I have always been a fan of really well thought and put together mixtapes, and I love making them, especially now that I have really put in the time to properly digitize MOST of my CD collection, which leaves me a lot more time to focus on making good selection of pieces to use and on the flow of the mix. I'll post mixtapes on here as I make them, and go into detail on each selection as it is deemed appropriate.

I will try to include the song as possible, usually through Youtube videos. I would say that most songs I include will not be singles so there will not often be an official video for them. Luckily there are a lot of fan videos of a LOT of songs out there, so at least an example of a song can be found, despite the content of the video. In other cases, the only example available may be a live video, in which many cases the sound quality may be greatly compromised.

THE "UNREQUITED LOVE" MIXTAPE
This mix will focus on the lyrical content of songs that deal with the more complicated nature of relationships and love, as opposed to more simplistic "heart break" songs. Not all examples in this list are strictly about love of the "unrequited" kind, but they do deal with issues about which what we deeply want cannot be had, and why (even if the "why" sometimes cannot be explained in words). Sometimes love is one-sided, or instead of carried through simply with base emotions and feelings it over-intellectualized to the point that one's inner feelings just can't hold up to our ideals or what it is that we think we "want". That is what these songs deal with.

1. TEGAN & SARA "call it off" from The Con

This song is bittersweet in its dual feelings of relief and regret. It's one of those instances in which someone has made a decision to end something before it was able to truly form into anything more…and perhaps that decision leads to heart-break, but maybe it was in fact for the best. It's one of those "we'll never know situations. The first lines of the chorus, though, are especially telling:

"Maybe I would have been something you'd be good at

Maybe you would have been something I'd be good at

But now we'll never know"

It's a good abstraction of love and affection into a skill, as if the challenge of being with and keeping another person happy is something that someone may or may not be able to do.



2. A PERFECT CIRCLE "orestes" (Billy Howerdel solo acoustic demo)

This song may not be a perfect fit for this playlist, as it is most likely based on the greek mythological character of Orestes, but with its highly symbolic nature, it can be interpreted in several ways.

I would interpret the lyrics as being about a relationship in which one person is feeding off of the other in very negative ways, as in a symbiotic way. It feels like Billy Howerdel's lyrics confess a feeling of being parasitic to his lover, and despite the strong love between them both, it has to stop because in the end his latching on will only serve to end in tragedy:

"Gotta cut away, clear away
Slip away and sever this
Umbilical residue,
Keeping me from killing you

And from pulling you down with me here,
I can almost hear you scream"

This demo version of the song, simply played with an acoustic guitar and sung by Howerdel instead of Maynard James Keenan has a much more intimate, vulnerable feel to it then the more epic studio sound that A Perfect Circle has, and adds to this feeling even more.

[I am not sure where or if this track is available on any official releases…it was quite popular among P2P networks years ago. It's worth track down for sure though. To hear more of Howerdel's great vocals, you should also check out his new band Ashes Divide,



Album version for reference


3. ONELINEDRAWING "superhero" from The Volunteers

This song, to me, is about how when we first meet someone and fall in love, we are so overcome with those feelings that we put blindly put them up on a pedestal and create a dream image of what they are and how amazing they are:
"When you make someone into a superhero
know that they will fly
and they will see right through you
they will burn so bright
that they will make you blind
yeah they will make you blind"

Unfortunately these images will often be tarnished by the harsh reality of how people really are. It's not to say that the person isn't truly good or loving or caring…but that dream image that was created will be gone when the realization that it never existed comes to fruition, and we find ourselves longing for that person that we thought we had found. Ultimately, the song conjures thoughts of hope that this is something that can be overcome, although we're still left with feelings of incompleteness.



4. AGAINST ME "pints of guinness make you strong" from Reinventing Axl Rose

This is a touching song about how love can be everlasting, and sometimes because of it, can be quite painful. It tell the story of Evelyn and how she lost her husband James to alcoholism 37 years ago and the pain caused by it made her never have the heart to be able love anyone else again.

"if we're never together if I'm never back again well i swear to god that i'll love you forever. Evelyn I'm not coming home tonight. in all the years that went by she said she'd always love him, and from the day that he died she never loved again."

The references to "drinking Irish" and Guinness marks remembrance and honor of the dead, as well as never being able to forget or let go of someone, no matter the passage of time.



