However, I still really like this song!
I'm not one to look up the biography of a band when I've only heard a few songs by them. I try to let the music speak for itself, until I reach the stage where I purchase albums. Then I read up about the band - and there's always album art!
Until I watched the Youvideo, I thought the lead singer was female...
Ghosts - Stay The Night
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Six Degrees of Dream Theater
I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. The first non-indie music post on Zonuts!
I love Dream Theater to bits. Revanoor and I fell in love with them together, in Rud North in first year. I had picked up three Dream Theater CDs on a pre-college trip to the UK, on the strength of three mp3s that I heard while in Coimbatore "studying" for the Tamil Nadu Professional Courses Entrance Examination.
DT are probably the world's best-known and most successful example of 'progressive metal.' To quote from Wikipedia:
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music which shares traits with progressive rock including use of complex compositional structures, odd time signatures, and intricate instrumental playing. The high level of musical proficiency is often combined with a lyrical counterpart in the form of epic textual concepts, resulting in lengthy songs and concept albums. As a result of these factors, progressive metal is rarely heard on mainstream radio and video programs, much due to that the length of the songs are not suited for those media.
DT has every one of the qualities listed above. None of that made-for-radio 4-minute verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus formula for them!
Mike Portnoy is one of the most talented drummers I've ever seen or heard. Watch out for his playing in the final minute or so of 'About to Crash (Reprise)!' He's also quite a character in his own right - a boxing fan, a Simpsons fan... The band's spokesman, he loves to play the crowd, often standing up mid-song and egging the crowd on.
John Petrucci is widely regarded as one of the most technically proficient guitar players in the world today. He's a regular guest on the Vai-Satriani G3 tours.
Japanese-American John Myung is regarded as a deity by bass players, although I've always felt his playing gets drowned out by Portnoy and Petrucci. If you listen for it though, his bassline is always there. Seeing him play in Pragati Maidan at the Great Indian Rock a couple of years ago was heaven!
Jordan Rudess is a keyboard virtuoso, seriously. He's fantastically talented. Since joining DT after initially turning them down in favour of the Dixie Dregs, his influence on the band's sound and songs is discernable to an album-wise follower.
James LaBrie... sigh. Having heard person after person tell me that his singing is the main reason they dislike DT, I still think noone could possibly have his place as lead singer. He's been with DT for over 15 years now, featuring on all but one of their albums. True, he doesn't enunciate while singing, especially live... but he hits the high notes required of him with ease. LaBrie contributes least of all to the band's sound - they write each album without him, merely flying him in to dub the vocals once the rest of the tracks have been laid down.
The 3 videos here are the last three segments of the title track to DT's 2002 double album, 'Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.' Six Degrees... was the follow-up album to DT's 1999 stupendous masterpiece concept album 'Metropolis Part II: Scenes From A Memory.' The title track constitutes the entire second CD of the twin CD pack, making it probably their longest song till date. The song is split into 7 segments, allowing the band to play individual parts of the song live, and allowing listeners to skip to their favourite portions of the song without having to listen from the start each time.
Six Degrees..., although a good follow up to what I consider their absolute best work, marked the start of DT's move away from their signature sound of the 1990s. Jordan Rudess contributes heavily to the orchestra-like feel of the song at many points. The clips here are taken from 'Score,' the final show of DT's 20th anniversary world tour, recorded on 1 April 2006 at Radio City Music Hall, NYC, and feature a backing orchestra a la Metallica's S&M with the San Francisco Philharmonic, if I remember correctly. Unlike S&M, however, the orchestra is quite superfluous here as the Rudess-Petrucci combination is capable of creating all the sounds that the orchestra contributes.
'Solitary Shell' is one of my favourite DT songs, simple yet catchy. 'About to Crash (Reprise)' reprises the theme of an earlier segment of the long song. The end of 'About to Crash...' always leaves me gasping for more, so I put in the final segment too - 'Losing Time/Grand Finale.' If you're going to watch the clips at all, watch them in order, and after having let the entire video download!
DT are probably the world's best-known and most successful example of 'progressive metal.' To quote from Wikipedia:
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music which shares traits with progressive rock including use of complex compositional structures, odd time signatures, and intricate instrumental playing. The high level of musical proficiency is often combined with a lyrical counterpart in the form of epic textual concepts, resulting in lengthy songs and concept albums. As a result of these factors, progressive metal is rarely heard on mainstream radio and video programs, much due to that the length of the songs are not suited for those media.
DT has every one of the qualities listed above. None of that made-for-radio 4-minute verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus formula for them!
