Stockholm is sleepy today.

I close my eyes and open my ears.

Come and see

I swear by now I’m playing time against my troubles

I’m coming slow but speeding

Do you wish a dance and while

I’m in the front

The play on time is won

But the difficulty is coming here

I will go in this way

And find my own way out

I won’t tell you what to be

But I’m coming to much more

Me

All at once the ghosts come back

Reeling in you now

What if they came down crushing

Remember when I used to play for

All of the loneliness that nobody

Notices now

I’m begging slow I’m coming here

Only waiting

I wanted to stay

I wanted to play,

I wanted to love you

I’m only this far

And only tomorrow leads my way

I’m coming waltzing back and

Moving into your head

Please, I wouldn’t pass this by

I wouldn’t take any more than

What sort of man goes by

I will bring water

Why won’t you ever be glad

It melts into wonder

I came in praying for you

Why won’t you run

In the rain and play

Let the tears splash all over you

Metal Blade Records announced on Friday Nov. 20, 2009 that they would be adding System Divide to their list of signed bands. System Divide is a death metal band that features members of Aborted, Malignancy and Antenora.

System Divide has completed the music video to accompany The Apex Doctrine, a track off their current EP. Metal Blade Records reports that the song and video will be on System Divide’s full-length debut. The video trailer and the tracks The Apex Doctrine and (n)Ether are available for viewing and listening pleasure on System Divide’s MySpace page.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of the Metal Blade roster, a label that has been pushing the boundaries of extreme music and putting lots of great new acts in the spot light,” said Sven De Caluwe, vocalist of System Divide in Metal Blade Record’s press release. “We know SYSTEM DIVIDE is in the hands of a competent team of driven music FANS in the first place who believe in what we do, and we’re going to give them their money’s worth!”

Metal Blade Records has yet to release when and where the video for The Apex Doctrine will premiere. Metal Blade Records also has not released the track listing and release date of System Divide’s debut full-length album The Conscious Sedation and tour dates.

System Divide was founded in the summer of 2008 as a transitional project with Caluwe of Aborted and Miri Milman previously of Distorted. Soon after, long time friends Cole Martines previously of Years of Fire and Antenora, Andrew Lenthe of Antenora and Mike Heller of Malignancy joined the project and the group set out to revolutionize the conventions of melodic death metal.

I’ve been procrastinating.  It’s under the guise of protecting you, of course.  Seeing as how there are so many things to talk about and stories to tell, I’ve felt justified in putting this one off because I thought it might just be too painful for everyone, including us.  Here at the DSO we’ve had all these big pieces to prepare — Beethoven 9, Romeo and Juliet, Bruckner 9, Mahler 1, Alexander Nevsky, not to mention a commission, an American premiere, numerous overtures and concerti, youth programs, and all those pops concerts I told you about.  And that was just the first 3 months of the season. We’ve long since started on the music for 2010 (doesn’t that just sound so futuristic?) because there is no getting off this merry-go-round at the moment.

So I kept thinking — hoping — there was a bit more time before I could broach this subject, but time has run out. I can’t avoid it any longer.  Librarians, I know you know what I mean.

Christmas.

AAAAAAAAACCCCKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!

[To quote an old friend of mine, sorry for yelling and all the exclamation points.]

Now, I love the holidays — it’sChristmas in my house and family — and I get into it 100%.  I do the lights, decorations, gifts, cards, shipping packages, baking, EATING, parties, and, yes, I even listen to Christmas Music.  But, after all these years, it’s still very unnatural to me to start thinking about Christmas long before the Halloween decorations have gone up.  In fact, just like all the other industries that have to go into holiday production well before the rest of the planet (am thinking Fashion at the moment, of course!), we start closer to the beginning of the calendar year than you might expect.  It’s a good thing, it’s necessary, and it’s really the only way to guarantee a well-thought-out, well-prepared, creative and imaginative program.  So, because our main Christmas show is a big deal, we start around March.  Yep.  March.  Sometimes it’s even earlier.  We do, however, ban anyone from discussing it in January.

