty $400 million more than 2011s The Hangover Part II. Its fitting that those two movies will stand as the ultimate testament to whatever legacy Phillips leaves behind as a director or, yes Im going there, auteur. That duo of movies exemplifies everything he has delivered to audiences, the messages he wants to convey, and the methods he uses to do so. Of course, when that message is one of pure undistilled nihilism, what else can one do but sigh?

Critics and fans have spent many weeks trying to dissect what the overall themes and morals of Joker are. The lions share of criticism the film has faced is rooted in that ideological muddle. Some feared the movie would incite incel violence while others saw it more as an Eat The Rich fable. Phillips and star Joaquin Phoenix have been happy to encourage multiple readings of the movie, which isnt a bad strategy, but it overlooks the truth of Joker: The message is nihilism itself, even as the script tries to quickly tack on a social message about isolation and the wealth gap. Nothing matters. You wouldnt get it.

Truthfully, I dont even think Joker is the bleakest of most nihilistic movie Phillips has ever made. For me, that dubious honor falls to The Hangover: Part II, film so unrelentingly dark and bitter that you walk away from it wondering if Phillips yearns for the annihilation of humanity. The first Hangover movie, released in 2009, was never my thing my parents love it but I understand its appeal. There are plenty of solid jokes, the characters are all well-defined and the entire affair reeks of morning-after regrets of a night out that you cant decide whether or not youre glad you forgot about. Its dark but not inescapably so and rises to the level of charm through sheer force of personality thanks to the combination of Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis. Making a sequel to such a lightning-in-a-bottle movie, one with an inherently one-off gimmick premise, became inevitable once the box office numbers continued to grow and it won the freaking Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical.

Two years later came the sequel, moving the action to Thailand, a concept in and of itself that inspired unease over the potential for inevitably racist, transphobic, and xenophobic jokes. In that aspect, Phillips and company certainly didnt let anybody down. Plot and joke-wise, its more of the same, but with a hefty side-order of bigotry of nearly every flavor. The trans sex worker scene is played for hilarity and revulsion, playing into the dangerous trope of cis men being tricked into sex with trans women and encouraging true disgust at the prospect. Thailand itself is depicted as nothing but a toxic sex den where anything goes. Every character is either utterly useless, purely decorative, or depraved in ways that leave a nasty stain on the imagination. Everyone and everything is bad and the explicit aim of each moment is just baseless provocation. Oh, and Mike Tyson returns because turning a convicted rapist into a cuddly meme of a man is one of this franchises many crimes.

In his review of the movie, Roger Ebert said The Hangover: Part II plays like a challenge to the audiences capacity for raunchiness. He also draws attention to a moment in the credits where the characters recreate a very famous war photograph by Eddie Adams featuring the public execution of a Vietcong prisoner by police chief General Nguyn Ngc Loan. Thats Phillipss philosophy in a nutshell: poke and prod and goad people into offense for its own sake. The satisfaction comes from ensuring people are angry or shocked and Phillips seems to prize that more than long-term thought. Escape from the world by embracing the notion that it does nothing but confirm the worst thoughts we have about it.

There is something to be said about using nihilism as an artistic tool. It can be extremely effective in the right hands. It makes sense for a lot of Phillipss stories too. What is The Hangover if nothing but a reminder that the American comedy blockbuster is built on the backs of imbecilic frat bros who get away with the most disgusting behavior because they learn a vague lesson at the end, only here, the overgrown man-babies of Phillipss world learn nothing, to the point where they repeat all their worst mistakes twice over. Indeed, Joker is at its most effective when it has the nerve to commit to nihilism as Arthur/Jokers only salvation from a world that has used and abused him. Of course, the problem with Joker and Phillipss wider philosophy is that he so often chickens out from carrying it through to its logical storytelling conclusion. Joker has to pretend to be about something.

Hollywood is built on misanthropes. The history of directors working in the medium could easily be boiled down to a history of cranky old dudes getting their way, even as the world around them changes at a quicker pace than theyre ready for. Nowhere was this more evident with Phillips than when he went on his recent rant about how woke culture has ruined comedy and rendered him unable to make the films he wants to. Strong words coming from a man working in the traditional studio system whose last movie made a billion dollars. If nothing else, that quote certainly gave away why Phillipss work is the way it is. Its all very Ricky Gervais, isnt it? No depth, no concern for appropriate targets or wider ideas, just meanness because if he cant be bleak all the time then f*ck everything.

Nihilism is one thing, but the diluted attempt to wield it as a political and creative tool while lacking the guts required to truly commit is just sad. Phillips wants the provocation without the purpose. He wants to mean something while saying nothing. Its all a big fat joke but the punchline never made an appearance. Its okay, though: That just means we dont get it.

Kayleigh is a features writer for Pajiba. You can follow her on Twitter or listen to her podcast, The Hollywood Read.

Header Image Source: Getty Images.

Next Article

Continue reading here:

'Joker' and the Weak Nihilism of Todd Phillips - Pajiba

When I see the word mental illness, my mind goes straight to the word illness. Then a host of other words start to flow through my mind: disease, disability, impaired, bad, inferior, unworthy. The list continues, but the negative connotation of the words remain the same.

In our society, mental illness has a history of stigmatization. For example, in World War I and World War II, soldiers would come back from war and never speak about the debilitating stress they experienced. They pushed the stress to the side and gave it a name, shell shock. It was just how they got by. As my Great Uncle Bob said, None of them spoke about what happened overseas. No one.

