The other day I was having a rather delightful conversation with a friend of mine about the concept of “shock.” Not in the extremely painful “put your bellend in Lord Rayden’s hand” way, either. We were discussing the ever annoying trend of how shocking people seems to be a goal these days.

It seems every few months some new internet video, movie, musician, artist, etc. tries to shock the world into paying attention to them. But why? What’s the goal? That’s where we are going to end up but first a little backstory.

I, like many people my age, are children of the internet. I am also a part of this sub-section of people that seem to enjoy being shocked. Telling me a horror film is the grossest film of all time is virtually begging me to watch it. You know my type; the person in the office who, when everyone else is freaking out over the latest 2girls1cup video is found sitting at their desk eye rolling that people are shocked by this shit (cwutididthar?). Quite simply: there exists a type of person now that is incredibly desensitized to horrific and disgusting things.

WE are the targets of these shock campaigns: not you. Allow me to explain.

The average person (let’s call them Poncey) isn’t exposed to websites like 4chan. Poncey has never heard of The Human Centipede or goatse. Poncey is easy to shock. There is no reason to one-up the fucked up shit of yesterday if you are targeting Poncey. Poncey is shocked by the average PG-13 horror film trailer.

People like Tom Six (the director of The Human Centipede) target people like me… they want to be Christ figures to a niche market. The most fucked up of the fucked up. They are attracted to the challenge of offending the most jaded, numb people alive.

For what purpose though? Is shocking people a good idea? Is there merit to it, or is it a simple flash in the pan? Is it just a quick 15 minutes of fame (or shame in some cases)? This is where the discussion get’s fun.

Shock for the sake of shock is pointless to me. Doing something disgusting to your body to shock me is easy but does nothing in the long run. If your goal is to simply make me think “man that guy was a fucking idiot” 3 years from the time I see your video (like 1 guy 1 jar) then by all means, shock me because that’s all your going to get from me in that regard. I will buy the ticket and take the ride but there will be no return.

However I do think shock can be used as a very, very intelligent tool if used properly. To a degree I think one of the most successful organizations in terms of productive shocking is PETA. Whether it’s disgusting, fucked up pictures of animals or naked women covering their bodies with their hands, they manage to produce a concise and clear message with their shock. They get your attention and then they slap you with some message. That is productive shock and exactly the way shock should be used. Whether I agree with PETA’s politics or not is irrelevant and by no means am I taking a stand as pro-PETA or anything; I’m simply saying I can appreciate an intelligently put together plan/message regardless of whether I agree with it’s message or not.

To an extent Mel Gibson accomplished a similar successful campaign with The Passion of the Christ. While I felt the movie was a bit of tripe, it did shock this country into having an almost renewal of faith. Of course now everyone knows he is (and has always been) a complete tosser and the anti-semitism of the movie was insane, it still accomplished what I believe his goal was: to shock people into believing. Where Gibson failed was the aftermath and this is where virtually all “shock” artists fail horribly.

Marilyn Manson is a perfect example to me of a fail shock artist. I know a lot of my friends are going to read that and shit bricks but hear me out… I love Marilyn Manson’s music, persona, everything about him except the shock. I truly think his most recent album, The High End of Low, is one of his best albums minus the 2 shock tracks. I mean come on, who didn’t read the song title “Arma-Goddamn-Motha-Fucking-Geddon” and eye roll? I’m surprised the record label even let that out. I woulda axe’d that shit from jump and told his ass “you’re not in high school anymore dude; stick with the substance.”

And that is where virtually all shock artists fail: substance.

Let’s stick with Manson for a minute. Marilyn Manson, without a doubt, had everyone’s attention in 1996. When he released Antichrist Superstar, he had the entire world in the palm of his hand. Everyone knew his name. I remember schools banned kids from wearing his shirts on campus; he was a fucking threat. Antichrist Superstar is a badass album as well; arguably one of the best and most important albums of the 1990′s. It effectively took the movement Nirvana started and crucified it.

So once the world was paying attention to him ready to hear whatever he had to say… what did he say? NOT A FUCKING THING. He was on every news station nightly and what did he do with this publicity? Nothing. Fuck all. He pissed it away. He wasted it all by trying to be a vague, ambiguous mystery person. My guess is he thought this would keep people interested in him; a constant search to find out who Marilyn Manson is or what he is about. It did the opposite. “Oh you’ve got nothing to say? Alright then. Ktxhbai.”

