Freelance Whales - Generator^ Second Floor

Take the road we take, then we improvise...

Sunny Sound Waves

We just had a week of tornadoes, followed by a week of floods - resulting in many deaths and bookoodles of destruction across the state.
Sun: Thank you for returning today.

May this mix persuade you to stay with us a bit longer this time.

This is the highway that leads to my sister's house.
You can see why I'm praying for more of this nice weather.

Website Overhaul Coming, and MOAR MUZIK

I need a fresh page - among other things.
Building a website has made me itch for improvements over here.
I'm hoping by making it more appealing I'll want to come
here more and bore you all with my "fascinating" insights. : P
But seriously, I've been alllll over the place lately.
Traveling, photographing, loving, working, and
attempting to de-clutter and re-organize my home and life.
I need to document more of all these changes if for no other reason
than to see how far I've come and what amazing things
I've seen and done along the way.

__________________________________________________

In other news, I made a totally ridiculous playlist based on Greco-Roman Mythology.

AKA: I NEED A FUCKING LIFE...but even if I had one I'm so nerdy I'd probably still do this.

Covered in Beatles - a playlist

You can't really beat most of the originals, but sometimes its fun to see what other artists can do with them.

A majority are songs written while they were a group, but a few are from their solo projects.

The Fibonacci in Lateralus

Book Review - Comic Book Tattoo

(This post inspired by Tori Amos, but dedicated to Lysdexicuss)

There is an interesting article here about how the cover art was made. 

            Its Tori Amos' 47th birthday today, so I'll be reviewing a book that is pretty much one of my favorite possessions. It is a 500 page graphic novel anthology inspired by her lyrics. If my house were burning down and I could only pick 5 books out of the hundreds in my library to save, this would be among them. I was mildly into comics before this came out, but to be honest it gave me an appreciation for them which I never knew was in me. It likely has something to do with Amos being one of my favorite musicians since I was 11 (although her last few albums haven't really been my cuppa, the first 7 are enough to make my devotion eternal). Also, I'm an art major so obviously visual wonderment has a direct line to my heart. You'll have to forgive me if I start fandoming, comics and Tori Amos together is almost enough to make me orgasm. However since this is a book review, I'll do my best to stay focused.

This is the only image of Amos herself in the book.

             The project was put together by Rantz Hoseley, an old friend Tori wrote (Flying Dutchman) one of her earliest songs for. It starts with an introduction by the increasingly prominent writer Neil Gaiman, another close friend whom she met through Rantz. The book includes 51 stories which correspond to as many songs from across Tori's unimaginably gargantuan repertoire of music. Each story would start with a black page including the song title and lyrics, then the following pages would show the story. There are 80 contributing artists, boasting an assortment of techniques and styles. One of the best things about this book is the variety of visual appeal. It ranges from modern cartoon to detailed illustrations to paintings to collages and everything in between. As an artist, I use this like an inspiration scrap book. I can go back to the stories over and over again to find stimulation to which can help me break through any artistic barriers I might be experiencing in my work. Throughout this post I'll include some single pages from a few of the stories to give you an idea of the diversity in the genres. It might seem like I'm giving away a lot but trust me, this doesn't even begin to scratch at the surface of this iceberg, and I've not included the best ones.

 

             The very best thing about this book is that its not just meant for Amos fans. When the artists were presented with the songs they would be working with, it was made clear that they were not to create comic book "music videos" out of them. They were told to focus their creative energy on making visual representations of how the songs make them feel, rather than designing literal translations of them. Amos asked the artists to present their own interpretations of what the songs mean to them, instead of trying to imagine what they meant for her. Therefore, if her music hasn't been something you've really been into, it wouldn't really effect your enjoyment of the comics themselves. As a fan (or an Ear with Feet, if you're down like that) I really enjoy seeing these alternate realizations of the songs which I've seen in the light of my own thinking for so long. These stories make me see things in the songs I somehow missed before, and I'm always interested in looking at things from a different perspective. 

