Key

My apologies for the delay on this section. Had a couple other things I wanted to get out of the way, but let's just get right into it shall we?

Dream Theater is up next. I'm very happy to do an entry on them since they played a very important role in the music I listened to in high school, and really opened my mind to other bands that related to them, thus opening more passages in my musical journey. I know exactly why I have the amount of plays that I do on my last.fm, and i'm sure it's increased since I took this photo, it's because, yes...I am a humongous fan of them, and I'm not going to let this forum be a reason to not express that. They are great, and they continue to get better.

When I first heard them, it was actually a close friend of mine that lent me one of their live DVD's, and I believe it was Score



I'll admit, it was very weird seeing live footage of a band that I wasn't too familiar with, because that was just it, I wasn't familiar with any of the music, nor did I know what to expect from anybody in the band, so if anything, it led me to want to check out their studio albums, and that led me to listen to Images & Words



which to this day remains to be one of my all time favorite Dream Theater studio albums, but that's only in terms of studio releases, what I really love and will cherish as a key part of my music collection is their Live at Budokan DVD, mostly because of the beautiful Petrucci solo at the end of Hollow Years:



Not only the solo, but the whole song is performed so beautifully that it's such a key part of the DVD, as is a lot of the others on the DVD.

While I have hit on the albums and DVDs that I enjoy, I don't think I've hit on why I enjoy them so much. Reason being, there really isn't much to it, I like their sound, I love the way they compose their music, and I love the chemistry you can see when they perform live, especially since i've seen them perform, which for me was a huge weight off my shoulders to finally be able to see one of my all time favorite bands.

Key

Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream



I know i've been adding a lot of Porcupine Tree / Blackfield stuff to my journal, but I've just been on a constant binge of listening to both projects in it's entirety, and this album is what I chose for tonight, and i'm so happy I did. It's been a long time since I last attempted to listen to this album, and at the time I wasn't too interested, as I felt it was boring and lacked anything interesting. However, that has completely flipped around this time around, i'm finding a lot of beautifully structured material in this album, and although i'm not all the way through it just yet, it has not gotten stale, each song adds it's own individuality. There is one that sticks out the most so far, and for good reason:


Don't Hate Me

I am in love with this song so much already, and I can tell it will be a repeated listen for a long time. Not only does it follow the traditional sound of Porcupine Tree, it adds that brass near the middle which makes it shine that much more. It's mellow proggy sound also makes it very easy to listen to without getting bored, because I know there's a lot of mellow prog that can get boring after a while, however it being 8 minutes long just makes it easier to enjoy it without feeling like it's dragging on and on.

I'm very impressed with this album, and I don't know why I haven't listened to this sooner, because now I feel like my list of favorite Porcupine Tree will be shifted a bit due to how much I am enjoying this. There are constant surprises at every turn with this album, but it still has the beauty of one amazing Porcupine Tree album.

Key

Going waaaaaay back to the first post in my journal, I feel I should expand on it and post some more game soundtracks that I have enjoyed. Here's the first one: http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ml#post1315730

And now...

Turok 2: Seeds of Evil had one of the most badass soundtracks I have ever heard. The music to Port of Adia really made the game so much more intense. Still to this day I find it to be one of my all time favorite shooter games.



How can I make another post about game music without mentioning one of the coolest songs in the Pokemon industry. You all know what i'm thinking, but i'm going to tell you anyway. The original track for Champion Lance and Red is seriously the best battle music that i've heard so far, though i've heard some others that I really like:



And they even made it sound ten times better in the remakes of Gold and Silver:



Last but not least, I wanted to add one that I really have come to love more and more as I play the game. It was the first Minecraft song I ever heard when I first started playing, and it's just so soothing and lovely to listen to, as is the entire OST:

Key

And since I couldn't get enough of it, here's some more game music. I will be posting more of it more often since there's so much of it that I like:

To my surprise, I have yet to post a song from Ocarina of Time, and because of that, my game music posts are seriously lacking in some great tunes, especially the song for the spirit temple:



There's actually a lot of songs that I enjoy from that game, perhaps all of them, but that one just sticks out the most. The first time I played through that game by myself, it instantly became my favorite song, followed by this one:



What? You were expecting me to post Song of Storms? In all fairness, I do think it's a very catchy, but it's the same rhythm over and over again with nothing really to it. I like it, it's one of my favorites, but it gets boring.

