Man oh man, I was recently treated to a rough mix of this EP. Benjamin Shaw’s wonderfully titled “I got the pox, the pox is what I got”. This has most certainly caught my attention.

Opening with a swirl of fuzz and feedback, Benjamin weeds out the unfaithful with a blast of crushing cacophony before rewarding the hardier types amongst us with the opening chords to the first of the six (and a half) songs present. Each song tells a story, a story you can’t always follow, but a story you just can’t walk away from (and not in the “Highlander 2″ way).

His songs are visual. Seemingly shy and uncomfortable away from the microphone, Benjamin turns himself inside out through song,  bearing his ‘pox’, which seem absolutely itching to consume him. Every word is loaded, and every crack in his voice is worth a million monologues – this is the epitome of an ‘intimate’ record.

I should now banish any thoughts you might have had about Benjamin Shaw being a Jack Johnson or a Joe Schmoe, Shaw is no ‘singer-songwriter’ – he’s a freakin’ artist! He’s a one man band! He’s the future rock, he’s the future of pop, he’s the future of soul, he’s everything a musician should be; tragic, tortured, honest, smothered in distortion and kinda catchy. He evokes the sense of cleansing, purity and open souled music nirvana that Jeff Buckley did on ‘Grace’ – and he’s every bit as good, in his own very different way.     

Frankly acoustic music is a drag, but Benjamin Shaw isn’t acoustic. He’s a wall-of-sound. He’s a genius. He’s produced one of the best debuts I’ve ever come across. I’ll be looking out for this man. Everywhere I go.

Word on the street is that it’ll be coming avec mon tu du lu:

www.audioantihero.com

Until this available for sale, I’d advise tracking down “Twisting, Turning”, “When I Fell Over in the City” and most importantly “HULK” (the most beautiful song you can imagine, that just happens to be about the Incredible Green Thing).

Benjamin Shaw.net

Myspace

Until next time, WE BRING THE ROCK!

Certainly none of this is recent news, but I feel compelled to share with the few uninformed left that Stevie Richards is indeed back on the top of his game!

Stevie Richards has not only found himself signed to TNA as the therapist of former TNA champion Abyss, but the former 22 time WWE Hardcore Champion and 2 time ECW tag-team champion recently captured the NWA-Force One Heavyweight Championship from fellow ECW/WWE alumni ‘Dastardly’ Danny Doring!

http://f1pw.110mb.com/index.php?entry=entry090301-221018

This is great news for fans of  the original king of swing, Dancin’ Stevie Richards, who only recently had entered a state of ‘semi-retirement’ – as not only can he now be seen weekly on TNA television (and PPV) but it’s wonderful to see some gold around his waist again. With the likes of Rockin’ Rebel and Danny Doring on the roster, it almost feels a little like that ECW title that Big Stevie Cool should always have captured!

His position in TNA is a little mysterious, though there’s been rumours that Richards will be debuting in live competition soon with a ‘loose-cannon’ gimmick. Perhaps TNA will be the place for him to finally realise his potential as a top athlete, his nine years in the WWE saw him somewhat wasted, but certainly his resume speaks for itself. Richards has appeared in ECW, WCW, WWF, WWE, NWA, FMW, ROH and even held the heavyweight title in WWF/WCW developmental federation – Heartland Wrestling Association.

 Unquestionably one of the best workers in the business, I’m anxious to see TNA give Richards a wrestling role soon. If anyone else feels this way remember to get in touch with TNA to let them know we want more Stevie Richards at:

http://www.tnawrestling.com

AND

http://fans.wwe.com/go/forum/view/4517/9757/Total_Nonstop_Action_TNA

In the meantime though, here’s some Stevie Richards videos worth sharing:

Dr Stevie 1:

Dr Stevie 2:

Stevie Richards vs Booker T (Hardcore Championship)

Stevie Richards beats Chris Jericho

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlhRoBHbKo0

Stevie Richards defends ECW title against The Sandman

Stevie Richards VS CM Punk

Richards meets Missy Hyatt

Richards as KISS

Baron Von Stevie

Richards gives the all time funniest promo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F49diDuM674&feature=related

God bless Stevie Richards.

P.S Keep telling wwe.com that we want Tommy Dreamer as our next ECW champion!

ALBUM OF THE FRICKIN’ YEAR!

YES!

Who knew they could top “BRUTALTECHNOPUNK”? No one. But they did. and it’s wicked.

I bought it once. and I’d buy it again. I’d buy it for my friends and family. It’s awesome. It practically pays for itself.

Six insane hits of Brutalised, technofied, punkified ROCK music. Bravo. 

If you perverts really want it, you can buy it here.

In regards to other new roxXOR2 releases – Buffalo Wings are amazing.

Gosh! Someone still knows how to do it!

That’s right, I’ve finally had the chance to see what was one of my most anticipated releases of the year: BASEMENT JACK. And was it worth the wait? You bet your last breath it was!

Michael Shelton’s story of tortured problem-child Jack Riley, turned methodical serial-killer Basement Jack, could easily be one of the true horror highlights of the last decade. What’s so great about it? Where other (often admirable) attempts to revive horror failed, BASEMENT JACK gets it *just* right. I.E It doesn’t spend $100 million trying to look low-budget (GRINDHOUSE), it doesn’t lose itself in modern quirks (FEAST), it doesn’t drown itself in comedy (HATCHET), it doesn’t base itself around drugs (SHROOMS), it doesn’t have an “it was all a dream!” ending (REEKER), it doesn’t focus on rape/torture (HOSTEL) and it most doesn’t use a porn crew as its protagonists (WRESTLEMANIAC). No, BASEMENT JACK uses its micro-budget to great effect, looking gritty but still textured and colourful enough to do justice to the graphic images; it has likable protagonists you can root for (they’re not naked teenagers, jocks or anything of the sort); it manages to maintain a modern feel (without going overboard) while still distinctly celebrating ’70s and ’80s source material (notably HALLOWEEN); and it contains a villain so chilling and distinct that it needn’t cheapen itself with cheap, exploitation, shock tactics.

Original? Not necessarily. BASEMENT JACK is ultimately an old story well told. It’s the best kind of slasher story (motivated silent stalker heads up against vengeful victim) complimented by a well-paced script, a competent crew (I can’t stress how good the film looks) and a surprisingly consistently talented cast of actors (Eric Peter-Kaiser as Jack Riley, Nathan Bexton as “The Manager” and the legendary Lynn Lowry as the looney Mrs Riley are all goose bump inducing). 

BASEMENT JACK already ranks amongst FRIGHTMARE, MY BLOODY VALENTINE and INTRUDER as one of the great stand-alone slashers and it’s certainly one worthy of sequelisation  (I.E FRIDAY THE 13TH, SCREAM, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET).

Basement Jack is hitting festivals now. Recommended.

Trailer
Official site
IMDB

As fans we have a duty to try and show the the WWE that they’ve made a huge mistake. He is a top ECW original and a two time ECW tag team champion (and he was a main ECW title contender until an injury). He has also held the WWE hardcore title 22 times, and managed champs in the shape of tag team champions Goodfather & Bull Buchanan and women’s champions Ivory and Victoria.

Anyone interested in seeing Big Stevie Cool returning to the WWE or being signed up by TNA should be interested in the following links and info:

Petition to see him return to the WWE:

http://fans.wwe.com/go/thread/view/711/4812403/Bring_back_Stevie_Richards

Petition to see him to go TNA:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stevierichards?e

WWE Feedback form:

https://secure.wwe.com/forms/help/show.php

ECW Feedback form:

https://secure.wwe.com/forms/help/ecw_feedback.php

or best yet! WRITE to the WWE headquarters:

WWE Corporate Headquarters
Attention: (please include Deparment)
1241 East Main Street
Stamford, CT 06902

203-352-8600

So:

WRITE LETTERS!

START FACEBOOK GROUPS!

LEAVE FEEDBACK!

JOIN THE FORUM!

START BLOGS!

SIGN PETITIONS!

START PETITIONS!

SAVE STEVIE RICHARDS!

Stevie's hard work has a price

BWO: WE'RE-TAKING-OVER!

Artist: Kierononononon^
Release: DVDVDVDVDVDVDVD
Label: roxXOR2

Okay, in my fourth and final roxXOR2 review (before you think I’m on their payroll or something!) I’ll be looking at Kieronononon^’s DVD(VDVDVDVDVD). It’s rather bold for a band on an indie label like roxXOR2 to even consider releasing a DVD, but judging on the bundle of goodies they sent me this week – they don’t really care about proper conduct or “knowing their place”. Nor should they, this is great.

There’s a video for EVERY song, plus live material, new songs, heaps of extras and even commentaries! It’s great to know that Kieronononon^ are as fun to watch as they are to listen to. If you like the albums this is a must. If not, it’s not.

Artist: Kierononononononon^
Album: brutaltechnopunk E.P
Label: roxXOR2

If you found the abrasive “funge” of Teeth a little too rough on the ears but don’t want to go back to Linkin Park, then perhaps Kieronononononononon^ are the men for you.

This Hull trio (in roxXOR2 tradition it seems) have invented a genre of their own (brutaltechnopunk) which in its own right should encourage you to give them some curiousity kudos, but they’ve actually gone the whole hog and written some dynamite songs as well. Ace!

It’s loud, it’s cocky, it’s daft AND it’s messy – but it’s also strong, funny, intelligent AND dynamic. It’s hard to compare them to anything, but this *might* be what NIN would sound like if Trent Reznor didn’t take himself so seriously? Who knows.
Regardless, these lads have come up with something special. If you’re in hearing range of Kierononononon^ you won’t be able to ignore them, so you might as well try and enjoy it. Brutaltechnopunk: Just what the doctor ordered for a dying music scene.

Artist: Teeth
Single: Career Suicide: Everything Song
Label: roxXOR2

I must say this confused even me, but that only made me more intrigued! Having had a look at their myspace songs (notably the fantastic “Love Song”) I realised exactly what is meant by “Everything Song”. This chunk of cacophony is in fact EVERY single Teeth track rolled into one. It isn’t entirely listenable, but it’s a very innovative way to annoy the neighbours. Roll-on the upcoming Anthology!

Artist: Mr Introspective
Album: Beyond our Comprehension
Label: roxXOR2

Having recieved a huge batch of promo-copies from envelope-pushing super label roxXOR2, I’ve decided christen this blog with something from their catalogue: Mr Introspective’s “Beyond our Comprehension”.

This is something a little different for roxXOR2 (and that’s saying something!), Mr Introspective specialises in a unqiue brand of electro-prog; it’s a bit funky, a little gloomy, and very impressive.

He cites the likes of Claude Debussy, Mike Patton and Frank Zappa as influences and bizarrely these all come through in his futuristic racket. No particular time signature, no clear key and no compromise. This is brave alternative music that pays tribute to its peers while still speaking for itself.

Not something for the top-40, but a fine soundtrack to a dark night alone. Considering the digital nature of his existence, Mr Introspective feels as real and as raw as any three-piece rock act in town. An admirable debut.

So here it is, a blog space dedicated to my opinion on music, film and all things trivial. Enjoy. Or don’t. It’s all good press .