>The power of P2P

>As The Pirate Bay trial – one of the biggest trials of the Internet age – continues, the power of P2P grows stronger for every day.
About a month ago Ordfront Publishing House released the book Piraterna – De svenska fildelarna som plundrade Hollywood (The Pirates – The Swedish file sharers who pillaged Hollywood). A couple of days ago projO uploaded the audiobook version at The Pirate Bay (thanks mom, for letting me know!). The thing is there is no official version of the audiobook – projO decided to make her/his own version simply by reading the book out loud and recording at the same time and then making it all available via trackers. A perfect example of the power of file sharing!

Me, I’ve been a pirate for as long as I can remember.
Commodore 64, Turbo 250 by Mr.Z, Jan Listerud, the demoscene, Paradox, hundreds of games on one c-90 tape, floppy discs, swapper, Amiga 500/1200, BBS, StarNet, US Robotics HST, The Final Cartridge III, hiphop, double cassette decks, mixtapes, copy parties, the library (!), VHS piracy, Hong Kong movies, graffiti, Foucault, the concept of hacking, trades, death metal, punk, tape trading, IRC, anarchism, Chomsky, Flashback, Napster, CD-R, Audiogalaxy, slsknet, DC++, torrent sites, mp3-blogs, private trackers, and last but not least: Google – the very best tool the world of piracy has ever known… Sort of.
I give thanks to piracy for my huge interest in music, movies, art and literature. Piracy is the reason for my quality collection of records, DVD:s and books (not counting piracy material, of course).

Information wants to be free.

>Electronica (bc)

>In case you ever wondered what these DJ:s actually do when turning them knobs back and forth, here’s a video that might give you an idea of what’s going on. This is live beatmaking with the KORG Electribe MX.


I was heavily into the electronic music scene back in the early 90’s and I still enjoy a lot of that stuff, such as the old Warp classics: Sabres of Paradise Sabresonic, B12 Electro-Soma and Time Tourist, Black Dog Productions Bytes, Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works 85-92, Autechre Amber, everything by Plastikman… “Intelligent techno” or “Intelligent Dance Music” as it was called back then. Cheesy as fuck.
Here are some cool tracks that still kill.


Plastikman – Pakard
from the Artifakts (bc) album (1998)
Although released in 1998 the music was composed in 1994-95,
to be featured on an album called Klinik, which was scrapped by Hawtin. The (bc) is actually an acronym for “Before Consumed”, Consumed (1998) being the album that followed Musik (1994).
Richie Hawtin aka Plastikman – such an amazing producer,
a dark acid minimalist genius if there ever was one!


The Sabres of Paradise – Clock Factory
from the Sabresonic album (1993)


B12 – VOID/Comm
from the Time Tourist album (1996)


Black Dog Productions – Object Orient
from the Bytes album (1993)


Aphex Twin – Hedphelym
from the Selected Ambient Works 85-92 album (1992)
This is not really an ambient album in its true sense.
Selected Ambient Works II (1994) is more like it,
and it’s also one of the darkest and best electronic albums ever.
Check out the video below for a quick album walkthrough.


>Darkthrone – How low can a punk get?

>I was asked to write a review of Darkthrone’s latest album for Sweden Rock Magazine. I won’t translate it for all you non-Swedish readers, but the bottom line is this: It sucks. I rated it 2 out of 10.
I have nothing against Darkthrone per se, though. I’ve been emailing back and forth with Fenriz, and I even think he likes the band I’m in. He’s a funny guy. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the album sucks, and it’s even suckier than The Cult Is Alive (2006) and F.O.A.D. (2007), which says a lot. This, of course, having to do with me being a huge fan of their old material.
After Panzerfaust (1995) Darkthrone was dead to me. They made quite a return with Hate Them (2003), finding a new kind of twisted darkness to their metal, somewhat regaining a little bit of their integrity. When Sardonic Wrath (2004) turned out to be a rather bleak copy of the previous effort I lost interest again. Still, whenever there’s a new Darkthrone album I must listen to it. But for the past five years it’s been an utterly disappointing experience…
The four albums below are my kind of Darkthrone – each and everyone of them a powerful display of that eerie darkness they were able to call forth back in the day. I’d rate all four of them 9 out of 10 without hesitation.


But as always, it’s just a matter of taste. I just find it too bad they’re raping their old past with this “hiking metal punk” bullshit using the name Darkthrone. It’s blasphemy – the stupid way.
Now, here’s the review.

Darkthrone
Dark Thrones and Black Flags

Möt Gylve och Ted, Norges motsvarigheter till Sveriges buskisduo Stefan & Krister. År 2008 finner vi dem allra längst ner på botten bland det sämsta avskräde till musik ni kan tänka er. Ungefär så. Ok, kanske inte riktigt så, men efter att ha följt duon sedan fantastiska ”A Blaze in The Northern Sky” (1992) känns det verkligen vidrigt att plöja denna dynga i stereon.
Visst, till en början förstod jag ärligt talat inte Darkthrones storhet, men efterhand växte de gamla plattorna till de monumentala mästerverk de verkligen är. Med ”Ravishing Grimness” (1999) och ”Plaguewielder” (2001) började det gå utför, medan ”Hate Them” (2003) var en uppryckning till det bättre. ”Sardonic Wrath” (2004) var en blekare kopia av föregångaren, varpå det sedan slog fullständigt slint på ”The Cult is Alive” (2006). Dålig buskismetalpunk förpestad med dålig buskislyrik – varför? Efterföljande ”F.O.A.D.” (2007) var också rena skiten och med nya ”Dark Thrones and Black Flags” når mupparna således botten. All form av integritet och trovärdighet är spårlöst försvunnen.
Lyriken är sannerligen värdelös: ”When… comets crrackh! Witch getto attakk / Remain secret / Brandish steel / Black metal is unreal”. Jaha?
Och när Fenriz listar och kommenterar favoritband i slutet av CD-häftet blir man än mer förbannad: ”If you think real metal has something to do with blast beats and corpse paint, go somewhere else!”. Detta tröttsamma tjat om vad som är riktig metal i både texter och kommentarer gör mig ömsom fullständigt matt ömsöm vilt rasande. Karln får hålla käften och ägna sig åt något värdigt istället.
Fenriz må vara en go gubbe, ha skön musiksmak och sporta tokroliga tatueringar, och Nocturno Culto har förmodligen också några sympatiska sidor, men det förtar verkligen inte det faktum att Darkthrone anno 2008 stinker.
Det som en gång i tiden (mellan 1992-1996) var ett fantastiskt black metal-band som skapade stor lyrik och stor musik är idag ett stort skämt. Åtminstone om man jämför med det gamla – och det måste man göra. Hade de valt ett annat bandnamn för detta plojprojekt hade jag kunnat skippa jämförelsen. Nu släpar de Darkthrones goda namn i smutsen och det kan väl ingen som gillar det gamla tycka är bra? Skulle ni digga om Stefan & Krister började lira black metal? I så fall är det här en tiopoängare. (2/10)

>Funeral Fog VS Life Eternal

>

Click the images to enlarge
The kids never give up…
Soccer training.

Another field, another team.

Yet another field.

Today was such a grey and misty day almost all photos turned out black & white. I thought I’d aptly add Mayhem’s brilliant Funeral Fog here, but I found the even more brilliant rehearsal version of Life Eternal instead, the one recorded May 16, 1992. I really like it this way, neither Dead nor Attila present, just voiceless…

>This is not an exit

>

“Well, we have to end apartheid for one. And slow down the nuclear arms race, stop terrorism and world hunger. Ensure a strong national defense, prevent the spread of communism in Central America, work for a Middle East peace settlement, prevent U.S. military involvement overseas. We have to ensure that America is a respected world power. Now that’s not to belittle our domestic problems, which are equally important, if not more. Better and more affordable long-term care for the elderly, control and find a cure for the AIDS epidemic, clean up environmental damage from toxic waste and pollution, improve the quality of primary and secondary education, strengthen laws to crack down on crime and illegal drugs. We also have to ensure that college education is affordable for the middle class and protect Social Security for senior citizens plus conserve natural resources and wilderness areas and reduce the influence of political action committees.”
The table stares at me uncomfortably, even Stash, but I’m on a roll.
“But economically we’re still a mess. We have to find a way to hold down the inflation rate and reduce the deficit. We also need to provide training and jobs for the unemployed as well as protect existing American jobs from unfair foreign imports. We have to make America the leader in new technology. At the same time we need to promote economic growth and business expansion and hold the line against federal income taxes and hold down interest rates while promoting opportunities for small businesses and controlling mergers and big corporate takeovers.”
Price nearly spits up his Absolut after this comment but I try to make eye contact with each one of them, especially Vanden, who if she got rid of the green streak and the leather and got some color – maybe joined an aerobics class, slipped on a blouse, something by Laura Ashley – might be pretty. But why does she sleep with Stash? He’s lumpy and pale and has a bad cropped haircut and is at least ten pounds overweight; there’s no muscle tone beneath the black T-shirt.
“But we can’t ignore our social needs either. We have to stop people from abusing the welfare system. We have to provide food and shelter for the homeless and oppose racial discrimination and promote civil rights while also promoting equal rights for women but change the abortion laws to protect the right to life yet still somehow maintain women’s freedom of choice. We also have to control the influx of illegal immigrants. We have to encourage a return to traditional moral values and curb graphic sex and violence on TV, in movies, in popular music, everywhere. Most importantly we have to promote general social concern and less materialism in young people.”
I finish my drink. The table sits facing me in total silence.
American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis, 1991

