Time does fly when you shouldn't be busy at all, doesn't it? I'll try to upload this blog more often in the future. In the meantime, please gasp at the beauty and merriment that was PAINTBOX from Japan. Seriously, nothing should work in this particular assemblage of different music styles and yet, they make it their own. I've been on a PAINTBOX binge recently and I wish someone'd reissue those records in Europe as the Prank re-releases are already quite expensive these days. If anyone hears me in this bottomless void?

Another soundtrack that is begging for a re-release! Not my description but I feel like quoting this anonymous entry in full as it is pretty spot on:
"Here's a striking weird yet incredibly amazing work defying categorisation with psychedelic demented electro breaks / FX studio layered spooky effects / slightly funky moves / bizarre cosmic sounds / deep hypnotic creepy beats / weird analogue electronics / abstract piano, strings, organ & flute passages and quirky sinister motifs by the Italian mastermind of electronics Gianluigi Pezzera, the producer behind the "Frrrrrigidaire" Italian prog Lp. A miraculous and balanced mixing creating eerie organ soundscapes backed by spooky choral voices on ALLUCISERGICO, freaky and dark electronics synths on AGORAPHOBIA, mellow moog passages on BAILAMME, the hallucinated abstract martial beats of METAMARCIA, the gentle cosmic moves of FANTACOPULA, the FX'd echoed percussive and delirious LA GRANDE BOCCA. This electronic madness was the soundtrack for the first (and I'd say bizarre as well) movie by Antonio D'Agostino called "La cerimonia dei sensi", which had "Out off" as working title, starring the famous Italian hermaphrodite Eva Robin's, basically a story (or a story dreamed in a coma) of a prophet who comes back to the world in order to live Christ's life again facing all the differences occurred on the political and social Italian scene (!!) during the bloody dramatic 70s."

I feel so ashamed for not posting here more often that here are a few random good things I've stumbled upon recently, which ought to be of interest to some of you.

Hailing from Cleveland, Fashion Pimps And The Glamazons must have the coolest name around. They play some kind of atonal synth driven 'angular punk' kind of a cross between The Screamers and Servotron. As someone commented, this band definitely has the early 2000s thing down par.

Speaking of the 2000s, I came quite late on the Horse The Band-wagon, quite unexpectedly at Ierperfest (2015?) on the last leg of their neverending tours. They were all drunk and had someone dressed as an 80s tennis instructor playing triangle on stage. 'Nintendo-core' is the musical genre that they were coined with but I think it does not do justice to their songs which are quite good and diverse, albeit sometimes too drenched in irony for me. I thought this band was dead and, lo and behold, here's a new EP that popped up out of nowhere and which does not even appear on their official bandcamp.

My old friend Malek quoted this as Album of the year, so it probably is, right? Haven't had time to fully listen to it yet but their brand of hi-octane street punk is something I always enjoy, when done right.

Some ex-Funerot members playing traditional metal? Sign me up immediately! Love this.

These cats were cool before but this new song off of their upcoming II: The True Sequel album is beyond dope. Best rap instumental I've heard in a looooong time! Make sure you head over to their bandcamp and buy all their stuff. Pure gold.
https://pen-pals.bandcamp.com/

I have absolutely nothing to say about current world affairs except this : this is the dopest music video I've watched all year.

March is already rolling on and the endless loop in which our collective sorry asses are stuck irrevocably gains hold. Will we ever get out of this mess? Only time will tell. And time, needless to say, feels quite frozen right now. This comeback song by GENGHIS TRON is a perfect soundtrack for today's sun-daze.
I'll confess to not knowing much about this band beforehand, as they got their fame when I was pretty much out of everything. So I'm new to this and I love what they're doing. Lots of things going on in this song and yet I feel like I'm floating in a stasis whenever I listen to it (which is a lot). A throwback to 2002-era QOTSA maybe, with some LOOP (the band) thrown in, hints of '95 VOIVOD possibly, and the most effective drumming I've heard in a long time... Lovely.

The new MEFITIS album is mindblowingly phenomenal. Listening to this no one could tell we're in 2021. Truly a worthy heir to 1993-era SENTENCED, a time when everything kind of peaked/climaxed and nothing would be the same after...

Only one episode in and I can already tell this is the best TV show about *actual human beings* I've  seen since High Maintenance. How To With John Wilson is an HBO series of fake documentaries (or should I say, video tutorials) about random subjects, simple things like "How to make small talk", that slowly turn into a surprisingly profound meditation on life in New York City and/or modern depression while grabbing you by the throat at the same time. Very subtle and clever with haunting visuals. Brilliant stuff!

Damn, this is the best idea ever and I wish I'd heard about it sooner!
Trapped Nerve is doing an open one-page 'zine swap where everyone can contribute by making and sending their own mini one pagers. In return, every participant will get all the mini zines as one single issue, printed on paper. As Trapped Nerve is based in the UK, 'zine makers from other countries will only be asked for postage money. Lots of people are sending their contributions, judging from their latest Instagram post: "The one page zine swap is throwing up some awesome pages and creativity. Very rad to see people getting involved and having fun making stuff. From cut & paste RPG stuff to interviews with new bands, to fiction through hardcore trivia to personal reflections on life during lockdown. At this point shows might be off the table but Hardcore punk continues to thrive in revenant forms despite the fucked up mess we find ourselves in. Sharing info and stories through the mail was/is some magical shit. It's the foundation of this thing that still matters to many of us. Get involved."

How incredibly awesome is that?
Deadline is TODAY (Jan. 31, 2021) so there is still time...