We have a good team of folks who are part of this whole process, and my colleague Mark Wilson takes charge of the library aspects and is our liaison in the planning.  He’s great at it, working with everyone on the committee (which includes the conductor, a representative from the players, operations, marketing, PR, and others as necessary), fielding repertoire questions, and offering ideas and suggestions to help bring the group’s vision into reality.  He attends monthly meetings, researches proposed pieces, obtains perusal scores, stays in communication with all parties, tracks the music budget, keeps the chorus librarian in the loop, and, as time passes, orders and begins preparation on the parts and scores.

Christmas concerts take a whole lot of work by everyone.  They have elements. You know, aside from the orchestra and chorus and soloists, there are carolers and snow, kids, lights and sets, costumes, narrators, herald trumpets and handbells.  It’s always a true production.

Thank heavens we don’t use puppies or actual reindeer. (Yet?!)

Mark spent the last two weeks alone trying to put together the conductor’s book.  I’m not calling something a score when it’s 11″ x 17″ x 3 inches tall. That, my friends, is a very large Book.  And think of it — first you have to get all the pieces (some 25 or more) and format the scores individually so they can be put together in one volume.  Or two.  Depending on the music.  This is to say, no conductor wants 25 separate scores out there on the podium, for 12 performances, not to mention the cover conductor, lighting tech, and, TV people.  So, there isn’t just one book. There are 4 Big Books.

And do you have any idea how long it takes to make such a Book, copying every single page back to front by hand?  If you have no idea, you need to stand at a copier and try it at least once.  You will then want to shower your librarian with chocolate and wine.

Oh, yes.  I did mention TV.  On top of everything else, our shows are usually aired on a local TV station for the DFW metroplex.  Which means synchronization licenses (visual) have to be acquired for every piece that is under copyright, in addition to being rented from the publisher.  May I just politely remind everyone that you cannot put on television anything you want without the proper licenses?  Thank you.

So, once all the music arrives, including 250 vocal scores for everything, the chorus begins rehearsing (right along with Nevsky and Beethoven 9th and the American premiere), and the librarian(s) hit the part-preparation process.  This year is bittersweet for us as we recently lost our choral conductor, David Davidson, who had planned the program for many months.  So we have worked hard to carry out his vision for the program.  It will be our gift to him.  I’m pretty sure he’ll be listening to his beloved chorus and the orchestra that he would have been conducting.  These concerts made him so happy.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that our main Christmas program is not the only holiday series we perform.  We’ll also have a pops weekend, and a special two-night program with guest artist. All in all the orchestra will be performing approximately 60 seasonal selections this year.

You see why I was putting off telling you about it? I’ll bet you’re stuck with a tape loop of “Frosty the Snowman” playing in your head now!

Although currently holding the number two slot on the Billboards of European Albums Chart, German “dance metal” band Rammstein’s newest album Liebe ist Für Alle Da (Love is For All) has been banned from public display in German stores.

I was determined that Liebe ist Für Alle Da contained depictions of sadism and masochism, both which have been deemed in Germany to be harmful to children and young adults.

“The new Rammstein album has been placed in the restricted list,” Rammstein wrote on their Facebook page in response to the ban. “This means that the album is now only available [in Germany] under the counter. If you want to buy the album [in Germany], make sure that you take proof of your age with you when you go to the retailer of your trust.”

The deputy president of the Federal Office for the Examination of Media Harmful to Young People, Petra Meier, disapproved of not only the lyrics of the track Ich tu Dir Weh (I Want to Hurt You), but also the artwork that was associated with the track. Meier and the Federal Office for the Examination of Media Harmful to Young People were also critical of the track entitled Pussy claiming that it incites listeners to engage in unprotected sex despite the risk of AIDS. However the track Pussy and their critical thoughts of it were not officially a part of the ruling to ban the album.

The decision will took effect when it was officially published on Wed. Nov. 11, 2009. From Oct. 11, when the album was released, until Nov. 11 Rammstein’s album Liebe ist Für Alle Da was able to be retailed in German stores.

In Germany alone Liebe ist Für Alle Da made number one in sales, selling over 200,000 copies of the alum and went platinum in the process. In the United States Liebe ist Für Alle Da entered the Billboard charts at number 13 and ranked number 16 in the United Kingdom on Oct. 25.