 

Full list of contributors: David Mack, Josh Hechinger, Matthew Humphreys, Jonathan Tsuei, Eric Canete, Jason Horn, Dean Trippe, Sara Ryan, Jonathan Case, Rantz A. Hoseley, James Stokoe, Tristan Crane, Atticus Wolrab, Kako, Nikki Cook, Drew Bell, Kevin Mellon, Jeff Carroll, Mike May, Jeremy Haun, Amber Stone, Leif Jones, Elizabeth Genco, Carla Speed Mcneil, Kelly Sue Deconnick, Andy Macdonald, Nick Filardi, Cat Mihos, Andre Szymanowicz, Gabe Bautista, C.B. Cebulksi, Ethan Young, Joey Weltjens & Lee Duhig, Omaha Perez, Irma Page, Mark Buckingham, Rantz A. Hoseley, Ming Doyle, Mike Maihack, John Ney Reiber, Ryan Kelly, Alice Hunt, Trudy Cooper, Jonathan Hickman, Matthew S. Armstrong, Neil Kleid, Christopher Mitten, Kristyn Ferretti, Stephanie Leong, Sonia Leong, Peov, Kelly Sue Deconnick, Laurenn Mccubbin, John Bivens, Hope Larson, Emma Vieceli, Faye Yong, Chris Arrant, Star St.Germain, Mike Dringenberg, Paul Maybury, Jim Bricker, Craig Taillefer, Dame Darcy, G. Willow Wilson, Steve Sampson, Neal Shaffer, Daniel Krall, Adisakdi Tantimedh, Ken Meyer Jr., Mark Sable, Salgood Sam, Tom Williams, James Owen, Seth Peck, Daniel Heard, Ivan Brandon, Callum Alexander Watt, Leah Moore, John Reppion, Pia Guerra, Mark Sweeney, Kristyn Ferretti, Jessica Staley, Shane White, Ted Mckeever, Chris Chuckry, Jimmie Robinson, Lea Hernandez Derek Mcculloch, Colleen Doran and Jason Hanley.

"I have been surprised, excited and pleasantly shocked by these comics that are extensions of the songs that I have loved and therefore welcome these amazing stories of pictures and words because they are uncompromisingly inspiring. It shows you thought is a powerful, formidable essence and can have a breathtaking domino effect." - Tori Amos, 2008

Album of the Month

ágætis byrjun - Sigur Ros (1999)

   1. "Intro"[1] – 1:36
   2. "Svefn-g-englar" [Sleepwalkers] – 10:04
   3. "Starálfur" [Staring Elf] – 6:47
   4. "Flugufrelsarinn" [The Fly Freer] – 7:47
   5. "Ný batterí" [New Batteries] – 8:11
   6. "Hjartað hamast (bamm bamm bamm)" [The Heart Pounds (Boom Boom Boom)] – 7:11
   7. "Viðrar vel til loftárása" [Good Weather for Airstrikes] – 10:18
   8. "Olsen Olsen" – 8:03
   9. "Ágætis byrjun" [An Alright Start] – 7:56
  10. "Avalon" – 4:00

click to download the full mp3 album

This is music which leaves me at a loss for words when it comes to describing it. It is a sonic landscape of pure feeling. Because I know of no other way to express it's genius, I'll let an article from Sigur Ros' website do most of the talking. I will say that Staralfur, of The Life Aquatic fame, was the first song I heard from Sigur Ros. From that moment on I have coveted every sound to come from this band. They make truly powerful music.

Original sketches of concept artwork by gotti bernhöft.

"rumbling, pings, tjúúúú, palindromic strings, bjargvættur, the coughing brass intro, bamm bamm bamm, the crecendo, the flute, the simplicity, and it fades out. press play again.

a lot of people have one album that changes their lives, something that in some way alters everything after the first moment the hear it. ágætis byrjun is that album for a lot of people and today, june 12th 2009, it celebrates its tenth birthday.

ágætis byrjun, a good beginning, is actually sigur rós' second beginning. three years previously they released their debut album, von. after that the trio became a quartet and they evolved into something astounding. as suggested by a lyric from ágætis byrjun's title track, sigur rós had bigger ambitions after releasing von:

við munum gera betur næst / þetta er ágætis byrjun (we will do better next time / this is a good beginning)

sigur rós began hastily recording ágætis byrjun in august 1998, with a release date set for october 1998. they soon realised they would never be satisfied with the quality of the album in time for the release. they bought themselves some time to fine-tune the record and the release date was changed to june 12th 1999, a date which miraculously stuck. (see ási's memories for the inside story on the album's production and release.)

on the 12th of june 1999 at the icelandic opera house in reykjavík, the album was launched. typically the band's setlist that night consisted of many songs that weren't on ágætis byrjun - songs for another time. but it didn't matter - ágætis byrjun was the album that was played over and over again and over time word of it spread far and wide. ágætis byrjun would become sigur rós's breakthrough album.

