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chenoehi · 4 years

Note

1, 10, 17, 18, 44, 49 for the bts asks!!💕

👋👋👋 Thank you for these questions! They made me think lol (also you're an MVP for always keeping up with me when I live blog performances 😭)

FUN BTS ASKS <-

1. How and when did you get into BTS?

This is the shorter version bc I'm working on a personal post about this actually:

When: Last week of October 2018 in Orlando, Florida, where I was 'vacationing' while also working and basically having one of the most miserable, low weeks of my life.

How: I'd known about them since at least 2017 and watched them perform at the AMAs from afar, I listened to DNA after that, the song didn't grab me (it still doesn't 😭), and for a while I was seeing BTS content come across my tl, specifically Jimin content and he became my recruitment fairy, but the day LY in Paris had also happened recently and jikook decided to do them and all of a sudden a blog I followed spammed my tl with the jikook lap incident. At that point I'd seen BTS trending on tumblr tons of times and I saw them trending for the Waste it On Me teasers. I got interested and I listened to it when it came out but I was totally confused bc they were singing in English. So that led to me watching the classic YouTube "Who Are BTS?" videos which led me to watch one video that tested your knowledge of their voices and played clips for you to guess, and that led to my absolute obsession with Let Me Know which led to a mini breakdown when I couldn't find the song on Spotify so I listened to every. damn. song. starting. from. love yourself. Until I realized I could just Google the English lyrics and find the song that way. And then the Muster DVD content came out or was circulating literally at the same time so I got to see all the nice KM content and yeah, I basically just got hooked over the course of my week in Orlando, I walked around Disney Springs blasting Anpanman in my headphones, worked all through the night with Magic Shop, slept with my headphones on and The Tturh Untold in my ears, all because they're crackheads I love and not to be dramatic and shit but they kind of saved me when I was drowning.

10. Your favorite cover of BTS? (Doesn’t matter if it’s one of Jungkook, Taehyung, Jin, etc.)

I guess this means covers of BTS songs that other artists have done right? I really don't listen to many covers of BTS except sometimes I listen to piano versions on SoundCloud. I do listen to a cover of "The Truth Untold" by Emma Heesters on Spotify. It's probably not the best cover but I just haven't really sought out any others. .

17. Whose fashion style do you like the most?

Hmm. Well, Jimin is our pretty boy and I do always like seeing what he's wearing, I love Hoseok's style, I feel like Namjoon, Jin, and Yoongi are more ambiguous, and I like Taehyung's unique style.

But, it's JK. Big. Black. Comfy.

18. Which member matches with your personality the most?

Yoongi/Namjoon/Taehyung

I'm like Yoongi in the sense that neither of us tend to be the most outgoing or life of the party, he can be very quiet when he wants to be and he's pretty laid back in general. We also both like to sleep a lot, and I don't think Yoongi has a black and white view of the world, or at least that's the impression I get. So I'd gather he's one of the least judgmental among them. I also connect to his mental health struggles.

I'm like Namjoon in the sense that we both love nature, trees, and although I don't have immediate access to parks, museums, things like that, if I did I'd be on a bike roaming around or walking or going to see cultural events and all that good stuff. Alas I am not. I also think we have similar ways of thinking with regard to life. I specifically connect to his mental health struggles similar to Yoongi, although I believe Namjoon has dealt with and still deals with things more in line to what my experience is like, but with different contexts of course.

Taehyung. Sweet child. He was the member I connected to the least really just up until these past few months. But the truth is I may be more like Taehyung behavior wise than any of the others. I've caught myself lately watching him say or do things and saying to myself "Taehyung is me I am Taehyung." It's honestly scary sometimes. One time I was watching BTS play this quiz to see what member they were (which lol) and I found a lot of my answers aligning with his. I think coming from a background of farmers and from things I've seen he likes nature as well and like Namjoon he's a lover of art. He also has a habit of wearing less expensive clothes and making them look nice; I lol'd when I saw that he'd been buying inexpensive women's blouses marketed to women around 40 or so 😭 He just has a unique style and while I wouldn't say that I dress like him exactly I do sometimes gravitate to more old school styles. I also wear clothes for the opposite gender a lot.

44. If you were given the chance to say one sentence to all of them, what would you tell them?

To JIMIN: Jimin, you do have jams.

To JK: What was tasty in Busan?

To HOSEOK: What did JK text you on your last day in Malta?

OK OK time to get serious

To JK: Be confident in yourself because you are a wizard, our smart Ravenclaw, and you can accomplish anything you put your mind to; your 50% effort blows away everyone else's 100%.

To JIMIN: I think the way you sing is healing and I think you know best what works for your unique voice.

To HOSEOK: You are a son your parents can be proud of, and you should be very proud and confident in yourself because you're perfect.

To YOONGI: Please never stop writing songs about things that matter because people care and we want to hear your voice.

To SEOKJIN: "Tonight" is one of my favorite songs. You should feel happy with how you honored your pets.

To TAEHYUNG: Your grandmother would be very proud of you if she could see you.

To NAMJOON: Thank you for being the gravity holding our galaxies together.

49. What kind of concept would you like to see in the future?

Hmmm. They've done so much already. . I think it would be interesting to explore the route of Dionysus a little more, maybe a little more similar to their earlier styles with heavier rap parts, maybe an infusion of rock? I'm seeing a lot of hip hop lately that's been inspired by rock so that would be interesting. Or they could do something else and maybe infuse some EDM tracks? I know what they've done lately is more pop but I think they've only touched on EDM.

As for concepts. . I don't really know what to add?? They've done light, dark, PINK, youthful, school, soft, grrr, . . . Maybe something mature like a look more in line with MOTS: vol. 2 & 3? Those were more serious like Tear but instead they could go more toward vol. 2 and come out with like evening wear, suits (fitted), or ugh more pajama wear my god, and looks similar to what they did for SY tour Singularity and Fake Love performances? I'd love to see Hoseok in another red suit like his Final Just Dance stage . . Yes.

Hope you liked this 💜

#bts asks #bts #bangtan #ask #ask jiminielatte #personal post #personal

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quaymorris · 5 years

Photo

Album: Glory

Release Date: August 26, 2016

Another album cover, another Britney face shot. Aptly titled since it’s a close return to her former glory, at least musically and lyrically. It had been 5 years since her last top ten hit and a chart topping album (Femme Fatale for both). This album didn’t accomplish either, but everyone liked the sound much better!

She also met her current super hot young boyfriend on the set of one of the music videos off this album. Go look at his Instagram, I’ll wait. Rawr.

This is the third potential contender for Britney’s Holy Trinity.

Time for Britney to serve us greatness again!

Pretty Girls | 5 /10

*sigh* I don't hate this song, but it's not good. My boyfriend, however, LOVES this song. Mr. Rock Music Only would not stop singing it when it first came out. He called it a perfect bubblegum pop song so I'll just agree with him on this.

Also, this one wasn’t on Glory, thank god, but it was released during this era.

Tom's Diner | 8 /10

Fun fact: Britney never finished recording this cover with Giorgio Moroder. He gave interviews noting that she was probably busy. Let me show you what she was actually doing.

Yes, she was in Hawaii on vacation, far from the studio.

Another fun fact: She recently revealed that she forgot she covered it and she actually texted her manager saying this would be a fun song to cover.

Also not on this album but from this era.

Invitation | 7 /10

I don't know if this made the *best* album opener, but I really enjoy it regardless. That falsetto - yes ma'am! And the lyrics are so subtly sexy: Yes or no, but no maybes / Not gonna beg so don't make me 🎶 ... I'm wet.

Do You Wanna Come Over? | 6 /10

Even though I don't really like it, I have to admit it's catchy and, considering the Spotify numbers, the GP probably would've pushed this up the charts if it had been released as a proper single + video.

Make Me | 5 /10

I go back and forth on this song. When I haven't listened to it in a while, I'm convinced it's perfect, but a few more listens convinces me it's not. It definitely sets the mood for the album and what she was trying to achieve, but 1) G-Eazy does absolutely nothing for this song and didn't need to be there and 2) It's really hard to understand what she's singing. If you're going to release a single to the GP, a damn lead single, maybe make it a song that's easy for them to understand and sing along to.

Private Show | 5.5 /10

This had to grow on me. The chipmunk voice is a little grating. But it's fun! I love the way she says "work it, work it, boy watch me work it!"

Man On The Moon | 6 /10

Oooh, more bubblegum pop. I can't decide if I think this song is good or just corny af. Lyrics are pretty solid.

Just Luv Me | 7.5 /10

Should've been a single. Maybe not lead, but it's a better r&b-styled effort than Make Me is. Her voice sounds better on this one as well.

Clumsy | 5 /10

Oops! Ok, talk about basic club music lmao. But I LOVE how catchy it is! Probably shouldn't have been a teaser single, though ... it's not that strong of a song.

Slumber Party | 8 /10

THIS would've been better as the lead single than Make Me. But I also believe it’s a terrible second single. Also also this did not need a remix with Tinashe. Better promo would've propelled this further up the charts imo because that video is muy caliente. I love her deeper/half moaning vocals.

Peep the video to see her lick milk up in front of her man. Rawr.

Just Like Me | 6.5 /10

The lyrics aren't very convincing to me, but the slowed down chorus gives the song a little more depth. It's also sort of forgettable, though.

Love Me Down | 9 /10

One of the best tracks on the album tbh. The way she sings lo-lo-lo-lo-love me is instantly iconic and classic Brit. The half spoken/half sung nature is fucking flawless, too.

Hard To Forget Ya | 2 /10

It's not hard to forget this fucking song, though. The chorus sinks what could be a masterpiece. The verses are excellent!

What You Need | 7.5/10

In spite of my better senses, I do like this song. I'll always maintain that her voice is too thin to pull off what could be a masterpiece of a fucking song, but that doesn't stop it from being pretty damn good. The way she plays with the words when she sings is unmatched.

Better | 6.5 /10

It's good! But it sounds too much like Justin Bieber-style and not Britney Spears, the legend-style. You could put anyone on this song (JB, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, especially Selena Gomez) and it would work.

Change Your Mind | 10 /10

This is the best song on the album, bar none. Should've been a standard edition song AND a single. This is the lead single Britney needed. It capitalizes on some of the trends currently out there, but with a twist. A Britney twist.

Liar | 7 /10

This is probably the most radio friendly song on the album. I think the GP would've eaten it up, albeit it would've enjoyed a very temporary existence. But Spotify numbers don't lie ...

If I'm Dancing | 9 /10

I wish she would make a whole album of songs like this. It feels so transcendental and exotic, a sound Britney hasn't really explored before. I don't really know wtf the lyrics mean, but I'm still here for it.

Coupure Electrique | 8 /10

I was slightly disappointed when she announced there was a track called Blackout and then it turned out to be this. Don't get me wrong, it's a great song, but the French is ... nonsensical.

Mood Ring | 9 /10

If she wanted a moody first single, move this up to the standard edition and release it. The production, lyrics, everything about it puts Make Me to shame.

Slumber Party (ft. Tinashe) | 7 /10

Even though the song is essentially the same, I'm dropping a star from the original because Tinashe brought nothing to it. They need to stop trying to make Tinashe happen.

L E A K E D V I D E O

There have (so far) been no leaked songs from this era, but it had its own controversy in the form of a music video. Britney teased a video for the lead single Make Me, which is entirely different from the one we actually got. There’s a whole convoluted story behind that. Anyhoo, I’ll let you decide if it’s good or not (spoiler alert: it’s not), but this shit riled up the fandom.

youtube

God, G-Eazy makes me want to gag.

#britney spears #make me #glory #album review #track by track review #im finished finally!#g eazy

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littlecafe · 5 years

Video

youtube

woosung team; ILYSB (artist: LANY) / spotify link

members in his team:

DPOLE (dj): auditioned with his own song (mix?? what do u call this askjdsf) honbando, they were curious about the playstation remote he had with him so he showed that too

mellow kitchen (saxaphone): audtitioned with way back home by shaun

kim hyungwoo (bass): auditioned with his band gift, they covered vincent by Don McLean (usually they have 3 people but i think one of them was in the military so it’s just the two of them)

kim woosung (frontman, vocal): auditioned with the rose, they covered breakeven by the script

my episode commentary:

so jtbc has been pushing this ~bromance~ story line between woosung and his teammate from the previous round lee chansol and i just akjdsf it’s so pure but also jtbc pls

almost felt the heartbreak when woosung didn’t pick him this time and he was just talking about how woosung is a bright kid, clumsy, and likes gummies...please take care of him well (IM LOSING MY MIND ASDJFDFS)

dpole wanted to do the thing with the glasses bc he says woosung’s voice reminds him of water so he thought it would be cool to incorporate it into the performance; he briefly explained how it works since everyone was curious afterwards but i couldn’t really catch much...basically it’s sparkling water and it makes sound through transition of electricity (energy??)

kim jongwan (judge, from nell) said it’s really refreshing to hear dpole do his thing live since a lot of the teams have some type prerecorded backtrack and they play live on top of it but with dpole everything is live right there

pretty much all i have to add on about their team sakjsdfsd it’s short this time but uh am going to take a bit of time talking about woosung ofc one of my favorite vocalists in kpop ;u;

MINI SPOILER(S) tbh not really lol it’s more discussion and my inner thoughts

wow it really took this long for me to link a woosung performance loool everyone is really good ahhh but thank you youtube recommendations for finding this show, the rose’s breakeven performance popped up and i just??? what is this?? so i searched up the show and tried to find where to watch it bc it’s totally my cup of tea

i did NOT know woosung was the only one that made it past the audition round so i had a hot two seconds of being bitter and then moved on with my life but tbh the amount of screen time he gets is...scary??? LOOL and i say this as a fan but jtbc seems to really like him, they film him a lot just reaction wise and he even has a story line now sajdsfk it almost feels like he’s a shoe in for the final group (esp since kim jongwan really, REALLY likes him and he’s loyal to his picks sajdsf thank u mr. nell)

currently stuck in this limbo of whether i want him in the end group or not since it’ll take quite a toll on him being in two groups at once, even now his schedules are quite hectic

but also i’m not 100% sure what the final group is intended to do...i think the contract was for a year? but also i’m not sure i feel like it’s just some part of my brain that made this up but i do know it’s a temp band and they will be making music and touring together

i don’t think they have a serious lock like produce where u have to be in the temp group only but it will prob be hard to work on music in two groups at once so i wonder what it would mean for the rose if he were to make it in (do they continue with just dojoon singing? do they take a small break? will woosung just juggle two groups?) it worries me a little....and i wonder how black roses would feel if woosung won’t be able to join for promotions or if they can’t comeback for a while

these are all useless worries though since nothing is confirmed and maybe he’ll get eliminated and i’ll just be boo boo the fool worrying so early for no reason

also by “touring” i’m guessing they mean only in korea? i doubt they can go overseas since the show is not really anywhere accessible for international fans (other than the sketchy website linked on twt from black roses asjksdf // edit: so it’s finally on ondemandkorea but the amount of ads i can’t sit through that so imma stick to my sketchy site sakjsdf but it’s on there now for anyone that wants to watch!!) and most definitely no eng subs

but they can def /try/ international IF woosung makes it, they quite obviously know he does have a fanbase and has a pull overseas bc he speaks english and the rose just had their own tour (this was mentioned on the show too at their audition i think) but i still think it’s very unlikely just due to how the show is aired

oh maybe for real a spoiler? about eliminations

it’s starting to feel like they’re getting rid of a lot of the more unusual (?) artists and keeping a lot of vocalists and i just why let them audition if you were going to make a conventional band (bass, guitar, drums, keyboard)

at the beginning i was intrigued as to how they’ll fit in and it’s definitely the frontman has to have an idea about what song he wants and a way to include the more classical instruments (violin, sax, accordion, cello, etc..) or if all else fails those people have to move to other instruments or talents to fit the team

but slowly they’re starting to get rid of them instead when they could easily eliminate vocalists since there are so many of them to begin with so i feel like they don’t really want an unconventional band

i’m also almost 100% sure the end group has to have more than one vocal bc there’s so many left LOL (it’s fine though since quite a few can play other instruments as well) i’m really not complaining though every elimination hurts me so bad i’m so invested into this show and these people ;;o;;

this is probably the most invested i’ve been in a show like this....i now know how produce fans feel everything hurts but i still look forward to every episode askjsdfdf

OK BUT SPEAKING OF ELIMINATIONS TODAY WAS AN ELIMINATION EP AND WHAT THE HECK I WAS TOLD THEY WERE GOING TO ELIMINATE ONE FROM EACH TEAM BUT THEY DIDN’T??? i mean....they only left ONE team untouched so they really did try to eliminated one from each but instead it was one from 6 teams (there were a total of 7 up for elimination) and then 2 teams ended up losing 2 people

i guess the judges have some freedom if they feel that another team really slacked and one did too well and it would be a pity to eliminate anyone from them they can pick who they thought was worse ;;_;;

next episode teaser

so all this time the staff have been pairing up which teams go against which teams (i still have no clue how they decide btw i think they just try to find the best possible match up like rock vs rock, classics vs classics)

but next time i think the teams are going to able to pick their own opponents for the first time!! i’m so excited >*< the match ups have been painful anyways since the staff does such a good job at pitting the people i support against each other so them picking shouldn’t be much different it’ll just be more fun since they can have friendly dissing loool

#superband #so much rambling #it's bc i just finished watching this ep everything is still fresh and everything still hurts #i put everything in a read more so it would look cleaner

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blogaboutmusic · 6 years

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all the playlists !

did this a while ago, but my spotify changed so much that i decided to do it again, and also because i have a lot of new followers! thank you & thank you if you follow my playlists! Be sure to check the list out bc i have a playlist for almost every genre & mood!

● ✧･ﾟ*✧･ﾟ* existential crisis: everything i have that is sad ● 2019 ; letz getit: music i discovered so far in 2019 / music that is important to me in 2019 ● 20(18)GAYTEEN: every album that came out in 2018 (at least of artists i like) ● 20(19)BITEEN: every album that came out in 2019 (/artist i like :) ) ● 5sᴏs ; complete: i think the title says it all ● ａｌｉｅｎｓ: a mix full of alt. songs. dope. 10/10 recommend to aliens ● all of it ; alternative ?: stuff that is alt but not quite, pop punk but not quite, rock but not quite, etc! ● all of it ; emo music: EVERYTHING YOU NEED. EVERYTHING SAD. EVERYTHING ANGRY. EVERYTHING GUITAR. pop-punk punk-rock emo/rock indie/alternative ● all of it ; k-pop: all the k-pop music that I listen to, stuffed into one mix. ● ᴀʟʟ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ʟᴏᴡ ; ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇ: all of all time low’s music ● angry k-pop bops: a playlist that was inspired by district 9 of stray kids ● autumn, baby: perfect songs for fall! ● back to the future: idk some albums that i love listening to that go really well together ● bandito tour ; twenty one pilots: a playlist for an upcoming concert ● b͓̽a͓̽n͓̽g͓̽ ͓̽c͓̽h͓̽a͓̽n͓̽: a playlist for my bias of stray kids! ● ʙᴀɴɢᴛᴀɴɢ sᴏɴʏᴇᴏɴᴅᴀɴ ; ʙᴛs: all of bts’ music in one playlist ● best intro's, no argue: okay but really 505 is one of the best songs ever don’t fight me on that one ● bi bops: actually it doesnt matter if you’re gay, straight, pan or bi, these all work. just bops. ● b-sides, : songs i tend to forget about because i mostly listen to other songs on the albums... but they deserve the world so there you go ● 𝖇𝖎𝖙𝖊 𝖒𝖊: kinda angry, kinda alternative. ● bon voyage: i listened to this a lot when i went to paris and when i have to travel a lot. travel worthy. ● bop that Bussy ; emo version: FAV EMO JAMS AND BOPS AND BANGERS ● bring me the horizon ; complete : all of bmth’s music ● bts amsterdam 13.10.18: SETLIST ly tour amsterdam but also europe. i miss them a lot & wanna thank them for one of my best nights ever

● calm my anxious ass: what i need when i’m breaking down & alone again ● chanyeol (っ◔◡◔)っ: a playlist for my exo bias, mostly english sung songs though ● chilly billy doobop: so nice to have as background music or for when there’s a friend over. just ever so fckn CHILL ● classical // piano: classical music, mostly piano ● current mood: songs i’m probably listening to right now (lmao still) ● daniel james howell: a playlist for my fav youtuber!!! ● daydream: my playlist with music that makes me dream for a better version of me ● ᴅᴀʏ6 ; ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇ: every day6 song ever. stan talent stan day6 ● death / school mix: songs about dying & other relatable stuff for school, ha ha ● dizzy tummy: stuff i listen to strolling through the city or being in a specific trainride ● dope on a rope: no, this isn't a playlist for the growlers' song, it's old beats. ● emo & alternative: sum emo tunes! totally random *insert that one crazy emoji with the tongue out* ● energize this tired bub: upbeat tempo music that really energizes me ● energetic appleflap: playlist for a friend (that i have crush on) ● eɴᴛᴇʀᴛᴀɪɴᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴛᴏᴜʀ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀᴘᴀʀᴋꜱ: music i listened to before & after my waterparks concert + every waterparks song ever & the setlist ● ᴇxᴏ ; xᴏxᴏ: exo complete. please give us a ot9 comeback ● exploring: stuff i have yet to listen to ● fᴀʟʟ ᴏᴜᴛ ʙᴏʏ ; ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇ: all of FOB’s music. can you believe i’m still emo trash? ● frickity freck!: fresh alt-ish music ● fuck me up: a ReAlLy gOoD aLterNaTiVe / IndiE / eMo playlist? ● funky dunky business: the bass in these is mostly really mcflipping good ● geez, morty: playlist for fake friends ● ɢᴏᴛ7 ; ᴀʜɢᴀsᴇ: all of got7 their music ● ɢʀᴇᴇɴ ᴅᴀʏ ; ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇ: all of green day aka my fav band their music ! every.thing. ● grrr. : just metal and grunge. heavy shit ● guitars: really good guitars like guns ‘n roses & beatles and just guitars that i love??? ● guns n' roses setlist: setlist g ‘n r Europe 2017 ● halsey: indie artist, all her music in a playlist ● happy vibes: music that makes me smile!! ● hoe anthems (k-pop ver.); k-pop bops that make me go wanna hoe the heck out ● homework // calm: music i listen to when i make homework ● hug me pls: acoustic songs i wanna listen to while cuddling ● i’m a mess: a good, short playlist i- lol- unironically made when i discovered Michael Clifford had a girlfriend lmao i hope theyre happy they deserve it ● i, an intellectual: a nerd: music from movies and series i really dig ● interactive introverts: music they played and i listened to before interactive introverts ● jae = bae: this one goes out to jae, guitarist and vocal legend in the band day6 ● jazzin' away: jazz, my friend. ● j-pop ; rock 'n soul: my favourite j-pop songs!! yes, that includes all one ok rock songs. ● journal writings: i attempt to keep up a journal. this gives me vibes. sometimes a bit more uptempo, but mostly a bit softer ● judith.eliza: for a friend ● jughead's tape: for jughead jones, of riverdale ● just guitars, nothing else.: just acoustic guitars of some of my fav songs, really good for while studying i think ● k-grooves: korean r&b and indie ● k-pop ; essential jams: my favourite k-pop songs, which are quite a lot! ● k-pop ; girls: all my girl groups’ music ● k-rock ; you make myday: all my favourite k-rock songs, yes that includes every day6 song because they are just that good sorry ● last young renegade tour: music i listened to before & after my all time low concert + the setlist ● letters to you: songs that made me think of my crush. i think people can realate? ● let there be luf: some new alt, sum songs about love ● lilacskyjimin ; fav: playlist for a friend ● lone hours: in: feeling lonely? we do, too, dont worry. youre not alone. ● mama: stuff i grew up with / stuff my mother and i both like ● marina & the diamonds: apperantly she’s only called marina now? one of the best female singers i know, indie as f*ck ● ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ; 5sos: playlist for the 5sos concert, setlist and the songs in between! ● micmicbudgee ; fav: playlist for a friend ● mom jeans, tired eyes: mostly 70s and 80s BOPS ● ᴍᴏɴsᴛᴀ x ; ᴍᴏɴʙᴇʙᴇ: all of monsta x’s music in a playlist ● muse ; complete: all of alt rock band muse their songs ● my chemical romance ; complete: emo rock band mcr all of their music ● my youngblood chronicals: alt rock songs. the reason why i’m still fighting ● nederlandse bodem: my favourite Dutch songs! ● ɴᴇᴏ ᴄᴜʟᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴛᴇᴄʜɴᴏʟᴏɢʏ ; ɴᴄᴛ: nct complete, in a playlist ● nienisneckdeep ; fav: playlist for a friend ● nights: songs i like to listen to before going to sleep ● noa.myg: fav: another playlist for a friend ● non-english bops: jewish, french, spanish, swedish, irish and celtic music like omnia (which is partly english but i think it fits here so tough luck) ● one ok rock ; complete: one ok rock is a japanese rock band that sings in english in their latest work ● ᴘᴀɴɪᴄ! ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅɪsᴄᴏ ; ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇ: all of panic! at the disco’s music in a playlist ● paramore ; complete: paramore was a punk rock band with a female singer, and now they make alt rock ● paris: a playlist for a city that i miss, a time that i miss ● ᴘᴇɴᴛᴀɢᴏɴ ; ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇ: aka all of k-pop group Pentagon their music in a playlist ● pizza punk: waterparks, neck deep, with con and music like that. perfect for skating eheh ● power vocals: beautiful voices ! voices that make me jealous ● problems with sleeping: lovely alt songs, some of them are about not being able to sleep ● queen discography: you know that movie, bohemian rhapsody..? ● rad activist shit: end gun violence. black lives matter. abortions should be legal, pedophiles and rapists should not be able to walk free. oh and love is love, get over it. angry songs, songs about revolution. ● rainbow: love songs, some sad (rain), some ever so happy (sun). together they make a rainbow ● red hot chili peppers: the red hot chili peppers are rock band and if you dont know them, look them up!! ● revolution radio 2017: music i listened to before & after my green day concert + the setlist ● rev up my spaceship, bois: modern hard rock in a playlist! ● sad boi o’clock: another sad playlist, you can never have enough of these ● sᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴀᴍᴇ ; sᴇᴠᴇɴᴛᴇᴇɴ: seventeens (k-pop) complete music discography ● skylinn ; khaleesiqoyi: first playlist i made for a friend: my best friend ● slytherin headgirl: this is what the people in slytherin listen to, i swear ● socrates would deffo stan: indie and alt, only for intellectuals (i’m just kidding) ● soft; rock™: soft (old) rock ● soft; k-pop: for if you wanna weep along with exo, bts,, etc ● soundtrack of my life 🌙: the basics to my music ● space jams 🚀: most songs are about wanting to run away, perfect for when you’re in space ● spoopy rave: i secretly listen to this through the year, idec ● starry skies, snazzy beats: mostly cute beats, perfect for studying or staring at the sky ● sᴛᴀʏ ; sᴛʀᴀʏ ᴋɪᴅs !: all of stray kids songs, go stan them already and please stay ● stranger things: songs that give me a stranger things vibe ● supernatural ; rock & grunge: stuff Dean Winchester would listen to, blue oyster cult, aerosmith, black sabbath, stuff like that ● tae tae: a playlist for v of bts, one of my biases ● the 1975: an alt band, latest work: an brief inquiry into online relationships ● the neighbourhood: very chill music. kinda rap, kinda alt ● these physically turn me on: really, really good songs, or nice vocals, idk how to explain ● tits out for harambe: the closest thing i have to pop music / rap i guess, with khai dreams, frank ocean, childish gambino, ari, troye, ya know ● tokyo: a playlist for dreaming about the feeling of a city ● travel back in time: 50s, 60s music, stuff i listen to with my grandpa but also alone cuz its fun ● twenty øne piløts ; complete: all of twenty one pilots their music ● underappreciated alt songs: alternative songs that i think deserve (even more) hype! ● waterparks ; complete: nice new pop punk band that deffo has a lot of talent! ● when the week ends: a mix for the weekend ● wubbalubbadubdub: old bops that make me forget about my sadness ● year in review: 2018: music i discovered in 2018 / music that was important to me in 2018 / songs that came out in 2018 ● yoongi: songs where you can sing yoongi really clearly and songs that make me think of him ● you’re making me feel miserable: songs i listened to after i confessed to my crush and he turned me down sksksksk

please reblog, it helps my blog a lot, tysm

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djbimbu-blog · 5 years

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Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town

For the first review why not start with the album this blog is named after, Bruce Springsteen’s fourth album, 1978’s Darkness on the Edge of Town. Why did I name my blog after this album? Is it my favorite album? Favorite album by the Boss? Nope. It’s not even my favorite Springsteen album (that would probably go Born to Run, but Darkness is close). It’s just what I happened to be listening to when I decided to start a blog because I needed a hobby, and I spend most of my time reading about whatever record I’m listening to anyway, so I might as well write down my half assed research and opinions.

I don’t remember when I got this record, a few years ago at some point. I bought it from one of my usual record stores. I had already tried to buy it once at a flea market, but when I got it home the record actually was an Elvis Costello record inside of a Springsteen sleeve. And try as I might, I just can’t get into Costello. I learned the hard way (probably about $8 hard) that you don’t just look at some of the grooves for scratches, look at the label and make sure its the right fucking record in there. So I had to buy a second copy. It’s in decent shape, has a few crackles here and there, but I don’t go for mint condition stuff. I go for the record that’s the cheapest one out of the three copies the store has, because the sleeve is a little worn and one song has a scratch in it. I buy records to listen to first and foremost. I’m not rich, and I’m not buying them to look at, so some of my records are of questionable condition.

The first copy I bought is now framed and hangs right above my stereo. A reminder not to be such a dumbass with my record shopping, and a reminder to stop being so quick to shit on artists based off mental cliches you’ve made about their fans. Basically a reminder to be a more open minded person, and less of an asshole.

Most of my life I had written off the Boss as boring baby boomer dad rock, stuff you hear on the radio in the waiting room of an automatic car wash, stuff along with solo Clapton, Toto, The Eagles, Journey’s slow songs. So you’re drinking free Keurig coffee while ESPN plays on the TV, hoping the balding, goateed man next to you doesn’t ask you you’re opinion on the draft because you didn’t watch it and don’t want to deal with the awkwardness of a judgmental look for being a 20 something man who doesn’t care about sports. In his mind my dull, offended, smart phone generation is destroying the spirit of the country, and in my mind, I thought Springsteen was his music, music from when “men were men”, worked at factories, ate McDonalds when it was still legally a food product, and Reagan was going to turn everything around from the malaise years of Carter. He probably listened to Springsteen back in 1980, played high school baseball, dealt with all the bullshit in his life by looking forward to Friday night when he could get drunk, hang out with his girlfriend, and drive around with his friends in a shitty rust box Nova (with the inline six, not even the v8 that still didn’t make 200 horsepower). Needless to say, I had judgmental opinions about Bruce Springsteen and the kinds of people who listened to him.

At some point something happened. I honestly think it was mostly just that I grew the fuck up just enough to hear Springsteen on the right day and it finally connected, finally all made sense. I remember where the change happened. I was sitting in one of my old apartments, a few years out of a bad break up (and dropping out of college), living with some of my best friends, working a dead end job, starting to drink too much, mentally planning a half impulsive move across the country away from it all…and binging The Sopranos for the first time. At the end of the first season finale, Tony and his family are driving in a bad storm, and seek shelter in the restaurant of Tony’s long time friend Artie. Artie, trying to close up, reluctantly lets them in to eat. Other friends and family are there dining, Tony and his family sit down, then Tony toasts to remembering “the little moments, like this…that were good.” Fade to black, and this faint acoustic guitar comes in over the credits, with this haunting voice, coated in a slap back delay, singing about having a “clear conscience for the things that I’ve done.” It’s a beautiful scene from one of the pinnacles of television. And I had to find out what the fuck that song was. It was like a combination of Elvis singing “Blue Moon”, Bob Dylan’s “The Ballad of Hollis Brown” with a touch of Suicide’s Alan Vega thrown in. I do some internet digging, and find out it’s this song called “State Trooper” by Bruce Springsteen. Bruce Springsteen? The guy behind that “Born In The USA” song drunk assholes ironically jammed on the Fourth of July, that I couldn’t stand? Was I wrong about him this whole time? So I started to dig into the Boss, first into the Born to Run album, since the song “Born To Run” I always had sort of guilty pleasure liked when it came on the radio. Within a year or so I would consider Springsteen a musical genius, and one of my absolute favorite musicians of all time (though I must admit I only deeply know his first 7 albums). All from hearing one of his least Springsteeny songs in the end credits of a tv show I was watching more than 10 years after airing.

On to the album. Springsteen had already recorded three albums, his last, Born to Run was a massive success, that had him maturing as an artist and writing songs that were absolutely beautiful and somehow could be absolutely depressing at the same time. Listen to “Jungleland". If it doesn’t make you feel every emotion at once, you’re not human. The lyrics tell a story I’m still not quite sure I understand, and it has the best saxophone solo ever put on a record (and for what it’s worth, the “Jungleland" sax solo is my favorite part of any song ever). It’s a perfect fucking song. It was a hard album to top, and I’m still not sure if he did. Darkness is a fantastic record, though I’m not sure if it’s as good as Born to Run (I’m also not sure if it’s worse). But you have to applaud Springsteen for not pulling an AC/DC, writing more of the same, and riding it out for the next 30 years. He came into the studio with a new band member, Steven Van Zandt (who I will still always think of first and foremost as Silvio Dante), and recorded a massive collection of over 50 songs. Some are available on the album The Promise which didn’t come out until 2010.

Ten were picked for the record, which was harder hitting, darker, rawer, and more stripped down. It wasn’t as poppy (if you could consider Born To Run that), and wasn't as successful. The highest single off Darkness only made it’s way to No. 33 on the Billboard charts. How could he top Born To Run? He couldn’t, but the lack of relative success doesn’t make it any less of an album. It’s his In Utero, so to speak.

“Badlands” kicks off the album. With a rhythm Springsteen claims to have “borrowed” from The Animals “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” it moves quick. It has raw, crunchy guitars, you can already tell this isn’t Born To Run. The lyrics follow similar Springsteen territory, but you can tell right away this is a different album. The problem with “Badlands” though is the version on the Live 1975-1985 album just has that little bit extra. “Badlands” is a great song, but I usually find it just leaves me wanting the live version instead. The version of the live album comes from a 1980 show in Tempe, Arizona, which has concert footage on youtube. Honestly, most of the tracks from that show are better than the album. I have a hard time finishing Darkness sometimes without getting sidetracked watching Springsteen live videos on youtube about halfway through.

“Adam Raised A Cain” is maybe Springsteen’s heaviest song. It starts off with a fast, overdriven guitar, and goes right into a ripping, pissed off, guitar solo. The tempo picks up a bit in the bridge, and then the chorus hits you hard, with yelling background vocals and squealing lead guitar. The guitar solo comes in later, reminiscent of the intro solo, but with a few unique lines thrown in. At the end they go back into the chorus for a solid minute, and jam on it until the end. Springsteen doesn’t have many songs like this. I wish he did. It’s really fucking good.

“Something in the Night” is a slower tune. It’s not bad, but I find it a little forgettable. If I’m scrolling through Spotify for the car or something, it’s not the tune I’d pick out if I only have a 5 minute drive. I do really like last half though, where the vocals get a little less ballad, and a little rougher, a little louder.

“Candy’s Room” has just not aged well. Something about the piano line, the driving bass, the drums, I’m not sure what. Some of the production on this album is pretty dated, but for some reason more so on this one. Maybe because it’s about a girl named Candy, and nobody’s been born with that name in quite a while (at least not that I know). It just sounds very 1970’s, and not in the good way. It’s a little boring, and the lyrics don’t really do much for me. It has a pretty good guitar solo though, so points for that. Probably my least favorite track.

“Racing In The Street” heads right into a different direction. It starts off with a solo piano, and Springsteen singing about his 69 Chevy. I’m a bit of a classic car lover myself, so I appreciate the references, and only a few people could sing a love song about girls and muscle cars and not make it hokey as shit. It’s definitely not Van Halen’s Panama. How though? A song with this subject matter should be corny and terrible, but it’s really fucking good. It’s pure beautiful Americana. It’s the musical equivalent of having a fire on the beach with your best friends in the summertime. It’s simple, but taking simple stories and making them something relatable to everyone is what Springsteen is the best at. Even if you don’t like cars, anyone can listen to this song and have something in you’re life it could be about.

“The Promised Land” starts off with a midtempo guitar and a matching harmonica. I don’t quite know what the lyrics mean, but you sure as hell want to get to the promised land too. The song slows down in the middle, with a guitar solo, and rips right into a classic Clarence Clemons sax solo. This is probably the “poppiest” song on the album, which is not to say it’s “Dancing In The Dark.” It’s still in full rock and roll territory, but it’s fucking catchy. Another song you need to watch the footage of from the 1980 Arizona show. The album version is good, the live one is perfect.

“Factory” is one of the lesser songs on the album. I honestly usually skip it. It’s just a little too slow after “The Promised Land” and the song after “Factory” is really good. It’s not a bad song, but just a victim of track listing choice. Especially if I’m not listening to the vinyl, in the car or the gym or something, it’s getting skipped. If it’s on the record, I’ll listen, but I’m not that invested. The lyrics aren’t Springsteen’s best, a little too on the nose.

“Streets of Fire” is another slower tune, but a little harder. I doesn’t have that much in common, but it reminds me a lot of “Backstreets” off Born To Run. It starts off pretty mellow, with just an organ (some sort of keyboard, I’m going with organ), but starts to pick up and hits hard when the guitars come in, and then goes right into one of the coolest guitar solo’s on a Springsteen album. The guitar tone is just fuzzy enough, it’s loud, drenched in reverb, and the rest of the band just lays back. It comes out of nowhere. The rest of the song is more of the same and fades out, but that solo makes the song.

“Prove It All Night” is a classic mid tempo Springsteen rock and roll love song. Nothing ground breaking, but it’s still one of the better tracks on the album. In the middle it goes into a sax solo, and then up another level with another great guitar solo. This is definitely the best Springsteen guitar album. The solo’s hit hard, sound mean, but aren’t showy or lame 1970’s rock show off stuff. They serve the songs really well. Something about this song though makes me feel like it would fit better on The River. Another song to check out live footage of. It turns into an extended jam, and is just a little bit quicker. I think if they recorded it with the tempo of the live show, it would have brought it from one of the decent tracks on the album to one of the best. I don’t know why, there’s nothing about this song particularly interesting, but I find myself throwing it on quite a bit.

“Darkness on the Edge of Town” ends the album. It’s a little bit of a middle ground between “Racing In The Street” and “Streets of Fire.” It’s one of Springsteens more critically regarded songs, Rolling Stone rated it the #8th best song by him apparently, but I don’t really see it. It’s good, but even on this album there’s quite a few better songs. It’s okay, it’s a good outro to the album, I can see what they were going for, but it just never really jelled with me that well.

Final thoughts:

Favorite songs: “Adam Raised a Cain,” “Racing In The Street,” “The Promised Land,” “Streets of Fire.”

Least favorite songs: “Candy’s Room,” “Factory”

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#records #review #music review #music #bruce springsteen #springsteen #vinyl #darkness on the edge of town

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grimelords · 6 years

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I realised I finished writing up my January playlist and then forgot to post it, so I’m doing it here and now at the tail end of February. It’s 3 hours of good music, complete from A$AP Ferg to ZZ Top. Please enjoy.

Dream House - Deafheaven: I started the year off with extreme mental anguish at the realisation that Sunbather is five years old this year and that I am thusly one million years old and have wasted my youth. That aside, Dream House is still an incredible song. It does what the best songs do and speaks directly to the teenaged part of your brain that thinks nobody will ever understand you like this song does right now. It is an overwhelming experience, the whole album is, and very good for having an embarrassing amount of emotions while you're driving alone and it's very loud.

Hold My Liquor - Kanye West: When this song came out I remember someone said the best musical moment of 2013 was when you couldn't tell the difference between Chief Keef and Justin Vernon on this song and I'm inclined to agree.

Melody 4 - Tera Melos: I've talked about this album at length in these playlists and probably featured almost every song at this point but I'll just say, what I like so much about this song is how it moves so effortlessly between a very melodic almost pop-punk type chorus before disintegrating into stop start mathematics and back again before you even notice.

B Boy (feat Big Sean & A$AP Ferg) - Meek Mill: I don't know how the fuck he did it, but somehow Meek Mill got a bunch of rappers who are normally nothing amazing (Meek included) to operate at the absolute top of their game for whole verse each. Highlights especially are 'I got commas on commas on commas, and I ain't talkin about a run on sentence!' 'put my P up on her head like that bitch is reppin Philly, and I wheelie in the pussy like my n**** meek milly' and the immediate about turn of A$Ap Ferg saying 'You thinkin' Khloe don't know me, I'm in the car dashin' haters/I'm in the Kardashian, get it? I'm lyin', can't I pretend?/They say fake it 'til you make it, well let the fakin' begin!'

Shabba REMIX - A$AP Ferg, Shabba Ranks, Busta Rhymes, Migos: This song's a good example of how many different flows you can get to work over one beat, and how much it improves the song. Ferg is so fast and so varied, then Migos even it out with straight triplets for most of their verse before Busta kills it by just doing absolutely everything. Great job everyone.

Attak (feat. Danny Brown) - Rustie: I normally can't stand Danny Brown but he kills this song. I still have a lot of feelings about Rustie, who showed so much promise for being the weirdo that dance music needed before presumably watching HudMo make a million producing for Kanye and friends and deciding to remove every interesting element from his music to make it palatable for rappers. That is, at least, my theory. This song is great, but every other song on this album is an example of this approach not working and instead producing boring, half assed songs where nobody's at their full potential.

Ultra Thizz - Rustie: Compare it to this, the busiest song in the world. The way the melody of the bassline that sounds like it's about to swallow you whole contends with the synth melody AND the pitched up vocal melody for your attention, they all come it at once and trade barbs before being superseded by a fuzzy, inscrutable guitar solo which fades out and leaves us back at the start. What I love about this song is the absolute maximalism and hypercolour sounds, combined with the only simple melody being the big chord stabs that centre the piece combine into a total sensory experience. Not to mention the rhythms, where absolutely every part of it seems to be slightly stranger than you expect, constantly dropping one beat before or after you expect - your first clue is the snare build at the start suddenly splitting into triplets.

If I Were A Carpenter - Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash: My girlfriend showed me this song and it unlocked a third of the triangle in my brain where this song, Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell and The Engine Driver by The Decemberists make a sort of trinity of songs about having a job and thinking about Wife. They're all very very good too.

12 Bricks - OG Maco: Outside of the famous video, which is very good, this song is also incredible. Another in the pantheon of songs with extremely minimal instrumentation where the vocal performance is so good it doesn't need anything. The slight delay makes all the screaming and wooing toward the end just pile on top of each other in waves building the texture up until it finally levels out.

Requiem Para Um Amor - Toquinho: I really cannot get enough of the organ in this song. I don't think I've ever heard a classical guitar/electric organ duet before and now I'm hungry for more.

You Can Be A Robot, Too - Shintaro Sakamoto: This song appeared on my Discover Weekly playlist and I'm not really sure why but it's very good. I can't tell if it's actually a children's song or just playful like one but I appreciate it either way. When it started playing from the playlist the album cover was a cartoon of a kid surrounded by robots, but when I tried to add it to a playlist the art changed to a green picture of a skeleton playing a lap steel guitar with an explosion in the background, which felt very cursed to me.

Raver - Burial: This song has always stood out to me on Untrue because of how straightforward the beat is. Under anyone else's control this would be a normal song but instead it's this incredibly detailed, messy piece of work that feels like looking at a house song through a dirty window. I also have no proof at all to back this up but in my mind the xylophone line is sampled from Donkey Kong 64 or possibly Banjo Kazooie.

Cavalettas - The Mars Volta: I remember reading a bad review of this album when it came out that was mad because it pulled 'the most egregious studio trick in recent memory' by having the whole mix except for one guitar get sucked down into a wormhole multiple times, including the bass getting physically detuned until you can hear the strings slack before resuming as normal a second later. In my opinion it's incredibly funny and it sounds good so more bands should do it. Also the other day I saw the drummer Thomas Pridgen comment on Omar Rodriguez's instagram 'check ur dms bro'. Imagine being in a band with someone for a decade and not having their number, insane.

Flash Back - Rustie: Honestly I cannot get enough of this bassline. This song is another good example of what I was talking about with Rustie dumbing his melodies down after this album, the main line in this winds around and around itself in this loping confused rhythm and against the bass that's also syncopated it just ends up sounding like hypercolour, which is a feat for a song that's basically just those two melodies against each other for the bulk of it with some plastic choir stabs throughout.

Heaven - DJ Sammy: What an absolute perennial banger. Can you believe this AND Boys Of Summer were on the same album? Incredible stuff DJ Sammy. I've been meaning to make a playlist of all the 90s/2000s lame rave songs that are secretly very emotional and have definitely inspired absolute emotional turmoil in ravers the world over like this Better Off Alone and Heaven Is A Place On Earth, but for now just enjoy the Bryan Adams classic as reimagined by DJ Sammy.

Stalking To A Stranger (Planets Collide Remix) - The Avalanches: I owe this song a lot because it not only for me into Hunters And Collectors, who it turns out have far better and angrier songs than Holy Grail, but it also turned me onto Vertigo/Relight My Fire by Dan Hartman which is sampled at the start. When this song came out it was the first new Avalanches song in a decade or so and nobody knew what to make of it because suddenly Avalanches songs just have screaming men in them, which was very good.

Miracle - Kimbra: I think that very soon everyone is going to figure out that Kimbra has been the pop genius the world needs and she's been here all along.

Wayfaring Stranger (Burial Remix) - Jamie Woon: Jamie Woon got a raw deal in my opinion. He had a song remixed by Burial, and then Burial co-produced Night Air for him and he was the king of dark and mysterious British dubstep wave, but then James Blake and everyone else came along and sort of overshadowed him totally. Now that whole movement is sort of clouded because of how quickly 'dubstep' came to mean 'skrillex', and for some reason the only place this song is on Spotify is a compilation called The World's Heaviest Dubstep, Grime & Bass.

Chanbara - At The Drive-In: A lot of writing about At The Drive-In focuses on how they never really captured the ferocity of their live shows on record until Relationship Of Command but the absolutely big screams on this working against the salsa bongo rhythms is an amazing thing. I also kind of prefer the weedy half-clean guitar sounds on this and their first album especially to Relationship of Command's crunchier sound, it feels like it gives a lot more space to the weird noodling melodies that come and go.

All Medicated Geniuses - Pretty Girls Make Graves: The intro of this song absolutely blew my 15 year old math rock mind with how simply it transitions from the snare on the beat to the snare off the beat. It is endlessly fascinating to me because I am a dummy. Every part of this song is amazing to me, from the big swing band bassline behind the guitar that's sort of just screaming through the verses and absolutely on its own journey through the chorus to the drums for the reasons I already mentioned but also the way they keep everything straight and absolutely refuse to indulge the guitar's worst math impulses.

Dangerous - The xx: I really love the horns in this song, and the big air raid sirens toward the end. It is still shocking to me that The xx transitioning to making upbeat bangers worked out for them but I'm so glad that they did.

Running - Bully: I was listening to a podcast about water management policy and infrastructure called Water You Talking About because I am young and cool and for some reason they were using the chorus of this song where she goes 'I'LL ADMIT IT! I GET ANXIOUS TOO!' as their theme song in an episode which is I suppose appropriate but also really made me laugh.

Simultaneous Contrasts - Warehouse: The singer in this band has my new favourite voice, it's amazing. She sounds like she's eaten a belt sander or something. I love the way the guitar line follows her vocals up in the chorus and also just how extremely busy the whole band is around her. They remind me of some kind of alternate universe Life Without Buildings where she's pissed off instead of just beguiling.

Light Up The Night - The Protomen: There's no reason this band should be good. They wrote a rock opera based on the story of Megaman inspired by Queen and Bruce Springsteen and it actually turned out incredible somehow. Unfortunately since this album came out almost a decade ago all they've done is a couple of live albums and covers albums, so I may never get the resolution I crave on the story of Thomas Light and Joe and whoever.

Tonto - Battles: Here's what's so good about this song: it spends 2 and a half minutes winding up to a huge centrepiece that's over way too soon and then the next 4 minutes slowly slowly slowly winding down to absolute zero. It's like the opposite of how to write a good song but it's absolutely enthralling.

Wall Street - Battles: Around a minute into this, there's two snare hits where it sounds like it's part of a roll that got digitally muted that I am obsessed with. Every part of this song is incredible, but the drums throughout alternate between sounding like he's desperately trying to keep up and sounding like pure power and total command. I especially love the big brassy snare sound that comes up from underneath occasionally to pull the brakes. The performance of this song that Battles did for La Blogoteque is one of my favourite videos on youtube.

Every Single Line Means Something - Marnie Stern: For about a week this month I developed a quiet mania about John Stanier from Battles filling in on drums in the Late Night With Seth Myers Band (for some reason), and then I found out that Marnie Stern is apparently in that band as well and it really threw me for a loop. I don't really know why this was such an incredible thing or why I focused on it so much, maybe something I need to figure out, but it reminded me of this great song so that's a positive. This is some of my favourite work Zach Hill has ever done because he's being forced to play pretty much a normal backbeat for a lot of this song and it feels like he's been cursed by a witch. The amount of power he's putting out for such a straightforward idea is incredible. Of course because it's Zach Hill he's also doing the absolute most in every other part of the song. I haven't even mentioned how much I love Marnie on her own song! Anyway, listen to this whole album.

Hacker - Death Grips: I never got into the hype around Death Grips when they were the thing, and haven't really investigated their discography past this album, but this song is an absolute masterpiece and probably everything you ever need to know about them. Lyrically between this and 'I've Seen Footage' there's a pretty neat summation of their worldview, paranoid because your existence is inextricably linked to the internet and everything that entails, 'having conversations with your car alarm'. 'make your water break at the apple store,'

Pass The Word (Love's The Word) - The Mad Lads: I was looking up where the sample's from in Hilltop Hoods' Chase That Feeling and it turns out it's this song. Try to listen to this whole intro. He's trying to give a sermon but his dumbshit friends simply will not shut the fuck up for fully three whole minutes. Other than the intro the song is very, very good.

Monkey Time '69 - The Mad Lads: I also found this other song by the Mad Lads called 'Monkey Time '69', which to me is the definition of comedy.

She's Got Guns - The Go! Team: New Go Team album! Unfortunately nothing on it sort of lived up to the promise of the first two singles Mayday and Semicircle song, but this song is still a hit. The way this is mixed is so good, the brass behind the massive bass and spacious drums and the vocals sort of backgrounded within it all, very appealing.

Coast To Coast - Tune-Yards:It feels weird that a Tune-Yards song can be this smooth. A sort of apocalyptic, politics is ruined, new york is sinking, funky smooth jam.

Cattle And The Creeping Things - The Hold Steady: I've never listened to much of The Hold Steady outside of this album because I don't feel like I really need to, it's got everything I'd ever need. Sorry to always to talk about drums but the amount of reverb on them in this song makes them sound absolutely huge and I really love it, especially in the last verse they just become massive. Also I went through a long period of being obsessed with the lyrics of this song, it's a good distillation of this whole album's christian cult/drugs in middle america story and it is completely my shit.

Losing All Sense - Grizzly Bear: There's something about Painted Ruins that's impenetrable to me. I keep listening to it and only absorbing about one song at a time, totally loving that song and then ignoring the rest of the album. Now it's Losing All Sense.

Blue Cheese - Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile: This song is like Kurt Vile in his purest form, just sort of strumming and talking about whatever the fuck. The best part of this song is when they go 'woo hoo!!!' then he whistles a little bit and then says 'here come the lone ranger!' in an elvis voice and plays a solo that sounds like he's tuning his guitar. Also right at the end you can hear someone's phone message tone going off.

Catch Me If You Can Theme - John Williams: John Williams didn't have to go as hard as he did with the Catch Me If You Can theme. I have this in my head all the time. I love the rapid shifts in this recording, because I guess it's functioning as the overture so he's just cycling through every different variation he's got in his aresenal.

I've Seen Footage - Death Grips: It's good that Death Grips' most popular song is about how the internet melts your brain There's a good quote from Zach Hill about where the title came from: 'The line “I’ve Seen Footage” was from a conversation I had with this street-person dude in Sacramento named Snake Eyes. A friend of ours recorded him on the porch in a conversation– he didn’t know he was being recorded. He was all fucked up on drugs and shit, just rattling off all this crazy information. He was talking about structures on the moon. I mean, I talk about those things, too. So we were talking about moon structures, and Snake Eyes says, “I’ve seen footage! I’ve seen footage of it!” And I was like, “That’s good!”

The Bucket - Kings Of Leon:It seems impossible that Kings Of Leon were a really good band at one point but here's the proof.

Standing Next To Me - The Last Shadow Puppets: I'm a truther for Muse ripping off Knights Of Cydonia from The Age Of The Understatement by The Last Shadow Puppets but that's a post for another time. This is a perfect song in my opinion. The absolute pace of it, the minimal drums that are just sort of accenting the strumming, the huge sweeping strings elevating the whole thing, the fact that it's over in just over two minutes. Incredible.

Jesus Just Left Chicago (live) - ZZ Top: Nobody believes me when I tell them but ZZ Top are very good. I have a fantasy about this song that ZZ Top were ringleaders of a sort of revival blues cult and this song is gospel to them. Jesus did really leave Chicago and he's heading towards California and we will be here waiting for him. You may not see him, but he sees you and he loves you. This and the La Grange recording are absolutely furious for live recordings, I love how much crowd noise there is in it throughout, they are truly fucking loving it.

La Grange (live) - ZZ Top: Especially here, my god they love it. La Grange is a good song because it's just a good riff and one verse of nonsense lyrics that are just an excuse to go the fuck off for the remainder. The huge drum fill and the 'have mercy everybody!!' is massive, the solos are ferocious, and somehow this song that feels like it could jam out for 15 minutes is reined in and tightly structured and has somewhat abrupt end.

Barracuda - Heart: Hey remember Guitar Hero? Cause I had ptsd flashbacks when this song came on during I, Tonya.

Bloodmeat - Protest The Hero: I don't know how exactly Protest The Hero pivoted from a concept album about a goddess(?) being executed(?) and bringing about a new genderless utopian age(?) to their second album opening with this very bicep emoji classic metal song about the mongol hordes slaughtering all who oppose them, but good for them I suppose.

Born On A Day The Sun Didn't Rise - Black Moth Super Rainbow: The drums in this song have no place being that huge. Black Moth Super Rainbow are good and I can't believe I hadn't listened to them in years until I woke up with this song in my head one morning, like an omen.

Been Drinkin' Water Out Of A Hollow Log - Mississippi Fred McDowell: Literalyl every Mississippi Fred McDowell song sounds exactly the same which is good because if it works why change it. In my understanding this song seems to be about a man dying of hunger and thirst on purpose to meet god, which is very good to me.

Listen here.

#playlists

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rosegoldwitchcraft · 6 years

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“I’m new to witchcraft, where should I start?”

Witchcraft is incredibly flexible, so there isn’t any defined area where you need to begin -- you can start anywhere you like! There are so many different areas of witchcraft, so simply find something that interests you and start learning about it (which is so much easier in the age of the internet!). My biggest recommendation would be to use various sources, and to remember that nothing is required in witchcraft -- you don’t need to read tarot, celebrate sabbats, own a huge crystal collection, etc...these are all just different ways of practicing the craft, and it’s up to you to decide what witchcraft means to you personally!

I’ve listed a few popular “categories” of witchcraft below and some easy, affordable ways to begin experimenting and practicing within those areas! Of course this list is by no means complete, but I hope it gives you some ideas and inspiration! 💖

🔮 Divination

Tarot is one of the most famous forms of divination, and there’s lots of ways to start practicing! If you want to buy a physical deck, there are many affordable options, such as this Rider-Waite deck in a tin that I bought when I was first starting out. You could also try using a digital tarot deck or app; the Golden Thread Tarot app is a personal favorite of mine, and it’s free! If you’re feeling especially creative, you could even experiment with making your own tarot deck. And when you’re ready to start learning the meanings of the different cards, here’s a post I wrote with some general tips and advice, and here’s a list of my favorite websites to learn how to read tarot cards.

Many forms of divination are very easy to “DIY.” You could create your own set of runes using pebbles, pieces of wood, heavy paper, etc. I actually made myself a set of penny runes inspired by this post...it took me about 30 minutes and less than 30 cents! A pendulum could simply be a pendant necklace you already own, or even a string with a rock attached. A pendulum board is optional, but doesn’t need to be fancy either -- it can easily be quickly sketched out on a piece of computer paper if you wish! And while scrying is often associated with crystal balls, a more affordable option is to practice with a dark room, a mirror, and a candle!

Finally, there are many simple forms of divination that require no special tools at all! Bibliomancy only requires a book, and is simply the practice of divining from a randomly chosen passage. Traditionally this was often done with a bible, but any book will work! And while tech witchcraft isn’t for everyone, shufflemancy can be a fun version of divination that only requires some form of music player, such as Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, etc. As you may have guessed, in shufflemancy you put your music player on shuffle, and divine based off the lyrics, title, etc. of the song that plays!

💫 Astrology

Astrology is a fascinating subject, but don’t be discouraged by how vast and complex it is! Like tarot, there is no need to learn everything at once. Start with what interests you, learn at your own pace, and I recommend taking notes on what you learn -- it’s a lot to keep track of! Thankfully, there are tons of resources out there for learning about astrology.There are many daily horoscope apps and websites out there, so try some out and see what you like. There’s also a beautiful app called SkyView that uses your phone’s camera to help you identify constellations.

When you want to get into the slightly more complex details of astrology, cafeastrology.com is one of my favorite sites. They offer features like free birth charts and basic interpretations, so I think it’s definitely worth a visit! Astrology.com and tarot.com/astrology also offer some great resources for learning the basics about sun signs, planets, houses, and elements.

🌿 Nature and Gardening

Gardening is a classic method of practicing witchcraft. I’m sure everybody is familiar with the popular image of a witch brewing a potion in a cauldron, adding fantastical ingredients such as bat’s wings and newt’s eyes. Supposedly these are actually code names for common plants (in this case bat’s wings = holly and newt’s eyes = mustard seeds), so that those who found the recipes would give up after being unable to collect these ingredients! Here’s a lengthy list of all these code names, as well as some correspondences for most common plants. I also highly recommend checking out this tumblr post by sylvaetria that’s full of information about growing and drying herbs, correspondences, and safety!

If gardening isn’t your thing, simply being in nature can be just as magical! Taking a moment to appreciate the small details of a bird’s song, the intricacy of the leaves on a tree, or the vibrant colors of a flower is a wonderful way to recognize the beauty and magic that surrounds us on a daily basis...too often we just forget it’s there.

🥘 Kitchen Witchcraft

Cooking has so much potential for witchcraft -- it often involves working with the elements of fire and water, and you’ll find that nearly every ingredient has a magical correspondence (and if there’s not a commonly accepted one, you may find it on your own)! All it takes is intent to make this daily activity into a ritual. Here’s a fairly comprehensive list of correspondences for reference.

Kitchen witchcraft doesn’t have to involve elaborate dishes! Make your daily cup of coffee meaningful based on the flavorings you add, and if you’re a tea drinker check out this post of the magical/health benefits of different types of tea. Or (if you’re of legal drinking age) check out this list of wine correspondences!

📜 Spells

For those looking for spells, here’s a few of my recommendations! Orriculum has a lovely collection, including some that are great for beginners and some fun pop culture spells! Sylvaetria has an enormous, wondefully organized masterlist of spells for every purpose. Finally, on witchy-woman you’ll find lots of spells and spell jars! And don’t forget about sigils -- they are a great way of channeling intent, and are especially great for beginners or secret witches. My two favorite resources are sigilathenaeum and strangesigils.

Don’t worry if you don’t have every ingredient a spell calls for -- after all, the most powerful element of any spell is intent. Feel free to substitute when needed! For example, a white candle can stand in for any color, a clear quartz for any crystal, rosemary for any herb, etc. You could also use tarot cards, sigils, or other symbols with the right correspondences to charge the spell with the energy of the missing ingredient!

🍂 Sabbats

There are eight sabbats throughout the year; Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lughnasadh, Mabon and Samhain. Many beginner witches are hesitant to celebrate the sabbats because they think you need to be apart of a coven to do so...but this is definitely not the case! You can celebrate the sabbats on your own, and do as much or as little as you like. Here’s a post with some ideas for decorating your altar and celebrating the sabbats for solitary witches. A youtuber named Harmony Nice has also made some helpful videos about each sabbat with some history and celebration ideas, so you might want to watch those for some inspiration too!

🕯️ Candles and Crystals

First of all, there are no “required” supplies for witches...you can work with whatever you have! But if you are interested in working with some supplies, here are my personal suggestions.

Candles are a great option, because you can almost always find them at the dollar store or elsewhere for pretty cheap! Certain colors and scents have different correspondences, but a plain white candle can be substituted for any other one. There’s endless magic you can do with candles; scrying, meditation, spellwork, carving sigils into the wax, etc.

Crystals can be expensive, and depending on where you live can be hard to find. I’ve found some crystals for decent prices at local metaphysical shops and craft fairs, but if you don’t have those options you could try purchasing some online (though I highly recommend finding a source with legitimate reviews so you are sure you are getting a genuine, quality product). I think it’s best to purchase a crystal you feel drawn to, but some of my “starter” crystal suggestions would be clear quartz (which can stand in for any other crystal), amethyst, and rose quartz!

Even though this post ended up being super long (sorry!), I’ve barely scratched the surface of what you can explore in witchcraft! Once again, my main bit of advice would be to look into what interests you, gather information from multiple sources, and use what works for you. Because there’s so much information associated with witchcraft, I also recommend keeping track of what you’ve learned, and I plan on making a post soon about how to start your own book of shadows/grimoire for just this purpose!

You can find my other posts in this series of “Advice for New Witches” here. I truly hope you’ve found some of this helpful -- feel free to reach out if you have any questions, and best of luck on your journey! 💖

#witchcraft #witches of tumblr #witchblr #wicca #witch tip #mine #beginner

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noiseartists · 4 years

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JUST LIKE HONEY (US): Bittersweetness and Light

Bittersweet melancholy drenched in voluptuous feedback: JUST LIKE HONEY's sound encompasses many inspirations ranging from Dream Pop to Alternative Rock and even a tad of Indie Folk.

The band has developed its own unique style of combining rumbling distortion, pounding rhythms, heavenly harmonies and eclectic songwriting into a sensual amalgamation of shimmering soundscapes.

The line-up is:

Darlene Jonasson: vocals, guitar

Bianca Yang: vocals, bass guitar, piano

Patrick Le Mar: guitars, vocals, songwriting

Ramita Arora: backing vocals

Steve Le Mar: drums, percussion

The music work to date is:

2018: Dreamland, album; The weight of stars, album; Blind, EP

2019: The wood room sessions, album; Slow lane, EP

Follow us to discover the band through an interview, as well as their music with music embedded readers and video sprinkled through this piece.

But first one of the best songs of this year:

How did you meet?

Patrick had envisioned the band long before its actual founding. The basic setup was crystal clear in his mind, however the individual pieces were missing and came together organically.

The only obvious pick was Patrick’s half-brother Steve on drums, whom Patrick had already been playing with in a band named Theme Park Rangers despite having been raised in separate families. The band of brothers provided the musical foundation, but the long sought-after lead vocalist was still out of sight.

Bianca’s addition was a kiss of destiny so to speak as she and Patrick had met coincidentally at the 2014 Glastonbury (UK) festival. There is some disagreement over what exact band they were watching, Patrick maintains it was Billy Bragg, but of course we’ll give it to Bianca who is positive it was Temples playing the John Peel Stage. It was that fateful encounter that sparked the eventual founding of Just JUST LIKE HONEY.

After some jam sessions with other musicians in early 2015, Darlene finally joined the band as the main lead singer and second guitarist. All had gelled together at last.

How did you come up with your name?

Is a common occurrence that a name or word pops into our collective minds, it could be a song or album title or some random piece of inspiration, and it tends to stick with all of us straight away, without the need for discussing or elaborating any further. Patrick and Bianca simultaneously said “Just Like Honey” at our first rehearsal and that was the end of that discussion right there.

Nobody ever looked back since. Unlike most bands that go through foot-long lists with loads of potential names of varying degrees of funniness or inspiration we were all on board with our first inspiration 100%.

The name may, of course, be seen as a hat-tip to The Jesus And Mary Chain. It might also refer to the character of our music, which is mostly sweet, despite the odd guitar noise. And yes, we are all very aware of the glaring and ubiquitous sexual connotation.

What is your music about?

All JUST LIKE HONEY does is about creating good songs. To us, songs are more important than the band itself. A good song should tell a story but at the same time not provide an easy giveaway of its meaning. A good song does not need a wall of sound to hide behind, although we quite often produce a huge wall of sound. That’s because we love noise.

What are your goals as an artist artistically/commercially?

Individual freedom and creating art are more important to us than being commercially successful. JUST LIKE HONEY will never change its sound or attitude in order to become more successful. If we stop being noisy for a moment that’s only because we want to assure ourselves whether our songs function without the noise. That moment led to the “Wood Room Sessions”.

Although we are not political artists in the narrower sense, we openly oppose the negative effects platform capitalism as for the music industry or what’s left of that industry respectively.

Today, streaming platforms like “Spotify” are exploiting the work of artists. We hate them. We are, of course, aware of the fact that making music as a profession does require the existence of a free market and your own ability to make use of the machine.

What are you trying to avoid as a band?

Rock music clichés, power chords, blues scale guitar solos. Well, obviously.

Why do you make the music you make? Is it in you? Is it your environment?

We make the music we love. It’s that simple. We can’t think of doing anything else.

What inspire you for the music or for the Lyrics?

Our songs are like a little window into Patrick’s soul because he is our songwriter. Most songs are based on true stories or occurrences, some reflect strokes of fate. e.g., the passing of a close friend, some deal with issues of the western society (e.g. the song “Goddess”), missing people, false prophets and lost memories (e.g. “Out In the Storm” and “Shorelines”), and others ponder on the odd everyday issue (e.g. “Velvet Skies”).

Those songs aren’t essays in the classical sense as they always leave wide room for interpretation, a dynamic that is further fueled by the use of a writing method called “écriture automatique” in French. It was invented by the French surrealist André Breton and may be loosely translated as “spirit writing”.

Interestingly enough we don’t have any real love songs. All attempts to write a love song ended up in tracks like “I Don’t Like The Girl I Am” or “The Strangest Boy” or “Heart Has No Place”. Those tracks are definitely not love songs in the classical sense although they were meant to be exactly that. It’s interesting because there is so much love in our life and yet it doesn’t quite find its way into our music, at least not in an obvious way.

Tell us what you are looking when trying to achieve your sounds. Do you experiment a lot or have a clear idea of what you want?

Although the sound was quite clear in Patrick’s mind even before JUST LIKE HONEY was founded, we actually do experiment a lot these days, taking all the different styles into consideration which make our palette of sound.

How about including a slide guitar solo where you wouldn’t expect it? Wow about having a reverse reverb on a chorus? We use a lot of different tunings on our guitars as well, a fact which makes us constantly inventing new ways of playing chords.

We have been jamming and improvising a lot recently. However, when developing new songs, it feels as if the songs themselves take a decision and guide us through the creative process.

Oddly enough more songs than ever have decided to fall on the noisy side recently. We therefore can’t help but to think we’re on the way of becoming a noisier band. It’s an interesting development, especially since it seems to be happening organically rather than as a result of a conscious decision.

Explain your songwriting process.

Patrick usually comes up with the basic song ideas, using an acoustic guitar for a first draft version. Chords, melodies and lyrics are added in Patrick’s studio somewhat simultaneously, feeding off each other in the creative process, even though the music is definitely exerting a stronger influence on the lyrics rather than the other way around.

Once this first step is completed Patrick pitches the song to the band in a second step, where a lot of refinement is added and everybody gets to chip in. In a third step Darlene and Patrick enhance the guitar tracks, developing licks and hooks to support the vocal melody.

We don’t look at one guitar to be the lead, both guitars are on equal footing and merge into the overall harmony. Quite often, Bianca’s bass is treated as the third guitar.

Describe your palette of sound.

A mixture of Alternative Rock, Post Rock and Dream Pop with a tad of American Folk, typically served with a lot of sweet guitar feedback.

Who would you want as a dream producer, and why?

We are actually already working with our dream producer, i.e. Patrick’s wife Karin Le Mar. Being an awesome musician herself, she is constantly challenging us. Beyond Karin, we imagine that working with Andy Bell of the British band “Ride” as a producer would be a dream come true.

If you could guest on someone else’s album, who would it be and why? What would you play?

We’ve been asked that question several times recently. The answer is “Ride” again. We admire their work. Spending time with the four of them in the recording studio would definitely boost our songwriting skills.

Interestingly enough both bands seem to regard the guitars and the vocals as equal instruments. We love that thought. If we had a time machine (the DeLorean type of time machine, of course) we would consider to meet “The Byrds” in the studio for similar reasons. [Editor’s note: some day that the Byrds’ ‘8 miles high’ may be the first DreamGaze song)

What musical skills would you like to acquire or get better at?

Just like everybody else, we are trying to get better every day. There is no specific skill, though, which we’d like to acquire.

Which other musician/artist would you date?

Ha-ha, sweet question! That would be Amelia Murray. She’d have a date with the four of us.

Is there a band that if they didn’t exist you wouldn’t be making the music you make?

In terms of an absolute condition we would probably not make music at all without the DIY attitude of Post-Punk. This is more about that “everyone can be an artist” attitude, of course, not about the sound in specific. As for the sound, we are obviously influenced by the 90s bands we love, e.g. Slowdive, The House of Love, Ride, The Charlatans, Mazzy Star, Galaxie 500, Codeine and also some bands of the late 60s. Also, there is a lot of The Byrds in our music. We are not intending to sound like any other band. We are actually unique. There, we said it.

You are from Canada, Germany and the USA, what are the advantages and inconvenient?

We don’t know. Each of us has been living in many different places in “the west” and basically it’s nice everywhere.

What are some places around the world that you hope to play with your band?

We’d love to travel Korea and Japan. We do have a lot of fans there for whatever reason. Also, Bianca speaks Korean, of course, and that could be of some help.

When is the next album/EP due?

We are about to release the “Show Lane EP” on SHORE DIVE RECORDS in November 2019. Nico Beatastic of SHORE DIVE RECORDS does an awesome job promoting the artists on his label.

Also, we love his label policy. All great British records labels as Factory, Creation or Sarah did have a certain sound and you knew what to expect to a certain extent. By the way, we have been back in the studio since early October, working on a bunch new songs. We’re in the flow right now like never before.

These new songs may become a regular album in 2020. Or even two regular albums. Who knows?

Some artists you recommend.

Please listen to Beach Bunny, Fazerdaze, Mandolin Orange and to our label mates Primitive Heart and Swimming Pool! You may be surprised to find Mandolin Orange on our list but without their inspiration we would not have recorded the “Wood Room Sessions”. We love American Folk as much as we love Indie Pop. Again, it’s all about songs.

Anything else you want your fans to know?

We will become comic book characters soon, isn’t that sweet? That’s because a friend of us, Kelci Crawford, is creating a comic book which deals with JUST LIKE HONEY.

Find Just Like Honey here:

Website

facebook

bandcamp

Thanks to the band for their kindness and hard work. Of course support them by buying their music and sharing this and their material on social media.

#USA #Dream pop

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poladrize · 6 years

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The Metal Maestro – An Interview With Juan Saurín

It’s getting dark, and his electric guitar pulsates through the walls of Concha Segura theater and onto the freezing November streets of Yecla, a town situated in the South-East of Spain.

Juan Saurín, the name behind the strings, is a Yecla native, recognized and admired by his town. In the queue, his old High School teachers, family and friends blend in between teenagers decked head to toe in sleek, black leather. We catch a first glimpse of him, through the gap in the curtains behind the soundboards. He’s sound-checking; in a lunge, hair down, features brimmed with passion for the music he’s making.

PURE NOWHERE: When did you decide you wanted to be a musician?

JUAN SAURÍN: I started playing when I was 13; I was watching TV and I saw the music video for Metallica’s ‘Until It Sleeps’. I was like… dude… what is this? I don’t know, something came over me, and it was automatic, you know, I bought DVDs, started to find more bands, immediately joined guitar lessons…and since then, I haven’t stopped. It started there and won’t ever go away.

PN: What do you think you’d be doing if you hadn’t seen that Metallica video?

JS: Well… I wouldn’t be doing anything (laughs). I really don’t know, this is just the only thing I can think of doing. From the moment I started, at 13, I haven’t done anything else. I locked myself in my room, all I did was play, study, play, study… and everything I’ve ever done has been in relation to music. When I worked, for example, in a factory over the summertime, it was to buy an amp, or a guitar, or a… whatever. You know, everything I’ve done that hasn’t been directly related to my music has always been secondary.

After joining classical guitar lessons in Yecla to learn basic notions, Juan went onto studying ‘Instrument, Harmony and Composition’ at the Institute of Music and Technology of Madrid (IMT), and then graduating in ‘Modern Music and Jazz’ in the ‘Conservatori del Liceu’ of Barcelona. He graduated from ‘Music Teaching’ with the best qualification (Distinction) in the British institution, Rockschool, and was then taught by guitar prodigies like Frank Solari, Steve Vai, Andy Timmons, Joe Bonamassa,… etc. He’s been a guitarist for a few bands and artists, including a Metallica tribute band and the first The Voice Spain winner (along with being his musical director). Now, his name’s on the screen.

Two years ago, Juan presented his debut album, ‘Genesis’, in this same theater. And tonight, he’s back with his sophomore album, ‘Human’. His hometown always marks the first date of his tours. The concert begins. The ‘Human’ album cover fades into his intro video, (‘Chaos’, the origin of humanity), and he comes out, followed by his band. The power of his electric guitar makes people’s hearts shake. His hands, filled with silver rings, disappear between electric chords, and he tunes the guitar as he goes, molding it to fit his preferences. The looks of awe in the crowd reflect exactly what he is: a virtuoso musician, with a guitar that’s an extension of his body.

PN: What do you love the most about playing live?

JS: Playing live (laughs). I have such a great time that the thing I love most is just being able to have a live show. And if I have the chance to share the stage with huge musicians like those we had here tonight well… it all works out great.

PN: And… what’s your favorite song to play live?

JS: Um… (eyes widen). I couldn’t pick a favorite… I love playing so many things. The track that gets to me the most is Orion, by Metallica, which is why we played it today. It was the first time I heard a song and was like “What an anthem!” (Hand to his head) “What a track, dude, this is wild”. Every time we can, we play it live. And when I play that song, I get flashbacks from when I was little and was just starting to play guitar. So… that’s the most special song for me, but I don’t have a favorite.

PN: Your music is on the instrumental side of heavy metal. Why is that?

JS: It’s definitely my area. I like tracks with lyrics, they add something to songs… but, without a shadow of a doubt, my area is instrumental music. I grew up with it; I’ve always been a huge fan of Mike Oldfield, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and to me… instrumental tracks speak to me, I don’t need lyrics. But I do also like voiced tracks, and if you can count on voices like Neus Ferri, Alberto Scarlatta or Leo Jimenez’s… well, that’s insane, right?

PN: So many people sat down for tonight’s show… is that weird for you?

JS: Actually, in my case, since it’s instrumental metal, I don’t think this theater is an inadequate fit. I mean, I think the album (Human), is one that you can listen to, chilling at home with your headphones on… there’s a ton of layers, and details, and sections and stories… so, I don’t know. I’m a huge fan of theaters, I love the atmosphere in theaters, sometimes people have to sit and pay attention, and others, we just get them up to party however we can (chuckles).

PN: What is a question you’d really like to answer that nobody’s ever asked you yet?

JS: I don’t know, but I do know the question I don’t like. When they ask me: “So, where’s the third one?” when I’ve just released the second. Because it feels like they don’t value how hard it is to make an album. You know, the second just came out, dude! Listen to it, chill! (Laughs) I mean, it’s fine, I know they mean well, but… It feels like for society everything has to be immediate. Like, “if I don’t get this chair by tomorrow at 3 pm I don’t want it”. And, dude, when you buy a new album, you spend at least a month listening to it. Analyzing, seeing what’s been done, reading the libretto, the tracks… they gain value with listens, you know? But when you’ve just released one and they’re already asking for the next, it makes you want to say… listen to it first.

PN: Why the title ‘Human’? And ‘Genesis’? Anything special?

JS: ‘Genesis’… well, I had worked for other bands and artists, and it was the first album that I conceived for a solo career. Because when you’re in a band, you could be in it one day and not the next. In my case, I’m always going to be here (laughs) so it won’t be a problem. It was the start of a new career. And ‘Human’… I like when an album isn’t exclusively music. I’m very sixties and seventies in that aspect, you know, back then albums were a work of art in themselves: the tracks, the music, the lyrics, the meaning, the cover, the designs, everything… This album is about humanity and it’s evolution with time. It’s also about senses; it goes through all the feelings that encompass being human, and that’s transmitted by the instrumental tracks too.

PN: Is that why the cover design is a skull?

JS: Yeah, exactly, the cover is what we are. A skull that fades. So, it’s a skull that will turn to dust, it’s not anything else. Our trajectory in life is super short, and it’s like, what Gandalf said, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us”.

Juan catches us by surprise when he announces that he’s doing something he’s never done before, whips out an acoustic guitar and brings out two cellos and two violins, three of them teachers at the local Music School, where he runs the Modern Music Department.

PN: What is music to you?

JS: Life. It’s the only thing that really gets to me, and it generates a series of sensations and emotions and ideas and stories that… you know, that I need to put out in albums. It’s a way of life, I can’t imagine my life without music.

PN: How would you introduce yourself to readers of Pure Nowhere in the US?

JS: Well, I’m a huge fan of their musical culture. Actually, I was in New York a few years ago, and I didn’t want to come back (laughs). When I walked into the JFK and heard George Benson as background music, I was like… dude, this isn’t normal. They have such huge musical culture. We went to the Blue Note to listen to a Big Band; there’s always some incredible band playing there. There’s a lot of respect for music over there. I said I was a musician and they seemed amazed. Because they knew… they know how tough it is, how fucked it is to be a musician, it’s super hard. It’s an intense career choice. You have to always give it 200%. You can’t do it any other way. Their way of seeing music and their way of seeing show business… I admire it so much, and I’m sure that it’s not just me, but everyone that makes rock and modern music… for us, American musical culture is the highest point. It’s the origin of everything.

PN: Would you like to play there?

JS: Tomorrow. If I could.

So, you know what to do now. Stream ‘Human’, stream ‘Genesis’, stream Juan Saurín. We wish him all the success in the world.

Find him on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music.

(Originally published on www.PureNowhere.com)

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