All of these soldiers were suffering. These men had to come back to America and provide for their families. Who was going to listen to their stories? If they were lucky, maybe they could talk to their wives, or a childhood friend, but in actuality, there was a slim chance of this happening.

It is a different story today.

Just take a look at the new Joker movie and Joaquin Phoenixs stunning performance. Director Todd Phillips has taken a risk by exploring what it means to be human and to have empathy for a character you are supposed to despise.

As I watched the movie, I had a desire to rage against the nihilism of Arthur Fleck while simultaneously realizing that these emotions exist inside me. Obviously these emotions dont push me to the point of psychopathic action, but that is not the point, even though many critics draw the conclusion that by watching the movie one can become a nihilist or, in the extreme sense, a psychopath or school shooter (how silly).

In opposition to these claims, Joker is a piece of art that provokes and operates as a way of suggestion, as the American poet Franz Wright said about his poetry. The provocative nature of the film allows viewers to see how a mental illness develops in childhood through physical and emotional abuse, untold lies and a lack of humility from parents to ask how you are feeling.

All of this couldnt be done without Phoenix, who uses his acting talent to convey something of value to the viewers. Whether it be Phoenixs melodic dance in the bathroom or his unorthodox laughter (a medical condition), he portrays in the fullest sense of what it means to be destroyed in a world where you were never accepted in the first place.

Phoenix, through his acting, demonstrates that Arthur Fleck is a human with a history. He provokes viewers to writhe in their seat, leave with an uncomfortable empathy and ask themselves, am I supposed to feel this way?

In a way, Joker lends itself to what Carl Jung, a famous analytical psychologist, calls the social significance of art: Therein lies the social significance of art: it is constantly at work educating the spirit of the age, conjuring up the forms in which the age is most lacking.

Joker says what has not been said, making it a great piece of art that will hopefully win Phoenix and Phillips Oscars and provoke viewers to think about their own mental health and that of others.

I would admit that Joker made me think about what mental illness meant to me after having been through countless psychologists, psychiatrists, a 10-day trip to the psychiatric hospital and a diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

In my own view, I see mental illness through a scene from Good Will Hunting. The scene takes place at a pond, where Sean McGuire (Robin Williams) and Will Hunting (Matt Damon) are sitting on a bench. Sean goes on to tell Will that he doesnt know anything about life, love, art or war, but then ends the scene with a very important message to Will: I cant learn anything from you I cant read in some fucking book, unless you want to talk about you, who you are.

Dylan Welch is a member of the Class of 2022.

See the original post here:

People are starting to notice - The Bowdoin Orient

Isabel Lee

The first time I saw him, he was standing on the grass outside of the pool, surrounded by laughing teenagers and smiling sheepishly.

His name was Itai, I would soon find out. He was the golden boy of the delegation from Britain, a charming and self-deprecating nationally ranked swimmer. During the first week, his name fluttered off of the Brits lips, generating a group-wide Itai obsession.

I was at the International Summer Science Institute, called ISSI for short, a fellowship for the summer after high school. I had been selected into a group of 70 students from 17 different countries to spend three weeks at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, conducting research and exploring the country.

For me, ISSI was about starting fresh, beginning the process of rebuilding myself. I had woken up the day after my high school graduation feeling dazed, stunned that four years had escaped me in a whirlwind of coffee-filled all-nighters, frantic group text messages and last-minute review sheets. I noticed my journal sitting on my shelf, a gift from my dad in elementary school, and opened it up on the dining room table. My most recent entry was from eighth grade. I touched my face hesitantly, feeling water gathering on my cheeks, as I read the unselfconscious and hopeful anecdotes I had written before high school. I realized that I had lost my sense of wonder and eagerness to soak up the world around me in the intense marathon that was my high school experience.

My goal for that summer was to get back my true self, to breathe once again the air of being more than a student, to be an active, hungry partaker in the beauty of the world. I hoped to make genuine, interesting friends who would enable me to tap back into that true self. Itai was nothing more than a good-looking, charismatic distraction.

I easily became a part of a friend group of American girls. My circle expanded to include non-Americans by week two. I was exposed to real-world issues, like hearing my Barcelonan labmates perspective on the Catalan conflict as he shared a story of how he guarded his high school during the referendum voting. Slowly, I felt myself returning.

By the time we packed up large duffels, covered ourselves in sunscreen, and boarded a coach bus for the culminating desert excursion trip, I was happier than I had been for the past four years. ISSI felt like my personal paradise: thought-provoking individuals from around the world living together among palm trees and world-renowned research labs.

On the first night of the excursion, a few of us stayed up late talking. I remember asking a nerdy question about the future of artificial intelligence. Itai, whom I had never heard make more than a funny comment, seemed to come to life, his face suddenly becoming much more serious and his voice quickening as he shared an endless stream of arguments, complete with statistics.

I smirked, thinking about how even the popular blond boy was intelligent at nerd camp. Friends kept drifting off to bed until just Itai and I remained. As I spoke with him that night, I grasped that Itai was literally a genius, a math prodigy with mastery of philosophy, history and literature.

We stayed up till 5 a.m. that morning, just talking. When I stumbled out of my cabin the next morning for sunrise yoga, he caught my eye and grinned, sauntering over to explain how he didnt feel tired because of sleep-cycle timing. Barely able to hold my tree pose, I unsuccessfully tried to convince myself that I had experienced the same scientific phenomenon.

