Weaver at the Loom

PREVIEW: STREAM Weaver at the Loom’s I Was Searching and Then I Found on their Myspace

Everyone loves Explosions in the Sky. As one of the most innovative bands in the current music scene, Explosions has inspired multiple artists to delve into the world of musical epics. One brainchild of the band is Weaver at the Loom.

Like Explosions, Weaver is comprised of four members who each contribute their musical talents. The difference between the two bands: Weaver features vocals in every song. As was described on their Myspace, Weaver masterfully combines “atmospheric elements of groups like Explosions in the Sky and The Album Leaf with the songwriting grace of compositional masters Death Cab for Cutie and Coldplay.” To add to this wonder, the lyrics of every song on the band’s only album, I Was Searching and Then I Found, flow together to make a story that could be comparable to Eliot’s The Waste Land. Much like Explosions, the album is meant to be listened to from start to finish.

With some of the most beautiful vocals I’ve ever heard and simple yet emotional instrumentation to compliment, I Was Searching and Then I Found could easily be classified into the coveted “album that I could never get tired of listening to” category. If you are listening to the album for the first time, here is what I recommend: play the album all the way through while reading the lyrics. It is honestly a spiritual experience.

–Elizabeth Vogt, Assistant Front-of-Book Editor

Its about that time when I give into the powers that be, and begin to play my favorite winter tunes that keep me warm despite the cold (or, not so cold in the case of this winter). I’ve created ‘A Snowy Playlist’ of recommendations in my iTunes that I want to share with you.

(Both songs and original movie scores are included, as I am a sucker for a good compilation)

A Snowy Playlist:

All That I Want- The Weepies

Wish You Well- A Fine Frenzy

PM’s Love Theme- Craig Armstrong from Love Actually

Men of Snow- Ingrid Michaelson

2000 Miles- Coldplay

Winterlove- Parachute

Winter Song- Sara Barielles & Ingrid Michaelson

Cry- Hans Zimmer from The Holiday

The Heartache Can Wait- Brandi Carlile

Christmas Time is Here- A Fine Frenzy

Comenzamos en el blog publicando una de mis canciones favoritas. Es y ha sido desde siempre es decir, desde que la escuché por primera vez, una de las canciones más cautivadoras e inspiradoras que he escuchado jamás. No puedo expresar con palabras cómo cada nota de la canción me llena por dentro, solo falta con que la escuche para sentir miles de emociones, sensaciones, experiencias, sueños, ilusiones… Parece una tonteria que se puedan sentir tantas cosas por una simple canción, y lo sé, parece cosa de locos, pero iros acostumbrando porque yo soy asi, siento las canciones de un modo distinto.

En realidad esta canción es como la segunda parte de otra, parecida, pero más instrumental, la cual para mi es mucho más profunda. Ésa es con la que terminé de enamorarme más si es posible de Coldplay, fue la primera vez que una canción realmente me llegaba, y con la que, con tan solo cerrar los ojos, los movimientos acompañaban a la canción, como naciendo de cada nota. Muchas veces he necesitado encerrarme en mi habitación y acostarme en mi cama, taparme con la almohada y escuchar música; en esos momentos, la canción que siempre he de escuchar es ésa.

Asi que en realidad esta entrada es más una recomendación. Cada vez que necesites “abandonar” este mundo, que realmente sientas que te ahogas; cada vez que quieras volar, olvidarte de todo y tan solo volar; cuando quieras inspirarte con cualquier cosa (novela, baile, canción…); cuando, en los días de lluvia, decides quedarte en casa, acostado/a en tu cama y escuchar música… Para todos esos momentos y más, simplemente escuchala. A lo mejor te ayuda, como en mi caso, y te relaja un montón; o puede que no sientas nada, en lo que ya no puedo hacer nada, pero al menos has cerrado los ojos por una vez y has intentado sentir algo más detrás de las notas de una canción.

Bono y compañía por fin harán su debut en el festival de Glastonbury en su 40 aniversario así lo confirmo Michael Eavis  el organizador del evento.

Al parecer el 2010 será un año muy importante y movido para U2, lo bueno es que no estaremos exentos de ello ya que tendremos a la banda por nuestros territorios el próximo año, la banda de 32 años de carrera que por extrañas razones nunca a podido encabezar el Glastonbury o cualquier otro festival de este índole acaba de confirma su asistencia en este festival.

Eavis comento “ Hemos estado intentando por años, pero pues nunca habíamos podido realizar esto, sin dudas todas las trabas quedan aun lado para que esta versión del 40 aniversario sea de las mejores en toda la historia.”

Algunas de las otras bandas que se rumoran que estarán en esta versión del Glastonbury son: David Bowie, Coldplay, The Rolling Stones y Muse.

Thanks to everybody who commented on my last blog post! I really appreciate you sharing your playlists with everyone and introducing us to some great new music!

As I was responding to your comments, something hit me. You guys have shown us an incredible ammount of support over the last few years. You’ve called your local DJs to request our music. You’ve come to our shows and purchased our CDs. And your votes have caused us to win more contests and get onto more playlists than I could count. Each of you has helped make what we do possible.

Last week was really cool because we had twenty people contribute to our post! But, our anlaytics show that hundreds of people read it. Why is that? I’m not sure. But I feel that it is – at least in some part – due to the fact that so often the creation and delivery of art is a one way street. I want to change that; so I’d like to invite you to take a moment to do three things:

1. Visit atris.wordpress.com (This will be more fun if everyone goes to the same page.)
2. Scroll down to the comment box and introduce yourself. Write a few words about anything you’d like. How did you first hear our music? What city are you from? What are your favorite movies? Pretend we just met at a coffee shop. If you’d like share your blog address, Twitter ID or someplace where we and other people can learn more about you that would be great too!
3. Check the box that says Notify me of follow-up comments via email.

