The fact that death metal is as mainstream as ever is validated everyday by various events. It is quite difficult to interpret why death metal became mainstream. Why a style of music that in the past people who listened to it were ridiculed and considered to be freaks is now respected by, god forbid, serious musicians. Nowadays death metal drummers are respected and even studied at music schools. And the most annoying thing, is that what now is out of the sudden viewed as musically notable, is exactly the same thing that existed in the late 80s-early 90s! Don’t kid ourselves. What Mike Smith (Suffocation) played back then he plays now… What Pete Sandoval (Terrorizer/Morbid Angel) played back then is copied by thousands today. Did anyone notice Doc’s (Vader) amazing performance back in 1995? Of course not! Don’t let me start about the music! There has not been one single innovation in death metal since the mid-90s. Whoever says that Nile is novel then they really have not heard of Immolation or Incantation. Whoever says that Necrophagist constitute innovation, they probably have not heard not only classic death metal (e.g. Death of the Individual thought patterns or symbolic era) but also some classic Thrash bands like Annihilator! Go listen to Never neverland and you may discover some riffs (listen to “sixes and sevens”) that Necrophagist have stolen and more that they will never be able to replicate! So why today this success?

For one thing, I personally am ashamed that death metal is being accepted as a “serious” music. That thing takes away all the energy and rebeliousness from it. The effects from this phenomenon are already visible. Kids are studying to play death metal! What is that about? People in the 80s did not study how “blast beats” should sound. Most importantly, they did not study how MUSIC was supposed to sound. It just came naturally! That is why there was so much variety! Now everything sounds the same! A young brutal band from Australia can sound exactly the same as one from New York, the UK, Sweden or Greece. Before I try to approach the question, why today this success, I will turn to some of the current events which indicate that death metal is more mainstream than ever.

First of all, lets all agree that grind exists since the mid-80s! Septic Death, Repulsion, Cryptic Slaughter, Napalm Death, etc. And then you have Dave Lombardo waking up and saying that he wants to follow the developments, so he added a few blastbeats to Slayer songs. Of course, to be perfectly honest, he did that before with Testament on their Gathering album (which by the way is monumental). In any case, the blast beat is officially recognised as a novelty now that it sells! Secondly, while death metal back in the day acounted for a small percentage of the metal scene, now it accounts for a huge part of it. I have not done a proper research to say that, but if you take a look at any 20 sequential cd reviews in Blabbermouth you would notice that more than 85% are extreme metal and around 50% death/death-hybrid metal. Thirdly, and most importantly, Nuclear Blast is interested in death metal again!!! That is the most crucial indication of death metal’s mainstream success. For those who don’t know Nuclear Blast was the german record company that helped in the emergence of death metal and had some of the most amazing bands ever, master, benediction, dismember, incantation, hypocrisy, pungent stench, revenant, sinister and others. However, it either shed them or just stoped being supportive of them by the mid-late 90s, when death metal was in a stalemate both creatively and commercially.  That was the time when melodic black metal was on the rise and power metal like Hammerfall. Grim times… It has been widely accepted since, that Nuclear Blast did what all companies who respect themselves should do, i.e. do it all for the money! And today we have Nuclear Blast (a major label) becoming interested in death metal once more… Newest additions include Suffocation, Immolation and Nile and I’m pretty sure more that I’m not aware of. What pisses me off is that this fucking company (I hate nuclear blast) has the highest vinyl prices in the market. I stll have not bought the latest Suffocation and Hypocrisy vinyls because they are ridiculously expensive. When I first started buying vinyl records I did it because back in the day they were cheaper than cds! Now they are twice the price of the cd or more!

So we have thousands of death metal bands aspiring to make a lot of money and fame by playing brutal death metal. But why? What made death metal widely respectable and a wise career move? Someone could argue that it just happened that some people finally realised what an inspired music and how talented musicians death metalers are. With all the new communication technologies available opinions move around easily, some people in high places (music magazines) get influenced eventually who in turn influence the kids around the globe. However, if you notice  today’s death scene and the early death scene you’ll notice differences that are much more than just a high degree of contemporary uniformity in relation to the past. You will also notice that everything today is polished. The kids playing death today are well dressed with nice haircuts and an attitude that even Manowar would envy. Still instead of getting to the bottom of it, things become more complicated. Causality is uncertain and every claim points to endogeneity.

Is it that maintream looking kids became interested in death metal, or is it that companies manufacture death metallers like that in order to be more mainstream? I think that there is a strong case for the former, with some elements of the latter. At this point I want to stress one crucial event that happened circa 2001. That is the huge success of System of a Down, a mainstream band, with a mainstream sound, with a definetely mainstream look. And guess what!? In a couple of the songs there is some grind, or what others call a blast-beat! This is what I think one of the definitive moments in the development of modern death metal and the widespread use of blastbeats. It was that, since a cool band does something, then it has to be cool. Many of the kids that listened to that beat thought that it was cool, because it was in the context of an ear-friendly music and not in the context of world downfall or from enslavement to obliteration! That also could have an effect of making people interested in the origins of this sound. That would eventually lead to the exhumation of death metal. Now where I think the record companies have meddled in is the image. I think that companies learned that what death metal was missing was support from the young female population (that can be easily explained by the fact that it is a musical movement started by empowered young men and reflects all the things that men are taught to like, violence and murder). Therefore they used methods of marketing ubiguitous in the rest of the music industry. That is to make extreme metal musicians look fuckable, instead of the dirtbags that they were in the past. So they combined that which starts to become cool (extremity in music), with a cool appearance. That is not against the interests of the musicians themselves of course.

