Some Music and a Podcast Interview: Cybersix, Buja Praise, and Alexander Roth

I really need to decompress with the stress in my life as well as finding out about atrocities not talked about in the history books that I was unaware about. This doesn’t mean I’m apathetic. I can only take so much morbidity at a time. Come on, people. I’m a human being, you know. I thought I would switch this up with some interesting videos involving a theme song, a Burundian band, and an interview.

Those of you who follow one of my other blogs where I cover film, documentary, and anime reviews, I recently covered the Canadian/Japanese/Argentinean series Cybersix on there. I remember watching that show on Fox Kids when I was in elementary school (wow, does that give away my age or what?). The theme song was something I remembered back then and I re-discovered this show on RetroCrush of all places! I was gobsmacked that this obscure cartoon can be streamed for free legally online and that they would play all 13 episodes there. The theme song was handled by Canadian jazz/pop singer Coral Egan and this song really gets stuck in your head. I think they should give Cybersix a remake with a longer storyline. It’s also a breath of fresh air seeing a superheroine who ISN’T Marvel or DC for a change.

I know gospel isn’t everyone’s thing. I respect that. Recently, I got into Bukuru Celestin who is a Burundian musician who’s currently based in America. I first heard of him due to his collab EP with jazz band Snarky Puppy. Apparently, he also has a gospel band side project called Buja Praise. They incorporate songs in English, Kirundi, and Swahili with some African rhythms mixed with Western instrumentation. They have a great sound and certainly don’t sound like the typical K-Love fair. Of course, the title of this song got my attention for obvious reasons (don’t lie, you were thinking the same thing), but it is a completely different song. I also got to message them the other day. Yes, I brought up THAT controversy and they think a certain mouse trademarking that phrase is so stupid and they’re going to keep on singing this song. Good on you, Buja Praise! Way to do your best to preserve the Swahili-phone cultures even if that language isn’t the main one in Burundi (Kirundi is the #1 language there). I wonder how fans of that particular movie franchise would feel knowing this song exists…

I usually don’t put podcast interviews on here, but this snippet was very fascinating. David Francisco is a Portuguese wrestler currently living in England and he interviews Alexander Roth who is a Black British wrestler. They discuss the Everything Patterned show at Wrestling Resurgence. Some of you may remember me talking about this show a couple of years ago which was a Black History Month event in England (context: October is BHM in the UK and not February like in America). Alexander Roth and David Francisco talk about the impact of this indie BritWres show and what it meant for positive representation in the wrestling scene. It was very insightful with Roth talking about being in that show in tag team action and how it inspired others in ways he would’ve never expected. I did like his experience in this event and how he was floored with the social media response as well as getting a message from America of all places. His comment about humans being the only creatures who “beef over” skin color unlike snakes, lions, leopards, etc. with his analogy. This form of entertainment and athleticism isn’t for everyone obviously, but give this a listen. Also, Everything Patterned was SO much better than anything I’ve seen in WWE or AEW. Just saying.

Dave Emmerson 2020 Interview with the Antidote (ZAP Records Requiem)

Episode 442: ZAP Records Requiem

Here’s a part II to Monday’s post. While this interview has been around for a few months now, I thought I would still promote it, so you can hear it. Canadian radio station The Antidote interviewed Dave Emmerson from ZAP Records as he talks about music, why he closed down ZAP, and his new plans. It was another great interview and not just because I know both Daves talking to each other. Yes, I’m namedropped briefly, but don’t listen to this interview because of that. It really gives insight into Dave’s ideology in music and creative projects.

Dystopian Futures Interview from The Antidote

http://www.theantidoteradio.com/interview/interview-with-dystopian-futures

Very recently, Dave Emmerson from Dystopian Futures was interviewed by The Antidote. He had some great insight for his current band. Dave also talks about the weaknesses of social media, rampant narcissism, and sci-fi. Shoot, I didn’t even know he was a fan of Dr. Strangelove. Hahaha! I thought this was a great interview and you should check it out.

Don’t forget that Dystopian Futures’s Low Arts EP comes out on 6/11/18 on http://zaprecords.bandcamp.com.

Check out the Fear EP: https://zaprecords.bandcamp.com/album/zap-033-fear-cs

Don’t forget, Dystopian Futures has a new music video for their Low Arts song. Yes, I worked on it and I threw in some stealth puns. Hee hee hee…

The Antidote Interviews Dave Emmerson from ZAP Records

http://www.theantidoteradio.com/interview/interview-with-zap-records

I found out about this interview recently. It was amazing that Dave Hawkins from The Antidote interviewed my friend who’s also named Dave. They talk about the origins of ZAP Records and his numerous bands. Also, I got name-dropped briefly in this interview. Dave Emmerson is a legit guy and he really cares about the independent music scene.

Check out his bands:

The Old-Timers [Hardcore/Punk]: https://theold-timers.bandcamp.com/

Their Throats Are Open Tombs [Digital Hardcore/Experimental/Noise]: https://theirthroatsareopentombs-sbbr.bandcamp.com/

Dystopian Futures [Post-Punk/Noise Rock]: https://zaprecords.bandcamp.com/album/zap-033-fear-cs

Hollerin Poets Vol. 2 is here! New poem and my first interview ever!

What’s up, everyone?

I wanted to let you all know that I’m part of another compilation album called Hollerin Poets Vol. 2. It’s a spoken word compilation album that’s a free download on Bandcamp. My buddy Josh Mozug AKA Tirades of a Timid Tongue curated this album and it also features one of his poems in addition to works from Chris Bernstorf, Keyoung, and Levi the Poet among others. I debuted a new track which is an exclusive on it.

Not only that, but Josh interviewed me which has never been done before. Listen to me make a fool of myself and stumble over my words while trying to give some insight about random things.

-Curtis