Comic-Con 2007

I managed to get a little vacation from Sudan for a while, and travelled over to San Diego for Comic-Con. I figured I'd treat my loyal readers to some cell-phone snapshots of my adventures!

From the top:

1. The obligatory obese "Comic Book Guy". He was indeed puffing away on a cigarette as I snapped this shot.

2. There's me and a Spartan, both showing off our ripped abs.

3. Me & the only Asian chick at Comic-Con who DIDN'T look like she was 15 years old. I was apprehensive about asking all those Sailor Moon jap chicks for a photo; the last thing clandestine666 needs is "Solicitation of a Minor with Lewd Intent" on his record!

4.This Viking broad TOTALLY wanted me.

5. Me and a cute li'l Bettie Page bikini chick. Nice girl.

6. Me and a bloodsoaked zombie chick. I got a very disturbing boner standing next to her in this shot.

Here's a little supplemental reading:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28254

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30564

The Hong Kong- Rock The Faces

Damn, another band that totally should have been the next big thing, yet somehow wasn't. Picture Deborah Harry fronting The Cars, add a dash of The Sounds and The Strokes, and you get The Hong Kong. These guys had an amazing sound and unbelievable songwriting ability, yet somehow were still lost, probably due to the RIAA's self-immolating efforts to redefine itself in the wake of file-sharing and plummeting record sales.

Your dream life is such a bore:

http://www.zshare.net/download/2797424fb2172f/

Electrostatic

Electrostatic...a band that, by all rights, should've been the "next big thing". Slick production, a seemingly intuitive mastery over every manner of computer-produced sound, and an amazing Japanese singer who could out-Manson Shirley Manson with both ankles tied behind her back. Although it's not the "Awake Alone" album proper, this .rar file does contain most of the tracks from said album. Every track is outstanding, so it's difficult to recommend favorites, but check out "Replica", "Eliminate Me", and "Sand".

My ties with this band go a bit deeper than mere musical appreciation. Two of the founding members were from my original hometown of Portland, ME, and moved out to L.A. to further their music careers. While Electrostatic sadly did not go anywhere, I have no doubt that those guys are making a decent living somewhere in the film industry.

If only you could see what I've seen through YOUR eyes:

http://www.zshare.net/download/2707893a47e46f/

deathgirl.com

Arising from the ashes of darkwave staple Caelum Bliss, Detroit's deathgirl.com were one of the most accessible bands of the post-Garbage girl-band revolution. While essentially a four-piece rock & roll outfit, they peppered their recordings with plenty of crazy, NIN-inspired electronic noises. Songs like "Shake Me Down", "Daddy", and the amazing "Lucky Star" cover show the potential of this band-- there are more hooks on this one album than in Gwen Stephanie's entire discography! This is quite possibly the greatest album you'll ever hear. Download at your own risk.

As an aside, I encourage all women to follow the red-streaked hair example that lead singer Melissa Emily posits. Such a flamboyant, attention-seeking act sends forth the message that you are desperate for any sort of approval. And believe you me, I'll be right there to buy you a drink, baby.

Feels so real now, cut and feel now:

http://www.zshare.net/download/270755454615f7/

Re-Up: Picking Up Girls Made Easy!

Here it is again on zShare for my Mac-using friends. I won't go into detail as to the irony that this humble Windows user is accommodating a Mac user. C'mon, you Mac users are all young, attractive, resourceful hipsters, right? Have the Apple commercials been lying to me? If you'll excuse me, this Windows user needs to go starch his collar and prepare the cover sheets for those TPS Reports.

http://www.zshare.net/download/270670630c5755/

The Southern Death Cult

A very weird album I found from the early incarnation of Astbury/Duffy-era Cult, The Southern Death Cult. As even the liner notes declare, "Southern Death Cult disbanded before their first album...", which left this collection of demos. While it can't be rightfully classified as anything more than post-Joy Division goth-rock, it does support a fossil record of The Cult's gradual ascention from lesser Goth-Rockers to their climax as one of the greatest of all Bob Rock-produced hair metal bands (the fantastic Sonic Temple album).

One can excuse Astbury & Duffy's collaboration with former Doors' keyboardist Ray Manzarek a few years back for the ill-conceived "Doors of the 21st Century". After all, Astbury & Duffy collaborated on their first project a scant seven years after The Doors officially disbanded. In modern terms, it would be like you or I being asked by Tom Araya or Paul Bailoff to join him in his next project.

http://www.zshare.net/download/2683224e352b21/

Girlschool- Play Dirty

Hola, bros! Sorry I haven't rapped at ya in a while, but C-Dog-666 has been keeping the home fires burning, so to speak. I finally moved out of my loser "room-over-the-garage" pad into a sweet, dumpy Bukowski/Lebowski one-bedroom apartment. The peace & privacy is, expectably, delectable. Whether I want to spend an evening quietly reading Dostoyevsky, or noisily banging my Filipina secretary, I can do so without fear of reprisal or annoyance. Sweet.

But, back to business. Here's a rip of the "Play Dirty" album from the band Girlschool. Girlschool were actually a fairly prominent NWOBHM band, spending their early years duking it out riff-for-riff with such testicular contemporaries as Iron Maiden and Angelwitch. Unfortunately, they were apparently unable to maintain the energy of such early tracks as "Demolition Boys", and eventually fell by the wayside with Vixen, The Runaways, and every other girl-metal group since 1980.

This album is largely forgettable, but it does have a stellar, sax-heavy cover of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy". Believe it or not, this version actually maintains the crushing sloppiness of the original. For everyone who has had wet dreams of Joan Jett covering this song, this should be a welcomed substitute:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IDSBO7JK