Wait a second. Waaaaiiit just a second here. Has it REALLY been a bit more than two months since my last post? WOW. Inexcusable. Although, the one thing I will offer in my defense is that I can’t force it. I can’t make myself write something if I’m not “feeling” it. If that sounds nonsensical to you, then that makes two of us, because I don’t pretend to understand it either. Anyway – some random, stream-of-consciousness thoughts on what’s been going on recently:
The SHLF Project is continuing (original post about it can be found here) and I love it. I’ve given out over 130 messages so far, with many more to come.
College football! Starting tonight! I’m a bit excited. IMO, all these people (and polls – I’m looking at you, AP and USA Today) that have Texas ranked above Oklahoma have got problems. I’m no fan of either team, but OU is going to be the better team this year, and they’ll beat UT.
November is going to be awesome. My homeslice John Mayer’s new album, Battle Studies, drops on the 17th, and, later that same week, there’s this little movie called New Moon coming out that I may or may not be really excited for.
When I heard about Obama nominating Ben Bernanke for a second term as the Federal Reserve Chairman, all I could do was close my eyes and shake my head. Bernanke has become symbolic of everything that is wrong with the way our country’s monetary system works. It amazes me that more people weren’t up in arms over Obama’s re-nomination of him – it’s not like this information is hiding on some underground blog, or whatever. You can see it on Youtube! There are more videos than I care to sit through of Bernanke getting absolutely SCHOOLED, before Congress, on the way things should work. Granted, it’s mainly Ron Paul doing the schooling, but that doesn’t surprise me, at this point. I mean, just do a Youtube search for Peter Schiff. He predicted, with sometimes astonishing precision, exactly what has happened to our country’s economy, he was saying it years in advance, and no one listened to him! He’s a believer in Austrian Economics, which is, shock of shocks, the same school of economic thought that Ron Paul (another guy who tried to warn us of all the danger we were facing) subscribes to!
Ok, so, I found this the other day on a friend’s Facebook page, and, since I’m a music nerd, I was immediately interested by the idea – I will quote it below:
“Think of 25 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, and emotions.”
So, it’s not necessarily your 25 favorite albums ever, or the 25 that you would take with you on a desert island, or something like that. It’s the 25 most important, most memorable, most life-altering, etc. That’s the perspective I’m doing this list from. Also, this is in no particular order – trying to rank some of these albums would probably make my brain break.
Black Sabbath – Paranoid. This is a perfect example of the absolute textbook definition of a classic album. At least 75% of the heavy metal music that exists today – and that might be a conservative estimate – simply would not exist without this record. Some bands today can only wish that they could write songs that sound as good as “War Pigs”, “Paranoid”, and “Iron Man”, and those songs have been around for 40 years. Untouchable. Absolutely, positively, inarguably, irrefutably, 100% untouchable.
Pantera – Official Live: 101 Proof. This is actually a live album, but it’s the best representation of what Pantera was. The metal that these guys played had so much groove – the DNA of their music was all about making it impossible for anyone hearing it to sit still. Listening to Dimebag’s guitar work is unlike anything else – it sounds like his amps are on fire. They remain the band I most regret not getting to see live before they disbanded, and Dimebag’s tragic death makes listening to their music now more somber than I know they ever wanted it to be. I don’t even know what I would give to somehow be able to go back in time and see them completely rip some venue apart – probably far too much.
Fear Factory – Demanufacture. Absolutely my favorite album from this band, and it was the first CD that really showed me how well industrial/electronica instrumentation and flourishes could work with metal, if done right. Also, Burton doesn’t get near the credit he deserves for his vocals. Everyone forgets this now, but back in the early 90’s, when this band was formed, the whole idea of having one guy do a “dual-vocals” thing – like, one vocalist that was good enough to sing melodic parts and also handle the aggressive stuff – was nowhere near as prominent as it is now. Burton was one of the first people to really do it well.
Metallica – any of their albums from The Black Album on back. This is kind of cheating, since I’m not picking one particular album, but I spent a good 20 minutes trying to narrow it down to one or two, and I can’t. It’s impossible. These guys, for years, were undisputably my favorite band on the planet, and I couldn’t even tell you how much time I spent listening to their early CD’s. On a cumulative basis, I would say 400-500 hours, easily. Probably more.
Slipknot – Slipknot. This album … oh my god. People like to hate on this band now, but I don’t care. I’ll always defend them, especially this record, because … well, I don’t even know. I can’t explain it. This was the first CD I can remember hearing, that, upon listening to it for the first time, didn’t even sound like a band. It sounded like a force of nature – like the musical manifestation of a hurricane. That might sound like excessive hyperbole now, but at the time, right after this album came out, it was absolutely the most mind-blowing thing me or any of my close friends had ever heard, ever. Considering not just my close friends and I, but also all the other guys I knew who loved this CD, this band probably saved a couple of lives, and that’s not even a joke – words can’t do justice to how important this band, and this album, were to us back then.
