Captain Wulf’s Neighborhood

Being back home for about a month plus now has its perks and drawbacks.
Perks would be sleeping late and waking up late, not worrying about deadlines or demanding bosses and alot of free time. The drawbacks would be that I get fidgety and I whinge because I have nothing to do, also, I do not have financial freedom. Previously, I tend to eat emotionally when I am anxious or idle.
But of late, I've learned to control my eating and have stabilise my weight. Anyway, back to the topic, I've been looking for a job as a reporter but so far I have not gotten much luck in finding. Just today, however, I might get a shot at doing some freelance work and tomorrow I'm calling up a major newspaper tomorrow to ask about their employment options. I tried sending out my applications to the major newspapers but I think I applied at the wrong time or maybe, just maybe, my email went missing in the interwebs.
Gah, I overthink sometimes.
I just bought a Bossanova cover CD the other day and they had a cover of the Beatles' Let it Be. I feel that the song relates to my life right now because all I have to do is let things be and if an opportunity comes knocking all I have to do is just grab it. Worrying too much doesn't get me anywhere nor does it add an hour to my life. In fact, it just does a favor of causing myself more pressure. Did you know that every single thought contributes to our body condition? I've read a book recently that says that our body is our biography. If we keep thinking that we are fat, we will eventually become fat and stay fat. If we keep thinking that we will get cancer, we will get cancer. If we think we're losing hair, we will experience hair loss. So, a lesson to learn is that we should always think positive thoughts because if we are happy, our brain sends the message to our body and our body will react to it.
Years of condemning one's self will cause the body to deteriorate by itself slowly. In order to maintain a healthy body,
one must not only rest well and eat well but think well.
Thus, worrying about not getting a job will result in just that.
All I have to do is trust the Lord and He will provide an answer soon enough.
The more I worry the more I become agitated and anxious, which, will be seen in my actions.
If I were to go to a job interview and appear anxious, it may cost me an opportunity.
So, I will not worry anymore but just let it be

BRETT ANDERSON
brettanderson.co.uk ♥ myspace.com

Those who follows our W♥M Podcast, you'll know that between Sally, Kristen, and I, that we really, really love our Britpop music. When Suede burst on the scene, with all their hype*, I was a bit, what's the word? Resistant.

I eventually got over it when I heard Metal Mickey, a nice rock n roll glammy track with aggressive Butler guitars and Anderson's unique voice. The songwriting duo of Anderson/Butler did not last for long, and Butler's replacement, Richard Oakes, seems only a pale copy of the original. I think everyone knew that, and eventually, Bernard Butler and Brett Anderson got over their differences and re-united - but not as Suede... they were then The Tears. I think everyone was confused on how to interpret it at first (personally I think it's like tears/crying, not ripped/tear).

The Tears didn't live for very long, and by 2007, Brett Anderson releases his inevitable solo self-titled album. I never bought his solo stuff, because I don't think his music post-Suede's Head Music** were ever re-release or re-marketed to the US audience, so the few promo downloads that he's made available for free, I wasn't so impressed with. I remember thinking his debut solo album was trying to be orchestral (based on what I've heard).

Imagine my surprise when I got a chance to listen to a few tracks from his latest album, Slow Attack, officially via We7.com. It was all very operatic, almost minimalistic in its approach of piano and percussions. I did like that it brings out Anderson's voice loud and clear, but it generally made all of his music to be on the sadder end of the scale.

While I think one or two slow songs would be OK for a full length, all of the tracks I sampled were in that very similar tone. Kind of ballady and depressing.  I kind of miss the old Suede stuff. The only redeeming value is that at least, his voice isn't altered/over-produced as with Suede's Head Music and Coming Up.

I suppose, Anderson's much older now, wow you can see his cheek bones sticking out of his face... such a difference of imagery, from a time when mean-spirited fans were calling him "fatty" (we all kind of knew it was the getting off the drugs that was causing the weight thing... allegedly).