Which brings me to the next game...

I mentioned this OST in the first game post, but I never really dove into it too much:



Yep, Binding of Isaac. Easily one of the best soundtracks I've heard for a video game. This game alone is one of the most fun and difficult games i've played in a long time, but the added awesomeness of the OST really adds to it. I could listen to the entire soundtrack for a whole day and it would just add so much epicness to the day.

More to come probably, those were just at the top of my head.

Key

And here we are, at the final five albums of the long running 15 albums that I wish to talk about, but don't worry, this doesn't mean this is the end of this type of thing. I've got something in the works for the near future, just need to work out some kinks and it may be ready tonight if i'm feeling up to it.

But since we are at the final five, I feel just posting the five albums and talking a bit about them would be appropriate. Don't expect a super excessive amount of review on these as this whole section was just for me to post 15 albums that I really like. I've never been great at reviews. So first off we have...

Devin Townsend Project - Ghost



Devin Townsend, one who continues to find time to release consistently great albums. It's a rare situation when I say "man, I don't really like this album of his", but that's beside the point. Ghost is the 1/2 of the duo albums that he released in the same year, completely polar opposites to the 2/2 Deconstruction. If you're looking for more of his mellow side with some fantastic lyrics and great guitar work, this one is a great album, but that's not saying Deconstruction is bad, but you know, it's always up for debate.

Next up we have...

Dark Moor - Tarot



It took me longer than necessary to finally sit down and listen to this album as a whole, and for that I am sorry, however, for whatever reasons, it did take me a few listens to really feel what this album was trying to accomplish, but once it hit me, I came to really like it. Especially with the addition of The Moon. Which also quickly became my favorite song by them. The album as a whole really does shine, and it's worth a listen if you're into the whole power metal thing, which to be honest, I'm really not crazy about, but this album shows that it does have some good qualities.

Up next...

Elliott Smith - XO



This album is probably the most special to me in all the 15 albums that i've talked about. Why you ask? Well let me tell you. Listening to this album did a lot of things for me, one being that it really gave me a feel for what Elliott Smith was like. The first song I ever heard from him was High Times, which was on a different album entirely, but this album really got me to see what he had to offer, and at the same time made me feel really sad that he was no longer around. There's a lot that I could say about this album, but to put it short, it changed my life. It opened my mind to what beautiful lyrics one person can come up with, which simultaneously programmed my mind to really focus on lyrics, which also simultaneously, made my music listening experience so much better. I will be getting "XO" tattoo'd somewhere on my skin as my second Elliott Smith themed tattoo.

Up next...

Jon Anderson - Animation



Man oh man, what can I say? This album was the first album that I heard Jon Anderson as a solo artist. I had experience with Yes already, but listening to this gave me a completely different view of how creative he was. No, the lyrics aren't the best part of the album, what I really like is how it continues to be catchy throughout the entire album. It's also the first vinyl record I was able to call my own, thus pushing me to buy probably close to 100 more. My copy still has the shrink wrap and everything. I listen to it every now and then, and it always reminds me of my time in California.

Last but certainly not least...

Alesana - A Place Where The Sun Is Silent



I was skeptical at first about posting this but then I realized this is my own journal and I can do whatever the **** I want. Anyway, out of all Alesana's records, I find this one to be the most flawless work they have ever done. It starts off as if you are sitting their watching it in a theater, but then it just gets really going and you can't help but try to listen for the lyrics. Hearing the singers actually sing was also a surprise since I went from The Emptiness to this, it was a huge difference, but a good one. It really opened my eyes to how talented this group is, even if most or all people at this forum would disagree. One of my all time favorite albums, and definitely one that helped open my eyes to another genre that I wasn't entirely used to.

Well...it's been a long run, but that about does it for my 15 albums. But don't fret, as I said, there will be more coming. But for now, just enjoy whatever else I post whether you know it or not.

Key

Now, it's no surprise to anybody that ACDC have a large following and continuously growing. But is it really worth the amount of hype they receive? Is their music really as great as people say it is? Well...let's find out.

I don't really need to tell you much about the band that people have not said already. They are a rock band from the 70's that have gained and continue to gain a following of both fans of rock n roll and bands/artists looking to try something a little bit different.