Slayer – Reign In Blood. One of the only albums I can think of where all the hype about it is absolutely 100% deserved. Best pure thrash album ever made, and I’m not sure that it will ever be topped, in that regard. I don’t know that it’s possible to do this style of metal better than what Slayer did on this CD. It will still scare people 100 years from now.
KISS – Greatest KISS. All of my interest in the aggressive music I’m into now – ALL of it – was spawned from me listening to this album. Not their best album, and it’s probably not even their best compilation CD, but this was the first CD by a rock band that I can remember being really excited about finally getting, and then listening to it over and over. Everyone has a different story about how they got into certain music, but for me, as far as any sort of rock music or anything aggressive goes, it ALL started with this.
Star Wars: A New Hope – Original Soundtrack. Laugh if you want, but this was the first CD I ever owned, and I still have it. John Williams is amazing.
Apocalyptica – Plays Metallica By Four Cellos. Showed me that you could make ominous, haunting, aggressive music using non-metal instrumentation (four cellos, in this case). It’s a shame that these guys have only recently started to get some of the mainstream recognition they deserve – they’ve been releasing albums for almost 15 years.
Rammstein – Sehnsucht. WHOA. That was my reaction upon hearing this, way back in junior high. I still have some of the same thoughts about this band today as I did then – it sort of doesn’t even matter that they sing almost exclusively in German, and that the overwhelming majority of their American fans don’t know what their songs are about. Metal has it’s own language that doesn’t even need to cross the language barrier to be understood, and these guys are a wonderful example of that. I was (and remain) amazed at the theatrical power of their music.
The Goo Goo Dolls – Dizzy Up The Girl. I love this band, I love their songs, I love John’s vocals – everything. It’s debatable whether or not this is their best album, as everyone seems to have a different opinion of how good their newer, more radio-friendly stuff is, but I love it, and whether or not this is their best album, I think it’s their most consistent. “Acoustic #3” is beautiful and criminally under-rated, and “Black Balloon” is one of my two favorite songs from them.
N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton. This is obviously a gangsta rap record – that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone – but, if this makes any sense, I heard it and part of me thought I was listening to a metal album. Not that this album uses a lot of rock or metal instrumentation – it doesn’t – but the attitude is metal. Like, “Straight Outta Compton”, just that one song, shocked me. No doubt about it. It came off like no other rap song I’d ever heard, and I still think of it that way. Just listen to the first three songs on the album – even when the guys are flowing about simple things that aren’t overtly violent (which, admittedly, is rare), it still sounds threatening. Makes you understand why the FBI once labeled them as “The World’s Most Dangerous Group”.
Wu-Tang Clan – Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). This thing – this monster of a debut album – is probably my favorite hip-hop/rap record ever. NO ONE knew what the hell they were listening to when the Clan dropped this. People had seen and heard rap crews before, but NINE MC’s, all with razor-sharp flows, wielding their rhymes and beats like samurai swords? It sounds like nothing else before or since. Absolutely timeless.
Hatebreed – Satisfaction Is The Death Of Desire. The first hardcore album I ever owned, and at the time, I wasn’t even sure why I liked it. I didn’t really know what hardcore was back then, but I was completely unable to get over how good this CD sounds, and I still can’t. “Burn The Lies”, “Conceived Through An Act Of Violence”, and “Worlds Apart” knocked me over, because, until then, I hadn’t ever heard heavy music that was so no-frills and stripped down, and yet stayed just as heavy and suffocating as anything else I had heard. It’s a classic.
Sigur Ros – ( ). Beautiful, alien, minimalist, ethereal, stark, hypnotic, cold, angelic … any of those words fit this album. It’s hard to describe, honestly – I once read a quote from Tommy Lee in which he described this band as what it would sound like if you mixed angels and noise, if that gives you any idea. The third track on this album (it’s usually referred to as “Untitled #3” or “Samskeyti”) is one of my favorite songs ever.
The Parent Trap – Original Soundtrack. Say what you will, but I love this soundtrack. It’s that simple. I’ve loved listening to the songs on it ever since I was in, like, 6th or 7th grade, and I still enjoy them today. It’s just fun music – the songs never fail to put a smile on my face. To mention one specific song that I love, Jakaranda’s “Never Let You Go” is a treasure.
