Qui GONE

It's a year plus later and I'm still pissed off about Episode 3....



On the isolated asteroid of Polis Massa, YODA meditates.

YODA: Failed to stop the Sith Lord, I have. Still much to learn, there is ...

QUI -GON: (V.O.) Patience. You will have time. I did not. When I became one with the Force I made a great discovery. With my training, you will be able to merge with the Force at will. Your physical self will fade away, but you will still retain your consciousness. You will become more powerful than any Sith.

YODA: Eternal consciousness.

QUI-GON: (V.O.) The ability to defy oblivion can be achieved, but only for oneself. It was accomplished by a Shaman of the Whills. It is a state acquired through compassion, not greed.

YODA: . . . to become one with the Force, and influence still have . . . A power greater than all, it is.

QUI-GON: (V.O.) You will learn to let go of everything. No attachment, no thought of self. No physical self.

YODA: A great Jedi Master, you have become, Qui-Gon Jinn. Your apprentice I gratefully become.

YODA thinks about this for a minute, then BAIL ORGANA enters the room and breaks his meditation.

BAIL ORGANA: Excuse me, Master Yoda. Obi-Wan Kenobi has made contact.

Later, on the Alderaan Starcruiser:

YODA: (continuing) Master Kenobi, wait a moment. In your solitude on Tatooine, training I have for you.

OBI-WAN: Training??

YODA: An old friend has learned the path to immortality.

OBI-WAN: Who?

YODA: One who has returned from the netherworld of the Force to train me . . . your old Master, Qui-Gon Jinn.

OBI-WAN: Qui-Gon? But, how could he accomplish this?

YODA: The secret of the Ancient Order of the Whills, he studied. How to commune with him. I will teach you.

OBI-WAN: I will be able to talk with him?

YODA: How to join the Force, he will train you. Your consciousness you will retain, when one with the Force. Even your physical self, perhaps.

In the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover, the meditation scene is thus:

With my help, you can learn to join with the Force, yet retain conciousness. You can join your light to it forever. Perhaps in time, even your physical self.

Yoda did not move. "Eternal life..."

The ultimate goal of the Sith, yet they can never achieve it; it comes only by the release of self, not the exaltation of self. It comes through compassion, not greed. Love is the answer to darkness.

"Become one with the Force, yet influence still to have..." Yoda mused. "A power greater than all, it is."

It cannot be granted; it can only be taught. It is yours to learn, if you wish it.

Slowly, Yoda nodded. "A very great Jedi master you have become, Qui-Gon Jinn. A very great Jedi Master you always were, but too blind I was to see it."

He rose, and folded his hands before him, and inclined his head in the Jedi bow of respect.

The bow of the student, in the presence of the Master.

"Your apprentice, I gratefully become."

He was well into his first lesson when the hatch cycled opened behind him.

Yoda tells Obi-Wan he won't be quite alone on Tatooine:

When Obi-Wan moved to follow, Yoda's gimer stick barred his way. "A moment, Master Kenobi. In your solitude on Tatooine, training I have for you. I and my new Master."

Obi-Wan blinked. "Your new Master?"

"Yes." Yoda smiled up at him. "and your old one..."

LOOK FOR THE HIDDEN GUITARIST (with MY NAME IS EARL bonus)

Webster Fall

The sun shines on a lovely Sunday morning at MOGworld as I prepare to head down to the studio for what will certainly be a productive day. We're very close on cracking this new song, the former CREATION PHASE and the current AZUMI (yes, named after the movie cause I had just met the director when I started writing it). This song, some remixing, and something new related to the world of comics has taken up most of my creative energy, but here I am, your hero, again ready to give you the score...

It was an interesting week as Brandt and I put our musical adventures aside and took our significant others to see two very different gigs at the same location, the dreaded Webster Hall. The first gig, KASABIAN, was obviously highly anticipated as it would be the first outing of the new mateiral from EMPIRE and the other, THE KILLERS, was a last minute "secret" show previewing songs from their forthcoming album SAM's TOWN.

Let me say there is one thing I learned from this experience is that Webster Hall is the absolute worst place on the planet Earth. Not the venue itself, which is a nice size, has a good sound system, etc. but the douches that go to this place amazes even a hardened New Yorker such as myself. Had either of these gigs been at Irving Plaza or Roseland or any place else, I don't think half the douches would be there (especially at The Killers). It's like they let the dorms out of Jersey and the suburbs and told the kids to go to their first Bar Mitzvah. Seriously, this venue, no matter what the band is, brings out the worst people on the planet Earth. At least the Kasabian gig had the X-Pats (who always make a gig that much better), but the Killers gig, forget it. I seriously thought this was an NYU freshman orientation gathering. Anyway, the music, please....

