Showing posts with label crystal castles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crystal castles. Show all posts
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
new crystal castles
Labels:
crystal castles,
doe deer,
empathy
Sunday, 23 August 2009
A Little on Language

If our generation is good at one thing, it's being good at the language game. Good. For some time, I thought myself and my linguistically fragrant best friends were three of few innovators - innovation, that is, through mangling language in daily usage beyond comprehension. It's like morse code for dead retards. I don't wish to claim any aesthetic superiority over any other pals that refer to eachother by everchanging names, or generate idioms like a tit-tit in a cunt lounge, but what I have learned is that personal language, like the good bits of the internet, is completely user-generated, and is a supersweet way of staying close to your friends.
If you know what I mean then you know what I mean. If you don't, get new friends or buy a book. Language is the cement of identity. I am writing like a retard. Also, I went to Spain for a bit - that's why Mrs. Blog hasn't been updated. It was nice. I'm quite brown, but I feel I was fairly sensible - no bubbling red skin for me - yuk! Anyway, without giving away any specific examples and surrounding the magic of this personal language malarkey and staring it to bits, let's look at some more universal guns:
Rhyme
Obv CRS (Cockney Rhyming Slang) is rife with bored East-end gangsters' jives, but rhyme is great, especially when completely replacing the root - we use a lot of alternatives for 'one' for example. Evolutions include: gun, sun, son, mum, flap, gunt. Tit also always stands in for 'it'.
Obsidian Humour
Black, yah? This functions as a basic ongoing competition (we're boys), whereby morals are, not only erased 100%, but denied existence at any point in time (like in 1984 - if you own the present then you own the past then you own the future or whatever it is). What you end up with, hopefully would make /b/ on 4Chan blush. POR EJEMPLO: Baby P is hilarious, in fact it is vanilla. It was called Baby P, fuck sake. Build from there.
ArtMan
I.E. Creative lockdown shit. Like, hmm, isn't it strange that all the good bands have only 2 words in their bandnames? Why is this? Because it sounds fucking SWEET that's why, I don't fucking know. But it's true that art permeates personal language. The word crystal is superbly sexy because dem bints CRZAL CARSLE had it in their bloody name, so hence Crystal Stilts and Crystal Antlers are also cool. It sounds like I don't mean it but I do. Some aesthetics just work. This kind of stuff that artists do leaks into personal language in the form of film quotes, book references and sing sing the song song. We as a generation do this the most frequently than any other because we're all a bunch of postmodern FAGS.
In summary, we rock the lexicological party and our parents just sat around nodding their heads and wearing pinnys and sepia suits and were seen and not heard. FUCKERS.
I love Gen Y SRS.
ANDRWE
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
buried in time: come on kill(her) zine


Several years ago, when MySpace was blooming like a flower, fucked endlessly into a myopic post-rape trance by the pollen-stealing, mugger-rapist-bee called trend*, there was a young girl from Canada called Emma W, and she sent me her work for no monies.
Her zine - Come On Killer - was a kind of temptation map for psychotics considering the serial kill as a job, amongst awesomely prophetic interviews with the likes of Crystal Castles and the now defunct Travels with My Aunt. Best of all was the healthy obsession with a barage of propoganda calling for the cold-blooded murder of Kate Moss, which erred on the erotic. Thank you, COK, for making working at the cinema tolerable.
Andrew

(click to make it big one. how long have you been using the internet for?)
*what

Labels:
come on killer,
crystal castles,
travels with my aunt,
zine,
zines
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Untitled

Although Mr. Kath might not admit it, much of what Crystal Castles do can be attributed to the fiction of a Mr. Paul Auster. Kath has said on several occasions that "shy children don't get anywhere" and we can see his point.
Described by the NME as "like an inverted comma that inverts forever being spoken by a dead anime girl lost in a maze of a 2-year-old child's interpretation of binary code", it was an instant classic. Following the recession, the Royal Bank of Scotland were quoted to have said "we appreciate everything Crystal Castles have done and we wish them good luck for the future". A subsequent celebratory party has been planned for the albums 10th anniversary - in 2018.
