Журнал

Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku.

Desiring to show his attainment, he said: "The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received."

Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry.

"If nothing exists," inquired Dokuon, "where did this anger come from?"

So anyway check out Dub Side of the Moon if you're looking for something the same but a little bit different, there are some pretty good covers on there. And a little dub never hurt anyone (wakka wakka).

Other mentions, 1800s Sea Monster have some new free stuff up, if you liked them the last time I mentioned them you might want to grab it.

I also just discovered Dan Deacon through a British friend, watching the video to crystal cat pretty much blew what is left of my mind, he is supposedly one of the best live acts ever if you're looking for an intense party atmosphere or as he apparently says getting "Sassy as fuck"

Oh and if you haven't gotten the Beetis yet, get it.

It's been exactly one year and one day since I registered for Last.fm. Accordingly, I've decided to take a look back at the last year.

My top albums
1. The Beatles – The Beatles
I could have chosen almost anything from The Beatles for the top spot, but I find I listen to this one more than the others. It was a major influence on my guitar playing when I first began, and practically every song has a fond memory attached to it.

2. M.I.A. – Kala
If you’ve read my journal with any regularity over the past few months, you’ll know that I hold Maya Arulpragasam in high regard, to say the least. I’m so glad to live in a time when something as gloriously strange as Boyz can be considered pop. Maya’s out in a field of her own and no one else is even close.

3. Blur – Parklife
The ultimate pop record, Blur’s third album is a funhouse of melody, texture and sound held together by the sterling bass playing of Alex James.

4. My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything
Go here.

5. Nirvana – In Utero
The best thing that 90s alt-rock produced, this record hints at the incredible potential that Nirvana had yet to fulfill. The first three tracks just might be the finest opening sequence ever.

6. Madonna – Like a Prayer
No wait, this is the ultimate pop record. For the first and only time in her career, Madonna stripped away the artifice of her public image, swapped rhythm for melody and penned a set of emotionally raw songs about her tumultuous marriage, her strained relationship with her father and her mother’s death.

7. Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation
I have a lot to say on this record, so expect a journal in the near future.

8. Wire – Pink Flag
This is a virtually perfect deconstruction of rock history by British art-schoolers. All 21 of the songs are packed with wit, rancor and melody, and at less than 40 minutes, it runs no risk of overstaying its welcome.

9. Pixies – Surfer Rosa
Go here.

10. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
Though it’s not the masterpiece that everyone and their mother have made it out to be, Loveless is still probably the best guitar/technology fusion in existence. Kevin Shields married a set of delicate pop songs to his studio perfectionism and it turned out to be a winning match.

11. Kate Bush – Hounds of Love
12. The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
13. Fugazi – Repeater
14. Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
15. The Clash – Combat Rock
16. Sonic Youth – Sister
17. John Peel’s Festive 15 Mix CD
18. Blur – Modern Life Is Rubbish
19. Pavement – Slanted & Enchanted
20. Radiohead – OK Computer
21. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever To Tell
22. The Jesus & Mary Chain – Psychocandy
23. The Beatles – Abbey Road
24. Dinosaur Jr – You’re Living All Over Me
25. Kate Bush – The Dreaming
26. Cornershop – When I Was Born for the 7th Time
27. Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
28. Pink Floyd – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
29. Gang of Four – Entertainment!
30. Björk – Homogenic
31. Blur – Blur
32. Kanye West – Graduation
33. Primal Scream – Screamadelica
34. The Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness
35. Boris – Pink
36. The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
37. The Smiths – Hatful of Hollow
38. Black Sabbath – Paranoid
39. The Fall – Hex Enduction Hour
40. The Beatles – Revolver
41. Madonna – Music
42. Nirvana – Nevermind
43. The Smashing Pumpkins – Gish
44. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced?
45. The Velvet Underground – White Light/White Heat
46. Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On?
47. Kanye West – Late Registration
48. Hole – Live Through This
49. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin I
50. Slint – Spiderland

The artists I’ve discovered this year
Kate Bush
M.I.A.
Amy Winehouse
The Fall
Wire
The Kick Inside
Boris
Gang of Four
1800s Sea Monster
The Velvet Underground
Rainbow Party
Unwound
Saint Etienne
Hüsker Dü
Black Flag
Primal Scream
Patrick Wolf
Porcupine Tree

A random assortment of tracks from artists mentioned in this entry
Click here to download

Pavement – Summer Babe (Winter Version)
An indie-rock classic bearing the same chord sequence as Straight to Hell and some of the most oblique lyrics I’ve ever seen. “Ice baby, I saw your girlfriend, she was eating her fingers like they were just another meal.” What on earth does that mean? Anyone?