Please don’t do this for us, do this for yourself and for everyone. It takes a certain amount of bravery to put yourself out there; but it’s worth it. We love to get to know people with similar interests, ideas, and opinions. And it’s really cool when group discussions are started. If you have something in common with someone who posts, let him or her know! It makes me feel great to see people responding to my comments, and I love to chime back in to share my thoughts.

Looking forward to meeting you!

-Mason

BEST MASH-UP ALBUM I HAVE EVER HEARD!

For being someone that considered himself a moderate Coldplay and Jay-Z fan at best, this album caught me by surprise. Simply put, if you are a fan of either Coldplay or Jay-Z this album is a MUST HAVE. The album is officially given credit to Terry Urban and Mick Boogie (two of arguably the best producers of the last 5 years, produced with artists like Kid CuDi, 6th Sense, Wale . . . ) but almost every song is produced by someone else such as 9th Wonder (also worked with 6th Sense), 6th Sense himself, The Kickdrums, nVMe, The Amps, Cookin’ Soul, and many more. The songs do not sound like mash ups, but rather as if Jay-Z was in the studio rapping over Coldplay samples. The mash-ups actually are so legit, Jay-Z actually sponsored it and approved it and put it up on his website. I even urge you, if you do not care for either Jay-Z or Coldplay to get this album, it is an epic album that you must have on your ipod. Give it a chance and you may, and probably will be, surprised.

This is probably one of the few rap albums you can listen from intro to end and enjoy it all. Almost every song is good, and all different in their own way. I recommend songs like “Lost Part 2 [Remixed By Mick Boogie]“, “Cold Success [Prod. By 9th Wonder]“, “Life of Clocks [Prod. By Teryy Urban]“, “X-Y-Z (Prod. by Hasan Insane)”.

Overall: 9 / 10     A MUST HAVE ON YOUR IPOD!!!

Similar Artists: Nothing Like This

Best Tracks: They all are, look above for highlights

PLACES TO DOWNLOAD FOR FREE:

http://www.datpiff.com/Mick_Boogie_Jay-Z_Coldplay_Viva_La_Hova.m22326.html

http://www.vivalahova.com/2008/10/new-download-links.html

http://illroots.com/2008/10/28/viva-la-hova/

When you try your best but you don’t succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can’t sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can’t replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you’re too in love to let it go
But if you never try you’ll never know
Just what you’re worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

 
THE ROLLING STONES
Formado en 1962, este grupo de rock británico lo integran Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman y Charlie Watts, aunque desde su inicio el grupo ha sufrido varios cambios de integrantes. Rivales de los Beatles, con quienes compartían época y lista de ventas, los Rolling Stones siempre optaron por la faceta más rockera que han seguido explotando desde aquella época. En la actualidad, a pesar de la edad de los integrantes y de las incidencias, el legendario grupo sigue unido y en activo para mantener vivo el famoso símbolo de la lengua que les caracteriza.

ELTON JOHN
Marcó la historia de la música durante la década de los setenta y los ochenta, y hoy día, Elton John goza de la popularidad de pertenecer a la élite musical e incluso aristocrática de Inglaterra (la Reina Isabel II lo nombró caballero en 1998). En 1947 nacía en Pinner uno de los compositores e intérpretes más queridos y al mismo tiempo odiado por el público pero enormemente galardonado en su trayectoria musical, con diversos Grammys . En el año 1997, Elton John presentó en homenaje a la princesa Diana el tema “Candle in the Wind”, que ha resultado ser la canción más vendida en la historia de la música.

SPICE GIRLS
Si los Beatles y los Roling Stones tuvieron sus décadas, a este grupo de música pop formado por: Geri Halliwell, Victoria Adams, Mel C, Mel B y Emma Bunton, le llegaría el éxito mundial en la década de los noventa de una manera arrolladora. En 1996 lanzaron su primer trabajo que puso a bailar a medio mundo, pero el éxito declinaba y en 1998 la integrante Geri abandonaba el grupo. Años más tarde cada integrante intentaría con más o menos éxito su trayectoria como solista. En 2007 se reunieron todas las integrantes para dar el último adiós como grupo con una gira y un disco recopilatorio.

COLDPLAY
Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland y Will Champion se conocieron en la Universidad, donde crearon el grupo de música pop que en el año 2000 debutaría en las listas de todo el mundo, pero sobre todo de Europa, donde alcanzaron gran éxito, difícil para una banda independiente. Poco a poco para Coldplay se van sucediendo las buenas críticas con los éxitos en las listas de ventas, el reconocimiento mundial y los premios.

ROBBIE WILLIAMS
El “chico malo” del pop británico nació el día 13 de febrero de 1974, y desde sus inicios en la música con el grupo Take That, fue forjando una carrera musical que le llevaría a abandonar el grupo por diferencias con los otros miembros. Rápidamente comenzó su carrera en solitario en la que ha cosechado grandes éxitos sobre todo en Europa. Atravesando diferentes rachas entre problemas con drogas y alcohol, y grandes momentos de éxito, Robbie Williams ha sabido forjarse una imagen de cantante rebelde y donjuán que le caracteriza. actualmente es uno de los cantantes más representativos del Reino Unido.

AMY WINEHOUSE
Su portentosa voz la ha aupado al éxito, pero sus graves adicciones con las drogas y el alcohol la llevan a la autodestrucción. Desde pequeña, esta rebelde chica nacida en un suburbio de Londres en 1983 sabía que quería cantar; en 2003 su primer disco “Frank” estaba en la calle con grandes críticas de los especialistas. Desde su primer disco hasta la actualidad, Amy Winehouse se enfrenta a una dura batalla contra sus graves adicciones, pero a pesar de todo, su voz sigue teniendo gran reconocimiento y sigue aupando sus canciones en las listas de ventas de muchos países.

