I first found out about masking through YouTube, the way everyone finds out about stuff these days. A friend sent me a link to what is essentially a man in a bad latex mask, running his hands through his frumpled blonde wig, beseeching God to help him over and over again. I figured he was just kidding because every time I find a weirdo or good nonesensical fetish on YouTube, it turns out to be a joke that’s over two years old. But I looked a little deeper and it turns out there’s an entire community of people who do this “masking” thing for fun.
Archive for October, 2008
PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION - MEET THE MENTORS
By now you probably already know about the photography competition we’re doing with Ctrl.Alt.Shift. Here we meet Ben Rayner, one of our all-star mentors…
Ben has been working as a photographer for the past 3 years. He is a regular contributor to Vice, Dazed & Confused and Vogue, as well as a variety of commercial clients. Keen to be involved in the competition, Ben said: "I think this will inspire younger people to get involved in these great charitable projects, and hopefully we can discover some great new photographers along the way."
* To find out more about the Gender, Power & Poverty photography competition go here.
NEW YORK - LIVE TAROT
Thoth deck is on deck. Here’s where you get a live tarot reading. Right now, for about an hour. Post a question in the comments section and you’ll get an answer from the ancient occult oracle of the Atu. It sounds really simple and that’s because it is.
Update: This is closed now. We’re doing it again tomorrow from noon to 1 PM Eastern Time.
NEW YORK - FEAR (OL)FACTORY
While browsing a chemical supply catalog I stumbled upon a line of
products that mimic the scent of illegal drugs for the purpose of
training narcotic sniffing dogs. The powders smell indistinguishable
from heroin, cocaine, LSD, etc.
HEY SPOOKY LADY, GIVE US SOME HALLOWEEN TUNES - JARBOE
Next up in our playlist sessions: Dark siren Jarboe, who used to be in the Swans until they broke up ten years ago. She’s been releasing solo records ever since—the most recent one’s a tribute to that Hindu chaos goddess who cuts off heads and dances around in joy. Click below to listen to some deeply epic metal.
LONDON - SKINS & PUNKS - AVAILABLE TO BUY
It all began when 13-year-old Gavin Watson started taking photos of his friends mucking about in the 1970s and 80s. These photos turned into Skins, arguably one of the most important
and influential books about youth culture ever published. Three years ago Vice
Editor Andy Capper brought Gavin Watson out of self-imposed exile and
uncovered hundreds of unpublished photos. The pair collaborated to produce a new book called Skins &
Punks - Lost Archives 1978–1985, which we’re proud to say has now been released. This collection offers a more intimate look at the lives of rebellious working
class kids growing up in Thatcher’s Britain. Gavin’s natural eye for capturing a moment and the stark honesty of
the images make it a worthy follow-up to the classic Skins. The book comes complete with commentaries and an
introduction by This Is England director Shane Meadows. See a selection of images below…
CREATIVE 30 - LUKE DROZD
Today we meet Luke Drozd, 27, an artist from London.
London-based Luke Drozd is a fine artist focused on creating a body of work that is visceral, rich and varied. He studied a BA in Fine Art at Leeds Metropolitan University and is currently studying towards a Masters in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art and Design in London. His practice takes in a multitude of artistic disciplines including fine art painting and drawing, illustration, performance and ephemeral works. His solo work has been exhibited internationally at the closing party for the Scottish Pavilion, the Venice Biennale, Scotland’s Six Cities Design Festival, the 2007 Jerwood Drawing Prize and shows with Dazed and Confused Magazine. His client-based work ranges from poster design for DIY bands to Warner Brothers Records.
AUSTRALIA - POWER VIOLENCE POSEUR DISPOSERS
Septic Surge is the Bastard. Not that you can blame the mother. At 19, in a shitty Sunshine Coast hotel room, it’s easy to confuse a 39-year-old penis for something more. They grew up amid sunshine, Sunday congregations full of tanned people, and condos with 85% occupancy rates. They dealt with it by smoking mad bongs and listening to dark carnage. The result is an electro hardcore punk squall, rough as fuck vocals, and low tuned guitars all blasted through poxy amps in front of 30 crossed-arm cunts. Later they go outside and over turn cars.
NEW YORK - TOMORROW HOLDS YOUR FUTURE
All right, we’re getting so psyched for Halloween we’re going to give you an early treat: we’re going Miss Cleo (minus the lawsuits) and inviting a legitimate mystic do live tarot readings in the office tomorrow from about noon to 1 PM EST. No, don’t show up—just follow the simple instructions we’ll give you tomorrow and your burning question will get an answer that’s slightly more elucidating than that from a Magic 8-Ball.
NEW YORK - RICK TA LIFE SUICIDE WATCH/FUND
Holy crap you guys. Remember all those times GG Allin threatened to kill himself onstage on Halloween? Well, probably not if you were five at the time, but remember all those times it said GG Allin threatened to kill himself on Halloween on his wikipedia page? This is kind of similar to that but completely different. A couple weeks ago we reported that NY hardcore fixture and occasional equestrian Rick ta Life had shaved off his trademark dreadlocks. What we didn’t realize at the time was that, far from the rudimentary motion toward maturity we mistook the gesture for, the shaving was actually an act of primal desperation/capitalism.
NEW YORK - MAGICKAL UNCONTROLLED SUBSTANCE
People tend to crap on home remedies but you know what? Gnarly-tasting witch concoctions always work better than any FDA-approved bubblegum flavored pellet. All medical science has given us is some decent pain-killers and a wagonload of placebos. I get sick like nobody’s business all the time—my immune system is such
an asshole that I’ve gone for HIV testing a zillion times just to be
sure it’s not from AIDS, and I’m clean as a whistle. This amateurish spray bottle of goddess-knows-what (OK fine,
the laser-print label says it’s just herbs and vegetable glycerine) may feel like my throat’s being cauterized with
hippie sweat, but it chases off illness better than anything in a pristine, regulated, germ-free Capsule-Pak. I can’t say for sure it’s made by witches but I have my hunches—it comes from a wildcrafting herbal school in upstate New York, and you know all that stuff is connected to earth magick. Plus witches are really secretive about everything they’re doing so of course they’re not going to advertise their Book of Shadows on the internet. But wouldn’t it be rad if they did?
STACY ANN FEATHERS
HEY SPOOKY GUY, GIVE US SOME HALLOWEEN TUNES - PIETER SCHOOLWERTH
For part two in our Halloween playlist extravaganza Wierd Records visionary Pieter Schoolwerth gave us a maximalist treatment of experimental cold wave and minimal electronics, as well as a few classics from its obscuro history. It’s fucking intense. We split it into two in case you can’t handle it all at once. Click below to listen.