Anyway, if you were looking for the glory rock days, don't bother looking into Slow Attack. If you're a hardcore fan, chances are you probably own the limited edition anyway. The album will probably not be released in the US, as were all his previous releases. Import costs are generally cheaper these days, but expect to pay about $20 for an import album (Amazon is listing $19).

Brett Anderson is touring in 2010, so if you live in the UK, you can relive your youth days. If he were touring the US, I might leave my hibernation to see him. As you know, I've met the band before at a special "after-party", I'm sure he'll have no idea who I am.

* "Best Band in Britain" before releasing their album? Really, Melody Maker, really??)
** Suede's last album, A New Morning was never released in the US.

TRUE NATURE
truenatureband.com ♥ myspace.com

As you know, I also run a website on artist George Perez, and it's rare when my music and comic website mix. How does True Nature and George Perez cross paths, you ask? The cover artwork for True Nature's EP, Feels Like Centuries, stars actress/model Tonya Kay (with some artwork and directions from Glen Wexler).

Perez, through his associations with Fetish Con, have actually drawn Tonya Kay as a print, for Fetish Con's "Who's the Best Bondage Super Heroine?" contest. The original artwork was auctioned off for charity.

So, there's the connection. As for True Nature's EP, Feels Like Centuries, based on the cover artwork, it looks like they're also marketing themselves as somewhat of a spiritual rock band. I reckon if you like classic American progressive-type rock, you might enjoy this EP. Despite having only five tracks, the EP is "centuries" long (so long that it felt like a chore to get through). It's not that I dislike singer/songwriter, Lou Barlow's vocals, it's just really not the type of music I enjoy.

Their best track is the opening song, "Truth I Have To Steel (Simple Heart)", which started off strong and remain steadily so throughout the song. You can sample the entire track on their official website.

You can pick up Feels Like Centuries at CD Baby or Amazon. Although, not really my thing, I'm glad that there was at least a common connection for me.

A yearly affair, celebrated by millions around the world, believers or non-believers alike.
Some appreciate it that it is a holiday, a few figured that its a good time to go travelling in the alps and a number prepare themselves for parties to attend. For a family like mine, we are the ones who organise the party, planning and inviting our loved ones to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
I do love the carols, the food, the atmosphere and decorations.
I like watching kids getting fascinated with all the lights.
People dressing up in Santa costumes or hats with a sparkle in their eye.
To me, Christmas is about love and sharing it.
Giving our best, be it time, sweat or tears.
Yeah, presents can bring a smile to a person's face but its the intention by the giver that counts.
I didn't feel the Christmas mood this year because I had nothing to give.
Emotionally drained, I ended up being a grinch.
But lately, I manage to bring myself out of a bout of depression and begin to see things differently.
Meeting new people and rekindling old friendships has allowed me to learn and experience life as never before.
I thank God for this new lease of life and for reminding me the meaning of Christmas.
It is of love that know no bounds and encompasses everything.

Happy Holidays to you, your family, friends and neighbors from all of us at Vox.
See you in 2010!

ELIZABETH & THE CATAPULT
elizabethandthecatapult.com ♥ myspace.com

The last time we mentioned Elizabeth and the Catapult, the song "Race You", went straight to the top ten on The Hype Machine. And it's easy to see why, the song is such a fun and cute pop song.

This Christmas song, "Christmas with the Jews", is also fun and cute (and not to mention quite short). But what you're thinking when you're listening to this song, is "er, aren't you forgetting Hanukkah?"

Maybe you can ask them if you see them live:

01/28/10 The Barn Clinton, New York
02/05/10 World Cafe Live Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
02/06/10 8x10 Baltimore, Maryland

THE JOY FORMIDABLE
myspace.com ♥ twitter.com

When I first heard of The Joy Formidable last year, I was impressed. I said I saw "lot of potential" in this band. Based on the free Christmas song, "My Beerdrunk Soul is Sadder than a Hundred Dead Christmas Trees" (available at musicglue.com), I'm still loving the vocals by Ritzy.

