Here’s the trailer for the new Steven Wilson solo album:

I’ve cooled-off Wilson/Porcupine Tree a bit—I go through phases, and my current phase is DEVO—but I’ll still pick this up when it’s released.

George W. Bush isn’t Hitler; the latter at least managed to be a captivating public speaker—Bush doesn’t even have that much going for him.

Bush is the sort of person who is convinced he’s right despite the facts, not because of them. If need be, fabricate evidence to support your position because, after all, you’re right, and if the real evidence were in your possession, it’d obviously support your case anyway. This is Stephen Colbert’s “truthiness” in action.

So now we find out this:

Bush allegedly ordered the CIA to forge a handwritten letter from the head of Iraq’s intelligence service to Saddam Hussein that purported to link the Iraqi dictator to the ringleader of the hijackers who toppled the Twin Towers on 9/11, according to news accounts of Suskind’s new book, The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism. Such use of an intelligence service to influence domestic political debate could be an impeachable offense, Suskind writes.

The full post is here—watch the videos on that page at the least.

The most frustrating thing is the stubborn insistence by some people that Bush & co. did what they thought was best, blah blah blah. So? Many people commit evil acts while believing they’re doing good. I’m sure the 9/11 hijackers were certain of their righteousness as they murdered thousands of people, too. How is Bush any better?

It seems to me that every artist or band I like is related to every other artist or band I like. To demonstrate this theory, let me present…

Six degrees of last.fm!

1. Pink Floyd: apparently my favourite band; every other artist/band must relate back to Floyd somehow…
2. Porcupine Tree: drummer Gavin Harrison is currently a member of King Crimson, alongside Tony Levin, who played bass on Pink Floyd’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason
3. The Police: guitarist Andy Summers has recorded two albums with Robert Fripp, who appeared on Porcupine Tree’s last studio album and EP
4. Genesis: former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel worked with Police drummer Stewart Copeland on Gabriel’s album So, as well as collaborating with him for the track “Across the River”
5. Peter Gabriel: see above
6. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench have worked with Don Henley (as has former Heartbreaker Stan Lynch); Henley appears on former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters’ solo album, Amused to Death
7. Kate Bush: Bush has collaborated with Peter Gabriel several times, such as on the duet “Don’t Give Up”
8. David Bowie: the Robert Fripp connection is too easy, so instead I’ll note that frequent Bowie collaborator Brian Eno contributed to the Genesis album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
9. Fleetwood Mac: Stevie Nicks has worked with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers so often that she’s considered an “honourary Heartbreaker”
10. Prince: appears on Kate Bush’s “Why Should I Love You?” and Stevie Nicks’ “Stand Back”
11. Talking Heads: Brian Eno (see Bowie) was almost the fifth member of Talking Heads, producing three of their albums (one of which—Remain in Light—gives him substantial writing credit)
12. Prince & the Revolution: see Prince
13. Lindsey Buckingham: member of Fleetwood Mac; has worked with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
14. Eagles: drummer Don Henley has worked with Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac (”Leather and Lace”)
15. Roxy Music: guitarist Phil Manzanera co-wrote “One Slip” for Pink Floyd’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason
16. Yes: frontman Jon Anderson appears on the King Crimson album Lizard; King Crimson’s Robert Fripp is a frequent collaborator with former Roxy Music member Brian Eno
17. Hall & Oates: Daryl Hall appears on Robert Fripp’s Exposure; Fripp appears on Talking Heads’ “I Zimbra”
18. “Weird Al” Yankovic: Mark Knopfler plays lead guitar on Al’s “Money for Nothing” parody; Knopfler also features on Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry’s solo album Boys and Girls
19. Toto: Jon Anderson (Yes) appears on Toto’s The Seventh One
20. Sting: bassist for The Police
21. King Crimson: guitarist Adrian Belew appears on Talking Heads’ Remain in Light
22. No-Man: Mel Collins (King Crimson) appears on No-Man’s Flowermouth
23. The Cars: bassist Benjamin Orr appears on Joni Mitchell’s Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm, as do Wendy & Lisa (from The Revolution), Tom Petty and Peter Gabriel
24. Blondie: King Crimson’s Robert Fripp appears on Blondie’s “Fade Away and Radiate”
25. Marillion: former frontman Fish appears on Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks’ solo album, Still
26. Devo: Devo’s debut album was produced by Brian Eno (Roxy Music)
27. Elton John: Nik Kershaw appears on both John’s Ice on Fire and Still by Tony Banks (Genesis)
28. Tom Petty: obvious
29. Phil Collins: drummer for Genesis
30. Don Henley: drummer for the Eagles
31. Steve Miller Band: former member Boz Scaggs’ album Silk Degrees featured members of what would become Toto
32. Roger Waters: Toto guitarist Steve “Luke” Lukather appears on Waters’ album Amused to Death
33. Dire Straits: Sting features on “Money for Nothing”
34. INXS: “Original Sin” was produced by Nile Rodgers, who also produced David Bowie’s Let’s Dance
35. Supertramp: founding member Richard Palmer-James was the lyricist for King Crimson in the mid-’70s; furthermore, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour appears on the title track from Supertramp’s Brother Where You Bound
36. U2: Brian Eno (Roxy Music) has produced many of their albums
37. Men at Work: longtime Hoodoo Gurus bassist Richard Grossman played bass in Men at Work in the late ’90s; The Bangles appeared on the Hoodoo Gurus album Blow Your Cool with Grossman, as well as on the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers track “Waiting for Tonight”; furthermore, Prince wrote the Bangles hit “Manic Monday”
38. Steve Hackett: former Genesis guitarist
39. Stevie Nicks: member of Fleetwood Mac
40. Daryl Hall: one half of Hall & Oates
41. Robert Fripp: produced Daryl Hall’s Sacred Songs solo album
42. Cheap Trick: bandleader Rick Nielson appears on Hall & Oates’ Along the Red Ledge (as does Robert Fripp (King Crimson) and Steve Lukather (Toto))
43. David Gilmour: guitarist for Pink Floyd; appeared on albums by Brian Ferry (Roxy Music) and (notably) Kate Bush; worked with Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music)
44. Mental as Anything: Fundamental as Anything producer Richard Gottehrer also produced two Blondie albums; alternatively, Elvis Costello produced the Mentals’ single “I Didn’t Mean to be Mean”; Costello is a frequent collaborator with Paul McCartney, who featured David Gilmour on his track “No More Lonely Nights”
45. The Beatles: George Harrison was in the Traveling Wilburys with Tom Petty
46. Blackfield: a side-project of Porcupine Tree bandleader Steven Wilson
47. Foreigner: founding member Ian McDonald was also a founding member of King Crimson
48. Paul Simon: Simon collaborated with Brian Eno (Roxy Music) on Surprise
49. Robert Palmer: Chris Frantz (Talking Heads) appears on Palmer’s Clues
50. Alice Cooper: producer/collaborator Bob Ezrin has worked with both Peter Gabriel and Pink Floyd

