So I just got my hands on some personal live performances that I'd like to upload, and I thought I'd let the masses know here. I'm just posting one video here, but you should check out the blog's YouTube channel for more.
Just the other night (Thursday) I performed at a quaint and chic open mic. I started off with one of my all-time favorite songs: "Left of the Dial" by The Replacements. The song itself is a heartfelt ode to college radio and life on the road. I've grown to have a personal attachment to the tune, as it has played a significant role on various occasions as the backing soundtrack to various life-changing moments in the past few months.
"Left of the Dial (Cover)" by Kelvin
Listen to the original here.
Listen to a 1989 live performance here.
Listen to a 1993 live performance here.
Listen to a 1996 live performance here.
... I must report that I will be taking a hiatus. It's been just a month since the start of my senior year, and I have not found the time in my schedule to keep this blog updated.
It started as a hobby and a source of release, and I had loads of fun doing this. I didn't mind the amount of time dedicated and energy invested (nocturnally) to keep this going. But as of late, it has become a chore, and also sort of a job. Now I have to listen to music and have to discover new topics to discuss, instead of it being just for kicks.
There's still a bunch of ideas for future posts buzzing in my head, but until I find the grace to manage all the rest that life throws at me, I will set these drafts aside for a while. If this bums you out, then I'm sorry for making you feel this way. If you don't really care, then I'm sorry you don't feel otherwise. =P
I thought it'd be fun to continue the theme of era-specific posts and do one on the groovy times that were the 70's. Little did I know how little of 70's music I actually know. It's a poorly represented section of my music library, but I'd still like to share some of my favorite albums from the decade (... a number of which I was introduced to in the past month).
Ah, the 60's... a time when psychedelic drugs, flower power and The Beatles ruled the world. So how do you usher in a new decade in music? Well, you back-track a bit to when blues was the genre of choice, then you read some books and watch the news. Follow up with forming a four-piece band and voila! You have "War Pigs." British rockers Black Sabbath released Paranoid in November 1970 in the U.K. (January 1971 in the U.S.), founding heavy metal in the process. Despite their name, most of the band's songs deal with themes of the psychological and social nature, as their staples "Paranoid" and "Iron Man" make evident. And although the only thing Ozzy Osbourne has learned since the 70's is how become more of a pansy, deep down he's still that pivotal frontman whose name we can't escape.
So, I got into the music scene a little later than most folks. I remember one day in my high school freshman Engineering period a fellow classmate asked me what type of music I was into. At that point, I wasn't into anything except the adult contemporary my parents played on the car radio (and that was passive listening). So I just blurted out something random: techno. Needless to say, said fellow classmate never spoke to me again...
In any case, that summer (2005), I visited Nicaragua with my aunt and cousin for two weeks. Around the second day, I met my cousin's cousins (my second cousins?) whom were teens like us. When I entered their room, I saw "Be Yourself" playing on the TV. I ended up spending the majority of the trip making up for lost time alongside MTV Latin America.
Not too long afterwards, I saved up the earnings of my 15th birthday and went to Best Buy to purchase a cheap Durabrand CD player, From Under the Cork Tree, American Idiot and Demon Days. And now, almost 6 years later, I'm here updating a blog about my not-so-secret passion.
Because it's so close to when I first began engrossing myself in music, I have to say that my favorite year in music is 2006. When I started out, I watched music videos like it was nobody's business. But after a few months of that, I got tired of just singles and delved into the albums of my favorite artists, discovering the gems no one cared to search for. Below are a few of my top picks...
A young, lonely, pop-punk listening Hispanic teenage boy was eventually going to come across this CD. It was one random day at my other cousin's house that I saw the video for "Narcisita Por Excelencia" on MTV Tr3s. I was instantly hooked by the sound and energy, and I also had an ear catered to "emotional" music. When I picked up Amantes Sunt Amantes, I became a fan overnight. What I liked most about the album (and still do) was the unconventionality of the composition, characteristic of post-hardcore. I wouldn't know it until later, but their previous release, Para Ti Con Desprecio, was the product of heavy plagerism. Panda writes some pretty catchy tunes, but sadly these are songs to slit your wrists to (and unfortunately the band doesn't make that a subtle point =///).