I am biased towards Kasabian. Yes you have read it here so many times, you KNOW. Well, theyre a bit different than the last go around. They have a new guitarist, an AMERICAN no less, and he's kind of a tool. Oh, he plays fine and actually brings a nice added set of balls to the proceedings (which works well for the new songs), but he kinda rocks out, well, like an American, and that makes him kind of annoying. But happily the new songs work well and to open with a song no one in America has heard yet (the forthcoming single SHOOT THE RUNNER), and to turn it into a bluesy rock jam is balls. Respect. They wisely played a smart combination of the first two albums, and while Brandt missed the fact that they didnt play any b-sides this evening, I think its early in the Empire process and they have an album to sell. You know they'll be back. The new songs were a real treat live, especially the tunes I'm into like SUNRISE, and BY MY SIDE. They played B's new fave, THE LAST TRIP and that was a train of awesome. The sight of Serge dancing sans guitar to PROCESSED BEATS is a keeper right there and Tom Kasabian has taken quite a few tips from Liam as he's much more laid back (and off the drugs), and is still an earnest frontman. Yes they kept the drummer which to me was the crucial element to any future Kasabian success. Wisely, the band never left the stage and played straight through their encore, which was great as they had super momentum. The new guy played bass on CLUB FOOT, and was less of a tool because the crowd went nuts for it and I guess he was more focused on the bass, but then they went into a bliding fucking best ever version of STUNTMAN you will ever hear. And as soon as they finished with LSF the first thing Irene and I started to discsuss was going to the UK to see them when they announce Wembley (cause theyre GONNA, you know). Anyhow, simply put, fave band comes through yet again and doesn't disappoint playing new material.

Two days later, we were back at this scumbag magnet venue for B-Flo. I'm going to keep this one simple. I like The Killers. I was late to the game on the first album until Irene started playing it a few years ago and I thought, hey this isn't bad. Plus B-Flo is a nice bitchy interview and if I'm spending 5 bucks a week on the NME, i want that. I actually agree with him most of the time as he seems to have been raised on musical diet that I can relate to. I honestly never got the Duran comparisons but thats just me. Anyhow, Ash sums their first album up perfectly when he says "there are six great songs". Anyhow, my interest in the follow up album would be casual, but their extremely smart idea to bring in Flood and Alan Moulder to produce the album suddenly makes this record anticipated.

So the venue is decked out in some wild west casino bullshit (ok, youre from from Vegas we get that), and they come out looking like, well, some wild west casino bullshit, complete with really poor facial hair and, in B-flo's case, shit haircuts. Now, I'm not a guy who bases his musical interests on looks (though the aggression WERE handsome), but this was extremely distrating. During the first songs (which was new) I'm immediately shocked by several things: one and importantly, B-Flo is about as cool as my cousin singing Karaoke in the suburbs, two: the guitarist looks like a chick in drag and actually isn't very good, three: the drummer IS My Name is Earl (and I swear on my mom when I tell you I heard at least 5 people say this while walking out of the gig), though I felt he was more John Riley in Boogie NIghts (YOU GOT THE TOUCH!), and the bassist is Kruger if he stayed in music. Anyhow, again, I'm talking looks, which is wrong, so lets get into the music. The new songs are ok I guess, it seems more of the same, but with some more cheese added to it. I honestly have to hear the album before I totally write these guys off, but I feel Flood will come through. Live, the band is pretty standard, nothing super, nothing terrible, though when they play the hits, the energy level rises and they have the confidence to back that up. But nothing grabbed me here, nothing made me love them and I so wanted to, but then, during the second song, we discovered THE WORST:

Hidden behind the bass rig is ANOTHER musician. He is sometimes playing keyboards, he is often playing guitar, he is better looking than the rest of the band, he is ROCKING OUT, but most of all he is TALLER than the bass rig, so there, the entire gig is this guy (who we believe was the session guy who played bass for Garbage for a lot of years) basically backing up all their shit. BEHIND A RIG and never acknowledged. When Kasabian had their new guitarist, they gave him a nice little mention, but this guy? Forget it. He's actually a better guitar player than the guitar player. This was the most insincere shit I have ever seen in my life. Is this band so insecure that they can't acknowledge another musician backing them up? If someone is helping you present your music live on stage, you acknowledge them, you respect them, you don't throw them behind a rig hoping people won't see. Wow. Even if they played every gig after with this guy at the front of the stage, this band has lost me. I can't respect that, though if I had known better, I would have done that with Kieran (I'm kidding, don't Email me complaining, its a joke). This was truly the shit friend action. I just can't respect this band.

