I'm moving my blog.
Shocker. After all...this will only mark my 3948893 URL in the last 7 years.
I'm not killing this one, per se...but I'm more than likely going to migrate fulltime to tumblr. It's easier, quicker, and for the type of blogging I do....way easier and faster (and honestly, that's what will keep me doing this...if it's quick and easy.)
So all 9 of you can now point your browsers to:
http://driftinginthefog.tumblr.com
Man I haven't listened to this in WAY too long.
Junior year of college all over again...
And what a killer way to kick off a record. "In Like Flynn" will never not crush my head.
Remember when you could be heavy and interesting and still be subtle and subdued?
Not that I can't appreciated a good ole fashion freakout or throw down. But yeah...
Solstafir have been totally crushing my head the last couple of weeks.
I'm way late on this one, but fuck it. The new record, Kold, comes out very soon (if not already out) and it made me go back and track down their prior release Masterpiece of Bitterness.
European bands like this excite me, especially when they're Scandinavian or Icelandic (as is the case with Solstafir). I liken it to the US bands coming out in the mid-80s through early 90s. Bands raised on punk, but bringing a whole other aesthetic to the table as well.
But for today's modern, Northern European bands...the equivalent is growing up listeneing to black metal but bringing something different altogether to the equation in their own music.
And yes...this is nothing new. Plenty of bands have been bridging the divide between BM and post-hardcore, post-rock, noise, psychedelic, etc etc....but it still excites me. Especially when it's done this well.
Here's "Bloodsoaked Velvet" from Masterpiece of Bitterness. Fucking great. (and ignore that image in the video...that's a much older release when they were still much more straightforward BM)
Totally out of it with this here blog.
But fuck me if I hadn't seen this in forever, and if it didn't make me laugh as hard as the first time I watched it.
Where are today's political bands? Where are the young, pissed off bands? Why do we need to look to YESTERDAY'S icons to sing about TODAY'S problems?
And I don't mean from an underground perspective. Yes, there are plenty of political, underground bands. But they preach to the choir. They preach to US. We need someone who can cross it over to THEM.
We need a new Neil Young.
But in the meantime, the old Neil Young is just fine by me...
New Morrissey single. It's a great song, but I actually prefer "Something Is Squeezing My Skull" and sincerely hope it's the second single.
I think Morrissey is the only artist that I care what the "singles" are.
And what's with the guy jumping over the drumkit? He had the same thing happen in the "All You Need Is Me" video. Funny.
(imagine a jpg of the cover art here. Blogger is being lame and won't take my upload.)
I love this time of year. Everyone's publishing their "Best Of" lists and I invariably end up finding a dozen plus records I totally missed throughout the year.
One such album....Lifelover.
Black metal elements, but altogether stranger and more progressive (but not in a Nevermore/noodly way), Konkurs is a record that shares some commonality with works from the likes of other "depressive" BM bands (fuck I hate that term) but there's a lot more than that. And that sentence probably gives you NO IDEA of what this might sound like.
It's weird.
Happy New Year!
I'm not sure what's going on with this here site. I'm going to keep it going, but lately...I've been way more into my other blog (fromthefoyer.tumblr.com) which isn't music related at all, and mostly a place for me to post random photos I take. I'm enjoying the creative creation involved with that site, as opposed to the mere commentary of this one.
I'm sure it's just a phase. All 28 of you who read this can take a sigh of relief.
One thing I listened to a lot over the holiday break? Chris Isaak. I blame Cosmo at Invisible Oranges. He made me try Chris Isaak again, and I've been hooked.
Listen to this (from the album Forever Blue) and tell me it's not pure gold.
I’ve become so bitter about these lists. Listening to so much music, and then trying to remember which ones I liked best over the course of the year. Sigh…it’s a battle I’m guaranteed to lose. But the thought of NOT doing one stresses me out even more.
Ah well…
Here it is. The Best of 2008. With haikus.
(alphabetical order)
Antony & The Johnsons - Another World
sad and dramatic
but his voice is beautiful
mope mope mope mope mope
Caina - Temporary Antennae
it’s dark and swirly
with just a touch of the gaze
but black metal too
Darkthrone - Dark Thrones and Black Flags
Fenriz fucking rules
he gets older and better
croakier and crustier
Funeral Mourning - Drown In Solitude
with a name like this
you can probably guess that
this shit is moody
Grouper - Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill
gauzey and muted
like a david lynch movie
where’s julee cruise?
Hayaino Daisuki - Headbangers Karaoke Club
i don’t like grind now
it bores me with it’s rawr rawr
but this…this I like
Darren Hayman - Great British Holiday EPs
the guy from Hefner
writes a bunch of pansy EPs
and they’re all quite good
Johnny Foreigner - Waited Up Til It Was Light
guy and girl vox
but it doesn’t suck balls
like most of this stuff
Junius - s/t
if Cave-In were good
(after the early stuff, dude)
then this would be it
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement
Arctic Monkeys suck
So I was surprised by this
because it didn’t
Leviathan - Massive Conspiracy Against All Life
black metal is yawn
but not Leviathan, dude
this shit is BRUTAL
Nachtmystium - Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1
black meddle, get it?
either way, it’s a good disc
smart, good, and spacey
Pyramids - Pyramids
they like black metal
And 4AD too, I bet
fucking beard metal
Scars On Broadway - S/T
the dude from System
ditches the crap bro metal
for good punk metal
Starflyer 59 - Dial M
their name may suck balls
but this band fucking crushes
no bible thumping
Ten Kens - s/t
i hear some Pixies
some post rock, I would suppose
but I hate that term
To The Bones - Duke Type A
i like angsty brits
who listen to Sonic Youth
and other stuff too
Torche - Meanderthal
they used to be Floor
low end catchy rumble rock
this makes me happy
Trancelike Void - Destroying Something Beautiful
metal met shoegaze
they spoke Nietzsche and coffee
and they went steady
Wave Pictures - Instant Coffee Baby
Hefner meets V. Femmes
hyper literate pansies
yeah, I’m a sucker
Wild Beasts - Limbo Panto
falsetto, you say?
you will love or hate his voice
but good songs…so good
Email me if you have a problem, or whatever:
