Bitter, Sarastic, Brutal

The Meads of Asphodel - Damascus Steel

What do you get when you combine Biblical apocrypha, militant secular humanism, medieval English armor, and a hefty dose of misanthropy? Mix them together and you find yourself with one of England’s best-kept secrets: The Meads of Asphodel. Surfacing from the depths in 1998, they are anything but standard fare in the world of metal. They bill themselves as “English Fucking Black Metal”, and never fail to live up to and surpass the standards set out by a country from which emerged so many great bands in the past.

Like many of the better contemporary black metal bands, the Meads occupy the niche of ’experimental’ music. They can play more traditional, ’grim and frostbitten’ black - their 2000 debut The Excommunication of Christ was based largely around this style - but even then it was evident that the Meads were something different. Metatron’s voice is dry and raspy but he doesn’t growl or scream, making for some unique vocals which have been likened to “someone with throat cancer who really would like to sing, but coughs up intestines every time he tries“#. Don’t worry, his voice isn’t as ugly as that might lead you to believe, but it is unique. While The Excommunication… featured the more stripped-down instrumental section of traditional ‘cold‘ black metal, by the following album Exhuming the Grave of Yeshua guitarist and the drummer at the time Jaldaboath had begun flexing his muscles. And lest your preconceptions about black metal get the best of you, know that Metatron and company have produced a techno song - the remake of the demo “Book of Dreams” on Exhuming… - and covered Louis Armstrong’s “Wonderful World” (the latter, of course, with their signature sense of cynical humor).

It is this sense of cynicism, along with a good degree of humor, which pervades this music. For example, a verse from their Armstrong cover states: “I see ethnic cleansing / pain beyond belief / whole nations murdered / sorrow and grief / and I think to myself…”. Their latest EP, In the Name of God Welcome to Planet Genocide, contains songs such as “My Beautiful Genocide” and “A Baptism in the Warm Piss of Slaughtered Children”. They also have a taste for impressively long song titles on their tracks over 10 minutes, naming the last track on 2005’s Damascus Steel “Behold The Kindred Battle Carcasses Strewn Across The Bloodied Dunes Of Gilgamesh Mute In The Frenzied Clamour Of Death's Rolling Tongue And Ravenous Bursting Steel”. Life’s a joke, and it’s deadly serious.

If there is an issue with the Meads, it is their perceived anti-religion and especially anti-Islamic stance. The latter has gained them an unfortunate following among racists, xenophobes, and Muslim haters of all stripes in their native England as well as here. And indeed, a shallow reading of the band’s songs can lead to the conclusion that the Meads do indeed hate Islam. Their split with Mayhem, entitled Jihad, has songs entitled “Jihad - the Gristly Din of Killing Steel” and “Assassins of Allah”. At the beginning of “Behold the Bloodied Dunes…” on Damascus Steel, the muezzin’s call to prayer precedes the crash of thunder. Christianity too comes under fire, as there is a general tendency in their music (especially their earlier work) to criticize the divinity of Jesus as well as the Church of Rome. Yet if one simply examines their website, one will find the motto "The Meads of Asphodel believe in all peoples' right to live in peace, free from the shackles of inflicted dogma and servitude". What the Meads are critiquing, it appears, is not any specific religion so much as fundamentalist interpretations of such which lead to violent conflict and the deaths of innocents.

So, if you can appreciate excellent music and insightful social commentary conveyed through a mushroom-induced haze by men in medieval English armor, this band’s for you!

The secret lives of banks and mortgage companies, pt. 1

The anonymity of banks and servicers in the foreclosure crisis is terrifying, and it allows them to commit a multitude of abuses which go largely unnoticed and unpunished. Working with people facing foreclosure and eviction in Rhode Island, one observes how banks and mortgage companies take full advantage of our Dickensian dearth of laws protecting tenant and homeowners. Here are some of the most flagrant examples - these are real people I have spoken to over the course of my outreach.

Some quick notes: cash for keys is offered by a bank to a tenant as an incentive for the tenant to move without the bank having to go to court to evict that person. An eviction will cost the bank around $2000 per family they throw out of their home, so this is in their interest, and most will lowball tenants as much as possible (you may be offered as little as $500 to move in a very short amount of time). Not all banks offer cash-for-keys.

Banks and lenders are not required to evict tenants or homeowners after foreclosure, but as a rule the overwhelming majority choose to do so. Foreclosed homes sit vacant for months, and are often vandalized (pictures to come soon).

-Yolanda was the last tenant in a three-family apartment building that had been foreclosed by HSBC, a multinational bank. Her landlord ran away with her security deposit, and she was unable to get in touch with him. The bank offered her $500 to move out in 24 hours. She did not accept, as this was totally unreasonable for a mother of three who needed to find another affordable apartment. They then offered $400, then nothing. The bank shut the water off to the house - a "self-help eviction" to force her out which the bank had "looked into" and found to be legal in RI. The servicer - First American REO Servicing based out of Denver, told her that the shutoff wasn't their problem, and that she needed to leave her apartment. Needing to take care of her children and facing an apartment infested with cockroaches, Yolanda moved out. The house, located in a high-foreclosure neighborhood, was vandalized soon after and her belongings there were stolen. When I called First American they said they could only offer $800, but when pressed relented and offered the $1600 Yolanda wanted if she would leave by the end of the month and the apartment was in "broom-swept" condition.

