Downtown, or Thrift Shop 2.0?

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ newest single, Downtown has a massive sound, a great supporting line up with, Eric Nally of Foxy Shazam, Grandmaster Caz, Cool Moe Dee, and Melle Mel. The song also has some pretty sharp humour, but overall, it doesn’t quite seem to know what it’s doing with itself. To put it simply, Downtown is all dressed up but with nowhere to go.

 One gets the impression that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were attempting to recreate the massively successful sound and feel of their 2013 track, Thrift Shop. They did a great job attempting to recreate their winning formula once again, but it doesn’t have the same off the wall weirdness that Thrift Shop had, simply because, if you’re using the same formula, you can’t use it to surprise your audience twice.

 Lyrically the song is very reminiscent of Thrift Shop, as it has the same sharp sense of humour and it breaks away from the classic Hip-Hop motif of having an exorbitant amount of money and somehow being better than the audience you are singing to. Both Thrift Shop and Downtown attempt to appeal to the everyman. Thrift Shop is all about cheap clothing and looking cool in whatever you wear, while Downtown is all about cheap transportation; mopeds.

 The problem with the lyrics of Downtown, is that Thrift Shop had a concise and clear message all the way through the track, but by the second verse in Downtown, Macklemore has kind of lost track of where he was going with this song, and the moped theme is pretty much lost entirely at this point.

 Musically however, this song is one of the finest the duo have ever created. Ryan Lewis, the producer on this track and on Thrift Shop has outdone himself. The influence of Michael Jackson's Bad comes across in the gang vibe of the song. It feels like two groups are fighting it out through their music, lead by Macklemore on the one side, and Eric Nally on the other. There are Queen influences on the Eric Nally choruses with big, orchestral and natural sounding instrumentals. The track just has a very Ryan Lewis-esque vibe to it, and I love it.

 With all its flaws, I still love this song, and I think this along with the recent single Macklemore did with Ed Sheeran, Growing Up I have the feeling, we have a great album on the way.

Please leave your comments in the comment section below.

Thanks for the read,

Plug in your head.

A Gray Chapter

So another week passes and so more musical talking points have arisen. First off, I'd like to apologise for there being no post yesterday, I had a crazy day and just didn't have the time. Anyway, lets get into it.

The big news this week is that Slipknot's fifth full length album, ".5: The Gray Chapter" dropped this week and I very diligently picked up my copy on release day. This is a controversial album for many die hard fans, as we see the first line up change since their self titled 1999 album. As many of you may know, Slipknot's bassist, Paul Gray tragically passed away in 2010 (Hence the album title) and since then fans have been wondering will the band go their separate ways, or release another album. However Gray was not the only change made the Nu Metal band's line up as legendary drummer, Joey Jordison was asked to leave the band by his fellow band mates in December 2013. The band cited personal reasons and to why they asked Jordison to leave. No one knows for sure who the new band members are, but there is a lot of speculation as to who it may or may not be, but I will leave the speculation up to the speculators.

On top of the new band members, and the new album, Slipknot now all have new masks! Many claim this is a gimmick but since their first album, the band have taken to wearing disconcerting and evil looking masks on stage. The release of the new masks is always a very exciting part of a new Slipknot album for me, because I love to see what the band has come up with, and while some masks look practically identical (I'm looking at you Mick) some masks like Front man, Corey Taylor's are brand new.

The album itself is reminiscent of their older musical styles that could be found in their self titled album and the 2001 album "Iowa". Taylor has gone back to his faster almost rap-esque vocal style in many of their  new songs. However it's quite noticeable that Taylor's voice can't do what it used to. The album also shows off more of the turn table tricks we know and love that were lacking in their last album which I enjoyed a lot. The drumming is underwhelming without Jordison but as he is one of the world's best metal drummers, that isn't surprising.

Overall, it seems that the band did listen to the fans and changed the direction in which the band seemed to be going in after their 2008 album "All Hope is Gone" which divided fans (I really liked it though). However, backwards is never a good direction for any band to take. 

WARNING: THIS PART MAY CONTAIN OPINIONS

In my personal opinion, this is Slipknot's worst album to date, but I want to make it perfectly clear that that doesn't mean this is a bad album, it contains many fantastic tracks such as the two singles, "The Devil in I" and "Negative One" and other great tunes like, "Killpop" and my favourite song off the album "If It's Rain You Want". Overall, this is a good album, an entertaining hour of metal, but it honestly doesn't do anything special and at some points, it borders on out right boring with most of the first half of the album being kind of uninteresting. One nice surprise a friend of mine pointed out was the album length, as many bands seem to be producing albums under an hour run time now-a-days. Lastly, the album unfortunately sports one of the worst album covers I've seen this year. It's uninspired, a bit silly and kinda boring, (like the album itself?)

Finally onto more Mastodon news. This week, to follow the release of their new music video, the band has announced their European Tour, I've provided a link to the dates so you can check out if they're playing near you. I'm super excited to see Mastodon, will I see any of you at the Manchester show?

So tell me what you think of .5: The Gray Chapter. Have you heard it? Did you like it? I want to know.

Leave any suggestions, recommentations or hate mail in the comment section and I'll be back next week.

Thanks for reading, 

Xtian Zzyzx

Chocolatey Twerky Metal!

Well it looks like the metal scene is trying to be a bit more inclusive as of late, which is weird because until only a few years ago metal sort of just kept to itself. However, with the late September release of American metal band, Mastodon's new video "The Motherload" we see some new moves thrown in with the traditional Headbanging. People could argue that this is just reverse Headbanging but the dancers in this video are most definitely twerking. 

Now twerking has become a huge cultural phenomenon which has been part of many music scenes for years now but only really caught the eye of mainstream media when Miley Cyrus let loose at the 2013 VMAs. (And if you've been living under a rock for the past year, here is the performance in question.) In light of this video, all I can say is, here's hoping for a Mastodon/Major Lazer collaboration! 

Now what's even more inclusive is Japanese "Idol Metal" band, BABYMETAL! BABYMETAL is an attempt at combining the Japanese "Idol" genre with that of metal. Now for those of you who don't know, I did some research into "Idol" and found that it is something we have very prominently in the West, but we just don't have a name for it. "Idol" refers to a manufactured group or solo act of young (Sometimes very young) attractive stars or starlets who sing and dance. These groups are very similar to our Boy Bands or Girl Bands like One Direction, The Backstreet Boys or Atomic Kitten (Man I used to love Atomic Kitten!)

