Plankton

Although I do enjoy a good Death Metal tune from time to time, it's also nice to sit back and take in something from the softer side of things. This didn't come from getting old, nor would I consider myself a lover of fluff, but there are some songs that fill your heart with warmth, and can sometimes be a fulfilling emotional experience. This will be an Etude (Fr) on all the music that has touched my heart in one way or another. The times where the hectic pace of life has me worn to the bone, and I need to recharge. The times where I need to fill the emotional void left from the happenstance of life's obstacles. The places of deep subtle meaning.


While this album does have some of the bravado that Jeff is known for, it is quite the departure from the techno signature he had developed ever since Guitar Shop rolled off the presses. I had read an interview of what went on during the recording process of this album, and one thing that stuck out for me was that he had holed himself up in a hotel room a few blocks away from the studio, and really had no outside connection with the world, other than walking to the studio every day. This seemed to me to be a very ingest-able way to compose this emotion-dripping piece of work. Taking influence from composers such as Puccini, and Harold Arlen, as well as others, this album drips with natural, and quite organic guitar. Jeff even went as far as changing his amplification to some vintage Marshall Plexi reissues, just to get a purer tone.

On the whole, this is an album that I was quite taken with, even during/after first listen. I went out of my way to get some of my band mates to listen to it at times, and there were quite a few moments that the music moved me so much that it brought me to tears. I absolutely love this work, and I actually do idolize the man.

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Trollheart

Hey! A new journal from Plankton! What a way to start the week!

Great to see you writing again. Have you heard Elkie's version of "Lilac wine"? I really like that song. Mind you, I would never have pegged Beck as "techno"?

Good start though. This should be one to watch...

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Plankton

Elkie's version? No, but I'm listening right now. Very nice, although I lean more towards the guitar tone/playing that Jeff gets on the song. Hey... I'm a guitarist. *shrug*

Beck went techno/electronica for a while after, and starting with some of the tunes on Guitar Shop (an immense album for the times BTW), and kept that flavor on his "Who Else!" album, which cites Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson guitarist) as a collaborator, which I'm sure had quite an influence on his creative process.

Thanks for checking it out Mr T, and I have quite a few more mellower tunes that have collected in my brain over the years. This was a logical choice for me, and will more than likely be updated on a regular basis.

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Powerstars

Interesting journal idea. I'll defiantly have to read this one.

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Plankton

Gypsy Kings have been around since the 70's, but I hadn't heard them until the late 90's when an alternative radio station blasted them out over the airwaves and into my earholes. I was absolutely in love. I sought out as much of their work as I could, and had acquired a large number of their tracks (mostly through Napster) over the course of a few years. They even inspired me to purchase my oldest and dearest member of my guitar family, a 90's Washburn Nylon Acoustic that I still have today. I've learned a few of their tunes, but had quite a bit of trouble transposing their rhythms, due to the fact that the 3 rhythm players are left handed and use right handed guitars played upside down. This poses a huge problem for a self taught right handed player, but I muddled my way through it as best I could. I even played my first open mic during this time period, where I did a couple of their easier songs, much to the delight of the crowd, and had been asked back a few times. Once even playing with Stevie Starlight at a Halloween jam. Something about the soothing tone of a nylon string guitar played in Flamenco style just melts me.

Regardless, these masters of the Rumba Flamenca style (as well as being known for "World Music") deserve way more credit here in the US than they've been shown. It's quite a shame that the masses really never picked up on these incredibly gifted musicians. They should be a household name, possibly replacing Miley like she never existed. In a perfect world...

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