i have fixed my comments section so that now anyone (not just Blogger members) can put in (putin, russian president) their thoughts on my thoughts...
12.23.2004
if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it at all...
12.22.2004
when words fail you...
Explosions in the Sky are an instrumental band from Austin, TX who make music that is a spectacular combination of intensity and relaxation. i would like to say that i have known about this band for the last few years and am now coming down from the mountain of musical knowledge to divulge this to all of you. alas, this is not true at all. in fact, the way in which i found out about them is really disingenuous in itself.....i heard it in a movie. to clarify though, not in the way one usually hears a single song in a movie and thinks..."wow, that's really good, i should see who sings that". they composed and scored the entire movie, song after beautiful song. the movie of which i speak was Friday Night Lights and despite being about high school football (i know, Varsity Blues came to mind for me as well) was actually a really good movie...superb acting and directing. however, under the dialogue and grunts you couldn't help but be swept up by the sheer emotion provided by the song in the background....i've just never felt my heart swelling during a movie...BECAUSE OF THE MUSIC!!!
anyway, links to songs are very difficult to find but if you care to download entire concerts, you can look here, here, or here.... i also found some live tracks, these are from a performance at The Earl in Atlanta on 5.11.03:
1. memorial
2. with tired eyes, tired minds, tired souls, we slept
3. have you passed through this night ?
4. your hand in mine
5. the only moment we were alone
here is a description of EITS from Temporary Residence:
"Made up of four soft spoken Texas lads, EITS makes music from the heart, for the heart. Steeped in sentimental melodies and dreamy soundscapes, each song lifts you in the air and carries you away, touching down on Earth occasionally to witness total destruction by way of their walls of cacophonous noise. Layers of chiming guitars become layers of metallic annihilation in the blink of an eye. Total silence to total violence, that's what we're talking about here, kids."
buy their albums here or he re, or, as always, in your local record shop.
12.20.2004
back to the basics....
i've not done a very good job of keeping up with the stated purpose of this blog, of sharing the new music that i find along with the music that i found eons ago that got me here in the first place...
so in this one post i will take care of all of the above by following one band from the "good ol' days" through the present as it's members went on to different projects and expanded and contracted their musical tastes...
Chritie Front Drive was born in Denver, CO in 1993 and consisted of Eric Richter » vocals, guitar: Jason Begin » guitar, vocals: Kerry McDonald » bass, vocals : Ron Marschall » percussion. they put out some 7"s and songs on compilations and 2 LP's, one of which was a compilation of a 12" and most of the 7"s. they hung around for 3 years until disbanding in 1996. during this time they put out some of the most beautiful and emotional music i have ever encountered. the breathy vocals recorded down in the mix exist soley as another instrument and pull you into the songs as your mind stops trying to separate the words from the drenched guitars. the quiet screaming in the background pulls you further in, and as the sound washes over you the instruments no longer exist...it's just a wave that starts in a place that you never talk about and ends when you open your eyes and realize that you had completely forgotten that the world around you existed (that was probably the most emo thing i have ever written). the song "Field" on the (don't forget to) breathe compilation on Crank! Records is, at 3:13, one of the shortest and most completely astounding songs ever to be recorded...unfortunately, something else i can't find a link for...
Dirt
About Two Days
Valentine
as far as i can tell The Blue Ontario consisted of ron and jason from CFD, but even though i own the EP that they put out, i'm not convinced that they actually existed. there is barely any information available on the interweb as far as this project goes: this is old, and so is this and definitely no mp3's avaialble...sad. however, i can say that there are 2 original songs on the EP that definitely bring nostalgia for CFD screaming back and some remixes of songs done by local CO folk. look, if you can find it get it, if not figure out how... also defunct.
information on Antarctica is just barely more accessible than it is for The Blue Ontario. this project boasted eric of CFD and played slow, mellow, electronically-tinged, space slo-core (i'm particularly proud of that descriptor)....and is also really good. i found some stuff about them here and here and, luckily for all of us, some tracks to listen to:
Absence
Full Crescent Crusade
...unfortunately also now defunct, but the EP and LP are still both available at your friendly neighborhood independent record store.
