Puscifer

[profane]

European tour madafakaaaaas!

"We're pleased to announce The Money $hot Heard Around The World Tour:

May 30 Manchester, UK Bridgewater Hall
May 31 London, UK The Roundhouse
June 2 Paris, France Le Grand Rex
June 6 Lausanne, Switzerland Les Docks
June 7 Milan, Italy Teatro Degli Arcimboldi
June 9 Nickelsdorf, Austria Novarock Festival
June 12 Brussels, Belgium Ancienne Belgique
June 13 Esch Alzette, Luxembourg Rockhal
June 15 Oslo, Norway Sentrum Scene
June 16 Stockholm, Sweden Cirkus

Tickets for all dates, except Novarock (which is already on-sale), are on-sale this Friday, Feb. 19."

[gerbil]

Simultaneous with the alternate opening. Unfortunately I still cannot find a good rip!

I love this intro though. It's used live and I think it really speaks to something deep about humanity.

[gerbil]

Full Money Shot vinyl. Simultaneous begins around 15:30.

[caca]

I just got back from the show in Phoenix. I'll spare you the spoilers and just say that it was a blast from start to finish.

[Rubeninphoenix]

I just got back from the show in Phoenix. I'll spare you the spoilers and just say that it was a blast from start to finish.

Indeed it was! I caught the show at Monster Mash in November and was really looking forward to seeing them in a proper venue over a festival stage. Maynard sounded excellent and oh, that Carina Round...still in awe of her.

[Ryan]

Still the same set list?

[gerbil]

Still the same set list?

Setlist is fire, uncompromised. Hidden hand, protect us from the gossip and spoilers.

[gerbil]

And another thing.

We in the modern age operate under the dangerous misconception regarding our heritage. If one should ask the average citizen whether or not they believe humans are more evolved than our ancient ancestors they will more often than not express the belief that we are indeed far, far superior.

Surely we are more sophisticated and more capable of reason than the hunter gatherers of 13,000 BC. More civilized than the marauding Vikings of 1,000 years ago. We imagine these peoples as ignorant, primitive, barbaric. We are not those peoples.

In fact Homo sapiens--modern humans--share an inherited gene pool with the earliest hominids like australopithecus who lived 2.5 million years ago. We possess no significant physiological differences than Cro-Magnon or the Neanderthals. Nor does evidence suggest our tendencies toward the barbaric have lessened over time.

On the contrary, present day humans are capable of the same self destructive behavior, the same crimes against humanity, the same violent power struggles as our ancestors. We appear to be doomed by our DNA to repeat the same destructive behaviors our forebearors have repeated for millennia. If anything our problem solving skills have actually diminished with the advent of technology and our ubiquitous modern conveniences.

And yet, despite our predisposition toward fear-driven hostility, toward what we anachronistically term 'primitive' behavior another instinct is just as firmly encoded in our makeup. We are capable--as our ancestors were--of incredible, breathtaking acts of kindness.

Every hour of every day a man risks his life at a moment's notice to save another. Forget for a moment the belligerent, benevolent billionaires who grant the unfortunate a crumb of cost-free cake.

I speak of pure acts of selflessness. The mother who rushes into the street to save a child from a speeding vehicle. The person who runs into a burning building to reach a family trapped on an upper story. The man who can barely swim who dives into a lake to rescue a drowning stranger.

Such actions, such moments, such unconscious selfless decisions define what it is to be human.

Should the oceans rise,
Should the sky come falling down,
Should the islands tremble beneath us,
See our better nature blossom.

Should the sun rain fire,
Should Hell on Earth freeze over,
And our inner beast wake hungry,
See our better nature feed them.

Should the sun rain fire,
Should Hell on Earth freeze over,
And our inner beast wait hungry,
See our better nature feed and calm them.

Find a way through, around, or over.

[Ryan]

Come again?

or is that a transcript of the new Simultaneous?

[Harry Seaward]

Come again?

or is that a transcript of the new Simultaneous?

The version from the vinyl he linked 6 posts back, yeah.

Also congrats on post #1,000 in the Puscifer thread.

[gerbil]

They also use(d) it live. I can't figure out who wrote it. If it's an excerpt or original.

I'm more or less in love with it.

[Harry Seaward]

They also use(d) it live. I can't figure out who wrote it. If it's an excerpt or original.

I'm more or less in love with it.

I'm pretty sure the live version I saw had Billy D snorting a bunch of cocaine and ranting for a few minutes. Were there different versions used? Was I that drunk?

[gerbil]

I'm pretty sure the live version I saw had Billy D snorting a bunch of cocaine and ranting for a few minutes. Were there different versions used? Was I that drunk?

From the bootlegs I heard, it's the same speech just given by Billy D.

For some reason Maynard separates his philosophical side into hippie and drug addled characters.

