eMusic: Gems and Junk

I am officially ending my subscription with eMusic today after 10 months of loyal service. Well, not entirely loyal. I attempted to cancel my membership a few days ago, but they bribed me with a bonus package of 25 free songs to stay. Of course, I accepted their offer with the intention of immediately downloading a bunch of songs and then canceling anyway. Suckers! Anyway, I’ve now come to realize that I’ve added over 500 songs to my collection that’ve come from independent labels. Hooray, for me. It certainly was a goal of mine to look into…how did I phrase it then, “underground music”? I really wouldn’t consider myself a music buff without being fully able to spout off a bunch of no-names bands that, well, no one has ever heard of. And that is what this blog is all about, stuff that you have never heard of, and probably never will again. Yes, I am going to share what I’ve dug up in the “underground,” the gems and the junk.

GEMS

1. And One – I first heard of And One after reading up about the “Dark Wave” genre on Wikipedia. There were a slew of bands listed and I probably looked up every one of them. The most mainstream Dark Wave band that I can offer up for an example would have to be Depeche Mode. Lovely, lovely Depeche Mode (who have a concert coming up in August!). And One has a very similar sound to Depeche Mode, with the synthesizer, deep vocals, and a somewhat moody tone. I find music that is both moody and catchy to be a sort of delightful contradiction. Like many of the other bands on the Dark Wave list, these guys are Germans. And I generally consider Germans themselves to be a delightful contradiction, so, this was a gem.

2. Lacrimosa – This band was also on the Wikipedia list of Dark Wave bands. I loved them immediately. All of their albums are themed, and they are all strictly in German. I really enjoyed listening to these songs while simply interpreting them from the emotion in the vocals and music alone. That is rare for me. I usually feel that becoming familiar with the lyrics and knowing what the song is about is a must. In a way, it is liberating that I don’t understand the words, and am in no way constrained by them. Their albums are really the closest I have come to going to an opera in a foreign language. They are fabulous.

3. The Crüxshadows – Also on the Dark Wave list! It is obvious that eMusic has introduced me to a new genre of music with which I can expand my horizons, eh? Honestly, I’m a little embarrassed that I really like this band. Firstly, because I suppose in some capacity it is considered Gothic. My mind always leaps to extremes when I hear the word “gothic.” I picture really depressed teenagers dressed all in black that hate everything (especially sunlight) except the few things that they are overly obsessive and passionate about (which likely has something to do with vampires). Second reason, kind of an extension of the first, take a look at the lead singer of the band:

He honestly goes by the name "Rogue." Yeah, like the X-Men character. One of the female X-Men characters. Despite this, however, I downloaded their music anyway, and have found many of their songs to be very energetic, uplifting, and thought-invoking. Plus, they often incorporate violins! And in no way whatsoever do they compel me to read the Twilight series, so I am safe.

4. Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade – Some time back when I really got into podcasts, I enjoyed the opportunity to hear some cover songs of Pink Floyd on Brain Damage. As a matter of fact, I made a colossal effort to track these songs down afterwards, and ended up finding a cover of the entire Animals album on eMusic. Of course, this album is based on the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. I still haven’t read that yet, but I certainly love this album. To hear the entire thing covered by a band as good as Les Claypool was pretty awesome. Hmm…I’ve always had a thought that marriage was like a good cover song (a sweet mixture of what’s new and what’s familiar). Maybe I should marry the Frog Brigade…

On second thought, no thanks.

5. Symphony X – I’m cheating with these guys a little because I bought one of their albums before I joined eMusic. However, I discovered that basically all of their albums are available in the eMusic catalog, which was pretty exciting. These guys are Progressive Metal, and can certainly hold a candle to the infamous Dream Theater (of the same genre, heavily influenced by my fav. band Rush as it so happens). This genre is the playground for nerds who want to become cool, and in my opinion, they often successfully pull that off. As far as Symphony X goes, the nerdish upbringing scenario is more apparent than speculative, given that their guitar player's first name is Romeo. In case you were actually wondering, "What's in a name?" the answer is: you're a nerd, I mean...enough.

Symphony X writes songs based on stories from mythology, Poe, Lewis Carroll, and even a whole album on Milton’s Paradise Lost, among other things. I haven’t undertaken that book yet, either, but all in good time. I don’t suspect it will be a page turner, though. Anyway, I certainly have to be in the mood for this kind of thing, but it has a memorable place in my collection.

Incidentally, I did find a lot of other great bands in the catalog, but I decided to only share the more obscure and previously unheard of in the lot.

JUNK

1. Attrition – I don’t know what compelled me to get this trash. The album (This Death House…) consists of only two tracks: “Crawling,” and “Dead of Night.” They are each roughly 20 min. of constant static and wind simulations mixed in with startling electronic zings and zangs with absolutely no melody. Basically, it is Alfred Hitchcock meets Industrial music, and it is lousy.

2. Edguy – Now, I at least know where I was coming from when I decided to get this band. As it turns out, the lead singer sounds like a bad imitation of Queensrÿche’s lead vocalist Geoff Tate. For the record, Tate is awesome. Metal is just a difficult genre to untangle, but I feel much of its charm comes from it being “over the top.” In almost every sense. With this in mind, somehow the offense of imitation becomes even more repulsive than in other genres.

