today was a monday and wow, i totally felt it's roughness. it was a struggle to get through, and i had many doubts and worry's. still, i managed to survive it and i was awarded with having dinner with my two little cousins who i haven't seen in quite some time. it was so great to catch up and witness how much they've both grown. those two are exceptionally loving and some of the smartest children i've ever known. i'm really proud of those two girls and how special they are. they have both been through a lot over the past year and it's good to have them back home.
so anyway, in schuyler news, i have an important choice to make this weekend. there are two things to do on saturday, one of which is the annual oklahoma city indian clinic powwow and second is the mayhem tour festival. the powwow is a powwow, but they are always fun and a great place to meet old friends. and as for the concert, it's a bit pricey for a tour with a bunch of bands i began to dislike after high school. yeah, there are a few good options like, Lamb of God, Winds of Plague, Chimera, Norma Jean, Shawdows Fall and i guess Hatebreed, but really, been there done that, slip slap paddy whack...
so there comes a time when i must tip my hat to the music that came before my personal choices. the music that inspired those personal choices. (bands duh...) today i want you all to get to know one of those types of bands. these guys were WAY ahead of their time, which makes them awesome. here is Can.
can was formed in 1968 in cologne, germany and were considered one of the first "krautrock" groups to emerge from the then underground scene. krautrock is the genre name for the experimental music that appeared in the late 60's and became it's most popular in the 70's in germany. john peel was an early avid fan of the music and he often jammed the artists in this scene like Can, Faust, Neu!, Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk among others. these bands led to the creation of many important genre's like early electronic and synth based acts. also there was a heavy psychedelic influence mixed with progressive styles as well.
can are really the top dog in this music scene and have inspired many artists that i love like, Radiohead, Joy Division, Taking Heads, The Stone Roses, Brian Eno, Sonic Youth and The Flaming Lips. woo hoo!!! yeah, so in the long period that these guys made music there is a three album arc that is considered to be their very best period. this was when the band was fronted by asian singer, damo suzuki. these three albums are the select choices for today's post and i think that's alright with me. how about you???
well, i don't think you can answer that since you most likely haven't even heard of these guys. if you have, then good for you!!! if not, well now is the time. listen to the future happen from the past. first album is the amazing, Tago Mago, then next we have, Ege Bamyashi and last is the perfect, Future Days. these three albums should be listened to back-to-back and with some good speakers or headphones. dig it...
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I just think that room’s to end, How commend them from their dreams? Send that money for a rainy day For the sake of future days. You better have nothing for me, You better move year on your face, You hide behind a borrowed chase For the sake of future days.
i supposed it's my duty to report on this years annual church camp, but i can't really do it justice since i wasn't there for the full duration. despite my limitations, i was honored with the opportunity to come spend my entire friday amongst the best people i've ever met. there is just something about being surrounded by good christian people that makes me feel less hurt and more uplifted. you can trust and love these people and probably find out some things in the process. things about yourself and life in general. the christian viewpoint is often talked down upon and spat at, but it's the life many choose to live and with that, we have to stand together and keep the faith. i feel more strong than i have been these past few months and now that i'm back home and in the world, i need to stay focused and be smart. there are a lot of things i regret from my past, but even more that i look forward to in my future. god willing...
for those of you who read this journalistic minded thing called my blog, i have a special treat for you. this is going to be a big post on one of music's most prolific and substantial artists. that musician is none other than David Bowie.
yeah, it's that guy from Labyrinth. mr david bowie is a multi-talented musician who has been making music his way since 1964. he's the ultimate rebel and often chosen as the inspiration behind many of today's pretentious people. (not all though...) he's considered the godfather of glam-rock and one of the best nu-wave artists to emerge in it's early days. speaking of early days, the guy is also mentioned with the term proto-punk with is of course those early acts that helped pave the way for what punk would eventually become. yes, this man is everywhere and then nowhere. he's sort of a private person and on the subject of his music, hasn't released anything new since 2003. in the meantime, the dude has been a collaborator with such acts like, TV on the Radio and The Arcade Fire and also acted in the movie The Prestige. (underrated movie indeed...)
