maynard's vagina hasn't leaked yet

puscifer's first album, V is for Vagina (hellyeah), is due out oct 30th. chafing at the glacial pace of tool releases i suppose, maynard j keenan occasionally escapes his crate at danny carey's place and beagles his way into a outstanding side project like tapeworm, a perfect circle or puscifer. in addition to MJK, other contributors to the puscifer cumpot include josh eustis, lustmord, milla jovovich and ex-nin bassist danny somebody.

MJK and trent reznor seem to share the same brain sometimes: there's the censorship is a cancer / OSR twinning, the concept of nature cleaning shit up in a swath of wrath (aenima and the warning) and the outspoken dissatisfaction with the current administration.

so i guess it's no surprise that MJK this weekend came out with his own State of the Industry address which, like reznor's declaration of independence last week, acknowledges his enviable position in a market struggling to reinvent itself, and his ability to help direct.

i’m doing this pretty much on my own. no label support aside from the distributor. it’s a HUGE learning curve. but if i can navigate it, i will be able to share what i’ve learned. i can make it easier for other bands that are trying to do it on their own. make it possible for us all to survive in our little microcosms rather than fall victim to the seductive song of the sirens… the expensive and impersonal macrocosm of the major label dog and pony show.

and while he doesn't quite come out and suggest “steal it,” keenan recognises the new world order has triggered a wider exposure to and appreciation of new music. but on the flip side, while illegal downloading won't kill or maim the keenans and reznors, it could destroy isis, autolux, and the burning brides:

downloading wont effect me TOO much. but it will affect those bands right on the edge. bands who could use the hundred bucks to make it to the next town to play a show (gas and food aren’t free. go figure) . or could use some cash to record a new record.( imagine that. it actually takes money to record a record.) i can afford to pay for the recording of my record. i’m one of the lucky ones. (thanks to nirvana and the label feeding frenzy, i won the early 90’s grunge lottery.) but those days are history. in order for young bands to survive nowadays, they need to get paid for their efforts. touring costs money. recording costs money. unless you’re ok with bands recording their songs on their Palm Treo.

the puscifer appetiser EP Don't Shoot the Messenger popped up on iTunes last week; here's the track listing:
trekka (sean beaven mix)
REV 22:20
the undertaker (renholder mix)
REV 22:20 (4:20 mix)

if you think you've seen these before, you have. danny lohner used REV 20:20 in the first Underworld soundtrack and his Undertaker remix appeared on the second. so not terribly new stuff but it's the price of a fucking latte so drink a cup of free ass coffee this morning and buy some music instead.

the EP didn't leak, but V is for Vagina has. or has it? you may find that, upon dloading (and this is all theoretical of course), the tracks you have don't match the associated track listing AT ALL – that in fact, you now have a copy of living syndication's new album Aneurythm. mistake at the dload farm, you may think, but that happens rarely, and actually Aneurythm isn't half-bad. tho you've never heard of this band before, maybe you will give them a listen, maybe you will like what you hear and go to a show and buy a t-shirt. maybe you will go to their MySpace, where you find among the syndication's influences a perfect circle and tool. and you may think, could mj keenan be so clever, to "leak" a trojan horse??

today's eyecandy: APC's judith (the orig, not lohner's peerless remix). i'm as straight as the next chick but when paz lenchantin whips her hair into a knot at the top of her head without dropping the bassline i'm utterly enchanted. ply me with turkish delight and take me to your wintery kingdom, paz.