Detached Music

Favorite Cover Songs

2007-12-17T16:59:00.000-05:00

Here are a few of my favorite cover songs worth checking out if you get time...

Song	Original Artist	Covered By
Blue Monday	New Order	Orgy
Metal	Gary Numan	Nine Inch Nails
Shadowplay	Joy Division	The Killers
Dead Souls	Joy Division	Nine Inch Nails
Stars	BJM	The Dandy Warhols
Since I Don't Have You	The Skyliners	Guns N' Roses
The Man Who Sold The World	David Bowie	Nirvana
All Tomorrow's Parties	The Velvet Underground	Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Anarchy In The UK	The Sex Pistols	Motley Crue
Sweet Dreams	The Eurythmics	Marilyn Manson
Sunday Bloody Sunday	U2	Saul Williams

----------------
Now playing: The Dresden Dolls - Truce
via FoxyTunes

Top Alternative Songs Of 2007

2007-12-14T17:01:00.000-05:00

Its that glorious time of the year again, where "Best Of" lists show their faces to the world, declaring what great and wonderful things have surfaced during the previous 12 months. Try Googling Best Of 2007 and see what happens. Go ahead. I'll wait. See? Everything from music to books to appliances to gadgets gets their moment to shine somewhere.

This blog o' music is no exception. I, too, shall create a list worthy of Google retrieval. Its been a great year for Alternative music, and it isn't going to be an easy task to limit myself to a standard 10 albums. If anyone reading feels something important has been omitted (and I already know there will be) please comment or trackback and let me know what you feel should be included, and what, perhaps, shouldn't have made the list at all!

That said, here are my personal picks for 2007, in no particular order - for a listen, click the player in the sidebar:

The Killers - Sawdust

I just love to hate this band. I've seen them live back in their small club days, and even on a limited budget they put on one hell of a live show. Hot Fuss was amazing, Sam's Town had some very decent tracks (When You Were young is not one of them), but their pièce de résistance has proven to be Sawdust...more specifically, their cover of Joy Division's Shadowplay. I don't like how mainstream they have become, I don't want to like their infectious pop-ish sound, and I didn't like that they were covering Joy Division. But talent is talent, and not since Nine Inch Nails covered Dead Souls have I heard a JD cover done so masterfully. My second pic? Tranquilize with Lou Reed. Killers + Velvet Underground = Unbelievable.

Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead

I'm pretty sure System Of A Down only knows three different chords, but I still like them. Political, clever, and so damned weird that no one knows what the hell they are even talking about the rest of the time - even them. Its not a big stretch, then, for me to like Serj Tankian's latest solo album. Empty Walls is my favorite, although Sky Is Over is a close second.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81

Every year they release an album (with the exception of Howl) it makes my Top 10 for the year. It good to see them back on track, especially after a brief hiatus when their drummer quit a couple years back. Berlin is amazing. Weapon Of Choice is amazing. The whole album is amazing. They are amazing.

Interpol - Our Love To Admire

I have been a fan on them for a long time, and they have never let me down. I don't even know what sub genre they could fit under - post-punk with hints of goth and new wave, perhaps? I do know that this new album is an absolute must-have for any music library. I really dig the first single, Heinrich Maneuver, and my second for this album is pretty much all the rest, though if pressed I would have to say Scale.

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Ever seen them live? They are weird. Their sound is all their own, and it sounds damn good. They recorded this in a church (a church!) and the use of pipe organ just works for them somehow. Intervention is my favorite - so frigging sad it just rips your heart out. I really really like what they've done to No Cars Go - I listened to it a lot on Funeral, and would have said "Why fix what's not broken?" but what they've done to it is ...wow. Perfected perfection.

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

Probably my personal number 1 album of 2007 right here. Is there anything Isaac Brock can't do? Missed The Boat, Dashboard, Education, Fly Trapped In A Jar - all solid tracks. I have to admit, I've been surprised at the numbers of people who dig Fire It Up, as I can't stand that song, but you can't go wrong with this album at all.

Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
Nine Inch Nails - Y3ARZ3R0R3M1X3D

Separate Halo's, separate releases, same tracks. Trent Reznor is God. I realize a lot of NIN fans got their panties in a bunch over this. "I don't like it - it sounds nothing like The Downward Spiral or The Fragile" are things I saw posted all over message boards internet-wide. Of course, these are the same people who hated With Teeth, too. TR refuses to be compartmentalized musically, and draws from every source to create his complex and important works. His determination to make things more viable outside of the failing music industry is admirable, and his newest interactive website is a breath of fresh air for fans who are tired of the same old record company money grab. Favorite tracks? God Given takes my top slot. Survivalism and In This Twilight tie for second.

