7 Iconic Albums that Rocked my Life
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Sartre said “All that I know about my life, it seems, I have learned from books.”
Books are dear to me too and they’ve been there to help me learn, cope, hide, escape and transcend various things at various times in my life. But, for me, it must be said that all I care to remember about my life, it seems, I have connected with music.
Different people remember moments in time for different reasons. For some it’s smells, for others textures or sensations. For me, almost without fail, it’s music and sounds. Music is so incredibly powerful and moving that it has the ability, almost uniquely, to transform perceptions and shape events in a way that might not have occurred to us. A particular song can define an entire era or even a generation. Music can be powerful and majestic, it can also be crap. A lot like people. Go Figure.
While sitting on my balcony this evening smoking a cigar and looking at the relentlessly bright moon over Tokyo tonight, I decide to “put pen to paper” and work out the 7 most iconic, defining albums in my life so far and the one song on each that have the most drastic impact.
Read on, remember, learn the new or add your own thoughts in the comments. But this is my list.
7. She’s so Unusual
In 1984 Cyndi Lauper released She’s So Unusual
For all the horror that might have been spawned in that decade, the early 80’s still held onto some of the “innocence” from the 70’s that had all kicked off in the 60’s and everywhere I turned Cyndi was dancing, singing and generally telling everyone to have a good time.
This album had what, FOUR major hits? It was the teenage fan base and the critics that drove this into every home, everywhere. Did my parents listen to this? Hell no; Billy Joel and Tina Turner reigned supreme at home (hey, nothing wrong with that, generational thing). But whoever came over to baby-sit did. Friends older sisters did. She’s so Unusual was all over the T.V. , the Radio (epic-technology throw back!) and in everyone’s Walkman.
It was also around this time my family and I moved to Germany to help fight the Soviets and guess what? David Hasselhoff wasn’t the only ones the Germans loved.
She was everywhere and so was her music. Her neo-Punk visage jived so well with what so many young people wanted to express at that time it was almost inevitable. The only competition She’s so Unusual might have had then for a kid like me would have been Michael Jackson or Madonna but to this day, as far as I’m concerned, Cyndi Lauper and this album ARE the early 1980’s. Just watch the Goonies, they’ll prove it.
6. Appetite for Destruction
GNR released Appetite for Destruction
I was about 9 years old and although I couldn’t figure out why or how, I knew that this album, this band with these guys and this music had something to do with girls, talking to them, and doing something that would feel really, really good with them. This appealed to me heavily someplace deep in my Man core it seems.
Poison made a valiant attempt at stealing this mantle from Axl and his boys with their awesome, yet desperate, album Open Up & Say Ahhh
Sweet Child o’mine was/is EPIC. Welcome to the Jungle and Paradise city are by no means slouches either, but it’s hard to do battle with one of the most well-known Rock n’ Roll ballads of all time.
5. Ten
I think I would have totally missed the entire “grunge” rock thing if it had not been for Pearl Jam and their album Ten
Smells like Teen Spirit
For the longest time Jeremy dominated this album with an iron fist for me and it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that my opinion changed and a track I largely ignored, Black, took position has head boy for me on Ten.
Maybe that has something to do with getting gulp…older.
4. Let’s Go
So, we defeated communism, tore down the Berlin wall as David Hasselhoff sang on it wearing a jacket covered in Christmas lights; God bless you Knight Rider. The Soviet threat was long gone and I came back from Europe. I was not happy about this.
1994-95 was a bumpy ride for me. The culture shock of living in Stuttgart Germany and then moving to small town USA was relatively epic and the kerosene my teenage angst doused itself in sent me careening into the open, loving arms of Punk Rock. Here, I found Rancid’s album Let’s Go
I had listened to Punk before. That, in and of itself, wasn’t really anything new. Friends and I had hung out in Germany listening to Ramones
But Let’s Go was different. The tone of the music, the message, it made sense to me. Not just a dislike of authority but the realization that your decisions are yours to make, and it was very different from some other hardcore stuff I had listened too that seemed to make things about class or race. It was angry but it was purposeful in a way that worked for me. It also opened the door for me to look into other more underground types of music, expand my sensibilities and keep an open mind despite what appearances might be. This was the first time music did this for me. This was cool.
