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Standing In Two Circles: The Collected Works of Boyd Rice

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Boyd Rice, Standing in Two Circles: The Collected Writings of Boyd Rice (Creation, 2008)

For over thirty years, Boyd Rice has been one of music's most enduring enigmas. Ignored by most, despised by almost all the rest, and entirely uncaring, Rice has been pranking the music industry and its end-users for years, releasing albums of harsh, unlistenable loops that I'm not entirely sure anyone is actually supposed to enjoy. (Adam Parfrey, the head of Feral House books, declaims on Rice's music that the majority will loathe it, but for the sect few it is pure balm for the soul; this is as perfect a description of Rice's music as I've ever heard, and I can't add anything to it.) All the while, he's also been researching the philosophies and events that lie behind the music, and as a result has learned a great deal about a great many things. It would be a natural for someone with that much stored-up knowledge to become an essayist, along with everything else that he is. A number of Rice's essays have seen print, including a large number in Re/Search Publications' excellent books Pranks! and Incredibly Strange Films (Rice was the architect of both books, in fact), but a number of others have only seen print in magazines with minuscule runs, or never got published at all; a number of those essays are collected here, along with an extensive section of Rice's photographic work and an end section of lyrics to some of Rice's albums, both as a solo performer and under the NON moniker.

One of the things about reading work written by a lifelong prankster is that you can never quite be sure when Rice is yanking your chain. Given the number of essays collected her,e it does become a bit easier; there are subtle changes in tone that can tip the astute reader off. (Of course, some of them are more obvious than others, and some are just outright hilarious. That said, it's worth watching out; it's when we're laughing the hardest that the raconteur often slips in his most potent messages.) Rice's interests over the years have been eclectic and wide-ranging; we get an account of Rice's regular meetings with Charles Manson over a short period of time, deconstructions of Nazism and Monism, paeans to various types of alcohol, travelogues of Eastern Europe, an appreciation of Mondo Cane, and much, much more.

Like his music (and recent film work), Boyd Rice's essays are not for everyone. In fact, they're not for many. But in the written word, Rice is more accessible than in any other format, and it's possible that reading some of the thoughts behind the music may endear the music itself to some who wouldn't normally appreciate it. And one of my goals in life has always been the bringing of noise to a wider audience, no matter how much they hate it. (In fact, the more they hate it, the more determined I am.) Another tool to use in the service of that goal, especially one as intelligent as this one, couldn't be more welcome. ****

"Standing in Two Circles" is a survey of the writings, lyrics and art of Boyd Rice. Surrealist. Realist. Social Darwinist. Dadaist. Satanist. Vanguard Activist. Philosopher. Pioneer of Aesthetic Martial Terrorism. There's lots of fun stuff and food for thought in the ~35 writings.

Rice and editor Clark have included writings on the topics of: individuation, causes of social decay, mass de-evolution, drinking, extreme budget travelling, film, remembrances of forgotten friends and soap fads of the 1960s. These enlightening essays and musings come from the untoward pen of Rice. To the Rice enthusiast, the several previously unpublished writings are a delight.

The writings are sandwiched between the first complete Boyd Rice biography, penned by the capable editor Brian M. Clark, and a catalogue raisonne of Rice's photography. His photography ranges from the sort of Duchamp context-twisting in the "Documentary photographs" to an appetizing blend of eroticism and Man Ray in the "Erotic and "Things that Don't Exist" photos. Perceptual psychedelia is the overriding theme in his paintings.

And if you're like me and wondered about the wildly divergent lyrics of Boyd Rice's audio-recorded works, the sources are given in the last section of the book.

There is nothing beneath excellent about the inclusions of this work. Outside of Clark and Rice's control, perhaps it would have been great to see more of the "Found Photographs" exhibit.

This book is a very solid presentation of Boyd Rice's career. More than 20 years worth of essays, artworks, photographs and song lyrics, all compiled in a single volume. It contains Rice's views on everything from philosophy, the occult and the nature of God, to his take on outsider music, tiki bars, pop culture and the art of drinking. Also featured is a photo-illustrated biography of Rice by the book's editor, which manages to be brief enough to serve as an introduction to the anthology, and yet still thorough enough to cover all the bases of Rice's multifaceted and difficult to pigeonhole career. The first of its kind (and long overdue), STANDING IN TWO CIRCLES will appeal to both the serious Boyd Rice fan and curious reader alike.

Boyd Rice is one of those figures whose name seems to pop-up in the most unexpected and seemingly random places, but it's never been entirely clear why he is famous (or infamous). This book helps to contextualize Rice's significance, and illustrates how the whole man is more interesting than the sum of the parts.

"Standing in two circles" is the anthology that all Boyd Rice fans have been eagerly anticipating. The book contains a wealth of information about the man himself, and a generous helping of his written output. The book is a meticulously compiled labor of love that was many years in the making. Recommended for those interested in avant-garde music, photography, philosophy, recent and past history, fascism, politics, obscure pop culture, and of course Boyd Rice. Profusely illustrated and handsomely packaged paperback edition guaranteed to impress even the most jaded connoisseur of esoterica.

People often assume for various reasons that I'm a big Boyd Rice fan, but the truth is that I'm a latecomer who has been influenced by others who Mr. Rice has inspired. And for the latecomer, "Standing in Two Circles: The Collected Works of Boyd Rice" is an outstanding introduction to this seminal artist whose inestimable influence on musicians, misanthropes and even boozehounds is driven home by Brian M. Clark's detailed biography.

I enjoyed reading "I'll Call You Abraxas," Rice's engaging recounting of his visits with Charles Manson, as well as "Hitler in Zimbabwe" and "Dystopia" while celebrating diversity at the San Diego Department of Motor Vehicles. There is a wry character to Rice's prose, and if you've listened to any of his spoken word recordings you can almost imagine his voice and intonations as you read through his essays.

Of particular interest are excerpts from a previously abandoned project called, "Physiosophy," a series of never-before-released essays written to clarify some of this enigmatic creator's worldview in the 1990s.

Boyd Rce is an enigma...sort of.
Only people in certian circles really know about the things Boyd has done, and this work of collected essays and lyrics is the definitive collection. Most of the essays were published on Boyd's website in a different form, and most of the magazines and books that were the original sources are hard to find
The essays, like Rice himself, cover a broad spectrum, from pranks, to occult esoteria, as well as Gnosticism and long forgotten pop culture, and also Unpop culture. The entire book is packed with an exaustive amount of information by, and about Boyd Rice, including his lyrics and photography work
Highly reccommended

This book...I don't even know what to say. It is wonderful and insightful and many other things. You should buy it, read it all at once, or essay at a time, but it for sure will give you something to think about and talk about. I am a new, true fan.

I had waited a little over a year for this book to come out, and all the waiting was worth it. This book is a collection of almost every article - 1986 through 2007 - written by Boyd Rice (except for a few from Dagobert's Revenge), some of which have been unpublished. Plus lyrics from his musical output. The book contains many photos of both Boyd and his artistic works (experimental photography, abstract paintings and fetish pin-ups). Also, the book opens with a 30+ page bio (by editor Brian M Clark) for those who want a better look into Boyd Rice's past, present and future. Standing In Two Circles (a title taken from something Manson said to Boyd) turned out to be a great read. The pieces all range in topic: pranks, soap from the 60s, exotica and outsider music, tiki cukture, the sacred bloodline of monarchs, alcohol, ideas for TV sitcoms and movies, meeting Charles Manson, mondo film, meeting the Church of Satan's Anton LaVey, tales of his journies (music tours, vacation travels, and the quest to study his genealogy), as well as personal anecdotes from his youth and early career. The lyrics included are mostly for his work as a solo artist in NON, but also included are lyrics to collaborations he's done with Death In June, Current 93, Luftwaffe and others. All in all, it's a fun literary find for the fan, or just for someone looking into something a little under the radar.

Entertaining above all, in his usual honest way. His essays of Pop Culture are my favorite. Odd, Honest, Irreverent and Serious. A pretty good writer about his views and interests. Finally, the book brings out his humor and intelligence about Life with fellow Drunkards, Musicians, Convicts and Explorers of Truth.