Animal Collective ‘Taste’

I’ve written at length about one of the most consistently innovative ‘noise’ bands out there, Animal Collective.

These two live performances (one from the French Blogotheque show, the other from the 2007 Midi Festival) capture the band in ways I have not seen. While I’ve seen them live, I’ve never witnessed the band discovering a song in a shopping trolley.

While some call them consciously peculiar and odd, I’m heartened by pretentious indie rock bloggers attacking the band for being ‘too pretentious.’ There’s a limit, apparently. In any case, I love them and find their sound to be one of the most soulful and haunting things to come from a human being since I first heard Bowie and Eno on Heroes.

You be the judge.

Animal Collective ‘Taste’
from Blogotheque

Live at Midi festival French Riviera 2007

Lyrics: from lyricalcollective.wikispaces.com

There’s a secret place I hide that’s deep inside of me
An elusive voice that tells me what I like, now
You might think I’m gonna judge you in your fancy place
I don’t really give that credit to what taste does ’cause

I don’t care if you don’t like that
You get your feelings hurt
But I’m okay with that
And if I like you
It’s for your simple ways
And we will always be at a tasty place
And you can cook a rose but I don’t eat those
Taste!

And I didn’t pretend to like the clothes you chose for me
Something in my heart, it tells me it’s a weakness
But I like shiny things and flower prints you wouldn’t dare
Take a woman’s blouse and set it for your son to wear

When we share our points of view
You get a glimpse of me
I get a glimpse of you
And I don’t really care
If I don’t change your ways
We will always be at the tasty place
And you can cook a rose but I don’t eat those
Taste!

Am I really all the things that are outside of me?
Am I really all the things that are outside of me?
Am I really all the things that are outside of me?
Am I really all the things that are outside of me?
Am I really all the things that are outside of me?

MES on Vinyl Justice

The Fall frontman Mark E Smith (50 years old this year!) is a documented genius (recipient of the NME Godlike Genius award in 1998), but often difficult to understand.

That may be why he seems to be post-dubbed in his appearance in the TV program ‘Vinyl Justice.’ 

We can thank this program for introducing the newest hip catch phrase ‘Trucks need GREASE FOR ROADS!‘

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

Elvis fans pay tribute: Spend time reminiscing about the King at local celebrations
By Molly Gilmore
The annual Elvis Birthday Bash celebrates Elvis Presley’s birth, not his death.This year, the bash - a celebration as much about Elvis impersonators than the man himself - includes a sneak preview screening of a new documentary called “How He Should Have Died.”"One man paid the ultimate tribute, by leaving this world in a blaz e of glory, the way many top El vis fans say Elvis should have,” press material trumpets.The man, Larry Hass, was an Elvis impersonator who died in 2004 while performing at the Elvis Explosion in La Crosse, Wis.

The documentary focuses on him and his passion for Elvis.

“La Crosse has really no connection to Elvis, except it’s become a big draw because of this festival,” said David Ross, a co-producer of “How He Should Have Died” as well as “Almost Elvis,” about the impersonators.

“It’s the home of the world’s largest Green Bay Packers sports bar, so it’s kind of a funny cross section of America,” he added.

After Hass’s death, Ross said, people kept asking the filmmakers if they wanted to do a documentary about him.

Through time, they realized that they did.

“It became more and more appa rent that it could be a really interesting, heartwarming, fun story to tell, just hearing from his friends and family and Elvis fans,” he said.

Saturday’s screenings of both films will include performances by world-champion Elvis impersonator Robert Washington, a costume contest and fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches.

You also can see Washington on Friday night at The Brotherhood and Sunday morning at Plenty.

Washington is known in the Elvis world for his onstage flips, his athletic dancing and his powerful voice.

Fans definitely get excited about his performances.

“You get the screams and stuff, but I’m sure it’s not the same magnitude as Elvis got,” Washington said in a past interview for The Olympian. “A little bit, and I’m happy.”

Elvis birthday bash 2008

What: The eighth annual celebration features a performance by Elvis impersonator Robert Washington; a 6 p.m. screening of the documentary “Almost Elvis;” a sneak preview of the new “How He Should Have Died” at 9 p.m.; fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches and birthday cake; a costume contest; a velvet Elvis art show and more.

