Dogs, Rhymes, and Karma

The Four Horsemen

2010-01-16T19:56:00.003-05:00

M E T A L L I C A

The definitive judgment

Sell-outs, metal gods, thrash creators, Hall of Famers – I just refer to them as ‘Tallica.

There’s a different breed of people found in metal. It’s like being a Marine; you may stop wearing the uniform, but you never lose the attitude. There’s just something tangibly different about the musical style and the following, the lifestyle that encompasses it. You can’t quite put your finger on it unless you join it and experience it. Once you live it, you understand. Once you understand, you’re part of a brotherhood.

That brotherhood can be witnessed at a ‘Tallica show; seen in the framework of their CDs and live concerts; and the videos and images from over the years. It’s what fueled their desire to spew out some of the greatest metal the genre has ever seen, and what disintegrated their reputation and the band. (specifically the line-up)

It’s been over 25-years since their first LP, Kill ‘em All. 25-years since their hair strung its way down to their shoulders and their faces looked like ugly teenage Muppets. Those were the days when James Hetfield’s voice sounded like he hadn’t hit puberty and Kirk Hammett looked like he’d been plucked out of a church choir… and Cliff Burton looked stone as ever. It was before Dave Mustaine and Megadeth hit the scene, as well.

25-years later they line-up is 1/4 altered. They’re approaching the big FIVE-O. A new rejuvenated sound is on the streets giving the young generation a taste of the old school thrash. The one thing that hasn’t changed, no matter how many haircuts and therapy sessions are in the books, is the attitude, is Metallica.

Albums

10. St. Anger

I don’t care what anyone says – I think ‘The Unnamed Feeling’ is a wonderful song.

9. Garage, Inc.

I listen to this because of ‘Turn the Page’, ‘Mercyful Fate’ and ‘Astronomy’. That’s about it.

8. Load

It’s tough to rank Load and Reload. Load has some of my all-time favorite songs on it by the Horsemen, ‘Bleeding Me’ and ‘The Outlaw Torn’, but Reload start to finish seems better put together. Then again it could be said that they’re one album to begin with. Like I said, this one is ‘Bleeding Me’ and ‘The Outlaw Torn’, along with ‘King Nothing’, ‘Until it Sleeps’ and ‘Mama Said’.

7. Reload

Most people hate Metallica for ever leaving their original style and going towards blues rock and whatever St. Anger was supposed to be. While I too am madly in anger with them over it, I also thank them at the same time because the change gave us countless classics. They may have sacrificed their initial creation of thrash but they didn’t give up on providing good music. Songs like ‘The Unforgiven II’ and others such as ‘Fuel’, ‘The Memory Remains’, ‘Devil’s Dance’, ‘Slither’, ‘Carpe Diem Baby’, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ and ‘Fixxxer’ prove that.

6. Death Magnetic

I read once that this is what was meant to follow Justice. I agree slightly. If this had come out in say, 1990 or 1991, this would’ve been one of their best records to date. It’s Master of Puppets, Part II, only they’re in their mid-to-late 40s and with limited creativity and gas left in the tank.

5. Metallica

This ended up being what came after Justice, and for their efforts, they redefined metal, themselves, and in doing so have such classics as ‘Enter Sandman’, ‘Sad But True’, ‘Nothing Else Matters’, ‘The Unforgiven’, ‘Wherever I May Roam’, ‘The God that Failed’ and ‘My Friend of Misery’ to boast about.

4. Kill ‘em All

This is easily one of the best debut albums I can think of. Hearing this makes me wish Dave Mustaine had stayed in the band. His ability to create insane guitar sections and solos is unparalleled. Metallica, with the help of never having lost Cliff Burton, and Mustaine at guitar instead of Hammett, would without a doubt be the best thing in rock and metal in the last 30-years. Instead they’re just one of.

3. …And Justice for All

I wrote a review for this once on Metal Storm’s website. It summed it up pretty well: this was more of a therapy session than an album. Listen to the anger and anguish and you’ll get a sense of what I’m referring to.

2. Ride the Lightning

This is a band taking things to a level no one usually reaches on their sophomore effort. Forever one of the best metal albums, Lightning immerses you in a storm of hell and fire and forgets to turn off the heat.

1. Master of Puppets

There are no gaps; no fillers; no mistakes. The listener is never bored and their time never wasted. Everything is calculated and brought down with a hammer.

Songs

25. The Unforgiven II

I vowed to have something off everything they did minus concert releases. This is easily 1997’s Reload best and was a fantastic continuation to the ‘Unforgiven’ series.

24. The Unnamed Feeling

Like I said, I don’t care what you think. It’s haunting.

23. Astronomy

Sorry Blue Oyster Cult, but the mighty Hetfield’s bellow and roar decimates your original attempt.

22. The Four Horsemen

Talk about the self-promotion, eh?

21. The Day that Never Comes

Sure, it’s ‘One’s’ clone, but the sting is felt in a different way.

20. Fight Fire with Fire

Easily one of their most underrated tracks. I’d throw in ‘Ride the Lightning’ and ‘Trapped under Ice’ as well from the same record.

19. Whiplash

Blistering in its speed, unforgiving in its subject matter… Kill ‘em All’s fire is felt here.

18. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

The bridge and solo are electrifying.

17. Sad but True

Very simple and brutally heavy.

16. Turn the Page

While Seger got lost in the mystical powers of the saxophone, Metallica lets loose
soul from every corner of their abilities.

15. Nothing Else Matters

Can a guy get an anthem?!

14. For Whom the Bell Tolls

Such a basic drum piece closes this, yet it so effective. I slam my hands to its beat on my steering wheel when jamming to this. Probably ill-advised.

13. …And Justice for All

Titanic-sized. Politically charged. Justice seeking.

12. Dyers Eve

Such a gritty teenage anthem. This one’s for all the angry and disgruntled teens out there.

11. Enter Sandman

It’s like that freight train that’s coming your way, as told in ‘No Leaf Clover’.
Sandman is the terror in your head and the bad-assery you’ve always craved.

10. The Outlaw Torn

I read once that it doesn’t matter what Metallica ever does to their sound, just so that they continue to poor their heart into their music so much that it overflows from the speakers and into your lap. Well, well… I tend to agree.

9. Fade to Black

Think you need a way to convince a woman you’ve got a heart? Play this while you drive them home from dinner and watch, act, repeat.

8. Disposable Heroes

An absolute marathon. Run and/or walk 10-to-20 miles while rucking it and carrying an M-249 and you’ll know what it’s like to not only listen to this but be what it’s talking about.

7. To Live is to Die

The most emotionally charged creation of Metallica’s career.

6. Bleeding Me

Whatever I said for Outlaw, repeat here and savor.

5. Orion

I still can’t wrap my head around the process taken to make this. Maybe that’s because it’s from the mind of Cliff Burton.

4. Battery

I’d have to agree with a friend of mine who said that if Dave Lombardo or someone of the same quality were the drummer for Metallica, this would be their definitive track.

3. One

Machine-gun guitar, double-bass drums, and longhair – can’t top it.

2. Creeping Death

The introduction sounds like the front lines of a battle between greek gods and man. The break down that follows takes it into the skies where demons roam. Hetfield catapults it into biblical times and the scene of death and god’s wrath. ‘So let it be written, so let it be done, to kill the first born pharaoh’s son – I’m creeping death!’ This song features the greatest moments in Metallica’s live performances history, most notably declared during the crowd pleasing ‘Die, die, die (repeat)’ section, and when Het and newest over the years would combine for ‘mother fucker I shall pass!’ you truly ride the lightning during this one.

1. Master of Puppets

You don’t fully understand this song’s majesty until you experience it live. It’s crazy how they virtually created a bridge that dissects this into what could be two separate songs.

Must Have’s

S&M DVD and/or CD

Some may criticize a metal band for softening themselves and unplugging, like countless artists have done at this point. One can’t possibly scrutinize a metal band for adding a goddamn symphony to their classics in concert. I mean really… how can anyone go wrong, especially Metallica, by doing this. You can’t, and they didn’t. This is a remarkably fun experience and I kick myself for having been born in 1989 and not being old enough to have been at this 1999 concert.

Best Performances: For Whom the Bell Tolls, Bleeding Me, The Outlaw Torn, One, Nothing Else Matters

Live Sh*t: Binge and Purge DVD and CD

Concerts from various years and locations in Seattle, San Diego and Mexico City make up this compilation. The best piece of the pie is the video footage of the 1989 concert in Seattle, Washington. It is bar none the best footage I’ve ever seen of live Metallica play. It’s them at their highest peak.

Any Footage of the 1991 Monsters of Rock Performances in Moscow, Russia

Absolute ginormous in its attendance, the Monsters of Rock outdoor festival was a huge success. The fact that Metallica played was monumental and probably responsible for its memory. They were epic.

What a Sad State of Affairs

2010-01-10T12:22:00.004-05:00

Last post, February 26th, 2009? Tsk, tsk you guys. Tsk, tsk.

The now Army personnel is back to flex newly acquired and still growing journalist skills.

It's Wild Card Sunday. The Patriots and Ravens do battle in half an hour and I'm amped. Chili's in front of me. Slayer's on standby in case my roommate decides to do what he usually does in blasting his television at a ridiculous volume level. I intend to fight fire with fire.

Speaking of Slayer.

S L A Y E R

A Fan’s Perspective on the Greatest Speed Metal Band a Month before Seeing Them Live

Taboo: that’s what the name ‘Slayer’ has become. Then again, that would imply that they’re big enough to be recognized in society. It may have taken over 20-years, but they’ve finally made it. If making it to the point that when your band’s name is mentioned it brings chills down people’s spines or ghastly opinions of their “satanic lyrics” and “horribly loud and aggressive” style are quickly dispersed, maybe Araya and company are happy with that.

Comparing what they’re known for to that of the other Big Four members and now Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductees, Metallica, it’s a bit more respectable around the metal scene. I’d rather be known as the meanest bunch of derelicts on the block that consistently unleash the most anti-societal and diabolical filth out there… instead of Napster, sweating bullets, or bringing the noise.
A few Grammy’s for songs off 2006’s Christ Illusion and a growing fan base has helped put their name out there more and more, along with appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and the Henry Rollins show pitched in as well.

This year’s World Painted Blood peaked at number-two on the Billboard Hard Rock albums chart.

It’s January 2010 now. And I’m only a month out from my first Slayer concert. It’s for the American Carnage tour and the leg of it I’ll be attending is in Houston. They’ll have one of the other Big Four representatives in Megadeth tagging along, with Testament, another thrash semi-giant over the past three-decades.

This is going to be epic. Not nearly as epic as the now confirmed Sonisphere Festival dates that will feature all of the Big Four together, but huge nonetheless.

And due to how cataclysmic it will end up being, I need to establish some things for myself.
For one, what am I going to do when Slayer hits the stage? I’ve made a habit of camping at the barricade and head banging relentlessly at other concerts. That’s fun and all… but this is Slayer. This is something different. This requires measures never taken before.
To start though, I’ll at least establish some things.

Albums

11. Undisputed Attitude

I’ve never liked punk. Even Slayer can’t make me like it.

10. World Painted Blood

It’s like a half-witted, gassed attempt at modeling Death Magnetic. It’s funny how the guys were on an equally lame ‘That Metal Show’ a while back and during a segment dubbed DM as “A nice attempt.” Sadly this is just that but slightly more painful. The drums don’t have the same thunder as they used to have. The guitar tunings are dreadful and so are the lack of killer riffs/shredding that we’re so accustomed to with Slayer. Lyrically it’s not as kick ass as in years past and Araya sounds fabricated. Definitely a lack-luster follow-up to Christ Illusion.

9. Hell Awaits

It sounds like this was recorded in a tunnel or cave. Fun record that shows splices of greatness.

8. Divine Intervention

There just doesn’t seem to be much direction here. It’s like a painting you see on TVor in movies, that appears to be where someone tossed paint in all sorts of directions with only a partial sense of purpose. Slayer knew what sound they wanted, but from that no attainable or real idea of how to express themselves. The group seemed lost from 1994 through 1998, and finally found a path to take in 2001.

7. Diabolus in Musica

Diabolus seemed to take the same fire they were seeking in ’94 and charge its battery. More sophisticated, more driven, more purposeful, Diabolus sparks the flame but still fails to revitalize the band. It continues the tradition of heavy, deadly riffs and subject matter Slayer’s known for, though… but that’s about it.

6. God Hates Us All

That path was found in 2001. The first of the threesome in the 2000s, God Hates Us All takes no prisoners. The first half is relentless both in its power and quality. The last half nose dives considerably. On another day it might fall ahead of the next album or two simply because of ‘Disciple’, ‘Threshold’, and ‘Bloodline’; some of Slayer’s coolest – and most brutal – songs. Slayer found a new flag to bear here and have carried it ever since.

5. Show No Mercy

Slayer’s first disc release not named Haunting the Chapel delivered extremely addicting speed metal. It foreshadowed what they were capable of and would contribute to the music scene from then on. It’s such a fun listen.

4. Reign in Blood

This is more about an entire compilation and its meaning to the genre than anything else. That or it’s just the fact that ‘Angel of Death’ and ‘Raining Blood’ lie within. It’s hailed as a defining record. I just call it an erratic epic with two of metal’s greatest songs as headliners.

