The Green Lantern and the Monomyth

That a superhero movie follows the monomyth is no great surprise. The interest is in how each movie treats the hero's path. The new Green Lantern movie features many of the signature elements of the hero's journey. The treatment ranges from the cliched to the surprising.

First and foremost is the apotheosis of the father. Hal Jordan is the son of a fearless test pilot. As such he must live up to those expectations. He walks in the footsteps of his father, yet never feels he is adequate. Irresponsibility stems from doubt. Since he inwardly feels unworthy he, whether consciously or unconsciously, sets himself up to fail. The culmination of these fears occurs in his stalled descent in a fighter jet. Hal misses the opportunity to control his plummeting plane because he relives the moment of his father's death. Frankly this could have been played out more efficiently. With Top Gun and the parody Hot Shots, this scenario has the mark of cliche.

The we have the encounter with the gods and the call to adventure, these two scenarios being inexorably linked in Green Lantern. With the crash and imminent death of Abin Sur, Hal Jordan is selected by the ring and brought to the injured alien. Despite the information overload of being whisked through the air and confronted by an alien spacecraft, Hal shrugs off this disorientation when he spots the injured Abin Sur. This is one of the first of the tests and trials Hal faces in order to prove his worth as a hero.

Abin Sur, as messenger of the gods, offers Hal the power of the ring. The ring here represents the magical weapon, the gift of the gods imbued with the power to fight evil provided the hero is worthy. The lightsaber from Star Wars is such a weapon as is Thor's hammer. But with the power of the ring comes the responsibility of using it wisely. Hal, who has shown up to this point a knack for irresponsible behavior, must overcome his past self to become the hero of destiny.

The call to and refusal of adventure is treated somewhat differently in Green Lantern. At first Hal is eager to accept the call. He swears an oath must further prove his mettle in the underworld, here represented by the planet, Oa. Oa is home for the Green Lantern corps. It is the source of their power. In a mythic sense it equates to Mount Olympus or Asgard. Oa houses the gods. Journeying to Oa, Hal Jordan is first prepared in a baptism of pain. His body is made pure that he may interact with the gods, i.e. the other Green Lanterns. As he explores more and more of Oa, he encounters creatures stranger than the next. Now Hal is a visitor between worlds. His gift removes him from humanity and his humanity separates him from the aliens on Oa. At this time he is the most alone and the most vulnerable.

He is aided by two aliens, other messengers of the gods, who provide him with tests of skill regarding the mind and the body. It is Sinestro, though, who tests Hal's spirit. Sinestro, played by Mark Strong, enters as Hal's rival, filling a role for a bother battle. Hal must match or surpass Sinestro in skill to be found worthy. That Hal fails in this test is the seed of his decline. He rejects the call to adventure and returns to the Earthly realm as a quitter.

It is only when his own realm is threatened that Hal reclaims his charge. All this while evil has taken root on Earth in the form of Hector. A wayward scientist, Hector is infected with evil. It claims his mind, body, and soul. Hector is Hal's shadow. They love the same women. Both have father issues. Each is crippled by self doubt. While Hector is corrupted by his feelings, Hal acknowledges and controls them. He returns to Oa only to be refused assistance. The gods turn their back on him. He confronts the gods, and Sinestro, and oversteps his place.

Hal battles evil on his own, knowing that he is outgunned. He is fully actualized. He uses the skills he has learned along the way, as well as the magic weapon, to defeat evil. In his moment of self sacrifice the gods accept him and rescue him from death.

There are several other elements at work here as well, but that is the gist of the monomyth. It's pretty straight forward. This may, in part, be the source of much outcry against this film. Much seems familiar. Some have remarked that Green Lantern is just The Last Starfighter, failing to grasp that they share the same mythic elements, not the same story and characters. However, other films have been more effective in telling the story. While the script is not as sparkling as Thor or X-Men: First Class, it is a far sight better than the new Star Trek or Tron: Legacy. In short it falls somewhere between, sharing a spot with Iron Man 2. The principle actors surpass the script to deliver a movie that is much better than it could be.

Conscience of a Killer

There is a theory regarding serial killers. Even the most gruesome murderer wants to be caught. The trademark mode of operation, the calling cards, the letters to the police and the press may not be just a few strokes of the ego. These tropes may be desperate cries to stop the cycle. Granted this is just one theory.

However, the guilt of the murderer plays an integral role in literature. For instance, in Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell Tale Heart, having slain his neighbor, a tenant hides the body under the floorboards. Meanwhile, police were informed of a scream during the night and interview the murderer. The man covers up by claiming the scream as his own. During that night he hears the beat of a heart, the heart he assumes to be that of the victim. This paranoia builds and builds. He is shocked the police do not hear the sound. Finally he confesses to the crime, the beating heart to loud to ignore. It turns out the heart beat he heard was his own, a manifestation of guilt.

Dostoevsky takes a similar approach. In Crime and Punishment, a young student murders his greedy landlady with an ax. However, an innocent woman walks in and in a panic he kills her as well. The guilt of this unintended murder haunts the young man, eating at his soul. Meanwhile, the investigator circle ever inward. The student meets a poor woman and falls in love. He finally turns himself in, atoning for his crimes by pursuing a Christian life and living out his sentence in peace.

The Brothers Karamazov is the story of four brothers dealing with the murder of their father. Each of the four sons has some motive for the murder save the next to youngest, Alyosha, who is pursuing a life of religion. Dmitri, The eldest son, is romantically involved with his father's mistress, and spending money liberally, seems the most likely. Ivan, the middle son, is a student and atheist whose cold logic appears to make no room for morality. It is this approach that inspires the youngest son, Pavel, an epileptic bastard, to confess to the murder. However, it is the student who feels the most guilt. This guilt manifests in hallucinations and poor health. At one point he imagines the devil speaking with him, undermining his atheistic beliefs.

Even in Fritz Lang's M, the murderer feels guilt for his crimes, or at least claims to. The spirits of the slain girls haunt his every moment, silenced only when he is in the act of pursuing, molesting, and killing. In his breakthrough performance, Peter Lorre brings a pathos to what is really a hateful, cowardly character - a child murderer. Whether the guilt he admits is real or not is left for the viewer to decide.

If we train our conscience well it will kiss us as it bites - Friedrich Nietzsche

Telephoto vs. Wide Angle

There are two ways to perceive the world we live in. One can take a very narrow, yet focused look - a look of pinpoint precision. On the other hand, one can step back and look to the horizon, taking in a glorious panorama. These methods of observation are closely related to photography, namely the use of the telephoto and wide angle lenses.

THE TELEPHOTO LENS

In the TV show, Bones, Agent Booth refers to them as squints. They are scientists that look closely at an object. Experts are experts for a reason. Simply stated, they know what they are looking at. They notice the finer details. Why is the remains that of a woman? Notice the aspect ratio of the pelvis. Notice the structure of the skull. Where some see only a skeleton, an expert sees the remains of a Chinese woman with an iron deficiency.

By limiting our scope, we can narrow our focus like a laser. This relates to personal tastes as well. Imagine the Trekkie or Trekker. Star Wars may be okay, but it doesn't really interest them. They live for Star Trek. They know each line, each episode title, each gaff, each set piece, each inconsistency. Music fans, too, may hone their senses to a more narrow genre of music. Look at the thrash metal fan, the gothic rocker, the American hardcore punk.

The benefits of a telephoto perception is that one knows an awful lot about a particular subject. The person is a specialist of sorts. The liabilities are that knowledge of other topics must be shoved aside. Time and effort that could be used to appreciate other things is not to be wasted. That time, that effort are devoted to the subject at hand, the main topic if you will.

THE WIDE ANGLE

If you want to capture the whole image that you see before you then use a wide angle lens. The wide angle perspective steps away from the individual subject to see how it relates to the whole. How does Star Trek relate to science-fiction as a whole? How does the death of this person relate to the investigation of this crime? How has thrash metal evolved from its roots in Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin?

This person takes in a wide assortment of information, but a lot of it is quite generic. When stepping away from the subject, some of the finer details are lost. We forget actors' names, we forget episode titles, we forget the sequence of events. We deal in the basics, the fundamentals, the outlines. As such, one becomes, as they say, a Jack of all trades and master of none. There is no expertise, only a broad collection of common knowledge.

The two systems of thought stem from the taxonomy of perception. Just as in the classification of animals, the classification of ideas attributes to the generic and the specific. Generic knowledge is the wide angle. Meanwhile, the telephoto approach is more specific. Neither is more or less valid than the other. Indeed, the two must work in tandem. Otherwise knowledge fails to serve. Specifics have no use unless applied to a general construct. What has the weight of the cadmium atom to me? Now, add the battery cell and its relationship to the world is more clear. Meanwhile, generals mean little without specifics. What is a battery without the specifics of the chemicals involved?

The telephoto/wide angle pairing appears in other forms. For instance, in the martial arts aggressive styles often take a telephoto approach. There exists a tunnel-vision like focus upon one enemy. Attacks are linear and direct. Meanwhile, defensive styles take a wide angle view. The person is aware of attacks from all sides.

Usually we are able to slip from one perspective to another, but in some things we may be locked into a certain perspective. Perhaps we fail to see the finer details of a situation. This could be in relationships, at work, or in art. At other times we may fail to see past the finer details and thus lose out on the overall theme.

The Social Amoeba

So how is a human being like an amoeba? Amoebae represent what we think of a single celled life form. While amoebae may seem simplistic, they are for more complex than appearances suggest. For one, they possess one hundred times more base pairs in their genome. Even so, amoebae seem to live for one one purpose, to eat. The pseudopod reaches out, embraces a hapless microorganism, constricts, kills the cell, absorbs its nutrients, and excretes what is left.

Humans, too, absorb and assimilate and consume whatever crosses their path. What is not wanted or needed is discarded by the wayside. Consumer society is replete with those who purchase, use up, and toss aside.

Yet, the likeness does not end there. Amoebae respond quite dramatically to osmotic pressure. In salt water, the amoeba becomes isotonic, shrinking as water is excreted from the cell. On the other hand, is fresh water the amoeba becomes hypotonic, swelling in size and in some cases bursting.

In social circles, human beings respond similarly. When we enter into an environment we consider weak, we swell with pride. As an expert, what we know of the topic of discussion provides an advantage. This allows one to speak freely and with confidence. One must be guarded, however. Just like an amoeba, we may overdo it, metaphorically bursting with bravado.

Likewise, when we are at a disadvantage, when everyone around us is the more knowledgeable, we shrink into ourselves. We become small, quiet, unassuming. At the very worst, we may even retreat to some isolated space. Like the amoeba, we form a protective shell and wait for the danger to pass.