So I've created a YouTube account associated with this blog. I had one before, but I wanted to change the username and thus had to create a new account (the videos from the old account are now gone with the wind...).
I don't have much on there now, but I will be uploading more vids as the future becomes the present.
Link to the account page "NocturnalInvestment"
[http://www.youtube.com/user/NocturnalInvestment]
I've described my method of making mixtapes in the last post. Today, I'd like to give an example of what I consider to be an okay mixtape. This is the 9th mix I compiled (circa January 2010).
Like I said before, when you give out a mix it's a gift from one admirer to one apple-of-their-eye. Therefore, reusing the same mix is bad protocol on the mixer's end. As such, you can consider this mixtape as a gift from me to the Internet and the members therein (especially my loyal readers... all 5 of you...). =]
I hope you enjoyed it! And that you're inspired to create some mixes of your own!
(Edit: Per somebody's smart suggestion, I've compiled these songs into a YouTube playlist so as to better get the feel of listening to an actual mix CD. You can listen to it here and it is also embedded below.)
... and you like her, right? Like, a lot. A lot a lot. I mean, you two hang out a lot (sometimes with a number of friends, sometimes with not so many), you make each other laugh, you think the other person's soooooo cool... and you both have the same taste in music!!!
At least... you think you do. But it's a pretty good hunch. You're 98.3% sure of it. You can just sense it. In any case, you're really into music. You don't consider yourself the cut-from-the-same-cloth radio listener. And you want to share that part of your life with her... as a first step to sharing more of your life with her.
OK, so for a change of pace, I'd like to share one of my favorite original band names: Last One Out.
The story behind the name is muti-faceted. One of those facets is the fact that whenever I'm volunteering at an academic or social event, more often than not I find myself expending way more energy and logging in way more time than I had expected. In most cases, I have no problem with it and I'm glad to help, but it's just interesting to note that I'm usually the "last one out."
When I started this blog, I didn't expect that so many posts would be about covers. But given that the first featured song was itself a cover, I guess it was only a matter of time...
In any case, this entry is about the Punk Goes... series. In 2000, Fearless Records started this series of compilation albums wherein present-day punk (or punk-derivative) rock bands cover artists of a certain featured genre (like metal, 90's, etc.). Now almost 11 years old, Fearless has racked up an exceptional discography through Punk Goes....
In my opinion, Punk Goes Metal is the most "punk" album of the set. Composed by the lesser-known names of punk rock (like Bigwig, Guttermouth and Ten Foot Pole), the CD delivers a heavy sound. True, there's one or two pop-punk renditions ("I Remember You"), but the majority of the album is punk metal showing their metal side ("Bark at the Moon"). And it also shows that metal sometimes has a punk side, too; Swindle does this for Skid Row.
Like I said before, school and just life in general has made me (relatively) VERY busy! But I didn't want to go all of April without a post.
Last Monday (April 18), I played a small set at the annual Catholic Student Fellowship talent show. Just a year (well, 364 days) prior was the first time I performed in public, playing "Birthday Gal" and another song (which I won't delve into).
A lot of things have happened in my life in the past few weeks that have put me in a "Christian" mood, so to speak. This includes my music listening behavior. About two months ago, I went to a friend's apartment for an hour of praise & worship. It was just him and his acoustic; half the songs he sang were those that we've heard dozens of times over (and never get old), and the other half were songs he knew we wouldn't know.
That was the first time I heard "How He Loves." It started out calm and peaceful. I couldn't sing along, so I just listened. About three minutes in, he hit the second verse and began to crecendo. I was feeling it until he belted the line, "And Heaven meets Earth with a sloppy wet kiss." I've never heard something so suggestive in a Christian song! I was taken aback, and frankly I shyed away from the song because of that one line, forgetting all the other good ones.
Another time, another friend sang it, and I was waiting for him to make things awkward, but he sang instead "unforeseen kiss." At first, I thought I imagined the "sloppy," but then I realized it could have been some form of self-censoring. I approached the "unforeseen" friend and he said that he never heard it sung as "sloppy" and that he agreed it was weird. Then the concern was forwarded to my "sloppy" friend and this is what he had to say about it...
