Virgin Mobile Festival 2008

Where was I last weekend? The Virgin Mobile Festival at the prestigious Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD. I went with Ryan and my good friend, Adia, and we had a total blast.

Ryan and I showed up late on Saturday, but just in time to see a Japanese Beatles cover band, followed by Chuck Berry. I have nothing but respect for Mr. Berry (yes, I know he enjoys watching people pee, but I'm over it) and he did a really good job playing the same songs he's been playing for hundreds of years. Then we caught a little bit of Wilco's set. Don't know the band, wasn't interested in the songs, barely paid attention. We ended our day watching the Foo Fighters. Definitely professional rockers, sounded great and did a great job of bringing the rock.

Sunday was the big day of the festival. We arrived somewhat early, just in time to hear a little Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. We then saw The Go! Team, very energetic, very sassy. We then made our way to the Dance Tent and saw Chromeo, a duo (guitar player/singer with a DJ) and they were much better than what I thought they'd be. Yes, I ended up shaking m'booty. After their set, we spent a lot of time screwing around; we saw skateboarding, graffiti art, roller derby girls, and chilled in the exclusive Virgin Lounge where free drinks and decent port-au-potties greeted us.

Around 3:30 we began walking to see 'Lil Wayne (aka Weezy F. Baby), my latest hip hop obsession. Like a REAL rockstar, he drew a huge crowd and kept us all waiting. The crowd is drunk and getting restless. Boos ensue. The DJ plays two songs, but no signs of 'Lil. Finally after about a half hour, he emerges and the crowd goes wild... He's like a terrible lover that you can't stop seeing: Always late, isn't concerned about your happiness, but leaves you wanting more.

Then we saw Stone Temple Pilots... Wow... Wow... They put on the BEST show. They played the hits, each musician sounded amazing, and Scott Weiland was probably the best frontman I've ever seen. I couldn't leave them, knowing the Bob Dylan was about to start on the other stage. That's right, I stood at watched STP while Dylan's set opened. I made it over there eventually though, and ugh, Bob really wasn't "bringing it." I guess he just seemed a little out of place, but it was good seeing him nonetheless.

Finally the night ended with the headliners. We saw Nine Inch Nails open up, and man, they still put on one hell of a show. Trent is v v talented, great lighting too (what would you expect?). After we got our fill, we saw some of Kanye West. Eh, he's no Weezy. I pretty much laid on the blanket, not really knowing any of his songs.

All in all, a very successful 2 days of escape and live music.

photos courtesy of The Baltimore Sun

Antichrist Svperstar

Earlier today I was writing a very long winded email to a friend about "what hip hop means to me." I touched on who I liked, who I didn't, etc. It got me to thinking, the only rap I really liked is from the 90's. The 90's was the last decade of the Music Store, pre-digital era, where it seemed people were more on the same page, many just listening to what MTV told us to like. A G-Funk era, if you will... And then I got to thinking about the complete opposite of rap (which wasn't hard to do). I started thinking of 90's ROCK bands. What were some of the albums to really splash those magazines like Rolling Stone and Guitar World, a big pop-culture album...

Not too long ago (thirty minutes ago) I just repurchased Marilyn Mason's Antichrist Superstar, and I'm listening to it now. Yes, it was an impulse buy, but I had some leftover iTune's gift certificate dough, so whatta I got to lose? It's been a while, you know, and I'm willing to go there. Anywho, this album is total horror music for your ears! "Tourniquet" is my choice-song, great opening guitar riff, amazingly terrifying music video complete with zombies, mutilation, and hasty nipple shaving. shivers... I must admit I do consider this a guilty pleasure. Rocking out like the stranged and esteemed Masonites, fans of Marilyn Manson, just comes natural to me.

The album is considered a concept album. In a three part storyline, an abused and apathetic person (represented by "The Worm") becomes an influential celebrity and finally transforms into the powerful "Disintegrator". In an issue of Kerrang! magazine edited by Manson, he stated that the album was a tribute to - and inspired by - the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Much of the album content is deliberately vague, allowing listeners to draw independent conclusions. [source]

I remember when I first heard of Marilyn Manson back in middle school, I was honestly terrified of him as a human being. His music seared images of demon-like creatures playing rock instruments loud and threatening, trying to scare... I didn't spend too much time listening to his music, but his videos did scare me, "He must be possessed by the devil!" Back in those days I had the Lord living in my heart and mind, so I feared The Reaper... "Lead me not into temptation." But given the taste of my personality, of course I secretly enjoyed the extremes of pop artists like Nine Inch Nails and Manson. Total characters, like Ziggy Stardust with evil powers. The best part about Antichrist Superstar is that its produced by Trent Reznor, the mastermind behind NIN; very dark, industrial, fuzzy guitars, screeching guitars, weaping guitars, whispers, screams, BIG SCREAMS, drums that sound like they're being beaten to death... a very dramatic piece of work...

I've been digging it, fucking rocks, dude (throws up "the sign of the beast"). I'll listen to it on my way to Hagerstown. I'm trying to make my Greyhound experience as terrifying as possible! I'm sure this album isn't for everybody, plenty people can't stand this shit. The winning Manson listener is either be a disenchanted teenager with raging hormones and a fondness for the goth, or an adult open-minded listener who appreciates the horror, dedication, and uniqueness of Manson's art, particularly Antichrist Superstar. Sorry folks, this ain't for the kiddies.

Sky Blue Sky

So I'm over a year into Wilco's "Sky Blue Sky" and I still for the life of me can't let it go. I'd highly highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't have it. And if you can find it on vinyl more the better to you. I truly believe Wilco is the American Radiohead. They just choose to use americana as their avenue rather than brit-pop. Never the less have a listen and enjoy.