Jaja. Heuglijk nieuws vandaag. De symfonisch-progressieve spacerockband Muse gaat op zaterdag 19 juni 2010 het Nijmeegsche Goffertpark kapotschreeuwen. Hier gaat ongetwijfeld een prijskaartje aan hangen van meer dan 60 euri, maar dan heb je ook wat.

Voor de armoedzaaiers zoals ondergetekende is er altijd nog de mogelijkheid om buiten de hekken in het gras te gaan zitten met een picknickmandje. Dat deed ik bij Coldplay ook en dat beviel me prima. Bij Coldplay was het overigens erg vermakelijk om al die depressieve gezichtjes te zien van mensen die het concert vroegtijdig moesten verlaten om hun laatste trein te halen.

Tickets kopen kan HIERHIERHIER! vanaf 28 november 10 uur. Ik doe tegen die tijd nog wel een reminder. En ohja, voor alle sukkels: jullie hoeven gelukkig niet te werken want het is op een zaterdag. Maar vertrek verdomme wel op tijd en pak de brug bij Ewijk ofzo!

Vermakelijk filmpje waarin Muse een Italiaans dom blondje dist:

Let me Preface this by stating that I am usually not an “album buff”. I get hooked on bands, and sometimes songs, but it a bit rarer for me to get hooked on an album, but it does happen. So I’ve thought that I’ll give you my top seven favorite albums and why I like them. Lately, I was listening to one of my favorite albums and I thought to myself — “This album is great, and better than the other albums”. So I felt that maybe there is some power via albums, and I’d spill my favorites. These are in no particular order, as it depends on my mood, so think of a sevenway tie for first.

1. Radiohead — Hail to the Thief

This is the Album that started it all. I randomly stumbled onto a radiohead track on my iPod and decided I wanted to listen to some radiohead jams for a while, so I put them on. First, I’m not a big radiohead fan. I definitely respect them though because they continue to be original and be able to reinvent themselves every album. Out of all the bands I know, I think they give a very distinct sound to each album, so naturally, I’ll like one album more than others. I love this one. Every song is awesome. Their newest CD was OK, but this CD is solid solid solid. I can’t think of a bad song on it. Its chilling, but rocks hard. Very well put together.

2. John Mayer — Where the Light Is

This CD is Awesome. I really like John Mayer, but not for his pop stuff. He went off and did a blues tour which was really cool. He is kinda conflicted because he has a big fan base with those girls who grew up listening to Neon and Your Body is a Wonderland, so he’s got that side of him, but he’s really a blues guitarist. And a damn good one at that. So he decided to have this show right? Well, its cool because there are two openers, and then John Mayer. The cool part about this CD is that the two openers are John Mayer as well. The first is him doing the “singer/songwriter acoustic guitar player”. He covers an AWESOME version of Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty. Then the second set is another opener that is supposed to pump the crowd up, and its him just playing blues and Hendrix covers. Its a Trio. Finally, the last act is the big full band, where he does a lot of his Continuum stuff. The DVD is even better. Every track is solid, and if you really want to see a talented musician just do everything, this is a good CD. My favorite track is the 10 minute long slllloooooowww blues track. Nice.

3. Aretha Franklin — Amazing Grace

This may be my favorite album of all time. I have a heart of soul more or less. One part of my soul is probably Juno, and the other half is for sure like a deep south baptist choir. Oh man, this CD is good. So Aretha Franklin is a person who grew up singing gospel in church since her dad was a minister. Thats where she learned to sing, and boy, it obviously served her well. Anyways, its the mid-70’s and she really wants to go back to her roots, so she manages to convince the exects at her record label to let her record a LIVE CD at a real church. It was recorded twice (two concerts, on different nights with different songs), and then for the record release they picked the best 13 songs or so, but I have the full version, which is by and far better. It just has the two shows from start to finish. Its everything you see in the blues brothers and more. The crowd yells when they start to get the feeling, and the backup choir and band is really tight. Probably the closest I’ve become to converting is after listening to this album, lol, so all you people looking to convert, I’d use this as ammo. No one can sing like Aretha, and nothing lets the emotion come out more than with gospel music. Amen.

4. Mahler’s 5th Symphony

My favorite classical Symphony probably. I guess the firebird is up there, but it depends what version you listen to. Mahler’s symphony #5 is always going to be good, as long as you have a good orchestra. Of course some versions are better than others, and to that I’ll leave it up to ya’ll to decide which version of it is your favorite. However, its those first 20 seconds that are really great. Its a good CD to round out my top 5. If you’re in that sort of Clockwork Orange depressive classical dark mood its good. My favorite image in my head is Donté desending into Hell. Thats what it sounds like to me at least.

5. Justice — Cross

Brilliant Album. Its really original, really, it truly is. It is kinda a futuristic danceable decibel sound. It has a bunch of that awesome low cut bass that I like a lot. IDK… I just really like it. I can’t have all indi-rockers. I mean, lets be honest, Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie is a great CD — in my opinion their best — but I’d like to mix it up. But I think this CD will sound really good in like 10 years, basically like how the Clash made it big before their sound was popularized. Anyways, thats kinda the idea. Its super moody, but very futuristic. Guitar totally changed the way most music was created, and I think in the same way computers are of course doing the same thing. They’ve been experimenting since the 70’s/80’s with computer sounds, but I think the rise of the DJ is tackling some new ground, and this CD will be looked at as a turning point.

6. Coldplay –Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends + the Prospectors March EP

My favorite album of 2009, fairly easily. Man, its just a great album. The EP has a bunch of great tracks too. I was a coldplay fan, but honestly when X & Y came out I was kinda disappointed. A Rush of Blood to the Head was such a great album… I was looking forward to something awesome, and I thought it was kinda the same sound as previous albums. Then they came out with VVODAAHF and it was a great new sound that had pop and vigor with just the right amount of “coldplayness” that soars above and looks down below at you as you listen. It was only after hearing THIS album that I went back and listened to X & Y (and parachutes) and had, really, a new found appreciation for all their prior albums. I think I just needed to hear something different to contrast it to in order to understand.