BABYMETAL started out in 2010 and only in early 2014 did they release their debut self titled album "BABYMETAL". Their sound has been designed to make Metal appeal to the teen and preteen Idol/J-Pop audience, and they seem to have done a damn good job of it peaking on charts across the glob and even reaching Number 1 on the US World Album Bilboard charts. The market reasoning behind BABYMETAL is that this is a completely untapped market. I kinda remember the Adult Swim show "Metalocalypse" doing a very similar thing... But for fish.

In BABYMETAL's live music video, "Gimme Chocolate" we can see exactly what the band is all about, but at the same time it raises more questions like, is that Mary in the background? What on earth could 3 teenagers have to say about chocolate for an entire 4 minute song? And what are the backing band wearing?

I personally think the video is great and I really hope it blows up on the web the way Gangnam Style did. I'm also loving the new Mastodon video, if not just for it's weirdness. Here's a link to a great article where one of the dancer's gives her insight into what it was like to actually be in the video and of course the controversy surrounding the video. Because you know how metal heads don't like change.

Thanks a lot for the read, if this gets any attention I'll try and return my interests to this blog and maybe make something really cool out of it.

For those of you who didn't get my hilarious Major Lazer reference, watch this but be warned, it's kinda fucked up. Major Lazer- Pon De Floor

Xtian Zzyzx

One Hell of a Year- Part 1

I know I just made a post, but I had a thought that I could do a sort of personal blog, still focusing on music, but in the context of my personal life. Like a diary except online, where all of you can read my deep dark thoughts. All like, 10 of you... This decision has kinda just come off the heel of me thinking I need to write more and what better way to do it than to tell strangers about my life.

So it's been a kinda crazy year. I've been doing my last year of school, I turned 18 (legal drinking age, woop), I've grown a lot, and my music tastes have grown with me. It's actually been a really good year for music, international acts don't often come to South Africa but this year quite a few did. Lets see... There was The Red Hot Chili Peppers in Feb. They were really good. They are truly solid live. However it could have all been an illusion due to altitude sickness. We had really shitty seats, quite high up. The one bummer was that they didn't play Scar Tissue. Die Antwoord opened for them but I feel like I'd be lying if I said I saw them live, 'CAUSE THE WERE SO FUCKING FAR AWAY!!!

Then in March there was RamFest 2013. Most people will say they went for Bring Me the Horizon and Rise Against, but I couldn't care less about BMTH and I left before Rise Against. Now that may sound extremely lame, me not staying for the headliners, but I had a fucking crazy time! I went for Pendulum. They are probably my favourite DnB group and they were pretty much the only reason I bought a ticket. Now for all of you who don't know RamFest, it's a 3 day fest with 3 stages. The Main Stage with mostly rock and metal acts. The indie stage (Don't know what it's really called, couldn't be bothered to even care about that stage), it's more like a tiny ass marquee than a stage. That's where all the up and coming bands play. All the ones who can't draw crowds but kinda knew a dude in management who was like, "yeah sure man, I can get you a set at Ramfest!"... cute. Then there's the Electronic Stage which is where I was the whole day. Well there and the beer tent. Now not that I don't love rock and metal, I really do, but the bands on the main stage kinda sucked this year and so for me it was all about the Electronic stage, which was AMAZING! This is where I first learnt that the more crazy you dance, the more free drinks you get. Even if you're a guy.

Then April was Metallica. Holy shit that was an experience. I've always loved Metallica and I know that the general consensus on the internet is that Metallica sucks, but I love them and always will, so... There. They played a solid set with all the classics and this time I know for sure I saw them, 'cause I was in Golden Circle. After moshing, partying and what not, one of my friends decides to drag me along to the front of the crowd where we can see better. The front is usually empty at these kinds of shows as Metallica were so loud it hurt. But due to a fair amount of Alcohol it didn't matter really. However, my friend ditched me so for most of the second half of the concert I was by myself, but don't think that that was a bad thing. It was what helped make the concert such a spiritual experience for me.

Let me explain. Before this, my Grandmother had been suffering for a very long time with cancer, and a few days before the concert, she tragically passed away. However, my family being the forever supportive and UNIMAGINABLY loving people they are, postponed the funeral 1 day so I could go see Metallica.
Now back to the concert. There I am, alone in golden circle with quite a lot of space around me, the unbearable loudness keeping everyone away from me and all of a sudden, I feel quite overwhelmed with emotion. Love for my family and Grandmother, love for this music, this insane realization of where I am and then sadness from my family's loss. This is when they play  Nothing Else Matters, and it becomes too much. This was the first time I cried about my Grandmother. Through tears and sweat and pain and anger and sadness and love, I scream the lyrics along with the tens of thousands of people around me. I cry and it helps. It was Metallica that helped me come to peace with my Grans passing, and it is when the song ends that I wipe the tears off my face and a man in a trench coat, with long hair and tattoos comes up, puts his arm around my shoulders and says to me, "Tonight, you're a fucking legend."

I did see other bands this year, honestly I saw better bands this year, and in later posts I'll talk about those too, but it was at Metallica, along with thousands of other people that I TRULY felt the awesome and overwhelming power of music.

Thank you for the read, Plug in Your Head
Xtian Zzyzx

Me and Monstercat

Holy shit... It's been a year since my last post. Alright, time to fix that. I can't honestly tell you why I haven't posted in such a long time, one could argue that it's because I've been busy with school work, my thriving social life (yeah right), or any number of things that could suffice for a good excuse. But to be honest, I was just lazy... Am just lazy. But I've decided I'll try post a for a while and if it gains any interest I'll start it up full time again!

Now here's the tricky part, I have no idea what to talk about, see when I do these things I like to talk about music that's new to me, but I've discovered so much music in the last year I have no idea where to start! The thing is, (now I'm not sure if it's just me) I can go from listening to Deep House and EDM to Classical to Swing to Hip-Hop to Metal in the space of a day, and that does in fact happen to me all the time, 'cause I don't listen to music depending on my mood, I kinda listen to music depending on the mood I wanna be in. So now, I'm listening to EDM 'cause I kinda had a downer of a day and I wanna be more up beat. So I guess... Let's talk about that.