3. Magma – This one is pretty interesting, actually. These guys did concept albums that revolved around the premise of a group of people fleeing a resource-spent Earth to settle on a planet called Kobaïa. The band even created a unique language, Kobaïan, in which most of the lyrics are actually sung. I guess originally this had a sort of Tolkien appeal to me, as Tolkien constructed his own elvish language, Quenya, for The Lord of the Rings. Being a person that likes a fair bit of Progressive Rock, I don’t ordinarily agree with those that make the argument that the genre is repulsively pretentious. It took listening to jazz fusion mixed in with Kobaïan to see their point. Gag!

As if needing eight members in a rock band wasn't pretentious enough.

4. Lycia – The concluding statement in the review given on eMusic for their album A Day in the Stark Corner, says, “a series of similar sounding pieces which work wonderfully as an extended mood setter.” My “extended mood” was boredom. Utter, utter boredom.


5. Ayreon – Well, here are the opening lyrics of Into the Electric Castle: “Welcome, you have entered the cranial vistas of ‘Psychogenesis.’ This is the place of no time and no space. Do not be afraid, for I am merely the vocal manifestation of your dreams. I am as water, as air, as breath itself. Do not be afraid. Look around, but linger not. Where I lead, you will follow. Mark these words well: Ignite my anger with your delay and punishments will come your way.” Nuff said. Except that the last line is pretty ironic, if you ask me.

Wow. They even look like morons, don't they?

Well, we have come to the end. So long eMusic! I now pass the torch onto my brother, as it so happens that his subscription officially begins tomorrow. Use those downloads wisely, my friend.

Free Songs

Why am I just finding out that Amazon gives away free mp3s?!

Can you still feel the butterflies?

Jimmy Eat World's Clairty Live release from their most recent tour is awesome. It includes "No Sensitivity"! I certainly enjoyed it :)

Beautiful Drowning

I wonder sometimes whether or not we as Latter-Day Saints hold the content of personal revelation too sacredly. By that I actually mean, too privately. It’s true, there are many spiritual experiences that I certainly believe are designed to be a personal guide strictly for self, family, and close friends. I have had these experiences before, and shared them with few. However, I feel that there are many experiences that while privately revealed, are absolutely meant to be openly declared to anyone and everyone who will hear.

I had one of these experiences last year, and I only shared it in full with my friend David. Somehow, I felt like no one else would realize the depth that the experience had in my heart. I regret feeling that way. I share it now because I am discontent in holding it privately. I want the desire I felt to fill you, in some capacity. I want the realization I felt to reach you. I wish to know if and how you have been affected with similar desires and realizations, that I may thereby come to relive and continuously feel the sense of unity which invigorated me at that time.

Spoiler Alert: This message is for Bradford. Yes, YOU, Bradford. Sitting there at work...reading my blog. Be warned that by continuing to read this you will officially be forfitting your chance to interpret my poem,"Cosmos in a Workshirt," as I am about to unveil its meaning.

It begins with a man, which, a few of you may agree, I am entirely too preoccupied with. If any of you have ever wondered why I especially love Ralph Waldo Emerson, you get to learn more about that today. The simplest answer is: I feel he connects me to the rest of the world.

I remember the day that I bought my simple edition of some of his most popular essays. I had just begun to read the first essay, History, before my geology class, and I felt with a sudden sureness what I had never actually known before. History is really not about the past. It is about me, and the world around me. The same conflicts, emotions, and resolutions of purpose from the past are ongoing today. We rejoice in certain stories and events because there is something true and living about them. And as time goes along and we change, we identify with new writers and people. People like us-- more like ourselves than words on a page or ancient works of art lead us to believe. The past can have a likeness to our lives that feels almost akin to personal memory. This epiphany could have come in any number of ways, but it came through Ralph Waldo Emerson, after at least a year of college, through a book that cost me less than two dollars.

Not only did the ideas Emerson presented fill me with such happiness as this, but reading the words themselves reminded me of one of my closest friends in the world, David Moser. When he came home from his mission, I sent him a copy of this book of essays, with an inscription. I remember that I had told him that whenever I was in need of self-discovery, I returned to this book, and that whenever I returned to this book, I was somehow reminded of him. The first real connection—I found my friend in those pages when I was initially looking to learn more about myself. I felt we were both in there, in the same words. Little did I know, through reading Emerson, I was in store for much more than that connection.

About two years ago, I purchased a biography about Ralph Waldo Emerson called Emerson: The Mind on Fire. In it, I came across the story of a dream that Emerson once had, that thereafter served as one of the most powerful metaphors in his writing, which he would draw back on time and again. He describes it briefly:

“I dreamed that I floated at will in the great Ether, and I saw this world floating also not far off, but diminished to the size of an apple. Then an angel took it in his hand and brought it to me and said, ‘This must thou eat.’ And I ate the world.”