Nonetheless, we continued our late-night chats for the rest of the desert trip, talking until we saw the sun peek above the mountains. I had never admired someone more, and I felt Itai continuously transform my worldviews as he shared his thoughts on everything from string theory to what defines a life well-lived. He would often veer off into tangents, his love of knowledge bubbling out of him as he apologized profusely for getting sidetracked.

Itai was almost unbelievable, too perfect to be true. And I had discovered this depth in him, this depth that he casually hid from the rest of the group under his veil of constant jokes. One night, he said, I feel that we were all these awkward, quiet kids in high school, and ISSI is our chance to connect with each other and be our real selves. I nodded but did not appreciate how right he was until months later.

Our last night in the desert, we slept under the stars, in a mush of sleeping bags in the sand. We had night shifts to watch for wolves, but Itai and I werent in the same shift. When I woke up for my 3 a.m. shift, I saw Itai alongside the other members of my team. He had waited up for me, and when my 15 minutes of wolf-watching ended, Itai and I walked far away from the campsite, sitting on a hill of sand.

I knew that Itai was interested in another girl on the program. But moved by the vastness of the stars or perhaps my complete lack of sleep, I did something that I had never had the courage to do with other boys: Itai, can I tell you something?

After a long introduction about how I didnt want this to hurt our friendship, I told him, I like you a little bit. In that moment, I was filled with adrenaline, feeling brave and powerful and unafraid. I wanted to feel how I felt with Itai forever.

And our friendship did continue. As I packed up my sleeping bag in the morning, Itai appeared next to me, pointing out a celestial change from the night before. When we returned to the Weizmann Campus for the last three nights of the program, we continued to sneak out of our dorms, roaming around acres of the massive campus in our pajamas until morning.

I assumed that Itai would be a part of my life from then on, a vibrant new thread in my lifes tapestry. On my flight home to New York, waiting for takeoff, my laughter at his text messages caused curious stares from fellow passengers. At baggage claim, I received a text with a customized bingo board whose boxes contained randomized hours of the day and night. For phone calls, Itai wrote in his text. Every time we are on the phone during a time on your board, which I promise Ive deleted from my computer, you cross off the box. I have saved a different randomized board on my computer. Whoever reaches Bingo first wins.

Yet, during the rest of the summer, his texting became distant and infrequent. In September, once I had already begun my gap year, I sent him a text at 3:33 a.m.: Why do you never share any details about your life?

He responded, I hate writing down things because that makes them feel unnecessarily permanent.

I sent back a polite thats interesting.

But obviously, I thought, it is necessary that things are permanent. I needed my friendship with Itai and the person I had become during ISSI to be permanent.

I texted again, But once things have happened, arent they automatically permanent, so why would writing them down make them more permanent?

Your perception of events is not permanent and is very actively changed. The issue of context of when you are remembering a specific memory must be considered, Itai answered.

After this conversation, we started talking even less until we stopped talking altogether. When I say we stopped talking, I mean that every couple of months, I optimistically send him a text a part of me expecting to discover that he just woke up from a long coma. But WhatsApp shows hes awake, just not responding. I began to consider Itai a temporary gift, an exquisite pattern within a specific spot of my lifes tapestry, the most incredible conversation partner that I have ever had. I wrote a journal entry about him and reassured myself that the impact he had on me would remain forever. Nothing could take that away from me.

But as the months have passed by, I have started to rethink what Itai said about permanence. I am realizing that my past experiences remain alive in my head, replaying themselves again and again. And during each replay, my relationship to these memories develops new layers.

As I learned about nihilism in philosophy class, for instance, I was brought back to that moment under the stone gate outside of our bunks where seconds before the automatic sprinkler system surprised us Itai explained why hes a nihilist but life remains meaningful for him. Reliving that memory, this time with a better understanding of nihilism, I was more touched by Itais brilliance.

Its not that Itai changed me in a permanent way. We as humans are constantly changing; permanence is a delusion, a human-made safety net whose absence is terrifying but real. And in the gaping hole of impermanence, Itai continues to change me for the better, for now.

** Names have been changed to ensure privacy.

Ayelet Kalfus | ayelet.kalfus@yale.edu

Read more:

The Evanescence of Three am - Yale Daily News

Crikey readers respond to recent revelations of transgressions by Westpac, and question whether we'll ever see the effects of the banking royal commission (or even an adequate response from the government).

Stephen Wigney writes: Revelations of Westpacs venal behaviour with respect to money laundering, together with the litany of continued abuses post-royal commission should make a few things clear: first, that regulators as currently constituted and funded do not have the resources to police an obviously corrupt sector; secondly, the invisible hand of the market has (surprisingly) failed in ensuring optimal outcomes for ordinary Australians; and thirdly, and in my view most importantly, it is now time for the prudential presence of a government run banking entity to be re-established. A commonwealth bank (no relation), offering retail banking with a remit to break even or return a mandated small profit back to government, overseen by a parliamentary committee, should be established to use market forces to complement a seriously funded and empowered financial regulator. There appears to be no other way given the total untrustworthiness of the current oligopoly.

Joanne Knight writes: Free markets are encouraging such fundamental levels of corruption that society is breaking down, rise of authoritarianism, child abuse, increasing poverty and inequality. Capitalism has reached a point where it defeats humanitys basic instinct for self preservation.

Marcus Hicks writes: Meanwhile we have a government obsessed with criminalising unions and further removing red tape for their big business donors.

Anne Lampe writes: Most likely the major cause of Westpac indifference to where money flowed abroad was that monitoring this area, or allocating resources to it, was regarded as a waste of money. It wasnt a profit centre that could deliver bonuses up the chain, so no point in resourcing it. Never mind that transactions might be funding terrorists, or child exploiters. If the transactions provide a profit, why put resources into stopping them

Gregory Bailey writes: Of course, it is time some senior bank executives received appropriate justice, but I cannot see this happening when the quiet Australian is indifferent to this situation and has been for the past thirty years or more. Nihilism and neoliberalism go together beautifully as the worlds best trickle-up theory.

Send your comments, corrections, clarifications and cock-ups to[emailprotected]. We reserve the right to edit comments for length and clarity. Please include your full name if you would like to be considered for publication.

Read the rest here:

Crikey Comments: Don't expect anything to change in broken banking - Crikey

The days are shorter. The sun grows wan in the sky. Everyday existence becomes a trudge from darkness to further darkness, with only biting cold and the misery of the working day wedged in-between. As December looms, most folk might be looking towards the electric light and popping parties of the festive season, but true miserabilists and misanthropes know that the dark end of the year belongs to them. In celebration, weve compiled our rundown of the 13 bleakest and most outright nihilistic releases in the history of rock andmetal.

Prepare to feel themisery

13. Godflesh Streetcleaner

Thirty years old on November 13 just passed, the monolithic masterpiece from Birmingham industrial metallers Godflesh still delivers that stomach lurching sense of hollow dread as severely today as it did the first time. Streetcleaner might face stiff competition in the bleakness stakes even within Godfleshs own discography hello, Pure and A World Lit Only By Fire but its sheer apocalyptic atmosphere and scene-changing impact is unsurpassed. Picking up on the work of American noise rockers Swans and their Brummie brethren in Napalm Death, songs with the suffocating power of Like Rats, Dream Long Dead and Devastator helped define the still emergent industrial subgenre and set a bar that has arguably yet to bereached.

12. Black Flag My War

Itd be impossible to put together a list like this without at least one mention of legendary Californian punks Black Flag. Representing the dark underbelly of The Golden State, the hardcore progenitors grappled with social isolation, paranoia, poverty and neurosis throughout their career (indeed, 1981 debut Damaged couldve easily made this list but for its sheer up-punching pugilistic spirit), but 1984s My War was the height of their sheer nihilism. Put together in poor conditions over four tense years where the band were unable to release material for legal reasons and during which legendary frontman Henry Rollins was becoming ever more of a powder-keg during live performances tracks like Beat My Head Against The Wall and The Swinging Man have oceans of misery beneath their high energyexteriors.

11. Gallows Grey Britain

When Watford punks Gallows signed a major-label deal with Warner Bros. records and hit the studio with renowned producer Garth Richardson, even longtime fans couldnt help but wonder whether their heroes had sold their souls for a pot of gold. Spectacularly, Frank Carter and his not-so-merry men did quite the opposite, emerging from the studio with one of the most unapologetically nihilistic records imaginable. Grey Britain is burning down, rang out the opening lyric on The Riverbed. Well be buried alive before we drown. These fair isles mightve actually slipped further towards oblivion in the decade since, but the soundtrack remains thesame

10. Manic Street Preachers The Holy Bible

The third LP from Welsh alt.rockers Manic Street Preachers remains a miserabilist landmark both within rock and the more mainstream indie genre the band would go on to inhabit in the 25 years since. Recorded while legendary rhythm guitarist/lyricist Richey Edwards was in the grip of depression, alcoholism, self-harm and anorexia, it unfolds as a tortured journal of his experience. The songs within darkly reflect his mental state, referencing subject matter as troubling as prostitution, serial killers, self-starvation, capital punishment, fascism and suicide and present an overwhelming sense of anger and resignation. Richey would infamously disappear just over five months after the records release on February 1 1995. The album remains a harrowing monument to his torturedgenius.

9. Type O Negative World Coming Down

Written in the wake of a series of deaths in frontman Peter Steeles family, World Coming Down plumbs a remarkable well of darkness even for the prodigiously depressive Brooklyn goth-metallers. Provisionally titled Prophets Of Doom And Aggroculture, album five saw a departure from the lyrical themes of love, sex and heartache with which theyd made their name in favour of far more desolate subject matter like cocaine addiction (White Slavery), bereavement (Everyone I Love Is Dead) and existential angst (Everything Dies). Incorporating cold, industrial instrumentation and reversed vocal backmasking alongside the sound of Gregorian chanting and organ music, it delivers lurching dread with realdynamism.

8. Killing Joke Killing Joke (1980)

When the debut LP Killing Joke was reviewed in K! predecessor Sounds, the reviewer awarded the album a perfect 5/5 score, but opted to addend a 1/5 rating for morality and warned that the music contained within might prove corrosive to the soul. They had a point. From cover artwork depicting the use of CS gas by British troops against peaceful protesters in Derry, Northern Ireland to the weird, industrial-inflected post-punk of Wardance, Requiem and Bloodsport, this was Jaz Coleman let off the leash. Its darkness has leached right through mainstream rock, too, with Dave Grohl naming the album amongst his all-time favourites, while Metallica covered The Wait on 1987s Garage Days RevisitedEP.

7. Nirvana In Utero

Nirvanas final release before Kurt Cobains death unfolds with a predictably caustic worldview. Teenage angst has paid off well, he sings on Serve The Servants, betraying an ominously shrouded worldview, now Im bored and old Kurt even originally wanted to name the album I Hate Myself And I Want To Die. Striving for an abrasive, naturalistic sound throughout recording, the album audibly matches up. Its as we dig into the darker themes underlying that things get really bleak, though. Scentless Apprentice retells the dark surrealism of Patrick Sskinds Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer. Milk It envisages lovers as conjoined parasites feeding off each others bodily waste. Heart Shaped Box reimagines the umbilical cord as a noose. Rape Me more or less speaks for itself Not a happyalbum.

