Listen, Damn You!

Let's talk about Black Monk Time.


These days, the Monks are generally considered (by musicians and music nerds and me) to be one of the most important of the sixties garage rock bands. They started out as a bunch of American soldiers stationed in Germany in 1964. That doesn't necessarily inspire confidence in their musical prowess, but their isolation is often seen as being crucial in their ability to develop such a unique sound. They were free to be ruthlessly experimental. Musically, Black Monk Time ranges from manic to minimal and droning at times. As bassist Eddie Shaw said:

"We got rid of melody. We substituted dissonance and clashing harmonics. Everything was rhythmically oriented. Bam, bam, bam. We concentrated on over-beat."

The lyrics range from playful to bizarre. This is the wonderfully negative "I Hate You", which the esteemed uploader has edited together with old Israeli footage with quite effective results:



Thanks for that, Youtube. There's also quite a bit of live stuff on there from German TV, which is well worth a watch.

Remember, this was 1965. The biggest song that year was Unchained Melody. Yes, the rest of the top 5 was the Beatles and Stones (it really wasn't a bad year). But stylistically and experimentally, the Monks were about ten years ahead of their time. People say that kind of shit all the time, but in this case it happens to be true.

Occasionally Black Monk Time verges on the twee. A case in point:



Which is still a pretty awesome song. Even during these borderline corny moments, there's still this undercurrent of "there's something seriously fucked-up going on here." The haircuts help too, I guess. Give Black Monk Time a listen, it's sinister and fun!

Baby Hitlerface

Eschewing the common tendency to make mention of the long hiatus I have taken from this blog, please allow me to instead draw your attention to the work of the mighty Michael Kupperman, one of the few cartoonists who can reliably make me laugh out loud with only ink on paper. That's pretty impressive if you think about it. Here's a page I shamelessly pilfered from one of his Flickr sets (click to embiggen):


Seriously, check out all of his Flickr collections. Then read his blog. And go buy his book. Who am I to be making all these unreasonable demands of your time and money? Well may you ask. But it'll be worth it. The man's a fucking genius.

Liver Damage

Fell off the wagon Saturday night. Proper post tomorrow.

A hiatus

Alcohol and I have been fast friends through thick and thin, thus the title of this blog. And yes, I have tried to always be drinking when I post which probably explains the quality of the content and the number of typos (now corrected, I think). But lately, alcohol has been giving me a headache. After, like two fucking beers. So instead of fighting and making a mess of our long and beautiful relationship, we're having a break from one another. I'm going to try to stay on the wagon for a month. See if my liver thanks me. That means the 13th of August (been dry for four days now). Then, I dunno, maybe alcohol and I will paint the town red or something.

Andy Kehoe

Andy Kehoe is a Californian artist who specialises in brilliantly executed paintings reminiscent of childhood dreams and nightmares, juxtaposing at times grim subject matter with a kind of whimsy that elevates them far above the work of many of his contemporaries. But don't take my word for it, take a look at his site, it's worth the price of admission for his hilarious biography alone.

The Mercy Seat

Does it count as blogging if you just embed a Youtube video?



No? Oh well, fuck it then.

Eight Facts About Gin

1. Gin is flavoured with juniper berries
2. Gin was once sold in pharmacies as a cure for kidney ailments
3. Gin is a thing of sublime magnificence
4. In 1740 gin production in England was four times that of beer
5. Gin was an invention of the wonderful Dutch people
6. It's consumption is also responsible for the term "Dutch Courage"
7. Mother's Ruin!
8. Gin makes you smarter and more attractive