7. Sigur Ros –Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust

You know you just can’t beat sigur ros… especially on this album. Fucking Brilliant. I mean… its just the Icelandic roots I suppose. For those of you who don’t know Sigur Ros, they are an awesome band from Iceland. They paint these beautiful landscapes of sound that just remind you of overcast and cold, but crisp and fresh, like your breath on a cold day. Those who don’t live far north won’t understand. But its just really really great. They do all kinds of cool stuff to get their “sound” such as playing guitars with viola bows, and the lead vocalist sings over the top of everything in kinda this falsetto sprightly godlike voice that wafts over everything. And its in Icelandic (or I’ve heard their own made-up language, but i can’t verify) so its very smooth and enchanting. They make Sufjan Steven’s soundscapes look like hot cross buns. Seriously, one of my favorite albums. In all truth… this was supposed to be my top 5 favorite albums, but I realized I couldn’t keep Coldplay or Sigur Ros off the list. Too damn good. I can’t guarrentee everyone who reads this and listens to Sigur Ros will like it, but you need to listen to it without interruptions, like just as you’re going to sleep or something. Its very very soothing. They also do a great job of being able to have totally different sounds on different albums, but I like this one the most. I’m not sure why, I think it all just comes together nicely.

Well, there you have it. If you’re curious, I recommend you check some of these out. Now, I picked my top 7 favorite based on what I like to LISTEN to. This is not the list of the “greatest albums of all time”. I think you need to add historical context into that one, and that changes the list a ton, I mean, what would the world be without Led Zepplin or the Sergeant Pepper’s? So this is purely what I like. There are lots of other close finishers, but I thought that some of these albums would go out of favor with me in a few years, like the band Tally Hall (which I love), and Narrow Stairs album by Death Cab for Cutie, or a few Rap Albums (sorry I couldn’t get one of those on the list), but I think that five years from now, my music preferences will change a bit, and I won’t like them as much, so they didn’t make the list. I’m about 85% sure that 5 years from now I’ll still love all of these albums, they are pretty timeless in my book (with the possible exception of Coldplay and the Justice album). So I encourage all of you to check them out, and enjoy.

Thanks,
Guthrie

En mi facebook estoy teniendo la semana de coldplay pero ahora que vi este video no pude aguantarme y ponerlo en el blog. Es uno de los mejores videos de esta banda, espero que les guste tanto como a mi.

and here you see some earnest podcasting discussions taking place.  Many thanks to Adnams brewery for their support.  Without their Broadside real ale, the conversation might not have been so earnest!

going round the group, starting front left:

• Sarah Morrison (Insomnia Radio New York)
• Justin Wayne – well the top of Justin’s head (Justin Wayne Show)
• Colin Gazeley (ourobouros podcast)
• Rowley Cutler (Dark Compass)
• Dave Lee (The Bugcast)
• The Grumbler (Music and Mumblings)
• Pete Cogle (pcpodcast)

#49: Desaparecidos/Read Music, Speak Spanish (2002) — Conor Oberst can categorically be described as a hipster voice of this decade.  But save for a few tunes here and there under his Bright Eyes moniker, it was really his harder rocking outfit that got me between the eyes. Read Music… was a beautiful pastiche of fuzzed out guitars, atmospheric keyboards, and middle-class rants and raves.  Check out: ‘Man and Wife, the Former (Financial Planning),’ ‘Greater Omaha,’ and ‘The Happiest Place on Earth.’

#48: Depeche Mode/Playing the Angel (2005) — If there were ever a band who could come back from a bunt (Exciter, 2001) to hit a homerun again, it’s Depeche Mode. While the album could be summed up in one song (‘Precious’) it is again a summary judgment that propels this album into my Top 50 of the decade. Check out the ferocious opener ‘A Pain That I’m Used To’ the driving ‘Suffer Well’ or the silver lining of ‘Nothing’s Impossible.’

#47: Cure/Bloodflowers (2000) — At the start of the decade, the Cure unleashed what has been described as the third installment in a trilogy of albums (Pornography and Disintegration, making up the other two…) The lazy, almost seven-minute opener, ‘Out of This World,’ is classic Cure, replete with acoustic guitar, piano and jazzy drumming. From there, Smith and Co. launch into the 11-minute ‘Watching Me Fall,’ and fourth track, ‘Maybe Someday,’ is the melancholy pop-gem fans have grown to love. Epic closer ‘39,’ rounds things out in typical gothic muse. An easy selection for T50 of the decade.

#46: Radiohead/In Rainbows (2008) — As Radiohead worked to turn how we absorb music on it’s ear in 2008, what almost gets missed is the fact that this album was their most complete body of work since The Bends.  This is not to say they did not release some stunning music throughout the decade, but In Rainbows is just one of those apex points and culmination of their entire body of work.  Love them or hate ‘em, there are great tunes throughout.  Check out: ‘All I Need,’ ‘Reckoner,’ and ‘Videotape.’

#45: Audioslave/Revelations (2006) — it amazes me how great a songwriter and vocalist Chris Cornell is when he’s got a band behind him — when he strikes out on his own? Yeah, not so much. Audioslave’s stamp on the decade was only three album deep and two of them are absolutely essential. In the 45-spot, Revelations picks up where the self-titled debut left off – an amazing rhythm section, a great guitarist and soulful, funky rockin’ tunes from a former godfather of grunge. Check out: ‘Sound of a Gun,’ ‘Original Fire,’ and ‘Wide Awake.’

