Pet_Sounds

Aww, come on, those are my two favourite Supertramp songs. Surely you like them?

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Everybody's dying just to get the disease

Isbjørn

Warning: there's a chance I'll disregard your opinion as hipster elitism

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Pet_Sounds

So, I'm starting a series of sorts, in which I will review the music of members of MusicBanter. I've already got material from Frownland's and wolverinewolfweiselpigeon's bands. Feel free to PM me a link to your music - YouTube is best - and I'll try to get a review done sometime within the next… I don't know, six months? School keeps me busy. But anyway, I'm interested to see what you've all got.

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Everybody's dying just to get the disease

The Batlord

Plankton has music of his own. I've been lazy about listening to it, but a bunch of people on here say really good things.

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Pet_Sounds

omg the batlord reads my journal!!

Thanks, Batty, I'll drop him a PM.

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Everybody's dying just to get the disease

Pet_Sounds

Pet_Reads

Music has not had its normal place of prominence in my life of late, due to lack of the desire to explore and the relaxed time in which to do it. However, I've been spending more time in between the pages of a book.

I've been an avid reader all my life. Lately, that passion has redoubled. In the past six months, I've begun and and finished

• The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
• Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
• Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
• Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell
• Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
• The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger
• Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
• Walden, by Henry David Thoreau
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson

And most recently…


"Shoot all the blue jays you want, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

To Kill a Mockingbird was already an all-time favourite when it reappeared on my reading list because of an English assignment. Having not glanced at the book since I was twelve, I was more than happy to pick it up again. Once again, Harper Lee worked her wonders upon me.

During the Great Depression, Jean Louise "Scout" Finch enjoys a peaceful upbringing in the small Alabama town of Maycomb, under the watchful eyes of her older brother Jeremy, always known as Jem, her father Atticus, who is employed at the bar and in the state legislature, and the family's Negro cook, Calpurnia. Peaceful, at any rate, until the summer when Atticus is appointed by the state to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman.

Mockingbird manages to be both humorous, hopeful, and heartbreaking in the same breath. We see the racial undercurrents that pervaded the American South in the 1930s - an era when, supposedly, all men are created equal. Yet, the courtroom seats all the Negroes on the balcony. We look into the conscience of Atticus Finch, who knows he is "licked before he begins" but fights anyway. And we watch as three children mature from boys and girls into young men and women.

Even in the most heartbreaking parts of the manuscript, Mockingbird never loses its humour. The inhabitants of Maycomb can be found in small towns throughout the world. The town gossips, the poor families, the recluses… we all have our own.

If Maycomb is everyone's small town, then Scout is the child within us all, unquestioningly loyal to the people she loves. Jem is the young man, ready to face the burdens of the world. And Atticus is our conscience, a father figure who provides a steady pillar of support and always knows when to worry.

But even Atticus can't overcome twelve men's deep-rooted prejudices.

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Everybody's dying just to get the disease

Pet_Sounds

Just posted my cover of the Beatles' "A Day in the Life" in Machine's "Tribute to Your Favourite Artists" thread and figured I might as well stick it here too.

100_8248 - Video Dailymotion

The bass notes don't come through very well on my crappy camera. I turned the amp up too high, and as a result, everything in the room started rattling toward the end.

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Everybody's dying just to get the disease

Pet_Sounds

Pet_Loots…

…some of his family's old CDs, in search of some catchy stuff to listen to. Hmm… this one looks pretty good….

It's called Unchained Melodies, a greatest hit collection by the Righteous Brothers. The tracks aren't in any chronological order, so I'm popping it in on random.

Nothing deep here, but there are certainly some musical gems, including Unchained Melody, You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin, and Rock and Roll Heaven, which pays tribute to departed stars, including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Croce, Otis Redding, Bobby Darin, and one of my musical heroes, Jim Morrison.