3. Live at the Roxy by Social Distortion
If you’re a young punk Marine hanging around southern California and need a life soundtrack, you could do a lot worse than Social D’s Live at the Roxy.
I had got a hold of their album Prison Bound
Too many great songs on one perfect live album. Listening to Story of my life, Prison Bound, I was Wrong and Don’t Drag me Down made me feel like I had found someone who was singing about what I was doing and even stranger; things I knew I would have to deal with in the future. It was surreal and intense. I spent hours hanging around the barracks just listening to this over and over watching the massive sun set over the mountains. Whole evenings slipped away driving aimlessly, no destination in mind, through the high desert with the windows down hearing Mike Ness rock on and I’d lose all concept of time as nothingness flew by and I would be completely immersed in my thoughts and the hypnotic act of driving totally alone with nobody but the desert highway and the music.
The one song that stands above the rest, for me, and inspired me to see Social D live twice, after both shows I walked away simply shaking my head in disbelief at how good they were, would be Cold Feelings.
2. The Empyrean
Years ago, when I was a punk teenager, a mentor of sorts told me that “There are these few albums that, like, you listen to them the first time and when the record finishes, you call your friends and cancel your plans because you HAVE TO listen to it again, immediately. It’s that good.”
The Empyrean
We’ve mentioned this album before here and here and there’s a good damn reason for that. That reason is called JOHN FRUSCIANTE. The man is a musical genius. He’s the criminal master mind of Rock and frankly, he makes just about all other guitarists today seem like chumps, hacks and frauds.
Besides what he does with his guitar, his overall musical sensibilities reek so heavily of genuine COOL it’s hard not to drool a little while being sucked into one of the most complex albums ever recorded.
Unreachable is THE song on this album. Sit down, relax and listen to it all the way through and soak up the electric piano and Flea’s unmistakable bass.
1. Automatic Writing
The Empyrean had so totally monopolized my attention since 2009 it was ridiculous. I had hunted around and moved genres and tried all sorts of dirty tricks but John’s cast iron grip held me fast.
Then about five months ago I broke free, sort of.
I just stumbled upon Ataxia, this experimental rock band project Frusciante had with one other guy from RHCP and Fugazi. Predictably I guess, it blew my mind. Automatic Writing is less polished than Johns other stuff but that’s the point. It was never supposed to be about making a big album but about playing the music and just performing emotionally, sort of simultaneously.
It’s slower, heavier and melancholy as hell. It’s also awesome. Particularly Montreal. So, technically I’m still Frusciante’s bitch but, OK…I still am, he just brought his friends home with him. Damn you JOHN! Anyway listen on and dig it.
The following have nothing to do with anything at all…..
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| Keeping Bathroom money | Paying the Bribe in Japan | Dudes on the Corner | Hosts in Japan | Build a Killer Robot or….? |
Gaijinass 
The bands that I like is quite a personal thing, so writing a list would be bloody hard. I think I would be quite sensitive to any criticism that anyone may say about them as like you said, they are tied to certain memories and periods in your life.
I don’t really know Cyndi Lauper except that Girls Just Wanna Have Fun was the shit that used to get overplayed on the radio every day in the car on the way to primary school. When I turned 18 and started going out to clubs drinking, they would play this and a strange bogan euphoria would sweep the place, it was almost sickening. Hence I hate this song, but the bogan euphoria has killed some songs which otherwise may have been good too.
Pearl Jam were a good band, but the way the girls at school used to worship Eddie Vedder, regardless of the music he was putting out turned me off them too. Probably an element of teenage angst-ridden jealously in there though.
There was a period of a few years where punk got really cool in Australia, the Vans Warped Tour was in full swing and every idiot was supposedly into punk. The obvious one was Blink-182, but everyone was playing Ruby Soho endlessly, even these meatheads who had NFI about punk or what it was about. I saw it as an invasion on personal sacred territory and so it completely turned me off the band, basically the reasons half the songs exist is because of these fuckheads. Listening to them now though, they aren’t so bad; however I don’t really like the mohawk, spitting in your face Casualties type of punk rock anyway.
Guns and Roses I thought were ok as a kid, but never got into them much. Another band ruined by meatheads listening to them.
I don’t know about John Frusciante, but RHCP were a band I got over pretty quickly; however that could be the meatheads’ fault once again. Worth a listen maybe.