Nowadays he tries very hard to get back to that same level of importance; singing songs like “We’re From America” in hopes someone will be shocked and offended and pay attention to him but guess what? You had your chance, man. You could have changed things but you did nothing with the power you had. No one cares anymore; focus on your art, not trying to become a cultural icon again. We get it. You don’t dig Jesus. Right on. Got anything else to say? Then sit the fuck down. Oh and by art I mean music, not the watercolors. While I know a lot of people who are fans of his paintings but I simply see it all as “trying too hard.”

A more modern example is Lady GaGa. To me, she did the exact same thing Marilyn Manson has done but in a much less polarizing way. After The Fame Monster came out she was everywhere; she was #1 fucking everywhere. So then it comes time for her follow up album and I expected something with depth. Something with substance. I truly feel it did not deliver; it’s a good album don’t get me wrong (well, it’s okay, not as good as The Fame Monster) but she said nothing. Did nothing with this attention. GaGa fans can tell me all day how her songs are about a seemingly infinite amount of scenarios but listen… I’m an artist. I have heard artists bullshit the meanings behind something when asked. I get it. You can make anything about anything if you want to, especially when you’re talking to sycophants.

Very similar to Marilyn Manson she can go on any talk show in the world at any time and say whatever she wants and be heard so what does she do? Fuck all.

I know she is seen as some sort of LGBT icon and I think her shows and music are fantastic support for that cause; however I think she still tip toes the line of “saying what I want” and “saying what will sell.” She doesn’t draw any lines in the sand. She’s a diet version of Marilyn Manson; half the shock, but the same amount of substance. Yeah, I know Lady GaGa pulls her albums from chains that are notoriously anti-LGBT but is that really a big step in a world where downloads count for far more sales than actual pressed CD’s? I know it’s fun to see her as a rebel taking a stand but really think about how big of a difference that makes in the long run; especially considering Lady GaGa, not Target, went bankrupt. Just sayin’.

The problem is I don’t think these individuals had plans. The goal was to get attention; they never worried about what to do once they got it.

What is currently considered by most hardcore shock-fans as the most shocking and disturbing film ever made is A Serbian Film. I have written at great length about this film already on this website so I will skip over details; however I will say that the creators of the film claim it is about the following:

From Wikipedia:

In another interview Spasojević is quoted as saying “my shocking ‘A Serbian Film’ exposes the fascism of political correctness”. On the question of whether the violence depicted deals with Serbian soldiers and war crimes that they have committed, Spasojević answers: “‘Srpski Film’ does not touch upon war themes, but in a metaphorical way deals with the consequences of postwar society and a man that is exploited to the extreme in the name of securing the survival of his family”

To that… all I have to say is “yeah but… no.” While this may have been some sort of intended message from jump the film hardly conveys this message well. I don’t think the average viewer will walk away with any resemblance of that message in their mind. I do stand by it being the most shocking film I have ever seen, though. If you’re up for a wild ride I recommend it but it’s substance is actually more on how well the production is. The lighting and acting are incredible; but the message, the aftertaste you experience once the credits roll is not a feeling of message or substance. The film does end on this “society is a vicious cycle” message but sometimes I think the shock can steal the spotlight from the actual point and A Serbian Film is guilty of this.

In conclusion I truly believe shocking people can be a good thing. It’s a weapon and in the right hands it can bring about change but when used as simply a means to get attention without any sort of plan… it’s worthless.

If you want my attention I will give it to you but you better do something meaningful once you have it.

Here is a track from each. First up, Cold War Kids:

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

And now The Joy Formidable:

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

You’ll also notice some new “Like” buttons around the website. If you dig something on the site please click these. It makes me look good and spreads awareness about my work.

Got a couple of appearances coming up as well…

• 1/29/11 : Art Party 8 at Vinyl Music Hall
• 2/5/11: Chinese New Year at Mylan’s Gifts
• 2/12/11: “Passage” a photo exhibition by Jennifer Diaz at the Full Circle Gallery
• 2/19/11: Photoshop Class by Brandon Pence at the NWFLAA Art Lair in Downtown Fort Walton Beach
• 3/18/11: Fort Walton Beach Downtown Art Walk

So come out and support me and your fellow local artists!