6. Shining V: Halmstad

When a band self-define as suicidal-depressive black metal you know their output isnt ever going to be the cheeriest. Their infamous fifth LP, however featuring a monochrome picture of a young woman with a gun in her mouth on its cover remains their deepest, darkest moment. Beginning with a haunting excerpt from William Hughes Mearns 1889 poem Antigonish As I was going up the stair, I met a man who wasnt there. He wasnt there again today. I wish, I wish hed go away - on Ytterligare Ett Steg Nrmare Total Jvla Utfrysning (Yet Another Step Towards Complete Fucking Isolation), it simply does not letup.

5. Nailbomb Point Blank

The first and only release from industrial metal supergroup Nailbomb was a darkly uncompromising exercise. Bringing together Sepultura/Soulfly frontman Max Cavalera and Fudge Tunnel founder/producer extraordinaire Alex Newport (whose vocals are credited simply as Mouthful Of Hate) along with a handful of co-conspirators, Point Blank is an unrelenting slab of sonic cruelty. If that cover image of a U.S. soldiers gun pressed to the head of a female Vietcong fighter didnt give you an idea of the sheer nihilism contained within, song titles like Blind And Lost, Sum Of Your Achievements and Cockroaches certainlywill

4. My Dying Bride Turn Loose The Swans

Legendary West Yorkshire doomsters My Dying Bride are another of those outfits where any individual release could have made this list. The fact that 1993s sophomore LP Turn Loose The Swans outstrips 2015s bluntly-titled Feel The Misery in terms of sheer bleakness should signpost just how much of a plunge into suffocating darkness this album delivers. Far slower and more considered than their debut As The Flower Withers, this one saw the band delve into the trademark mournfulness and complexity that would become their trademark across tracks like The Songless Bird and The Snow In My Hand. Album closer Black God even takes its lyrics from 18th century Scottish poem Ah! The Shepherds Mournful Fate and it doesnt get much more forlorn thanthat.

3. Alice In Chains Dirt

Layne Staleys performance on the second Alice In Chains LP might just be the most painfully poignant in all of music. Specifically referencing heroin usage and its ravaging effects across tracks like Sickman, Junkhead and God Smack, the record was a window into Laynes spiralling personal experience. The concept loosely follows the anguish and uncertainty of usage through to the ultimate realisation that addiction itself is not an escape from suffering, but the prison that keeps the user tied in. Both Layne and bassist Mike Starr would ultimately pass away from overdoses, underlining the dark reality at the heart of thesesongs.

2. Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral

After 1989 debut Pretty Hate Machine had established Nine Inch Nails new brand of darkly seductive industrial to dancefloor dominating effect, few expected the lurch into much colder darkness that would follow. Moving into Los Angeles 10050 Cielo Drive the scene of the Manson familys infamous murders and christening his studio Le Pig, mainman Trent Reznor wove together a concept album without any radio ready singles charting the descent of one man from the beginning of his Downward Spiral right through to his eventual suicide. Courting controversy from conservative social commentators, copping blame for the Columbine massacre and going on to shift well over four million units worldwide, it remains arguably the most controversial mainstream rock release inhistory.

1. Warning Watching From A Distance

There is no notorious public backstory to Watching From A Distance, no lurid context in which it should be viewed. Its imagery unfolds with a sense of heart-rending romance, not expounding every tortured detail but largely in the abstract. The depths of anguish conjured by Essex-based frontman Patrick Walker (now of 40 Watt Sun), however, are still utterly, utterly unmatched. His music does the talking, he has previously explained, so why would he say more himself? And how it talks. Drawing from a palette of hopeless greys and washed out sepia tones, the five tracks of this 2006 masterpiece unfold at a funereal pace, all earthen riffage and hauntingly plaintive vocals, conjuring a potent, timeless atmosphere of melancholia. At recent reunion shows, the album was played in full, and grown men were seen openly weeping. To fully understand why, youll need to listen foryourself

Posted on November 18th 2019, 5:52pm

See the original post here:

The 13 Bleakest Rock And Metal Albums Ever - Kerrang!

On Tuesday morning, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, an Army officer detailed to the National Security Council, and Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, testified in the House impeachment hearings. Both were on the July 25 phone call in which President Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the favor of investigating Joe and Hunter Biden. Their testimony was not earth-shattering, but it did damage two of the Republican defenses to the Trumpian quid pro quo that Democrats are now characterizing alternately as bribery and extortion.

Last week, Republicans complained that the Democrats only presented weak hearsay evidence. The testimony of Vindman and Williams took that defense off the table, because they both have first-hand knowledge of the July 25 call. Vindman also attended a July 10 meeting involving a Ukrainian delegation in which the quid pro quo was first discussed.

The second defense that was rendered inoperable is the Republican argument that the Ukrainians didnt know that the president was holding up diplomatic and financial goodies unless they complied with his demand to investigate the Bidens. How could there be a favor for favor, they asked, if the Ukrainians werent even aware that they had to launch investigations if they wanted the nearly $400 in military aid that Congress had authorized in the spring of 2019?