-We spoke to a woman who is living in her third foreclosed apartment in a few block radius. She had moved into the three-family apartment on Sorrento St. only last month, and was in the process of fixing it up when we knocked on her door. All of her landlords have stolen her security deposits, and her most recent landlady took this woman into her house when the landlady was already in default on her mortgage. When we talked to the people in the apartment building, the landlady called her and told her that we were lying about the house being in foreclosure and that she needed to keep paying rent. Tenants do not need to be told about a foreclosure under RI law, allowing landlords to collect rent illegally for months and run away with deposits before the tenants even know what's going on. This woman has three children and one on the way. All three families in this building stand to be evicted and RI does not have "just cause" eviction, meaning that banks and lenders do not have to prove anything to have someone evicted once they own the house. The foreclosing lender is Saxon Mortgage.

-Virgilio is a (former) landlord that we've been speaking with is facing eviction from his home, which was foreclosed by predatory lender American Home Mortgage Services (formerly Option One). At the time that he went into default (stopped paying) on his adjustable-rate mortgage, he was paying around $3000 a month. This is not an uncommon amount, and many long-time homeowners who refinanced with the wrong company during the real estate "boom" have faced similar payments as their interest rates "reset". The lender that exploited Virgilio is now forcing him out of his home. He is on disability and suffers from severe depression; his son is successful in high school basketball but his father has no idea where they'll live. His money depleted by months of unfair loan servicing and a cut in his disability benefits, he cannot afford to rent without Section 8 (subsidized) housing but cannot find any in the state without a long waiting list. He is seeking cash for keys, but the servicer, Westcott Properties, informed me that AHMS rarely offers it and when it does only gives around $500. The woman I spoke to complained about being yelled at by Virgilio and informed me that she had around 100 cases to deal with (they're a local servicer). AHMS/Option One/their parent company H&R Block was recently forced by courts in Massachusetts to give 45 day notice on foreclosures initiated by them so the court may examine whether the loan was predatory. This essentially forces the company to negotiate with the borrower to modify the loan (fix the interest rate, lower the payment plan, etc.). We have no such law to sue with in RI. Virgilio's court date for eviction is December 12th.

more to come...

MOAR music? No wai!

Yes wai. I may be a lazy blogger, but the eventuality of a really awesome post is a good feeling.

Today I bring you an album I have no particular attachment to, but is worth listening to nonetheless.


Infidel - Bloody Horns of Wrath
pass: cirithgorgor

Grim and frostbitten black metal FTW! Infidel is a band from Wrocław, Poland, where they slither amongst the hordes of Pope-hatin', Bible-desecratin' masses of black metal bands in the area. Poland has a great metal scene which extends far beyond Behemoth and its many worshippers, so I'm more inclined to pick up the odd EP from said masses when the opportunity presents itself. I was not disappointed, and neither will you. This is generic BM in all its glory:

Poorly-drawn cover? check
Juvenile attacks on religion? check
Hilarious lyrics? check
A sound that's the aural equivalent of wading through a swamp? check

Reason to listen: there's a song called "Godtormenting Black Metal" - 'nuff said.

Enjoy y'all

Change I don't believe in (and neither does he)

On my way back from a cynical but delicious "election party" the other night, I found myself in traffic backed up by cheering Obamaphiles taking the streets of Providence. I watched in bemused silence as maybe 50 people marched down Thayer cheering "Yes We Can", pondering how the election of some rich warmonger in the pockets of the banks and nuclear industry could get these people to stop traffic on a Tuesday night but actions against the things that really matter are so often watched from afar.

Oh well, I'm sure they'll be out again in 2012, unless the Obamanation happens to visit little old RI before then. Socialists really need to have a skillshare with liberals in the US about how to do the cult of personality right. Where are the giant signs of his face? The pomp and circumstance? At least they got the speaking on cue right during his acceptance speech.

This is the change we should know better than. We're witnessing the birth of another generation of apologists. It's not 100 days anymore, and gone are the grandiose promises of ending the war in Iraq quickly or serious economic relief. The mantra on the parts of the left that should know better seems to be "we need to pressure him to keep his word". Which word is that? Let's recall Obama's own words around the time that criticism from silly liberals who should have known better in the first place was emerging in response to his stances on immunity for telecommunication companies that spied on Americans among other things. Obama stated that "the people who say this haven't apparently been listening to me" and goes on to explain that "You're not going to agree with me on 100 percent of what I think, but don't assume that if I don't agree with you on something that it must be because I'm doing that politically". Well put.

That being said, we are now witnessing the lack of an "exit strategy" by the progressives that threw themselves behind Obama observed in a prescient interview with Naomi Klein. So for example, when Obama appoints a vicious pro-Israel, pro-war brute as his Chief of Staff we witness a spectacular mix of anger, confusion, and most of all silence. This article from Alternet is demonstrative. It spends a good amount of time wringing its hands about how bad Rahm Emanuel is, then closes with a declaration that Obama should know better:

However, this does not necessarily mean that Obama as president will pursue nothing better than a Clintonesque center-right agenda. Someone with Obama's intelligence, knowledge and leadership qualities need not be unduly restricted by the influence of his chief of staff as less able presidents have. At the same time, this shocking appointment of Emanuel is illustrative of the need for the progressive base that brought him to power to not celebrate too long and to refocus our energies into pushing hard to ensure that the change Obama promised is something we really can believe in.

There's something deliciously authoritarian about these sentiments. As if Obama's stances are substantively different from Emanual's, and he's the wise leader who needs to hear from his followers. It seems that, despite Obama being clear about just what kind of change he represented (nominal at best), his supporters are still married to the illusion they created and that the campaign sustained. Indeed, not many people were listening in the first place.