In my eyes, today’s popular death metal is the death metal of laws, where everything is counted and balanced and make sense. It is not the death metal that goes out of hand, that is unreasonable and that it does not take a thousand notes per minute to be appreciated. The death metal where two chords, a brutal and sincerely pissed-off voice, and passion in performance can make the skin crawl. Many people, among which some expert musicians, be able to listen to the hyperbrutal New Wave Of Brutal Death Metal and even like it, but will never be able to understand the beauty of songs like Shadows in the Deep (unleashed), Life shatters (desultory), across the fields of forever (Edge of sanity) and It awaits (Asphyx). Why? Because it wouldn’t make sense? Why listen to them? They are not goodlooking (so I am either not attracted to them or I cannot use them as role models or I will feel ashamed if my friends find out I listen to these “funny looking” people), they are not technical (so I cannot prove smt to my parents, my friends or my music teacher) and they are noisy! Good stuff!

p.s. all those people who claim that cannibal corpse are creatively in their best period are wankers! Cannibal corpse have stoped being innovative and threatening to any musical conventions since 1996. Today cannibal corpse are the epitome of boredom and routine.

p.s.2. Nile’s last good album was Black seeds of vengeance. After that there has been a constant recycling.

p.s.3. Whoever says that the latest Asphyx album is good, has no idea about death metal or about what Asphyx used to stand for. The Asphyx wannabes try to capitulate on the rise of death metal and they probably achieve that. But the album is so uninspired that Theo Loomans shivers in his grave.

p.s.4 I’ve been reading lately (again) the most outrageous things about slayer’s new album. People saying that Americon is an uninspired song (Blabbermouth), people saying that playing with dolls explores new paths of melody (some wank on Amazon) etc. First of all, it is clear that people still cannot grasp the genious that Kerry King is. I’m pretty sure that if skeletons of society, or temptation were released today instead of 20 years ago people would still say the same stupid things… Sucks to be them. Secondly, slayer have been writing songs like playing with dolls since seasons (dead skin mask, in divine intervention 213, and others). So before you share your unimformed bullshit with other people go listen to the old albums.

I noticed something today. With the rise of personal music devices, people are walking to customized soundtracks to their lives.  30 years ago this wasn’t the case, simply because strapping a 20 pound record player to your hip was out of the question.

Think about it.   Many of us walk, bike,  ride public transit and wait in lines with headphones in our ears.  Out of these little speakers comes the music that, for the most part, embodies who we are. The sounds that enhance the atmosphere that is surrounding us.

Over the years the soundtrack will change, but songs will be repeated, resurfaced and rediscovered. Those songs are the ones that make the soundtrack.

These 10 tracks are the audio clips laid out on the narrow strip of film that is the soundtrack of my life.

People Turn Around – Delta Spirit: What story is yet to be told? “The song that needs singin, has already been sung before.”

Mama’s Eyes – Justin Townes Earle: Stripped down folk music at its finest. “Sure it hurts, but it should hurt sometimes.”

Tentative – System of a Down: Plain and simple, “We’re going down, in a spiral to the ground, no one, no ones gonna save us now.”

Twilight – Elliott Smith: “Haven’t laughed this hard in a long time. Better stop now before I start cryin’.”

Family System – Chevelle: Dirtiest metal riff I have ever heard. “What a man’s got, he’ll learn to hate.”

No One’s Aware – Jack Savoretti: “Being alone doesn’t mean that you’re free, so come with me.”

Old Man – Neil Young: Success is only a title. “Doesn’t mean that much to me to mean that much to you.”

You Never Even Called Me By My Name – David Allan Coe: Those who know this one, just know. “You never even called me by my name.”

Glory Bound – Martin Sexton: “I’m taking a chance on the wind, I’m packin’ up all my bags.”

Good People – Kyle MacKenzie: You know who you are. “You, my friends, are good people.”

What’s your soundtrack? I would love to hear it…

Imi place sa plang la filme care ma emotioneaza, imi place sa stau in pat noaptea vreo ora, doua (atunci cand nu sunt obosit) si sa analizez situatiile, comportamentul, vorbaraia, greselile mele si ale altor persoane cu care am interactionat in ziua respectiva, imi place la nebunie sa ascult muzica (rock, metal, putin drum ‘n’ bass si alte genuri-sa simt ca nu mai sunt un simplu om atunci cand ajung la solo-ul de chitara de la Radio/Video a celor de la SYSTEM OF A DOWN si imi place cand ma trezesc din somn in anumite momente si ma simt drogat, ciudat, infrant, molesit, distrus, fara viitor, scalambaiat, articulat, retroschimbat etc.
Imi place sa zbor deseori cu gandul la ceea ce imi place cu adevarat si imi place sa scriu poezii; de asemenea imi place sa incerc sa raspund la intrebari grele care necesita raspunsuri “grele” si imi place sa cred ca sunt in stare sa dau raspunsuri, daca nu bune, cel putin pertinente…
Imi place sa-mi traiesc viata asa cum stiu eu si imi place sa cred ca imi dau silinta sa fac totul bine, desi sunt constient ca de cele mai multe ori gresesc, din cauza codului genetic imperfect poate:)
Imi place sa ma autodepasesc, imi place sa mi se lanseze provocari (mai ales de catre sora mea, eterna “rivala spirituala”:P)… imi place este un cuvant atat de banal dar care poate fi zidit cu experiente din viata fiecaruia sau cu lucruri pe care le facem cu placere-atunci devine luminos si rece, frumos si stramb…

Mathcore pioneers Dilinger Escape Plan have announced the release of their latest album Option Paralysis. The album is set to be released on March 23, 2010. They are releasing through their own label Party Smasher Inc./Season Of Mist. DEP have been a little quiet since 2007 when they released the highly praised Ire Works.

