#MusicMonday #Ministry #AlJourgensen

I realise I've been a bit slack with updates, so here's a #MusicMonday post about a really awesome band. 

MINISTRY

"Ministry was the single most important influence in the sound and concept of Nine Inch Nails..."
~ Trent Reznor, Nine Inch Nails.


"Al Jourgensen perfected industrial music to the point where it appealed to a metal audience, but was still rooted in electronic music with really cool, heavy melodies."
~ Burton C. Bell, Fear Factory.


"Ministry is not as much a band or a movement as it is a culture. They have the ability to throw you into a trance with a single riff for minutes on end and still retain a verse/chorus structure that actually means something."
~ Joey Jordison, Slipknot.

Ministry are probably THE band to bridge the divide between metal and ACTUAL industrial music. 

If ones takes a band like Nine Inch Nails as a commerically viable and radio friendly style of industrial metal, let me guide you toward the darker side, toward the bands who came first (before Rammstein, before White Zombie...) and in the very darkest corners of the 1980s was a band called Throbbing Gristle, but believe me you don't want to go down that path unless you have an inkling of what you're getting yourself into.

Industrial trance, then? With a beat? Could almost be played on a club dance floor...?

Hello, MINISTRY - " SO WHAT " from album 'The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste'. (1989/1990)

'Destroy us, or make us saints

We don't care, it's not our fault that we were born too late

A screaming headache on the brow of the state'

Yes, Ministry is a very politically aware band. They are left wing, anti-Bush administration, freedom thinking and boundary challenging, throwing up angry ideas to their listeners.

Listen, and watch, with an open mind!



A live video from 'SPHINCTOUR' (1996)
N.W.O. (New World Order) is an open protest against war, and against the Bush administration.

In this song, "A new world order" is the sound byte from Bush Snr. and yes, it is as chilling as it sounds when spliced with images of war.

Probably the most unsettling visual in this live video is the on stage backdrop: it is a repeated visual of a suited man walking on you, stamping down, while the sample repeats Bush declaring "A new world order a new world order a new world order a new world order..."

Chilling.


And yet the band are not without a little humour in their work:

'PSALM 69' was one of their biggest hits:

"69! 69! 69!"

Along with 'JUST ONE FIX' a collaboration with poet/novelist William S. Burroughs:

"Never trust a junkie..."

Most of the songs I've chosen to represent Ministry are from the album Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and Suck Eggs, becauseif you haven't heard Ministry before, or are new to industrial metal in general, I believe it's a good place to start.

The riffs and driving melody lure you in. :)



Frontman and Ministry founder Al Jourgensen recently released his auto biography:

I'm currently reading it, and this quote from Al's stepdad, Ed Jourgensen, really reasonated with me, as I'm sure it would to anyone who's always felt different, looked different, and been treated as 'different' no matter what you look like.

" It's like he's saying, if all you're going to do is judge my appearance, I'll scare you away, but if you get to know me, I'm a good person. And if you manage to do that, you've gotten past my guard and I'll let you in. " 

~ Ed Jourgensen, Al's Stepdad.

Al Jourgensen, a recent photo

[There's been speculation that actor Johnny Depp modelled his Jack Sparrow look on Jourgensen's every-day look, as they've known each other for years. An interesting thought!]


What was also interesting to learn, from Al's book, is that he really isn't keen on performing live, nor is he keen on the audience mindlessly smashing about in a mosh pit to his music.

" My music's not all about violence and anger and blind rage; there has always been a lot more to it than that, but people cling to what's most powerful and what they can easily understand. "

~ Al Jourgensen

For anyone interested further in Al's musical career, he's recorded a country album under the name Buck Satan, been involved in numerous side projects, and produced other bands himself.

Here's a tasty snippet of his collaborative efforts! To end on a more upbeat note ^_^


1000 Homo DJs - Supernaut (Black Sabbath cover)

THIS is an awesome cover.

Please try to open your mind to the fact that creative artists may choose bizarre pseudonyms. One other artist involved was Jello Biafra, formerly of The Dead Kennedys, political supporter of punk ethics, and a spoken word performer known for using shock tactics.

My final video is from another of Al's side projects, with possibly the most dodgy band name in history. BE VERY CAREFUL how you Google this one!


REVOLTING COCKS - 'Do ya think I'm sexy?' (Rod Stewart cover)

Al is singing the chorus. 'IF YOU WANT MY BODY!' Yes, that chorus! And yes, that's his head appearing on the creamed-up stripper's body. Nice!

