This I Believe

For what may very well be my final post, I am using my This I Believe paper, which is also music oriented. Enjoy...

I Believe in Music

How many people do you know that when you asked them what kind of music they liked, they reply, “I don’t like music.”? My guess is that you haven’t known or even met anyone who would say that. Everyone likes music, some more than others, and everyone has a different taste in what they like. Music is one of the only things that almost everyone in the world has in common.

Through my music, I’ve learned so many things that you wouldn’t normally associate with music. One of the bigger personal problems that I have is that I bottle up all of my emotions, and when I was younger it would explode, sometimes violently. Ever since I first picked up the guitar, I’ve had a place that I feel is safe to let out all of my emotions, both good and bad. While playing the guitar, it would feel so good to let out all of my pent up emotions that I have been very slowly learning to be more open with people.

As lame as it sounds, my guitar has been one of my best and most loyal friends over the years. Since I started playing about 6 years ago, I’ve moved three times, one of the times was to a different country, graduated high school and been in at least a dozen different incarnations of bands. Through all that, I’ve had my guitar, and it’s never let me down.

Music can also take us to a specific time and place. A lot of couples have a specific song that they almost use as a theme, and whenever one hears it, they think of the other. Whenever I hear “Hotel California” by The Eagles, I think of my childhood when my mom would play it to put me to sleep.

There was one time that I have seriously considered giving up the guitar completely. Things like “this is a waste of time” and “you’ll never be that good” were ringing through my head. I was feeling beat because I felt like I wasn’t getting any better, and even if I did, what would it be for? A few days into my contemplations of giving up the guitar, I came across a very old recording on our computer from when I was 14. It was a recording of all the songs that I loved to play when I was 14. I decided to take a listen just out of curiosity. It was awful. I didn’t even finish listening to the whole thing. After that, I felt amazing. I could easily hear how much I had improved. I learned that even though sometimes things feel pointless and you feel like you aren’t getting any better, a lot of the time you are getting better. I also learned something on the other side of the spectrum. When I was fourteen, I really thought that I was “the cat’s pajamas” when it came to the guitar, when in reality, I wasn’t really that awesome. For a fourteen year old, I was decent, but definitely not a child prodigy.

I’ve learned so much through music, and I still feel like I still have so much more to learn from it. To quote Victor Hugo: “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.”

Kyuss

My never ending quest for new music continues...


One of my favorite bands is Queens of the Stone Age. Recently, I heard that they were an offshoot of a lesser known band from the early 90's called "Kyuss." As I often do with bands, I did plenty of research about them. They have quite a strong cult following and most people who know who they are surprised that they weren't more popular. After hearing a lot of buzz about them, I started to look around for some of their albums at libraries and music stores. I have yet to find a real copy of some of their work, that is how unknown they are. I then returned to the 21st century and just logged on to iTunes and bought their greatest hits album and burned it onto a CD. If you don't already know, I do 90% of all my music listening in the car, and I only have a CD player.

One of the interesting things about their sound is how heavy it is without it being metal. One of the main reasons for that is how the guitarist tunes his guitar. Normally, the top string on a guitar is an E. He tunes it down to a C, and the rest of the string accordingly. First of all, that gives the strings more slack giving it a more loose sound, and it also makes the lowest note he can play 5 steps lower.

I actually heard Kyuss before I thought I had. On a video game that I was playing (Need for speed) one of the in-game tracks intrigued me, I hadn't heard anything quite like that before. It was really heavy sounding, but it definitely wasn't metal. Unfortunately, the name of the song wasn't listed so I just assumed that it was just a really good song that happened to be pre-made for a video game. Later, when I bought Kyuss's greatest hits album, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that song, which is entitled "Hurricane."

Kyuss's focus is more on the musical portion than the lyrical and vocal parts of a song. A good portion of their songs are instrumental, and the vocals are sparse on the tracks that do feature singing. The vocals are almost like another instrument in the mix with Kyuss. I've heard their vocals described as "paint-stripping," much like the rest of their music.

I should also add that I've heard that their greatest hits is actually missing a lot of their better songs, and that you would be better off picking up their albums "Blues for the Red Sun" or "Sky Valley." When I have the extra cash, I will definitely pick one, if not both of these albums.