The alternative music scene is binding together in support of Deftones’ bassist Chi Cheng, who remains in a semi-conscious state after a traffic accident in November 2008. Many items are being auctioned to try to cover the medical expenses outside of his insurance. Acts including Metallica, System of a Down, Blink 182, HIM and Slayer have generously donated their time and equipment in aid of Cheng.

In similar news a crew member of Fear Before (previously known as Fear Before the March of Flames) has suffered some very serious injuries on tour in Australia. After falling through a weak point of a roof, Trent Jacobi toppled around eight metres, his fall broken by a bicycle. He suffered several fractures in his pelvis, a broken left arm, punctured lung, and three broken ribs. Unfortunately he didn’t have medical insurance, so Fear Before have launched a site on which fans can donate to Trent’s cause.

Black metallers Mayhem have taken a distinctly rock ‘n’ roll approach to their current tour after trashing their hotel room in Tilburg in The Netherlands. The band and crew were arrested on Monday morning after an employee of the hotel found the mess. Plants were thrown in the street, mirrors, a sink, television and beds were destroyed in the rampage. The damage bill is estimated to reach 5000 Euros.

Rammstein’s latest album Liebe ist Fur Alle Da has been banned from public display in Germany due to its depiction of sadism and masochism on the controversial cover. Petra Meier, the deputy president of the Federal Office for the Examination of Media Harmful to Young People, also cited some of the lyrics as objectionable, including: “Bites, kicks, heavy blows, nails, pincers, blunt saws – Tell me what you want.” Consequently the album can no longer be advertised or displayed in open exhibition where it may be accessed by people under 18.

I’ll fondly remember 2001 as the year that I began to really appreciate music, and it was the year I probably first realized I preferred rock and metal music over other types (and my affair with pop and electronic music was temporarily over.) Again, with many of these choices that are below, I didn’t fully appreciate the albums until years later, with the exception of my first 2 picks. These albums are in NO particular order, but rather the first albums that sprung to my mind in my brains musical encyclopedia.

1) System of a Down – Toxicity

Here it is – probably the first album that made me go, WOW in terms of heavyness. This album from start to finish is pretty unforgiving for the majority of it. I discovered this album through the success of the song “Chop Suey”, after hearing this I knew I had to get the whole album. Even though the album is heavy, there are some beautiful songs in this album too, including the closer “Aerials” and “Atwa”. This album got regular play on my upgraded personal CD player (no more tape player to school!) including a rather embarrassing loud play in the IT suite in school. It was my first time bringing music into school, and I thought I plugged my headphones into the right slot in the screen, but turns out I had to plug it into the computer, and yeah, Prison Song played at top volume (I forgot to check the volume too!) and my teacher was not pleased at all. Hilarity ensued. One of the few albums that I still own today and listen to on a regular basis. I’ll never forget this album; it introduced me to metal. And John Dolmayan was a huge influence on my drumming too, and playing along with these songs are always great fun for me.

2) Muse – Origin of Symmetry

My older brother actually bought this album the week it came out, and I stole it from him one day and decided to give it a listen; curious as to what my brother was listening to those days. With the opener “New Born” I was thinking “oh great, boring music time” until the heavy guitar refrain came in; suddenly, my ears perked up and I was interested. At the time, I found it a little difficult to pay attention to, simply because of some of the  songs durations (a problem I certainly do not have now) but I liked it. “Plug In Baby” and “New Born” were instant favourites for me, of course the fact that they were both heavy and radio friendly made me love them even more. I eventually over the years began to appreciate this album very much, and I’m glad to put this album in my Top 10 favourite albums of all time. This album has it all, beautiful ballads, amazing piano and synth work, along with really great guitar parts and effects, and absolutely  grooving drums. “Citizen Erased” is still one of my favourite songs to listen to, and it gets regularly played at top volume in my apartment. It really is Muse’s statement of intent for their next few albums, alternative rock with progressive tendencies and dreamy soundscapes at times. It’s also their way of giving a big middle finger to their critics at the time, who called them just another Radiohead rip-off.

3) Incubus – Morning View

Morning View was an album that I’ve had on my computer for many years, and I was well aware of “Wish You Were Here” and “Are You In?” just because they both had heavy rotation on radio at the time. But, I never completely got into this album until as late as last year. “Blood On The Ground” came on shuffle on my iPod, and I was hooked. This album has it all, great pop style melodies, memorable lyrics, heavy guitar passages, great drumming (with amazing hi-hat and splash cymbal work by Jose Pasillas), funky basslines and great atmospheric sounds that make this album a sonical bliss to listen to. This album gets repeated plays on my computer/iPod, almost daily. Certainly another Top 10 candidate for favourite albums of all time.