I knew some people who were really, really into Social D, they were really awesome people whose opinions I held highly, but I could never get into them myself for some reason. Maybe worth another listen. Bit of a tangent, but I have always had a problem with people identifying too much with American music about guns and violence, because it doesn’t have much to do with things in Australia. Another bad bias of mine perhaps.
I used to have a smashing collection of Micheal Jackson and John Farhnam tapes as a child and then went from there to Nirvana, Offspring, Blink-182 and so forth. I had a friend who used to get kicked out the shopping centre because he had a Bad Habit shirt on with swearwords on it, we all thought he was the baddest dude ever. I was one of those people who started skating and wearing baggy pants, even though I was shit, but I was just trying to fit in. I was fucking lost and it was the first steps I took in getting out of the culturally barren suburban wasteland, so I’m glad I did it, although I cringe when I think about it now. Shortly after my neighbour’s son who was about 10 years older than me (15/25) taught me various hose and PET bottle arts and crafts and how to enjoy such pleasures. At the same time, he lent me NOFX, White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean and Propagandhi, Less Talk, More Rock. These two albums changed my life, I can’t really listen to NOFX anymore these days, but fuck it was great at the time, fast and short songs with lyrics about lesbians, drugs and so forth. I thought it was pretty bad. Propagandhi got me with the lyrics and stimulated me to start thinking properly about the world. I don’t listen to it much, but I still think it’s a brilliant album by an intelligent and great band. The vegan message is very strong though. I also got into the Descendents, a band I still really like now. There was a ton of other bands I liked, I still have my old CD/record collection at Mum’s and love shifting through it for a good day or so when I go back occasionally.
I was into punk for a while until about the last couple of years of high school, when some mates got me into hardcore punk. Madball, Sick of it All, Raised Fist and a fair few local bands too. It was even angrier and faster. There were so many gigs on all of the time and some mates in bands, so it was kind of a lifestyle. I was feeling all fucked up about the world and for a while it made me believe I was making a difference by going to local shows and buying merch while people preached their message. This lasted until about I was 19 or 20 when I realised it was this inward pseudo-puritan macho sexist and sometimes racist scene with a lot of bitching. Kind of like most places in humanity; however the preaching about the scene and straight-edge and people bitching about this and that kind of turned me off things.
I then discovered metal for a couple of years, getting into old power metal and new style stuff like Children of Bodom, Meshuggah and Soilwork. I still enjoy listening to that now actually and sometimes enjoy really full on metal such as Nile or Napalm Death etc. I find it really calming in certain moods. I also still enjoy doing air guitar to Iron Maiden and jumping around to Judas Priest. Hallowed by thy Name is one of my favourite songs ever. Even just thinking of the guitar riff and the drums makes me excited.
I then got to the ripe old age of 21, had a nice combination of bad events and slipped into some serious depression for probably about 2 years. In this time, the Smiths were my friend and saviour, they were feeling everything I did and although Morrissey was a very different person to me, I could certainly emphasize with his feelings about living in a shithole industrial/suburban town that you still had undeniable links with no matter how much you hated it and it hated you. The Smiths are still my favourite band, I love the guitars and love singing along with all the lyrics. I will listen to other things, but my musical pendulum always comes back to the Smiths in the centre. It’s a fucking cliché, but the Smiths saved my life and I still love them now. For those two years I probably listened to the Smiths 90% of the time I listened to music. Everything else was just shit at the time. I will probably love them until I die. I even went purposely to Manchester when I was in London once and did a little tour on my own with a guide book I got off Amazon. I even got a picture out the front of the Salford Lads Club, but it turned out to be a shit photo. Oh well.
I have listened to some other stuff too and can enjoy almost anything these days. It could be embarrassing, but my musical taste is influenced by my hobby of singing 80’s Japanese karaoke love/deep and meaningful songs. I also like some of the recent music which is indie I suppose and has synthesizers in it and some of the low-fi stuff I suppose you could call it. I am kind of out of the loop though and certainly miss being able to listen to loud music and the live scene in Sydney. I also like a little bit of jazz and have a saxophone, but never play it due to being in an apartment. Oh well.
Well there you go, my opinions on music and my life story. Can’t think of a better thing to do after a long weekend and not really wanting to work, but these types of conversations are best done over a beer. Thanks for another interesting post.
Man I have liked, and listened to SO much music it’s ridiculous. So I am on board with a lot of what you wrote.
This list was fun because I don’t sit around listening to Cindy Lauper. It’s just THAT time when she was everywhere, I hear those songs and I remember the Reagan 80’s. Ten from Pearl Jam as well. It isn’t really an album I would listen to through and through now, probably just BLACK, but at THAT time it was heavy. Things you mentioned, Nirvana, Offspring, Blink- I avoided those because the places I was in THAT was the jock sell out music. That’s worth a post right there.
I like Hip hop and rap as well but none of those albums have been a big enough deal to go on a list like this. I have been into Low-Fi, Skin Head stuff from the Circle Jerks to TSOL and all over to country and folk music and Thai rock and French Rap etc etc. I’m ridiculous about that. I just love music.
Check out Frusciante and some of his stuff. Lot’s of bits and peices; elements of King Crimson, Jimmy Hendrix, early funk and even electronica…it’s all over the place. It isn’t RHCP, a band I never really got behind either, it’s something different.
Oops, late reply. I will check out Frusciante going by what you’re saying.
We got into Blink just at the right time: 15 years old and full of insecurity, especially about girls. We were all wannabe skaters too, so it helped on that front also. Chesire Cat and Lagwagon’s Hoss, were the CDs that everyone had, it was kind of our group’s special secret, everyone was still into the Grundge and told us it was shit and we liked it that way. Everyone in the group liked those two and then you were allowed to branch off into your own personal Epitaph/Fat etc. favourites. I still get nostalgic listening to that kind of stuff, but it kinda got ruined a bit after that by the jock sell out type thing, so I guess that’s what got me into hardcore. Actually, looking back, I am surprised I wound up graduating through university and getting a job, a lot of the guys we used to smoke with are either bums on the dole, smackies or dealing and getting in trouble with the police. FUCK I am glad I got out of that place, by some sort of miracle. It wasn’t a ghetto or anything, but still a shithole. Everyone was out of control, I don’t know why though because a lot of people came from families where there were no money problems. I like to blame it on the TV and the Australian (American is just the same shit) dream where you get a big house (bigger on average than America now) and car (not as big, but almost) and drive around everyday living the ‘good life’ but never end up socialising with anyone, except at the pub; and you’re drunk there anyway, so you can’t talk to your kids for shit and they all end up taking drugs and fucking around to escape the mediocre suburbs and to try and find themselves some identity.
I know you don’t sit around listening to Cyndi GJA, but I wouldn’t hate you if you did. Honestly. I’m a pretty open minded guy.
Wasn’t TSOL the band that sang about digging up corpses and having sex with them? I’m sure it was meant to be ironic though… I remember them from Punk’o’rama CDs. Have you ever heard of a band called Leftover Crack? I have a feeling you may enjoy them, they are pretty much against everything though, but they sound quite good.
I discovered this cartoon the other day called Metalapcoloypse that every one has probably watched about 4 years ago before I crawled out of my black hole the other day, but it is quite a good cartoon most of the time. I think they do a great job of putting all the cliches together in the music videos and I find it quite amusing to watch them on Youtube sometimes.
Haha….yeah that TSOL song is called “Code Blue”. I was security at a “revival” show they had in Costa Mesa about 10 years ago and when they played that song, the entire place went completely fucking ape-shit, third world bonkers. The skin heads tore that little live house to absolute pieces and there was a full scale riot.
msic never had the power for me that it seems to carry with most people. Still there are some songs out there. Eddy Vedders rendition of “Last Kiss”, soundgarden’s “Bootcamp” (no i am not in nor have i ever been in any military career, its just a good song about how far away things can seem when your life is in a rut), NIN (Trent Reznor’s) “and all that could have been” (the song not the album, and yeah his voice isn’t greatest in it but the lyrics are solid). NIN “The Wretched” will always stick with me thanks to a quickly downed bottle of Robotussin DM years ago, and I didn’t really much care for the song before that.
Still a good scene in a movie really says a lot about music. A movie that perhaps gets it pretty spot on is “Equillibrium” when he first hears classical music. Most people don’t get the sad ending that movie has because they are too caught up in the action to pay atention and catch all the parts that make it a hollow victory but oh well.