Overall, If you are looking for something different, I would recommend checking out Kyuss. They aren't the greatest thing I've ever heard, but their definitely a long shot from the worst, and worth checking out.

Tracks to check out:
-Hurricane
-50 million year trip
-Un Sandpiper

The Shackeltons

(Listen here: http://www.myspace.com/theshackeltons)

If you've read some of my earlier posts, you already know that I sometimes go to the library and grab whatever looks even moderately interesting and get it. This has exposed me to a lot of bands and albums that I probably wouldn't have heard otherwise. My most recent find is a lesser-known indie band called "The Shackeltons."

When I listen to these guys, I hear a lot of different bands. I hear a lot of My Chemical Romance, but with hints of Interpol, a little 80's new wave/punk and even a bit of The Doors. This combination of sounds produces something really unique sounding, which is hard to find these days.

I'm not really one to listen to indie music, but I really like these guys. That's why I like going to the library so much, because I have no preconcieved notions of what the band will sound like, I just hear the music and decide whether or not I like it. I would have never heard LCD Soundsystem if it weren't for the library, they are completely outside of my regular listening pool.

Normally, I'm not one to listen to lyrics, but I really enjoy a lot of their lyrics. It's lines like "I'd rather see your soft heart than your soft skin" that really draw me into the song. The way the lead singer sings the songs and writes his lyrics reminds a lot of The Doors. Jim Morrison was actually a poet with no musical background before he joined The Doors, and it really shows in how he performs. The similarities in their style makes me wonder if the lead singer of The Shackeltons has taken a similar approach to writing music.

From what I have read about them, their lead singer (Mark Redding) gets pretty manic on stage, often running into his fellow band-mates. Apparently, after one of their early gigs Mark had a bit of his scalp missing from a run-in with a ceiling fan.

Right now, they are still a new band, and only have the one album out, but it looks as though they will release another soon.

So far, I've really enjoyed listening to these guys and I hope that I'll get some more good stuff out of the pile of CD's I got from the library.

My Band

As a little bit of a side note, i'm going to post the link to my bands page for a little bit of free publicity. Keep in mind when you listen to it that it's all self produced, so it's not a professional recording by any means. I'm really interested to find out what you really think, so be honest with me.

http://www.purevolume.com/thisibelieve

Them Crooked Vultures

What do you get when you take a little Nirvana, add a cup of Queens of the Stone Age and a whole lotta Zeppelin? You get Them Crooked Vultures, the latest supergroup. Them Crooked Vultures is composed of Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal on vocals and guitar, Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters on Drums and John Paul Jones of Led Zepellin on Bass. I was literally bouncing in my chair when I first read about this. Seriously. Those are 3 of my favorite bands of all time and they just had a child together.

Supergroups often make me nervous because they don't always turn out as good as the original bands the people were a member of. Just because all of the members of a band are good, doesn't mean that they can effectivly mesh together as a group. Despite that, I was exstatic when I first heard about this. This is probably one of the best, and more unlikely combinations that I could even think of, let alone actually exist.

One of the things that you might be thinking is "how did this even come to be?" Dave Grohl drummed on the Queens of the Stone Age album "Songs for the Deaf." Also, John Paul Jones (JPJ) played bass with the Foo Fighters at one of their concerts at Wembly stadium, since then JPJ and Grohl have been good friends. They decided to put something together, and Josh Homme's name came up and he accepted the gig.

I would of course, reccomend listening to the whole album, but I'm just going to hilite some of my favorite tracks.

My favorite song on the album is Elephant. I really like the intro of the song, it gets me so pumped up. Even though you can easily hear the influences from all of their bands, the band still has it's own "brand" and this song really shows it. I also like how many different riffs and styles there are in the song, and how it still flows together very well. I almost hear some punk influences in the intro with how fast it is. Overall, it's an awesome song.

Another awesome song is "New Fang" which is the first single off the album. It has a sort of shuffle feel to it that drives the song.

Overall, I really enjoy this band and I look forward to their next album (which they have already started!).

My rant.

Every so often, a new way to listen to recorded music comes about. First it was vinyl, then it was cassettes, and on it goes. But recently, the way people have been getting music is by downloading it for free on the internet. For the most part this really bothers me, but i'm sort of on the fence when it comes to this issue. I'm going to present a couple of the different ways that I think about this issue.