as far as i can tell, the bands from now on are still going...
after The Blue Ontario, ron played drums for ...and guppies eat their young for a little while....here is a song i think he sang back up on:
Parking Garage
kerry now plays in a band called The Mighty Rime. this project is more indie sounding than any other CFD offshoot. a little folky and acoustic, but overall good song structure and writing. not my favorite of the branches of the CFD tree, but definitely worth checking out...look here and here:
Albatross vs. All
Most Drones Die Virgins
after Antarctica, eric went on to form the incredible post-emo pop-core band (now i'm just having fun) the 101. aside from the fun i like to poke at genre labeling, these guys really rock and i enjoy this stuff immensely. maybe because it brings the branches of the tree back toward the CFD sound that i fell in love with in the first place while bearing all new fruit. whatever it is, this is definitely worth the listen and time:
Never In
enough for now...
another great site for research and music.
12.19.2004
the beginning is the middle is the end...
i first saw Avenged Sevenfold on a small stage next to the Drive-Thru Records (not metal...or good, don't click that link...i just wanted to give equal opportunity) stage at the 2002 Warped Tour in Denver, CO. i can't remember which stage it was and i've tried to find out quickly while typing this, but to no avail. My wife (girlfriend at the time) wanted to see somebody playing on the previously mentioned other stage and i had no violent objection because, although i hate to admit it, i did enjoy a couple of their things 2 years ago....but no more. anyway, we got there early and saw on this side stage a band dressed all in black with a lead singer who had slicked back black hair, playing tight, fast, and really good metal. they didn't have a huge crowd put you could tell that they were pouring everything they had into that performance....at 2.30pm on a saturday in july...i was impressed and an immediate fan. i watched, enraptured, as they played an incredible set for the conditions they were in. at one point the kids in front of the stage got into full-on destructive flail mode in front of the stage. security all of a sudden materialized out of nowhere and started to break everyone apart and haul them off, but the lead singer, M. Shadows, started yelling at the security guards to leave the kids alone and let them have their fun....needless to say he lost the verbal fight, but an honorable attempt nonetheless. (sidenote: i saw those same kids later in the day and it turns out that they were the obligatory morons who would mosh to Celine Dion if they felt so inclined...the same kind of idiots who were spit on by Hey Mercedes singer Robert Nanna while moshing at one of their shows in Denver, CO that i attended and subsequently laughed my ass off.....anyway, a story for another time.)
the lyrics have a religious theme to them and some under/over-tones that some people that i know object to and proceed to dismiss them out of hand solely for this aspect of their existence as a band. disappointing, but unfortunately a reality that exists in this scene sometimes and is a result of people who are close-minded about being open minded and avoid any religiously tainted music on principle....although what principle of tolerance they follow i'm not sure.
anyway, a7x (as the cool kids call them), has progressed and put out more music since i saw them and have now been asked to be a headlining act on the 2005 Warped Tour....so congrats to them.
the songs themselves range from the fast and furious grindcore style to the slow and melodic opuses that slowly build upon themselves. there is quite a range here and something for the whole family... enjoy.
a7x:
Eternal Rest
Darkness Surrounding
Chapter Four
An Epic of Time Wasted
go here to buy their stuff and keep supporting local music...spend $5 and go and see some kids pour their hearts out...
i didn't mean to write so much about one band, but i got on a roll and i enjoyed writing this...so there you have it.
12.17.2004
what's in a name...
...and i'm running out of daylight again... this time of year is absolutely insane...
so these bands aren't so much metal in their sound as they are in their names:
...and you will know us by the trail of dead :
"has created quite a career out of mixing chaos and belligerence with intellectualism and melody. They're probably so unapologetic about the heavy influence of Sonic Youth and Unwound in their sound because they truly understand their unbridled ability to entertain. Trail of Dead is noisy and catchy songs, smirking yet sincere, and complete destruction of their equipment and its surroundings- that’s a combination." - www.betterpropaganda.com
...and you will know us by the trail of dead - Crowning of a Heart(demo version)
A Trunk Full of Dead Bodies
hailed from the City of Brothely Love and is now defunct but they had the coolest name ever and made some great music...