EDM, being Electronic Dance Music, can come in a variable smorgasbord of forms, from House to Dubstep. From Disco to Drum n Bass. Now there is this kickass YouTube channel a friend of mine showed me a while ago called MosterCat Music. They are an indie record label who sign some pretty amazing producers, and it never ceases to amaze me how many types of EDM these dudes cover!

For me, it all started with a song called Flight, by Tristam and Braken.  My friends showed it to me and I think they came upon this song through a gaming YouTube channel (I can't say which one). Anyway, they played me this song, and it starts out with a phenomenally catchy melody which slowly builds up til the drums come in. This melody gets stuck in my head so easily it's fucking ridiculous!

Now this is not Dubstep, nor is it Drum n Bass, this is... Wait for it... Seriously it's good... Drumstep. ugh. Now despite the lack of originality in the naming process, Drumstep is quite an awesome thing. Now all Drumstep is, is DnB, only half time.

This new love-child of Dub and DnB was my first experience with Mostercat. After that I found that they have some really great playlists on their channel with music (divided into genre) from all their signed artists. Now if you have the internet speed and cap, I totally suggest checking these out.

Now I'm onto the more varied stuff. They release albums of all the best recent music from their signees and what separates these albums from other Electronic mix albums is that it doesn't stick to one genre. It really does go from DnB to Disco to House to Dub. It's crazy but the weirdest thing is that it all works! It's mixed extremely well and the flow from one genre to another isn't disjointed.

So I guess if you really wanna know what's going on with music lately for me that's it... Seeing as that is literally what I'm listening to right now. The albums by themselves are good but from what I've heard they aren't amazing. What's really good are the playlists on the YouTube channel. So go check them out!

I can't pretend to like this post. Honestly I think it's shit. But I know that with time I'll get back into writing these and they'll be good. In the mean time just pretend to like them. It doesn't even have to be a very good effort at pretending to like it, but these posts are fueled by my misguided ego and it's notions that I'm a decent writer.

So tell me what you think of Mostercat Music. Recommend to me some of your favourite Electronic music, or hell any music at all. I read all the comments. Also if you want me to talk about something you're into, tell me.

Thanks for the read, until next time, Plug in Your Head.
Xtian Zzyzx

A Month of Musical Discovery

I think in recent weeks I have been exposed to more new music than I have ever before. These last few weeks in fact have been the most musical I have had in awhile! So lets jet into it!

Now, I have never mentioned this on my blog before, but I am a hardcore gamer. Besides music and writing, it's what takes over most of my free time. So I have been playing Guild Wars 2, and this has, oddly enough, brought a lot of music to my attention. The music score for Guild Wars 2 was written by, Jeremy Soule who has produced some of the greatest video game scores of all time. From Icewind Dale to most of the Elder Scrolls series including Skyrim and of course the original Guild Wars sound track.

This sound track is possibly the best I have ever heard with an epic and beautiful sound, it's no surprise he's called, "the John Williams of Video Games." You should definitely check out the Sylvari theme, Fear not this Night featuring vocals by Asja. The piano melody in this song carries her voice beautifully.

Now as this is an MMORPG, (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) you play with thousands, even millions of people around the world and form groups called "Guilds". Now I fell into a group of Thieves and Guardians from Iceland, and my new friends introduced me to some Icelandic grown musos! (No. Not Bjork. Never Bjork.)

Among this list is an indie band called, Jeff Who? They. Are. Awesome. With an 80's sound mixed with modern day badassery, they caught my attention and were all I could listen to for a week straight! I recommend checking out the song Barfly. The song is catchy as hell and its definitely the highlight of the album.

Moving right along, I came across Iron and Wine's album The Shepherd's Dog. They aren't that unknown, but if you haven't heard them, I suggest checking them out! Their harmonies are rivaled only by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. This bluesy, country-esque band are sure to lull you to a blissful state. (They have made me very unproductive due to this.)

A friend from college introduced me to Folk duo, The Civil Wars and they are by far the most interesting group on the list. As male and female vocal duo from Nashville, Tennessee, one would assume they would have strong country influence. One would be right, and whilst I generally have very little interest in country, this month I have been surprised by them and I&W. By threat of a kick it the shins I have been ordered to note that my good friend Faith Honey first introduced me to this band and so, I thank you! She is an amazing writer, producing fantastic short stories. Her blog is down at the moment unfortunately, but I will be sure to link to it when it's up, because she is extremely talented.

Check out The Civil Wars' cover of Billie Jean by Micheal Jackson. I do believe the rhinestone glove has been passed onto another, so to speak. This version can only really be described as sexy. Very very sexy! As are the members of this band! Joy Williams being absolutely stunning, and John Paul White looking like Johnny Depp. Their harmonies in this song are astounding and it blows my mind that they can get it THAT RIGHT, live and without in ear monitors!

So besides my iPod being pick-pocketed, this past month has been an awesome one for music and I hope you all enjoy my huge recommended list. I do hope to review them all in more depth at a later stage. I'm also planning on reviewing Billy Talent's new album, Dead Silence. New Offspring and Blink 182's November 2011 album, Neighborhoods.

That project I've been working on will be coming to fruition soon so stay tuned for that!

But until then, thanks for reading and Plug in Your Head.
Xtian Zzyzx.

(Guild Wars 2) Jeremy Soule and Asja- Fear not this Night
Jeff Who?-Barfly
Iron and Wine- Boy with a Coin (Bad quality, sorry)
The Civil Wars- Billie Jean

Uno!

So as many of you all may know, I am a hardcore Green Day fan. I have practically everything they've ever done... Ever. So as one would assume, that when I heard that the iconic Pop Punk where coming out with not only 1 but 3 new albums all in quick succession I would freak out! I did not... And here's why.

This is a gimick! It's supposed to get people talking, and it will get the record company SHITLOADS of money. Ontop of that, how can a band record 3 albums worth of good material all at once? Well to be honest, they didn't. Uno, the first installment of the 3 is pretty fucking bad! Well... No... But Yes!... Um... Let me explain.

This album contains some of the greatest material they have ever written! Nuclear Family, the fist song on the album is one hell of a way to start of an album! With fast riffs and a very upbeat and happy tone to it. Same goes for track 2, Stay the Night and well... every song on the album... It's all kinda the same... And between all the great songs that all sound the same, there is some absolute shit that all sounds the same!