When: 6 p.m. Saturday January 19th
Where: Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. S.E., Olympia

More info

Revered as a modern day saint of pop culture and King of rock ‘n’ roll, Elvis Presley has long enjoyed a place in the American psyche as a kind of touchstone. He means many things to many people, but he is without a doubt one of the most electric personalities to ever hold a microphone.

Immortalized in many formats, he is not without his fans in science fiction (rock ‘n’ roll author Mick Farren practically anointed Elvis as a saint of the American Dream) and comic books (Pope Elvis’ robes are clearly revered in Matt Wagner’s Grendel series).

And who can overlook the marriage of Star Wars and the King that is the Elvis Trooper?

But this Elvis Celebration takes the cake.

Man… I wish I could be there just to see King’s audience take over the town.

Throbbing Gristle

In the vacuous era of depression known as the 1970’s, music was undergoing a kind of change. In some ways, this lead to the further commercialization of punk and candy-like pop from the same vein that once brought listeners resounding rock n roll.

Then there was industrial music.

Before there was Throbbing Gristle, there was COUM, the duo performance art show of Genesis P Orridge and Cosi Fanni Tutti. In the groundbreaking art show called Prostitution, the entire English cultural world descended upon Genesis and Cosi like vultures.

This was before The Sex Pistols performance that influenced a dozen bands overnight. This event freaked out all involved, and paved the way for an entirely different approach to music.

Born  from COUM, Throbbing Gristle was the brainchild of Genesis P. Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter Christopherson and Chris Carter. While most rock bands start with some vague idea at making money or getting dates, Throbbing Gristle had an ulterior motive to shake people up and unsettle their calm little worlds. That in itself isn’t so strange (just look at Alice Cooper or Jane’s Addiction), but these guys were like mad scientists. They carefully designed their songs to impact the audience in a biological way, either joyous or… decidedly unpleasant.

Discipline 1979

Genesis himself is an odd duck to say the least. As a young man he had all the appearance of a young man or boyish girl, despite the inner workings of his mind. Awkward and intense all at once, he was like an alien invader with a guitar slung across his chest for a raygun. After a near-death experience, he was profoundly changed and saw the implicit power of sounds, and decided to utilize them to the utmost.  With fellow mad scientist Peter Christopherson (nicknamed Sleazy), Throbbing Gristle’s musical output was just stunning.

Ironically, as Throbbing Gristle progressed in  their sound and image manipulations, so did the media. It was a very vibrant time, and one that TG saw as ‘nothing short of total war.’ There was a definite war on the senses, and Genesis was on our side.

Something Came Over Me- live at Oundle School 1980

After group disbanded in 1981, the performers went their separate ways.

In 1984, Genesis formed Psychic TV, producing 17 albums in a very short period and earning a place in the Guiness Book of World Records for the most number of albums released in one year. The early period with guitarist Alexander Fergusson is regarded as the high point of creative success, but regardless of the opinion Psychic TV created yet another form of music, acid house.

Peter Christopherson, along with John Balance formed COIL, one of the most influential and unusual industrial/ambient groups ever formed. COIL’s music is full of fantastic imagery and nightmarish sounds, all seeming to come from some otherworldly place.

It’s this ‘alien’-ness that I find most captivating and bizarre. The songs of Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV and COIL all seem to be from some other place, but were all created by people like you and me… well, maybe not. These are exhilarated and talented artists operating on a level far above the standard operating frequency that most of us work at in our everyday life.

In a lot of ways, they’re reminiscent of the modern comic book creators like Wally Wood, Stan Lee, Will Eisner and Steve Ditko who took accepted artforms of painting, comic strips and motion pictures and mixed them together into something completely new.

Genesis P. Orridge on DisinfoTV

In recent years, Genesis looks more like Meg Ryan than anything else.Turning himself into a ‘human art project,’ he has decided to use his body as a weapon on the concept of sexuality. In any case, s/he’s still making incredible music. The newest PTV3 album is really quite incredible and far closer to the band’s early work than the house music that followed.