Mike Portnoy is one of the most talented drummers I've ever seen or heard. Watch out for his playing in the final minute or so of 'About to Crash (Reprise)!' He's also quite a character in his own right - a boxing fan, a Simpsons fan... The band's spokesman, he loves to play the crowd, often standing up mid-song and egging the crowd on.
John Petrucci is widely regarded as one of the most technically proficient guitar players in the world today. He's a regular guest on the Vai-Satriani G3 tours.
Japanese-American John Myung is regarded as a deity by bass players, although I've always felt his playing gets drowned out by Portnoy and Petrucci. If you listen for it though, his bassline is always there. Seeing him play in Pragati Maidan at the Great Indian Rock a couple of years ago was heaven!
Jordan Rudess is a keyboard virtuoso, seriously. He's fantastically talented. Since joining DT after initially turning them down in favour of the Dixie Dregs, his influence on the band's sound and songs is discernable to an album-wise follower.
James LaBrie... sigh. Having heard person after person tell me that his singing is the main reason they dislike DT, I still think noone could possibly have his place as lead singer. He's been with DT for over 15 years now, featuring on all but one of their albums. True, he doesn't enunciate while singing, especially live... but he hits the high notes required of him with ease. LaBrie contributes least of all to the band's sound - they write each album without him, merely flying him in to dub the vocals once the rest of the tracks have been laid down.
The 3 videos here are the last three segments of the title track to DT's 2002 double album, 'Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.' Six Degrees... was the follow-up album to DT's 1999 stupendous masterpiece concept album 'Metropolis Part II: Scenes From A Memory.' The title track constitutes the entire second CD of the twin CD pack, making it probably their longest song till date. The song is split into 7 segments, allowing the band to play individual parts of the song live, and allowing listeners to skip to their favourite portions of the song without having to listen from the start each time.
Six Degrees..., although a good follow up to what I consider their absolute best work, marked the start of DT's move away from their signature sound of the 1990s. Jordan Rudess contributes heavily to the orchestra-like feel of the song at many points. The clips here are taken from 'Score,' the final show of DT's 20th anniversary world tour, recorded on 1 April 2006 at Radio City Music Hall, NYC, and feature a backing orchestra a la Metallica's S&M with the San Francisco Philharmonic, if I remember correctly. Unlike S&M, however, the orchestra is quite superfluous here as the Rudess-Petrucci combination is capable of creating all the sounds that the orchestra contributes.
'Solitary Shell' is one of my favourite DT songs, simple yet catchy. 'About to Crash (Reprise)' reprises the theme of an earlier segment of the long song. The end of 'About to Crash...' always leaves me gasping for more, so I put in the final segment too - 'Losing Time/Grand Finale.' If you're going to watch the clips at all, watch them in order, and after having let the entire video download!
'Solitary Shell:'
'About to Crash (Reprise):'
'Losing Time/Grand Finale:'
Phew... It's a lot easier to post images and videos on Wordpress!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Superstar Tradesmen
This is a little post to tide over until fileden resets my bandwidth.
The Fratellis are a great little band from Scotland. Full of glam and stomp and stories and fun. They got a big break when Apple decided to use a song of theirs for an iPod ad. Much as I hate Apple, they do have good taste. Have a byte:
The Fratellis - FlatheadThe Fratellis - Baby Fratelli
Here's another Scottish band I like. The View. Superstar Trademan was one of the few songs I played over and over again. Nothing fancy. Just pure, simple, Libertines-inspired rock-n-roll from kids who've barely hit 20.
The View - Superstar Tradesman
The View - Wasted Little DJs
[Also: Sleel? Might he? Parageeth? Whappen?]
The Fratellis are a great little band from Scotland. Full of glam and stomp and stories and fun. They got a big break when Apple decided to use a song of theirs for an iPod ad. Much as I hate Apple, they do have good taste. Have a byte:
The Fratellis - FlatheadThe Fratellis - Baby Fratelli
Here's another Scottish band I like. The View. Superstar Trademan was one of the few songs I played over and over again. Nothing fancy. Just pure, simple, Libertines-inspired rock-n-roll from kids who've barely hit 20.
The View - Superstar Tradesman
The View - Wasted Little DJs
[Also: Sleel? Might he? Parageeth? Whappen?]
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
We're on the road to nowhere.
Much as I would like to present my music chronologically (either forward or backward), enthusiasm does not follow the historian's cold logic.
Violent Femmes! Woo hoo! I discovered them less than an hour ago. And no, they're not from the Noughties. They're from the Eighties! I used to think the late 70s and early 80s were reserved for Disco and crappy hair metal. Not so. We must scratch a little below the surface.
Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun
This song may sound familiar. it did to me when I heard it in a pub the other day. I'm sure I've heard it in some teen/college movie or two. Excellent, excellent stuff.
Violent Femmes - Gone Daddy Gone
Gnarls Barkley fans may have heard their cover of this song.
Violent Femmes - Jesus Walking on the Water
Clues to the origins of Neutral Milk Hotel? Debatable.
Sticking with the Eighties, here is Madness, a British Ska group. Fun fun fun. Watch their videos on youtube.
Madness - Night Boat to Cairo
And now some Eighties Talking Heads! The band that gave Radiohead it name.
Talking Heads - Road to Nowhere
Talking Heads - And She Was
Violent Femmes! Woo hoo! I discovered them less than an hour ago. And no, they're not from the Noughties. They're from the Eighties! I used to think the late 70s and early 80s were reserved for Disco and crappy hair metal. Not so. We must scratch a little below the surface.
Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun
This song may sound familiar. it did to me when I heard it in a pub the other day. I'm sure I've heard it in some teen/college movie or two. Excellent, excellent stuff.
Violent Femmes - Gone Daddy Gone
Gnarls Barkley fans may have heard their cover of this song.
Violent Femmes - Jesus Walking on the Water
Clues to the origins of Neutral Milk Hotel? Debatable.
Sticking with the Eighties, here is Madness, a British Ska group. Fun fun fun. Watch their videos on youtube.
Madness - Night Boat to Cairo
And now some Eighties Talking Heads! The band that gave Radiohead it name.
Talking Heads - Road to Nowhere
Talking Heads - And She Was
Sunday, February 25, 2007
The 21st Century Yelp
The Yelp is passion. The Yelp is pain. The Yelp is joy. The Yelp is consummate quirkiness.
The Yelp comes from the late 70s. Not the 70s of Cock Rock, or the 70s of Disco. The 70s of New Wave, that gave birth to 80s pop, and angular 2000s rock. (More on Talking Heads in another post.)
Let's talk 2000s rock from North America.
The Arcade Fire's masterpiece Funeral was my first foray into this vocal and emotional territory. Strange, sad, inspiring, and relentlessly catchy - this circus of oddballs from Montreal has something for U2/Radiohead-style arena rock lovers, as well as fans of folky singer-songwriters.
The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
The Arcade Fire - Born on a Train (A Magnetic Fields cover - more on them later maybe.)
Wolf Parade is another Montreal band I really like. They fall into the same broad category, but have a little more muscle and edge, in my opinion. Their album Apologies to the Queen Mary is quite possibly even better than Funeral.
Wolf Parade - You are a runner and I am my father's son
Wolf Parade - This heart's on fire
Now we come to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! Woo hoo! The weirdest of the lot, but also most distinctive. One of the 2 bands that proved the marketing power of the internet (the other being Arctic Monkeys). Not necessarily a crowd pleaser, but deserving of multiple listens before the passing of judgement.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - The skin of my yellow country teeth
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Upon this tidal wave of young blood
The Killers don't fall into this category exactly, but I've been listening to them a lot recently. Brandon Flowers' voice is more a warble than a yelp. They disappointed the indie kids by dropping the flashy clothes and eyeliner for moustaches and Americana. I like the change though. Here are two insta-classics: the first is from their debut, Hot Fuss, and the second is the current single from their new album Sam's Town.
The Killers - Mr. Brightside
The Killers - Read my mind
The Yelp comes from the late 70s. Not the 70s of Cock Rock, or the 70s of Disco. The 70s of New Wave, that gave birth to 80s pop, and angular 2000s rock. (More on Talking Heads in another post.)
Let's talk 2000s rock from North America.
The Arcade Fire's masterpiece Funeral was my first foray into this vocal and emotional territory. Strange, sad, inspiring, and relentlessly catchy - this circus of oddballs from Montreal has something for U2/Radiohead-style arena rock lovers, as well as fans of folky singer-songwriters.
The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
The Arcade Fire - Born on a Train (A Magnetic Fields cover - more on them later maybe.)
Wolf Parade is another Montreal band I really like. They fall into the same broad category, but have a little more muscle and edge, in my opinion. Their album Apologies to the Queen Mary is quite possibly even better than Funeral.
Wolf Parade - You are a runner and I am my father's son
Wolf Parade - This heart's on fire
Now we come to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! Woo hoo! The weirdest of the lot, but also most distinctive. One of the 2 bands that proved the marketing power of the internet (the other being Arctic Monkeys). Not necessarily a crowd pleaser, but deserving of multiple listens before the passing of judgement.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - The skin of my yellow country teeth
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Upon this tidal wave of young blood
The Killers don't fall into this category exactly, but I've been listening to them a lot recently. Brandon Flowers' voice is more a warble than a yelp. They disappointed the indie kids by dropping the flashy clothes and eyeliner for moustaches and Americana. I like the change though. Here are two insta-classics: the first is from their debut, Hot Fuss, and the second is the current single from their new album Sam's Town.
