For all the music that’s firmly kicked my ass over the last five or so years, I think I would have to give the title of most pleasurable to San Francisco’s Neurosis. Suffice to say that Neurosis has taken metal right in the direction I had always hoped it could go for a very long time.
Thanks to the mindfuck/trashcan known as Facebook, I have been able to become “friends” with guys I have never met like the founder and creative force behind Neurosis, Scott Kelly.
Yes, as a middle-aged man, I recognize how childish it might be to be “friends” with someone I know only through their music and a couple of Kevin Bacon-like degrees of separation. Nonetheless, I enjoy being able to get early news about his projects as well as what other associated Neurot bands and artists might be up to as well.
As it turns out, Scott is a fan of mixed martial arts fighting, and following the megafight Saturday night between the undefeated Brazilian Jiujitsu fighter Anderson Silva and the American wrestler Chael Sonnen, Scott made a FB comment about the fight (which was won by the Brazilian, but only after being otherwise totally dominated for the entire bout up to the moment he forced the American to tap out from a choke hold). Being a fight dork myself I commented on the post as well.
As luck may or may not have it (depending on your point of view), this other guy commented as well. The guy turned out to be a racist skinhead. On top of that, the skinhead thought I was trying to slag the Brazilian, and so he stepped in to let me know that while he hated the Brazilian, I couldn’t deny he was a great fighter. Eventually I figured out he hated the guy because he’s black. Skrewdriver t-shirts and countless 14-88 references are dead giveaways.
The comments continued without incident when who happens to step into the discussion but the singer of the amazing band Oxbow, as well as author, Eugene Robinson.
Seeing as how Eugene is an outspoken fellow, not shy in the least, and also seeing as how Eugene is a black guy, the thread got interesting quickly.
As Robinson pointed out, the defeated challenger, Sonnen, is a bit of a character himself. The guy has run for office as an outspoken Republican, and in his interviews, Twitter updates, and pretty much to anyone who cares to listen, Sonnen has repeatedly made statements that reach beyond the realm of provocation in the name of entertainment and directly into the realm of inflammatory racist rhetoric. Yeah, the guy is a real piece of work.
To watch as Robinson put this skinhead in his place without resorting to anger was thoroughly enjoyable for me, and it pretty much stands as a great example of one way that social media can bring something other than Farmville or inane quizzes or labyrinthian security measures and actually just be fun.
After all that, the only thing left was wondering where Scott kelly stood on all this. I knew he was at least acquainted with Robinson, but maybe that was just a professional thing. What if it turned out that the front man for one of my most loved bands was a racist? Well, Kelly basically cleared the whole thing up and booted the goon to the curb in the process.
What’s any of this have to do with music? How about this. Neurosis has rereleased two of their classic albums on vinyl, and both are remastered. There is more on the way, and there is also a live album coming out that covers their set from the 2007 Roadburn Festival. Neurosis live is something everyone should catch at least once in their lives. They are pretty intense.
My son’s birthday was Sunday. My kids have been whisked away to another universe. I am not happy about it. That is all. Off to endure the dreams of a solemn tyrant — if I sleep.
