The last time I saw SUNN O))), Paul Banica (occasional cohost on our podcasts, and all Romanian man) turned round, looking like a possessed ape, and yelled, “THIS IS BIBLICAL!!!” at me. He was right, it was biblical. Their singer was wailing dressed like a tree, they were so loud that you felt the music, rather than heard it.

See SUNN O))), it will be a musical experience unlike any other:

2012 TOUR DATES

MON 11 JUNE MANCHESTER – THE RITZ

TUE 12 JUNE LONDON – KOKO (with Nurse With Wound)

THUR 14 JUNE HOLLAND – AMSTERDAM – MELKWEG (with Aluk Todolo)

FRI 15 JUNE BELGIUM – HOBOKEN – FORT 8 (with Aluk Todolo)

SAT 16 JUNE FRANCE – PARIS – GAITE LYRIQUE (with Aluk Todolo)

SUN 17 JUNE – FRANCE – CLISSON – HELLFEST

Click here to view the embedded video.

Alter egos rule. This is yet another alter ego of Michael Valentine West (Twiggy and the K Mesons / Lower Third). The selfsame fellow that released albums on Daddy Tank, so can I really be counted on to do an unbiased review ? No, I can’t so I’m not going to do a review merely offer up a free download from the man himself and you can make up your own mind.

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BxvmVRroKjk2OTExNjRjNzUtMjJkOC00ODBkLTgyYWEtYWZkMTM5YzUwODZi&hl=en_US&pli=1/

Kim Monaghan

He pulled off some of the greatest hacks in history, he was once one of the F.B.I.’s most wanted, hell, they even made a crappy movie based on a crappy book about him. Finally, in Ghost in the Wires, we can finally get Kevin Mitnick’s side of the story. 

In the early to mid nineties Kevin Mitnick, basically, wrote the book (no pun intended) on hacking and social engineering. His exploits were notorious world-wide, and his achievements legendary. He skilfully  hacked his way into the security systems of some of the worlds biggest, and most respected software companies, getting his hands on some of the most sensitive data imaginable. He infamously hacked the phone companies SAS system that allowed him to basically listen in on anyone, including the NSA (if only for a few seconds), and successfully vanished into new identities, eluding the law enforcement agencies trying relentlessly to track him down. Mitnick has become somewhat of a folk legend in the hacker community. He’s done what so few have achieved; actually beaten ‘the man’. Several times in fact. Ok, so he eventually got caught, and sentenced to jail with no trial (as you do), but it almost seems worth it for the sheer brilliance of his exploits.

What becomes clear early on in the book, is that Mitnick is not criminally minded, he’s just curious. His fascination in the inner workings of Houdini magic quickly turns to technology, and from there, trouble. I guess we all want to know what’s ‘behind the curtain’, Mitnick was just a little more determined to actually find out, and this is where the moral quandary lies with the reader. Technically, what he does is a crime, and he’s as bound in social contract as the rest of us; so yes, technically, he should be punished. However, whilst reading the book, you’ll possibly find yourself cheering him on as he turns the government’s own technology against them, and essentially wire taps the wire tappers. You may find yourself unable to not crack a smile when he hacks the ‘worlds leading security expert’ Tsutomu Shimomura. It all seems so unreal, and so outrageous, he seems untouchable.

But, on the flip-side, I couldn’t help but think to myself “this guy needs help”. I would consider myself a very low-level ‘hacker’. I’m writing this review on a Hackintosh, on my desk is a PSP that runs old Amiga games, and my Canon 550D runs software that lets it do stuff the manufacturer didn’t design it for; I guess what I’m saying is, I understand the fun in pushing technology outside of it’s specified boundaries, and getting inside the box. Mitnick, however, appears to have an addiction to it. he literally can’t stop himself, to a point that he ended up spending an unhealthy amount of time in prison – with no phone access – a result of getting the government so wired, they believed he could hum nuclear missile launch codes into a phone, and begin the apocalypse. I did find myself questioning why his incredibly patient – and clearly very loving – parents, never sent him to a addiction councillor.

What makes this book so brilliant is it’s honesty, and the fact that Mitnick’s life was just so damn exciting. It also acts a warning to future would-be Mitnick’s. If you have any interest in hacking taken to the extreme, then this genuinely exciting and unique tale is a must-have.

Ken Eakins

This week: Download real objects on the pirate bay, Invasion of the blue goo, Islamic urban legend, Gingrich will fly you to the moon, Why was Megaupload really shut down?, The billion-Euro house, Occupy goes postal, strapping diodes to Republicans, Overcast censorship, farewell to Raymond and Joe, and the return of the Krampus…or is it?

Personnel - Joe Nolan,  Kim Monaghan, and Ken Eakins.

Email us with stories you think we should discuss here.