4) Daft Punk – Discovery

And, here it is, the first electronic/dance album on my decade in review! The summer of 2001, my friends and I always went to the local swimming pool every week for a good swim, funnily enough. But anyway, on the radio, constantly, was the song “Digital Love”. I loved it. Fantastic synth passages in that song. Anyway, I would call this Daft Punk’s magnum opus. A fantastic album from start to finish, with almost every song ready for the radio, and can instantly elevate my mood from bad to good. Such a feel-good album.

Honorable mentions (there were many great albums in that year! However, I feel I couldn’t write a good enough review about them)

Tool – Lateralus
Transatlantic – Bridge Across Forever
Weezer – The Green Album

2002 will be up in a few days. And I know for certain that there are some amazing albums from that year too.

Iain

Tracklist:

01 – Chic ‘n’ Stu

02 – Inner Vision

03 – Bubbles

04 – Boom!

05 – Nuguns

06 – A.D.D.

07 – Mr. Jack

08 – I-E-A-I-E-I-O

09 – 36

10 – Pictures

11 – Highway Song

12 – Fuck The System

13 – Ego Brain

14 – Thetawaves

15 – Roulette

16 – Streamline

http://lix.in/-5d59bc

Tracklist:

01 – Attack

02 – Dreaming

03 – Kill Rock ‘N Roll

04 – Hypnotize

05 – Stealing Society

06 – Tentative

07  – U-Fig

08 – Holy Mountains

09 – Vicinity of Obscenity

10 – She’s Like Heroin

11 – Lonely Day

12 – Soldier Side

http://lix.in/-5d59a8

Tracklist:

01 – Soldier Side (Intro)

02 – B.Y.O.B.

03 – Revenga

04 – Radio-Video

05 – Cigaro

06 – This Cocaine Maes Me Feel Like I’m On This Song

07 – Violent Pornography

08 – Question!

09 – Sad Statue

10 – Old School Hollywood

11 – Lost in Hollywood

http://lix.in/-6066ea

Tracklist

01 – Prison Song

02 – Needles

03 – Deer Dance

04 – Jet Pilot

05 – X

06 – Chop Suey!

07 – Bounce

08 – Forest

09 – ATWA

10 – Science

11 – Shimmy

12 – Toxicity

13 – Psycho

14 – Aerials

http://lix.in/-61ed8b

Tracklist

01 – Suite-Pee

02 – Know

03 – Sugar

04 – Suggestions

05 – Spiders

06 – Ddevil

07 – Soil

08 – War

09 – Mind

10 – Peephole

11 – Cubert

12 – Darts

13 – P.L.U.C.K.

http://lix.in/-5ee049

Wo ich doch beim letzten mal was von Neuer Klassik und so erzählt habe, erhielt ich hier einen guten Tipp, was mich wieder daran erinnerte. Naja, ich schieb die Erinnerung jetzt mal auf die Violinen, aber die Mädels sind der Hammer und Klasse, das reicht ja auch schon. Unbedingt mal anschauen! Toxicity- System of a Down – okay vielleicht können sie beim nächsten mal auch dazu singen.

#79: Red Hot Chili Peppers/Stadium Arcadium (2006) — I’ve already noted that John Frusciante is one of the best guitarists of all time. As a collective, any band than can pull off the prolific feat of a double album in this day and age and have a sizable chunk of that music trully showcase why a band should be a Hall of Fame act is considerably impressive. Check out: ‘Snow (Hey Oh)’ ‘Wet Sand,’ Storm in a Teacup,’ and ‘Turn It Again.’

#78: Dinosaur, Jr/Farm (2009) — Before Nirvana, there was Dinosaur, Jr. That was 16 years ago in my mind…and in MY mind, my formative years took place just before the alternative era…I was listening to the Pixies by way of the U2 Zoo TV tour, and naturally found myself turned on to Mascis and Murph and the 1993 commerical breakthrough, Where You Been?…this was back when MTV played videos, kids. ‘Start Choppin,’ and ‘Out There,’ garnered several spins in the tape deck (yes, remember walkmen? No, no the band…) Jump ahead to today and they’ve never sounded so good (with Barlow back in the fold)…every song a testament to why J Mascis should be remember for the guitarist and songwriter he is. Check out: ‘Pieces,’ ‘Plans,’ and ‘See You,’ for a brief tutorial.

#77: Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson/Break Up (2009) — o.k. we all know the story – Pete woke up one morning and decided to do a duets album. Save for the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss record, there haven’t been too many duets records this decade that have been able to truly cross lines and blow people away. As with anything over time, this album is an update on a theme, but it works (addressing both the past and present musically) – in the end, it’s a beautifully crafted pop album. Scarlett’s voice is truly a gift and a great foil and muse for Pete’s music. In a nutshell, it just works. Check out: ‘Relator, ‘I Am The Cosmos,’ and ‘Clean.’

#76: Our Lady Peace/Spiritual Machine (2001): Up until ‘01, was a damn good year for music and competitive for my ears, OLP was the only music coming out of Canada worth my time. OLP probably produced their most artistic and well balanced album that year, save for the whole conceptual, sci-fi b.s. The music stands the test of time, and holds up remarkably well. Check out: ‘In Repair,’ ‘Are You Sad?’ and ‘Made to Heal.’