But, as Billy Neville always said "Crystal Castles are about the astute criticism of metaphysics, not its acceptance" and who are we to argue?
-Charles Chevins
(Pitchfork Media)
Bibliography
Higgs, Marcus. Diamond Dust: An Inquiry Toward the Gun. Faber, 2012.
Glass, Alice. MY PANTS. Faber, 2004.
Kenneth, Karl Klyde. Racism in Pop Music 1979-2009. Faber, 2009.
Described by the NME as "like an inverted comma that inverts forever being spoken by a dead anime girl lost in a maze of a 2-year-old child's interpretation of binary code", it was an instant classic. Following the recession, the Royal Bank of Scotland were quoted to have said "we appreciate everything Crystal Castles have done and we wish them good luck for the future". A subsequent celebratory party has been planned for the albums 10th anniversary - in 2018.
But, as Billy Neville always said "Crystal Castles are about the astute criticism of metaphysics, not its acceptance" and who are we to argue?
-Charles Chevins
(Pitchfork Media)
Bibliography
Higgs, Marcus. Diamond Dust: An Inquiry Toward the Gun. Faber, 2012.
Glass, Alice. MY PANTS. Faber, 2004.
Kenneth, Karl Klyde. Racism in Pop Music 1979-2009. Faber, 2009.
Labels:
crystal castles
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
r.i.p. RTX

okay, so Royal Trux died in 2001 (they were torn apart by terrorism whilst attempting a paper round --when they heard the news of 9/11 they threw the papers down and called it quits -- a lie -- but incidentally this is what happened to me on 9/11)
have I lost you yet?
--interestingly i typed 'have I love you' then & backspaced and typed in 'lost'. food for thought.
Royal Trux brought us such salty alty epics as Witch's Tit, and brought home the politically sound idea of Heroin Chic in the early 90s (courtesy of the deliciously tetchy and very beautiful Jennifer Herrema [left]). there's something very weird and parallel
to The Now in Royal Trux's's's's's shtick (if i force myself to believe this is true) :::: they could work now in a very obvious way in terms of the Duo Obsession that is determined to stay (White Stripes then Kills then Crystal Castles then the Knife then uh... Bondage Fairies?), the trashy gumfy pixoid percussion, the toss-the-apple-in-the-backyard riffs, as well as Herrema's boyish dungaree vocals. theres a hell of a lot of fun in RTX, especially if youre feeling the digging up the witty sleaze trend (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds por ejemplo). anyway, uh...
I love you!
>.andy apples
have I lost you yet?
--interestingly i typed 'have I love you' then & backspaced and typed in 'lost'. food for thought.
Royal Trux brought us such salty alty epics as Witch's Tit, and brought home the politically sound idea of Heroin Chic in the early 90s (courtesy of the deliciously tetchy and very beautiful Jennifer Herrema [left]). there's something very weird and parallel
I love you!
>.andy apples
Friday, 11 July 2008
baptism - a dissection

i always get the same, evil feeling going to see crystal castles live. it's something like meeting an old girlfriend, and being pleased but amazingly apprehensive, nervous even, happy but annoyed at yourself. 1st time i heard 'baptism' i was pissed in the taxi and i actually forgot who we were going to see, remembering with a sharp stab. it was fucking gorgeous, fucking rotten.
people think it's a cliché to invest anything in a band, to actually care about them, but despite everything, castles are the one band that mean it, but mean it just the right amount. they are brother and sister in incest -- symmetrical, parallel, complete opposites. the ultimate love or hate band. thieves, artists, ex-community service junk collectors, their sound, because that is the most important thing they have brought, really is the New One. you've waited long enough.
