headrolls too

Malveillance tape with irreversible dropouts, Haat tape with maybe yes too, I'm afraid to check - both having been unspooled and slightly chewed by the cassette deck in WFMU's record library. And yes, if I act fast, I may be able to replace one or both of these cassettes, but I shouldn't HAVE TO. Monarque cs also made a meal of by deck #1 in Studio A, but I'm relatively sure I got to it in time. WFMU's decks are oft-used and abused, but even my deck at home (driven only to Church on Sundays) jams or cannot spool certain tapes (it's down to the quality of the blanks that the artist or label is using; bulk blanks are often spooled poorly.) But hey, what do I know? NOTHING, and I should just SHUT UP, b/c tapes are cool and the new-bin cassette cubby here at the station, assuming it's some indication of the overall, is overflowing. (Deathbed confessions whispered weakly to the very last loved one: "Berger was right!")

Look, it's not a bigadda deal, I will survive, but this ongoing obsession/fixation with music-cassettes would not hold up against a jury of its peers. (Malveilance already being cued up for next week; it will survive as well.) LIFE—ONE LONG, PRE-DEATH NAP. (Quick cutaway—Josef Stalin and one of Der Fŭhrer's underlings—supremely AWKWARD OkCupid date. At least Stalin could EAT, his menu choices not limited by the need to avoid sub-master-race Samosas.) I TELL YA....I'm just a dumb guy who knows nothing really. I'm going to do an all-classical music show; I'll amass a collection of miniature busts of all the great composers, and spread them out on the console every week, a pinch of snuff, and I'm OFF....)

Quickly now, what happens when Kevin Hart has to look at the same thing at the same time, with BOTH eyes? The butterfly's wings gently tap one another as they finish and then begin to slide out of their arc, this all happens too quickly to really observe, but soon questions like "Where did you put the ____?" and "Are you bored?" will all suddenly NOT MATTER FUCK ALL.

Fer Chrissakes, just realizing that this Cacasonic / Malveilance split was taped over a decades-old classical-music cassette. Ah, the memories! Vanilla Bean: "I really liked your demo; it held up well, as a blank." Tabs were popped, but there was always Scotch tape handy, Lloyd knows how many X! This observation has turned into a rant (did you notice?), and in lieu of EVERYTHING, always remember to SHOP PRISON TATT (new, full-length LPs by Bob Bellerue and NRIII now available!) Cinderella was named for cinders—that's the fairy tale, not the hair-metal band.

I would fuck the daylights out of Felicia Day, her impossibly long legs draped on my shoulders, her ankles eventually crossed behind my neck. Cosplay, "aahsplay," I splay, and "Adrienne, I always knew you was pretty witch your glasses OFF."

My plate is FULL, and there's just not enough room for drunks, not even the "doesn't need to drink every day, but their personality changes when they do" kind. "Am I just a hypocrite, another piece of your bullshit?" ...And what would that LOOK LIKE, exactly? A PIECE of bullshit? A section, a sample. Terry Hall and Jane Wiedlin, it's always been really hard to picture. He always seemed "a-list Gay" to me. But again, "what do I know, what do I know, what do I know, what do I KNOW?" They got at least one good song out of it.

I'm liking these downloads, from brain, to fingers, to binary, to the FIVE PEOPLE THAT WILL ACTUALLY READ THIS. Sorry, Dad. Look away, Dixieland.

Shine on, shine on Brocken Moon. It was too cloudy to see the Blood Moon the other night, at least here in NJ it was. I hope SOMEONE sacrificed a goat, and meant it.

Our weekly screen capture, this time from Rob Zombie's The Lords of Salem, will take you to the archived audio, playlist and comments for this week's horrorcast™... It's a long way from Carlstadt, NJ, where I once proofread on the night shift; neither good, nor terribly bad, but while you're waiting please consider our sponsors' wonderful products. (Throws down mic, it "thumps" on the stage floor, nods affirmatively and walks off. ...)

Pie and not gone. ... Viva La Berger!

My colleague Jonathan Herweg (our shows used to butt up on Thursday nights, and I find his program to be generally excellent) got me at a funny moment; I was "going off," which I now rarely do, taking an extended first mic break, talking of all things, whatever thoughts, stories and opinions were bursting to get out last night, and in the midst of this op-ed-rant, Jonathan writes "Viva La Berger!" to the playlist comments, catching me off guard and giving me a laugh, though I assume he was generally liking what he was hearing. So when I use that phrase as a blog-post title, it's as much self-aggrandizing as it is self-effacing. Man should be humble and proud in equal measure!

