Uh oh, am i really going to share something about meshuggah?

I seem to be a minority in the metal world for not really liking Meshuggah. They cross in and out of my line of tolerability. With their horrible band name, douchy "tapout timmy" appearance, and clueless album art, I sometimes want to downgrade them to the ranks of unspeakable acts like disturbed or slipknot. But every so often one of their polyrhythmic grooves grabs hold of me and i can't not headbang, so they just barely hold onto their tolerability for me.

Its also apparent that they influence many contemporaries, whom i feel improve upon their djent polyrhythm ideas and add something meshuggah usually lacks, taste. I'll just throw out say, a life once lost and beneath the massacre to cite examples id rather listen to that might have drawn on some meshuggah.

but anyways, the grooves in this video are fun, and i think this is a perfect example of how to make a heavy metal video. just try to look past what a douche the singer looks like and just headbang.

Tasseomancy - Magical

Tasseomancy are magical.

I first saw their takeaway show, and it may have been Sari and Romy's jaw dropping hotness that initially drew me in to watch their two takeaway clips, but it was their other-worldly mandolin, 1/2 sized nylon guitar, and two part disgustingly-cute female vocals that really impressed and intrigued me and made me want to hear more.

I got their album (formerly they used the name Ghost Bees) and after 1 listen, I thought to myself "I can probably only tolerate to listen to this once, it gets sooooo FEMMY! If i spin it much more times im going to have to take testosterone supplements."
But one song stood out as my favorite, "Vampires", so i kept giving it more chances to play through. before i knew it, their haunting harmonies had crept their way into my brain and engulfed me like the warm arms of a lover. Then, it was all i could listen to for a bit and even the parts that seemed too femmy just became cute and unique.

Their Ghost Bees album definitely DEFINITELY grows on you. i think it takes a few listens through just to understand what exactly you are hearing. it seems like the beautiful sisters from the toronto area turned their backs and middle fingers on whatever their pitchfork-friendly musical contemporaries have been making popular, and instead just look within and deep to the past to draw inspiration. many of their song themes are about their russian jewish grandmother who was a tasseomancer that emigrated to canada to escape persecution.

after many listens, i can't imagine much room for improvement. i dont care where the majority of underground/indie/folk music is headed, im far more interested in these girls' bizarre occultic medieval warbles.

I checked out their new Healthy Hands ep as well, and with their addition of rhythm and spooky synth elements, it sounds like a mix between this first album, jefferson airplane, and black heart procession. 5 stars.

Only You

when i was about 6 or 7, i had this little plastic cassette/radio made for kids. I remember passing by a few whole days just sitting alone in my room on the floor with a blank cassette tape, cued up ready on record, and i would scan the radio. I didn't know jack shit about music, but when I heard something i liked i hit record- my first ever mixtape. That tape was all i listened to for the next year or so, and while i don't remember all the songs it had, I had recorded this song on it and it was the first time i heard it, and loved it.
its a sweet song.

Immortal - Ice Worlds

OH NOOOOO!!! the first face-painted-metal song i've ever liked!!! nooooooooo! It might partly have something to do with the production not sounding like shit, and this KILLER fan video homeboy made. I dig the lyrics and intentional simplicity of all the riffs, its so catchy. And the vocals, yes, they are perfect for the subject matter. I must have stacked 20 plays on this bitch.

Glenn Gould, Bach

I wish in addition to favoriting and liking a video you could click "FUCKING LOVE" because I would on this one. Everything in this clip is so perfect. his singing is so dope, and that part where he goes up to the window then instantly shreds again. so good.

Harpsichord Facemelter

Those chug chugs on that low A are fucking metal, and the right hand is doing sweeps and shit

Manatees

Manatees I discovered last year, one of those ones where I was setting out to find a particular sound, trying to answer the question I often get in my head... "Are any groups out there doing THIS? does anyone sound like THIS?"
I've found a lot of bands that way actually, Between the Buried and Me 9 years ago is one that comes to mind.

Well it turns out Manatees are indeed killing it in an exact style i'd been wanting to see/hear.

I think the question that started my research was "does anyone else sound ANYTHING like MARE? And kind of doom, but with a younger more progressive edge, rather than the old-school-basement-dweller-black-metal-dude edge."

I quite like the songs in this clip, but if it does anything for you, pick up their albums, hella good to listen to as whole pieces.

and one more note to add there, I noticed they are coming out of UK, and that marks the first euro metal band that I have given two shits about in a long time, since like Aeon or Decapitated. Lets not shit ourselves here, America is killing it at metal.