How’s that?

It’s funny—I really wasn’t expecting the DEVO show to be one of those amazing, life-changing events, but it really was. It was better than Porcupine Tree, better than Toto, better than The Police and even better than Roger Waters. It was just the perfect combination of high-energy theatrics, goofy fun, absurdist humour and still-relevant social commentary that elevated it beyond anything else I’d experienced.

Anyway, I’d characterise the band and its members as being mainly INTP. Off the top of my head, I can’t give any clear argument for this observation, except to note the trademark NTP irreverence. Contrast this with any INTJ’s humour, which seems darker somehow (e.g. David Lynch or Roger Waters). INTPs just don’t seem to take themselves as seriously (though perhaps that’s not the reality).

It’s been expressed to me that INTJs and INTPs are almost indistinguishable. Not so! These two types often come to blows over dominant Ni and Ti butting heads. Ti is exacting in a very rational manner, demanding that nothing be left to chance; Ni, on the other hand, is a vision of piercing clarity that eschews explanation and actively fights against such rationality—this is maddening to INTPs.

Cue Brian Eno’s collaboration with DEVO on their first album. Eno, along with David Byrne, Robert Fripp, David Bowie and Steven Wilson all strike me as INTJs who work well together, but what happens when an Ni/Te producer works with a Ti/Ne band?

According to Wikipedia:

Eno is on record as describing one of Devo’s New York shows in 1979 as “the most exciting live performance I have ever seen”. However, the studio sessions did not proceed on such a positive note, with the band seemingly intent on replicating specific effects and arrangements from their demo recordings stretching back to 1974. Eno found this an obstacle to his famously intuitive and spontaneous way of working in the studio, and described the band as “anal”.

This, to me, perfectly captures the INTP/INTJ split. Indeed, INTPs are infamous for their pedantic nature, insisting on precision in communication—it drives everyone else crazy. On the other hand, the Ni methods employed by Eno (c.f. Bowie’s cut-up random lyric generation) strikes Ti as reckless and haphazard.

So there you go: INTJs and INTPs are like the matter and anti-matter of the art world.

Last night I saw DEVO, performing for the first time in Sydney in over 25 years.

Yes, DEVO, that gang of subversive geeks willing to mock everything sacred about American (and, by extension, Western) culture—those Spuds who preach that de-evolution is REAL!

Now, it should be noted that Monica and I always stumble into adventures when we’re out together. Sometimes it involves meeting Marcia Hines at the Police concert; other times, it involves the wheelchair dying on Enmore Road. If nothing else, it’s always an… interesting experience, and this night was no exception.

Firstly, at Mon’s suggestion, we didn’t park where I had originally intended. This (as you’ll see later) was a bit of luck.

As soon as we arrived, we had dinner at Cine, an Italian cafe in the Entertainment Quarter (formerly the Fox Studios Backlot)—pleasant enough, though nothing fantastic. The staff were very nice, however.