However, there are those of us that, like marine amoebae, have no social equivalent of contractile vacuoles. That is to say there are those who seem unaffected by the social environment in which they happen to be dropped. When either at an advantage or disadvantage, certain people neither swell up or shrink away. They remain fixed, unchangeable. This unique adaptability serves one well in matters of discourse, neither seeming timid or prideful.

On Determination

One of the core traits of a Taurian is determination. Strength of will has its benefits. It also has its weaknesses.

Positive aspects of determination include persistence. Whether at work, at the gym, or at home, the ability to follow through on one's goals is impressive. Many couples insist that one won over the other through persistence. The first impression is not always the best. Asking someone to coffee or dinner may return a negative response, but frequent offers eventually may lead to a yes. From that first date other dates follow. The couple grows to love and appreciate one another. It is a slow burning flame, but a lasting one. Grown old, the couple look back at the first, awkward attempts at wooing with laughter in the eyes. Additionally, women like to feel wanted, to be pursued. Repeated attempts to woo a lady impressed upon her the seriousness of a man's devotion. Of course, this is a rocky road as if she feels absolutely no attraction then the man is simply and persistently annoying her. More on that later.

A determined individual exudes confidence. A confident person pursues a goal in an uncompromising fashion. Things get done. When doubt is pushed aside the path to success is clear of obstruction. The forgers of history were just as clear in their intent. The list features Leonardo Davinci, Sigmund Freud, George Lucas, Karl Marx, and Orson Wells. Visionary individuals, social realists, explorers of the mind, all develop some concept and pursue it - sometimes to the bitter end. In creating a new philosophy, an economic system, a wonder of engineering, or a movement in art the confidence to carry forward is essential. One cannot soar if one is afraid of heights.

The same traits have negative connotations as well.

A persistent person can be a danger if that person is disturbed, vengeful, or in any way violent. Imagine the scorned lover, the terrorist, the mob enforcer. Such individuals can hold a grudge for a long time. They will repay a debt in kind whatever the case, even to the point of losing their own life. Persistence in a suitor as mentioned above can escalate into obsession. When one's grasp of reality slips, to persist only leads to destruction and despair. Better to let go of desires, to forgive minor slights, to forget and move on.

The same is true of confidence. Absolute certainty serves no purpose in a twisted mind. It only leads to disaster. Look at Hitler, Machiavelli, and Cromwell. Confidence dissolves into narcism - egoism. When one's goal is global domination, deceit, or genocide, the absence of doubt equates to the absence of guilt. Second thoughts prevent the pursuit of twisted ideals. In short, confidence aids the righteous or inspired man and leads the others to ruin.

In sum, what serves one may lead to well earned success and another to mass murder. The traits of determination are the same. Only the ideals set the two apart.

Pop vs. Porn Stars

Soon after man learned to draw, he drew the female figure. Soon after he learned to shape clay, he sculpted the female figure. Soon after the invention of film, he photographed the female figure. Pornography has been with us since early history. Porno derives from the ancient Greek word for prostitute, or more specifically the location in which a prostitute would do her business. Graph means to write, draw, or record. As such, pornography is the depiction of sex. The content is explicit, unlike erotica which is geared more towards artistic merit. Pornography is a lucrative and long standing industry, spanning Japanese prints to Victorian novels, from erotic sculptures to glossy magazines.

It goes without saying that women in the pornographic industry sell their bodies. Merchandise advertises the actress' best or most notorious feature. Porno magazines and DVD cases show off an actresses best assets. Women known for their oral talents purse their lips or suck on a lollipop or popsicle. Biting at the end of a strawberry or other juicy fruit is another frequently used advertising technique.

Large chested adult entertainers, whether naturally so or not, wear attire that best shows off their ample cleavage. This may include corsets, dresses with plunging necklines, snug sweaters, or even just a bra. The actress poses with arms folded under the girls to prop them up or she leans forward to present a deeper valley between her ample mounds. Even the names chosen by these actresses suggests the main attraction. Letha Weapons and Kayla Cleavage are prime examples.

On the flip side, women known for a bounteous posterior (a fairly new trend in porn following the meteoric success of Jennifer Lopez) show off their best assets in short shorts, a thong, very tight jeans, sweat bottoms, and the like. Starlets the like of Katja Kassin look over their shoulder. The backside is the main focus. Although a smaller market, there remains a niche for those with a leg or foot fetish. Nylons, garters, dresses with a slit up to the thigh, these are the techniques used to sell the product. Advertising squarely targets its main demographic. Asia Carrera, for example, is known for her shapely legs.

The most glamorous of porn stars are known not for particular body parts, but for the face or total package. The most stunning and/or exotic porn stars are best represented by showing off their face. Starlets from Seka to Tera Patrick and Taylor Rain are portrayed in this manner.

So, where is this going? Well, the crazy thing about marketing porn is that, even though the product is ultimately sexual, the stars are made up as beautifully as possible. Porn stars, at least for the higher end pornographic product, go for glamour. They are coifed to perfection, the make up is professional, the clothing is well fitted and compliments the starlet's complexion. Moreover, the actress sells it. Whether smoldering or innocent, the actress is more than just a sexual object, she is a fantasy, an ideal.

Sex sells. This precept greatly influences pop music. Look at the CD covers of the various female pop stars. Before Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera, there was another Mouseketeer that moved from Disney to popular music and film. Annette Funicello grew from an innocent teen to a blossoming woman much to the delight of teen boys at the time. Following her success on The Mickey Mouse Club, she made pop recordings and starred in many beach related party films. She posed for several posters as well. Seeing her in something other than a swimsuit was a rarity.

However, one cannot address the sexualization of pop stars without mentioning Madonna. The MTV generation provided pop stars the opportunity to sell themselves like never before. In a tattered wedding gown, Madonna rolls about the place claiming she feels "like a virgin." Boys went mad for it. Madonna continued to push her sexuality whether performing as a peep show girl or dressing in male drag. By the Erotica and Bedtime Stories albums, Madonna had taken it as far as it could go. It went beyond sexy to intimidating, namely bondage videos, a song about cunnilingus, and her book titled Sex. By now Madonna's popularity had started to wane. She had gone from being sexy to just being pure sex.

Enter the second wave. Both Britney and Christina were Mouseketeers. Free of the House of Mouse, they performed pop music. Taking a page out of Madonna's playbook, both pop stars used everything they have to sell more albums. Madonna christened this change of guard with a publicized kiss on the lips to both Spears and Aguilera.

Britney dressed as a naughty school girl, complete with short skirt and bare midriff. Her songs are suggestive, consisting of titles such as Oops! I Did It Again, Hit Me Baby One More Time, Womanizer, and Lucky. Her first tactic is to sell her youth. She wears her hair in pigtails. She dons knee high socks. It proves an effective ploy as she lures an audience with a taboo blend of innocence and sexuality. What puzzles me most is the female fans that flocked to her, followed her, emulated her. Some girls do like to be popular, even if it is for the wrong reason. Observe the CD and magazine covers where she features. Note the short skirt, the sheet or towel so precariously held, the shot in her underwear, the topless lean against a wall.

Christina took an even less subtle approach. Granted she was an outspoken advocate for the expression of sexuality in women. She looked at the men-as-studs-women-as-sluts perspective as a double standard. Reportedly, her career in music was to swing the pendulum the other way. As such, Christina Aguilera often came on like a skank. Her songs include Dirrty, What a Girl Wants, Candyman, and Genie in a Bottle. Her pictures also depict her in her underwear, topless, or holding a sheet over her naked frame. Eventually Christina moved away from selling sex. She adopted the look of Hollywood glamour. During this period, she earned much respect from the entertainment media. As she looked like a lady, they treated her as one.

More pop stars come and go. The Spice Girls, Fergy, The Pussycat Dolls, Shakira, all follow the same basic formula to some degree. Each experiences a flash of success before over exposure turns their success sour. Lady Gaga enters the scene, balancing sexuality with just off the wall madness. Like Madonna, she plays with her image, toys with expectations. Unlike many pop stars, there is some talent there. She sings, plays piano, and writes music. She knows the market. She knows how to sell herself. Also like Madonna, she knows how to work a controversy, how to keep her name on the lips of media moguls. The question is, will she come to the same fate as the many pop stars before her?

So how do they compare, the pop star to the porn star?

Well, a friend of mine tweeted a joke that I feel fits this blog quite well.

What is the difference between a porno movie and a pop video? The porno movie has better music.

I would also accept that the porno movie has a point to it, but I digress. The major difference between the porn star and the pop star is that the porn star actually aims for glamour. The porn star is dressed up for the part. She is made to look as attractive as possible. Meanwhile, the pop star is made to look as sexy as possible. Usually this implies making the pop star look as slutty as possible. The clothes are matted or torn, the body is oiled or made to look sweaty, the hair is wild or matted down. The pop star looks intensely sexual. In short, the porn star looks like the before photo and the pop star the after.

This seems wrong on so many levels. A pop star whose music is mostly geared towards tweens and teens with disposable income should not be presented as sluts. This may come off prudish (especially from me) but you must admit it seems rather - well - unseemly.

Next time you are on Amazon or at your local record store, check out the CD covers of various pop stars. Next time you go to the grocers, look over the magazine covers for various popular magazines. Now, compare them to the glamour shots on the covers of Playboy, Penthouse, even Hustler. Compare them to the covers of high end porn movies. In most cases the pop star will appear the more slutty.

That is not to say all pop star go this route. Hillary Duff and Mandy Moore, though occasionally having posed provocatively, have generally avoided that sort of exposure. Then, neither has reached quite the same level of success as their counterparts. Why is image so important in what is primarily an audio related industry? Judging by a lot of the music, it seems clear that sound is not the priority.

The Glory of Gory

To borrow the tag line from the horror podcast, Gore Boy Radio, "Always celebrate the glory that is gory." This begs the question. What is it about gore that so fascinates the horror fan?

Take the average commuter. As he rides to work he passes by a car accident. Other people in the vehicle crane their necks to observe the scene. An ambulance is present. A man lay on the asphalt, a stretcher beneath him. The emergency medical technicians work apply first aid. There is a great deal of blood on the man's white shirt. The average commuter at once despises the others for their curiosity. Yet, despite his reservations, he finds himself turning an eye to the gruesome event. A similar story plays out in The Republic of Plato. A traveller returns from the seas. On disembarking, he passes a vessel returning from the war with Troy. On board are stacked the many bodies of the slain. A great sheet covers the morbid pile, yet a split in the seam reveals the bloated corpses of a few slain men. The traveller is torn. At once he knows that to look will sicken and sadden him. Yet, the curiosity is strong. Something wicked commands him to look. Finally he succumbs to desire. He looks full on at the corpses and cries to himself, "See this. Look upon this horrific sight, you fool."