#44: Richard Ashcroft/Keys to the World — There are just some albums that you don’t listen enough to that you should. This is one of them…because every time I do, I say to myself ‘Damn, this is a great album!’ While Ashcroft’s first two solo forays post-Verve would not compare in any meaningful way to Urban Hymns, this is British pop rock in all it’s semi-brooding finest. It’s upbeat, driving and subdued. While Ashcroft may never get the solo success he feels he deserves, I for one thoroughly enjoyed this effort when I was about to give up on him. Check out: ‘Break the Night with Colour,’ ‘Keys to the World,’ and ‘Cry ‘Till The Morning.’

#43: Coldplay/X&Y (2005) — love or hate Coldplay, you have to admit they are some talented musicians. While, at times they can come off a bit pretentious, I’d challenge that their music is more heartfelt than anything Jack White’s done. Such is the case of apples and oranges or in this case, X’s & Y’s. This album upped the band’s ante and produced their most complete album of the decade. While overlooked from a Grammy standpoint, this album featured more heart than anything U2 has put out this decade – and you can quote me on that. Check out: ‘Fix You,’ ‘Speed of Sound,’ and ‘Swallowed in the Sea.’

#42: Killswitch Engage/Killswitch Engage (2009) — finally, on their third album, KSE live up to the potential I’d hoped they had. This is arena rock in 2009 in all of it’s anthemic glory. Howard’s vocals soar, Adam’s melodies outshine the darkest corners, and the drumming is spot on. Eff Roadrunner for not doing more with this record. These guys should be out on tour with either Metallica or Slayer right now. Check out: ‘The Return,’ ‘A Light in a Darkened World,’ and ‘In a Dead World.’

#41: Kings of Leon/Because of the Times (2007) — I remember getting this album just prior to my Placebo roadtrip with McCabe and Sarah and terrorizing them with it in the hotel room in Boston. I was just blown away by how good it was and wanted to play it over and over again. Any confusion as to whether this band was going to fall into obscurity after 05’s Aha Shake… were quickly dispelled. Caleb Followhill managed to learn how to enunciate just enough for listeners to understand what he was singing about and the backdrop of sound helped paint the stories. Check out: ‘Knocked Up,’ ‘Charmer,’ and ‘On Call.’

#40: Low vs. Diamond/Low vs. Diamond (2008) — I’m alive today because of this CD. They’re a more earnest/less pretentious version of the Killers. In the midst of a deep depression, this CD landed on my desk and kept me playing ‘air drums,’ and brooding on a pair of headphones until I snapped… out of it. It’s a theme record about recovery and lifting up the spirit and soul without being a Christian record. We need more bands like Low vs. Diamond. Check out: ‘Killer B,’ ‘This Is Your Life,’ ‘Actions are Actions,’ and ‘Song We Sang Away.’

The best album cover ever?

Last night on VH1 Europe they did a countdown of the top 25 albums of all time.  Prince made no. 3, and, inevitably, I guess, Thriller made no. 1.  But REM’s automatic for the people made no. 2.  What I found very weird about this, is that people since about the mid 90s have been intentionally forgetting that, between the period 1977-1995, ‘mainstream’ rock, or ‘establishment’ rock, was cosidered by the listening public to be entirely different from ‘alternative’ rock.  At least, that was the case in the US.  In britain, they always seemed to blur the line more, and ‘alternative’ acts often scored top 10 hits, which in the US happened much more infrequently.  But there was still a clear idea that alternative was alternative, and mainstream was mainstream.  And today, people realize this when shopping for music on Amazon:  i.e., “the killers” and DCFC are known to be ‘alternative,’ with ‘emo’ in the latter’s case being a subgenre of alternative:  and everyone has always known that Prince belongs in an entirely different category (of its own–file under ‘weird.’) 

So why are people conflating alternative and ‘pop’ music, to the point where I often hear people lump together alternative with ‘pop,’ so as to distinguish it from ‘R&B’ and ’Dance?’  To do so, I argue, is to entirely miss the point of the ‘altnertive’ movement.  In its heyday, every single person who listened to alternative was aware that it was ‘counter-cultural.’  In essence, alternative contiued the 1960s and 70s trend, which was anti-establishment, and went along with, in some form or another, the popular marxism of the day, which was highly suspicious of corporations, and thus, the record industry.  This of course, presupposes that its listeners have the mental apparatus to appreciate social complexity–to understand society as a system, and/or who are concerned to be articulate about their interation with the world.  Pop music proper, is therefore ‘for the masses,’, i.e., for the majority of people, who, unfortunately, do not have either the will or the IQ power to grapple with complex responses to their environment.  That’s why pop music, e.g. Elvis and Michael Jackson, is generally lyrically incredibly banal.  Both the 60s protest stuff, and, punk, and alternative, and now, things like emo, are thus distinguished by their more sophisticated lyrics.  So, what we are talking about here, then, is music for those who are fortunate enough to have the apparatus and desire to engage with lyrics.  Unfortunately, after 1995, lyrics went out of style (see below) and the entire culture’s level of articulateness, I would argue, has suffered since then.   

By the time that alternative came of age, however, I would argue that it had become much more personal.  While the 60s and 70s Woodstock stuff was decidedly public music – to be performed live, e.g., the doors–and often had impersonal lyrics (e.g. Bob Marley– cryin’ lion zion…. what the hey is that all about?), by the 80s, the goth movement brought music into the bedroom, i.e., into the personal minds of the listener.  Morrissey of course puts it best:  ’When I lay in awe on my bedroom floor,” etc. 

Many people put punk together with alternative, but I see a divergence from the beginning.  Groups like Joy Division and the Cure and Souxsie were always much more cerebral, sensitive, and appealed more to the introspective person, rather than punk, which was often so absurd as to be a simple testosterone fest, despite it’s often radical-marxist lyrics.  In short, I think that punk sucks, becasue though it was perhaps good that someone was doing it, i.e., being socially aware in their music, I believe that their methods, which were essentially violent and anarchist, are inherently self-defeating.  Thus I have never been drawn to it. 

