The Walrus is a Philadelphia-based music blog written by Michael. You may send me stuff through the send a tip page or email me. All mp3s should be sent as links. NO ATTACHMENTS, PLEASE. If I like your music, chances are I will write about it.
DISCLAIMER
mp3s on this site are for promotional purposes only. If you wish to have an mp3 removed please contact me.
Killing Joke was not a band you watched, it was a band you became a part of. The zone between artist and audience was decimated in one pounding, unrelenting surge of energy and mantric mayhem. The apocalypse and resurrection in one blow to the head. Post-punk mindfuckers AND proto-industrial metal pioneers, Killing Joke approach music like alchemy: it isn’t worth a shit if it doesn’t change something. This video footage of Killing Joke performing at Philly’s legendary punk venue the East Side Club in 1981 is history, plain and simple. Not even the crude technology thru which these signals were recorded could constrain the majikal metal/flesh urgency of KJ.
I have been listening to PJ Harvey’s new record Let England Shake quite a bit recently. Not only are the songs well arranged, but they also contain captivating allusions to War, Patriotism, and Labor Rights (read Pitchfork’s excellent review here.)
The album has been brought into the cinematic realm with a series of short films for each of the album’s tracks. Check out 3 of them below and subscribe to the YouTube channel to see them as they are released.
Melody, a film based on Histoire de Melody Nelson made for French TV, was directed by Jean Christophe Averty with Gainsbourg and his lover Jane Birkin in the lead roles. Averty’s visual style was acutely attuned to Gainsbourg’s surreal sensibilities and the fusion of film to music and lyrics works wonderfully.