Industrial Music itself has mutated and changed since it first wriggled its was  into the ears of listeners across the world. From Ministry to Skinny Puppy, Pigface, and later Nine Inch Nails, industrial music has become more or less an extension of pop music, with the occasional sample from an old movie.

That’s not to say that it’s less good or less important than Throbbing Gristle’s music, but to be sure…  modern industrial music takes far fewer risks at reaching an audience. In short, the experiment that was started in 1975 is far from over.

In the battle for individual sanity and freedom from outside control, Genesis P Orridge and Throbbing Gristle have fought a mean fight. It was seldom pretty, but it was definitely the most vibrant and lively explosion of sounds produced in music history since Pete Townsend smashed his first guitar.

Rock on.

Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam

The latest release from Animal Collective entitled Strawberry Jam came out just yesterday yet I feel like I’m the last guy to actually hear it.

That’s modern living for you.

Peacebone

I was lucky enough to see Animal Collective in Boston last year with my mate Scott and was astounded at the sounds that they managed to generate live. They remain the only band I’ve ever seen to make music out of seemingly random screaming and banging. In a lesser band, the result would be the dreaded endless jam band session, but Animal Collective manages to wring a tune out of sounds rarely heard outside of a psychotic episode in an enclosed space.

Though they are considered a New York band, Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Deakin, and the Geologist operated separately out of both Boston and NYC before finally releasing the album Here Comes The Indian on their own label Paw Tracks in 2003.

Their two subsequent albums, Sung Tongs and Feels (both on Fat Cat Records) have generated increased indy music buzz, often placing the band’s sound in the unlikely genre of freak folk. Not that it helps, but personally, I describe them as ‘noise music.’ It’s not much better than freak folk, but keeps them from the company of Sunburnt Hand of the Man, Joanna Newsom and Devendra Banhart… who have nothing on Animal Collective.

Fireworks

As can be seen by this 2003 interview, the group was heavily influenced by their environment. The New York vibe permeated their Sung Tongs album, bringing a different energy and artistic maturity to their songs than had been seen before. Whereas previous efforts like Campfire Songs were more soundscapes bordering on ambient music, Sung Tongs featured more fully formed results.

In time, their song writing skills would continue to grow along with their ability to make mad sounds, culminating in their critically acclaimed follow up album Feels.

It’s strange to see how far they have come in recent years (odd to see the Geologist without his mass of hair).

2003 MTV Interview

Their newest album is their most polished and expertly produced project to date. As I listened to it in the car ride from Schookids Records yesterday my car hummed along with the sounds and I was ‘one of those people’ who listens to music too loud.

While I cannot sing their praises enough, I should recognize that this is a definite ‘might not be your thing’ kind of band. Even my friend Scott loved the band in concert yet felt ho-hum about the studio albums.

So in a bizarre twist, I highly recommend seeing them live rather than buying their albums.

(Bro, take note that they are coming Norman, OK!)

Below are concert dates:

September 2007
14 - Seattle, WA - Neumo’s
15 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
16 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
17 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore Auditorium
18 - Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater
20 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
21 - El Paso, TX - Club 101
22 - Austin, TX - Emo’s
23 - Norman, OK - Bricktown Ballroom
24 - St. Louis, MO - Gargoyle Club
25 - Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom
26 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
27 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
28 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
29 - Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom
30 - New York, NY - Webster Hall

October 2007
1 - New York, NY - Webster Hall

In case you can’t make any of those dates, their albums are available on Amazon.
Strawberry Jam
Feels
Sung Tongs

Long lost T. Rex found at last

Marking the anniversary of the tragic death of Marc Bolan, the Times UK has unveiled a previously lost piece of performance footage (available here) where he can be seen silently mugging to the camera and the assembled crowd of fans below.

Ever since I was introduced to Bolan and his band T.Rex, I felt that the sounds I was hearing came from an inspired and innovative musician grooving to his own private melody and in touch with some strange otherworldly sound that only he could hear.

You can say that about almost any musician, but Bolan was something else. Gifted with a kind of inner sight, he was able to see his success in ways that allowed him to brazenly enter a music executive’s office and demand to be recognized as a genius. When his first album premiered, he was attacked by the press for his ‘lamby’ voice, but those critics soon ate their own words as he rose to the stardom Marc knew he was worthy of.