anyway. 'baptism' is a shweet track for several reasons. it's got the trippy skipping-rope music box blip-verse of 'Air War', and then from nowhere a heavy-set fuck trance chorus of absolute pulverisation. Glass' lyrics are the kind of thing you'd find on the pretti
est and you always knew most talented girl in class' suicide note: "hold my head underwater/ do my best for my father", she orgasms (really fuckin Freudian, crystal castles lyrics), and then domestic/religious observations "touching in the bath / a rhythm saved for last". Kath claims that he was attracted to Alice as a vocalist because he was "looking for a poet", and it's clear what he saw in 14-year-old Alice's word talent (my favourite lyrics are from Mother Knows Best -
feel her tight between my thighs
from across the football field
its victory that i smell inside
and the smell contains no guilt
h e r p e s i can smell them through her dress
my daddy's wrong mother knows best
c c c is for cunt theres a sickness inside that i need to harvest
broken tramp have you seen her , i tried to love but now ill beat her
h e r p e s i can smell them through her dress
your daddy's wrong mother knows best
she's the one who brings me to life,
when i stab her with my hunting knife
broken tramp have you seen her ,
i tried to love but now i've beat her)
-- Glass' sense of simple, nihilist, narcissist highschool virgin suicide cooldark sex is another layer dats reely sexy when you uncover it.
I like the idea that Ethan is the brains and Alice is the brawn. Ethan is silent and Alice is vocal, but because Alice is vocal she is silent in interviews because she is a dancer, she is Art and Ethan is an accountant, talking Business. Alice is the face of the band, she is the visual and Ethan is the sound, hooded over. in fact, the idea of crystal castles dualism is so attractive it almost puts me off bands with more than 2 members.
anyway, that is not techinically true, because monsieur drummer (although i've heard they have many) is a fundemental part of the live castles sound. tracks like 'baptism' really benifit from live backing, as does the entire performance, even years and years ago when i saw castles in Stoke (because they go EVERYWHERE), in the dingy, sticky black land of the Underground, it was clear that seeing castles live is nothing like listening to them with headphones. for starters theres the STROBES of DOOM, which (because they kept them on the entire show, Alice thrusting the light into peoples faces, at one point smashing some fat guy who was getting a little too fresh with the light itself) actually give a really strange inebriated sense of drugginess if the place is dark enough.
so, now you know a little more about Crystal Castles. next week your mum.
Xndrxw
people think it's a cliché to invest anything in a band, to actually care about them, but despite everything, castles are the one band that mean it, but mean it just the right amount. they are brother and sister in incest -- symmetrical, parallel, complete opposites. the ultimate love or hate band. thieves, artists, ex-community service junk collectors, their sound, because that is the most important thing they have brought, really is the New One. you've waited long enough.
anyway. 'baptism' is a shweet track for several reasons. it's got the trippy skipping-rope music box blip-verse of 'Air War', and then from nowhere a heavy-set fuck trance chorus of absolute pulverisation. Glass' lyrics are the kind of thing you'd find on the pretti
feel her tight between my thighs
from across the football field
its victory that i smell inside
and the smell contains no guilt
h e r p e s i can smell them through her dress
my daddy's wrong mother knows best
c c c is for cunt theres a sickness inside that i need to harvest
broken tramp have you seen her , i tried to love but now ill beat her
h e r p e s i can smell them through her dress
your daddy's wrong mother knows best
she's the one who brings me to life,
when i stab her with my hunting knife
broken tramp have you seen her ,
i tried to love but now i've beat her)
-- Glass' sense of simple, nihilist, narcissist highschool virgin suicide cooldark sex is another layer dats reely sexy when you uncover it.
I like the idea that Ethan is the brains and Alice is the brawn. Ethan is silent and Alice is vocal, but because Alice is vocal she is silent in interviews because she is a dancer, she is Art and Ethan is an accountant, talking Business. Alice is the face of the band, she is the visual and Ethan is the sound, hooded over. in fact, the idea of crystal castles dualism is so attractive it almost puts me off bands with more than 2 members.
anyway, that is not techinically true, because monsieur drummer (although i've heard they have many) is a fundemental part of the live castles sound. tracks like 'baptism' really benifit from live backing, as does the entire performance, even years and years ago when i saw castles in Stoke (because they go EVERYWHERE), in the dingy, sticky black land of the Underground, it was clear that seeing castles live is nothing like listening to them with headphones. for starters theres the STROBES of DOOM, which (because they kept them on the entire show, Alice thrusting the light into peoples faces, at one point smashing some fat guy who was getting a little too fresh with the light itself) actually give a really strange inebriated sense of drugginess if the place is dark enough.
so, now you know a little more about Crystal Castles. next week your mum.