3. Christ Illusion

Intense Slayer fans would scoff at this, I know. (Okay, maybe a little more than scoff) Christ Illusion has catapulted itself up my list of favorite Slayer works very quickly. Its pedal-to-the-metal attitude is never ending from ‘Flesh Storm’ all the way to one of their greatest achievements, ‘Final Six’. ‘Cult’, ‘Jihad’, and ‘Eyes of the Insane’ are other personal favorites. This is where finally what they had been striving for blindly since 1994 comes together and shows its face. It’s ugly… but I love it.

2. Seasons in the Abyss

There are moments on this one where songs become meaningless, skip able, or just sound like the one before it… then there are times when your mind is blown: ‘War Ensemble’, ‘Spirit in Black’, ‘Dead Skin Mask’, and ‘Seasons in the Abyss’. It’s more polished than anything before it; and anything that would follow it, for that matter. To me, Reign, Christ and this album are interchangeable.

South of Heaven

This is where Slayer peaked. Reign displayed their abilities in speed. South showcased the band’s ability to mature and use what they’ve done to create something far more dangerous. From the incredible two-song opener, ‘South of Heaven’ and ‘Silent Scream’, to ‘Mandatory Suicide’ and ‘Read Between the Lies’, to the closer ‘Spill the Blood’, it’s flawless. Musically it transcends its predecessors and never was matched again in their careers.

Songs

20. Hell Awaits

The creepy words spoken at the beginning are both unintelligible and odd. It’s like being at a cult meeting and hearing the weird stuff they’d say before stabbing someone in the heart. The song explodes afterwards and eradicates the initial feelings. The deep, Satanic sounding bellow of “Hell awaits!” is classic.

19. Evil Has No Boundaries

I think it’s the poor production qualities of their earliest records that suck the fun out of them for me. I guess if they were played live I’d get the better end of the deal, as in most cases anything live is far better. Still, though, this one shines brightly.

18. World Painted Blood

It’s the only song I can consistently listen to presently off the same-titled album from ’09. Even ‘Psychopathy Red’ irks me.

17. Bitter Peace

Such a studly beginning, it makes me want to pound my chest.

16. Jesus Saves

‘Jesus saves no one!’

15. Spill the Blood

I can’t be the only one swept into nightmares while listening to this.

14. Jihad

The groove that Araya approaches this song with is fantastic. It proves just how innovative he can be. King never has failed to come up with something that Tom can run with. ‘Final Six’ and ‘Jihad’ are two of the best speed songs, musically and vocally, that Slayer have nailed this decade. The high pitched riffs that play sporadically are almost angelic, and the screaming of “Fuck your God!” seem more heartfelt than a Christmas card from grandma.

13. Spirit in Black

One of the best intros they’ve ever forged. The opening drum section by Lombardo is empowering.

12. Read Between the Lies

Lyrically invigorating. Like vinegar to a cup of coffee.

11. Cult

If there was a song I wanted to blast while driving by a church, this could very well be it.

10. Seasons in the Abyss

It feels like you’re lost in a dream during the introduction to this one. King and Hanneman’s step-by-step riffs are spell binding and everything else that makes up this classic begs for listen after listen.

9. Eyes of the Insane

This bar none features some of the best vocal execution of Araya’s career. He hits it every second of the way. You taste the grit and age of his voice during verses and the sting of his piercing screams during the chorus. This is just a fucking cool song.

8. War Ensemble

I still think Slayer and Metallica are the two greatest bands when coming up with spectacular intros for songs. This one is an example.

7. South of Heaven

I’ll elaborate more on the importance of this song later, but for now I’ll just leave you with how I love the entirety of this track.

6. Raining Blood

I still get a kick out of how South Park used this in one of their episodes. It’s probably one of the coolest moments in the series’ history. The entire introduction is epic.

5. Threshold

One of Slayer’s most brutal tracks, ‘Threshold’ sits right in the meat of 2001’s God Hates Us All, acting as an anchor to an otherwise lifeless back-end of the album.

4. Final Six

I wonder why this wasn’t included on the original release for 2006’s Christ Illusion. I’ve come to adore that album with or without this one. But once it was included… it took to a whole other level. Like from four immediately to five stars.

3. Disciple

Then again, this may be the song I’d play while going by a church. The opening explosion and the riffs that follow are invigorating like you wouldn’t believe. The only thing that can possibly top the aggression and the feelings one gets from it is sex. This is what may be their opener at the concert and if it is, I’ll go insane; as in bat shit; berserker…fucking ape shit.

2. Angel of Death

Can the lyrics of a song ever be so genuinely vile? ‘Angel of Death’ is proof that one’s own sick mind can be put down on paper and into song. There is never a dull moment at all here. This has to be one of the most fun songs to ever sing along to.

1. Silent Scream

The flow between ‘South of Heaven’, the opening track to the same-named 1988 classic and my favorite record by Slayer, is perfectly executed to this dazzling piece of wickedry. I love the subject matter and the lyrics that King came up for this one. It’s one of Slayer’s most sonically sound and pristinely crafted musical works. And for whatever reason no Slayer fan I know agrees with me.

'Disciple' and the remainder of my Slayerized playlist in iTunes is prime and ready. I'll bring the pain if need be. Time for football.

The Videos -- Volume XI

2009-02-26T18:28:00.004-05:00

As of Tuesday, March 3rd, I will no longer be a civilian. I'll be flying off to the new frontier, aka: my future. And the immediate future holds in store for me a lot of things, first taking me to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, where I will be yelled at, forced to run, perform pushups, fire weapons, and keep my bed made better than even my mother ever forced me to.

If you havent picked up on it, I'm talking about the U.S. Army's Basic Training. And why am I telling you this? Well, because this is the last time I'll ever blog here. Never seems a bit strong, but I'm under the impression that after all the things I'm about to experience in the next five years will be so wonderful that I'll surely forget the existence of this blog and how no one ever read it -- other than the authors, of course!

Anyway, I figured I'd do one last post while I'm relaxing in the comfort of my dwindling teenage life, and bring you the 11th edition of The Videos. One for the road, if you will.

1. Set to Fail, Lamb of God

I was watching some clips today of Henry Rollins and how he loves to express his anger. It was a Top 10 rants list and one of the clips was about Henry ripping modern rock music along with the shitty garbage he loathed so much, rave music. He hit on something that truly made me laugh: it seems like so many bands are sounding the same today, and that everyone appears to want to be nice. To paraphrase Mr. Rollins, what ever happened to bands that wanted to terrorize everyone with their music? The bands that wanted to shock the world with every album they released? That it seems like most bands werent born with balls and lack testosterone. While I'm sure he was referring to artists like Fall Out Boy, Nickelback and My Chemical Romance, he was undeniably not talking about Lamb of God. Exhibit A, my friends.

2. Burden, Opeth

I love fresh music. Whether it's a classic created decades before you ever existed, or something that just hit the streets the day before, listening to new material always has a unique feel to it. Listening to Lamb of God's Wrath three-times yesterday was incredible; I jammed to it in my room and on the other two occasions, driving to and from various locations with the volume cranked beyond any safe level. With Opeth's Watershed, it's no different. Regardless of how this is a video that slices three-minutes off the actual song's length, it's still holding the beautiful power of the track off the album -- an album I've probably listened to ten times already.

3. Get On Your Boots, U2

Is there anyone bigger than U2? The new single off their set to be released album Horizon is pretty all over the place, but who ever said erratic is a turn off? Beyond the interesting lyrics and edgy guitar play (just let that one go), is an intoxicating need to get up and move being exhibited from this song and the way its performed. So when they say get on your boots, they really mean it.

4. Wavin' Flag, K'naan

I havent heard K'naan's new album Troubador yet, but seeing how The Dusty Foot Philosopher was a big hit for the Mac Daddy, something tells me it's gotta be dynamite. And with the help of this little number, it makes it even more believeable.

5. Bleeding Me, Metallica

This is how I wish to exit. A mesmerizing track from a section of their career that most try to push from their memory, "Bleeding Me" is one of their most complete songs and underrated at the same time. The 1990's was a decade for grunge music and the birth of nu-metal, and while all that went down, songs like these went unnoticed. May it go noticed now.

The Videos, Volume X

2009-01-29T20:52:00.002-05:00

Top of the three-days before the Super Bowl to ya! Yes, yes, I know... one must seperate one love from another. Tsk, tsk. Moving on, trying to forget the terrible introduction that I've refused to delete, here's volume 10 of The Videos.

1. N.I.B. - Black Sabbath

OZZY, OZZY, OZZY... OI, OI, OI!!! Back in the 70's the man known as the Prince of Darkness and daddy to those who watched him on MTV, Ozzy Osbourne, fronted the heralded band and father of metal, Black Sabbath. OK. Beyond the obvious. Straight shootin': This is a track off their debut album that took a whopping two-days to record. Ohh, yeah.

2. Fear of a Blank Planet - Porcupine Tree

Up until a few days ago I'd never heard of these guys. You'd figure I would've with a name like that, but this title track to their 2007 album Fear of a Blank Planet definitely should be noted by rock enthusiasts. The video for it condenses the song by roughly three-minutes, so it's adviced that you check out the actual album version, not to mention the rest of the album as well.

3. Closer - Kings of Leon

I dont know what movie the maker of this custom video used but the song is a sure-fire classic. The vocals are flawless and soulful in every syllable uttered. This is one of those songs I listen to when I'm in a chill mood. Dont you just wanna flow with the motions of life when you hear this?

4. Fell on Black Days - Soundgarden

I'm not one who likes grunge a great deal, but when it comes to that genre of rock the likes of Soundgarden's Superunknown, and Alice in Chain's Dirt are the two albums I more than stomach, but enjoy. There's a load of classics off Soundgarden's 1994 genre-defining record, and this is just one of them that gets constant radio time. Thankfully I dont listen to the radio or else I'd get sick of this song.

5. Mind's Eye - Wolfmother

Most of the vids I found for this had embed disabled, so we'll just have to make do. Sad that these guys are no longer together because I sure as hell saw potential in their debut album. Even the guys from Jackass did.

Working On A Dream: A Quick Review

2009-01-28T00:16:00.005-05:00

Heading into this listen I was expecting this to be a minor effort from Springsteen; in the same vain of “The Ghost Of Tom Jones”, “Devils & Dust”, and “Tunnel Of Love”. Thankfully, the fact that this may be his most satisfying album in a while is a great surprise. “Magic” was really, really good, but that album was more short bursts of power than drawn out fist-pampers. “Working On A Dream” flows better and has more variety. A quick rundown of the tracks with ratings (1-5 stars):

1. Outlaw Pete- The best song on the album to kick it off. This is 8 minutes of pure, old-school Springsteen. Just absolute awesomeness in every aspect. Reminds me of Jungleland. The harmonica bit that comes in the middle also reminds me of Supertramp’s “School” opening. A fantastic song. 5/5

2. My Lucky Day- By far the most addicting and easy song to love on the album, the hook is a monster and the lyrics just barf happiness. No one else is better than The Boss at revving you up with energy and here’s a great example. It’s such a simple track, but who cares? 4.5/5

3. Working On A Dream- It takes you a while to warm up to this one, but it’ll eventually get you. It’s a little too sublime which holds the song back from truly jumping out. With that said, it’s still memorable and the pace does pick up as the song ticks on. 3.5/5

4. Queen Of the Supermarket- Juuuuuuuuuuuuust short of being great, nevertheless still very nice. One of the more bizarre tracks on the album as the lyrics go and look out for the blatant f-bomb The Boss drops toward the end (which is rare for him). 4/5

5. What Love Can Do- A nice little pop tune. Nothing more and nothing less. 2.5/5

6. This Life- It begins sounding like a Christmas song and then evolves into a graceful rock ballad. Has a hint of sorrowfulness in it. 4/5

7. Good Eye- Springsteen doesn’t throw too many curveballs, but this one is a knee-buckler. If I just heard this on the radio I’d think it was from garage bluegrass band. There lies the novelty of it though. Quite enjoyable 3.5/5

8. Tomorrow Never Knows- Pure filler. Not terrible, just instantly forgettable. 1/5

9. Life Itself- At first this sounded too rushed, but that’s just from the jumpy beat the song has. The odd thing about that is this song isn’t even fast. 4/5

10. Kingdom Of Days-One of the high points of “Working…”, this is the best ballad Bruce has done in a while. Really anthemic with a great melody. Sounds like an outtake from “Darkness On The Edge Of Town”. 5/5.

11. Surprise, Surprise- The lyrics are way too peachy and this song isn’t breaking any barriers, but it’s really catchy. All filler right here, but at least it’s fun to listen to. 2.5/5

12. The Last Carnival- Springsteen delves into “Nebraska” mode again with favorable results. Bizarrely arranged song that has a cool aura about it. 4/5

13. The Wrestler- Pure brilliance. Only way to put it. Springsteen could write about a toaster and make it heart wrenching. 5/5

14. The Night With The Jersey Devil (Bonus Track)- Gotta love the rollicking beat, Bruce’s fuzzy vocals, and that roadhouse feel. 4/5

Overall- 4/5 Once again, this is a really worthwhile listen that shows Bruce still has the creativity and range to make great, timeless music like no else can.