First of all, writing and recording music is a very long and painful process, and you really put yourself into the music you are making. It's every serious musicians dream to be able to make a living off of their music, and when you steal it, you are essentially denying them that dream. Just think about what it would be like if spent days and days working on something, only to discover that someone else was giving away your hard work for free.

But on the other hand, some bands choose to give away their music for free. I can't think of any specific bands right now, but I do remember hearing that a well known band was going to be having their newest album available to download for free. This brings up another point in the argument.

Music is by far the highest paying of the fine arts. Everyone can name at least one famous modern musician who is filthy rich, but I'm willing to bet that the amount of famous painters, or dancers who we can easily name that are filthy rich is a lot less.

The other fact you have to consider is that a good percentage of the money that you would be spending on music is going to be going to a record label. A lot of people justify downloading free music by saying stuff like "the artist isn't going to be getting most of my money, so why should I give it to some greedy record label?" For a good portion of musicians, that is the case, but you have to factor in the smaller record labels that are more about music, and the fact that some musicians operate without a record label. In those cases, it is more like stealing from the artist than it is when there is a large corporation involved.

The other problem that I have is that I love music, and I am always looking for more, but I don't have the kind of money it takes to fully satisfy my appetite when it comes to music. Here are some of the solutions that I have for getting my fix.

The first is borrowing a CD from a friend. This way, the ratio of how many people that have downloaded an album is less than it would be if I got it online. This works a lot of the time, and I also get exposed to music that I wouldn't be listening to otherwise.

The Second is iTunes. Buying an album on iTunes does cost money, but it is a lot less than it would be buying an actual CD. Often a CD that would cost $20 at a retail store, will cost only $10 on iTunes, and then you can burn it onto a CD for use. This way is a lot cheaper, and I don't necessarily have to buy a full album to get one song.

Another option is the various online radio stations and playlist builders like Pandora.com or playlist.com. I like these because I am not actually downloading the music, but I can listen to it all I want.

My last resort is the library. When I need a fix of music, and I am short on cash, I will go to the library and grab anything that looks even moderately interesting. This has yielded some good results for me, introducing me to a lot of bands that I wouldn't normally listen to. The catch is that I always feel dirty after doing it, more like I stole something. But, like I said, this is my last resort.

I am however, proud to say that I have never downloaded any music online for free, and I don't ever plan on it. If you are someone who does illegally download music, I really think that you should at least consider stopping. That's all I have to say about that topic for now, but I really would like to hear what you think on the topic, so feel free to comment, whether it's positive or negative.

__________________________________________________________

While I have your attention, I would like to say that you need to tip the people that serve you food. That includes bus boys and deliverers. Their wage is calculated INCLUDING tips, so in other words, part of our pay is from the people we serve. We count on that part of our pay, so it really helps if you do tip. It doesn't even have to be that much, something is better than nothing. You'd be surprised at how many people don't tip, and it's always the rich people...

The Black Keys

This week I am going to salute a lesser-known but awesome band, The Black Keys. When you hear them, you are probably going to think that this is some obscure band from the late '60s. That's why I was so confused that their first album came out in 2002. That right there is the main reason I like them: the fact that they are a current band, but they sound like they could have been a band 40 years ago.

I have always been facinated by the blues, but I also love a nice heavy guitar. The successful combination of the two has been very hard for me to find, besides the obvious masters such as Jimi Hendrix. I was very exited when I first heard this stripped-down, hard-driving, blues-inspired modern music, and also that I wasn't the only person that didn't grow up in that era that really enjoys that kind of music.

Now, something else that you might notice on their songs is a sort of thin sound. That is because of two main reasons: first that they have no bass player, it's just the drummer and the guitarist. Second is the recording methods that they use. The reason that they sound so old is because they are using the recording techniques that were used 40 years ago, which is similar to what the White Stripes did on their album "Elephant."

The two songs on the list are "Your Touch" and "Just got to be." Now, I hate to group these two songs together, but I don't have enough to say about each one on it's own. They are both a basic riff-based blues tune, as most of their songs are. I really like these songs a lot, but it bugs me that there is no bottom end to the music (no bass player). I always think about what the bass line would sound like on these songs, and it would improve the songs so much.

