BOC: Eric on WotT and other things (long)

[Stephen Swann]

Carl E. Anderson writes:
>
> > >     What music do you currently listen to?
> > >
> > >     I personally listen to all kinds of stuff. Biohazard, Prong,
> > >     Machinehead, Deftones, love the White Zombie album of last year, Rage
> > >     Against the Machine, Pantera, etc. I like very little of what is
> > >     called Alternative, except maybe Stone Temple Pilots.
> >
> > I can't fault him here....  sounds like the stuff his son listens to...
>
>         Well I dunno, I like what I've heard of Prong and White
> Zombie, but Pantera just seems silly to me.  Biohazard and Machinehead
> don't do too much for me either.  I've only seen STP on MTV, and for a
> grungoid band they weren't too bad--though I actually got more of a kick
> out of Alice in Chains :)

Even the Grunge list called them the Stoned Tempo Pirates.  Couldn't
make up their minds whether they wanted to be Alice In Chains or
Pearl Sham.

Alice in Chains *was* cool - at least, before their vocalist started
taking too many drugs, and went completely looney.  Their latest stuff
has too much of their trademark dissonance, and not enough of the
hard-kicking melodies.

Prong is pretty cool, even if they are kind of a one-trick pony.  I
mostly agree with your assessment of Pantera, although they almost
redeemed the silliness of their existence by providing the
Headbanger's Ball's uniquely identifying "commercial break" shriek (a
snippet from the completely-over-the-top "Fucking Hostile").

Who needs White Zombie, though, when we've got Gwar?

>         Haven't read Hyperion, but I got progressively more and more bogged
> down in Gibson.  I gave up in frustration partway into his third book
> (ya know, Neuromancer, then the nest one, and then the one after that).
> I liked his short stories much better--I think the man just went berserk
> in a longer format and it became more are more difficult to distinguish
> the story.

Funny thing is, I read Neuromancer, back before Gibsom became Pope
Cyberpunk, and I thought it was one of the most undistinguished novels
I've ever plodded my weary way through.  I occasionally wonder if I
missed something fundamental, there, or if it's just *everybody else*
who're wrong.  ;-)

Steve