Internet post-punk

Nothing left but Faith

2011-10-30T09:46:00.003Z

A friend of mine died earlier this year. I could not write about it for some time. He died of natural death and lived a good and very long life. There are few men in life, beside one´s father, who teach you about life. I met two in my life, both dead now. One a protestant priest who stood up against many church officials when he openly met with homosexual communities and stood for their rights. I remember back when he was already heavily suffering from cancer, he would still pretend to hit us young kids, saying "I can still fight you!". And yes, he would often preach about how you can fight anyone, even God, if need be (you can find this in the Bible if you want to. I have not opened the book for a long time, so I can´t tell you where exactly this is pagewise, but it is the story of Jacob, I believe).
The friend was a very rare kind as well. May my actions honor their memories.

Fancy stuff

2011-03-07T21:17:00.001Z

I am reading Lost Girls by Alan Moore.

Three girls, named Alice, Wendy and Dorothy share stories about their sexual experiences. The names are not random and the analogy is obvious. However, this is not pornography as such, since the book is rather thoughtful.

Isn´t it strange how up to now, we, as a society have problems in discussing sexuality without being accused of pornography or using neutral language. Hypocrisy and false morals above us...

Should you absolutely need to know, I was fabulously drunk on my first time and did not really care. The early childhood experiences? I am not going there. You?

Oh, by the way, the book is absolutely worth reading!

Scared As You

2011-03-07T21:03:00.003Z

I can never get enough of this song....

you know those things i said
all those things that made you cry
i didn't really mean that stuff
i didn't really mean that stuff
all i ever really mean
when i scream and shout the way i do
is i don't know
i really don't
i'm just the same as you

you know those things i said
all those things that made you
run away from me
i didn't mean a word
i didn't really mean i don't believe
all i ever really mean
when i rant and rave the way i do
is i'm scared
i'm scared
i'm just as scared as you

and sometimes it's so hard
not to just throw it all away
sometimes it's so hard
not to just throw it all away
like all those things i said
all those things that made you cry
i didn't really mean that stuff
i didn't really mean to say goodbye

you know those things i said
all those things that made you
run away from me
i didn't mean a word
i didn't really mean i don't believe
all i ever really mean
when i scream and shout the way i do
is i'm scared
i'm scared
i'm just as scared as you

Essential Post-punk: Novelty by Joy Division

2010-03-25T18:13:00.000Z

One of Joy Division's more punk rooted songs. Fantastic bass, mesmerizing mix and provoking lyrics.

When people listen to you don't you know it means a lot,
'Cos you've got to work so hard for everything you've got.
Can't rest on your laurels now,
Not when you've got none.
You'll find yourself in a gutter,
Right back where you came from.

Someone told me being in the know is the main thing.
We all need the security that belonging brings.
Can't stand on your own in these times,
Against all the odds,
You all just fall behind like all the other sods.

You slap our backs and pretend you knew about,
All the things that we were gonna do.
What ya gonna do, what ya gonna do,
When it's over?
You're on your own now,
Don't you think that's a shame?
But you're the only one responsible to take the blame.
So what ya gonna do when the novelty has gone?
Yeah, what ya gonna do when the novelty has gone?

You slap our backs,
And pretend you knew about,
All the things we were gonna do.
What ya gonna do, what ya gonna do
When its over?

So what´s your excuse?

2010-03-25T17:28:00.002Z

Life can be tough. Having said that, most of us probably don' t have a clue just how tough. But through struggles, through coping and standing up miracles can be born. So anytime you are down, remember this guy and follow his example. If you really want to do something, don' t stop digging until you find a way!

You are number one...

2010-02-21T21:38:00.000Z

...in helping other people.

Always remember this. Always be self-confident and possess or hone your skills so that you will achieve mastery in whatever you choose to do. But never forget the goal: You are the most important person, number one, in helping other people.

Get free RPGs and help Haiti

2010-01-27T21:38:00.000Z

There is a great initiative going on. In short - if you donate 20 bucks to Doctors Without Borders, you get to download USD 1000 worth of paper RPGs.

Initially I was a little suspicious of whether its not some sort of scam. It is not, 3 business days after sending the money, I got 200 download links as was promised on DriveThruRPG Website.