This dream, this image, became absolutely fascinating to me. It was so powerful. I wanted the same dream. The same revelation. But I also wanted it to feel personal, somehow. I wanted to sense that sort of literal connection with the world, to know what it felt like to take it in, to be strengthened by it. I wanted to experience this vision for myself. Believing that I had as much right to these impressions as Emerson, or any other great mind in history, I decided to pray for it. After all, it was a good desire. Though I pleaded for it, I can’t say I honestly expected it. Despite that, as surely as I had asked, I received an answer.

An odd fact came into my mind randomly one day, which I learned from reading in my meteorology text book. I recalled having read that the number of molecules in a breath of air is the same as the number of known stars in the universe. Suddenly, a distinct image came into my mind of myself surrounded by a miniature scale of the universe. And as I took a breath, all of the stars, planets, galaxies and beyond were coming into my body and filling my lungs. It was amazing! I felt full of extraordinary energy and light. I immediately knew that there was a connection beyond the scale and scope of the world in store for me to fully realize.

This image took a universe that I knew to be billions of years old, and larger than I could fathom, and let it pass in and out of my lungs within the duration of a simple breath. I felt that an individual soul was so much more valuable, undoubtedly more beautiful, and vastly more eternal than everything else that exists. In considering the limited grasp I had of how grand and incomprehensible the universe is, I knew more than I ever had in my life, at that moment, what was meant by, “the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.”

As I mentioned a few entries ago, it was during the time I was in the mood to write poems that I decided to share some of my personal experiences with more people. So, I ended up writing a poem that relates this event:

-Cosmos in a Workshirt-

That apple-sized world seized my fascination;
I wanted to dream it, hold it, eat it- possess it.
I might have asked, “How dare I crave that nourishment
That enlivened the likes of his prophetic mind?”
If I had not known him well enough.

The pages of his History,
Stone tablets, the width of perpetuity!
Each character carved deep. Each one repeats.
I own his mind? He mine? that apple is as good as mine.

I prayed for the invitation of his angel,
“This must thou eat.”
The same visitation-- unique.
For I wanted to feel the world, in me.

Though ardently I asked, I never thought
To see this image come to pass.
God must have had a love-filled laugh
When that joy struck, and bloomed…
To fill my lungs—ten to the power of twenty-two!

That is the number, more or less,
Of molecules within a breath.
Not of that alone, but also this,
The stars in all the skies.

This fact itself, coincidence, just
Worthy of footnote in my science text.
Till God let me watch and feel those stars
Gather inside my chest.

O, how I will outlast you, Night! Your lights go out
Within the time it takes me to exhale.
How beautiful you are, I know-
Yet compared with me, a brief faint glow!

My Emerson, I dare say this gift exceeds your dream
Of one mere apple eaten - the rest high in the trees.
Though with it in you, and you in me,
You’ll come to it at last. You’ll come to taste
Another world, afloat, eager to be grasped.

I'm thinking now on one of my recent favorite songs, "Overcome" by Live, which actually reminds me quite a bit of my experience. It is on my Live playlist. I suggest you listen to it if you can, but here are the lyrics:

Even now, the world is bleeding,

but feeling just fine, all numb in our castle,

where we're always free to choose, never free enough to find.

I wish something would break, cuz we're running out of time.

And I am overcome, yeah. I am overcome.

Holy water in my lungs. I am overcome.

These women in the street, pulling out their hair.

My master's in the yard, giving light to the unaware.

This plastic little place is just a step amongst the stairs.

And I am overcome, yeah. I am overcome, baby.

Holy water in my lungs, yeah. I am overcome.

So drive me out, yeah, out to that open field.

Turn the ignition off and spin around.

Your help is here, but I'm parked in this open space,

blocking the gates of love.

And I am overcome, yeah. I am overcome, baby.

Holy water in my lungs, yeah. I am overcome, yeah.

And I am overcome, oh Lord. I am overcome, baby.

Holy water in my lungs, holy water, holy water.

I am overcome.

Beautiful drowning, this beautiful drowning.

This holy water, this holy water is in my lungs.

And I am overcome. I am overcome, yeah.

I am overcome. I am overcome.

That is an incredible song! The emotion he puts into it is overwhelming. I really am quite moved by the phrase, “beautiful drowning." I feel I know just what he means by it!

Anyway, this just isn’t the sort of experience you tell your friends about at parties. I don’t know how to share moments like these, the kinds that keep me believing in myself, and in the world, and in the power of prayer. I’d like to know how to revive this feeling from day to day. I want to hear about how those around me have come to discover this feeling. I want to urge those that don’t know personally where they fit in and connect with everything around them (with me, with you, with the past, with the future) to find a way. I’d like to think that all it takes is a spark, that they can keep feeding until they get a flame. Until the mind that connects us all is “the mind on fire.”

Positively 4th Street

Either I spoke too soon, or Bob Dylan is magical, cause I found "Positively 4th Street." I think that's more of the type of song I was after. The last line even gave me a good laugh.

It Ain't Me, Babe

I will confess right now that I simply don't relate to any good guy-bashing songs. I've never had that kind of bitter hatefulness, feigned or true, that needed that sort of outlet. I'm proud of that. However, some months ago I heard Bob Dylan's version of "It Ain't Me, Babe," and suddenly felt that someone had expressed my personal feelings on the matter of smack-talk just right. I mention it now because it has been running through my head the last few days.

