Welcome to my side of the 'net. I ruminate over music, books, movies, places, or people that have somehow made me what I am or continue to influence me to this day. I usually post links to mp3s of songs I find interesting.
ATTENTION:
The mp3s linked to this site are for evaluation and sample purposes only. The files are only hosted temporarily, so if they're unavailable, it's gone for good. If possible, some of these links are sourced back to the musicians's official website. Please make sure to support the musicians featured herein by buying their records, going to their shows, and purchasing their merch.
It's again that time of year. Some people believe that this is when there's a thin veil separating The Living and The Dead. This is also the time of year when the chill of winter is starting to make it's presence felt. As well-wishing kids knock at your door or mischievous teenagers plot their shenanigans, I hope you all have a great Hallow's Eve.
To mark the occasion, here's a short classic hardcore ditty from the now-defunct Stormtroopers Of Death (made up of members of Anthrax, Agnostic Front, and MOD for the non-hardcore listening readers) singing an ode to one of the most enduring horror movie icons ever, Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare On Elm Street Series.
I was at Easy Street Records going through the used bin last Saturday when I found a gem hiding in all the chaff. It was Manos, the 1993 debut album from Olympia-based duet The Spinanes.
This record proved that Sub Pop was more than just the label that took grunge into their fold with previous releases from Nirvana, Mudhoney, and Soundgarden among others just a few years prior. The other acts I remember in their roster back then which gave the label more sonic diversity included Sunny Day Real Estate's blueprint for most modern mainstream Emo, snappy pop-punk from Seattle's The Fastbacks, and introspective chamber pop from Eric Matthews to name a few.
The Spinanes went on to do three more records; two for Sub Pop with Strand and Ashes and Aisles, and one for Merge with Imp Years.
Check out the two tracks coming from one of the most underrated bands of the 90's. Noel, Jonah, and Me was just as catchy as Cannonball by The Breeders. Then there's Spitfire with some Dirty-era Sonic Youth-esque qualities.
With Halloween just around the corner (BTW, I'm dressing up as Sebastien from 13 Tzameti, complete with bloodstains all over my shirt), I realized that there's also less than two months to Christmas. After we get done donning the strangest costumes to celebrate the pagan harvest season, those turkeys on the dinner table and the Macy's parade aren't far behind.
With that in mind, I've drawn up a wish list for what I really want to have this year before it ends:
1. A Modified Boss MT2 Metal Twilight Pedal Just like the one John Petrucci's got for his recording sessions. It would be a nice addition to my signal chain...especially after my Marshall amp gets the much-needed repair. The sound samples I've heard with this thing in use are spellbinding. Note: this isn't the same as the stock Boss Metal Zone pedal that's being sold in most music stores. The modification adds a small toggle switch close to the output jack to activate the three different configurations made to the pedal. The electronics housed inside the casing have been beefed up with more oomph important for any serious guitar playing enthusiast.
2. Battlestar Galactica Season 2 and Season 2.5 Yup, I'm officially addicted to this show. I'm enjoying how season 3 has been going so far. It doesn't drag as slowly as Lost does and seems more grounded with reality than Heroes is (not that those things would stop me from following either shows).
3. The Jam Box Set - Direction Reaction Creation I finally found interest in listening to this great band as my infatuation took root earlier this year. Paul Weller is a legend and it's unfortunate that not everyone I know has still heard all this music.
4. MI-5 Season 4 Box It's not out until January, but a pre-order would be awesome as fuck, especially after that reaming that A&E pulled on the otherwise brilliant series.
5. Cold, hard cash Anything towards bankrolling future vacations would also rock really hard.
Longshot wish:
6. ESP EC-50 Yes, I would like this so much. I need a guitar that I could tune as low as C or C# permanently. I would definitely like to tune it up with really thick strings and strangle the life out of that neck to pull those crazy riffs.