An innovator and musical maverick, Marc was one of a kind from the beginning. As a teenager,he thought of himself as a professional model and walked around London in zoot suits performing to the world at large. The dubious glam film Velvet Goldmine depicted a very ‘Marc Bolan‘-esque character as a kind of Oscar Wilde/Green Lantern who held a power from beyond the stars.

Well, Marc would probably agree with that.

Solid Gold Easy Action -Live 1972

His early career was more fantasy/folk oriented as Tyrannosaurus Rex, but his unique wailing guitar sound embodied the 70’s Glam in ways that made many feel that he had been around all along.

While a trailblazer of music trends as the herald of the Glam movement, he was not above recognizing that tastes change and toured with The Jam and The Damned as the new wave and punk sounds took hold of British youth.

Many know the stories of Marc’s rivalry with David Bowie (how could Marc equate the brilliance of David’s music with his own genius?), but in truth Marc felt a deep kinship with the Thin White Duke. Shortly before he died, Marc had David as a guest on his show simply entitled ‘Marc.’

The story goes that Bowie had met a ‘witch’ who told him that he was one of a trinity of gifted seers, the other two being Hendrix and Bowie. At Marc’s funeral, David soberly remembered that this made him the last of the three… and promptly recorded ‘Let’s Dance,’ ‘Tonight’ and ‘Never Let Me Down’ to shake off the attraction of any demons sniffing out artistic integrity.

… but never mind.

The footage below shows Marc fall on his ass shortly before the duo were to perform together. As you can see, this was shot after Bowie cleaned up his act and quit his drug use after taking the ‘cure’ in Berlin. It was also shot during one of Bowie’s many stages of re-invention (the art-rocker of Station to Station), which is ironic since Marc shows signs that he is deeply under the influence.

‘Marc’ 1977

Marc Bolan died at the age of 29. A ‘cosmic dancer’ to the end, his sound and influence can be found in New Order, Pink Floyd, The Smiths, and Oasis.

Rather than feel blue or treat the day as a bummer, I urge you to ‘find a little Marc in your heart’ and groove on through the day.

yeah.

Suggested everything:

T-Rex & Roxy Music - The Best of Musik Laden Live
Born to Boogie
Marc Bolan 1947-1977: A Chronology
Electric Warrior

Nick Cave-Grinderman

Whenever anyone has tried to play me Ani Defranco, I have just done my best to maintain a blank face or play dead the way my dog does when I try and tickle her.In short, it ain’t my thing. I’m going to go on a limb and say that as a man there is nothing for me in that style of music.

I was listening to some Nick Cave recently. It had been a while since I had enjoyed his music so it took a few listens to get back in the groove. In that time, I heard it as an outsider and thought to myself, ‘there’s no way I should ever play this in front of a woman.’

Ex-frontman for the noisiest Australian band of all time, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave has always been an insanely energetic performer and gifted lyricist. After leaving the band to go solo with the astounding album ‘From Her to Eternity,’ Cave started down a path that eventually lead to his emulation of his favorite crooner Tom Jones.Not many could have seen that coming.

The commercial success of Nick Cave’s albums with his band ‘The Bad Seeds’ (consisting of such greats as soloist Mick Harvey, and Blixa Bargeld of Einsturzebde Neubauten) peaked with ‘Murder Ballads.’ While the album might lead the casual listener to think of Cave as being obsessed with violence and manslaughter, he’s anything but. In an interview with Rolling Stone he confessed that he abhors violence and does his best to avoid it. Looking at his ‘mean hombre’ visage, I doubt he needs to do much to avoid getting into a fight.

But if you listen more deeply to the somber longing in songs such as his duet with Kylie Minogue on ‘Where the Wild Roses Grow’ you’ll hear the soul of a crooner. His later album The Boatman’s Call embrace this tendency and while it was far removed from my personal favorite sound of the angry young Cave who piston-shot his cowboy boots at the audience members screaming ‘Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!,’ it did deliver his most beautiful tune ‘Into My Arms’ which was respectfully performed at lead singer of INXS Michael Hutchens‘ funeral.

