Sometimes, you just want to cry.

this has been a rough year. I lost my mom. My dad is fighting Cancer. Several musicians who were big influences on me died of either suicide or drugs. I myself am battling an alcohol problem. It seems like every time I turn around, another mountain of shit crashes into me. Music... Music is cathartic though. Tonight, I was sitting in my living room, listening to some music in the dark, and just crying. No shame, just letting the emotion flow through me. sometimes it's important to remember that it's okay to be sad. For the friends I've lost to suicide... and the musicians whose music helped heal me, but couldn't heal themselves:
For those who fight the good fight against the evils in the world, but can't quite conquer their own demons:
 

For those who are struggling to deal with the loss of someone dear to them:

well now... it's been a while. Life was good, for quite a while. Thanks KF for everything you do for me. Life turned to crap lately. Gonna miss you mom. I'm listening to a lot of instrumentals. I'm also listening to stuff that is angry and resentful. I'm trying to get back into playing myself, but it's slow progress. Here's some stuff.

Five Finger Death Punch - Canto 34. the title is a reference to one of the later verses of Dante's Inferno, wherein Dante and Virgil approach the 9th circle of hell and observe the traitors' fate in the icy lake of Cocytus.

Caspian is a band I found through Slacker Radio's "post-rock soundscapes" station. "Gone in Bloom and Bough" makes for good driving/working music where I can be alone with my thoughts yet steered towards positive emotions.


A Perfect Circle is putting out another album. I'm a big fan, though Maynard and I have very different outlooks regarding religion. I appreciate this piece aesthetically, and I can understand (based on his history) his resentment towards religion and many religious people even if I don't share the sentiment.

Anguish.

Around a week ago, a good friend of mine took his own life. I made the ~1200 mile round trip by car to his funeral. Suicide is never the answer. If you're thinking that it might be your best option... I urge you to talk to somebody.

I find myself listening to Silverchair and Counting Crows.
Silverchair - Shade


Silverchair - Suicidal Dream


Counting Crows - Perfect Blue Buildings


I miss you already Doug. I hope you found what you were looking for.

Classical plus Metal and some other stuff I've been listening to

I've been listening to some weird stuff lately (big surprise). Here's some of it. note: as always, if you don't like the first few songs of a post, don't give up... the others may be vastly different.

Atomis ~ Maelstrom This is a band I discovered from a youtube video (thanks vsauce2). I actually gave them currency to help them record more music. The vocals are a bit screamy, but don't let that frighten you. give it a listen, it's not what you think.

Means End ~ Nox Aurumque Again, thanks to vsauce2 for this one. The original version of this song is a choral piece that plays opposite to Lux Aurumque. Add in a 8 string guitar, drum kit, and 5 string bass guitar... replace the choir with a single powerful vocalist, and you have something special.

Cat and the Menagerie ~ Better Song came to be in a strange little flash game. not really my style, yet I can't stop listening

video followed by game link.

game here: http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/daymare_cat

Reduce the bit count

I was having a conversation the other day about how video games have been part of my generation's daily life since we were born. The sounds of an 8-bit sound chip resonate with me in a way that few other instruments can, and I'm not the only one. In fact there is an entire genre of music where old console sound chips are used in lieu of more traditional instruments. chip music might seem limiting, but to me there is a purity in it that other electronic music can't match.

this song just makes me happy.
Shirobon - Remembering Childhood


X-ray - Zizibum


Chiptune David - Where Am I?

Lets Do the Time Warp Again

Don't worry, I'm not going to post clips from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I am however going to post some music from before my time. I was born in late 1981... got into rock and alternative as a teenager at the end of the grunge era, and didn't give older stuff much attention until college. Here's some stuff that was all released prior to my birth.

I've slipped back into some older stuff lately, which is why I'm making this post. I'm listening to a lot of Progressive and Psychedelic Rock, as well as a lot of harder stuff from around 1967-1974 but the main reason behind this post is that my neighbor's daughter just posted on facebook that listening to justin bieber always makes her feel better... and I felt a need to bring balance back to the internet.

David Bowie - Space Oddity


Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit


Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb


Pink Floyd - Time


Led Zeppelin - Kashmir


Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song


Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze

Driving, freedom, and the road.

The road has been on my mind a lot lately.The first Audioslave album remains among my favorite driving albums of all time. So many of the songs on that album speak of the joys of the road. Included in this entry are the originals and some of my favorite covers from that album as well as some of my favorite driving tunes. enjoy.

First off, here's The original version of "I Am the Highway"


A while back, I was listening to a pandora channel based on the band "Apocalyptica" and found a group called "The String Quartet" who does classical covers of a lot of different bands. They did a great cover of "I Am the Highway". here it is:


Gasoline. This song pretty much nails what I expected when I heard "Chris Cornell" and "Everyone except Zach from RATM". You have the drums and bass from Rage, the "Soundgarden" vocals... and it's one of the few Audioslave tunes where Tom Morello really does his thing on guitar. Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of his other stuff with the band, but just listening to the guitar on this song and say "bulls on parade" or "testify" and you can tell it's the same musician.