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SNEEZE October-November is out now!

SNEEZE
the new issue features:
- Pix from the Iloilo INDIE Fest
- (a feature on the death metal band) Cannibal Corpse
- SNEEZE answers the question: Why TWILIGHT (the book & the movie) is MORONIC
- the Venture Bros. - probably the best (mature-content) animated series you've never seen before
- Film features on The Echo, Gran Torino, and; Hard Candy
album reviews on Isis, Dirty Projectors, & Future of the Left

all on SNEEZE's October-November Issue!
SNEEZE
Iloilo's Subculture & Everything Else Baskog

You can buy SNEEZE at Eddie-Mar Magazine Shop, SM City Iloilo, and also on 88 Movies to Go dvd shop, 3rd Level Atrium Mall.





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SNEEZE July 2009 OUT NOW!

SNEEZE July 2009 is NOW AVAILABLE

It features Aftersyx Radio, ARMOR, Rock-Ed Iloilo's Book Bigayan Project, The R6 Iloilo Airsoft, Kasabian, Camera Obscura, The Doves, Hurt Locker, Dead Set, Brillante Mendoza, Bottoms Up Production's Each Child has A Right Gig, and the Skaters of Iloilo City

available at
Eddie-Mar Books & Magazines, SM City. 88 Movies to Go, Atrium Mall. The Waiting Shed Store in front of the Jalandoni St.Entrance, University of San Agustin, newsstands in front of UPV (& side of IDH), and newsstands around WVSU.

SNEEZE Magazine
the magazine for the bored generation




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ATUN KAWSA

If I was to be asked what I wanted from Iloilo. It’s not more bars, cafes or clubs. I don’t really want another mall or another new nightspot. No, no. I think we’ve had our fill of those things. Because if we ever do add malls or nightspots for our city, yes our city does grow in some way, but a bigger city runs the risk of higher crimes. Just look at our city’s current nightspot. It seems to have become a breeding ground for a new generation of morons who resort to cowardice crimes of hostilities. The ignorant arrogant thug generation. Of course, there’s also drugs and prostitution.

What Iloilo needs is not to expand structurally. But culturally. Notice how IMBALANCED Iloilo is. There is an overflowing community and power of Pop Culture. Pop Culture that is very much associated with commercial culture.
And commercial culture is controlled by powers interested in profit. On the other hand, on the opposite side, we find the art community, the world of creative artists, rockers, metalheads, and misfits. This is the community is where Art & Creativity generally comes from. And there is a really awful imbalance here in Iloilo wherein the Pop Culture is too enormous in magnitude that it never gives much chance for an independent artistic and creative community to thrive.

Now is the time for us to gather strength and grow. Let our numbers be known and let our tribes be heard. Our wild howls should be heard when they have their little fucking balls over at their nightspots. Let us march. March of Misfits. March of Weirdos. March of Punks, Metalheads, Freaks, and Nerds. Poets, Writers, Painters, and Sketchers alike. Dreamers and Nightmarewalkers. Geeks and Goths, Hippies and Techies. We March. We March and our flag is Iloilo and Panay in general.

In a year’s time, Panay should be known as a Cradle of the Arts Scene. It should be just like Seattle in the 1990’s when it was a cradle of the Alternative & Grunge Rock Scene and also that of the Art Scene, as it was a hub for poetry and the other arts. It should be like SoHo, which is also a landmark because it is a hub for the American Art scene and also the Film Community. Metro Manila has always been associated with being the capital, Cebu has always been associated with business and also its Pop lifestyle. Iloilo? Our Pop nightlife (although it is active) there is nothing really distinct about it to make it more special… I’ll give you “special” for Iloilo to be associated with…. Iloilo as a hub of rock n’ Roll, Creativity, Poetry, and the Arts! THAT, my friends, is identity we want Iloilo to be associated with.

