Clint Catalyst's Blog, page 9

Are You A Victim Of The Modern Witch-hunt?

[a quick check-list]:

How have relations with your peers been as of late?

Have any of your friends seemed distant, unavailable?  Perhaps a bit stand off-ish?

Or even worse: has anyone begun to treat you with suspicion?  Spoken to you with a distrusting tone?

Conducted a rash & volatile act upon your arrival—say, for example, the frenetic strumming of an

acoustic guitar to the tune of a [quote] "power ballad"?  &—if dare say that be the case—was

aforementioned ::SHUDDER:: stadium serenade coupled with an egregiously off-key

rendition of  lyrics such as "Don't Stop Believin'"?

(Stop.  Believing.  What?!)

Quite frankly, do you feel as if your interests incite an impending sense of moral panic?

Are you persecuted…                                                                             for your taste in music?

In †hee Name Ov DELTΔ DELTΔ DELTΔ's Sacred †ri-Force

(an equal opportunity destroyer: for the xx, xy & x"whatever"/transitioning set),

TRUST:  We understand.

Some people have a genuine aversion to Witch House.

S'all there is to it.

So what's a budding hex-head to do?

For such matters, we consult…

Aha! &

Just as I expected:

Fokkawolfe

is  T H E E . A N S W E R .

— for his —

Prolific updates, finger not just on the proverbial "pulse" or clichéd "trigger," but rather the plunger of a 1 cc mainlining psychostimulant drogas directly from that four-chambered metronome nestled within one's ribcage to the pleasure center of readers' brains, flooding dopamines in a tsunami of methamphetamaniacuphoria, burning serotonin at such a deliciously dangerous–& dangerously delicious–rapid-fire rate, it's been rumored that the back of some readers' skulls have been blown open as if their pupils bulls-eyed all six chambers and short-circuited before the spinning even began: no need for the thrill of Russian Roulette when Fokkawolfe's here EFFING. KILLING. IT.

(& the rat-tat-tat-tat of exclamation points forage ahead, slaughtering daughters & posting cyanide-laced syllables that cement those blandular brooklyn blogs deeper, deeper still into the myopic 'no maan, nobody's doing that/this is how it is' mentality in which they're mired [though not admired]…)

Whatever higher powers may be,

HALLELUJAH &

INORDINATE AMOUNTS OF GRATITUDE TO ± FOKKAWOLFE ±

(also known as Laurence Conrad)

Seriously?  But SERIOUSLY boss…

Totes the stokage you exist!

¤  Image Attribution ¤

one

two

Cottonmouth Kisses Review — The Bellingham Herald

July 23, 2000

with mad gratitude to Ara Taylor

Either click image to enlarge,

or

http://picturepush.com/public/4729559

Seduction

« is »

Collecting Hearts. Another Love [is]

Another Place To Stay/Another Face…

Seduction is

Soft Skin.

Teen Porn, till

the "Living End."

A Bath

With

Lovely Bloodflows.

Asger Juel Larssen's

Sleek Chic.

Seduction

is that which is close enough to touch, yet at the same time

just out of reach…

/ W H A T ± I T ± I S /

« is »

"Intimate" : a track by

Crystal Castles

smashed-up, drugged-out, & smushed by

S†ory Of Isaac

Visual accompaniment features excerpts from Beyond The Void

†

"Soft Skin" : by The Cosmetics

with a video clip featuring the artistry of

Ben Razavi, Bernardo Pantoja and Skyler Stevenson's creative collective

Wooden Lens

Also—See!

Cosmetics Cosmetics Cosmetics

get Tumblrd

†

Teen Porn : Mat Cothran of Coma Cinema &

Rachel Levy from Kiss Kiss Fantastic.

The visual pastiche accompanying "Living End" is a creation by The Tearist,

featuring footage of Edie Sedgwick taken from Andy Warhol's film

Poor Little Rich Girl

Complimentary downloads of the song are available at teenporn.bandcamp.com

as well as the spell-binding  Mater Suspiria Witch House Remix, via Mediafire

Hand-made, limited edition Mater Suspiria Vision releases available

¤ N O W ¤  through their On-Line Boutique

†

Baths : moniker for the musical exploits of Will Wiesenfeld

"Lovely Bloodflow" is from his debut album, Cerulean [anticon].