Alternative, on the other hand, foregrounded the individal emotional and (crucially) intellectual response to the world, and thus, can be seen as a re-visioning of the eighteenth-century Cult of Sensibility, which was spearheaded by Goethe, and was then brought to fruition by authors such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Jane Austen, and Keats, who, for the first time in history, asserted that the experience of the individual (particularly of the sensitive individual) truly mattered.  The artist figure, the thinker, the solitary philosopher, was worth listening to, they argued, and this could be anyone–not simply the great.  This encouraged reading and thinking and sensitive people everywhere to stop being deferent to their social superiors, and to really take their own inner dialogue seriously.  This is arguably a very crucial step on the way towards mass democracy. 

And this is why I’m interested in alternative music, from the point of view of this site.  I belive that the 1970s and 80s saw a massive increase in the sensibilities of young thinking people–they grew up in households with more money, for one, and they had more opportunities to travel and to interact with other cultures than ever before.  And they had leisure, and many of them, in Britain and the US, studied the arts, even just in high school, this was done seriously, with an emphasis on text, on poetry and literature, and this encouraged many people once again to take this inner dialogue seriously.  Arguably, the 80s bedroom revolution was quite similar to the romantic revolution which emerged after the french revolution:  a public revolution went bust, and so artist figures, who had been so engaged and so inspired by the public’s prospects, now retreated into their own minds, and continued to hold the ideals of the revolution there, in their own private spheres, until such a time as they might once again find public times propitious for their goals of reform, and remaking. 

This is precisely what the 80s bedroom revolutionaries did, and more.  They saw that the 60s and 70s had failed in many ways to produce anything lasting and concrete, besides a welcome liberalization of society–which should not be underestimated.  But they saw instinctually (I did as a high schooler, and I know my alternative friends did), that the political aims of the hippie revolution were largely unfulfilled, swallowed up by the wave of conservativism brought about by reagan (and thatcher).  And so, we moved inward.  We still had ideals, we still cherished the idea of reform–very much so.  But we also began to realize, through introspecton, that our own selves really truly mattered:  our own emotions, thoughts, etc.  But what made the alternative age different from today, ‘the post alternative age,’ is that today’s emo people, I think, have grown up in an entirely self-serving society, which is almost devoid of the ideal of social reform.  In the 80s, there was still some of that public idealism left.  And it made us idealistic, in the best possible way.  We believed that, by reforming ourselves, we could reform the world, make it better.  (see this website–it’s basically proof that i’m still working in that mode). 

I believe that, after about 1995, these ideals basically died, in a big way, in popular culture, and what we’ve been left with is a culture devoid of public ideals.  It’s therefore all been about the desires of the individual, and thus, is essentially unsophisticated:  it’s all egotism.  Emo people are the intelligent version of the ‘gimme’ school.  But their lyrics are still essentially whining–with no underlying vision.  If you have no social dimension to what you do and think, it’s very difficult for this to be progressive–it is inherently centrifugal, I think.  And then, the less articulate version of this has been the triumph of hip hop, which, for reasons we’ll have to leave for elsewhere, has been almost entirely egotistical and self serving, especially after the few attempts in the 80s to make it political (in which case it was tied to the alternative music ethic– NWA and Public Enemy, e.g., did have much that was political in them–but after about ‘93, any impetus to put the political into music fell away, and hip hop returned to simple braggadocio, and glorification of violence, and domination of women–which, when one loses idealism, is all that’s left).

So, to put a time scale on it: i’d say

1950s:  rock invented, in US and britain.

1960s-early 70s:  protest rock– the first ‘alternative rock.’

1977-present.  Punk.  Angry marxist progressiveness.  Ultimately self-defeating.

1977-1995.  Golden Age of Alternative.  Lyrics were foregrounded, personal experience was foregrounded, but enough idealism remained from the 70s age of popular Marxism, that people genuinely wanted to make the world a better place.

1992- Grunge makes its debut.  Mixes alternative with testosterone rock.  Beginning of the end of alternative music.  After this, sensitive artists begin to avoid lyrics.

mid-1990s.  Age of ‘acid jazz’ ‘house’ – etc.  Club music draws the best and the brighest.  But it is a-lyrical, and so, essentially, the age of social engagement fizzles, quite rapidly.  And with it, idealism.  Idealistic music is no longer fashionable.  The only alternative bands who are still producing major albums are some of what we used to call B-quality bands:  i.e., Radiohead and Bjork.  They sucked compared with the giants of the alternative era, but their manneristic squeaking and shapeless music went well with the new anti-lyrical fashion, and so they became huge.

2000-present.  With internet, a great variety of musical styles, but, it’s still true that, when the lyric comes back into fashion, it is now almost entirely personal.  Political, social, progressive agendas are entirely out, and so the music never rises above the purely juvenile.  Whereas Morrissey and Ian Curtis’ poetry has the power of Wordsworth to engage us, and incite us, to think idealistically, the (admittedly good) lyrics of Death Cab for Cutie, or worse, the banal lyrics of the White Stripes, and the Yeah yeah yeahs, never rise above the purely personal of the high school student’s poetry:

‘yesterday i saw a couple/kissing by the train platform/they were so beautiful/i wondered where they were going.’

Etc.  This is drivel–because it’s purely of personal interest.  It has no idealism, thus, no universalism, and that is the essence of good poetry.

So, my argument, then, is that grunge killed alternative, and after that, we hear people talking of ‘rock being in the shitter’ (trent reznor, 1999–unfortunately his album of that year did nothing to rescue it–the inspiration had died–the age of idealism was largely over).  And until the culture once again recovers idealism, it will continue to stay in the shitter.  Read around on this site, and you’ll see how idealism and moving, real, gripping, engaging art have always been entirely intertwined with one another. 

Thus, all of the following albums, from 1977 to about the grunge era (let’s say 1995–though i do include some grunge), are filled with idealism, even if their lyrics do not explicitly sound that way at all.  And a few albums that come after this time have managed to keep some of that idealism, and so they are included here as well.  Even the industrial music which was a subgenre of alternative in the latter part of this period was not anything like ‘white zombie’ or ’tool’ which came later, and which are genuinely antisocial, antihumanist, and violent–and thus antidemocratic.  I would argue, then, that Skinny Puppy is highly idealistic and progressive, while Maynard what’s-his-name’s “Tool”, which dominated the 90s niche formerly held by bands like Skinny Puppy, replaced it with an entirely anti-idealistic, self-destructive, even psychotic atmosphere, which I argue, still holds the dominant position in our society today (see my post on violence condoning torture for more on this).   Ok, then without further ado (and knowing that we’ll have to discuss these choices at a future time):  here would be my top 25 alternative/industrial albums of all time (and it’s basically ridiculous to put them in order, I think):

Dead Can Dance-  Serpent’s Egg, or Spiritchaser; 10,000 Maniacs – Our Time in Eden; The Cure- The Top; Joy Division- Substance; New Order – Substance; Belle & Sebastian – Tigermilk; Depeche Mode – Violator; Pixies – Doolittle; Loreena McKennitt – The Visit; Smashing Pumpkins – Gish; Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes; The Smiths- Louder than Bombs; Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs; The National – The National; REM – Document or Automatic for the People; Skinny Puppy – Mind:  The Perpetual Intercourse; Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas; Sundays – Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic; Ministry - Live:  In case you didn’t feel like showing up;  Moby – Play; St. Germain-St. Germain (a-lyrical, but idealistic); Coldplay – Rush of Blood to the Head; Death Cab for Cutie – Plans; Enya – Watermark; Sarah McLachlan – Fumbling Towards Ecstasy; Nine Inch Nails – Downward Spiral or Pretty Hate Machine.  Lisa Gerard – The Mirror Pool.

Ok, that’s 27.  But what most of these have in common, is that they are beautiful, sublime, epic, and/or highly idealistic.  They are not essentially violent (even Ministry-I’d argue), but essentially the opposite–egalitarian, democratic, progressive, empathetic.  They strive for the good, the beautiful, the just.  And so they receive the Platonist’s seal of approval.

Sólo porque me esté perdiendo no significa que esté perdido, no significa que me detendré, no significa que cruzaré

Sólo porque me esté haciendo daño, no significa que esté herido, no significa que no obtuve lo que merezco… ni mejor, ni peor

Me acabo de perder… cada río que he tratado de cruzar… cada puerta que he intentado atravesar estaba cerrada
… estoy esperando a que el brillo desaparezca.

Fotografía de JFabra. Texto extraído de Lost! – Coldplay

i heard this song on  Pandora (a smart online radio station. check it out) and its by a group called Williamson. Its all instrumental with guitars and a synthesizer of some kind. it just sounds cool. it reminded me of Sparks by Coldplay.

მიყვარს… მიყვარს… მიყვარს !!!
მუსიკა და მისი საოცარი ძალა, რომელიც მთლიანად შემოდის ჩემში, სხეულში მეღვრება და სულს მივსებს… ჰოდა, უბრალოდ მინდა მადლობა გადავუხადო ყველა ადამიანს, ვინც ამ საოცრებას ქმნის (იმ ავტორებს ვგულისხმობ, რომელთა სიმღერებიც ასეთ სიამოვნებას მანიჭებენ) … ვიცი, ჯერ კიდევ უმრავ ჰანგსა და მელოდიას არ მოუღწევია ჩემამდე, მაგრამ ნელ-ნელა ვეცნობი ამ საოცარ სამყაროს და ვოცნებობ, მეც მისი ნაწილი გავხდე… სამწუხაროდ, ეს მართლაც ოცნებაა: მე მხოლოდ მოსმენისა და სიყვარულის ნიჭი მაქვს…

რა თქმა უნდა, ცალკე გამოვყოფ Coldplay-ს, რომელსაც, მართლაც რომ, ვსუნთქავ… თითოეული ნოტი და ბგერა ისე ახლოსაა ჩემთან, რომ … მმ! : ))

ამ ეტაპზე ჩემი აჩემებული სიმღერებია Enigma – The Same Parents და ერთი ძალიან ნიჭიერი ადამიანის, ასევე ბლოგერის სიმღერა “only one”.
ამ პოსტის დაწერაც ამ ადამიანმა შთამაგონა, ასე რომ ვთქვათ, და დიდი მადლობა მინდა გადავუხადო “in my place”-სთვის, რომელიც დღეს სპეციალურად ჩემთვის დაუკრა და ძალიან გამახარა.

thank you, Merabukino :*

I get so frustrated when my Facebook doesn’t work.  Why does facebook have such control over my life?!  (o;  It really doesn’t..sometimes I wish I didn’t even have the thing.  It causes a lot of ruckus in my life sometimes.  It is a hilarious thing.  Don’t ever change anybody’s status without them knowing though.  I almost lost a sister that way.  (o;

I am still frustrated at it.

–

Today, I woke up at 10:30.  Uhmm…yes, I was quite lazy this morning.  I stayed up rather late last night though.  Project Runway Finale was on..and I was not going to miss that.  I was disappointed by who won, but I was quite inspired by Carol Hannah’s line.  It made me want to sew like crazy.  I will try to go to bed earlier tonight, because really, all this staying up late is killing me.  Sleep deprivation is like death I think…

—

Went with mamma to Costco this afternoon..we picked out a freezer, and I played a concert for the lovely customers.  They starred at me as I banged out coldplay’s Viva la Vida..and some original music scores I had written out for Bella’s broadway production.  I just love playing music for people.  I want to do it for the rest of my life.