The White Stripes - Icky Thump

To be completely honest, I'm just not a huge WS fan. I like them, and I have all their albums, but its hit or miss for me with what I like. I really enjoyed the title track more and more with each listen, and I am finding this album growing on me a little at a time. Its a really cool album to have, and its on my list because it is so unique and fascinating. Second pic for Icky Thump would be St. Andrew (This Battle Is in the Air) with the whole chainsaw/bagpipes thing going on.

Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton - What Is Free To A Good Home?

This is one very versatile and prolific artist. She heads up Metric and simultaneously keeps releasing albums for her solo project, and all her work is just great. Mellow, lyrically clever and oozing with emotion, this short-but-sweet record is a great follow up to knives Don't Have your Back. Bottom Of The World is a real tear jerker, and the remixed Mostly Waving is very cool to just sit back in the dark and listen to.

I think I'll just use my #10 spot to give kudos to some honorable mentions that just didn't make my list this time around.

Marilyn Manson - Eat Me, Drink Me
Feist - The Reminder
Chris Cornell - Carry On
Silversun Pickups - Carnavas

The Dandy Warhols

2007-12-10T16:23:00.000-05:00

If I only had a dollar for every time I have posted about The Dandy Warhols! Those of you who are long-time readers of my various blogs (and yes, I know there are at least 2 of you!) can attest to this. However, I have not posted about them here in Detached Music, so if this is old shit to you, I apologize in advance.

What more can I say about them then that they are amazing and I love them?

They are based out of Portland, Oregon, which has become quite the little scene for Indie and Alt-Rock artists. TDW's used some of their earnings and purchased a warehouse that takes up a quarter city block and converted it to recording and rehearsal space, living quarters and party palace. yes, they do like to party, and it is reflected in their music. Their front man, Courtney Taylor-Taylor has stated that the reason the band formed in the first place was to make music that is great to listen to while under the influence. I can personally attest that they are, indeed, an excellent choice while drinking and/or smoking pot, although I enjoy them equally as much in my sobriety.

If you haven't heard them, let me warn you: it can be very hit or miss with them. They are not to be taken too seriously, but if you pay close attention, Courtney is extremely wry and has a lot of tongue-in-cheek wit that can be missed if you are not looking for it...they are a lot of fun. Bordering on Psychedelic/Hipster/Indie/Pop, they are very talented and like to experiment. They are absolutely huge in Europe, and I guarantee that everyone with a television has heard their music in a plethora of advertisements, movies and television shows...not to mention 6 albums (7 if you count The Black Album/Come On Feel The Dandy Warhols as 2) with a new release being recorded as I write this.

About a million years ago back in the mid-90's, they did a cover of The Little Drummer Boy, which is the only Christmas song I actually like, so I thought I'd share it with you in honor of the approaching holiday...enjoy!

Controversy

2007-12-06T14:28:00.000-05:00

I have always been attracted to the weird, the incredible, and the controversial. Because I grew up in a strict and abusively Christian household, music opened the door the the "real" world. Music was the ultimate expression of individuality and freedom. It represented all the things that I had always been taught was not for me, but that I wanted desperately.

I had to fight for that right. My father destroyed many of my cassettes which he found objectionable and I had failed to hide well enough. Alice Cooper, Ozzy, The Cult, and I don't know how much AC/DC were all ripped apart before my eyes. I hid music in the vents, in plastic bags in the bushes, at friends houses. I put my music in cassette cases that featured "acceptable" Christian bands. I made sure I had the music inaudibly quiet so he wouldn't hear the lyrics he claimed were inspired by the devil or the rock and roll beat that was deemed to be pagan and tribally based.

The passion I feel for music has never gone away. My love for controversy has only grown as I have grown, and although my musical taste has matured and I appreciate many different sub genres of rock and roll, I still love being drowned in the driving drumbeat, screaming guitars, pounding bass lines, and angry, yelling singers of metal. Even though I have been out from my father's roof for longer than I lived under it, I still think occasionally that I'd love to burn a CD, tie my father to a chair, and make him listen to it. Thats probably not a good thing. And yes, I am well aware that I obviously have unresolved issues with my upbringing...

So here it is in no particular order: The Top 11 Songs and/or Artists I'd Make My Father Listen To Just To Piss Him Off!