Anyhow, I couldn't wait to get the fuck out of there, the people were disgusting, the band was frustrating and it made me wish we had gone to a few more Kasabian gigs. Anyhow, fast forward a bit and last night we saw JACKASS 2, which was so beyond sick I couldn't handle it. Irene, who is a huge mark for Jackass (though her mom is a bigger mark), almost vomited twice and poor Danny spent 11 dollars (of my money) to cover his eyes for 90 minutes. Me? I just laughed and thought how lucky I am to be alive cause if they had this (and hardcore wrestling) around when I was a kid, I would be a lot less healthier (and Danny would be dead). Everyone walked out of this movie in silence as it just beats you into submission. This is a good thing.

And now, the tunes...

F

Back It Up

Please please PLEASE forgive my lack of communication. While some of you may think I have been delinquent, or even, dare I say, shitty, you who truly know of course neither is the case. Upon my return from Los Angeles I was shocked to learn that our internet had taken a dive. Luckily, it was just a burnt modem, so here we are back in business at the world of MOG. Now with Fresh New Net! So let's not delay any further and find out where things are at:

Los Angeles was again a nice place to visit. I truly suggest staying at the Bel Age hotel off of Sunset. It was the top notch. A huge room, very comfortable and it allowed me to work on the tunes out on the balcony and to entertain guests such as Dr. Fury himself and our favourite Business Affairs Exec. Work was productive, the downtime gave me musical opportunities, and the weather co-operated. Good friends were in abundance as friends both far and near all seemed to be in LA that week. A highlight was spending an afternoon at Mel's Diner on Sunset with one Ethan Novak, he formerly of Acumen and the man responsible for the drums on the aggression's masterpiece, FLOOD. Ethan is a solid guy who works his ass off and I respect him lots and lots. I'm excited to have yet another comrade on the West Coast.

Anyhow, New York is again a better place to live. I actually felt a tinge of regret when leaving LA this time, though that's probably because of the hotel and Irene's mom's cooking), but as proven time and time again, I will kiss the ground of my beloved city which steals my heart everytime I see its skyline. Sleep has been at a premium, but I have again found the time to record shop (I strongly urge you all NOW to seek out the new Pulp reissues, as well as the reissue of John Cale's classic Paris 1919), and do the things I do here.

Sunday was class reunion day as Nitzer Ebb played down the block. Once again, the industrial brings people like Rob Fab (the aggression's label boss), and Todd Ryan (aggression's A&R) down to the city. They asked for burgers and I pointed their way to the Spurs on Houston. They were happy lads. Despite the aggression costing Rob Fab thousands he will never recoup, he still bought your hero a burger. Sugar. You know who to sign with, next big young industrial band that I will never listen to!

Anyhow, we had a mini reunion as the Brooklyn contingency: Ash, Matt and Brandt, made their way in for the NE gig. Running into the Saintface lads is always a good experionce. I of course came early to see my old comrade Bryan Black perform with his new band, MOTOR, who brought the techno to Irving. I can't lie to you, I like NE, but I don't love them the way Vikki or Leo, or Matt does (he is THE hardocre or hardcore, which I respect). I came to see what it was all aboot and it was good, but not enough to sustain my interest for more than an hour. So when that hour was up, Ash, Brandt, and later Irene, joined me for a few drinks at Shades of Green, most famous for what forever is known as the "Wayne Hussey Night", but that's for the biography, not the blog. This was a good evening of good friends catching up and plotting, scheming and all those things we do as they pertain to our musical lives.

I'm sorry this is so short, but I'm dozing and need to be well rested. Why? Well, for the live return of Kasabian tomorrow! ARRRR! NICE.

While it is still September 10th as I write you from a balcony of the Sunset Strip while listening to Brian Eno, back where it counts it's September the 11th. I feel being here in Los Angeles is some kind of betrayal, as if I have abandoned my post on a ship, or skipped out on bail, but alas what can a shit friend like me do when duty calls.

