Take the brain out, leave the heart in

Yeah, yeah, so I used another Aesop Rock quote this week, but it's my blog so I can do that if I want, so.. so what. Speaking of so what, I checked out the movie The Violent Years this week, mainly because samples were used in the Ministry song So What, probably my favourite of their songs. Here's the link to the movie if you want to watch it it's a ridiculous exploitation film about the perils of not spending time with your kids.




Last night I headed out to take some photos at a punk gig, which was a whole lot of fun. If you've read some of my older posts you'll know that I grew up going to a lot of all ages punk shows, which was really my first exposure to live music, so last night was a bit of  treat (despite being in a bar).

But before the gig started I had some time to kill and ended up meeting some friends at a sports bar. Now I've got nothing against sports bars in general, or watching sports, and it was nice to have a drink with friends, but there was a sports game about to start which kind of killed the energy in the place. As soon as it started everyone stopped talking and all eyes were on the (many, many) screens around the bar.

Contrast that with the atmosphere at the gig. I got there halfway through the first band's set and there were kids flying everywhere, the singer was off the stage right in the midst of the action in the audience, and people were hyped up about interacting with something happening live in front of them.


The only interaction back at the sports bar involved people yelling at the screen, either in celebration or dismay. I know which sort of interaction I prefer... Don't take this as a dig at sports - I don't mind a bit of basketball every now and then, but it's my thoughts on the way we interact with entertainment, and what forms of entertainment we prefer.

Anyway, while at the gig I also had the chance to listen to the new Black Sabbath album. I'd been avoiding it because, well, mainly because I didn't think it'd be any good. I haven't really listened to anything Sabbath recorded after the early 70's, apart from the live Reunion album they released in 1998. At first I wasn't even sure it was the new album, because it was actually okay. Not amazing, but definitely a lot better than I'd been expecting. Good enough that I'll be listening to it again. If you're a fan of Black Sabbath and, like me, were putting off listening to it, why not give it a try this week? I'd be interested to know your thoughts on it too, so drop a comment below if you've got time.