#75: Nonpoint/Statement (2000) — these guys, like fellow East Coast Nu Metalers Sevendust, made a household name for themselves by just constant touring…I can’t tell you how many times (ad nauseum) they have ended on local bills. So much so that perhaps their message is a bit watered down these days. That aside, 10 years ago Statement was released and the crunchy metal along with a lead singer was the right amount swagger, sway and full-on rage fit the time in place. Bear in mind I was 23 and was still one for the pits. In fact I think it was crushing blow to the spine and jaw at a subsequent show that finally made me hang it up. When you ‘re having a bad day and want to imagine breaking sh*t…this is what one listens to. Full album is a TANK. Check out: ‘Endure,’ ‘What a Day,’ and ‘Tribute.’

#74: Head Automatica/Decadence (2004) — I remember the first listen of this album (my expectations were low, seeing as I just never got into Glassjaw – surprising, I know…), but I love a lead singer who can completely re-invent himself for a new project and that’s exactly what Daryl Palumbo does for Head Automatica. Decadence is a hard-rocking pop gem. The boys in H.A. get the party starting and never let up. Such great lyricis, such great funky rock. Check out: ‘At the Speed of a Yellow Bullet,’ ‘Brooklyn is Burning,’ and ‘Beating Heart Baby.’ — and you’re hooked.

#73: Thirty-Six Crazyfists/A Snow-Capped Romance (2004) — 36CF’s second album and second entry on my Top 100 of the decade. They don’t call it a sophomore slump for nothing folks – I can’t tell you how many bands I’ve seen crash and burn this decade b/c of it. 36CF cleaned up some of Brock’s vocals (but not the heart-on-sleeve reverence of his lyricism) and continued to bridge that gap between the hardcore sound remniscent in late 90’s acts like Handsome, Deftones and Flaw while maintaining a metal following for their brash, angular guitar-work. In other words, not for the weak of heart. Checkout: ‘The Heart and the Shape’ ‘Skin and Atmosphere,’ and ‘Waterhaul.’

#72: The Duke Spirt/Neptune (2008) — during my brief tenure at R.S. there were only a handful of acts that really got my juices flowing and made me want to bend over backwards to promote them despite many obstacles. Liela Moss is a true rock n’ roll frontwoman. That powerful European voice …fits into the hipster melodies crafted perfectly around her. The band is equal parts Spiritualized, Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. God love ‘em. Another great ‘road,’ record. ‘The sky is more certain than you will ever be/the rainclouds are angry at you and at me/forgive me baby/I’m not all that you see/I would understand your heart/if I could feel it…’ Check out: ‘The Step and The Walk,’ ‘This Ship Was Built to Last,’ and ‘Wooden Heart.’

#71: Smashing Pumpkins/ZEITGEIST (2007) — It’s hard to say whether or not this release might’ve ended up higher had it not been for the past two years of Billy slowly jumping the shark and Jimmy finally jumping ship. I was a believer as promo built for the album and the Pumpkins returned to active touring duty for the first time in seven years. Yes, I say Pumpkins b/c I still believe the Pumpkins were really just Billy n’ Jimmy anyway. Save for ‘Starz,’ this album, when put together completely after you bought the final Best Buy version (and added the iTunes and Target exclusive tracks), is a formidable asset to the discography. While 2000’s MACHINA was the formal swan song of the band as SP diehards new it; this is the rock album fans wondered if they would see after Mellon Collie. Check out: ‘Bleeding the Orchid,’ ‘Tarantula,’ and ‘Stellar.’

#70: System of a Down/Toxicity (2001) — at the turn of the century, nu metal was on its last legs. Korn’s Issues was released in (1999) and they would only release one meaningful album over the next 10 years. Limp Bizkit were also fading away. Godsmack’s Awake came out in 2000 and, save for newcomers Mudvayne, could widely be considered the mainstream hard rock success as a heavier new scene in metal began to develop. S.O.A.D. debuted in 1998 and three years later launched Toxicity with all the manic tendencies of eccentric frontman Serj Tankian, railing about multiplying, leaving keys on the table, and pogoing at swinger parties. Beyond that Daron Malakian was creating metal riff’s that spoke to the masses while an Armenian percussion and backdrop offered a well-rounded, Grammy-winning style that set the band apart from its peers. Check out: ‘Chop Suey,’ ‘Bounce,’ and ‘Deer Dance.’

Zane Lowe in Teignmouth. Photo by tj.moore at Flickr.

Setlist:

1. Kasabian – Clubfoot
2. Biffy Clyro – That Golden Rule
3. Chemical Brothers vs. Party – Galvanise The Empire
4. Black Sheep – The Choice Is Yours
5. Radiohead – The National Anthem
6. U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
7. Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)
8. Public Enemy – Fight The Power
9. Whateverman – P.E. Theme
10. Old School Break
11. John Lennon – Power To The People
12. Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song
13. Rage Against The Machine vs. Whateverman – Killing It
14. Rage Against The Machine – Killing In The Name
15. Edwin Starr vs. Whateverman – What War
16. White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
17. System of a Down – Chop Suey
18. Sex Pistols – Anarchy In The UK
19. The Prodigy – Firestarter
20. The Prodigy – Warrior’s Dance
21. Ian Brown – F.E.A.R.

A radio rip is available to download for free here.

