So divine

A week full of great stuff. I don't even know where to start... and I really haven't listened/played with everything new I got this week.

But let's give it a try! Starting with music...


I finally gave it a go to Corrosion of Conformity, with the album "In The Arms of God".

It's doubtful category of "Sludge Metal" wasn't taken by any chance; it's actually hard to describe C.O.C. music style. Mixing a bit of the early hardcore punk with the new stoner metal sound, it results in some kind of melodic brutality... which is awesome to hear out loud, shout directly from their lungs. Recommended!







Possibly, Jack White's favorite side project ever. The Raconteurs are back with "Consolers Of the Lonely", after their debut album in 2006. And they do, in fact, console. The similarities between Raconteurs and The White Stripes are obvious, but, there are major differences. Instead of the traditional blues -semi-progressive- rock they got us used to, we find in Consolers of the Lonely pure garage rock, as if Jack White worked with The Kills back in 2003. Much more solid than the previous work, there's plenty to enjoy here, in a wide selection of genres distributed across 14 tracks.





Yeah! Good ol' doom metal in it's best! But wait, that's not all! You'll even get a free sample of sludge metal and stoner metal in the box! Free of charge! I cannot hold responsabilities for damages in your pinky and index finger, after listening to Electric Wizard's "Dopethrone". Truly great stuff.










As for movies... the reviews will come next week, as well as the rest of the albums. One step at a time, dear ones... one step at a time.

Eternal Circle

The belt is tight nowadays, when it comes to money. There's simply so many wonderful things that you wish for but can't have, fearing the risk of money spent the wrong way.

Fortunately, I was right about Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series; best ~23 dollars~I ever spent. If you're familiar with Dylan's work, you know how simple it is for him to write and compose a beautiful song, easily to be related with one way or another. And among the extense list of recordings the man has gave us since the early 60's, one tends to think that that's all there is to it - nothing else could possibly be squeezed into the hot chocolate cup anymore.

And then you find about 50 rare recordings and b-sides Dylan never included in his LP's, maybe because they didn't fit, maybe because they weren't good enough for him. But the truth is, some of that work is gorgeous work, in fact, almost all of it. These recordings express themselves almost as a form of naked music, uncovering the organs of a fabulous conceptual machine.

This one will certainly be a keeper.


And Down tickets are already kept in the precious stuff-shelf. I never thought I would actually like this kind of Metal, but it's a straight fact that I really do. The concert takes place by the end of next month, and it'll be my first metal concert. And with great company.


I'm also updating my song covers list, already have a lot more and there's a few still on the list right now. What started as curiosity a few months ago may now be one of my obsessions.

Just Like Heaven

Tomorrow, by this hour, I shall be seeing one of the greatest bands alive, The Cure! It's finally my chance to watch Mr. Robert Smith in person, which will most likely happen once in this lifetime.

Don't take me wrong, I'm not the biggest and craziest fan about The Cure. I just happen to really like them, what they did and what they do, and truth be told, the band had a major influece in my teenage years. So it would be silly not to take this chance.

I d0n't even know what their current line up is! I shall now do some background checking and song reviewing in order to be... prepared! :D

Buzzards and Dreadful Crows

Finally, some time to breathe. After spending the last 6 ou 7 weeks in a peep-hope every day, since early morning to late night and with no time to sleep or eating right, I find myself now in a short term peace. Only exams left to do now, which means I can start and stop work whenever I actually want!

... it feels awesome.

And these are good days, especially because... the new Mars Volta album is out! Yes, and it's fuckin' great. "The Bedlam In Goliath" is one hell of an album, I know for sure I'll keep on listening to it over and over again as I did with the previous ones. And I've discovered a great 70's stoner rock band some time ago, called "Pentagram". It's a lot like Witchcraft, and I'm eager to find more stuff from those guys.

And I'm re-watching Band Of Brothers, the best war-series related ever made in history. Only two episodes left to finish it but.. it will be worth it. They're great. And I'm also re-watching good old Twin Peaks again, in good company.

A lot of work is coming again, very soon, both related and non related to University. But I don't really care, I want to make the most of these days and also do whatever the hell pleases me.

Taking both my camera and my girlfriend out, sometime, are priorities. A lot of music and movies are next on the list. Maybe even travelling, if the time is right. Who knows what 2008 might bring.

Safe Music

For quite some time I've wanted to have a website about... music. Good music. Music I could share with the rest of the world. If there's something I love to do is to write about the music industry, so yes, my dream job would be the one presented in the Almost Famous movie.

Two years ago I had a blog in which I used to review the albums I loved the most, and the new ones I used to get my hands on. Unfortunately it didn't last long... nobody actually read the blog (like it happens with 80% of all the blogs) and it made me lose my interest.

I'm thinking about creating a small album-review system based on RSS - it wouldn't give me the trouble to actually build a website, only writing the review itself and publishing the Feed... A lot of people use iGoogle and NetVibes now, I could learn how to develop it as a gadget and publish it.

What I'd really love though, would be having more people to write with, kinda like it happens on Indienation (google it). That way I could share my wonderful perspective of the music magical world, and learn with my fellow colleagues. I have 2 or 3 people in mind, but I'm afraid of entering in this sort of projects now... they don't usually work and people tend to forget about them in a couple of weeks.

But my desire is strong, and as soon as I have time I will release the RSS Feed Reviewing. For sure :)

Witches, buffalos and dead ones

This week's recommendations:




Witchcraft - The Alchemist (2007)

[Stoner Rock / Hard Rock / Classic Rock]

[to fans of: Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd]






Omar Rodriguez Lopez - Se Dice Bisonte, No Bùfalo (2007)

[Progressive Rock / Experimental Rock / Psych Rock]

[to fans of: The Mars Volta]







...And You Will Know Us by the Trail Of Dead - Maddonna (1999)

[College Rock / Art Rock / Noise Rock / Post Hardcore]

[to fans of: At The Drive-In]

Even More Deliveries

Yes, it's another delivery week! One more week has passed, LOTS of new albums, lots of good music. This blog is turning into a music only thingy... that will change eventually. Not now though! So let's get to business.

My week started with two albums from The Replacements, an alternative rock/punk/post-punk band from the 80's who began to rock my world a little bit more. They sound a lot like bands like The Libertines, like some kind of free punk with a lot of an indie scene mixed up. Their 1984 album, "Let It Be", is absolutely delicious. Which pushed me to "Tim", from 1985, and altough not as good, it's still highly recommended!

Still on an 80's mood, I got "Once In a Lifetime" from Talking Heads. And this was more of a revival scene, as I really wanted to hear Psycho Killer again. Still rockin', still making me know why the 80's were so damn good!

Again with the 80's mood, I decided to finally give it a try, to "Yes". And altough "90125" is a good album with the so well known "Owner Of a Lonely Heart", there's still somethig missing... and it doesn't really fulfill my expectations.

On a different mood, I discovered Riverside. They present themselves as a progressive rock / progressive metal band and... well, I'm glad they do, because that's exactly what they are. I'm not a really big fan of metal / hardcore melodies, (no, I don't like "Tool") but Riverside has somehow managed to capture my attention. They remind me of what a hardcore version of Pink Floyd would be, and that's enough to make me happy! "Out Of Myself", "Rapid Eye Movement", and "Second Life Syndrome" are the albums I own right now. The first one is highly recommended.

I also finally gave it a try to Wire, a somewhat soft-punk band from the 70's/80's. They really remind me of "Wipers", with some "Buzzcocks" influence. "154" and "Pink Flag" and the most know albums, and the two I'm currently listening to. The new wave tendency is quite clear, making it very pleaseant to hear anytime!

And I bought "One For The Road: Live!" from Ocean Colour Scene just an hour ago. Why? Well, I sorta like the band, and it costed 1,5€! And I definitely prefer these guys live... good old fashioned rock.

I also got a few more, but I'll leave them for next week. Or tomorrow... depends how bored I will be :)

Deliveries: part II

My god, I can only update this at weekends! College is being quite time consuming, I barely have time for myself, so the blog doesn't really have a word in this. The sad thing is, during the week I have a lot of ideas and cool stuff I want to share here in this blog, but I always forget them...

Well, first things first. The band that's going to introduce the The Cure concert has been announced! They are 65daysofstatic, a nice post-rock band from England which has been raising a big legion of fans for the last couple of years. I only listened to a full album of them yesterday, and I enjoyed it. Yes, they seem somewhat of a Godspeed You! Black Emperor rip off, but still they sound pretty good. And post-rock bands are always wonderful to be seen live, so I'm looking forward to it.

As for new albums, I've been listening to "No Fighting In The War Room", from Harrisons... but it's disappointing. I'll probably even delete it soon. "Dying To Say This To You" from The Sounds has a few good songs, including the so much acclaimed single "Painted By Numbers", and it's recommended for the grrrlriot new-aged fans. I'm currently trying to get albums from Meat Puppets, Yes, and The Replacements, three bands I listened to some tracks during this week and loved them. Can't wait to get the full business!

As for the video industry, I discovered one marvellous piece of stop-motion art, which was even about to get into the Oscar Nonimees! Unfortunately, and I still don't know why, it was rejected. It's funny, bloody, both beautiful and ugly, and it's a somewhat different approach to this kind of art. Highly recommended, it plays for less that 10 minutes and you can watch it here:



As for cinema, I watched the new Planet Terror, which is... amazing! In a very stupid way. The movie managed to compile all of the greatest action movies clichés and punchlines, and mix them with a really rotten kind of horror. A pure bloodfeast, but quite hilarious at the same time. I had a great time watching it, but you really need to be open minded about the whole concept. The role Tarantino played is small but freaking delicious!
I also wached The Messengers... which is the worst horror (horror? where?) movie I've seen in a long time.
The Devil's Rejects is another Rob Zombie movie - and the guy really knows how to build some characters. The plot is weak, but it works well enough to get your attention through all of it.

And for the first time, technology news! My laptop is an authentic oven nowadays, I can almost fry an egg on the top of that thing. On a regular basis, my processor's temperature gets about 79ºC, sometimes almost 90ºC during intense use. So I decided to give a try to Cooler Master Infinite, a very light base support for the laptop... and guess what, 18ºC less! Talk about keeping the technology fresh, it really works. And it's so light, I can carry it around with my laptop as well. It's relatively cheap and it works greatly, not to mention it's really pretty.

I guess that's it for the week.
And I'm listening to Velvet Underground!

Deliveries

Ahhh, the music era is coming back up again. Unfortunately the money is not, so I spent the last three hours just drooling at a dozen cds I had in hand I reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally wanted to buy... but I'm a good boy, and I didn't.

And speaking of music, the new album from She Wants Revenge finally came out! This Is Forever was released only a few days ago, and still already managed to capture my attention. Don't be fooled, this is no debut album like the first one, I don't really think anyone would disagree about that. But it does not mean that This Is Forever can't be a good album - it is, the erotic darkwave premiss can still be heard and felt at the tip of your tongue and raise your body hairs like a television full of electrical static. And that's basically the whole contract... because SWR won't get much further away from that. So it seems like a deja-vu, and you will find nothing really new and refreshing about this new release. The sound and the taste remain the same, which is good, if you didn't get tired of the 2005's debut album.
The track "She Will Always Be a Broken Girl" seems to me like they did some cheating; it resembles a lot like the 2005 track "These Things"... with different beat and lyrics. Maybe they were getting out of their traditional recipee.

Another sensation of the week is the new Babyshambles album, Shotter's Nation. And much like the previous Down In Albion, it's hard not to enjoy it, but it's somewhat difficult to love it. That just might be a general problem with this kind of danceable-post-punk-indie-rock hippie sensation of nowadays; it feels right anytime, anywhere. But you simply don't miss it very often, even though you know you'll shake your booty to it whenever it starts playing. Shotter's Nation presents itself as what you expect it to be, 100% free of complications and confusing feelings attached. It will make us content, tap our fingers in the table, and listen more than once in a day, just because it feels right.

But the true sensation of the week, and probably for the whole month, is In Rainbows, the new "album" from Radiohead. I called it "album" since it's not an official commercial release, at least not in the traditional way we are used to. (yes, you may get it for free online, after a few days of waiting in queue). The very first track from this new release just feels like Radiohead, one would recognize it anywhere, anytime. I must admit I'm somewhat tired of the Radiohead feeling, well, the Thom Yorke feeling actually, so I didn't take this as good news to me. But as I kept listening to the album I found myself enjoying it quite a lot, the same way I enjoy listening to [what I call] emotionally neutral albums which you know it's safe to listen to. And unlike Hail To The Thief, you can safely tag this as the old and delicious alternative rock they made us so afraid to use. Far from being a complicated album, it has a very natural feeling attached and you slowly start to get caught in the middle of the whole processing.
No, it's not an Ok Computer, especially because this is not the 90's anymore... so In Rainbows feels like a Chocolate Cornetto on a rather cold Autumn afternoon. Personally, I've had it with Cornetto's. But I must admit that if I had never tried one, I think I would start to eat them more often from now on. It's just not the right time.

And I already got my ticket to The Cure :)

Moving Units

So everyone is starting to get a bit tired of the classic indie-rock. That's understandable, I am too. Not only because almost everything new nowadays is sistematically tagged as indie-rock, but mostly because new bands are simply reusing old recipees which, they think, is quite tasty for the majority of people.

That's what I feel whenever I'm listening to the new tendencies of this gender. I keep the old sparks alive, but in order to develop new ones, they have to burn and crave their names in fire, in my musical heart. And I believe that's what happening with "Hexes for Exes", the new album of "Moving Units".

I was test-driving new bands, and all of them were somewhat dissapointing. I already had a bad taste of insatisfaction in my mouth, especially after listening to the new album of "1990's". But as soon as my player got to Moving Units, a nice sweet flavor of ice cream invaded my mouth immediately. They are not just indie-rock-period, there's more to it. Hexes for Exes shares an aftertaste of a post-punk theme, reminding us what would be a softcore version of White Rose Movement. The opening track "Pink Thoughts" has an Interpol feeling, which subsequently directs us straight to Joy Division. But far away from being nearly similar, the sound is polished like some diamond waiting to be sold in a disco, straight from the dance floor.
Simple, yet straight, like some old 80's revival effort.

I must confess that a big part of all the atractiveness comes from the Pulp-similar singing. This is what a neo-Pulp band would feel like I'm sure, bathed in some kind of synthetic pop which makes you want both to shake your booty and appreciate the small pleasures of slowcore punk. The album will be officially released in October 9th, and I certainly hope it gets the attention it deserves.

I'm more than happy to rate it as a 7 out of 10.

Grace Range

It's only midday and so far a great day. Got back from the hospital, and my tumor may not even be a tumor! Yay for that. But the realllllllllllllly great news are that I finally got my hands on something I wanted for much long: The Jeff Buckley Live In Chicago concert, and the full discographie of New Order.

As for Jeff Buckley, I can't wait to watch the full concert, when I get some free time. I've seen it a little and it's just beautiful, all the songs from "Grace" are there and it's just... uau, so fuckin amazing. I just know I'll be watching this many times from now on, for sure.

As for New Order, I only had two albums and a singles collection, which is a crime for someone who loves the damn band.

Here's a clip from Jeff Buckley's Chicago concert (Mojo Pin).


... and here is New Order's Blue Monday, one of my favorites.

Teenage Wristband

I can't stop listening to The Twilight Singers, especially at night. It's the perfect company for a warm night, no matter what your mood is. Since a dear friend of mine introduced me to them, I fell in love with the music style Greg Dulli produces to this twilight package.

Some songs have that teenage rock feeling into them, which I typically hate. But I don't care, they rock, and they're good company when the moon rises.

And I just found out Greg has another band, featuring Mark Lanegan (from Screaming Trees) as the second member! That's promising, must get my hands in that one as soon as possible! The band is Saturnalia. Can't wait to hear it.

Just watch this freakin video, you'll know what I'm saying.

Opsye...

I'm listening to way too much music. For the past five or six weeks, the first thing I do when I wake up is set-up the playlist. I have breakfast listening to music on the living room's DVD; I have lunch still listening to music.

When I decide to stay home during the afternoon, no matter what I do, music is always playing. If I decide to go out, I keep listening to my playlist on the car, on the train, on the bus, wherever.

If I'm walking on the city, or just waiting for someone, I naturally plug the earphones.

When I get home, more music. I go to bed everyday at 3am, stopping the laptop's music... but then I fall asleep listening to my mp3 player. I fall asleep to music, and I wake up with music.

All this would be fine if music hadn't such an impact on me. I live my world based on what music makes me feel; so that creates lies, hope, false hope, expectations, pretty much anything one could feel. It's... driving me a little bit crazy. When I have nothing to do, I just keep searching for more music, or read and learn everything I can about my favorites. Silence bothers me for the first time, 'cause there's NO FUCKIN' MUSIC PLAYING!

It's a miserable drug, which sometimes resembles a painkiller, but lately is just feels like it grows emotions I'm definitely not used to have. The worst part?

Tomorrow I'll listen even more. I just can't wait for it.

Hello, my name is Richard. And I'm addicted to music.
The fucking thing keeps calling my name.

Covers

Lately I've been in a marvellous quest: finding all the musical covers artists have made to the songs I love the most. I don't even need to like the covering artists, I just feel like I have to hear their tributed version to whoever inspires them. I already got a few good ones, some of them were a real pain in the ass to find... Others are real rarities, which actually increases the pleasure of having them. Here's what I got so far, and of course I initially focused on The Smiths and Joy Division.

Belle And Sebastian - The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (The Smiths)
Low - Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me (The Smiths)
The Smashing Pumpkins - Isolation (Joy Division)
X-Wife - She's Lost Control (Joy Division)
Primal Scream - New Dawn Fades (Joy Division)
Jeff Buckley - The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (The Smiths)
Calexico - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division)
Pearl Jam - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
New Order - New Dawn Fades (Joy Division)
In The Nursery - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division)
Bauhaus - Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie)
The Divine Comedy - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (The Smiths)
The Divine Comedy - Radioactivity (Kraftwerk)
The Divine Comedy - Les Jours Tristes (Yann Tiersen)
The Killers - Shadowplay (Joy Division)
Pink Floyd - Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin)
Death Cab For Cutie - This Charming Man (The Smiths)
Psychedelic Furs - How Soon Is Now (The Smiths)
William Shatner - Common People (Pulp)
The Divine Comedy - Life On Mars (David Bowie)
The Divine Comedy - Vapour Trail (Ride)
The Divine Comedy - John Mathis' Feet (American Music Club)
The Cure - Creep (Radiohead)
Nancy Sinatra - Jackson (Johnny Cash)
Johnny Cash - Mercy Seat (Nick Cave)
Johnny Cash - Personal Jesus (Depeche Mode)
Metallica - Loverman (Nick Cave)
The Smashing Pumpkins - A Night Like This (The Cure)
Supergrass - Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (The Smiths)
Pink Floyd - House Of The Rising Sun (Bob Dylan)
The Smiths - Across The Universe (The Beatles)
Girls Against Boys - She's Lost Control (Joy Division)
Muse - Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want (The Smiths)
The Smashing Pumpkins - Never Let Me Down Again (Depeche Mode)


A lot more are still on the list, I'll keep this update!

High

Low, one of the greatest indie slowcore bands ever, is back with another great album: "Drums And Guns". For long I have adored this group, mostly because of the extreme variety of their music style and of how good they can be at every one of them.

Low started in early 1993 as a grunge, post-punk sound, with a major target on the lyrics. Even then the delicious combination of Mimi Parker's and Alan Sparhawk vocal's sounded like heaven, I never heard two singing voices be so good together as these.

By the end of the last decade, they decided to improve which is now their main music style; slowcore. Slowcore can typically be very annoying, but Low had a way of their own. The rythm can be very raw, reminding us of the early post-rock days, sometimes being followed by small electronic touches. They work their music around the voice and the lyrics, and the result it's quite astonishing.

But it's live when Low really show their magic. A live concert of Low is like a zen therapy - perhaps with better results. I'll say no more and leave you with a few great videos.

http://scheduletwo.com/video/qt/low/last_snowstorm_of_the_year

Check them out.