ANTS II—THE CITY OF FORCE

"Would we notice a particular ant on the ground if it tried to communicate with us?" 

"Let's go back to the example of the make-believe ant. It's chances would be pretty slim if it tried to communicate with just any human."

 —Daniel F. Galouye

DOPPELGANGERS XII

  Art and its influences, besides styles.

 —Robert Colescott
 —Pablo Picasso

 
 

THE SIGMATICLE TOUR GREEN (WELCOME TO THE FUTURE)

  Aboard the Rock 'n' Roll train. Compartments and striations, styles bleed through the hallways. Brooding. Delights, defiance, delineation. Two plus two and many others. Fueled by alco--COAL.

  Forging beyond the wagon to the space age. Every aligned star is calling. Ensnaring—Welcome To The Future / CUTE TOUR FLEW THEME / TROUT CUE FLEW THEME / OUT WHERE COMET FLUTE. Covered with pop-art ensemble. Like a cognizance of the dreary vocalizations of Remember Me / MERE MEMBER—slowly rising from the previous song Far Beyond / BEND OF RAY—and the tripped hoars from Star Gazer / ART GRAZES.

  I love Rock 'n' Roll, but like everyone, I get the blues. The drums took a backseat to a very watered-down Rock 'n' Roll sequence. Not far from programmed. Monophonic. Ignore for the fuzz, Down the Wire / DREW THEIR OWN / WORD HE TWINE perpetrated. These are the effects of incorporating influences to the extent of disregarding essentials. Some tracks could have been done away with, however an instrumentalist's play for fun that he decides to share.

  These gritty—a few—tracks could have been shooting for the stars. As the assemblage with Johnny B Goode. For Psychedelia diehards.

1984 (ATROPHIE)

  With a disappointed recollection of never completing 1984, a similarly named post-apocalyptic rap duo with sci-fi themes can only dig on that. This is a Gorgon of sci-fi that needs a book armoured slayer! Titled Atrophie, less couldn't be agreed upon on the teetering mass wasting of everything society.

  Currently with the label Rap and Revenge, their second release opens with Le Pavé De L'enfer whose beats and delivery an appetite for what's to unfold in the ensuing fourteen tracks. The chorus' final stanza is massively melodic, spiking a craving for Sonata Arctica's Fullmoon; a track they actually sampled. The album cover paints the music's visual the same way an off-radar society disregarding (post-apocalyptic) Thrash Metal band would want it conveyed. If that could be any bleaker than a space captain trying to calm the nerves of a shipless crew on re-entry. Even with a sneaky rebel. Does (future) Earth have a captain, or it's all illustrated by man? Can't decide which. Hardcore dancing or going away.

  The beatsmith's piano preferences and polkas dot Coppélia laying the foundation for a loop of a coalescing cold touch to the other artist—with scratches peppering every track. If this is taking Hip Hop back to its roots, then that is cemented by J-Merk's collabo—a professation of  studying under the game's great MCs. Heck, the auto-drenched female chords on Le Pavé De L'enfer and Archétypes are one of the classical things about Rap that haven't been overdone or misused. But then again, it is hard to do badly, once gotten right.

  Catchy THX 1138 shines with some string touches—a contrarian explanation to the indifferent, surgical white coldness and monochromatic realizations of the film. Samples are in French, I suppose, adding dimension by virtue of opening and closing the track.

If Archétypes are the Jungian revelations which I won't pretend to have explored beyond casual interest, then this might have more to fucking bite into, excusing the French. And as it is said, this is not music for someone and their girlfriend to listen to. It requires full regards. Enter post-society.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL WIZARD BY DIANE DUANE

  Beyond the various fact-induced tales, fantasy is the fulcrum of all fiction. A sensibility linking creatures to creators by virtue of narration—the be all and end all relation between the two; albeit sometimes the traditional meaning is superseded by genre-lisation from the same. Better yet, a world venerated enough to generate pensy regards—Muggles alike. The world of magic, witches, and wizards.

I

My name is Khairelikoblepharehglukumeilichephreidosd'enagouni

  Equal to latent talents, magic presents itself at the right moment. Calling finally meeting intent. For Nita, a flexure from bullies foresees her foray into this striking world. Confessions fall into place about the love of, among other things, space and astronomy—which form the basis of her earliest manoeuvres into the realm of magic. Summoning and befriending a white hole that in quite mega-nova fashion, radiates and releases residue as required. Maraudings lead to a fellow outsider schoolmate, Kit, new to the craft. And as Harry's acquaintances, they can't help being friends after certain encounters.Curiosity and sheer aspirations for mastery—or a destiny pre-written by magical lore—leads Nita and Kit to Tom (keeper of a clearinghouse, similarly named from the H.P. one), and Carl. They are older wizards and guides of fledgling new entrants.

II

Wizardry—not one particular spell

  By way of proclamation and unhesitating rendezvous at the heart of earlier pop-culture, the yet two-wizard tale trickles to the sea. SYLW values dolphins like any self-respecting book, regardless of the sea's powerful force and myriad lifeforms. Timeheart has become the dreamland. With the adoration of Jaws—whose Amity beach billboard had the first googly eyes— and the outing of Tom as a wizard whose irl occupation is writing scripts and experiences in the Business, Diane Duane might have blatantly alluded to herself. The Invisibility Cloak finding a place in The Curse of the Ring settles any doubt. This, however, births the tough question of adaptation, or if she would be involved should Hollywood depredate the setting. The former? This is Timeheart, after all.

III

It's Alive! Send it something! Send some 1's!

  The younger the wizard, the powerful their abilities. Geek in, geekin' out. For a Trekkie, Nita's kid sister, Dairine, is the family's motion setter; explaining her early accustomization to wizardry and other subversions. Delving into hyperspace by loading worlds and navigating datastreams beyond BEMs and silicon. Reaching for the further shore; Voyager of course. Dairine's interstellar intervals interact creatures and lifeforms that relay posterious wars; where the best upload may win, governed by wit-showdowns.

  If playing by the rules guarantees an arrested-age and a lifetime of consultancy. . . . Wizardry got no match. It is a hard sport