Happy to be here and happy to see you.

xoxo

F

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

As I type, you are all still sleeping. Any of you awake at this time are either an idiot, drunk, or a parent (which is the best excuse). Anyhow, my excuse involves travel as it's back to the left coast for yours truly for the next six days. So armed with Hypefactor demos and a large tea from the Dunkin, I write you from Gate 5 at JFK.

Los Angeles beckons yet again and as last time, I have decided to fly into the nice little Bob Hope airport in Burbank. It's my favourite airport at the moment because it's about the size of my apartment and involves little to no hassle. If I've mentioned all this before, forgive me, it's very fucking early. I wanted to fly tomorrow, but my other half seems to have an issue with my flying on September 11th.

Since we last spoke, the focus was on Irene's birthday, which was a milestone in her young life, but not a # I am allowed to reveal to the public. I would call this birthday (as she has) a full success. Presents were given, she marked out for a few surprises and I'm sure her sweet new tiny ass digital camera will be used to fill this blog with images for many years to come. We ate well, and in particular I would like to reccommend BLT FISH on the 17th Street, where we had a blow away dinner last night with my folks. I might declare this a MOG-friendly celebration zone when we need to do up the fancy meals. Can't lose at this place. First fucking class. Anyhow, Thursday was the birthday and then Friday were the celebrations (photos soon), but kudos to Lynell and Roger for making that happen and thanks to all who showed up and kept it real. I learned on this night that Irish Whiskey should always be used when not wanting to remember things the next day. It's not Jaeg, thank fuck, but I've got some missing moments from the evening. Remind yourself i you're out with me.

Anyway, it's hard to tell you much when it's this early, but the best way to start your day is with my man Avy Podboy, who's dad will be in LA this week to hang with your hero. This kid is awesome..




F

(the back of my) ebbhead...

turn off the auto-track that plays
scroll down
click on the first video
that's my head.

http://www.myspace.com/nitzerebbmusic

A View From The Top

Greetings from literally the top of MOGworld as I write you from the roof of my building, which has an absolutely incredible view of NYC. The Empire State Bulding is crystal clear from this spot and a sight to behold. This view is why i will never fucking leave this city. Lucky fucker writing you from the lounge, know what I'm saying?



So it's been a productive weekend here as we we have been diving face first into the writing pool, trying to work out the kinks in what will be the final song we write for the album. We have a song, CREATION PHASE which has been a bit problematic since its inception so long ago. Anyway, being the arrangement guy, I have tried literally a dozen of different versions of the song using all the great parts played by B, Ash, Chas and Robin, but nothing seems to fucking click.

With some time dedicated this week to just sit and work on music, something hit me. I had played B a snippet of a track i was messing around with on the plane to San Diego, and he said "we should work on that instead of Creation Phase". I didn't think anything of it at the time, but the other night it just clicked with me to combine the two tracks. So I put it all together, threw out about 90% of each song but the combined material I had, which is centered around an E-bow that Ash played that B and I both agreed that we couldn't lose, we finally had the parts to write an interesting song

Since then, B and I have been on a whirlwind writing/arranging session over the internet into the wee hours. The song is hitting it's stride and damn it's gonna be kick ass.

Speaking of kick ass, the Cobra's brought their instrumental irony to the city for the first time on a rainy Saturday night and again I was impressed. I already like the songs but it's always better to see them perform it. Despite one technical snafu where the soundguy had their loops up too loudly, the band sounded tight, the songs were sharp and I am most impressed by Ash's comfort on the guitar. He plays with a flair and confidence he didn't have previously and I think his onstage banter is very very enjoyable. the engine room, as you would expect, kept a tight ship running and those two never fail and their tightness allows Ash to go places. I would also like to add that Ash had a between song costume change as he changed onstage to put on what is becoming the new MOGpac trend: A tshirt with yours truly's mug on it. Pix to come. Anyhow, I still wish they would play OCIONIC, but beggars can't be choosers and now it's time for these kids to put a CD out so they can convert the masses.

In between all this, I was able to see a couple of movies, one of which was the worst movie ever, THE WICKER MAN. No, i did not pay to see this and actually wouldn't have seen it at all had Lurch not expressed interest in it around the same time I was offered screening passes. Lurch arrived for the screening straight off the bus from Philly with his BOX, which is actually his dissertation, but watching my man going around the multiplex with this big ass box was hilarity. Hopefully he will not get shot in the stomach any time soon and lose this box. Anyhow, Wicker Man is the worst shit ever, despite a non billed James Franco cameo. Just remember this:

KILLING ME WON'T BRING BACK YOUR GODDAMN HONEY!!