Lily Allen is a much talked-about solo artist on UK pop radio right now. She is also actor/comedian Keith Allen's daughter (that may also explain the witty snaps found in her lyrics). She's one of the few new artists that have garnered their popularity by plainly posting music on Myspace. Positive feedback like this has also been seen for another UK-based artist, Lady Sovereign and America's own stand-up comedian Dane Cook. Myspace seems to be a big factor nowadays to how an artist would garner public notice, which translates to iTunes downloads and record sales. It still remains to be seen though if the wave of popularity could carry over to a long career in the spotlight for them.
Because of all the buzz, Lily's debut album, Alright, Still will soon see distribution in the US in 2007.
I present to you a B-side to the Smile single, Cheryl Tweedy.
Taking their cue from those creatures from Cybertron, Monsterbot would like to be the musical equivalent of what's more than meets the eye. The band personnel are as follows: Glenn San Agustin (vocals/guitar), Diego Mapa (guitar/vocals), Ryan Magsumbol (drums/percussion), Karl Claudio (bass), and Rem Vocalan (keyboards/synths).
Their brand of synth-punk was sort of a precursor to Pedicab, Diego's other project with Ex-Eraserhead and present Sandwich-man Raimund Marasigan. To relegate the bands as being the same would do the 'bots a disservice. The music in this outfit is more raise-the-horns than shake-the-booty.
The band is scheduled to play Miriam College on November 10 and Purple Haze on November 15 and 16. Both are located in Quezon City.
You're Always Right is off their debut album entitled Rhomboids.
Hypatia Lake is Lance Watkins, Randal Skarsek, Shane Browning, Dave Foley, Ben Jones, and Sky Lynn. The group has been a fixture in the local shoegazer scene along with The Turn Ons and Voyager One for quite a while now. They're four songs into finishing a new record which is scheduled to drop sometime in 2007. As for now, they're breaking in Sky as the new member. This could lend an interesting dynamic to the formerly all-male collective, not just with the backing vocals but with the keyboard atmospherics as well.
They play The Sunset at Ballard on November 4 and The Comet Tavern at Capitol Hill on November 17.
Waltz, Hale's first single off the new record, Twilight shows the band not straying too far from the alt-rock ballad. This is the modus operandi that most fans of their music have been familiar with. Braff-rockers of the Coldplay and Snow Patrol school will be pleased to hear this if you're into trying something new.
An official announcement about the band's plans for 2007 will be made on Tuesday, 7th November. Full details will be made available FIRST on this site at a time to be confirmed.
No further information will be supplied until that date and we respectfully ask that people desist from sending emails, letters and making phone calls for advance information - this will NOT be provided until the official date. Thank you for your patience until then.
I wonder if it's the reunion that people have been speculating? Will it be with Peter Gabriel? Will it just be the Collins/Rutherford/Banks lineup? Will any new material be written? Will they do more middle-of-the-road Adult Contemporary music? We'll know for sure when the date arrives.
Rivermaya's Sunday Driving happened to be one of the videos I was mesmerized with the first time I saw it on TV--while on vacation in The Philippines. Between this and Daydream Cycle's Roses and Cadillacs, they stood out as music videos that would've been awesome to see in a show like Subterranean on MTV2 out here in the US. I hope you check today's Youtube feature and maybe if you really like the song, you can also check out the audio track as well. Anyway, here's the CGI-laden music video.
Incidentally, Rivermaya released a new album filled with covers and one original called Isang Ugat, Isang Dugo (One Root, One Blood) which contains their most faithful renditions to Pinoy originals by noted 80's bands who weren't called The Dawn. Some complain that the production was shabby, but I think the "audiophiles" were missing the whole point of the exercise--Rico Blanco and the rest of the group wanted to re-create the sonic conditions just like when the originals were made. That's why the guitar distortion for instance seemed to sound a little tinny and dated by today's standard. I think some of the purist fans were too spoiled by the lush production that their previous albums had. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