The above is not a setlist as much as this year’s most exciting megamix – and there’s a phrase I haven’t bandied around with complete abandon since 2004. Previously, I mentioned something of writing about my favourite remixes of the year and although perhaps this isn’t the ’something’ I was expecting to write, c’est la vie. This year has been fucking awful for good remixes. I could only find three that met my flaky standards. One was the Stuart Price remix of Paparazzi which I overplayed anyway and don’t really enjoy any more, and doesn’t exist much outside of the middle eight anyway. Another was the Does It Offend You, Yeah? remix of Uprising that sometimes is better than the album version – a claim which is completely reliant on my mood at any given moment in time. But I’m a complete whore for DIOY,Y remixes anyway, so it’s a completely predictable anticlimax. The third was the Filthy Dukes mix of To Lose My Life that I thought was fun for a few weeks but it dulled quickly. Thinking about it, I only really liked it because it sounded like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, White Lies and Bimbo Jones in one big melting pot, then I realised that they all do their own thing independently and it sounds better than this track. And with that thought, this brief flirtation was o-v-a-h.

I was reminiscing about the Teignmouth weekend a couple of days ago and realised that Zane Lowe’s warm up set for the evening was, not only one of the best openers I’ve seen for a band, but it fit the bill for resuscitating this dismal commentary. I’ve seen Zane DJ in a couple of other venues before, but he didn’t leave any kind of impression on me. This clicked. He actually did two half hour sets sandwiched between some really happening local bands, and the second was superior to the first, which is above. Rather annoyingly, the audio of the second never surfaced, and I don’t remember much of it other than an amazing remix of Bonkers, so I can’t even describe it. It was amazing. But back to the first set – Zane made me dance. I never dance. Ever. I’ve never understood the appeal behind DJing, or how some people are into it in the same way that I’m into peanut butter M&Ms (you’re pressing play on a track someone else created? Inspirational.) but I have a new found appreciation for it all now. Kind of.

I loved the way it was put together – though I will say that the airhorns all the way through got me excited for a play of the Freemasons remix of Ring The Alarm, which Zane obviously did not play: it was so not the audience for the Freemasons (myself aside, and I would have danced for everyone else there if it had come on),  but I loved all of the thought which had gone into each track and how it would work best in the mix. It was a great blend of genres, alongside music from today and music from ye olden days as well that provided an education for some of the younger audience members there (“Isn’t this from that Fatman Scoop song?”). It created an air of context for the set Muse went on to play, both musically and emotionally, and that’s a beautiful thing.

I would have taken System of a Down out though. I hate that song. Flobots would have worked just as well there.

Nice work Zane Looooooooooooooooooowe. I’m on board.

Venerdì 20 novembre serata Notorious all’Alcatraz di Milano:
in apertura concerto di DORA LEE, una Band di grande impatto visivo e sonoro con un occhio di riguardo ai suoni e alle tendenze del Momento. La band  unisce potenza e raffinatezza vocale ad uno spassosissimo intrattenimento per qualsiasi tipologia di pubblico - Un repertorio che spazia dalle hit del momento, alla dance latina, al Rock italiano, alla dance 70-80-90- al revival 60

A seguire musica da ballare nelle due piste:
Pista 1 commerciale e Revival con Diggei Angelo e Danilo Rossini,
Pista 2 100% rock con Mary Key 

A inizio serata si svolgerà l’evento Ring Rules: una serie di “uno contro uno” di kickboxing per guadagnarsi un posto ad Oktagon a marzo 2010, uno degli eventi più importanti nel panorama mondiale kickboxing

 Sabato 21 novembre serata Milano Rock con “Monsters Of Tribute”:
due grintose cover band che renderanno omaggio ad altrettante storiche formazioni hard’n’heavy.
Apriranno la serata i Wildestier con il loro tributo ai Rammstein,seguiti dai Revenga, che proporranno il repertoriodella band nu-metal californiana System Of A Down

Alcatraz – via Valtellina 21, Milano
www.myspace.com/alcatrazmilano
infoline: 339 2333672 – 02 69016352

Venerdì 20 novembre serata Notorious all’Alcatraz di Milano:
in apertura concerto di DORA LEE, una Band di grande impatto visivo e sonoro con un occhio di riguardo ai suoni e alle tendenze del Momento. La band  unisce potenza e raffinatezza vocale ad uno spassosissimo intrattenimento per qualsiasi tipologia di pubblico - Un repertorio che spazia dalle hit del momento, alla dance latina, al Rock italiano, alla dance 70-80-90- al revival 60

A seguire musica da ballare nelle due piste:
Pista 1 commerciale e Revival con Diggei Angelo e Danilo Rossini,
Pista 2 100% rock con Mary Key 

A inizio serata si svolgerà l’evento Ring Rules: una serie di “uno contro uno” di kickboxing per guadagnarsi un posto ad Oktagon a marzo 2010, uno degli eventi più importanti nel panorama mondiale kickboxing

 Sabato 21 novembre serata Milano Rock con “Monsters Of Tribute”:
due grintose cover band che renderanno omaggio ad altrettante storiche formazioni hard’n’heavy.
Apriranno la serata i Wildestier con il loro tributo ai Rammstein,seguiti dai Revenga, che proporranno il repertoriodella band nu-metal californiana System Of A Down

Alcatraz – via Valtellina 21, Milano
www.myspace.com/alcatrazmilano
infoline: 339 2333672 – 02 69016352

I’m sure everyone has that list of songs that are just so amazing that they have to be listened to really, really, obnoxiously loud. Well, obnoxious to anyone who does not want to listen to loud music or who doesn’t share the same taste in music you do. I, of course, have a list, and I’d like to share the YouTube links with you. Just make sure your speakers on really loud!

System of a Down- Chop Suey

Green Day- 2000 Light Years Away

Yes, that’s from the concert that I was at (hence why I picked it). No, I did not record that.