Heresy - Nine Inch Nails

"He sewed his eyes shut because he is afraid to see
He tries to tell me what I put inside of me
He's got the answers to ease my curiosity
He dreamed a god up and called it Christianity
Your god is dead and no one cares
If there is a hell I'll see you there
He flexed his muscles to keep his flock of sheep in line
He made a virus that would kill off all the swine
His perfect kingdom of killing, suffering and pain
Demands devotion atrocities done in his name
Your god is dead and no one cares
Drowning in his own hypocrisy
And if there is a hell I'll see you there
Burning with your god in humility
Will you die for this?"

Enough said.

Hell's Bell's - AC/DC

When I was 10 years old I dreamed of playing this for him! It made the list in honor of my hellacious childhood.

I'm rolling thunder, pouring rain
I'm coming on like a hurricane
My lightning's flashing across the sky
You're only young but you're gonna die
I won't take no prisoners won't spare no lives
Nobody's putting up a fight
I got my bell I'm gonna take you to hell
I'm gonna get ya, Satan get ya

Hells bells
Hells bells, you got me ringing
Hells bells, my temperature's high
Hells bells

I'll give you black sensations up and down your spine
If you're into evil, you're a friend of mine
See the white light flashing as I split the night
Cos if good's on the left then I'm sticking to the right
I won't take no prisoners won't spare no lives
Nobody's puttin' up a fight
I got my bell I'm gonna take you to hell
I'm gonna get ya Satan get ya

Hells bells
Hells bells, you got me ringing
Hells bells, my temperature's high
Hells bells

Hells bells, Satan's coming to you
Hells bells, he's ringing them now
Those hells bells, the temperature's high
Hells bells, across the sky
Hells bells, they're taking you down
Hells bells, they're dragging you down
Hells bells, gonna split the night
Hells bells, there's no way to fight
Hells bells

Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode

He would view this, as most Christians do, as utterly blasphemous.

Your own personal jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
Your own personal jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who's there

Feeling unknown
And you're all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
Ill make you a believer

Take second best
Put me to the test
Things on your chest
You need to confess
I will deliver
You know I'm a forgiver

Reach out and touch faith
Reach out and touch faith

Your own personal jesus...

Feeling unknown
And you're all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
Ill make you a believer

I will deliver
You know I'm a forgiver

Reach out and touch faith

Your own personal jesus

Reach out and touch faith

Down With The Sickness - Disturbed

One part in particular...and yeah, its my favorite part:

No Mommy, don't do it, don't do it again, Ill be a good boy Ill be a good boy, I promise, no mommy don't hit me OW! why do ya have to hit me like that mommy DON'T DO IT YOUR HURTING ME OW Ow! why do you have to be such a bitch
why don't you
Why cant you just fuck off and DIE!
Why cant you just fuck off and DIE!
Why cant you just leave me here and DIE!
Never stick your hand in my face again bitch
FUCK YOU
I don't need this shit you stupid sadistic abusive fucking whore
would you like to see how it feels mommy here it comes get ready to DIE

Anything by Marilyn Manson

I can't mention Manson and not quote some of his great lyrics! Everything he has done would be objectionable, but how about something less than obvious? Anti Christ Superstar would be the the likely choice, but not today.

Para-Noir

I fuck you because you're famous.
I fuck you for your money.
I fuck you to control you.
I fuck you so someday I can have half of everything you own.
I fuck you to fuck you over.
I fuck you 'til I find someone better.
I fuck you in secret.
I fuck you because I can't remember if I already fucked you before.
I fuck you out of boredom.
I fuck you because I can't feel it anyway.
I fuck you to make the pain go away.

Fuck you because I loved you
Fuck you for loving you too
I don't need a reason to hate you the way I do.
Fuck you because I loved you
Fuck you for loving you too
I don't need a reason to hate you the way I do.
HATE YOU THE WAY I DO.

I fuck you so I can feel something instead of nothing at all.
I fuck you because you're beautiful.
I fuck you because you're my nigger.
I fuck you because I am your whore.
I fuck you because you are a whore.
I fuck you for fun.
I fuck you for fun.
I fuck you because I can.
I fuck you so I have a place to stay.
I fuck you so you will protect me.

Fuck you because I loved you
Fuck you for loving you too
I don't need a reason to hate you the way I do
Fuck you because I loved you
Fuck you for loving you too
I don't need a reason to hate you the way I do
HATE YOU THE WAY I DO.

Architects Of The Apocalypse - Heaven Shall Burn

I wouldn't even need to go past the bands name, but since they wrote such a touching piece...