The third track Carpe Diem was possibly the most disappointing song on the album in my opinion because it starts as a huge blast to the past, this could fit perfectly on Shenanigans! But then the chorus comes in, and it is so sloppy and lazy! It's like they wanted to get the writing process over and done with as quickly as they could with a half-assed chord progression that just doesn't gel well with the lyrics. I really feel that they could have put a little more effort into this song particularly, it could have been great!

Onto Track 4, Let Yourself Go this is where I start seeing a bad trend in this album. Now I want to make it clear that I love the song, but there is something wrong with the lyrics, the word fuck. There is such a thing as way too much swearing and between this song and Track 5, Kill the DJ there is way too much use of the word fuck! What are they trying to prove? That they have a poor vocabulary? Well we all know they don't, but if these were the two songs I'd heard from them first I wouldn't have been so sure. Kill The DJ goes for a very interesting disco sound and while I like the song musically, the lyrics are bad. There is very little to no use of poetic imagery and it is just crude and violent.

The next 3 songs, Fell for You, Loss of Control and Troublemaker, are the reasons I find it hard to like this album, Fell for You has some of the most cheesy lyrics I have ever heard,
"I had a dream that I kissed your lips and it felt so true
Then I woke up as a nervous wreck and I fell for you."
I know they can do better.

While Loss of Control isn't BAD, it doesn't work with the flow of the album, I think it should have been put somewhere else in the album. I actually kinda like the song itself, it has a very retro 60's/70's Power Pop sound which seems to be a theme in this album as it can be heard again most prominently in Sweet 16 and Kill the DJ.

The lyrics in Troublemaker are just awful and I feel that song along with the first single off the album, Oh Love have no place in this album. The lyrics in Troublemaker make no sense and are really just sloppy.

Sweet 16 is quite an interesting song, I read somewhere that it was influenced by The Beach Boys, which is a very obvious sound. The song reminds me a lot of their old music and yet there is something different about it. It... Sounds like Summer, much like The Beach Boys.

Finally Oh Love, now many of you should have heard this song as it was the single. I personally hate this song but I understand why it's there. Oh Love is made to be played live, with the muted guitar in the intro for the audience to clap along to and the overly long intro is used to psych up the crowd. All I can say is that I can't wait for the live version.

Now when I said in the beginning that this album is pretty fucking bad, I meant that this album is pretty fucking bad FOR A GREEN DAY ALBUM. If it was any other band I would forgive the things they did wrong. Much like Blink 182's Neighborhoods released last November. I think the band should've put more into the writing process and should have taken all the crap out of the albums, (As I assume there will be more crap to come) and made a 2 CD album with all the good stuff.

But for now all we can do is sit and wait for Dos and Tre.

Thanks so much for reading and until next time, Turn up the Volume and Plug in Your Head

Xtian Zzyzx

A Return to the Blogosphere

Hey all, I'm back and yes this time it's for real. I have taken an 8 month hiatus from Plug in Your Head and for that I am desperately sorry, but my personal life took a dive and then I sort of just forgot about Plug in Your Head in general. But I am here to make amends.

I'd like to talk rather about MY music life and what's going on in it for a little while, but I can't say for sure how often I will be doing Plug in Your Head at the moment, but there is a new very exciting project I will be working on soon that I will let you all in on as soon as it all gets finalized.

So many of my friends at college are writing exams, which means that a lot of the time I am alone now, but that's alright because the weather here in the Southern Hemisphere is is finally turning right. After the first snow seen in the greater Johannesburg area in the last 20 years blanketed the CBD last month, it is finally warming up! So with this new found spare time and warm weather, I have found myself sitting in the sun and listening to music fairly often. This happened today for instance when I put my head phones on, (Plugged in my Head if you will) closed my eyes and got lost in Bob Dylan's, Highway 61 Revisited. 

This truly is a masterpiece of music. Dylan sure as hell can write fantastic lyrics! This is one of the very rare albums that make me completely devote my attention to the lyrics all the way through. Yes the lyrics aren't sung particularly well, as Dylan's voice sounds like something in a lot of pain, but if Desolation Row doesn't make your top 20 best songs of all time, I don't know what will.

For those fans of more recent rock, My Chemical Romance released their cover of Desolation Row in 2009 for the soundtrack of The Watchmen. This movie is fantastic by the way and is very true to the Comic Book. This song is much shorter and VERY different to the original, but it's still pretty good.

But I digress. As my eyes were closed for well on 30 minutes I didn't realise what was going on around me, so when I finally did open my eyes after the 11:22 Minute EPIC that is Desolation Row, I found that I had been joined by a large group of my friends who were seated next to me and all in deep conversation!

So the sun, Bob Dylan and Neil Young's After the Goldrush (Which I failed to mention) made for a pretty good early afternoon!

I'd definitely  recommend both of these albums, they are classics for a reason. Links to some of the music mentioned are at the bottom.

This has been another Plug In Your Head, after way too long.

So until next time, turn up the volume and Plug in Your Head!

Xtian Zzyzx

tl;dr- Bob Dylan, Neil Young, My Chemical Romance and The Weather. And I'm back!

Massive Attack - Heligoland

Article first published as Music Review: Massive Attack - Heligoland on Blogcritics.

Massive Attack are widely referred to as the founders of the early '90s U.K. wave of music known as Trip-Hop. They seem to fuse together different aspects of several genres of music, including House, Electronic, Dance, Hip-Hop and even Progressive and Experimental Rock. The truly unique aspect of Massive Attack is that they are able to gel all these aspects into a fusion in which these become one without the loss of any listening pleasure due to extreme experimentation.

The efforts of Heligoland are shared between the duo who make up Massive Attack and six other artists who are featured throughout the album. And whilst so many contributing artists can often lead to several challenges, Heligoland never seems to stray too far from the original tone and at the same time doesn't become repetitive.

Heligoland lends itself to the eerier side of music which comes across especially in songs like "Rush Minute," "Atlas Air" and "Paradise Circus," which featured in the soundtracks of the TV series Misfits, Luther, True Blood and Gossip Girl. The album also relies on the heavy presence of a main melody specifically in "Psyche," in which a sampled picked guitar sound is heard throughout the entire song. However, several changes are made to the melody throughout the song, ranging from volume change to an increase of a reverb effect which results in different atmospheres being introduced throughout the song without changing the notes played. This is a very creative and yet simple production element which allows the music to create a climax or even suspense without relying on lyrics or other instruments.