Show Links

Since beginning my work with Cat Fancier’s Monthly I have overseen a huge boost in sales of cat related merchandise, whilst cats themselves have seen a rise of 24% in popularity. I can’t take all of the credit for this but I can take most of it. The only thing I have failed to secure in my tenure to date is a qualitative way of establishing which cats deserve the cream and which belong in the litter tray. Thankfully I have found a place that offers an authoritative and final judgement on our feline brethren. Meowseley is that place. Taking all kinds of data such as speed, purr-ocity and fuzzy loveliness Meowseley allows you a definitive ranking of your cat in the global scheme of cat things, affording you the peace of mind of knowing you really DO have the best cat in the world.

http://www.meowseley.co.uk/

Kim Monaghan

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is the new video to coincide with K.Flay’s new E.P., which you can pick up here. I’m sure I’ve had nightmares about evil muppets before.

Ken Eakins

This week: The death of Megaupload, Legislation that could kill Internet privacy, Has George Lucas really retired?, History being made by blackouts, Jim Henson avant garde, Sega Toylets, How the US lost out on iPhone production, and shooting nails into your brain.

Personnel - Joseph Matheny, Nicholas Pell, Kim Monaghan, and Ken Eakins.

Email us with stories you think we should discuss here.

Show Links

Musical Interludes

• Secret Chiefs 3 – Emir of Bees
• Aaron Spectre – Half Silver
• Yppah – Again With The Subtitles

**CCN Returns to its Wednesday slot next episode**

This week: Mexico’s Grand Warlock Predicts Obama’s loss, Space-Station Debris Crisis, Russia: “It’s Not Our Fault”, Steve Jobs: The Comic, SOPA-Smack-down, Occupy Updates, Kim Monaghan Pimps Opera, Japanese Princess Communicates with UFOs, RAW Week, and Home Invasion Survivors.

Personnel – Joe Nolan, Kim Monaghan, Joseph Matheny, and Ken Eakins.

Email us with stories you think we should discuss here.

Show Links

• Mexico’s Grand Warlock
• Space News
• It’s Not Russia’s Fault
• Steve Jobs: The Comic
• Rupert Murdoch is a douche
• Anti-SOPA blackout
• SOPA Stalled
• Opera Lockout
• Japanese UFO 
• BoingBoing RAW Week
• Home Invasion 

Tunes

• AzR – Thank You Steve
• Torrentz - Brownie Recipe feat. Bill Beats
• Joe Nolan – Occupy Song

Sorry guys, but it just dosen’t seem right releasing our show tomorrow as we’re protesting SOPA that day.

for more info, click the black armband at the top right of the site.

See you on Thursday Internet.

It’s not a real audiologist but an electronic musician masquerading as one (at least nominatively) and he has created another free album to add to Section 27’s burgeoning discography. That’s a nice phrase. Gosh I’m clever. I wish someone would write a review of me where they said such nice clever things. Maybe one day. Till then I’ll keep building up the bank of potential praisers by saying that this is definitely worth getting hold of.

Opener “Prolgu” got my attention because it sounded like something I might have missed on Toytronic or Warp in the late 90’s and early 00’s. This might sound bad but there is a definite golden era for electronica and Warp’s back catalogue from that time is pretty much definitive (with some Skam and Toytronic and Rephlex etc etc) so anything that can lay claim to that heritage is on the right track (even if it’s a lie). Qitag is also a pretty special thing, indeed it was this tune that caught my ear on the basis it sounds like a melancholy miniaturized version of Scotland. I don’t know why I think that. Maybe the barely there military tattoo style drums (possibly fireworks) that provides beats and the plaintive bagpipe sounding solo synth but it’s definitely an interesting sounding tune. Much the same can be said for the outstanding Mystic Cave (hee hee I’m thinking of something dirty when I think about Mystic Caves) which is an industrial style minimal beat with an addictive little Ethio-Jazz sounding mystic piano riff over the top of it.

So a third of the way through the album and all’s good. My first reservations pop up at this point because the next few tunes while being pretty good lack the strong features of the opening volley. I was also disturbed to find myself humming the X Files theme tune while listening to “Opasenye” which is because the opening synths have a passing resemblance to Mark Snow’s greatest work. Obviously this is unintentional but that’s how my stupid brain works. Things hit a peak again with “Halloween” which is a kind of glitch tribute to the spirit of John Carpenter’s awesome theme tune, no sampling but all the atmosphere. “9ine” is another little peak, being very clean sounding and quite B12-esque. I liked B12 so that’s bound to go down well with me, plus it has a nice little skewed ploppy synth lead. That does mean something trust me. The rest of the album has its moments but also some flaws and then it’s finished and it’s time for me to say something meaningful.

As much as I like this album I also think it could have been made stronger. Why have we got remixes on there ? Why is “Knee” so long ? I would have trimmed a few tracks off this and made it a leaner and (in my opinion) stronger album; taking away some of the chaff to expose the lovely golden (musical) corn but that’s a thing of mine nowadays and it exposes my brain for the dusty relic it is. Digital releases can be as big or small as people want them to be and “more is more” is certainly the philosophy most people seem to abide by. Final judgement ? A really good album with some exceptional moments and some skippable moments, now go and get it because its free like all Section 27 gear.

http://section27netlabel.blogspot.com/2011/12/s27-087-theaudiologist-idios-kosmos.html

Kim Monaghan