Zombie, Murder,
Macaulay and Styx

by JACK OATMON

The collaborative effort has often been a dramatic, provocative and downright pitiful element of music culture. At times, it can eloquently bridge the gap between genres, subsequently spurring entirely superfluous, potentially obnoxious subgenres, as was the case with Public Enemy and Anthrax’s explosive “Bring the Noise,” which regrettably provided inspiration for a generation of suburban-dweebs-with-issues. Of course, I refer to Korn, Limp Bizkit and their woe-begotten ilk, coined “rap rock.” Or “pap cock,” as I fondly refer to it. At other times, it can unite estranged members of a community and provide synergistic crossover appeal for each artist, as was the case when the late Freddie Mercury got together with David Bowie for the self-affirming (and hairy) prog anthem, “Under Pressure.” Sometimes it’s straight-up creepy and makes you wonder just how far from reality the psyche of rock stars can possibly stray—yes, I’m talking about MJ and Macaulay Culkin. And we certainly can’t overlook the phenomenal heights that can be reached when washed-up synthpop musicians from the ’80s team up with Pierre Lapointe and make quite possibly the best damn anthem rock-out known to humankind. Thank you, CHOM FM. What was I talking about? Oh, yeah, team-up tracks. Sweet. Well, the main thing here is that you recognize the relentless power of the collab and get your mitts on a copy of the new jam by Zombie Nation and Tiga, under the name Zzt. It’s called “Lower State of Consciousness,” likely an oh-so-clever détournement of Josh Wink’s ’95 slammer, “Higher State of Consciousness.” The first five times you hear it, it will sound like the most irritating series of bleeps you’ve ever encountered. On the sixth listen, you will be completely brainwashed and consider it to be a masterpiece. If that doesn’t work—which it will—just grab the utterly bombastic Justice remix and funk your dome out to the max. That remix is so wild and fresh that it makes Avril look like a widowed turnip farmer. You must do all this before tonight in order to be thoroughly prepared for Zombie Nation’s return visit to Mini’s Thursday night bangalanger at Parking (Hint: http://hypem.com/). Good luck.

In other news, Professor Murder, tonight, Thursday, Aug. 23 at Lambi, is gonna be off the chain (see article on page 12). Keep your eyes peeled for remixes of them by Gregg Gillis’s (Girl Talk) super-secret side-project (i.e. top friend on MySpace) called Trey Told ’em. As much as I respect Gillis, I was never a big Night Ripper fan, but this new thing happily puts his slippery production paw to some original beats. Check it out. For more wacky, Brooklyn-based synth foolery, hunker down at Casa del Popolo on Friday, Aug. 24 for the twisted vision of Dirty Projectors. They’ll appear with Atom & His Package revivalist Yacht, who does the strangest Rolling Stones cover you’ll ever hear (“See a Penny Pick It Up” aka “Miss You”). Forget about Wolf Parade, unless you’re in a serious hornswoggling mood. If you do decide to try and nab a ticket to one of the four sold-out shows, make sure it’s Aug. 25 or 26 ’cause Holy Fuck! are opening on those dates. As usual, round out your weekend with Piknic Électronik on Sunday, and keep your damn nose out of the dirt.

Yup, that’s what I meant. jack.oatmon@gmail.com