Vindmanwho speaks fluent Ukrainian and Russiantestified that Zelensky mentioned the company linked to Hunter Biden by name on the July 25 call. The name Burisma is not one that would have come up had Zelensky not been briefed on it, Vindman explained, and he wouldnt have been briefed on it if it didnt matter to President Trumpand therefore to Ukraine. For her part, Williams also confirmed that Burisma was expressly mentioned on the call, although the word didnt appear in the White Houses call summary. (Vindman testified that he failed in his internal attempts to have Burisma explicitly mentioned in the call summary before it was released.)

A lawyers instinct in watching the impeachment hearings is to look for whether there is a defense on the meritsthat is, whether there is an alternative version of the facts that makes sense.

The evidence presented so far shows that a White House meeting for the newly elected Ukrainian presidentand the military aid needed to defend the country against Russian aggressionwas withheld pending Zelenskys public announcement of investigations into Joe and Hunter Biden and supposed Ukrainian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections. The evidence also shows that the presidents personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, was given substantial foreign policy authority that was ultimately exercised in a manner demonstrably at odds with the official U.S. policy towards Ukraine.

So far, there is no meaningful defense on the merits. None.

The one question remainingreally the only oneis: Who cares?

Or as some people frame it: Is the presidents established conduct impeachable?

If you wanted to answer this question on the merits, youd have to keep in mind that the president takes an oath of office to uphold the Constitution on behalf of the United States of America. Scholars have likened the presidency to a fiduciary relationship or a power of attorneythe idea being that the holder of the office is empowered only to act on behalf of his constituents. Unlike a monarchy, the presidency is not a divine grant of power to a particular individual.

Imagine, for example, that a trustee is charged with managing a $10 million trust fund until the beneficiary turns 18. The fiduciary needs cash to launch his own start-up company, so he takes the $10 million and invests it in the company for his own benefit. Clearly, such self-enrichment would be a violation of the fiduciarys legal obligation to act solely in the interests of the beneficiary.

Likewise, the facts so far establish that Trump used his office to try and secure his own power in 2020. He did this in a way that undermined the written national security policy of the United Stateswhich the president himself signedas well as the interests of the American people.

And again, there is no alternative version of events offered by Republicans.

Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee attempted to challenge Vindman for bias and leaking (there is no evidence for either suggestion). Devin Nunes railed against the media and assailed Robert Muellers investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 election. Republicans made a great deal of noise about matters that have been reported in the press. (Which is odd, since just last week Republicans were wailing about the lack of witnesses with first-hand knowledge of events.)

But through it all, Republicans have not put even a dent in the central story of abuse of office by the president of the United States.

The only Republican argument left is a postmodern nihilism: You cant make us care.

And its true. Nothing can make Republicans take abuse of power by this president seriously. They too are elected to represent the people, but seem more eager to focus their attention on sudoku or cribbage or whatever wealthy old men in a minority party do to fill the time.

But when we refuse to care is the basis of an entire political partys view of a constitutional crisis, then something has gone very, very wrong. And the problem does not stop with the president.

Reason and argument are the only guideposts which prevent politics from devolving into pure will-to-power. When one of our political parties openly abandons even the pretense of reason and disdains even the idea of argument and instead retreats into the smug assertion that they simply will not countenance either evidence or the law, we are in dangerous territory.

UPDATE (7 p.m. EST): Republicans had the best run to date with the two witnesses who testified Tuesday afternoon, former special envoy Kurt Volker and national security aide Tim Morrison. This was as expected.

Heres the alternative defense narrative that finally squeaked out:

Volker testified that Trump was distrustful of the Ukrainians based in part on bogus conspiracy theories peddled by Rudy Giuliani and others. He suggested that the military aid was held up until September 11 because Trump was skeptical about the Ukrainians in general. When Zelensky convened a parliament on September 2 and began anti-corruption initiatives, Trump released the aid a little over a week later.

For his part, Morrison testified that he believes the July 25 call was not inappropriate (even though he went to National Security Council lawyers about concerns with political fallout from a leak of the call record). He explained that, at the time of the call, he didnt have an issue with Trump asking President Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden, but admitted that Trumps asking for an investigation of someone like Nancy Pelosi or Kurt Volker would not be acceptable.

Morrison also said that the burying of the whistleblower complaint on a top-secret server by NSAs top lawyer was a mistake (according to that lawyer, John Eisenberg).

Heres the nagging problem for Trumps defenders: These were the best witnesses on the roster for Trump so far, and the central narrative has not changed.

In fact, like Gordon Sondland before him, Volker changed his original testimony today. At his October 3 deposition, Volker said he had no recollection of Gordon Sondland bringing up the Burisma/2016 election investigations at the July 10 meeting in the White House with a Ukrainian delegation. Volker also testified that he had no recollection of then-National Security Advisor John Bolton abruptly ending that meeting with the now-famous drug deal jab. Today, however, Volker said that his recollection was refreshed by Lt. Col. Alexander Vindmans testimony that Sondland did in fact raise the investigations on July 10.

Volker also testified that he didnt understand Trumps sought-after investigations of Burisma to mean investigations of the Bidens, but that in hindsight he should have made that connection. He added that a presidents getting a foreign government to investigate a political rivalparticularly a former vice presidentis inappropriate, and that this is what he later saw recorded in the call notes of the July 25 conversation between Zelensky and Trump.

Morrison testified that he was on the July 25 call, that the Bidens were mentioned, that the word corruption was not, and that he had a sinking feeling after GordonSondland told him that a Ukrainian investigation into the Bidens was necessary as a condition to Trumps release of the aid.

Bingo.

