Mr O bought this for me and it’s very different but also very excellent. Radio sounds and news items and speeches set to wonderfully gentle music. Very different from what I would normally listen and quite fantastic.
Line Infacted
I think I’m managing quite well with the suitable distribution of my income. A while back I wrote that I had stopped spending money on music streaming services and if I want some songs then I will pay for them properly. We all know that Spotify pay very little out to the artist for each play and it’s only the mega-hits that actually make any money. I’d try and link that communication here but the way I write the names of these communications means I might have zero chance of finding it. Here goes! I found it! The point is for more of my money to go to the artist. The website Bandcamp seems the best way of doing that short of Patreon or Venmo [which I have never used!].
This morning I have updated the music list on the iPhone contents page. Not that it’s easy to find the new stuff, there’s an awful lot of stuff listed. But I’ve recently bought a few albums and so I thought it was time to update it. There’s a definite theme within that music list of heavy metal, thrash metal and then German rock along with EBM and aggrotech. If you search that list enough you might even find some songs that could be considered “embarrassing”. Have a look and let me know if you find one. Anything from Top Gun does not count, obvs.
I’ve been listening to the music projects of two main labels over the last few years. Those labels are Infacted Records and Out Of Line Music. My most recent purchases are:
- Deathless – Amelia Arsenic
- Requiem for the Hyperreal – Shiv-r
- Kill God Ascend – Shiv-r
- That Annihilated Place – Pete Crane
- Traumatized – Lights Of Euphoria
- Dark Passenger – Decoded Feedback
- Domination – Agrezzior
- Sittenverfall – Schallfaktor
- Judas – Lord Of The Lost
There’s quite a bit of a mix there from electronic to bombastic over the top operatic rock but it’s all good. Well worth a listen. If you like that sort of thing. I will say that the bass line from “To Love Is To Destroy” by Amelia Arsenic is DIRTY.
When I eventually finish the album reviews the idea is to go back and review every album I’ve bought in the last eight years or so. I’ve tried to avoid writing about all the EBM and Aggrotech in the reviews and I will eventually get around to writing about them. Oh, I’ve had both vaccination injections and am looking forward to being considered fully vaccinated in two weeks.
The Headless Children – W.A.S.P.
As I wait for the hottest day of the year, so far there will be warmer I think, I ponder the human experience of enjoying music and sounds. How is it that certain sounds or combinations there of can affect us emotionally? How is it that I like the music I do and not anything else? I have very little brain-time for other forms of music and as much as I know they exist I care not. I think this should be left for another day, there’s music to discuss:
W.A.S.P. were one of those bands that always seemed scary and on the edge of what was acceptable. I felt that they pushed the boundaries of acceptability and purposely went out to shock. I’ve never seen W.A.S.P. live and I should have last October but – Covid – and I still want to see them. I thin it’d be great. Their music has a proper 80s L.A. feel to it. And it also has swear words. Plenty of swear words that offend the older generation. Songs like Animal, Mean Man, DB Blues these are all great if a little immature.
The Headless Children was the first studio album by W.A.S.P. that I bought. It’s also the best studio album by them. Clearly Live . . .In The Raw is the best album. The Headless Children was the result of what happens when you quit drugs but still write good songs. It’s an amazing album.
I can even cope with Forever Free which came on while I was in the car the other day and I didn’t skip it as I would with most ballads.
The Greater Of Two Evils – Anthrax
I’ve got a few Anthrax albums and while I know this one is a good listen I couldn’t tell you what songs were on it or how any of them go.
The Golden Age Of Grotesque – Marilyn Manson
I quite like the music of Manson. That’s Manson with an M rather than Hanson with an H. I think this chap’s real name is Brian and he sure knows how to write a good song. Can I tell you the name of a single track on this album? Nope. I can tell you that it’s likely I wouldn’t skip a song if it came on. But this isn’t a band I seek out to play.
I’ve just had a look at the track listing and “This Is The New Shit” is a song I know along with Mobscene. Other than that I couldn’t tell you how these tunes go. I get what Manson is doing. He’s being provocative and pushing boundaries and anything that scares the boomers or adult generation is fine by me – yes I know I’m old but I’m still a rebel at heart. I have heard that recently Manson has been accused of being a dick and while I hope he hasn’t behaved like that – because it is wrong – I don’t think I hold up anyone to hero status because they pretty much always end up letting you down or become dicks.
The Downward Spiral – Nine Inch Nails
I’m not sure when I first heard this or when I bought it or how I got into Nine Inch Nails. I do know that this album is really important to Smith because of when it came out and what he was listening to in those days. It has less importance for me. That said this is an album of industrial metal that is well worth getting and absorbing. All the songs are multi-layered and every one has a hook for you.
All tortured souls need to have this album. As do all normal folk.
While writing this I’ve been listening to the album and it’s got me thinking why songs are three minutes long. Not all the songs on this album are that long but, in general, why are songs 3 minutes long? Is it that for some deep psychological reason that is the music average of humans? Is it because that’s where the technology was limited in the early days? Films are kinda ninety minutes long. Is that because of technological limitations or is it because that’s a bladder length? I wonder if it’s to do with the standard reel length of old cinema projection systems? We know that CDs hold the amount of data that they do because of how long one of Beethoven’s things is [could be Mozart]. There are too many things that seem to be standardised and the reasons could be lost in history. I think it’s time for me to do some research.
The Fake Sound Of Progress – Lostprophets
I liked this when it came out and I think I even ended up with two copies on CD for some reason. I don’t listen to this now . . . . . . . .
The Day Is My Enemy – Prodigy
I was really into The Prodigy when they released Jilted Generation and then when they put out Fat Of The Land I was super excited, such a marvellous album. This album was released after those and not one that I bought at the time. I was persuaded back to Prodigy by Shredder and so I got this album to catch up. I honestly don’t think I’ve played it all the way through but individual songs will have been played when my phone is on random shuffle. Here’s the thing. The Prodigy are excellent and the time I saw them at M’era Luna is in the top three for gigs.
Great Stuff.
The Book Of Souls – Iron Maiden
I think I remember that this album was bought for me by JH. I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t think I’ve listened to it. I think generally I’ve moved on and have discovered enough Maiden. The albums produced after the 80s don’t have anything new for me. I know there are a few good songs post 90 by Iron Maiden but I’m not that bothered to discover them. I’m currently going through an “industrial” phase along with aggrotech and EBM. Sometimes I’m sad that the older music doesn’t bother me anymore but at the same time the discovery of new bands really thrills me. I am about to look up one of my current favourite music labels and see what bands on there I’ve not heard before and see if I can buy something.
The Crimson Idol – W.A.S.P.
I had this album playing in the background yesterday to prepare for writing this communication. It was a W.A.S.P. album and that’s pretty much it. When I was younger W.A.S.P. were a bit of a shock band. They went out of their way to be controversial with their music and their antics. I suppose they were a bit like the Alice Cooper of the 80s but without the higher levels of fame. There are two albums by them that are stunning in my opinion and they are Live . . . In The Raw and Headless Children. I think when you are a stupid teenager this stuff seems edgy and amazing especially the songs: Mean Motherfucking Man, Animal [Fuck Like A Beast] and even D.B. Blues. Don’t get me wrong all of those are very good metal songs in their own right but are made better by shock value. In my current age it’s just rather hard to be shocked.
As for this album, I don’t remember what it was like. It’s W.A.S.P. sounding and therefore listenable.
The Best Of Coal Chamber – Coal Chamber
I saw Coal Chamber at Download in 2013 and I remember thinking they were ok. I did note that they had a female bass player and I was impressed with her leather coat. Now, before I Google images to see how my memory matches up to reality we could have a discussion about how memory works. But maybe I’ll leave that for another time. The short version is that memory doesn’t work the way you think it does and is quite fallible.
