August 2010
5 posts
4 tags
Bands I used to love, that I have given up on...
Linkin Park - The nu-metal sensation used to be at the very top of my favorite bands. After releasing Meteora in 2003, they chose to collaborate with Jay-Z on Collision Course, which, while not fresh, put an interesting twist on some of their tracks. Then in 2007, they pretty much dropped their entire fan base and changed their style for Minutes to Midnight, which, in all essence, was an...
July 2010
18 posts
3 tags
Album Review: 36 Crazyfists - Collisions and...
Let me put it to you this way: if you like 36 and you own their previous albums, chances are you will like Collisions and Castaways. It’s not too far a move away from their safe zone in the realm of metalcore, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You can tell that the sound has evolved, but don’t expect anything further than typical 36 on this new release.
A few of the best...
3 tags
Album Review: Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare
I’ve decided it’s becoming harder to dumb down my album reviews just to fit them into my “40 words” segment. So let this post mark the end of those.
It is official: Avenged Sevenfold can do no wrong. Nightmare is a solid and diverse follow-up to their last self-titled release. The title track is without a doubt one of the best individual songs I’ve heard in a long...
Someone posted this on my Facebook a few weeks...
So funny.
10. The Human Abstract - Self Portraits of the...
Album - Nocturne
Released - 2006
The Story - The last song to change my thinking about music I heard about three years ago for the first time. Track two on The Human Abstract’s debut album threw me into the realm of “mathcore metal”, which is kind of a combination between hardcore metal and progressive art rock. Commonly called the (modern day) thinking man’s metal band,...
9. Tool - Lateralus
Album - Lateralus
Released - 2001
The Story - You’ve noticed by now that I have a knack for recognizing music for its greater significance long after its original release. I always liked Tool. I unfortunately discovered their incredible talents far too late. Lateralus remains my favorite Tool song and probably my favorite Tool album.
The song itself is fantastic. It displays the best of...
8. Killswitch Engage - Breathe Life
Album - The End of Heartache
Released - 2004
The Story - This is the entry I was most looking forward to. It was around 2004-05, that my entire musical taste evolved into what it is today. Rush got me into more classic rock, and then also into more progressive rock, such as Queensryche and Pink Floyd. But I was introduced to a style of music that I never, EVER thought I would like. The screaming...
7. Rush - Tom Sawyer
Album - Moving Pictures
Released - 1981
The Story - The year was 2004 for me. I was only about 23 years late on a musical masterpiece that changed the way I felt about music, and also my hobby of playing drums. Neil Peart (Rush drummer) made me feel inadequate about my masculinity after hearing this song for the first time.
This song, and Rush in general, opened my mind to progressive music as...
Movie review in under 40 words: Inception
I have only two words to say: EPIC. BRILLIANT. To quote a text from my coworker: “mind fucked a hole in my skull and filled it with awesome”. Agreed. It’s basically like nothing you’ve ever seen. SEE IT NOW.
6. Linkin Park - One Step Closer
Album - Hybrid Theory
Released - 2001
The Story - First time I ever heard this song was in the credits for Dracula 2000. It was probably the best thing I had heard since Metallica. It was literally like nothing I had ever listened to before. One memory I have was jumping on and off the couches in my grandparents’ den replaying the Dracula 2000 credits over and over with my brother and my...
5. Blink 182 - The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show...
Album - The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show
Released - 2000
The Story - Basically, I received this album as a Christmas gift when I was in 7th grade. Yes, I eventually did start listening to punk music like everyone else. But I honestly enjoyed this album more than any other studio-recorded music at the time. They were not a bad live band, back when they actually made decent music, and this entire...
4. Creed - Higher
Album - Human Clay
Released - 1999
The Story - Jesus, nothing compared to the first time I heard this song/saw this video. The intensity of the vocals, that part in the video where Scott Stapp jumps up in the air and forms a crucifix with his arms, damn that was awesome.
I’m just kidding. Creed blows. This song was good for about 17 minutes. I had to do one of these as a joke. So there....
3. Lenny Kravitz - Fly Away
Album - 5
Released - 1998
The Story - Let’s face it. Lenny Kravitz is a bad ass. While everyone else in the 6th grade was listening to Blink 182 and Green Day, I was a bit more…cultured. I bought Lenny Kravitz’s 5 album, and it’s a fantastic record. Fly Away was the first single from it, and it was great.
Sure, I got judged. A lot. The other kids thought I was weird for...
Why I Love My Second Job
Figures, I just started my little “10 Songs” mini-series and I’m already getting sidetracked. Stay with me.
For those who don’t know, aside from my management job that I work full time, I also work as a stock associate at a clothing store part time. I work with a crew of about six to eight people, shifts ranging between 3 and 9:30 in the morning, depending on our...
2. AC/DC - T.N.T.
Album - High Voltage
Released - 1976
The Story - So I wasn’t allowed to listen to Metallica. This was discouraging. I was yet again forced to listen to whatever my parents listened to on the radio. That wasn’t always a bad thing, however, I was not yet old enough to appreciate Rush, Stone Temple Pilots, Tool, and Jane’s Addiction. Later on in life is a horse of a different...
1. Metallica - Enter Sandman
Album - Metallica (better known as the Black Album)
Released - 1991
The Story - My family was living with my great-aunt and uncle in Manalapan at the time, the year was 1994 (…and my trunk is raw. In the rear view mirror is the motherfuckin’ law. Not to get sidetracked, but how ironic is it that Jay-Z’s 99 Problems was on his Black Album as well? Sick!) and my 6-year-old ears...
New Segment: 10 Songs That Changed My Life
For the next couple of weeks, amidst packing up all of our crap to move into our first place (hurray for moving on in life!) and working my two jobs, I will attempt to list for all of you (all 4 of you, hopefully) the 10 songs that literally changed the way I thought about music. Whether it was the style of music I was introduced to, or simply discovering the underlying talent of a band I had been...
Honestly, I could care less about basketball...
…but wow, Lebron, way to be the biggest asshole to ever play professional basketball. That’s the way, put yourself on a douche-pedestal by hyping up the entire country and then break the hearts of everyone in your hometown.
At least Michael Jordan was humble when he was around.