5. APOPTYGMA BERZERK "until the end of the world (acoustic version)" from In This Together single

This song is really the definition of unreiquited love…it speaks about a powerful love that fate just will not allow to happen:

"All the weights that keep me down
seem heavier than before
fate hits me in my face
though you feel nothing"

The narrator appears compulsively desperate to make his pleas heard but they fall on deaf ears. Perhaps the line "I cry out loud but you hear nothing" is actually representative of an internal cry because for some reason he can't express himself. Nonetheless, He's willing to wait "until the end of the world" for her

This acoustic version of the song, released as a B-side on the single for the song "In This together" resonates with much more heartache and vulnerability than the original version from the Harmonizer record, which is very fast paced and has a hugely anthemic electronic pop quality to it.



Album version for reference


6. OSKER "disconnect, disconnect" from Idle Will Kill

For me, this song fits in with the same themes represented in Onelinedrawing's "Superhero," but this time from the perspective of the person who has been imaginarily built up and is now angry and bitter about his inability to live up to expectations. This section from the second verse sums it all up:

"I couldn't carry a Goddamn thing,
But you, but you gave it anyway.
Half-flattered you believed in me,
Half-sorry you made a mistake."

From the very first line in the song, "Every time I hear your name, It bears an uncanny resemblance to defeat," it describes the inadequacies felt from any simple reference to where he went wrong. The chorus and title refer to the overwhelming desire to disassociate himself with any and all memories of the incident and of her, because it reminds him of his own failure.

Unfortunately, there are no videos of this song, and almost no videos available of Osker AT ALL, but I urge you check out the whole album, Idle Will Kill. It's one of the most personal and painful "punk" related albums I've ever heard, and deals with many issues of being a young adult, such as trying to fit into one's own skin, dealing with not being able to live up to people's expectations, and realizing when one hasn't or maybe even isn't going to achieve the dreams that they have always had.

7. DUSTIN KENSRUE "I knew you before" from Please Come Home

Dustin is the lead singer from THRICE, and this comes from his first solo album, which has a very Johnny Cash-esque country bar band sound. This song sounds to me like the judgmental sermon of someone telling the story to an ex-lover about her own fall from grace into the excesses of lust and promiscuity in order to try and fit in.

On one hand it reads like a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of giving into the temptations strewn about by the media of how to be accepted

"The magazines and media supplied you with their plastic protocol
And maybe music television really is the devil after all"

And as a consequence the lines of love and lust become blurred because of the necessity to feel love and comfort from others:

"And all you want is to hear the words:
"Dear baby I love you"
So you hike your skirt higher still
'Till there eyes are all on you"

On the other hand, as the song concludes it starts to bear the naivety of an ex-loved or someone who has always cradled a desperate adoration to be able to "save" that person:

"And all I can say is I knew you before
You were beautiful back then
You could be beautiful again"



8. DEPECHE MODE "world full of nothing" from Black Celebration"

This song talks about a young couple's first time having sex and the magnitude it has. A first time, a young experience like a high school romance isn't necessarily about love, because people don't really have the capacity or the life experience to truly be able to emotionally connect in a way like that. BUT, when you're young, you'll take what you can get, because you're idealistic and you think that love and companionship is something you need, something to fight for.

"She's lonely
And he says
It's for her only
That he lusts
She doesn't trust him
Nothing is true
But he will do"



[Thematically similar, check out this great live version of TEGAN & SARA'sNineteen, which I didn't include in the list because I thought "cut you off" was more relevant]

9. BOYS NIGHT OUT "let me be your swear word" from S/T

This is an interesting reflection on a relationship in which two people are not really fit for each other, so they get drunk and have sex, and continuing an ongoing threesome between themselves and the bottle of liquor. It goes into detail about the physicality of the relationship and the role of the alcohol, but then

"We wake up unsteady, because that's what we do.
There's no way I'm good for you.
You stand up and hurry me out of your room.
I got it, I'm leaving!"