Maybe there was a problem with my download, but the MP3 track is 4:56, where the last 30 seconds of the song is complete and utterly garbage... it sounds like it was encoded in error and not part of the song. I've edited out the crap part for you.

The tour information they sent me is as follows:

January 2010.
Fri 8 USA New York Terminal 5 w/Passion Pit.
Sat 9 USA New York Terminal 5 w/Passion Pit.
Mon 11 USA New York Union Hall.
Tue 12 USA New York Pianos.

February 2010.
Sun 21 Norway Oslo John Dee w/The Temper Trap.
Mon 22 Denmark Copenhagen Vega w/The Temper Trap.
Tue 23 Denmark Copenhagen Vega w/The Temper Trap.
Wed 24 Sweden Stockholm Debaser Slussen w/The Temper Trap.
Fri 26 Germany Hamburg Molotow w/The Temper Trap.
Sat 27 Germany Berlin Postbahnhof w/The Temper Trap.
Sun 28 Germany Cologne Gloria w/The Temper Trap.

March 2010.
Tue 2 Germany Munich Atomic Café w/The Temper Trap.
Wed 3 Germany Frankfurt Nachtelben w/ The Temper Trap.

THE MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA
themanchesterorchestra.com ♥ myspace.com

We're on Day 10 of the 12 Days of Christmas, so hurry on over if you're a fan of the Manchester Orchestra. Each of these songs are acoustic live versions of their song. My only complaint is that you have to listen to these songs on the computer - so if you've got 30 minutes to spare, sit and listen away.

My favorite track is "One Hundred Dollar", you can simply hear the anger as singer Andy Hull asks to borrow $100. While the song is short and doesn't offer much explanation, you, as the audience makes up your own background to the song. Anyway, the song is from their latest album, Mean Everything to Nothing, they'll probably be playing loads of their new songs on tour:

01/29/10 Salt Palace Convention Center^{^} Salt Lake City, Utah
01/30/10 The Fillmore^{^} Denver, Colorado
01/31/10 The Black Sheep* Colorado Springs, Colorado
02/02/10 The Marquee* Tulsa, Oklahoma
02/03/10 Juanita’s Cantina Ballroom* Little Rock, Arkansas
02/04/10 New Daisy Theatre* Memphis, Tennessee

^ with Brand New
* with Harrison Hudson

SIA
siamusic.net ♥ myspace.com

Finally, we have Sia. This actually has nothing to do with Christmas, unless you count getting a new music video as a holiday gift. But just talking about the video for "You've Changed" isn't enough to warrant its own article, so I thought I might as well stuck her here.

Sia has always seem to me to be this child trapped in a grown-up's body. The latest video is wonderful, it features this weird stop-motion, "dress up" video-gamey feel to it. I don't know who's idea it was, I'll bet it's a combination of Sia's child-mind and director Dennis Liu of @radical.media, but it came together pretty great.

Be sure to watch the high-resolution video of it (you'll need it to read the song lyrics scrolling at the bottom).

This year has been named the "year of celebrity death" by this site. Notable deceased stars
that have been mentioned are David Carradine, found dead in Thailand in what seemed to be
an accidental death, Farah Fawcett, the sex symbol from the original Charlie's Angels,
Michael Jackson, The King of Pop whose death is still debated if it was homicide or drug overdose,
Patrick Swayze, an actor whose dancing skills in "Dirty Dancing" inspired many aspiring dancers,
Stephen Gately, one of my favourites of the 90's boyband era
and most recently, the bubbly and beautiful Brittany Murphy who died of cardiac arrest.

Towards the Asian continent, South Koreans mourn over the death of the nation's pride, supermodel Daul Kim.
South Korean celebrities are high on the list of suicides, in my opinion, is because of the pressure of being scrutinised
and probably the many insecurities that come with fame and fortune.

