Stop songs

Today was all about Radiohead. Well, to be fair, it was not just about Radiohead ... you know...

I think it's the lyrics that get me *here.* They pull at strings and I find myself saying "ya ... I hear you, Tom."

Red wine and sleeping pills Help me get back to your arms Cheap sex and sad films Help me get where I belong Stop sending letters Letters always get burned It's not like the movies They fed us on little white lies I will see you in the next life Beautiful angel Pulled apart at birth Limbless and helpless I can't even recognize you

There's the rub

lovelonelyemptysad
lovecompletefulljoy
lovedifficultconfusedresentful
lovebrightwonderfulcontent
lovequestionedalonedoubtful
lovemagicpeacefulcomplete
lovecoldbitterangry

To sleep, perchance to dream.

You never stop learning...

Apparently I have been incredibly disadvantaged because I didn't know about Pink Floyd's, The Wall. I have been told that they made the album into a Rock Opera.

Does anyone know where I can get a copy of the video/dvd (if there is one)?

Hmph.

Hate is a powerful thing...

There are not many things I hate. Sure, I dislike stuff. I even am indifferent to stuff. Rarely, will I say I hate it.

My one exception is Bach. Yes. I HATE, Johann Sebastian Bach.

I could go on for quite some time explaining how Bach's Preludes and Fugues made me wish I was doing my calculus homework instead of getting my 4th finger of my left hand to successfully carry the melody of the recurring phrases. (It's hard! The 4th finger, no matter how muscled, will always be weaker than the other fingers). I also take unreasonable issue with taking marks away from me during my Harmony III and IV exams (which involved writing scores of music with just paper and a pencil and no other way to test your brilliance) because I just happened to break the same rules that Bach broke when he was doing his four part harmonies. (You see, the rules of classical harmony come from Bach's work ... namely his Preludes and Fugues. He was mostly consistent with what he did but occasionally he would "break a rule" for a moment of dissonance or something different.)

It's possible that my level of hate does not quite come through in this post. Trust me ... it's there. In fact, take a look at this to get a better appreciation for my position. This guy had me in stitches.

A step in a different direction.

I just spent the last 10 minutes salivating over a myspace video of Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails (Trent) performing together at a concert. Nevermind that. Even I agree my fascination with the image of Marilyn Manson is strange.

Trent Reznor is a creative genius. I am still deciding if I enjoy his pre-sober/clean creativity more than his buff/muscled creativity but either way...

So the point of this is to say that Nine Inch Nails is releasing "Year Zero" in September 2007. There was a leak and all signs point to it being planned. A shiny silver flash key was found in a not so shiny public washroom. The occupant of the washroom took it home to see what was on it. The "Violent Heart" began to play. After the song was finished there was about 5 minutes of static.

Spectrographic imagery. The static, using certain visualization plugins (such as iTunes), displays a hand dropping down and plucking out a heart. It's violent, all right.

Nine Inch nails is not the first to do this. Aphex Twin did the same thing long ago. The difference is that it is easier for the public to experience the creativity. Media is at our fingertips.

And just like that music takes on a new form.

Finding Solace in What I Love Best

I've been listening to a lot of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club lately. Different music for different days.

I never thought I'd see it comin' I never thought I'd ever know Nothin' seems to take me over Nothin' seems to let me go.

I also keep looking over to my flowers. So simple and so pretty and I wonder why they are so appreciated (and I'm not convinced that it is just a "chick" thing).

It's nice to know that you're appreciated, wanted, liked, loved. It's nice to know that someone is thinking about you.

But I know that you're so confused and afraid I just want to be one true thing that don't fade I don't wanna give up tomorrow.

And really - what is wrong with that?

So I'll wrap myself in my music ... dream away the next few days ... except my world ... and move on. It's what I do best, you know.

I have guilty pleasures....

I own the Fergie album, the Gwen Stafani albums and the Justin Timberlake albums (among others, of course). Music critics sometimes argue that the compilations lack integrity but music lovers disagree. A lot can be said for a well produced album and it's top 40 to a new extreme.

I think the main reason I listen to this music is because I enjoy experiencing the progression of the album. It's unique (to a certain extent), it's easy to listen to but most importantly, it's fun. Music should not always be about assessing how complicated the harmony is or if the beats are true to its proclaimed style. If you like it - you like it. No explanation required.

So this leads me to the Grammy Awards. The usual suspects were nominated and I'm not really surprised with the results. Justin Timberlake walked away with a couple, as did the Dixie Chicks (I'm a big fan of "I'm Not Ready To Make Nice.") I found it refreshing that most of the awards were not only part of the top 40 and recognizable but that they also met whatever technical standard these awards rely on.

What I don't understand, however, is the award for Best Rap Song (which is a song writer's award). "Money Maker" by Ludacris Featuring Pharrell won. Huh? Is this an example of what's popular winning as opposed to quality? If so, it would not explain Wolfmother beating not only System of a Down but also Nine Inch Nails in the Best Hard Rock Performance category. Perhaps, instead it's an example of the top 40 also actually being quality music.

I am not particularly fond of Ludacris or Pharrell (although I would take the later over the former if forced to choose) but I am happy to see that some legitimacy has been given to my age old argument that sometimes top 40 isn't crap.

Some things....

A few people, some more close to me than others, seem confused by my interests.

"Silly," they say.

I don’t pretend to be "mainstream" but I am confident that few can accuse me of being intolerant of different tastes.

Something out there - be it music, literature, movies, celebrity gossip, political gossip - will grab your attention, hold it and rock your socks. That something will make you want to know more and to be more. Others who care enough to tolerate/indulge that something will inevitably learn more about that person on a rather personal level.

This is my something. Deal with it and do what you will with it.

I only dream when I sleep in my childhood bed…

It’s the horse.

I was introduced to this painting while I was studying the Romantic Movement through the Royal Conservatory of Music in the early 1990s. (There are various versions of this painting and Fuseli’s works are fascinating but will be left alone for now.) I didn’t see it as first. I focused on the lifeless body, still and lovely, in such sharp contrast to the ghastly demon so smug to be sitting on her chest.

I learned that a nightmare in the 1700s was thought to be caused by just that – a demon sitting on the sleeper’s chest. Clever, I thought. It explains the sudden jolt of consciousness, the shortness of breath as the dream is still vivid and the invasion of privacy that could only be the doing of the “impure.”

Then I noticed the horse. It jumped out at me from behind that curtain in a very uncomfortable way.

I still haven’t completely figured out what the meaning behind this horse is. Academic text suggests the word “mare” is a play on the word “nightmare.”

I’m not completely convinced. To me the horse represents an unsettling aspect that captures exactly what a nightmare should. I bet that the use of the same animal’s head in The Godfather was no mistake. The horror continues even when awake.

And just like that I was hooked. Bring on the unusual, the disturbing, the clever and the provoking. I embrace it.