ágætis byrjun gradually grew into a huge commercial success in iceland, remaining in the top charts for over 2 years. dave and alex from fat cat records had had their eye on sigur rós since 1998 and quickly signed the band to their label following ágætis byrjun's release (see dave's memories). the first indication of the critical acclaim the album would receive abroad came with the release of the svefn-g-englar ep in september 1999. ecstatic reviews began emerging and gushes like "the last great band of the twentieth century" and "like god weeping tears of gold in heaven" were not uncommon. ágætis byrjun became available to the rest of the world in 2000 when fat cat released the album in the uk, and in 2001 when pias recordings released the album in north america (see manager john's memories).

ágætis byrjun was an album that came literally out of nowhere and seemed to tug at the heartstrings of those who least expected it. no one expected an album by an unknown band of four shy icelandic men in their early twenties, singing in icelandic, would become the worldwide music phenomenon it became. the record label projected the album to sell 1500 copies - it has to date sold several million copies. suddenly the band's tongue-in-cheek claim on their website in 1999 didn't seem so crazy after all:

"we do not intend to become superstars or millionaires. we are simply gonna change music forever, and the way people think about music."

- sigur-ros.co.uk staff, 2009"

click to download the full mp3 album




Please Note: I encourage the sharing of music through mp3s for sampling purposes. If you like what you hear I must strongly suggest that you purchase music from the artists of the albums I post. I understand most people don't have a lot of money to spend on media these days, but please do what you can. The only way to keep talented musicians making great music is to support them. 

Album of the Month

Dark Side Of the Moon - Pink Floyd

1.  Speak to Me / Breathe — 4:00
2.  On the Run — 3:32
3.  Time — 7:06
4.  The Great Gig in the Sky — 4:44
5.  Money — 6:32
6.  Us and Them — 7:40
7.  Any Colour You Like — 3:25
8.  Brain Damage — 3:50
9.  Eclipse — 2:04

Click Here to Download the Full Album

          I recently watched a documentary about the making of Dark Side of the Moon and it convinced me that this album certainly does deserve to be the album of the month. Dark Side of the Moon came out in 1973 and has been on the rock charts most of the time since.  In my opinion, it is Pink Floyd at their creative best. This album is a must have for any collection - great guitar work, magical synthesizer moods and some sultry sax action. Add to that the haunting lyrics and almost operatic back-up vocals and you find yourself soaking in a psychedelic audio sauna. Dark Side of the Moon has 3 instrumentals and 6 lyrical tracks. It focuses on certain pressures people encounter during their life. Time (Breathe, Time), Stress (On The Run), Money (Money), Division (Us and Them, Any Colour You Like), Death (Great Gig), and finally mental instability (Brain Damage). Within each of these topics resides more metaphor and meaning, which varies from listener to listener. This album is truly a powerhouse of music which is not only a great place to start in the realm of Pink Floyd, but also for music in general.

           I heard this album for the first time when I was 15 years old. I instantly fell in love with this band which could convey so much emotion to me without saying much at all. I ended up tracking down and vinyl copy and would play it into the wee hours of the night, letting the music take me anywhere else but where I was. My brother was diagnosed with (what they can only call) a mental condition similar to schizophrenia a few years ago. He was in his late 30s with two kids and no mother to care for them, and after he became disabled my family was bound together and yet torn apart in more ways than I care to explain here. It left him in a state very similar to that of Syd Barrett, strange/sadly enough. Since then I have found a deep appreciation for music associated with mental illness.  If for no other reason than if I can’t understand what is going on in my brother’s head, I can at least find comfort in understanding the music that somewhat describes it…or maybe I’m just glad that it understands what I’ve seen…either way. This part is more my personal reason for a reignited interest in this CD than why everyone and their mom should go out and buy this album on the double, even though they totally should.

Click Here To Download The Full Album

Please Note: I encourage the sharing of music through mp3s for sampling purposes. If you like what you hear I must strongly suggest that you purchase music from the artists of the albums I post. I understand most people don't have a lot of money to spend on media these days, but please do what you can. The only way to keep talented musicians making great music is to support them. In the case of Pink Floyd, some artists which no longer produce music have made such great contributions to the history and evolution of music that I find it almost my obligation to express their value to others.

Sean Hayes - Flowering Spade

Unless you just hate getting fabulous free music dropped in your lap, download this now. I'm serious, I'm not sure how this album could disappoint anyone.

Flowering Spade - Sean Hayes

Released: 2007

1. All For Love

2. Midnight Rounders

3. Time

4. Hip Kids

5. Dolores Guerrero

6. Cool Hand

7. Baby I Do

8. Onion

9. Penniless Patron

10. Sally Ann

11. Sufidrop

12. Elizabeth Sways

13. Flowering Spade

 Click Here To Download The Full Album

This is one of the best full albums I've heard in a long time. I'll make no bones about it, this is one scruffy looking dude, so if your major appeal to music is the marketing, this might not be for you. However, if you love music that is well and thoughtfully written, this is really going to melt your butter. This album is great for a mellow night. The style is a variety of folky jazz and soul. The man is pretty much a genius on the guitar and banjo. His lyrics are sharp and the vocals are effortlessly beautiful.

