by RAF KATIGBAK

Almost everyone has something to say about how good it was "back in the day," when things were "old school." I must admit, I too like to think about the good old days - the days when you could watch some guy getting chased around by an undead backwoods maniac with a machete and not worry about the pursuer suddenly teleporting around, body-hopping or being reborn as a hell-baby.

As you probably know, it's a Friday the 13th this weekend, and if you're any kind of fan of the horror series, you'll probably spend at least a few moments getting all teary-eyed thinking about the early chapters of Mr. Jason Voorhees's life - and deaths. I'm not talking about his recent forays as a mindless, demonic killing machine fighting Freddy, or his jaunts into outer space. I'm talking about the first four films, when Jason was human (sort of), vulnerable (to machete attacks) and had a willingness to communicate (if you count animal grunts). It was a time when Jason's humanity and madness were a mystery to be solved, like a puzzle wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a hockey mask, armed with a weed-whacker. Sigh. Those were the days...

If pop culture's self-destruction is what you're after on Friday, look no further than French laptop act DAT Politics. This trio of distorted, bit-crushed, electro-pop noiseniks take over Toc-Toc with local digital destroyers Intercom, Le Monochrome and the lo-fi Nintendo noise of T.O.'s Oh No The Modulato. Ten bucks in advance, $12 at the door.

As a sound designer and horror movie buff, David Kristian knows all about creating a spooky atmosphere. This Friday at a Laïka cinq à sept, he launches his last drones-and-soundscapes album under his own name. The Mariana Trench (on Oral) was recorded during two snowstorms in the winter of 2003, and his performance this Friday with Martin Tétrault will include the use of modified sex toys (don't worry, it's a music performance).

Of course, this week the Elektra Fest keeps more juice flowing than each time Jason got electrocuted combined (FYI: chapters VII, VIII, Jason X and Freddy vs. Jason). If you missed the Autechre/SND show on Tuesday, there's still plenty of future music and video to see. Friday, it's a droning, beat-driven visual feast with UVA, D-Fuse, Scanner and more at Usine C, while tonight, Thursday, May 12, it's a heavy-mental party with Ryoji Ikeda, Istvan Kantor and more.

Tuesday night, the Flexout crew's RamDac and Crispian will be launching their latest mix CD of hacked-up beats and razor-sharp cuts (courtesy DJ Mana) called Glitchy and Scratchy. Their guests at Blizzarts will be DJ Luv and Ghislain Poirier (watch out for GP's newest outing on Chicago's Chocolate Industries, entitled Breakupdown, due out July).

Finally, on Wednesday, it's Doublethink, a crazy, dress-up loft party/NFB film shoot that begins at 6 p.m. with a 1984/Brave New World-themed interactive art installation. It's also got an Orwell-Huxley political debate featuring Canadian scholastic champions, two-minute-hate-inspired noise sets by Dreamcatcher, Trancelvania, Flivver and AIDS Wolf, and a classic rave set spun by DJ Luv - and it's all FREE! For more info, check www.socialdoc.net/doublethink or e-mail eggeye84@yahoo.ca.

KI... KI... KI... KI... MA... MA... MA... MA... Diskoakimbo@sympatico.ca

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