Greed and addiction drowned their pity
Washed away their thoughts of compassion and regret
A world left wounded, slaved and raped
Your paradise is hell for your descendants

Cathedrals of justice in a kingdom of hypocrisy
Castles of self-righteousness built on graves

Masses kept in forlorn, nations laid to waste
The dynamo of northern golden age
Darkened our future, blinded by greed
Sold your fate to the highest price

I don't believe in you!
You are the enemy!
A rush into our doom, as if your God came down
And cures all failure

Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden

"Woe to you, Oh Earth and Sea, for the Devil sends the
beast with wrath, because he knows the time is short...
Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the
beast for it is a human number, its number is Six hundred and
sixty six."

I left alone my mind was blank
I needed time to think to get the memories from my mind

What did I see can I believe that what I saw
that night was real and not just fantasy

Just what I saw in my old dreams were they
reflections of my warped mind staring back at me

'Cos in my dream it's always there the evil face that twists my mind
and brings me to despair

The night was black was no use holding back
'Cos I just had to see was someone watching me
In the mist dark figures move and twist
Was this all for real or some kind of hell
666 the number of the beast
Hell and fire was spawned to be released

Torches blazed and sacred chants were praised
As they start to cry hands held to the sky
In the night the fires burning bright
The ritual has begun Satan's work is done
666 the number of the beast
Sacrifice is going on tonight

This can't go on I must inform the law
Can this still be real or just some crazy dream
But I feel drawn towards the evil chanting hordes
They seem to mesmerize me ... can't avoid their eyes
666 the number of the beast
666 the one for you and me

I'm coming back I will return
And I'll possess your body and I'll make you burn
I have the fire I have the force
I have the power to make my evil take it's course

Go To Hell - Megadeth

I'm not going to wake up today
They've pulled my plug the picture fades
And as my body decays mold begins to fill my grave
The smell of death permeates the silk within my coffin lays
Go to hell

As they bury me now six feet there my body lies
Still feel like I'm going down I hear a distant wailing cry
God something must've gone wrong
And much too late I realize
Go to hell

I saw my funeral that day
I know who didn't show to mourn
My judgement was life in hell
Pillars of pain and thorns
My only friends the goat
With 666 between his horns
Go to hell

Place all your trust here in me
Rest assured these things I know
And as charon sails the sea
Your journey too shall end below
Ah yes you're all sitting ducks
Its true you reap what you sow
Go to hell

Now I lay me down to sleep
Blah, blah, blah my soul to keep
If I die before I wake
Ill go to hell for heavens sake

Superbeast - Rob Zombie

Shriek the lips
Across ragged tongue,
Convulsing together.Sing
violently, Move the jaw
Cry aloud. Bound up the Dead
Triumphantly

The ragged they come and
The ragged they kill!
You pray so hard on bloody knees.
The ragged they come and
The ragged they kill!
Down in the cool air I can see.

Hey, Yeah - I'm the one that you wanted
Hey, Yeah - I'm your Superbeast
Hey, Yeah - I'm the one that you wanted
Hey, Yeah - I'm your Superbeast

Stir the limbs across the wrist,
Full possession of memory.
Bury me as a dog,
Icy hands surrounding me.

The ragged they come and
The ragged they kill!
You pray so hard on bloody knees.
The ragged they come and
The ragged they kill!
Down in the cool air I can see.

Hey, Yeah - I'm the one that you wanted
Hey, Yeah - I'm your Superbeast
Hey, Yeah - I'm the one that you wanted
Hey, Yeah - I'm your Superbeast

Shriek the lips
Across ragged tongue,
Convulsing together.Sing
violently, Move the jaw
Cry aloud. Bound up the Dead
Triumphantly

The ragged they come and
The ragged they kill!
You pray so hard on bloody knees.
The ragged they come and
The ragged they kill!
Down in the cool air I can see.

Hey, Yeah - I'm the one that you wanted
Hey, Yeah - I'm your Superbeast
Hey, Yeah - I'm the one that you wanted
Hey, Yeah - I'm your Superbeast

Left Hand Shake - Skinny Puppy

The lyrics are weird. The song sounds like it could raise up a demon.

