S.R. Hughes's Blog: The Froth-Mouthed Ravings of a True Lunatic, page 23
November 27, 2014
Lauren O’Connell, Demos Vol. 1. (Review)
Lauren O’Connell is a fantastic folk and country artist with tremendous musical flexibility. If you haven’t checked her out on YouTube or Bandcamp, you should do yourself a favor and give a little listen.
Demos Vol. 1 is…well, it’s exactly what it’s called. These are demos, most of them prety lo-fi and straight-up, and that’s something I actually really appreciate in these genres. If I wanted to listen to highly-produced jam sessions, I probably wouldn’t be listening to a largely acoustic album. If that’s a sticking point for you, maybe try one of her other albums (Quitters and Covers are the only ones I can rightly vouch for).
Getting over that hump, however, this album is wonderful. Most of the tracks are l0w-key instrumentation with a heavy focus on lyricism and vocal work, but that’s not to say instrumentation isn’t important and/or doesn’t serve as a tremendous underscore to these powerful songs. For instance, the lower key instrumentation of “I Would Rather Be Gone” does a great job of filling the song, without detracting from the power of the lyrics and the voice singing them. That song, by the way, is what initially attracted me to the album — after some recent upheavals in my life, I just couldn’t stop listening to it. It’s a very honest, authentic piece of work.
The rest of the album turns out to be just as good. Whether it’s cover work, such as her covers of Neko Case (“Deep Red Bells“) or Neutral Milk Hotel (“Oh Comely“), or her originals (“Bystander” or “I Would Rather Be Gone,” for instance), Lauren O’Connell always comes out sounding real and honest, with an excellent voice for folk and a great command of her audience. I loved the album.
You can purchase Demos Vol. 1 here, for the low price of only $10 USD (or more!).
The post Lauren O’Connell, Demos Vol. 1. (Review) appeared first on Spencer Rhys Hughes.
November 21, 2014
Review: When Paris Went Dark, by Ronald C. Rosbottom
Facts never tell the entire story. A list of dates, times, characters, and events may lead to some detached kind of awareness, but it falls short of capturing real “truth.” This book, however, details in great depth the daily lives of both Occupier and Occupied. Here, the dry and meaningless facts are joined by memoir, essay, poetry, biography…an in-depth look at the human beings who lived on either side of the conflict. Historical caricature is dismantled to reveal honest humanity, authentic suffering, doubt and anxiety, a full-bodied portrait of people caught in a tense, difficult time.
The presentation is wonderful, the facts spliced perfectly with the human narrative, bringing to light new considerations and perspectives on history. The book is informative and expansive, giving context and meaning to facts that otherwise may seem detached from genuine human experience. It shows the world that was as rich, dubious, and complicated as the world we currently inhabit. It brings in the innumerable shades of gray so often ignored when discussing these trying situations. Several times I was brought to tears by the overwhelming weight of the choices people had to make, and make daily, in those dark days. Facts are easy to swallow and judgments are easy to make from our perspective, now, but this book does an excellent job of reminding you that the facts are only part of the story and that judgments are easy to make when you’re not the one who had to do something.
I picked up this book, at first, to do research for a project I’m working on. I opened the book hoping to get a general idea of the mood of the time, to pick up a few choice details to enhance the realism of my project, and to search for any themes that ran through the reality of the time. Now that I’ve put it down, my perspective on it is very different. I have been crushed and inspired, destroyed and repaired, I have been brought face to face with the humanity of a terrifying and complicated time, and in it I found something closer to the truth of what happened than I’ve ever found, before.
I highly recommend this book to anyone curious about the occupation.
The post Review: When Paris Went Dark, by Ronald C. Rosbottom appeared first on Spencer Rhys Hughes.