A Trunk Full of Dead Bodies - Finger in Your Throat
i have also now decided to make this a "Metal Weekend" so that i can continue venting...
and all things come to an end...
including this week, thank the sweet baby jesus....whose birthday is upcoming.
as you can tell by the lack of posts, this has been a long, arduous, and busy week.
therefore, to vent my frustration, i have declared this "Metal Day" so that all who care to partake may vent along with me.
this band was mentioned to me by my best friend as something he and i might both enjoy, so i went on a search ... and he is my best friend for a reason.
3 Inches of Blood may sound like they belong in the mid to late 80's but this is new and it ... is ... awesome. i listened to speed metal and, dare i say it, glam metal for a little while in middle school and early high school and it still remains my guilty pleasure. i prefer it if new glam metal bands do not take themselves too seriously (hence my weakness for The Darkness) and pretend to be completely un-ironic. although 3 Inches of Blood is a little more metal than glam, with lyrics like "enemies of metal, your death is our reward", i think i can safely say that this band does not pose any threat to irony. please enjoy:
3 Inches of Blood - Deadly Sinners
more to come later today...
12.11.2004
check this out...
Flameshovel Records - based out of Chicago, always known for great music and tight scene, is putting out some incredible music right now. Most notably(for me), their roster includes Make Believe, the rock-out version of the seminal avant-garde post-rock band Joan of Arc, who in itself features Tim Kinsella of Cap'n Jazz and Owls. The label also boasts Chin Up Chin Up whose debut LP, We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers, sold like crazy after it's 10.26.04 release. The label sports bands mostly from Chicago and the mid-west but has expanded to include bands from Portland, OR(The Joggers), Ireland(The Dudley Corporation), and NYC(The Natural History). Here is a brief history/description of the label from the site:
"flameshovel records was born in the fading daylight of the summer of 2000, in order to put out a cd EP for friends judah johnson. originally based between chicago, illinois and brooklyn, new york, flameshovel later consolidated its impressive A&R forces in the ill-noise."
and here are a few selections from their roster:
Chin Up Chin Up - Virginia, Don't Drown
Make Believe - Britt's Favorite
Low Skies - Five's Gone Quiet
The Race - Sinking Feeling
Lying in States - Yep
Ancient Greeks - Ask Me a Question About the Atom
The Dudley Corporation - Stupid
Viza Noir - Regarding Your Pleasure
Judah Johnson - The Silent Treatment
The Natural History - Dance Steps
go here to buy their albums, and support independent music.
also, this is a great site for music research and sample mp3's.
sidenote: Tim Kinsella's brother, Mike, who was in Cap'n Jazz, Owls, and, at times, Joan of Arc, has also put out some great music....Owen, American Football...check that out as well.
later...
12.09.2004
give it the ol' college try...
if you don't enjoy college football, dont read this post...
so let me preface my writing about NCAA football by stating that i am a Georgia fan and subsequently an SEC fan as well. you see, i went to a small school in north Georgia that did not have a football team (Berry College) and so UGA became my surrogate football school. i went to Athens every once in a while to see games and watch games on tv while in Athens....the atmosphere on game days is electric. we got student tickets from friends and then sold them to middle age men who were about 20 years removed from even being mistaken for students but could afford to pay out the ass for tickets.
however, all of this aside, i do appreciate that there is excellent football played in every corner of this country and that the teams that play that football are some of the best in the nation.
anway, proceed with post...