Video Directed by Alex Takacs & Joe Nankin

DP: Adam Kauper

AC: Andrew Taylor

Wardrobe: Lina Lund Mortensen

Make-up: Maria Lee

[Additional credits available via Vimeo]

†

Asger Juel Larsen : About

Model: Conor Macklin

Ellis Scott Photography

In Circulation: Two New Stories

&

nope, of clicky-links to URLs with disappearing ink I do not speak. Au contraire, I'm talkin' bout publications— the tactile experience of fingertips brushing against pressed paper.  The tender crease of a spine. The stink of ink spiraling up one's nostrillus maximus & connecting with receptors in the limbic area, stimulating electrochemical signals.

My favorite words come bearing risk of paper cuts

Vorsicht! Consider yourself hereby forewarned:

it seems I'm particularly fond of italics this fine day…

All/Same

Royal Proclamation Number One:

(a fanfare is appropriate)

The latest issue of the rad-ass, bad-ass literary journal Gertrude

is OUT—&

includes my short story "Sugar Rush": a tribute to

C U L I N A R Y . P E R V E R Y

That's right, baby—we're gonna get baked, & then you get  C a k e d…

A H E M !

So anyway

[from the publishers]:

"To commemorate this milestone release [issue 15 of Gertrude],we put out a call for writing & visual art

that explores, celebrates or subverts queer stereotypes. 'The Gay Issue' represents the diversity & talent

of the LGBTQA community."

¤ THE PARTICULARS ¤

80 perfect-bound pages of flamboyant wit, 19 verse-slingers serving noteworthy lit, &

seven shades of wickedawesome visual artistry on eight full-color inserts that

one prancy fagocytosist went way gay over, on the tip of the APA

that'd be numbers & statistics; thank.you.ever.so

featuring

Michelle Auerbach, David Brennan, Wayne Bund, Clint Catalyst, Nicole J. Georges,

Jeremy Halinen, Daniel W.K. Lee, Kirsty Logan along with nine other lesbi-luminaries &

rump-wranglin' Cult Icons-In-The-Makin' that any cool-enough-to-singe-flesh-upon-contact

member of the cognoscenti c/should expect to find included among the impeccably-edited

roster of a journal esteemed as such/such as this…

Nonetheless, not unlike the dry ice to which I alluded a mere skip backwards o'er single perioddical: that's a

scavenger hunt I'll leave for you & your ducats to embark upon, darlin'

☆ G E T ± S O M E ☆

[though as an ápertif, an excerpt of my story]:

As the adage goes, 'A Don't Is A Delicious Invitation To Do.'  In the sexual practice known as "caking," it's particularly true.

I can't take credit for coming up with this deviation of the old in and out, though unlike the lot of other subversive acts referred to as the stuff of urban legend—the Dirty Sanchez, Blumpkin, Cleveland Steamer, Chili Dog, et al—I'm honored to say I can vouch for its point of origin, and am a mere one degree of separation from its source.

"Caking" came about during the darkest days of that carb-counting craze when solo patties of beef were the new burger, and a demeanor bitter as Susan Atkins was the new black. It was socially acceptable to have breath that smelled like a fresh slaughter, so long as we weren't seen consuming anything in a public setting that bore even the faintest traces of Evil Incarnate: refined sugar.

:: yes bitches, shit gets good up in thurr ::

— However! —

THIS IS NOT OVER YET

Royal Proclamation Number Two:

(not only/but also)

Baby, I've Got Some More Good Word For You…

From the publishing house, social network & international non-profit, Little Episodes—an organization that "promotes the arts as a therapeutic tool & platform to incite empathy and understanding"—comes the anthology Brainstorms

© Little Episodes Publishing, 2010 • ISBN 978-0-9565003-1-1 • Edited by Fawn Neün

"featuring work by Melvin Burgess, Todd Swift, Sadie Frost, Nina Antonia & Clint Catalyst, Brainstorms is the second volume in the 'Expression of Depression' series, a collection of poetry & short fiction from established & emerging talent."