Transformation

This blog...changing...do you see?

We'll be back soon - harder, faster and stronger.

Two Bible Stories for the Price of One

Yes, I know I'm the only one posting right now, but I haven't given up
hope yet. As evidence, I'm posting two albums about going through hard
times but emerging better than before. The alternate theme of this
theme-album post could be two albums I enjoy by bands from a country I
hate (Israel). They're also based on stories from the Bible, so how
about that?

Orphaned Land - Mabool

This isn't a surprise to most people involved in this blog. An album
which re-tells the story of the Great Flood, it's full of proggy
goodness and over-the-top metal stylings which are fun for the whole
family. Kind of long for my taste, and by long I do mean rather
repetitive and a little boring, it's still a very solid showing from
Orphaned Land. The band also tantalizes us with their signature
regional influence, bringing in the saz, bouzouki, and oud, and on top
of that their guitar is fantastic. They're not the be-all-end-all of
"oriental" metal as some may say, but they're a very good example of
what can be done with the genre.

Favorite Tracks: The Kiss of Babylon (The Sins), Norra El Norra
(Entering the Ark)


Enjoy!

Amaseffer - Slaves for Life

Now here's one I doubt any of you have heard. Amaseffer is also from
Israel, and they put out a hell of a metal album. This one's based on
the story of Moses and I would say the stronger of the two. First of
all, while it's longer by about ten minutes it feels much shorter. The
songs are also a little more distinct. On the other hand Slaves for
Life is also an airier album which uses clean vocals and soaring
guitar solos for almost the entire album. I'd consider them Israel's
answer to Symphony X in their general sound as well as song structure.
This is no surprise given the person that produced their album has
helped mix Kamelot and Evergrey among other power and prog metal
bands. Oh yeah, and their lead singer's from Therion.

Favorite tracks: Slaves for Life, Midian


Enjoy!

45 minutes of pure bliss

Well, not exactly, but it's damn close. For your delectation I present to you the album/song Dies Irae.

Devil Doll was an experimental rock band composed of members from Italy and Slovenia during the late 80's. One need only read the Wikipedia entry to understand how weird their history is, and I will not go on at length here. Suffice to say that the history of this band is as over-the-top as the music they produced.

Dies Irae is a hard album to describe. Most of it is Mr. Doctor playing the piano and singing, interspersed with orchestral interludes, violin, and operatic vocals. It uses the Day of Judgment as a metaphor for his descent into madness and regret, or something like that. This is one of my favorite albums ever, and I realized that when I found myself listening to it in its entirety multiple times in one night. I don't even remember how I found these guys, but here you go. If you like it I've got pretty much everything they've released.


Enjoy!

The 7 Samurai: The Ultimate Epic

I want everyone to know that Anarchon brought this on you all by declaring this concept album month. While I'm not sure I can, in good conscience, provide a months worth of concept albums, I can provide one so obscure, so ridiculous, and so pretentious, that it may kill the movement in its tracks; after all, isn't it the point of concept albums to be all of the above, and more so than others? In other words, I dare you to top this:

The 7 Samurai:The Ultimate Epic.

This, for the curious, is actually three prog epics, by three obscure prog bands, each one representing a 3rd of Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece The 7 Samurai. The album is (officially) divided into a ridiculous number of pieces which will now be listed for the humor value, and for entry fluff:

1.)"Alla Corte Degli Eroi (1550, Periodo Sengoku)" - By: CONSORZIO ACQUA POTABILE(aka: Cap)

1. Shimada Kambei
2. Kikuchiyo: Il Volo
3. Crepusculo - Parte Uno
4. Il Vecchio Mulino
5. Katayama Gorobei: Le Sete Spade
6. Fa Che Io Sia: Il Dono

2.) "The Farmers" - By: Tempano

1. Farewell To The Season
2. The Lone Samurai
3. Despair, Shout!
4. The Blind Crow

3.) "The Bandits" - By: Taproban

1. First Ride
2. Eagle's Peak Pyre
3. The Flaming Lady
4. Last Ride

So there it is. A huge, absurd prog epic, concept compilation album. To further drag this into absurdity I'll just point out that the bands are Italian (Cap, Taproban) and Venezuelan (Tempano).

As for the music itself, I'll say that at first I found it unremarkable, but after a couple listens I decided it was remarkable in that it is probably the purest contemporary example of 70's prog music. None of the three really stand out as better than the others in my opinion, but that said I'll list my highlights in this order:

3.) "Alla Corte Degli Eroi (1550, Periodo Sengoku)"
2.) "The Bandits"
1.) "The Farmers"

That is based on very little. As you may have noticed I don't have a whole lot of substance to say about this album, that is beacuase (while I do honestly enjoy it) I wasn't planning on posting it here. This is merely to one up the Anarchon. So then my friend, and anyone else brave enough to challenge me here: Bring it on.

Diabolical Masquerade – Death's Design

It looks like July's going to be concept album month for me. Diabolical Masquerade was a project created by Blakkheim (Anders Nyström) of the doomy Katatonia after he left that band to pursue a rawer, more aggressive sound. Its sound ranges from proggy avant-garde material to more raw, distorted metal and everything in between. The band is kind of a legend, and in their short career Blakkheim put out four fantastic albums. Death's Design, his last effort, is often referred to as his magnum opus and, besides being an amazing album also serves as a sampler for the different sounds he experiments with.