Death comes clothed in Despair and Grief to steal away the lives of people, no matter the color, status, sex, or form.
To be subjected to it, is something everyone has to go through. It may come to you in the past, the present or the future, depending on when your life span ends.

But I often wonder why do people only celebrate the life of the deceased after they leave this mortal world?
Memorials, tributes and services are held to remember the good things or achievements the person had done. When the person was alive, did they even bother or are they even interested in that person?

If MJ did not have a comeback, would the paparazzi even bother to follow him and take photos of him? Has there been any news of David Carradine before his death? What about Stephen Gately, the boyish looking heartthrob that stole the hearts of a million girls around the world? To me, some of this stars hold a special place in my heart because I grew up watching them on the news, listening to their music and adored them. But just like many of us, I have been forgotten these celebrities right up until their death. They were celebrated and glorified as heroes, mentors and stars that shine but in the end forgotten until Death comes to rob us of our Superman or Wonder Woman. What is the meaning of this?
Shouldn't we respect and cherish people before they die? Why do we wait until the coffin's been nailed that only we wail and say "I should have listened to his music more or I wish I could have met him personally".

Aside from celebrities, what about people around us? Do we truly love our families and friends? Take up your phone and call your loved ones, even those who have been forgotten or have lost contact. Text them, email them, visit them, whatever. Spend more time with them and show that you care instead of refraining the "I Love You's". Be relentless and keep trying to reach that aunty you've stopped talking to. Bond with that friend you have had a fallout with. Forgive and forget and move on with a better relationship. In this world, fame and fortune may blind our eyes and hide the love we have. Relationships are lost when money comes into the picture. Sex, Drugs and Money. The three most wanted yet most dangerous things that control the darkness of the world. They come in subtle forms and manipulative ways yet set their traps to those who are easily stumbled. Even I admit I get materialistic, I lust over good-looking people and my drug is food. When will I see with spiritual eyes the love that emanates from each person's soul?

The key of life is Love. And Love conquers all, it conquers Death, Sex, Drugs, Money. Love will allow us to care and show kindness to people while they are still alive. It gives us a chance to love unconditionally in spite of weaknesses and condition. To exist in this world is to love and be loved. Family love, friendship love, romantic love, Godly love and love for the nature; these are things that makes the sun continue to shine, the flowers to bloom, the air to breathe.

If I were to die, I would want to testify that I have loved and been loved. That I have contributed to heal this world, with all that I have, emotionally, physically, spiritually, psychologically. I believe that in each and everyone of us, Love exists through the beatings of our hearts and the essence of our souls. It connects, unites, transforms, reaches out, touches, and moves people. Love knows no prejudice. It always gives.

For all the stars and people that have fallen, I pray that they too have loved and loved in return. That their love will continue to be a light for people, to remember them by. Thank you, David, Farah,Michael,Patrick, Stephen, Brittany for beaming as the stars in the sky and changing our lives in one way or another. Thank you Daul, my fellow Asian who inspired me to reach out for my dreams and proving that Asians can make it in the supermodel world.

May you beautiful souls rest in peace. 

Straitjacket Escape ♥ photo by Dave

Indie pop isn’t usually described as epic. Adorable, precious, and cloyingly cute? Yes. But epic? Not so much. Fanfarlo seems to be the exception, and they proved this point on Friday night, when they had a man suspended upside down from the rafters and escape from a straitjacket. This happened within the first five minutes of the show, during the orchestral behemoth that is “The Walls are Coming Down.” It was like a Bruce Willis movie, but with less explosions and more glockenspiel.

The straitjacket incident was obviously the most epic moment of the night, but the theatrics didn’t end there. There was interpretive dancing, rogue boomerangs, and a pretty intimidating box accordion. Throw in a picturesque stage setting and a watering can attached to the drum kit, and it wasn’t an average Webster Hall show. The band managed to take a spacious, relatively normal venue and shift the atmosphere to match that of the album: warm, enthusiastic, and frenzied.