When we arrived at the Hordern Pavilion for the show, I made a beeline for the merch stand. I picked up a T-shirt, a poster, and (yes!) an Energy Dome (which was another bit of luck, but… oh, I’ll tell you later).

Anyway, the show…

eddy current suppression ring were the first act, a kind of geeky punk/garage rock band from Melbourne. Very good and they fit in well.

After that, we went in search of COFFEE! Yes, even Spuds need caffeination now and then. Unfortunately, we found none, but some guy offered to buy my Energy Dome from Monica, since they were now apparently sold out!

Next up was Regurgitator with a very fun set. Not much more to say about that, really, but they seemed to be in awe of the fact that they were supporting “the best fucking band in the world!” Mon was heaving during “I Will Lick Your Arsehole”, however—I have no idea why.

Finally, it was time for some De-Evolution! After the intro video, they got straight into a great set that hit all the highlights, including Booji Boy performing “Beautiful World”!!!

The setlist, by memory:

1. “That’s Good”
2. “Going Under”
3. “Peek-a-Boo!”
4. “Girl U Want”
5. “Whip It”
6. “Secret Agent Man”
7. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
8. “Uncontrollable Urge”
9. “Mongoloid”
10. “Blockhead”
11. “Jocko Homo”
12. “Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA”
13. “Gates of Steel”
14. “Devo Corporate Anthem” (on video)
15. “Freedom of Choice”
16. “Gut Feeling”
17. “Beautiful World” (performed by Booji Boy)

I really was not expecting a Booji Boy appearance last night—it was bloody amazing.

The boys only played for about 75 minutes with no encore, but that has to be the best show I’ve seen so far. Seriously. I’ve been a Devo fan for many years, but this has pushed me into the “hardcore” territory.

(The Toto show is probably on par, actually, but Devo are still fresh in my mind…)

After the show, we got coffee (finally!) at Gloria Jeans. (It should be noted that Monica was basically holding me up with this coffeehouse expedition, possibly due to watching one too many episodes of Friends, though I did gladly go along with it because my Spud-sense told me there was good reason to….)

It wasn’t until about 50 minutes after the show that we were actually making our way back to the van—the spot Mon had chosen—when…

There they were! Devo were just leaving the Hordern. The two Bob’s were signing some fans’ stuff, so, of course, I had to stop and join in.

I had a chat with Bob 1 and got him to sign my poster and Energy Dome (through the fence, no less). Then I met Mark Mothersbaugh and he signed my Energy Dome, too! Yes, the Energy Dome that was already sought after before being signed by the Mothersbaugh boys.

So there you have it: Monica’s coffee-house dithering and parking eccentricities got me to meet Devo. How often can you say that???

Photos

Devo on stage

Booji Boy

Bob 1

Mark Mothersbaugh

UPDATE! Bonus (Bad) Bootleg Video (but not by me)

Secret Agent Man

Uncontrollable Urge

Mongoloid

Jocko Homo

UPDATE 2! John Larkin has a great overview of the same show here.

In the summer of ‘83/’84, one of my favourite treats was the Return of the Jedi iceblock. I actually hated iceblocks in general—too cold and hard—but these were different. Firstly, they were Star Wars iceblocks: it’s like you were partaking in the Force with every bite! But their real selling point was so ingenious that I still marvel at it to this day….

On the outside they looked like blue iceblocks—novel, but fairly straightforward. Hidden within, however, was a treasure-trove of mint-flavoured blue gel. Diabolical!

“I don’t know how you can eat that,” my mum would say. “It tastes like toothpaste!”

Fool!

Here’s the key: it’s every little kid’s fantasy to eat toothpaste. It’s like the forbidden fruit of mint-flavoured snack food. Those jube mint leaves have nothing on blue Colgate gel.

Or maybe it was just me. I dunno—I was a weird kid.

So I ate those iceblocks like they were going out of style… which they were (along with Star Wars in general).

And then, one day, they were no more.

Sometimes, even now, I dream of eating them while playing Space Invaders and listening to Michael Jackson.

I miss them almost as much as Strawberry Pops.

My shoulder’s still improving—it’s just taking a looooong time.

Today I cracked and bought tickets to see John Mellencamp with Sheryl Crow. I’m tempted to see Billy Joel, but the prices are, frankly, insane, and my Joel-fandom died when I was 15 and River of Dreams was released. I’m excited to be seeing Mellencamp, but would I say the same about Joel?

So I saw the physio today, whose expertise has aided me somewhat.

In other news, my uni results are in: high distinctions in all three units…

Today the pain in my neck/shoulder pretty much disappeared and tonight I’ve regained some small ability to type.

I’m still not going to push it, however.

I had a fantastic time on Saturday night. Unfortunately, I’ve hurt my right shoulder a bit, so I’m minimising the amount of typing I’m doing at the moment. That means no email.

So if you’ve written to me, I really do want to write back, but it may take me a few days.