10. DESCENDENTS "I'm the one" from Everything Sucks

Here's another falls distinctly into the textbook definition of "unrequited love" and also tells a story that I am sure a lot of people are familiar with – the guy that falls head over heels for a girl, and will do absolutely anything for her, but ultimately ends up in the position of her "gay friend,"

"i'm the one who wants you more than anything
you don't feel the same way you made it clear to me
but i'll stand my ground and maybe
you'll hear what i've been sayin"

WHICH, unfortunately is pretty pathetic. So he stands by and idly watches her go through bad relationship after bad relationship and listens to her complain about them, hoping that she'll come around and reciprocate his affection

"'m the one
i've been here for you all along
i'm the one
who's shoulder you've been cryin on
nice guys finish last
no one knows as good as me
we're just good friends
and you come to me for sympathy
you tell me that i'm not your type
still you call me late at night
everytime he picks a fight"



11. GREG GRAFFIN "maybe she will" from American Lesion

This is from Greg Graffin of Bad Religion's first solo record, which saw him taking a much more personal approach to his music. In this, Graffin ponders an ex-lover and through turmoil and nightmares he retains a glimmer of hope that she will simply change her mind and return to him

"In cold and darkest weather, the times we had together
Come to me and I smile to sleep
The clouds dissapate and I soon re-awake
To such a living tragedy
I'm resolved to pondering
Maybe she will"

It is a song of desperation, constantly refraining "maybe" this and "maybe" that, simply leaving things up to fate instead of taking action himself. It kind of takes the thought of endearing love for a person to levels of self-torture, to simply think about and let the past constantly resonate without attempting to create a new future. Instead of painting a picture of anger or any real passion, it's a testimony to a stagnant existence of futile yearning but never receiving.


12. HUMAN LEAGUE "louise" from Hysteria

"Louise" is similar thematically to "maybe she will," but less tragic and more melancholic. It tells the story of a couple that broke things off long ago, yet the feelings still linger for both.

"Hello, Louise,
Remember me?
Now should we part
Or stay awhile?
As if we were still lovers"

They share a chance meeting after having not each other for a while, and though they both see that their feelings for each other are still there, they realize that what they had before will never be the same again, because they have both changed.



13. BECK "think I'm in love" from The Information

To me, this song is about someone who is in a relationship, but has a deathly fear, not necessarily of commitment, but from actually allowing himself to fall in love and be happy. Naturally, the chorus

"I think I'm in love
But it makes me kinda nervous to say so"

Makes a pretty clear statement about his wishy washy nature and anxiety, but this section

"Take a little picture in a photobooth
Keep it in a locket and I think of you
Both of our pictures, face to face
Take off your necklace and throw it away"

Really helps solidify the idea that being together with someone is just downright terrifying, despite the affections that she attempts to show to him



13. CURSIVE "the game of who needs who the worst" from Domestica

This comes from Cursive's excellent "Domestica" record, which is a concept album detailing a troubling relationship and its apparent collapse. This song alludes to adultery

"A little bit closer
Your lipstick is smudged, dear
Here, let me wipe that smirk off "

And its use within this twisted relationship as a sort of chess play, as if the relationship were some sort of sick game

"Relations, in direct competition
Domination
The players, disguised as the lovers
The best friend
A game of who needs who the worst"

The game plays out by testing one's love by tearing them down psychologically and emotionally. It goes back and forth, back and forth until someone either gives up or gives in. The question is: if it's "true love" do we try to work these things out and suffer through it, or do we chalk it up as finally over once we get to these harrowing points?


14. LIZ PHAIR "fuck and run" from Exit To Guyville

This is a sad story from someone who wishes they could find love and be in a relationship, something constant, with all the bells and whistles, but instead just continues to put herself into situations in which she has meaningless sex that would not and will not lead to anything else. And no matter how many times in the song she says

"I didn't think this would happen again"

And longs for something more, she sets herself up for failure. Deep inside she know her own self-fulfilling prophecy

"And I can feel it in my bones
I'm gonna spend another year alone
It's fuck and run, fuck and run
Even when I was seventeen
Fuck and run, fuck and run
Even when I was twelve"



Whew

….and now

FREE (or cheap) GOOD MUSIC!

I was on Wikipedia this weekend gathering information to update my "albums to buy" list and discovered that the amazing mash-up DJ GIRL TALK released a new album on June 19th, and following in the footsteps of Radiohead, is offering it to fans at "choose your own price," which means the record could be free if one chooses. There are different benefits associated with paying different prices, like better compression ratios, and getting the physical version of the album when it drops in September. I paid $5.00 because it gave me the option of getting it as a continuous mix on a single track…which is really the way something like this should be heard.




The album is called FEED THE ANIMALS


And like his last album, features HUNDREDS of bits of popular songs mixed together, cut to fuck, and mashed up into a brilliant new animal. This guy makes me truly enjoy music I would normally hate. Make sure to check it out.

