Seance
I’m taking a day off from writing. However, I still come bearing gifts (so don’t ya’ll start complaining).
Keep your heads up. Winter doesn’t last forever.
Memory Lane
When I was a younger, much angrier boy, my favorite band was Thursday.
Most know Thursday for their seminal classic, Full Collapse. They ushered in a new era of post-hardcore: the emergence of truly emotional content set to the backdrop of heavy, hard, and groovy instruments. They hailed from New Jersey, where they continue to play shows and record music.
The best show memory I have in my existence was a few years ago, when my sister and best friend at the time took a road trip up to New Jersey. Now, if you see Thursday live, you know they never, EVER, disappoint. It just doesn’t happen. However, getting to see them in their home state…
Well, that’s something else entirely.
The road trip was pretty brutal. We stayed overnight in a hotel that slept like crap. I had no sleep the night before either, working full time in retail and keeping the hours I did. I was tired. When we left, I drove the entire way home overnight. I don’t remember much of that either.
It was worth it. Thursday played an amazing show. It was one of those great shows that you can barely remember because you were so in the moment. They ended with Jet Black New Year, my favorite song of theirs from an EP that few but the most devoted Thursday fans really knew about. They did this with confetti raining around our heads.
People that appreciate Thursday for what they did knew how much they put into each and every note they played. These guys, to put it plainly, had seen some @$*!. No doubt about it.
Tuesday is normally reserved in the industry for new music. They do it because that’s tradition, not because it really holds any artistic merit. In the spirit of blues, I’m making today Throwback Tuesday. I may not do it all the time, but I will most of the time as I see fit. Here’s a taste of their live show:
They never really got a lot of attention back then from the non-post hardcore crowd, so finding decent footage of shows around 2006 is difficult. This is important to understand, especially considering Youtube didn’t exist, and digital cameras were still 3.0 megapixels if you were lucky. Considering how fast technology has grown, it isn’t surprising to find that people tend to have such short memories about how hard an artist had to struggle to get themselves out there, so they could practice what they love.
Finally, I end with an actual music video. This will always remind me of a Hurricane. Look up the date the album War All The Time was released, and then look up meteorological phenomena during that period. I’ll give you a hint. It came out in September.
Namaste.
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Breathe… breathe in the air…
Made you look, right? You thought I was going to post a Pink Floyd song.
I’m not going to, but I will do you one weirder.
Here’s a Flaming Lips cover of the Pink Floyd classic, “Breathe“. It’s… different. I’m still not sure how I feel about it. Especially since the source is one of my favorite tracks of all time. Regardless, enjoy.
Just chill….
And enjoy the sounds of Zero 7. I’ve read a lot of criticism of the band, but I still can’t find a more relaxing backdrop to a quiet summer night.
Anecdote
This cut is from the band Ambulance LTD, a kind of pop-rock/alternative band with really lush sounds and strong melodies. They have been out of the scene for several years now. The song is called “Anecdote” and it’s an anthem for any jilted lover dealing with a selfish or narcissistic ex.
I enjoy the sense of bitter wistfulness the track imparts. It’s an appropriate soundtrack to a long country drive stuck in the backseat. Try it sometime.
“’cause you, like to believe, that all that love is free
oh, someone like you, will never be lonely, or not get blue,
but darlin’, it’s not true”
Damn.
See subject.
A YouTube commentator said it, and I hope he/she is right: “Soul music will be the sound of this decade, like R&B before it”.
Summer of ’90
Whilst browsing Rolling Stone on the behest of a friend of mine, looking for a specific article, I ran across one paying tribute to the one good summer jam of 1990 (allegedly, since I can barely remember back that far). The song was “The Humpty Dance” by Digital Underground, and I still have not heard another song like it. The Rolling Stone article does a much better job than I could of getting into the back story, but I have two words that accurately sum up my feelings towards the song.
Skating rink.
Enjoy.
Original Rolling Stone article
Just take the whole day…
For your Sunday viewing pleasure, we have one of the all time great jazz classics, The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s “Take Five”. This song has always reminded me of a smooth cruise through a busy city. It reflects the quiet majesty of American life and the hustle and bustle of hundreds of bodies moving with purpose through the streets.
Note the interplay between the musicians and how they instinctively know when to follow each other through each improvisational turn. Professionally played jazz brought the beauty of improvisation, a musical conversation, to music. It is very much an American stretching of the traditional rules.
Enjoy your Sunday.
Our Lady of Perpetual Tone 