The album also toped charts in Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Finland and the Netherlands. Liebe ist Für Alle Da held number two in France, number three in Sweden and Belgium and number 4 in Portugal. In Austria and Finland Liebe ist Für Alle Da has gone platinum and in France, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic and Belgium the album has gone gold.

Since launching their career in Berlin in 1995, Rammstein has made much commotion with their eight albums which have touched on subject matter such as sadomasochism, homosexuality, abuse, incest, necrophilia, cannibalism and sexual violence.

The bands tour in Germany has also fallen victim to the restrictions. Live performances of the song Ich tu Dir Weh have been banned in Germany under the same ruling according to Billboard.com, and any violation could be potentially punished under German law.

Since 2007 131 albums have been placed on the restricted list in Germany, according to the statistics office, 116 of the 131 albums were placed on the list in 2008 and it is estimated that so far in 2009 as many as 966 albums have made the restricted list.

What do fans think?

Fans began to express their feelings about the ban at Metal Underground.com stating:

DeathCrush wrote: “I am a strong advocate of musical expression without censorship. Let the burden be placed on the parents, not the industry.”

Greyback wrote: “The new CD is awesome in my opinion, lots of variety and this little ban is not going to help, seeing as the Internet exists and if you wanted to order just go to the million online stores!”

Jamez wrote: “I’m a bit surprised by these news. As someone who lives 90% in Berlin, there’s hardly been anything that major mentioned in the press, apart from the usual ‘Oh no, Rammstein again, yack!’ stiffos. On the other hand, Rammstein has literally be under the magnifying glass of the German censors ever since Buch Dich.”

Fuzzypg wrote: “Federal Office for the Examination of Media Harmful to Young People… seriously? Oh come on! They are just like Type’o, none of it is to be taken seriously, just poking fun at how ludicrous we as a species really are! Don’t these do-gooders realize they’re simply playing right into the bands hands? Well done though, should raise sales when little Johnny wants to find out what all the fuss is about!”

Rychemn wrote: “This should come as no surprise to anyone… Metal music will always be under the microscope… people are always afraid of thinks they don’t understand.”

What do you think? Comment and let your voice be heard.

Morgan Dana Harrington went missing on Oct. 17 during a Metallica concert at the University of Virginia’s John Paul Arena.

Since Metallica has added another $50,000 to the reward to bring the total for information about her disappearance to $150,000.

On Sunday over 600 volunteers participated in a search on Sunday for any clues as to what may have happened to Harrington. Virginia State police spokeswomen announced that they have found articles of clothing, but nothing appearing relevant.

As of now the police have no possible leads, however those involved in the search remain optimistic.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the Morgan Harrington Tip Hotline at (434) 352-3467. More information can be found at findmorgan.com

So yeah it’s been a while since I’ve posted something up, but I don’t think anyone noticed…but whatever, So yeah I’ve finally chosen what College I want to go to……and that’s Ilford County High School…It’s a really posh Grammar school, which expects the best from all its students, which basically means, they expect me to get all A’s in my AS Levels….no pressure…..xD. So yeah, for my AS Levels I’m taking Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Maths Mechanics and Critical Thinking…..yeah it’s a lot….and it’s a lot of hard work…. oh and erm I’m going to keep my promise and tell you what my GCSE grades were…. trust me….they weren’t that good…..

Chemistry: A*
Biology: B
Physics: B
Maths (Linear GCSE): A
Maths (IGCSE): A
Maths Statistics: A
English Language: B
English Literature: B
Food Technology: A
Business studies Double award: BB
Mandarin (That’s Chinese!): B

Now for a normal person, that’s ok….but my parents are Asian, which means If you don’t get all A*’s then it means your SH**. Yeah I’m regarded as the Disgrace of the family…..so yeah I’m going to have to prove myself in A-Levels’….A’s across the board……I’m going to need that especially due to the fact that my life’s ambition is to become a Neurone-consultant or a Cardiologist…….so yeah…….that’s really about it…….don’t worry…..i’ll update this thing more often…..don’t worry…..

Well thanks again for reading this ;D Love you all

This actually happened [with minor edits for appropriate content].

