I wrote an article on the vision of the future offered at the 1939 New York World's Fair for the new Hoof & Antler. You can pick up a free copy of the newspaper with its swell other features at Mickey Mart.
If you don't live near a Mickey Mart, then you'll have to settle for reading my latest novel, The Front Yard War.
This is probably the final single for a while since there's a new album coming out this summer. I experimented with fading this song out, both by playing quietly and then by actually fading out on the recording. Musically, it has the usual vocals, guitar, fake bass, and drums, but I think I couldn't find a good hi-hat sound I liked on any percussion, so I just used vocals for that. I'd buy an actual hi-hat, but I probably have too many musical instruments as it is. Maybe someday. Lyrics are below:
Crossing guards often have a thing for me.
I prefer to jaywalk, but they like to cross me safely.
When I was a boy she just held my hand.
She holds something else now that I'm a man.
She helped me across the street of love.
Make the traffic stop. Make my heart go.
She whips her stop sign up from below.
If she were at the ocean, she could hold back the tide,
but she can't hold me back when I'm inside.
If we stay in the lines, we could do it in the street,
but a crosswalk romance can get trampled under people's feet.
The light may change and people may shout,
but she still puts more than just her arms out.
For more Wred Fright music, give his latest album a listen or download at your favorite digital music site such as Soundcloud, Spotify, or Bandcamp!
Thanks to New Pop Lit for their shoutout about Frighty #2! You can read the second issue of Frighty here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mxtKjKFYzM7k3ujI4S43G1ZcCop15i69/view. Remember, it's designed to be printed doublesided flip on short edge, then you can fold and even staple/bind if you're feeling really inspired. It's not really designed to be read online. I'll probably do a third issue of the zine in the fall since some folks already sent material for it.
Today's Bloomsday, so that means summer is upon us, and I will be taking a short break from the blog. See you in July with a new single, a new album, perhaps another autographed novel to add to the others now available, some music videos, and whatever else the rest of 2025 brings!
In the meantime, why not do some summer reading, starting with my latest novel, The Front Yard War?!
Dave Bell had a noise project named Luftkanone around 2000 or so. It was definitely some crazy extreme music. I saw him play it live a couple of times. He was loosely part of the Cleveland, Ohio USA noise scene for a time but drifted away due to lack of proximity (he moved back to Western Pennsylvania) and some of his fellow noise musicians' antics (I remember him telling me one story about how after a noise show or something they went to an inner city strip club and one of the musicians started yelling racial epithets--as you can guess that didn't go over well and guns were pulled). Vicki, Dave's widow, found some of the Luftkanone cds among his stuff. I couldn't find the music (though some might not consider noise music music, it is music, just an extreme version of it) online, so I posted it on Soundcloud for those of you into not so easy listening. You can find seven tracks here: https://soundcloud.com/luftkanone. I found the names of four of the tracks (from the split with Baal), but the tracks from the first ep I have no idea what they are actually called (if anyone does know, then please let me know as I had to make up some names just to avoid the bland track 1, track 2 approach). It looks like he did record some more Luftkanone tracks, but we didn't find a copy of those (if anybody has more Luftkanone, then please post it and let me know). You can find a description of what Luftkanone was like live in this review: https://vareverta.wordpress.com/2013/11/26/das-waren-noch-zeiten-2000-too-loud-for-the-crowd/.
You can also find more Dave Bell music on Soundcloud:
Anal Spikemobile (I also added 3 tracks here though they aren't new since you can hear them at the end of In Through The Out Hole (Full Cavity Search Edition) album--you can hear them separately now.)
Yeast? (Dave plays drums on most of the tracks and provides vocals on "Bloomsday" and "Duster" among others)
All of these aren't quite as extreme as Luftkanone, but they're probably all for adventuresome listeners. I'd love to hear more Dave music, so if anyone has any Black Squirrel & Freaky, Sacred Hearts Auto Club, or other Dave projects, then please post them and let me know!