If you enjoy this I highly recommend looking into its predecessor "Big Black Hole and the Little Baby Star" which is, honest to God, equally as amazing. (imho that is, lol)

Please Note: I encourage the sharing of music through mp3s for sampling purposes. If you like what you hear I must strongly suggest that you purchase music from the artists of the albums I post. I understand most people don't have a lot of money to spend on media these days, but please do what you can. The only way to keep talented musicians making great music is to support them.

Tori Amos and Puppets

A new musical by Tori Amos and Samuel Adamson is reported to premier at the Lyttelton Theatre in 2012.

The show, based on George MacDonald’s 1864 fairy tale The Light Princess, has recently enjoyed its first workshop at the National Theatre led by Marianne Elliott.

And, as if an Amos musical wasn’t exciting enough, the workshop was said to focus around the art of puppetry, a topic of knowledge for Elliott who worked as the co-director of War Horse.

Intrigued minds may be wondering, will the eagerly anticipated musical be an amalgamation of music from a sensational American song-writer and fantastic, high-tech puppets?

If, so count me in. If not, a musical featuring the work of Amos is sure to be simply divine. Amos has sold over 15 million records worldwide and has collaborated with the likes of Trent Reznor, Michael Stipe and Maynard James Keenan.

Click the link to read the entire Article at Show and Stay

Bonnaroo 2010 - Artist of Note

Very sadly, for financial and avoidance of sun poisoning reasons, I did not get to attend Bonnaroo this year (since my stint in '04 at the tender age of 16 I have decided I will be sticking to smaller, a bit more mellow, festivals from now on). However, I did get to do the next best thing: Watch the Bonnaroo Live Feed!!! I have to say, while the image froze occasionally the audio was strong and consistent, and honestly with ticket prices these days, it completely made me feel better about not going. I got to see a lot of the artists I would have gone to see, right from the comfort of my lovely air conditioned home (and with a little hdmi cable magic I transfered it from the PC to the flat screen - now that is how you do it folks). I had so much fun watching all the talented artists like Damien Marley, Tenacious D, Nas, Tori Amos, Dave Matthews, Jay-Z, Norah Jones, Weezer, Michael Franti and even good ole John Fogerty. But I was truly impressed by one stand out performance in particular:

Regina Spektor

I've been dabbling in this girl's music for a few years now and I've had a handful of songs which I truly adore, but I'd never seen her play live. It really is an experience. She's got such a good energy about her and while she could use a little fine tuning on her stage presence, working the crowd in between songs, seeing her play is really inspiring. She's got the same essence about her that you can see in Tori Amos' early work from 90-94 (her technical skill may not be as high but her songs certainly have more of a hook to the masses), with a more diverse taste for different instruments that she actually plays herself. She played her beautiful piano for a while, then a guitar, then a piano and chair at the same time, and then the keyboard for a more electronica diddy. Needless to say, I was intrigued. As her career progresses it will really be treat to see her music evolve.  Overall the songs were light and beautiful, perfect for the summer festival atmosphere. Then there were a few really powerful beasts in there like Machine (wow...with sirens and everything), and Apres Moi with her gorgeous Russian vocals interwoven through the song (I had chills, y'all). I was just sitting here thanking God for a modern piano girl who truly knows how to compose a great song and use those strings (ala the highly talented but disappointingly under productive Fiona Apple). The feed cut off the last few songs of her set to show someone else play for a while but I'll be catching up on those last four songs I missed as soon as I get done typing away on here. 

Set List:

1. The Calculation

2. Folding Chair

3. Eet

4. Sailor Song

5. Machine

6. Laughing With

7. On The Radio

8. Better

9. Dance Anthem Of The 80s

10. Bobbing For Apples

11. That Time

12. Apres Moi

13. Poor Little Rich Boy

14. Samson

15. Us

16. Fidelity

17. Hotel Song

18. Love, You're A Whore

An mp3 of the entire show can be found here: 

http://reginaspektor.su/concerts/2010/13.06.2010%20-%20Bonnaroo.mp3

I can tell you one thing, I think its high time I throw down the money and finally get an album...this definitely won't be the last time she'll be popping up here at The Soul-Quake. Regina, you have got my attention.