When Paris Went Dark, by Ronald C. Rosbottom
Facts never tell the entire story. A list of dates, times, characters, and events may lead to some detached kind of awareness, but it falls short of capturing real “truth.” This book, however, details in great depth the daily lives of both Occupier and Occupied. Here, the dry and meaningless facts are joined by memoir, essay, poetry, biography…an in-depth look at the human beings who lived on either side of the conflict. Historical caricature is dismantled to reveal honest humanity, authentic suffering, doubt and anxiety, a full-bodied portrait of people caught in a tense, difficult time.
The presentation is wonderful, the facts spliced perfectly with the human narrative, bringing to light new considerations and perspectives on history. The book is informative and expansive, giving context and meaning to facts that otherwise may seem detached from genuine human experience. It shows the world that was as rich, dubious, and complicated as the world we currently inhabit. It brings in the innumerable shades of gray so often ignored when discussing these trying situations. Several times I was brought to tears by the overwhelming weight of the choices people had to make, and make daily, in those dark days. Facts are easy to swallow and judgments are easy to make from our perspective, now, but this book does an excellent job of reminding you that the facts are only part of the story and that judgments are easy to make when you’re not the one who had to do something.
I picked up this book, at first, to do research for a project I’m working on. I opened the book hoping to get a general idea of the mood of the time, to pick up a few choice details to enhance the realism of my project, and to search for any themes that ran through the reality of the time. Now that I’ve put it down, my perspective on it is very different. I have been crushed and inspired, destroyed and repaired, I have been brought face to face with the humanity of a terrifying and complicated time, and in it I found something closer to the truth of what happened than I’ve ever found, before.
I highly recommend this book to anyone curious about the occupation.
The post When Paris Went Dark, by Ronald C. Rosbottom appeared first on Spencer Rhys Hughes.
November 17, 2014
Review: Modern Man, EP by LEGS OCCULT.
The whole album is sick and vibrant with exactly the kind of authenticity we need right now. The lyrics and music contain an artistic honesty arranged with meticulous care, and the listening experience showcases amazing, if under-recognized, talent.
The rock’n’roll intensity of the title track, Modern Man, is thrumming with energy, sex, doubt, need, and pain, is the sort of song that people could write essays about. I know because I almost did (actually, I did, but you’ll never read it). With lyrics that simultaneously evoke unbridled sensuality and painful nihilism, and a maddening guitar part both simple and driving, it is a song in both mourning and celebration of a flawed, troubled existence. It is a hell of an anthem, a gritty fist-pumper for the neo-punk set.
The second track, Love’s Dark Sisters, is a sparse, emotional track supported by the beautiful but attenuated vocals of Allie Sheldan, who does a phenomenal job of selling a song underscored by remorse and anguish. The song doesn’t need decoration. Stark poetic descriptions and simple line construction serve to create an emotionally rich piece of music, accented perfectly by austere instrumentals that ebb and flow like waves from a midnight ocean. Here is someone who can sing some blues, and the jarring vocals and stabbing lyrics make sure you know it.
The final track, Supernatural, is probably best described by the words “unbelievably” and “sexy.” Twisting, chunky riffs wrap around coiled vocals, giving the song a sleek, sensual dynamic that kicks in at the beginning and doesn’t let up. Again, bluesy vocals are well-supported by excellent guitar work to create a dark, sublime experience. Perfect dirty day dream music.
LEGS OCCULT does you the added favor of letting you pick how much money to give them (as little as $3 Canadian, you cheap ne’er-do-wells) in exchange for these gorgeous tracks, so I highly recommend taking the time (and the cost of a artisanal coffee) to make the purchase.
The post Review: Modern Man, EP by LEGS OCCULT. appeared first on Spencer Rhys Hughes.
Modern Man, EP by LEGS OCCULT.
The whole album is sick and vibrant with exactly the kind of authenticity we need right now. The lyrics and music contain an artistic honesty arranged with meticulous care, and the experience showcases amazing talent.
The rock’n’roll intensity of the title track, thrumming with energy, sex, doubt, need, and pain, is the sort of song that people could write essays about. I know because I almost did (actually, I did, but you’ll never read it). With lyrics that simultaneously evoke sensuality and painful nihilism and a maddening guitar part both simple and driving, it is a song of both mourning and celebration of a flawed, troubled existence. It is a hell of an anthem.