The voices of Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley, much like those of Simon and Garfunkel, seem positively meant for each other. Definitely some uber-cheesy moments, such as the spoken-word interlude on (You're My) Soul and Inspiration, but much like my Four Seasons album, this is one I'll put on when I need some simple, feel-good music.

Much like Kevin Parker, I'm still a fool for silly love songs behind the complex, abstract psychedelic mask.

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Everybody's dying just to get the disease

Pet_Sounds

I kick off my series of reviews of the music of Banterers with a look at the band of a member with whom I had previously never had the pleasure of exchanging pleasantries: Miss wolverinewolfweiselpigeon, formerly Junkyard Donner, and perhaps better known to you as Steph.

I have literally no idea what to expect going into this - WWWP and I have never spoken about music before, and I don't know what she's into. But if the rest of the album sounds anything like the opening track, Bed And Breakfast, it should be a fun ride. The vocalist has a pleasant, almost nasally sound, and I love the way he says the r's on the ends of words like "former lover".

Percussion opens the next track, Cheap Cream. This one has a real hip-hop vibe to it, which I'm not a fan of, generally. But the way Snake Walk performs it feels different. WWWP informs me it's "folksy arthop". I'll take her word for it. By the end of this relatively short song, I'm tapping my feet.

Rain Gallery has some nice guitar lines - almost a country feel to them at times. I think I hear a female vocal in there too, which I'm guessing is our WWWP. While listening to this, I had headphones on, and there was this voice in the left channel that made me spin around, thinking someone was behind me. It segues into

Fresh Toffee Apples, which has some weird spoken word about apples being stuck at the bottom…? There's also a bit of what sounds like half of a telephone conversation. According to WWWP, her bandmate recorded it at a party - someone was giving him advice. The lyrics remind me of one of my all time favourite poems, Robert Frost's After Apple Picking.

And now I'm onto the closer, For Lulu, a Shiv to the Gut. This sounds like a mix of hip-hop, country, folk, rock, and a bit of something else. Over seven minutes of shifting beats, great grooves, and really awesome vocals. Apparently Lulu needs a "shiv to the gut". Whatever that is, it doesn't sound like a pleasant experience, and I pity the poor girl.

Snake Walk Demo really wasn't anything like I've heard before. The mixing was great - stereo effects were used tastefully and the sound quality pristine. If I had to sum the album up in one word, I would pick "subtle". There was nothing invasive - just awesome, laidback folksy arthop, great for relaxing with on a snowy afternoon.

Note: this is not inspired by Trollheart's thread in any way. Just an unfortunate case of two of us having an idea at the same time. But I have the first review up!

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Everybody's dying just to get the disease

Pet_Sounds

Earlier this week, I took a leap of faith and committed to writing a review of an album by an artist of whom I had no previous experience. The commitment was to Urban's themed week, the artist was David Bowie, and the album was Ziggy Stardust, which I chose simply because of its fame. Why haven't I listened to Bowie before? I really don't know. He's never entered my thoughts. This is the first of three installments, in which I'll be exploring the story of Ziggy Stardust and the idea of a "concept album" in general. But for now -- a simple mini-review.

I had no idea what to expect when I played this for the first time. My only experience with Bowie was through his duet of "The Little Drummer Boy" with Bing Crosby. But I'd read in a special edition of Rolling Stone that Paul McCartney's "Jet" was inspired by him. I love that song, so my hopes were up.

My expectations were far exceeded. From the beginning of "Five Years" to the end of "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" I was glued to my headphones. As soon as the album was finished, I played it again. Then I bicycled down to my local used record store and purchased a CD. Bowie's vocals are fantastic - smooth, but with an bite. The guitar work is slick and tight. The lyrics have me hanging on every word. The concept, however, is what really intrigues me. However, more about that later…

Ziggy Stardust will be in frequent rotation for some time. It's possibly one of my top ten favourite albums. I'll be exploring David Bowie's discography further. (Got a rec, Urban?) Definitely a 10/10.

Watch for more on the concept and storyline of the album in tomorrow's second installment….

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Everybody's dying just to get the disease