While this song does take some shots at the person (Babe) in question, this really isn't the focus of it. It mainy focuses on what kind of person the singer is, in effect by relating what kind of person he is not. This includes a look at what the nature of love is to him, in that it is not "perfect," and is better off for being so.

Essentially, the feeling that rings true realistically here is that when a relationship ends, the worst and yet the most respectable and amiable reason you can give for it is that the other person didn't (or never will) really love you. That can be both a smack in the face, and a sad but civil truth. And yet there is a bit of hope on the fringes of this truth as well. But wait, this describes a completely different type of song I hadn't considered before starting this blog entry. The bittersweet song. Blast! Now I'll have to retract my statements. It looks like I still don't relate to any guy-bashing songs, or the like. That's actually pretty good news. My pride remains intact.

Anyway, the lyrics to this song really are so simple and melancholy, yet very enlightening and empowering at once. And while I used to make fun of Bob Dylan's sound...I really think I like it now. Afterall, he wrote protest songs with harmonica solos in them. That is boss! At least, I'm sure that's what the kids in the 60s were saying...

Here are the lyrics, which I found on a really awesome website where you can not only listen to this song, but also a bunch of other Bob Dylan songs. In fact, I think it's got his whole collection! Plus I like the site because you get to watch a record turn while the songs play. Yes, I am that simple-minded. Too many years of school have turned my brain to goo. Gray-mattered goo.

Nerd Band

The most recent issue of Rolling Stone featured an in-depth article on none other than...(let's have a massively elaborate drum roll please, complete with such flourishes as chimes, crotales, timbales, and melodic cowbells)...RUSH! And no, they were not critical this time, but finally objective enough to say,"Music taste aside, the scope of Rush's achievement is undeniable - 18 studio albums, more than 35 million records sold worldwide, a legion of fans as loyal as Deadheads and the Kiss Army. Still, much of the world ranks Rush somewhere just north of the mullet. Their hypertrophic musicianship is mocked by critics, their lyrical pedantry spoofed by hipsters, their singer's voice a subject of churlish speculation..."

Wow, "just North of the mullet," huh? That is an insult I have never heard. But no, I have no qualms with the article. So, I will move on, and include some snippets that I found interesting. I'll do it this way, I'll pose a question, and answer it with quotes from the article. In fact, I'll keep all the questions geared on the undeniable stimga that Rush is a "nerd band."

What is your stereotypical Rush fan like?

"Under bright houselights, the 17,000-capacity venue is quickly filling with fans of the Canadian rock trio Rush - many resembling the two young men I find sitting 10 rows from the stage: brow-fringing hair, utilitarian glasses, sprouts of chin whisker. They look straight out of an '82 yearbook photo of the after-school D&D club - a suggestion neither finds insulting. 'We fully embrace that,' says Sam, 21, an electrical-engineering student with a Ziggy Stardust tee and Harry Potter tattoo. 'That's definitely our lifestyle, the whole nerd thing. We play video games and listen to Rush, we play video games about Rush. That's what we did all last night in preparation for this.'"

So, Rush fans are nerds?

"The American-Nerd Age is nigh. Today, everyone from the bed-headed club promoter to the siliconed spokesmodel calls themselves a "nerd" because they play Sudoku or can operate an iPhone. But 34 years ago, when singer-bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart first emerged on the music scene, the n word had teeth. And if you were heavy into Rush - three skinny Canadians with a fixation for sprawling rock epics and Tolkien references - you had found your home."

So, the members of the band are nerds too?

"A ruddy 55-year-old with a Robert Mitchum-ish brow, Peart stands drinking bottled water, dressed head to toe in a ninjalike black suit topped by a black tarn bearing the logo from Rush's 2007 album, Snakes and Arrows. One pant leg is cinched by a bicycle clip. His feet are in dancing shoes. "

Yep, you heard it here. Neil Peart dresses like a Ninja with dancing shoes.

"'This is to absorb the sweat,' Peart says of his outfit...'They're so you get the dance and glide on the pedals like you get on a dance floor.'"

That's it though, I mean, they never look like characters out of some fantasy novel, right?

"With his long hair, soul patch and round sunglasses, the 54-year-old Lee suggests either a French semiotics professor or an abstract expressionist. He's often noticed but frequently misplaced. 'For some reason, Latino people think I'm Ozzy Osbourne,' says Lee. 'I don't know-big nose, long hair? Others say Bono.'

When Rush emerged as a hard-rock power in the Seventies, Lee entered the history books as one of the genre's truly sui generis frontmen: gimlet eyes, ectomorph frame, noted proboscis. Robert Plant may have sung about Tolkien's mystic realm of Mordor; Lee looked like he'd been there."

It's true. The man really looks very witch-king-like.

But does he act nerdy too?

"Sitting under Toronto's former Sky-Dome, Lee recalls Rush's U.S. debut, at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena in 1974. "They asked us if we wanted anything in our dressing room, so I asked for some Southern Comfort," he says. "I read that rock singers drank that before they went on. So I had this little shot when we go on, and I'm like, 'Holy mackerel!' I've got all of 26 minutes to play, and I'm dizzy for half of it.' Behold Rush's entire history of onstage intoxication."