After Luftkanone, my albums probably sound like Frank Sinatra, but you can find them on Soundcloud, Spotify, Bandcamp, and other music services/sites!
Had enough fun doing the first issue of the zine Frighty that I made a second. You can read it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mxtKjKFYzM7k3ujI4S43G1ZcCop15i69/view?usp=sharing Once again, it's designed to be downloaded and then printed out and read. Print it doublesided, flip on short edge, then you can fold it and staple it or bind it however you want and you'll have a nice little zine to read. Reading it online isn't going to be ideal because it's formatted for printing and folding. This issue, King Karl Wenclas and Markell R. West join in the fun. The Midnight Rider sent in three contributions, so there will be at least one more issue, probably in the fall, given the quarterly schedule. This is the summer issue. Feel free to print out and distribute if you know anyone else that needs a new zine in their life.
And if you need more to read, then read my latest novel, The Front Yard War!
If you haven't shit your pants at some point post-infancy, then consider yourself lucky. This song consoles anyone who has suffered such a misfortune. Musically, it has the usual vocals, guitar, fake bass, and drums, but I added some fun noise and keyboards as well. Lyrics are below:
The president shit his pants.
Now he's doing a squirmy dance.
It happened on live tv.
It could happen to you or me.
Maybe it was something he ate,
or he just overdosed on hate.
Maybe it was a voodoo curse,
or a pill his wife hid in her purse.
It could happen to anyone.
The richest man in the world fell on his ass.
He wasn't watching where he was walking in the grass.
He fired the employee who laughed,
and then brushed the grass from his calves.
Maybe his expensive shoes were too shiny,
so he slipped and fell on his heinie.
Maybe he forgot gravity still applies to him,
or maybe the lighting was just too dim.
The valedictorian ended up on the street.
Now she needs something to eat.
She had some bad bad luck,
and nobody seems to give a fuck.
Won't somebody lend her a helping hand?
She just needs a safe place to land.
At the very least buy her a beer,
so she can forget, for a time, the fear.
For more Wred Fright music, give his latest album a listen or download at your favorite digital music site such as Soundcloud, Spotify, or Bandcamp!
This video evokes the espionage theme of the song. I filmed it last fall walking down a street in Cleveland, Ohio USA mostly, aside from the opening shot which is from a state park in eastern Ohio (alas, I forget the name at the moment). I should have time this year to crank out a few more videos, so maybe I'll finish all the ones for the second album just as I get ready to release album number five . . .
For more Wred Fright music, give his latest album a listen or download at your favorite digital music site such as Soundcloud, Spotify, or Bandcamp!
I wanted to write a grunge revival song for some reason. I'm actually surprised the grunge revival never happened. I expected it in the teens the same way retro music usually becomes popular 20 years down the road (the '70s in the '90s, the '80s in the '00s, and so on), but nope, nothing happened, so I had to write my own grunge revival tune. At least I'm not bitter, I guess . . . Musically, it's the usual guitar, fake bass, vocals, and drums, though I clearly had fun adding extra noise in the middle. Lyrics are below:
She was waiting for the grunge revival.
If it doesn't arrive soon, she thinks she'll die-o.
And her friends all listen to crappy pop music.
She left her bad boyfriend
at the fast food drive-thru.
He's just a boy, and she's no longer a girl.
People ask her why, and she just asks them why not?
People ask her what she wants, and she just says, what you got?
Her neighbors all keep their curtains closed.
They never see the sun, just the electric glows.
They all think it's a scary place, the world.
And she stopped wearing makeup.
And she deleted all the photos of you.
And if she could she'd delete you too.
She dreams of Mark E. Smith at Marc's.
It's 1979. How much are the tomatoes?
Inflation. Inflation. Inflation.
She puts her keys and money in the fridge.
Answers the door when the phone rings.
What can you expect from an American?
But at least you're not bitter.
For more Wred Fright music, give his latest album a listen or download at your favorite digital music site such as Soundcloud, Spotify, or Bandcamp!
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