So recently, some people have been commenting on the way I tend to sing "How He Love Us." For the second verse, sometimes I'll switch back and forth between "unforeseen kiss" and "sloppy wet kiss." Sloppy wet kiss comes from the original song written by John Mark McMillan for his friend who died in a tragic car accident. It's about his friend being able to finally meet his father in heaven. I especially like to use "sloppy wet kiss" because when my siblings and I were little (and now my sister who is still little) my Dad would go in for a "sloppy wet kiss." To me it shows pure unabashed love in a playful, loving, fatherly way. Just wanted to share!
Not only is today Friday, but it is also my father's birthday. This is one of his favorite songs (his top in the field of patriarchal exultation). Although I won't be able to see him today, the next time I do I'll be able to play this for him on the guitar (something I couldn't have done a year ago).
"Mi Querido Viejo" by Piero
Es un buen tipo mi viejo(My old man’s a good guy) que anda solo y esperando.(who goes off alone and waiting.) Tiene la tristeza larga(He has a long, sad face) de tanto venir andando. (from so much coming and going.)
Yo lo miro desde lejos(I look like him from afar) pero somos tan distintos.(but we are so distinct.)
Es que crecio con el siglo,(It's just that he aged with the century) con tranvÃa y vino tinto.(alongside the tramway and red wine.)
Viejo, mi querido viejo.(Father, my dear old man.) Ahora ya camina lerdo,(Now your stride is lame,) como perdonando el viento.(as if you’re pardoning the wind.) Yo soy tu sangre, mi viejo.(I am your blood, old man.)
Soy tu silencio y tu tiempo. (I’m your silence and your time.) El tiene los ojos buenos(He has good eyes) y una figura pesada.(and a heavy figure.) La edad se le vino encima(The years have come upon him) sin carnaval ni comparsa.(with neither a carnaval nor a krewe.)
Yo tengo los años nuevos(I have the new years) y el hombre los años viejos.(and he has the old years.) El dolor lo lleva dentro(He carries the pain inside) y tiene historias sin tiempo.(and he has timeless tales.)
Viejo, mi querido viejo.(Father, my dear old man.) Ahora ya camina lerdo,(Now your stride is lame,) como perdonando el viento.(as if you’re pardoning the wind.) Yo soy tu sangre, mi viejo.(I am your blood, old man.) Soy tu silencio y tu tiempo. (I’m your silence and your time.)
Yo soy tu sangre mi viejo.(I am your blood, old man.) Yo soy tu silencio y tu tiempo ...(I’m your silence and your time …)
If you haven't heard about this, then you've probably have been living under a rock (everyone's first guess) or you've been holding out as long as you can. All I have to say is that there's no rush, but if you're in a hurry, then prepare to have your IQ drop in HQ.
I have been busy. Busy, busy, busy. I will be busy. Busy, busy, busy. That's why I'm going to make this post longer (and arguably, more fun) than usual =D. I don't know when I'll get the chance to share more of my knowledge with the world again, so just sit back and enjoy the ride...
The theme for today: Alternative. These are alternative rock bands who have covered songs who's original authors span a wide range of other genres. If you like at least one cover/original combo (although it's pretty much impossible not to enjoy all 20), then I've served you well.
(#20) "Major Tom (Coming Home) (Peter Schilling Cover)" by Shiny Toy Guns
My introduction to Shiny Toy Guns was the song "Le Disko." It was the perfect union of Britney-dance and Marilyn-shock and it defined how electronica I would ever get. But when vocalist Sisely Treasure left and was replaced by Carah Faye Charnow in 2008, the band lost a lot of its edge and credibility. Case in point: "Major Tom." The band does an alright job of recreating Peter Schilling'sone-hit wonder (you know, that one 80's proto-eurotrance song that everyone knows), but it's just so seeped in commercialism. The song was recorded for a Lincoln luxury car advertisment, and that selling-out-ness is made apparent in their live performance below.
Way back when, I had to take a course titled Professional Communication for Engineers. I thought I was done with all my English courses after surviving IB and taking a Gordon Rule class for Gen Ed. In any case, I'm glad it was required because it introduced me to the various forms of technical communication utilized not only in my future coursework, but also in industry. I even got the opportunity to interview actual engineers at the University for my group's final mock proposal.
One of our assignments was to write an instruction manual on "how to" do anything (anything of our choice). It had to be written in a way that "anyone" could be able to pick up the manual and do whatever is asked of them. So it was less on theories and definitions and more on objectives and execution. To no surprise, I chose to make it music related.
Unfortunately, I have an exam this evening that I am diligently studying for, but I still wanted to pass on my favorite song about the season: "Valentine" by The Replacements. There are several recorded versions of this song out there: the original studio, a rough mix on Boink!!!, countless live bootlegs...
My favorite version happens to be the studio demo on the 2008 reissue of Pleased to Meet Me. If you're musically inclined, you can try to learn how to play this song (more or less) and serenade that special someone on this special day.
It's no surprise to people who've ever had a one-on-one conversation with me about music that I'm a bit of a cover-enthusiast (mostly because I mention covers all the time). I guess it boils down to my tendancy to play songs by other artists rather than my own material (and I do have "material" ... it's just not that great -_-). I love listening to covers (I have 200+ in my library) and seeing how an artist was influenced by another and/or how they percieve a certain piece.
Here's a list of 10 "interesting" covers I found over the years. They may not be the "most interesting" and definitely aren't the "best," but they're not the "worst" either. And I know doing a countdown is subjective, but I give my reasons for each placement.
(#10) "About A Girl (Nirvana Cover)" by The Fuzz
I actually found this today. It isn't the best cover, but it's kinda how it would sound if I got a band together now. This was one of the first songs I learned, and the kid singing sort of sounds like me if I tried doing vocals and guitar for this Nirvana hit at the same time (which I have... and it wasn't the prettiest of scenes...).
Listen to the original (studio) here.
Listen to the original (unplugged) here.
OK, metal already has some negative connotations, so it's not all that unusual that Metalocalypse (a cartoon about a fictional metal band) is intended for mature audiences. But what about this...?
"What could possibly be on Cartoon Network at 1 in the morning? Adult cartoons?" Why, actually, yes. For those who don't know, Adult Swim is a programming block that showcases mature (i.e. - ages 18+, while still "suitable" for those as young as 14) from 10pm to 6am on weeknights and similar times on weekends. Around since 2001, the current programming on [as] includes Family Guy, Robot Chicken and Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
The topic of discussion today is the show Metalocalypse. As the name implies, it has something to do with metal. Acutally... it has everything to do with metal. The plot (if there is one) is centered around the inexplicably and unrealistically famous band Dethklok. The members include frontman Nathan Explosion, lead guitarist Skwisgaar Skwigelf, rhythm guitarist Toki Wartooth, bassist William Murderface, and drummer Pickles.
"Alternative metal" is a tricky label, because it's as much an unbrella genre as alternative rock. I mean, you could have the "hard rock" of buzz radio ("Well Enough Alone" by Chevelle), the "metal" of pop-punk ("Headstrong" by Trapt) or the "post-grunge" of the new millenium ("Breath" by Breaking Benjamin). The only band I feel that can best define alternative metal is one of my favorites: 30 Seconds To Mars.
Classes got the best of me this week, but they gave me some time to think about the metal I do know. Although I'm not well versed in entire discographies of bands like Slayer (nor do I really want to be), there is an album or two of which I'm fond of.
I'll be the first to admit I'm a dummy. My introduction to music was pop-punk (Fall Out Boy and the like), and although I've expanded my repetoire, I haven't gotten into the meat of a lot of other genres.
Back during the awesome adventure I dictated in my first post, I found "Metal" by Gary Numan on YouTube. On the "Suggestions" panel on the right, there was a preview for a video titled "10 Genres of Metal in 3 Minutes." I checked it out, and my mind was instantly asploded.
Some bands are great and some bands are awesome, but sometimes it can be hard for a band to be simply... cool. The Killers is a cool band. Coming up from the deserts of Vegas, The Killers hit the ground running with their debut Hot Fuss in 2004. They skyrocketted the charts with the singles "Mr. Brightside" and "Somebody Told Me," making them overnight superstars. These radio jingles were how I was first introduced to them, and I didn't really give them the time of day until I saw them premiere "When You Were Young" on the 2006 VMAs. It was literally a jaw-dropping sight, and if I remember correctly, they premiered the music video for the song right afterwards. At that point, they pretty much... killed me.
Last Friday, I went with a group of friends to my first club in Gainesville. I won't go into detail about the experience (because it has nothing to do with music), but I would like to mention an interesting little tidbit. Before entering the club, they checked my ID and saw I was under 21 (not that I was hiding the fact, or anything). Because of that, they Sharpied a big "X" on the back of both my hands. At that moment, I thought to myself, "This is so straight edge!"
Today in my Finite Element Analysis lecture, the professor was using the "what's in a name" approach to teach us the meaning of "isotropic." He used his own name as an example: Nam-Ho. He said that in Chinese "Nam" stood for "south" (like Vietnam), and that "Ho" stood for "tiger." So when you put it together, you get Southern Tiger.
As I stated in my last post, I first heard The Replacements through Rock Band 2, which featured one of their songs. It was catchy and I probably played it 3 or 4 times before Christmas Break 2008 was over. A few months went by and I got into the habit of watching King of the Hill. After the upteenth episode, I was curious to find out who played that rockin' intro (curiously called "Yahoos and Triangles"). The credits at the end were flashing pretty fast, but I was able to make out the artist: The Refreshments.
I thought that The Refreshments was "that one band from Rock Band," so I decided to check them out because "now they had two cool songs." My search led me to the album Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy and I started listening to it from the beginning. A few seconds into "Blue Collar Suicide" I thought, "This sounds... different." Halfway into the song, I thought, "I don't think this is the same band." By the time "European Swallow" started, I had already determined the distinction online. Nonetheless, I continued listening, because I liked what I heard.
Happy 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time! Before I get into the music, I'd like to share a little bit about my life.
In the late-90's, I remember coming home and flipping on the tube to watch Nickelodeon after school. You know, stuff like Rugrats and The Angry Beavers. In my teenage years, my favorite channel became Cartoon Network, specifically because of the Toonami programming block. G Gundam, Dragon Ball Z, YuYu Hakusho... that was my thang.
I would always stick around for the commercials (I had nothing better to do), and the advertisements that would always catch my attention were the infomercials for music compliations. I don't know why that was... I mean, just the other day I watched Nickelodeon (now Nick) and Cartoon Network (now CN) and that made me remember that there were commercials for Chef Boyardee and Nerf back in my day, too. Anyways, these multi-CD collections (which could be yours for just $19.99, or two payments thereof) would be presented at least once a day and were mostly ballads (the one by Time Life always comes to mind). But every once in a while (usually on a Sunday), there'd be a commerical about a soft Christian music collection.
Norah: This is amazing. You are literally like my musical soul mate! It's unbelievable. Except for all The Cure. Nick: What's wrong with The Cure? Norah: There's nothing wrong with The Cure, actually, but just the name. You know, The Cure? What are they The Curing? Get it? They should be called The Cause, right?!?
Here comes more negativity! The artist on the spotlight today is Hawthorne Heights. Maybe spotlight is a bit too much. Let's try limelight. No, that's still to bright (actually, I think it might be the same thing). How about blacklight? Woah, we'll probably see things we'd wish we hadn't! OK, no light. Actually, that might be a little dangerous considering who we're discussing. Alright, how about in a cleared outdoor area that's not too close and not too far from civilization? Yeah, that sounds good.
Depending on who you talk to, Joy Division is either a band that nobody has heard about or that everybody has heard about. A major force in the underground music scene, Joy Division first formed under the name Warsaw in 1976 and were gig-hoppers in Manchester before getting the attention of bigger names. To avoid legal issues with the band Warsaw, they renamed themselves Joy Division in 1978 after the prostitution wing of a Nazi concentration camp.
Yesterday, whilst procrastinating, I had the spontaneous urge to learn "Just What I Needed" by The Cars. With the help of tabs, I learned all but half the solo and thought that be enough for one day. Then I decided to look up some info on The Cars from my #1 music-discovery resource, Wikipedia. As I suspected, the band didn't make it past the 80's and what followed their 1987 album Door to Door were a slew of compilation records.
The last record that Wikipedia lists is The Essentials from 2005. Then I thought I might as well check out what Wiki has to say about "Just What I Needed." To no surprise, it's a heavily covered song; I was already aware of the version by Poison, but was intrigued by one by a band called Replicants. What caught my eye was just their name: it had an edgy punk feel like Rancid while having a sci-fi vibe like aliens pretending to be humans or mercenary clones. Moreover, the album was self-titled, so I just had to check it out.
