The Savage Animal 11.19.08: RAIDing My Collection
Posted by Mikey MiGo on 11.19.2008
In this week’s edition of The Savage Animal, Mikey MiGo “RAIDS” his collection of all bands that have to do with bugs. Read on to help slam the flyswatter down on all infested bands from Iron Butterfly to Papa Roach to The Beatles and all the parasites in between.
Time is flying in MiGoville. I shipped off my second movie last week to get printed and am hoping to have it by the end of next week for release. With the release coming soon I've been busting ass on the promotions side of the project and ready to launch a mico-marketing blitz. If anyone has any suggestions or idea on how to help promote my indie rom-com feel free to drop me an email. I love the feedback, suggestions, and support. It's refreshing during times like this when sleep is little and stress is plentiful.
I did finish up the entire first season of "Mad Men". I've been on a "watch the entire series" kick as of late with newer shows I've not gotten into and ones from the past that I either missed the boat on or was stuck watching something else. I'm toying with doing a "special" for the movie/TV section on my huge and somewhat embarrassing spree of brain rotting television. This year alone I've probably watched close to a dozen and a half different series and I'm amazed by how much a sucker I am for episodic television. I blame professional wrestling, growing up in a time of sequels, coffee, and insomnia. Yeah, that's it.
"RAID"ING MY COLLECTION Rock Out With Your Bug Out.
Band names have always been something I've been curious about and interested in. To brand yourself with a specific name and the reasons why has always been something I'd pay attention to. The off the wall ones have always stood out to me and the other day I realized that a lot of band names have something to do with bugs.
So I decided to take a few bands with a bug associated to their name and figure out if there's any connection, its roots, and if it's not sure a random nonsense "ironic" name. It's a silly topic, but it's one of those silly topics that end up being discussed on a road trip somewhere with a good friend. Let's pretend we're friends…
Iron Butterfly
The 411: "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was such a successful album that they had to officially create the "platinum" record to have something as a higher standard than "gold". Seriously, 25 million copies! I think anyone alive when the album was released was given a copy with their government cheese. I know for a fact that I personally have a copy of it that I ganked from my father's album collection. Other than "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", many wouldn't have a clue as to what any of their other work is. They're the epitome of a one hit wonder. Doug Ingle went on record to say: "We were sitting around trying to make up group names. We wanted a melodic consciousness contained within the rock format. We wanted to broaden the horizons and be able to engage the dynamics and all that stuff. But at the same time doing it via the vehicle of electronic sound. It's mentioned on the first album that we wanted something light and heavy, versatile and colourful. So that's pretty much what we came up with. Insects were in at the time, what with The Beatles…" Does it Work?: I'd of said no if I hadn't of found that quote in the 12th hour. The way Ingle described the thought process behind their name gets a stamp of approval from me. I've seen tons of band name origins that made me cringe, but in this case they seem to of really put some creativity with reason behind it.
Papa Roach
The 411: "Last Resort" is what hooked me on these guys. Everything else is what turned me off. These guys paid their dues, work the road, and really bust their asses. That gets my respect, but not my fandom. Their poppy-rock sound and the pseudo whiney vocals is enough to make me despise them when they have a single in heavy rotation. After that fades, so does my hate. The difference between Papa Roach and the other bands I don't like is that I want Papa Roach to be good and I just want the others to be gone. Maybe in time. The band's name comes from vocalist's Shaddix's step-grandfather, Howard William Roatch, who was nicknamed "Papa Roach". Does it Work?: They say roaches can survive anything and always stick around, and that's pretty much what Papa Roach does. If something flops, they're still there. If something hits, they're still there. I'd wish their longevity and persistence onto other bands if I could.
The Scorpions
The 411: True story. A friend of mine is a huge Scorpions fan. That's fine, but he was pretty extreme about it for awhile. One day on a small trip, the local radio station was doing a "Your Request Sucks!" where they have people call in with the worst music they possibly can. People would pull obscure shit out like "Lesbian Seagull" or Michael Bolton. I borrowed HIS cell and called in, got on, and said "Anything by The Scorpions". Needless to say, we didn't listen to "Rock You Like a Hurricane" on the way home that day. I never thought they sucked, but it was an opportunity to fuck with a friend and I took it with honor. I didn't read every article or interview out there, but I don't think there's any specific meaning behind their name. Does it Work?: I suppose. A scorpion is a mean and vicious little monster. There's 2000 species of scorpions and about the same as many band members. Still one of the top 100 easily, maybe 50 metal bands of all time as far as I'm concerned.
Soulfly
The 411: They've been around now for about ten years and I've still not really gotten into Soulfly. It's not that I don't like them, but it's just a bridge I've not crossed. I've not listened to any of their CDs so I guess I've just not given then a fair shot yet. Should I? I've always liked their artwork and name. It felt old school comfortable, but with a modern feel. That probably doesn't make any sense, but that's the best way to describe my background on the band. Founder of the band, Max Cavalera said this about the origins of the name: "I think it's like...it's a tribute name. I had the name for quite a while and it's kind of like...you know, it means like the souls of people that are not here any more. Or maybe like souls we meet that are flying around us when we play... like... more like a spiritual name." Does it Work?: Max's thought process behind the bands name is sorta cool. It's not named after a local hot spot or something ironic. It's one of those well thought out titles. Not saying he didn't think it up and then put some "weird and trippy" meaning behind it. I'll give the benefit of the doubt and say that kind of vibe makes me want to give them a shot again.