Anyhow, the next night saw Irene and I checking out CRANK, which stars my favourite non Asian action star Jason Statham, who is awesome and appreciates shocking things (as I learned from my adventures in San Diego where we stayed at the same hotel). He is also a nice bloke. Anyhow, the movie is insane, hilarious and while not a good movie by any means, was entertaining as fuck because Statham is simply awesome. This movie is not for everyone, especially my mom, but MOGpac worthy just for the quotes: I'M ALIVE!! I'M ALIVE!!

ANYHOW, i hope you're all well. i feel like I have more to tell you, but I can't remember with the sun beating on my head. However, I will leave you with Kruger baby awesomeness.





F

In honor of your recent birthday...

Sony had this to say:

"The new FJ series of VAIO ® notebooks combine portable power and productivity with a sense of style."

Sweet.

IMPERIAL.

This year will be remembered mostly as a year of disappointments for me. I mean this not just in relation to some of you assholes, but mostly to the music that came out this year. Records I have anticpated, like Cerati, Razorlight, and Dickie have been disappointments and while I liked the Primals album, it's not changing my life in the way the previous few did. I'm still shocked that the Razorlight album is as limp as The Kidd on a Thursday night.

Well, finally we get rewarded with the sophmore Kasabian album. EMPIRE is just about everything I wanted their second album to be. It takes the elements I loved about the first record (the Britrock guitars, the programming, etc) and melds them with what has been great about their live band (the live drums, the attitude, and raw energy) into something that moves them forward. This time, the influences are worn proudly, but new influences are thrown in to keep things interesting. There's a lotta glam going on here, especially on the second single, SHOOT THE RUNNER, which starts off as a T-Rex rip off and then goes into some programmed chaos that totally won me over right when I thought the song could start to bore me. What's most surprising is the catchiness of it all, I think Brandt described it best as a "adding West Coast 60's hippy pop" into the mix, especially when it comes to the vocals, which one can easily pick up on after the first listen. Tom and Serge harmonize like champs. My nephew was running around the apt singing along to this very quickly. They have some potential singles in here and finally owning a studio version of STUNTMAN is worth the import price alone.

Everything is much more straightforward here. While it lacks the depth and atmosphere of the first album, this at least is a band trying to push ahead and mostly with super results. They made an interesting decision to get a a bunch of French people to play actual string instruments as opposed to using synths all the time and it's a decision that has paid off. It seems more like a band playing and adding programming in as opposed the first album, which was very computer driven. Thankfuly, they have made that drummer, Ian Matthews, a permanent member of the band. The loss of Chris Karloff and it's effects remain to be seen for the time being as he is only credited on three songs (EMPIRE, the excellent BY MY SIDE, and STUNTMAN). Regardless, for now, these songs were written to be played and I am very excited to see them performed live.

The album's not perfect, however. It's a very short album and could have used one or two more rockers, especially in the second half. The Serge on the acoustic track BRITISH LEGION is a misstep and dives too far into the relam of cheese that the album up until that point was able to not fall into. I surely don't hate it, but compared to the awesome song that closes the album THE DOBERMAN, this seems rather unnecessary. My biggest issue with the album is the lack of a rocker towards the end, a void that could have easily been filled had they promoted the killer B-side KETANG to the album or if they recorded a studio version of live favourite 55. Again, this is a minor misstep, but not everything can be perfect. I also mention so I don't forget this later, that a song, PROGRAM 88, was pulled at the last minute, and I'm curious where that ends up (probably a B-side).

As you all know I am totally biased when it comes to this band. I collect the rarirties, the demos, the promos, etc and it's fun to be a total geek for a new band, which hasn't happened in years. (They have Japan only releases, which you know I am a sucker for, and have literally been yanked out of The HMV in Tokyo while buying different versions of the first album) I have to admit, when I heard the single, I was a bit turned off by the lack of programming and how thin it seemed. In the context of the album, it works much better (and I strongly urge you to check out the awesome Jagz Kooner remix which is on the vinyl single or on the Japan only EP). I don't know if this album will do anything for them here in the states, or for most of you who read this, but I know they will tour their asses off and we're gonna see some awesome shows very soon.They're going to Wembley with this album.

I'm ALMOST ready to say "Album Of the Year"....but I'm going to give B-Flo and his Vegas Posse a month to prove me wrong with Sam's Town.

F