One of the things that have been holding Iloilo back is that it has been very difficult for organizations, production groups, art groups to be united and co-exist. There were very many attempts to unite some groups into one integrated organization, but that obviously has failed because what I have noticed in Iloilo's groups is that it tends to be very “tribal”. You cannot force a group to give up their power to a higher leader. No. What we should do, in my opinion, is work together for a common end but acknowledge each other's borders and each other's power. You will have your group, and we will have ours, we should not force to integrate it....but we can agree to a common goal. I know that sometimes we can have the tendency to be very competitive. But try not to think of it as a reason to have some kind of hate for each other. You can compete with each other---but that does not mean you have to hate each other… and that does not mean you cant share a common goal. Kita-kita manlang di sa Iloilo, sure, magkumpetensyahanay ta, but in one way or another, we could find ourselves working with each other somehow. Kumpetensyahanay lang kamo sa iban na pagkabutang, pero hinde lang kamo mag suya-ay, wala lang personalan, wala lang badtripay, wala lang halitay… ISA LANG ATUN KAWSA --- ILOILO’s Rock, Arts, Counter-Culture,
Subculture, Alternative Culture!

[promethean]
editor-in-sane






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SNEEZE May 2009 OUT NOW!

SNEEZE May is now available!

with features on
Morrissey,
Animal Collective,
Atari Teenage Riot,
Mastodon,
Thy Heresy,
No Disc,
Factory Overhead,
Twice A Week,
Kwerdas Band,
Punisher: War Zone,
& Wonder Woman
We also got PIX from the last Iloilo Greyhoundz gig
& an extensive special feature on
the Universe of
STAR TREK

available at
Eddie-Mar Books & Magazines, SM City. 88 Movies to Go, Atrium Mall. The Waiting Shed Store in front of the Jalandoni St.Entrance, University of San Agustin, newsstands in front of UPV (& side of IDH), and newsstands around WVSU.

SNEEZE Magazine
the magazine for the bored generation




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Not Quite Monthly

The start of 2009 is the time we have set as the official and final dry run before we permanently and officially announce the official duration of this magazine’s regular release schedules. Ever since the start of Sneeze, we have announced this as a magazine released once in 2 months. But in the long existence of Sneeze, it has been met with inconsistencies in regards to the zine’s punctuality. But last year, Sneeze has began to have a sort of semi-rebirth, with a frequency that is more serious this time. The one way Sneeze can be ensured of an official serious punctual existence is to make the magazine legitimate (and not the bastard mutant as it has always been over these past years).

It is in these recent months that we have concluded that Sneeze shall come out 9 times a year 1. January, 2. February, 3. March 4. April & May, 5. June, 6. July, 7. August & September, 8. October & November, and 9. December. In our study, it is never really practical to release it monthly because of its limited readership. Sneeze admits this because it really is not the kind of magazine meant for each and everybody out there. We do not have slutty naked idiotic models to grace our pages, we do not have gossips for people who enjoy moronic pleasure, & we do not have teenyboppers who promote ignorance and reckless materialism. We are SNEEZE. Meant for the subcultures, the outcasts, the geeks, freaks, rockers, metalheads, nerds, and artists. This is not meant for everybody because YOU RE BETTER THAN EVERYBODY. WE ARE BETTER THAN EVERYBODY.




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AFTERSYX RADIO

AFTER RADIO !!





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Billy Corgan: Last Pumpkin Standing

Los Angeles (E! Online) – The Smashing Pumpkins have just become a one-man band.

Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin has exited the group. Head squash Billy Corgan dropped the bomb without further explanation on the Pumpkins' website on Sunday.

"Corgan will continue to write and record as Smashing Pumpkins with plans to head into the studio this spring," the message added.

Chamberlin joined the Chicago-based band in 1988 and played on all their albums except Adore. The 44-year-old musician was previously booted from the Pumpkins in 1996, after overdosing on heroin. He rejoined the core lineup, which also included guitarist James Iha and bassist D'arcy Wretzky, after a stint in rehab.

When their control-freak frontman reconvened the Pumpkins in 2005, Chamberlin agreed to come back, but Iha and Wretzky declined to participate in the recording of 2007's Zeitgeist and the subsequent 20th anniversary tour.