Xndrxw
Thursday, 3 July 2008
aesthetiksch
in 2008...
its insanely easy to become the best band in the world ever. literally the ONLY shitting thing in the world that matters is aesthetics.
LET ME EXPLAIN
music is advertising, but as all you girls know, Andy Warhol taught us that advertising is OK, so dont start crying thrrough your tired bloodshot marxist eyes yet. aesthetics applies to all aspects of a band (or music artist). ironically, even though no one has owned a cd in 5 years, artwork, appearance of a band, posters, photography, and visuals are pretty much 1/2 the deal. the music itself is part of the band's aesthetic, but even your dead cousin could tell you that when you 1st hear about a band, you are weighing up all aspects of them as a product, if only subconsciously.
00's bands & artists with notable aesthetics include:
The Strokes///////////////// these snotty NYC middle-class house party hounds got it super right. ironic minimalist nihilistic velvet garage rock. it's everywhere from the fact they have their producer and manager in the band photoshoots in the liner notes (that's the 00's armoured we-dont-mean-anything irony there) to the photography of the band - nonchalant monochrome blah, the sexy Is This It cover (the UK edition, natch), that peachy white arse with the S&M biker glove. it made hella sense, basically, and thats not mentioning the Bret Easton Ellis lyrics of Julian Casablancas, the endless, endless quaver patterns in every song (minimal noughties), yet this overwhelming sense that it shouldve been done before.
Kanye West////////////// arguably mainstream hip hop's ultimate, tireless reinventor (even though he sucks pretty huge balls now, how many ideas would you like from Ed Banger records this time Mr. West?), Kanye West's College Dropout was a clearly-defined new direction for the genre. and it was all thanks to the bear.. (?). West's early work was all about joyful, tongue-in-cheek wit combined with fit production and 'the thing everyone does in hip hop', being insanely high PITCH SHIFTED vocals! how stupid did that sound when you 1st heard it! (Through the Wire) but now, of course, stanndard.
Crystal Castles/////////// pretty much the ultimate aesthetic of the decade (ahem - the forward slashes?). I discovered this band way before you did and that makes me pretty happy, downloading poorly mixed versions of xxzxczx me (that was before they respelt it kid) about 4 years ago with Mp3 Gopher to satisfy my utter lust. Castles are at the stage now where pretty much anything they say goes. Castles have a picture of a bluebird on their MySpace? 'wow, arent bluebirds amazingly cool' ---- vid of Alice wearing a Vader t-shirt on youtube? 'i'm totally getting my star wars figures out tonight'. its pretty incredible really - they live on their own island completely - with taxidermy, thrift store synths, battered leather jackets, sheer punk sexuality, darkness, apathy, and as many stolen 8-bit samples as they like (and that, is exactly the point - they get away with anything). i plan to write a pretty dick-sucky, tit-licky post about their unreleased track 'Baptism' soon so stay tuned.
Kap Bambino///////////// one of the most exciting French acts of the moment, the hyperactively red haired, hoodied combo of sheer industrial doom. imagine every bassline from Parisian new dance put through one of Justice's compressors with a gorgeous slut on dist vox and youre basically there. I've been raving about them for a while, but perhaps they're too much for some. they're aesthetic is much like their predominant sound - contained chaos - their webpages covered in delicately scratchy drawings and montages.
Late of the Pier//////////// 1st Brit act in this list (i felt i had to boost numers jokes), LOTP have an astonishingly recognisable shtick, kind of Klaxons but not cunts shot through a visually autechre love for Gary Numan. I want to like them, haven't got round to it. (i wont)
These New Puritans//////////// are wannabe-chemists with Ian Curtis' old phonenumber and a weird tendency to run parallel with some really strange trends, yet tie it all together with gold and black string. for example, Swords of Truth begins sounding like some lost M.I.A. song and then becomes a bit BoNo Must Die-ish with weak boy vox, before J.B. sings '60 seconds', but it really sounds like a Missy Elliot song, but really not. they modelled for Dior (or some shit, cant really remember, you dont mind) even though they are supremely geek chic 4000, but that just made me like them more.