As a concept, the Blakkheim created a resilient rumor that it was the soundtrack for a horror movie that was never made. The album structure certainly lends credence to this, dividing the music up into 61 tracks and 20 "movements" each with a different sound and theme. It's very hard to describe this album and do it full justice, so you'll just have to listen to it. It goes a lot of places, all of them good.

Favorite tracks: the 5th and 8th movements are both amazing, but then again, so's the whole album.



Enjoy!

just a note

I was talking to Will the other day, and figured I'd throw up a suggestion that people be free to post on whichever day they wish. Or at least, if you don't post on the day I arbitrarily chose at the beginning of this venture you shouldn't feel obligated to wait until next week.

Ulver - Shadows of the Sun

Apologies for the rushed post...

This is the newest album from perhaps my favorite band in recent memory, Ulver. They currently are completely dominating my last.fm page, not that that should be any real recommendation to most...

Ulver is an interesting band to try and understand. There is such a thing as spicing up your music from album to album, and such a thing as experimenting with new sounds, but Ulver will shit all over your expectations of band continuity. Thus, if you really enjoy this album, I would almost recommend not listening to any of their earlier stuff, because you'll just be confused.

This album is a fairly simple, ambient-ish affair with Garm (the vocalist, aka: Trickster G., aka: Fiery G. Maelstrom, aka: Kristoffer Rygg) really pulling out some of the most expressive vocals in their catalog. The songs on this one are relatively short, and stay just long enough to do what they come to do; you won't ever feel like any of the tracks of overstayed their welcome like you do with many ambient albums. There is also a great deal, in my opinion, to be said for the lyrical content of the songs. They're simple, but poetically potent.

The band's own press release for this album is pretty amusing and adds the oddity that is Ulver:
"Many of you have been waiting for sound, and we are sorry for the silence. We needed to be alone, without the hustle and bustle of the living. We are uncomfortable with the world, the industry and our place. We have been working, sluggishly, well aware we could end up with nothing. Nonetheless we believe we have succeeded in giving our fears some kind of form. SHADOWS OF THE SUN, our 7th full-length album, is finished and will be released October 1st. We feel it is our most personal record to date. Low-key, dark, and tragic. As we are."

Highlights:
3.) Eos
2.) Like Music
1.) All the Love
(PS: "Solitude" is, indeed, a Sabbath cover)

Finally, rather than leave you with a picture of the album cover (which is kind of boring, sunset through ox horns, blah blah blah), I'll leave you with a picture of Garm, because, seriously, look at him.


Here's the link, and a final quote from the band:

"As you all know, by now we are filthy rich and expanding the business. Just look at this stunning new artifact" - right before a picture of the new limited edition run of 200, $89, Ulver cologne.

Romanian Black Metal

Between the vampires and the castles in which they dwell, Romania
seems like a pretty metal place. That being said I have heard only one
band from that country, but it's a good one. Negură Bunget is an
"atmospheric" black metal band from Timişoara that produces excellent
music. To quote the description on last.fm, they "combine Romanian
history and folklore into a mystical sonic adventure, quite literally
inspired by their homeland of Transylvania". If the term 'mystical
sonic adventure' strikes you as pretentious, consider the drummer's
description of the band's name:

Negură Bunget is a black fog coming from a deep dark dense forest.
The name tries to picture somehow the kind of atmosphere, both
musical and spiritual we'd want to create through our music. It has
also an esoteric nature, standing for the inexpressible parts of our
ideology. The two words are also from the Tracic substrate of the
Romanian language (the oldest one, containing about 90 words) as the
interest for our local history and spirituality is something of
crucial importance and meanings for us as a band

Despite (or perhaps because of) the band taking itself so seriously it
manages to produce a unique blend of black metal, traditional
instruments, and experimental atmospheric elements. This is best
displayed on Om, their fourth full-length release. This is not an album I listen to often but rather a favorite that I drag into my playlist once in a while when I wish to enjoy a great piece of music
in its entirety. The album is a rich tapestry of sounds - the band makes much use of keyboards to provide an ambiance which suits the guitar, drums and traditional instruments well. Each track bleeds into the next as we are transported into a higher realm. I highly recommend listening to this album through in one sitting in order to experience it to its fullest.

Highlight tracks: it's all great, but Țesarul de Lumini (track 2) might be my favorite.

Enjoy!



Download

Dredg - Leitmotif (1999)

Now, posting this album isn't exactly telling you guys anything new. After all, I've been plugging it for years. Dredg's Leitmotif was one of my favorite albums from high school, but the summer before college my copy was essentially destroyed. Somehow I kept mentioning that I thought it was a great album, but didn't actually download it again until about three weeks ago. Now I finally get to say "Here, give it a listen."

And how does the album fare to my ear after four years of not hearing it? I still think it's great, and a very refreshing listen. The album is generally considered to be progressive alternative, a fitting label. The instrumentation is very simple--one of the things I really enjoy about the album. Any of these songs would be easy to learn and preform, and most of them stick to generic rock instruments. Yet, the sometimes Eastern or jazz-influenced music is engaging, catchy, and dynamic.

You might be wondering, then, where the prog comes it. For starters, it's as pretentious a concept album one can find. It is based on a story written by the bassist Drew Roulette in which a man with a spiritual disease looks at different cultures around the world in search of a cure. The story is included with the album, but it would probably not be too difficult to find it online. As well, the verse chorus verse style is not used through most of the album. I still can't even distinguish one song from the next without really paying attention. The album seems to flow from song to song, occasionally coming to riffs that remind you of earlier songs--the name leitmotif is almost fitting in that sense.

Occasionally we see other instruments making their way in, including a cello, synthesizer, and theremin. Sadly, this album doesn't feature some of the variety of instruments found on their next album.

