“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.” — Hunter S. Thompson

Nary a day, nor an hour goes by that I do not receive an email, a MySpace message, or some other form of communicado asking (sometimes pleading) what (if any) suggestions or advice I might have for a band, artist or poet just starting out and hoping for some perceptive form of success.

I’m not sure I’m the right person to ask, but, I am honored some of you feel strongly enough to place your trust in my aggressively eccentric mind and I will answer to the best of my abilities. Read more...

Those dedicated Otep fans -- the same ones who post gushing comments about frontwoman Otep Shamaya's weekly "Might Makes Write" column -- have done it again. This week, Otep's faithful swarmed in and delivered spam-like levels of comments electing the band's "Crooked Spoons" video for a return trip to Headbangers Ball. Read more...