As with most electronic music, the bass and drum sounds are very important and act as the foundation of the song. Heligoland is no exception to the rule, even in the track "Paradise Circus," where these aspects are very simple. But it's the simplicity of the bass and drum sounds that makes the song so noticeably unique. The effect of the music, topped with vocals done by Hope Sandoval make this song haunting and is possibly the most memorable track on the album.

Where this style of music could easily turn to a self-indulgent tangent of the artists, it is still captivating and enjoyable throughout. I'd advise listening to this album not expecting a fusion of multiple genres and especially not expecting one genre to dominate because this album simply cannot be classified as any genre other than Trip-Hop and that is what I feel makes this album so unique.

This album has introduced creativity and complete originality into a music industry where both are lacking. And saying that I would highly recommend giving Heligoland a listen.

Happy New Year

I am back! And I hope I've come back in time to stop Plug in Your Head from drifting out into the huge sea of blogs.I have just come back from a holiday to England and now that the new year is in full swing, Plug in Your Head will be too.

I went to England believing that I could see a major band every weekend and an indie band everyday. And with this hope I had put some money aside for my brief stay in London where I expected to see my hero's in action. I was disappointed however, as I apparently came at the wrong time of year and that my hero's were back home, celebrating Christmas. After searching the internet, luckily I was able to find a band who I was quite keen too see.

On the 18th of December me, my friend Josh and roughly 100 other people all packed into the small and sweaty Scala Theater in London to see Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Hawthorn Hights. I have never been a big fan of either band and so I went in expecting very little and that is precisely what Hawthorn Hights and the opening band (Who I cannot remember the name of) gave me. However when RJA took the stage the entire room went crazy! The entire dance floor became a mosh pit and I became entranced by the Pop-Metal band. It was undoubtedly, the best live performance I have ever seen and I took the tube home, sweaty, in pain and smiling my head off.

Once back in Salford where I was staying, me and my hosts debated music and music journalism until the early hours of the morning. These debates rekindled my passion for writing and thus started reading every music publication I could find. They were all shit. I was gutted as the publications I had hoped to someday work for gave uninteresting reviews and boring segments. This really made me sad as I then thought that my future career in Music Journalism was a wasted effort.
However when I returned home, I found that Rolling Stone South Africa had finally been launched and thus my aspirations are back on track. I hope I can write for Rolling Stone one day and pursue my Journalistic Career.

In the meantime however, Plug in Your Head will return every week and I hope you all will support me in the year ahead.

Happy New Year.

Xtian Zzyzx

Plug in Your Head Break

Hey all, I'm sorry there hasn't been a Plug in Your Head recently. I have had problems with my internet and so I haven't been able to post on Blogspot. But I was able to find a brief spot where it worked in which I posted my review on Metallica and Lou Reeds "Lulu" on blogcritics.org so go check that out at http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-lou-reed-and-metallica/

Finally, I am taking a holiday and Plug in Your Head will come back in January. Thank you for all your support these last 6 months, you guys rock.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from me to you.

Xtian Zzyzx

Article first published as Music Review: Korn Featuring Skrillex - “Get Up” on Blogcritics.

I apologise for the delay in this weeks Plug In Your Head and the lack of a Plug in Your Head last week. My internet was down, and when it came back I was extremely ill. But today I am back with another Plug in Your Head- Track Review.

Today’s track review is a big one in the metal and dubstep communities: “Get Up,” by nu metal band Korn and From First To Last lead singer-turned-dubstep DJ, Sonny Moore (a.k.a. Skrillex).

I’ve heard many lesser known artists attempt, without success, creating a seamless fusion of classic wobble bass and hard-hitting guitar riffs in the past. None come even close to results achieved by the the big names involved in this track. Unlike other dubstep/metal collaborations, this track just seems so effortless! It makes me think that these two genres were meant to meet, and the brain-child of these two artists is irrefutable proof of this.

One of the things that makes this track so good is that it’s hard to tell where the dubstep ends and the metal begins. It all flows so well. The wobble and guitar fit together to create one riff of such unique sound, I don't believe I've ever heard anything quite like it.

The song builds in a gradual dubstep progression, untill finally the full force of this track makes its impact in the main riff. The song demonstrates the possibilities of this genre fusion even before the lyrics begin.

A dubstep song is nothing without a hard-core drop, and with an entire band behind Skrillex, he was able to create one of the craziest drops I’ve ever heard. The pre-chorus ends with a halt to the instruments and the dubstep loop seems to back up on itself. Then the drop comes in with Korn lead singer Jonathan Davis screaming, “Shut the Fuck Up! Get Up!”

There’s nothing but pure power in this drop and it’s sure to impress anyone who dares call himself or herself a dubstep aficionado!

Around the 2:30 mark, as the chorus appears to be drawing to an end, the breakdown makes its unforgettable mark on this track! Skrillex seems to take the lead in the breakdown, but guitar and samples of Jonathan Davis’ voice are also incorporated into the dubstep.

I assume that because of Skrillex's prior involvement in a metal band, he has the required understanding of group dynamics essential to this, and any, collaboration. And perhaps that this is why similar cross genre tracks may have failed in the past; DJs simply lack this kind of experience.

This is a great song and I would encourage these two artists (should they listen to me) to collaborate more often in the future. Korn and Skrillex did in fact work together recently on a track titled, “Narcissistic Cannibal.” However, after hearing “Get Up” it was a bit of a disappointment, but a brilliant track none the less.

Give “Get Up” a listen, as it's well worth the experience, even if you don’t like dubstep or metal because musically, this track is very intricate and well thought out. “Get Up” is truly a revolutionary song that could possibly result in the creation of a whole new genre entirely!

So until next time, Turn up the volume and Plug in Your Head.

Xtian Zzyzx

Sage Francis- "Going back to Rehab" Our Generations Bob Dylan?

Article first published as Music Review: Sage Francis - "Going Back to Rehab" on Blogcritics.


I’m gonna try something a little different today. Plug in Your Head- Track Review! And the track in question is Sage Francis’ “Going Back to rehab,” from the album, Human Death Dance.

Sage Francis is an “indie” rapper and the only hip-hop act signed to Epitaph Records. He’s by far my favourite rapper and possibly the best artist I have come across recently.

One of the things I love about Sage Francis is his use of a live band rather than an entirely computerised backing track. This gives a lot more emotion to his music, and "Going Back to Rehab" in particular wouldn’t sound the same or have the same emotional impact without it.