One thing remains crystal clear and unrebutted: Every witness to date concurs that the promotion of democracy and the rule of law in Ukraine is in Ukraines and Americas interest, and antithetical to Russias interestand that Trumps withholding of Ukrainian aid was bad for both Ukraine and America.

Go here to read the rest:

The Republicans Impeachment Shrug - The Bulwark

By Matt Levin | CalMatters

Please subscribe to the Gimme Shelter podcast onApple Podcasts,Stitcher,Soundcloud, Google Play, Spotify or Overcast

Youd forgive Californians for rolling their eyes. When a vaguely apocalyptic combination of wildfires and power blackouts left vast swaths of the state without electricity and breathable air last month, a bevy of stories in national media outlets fromThe AtlantictoThe New York Timesdeclared the state officially unlivable.

A very un-Californian nihilism has been creeping into my thinking, wrote California-based New York Times columnist Farhad Manjoo. Im starting to suspect were over. Its the end of California as we know it.

The hyperbole from most of the national pieces was as predictably familiar to longtime Californians as Thanksgiving, when visits from out-of-state relatives result in a game of passive aggressive California bingo: Dont you miss seasons? B!. Wow, so much traffic on a holidayI! Good lord the sales tax here BINGO!

The California is over national media trope has been its own cottage industry for decades. We were over after the Manson murders, the Rodney King riots, the record budget deficits of the late 2000s, the collapse of the whole boutique-cupcake phenomenon.

But to many Californians, deep down in places we dont like to talk about, this time does feel different. The twin threats of climate change and the states housing affordability crisis both slow-moving disasters we feel increasingly helpless to address have changed the mental calculus for an entire generation of residents.

Why pay twice as much for a home here as elsewhere in the country to breathe bad air, endure hours-long commutes and then have our power turned off so we dont catch on fire? Polling and migration data show younger and lower-income Californians are increasingly deciding its just not worth it.

On this episode of Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast, CalMatters Matt Levin and the Los Angeles Times Liam Dillon interview Manjoo about whether California has reached a true tipping point, and why the state cant fix some of its fundamental flaws.

CalMatters.orgis a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

The author wrote this for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how Californias Capitol works and why it matters.

Here is the original post:

Podcast: Is it really the end of California as we know it? - Black Voice News

With the latest chapter of Attack On Titan, as the franchise hurtles toward its action packed conclusion, we're shown a quieter moment wherein Eren Jaeger and his friends within the Survey Corps arrive at the nation of Marley. With the war hardened crew finally arriving at their destination across the sea, we get a better look at the inner workings of Marley and its people. While their technological advancements and society mimic our own, there is a deep seated hatred within Marley for the nation of Eldia and the refugees from there.

Before we dive into the nihilism, Attack On Titan manages to give us some levity with Eren and his crew experiencing things that they have never encountered before. Half of the company mistaking a car for a cow or a horse is hilarious, and their reaction to eating ice cream for the first time is worth the price of admission. However, things go from good to bad fairly quickly as a young pick pocket is caught by an angry crowd. Stolen loot in hand, the crowd begins mulling over what to do with this "refugee". Thanks to some quick thinking on the part of Levy, the child escapes unscathed.

Still, it was clear from the threats and declarations of hatred toward the boy that Marley has a deep seated fear of those they consider to be "different". The boy and his family live in tents outside of the main city, having lost their homes in the war but aren't given similar housing as those within the city walls due to their status. Unfortunately, things get even worse from here.

During a government meeting, those in power in Marley reveal just how much hatred they hold for Eldia and its people, basically shoving Eren into the waiting arms of his brother Zeke. Of course, with the recent events that have taken place, we know that the younger brother's goal is far different from Zeke's.

What do you think about the inner workings of Marley? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Titans!

Attack on Titan was originally created by Hajime Isayama for Kodansha's Bessatsu Shonen Magazine in 2009. It's set in a world where the last remnants of humanity live within a walled city in order to escape the danger of the Titans, a race of giants monsters that eats humans. The lead character, Eren Yeager, ends up joining the military with his two childhood friends Mikasa and Armin after the Titans break through the wall and attack his hometown. Now Eren, Mikasa, and Armin must survive in a world where they not only have the Titans to fear, but the very humans they are trying to save. You can currently find the series streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.

Read more:

Horrifying Attack On Titan Scene Reveals How Refugees Are Treated - Comicbook.com

From long-sequestered J-pop acts making their Spotify debuts to neglected artists getting the reissue treatment, the past few years have seen ample opportunities for musicians looking to make a mark outside Japan.

Speaking after returning from his first solo tour of the U.S., Shintaro Sakamoto is happy to admit that hes feeling the benefits, too.

I think the fact that a lot of people are listening to my music overseas, in countries Ive never been to, is thanks to things like Spotify and YouTube, the 52-year-old says.

When he embarked on a solo career at the start of the decade, after more than 20 years fronting rock trio Yura Yura Teikoku, Sakamoto didnt expect his new music to click with an international audience. Compared with his previous bands output, his 2011 solo debut, How to Live with a Phantom, seemed too understated, too lyric-driven.

I was under the impression that people in the U.S. who listened to Japanese music were interested in things that were really extreme strange, experimental avant-garde or psychedelic stuff, he recalls.

Yura Yura Teikoku had ticked all of those boxes at some point in its lengthy career, albeit while retaining a strong melodic sensibility rooted in the late-1960s heyday of garage and psychedelic rock. Musically, the group was a kindred spirit to American indie perennials Yo La Tengo, but in terms of cultural standing it was closer to Radiohead, the alternative band of choice for a generation of discerning Japanese music fans.