Imagine my surprise when he reunited with three of his old Bad Seeds bandmates to form Grinderman.

No Pussy Blues (live on Later…)

The self-titled album is harder than anything he’s done in decades and has a very bluesy/garage rock sound, including the odd blast of feedback that would make Blixa smile.

Highlights include ‘No Pussy Blues’ and ‘Honey Bee (Let’s Fly to Mars’). This must be quite a shock to fans that Cave won over with his previous soft and soulful albums but it is a major return to form for the singer that exploded on the independent music landscape those many moons ago with ‘Dead Joe’ and ‘She’s Hit.’

Culture Show Interview

I find it hard to believe that this rough group of dudes are in their 40’s and still kicking around the stage as if they were 20 years younger. The album is a slap in the face to current big hit bands who claim to know their way around a guitar and a stab in the arm for the ailing music industry in general which is genuinely hopeful that we will buy the new Paul McCartney album or the latest tired attempt by The White Stripes.

I also hope that this new album fires up interest into Cave’s past and the excellent Birthday Party albums that he worked on when he was a skinny pale kid… ofcourse now he’s a skinny pale dad.

How times change.

Suggested listening:

The Birthday Party - Hits
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds- The Boatman’s Call
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Tender Prey
Nick Cave- From Her to Eternity
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads
Grinderman

Last Orders for the Originator of the Manchester Scene

Tony Wilson, the music mogul behind some of Manchester’s most successful bands, has died of cancer.The Salford-born entrepreneur, who founded Factory Records, the label behind Joy Division, New Order and the Happy Mondays, was diagnosed last year.

The 57-year-old, also famous for setting up the Hacienda nightclub, underwent emergency surgery in January to remove a kidney.

He passed away on Friday evening in hospital.

Doctors recommended he take the drug Sutent after chemotherapy failed to beat the disease, but the NHS refused to fund the £3,500-a-month treatment.

However, members of the Happy Mondays and other acts he supported over the years stepped in and started a fund to help pay for it.

His vision and determination played a key role in helping to put Manchester on the map for its music and vibrant nightlife and his entrepreneurial skills inspired people everywhere.

Phil Saxe, who used to work at Factory Records with Wilson, said: “Part of me, part of Manchester, part of modern British music has died tonight.

“Tony was a genius, basically.

“He was a visionary in that he helped bands, who otherwise wouldn’t have made it, who were a bit out of the ordinary.

“He helped them realise their dreams and through that probably realised himself to be Mr Manchester”.

‘An inspiration’

BBC journalist Kristan Deconinck sought advice from him in the early 1980s on how to launch an independent record label shortly after Wilson had started Factory Records.

“He couldn’t have been more helpful and more patient,” Kristan said.

“He inspired me - and countless others - to have a go if you believed in something.

“That in itself is a great legacy, apart from the vision he had with his label, his shows, his attitude - his contribution to a new culture.

“When I later met him, I found him far more amenable than scurrilous rumours had led me to believe and my esteem for the guy never diminished.”

-BBC News

Vintage 1988 Interview w/Tony (recorded off-air with a few awkward jumps)

Joy Division on ‘Something Else’-1979

That Tony Wilson- Granada TV 2002

Raise a glass in Tony’s name tonight.

Dave Gibbons’ The Originals

Released as a graphic novel under the Vertigo banner of DC Comics, The Originals is an alternate history of the Mod age. Part sci-fi gang story, part love letter to the age of the Mods as shown in the film Quadrophenia, The Originals is an aptly titled work with a lot to offer the sophisticated audience of Vertigo work.

For a fan of Sandman, Preacher and Hellblazer, there are few new comics to read that deliver the same emotional punch reminding the reader why he/she got into comics in the first place.

As the ‘adult’ arm of DC Comics acting as a teenager-centric imprint, Vertigo has developed some of the most well-written comic books of the last 15-20 years. It comes as no surprise that an artist traditionally associated with super-hero work would arrive to tell a tale that feels more like an independent film than a comic.

One of the finest sequential artists in the business, Dave Gibbons is a former contributer to 2000 AD. His art on characters such as Rogue Trooper and Doctor Who got the attention of DC Comics in the 80’s as they were looking to the UK for new talent. His initial work was on The Flash and later found a very happy home with Green Lantern (where’s the collection, DC??) and finally The Watchmen with Alan Moore.