Frontman, Simon Balthazar, led the charge in a bowtie and further proved my belief that Swedes are musical messiahs when it comes to penning a good pop song. Though he was the lead singer, the audience seemed to focus on the band as a whole as they constantly exchanged instruments and shared singing duties. The arsenal of instruments that night included a banjo, mandolin, violin, clarinet, and a brightly colored melodica – the required instrument for every chamber pop band out there. True, they occasionally succumbed to a few clichés (see: the rampart Arcade Fire comparisons), but their sincerity shone through. When you take away the fanfare, there’s still a pulse to their music that drives it past most conventions. Hence the epic-ness.

With only one album, they had a limited supply of songs to play. My personal favorite, “I’m a Pilot,” drew from the band’s most appealing quality: their infectious camaraderie. This was most apparent during the encore, when they had run out of songs to sing, so they resorted to the obligatory cover, Low’s “Just Like Christmas,” featuring opening band, Freelance Whales. Anything holiday-related is instantly a cheese-fest, but throw in a cavalcade of instruments and a dozen earnest musicians and it becomes easy to suspend any cynicism.

(I really wanted to end this review by writing, “...and by the end of the night, you could say that the entire audience had shed an emotional straitjacket – and put on a fringed vest of love.” But I won’t. Swearsies.)

Photos by Dave: 

I like love Samurai series like Lone Wolf and Cub and Hanzo the Razor (while Lone Wolf is all about bloody violence, Hanzo is all about sex & ultra-violence). I only mention Hanzo, because the "hero" is played by Shintaro Katsu, who also play one of Japan's most popular Samurai, Zatoichi. If you've never heard of Zatoichi, he's a blind swordsman, who wanders Japan in the Edo period as a masseur (although he seems to make most of his money at dice games).

The Zatoichi series ran 26 movies (1962-1982) and a television series ran for five years (1974-1979). Twenty years later, Takeshi "Beat" Kitano reinvented Zatoichi with his version of the character. This was easily one of my favorite movie at the time, I saw it at the independent theater twice in 2003 and ordered a region 3 release of the DVD as soon as it was available on import. Incidentally, to show support for the US market, I also bought the US edition of the DVD, which came with a bonus Sonatine movie (which was originally released in the states by Quentin Tarantino's Rolling Thunder productions).

Considering the movie did quite well, critically and (I'm assuming) in sales, I was hoping for a follow-up movie by Kitano, but unfortunately there's no such plan. However, interestingly enough, one of my all-time favorite Japanese director, Takashi Miike* directed a stage adaption of Zatoichi for live performances in 2007.

I'm happy to report that, I saw a very good re-imagined of the familiar character, reinvented as a female protagonist, called Ichi. I wish the producers had kept the brand of "Zatoichi", as people who hear "Ichi" does not always associate the name with the blind swordsman. To be fair, Ichi is the original character's name. The term "zato" means low-ranking blind person (low-ranking in the Todoza guild). Logically, they could've named this movie Gozeichi, because Goze refers to blind musician women of that time period.

Anyway, beside my gripe about the Ichi name as the movie title, I also didn't like the idea that a model (Ayase Haruka) is playing the part of the protagonist. All that was really not worth worrying, because the whole movie is quite entertaining and enjoyable, and there is only once where Haruka is seen 'dolled up' for a music performance (most of the movie, she's covered from head to toe in dirty rags). However, there are at times when the director Fumihiko Sori choose to stay too long on Haruka's beautiful unblemished face. We get it, she's cute.

The story is uncomplicated, Ichi wanders into some town with an inept sword-drawing samurai Toma (the name is close to a slang "tonma" for idiot or fool). The town is in trouble from the Banki gang, and in Zatoichi fashion, Ichi and Toma saves the town. During the course of the film, there are the tried-and-true Zatoichi moments like slashing out the lights and Ichi triumph in complete darkness, the use of sound to throw Ichi off, and, of course, the Cho-Han Bakuchi dice gambling.

