Wagdug Futuristic Unity: Masters of Mad Style

by JT Thomas

The MAD CAPSULE MARKETS was formed in 1990 by Hiroshi Kyono and Takeshi Ueda and over two decades their sound has evolved into a style unique to the band and its off shoots. Ueda and Kyono led MAD CAPSULE MARKETS, formerly called Berrie, as a punk rock front which resembled Japanese punk groups like GISM, Gauze, and The Stalin. The songs were short, violent and vitriolic, with thrash metal riffs, heavy metal bass lines with an anarcho-punk focus. Kyono's lyrics reflected the angst of a generation of Japanese disgusted by the economic shit-cake they'd been forced to eat through out the 1980's.

By 1994 they'd evolved beyond punk and started sampling. With the release of MIX-ISM and PARK, Takeshi's bass-lines took on a garage rock tone and Kyono's vocals became melodic with sing-songy tendencies, leaning toward grunge. The thrash was still there, but the bands punk influence was kept to aggressive guitar riffs. The songs were twice as long with refrains, chants, and hooks. With their 7^th album MAD's focus shifted to Takeshi's bass more than ever and their guitarist ISHIGAKI left the band.

Hiroshi Kyono

In 1999 MAD incorporated Digital Hardcore elements, a style created by ultra radical and often atonal Atari Teenage Riot, and disseminated through Alec Empire's Digital Hardcore Recordings. The DHR style was composed of grinding samples mixed with hip hop and drum 'n bass drum loops. Takeshi and Kyono called this blend of their punk rock influences and Digital Hardcore 'Mad Style', and with the release of their album OSC-DIS, Mad Capsules Markets received their first wave of international interest. This interest came from their juxtaposition of post pop riffs and melodic arrangements over the aggressive grind of Digital Hardcore's glitchy sound. Kyono's vocals became insistent, malicious and brutal exhalations, giving the tracks a more guttural, industrial quality.

By their last two albums as the Mad Capsules Markets, 010 and CiSTm KonFLiqT, they'd returned to a hardcore sound while including drum machines, synthesizers, and samplers. The beats were much heavier and largely more mechanical, with programmed bass arrangements accompanying Takeshi's live playing. The bands roster was in constant flux at this time, as the guitarist ISHIGAKI left the band. In 2005 the three remaining original members of the Mad Capsules Markets split. Takeshi founded AA=(aaequal), while Kyono perfected 'mad style' with Wagdug Futuristic Unity.

Even though Takeshi's AA=(aaequal) unarguably has elements of 'Mad Style'; hectic tempos, glitch audio samples, and manipulated vocals, it lacks grit and comes off cheesey and uninspired.

In contrast Wagdug's sound incorporates all the grimy brutality of MAD's first three albums with Kyono's willingness to experiment with novelty. On Wagdug's first album Hakai, Kyono collaborates with the likes of Chino Moreno, Ceephax, Funkygong, Justice, Numanoid vs. Mazda, Maximum the Ryo, Ultra Brain, and DJ Starcream. This was their first full length album and a defining example of the potential of 'Mad Style'. But the best examples are found on Wagdug's EP Nu Riot, specifically the track Hakai (Deathtroy).

Hakai (Deathtroy) was featured on the soundtrack of live action adaptation of DeathNote, a Japanese film about a bored angel of death, a sociopathic high-school aged would be god, an agoraphobic detective and a masochistic pop-idol. Wagdug's video for film increased the bands popularity in Japan and affirmed them as masters of 'Mad Style'.

Keeping the Group Alive

by Wendy Hockstein




The Shrawt’s college reading group sat around the usual table in class room Infinity they usually met in, staring at each other from across the table, each doing something different with their hands or biting their lips in order to not look at the seat next to Mathew Morren where Lindky Maynson had sat each meeting.

It was the first meeting in a long time and it was a good l. They sat and enjoyed each other’s company, Lindsy and Jack brought snacks, they all traded stories about the Jackin witch.

That was all they ever did at meetings, talk about the witch who sat on the hill near the school,
and was terrible, and was old, and was always there. You had to talk about her, had to tell the stories, and keep her alive. Or she’d get angry and start to take people.


Or they’d end up like Linkdky Maynson.

Five Minutes In the Heavens: Astrological Archetypes

How to guess someone’s astrological sign


by Veronika Vendetta





While astrology isn’t an exact science, there is undeniably something to it. No, I’m not talking about the daily horoscopes you read in the newspaper. Those are bullshit. I’m not 100% behind the predictive nature of astrology. I have much more faith in what the planets in what houses and signs can tell you about yourself.

So, how can you tell what someone’s astrological sign is after only knowing them for five minutes? It’s easier than you think. (Though, I might warn you about people born on the cusp. Cuspies, as I call them, can confuse the hell out of you but, if practiced enough, you can tell what two signs they border on.) Pay attention to them! It’s as easy as that! And here are the traits, looks, and characteristics that will let you know if they’re a Pisces or a Libra.

Aries

Leader of the pack. Look for people following closely behind or mimicking gestures and movements. Red hair or ruddy complexion (signifying their strong Mars influence) and an athletic build.

Taurus

Comfy clothes that look like they’ve been slept in. Not too quick on the uptake, if you know what I mean. Profession might have something to do with cooking/baking, or home design.

Gemini

Easy to spot. Will talk your ear off, circulate the room, and talk to anybody including themselves. Look for a strange purse if female. (I don’t know why this is true but it is.) Also, pay close attention to their bodies; Gemini is the sign of the twins and there will definitely be something asymmetrical about their appearance. Crooked smile, a limp, one ear higher than the other.

Cancer

If you’ve ever been cut down to size and had nothing to say about it, you’ve probably met a Cancer. Sandy hair color is a maybe, but look for a voluptuous neckline on a woman or some padding on the men. Wise-cracking and witty, also has a way of never being broke.

Leo

Easiest sign of the zodiac to call out. It’s all about the attention with them and they will find whatever way they can to get it; lead singer in a band, in the middle of a circle of people telling jokes and entertaining. They like the spotlight only on them and aren’t comfortable sharing. Also prone to blushing.

Virgo

Shirt tucked in, shoes shined, hair immaculately parted and held back. This is the essence of Virgo. If they pull their wallet out in front of you and all of their receipts are in chronological order in their billfold, you’ve found one. Look for anal retentiveness, OCD, and things of the like. Also may have brown eyes/hair.

Libra

Chubby cheeks with a dimple somewhere on their face. Lighty, flowy conversation that doesn’t offend their sensibilities. Make a declarative statement about someone and if they disagree, you’ve got yourself a Libra.

Scorpio

Dark and broody, usually hovers around the edges of the crowd observing everyone. Dark eyes, unwavering stare and a propensity to wear black. Snide remarks are also common.

Sagittarius

The girls tend to be a bit ditzy, but will astound you with something you never knew they knew. The boys tend to be super athletic or super scholars. Look for sparkling eyes and a few near-death experiences.

Capricorn

The hard-workers of the zodiac. Grad school, four jobs, they will absolutely push themselves to the limits. Sexual powerhouses behind closed doors. Talk about sex and watch their reaction. If they don’t say anything, it’s probably a Capricorn.

Aquarius

Flits around the room. May leave in the middle of a sentence. Into all kinds of weird things that most people have never even heard of. Also has ankle problems.

Pisces

Look for that guy/girl that is staring off into space, in the middle of the crowd but not a part of it. Soft spoken and thoughtful. Thinks before they speak. Also usually has blue-green eyes that change between the two often, like the planet that rules them, Neptune.

Crispin, Prudie & the Flamingos

The empty black pain of the dry wind put a smile on Crispin’s lips that he couldn’t shake. The agony creeping across his head only made the smile more fancy free: her dark hair, her hazel eyes, the deep red of her lips….her beauty would be burned into his mind forever.

He sat on the warm pavement, wet and sticky, slowly taking his shoes off with a single hand: black socks with holes in the toes and hearts around the ankles rested, restless.

Crispin raised his face toward the skies, making out nothing but the smallest of stinging glitterings.  He couldn’t tell if they were celestial bursts from one god or another or the acidic glow of surrounding urban streetlamps.

It was warm, a balmy breeze burning the holes that were once his eyes.

His caustic smile never seized.

And then he heard her footsteps.

He felt Prudie’s body fall against his, her left arm blanketed around his waist.

They sat facing the nearly black water, sitting on the graffiti and gum stained sidewalk away from the sand, both grinning at the roaring sound of the ocean waves lapping against the rocks of the breakers.

“My love must be a kind of blind love

I can't see anyone but you.”

She didn’t look at him.  He didn’t look at her.  But their lips were collective curls of a secret truth.

Prudie’s hand found his, not his vacant hand but the coddled hand with moist fingers closed oh so delicately around the wet stickiness.

With Crispin, it was always wet and sticky.

“For you, Mrs. Glover.” His lips touched her ear with a haunted murmur.

Prudie’s bottom lip trembled as she gingerly took the treasure.

Carefully.

Oh so carefully, she opened the warm, wet sticky fabric.

She stared at the bloody mess, two orbs that she would never see again.

Her own eyes glanced sideways at Hellion in the warm moonlight.

One by one, she placed each offering of love eternal into her mouth.

And swallowed.

When they were gone,

Crispin never saw her again.

But they were together.

She was forever behind his blood-matted lashes.