Granted there are those of a petty nature that delight in the suffering of others. A series of documentary films called Faces of Death compiled a number of recorded, actual deaths and dismemberments. In the early 80s, boys at my school discussed these films with morbid passion. A man was attacked and eaten by dogs. Another was decapitated in a motor accident. Another was blown up. I felt curious, yet I never watched these films. A fan of the underground even then, something about it appealed to me. Yet, my better judgment convinced me that such films were the worst of pornography - essentially they were snuff films. I have seen actual deaths on film since then - usually in documentaries or on film. The images always convey the same sensations of disgust and sadness. Most recently, NBC showed graphic footage of the luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, as he flew from the track and into a supporting column. The footage was unnecessarily sensational. In later segments, NBC chose not to replay the footage.

But what does this say about horror movies? Well, for one it says that we as human beings have a morbid fascination with death, particular if that death is gruesome. Secondly, we of a compassionate nature are simultaneously put off by the suffering and death of others. So, how does one satisfy the sick curiosity without compromising the soul? The answer is simple. Provide gruesome images, but ensure they are fictionalized.

Blood and gore go way back to the days of theater. The ancient Greeks applied basic techniques to imply blood. At the end of Oedipus Rex, the titular character gouges out his own eyes. As the Greeks wore masks on stage, it was a simple process to make blood seep from the sockets. The Roman's were less subtle, of course. Instead of using stage tricks, the presenters at the Colloseum would announce some historic battle, then let loose gladiators against armed prisoners. In Shakespearean plays, a simple, red handkerchief would be held to the stomach or chest tom imply a stab wound. The make up and effects have grown more involved over the years. Most notable gore scenes are, I think, the chest burster scene from Alien, the transformation scenes in John Carpenter's The Thing, the shotgun blast to the head in Maniac, the arrow through Kevin Bacon's throat in Friday the 13th, James Earl Jones' decapitation at the end of Conan the Barbarian, the axe to the chest of Scatman Crothers in The Shining, and the laser sequence in The Cube. These are only to name a few.

The average horror fan is not a violent individual. Indeed, actual acts of violence are regarded as disturbing and distasteful. As Tom Elliot of The Gentlemen's Grindhouse podcast puts it, horror acts as escapism. The horror fan knows it is fake. Yet, at the same time it satisfies that morbid curiosity. One gets to see disemboweling without causing anyone actual pain. Knowing that the gore is fake allows certain directors to use gore for comic effect. In Brain Dead, Peter Jackson uses gore for many sight gags, including a floor so slicked with blood and guts that the hero of the film slips. This same movie has the hero taking a lawnmower to zombies, the hero pursued by an intestinal tract, and an elderly woman attempting to swallow a dog. The disgust factor also features in movies like the remake of The Fly.

Other films attempt to present violence and gore in a more realistic matter, thus affecting those sentiments of compassion and disgust in the viewer. The scenes are riveting, yet cannot be called entertaining by any means. Films like Martyrs portray violence in a very real sense, thus evoking the natural response. This makes the film a difficult watch to be sure, but somehow there is a catharsis. The viewer knows the violent images are not to be romanticized or glorified. They are present to evoke true horror and disgust. Art summons an emotional response. The more artistic the film, the greater the emotional response.

Those who seek to ban violent images from film fail to see the point. The gore is there as an alternative to the real thing. Rather than seek actual violent images, the horror fan delights in practical, special effects. I studied biology is school. I have witnessed many gruesome sights. I have dissected a frog, a cow's heart, and a sheep's brain. I have seen preserved abominations such a cyclops cat and a twin headed snake. Toying with pre med, I have seen actual images of bisected human cadavers, a filmed autopsy, and images of various hand injuries. I changed my major to English. I must say I prefer the false images to the real ones.

The Suit of Swords

So Saturday was a bit crap for me. Today less so. So what better way to commemorate a dark mood than a dark theme? In episode 30 of the InsideOutcast I touched briefly on the suit of swords in the tarot. The suit of swords in divination contain many of the least auspicious cards outside the major arcana. The minor arcana reflect several castes within society. The swords represent, of course, the military class. Less obviously, the suit of swords identify royalty. Conflict is the central theme of the suit. Each suit corresponds to on of the four elements, the swords corresponding to air. Each suit also corresponds to some aspect of human nature. Swords reflect cognition. The appearance of a sword card in a reading could indicate some mental process. In the Osho Zen Tarot, swords are replaced with clouds. Clouds, like thoughts, are fleeting. They may darken your day, but will blow away over time. In the WIlliam Blake Tarot, swords are swapped for the suit of science. Science uncompromisingly displays the thought process. And with the general information now out of the way, let us consider the individual cards.

THE ACE OF SWORDS

By far the most positive of the sword cards is the ace. The ace of swords suggests action and initiative, like the drawing of a sword. Other meanings include mental acumen, a resolution to a problem, fairness in dealings, and uncovering the truth.

TWO OF SWORDS

When two swords cross, you have a stalemate. Evenly matched, neither dares make the first move. When progress is blocked so, too, is the path to truth. When faced with an opponent on equal terms, one shows no emotion lest it belie one's true intent.

THREE OF SWORDS

Three is a crowd. When three gather, surely two will engage in conversation leaving out the third. As such, this card embodies loneliness, heartbreak, and betrayal. The betrayal aspect can go either way, suggesting the subject of the reading may be a traitor.

FOUR OF SWORDS

Four is a lovely and sound, Greek number. It is uniform and solid as a square. This mathematical harmony finds its way into the meaning of this card. The four of swords is one of the few positive meanings, a period of repose. In U.S. Military terms, the four of swords suggests a period of R and R, rest and relaxation. It also reflects a time of quiet reflection and preparation.

FIVE OF SWORDS

The fifth in the series is like the second, only more complicated. The card suggests discord. In a military sense, the card reflects dishonor. In a more general sense, the five of swords suggests the very worst of acting in one's own self-interest.

SIX OF SWORDS

The sixth card usually has a neutral meaning, one of travel. If there is a negative connotation, it is one of the sadness at departure. In a positive sense, the six of swords can mean a recovery, particularly from injury, illness, or some other trauma. The meaning of this card depends greatly on the nature of the reading and the influence of the other cards.

SEVEN OF SWORDS

The seventh card is another that reflects the military nature of the suit. Seven of swords suggests cowardice, more specifically that of abandoning one's post. In a broader sense, the card illustrates the shirking of responsibility or the abandonment of a project. Other meanings include independence and isolation or acts of deception.

EIGHT OF SWORDS

The eighth card suggests impotence. The general meaning is one of powerlessness, a feeling of being restricted or oppressed. Often the card depicts a damsel blindfolded and tied to a mast or a stake, surrounded by eight swords.

NINE OF SWORDS

The ninth card illustrates the mental aspect of the suit. Doubt, worry, anguish, and guilt are the grim phantoms of the mind. The mind can be the greatest enemy, a host for anxiety and depression. In truth, mental stress only adds insult to injury.

TEN OF SWORDS

The tenth card is by far the least auspicious, suggesting desolation. Loss it total, defeat absolute. In this situation it is only natural that one feel sorry for oneself, that one feel victimized. However, there is one positive spin of the ten of swords, when you have lost everything there is nothing left to lose. Any change will be an improvement.

The royalty cards generally reflect actual people in a reading. The suit of swords indicate people of fair hair and light colored eyes. In a sense, caucasians with with blonde hair and blue eyes. As always, the suggested meaning does not always fit, so one must use judgement in determining the correct divination. There are four royal cards in each suit, each illustrating different characteristics. Multiple royal cards form pairs, illustrating relationships or doubling the influence of a certain aspect.

THE PAGE OF SWORDS

The page is often a young child or someone less experienced. Frequently the page is viewed as feminine. The page of swords represents a messenger, an envoy. Like the pages of old, she brings word of a challenge. The page is honest, analytical, forthright, and dependent. Just beware as news of any kind rarely bodes well.

THE KNIGHT OF SWORDS

The knight most often reflects a young, adult male - a teenager. The knight of swords represents direction, movement, and penetration. Depicted as a knight atop a charging horse, the card suggests sense of purpose and progression. This knight embodies the aspects of the sword. He is unfeeling, directed, uncompromising, adept, and precise.

THE QUEEN OF SWORDS

The queen is a woman of maturity. The queen of swords is usually depicted as a widow. She holds the truth above all else. As such, she has no patience for lies and no tolerance for deceivers. This queen has a sharp wit, a bright mind, and a clarity of judgement. She has a way of rooting out fools and cutting through the flak.

THE KING OF SWORDS

The king is a man of experience. The royal aspect of the suit is clear. This king reflects positive and broad sweeping influence. He is wise, fair, and eloquent. The king of swords brings order to chaos and makes sense of nonsense. He embodies those elements we regard as kingly.

Persona

We live as actors, putting on a role for each audience we encounter. At work we are professional. At home we are relaxed. With friends we are entertaining. With lovers we are passionate and/or vulnerable. We have a mask for every setting.

Persona is confronted directly in the rock performance troupe, Blue Man Group. The Complex explores the affect persona has on the individual. In order to assimilate into society, the individual surrenders elements of individuality. Going to work, we put on our mask. In the video, this is represented by a welding mask. Everyone wears this mask, each person undistinguished from the next. In truth, the person dissolves into the role. Think of how you treat your mechanic, your plumber, your waiter, your doctor. The clothes make the man, but the uniform makes the employee. A pocket protector says volumes as does a name tag.

This metaphor is explored further. The shadows cast by the masked masses resemble the stylized characters posted on the rest room door. The image, displayed boldly on the album cover, is one of a person stripped completely of any defining characteristics. In a word, a person becomes generic.

In our lives, we are very much in danger of getting absorbed into our roles. How many of us define ourselves by what we do? Who are you? I'm a lawyer. I'm a student. I'm a pediatrician. Who answers with I am a man who enjoys a quiet moment? I am a woman who appreciates a good action sequence in a film. Who we are is greater than what we do. Our hopes, our dreams, our loves, our hates define us just as much - if not more than - what we do.

In Blue Man Group's show, the masked nobody finally peels away the layers of persona. Shrugging off the conventions, the individual "takes the fire escape up to the roof" instead of using the stairs like everyone else. In an increasingly small world, one must retain some sense of self. Keep to the center. Know thyself.

Jungian Pooh

As promised, I present the personalities of the characters in A.A. Milne's classic, Winnie the Pooh. I am not the first to compare the inhabitants of the 100 Acre Wood with modern personality types. The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff does this quite well. This is not a stretch, however. Clearly each animal is meant to represent some Jungian archetype. Here I shall list the character, his or her traits, and the modern equivalent.

Eeyore

The blue donkey known as Eeyore is blue for a reason. Eeyore is the epitome of apathy, dispassion, listlessness, and depression. The somber Eeyore is a pessimist. He lives in a simple shelter of a number of piled together sticks. Why? Because that is the best he can hope to get. He falls in a stream and floats and floats, never struggling to make his way to the bank. He waits for someone to help him out - just as long as it is no bother. His unwillingness to provide for himself coupled with the passive-aggressive manner are the main traits of this mournful quadraped. Nevertheless, many of us love Eeyore dearly. Why? Because the little Donkey that couldn't appeals to our own melancholy.

