Feelings for free
When I'm gone, when I've done my work, they're up for grabs. I spend these hours, these magic moments with ordinary people making extraordinary sound. And I pour it out for everyone to see. To have a piece. Even though I too can have a piece any time I want, I still feel I've lost something. Sometimes it's fun and exhilarating to share. At other times it's just plain exhausting.
Arthur Lee - another dead genius
Last night I suddenly felt like listening to Love. When Arthur Lee died a couple of weeks ago I got genuine sad, but I didn't spend the rest of the day listening to Love-albums. I can understand why some people dive into the late artist's catalogue to remind him or her or because they had forgotten about him or her a bit and was reminded the existence of him or her (actually the work of him or her because it is because of his or hers non-existence they are reminded (KO, I'll stop now)). I seldomly feel that way. I just take notice and listen to whatever I feel like.
Well, last night I listened to the Four Sail-album which isn't as appreciated among critics (and music lovers I suppose) as the first three albums. Somewhat understandable. There's definitely some weak songs on the album, but some of the strong ones are among Arthur Lee's best. "Good Times" and "Singing Cowboy" are amazing psychedelic songs with lots of soul and energy. Songs that can't be forgotten.
I'm glad I got the chance to see him perform many of his hits a couple of years ago. Another legend gone to the VIP-lounge in heaven. One of my favorites.
Well, last night I listened to the Four Sail-album which isn't as appreciated among critics (and music lovers I suppose) as the first three albums. Somewhat understandable. There's definitely some weak songs on the album, but some of the strong ones are among Arthur Lee's best. "Good Times" and "Singing Cowboy" are amazing psychedelic songs with lots of soul and energy. Songs that can't be forgotten.
I'm glad I got the chance to see him perform many of his hits a couple of years ago. Another legend gone to the VIP-lounge in heaven. One of my favorites.
The death of Chuck
Yesterday I listened to this, Chuck Schuldiner's last studio recording with Death. It's an amazing album with really complicated, progressive death metal. Lots of breaks and weird ideas. He was one of the most important figures in metal, certainly in death metal, if not the key figure, and his death was truly a tragedy. Especially when you give this album a listen. He didn't only write songs here, he composed them.
The band is excellent as well although hardly known. Especially drummer Richard Christy is outstanding and does the job better than Gene Hoglan actually. Unfortunately he later chose to join Howard Sterns radio programme. Another great loss for metal.
Sound of Perseverance is perhaps the best album by Death. You can't help but wonder what could have been next if Chuck didn't die of cancer. Rest in pieces.
Abducted by aliens
Who the fuck is Gang Gang Dance? When I interviewed them early last night, they seemed like completely normal people, but the music they produced live on stage was not of this world. That weird spiritual voice, the heavy drumming, the weird synth lines, and let's not get into the guitar. It was strangely beautiful, captivating and disco for alien jelly-lumps. Maybe I was a bit too drunk, but I can't understand how so many people could stand there just staring. Maybe they were paralyzed. I couldn't stop dancing. I couldn't stop smiling. The probing is over, but I loved it.
More innovative metal
Good news for all you indiekids who don't like real metal. Isis will release their new album In the Absence of Truth on October 31st. Now already you can hear a song from the album at Ipecacs homepage. The song starts off real smooth with clean singing and builds up to quite a roar. Progressive and heavy as it's supposed to. Actually it sounds very promising.
Well, more excitement for the autumn.
Well, more excitement for the autumn.
Agalloch - American innovators
The timing couldn't be more perfect. I still have this craving for melodic death metal and then American Agalloch turn up out of nowhere. Well, I was introduced to them by my editor, but that's beside the point.
They combine dark, atmospheric death metal and monumental postrock with a bit of folk inspiration. They have a doomy side that puts them somewhere between Opeth and Tiamat, but they construct their songs like Godspeed You Black Emperor and Pelican. They're brilliant at it as well. At the same time they've got an amazing ability to make melodic chords, so it's always an enjoyable listen AND complicated. I wish for nothing more.
They're out on the experimental metal label The End.
What's even more exhilarating is they're coming to tour Europe with Novembers Doom from the same label and are paying a visit to Copenhagen thank you very much. Here are the dates:
11/17/06 Fri @ Plato - Helmond, Netherlands (With Novembers Doom and Thurisaz)
11/18/06 Sat @ Biebob - Vosselaar, Belgium (With Novembers Doom, Saturnus & Thurisaz)
11/19/06 Sun @ Netherlands (Tba)
11/20/06 Mon @ Copenhagen, Denmark (With Novembers Doom, Saturnus & Thurisaz)
11/21/06 Tue @ K17 - Berlin, Germany (With Novembers Doom and Thurisaz)
11/22/06 Wed @ Steinbuc Theater - Darmstadt, Germany (With Novembers Doom and Thurisaz)
They combine dark, atmospheric death metal and monumental postrock with a bit of folk inspiration. They have a doomy side that puts them somewhere between Opeth and Tiamat, but they construct their songs like Godspeed You Black Emperor and Pelican. They're brilliant at it as well. At the same time they've got an amazing ability to make melodic chords, so it's always an enjoyable listen AND complicated. I wish for nothing more.
They're out on the experimental metal label The End.
What's even more exhilarating is they're coming to tour Europe with Novembers Doom from the same label and are paying a visit to Copenhagen thank you very much. Here are the dates:
11/17/06 Fri @ Plato - Helmond, Netherlands (With Novembers Doom and Thurisaz)
11/18/06 Sat @ Biebob - Vosselaar, Belgium (With Novembers Doom, Saturnus & Thurisaz)
11/19/06 Sun @ Netherlands (Tba)
11/20/06 Mon @ Copenhagen, Denmark (With Novembers Doom, Saturnus & Thurisaz)
11/21/06 Tue @ K17 - Berlin, Germany (With Novembers Doom and Thurisaz)
11/22/06 Wed @ Steinbuc Theater - Darmstadt, Germany (With Novembers Doom and Thurisaz)
Oh, the noise!
It's so excruciating my head is ready to explode!
Well, noise doesn't always have to be that way. Saturday at Jazzjuice Danish duo Waldchengarten made me relax with a heavy hangover because of their soothing deep bass drones and supersonic tones. Thursday their new album Distractions will be out on Phisteria, and it's as soothing as the concert came out. They will throw a releaseparty at Literaturhaus, so if you got the time, swing by, listen to these guys and buy their album.
But don't forget that Gang Gang Dance is playing the same day. That will be a blast.
Well, noise doesn't always have to be that way. Saturday at Jazzjuice Danish duo Waldchengarten made me relax with a heavy hangover because of their soothing deep bass drones and supersonic tones. Thursday their new album Distractions will be out on Phisteria, and it's as soothing as the concert came out. They will throw a releaseparty at Literaturhaus, so if you got the time, swing by, listen to these guys and buy their album.
But don't forget that Gang Gang Dance is playing the same day. That will be a blast.
Is TV on the Radio goth?
Put on Return to Cookie Mountain with TV on the Radio and skip to track 9. Is that goth? It is, isn't it? Adebimpes voice is all emotional and pompous, and the music is dark. Alright, the song's called "Blues from downhere", and they flirted with postpunk on the first album as well. But still I find it a bit surprising. I've been wondering about it for some time now. The new album is more dark and experimental than the last one, so I predict they take it all the way on the next album. With white paint and ashgrey afros they're gonna be the first voodoo-goth-band in the world.
But then again: one probably already exists.
But then again: one probably already exists.
Swallowed by stupidity
Still tired. Falling asleep again and again. Gallons of water pouring from the skies all the time.
Flashback. A bottle of wine is opened. Empty. My hands preparing dinner. Mushroom sauce and pasta. Pop. A bottle of champagne blurs my vision. My voice is loud. Talking excitedly about hiphop. Latyrx, Darkleaf, Cee-lo, Goodie Mob, Dead Prez.
Atmosphere is playing on the stereo. Slugs personal lyrics seems to suit this pale sunday just fine.
Another flashback. Static twist the turntables out of form. Nat Ill exhausts the stage flying from one side to the other with his slow, hardcore flow. Plastic cups with yellowbrown fluids. A green monster on stage. He's famous. Crowd's going wild. Masta Ace is the star. He's good. But the whole arrangement is sickening. "Scream for me!" "Scream for my cap!" "Louder!". Fans fighting for a cap like primitive animals. No wonder some people think hiphop makes stupid.
I miss the untraditional live show of Atmosphere.
Flashback. A bottle of wine is opened. Empty. My hands preparing dinner. Mushroom sauce and pasta. Pop. A bottle of champagne blurs my vision. My voice is loud. Talking excitedly about hiphop. Latyrx, Darkleaf, Cee-lo, Goodie Mob, Dead Prez.
Atmosphere is playing on the stereo. Slugs personal lyrics seems to suit this pale sunday just fine.
Another flashback. Static twist the turntables out of form. Nat Ill exhausts the stage flying from one side to the other with his slow, hardcore flow. Plastic cups with yellowbrown fluids. A green monster on stage. He's famous. Crowd's going wild. Masta Ace is the star. He's good. But the whole arrangement is sickening. "Scream for me!" "Scream for my cap!" "Louder!". Fans fighting for a cap like primitive animals. No wonder some people think hiphop makes stupid.
I miss the untraditional live show of Atmosphere.
Heavy penetration
My shoulders are heavy. My hole body is tender. I'm not sure why. Maybe it just hasn't adjusted to getting up two hours earlier than normal at the same time as my girlfriend, who started at school. Maybe it's Melvins' Bullhead that's weighing me down. It's slow and heavy as a hippo, but don't make the mistake to think it can't hurt you. Heavy pounding and howling guitars. I'm sedated by the voice of King Buzzo. I'm part of his harem. Someone who releases albums on Boner Records should have a harem. He's blocking me out, and I don't have the strength to resist.
I'm going to listen to something light, when he's through abusing me.
I'm going to listen to something light, when he's through abusing me.
Dark stories of hiphop
Weird minimalistic horn samples. Repeating. Dark, slippery beats. Fucked up sounds. Messy.
Darkleaf have taken control of my stereo.
They used to be part of Unity Committee who split in two. Jurassic 5 was the one result making a happy, bouncing hiphop. Darkleaf is the evil twin. A mix of MF Doom and Company Flow. The production is amazing. I love this:
By the way, it seems I won't be seeing Buck 65 when he's playing at the Malmo Festival the 18th of August. I can't get off work. Maybe I should just quit then.
Darkleaf have taken control of my stereo.
They used to be part of Unity Committee who split in two. Jurassic 5 was the one result making a happy, bouncing hiphop. Darkleaf is the evil twin. A mix of MF Doom and Company Flow. The production is amazing. I love this:
By the way, it seems I won't be seeing Buck 65 when he's playing at the Malmo Festival the 18th of August. I can't get off work. Maybe I should just quit then.
A craving for a dark, cold chamber
Music is mood. Some people want to listen to sunshine pop, when they're down. I never really understood that. I always listen to music that fits my mood. Otherwise I feel uncomfortable.
The last couple of days I've had a craving for death metal. Not the brawling american kind like Deicide and Cannibal Corpse, but the complex, progressive black/death metal that surfaced in Europe in the mid nineties. When Carcass was through with grind and Entombed with brutal death metal, they chose to put some melody in there and slow it down and bam! Death'n'roll. Gorefest did the same thing. Heartwork, Wolverine Blues and Erase are magnificient albums.
But a lot of nordic bands combined their death metal with the folk music of their ancestors. With their antichristian attitude it was natural to look towards the pagan denomination and find inspiration there. Suddenly the music became more beautiful, more composed, including atmospheric synthesizers and actual singing, but still maintained the dark, brutal sound. Amorphis' Tales from a thousand lakes was one of the first albums, where it showed, that wasnt a black metal album, but the inspiration came of course from that scene. Soon everything exploded and a lot of great albums were released. Edge of Sanitys Purgatory Afterglow, Samaels Passage (they're from Switzerland though), and At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul are all brilliant, but there's really dozens of them.
In the Woods and Opeth were more experimental and made long, epic compositional pieces. Over the years Opeth have continued to explore their sound and made many great albums. Right now I'm sucking it all in.
Oh, dark lord, please pick me up.
The last couple of days I've had a craving for death metal. Not the brawling american kind like Deicide and Cannibal Corpse, but the complex, progressive black/death metal that surfaced in Europe in the mid nineties. When Carcass was through with grind and Entombed with brutal death metal, they chose to put some melody in there and slow it down and bam! Death'n'roll. Gorefest did the same thing. Heartwork, Wolverine Blues and Erase are magnificient albums.
But a lot of nordic bands combined their death metal with the folk music of their ancestors. With their antichristian attitude it was natural to look towards the pagan denomination and find inspiration there. Suddenly the music became more beautiful, more composed, including atmospheric synthesizers and actual singing, but still maintained the dark, brutal sound. Amorphis' Tales from a thousand lakes was one of the first albums, where it showed, that wasnt a black metal album, but the inspiration came of course from that scene. Soon everything exploded and a lot of great albums were released. Edge of Sanitys Purgatory Afterglow, Samaels Passage (they're from Switzerland though), and At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul are all brilliant, but there's really dozens of them.
In the Woods and Opeth were more experimental and made long, epic compositional pieces. Over the years Opeth have continued to explore their sound and made many great albums. Right now I'm sucking it all in.
Oh, dark lord, please pick me up.
Funky Hendrix
Back in the sixties, back in Detroit. That was where it all happened. The dirty soul and the gritty garagerock. We all know Aretha Franklin, The Stooges and MC5, but not many have heard of Fugi. He had a love for Hendrix-inspired bluesrock, his voice resembled the voice of Jimi in great extent, and a funky groove. Unfortunately he never got to release a full album, but luckily his recordings has been collected on this disc:
His biggest hit was "Mary, don't you take me on no bad trip" which was about exactly that, carrying guns and going to prison for unemployment. Well, no one really regarded him normal, but the song is great just like the others on this compilation. Often he takes trips with funky guitarsolos. Flutes and congos are in the mix and it's all smooth and catchy. Too bad he never got to do more.
Now if you'll excuse, I have to go out of my mind.
His biggest hit was "Mary, don't you take me on no bad trip" which was about exactly that, carrying guns and going to prison for unemployment. Well, no one really regarded him normal, but the song is great just like the others on this compilation. Often he takes trips with funky guitarsolos. Flutes and congos are in the mix and it's all smooth and catchy. Too bad he never got to do more.
Now if you'll excuse, I have to go out of my mind.
Mix my recommendations
One of my co-workers asked for some music recommendations because she felt like exploring new music. So I offered to make a mix-cd, because I like to make mix-cds and it's a much better way to present new music for other people. I don't know much about her musical preferences. She likes clubbing, plays classic piano, finds !!! radical and liked the concert with Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid at Roskilde Festival. So I suppose I can challenge her a bit. That's why I've put some of my favorites from the last couple of years on it. Not to much noise, heavy and hiphop though. This is the result:
1. Out Hud: "It's for You"
2. Spank Rock: "Bump"
3. Battles: "Hi/Lo"
4. Liars: "It fit when I was a Kid"
5. Animal Collective: "Grass"
6. Manitoba: "Hendrix with Ko"
7. Richard Youngs: "Life with a Beam"
8. Architecture in Helsinki: "Do the Whirlwind"
9. Daedelus: "Like Clockwork springs"
10. TV on the Radio: "Hours"
11. Extra Golden: "Ok-Oyot System"
12. Six Organs of Admittance: "Bless your Blood"
13. Growing: "Peace offering"
Admittedly, most of the songs are from this year, but still I find it representative for things I find exciting these years. I hope she likes some of it.
I'm not used to be awake this early.
1. Out Hud: "It's for You"
2. Spank Rock: "Bump"
3. Battles: "Hi/Lo"
4. Liars: "It fit when I was a Kid"
5. Animal Collective: "Grass"
6. Manitoba: "Hendrix with Ko"
7. Richard Youngs: "Life with a Beam"
8. Architecture in Helsinki: "Do the Whirlwind"
9. Daedelus: "Like Clockwork springs"
10. TV on the Radio: "Hours"
11. Extra Golden: "Ok-Oyot System"
12. Six Organs of Admittance: "Bless your Blood"
13. Growing: "Peace offering"
Admittedly, most of the songs are from this year, but still I find it representative for things I find exciting these years. I hope she likes some of it.
I'm not used to be awake this early.