The picked guitar in the beginning, together with Sage’s voice sets a mood that the flow of his words and the instrumental progression build on throughout the song, making it an epic, emotional journey.

The song starts with a voice reading out an alphabetical list of drug names. The voice then starts to fade out with an increasing reverb effect. Once the voice has been drowned out, Sage starts rapping.

The lyrics in this song are nothing short of art. Most people have forgotten that RAP stands for Rhythm And Poetry, but I believe that Sage Francis is exactly what we all need to remind us of this. I would even go as far as saying that he’s our generation's Bob Dylan. And that’s a bold claim!

When the chorus comes in, the song starts to fill out. Piano, violin and drums are added to the mix before the drums drop out a few barres into the second verse.

Around the four-minute mark in the song, it sounds as if the track is over. However, the first verse is then repeated with the vocals mixed into the background, almost joining the music in a way that makes them sound like another instrument or a sample. As the verse ends, the whole band, including the drums come back with the addition of the voice we heard in the beginning of the song, which finishes reading the list of drugs. So the song ends as it began, like a reprise.

This is the kind of song you can listen to with the lights off and your eyes closed. It absorbs you until there is nothing but the music. Mainstream rappers can take a page from Sage’s book and be reminded of the beauty that can come from this genre.

Even if you don’t like rap, give Sage Francis a listen. He is an artist in every sense of the word, and you won’t regret it.

Here's a Link to Sage Francis- "Going Back to Rehab" on Grooveshark.com

So Until Next Time, Turn Up the Volume and Plug in Your Head


Xtian Zzyzx

Stone Sour- Come What(Ever) May

I 100% support artistic freedom and therefore I find a musician having more than one band or "Project" as they smugly call them a great idea. But what annoys me is when people pretend to know what they're talking about when talking about these other "projects" when they clearly don't. And now to the point I was about to make. Stone Sour IS NOT Corey Taylor and Jim Roots "Other Band"! Slipknot is. Stone Sour was formed first and so I maintain that Slipknot is the "Other Band."
Pedantic Ranting 1. Know it alls 0


Come What(Ever) May is possibly my favourite Hard Rock album out there. Mostly because most bands who call themselves "Hard Rock" SUCK! Unfortunately this rule also applies to Stone Sour because honestly, this is their only good album. The only creditability that their Self Titled album has is that, the single "Bother" was on the Spiderman sound track. Woopdy-Fucking-Hoo! And Audio Secrecy just... Isn't very good. So I guess this band is the Album equivalent of a One-Hit-Wonder. 


The album starts out with the cheesiest Hard Rock cliché I know of! An angry down-tuned guitar riff that tries to say, "Hey look! We've changed! We're metal now!" And then the lyrics come in and I can imagine Corey Taylor on a golf course with cocktail in hand saying, "Just Kidding!" But to be fair, as a Hard Rock song, 30/30-150 is a good song. Even though I have no Idea what a 30/30-150 is and what exactly this numeric value possibly has to "Hate" other than possibly 30/30-151! Smug bastard, always just a little better than him.


Then Track 2, the title song, Come What(Ever) May also seems to try and be (me)tal. But in the way Nickle(back) try to be (me)tal... Badly. AND WHAT'S WITH THE B(RACK)ETS!?
It seems as if this album is desperately trying to be something it's not. It should just get over itself because then everyone will "love you for you!" as Dr. Phil would say. 
The lyrics in this song make no sense and I know I may be nit-picking by this point but surely in the lyric.
"You Want the World to be free?
What the fuck is free about it!?"
The person who "Wants the world to be free" knows that it isn't free and so asking him, "What the fuck is free about it?" is just a little redundant? But hey, Just nit-picking here.


Track 4, Sillyworld. *sigh*. Please just look at the title of the song and form your own opinion because a song that can call itself that and still take itself seriously is a little eh-hem... Silly. 
However, I do like one lyric in this song.
"Peace is just two fingers now
Peace was just a phase
When someone put it on a shirt
you knew to count the days
So take those fingers tape 'em up and shove 'em up your ass and carry on"
Its kinda true cuz peace is more than wearing a shirt that says "Give Peace a Chance!" So I guess I can give Stone Sour that. They also seem to stick with the reoccurring theme that we have no freedom.

Track 4, Made of Scars is quite catchy and the lyrics are quite well written. But to be honest I can't really talk about the music in this song and this album in general because there isn't much to talk about really. It's angry, generic and would probably be great to mosh to. The entire album really is a giant Ctrl+C Ctrl+V. Sure the lyrics and the main riff in each song are different, but its all too samey! All too structured. Like every song has to follow the same pattern. 

Intro Verse Chorus Verse Chorus Solo Verse/Chorus Bridge Chorus End. EVERY SINGLE SONG! Oh! Mistake! Track 7, Your God has TWO guitar solos!

Now I genuinely like Track 9, Through the Glass. I can't say that it doesn't follow the same pattern but it just does something different. IT DOESN'T TRY TO BE METAL! This song knows that it's a cheesy rock ballad thing and as one who generally hates Rock Ballads, its hard for me to say but, I really like this song.

I hate bands like Guns and Roses, Aerosmith and Def Leppard simply because they thrive on their cheesy love ballads! And I can't stand any of the vocalists for these bands. 

Perhaps Ballad is the wrong word for this song though, because it doesn't tell a story so much as repeat the same lyrics over and over. But How the song progresses and flows is what really makes this a good song. No Chorus is the same and it's done well.

Finally, Track 12 Zzyzx Rd. As you all can probably tell, I love this song. This song IS a ballad. The kind of Wave your lighter in the air at the concert ballad. There is alot of debate about what this song is about, but my 2 theories are, 1) It's about someone in the army who just wants his tour to end. Or 2) It's about him on tour with his band and how he feels, the record label is controlling him...And wants his tour to end.

Both theories make sense so pick the one you prefer.

This song couldn't be more cheesy if you used the disk as nachos but, I love it because it felt kinda uplifting when I was in a bad place in my life. So even though I could, I won't hate on this song because it means alot to me.

All in all, If you can overlook the absolute cheese, the crappy solos and how it's not Slipknot (You Fanboys). You may love this album as I do. Because even though it isn't a "Great" album, it does have some gems and some great memories.