The next song is "Have love will travel." The guitar is extremely heavy on the chorus, and I really love it. It seems to make up for the bass line a little more than the other songs do. I really hear a sort of Cream/Hendrix thing going on in this song, but with a little more soul.

"Strange Desire" is the next song I picked. I really like how the guitar sounds in the verse on this song. That echo sort of feel on the guitar is called "reverb" and normally when there's that much of it, it doesn't sound good, but it does on this song.

The next two songs "Strange Times" and "I got mine" will probably sound a lot better to you, and that is because they are both on their newest album where they actually let a producer come in and help them out. That is why there is a bass, and why it sounds tighter. I find it easier listening to these songs because they have a full range with the bass line. "Strange Times" is more of a departure from their normal sound than "I got mine" is. I think of "I got mine" as one of their older songs with a bass line, and that makes me feel better.

"Set you Free" is not off their new album, but it seems to hold up better without the bass than all the other ones. I really love the drums on this song, even thought they are very simple. I've said this before, but I really admire it when a drummer knows how much is just enough.

In short, I really like these guys as a band, but I wish they would have added a bass player sooner than their newest album.

Eagles of Death Metal

This week i'm going to spend some time defending a band that I like a lot, Eagles of Death Metal. Now, when ever I bring these guys up in conversation, people always bash them. I think the biggest problem is that people are misunderstanding what the purpose of this band is. Their main goal isn't to be the most technically proficient band, or too write heart-felt lyrics, it's to mess around and have fun. You have to come at this music that way or you probably won't get it. That being said, let the reviewing commence!

There isn't much to say about each specific song, so i'm going to generalize. When I hear these guys, I either start driving faster, or feel the strange urge to dance, which doesn't happen often with me. Now, their lyrics are pretty sexually vulgar a lot of the time, and I would never say more than half of the stuff that they are saying in the songs, but it's still fun to listen to for the most part. Some of their songs go over the line and I don't listen to them, but for the most part it's tolerable.

Eagles of Death Metal remind me of a modern version of ZZ Top. They really have a cartoony vibe when you listen to them, it really feels ridiculous. I always picture a loser trying to pick up chicks in a bar when I listen to them, I guess that's how I justify listening to some of their disgusting lyrics.

Now, in no way are they my favorite band, I just think that they get a bad rep, and they have some good songs. You should at least listen to a few of their songs before you make up your mind.

If you haven't already figured this out, most of the time I'll put the songs from a review on the side bar of the blog so you can listen while you read.

So, here is my list of songs to listen to by Eagles of Death Metal.

1. I want you so hard (Boy's Bad News)

2. Wannabe In LA

3. Secret Plans

4. Speaking in Tongues

5. Miss Alissa

6. I Only Want You

7. Cherry Cola

I hope you can at least enjoy these guys a little bit, but if you don't, i'd really like to hear your arguments, so please comment!

My latest trip to the Library

Every so often I will go to the local library and scour the music section for anything that looks even moderately interesting, and check it out. This way of getting music has given me a lot of exposure to bands that I wouldn't normally listen to. Even though I very strongly oppose illegally downloading music, I somehow justify this to myself. I feel dirty every time I do it, but I wouldn't be buying this music otherwise so I figure this isn't so bad.

The first album I put in was "Comfort Eagle" by CAKE. The best way I can describe it is odd. It's very different from what most would consider "normal." They make me think of a laid back version of Wezzer with trumpets. I also really enjoy some of the titles of their songs like "Meanwhile, Rick James..." or "Opera Singer." I really look forward to listening to it more.

The second CD I downloaded was "Hopes and Fears" by Keane. The name sounded familiar when I was looking at the CD so I grabbed it. My first impression was a really soft rock, very similar to Coldplay. I immediately recognized the track "Everybody's Changing" from a ton of movies and various other sources. The rest of the album is stuff that is very similar to that song, but not quite as powerful.

Next was "By the Way" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. My favorite track so far is "Can't Stop." I just love how extremely funky it is. There are a few songs that really intrigue me enough to learn them on the guitar, and this was one of them. I'm looking forward to listening to them more, mostly because it seems like everyone else but me listens to them and knows their songs.