Click Here to get FEED THE ANIMALS!

And while we're talking about free music, be sure to check out Nine Inch Nails newest full length album, THE SLIP, which he offered to fans COMPLETELY FOR FREE, no questions asked!



Click Here to get THE SLIP!

'Till next time…

-Andrew

Hey all. I'm probably not going to be purchasing any new records this weekend, so I thought I'd devote this installment of the blog to discussing and showcasing a few bands that I discovered and fell in love with the last couple of years. These are bands that I find myself constantly referencing to people, but they seem to have never heard of them.

BUT FIRST I will mention that I have been spending a lot of time scourging the AWESOME electronic music blog Missing Toof for new tunes I'm gonna load up into the iPod and make up some of my own mixtapes and take some mad notes. It's a great resource for downloading free remixes, album tracks, and my favorite: full DJ sets and mixtapes! If'n your interested in a good dance mix, here are some that i highly reommend. i've downloaded and listened to about 15 or so of these sets so far (though i have another 4 or so that i haven't had a chance to bump yet) and these are the highlights so far.

NOTE: these mixes are continuous and presented as single tracks. So all you have to do is push play once and let the dancing begin

TRONIK YOUTH exclusive NLLR mix (58:28 - 6mb)

Tracklist:
Intro
The Whip - Trash (Let's Go To War Remix)
The Teenagers - Love No (TEPR Remix)
The Count & Sinden - Beeper (Fake Blood Remix)
Azzido Da Bass - Dooms Night (Azzido Da Bass Remix)
Fred Falke - Sanctuary
Crookers - Knobbers
AutoKratz - Pardon Garcon
Alex Gopher - Aurora
Muscles - Sweaty (Shazam Remix)
Infadels - Can't Get Enough (TEPR Remix)
Unknown - In The Club (Headman Remix)
Headman - Catch Me If You Can (Tronik Youth Remix
DOWNLOAD mp3 file:TRONIK YOUTH MIX

RICHIE PANIC's "An Amazing Lifelike Companion Mix (35:54 - 49mb)

Tracklist
Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor (Panics Tidy Re-edit)
Trevor Lovey & Sinden - Organ Grinder
Alter Ego - Why not?
K.I.M. - Wet 'N Wild (Riot In Belgium Remix)
The Rapture - The Sound (Ben Rymers Back to 95 Remix)
The Presets - My People (Panics Cut and Run DIM Re-edit)
Black Daniel - Gimme What You Got (Alex Metric Remix)
DJ Laz and Pitbull - Move, Shake, Drop
Mark Ronson - Valerie (Count Of Monte Cristo & Sinden Remix)
Azzido Da Bass - Dooms Night (Laidback Luke Bootleg)
Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Deadmau5 Edit)
Junkie XL - More More (Kraak & Smaak Get Stupid Remix)
Das Pop - Fool For Love (Yuksek Remix)
Midnight Juggernauts - Road To Recovery (Curses! Remix)
Bonus Track
DOWNLOAD mp3 file: RICHIE PANIC MIX

OCELOT "In The Mix" NLLR exclusive mix (about 96:00 - 132.9 mb)

tracklisting:
01 - Manhattan Research, Inc. - Hostess Twinkies
02 - Ocelot - Lo Sforzo (Night Facilities Remix)
03 - Ocelot - Lo Sforzo (L.A. Riots Remix)
04 - Chromeo - Tenderoni (Etienne De Crecy Remix)
05 - Classixx - Cold Act Ill
06 - Ali Love - Secret Sunday Lover (Tom Neville Remix)
07 - Boys Noize - & Down
08 - Larry Tee feat. Princess Superstar - Licky (Herve Goes Low Remix)
09 - Scenario Rock - Skitzo Dancer (TV Rock & Dirty South Remix)
10 - Supadelics - Take A Look Inside (Miles Dyson Peaktime Dub)
11 - Frederico Franchi - Cream
12 - Yelle - A Cause Des Garcons (Riot In Belgium Mix)
13 - Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Deadmau5 edit)
14 - Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (MSTRKRFT Remix)
15 - Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Accapella)
16 - Run DMC - My Adidas (Pilotpriest Remix)
17 - Whitney Houston - I'm Every Woman (VNDLSM Remix)
18 - Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You (Accapella)
19 - Ocelot - Our Time (Calvertron Remix)
20 - Ocelot - Our Time
21 - Trevor Loveys & Sinden - Organ Grinder
22 - Ocelot - Untitled
23 - Mark Knight - Drug Music (Will Bailey Remix)
24 - Dragonette - Competition (Ocelot remix)
25 - Sono - A New Cage (Digitalism Remix)
26 - Ocelot - Clarke's House
27 - Razorlight - America (Ocelot Bootleg Remix)
28 - Toxic Avenger - Escape (L.A. Riots Remix)
29 - Calvertron - Like Dis
30 - Wekan - Skid (Touche Remix)
31 - CJ Bolland - Sugar Is Sweeter (Twocker Remix)
32 - Duke Dumont - Final Level
33 - D.I.M. - Is You (JFK Remix)
34 - Tommie Sunshine - Dance Among The Ruins (Toxic Avenger Remix)
35 - David Guetta - Love Is Gone (Fred Rister & Joachim Garraud Remix)
36 - Chemical Brothers - Superstar DJ (Calvertron Remix)
37 - Bird Peterson - Twurk Central
38 - Bee Gees - Staying Alive (Teddy Bears Remix)
39 - Manhattan Research, Inc. - Auto-Lite Wheels
DOWNLOAD mp3 file: Ocelot - In The Mix