What made the film interesting, at least to me, is that the soundtrack is by Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerrard! So throughout the movie, you do hear that ethereal vocals, similar to her efforts on Ridley Scott's Gladiator. I suspect she only wrote the vocals, the credit I have for composer is Michael Edwards, who previously worked with Gerrad on her solo material. The soundtrack was a bit of a surprise to me, generally these J-movies' music and production team are usually kept inhouse. Although, having said that, the one outro credit song is by Korean J-Pop singer SunMin.

Ichi the movie will be made available in the US market via Bluray and DVD in two days (December 22^nd), just in time for last-minute xmas shoppers. Hopefully those Best Buy tonmas will be smart and order some copies for their store (however, if it costs over $25, I'd rather order it online, or not own it at all - hey times are tough!).

* I love all three billion of his movies! Audition, City of Lost Souls, One Missed Call, Ichi the Killer, Fudoh, The Happiness of the Katakuris, Zebraman, Sukiyaki Western: Django, etc.

Ever since I've first heard "There is a Place in Hell for Me and My Friends" in 1991, I've always known that Morrissey and I would be friends. Longtime readers will know that I'm a huge fan, but post-Ringleader, I found myself not actively collecting various editions (a good example of this is the "expanded" editions of Southpaw Grammar and Maladjusted). While I would love to have them in my collection, I feel like I've already bought them the first time around and I'm contented with the original cd and vinyls.

For this Christmas, I did buy myself Swords deluxe edition via my favorite store, amazon. It was a bit pricey for a CD/DVD combo ($23 vs $12 for the standard disc), but I'm worth it.

I actually have had a digital copy of the B-Sides compilation since late October, thanks to pen pal friend Mel, as it was a "bonus" if you had preordered tickets to see Morrissey in live in 2009. And of course, like most fans, we still buy the physical release anyway, so it's a bit of a win-win situation for everyone.

I'll briefly summarize Morrissey's history: he's a bit of a sensitive, indie songwriter with The Smiths. He went solo in "nineteen-eighty-hate" with some classic modern rock hits with "Suedehead" (aka that "I'm So Sorry" song) and "Everyday is like Sunday". He went a bit rockabilly with Your Arsenal (his previous album Kill Uncle was heading to this direction, especially with the B-Sides and singles from this era), and pretty much stayed in this "muscular" rock type music since. As I previously mentioned, I think this has to do with his musical collaboration with Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte.

If you're new to Morrissey, I don't think Swords would be a good starting point for you. I would recommend starting with Bona Drag, a weird mix of b-sides and oddities. Most of the songs on Swords were co-written by Alain Whyte, and there's a nice cohesive feel to each song as they have similiar song writing structure. When you do run into a non-Whyte song, such as "Sweetie-Pie", it just feels out of place. In fact, I think this is possibly one of the worst Morrissey song, right up there with "Michaels Bones".

There is one non-Morrissey-penned song, and it's a live recording of "Drive-In Saturday" (live at Omaha on 11 May 2007). Morrissey's music obsessions tend to be from the 60s and 70s era, so it didn't surprise me to hear him doing a David Bowie cover from the Aladdin Sane time period. But the two are friends, I know that Bowie showed up at a Morrissey show in Los Angeles in the early 90s to do a duet of a T.Rex's song for "Cosmic Dancer", and, of course, Bowie would later record a soul-ish version of Morrissey's "I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday" in 1993.

Also, it seems in post-2008, Morrissey's songs have been about fatherhood and retirement. Just looking over his titles: "Good Looking Man About Town", "Don't Make Fun of Daddy's Voice", "Teenage Dad on His Estate", "Children in Pieces", that "constipated look" for Swords, and that controversially album cover for Years of Refusal ... you would think that he's married with kids. Maybe that's not a bad thing, with Morrissey's heath in question, maybe he should take it easy. We all can't be like James Dean, you know.