—-

Anyway, I haven’t written anything very spiritual in a while.  And it’s not because I’ve been having a hard time spiritually, but rather I’ve had a lot to think about lately.  God has been working in marvelous ways these past few weeks.  To see how He is working everything out is amazing.  I don’t have words to express the joy and faith He has been spreading throughout my heart.  Jesus has become such a beautiful friend to me.  A friend of mine called the other night, and we talked about how Jesus has changed each of us.  How He took our filthy selves, and made us new.  I started thinking about how God sees sin as sin..in His eyes, one is not greater than the other..we all need to be saved, and freed, and made new.  So, no matter what we have done in our past, Jesus is waiting to make us new.  He does not forgive one person more than another.  As I was thinking of this, I began to become excited and full of peace.  Jesus is forgiveness, no matter what we have done♥

I love Him for that.

—–

I found a brilliant new artist.  J.J.Heller is amazing.  Her voice is so soothing, and her music so calming.  Reminds me of heaven.♥

This song encouraged me through some pretty grey days.

love…

ria♥

]]> http://viciousblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/retrospect-did-g-force-get-coldplayed/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:36:55 +0000 viciousblog http://viciousblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/retrospect-did-g-force-get-coldplayed/

Pretty much everything before 1979 is a blur. Bits and pieces flash before my eyes, but they’re fleeting.

1973-1978 are little more than flickering visions of polyester and plaid.

But for the longest time I could swear I was a child obsessed—with a cartoon.

I have visions of jumping around the backyard in a homemade costume, a paper “G” safety-pinned to my chest.

But it’s all so…fuzzy.

Maybe I was just thinking about Voltron.

But I could have sworn there was something before that—better than that.

It drove me nuts trying to grasp at the details of something that may or may not have existed.

20 years later, I was flipping through the channels when I landed on Cartoon Network.

There it was. Or was it?

I could have sworn it was called something else, but there it was.

G-Force: Guardians of the Universe.

I sat for a moment and watched.

Suddenly a flood of memories came rushing back, but…the memories weren’t matching up. Wasn’t this called Battle of the Planets?

And who the fuck are Ace Goodheart and Dirk Daring? Weren’t they named Mark and Jason?

It looked right, but the voices seemed off, the names were wrong…and wasn’t there originally a talking robot involved?

Was my memory that bad? I know I had my fun in college, but I had to have a few functioning brain cells left.

I turned the TV off and went to bed, confused and mildly angry that my childhood memories were so wrong.

But this was in a time before Wikipedia.

It turns out my childhood memories hadn’t failed me. I was right.

Sort of.

in 1972 Kagaku Ninja Tai Gathchaman was created in Japan. A few years later Sandy Frank, a producer most famous for the game show Name that Tune introduced an American dubbed version called Battle of the Planets.

But there were some changes. To hit the American juvenile television market of the late 1970s, Frank removed most of the elements of graphic violence, profanity and transgenderism—and added a talking robot, most likely to cash in on the popularity of a little movie called Star Wars.

So what the hell was on Cartoon Network?

In 1986 the cartoon was retooled as G-Force: Defenders of the Universe by Turner Entertainment. They added back in all the violence, removed the cute little robot and changed the names and voices.

And this is what aired on Cartoon Network.

Now, I like me some violent television, but…

I don’t like watching classic moments from my youth vandalized—even if it was restored it to its original glory.

Even if, in reality, that which I held so dearly was the actual vandalism.

As I read about my beloved childhood cartoon, I began noticing a strange similarity— another dubbed Japanese classic from the “good old days” bared some striking resemblances.

It got me wondering.

Did Voltron coldplay Battle of the Planets?

Now, before I continue, let me stress that as a child, I loved Voltron. Just about every boy my age did.

This isn’t about whether or not Voltron was bad ass. We all know Voltron was bad ass.

But.

Let’s just look at some of the evidence, shall we?

Battle of the Planets was a team of five. Each had a vehicle that fit into their main ship, the Phoenix.

Voltron was a team of five. Each had a vehicle that fit together to form the super robot, Voltron.

Coincidence?

Perhaps, but, let’s look at the teams, shall we?

Each color-coordinated team is lead by a stoic leader, level headed and heroic.

Both teams have an impetuous, hot-headed second in command, always ready to contest the decisions of the leader.

Chunky lummox with a heart of gold? Check.

Quirky, little guy with a speech impediment? Check.

Pink-clad female team member named Princess? Check and check. (Why do they always name the female team member Princess?)

Like I said before, I loved me some Voltron as a kid. They formed a blazing sword, for god’s sake.

But this isn’t about which show was better.

Truth be told, this isn’t even about which came first.

It’s really about proving my childhood was real. Those faded memories wrapped up in polyester and plaid—they were real…

As real as skinned knees and birthday cakes, an inevitable part of my childhood that was almost lost to the annals of time.

Almost.

The Muse I knew were tailor-made for academically inclined bedroom-dwelling adolescents. They had a safety scissor edge to them, a potential . They enabled a kind of Mild Rebellion – the thrill of ‘rock music’ within comforting environment of the classical, a scary dropped riff, quickly giving way to something soothing. For many they were the water-wings into meatier music. Their roll was defined and clear. So what now, what position do they fill?

Their latest album ‘The Resistance’ does nothing to ‘resist’ languishing in a mushy pile of progressive shit. Muse geographers may note that this shit-pile is to found at the bottom of the slippery-slope named ‘Blackholes and Revelations’. There is nothing in there for our previously defined audience, so: to whom does muse now appeal? The answer, as seen by their new announced wembley summer show, is everyone else.

So, in all seriousness let’s pat their backs, acknowledge their achievements. They’ve come gone from grass roots to national football pitches. Congratulations Coldplay, you’ve found the perfect venue for your foot-tapping stadium rock.

I feel that I was unnecessarily dismissive of JLS last time – to make amends I urge you to listen to thisss: