The Music Banter Members' Journals Monthly Update Thread

[Key]

^is there a reason it needs to be stickied?

[Trollheart]

Originally Posted by Ki

^is there a reason it needs to be stickied?

Well yeah, because otherwise as other journals are updated it will slide down the pages and people won't be able to find it.

[Key]

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Well yeah, because otherwise as other journals are updated it will slide down the pages and people won't be able to find it.

I guess I didn't phrase my question properly. I don't see why your index for your journal is more important than other people's indexes for their journals. Hence why i'm confused as to why you need it stickied.

[Urban Hat€monger ?]

I don't see why it needs to be stickied.
If you want people to be able to find it easily just put a link in your sig like everybody else does.

[Trollheart]

Originally Posted by Ki

I guess I didn't phrase my question properly. I don't see why your index for your journal is more important than other people's indexes for their journals. Hence why i'm confused as to why you need it stickied.

Man, you're touchy these days intcha? I'm not saying it's more important, but it is the biggest and a lot of people have asked me for an index, so I thought keeping it at the top would be handy. Gleesh! Can't say anything around here but you upset someone!

Originally Posted by Urban Hat€monger ?

I don't see why it needs to be stickied.
If you want people to be able to find it easily just put a link in your sig like everybody else does.

Sure, why not? I just thought if it starts falling down the page it might be hard to find, but yeah, linking it in the sig would probably sort that.

Welcome back by the way: how've ya been?

[Trollheart]

Jesus! What was that? No: over there! There! Beyond the trees --- I know, I know. Got to keep it together. Are you sure that thing's loaded? NO DON'T POINT IT AT ME! What are you trying to do: make their job easier? Okay, okay. Deep breath. Only three hundred yards. Beyond these trees, the road and the pickup, and then we're out of here. Over there! Fuck! No, no, sorry: my mistake. Hey you can't blame me! They could come from .... anywhere .... two hundred yards. I can see the lights from the road. Maybe we're going to make it. Maybe we're .... Oh god! Where did you go? Where? Hello? Hello..?

Well, that's certainly how it seems round these parts! Dark groans and moans echo in the cold night air as three journals which have not been seen for some considerable time stagger through the mist, one of which is surely limping and creaking on long-unused legs, having been away for a third of the time I've been running my journals! Although for every time there is a man, and for every zombie there is a hero, and so we have a longstanding member starting his first journal, not to mention that there's an air of disbelief and confusion too, as my own various journals lie deserted and empty, not even a bone or a skull dropped by a roadside to mark the faintest presence or signs of life...

So saddle up, make sure you have a spare box of ammo for that shotgun and let's head on down onto the smoke-shrouded, pitted and blasted battlefields that used to be city streets, as we try to avoid being finger food for the hungry undead...

Speaking of which...

The Batlord is leading the pack for once, so if you http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-oblivion.html, you'll witness his take on Elektra: Assassin

while Black Francis is continuing his exploration of KAS Prouct in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...l-journey.html with their second album

and after three years, downwardspiral is back with http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...9787-list.html (wonder if he realises that could be mistaken for a journal on celebrities: A-List?) to try to kick this thing into life again.

Finally, after much anticipation, Exo has managed to drag his butt down to Journaltown and we're very happy to see him here. http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...s-musings.html opens this week, and he's already wittering on about NPR, so expect interesting stuff.

Thought there was a comedy theme going on at http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...nnerspace.html there for a moment. Didn't he mention

in one of his articles? Oh no, wait: that was Morton Feldman, not Marty! D'oh! Well innerspaceboy is talking about the SEM Ensemble anyway, as well as publishing the results of his recent survey, compiling a playlist of ambient music, and, um, finding that certain links don't work... to be fixed post haste no doubt! To inner-finity, and beyond!

Janszoon's either pre-empting Metal Month III by six months, or he's six months behind for Metal Month II: I prefer to believe the former. Either way, in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ime-place.html he's reviewing the cracking debut album from The Tygers of Pan Tang.

No Arcade this week, but maybe that's because Ki is getting all excited about this FFS collaboration and talking about it in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...nal-music.html

While LiL is kind of on the same page with interesting stories about one half of that collab in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...de-sparks.html --- oh, and music too.

http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ck-garage.html as he is, Oriphiel is looking into the phenomenon of women in metal (a subject to be tackled during Metal Month III also by myself) with Fanny, Birtha and of course Suzi Q, and is admitting falling for Curved Air. Testify, brother!

Plankton has finally hauled out http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...um-bucket.html again, and are we sharks hungry! He's continuing his long-hiatused (is that a word?) account of how he became a genuine guitar god with help this time from Joe Satriani. Good to see ya back, mate!

And Soulflower is back too, discussing http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...dness-art.html with an entry on Kenny Ganble and Leon Huff, legendary producers behind the Jacksons.

Nothing from me at all this week, as I've been hard at work indexing all my journals so that you can find what you want. So now, if you need to find that rare album review you remember reading three years ago, or want to check out a band of the NWOBHM, start getting into Robin of Sherwood or just catch up on the classic albums I've been looking into, you can track anything down here http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...something.html. Updates to my journals will recommence tomorrow, in preparation for my four-year anniversary.

The top five for 1984 begins to take shape in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...y-history.html as Accept's Balls to the wall takes the number five spot, and in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...78-2015-a.html there's as signposted last week a tribute to the late Mike Porcaro before the guys get into Fahrenheit, the next album up.

Wpnfire lets us know how much he does not like Priest's Stained class in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...s-journal.html --- Batty begs to differ, by which I mean he hits him over the head with a big hammer and says “You're wrong asshole! Listen to me!”

Now, you can call this a fix until you're blue in the face, and I'll still tell you you're right. I don't care. This album does not get enough love around here, and for someone of Janszoon's standing and calibre to praise it means it definitely is my

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Exhibit #6:
Tygers of Pan Tang—Wild Cat (1980)

Yes, this thing was supposed to be written almost six months ago, at the end of October. Sue me. Better late than never, right?

I wasn't sure what to think going into this honestly. I had basically zero familiarity with this band. Never heard them before. Never even heard of them before. I did think they had a really ridiculous name and some pretty cheesy artwork and that didn't bode well. But you know what? I was wrong. These guys turned out to be damn good. Their singer, Jess Cox, aside from having an awesome gay pornstar name, is easily my favorite of any of the NWOBHM bands I've reviewed for this. His voice is more punk and raw and also more vintage rock n roll that any other NWOBHM singer I've heard—he sounds a bit like John Ries from Rocket from the Crypt mixed with a dash of Billy Idol—and that really gives this album a fantastic high-energy charge. Also, unlike every other band I've reviewed, their drummer, Brian Dick (giggle), is worth mentioning as well. His style is streamlined and direct but never boring. He's got a much better groove than those other guys and he's quick to change things up with an unexpected move at the drop of a hat. He's a bit bluesy, a bit jazzy, a bit surf rocky and all of it is very good. Richard Laws' bass playing is damn fine as well, rumbling along like the engine driving those drums, and he really rises to the occasion when he takes a more dominant role as on "Fireclown". Robb Weir's guitar playing is probably the least remarkable thing going on here, but it's still quite good and I love the fact that he's not afraid to get a little dissonant sometimes, most notably on "Slave to Freedom".

Along with Filth Hounds of Hades this is one of the punkiest NWOBHM albums I've heard, which is probably a big part of why I like it so much. These guys are skilled musicians and are pretty tight together, but it's never flashy. They don't feel the need to show off and they always make things feel very off the cuff, something that's key to making Wild Cat as fun and full of life as it is.

There have been a lot of updates this week, but someone who seems to have worked just that little bit harder is Oriphiel (not that this is unusual for him: he's like the other Ki!) and so he gets the title of

for all his work on women in heavy metal and Curved Air, a whole lotta updatin' goin' on, as they say!


Time to wrap up our look into Isbjorn's journal, as we head into February, with the Misfits kicking things off, then there was a review of the movie Romeo and Juliet, followed by more haiku reviews before he went off on a tangent about Mars... He had a pop at Valentine's Day and then as March was ushered in announced he was no longer Briks but would now be called Isbjorn. Next up, and featured as the Post of the Week that week were The True Rules of Music Banter, before he reviewed Onus by Jahzzar, One man army by Ensiferum and 1989 by Taylor Swift. Sound very familiar? Well that's because we've now caught up with him, and apart form some stuff about Janszoon's old avatar and propoganda posters, this is where we take our leave of the Poseur Cave, and wish Isbjoren all the best for future entries.

Next week: I haven't decided yet, so if you want yours considered drop me a line, otherwise I'll just choose someone's journal at random. Maybe.

We have a new journal opening this week as I mentioned, as we welcome Exo into the fold finally, but more importantly we have not one, but three journals which are

Yes, both Plankton's http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...um-bucket.html, back after six months (but it seems longer) and downwardsprals's http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...9787-list.html, clearly the more zombified, returning after three years! Then we have Jansz, making a very welcome return with http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ime-place.html. Let's hope you all stick around. Hate to have to go through all that trouble of burying you again...

And that's us out for another week. Hope my indices prove helpful if you're trying to wade your way through the somewhat packed tomes some of my journals have become, and as I say expect plenty of new stuff from tomorrow. Thanks for reading and see you all next Sunday.

Till then,
Keep a wary eye out and remember, that sound you thought you heard? It probably is what you think... Shoot first, ask questions later! Be safe!
Unless you're one of them, in which case, eat lead!
Toodles!

[Key]

I'm confused about the downwardspiral mention. He didn't make any new entries, he just responded to people talking about his original post years ago.

[Trollheart]

Originally Posted by Ki

I'm confused about the downwardspiral mention. He didn't make any new entries, he just responded to people talking about his original post years ago.

No that's not the case. He mentions he forgot about his journal but has stuff written up, that he hasn't posted for a while but is getting back to it. Maybe I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt but it looks like he's preparing to get back to making entries. If not then I'll be left with Picard on my face, but that's how it looks to me.

Anyway, it really worked for the "Back from the dead" thing which formed a backdrop to the whole "Walking Dead" theme this week...

[Key]

Originally Posted by Trollheart

No that's not the case. He mentions he forgot about his journal but has stuff written up, that he hasn't posted for a while but is getting back to it. Maybe I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt but it looks like he's preparing to get back to making entries. If not then I'll be left with Picard on my face, but that's how it looks to me.

Anyway, it really worked for the "Back from the dead" thing which formed a backdrop to the whole "Walking Dead" theme this week...

Ah, that makes sense then.

[Plankton]

<----I get 2 mentions this week! Alright!

Thanks for the spotlight TH ma man.