Joyous.

I was looking on youtube, looking at Anti- Twilight videos and I came across one that made me jump for joy.
People that read my blog know that I love the band Interpol. Well there was a video, an Anti- Twilight public service announcement. I looked at the user to see who posted the video and it read thusly...Username: Interpolnyc.
Interpol, I adore you even more. The person with the Interpolnyc account hates Twilight!...and likes a good band.
It also surprised me that most of the Anti- Twilight rants were made by girls. I'm glad there are chicks out there that share my passion for Twilight hatred and haven't been sucked in to the mediocrity. One girl even began quoting gothic literature and vampire folklore...amazing beyond belief. I genuinely think that modern society would be so much better without the Twilight franchise. I may be creating a new blog for people that are strictly Anti-Twilight. It is through looking at these videos on the Internet that a glimpse of hope has entered me. I dream of the day when this fad will have gone, but until then all I can do is try to hurry its demise
Here is the video I was talking about (Also please read my previous blog posts...obviously.)

The aesthetic of gothic literature.

"We shall see that at which dogs howl in the dark, and that at which cats prick up their ears after midnight."
H.P Lovecraft.

"The process of delving into the black abyss is to me the keenest form of fascination."
H.P Lovecraft.


"Optimism - the doctrine or belief that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly."
Ambrose Bierce.


Now I am personally not a dark, unhappy person but I do love gothic literature and weird fiction; Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P Lovecraft, Mary Shelley, John Polidori and so on. This sort of fiction presents things to the public that no other form of literature can, a part of the human psyche that not everybody likes to visit.
In these stories are creatures that were spawned from the most primal, animalistic part of us that have been used as archetypes for our fears and secret desires. In the Cthulhu Mythos of Lovecraft are wide varieties of creatures and gods; such as the Outer Gods Azathoth, Yog-sothoth and their messager Nyarlathotep...and of course the High Priest of the Old Ones, the terrible Cthulhu himself. All of these beings were used in order to make a reader feel that humanity is small and insignificant in the great scheme of the universe and that there are forces out there that are beyond our wildest imaginings, that we cannot hope to stand against and survive...Lovecraft loved to take away human vanity. The ideas that Lovecraft were trying to put across in his writing were not very comforting...but that was the whole point. It made you feel something powerful, greater than most other types of fiction.
I think that Frankenstein is incredibly interesting. In the book Frankenstein’s monster is a terrible creature, a being who kills, who causes suffering on mankind...why should anyone like this monster? Well think again, casual observer. The reason that Frankenstein’s monster was evil was because humanity and his creator rejected him and showed him no love; it is why he turned to horrible acts on mankind. There is then the obvious question...Who is the real monster of the story? Is it mankind whose rejection of the creature turned it to commit bad acts or is it the monster?



Now I turn to the most popular monster of stage, film and book...the vampire. We are currently in an age in which this creature has been toned down so much that they may as well be called human. Popular culture has moulded it into an unimpressive, non passionate fairy. There are no more vampires out there that have the fearsomeness that I loved...they are not even the beasts of the devil that they should be. Old legends and myths of the vampire that have been around for thousands of years have been made all 'Hollywood' and feeble.
I think that the best revival of the old vampires has it's origins in the comic book industry with the publication of thirty days of night written by Steve Niles and illustrated by Ben Templesmith. Here is a quote from the man who Steve Niles pitched too,
"Steve gave me the pitch: a small town above the Arctic Circle in Alaska experiences 30 days of complete darkness each year, but this year something new happens. The vampires come out and very, very bad things happen to the inhabitants of this town called Barrow.
The pitch grabbed me and when I finally opened the portfolio and saw the art from the then unknown Ben Templesmith, I was blown away. These weren't the vampires I remembered from books and films. These creatures were nasty, rabid things that were the product of nightmares, not the debonair creatures of the night I was used to."
I have read the comic graphic novel and think that this is the way that vampires should be. If vampires existed in real life I would imagine them to be the vamps of 30 days of night; blood lusting, emotionally indifferent to their prey, fast and scary looking. It was made into a film which was equally good.
Below is a picture of one of the vampires of the film...and yes I would like to see Edward Cullen have a fighting match with him...because it is obvious to me who would actually win.


I like to think that gothic literature is a parody of humanity, it strips away delusions of grandeur, it is used as a commentary on society and to me I find it strangely alluring. Anything that people fear, try to repress or don't want to know about are things that I want to read and watch.



Over and Out.
ED

Hermann Hesse.

I am going to be annoyingly philosophical in this post so be warned. I was looking on the Internet and I happened, for whatever reason, to come upon quotes by a man named Hermann Hesse. He was a Swiss, German born poet, novelist and painter. He lived through the First and Second World War and saw things like the rise of Nazism in Germany first hand.
I began to read quotes that he made during his lifetime. I read them and agreed wholeheartedly. Wow, I thought. He seemed like a great man. Here are quotes that I thought really rang true for me.

“I am fond of music I think because it is so amoral. Everything else is moral and I am after something that isn't. I have always found moralizing intolerable.”
Hermann Hesse.

“The Truth is lived, not taught.”
Herman Hesse.

“People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest.”
Hermann Hesse.

“You are only afraid if you are not in harmony with yourself. People are afraid because they have never owned up to themselves.”
Herman Hesse.

“You know quite well, deep within you, that there is only a single magic, single power, a single salvation... and that is called loving. Well, then, love your suffering. Do not resist it, do not flee from it. It is your aversion that hurts, nothing else”
Herman Hesse.

“Those who cannot think or take responsibility for themselves need, and clamor for, a leader.”
Herman Hesse.


Does anybody see truth in any of these quotes also? It's interesting stuff anyway. I'm off to get my mind blown by other quotes on the Internet. T.T.F.N.



Over and Out.
ED

I see my dad at the theatre with my silver tipped cane, wearing a fake beard.

I travelled home this weekend in order to see my dad do some singing and acting. When my sisters were younger they went to a dance school called Starlight Theatre School. Every year this theatre school would put on a production that they had been rehearsing over the year. There were times when a man was needed (of a certain age) to play a part...and so they asked my dad. When sister twin and little sister left he continued to be offered parts. So I travelled back to Leicester to see him play an old man in an interpretation of Mary Poppins.
As some people may know, I have been taking part in storytelling at my university. I decided some time ago that I wished to be a gypsy storyteller so the next step was to look the part. I compiled certain items of clothing; a hat, a white shirt, a waistcoat and a silver tipped cane. My dad took the cane for the musical...I distinctly remember him waving it about in a waving action at the end when everybody was bowing. I was wondering whether he could have nearly hit a child...but he didn't. He was wearing a big, bushy beard throughout the whole thing (he played the part of the old man who died laughing after hearing a joke...and they they flew a kite...not my dad because he was dead, but everyone else did anyway).
The tale ends here. A good weekend. The earth continues to spin...to Christmas time.

Over and Out.
ED

In Defense of Metal Music.

I am a person of varied taste. I will like most things because I think that a lot of things have a lot to give a person. I have a philosophy on life that art should not be discriminated against for the most part unless it causes negativity. Art should be there for a person to see beauty in whatever form, for it to enrich life and make your existence extend beyond the need to survive...innit. It is through my eclecticism that I have heard and enjoyed many different types of music, but there is one genre which I wish to write about on this post...metal.
To most people that openly say that they don't understand metal music, the argument against the genre is that it is very ugly sounding and at times, through looking at the lyrics, it seems self destructive and morbid. Some Christian groups even say that metal or rock music in general makes youths unruly and rebellious...which is true but youths act like that anyway...but Evangelical Christians have always been whining about everything that makes life fun.
Many of my friends share my tastes. I have been to a few metal gigs and festivals and have seen the fans of the music. These people all seem very passionate. It seems that metal music attracts many passionate people. When the musicians come on there are cheers that rise and can be heard all around, people make the famous horned cornu sign with their hands, jumping up. When the music starts people are jumping about exhilerated, excited and joyful about life. People literally want to become part of the music. The music is played amazingly...most of the time.
Metal and rock music uses the good old skillful solo very well. In the old days there was a type of musician, the guitar wielding maniac, using the instrument as a weapon to awaken the world from slumber. There were also amazing drummers like Keith Moon and John Bonham who were well known for being absolute maniacs. Rock and metal is a safe and fun way to indulge in a controlled chaos, a way to unleash the animal within so to speak, the great beast that has to stay dormant for a lot of the time...stress relieving and fun. In life you are expected most of the time to be calm and collected...metal gives you the opportunity to have a good old freak out or as most people say, to rock out.
It is believed also that metal music is the sound for the misfit or the outsider. Many metal fans say that some bands that sign with major labels have 'sold out' because they have gone mainstream. Many people want metal to be underground, this is an opinion that is very much apart of the extreme metal subgenre, where there is a great distaste for the mainstream. In my opinion the mainstream is fine...some good things some bad just like everything else in life.
I have recently read an article which says that many intelligent, talented people turn to metal music in order to cope with being 'special.' I shall put a link at the end of this blog post. Metal isn't the music of thugs and so called Neanderthals. The fans are intelligent, creative and passionate for the most part.
So what about the morbid, scary lyrics? Well just as you get different genres of books you must also get different types of musical tastes. Life isn't all hippy, happy and so forth. You have to take the rough with the smooth and music reflects this just as any other art. You can't dislike some art because it 'appears' to be ugly. If you just focus on art that people think is pretty or beautiful then to me it shows a certain shallowness...not that I think that metal is ugly, it isn't.
Metal is also very theatrical. During the funeral of the famous singer Dio's funeral certain Christian groups protested while many of his fans came to pay respect to him. They thought that Dio was some sort of devilish figure. What they don't seem to understand is Dio was an absolute top bloke if they had the courtesy to research about him and see his interview, the so called devilish persona of Dio is an act that he put on. Take Alice Cooper for example. His stage persona is an evil badass that likes to be evil...when in fact his actual name is Vincent Furnier and he is a dedicated Christian...let's see those Christian protestors protest against old Alice Cooper ha ha.

I shall end this blog post with a great philosophical quote from Jack Black in the film, 'School of Rock';

"Dude, that is so Punk."


Here is a good article just in case you want to read.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3352230/Heavy-metal-a-comfort-for-the-bright-child.html



"Optimism - the doctrine or belief that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly."
Ambrose Bierce.

Over and Out.
ED

CD Review.

I have bought two CD's recently and I wish to share my opinions on them because I think they are gooduns. Shall I began?...what?...no I won't stop typing!

1.
The album 'Catching a Tiger' by Lissie Maurus is the first album that I wish to review. When you listen to the songs you feel as though you are in a field full of corn while it is sunny or you think you are driving in a car with the top down on a long stretch of road.
You can listen to what she was influenced by just by what you hear in the songs; blues, country, rock and roll and popular music. She has a gravelly voice that suits the style of her music perfectly. It is a free spirited march into a new sound that at the same time sounds traditonal. I heard that Lenny Kravitz and the filmaker David Lynch are great fans of Lissie as well as other celebrities who have got behind her banner of country sounding awesomeness. I'm a fan. It's honest and good and I think everyone should listen. My favourite songs are 'Cuckoo' and 'Look Away'.

2.
Here is the long awaited fourth album of the New York based band, Interpol. I have been into these fellahs for ages, they just sound different and I love the voice of the lead singer Paul Banks...I like to think that his voice sounds like a sarcastic, gravelly Michael Stripe from R.E.M. They are the very embodiment of New York.
It is sad for me to say that after the making of the album the bassist Carlos Dengler left because he didn't like the touring...which is a shame...that said the music is as atmospheric as ever, with the signature Interpol sound. My favourite songs are 'Lights' and 'Barricade'. Paul Banks, as always means everything that he says, it all comes from the heart, just like Lissie Maurus.

So there you are, the two albums that I have recently bought. Go check them out if thou wilt. I hope ye won't be disappointed.

Over and Out.
ED

The Good Old Films of Yesteryear.

A few days ago my the adaptor for my computer went completely wacky and died on me. This meant I could no longer do any of my writing at my house, neither was I able to catch up on the Shaytard vlogs on youtube or look at guitar and drums cover videos. This lead me with a conundrum. I had the choice to read but that was a daily ritual anyway so I decided to delve into my film collection to see a film to watch.
I did not look long. I was in the mood for something simple, charming and entertaining but with a dark twist. It lead me to pick up my Hammer Horror Box set. I took the film 'Dracula, Prince of Darkness' starring Christopher Lee and shoved it in the DVD tray thingymabob.
I relaxed into the film like a duck out of water. Oh you beautiful monstrous dark creatures of past films, I missed you so very much. Most people who are not under the sway of the annoying, bratty, pretty boy vampires of the present...this is what you should be watching. Noble, unflinching, bloodshot eyes and a handsome, noble face. People seem to forget what vampires are like. What about Bela Lugosi? What about Christopher Lee? These Gentlemen Beasts are the Truth! Dark outsiders who prey on humans seductively in order to bring the world into darkness. Dracula is the Prince of Darkness for a reason and will survive in the public consciousness longer than any of these modern sick parodies of the old ways of the creatures of the night.
Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are my favourite actors. They are not only charmingly English but they are also jolly nice chaps (or was in the case of Peter Cushing 'was' a nice chap).
Vincent Price is a goodun as well. In fact here is an excellent video of Price reciting the famous Edgar Allen Poe poem, The Raven. Absolutely beautiful and atmospheric.



Over and Out.
ED