Learned helplessness is the psychological basis behind apathy. Repeated failure leads to no longer trying. If a dog is placed on an electrified floor and has no means of escape, it has little choice but to lament the situation. Repeated experiences in this electrified room conditions the dog to this state of being. One day, when a partition is removed to allow the canine and escape from discomfort, the dog does not take the opportunity. Experience has proven that escape is impossible. Why should this time be any different.

So it is with man. Repeated failure conditions us to anticipate failure. Like Eeyore, we do not strive as hard as we should. We do not swim for the bank of the river. When we accept failure as the only outcome, an attempt to change the situation seems futile. Why bother? As such, many of us remain in a less than desirable position simply because no other option presents itself - or so we think. The pessimist does not bother hoping for the best, let alone taking action to improve things.

That is not to say the Eeyore personality is joyless. The pessimist can find value in the small things, in consistency and routine. Even isolation can provide solace for the blue. Eeyore does not seek to be with his friends. If they come by, fine. So much for misery loving company.

Gopher

Gopher is not a very popular character. The blind, gruffy rodent is an industrious sort. He is known to be digging his tunnels into which other characters occasionally fall. Gopher did not appear in the storybook. he is an invention of Disney, based primarily on the beaver from Lady and the Tramp. Gopher typically whistles through his teeth as he speaks. He also has very poor eyesight.

Gopher represents the older generation, primarily the veteran generation. Those that experienced WWII and/or lived through the great depression have a strong work ethic. They are stern, no nonsense people with a strong moral center. It is clear that gopher is meant to be older. Furthermore, Gopher spends most of his life underground. Much like older generations hole up in their homes, are wary of new technology and recent trends, and the like - Gopher's existence underground and in the dark is more literal than symbolic.

Despite unfamiliarity with current trends, the older generation has experience. Gopher's experience often comes in useful. Wisdom, too, is an asset of the older generation. Gopher embraces this dichotomy of wisdom and experience and contemporary ineptitude and conditions of age.

Kanga

Kanga is the only female character in the storybooks. As mother to Roo, she embraces the aspects of motherhood and femininity. She is affectionate and protective. Though not very educated, she is naturally inclined to do the best for her son and by extension her friends. Later, she welcomes Roo's friend, Tigger, into their home.

Clearly Kanga is the archetypical woman, combining elements of the Empress and the Priestess from the tarot. In one respect, she is mother and protector. The matron of 100 Acre Wood, Kanga is the primary caregiver. Meanwhile, she incorporates women's intuition, that knowing without knowing. She knows when there is trouble, when her son is in danger. She also knows when someone is playing a joke on her.

Owl

Owl is a bespectacled bird living in a stately home high up in a tree. Owl is educated, or so he thinks. He is able to read and write, almost. He is quick to advice, instruction, and anecdotes regarding distant family members. Owl explicitly embodies the archetype of the educator. He is an academic.

Academia is under the illusion that it is providing young minds with the assets necessary in surviving the work a day world. However, real life is often worlds apart from the class room. The teacher is often removed from reality, living in an ivory tower of textbooks and chemistry sets. That is not all. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Armed with half the facts, the academic is prone to fill in the blanks with supposition. That owl assumes Piglets home is his own is such a leap to conclusions.

Owl is quick to state some meaningless fact, which typically is false or only half true. I, too, find that I offer facts, opinions, advice, etc. a little too freely. There is something owl like in my manner. Even this blog has the mark of the owl. A bit preachy, a bit self-aggrandizing, a bit pedantic.

Piglet

Piglet is Pooh Bear's very best friend. He is very small and knows this to be true. His small stature makes him timid and meek. He is fearful, even of his own shadow. Yet, he has a big heart.

The funny thing about those of a nervous disposition, those that jump at shadows, is that when a real crises presents itself, often they overcome fear. It is as though the truly frightening is beyond their capacity. Those that jump at the shadow of a beast when confronted with a beast do not jump. In the Te of Piglet, Hoff expounds on the virtues of the small, the integrity of piglet. He is righteous in a nonjudgmental fashion, he is brave when courage is required, he is loyal when friends are troubled.

Piglet has many qualities I admire, and by extension those qualities I find in people. Humility, compassion, caution, loyalty. These traits make up a good friend.

Rabbit

As discussed in the podcast, Rabbit is the least liked of the inhabitants of 100 Acre Wood. Rabbit can be summed up in one word, stress. He places an exorbitant importance on things. He guards his garden from Tigger and Gopher. He protects his honey from Pooh. We fails to grasp the concept of sharing, the enjoyment to be had by giving to friends. Simply, he cannot let go.

We are familiar with the type, the workaholics, the micromanagers. Those who place too much importance on things, on routines, on the destination and not the journey will only find dismay. The four noble truths of Buddhism state that 1) life is suffering and that 2) suffering comes from attachment. Attachment is the process of identifying ourselves with objects, in a sense actual objects of desire. Cars, yachts, houses, clothing, electronics, anything that can be consumed. These are fragile things with no real value outside that we attach to it. By strapping our sense of self to these objects, our ego, too, is just as fragile and hollow.

The Rabbit personality claims to own things, but they really own him. Consider how much time he spends in his garden. If he only knew that gardens naturally grow.

Roo

The sun of Kanga, Roo is the embodiment of child like innocence. A friend of Tigger and Piglet, Roo is playful, with that spirit of adventure that most boys have. He balances Piglet, as he draws the gentle pig out of his comfort zone. He balances Tigger as, though found of activity, Roo is more responsible.

Back to the tarot, the first card, the 0 card, is The Fool. The Fool represents child like innocence and that sense of adventure. The Fool is fearless, as all young boys tend to be. Death cannot touch him. The Fool is an optimist as well, with eyes fixed on the distant horizon and not the dangerous precipice before him. Roo, and children like Roo, carry this spirit in their hearts. Some maintain this adventurous spirit into adulthood, becoming test pilots, explorers, astronauts.

Tigger

Nearly everyone's favorite character, usually with the exception of Pooh, is Tigger. Tigger is bold, brash, exuberant, friendly, outgoing. He embodies those traits that make one popular. He seems entertaining, certainly fun at parties. And Tigger means well. There is no question that he appreciates having friends. He is the very epitome of the extrovert.

However, there is a down side to Tigger. Consider if you would like Tigger as much if he were real and an actual friend. Where ever he goes, he leaves a trail of destruction like a tornado. He is a whirlwind of activity. One is reminded of either someone with Attention Deficit Disorder or a major sugar high (or some other stimulant). Life with a Tigger personality, though exciting, is also exhausting. Tigger types love life, and seek to squeeze every drop of enjoyment from life. Sadly, this often leaves everyone around them drained.

Tigger types, though lovable, are best experienced in small doses.

Winnie the Pooh

The bear of very simple brain, Winnie the Pooh, is a strange archetype for a hero. He is absolutely without guile. If he comes to your house, he willingly admits that he has come for a jar of honey. True, he may engage in some pleasant conversation as well, but his motives are there on the table. He is by no means a thinker, he is not even that much of a doer. He just is.

In the Tao of Pooh, Hoff compares these qualities with those of the Daoist sage. The goal of Daoist path is to return to simplicity. When your only concerns are food and sleep, then you have stripped away all the extraneous detritus from your life and are just that closer to wuji - the state of formlessness comparable to nirvana.

Pooh is what he is. Sadly this is looked down upon in our society. A lack of ambition is viewed as laziness. Honestly is regarded as crude and blunt. Simplicity in speech and manner is deemed unsophisticated to downright stupid.

Yet Pooh Bear forms the hub of this circle of friends. Each knows what they may expect of Pooh. Pooh has no hidden agenda. Even Rabbit tolerates Pooh to some degree, setting aside a few jars of honey for when the gentle bear drops by.

So, there you have it. The personalities of the characters devised by A.A. Milne as compared to our own personality archetypes. Which are you? Well, I think each, even Rabbit, reside in our hearts. That we feel a certain way about each reflects on how we view those separate elements of our psyche. That I find my knack for pedantry an embarrassment, yet regard my timidity with less disdain directly correlates with how I view Owl and Piglet.

On Forgetfulness

After our Thanksgiving hiatus, The InsideOutcast returned with our 17th episode. How much you forget in just two weeks. It doesn't take a careful listen to expose missing cues. The audio stings come out of nowhere. Both the news and feedback suddenly interrupt conversation. This shows just how much you can forget over a short period.

Recently I injured my knee tripping over uneven pavement. As such, I haven't been performing my usual routines of taijiquan. There was a time I performed each routine daily. As of late I've found the time to perform maybe one or two segments of a full routine. It is not surprising that I am forgetting some of the postures, particularly during the single sword routine. Going from Flying Diagonally to Black Dragon Sways Tail has been a source of trouble. Until recently I found myself turned around.

In the same vein, returning to the office after a vacation or special assignment, one may find that he has forgotten many of the standard operating procedures. Passwords and phone numbers are forgotten. Much of the once familiar routine seems foreign and awkward.

The mind is a complex organ. Over the years, people have equated the brain with the greatest device of the time. An abacus, a pump, a steam engine, a calculator, a computer. The computer is quite an apt description. The mind is much like a hard drive. It stores information. Some of this can be accessed readily. At the forefront of the mind stands the desktop. Here, for quick and easy access, are the most commonly used functions of the mind. However, if you don't use the function often, it may drop off the desktop. You lose the shortcut and have to search for the application. Leave it for a long period, the file may corrupt. So, too, with memories and skills. The key is frequent use. Practice, practice, practice.

A hard drive can only hold so much. The brain, though seemingly able to record an infinite amount of data, stores only a fragment. There is long term memory, that which is stored for later use (or saved to the hard drive) and short term memory, that which can be recalled only a short time after the experience (an unsaved document). The more innocuous and unessential experiences should be discarded lest they take up space needed for more important or useful information. This proves difficult as one may not always be the best judge of what should be dedicated to memory and what should not. Nor are we always capable of making that choice. I know I tend to latch onto the particulars, but not the essence of the thing. By my own admission, sometimes there isn't enough disk space for more important data.

So, if you wish not to dull the blade, then keep it honed with practice. If nothing else, visualize the routine. Mentally work through the steps. Recall to mind passwords, phone numbers, the names of customers and coworkers. Create a list to remind yourself of these things. Keep the functions at hand. You may save yourself trouble later.

Of course, should you know anything about computers you will find many problems with my metaphor. Just the same, you can see where I'm coming from.