...and NOW onto the meat and potatoes of this post...

BANDS YOU MAY NOT OF HEARD OF BUT YOU PROBABLY SHOULD

JESU

Jesu is the brainchild of Justin Broadrick, who played guitar foir some time for the seminal grindcore band Napalm Death and is known mostly for his industrial metal band Godflesh. Admittedly, I have yet to familiarize myself with Godflesh, though i've heard talk of them for many years now.

I first became aware of Jesu after hearing the band open up the compilation record "Solid PR Presents Vol. 1: A Benefit for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society,"

The comp also introduced me to HELLA, THE UNICORNS, and I AM THE WORLD TRADE CENTER

The very first track on the album was "Tired of Me" by Jesu, and immediately I was blown away. You can hear a bit of the studio version of the 9+ minute track on this pretty cool montage someone posted on Youtube

as well as the whole track as performed live at Amoeba last year (though the quality of the vocals in this recording are fairly shitty)


There was something about the sound that immediately struck me. The guitars are immensely low and fuzzed out, deifnately reminiscent of grindcore and doom, but the rythms of the drums are intensely slow and the voals melodic, almost to the point of uplifting. I had to hear more, and found the self-titled full length soon thereafter


Happily, the album delivers on a whole and "Tired of Me" was NOT a fluke. This record slows like a dream, and works best in the dark, with one's eyes closed. Most of the songs are 7-9 minutes long rely much more on the musicality than on the lyrics/vocals. Another stand-out track for me is "We All Falter" (video is from a live show in San Francsico April 6, 2007)


To my amazement, Jesu has not taken much of a break between subsquent released and has conitnually unleashed a barrage of new records. Very shortly after my discovery of the self-titled album, the "Silver" e.p. was released.

It's only 4 songs long, but they're long and dream-like, as before, but now adding more layers and melodic touches to them. Here is the title track of that record:


Then, in 2007, ANOTHER full-length, titled "Conqueror" was released in February

Title track (live at The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS 10/30/07):


and ANOTHER e.p. came in October - "Lifeline"


There's not a lot I can verbally go on and on about this band...it's certainly a case where the music speaks for itself. Although there are no trmendous changes in style from release to release, there is a definitive progression in the use of layers, experimentation of electronic and acoustic instrumentaion, use of musical collaborators, and melodic undertones. I cannot recommend this band enough.

THE KNIFE

The Knife is an electronic-based group, but I would not call them a dance group by any strech of the imagination. Though their songs are are marked by solid back beats and high-pitched melodic synth hooks, they also utlilize often strange song structures, hauting soundscapes, and the rather unique sounding vocals of Karin Dreijer Andersson, who sounds at the same time comforting and unsettling.

Karin was first introduced to the US (well, at least to me) by providing vocals to the 2005 ROYKSOPP single, "What Else Is There," along with a pretty incredible video:


In 2006 The Knife's third full-lenght record, "Silent Shout" was released, and I'm assuming because of the popularity of the previous year's Royksopp single, they were brought wirth much fanfare to the US and made huge fans out of a lot of us.