Check more about the deal and the list of titles you´ll get get if you help here

A dream to love

2010-01-27T07:17:00.002Z

Vivid dreams again tonight. I'll skip the one in which you got sick along the one in which I partook in a battle with a group of superheroes. It was the last dream I want to write about. You were on a train to Vienna, in a coupe with a seat of mysterious gentlemen, seemingly of considerable wealth. No introductions were made but I understood they were truck drivers, except for one man, who seemed to be a golf club owner. I understood it was some kind of secret society and this was your entrance test. They pointed out to some texts you translated and to what mistakes you had made. All those terms were, strangley enough, related to truck driving. They were constantly becoming more and more aggressive and at one point you eventually broke in tears. "Stop it already!" I cried out. "What point are you trying to make? You all are here because you love driving trucks. This girl here has a passion of her own and she came to you true of heart and humble. I have loved her for years now and I know ...

What do I know? Hard to say. I woke up just then. Weird dream, huh?

Child abuse and neglect and how to face them

2010-01-26T22:06:00.002Z

I wish I knew. Our neighbours have 3 kids (4 actually, but the oldest is not living with them anymore). She is home with the kids and he is unemployed. They both have no education and he already did some time in jail. They don´t treat their kids nicely. Not at all. It´s just right within that slightly tolerable line before which you have to pick up the phone and call the cops. Somebody did today, after they had an argument and probably harmed each other. Cops and emergency came in. I don´t care about these two at all, but I do care for the kids. They are still too young to be guilty of anything and they don´t deserve any of this. It´d be great if there was anyone to turn to in this joke of a country. But tonight´s news showed a small girl, living with her grandpa, who is homeless and bound to go to jail in 14 days... The authorities, despite all that, are not taking the kid away from the man: something is absolutely wrong. What will become of these children? This is not a rhetorical question. You want a better world? Then start with supporting parents and families, start with creating healthy environment where loving care is not punished by laughable income. Unless you want to turn the world into a place where only 2 kinds of parents exist. Those not educated at all and poor, whose children will regularly get beaten, will be brought up on hate and will learn how to hate and hurt, since that is all they can learn. On the other hand, the rich and the so called successful, having one million babysitters looking after their kids, when all these children desire is to be with mommy and daddy. You want to call me names? Say I am a socialist, communist, leftist? Say whatever the hell you want, just be with your kids.

2010-01-22T07:06:00.002Z

You were in my dreams today again. We walked the world as we do, chatting of things shaping our lives. I woke up with a hole in my soul. It was an illusion, you are not here, you sleep in your bed (unaware of the changes at night...). I'd love to hold you close for a moment to overcome this hollow feeling. But you are not here and outside a new dawn is waiting to entangle me in absurdity of capitalism. How little we can of the things we want...

New Cure book to be out soon

2010-01-19T22:11:00.000Z

And one worth having at that. Group of friends over at Cureconnections decided to do a very unique fan project. They are putting together a book which will consist all of the album songs released by the band with each song being accompanied by a piece of fan art. From what I know about it, it´s coming along quite nicely. Check the forum to learn out more. If you hurry, you can even get to make a contribution (there seem to be only days left before the book goes into postproduction).

Essential Post-punk: A Forest by The Cure

2010-01-17T11:41:00.002Z

Post-punk draws heavily on the irrational, emotional and ineffable. Its music offers the purest, most sincere reflection in what´s often quite abstract and dissonant form, which leaves much open to imagination. It is both poetry and prose, abstract art and impressionism. If logic says it can´t be all this at once it´s only right. Logic has nothing to do with how life is.

The Cure´s A Forest has the following to say on the subject:

Come closer and see
see into the trees
find the girl
while you can
Come closer and see
see into the dark
just follow your eyes
just follow your eyes

I hear her voice
calling my name
the sound is deep
in the dark
I hear her voice
and start to run
into the trees
into the trees

into the trees

Suddenly I stop
but i know it's too late
I'm lost in a forest
all alone
The girl was never there
it's always the same
I'm running towards nothing
again and again and again

One Timeless Classic

2010-01-10T20:28:00.000Z

All art has a thing in common - quality ages well. It's when you pick up a book with Blake' s poetry, play five decades old CD or taste a good year's wine you realize that some things will retain their magic ignorant of time's passing. I am an avid gamer and pushing close to thirty I have laid hands on quite a number of games. Yet there remains lot to be discovered in the realm of the interactive narrative and The Dragon' s Lair a game I spent some time with this weekend serves as the best of proofs. I don't understand how it's pure magic, you know, the Disney-like charm could have eluded me for so long. It's simple, entertaining, challenging and absolutely rewarding ever second you play. And most important - it stands to manifest the unspoken fact that it is the cartoon age of the eighties that alone hides the key to what constitutes the antihero. But I'll speak about that some other time. Enjoy the video below!

