Music Reviews
Books on Tape

Books on Tape

The Business End

Greyday

The press release for Books on Tape’s latest claims that Todd Drootin (BoT’s brain trust) invented “beatpunk,” yet another meaningless sub-genre of IDM. The problem with defining this term through Drootin’s music is that “beatpunk” consists simply of taking various forms of music and splicing in lo-fi percussive fury. There is no punk in the Tin Pan Alley vamp “People That Don’t Like Me/People That I Don’t Like,” aside from the contortionist drum programming and poor title grammar. There are moments when Drootin’s collision of sounds yields interesting results: “The Truth, the Whole Truth, & an Assortment of Lies” – punk punctuation this time – is one evil circus sideshow, with swirling harsh sounds and tauntingly soft melodies. The follow-up to this track, “Gray Matters,” continues with the menace in a more chilled vein by opting for an 8-bit analog mix. “Ill Team Captain” probably reaches closest to punk by the simple fact it’s anchored by the lifted bass line from Joy Division’s “She’s Lost Control.” Sadly, the disc loses whatever head of steam it had built up by “Bullets,” a slight, misguided attempt at intimacy. “What Satan Said to Me” has a noisy mid-section that vies at re-awakening interest but in the end, The Business End only inspires me to dig out my copy of Joy Division’s Substance.

Greyday: http://www.greydayproductions.com


Recently on Ink 19...

Rampo Noir

Rampo Noir

Screen Reviews

Phil Bailey reviews Rampo Noir, a four part, surreal horror anthology film based on the works of Japan’s horror legend, Edogawa Rampo.

Garage Sale Vinyl: Eddie Money

Garage Sale Vinyl: Eddie Money

Garage Sale Vinyl

In this latest installment of his popular weekly series, Christopher Long finds himself dumpster diving at a groovy music joint in Oklahoma City, where he scores a bagful of treasure for UNDER $20 — including a well-cared-for $3 vinyl copy of Life for the Taking, the platinum-selling 1978 sophomore set from Eddie Money.

Incubus

Incubus

Screen Reviews

Both bold experiment and colossal failure in the 1960s, Esperanto language art house horror film Incubus returns with pre-_Star Trek_ William Shatner to claim a perhaps more serious audience.