Orchestra Librarian X writes to Orchestra Librarians Y and Z and sends this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p79ucaj-nNg

OL Y’s response:

I have been fascinated with what can be done on a button accordion.  Been watching lots of these for the past weeks.   Does that mean I’m a nerd?

OL Z’s response:

That’s incredibly amazing, and I never thought I’d say this, but he’s more musical than many of the fiddle players I’ve heard!  As for the nerd question, do we even need to go there??

OL X:

Anyone get down which cuts he takes?

OL Z:

I was actually trying to catch the cuts as I was listening, but I’ll have to go through it again. Does that make me a nerd?

OL X:

Of course the answer from his management would be “the usual accordion cuts.”

OLs X, Y, and Z then broke up in much cyber silliness and giggling [heavily edited for appropriate content].

PS. If you are not ROF LOL after reading that you are probably not an orchestra librarian.

PPS.  When librarians, prior to part preparation, ask if the soloist will be taking cuts in the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, and, if so, what the exact cuts will be, the first answer is always “the usual cuts.”  Then the librarian has to go back to the artistic administrator, artist manager, or artist, and ask again for the cuts with the specific measure numbers.  Because standard as they may seem, not everyone does them exactly the same, even though they call them the “standard” or “usual” cuts and you really don’t want to have the wrong cuts in the parts at the rehearsal.  Highly embarrassing, especially if said librarian is a violinist too….

PPPS.  To assuage the curiosity of anyone who cares:  the young accordionist took the following cuts in the last movement of the concerto (of course, while playing all the orchestral parts in addition to the solo violin part): the end of bar 68 to the beginning of bar 81, the end of bar 258 to the beginning of bar 271,the end of bar 422 to the beginning of bar 431, the end of bar 475 to the beginning of bar 488.  Standard cuts?  Some?  All?  You tell me.

The first snow has fallen. Mixed with rain and soon to be splashed around the highways. Traffic chaos. People rushing to the subways in wet coats and boots. Winter in Stockholm sucks.

Oh, give me endless snowfall. Give me snow caves and goose feather overalls. Give me snow scooter rides on the frozen sea. Give me minus 10 degrees on a crystal clear day. Give me the sparkling snowflakes ray.

Or give me this.

I was so warm inside yesterday at Elin Sigvardsson’s show. She was amazing and beautiful and cool and her new songs are more catchy and bluesy than before. Such a great vibe! But her final, stripped down version of “If I” struck me straight to the core…

“I get nothing done as the sun moves up and down without you…”

Micke and I had a few Nils Oscar beers and Indian take out before going to the venue.

Such a great beer!

The next picture is taken in the cable car that goes from up the hill, down to the subway. It’s pretty silly because walking takes four minutes and the car crawls at a snail’s pace down the cable while people sit awkwardly silent for two minutes which feels like an eternity. But when it’s freezing outside, I guess it’s worth it.

For those in warm, sunny places right now; keep cool.

For those that’s not; get hot.

This is Elin. Such a great mix of both!

The Emo Connection a new type of hair, look and music.

Let’s explore our “emo” feelings and see where it takes us.

emo-stuff

emos

EmoGuy16

long-emo-hair

long-black-emo-hair

In order to keep a seamless navigation of the lifeunscripted.ca site and this wordpress blog we hired a programmer and incorporated this blog with our site… all the posts and comments are already there all that’s missing is you!!!

Head over to www.lifeunscripted.ca and click on blog

Thanks for your continued love & support…

aLLeYNe & tEMuS

Another clip about how hip-hop influences jazz musician.

LISTEN HERE

Jazz.FM91 Logo

I found this clip interesting because a lot of the time it’s jazz that inspires hip-hop, not all hip-hop but definately our hip-hop. Robert Glasper talks about how hip-hop influences him as a jazz musician.

LISTEN HERE

Jazz.FM91 Logo

“Friktion” from the album “Dying To Survive” (1999) has reached #9 out 5000+ in the charts this week.

“Fingers & Toes” from the album “Push” (2009) is currently sitting at #23 out of 5000+ in the charts.

THANK YOU FANS and keep the votes coming!!! You guys rock!!!