Much love for Fairport Convention's "Tam Lin," a song I too have loved for many years. I was a bit worried that I was starting off too "rock," at least for the general listener expectations that tend to surround The Castle, so the massively positive reception was reassuring. I'll also mention right here that "Tam Lin" is about witches, curses, knights, fairies, Hallowe'en—a wholly appropriate bit of drama-laden folklore from the British Isles. "They will turn me into a newt or a snake, but hold me tight and fear not, I am your baby's Father."

Not much to add; I'm working on some live music stuff for the upcoming month-plus, but nothing to announce definitively yet.

Last night's show was in three, fairly definable chunks—"rock dirges; apocalypse score"—"black metal, kvlt!"—and "long M.B. piece." Hope you enjoy(ed)! Click on the partially digested shoe from the great Death Bed (thanks, Tracy!) to reach the playlist, archive and comments.

The Rapture, in Several Shades of Orange

I've been taking longer breaks from special guests and live music, since My Castle of Quiet came back to WFMU's weekly air in December. And what can I say? Painful for The Fonz, but not for me—I WAS WRONG!

The concentrated joy of last night's set by Future Death Toll was its own reward. Fresh off of tour, the band sounded a-frickin'-mazing, and I was immediately confronted with a familiar feeling, of "O, Lucky Man!" I dig deep into the underground, bobbing for those most-artistic of apples, and come up with the OUTSTANDING sounds of FUTURE DEATH TOLL!!! Indeed, I am fortunate, to have this incredible OUTLET wherein I can extend invitations to artits such as these, and they just show up and play! Sit in that Studio B chair sometime, and you'll begin to understand how good the years of MCoQ weekly broadcasts have been to me, and to the program's devoted listeners. The kiss of WFMU is GOLDEN, and I need to remember to utilize this opportunity, in order to bestow upon all who care the rareified talents of artists like these.

An off-and-on tenure of some 30-very-odd years with the station has afforded me the true gift to host some of my favorite artists / bands, and to introduce to a wider audience some lesser-known greats as well.

The playlist comments bubbled over with appreciation for our guests, and tracks by She Wants Revenge, and Svartpest (a favorite from 2003.)

...Time then, to line up some more live sets for the ensuing months, and remind myself of which side The Castle's black bread is buttered on.

Click on our gauzy trio, from the Shaw Brothers film The Boxer's Omen, a psychedelic-horror-gross/out-Tao-revenge wizzbang of a weirdass film, to reach the playlist and audio archive of last night's horrorcast™.

For more from Future Death Toll, also check out their pages on soundcloud and bandcamp.

FUTURE DEATH TOLL ... LIVE TONIGHT, ON MY CASTLE OF QUIET

Future Death Toll are an exciting performance and sound-art troupe, with a mighty presence on YouTube, and luckily for us, a library of terrific songs as well. Three orange jumpsuits seem to indicate that they are prisoners as well, though by appearances, prisoners of their art, or the world, rather than a Maximum Security incarceration facility.

Personally, I've been preparing for this most of my life, as I know I will kill someone eventually, but we're not here to talk about me, well sort of not. I did have one of those PURE musical experiences with this band, you know the kind—where you are only peripherally aware of what you have playing, until it rises to engage and energize you fully, as in, "what the hell is THIS I have playing? THIS is GREAT!: "Ill get a flashlight." You read the tape case and BOOM!—A star is born, in your own little encapsulated world at least, a kind of highly personalized American Idol in your brain.

Musically, F-DT are a more friendly, but still weird-as-fuck Genocide Organ; home brewed and delicious without all the rape and general nastiness; I don't actually know what they're singing about, could be rape, but the general tone of whimsy in Future Death Toll suggests otherwise, not forgetting that their name is Future Death Toll after all, but sonically therein, lies the suggestion of everything from The Residents to DEVO, to the colorful roster of Rainbow Bridge Recordings; and it's on the strength of this self-released cassette alone that I proposed a LIVE visit to My Castle of Quiet and WFMU, track after track engaging in a way similar to the homespun multi-track charms of the original lo-fi cassette era of the 1980s, and labels like Subterranean and Posh Boy; and what makes it apropos to the horror-shaped goings on of this show are the droll, apocalyptic references, the tone of the vocals, and the suggestion that one "just crawl into a body bag instead of going to work" -and yea, my simple-enough needs are MET!

There's also enough crackle, thump and jarring sounds to call this noise, though the relatively short, catchy (my definition) tunes make it pop—pop-calypse, that is. Contemporary noise-heads won't know the difference, they'll jump-along, and those with an older, broader sense of underground musical history will enjoy the accidental or intentional references to a wacked-out attitude that sits comfortably alongside Nash The Slash or The Poetics.

This is a band after WFMU's sonic heart, and I'm thoroughly energized to see what they'll do with the opportunity to render a live radio set. RSVP Facebook.

I gently finger the threads of rope at the end of my tether, @ midnight.
F-DT @ 12:30, 12:40 a.m. approx.
WFMU 91.1FM (NY/NJ)
WMFU 90.1FM (Hudson Valley)
in Rockland County @ 91.9FM
wfmu.org LIVE on the Web.

Looks like an interspecies orgy!

Entreat. You're in a bad way with the representatives of The Church. As if your humility and passion weren't obvious, they taunt you, because they have real life-or-death control over your destiny. They take it lightly, this life of yours. Tens of thousands of peasants (and some nobility, too) died miserable, painful deaths at the hand of the mighty Church. And what of thee? Savor every moment, and say your words when given the chance. This was THE WAY, for so very long.

Modern man clings to his Bible, and in many a case, takes the text quite literally, even to this day. When, oh when, will the Age of Reason initiate, and then dominate the common consciousness, such that not one more soul need suffer at the hand of The Church's judgments?

From the entreat to the TREAT; last night, Castlefolk bore humble, enthused WITNESS to the emanations from THE SEED STOCK. AND IT WAS GREAT. Our third, and perhaps final, for some time at least, to the carefully woven musical selections, a comprehensive view, in sound, of all that informs THE SEED STOCK. This was perhaps RB's greatest appearance at The Castle, though said visits are always a welcome feast for the mind and ears. This was the kind of show where, if you're like me, you spent hours online afterward, beseeching all known merchants, seeking out these rare treasures. Yea, every selection from the satchel of THE SEED STOCK was a reward, a stimulating journey through the universe of black metal and punk. Too many gems to mention or single out.

Click on our supplicant ABOVE, to reach the playlist and audio archive of last night's broadcast, thoughtfully presented by your host, and the good folks at WFMU. Indeed, your host wishes even that he could take back the initial forty minutes or so, my selections, as pleased as I surely was with them, and give those minutes back to THE SEED STOCK, so that we could have heard even more. Hindsight aside, you will enjoy enjoy enjoy every precious minute, I shit thee not.

Thank you for listening, and for your comments; much appreciation from your host, and our guests.

Give a listen, weather the (perhaps) OVER-stimulation, and then listen again. It really was that good, and I'm glad we hosted RB, who is indeed welcome back ANY TIME. Our cup overfloweth, at this rarest-of-the-rare presentations, before we are, quite against our will, slogged back to the Dungeon of the Christians.

Seed Stock guest spot #1, 23rd September 2011

Seed Stock guest spot #2, 31st August 2012

viz:


My Castle of Quiet returns next week, with live music from Future Death Toll.

TONIGHT! SEED STOCK RECS. GUEST-DJ APPEARANCE #3!

Coming up on My Castle of Quiet's April Fool's Day 4/1-4/2 program, our third guest-DJ appearance by RB of Seed Stock Records. Like your host, but even more so, RB brings an excess of material for the 3-hr. allotment, and is an avid, maniacal collector of black metal—obscure cassettes, demos, vinyl, CDs, and CDrs—released by artists from the genre's regional enclaves worldwide, all assembled from his personal collection.

In the past, these stints have been wildly popular with WFMU and MCoQ listeners, and I have learned over time that our guest has no trouble whatsoever filling out a three-hour program, so while we will hear a *few* of my own must-hear selections, designed to fit this night's particular mold, the programming will be largely assembled by RB of Seed Stock, the label having proven itself to be a clearing house for the most-select rarities and idiosyncratic oddities of metal's much-maligned stepchild of a sub-genre, constantly pressuring its own boundaries.

So have your ears pricked, and your recorders ready, for this third installment of the most outlandish and comprehensive view that the global, black-metal community has to offer. MCoQ is honored to host RB for a third time.

That's tonight, midnight-3 a.m.

WFMU 91.1FM (NY/NJ)
WMFU 90.1FM (Hudson Valley)
in Rockland County @ 91.9FM
wfmu.org LIVE on the Web.