Soundgarden seem to be announcing tour dates left, right and centre across Europe, surely it’s only a matter of time before a UK date is announced… I feel it in my BONES.
Worth monitoring for sure..
Wow, I remember doing a presentation about the possibility of this happening during my first degree and it scared me then. Imaging my horror at reading this article in the New Scientist.
Now. I’m not going to lose my head over this but I’ll be watching Mumbai closely over the coming months.
Something a friend of mine said to me the other day has been bothering me for a few days now. I sent him a link to a video clip of a Pearl Jam song, I can’t quite remember which one, but it had a sad theme to it – as Pearl Jam songs often do. I described it as a great song but knew that this opinion would not be reciprocated. It was when I got the explanation that I was a little surprised. I can’t quite remember the word used but the reason was that the song was too depressing, or something along those lines, to be great. I appreciate that greatness is subjective and that people listen to music for different reasons. I personally listen to music to be moved in some way, whether that be in a negative or positive way. I would just like to put forward some exhibits of grim songs as evidence in support of the possibility that a song can be both grim and great. What do you reckon….
Exhibit A – Black by Pearl Jam (not the song I sent to my friend). This is a song that should hit you if you’ve ever loved someone but they’ve moved on. I love the way that Eddie is clearly feeling this song.
Exhibit B – Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton. I don’t know how anyone could not be moved by this song written about the tragic death of Eric’s young son when he fell from a window in a high rise aged four. Listen to the lyrics.
Exhibit C – Empty Chairs at Empty Tables from Les Miserables, the musical written by Boubil and Schonberg but with excellent lyrical adaptation by Herbert Kretzmer. Here, Marius (played by Michael Ball) is the sole survivor of a battle with the French armed forces and has lost all his student friends in the battle. Again, the power from this song comes from a combination of the composition, the vast lungs of Michael Ball and, not least, the lyrical content.
Exhibit D – Lightening Crashes by Live. This isn’t actually that depressing a song but is more of a circle of life kind of song. People die and people are born all the time, this song celebrates this but not in an Elton John cheesy sort of way but in a respectful way of the value of life. It’s this respect for the death of the mother where the sadness comes from – still, a great song in my opinion. I also think that there are some potent lyrics in this song that are easily missed – ‘forces pulling from the centre of the earth again’ being one of them. I don’t know Ed Kowalczyk’s meaning behind this particular lyric but I think it’s an acknowledgment of mortality. I purposefully picked a boring video for this one instead of a live performance because this song works best when you just close your eyes and take it in.
Exhibit E – Hallelujah, the Jeff Buckley version of the Leonard Cohen song. Jeff (RIP) is the only person in my opinion who nailed this song. The song has many religious connotations and references and is a mix of stories with no single theme running throughout. Each verse has it’s own emotion but Jeff’s version has an incredibly tense, remorseful and melancholic feel to it.
Anyone who knows the music I like will know that there is a shed load of sad stuff in there and I could easily reel off a hundred exhibits and have missed out some superb examples such as indifference by Pearl Jam, Yesterday by the Beatles, etc. etc. but I hope that something from the above selection does something for you. Everyone feels every emotion and there’s a song for all of them. Enjoy (or not).
B
I never thought it possible, I had assumed that Chris Cornell and his incredible vocal range were parted forever but it appears I may be wrong. See for yourself…
Now one of our (‘our’ referring to anyone who has ever loved Soundgarden) prayers have been answered lets hope the powers that be can now address the others.. ALBUM and TOUR!
WOW
You know where you were when you found out that Diana died, Kurt Cobain shot himself, Dimebag was taken from us and Choco Krispies reverted back to their rightful name of Coco Pops. Well now you have to remember what you were doing on Friday 19/11/2010 because an equally important event occured, the Deftones destroyed Rock City.
I know that everyone who attends a Deftones gig claims theirs was the best but they are all now categorically WRONG. Deftones produced some of the darkest, coolest, angstiest and most downright glorious sounds ever to be thrust upon the human ear. My wishlist of songs was almost complete (no nosebleed or Royal) with an absolutely stunning set finishing off in old school style with the ever-fresh sounding engine no.9 and 7 words.
It has to be said that the quality of Chinos voice remained at a supernaturally high standard throughout. He demonstrated a level of control, tone and intensity that was nothing short of spine chilling including a 12 second plus scream at the end of passenger that could only be described as epic. The songs from the new album came across very well and were well received by the crowd but the intense performances of elite, engine no.9 and 7 words really stole the show.
This is a bit of a rushed and raw post because I’m really supposed to be doing “other things” at the moment but it would have been an injustice not to say something to the world about this, IMHO, legendary gig.
Anyone going to see Deftones soon – you’re in for a treat!
Computer: “Your password is due to expire in 13 days. Do you want to change it now?” (wording may be slightly off).
Well, NO. The answer’s in the question… that is…. I have 13 days to avoid going through the painful process of trying to think of something unusual that I can remember, not to mention remembering what characters I’ve $ubzt!tuTed1.
I feel like I’m in a episode of Ally McBeal at the moment with a variety of controversial cases hitting the headlines. Now, so that I do not get into any muddy water about expressing my views I am going to withold the names of the persons involved so that you don’t know the specific cases I’m referring to but – in principle – is chasing down a burglar and beating him until he’s brain damaged acceptable? And what about mercy killings?
Well, the first case about chasing someone down to beat them after they no longer pose a threat to you should not be rewarded with a suspended sentence in my opinion. I fully sympathise with the family and the ordeal they went through but that sort of a reaction is what you would WANT to do but, deep down, you know you CAN’T. By reducing a sentence for the man in question you are sending out a message that it was in someway justified (not entirely, of course, because he is still on a suspended sentence). I agree that there were mitigating circumstances but the selfless thing to do would have been to see to his family first… maybe arm himself in case the burglars returned?? but… family first. Chasing this man down can only be described as revenge and being lenient on a revenge attack could open the floodgates to a vigilante society. I would like to make it clear that these are my opinions of what the law should have done, I am not going to go down the route of whether the repeat-offender violent danger-to-society burglar deserved what he got, though you are welcome to comment on this if you wish.
The mercy killing case – I’ll admit, I don’t know enough about this case to express an opinion as to whether the sentence was justified. Did her son want to die? If so, should euthanasia be a more acceptable option? I find this issue very confusing and don’t really have strong opinions either way with one exception – if you are making the decision to end your own life, that is your decision to make subject to all other options being investigated first (e.g. therapy, change, medical avenues (if appropriate)). Making decisions on anothers’ behalf is always going to be dangerous and complicated which makes it one of those things that you can’t possibly form a valid opinion on without having spent time in that situation with that person. So, my opinion is: that this subject is too complicated to have a general opinion on.
What an anticlimax – I hear you say – what was the point in this post? Well, I want to hear you you think – do you have an opinion on this? And with all due respect, I would like to hear your opinion, not necessarily the opinion of your faith – if the 2 things are different, that is.
Ciao B
This is a great idea… up to now, the most vulnerable countries to a tsunami have little or no early warning systems in place for tsunamis, usually these are the reserve of the richest countries like the US with the use of sensitive sub marine pressure sensor arrays.
Now Manoj Nair and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are researching the possibility of detecting increased ocean activity using fibre-optic communications cables. The theory is that charged particles would interact with the Earths magnetic field and produce a voltage in these cables that, in theory, should be detectable. This research is still embryonic but is the very definition, in my opinion, of the technological and scientific innovation this race needs to survive.
For more information on this I’d recommend a visit to:
ciao B
Ok, I’m not a great bass player but I play enough to get frustrated by people having the notions that a) playing bass is easy and b) the bass is only there to ‘fill out’ the sound from the other guitars. With a bass you have the ability to either subtly change a songs key or rhythmic feel or pound through a song with a size 12 bass line. For those who say that they don’t ‘know’ any bass lines – I give you ‘Billy Jean’, ‘Another one bites the dust’, ‘Under pressure’, ‘Give it away’, ‘Jeremy’, ‘Walking on the moon’, to name but a few.
There are those who say that bass is easier than playing guitar, it isn’t. It’s different but, like guitar, or most other instruments for that matter, you can take it to whatever level of difficulty your brain and fingers allow. For those who are thinking of getting a guitar having never seen the potential for bass, please view the following artists who’ve inspired me over the years. Enjoy.
Les Claypool (of primus, oysterhead, etc, etc…)
John Myung (of Dream Theatre)
Victor Wooton (Bass Legend! End of)
Flea (of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction, a variety of others)
Mark King (of Level 42)
Ryan Martinie (of MudVayne – watching this guy live is an experience to behold)
Ton Levin (of Liquid Tension Experiment, King Crimson, Peter Gabriel. Note in this video we also have the legends John Petrucci on guitar and Mike Portnoy on Drums)
There are loads more but this post is starting to look a little too meaty. Converted? Who do you think is the greatest (please note, above aren’t necessarily the best, just my most inspirational)?
Ciao B
Haven’t got time to do a proper blog about it now, have to set off for work….. look it up for yourself!!! SOUNDGARDEN ARE BACK!!!
Can you tell I’m excited? More soon.
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