[from Little Episodes founder Lucie Barât]:

"The launch of our second anthology is a statement of intent. We aim to de-stigmatise depression and promote compassion & understanding rather than fear and embarrassment. The opportunity to create and subsequently publish art will give people a sense of well-being which could aid in their recovery."

&

[from the printed matter]

an excerpt from my short story "Breaking Up With Tina":

Whenever I hear recovery folks recite the slogan that their 'worst day sober is still better than [their] best day using, ' I can't help but feel my eyes rolling.  For that I have four words: They Needed Another Dealer.

Oh!  & H-e-ey Old-Schoolers, spot check how that paragraph comes to a Grinding Halt:

…And in the words of The Cure's vocalist, Robert Smith, the further I got from the things I care about, the less I cared about how much further away I got.

MMM-HMMM,

G E T ± YOURS

H E R E :: via ::  H E R E

&

peek at the back flap*

down…

H E R E.

*because double entendres are go; doncha know?

[from the printed matter, another]

an excerpt from V.A. Smith's epistle, "A Letter To Jim":

D'you know how some bloke waiting for the chemical gurus off Chalvey High Street tells me you kicked it?  This joker says, 'Old age, y'know how it is, love', like language can be used for anything.  And in my head I know that, no, I don't know how it is.  Would I be here, with these people, with you, in midnight queues to have my life spat in all its coagulated membrane and cellophane caul into my bare palm if I knew anything?

I had visions of one day handing this journal back to you.  Before you, I was just another mute, white-knuckling these rides every night while some world happened—bought its bleach and drank its coffee—far away from me.  I had no right to write what was going on in here, out there, no way of decoding these long waves back to The Battery.  And now, finally, Jim, fastening my pinned-out pupils back behind their shutters and sheltered from the September air (I can feel how constricted they are), I'm lost.  Sure, I know where I'm going, but I go there naked tonight with wide eyes that won't see a thing…

"Finally Get Away…"

from the "Rain Rain" massive remix project

curated by Vlad Stoian of  Warmer Climes —

Please allow me to introduce

Loredana

&

if you've been paying attention at all,

you already know I effing love §

also known as '§ilver §train'

image created by §ilver §train



Hence,

it's an honor for me to premiere

Loredana – Rain Rain (PO§E§ION Remix by §)

::  Click Arrow :: To Download ::



Full Project Release Date: November 30, 2010 at

http://warmer-climes.blogspot.com/2010/10/loredana-rain-rain-remixed-by-vlad.html

M O R E ± I N F O ± A V A I L A B L E

Beneath The Cut…



KEY REMIXERS/PROJECT:

Henning Fürst of The Tough Alliance, Young Galaxy, Nicolas Makelberge, Florene,

Elite Gymnastics, Pink Priest, Captain Ahab, Coma Cinema, Tears Run Rings, & UNISON



ABOUT:

"The best artists I know creating an inspirational galaxy of new sounds.

I hope you enjoy my idea as much as I do. It is a huge experiment, all for your pleasure—

no money or commercial interests involved…

All for the love of magic sounds."

— Vlad Stoian, music editor of Sunete (Sounds) magazine &

the Romanian Weekly, Dilema Veche (The Old Dilemma)

Drag. Drug. Drugged.

Hear It Here

:: first ::

"Ph4D3 70 9R3y"

by

N△TTYM△RI

:: Cue & Ey!ed* ::

(as in: "Ey," the exclamation used to attract attention…ya naw mean?)

E A V E S D R O P ± W I T H ± Y O U R ± E Y E S

[Clinty] So you do drag, huh?  That's cute: a straight dude who cross-dresses.  Very James Franco-for-Candy-Magazine.

[N△tty] I'm comfortable with the term drag because it was one of the earliest terms used to describe "Screw" music.