Those Dancing Days////////// i cant believe im writing this but i have an extremely guilty pleasure for these at the moment. : S x 4892. its something about that ice-cream truck organ and the hummable, sunwashed choruses. im not a paedophile. yet. anyway, TDD's aesthetic is simple as they are really - cutesy cutesy cutesy Swedes having cute fun alot alot.
Panda Bear/////////////// the actual brilliance. potuguese sun, sand, Beach Boys, looking after your newborn daughter, looking after your new fashion designer wife, paddling pools, a lot of animals, genuine courage. its an amazing aesthetic that Noah Lennox has, and perhaps because his aesthetic is basically his life, as pure as he can express it.
THE END
Andrew
LET ME EXPLAIN
music is advertising, but as all you girls know, Andy Warhol taught us that advertising is OK, so dont start crying thrrough your tired bloodshot marxist eyes yet. aesthetics applies to all aspects of a band (or music artist). ironically, even though no one has owned a cd in 5 years, artwork, appearance of a band, posters, photography, and visuals are pretty much 1/2 the deal. the music itself is part of the band's aesthetic, but even your dead cousin could tell you that when you 1st hear about a band, you are weighing up all aspects of them as a product, if only subconsciously.
00's bands & artists with notable aesthetics include:
The Strokes///////////////// these snotty NYC middle-class house party hounds got it super right. ironic minimalist nihilistic velvet garage rock. it's everywhere from the fact they have their producer and manager in the band photoshoots in the liner notes (that's the 00's armoured we-dont-mean-anything irony there) to the photography of the band - nonchalant monochrome blah, the sexy Is This It cover (the UK edition, natch), that peachy white arse with the S&M biker glove. it made hella sense, basically, and thats not mentioning the Bret Easton Ellis lyrics of Julian Casablancas, the endless, endless quaver patterns in every song (minimal noughties), yet this overwhelming sense that it shouldve been done before.
Kanye West////////////// arguably mainstream hip hop's ultimate, tireless reinventor (even though he sucks pretty huge balls now, how many ideas would you like from Ed Banger records this time Mr. West?), Kanye West's College Dropout was a clearly-defined new direction for the genre. and it was all thanks to the bear.. (?). West's early work was all about joyful, tongue-in-cheek wit combined with fit production and 'the thing everyone does in hip hop', being insanely high PITCH SHIFTED vocals! how stupid did that sound when you 1st heard it! (Through the Wire) but now, of course, stanndard.
Crystal Castles/////////// pretty much the ultimate aesthetic of the decade (ahem - the forward slashes?). I discovered this band way before you did and that makes me pretty happy, downloading poorly mixed versions of xxzxczx me (that was before they respelt it kid) about 4 years ago with Mp3 Gopher to satisfy my utter lust. Castles are at the stage now where pretty much anything they say goes. Castles have a picture of a bluebird on their MySpace? 'wow, arent bluebirds amazingly cool' ---- vid of Alice wearing a Vader t-shirt on youtube? 'i'm totally getting my star wars figures out tonight'. its pretty incredible really - they live on their own island completely - with taxidermy, thrift store synths, battered leather jackets, sheer punk sexuality, darkness, apathy, and as many stolen 8-bit samples as they like (and that, is exactly the point - they get away with anything). i plan to write a pretty dick-sucky, tit-licky post about their unreleased track 'Baptism' soon so stay tuned.
Kap Bambino///////////// one of the most exciting French acts of the moment, the hyperactively red haired, hoodied combo of sheer industrial doom. imagine every bassline from Parisian new dance put through one of Justice's compressors with a gorgeous slut on dist vox and youre basically there. I've been raving about them for a while, but perhaps they're too much for some. they're aesthetic is much like their predominant sound - contained chaos - their webpages covered in delicately scratchy drawings and montages.