so, going back to the movie Labyrinth, i've had some history with the guy. no, i didn't really listen to his music when i was young, with the exception of a few popular hits here and there, but i did recognize him from that movie. i grew up watching that darn flick and the characters, music, costumes, and jennifer connelly's bad acting have stayed with me since. but, like most young people my age, what stays is david bowie himself. the man had a scary, yet elegant presence which was weird, but cool at the same time. also, his music was hypnotic. the guy could also pull off the gay look and make it seem awesome, (for just that moment...) but that power only belonged to him.
i can't really speak about that movie much anymore since it's become a merchandising empire at hot topics and high schools all over (who'd thunk it???) but the memories still stay the same. and those memories, all awesome and weird as they were, can't change. a little bit of the past i like to remember.
the music is what it's all about right now though. these selected albums are my personal faves and most of them are listed in the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums Ever Made which i'm always plugging. seriously, it's still my favorite issue from that magazine and worth a look for anyone who loves music. so, for this post i'm going in order of release year and skipping his debut, we will start off with Space Oddity then The Man Who Sold the World. (i thank Nirvana for covering the title track of that record and making me a fan of bowie.) next we have Hunky Dory and then the amazing, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. it's probably his most popular album and considered his best work. it's a concept album which i won't divulge into, but let's just say it's totally awesome. after that we have another really awesome album and it's called, Aladdin Sane. this would be followed by the albums Diamond Dogs, Young American's and Station to Station. flowing to the end of this post, we finally come to the last albums which are, Low, "Heroes", and Let's Dance. also, i don't think i'm doing justice to the awesomeness of david bowie's music, but hey, you know, i'm only like 25 and i'm sure there are plenty of better readings on the man that what i can muster on one tired saturday just being back from church camp. heh heh ENJOY!!!
right now i'm eating some chicken express. it's freekin' awesome!!! i love hot wings, and with that order came a side of fried okra as well. i'm currently in hot sauce heaven!!! mmm...
on the way home from work i decided to give an older band a quick listen while driving through the rush hour traffic. i instantly remembered how important they were to me back in high school. the band i'm talking about goes by the name, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. yeah, super cool huh???
...and you will know us by the trail of dead have one of the longest names in music history, which led me to find them interesting in the first place. but, i have to give all the credit to my old friend andy. he was a punk/indie kid who everyone called "kurt cobain" on account of his hair being all grunged out and such. despite the harsh criticism, the guy took it all in stride and led me to some awesome music. if it wasn't for him, i wouldn't be as open minded with artists like i am now. so okay, back in 2003 or so, he invited me to the local rock club called the green door, which at the time was the shizznit. that place got every tour that came through and charged cheap for the kids to come watch. (it's still around, but now called the conservatory...) yeah, so anyway he invited me to this show. "uh, dude, uh you wanna go see ...and you will know us by the trail of dead tomorrow night??? my brother says their one of the best live acts he's ever seen." heh heh, our conversation wasn't that long, but i was convinced. so what happened??? well everything. and what i mean is everything went wrong that night and i didn't get to see them. oh well...
so for the history. the band formed back in 1994 and are still around, calling austin, texas their home. they first started out as a post-hardcore/90's emo style band with those great hardcore punk trademarks. their sound was a bit chaotic and noisy, which over time, has evolved into a more indie/progressive nature. they are one of the few bands to gain a perfect 10 on pitchfork.com and that is a miracle in of itself.
oh, and that which garnered said score is none other than one of the most important albums released in the early 2000's, Source Tags & Codes. this is the only album i have by the band and it's their best, hands down. you gotta give this a listen. when i was coming home and jamming this classic, i fondly remembered the first time i heard it. i also remembered my terrible high school days and all that teenage angst that seeped through me like poison... ugh, just dig it already!!!
http://www.mediafire.com/?gwmzonxzj5j
Looking back in time Through verses set in nursery rhyme At oil painted eyes Of muses left behind I swear I know not why Those eyes have always left me dry She stands with arms stretched out Towards the mountains & the clouds Oil painted eyes Blind yet hypnotized I swear I know not why Those eyes have always left me dry
(How near, how far, how lost they are)
I've rendered every line Every contour of a muse's eye Painted in my eyes mind On canvases of time I swear I know not why Those eyes have always left me dry
Top Chef has started once again and tonight is another new episode. i've also been getting into a new show that comes on after called, Work of Art: The Next Great Artist. i like this show because the characters remind me so much of the art school kids i got to know everyday for over four years. it's laughably familiar for me...