The Killers - Mr. Brightside
The Killers - Read my mind
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Good blood, Bad blood
The truth about Indie music is that it hardly is what it seems. Though termed Independent Music, it has now become a symbol of hopeless bravado. Dickheads in dirty haircuts.
Only bands that can truly set themselves apart with their unique brand of thinking can call themselves an Indie band. Like the Arcade Fire, who despite all that's written and said about them, are excellent musicians not only because of their style but because of their skill at playing a variety of instruments.
People like the Kooks, the Klaxons, the Vines etc.etc. are just their for the free ride. The free press NME so generously and unecessarily bestows upon them. NME has made demi-gods of mediocre mods who want a slice of the pie. Their reviews disgust me, their style of writing celebrates everything, regardless how unimportant. The hype generated chokes you and you have no way out except listening to the bands they are talking about. Gone are the days where music is a personal discovery. Now it is forced down your throat with great vigour. Listen to THIS BAND, you haven't heard THIS BAND? Go tell your mom what to listen to you assholes.
No wonder the Arctic monkeys, when accepting some award said "Thanks to you guys. Not YOU guys who hyped us up, but YOU guys who voted". No wonder I like them.
Spare me your Chemical Romances and your Views. I'll judge for myself. And cut your damn hair.
And what's with all the "I am cool. Hence I listen to Indie. I am smart. Hence I listen to Indie." phenomenon? When does the music to listen to define you. People like Vikram Seth write articles for Stephens publications about how intelligent he was because he could identify some classical music piece played in Rukun Advani's room. Such isoteric hurrah is typical of our college. And all said and done, I am sorry, but they are real losers.
"What you eat don't make me shit" - JayZ
So here goes.
JayZ with DJ Dangermouse from the famous grey album. Its what certian yuppies would call a "killer track". It is a masterpiece in sampling, with the Beatles providing the riffs to JayZ's, arguably, most famous song. He performed it with Linkin Park too and that will remain one of the best concerts, musically, ever.
The Chemical Brothers track is voted the hottest piece of music on the planet right now, by none other than 6music. They are right.
Snoop Dogg asks a simple question.
JayZ with DJ Dangermouse - 99 problems [mp3]
Chemical Brothers - Galvanise [mp3]
Snoop Dogg - What's my name [mp3]
Monday, February 19, 2007
Kings of Carrot Flowers
When was the last time a band made you take a large swiss knife, cut out alphabets from an important document (like a printout of an airline ticket), arrange them on a silk souveneir brought from Sikkim and decorate them with your eight year old cousin's art?
When was the last time you felt like expressing music physically in a crude expression of pure joy?
For me it was when I heard Elephant and feverishly pasted Jack and Meg on the dirty plaster of my room. And now.
They are bloody brilliant. It music to stop and listen and jump and wave your arms to invisible orchestras and feel and fall and follow and free and fog and find and frown and frump and fox and fababadabadurticate to.
Nice to be back, Yohan, O brother where art thou.
Ok Go! won a grammy for best short video for Here it goes Again. Yippee. Yohan was the first person in whole wide world and all to find them and post them on Zonuts, you can find them here. Yes, I learnt how to hyperlink.
This is what Ok Go! looked like at the Grammy function.
Have to run to work now, but the Indie scene is back. God save the Bean.
Neutral Milk Hotel - King of Carrot Flowers [mp3]
Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [mp3]
Neutral Milk Hotel - Holland, 1945 [mp3]
When was the last time you felt like expressing music physically in a crude expression of pure joy?
For me it was when I heard Elephant and feverishly pasted Jack and Meg on the dirty plaster of my room. And now.
They are bloody brilliant. It music to stop and listen and jump and wave your arms to invisible orchestras and feel and fall and follow and free and fog and find and frown and frump and fox and fababadabadurticate to.
Nice to be back, Yohan, O brother where art thou.
Ok Go! won a grammy for best short video for Here it goes Again. Yippee. Yohan was the first person in whole wide world and all to find them and post them on Zonuts, you can find them here. Yes, I learnt how to hyperlink.
This is what Ok Go! looked like at the Grammy function.
Have to run to work now, but the Indie scene is back. God save the Bean.
Neutral Milk Hotel - King of Carrot Flowers [mp3]
Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [mp3]
Neutral Milk Hotel - Holland, 1945 [mp3]
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