5 cool books that even an illiterate like you can enjoy!
By Jeremy Azevedo
If you’re like most people, you’ve probably been planning to do a little reading this summer, but maybe don’t know what’s good now that there are no more Harry Potter books forthcoming. Or perhaps you haven’t got the time or attention span to work your way through a thousand-page “War and Peace” type beast of a novel…
Not a problem, we’ve compiled a reading list for you with your ADD in mind, a selection of books that you can flip through at a leisurely pace at the beach, by the pool, or in a Mexican prison cell!
Reckless Road: Guns N’ Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction
By Marc Canter and Jason Porath
Most, but certainly not all Guns N’ Roses fans know that Marc Canter, owner of Canter’s Deli in Hollywood, has been and continues to be essentially the unofficial sixth member of the band. What is surprising, though, is just how thoroughly he has documented the band’s arc, from the earliest days (and I’m talking childhood here) to the present. Any Guns N’ Roses fan would be a fool not to snag this book, which records the entire period of the band’s inception on through to their recording of Appetite for Destruction and the subsequent rise to fame that followed. “Reckless Road” is filled with first hand accounts from the band members themselves, their friends and former colleagues, Marc Canter and the even the various strippers/girlfriends (really, what’s the difference?) that were associated with the band at the time. Also included are never before seen photos, memorabilia and even early, hand-drawn fliers from Marc’s collection. Reckless Road is a must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in rock and roll.
Metal band plays at disgraced author’s book signing!
By Jeremy Azevedo
Do you remember the author, James Frey, who wrote “A Million Little Pieces”, a memoir that became an Oprah book club selection? And then it turns out that a lot of the stuff in the book was made up? Well it turns out that Frey is still working, despite being shamed on live television, has a new book out, and loves metal!
But this isn’t really about James Frey, really, although it was maybe supposed to be. See, Frey had it in his mind that having a rock band play at his book reading would make the whole show more entertaining, and perhaps even endear him to a younger crowd. As such, he hired heavy metal band “Black Tide” to play at his show, which was a free, all ages event… at Whiskey A Go Go in Hollywood of all places.
Now I’m not trying to make broad generalizations here, but in my own personal experience, metal heads are not known to be the most literate of people. Especially teenage metal heads that live in or near Hollywood. It became apparent fairly early on that the majority of the “guests” in attendance were only there for a free metal show. Words cannot describe how awkward the question and answer period after Frey’s reading was, but I can tell you that his frustration with the crowd was clearly obvious. And the guy that went before him? He looked like he was going to jump out of the window, if there even was one.
Anyway, the moral of the story was that I had an interview with the band afterward, the results of which I have taken some minor liberties with in order to punch things up (In the style of James Frey, of course). Following is my account of that interview with Black Tide bassist Zakk Sandler, and guitarist Lexx Nunez.
Lloyd Kaufman, president of Troma Entertainment, is one of the pioneers of the B-movie subculture, responsible for countless hit cult movies such as The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nuke ‘Em High and Sgt. Kabukiman, NYPD.
Troma has produced so many films in it’s thirty-plus years that you’d be hard pressed to find a celebrity worth a damn that hasn’t at some point crossed paths with Lloyd Kaufman’s long-running independent studio. In this segment, Lloyd talks about some of the people that got their start with Troma, the studio’s brief flirtations with the mainstream, and the uncertain future of a legacy in wholly independent cinema.
In an obvious bid to silence those that would accuse Activision of resting on it’s laurels while Rock Band evolves the music game genre far beyond the scope of Guitar Hero, The developer has made a shocking announcement in this month’s issue of Game Informer.
Apparently, the next installment of Guitar Hero will not only feature the addition of drums and vocals, but will also feature a six piece drum kit and a new guitar peripheral with an as-yet-unannounced new feature. No word yet on whether or not these new instruments will be compatible with Rock Band or vice-versa. But judging by the fact that the Rock Band drum kit is only a four piece, I’d say the chances are slim. I’d also say that both Activision and Harmonix are getting just a little bit carried away with all the goddamn controllers. How many more do they really expect consumers to buy?
Additionally, Guitar Hero 4 will allow greater customization of band members, logos, and instruments in-game. Of course, due to legal entanglements with former sponsor, Gibson, this may not include actual real-world instrument models. The really big news, though, is that this installment will raise the stakes one step further by allowing users to actually record their own music. That’s right, honest to goodness digital video game bands will soon be peddling their wares on MySpace. Obviously, Playstation 2 Guitar Heroes can suck it when it comes to actually uploading their custom creation on the web.
The only bands that have even a tentative confirmation for the game are Van Halen, The Eagles Linkin Park, Sublime and contest winners The Answer. No idea what songs will be featured yet, so don’t ask. You’re welcome to guess though!
The spawning pool of the nation’s hipster population!
By Jeremy Azevedo
Last week we examined some of the various characters that make up the landscape of art school, a magical place where people go for four to six years to escape reality and fritter away their parents’ money so that they can tell their fellow mortgage brokers that they “used to be a really talented artist” years later when their family cuts them off and they’re forced to get a real job.
Now you might ask yourself: “Gee whiz, is everyone that goes to art school an egocentric idiot with a funny haircut that exists in a fantasy world of their own making, oblivious to the fact that people don’t actually get paid to paint pictures of their nuts, and even if they did, they sure wouldn’t have learned how to do it in a school that charges double what a regular school would charge to learn something that’s actually useful?” The short answer is an emphatic “yes”, but since that was a very long question, the long answer lies withing the following profiles:
The Emotional Wreck
Way, way, waaaaay too much information. Every time.
The Emotional Wreck thinks that art school is like their therapy or something. Science is unable to explain why it is that The Emotional Wreck doesn’t just go see an actual therapist, which would not only be much cheaper, but also much more effective. The Emotional Wreck will always make the rest of the class uncomfortable with her film about being raped by her father, or her interior design project that reflects her uterus experiencing a third trimester miscarriage.
The Narcissist
I would have shooped my ears a little smaller, had it been me…
At least one person in every class in art school is a Narcissist. Every project by The Narcissist will be a self-portrait of some sort. The Narcissist is in art school to “take a swim in lake me” or some such bullshit. Not surprisingly, The Narcissist is also a chronic masturbator.