The sound of this album would be completely lost to the band with their second album El Cielo. Leitmotif is often a legitimately hard music style driven by the drums and distorted guitar. Occasionally we even get vocals that aren't clean to contrast the usually melancholy nature of Gavin Hayes' voice. By the next album and onwards Dredg would become a lot softer and after El Cielo a lot more suck.

I tend to see this album as one big song, so it would be hard to write about individual tracts. The first track (usually called “Symbol Song” or “Movement I”), “Lechium,” “Movement III: Lyndon,” and “Penguins in the Desert” contain my favorite moments.

Find the album here.

Nujabes - Metaphorical Music, and a special surprise for Tasty

I'd like to preface this album by acknowledging just how out of character and odd this is for me to like, but anyone glancing at my last.fm page for last week will clearly see how much I've been loving this album.

Nujabes is a Japanese, hip-hop, remix dj...guy. I'm not really very familiar with what you would call this kind of music, all I know is that a.) he mixes a lot of samples from various things into some pretty sweet tracks, and b.) he has rappers guest vocal-ing on a lot of tracks. The samples he uses are fairly diverse in that he doesn't, as far as I know, really use any pop music tracks from Japan or otherwise. He mostly focuses on Jazz for his samples which results in some surprisingly complex, yet insanely relaxing, mellow beats that you can also get some embarrassing private dancing on to. He even uses Tasty's favorite track from Yusef Lateef! (You remember, doo-do-dooo-doo-do-doo...)

The long and short of this is that I feel I should have hated this album on principle, and I'm almost sure that Tasty will abhor it in all respects, but I, in fact, love the end result of these tracks. Some of the lyrics are actually very fitting and enjoyable as vocal pieces, and for once I think I've actually begun to appreciate the rhyming and rhythm skills of good rappers; even if I still take exception to some of the lyrics (not that this is at all different from listening to most metal in that regard...).

Anyway, highlights for me:
3.) Think Different - My favorite lyrics of all the tracks, starting out with "...You fuck little girls, I make love to women...". I also really enjoy the the all the piano samples and whatnot.
2.) Lady Brown - I really dig the feel of this song, all the elements are superbly chosen, and it all feels strangely delicate, and beautiful. It's also a love song in which he praises the woman by saying things like "you look edible," "god's gift to man is you in a see-through," and "shes a compilation of my mind's representation of a representative representing an excellent revelation." That last one really blows my mind.
1.) The Final View - I tried not to, but I can't not put up the track with samples from my favorite Jazz artist, Yusef Lateef. The original is amazing, and this remix keeps it pure, but manages to bring a new angle to it. I know for me it just allowed me to enjoy this song all over again.
(Honorable Mention: F.I.L.O - because it has the most cliche dj record scratching, and features a Japanese rapper attempting to rap in English, and ending up sounding like that terrible Jimmy character from South Park.)

Enjoy!

Ok, now that that is out of the way, let's calm down Tasty with nice, cool, relaxing splash of Popul Vuh. I'm not sure if Tasty has this already, but I think its a genuinely good album, and don't mind sharing it with everyone at all, I just didn't want to dedicate a whole post to it because I didn't feel like doing any research on it. All I know is that this is the band that did the sound tracks for a number of Werner Herzog fills including Nosferatu, and Aguirre, and that this is their 3rd studio album. I hope Tasty accepts my apology for the first album in this. This album is called Hosianna Mantra by the way. I believe they are considered krautrock, though for the sake of cross-over appeal I will describe them as proto-post-rock. This album is also extremely relaxing and, and significantly more "beautiful" than the first album in this post. It has a very ambient feel to it, which I suppose you would expect from a band most well known for sound tracks in Herzog movies. The title track is without a doubt the best song on the album (a quarter of them are under a minute long and mostly skip-able and substanceless), though I also enjoyed Segnung for the almost crystalline vocals.

Now for something...

Hey everyone,

I said I'd be posting something different this week, and here it is.
Desaparecidos was a short-lived punk band started as a side-project by
Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes. As opposed to the personal nature which
colors much of Oberst's other work, Desaparecidos contains a more
traditional punk critique of capitalism and consumer culture. The
sound of their single full-length release, Read Music/Speak Spanish,
is raw and aggressive and contrasts with the folkish and more
experimental sounds of Bright Eyes.

This is an album that sat around in my music collection for a while
after I downloaded the bulk of Conor's music. Once I listened to it,
though, I was extremely impressed and it worked its way into my
regular rotation. I especially enjoy the fact that in the wake of so
much self-censorship among artists in the immediate aftermath of 9/11
they released something so critical of the United States. The lyrics
are well-crafted, as is evident in songs such as "The Happiest Place
on Earth":

Our freedom comes at their expense
It makes sense, does it? Dollars and cents
They're stretching barbed wire across the picket fence
That is surrounding your housing development
Just in case you lack the confidence
Oh God my God give strength to thee
These amber waves purple majesty
Are nothing but backdrops for Disney

Nothing like some middle-class angst to get the day started. While I
love Bright Eyes, this is a refreshing change in sound. Unfortunately
Desaparecidos appears to have been a one-time project and we will
probably not see anything more from them. Enjoy this one, though.

Especially good tracks: The Happiest Place on Earth; Man And Wife, The
Former (Financial Planning)


Download here!

Enjoy!

Matt's first thing!