DRK Proudly Presents...

2009-01-10T21:01:00.006-05:00

Hip-Hop!!!

How y'all doing today? Hope you don't have a foot of snow in your area of residence like we do here in northeastern Ohio. My name is Esco, and I represent the "Rhymes" wing of Dogs, Rhymes, and Karma. Anyways, apologies to chrono for never posting before this.

So, today I suddenly had the urge to write about producers in the hip-hop world. Now, in the beatmaking world, there are plenty of stars, just as in the emceeing world. Old timers like Kanye West, DJ Premier and the late J Dilla are always a treat to listen to, especially when paired with the right rapper, like say Eric B. & Rakim and Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth. Of course, as time goes on, more beat makers come into the light. Lately, Don Cannon has become this unabashed Pete Rock stan's favorite producer. The man's work is amazing. From Young Jeezy's "Go Crazy" and "Mr. 17.5" to Ludacris' "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Undisputed", Cannon has produced some of the most infectious songs in the last five years.

Anyways, off of Cannon for a second, production adds a certain mystique to a song. Any song that gets blessed by a Andre 3000 verse is special, but the dreary, almost eery beat in "The Art of Storytellin' Pt. 4" by Don Cannon (maybe we're not off him) adds a certain braggadocio to the song. Laid back yet in your face, the beat excels at showcasing the amazing lyrical skills of the two OutKast members. Whilst my rock-fixated brethren may find lack of change in chords or whatnot boring, hip-hop heads would certainly appreciate the beat for the purpose it so aptly serves, that as a platform for the emcee to showcase his skills. This, I believe, is a fundamental difference between rock and rap fans, the former thriving on the diversity and variety of sounds found in a certain song, while we hip-hoppers are simply satisfied by a beat that sounds nice and helps listen to listen to the performer's message. For example, the Nas song "The Message", deemed a classic by most rap fans, and would potentially bore most stereotypical rock fans. But that's neither side's fault. We're both products of our environment.

When it comes to pure beatmaking, another one of the greats around these days is Black Milk. His 2008 album "Tronic" was one of the best all year, but extremely slept on, right up there with Killer Mike's "I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind II" and Ice Cube's "Raw Footage. The song "Give The Drummer Sum" has a beat might actually have the cross-over appeal to rock fans, due to the captivating drum beat in the back ground and an amazing horn sectin on the chorus. (While the rapping and hook may be annoying to those who aren't fans, keep in mind the beat is what I'm talking about.)

Well, I unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view) have to cut this short.

One love,

Escobar Caesar III

2008 - The List Review

2009-01-04T01:44:00.003-05:00

Well, 2008 is obviously over, and I, Cardsox, am here to post up my lists for the best of '08 (that I was fortunate enough to listen to). And so, without further ado:

Top Albums:
20. Noah & the Whale - Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down
19. Low vs. Diamond - Low vs. Diamond
18. E For Explosion - Reinvent the Heartbeat
17. Coldplay - Viva La Vida
16. The Republic Tigers - Keep Color
15. The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
14. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
13. Sleeping Cranes - Good Fences
12. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
11. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
10. Sigur Rós - Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
9. Butch Walker - Sycamore Meadows
8. Nada Surf - Lucky
7. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
6. The Matches - A Band In Hope
5. Astronautalis - Pomegranate
4. Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
3. Lydia - Illuminate
2. Forgive Durden - Razia's Shadow: A Musical
1. The Airborne Toxic Event - The Airborne Toxic Event

Top Songs:
25. Wolftron - Crystal Skulls
24. The Killers - Human
23. Coldplay - Viva La Vida
22. Noah & the Whale - 5 Years Time
21. Robot Love Story - North By Northwest
20. Deerhunter - Nothing Ever Happened
19. Fleet Foxes - White Water Hymnal
18. The Airborne Toxic Event - Innocence
17. Vampire Weekend - M79
16. Death Cab For Cutie - ...Cath
15. Wild Sweet Orange - Either/Or
14. MGMT - Time To Pretend
13. Butch Walker - Ships In a Bottle
12. Nada Surf - See These Bones
11. Forgive Durden - Life Is Looking Up
10. Alkaline Trio - Help Me
9. Lydia - Hospital
8. E For Explosion - Paper Flowers Never Die
7. Conor Oberst - Cape Canaveral
6. The Matches - Wake the Sun
5. Sigur Ros - Fljotavik
4. Sleeping Cranes - You Come Too
3. The Airborne Toxic Event - Wishing Well
2. Bon Iver - re: stacks
1. The Airborne Toxic Event - Sometime Around Midnight

The Videos -- Volume IX

2009-01-03T18:04:00.004-05:00

Okay, so it's finally time for the NFL Playoffs to start. Finally, they're here. As I type, the first Wild Card game is at half with the Atlanta Falcons, the team I picked, up 17-14 over the Arizona Cardinals, a team most believe to be the worst division winner in playoff history, or at least since we've had the current format giving division winners a guaranteed home-playoff game opener.

Anywho, all this mess about football has gotten me into a good mood, regardless of the fact that I'm watching these games alone with nasty weather engulfing my house that's tucked away in what's practically a village. So much of a good mood that I'm not even remotely featuring a song before 2000 in this volume of The Videos. (O.M.G.)

1. Easy/Lucky/Free - Bright Eyes

I've never really investigated anything involving Conor Oberst, outside of the handful of songs I've been forced to listen to by fellow writer, Cardsox, aka Rob Dog. "Easy/Lucky/Free" was the first song, I believe, that I was introducted too. It goes by quickly as it flows ever so perfectly, and surprisingly, Obert's vocals actually are more than tolerable -- actually quite angelic. Oh, and the video is sweet too.

2. Runes To My Memory - Amon Amarth

I know almost nothing about Amon Amarth. The most coming from Metalstorm's ravings in putting its album Twilight of the Thundergod in its Top 10 for the best metal albums of 2008, and the record I was given today by another online buddy and fellow DRK contributor, chrono: With Oden On Our Side. To be honest, the only reason this video is here is for the synchronized windmilling. And the long, Viking like hair that's spun...

3. Young Men Dead - The Black Angels

The Black Angels are today's version of the '60's psychadelic rock. Get anyone from that era and they'll immediately start getting goosebumps out of wonder if the man known as Jim Morrison is somewhere in the room. Driving, pulsating, trippy and dark rock is what's brought to the table by these young guys in the album Passover, one of a handful of records they've released.

4. The Pot - Tool

Am I the only one biting my nails in anticipation for the next Tool record? 10,000 Days, like its two predescesors -- AEnima and Lateralus -- was a fantastic album, and also hard to categorize within rock's walls. This is one of my favorite tracks, right there with "The Grudge" and "Vicarious", along with other less talked about gems. There was no official video for this track but some people out there took it upon themselves. Here's an example.

5. All Nightmare Long - Metallica

Like zombies and apocalyptic destruction caused by the Russians? Then watch this video. Yeah, that's all I got here...

Damn, it's arleady 28-17 and the end of the 3rd quarter. What took me so long?

How I got into Rock Music

2009-01-02T17:17:00.007-05:00

I'm Dyhard, or Dan, and this is my first post on here.

A couple of years ago, I use to be the normal kid who would listen to rap music and only rap music. I would listen to the local radio station, and listen to only rap/hip-hop. That was until in 2008, when I found two groups on the sports site associated with SI.com, and that site was FanNation. Those two groups that I stumbled on, where Dogs, Pigs and Sheep and the other was Karma Police. They both served a different purpose for me.

Dogs, Pigs and Sheep is the place that I joined first. That place helped me get into the classic rock, which is stuff like The Beatles, The Doors, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, and other artists like that. Those people who led the groups like that were LIFER, Mac and Coletrain. I have grown an appreciation for that kind of music, and that is the one thing that got me off the hip-hop/rap scene.

There was another group, Karma Police, they got me into what we like to call "Alternative Rock" and that has gotten me into Bright Eyes, Muse, The Bravery and other artists like that. That was led by Cardsox, DJTG and NomarFan with Chrono helping out. This is the kind of music that I now listen to the most.

These two groups is what found a music that I was craving for, and found what I had a drive to spend more for, and to buy albums. The first album that I bought was Smashing Pumpkins:Rotten Apples (Which is their Greatest Hits) which has opened up my horizons in my music purchases. They made such a good album with their greatest hits, that I had desire to look into different albums from them. I have not purchased any other albums from The Smashing Pumpkins, but that is on my list in the near future.

I'm finding new artists very frequently, and my knowledge is growing with every band that I find. The more and more artists I find, more artists open up to me through finding music made by that specific band.

2008 was a thrill-ride for me in the music department, and 2009 should bring a ride again that will be full of excitement as I uncover more and more different aspects of Rock, and there are so many artists out there to look into, and that has driven me to look for more Rock music.

Thanks everyone who has led me into this great genre of music we like to call Rock.

Slayer -- The Unholy Alliance: Live

2009-01-01T21:02:00.007-05:00

I've made my choice: six, six, six.

Cult, Slayer

On June 6th, 2006, Slayer made the choice to start a tour with some of the best names in metal of the present day. Through a concert in Vancover, Canada, music fans everywhere were allowed to witness the ferocious wonder of Slayer, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Children of Bodom and Thine Eyes Bleed, as it all was captured by cameras that seemingly were placed in all the right places.

In today's metal landscape, bands like Lamb of God, Opeth and Mastodon are on top of the mountain. 10-20 years ago, Slayer, along with metal-titans Metallica, led the metal underground movement to possibly its highest point, fighting the glam scene and bringing the people true, primal metal in its purest form. It's remarkable that bands of such importance were able to take the same stage on one night, much less for an entire tour.

In this DVD that I was able to acquire through Netflix, you'll see performances of songs such as "Crystal Skull" (Mastodon), "Vigil" (Lamb of God), and "Silent Scream" (Slayer), among many more by those artists and the other two included in the concert, Thine Eyes Bleed and Children of Bodom.

P.S. It's educational, too. I didnt know how to conduct myself in a circle-pit while bands like Lamb of God performed until basking in this nearly hour and a half concert DVD.

Album of the Week: 12 - 29 - 08

2008-12-29T21:05:00.004-05:00

I went to Best Buy today to use my $50 gift card that I received for Christmas. I had no clue what I was going to buy but I had a hunch that I'd find my way to the exstensive (and in actuality, the opposite) CD section in order to purchase some albums I didnt possess. I ended up getting the following: Opeth -- Watershed; Mastodon -- Blood Mountain and Leviathan; and The Mars Volta -- De-Loused in the Comatorium.

The album and artist I felt like focusing on was the one I opened up upon sitting in my truck and making my way to a Taco Bell, being Mastodon's 2006 release Blood Mountain.

This concept album telling the tale of Wear-wolf like being attempting to place the Crystal Skull at the top of Blood Mountain grooves through a 12-song track listing with decimating speed. There's plenty of brutish vocals and riffs to be had, along with some unique drum play that's adverse to the norm of modern metal. (although I still say the opening drums to "Crystal Skull" are a copy of Sepultura) The first three tracks blister by and open the record with a screaching bull-horn bellow.

If you're looking for great hooks and grooves accompanied by studio vocals and imaginitive story-telling than Mastodon's third album is for you. It perfectly leads into their 2009 release, Crack the Sky. 2006's number-one metal record fails to make you notice that there's a story being told, but in a way, makes up for it in its musical prowress. (acting both as a culprit and hero in this instance)

Just a Taste

The Videos Volume VIII: 12-28-08

2008-12-28T21:27:00.000-05:00

I thought for my first edition of the Videos, I'd try a little something different genre-wise. Everyone of our bloggers has a different, exotic music taste, from the heaviest of metal to the most underground of pop. Me? I'm that one guy who listens to everything. You take a look at my iPod and you'll see everything from Metallica to U2 to MGMT to Casting Crowns. The majority of my music is, however, of the acoustic variety, most coming from Cities 97 City Samplers (If you don't know what those are, they're basically compilations of various acoustic versions of popular songs). My goal is to bring you songs from genres that get overlooked by many of our bloggers...basically said acoustic music, mellower music that doesn't meet the genre requirements of our other bloggers...

And without further ado, I bring you The Videos.

1. Bittersweet-Big Head Todd and the Monsters

To be perfectly honest, I've got no idea why I like this song. Todd looks like he got hit by a bus...several times...the lyrics are fairly basic...I dunno. I guess the simplicity of the song actually gets to me. It's not, in my mind, a true love song, as lines such as "We live together, but it's different from my dream" tend to show me that this is basically the story of the modern American marriage. It's not the true love he imagined it would be, but it's still love. I guess that gets to me. But seriously...he looks like he got hit in the face with a wrecking ball...

2. Jumper-Third Eye Blind

I love love love love love love love Third Eye Blind. (I don't think I used too many "loves"...) Their alternative rock style has always been one of my favorites, and Jumper is possibly my favorite song. The intro of this song is cool, with just the guitar, vocals, and the snare drum. Even though it's really a song that talks about someone so depressed they want to jump off of a ledge, it's still a very good song. I love the songs that don't really ever get all the instruments into the fold until the end, like this song. I just love this song...