Late of the Pier//////////// 1st Brit act in this list (i felt i had to boost numers jokes), LOTP have an astonishingly recognisable shtick, kind of Klaxons but not cunts shot through a visually autechre love for Gary Numan. I want to like them, haven't got round to it. (i wont)
These New Puritans//////////// are wannabe-chemists with Ian Curtis' old phonenumber and a weird tendency to run parallel with some really strange trends, yet tie it all together with gold and black string. for example, Swords of Truth begins sounding like some lost M.I.A. song and then becomes a bit BoNo Must Die-ish with weak boy vox, before J.B. sings '60 seconds', but it really sounds like a Missy Elliot song, but really not. they modelled for Dior (or some shit, cant really remember, you dont mind) even though they are supremely geek chic 4000, but that just made me like them more.
Those Dancing Days////////// i cant believe im writing this but i have an extremely guilty pleasure for these at the moment. : S x 4892. its something about that ice-cream truck organ and the hummable, sunwashed choruses. im not a paedophile. yet. anyway, TDD's aesthetic is simple as they are really - cutesy cutesy cutesy Swedes having cute fun alot alot.
Panda Bear/////////////// the actual brilliance. potuguese sun, sand, Beach Boys, looking after your newborn daughter, looking after your new fashion designer wife, paddling pools, a lot of animals, genuine courage. its an amazing aesthetic that Noah Lennox has, and perhaps because his aesthetic is basically his life, as pure as he can express it.
THE END
Andrew
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Old Stereo
I was on me way home from me grandma's and i thought... OMFGSZx11!! Only blogs isn't it! only blogs! so i knew i had to make a whole new blog from scratch, a music blog BECAUSE BLOGS ARE WELL FUCKING PUNK

1st things fuckin last (what films that from - its from reservoir dogs), take a look at this scab on my shinbone:------
<---- Every boy and every girl knows that the best thing you'll ever get out of life is peeling a scab off your leg, and I've just started on this one. Good fucking times. & In case you didn't notice, the aesthetic of this blog is to have really un related shit? and poor grammar? You cant complain because that is the aesthetic of this blog, so you can contact me and complain but i litereally wont listen. TIT OFF SHANGLE Anyway, I had this idea of 1-sentence summaries of new bands, and I was gonna get
ducttape and photograph it and scan it in and use that as a background, and all these things. Basically im trying to be as messy as possible. BECAUSE BLOAGS ARE WELL FUCKING PUNK
Times New Viking are so flipping punk they make me want to play the bass guitar round a middle-class girl's house until blood drips down from my index finger onto their Persian carpet.
TRUE STORY
Alice Glass has the nicest tits ever. X 400000000000000000000000000000000000
now some bad ones......
Coldplay must stop BUGGING ME now that they are the nostalgic-pub-jukebox-presser's favourite cunt song makers that they vaguely remember playing in the background of a tender moment with their girlfriend of 7 YEARS ago listening to Trouble, even though the album cover of the new one is nice THAT DOESNT MAKE YOU GOOD SHITS.
and finally....
Timbaland fancies his dad.
PERIOD.
by Andrew! Bye!
1st things fuckin last (what films that from - its from reservoir dogs), take a look at this scab on my shinbone:------
<---- Every boy and every girl knows that the best thing you'll ever get out of life is peeling a scab off your leg, and I've just started on this one. Good fucking times. & In case you didn't notice, the aesthetic of this blog is to have really un related shit? and poor grammar? You cant complain because that is the aesthetic of this blog, so you can contact me and complain but i litereally wont listen. TIT OFF SHANGLE Anyway, I had this idea of 1-sentence summaries of new bands, and I was gonna get
ducttape and photograph it and scan it in and use that as a background, and all these things. Basically im trying to be as messy as possible. BECAUSE BLOAGS ARE WELL FUCKING PUNKTimes New Viking are so flipping punk they make me want to play the bass guitar round a middle-class girl's house until blood drips down from my index finger onto their Persian carpet.
TRUE STORY
Alice Glass has the nicest tits ever. X 400000000000000000000000000000000000
now some bad ones......
Coldplay must stop BUGGING ME now that they are the nostalgic-pub-jukebox-presser's favourite cunt song makers that they vaguely remember playing in the background of a tender moment with their girlfriend of 7 YEARS ago listening to Trouble, even though the album cover of the new one is nice THAT DOESNT MAKE YOU GOOD SHITS.
and finally....
Timbaland fancies his dad.
PERIOD.
by Andrew! Bye!
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