I think I'm water
I sickness grows inside
Help me out of it
"You are a light"
"You are a sound"
"Drift within"
"This is your body"
I decayed and rot away
Your bloody mind's set
"Did you get lost on the trip"
You don't know me
"Did you get trapped in memory"
You can't heal a soul
"Did you forget"
??? fear walk till one A.M.
"What did you do"
Last morning
"You brought your own mind games with you"
Little one or two
"You had to make it a bad trip"
No color
Darkness flesh pot
Mind reflecting
Through the paint of a picture
Cracks of the believable vision
In turn in bone
Watered down
??? take ingest it
Poison
The cross repeats astounds
Presenting a sight
"Quiet dormant sea of light"
Visual betrayal
Last rights denied
??? trails a long road inside
"Buried"
"A mass grave"
Mind has defeated
The stain of disease
Dirt lipped motherfuck
Chose a life of ease
Hard to believe
When ??? falls
Takes a soul
Travels a trip to the edge of it all
Why can't they see
I'm still in control
Starving eyes
"Quiet dormant sea of light"
??? lifeless
Last rights denied
"Buried"
"A mass grave"
Medicated eyes
Feast through expected
The controls
No one right
"Soft, it's soft, tissue soft"
It's a decision
??? toss this coin head or tail
Cause effect breakdown
Inexperience fails
"Lift...and fold it's soft tissue soft"
Washing the hands
Pointing his way
Washing the hands
Pointing his way
"Sink chant over to a dark fertile marsh"
Washing the hands
Guilt and denial
Washing the hands
Pointing away
Washing the hands
Pointing his way
Washing the hands
Point of denial
"Sink, sink into a dark"
???
Who were the righteous ??? that be so ???
"In this mirror of confession"
No guilt
I see no guilt
"What do you see there"
No guilt
"Your personality"
In experience fails
"All your goals, all your fears and your ambitions"
My fears and my ambitions
Hey, it's ok
"The chess game of your life"
This world is ???
"You gotta check that"
"You can't take that on the trip with you"
??? dealing ???
"All those animal impulses that you hide"
Way down way down
"And keep down below"
"All this baggage too must be checked"
I wouldn't expect it could be
I never knew
"Can't take that on the billion year voyage"
Never wanted to welcome water
Poison
"Are you ready"
"Then take this chalice"
"The elixir of life"
Weakness sickness grows inside
Weather
Wishing you could grow up

Dead Skin Mask - Slayer

Every time I hear this song, I think of doing drugs as a teen and listening to the In The Abyss album. It just has to be here.

How great for you to come
Ive been here long
Now that you've arrived
Please stay awhile
And i promise i wont keep you long
I'll keep you forever

Graze the skin with my finger tips
The brush of dead cold flesh pacifies the means
Provocative images delicate features so smooth
A pleasant fragrance in the light of the moon

Dance with the dead in my dreams
Listen to their hallowed screams
The dead have taken my soul
Temptation's lost all control

Simple smiles elude psychotic eyes
Lose all mind control rationale declines
Empty eyes enslave the creations
Of placid faces and lifeless pageants

In the depths of a mind insane
Fantasy and reality are the same

Graze the skin with my finger tips
The brush of dead warm flesh pacifies the means
Incised members ornaments on my being
Adulating the skin before me

Simple smiles elude psychotic eyes
Lose all mind control rationale declines
Empty eyes enslave the creations
Of placid faces and lifeless pageants

Honorable Mentions:

Anything from La Sexorcisto by White Zombie
Anything by Eminem, Type O Negative, Rammstein, Ministry or Saul Williams

----------------
Now playing: Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses
via FoxyTunes

Marilyn Manson

2007-11-29T12:01:00.000-05:00

There just isn't anything I can say about Marilyn Manson that hasn't already been said. Love him or hate him, you just have to admit that he has come a long way with the whole "I'm the god of fuck" thing, and that the level of controversy that surrounds everything he does automatically makes him cool. Seriously, who else can say that without making people lapse into hysterical laughter?

In some ways, MM gives us all hope. Think about it: anyone that unattractive and weird who can be famous and loved by millions means that any one of us who are also unattractive and weird has hopes for success. We don't even need to shave off our eyebrows to make it happen!

These days, he has become controversial yet again. With the release of his newest album, Eat Me, Drink Me, he has angered many of his hard care fans who have set the message boards on fire with irate posts stating that he has gone soft. "Where's his edge?" they ask. "He looks so...normal" is something I saw time and time again. In an interview he recently gave while consuming large amounts of his favorite beverage, Absinthe, he said his previous albums were about his view of the world. This newest record is about his view of himself, and is by far the most personal work he has ever released to date. Most people blame his new relationship with Evan Rachel Wood, which has clearly inspired him and has pulled him out of suicidal despair, but in part, I blame something else.