No word what lies in store for the Corgan-centric Pumpkins in the coming years. Let's hope it's still smashing.





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SNEEZE Mid-March 2009

SNEEZE Mid-March 2009
is our Women's Month Special Issue
& it will be featuring
Women with Substance, top women in music that deserve honor
including GRACE NONO, Lolita Carbon, & Bjork.
Important women from Janis Joplin to Myra Ruaro.
Then there's the Philippine Revolution Icon for Feminine Power TERESA MAGBANUA
We'll also be featuring px from the Strawlace 90's themed Dinagyang Gig and Kalei's Under the Mango Tree Gig.
We will also be reviewing PLONING, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS and albums from Beck and Prodigy.
And on our WHAT'S IN A NAME SECTION, we have local bands
Georgie's Skinticket, M-Jah, & Armas Luthang

SNEEZE Mid-March Issue will be released this March 13, 2009
YOU can get SNEEZE from
Eddie-Mar Books & Magazines Shop SM City Iloilo,
88 Movies to Go dvd Shop, 3rd flr., Atrium Mall, Iloilo City
Photocopy Xerox place near the Dentist Office in front of the WVSU



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OUR SALUTE TO A FILIPINO ARTIST: FRANCISM

OUR SALUTE TO A FILIPINO ARTIST: FRANCISM

Over the past few decades in the history of Philippine Music, there have been so many good musicians, so many great singers and great bands. But there were actually a rare number of them who were as true to Pinoy sensibilities, true to Pinoy spirit, and with the power and the influence that can reach out to as many listeners as it can, an artist like Francis Magalona.

Last March 6, 2009 FrancisM's mortal existence died. But his spirit lives on. Stronger than ever. A spirit that we salute to.

Other musicians can rap about anything. What sets FrancisM apart from other rappers and other musicians is that FrancisM chooses to sing about nationalism, social issues, and relevant issues. HIS ART MATTERS. HIS ART HAS VALUE. FrancisM is one artist that should be considered as one of the TRUE FILIPINO ARTISTS.

There are very few local musicians still have that very concrete sense of relevance. Many musicians out there just like to sing about themselves, their pathetic love stories, and their own pathetic little lives. NOT FrancisM. FrancisM sings about lots of things that matter. He sees his music in a broader focus. The kind of music that reaches out to people of many many circumstances in life.

In his musical appearances, He's always garbed in something both hip AND nationalistic. He has made fashion designs that promote nationalism. He has made the 3 Stars & Sun and the Red & Blue look that resembles the Phulippine flag look cool, stylish, hip & fashionable. His art influenced the nation to see the banners of Philippine identity as something to be proud once again.

Actually, I am really not a big fan of FrancisM, but I can never deny and can clearly see that this is an artist that deserves our salute.

I know I am not the right person to talk about Rap and Hip-hop. But I hope and I pray that Filipino Hip-Hop musicians and rappers out there, instead of idolizing gangsters and vain rappers, instead of worshipping the ugly side of Hip-Hop, instead of all that.... These people SHOULD TAKE EXAMPLE FROM THIS ONE TRUE HIP HOP GOD. The Master Rapper. The Pinoy Hip-hop Pioneer. The Man from Manila. The Freeman. THE FILIPINO MUSICIAN AND ARTIST. Si KIKO. Francis M. FRANCIS MAGALONA.

[sneeze magazine]

this article will be included on the upcoming SNEEZE Magazine to be officially released on March 13, 2009



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THE RETURN OF WOLFMOTHER

The triumphant return of Wolfmother is imminent. Frontman
Andrew Stockdale has emerged from his self-built home studio
and is due to head to LA to record the second Wolfmother album
with producer Alan Moulder in April.

Wolfmother stepped out earlier in February to play two shows
in Brisbane and Sydney to roadtest the new material prior to
recording. Billed as White Feather, the shows at the Valley
Studios in Andrew’s hometown of Brisbane and The Oxford Arts
Factory in Sydney sold out within minutes of word leaking
online, and Wolfmother ripped through a set of old gold and
new magic to those quick enough to be there.