"Alive 2007" by Daft Punk was the next album to enter my computer. Techno and dance are two more genres that I haven't delved into much yet, so I figure I would get a good start with Daft Punk. When I picked it up, I was hoping that it wasn't a live album, but it is and it doesn't seem to matter much. The only song I recognized on there was "One more time." It might take a little bit for me to appreciate dance music, but it could eventually happen.

Up next was "The very best of Buddy Guy" by Buddy Guy (that's a shocker). For those of you who don't know, Buddy Guy is a world renowned blues guitarist who I hear about all the time in guitar magazines and documentaries, but i've never actually listened to him. The reason the blues is so great is because anyone can play it and its a very pure form of music. The only thing that bugs me is the quality of the recordings, but that was unavoidable because of when they were recorded. You can really hear where a lot of classic rock guitarist got some of their style when listening to these early electric blues guitarists. It's harder for me to listen to the blues than it is to play it. Playing blues can be really fun, especially when it's improv, because it's all right on the spot and it's a very pure form of expression.

Quite honestly, I put in the album I got by James Blunt, heard the first few words, remembered that he is that guy that did the "you're beautiful" song and took the CD out. If I had bought it, I would have snapped it in half. Seriously.

That sums up my first recorded trip to the library.

Stuff You Should Hear - Part 2

This week I decided to do another installment of Stuff You Should Hear, making this part 2.

For the first song I am taking a different direction from what I normally listen to with "Time to Get Away" by LCD Soundsystem. In my opinion, LCD Soundsystem is the white guy equivalent of rap, Not at all saying that it is rap, it just sort of reminds me of it in a way. By all means, I shouldn't even know about LCD Soundsystem, I sort of found them by accident. I was at the library one day looking for some new music, and I came across this CD that judging by the album cover, look pretty interesting. On the way back home I popped it in and I wasn't too impressed. A few months later I started my pizza delivery job at Rocky Rococo's. I spend most of my work day driving around listening to music. I ran out pretty fast. One day out of desperation I put in this album, hoping that I was wrong with my first impressions, I was. This music is really fun to listen to and you can't help but dance a little to it. If you like this, check out some of their other songs like "North American Scum" (which you might recognize) or "Get Innocuous!"

For track two, I am going with "Evil" by Interpol. They are the band that I am listening to right now, so I would get used to hearing a bit of them for a while. The first time I heard this song was when I was watching the music video, which is very weird. You have to watch it for yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNtGYdm2rOY

One of the things I like about Interpol is their odd lyrics. The words of most songs are very similar in their structure and I like that they have their own thing going on.

The next song is "Eyes on Fire" by Blue Foundation. Unfortunatly, this song is on the Twilight soundtrack and I heard it because my Mom bought it. In my opinion, this song alone is better then the whole movie. I really think it's a very well done song. As you already know, I really like it when a band sounds different from the normal stuff that comes out, and this does that. One of the coolest parts is at the beginning of the song when starts out really soft and the first line in the song is "I seek you out, fillet you alive." It's humorous because you expect something like a love song, and it's really about killing. My absolute favorite part is the drum solo towards the end of the song. It really ties it all together. I try to forget that this song was on twilight every time I listen to it...

Number four is a really cool song by The Black Keys called "Aeroplane Blues." When you first hear this, it sounds like a recording from the 60's, but it was recorded 5 years ago. The coolest part is that the album it is on is called "Rubber Factory" because the band rented out the floor of a Rubber Factory to record the whole album themselves. Doing some self-produced stuff myself, I really admire when a band does it and it sounds as good as this does.

The next song is by Silversun Pickups and is called "Panic Switch." The main thing you have to get over when listening to these guys is that the lead singer is actually a guy. When you hear it, you'll understand why that is a little surprising. This song is really cool because it follows the classic grunge rule "loud, soft, loud, soft" meaning it isn't always loud or soft, it goes between the two, helping to giving the song depth.

For the last song, I am choosing "Shut Your Eyes" by Snow Patrol. I hadn't listened too much of these guys before I saw them live when they opened for U2 in Chicago. I really love the simple rhythm guitar part that is consistent through the whole song. It was really cool to hear everyone in Soldier Field singing along with the main line to the song "Shut your eyes and sing to me." It really feels like the song was designed for that purpose. The only thing that I would change is the very quick ending to the song. It feels like they copped out on that part to me. Other than that, great song.