How about that he will be turning 39 years old in January? Our beloved little Spooky Kid is growing up, and has more to sing about then how pissed off he is at god and christians and rules and the government. I love angry musicians do don't get me wrong, but I'm just saying that perhaps he has matured and an introspective album was overdue. I loved his previous work, and I really like this newest addition. Lyrically it is as clever as anything he has ever released, and musically it is very catchy. His voice is still the same, and he displays a sense of romanticism previously unseen ...for example:

"...The trees in the courtyard
Are painted in blood,
So I've heard.
She hangs the headless
Upside down to drain."

"...You're so sudden and sweet
All legs, knuckle, knees
Head's blown clean off
Your mouth's paid off
Fuck me 'til we know it's unsafe..."

And my personal favorite:

"...Hell-flavored, I've got mood poisoning
You must be something that I hate
I'm just a prison of property
Buckets full of better misery
There's not a word for what I want to do to you..."

Isn't that sweet? He is such a romantic!

A couple other noteworthy things I have come across lately, include his very own brand of Absinthe called (and isn't this great?!) Mansinthe. Also, he is being sued by former band member, Pogo because he is unhappy with the way Manson spent some of the bands' money. To Pogo I would mention that...well, its Marilyn Manson for the love of god, and if anyone is going to buy a chandelier made out of the bones of a 4 year old Chinese girl, it would be him! Cut the guy some fucking slack already and stop being pissy because nobody cares about any Manson band member except for the big man himself.

One final note: MM is a very accomplished artist. His work is exactly what one would expect from him, and its also much better then what one would expect. He has a great deal of it on his website, so check it out here.

Denial

2007-11-19T23:39:00.001-05:00

Here I sit, iTunes cranked, cd's scattered everywhere around me, and thinking about the acquisition of new music. Perhaps its a problem...but its not one I ever intend to remedy. Since I can't be the only one, I thought I'd post a handy dandy checklist (lucky you!). Signs you may have a music addiction:

You have gotten up in the middle of the night and driven 2 hours to buy a new release
You have purchased a cd because you heard it in someone else's car at a stoplight
You have been accused of being a music snob just because you know that band A ripped off band B and did the exact same song in the diminished 7th
Sometimes a song is in your head so loud that when others talk you can see their lips moving but can't hear them...and you don't want to hear them
You have chosen/discarded friends based purely on their musical preference
You burn a three cd volume for every half hour car trip
You have questioned the security guards at concerts to see how they got that kick ass job
When it comes down to food or more music, you always get music
You have gotten into a physical confrontation at work over the radio station
You book time off work for album releases

Wow. I could so go on forever with this, but I'm starting to get all squirmy seeing it in print...

Stabbing Westward

2007-11-15T23:15:00.000-05:00

Loving Industrial music is just what I do. How I missed out on Stabbing Westward defies all logic, but it happened. Until a series of ridiculously prolific file-sharing sessions occurred with a friend and I finally got a chance to hear them. I have found their work to be hit-or-miss in terms of quality and likability, but I've really gotten to love them. Its always sad to me when I discover a band, only to find out they have broken up.

Lucky for me the lead singer, Chris Hall, has a new project underway called The Dreaming. It definitely isn't like SW - its generally heavier with more of a punk influence - but his excellent voice is immediately recognizable and his band has a label, so who knows? Maybe this will be his ticket to more than just a small underground fan base. I checked out a couple of their tracks and they are not bad at all. Not life altering in terms of greatness, but not terrible either. I hear shittier music than that every day on the radio.

I also just have to mention his new look. All I can ask is what the fuck happened?! He had that whole "I'm a little bit bad but still wholesome enough to meet your mother" look going on in the late 90's, which he has clearly abandoned. He's still attractive, but the change seems pretty drastic to me. I'm loving the lip ring, though. And the boots. And the outfit. Okay...forget what I said about it being drastic. I, for one, fully intend on checking out The Dreaming if they ever come to my area.

More Favorites

2007-08-23T22:04:00.000-04:00

This blog is kind of a response to a couple things that have crossed my mind in the last few days in regards to music. I suppose it can be considered Part 2 of my last post. After reading Maz's blog about her mother and "La Mer", it got me to thinking more on what songs move me. Earlier today I had a conversation with Jon where I said that I was looking to listen to the songs that made me want to kill myself when I was 16, and although I meant it flippantly, it got me thinking more on what music means and used to mean to me and my state of mental health.

When I was a little girl, I took piano lessons, and the only music I had any exposure to was the music I was learning for piano and the hymns I heard at church on Sundays. Occasionally my father would listen to old country like Hank Snow, and sometimes my mother would sing Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree, but that was about it for the earlier part of my life. Until I discovered radio. Then I was hooked.

I taped songs off the radio onto cassette, scrounged for enough money to purchase more and more tapes, I duped copies from friends, and always was looking for more music that I hadn't heard. I never liked country. I always appreciated classical, though I enjoyed playing it much more then listening to it on purpose, and I developed a compromise with opera, blues, and jazz, where I found it to be profound and I admired those who were good at it, but my heart was in "that devil music" as my father stated it once.

I love rock and roll. I'm not a fan of old 50's and 60's rock, but otherwise its all a marvelous thing to me. Industrial, death metal, alternative, goth, new wave, 80's glam, grunge, and even some classic rock are what keeps me breathing.

My childhood and teen years were hell, and many many times music was the only friend I had in the world. For me, the music that sustained me was also the music that was the most depressing. It likely explains my fixation with all things related to the mind of Trent Reznor, because nothing inspires me more then an honest song that rips my soul apart.

That said, here is my list on the top 10 songs that have done that for me. I'm not adding anything by NIN on this particular list, since they trump everything and then this would just be a list of my favorite NIN songs! I'd like to revisit my top NIN songs again, as they may have changed now with YZ being released and such, but I'll save that for another day...

10. Stars - The Brian Jonestown Massacre

Anyone who follows this band knows that they are renowned for being much more interested in the "feel" of a song then the actual quality. Anton will leave glaring mistakes in favor of not spoiling the mood that was created during a session. This song just speaks to me on some level. His approach has created some very emotionally based music, this song being the best example of that for me.

9. Its A Good Life If You Don't Weaken - The Tragically Hip

The lyrics by themselves are okay but not that brilliant. The music by itself is also okay but not that brilliant. The music and the lyrics together make this song something special.

8. Goodbye To Romance - Ozzy Osbourne

I can't even begin to write what this song meant to me at one time. But its on this list. The first time I was really into it I was 16 years old and on a trip to meet my birth mother. She bought me that Ozzy tape that was a live tribute to Randy Rhoads, and I listened to that song to fucking death.

7. Less Than Human - The Chameleons UK

If I was more creative, this could have been something I wrote.

6. NYC - Interpol

First verse:

I had seven faces
thought I knew which one to wear
But I'm sick of spending these lonely nights
training myself not to care
the subway is a porno
And the pavements they are a mess
I know you've supported me for a long time
somehow I'm not impressed...

5. The Scientist - Coldplay

This is such a beautiful love song. Full of regret, admiration, longing and apology, it reduces me to tears if I listen to it more then once at a time.

4. Nobody's Fool - Cinderella

I realize that Don't Know What You Got Till Its Gone was a moving piece of work and it put Cinderella on the map. For some reason that song never had much effect on me...this one, however, made quite a permanent impression on me as a young teen and it has always stood out for me. In fact, I never listened to it for decades and when I revisited it this summer I found it just as great as I did way back then.

3. Bringin' On The Heartbreak - Def Leppard

Before he even starts singing, this song makes me sad. That mournful guitar at the start grabs my attention and just doesn't let go. Although its about a failed relationship, for some reason my mind doesn't recognize it as such. It is so full of desperation and pain...it appeals strongly to me because of its high level of honesty.

2. Down In A Hole - Alice In Chains

Bury Me Softly In This Womb
I Give This Part Of Me For You
Sand Rains Down And Here I Sit
Holding Rare Flowers
In A Tomb.....In Bloom

Down In A Hole And I Don't Know
If I Can Be Saved
See My Heart I Decorate It
Like A Grave
You Don't Understand Who They
Thought I Was Supposed To Be
Look At Me Now A Man
Who Won't Let Himself Be

Down In A Hole, Losin' My Soul
Down In A Hole, Losin' Control
I'd Like To Fly
But My Wings Have Been So Denied

Down In A Hole And They've Put All
The Stones In Their Place
I've Eaten The Sun So My Tongue
Has Been Burned Of The Taste
I Have Been Guilty
Of Kicking Myself In The Teeth
I Will Speak No More
Of My Feelings Beneath

Oh I Want To Be Inside Of You

Down In A Hole, Losin' My Soul
Down In A Hole, Feelin' So Small
Down In A Hole, Losin' My Soul
Down In A Hole, Out Of Control

I'd Like To Fly
But My Wings Have Been So Denied

Enough said.