Being in a band

2010-01-04T22:18:00.001Z

Should not be about money, neither fame, nor ego. It´s not a question of talent or skill either. You either have this urge to produce sounds in you or you don´t. There is no pushing it, no training it, no damn marketing in it. Band is not a yogurt that you sell in an TV ad. Fans love you for what you do. If they love you because of what some magazines say or because of what some ads say or what some other people say, it´s all turned upside down.

Into the trees

2010-01-03T22:43:00.001Z

There is a lovely place to be if you love The Cure (and you do love the Cure, right?) called Cureconnections
Really, this and the Chain of Flowers blog is all you need to know.

You

2010-01-03T15:34:00.000Z

Some words don´t need to be said

Some tears don´t need to be shed

They´re just for you to know

They´re just for us to hold onto

Some lines don´t need to be read

Some vows don´t need to be made

They´re just for you to know

They´re just for us to hold onto

And I´ll always be here

for you to prove

I love you

2010-01-01T16:23:00.001Z

I dream of a perfect future. Distant, dystopic, dark, yet one where technology will not only lead to growing anomie but also to the human touch shinning through. One where I am in touch with your thoughts and share mine openly. One where I can touch you any second and let you know. That I am thinking of you. That I care. And how important you are to me - all has been said a million times - and how I never want to lose you in all that goes on. How I never want to lose the feeling of you being somehow strangely related to me in a world where less and less sense can be perceived in all those complexities of the real, the virtual and the socially constructed. These all will pass, where you will prevail as one I always come back to, one I always think of. One I always feel down within.

And I will always be scared by the silence that´s there inbetween the words and the meetings. Afraid that one day you won´t be there for me...

So what?

2010-01-01T16:23:00.000Z

Post-punk is originally a genre in music, which has evolved as a reaction to the punk movement. In Punk, the core idea is to point out one's own dissatisfaction with general state of things and draw attention. The message is simple so are the means of conveing it. Sex Pistols stand as it´s best example and most infamous representatives with their God Save the Queen and other songs.

Post-punk can best be described as a musical marriage of two significant art/thought streams - existentialism (especially its french branch, represented by Sartre and Camus) and minimalism. Both Joy Division and The Cure are considered as defining when it comes to post-punk, followed by bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Birthday Party, Kino, Einstürzende Neubauten, early U2, and others... Most distinct post-punk albums include Joy Division's Closer and The Cure's Faith, Pornography, 17 seconds.

Stemming from the existentialist philosophy, post-punk addresses some of the most intimate matters that concern all of us. Such as the theme of social anomie - which makes one feel out of place in the discourse of modern society. This is caused by the fact that we live in 2 realities - one is the physical reality of the world we have been born into and the other is the social reality mankind constantly produces. Our interests in these realities may often clash and prevent each other from being full-filled, thus creating anxiety and frustration.
Post-punk requires one to reflect on this fact and understand one's role in the occuring events. To live a life that is by all means the life you yourself want to live. Not one that is governed upon you.

So what?

Welcome to the Church of Noise

2010-01-01T15:00:00.000Z

Says an opening track of Semi-detached, an album from a once well-known Irish rock band Therapy?. And it's probably one of the better lines with which to start a first post on a new blog. If you want to call it that. Me, I prefer to think of it as a platform a space in which a noise if ideas will recurrently emerge and submerge, some of which will draw attention, while other will be forgotten by all, except for the few lonely search engine bots and crawlers.

Why the Internet Post-punk, you may ask. "Why not?" could be one of the answers. And then, perhaps, seeking for answers is not a genuine post-punk attitude. Answers are not characteristic in that they complement questions which they originate from, but rather, instead of revealing solutions, they stand as breeding ground for yet more questions. In the end, world becomes a place where we are surrounded by endless amounts of questions and answers, yet none of them provides us with a definite clue as to what we are supposed to do in this world and how to lead our lives. Depending on your point of view, these may be questions you might want to find asnwer to, but you don't have the time for it - and then this web has nothing to give you - or, these topics are something you find important and relevant to what constitutes your identity and why you are who you are. If so, then welcome to the Church of Noise!