Stuff You Should Hear - Part 1

This week I decided to start my "Stuff You Should Hear" articles in the blog. Basically, it means that they will all be songs that in my opinion, you should hear. Another thing I should add is that they won't necessarily be in any kind of special order or have any common theme. So without further explanation, I present to you, Stuff You Should Hear - Part 1.

For the first track on this weeks "Stuff you should Hear," I chose "Untitled" by Interpol. Interpol is an American band from New York, which isn't too surprising when you think about it, even though I assumed that they were British from the way they sounded. Interpol is a very rhythm heavy band. Most of their songs are very driving, with a heavy bass line and a simple yet pushing drum beat. In my opinion, Interpol are the modern masters of layering. The lead vocalist reminds me of a mix between R.E.M and The Tragically Hip's lead singers, which I think is very cool. If you like "Untitled," I would also recommend checking out some of their other songs like "Obstacle 1" or "PDA."

Number two this week is Kasabian's "Fire." I really love this song because of how it transforms so seamlessly between a lot of unlikely combinations of different genres between the verse and the chorus. A lot of their harmonies remind be of The Beatles, but in a grittier, less polished way. I would also recommend checking out the video for "Fire," it's very cool, and it could have been extremely corny. If you enjoy "Fire," check out songs of theirs like "Underdog," "Fast Fuse" or "Take Aim."

Number three is Kasabian's "Vlad the Impaler." Right about now you are thinking "What? He already covered Kasabian! What is he thinking?" Well, once you hear "Vlad the Impaler," you will realize why I put it Separate from "Fire." Vlad is almost like the band is saying "and now for something completely different. You can still hear Kasabian in Vlad, but is done very differently from their other songs. Instead of having a guitar backing the vocals, you have the bass line and an odd collection of synth riffs, which seem to fit together. That's about all I can say about Vlad, just make sure you listen to it yourself.

The fourth song is "The World at Large" by Modest Mouse. Now, if you've heard any songs by Modest Mouse, it's probably "Float On" which is an awesome song in it's own right, but I'm here to try and introduce people to different music, not show you the same stuff. The best part about this song is it's odd simplicity that makes you wish you knew all the lyrics so you could sing along.

Number five is "Baby Please Don't Go" by Them. I didn't really like this song until I heard it while watching "Good Morning Vietnam" a couple of days ago. I think the main reason I didn't like it is because my parents listened to this and other songs by Van Morrison so much that I just got sick of it. The best part of the song is the ever-constant, super-simple bass line.

The sixth song this week is Nirvana's "Scentless Apprentice." This is the song I listen to when I'm driving in the car and I'm mad. This song (and a lot of Nirvana's other songs) has so much pent-up primal energy, you can't help be be drawn into it. You don't even have to know what he's saying to be pulled in. This song is at least a little controlled, whereas in their song "Tourettes" there is no holds barred. I would highly recommend you listening to both of them. Now, I have a hunch some of you might be writing off Nirvana right now because of these two songs not being your style. I really thing you would be doing yourself a favor by checking out some of their other stuff, or at least don't completely write them off.

For the Seventh and last song this week, I pulled out "Reptilia" by The Strokes. I'm going to use this song to make a bit of a point too any musicians, particularly drummers. Sometimes simplicity is the best way to get across the point you are trying to make. You don't always have to be going blazing fast or playing something massively complex, although sometimes that is the way to do it. Now, I'll get off my soapbox...

Reptilia is a very simple song, but it's extremely effective. I really like how in the first verse the bass cuts out as the vocals come in to create some layering. I found it an interesting way of building up the song. My Favorite part of the song is the guitar because when he was sculpting the way he wanted his guitar to sound, the guitarist didn't go for a heavy distorted sound, but still got it to sound intense. I think guitar players (including myself) hide behind distortion and effects too much. Now, a lot of the time it adds to the song, but this song proves that it isn't always needed. Now look at me, I'm back on the soapbox...