So give it a listen, Here's a link to Stone Sour- Come What(Ever) May on Grooveshark.com

Finally, please can you guys all go to www.sosbrunodebbie.co.za. Bruno Pelizzari and Debbie Calitz were kidnapped by Somalian Pirates in October last year and a ransom of US $4 million (ZA R28-million) has been demanded by their captors. I know that their families would love to see them safe again but they are unable to pay this sum. So please go to www.sosbrunodebbie.co.za and make a donation! Ontop of that, for every new follower Plug in Your Head gets between now and their safe return I will contribute R10. If everyone works together we can bring them home.

Thank you everyone who has made a contribution and please tell your friends to follow Plug in Your Head and make their own donations.

I'll be back next week with another Recommendation, so until then, Turn Up the Volume and Plug in Your Head!

Xtian zzyzx

The Decemberists- Picaresque

I got alot of people saying to me that I don't recommend enough metal.So I WAS going to recommend Iron Maiden's Brave New World, but two things happened. One I couldn't find my good copy of the album. The only copies I could find would skip or were really shitty quality. HOW DOES AN MP3 SKIP!? And the Second thing that happened was that after not listening to this album for a couple months I heard it and... It's not very good. BUT I will review it at a later stage so in the mean time, I will talk about The Decemberists- Picaresque.


The Album starts out BIG with The Infanta. This song is really epic, not in the sense that it's a good song (Although it is very good!) But it just sounds very epic. Like... Damn... Um... Ooh! Like a war scene in Lord of the Rings. Epic like that. Not to say it reminds me of a Lord of the Rings fight scene.. But it does now... This metaphor really isn't going anywhere. I hope you know what I'm saying cuz I sure as hell don't.


The Hammered Organ in this song is very out of the ordinary for a song like this, but it's quite cool. It fits well.
And at around the 3 Minute Mark there's a key change and it goes into only 1 guitar strum per barre and 2 voices (Male and Female.) I love how well everything harmonises in this part of the song.


The lyrics in this album have brilliant wording and I love the lead singers rather unorthodox voice. Even though he pronounces almost every vowel like it has an umlaut. It isn't bad or annoying but kinda funny and it adds something. One song that really shows off the lyrics in this album is Track 2, We All Go Down Together.The thing I really love about the lyrics of this song is how simple they are. It's simple in the sense that a nursery rhyme would be simple with an AA BB CC etc. rhyming pattern. It's great! The instrumentals in this song and the whole album for that matter are brilliantly thought out, no song sounds the same and every instrument has it's place. I especially love when the lyrics go,
"Meet me on my Vast Veranda
My Sweet untouched Miranda."
A) because I think it's a good line and it's BRILLIANTLY simple and B) I love the drum beat at the end of each barre. It sounds kinda like cannon fire or something.


There is ONE thing I dislike about this album and this is possibly the ONLY thing I dislike. An album is supposed to be an experience. Like a ride, it has it's ups and downs in mood and for the first 3 songs, the ride is brilliant and it perfectly describes the point I'm trying to make, but Track 4 The Sporting Life is a huge jump from the morbidness of Track 3, Eli, the Barrow Boy to this super happy major key song. It just doesn't flow very well. This is especially annoying because Eli is my favourite song on the album and because The Sporting Life hits so hard it kills the atmosphere that Eli had created. But The Sporting Life is really good none the less.


In Track 5, The Bagmans Gambit, there is a brilliant crescendo that cuts out around the 6:30 mark and it's brilliantly done but it's been done before! Dear Reader and The Mars Volta are only two that come to mind, but it's still done well.


Track 10, The Mariners Revenge is an amazing folksy song. It reminds me of Misery by Green Day however it's better because you can't really take Misery seriously. But this song has Accordion and Mandolin and therefore it is, "Chocked full of win" to quote one of my friends. Tsk tsk, you know who you are.


This album is a great little Indie gem and if you haven't heard it yet DEFINITELY check it out! Listen to it and fall in love with it like I did. 


Here's a link to The Decemberists- Picaresque on Grooveshark.com Go check it out and tell me what you think! You can leave a comment, tweet me @Xtianzzyzx or email me at xtianzzyzx@gmail.com. You can also recommend me an album or ask me to review something!

Finally, please can you guys all go to www.sosbrunodebbie.co.za. Bruno Pelizzari and Debbie Calitz were kidnapped by Somalian Pirates in October last year and a ransom of US $4 million (ZA R28-million) has been demanded by their captors. I know that their families would love to see them safe again but they are unable to pay this sum. So please go to www.sosbrunodebbie.co.za and make a donation! Ontop of that, for every new follower Plug in Your Head gets between now and their safe return I will contribute R10. If everyone works together we can bring them home.

I'll be back next week with another Recommendation, so until then, Turn Up the Volume and Plug in Your Head!

Xtian On Music 2

Answer me this. Do you have to be a musician to make music?
Yes?
Well let me ask you another question. Is Britney Spears a musician?

I know you all cringed a little bit when I asked that. Because you don't want to say she is a musician, (Unless you like her, then in that case get off this page.) but because you answered yes to my first questions and therefore you know that the answer to question two is yes. Unless you're being a smart ass and smugly saying, "That's not music! That's shit!"

So because of this I propose that we have a new word, because I find it insulting that Britney Spears is categorised along with people like Jimmy Page who IS a musician! Why is Britney Spears famous anyway? She doesn't write her own music, she can't sing and she isn't the most beautiful person in the world. And yet many brilliant musicians aren't given any notice! I am yet to hear The Mars Volta on the radio!

Have any of you ever noticed that Pop singers are ALWAYS coming out with new "Music." I'm sure there have been 2 new Rihanna songs in the last month and yet I haven't heard a new Raconteurs song this week or for the last 3 years for that matter. Do you know why that is? It's because pop doesn't last! For example, when was the last time you heard people talking about that Jason Derulo song "Whatcha  Say." I assume a couple months! However when it came out, it was being played ALL the time and no-one would shut up about it! I remember hearing it blaring from every other phone at school! And now it has been almost forgotten. Now do you think that in 20 years time people will still be talking about that song? No. People WILL forget it almost entirely. But 40 odd years later, I'm still listening to Led Zeppelin and I don't intend to stop! And hell, even American Idiot which came out in 2004 will still be listened to in 40 years time.

