RE/Search #6/7: Industrial Culture Handbook (Halfway through)

(RE/Search #6/7: Industrial Culture Handbook by V. Vale)

I've started reading through some of the "RE/Search #6/7: Industrial Culture Handbook", and so far the images and the interviews and all the other shit is really excellent! Buuut, a lot of the interviews so far in the book, they get into a lot of violent (in a physical way) topics... and they are really descriptive about it... which makes me kind of sick to my stomach, as some of it is based in reality, and some of it is based on horror movies and such (neither of which I like, and matter of fact make me physically sick)... it is quite like watching a horror movie with the descriptions and such in the book... I love industrial music, and there are a lot of modern industrial bands that use imagery like that in their live performances and such... I will be honest, I usually skip out on a band that has quite graphic imagery... as I don't like violence, and I can't even stomach modern horror movies... I have a hard time with even some old black and white horror movies...

(Throbbing Gristle)

...I mean in a way it's not surprising that a lot of the pioneering bands used this kind of imagery in their performances and such... but also in another way, it is kind of surprising. The impression I'm getting from these interviews is that, the bands used a lot of imagery or even did physical acts to kind of shock people... to elicit certain reactions... or to really shake people out of the daily bullshit "be a drone" mentality, and to think for themselves and realize there are these control structures around us. I guess for the time, that's what it took to get people to notice and maybe think about things differently, and to really get a reaction in some way or another... or to influence people to choose a different path, or whatever...

...I'm just under halfway through the book... I pick this up in stints and read for a bit, then set it down... There is a lot of inspiration here... (other than the violent stuff)... and so far, this really does seem like an "Industrial Culture Handbook"... it kind of guides you to the ideas, visions, etc... that industrial music embodied at the time, who the pioneers of the scene are... what philosophies they follow... They even get into books, movies, discographies, and all that kind of stuff each band reads, watches, has written, etc...

(Cabaret Voltaire)

...I would call this a guidebook/handbook, if you take all the ideas, philosophies, movie suggestions, etc... it guides you to the things that influenced the various artists within the book... granted, even if you read what they read, watched what they watched, you may not come to the same conclusions as they did, but it really gives you an idea of what they were thinking, and kinda how they came to the philosophies that they did!!

As I stated in my last blog, there is a lot of inspiration right now! Lot's of inspiring music conversations about all aspects of music production, music gear, all that kind of shit! This book is definitely adding to that inspiration! I will also say on that note, I am missing the live performances and such right now, and reading this book is definitely making me miss it more... I guess hopefully we have viable vaccine option here sooner than later... cause I would like to get back to attending industrial/goth events and shows (local and not local)... I'm missing the culture, I'm missing the conversations, I'm missing the dancing, the performing in my own act... miss seeing familiar faces in the scene... miss being around my kind!

Love you folks!

Your Canadian Goth/Rivethead,
Shayne "Daemon_w60" Lawrence / Twitch / Trippingonacable Records

(SPK)

P.S.: I'll update you folks again when I've gone through the book in it's entirety! Sooo much inspiration here!!

P.P.S.: Hey! We got a new album! Sign-up to our mailing list here and get a free download of our newest album "Darkness_Rise!"!!

Collecting Physical CD's and Industrial Music History

(Ministry's "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste")

Well, I've decided to collect CD's again... I realize in this day and age they are pretty much valueless, but to be honest, I've never been into vinyl... and quite frankly I don't want to start... I come from an age where CD's were the predominant medium for music. The whole reason for me collecting these pieces again, is first of all, I like looking at my CD collection, and seeing all the music I have... second, when people come over to my place, they can look at that collection, and there are stories and conversations to be had about those pieces... thirdly, I love looking at the artwork and the liner notes and shit like that, sometimes there is stories in the liner notes, and I like reading them and such. That is one thing that I think that is missing from today's digital music collection... the artwork, the stories, all of that! Most of today's releases there really isn't a digital booklet connected with the album... sure you get the cover artwork, but you don't get the stuff inside, cause generally bands don't include it in the purchase of the music... and a lot of the music aggregators don't allow for a band to include the digital booklet.

(Ministry's "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste" back cover)

Today's find was Ministry's "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste". I did have this album when I was in my late teens (18 or 19 or so), but I've realized I love this stuff and I still would like to have it in my collection, and not too sure why I got rid of it in the first place. Lately, I've been really digging Ministry's stuff, and have decided to pick this stuff up again! I've actually been on a whole Wax Trax! kick lately (I know Ministry was not a part of Wax Trax! at this point, but yeah, just been really trying to grab as much of Ministry's stuff, as well as Chris Connelly's stuff, and other select pieces)... I think it's because the whole Wax Trax documentary (Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records), and being that I was too young at the time to really appreciate the whole Wax Trax! "scene" at the time... and I also saw Lead Into Gold last summer... I've just wanted to really explore more of industrial music history and see the evolution of it all, from where we started to where we are now! I mean you look at the start of industrial with Throbbing Gristle and look at it through the years and then Ministry starts the industrial metal thing, and then you look at today's industrial and it has evolved even further! Yeah, just exciting!!

What are you folks listening to, and excited about in the industrial scene?

Heathen Earth: The Live Sound of T.G.

Picked up "Heathen Earth: The Live Sound of T.G." at Sloth Records here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was a random find... I've started to listen to the first wave industrial bands, in particular Throbbing Gristle. I figured I should probably educate myself on the band that started it all, being that I love this genre and can't seem to satiate my appetite for more information about the bands involved in the industrial subculture. So, I made my first purchase of T.G. last month (it was a digital copy of "20 Jazz Funk Greats"), and this month I picked up a physical copy of "Heathen Earth..."! I'm not gonna review this, but I will say it's good to finally hear where industrial music started and what it originally sounded like... veeeeeeeeeeeeery different than modern industrial! Today's industrial is very club driven, most of it is made for the dance floor... nothing wrong with that, as with everything... industrial evolved and branched off into all kinds of different sub-genres... I'm glad things have evolved and changed! Otherwise, the genre would be very stale and boring! Course it's not all dance floor driven... there's industrial metal, there's industrial rock, coldwave, progressive industrial, all kinds of stuff! Anyway, I'm glad I found this, the purchase was totally worth it! The one thing that attracts me to the physical format is the booklets and artwork, after I got this home and opened it up, I took a look at the booklet and to my surprise there's some kind of story that John Savage wrote way back in 1981 (I do believe)! Very interesting, and exciting!! I like it when I get something physical and there's extra stuff in there that totally enhances the experience of purchasing and owning this album! I do feel there is value to owning physical copies in this day and age of digital and streaming. If I can't have a physical copy, I really enjoy it when the band/artist includes a PDF booklet with their digital release! I like looking at that stuff, the artwork, the stories... all that kind of stuff!!

Anyway, exciting purchase! Glad I picked this up!! What music purchases are you excited about. whether it's physical, or digital?