Oh, I've totally screwed to music.  "The Fudge Punch" by Wiseblood gives some serious soundtrack, if you know what I mean. Got any faves that rev you up for a sesh of runp-wranglin', ol' nasty Nattymaster?

I really consider my only influences the dub pioneers: Robert Earl Davis (DJ Screw), and probably The Early Sheffield (Cabaret Voltaire, The Future, etc.)  I've been a fan of Screw music since about 1998. Incidentally, I also listen to a lot of darker music; so of course when artists started blending the two I got very excited—especially since I'd been leaning in that direction already, [experimenting with drag remixes].

Now, hold on just a durn minute. Dark music?  You mean that Kiss-The-Goat kindly stuff them anhk-wearin' P.I.B.s listen to?

image source: his dark nostalgia

Geraldo Riviera did a special about that whole…"scene"…a bunch a years ago. Yeah, I know me a thing or two about "dark music."  Sure as shit, I do!

Basically, during the 90s, I toyed with the concept of being a working DJ. I was writing for the [L.A.] New Times and doing occasional dj gigs: mainly art openings and loft parties. These led to a short residence at The Parlour [club]. Back then—and still on my blog—I fuse[d] a number of sounds: disco, house, minimal synth, electro…all in the style of Ron Hardy and Larry Levan, who are still my mentors as a DJ [in addition to] the Cosmic DJs (Danielle Baladelli and Beppe Loda), who I didn't find out about [till] later. Oh—and as far as live DJs, I was really influenced by the Wicked crew out of San Francisco, and the Idjut Boys and Harvey.

[At any rate], this sound remains intact in my blog mixes. As a producer of tracks, I am really trying to do something more. I try not to get too high concept about it, but there's definitely a 'MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE' component to my music.

All-caps, huh?  O I C.  Hearkens back to the early 'Aughts when the phrase MASHUP was being spread around as insistent & insidious(ly) as a scabies outbreak from a strip-club's dressing room. Some remixes are just remixes, you know—but when they're really remixed, they get an extended title: complete with parentheses and clever little phrases signified by caps-lock. The most srs of  bsns, maing.

:: experience . the inspiration :: via international download lovin', provided by Electrocasts ♡ ::

Never mind my obnoxious enthusiasm over A + D (ditto, their rump-shakin', world obliteratin', full-on overtakin'-the-gayme endeavor: Club Bootie), Girl Talk, & D.J. Raw-burt; matter of fact, consider this a rare instance in which I acknowledge—

[interrupts] I pretty much despire the term or concept of mash-up.

Oh, c'mon Natty! Sure, the term remains so frickin' mashed to this day that more often than not, it's denied a hyphen.  But insofar as the act thereof?  When it's done well, it's not just brilliant; shit's incandescent. Proof/pudding: Hawkins' xXx.

DJs have been blending and fusing styles from day one. The [categories] "disco" or "house," for example, were really blanket terms used to describe the music played in clubs.

Or not played.  Someone much witter than I am described Witch House as "the genre for people who don't leave theirs."  Unfortunately, I'm not even sharp enough to recall whom it was, nor where I read it.  All the same—

Ron Hardy played a fusion of really gay disco, italo disco and new wave/synth…and later included minimal beat tracks created by his friends and club-goers.

'Really gay'?  How do people respond to that?  I mean, 'some of my best friends are' queers & flamboya feministing fagocytronics & everything—but HAPPY?!  That's a 'lifestyle choice' I'm just not sure I can accept…

Well, I've been receiving really encouraging emails all along from artists. Gyratory System and Yellow Ostrich had contacted me about the 'post production' I did over their tracks, but my main introduction to the drag community actually was by way of a disagreement I had with GuMMy†Be▲R!

(.GIF created by "Freeny")

LIES!  I thought you guys were partners in draggification?  O.K.—you are, obviously; nonetheless, once upon a slime… [Tell Me Everything!]

I had slowed-up Panda Bear's "Slow Motion" for a mix, and I felt he had stolen that sound for his own remix. The sound was too similar, and there were certain degrees of separation that made me feel uncomfortable.

During a lengthy email battle, the two of us decided it would be better to work it out in a mix: old school hip-hop style.  In collaborating, we found out we really shared a lot of common goals musically, and that mix became "Witch Made Knicca."

:: download :: & :: low-down, available at one of my blogospherical faves: Not For Resale ::

You can still hear the jabs in the mix, even though we ended up friends because of it.

Which—& note: I'm resisting the urge to rock any homofication via homophones or homonymmin'—wasn't very long ago!

Super recent.

As I thought, As I thought…Matter of fact, I can't recall a time in which you weren't associated with Herr Gummy Himselfness.

I'm a nOOb when it comes to trying to put my stuff out there. A self- professed recluse.

Hold up!  A bit of retraction action needed on my end.  Matter of fact, I can—& I do—recall my introduction to you/your dragonometry.  On the techs, I suppose it'd be GummyBear-adjacent: though when the link-of-whatever-link linked me there, the first of your work I heard was a remix of Adam Glambert's "If I Had You". Didn't I pretty much go fan-girl ape-shit & comment bomb you from here to infinity? Yeah, yeah—it was something like that…

I really didn't even expect or desire any attention [from the music I create]. I know that sounds like false modesty, but it's true.

Aww, truth is over-rated, anyway.  Don't even get me started on the notion of "truth" the general public is fed these days with manufactured 'reality T.V.' & bogus best-selling memoirs by heinous author/publisher/publicist/management grift-o-matic representation machines; it's infinitely more interesting to chalk everything up as artifice & revel in the honesty of emotion that often results from hyperbole. Then again, I need to clap my trap & pass the proverbial floor back to you.  So!  Nattymari. What attracted you to Adam Lambert?  The inherent ability to be on-point in terms of which leather fineries he chooses to drape himself for an evening, the overt drug references that he manages to weasel into our conservative country's Top 40?

I initially choose songs because I hear something in them that can be extracted via WAV manipulation.

[Dramatic caesura in response]

If I were to deny a 'cheeky' aspect to my use of pop, I'd be lying – but honestly the over-processed production in modern pop and R & B really lends itself to this sort of thing.

Once you play with pitches you tend to breakdown the over-saturation of pitch correction—which often leads to some deliciously demonic results.  The odd thing is that the trick has been turned, because by working on this stuff and living without so much, I've developed an appreciation for it.

Yet still, in terms of emotional gravitas: of how that pendulum oft referred to as 'the human condition' tends to sway with its Aww, Now-I-Wish-I-Would've-Ordered-The-Peanut-Butter-&-Banana-Sandwich fickle tendencies.  It's cute that you've made your mark with a little bit of this & a little bit of that, but what you really want is…?

If I were to put myself in big shoes, I'd like to be the W.S. Burroughs of this scene.

[Envision coaxing gesture of "&...and..."]

And as a grumpyish older person who saw it long before it came, it makes me happy to see it come to pass.

Well, Smell You, Nancy Drew!  Already predicting the grand demise of everything that rises, hmm? Then again, I suppose it's the one thing of which we can all be certain: [We]. Will. Definitely. Die.

However, before that time?

I guess you can just say that GuMMy†Be▲R! and I are working on a split cassette, which should see a physical release by the beginning of next year.

Ah, but first: Not just one, but a second

N△TTYM△RI

:: exclusive/premiere! ::

Selena Gomez sans 'The Scene'

a lá

NattyTubester's

"5C3N3 QU33N"…

E N J O Y ± I T !

La Main Gauche

The soundtrack to this shadow-cloaked shard of aesthetic brilliance appears on ℑ⊇≥◊≤⊆ℜ

(of Mater Suspiria Vision)'s Zombie Rave Mix-Tape: Special Friday the 13th Edition

for Мишка >>> referenced H E R E, with free download available <<<

However, I've remained so entranced by the video for "La Main Gauche"—as well as

the mu§ic-makers, about whom scarce information is—I feel it imperative to share

T H E . L E F T . H A N D

which

dazzles with shadow-spun mythological references, dopplegangery, trianglecore images primed for endless tumblr•re•appropriation, histrionic body language & wickedbitchen cathedral slinking-in-a-crawl/crawling-as-a-dance dreamstate sequences, an obfuscated mingling of the sacred/the profane.&.the arcane, mesmerizing esoterica, symbols & symbology nursed on preternatural mystery & the occult,

sex-driven serpent-fisted circular-spotlit nonchalant stares, venomous glares interspersed with curious 'blowing' gestures, question marks raised like [Lady] Lazarus (just "on the

mark" enough to entice one to immediately hit 'play' again, then

again, & again—then, even…)
when



all the while, visuals charged with emotional explosives continue swirling into wide-eyed consciousness, raising & rising, arising from a forecast of  otherwise placid internet ethers/the collective 'blue screen life' in which this clip exists is a hook too tempting not to get hooked on

(& on that hook, one's heart):

an infectious beat hammering

:: §ilverstrain Profile (MySpace) ::

— § —

— § —

Please: consider this post an invitation for commentary

regarding this project (& applicable creative outpourings)—

of which my appetite remains unsated…

Stirring The Cauldron Of Commerce: More Stitch-Witchery

:: Part 2 of 2 ::

(part 1 available HERE)

To commence,

for the ladies—a dose of crosses & mayhem:

Crucify by Audrey Kitching's Tokyolux

†‡†‡†

a two-fingered owl skull ring by Blood Milk,

who craft some of the most correct accessories I've ever seen

†‡†‡†

However, now? One for me…

I friggin' love this print—though I need it on a black hoody, kplzthnx

We Lived Our Lives In Black by China Le, blogmistress of With Asian Stereotypes

†‡†‡†

Moving right along, as promised…

::  for the gents  ::

Crooked Crosses for the Nodding God

t-shirt by Obesity & Speed

†‡†‡†

from Ryan Noon's Autumn/Winter 2010 collection

'My Tribe':

Abstract Tee with

tiger teeth, legs, feathers & blue triangle print

'Slit' Tee with

shark tooth print

&

the Electric Shaman

†‡†‡†

from Actual Pain

Mystery Faith Crew Neck Sweater

&

Conjuration Sweater

†‡†‡†

Ashton Michael's Capelet with Hood

†‡†‡†

SkinGraft Designs : Black Leather Face Mask

†‡†‡†

Ombre Batwing Pants by Gods Prey

†‡†‡†

Silver Shark Jaw Necklace by Triskaidekaphobia

†‡†‡†

:: up . next ::

an objet d'art (seven of them, actually) ranking high on my list of

⟣ Severely.&.Sincerely.Coveted ⟢

the unisexy, multi-purpose Pins of the Seven Sacred Planets

by Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons

Oxidized Silver Cottonmouth Bolo Scarf,

&

a curious find: the hand-crafted "Horned Owl" Old Soul Pin,

for which 10K solid rose gold—with black diamond eyes—is an option.

†‡†‡†

from LAS : Sabertooth on Knotted Chains

†‡†‡†

In closing, the final retail charms

include

:: trinkets for the phalanges ::

Pamela Love's Double Talon Ring

&

the Oxidized Silver Spine Ring

by Shaun Leane—

a name recognized by many a darkheart

for his collaborative work with Alexander McQueen.

Spectres Among Us

Subliminal Stimuli, Lurking Beneath Conscious Perception

Can You See/Do You See/Do You Know

What Is It?



"We don't see things as they are [;] We see them as we are."

- Anais Nin



:: source of visual stimuli : Ariel Rebel's Haunted Grafenberg Spot : on tumblr ::

Goth's Mutant Offspring: Witch House/Ghost Drone/Zombie Rave/Drag

Deep bass

&

digital runes

:: A Spell Has Been Cast ::

&

It's one of chaos: there's prattle over terminology in the insular world of 'outsider music,' &

I can't help but be amused.  Y'see, the English language has these things called "labels,"

& the reaction people have to them reinforces the power of nomenclature.  Give it a try sometime:

arrange a few consonants & vowels, toss 'em around, see what kind of response you get.

Fetch, baby…It's Fetch.

But what if the words aren't words but r...