to Be Magazine #2 plus Merzbow mixtape

What can a counter-cultural print publication centred around arts, fashion and music be in 2021, in an age where online publishing allows to reach anyone?

For myself, the real achievement of a well-curated print magazine lies in its provision of a space for a real dialogue to create a forum where visions can be shared and critical thinking nourished.

Enter to Be magazine, a very particular publication in that it seems to actively resist to conform to having a fixed identity or format.
Published in a bi-annual fashion, the print version is complemented by an online space as a catalyst for interpolating artists to share their emissions and to connect with new audiences, aestheticians and art enthusiasts.

With Annabel de Vere as a curator at the helm of editing, to Be disseminates new ideas portrayed in an idiosyncratic and unprecedented way of presentation by not merely providing an analysis of the respective content, but by creating a place for discourse.

The free form of each issue aspires to reinvent itself while still somehow retaining its DNA, i.e. imagery being independent and not merely illustrative or ornamental, by expanding and experimenting with traditional editorial and curatorial practices, allowing for pushing the boundaries in terms of presentation and reflection in equal measure.

Balancing a global outlook with an emphasis on the local nature of the magazine, I like the flexibility of the foci as they zoom in and out, which allow for at times delicate, intimate observations which not only geared towards spawning discussions but by being inherently part of it.

to Be’s current, second issue is centred around the key to longevity, i.e. the changing of and with the times and ways to address and respond to the ever-changing fast-paced reality we are faced with these days.

Light is shed through different prisms on how political notions, technological advancements and subcultural development impact its diverse and eclectic cast of contributors, ranging from artists like Erwin Wurm via photographers like Joshua Gordon to musicians like Eartheater. 

In an age of immediacy and overwhelming connectivity, to Be is an ode to lingering on the process, the ongoing and with its deliberate print format, physical objects that can be preserved. 

An ambitious, well-curated tour de force of inspiration, documenting moments, movement and tendencies that matter, the authorship of which gives credit to the notion that there is an astute awareness of the identity of the readership.

Issue #2 is accompanied by a mixtape of noise maestro Asami Makita, i.e. Merzbow. Comprised of rare outtakes of his harsh, confrontational torrent of noise, the mixtape pays homage to the unique space Merzbow occupies in the realm of experimental music at large. 

The taped is backed by Room40’s Lawrence English musings on Merzbow to contextualise the man’s expansive oeuvre and educate the uninitiated on his approach and evolution. What a treat it would have been to have Asami himself contribute an article on his fetishes…

Hachette Publishing Special

Asterix and the Griffin  (Asterix No. 39)

By Jean Yves-Ferri and Didier Conrad

I grew up with Asterix, i.e. the original incarnation of characters created by Rene Goscinny, and it was heart-breaking to see how both the storytelling and wit suffered when illustrator Albert Uderzo tried to do both.

Having not had exposure to the Asterix series since the nineties, it was fantastic to see that the new creative duo, i.e. Jean Yves-Ferri and Didier Conrad, seem to have gotten things back on track with the thirty-ninth release of the series, i.e. Asterix and the Griffin.

This instalment sees Asterix, Obelix, their loyal dog Idefix and their druid Getafix embark to Sarmatia, an icy landscape located around today’s Russian territory, which was fabled to be guarded by a mythical half-eagle / half-lion animal, in a bid to help the Sarmatians to fight Caesar’s troops who had been sent out to capture the griffin and bring it back to Rome.

Asterix and the Griffin is delightfully dominated by puns, wordplay and underlying references, quips, clever nomenclature and allusions galore with a finely nuanced delivery that is bound to entertain not only children but has enough eastereggs and subtle plot content, with feminism being only one of the more obvious issues being tackled.

It is a real joy to see a return of the classic illustrations with an emphasis on rich coloured and meticulous attention to detail, which invites one to get lost in each individual panel, paired with the discoveries of what real-life and historic characters the protagonists are based on. 

Despite the story staring a tad abruptly without further contextualisation, Asterix and the Griffin with its myth-meets-reality story delivers in spades by incorporating contemporary issues  and demonstrates that the DNA of the original is being honoured and taken to the next level by a team clearly comprised of long-time Asterix fans.

The legacy lives on.

The Day of the Dead – A Visual Compendium

Dia de Muertos, i.e. the less solemn holiday of death is more geared towards a joyful celebration rather than the traditional mourning in the manner Western culture gathers to pay respects to the dearly departed.

More often than not substantiated with humorous undertones, colourful imagery, flowers, self-built altars and sustenance is prepared in a light hearted bid to pay homage to the deceased.

Experiencing the Mexican Day of the Dead in the third dimension on site is a mind-blowing experience, the essence of which this comprehensive tome sets out to capture by collating a myriad of artistic ephemera celebrating the dead. 

The sheer visual vibrance and splendour, visionary imaginations and attention to detail is a sight to behold and this anthology does a fantastic job conveying the spiritual essence via not only photos but both traditional and iconic illustrations of (sugar) skulls, depictions of swinging skeleton characters, meticulously crafted paper cuts, and classic artworks created by such trailblazing artists like Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, whose works elevate the depictions to another level as they tie in with the folklore on a deeper level and include references to historic events of their lineage.

Curated by luminaries in the field of Mexican art and culture, this faceted compendium is not only recommended for Day of the Dead aficionados but for anyone remotely interested in cultural events, idiosyncratic takes on life and death and vibrant, engaging artistic representations of what moves and affects humanity in its very core.

Yearbook 

Seth Rogen

Over the years, more often than not, I have quite enjoyed Seth Rogen channelling his idiosyncratic comedic talents on screen – be it in the fantastic Freaks and Geeks, or his mainstream success movies that made him a famed, generational actor and filmmaker.

Yearbook meanders through Rogen’s life from his humble beginnings as a comedian, honing his craft via the meteoritic rise to him now being a seasoned elder statesman of the funny realm. 

Comprised of candid essays, Rogen elicits laughter not merely through jokes and the recounting of funny anecdotes, but through the way he expertly structures stories and eloquently elaborates in a manner that allows a deeper insight in his approach and thinking.

Apart from career defining moments, it is the mishaps and episodes shedding light on his failures that in a non-linear fashion highlight Rogen’s thoughtfulness, wit and ability to find humour in the strangest of places, far away from the weed induced humour he is known for. Needless to say, there are also chapters dedicated to the latter via recalling outrageous drug induced episodes.

Yearbook is an immensely entertaining tour de force in storytelling due to his blunt approach in not beating around the bush when it comes to detailing the eccentricities of the celebrities he gets exposed to along the way and how they conducted themselves, including but not limited to encounters with the likes of George Lucas, Nicolas Cage, Kanye West and Tom Cruise.

Another interesting facet is added when Rogen offers insight into the inner workings of the film industry, e.g. when he goes into pointed elaborations about The Interview versus North Korea fiasco and the implications of social media.

Rogen’s prose is on point and well-nuanced throughout, often eliciting unexpected laughs with his collection of true and often touching stories.

Due to Rogen’s humility and absence of mean-spiritedness, his quasi-memoir Yearbook is an affable feel-good book and the written equivalent to a hangout with the man.

The Formative Years

Helloween

As prepubescent in the late 1980s, there was a German heavy metal band that ruled my world long before I endeavoured to get lost in the world of extreme music.

I must have been nine when I was gifted Helloween’s Walls of Jericho album and it instantaneously blew my mind – the artwork, the tight and intricate musicianship, the theatrical vocals with the unrivalled stability on those insanely high soaring notes, the effortlessness of delivery and the fact that a band like that emerged from Germany. 

I was hooked.

What followed was a massive step up: Helloween’s two epic concept albums centred around fantasy stories, i.e. Keeper of the Seven Keys part 1 and 2. What was initially planned to be a double album but then split in two parts as it was perceived to be too ambitious by the label, became a major success.

With a new vocalist who was by the time of recording merely nine years older than me, the two album do not merely mark a turning point in the band’s history and departure from Helloween’s accomplished speed metal roots, but it deliberately  ventures into melodic territory and is widely heralded as one of the first albums that would define a new genre going by the moniker power metal.

Sound-, lyric, artwork- and music-wise Keeper of the Seven Keys within the context of its time felt like a ground-breaking, new self-contained cosmos that the band confidently sculpted to push the envelope in every direction.

Epic, progressive and mystic in equal measure, the two Keeper of the Seven Keys albums create a unique atmosphere and make them a fun listen to this day due to the heavy riffing, catchy (pre-)choruses, melodic guitars with dominant virtuosic and inspired soli taking up a disproportionate amount of real estate on the masterful recordings, which expertly change atmospheres throughout from reassuring to horrific and everything in between not unlike a well-executed movie with a nuanced storyline.

Looking back, it is not further wondrous that both albums kicked the doors open for Helloween to become a Teutonic success story, which saw them not only tour with Iron Maiden, play Monsters of Rock, tour successfully all over the world and eventual being graced with airplay on MTV’s Headbangers Ball.

Curiously enough, the sentiment of their single I Want Out not only reflected my outlook on the world at that time, but catapulted me into the exploration of heavier and more extreme music.

Pomade and Underground Culture throughout the Ages

Ever since the inception of rock’n roll music, extravagant hairdos have been  inextricably linked to underground music cultures. However, some of them also have their trademark go-to products to refine them. I am not necessarily referring to punks using glue and anything sticky to ensure that their mohawk is at a ninety degree angle but rockabillies and greasers, whose nomenclature already suggests the products they prefer, i.e. tubes of grease or pomade.

Derived from French “pomade”, in its original form it was made from the curious melange of mashed apples, animal fats and herbs and was thus used as an ointment, long before being employed as a hair product heavier and being lauded for doing a better job than traditional waxes or creams.

Ever since the 1950ies and I vividly remember both my grandfathers using it extensively leaving their respective bathrooms with the resulting hovering wafts of the product’s aromas, pomades have been used to not only keep one’s quiff in shape but imbue the pompadour with a luscious, stylishly shiny and waxy look, so it should not be further wondrous that it has become synonymous with rockabilly culture.

Eventually pomade has evolved to become a more refined product than to serve the purpose of greasing back young Elvis’ hair, with a modern twist giving birth to a range of different variants giving a softer, slightly texturized or matte finish, which was just around the time when it made a comeback into underground culture and hardcore. 

However, despite having evolved from a product that leaves residue everywhere to one with ingredients that make it feel like set jelly with a bit of bounce to it, pomade has still retained a defined purpose and distinct vibe, which seems essentially geared towards a certain hair type, i.e. at least medium length top and side, short in the back.

I usually start with a coin sized bit of pomade applied to slightly damp, towel-dried hair starting with the sides to then move to the back and finally pull my fingers through the top, to then add more if needed. Apply it vice versa and you are going to end up with a front-heavy piece. 

While I usually wear my hair fairly short, I have witnessed unapologetic perfectionist psychobilly friends finetune their more exaggerated distinction between the top, back and sides, creating sculpted, upwards pointing shiny, hairy waves that would make the Fonz jealous, or alternatively the Mike Ness’ of this world, rough and ready, pulled back with a comb and a generous serving of pomade to give it a glossy finish and ample opportunity to reshape throughout the day.

Intrigued by its stylish presentation and the overall brand concept within the confines of a barbershop, I was introduced to King Brown Pomade and its product range. Luckily, their tobacco and vanilla scented core product lived up to what the designs on the tins promised in terms of hold and sheen. 

Eventually I moved to King Brown’s cologne scented water soluble based formula along with the lemon myrtle and sandalwood fragrance carrying, natural look enhancing Cream pomade variant, as both dry firm yet can be restyled without the need of a water source, complemented  by the sheen-less volume enhancing  Kingbrown grooming spray geared at taming longer hair.

All of the aforementioned enriched my grooming routine immensely and looking a bit deeper into how King Brown came about, the love, care and research that went into refining individual products along with the schmick designs that adorn its products and make it look classy instead of merely novelty products that try to fit into an overcrowded niche.

The Formative Years

Beastie Boys

My first exposure to Beastie Boys was via a birthday present I received as a prepubescent in form of the Licensed to Ill vinyl album, which constituted first hip-hop vinyl album I owned. 

It was not long after that I discovered what I thought was a hardcore punk band with the same name via a copy of the New York Trash compilation. I shared my curious discovery with an elder scenester only to be corrected that it was indeed the same band – a fact that blew my mind. 

Listening to their Polly Wog Stew 7” started a lifelong interest in Beastie Boy’s creative cosmos and I explored their evolution from their early rudimentary punk days to the incorporation of rap into their sets, their Def Jam Rick Rubin years in the mid-'80s, the move to Capitol Records and the recording of their fantastic Paul’s Boutique album. Just when I thought I had them figured out, they released an album that again upped the ante in terms of existing almost exclusively of eclectic samples.

Next up was Check Your Head, which took an interesting deliberate detour into territory where the band started playing instruments, incorporate jazz and funk elements along with a tribute to their early hardcore punk roots, and saw them found their own label Grand Royal Records.

Ill Communication followed in 1994 and while being another great album, it was around the time that I lost interest due to them getting extensive air play on MTV as in the year that punk broke, jocks got into alternative music via the mainstream success of bands like Nirvana, which was something my teenage rebellion could not tolerate.

I only recently dedicated time visiting their output from 1996 onwards and was richly rewarded:

Hello Nasty added another string to their bow with bombastic beats and more experimental sounds; To the 5 Boroughs saw them taking the helm as producers, followed by the instrumental album The Mix-Up. 

“Hot Sauce Committee” became an instant favourite with the melange of playing and sampling obscure records as they were playing.

2018 saw the release of the memoir, i.e. Beastie Boys Book, which is a gem and highly recommended as it documents their journey from starting as a hardcore punk band that started to infiltrate mainstream culture via hip hop and rap rock, to then subversively mix elements of funk, electro and jazz to trailblaze create their very own lane and thereby created the foundation for alternative hip hop and alternative rock in equal measure.