This album was fairly unlike a lot of things I had heard prior. On one hand, there are dancable beats throughout the album, but on the other there are dark, protruding soundscapes and beyond Karin's already strange vocals and almost outright bizarre lyrics that paint somehwat disturbing images, a myriad of vocal manipulations and sounds that can have strange effects. BUT, for how dark and penetrating as the sounds are, the songs still have a quality about them that makes them very listeanble.

Some videos of stand-out tracks from the album:

"Silent Shout"


"We Share Our Mother's Health"


AND while not official, a pretty damn good effort at a fan video for my favorite song off the album, "Forest Families,"


After my discovery and instantaneous love affair with "Silent Shout," I went out and found The Knife's previously relased full-length, 2003's "Deep Cuts"


Right off the bat, I can say that this album is too long at 20 tracks and is peppered with a lot of strange throwaway tracks. BUT, there are also a lot of amazing tracks on it that make the full package pretty outstanding.

"Deep Cuts" overall is decidely less dark than 'Shout,' delivering more of a super-charged synth-pop sound. The lyrics are also less confusingly abstract (yet often still weird) and tend to veer towards being strange love songs. Several videos were released for the album, here are some highlights:

"Pass this On"


"You Take My Breath Away"


And I don't think this is an official video, but another GREAT track, "Girl's Night Out"


If any of this strikes your interest, I urge you to check out the entire albums.

Until next time, PEACE

-Andrew

MUSIC BLOG 1

This is something I've been wanting to do for a while, so here it goes. This will basically be a place for me to pontificate and wax poetic about music I like as I buy new records, set up playlists, go to concerts, or just have a notion that pops into my head about something music related. I can't say how regular I'll post these or how content heavy each subsequent post will be – I'll just see how it goes as it happens.
This weekend I picked up a bunch of new records, so I'll start there. I have an ongoing list of albums to purchase, but there was a particular catalyst this weekend for visiting Amoeba.

WOLFSHEIM
Back in my Goth-clubbing days, I came across a group called WOLFSHEIM, who are pretty darkwave/synth pop. They had a single off of their 2001 album "Spectators" called "Once in a Lifetime" that I found particularly intriguing in it's catchiness, danciness, and beautiful vocalizations. Here is the music video for it:




I picked up the whole album a while back, but was fairly under whelmed by the whole package – although there are a few outstanding gems on it besides 'Once,' most notably "Heroin, She Said," and "For You." I didn't try out any of their other albums because I've consistently noticed among industrial/EBM/Goth/etc. groups the ability to be extremely off and on in their work…and as off and on this one album was, I was reluctant to purchase more since I already had the song that I loved, as well as a few others.
SO last week one day at lunch I found myself mucking around on Youtube, looked up Wolfsheim, and came across this fantastic pair of music videos – the songs and videos both act as direct prequels/sequels to each other:

"FIND YOU'RE HERE"



"FIND YOU'RE GONE"



Apparently the first, "find you're here" was released only as a single, but "gone" was on the group's last album, 2003's "Casting Shadows." As soon as I head the track I knew I had to have it because it fits in very well with the exact sensibilities of synth pop that I like – slowly melodic synths, a good back beat, nice solid vocals, and probably most of all – very melancholic, morose, and self-defeating lyrics (see also some of my other favorite synth pop tracks like INFORMATION SOCIETY's "Going Going Gone" and "How Long," HUMAN LEAGUE's "Louise" and "Tell Me When," ERASURE'S "chains of love," and more recently, ROBYN'S "With Every Heartbeat" and "Be Mine." [I will more than likely devote a whole post to discussing melancholic, heartbroken synth pop at a later date in which I'll go into greater detail and talk about a lot more bands]

I picked up "Casting Shadows," but have only listened to the album once all the way through so far, so I don't have a whole lot to speak about it as a whole…although I already think it suffers from the same problem as "Spectators" in that the quality of songs shifts dramatically throughout the album. Regardless, "Find You're Here" is pretty great (if you like this kind of stuff).

