53 minutes, 40 seconds

Decoded Feedback
Technophoby

Things pop up where you least expect them. Take, for example, this listing I read last night in the "Goings On About Town" section of the May 7, 2007, issue of The New Yorker:

B. B. King Blues Club & Grill
237 W. 42nd St. (212) 997-4144)--May 3: Front Line Assembly, made up of veterans of the industrial scene that gave birth to bands like Nine Inch Nails, specializes in mechanized beats brimming with cacophonous clangs and malevolent, robotic vocals. Despite having never achieved the same level of success as N.I.N., this Vancouver outfit continues its relentless, electronic march as if the nineties had never ended.

Ha! Exactly what I'd expect The New Yorker to say about FLA--or any other industrial band, for that matter. Slightly arch tone, somewhat dismissive without being entirely disrespectful. It's an art. And it's one of the many reasons I love that magazine.

Also surprised to see FLA play a place like the B.B. King Blues Club. I mean, look at their upcoming shows: Billy Ocean, Boyz II Men, Air Supply, and--and Donny Osmond, for Christ's sake! My head is spinning.

At the risk of giving away my age, the first time I saw FLA live was in New York, back in 1991 during the Tactical Neural Implant tour. Amazing show. It was at the Limelight, a grand old church that had been converted into a club. An elaborate gothic cathedral seems a much more appropriate venue for FLA than a blues club. But that's the youthful Romantic in me talking. Now I'm a cynical old curmudgeon who wouldn't be surprised to see Der Blutharsch play at Chuck E. Cheese.

Actually, that would be an awesome show.

Also today:

53:39 Eurocide, Europe in Dust
53:36 Will, Pearl of Great Price
53:32 Morthond, This Crying Age
53:31 In the Nursery, Hindle Wakes (CD 2 of 2)
53:31 Klinik, Contrast
53:31 Raison d'Être, The Empty Hollow Unfolds
53:30 Derma-Tek, Corpus Technological
53:29 Lumin, Datura
53:25 Dulce Liquido, Disolución
53:25 Xmal Deutschland, Fetisch
53:24 In Slaughter Natives, Resurrection
53:21 Covenant, Skyshaper (CD 1 of 2)
53:20 Qntal, V: Silver Swan