Bulldog

The Marshall Mathers LP was quite possibly among the very first, if not the first hard-copy album I got too. This is too weird I used to love it back in the day, but I haven't listened to a single track off it willingly for almost 10 years now. That's not to say I think it's a crap album - I actually still respect it a lot, and the man definitely knew his way around a good lyric. It's just plain not my thing these days though.

This thread's coming along very nicely. Looking forward to the next update.

NumberNineDream

My mind have been blank on things to write for this entry, and the exams never helped. So I'm back.


In 2001, I got introduced to my first Metal album, and so my first favourite Metal band. That album was Toxicity, and the band was System of a Down. So that's what this review will be about.


I remember the first time I noticed the album. My brother had just bought it, and it was Christmas when I first saw it. The cover seemed interesting, though I remember being confused whether the band was named SOAD or Toxicity. I also remember my brother drank 6 Diet Cokes straight-up that day. What a crazy day that was. Anyway, back to the album. I didn't know much about them nor the album. However, I found out some day, that the band members are from Armenian origins, and that two of them were born and raised in Lebanon (Serj Tankian,Lead Vocals and John Dolmayan, drummer). I think that was the main reason that got me to listen to them.

It didn't take me much to like them, they were favourites form first listen. It was everything about them, the loud drumming music cut with melodic middle-eastern instrumentals, the warm screaming vocals filled with oriental vibratos, or the humorous lyrics that can get surprisingly serious. It was about the mix of very rapid rhythms, and the mellowness that intervenes to make your heart ache. On first listen, three tracks caught my attention, Chop Suey!, Toxicity and Aerials. After repeated listens, I wasn't able to skip over any of the tracks. I found Prison Song amazing, Needles was a late bloomer too. Deer Dance just breaks my heart in the middle with A deer dance, invitation to peace, war staring you in the face... and then he breaks it with his wounded screams that rise steadily to shout A little boy smiled, it'll all be well.

My love for this band has only strengthened since, through Toxicity to Steal that album! the next year, with great tracks such as Innervision, Boom!, Highway song, Roulette, another album I never skipped my way trough it. Finally the double album Mezmerize/Hypnotize, though Tankian's role in this album had decreased from writing all of the music, to only writing parts of the lyrics, and only singing few parts of the album. I still find it to contain some of their greatest material. The lyrics weren't as engaged politically as before, but some tracks were definitely intense, from Question! (the one of the two tracks to be composed by Serj Tankian, the other one being Vicinity of Obscenity), Lost in Hollywood, Attack, Tentative, Soldier Side... and the list goes on.

...and that'll be the end of this entry. Enjoy the videos.

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duga

great review...i got toxicity just because everyone at my school seemed to be into it. i ended up putting it on rotation for a long while after.

did you ever get their first album? i think it has some great stuff on there as well.

great journal btw...i've been browsing through to pick up some ideas for my own.

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Confusion will be my epitaph...

NumberNineDream

Thank you!

Well I got their first album, but I still didn't give it enough spins to make an opinion of it. I think I'll check it out later on today, I've been putting it off for a while now.

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NumberNineDream

My plans for the evening has been cancelled, so I thought I'd continue with this.


Some facts about our day to day life:
-We get 12 hours of electricity per day. In the electricity-free hours, we use our private generator.
-Smoking in public places is still legal. Most restaurants and coffee-houses have smoking and no-smoking areas. Pubs and clubs are all pro-smoking.
-We can get any copy DVD we want from very popular places in the capital, at 0.66$ the DVD, and 1.33$ the PC software.



Now to share a very embarrassing fact in my life:

The very first concert I went to, was in February 09, and it was a concert by James Blunt. I'm not much of a fan, nor was I killing myself to go. I was just in the sound-engineering team, so I was there for free. I sat the whole concert right next to the stage, in the back, where there's no one pushing me. The sound there was ugly, but at least I didn't get suffocated. I even had 5 of my friends enter for free, while using my "Sound" tag.
I was just bummed that we didn't get to end the evening with some drinking. I don't know why my friends wanted to go eat instead.

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Mojo

I liked Eminem when i was younger too. The Slim Shady LP and The Marshall Mathers LP were two of the minidiscs i would take with me to school every day. It sounds like we had quite a similar phase, with the likes of Dr. Dre as well. I cant say i've listened to any of that in many, many years now.

I used to like System of a Down too. I wouldn't say i particularly dislike them now but i'm not too bothered with them any more. I haven't listened to them in a couple of years.

I met Serj once in Manchester, the day after their gig with The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster.

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Last.FM | Echoes and Dust

VEGANGELICA

Hi Number9,
I especially enjoyed your entry about Rai folk rock/pop music! I have heard the basic sound before but never knew anything about the genre and history, so thanks for sharing about it. I liked learning, too, about the collaborations of artists around the world singing Rai-inspired music.

I must say, though, that the video of "Tellement n'brick" by Faudel looks like a song about a male stalker singing "I love you" as he runs desperately after the woman trying to flee him and his persistence. During the song I kept rooting for the woman to get away and was glad when she finally succeeded in boarding the plane while he is left running after the plane on the runway. What is the actual story in the song? *Is* he an ex-lover stalker? He scared me.

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NumberNineDream

I'm glad you liked that entry. However that song is sadly about Faudel just singing that he madly loves her. It's not much "stalking" as much as "never giving up on love" lol.
All the lyrics of the song say "I love you so much, I love you to death". Having him run behind her in that music video adds a sharp stalking quality to it, you're right about that xD.
Though I think, it's his pathetic baby-face that makes him look a bit adorable (?)

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SusanMart

nice))))
can I ask you how old are u, NumberNineDream?

Your story is really lovely)))
btw, i love the Kinks))) i don't know a lot about them, though

can I find these videos on you tube?

NumberNineDream

^ I wonder how I didn't notice that. I'm 19...
and those videos are from youtube :/ (if that's what you're asking)

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