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Dead Kennedy’s – California Uber Alles

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Flogging Molly – Black Friday Sale

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

TSOL – Code Blue

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Turbonegro – Death From Above

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

The Distillers – Drain The Blood

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Bad Religion – Requiem For Dissent

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

The Misfits – Astro Zombies

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

All of these songs rock. Learn them. Embrace them.

My favorite band EVER has broken their silence and posted a song that simply DESTROYS~!!!!

Click here for their new song, DoS!!!!

MAKE THE RULES UP AS WE GO!!!!

Oh KMFDM… I have fucking missed you… Don’t ever leave me again!

The lyrics of Liz Enthusiasm have actually improved quite a bit as well. There are less nonsensical songs and more songs with depth.

My favorite songs on the album at this time are “Hypothetically,” “Special Effects,” and “Lady Spider.” Special Effects has a very Depeche Mode vocal style which I totally love.

I highly recommend giving the album a listen. Freezepop is a favorite band of mine (I hope to see them live one day! TOUR DAMN YOU~!) and their latest release stands strongly with the rest of the Freezepop library.

Good job guys! The album ROKKS!

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Still in love with this song. That is all.

I’ve been digging a pretty wide variety of shit lately. I recently acquired a bunch of new music so I’ve been a very happy artist this week.

First on the plate is Gareth Emery’s “Into the Light” from his new album, Northern Lights.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

It’s my favorite song on the album although the whole album is pretty solid.

I’ve also been all about the new Murderdolls album, “Women and Children Last.”

The Murderdolls are one of my many musical guilty pleasures. They write absolutely awful lyrics at times but their music is always fun to listen to for me. I’m a big fan of both Wednesday 13 and Joey Jordison and I really respect Jordison as a musician and the way he constantly challenges himself and achieves what he sets out to do. I mean he’s arguably one of the best metal drummers out there right now so he decides to be a great guitar player too? Calm down, son!

This song is called “Nowhere” and it’s one of my favorites off the new album.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Next up… the Brandon Flowers album, “Flamingo.”

The whole album is up the quality I expected; phenomenal.

My favorite song thus far is “Jilted Lovers & Broken Hearts.” Just to mix things up, here’s a live version:

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

I hear the Killers are reuniting next year and I couldn’t be more excited. I think Flowers is one of, if not the best male singer of our generation. The Killers are, in my eyes, one of the best bands out there. You can put on any of their songs from any of their albums and enjoy it. Their albums are also incredibly consistent the whole way through and Flowers’ debut solo album is no different.

Last but not least if you’re into trance/psych, the new Infected Mushroom track “Deck & Sheker” is pretty damn tight.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

So yeah. That’s what new stuff I’ve been enjoying lately.

In closing… I’ll throw out a track from my favorite band, KMFDM. This is their song “Revenge” off of the album WW3. Enjoy.

The video cannot be shown at the moment. Please try again later.

My favorite part of the song is the following verse:

The battle burns in my head
The love is dead and hope has fled
Hate’s the hurt my humanity
A corpse in bondage burns for thee
You’ve been tied ripped and bled
Raped by freedom while hate gave head

“You’ve been tied, ripped and bled; raped by freedom while hate gave head”

Awesome.

Until next time…

The first one I saw was the one for the Broken Bells “October.” October is actually my favorite song on the album so I was a bit partial when I first saw it but the concept is awesome.

You can view “October” here.

You navigate through a dark world and as your cursor (or light) touch things, objects are revealed such as constellations, space men and similar things.

The only negative is for the chorus, it’s always the same really. The control is pretty much taken away from you and put into a tunnel moving really fast. It’s cool, but it kind of breaks the feeling that you are seeing something unique to you.

However the art style of the video as well as the fun of uncovering things still makes it an awesome concept.

The broken bells concept in general has been surrounded by a truly unique and rather brilliant artistic style. The music rocks, too!

Most recently Arcade Fire entered the interactive film arena with “The Wilderness Downtown.”

You can view “The Wilderness Downtown” here.

This video is just amazing on so many levels. Not only is it incredibly innovative, it really pushes the limit of what a web browser is capable of.

The entire thing is built in HTML5 and they worked with Google to create it. It’s implementation of Google Maps and Google Street View is insanely creative and jaw dropping.

It’s biggest downfall is the limitations of Google Street View; not every location works properly. For example, the video of the avatar will be in the middle of a city but street view will be showing you a desert.

It’s not a huge deal and I’m not sure of a fix for it, but again, it breaks the illusion a little.

Regardless, I find these projects incredibly refreshing. Music videos for a long time have been a bucket of shit. Lady GaGa and Marilyn Manson have done some cool things with them in recent years; turning the videos into short films that feature a song in the middle. Marilyn Manson’s video for Heart Shaped Glasses was great in that regard. GaGa has taken it a bit too far though; where every video has to be a 9 minute epic. She’s done some cool ones but the format of her music videos is rather formulaic which for her is a bit shocking.

It’s nice to see some new ground being covered with these interactive films though. I find it interesting that the 2 bands that have done it (Broken Bells and Arcade Fire) are rather small in traditional terms. It will be interesting to see what a big band like Nine Inch Nails would do with this technology.

I have to admit… I am a huge Freezepop fan. Their music is light hearted, catchy and at times rather deep. They’re one of my favorite bands to put on and just forget about the worries in my life. I always have a good time listening to their music and their music is always great. You can put on their entire discography and enjoy every single song.

So I was stoked when I heard they were working on a new album, “Imaginary Friends.” However I was a little worried when members of the band left. That can be a deal breaker for bands if the replacements just don’t work. Sometimes that magic can be lost with new band members.

Recently, Freezepop put a single song online for free download. The song is called “Magnetic” and I am pleased to hear that the spirit and sound of the band is completely intact and they sound great! This is actually some of the most polished music I have ever heard from Freezepop, sound-quality wise!

I really like the song and can’t wait to hear the new album! New Ladytron this year and new Freezepop? This is going to be a great ending for music this year. What’s a playa got to do to get some new Faint up in here?! Come on, Joel!

Anyways I recommend heading over to Freezepop.com and downloading their new song, “Magnetic”!

It is by my favorite band for over 10 years now, however.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Lyrics from KMFDM.com :

My youth is wasted
I’m evasive and vague
I’m a headless beast
I’m a subtle plague
I’m a cheatin’ liar
I am naked terror
I hurt, I wound
I’m a fatal error


I don’t make sense
I got my pride
Don’t need no meaning
I feel no shame
I will not believe
I got no choice
I’m out of control
And I love it


I’m a non-believer
I refuse and resist
I don’t play no more
I’m a terrorist
I’m a radical pig
I exploit and abuse
I am total chaos
Strange and abstruse


I’m a cheatin’ liar
I am naked terror
I hurt, I wound
I’m a fatal error
I don’t make sense
I got my pride
Don’t need no meaning
I feel no shame
I will not believe
I got no choice
I’m out of control
And I love it


I don’t make sense
I got my pride
Don’t need no meaning
I feel no shame
I will not believe
I got no choice
I’m out of control
And the kids just love it


I’m a man who’s sick
But I got class
‘Coz you only get respect
When you’re kickin’ ass


I don’t make sense
But I got my pride
I need no meaning
I feel no shame
I will not believe
That I got no choice
I’m out of control
But I love it


I don’t make sense
I got my pride
Don’t need no meaning
I feel no shame
I will not believe
I got no choice
I’m out of control
And the kids just love it


Non-compliance, non-aggressive
Non-contagious, non-involvement
Non-productive, non-religious
Non-resistant, non-subjective


I don’t make sense
Don’t need no meaning
I don’t make sense
Don’t need no meaning
I will not believe
I will not believe
I will not believe
I will not believe
I will not believe
I will not believe
I will not

Anyways I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It’s a great song from one of my favorite bands of all time. The verse where Sascha Konietzko just calmly says…

I don’t make sense
But I got my pride
I need no meaning
I feel no shame
I will not believe
That I got no choice
I’m out of control
But I love it

…is definitely my favorite part of the song.