3. A Lifetime-Better Than Ezra

Better Than Ezra...I've never really heard much from this band, but found A Lifetime just on my iPod randomly and fell in love with the song. It's a fairly depressing song (at least the intro), with an uplifting beat, amazing how many of those there are out there...hmmmm. The soft to loud to soft pattern of this song is another one of my favorite styles, and one of the reasons I love this song. The lyrics are good, and the whole piece just fits together. Good song.

4. Absolutely-Nine Days

(I couldn't embed the actual video, so we get this crap.)

You've all heard this song, it's been around for a damn long time, and it's always been on the radio. Very good song, solid guitar part, solid lyrics...not much else to say...So how bout them Lions?

5. Take Five-Dave Brubeck Quartet

Jazz? Not played on a flute by Ron Burgundy? What has this world come to?!?!?! Well this may be my favorite jazz song ever, I've played it twice in school jazz bands and it never gets old. The 5/4 time makes it all the better, and the fact that the song is basically two extended solos is awesome. Any song that has a 2:20 long solo that actually is rhythmic and musical is awesome, and the song itself is masterfully played and is a wonderful and classic jazz tune.

Bonus: Scottish National Anthem played on Bagpipes

Why? Because I felt like it. That's why.

Various Artists - We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year

2008-12-23T15:09:00.003-05:00

Various Artists - We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year
Record Label: Eagle Records
Release Date: October 13, 2008

What's the first word that comes to mind when you hear the word "Christmas"? If you're one of 98% of normal functioning human beings, the answer is of course headbanging.

We've all heard the traditional Christmas carols a thousand times over, and ten thousand again. In the Yuletide spirit, this is not necessarily a bad thing; however, Bing Crosby's legendary "White Christmas" and Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run" can only be heard so many times before it gets a little repetitive to the ears. Even for most music fans here, the rock renditions of carols and collectively similar "original" tunes (which can be summed up with the following: "It's Christmas, baby, and I want you in my arms tonight") get a little old. That's where metal comes in to fill the void of originality.

Yes, metal music can be seen as the face of unoriginality. But let's face it: how often do you hear Christmas metal? As much as the two have a natural blend, it just for some reason never comes together. Perhaps it's the whole "worship Satan, praise the Lord of Darkness and his armies" complex going on, but that's just mere speculation. The lineup for this rollicking tale of Christmas death and destruction includes a ridiculous all-star cast, featuring Tony Iommi, Ronnie James Dio, Dave Grohl, Alice Cooper, Geoff Tate, Tommy Shaw, members from Testament, Motorhead, ZZ Top, Dokken, Kiss, Judas Priest, Anthrax, Ratt, Marilyn Manson, and others.

The record begins with a distant, peaceful chorus of "we wish you a merry Christmas" before steadily descending into a dark underrealm chant of "we wish you a metal Christmas." Clever! What a pun. After an energetic, phlegmy rendition of "Run Rudolph Run," Alice Cooper, completely in character, uses his usual campy horror-metal to turn "Santa Claws is Coming to Town" (another pun!) into a creepy stalker song. "He knows when your window is open. He knows when you're under your bed." Eventually it digresses into burning down decorated Christmas trees and breaking toys. Pleasant. Alice Cooper: scaring children away from Christmas joy one pine needle bonfire at a time. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" consists of a mix of Dio and Black Sabbath musicians (including Ronnie James and Tony Iommi themselves), and quickly becomes the album highlight with Dio's vocals. The vocals are immediately challenged, though, by the Freddy Mercury of metal, Mr. Geoff Tate (Queensryche). His trademark piercing-yet-pleasing holds ring out every 10 seconds or so in "Silver Bells."

Later on, we come to what is easily and without a doubt the funniest song on the completely serious record. What metal Christmas album would be complete without "Silent Night"? Not this one, that's for sure. After a 12 second onslaught of guitar, bass, and kickdrum, Chuck Billy (Testament) rips into the mistletoe microphone with the guttural roars that usually accompany the traditional headbanging carol. This continues for approximately four minutes, or until one simply cannot stand it any longer due to a) ear pain or b) rib pain resulting from ceaseless laughing. From there, "Deck the Halls", "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer", and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" lead into the album closer, "Happy Xmas (War is Over)." Being my favorite Christmas song, I was ecstatic to see this track being played with minimal headbangage, because well, one can only take so much brain hemorrhaging until one is forced to bring the tempo and volume down. Tommy Shaw (Styx) croons out the classic John Lennon peace whore to acoustic guitar and melodic guitar play.

As a whole, this record is...interesting. The kick of wailing guitars and pounding drums was a smashing wake up from the serenity of fireside re-tellings of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" with the family. None of these songs may be spinning under the ol' needle come Christmas morning, but it was definitely a worthwhile use of my precious music time.

In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 - Album Review

2008-12-13T17:00:00.003-05:00

In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3

Coheed and Cambria

2003

In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 is Coheed and Cambria's second album (the three in the title refers to the part of lead singer Claudio Sanchez's story, not the number of the album; C & C have yet to record the first part of Sanchez's The Amory Wars, the storyline which is the origin of the band's name and the idea behind all of their music). I downloaded this CD not long after attending a concert with my brother. (He had an extra ticket, so I tagged along to check them out.) However, I didn't listen to the whole album until almost a year later. For whatever reason, my interest in the band waned after the concert, and I moved on to other stuff. But when I returned to the band, I became more interested than ever. Why? It rocks.

The album begins with the customary Coheed and Cambria classical-style intro "The Ring in Return," before launching straight into the most epic track on the CD. No lie. If you listen to nothing else on Keeping Secrets, listen to its title track. The quiet beginning builds to a downright mind-blowing performance. The eight minutes goes faster than you will believe.

Next, we get "Cuts Marked in the March of Men," a good example of Coheed's ability to craft dual-guitar stylings, as well as a nice refrain. The album moves right along into "Three Evils (Embodied in Love and Shadow)," an upbeat track with another solid refrain. It's nothing spectacular, but it's another fine case of C & C's musicianship and knack for counterpoint. You'll also get a postively mystifying lyric: "On the wrong way out / On the causeway to neverwhere."

Hm.

Anyway, in "The Crowing," we get a chance to hear Coheed and Cambria's method of repeated notes with chord changes, followed by one or more melodic sections, then returned to the sparse foundation of intermittent strokes, then ended by an echoing melodic section. Included in a recent "The Videos," "Blood Red Summer" gives us a single-friendly song, but that shouldn't be taken the wrong way. It's an enjoyable song and the way the ascending and descending guitar fits with the punctuating chords of a second guitar is nothing short of fascinating. Like many people, one of my biggest weaknesses is a catchy vocal improvisation, and you'll get that from about 2:43 to 3:08.

The album then enters the three-part "The Velorium Camper" section. This is a pattern on Coheed and Cambria albums to have a section of a few songs set off on their own. "I: Faint of Heart" is an interesting song, though nothing very praise-worthy. "II: Backend of Forever" is another nice effort, but once again, I struggle to find anything especially noteworthy. "III: Al the Killer" is by far the best of the trio. It's menacing guitar at the start shows a dark side of C & C, but when it opens up, there's a great change of pace, at which point we hear yet another great refrain, complete with excellent harmony.

"A Favor House Atlantic" is the pinnacle of this album. It's no surprise that this is the most radio-friendly song from this album; it's not as drawn-out as "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3," and it has more energy and a better refrain than the other shorter tracks. If you attend a Coheed and Cambria concert, you will hear this song. And you will hear girls screaming the refrain, which begins coherently,

Bye, bye, beautiful

Don't bother to write

but ends with what appears to be nonsense.

Disturbed by your words, and they're calling all cars

Face step let down, face step-step down

Huh? This is probably an instance when the comic books' material simply doesn't translate to music without proper explanation.

The second-to-last track is "The Light & the Glass," the slow song of the album. This isn't really what you look for from a prog band, but while the nine minutes are a little long, they aren't a total loss. The song has some good spots. It closes with another rendition of the opening theme. And that brings us to the close of the -- BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! There's a hidden track!

Yay?

Meh. Personally, I could do without it. Even without "21:13," the album is already just seconds away from an hour long. The last track pushes it to 69 minutes, 24 seconds, which, quite frankly, is too long. If you're going to make a 69-minute album, it had better be the best freaking album ever made. I like In Keeping Secrets, but enough to give it that kind of praise.

Anyway, I give In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 four stars out of five. Even if it's a little dull at times, there's no way I can overlook the sheer magnificence of the title track, the catchiness of "Blood Red Summer," the powerful "The Velorium Camper III: Al the Killer," and the spirited "A Favor House Atlantic." If you're looking to explore what Coheed and Cambria has to offer, I'd recommend this album, and the following one, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness.

The Videos: Volume VI -- 12 - 08 - 08

2008-12-08T00:37:00.002-05:00

Volume six is here, finally. It's an extra special edition, too -- everything featured are live performances. (OOOooooo... ahhhhhhhhh)

Let's get to it.

1. The Drapery Falls - Opeth

I figured I might as well put this here seeing how I just blogged about Blackwater Park the other day. I'm in a bit of awe in the fact that these guys are so good live. I had a thought that some of what we hear on their albums are merely products of the studio, but that's not the truth whatsoever. Mikael Akerfeldt is slowly becoming a new hero of mine. Just need to hear more than just one of their albums...

2. Viva la Vida - Coldplay

I know, we've all heard this song and seen its video a kagillion times... but they're up for a few Grammy's so they're just the flavor of the people right now. That, and I just got their latest album and felt compelled.

3. The Dope Show - Marilyn Manson

Dont tell me you're not intrigued by this man's every move. You'd be lying. Like his music or not, Marilyn Manson is a figure in modern music and its culture. Songs like these and performances of them like this one are just a fraction of what his legacy will be.

4. Wonderwall - Oasis

To me, everything I've heard from Oasis is generic and average, and helps remind me that artists like Metallica, Pantera and U2 were truly the biggest bands of the 1990's. (Crap, Nirvana too I guess) But I felt like I needed to feed someone out there after stuff by Opeth and Manson, so here, does this suffice? If not, take the fact that I enjoyed the video here as a consolation.

5. Instant Karma - John Lennon

Karma just knocked O.J. Simpson in the face recently -- wonder if he saw that coming. All in all, we all shine on, while The Juice looks like he'll get his squeezed in the slammer for the next 15 or so years. Lame joke, I know. It's past midnight, gimme a break!

What Laura Says - Thinks and Feels

2008-12-07T09:57:00.007-05:00

Thinks and Feels
What Laura Says
August 19, 2008

What Laura Says. Thinks and Feels. What Laura says, thinks, and feels! I get it! The artists formerly known as What Laura Says Thinks and Feels released their debut album in 2006 to what I hope was enough acclaim to encourage them to continue.

Apparently, Laura had a lot to say, think, and feel. And by a lot to say, think and feel, I mean they hauled in a dump truck full of quirks, twists, and whims, emptied them into a 1 pixel by 1 pixel mp4 file, and assorted them into perfectly harmonized chaos. And by chaos, of course I mean that What Laura Says has displayed the dexterity of ear of Edgar Allan Poe and the resourcefulness of Sam Beam from Iron & Wine. By resourcefulness, I naturally am noting the vast collection of sounds, ranging from bongos to hand claps to (insert apprx. 30 household objects here) to barbershop quartet vocals, all anthologized into one diverse record. And by diverse, I imply that each successive track sounds absolutely nothing like the previous one. And now, without further ado, I present to you a mini-rant that is loosely connected to this album review.

One of the most common critiques of debut albums is that the band in question “doesn’t have a definitive sound” or “doesn’t know what it wants to sound like.” Nothing infuriates me more than this. What if, perhaps, in a crazily experimental move, a band wanted to make a diverse album? Maybe, as if from a parallel universe, somebody didn’t want to make 11 songs that sound the same. It’s radical, but if there are bands out there willing to guinea pig the idea, I’m willing to try it out. (Exeunt ranting.)

Lyrically, this band isn’t breaking down any walls, but it doesn’t slack in the quirkiness department. “Your eyelids sparkle and get heavy / And you stick your tongue out / ‘Dot dot dot’ you keep repeating / It isn't like I'll be gone long.” Hm. Well then. I couldn’t say that particular scene has happened to me before, but I wouldn’t doubt that the members of What Laura Says are indeed transcendental beings whose daily lives include dialogue such as this.

When listening to this album, it is hard to put everything into words. A studied and masterful artist of descriptions could not know where to begin to dissect What Laura Says. I find it easier to relate it to an expansive, loosely defined idea of which readers can make whatever they will. In this light, let’s call What Laura Says the musical transcription of the city streets scene in August Rush, where August absorbs the urban setting for the first time and converts every sound he hears into musical perfection. See? A very easy thought for me to convey as the lazy writer, and an adjustable concept for you to mold as the half-interested reader.

Anyway, I think I’ve lashed the highlights of this album into this review enough times. It’s doubtful that anyone at this point is going to expect uniformity at any point in this album, and that’s a good thing. If being unique and providing a fresh bite to the music pie is good enough to get noticed, What Laura Says should have a happy future in front of them.

