The symphonic rock drought continues. I've started listening to La Torre dell'Alchimista's self-titled debut album. It's one of the most highly praised prog-rock albums of the year, but it's not doing anything for me. The instrumental sections of a few of the songs are cool, but the vocals (*sigh*) leave much to be desired. There's also a disconcerting lack of distinctness... it sounds like a prog formula. They get compared to Solaris, but only the best instrumental sections remind me of Solaris. I'll stick with the real Solaris.

Maybe more listens will bring on a change of heart. I kinda hope so, because it's unsettling to be this cold to a very well-liked new symph-rock album. Plus the band will be at NEARfest next year.

Hmm. Looking through some Fresno local band gig listings, I spy a band called Sleepover Disaster, who list My Bloody Valentine and other "shoegazer" artists among their prime influences. Also compare themselves to Radiohead. Naturally, name-checking done by the band themselves always has to be taken with a grain of salt. It's worth mentioning that Radiohead is the only "popular" artist they list (don't know that I would call Catherine Wheel "popular" in the same sense). They play a gig next Friday night. I would normally frown a bit at a $7 cover charge, but that charge includes a free copy of their new CD (which isn't *really* free - it's most certainly in the $7 charge - but it makes the charge much more acceptable). I'll be there next Friday. I hope they don't suck. Sure would be nice to have a good local band to see live on occasion.

Another band, called Brand X Savior, mentions Tool and Alice in Chains as influences, but also lists a number of other metal bands like Pantera, which worries me. Many other bands don't even have anyone like Tool listed, but rather Slipknot, Staind, etc. etc.

Whoa... a band called Superfluid Helium 3 from Fresno is a spacey/droney/indie-pop band. This could be cool. Listening to some MP3.com samples.... wish the vocals were better. The instrumental song (their only one, according to the description) was quite good. Guys, it's OK to be instrumental. Especially if your vocals aren't that great. I'll catch this band's show too.

This has been a rough week, but it's over now. Actually, it was basically "over" after the conclusion of my Calculus exam. After I got home, I threw some music on. I listened to Edera's self-titled demo CD (reviewing for Progweed.net) and then Yes's new album, Magnification. The two were similar in that neither were distinct enough tt break through my mental dissonance and capture my selective attention. After (not) listening to these, I needed something distinct, and fast. I reached for my Faust box set. Problem solved. The Faust Tapes managed to do what boring orchestrations and neo-progmetal could not. God bless you, Faust.

I did listen to Stereolab's Transient Random Noise-Bursts With Announcements in the car today. That was nice. For music that basically defines harmonic oversimplicity, it sure is fun to listen to. A lot more so than the Yes album, that's for sure.

The Rachel's Selenography is another very good album of note. It's virtually neo-classical. It's hard to believe that this group contains members from the Slint-clone Rodan. It's link to rock is tentative (found mostly in the near-constant presence of a drum kit), but that link does make it sound like the recent album that it is, as opposed to something composed in the Romantic era. Of course, "indie kids" will listen to this and love it, but will never touch a classical record, because, like, that's so uncool. Too bad for them. I like classical, and I like Rachel's.

My Bloody Valentine's Loveless is amazing. Call it noise-pop, dream-pop, "shoegazing", whatever... doesn't matter. All I know is that they get a wicked sound down on tape. I found out at the band's entry at AllMusic that Loveless cost $500,000 to record - nearly bankrupting their label Creation Records. The money was well-spent, though, because this album has a sound that I haven't heard anywhere else.

Interesting discovery from going to the doctor's office today - it appears that I have lost about 10 pounds since leaving my hometown and moving out on my own. The interesting part is that I was sure I had gained weight - I had stopped exercising (previously worked out at my junior college), and I haven't been eating any healthier. I think the key has been that I have been eating less... no more of those big home-cooked dinner's of my mothers, nor the snacks she would keep the house stocked with. I won't make those same sort of meals for myself, nor do I buy many snacks, so I have just sorta been getting by with less food. This is encouraging, because logically, I should be able to lose weight at a much more rapid rate with exercise and a less fattening diet.

Blogger foul-ups have deleted TWO posts of mine (yesterday's and today's). I'll try to hit the highlights as best I can:

Yesterday's post:

(1) I started an exercise regimen with my stationary bike (see 10/6 post). I'm going to ride the bike for 20 minutes, 7 days a week. No excuses offered, none accepted. I will also be augmenting this with two-to-three days per week of weightlifting, as soon as I can figure out how to integrate it into my schedule (CSU Fresno's gym is only open to the general student body for very limited hours each week, so it will be a bit tricky finding the time to get there). The stationary bike, however, is in my apartment's patio/yard area, so that's always available. After a few weeks, I will up the ride time to 25 minutes, then to 30.

(2) Listened to an Einstürzende Neubauten album for the first time yesterday. Einstürzende Neubauten are one of the pioneering artists in "industrial" music, and is my first exposure to the heart of that genre. Interesting stuff. I look forward to seeing what else industrial music has to offer.

Today's post:

Yesterday (yes, I begin today's post with a mention of yesterday), I bought a frilly, doily shower puff (think "but Ironhead, what's this thingie?"). And I'm no less a man for it! I need something nice to keep my bod clean with (and though you would think the thing would be soft, it's actually about two steps away from a steel wool - though I imagine it will soften up a bit after being used a while). I also bought a back brush... that thing's only one step away from the steel wool. Those of you laughing at me, well, let's face it, you're so staaanky that I can smell you from here.

It has now been 9 days of symph-rock sadness. I haven't really tried listening to any new symph in these last couple of days, though. I did listen to Latte E Miele's Passio Secundum Mattheum today. It's a good album, one of the second tier '70s Italian symph albums. Listened to it in the car, until I walked into Subway to get a sandwitch for dinner. While inside Subway, I heard Starship's "We Built This City" on the radio. Upon returning to my car, I scanned the FM radio frequencies to find the station playing the song, and sang along the rest of the way home. It's OK, the Latte E Miele was almost over anyway.

Latest music discovery: a German jazz-rock (in the Isotope 217° sense, as opposed to the Mahavishnu-esque fusion sense) group called Kammerflimmer Kollektief. Isotope 217° is the immediate comparison, though Rob Mazurek's cornet is nowhere to be found. Instead, analog synths, static noise, and saxophones play the melodies (when there are some). The music does have the same percussion-centric style that makes Isotope 217° so darn cool.

Test

Drove down to my parents' house today (since everyone came up to visit me, it was time for me to head down there m'self). Took a stack of CDs, as usual. Among them was Hands Palm Mystery. I didn't get into this the first time I heard it, so I wanted to give it another shot. The verdict? Errrrmm...... still not really digging it. I understand that their self-titled 2nd album is better. Still, this one seems just like the Yezda Urfa that I recently acquired (Sacred Baboon)... they just aren't appealing to me very much. Is symphonic rock losing it's grip on me? Good instrumental symph still appeals to me much (like Pulsar's Halloween and Shylock's Ile de Fievre). But stuff with vocals is failing to grab me, outside of some of the faves like Gentle Giant. Classic Italian symph seems to be exempt from this, but newer stuff (like La Torre dell'Alchimista) does not.

So, let's run a counter. It basically started when the Yezda Urfa failed to "0wn" me when I first listened to it, one week ago. Sooooo... it has been 7 days since a new-to-me, non-instrumental, non-fave, non-classic-Italian symphonic rock album has "0wned" me. Let's see what album manages to break this funk.

Of the other CDs that made the drive with me, Henry Cow Leg End (original mix), Ui The Iron Apple EP, and Weidorje's self-titled all were pleasing.

As someone that listens to rather, err, "unconventional" music, I often have to be mindful as to how people around me will react to the music I listen to. A lot of music that I listen to basically has "prerequisite" listening (i.e. you should hear *this* band and *this* style of music before exposing yourself to this), and without exposure to those "prerequisites", the music can be irritating or downright painful. As such, I try to be good about what I play while others are around.

My parents drove up to my place last night, to bring me an exercise bike (which I have been waiting on for weeks now) and take me to dinner (w00t). Since they came in a pickup truck, and scurrying around Fresno crammed three-to-a-bench-seat didn't sound like a good idea, we all got into my car instead. And of course, my car = my music. I was nice, though, and just grabbed an Ozric Tentacles disc (Erpland). After dinner, my father inquired (halfway interested) about the CD (well, he just asked "Who's this?", but when he asks any question about music I listen to without appending displeasure to the initial comment, it means he is intrigued (and perhaps even "likes") what is being played).

Today, my best friend from my hometown came to visit me. He wanted to do some shopping in town, so we got into my car and cruised around Fresno. I took Turing Machine's A New Machine For Living and TOOL's Lateralus with us. He had a few kind words for the Turing Machine. When the TOOL came 'round, he commented about how it "sounded mainstream" compared to what he usually hears out of my collection. He enjoyed both discs, so it was all good. But next time, I'm pulling out the Koenjihyakkei. :)

Yes, I am posting in my blog more, again. The reason is basically that I have begun listening to more music than I have been for the last few months. I have resumed my ritual of laying down on my couch and putting on a couple of albums per day. I have some promos from Prete (Progweed.net editor) to listen to and review - currently working on the Edera self-titled demo disc (dramatic prog-metal with an annoying tendency to fill every waking moment with sound - no space to be found). I listened to a Tribes of Neurot album today, too. It's basically industrual/post-rock played by a metal band (Neurosis). Naturally, they have a habit of making their drones a bit "harsher" sounding than someone like, say, Neurot Recordings label-mates Tarentel.

I also found a little "Industrial Primer" article online today. It's not terribly good, but it gave me some bands to check out. I have become increasingly distant from the "prog-centric" musical viewpoint that I held a couple of years ago. Pure symphonic rock does less for me now than it did before - I find the smooth dronings of post-rock to be more "beautiful". Zeuhl still interests me greatly, as does stuff that is "different" (like Azigza). But a Prog Band (tm) is not too likely to get me worked up in a frenzy. A lot of people love La Torre dell'Alchimista, and while I have only heard two songs from their album, there's nothing there that makes me want to rush out and buy it. I do look forward to seeing then at NEARfest 2002... maybe they can win me over there.

Right now, I'm listening to Halloween's Le Festin, which is held by many as one of the better prog-rock albums of 2001. Unfortunately, it's not doing much for me. My biggest complaint would be the same one I hold against the classic French prog band Ange - the music is too centered around vocals, drowning out everything behind it. I do like some of the instrumental passages, though. Maybe it's a grower... I dunno, I keep trying to grow to like Ange, but I keep failing miserably...

Hmm. A subscription to Wire Magazine costs $85 (for 12 issues). Buying it at Tower cost me $6.95.

$6.95 x 12 = $83.40

Of course, a subscription comes with some bonuses (either sampler CDs or four extra issues, buyer's choice). Still, I would think the markdown should be way more than that. I will probably keep buying issues from the newsstand - $83.40 spread out is less of a hit than $85 at once. If I keep really liking the mag, I may subscribe and take the free issues. We'll see. In the meantime, I need to subscribe to Exposé and Audion. THOSE I know I want. Still, I want something that gears less towards progressive rock and more towards the indie/electronic scenes, and Wire would fit that niche nicely.

What should we do today?

Listened to Tortoise's TNT on the way to work/school today. Haven't dug that out in a while, but it re-affirmed why it is still my favorite Tortoise disc.

Later, after classes, I drove around running a few errands, and had Miles Davis's Bitches Brew in the CD player. Actually, the Complete Bitches Brew Sessions, CD #1. You know, I might end up buying the regular 2CD version of that album, despite having the 4CD box set. It's great music to listen to while driving (good jazz/fusion tends to be), but the box packaging is not very convienent for the car. Same with Magma's Trilogie Au Trianon - despite being a compact box, it's still not convienent. I like jewel cases because I can open them up, take the CD out, and put the CD into my car stereo without ever taking my eyes off the road. And here's a safe driving trick: when you have a bunch of CDs in the car and need to find a certain one, just grab one and hold it up next to your view of the road, and glance at it. You can see what it is, and not take your eyes off the road for any longer than you do to glance at your rear-view mirrors and such. If it's not the right one, then put it down and grab the next one. Might take a few tries, but it's MUCH safer than looking down and digging through them and not paying attention to the road. Don't hit me with your car!

Anyway, after all that, I went home. I was tired, and the couch looked inviting. I took this opportunity to listen to Tarantel's From Bone To Satellite. I need to get my booty up to San Francisco and see these guys play live. I missed an opportunity to see them and Zoviet*France (and meet a friend from rec.music.progressive) because my job started that week. But Tarantel is located in SF, so I should get a chance to see them. I wasn't seeing anything while listening to From Bone To Satellite, though, as I dozed off on the couch. When I awoke, I looked at the clock and noticed that my Physics class had already started. Whoops. Oh well, it wasn't an important day of class, so no big deal.

After swinging by my boss's house to pick up her computer (doing some maintenance work on it), I went driving around town. I had Fates Warning's A Pleasant Shade of Gray in the car stereo. Damn, but that's a hell of an album. It's one of the indispensable discs in my collection. I didn't much like it when I first got it, but back then, my notion of "prog" was musical gymnastics a la Dream Theater. Over time, that perception eroded, and the Fates Warning disc was given it's chance to shine. I think I may have told this story here before, but too bad. You get to read it again.

So, while driving in town, listening to Fates, I stopped at Tower Records. I was distraught when I noticed that not even Tortoise were in their "rock" section. I tend to judge music stores by their "indie" stock (after all, you can get Fleetwood Mac CDs anywhere). Well, after not seeing anything at all, I started looking for the jazz section. Maybe they at least had the Art Blakey album I want. Well, I looked and looked, and did not find a jazz section anywhere (despite a number of jazz artists, like Louis Armstrong, appearing in the budget bins). While searching, however, I found an "indie" section to the store. And what do you know, there was the Tortoise and Mogwai, and more. The Sea and Cake, Tarantel, even some prog-metal (Therion, Symphony X, and Zero Hour) were there. Woo! Also some electronic artists like Isis. Lots of San Francisco indie band lovin' (like Tarantel and Neurosis, but no Sleepytime Gorilla Museum... *sigh*). The sections were divided up by genre (rock, industrial, spacerock, metal, etc.) Well, I grabbed the Tarantel (their new album, The Order of Things) as well as a copy of Wire magazine (with the Japanese psych-rock band that I just read about at Pitchfork and downloaded an album of - Acid Mothers Temple). I've wanted to read an issue of Wire for a while now, and since their cover story is a band that I am very freshly interested in, now seemed as good of a time as any.

So I'm home now, listening to Tarantel and opening up the Wire mag.

I like Anekdoten... don't get me wrong. HOWEVER, the vocals on a number of tracks on From Within convince me that I too could be a vocalist on a real album. I couldn't be any worse than some of these.

In the liners of King Crimson's The Nightwatch, the sound engineer (David Singleton) says that the 1973 Amsterdam show represented on this 2CD set might have actually began with "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part I" rather than "Easy Money" (which is where the CD starts). However, the master tapes apparently lacked Larks' Part I, so it couldn't be put on the CD. Total bummer. I would've loved to have heard that. Guess I'll have to wait until I get a copy of the Great Deceiver 4CD boxed set.

I will spend next week (Monday through Friday) at Pismo Beach. Much like my last Pismo trip, I will have a small army of CDs with me, and will get some quality listening time in. I think I'll hit Borders and Best Buy and Tower Records this week. At the same time, I have a number of CDs that I have barely listened to (or not even listened to at all), and need to get to those.

I live!

Damn, it's been a month! My approximately tri-weekly posts disappeared for a full month. Why is that, you ask? Well, pretty much for the same reasons as last month's post: moving, becoming acquainted with a new city, etc. etc.

Odd musical obsession for the week: Spiral Architect's A Sceptic's Universe has continuously found it's way into my various CD players after months of absence. As someone that doesn't much care for metal (prog or otherwise), it's odd to enjoy an album like this one as much as I do. Things that would normally bother me, like the lead singer's occasional (well, maybe a little more regular than occasional) screetches and howls, don't really phase me on this record. The mixing job on this album is something that I specifically like. The bass is mixed up-front and cleanly, and thus doesn't get lost behind the rhythm guitar wall-of-sound (something that seems to happen on a number of metal albums - I don't know the last time that I specifically heard John Myung in a non-bass-solo part). Maybe the bass up-front mixing would be considered amateurish by some seasoned studio wizards. All I can say for sure is that *I* find it preferable to the more typical "where's the bass? It's in there!" metal productions.

I can not sing. However, that never seems to stop me from trying.

King Crimson's The Nightwatch 2CD live set has been a regular in my stereos as well. I sure do enjoy a lot of the Starless & Bible Black material sans-overdubs.

I want a cello. Maybe when I find a job and begin earning some money, I might buy myself one.

Everyone's copy of NHL 2001 should have the Alamaailman Vasarat "dittie" that I have customized in my own. Only in my virtual NHL arenas can one hear Vasarat, Ratt, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, Whitesnake, Kenso, Quiet Riot, Deus Ex Machina, and Night Ranger in the span of a few minutes.

"Motoring! What's your price for flight?"

If I were granted only one wish from a magic genie, I would use it to secure my financial future for life and for the lives of my future offspring (and their reproductive achievements, and so on). But if I had TWO wishes, I would use the second one to get a lock of Steve Wilson's hair!

I bought the new remaster of Leftoverture by Kansas. The quality is good, but the disc raises a complaint about the inclusion of bonus tracks. Now, while I am usually a strong "bonus track advocate", the two lackluster live tunes that have been grafted to the end of this rather nice album really rub me the wrong way. I mean, they bite. The vocal performances bring tears of pain to my eyes, and the eyes of anyone within earshot. Certainly not all live Kansas could have been this poor? Surely someone has soundboard tapes of really good performances locked away somewhere. These selections sound as if those responsible for the CD's production just grabbed the nearest Kansas live tape and ran with it.

"Cum on feel the noize! Girls rock your boyz!"

"vox estote Vos: principes muti eae com sint, leges vos loquentes. Eis ex principiis perpetuis omnes homimum easus et actiones dirigenda!"

I was going to type more, but NHL 2001 calls to me.

These last couple of weeks, pursuing young women has taken a back-seat (no pun intended!) to a score of more pressing concerns. To be precise, I now have a university to transfer to (California State University, Fresno), an apartment (a 1-bedroom loft about two minutes away from CSUF, which I will be completely moved into after finishing my finals next week), and the ever-nearing end of my 4th and final semester at Porterville. After I finish moving and dealing with all of that crap, I will resume my regularly scheduled getting-shot-down-repeatedly. :)

Some new music bits:

King Crimson's Heavy ConstruKction is surprisingly good. I picked up a copy after some of the #progrock chatters insisted that it was a strong release. It's a 3CD live set, with the 3rd CD consisting entirely of improvs. Good stuff.

Tortoise's Standards and Mogwai's Rock Action have grown on me quite a bit. I was pleasantly surprised to see both of these CDs featured at Borders. The Borders mini-blurb called Standards "... perhaps their most accessible offering to date", which I had to chuckle at, because it strikes me as being rather inaccessible compared to TNT or Millions Now Living Will Never Die. Not that I would call Standards "inaccessible" on it's own, but as it relates to those two, yeah.

Magma's Theusz Hamtaahk box set is a wonderful little package. I must shamefully admit that I don't own the studio Wurdah Itah, nor do I have Retrospectiw I-II for the first released performance of "Theusz Hamtaahk". I do, however, have Mekanik Destructiw Kommandah. The version from this box set seems to have rather weak brass hits, but the drumming is sufficiently powerful.

NeBeLNeST's self-titled album really does something for me. I guess I just have a thing for spacey jams, but a lot of bands in that vein fail to do it for me. Needless to say, I eagerly, eagerly, eagerly await NeBeLNeST's Bob Drake-produced sophomore effort.

Iona's Journey Into The Morn.... got it from BMG... y'know, I like this album a lot more than I ought to. I probably should hate it. But instead, I've walked around for entire days, singing "WiiiiiiiIIIIIIIiiiissdom!" to myself... (God descends over Legion, looks down, laughs, and shouts "All your soul are belong to me!")

Some recent grabs that I haven't listen much to yet:
Thinking Plague - Early Plague Years
King Crimson - Epitaph (2 CD)
The Science Group - A Mere Coincidence
... and about 5 more I can't think of right now. Right now, my room is a mess of boxes, papers, and more boxes (as mentioned above, I'm moving into my own apartment in Fresno, so I'm packing and moving most of my stuff now, and then will only have to move a few things after finals).

"WiiiiiiiIIIIIIIiiiissdom!"

An interesting side note: a group of us at rec.music.progressive have decided to start a prog concert bootlegs group. Basically, we're going to work with some serious prog show tape collectors, and transfer their tapes to CDR (cleaning them up in the process), and then distribute the CDRs among our group (as well as to the tape collectors). Anyone interested in possibly participating is urged to e-mail me (see "E-mail *Legion*" link to the left). We're setting it up so people without tape transfer or CD burning equipment can still participate.

This week has, for the most part, sucked. Of course, every week leading up to the end of a semester sucks. It's just straining, that's all. Anthropology test, Psychology paper, Creative Writing story, and Calculus. Not fun.

Music, however, has been great this week. I really "clicked" with Birdsongs of the Mesozoic's Petrophonics, Godspeed You Black Emperor!'s f#a#(infinity), and Supersister's Present From Nancy this week. I had liked each of them prior to this week, but they each took on a new and higher meaning after being listened to this week.

I've been downloading a lot of bootleg MP3s. Jaco Pastorius, Dream Theater, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Do Make Say Think, National Health, Miriodor, and A Silver Mt. Zion live bootlegs all now reside on my PC (soon to be archived to CD-R).

Currently listening to Magma's Mekanik Destructiw Kommandah. TOO COOL.

I bought five classical compilation CDs today. I wasn't looking to, but Wal-Mart had the audacity to sell them for only $1.96. One of them is a Tchaikovsky comp, one's a Beethoven comp, one's a Mozart comp, and the other two are piano comps with material from varying composers. I'll most likely replace them as soon as I become a "serious" classical collector, but they're welcome for now.

As for the girl mentioned last week... I'm thinking about biting the bullet and calling her up tomorrow.....

(this message was posted Saturday afternoon, but was written Friday night - all mentions of "today" mean Friday. Blogger's server was down when I tried to post this Friday, so I had to wait until the next day).

OK, today's morning ride music was Atlas's Blå Vardag, wonderful instrumental symphonic Swedish prog. Helped get me in a good mood, which got me through my Calculus exam that morning.

This evening, I attented a lecture at the college about forensic anthropology. I noticed when entering the lecture, there was a track meet going on at the stadium. It wasn't a college meet... it was a high school meet.

Now, let me rewind a few weeks. After an evening class a few weeks ago, my parents called me and told me to come to the stadium to see one of my cousins in the meet. I declined until they upped the offer to a good dinner as well. So, I go to the meet. I'm watching, bored, when this girl (one of my old high school's track team's members) comes up to me. She asks me if I remembered her....

Rewind two years. Senior year in high school. Trigonometry class. I sit next to this girl, who is a sophmore. I'm 17, she's 15. I think she's cute, but mostly she's just a real nice person that I consider a friend. Plus, she's not allowed to date until she turns 16 anyway (which is later that year, but perhaps too late). And I don't have a car yet.

Fast forward back to this year. My little brother is a freshman at that high school, and this girl is a senior. Both are involved in a "mock trial" club on campus, so she's sorta in touch with the family.

Fast forward back to the track meet. These last two years have treated her well. She was cute then, but she's much prettier now at 18 (she fared rather well, as I recall, in an area beauty pageant). She's asking if I "remember her" (like I could forget). I'm pre-occupied with thoughts of the other girl discussed here before (you know, the one that already had a boyfriend... boy, don't I pick 'em good). I have a friendly conversation with her, but my family (immediate and cousins) are right there too, so I'm not going to be saying too much. Plus, again, still planning on asking out that other girl. I was curious about the fact that she (the track girl) would come up to me out of the blue during her track meet to talk to me...

Fast forward back to today. I'm getting out of the car, and heading to the lecture. I hear the meet going on. I need to attend the lecture, but I bet that the meet will still be going on in an hour (when the lecture ends). So I go into the lecture, and plan on heading out to the stadium afterwards.

Lecture ends. It's raining outside now. The meet is still going, though. I enter the stadium. I hear the girl's name called out over the loudspeaker (reading off the results of an earlier event). However, try as I might, I couldn't find her. As I left the stadium, I noticed that many of the athletes were getting out of the cold by sitting in the school buses right outside the stadium. Considering that the two local school buses appear to be nearly full, I conjecture that she's on one of those buses. I'm in no position to go trampling through a school bus (especially since I'm not sure what I'd do when face-to-face with her... who knows, maybe she's just being friendly, she might have a boyfriend, but it's rare that I get that sort of treatment from a female friend that isn't interested in possibly being something more. But it could easily be nothing more than a "hi, we were friends, now I'm in a club with your punky little brother, how're you doing, been a couple of years, etc. etc." conversation. She is a very friendly person (which is kind of the whole appeal). I'm under no illusions that she's "definitely" interested, but I would like to get the chance that I robbed myself of by never saying anything to her... geez, I can't believe I hadn't thought of saying something sooner. Something unique about her is just the fact that she is so likable and honest that I'd trust her with pretty much anything. There are very few people on this planet that I will unreservedly trust... but I just don't see an ounce of deceit or dishonesty in her. A heart of pure gold).

Music Moment of the Day: Driving home from the college/stadium. It's nighttime now, and pouring rain. There's not much traffic, so it's a pretty easy ride. Listening to Atlas's Blå Vardag again. On track 5 (the last one of the album proper, before the bonus material). Left elbow against my car door, left hand propping up my chin. Wondering why the hell I didn't think about asking out this girl 1-2 years ago. In fact, I can think of no less than two (and perhaps as many as four) girls that I should have asked out but didn't. It wasn't that I was afraid to, or that I didn't know them well. On the contrary, it was because they were "friends" and I either was afraid of losing that, or simply didn't think of them "like that". It reminds me of that Survivor song, "The Search is Over":

I was always reachin', you were just a girl I knew / I took for granted the friend I have in you / [...] / the search is over / You were with me all the while"

That's just it. These were "just girls I knew". But, as I approach my departure from this place, I'm seeing some failures in my time here. Like, I can't possibly come up with a single reason why I would not want to date the track girl. Beautiful, intelligent, definitely fun to be around... nope, no reasons not to. Out of all the "friends" I could/should have considered asking out, this girl stands out.

(Of course, the question now arises... with perhaps as few as 6 weeks left in town, why consider pursuing her now? Well, at the least, I want to know where she's going to college next year. I might end up near her. I could be in San Jose, which would be near anything in the Bay Area. I could be in Pomona, which is Los Angeles. And I could be in Fresno, which is just an hour from here. Now, don't take that as meaning that I might base my decision on where she is. But I would like to know, because if I'm going to be near her, I won't waste any time. And, to answer the above question in another way, I guess I just feel like I screwed up and missed an opportunity, and want to correct the situation regardless of logistical issues).

ARGH! I almost hope that I get a chance to talk to her, and ask her out, and get shot down, just so I won't feel like I missed what could have been something good.

Amazing... I continue to find new and creative ways to make myself feel like s--t.

Hmm. Perhaps I should just stick to writing about music here.

I was reading an article that dissed "indie kids" (you know, the social misfits that dig "indie rock" bands and find themselves and their music superior to anything and everything played on the radio), and one of it's many slightly-tongue-in-cheek points was:

"Indie kids like experimentation, but not too much experimentation. They like extremity, but not too much extremity. They like songs, but they like them to be a bit shy and fuzzed-up and nervous and not too songish. Best of all they like bands which sound comfortingly like the other ones they already know are cool."

This could easily be applied to the "prog" community on the whole. I always shake my head at these fans that claim that they love prog because it's "complex", (and "different", and not chained to the strict pop-song format), and then list their favorite bands: Flower Kings, Spock's Beard, Pendragon, Cairo, Arena, Jadis, etc. Prompt these neo-prog fans to listen to some of the more avant-garde prog bands (not even RIO or zeuhl, but just something more "avant" than neo-prog), and they cover their ears and run. Why champion prog for it's "complexity" if you're only going to worship at the feet of those who create it's simplest music?

Actually listened to some classic rock radio yesterday. Among the highlights were Pink Floyd's "Welcome to the Machine", a Jethro Tull song that I did not recognize (might have been an Ian Anderson solo release), and especially Van Halen's "I'll Wait". Here's a song that the Best Of.... Volume 1 compilation missed out on. I wonder, is Volume 2 ever going to be released? EVH claimed it was all lined up when they released the first one - it was just a matter of actually doing it. Given how well the first one sold, it's puzzling why the second one has yet to follow up.

Then again, in 2000, a Van Halen boxed set, Van Halen Box 1978-1984 was released, but it appears to be available only as an import. BMG doesn't have it (argh!), and the only one Amazon lists is as an "[IMPORT]" and is priced accordingly (Amazon's import pricing is terrible). [UPDATE: The boxed set is a Japanese only release.]

Like The Who, I'll have to load up on Van Halen single CDs instead of box sets. Too bad... I like box sets.

Been a while since I've posted. I've been on Spring Break, although I haven't gone anywhere. Rather, I have been catching up on some much-needed rest. By the week before break, I was pretty constantly fatigued. I'm feeling a bit better, and am ready to finish up the semester.

Let's see, new CDs... oh yes:

The Who - Who's Next
David Tohir and his Backbone - Angels Dancing in Virga
Deus Ex Machina - Equilibrismo da Insofferenza
NeBeLNeST - NeBeLNeST
Charles Mingus - Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
Chick Corea and Return to Forever - Light as a Feather
Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come

I have barely listened to these. You see, for the next week or so, I am instating a policy of only listening to MP3s when at home. I download so much, but a lot of it just sits there. So, for the time being, I am going to listen to MP3s when at home, and CDs when in the car and on foot.

Today, when sitting outside at a shopping center, I was drinking a Coke and listening to the radio that was being played for the seating area. The music mix was interesting. There was some pop, naturally, but then a Steely Dan tune played, and I didn't recognize which one. Furthermore, after that song, a Pink Floyd song played. That in itself was pretty interesting, but what caught my attention was the particular song. It wasn't one of the hits from Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, Wish You Were Here, or even A Momentary Lapse of Reason or The Division Bell. I was able to identify the song as being something on Meddle, of all albums. I couldn't figure out which one (until I got home, and found out that it was "San Tropaz"). Very interesting choice.