Probably one of the best music video concepts ever created: man walks into a dazzling strip club, sits down to watch the show... Oh no, wait, actually it's HELL and all the strippers are kinky demons or zombies. AWESOME.


I hope this post has brought some new tunes into your life :)  Enjoy <3


~TUSH.

Tush Writing Update for 2014

Tush's Writing Update for 2014

(Pic is: a guitar pick I caught in the audience from my favourite band, around 2005.)

Hello! And I'm sorry updates have been relatively quiet... Real life has been changing a lot for me; shit happens, life goes on. Basically I will be doing a major MOVE soon, so 2014 will likely be spent adjusting, adapting, and moving forward.

I can't wait :)

While I haven't written anything new, I am pleased to say I will have TWO brand new releases for 2014 (which were already written, yippee!) and are just going into editing stages now. 

Estimated releases for both, summer 2014. More details as and when I have them :)

Another Bar Tender Tale: Love on the Rocks, will be released with Dreamspinner Press.

It is a spin off from previous novella, A Bar Tender Tale, which was released with Dreamspinner back in 2012. My apologies to fans of the first story, but original couple Nathan and Auryn will not be in the spin off. Current character, Justin, simply took up too much page space with his effervescent personality!

Justin was one of Nathan’s bar colleagues from Rainbows. Justin’s story is really sweet, and I’m looking forward to its release. (ETA August 2014.)

 

Pic is: fond memories of gigs past, used as inspiration for my 'big' upcoming project! 

Moving onto my big project, which is novel length, I absolutely can’t wait to share it with you. It is a spin off from the Crucifox universe, but aside from some brief mentions and cameos it is its own standalone novel. 

Phoenix (Death Rose #1) will be released with Less Than Three Press.

A little background: the first proper ‘band’ book I wrote was Crucifox and, yes, The Green-eyed Monster is the first in the Crucifox series (which is taking longer than originally anticipated to complete. Because life happens, basically). The stories run parallel.

While Crucifox is very much about the band itself, with an insider’s view looking out, I’d always had plans for another point of view.

In the same universe but with a different band, thus a different story. So many of those band names were too awesome to pass up, so please get ready to welcome Death Rose into the spotlight. 

(If you get the pun, well done and have a cookie.)

Many years ago (ahem!) before I started working with bands, I was simply a fan. A wide eyed teenager who thought that the guys up onstage were gods, and I absolutely worshipped

them.

Still do, if I’m honest. But now I have more life experience and know that these guys are just people like you or me... just very, very talented people.

What I wanted to do with the Phoenix novel was to show my love of music the way I originally discovered it: as a fan. 

A fan who went to gigs, was madly in love with the guitarist (yeah, it’s always the guitarist… or the singer!) and if there was a chance of getting backstage to meet the band, that was absolutely the best thing that could ever happen. 

Pic is: a wristband to get backstage at Brixton Academy, London. Quite a recent gig for me; 2013. I really wish I'd kept more of these wristbands and passes.

My novel, Phoenix, is seen through the eyes of a teenage boy, Alex, and his journey as he goes to gigs and tries to meet his favourite band. What I wanted to capture with this story was the heart-stopping joy something so simple like a strip of paper around a wrist, or a laminate around a neck, could feel like. 

Access all areas is like a drug, but more addictive.

 ~ ~ ~

On a parting note, yes there are a few brief mentions of the band Death Rose in The Green-eyed Monster, mostly derivative as narrator Sky can’t stand them:

“…our spandex-clad pals, Death Rose…”  is one of my favourite quotes describing the band. 

He he he.

Bring on summer 2014!

Review for Love Rising by Piper Vaughn

Review for 

Love Rising

by Piper Vaughn

Blurb:

In the 1700s on the island of Sagrario, men who love other men find safe haven. For Francis Holland, an escaped indentured servant, Sagrario offers nothing but loneliness. His life begins to change when he finds Wick, a merman, washed ashore.