NECRO
Now I'll switch gears…pretty much as far as they can be switched. Necro is a rapper who coined the phrase "Death Rap" and is pretty much to rap music what Cannibal Corpse is to death metal – horror fantasy, that is to say he raps about viciously maiming, killing, raping, and destroying people with great vigor and horrendous detail.
I originally became aware of Necro several years ago when someone showed me his song, "I Need Drugs," which I found hilarious:



But I never followed up on looking into him because, although I liked the lyrics and his rhyming was quality, I wasn't a fan at all of the flow or the instrumentation of the track at all. I found out much later that the song was actually a parody of LL COOL J's "I Need Love," which makes the song even more hilarious. Here's the original:



I hadn't heard much about Necro until about maybe a year and a half ago when my younger brother started getting WAY into him. Recently though, he told me that he, and a lot of his hardcore fans are now hating on Necro because he's a "fat jew sellout poser," a statement that is hilariously stupid for 3 reasons:
1. Racists or not, were these imbeciles not aware of the fact that he was ALWAYS Jewish? I don't think it's ever been a hidden fact given the guy's birth name is RON BRAUNSTEIN (how much more Jewish can you get?).
2. He went from self-distributing his records out-of-pocket through his own record label to signing a distribution deal with INDEPENDENT distributor Koch Records. That is hardly selling out. He still makes all of his own decisions regarding every part of the record-making process – all this means if that there is more money backing the process of getting albums into more stores and creating more fans. Koch isn't giving him any more money than he already was getting, but they are helping him get the chance to get more and newer kids to come to shows to directly give him more money by buying merchandise
3. Poser? Did these morons all think before that he actually was killing people? Necro's lyrics, even taking away the acute Cannibal Corpse reference, are immensely similar to what drunk people do in "rap battles" in garages across the country – come up with the cleverest rhymes explaining how one will terminate, decimate, and mutilate one's opponent. That's all there is to it – no street cred, repping hoods, or any of that garbage. It's fantasy.

ANYWAY, I recently came across a video from Necro's latest album, "Death Rap," for the song "Mutilate The Beat," and I was really impressed:



I picked up "Death Rap" this weekend and the whole album delivers just as 'Mutilate' does. Each song has very inventive, sharply written lyrics with clever rhymes and wordplay. He has a very cool rhythmic style to how he spits out his words. Even if you don't pay attention to the actual words, there is a certain precision to their presentation that I don't hear from a lot of rappers that really appeals to me. The music is great too – fairly minimalist but up-tempo drum breaks with symphonic backing, and on a couple songs he enlists metal bands to provide the tunes, even using singers such as SHADOWS FALL's Brian Fair on the choruses. The songs are short and sweet, usually under three minutes. The lyrical content is definitely not for everybody. But if you look past the violence and take it as extremely humorous posturing, including many insanely funny, from-out-of-left-field pop culture reference like smashing someone's head open like "Gallagher's sledgehammer" ( If you don't know who I'm taking about click here ) , it's a really listenable, well-produced rap album.

ONELINEDRAWING
This one is related to my now obsessive dig into the history of POSTHARDCORE music (something I won't delve into now, but you'll be seeing a lot of mentions of it here, I'm sure, so here is some quick reading on it in the very bare bones Wikipedia entry on the subject: POSTHARDCORE WIKI PAGE
Onelinedrawing is the solo project of Joe Matranga, once lead singer of seminal posthardcore band Far (whose albums I've yet to get my hands on since they're out of print and not readily available). I once read that Matranga was the "not shitty" version of Chris Carrabba, the former lead singer for Christian emo band Further Seems Forever who went on to be known as Dashboard Confessional. Funny enough, later on, the singer from Far contemporaries SENSE FIELD (whom Onelinedrawing actually did a split e.p. with) actually became the singer for Futher Seems Forever.
I had been hearing about Onelinedrawing for years, and was expecially interested because they did a split record with RIVAL SCHOOLS, a band I loved (and unfortunately only did one full length album), but some reason never listened to. I never picked up that split and never ventured to try out Matranga's stuff.
So FINALLY this weekend I picked up both full length Onelinedrawing albums, "Visitor" and "The Volunteers," and am pleased to say that I like his stuff very much. For some reason I think had been expecting simply voice and acoustic guitar, which makes me weary sometimes, especially since I hadn't gotten a chance to hear Far yet so I didn't know his voice. It turns out that it's a bit more of a collaborative project, with several guests, different types of instrumentation, samples, and sound effects. It's a similar type of project of home recording and collaboration as BRAND NEWand REGGIE AND THE FULL EFFECT but decidedly rawer and more purposely lo-fi than both. Mattranga's voice is in a lot higher register than I expected, similar to contemporaries likeSUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE and MINERALThe songwriting style is also reminiscent of extremely significant band THE REPLACEMENTS

Here are a couple OneLineDrawing videos:

"SMILE"



"BETTER THAN THIS"



JAWBOX
Another posthardcore band that I stumbled upon while doing some research, but my notes didn't indicate to which band they had been connected, so I'm not sure how I came across them. I picked up "NOVELTY" this weekend, and like my recent discovery of LIFETIME . They are a band I really WISH I had discovered in the early '90s when they were still new, although Jawbox dodes much more fit my current sensibilities than Lifetime.
I don't have a whole lot to say about Jawbox other then they're really good. They spent a good deal of their career on MINOR THREAT, FUGAZI, and THE EVENS frentman Ian MacKaye's record label DISCHORD and built a decent sized catalogue before their breakup. Here's some videos and some history JAWBOX WIKI PAGE




No embedding for these two unfortunately

COOLING CARD

CUT-OFF

LAVENDER DIAMOND
Finally I'll talk a little bit about LAVENDER DIAMOND. I discovered this band a couple months ago while doing some research on OSKER's Devon Williams when I found he is now (or was) playing guitar for this band. Lavender Diamond is a delightful folk-ish type band (a similar type of folk rock to SUFJAN STEVENS or THE POLYPHONIC SPREE) with nice female voals and piano. I picked up the record "Imagine Our Love" and would love to recommend it to anyone and everyone who enjoys this type of thing. Be sure to check out "Here Comes One" on their MYSPACE PAGE and here is the video for "Open Your Heart," the single from the album:



OKAY, whew, that's enough. Hopefully there will be lots of these, if I can find the time and energy. I hope all of the links and stuff work.

-Andrew

sorry, not records

I got a couple pieces this month and decided to rearrange my vinyl collection this week, so I took some photos

beware, this was an obsession that basically took over my life for about a year and the amount of money spent on it is terrifying. i actually didn't buy a single piece for nearly a year until recently.

BUT THEY'RE SO BEAUTIFUL

 

just so i'm not being called out as a liar when people run into me at parties

i didn't actually quit.

 

i DID, however, manage to immensely cut down with not a lot of trouble. i went from regularly smoking between 25 - 40 cigarettes a DAY to now smoking 15 - 30 a WEEK

although it's not quitting, it still feels like an accomplishment and i do certainly feel a physical improvement

yes, it's true.

 

So now i can buy a bunch of stuff that i've not been able to because of the money i've been wasting and all of the ladies i know are free to make out with me and not have my mouth taste like an ash tray

I might even start exercising now so that i don't get into retarded conundrums like my leg being sore for 3 days after bowling or having to rest my arm after 30 seconds of holding it straight in the air while changing a light bulb (sadly both are true stories)

Luckily I don't feel sick or shaky or anything. it's more like I'm constantly hungry, but don't really want to eat. i'm going to saty positive about it because i'm thinking there are a lot more good things to quitting as opposed to just doing it because i'll eventually die easlier than normal if I don't

Granted I won't look as cool as i usually do, but at least i'll smell better

Here's the photos from my camera from my birthday party last friday. My camera died around 11:30 or so, so these photos are only up until then. Jenny used her camera from then on and also has a bunch of photos. Big thanks to her for snapping these for me. Enjoy!
PS: LOTS of jpegs here, beware if you're on dial-up

here are the drawings from the front page:

 

 

Here's about a billion sketches from the last 2 or so weeks. Too many to put on the front page. I also moved the prvious highlighted pics into here.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

and other stuff:

Comic-Con 2005 was fantastic! Everything went over really well, but I still have items left for sale, if'n yer interested!

First up is the first-ever collection of Harold's World strips: LIVING A LIFE OF SUCKTITUDE! The book is 28 pages long and really tiny!

It also includes a button:

and a sticker:

The whole package is a measly $5.00 and comes in a cool envelope! Here are some sample strips if you've never seen harold:

Next up is my first solo sketchbook, ALL THE KIDS ARE DOING DRUGS. It's 24 pages, jam-packed with tons of sketches and drawings! The price is $5.00. Here is the cover and some sample pages:

Both of those items can be purchased from me. Just send me a message or email me at drugmassacre@yahoo.com

I ALSO have a story in my friend Ed's anthology, ZOWIE 2: TALES OF TIKI TERROR! These should be available now off of the Zowie website, where you can also see samples of all of the great stories and pin-ups in this fantastic 200 page book! Only $20! www.zowiecomics.com Here are the first 3 pages of my story: