nuzzaci - an online journal

I didn’t really know what to expect on my first Marilyn Manson gig. I’ve seen a few live videos and heard about his amazing theatrical stage performances and stage set, for instance, the Hitler-esk podium act during Antichrist Superstar, but for the last few years I haven’t been tuned in to the world of Marilyn Manson.

I attended the concert with Richard Dee and Simon Waterfall. Richard was a Manson Virgin, as I, while Simon was an experienced manson-ite.

On our arrival to Wembley I was a bit disappointed. I thought the concert was in the new Wembley Stadium, built in 2007 and seating 90,000; not Wembley Arena, built in 1934 and seating 12,300. But since the Arena turned out to be about 1 third empty — the entire back section of the arena — I can see why they chose the Arena and not the Stadium. Obviously I thought an artist of Marilyn Manson’s caliber would attract a larger audience. So, even before I entered the venue, I had to re-adjust my expectations; turn the dial down a few levels. One positive outcome of the smaller venue was that our otherwise poor seating was closer to the stage.

Similar to a check-in queue in airports; it’s fairly easy to guess what has brought the gathering of people together. In an airport it’s the destination, at a concert it’s the artist. An audience is an artist’s reflection. So, on a Marilyn Manson concert… well, I can’t say it’s a pretty sight. Freakshow is not the right word but the first that comes to mind. Confused. Lost. No. One thing is certain — I didn’t blend in. So, to be honest, I was the freak.

Supporting Marilyn Manson was the Norwegian deathpunk band, Turbonegro. They are absolutely wicked. Unfortunately not that many people were there to see Turbonegro, and Turbojugend, their famous fan club, didn’t seem to have many representatives present. When Turbonegro tried to get the audience to sing along to the song “I got Erection”, hardly anyone joined in. So Hank Von Helvete, the lead singer, abandoned the attempt and tried get the audience to sing “I’m a Londoner, so I can’t get an erection” instead. Brilliant.

Photograph captured by Andrew Kendall

And then came Manson. From start to finish the performance just grew and and grew and got better and better and better and better. Looking back on it, I don’t think he could have failed even if he tried too. With songs like Disposable Teen, mOBSCENE, The Irresponsible Hate Anthem, Sweet Dreams, The Fight Song, Rock Is Dead, The Dope Show, Antichrist Superstar and The Beautiful People, I can’t see how a failure would have been possible.

One thing that I wouldn’t have minded more of is dialogue between the songs. I see dialogue between songs as bonus material that you don’t get on albums, and it’s something I treasure quite highly when I go to a concert. A front figure like Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine can get away with not uttering a single word during a concert, but he belongs to the exceptions and not the norm. An artist like Marilyn Manson is the kind of artist you’d expect and want to speak his mind between songs.

As the concert kept going, I began to get very jealous of the job of my fellow Swede and guitarist, Tim Sköld. I would have loved to be on that stage and play those tunes. So much energy. So easy and yet so damn good. However, I have learned that Tim’s role in the band extends way beyond just playing guitar live — he’s producing, editing, doing artwork, electronics, drum programming and beats, playing guitar, keyboards, accordion, synthesizer bass and backup vocals — which I can’t say I envy. But to stand on a stage and deliver the energy of those songs through a guitar — priceless.

Photograph captured by David Herranz

One thing that struck me during ‘The Fight Song’, while the words FIGHT were flashing up in big red letters behind the stage, and the main part of the standing audience were raising their fists and screaming along “FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!”, was how provocative Marilyn Manson really is. We liberal Europeans shouldn’t forget that Manson’s main audience is based in America, where about 80% of the population are christians. As Simon Price on the Independent said:

Context, of course, is everything. A recent USA Today /CNN /Gallup poll revealed that 88 per cent of the American population believe that God had at least some hand in the creation of life on Earth. And so, when Marilyn Manson ascends a lectern for a mock-Nazi rally during “Antichrist Superstar” and sets fire to a copy of the Bible, one has to remember where he comes from.

If Manson’s shock tactics appear a little blunt to us urbane Europeans, one has to remember that this – the land of the religious right, the Intelligent Designers and the pro-lifers – is the battleground where he fights.

Photograph captured by James Harber

As the lighters during a ballad have been replaced with the light of a camera-phone, youtube seems to be the replacement for photography, reviews and set lists. I had to spend quite a while online to locate the set list of the night, I finally managed to find it on lyingonthecovers.net, but way before I managed to do that, my search query had found basically the whole concert through the eyes of a camera-phone lens on youtube.

1. If I Was Your Vampire (See it on YouTube)
2. Disposable Teens (See it on YouTube)
3. mOBSCENE (See it on YouTube)
4. Tourniquet (See it on YouTube)
5. The Irresponsible Hate Anthem (See it on YouTube)
6. Are You The Rabbit? (See it on YouTube)
7. Sweet Dreams (See it on YouTube)
8. Lunchbox (See it on YouTube)
9. The Fight Song (See it on YouTube)
10. Putting Holes In Happiness (See it on YouTube)
11. Heart Shapped Glasses (See it on YouTube)
12. Rock Is Dead (See it on YouTube)
13. The Dope Show (See it on YouTube)
14. The Reflecting God (See it on YouTube)
15. Antichrist Superstar (See it on YouTube)
16. The Beautiful People (See it on YouTube)

Enjoy.

Last time Ani Difranco visited the UK, Willow and I had tickets to the concert in Edinburgh but couldn’t go. So this time around i decided early on that only illness or death would be valid scenarios to prevent me from attending this concert. My character was put to the test when i realised that the F1 season finale in Brazil would collide with the concert. The question was never Ani DiFranco or the Formula One, the question was whether or not I would be able to watch the F1 first and then rush over to Shepherd’s Bush Empire for the concert. I decided it was too much of a gamble — even if it might be possible. I also decided that i didn’t want the outcome of the F1 to have an impact on how i would enjoy the concert.

Since i didn’t watch the race live, i knew i had to be careful with reading any text messages or answering any incoming calls to my mobile phone. So i only read text messages that arrived from people i knew weren’t interested in F1 or didn’t know i’m totally addicted to it. So when i got a text message from a Swedish mobile number that i hadn’t stored in my addressbook came through i thought it was safe. It read:

Vilken härlig tävling

Which means; What a wonderful competition

I didn’t know if i was being paranoid or not. A Formula One Grand Prix is not a competition — it’s a race. No, i thought, this must mean something else or it’s meant for someone else…. Then it hit me: Kari Kontro! I suspected (and later it turned out that i was right) that the text message from my ex girlfriend’s dad.

Kari and i had quite a few nice races together between the years 1999-2002. We were a bit like ying and yang when it came to Formula One; he being from Finland obviously liked McLaren with Mika Häkkinen from 1993 to 2001 and 2002 to 2006 with Kimi Räikkönen, me being half italian obviously loves Ferrari.

Anyone who knows people from Finland (or have seen press conferences with Mika or Kimi) now understand that the text message he sent to me has so much more weight and meaning than if it was sent from somebody with any other european cultural background. It could mean “YES!!!! KIMI WON!!!!“, it could mean, “It was really exiting. Kimi came close once again.“, it could mean, “Alonso and Hamilton were wheel to wheel during the end of the race.“. It’s now been a month and we all know what it meant (KIMI WON!!), but that’s now. A month ago i was sitting on the second balcony on Shepherd’s Bush Empire waiting for Ani Difranco to go on stage.

© Steve Asenjo 2007

Ani is special. A bit like special needs but without needs. Rather the opposite. She’s an extremely talented independent feminist solo artist measuring 157cm (5′ 2″) operating in a male dominated industry that focuses mainly on marketing female artists for their look and sex appeal; not their talent.

If you’ve read a few of my post (or know me in person) you might already know that i despise the modern music industry and am extremely pleased that they are down on their knees and covered in shit. Ani, to me, represents what music should be all about. I’m not tying it to the genre of music or that she has a political view or even that she is an extremely talented guitarist, lyricist and songwriter; she does what she does for the right reasons, and i adore her for it. Honesty before greed. Love and passion.

This was my first Ani concert, so i can’t compare it to any other Ani concert, but as far as concerts go — it was amazing. I went to the concert with Willow and Karl Ringman, and we all loved it.

I managed to capture a bit of footage with my mobile phone. It’s maybe not the best set up - a mobile phone on the second balcony - but small things can achieve great stuff. What i captured was Ani preforming a poem and a new song.

I’ve been a few places now, flown through vast empty spaces with stewardists who’s hands look much older than their faces.

My new mission is to write happy songs. Yeah i know — good luck — yeah i don’t know. Its like a fucking muscle i never used.

What doesn’t show in the footage (and that i haven’t mention yet) is how amazing the drummer was. Her name is Allison Miller and she was perfect.

Willow, wrote:

Leaving an Ani gig, you want to fill in the blanks of a conversation you started with her in your mind.

and i totally agree. I think Willow and I have to invite Ani over for bruschetta and a plate of freshly homemade spaghetti.

On Thursday Willow and I went to see concert number 20 of the 21 concerts Prince preformed in London through August and September. The 21 concerts add up to a total of 52 and a half hours on stage, 504 songs and an audiences of half a million.

The concert was psychologically the shortest concert I have ever been to in my entire life. The two hours felt like 10 minutes. On one hand this is a bit disappointing, on the other, it’s extremely impressive.

I do believe if more artists, musicians and other people involved within the music industry had the same approach to music and performances as Prince Rogers Nelson, the world would be a better place (or, at least, the music scene would be less cluttered with transparent plastic laminated disposable s**t).

Unlike other Chuck Palahniuk books, it has taken me a few months to actually get my teeth into this one. I received Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey already back in May, but it wasn’t until last week that I actually started reading it. One of the reasons for the delay was due to the form in which the book was written — an oral biography.

Author’s Note:

This book is written in the style of an oral history, a form which requires interviewing a wide variety of witnesses and compiling their testimony. Anytime multiple sources are questioned about a shared experience, it’s inevitable for them occasionally to contradict each other. For additional biographies written in this style, please see Capote By George Plimpton, Edie by Jean Stein, and Lexicon Devil by Brendan Mullen.

So, unavoidably, the biggest talking point on Rant is not the actual story, but in the form it’s been written. This can also form the result that the story itself (cough) maybe doesn’t have the equal depth as Chucks previous books… but the new format does keep it interesting.

As an ongoing Chuck Palahniuk reader, I found this book as a step backwards — back to 2001 — which in Mr Palahniuk’s case (in my opinion) is a good thing. Rant is more in line with his first books released pre 9/11 (Fight Club, Survivor, Invisible Monsters, Choke) than the ones released post (Lullaby, Diary, Haunted).

So if you have read other books by Chuck Palahniuk, and liked them, you will definitely enjoy this one. If you’re new to Mr Palahniuk, I would recommend any of the four books released before 2001 instead of Rant. Maybe Choke or Invisible Monster, since both are on their way to the big screen (Choke and Invisible Monsters on IMDB), and it’s always good to have read the book before you have seen the movie.

Due to the format of Rant, I do believe it would be a really interesting film… too.

More than a handful of new (some new to the world, some new to me) music albums have found their way past me the last couple of weeks. Normally I stumble upon new stuff every other week, so this is a much higher rotation than normal. I haven’t given all of them justice yet, some of the albums have just gone through the wires of my headphones once, but I have gotten a good enough idea to share my highs and lows.

This is the line-up:

1. Favourite Worst Nightmare by Artic Monkeys
2. Volta by Bjork
3. Radiodread by Easy Star All Stars
4. New Moon by Elliott Smith
5. Giant by Herman Düne
6. Ego by Kristoffer Jonazon
7. Latest Version of the Truth by Mustasch
8. Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails
9. Pieces of the People We Love by The Rapture
10. Release the Stars by Rufus Wainwright
11. What if Leaving is a Loving Thing by Sahara Hotnights
12. Our Ill Wills by Shout Out Louds
13. World of it’s Own by Tingsek
14. Sky Blue Sky by Wilco

So, the majority of the albums are OK. Some are more promising (Easy Star All Stars, Wilco, Rufus Wainwright) than others (Sahara Hotnights, Bjork, Kristoffer Jonzon), but none of them are a waste of time.

The biggest disappointment comes naturally from the one with the highest expectations - Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails. Many people hated their previous album — With Teeth, which I had absolutely nothing against what-so-ever. But this one just doesn’t cut it. Trent Reznor is a genius. He has shown that album after album. This is not a work of a genius.

The actual campaign for the album has received quite a lot of press, offline as well as online. I prefer a good album above a good campaign.

But, as I said: the expectations on the album were high. Even if it was a huge disappointment, it still is one of the better albums so far this year. It’s just that the below image, is nothing I associate with a Nine Inch Nails’ album.

The play count clearly shows that the idea of listening to the album is greater then actually listening to the album. Many starts, few finishes.

It’s been almost 4 years since Elliott Smith took his life. So this is not a new album with new material, this is a new album with old unreleased material. Like many other people who have followed Elliott since his early days, I find the old Elliott Smith material is better than the new, and this album is a better last album from a genius as Elliott Smith than From a Basement on the Hill. New Moon is a must buy for everyone.

Joakim Jansson introduced me to Herman Düne a few month ago with a link to the music video ‘I Wish That I Could See You Soon‘. (I actually prefer the unfinished version full of green people before the finished version). It’s a lovely video to a lovely song on a lovely album. I can’t remember the last time an album made me as happy as Giant by Herman Düne.

Since the beginning of last week I have been in heavy tooth pain, which has resulted in low enthusiasm about most events and an inability to sleep well.

So even before Fionn got on stage, I wanted to go home. The warm up acts had killed the small amount of joy I had left in my body for the day.

You could say that everything about the evening worked against the odds of me appreciating Fionn Regan’s performance.
If I had left the venue last Tuesday being very disappointed, I wouldn’t have written this post. It would have been unfair against Fionn: he was swimming upstream against my toothache.

So the only reason I am writing this is because Fionn pulled it off. He was amazing. He has the special thing a singer/songwriter needs that most singer/songwriters lack. I don’t know what The Thing is, but he has it. The songs also grew when they were preformed live. The meaning behind the lyrics came through in a way they don’t on his album.

So, if you’re anything like me, view the amazing video Be Good or Be Gone on YouTube, buy the album The End of History on iTunes Music Store or order it from Amazon and stay tuned on Official website for Fionn Regan for upcomming gigs.

How can I have missed this genius? I actually managed to not know anything about Bill Hicks until 2006 (12 years after his death) when I, for no apparent reason, felt like renting a stand-up DVD from my local film shop, and ended up with Relentless.

I have for a few years been a huge fan of Denis Leary, I liked No Cure for Cancer and loved Lock ‘n Load… but… it only took a few minutes of Relentless to understand where alot of Denis’ ideas came from… The day I saw Relentless, Denis fell quite a few steps on the ‘Ladder of Respect’.

Willow bought me the book ‘Bill Hicks: Agent of Evolution‘ for christmas. It’s written (or more like put together) by Bill Hick’s lifelong friend Kevin Booth.

Even though the book made me cry toward the end, I wouldn’t advise anyone to read this book. Most parts of the book are very badly written, a lot feels very repetitive and most of the stories tell you more about the people who wrote them than Bill himself.

No. Don’t read the book. Buy the movies.

I just feel I have to send out quick warning to everyone about the poor quality of the movie World Trade Center. Unless you are doing research for an article on bad movies, I success you stay away from this film.

It’s embarrassing.

Thanks to Tom Coates at Plasticbag.org, I don’t need to write a review on the movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan’. His post on the matter, There’s something (crappy) about Borat…, covers everything I have to say.

Thanks Tom

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a documentary about one of the biggest and most complex bankruptcy cases and business scandals in American history, where Enron Corporation dives from the seventh largest US company to bankruptcy in less than a year.

If you ask me, the whole story is a bit like the dot-com bubble but with out the . and the com.

As far as I can recall, the movie was OK - I wasn’t overly overwhelmed with surprises and aaaaahha moments. The reason why I’m writing this post is not because I liked the movie, it’s because of a thing they mentioned in the movie that has found a safe place in my brain and memory.

As the movie were explaining how the traders at Enron lost sens of reality and morals, the movie made parallels and mentioned the Milgram Experiment.

From wikipedia:

The Milgram experiment was a famous scientific experiment of social psychology, intended to measure the willingness of a participant to obey an authority who instructs the participant to do something that may conflict with the participant’s personal conscience.

The experimenter (E) orders the subject (S) to give what the subject believes are painful electric shocks to another subject (A), who is actually an actor. Many participants continued to give shocks despite pleas for mercy from the actor, as long as the experimenter kept on ordering them to do so.

The interesting fact is not that people do generally obey the authority. Without that ‘feature’ we would probably not have the society we have today.
No, the interesting part was how the experiment was executed (what people were told, and who told them what and what they actually ended up doing), and how many % of the participants that were prepared to betray their personal belief, ethic and morals, and for what.

The experiment was first described in 1963 by Stanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale University, and later discussed in his 1974 book, Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View.

Read more about the Milgram Experiment on wikipedia.org