at some point great music comes along to save us from the excretion that satan unleashes unto the world everyday. (Nickleback, Justin Beiber, The Jonas Brothers, Areosmith, Brokencyde... ect) sometimes it's hard to notice great stuff, but then sometimes it's not. for instance with this post i'm mentioning a young female artist that just took me by surprise. it was so fast and brilliant that i was left pondering her merit and eventually wanting a lot more. that artist is named, Janelle Monáe and she is here to save us.
janelle monáe is from kansas city, kansas and started her career in music back in 2003. she eventually moved to atlanta georgia where she met Outkast member big boi and collaborated on the Idlewild soundtrack songs, "call the law" and "in your dreams". she eventually recorded her debut ep,Metropolis Suite I (The Chase) and was nominated for a grammy with the song, "many moons" back in 2009. in 2010 she dropped her debut full length, The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III). if you were wondering why the suites, she is high on the "concept" idea and shows her inspiration from such aspects as the writings of Phillip K. Dick, the music of Claude Debussy and the films of Alfred Hitchock and Fritz Lang. the latter of which inspired her album artwork. (see the 1927 film, Metropolis...)
to describe her music i would have to say it takes elements from Little Richard, James Brown, Al Green, The Smiths, Joy Division, David Bowie, Prince, Depeche Mode, Sly and the Family Stone and Rick James. sorry, but for a sort of explanation i'm probably failing at really hard right now, that's the best i can do for her. you just have to listen to the song below and check out even more from her because it legit. i'm super cereal, the music this young woman makes is truly awesome and her performance is stellar. no wonder No Doubt asked her to open on their 2009 summer tour!!!
so, for the music you will find those two already mentioned albums. first is the ep, Metropolis Suite I (The Chase) and second is the full length, The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III). i HIGHLY suggest you all give this girl a shot and give her lots of praise amongst your friends because more people need to hear this stuff. oh, and go see her open up for Of Montreal on their current tour. dig it!!!
taking cues from past experience and trying to interpret it into something new and refreshing is what people have to do nowadays. sometimes it works and most of the time it doesn't. in this case i'm going to mention the movie, Inception. christopher nolan has taken ideas from past movies and re-interpreted them into a wholly unique and gratifying experience. to get to the point, inception is freekin' brilliant and it works!!! go see it now and then discuss it's many MANY layers. don't be intimidated by it's length and ideas. the film isn't trying to fool you and make you seem stupid. no, instead it gently takes you into it's own personal world and shows off it's lush colors and traditions. and by that i mean, it's a trip through time and back, up and down, and side-by-side. there is so much going on that you might need to take a break, or a breath, but just for a warning: don't leave during ANYTHING. it's a hard choice to make, but if you have to go you will most definitely miss something important. so anyways, go see perhaps one of the best movies in recent years. i don't say that often...
i want some more hardcore punk and today's music choice is, Modern Life is War.
modern life is war started back in 2002 and broke up in 2008. they were from marshaltown, iowa and became that states saving grace in music. (according to the hardcore kids who think Slipknot aren't all that...) the band became know for it's unique style of hardcore punk that usually avoided standard song structures and almost entirely abandoned the use of breakdowns. lead singer jeffrey eaton sang with a melodic approach and was often compared with tim mcilrath of Rise Against fame.
despite their short time as a band, they did get around to releasing three albums and one ep. these are held up in high regards and remembered fondly. for their time, modern life is war became saviors in the fledgling hardcore scene. their legacy will always be remembered.
and as for those albums i mentioned, you will find them all here!!! we first start with their self titled ep, then move on to their full length debut, My Love. My Way. next in line is my personal favorite album and fan favorite,Witness. and in last place is their swan song, Midnight in America. so there you have it. go see inception and start jammin' modern life is war while you ponder the final scene in that movie. dig it...
as you can tell, i haven't been here in a couple of days. i just didn't bother with it because other things were going on at the time and, well, blogging isn't that important when it comes to spending time with family. so yeah, anyway the weekend was good and i enjoyed all of it. i went to a powwow in el reno saturday and watched fireworks sunday despite the rain. yes, it rained all weekend and is still going strong, but has moved more up north and to the east. (i could tell by how the leaves blew across the yard and the smell of the clouds. super NATIVE skillz yo!!!) so for today i went shopping and scored some new summer clothes. i grabbed two pairs of shorts and two polo type shirts. they were all faded looking colors and my usual style. i think on wednesday i'll look for some new shoes. maybe some slip-on's...
a little friend of mine mentioned this next band in comparison to a cd i got for her birthday. (White Pony) the band she named dropped was one i'd forgotten for some reason and that's my bad because they were stellar. that band is A Perfect Circle.
a perfect circle was/is the side project of maynard james keenan from Tool and his buddies, drummer josh freese from The Vandals among MANY other projects, and guitarist billiy howerdel who is also in the band Ashes Divide. notable past members include james iha from The Smashing Pumpkins, jeordie white who played with Marilyn Manson and danny lohner who has worked with Nine Inch Nails, Skrew and Killing Joke. so as you can see, it's a music fan's wet dream. the amazing talent contained here made this project excellent and that all lasted for two albums. (let's skip the covers album shall we???)
as of right now, the band is currently on hiatus i think. actually, according to wikipedia they are making a fourth album, so who knows. but anyway, here's the music for ya. two albums worth your time with the titles of Mer De Noms and Thirteenth Step. both are of high quality and showcase a more mellow, yet dramatic side to maynards usual routine of angst and emotional outrage. oh, and they were even more awesome live. i saw them with The Mars Volta back in 2003. good times...
http://www.mediafire.com/?8l12xcnymfc
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Threw you the obvious And you flew with it on your back A name in your recollection Down among a million same
Difficult not to feel a little bit Disappointed and passed over When I look right through, See you naked but oblivious
And you don't see me
But I threw you the obvious Just to see if there's more behind the Eyes of a fallen angel, Eyes of a tragedy
Here I am expecting just a little bit Too much from the wounded But I see, see through it all See through, see you
'Cause I threw you the obvious To see what occurs behind the Eyes of a fallen angel, Eyes of a tragedy
Oh well, oh well Apparently nothing, Apparently nothing at all
it's a sad day in the rock word. Ronnie James Dio, died yesterday from stomach cancer. you all might know him from his song, "holy diver" which became his biggest and most well known hit. he also sang for this little band called, Black Sabbath, when they booted Ozzy Osbourne. and finally, he is also the originator of the devil horns that everybody uses at rock concerts now. so with that, i salute you dio and hope you are rockin' out still. \m/
it's now time to post on an epic band that i had the pleasure of seeing once, back in 2002. right here on a wolf at the door, it's the band known as, Tool.
there are many out there who think that tool are overrated and stale. many bands go undiscovered and those that get left out are totally amazing and more epic than these guys. still, tool is here and have been since 1990. they are from los angeles, california and make their own style of progressive rock that takes cues from other talents like, Yes, Rush and King Crimson. the band incorporates ambient textures as well as, post-rock styling's and indie rock yelping through thick layers of guitar and bass. the drumming of danny carey compliments the guitars of adam jones and the grooves of bass player justin chancelor. and finally, there is lead singer, maynard james keenan. this guy is held up there in rock legend status with other singers like, thom yorke and bono. yes, the dude is amazing and his low and high notes are the perfect compliment to the intense music. he was also the singer in the band, A Perfect Circle, which i will post on some other time. oh, and both maynard and danny were in the band, Green Jelly, which are of another world themselves.
i don't want to delve too much into this band because many have already. tool have a very large fan base that keeps on growing, so the thoughts and discussion over material and subject matter contained within the music is not something i have the time to write about today. (i gotta go eat dinner with my family soon!!!)
the complete discography is here for you to make sense of. in first place is the demo titled, 72826. it's a raw cassette tape of demo's that were sent to record companies and sold to early fans. next is their famous ep called, Opiate. this contains the awesome song, "hush" which had a music video with the band members walking about totally naked. and following that is their amazing full length debut, Undertow. this is the album that broke the band into the mainstream and garnered them tons of fans. they toured on Lollapalooza to great acclaim and moved from the second stage to the main. the music video for the song, "sober" brought forth their soon to be style of not appearing in any video's or press releases. adam jones does their video's and uses techniques such as stop motion. after this the band took some time off to make their new album which would become, Ænima. this is their most intense and thought provoking album. (in my opinion of course!!!) they won a grammy for best metal performance with this material. they also appeared on the 1998 Ozzfest which they hated. several more years passed until their next releases which was the Salival, box set. this contained their music video's as well as a live album. it's popular for the bands version of the Led Zeppelin song, "no quarter". the following year would they released the album, Lateralus. it was around this time i got to see them live in oklahoma city. what i can recall from the show was that the crowd behaved like zombies, but then morphed into some sort of weird extraterrestrial manifestation before eating each other alive. it also reminded me of the party scene from the movie, Jacob's Ladder. (i was on stuff when i saw them by the way...) and now we come to the last place which is the album, 10,000 Days. okay people, thank you for following this long tripe of a post. i hope you all enjoy the music and take care of yourselves...
today is friday and the first day of Coachella 2010!!! i'm a little jealous that my buddy is there and i'm not, but oh well. she's in for the time of her life and i wish her the best. as for me, well i have already said this before, but i'll mention it again. this is the start to a great weekend that i have been waiting for for a long time. i'm going to the movies tonight and then tomorrow i'm hitting the powwow and dancing in my outfit for the first time!!! it's gonna be zoppity!!!
let's get technical for a bit and listen to some, King Crimson.
what am i doin' putting this on here??? i wasn't even thought of when this band came out. heck, my parents were still kids when this band first came out. i guess when it comes down to it, it's the music that stands the test of time and keeps making people turn on. king crimson are an awesome psychedelic/progressive band that were way ahead of their time when first starting. the band is from england and started in 1969 by guitarist robert fripp and drummer michael giles. the band is known to be a progressive act, but that label doesn't really do them justice. just look at all the labels i've given them at the bottom. yes, they really have incorporated that much material into their music. the original lineup of the band would last a short while before breaking up. after that, the they went into many different changes all the way up to the present, but that hasn't stopped them from rockin' out.
for the music, you will find two of their albums that are considered the best in their catalog. first is the classic debut, In the Court of the Crimson King. this masterpiece of musical ability and craft is a genre classic and one of the most important albums ever made. it's a real brain fart, as to why it wasn't included in the Rolling Stone Top 500 Greatest Albums Ever Made issue, but oh well... and in second place is the album, Lark's Tongues In Aspic. this was a later album that was made almost entirely by a different lineup, but non the less brilliant. dig this...
i had a fantastic time last night. the atmosphere was awesome and it felt really great to get out and hang with some great people. i helped with keeping score all night while everybody else played volleyball. i'd forgotten how much fun going to these things use to be. i remember back to my early childhood when my dad would open the gym at my old church for all of us to play. i would run around and get into trouble while the parents and other adults played, and laughed, and seemed to have an overall good time. heck, i even developed my first crush during one of those nights!!! and this time, it was me who was the adult, but i was alone. well, not really alone in the sense of nobody being near me, but alone in a personal matter. still, that didn't keep me from having a good time despite that fact.
time and time again, it is with highest regard, that i try my very best to introduce you all to music that has made a personal impact on my life. i don't worship music, i just love it. today i want to discuss a very important band. this particular band saved my life in 2003 and introduced me to a new world of music that is all i really care about today. i'm am definitely not the first one to mention these guys, but that doesn't mean i don't have my own story to tell of them. ladies and gentlemen, it is with my greatest pleasure, that i introduce to you all, the band, the legends, the source of a once great impact on my life, At The Drive-In.
this is another post that i have been thinking over in my head for quite some time. heck, it's one of the first things i thought of when i decided to make a blog. this band here, well it's hard to say for me because it's a matter of personal impact and memory, but this band here is in my top ten and still stand as one of the best musical acts to ever grace our human lives. this band is the definition of art. they all came together when they were young, 1993 to be exact, and crashed and burned in 2001 at the peak of their popularity and the start of their futures. they were on the verge of mega stardom, and often cited as "the next nirvana" but that would not be.
let's go back a bit to the start of this band. they hailed from el paso, texas and formed in high school. right away they started playing as many shows as they could, and got their name around like most good bands do. they were part of the early 90's emo/hardcore/punk sound and, in my opinion, the best of that bunch. they took inspiration from bands like Fugaziand Nation of Ullysses and also closely related to other noteworthy bands like Drive Like Jehu and Still Life. now i know that is a very radical statement, when it comes to old emo purists, but hey, it's just my opinion. and no, i never got to see them live, but that doesn't change my mind when it comes to how much these guys mattered.
they released several ep's and full length albums on many labels that believed in them. their live shows were the seal of approval for those who didn't know beforehand. once you saw them play live, in whatever dingy club or basement you could, you knew they were something much more and truly special.
i remember a conversation i had with my dad about great live concerts we've both been too. he beat me of course because he got to see Led Zeppelin three times, which i think is really cool of him. but the conversation sort of went south when i discussed certain bands he's never heard of. i mentioned At The Drive-In, Deftones, Explosions In The Sky and Jeromes Dream among others. i explained each band's impact on me and how they each played their live shows with their own creative style in influences. he couldn't get past the fact that they all played basements and vfw halls. i guess my dad, like my mother, is used to big arena type spectacles. well, i'll forgive my mother because she likes explosions in the sky, but yeah, our conversation went like that. it's hard to explain to someone how much an intimate show can matter to someone if they have never been to one. i don't think the guys from Rush or Aerosmith meet and great their fans without being paid. i also know for a fact that those guys don't carry their own equipment and sleep on people's floors to save money when touring.
since i'm a self proclaimed "writer" i try to find inspiration for my stories from everyday life like most writers do. i don't know why, but the aspects of music and touring have had a huge cultural impact on me and has set a standard in my writing. i try my best to make it all seem real and relatable, and a band, like at the drive-in, inspires me to be better at what i do. i thought of them and many other musical acts when i was writing my new short story a few weekends ago. just thinking, about how much that style of living had on one's own mind was fascinating and made me really ponder on how our modern music is made. you can listen to certain things and get a true feel for what the artists were feeling, or meant when they created it. and certainly when they play live, you get all that emotion and baggage out front and center. it's almost naked in a way. and going back to adam an eve, when they were naked they were ashamed...
in 2003 i discovered at the drive-in. i was at a big chain record store for a midnight release of a new Korn album. uh, yeah so while we were waiting to be let in to purchase that cd, we were given free gifts outside. i got a poster, some stickers, and a dvd. once midnight came, i went in, got the cd, and went home listening to it. at the time i claimed it was korn's best album, but i was only denying the fact that it sucked and i was too ashamed to admit to it. you see, by that time, nu-metal was dying out and right under the fringes was this new style that was rising up from the underground to take away all the mess that MxTxVx and the radio created and spoon fed to the masses. i was also on the fringes back then, and at the time, the deftones were my only buddies. the deftones will always be with me, but i needed something a bit different, so cut to that weird dvd they gave me. on it were lots and lots of music video's from nu-metal bands that i dare to mention here, but if you liked that stuff back then you can pretty much decide who a lot of them were. anyway, on the very bottom of the musical selection was at the drive-in. i eventually got to them after watching all the rest, and let me tell you, it hit me like a bat to the head. (i got hit with a bat in 2002 by the way...) there in the selection was the video for the song, "one armed scissor" and then a companion video documentary showing the band in the recording process for their new album at the time called, Relationship of Command. what first struck me was their weird fashion style. they weren't wearing baggy jinco jeans and sporting chain wallets. instead it was tight pants, and slim fit shirts. the second thing that struck me was their spastic live performance that was highlighted in the music video. most nu-metal bands were always head banging, but kind of slowly chugging along with all that drop tuned guitar riff junk. but here, this band was all over the place and showed so much energy and live presence that i just couldn't look at any of my bands with the same feelings. (minus the deftones because those guys were always full of energy)
