All Your Mountains Splay

I've been pecking away at this essay comparing Raymond Carver to Megaman. Maybe I'll show you some day. Is it Megaman or Mega Man? I'm sure a quick search would let me know.

Converge is polarizing the masses again. Like DMX's relationship to his parents, you either love them or hate them (or, I guess, you are unfamiliar with DMX's parents, which is odd really). Metal dudes are all like "learn to sing asshole!" and hardcore dudes are like "slow down pardner!"

All this dude knows is that Axe to Fall starts, and then all of a sudden it ends, and his neck fucking hurts. Having read a few interviews with Jacob Bannon, I'm only further convinced that this man is more than a banshee screech, which should not come as a surprise. But when interviewers try to sum up his work, he refuses to acquiesce to such dissolution of his aesthetic. So, as he says, the songs aren't "rockin" so much as more "aggressive," though Converge could never really be mistaken for the Shins or something.

But as Bannon goes on to explain with much more eloquence than I, the album isn't just a ripper—it's a ripper with a wide dynamic range, a metal/hardcore album that's almost half collaboration with friends of the band. There is so much to miss on the first series of listens because it's barely possible to focus on Kurt's volley of notes or the nearly relentless rhythm section. Axe to Fall incorporates everything the band has done to this point in less than 45 minutes without stepping in those exact footprints again.

Also awesome: who knew Ten Grand had a singles comp of sorts? The internet is a bad place when you only work two days a week. The rejections are climbing but that is ok. I know I may have promised more poems but it seems moot. Aaron, Paul, Bianca, Alina and I are finishing up the moviefilm version of our performance piece Opus Vulgate. I'm starting something new with the always awesome Julie Buck. Does anyone know how I can get into Fallon's show on Dec. 8th? Stupid tickets went fast. I guess it'll be on TV at least, but suddenly living in New York feels like a chore. Not really. Let's play some games or something.

Levi