Canine Evolution: The Best of Skinny Puppy

Originally this post was to present my all time favorite Skinny Puppy songs, including lyrical content, musical style, and the impact it had on me. However, as the list grew quite large, I decided to drop that topic and take up another. Here I list the Skinny Puppy discography. From Skinny Puppy's catalogue, I present one track that defines each album. The tracks below are regarded by fans and critics alike as the most influential and most definitive in the Puppy ouvre.

I shall discuss each track at length in order to highlight how the track reflects the album, why the track has such impact, and how the track shows the direction of Puppy's musical journey. Unless otherwise specified, interpretation of lyrics is mine or from the web other than that of the artist. Note that Puppy lyrics are dense and steeped in symbolism and double meanings. Compounding this is the fact that Ogre's song writing is stream of conscious. Theoretically, even he may not be fully conscious of the meanings in his songs. Keep this in mind. These are my interpretations, not definitive explanations of the tracks.

K-9 - Back and Forth (1984)

Skinny Puppy independently produced and released 50 copies of Back and Forth. The EP contains a few experimental tracks recorded in Puppy's early brap sessions. K-9 is regarded by critics as the first, true Skinny Puppy song, meaning that it is the first track to capture the band's signature sound and content. cEvin Key and Nivek Ogre confessed that their music, and the name of the band, referred to a dog's eye perspective of the world. Not only that, but the dog is malnourished and abused. K-9 is just that. Lyrically, it tells the story of a dog's life. The dog observes human behavior and finds it distasteful. Lines such as "Seeing through the keyhole/Watching master beat her" suggests the cruelty of man. "When the foe bears the control" supports this claim. The dog is neglected if not abused. "I sit in dung" suggests the master does not tend the dog's living area. Other lines consist of "It's not fit to piss in/Why not move so I won't stay/Kick me out." Even moving places would be better because at least the new place will be clean. Better yet, let the dog free as it could live happier on its own rather than under the roof of a neglectful owner. The animals over which we claim dominion are smarter than we think. "Wouldn't you think I have no thought?" The track firmly plants Skinny Puppy as defenders of animal rights.

Musically, the track is fairly straightforward. There is a punchy drum track with the distorted bass synth supporting it. Seemingly random guitar strums echo throughout as counterpoint to Ogre's modulated, growling vocals. Uptempo music with dark messages occurs frequently throughout Puppy's music. The tracks on Back and Forth were rereleased as Back and Forth: Series 2 along with several other earlier experimental tracks, demos, and live segments.

SMOTHERED HOPE - Remission (1984)

Perhaps Skinny Puppy's first if not greatest hit, Smothered Hope quickly defined not only the band's sound, but their attitude. It opens with a steady beat which builds and builds. The bass synth joins in and soon the song bursts forth with Ogre's acerbic vocal strains. "It's not in the rhyme or reason/so it goes with every season/crawl to top fall through bottom/first hand love is really rotten/slice of life find what's plenty/inch towards a sanctuary/fight with me inside the womb." Bells add nuance to the music, bringing it to another level. cEvin Key's synth melodies possess a ringing sound like glass, bells, or metal on metal. The effect is crisp and haunting. Underlying the melody is the distorted bass synth with a delay to really draw out the sound. The combination of driving beat, ringing melody, and distorted bass is indicative of Puppy's early sound.

Smothered Hope suggests depression, or more accurately, a bipolar disorder. Crawl to top fall through bottom, if that doesn't illustrate manic depression then I have no idea what does. The song closes with samples from Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, "If the world's a hell, what's it matter what happens in it?" In the film, a young woman suspects her uncle of being a serial murderer. Smothered Hope, learned helplessness, depression, nihilism. When we view our lives as being without future or meaning, there is little rhyme or reason to anything we do. Hopelessness is a dangerous road. When there is nothing more to lose and nothing to gain, what is the point in living?

Talk on the web suggests that the song recounts Ogre's experience as a young child, having accidentally smothered his pet mouse, Hope, with a pillow. That tragedy well explains the mood of this piece and his current status as an outspoken animal rights activist.

ASSIMILATE - Bites (1985)

Ogre tests his machine gun vocal style in this frantic and complex track. It touches on a little of everything Skinny Puppy riles against, including organized religion, guns, nuclear weapons, animal testing, and the use of fear to control the masses. The lyrics read as a list of social ills, or signs of the impending apocalypse. Radiation, AIDS, guns, propaganda, religious intolerance, and the list goes on. "Crazy world of weary thought/So receive me had enough/lock me up/lock me up" If the world is insane, it is the sane who seek asylum.

Nietzsche referred to the masses as the flies of the market place. In Daoism, the valley spirit is yin, represented by society. Yin is responsive and prone to petty acts and narrow mindedness. The mountain spirit represents the hermit. Primarily yang, the individual is expansive and enlightened. On the other hand, the line could suggest that those who suffer a mental breakdown really experience a moment of clarity. They see the world for all the sickness it contains and it overwhelms them. They are locked away.

"Rot and assimilate/so hot to annihilate." Either become a contributing member of society and add to the problem, or society will seek to destroy you. The ultimatum of with us or against us applies. The conflict between the individual and society, a classic one. Although individuals make up society, moral responsibility is distributed across the whole. It is easy to say it is the other person's fault. Houses burn to the ground because everyone thinks someone else will call the fire department. Women are raped and murdered in plain view because someone else will intervene. The individual bears complete responsibility, is indeed burdened by it. The compulsion to lift that burden, to become complacent is strong. The individual represents what society has given up, moral responsibility. Society resents the individual as he or she presents a mirror in which society witnesses the monster it has become. Society cannot accept anything that is different or unique, nor can it admit its moral ambivalence. In order to maintain the veil, all must be assimilated into the collective.

And just for added measure, the closing stanza reiterates SP's position on animal testing. "Agony profusely stains the inner thinking of the brain/accusations clanking chains experiments with groans of pain/all prefer no one blames the terror in an animals screams/in cages our future - the answers insane." Clearly Ogre refers to the distribution of responsibility. In The Republic of Plato, Socrates says that in a democracy the dogs own the streets. How often have you seen an unclaimed dog in your neighborhood? No one calls the police. No one calls animal control. No one asks their neighbors if their dog is loose. It is someone else's problem. It is taken for granted that animals must suffer that we may benefit. Few openly admit this. Fewer wish to take responsibility.

As for the music, the beat is simple, the bass line driving. The synth melody, again, sounds like small glass bottles, adding a ringing, crystaline nuance to the piece. In sum, the song is angry to say the least. A friend of mine used to wrestle in high school. He would play this track just before a match. The sample, "Is it safe?" is from The Marathon Man.

DIG IT - Mind: the Perpetual Intercourse (1986)

Mind expands the Skinny Puppy sound with deeper base and bigger percussion. Beefing up the rhythm section distinguishes this album from the previous releases. Dig It is the breakthrough hit off the LP. The music is bare boned, crisp, clean, like the audio version of surgical steel. One may even style it as coldwave, having similar qualities to the music of Chemlab and 16 Volt. It comes on as little more than a drum machine, ringing synth, simplistic guitar riffs, and Ogre's vocals. Dig It inspired Trent Reznor to write Down In It. This led to the release of Pretty Hate Machine and mainstream exposure to electro-industrial music.

By most appearances, even Steven R Gilmore's sleeve art for the single, Dig It is a condemnation of the medical profession. Back in the day, medical students hired grave robbers to retrieve cadavers for study. Some students robbed graves themselves. The medical community has not evolved much since then. In their quest for greater understanding of anatomy and physiology, doctors have frequently left morality on the wayside. Science first, then ethics. This leads to animal experimentation, vivisection, and drugs more dangerous than the disease. Doctors are like mad scientists, seeking the elixir of immortality. "Practitioner of medicine/belong until the end/Bringing hope scars the point/extend eternity."

Ogre has a thing for word play. "Dig it/Dig it/Feel it/Unearthly remains." Does unearthly remains refer to something alien or does unearthly refer to unearthed, or dug up? In several instances, Ogre refers to a corporate slave. Money is the bottom line, not helping people. The medical community subsists by alleviating symptoms, not curing disease. As long as medicine is a for profit business there will unlikely be a cure for cancer. The most poetic stanza has to be the closing one. "Boils bitten haggard pick vomit kicking out/razor slide black eye shroud brain bespattered jaw/retaliate begrudgingly precise as what it seems/Fear of claim upon the cyst pent up carnal grin." This seemingly random assortment of words viewed from the mind's eye reminds one of a montage from a horror film. Black eye, brain, shroud, bespattered jaw. The doctor cuts away at the cadaver. Is the carnal grin the pulled features and bared skull of the corpse, or the intense desire for knowledge in the doctor's visage?

The line, Dig It, could refer to the cultural revolution of the 1960s. The hippies of yesterday have grown into the CEOs of today. Many have shrugged off their idealism in favor of corporate greed, becoming the one thing they most despised, the man.

"Open your eyes to verify the life experience."

ADDICTION - Cleanse Fold and Manipulate (1987)

Cleanse expands on the dimension added to Mind. The music is deeper and broader in scope. The undisputed break out track from this album is Addiction. I own about 8 or 9 different versions of this song, live, remixed, original, extended, and covered. Addiction is a great track in that its message is straight forward, the musicianship superb, and an air of autobiography ties it all together.

The music is lush. A simple 4/4 beat is accompanied by the signature distorted bass synth. Little by little the song expands and develops, becoming more intricate until Ogre takes the mic. "Desperate deranged talking in my sleep again/eyes twitch retain a sentimental something/looked lorn and we burned and we burned/I was a cinder body soul in my dreams." Is this a dream or a drug induced vision? Feeling deranged, burning sensations, are these the effects of the drug or the symptoms of withdrawal?

The chorus: "Breakdown amidst the mixtures/avoid addictive plea/responding disillusion/encrusted cruelty/describe why nails enclose me/eating so evenly/there exists a lot of reasons/to support fatality." The breakdown mentioned has a double meaning. For one, it is a mental breakdown as the will contends with the addictive plea. Secondly, the breakdown is chemical. The drugs enter the body and become a part of it. It breaks down within the system just as the system breaks down in response to the drug.

"Abstinence possessed/hardly what you think it is/hearts beat positive/provided there's progress/ignorance does insist/of the right coffin/took some food offered me/can't see myself drank the wine/wished the feverish burst of terror." Drug addiction is self-destructive behavior. One can keep from taking the drug as long as everything in life is okay. Should some negative experience enter one's life, then the drug is a refuge. One drinks, shoots up, or snorts wishing for that chemical response, something to kill the real emotion.

The song ends with the words "unbearably alive." Life is suffering. It is the first tenant in Buddha's four noble truths. To live is to suffer. Drugs are a way to temporarily alleviate the suffering, but the desired effect is fleeting. The first hit is the best, and the addict takes hit after hit, trying to relive that first experience. It is a destructive and vicious cycle which in the end brings only more suffering. "So pound the nails in tight/eyes screaming out of sight/against a grain like curtain/unbearably alive."

