21 May 2008

...In No Particular Order...

I'd like to make this Wednesday mp3 randomness a regular occurrence, but god only knows if I'll be able to sustain it more than a few weeks. Do or do not, as the little fella says...anyway, here's what my iPod is throwing at me (us) today:

Arsis, "Carnal Ways To Recreate The Heart"
I got to see Jim Malone play live for a ballet a couple years ago and it was awesome. "What? A ballet?" Yeah, some folks organized a death metal ballet called Ballet Deviare that featured a ballet troupe who choreographed dances to a bunch of metal songs.
Arsis contributed "A Diamond For Disease" and, as it was the final movement of the ballet, performed it live (with a second guitarist and drum track) on a balcony above the audience. It was like a tennis match with everyone looking back and forth between the guitarists and the dancers. One of the dancers fathers remarked after the performance, "Those guys were amazing, I wasn't even watching my own daughter." Way to go, dad! I think somebody needs to make a "metal Nutcracker" now. That would be some awesome.

Pinback, "West"
There are very few "soft" bands that I listen to, but these guys are great. What started as a side-/studio project became huge and spawned thousands of copycat college bands. I only have Blue Screen Life and the Loro ep, but that's kinda all you need I think, since most of the later stuff just seems like less good versions of any of these songs. These songs make me think of girls and how cuddly they are. This song has an accordion in it. That rules.

Yob, "Quantum Mystic"
Fuck yeah. Practitioners of psychedelic doom metal from Eugene, OR, Yob made four albums before disbanding (lead guy Mike Scheidt then formed Middian). This song is the first track off their third record, The Unreal Never Lived. I'm pretty confident in saying that this record is their best and exactly where they were trying to head with the first records. Then again, I don't know anything about anything. Anyway, it's nearly eleven minutes long and not even close to the longest track on the album. The shit just riffs for ages and ages and at no point ever gets boring or weak. Goes well with "green tea" if you catch my drift.

Hum, "Scraper"
These guys are on my "Bands I need to see before I die so that I don't die bitter" list and the outlook on that front is not so good. Possibly the greatest band ever to fly under everyone's radar despite being on a major label. "Scraper" is on Electra2000 so it's before they really honed their sound, but it's still a good song. Get me even marginally wasted and I'm prone to break out both You'd Prefer An Astronaut and Downward Is Heavenward, find a chair, stand on said chair and proceed to sing them in their entirety whilst playing my best air guitar. I don't take Hum lightly. They also have the best (and most appropriate) band name ever.


And I guess before I gush too much about how awesome Hum is, I'll stop for today and maybe get some real work done. But probably not since the Champion's League Final is on in exactly one hour. I'm supporting Man U today because I loathe Chelsea with all my being. However, I pine for the day when Newcastle United reclaims a decent position in the league table...

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