Coming aboard for album two is esteemed producer Alan Moulder,
universally admired for his groundbreaking work with Nine Inch
Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, The Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody
Valentine. After mixing a track Andrew had recorded at home
for the upcoming Guitar Hero game, Moulder was enlisted to
produce the whole record, which is due for release in the last
quarter of 2009.

On the live front, Wolfmother will mark their return playing
both the Melbourne & Sydney Sound Relief Benefit concerts
scheduled to run simultaneously on March 14 and the Clipsal
500 motor racing event in Adelaide on March 22.





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Q & A with Beth Orthon - (source CMJ)

Before releasing her 1996 debut Trailer Park, Beth Orton was mainly known to dance music fans as the ethereal voice that floated atop beats by William Orbit and The Chemical Brothers. After Park¸ Orton was recognized as an eloquent creative force in her own right. The album merged Orton’s love of delicate folk music with her interest in what was then starting to become known as electronica. Working with both her backing group and Primal Scream producer Andrew Weatherall, Orton crafted a beautiful album that served as a launching pad for an acclaimed career. On the occasion of Park’ reissue as a Legacy Edition with the requisite second disc of bonus cuts, Orton recently talked with CMJ about the making of her debut, collaborating with her favorite singer and, briefly, about her next move.

You had a couple of things out where you collaborated with people like William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers, but Trailer Park was your first big release under your own name. What are you aiming for on your first public showing?

It was my first album, yeah. I recorded an album with William Orbit (under the title Strange Cargo) that only got released in Japan, but this is my first album, yeah.

What were you aiming for?

I knew that I wanted to create a very… it’s such a strange question, I don’t know why it’s such a strange question. I was listening to a lot of Nick Drake, I was trying to create a record that was very honest and had a very raw, acoustic sound, but I was also very driven towards working with Andrew Weatherall, who was very interested in the idea of those two worlds meeting but at the same time finding an integrity within. I don’t know, because I would have such a great thing with my band, we had that beautiful, open, warm… it was kind of unusual at that time… a tender sound. But at the same time, I was intrigued to see what would happen with Andrew Weatherall. It was a very organic process and all those cliché words.

How easy was it to combine electronic music with the more open folk type of music?

What happened was I went in to record the album with my band, and I fell so in love with my band and the musicians and the feel of what we were doing. It seemed to have so much integrity and beauty. It was sort of like, do we really want to? They were not into the idea of me going off and saying, right, “now I’m gonna hand it off to this guy, who’s gonna take all the guitars and completely fuck up what you’ve done.” But there were three songs that I wasn’t completely satisfied with whatever we did, and that was, “Tangent,” “Galaxy of Emptiness” and “Touch Me With Your Love,” so I thought well, ‘let’s just see what would happen if Andrew Weatherall took those and did some messing around.’ So he and I went into the studio together and I redid vocals and I just loved what he was doing, and for me it felt pretty natural for them to stand next to the other songs as well. It was a bit of a difficult process because I didn’t want to be disloyal to my music or my band or to the beautiful music we’ve made, but it was a definite calling and I was very driven to try this idea out. And also I never knew if I would make another record, so I wanted to do it all now. But I think it worked really well.

One of the songs that got heavily played on college radio stations was “She Cries Her Name.” Can you tell me a little about making that song?

It was the first song pretty much that I wrote. I wrote it with William Orbit in the early days when he was very into the idea of me being a singer and fronting his Strange Cargo project. I hadn’t done anything like that before and wasn’t entirely convinced that it was something I should do. But one time he started playing those three chords and they were really beautiful and I just sang along. And what I did was, in my mind, I pretended I was Rickie Lee Jones and I sung the song. And out it came. And that was the first idea, then it took us a while to write. I remember I had a different chorus and different lines for each line, and he was like, ‘why don’t you just take one of those lines and repeat it?’ That’s how I learned about—cause I wrote poetry—and he taught me how to simplify the ideas. It was very natural to me, and I really quite enjoyed that process of simplifying and reducing a bit.