[Rubeninphoenix]

Yep it is Billy D giving a speech as he snorts coke, downs a bunch of glasses of whiskey, and smokes a cigar (or so it seems). I laughed.

[aggroculture]

Saw Puscifer last night in Indy. I wish I could say that it was more than an "OK" show.

They're good musicians, but a lot of the material is not that great. When they rock out, they've got me hooked (Toma, The Remedy), but those long uneventful dirges with no peaks or valleys? Not so much. The Humbling River is a hit? The audience loved it. I don't get it. I feel a lot of their material is lazy jams, but since it's OMG MAYNARD up there crooning and stuff, they get a pass? I can't explain it, maybe it just isn't my thing and people like gothic jam bands.

The Luchafer stuff was OK, but sort of got old fast. About the "NO PHOTOS NO FILMING DUMMY" stuff I am ambivalent: yes, it was nice to not be surrounded by assholes with their phones in the air all gig, but the security on the prowl the whole show, partly to reprimand about photos, put me on edge: and for someone who's spent his career raging against "authority," it was a bit rich. I felt like I was in a mini police state with an obnoxious dictator upfront. Maynard was all like with all this hate in the world you get to go home with a positive message from us...I didn't get much of a good vibe; instead I felt them going through the motions for a paycheck: yeah, I spent $75 on merch: exclusive poster and t-shirt. I dunno, I feel Puscifer has been part awesome, part disappointing from the first album (Rev 22:20 and The Undertaker were awesome, no disappointing - still feel miffed they never did an album with that line-up), and it looks like it's staying that way for me. Some highlights but on the whole doesn't fully deliver.

It was cool to see Paul Barker on bass: there's this song that basically sounds like Ministry (I can't remember the name), I look over and go wow that's Paul Barker on bass.

[theimage13]

The Humbling River is a hit? The audience loved it. I don't get it. I feel a lot of their material is lazy jams, but since it's OMG MAYNARD up there crooning and stuff, they get a pass? I can't explain it, maybe it just isn't my thing and people like gothic jam bands.

I don't think I would ever use the word "gothic" to describe Humbling River, or even "jam". I never knew that it was ever considered a hit either. But it's been a personal favorite of mine since the day I got the EP, and I am extremely excited to see it live. It's one of those songs that would actually stand up lyrically even if there wasn't music behind it (think about how stupid a great deal of lyrics would look if they were simply written down), and coming from an older person who spent his younger years writing angst-y "fuck you" songs, I think it shines as a powerfully mature piece of music. But then, I've also never been someone who leaned exclusively, or even remotely exclusively, towards heavier music. Sure, songs like Toma and The Undertaker are favorites for when I'm at the gym or out running, but I'm the kind of guy who can never just hit shuffle on his iPod because it would go from Marilyn Manson to the Beatles to a piano concerto.

Make no mistake, I'm not an MJK apologizer - there are things he does that just make me kind of sigh. Like the entire lucha libre theme. I just don't like it in general, and certainly not in the context of their music. Seeing him finish up a set last year with Smoke and Mirrors, then Autumn, in that mask? It just felt like the songs would have been much more powerful if he wasn't wearing a costume and there wasn't literally a wrestling ring on stage.

As for the photo/video policy: I'm split on that as well. I felt that the intro rant about that did a good job of coming off as humorous, but I also know that out in the lobby before doors open, there's a manager very un-humorously telling security that they need to shut down any phone they see, which is a little depressing. I get that he doesn't want people spoiling the show, and that he wants them to actually take it in first hand instead of watching it through a four inch screen held in front of their face the whole time. But at the same time, I know that lots of people have friends or family who can't make it to the gigs and would love to see a photo or two of what they missed.

[aggroculture]

I guess I'm ambivalent toward his recent output, and I'm trying to figure out how I feel about it.
He still puts out songs I love...but the persona, there's something majorly off-putting about it to me now.
He seems a bit too comfortable in that shouting bully mode for it to be just a joke. And the rape jokes in Puscifer...come on Maynard, what's going on there?
The Remedy...a song about smacking someone in the fucking mouth...OK.
These days he seems like he's speaking from a position of power, "talking down to you," and I dunno it bothers me a bit. Maybe this is what happens when you're pretty much immune from criticism for 20 years.

I get he's human and all, but in certain tough times of my life Maynard has been something of a spiritual guide, so...well maybe he's just not for me anymore. I think perhaps tired of being seen as this guru, he's sort of shitting on that legacy a bit, having some fun with it, and maybe this unpleasantness is calculated to a degree, or maybe he's just being himself: a curmudgeonly asshole rockstar with a vinyard, who thinks he's funnier than he is. Every disguise is a self portrait, and all that.

I also feel he's a bit like Mike Patton in Peeping Tom: a team player who works really well with others, give him a project where he's the boss, and the balance is lost.

/sorryfortherambling

[gerbil]

Wait, rape joke?

