I noticed this painting in my music textbook as I was studying at Sbucks today. I thought it was beautiful. It is by Caspar David Friedrich and the piece is called "Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer" or "A Traveler Looking over a Sea of Fog".
Sunday, May 07, 2006
how romantic
I noticed this painting in my music textbook as I was studying at Sbucks today. I thought it was beautiful. It is by Caspar David Friedrich and the piece is called "Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer" or "A Traveler Looking over a Sea of Fog".
doing myself with chocolates and flowers and strawberry flavored lubricant
Without a doubt, in the recent years, the whole singer/songwriter genre has snatched the attention of major label A&R scouts as the genre itself becomes more and more marketable. So, what we get now is a bunch of sissies who write extremely simplistic songs who can only play the same few chords on their acoustic guitars. I know a fraud when I see one!!! Well, among the million of singer/songwriters out there, Richard Cortez caught my attention. For one, his lyrics are honest, his expressions are sincere, and the music feels genuine. For another, Craving Something Beautiful features ten wonderful tracks dealing with same-sex relationships, the consequences of meaningless and meaningful sex, and American politics. One of the highlight tracks for me is the amusing live recording of "Asshole": "And I guess in the bed department, it makes you a ten, because you make me go ‘ooo, oh, oh’ over and over again, it's like Ron Jeremy meets a Calvin Klien ad and then there's a little bit of Sid Vicious in there because you're always biting me by the end." On the contrary, the title track, "Craving Something Beautiful" is more or less a song about a one night stand that features a very heartfelt chorus of "…you don't have to explain it, put your clothes back on, I'll look the other way, I'm not gonna beg you for more... I'm not gonna ask you to stay... but next time you're craving something beautiful, and you're humming one of my old tunes, know I was more than willing to love you..." Essentially, Richard Cortez sings and plays beautiful music, whether you can relate to his subject matter or not. Craving Something Beautiful is a very amateur sounding record; however, the album is close to perfect for me. Richard Cortez is a young and extremely talented individual; and I am certain he will only improve and progress in his future releases. You can download a bunch of older bootlegs from Cortez’s label Wollenberg Records. My personal favouites among those tracks are "Boyfriend-to-Be" and "The Time It Takes to Love". (awesome ending!) So, check those bootlegs out... and oh, if you don't already get it, I highly recommend Craving Something Beautiful!from Craving Something Beautiful
Big Brown Overcoat
Implode
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from bootlegs:
Boyfriend-to-Be
The Time It Takes to Love
buy Craving Something Beautiful here
be afraid of the old, they'll inherit your souls
Regina Spektor plays beautiful piano music. However, she’s not that typical girl on a piano, thanks to Spektor’s unique and diverse vocal styles and ranges. The way she conveys different emotions through her voice is extremely impressive. She sounds innocent and childlike in one track while sounding like a grieving middleage woman in another. Spektor indeed displays her extensive vocal styles in Begin To Hope. Her voice stretches from sounding sexy, fun, and upbeat to angry and sorrowful. Spektor’s lovely and powerful vocals are accompanied by her exceptional piano skills. "Samson" provides beautiful lyrical melodies while heavy poundings of the minor keys in "Apres Moi" really brings out Spektor's musical expressions. "That time" is probably my favorite track off of Begin To Hope. It is not a typical Regina Spektor track. First, the song has absolutely no piano part; instead, it features a repeated guitar riff with occasional drummings. The song puts a smile on my face every time I hear it. This is because the lyrics are so much fun: lines like "Hey, remember that month when I only ate boxes of tangerines? So cheap and juicy" and "Hey, remember that time when you O.D.ed? Hey, remember that other time when you O.D.ed for the second time?" are just unforgettable... it is the perfect pop rock song!On The Radio
Hotel Song
Apres Moi
That Time
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Begin To Hope comes out on June 13, you can preorder it here
Friday, May 05, 2006
she's got the smile of a side show clown
I am ecstatic... why? new Head Automatica.***file has expired, reload upon request
I put this up to help promote the band and the album. Please go buy Popaganda when it comes out on June 6 at your local record store. You can also preorder the thing at the link below.
Head Automatica are playing at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 5 with Taking Back Sunday, Angels & Airwaves, and The Subways.
go visit the very cool official website here
preorder the Popaganda here
we lay, we lay together just not too close, too close
I haven’t decided if I like the new Taking Back Sunday disc or not. Louder Now is definitely better... way better than their last release... which is not too hard to accomplish. Where You Want to Be was what I called "lyrics for dummies". The album was plan horrible!!! With Louder Now, TSB song writing has improved a little, but it is still a million steps down from their debut Tell All Your Friends (one of the best records ever!). There are actually a handful of pretty good songs on Louder Now; however, there are tracks which I cannot stand. At all! The first single, "Make Damn Sure" is catchy as hell, I am so in love with that song right now. With witty lyrics like "you hollow out my hungry eyes", the song has a feel of old school TBS. Plus, the video for it is pretty cool too – it has a lot of great imageries. Speaking of old school TBS, everyone at the AP messageboard has been declaring that "Error Operator" is the track that resemble closest to Tell All Your Friends... but I think it sounds like a slightly improved leftover track from Where You Want To Be. In my opinion, "Liar (It Takes One To Know One)" brings back some great call and response style that we all love so much from Tell All Your Friends. Overall, Louder Now is far from TBS’s punk/emo roots, it feels more like a power pop rock record. My suggestions: they need to work on their lyrics writing skills; more call and response; and I want to hear more vocal from Fred Mascherino!Make Damn Sure
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Taking Back Sunday are playing at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 5 with Angels & Airwaves, Head Automatica, and The Subways.
buy Louder Now here or here
hospital vespers
My cousin’s daughter has entered the hospital in critical condition due to some unknown virus. I really hope she gets better soon. It really sucks when young children go through medical traumas like that... are they too young to remember? I hope so as the hospital can be very frightening.