What made you decide to name the album Trailer Park?

Well, when we finished the record I met this lovely woman called Ellen Nolan. I’m from Norfolk which is the east of England, and I had friends that lived in camp, like gypsy camp, basically and I used to go there occasionally, and it was so beautiful, and it was all like, real old, like metal and glass. Just all different styles of caravan. We went on there and did our first photo shoot and Ellen really loved it. It’s like, you can point a camera anywhere and there will be something interesting. And then we got into the idea of taking it further and going into America and going around all the trailer parks in America in Southern California. Then I started to write this song about trailer parks called “Trailer Park” and I actually never finished it, thank god, it was dreadful, and I was playing it to my brother, and at the time I wanted to call my album Winnebago but then I couldn’t get permission, and my brother said, “fuck it, call it Trailer Park.”

So after the album came out, did you kind of listen to it from time to time or is this the first time you put it on in awhile?

Have to say, it’s the first time I put it on. The fact of the matter is I never really listened to it. I know it sounds strange but after I made it I could never listen to it without thinking, “oh, why did I leave that violin in, or why did I sing like that, or why didn’t I work on those words?…” I couldn’t listen to it without picking it apart. And to be quite honest, last summer I was in Norfolk again and I was driving along and I was listening to the record, and it was almost like I was listening to it for the first time in a way. It was really beautiful; I was really touched, ya know? I could no longer hear the little bits I couldn’t do. I just thought like “yeah that’s a really beautiful expression of a young woman doing her thing.” I was almost looking at myself from who I am now but almost as a parent like, if my little girl came to me with that work I would think it was beautiful; I wouldn’t pick it to pieces. I suppose I sort of had that compassion and heard it again and heard how honest and earnest it was. It was really quite touching, I thought.

On the reissue’s bonus disc, there’s a couple of songs you did with (reclusive Chicago r&b/folk singer) Terry Callier. How did you end up working with him?

The thing with Terry Callier came about because I am a huge fan. When I first made Trailer Park and just before it was released, I was taken around on this thing where you go on all the radio stations in England and driven around by this guy I had never met before and I would just sit there and read to him as we were driving along. And it was the most bizarre experience ever; I had never done anything like this in my life. Anyway, I was driving along with this guy and he was telling me that it was his birthday and that his friends bought him tickets to go see Terry Callier. And I was like “Shut up! He’s dead!” And I couldn’t believe it; I didn’t think someone as incredible as Terry Callier could be alive. And so, for that, he actually gave me his spare ticket to see him. So we went and danced down in the front the entire time. At the end we went to meet Terry Callier. I was like, “I adore you, I love you, let’s sing a song together.” Then I sent him my record and apparently he just loved it. And he was like, “fine, let’s do it.” It was a really strange experience because I did not expect him to do it and he did. So he flew over to England and we went in the studio for four or five days and recorded a few songs together. It was an amazing experience and a dream come true. Funny thing was on the way there to meet him I was like, “just turn this car around. I shouldn’t be in this car. This is ridiculous. I can’t go meet this man.” It’s quite good to remember, actually. It still had results. It was a beautiful, beautiful thing that came out of that.

Are you working on a new album that you want to talk about it?

Yeah, I am. I am very excited about it. I’m sort of not talking about it because I’m right in the middle of it, or right in the middle of beginning it. I’m a bit superstitious about those things, but I am and it’s quite an interesting departure to some degree, but it’s an experiment and it’s coming pretty well, so we’ll see.

Do you have any idea when it will come out?

I hope, in my dreams, that it will be out in October.

http://bethorton.astralwerks.com/

-Michael Tedder




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Deadline & Cramming!

there has been a problem last week with regards to my PC which is, of course, the pc used to work on SNEEZE. I actually set my schedule last week to cram on the next SNEEZE. But because of this unfortunate setback, our sked is pushed further.

The Motherbard of my PC got burned. Overheat coz incompetent ako eh, I failed to prevent it from getting thick dust into it. So I had to make this grand slam hardware makeover & spent around 10K for my incompetence. At least nag upgrade ko a.