Flea
The 411: I know he's a specific person, rather than a band. But have you seen him play? He's his own entity that combined with the other guy's superpowers, makes up the superband "Red Hot Chili Peppers". He was born Michael Balzary, he got his "Flea" nickname as he and a few of his band members went on a skiing trip. They all decided to use fake names on the trip and his just stuck as he was always jumping around. I know this because I read it IN A BOOK! Yes, a book! Does it Work?: The skiing story makes sense. Flea always seems to be bouncy and energetic. The story behind it is pretty entertaining too. If ALL the names would of stuck, we'd of been listening to Swan sing all the songs. Yes, "Swan".
The Beatles
The 411: If you don't know who "The Beatles" are then you should probably stop reading this right now, slap your grandmothers, living or dead, to show her she's a bad person for not raising your parents right. If she had, you'd of not lived under a rock your entire life. Their name, like many people know, came after a few not so great names like "The Quarrymen" or "Long John and The Beatles". It was suggested to be "The Beetles" as a dedication to another bug band, "Bully Holly and The Crickets". It would be changed to "The Beatles" as a play on "keeping beat" in music. Does it Work?: Does the pope shit in the woods? To say "The Beatles" worked/works as a band name would be like saying "bullets don't kill people, the force behind the bullet does". I don't quite know what that means, but the point is "YES! It Worked."
Yeah, you just read that. And yeah, I did write it. It was kind of fun and hopefully a distraction for the horrors around you. What's your favorite "bug band"? I know I didn't cover "Adam Ant", "Alien Ant Farm", "Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars", and a few others. Who else did I leave out?
RANDOM VIDEO(s) OF THE WEEK Enjoy the result of my boredom. "Bungee Jumping People Die" by Antiproduct
The 411: I came across this band on MySpace about a year ago and have occasionally popped back in to listen to this song. I know it's probably an acquired taste, but it fits mine almost perfectly. It's bouncy and well sung. The video doesn't do the song justice. It I had to make some sort of comparison, I'd say it's like U2 meets MSI. That's just my perception, so make your own.
RANDOM MOVIE REVIEW IN 411 WORDS OR LESS
"BIRDS OF AMERICA"
Starring Matthew Perry, Ben Foster, Ginnifer Goodwin
I love little indie films like this. The dysfunctional family setting has been done A LOT in the independent world as of late, but this one stands out as something special. Perry plays the older brother that raised his two younger siblings; Foster who is going crazy and Goodwin, the carefree troubled sister. The direction, deep emotions layered with simplicity and chemistry written and acted out in between the characters is what kept my watching what could have been an 85 minute indie cliché. If you're into blockbuster comedy or action flicks then you're reading the wrong review. If you watch movies like this from Focus or Searchlight then you know what to expect. It's a better "one of those". I like "those" movies and will watch this movie again in the near future. It didn't leave my brain fucked up for a week like "Eternal Sunshine" or even the recent "The Go Getter", but I was satisfied and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good film. Yes, a film. On my level of (sometimes questionable) taste, I give this movie a solid 7.5 out of 10.
WRESTLING WITH PILLOWS Looking Out From The Inside
Jeff Hardy's promos are horrible. He sounds like Crispen Glover got kicked in the balls, minus 130% of the acting talent. Hardy's promo being so bad was what stuck with me the most when watching Smackdown. RAW was awesome. Seeing Miz and Morrison steal the big win from HBK and Rey was pimptastic. The opening Q&A was really interesting and unique. I'd be down for something like that like every few months. I've always been a fan of getting all the wrestlers in the ring or around it for an announcement or what have you and I used to love ECW's old "Pulp Fiction" promo montage to help advance storylines within a few minutes. I got all that and the best rap of all time from Santino within like 10 minutes. It was short, sweet, and set up a night of awesomeness. I'm interested in seeing how things progress, pay off, and I want to see it live. Their hard sell on Survivor Series worked for this "WWE Kool-Aid ingesting Fan".
RANDOM THOUGHT(s)
SNL was fun this past week. Paul Rudd is the man. You can't argue that. I am a big fan of when guests don't make the show a spotlight of them "slumming it and being ‘wacky' on network". Rudd seems used to working as part of a comedy team from his past appearances on other shows and from his movie work. It just worked well and was the best "non-election" SNL in a long time. Timberlake's run down of what would have happened with him as the host was hilarious and probably the exact outline they'd of used. Tim McGraw as host next week has me cringing. I'm assuming there will be a farmer/lumberjack type of skit, one where he sings, maybe they'll put him in a turkey costume, and for sure tons of blatant card reads. Isn't it time for Steve Martin to host again or has Tiny Fey stolen all the potential hosts for the cameo-filled season of 30 Rock? I'd not mind Mos Def or Craig Robinson to promote "Cadillac Records"? I know neither are "A-List" (yet), but neither is Jon Hamm (yet) and that worked out pretty damn good. How about Mickey Rourke as a host to pimp "The Wrestler"? Tell me that would not be the shit? Mickey Rourke in a "Digital Short" would probably cure global warming and bring back the unicorns. Things like that are why I want to someday write for the show.
CHECK THIS OUT! [CHEAP PLUGS] Things I do while not writing this column.
I'll have release information about "All The Love In The World" next week for those who are interested. I'm sure you can guess that this event will take up most of my attention. If something cool happens let me know. I might have missed it. Next week will be better…I promise! Until then… Have a Great Week!
