Friday, October 31, 2008

Song of the Week: 11 - 3 - 08

Song of the Week: Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun - Pink Floyd (Live at Pompeii, 1972)

I’ve noticed lately that there’s generally a division between Pink Floyd fans; those who were with the band from their fruition and inagural album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn in 1967, which was one of a few records headed by original song-writer and lead-vocalist, Syd Barrett, experiencing the less than pragmatic influences of Barrett in early albums and others such as A Saucerful of Secrets, Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, and Meddle. And then there were those who were raked in by the legendary, iconic, not to mention record selling album Dark Side of the Moon, released in 1973 – and beyond: Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall, and the David Gilmour, Roger Waters-less era.

For me, it started with Dark Side, and has cullminated into nearly every album they ever released, with the remaining to be heard being Ummagumma, A Momentary Lapse of Reason and Roger Waters’ last effort with Pink Floyd, and as close to a solo album as it gets for a band, The Final Cut. Today’s focus, though, is the latest album I’ve acquired and begun listening to: A Saucerful of Secrets, and the song being “Set the Controls For the Heart of the Sun”. This song was one that the band used to play live, creating their space-rock name-sake, before including it on an album and one that was one of very few albums that the original lineup contributed in balance and perfect unity; Floyd wouldn’t achieve an all-band derived classic until their biggest hits, Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here.

Listening to the song -- eight-track or CD -- isnt all that captivating. It isnt until one sees or witnesses first-hand a performance, which is something that can be said for most Pink Floyd songs, because you just cant say sitting around listening to it while sipping coffee tops being in a dark arena, surrounded by others while a light show is perplexing your mind, allowing you to fixate your senses on the music and getting lost in the experience. Naturally, that’s just what one person who used to attend Floyd concerts said; I’ve never been to one – I wasn’t born yet!

So, without anymore waiting, here is a performance of the song from their six-song video recorded performance at Pompeii they did in 1972, inbetween the release of Meddle and pre-release of Dark Side of the Moon. Originally 5:27 long, this performance stretches it to over 10-minutes, much like they always had in years past.




Monday, October 27, 2008

Song of the Week - 10/27/08

Song of the Week - 10/27/08: "Ball and Biscuit" - The White Stripes, Elephant, 2003


Jack White is known as one of the greatest modern guitarists, and for good reason. A perfect example is "Ball and Biscuit," which shows his technical prowess within a traditional blues style. The track is a little bit long, but it's worth it to listen through; a "slow masterpiece," if you will. If you're into blues at all, you'll be quite satisfied. And if you love guitar solos, you're in for a real treat. The verses are interspersed among three epic solos that are nothing short of mind-blowing. Enjoy.

Not bad, eh?

Friday, October 24, 2008

DRK Presents: The Videos -- Volume III

Oh, happy day -- The Videos is back! Out of commission for a few weeks now, it's been a semi-long time coming for the next installment. The last one was done by I, and it is yet again being undertaken by myself. Hope you enjoy.

1. Grounds For Divorce - Elbow

I dont know about you, but the the bass and grooving underbelly sound of the guitar made in this song is an amazing hook and bar-none, one of the most intoxicating sounds I've ever come across in any piece of music. In just 3-1/2 minutes of work, Elbow manages to capture your attention for the remainder of the album, The Seldom Seen Kid.



2. Silent Scream - Slayer

Like the album, Chaos A.D. of which I featured yesterday in here, the album South of Heaven is another metal record I'm addicted to lately. The way the two-opening tracks mesh together and start the album off is what made Headbanger's Ball a necessity -- you just couldnt waste such music by not putting it on TV. This live performance is a recent one, and pretty good considering the fact that Tom Araya looks like a coked up caveman and sounds like one too at this point in his life and career as a musician.



3. Strugglin' - K'naan

I caught wind of K'naan's album The Dusty Foot Philosopher a few weeks ago, and I must say I enjoyed it, even for a guy who's all about rock n' roll from the 60's to somewhat today. His vocals sound a bit strange, but so do Phil Anselmo's, so it works out for me in the end.



4. Wax Simulacra - The Mars Volta

Holy sweet Jesus, these guys are flawless live. Oh how I wish I could see a concert by them. This is a performance off Letterman from back in January, which at the time was in celebration of their fourth album, The Bedlam in Goliath. (I loved it when the TBS crew quoted it by saying "There's bedlam in Beantown, tonight!" after the result of Game 5; or maybe they werent, who knows) There's a fellow writer on this staff that is entirely obsessed with these guys, and I hope he'll make an appearance soon. I assure you, though, if he doesnt, his buddy will.



5. School - Supertramp

Strange name, awesome band. The album, Crime of the Century, has gotta be one of my favorite albums, despite the fact that I rarely listen to it. It's sad how underated and under-talked about this band is. Phenomenal performance here.



All done. Time to wash your palate.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Album of the Week -- 10/23/08

Album of the Week is a feature just like Song of the Week; it’s that simple. Hopefully, we’ll stay on top of this one much better than we have with Song of the Week, and even better, blogging.

Album of the Week – 10/23/08: Chaos A.D. – Sepultura




This week in music there’s homage being paid to the 20-year anniversary to MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball, which obviously got its feet wet in 1988. Like the music video hot-spots of today that drive album sales and overall notoriety for a lot of artists, Headbanger’s Ball was that and then some for the metal genre and has been so for now 20-years. When it started, glam metal was a main-stay, with the occasional sprinkling of “One” and other underground thrash/speed vids. Today, it’s littered with the now dominate style of heart-pounding cookie-monster vocals instrumented by young bands that are paving the way for the future. During the early years of HB, bands like Sepultura got some playtime, with notable videos for “Territory” and “Roots Bloody Roots”, songs off various albums they released during the 80’s and 90’s before cutting ties with original vocalist, Max Cavalera. Since that disbanding, Sepultura has gone on to release some more albums, none of which to most metal fans and diehard ‘Sep fans enjoyed thoroughly.

But that’s not the focus, bad albums and all… the good ones are, and that one is Chaos A.D. Released in 1993, it was the fifth album by the band, with notable classics in Arise and Beneath the Remains pre-dating it. The Brazilian thrash band had a thing for playing fast and wild with its first few albums – Chaos seemed to have more focus, more maturation in its musical progression, including slower tempos, grooves, and even harmonies – more notably, an acoustic instrumental. With the power of Cavalera’s brutish vocals and a new-found direction musically, Sepultura was able to amplify their politically laced lyrical themes ten-fold on Chaos A.D.

“Refuse/Resist” starts the record off with a forward-march battle cry, literally. The opening tribal drums set the stage for a driving riff, thus opening the flood-gates for a hail-storm of music that lasts nearly 60-minutes. From tracks about protest and roarings about the war between Israel and Palestine – to censorship and massacres – to the notion that technology, and biotechnology more specifically is Godzilla. (Humorous moment of the album: the growling that sounds like a grown-man reverting to his childhood stays at the zoo)

The album blazes along, combining moments of guttural riffs and vocals, grooves, chugging, and sped up guitar sessions in order to siphon the listener with the answer to how pissed off Brazilians like them are. There are plenty of angry metal albums out there – they’re as prevalent as a woman in a hip-hop video -- but there aren’t too many that have any validity and reasoning for it. Lots of times, it’s just angry for the sake of being angry. Chaos A.D. dismembers that stigma on metal and chokes it in their “Clenched Fist”.

If you are having a bad day or just want something way off the deep end to experience, definitely try this one out. I guarantee you’ll need a glass of water afterwards.

Must Hear Track: Territory

Monday, October 6, 2008

Song of the Week - 10/06/08

Song of the Week is a feature we'll hopefully keep active. It's exactly what the name says: each week, one of us will pick a song we've been listening to. We'll write something about it. Then, you, the reader, can listen. If you like it as much as we do, that's great. If not, there's always next week.

Song of the Week - 10/06/08: "Magic Bus" - The Who, Live at Leeds, 1970

Without a doubt, Live at Leeds is the greatest live album I've ever listened to. I think the best performance of the concert comes at the end, with "Magic Bus." In its original studio form, "Magic Bus" is a measly 3:17 in length; a cool song, but too short. That version wouldn't do for a Song of the Week. But the live performance was more than doubled to 7:54, and any constrictions of studio recording went out the window. Driven by a classic "Bo Diddley beat" (chuggity, chuggity, chuggity, chug-chug is the best way I can describe it), it rumbles along with an entertaining back-and-forth between Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey about the price of the Magic Bus. The rendition features a couple explosions of sound as harmonica, guitar, and drums erupt at once. The only musician unhappy with the song was probably John Entwistle, whose bass was required to stay on a single note for the entirety of the song.



This song just rocks. I love the beat most of all. It gives you the image of an actual bus puttering down a lonely highway on a hot day, thick black exhaust rising to the sky. It's a fun song, and one that deserves more recognition.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

The Videos, Volume II

Last time around, it was chrono who gave you all the pleasure of the very first edition of The Videos. It's a modest blog series I started back on our old site, actually, twice for two different groups, one of which I created, and which also failed miserably due to my lack of leadership abilities.

I'm Mac, the guy who did the inagural post for this group recently, announcing the nine artists that will be up for the chance of making it into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame next year. This go 'round, it's the second volume of The Videos, and it's purpose is to give you an idea of just what type of music lover I truly am. It's an attempt to stretch my tastes out as far as they go, while still keeping your mind attentive.

Here we go.

1. Freya – The Sword




I’m not to up-to-date on the very young careers of these guys, but I tend to want to learn a bit when I’m going to be seeing them live with Metallica and Down come November. This tune has a driving rhythm from the guitar, with the vocals droning in the background, giving me a very Black Sabbath feel to what I’m indulging myself in. Sounds like something that will be very easy to perform and perfect live, which is a plus naturally for myself and I assume the thousands in attendance at the New Orleans Arena.

2. Dont Let the Sun Go Down on Me - Elton John




One of the most recognizeable, legendary, and influential musicians of our time is Elton John. This is just a sample of his contributions to rock n' roll; a performance from 1995, being played before what looks like thousands of people -- not that he's not used to that. Even after losing an octave in his voice years ago, which forced him to down-tune his piano so that it'd mesh, his voice is still as mesmerizing as it ever was.

3. Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 1-5 – Pink Floyd



The last major concert by Pink Floyd was Pulse, done in 1994, led by David Gilmour and the now deceased Richard Wright. This song much like the entire album Wish You Were Here is one of Floyd’s best musically crafted works, to me being what could be their best gelling together as a band, discounting Dark Side of the Moon, of course. This tribute to Syd Barrett, the former lead-vocalist and song writer for the band during the mid-to-late 1960’s who went into the chasms of his own mind, in which society labels going insane, is a mesmerizing piece of song-writing that captivates you from start to finish. It’s 13-minutes of sheer power and emotion packed into a truly spacey-rock song. Due to the 10-minute limit on YouTube videos, there’s a bit missing, but not enough to diminish the song.

4. Mr. Richards - R.E.M.




The only two albums I have heard and own by alternative legends R.E.M. are Murmur and their most recent release, Accelerate. This one is one of my personal favorites off their latest release. After enjoying the two albums I’ve got, it feels like an obligation to get my hands on other albums from the past, most notably Automatic For the People.

5. White America - Eminem (NSFW)



"White America" is a bold song by an always bold artist, Eminem. With immense success under his belt, Marshall Mathers, aka Slim Shady, aka Eminem, isnt someone we hear on the radio or on MTV today. It's a case of censorship, and it's sad. I give you "White America". The lyrics and the way he delivers them articulates his anger flawlessly, and the last few parting shots followed by his “just kidding” is what rounds this one off for me so well.


Until next time, I bid you adieu.