So yes, we're back to CRAMMING. & oh yes, please submit your article contributions, ads, and announcements before February 27, 2009



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JOAQUIN PHOENIX (hiphop artist?)

Joaquin Phoenix, his face covered with beard and sunglasses, made one of the all-time weird, ranks-with-Crispin-Glover appearances on David Letterman last night. The audience started giggling as soon as Phoenix declined to acknowledge that he wasn't behaving very sociably -- monosyllabic answers, no smiles, avoiding Dave's gaze. Finally Dave had to break the ice with a joke: "What can you tell us about your days with the Unabomber?" Check it out this video:JOAQUIN PHOENIX ON LETTERMAN



When Dave asked about the actor's recently-announced move to become a rap-music performer, Phoenix said, "I'd love to be on the show and perform." Dave, by now happily irritated at this disastrous interview, said, "You know, that seems unlikely." By way of farewell, Letterman said, "Joaquin, I'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight."




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SNEEZE February 2009 Issue is Now Available

SNEEZE February 2009
now out
features
RockEd-Iloilo's No More Excuses Gig
Strawlace's Beatles Tribute Gig
Wolverine
Bloc Party
Hellboy 2
& having a BINGKONG Valentine

i already delivered copies at eddiemar sm city iloilo & later, il b leaving copies at 88 movies to go dvd shop at atrium, & d xerox place near d clinic in front of wvsu
ONLY 40 Pesos
only 2 pcs of 20 peso bills
cheaper than FHM, Maxim, Playboy & Pulp
yes, ours is more affordable than magazine for morons



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R.I.P. Indie 103.1

Yesterday, the last great bastion of locally produced commercial radio went off the air in a major market. But Indie 103.1 survived five years in an era when forward thinking terrestrial radio isn't supposed to last five minutes. That in itself is an astonishing accomplishment.

Indie 103.1 went on the air January 1, 2004, just two months after I moved to Los Angeles. And in many ways, Indie's rise and fall parallels my own half a decade in the City of Angels. I distinctly remember driving in my car alone, a new face in a big city, when I first heard Indie. A blast of teenage faves—Sex Pistols, Breeders, Flaming Lip—I couldn't fathom such radio existing. Equally at awe of the new town I called home, I imagined some Hollywood renegade millionaire had bought himself a radio station on which to play the music he loved. And why not? This is a city where dreams come true. I was a newly minted magazine editor in the entertainment capital of the world. There should be a stations that catered to my taste. I was a tastemaker. I was "running shit." I vowed to seek out these radio renegades and offer my support and talent—18 months of late night college radio, dawg!

Of course, Indie didn't need my help. They were doing just fine as part of the Clear Channel network. Once my momentary disappointment subsided, I was still 99% thrilled by Indie. After all, maybe this was the test market for a new era of "classic rock." If my generation was getting old enough to be in charge, why shouldn't we have own radio format? It was our turn.

The true genius of Indie came in the hiring of it's afternoon host, one Steve Jones, formerly of the Sex Pistols, who's Jonesy's Jukebox became an instant hit. The cynical wit and wisdom that Jonesy dished out—uncomfortabley at first, becoming more natural with time—became an international sensation. Around the same time, I attended my first Coachella, another "I-can't-beleive-this-is-real" introduction to West Coast life. It was as though I had "lept" into 1990s England, a time and place I had dreamed of as a teenager in Detroit, lock in my room with a copy of Melody Maker Reading Festival special edition. Now here I was, in the present, with the Pixies, Radiohead and Kraftwerk, both onstage and on my radio dial. Mecca.

And it kept getting bigger. By 2005, the "rave and rap" magazine I moved to LA to help helm was diving head first into the new indie-rock/dance club culture that was simmering up across the globe. Bloc Party was a ubiquitous presence, played in the clubs and on the radio non-stop (one day I heard three Bloc Party songs on three different radio stations during one 30 minute drive). We had them on the cover of URB twice that year—M.I.A. too. The office radio, more often than not, was tuned to Indie all day. Sure, the occasional Junior Vazquez mix would make it onto the system (URB editor Scott Sterling thought it was old Richie Hawtin) but when Carlos D was DJing in town, we were all there, no matter who was at the local superclub the same night.

