​The song title "Eating, Drinking, Shitting," a single off Murderous Rampage's recent self-titled album, doesn't inspire much, at least at first. If anything, it has the opposite effect, bringing to mind back-to-the-basics, Jurassic-age living. And it's a pretty tame title as far as the genre goes (think Embalming Theatre's "I Want My Gay Boyfriend to Eat Me Alive" or Last Days of Humanity's "Choked in Anal Mange," an album that was split with another band called Cock and Ball Torture.)

The video for this song, which was released Thursday, is deliciously horror-ific, but proved a little ambiguous for me and some of my literate friends who got a bit ahead of ourselves in analyzing the video's symbolism. Like Murderous Rampage's last video, the production quality is great, includes lots of cool special effects, and is legitimately interesting to watch. At first, the storyline seems to incorporate typical suburban domestic-imprisonment themes. A '50s-type conventional-looking housewife takes to killing some pretty fine-looking ladies, as the husband slaves away at an annoying 9-to-5 job. The wife feeds her victims to her husband for dinner. So "Eating, Drinking, Shitting" refers to the husband digesting the bodies.

But to my friends, "eating, drinking, shitting" seemed to imply some discontent with the monotony of keeping house and the insanity that ensues. And when the protagonist takes off his work shirt, we thought for sure he was symbolically shedding his miserable existence. At least that's what we saw, among other hilarious interpretations. After all, horror has always been ripe for discussion about what scares us, why we choose to watch horrific things, why we think it's funny, etc.

So here are some fun but fairly ridiculous discussion questions about the video, which you can watch after the jump:
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​Chris Brown is not a nice guy. He's not a good guy. And he doesn't deserve a break, no matter what Kanye West, Terrrence Howard, or Akon say. Nor does he deserve anyone's money Sunday when he performs at Revolution.

Anyone remember how he beat the crap out of Rihanna earlier this year? Held her in a headlock until she had trouble breathing? He should be behind bars, not on tour. Fan appreciation tour? Give me a break, how can anyone appreciate this guy? Oh right, rampant misogyny gets in the way of seeing things clearly. What's just as disturbing as people simply ignoring abuse is the rate of sympathy for Brown and vitriol for Rihanna. Comments on blogs, YouTube, wherever, vary from "it's both parties fault" to "she had it coming" to people claiming the photo showing her bruised face was "Photoshopped." (Nevermind that she didn't want the photo released, and that two police officers were suspended because of the leak. She must have somehow conspired with others to make her beating look, well, like the "type of beating" that deserves punishment. Because I guess not all abuse is deserving.)

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Photo by Ari Justin Rothenberg

Modernesque Burlesque Troupe

​The opening night for the Modernesque Burlesque troupe at Respectable Street Saturday was a glamorous sequin-filled celebration of movement and the female body. It was also "new, fresh, and unused," in the words of the cheeky mistress of ceremonies Torchy Taboo, age "none of your fucking business." Looking like a burlesque version of Ramona Rickettes (the grandmother in the John Waters film Cry Baby), Torchy was an unapologetic force from the stage, radiating as she worked the room with jokes and sass.

But as the troupe stripped down, the scene begged the question, can burlesque really be feminist?

Burlesque has provoked heated debate among feminist scholars. While some define it as a glorified form of stripping, sugar-coating an unjust power structure that compels women to use their bodies to get ahead, others say it's a celebration of the female body, embracing all and flipping a well-polished bird at whatever the ideal body type is.

Read more after the jump.

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Jewel's new album Lullaby

​Although Jewel became commercially successful at the age of 19 after releasing her thoughtful, melodic, and grrrly brand of Americana folk Pieces of You in 1997, she had already attained a lifetime of experience to draw from. Since her days hobo-ing around (she carried a knife and would totally cut you) to her angel-of-rock (albeit rock of the softer variety) status, she's released six albums since Pieces, has been nominated for three Grammys, and is now on tour for her latest album Lullaby, a compilation of tunes that can be described as anxiety-defusing, tranquilizer darts to soothe the soul. She'll stop by the Fillmore in Miami Beach Tuesday, November 3.

New Times: A lot of people don't know how tough you are, they hear these sensitive, thoughtful songs, and they make assumptions that you're a softy. But you're a misfit in many ways. Do you ever miss your vagabond lifestyle?

Jewel: My childhood was difficult in a lot of ways and really great in a lot of ways. I feel really blessed that I was able to be raised outdoors, and be raised in Alaska with music as an outlet. Writing always gave me an outlet that I think kept me from doing drugs and helped me deal with a lifestyle that was kind of difficult. I moved out when I was 15, and I was raised by a single father who did the best that he could with three kids by himself. And I grew up singing in bars.

I've always been a very observant person, I've always had a writer's heart, I think. I've always really enjoyed watching people and kind of watching them closely, and I guess I was always drawn to writers who were really honest. And so I became, at a young age, attracted to writers like Bukowski... I really appreciated their honesty and their willingness to show their flaws as much as their talent.

I think a lot of people tend to use the media or talent as a sort of propaganda machine to make themselves seem more perfect than they are. And I think that alienates the people watching or listening. It did to me at least as a kid. And I thought, you know, I gotta tell the truth somewhere and I might as well tell the truth in my writing. I tried to find a balance being tough in an environment that kind of required me to be on my toes and a little bit street smart and at the same time without letting it harden the sensitive parts of me that I really liked and that made me feel happy.

And so my life kind of became a balance, trying to learn how to balance, but I wasn't always great at it. I've always been kind of a little bit, I wouldn't say scrappy is the right word, but it's [like] a certain type of pride. Not the type of pride that would keep me from cleaning toilets for money because I would do anything to try and support myself and figure out a way to make a living. But at the same time I wouldn't take anything. Like if a boss wanted to fire me, because I wouldn't sleep with him. I was like, "Fire me." I've always kind of had a real fighter's attitude and fighter's spirit of "I won't be beat." I didn't want life to make me bitter, because I really felt like that would be like letting life beat me twice. I felt like I wanted to go through my life and still figure out how to be a happy person instead of being a statistic that would have ended up a drug addict.

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​Grrrly Talk is a new feminist column serving up pop culture commentary and local music news on, for, and by those of the XX-chromosomed variety.

News broke yesterday that Lady Gaga will be spending New Year's Eve in Miami after canceling her tour with megalomaniac Kanye West earlier this month. When I heard the announcement, I recalled the thoughts I'd had when I first found out about her. I wasn't the biggest fan, but I could see the appeal. I appreciated her outspoken support for the gay community, and on some level, admired her creative use of bubbles, space memorabilia, and wigs. She wasn't afraid to express or explore her sexuality, and did it without the wink that accompanies Katy Perry-style bi-curiosity. And despite some who saw her as a sure sign of the pop apocalypse, I always enjoy a shameless, polarizing provocateur as long as he or she has a good, smart sense of humor.

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