1800s Sea Monster – B-a-n-j-o-r-e-e Banjorium
Never ones to rest on laurels, the band’s latest record (available from their Last.fm page) is a dalliance into country. Love them or hate them, once you try them out, you’ll have to admit that 1800s Sea Minster always keep things interesting.

The Kick Inside – Because Of Her Sex
This reminds me vaguely of those C86 bands, but with harder-edged guitars and vocals. I’m looking for good things from them.

Rainbow Party – Hoom Boot
One minute and forty seconds of pure venom, this track hilariously takes the aging Baby Boomer generation to task for their failings. Rainbow Party are one of my favourite new bands, and hopefully, they’ll be one of yours as well.

Hüsker Dü – Celebrated Summer
Perfect guitar-pop.

Kate Bush – Strange Phenomena
I might have chosen one of her singles, but I think this track demonstrates Kate’s quirkiness more than anything else. She apparently decided that she’d like to write a song about her menstrual cycle and this is what happened. I especially dig her delivery of the Indian mantra ‘om mani padme hum.’

My latest obsession is Kate Bush. We're studying "Wuthering Heights" in English class and we did something about its effect on pop culture so I decided to look up the Kate Bush video of the same name on Youtube. The video (click here to view) features Kate dancing in a field in a red dress, delivering the song's narrative lyric with the most delightfully melodramatic facial expressions I've ever seen in a rock video. That one song is unlike anything I've ever heard before. It's not strange in a Björk sort of way, but its weirdness comes from the fact that musically, it sounds like a typical late-70s pop record, though the lyrics are about a 19th century novel and the singing is so... different.
Anyway, I was actually hooked after that exposure, so I watched a few of Kate's other videos and I can say that I am truly obsessed. I just received The Whole Story in the mail today, and I’m playing the shit out of it. (When I get into a new artist, I like to start off with hits albums, then buy the albums based on the singles I like). I don’t think I can even expound on Kate’s total and complete awesomeness right now, so I’ll write another journal on her later.

Be negative about your top 20.

This will be difficult for me, but:

#1 - The Beatles
I don't like it when they let Ringo sing. And I despise "The Long and Winding Road."

#2 - Blur
Hmm. I dunno. The Great Escape was pretty mediocre, but every other album they've done is great, so that's nit-picking.

#3 - My Bloody Valentine
Kevin Shields is too damn perfectionist. I'm sure he's recorded something suitable for release by now. Also, I think they ought to have included You Made Me Realise on Isn't Anything.

#4 - Sonic Youth
Each album has one or two tracks on it that keep them from being flawless. Like "Rain King" on Daydream Nationor "Pipeline/Killtime" on Sister. It's like they purposely try to derail their albums.

#5 – Radiohead
Can’t think of anything, except that their singles are really find to at decent prices. I can pick up any Smashing Pumpkins or Blur single at a reasonable price. Not so with Radiohead.

#6 - Fugazi
Their albums tend to lag in the second half. They aren’t bad, just not up to the same quality as the beginning of the albums. Repeater is a perfect example of this.

#7 - Nirvana
Kurt killed himself. I don’t have much respect for him because of that. I think that was an incredibly selfish thing to do to his wife and daughter.

#8 - The Smashing Pumpkins
I will NOT accept the reformed ‘Smashing Pumpkins.’ They are not the actual Smashing Pumpkins without James and D’arcy. Oh, and Billy’s singing can get a little annoying at times (I’m thinking of the Machina album).

#9 - Pixies
They sucked after Doolittle. Frank ought to have let Kim write more of the songs on Bossanova and Trompe le Monde. They would have been much better records.

#10 - The Jesus and Mary Chain
Hmm. I dunno.

#11 - The Stone Roses
They only recorded half of a good album. The first half of their debut is really good. But apart from that, they weren’t all that great. Extremely overrated.

#12 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Show Your Bones was a little boring for my taste. They lost that in-the-red quality that made Fever To Tell such a classic.

#13 - The Clash
Cut the Crap.

#14 - 1800s Sea Monster
His singing is a bit off at times.

#15 - Pink Floyd
All that art-rock farting between The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Dark Side Of The Moon.

#16 - Minor Threat
I really can’t think of anything. I always thought that “Salad Days” would have been awesome with a cello.

#17 - Madonna
She’s got these experimental qualities lurking in her music that she seems to be afraid to bring to the surface. I totally see a Kate Bush record in her. I wish she would too.

#18 - The Smiths
Morrissey is an arrogant, pompous, pretentious gasbag who also happens to be an absolute genius. Isn’t it funny how that sort of thing goes?

#19 - Joy Division
See the explanation for Nirvana.

#20 - Pavement
See the explanation for The Smiths. Also, Slanted and Enchanted mercilessly rips off The Fall, who are ironically #21.

This will be a journal I shall update whenever I find a new band or artist (thanks to Last.fm) that I dig. :)

.....

I don't even remember HOW I found 1800s Sea Monster, but I did. And I am so happy that I did. It's raw, experimental, sometimes low quality (sound-wise), but jesus christ I dig it. Also... it's free. Yeppers. Jakob Battick (jakobbattick) said it himself, "I feel selling music is kind of a retarded concept." How can you not give someone's, who says that, music a chance?! :P

Songs I can't stop listening to over and over:
1. The King with the Iron Lung
2. Staring At The Stars / Make It To Your Party
3. 11
4. 12
5. 13

Websites:
1800s Sea Monster's Last.fm
1800s Sea Monster's Myspace

.....

My friend called Museum a German Interpol. Though I will have to agree slightly, I mostly disagree. They have their own flavor. The beginning of flowers and dust really reminds me of Interpol, but that is the biggest connection that I see. Museum has two EP's (exit wounds ep and old firehand ep), and most of the songs from those albums are available (for free) online.

Songs I can't stop listening to over and over:
1. flowers and dust
2. for the very first time
3. uncorrupted

Websites:
Museum's Last.fm
Museum's Myspace
Museum's official website

*****

To me, Project Bluebird's music is both peaceful and intense. The vocals by Nancy (ketogah) are amazing. There are many writers that collaborate, which makes things for the listener very interesting. The music is available online for free download. :)

A few of my favorite songs:
1. My Idea of a Protest Song
2. For the Soul That I Love
3. Let There Be Dance

Website:
Project Bluebird's Last.fm

My Bloody Valentine: You Made Me Realise EP
My Bloody Valentine is one of those bands that’s inspired some seriously bloated prose. I’ll not add my own to it, so I’ll just say without any reservations that their two full-length albums, 1988’s Isn’t Anything and 1991’s Loveless are must-owns for anyone who listens to music.
If you haven’t noticed, I’ve got a bit of a fetish for awesome singles and EP’s, and MBV did quite a few of those. While Glider and Tremolo, the two that preceded Loveless, are frequently lauded, You Made Me Realise, which was released in England three months before Isn’t Anything, is song-for-song, even better. Here’s a look at this groovy little record, song by song:
You Made Me Realise: Any idiot who insists on calling MBV a ‘dream-pop’ band ought to listen to this track and feel thoroughly ashamed for labeling the band’s music so inaccurately. This is nothing less than the sound of nuclear holocaust in the form of a three-minute pop single. The band slam through one of the greatest chord changes I’ve ever heard (E-D-C, then A-C; so ridiculously simple yet so amazing) with typically obscure lyrics. The middle section is 30 minutes of swirling feedback and noise, then the band go back to the original music. The guitars after the third minute sound like a rocket taking off. I’ve probably overanalyzed the song musically, as I tend to do, but you must hear this song in its entirety. Astonishing.
Slow: This song has been called ‘fuzzed-out sex.’ I wouldn’t know, but it does seem rather sensuous, in a way that Madonna’s Sex-period work never was. It’s got two or three heavy, slow, fuzz-laden guitar chords, a guitar that sounds like an ancient organ and rather racy lyrics by Kevin Shields. ‘Slow,’ along with the next track ‘Thorn,’ is a lovely demonstration of how underrated a drummer Colm O’Ciosoig was.
Thorn: This one hearkens back to their Ecstacy and Wine period a bit. It’s jangly and fey, but there’s a bit of 1988 MBV in the searing airplane guitars that run through the course of the song, giving it a sense of movement and propulsion. Fun, but overshadowed vastly by the next track.
Cigarette in Your Bed: Nothing short of epic, this song here is both one of the standouts in the MBV catalogue but a standout of 80’s indie-rock in general. I can’t really do this song justice with words, so just imagine something off of Loveless with the intense ensemble dynamics of Isn’t Anything and you’re pretty close. If you only hear one song off this EP, make it this one.
Drive It All Over Me: Bit of a letdown. It’s a pleasant but rather poor song saved by a sumptuous bassline from my all-time favourite lesbian, Debbie Googe.
Overall grade: A-

5 songs I can't get out of my head
Continuing The Wreck by 1800s Sea Monster: Awesome indie rock song, with one of the coolest sounding two-chord vamps I've ever heard. The part that really draws you in is the insistently chiming lead guitar in the background. With the exception of the noisy bit in the middle, I can totally see the local modern-rock station playing this. The lyrics? Can't make 'em out but who cares really? All I know is, they've got to get their records available outside of Bangor, Maine.

You're a Wolf by Sea Wolf: This song is absolutely amazing. Sea Wolf are a really mellow indie-pop group, but not boring like Death Cab for Cutie. There's some really nice violin on it and lyrics about gypsys and wine. I really need to get their EP and so do you.

The Universal by Blur: Britpop doyens Blur made a largely uneven fourth album with The Great Escape, but you have to admit, "The Universal" is one of the best alternative-rock ballads of the 90's. The string motif that opens the song is perhaps the most gorgeous I've ever heard, and Graham Coxon's guitar part is understated, lovely and graceful.

The Hardest Walk by The Jesus and Mary Chain: I’m all for experimentation in music, but sometimes when you’ve got a great song, it’s just best to put it out there with as little added on as possible. That’s basically what the Reid brothers do here. I don’t think these guys were capable of writing a bad song until the mid-90’s, but this one is particularly exceptional.

Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong by Radiohead: As I’ve written previously, My Iron Lung is a neat little EP, which is something that I just adore (if my band will ever do something, I want us to bring back the CD-single, with three or four odd little B-sides that show the true character of the artists more than the album tracks do). This song isn’t like anything else in the Radiohead catalogue that I know of. It’s quite conventional in its structure but you can really hear the seeds of the band’s late-90’s work being sown here and it’s quite beautiful to notice.

5 Random Artists
MadonnaFrancoise HardyRavi ShankarJustin TimberlakeFranz Ferdinand

Next entry
-A belated 40th anniversary tribute to Sgt. Pepper
-Courtney Love
-My latest musical experiment

I've been listening to Madonna's Like a Prayer album (probably the only mainstream pop album from the 80's still worth listening to outside of Prince) and I don't know, but for some reason, it's really inspired me. The album is almost shockingly ambitious for 80's pop. Madonna and her army of musicians explore everything from gospel (the title track) and piano dirges ("Promise To Try") to Sgt. Pepper-esque orchestration ("Dear Jessie") and Butthole Surfers tape manipulations ("Act of Contrition"), with straightforward lyrics that address both the sacred and the personal. It's pretty awesome, so my new idea is record something of an answer record (kind of like Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville was supposedly a feminist response to The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street). It will be like the Madonna record in that it hops around from genre to genre and has lyrics that address the sacred and the personal. I want to make a project that borrows from the more intelligent end of modern pop but pushes it further than anyone else would bother to. I've already written three songs for it: "Jesus Rock," which as its title might suggest, a hard-rock song about Jesus and Christianity in general; "Soft," which will be a really pussy string-quartet-and-slide-guitar ballad about insecurity or whatever and "Ramshackle," on which I use my NEW electric sitar. So, if anyone's remotely interested, once I get my 4-track in June, I'll create a page for my band - oh yes:

I HAVE A semi-BAND: me (vox, gtr, keys, sitar, tape manipulation), Heather (vox, bass, gtr), Veronica (gtr, vox, flute), no drummer yet.

Anyway, I'll do a LastFM page for my as-yet-unnamed band and post the demos. So, ta. I've got physics shortly.

5 bands I'm loving right now:
Blur1800s Sea MonsterRideFugaziModest Mouse

I've just ordered three CDs from Amazon:

-Nirvana, Nevermind
-Smashing Pumpkins, Siamese Dream
I've already owned these before, but loaned them out and never saw them again. Not very bright of me. Anyway, you already know about these. Together, they basically are the Holy Bible of 80% of the rock groups out there now. I don't really need to say much else.

-Neutral Milk Hotel, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
I read a very enthusiastic review of this record on Jakob Battick's page (he's the singer and guitarist for 1800s Sea Monster) and I downloaded "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea." It was pretty cool, so I tacked it on my order. Jeff Mangum's got a voice you either love or hate. He sounds kind of unhinged and I kinda dig that.

Nirvana
The Smashing Pumpkins
Neutral Milk Hotel
Nevermind
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Siamese Dream