They are obviously well known for songs such as Thunderstruck and Back In Black, which...don't get me wrong, are great tracks. But...are they the greatest? Honestly, I coincidentally heard Thunderstruck earlier today and it still has that pure rock n roll sound, so yes...I wouldn't mind putting a "one of the best rock n roll songs" tag onto that song, because in my opinion, it really is. Starts off with a repetitive riff, and just blows your mind with power and all sorts of awesome.

I will note that I am more of a Brian Johnson kind of a guy, not to take away the fact that Bon Scott was a fantastic vocalist for ACDC, but he just wasn't with them too long, although Highway To Hell is a fantastic album.

Anyway, enough of that, let's get right to the verdict that everyone is eagerly waiting for. From personal experience, when I first heard about ACDC, I expected to hear some amazing rock n roll, and you know what I heard? Exactly that. I heard some headbanging worthy pure rock n roll, and it just really stuck. It made me feel like I too could finally get into rock n roll, taking into consideration that they were one of the first rock bands I heard, thanks to my dad. So the verdict comes to...



Please, if you have yet to decide whether or not you want to give the time to listen to ACDC, do yourself a favor and give them a thorough listen, because I can promise you that you won't be disappointed. I can't say you will absolutely love them upon first listen, but you won't hate it. The vocals will probably be odd at first if you aren't used to it, but I do understand a lot of notoriety they received and still receive. They are fantastic, and worth your time. And definitely worth the hype.

Key

Currently:

Key

It has been brought to my attention that I have yet to do an Elliott Smith entry, and what kind of craziness is that since the freaking title of my journal is directly influenced by the line shown above from his song Waltz #2.

Elliott Smith entered into my life very unexpectedly, but in a way that was both comforting and painful. Every song I heard of his, I was relating to it. All the pain and suffering you can hear through his voice, I was feeling it. He's one of those artists where I felt that I could feel their emotion as if they were standing their right in front of me telling me about the issues they were having. There was a lot in my life that I couldn't quite figure out, and listening to this man's music made it somewhat easier to deal with knowing someone out there had dealt with the same problems. I know some may say things like "well...we're you like depressed or something? And if so, how did a depressing man help you?". You know, it's not an easy thing to answer, but it just helps. The pain you can feel from certain things offers closure, at least in my own experience.

Onto the music side of things. The first album I remember hearing from him was XO:



I remember first hearing this album and thinking "holy crap, I need to listen to this again" and so I did. And I listened to it again, and again, and again. After that, I decided to do the natural thing and just get a copy of everything he ever recorded and just listen to it all. And the same happened. I listened to his material once, and again, and again, and again. It seemed to happen so naturally, and just felt like it was something I owed myself to do. And it really was worth it, because I really got a feel for the mind that was Elliott Smith, and I grew to just love him more and more until it was painful to the soul to listen to his music, but I mean that in a good way.

After I went through the beautiful journey that was being introduced to him, it dawned on me that he was a huge part of my life, even if it had happened so quickly. It was so important that I decided to get a tattoo to remember the beauty that it was to be able to sit and listen to everything he did:



Yes, I chose this song in particular, because I remember listening to that song over and over and over again. I think my iTunes calculated at least 200 plays alone just for that song. I just loved it, and still do. It's one that really stuck to me and hit me deep, but it left a permanent mark that will never go away.

I have many other ideas for Elliott Smith related tattoos, some big, some small, but overall, he was and is one of the most important parts of my life, and will continue to be until the day I die. I find he helped me in times that I needed it, and it does make me sad to think that I will never have a chance to see him perform, or even give him a simple "thank you" for the beautiful music he created.

Anteater

First of all Ki, just want to say I'm loving all your posts here. Now I need to go revisit Jon Anderson's 'Animation' for myself: its been a few years lol!

Secondly, Eliott Smith is someone I have never spent enough time with to call a close musical friend per-se, but I appreciate you taking the time to bring him up. As I post this I'm contemplating a good place to leap into his catalog.

But again, great posts man. As far as singer-songwriters go, I've always felt that emotional connection with guys like David Sylvian and Gino Vannelli. Devin Townsend too (and I know you and I aren't the only ones in that regard, lol!), and I think everyone who gives a rat's ass about music has an artist like that for them. I know two guys in fact who worship Jeff Buckley and Morrissey respectively. xD

If Eliott were still alive today, I know he'd be in awe just how many people whose lives have been affected in some manner by his output, including yours.

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Key

Thanks for the kind words, Anteater. Always nice to have such a fellow prog head reading along.