Now while some might argue that any rock stars that are responsible enough not to get into the drug/alcohol scene at all must be nerds, I think that what I'm really aiming at here as evidence of the nerd factor is the phrase, "Holy mackerel!" Now, that's pretty nerdy.

How was their luck with the ladies?

"Now for the sex. This wont take long either. Lifeson is married to his first girlfriend, Lee is married to his high school sweetheart, and Peart was with the same woman for 22 years until she passed away in 1997. Of Rush's 150-odd songs, not a single one concerns that rather popular rock & roll topic: chicks - which, when compared to the likes of Kiss, makes Rush more or less the AV Club of 20th-century rock."

Songs without chicks are probably pretty nerdy. What did they write about?

"When Peart signed on as Rush's drummer, he also took on the band's lyric-writing duties, beginning one of the most infamous oeuvres in the entire rock canon. Peart did not write like a lyricist. He wrote like a philosopher. A German one. In translation. 'I was ambitious and had wide interests,' says Peart. 'So I kind of tried writing about everything: autobiography, science fiction, fantasy, social commentary and junior philosophy.'"

Did the fans like it?

"...Rush dived off the deep end of prog with Caress of Steel. The album, whose five songs contained the 12-minute "The Necromancer" (which drank deeply from the well of Tolkien) and the 19-minute "The Fountain of Lamneth" (about a search for the fountain of youth), tanked. The band went on an internally dubbed 'Down the Tubes Tour'...But at this rock bottom, Rush found their moment of clarity...

The result was 2112, widely considered Rush's masterwork: a seven-part, dystopian fantasy complete with interplanetary war, robotic vocal effects, instrumental fireworks and clerical bureaucracies straight from the Dune trilogy. With a theatrical pitch somewhere between Jesus Christ Superstar and Pink Floyd's The Wall, 2112 portrays a galaxy controlled by one Red Star of the Solar Federation, whose Priests of the Temples of Syrinx dictate all cultural life. In the titular year, a young hero discovers an ancient, mind-freeing relic - yes, an electric guitar - and brings this Promethean gift to the Talibanic priests, who promptly wreck it and ground him, sending him off to his bedroom, where he presumably smokes bud, bums out and eventually kills himself. After which a coup brings a new galactic order and completes the most heroic rendition of the cranky-adolescent-male consciousness ever committed to vinyl.

2112 went multiplatinum and won Rush their independence. But it did more than find an audience. With philosophical touchstones in Orwell, Nietzsche and the band's acknowledged hero, Ayn Rand (whose politics got the band members labeled cryptofascists in the late Seventies), the album played a role analogous to that of L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology-launching book, Dianetics - eventually amassing the most die-hard, detail-obsessed rock fans in history."

I think that that paints a pretty good picture of this author's initial claim that Rush is a "nerd band." And perhaps this is why the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame overlook them time and again, despite their obvious success. "Nerds have no place in Rock and Roll!" I can hear them protest. Or, perhaps they have something against Canadians. Anyhow, I like that the closing remarks of the article reflect the bands' feelings about this well-known rejection into the hall of fame.

"Self-effacing poise may be rare to arena rockers, but like Green Party candidates and Nascar heroes, the members of Rush have adjusted to both idolatry and disregard. Just prior to tonight's dinner, they were once again snubbed by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which instead inducted no greater rock luminaries than the Dave dark Five. But Rush seem convincingly unfazed. 'I just keep saying we're too young to be in there,' says Lee.

'Yeah,' says Peart. 'Unlike all those other people, we're still working.'

'I think it really upsets our fans,' allows Lifeson. 'It's a big issue for them.'

It's true that Rush doesn't mean today what it did in '76 or even '96. It may mean more. Back when Peart was lost in America, Lee remembers knowing that his friend's path back would be through music. 'Because that's who he was,' Lee says. 'The quickest way to health is to be who you are and do that thing that you love to do.' And if today's Rush stands for anything besides dazzling chops and heady abstractions, it may be that simple, oddly courageous conviction: doing what you love - whether it gets you called a nerd, spurned by your label or turned into an icon."

So, if you've read this far, you've basically read half the article. But here it is in full. And if you've read this far you know the message I want to leave with you. Do what you love! Be who you are! Even the n word, just like Rush, but the n word with teeth.

Putting Blender in the Blender

Alright, so back some time ago when I had my 2112 epiphany from my cardboard box, I was reading about Rush on Wikipedia. It all went along well until reaching the bottom where I read that Neil Peart made number two on Blender's list of the "40 Worst Lyricists in Rock". Now, personally, Peart's lyrics are one of my favorite things about Rush. And currently, he is my favorite lyricist in rock. But here, for Blender's list of the worst lyricists, he made number two?! Now, logically, you might wonder whether my opinions hold any weight against a music magazine. And in this case, I would have to say, "You betcha."

First of all, I don't think too much of Blender. I got egged into subscribing for it from those guys that visit all the apartments at Old Farm each semester trying to sell magazines. The first time around, I got rid of them with the honest and golden words "I have no money...at ALL." The second time, I gave in, but only because I said that I'd only get a magazine that suited my interests. Unless they had anything science or music related, I was out. I should have used some stricter criteria.

Anyway, that is how I started reading through Blender, which, as it turned out, was very disappointing. The only thing cool I got out of it was finding out that Ringo Starr and Keith Moon were pretty good friends, and I saw some advertisements for some interesting mp3/satellite radio players. In between were a lot of scandalous advertisements (in the back, at least), and audaciously crappy suggestions of what you "needed" to download. Now, I'll just let you know, anyone like me who likes philosophy really gets unnerved at the words "need", "must" or "should." I obviously haven't read enough of the magazine to make a logical argument against them...so, hopefully you don't have to make the mistake of subscribing to it yourself to believe me.

Anyway, I feel that poor Mr. Peart deserves a bit of support from those of us who don't trust the opinions of those behind Blender. And thus, perhaps as a corny play-on-words, but an accurate visual, I want to put Blender in the Blender. Yes, I personify my own "Blender".

"What exactly did they have to say, anyway?" you ask.

02 • Neil Peart
An ace on the rototoms, a train wreck on the typewriter.

Drummers are good at many things: exploding, drowning in their own vomit, drumming. But the Rush skinsman proved they should never write lyrics—or read books. Peart opuses like “Cygnus X-1” are richly awful tapestries of fantasy and science fiction, steeped in an eighth-grade understanding of Western philosophy. 2112, Rush’s 1976 concept album based on individualist thinker Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, remains an awe-inspiring low point in the sordid relationship between rock and ideas. Worst lyric: “I stand atop a spiral stair/An oracle confronts me there/He leads me on light years away/Through astral nights, galactic days” (“Oracle: The Dream”)

What is particularly offensive here is that the lyric they chose happens to be one of my favorite parts of the song 2112 (on my playlist, almost 15 min. in). Any times in a Rush song where the music lingers on quietly and then the quietude is broken by Geddy Lee's screams is always cool. Now, the lyrics here, I realize, are not that great. However, they're not that bad, either. Let's consider a couple things. First of all, it's the worst Blender could apparently find of all his lyrics. He's been writing lyrics for about 30 years! Second, the fact that these lyrics are supposedly a prime example of the second worst lyricist in all of rock means that they didn't look very hard. In fact, I have a suspicion that they deliberately were targeting rock figures that have gotten significant praise for being deep or intellectual thinkers. Those Jim Morrison lyrics aren't bad either. In fact, I think they are pretty good. Maybe they're just expecting something amazing from people who like to read. Or perhaps they're just taking cheap shots, like those trippy Donovan lyrics. That's what 60s lyrics were all about... you know ;0. In their defense, though, minus genres such as pop, rap, and country, the field for cheap shots narrows significantly.

Well, I hope I got my Blender humming. Hereafter, I will often mention Peart lyrics, and what I like about them. Stay tuned, one day I'll hit purée.

My Big Confession

I've finally acknowledged that it is time for a confession. A big one. The Beatles are officially NOT my favorite band. "What?!" you all cry. "Who is it??" Well, I've decided that choosing a favorite band of all time is not a good idea, as it will make me close-minded to explore the possibilities of loving new bands. And honestly, I really don't listen to The Beatles very much, and haven't for a long time. Although I have acknowledged that fact, I still have always claimed they are my favorite band. No more.

And crazy as I am, I see that Fate would have this be. Haha. I was at the movies a couple weeks ago (Iron Man), and was annoyed as usual by the commercials and continuous cycles of movie pop-quiz questions and such. Honestly, I love a blank screen until the movies start up. And since we pay to get in, I really don't think we should be forced to see commercials by any right. Anyway, one of the questions up on the screen just happened to be: "Who is your favorite band?" The guy next to me read this question aloud and said "Hm, let's see, I think it would have to be...Rush!" As I have been really into this band lately I was very happy by this remark, and turned and replied "I love Rush!" And we started talking about them for a few minutes.

I thought that it was especially cool, since they are not an incredibly popular band (mainstream-wise). Sadly, it seemed like the guy was on a date, so I felt inclined to not chat the boy up too much. Interestingly though, the girl he was with mentioned liking The Beatles, and I felt...a slight hint of disdain for them. Very fleeting, and possibly only because I wanted to talk to him longer and really couldn't because of her. Who knows. I just found it really satisfying that we both really liked a band that wasn't hugely popular, but are hugely talented for sure.

After this little experience, I moved into the Beach House (as I have mentioned), and have just been unpacking the last few days. And guess what got damaged in the move, the only thing? Amazingly enough, all my Beatles albums. No, no, but close. The glass on my Beatles collage was broken. It was sad!

And just yesterday, as I was cleaning out one of my boxes I saw this number written on the side of it:

Okay, now, check out this Rush album cover:

It was a weird sign. But a sign nonetheless. I needed to put the Beatles reign to an end, and acknowledge fully what I am currently obsessed with. Today, it's Rush. And I don't have a favorite band. And The Beatles are not the greatest band in history.

I consider admitting it in this blog a big step to expanding my musical horizons. And just so you know, the other day when someone saw my Yellow Submarine hoodie and said that they loved The Beatles, I withheld my usual "They're my favorite," and just said "Cool, me too." Wow, what a confession.

Love Bites

Ah, so I was just looking through my pile of junk trying to get organized before I move out and came across the "poem" I wrote for the Def Leppard concert (back in October). Now, I'd never made any kind of a poster to hold up for an event before this time, so I was determined to do so. On my poster, I decided to create a poem strictly out of the song titles of the bands playing at the concert, which were: Foreigner, Styx, and Def Leppard. It actually turned out pretty comprehensible, and I didn't need to add any extra words at all.

Love Bites

The Best of Times Feels Like the First Time. Too Much Time on my Hands, Waiting for a Girl Like You, Girl on the Moon. I Don't Want to Live Without You. Say You Will Show me the Way. See the Lights? Photograph The Grand Illusion. Another Hit and Run When Love and Hate Collide. Double Vision. Hot Blooded Animal Heart Turns to Stone. Heaven Is Two Steps Behind. Too Late for Love.

And on the other side I got a bunch of different shades of lipstick and put my lip prints all over it and drew in fangs for each one. Haha...it was a cool poster. And those who read it appreciated it. I remember I got a cool idea after I made it. There should be magnet poetry with song titles to rock songs. They could package them together with bands that tour together! It would be fun. Okay, I'm a little nuts, and I lost the definitions of the words to my genius themed magnet poetry, so...I'm at a loss.

Here It Goes

That was absolutely the best concert I've been to! I even went back in to make friends with the security personnel so that I might be able to meet the band, but, alas, they did not linger long. Jim Adkins even said that we were the best crowd on the tour so far! It wasn't fanfare, I know the difference. He even laughed at our enthusiasm at one point and said that he'd like to play for us all night, but that they had to get to Utah for the show that's tonight. And I wanted very much to go to that one too, but Mondays are Mondays...and a Monday crushes all my hopes for happy happenstances.

Paramore also played, as well as an opening band called Dear and the Headlights (also from Mesa, AZ). I was excited to find that Paramore had a female lead singer, as I often bring up the topic of naming good bands with a female lead and can't think of many. Most that come to mind for me happen to only be single artists, and not the lead to an excellent band. So, if anyone has a decent list, I do need some more female vocalists in my collection. Paramore was pretty cool, but I didn't recognize any of their songs, and I noticed that the fanbase was mostly throngs of teenage girls. However, it was the girl-power sort of throng, rather than the swooning over the lead singer type (which in this case would be disturbing rather than annoying/humorous).

Speaking of swooning over the lead singer, I came pretty close to that myself. I loved watching Jim sing and play live, and I rarely took my eyes off of him. I guess from just seeing videos of their live shows, I became pretty familiar with what to expect. I immediately recognized that Jim was wearing his black button-up concert shirt. It's the only shirt I've seen him wear in concert, and I think it's cool that he keeps up the tradition, especially since this shirt invariably becomes absolutely drenched in sweat after each show. And yes, it was very entertaining to watch him transform from being completely dry to completely wet.

Set (as well as memory serves):

Big Casino- Obvious choice for the opener. It's their new hit single, and it has a lot of energy. I think the chorus is really catchy.
Sweetness- One of their biggest hits ever. Everyone has heard this one. It was great to jumpstart the enthusiasm of the crowd.
Work- I like this one, and I gave a good shout for the Futures album.
Crush- I was a little surprised by this choice, but was glad to hear a lesser known song from a lesser known album.
Dizzy- This is my favorite song off of the new album, and I loved seeing it live. They had this green misty light on the whole time which gave off a Great Gatsby vibe. Definitely a highlight to the show.
Just Tonight...- They seemed to downplay the usual intensity of this song. It was kinda a shame, but it was still cool. I love the guitar solo on this one!
A Praise Chorus- Josie likes this song a lot. I think it's fun.
Polaris- This is another of my favorite slower songs of theirs. I was glad that they played it, and gave it a good cheer.
Always Be- This is a pretty catchy track off the new album.
Your New Aesthetic- The only real rocker on Clarity. I like it better than Bleed American.
Let It Happen- That's the first time I've heard the crowd laugh along to a song. This is one of my favorites from the new album.
Pain- High-energy crowd pleaser. A nice rocker from Futures.
Blister- I always skip this track on Clarity because the beginning always startles me with Tom's voice shouting from the start. Ewwh. It's a pretty good song other than that beginning. It's likely that they play this at every show to give Tom a chance to shine, and Jim some time to rest from singing.
Here It Goes- This is such a good dance song. It's got a good message to be yourself and have fun.
Get It Faster- I like the loud and soft transitions on this one a lot. It was at this point that I heard the people around me beginning to comment on how soaked in sweat Jim's shirt was, and I thought it was funny.
Futures- Always cool. I like the lyrics.
Bleed American- The classic rocker. I was getting a little sweaty myself at this point.

Encore:
The Middle- It's certainly a crowd pleaser. I was a little out of energy to fully appreciate it.
Hear You Me- Nice way to end. This is the only song I didn't sing along/lip sync with. I just peacefully enjoyed it. I was surprised at how many people still wave lighters around instead of cell phones. I like lighters. There's something very rock-and-roll about the old-fashioned flames in the air.

Lousy commentary, I know, but I wanted to remember the set, so I typed it up. It was an excellent show!

I also enjoyed getting to see Josie and her family, of course. I saw a potato cellar for the first time, and it reminded me of Scrooge McDuck's vault of coins off of Duck Tales. I'm sure her dad doesn't dive in and take a swim in the potatoes, but...I can't say I didn't imagine it :)

Feeling Lucky

After a couple months of gloominess, I'm really excited to go see the Jimmy Eat World concert in Pocatello this weekend! I'm going with my good friend Josie, and staying at her home for a few days. As I only have my pathetic camera phone, I doubt I'm going to be able to get any decent photos. I'll write something about it, though. Photo-wise, however, I thought that some of you might get a kick out of seeing the earrings I picked out for the occasion.









Now, have a look at the cover of their latest album Chase This Light. Yep, these peacock feathers are just right!!






The interesting thing to note is that peacocks symbolize bad luck in literature. And one of the tracks on the album is called "Feeling Lucky" with the lyrics, "You suck that lucky feeling right out of me." I just thought it was cool that I understood why the cover had a peacock feather. And it looks pretty :)

A Fond Farewell to Tetris Too?!

I listened to The Division Bell today for the first time. Wow, it was beautiful! I've actually already heard at least half of the songs on it, and really liked all of them. I didn't know they all came from this album, though. Now I have to buy it. I must.

And in deciding to play some Tetris today, which I haven't played much in the last couple of years, I can say that it doesn't take the edge off like it used to...so I'll have to turn to drugs. Just kidding. Although, I'm not sure what has taken the place of establishing order for my thoughts like the entrancing joy of arranging falling blocks. Hmm...that is a mystery. Maybe I deal with my problems in an emotionally mature manner now. It's kinda too bad, I miss that outlet. I'm not good at the game at all anymore, honestly. Weird.

Kicking off the Break

I think I'm still sick after taking two different kinds of antibiotics. Ugh...I think the infection has been lingering, at times in latency, for years now. It doesn't want to go away quietly. A pox on it! Anyway, I'm now officially on my spring break. Like usual, no big plans at all. I never have much money when it comes around. And so, I'm thinking to save up a little fund, just for next year's spring break (my last!...finally). I vow it will be a good one. For now, I'm just enjoying spending some time with the family. I want to perhaps do a bit of writing as well, which I never really get around to besides letters and school papers.

Honestly, I think that the major writer's block I have on some projects is due to the fact that I have recently become disenchanted with fiction. Oh, no, that's not entirely right. No, to say "disenchanted with fiction" is to say...something I would never hope to truly feel. I take it back. What I mean is that I am more inspired by nonfiction lately (last couple of years). I actually bought this book a couple summers ago from the USU bookstore on writing nonfiction. I haven't read it yet, actually. Half my bookshelf is unread. I like to buy books, hoping to get around to reading them. I hate renting them from the library, as I love to write comments in the margins...occasionally just a "haha" if I find something amusing. It's fun to write comments, and quotes, etc. Actually, my "nonfiction writing" is probably half quotations that come to my head as I think about ideas. I'd really like to shake that habit, I mean, shouldn't I be writing the quotable? But, maybe my writing will just be an enthusiastic account of my reading. Fine enough, as long as it makes me happy, and helps me down the line somehow...to remember.

My weekend was pretty fun, I guess. That date was a bit weird, but only because it was a group date...that didn't seem like a date, and then it did again. Somehow I didn't end up talking to the guy that asked me much at all, or riding in his car, and another guy ended up paying for three dinners. His, mine, and his "date's"...I suppose. Suffice to say that any group date of a somewhat confusing nature is not much of one, so I don't feel quite as bad. Er, yeah.

Speaking of group dates, I just went to the Red Carpet Date Night at the Capital building last night. Matt was going with a group from his ward that didn't have dates, and I came along too. I love that building! It is so beautiful. Especially when I saw it a couple months ago when it was snowing. Really, the only dances I have been to have been in gyms and the like. Not the best atmosphere. So, I loved going there.

The most hilarious part was when that horrible song Cotton-Eyed Joe started up and my brother and I happened to both take a very conspicuous if not wild dash away from our respective places on the dance floor only to meet at the stairwell that had yellow tape preventing our escape. Unfortunately, living in Utah, there is too much country played at some dances. But, if it pleases the crowd...whatever...make the morons happy. Haha, you know, I don't suspect that calling country-lovers morons will come off too offensive as none of my family members or good friends are into it at all. What an irrational love of bad music. I did dance to a country slow song, but, you can't refuse a guy based on the music. I have before, though. Tisk, tisk, I was a jerk. But the song was really bad! And he knew me, so he understood my repulsion to country.

I actually thought about a dance that my friend Patrick held a couple years back, and remember that it was incredibly fun because I got to submit my own music. It counts so much! Even more than marble pillars. But that's just my gripe because I don't listen to what most people do. Although, I do listen to popular music, only decades behind. I kinda wish I was into lesser known or underground artists (same thing?). Access to the unpopular is, of course, less accessible. I wish that Logan had a lot of local bands and shows. There is a Battle of the Bands in a few weeks though, which is free. I'll be there! And the winner plays at Eve 6. I might go to that too, especially if I like the band that wins the battle. Game on!