There is a deffinate power to sound. Psychological studdies are always being done on it. Many cultures have music in their ceremonies and the mesmerizing power of a proper chant is hard to ignore. Even before an area develops civilization it has msic and basic instruments. The most tone def person with no dance skills will still find themselves tapping their foot without realizing it right away.
Its an important part of humanity for some reason. As people go deaf they find other ways to enjoy music, like the bass of an orchestra. Hundreds line up to watch some half drunk ugly out of shape guy wail into a microphone as people behind him run their hands across a guitar or beat some drums with sticks, and it gets transformed into some sort of EXPERIENCE.
My Abnormal Psych teacher had written his thesis on music and its psychological effects. Music and its rythms have been a part of humanity long before any of us on this blog were born and will be long after. Its a good subject and something as seemingly silly as someones top ten music list actually carries a lot of meaning and can say a lot about them. This is a good post and it will be interesting to see how people respond.
I like a lot of light classical personally. Its all the layers and the way that you can notice something new each time. Maybe thats why I often ignore the specifics of lyrics and let the voice blend in with the reast of the song and try to get the feel of what was intended. There are often underlying emotions conveiyed in songs and when you let the lyrics blur you can get a different feel for the music. Lyrics dont always connect with a listener and can be very hard to identify with, but even in the sounds, rythm and other variations of the singing voice there is meaning beyond lyrics. Like when you listen to a song in a language you dont understand but still get something out of the music.
wow I could write a post on my blog about all of this… nah I am far too lazy to retype… sorry bout all the typos everyone I am in the middle of studying for a test tomorow and am sporting one absolutely AMAZING migraine. My nose is even bleeding. Running out of brain space for knowledge ick, wouldnt be surprised if after i finish the test I die of an anuerism…stupid college.
That bit about lyrics not meaning as much as people think is spot on.
I love Thai Rock, the poppy stuff like Inam to more genuine rock related like Som Sarn and Loso. I know about 30 or 40 words in Thai. Yeah, it’s just good music. I also really like Russian folk music ever since I spent a night last summer hanging out with a touring club of young Russian folk singers. My Russian sure ain’t up to snuff I can assure you.
I like reading or hearing about peoples “Top Ten lists” in regards to music IF they can tell me why they liked it. Not just “It was cool. It was Neato.”
Oh and Welcome back.
Thank you. Holiday rum reserves ran dry, so did the alcoholic irish egg nogg, but still got some southern comfort and a bit of Kirin Ichiban beer.
Screamin Jay is a bit of a double edged sword. His funk stuff is okay, but his NEW ORLEANS VOODOO stuff WOW some good stuff. Not so funk’d and more its own thing.
as for country not so much, blue grass is another weird one for me. See modern bluegrass is mostly crap. Old blue grass though does something weird. Its one of the times I pay atention to lyrics. I like banjo but not much else country, mouth harp sounds neat for a few seconds and the harmonica is only good in blues. By mouth harp i mean that funny shapped metal bar you pluck and it vibrates against your teeth to make its signature sound. Yep thats why they are all toothless. Anyway my point THE LYRICS OF OLD BLUEGRASS. They are violent and out of place. It is the most normal bluegrass sounding song and the lyrics are about some guys with cheating on him and how him and all the guys at the bar are gonna go murder her. LIKE WTF! it cracks me up.
The other big lyrics one for me is the album Niggy Tardust by saul williams… The most heavy gangster sounding stuff and all the lyrics are anti ganster and anti rap going on about how its holding all who listen to that kind of music back. You can pull up beside some car full of polo shirt white gangsters violent over their rich suburban life and they hear that and start acting like your the coolest person on the planet, and the whole time I am just cracking up thinking you stupid bastards its bitching about all the crap you find cool in the genre.
gospel gives me issues but certain beautiful voices doing some nice southern gospel does sometimes sound well… angelic and i end up enjoying it. You get the right women with a good set of lungs (LUNGS PERVS) and the song “down in the river to pray” is absolutely amazing and so soothing.
When I was in highschool no one really talked about nirvana unless they were around me and then it was constant assinine questions because i listened to them and they heard one song on MTV and wanted to know more and I knew they wouldnt be talking to me otherwise. The jocks they flocked to Sublime. They had what one album and the lead singer died. Through highschool those jocks were all about sublime and would get all teary eyed and defensive over his death. When Kurt cobain died I was like well that sucks cause I enjoyed the music but hell it was gonna happen sometime look at the guy. Oh and seriously Kurt had no singing voice, Trent reznor is lacking in that department but kurt total deficite.