His layout, pacing and facial expressions are unmistakable and have created a reputation for Gibbons as one of the masters of the art form.

His later work with Frank Miller on Give Me Liberty (see article) only built on his former strengths, and by combining them with Miller’s writing gave readers one of the best comics ever made.

That brings us to his 2005 work, The Originals. A thinly veiled tale of Mods vs. Rockers, the graphic novel has a quality and mood unlike many modern comics.

The story follows the trouble-filled life of the frustrated Lell who just wants a hover (Vespa) and to be one of the Originals (Mods). He and his best mate Bok spend their nights dreaming of the life they’ll have zooming around on their own hovers with the Kings of Cool, The Originals.

Taking place in a post-war Britain where the state of youth culture is predominantly made up of irresponsible behavior, resentment and boredom,Lell and Bok have little to hope for other than a magical event to land in their laps and deliver them to the sacred land of Mod-dom. And that’s exactly what happens.

One night the duo are in the unusual situation to deliver the location of the rival gang The Dirt (The Rockers) to the Originals, leading to a bloody fist fight where Lell and Bok earn their place beside their heroes.

It all goes downhill for Lell and Bok from there.

The Originals is a book that works on multiple levels. So evocative are Gibbons‘ pages that they play on your musical memory. You can practically hear the music of the Kinks (particularly Waterloo at Sunset), Paul Weller’s soulful wailing and raucous railing with The Jam, and of course Pete Townsend’s ghostly somber lyric ‘Why should I care… why should I care?’ from Cut My Hair off of Quadrohpenia.

A soulful and heartfelt work, it’s surprising that DC Comics would publish it. Nothing against the Batman/Superman publisher, but a comic of this quality and feeling would seem more at home with Fantagraphics or some other independent publishing house. Even more surprising is that the current writer of Green Lantern Corps (which I must add is an incredible action comic) would have an interest in creating a comic like this.

But that’s how comics go. Alan Moore wrote WildCATs and From Hell, Brian Michael Bendis wrote AKA Goldfish and continues to write Ultimate Spider-Man.

It takes all kinds.

Suggested reading/viewing/listening:

The Originals
Green Lantern Corps: Recharge
Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: To Be a Lantern
The Rann-Thanagar War (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)
Dragon’s Claw (Doctor Who)
Rogue Trooper: Future War (2000 AD Presents)
Something Else by the Kinks
Paul Weller-Hit Parade
The Sound of the Jam
Specials
Beat This: The Best of the English Beat
Quadrophenia
Quadrophenia (Special Edition)

Jerry Jerry and The Sons of Rhythm Orchestra

Writhing and jumping on stage as if he’s on fire, Gerry Woods has been freaking out audiences with his near evangelical performances since 1982. A mad mixture of rockabilly, gospel and R&B, the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra hail from Edmonton, but have a second home in Montreal.

Their claim to fame, The Battle Hymn of the Apartment is a record full of lyrics that are at times drunkenly self-righteous (‘You got yer right hand, you got yer left hand… you got yer prayin’ hands!!’) and somberly sincere (‘Hurtin’ her don’t make you a man’). Still a band that rates a full house and continues to earn its keep in the concert circuit in Edmonton, Jerry Jerry is planning a massive reunion of the original band members to celebrate their 25th Anniversary.

The band also made the unusual appearance in an issue of Matt Wagner’s series Grendel. In the penultimate issue of the Eppy Thatcher story (also known as ‘God and the Devil’) Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra play on as Eppy and Pope Innocent duel over the assembled crowd of parishioners.

Lead singer Woods made an easy cartoon figure drawn by John K Snyder III, full of be-bop movements and Elvis-like emotive stances.

Reading the issue as a teenager bored with traditional music, I was determined to find out just who this guy was. Only years later, thanks to the Internet, did I discover their sound after finding a copy of ‘Battle Hymn of the Apartment.’

Now I pass on the good word to you, dear reader.

Suggested listening/reading:

Battle Hymn of the Apartment
The Art of Grendel