Mailbag: Addressing the St. Anger Allegations, Taproot or Earshot, That Old Sound at its Finest, and Admin Reveal
And since someone asked about my first kiss well that too I suppose.
What is your fav nu metal album of all time and why is it st anger?
Well, it certainly is not that. I’ve given St. Anger at least three full cover-to-cover runs and have liked it less each time and am nearly convinced it is the worst multi-platinum album ever made. Which I hate saying. Seriously! I don’t get off talking down on music, certainly not nu-metal, but St. Anger borders on unlistenable from a technical perspective and once you get into the songs it isn’t much better. If I ever come around on it - and I do intend to keep trying - I’ll be happy to report back. But in the meantime, I can assure you it’s not my favorite nu-metal album of all time. That honor goes to American Head Charge’s The War of Art, of which I’ve spilled many thousands of words on and intend to spill many thousands more in my lifetime but more simply I got drunk just last night and sprained my neck headbanging to it at my desk. You don’t need a thousand words to understand how good The War of Art, just a pulse and an enthusiasm for truly great heavy music.
Thoughts on Taproot or Earshot?
Taproot, I like. Gift is a neat bit of post-Deftones/pre-Linkin Park nu-metal while Welcome still has never worked for me as a full length but “Poem” is a killer single that I fondly remember hearing on Chicago’s alt rock stations - 94.7 The Zone and Q101 - quite a bit on car rides to and from school as a kid. Earshot, on the other hand, are just silly to me. I like Tool ripoffs - Chevelle started there and wound up something I enjoy more than Tool 10 times out of an available 10 - but Earshot don’t have any ideas. Their songs are just Less Perfect Circles. Plus, their singer had a really unearned sense of significance that he purchased with Warner Bros cash and watching his absurdly put upon woe-is-thee-for-not-fucking-me routine in the “Wait” video is hilarious.
2 band answer. .Which old school nu metal band still has thah old sound at its finest and which new band is able replicate it the best.
Kind of a tricky question here since I’m not super interested in the correct answers to either. Which is to say, the old school nu-metal bands that have just kept truckin’ fell off my radar a while ago- I’m interested in the ones that managed to stay relevant through either hard work and a willingness to keep playing the game (Papa Roach) or by simply relaxing into their signature sound and old age (Limp Bizkit). Meanwhile, the new nu bands that I care about are doing interesting, innovative things with the sound. In particular, Cheem are twining it with pop punk, emo and J-rock to create something extremely fresh and invigorating and well worth your time. Anyways, to do a better job at answering your question I’d recommend the song “Without You” by Cold, which finds the band leaping back into their 13 Ways to Bleed On Stage skin to create an all timer, and the 2013 album Strangers Only by My Ticket Home; which, while a clear descendant of metalcore, contains more than enough hooks and aplomb to resonate with a more late-90s mindset.
when was your first kiss?
2006-ish? I was on the floor of the gymnasium at my church holding two girl-friends of mine watching the band rehearse. I knew one was into me and wanted to get this whole first kiss business out of the way so I kissed her. Then, because I didn’t want the other one to feel bad, I gave her a kiss too. Then, because I was actually dating someone else that happened to be in the same church at the time, I went and found her and gave her a kiss too. This is not a story about how I was a little playboy heartbreaker, it’s a story about how Christians are jerks.
What does Holiday Kirk mean and is your name actually Kirk
Alright! I admit it! I’m coming clean. My name is not Kirk. Nor is it Holiday. I was at a friends house in 2011 and his parents got a call on the home phone. One with a little digital readout that showed the name and number of the caller. This caller’s name happened to be “Kirk Holiday” but it showed up last name first. “Holiday Kirk.” I said something to the effect of, “Hey that’s a cool name.” Soon after, I adapted that as a pseudonym for everything and, for a thankfully brief spell, insisted everyone I knew call me that too. Catchy name. Has served me well. But if you happen to know my real name do me a solid and keep that to yourself for now.
i truly felt the last sentence about your real name and that's pretty much how i feel with "Ritsu" because i have two irl mutuals who follow me that know my irl name and i pray to god they don't end up leaking my actual name on accident lmao
I only know two Earshot songs, and they're the ones you'd probably expect. "Get Away" I really like because while they definitely rip off Tool, Tool didn't sound like that song in 2002, having downed enough DMT to make you see binary code in the sky for life; that song is a nice sort of throwback to the Undertow era, which I enjoy a decent amount for being more straightforward. "Wait" is just kinda there, like most nü bands post 2004.