N1M Chart - Friktion #9 (This Week)

N1M Chart - Fingers & Toes #23 (This Week)

Every Time I Die announced Monday, Oct. 26 that they will be joining Killswitch Engaged, In Flames, Dead By April and Maylene and The Sons of Disaster on the Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour 2009 in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Every Time I Die announced the added tour dates on their MySpace blog where they wrote that they were “Very stoked to be heading back to the UK/Europe on the Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour.”

Every Time I Die’s Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour dates will be:
Nov. 27 @ Academy, Glasgow, UK
Nov. 28 @ Academy, Bristol, UK
Nov. 30 @ Academy, Newcastle, UK
Dec. 01 @ Academy, Birmingham, UK
Dec. 02 @ Manchester Academy, Manchester, UK
Dec. 03 @ Hammersmith Apollo, London, UK
Dec. 04 @ Trix Hall, Antwerp, Brussels
Dec. 06 @ Columbia Halle, Berlin, Germany
Dec. 07 @ Rhein Main Halle, Wiesbaden, Germany
Dec. 08 @ Zenith, Munich, Germany
Dec. 09 @ Turbinen Halle, Oberhausen, Germany
Dec. 11 @ Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden
Dec. 12 @ Scandanavium, Gothenburg, Sweden
Dec. 13 @ Spektrum, Oslo, Norway
Dec. 14 @ Arena, Malmo, Sweden
Dec. 16 @ Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland

Tickets are availble online now at TicketMaster.

Fallowing up the Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour, Every Time I Die will be continuing their European adventure with the Boys Of Summer Tour in Australia.

Every Time I Die’s Boys Of Summer Tour dates will be:

Jan. 12 @ The HiFi, Brisbane, Australia (18 & under) 

]]> http://themoshpitt.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/metallica-increased-the-reward-for-missing-fan/ Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:51:09 +0000 gioiahm http://themoshpitt.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/metallica-increased-the-reward-for-missing-fan/

It has been days since anyone has seen or heard from Morgan Dana Harrington, the 20-year old Virginia Tech student went missing during a Metallica concert at the University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville, Va. on Oct. 17.

CBS News reported that Harrington’s father, Dan Harrington, increased the reward for information that would lead to finding his youngest and only daughter to $100,000. On Friday, Oct 23 however, Dan Harrington received a phone call from Metallica who said they were increasing the reward to $150,000.

Harrington and her friends arrived at the UVA on Saturday for the Metallica concert, the opening act, Lamb of God, took the stage at 7pm and according to police, some time before 8:40pm Harrington stepped outside and was denied re-entry under the venues policy. After a phone conversation between Harrington and her friends took place in which Harrington said not to wait up and that she would find her own ride. That was the last anyone spoke to Harrington.

Harrington was going to return home to visit her family in Roanoke, Va. after the concert and on Sunday when she never showed up her parents reported her missing.

According to Metal Underground, Metallica released the fallowing message on their official band web site, “We are deeply concerned about the disappearance of 20 year old Virginia Tech student Morgan Dana Harrington, who was last seen while attending our concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA, on Saturday night.”  Metallica concluded that message with, “Our thoughts are with Morgan and her family for her safe return.”

Since the FBI has joined the search for Harrington. Her purse and cell phone were found by a passer-by in the parking lot between the venue and an athletic field at UVA, authorities said. The Virginia State police stated that there was no sign of any struggle in the area.

On Oct. 20 Metallica released a statement asking all of those who attended the concert to go back and look at photographs and video for anyone who looks like Harrington.

“If you or anyone you know shot video footage or took photos of the concert or audience, please check to see if there is anyone in your photos who might resemble Morgan,” said Metallica.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the Morgan Harrington Tip Hotline at (434) 352-3467. More information can be found at findmorgan.com

The NBC The Today show’s report on Harrington’s disappearance

Last night one of my boys from back in the day popped into LineStone Studios to record a single for his upcoming album. The song is produced by tEMuS and co-produced by me. Written of course by Shifty. It’s always a pleasure working with him. His style (as I told him yesterday) reminds me of a Redman sense of humour, intellegent like Chuck D. and delivered like KRS-One. He also appears on a track called “Original S.I.N. (Strength In Numbers)” from our “Push” CD coming soon.
Stay Tuned!!!