Of course, like all scenes, this one began to falter. In one fell swoop, Daft Punk's Coachella set pushed the Arcade Fire remixes aside, replacing them with serious French electro. Justice was our new Bloc Party, although they never quite secured the same radio hegimoney. Indie could have been more generous to the new sound. They restricted it to the typical dance music latenight ghetto. Paul V's Neon Noise program was a fantastic platform for the new DJs and producers who were popping up all over LA. Even the Crystal Method's Friday night show was promoting "LCD Soundsystem, Justice, Daft Punk." Their peers The Chemical Brothers deamed the only legacy act worth noting. It was during this time that my Indie listening declined as well. It was still the first stop on the channel search, but I would just as likely end up on KLOS's classic rock than the new sound of Wolf (Parade or Mother, you choose).

Just as my infactuation with Indie was fading, they went and pulled the ultimate romantic gesture. The words "This is Darren Revel and you're listening to Big Sonic Heaven" came through the car speakers—and I almost went off the road. Every Sunday from 1995-2003, I had heard those words on the radio in Detroit. The one and only relief from the monotony of Limp Bizkut and Queen's "Fat Bottom Girls," BSH was an oasis on the Motor City airwaves. A shoegazer fantasy, where all thing moody and ethereal got equal airing. And here it was on Los Angeles radio. I felt like Peter Pan having found his shadow.

I was friendly with Darren from the Detroit days and we soon connected, talking about the old town while never losing site that life was much better in LA. I even got to go on Big Sonic Heaven this past fall, given an hour to chat with Darren on-air and play some of my favorite songs. I'm a big enough dork to admit it was a dream come true.

Big Sonic Heaven was taken off the air in November, along with a number of Indie's specialty shows. Jonesy was still there—scoring a major coup just last month when Prince blessed the show with three new songs to debut. But things had changed. The indie rotation had turned towards the dark side, and you were as likely to hear STP as you were Amazing Baby. The end—a classic zero notice format flip to Spanish syndicated radio—was hardly a shock.

I have to admit that on the day it happened, I spent three hours round trip in the car going from Hollywood to Anaheim without once turning to Indie (I kept it on NPR's chatter). It wasn't until I got home and sat at my computer that I heard the news. Word is that some incarnation if Indie is going to live online—but that's no real comfort. I can already hear all the music I want on the web. It was haviing it on the radio that counts. Jonesy will probably land a cush gig on satellite radio. Picture him in one studio while Bob Dylan records in the one next door. Sweeeeeet. And I'm sure the rest of the Indie team will land softly as well. This is a town where it's easy to fail up. And being a vet of a failed yet buzzworthy radio station can become a choice music consulting gig with just a few well placed phone calls.

As for me, I don't have a car anymore. I don't even have an office to go to as of this week. Working from home and rarely going out at night, there's not much need for Indie 103.1 in my life. Still, when I heard last week that LA Weekly music editor and comrade Randall Roberts was on Jonesy's Jukebox Jury, I felt more than a little green with envy. I guess Indie still mattered more than I thought.




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Sneeze MAG @ Strawlace gig (01/24/09)

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Homophobic? Then You're Probably Gay By:Johann Hari Columnist, London Independent

Source:http://www.huffingtonpost.com

I have always been slightly bemused by homophobia. Why would two adults (or ten) having consensual sex upset you? What's it to you? A new expose of one of the West's most rancidly anti-gay subcultures -- hip-hop -- offers the beginnings of an answer. Hip hop has long been the ultimate in fag-bashing, gay-trashing hate music. Listen to any album and a list of homophobic howls will hit you: Eminem squeaking "Hate fags? The answer's yes!", or Masse saying "I be wastin' em. That's what you faggots get!" The music's mood was summarised in a 1992 Ice Cube hit: "True niggaz ain't gay."