Sum 41- The Hell Song

Linkin Park- Given Up

System of a Down- Radio/Video

Green Day- St. Jimmy

In the future I might pick some other songs worthy of being played really loud. I have quite a few favorites!

System of a Down (también conocido abreviadamente como System o por sus siglas, SOAD) es una banda de metal alternativo, de ascendencia armenia, formada en Glendale, California, en el año 1995. En un comienzo se llamaron Soil, pero luego adoptaron el nombre “System of a Down” inspirados por el poema Victims of a Down escrito por el guitarrista Daron Malakian. Son famosos por realizar canciones en cuyas letras se manifiestan en contra del maltrato infantil, la violencia, la guerra, la pornografía violenta y machista, el predominio de los intereses materialistas en la sociedad, las desigualdades sociales, físicas e ideológicas, la intolerancia o la discriminación entre otros.

Está compuesta por Serj Tankian (voz/teclado/ocasionalmente guitarra), Daron Malakian (guitarra/voz), Shavo Odadjian (bajo) y John Dolmayan (batería).

Inspireret af dagbladspressen og in part mit job har jeg besluttet, at lave en lille hurtig liste over de bedste plader fra de 00′er som vi snart forlader. Listen er ikke i præfereret rækkefølge; det er bestemt ikke en kanon og listen er ikke udvalgt ud fra andre kvalitetskriterier end, at pladerne har betydet noget for mig på hver sin måde.

In Rainbows – Radiohead 2007

Skelsættende på så mange niveauer. Min samvittighed bød mig kun, at give de 420 kroner for at få the special edition på udgivelsesdagen; LP med Cd udgave + B sider. Når jeg hører pladen er jeg tilbage til dengang, jeg boede på  et lille værelse med megen motorstøj fra Ndr. Ringgade på Trøjborg i Århus. Egentlig burde jeg også nævne Kid A og Hail to the Thief, men man skal jo vælge.

The Singer – Teitur 2008

Soundtracket til mit livs bedste Roskilde. Alt gik op i en højere enhed. Vejret, Lejren, menneskene, festerne, musikken men størst af alt var det det år, hvor jeg foran indgangen ved Pavillion Junior fik at vide, at jeg skulle være onkel. Rørstrømsk som jeg er, stod jeg en times tid senere alene og græd foran Orange imens Teitur sang titelnummeret “The Singer”. Ubetinget lykke!

Zitilites – Kashmir 2003

Deres bedste plade hvis du spørger mig. Stemningsfuld af helvede til og sangskrivning af uhørt høj kvalitet. Udgivet imens jeg gik i gymnasiet blev den både en fest og lejrbålsklassiker. Samtidig den plade der påviste at min ven og gamle guitarelev  havde overhalet mig rent teknisk.

Action Paiting – Speaker Bite me 2007

Igen en plade der blev købt efter en stor koncert oplevelse – muligvis min bedste nogensinde. SPOT festival 2007 i Musikhus Århus. Jeg kan huske koncerten utroligt detaljeret. Måske var det fordi, at man sad ned og var lidt smadret. Jeg mindes hvordan der var så stille i salen, at man kunne høre Jomi Massages høje hæle, da hun spadserede fra den ene ende af scenen til den anden. Efter koncerten sad jeg som paralyseret i et par minutter, hvorefter jeg udbrød: “Det var jo sindsygt!” – en sætning der iøvrigt endte i Dagbladet Information.

White Pony – Deftones 2000

Pladen der både fik mig til at lytte til NU-metal og til at fjerne mig fra den. Jeg synes stadig, at den er genial i sit lydbillede og sin brug af få og sære virkemidler. Numre som “Passenger” og “Digital bath” er små mesterværker der på mange måder definerer min måde at tænke trommegroves og guitarfigurer. Teksten til ” Change (in the house of flies)” sendte jeg iøvrigt til en Eks-kæreste som et billede på den udvikling vores forhold havde taget.  Hun misforstod totalt gestussen og teksten med. Hun takkede mig og synes at det var en sød tanke…..

Absolution – MUSE 2004

Se nedenstående :

Unaturligt valg

Vapen och Amunition – Kent 2002

Købt ved et tilfælde fordi jeg stod i Expert i Nykøbing Mors og så det flotte cover. Som jeg stod der kom jeg i tanke om, at jeg vist havde set noget med dem-her Kent på det-der MTV (som vi ikke havde derhjemme), hvor de vist nok spillede en god sang. Sangen var “Musik non stop” fra Hagnesta Hill – en plade jeg først købte år senere. Guitarrollerne på denne plade kan ses som grundstenen til min egen måde at spille guitar i band sammenhænge på.

Lifted – Bright Eyes 2002

Denne plade fik jeg anbefalet af en ven som gled ud af mit liv fordi vi begge forandrede os. Hans anbefaling var simpel: “Det er ordene der er guldet!”. Jeg fandt dog også stor inspiration i Conor Oberst’s måde at skrive sange på – og måske endnu mere hans DIY-agtige måde at indspille dem. Intimt og rocket, folket og indiepoppet.

Mesmerze/Hypnotize – System of a Down 2004-2006

I know ! – ikke det mest übercoole, men en overgang kunne jeg ikke gå til en fest og slet ikke køre i bus/tog uden at have denne dobbelt plade indkodet på det relativt nye fænomen: Mp3-afspilleren. Jeg var facineret af vokalharmonier og hardrock og så er de her plader ret spot on. Sjovt nok havde jeg sideløbende et Queen-flip – som stadig hænger lidt ved. Queen har også lavet en plade i 00′erne men den er der BESTEMT ingen grund til at nævne.