Rage Against The Machine – Rage Against The Machine. This album has more energy and more fire than just about any other one. It’s so bombastic, so hype, so jacked up, so get-the-hell-up-and-go-start-something … it’s a hard rock album with funk. Listening to “Killing In The Name” is like a shot of adrenaline. The whole album is packed so tightly with so much conviction and energy – it tires you out, just listening to it. Gloriously pissed-off.
Eric B. & Rakim – Paid In Full / Follow The Leader. I know this is cheating, throwing “Paid In Full” and “Follow The Leader” together, but they’re totally inseperable to me. Whenever you hear anyone talking about the “Golden Age” of hip-hop, like back in the late 80’s, tell them to listen to these two albums. It quite simply gets no better. To my taste, these two albums are the purest representation of what hip-hop is and should always remain, at least at it’s core. Two guys – one on the mic and one spinning the 1’s and the 2’s. When the two parts go together as well as Eric B. & Rakim did – I mean, does life get any better? Ever? EVER? What more could you possibly need? Listening to those two records is like listening to heaven.
Throwdown – Haymaker. This band has evolved quite a bit, but this album will always be near and dear to me. It helped me understand that being straight edge and living a life free of addiction and the chains that bind so many others is not something to be ashamed of or reticent about – it’s quite the opposite. “Never Back Down”, “Forever”, and “Raise Your Fist”, at the time, completely blew me away. I’d never heard hardcore that was that heavy and that aggressive, and I loved that they could do that while still trying to send a positive message.
Sarah McLachlan – Mirrorball. She’s an angel. Her music is magical and from a place that’s so personal, and yet millions of people have been able to connect to her and what she sings about, almost as if she is singing directly to them. I don’t really think about the concept of fate a whole lot, but with Sarah, I think she was, like, put on this planet to do precisely what she is doing. She was born to play music, and her songs have saved lives. I love this album. Her music has so much power and so much strength, and yet it’s still feminine and sexy and beautiful and vulnerable – she’s intoxicating. She goes to another place when she sings, and it’s like no other feeling in the world when she takes you with her.
Despised Icon – The Ills Of Modern Man. Maybe the only modern death metal/deathcore album I can listen to straight through, without ever wanting to skip a song, and discover something new every time. Even with how crazy and technical their music gets, there’s still just an absurd amount of groove going on – almost to the point where it’s sometimes a stretch to even refer to their breakdowns as breakdowns. Brutal in all the best ways.
DJ Shadow – Endtroducing. 50% instrumental hip-hop and 50% electronica. Also the first album in history to be composed entirely of samples taken from other albums. It’s shocking, how good Shadow is and how natural he makes everything sound. There’s so much going on and so many different elements and motifs happening in the music, but it never feels chaotic, cluttered, or out of control. You can freestyle rap to this album one night and fall asleep listening to it the next.
Kid Rock – Devil Without A Cause. I don’t even know where to start with this one – just know that I used to race home from school every day just to try to catch the music video for “Bawitdaba” on MTV. I was crushed (I mean, CRUSHED) when he played a concert here and my parents wouldn’t let me go, lol, because myself and some of my friends were just amazed at what he was doing and how he was throwing rap, metal, and even some country together. Also, back in, like, 8th grade, “Devil Without A Cause” was totally one of the most intimidating-sounding songs I had ever heard. So that’s gotta count for something.
John Mayer – Where The Light Is: Live In Los Angeles. Not a studio album, but the best representation of his music. Some people hate on him, but I love him and think he’s brilliant. He’s now to the point where, when he plays concerts, he can almost pick who he wants to be. Blues man, sensitive acoustic guy, pop-rock star, faux hip-hopper who messes around with samples and drum machines – he can do it all. And his fans, generally speaking, are smart enough and appreciative enough of his music that he knows he can pretty much play whatever he wants, and they’ll be happy. “In Your Atmosphere” is wonderful.
Robert Johnson – The Complete Recordings. OK – some would say I’m saving the best for last. And by “some”, I mean “Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page”. Those are just a few of the artists who have said that Robert Johnson is the greatest bluesman that’s ever lived. It’s utterly impossible to overstate the impact that his songs have had. Even if you don’t listen to blues, you’ve probably heard 4 or 5 of his songs before and just didn’t realize it. They’ve been covered by hundreds of different groups. So, if you want the blues – and I mean the blues – you need look no further. Period.