TESTURE - VIVISectVI (1988)

The developments in Mind and Cleanse led up to the creature known as VIVISectVI. Here Puppy really bares its fangs. Topics that were buried in symbolism are brought forward as blatantly as a slap in the face. Human Disease (S.K.U.M.M.) and Dogshit set the tone for the album, which is one of complete and utter contempt for the human race. Again, SP addresses the crimes committed by the medical community in the name of science. The title is in its own way a condemnation. The capitalized VI, when taken together, reads as 666, the number of the beast. The word, Sect, suggests a cult, the cult of medical testers.

Testure, a more down tempo track, maintains much of Puppy's signature sound. Heavy percussion, distorted bass, bell like synths are all there. Ogre's vocal treatment is more restrained. He lets the words, not his tone, carry the meaning to great effect. The restraint works well to support the somber tone of the song.

"In nervous convulsion crouches infant ape trembling in mother's shit/cage eyes tear less filled with contempt/clinic mask experiment with life and death/smell lingering noxious scent anxiety/omnipotent doctor grinds the cage door revealing love's primal instinct taken away." The life of the animals slated for medical experiments is traumatic and unsanitary. The doctor reaches in the cage to take the baby from the mother. Omnipotence suggests that the medical community is all powerful. This sentiment is mirrored by aggrotech artists, Angelspit. Doctors hold considerable sway over human and animal life. The trust invested in them is easily abused.

"Conscious of the pain/pass off as humane/white coat seems so clean/most dirt bleached out of greed." It is clear pain and suffering is being inflicted upon selfless animals. However, because it is done in order to supposedly save human life it is accepted. Whatever blood stains the hands can be washed off with money. "Eyes burn in a rabbit/push the pain test button/cut spine trip mucous infection/pills each day." There is something insidious about animal testing. It seems like inflicting pain just for the sake of pain. Common sense dictates what the result will be. Science claims to be amoral, objective. However, when reduced to dripping bleach into a rabbit's eyes hasn't science lost its way? If you force feed animals pills each day, if you inject them with viruses, surely it will have some undesired effect. What price is human well-being to account for the cost of animal lives?

"Smash price research rat/lab rent paid in flesh/more ill drug store sales/sharpen the knife/emphasis on money/new disease everyday." Animal testing is a vicious circle. There will always be disease and pharmaceutical companies selling drugs to counter those diseases. Animal testing is funded by the pharmaceutical companies, whose goal is not curing illness, but only alleviating symptoms. Until the cycle is broken, more animals will suffer and die.

"Kitten drags it's dead limb/continuing all suffering/it will come back and win/paralyze turn trauma burns out the will to live/the lying message 5 year genocide/1945 VIVISectVI." Abuse of animals leads to abuse of humans. It is seen in serial killers. Societies behave much like individuals. If they accept the torture of animals, it is just a measure of degrees before they accept the torture and killing of other races. 1945 marked the evacuation of several concentration camps. The holocaust was a 5 year genocide wherein gruesome experiments were conducted on human beings, including vivisection, the dissection of living human beings.

WORLOCK - Rabies (1989)

Rabies takes a step in a different direction. By adding Alain Jourgensen of Ministry to the mix, to say Rabies is more rock oriented is an understatement. Rodent is crisp and polished, pointing a finger at corporate greed. The track was used in a commercial to promote the film, The Boiler Room. Fascist Jock Itch, the first Puppy Song I ever heard, is heavily influence by thrash metal and punk. Jourgensen's fingerprints are all over this track. As one may expect, the fan reaction to Rabies was mixed. Some embraced the new sound, others felt Puppy had grown to commercial. In retrospect, though, Rabies had a lot to offer. Namely, the tracks Tin Omen and Worlock. Tin Omen, or Tienamen, is an account of student revolt. It retraces the Kent State revolt during the U.S. invasion of Cambodia. Four student were shot dead by the Ohio National Guard. The majority of wounded and dead were not protestors themselves, only passersby.

Many consider Worlock the greatest Skinny Puppy song. It is high upon my list of favorites as well. It is, as samples suggest, the story of the Tate murders as instigated by Charles Manson. The Manson family was a cult of personality. Manson, the Worlock, possessed considerable influence over his followers. Although he was not present at the murders, his influence was there. The song includes not only a guitar riff lifted from the Beatles' Helter Skelter, but Manson singing the lyrics as well.

At first listen, the lyrics seem random and meaningless. However, the real meaning is buried in metaphor and intricate details. "Eyedropping biopsy cyclops overlooks optic option rotten showstopper skinpopper babbler dabbler." The many references to eyes comes from the confessions of Manson family member, the "self confessed criminal." Had she the time, she would have removed the eyes of the victims and smeared them on the walls. For the lines showstopper and skinpopper, she also confessed to wanting to skin Frankie Sinatra alive while forcing him to listen to his own music.

The chorus goes, "Wasted views/that's all they see, Blue/Hot blood guild optic nerve/with the right attitude/you will succeed, Blue/Self abuse recluse/too late for me/make shifting peace/settling crazy things/keep your eyes open/soft spoken changes nothing/a view so cruel." Again, there are many references to eyes throughout. The Blue mentioned in the song was a Manson family member. She recorded music with Red, Gypsy, and the rest of the Manson family. The chorus sounds like Manson's words to Blue. "You will succeed, Blue" and "Too late for me" suggest she is acting in his place. Manson's goal was to change the world through the spread of violence and terror. He was the painter, Blue his brush. He the wizard, Blue the wand.

Skinny Puppy's dog's eye view of the world comes into play as the caretaker that discovered the murder scene had his dog with him. Anyone with any knowledge of Skinny Puppy as artists would know that they do not approve of murder. This is not a song applauding the actions of the Manson family, only an objective account of the experience.

Supporting the song was a video that presented many clips, often explicitly violent, taken from various horror movies. Though played in many clubs, networks banned the video. This ban, though partly based on the band not having paid royalties for the use of these images, was primarily due to the violent images portrayed on film. Severed limbs, punctured eyes, and other disturbing images abound. The single features a comment regarding violent images in horror films. Skinny Puppy are avid horror fans, and embrace violent images as long as they are special effects and not true violence. They defend horror movies and fight against censorship. Watching violent movies does not directly make you a violent person. Indeed, the members of Skinny Puppy are pacifists.

Tipper Gore went after Skinny Puppy for the images in their videos and the content of their songs. The fact that such a radically liberal band would be pursued by a democrat reveals what little understanding of the band the politicians had. Puppy has time and again proved their anti-war position, their defense of animals, and their defense of basic human rights. Man's inhumanity to man and the dangers of evil influence are the messages of this song. "Crazy words soft spoken." The devil speaks in whispers and always with a smile.

Politicians live in a world of isms. Patriotism, Nationalism, Socialism, Reformism, Republicanism, Liberalism. This world is populated by symbols, whether wearing flag pins or burning flags. Somehow simulated violence is more directly linked to actual violence than social ills. The real world is practical. Symbols are mere representations, no more definite than shadows. Poverty, gun control, unemployment, education, these are the actual causes of violence. Censors put the cart before the horse. There are horror movies, thus there is violence in the world. Wrong. Art follows life. Both Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were based on the exploits of Ed Gein. However, politicians would blame Gein's behavior on the pulp crime magazines he read. Art makes an easy target. To point a finger at the true cause of violence would be to admit failure in governing.

The fact that censors, thinking the song is an evil influence, would seek to censor this song and thus block this message is the epitome of irony.

TORMENTOR - Too Dark Park (1990)

Too Dark Park is something of a masterpiece. It signifies the demarcation line between early Puppy fans and those coming late to the gruesome party. After the shift to Rabies, Skinny Puppy shifts again. It is a wonder fans didn't suffer whiplash. Too Dark Park at once returns to the themes explored in VIVISectVI, but pushes the dimensions of sound even further. The beat is pounding, the synth work crisp and symphonic, Ogre's vocal work strikes the appropriate mood, the samples are spot on. This is Puppy at top form, making Too Dark Park a definitive album. During the In Solvent See tour of 2009, at least as many songs in the set list had been lifted from this album as from the latest release, Mythmaker.

Even the art work experienced a shift. Steven R. Gilmore had created album art as cold, crisp, and eerie as the music in Bites and Remission. Too Dark Park is a different beast. Resembling the grotesque doodles of a marginalized teen, the album features numerous demonic creatures. The goal it seems was to present a toxic world. The music offers a better treatment. This album is a wake up call. Nature's Revenge, Grave Wisdom, Spasmolytic, just about every track features the declining state of the environment. However, of all these tracks, it is Tormentor of which I discuss.

Tormentor is the single off the album, and rightly so. It encapsulates the feel of Too Dark Park, both the symphonic, down tempo stuff and the pounding, hardcore stuff. Quite simply, the track is about electro-shock therapy. That shocking the brain can somehow restore a person's sanity is yet another cruel leap of faith committed by the medical community. Along with snake pits, hydro-therapy, and lobotomies, the electro-shock is just another example of science's dominance over humanity. Because the subjects are mentally disturbed, they cannot speak for themselves. They cannot decline treatment. For instance, the character in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance tells a story of a college professor whose quest for defining quality led him to apparent madness. He was given a lobotomy that he had not approved. The chorus, "Mental shock/disturbed thoughts rotting/long lasting reaction/make it stop/stir up the pot/taking away means nothing." The key phrases here are stir up the pot, or scramble the brain, and taking away means nothing. To wipe the mind through applied electric shocks, or worse, too slice away the frontal lobe of the brain does more harm than good. How can taking something away improve the mind?

Parallels to animal testing run throughout the track. Just as in Testure, cruelty to animals leads to cruelty to man and vice versa. The opening stanza, "Walls trapped within yellow eyes/the cutters drooling face rips apart/cuts to the heart," suggests the cutter, or doctor, rips apart and cuts to the heart. Vivisection.

There are lasting repercussions to such experiments. Someone suffering from a mood disorder is reduced to a gibbering vegetable. "Distorted moodswing smile/altered music shadow covers/melted honey bitter pie/she utters tasting quite lovely." Doctors deliberately alter the perception of disturbed individuals in order to restore them to normalcy. This theme hearkens back to Assimilate, wherein those that are identified as different are either assimilated or destroyed. Of course, the perceptions altered are not always the desired result. Language, motor skills, memories, affective responses can be damaged in the process.

It matters little whether the track is about animal or human rights as the two are linked, pretty much presenting the same argument. We must not forget that this song is about the tormentor, not the tormented. "Forget you are human and remember you are a god." This sample, like most of Skinny Puppy's samples, links directly with the track. Doctors play god. They make life and death decisions, determine the choices made by their patients, and so on. Many a doctor has suffered the god complex. "Forget you are human," that is, remove humanity from your personality. Archaic concepts like "mercy" or "pity" no longer apply. Such caution limits one's power. Drop them and you are like a god, beyond good and evil.