Recommended if you like: sound, Animal Collective, Iron & Wine

Absolutepunk.net

Album of the Week: 12 - 5 - 08

2008-12-05T20:41:00.009-05:00

Whoa. It's Mac. You miss me?

I've been dormant... down in my cave researching music of old and new, updating my catalogue "What I've Heard", not to mention hitting my bank account hard with the purchase of many a CD. Recently, albums bought either on disc or through the evil iTunes have been Opeth's Blackwater Park, Slayer's Christ Illusion and Hell Awaits, Tool's 10,000 Days, and The Sword's Age of Winters and Gods of the Earth. The last two records being sparked by seeing The Sword live in New Orleans with Metallica and Down a few weeks ago: EPIC!

Anyway, the album being spot-lighted today is Opeth's 2001 creation, Blackwater Park. I'm a metal fan, not so much a metal head. I like some metal bands, despise others; even misunderstand others. Opeth is one of many that embody the latter, solely due to their vocal style. You know it as cookie monster vocals; I know it as that unintelligible filth that creates no better reason in history to either never write any lyrics or provide an event of burning a lyric sheet. What's the reason for listening to it if you cant understand anything said? If anything, make it into an instrumental to spare those with ears of the sane. That's my stance on that topic for the most part. I say for the most part because, after being jabbed at over the past few months by a friend about these guys, and seeing the album listed as the fifth best (out of 100) metal album ever by Metal Storm, I finally was urged enough to buy this thing.

Wow.

Kinda wish I could've made that bigger, because that would've better articulated how astonished not only at how well done this record was but how so positively received it was by myself. I really should've read the fine print on this Sweedish band before passing any judgment in the past: Progressive and Melodic Death Metal.

Okay, so it wasnt that small but to someone who's entirely ignorant about a certain artist it sure does seem like that fact is kept hidden. The first two terms insinuate that these guys arent only good for pedal-to-the-metal riffs and screaching vocals, but also slower tempos that incorporate acoustic interludes and actual singing (SINGING!) to better counter-act the first aspect of their abilities. "Harvest" is the only song on the album that was a non-cookie monster induced track, and it was entirely driven by acoustics.

Of the many things that excited me about this listening experience, the most notable ones were how well they'd transition between hammering riffs and drum-play and roaring gutteral vocals to angelicly soothing pieces during songs. Songs that would clock in at over 10 to 12 minutes at times, and they'd do these things numerous times during marathon tracks that didnt exude any feelings of said title, to boot. Even better was how they'd rattle on with double-bass play for what had to have been one to two minutes at a time during various songs (HOLY SHIT THAT'S HARD) and others, where, they'd come in bursts, both inbetween heightened speeds and the combination of that and softer sections. The musical ability and genius was overwhelming. And possibly the most impressive was how well it was all kept together and how it blended perfectly.

Naturally, you'll have to check up on the lyrics to each song to get a better idea as to what the concepts were, but if you're like me, you'll be able to release yourself to the musical rollercoaster that makes up this record. And if you're really like me, you'll agree that the vocal style, at least when it comes to a band like Opeth, becomes somewhat of an engrained piece to the musical puzzle.

If you ever feel like experimenting, give this 67-minute titan a listen -- I guarantee there's someting there for you.

Sound of Karma III

2008-12-04T23:33:00.007-05:00

Sigh. I'm doing this to avoid personal failure to complete a goal. Part 3 of the 3 part boy/girl indie vocal duet Sound of Karmas!

1. Great Northern - Home

Great Northern is my 3rd favorite in my personal list of boy/girl indie bands, preceding Lydia and Stars. Hm, I guess one-word band names are just superior. Anyway, while Great Northern doesn't feature vocal trade-offs as perfect as Stars or Lydia, they could arguably be the most soothing, with their bell/synth/ringing guitar work. "Home" is their best selling and most attractive single.

2. Bright Eyes - We Are Nowhere and It's Now

Don't worry, guys. I wouldn't dare make a Sound of Karma blog without throwing in some Conor Oberst for you. In his album I'm Wide Awake It's Morning, Conor brilliantly invited the vocals of the ageless Emmylou Harris. Wow, what a difference it made. Probably the best example of her giving the gift of her voice to the world is in this track, "We Are Nowhere and It's Now".

3. Broken Social Scene - 7/4 (Shoreline)

I've never been a huge fan of Broken Social Scene, or even gotten into them at all. But hey, they feature both of the singers from Stars, as well as the famous Feist (you know, the one from the iTunes commercials). This song is...well, I know about as much about it as you do. It is pretty sweet, though.

4. Damien Rice - 9 Crimes

WATCH THIS! God, this song is so good. So eerie, so wonderful. Nomar kindly introduced me to it, and he remains the sole keeper of eternal love for this song, but it has drawn many followers, including myself and I believe Super Squirrel or Cincy or someone. LISTEN. LOVE. LOVE SOME MORE.

5. Mates of State - Ha Ha

A lot of magazines/webzines/people who are kind of important to some people are putting Mates of State's new album at the top of the 2008 list. Why? I don't know. Seems kind of like regular folk to me. But oh well, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, since I've never heard the album. Anyway, this is a cool song by them that features the husband/wife duo passing the mic back and forth.

DONE! Yee-haw!

Sound of Karma II

2008-11-30T18:38:00.004-05:00

I told you I'd do 3 SoKs about boy/girl indie vocals, and I'm doing it. Here's Part 2. (PS - Yep. The formatting's fucked. I can't fix it.)

1. Lydia - This Is Twice Now

{Cough, Chinese Democracy, Cough}

2008-11-26T17:03:00.004-05:00

Forget, just for a minute, about Guns N’ Roses. Forget about who Axl Rose is and what is wrong with him and forget about all the hype and waiting attention this album has got. Just let that ease out of your mind and take this as a singular grouping of songs on a disc called “Chinese Democracy.” It’s best treated standing alone; by itself with no specific expectations. Just start it and see how it comes out. It at least deserves that much after all the sweat, time, and money poured into it.

And there lies the biggest compliment that can be said here: the musicianship is fantastic. It really caught me off guard how layered and polished everything sounded (almost too much at times though). You can tell everyone involved was trying and trying really, really hard. That’s the biggest pro here, but thank goodness it’s not the only one. I didn’t buy this album, but I’ve listened to it a few times. After two or three listens, I can conclude there’s much more worse investments out there (especially nowadays). While there's no "November Rain" to be found here, at least there's no "Get In The Ring" either:

Cons: Starting out with the weaknesses, sometimes the material is too layered and too bloated. The effort to make it big is appreciated, but sometimes simple is better and much more coherent. Multiple listens must be experienced to get a real feeling for most of the tracks; which brings up some of the song’s life span’s. “There Was A Time”, while being a solid number, is far too long and runs out of steam quicker than estimated. Same thing for “This I Love“. It works well as a complex love ballad, but could’ve been cut a tad short. “Catcher In The Rye” is a pretty lifeless 6 minute track and the disappointing closer “Prostitute” has the sound of a band running on fumes. And even though it’s appeared to be the most popular song off the album thus far, I’m still not quite feeling the title track. It gets the blood going, but that’s about it. And that’s about it for the cons. Expecting more? So was I.

Pros: While sometimes too layered and BIG in sound, there are moments here that flow shockingly well. “Sorry” is a terrific song; a opus that sounds effortlessly created yet contains just a powerful emphasis. Then there’s “Madagascar” which is the complete opposite: It tries ridiculously hard to be epic and yet still works great; although it doesn‘t really pick up until the half way mark (the Martin Luther King Jr./Cool Hand Luke segment is wonderfully bombastic). “Better” overcomes a bad opening to become another high point and the heavy foot-stompers such as “IRS”, “Shackler’s Revenge”, and “Scraped” are fun listens just for that very purpose. I also have a feeling that “If The World” is going to become the underrated gem of this album when everyone looks back on it. It sounds like a cross between Alice In Chains and Steely Dan to me; no matter how weird that sounds. The most shocking pro though is the fact that you forget about the loss of Slash. The guitar play is very respectable and doesn’t try too hard to be what Slash was.

There are still a couple of things I gotta wrap my brain around and that will come in time with increased listens. “Street Of Dreams” keeps alternating between above average rock ballad and filler the more I hear it while “Raid N’ The Bedouins” sounds like a snapshot of a much larger Tool song. But all in all, this is an extremely interesting experience. And that’s a large pro in my book.

The Videos, Volume V

2008-11-21T17:57:00.004-05:00

In case you've forgotten, there's actually more than one writer on this blog. I'm here now. But everyone else... I attribute their absence to simultaneous prolonged writer's block. Here's a new The Videos... fresh from the oven, hot off the presses, whatever metaphor you prefer.

1. "Race for the Prize" - The Flaming Lips

I recently downloaded The Soft Bulletin. Being a Flaming Lips album, it is, needless to say, a thoroughly creative collection of songs. Here's the opener.

2. "Hold On" - John Lennon

From the timeless John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album, "Hold On" is a relaxed track featuring an inexplicable impersonation of the Cookie Monster. Listen at 1:08. Not that you'll need to focus to hear it. It's pretty obvious.

3. "I've Seen Enough" - Cold War Kids

I was really into Cold War Kids' first album, Robbers & Cowards. I eagerly anticipated their next release, Loyalty to Loyalty which came out last September. Unfortunately, I was utterly disappointed by their sophomore effort. It's like they lost the desire to be a "rock" band, and instead, relied on Nathan Willett's vocals with a little guitar and snare to back him up (Booooo!). Robbers & Cowards was good because it had full instrumentation, and actually had some rockin' tracks. I have no idea why they abandoned that success. This song, though its title expresses my frustration with Loyalty to Loyalty, is also one of the bright spots of the album.

4. "Nancy the Tavern Wench" - Alestorm

Pirate metal. Kind of cool if you're in a swashbuckling mood, or if you want to be in one.

5. "Blood Red Summer" - Coheed and Cambria

I think the coolest thing about this song is the low-pitched guitar (I don't think it's the bass, but it could be) in the background. It's almost imperceptible at times, but it's always there, moving up and down with the chord changes. And as with most Coheed and Cambria songs, the chorus and vocals are great. "Wa-oh! Wo-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!"

Impressions: What Sh/Could Have Been

2008-11-18T22:24:00.005-05:00

On the fine evening of November 18, I've been primarily listening to Pearl Jam's Ten and Nirvana's MTV Unplugged In New York. I've never before heard either of these albums, and grunge is an undiscovered dirt mine to me. Nevertheless, even when not in the mood, I've forced the 90's alt-metal branch onto me all evening, and because of the records of my choice, I've come to this pondering:

Grunge should have gone acoustic.

Now I'm no grunge expert. Hell, I'm barely a grunge novice. But the subgenre appears to be little more than metal-like instrumentals with excessively detached vocals and bored and/or vulgar lyrics. Metal takes its stance in the rock world with its fist pounding, hormone drilling headbang quality. The vocal stylings of Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, etc. clearly do not allow their music to fit into this aesthetic. Theirs is the voice of bored passion, of hopeless want.

You can imagine how the poor to middle class children of the 90s would find a perfect niche for their economic and educational frustrations in the angry-yet-sullen monotones of grunge. But how much longevity does this polarizing subgenre have? A sorry fact it is that gruge is certainly not a timeless concept. It quickly grew old, and by the approaching of the 2000s, it was fading away quickly. In modern rock, yes, there are a lot of bands out there with heavey grunge influences, such as Seether and Velvet Revolver and Foo Fighters, but none can withstand the industry without packing in some new, commercially glamorized, expensive aspect to their music. The essence of grunge is in the passions of the members, and it no longer fits in modern society; it has been lost.

That is why, if one listens to Nirvana today, they are likely to pause and wonder why they just can't get into any of it, despite its nationally known success and historical importance to rock. It certainly was an awkward period for rock, in a way comparable to the Baroque Period for the classical world.

So it was that I sludged through Ten, finding lyrical bright spots in occasional songs like "Even Flow" and "Deep", but for the most part remaining entirely unimpressed.

Then it was that I flipped to MTV Unplugged In New York and felt a glimpse of what grunge must have meant to those of 15 years ago.

Acoustic, grunge becomes a whole new ballgame. The annoying guitar distortion is dropped, and the drumbeat is eradicated to concede to acousticism. With these impediments out of the way, the material crap is removed, leaving only the chords, the voice, the content and the music. It's grunge stripped to its rawest format, with all the time-relevant noise rock docked away. Without impediments, you can feel Cobain bleed his lyrics through his mouth even without active listening.

I bash grunge instrumentals only as a statement of the changing times, just as I appraise the acoustic music of MTV Unplugged In New York over normal grunge because of grunge's place on the timeline. I severely doubt Cobain knew it at the time, but his participation and performance in New York exactly 15 years ago today turned one grunge album from a temporary social staple into a timeless masterpiece.

It only leads one to wonder, what may have been if grunge had gone acoustic? Ideally, it would have pushed out a lot of the shit pop punk circulating today, but that's a speculation for another day.

Sound of Karma I

2008-11-12T23:32:00.008-05:00

Ahh. It feels good to be back to the act of Sounding Karma. Tonight/today/this afternoon I'm going to begin a 3 part SoK where I show you a musical style that has become a phenomenon my life. Boy/girl vocal duets! Yes, if you think about it, this technique is very seldom used in rock, despite its simple nature. Contrary to common sense, it is actually quite difficult to find bands that A) do this on a regular basis and B) do it well. Here's a few that at least follow b, and some that follow a.

1. Stars - Your Ex-Lover Is Dead

Stars is likely the most famous of the boy/girl indie darlings. With a core made up of fellow Broken Social Scene members, man and ex trade off in describing the chance meeting of two people who may just have known each other in better days.

2. The White Stripes - Rag & Bone

The White Stripes aren't exactly a typical boy/girl duet band. In fact, they're not even a boy/girl duet band at all. However, on "Rag & Bone", Jack and Meg White sing, often in spoken format, of a junk collection trip.

3. Snow Patrol - Set the Fire to the Third Bar

Snow Patrol - Set the Fire to the Third Bar

Again. Snow Patrol, not a boy/girl band. However, in Eyes Open, Snow Patrol made the wise move to take this route in "Set the Fire". It made the already glowing album even more flawless. And yes, there are degrees of flawlessness.

4. The New Pornographers - Myriad Harbor

The New Pornographers are a very weird, foreign band. I don't really care where they're from, however, as long as they're still playing good music. I've never been a huge fan of them, but I always have to appreciate them.

5. The Moldy Peaches - Anyone Else But You

Recognize this band? If you do, there's a 99.5% chance that it's because you've seen Juno. Juno's legendary soundtrack made more fans and enemies of its soundtrack than any movie in memorable history. The star of the musical show was Kimya Dawson, better known for her part in The Moldy Peaches. "Anyone Else But You" is an adowable, innocent duet between two lovers.

These five songs make up the first part of the three part SoK. Two more issues of boy/girl loveliness will come in the near future.

Music and Travel: Cardsox

2008-11-10T23:49:00.007-05:00

"Have any of you experienced this phenomenon?"

Yes.

A very, very exceptional blog by the good man Chrono Willister confirmed a testimony in my mind from a couple days ago. It's been a rather moody week, with all of the gears of life lately turning in me, and there's been plenty an occasion to reflect on anything and all things. Naturally, music is the tunnel man of these excursions in thought; the dynamite in the mines. Chrono's timely blog has inspired me to recreate his writing with my own memories.

|||November 2007, Lake of the Ozarks|||

In my brother's freshman year of college, he underwent panic attacks resulting from depression and general anxiety disorder. To give him some time off from life, my family took a weeklong November vacation to the Ozarks. Shockingly, it was warm the entire time. Go figure. Anyway, I lost my iPod on this fateful trip. Luckily, I brought some CDs along as well. So it was that, for about 14 hours a day, I listened to Rush's The Spirit of Radio, Queen's Greatest Hits, The Killers' Sam's Town, Band of Horses' Cease To Begin, and Modest Mouse's Good News For People Who Love Bad News. Every time Rush plays, every time Queen comes on, every time "Why Do I Keep Counting?" or "Ode to LRC" or "The World At Large" plays, every time I even smell smoke, I'm taken straight back here, to one of the most memorable weeks of my life.

|||August 2007, November 2007-March 2008|||

Aha heartbreak. The lowest, most embarrassing valley of life. Being the trustworthy, love-seeking pussy that I am, I know all about that. If any of you in the internet community could just see how long it takes for me to recover from these nightmares, none of you would consider me worthy of your inter-presences. Nothing makes it harder to recover than familiar music. Two relationships have really overturned my ship of collectiveness, and both have a few songs to accompany them. For the first, O.A.R.'s "Love and Memories", Aerosmith's "I Don't Want To Miss a Thing" and Gin Blossoms' "Heart Shaped Locket" know how to make me feel like crap. For the second, The Killers' "Read My Mind" and "Romeo and Juliet" and Ben Kweller's "Thirteen" make me feel like the dirt that the crap sits upon. Shake, heartbreak.

|||Summer 2008|||

Yes. That flaming skull-over-Confederate flag says Pantera. This last summer, my neighbors got tickets to go see a Pantera cover band called Cemetery Gates in St. Louis. They had an extra ticket, and when they told me they were driving there in a limousine, I was sold. Note to self: Never trust a redneck Pantera fan when told they have a limousine. Imagine the worst, most rundown limousine possible. That was ours. Anyway, on the way down, I listened to Nine Inch Nails' Ghosts I-IV, an instrumental experimental album by Trent Reznor. It wasn't the soundscape daydream that I hoped it would be (too hard and electronic), but that ride and abysmally metal show is ingrained in my memories. I'm glad I went.

|||A long time ago|||

Way back in the day, I had three loves. One was baseball. More importantly, the other two were ping pong and Bon Jovi. When I got Bon Jovi's then-new CD Bounce, I spun it in the CD player constantly. I remember practicing ping pong down in the basement, hitting the ball off the table with the opposite side perpendicular to mine while Bon Jovi's "Everyday" surged on in the background. Eventually I'll reach the Olympic table tennis level. Bon Jovi just has to keep producing new records.

Music and Travel: Linked in Memory?

2008-11-08T19:00:00.000-05:00

I think many of us can agree that one of the best ways to pass time on long trips is to listen to music. Since I bought my first Mp3 player, I have used it on every trip I've gone on. My family travels rather often, so I get the chance to use it at least a couple times per year. I had never given any thought to the two being linked. However, recently I have noticed a trend involving music and travel.

When I recall a trip to a place that I had never been to before and have not returned since, I remember the music I listened to on the way to, at, and on the way back home from the destination. It's interesting, and in a way, it improves the memory, making it a fonder one because of the soundtrack accompanying it. It's a really intriguing idea. Here are a few personal examples from my travels.

Upper Peninsula of Michigan - Meddle, Pink Floyd
In August of 2007, my family took a short vacation up north through Michigan, looking around in Canada for a couple hours, as well. After visiting Sault Ste. Marie, we ventured west in the U.P. toward the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum near Lake Superior. The museum had a continuous loop of music, one song of which was "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," by Gordon Lightfoot. But while that song really stuck with my memories from that trip, I also recall the Pink Floyd album Meddle. Specifically, I remember listening to "Fearless" as we drove along in the wooded area bordering the lake and stopped to look at a lighthouse. I especially remember the echoing soccer chant at the close of the song. Nowadays, Meddle isn't really one of my favorites, but it is etched in my memory from that trip to the U.P.

Charleston, South Carolina - "Moonchariot," Elvenking
There are times when I find a song I really like, and I just listen to it again and again. On a trip to Charleston, South Carolina, during Spring Break this year, that song was "Moonchariot" by Elvenking. We spent our time visiting the Yorktown aircraft carrier (known as "The Fighting Lady") and Fort Sumter (which now has an ugly museum on it within its walls... it's nothing like the original fort, and there isn't much to do there). Anyway, when we had some downtime, I kept playing "Moonchariot" over and over. It wasn't too folksy, and it wasn't too metal. That's a formula for success for a folk metal song. If you feel like listening, go right ahead, but to be honest, I doubt you will like it.

Clarksdale, Mississippi - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, The Flaming Lips
Last summer, I began working on my school's 40 service hours requirement. My dad, my brother, and I went south with a Habitat for Humanity group to help with house construction. At the time, I had just acquired The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. You must understand that on a Habitat for Humanity trip, there isn't much privacy at the place where everyone stays. We had twenty on our trip, so it wasn't easy to find a quiet space. I wasn't irritated by this, but when I felt like closing everyone out, I went onto my top bunk in the male bedroom (five sets of bunk beds), and listened to Yoshimi. I couldn't get over the clarity and creativity of the album, and to this day, when I hear the album, I think of being on that top bunk and soaking it all in for the first time. My favorite song was probably "In the Morning of the Magicians," a very mellow track.

Boston, Massachusetts - Houses of the Holy, Led Zeppelin
I love Led Zeppelin. Let there be no question about it. However, an album I had never really paid attention to was Houses of the Holy. I liked "Over the Hills and Far Away" and "The Ocean," of course, but I had never been too strong on "No Quarter," "The Crunge," or "The Rain Song." Well, we went to Boston over Columbus Day weekend this fall, and the night before we would fly back home, we stayed with a couple of my parents' friends. Before I went to sleep, I decided to listen to Houses on a whim. I had expected to listen to a little bit and then fall asleep, but I wound up listening to the entire album. I discovered "No Quarter" was subtly brilliant, that "The Crunge" was not as intolerably annoying as I had believed, and that "The Rain Song" was, in fact, a masterpiece. Now, when I listen to those tracks, I remember the feelings of revelation I had that night, realizing that Zep's fifth album was not as mediocre as I had previously believed.

Music being tied to memories is a very fascinating idea. I think the reason it occurs on vacations is because you are experiencing a new place. Whereas you may listen to hours of music at your computer, you won't remember the songs you heard after a couple days (at the most) because you listen to music there all the time. When you're in a new place for the first time, you absorb everything, and that includes the tunes playing in your ears. I'm sure there are other situations where music becomes part of a memory, but I can definitely testify to it occuring on vacations.

Have any of you experienced this phenomenon?

Resourcefulness. Hop on the shopping cart bandwagon.

2008-11-06T23:28:00.009-05:00

Rock has been around the block a few times in the past half century. It seems almost like every pop hook, guitar riff, and chord progression has been used a thousand times before. When artists come up with a great new melody, there's always a nagging doubt as to whether or not someone else has used it already.

So how do artists today deal with this kind of uncertainty? They get creative. Probably the best example of this in the modern day scene is Iron & Wine. Less known by his real name, Sam Beam, I&W made his name down in Florida by sharing his extremely lo-fi recordings of his plucking and whisper-singing, coupled with the great array of sounds intertwined. Take a listen to his newest album, The Shepherd's Dog. Then take about 5 more listens, and I guarantee you'll find new things each time that you didn't before.

Bands with this kind of theory layer their music with so many different instruments and every day objects that it becomes a journey to spin their album and pull out all the sounds. When used correctly, it has the ability to make the music tremendously enjoyable.

It isn't hard to look back in time and find the forefather of this technique. Pink Floyd pioneered this movement, utilizing airplanes, screams, cash registers, cuckoo clocks, spoken voices, children's choirs, and countless others to buffer tracks from Pink Floyd's extensive discography. How they were able to stay so far ahead of the times and still top the vast majority of contemporary acts is as far beyond me as that other side of the moon.

Smaller bands today have brought in this style and created a nice little niche for them in the scene. Arizona band What Laura Says essentially takes it, crafts it and molds it into their own genre of folk/blues/jazz/rock/alternative/too-many-genres-to-count reminiscent of querk-heroes Animal Collective. Lyrically, this band is far from as fluent as the aforementioned bands, but their debut album is a far cry from anything in the norm. The record sounds like a compilation; Each song sounds like it's from a different band. They change from every genre to style to up-the-sleeve trick with ease from song to song. The querkiness factor is enough to sit down and listen through it all with a perpetual smile.

Even when done subtly, such as the rolling of a film at the beginning and closing of a song, this layering can make all the difference. It makes Faded Paper Figures' "B Film" sound infinitely better. With mature lyrics that reflect the modern turn of music, the clicking beat and flim scrolls turn this into one to remember. Likewise, a tiny indie band from Germany that (surprisingly) no label will sign uses the film scroll. Museum, as they are called, call forth lyrics that would make Roger Waters proud. Many of Museum's sounds appear to be digitally edited instead of scrounged from the crawl space, but they break their music from the zombie pack regardless. It's a wonder why they haven't been picked up yet.

Let's face it. The guitar/bass/drum/vocal combination has been all but exhausted. These days, it takes an extraordinary voice or highly experienced, talent-laden instrumentalists to excel with this now-bland combination. This is why the keyboard and violin are speedily picking up momentum. This is why generic rock is slowing down, and it doesn't help dying major label record sales. With this new generation of small-scale local talents, you have to be bringing everything to the table to avoid the stereotypical pop hooks that attract teenage girls like flies and push away sophisticated listeners like lepers. Bands like Iron & Wine, What Laura Says, Faded Paper Figures, and Museum are doing that, sometimes literally.

Jay-Z's Beautiful Mooching

2008-11-05T23:34:00.003-05:00

For the rockers and the rappers out there

Jay-Z is one of the most overrated rappers alive, in my opinion. As a businessman, however, it's hard to argue against his prowess. Fairly recently, a couple of Jay-Z mash up albums have come out.

If you're not aware of the term "mash up," it's when 2 or more songs are taken by a mash up artist, and the fragments of the song are used to make a new one. For example, you could take the instrumental line for Muse's "Hysteria" and cover it with the vocal tracks of Black Sabbath's "Black Sabbath". That would be a very basic mash up; most decent ones are far more complex.

Anyway, these albums were done by a company called Cookin' Soul, who makes its name with such productions. What's special about these is that they're full albums of Jay-Z + rock artist. Coldplay and Oasis, to be exact. Cookin' Soul released the Jay-Z/Oasis one a while back, whereas the Jay-Z/Coldplay one is quite recent.

They're nothing to write home about (although apparently they're worth writing a blog about), but they're a really fun listen. Mash ups aren't made to be lyrically profound (it's Jay-Z). They aren't made to blow you away instrumentally (it's Oasis and Coldplay). They're made to be a fun listen. They're made to sit back and appreciate the work of the mash up artist and marvel at how its possible with the use of computers to do what they do. Mainly, if you know the music that's being mashed beforehand, it's basically like hearing a brand new song, but with recognizable hooks, rhymes, and/or effects. When that point of recognition reaches you, it becomes a whole new listen. I have no doubt that the three artists used in these mash ups were chosen because of their recongizable qualities.

If you have the time/boredom, check 'em out. They're free.

OJAYZIS (Jay-Z + Oasis)

Viva La Hova (Jay-Z + Coldplay)

The T.V. Told Me To

2008-11-04T10:15:00.005-05:00

I’ve found myself listening to a lot of grunge rock (Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden in particular) near this election day. Everything is about today’s election and rightfully so. Even ESPN chimes in with completely pointless halftime interviews; they’re about the last network to get an interview with those two. But today, I’m in a Roger Waters mood. Not Pink Floyd, just Roger Waters. While I don’t really agree with some of his views (he’s an atheist and a hard liberal), his music is always endlessly fascinating and Amused To Death is his solo pinnacle.

It’s the perfect record to put on and listen to straight through on this day. War, the media, religion, politics, greed, sex, and how many of people’s real opinion and daily thoughts are so far down the drain you can’t see them are all looked upon here. This election, many people are like the monkey watching the television. They look but don’t watch. They hear but don’t listen. Too many people base their opinions on what the man (or the woman) on the TV says. People should think for themselves. At least that’s my strategy for this time. I take most of what the media says with a grain of salt. I find CNN to be the fairest station for political coverage by a long shot, but that’s just me.

Anyway, to the actual album, this is not an easy or even fun listen sometimes. It’s very dense, dark, and brooding. It’s a work best experienced from start to finish while reading along with the lyrics. It has the unsettlingly odd ( Too Much Rope, It’s A Miracle) to the utterly chaotic (Perfect Sense Part 2, The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range) and even the deeply disturbing ( Three Wishes, the title track). On the music sense, the thing that makes this album better than Waters’ last two is this one is less wordy and has more of a commanding atmosphere. The background singer/s also work to a fantastic degree,; sometimes giving this odd album an almost twisted gospel sound. The “What God Wants” trilogy of songs is maybe the most puzzling factor of this record, if Roger is attacking the idea of God himself or how the media presents God is anyone’s guess (I like to think it’s the latter).

For those craving something challenging and different, I recommend this. And just remember to take it with a grain of salt.

Forgive Durden's pièce de résistance

2008-11-03T20:11:00.008-05:00

The most important album since In Rainbows

Razia's Shadow

May 1969: The Who releases Tommy
November 1979: Pink Floyd releases The Wall
May 1988: Queensryche releases Operation: Mindcrime
May 2006: Forgive Durden releases Wonderland
October 2006: My Chemical Romance releases The Black Parade

October 2008: Forgive Durden releases Razia's Shadow

If you haven't figured out what the above five albums have in common, it's because you a) cannot read or b) are mentally retarded, meaning you can't read anyway. All of the above are rock operas, musicals, concept albums, whatever you want to call them. Tommy centered on a blind, deaf, and dumb boy who "led a messianic movement" (thanks Wikipedia). The Wall told the wrenching story of Pink. Operation: Mindcrime did something else, The Black Parade's classic rock-beefed musical focused on a dying cancer patient reflecting on his life, and Wonderland took you through the streets of lies, deceit, and corporate greed in the imaginary city of Wonderland.

Thomas Dutton has taken the rock opera idea of these albums and blown it into something of grandiose proportions for his new musical, Razia's Shadow.

Whoa.

This guy just compared Forgive Durden to The Wall and Tommy. This is the same person who showed off Brand New's Deja Entendu like a shiny new toy until everyone finally took the five minutes to listen to it and strike it down. The same person who called Dark Side of the Moon one of the most overrated albums in history. Yep, that guy.

Don't leave. Please. This will be different. I promise.

Forgive Durden is not a punk artist. Forgive Durden is not an emo bitch whining about his last failed relationship. Thomas Dutton is an entrepreneur of music, combining ridiculously far-reaching styles and genres of music into a unique, highly recognizable sound. If you don't like him, you damn well better cite his hate it/love it voice and nothing else, because this man truly is a genius at composition.

BACK TO THE POINT.

Razia's Shadow doesn't point out any revolutionary truths or question any societal beliefs. It doesn't break any boundaries or smash down any walls of lyrical conformity. It's a genuine musical, with epic scores of horns, strings, timpani drums, and cheesy lyrics.

Why is this a masterpiece, you say? The instrumentation is brilliant. A lover of any genre would be hard pressed to challenge this aspect of the hour long record. Every flute, every violin, every organ is right in its perfect place at every moment. The narration points between songs contain some of the coolest background instrumentation I've ever heard.

But that's not the kicker. The kicker is this:

O The Scientist - Casey Crescenzo (The Dear Hunter)
Bawaba Brothers - John Baldwin Gourley (Portugal. The Man), Kris Anaya (An Angle)
Narrator - Aaron Weiss (mewithoutYou)
Gargul The Oracle - Danny Stevens (The Audition)
Toba the Tura - Chris Conley (Saves the Day)
Sangara - Daniel Young (This Providence)
Barayas the Spider - Max Bemis (Say Anything)
Princess Anhura - Greta Salpeter (The Hush Sound)
Pallis - Brendon Urie (Panic at the Disco)
King Malka - Nic Newsham (Gatsbys American Dream)
Doctor Dumaya - Shawn Harris (The Matches)
Nidria - Lizzie Huffman (Man in the Blue Van)
Adakias - Thomas Dutton (Forgive Durden)
Ahrima - Thomas Dutton (Forgive Durden)

Dutton the Mastermind signed on a different vocalist to play each character in the entire musical. Now, most of this reading audience probably won't recognize many of these names. Let me assure you, though, that nearly all of these names are highly respected names in the modern music scene. The ones that aren't make up for it with amazing vocal abilities.

No noted rock musicals have achieved this level of awesomeness. Many of these singers have ridiculously insane voices (Aaron Weiss [the white Morgan Freeman], Chris Conley, Greta Salpeter, Shawn Harris, Thomas Dutton) that do nothing except make the aesthetic even more dramatic.

I won't kill your next half hour with a track by track review, but the story line features two main parts, starring heroes, damsels, angels, light v. dark, and prophecies.

(SPOILER ALERT)
Part One centers on an angel, Ahrima, who shapes the world, but feels his powers are wasted by his father on trivial tasks that don't show off his full potential. In order to be noticed by his fellow angels, he creates giant, extraordinary lamps to light the world, and is met by lukewarm responses of jealousy. In spite, he is convinced by Barayas the Spider to smash the lamps and burn the world he's created. Once the earth is aflame, Ahrima is banished to his desecrated land (the Dark) while the survivors find a new place to begin existence (the Light). In doing so, he is eternally barred from his love, Nidria.

Part Two occurs much, much later in the world's history. Adakias, an inhabitant of the Dark region of the world, is shunned for believing in stories of angels and prophecies. Confident in his beliefs, he leaves the Dark world to fulfill the prophecy, meet his true love (Princess Anhura), and recombine the two worlds into one.
(SPOILER OVER)

Corny? Yup. But it's unbelievably well done. By track 3, I was engrossed in the story line. The lyrics are pretty straightforward in order to clearly convey the story line, just as in a regular musical. In between songs, Razia features the narrative stylings of Aaron Weiss of mewithoutYou, whose voice sounds like peanut butter mixed with velvet. By track 13, I was riveted to my seat, waiting for the conclusion. The Airborne Toxic Event may be one of my personal favorite albums of all time, but come December, I might have to hand it off to Razia's Shadow as Album of the Year.

Check it.

--> Cardsox

11 - 3 - 08: The Videos -- Volume IV

2008-11-02T20:10:00.004-05:00

Enjoying your pre-election day day? I am; cannot wait to vote for the first time. In the mean-time, there's Monday Night Football tonight, which will actually feature both Senators at halftime, being interviewed by Boomer, Chris Berman. And then of course, The Videos!

1. Slave New World - Sepultura

I reviewed Sepultura's album Chaos A.D. a bit ago, and this is one of the songs I am addicted to from it. The focus on musicianship rather than speed and more speed is really what hooks me on this album, and the fact that they didnt sacrifice the heaviness of their music makes it all the better. The best example being this one, I'd say.

2. Go - Common

I dont know too much about Common. It's as close to nada as it gets, with the sliver being what seperates it from no clue and barely a clue is that I keep hearing how he's one of the most respected men in the genre today. There's always the Game, Lil Wayne, T.I. and other various rappers, it's hard to find people like Common, a diamond in the rough, much like Eminem or Lupe Fiasco.

3. The W.A.N.D. - The Flaming Lips

If you havent heard this song on TV during commercials yet, you must not watch all that often. I didnt even know it was a FL song, mostly because I had never heard anything by or investigated them before. As always a passion of mine, checking out an album by an artist I have no previous knowledge of is looking like what's next on my to-do list with regards to the Flaming Lips.

4.Vicarious - Tool

2006's 10,000 Days was just one more classic record by an established art rock/progressive metal band, Tool. The opening track, this one, set the stage emphatically, much like "Stinkfist" did for AEnima. This one is a thunderous beast packed into just under ten-minutes of music, and the video really takes off on its own.

5. Summertime - Janis Joplin

Ah, the 60's. A time in United States history I wish I could've been apart of. I'd of loved to have been around in the 70's and more then one-year of the 80's, but the 60's have always been an interesting time to look back on in what was happening in society and musically. This performance is from 1969. It's the instrumentation that really clicks with me here. Joplin's waning, yet consistent vocals are her own, and for that matter, good touch, but the interludes inbetween her parts are great.

All done. Have fun voting for the next President. (or not)

Song of the Week: 11 - 3 - 08

2008-10-31T21:46:00.010-04:00

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.

Song of the Week - 10/27/08

2008-10-27T17:30:00.001-04:00

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?

DRK Presents: The Videos -- Volume III

2008-10-24T09:54:00.008-04:00

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.

Album of the Week -- 10/23/08

2008-10-23T10:47:00.005-04:00

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

Song of the Week - 10/06/08

2008-10-06T14:45:00.003-04:00

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.

The Videos, Volume II

2008-10-05T16:21:00.008-04:00

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.

DRK Presents: Death Magnetic -- A Review

2008-09-29T23:30:00.011-04:00

Five-years ago, Metallica made an attempt to reclaim their throne – a spot they never realized they had fallen off – over the metal world with their first true metal record in 12-years. Since the beginning of the new millennium, turmoil had surrounded the band. In early 2000 and through 2001, Metallica found that their songs were being downloaded for free off Napster by millions everywhere. By that time, they had sold well over 90-million albums world-wide, grossing amounts of money unimaginable to those of us struggling in today’s decimated economy. For a band so laden with cash, Napster didn’t seem like a move crying about loss of revenue, but getting a step on the new wave moving through music that was not only losing them money, but everyone else as well, virtually killing the business. And an attempt to put a collective foot-down to try and regain control of everything, so that it wouldnt snow-ball to what we have today. (Album sales are down 11% so far this year) Naturally, the only concept that got across to fans was that they were just greedy musicians using their name as a platform. Then, as if things couldn’t get worse, inner issues began to boil over – the spark that revealed those problems and set them ablaze was the departure of Jason Newsted, then bassist of 14-years. Continuing the domino effect, James Hetfield’s alcoholic problem of 20-plus years was becoming something that was negatively affecting his home life. Soon after, he’s in rehab, postponing the production of the band’s album later to be known as St. Anger. After months in rehab Hetfield returned to his band, their album, their film-project, and the psychiatrist that had been working with them. St. Anger hit number-one in 30-countries, only to be later ill-received for its retched musical styles that included a trash-can sounding snare drum and a c-tuned guitar. It was a very pissed off, primal and heavy on the attitude record that spilled James Hetfield open and revealed the ugly avenues within; so ugly that it nearly killed the band’s reputation, which was yet another strike against them with so many others already in the books: Metallica – supposedly selling-out; Load/Re-load – going alternative; Garage Inc. – yet another non-thrash album; and Napster.

