For a while now I’ve been hearing here and there about this movie Jonah Hex and blah blah blah MASTODON. I wasn’t really paying attention/keeping up with the whole story, but I got the gist that Mastodon was somehow scoring this film. “Well, I guess that’s cool” I thought to myself, while at the same time wondering exactly what Jonah Hex was about, and yet not be interested enough to Google it.
Well, last night I went to see the new Nightmare on Elm St (midnight showing with all the nerds of CNY. Why did we go? Why not?) and sure enough in the previews there was my first glimpse of what the hell Jonah Hex is. And the thought that came to my mind was:
THAT’S whats got everyone all excited?! The Punisher set in the wild West?! Are you all really that big of suckers for Megan Fox? …Am I missing something? …Wait, I don’t hear even a hint of Mastodon!!!”
So I have now gone from curious to confused over this whole vengeful cowboy thing. Part of me feels a little bad that I could care less about this movie and that I’m not impressed that our own Mastodon did the music, part of me feels let down, and the rest of me is just gonna go back to my Sober House with Dr. Drew marathon and call it a day.
Are you going to see Jonah Hex? And are you seeing it for the plot or for Mastodon?
-Julia
In February I wrote about a little restaurant in Chicago called Kuma’s Corner and how brutal it seemed. Well, that time I was in the Windy City I didn’t have time to go. Fortunately for me and my taste buds when I was there this past weekend I ACTUALLY GOT TO GO AND EXPERIENCE THE AMAZEMENT THAT IS KUMA’S!
(More pics and my full review after the jump!)
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Dear Mastodon,
I’m very excited to see you tonight. Did you know tomorrow is my birthday? Oh, you forgot? It’s ok. I’m on a margarita kick lately *nudge*
You’ll know where to find me and Elise. Break legs, not necks. See you sooooon!
<3 Julia
Neato!
As if it weren’t cool enough that Mastodon is playing not one, but two shows in NYC this week, check out their very Halloween-y shirt that is now available at their merch store.
To boot, you can also get a free Mastodon pumpkin digital stencil, and if you enter MASHALLOWEEN at checkout you get 13% off your entire purchase. It’s not so shocking that any metal band loves Halloween as much as I do, but they are really getting into the spirit this year and I LIKE IT.
The next question is: Will Dethklok be doing anything special too? (please say yes! I’d kill for some Murderface-shaped candy corn)
-Julia
Lots of great albums have come out this year, but I’ve also been liking a lot of the album art, too. You know me, guys. I’m all about aesthetics. So let’s throw down in some useless competition:
Which is more brutal? Revocation’s Existence is Futile or Skeletonwitch’s Breathing the Fire?
And who wore it better in the “pretty” category? Mastodon’s Crack the Skye or Baroness’ Blue Record?
DECISION ‘09
-Elise
Just when I thought Julia and I were the most boy-crazy-metal-dude-lovin’ chicks on the internet, I came across another blog called Dillinger’s Run which has a feature titled “Extreme Metal Hunks.” Why am I bringing this to your attention? Well, this blog just so happens to be written by a dude, an allegedly heterosexual dude who has let his boy crushes go as far as even planning dream dates with these guys. Check out some of these excerpts:
Troy Sanders (Mastodon) - “…the two of you journey together discussing things such as anthropology and the latest Bruce Willis film, Surrogates - which you both agree did the job it set out to do and was enjoyable despite any complaints about the trailer giving away most of the film’s plot.”
Chris Barnes (Cannibal Corpse) - “He offers you weed…..Sure, you’re nervous at first but it all comes naturally. As you breath deeply you a great “power” fills you and the thought hits your head: this is a the dankest dope God could make.”
Nergal (Behemoth) - “He makes polite conversation about about the pricing of leathers now a days, you laugh at the ratio of his witty remarks against his broken english.”
Mike Patton (Faith No More, Fantomas, etc.) - “He tells you to meet him in the park - more like commands you to do so - and so you do……Yeah. You will get to fuck this guy later tonight.”
But of course, I only tease this guy because I think he is absolutely hilarious. Keep up the good work, dude. If you’re reading this, feel free to email me. Perhaps you could help plan a date for my girl crush and I.
-Elise
I read a lot of music sites, obviously. There’s one in particular that I’ve never quite been the “target audience” for, and that would be Pitchfork. I don’t want to say that they suck (even though they kinda do), but it’s been years since I’ve looked at anything they’ve written due to their long history of hating everything I love, or loving everything I hate. (Most of the time, anyway.)
The other day, I heard they were doing another one of their famous douchey lists: The Top 200 Albums on the 2000s. My immediate thought was OHMYGAAHHHHHH I HOPE THEY RAVE ABOUT THE ARCADE FIRE SOME MORE. (I really really hate that band.) And what do you know?……it’s #2. My eyes hurt from rolling them so hard.
But I guess Pitchfork’s not completely evil. Here are a few notable albums that were actually included on the list:
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#198: Boris - Akuma No Uta. “Boris are obsessively committed to fuzzy riffs and heavy rhythms, whether deployed in long, shivering drones, or fiery, chugging blasts.”
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#144: Andrew W.K. - I Get Wet. “It’s metal if the fans traded their pentagrams for smiley faces.”
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#134: Queens of the Stone Age - Songs For the Deaf. “It’s all held together with a leviathan of a rhythm section, guitars that bristle with a needle-sharp electricity, and a restless narcotic energy that echoes a theme of driving around restlessly, waiting for something good to come on the radio.”
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#126: Mastodon - Leviathan. “Their bile-gargling vocals and juddering riffs and double-bass pummel all work together like a terrible machine, and even something as epically ambitious as the 14-minute “Hearts Alive” stays gripping throughout.”
Solid. And ya know…now that I think about it, I suppose I don’t mind Pitchfork’s actual writing. I just wish they’d loosen up a bit.
The Arcade Fire still suck.
-Elise
The morning commute after a long weekend is always a little rough on me. I dozed off with my iPod on shuffle and on came a song by Electric Six, a non-metal band that I absolutely adore.
I remember going to a few shows of theirs and seeing an oddly mixed crowd. About half were indie dance rock kids, and the other half were my familiar nerdy metal crowd <3. Electric Six have so flawlessly married these two worlds by mixing wacky electro disco-like rock, with an equally kooky metal attitude. Listen to Dance Commander to get an idea.
Who else blurs the line between indie and metal?
Mastodon, of course. I’ve always considered them somewhat hispter-ish. Lots of people who are not into metal are really into Mastodon. This was proven best by a story a friend of mine told me when he went to see them. In between sets of Mastodon’s opening bands, “Aces High” came on the sound system, and he was the only one who responded and/or knew the lyrics. Hmmm..
Do you know of any other bands that blend two very specific crowds together?
-Elise