ok, pay attention .... everyone who deserves to go to a BCS bowl game please step forward ... Pitt, where are you going? alright, i get that an 8-3 record and a conference championship are great accomplishments, and not to take anything away from the student-athletes who busted their asses to get there, but the fact remains that the conference in question is the Big East and the record was against teams like Furman and South Florida, and a loss to a (5-6) Nebraska team that could barely bust a grape in a fruit fight this year. there were much more deserving teams that were left out of the BCS picture, such as Cal or Georgia, hell I'd even take Boise State over Pitt, at least they went undeafeated. for that matter, how about any of the 12 teams ranked above them in the final BCS standings that aren't going to a BCS bowl. i know, if you really break it down then you could argue why Texas doesn't belong(what with the whole "changing votes" issue) or even Michigan(being as how Iowa is ranked above them), but those arguments are mostly scholastic and depend a little more on technicalities and interpretation. Pitt is just way out....period.
the conference tie-ins to the BCS bowls are in desparate need of examination, in fact the whole BCS needs to be over-hauled and/or done away with. don't get me wrong, i love the fact that every saturday is like a playoff day, that a team's season can be unmade on any given weekend...it definitely takes the excitement to a level above the NFL. but when it gets to the end of the season and the bowl race ends up like this, you have to wonder if it is actually worth it. let there be a clear winner, a team with an unblemished claim to the national title...
anyway, the Big East is not what it was, but money and politics will assure that they maintain their automatic BCS bid... and continue to keep more deserving teams from the recognition and, to be honest, the payout that they and their conferences deserve. so, having said that and assuming that the Big East champion gets to go to a BCS bowl regardless of record or their standings relative to the rest of the nation, let's at least use some marketing sense in putting together the bowl match-ups instead of just blindly following the tie-ins. as of now the BCS match-ups look like this:
Orange - Oklahoma vs. USC
Sugar - Virginia Tech vs. Auburn
Fiesta - Pittsburgh vs. Utah
Rose - Michigan vs. Texas
as it stands, there are 2 bowls that i would watch, the Orange and Rose(even though Cal should be there instead of Texas).
let's assume for just a second that i actually could have some sway in who goes to which bowl... obviously, as i said before, the Orange and Rose would stay the same. i don't know of anyone who's not excited to see Oklahoma take on USC in what should be a very tight and hard-fought game, and, aside from my stated objection, the Michigan-Texas game will be very entertaining to watch...fans rarely love their teams with the intensity that the Longhorn and Big Blue fans do. however, i look at the Sugar and Fiesta match-ups and just kind of shrug my shoulders and watch with a half-interested resignation. so here is the marketing sense of which i spoke earlier:
Sugar - Virginia Tech vs. Pittsburgh
Fiesta - Auburn vs. Utah
now we're talking!! i would make room on my schedule, invite friends over, and watch with rapt attention as Alex Smith and his Ute's take on a "for real" undefeated major opponent in an opportunity to prove himself, his team, and their accomplishments. talk about a game, you now have a nationwide audience watching to see if Utah can hold itself up against an SEC powerhouse....a regular David vs. Goliath match-up. along with the increase in viewership goes an increase in the price for ad space, am i the only one that sees the economic sense in this? (as this seems to be the only factor that bears any influence on this whole BCS mess)
the Sugar bowl now has at least some regional interest for those who watch Big East football(or used to, at least), the old Big East powerhouse vs. the standard bearer of the new now-decimated conference. one could even put a little bit of a "revenge" spin on it: Virginia Tech left for the ACC(which it proceeded to win) while Pitt was left behind to fight for respect in a conference that barely deserves any.
so there are now 3 bowl games that would draw heightened national hype and, with the right spin, possibly a fourth. with a little common and marketing sense, the bowl season just got a lot more exciting.
i'm just sayin'....
radio killed the radio star...
for anyone who might be in the Denver area at any point there is a new radio station in the game,
1150 AM - Indie Five-Oh(50)
the website does not come up yet but it may shortly. the radio station does and it has sated my desire for something decent to listen to on my commutes. the song selection is great and ranges from old hip-hop(Digable Planets) to new hip-hop(Handsome Boy Modeling School) to old irish folk(The Pogues) then newer stuff(Radiohead) and then some in between. the only hitch for me is that there is no DJ.... so if you don't recognize the song, you have no idea what you are listening to.... which for some might not be a big deal but for me is crucial. however, i'm sure as they gain popularity, and ad space, they will be able to afford to pay someone to perform this service(as it truly is a public service).... i'd volunteer to do it but ... "C.R.E.A.M.".
so, in honor of a new local station ... here are few local bands:
Vaux - Celibate Good Times
Laymen Terms - The CS Games
Against Tomorrow's Sky - Poison Tester
12.08.2004
captain's log, star date "this is awesome"!!
so there we were .... driving toward Scottsbluff, NE for work purposes (something else i don't want to talk about...) in a rental car that had Sirius satellite radio. lo and behold, on the screen appears the name William Shatner with the song title Common People ... at first i was afraid, i was petrified, but as the song progressed i realized that i was listening to possibly one of the best worst songs of my lifetime. the spoken word of William Shatner over a sort of electronic indie rock sound with the requiste beeps and whirrs befit of a starship commander. as the first chorus breaks in, the transition is good enough to make you wonder if there is any possible way that William Shatner is actually singing, but by the second verse you realize that it just can't be ... and it's not. a little disappointing, but still riveting in every aspect.
apparently, the song has been around for a while but i have just now discovered it and wish to share it with you good people (although judging by my empty comments section, i think i'm sharing with just myself...)
William Shatner - Common People
12.05.2004
this will have to be quick...
i only have a little time to post this evening ... between a day of riding at Copper and hanging out with friends .... so here are the selections for this evening.
i will comment later on the state of the BCS and how it is even plausible that an undeafeated SEC champion can be left out of the national title game, or how Pitt(8-3) deserves to go to a BCS bowl over Georgia(9-2)...
the new:
Dear Leader - Raging Red
The Notwist - One With the Freaks
the old:
Christie Front Drive - After the Parade
Camber - Beautiful Charade
12.03.2004
a brief introduction, if i might...
so begins my feeble attempt to add something to the world of mp3 blogging. this blog will consist of my few random thoughts on music and to be even more random, at times college football. so as it may be completely "un-hipster" to enjoy indie rock and a total jock sport at the same time....so be it. as you may have already noticed, i do not use caps. "the reason?", you ask, is that i never learned to type properly and pressing the shift button decreases the efficiency of my incredibly high speed version of hunt and peck.... oh, and i also enjoy ellipses immensely...
random thought on ellipses: they seem to give the impression that the thought is not quite done, that there is more that i could add at a later date...even if it were to completely contradict my previous idea. i suppose it's my way of not really committing to a specific comment... or isn't it.
so back to the platter at hand... my musical influences lie mostly in the mid-90's and more specifically in the recently much maligned sub-genre of "emo". the origin of this "four-letter" word has been explained in thousands of ways, and so has it's own resulting subgenres.... look here, here, or here. as you can see the issue of the genre can be debated ad nauseum, but it was what it was and is not what it was, if you get my meaning.
my first emo album was Diary by Sunny Day Real Estate and for some reason, whether it be because the genre has lost all meaning or i'm just getting old, i can't remember the last "emo" album that i purchased. i know i bought Guilt Show by The Get Up Kids, but i don't want to talk about that... (god, i loved Four Minute Mile through Something to Write Home About ... what happened? maturity?)
as time went on i grew up and moved on, and as my musical tastes matured so did i. well, i'd like to think they have, my wife does not seem to think so...well her answer was "ummm, yeah. they've changed, not so much matured."
so, after much rambling, my goal is to share with you good people the music that i love nowadays and also the music that got me here. so with each post i will try to give a couple of new and a couple of old ... please understand that i am limited in my "old" selection as one can only link to songs that are on the web and not upload from the library on my computer....disappointing but there you have it.
the new:
The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
The Faint - Worked Up So Sexual (Death Cab Mix) - Chris Walla
the old:
Mineral - Gloria
The Appleseed Cast - Marigold and Patchwork
more to come...
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