OK, so it wasn’t a leather coat but rather a denim outfit. I was close. I suspect I conflated my memory of Coal Chamber and Gary Moore from a Wembley Arena gig back in the early 90s when he came on stage in a glorious long leather coat.
You know when you buy a “best of” and then you do sometimes wonder. If this is the best then was is the rest like? I would say the first four songs on here are really good. But after that I’m not that fussed by them. I think it might be something to do with the sound of this band. It has a Korn feel to the sound and I’ve never quite got on with that. I’m not sure why given that I have been having an industrial revival recently. The overall sound of this band just misses me.
The song Sway contains lyrics from the 1984 single “The Roof Is On Fire” by Rock Master Scott and the Dynamic Three. I guess for shocking the establishment it works perfectly.
The Best Of 1980-1990 – U2
I think I bought this is around 1996 or so. I got this album in a moment of weakness I think. I don’t like U2. I don’t really like their music. I don’t really like them. I just remember having a conversation with MD after I bought it and he was surprised. I genuinely can’t remember when I last played this album.
The Age Of Nero – Satyricon
I got this album as I think this band were going to play a festival I was booked to see but that ended up being cancelled. Not sure I’ve ever played it. I seem to recall that the music was quite dark metal-goth. Not my thing really.
That One Night – Live In Buenos Aires – Megadeth
This album made me re-evaluate my relationship with Megadeth. I’ve always liked Megadeth but this album helped me rediscover all the great songs and how they varied them slightly for live performances. I love this album. I will admit that I skip some of the newer songs because I only have so much time and brain space for new songs. I’m not bothered by the songs:
Blackmail the universe
Die dead enough
She-wolf
Reckoning day
Return to hangar
But I absolutely love the following songs:
Set The World Afire
Wake Up Dead
In My Darkest Hour
Hangar 18
Tornado Of Souls
Symphony Of Destruction
Peace Sells
Holy Wars
It’s such a shame that Dave got religion as it would be awesome to hear the band play The Conjuring.
Irritating But Ultimately Not Too Much Of A Problem
When I started writing album reviews the aim was to always have something to write about. I can’t always have a polemic ready to go and publish on this glorious site. I would like to be that person but I also feel that my writings or attempts to express my thoughts would be diluted if I wrote too much about society and politics etc. So I decided to write about music and rather than have me concentrate on every band in a particular order I chose to describe my relationship with each album I own in alphabetical order. This would mean that the artists are mixed up and it’s a pseudo random order for the reviews. I would normally be surprised by what I had to write about next – screw Led Zeppelin for naming their first four albums numerically but I don’t own number 3 so I guess I saved myself some work there.
When I started doing the reviews in 2013 I think I was using the order of albums on my phone and the iOS system doesn’t really include the “The” at the beginning of an album name. So the list is ordered by whatever the name of the album is subtract the “The” at the start. This makes sense and works well. At some point over the last nine years I started using the Sonos App to get the albums alphabetically. Now Sonos does not remove the “The” from the start of the album name and so somewhere my system of ordering the albums changed from one system to another.
So now I have to see what album is next on my list in the Sonos program and then check whether I have already reviewed that album and then write or not-write depending on what result I get when I search this site. See, it’s a little irritating but easy to solve and while I’m miffed at myself I’m not bothered particularly. Once this round of album reviews is over I’m going to start a new list covering the aggrotech and EBM stuff that I’ve bought since 2013 but I have searched this site and some of those have already been reviewed and some have not. So it’ll be a similar issue when that happens, if that happens. I’m not sure how many albums there are to go but I guess I’ll finish them at some point.
Ten – Pearl Jam
Hmmmm. How to write this without annoying the legion of fans that Pearl Jam have? Well, it’s not a problem as these communications aren’t seen by more than about ten people. There are people for whom Pearl Jam are a fantastic band and produce brilliant music. Then there are people like me who think it’s ok but I rarely play any songs from the album. This music just doesn’t affect me.
Temper Temper – Bullet For My Valentine
I’ve see this band. I’ve even enjoyed some of their songs and if they come on when I’m in the car I don’t normally tend to skip. This album is playing now and, while it isn’t terrible, I don’t think it’s something I would put on deliberately. It’s not that good.
Take To The Skies – Enter Shikari
Don’t think I’ve ever listened to this album.
Stone Sour – Stone Sour
I think I bought this album after seeing Stone Sour at Download. I liked them live and they put on a good show. I think I would say that I don’t really listen to this anymore as it’s just metal. There isn’t really anything that stands out about the band.
Surrender – Chemical Brothers
I think this band made the song “Supersonic DJs”. I’m not sure. I do know that I bought this and Exit Planet Dust in the 1990s (?) when I had a very small electronic phase. That phase extends as far as The Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers. I really didn’t understand much else about electronic music, I think I always considered myself a “purist” in that I wanted all my music to be playable live and if you couldn’t do that then I wasn’t interested. What a knob I used to be. To be clear I never downplayed or slagged off other music I just didn’t like it.
I remember being on a car journey and the driver put on an Oasis album I don’t know which one, I’ve never really been bothered by them. Well, my emotional response to the whole album was one of utter coldness. I’m happy to admit that they wrote some excellent songs but when I hear them I get nothing. In fact, I almost have a removal of all emotion from me. I don’t know why, I just do.
Being older and wiser I think I am now accepting of “what I like I like” and there’s not a lot I can do about it. If something gives you tingles down your spine then accept it and enjoy it. Too many people in this world are not accepting of the things they like or other people liking it. I’ve recently read about metal fans moaning about Lil Nas X because he’s not a “real” musician and isn’t attacking religion in the right way. I’m impressed with the guy. He’s doing all the right things and I’d like to point out to the metal fans the “no true Scotsman” fallacy.
My most recent communication about the rage that infests my life was not as long as it should have been. I was going to explain the root causes of why I feel so much anger at everything but I don’t think I can write those things down in a coherent manner. I’m looking forward to seeing some friends this week so I can talk about things that have been getting to me. Currently I’ve decided that the State tries it’s best to keep people “just about” happy enough to stop overthrowing the State. That means that they aren’t working for us. That is just what we like to think and the image that they project. My evidence for the State not giving a shit is: Grenfell, poverty, minimum wage, Jacob Rees-Mogg. If governments were serious about fixing things they could. They just maintain the status quo to ensure the people are just about happy enough. They don’t care.
I guess what doesn’t help is having a bunch of incompetent “leaders” and utterly useless selfish tories in charge of the machinery of state at the moment. All organisations have their problems. It’s how you deal with them that should separate those organisations into the good and the bad. For instance, all organisations have problems with abuse of children or women but it’s how they safeguard those people and are open about the abuse that has occurred. If you are open about the things that have happened and you aim to minimise issues in the future then that is a good thing. If you respond like the catholic church and systematically cover up all the accusations and have done for years along with paying hush money then you are an evil child-rape cabal.
We have to have these safeguards in place because you need to remember that some people are arseholes. Those people will always exist. It’s how we deal with them that’s important. We should not give those people platforms. We should normalise the more accepting part of society. I see so much privilege in my working life and a failure to empathise with others that I am really concerned that society isn’t moving towards an egalitarian future but one of increased division. I used to think that in the long term the idea of society was to be helpful and inclusive, to look after each other, to be accepting of differences, to be selfless. But I think the human condition is mostly the opposite and I feel almost constantly sad. The world isn’t heading for some utopia. It’s heading to be roughly as it’s always been.
In my brighter moments I remember that change takes time and that there are people out there trying to do the right things. Then I remember all the shit that happens in the world. A wonderful future isn’t the default position of human planning. The default position is one of greed and selfishness. It’s up to the rest of us to do our best to persuade arseholes that being nice is the better thing [which should be obvious but people don’t seem to get it].
While I’ve been writing this the album has been playing and it’s perfectly good. A nice background hour or so of songs.