Bruce Loose RIP
OK I have 2 orders of business this week.
The first is to note that Bruce Loose, of the band Flipper, has passed away. I have a preamble of course, and then a short video I made for a Flipper song.
I didn't get into punk stuff in high school so I missed a lot of the stupid street punk stuff people like when they're 14. No disrespect-- I did and still do like a lot of stupid stuff. But when Green Day "Dookie" came out, sorry but I thought it was dumb, and I saw no need to trace back the thread of punk to anything actually interesting. And this is a very high school thought, but I was like "why do they all dress the same, then talk about being so different???". Years later I learned why: because I was in high school and only observing high school students. That's not the answer to the question but it's the answer to "why am I asking this question?". I didn't have a sufficiently large sample size. Also I was being intellectually lazy. And besides that, I don’t think it’s wrong to wear a spikey jacket and Doctor Martin boots. It’s a good look!
Anyway, when I finally did crack it, and started to understand punk, and feel like "a punk", I think the band was Flipper. I can't remember where I first heard their anthem "Ever" but it really stuck with me-- angry, depressed, but also self-aware and absurd. They sounded strong but not tough. Or maybe tough but not strong? They didn't sound like either meatheads or goofballs. "Did you ever look at a flower and hate it? / Ever see a couple kissing and get sickened by it? / Ever wish the human race didn't exist? / then realize that you're one too??". Great song. Usually I put the links to this stuff at the end but here's that one:
[mp3, 3.4mb]
Looking back I feel like it was helpful to put it in the term of a question, one that seeks to establish unity with the singer, and to sneaklily establish this misanthropy as a temporary condition. it's not "are you aware that life sucks", it's "did you ever feel this way?... I have... (so what)". Even if you don't catch this part, the song is a beautiful trap for the edgy youngster-- using the bait of a smart mean guy identity (easy, enticing) to get you into the life-affirming open-eyed joy present elsewhere on the record, especially on the 6th track, "Life".
Listen, if you really think that life sucks, that's valid. There's a lot of fucked up shit in this reality and if it's crushing you at the moment and you are feeling crushed, Lord, I hear you. But I feel like being Mr Life Sucks Dude is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There's a lot of cool parts of life, and the real strength comes not from being a young spiteful blowhard but from an awareness of a simple goodness existing despite it all. And not good like the way Mr Rogers is good, good the way the ocean is good. Or not even "goodness", if you can't get into morality statements, just like, energy. The song ("Life") doesn't have nearly as many words as all this, but that's what it is to me, an awareness and demonstration of an energy, with the implication that you can get with it if you want. And it isn't like "Life is awesome, life rules, let a smile be your umbrella, etc."-- it's still nihilistic, but it's the other side of nihilism, the lively side. Like maybe life has no meaning but you don't need meaning to enjoy life! I'm sipping a nice little cup of coffee right now that has literally no meaning. Life is the only thing worth living for. I'm going too long here but this is all to say that this song’s high power but low frequency optimism inspired me to move out of a state of depression towards light, at a time when peppier sentiments were readily dismissed. I, too, have sung death’s praises. But I’m not going to sing that song anymore.
OK, skip forward 100 years or whatever. A few Olympicses ago my friend Lala got really into ice skating and so I did too, a little, or anyway I was along for the ride. I noticed that a lot of the ice skating routines were set to these down-tempo cinematic remixes of popular songs, of the type you'd hear in a movie trailer. I think it's because the rhythm of the movements in ice skating can't really be sped up beyond a certain point, and also the acoustics of the rink require all songs to coexist with a more than fair amount of echo and natural reverb. Fast songs with crispy drums are not going to cut it, they're going to get obliterated by their own reflections, careening off the surface of the ice. Then maybe the skater, confused and distracted, would careen off the surface of the ice. It's a safety issue-- languorous beats only. Anyway I felt like if you're going to go with a mopey gritty mid-tempo banger, why reach for a remix? Why not go for something that was native to the format? Why not go for... the best? Flipper!!! I selected a video basically at random and pasted "Life" over the top, and it really floored me how well it worked. I didn't do any other edits, or beatmatching, or anything.
I really think they couldn't have done a better job on the choreography to this song, even if they did it on purpose. I love their spirit, their joy, the work and the commitment they put into this. I love the way the guy points his finger, I love it when they headbang, I love a million moments in this... Even though I made this I can say this without a loss of grace, because I did almost nothing and it fell together like a pure dream: this is perfect. I cried the first time I watched this, big smile, total disbelief. I actually still cry a little bit every time.
I guess the video's a joke but it's also a true expression of how I feel. If you ever lose the thread or you just need a boost you can come back and watch this. I AM AWARE that Flipper has 2 vocalists, and while Bruce Loose (RIP) sings "Ever" (with Will Shatter on bass), Will Shatter (RIP) sings "Life" (with Bruce Loose on bass). To both of them, and to all other members of the band both living and dead, I say: Thank You For The Music.
The second order of business is that my noise rock band TIGERS ON VASELINE is playing our first show next week, at Lost Bag in Providence, on Saturday October 4th. We'll be accompanying old friend Erica Lyle (Black Rainbow, Onion Flavored Rings, Bikini Kill, the Humblebees) who's playing a solo improv guitar set. At first I put "psychedelic" on the flyer, but Erica said "actually it's 'improv'", and I was like OK, I can see that, there's no wah wah pedal OR tremelo, I guess you need those for psychedelic guitar music. But is it really improv if you're standing up??? The two co-headliners are Ashley Frith and Anka Raczynska, who will both be playing viola, separately, and in different styles. And different violas, one each. Tigers On Vaseline is a loud noise rock band in which I play second guitar. With Dan Wars, Pearl Pony's parents "Creature" and "Mr Mittens", and Catie, who is great.
Doors at 7:30, show at 8, done by 11 at the latest. $10 to $15 sliding scale NOTAFLOF. For directions ask a punk (me).
If you got here through a link, click here to go outside and come back in: [outside]
Archives of previous posts is here, in the coat room: [coatroom]
To sign up to get these posts in your email for free, click here: [substack]
To write me a nice message, use the contacts page: [link]
To leave a little donation to help in the maintance of this castle, OR to simply hear the sound of a large bell, which is good luck, visit the temple area: [link]
As always, if you're bugging out or need a respite from endlessly scrolling the feed, you are welcome to hang out in the castle as long as you want. :)