Once more with Feeling (Compilation) – Placebo 2004

Min værelseskammerat på efterskolen købte i 2000 Placebos Black market music. Dengang fattede jeg ikke rigtig Brian Molkos androgyne røst, men den gang var min musik smag VIRKELIG også håbløs (bortset fra White pony forstås), men det er en anden historie. Det er først da jeg flytter til Århus og dermed tættere på en TP, at jeg opdager Placebos kolosale værdi. Jeg købte Once more with feeling for en 50′er og nu tror jeg, at jeg har hørt et nummer fra den en gang i ugen siden.

Enjoy!

Esta noticia no es actual…pero me pareció curioso saber porque se separaron…

S.O.A.D. según dijo Daron Malakian, guitarrista del grupo, se separan de manera indefinida después del Ozzfest:

“Yo siempre perteneceré a System Of A Down, eso no cambiará. No hay ninguna norma que obligue a sacar discos constantemente, como contra reloj. Queremos vivir nuestras vidas, porque estar en una banda realmente te consume gran parte de tu vida, y a veces uno solo quiere parar y bajar la velocidad. Comenzamos simplemente siendo ‘los tíos de una banda’ y el siguiente momento con el que te encuentras es que todo el mundo te para que le firmes autógrafos. Eso se hace muy duro mentalmente.
No nos disolvemos como grupo, de ser así no tocaríamos en Ozzfest próximamente. Vamos a tomarnos un tiempo de descanso bastante prolongado tras el Ozzfest. No estaremos sobre un escenario de nuevo tras el nombre de System Of A Down hasta dentro de unos años. Hemos estado 10 años metidos en System Of A Down, y será bueno para nuestra salud dejarlo un tiempo y hacer nuestras propias cosas.”

Pero lo que pocos saben es que la cosa terminaría bruscamente ya que en el escenario de Ozzfest en donde seria su despedida,
Malakian “improvisó Lonely Day” insultando gravemente a su banda.
En lugar de cantar:

Such a lonely day
Should be banned
It’s a day that I can’t stand

Cantó,mirando a Tankian:

Such a lonely day
hanging out with the band
This motherfucker, I can’t stand.

O sea:

Un día tan solitario,
aguantando a esta banda
Este hijo de put*;no puedo soportarlo

Como es evidente a Tankian no terminó de hacerle gracia y, aunque no de forma oficial, ha dejado el grupo.

Aquí podemos ver el video en el Ozzfest donde pasa todo esto:

Have you ever been in a remotely similiar situation as this? For example, where you’re talking with someone you’ve just met and you get your iPod out, and so you ask them what kind of music they like. And they reply, “oh, lots. I like lots of different genres”. You give them your iPod, and they hate every single fricking song.

I honestly love all kinds of music. I’ve been getting into gothic metal (Evanescence, Within Temptation) over the past year, and I’ve also really liked stuff like Linkin Park, System of a Down etc. Nu Metal, I think the genre is?

Now, I’m starting to like British rap. There’s just something that I absolutely love about the London accent that rappers like Dizzee Rascal have. I pick up that accent really easily, I end up using it when I meet my second cousin.. I don’t really like any other rap, except for Eminem. His songs are actually entertaining y’know? You don’t have to be really into rap to enjoy them. Click more, for the music videos etc.

Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris with Dance Wiv Me (though I hate when people use that kind of spelling in song names, Slave 4 U really annoys me)

Tinchy Stryder’s You’re not alone (in Sugar they had an article about where they went to the filming (or atleast the beginning) of this music video, he sounds really sweet). There’s just something about how he says on in you keep holding on that I love

Dear Baldy,

I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that your batshit crazy fans have a new obsession. Trying to figure out what the blue ‘14′ you have tattooed on your forearm means.

It occurs to none of them that all these hours of pointless speculation only underscore one thing to those of us that still have our sanity. It points out how dementedly obsessed to the point of it sounding like a mental illness they all are. Who gives a shit if you did or didn’t get a tattoo and why do they have to know what the hell it means?

I’m pretty disgusted that in this world dealing with real serious long lasting problems such as poverty, hunger, war and economic collapse that these shallow bitches chose to debate the meaning of your tattoo like the Senate arguing over Health Care Reform. It’s insane! It’s sick!

Let’s examine some of the dumber theories to show you how deep the stupid and insane runs.

1 – A certain website owner/moderator is claiming it’s a jersey number and the team colors of your beloved Kansas City Chiefs. *Aaaack!* (game show buzzer sound) She is obviously color blind considering the Chiefs colors are white and red, not blue.

2 – Others say it has to do with the Book of David in the Bible, chapter 14. *Aaaaack!* There is NO book in the Bible named ‘David” and I believe you have stated publicly that you are an agnostic.

They are consulting numerology websites, the I Ching, running searches on “blue 14″ on Google and spending fruitless hours guessing.

Might as well ponder why Taylor Swift writes a “13″ on her hand before performing without knowing the real why.. it’s just dumb.

Doesn’t System of a Down have a song on their Blue album called 14?

Baldy, you need some normal folks as fans, who don’t give a rip what you tattoo on yourself and don’t waste hours obsessing over it. These tards need a padded cell, straight jackets,  therapy, Thorazine and baby food.