In the five-years between the release of St. Anger and lots of touring/shows done, Metallica has returned to the rock universe to give birth to their 10-studio album:

Many questions surrounded the album; would it be thrash? Did they fix the drums? How will James’ vocals sound? Will there be any guitar solos? How many tracks? Will the lyrics of old be back? Do they even have anything left in the tank? Questions all posed by metal enthusiasts who’ve been tracking the band for most of their lives. Metallica has lost followers by the thousands for the past 20-years dating back to when they first made major changes in their style on the Justice album and debuted their first ever music video. The masses remaining who have posed the countless questions of what to expect next are truly die-hards, who live, breathe, and exist through the band’s music that has been clouding the airwaves for decades. The millions remaining on the Horsemen’s bandwagon are like Cubs or Red Sox fans; they’ve been through thick and thin, both in their lives and in their devotion to a band that has never been afraid to do what they wanted. Yet, through every trial and tribulation in their lives, and no matter how many times what has always been constant in their lives has changed itself, the music, Metallica’s music has always been an unwavering force in their lives. When they woke up to a driving headache and the scars of the past aching inside and out, “Bleeding Me” was there. When questions of faith arose, “Until it Sleeps” and “The God That Failed” was there. When injustice seeped into their living rooms, “Eye of the Beholder” was there. When the day’s darkest moments surrounded on all fronts, “Fade to Black” was there. When the sun wouldn’t stop shining, “Whiplash” and “Damage Inc.” was there. And when things felt uncertain and overwhelming, “The Unnamed Feeling” was there as a constant, mother-like touch. It never has mattered how many times it seemed that they turned their backs on people, because, you see they never really have. Leaving their metal roots left many behind to waddle in their own rotten feces; jumping into alternative rock captured the hearts of millions more. And when many had turned their cheek and crushed CD’s, more were found in the darkness with the light of St. Anger. And now, 25-years after entering the underground-metal scene, the band that has ruled the world ever since is back, ready to answer questions, erase doubts, and forge a new path for their careers, and in the process, open up countless more avenues for the up-and-comers of the business.

Within the first three-days of the album's release back on September 12th, the record sold over 490,000 copies, and in its second week, is still number one in 28-countries across the world, including Canada and the United States. When you listen to it, you know why. Guitar World hails James Hetfield and Metallica as "DOING IT OLD SCHOOL!" No matter how many times I refrain from comparing newer works by them to their past near-flawless classics, and slamming other's for how they "are still living in the past and can't see the beauty of what's two-inches from their face", I can't help but label what I hear in the first 7-odd minutes of this album as a modern day spin on classic thrash metal. Like a rapper spits his rhymes, James Hetfield spits chunks of red-apple, aka lyrics out of the speakers, with the battle cry of raging guitar and thundering double-bass snare drums playing in his wake. The opening heart-beats to That Was Just Your Life signify the rebirth of Metallica, The End of the Line solidifies this new-found truth; and Broken, Beat & Scarred becomes an anthem the quality of Dutch's glorified beating of his chest in the newly set battlefield of a jungle with the Predator laying in wait. The first three-tracks give Metallica fans of old something to cheer about, and new fans something to cling to for what I can only figure another 20-years, much like the same diehards who flocked to small gigs in San Francisco back in the days when Mustaine and Hetfield shredded side-by-side. Hetfield sounds rejuvenated, Hammett has been let out of his cage, and Rob Trujillo can be seen through the speakers dancing around on stage in his monkey stance, plugging away on bass, fulfilling his purpose of that drone in the distance. The first singe The Day That Never Comes comes along, providings its tasteful half-ballad, half-thrash blitzkrieg, not to mention Hetfield's awful pun "son shine" and Captain Obvious worthy lyrics "Love is a four-letter word!" Ignore the lyrics, and "The Day That Never Comes" is just one more home-run by 'Tallica, keeping Death Magnetic barreling on at reckless speeds.

And if tracks one-through-four werent "pedal to the metal" induced enough, in comes All Nightmare Long, truly a thrash instant classic that will surely have any 80's metal fan bowing down and foaming at the mouth. It's a fantastic molding of "Enter Sandman" and "Damage Inc." packed into just a smidge under eight-minutes of music, which features not one, but two guitar solos that are intoxicated with the wah-wah pedal by Hammett. The lyrics "We hunt you down without mercy! We hunt you down all nightmare long!" forever will be enclosed in the vault of memorable lyrical moments provided by James Hetfield -- and it must be noted that that vault is already pretty jam packed.

After another single that was released prior to September 12th, a filler that bumbles down and about going nowhere in Cyanide, the final song of the trilogy that began in 1991 begins, being The Unforgiven III. A soft piano intro, rather than the almost iconic horn starts the song off, shedding some light on the band's remaining creativity, with a bit of a symphonic touch of violin and other instruments to boot. It's a nice song, believe me -- it just seems out of place on such a "F*CK 'EM ALL!" album that has been bleeding out of the speakers for the past 40-plus minutes. It features some quality imagery and soothing vocals, and a dazzling moment when Hetfield utters the final syllables to "forgive me" and the guitar overtakes him in a moment of oozing emotion. Even though it seems like it bogs the record down with its major change of pace, it is quickly forgiven (hehe) and accepted as just one more memorable song when the opening riffs to The Judas Kiss begin to blare. Continuing the re-metallization process of Metallica and especially James Hetfield's lyrics, "The Judas Kiss" forces you to sell your soul to them with a menacing power, before releasing you into the hands of the Horsemen's sixth instrumental, Suicide & Redemption.

After many four and five star songs, we hit what is to me either the second or even best moment of Death Magnetic. Nearly topping 10-minutes like the second to last original instrumental "To Live is to Die", this one is like an onion: slowly but surely, it unravels riff after riff. Unlike an onion, though, it is never too strong that it makes you cry. The song's transition and flow is perfect, and as the guitar begins to whine, heighten its pace, and charge into a thundering roar of guitar work, we're reminded of why we listen. Of why we love, cherish and pride ourselves in the name and history of Metallica. They nearly committed suicide in their careers and in many ways their lives; Death Magnetic is redemption.

Before leaving us for what is surely going to be a few years after relentless touring, "My Apocalypse" shreds its way to the finish line in just over five-minutes. There are some "air drum" moments, some brutish and catchy lyrics, and what feels like a "Dyers Eve" quality pace to it, but overall, it's a let-down. Although the album finishes on what I figure to be a hit-or-miss track, the 70-minutes of music that preset it is enough to leave a very positive taste in one's mouth.

After 75:17 of Metallica, one needs to cleanse their palate a bit, eh? For an album hyped up so much, it definitely leaves a pleasing taste after its conclusion. Although bloated in its size (it still had three more demo tracks that could’ve made it a double-album) it flows smoothly in regular Metallica fashion that the minutes fly by as you’re swept up continually by its riffs, bellows and screeches. For a long time now, Metallica has been surrounded by negative energy. Jeers of selling out and being washed up have clogged message boards and Youtube comment sections for some time now, leaving a nation of fans divided more ways than you can point out. There’s the life-long diehards, who, although have issues with a lot of the turns the band has made during their trip, still find ways to love everything they’ve accomplished, and will truly be there forever as a fan. There are those who label themselves as old-school Metallica fans, and nothing else. Others who came in 1991 and feel as if what they’ve done since is just them delving into their own musical abilities, searching for the limits of their talents. And after that, there’s so many in-between and mixtures of it all. One thing that most have suffered from is the inability to move on from the past, realize that it’s still rock n’ roll, and that metal isn’t everything. Realize that people move on, no matter how perfectly crafted their past works were or how much of a high they were riding during their so-called “glory years”. And that the best way to make your legacy last is to expand and experiment in your styles, so that you can reach as many people as possible, while still living by your own call and doing what you feel is best. Metallica, driven by the desire to make it and become rich and famous like every other band out there, did alter their course for that purpose, but also because they wanted to see how far they could go. And now, after doing so, they’ve returned. Returned to their roots, yet, not forgetting but channeling what they’ve done in the years they’ve accumulated on the trip that has led them to today. Death Magnetic is a testament to a band’s resolve, both in their own lives and their careers. Whether it’s the last record they ever produce or not, it has extended their legacy another 10-20 years. They continued their own trend of never sticking with the same thing twice, and giving the public just one more stash of songs to obsess over for the next few decades. Despite it’s obvious flaws that include James Hetfield doing his best to re-metalize himself lyrically, and Lars Ulrich’s less-than fantastic drum-play, and veteran Rick Rubin’s inability to mix the album well enough to give it justice, Death Magnetic recharges Metallica’s battery so much that it extends their reign for a long time to come. It’s said that the best way to make people turn the other cheek and forget is to continue doing what you do best – Death Magnetic, if not entirely for some, erases a lot of the past that clogs their legacy. While it is definitely not the best album of the 2000’s, or even of the year 2008, it will forever be a landmark in Metallica’s careers for what it means to them personally, and for the millions abroad that awaited it so faithfully.

Notable Tracks

That Was Just Your Life, All Nightmare Long, Suicide & Redemption

Overall Rating

Four-Stars

The Videos, Volume 1

2008-09-25T18:35:00.004-04:00

A regular feature we'll have here at Dogs, Rhymes, and Karma is "The Videos." As the name implies, we'll post some videos of songs we like. Maybe they'll be old (or new) favorites, or maybe they'll be a forgotten track that deserves a second listen. Either way, just click and listen.

Off we go...

1. "Peace Frog" - The Doors

The funky intro is immortal. I like to listen to this song just to hear those first few seconds. The spoken part in the middle is very mysterious, even haunting. It tells a story from Jim Morrison's early childhood, when he witnessed a car crash on a desert road that scattered bleeding Indians across the highway.

2. "And Your Bird Can Sing" - The Beatles

The Beatles let loose in this song. Well, I guess "let loose" isn't the right term. Though the guitar is the driving force, and a dominant one, there's still a very specific structure to it, as there is with most Beatles music up until around 1967-68. If you're looking for an example of The Beatles' fantastic harmonies, here it is.

3. "Starlight" - Muse

You want newer rock? Here you go. I haven't delved very deep into Muse yet. I've listened through Black Holes & Revelations a couple times, but that's it. Lots of great tracks... "Take a Bow," "Supermassive Black Hole," and "Knights of Cydonia" are three of my favorites. Then there's this track. Matthew Bellamy's voice is incredibly versatile, as are the epic synthesizers (keyboards? I think they're synths) in the second half of the song. I'm interested in seeing what else Muse has to offer, but I've heard that BH & R is different from all of their other stuff. However, I've also heard that the real Paul McCartney is dead. So you never know who you can believe.

4. "Reason Is Treason" - Kasabian
(Note: the band's music videos for "Reason Is Treason" on YouTube use the hidden remix at the end of the album. I prefer the original version, which I could not find on the site. So, here's a great live rendition.)

My brother was the one who introduced me to Kasabian. I had heard "Club Foot" and "L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)" before, but I had never known the name of the band. Their self-titled debut album has track after track of great tunes. Because of the driving beats, some might categorize it as dance music. The vocals are nothing outstanding, but they don't have to be. "Reason Is Treason" is a great track.

5. "Bring It on Home" - Led Zeppelin

One of my absolute favorites from my favorite band. I love how the dreary, rumbling beginning erupts into a classic Zeppelin riff. This song is almost like the difference between between instant and delayed gratification. You can't truly enjoy that amazing riff unless you wait through the slow start, which actually is pretty fun to listen to as well.

Well, that's all for now.

Dogs, Rhymes, and Karma Presents its First Post

2008-09-22T21:11:00.009-04:00

Hey there.

Listening to anything? I'm sure you are; music saves your life, as proclaimed by Fuse -- channel 339 on your DirecTV programming, if you have it. Whether you're head bobbing to the flow of Lupe Fiasco or Dre, getting lost in the bluesy groove of "When the Levee Breaks", or relishing in the modern music world's finest entrees, such as Iron & Wine, this is a place for you to come and share interests with a few others who will be on a regular basis showcasing anything from album reviews, to music video posts that are to be named at a later date. I'm Mac, one of many authors thats interests in music stretch far and wide, and not just limited to one genre, or sub-genre, for that matter. Just yesterday I was escaping to my room and seeking refuge in the music of Eminem; the day before, it was most definitely a mixture between artists from styles like psychadelic, thrash metal, and piano rock.

But that's just a side-note, the purpose of today's post, the first post, is to get things started, simply, and without great effort -- the good stuff will come later and often.

Last year, notable names that were inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame were John Mellencamp, Madonna and the Dave Clark Five, among many, many others. In January of 2009, we'll get five more, along with many other people that contributed to the greatest (Dare I say it!) genre in music. As of yesterday, it was announced that the committee had narrowed their list down to nine-artists, and here they are:

Bobby Womack

Chic

Jeff Beck

Little Anthony & the Imperials

Metallica

Run D.M.C.

The Stooges

Wanda Jackson

War

Taking a look at the list very quickly, I must admit that at the age of 19, not all of the artists are familiar to me. Some of the names -- Beck, Stooges, War -- are recognizable, but I've never heard much of anything out of them. Others -- Metallica -- are utter obsessions, as you'll come to find out I'm sure, unless I'm able to do the unthinkable in containing it.

Then there's the artists that the future Hip-Hop contributors will be able to relate too: Run D.M.C. It doesnt come as a surprise that they're there, because, really -- Madonna, Michael Jackson, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five -- yea, there's a history of non-rock artists making it, but that's an argument that'd end up being as much of a quagmire as the Iraq War. (Oops, forgot to not get political)

And of course, who can overlook the disco heart-throb, Chic?

There's a few shoe-ins -- Metallica, Jeff Beck, The Stooges; the rest are up for debate.

Either way, I'll be the one yelling at the TV "WHERE'S IRON MAIDEN?!?!" when the program is aired next year on VH1 Classic.

Your thoughts?