So, my friend Jeremy and I were talking the other day. Music is the sun to his earth, just as it is with me, so we were discussing which musicians we have man-crushes on. I immediately threw in John Mayer (seriously, just listen to “In Your Atmosphere”, “Hummingbird”, and “Tracing”) and John Rzeznik (frontman for The Goo Goo Dolls, for the unaware), because, well, they’re both amazing. Actually, speaking of John Rzeznik, here’s a quote from him that’s one of my favorite quotes from anyone ever:
“I’m amazed that I can sit down, put a guitar in my hands and start playing kind of free style, and it will be four hours later and it will feel like it’s been five minutes. I think that adds depth to your being, when something in your life can do that for you. Everybody should try to find something in their life that can do that for them. People find really elaborate self-destructive ways of killing time on this planet. That’s why they take drugs or drink, trying to alter their state of being. If you can find something that doesn’t destroy you, but deepens your character, you’re really lucky.”
fantastic. absolutely fantastic. couldn’t agree more.
So anyway, I then started trying to think of metal musicians who go in the “man-crush” category. On that note, I give you Mike Smith, drummer for Suffocation. Brief history lesson first: back in the late 80’s and early 90’s, the blast beat was mainly used in metal the way Napalm Death used to rock it, with the bass drum and hi-hat synched together and alternating with snare hits. Then Mike Smith and his boys in Suffocation came along and changed all that. He started syncopating EVERYTHING together – the bass drum, hi-hat, AND the snare. Lots of bands do that now, but back then, no one else had done it as prominently as he had, and especially not syncing the hits together while still keeping everything powerful and not losing the punch of strong snare hits. To see what I’m talking about, check the video:
sitting here. really, really awesome songs stuck in my head – like, that new John Mayer live album? dude. absolutely superb. “why georgia” is just…yeah. way, WAY good. and the recording itself is a total pleasure to listen to – it’s clear and defined enough that you can catch the subtle things that he changes, but not overly touched up or compressed so that the emotion is gone, because it’s still obvious that it’s live. just the right mix. only two complaints: he should’ve thrown one or two more acoustic songs in, and “say” definitely should have been performed, either acoustic or with the full band, because it’s fantastic and was missed, at least by me. also, seriously, whoever reads this, if you didn’t catch it on TV, please YouTube David Cook’s performance of “The World I Know” by Collective Soul (or just go here, if you’re lazy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv8ktz-IbOU) because it’s a great, great performance – i’m no Idol expert or anything, but that’s the best rendition i’ve seen in the past couple of years, no doubt. of course, it doesn’t exactly hurt that that’s an awesome song to begin with.
let’s see, what else?
OH – for real, if you don’t normally listen to them, please check out Sigur Ros, more specifically, the third track from their Untitled album. if you look for it, it will either be tagged as “Untitled 3” or “Samskeyti” – absolutely beautiful. it’s so simple, and yet, you can listen to it eight or ten times in a row, which I’ve done, and it evokes emotion in a different way every time – just stunning. (or, to go to YouTube again, lol, just go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6C6YvnlT60)
ok, enough about music, before I just ramble too much
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wanna know what’s really up? the 411? the real reason I felt like writing this?
honestly, I’m not sure. I really, truly don’t know.
I do know, however, that something is going on. I feel like something needs to be dropped, or has to be changed, or needs to be added in…..something. I just…I don’t know.
I’ve just felt…I don’t even want to say “weird”, because that’s such a vague word to use, and it doesn’t even really mean anything. I’m like a TV set that is displaying too much static and needs to have the reception adjusted. That might not be a good way to explain how I feel either, because it implies that there are things in my life that need to be cut out, which isn’t necessarily the case, at least not that I can distinguish.
It’s just confusing, and I’m really not intending to just pay myself on the back, because that might be what this will sound like, but I think that, generally speaking, I do a decent job of knowing who I am, being okay with that, and being smart enough to acknowledge that some things, or some situations, are quite the opposite of “me”. I’m stronger in my Straight Edge commitment than I have ever been, I will hopefully be taking some classes at Tech in the fall, I have a good job, I have been blessed with friends that I care about…and seriously, as irrational as this will probably sound, I can’t help sometimes feeling that none of those things – absolutely none of them – really matter.
I mean, from a realistic perspective, obviously, I know they do, but I just…..ok, if you feel like it, just imagine with me for a minute. Imagine that you’re someone who doesn’t need contact lenses, but you’ve been wearing them anyway, your whole life, so your view of everything is completely distorted, and one day, you finally just take them out and open your eyes…I mean, really open your eyes…for the first time, ever. Wouldn’t that be the most wonderful feeling? Sure, it would be scary and overwhelming, but, again, just imagine! The clarity!
I want that. I want to get to that point. I don’t know exactly what that means, or what I would see when I take the contacts out, or where to start, or how much time to set aside, but I don’t think any of that really matters either. I’m not even sure what I have to do, but I know I need to get started. Soon. If anyone has any ideas, please, let me know.
And if you’re reading this with contacts in, well, I unfortunately can’t speak from experience, yet, but take them out.
Spread Hope Like Fire 