The second track, Love’s Dark Sisters, is a sparse, emotional track supported by the beautiful but attenuated vocals of Allie Sheldan, who does a phenomenal job of selling the song. The song doesn’t need decoration. Stark poetic descriptions and simple line construction serve to create an emotionally rich piece of music. Here is someone who can sing some blues, and the jarring vocals and stabbing lyrics make sure you know it.
The final track, Supernatural, is probably best described by the words “unbelievably” and “sexy.” Twisting chunky riffs around coiled vocals, the song has a sleek, sensual dynamic that kicks in at the beginning and doesn’t let up. Again, bluesy vocals are well-supported by excellent guitar work to create a dark, sublime experience. Perfect dirty day dream music.
LEGS OCCULT does you the added favor of letting you pick how much money to give them (as little as $3 you cheap ne’er-do-wells) in exchange for these gorgeous tracks, so I highly recommend taking the time (and the cost of a coffee) to make the purchase.
The post Modern Man, EP by LEGS OCCULT. appeared first on Spencer Rhys Hughes.
November 12, 2014
Note about Sneak Peeks
Just to inform everyone:
Any sneak peeks posted on the site are not final drafts and represent works still in progress. The finals will, ostensibly, look different and be better.
Enjoy!
Flash Fiction #8
A Cyclopean creature erupted from the heart of Times Square, today, its writhing tentacles tearing through subway tunnels and its hulking body demolishing two blocks of Broadway and 7th Avenue as it rose from its vigintillion year slumber with a city-shaking groan (many originally mistook it for a large earthquake, but this isn’t LA so that rumor was quickly dispelled). Emerging from its aeon-long sleep, it used a clawed and wicked appendage to tear a corner Starbucks from the foundations of a flagship retail store, gulping down gallons of coffee and consumer alike as it wholly devoured the structure. Its thirst for caffeine thus sated, it beat its leathery wings to rise from its antediluvian bed chamber and came to a crushing landing outside the TKTS booth. In a voice that seared the minds of all in its presence, driving several to gibbering madness, it demanded to know what foolish creatures had deigned to build the bustling metropolis over what was once its one-bedroom apartment, a living space that had been rent controlled since before time, itself. It bellowed in a million tongues, in languages old and new, in words long dead and just born, that it would not be evicted from its home without the proper due diligence, and that it would remain poised in furious repose in the city center until the housing courts saw fit to grant it a trial.
At the time of this article’s writing, the madhouses are full, Bellevue is at capacity, and everyone is late to work. Still, the mind-rending creature waits, and still, there is no response. After all, in the face of such a god-like being, who has the courage to ask for the landlord? Who serves as the landlord to the creatures borne of the vast interstices of the cosmos? What rent demands to be paid, and what currency is it paid in?
Staring up at what would be a starry sky if not for the smog and pollution of this urban metropolis, I, for one, am afraid to find out.
November 10, 2014
spinsterprivilege:
noirnites:
Macabre statues to keep me...
Macabre statues to keep me company outside my new office.
Congratulations on the job. I didn’t know Hell was even hiring.
If I’m ever rich or if I ever become a knight in Satan’s service this is how I will decorate the hedge maze sprawling across my estate
refixable:
how much weight can i lose by running away from my problems
How closely do your...
how much weight can i lose by running away from my problems
How closely do your...
November 9, 2014
barbotrobot:
The OVEN: Dust You AreStaged Reading
The...
The OVEN: Dust You Are
Staged Reading
The Brick
November 24, 2014
Written by Matt Barbot
Directed by Kelly Johnston
Tickets: $5
Bone, the first woman, has broken the Garden’s only rule with a single delicious bite. Scared and alone and on a mission to find her husband, she is taken in by a mysterious creature named Lil, who has her own ideas about Bone’s new-found knowledge and power.
1 hour, 20 minutes
Monday, November 24th 8pm
I’ll be there.