UPDATE holy crap, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is on The View right now!
UPDATE holy crap, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is on The View right now!
Thursday, May 04, 2006
what will they think of next!?!?
As I was browsing through my weekly alternative newspapers on the subway, I came across this article on NOW under 'technology'... more specifically, the 'techtoys' (haha) section.iBuzz Music-Activated Sex Toy: A sex toy that sings. Plug the iBuzz into your portable music player and get off to your favourite tune. The bullet vibrates in time to the music and more intensely the louder you make it. Gives new meaning to the lyric "I've got the music in me."
I seriously thought it was a joke... you never know what those hipster kids at NOW will come up with... but no, the thing is real! Go to www.ibuzzusa.com and you can read how it works as well as purchase the thing. WTF!!!! This is way too funny... and I thought nothing could top the Japanese and their Stop The Aids condom jelly!!
it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts...
I listened to the new Angels & Airwaves album to get me through my study today. For those of you who don’t know, Angels & Airwaves features members of Blink 182 (Tom Delonge), Box Car Racer (also Delonge, and David Kennedy), Rocket From the Crypt (Atom Willard), Offspring (Atom), and the Distillers (Ryan Sinn). A powerful and impressive lineup indeed! We Don't Need To Whisper sounds more like a Box Car Racer album than anything. However, it is much much better than BCR. In my opinion, BCR tried too hard to fit into the 'emo' category. They seemed too forced and insincere. So, Delonge left behind all the wrong formulas in BCR and formed a supergroup call Angels & Airwaves. There first disc, We Don't Need To Whisper (out on May 23 on Geffen) seems like a fine album after few listens. Although I haven’t got the chance to read or analyze the lyrics, the album sounds impressive. There is an adventurous and triumphant quality to the music. The overall structure of music in We Don't Need To Whisper sounds very much like a concept album... I guess I will find out if it is indeed a concept album as soon as I get my hands on the lyrics. So, put aside everything you love and hate about Blink 182 and Box Car Racer and give A & A a try.Do It For Me Now
The Adventure
Good Day
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Also, check out the very cool and hi-tech A & A website. You can watch mini-movies to a few songs as well as watch a movie trailer for the band/album.
A & A are playing a sold out show at the Phoenix on May 24. They are also on tour this summer with Taking Back Sunday, Head Automatica, and The Subways. The Toronto date is on July 5 at the Molson Amphitheatre, tickets are on sale now... get them quick as it will probably be sold out soon!
Pre-order We Don't Need To Whisper here or here
for a second I saw you so clearly, for a moment I knew you so dearly
I have talked about Great Lake Swimmers in my CMW recommendations and review a couple of months ago. Since then, I think I have also uploaded a few GLS songs. Well, if you still have not checked the band out, here is another GLS post. Basically, this post is to convince you all that Tony Dekker is one of the best songwriters to come out in recent years. Just download and listen to the following two tracks from Bodies and Minds.***all files have expired, reload upon request
"When It Flows" has one of the cleverest sections ever: at the 1:31 mark of the song, instruments are carefully inserted to correspond with the lyrics of "…the subtle piano raindrops, the creaking of the buildings and their cellos, the wind was our violin…" Is this what people from the Baroque era called word paintings? By the way, listen for the cello at 1:40, absolutely beautiful!!!
"I Could Be Nothing" is just an overall stunning song. There is this epic/eternal feeling to it. It also features the sweetest chorus of "...I could be nothing, said the waves to the sand, I could be nothing without you..."
Damn, this blog is one of the reasons why I can’t study at home... well the internet in general is why I can’t study at home!
buy Great Lake Swimmers releases here
i am not sorry for this part of me, why should i be sorry for my beastiality
Sorry for the lack of updates, but I have been studying all week for my Beethoven exam. I have been sitting outside of Hart House under the beautiful sun and walking everywhere downtown these past two days. Needless to say, I have already got sunburn all over my arms and a little on my nose… I think I’m probably the first person in Toronto to get sunburn and it’s not even summer yet! The weather feels really hot to me already... seriously, I don’t know how I’m going to handle the summer... and I am so going to melt at the Olympic Island show in June! I want winter back! Anyways, I can’t waste anymore time ranting as I have to go back to more Beethoven... exam tomorrow!!!!!I have received a request for a re-post of the Patrick Wolf b-sides and remixes, so here it is. Enjoy.
Here are two bonus songs:
I will post this whole show up as soon as all my exams are done. Look for that sometimes after next Wednesday.
This is like a continuation or extension to "Wind In The Wires". Listen to the instrumentation at the end of "Wind In The Wires", then listen to "Night Train" and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
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buy Patrick Wolf releases here
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