Navel Gazing for October 17th, 2010

Hello everybody and welcome to Navel Gazing: your look back at the week in Punknews. I’m Adam White and I’ll be your guide through some of the most popular, notable, and otherwise attention getting stories of the past seven days. Each and every Punknews story is built from tips contributed by you fine folks, and here’s what got the community talking this week:

With that we hand over this Sunday evening to you, the Punknews community. From that glorious, likely bearded rabble we’ve see the creation of everything from message boards and Punknews fantasy sports leagues to even a band or two. So talk amongst yourselves and we’ll see you Monday…
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Big Brain Wolf Now Available on Mac + 50% off

Big Brain Wolf is now also available on Mac.

To celebrate the Mac release, Big Brain Wolf will be available at 50% off now through October 22nd, 2010, 10AM Pacific Time. Now with SteamPlay, you can play on either Mac or PC!

Big Brain Wolf is a hilarious point and click adventure game for puzzle lovers. The player takes upon the role of an asthmatic vegetarian wolf studying to become a genie. In the course of his adventures the player will encounter a large cast of famous funny characters and solve sixty different puzzles. Six neuroscientist designed highly replayable brain training exercises will earn the player precious hints to help solve the more difficult puzzles.


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Interviews: Chris Farren (Fake Problems)

“In an ideal world I’m Posh Spice,” exclaimed Chris Farren, front man of Fake Problems. “That could be the lead quote for this interview.”

Fake Problems is one of the zillion bands that will be descending upon the swampy land of Gainesville Halloween weekend for The Fest. Kira Wisniewski, punknews.org contributor, caught Farren via phone just as he woke up and climbed into he van on the way to San Antonio to play a couple shows with fellow Floridians Look Mexico. In addition to discussing aspirations of being Posh Spice for Halloween, Farren talked about the new record Real Ghosts Caught on Tape, the disgusting game of Mr. Yucky and who Fake Problem’s favorite person on punknews.org really is.

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Smoke or Fire: “Neon Light”

Smoke or Fire have posted a new song from their upcoming studio album due out on November 9, 2010. The record is titled the Speakeasy and is the first full length for the band since This Sinking Ship in 2007. In the interim, they issued Prehistoric Knife Fight. The record was recorded with Matt Allison at Atlas Studio and also marks the recorded debut of Ryan Parrish (Darkest Hour) and songwriting debut of Gwomper (AVAIL)

Check out “Neon Light” via Brooklyn Vegan.
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CBGB name up for sale

CBC News is reporting that CBGB, the name of the famous and now-defunct New York venue which fostered the early punk rock community, is up for sale. Lawyers for the estate of late CBGB founder Hillel Kristal are looking for buyers who would be “best for the brand and Hilley’s legacy.”

After the club had closed in 2006 the rights to the name were purchased by a pair of marketing executives who created a company dubbed CBGB Holdings. That firm filed for bankruptcy in June without hang fully paid the estate. A bankruptcy judge ruled last Wednesday that Kristal’s estate were the rightful owner to the club’s assets.
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Neurosis critical of Jello Biafra’s Alternative Tentacles

Scott Kelly of Neurosis had some critical things to say about his experiences with Dead Kennedys‘ co-founder Jello Biafra and his label, Alternative Tentacles Records. The band is reissuing 1993’s Enemy of the Sun on their on Neurot Recordings due to a conflict they had with the label. He explained:

Alternative Tentacles ripped us off. That’s the simple version. They cooked the books and we called them on it. They accused us of all sorts of things and being greedy. And it was only about $3000! It was basically an honor thing. There was no honor there. I don’t know what to say about it except that I was proud to be on the label when they approached us to do us records. We held them in high regard and it couldn’t be further from that now.

[The other Dead Kennedys members] won in court because they were correct. If he would rip us off for a small amount of money then he’d go after them for huge amount of money. When is the last time he had to punch a clock or worry about rent? He doesn’t. Who lives in a house on the hill? He does. I live in a trailer in the woods. I have a day job and always have. What he did to his fellow band mates is all there in black and white.

Check out the rest of the interview via Hellbound.ca here.
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Now In Beta: Personalized Recommendations

Found a game you think your friends should really be playing? Now you can write a recommendation for your friends to share your excitement and start a conversation. Plus, see what games your friends are playing most and what they recommend.

Visit the new ‘Recommended For You’ page in the Steam Store to find games similar to those you play and love. Steam will suggest games, help you find more content for games you already play, and remind you of items on your wishlist that are on sale.

You can give these improvements a whirl in the latest Beta by visiting Steam client Settings and opting into the Beta Update offered there. And as always, do share your feedback on the Steam Forums.

Note that when recommending a game to your friends, only friends opted in to this beta will be able to see your recommendation.
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Man beaten to death after Agnostic Front show in Washington, DC

Sad news out of Washington DC as a man was apparently beaten to death following an Agnostic Front show at the DC9 Nightclub. According to this report, the man threw a brick through the club’s front window. Between three and five people exited the club after the window was shattered, pursued the man down the block and “severely beat him.” Police responded to the incident around 2:30 A.M., and the man was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Five arrests have been made in regards to the incident, with unconfirmed reports saying that those arrested were employees of the nightclub. A spokesperson for DC9 co-owner Joe Englert issued this statement:

“…we are saddened by the events of last night. Our staff, families, and friends look forward to our day in court to prove the innocence of our long-time staff.”

We’ll keep you updated as more details emerge.
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Sword drummer talks about his departure

Drummer Trivett Wingo, formerly of The Sword, explained the reasons behind his abrupt departure. His resignation led to the cancellation of the band’s tour in support of Warp Riders. He explained:

Not to get too specific, but my level of anxiety pertaining to being on tour got to the point where medication was not the answer. You can crunch Valiums all the time, but at a certain point you have to ask yourself if you should just be staying at home. I had been medicating myself to be on tour, and I realized that psychiatric help wasn’t the answer. I was very deeply unhappy. I didn’t want to sedate myself and do something that I wasn’t enjoying. I figured it was better for me to finally listen to my inner voice and strike out on my own. I wanted to finish it all. If I had known what point I would break, I wouldn’t have planned anything beyond that, but I reached my own personal breaking point as far as my panic and anxiety. I was living in a mental hell. I think it was really starting to affect my performance as well. I really officially completely burned myself down to a nub.

Check out the interview via Austin Chronicle.
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