This boom-boom-boom of homo-cidal hate has a crushing effect on gay kids. It sends out the message: you are so repulsive you should be killed. It's one of several reasons why gay teenagers are still -- after all the amazing progress we have made -- six times more likely to commit suicide than their straight siblings.

Why do they do it? Why do hip-hop artists -- often the victims of bigotry themselves -- incite this hatred? For ten years, Terrence Dean was at the heart of the hip-hop scene as a producer at MTV and Warner Brothers. His life is as ghetto as any of the big name artists. His mother was a heroin-addicted, AIDS-infected prostitute whose 'clients' held Terrence hostage at gunpoint. His drunken grandmother raised him in the slums of Detroit, and he eventually ended up in prison. When he was released, he headed for Hollywood - and he was amazed to stumble into a gay underworld stocked with some of the biggest names in hip-hop.

I recently interviewed Dean for Attitude, Britain's best-selling gay magazine. He told me about a man -- I don't believe in outing, so I won't give his name -- who "has been named in the past as one of the biggest rappers of all time by MTV. He's always trashing gay men in his lyrics. But he is surrounded by a posse of transvestites," who he has sex with. Dean then runs through a list of hip-hop gays, each more famous and closeted than the last.

He explains: "When the rappers rap about the hatred they have of homosexuals, I know it's because many of them are struggling with their own sexuality. They hate what they are and in turn they spew their hatred toward men who are reflections of themselves."

Terence tried to live their life. He explains: "They had to see me with women. I talked the talk -- cars, sports, women. One misstep would have been the end of my career. Hell, it would have been the end of my life." But it was a miserable, bitter existence, based on violent emotional repression. These homie-sexuals even convinced themselves they could have sex with men without being "gay" -- a term they see as synonymous with being weak and womanly.

Dean's autobiography, Hiding in Hip-Hop: On the Down-Low in the Entertainment Industry - From Music to Hollywood. Its claims have been taken seriously enough to rattle the whole industry: Young Berg, said he could "destroy a good family" by making wives suspect their husbands.

There is some scientific evidence suggesting Dean is right -- and that his arguments apply much more widely, to homophobes in politics, religion and the wider world. Professor Henry Adams at the University of Georgia conducted a major study in the 1990s, where he took several groups of men who identified as heterosexual and expressed hostility to gays, and wired them up so the blood flow to their penises could be monitored. He then showed them gay porn -- and some 80 percent became aroused. He concluded that since "most homophobes demonstrate significant sexual arousal to homosexual erotic stimuli", anti-gay hatred is probably "a form of latent homosexuality."

Of course, not all of these hate-mongers are secretly gay. But we know from decades of sexual research that almost everyone -- especially as a teenager -- has a period when they have omnivorous sexual urges, with attraction to the 'wrong' gender cropping up for a while. (Like most gay boys, I had a burst of heterosexual experiences when I was 15 and 16.) The question is: how do you deal with them? If you see this as an interesting, natural part of human experience, they will soon fade from your mind. If you see them as shameful or immoral, they will fester -- and you will subconsciously project them outwards, onto the demonic, disgusting fags, who should be punished for tempting you.

How do we break through this? It has to start with honesty. Homosexuality is not some unnatural intrusion, wrought by demonic perverts, as the pre-modern religious texts so absurdly assert. It is an inevitable part of nature -- birds do it, bees do it -- and it is, fleetingly, part of the sexual development of most teenagers. If you are full of hate for homosexuals, the evidence suggests you have a psychological problem, based on denying part of yourself.

In short: homophobia? It's so gay.




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Are Plants Watching Us?

This fascinating short documentary reveals the work of scientist Cleve Backster, who investigated plants’ “secret lives.” Backster argues that plants are sentient beings, despite their lack of a nervous system; we are merely unable to detect the fact that they are conscious. He attempts to show plants' awareness by hooking garden-variety ones up to a polygraph. The machine records spikes in electrical activity which seem to correspond to Backster's actions. It even jumps when he focuses his mind on a mental image of a burning fire; it seems that the plants could sense Backster’s presence and even his emotions.







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