Key

Pretty straight forward, I will post a song that is stuck in my head and for some reason will not leave my head. Today's song is brought to you by The Proclaimers. I know exactly why this song is stuck in my head too. I hear it all the time at work and I cannot help but think that it's easily one of the catchiest i've ever heard. So...enjoy.

The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)

Key

Time for another entry on Video Game music. I did a previous entry on a few soundtracks which can be found here. Here's a few more to add to the list:

I know there are a lot of Adult Swim fans here, so it'd be no surprise if people didn't know about the wonderful soundtracks that go along with the games such as Robot Unicorn Attack and Robot Unicorn Attack 2. One in particular has definitely made the game more appealing than it ever was, and hopefully this is obvious, but if not...



This song seriously makes the game THAT much better, I mean...there's not a lot you can do to make a game about a unicorn crashing into stars much better, but this song really does it. Then we get onto some other songs that they've showcased on some of their other editions of the game, such as...



^This song was the background music for Robot Unicorn Attack: Heavy Metal Version, and I don't think they could have chosen anything better. And than we have their Christmas edition where they showcased Christmas Time by The Darkness. Another fantastic choice:



^Definitely wasn't something I was expecting to hear on their christmas edition, but it was no surprised that they chose it since they haven't been too bad about choosing well fitting songs.

Key

Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet



I don't make doing album reviews a normal thing in my journal because I find that to be too cliche for a music themed journal, however...I do find that reviewing an album that has surprisingly hit me in the right away has a bit of a different effect, and I also find it easier to express my thoughts about it when it has affected me in such a way. Plus the fact that i'm absolutely terrible at writing album reviews. I have my own criteria for them but I never feel that it meets the standards that I give myself. Believe it or not, this is Porcupine Tree's ninth studio album, and when I first listened to it a few years back, I was certain this would come up as one of their first albums, boy was I wrong. I've also done a little bit of research and I found that this whole album is basically a concept of teenage angst, and now when i'm listening to the lyrics, it makes a lot of sense. Usually i'm not the best at picking up on themes when it comes to albums like this, but I always felt like it reminded me of the harsh times I had when I was a few years younger, especially in songs like Fear of a Blank Planet and Anesthetize. The album as a whole also comes together very well in becoming one of the better constructed albums this band has offered both musically and lyrically, especially with Anesthetize when it picks up toward the middle, or I should say when Wilson begins the lyrics:

"The dust in my soul
Makes me feel the weight in my legs
My head in the clouds
And I'm zoning out"

I get chills every time it gets to this part because like I said, it's so perfectly constructed both lyrically and musically as well as being one of the more important themes in the entire song when you finally realize what it's been leading up to. He uses a lot of examples through the next few parts of the songs that a lot of people can relate to, which I find to be a very important factor when writing songs regardless. Also love the addition of Alex Lifeson for the guitar solo in the song.

I've read a lot of other reviews stating that this album lacks in the forms of being interesting and people often find it to be very boring, I personally find it to be a great representation of what Steven Wilson is capable of. Like a lot of other people, it took me a little while to get used to Wilson's form of vocal style which doesn't seem to have much of a change with range, etc, but you come to find that it fits with the music better than if the vocalist was always hitting those high notes or what have you. I also find that it allows for more creativity when the vocal ranges aren't the centerfold of the band, he basically makes himself as important as the rest of his band instead of it being one man on the mic with a background band.

The only negative about this album that I will point out is that it is far too short. There's a lot of creativity and originality in the album but I wish it was a few tracks longer only for the fact that i'm a bit selfish when it comes to wanting to hear more of the style that the album focused on. Regardless of it's length though, I think the longer tracks make up for lost time and still manage to be one of my all time favorite progressive rock album.

Bulldog

For years I didn't even think this song was written and performed by human beings - just robots programmed to produce the catchiest song known to man. Good song, not that you'll me admitting it that often!

Good journal too, looks like you've been putting a lot of effort into this I'll be keeping an eye on this - I'll have a proper read-through later when I've a bit more time on my hands.

Key

Coming from you I take that as a huge compliment. I like this journal more thany previous one because I now have a proper theme going which I am comfortable with.

Key

Another day, another random song stuck in my head. This one is a bit random but hell, when aren't they random:

Lamb of God - Walk With Me In Hell


I'm actually pretty happy that I have had this song stuck in my head, since I find it to be one of my all time favorite metal songs. I've seen Lamb of God three times in concert and they perform this song every single time. Long story short, it's easily the best song to head bang to since there are so many instances where it just gets heavy, and stays heavy. When I first saw them at Ozzfest at 07, I just remember getting super excited when the starting chords started to play, at that point I knew exactly what was going to happen...I was going to lose my freaking mind and rock the hell out as hard as I could!

Bulldog

Yeah, I know that feeling. It's easy to just pot whatever comes to your head in here, but pretty soon you start wanting a bit more focus about things. It's basically why I axed the first journal I started here!

As for Lamb Of God, I know next to nothing about them, but tracks like that make me think I should explore that kinda music a bit more...good call.

Key

Number 6 out of 15: Foghat - Energized



This album is very special to me. I remember not having any knowledge about this band or even knowing who they were, but I went with my hunch mostly due to the fact that I thought the album cover looked pretty cool. When I got home that night, I gave it a listen right away and I was impressed, more than I had been in a long time with random purchases. It's a damn fine album from the first track to the end and just brings up the best of classic rock. The vocalist and everything throughout seem to flow very well and I can say it's a definite must listen for anybody interested in either classic rock or just good music in general.

Key

This song plays every day at my work, and I find myself singing along. I know the original version is by the Bee Gees, but I think Michael Bublé does a damn good cover. I'm not too fond of him in general, but I do think he does this song some justice for what it's worth.

Astronomer

I love this album, it's one of my favourites. There are definitely some moments in these PT songs that really "hit" me as well, so to speak. And you're not terrible at writing up album reviews :P

But yeah, definitely my favourite Porcupine Tree album.

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