Ready!? Ok! Since I've started work - since I've been home at all actually - I haven't had loads of time to get new music (although the new Weezer album was way disappointing...) I've mostly been listening to the same handful of albums I've been playing around you fellows for the last several years, which doesn'y sound all that exciting to write about.

What I have been doing a lot of is going through old shit in my house to try and get rid of stuff I don't need anymore, or never bought, or stole from other people at some point I can no longer remember. What this means is I've recently stumbled upon a cache of old children's cassette tapes from about a hundred years ago when I was very small. A few of the highlights include 1982's Sesame Street Days and Seasons, which originally accompanied a viewmaster disc that has sadly disappeared, as well as book-on-tape versions of such disney classics as Pinocchio, The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and Dumbo - with racist crows intact. There's also a tape full of sing-along songs about dinosaurs, which I'll prolly throw on here at some point, with titles like "Comparison of Size," "Compsognathus," and "The Dinosaur Party." So basically I have the coolest audio cassette collection on the planet, if I don't include the Lovin Spoonful Greatest Hits tape.

I've chosen two stories to share with you today. The first is a Sesame Street book-on-tape titled "Bert and the Missing Mop Mix-Up," from 1986. Written by Sarah Roberts, who also penned "Don't Cry, Big Bird," this story chronicles the time that Bert spilled some milk and needed a mop. Truly epic. The "turn the page" sound on this tape, combined with the background music, makes this a story that I'm sure you will end up listening to over and over again. They don't make albums like this anymore...

The second tape I've recorded to share with you is a story from 1985 called "Where's the Bear?" featuring the Muppet Babies. This is one of my personal favorites, especially because the narrator seems so non-threatening, in marked contrast with the Sesame Street narrator... Baby Rowlf's piano plays when you need to turn to the next page, so pay close attention. This tale is about Fozzie losing his teddy bear and the ensuing search. I was in tears for most of it. One weird thing about this is that each of the muppets is referred to as "Baby ____" rather than just using their name, which seems odd to me. I may start calling myself "Adult Matt."

With both of these, you'll need to understand that the source tapes are at least as old if not older than I am, and have seen considerable use. I also had to record them from a barely functioning tape deck using a line-in and an mp3 recorder on my laptop. That said, I think you'll really appreciate the warmth that comes through in the original analog format, and the voice acting is truly top-notch. Enjoy! Sorry about the filesize - it kept converting to 96khz and the quality suffered horribly, so they're big.

Tracks are here!

This would have been up like 8 hours sooner, but my connection doesn't mega-love megaupload.

The Very Best of Nina Simone (2006)

Not doing anything too out of the ordinary for my first post here. I was inspired by my housemates' declarations that they have 'no idea who Nina Simone is' to post one of her albums. I've always had somewhat of a distaste for greatest hits albums, but sadly I'm not that familiar with her very large discography and was not able to find an album I like quite as much as the 2006 release “The Very Best of Nina Simone.” Rest assured, most of her studio albums are just as eclectic as this collection. Because I'm posting her greatest hits, I'm largely going to talk about her career in general.

Nina Simone was a classically trained pianist (she studied at Julliard), singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist. She had a very low voice for a woman and wins one over easily with a voice that conveys emotions and energy so well. She has easily become one of my favorite female singers of all time. Simone is most often labeled as a jazz or soul artist, but is more easily seen as a singer who dabbled in whatever she damn well felt like, often crossing into R&B, pop, gospel, or folk. Every once in a while you might hear a glimpse of baroque counterpoint work its way into her jazz piano playing, and it's oh-so awesome. She released a whopping thirty-eight albums, along with six greatest hit albums.

Simone is well known for her live performances. Part of this is due to the large number of different music styles she would juxtapose with one another, even sometimes performing classical piano pieces. She would incorporate acting, dancing, or her activism in her performances, seeming to move from one to another on a whim. Sometimes this would mean stopping a song midway if she felt that she had something to say. Sadly, most of the videos I've been able to find online are a little light on these sorts of antics, but you still easily get a feel for her stage presence and attitude. I did find an impressive clip where she instructs her band to continue playing the verse riff while she goes off improvising lyrics for a few moments.

An awful lot of the songs on this album, you will notice, are covers. Many of them are from Broadway musicals and one is even from an Opera, although you would never know it by hearing them. More recognizable covers would include songs by Jay Hawkins', Bob Dylan (“The Times They Are A-Changin'”), and the Beatles (“Here Comes The Sun”). She had a core collection of covers she would often play on stage, and her emotional performances make them very much her own.

Simone was known to struggle with bipolar disorder, which wasn't well understood in her younger years. She passed away in 2003.

Notable Tracks:

1) “Feeling Good” A song from the 1965 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint—the Smell of the Crowd. My favorite song on the album and also one of the most energetic. Like many of her recordings that I enjoy the most it is a slow crescendo to an explosive ending. The song ends as lyrics become lost in scat-singing before the last time she makes the uplifting declaration “I'm feelin' good.”

2) “Ain't Got No/I Got Life” A medley, arranged by Simone, of two songs from the musical Hair. It's hard not to look at the song as commentary on what it was like being a black woman born in the 1930s; Simone makes it seem that way, though I know nothing about the musical it came from. Nevertheless, the song is inspirational in its assertion of strength and hope despite oppression and hardship.

3) “I Put a Spell on You” Screamin' Jay Hawkins' famous song that has been covered a thousand times. If only the original Hawkins version and Simone's cover survived some disaster it would be fine with me. The song was part of her repertoire to such a degree that she named her autobiography after it. I not only urge everyone to listen to this version, but also the original if they've missed it all these years. The 1957 original might be the first popular song that can be called 'hard.' Very rock and roll.

