Black Pus Is Going on Tour, And Here are Three Reasons Why You're Going to At Least One of the Shows

By Mike McHugh on Apr 10 2009

The ugly American in me wants to think that Sigur Rós (and probably Björk) are the only Icelanders making a decent living after the near total collapse of their nation’s economy. Then again, that’s like saying The Fray (and probably Taylor Swift) are the only Americans making a decent living after the near total collapse of their nation’s economy, which... now that I think about it... might be true... Nah! I’m pretty sure Beyonce’s doing okay, too. No need to worry, America. Crisis averted.

Despite a horrid fiscal situation the world over, the voice of Sigur Rós, Jón Þór Birgisson, ain’t doing too bad for himself. Hot on the heels of Sigur Rós’ fifth record Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (TMT Review), Birgisson will release a new record with colleague Alex Somers on July 20. The pair has collaborated on a number of art exhibitions over the last few years as Riceboy Sleeps, which coincidentally is the name of the album. Here’s one of their art pieces. One motherfuck of a downer, ain’t it? Well, that’s Iceland for you. Or America. Or some other place in the world where lives are being crushed either by senseless monotony or nose-diving bank accounts. Hmm, I guess that’s everywhere. Oh well, fuck the world and fuck all of you!

By Liz Louche on Apr 10 2009

You know Rhys Chatham as an experimental musician who gained renown with his epic guitar compositions and who tuned the pianos/harpsichords of many avant-garde artists, including Glenn Gould. Perhaps you think of him as the fellow whose career really took off with 1978's Guitar Trio, which he performed alongside Glenn Branca and Nina Canal of Ut. Or perhaps you know him as the dude commissioned by the city of Paris to create a performance piece for 400 guitars. But, whatever you may think, Rhys isn't only about guitars and guys named Glenn.

With the recent unveiling of the French and English language psych/drone/out/folk blog Visitation Rites (created by TMT contributors Emilie Friedlander and Sophie Pécaud), you can also add astrologist to the list. Now, normally I like to look at my horoscope quickly and surreptitiously before I head off to work (so no one will judge my desire for guidance from the stars), but Mr. Chatham really seems to have tapped profoundly into my life. Take a look at this excerpt from the Virgo horoscope for this month:

How about those emails you were supposed to respond to? Or finally looking at your bank account to discover what horrors it holds? This is a good month to do a bit of spring cleaning.

It's like Rhys Chatham has actually looked into my inbox, my empty bank account, and my soul. Because all those things need urgent attention. And if I can read a review of a movie about Vikings with music from Brian Eno and Judas Priest while tapping into Chatham's otherwordly knowledge, then it's all for the better.

Check out Chatham's first entry here.