However there are also some timeless classics that aren't known about! For example, The Mars Volta! One of the best bands of all time! Possibly best musically. And yet I have NEVER hear Circatriz ESP on the radio! But why not? I have heard "Hit Me Baby One More Time" on the radio. I have heard "Whatcha Say" on the radio! So why not play good music on commercial radio? Kids these days listen to what's on the radio and what's on MTV. Very rarely do they have any other influences in their music choices. And because they listen to what they are given by MTV and the radio, they get desensitised to how shitty it is and they start to ENJOY IT! And so record companies and Music broadcasters think, well this is what the kids like so lets give it to'em!

But I am certain that if Zeppelin and The Mars Volta were played on the radio or on MTV, that's what Pop Music would sound like! They don't follow what they like, they follow what they're told to like and thus they are tricked into liking it. But have no fear! I have a solution!

Give me control of the radio stations and record companies! I will release music that will last, it will get more radio play and it will be more enjoyable for everyone. Sure at first some people won't like it but in 10 or so years everyone will like it! Therefore solving world peace! And as a plus, because the music will last, record sales will increase because music will be bought for longer periods. This will give more money to the record companies and revive the music industry!

And finally, back to my initial point. We will need a new word, or atleast we can rehash an old word. MUSICMAKERS will be the ones that me and my board of shadowy figures in the boardroom of our highrise building say are bad. And MUSICIANS will be the ones who can stay!

Problem. Solved.

This has been a Public Service Announcement brought to you by Xtian Zzyzx

aKING- Dutch Courage

With the obvious exception of Ice Hockey, I am by no means a hardcore sports fan. Football has never done anything for me and Rugby is only fun to watch occasionally. But when any international sporting event like a world cup comes around I'm filled with this immense feeling of patriotism and I even occasionally watch a game! So in celebration of the 2011 Rugby World Cup and my very rare patriotism I recommend to you all on this Plug in Your Head Thursday, South African Melodic Rock outfit, aKING with Dutch Courage.

In 2009 at the Jo'burg Day music festival I was at the front of the crowd embarrassing myself to SA bands like Prime Circle, Just Jinjer, Freshly Ground and Zebra and Giraffe. I squeeze through the hordes of drunk Afrikaners in their deck chairs and braais to ensure my place in front for Zebra and Giraffe a band I have never heard of walks on stage shaggy looking with road worn instruments and jeans. (as opposed to the sequins worn by the shitty pop acts of the day.) The drummer has a joint in between his teeth and their look definitely tainted the family friendly vibe of the day.

But when they started playing no-one in the crowd cared about what they were wearing because they played the kinda music that makes me proud to say I'm South African! 

aKING is made up of Fokofpolisiekar member, Jaco 'Snakehead' Venter, Laudo Liebenberg and Hennie van Halen with their latest member Andrew Davenport who joined in 2010 after the departure of Hunter Kennedy.

I wouldn't say that aKING bring anything new to the music industry but what they do, they do well! I can't really compare this band to anyone, they kinda have a little bit of influence from everything in the rock music industry.

The album starts out strong with Decomposing Lullaby. A delayed, palm muted guitar and Laudo's... Grizzly voice. (I can't think of another way to describe it but that's how I've always thought of his voice.) The bass in this song is very prominent, but not very noticeable. For example, in the pre-chorus there is a little bass lick that I never really noticed until now. It isn't quiet either, it's just kinda uninteresting. I love how in the second pre-chorus, however, the Snare drum is struck on "Gunshot." Very cheesy, but very cool. I also like the Galloping guitar in the chorus. It sounds different to most galloping pieces because it's done with very low distortion.

I love the drumming in this album. It shows indefinitely that simple can be better! Snakehead isn't an amazing drummer, but he is very tight and knows how to play with his band. I always say that a good drummer knows when not to play and can make the quieter parts brilliant with a simple tapping on the rim of the drum. A perfect example of this is in Track 2, Holy Train.

His Clickety-Clack Train sounding drumming in the intro is also quite effective without sounding cheesy, (Due to the Song being called Holy Train.) He can also bring it right down and build it up again instantly and seamlessly!

My favourite thing about this band is the lyrics. I don't wanna say they're arty for the sake of being arty, because I know that lyrics can often make no sense to anyone other than the lyricist. But in this case the lyrics can really make no sense! However they are beautiful. Beautiful lyrics and an absolutely beautiful voice. aKING will also double track the voice at parts to give it more thickness and depth but not like John Lennon who will do an entire song with a double track. The backing vocals also create a great atmosphere in many songs. Laudo's brilliant vocals and lyrics are beautifully showcased in songs like Lonely Hands and Thirsty for Love.

My Favourite song on this album is Track 9, Safe as Houses. It its a duet with Laudo and Inge Beckmann. This is such a beautiful song. Beautiful Lyrics, Beautiful Voices and an AMAZING feeling this song leaves me with. It really captures you and almost hypnotises you. This is the only song I have ever seen my best friend sing along to (Other than Eluvietie.) The lyrics in this song paint a beautiful picture in my mind and I love the simple instrumentals. The guitar piece is really... Pretty! There I said it! Now I gotta get my masculinity back by means of driving fast cars and talking about girls! But I got a busy day tomorrow so forget that.

This is really a brilliant album and as far as SA bands go, aKING are possibly the best. Go check them out and support South African music! 

After I saw them at Jo'burg Day I went directly to the Look 'n Listen tent and bought both their albums! And then Laudo came out and had a conversation with me! He signed my CD along with the rest of the band and was really cool. Until my Step Dad shouted out, 

"I LOVE YOU ARNO CASTENS!" to which Laudo flipped him off and walked away. So unless you mistake Laudo for another South African Rock musician, you should have no problems with aKING!

Here's a Link to aKING- Dutch Courage on Grooveshark.com Go check it out and tell me what you think! You can leave a comment, tweet me @Xtianzzyzx or email me at xtianzzyzx@gmail.com. You can also recommend me an album or ask me to review something!

Finally, please can you guys all go to www.sosbrunodebbie.co.za. Bruno Pelizzari and Debbie Calitz were kidnapped by Somalian Pirates in October last year and a ransom of US $4 million (ZA R28-million) has been demanded by their captors. I know that their families would love to see them safe again but they are unable to pay this sum. So please go to www.sosbrunodebbie.co.za and make a donation! Ontop of that, for every new follower Plug in Your Head gets between now and their safe return I will contribute R10. If everyone works together we can bring them home.

I'll be back next week with another Recommendation, so until then, Turn Up the Volume and Plug in Your Head!

Go Bokke