4) “I Think It's Gonna Rain Today” I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure this was written by Randy Newman. It's another song featuring a slow crescendo throughout. I like this song for the grittiness of its climax, where Simone is unafraid to loudly hold a long overly-flat note.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9QOTNIAL

(I didn't check the DL myself, since I just found it rather than uploading it myself. Hopefully it's correctly labeled.)

Už Jsme Doma - Rybí Tuk

Alright, continuing in my “Bands related to Sleepytime Gorilla Museum” vein, I bring you Už Jsme Doma. This is a Czech band formed in 1985, and in case you're wondering what the connection here to SGM is, Dan Rathbun (the bassist) produced this album, Rybí Tuk (or in English, "Cod liver Oil")

I'm going to go ahead and call this album... avant-post-punk. Feel free to call bullshit on that, it doesn't matter, those labels are practically meaningless anyway. That said, I still think I'm essentially right on that. These songs are, generally, very energetic and upbeat while still managing to sound dark and angry in places. The drums sound very punk-ish to me, but they do play around a lot with odd off beat stuff that I think adds some pretty cool layers to the music; often kind of pulling you a weird direction you didn't realize the song was going in.

As a quick disclaimer to Tastiestofsatans, who I'm sure has started loosing interest after the mention of punk: get ready to loose more interest. UJD has a fairly prominent saxophone player, and his high-energy playing style combined with the guitar style on a number of tracks sometimes makes me want to make up more categories to append to the original three, something like... avant-post-ska-tinged-punk. That said, Matt might actually be able to listen to this one.

I think the energy of this band is highly infectious and I've more than once found myself “rocking out” to it and awkwardly singing along to the Czech lyrics (Note: I don't speak Czech). Also, speaking of the lyrics, the vocalist, Miroslav Wanek, is apparently a very well respected Czech poet. The lyrics are supposed to be amazing, though they seem to loose something in the translation:

My face flows down from my facial features
To the pillow
A slop of uncertainty
Salty human ink-pot

The face discharged into palms
Is sticking on pads of fingers
It fears
That being exposed to light
It will completely flake off

Ok, I actually think they're pretty cool in English too, but the internet assures me that they're much more impressive in the original Czech. Indeed, they certainly sound much better when sung than I can imagine those English lyrics being.

Highlights:

3.)Tíha - this one starts out with that ska-style that I'm pretty sure Keith won't enjoy, but I think the song is awesome. Wanek's vocals are pretty stellar, and there is some pretty neat prog-noodling-ish guitar in places, coupled with subtle choir parts in the background and some really mournful violin bits, ending with some major epic-victory-climax.Love this shit.

2.)Mlha - this was actually the first song by UJD that caught me ear. I think the vocals shine probably the best on this track. The almost toy piano along with the virtually spoken-word beginning both don't prepare you for, and perfectly lead up to the energetic and forceful finish. The same piano is carried through the song in the background making it really feel like one cohesive whole, while the vocals go from sort of melancholy to angry and powerful. The finish is splendid.

3.)Hodiny - I love the use of the violin in this song. It has an almost...I want to say Celtic meets Southern-fiddling, but I'm really at a loss as to how to describe it (I know it reminds me of something though). The vocals for this are interesting, I think they're both the most traditionally punky in places, and the most potent, almost operatic in others. The violin balances the crazy avant-punk seemingly directionless bursts of crazy and keep it all from being totally disjointed from the vocals. A supremely well balanced song.

Anyway, following the trend of the last two posts: honestly, I think you'll hate this (Keith). However, I think this is probably my single favorite album discovery of the past 2 months, and I've been listening the shit out of it.

Enjoy! (Click here)

So I had a dilemma when considering what to post in this blog: do I
make a point to post accessible music or not? As much as I would love
to post an album that everyone downloads and loves (and there will be
those, hopefully), in the interest of full disclosure I will be making
balls-out, uncompromising posts. To kick this off, here's something
that no-one will enjoy.

Today I present to you Skinless, a brutal death metal band out of
Glens Falls, NY. Death metal is (generally speaking) ugly music, and
"brutal" death metal takes the genre's misanthropic lyrical themes and
technical, driving sound to an extreme. Guttural vocals, blast beats,
and tremolo picking are all distinguishing sound of brutal death
metal. All of this can be found on Skinless's fourth full-length
release, Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead. While their sound
is fairly standard in many ways, there are a number of things about
this album that make it worth your attention. First, while brutal
death metal is notorious for lyrical themes centered around sexual
violence and gore, Skinless falls among the small but sizable number
of bands which use the genre for political commentary. From its title
to song names like "A Unilateral Disgust" and "Deviation Will Not Be
Tolerated", Trample the Weak... demonstrates a critical stance
on society. However, similar to many of their fellow artists, their
views appear to be grounded in nihilism and disgust with humanity -
essentially, war and destruction are disgusting but logical outcomes
of the human condition which will eventually and hopefully destroy us
all.

Another notable characteristic of this album is how high-energy it is.
"Overlord" begins the album with an effective use of sampling which
leads into an excellent and heavily guitar riff. The guitar,
vocals,and drums drive this album, which unfortunately leaves the base
buried and barely audible. Skinless will be playing the New England
Death Metal Fest in August, and if their live act is anything like
their recorded stuff it's going to be a very rowdy show.

What makes this album stand out to me? I'd never listened to Skinless
before, and upon downloading them enjoyed the sound and progression of
the album. It's fairly short, so if you do check it out it's only a
little over half an hour in its entirety. It's a fun album and
entertaining if you don't take it seriously or expect too much from
it.