If you have ever read an Ayn Rand novel, then you know the type. Petty moral concepts like altruism chain the masculine hero. Only by dropping such limitations can man fully live his potential, that of a world mover. Like Nietzsche wrote, all great men are evil. That is the theory. In practice such individuals create monsters, not better worlds. It is the lesson learned in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Science without ethics designs weapons of mass destruction, super viruses, toxic waste. Tormentor is the dark side of Rand's philosophy of egoism. The video game, Bioshock, presents this philosophy when taken to the extreme, mirroring Skinny Puppy's point of view. Remove ethics from the equation and the formula results in madness, suffering, and death.

Science is a tool, like a hammer. In the hands of the sensitive artist, it creates a house. In the hands of the heartless, it batters in a skull.

KILLING GAME - Last Rights (1992)

Last Rights is widely regarded as Puppy's most ambitious album. To many younger fans, this was their first album. That the video for Killing Game aired on MTV helps matters as it exposed Skinny Puppy to a broader audience. Personally, I found Last Rights disappointing. As a follow up to Too Dark Park, I think Last Rights lacks the same impact. The tracks are uneven making the overall album unbalanced. Some tracks do little to contribute to the whole. Lust Chance as an instrumental is just passable. Download is nothing more than a random collection of digital bleeps and white noise. Love in Vein is an open admission of the heroin use that would change Skinny Puppy forever. This is not to say I hate the album, only I do not list it high in my favorites.

That said, Killing Game is one of the stronger tracks off this release. The track is downtempo. It is not a dance track by any means. Killing Game is all about atmosphere. This point is driven home by histrionic vocals from Ogre that make Worlock seem restrained. Killing Game presents the ultimate question. Why is there war and violence? "Who taught the killing game first?"

"Fallen angel head crashes dead out of control/lost memories staircase twists/darker rooms lit with left out toys/after playing mean changes toys into tools/twisted playthings on the staircase fools/fools weapons represents the killing game." There is a lot going on in this stanza. In some versions of the gospel, war is taught to man by fallen angels. Perhaps war and violence are memories from the war in heaven. Left out toys are the weapons of past generations, the slings and arrows of ages past. Playing mean and changing toys into tools suggests moving from simple, childhood games to full on war. Cops and robbers turns into spy versus spy. The wrestling between boys becomes the bar fights of adults. Twisted playthings on a staircase. The twisted playthings are weapons, the staircase possibly the double helix of human DNA. Is violence and war embedded in our genetic make-up? Are weapons hardwired into our genome?

The chorus goes, "Who taught the killing game?/time's taught the killing game herself/no, I taught the killing game myself." The crux of this song is who is responsible for violence and war. Is violence a part of our heritage, something left to us by our ancestors? Ogre says no. He taught the killing game. Going back to Assimilate, Killing Game is about moral responsibility. War and violence is not a product of the past, but of the present. We choose as individuals to engage in acts of violence. We have free will and can end war if we only choose that course of action. The responsibility of violence is on each individual. However, as society tends to distribute responsibility, essentially passing the buck, the assimilated person does not regard himself as contributing to the violence.

The rest of the song is a list of violent acts. Pushing faces into glass, spewing venom, tooth and nail. These horrific images are a testament of man's violent nature. However, this nature is an affectation. It is not inherent or innate. It is studied and selective. "I taught the killing game first."

HARDSET HEAD - The Process (1996)

The Process attempted to carry on with the style developed on Last Rights. However, it was plagued with problems. Ogre's addiction to cocaine caused the greatest schism in the band, yet this was not helped by heroin and marijuana use by the rest of the band. The new label, American Records, found Puppy to be a thorn in their side. The release date kept being pushed back as the rift in the band increased and increased. Puppy saw a number of producers come and go (three in all). Unhappy with the original recordings, American had the band rerecord the tracks. Finally, Ogre left the band. Two years later, Dwayne Goetell died in his parent's home from an apparent heroin overdose. Everyone thought this would be the last Puppy album, their last bark.

The Process, like Burning from the Inside by Bauhaus, is an audio representation of a band falling apart. While many would prefer to forget this album, The Process offers a few swan songs. Skinny Puppy manages to produce some decent tracks despite the difficulties. Candle, Amnesia, Jahya, and Process are solid tracks, but Hardset Head sets itself apart.

Musically the track makes use of advancements in technology. Driving, acerbic, and sharp, Hardset Head is also polished to a sheen. I consider the bass line one of the coolest in the Puppy ouvre. Electric guitar comes to the forefront when before it was used primarily for rhythmic effect. Structurally, Hardset Head seems designed for a mosh pit. The stanzas are somewhat subdued and the chorus comes on like a blitz. Ogre goes from near deadpan singing to passionate screams.

Lyrically, Hardset Head presents some difficulty. The stream of consciousness lyrics are particularly dense, resembling an indecipherable mess of random words. Past interpretations of similarly styled songs have cracked the egg, so to speak, revealing deeper meaning. In the past, selected samples (usually from horror films) establish the intent of the track. Hardset Head, as the title implies, is stubborn. Hard-set suggests something rigid or fixed. A harset head is one that cannot be moved, a mind that cannot be changed. Stubbornness seems to be the theme.

The best hint to the lyrics is likely the two words, "silent noise." Silent noise, like deafening silence, is an oxymoron. The image is one of people speaking, yet saying nothing. In the information age, the overwhelming majority of information is nothing more than static, white noise. Political pundits blather about, listing off sound bites and talking points, but not adding anything to the discourse. The opposition puts up a wall, stubbornly refusing to accept the position of the other party. They volley meaningless tautologies and straw man arguments back and forth. In the end, nothing comes of it but deeper trenches. On the other hand, silent noise could very well imply a lie of omission. By not making an admission, by withholding the truth, one just adds to the noise of falsehood and misunderstanding.

All this is superficial reaction. Deeper meaning lies in the album as a whole. The Process, believe or not, is a concept album. Ogre established a professional friendship with inspirational source and mentor, Genesis P-Orridge of Throbbing Gristle, the originators of industrial music. Very much a product of the 1960s, Genesis spoke to Ogre about the culture wars of the time. Hippie culture embraced Eastern philosophy. This started with the Beat generation, but flourished in the late '60s. Hinduism, Daoism, Buddhism, Sikhism. A religious cult emerged, a collection of individuals seeking enlightenment through the process. The process was a system of opening oneself to all modes of thought. To choose one system over another is to shut the mind to truths inherent in those religions or philosophies. The process embraces all modes of thought, believing that each holds some aspect of truth. Deny one and you might as well deny them all.

Taken in this vein, the complex lyrics unravel into something more comprehensible. "Driven with (event width)/two paths given/pure force downs/turns the screw crawling back." Driven with two paths. For most there are two opposing forces. Yin and yang, right and wrong, good and evil, socialist and capitalist, conservative and liberal. There are two kinds of people in the world, those who divide people into two groups and those that don't. People create opposition by choosing one perspective over another. "Pure force downs" quite directly links to down force which connects to the previous line, "driven." Forward momentum creates down force. Pursuing one path or another just roots you more deeply in that belief system, just as the faster the exotic sports car, the more the spoiler holds it to the road. "Turns the screw" fixes one to the spot. The direction is not forward, but down. No, the direction is backward. "Crawling back" suggests a regression. In his stubbornness, in his denial of other systems of thought, man essentially crawls back into the primordial ooze.

"In term space - a time to intrude/in term peace - assuring a future." If you view the universe in spacial terms, it follows that everything is divided into this and that, mine and yours. Space is something to intrude upon, to fill, to invade. If you view the universe with a peaceful mind, it follows that the universe is a totality. There is no this and that. All is one. No need for war, no need for greed. Each cares after the other as any one thing is but an extension of the whole. Thus, the future is assured.

The chorus follows. "Silence noise forming sound like silent noise/silent voice screaming hints retaliation." We have discussed the well-nigh impenetrable image that is silent noise. The line that calls attention to itself, though, is retaliation. Hardset Head is about opposition. Pick a side and immediately you are presented with an enemy, those who don't believe as you do. In his essay, The Rebel, Albert Camus states that it is better by far to neither be master or slave. The slave is exploited while the master is morally diminished. Taiji is the balance between the poles of yin and yang, the middle between the extremes. However, wuji exists outside the boundaries of yin and yang. It falls nowhere on the scale. It exists outside the scale.

"Heinous plans in sides remain taking downs taking aim/filling curses two conditions back upon itself." The extension to opposition is contention. Each side plans to overthrow or undermine the other. However, neither realizes such intimations belie the frailty of their beliefs. That one must convert or destroy the unbeliever strangely empowers the enemy. The inquisitor admits he finds the miscreant a threat. Hate and fury are born from fear and doubt.

"Pass it off as good intentions leaving marks hard to heal/re-assisted retrogression leaving tracks path reveals/sample act reflected clears noticed thought while leaving hears/nuisance labels paranoia so stupid how perceived that way." Attacking the opposition is not just to better establish one's own position, but is to educate the enemy. They are wayward. We bring them the truth. Converting natives to Catholicism is but one example. Historically empires have bathed whole peoples in blood supposedly with the best of intentions. The more tightly one holds onto an archaic system of thought, the more rooted is he in the past. In Daoism, righteousness creates evil. Only by pointing out evil does it come into being. This is known as codependent arising. Man exists, therefore there is woman. An item is hot, therefore things can be cold. God created evil simply by looking at his creation and saying the words, "It is good." By definition, anything opposing his creation (darkness to light) was evil.

"Shaman stands retreating all is over evermore smoke the curse your creation back upon yourself." Stand retreating, another oxymoron. However, in context we see that narrow-mindedness stunts the progress of man. If one destroys the opposition, one in essence destroys his point of view. Without light, darkness has no meaning. Without pain there can be no pleasure. Without hate there can be no love.

The silent noise that presents such a problem reveals itself as ignorance. Stubborn pursuit of one system of thought at the expense of all others is ignorance. The despot, the pundit, the scientist, the zealot all portray their ignorance simply by dismissing the opposing point of view. The final line reads, "silent truth asserts its proof like you abhor." Nothing defines ignorance quite like intolerance. The open minded, the progressive person, at least considers another point of view in order to come to a greater truth. The ignorant person dismisses it out of hand.

Hardset Head appears on the soundtrack for American Werewolf in Paris.

PRO-TEST - The Greater Wrong of the Right (2004)

According to some fans, Puppy should have left it at The Process. They should never have gotten back together. The passing of Dwayne Goetell spelled the end of an era. I am not one of those fans. When I spotted this album, I was overjoyed (if not just a little shocked) that an old favorite had reunited. When I played the album I was in for a greater surprise. That Puppy had changed its sound again was expected. They had evolved their sound over the years from album to album. What surprised me was how accessible it is.