as i type this i'm listening to my personal at the drive-in play list to remember the feelings. well, back to the story, i was hooked on who the heck these guys were. i just didn't know and i asked around and people gave me strange looks, except for one kid who i remember being a loner in high school like myself. "yeah, i've heard of them. they were pretty good. that one album they have with that song is great." okay, so that might not have been what he said, and i can't remember if it was a high school kid or not, but this person knew of them and that at least gave me some sense of right direction. i wasn't crazy then. well, in 2003 i was barely passing my classes and about to graduate. by the spring, i had found their album at a best buy and became a huge fan. i went around telling everyone about them, but by then it was too late and nobody really liked me anyway except for the stoners whom i frequently hung with. at the drive-in introduce me to emo music. i read that label and went out searching for bands with that moniker. i discovered the bands, Thursday, Thrice, Poison The Well, The Used, and Glassjaw all during that spring of my senior year. my friend quickly noticed this change in me. i stopped jamming Disturbed and Mudvayne and instead blasted their ears with the screams and soft singing of these newer bands. they all didn't like it, but whatever!!! it was great and felt so darn refreshing to be involved in something new!!! it didn't stop there. i quit going to all those metal shows, and instead dived into the dirty smelly punk clubs. slowly, but surely, more and more people started to come into this type of music as well. it was more of the younger kids at my high school than those who were in my graduating class, but nonetheless, it was awesome to see these kids rocking out to something different. heck, i remember changing my clothing style too, and wearing tighter jeans and letting my hair go to crap just for that "shaggy" look. oh man, just remembering this time is making me excited all over again because i'm honestly remembering how amazing it all felt to me. i was that kid who had no one to connect to, but instead connected to music and art, and never looked back.
it's 2010 now and i'm 25 years old. my 18 year old self wouldn't think i'd be the way i am now if he looked at me and saw what he saw. i've been living on this earth for some time now, but technically i'm still young. i don't really feel that young though, and because of that i have become a little jaded towards a lot of things. music will forever continue to change, and i'm glad i have gotten over the fact that it has been through so much. after 2005, the times developed into mainstream again, and all this music i just discovered and loved so much was at it's peak and corporate scumbags destroyed something that was once pure and heartfelt. this organically evolved music became the food for hungry evil people to sell to uninspired youth, and i jumped ship once again. at the drive-in saw this before i did, and stopped dead in their tracks. in 2001 they played the australia rock festival, Big Day Out and it was here that they imploded and broke up. look for their live video's of this time and performance on you tube. it's the peak and the crash of this once powerful band. members would later go on to form the bands, Sparta and The Mars Volta. and after all of that, it is only now that i can go back, with safety and nostalgia, and remember this music that helped me through the tough times and developed roots in my soul. at the drive-in was one of those artists that came along at the very right time, and i'm forever thankful to god for that. music is my life...
this is a mega post for sure, and one that has taken me through some tough emotions because this music means so much. i want all of you to take a listen and hopefully witness what i first heard. today you will find the bands entire discography minus a few splits and live bootlegs. this is it, all the main essential stuff is here. first we have the 7inch titled, Hell Paso followed by the ep¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo!. next we have the amazing debut full length, Acrobatic Tenement. this is my second favorite album by the band and it showcases their youth and those great 90's emo elements that many people love so much. the rawness, the off key vocals, and the intimate lyrics are all present on this album. following the release of that, they made the ep, El Gran Orgo and then recorded their next full length, In/Casino/Out. this album is special for the fact that they recorded it all live in the studio as a way to transition their intense live shows onto the recordings. it was an awesome experiment, but ultimately not the solution until a bit later. after that they made their last ep titled, Vaya. this little doozy is the middle ground from post-hardcore to progressive music that they would end with. and with that comes their final album and my first album and favorite album by the band called, Relationship of Command. this is the band at their peak of perfection and you can see how they splintered into the two groups sparta and the mars volta here. this is them live, but not live. it's bleak, but also punchy. spastic, but controlled. awesome, and yet sad. it's a true statement to the bands talent and legacy and it stands as one of the best albums EVER made. time will tell how great this album really is. people will be talking about it years and years from now and still trying to figure out why it is so powerful. really, this album take you by the shoulders and doesn't let go until the very last note is strung. and for the purists, fearless records released a sort of "greatest hits" type album, but one that is worth having since it contains many hard to find tracks from the various splits the band did. that album is called, This Station Is Non-Operational, and it takes it's name from the song, "one armed scissor". ironically, this would become their highest selling album, but that doesn't and didn't really matter. so, for those who don't know, here is your chance. for those that do, take a little trip back if you want and enjoy!!!
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