[theimage13]

The Remedy...a song about smacking someone in the fucking mouth...OK.
These days he seems like he's speaking from a position of power, "talking down to you," and I dunno it bothers me a bit.

This is just my personal interpretation of The Remedy, given the lyrics. The language, especially the lines about trolls and choosing to react like an imbecile, seems to be directed at people - largely online - who feel as though they can say the absolute shittiest stuff in the world and get away with it because they're hiding behind a screen. "Should you choose to react like an imbecile, you'll in turn be treated so" speaks to that as well. Be a fucking dickbag online, massively overreact to things, or go on tirades on subjects you don't actually know anything about? Fine, just don't expect to be taken seriously or treated with kindness. Respect is a two way street.

You speak like someone who has never been smacked in the fucking mouth? That's okay, we have your remedy.

In the days in which Maynard grew up, corporal punishment at home - fuck, even in schools - was FAR more commonplace and accepted. These days, there's a prevalent perception that teenagers and young adults are far more disrespectful than their parents were at the same age, but so much as spank your child and you may get arrested for assault. The insinuation here is that decades ago, if you were a total wanker and stepped out of line, you got smacked once, and you learned your lesson. Right or wrong, it seemed to be effective.

"Yes, that means we're talking down to you" doesn't seem like he's speaking from a position of power to me. It sounds like he's speaking from a position of an educated person who's sick of morons polluting the world with obscenely ridiculous rhetoric.

But that's just how I interpret that song.

Oh, and rape jokes in Puscifer? I mean, did you seriously never hear the song Opiate? He's been talking about rape since the literal first disc he ever released with any of his bands. He's not exactly new to taboo subjects...

[gerbil]

Did I miss something about rape jokes?

[Harry Seaward]

Does Cuntry Boner count as a rape joke?

[heavenly_bearded]

I've heard @aggroculture mention this rape joke on more than one occasion. I too would like you to elaborate on what joke you're speaking of.

[Ryan]

Does Cuntry Boner count as a rape joke?

Fucking all of someone's kin would definitely have to involve some sort of rape.

[theimage13]

Does Cuntry Boner count as a rape joke?

How on god's green earth did I forget that song existed? Now that I think of it again....Kenny Rogers thought it crass when I fucked his big white ass? Yeah, that one sounds like a rapin' to me.

[virushopper]

[aggroculture]

I'm talking about the artwork for Parole - and Donkey Punch The Night.
In the early days MJK discussed rape in provocative, meaningful ways: regarding idolatry on Opiate yes, but I'm thinking more about the child abuse he narrates on Prison Sex. That song was what brought me to Tool. And the metaphor he's using there makes sense.
Nowadays I feel he uses rape humor, I dunno, I'd say irresponsibly. I don't get what he's aiming at: prison rape is not funny. If you're going to talk about rape in prison, how about turning your attention to the very real problem of mass incarceration? But, no, gotta make cheap jokes at hicks. Please feel free to tell me what I'm missing.

@theimage13 that is a fair interpretation of the song, but he's still the one offering to smack someone.
In the Youtube comments for the video there's one saying it's about Republican politicians: which is interesting because to me he sounds more like Chris Christie, telling people to sit down and shut up and offering to punch the teachers' union in the face.

[gerbil]

I guess I'm ambivalent toward his recent output, and I'm trying to figure out how I feel about it.
He still puts out songs I love...but the persona, there's something majorly off-putting about it to me now.
He seems a bit too comfortable in that shouting bully mode for it to be just a joke. And the rape jokes in Puscifer...come on Maynard, what's going on there?
The Remedy...a song about smacking someone in the fucking mouth...OK.
These days he seems like he's speaking from a position of power, "talking down to you," and I dunno it bothers me a bit. Maybe this is what happens when you're pretty much immune from criticism for 20 years.

I get he's human and all, but in certain tough times of my life Maynard has been something of a spiritual guide, so...well maybe he's just not for me anymore. I think perhaps tired of being seen as this guru, he's sort of shitting on that legacy a bit, having some fun with it, and maybe this unpleasantness is calculated to a degree, or maybe he's just being himself: a curmudgeonly asshole rockstar with a vinyard, who thinks he's funnier than he is. Every disguise is a self portrait, and all that.

I also feel he's a bit like Mike Patton in Peeping Tom: a team player who works really well with others, give him a project where he's the boss, and the balance is lost.

/sorryfortherambling

From the interviews it seems like he's specifically talking about can't or won't contribute. People who can't or won't be polite.

I mean, who among us does not know someone who says the most ignorant, hateful things? I've always taken the "smacked in the fucking mouth" to mean that people don't smack bullshit down.

[gerbil]

Also elaborate on specific rape jokes or come on let it go.

[Lew]

ok. that was a coffee spurting out the nose moment, watching that.

i love his dry humour.

[theimage13]

Favorite moment: listing off the countries they're playing.

"Austria!" [closeup of pointer on Australia]