The Process had been regarded as the bands most commercial album, clearly having more to do with the label than the artist. Greater Wrong of the Right is different. After an eight year hiatus, Puppy returns with a new direction. Ogre brings his more hip hop and pop influenced vocal style he developed on his solo project, oHgr. Meanwhile, cEvin Key creates richer and more varied music, showing his experiences gained over several projects, solo and otherwise. Together the combo create my favorite album. I know I risk humiliation or worse from other fans, but for me it gets no better than The Greater Wrong of the Right. I am a Puppy fan. yet, there are tracks I simply do not like and I have deleted them from my iPod. There are also those tracks that I can give or take. Each track on Greater Wrong of the Right is a gem. I have given a five star rating to each. If the track plays on my iPod, I am liable to crank up the volume. I may even repeat the track.

First and foremost, GWR is Puppy's response to the politics of George W. Bush. Of course, Puppy being Puppy, this is not as obvious as with Ministry or KMFDM, but it is there just the same. Daddyuwarbash, Neuwerld, and Downsizer are but three examples. The kicker, though, is pro-test. Pro-test is an out and out condemnation of conservative politics. Ironically, when alerted that Puppy performed anti-Bush songs, the right wing voiced opposition. This only encouraged those who felt similarly about the current political climate to attend Puppy's shows and to purchase the album. Despite many fans hating on this album, Pro-Test is a top download from the band on Amazon.com.

Musically, Pro-test owes a great deal to oHgr. The machine gun vocals, the clear message, the more accessible sound all point in that direction. However, it remains intrinsically Skinny Puppy. If you were to go back and listen to The Process, you would notice how it bridges the gap between Last Rights and Greater Wrong of the Right. The guitar, the polish, the accessibility suggest that is the direction they were going. GWR simply takes up where Puppy had left off, only years later. Pro-test is an onslaught of guitar, synth, and drums. Samples are used sparingly, but to great effect, adding nuance to the politically charged theme. If I had any complaint, it would be that Ogre's vocals are too modulated, making it difficult to make out the words, an issue already extant in skinny Puppy songs.

"Hit me on the street while waiting to do nothing/where within the space can anything feel certain?/look into the future make out the word speak/send in the spies to watch them." Several things going on here. First of all, paranoia. Who is the enemy? After 911 people were afraid of their own shadow. Anyone could be a threat. The government at the time took advantage of such fears. The Patriot Act was signed into law in order to provide the government the ability to spy on its citizens in order to root out possible future terrorist attacks. However, if one strips the nation of its liberty and protection from the government, does that not validate the terrorist's actions? Terror is to spread panic and distrust. The best response to terrorism is to go about your daily lives, however hard that may sound. "Hit me on the street" is a bit much as protestors to the Patriot Act did not openly (that is, publicly) suffer the same violent reaction as protestors during the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War.

"Creepy are the people unable to do something/sitting on an armchair fenced in their creation/look up to be there anywhere is somewhere/itchy past scratch the itch." Those who fight for the Patriot Act, and those that sign it into law, must fall under the same rules. They, too, are caged or "fenced in" under the watchful eye of their creation. They willingly give up their rights through fear.

"Feel about a nation so precious is the freedom/carousal the brass ring reach into a black mass/So it's corroded so it's polluted/we all want some of it." When patriotism is more important than the laws of the land, then you have entered a Nationalist society. Fascism is built on the shoulders of bullies. In this manner, the country is not so much ruled as stolen. What does it matter if the constitution is ignored as long as they stay in power? That power is meaningless if gained at the expense of what makes America great, liberty. Grab the corroded brass ring in order to rule a polluted world, a world without regulation.

"Maybe all the people now left without no loving/where with all the strength gone better see it coming/get off the fence trip rip up the garbage/make it up to the earth, bitch." Love depends on trust. Take away trust and there is no love. When people fear and hate, it saps both mental and physical energy, energy that could be used more effectively. To worry over something that may not happen is a waste. To distrust every person you meet is to prevent any healthy relationship. When people care nothing for each other, they care even less for the environment. Stop shutting out others and the world gets smaller. Enemy becomes neighbor. The earth suffers from neglect.

"Be a politician eroding all your freedoms/down the rabbit hole cracks money markets fall/through a looking glass time becomes too fast/all to benefit the rich." Politics serves constituencies. Greased palms make the world go round. When politics serve the rich, only the rich get served. Focus is on making the rich richer at the expense of the poor. In essence, this line predicts the coming financial meltdown. Remove regulations from financial institutions, and corruption rears its ugly head. To serve the few over the many turns society upside down. Majority rule has no real meaning.

"So keep eating from the apple inches from the center/shaken to the core until it doesn't matter/no one to turn to nowhere to run to/better the bomb to blow it." The apple here clearly represents that in the bible, the forbidden fruit of knowledge. However, instead of knowledge, it is power. As you move further from the center (moderate) you move further to the left or right (liberal or conservative). Eventually you move so far to the extreme that there is no turning back. Little by little the constitution is stripped away. Finally, in a throw back to '80s culture, you might as well drop the atom bomb as America has been destroyed just the same.

Whether or not you agree with the politics, the message is clear. Skinny Puppy has frequently reflected the zeitgeist in each release. Whether aids, war, the environment, or politics, SP has commented on current events of the time. This is no different. Not only does the song rock, it continues the tradition of Skinny Puppy: to view the world through the eyes of the marginalized and abused. The band proves that an old dog can learn new tricks. Pro-test attests to Skinny Puppy's comeback, proving they still have relevance some 20 years later.

The video is unlike any other from Skinny Puppy. Simply put, a number of rivet heads run into a number of b-boys and have a dance off. The dancing is superb and fits the danceability of the music, though it seems the anti-Bush statement is buried in subtext if not altogether discarded.

HAZE - Mythmaker (2007)

With such a recent album it is difficult to pick out something definitive or lasting, but Haze shows promise. Personally, Jaher off the same album is my favorite from Mythmaker. Indeed, it is currently my favorite Puppy song. However, Haze has shown a greater response. Furthermore, a video has been released to support the track.

Musically, Mythmaker continues what started with Greater Wrong of the Right while attempting to relive the glory of Last Rights. Mythmaker is an ambitious album and features many, striking tracks. However, like Last Rights, Mythmaker suffers a lack of balance. Some of the tracks I simply do not like. Mythmaker, as the name suggests, is an album about perception and deceit. Magnifishit spotlights those who make false claims, who are self aggrandizing, who play up their importance. "I am the undisputed lie," is but one of the lines. People create their own mythology, building up a false persona. Ugli points out the inconsistencies in the perception of Jesus. If Jesus is about love and compassion, why are his professed followers hateful and intolerant? "Jesus wants to be ugly" is not a condemnation of religion, but a condemnation of hypocrisy.

Haze is a downtempo track in the vein of Killing Game and Testure. As usual, the lyrics are complex. "Death feels like the butterfly/can't escape the scarred lie/real relationships must die/underneath the scarred lie." The death card in the tarot represents a transformation, hence a butterfly. Death is not an end, but a transition. When one is deceitful, it is impossible to maintain a real relationship. Meaningful relationships require trust. By lying, one kills any chance of an actual relationship. The metamorphosis, like that in Kafka, is a degeneration. The butterfly into a worm. The scar, the emotional scars of a failed relationship.

"We globalize the others' lies/we sanctify the great disguise/what if change gate/don't watch it show your shape/desperate in death/death will tell them/death will kill them/death will tell." We are implicit in the the global lie. As long as we do not question, do not verify, we maintain the illusion. In this sense, we are all worms. However, truth will out. There is an honesty in death. Medical examiners know that the dead speak and they do not lie. After we have passed, our true selves will be known. Secrets and lies are revealed. Societies follow the same principle. The great conspiracies, the global lies reveal themselves after the fall.

"Now I'll break out tonight/I'll escape light light/I'll escape one tonight/Gravitate slice slice." The worm finally escapes the prison of deceit. It leaves the world of darkness for the light. Illumination. Gravitate - the worm is drawn to the earth, to things of a solid nature. Slice slice - the worm has regenerative abilities. It cuts away the injured half, the corrupt half. Although the worm must separate to escape, it remains whole. Such is the power of regeneration. The emotional scar is what remains of the worm's escape from the lie. Death is the butterfly, the worm coming to terms with its own truth.

There are several layers of meaning. 1) It is a political statement regarding a government ruled by fear and lies. 2) It is an account of one's escape from an abusive, distrustful relationship. 3) It is a song about suicide. Death is the only thing that offers truth.

The third option I dismiss as Deep Down Trauma Hounds off Cleanse Fold and Manipulate reveals Ogre's distaste for suicide. Better to grow from suffering than allow it to destroy you. Haze reminds me of a hexagram from the Yi Jing, the Classic Book of Changes. Youthful Folly presents an image of a mist covering a mountain. The mountain represents knowledge. The mist obscures that knowledge. Water in the Yi Jing embodies danger and falsehood. Haze is a song about deceit, whether between individuals or between a government and its people. When the truth is obscured, trust is violated. When trust is violated, relationships are false. Seeking the truth is painful. One must become an exile, cutting oneself off from society. Only then can one emerge free and whole. Haze is falsehood, killer of trust.

Skinny Puppy fan, Jolene Siana, wrote Ogre several letters over the course of her life as an abused child. Jolene sought refuge from her mother in Puppy's music, drugs, and the act of cutting. Cutting is a widely misunderstood and maligned practice. Although I in no way condone the act, I can see how it may provide some psychological relief from the stress of adolescence. Sometimes pain may be all there is to remind someone they are still alive, that they still feel. Jolene contemplated suicide often, but did not carry out the act. In the end, her letters to Ogre gave her that human connection she needed. Ogre had kept her letters and one day, as promised, returned them to her. She has since published those letters in a book titled "Ask Ogre: Letters from a Deathrock Cutter." The book is bleak to say the least.

Haze shares striking similarities to her story of an escape from an abusive relationship. If there is anything Skinny Puppy cannot abide it is the abuse of power or trust, whether the abuse of humans or animals. Haze could very well be Ogre's attempt at retelling her story, although this is just one possible suggestion.

Skinny Puppy's latest album has been postponed due to the fact that SPV records is claiming insolvency. For legal reasons, the album cannot be released. The album was to drop in October, but has been pushed back to the end of the year (if then). Puppy scheduled a tour to promote the new album finding that they could not perform the new material. Instead, they played selections from their back catalogue, including some songs previously never performed live. After the release of the their 13th album (strangely affected by a stroke of bad luck) I shall add another track to this blog. Until then I wish Skinny Puppy continued success. Here is to a long and productive career in experimental music.