Still though, Nirvana was good in highschool and good background music but the music I really liked was NIN. The layering of classical in so many instruments and computer generated sounds. The strong emotion put through in each song always exploring the darker emotions. So what if the lyrics were often about heroine.
Pearl jam was great. Really like those first two or three albums. By highschool it was vitalogy. My favorite pearl jam album. “Tremor Christ” was my favorite song on it. After that his voice kinda went to crap for a few albums but he has it back now. As for the song “Dauhgter” the best version was on saturday night live…. he went off and like doubled the songs length and goes on about burning the house down with turpentine.
Punk I was picky. Yeah that bubblegum stuff like green day or offspring was catchy. Not real punk though, just bubblegum for the pop culture. I heard a lot of the lesser known stuff with the heavy punk political messages. If I had to pick a punk album it would be “The Shape Of Punk To come” by Refused. The stuff before it was all your typical punk. The bands he did after that album never really put the same feeling into it. That album he F’n SCREAMS! and man is it good. For some F’d reason its the best thing for curing headaches when I have them and the louder the better, which is really weird cause I hate loud noises.
Music out of india can get pretty intense because of the rythms and the count
like its not these quick one two count repeat rythms we have it gets pretty elaborate.
still most times its light classical or traditional japanese…which btw my rocking super awesome most amazing woman on the planet Pen Pal sent me a couple CD’s of Traditional Japanese music, one all shamisen, one a bit of everything and a third CD a soundtrack to a movie she likes. The soundtrack was all like nice peaceful soothing Irish music with a female lead singer so great for relaxing and a bit up beat so promotes a general happy mood.
crap this is the place to ask! Okay I want to have someone Hang an Ema plaque for me at a shinto shrine for the new year. So far online all I have been able to find was a site that would let me watch a shinto shrine new years prayer for like 8-45 bucks and well I am flat F’n broke. Any free alternatives or am I just gonna have to find the money and email them to see if they will do the Ema plaque thingy? wow hows that for random and totaly off topic…
Man half the Country songs I know are about shooting people, murder, sleeping with various women or drugs. It always boggles my mind how culturally close rednecks and real dirty south black folks are. Topics in the music are basically the same, living conditions as well, eat the same shit etc etc. Yet they basically hate each other for no real logical reason. Must not be too nice to look in the mirror I guess.
I do love me some country though. Not Country western so much. I like Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Willy Nelson, Hank Williams Jr, George Jones etc. Seems to be a lot more humanity in that music than in more polished and popular stuff. But this might be true for the roots of almost any music genre.
Yeah the reason I chose to mention bluegrass for all of that is the more innocent sound it has. Country I have heard enough of to expect that. Crossing the border to get missouri beer (Higher alcohol content) late at night and hitting a bar run out of a shed next to some guys house he had some Merle Haggard playing.
As for the looking in the mirror there is a lot to that. Kinda like the saying you have to love yourself before you can love anyone else (not entirely true but has some validity). They hate themselves and a lot of the things they do and their lot in life. So similar such people make good scapegoats.
Until about two years ago I had always hated myself more than anyone else. Yeah I still get pissed looking in the mirror, but I have one person I hate more so there is some progress. Besides even if you hate yourself you can still have fun. I don’t hate myself for being like those true grit country folks, I just am not that kind of person. Hating myself is more for what I have done in life and the thoughts I frequently have. Over the years though, thanks to my psychology studies, I am not just coping with it I am making huge improvements and becoming a better person, less bad thoughts at least.
So much in life is subjective and internal. Change your inner state, re-frame how you see yourself and your life can change in a matter of weeks. It always shocks me.
Stuff to do with the Psychology/Sociology Nature vs. Nurture argument. Well truth is it isn’t Nature or Nurture. Everyerone is a combination of both and instead of one always being more important than the other it is really a case by case basis. Some people its nature and some the other. Well the more I study of Psychology the Nature things tends to win in a big way, but evrything being genetic is like saying fate wins over free will.
My thoughts issues are deffinately Nature/Gentic. A lot of well… my pen pal could come across this so thats enough said. Yeah I have had more than enough Nurture/Ubringing/Enviroment things to cause the thoughts and that, but looking into the Genetics enough there is no real question.
As for my actions, well I made those choices. I have proven without a doubt that I do not have to act on my thoughts. So yeah, it is slow overall, but I am becoming a much better person and I think I have made large amounts of really fast progress in the more recent years. Not so much growing old, just changing myself.
Oh and a brief bit about NIN to keep this on the topic of music. He wrote the fragile after quiting heroine and got back on it while on tour for that album. So the entire he isn’t as good when he isn’t on drugs argument doesn’t work (a common complaint about his recent albums). The change in his music reflects a change in direction and the moods in his life. His music is all about moods. Just thought I would throw that out there for any NIN fans reading this.
Yosomono is a NIN aficionado. I was never much of a fan, untill a few years ago. More of a fascination with the fact that this one guy did so much artistically than really liking the music. HURT is an all time favorite, either Reznors or Johnny Cash’s version. Just a good, good song.
Both are incredible for really different reasons but the common humanity in both versions is thick and heavy. Humanity in loss and losing. Love it. Hate it.
Oh if you want your mind blown about what singers can pull off there is a great documentary about a blind blues singer that travels to another country to participate in Tuvan throat singing and if I remember correctly they can do like six different octaves all at once with their throats. They prefer the high octaves as they are harder to do and thus earn more respect, but the low ones sound F’n awesome. it doesnt even sound human it sounds more like a weird wind instrument that a person singing.
and there is this national band that switches members every few years. They do finish folk music. Varttina. The album Ilmatar. The freaky awesome crazy song “Aijo” it was written by the then male guitarist or basist and sometimes he does one of the voices but when just the women (there were 3 at the time) do all the vocals to that song (Which is unfortunately only live, on that album he does the voice for the part i am going on about but live omg live!) the one sounds like a F#*%iING DEMON! Its great. Good song regardless.
Yeah man. The power of the Voice.
Ahhh a video with pretty Japanese women…I am in my happy place.
The girl licking the ice cream in the “Black Hole Sun” video…I was so into Hip hop but that song pulled me back to rock for a bit and I remembered old friends like Floyd,Hendrix,Skynyrd,Sabbath ..
“My life was empty forever on a down
Until you took me, showed me around
My life is free now, my life is clear
I love you sweet leaf – though you can’t hear,”
Gonna watch this vid …right …after I hit “post comment”
I gotta add the vid that single handedly brought me back to my musical roots…epic vid…fucking genius. Great post!!
Totally.
Little odd, I ever liked Sound Garden and it was basically because of this video.
Yet years later here I am and I totally love Audio Slave. I also like everything Vedder and Cornell did with Temple of the Dog.
Chris Cornell has one amazing voice. His solo albums were great, soundgarden was hit and miss. Audioslave was amazing.
Eddie vedder and Chris Cornell used to be in a band together called Temple of The Dog.
Not sure why I didn’t get into music as much as most people, or why I don’t get as much out of it. I grew up around older local bands of varying genres, had friends who played instruments, sang, and had their own garage bands, and even hung out with a few younger local bands. Hell I inspired one local singer to change his last name when he got married. Love that Iowa law.
Been to a few concerts. Stuff as no name as Kitty and as big name as Ozzy. Even a broadway musical with big name broadway people (Big name for now at least) that came to Iowa. Met some guy in Branson missouri once that was supposed to be some relative of The man in black Johhny Cash.
See my mom had a highschool friend that book acts down in Branson for a living and we were down there and she got us free tickets and was even having us meet this guy for a second. He asked me why I wore all black and I told him I thinks its a soothing, tranquil, calm, relaxing color and its not some bright flashy thing drawing attention. Don’t remember anything else about it. I was out of my mind on all different kinds of pills, many of them allergy pills loaded with psuedophedrine. I wasn’t goth or anything just black shorts and a black T-shirt. I don’t think this guy was some relative of Johnny cash, but thats what everyone was claiming. He doesn’t have abrother that sings as far as I know.
Didn’t stop wearing all black till I got married. Might go back to it after the papers go through. That color just relaxes me.
well now I feel dumb…just noticed Gaijin beat me to the Temple of The Dog comment.
Quick on the draw…I have my moments.