I’m a huge fan of this novel. Not for the violence – that was what caught my attention when I was 15 and heard about it for the first time – but for its brilliant and clever take on satire. I think the above quote shows just that. Patrick Bateman (nice reference to Norman Bates in another famous novel: Psycho), a yuppie investment banker who is in fact a serial killer totally devoid of emotion – living next door to Tom Cruise (!) – explains how to save America from impending doom. Hilarious!
I still haven’t seen the movie. I hear it’s pretty good. I also hear that the novel is being turned into a stage musical on Broadway! Even more hilarious!

Abandon all hope ye who enter here…

>The art of crop circles

>I don’t care at all for crop circles being some paranormal activity, I think that’s new age bullshit, but I love the art form and I find the symbolism interesting. Man made or natural phenomenon (mostly man made, obviously) – it’s a cool thing.
I saw one myself once (photo below), at Järvafältet where I live, but even though it was pretty small it was hard to appreciate the design when not being able to watch from above. It looked pretty lame compared to the big ones you’ve seen on TV.

In many ways, crop circles remind me of graffiti. They are mostly made at night, having to deal with the darkness, the fear of getting caught or interrupted, the problem with very large scale designs made when being close to the object (the wall/the field), the limited time you have at your disposal, the problem with not being able to practice for real until you get there, the planning, the secrecy, the thrill, the complexity that few understand, the photos that must be shot before the art disappear forever, the satisfaction when it’s all done, the discussion afterwards, following what people say, smiling behind their backs (if they only knew…), the anonymous power of the art, the emptiness when the art is destroyed and the return for more. Many times it also includes the destruction of private property.

The crop circle above is believed to be the most complex one found yet. It was discovered summer 2008 in a barley field in Wiltshire, near Barbury Castle, an iron-age hill fort. The formation, measuring 150ft (45,72 metres) in diameter, is apparently a coded image representing the first 10 digits, 3.141592654, of pi!
Michael Reed, an astrophysicist, said: “The tenth digit has even been correctly rounded up. The little dot near the centre is the decimal point. The code is based on 10 angular segments with the radial jumps being the indicator of each segment. Starting at the centre and counting the number of one-tenth segments in each section contained by the change in radius clearly shows the values of the first 10 digits in the value of pi.”
Bloody amazing.

Here are a couple of small shots detailing the first photo in this post, the one with the Penrose triangle, which was also found in Wiltshire, by the way.



Another super complex crop circle is the one depicting the Metatron Cube. It is the emblem of whatever hidden change occurred in the West around about the time of the First Crusade, almost certainly associated with Islamic architecture and possibly to indigenous and Jewish sacred, but by then secret, traditions. Richard Heath writes a great deal about its geometry here (I don’t get half of what he says…) and he also quotes Rene Guenon and the book Lord of the World:

Although Mikaël is identified with Metatron, he represents only one aspect. Beside the luminous face, there is a dark face represented by Samaël, also known as Sarhaolam— in fact, it is this latter aspect, and it only, which symbolizes in a lower sense the ‘spirit of the world’, or the Princeps hujus mundi referred to in the Gospels. Samaël’s relationship with Metatron, as the latter’s shadow, so to say, justifies the use of the same title in a twofold sense as well as making it clear why the ‘number of the beast’, the apocalytic 666, is also a solar number.” To quote Saint Hippolytus in conclusion: ‘The Messiah and the Anti-Christ both have the lion for their emblem’, another solar symbol. The same remarks may be applied to the serpent and to many other symbols. From a Kabbalistic viewpoint, we have here the two opposite faces of Metatron; we need not go into the theories we might formulate on this double meaning of symbols, only noting that the confusion between the luminous and the dark aspects is what properly constitutes ‘Satanism’. It is precisely this confusion that allows some, unintentionally and through simple ignorance (an excuse, not a justification), to believe that an infernal significance is to be found in the title ‘Lord of the World’.

The interpretation of the Metatron Cube

There are tons of photos of crop circles on the mighty www, so do some image searches on Google and you’ll be satisfied for sure. Here are some of my faves:

by Mattias Indy Pettersson