This has been the first of many installments of "Stuff You Should Hear." Hopefully it's been educational and fun for you. Feel free to leave comments, especially if you think I'm wrong on something.

Muse - The Resistance

(listen to it here: www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/sep/09/muse-resistance)

There is only one word I can use to fully describe Muse.


Epic.


Muse has shown time and time again that they can successfully produce an album full of different types of music, from latin to heavy metal, in one album without it sounding corny. That alone is something amazing. From their first album, "Showbiz", to their 2006 album "Black Holes and Revelations" they have had strong music and lyrics to back them up. But what about their brand new album "The Resistance?" Some have said that it sounds too much like their heroes, and others say that they are getting too much into synthesizers, the answers to both I intend to reveal in this review.


The first track, "Uprising," is an simple yet upbeat song with a strong back beat. Even though this has been the headline song of this album, I sometimes find it slightly annoying. The thing that irritates me the most is the trumpet that can sometimes be heard in the main synthesizer riff. I don't know what it is about that part that irritates me so much, but it does. Another thing I find while listening to the song is that it always feels like there is something missing, I don't know what it is, but I know it's not there. Overall, I still enjoy the song for the most part even though it sounds like I hate it.


"Resistance," the second song, is not what i expected it to be judging by the title and the fact that it bears the name of the album, but it was pleasant surprise. I really enjoy the beginning swell, and how the song builds up, but still keeping its cool at the same time.


I really enjoy it when a band tries something completely different from what they normally do, and I think that "Undisclosed Desires" really accomplishes that. Chris Schulz described it this way-
"Undisclosed Desires is an R&B number complete with slap-bass that should have Timbaland asking for royalties"
If you had told me before this album that there would be a Timbaland style R&B song on the new Muse album, I would have been very skeptical as to how it would turn out, but oddly enough, I was impressed.


"United States of Eurasia" is a very clear salute to '70s superstars, Queen. Most critics bash this songs for sounding almost exactly like Queen in some parts, but I really enjoy it and there is enough variety to call it original. The string part after the chorus takes me to a very specific image. This is going to sound funny, but I always picture an army of people riding elephants. I also enjoy the piano part at the end, which you think should sound misplaced, but it doesn't, and that is what always impresses me about Muse.


Taking up the fifth spot on the album is "Guiding Light." This song would have fit in all too well in the '80s, but again, oddly enough, I really enjoy this song. Normally when I refer to the bulk of the music from the '80s, I refer to is simply as "The Crapstorm." That being said I find it amazing that I actually enjoy this song. The guitar solo especially will take you right back to the power ballads of the 80's.


"Unnatural Selection" is probably my favorite song on the album. It makes me think of a young garage band with a ton of pent up energy and anxiety, but it also has the sophistication of a more seasoned group. At about the 3:20 mark in the song it really takes a different turn, and it almost feels like the song is melting away as you listen, the guitars slightly out of tune. Eventually, the song builds back up to the original feel, and it explodes in the end. It's an all around full song that makes a full 360 while still flowing.


"MK Ultra" makes it hard for me to pick a favorite song from this album. I was surprised to find out that the main part is actually done with a guitar and not a synthesizer. If you know anything about the real MK Ultra program, this song almost feels like a soundtrack to that whole controversy. This song almost makes you feel like you are in a drugged up stupor when you listen to it. It's not easy to describe, so I would recommend listening to it yourself.


On a side note, if you haven't heard of MK Ultra, I highly recommend that you research it. I'm not really into government conspiracies and I believe this. I should also add that it's pretty disturbing, so don't watch it if you don't think you can handle it.


I'm still not really sure if I like "I Belong To You" yet. I'm not even really sure what to say about it. It really sounds like a corny theme song for an badly done romantic comedy. Again, listen to this one yourself and make up your own mind, because I can't even make up my own on this one.


The last three tracks are all parts of the Exogenisis symphony. The great thing about Exogenisis is how Muse incorporated the symphony into a regular guitar, bass and drums setting without it being corny, which is a great accomplishment. These three tracks are really the crown jewel of this album, and you can really tell that this was very meticulously planned and thought out when you listen to it. This is another one of those songs that is very hard to describe and you really have to experience it yourself.


There are a few times on the album that I find myself almost irritated, and the almost part is very important. Here are a few of the times I described:
-"It could be wrong" backing vocals on "Resistance"
-"EuraSIA!" on "United States of Eurasia"
- all of "I Belong to You"


Overall, I think that even though most of the album isn't unified to one specific genre of music, you have to give credit to Muse for doing things exactly how they want to, completely uncensoring their musical ideas. I give the album a 4/5.

Led Zeppelin

For my first real post, I decided to do a "back to basics" kind of review by going with Led Zeppelin.

Now, almost everyone has heard of Led Zeppelin at one time of another, but I have found that there are a surprising number of people that don't really know who they are. I always find that surprising because of how much they influenced music today.

Jimmy Page, one of the former guitarists of The Yardbirds, started Led Zeppelin. Originally, the band was to be called "The New Yardbirds," but a comment from The Who's drummer Keith Moon saying that "they will go down like a lead zeppelin" changed that.

Jimmy had an idea for a "riff based band." This mean that songs would be, for the most part, based around guitar riffs that Page had created. This of course, changed the music industry forever.

Now, you may wonder why I didn't choose "Stairway to Heaven" for one of their songs. There are two reasons why I didn't pick that song. Firstly, everyone knows it. Even if you've never heard of Led Zeppelin before, odds are that you've heard at least part of it once in your life. Secondly, I personally don't like it as much as some of their other stuff. That probably has a lot to due with it's popularity (I always have more difficulty liking music if it's popular).

The first song on my list is "Since I've Been Loving You" off of the album Led Zeppelin III. This is one of their best songs in my opinion. To me, this is one of those songs where you want to close your eyes so you can fully appreciate the song (which is very dangerous while driving). One interesting thing about this song, is that it was mostly recorded live in the studio with the band improvising over the pre-discussed idea. There is one noticeable mistake on the song however, John Bonham’s bass drum pedal squeaks during the song. Jimmy Page had this to say about the squeaky pedal:

“It sounds louder and louder every time I hear it! [laughs]. That was something that was obviously sadly overlooked at the time.”

The Second song on my list is Dazed and Confused off of their first self-titled album. Something I didn't know until I researched further was that the song was originally written by folk singer Jake Holmes (his version is also on the playlist). Jake Holmes opened for The Yardbirds when Jimmy Page was still in their lineup, and the song greatly inspired him. Later, when he was in Led Zeppelin, he changed the lyrics and enough of the melody to escape a lawsuit from Jake Holmes. Something that a lot of people complain about with this song is the long experimental part of the song in the middle. Although it is very different from “normal music,” you have to give them credit for doing something that nobody else had done before. In my opinion, the bass line on this song is the best part, and is definitely the driving force for the whole song

Whole lotta love is one of the easiest songs in the world to review. This song alone inspired a whole generation of kids to pick up the guitar. That alone speaks volumes. In the movie “It Might Get Loud,” Jimmy Page shows The Edge of U2 and Jack White of the White Stripes how he plays “Whole Lotta Love,” and their expressions show that this song influenced them a great deal as young boys. Other than that, the song speaks for itself.

Communication Breakdown is a simple, straight-forward, and in-your-face rock song. Listening to this song I can almost hear some early punk overtones in the simplicity of the chord progression.

As a guitarist, I can remember the feeling the first time I heard the solo to this song very clearly and easily, when most of the other Led Zeppelin songs were an acquired taste for me (mostly because my Dad liked them).

For the longest time, I didn’t understand why people liked The Immigrant Song so much, until one day I was driving along, blasting a Led Zeppelin CD and the Immigrant Song came on. I don’t know why, but this time it seemed to click with me and I’ve loved it ever since. It took me a long time to really understand the message of the song, not so much in the lyrical sense but more in the musical.

The song was inspired by Vikings traveling from their home to find new land. The idea for the song came when they played a concert in Reykjavik, Iceland, which apparently had a profound effect on Page, who wrote the song.

It’s hard to describe how much Led Zeppelin has changed the music industry, but if you listen very hard, you can hear them in at least some aspect in almost every band in music today.

Welcome!

Hi, my name is Josh Walker and this is my blog, Massive Music. For the most part, my blog will be about reviewing and introducing music to you that you might not have heard. I look foreword to posting and hearing what you think about what I have to say.