Luxembourg Koen

I can't exactly explain to you how this ended up on my youtube favorites list. AH YES, I remember, I was just blindly watching through many accordion performances and just being interested by the range of styles of music to which accordion can accompany so perfectly. I have this "cool list" when it comes to music, where its almost a failsafe that if you do any of the things on the list correctly, the music is instantly cool. One of the cool list items is accordion, another is the saw. If these are done well, instant cool. We will get to more of those another time, but I'll give you a hint at one more... organs!

If there was a question of whether or not I was going to favorite this, that was definitely answered by my need to see that crushingly beautiful japanese girl play awesome fucking music again. I mean look at her! the smile, the eyes, the outfit... what a fucking doll. Definitely givin me the ol' yellow fever.

Oh, yeah, and the song kicks ass too. I don't know of this group, just found this randomly.

Omega Massif - Space Jam

I mentioned about Omega Massif before, but I caught up with this video late last summer kicking back with my macbook pro in a hammock, and i was drawn the fuck in. i watched this the whole time like "WOOOOOAAAAAHHHHH DUUUUUDDE". There's definitely been this movement in doom to incorporate space themes and spacey synth elements, but Omega Massif is going for it all-in. The mountain and glacier imagery they were using like every other "epic" heavy band was no longer Massif enough, they had to go to space, the HUGEST THING EVER! i love this shit

My favorite John Lennon Song of All-Time

Like tons of us, i grew up hearing tons of John Lennon, and earlier on, the Beatles. Like, so much so that I had to go through about 15 years of rebelling against what everyone else liked and what my parents liked before I got into listening to some Lennon again, and even then this Plastic Ono Band album had totally slipped past my memory. A while ago I rediscovered it and instantly remembered this song being a part of my memory since... always, and how it always spoke to me even when i was like 7. I fucking love this song, it's gotta be my favorite.

Matt Mulholland

a stunning cover of "my heart will go on".

Oran Juice Jones

This video is badass on so many levels. Dude's fashion is on point. dude is baller status. dude has some sliding dance moves. dude tells the bitch like it is. sick beat and synths. dude is embodying M.O.B.

stars revisited

so, i totally listened to stars' "heart" album in 03 and 04 a good amount. kinda indie-poppy, but do they have pleasant singing voices and interesting synths in the mix. They had a couple new albums in the meantime that i never paid attention to, so i finally recently picked up "In our Bedroom After The War". i enjoy about 20% of the album, but the good songs are pretty good as far as catchy love-y poppy girl music goes. this one got stuck in my head a few times, and i really like how accurately this video portrays some aspects of love from a guy's point of view at least. fast, insane, neurotic, out of control...

definition of heavy - samothrace

I love these guys, as previously attested. I have nearly worn out their Life's Trade album which is just about elevated to Masterpiece status for me, and i'm dying to hear their new recordings. This video surfaced of one of their new songs, with their current lineup. I met all of these dudes, they are great dudes too. This clip is so fucking heavy, i've been watching this a lot waiting for new material.

Old school experimental

I've been trying to figure out what some of the earliest heavier / experimental music ever made was. I came across Luigi Nono (as early as the 50s) and Edgard Varese (00s to 40s). we could go into all kinds of elaborations about these guys, but its done for you already one wikipedia:
Luigi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Nono

Edgard:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgard_Varese


amazing stuff. This stuff is still pretty far-out for nowadays, you can only imagine what it was like in the 20s, 40s. It reminds me of newton inventing calculus out of nowhere or something like that.

george harrison

as i've grown to learn more background knowledge of many beatles songs (which beatle wrote what), I've come to learn many of my favorite beatle's songs are the ones george harrison wrote, such as this classic:

too $hort bitch

i already shared some too $hort when i was in my phase a few months ago, but damn you have to give him props for his usage of "bitch" in this song.

the tallest man on earth

I'm not at all big on bob dylan, which is the most common style The Tallest Man On Earth is compared to. I find his music way more engaging though, which may just be because its contemporary for me, so i feel like i can identify better with all the feelings he sings about.
The voice definitely seemed to be annoying to me at first, but it totally grew on me. I let the fingerpicking and general rhythm of the songs instead be the carrying factor, that just holds up the vocals, strings them along. as you can see in the live clip below, the guy honestly knows his music as his singing and playing are spot on. its pretty stuff

tom petty

I grew up with tom petty all over the radio, mtv, and played by my parents. i kind of liked his songs when i was even 5 and 6, but i didnt understand all his love and marijuana references, or understand how relatively unique and badass his musical style was for the time.
late last year i finally revisited his stuff and i was so stoked on it! what a badass! looks at the camera like a badass! dresses like a flamboyant badass! and the whole time he just looks like some skinny white stoner, unlike springsteen can pull off. revisit this one (embedding disabled):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TlBTPITo1I

erasure

taking the cake for gayness, this band, this video... i cannot believe what my eyes are seeing and what my ears are hearing. something almost could not be more shitty, and thus it has found its way on loop on my speakers a few times.