After the members parted ways amicably in 2010, having decided theyd achieved as much as they were going to, Sakamoto didnt try to trade on past glories. He retired from touring, started his own label Zelone Records and retreated into a hermetic sound world where he was answerable only to himself.

I was really just looking to make music that would slot in comfortably alongside the records I listen to normally, he says. I wasnt planning on playing it live, and the music I enjoy at home isnt necessarily something youd perform in front of a big audience its more for listening to in a small room, by yourself.

While he didnt exactly make a clean break from his earlier work, he pared things down, trading in the guitar fuzz for muted exotica and sotto funk. On first listen, the sound of solo Sakamoto could almost pass for easy listening, but this was music for a holiday resort where the drinks were poisoned and the swimming pool had run dry.

Theyre not light-hearted songs, he confirms. Theyre generally dark, but I like to give it a little twist, or inject some silliness.

Crowd pleaser: Shintaro Sakamoto recently hit four cities for his first solo tour of the United States. | ZELONE RECORDS

Like 1970s rock perfectionists Steely Dan, the smooth surfaces of Sakamotos music conceal a sour lyrical core. Titles like Never Liked You, But Still Nostalgic and Dancing with Pain offer a warning to unwitting listeners, and the songs are populated by robots, phantoms and other denizens of the uncanny.

The title track of 2016 album Love If Possible puts a very literal spin on the old cliche about having your heart ripped out: Look at this gaping hole in my chest. Its embarrassing, isnt it? Its the kind of mordant nihilism that flourished in postwar Japanese literature, as if Kobo Abe had tried to write a pop song.

In person, Sakamoto is impeccably deadpan. Each question is greeted with a s desu ne (thats right), delivered in a laconic monotone considerably lower than his singing voice. When he cracks a joke, his poker face expression creases into a smile so slight you could almost miss it.

I dont have a sunny disposition, but I dont think Im that gloomy either, he says. Im just not one of those straightforwardly cheerful people whos always trying to get the party started.

These are the sorts of inflections that tend to get lost when music crosses the language barrier. Overseas audiences grooving to the tropical lilt of This World Should Be More Wonderful probably dont realize theyre dancing to a song about an impending apocalypse, let alone how serious its intended to be.

Yet, Sakamoto says that language is no longer the deal breaker it once was.

I think people in other countries have probably lost some of the hang-ups they once had about listening to songs in Japanese, he says. There used to be this idea that you wouldnt make it overseas unless you sang in English, but now I feel like singing in a different language might actually be seen as a benefit.

This is validating for a musician who has always been a staunch advocate of working in his native tongue. Back in the 1960s, there was a widespread perception in Japan that English was the authentic language of rock, with Japanese an ungainly, inadequate substitute.

Despite the efforts of subsequent generations of musicians, this idea still persisted when Sakamoto was starting out. Along with likeminded bands such as Maria Kannon, Yura Yura Teikoku resolved to make rock that actually sound good in Japanese, working with the natural rhythms and phonics of the language.

I was always giving a lot of thought to how the lyrics fit the music, not just in terms of meaning but also the way they sounded, he says. So if you look at it the other way around, I guess people can appreciate the sounds of the words, even if they dont understand the meaning.

Having been a music festival fixture for years, Sakamotos retreat from live performance following the bands split took many people in Japan by surprise. After fending off numerous requests to play at home, he eventually accepted an offer to appear at the Week-End Fest in Germany in late 2017.

Id got some good players together, he says, referring to his core band of bassist Aya and drummer Yuta Suganuma, so I knew we could do shows if we wanted to. But I could see how that good feeling we had playing in the studio would disappear if we took it to a big venue.

The solution, however counterintuitive it may seem, was to play quietly. Sakamoto recalls watching Canadian multi-instrumentalist Mocky on his first Japan tour and being struck by how low the volume level was.

I was surprised at first, but as I gradually got used to it, I realized that small changes were having an amazing effect, he says. As its so quiet, it only takes a little extra push to create this huge impact, and you can appreciate even the subtlest nuances in the playing. That offered me a few hints.

The secret now, he says, is in keeping things fresh. Sakamoto has deliberately limited the number of shows he plays in Japan his current tour encompasses just four dates and has so far resisted invitations to appear at domestic music festivals.

Its all about making sure I dont get sick of doing this, he says.

Fans in Japan who missed out on tickets for his latest gigs can catch him in a different setting in January, when he voices the lead character in On-Gaku: Our Sound, a band-themed anime based on Hiroyuki Ohashis cult manga. Sakamoto says he was a fan of the original, and was impressed to hear that director Kenji Iwaisawa had spent seven years working on the screen adaptation.

As an artist himself he is a prolific illustrator who creates all the visuals for his albums Sakamoto couldnt help respecting the dedication. Though he initially declined overtures from both Iwaisawa and Ohashi to appear in the film, he ultimately surrendered, happy to do a favor for someone as single-minded as he is.

Knowing that hed spent seven years animating it, I couldnt really say no, he says. If Id been asked by someone else, I probably wouldnt have done it.

Shintaro Sakamoto plays Showa Womens University Hitomi Memorial Hall in Tokyo on Nov. 26, and Sakurazaka Central in Naha, Okinawa, on Dec. 6. For more information, visit zelonerecords.com.

See the original post here:

Shintaro Sakamoto: The art of disappearing in plain sight - The Japan Times