Sometimes I like to get bored and I'll go into clinically insane phases of listening to music. I'll listen to alot of something here and there, but then one day I'll just decide to become completely obsessed with Metallica for a few days, and then for some reason I'll decide the next day I'll decide that listening to R.E.M. is a good idea and I'll listen to everything R.E.M. has ever released for a week.
The other day I decided I don't listen to enough of the Beatles. I have been obsessively listening to every album, in order back to back. I admit that while I do appreciate the Beatles, I was never really that into their music. In my opinion, dispite their cultural influence and fame, I still always found them a bit overrated.
You can ease up now. Because I will clarify. I do not think the Beatles suck. While I do appreciate their music and their influence, I never sat down to listen to conciously listen to their music, they are just a band that I know their songs just like everyone else in the world, but there was so much better music that out in that era that I didn't have time to listen to them between band The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, The Who, and The Kinks.
After listening to all of this Beatles music, I am still in the oppinion that they're overrated. More so actually. Yet I have
The problem is, you have to realize; however, that Hendrix came out in '67 and by that time, the Stones had already done Satisfaction and Paint It Black and The Who was rocking harder. And that's when I realized why I never liked the Beatles as much. I like blues music too much. While many bands kept a bluesy influence to their music, the Beatles took a more folky and classical approach to their rock & roll. I like folk music and such, but not as much as I like blues music.
So the Beatles don't suck. But you have to admit, they are a little overrated. Their music just isn't that good.
What's your dream career?
Submitted by Something.
Professionally interesting.
I don't actually want a job. I just want to be one of those characters like Kramer or The Dude.
No one knows exactly what I do for a living, but I fall into money somehow and know crazy people you would probably never meet in real life (yet, in my experience, they exist).
There would be all kinds of things you found out about me that you never knew, and they only casually come up in conversation. Like referencing the book of poetry that I wrote and published. Or the album I released.
That would truly be the ultimate.
Why do we escape to music so much? Why do we find comfort in listening to something that uplifts are mood?
Simply, music is just music. It doesn't judge us and it takes us away from our hypocritical, judgemental, greedy world and puts us in a private utopuia in our minds.
There's is no real way to describe how it feels when you actually physically feel the music that comes out of speakers.
I want to make others feel the same way with my music. I know I have begun to do that already, not just to myself. When you create something that makes someone actually have a physical reaction to it, than you have created something more powerful than you really know.
Sometimes even words can create a physical reaction. Read the following:
"What happens in a meadow at dusk?"
Now think about it for the rest of the day.
I listen to everything. No really. Everything.
Have you ever met one of those people that says
they listen to everything, and while they have a pretty interesting
music collection and they may very well have various tastes in music,
they still come off as kind of a blow-hard? I'm not one of those.
When I say I listen to everything, I really do listen to everything. I will relax to Miles Davis and then rock out to Deftones. Scream with The Used and dance to VNV Nation. I'll get depressed with Elliott Smith and get psychadelic with Love.
Yes. It exists.
Then of course there's always the genre skip. You might listen to a lot of different things, but you don't listen to every genre. I listen
Rock, dance, new wave, goth, metal, psychadeleia, punk, grunge, synth-pop, rap, country, classical, surf, industrial, soul, funk. You name it.
I may listen to everything, but there is still music that I just can't listen to. I hate it and it forces blood to seep out of my ears. I'm elitist when it comes to music. If I don't like it than it sucks. There's too much music in my life to be concerned with shitty bands and their shitty music.
My biggest problem comes from when I tell someone I hate a band that everyone likes. I tell someone I hate U2 (Especially that pompus dick of a lead singer and their overrated guitar player) or that Pearl Jam can shove it and people look at me like I'm insane. "How could you not like U2!? They're great!". No. They aren't. Don't even get me started on Dave Matthews Band. God forbid I mention that I merely appreciate Pink Floyd (they're not THAT good people).
It's a real shame when the rest of the world listens to almost everything that I think sucks. Nothing that's popular these days is any good. All I hear is crappy bands with nothing interesting going on in their music. Shitty rap with annoyng, repetative beats with uninteresting awful lyrics (that more than likely dumb down society). If you're going to rap about stupid shit and ho's, at least do it over a beat that does something. The only musicians that are really doing anything right these days are the guys that have been around for at least a few years. With a few exceptions mind you. Wolfmother comes to mind, and even then they sound like Zeppelin and the Doors.
I guess that's what happens when corperations and "THEY" try to make money off of art. Corperations only know how things work with business plans and numbers. Art works off of risks and passion, pretty much the complete opposite. They've tried to turn art into business plans and numbers.
Either way. It's only wishful thinking. At least there's still SOME good music being made today, and different people like different things. I just don't think people actually listen to what they listen to. Unlike me.
I'll end here. I hope I've written enough to start some sort of discussions with the outside world. Maybe a heated debate. Until then I'm off to listen to something with depth, I just hope you don't listen to anything that sucks.
Oh. While I'm at it. Let me just recomend the new Deftones album "Saturday Night Wrist". Deftones keep getting better. And Incubus is great. Incubus is one of those bands that you don't actually realize how utterly amazing they are until you actually sit down to listen to them. I've been listening to them recently and I'm digging their shifting styles of music (psychadelic/metal/funk/rap). Really their music is completely insane, but somehow it works. Check it out.
Technology is good... sometimes.
I had the privilege to witness this new-fangled BlueRay DVD at a Best Buy. Unfortunately, I was only able to watch it for a minute or so before my eyes started to hurt. This BlueRay nonsense and the "other new DVD" the HD-DVD are meant to be played on High Definition televisions with the super state-of-the-art sound systems. Most of which are things that the normal person wont have nor will they ever have. At the same time, I must admit, these things look good. REALLY good. Every single detail on the screen is crisp and flawless. The problem is, it looks too good. When I say my eyes began to hurt, I mean just that. Movies and television aren't supposed to look that good. I don't want to see every pore in Johnny Depp's face. I want to see a good fucking movie. Which of course brings us to the state in filmmaking today. Movies aren't about story or acting. It's about High-Def, action-packed, blow-em-up, fun. Sure, I love movies with mindless action and violence, why would I watch so many horror movies? But I just want to see a fucking movie. I don't give a shit if it looks better than real life, I don't want movies to look better and more colorful than real life.
Of course, as new technology is created, the old technology is pushed off the shelf. Technology just moves too fast. In my opinion, the 90's were the peak of entertainment technology. I miss cheap videos that you could just put in to a VCR and enjoy a good movie. The movies were better back then also, no one was worried about how good the movie looked, we just wanted to see a movie that was fun.
It's not just movies either. It's music too. I admit, I still have vinyl records. Yes kiddies, there were other things we used to listen to music on that weren't CDs. They were big, black, and round and you had to flip them over half way through to listen to the rest of the album. Before that there were even things called 8-Tracks that people would listen to in their cars. I admit, I'm too young for the 8-Track, but they're still cooler than all those iPods. Truth be told, I actually really like CD's. I don't want to see them go either. Everyone listens to music digitally, and these days, even bands are starting to make their albums available online with bonus tracks as a bonus for getting your digital music. Tower Records is closing, the whole company. Sure, they could be over-priced at times, but they still had a good selection of music and movies that you probably couldn't find anywhere else. It's a real shame.
The problem I see, is that with technology advancing faster and faster, everyone is forced to adapt when it's not time to adapt. Movies are made quicker and released within a few months on DVD. Bands release music on CD and online, even offering online exclusive to keep themselves viable. The faster technology advances the faster things need to get made. Thus, the films we watch aren't as good as it was 10 years ago. The music we listen to isn't as good as it was when we had to wait for their next CD. Technology has taken the art out of music and film making and made entertainment all about looking good and flashy when really, no one actually cares how good the music will sound on a stereo system they don't have, or how good a movie will look on a TV they'll never own.
I miss the 90's for so many reasons. Our news was better (O.J.!!!) because no one cared about how trashed a celebrity got. The music was better and rocked harder because music was about MUSIC, not about having new music every month online to tell people that you really are still a band. The movies were better because you didn't have to worry about making the movie look good and you had to have a sense of ingenuity to do something new rather than rely on CGI. I miss putting that new CD in my stereo and actually holding the phyisical album artwork in my hand, and reading the lyric sheets as I enjoy the music. I miss the cartoons and TV shows that had story arcs and kept you coming back for more to find out what happens next (a few exceptions to the amazingly random shows on today like Family Guy, Aqua Teen, Futurama, Spongebob). I miss putting a video tape in and falling asleep to a shitty movie. I miss putting $5 of gas in my car and actually being able to go somewhere. I miss being able to go to a movie for $6. It really wasn't that long ago that the cost of living allowed us to earn $7 an hour and actually be able to get to work, and do stuff. When $20 could get you through a day.
I wish more people felt this way. But people just seem to let prices go up for no reason while their wages stay the same. People seem to like paying $20 for a movie and $6 for a bottle of beer. If there are people that feel the way I do, they don't really say anything, they just keep moving on. I for one would rather discover the secrets of time travel than and go back to the way things were than keep going on our current track. Who's with me?
What are some of your favorite, forgotten albums that have stood the test of time?
Submitted by PeterGibbons.
Well, of course I'll actually do this question. Like Elaine, I'll do a top 5.
1. Nirvana - In Utero
Anytime I listen to Nirvana, it just makes me happy. Everyone always says that Nirvana are overrated crap, over played, and not even that good. In my opinion, they must not have ever liked Nirvana to begin with. Nirvana is the band I used to listen to ALL the time when I was in high school. Today I don't listen to them nearly as much. They're lost in the piles of CD's, resurfacing every so often to remind me just how good they are. Sure, they are overplayed, the same 5 songs from Nevermind on the radio every day. Sure, I've gotten older, and my musical tastes have grown and expanded. But it feels like Nirvana are getting it too harsh. Put any song on at a party and watch as everyone enjoys the nostalgia and sings along to every word. Next time you get the chance, put Nevermind on and you'll have the time of your life, singing along to every song no matter how long ago you listened to it; however, if you dig a little deeper, you'll find that In Utero is such an underrated album, filled with great songs that you don't hear often even on the radio. This one was always my favorite. Especially Rape Me, which has to be one of the greatest Nirvana songs ever.
2. Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
Nearly half the songs on this album are still to this day considered classic. Head Like a Hole is one of those classic anthemic sing-a-longs that isn't as overplayed as it should be. Many often forget that this album was done in 1989, and when you listen to it now it still has that late 80's/ early 90's production which ends up making the album sound like something more in league with new wave bands of the 80's like Depeche Mode or New Order. What really makes this album so good is Trent Reznor's youthful energy on this (his first record). Or maybe the solid song structure and dense synth parts over barely audible guitar. Or even better, it's that the album is just so straight forward. I'm a fan of other NIN material like The Fragile or Downward Spiral, but on this, there's just a sense of excitement in creating something new rather than expand on what was already created. If it is any testament, even to this day, these songs bring out the most energy in the fans and the band itself when played live.
3. Green Day - Dookie
I didn't want to use this album, because let's face it, everyone has this album. It's like the Frampton Comes Alive of the 90's "Everyone in the world has Frampton Comes Alive, if you lived in the suburbs you were issued it. It came in the mail with samples of tide." (If you name the movie, you get a cookie). For that alone, it deserves a spot on here. I've always claimed Green Day to be the Beatles of my generation. When I popped the CD in for a revisit, my speakers boomed with catchy pop-punk songs that are catchier than anything a single fall out boy could play. Every single song on this record flows together the way an album full of songs should, and every single song on this record is just as amazing as the others. With all the success Green Day has had in recent years, it's a relief to hear the young, "lets have a blast and play some punk songs" band that Green Day started as.
4. Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way
I remember when this CD came out I was only really a Chili Peppers fan through the radio. I did have Blood Sugar Sex Magic and One Hot Minute. I bought this one maybe a year or so after it was released. There are so many songs on this album that it's hard to get into. It's dense. It still wasn't until recently, late last year to be exact, that I discovered the brilliance of guitarist John Frusciante. Since then he has become so influential that my own personal music playing has grown in scope from it's grunge-based, downbeat, acoustic ballads. It's with this new appreciation for Frusciante and the Peppers as a group that has this album in here. As I said, it's such a long and dense album that it's hard to get into, but when you sit and listen, Frusciante's brilliance both in guitar and vocals shine through in every song, only to be bettered by their latest Stadium Arcadium (Go get it if you haven't already, it's amazing).
5. Robert Johnson - The Complete Recordings
Something a little different. Johnson was one of the more interesting early delta blues musician. In his short life he only recorded 29 songs. There are multiple versions of these, but only the best versions are essential. As a big fan of delta blues, Johnson is by far my favorite. The man who suposedly sold his soul to the devil on the crossroads to play guitar better. His songs are beautiful in a pained kind of way. You can hear his torment. I always enjoy putting Johnson's music on any sort of list, as a way of recomending something completely different from the standard fare of today's musical trends and what most people listen to. Remember, rock & roll started with musicians like Robert Johnson.
I spend so many hours a day browsing around and occupying my time on the interweb. I like how we can all gather in various communities of like-minded and share things such as videos, artwork, writting, music. That's what the internet was made for, the sharing of information. But recently it's becoming ridiculous with the shear amount of information existing on the web.
My mother keeps telling me to be careful what I put online, whether it be pictures, personal information, or simply what I did over the weekend. Even going so far as to e-mail me articles that about it. Apparently, lots of young people are having a hard time getting jobs because of information they have on MySpace and such. When an employer is trying to decide who to hire, sometimes they'll look their prospective employees up online. Say one prospective has a fairly standard profile, and the other has "I like getting trashed on the weekends." in their profile. Who is that company going to hire?
I understand it's legal. I mean, you're putting this information on there most of the time. But I feel like this is total bullshit. One girl in the article said she called in sick to go surfing with her friends one day, and her boss discovered her myspace one day with pictures from her "sick day". She got in trouble. One company decided not to hire someone because her profile said "I like to have fun." and her sex as "yes please". So if you share with your friends on the internet anything your employer might find offensive, than you're in deep shit.
In the mean time, I took any reference of me doing anything illegal out from the public eye, mostly because I'm pretty sure my mother still checks up on me on the old myspace, though I'm no longer a teenager. Of course there's always going to be things my mother doesn't need to know.
What does everyone think about this whole concept of employers looking you up on myspace?
I work in a service industry. A pizza shop to be exact, a total slacker job. It's a good job, pays well, little to no responsibility, but I would say Kevin Smith said it best in Clerks: "This job would be great if it weren't for the fucking customers".
Working behind a counter, serving food to all different kinds of people has afforded me the benefit of seeing some of the worst in people. Humans. When you think about it, this thing we call humanity is extremely interesting. Maybe it's my staunch elitism, but why do I always feel like I'm so much better than everyone else? I'm no success (though hope to be, like everyone else in the world), I work a slacker job, and contribute little to "society", yet I see things in humans that sicken me.
People are smart, humans are hideous, greedy, ravenous creatures. Trust me I see it. Put a bunch of people in a cage with a piece of bread, and they'll tear eachother's eyes out untill there's one left standing to claim the prize!
Okay, that was a bit extreem. But when it comes to what one needs for survival: food, water, (unfortunately) money, shelter, humans will do anything to get it if they're desperate enough. Animal instincts, primal insticts. The truth is, I admit I am guilty of this, but we all are. We're all animals and this is survival of the fittest. We like to think we're better than our decenents, but in reality, we're all animals who thrive in small communities or tribes, but force ourselves into a dense community of opposing views, expressions, languages, values, and ideals. That is how things get dangerous for humanity.
But what does it mean to be a human? What is humanity?
Humanity is what "distinguishes human beings from animals or from their animal nature." So as humans, what is so different from animals? Aren't humans still animals? Is it our appreciation for art, beauty, aesthetics? I've seen a monkey paint better than some people! Sure the monkey may not have noticed its beauty, but how the hell do we know? There are billions of people that don't appreciate art or have any notion of beauty or aesthetics.
What it all boils down to, is that humans have a society, and there inlies the problem. We have created a society that values money over love. That's why it seems like our society is crumbling. Or at least that's what it seems like to me in America. Where money is power, and power is everything. Of course the powers at be, want you to think: You are important, you matter! But really, you don't. Unless you have money. We like to think we matter, like we're all part of a whole.
Dunkin Donuts - America Runs on Dunkin'!!
Bullshit! America runs on money and oil. The problem is that we've been trying to mix so many different values and ideals into a single society that only values money. Human society can only work in small communities or tribes, each with it's own values, and laws, like our ancestors as far back as monkies. The only universal law, is don't push your views on others, be it laws, religion, values.
Unfortunately, the society we've created is crumbing and we're left with survival of the fittest and what truly makes us human. An open mind, love, and an appreciation for beauty and aesthetics. I know that beauty and aesthetics differ from person to person, but if you have a valid explaination for why something is beautiful, prove your love, than you might be on the right track.However, what truly makes us human is put on the back burner as society grows more and more unstable as it depends on money and oil, not love and beauty. Perhaps that's why I feel like I'm better than everyone. I love, I appreciate beauty and even create it, and I haven't let society brainwash me. I'm happy with my life and it can only get better, which is more than I can say for most of the people that I see walking these streets.
Until next time (and the inevitable economic and social collapse). Love.
The internet has many wonders to behold. It's like a toy that keeps getting better the more you play with it. Like Transformers, or better yet, Legos. You can construct things on the internet however you want to reflect your own unique personality. I remember when I first started using the web, I imagined it as a big white space... no finite walls, ceiling or floor. There were doors, there were unique people to talk to, and the doors led to other spaces with other people.
In a way, we all want our own white space that we can do whatever we want with it. LiveJournal. MySpace. Vox. We can put our colors up and let our flag blow in the wind. And with the doors present, we can invite other people to see who we are and what we do by looking at what we have done with this "white space".
Really though, we are actual, breathing, carbon life-forms and our space is not white, but coverd in the muck and grime of the centuries, placed there by our ancestors. Perhaps why this white space is so appealing. Our own blank world that we can start ourselves.
That is all....
Recent Comments
-
RebeccaB said:
Sounds like someone took a similar class to the one i took. hehehe. But something I wasnt taught in that... read more
on So Much Things to Say -
Ms.Nancy"slutbag" Negative said:
[this is good]There is nothing wrong with being a music elitist,I consider myself one and i listen to some shitty musicand i... read more
on Musical Elitist -
-
Elaine (akabetty) said:
"Really though, we are actual, breathing, carbon life-forms and our space is not white, but coverd in the muck and... read more
on As it turns out...
Something very wrong is going on there read more
on What a strange photo. Enjoy!