When Wick awakens under Francis’s care, Francis returns him to the sea at his request. Soon after, they begin to meet in secret, and gradually, Francis blossoms under this new companionship. However, a merman is a difficult creature to entrust one’s heart to. With one trapped on land and the other at sea, the differences in their species threaten to keep them apart forever. It may not be long before Wick is gone, taking Francis’s reason to smile with him



My review:

I do love fairy tale style, and mermen stories <3 This story from Piper came to life after a prompt from me, and the outcome was just so wonderful I adored it from start to finish. The cover is the cherry on the cake.

ebook, 42 pages.

bookshelves: elements-of-mythology, fairy-tale-style, fantasy, fantasy-romance, gave-me-warm-fuzzies, historical, i-demand-a-sequel, know-ill-read-again, loved-it, m-m, mermaids-mermen, set-at-sea, sexy-times, shifters

Read in January, 2014

Review for Jurassic Heart by Anna Martin

Review for

Jurassic Heart

by Anna Martin

Blurb:

When paleontologist Nick Eisenberg learns that someone thinks they have found velociraptor bones in Alberta, his curiosity overrides his desire to stay in London. After all, he’s one of the world’s leading experts on prehistoric predators and has always wanted to look for the velociraptor’s North American cousins. 

There’s only one problem: eco-conservationist Hunter Joseph. While Nick supervises the dig, Hunter rallies support from the locals to oppose the way the team is destroying the landscape in their search for dinosaur bones.

Nick and Hunter just cannot get along. Hunter is self-righteous and pouty. Nick is narrow-minded and geeky. But they have to figure out how to work on the same site without killing each other, especially since someone else out there seems determined to cause Nick more problems than he could have ever imagined.

~
 



My review:

I may not be a massive dino fan, or even know much about science or any of the 'ologies', so perhaps i was worried there'd be lots of technical talk that would go over my head... I needn't have worried, the writing is clear and fast paced enough that i didnt get bored with any of the talk on digs or bones (and yes there is enough cheek and wit to keep my dry sense of humour satisfied!).

Overall this is a wonderful read, a light hearted mystery/whodunnit, sweet and charming, but also packed with action and EEK OMG moments, because i cared about the characters and their bones. (Ahem.)

Great visuals as well, i could really see the characters, the whole cast, and it gelled well for me. Recommended! 

 

 

bookshelves: action, contempory-romance, contemporary, crime, cute, gave-me-warm-fuzzies, gay-lead-characters, humour, m-m, mystery, realism, set-in-america, sexy-times, stalking, whodunnit

Read in January, 2014

 

Review for Special Needs (book 1) by KA Merikan

Review for:

Special Needs (Special Needs #1)

by K.A. Merikan 

Blurb:

--- Caretaking. You're doing it wrong. ---

Liam slept with his boss. Again. And lost his job because of it. Again. Set on changing his ways and tired of sleeping in his car, he applies for a job as a live-in caretaker, even though he has no experience in it whatsoever. He has a lot of practice in lying his way out of any situation though. Only problem is, his new boss - wheelchair bound owner of a sex hotel - is gay, cute, funny and oh, so fuckable! There is only one logical solution to Liam’s dilemma - pretending he’s straight. Brilliant!

When Ryan inherited his aunt’s B&B, he thought he’d hit the jackpot by changing it into a fetish sex hotel. Things didn’t go as planned though, all of his marketing efforts seem to fail, and the debt is mounting up. Being a wheelchair user doesn’t help in actively promoting his hotel, but his luck starts to change when he hires a new caretaker. Liam is open-minded, helpful and caring. All that Ryan needs from a caretaker to kickstart his business, but things would all be a lot simpler if he didn’t start crushing on his new employee. And even if, in some other dimension, Liam did return his feelings, how long can Ryan keep his fetish a secret?

The web of lies they weave around each other is more bondage than any of them enjoy.

 


 My review:


This book (series) is a wonderful idea, addressing the 'other side' of fetishes that don't get discussed much, when someone is perhaps shy about admitting what they want. Really well done.

It's novel length, and there's plenty to sink your teeth into. I think the cover (gorgeous as it is) gives a perfect example of how the book is; bright, colourful, unique, sweet and romantic.

Not perhaps what one might be expecting from the blurb. But definitely give it a go, recommended to those who like contemporaries, with a bit of spice/individuality.







Info:

“Special Needs” is book one of a two part series.


Genre: contemporary erotic m/m romance, dramedy

Length: ~113,000 words


***SPOILERS AHEAD!***


Themes: disability, deception, alternative lifestyles, stalking, fetishism, tattoos, self-image issues, financial trouble, boss/employee

Erotic content: explicit m/m sexual scenes (including fetishism and medical role play)


 

Review for Destroyer of Worlds Spectr 5 by Jordan L Hawk

Review for

Destroyer of Worlds (Spectr #5)

by Jordan L. Hawk

Blurb:

After becoming possessed by the vampire spirit Gray, telekinetic Caleb Jansen thought his situation couldn’t get any worse. But that was before Graham Forsyth, head of SPECTR’s sinister Research Division, took him into custody.

Forsyth claims he can exorcise Gray before the forty-day time limit runs out. But once at RD, Caleb and Gray find themselves ensnared in a web of lies. What is the truth behind the tests Forsyth is performing on them? What does the agency really plan to do with Gray? And most worrisome of all, why does Gray sense demons within the walls of RD’s compound?

Caleb’s boyfriend, SPECTR agent John Starkweather, has suspicions of his own. With the help of his friend Sean and a shadowy organization known only by their symbol of a moth, John intends to save Caleb and Gray at any cost.

But when divided loyalties threaten his last chance at exorcism, Caleb discovers love may come at a price higher than he’d ever imagined.

~


My review:


Wow! I devoured this book in one sitting, i couldn't put it down, and at times it was so dramatic i forgot to breathe!

Yeah, really. I'd get to the end of the sentence and take a big gasp.

Ok, so the series is really reaching a head now. There is i believe one more book after this one, then it's the end (for now?!) of Spectr! Zomg.

It left on a pretty dire cliff hanger last time, with Caleb bring escorted off by another division of Spectr, and this time things really heat up and the movers come out of the peripheral and into main play. Lots of things started to make sense, and it was action packed from the word GO.

And i must admit, 'escape' themed stories will always make me short of breath and have me at the edge of my seat. How will Caleb escape Spectr? Should he trust them or trust his instincts to run? And what about this secret Moth organisation offering to help him exorcise his demon, and should he even take it?

And what about poor John! What is he going to do after watching his boyfriend being carted off by the very company he works for?

Aiyeeee! So many questions! Thankfully it all unfolds before your eyes in this book, to the point where i was clutching my shirt/throat while reading.

Fans of Gray (me included!!) will be happy that he gets much more of a spotlight in this story, and i can't even say how much i'm looking forward to the next installment. *flails*

One final point: what i love about this series is the demon-power/ ooh i'm attracted to that, kink. As this story was so full of action i wasnt even sure if the author would have *room* to bring the sexy, but it was there, and it was wonderful! I'm going to have to read it again now :3

#MusicMonday ~ ZOD

Music Monday!

Band: 

Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction

aka 'ZOD'

aka The Psychotronic Love Commandos!

Zod are a British sleaze rock band who popped up in mid '80s and pounded their way through the rock charts until the early '90s. After a break, and some line up changes, they tour and release new records even now (last record We Are Volsung released in 2010).

Probably best known overall for this song: Prime Mover

This video was directed by Adrian 'Vyvyan from The Young Ones' Eadmondson.

This fun rock song has such wonderful lyrics. I.e. ~

I came from the sky like a 747
I'm a bad boy, baby, I fell outta heaven.

Sex Fuhrer, baby, I'm a love dictator
Blitzkreig romance, I'm your leather detonator
<3

Plus, the singer sheds his jacket and grinds like a stripper on top of a tank, while shooting laser beams from his hands to corrupt the 'innocent' girls in the Catholic boarding school. What's not to like?!



This next picture is dedicated to my rocker-writing buddy, Z. Allora <3

Singer Zodiac Mindwarp, aka Mark Manning, is also an author. He writes mainly from his own experiences, accounts of being in a rock band, touring, and political musings.


May I recommend starting with his best known work, Bad Wisdom, co-authored with Bill Drummond from The KLF.

Quote from Bad Wisdom:

“This was the plan: we would take a holy and sacred picture of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley, to the very summit of the earth; once there, we would place it with sincere reverence amongst the chimerical shimmering palaces of ice and snow and then (accompanied by some weird Zen magic) we would light joss sticks, dance about making screechy kung-fu noises, get off our faces, and that would be it: Planet Earth saved. Simple.”

― Mark Manning, Bill Drummond, Bad Wisdom 


And for those who don't know who The KLF are, this is for you...

Featuring Tammy Whynnette. You may recognise the tune.

Back to Zod.

If you think you can handle the ramblings of a certified rock oddity, then by all means go ahead and try...

Put some Zod on your speakers while you read.

You wanna know about love, baby?
Let me teach ya
Come to church, I'm the preacher!

Enjoy!

Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction