Last night, I went on a quest: find a used copy of a Loreena McKennitt album (preferably The Mask and Mirror, but any of her three final full-length releases would have been acceptable). Three record stores later, I came home with no McKennitt in hand. I did come close to buying the new Mogwai EP, but I wasn't ready to drop $8 on a 20 minute EP without hearing it - even though the band's most recent album, Rock Action, has recently become my favorite release of theirs.

Upon arriving at home, I ended up firing up BearShare (which has replaced Morpheus as the first music client I go to for fairly "popular" music, and is second only to AudioGalaxy for overall use) and downloaded the various individual tracks that comprise The Mask and Mirror. Listening to it right now... while I find myself wishing for a warmer, less "overt" mix (i.e. not having vocals or the main instrumental melody slap you in the face and overpower the rest of the music), I do like what I hear, and will continue trying to find any of her last three albums in the used bins (I sure found a lot of Brian McKnight when I was looking... sheesh).

Music moment for the day: Sitting in a chair at the Health Center at the university, Discman headphones on, waiting for the results of some blood work from the lab, listening to Tarentel's The Order of Things (specifically, "Ghosty Head", a Rickie Lee James cover) while reading the college newspaper's story about the rape awareness rally a couple of nights ago, and some of the stories retold there. The song in question is a quiet, piano and (very soft) female vocals piece. When listening to the song last night while driving, it seemed beautiful. When listening in the doctor's office while reading that newspaper story, it seemed chilling, frightening. The vocals, which had seemed so pretty before, seemed woundedly brooding this time. While it may not be Tori Amos' "Me and a Gun", it sure was close. It invoked the same mood and feeling, at least at that moment in time. What remains to be seen is if the song will go back to sounding "pretty", or if it will remain locked in the context of today's listen.

On a more upbeat note, I have continued my exercise routine to the letter. Not a single day's ride has been missed. As a result, I have lost 15 pounds since starting the exercise routine (which, when added to the 10 that I lost before starting, brings me to a total of 25 pounds lost since moving away from my hometown). I took an old bathroom scale from my parents' house, and have been tracking my weight daily. It sure is encouraging to see the number go down every few days.

Currently downloading the new Mogwai EP. Will give it a chance to earn an $8 purchase. If it can manage to be as good as EP+2 or the most recent full-length album Rock Action, then I will not hesitate to grab it.

Also discovered a new band from AudioGalaxy downloads, Halifax Pier. Yet another band on the Temporary Residence label. I'm going to have to start checking out artists specifically because they're on that label, because I keep finding cool new "post-rock" and other bands that are on TR.

Oh, forgot to mention... while shopping, I bought a nice detachable massaging shower head...

.......


.......


... stop looking at me like that!

Cleanliness is next to godliness!

Wow. I went to one of the outdoor shopping places in town tonight, and it was bustling with activity. There were snack booths set up outside of the stores, a sound system was set up with a DJ (playing classic rock mostly... I picked out a Beatles song and an Eagles song), couples eating dinner in the various resteraunts' outdoor areas... and it's a Tuesday! I guess I'm just not used to living in something that resembles a real town, having grown up in a crappy farm worker town and all. I think I'll have fun when I have someone to take to these places. With luck, it won't be too soon. If all else fails, I can always go back to Quizno's. ;)

I am starting to warm up to "dream pop" (or "ambient pop") a bit. Stereolab's Dots and Loops and The Sea and Cake's Oui reverberated off my apartment's walls today, in-between some Don Caballero. The Sea and Cake is just very... pleasant to listen to. While I can't see eye-to-eye with people that think it's a resounding masterpiece, it is (as AllMusic puts it) a "sophisticated pop album". John McEntire (of Tortoise fame) plays in this band, playing percussions and doing all the studio tricks and stuff. Woodwind instruments (clarinet, flute, sax) and a trombone augment the core guitar-and-keyboards sound. Pleasantly. :)

Observations from today's use of home chemicals and cleaners:

(1) Round-Up works fast. Them weeds turn yellow within an hour.

(2) Woolite carpet cleaner foam spray is magic. It did wonders for my car's floor mats, as well as the carpet by my front door (the trees around my apartment drop sticky berries during the summer, and so they would often end up on the bottom of people's shoes and create stains on the carpet). It now joins an elite pantheon of chemicals/cleaners that I call "magic" (previously, the title was held solely by Armor All).

(3) Krazy Glue (not really a cleaner or chemical, but it's my bloody blog, so it's my rules) has the amazing property of sticking to skin approximately 6 times better than it sticks to anything else. I couldn't believe how much trouble I have had glueing cleanly-broken pieces of plastic back together... can't get them to stick for the life of me, but boy, are my fingers stuck together firmly during the entire process!

(4) Related to number 2... three things every car owner needs: car polish, carpet cleaner, and Armor All. Along with a simple wash and vacuum, a dirty car can become a clean and fresh and shiny car with these three items. To really put it over the top, add Febreze to the equation.

(5) Body soap is divine. Drop your manly tough-guy act and get with the program.

You know how people will stand and pass out Bibles (or mini-Bibles) outside of colleges, grocery stores, etc.?

Well, I think it's high time that someone started handing out copies of Faust's The Wümme Years: 1970-1973 box sets.

Wonder if Recommended Records would be interested in donating some copies of the set for such an endeavor? I know Chris Cutler would have to smile at the idea... :)

I got paid today!

That's actually not a lyric... that's just something I cheered to myself earlier today. I have a chunk of disposable income (finally!) and can get some cool stuff for my apartment (and perhaps a Game Boy Advance... I find that I'm paying too much attention in lecture hall classes, and could use a diversion).

The first thing I did buy, however, was a copy of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless (been living off of MP3s until now). It's a good thing I didn't stop at Tower Records... might have raided the indie racks for some Neurot label stuff. I'll probably order some CDs from Wayside in the days to come.

Interesting... I mentioned the fact that I've lost weight here at the blog. Well, I mentioned it to some family, expecting some of them to be kinda surprised. Well, everyone (when asked separately!) all said that they've noticed already. Gee, if I lost enough that it's been visible to everyone, how about someone saying "hey, you're dropping pounds!"? And here I thought I was probably gaining some pounds during all that time.

On a different, but perhaps not altogether unrelated note, I think the girl working at Quizno's (sub sandwitch store) was hitting on me this evening. Nothing overt, but a sort of "I want to cozy up to you as much as possible in the span of 2 minutes". The giveaway hints were the fact that she pretty much desperately said anything to keep a conversation going (at one point, stooping to ask "Where's Jacksonville?" upon observing my Jaguars T-shirt, and turning that into a conversation). It was past 8:30pm, her shift was almost over, and while someone would normally be just be gettin' the last customers out of there and preparing to leave, she did everything to keep me around as long as possible. Sorry, sweetheart, but there are other girls I have my eye on (one in particular). It was kinda nice, though... I sure didn't mind the attention.

Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn?
Remember how she said that we would meet again....

Why the Pink Floyd reference? Err, I dunno. The only Floyd albums I've listened to in the last few months have been Atom Heart Mother and Obscured By Clouds, neither of which contain the song that the above is taken from (that's from The Wall). This is just a random lyric that appeared in my head.

Listened to Tortoise's Standards, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso's Io Sono Nato Libero, Sigur Rós's Ágætis Byrjun, and Cul de Sac's Ecim. The Tortoise, Banco, and Sigur Rós are all known quantities to me. The Cul de Sac was a bit new. It's a CD I've had for a while, but have only listened to once. Second impressions? Good but very uneven. There are great moments of Krautrock-influenced stuff, but other parts are lame or annoying (couple songs with painful vocals). Their most recent album, Crashes to Light, Minutes to Its Fall is much better - at least, that's my opinion, based on my one listen to it and my two listens to Ecim. Cul de Sac certainly deserves some more listens, that's for sure...

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.