Outstanding tracks: Overlord, A Unilateral Disgust, Trample the Weak,
Hurdle the Dead


Enjoy!

Next time: something very different

An Introduction to Traffic

Greetings. I've given it some thought, and it seems likely that my contributions to this blog will lean toward the lighter and more mainstream, as I've been discussing the other stuff with you guys for four years. Harsh weirdness will get in there, too, but overall I see a classic-rock-over-prog tone emerging. I also plan on saving everyone's time and cutting right to the chase with song/selection of songs posts over albums (but again, they'll get in there, as well). Tonight's post is one of those song packages.

Anyway, Traffic is one of my all-time favorite bands. Easy Top Ten inclusion. I consider them to be prog, thanks to their preference for keyboards and brass over guitars, eclectic discography, and occasional resemblance to Jethro Tull, but they've also had some radio hits. When it appeared in 1967, the band was led by Steve Winwood, fresh off his success with "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man" as the singer for The Spencer Davis Group, and Dave Mason, who had some solo success of his own but is perhaps most famous as the guy who played acoustic guitar on Hendrix's cover of "All along the Watchtower." Mason would leave acrimoniously, the band would split in 1969 and Winwood would join Blind Faith, the members (minus Mason) would get back together in 1970 to help Winwood record his solo debut, and Traffic would be reborn as a result of those sessions. Their last legitimate success was in 1971, though a few more albums did appear.

The real draw for me here is Winwood's voice. Phenomenal white soul singer. In fact, one thing I really like about Unfair Verona is that Taylor reminds me of Winwood. Steve sings these songs, unless otherwise noted.

"Empty Pages" ... Would have loved to put this on my CD for Chris. My favorite Traffic song and one of my all-time favorite songs by anyone. A wistful expression of the laid-back grandeur of love. From John Barleycorn Must Die, 1970.

"Feelin' Alright?" ... You've probably heard this in movie trailers and allergy medication commercials, where they completely miss the point that it's a caustic put-down song, or from Joe Cocker, who ruined it with Charlie Brown piano. Sung by Dave Mason. From Traffic, 1968.

"Forty Thousand Headmen" ... Makes sense. From Traffic, 1968.

"John Barleycorn" ... Winwood wrings gut-wrenching pathos out of this centuries-old allegorical song about fermentation. Jethro Tull does a version live, wherein they steal Traffic's arrangement but punch it up with electric guitar and percussion. This might be the place to start, as it brings to mind The Moody Blues or Tull. From John Barleycorn Must Die, 1970.

"Light up or Leave Me Alone" ... The weakest song here, but I still like it. Included for the misogyny. Sung by drummer Jim Capaldi, who became Winwood's creative partner in the post-Mason years. From The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, 1971.

"No Time to Live" ... The darkest song here, so I would think that this crowd might want to start with it. Doesn't show up on compilations like the others, but I absolutely love it. From Traffic, 1968.

"Rock & Roll Stew (Parts 1 & 2)" ... Extended, special-edition version of a song first released on The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. Sung by Jim Capaldi.

"The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" ... Another Traffic track that I consider among the best songs I've heard by anyone. From The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, 1971.


Honestly, I think you'll hate this stuff. But it's what I'm listening to.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MHD9PLXY



Finally, it wouldn't be catching up with Tastiestofsatans without objectification. Still, I believe this blog should be kept as classy as possible, so I'll leave you fine people with a tasteful shot of the beautiful Rose Byrne.

Faun Fables - Family Album

Alright, I'll start things off with a selection from my new collection: "Band's Somehow Connected with Sleepytime Gorilla Museum." The band is Faun Fables and the album is "Family Album."

Faun Fables is headed by Dawn McCarthy, a performance artist/vocalist. The album is intended to be performed in order with an accompanying stage show that I can only imagine is pretty intense and odd. "Family Album" is her first album collaborating with Nils Frykdahl of SGM fame. That said, this is a folk album. Well, nominally a folk album, it's pretty eclectic, but for people who have a deep seated aversion to folky anything, this might not be the best choice.

The album starts out slower, and you won't really notice the SGM connection right away unless you're looking for it. Track 1, "Eyes of a Bird" is an expressive song that really pulls you into the album. "A Mother and a Piano" is about the baseline for the album in my opinion, but by the 4th track, "Lucy Belle", when Nils really joins in you can tell that they aren't pulling punches, and it is good. The rest of the album follows this kind of pattern of revving up and then calming down, only to explode again. It should be noted though that the bombastics may not be as objectively bombastic as one might expect from Nils, but in the context of the album they carry a lot of weight.

The album plays around with, and integrates well, all sorts of surprising instruments and styles: an almost cliche sounding African-American church sermon-like electric organ bit on "Higher", to yodeling on "Mouse Song." They don't really run short of weirdness, but it all holds together amazingly well, and makes for a great album when taken as a whole. My only complaint is that the last song is pretty weak, but the album still holds up very well.

Highlights:
3.) "Eyes of a Bird" - an all around good song.
2.) "Eternal" - an energetic, driving song that I won't deny doing some foot tapping and fake instrument playing to, plus I really enjoy the weird guitar effect that goes on in the background the whole time.
1.) "Carousel With Madonnas" - my favorite song on the album. Feel free to tell me if you don't hear it but I get definite waves of Jefferson Airplane and some Heart in here. Also, they definitely break out some serious Ian Anderson flute action on this track.

Enjoy!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VZN6PHWQ