1. The Unforgiven - Metallica

When this album came out, I was 15 years old and was kicked out of my house after viscous altercations with my father. I remember laying on a mattress alone in the dark in a one bedroom apartment I shared with about 6 other kids who were in similar circumstances while listening to it for the first time. I was suicidal and generally confused about the point of existence and this song may have well been written about me at that time. It completely altered who I was and who I ultimately became.

Honorable mentions:

Crown Of Love - Arcade Fire
Blown Wide Open - Big Wreck
Time Won't Let Me Go - The Bravery
Against All Odds - Phil Collins
Love Song - The Cure
Rust - Echo And The Bunnymen
Where Is My Mind - Pixies
Stuck In A Moment - U2
I Want To Know What Love Is - Foreigner
Walking Wounded - The Tea Party
I Don't Love You - My Chemical Romance
Please Please Please Let me Get What I Want - The Smiths
What Do I Have To Do - Stabbing Westward
Head Over Heels - Tears For Fears
Children Of The Damned - Iron Maiden
Half Jack - Dresden Dolls
Show Must Go On - Queen
Out In The Cold - Judas Priest
Everybody's Changing - Keane
Orlando - Rick Bain
You Know You're Right - Nirvana
My Darkest Hour - Megadeth
Say It Ain't So - Weezer

Rock Of Ages

2007-08-21T21:56:00.000-04:00

I generally have great taste in music. Not that I mean to be arrogant or anything, but its true. For the most part, I have usually been listening to the bands that are suddenly getting attention from the media a good two years or more before anyone has even heard of them. I can appreciate a new sound, clever lyrics, or border-line genius musical composition like very few people I have ever encountered, and if I could have my dream job, it would be to be the next Alan Cross.

One thing I puzzle over is why on earth I then possess such dreadful taste as well?! There is music I listen to and it really...well, sucks. I know it sucks, yet I download it like I'm its whore, I gleefully blast it out of my car when I know I should never let anyone know I listen to anything remotely like that, and I just can't stop. Seriously, when ,was the last time it was "cool" to listen to Cinderella? But then again, it makes me happy so I continue to go with it whenever the mood strikes.

I suppose it makes sense - who wants to only hear well constructed stanzas when there is good old hair metal out there that needs appreciating? So to all of you out there who secretly hide in your homes and play Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, old Bon Jovi (nobody and I mean nobody should ever listen to post-Slippery When Wet Bon Jovi!), Alice Cooper, Testament, Ratt, Suicidal Tendancies, Poison, or anything else in that genre, have no shame. I'm pretty sure there is a lot more of us out there doing the same thing. Makes me wonder how many of us Gen-Xers (born 1969-1976) are doing the same thing...

I, for one, and one of them, and I will not be ashamed to admit that yes, I listened to Whitesnake today.

Cureent Faves

2007-07-30T21:52:00.000-04:00

Looks like I'm spending yet another evening downloading like a motherfucker and immersing myself in music that I love. In celebration of that, I thought I'd write about some of my current favorites.

NIN is not going to be on this list - after all, they top everything always. They deserve their own post, which I have done before and will certainly be doing again in the very near future!

In no particular order, here's what is getting the most play for the past couple months:

The Cure - Disintegration, Pornography (Deluxe Edition)

What can I say about such a long running staple of the almost-goth community? I have gone through phases of listening to them...I wander away but eventually always come back. I'm not a huge fan of their upbeat songs, but the heart rendering voice of Robert Smith is always captivating to me. Nothing I like more than an artist who is in some sort of emotional upheaval.

The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

I loved Funeral. I love Neon Bible. The fucking guy can't sing and it doesn't even matter. There is just nothing else out there that comes close to what this is. It is always refreshing for the soul to put this album on and just...drift.

Ministry - Land Of Rape And Honey, Animositisomina

Sigh...I love Ministry. Al is a genius. They've been around for eons, and have such a diverse sound, and I can't get enough of them right now. I need more more more moremoremore MORE! Hmmm...does that make me a Ministry slut?

Ratt - Dancing Undercover, Out Of The Cellar

Maybe this is one of those things I should never tell anybody. I have fond memories of trying to outrun cops in an ancient paneled station wagon with friends listening to Ratt on the shittiest speakers in the world. Its nostalgia, its cheesy, and its surprisingly good to me even now - I have a slight affinity for 80's hair rock, and believe me, I could have put much much worse on this list then this!

As you can see, I'll listen to almost anything, although there are definite exceptions. If anyone out there is digging something really weird and/or cool, let me know! I'm always looking for something new to feed my audio addictions with.