Best of 2009

I know I am probably leaving out some worthy candidates, but these are what I think have been my favourite new albums of 2009. Just off the top of my head, so I may need to add some supplementries if I forgot the good ones LOL Do you know yours yet?

These are in alphabetic order because I couldn't choose definitively who ranked who...

• Alexisonfire - Old Crows / Young Cardinals

• Bat For Lashes - Two Suns

• Be'lakor - Stone's Reach

• Bertie Blackman - Secrets and Lies

• Chimaira - The Infection

• Gossip - Music For Men

• Isis - Wavering Radiant

• Karnivool - Soundawake

• Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More

• Placebo - Battle For The Sun

Opeth (23/11/2009)

Opeth playing at the Enmore Theatre

Oh My Fucking God, I couldn't breathe. I simply couldn't breathe. Opeth rendered me absolutely breathless. I couldn’t breathe or speak or even think. For me not to be able to form words is pretty fucking impressive. I was mesmerised. They just blew me away from those first few seconds, and I was enthralled until we all started piling out of the theatre. Mournful guitar riffs, amazing bass, haunting solos and their trademark intricate harmonising melodies - and intertwined through it all was Mikael Åkerfeldt's gorgeous voice, both crooning to the crowd and gravelling growls just exploding from him. Heaven incarnate! I love their albums, but even that cant compare to Opeth live in full glory! I didn’t think they could get any better - boy was I wrong! The first song wasn’t even half way through, and I could already tell that it was the best gig I've ever been to. They played a selection of songs from across their back catalogue, and it was a range of sounds too. Opeth seems to have that contrast. Some of their songs are slow and dreamy, others are fast, wicked and brutal - and others switch back and forward through the styles.

It was a religious experience for me. Bewitching, beguiling, engaging, enthralling. I was already obsessed with Opeth, but now i would follow them to the ends of the earth to hear them one more time... Can anyone piggy back me to Melbourne and sneak me into the show? Mikael said that this is the last time they will be in Australia for some time. They have been touring for two years, so they are off back home to Sweden to rest and start on their new album, but they plan to come back when its finished. Its not soon enough! They need to come back next week!! Mikael has such a sense of humour too - he was quite jovial, cracking jokes and making comments between songs. Especially when the guy in front of me started flashing LOL When they had played their last song, the crowd started chanting "OPETH! OPETH! OPETH!" - it was rhythmic and rose to a crescendo... The lights were flashing in time to the crowd, and then peaked, orgasmed into silence... and then the crowd started singing it. Crooning their name... We all got into it, and eventually Opeth just walked back out on stage. Apparently it gave them goosebumps - it definitely gave them to me. Mikael promised just one last song, but before that, there were the solos... and god did they play well.... drum solos, guitar, bass... Fredrik Åkesson is a fucking genius on guitar!! Such speed and precision.... he took my breath away. And after that they played Hex...

+++

Me and the boys from Contrive

Contrive from Melbourne was the Support Act - and I loved them. I sort of didn’t know what to think at first, not what I had expected from listening to some of their tracks online. They seemed to have a few sounds - but they really got into it, and i loved their performance. You all know I'm a fan of The Racket - the metal and hard rock radio program on triple j - Andrew Haug, Contrive's drummer is the host of it. I met the guys after the show - they seem like such nice guys! I think I can tell the twins apart, but I wouldn’t swear that in a court of law ;-p Their new album was mixed by Devin Townsend, and Paul Haug filled in for Slayer's Tom Araya when he had laryngitis in Melbourne last month. That is pretty fucking impressive!

More pics to follow.
Blog posted from my mobile on the night:
Contrive supported Opeth
live from OPETH gig

Contrive supported Opeth

Sent from my mobile:

I got a photo with the boys from Contrive! They were hanging round out the front of the Enmore after the gig. The twins, Paul n Andrew Haug n Tim Stahlmann. Andrew is haugs from The Racket, the australian wide metal show on triple j radio.

live from OPETH gig

Sent from my mobile:

I'm sitting here enthralled... Opeth live is a religious experience n I'm lost for words.....

Australian Metal Awards 2009!

I went to the first ever Australian Metal Awards with my best friend Sami on Saturday. I have photos! Too many photos actually... I haven’t uploaded any of them yet... And have no idea when I will be doing that because I am going away for the weekend, tonight I have the VIP party at Galaxy, and tomorrow night I'm going shopping for a TV... Anyway, the gig part of the awards was fucking awesome! The awards part was disorganised and poorly planned.... They had the "stage" on the third story - where only the VIP could see anything... We had to go to the second story bar on the right of the building, and even then we couldn’t really see anything. I think if they had have regulated that part of the awards they would have been better. They also needed their microphones to be louder... People mostly kept drinking because we couldn’t hear what was being said.... So you cheered and wolf whistled and clapped when you heard the name of a winner you liked.... or just because everyone else was. Realistically, they should have blocked off the bar on the left and held it there... they had three bars in the public area, so this wouldn’t have been a problem. I think that is the biggest problem I had with the Awards. They had some technical difficulties with the big screen so they posted the intro video on YouTube...



We left before Sadistik Exekution played. They took ages and ages to come on stage... it may have been technical difficulties, but it wasn’t announced. We had to catch buses and trains home, so after like 45 minutes of waiting, we started walking to the bus stop... one of the band members came on stage and fiddled with his guitar for 5 minutes, but that is all I’ve ever seen of that band. I have a little rule of not buying band tshirts unless I’ve seen the band.... wonder what I do with my AMA SadEx shirt now? LOL luckily it’s already my sleep shirt LOL I bought an AMA 09 shirt for $35 - they are selling the leftovers for $10 now... I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT THE OUROBOROS SHIRT! ;D no drama... they are selling hoodies to apparently... I want one!

Okay, for the good stuff... we got there on time (missed the bloody door prize as we couldn’t find our bus grrr!) so we saw all the bands, excepting SadEx. The bands playing were: Sadistik Exekution, A Secret Death, Chaos Divine, Five Star Prison Cell, Eyefear, Death Audio, Bane of Isildur, Ouroboros. Of those I particularly wanted to see Ouroboros (seen ‘em before and loved it!) and Eyefear (who I had heard on JJJ and had planned to see at Abduction one nite but had a change of plans). I loved them!! I liked most of the bands actually... Bane of Isildur were great! Good Viking metal! it was great to see parents there... we shared our balcony with the band's mum and dad... these old conservative couple rocking out supporting their son... fantastic! And I loved the music too... mmm I think it was Eyefear (I need to check my photos) who had the lead singer with the hair that reached his ankles? Seriously, he looked like a ring wraith... it was awesome, and I was mesmerised.... and his voice was very unexpected... you know how sometimes you get a mental image when you hear a voice? Or you get a mental sound when you see a singer? Well it didn’t match LOL but it worked!! He slinked around that stage, his hair flying like a cape, and sung in his unexpected voice... plus, one of the band members had lights on his guitar/bass/whateverthefuck... fun times! Ouroboros were terrific!! Blew me away - again... love these guys... Also liked Death Audio, and other one... and god, one of the guys in one of the bands (gotta check my photos) was so fucking hot... seriously, looked like Jensen Ackles if he had been doing some good solid work for the last ten years.... nice and built! yumyum! There were a couple of hot guys there actually... not half as many as the All Hallows Eve Ball the weekend before (that was heaven for both boys and girls... discovered men look hot in corsets that weekend! LOL) but enough that I wasn’t bored... it was funny seeing the cross culture comparisons.... you had your guys with long fluffy blonde hair and demin vests, your staunch metal blokes with their band shirts and their beers, your Gothed up, your typical hardcore types... and the women were just as diverse. I guess most of the gigs I go to are one specific genre... like I might go to a death metal one night, and thrash the next... anyway, I digress... the highlight of my night was seeing Chaos Divine! Brilliant!! Loved them!! Decided on the spot I MUST buy their album.... (I couldn't find them at jbhi-fi last night *sigh*). And they won best album and best overall band! Oh, and Dave won best vocalist... I concur!! I wish they lived on this coast instead of Perth... wanna see them again! Oh, I found their fan page on facebook, and now Dave Anderton is my friend on facebook! Wacked! ;D

anyway, here are the winners... I'll post the photos next week....

Best Metal Fan/ Web/ Magazine:
Metal Obession.net

Most Popular Merch:
Psycroptic

Best Album Cover:
Psycroptic - (Ob)Servant

Best Band Name:
Psycroptic

Best Film Clip:
Psycroptic – “Initiate”

Best Producer / Recording Engineer:
Jarrad Hearman (Sing Sing Studios) – “Avalon” Chaos Divine

Best Drummer:
David Horgan – Ouroboros

Best Bass Player:
Michael Conti – Ouroboros,

Best Regional Band:
Alchemist

Best Youth Band:
Asphyxia

Best Export:
Psycroptic

Best Live Band:
Psycroptic

Best Guitarist:
Jimmy Lardner-Brown – Killrazer

Best Vocalist:
Dave Anderton – Chaos Divine

Best Keyboard Player:
Chris Stevenson - The Eternal

Best New Band:
Death Audio

Song of the Year:
“Refuse the Sickness” – Chaos Divine

Best Unsigned Band:
Ouroboros

Best Album:
“Avalon” – Chaos Divine

Overall Best Band 2009:
Chaos Divine



Congrats to all the winners... Well except Psycroptic because they were still in Bali, and they kept winning things... But weren't there LOL


I hope to see good things next year!! These awards have such potential!! (stupid 3rd story stage *sigh*) and I think it is a great thing for the aussie metal scene!! Bring it on!

Recommendations?

Do you have any recommendations for me? either gigs to catch in Sydney (or nearby), or bands/artists to check out? if so, can you comment here? thankee if you do!

Austrian Death Machine

Haha this band is terrific!!! if you love metal and have a sense of humour...





And my favourite:

opeth - a beacon through dark clouds

I just thought I would share this write up from The Enmore Theatre mailing list. Im going to see them at this gig already.. tis pretty... and so are they.. :D i am SOOOOO fucking excited... unless you are a major fangirl/boy about something, you couldnt understand how excited I am... its a total *squee* moment... one that has lasted since I found out they were coming to australia........... its gonna be a-fucking-mazing!



In a metal world starved for integrity, intelligence and beauty, Opeth shine like a beacon through dark clouds. They are artistic visionaries and their transcendent live shows have gone down in music folklore.

Combining towering blasts of blackened death metal with the intricacy of 1970s prog rock and the more subtle, gentle beauty of folk, Opeth continue to create epic and iconic music; inventing and reinventing the rules as they go along.

No wonder the metal world stops whatever it’s doing and pauses with bated breath each time the band announce an album or tour. In just over a decade and across nine studio albums, they have become the standard bearer for modern metal.

Opeth have reinforced their hold on the mantle of the most innovative, creative and revered heavy artist of recent times with the release of ‘Watershed’. These Swedes continue to venture where others couldn’t fathom and have returned with a treasure trove of songs that makes most so-called sonic adventurists seem positively one-dimensional. ‘Watershed’ picks up where 2005’s flawless ‘Ghost Reveries’ left off, beginning contemplatively before erupting into full-bore chaos…”it defies all expectations and moves in completely new and wholly unexpected direction”- Metal Underground

Brushstroke 6

This is my weekly update on my listening habbits and includes my two cents on music news, and a rundown on gigs I have been to. I have three main listening styles.... My music I listen to before going to bed (I have chronic insomnia, and I cant go to sleep without something playing), the music I listen to on Triple J, and the albums I listen to at other times - I normally by a new one every two weeks, which gets high rotation - for a while anyway... I also have music on my computer at work, for when my MP3 battery is charging. I go on about metal a lot, because that is where my passion lies, but I haven't been listening to that all that much lately... just because I mostly listen to the radio... Some of these songs will be repeated weekly - I dont change my MP3s much...

Night Tunes: Ani Difranco - Knuckledown

Day Tunes:
Albums:- Rise Against, Tool, Dredg, Opeth, Morbid Angel,
Loose MP3s:- Anima, Bertie Blackman, Deep Sea Arcade, Metric, Sarah Blasco, Yves Klein Blue, Boy and Bear, Mumford and Sons - basically all the ones I downloaded from the JJJ website this year LOL

Radio Tunes I've taken note of: "Little Lion Man" & "Thistle & Weeds" - Mumford And Sons , "The Number One Cause of Death" by The Basics, "Mexican Mavis" - Boy and Bear (its now a free download at triplej.net.au), "Down to the Cemetery" - Kid Sam, "Drumming Song" - Florence and the Machines, "Brushstroke: An Elephant in Delta Waves" - Dredg, Scarabs - Karnivool, "Prescilla" - Bat for Lashes, "Black Cats" - Bertie Blackman, "Here" - VAST, Tegan & Sara, Nine Inch Nails, and Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt.

CDs purchased: Opeth's Watershed... It broke my $10 rule, but I am seeing them in November, and its the only CD i didnt have... favourite band, so i guess it is justifiable to spend a bit more (??)LOL

Reflections:

• Im going to the All Hallows Eve Ball as part of the Under The Blue Moon festival tomorrow night... Its an awesome goth/alternate dark culture festival held in Newtown every year. Im going to the markets in the morning, and then the Ball that night... I'm not really familiar with the bands, but I looked up The Mansons on myspace last night and liked what I heard... Im really going for the fashionshow - but I think i will be appreciating the music too... I couldnt afford to buy an outfit, so I bought 6m of tulle and netting and i am handsewing a skirt tonight LOL Wish me luck...

• Im getting excited... Just ONE WEEK until the first EVER Australian Metal Awards!! And Sami is flying to Sydney to go with me! Fuck YEAH!

• Opeth is in a months time! I got my ticket in the mail w00t!

• Also, I went onto myspace and looked up mitch's band "Captain Twilight and the six-shooters" and i love their song "All I Can Do is Cry" - You can find it at http://www.myspace.com/capntwilight I've been friends with Mitch since I was 6, stood next to him in choir, watched him later as he got into entertaining with music and puppetry... If you are in Brisbane definately try and catch a gig.. I just wish I hadnt had to say no when he invited me to a gig last month... I had flown into Brisbane the night before, and I had an engagement party to attend in Toowoomba... Sucks...
  
  *the naming convention of this series is from Dredg's El Cielo album...

awesome month ahead...

I'm getting all excited... I have a BIG month ahead of me... heavenly!! exciting!! dreamy!! unforgettable!! [warning, some swearwords - i was excited LOL]

Under The Blue Moon festival in Newtown for Halloween - Im not sure if I can make it to the All Hallows Eve Ball, but I am definately going to the UTBM Markets during the day.. They also have an art show I want to check out, and there is a fashion show I have to check out.. I love Goth culture!! Im on the lookout for more clothes, as mine are starting to get ragged - im also looking for some new boots... I want some awesome ones, but they have to be flat, because my ankles are still fucked up from last year.. Wish me luck!

My best friend, Sami, is turing 25 next Thursday, so she decided she finally has to visit me in Sydney... So she is flying down on Wednesday and we are hanging out for a couple of days.. We are going to Taronga Zoo on Thursday, then she is coming to my bookclub that night (Its JR Ward night) and we are going shopping in all my favourit Goth shops on Friday and catching up with some mutual friends from our university days.. then on Saturday....

Saturday is Australia's first EVER Australian Metal Awards!!! Fuck yeah!! I was planning on going stag until we realised that it was Sami's birthday and she was visiting.. out of allllllllll my friends, she is the onlyone who likes metal enough, loves metal gigs, and will come and mosh with me AT metal gigs... Lillian and Linda came to see Ba'lakor in August, but it really wasnt their scene.. me and sami rock out... we either sit back with our bourbons (water if we were broke) taking it all in, or we cut sick on the dance floor.. Ive never had an occasion where we werent up for a good time... So I am SOOOOOOOO excited that sami will be there with me... I think living in townsville and having sami to go to gigs with me spoilt me... I hate going stag to gigs.. its the reason i am not content in sydney... because i have all this amazing metal, but i have no one to gig with.. *sigh* but i do that weekend, and we are gonna go off! We have so many amazing metal bands in Australia, such a big pub scene, but they mostly go under the radar.. the guys organising it are currently campaigning for Aria to have a metal and hardcore chart for the ARIAs chart/music awards... guys, if you are in Sydney that weekend, and you like metal, please come and support the scene! its REALLY important that we show a strong front to the ARIA peeps.... because the charts are full of pop crap, and we need agknowledgement for our music too!
Headline Act: Sadistik Exekution
Support Acts: Ouroboros, Death Audio, Five Star Prison Cell, Bane of Isildur, Killrazer, A Secret Death, Eyefear, Chaos Divine
Come if you are a metal head and in sydey!! and tell friends who may be interested.... More info here: www.australianmetal.com.au

Sadly, after the Metal Awards Sami has to go back to Townsville (maybe I should kidnap her?)... *sob* but...

OPETH IS COMING TO SYDNEY!! And I have a ticket!!!! so fucking stoked!!! this band is my favourite band of all time... like aboslute favourite... I couldnt afford to go... but both Maree and Sami offered to get me tickets because they realised how disappointed I was ((I cried LOL)) Anyway, i got a loan (I couldnt just take that much money..) from Maree, and bought the tickets before I flew to QLD for my brothers wedding... Contrive just announced they are a supporting act (I discovered them because I am a fan of The Racket on Triple J, and Haugs and his twin are members of the band) and I really like their sounds too... Im going by myself, but i really couldnt give a shit, because its to see OPETH!!!

I really want to see Karnivool next month too - I like the band a fair bit - probably my favourite aussie band at the moment... but I was fine with not seeing them because I've got a lot of gigs lined up lately (I bought my soundwave festival tickets for brisbane in feb too).. But I saw that Dredg has just been announced as a support act and now I want to cry. I am being sensible, but I dont want to BE sensible... Its DREDG! Who I have loved for years... and they arent an Aussie band, so I have no idea when they will be back.. *sigh*

And in further news, my best friend, here in Sydney is having a "Black Christmas" party in early december... think halloween party at christmas... its going to be a lot of fun... I havent been able to see her much this year, both because of health, life and money... So i'm so excited to catch up.... and seriously, every day should be halloween... not the "layers between the worlds thinner" halloween, but the "lets dress up in awesome clothes and have some morbid fun" halloween... oh wait, that is the crass commercialism that friend was derisive on on our favourite social networking site this week i like halloween, because all the things i would normally love to get my hands on are in normal shops... like last week, i was in a shop at my local westfield, and they had a human skelleton, except it was posed like a spider, with 8 skeletal legs... awesome!!

yes, im weird..


Anyway, getting distracted... back on track... I have some amazing weeks ahead... everything else may be meh, and i may not have much money, but i have a number of events I am getting REALLY excited about... So now i'm gonna go over into a corner and do some solo happy dancing instead of writting more shite...

Anyway, my happy happy joy joy news: Under The Blue Moon Festival for Halloween, my best friend visiting me, the Australian Metal Awards, OPETH!!, and having Halloween celebrations instead of Christmas... brilliant!

Brushstroke 5

This is my weekly update on my listening habbits and includes my two cents on music news, and a rundown on gigs I have been to. I have three main listening styles.... My music I listen to before going to bed (I have chronic insomnia, and I cant go to sleep without something playing), the music I listen to on Triple J, and the albums I listen to at other times - I normally by a new one every two weeks, which gets high rotation - for a while anyway... I also have music on my computer at work, for when my MP3 battery is charging. I go on about metal a lot, because that is where my passion lies, but I haven't been listening to that all that much lately... just because I mostly listen to the radio... Some of these songs will be repeated weekly - I dont change my MP3s much...

Night Tunes: 10 Years' The Autumn Effect.

Day Tunes:
Albums:- Rise Against, Tool, Dredg, Opeth, Morbid Angel, O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack.
Loose MP3s:- Anima, Bertie Blackman, Deep Sea Arcade, Metric, Sarah Blasco, Yves Klein Blue, Boy and Bear, Mumford and Sons - basically all the ones I downloaded from the JJJ website this year LOL

Radio Tunes I've taken note of: "Little Lion Man" & "Thistle & Weeds" - Mumford And Sons (I'm obsessed! nearly bought on wednesday night, but they had sold out..), "The Number One Cause of Death" by The Basics, "Mexican Mavis" - Boy and Bear (its now a free download at triplej.net.au), "Rusted from the rain" - Billy Talent, "Growing old is getting old" - Silversun pickups, Jeff Lang, "Down to the Cemetery" - Kid Sam.

CDs purchased: The soundtrack for O Brother Where Art Thou. I love this movie, and it is the kind of music I grew up on. I couldnt buy Mumford and Sons, and I was trying to think what I wanted to buy.... and this popped into my head... it was on sale, so i got it... I particularly love "O Death" by Ralph Stanley - gorgeous traditional piece.... his voice, the emotion he conveys and the control he has of it, is amazing.. I love most of the songs tho. Blame my mother for raising me on this style of music..

Reflections:

• Im getting excited... Just TWO WEEKS until the first EVER Australian Metal Awards!! And sami is flying to Sydney to go with me! Fuck YEAH!

• Opeth is in a months time! I got my ticket in the mail w00t!

*the naming convention of this series is from Dredg's El Cielo album...

Win a free VIP ticket to the Australian Metal Awards!

Just recieved this email from the organisers of Australian Metal Awards... pass it on if you know anyone interested!!

---

Do you live in Sydney, Canberra or surrounding areas?

Do you think you have what it takes to help sell a further 100 tickets to our show before the 30th of October?

If you have answered YES to all of the above then send us your name, location and a quick explanation on what you are prepared to do to win by 7pm TONIGHT! Five people with the most interesting and inventive ways of promoting our event will be selected.

So what are you waiting for? Send us the email now at info@australianmetal.com.au to enter.

The 2009 Australian Metal Awards
November 7th
The Forum
Entertainment Quarter
Moore Park, NSW

Tickets are only $45 + bf and are availble through Moshtix outlets and online at www.moshtix.com.au

Rise Against - Strength to go on

Welcome home
While away
They have tampered with the locks
And your things they rearranged

"We propose a better way"
Said the note they left behind
In their wake of disarray
You fell in place

Don't fall asleep
They'll find us here
I know a place to disappear
As a voice proclaimed

What we are is the sum of 1000 lies
What we know is almost nothing at all
But we are what we are until the day we die
Or until we don't have the strength to go on

Let us cry
Let us be
Let us open up our hearts
Without fear of anything

Faith alone
Is all we need
To traverse this burning bridge
Now before it gets too late
You said "it's fine"

But the heart reveals
What smiles betray
Your sad sad eyes gave you away
Don't you know

What we are is the sum of 1000 lies
What we know is almost nothing at all
But we are what we are until the day we die
Or until we don't have the strength to go on

Our shoulders bear an awful weight
But still we trudge on just the same
These colors run then leave a stain
They blacken our once honest name
But how can we argue, tell me
Over the fury and the fire
How many times can we tell you that we
Are not like you, we see right through
Your poor disguise that fails to fool
The wary eye that is trained on you

What we are is the sum of 1000 lies
What we know is almost nothing at all
But we are what we are until the day we die
Or until we don't have the strength to go on

Brushstroke 4

This is my weekly update on my listening habbits and includes my two cents on music news, and a rundown on gigs I have been to. I have three main listening styles.... My music I listen to before going to bed (I have chronic insomnia, and I cant go to sleep without something playing), the music I listen to on Triple J, and the albums I listen to at other times - I normally by a new one every two weeks, which gets high rotation - for a while anyway... I also have music on my computer at work, for when my MP3 battery is charging. I go on about metal a lot, because that is where my passion lies, but I haven't been listening to that all that much lately... just because I mostly listen to the radio... Some of these songs will be repeated weekly - I dont change my MP3s much...

Night Tunes: 10 Years' The Autumn Effect. Ani diFranco's Knuckledown, Tool's Lateralus.

Day Tunes:
Albums:- Disturbed, Led Zeppelin, Gossip, Rise Against, Tool, Dredg, Ihshan, Karnivool, VAST, Opeth, Morbid Angel, Butterfingers, The Butterfly Effect, Battle Metal VI
Loose MP3s:- Anima, Bertie Blackman, Deep Sea Arcade, Metric, Sarah Blasco, Yves Klein Blue - basically all the ones I downloaded from the JJJ website this year LOL

Radio Tunes I've taken note of: "Little Lion Man" & "Thistle & Weeds" - Mumford And Sons (I'm obsessed! must buy..), "The Number One Cause of Death" by The Basics, "The Gate" - Butcher Birds (Bris band on Unearthed), "Mexican Mavis" - Boy and Bear, "The Space on the Wall" - Dead Letter Circus, "Evening on the ground" - Iron & Wine

CDs purchased: Best of Delerium - such a waste of money! I love Silence, and i know i have liked others of their songs..... I bought it home, listened to it, and was ready to cry because i bought it and put Alexisonfire back on the shelf... I already have the Silence single - with four different AWESOME versions of the song. And its the only song on this cd i love... I like it when they have a more cultural feel to it, but unfortuately, this cd reminds me of 90s UK pop... (I nearly typed pap - should have kept the A... cos it is). Aside from Silence, the other one i like is Terra Firma.. Does anyone want to buy it off me? I spent $18AU and would sell it for $10...

Reflections:

• The made the second announcement for Soundwave!! Placebo!! And Anthrax and Shinedown.. Fun times!

• Im getting excited... Just TWO WEEKS until the first EVER Australian Metal Awards!! And sami is flying to Sydney to go with me! Fuck YEAH!

• Opeth is in a months time! I got my ticket in the mail w00t!

• I've decided I HAVE to buy Mumford and Sons... I looked last week, because they have been around for a few years, I assumed they would have a back catelouge... turns out that "Sigh No More" is their debut... Im breaking my $10 rule for this one...Its being featured on Triple J this week, and every time i hear one of their songs i realise how much i love their music..

*the naming convention of this series is from Dredg's El Cielo album...

Second Soundwave Lineup Announcement!

The second round of artists for Soundwave 2010:

PLACEBO
ANTHRAX
MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK
SHINEDOWN
SET YOUR GOALS
ENTER SHIKARI
CLOSURE IN MOSCOW




I'm SOOOOOO excited!! I get to see Placebo live! *hyperventilates* And Anthrax if it doesnt clash with my other choices! Also plan to see Shinedown if it doesnt clash with my other bands... My friend April is obsessed, and she sent me links to their music before, and I remember liking it LOLWant to see Anthrax if it doesnt clash... And I know Bubbles (aka Colin) is excited about seeing them so i would have someone to mosh with :)

Brushstroke 3

This is my weekly update on my listening habbits and includes my two cents on music news, and a rundown on gigs I have been to. I have three main listening styles.... My music I listen to before going to bed (I have chronic insomnia, and I cant go to sleep without something playing), the music I listen to on Triple J, and the albums I listen to at other times - I normally by a new one every two weeks, which gets high rotation - for a while anyway... I also have music on my computer at work, for when my MP3 battery is charging. I go on about metal a lot, because that is where my passion lies, but I haven't been listening to that all that much lately... just because I mostly listen to the radio... Some of these songs will be repeated weekly - I dont change my MP3s much...

Night Tunes: I made a cd of all my favourite Radiohead songs so this is mostly what I have been playing each night... Also been playing Ani diFranco's Knuckledown

Day Tunes:
Albums:- Gossip, Rise Against, Tool, Dredg, Ihshan, Karnivool, Tori Amos, Live, VAST, Battle Metal VI
Loose MP3s:- Anima, Bertie Blackman, Deep Sea Arcade, Metric, Sarah Blasco, Yves Klein Blue - basically all the ones I downloaded from the JJJ website this year LOL

Radio Tunes I've taken note of: "Little Lion Man" - Mumford And Sons (I'm obsessed! must buy..), "The Start of War" - Claire Bowditch and the Feeding Set (still... very addictive..), "Rusted For The Rain" Billy Talent, "With This Ship" and "The Number One Cause" by The Basics, Volcano Fire, Holy Ghost and Vast... Oh, and Johnny Cash and his cover of NIN's Hurt - I still swear its the best cover ever...

CDs purchased: n/a (dosh went to holiday funds instead)

Reflections:

• I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO freaking excited!!! I just bought a ticket to see Opeth next month!!!! *hyperventilates* They are my favourite band and I havent been able to hit a gig of theirs before... The fact that I get to go... wow.... And its all because I wailed on facebook that I couldnt afford to go.. One of my friends is my fairy godmother (and another wanted to be) and lent me the dosh until after the wedding...

• I got my Soundwave Festival ticket in the mail this week!! Oooh SHINY!!!

• I wont be updating this series next week. Im visiting the family for a week - as my brother is getting married next friday. Im offline until then, and Im trying hard not to buy cds etc..all the money is going towards a kickarse holiday! (hopefully! I still have to organise my outfit for the party tomorrow night.. going as Anita Blake who is one kickarse female! and I still need to plan my outfit for my bros wedding... hopefully will have enough dosh after that to do some frivilerous spending..

*the naming convention of this series is from Dredg's El Cielo album...

Australian Metal Awards announcment: arias + screamfest

Excert from an Australian Metal Awards email I just recieved:

There are only 2 days left for the Screamfest competition. Anyone who purchases a presale ticket to the 2009 Australian Metal Awards before the 30th of September will go in the running to win 2 free tickets to the massive New Years Eve heavy metal festival "Screamfest". Tickets to the 2009 Australian Metal Awards are only $45 + bf through Moshtix outlets or online at www.moshtix.com.au. Get your tickets in the next two days to win.

We at The Association for Australian Heavy Metal have been working hard behind the scenes to push ARIA to recognise the heavy metal and hardcore music as legitimate genres and begin a "Heavy Metal/ Hardcore" chart for Australia. So far we have passed the first round of the ARIA board and conditionally passed the ARIA Chart Committee. We now need your assistance in getting this through, members of the ARIA Board and Chart Committee will be attending the 2009 Australian Metal Awards show to see just how big heavy metal in this country truely is. This is where you come in. By coming to the 2009 Australian Metal Awards show on the 7th of November at the Forum (Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park, NSW) not only will you see performances by 8 great Australian heavy metal bands as well as a 1 off special guest performance by the legendery extreme heavy metal act Sadistik Exekution, you will also be doing your part to push ARIA to recognise heavy metal in this country.

Doors for the 2009 Australian Metal Awards open at 5pm and the first 20 people through the door will receive an Australian metal pack including:
CD's
Merch
Discount vouchers
+ other giveaways

^pretend I didnt mention the door prize, because I want it for myself!!

Brushstroke 2

This is my weekly update on my listening habbits and includes my two cents on music news, and a rundown on gigs I have been to. I have three main listening styles.... My music I listen to before going to bed (I have chronic insomnia, and I cant go to sleep without something playing), the music I listen to on Triple J, and the albums I listen to at other times - I normally by a new one every two weeks, which gets high rotation - for a while anyway... I also have music on my computer at work, for when my MP3 battery is charging. I go on about metal a lot, because that is where my passion lies, but I haven't been listening to that all that much lately... just because I mostly listen to the radio... Some of these songs will be repeated weekly - I dont change my MP3s much...

Night Tunes: I made a cd of all my favourite Radiohead songs so this is mostly what I have been playing each night... Also been playing the 300, Twilight and Juno soundtracks and one of my NIN albums.

Day Tunes:
Albums:- Gossip, Rise Against, Tool, Dredg, Ihshan, Karnivool, Tori Amos
Loose MP3s:- Anima, Bertie Blackman, Deep Sea Arcade, Metric, Sarah Blasco, Yves Klein Blue - basically all the ones I downloaded from the JJJ website this year LOL

Radio Tunes I've taken note of: "Little Lion Man" - Mumford And Sons (I'm obsessed! must buy..), "The Start of War" - Claire Bowditch and the Feeding Set (still... very addictive..), "This is your life" - Dust Brothers, "Rusted For The Rain" Billy Talent, "With This Ship" and "The Number One Cause" by The Basics, "Tree Bones" - Port O'Brien, "No Need For Lovers" - Sugar Army etc. I've also been interested in Monsters of Folk, Mary Jane Kelly, The Creepshow and Paprika Balkanicus and need to investigate their music more...

CDs purchased: n/a (I'm broke)

Reflections:

• Ari and David have made some suggestions for some bands to check out at Soundwave in febuary... Of those suggestions, I really liked what I heard of The Creepshow and It Dies Today. I would welcome any other suggestions people have :)

• I'm going to see Fame tonight with the girls. I love musicals, but I have no idea what this one is going to be like... (my musicals tend to be in technicolour LOL bring it fred!) It looks like it will either be a fun movie, or just plain cheesy... I guess we find out! I still havent been to see (500) Days of Summer - I won tickets through Triple J, but then it was cancelled... the soundtrack is awesome, and i will probably still check it out - I do love Zooey Dreschenel.... anyway, mentioning that here cos the soundtrack is great...

*the naming convention of this series is from Dredg's El Cielo album...

What bands should I see at the Soundwave Festival?

I bought my ticket to Soundwave on Friday!! And now I am brainstorming on who I want to see... I need to do some myspacing to listen to all their sounds, because I am mostly familiar with the metal, and I know a lot of my mates are more into the punk.. I've heard most of what is played on Triple J, but I don’t always remember the names of the bands LOL So I know there are some here I do like, but I don’t remember I like them LOL

Anyway, here is the bands playing:

• Faith No More
• My Chemical Romance
• Janes Addiction
• AFI
• Paramore
• HIM
• Alexisonfire
• Taking Back Sunday
• Trivium
• Sunny Day Real Estate
• Eagles of Death Metal
• The Get Up Kids
• Reel Big Fish
• Meshuggah
• All Time Low
• A Day To Remember
• It Dies Today
• Escape The Fate
• Clutch
• Anti Flag
• Isis
• Gallows
• A Wilhelm Scream
• The Weakerthans
• Emarosa
• Anvil
• The Devil Wears Prada
• Comeback Kid
• The Almost
• Dance Gavin Dance
• Four Year Strong
• You Me At Six
• Whitechapel
• The Aquabats
• Rolo Tomassi
• Baroness
• RX Bandits
• Maxium The Hormone
• The Creepshow

The bands I particularly want to see are: Alexisonfire, Isis, Meshuggah, Trivium, Janes Addiction and maybe Faith No More. I'm open to seeing most other bands.... So of the people going to Soundwave, who wants to see which bands? And are there bands here that you think i would love, but haven’t really heard before? Just a warning, I’m not really into Emo bands like Paramore, MCR or AFI.... LOL

Anyway, can you let me know if you are going, and what bands you want to see?


Update: After talking to one of my friends I think I wanna see The Creepshow........ they sound great!! you know me and chick lead singers LOL Another of my friends suggested It Dies Today and I also liked what I heard of theirs on last.fm :) So they will definitely be some bands I wouldn’t mind checking out if I have time..




SO WHAT BANDS WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO SEE?

Tool - Right In Two

Angels on the sideline,
Puzzled and amused.
Why did Father give these humans free will?
Now they're all confused.

Don't these talking monkeys know that
Eden has enough to go around?
Plenty in this holy garden, silly monkeys,
where there's one you're bound to divide it

Right in two

Angels on the sideline,
Baffled and confused.
Father blessed them all with reason.
And this is what they choose.
(and this is what they choose)
Monkey killing monkey killing monkey
Over pieces of the ground.

Silly monkeys give them thumbs,
They forge a blade,
And where there's one they're
bound to divide it,

Right in two.
Right in two.

Monkey killing monkey killing monkey
Over pieces of the ground.
Silly monkeys give them thumbs, they make a club
And beat their brother down.

How they survive so misguided is a mystery.
Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability
to lift an eye to heaven conscious of his fleeting time here.

cut it, divide it all right in two (x4)


They fight, till they die
Over earth, over sky
They fight
Over lies, over blood, over air
And light, over love, over son
Over blood
They fight, till they die, over what? for our lies!

Angels on the sideline again
Benched along with patience and reason
Angels on the sideline again
Wondering when this tug of war will end

cut it, divide it all right in two (x3)
Right in two

Right in two...

Brushstroke 1

So I thought that I might do a weekly blurb on what I've been listening to.. I have three main listening styles.... My music I listen to before going to bed (I have chronic insomnia, and I cant go to sleep without something playing), the music I listen to on Triple J, and the albums I listen to at other times - I normally by a new one every two weeks, which gets high rotation - for a while anyway... I also have music on my computer at work, for when my MP3 battery is charging. I go on about metal a lot, because that is where my passion lies, but I haven't been listening to that all that much lately... just because I mostly listen to the radio...

Night Tunes: I made a cd of all my favourite Radiohead songs so this is mostly what I have been playing each night... Also been playing some Sigur Ros and Goyte.

Day Tunes:
Alums:- Gossip, Rise Against, Tool, Dredg, Ihshan, Karnivool, Tori Amos
Loose MP3s:- Anima, Bertie Blackman, Deep Sea Arcade, Metric, Sarah Blasco, Yves Klein Blue - basically all the ones I downloaded from the JJJ website this year LOL

Radio Tunes I've taken note of: "Goreki" - Lamb, "Simple Things" - Seth Sentry, "The Start of War" - Claire Bowditch and the Feeding Set (its been stuck in my head all week! yeay, they are playing it again as I type!! that’s twice today *sigh*), "Dominoes" The Big Pink, "Its nice to know you work alone" - Silversun Pickups, "Little Lion Man" - Mumford And Sons etc

CDs purchased: n/a (I'm broke)

Reflections:

• I've been watching season three of Skins (my DVD purchase this week), and I'm really loving the music... Some of the songs I recognised, some I didn’t. I think I’ll be doing a search to find out the track listing..

• My friend Aaron Symonds played at The Basement this week!!! And it was awesome.... the club has a fairly big rep, so I was surprised how absolutely miniscule the backstage section is! seriously, its the size of a walk-in wardrobe... Awesome tho - its got street press posters and graffiti covering all the walls..... The club itself is a lot of fun.. posters tastefully covering the walls, great lighting... its such a small place, but has such heart... The showcase was Soundsalive and most of the performers were part of the Singer Songwriters comp of a few months ago (I missed that one - I was at the Bald Stag seeing Ba'lakor etc that night..). Its a TV show on TVS and Aaron was a finalist or something (I'm not sure if they had just one winner, or runners up or whatever.. I'd been doing tequila shots when Richelle invited me to that gig...). Anyway, there were six acts, and Aaron was on third. The first was fun - Nathan McKenna’s Hermione song was fucking hilarious!! Lets just say, it had adult themes LMAO I need to see if he has a myspace... After Aaron there was this girl, Naomi Merciai who I really liked... But, and I’m not being biased because he is my friend, and going out with one of my favourite people, but I think Aaron really outshone them. Maybe because he has done a lot of live gigs, but he really has stage presence, his songs are tight, he has the right amount of chatter between songs, his guitar playing is solid and he engages the audience. Plus his songs are awesome... he needs to hurry up and cut a cd, because I always get Angels stuck in my head for days after I hear him play it!! This time he did a flamenco introduction. I wasn’t aware that he had professional flamenco training!! Awesome, you all know how much I love flamenco!! god I love guitar!! He also played a new song he had just written, which was gorgeous. I wish the Strawberry Hills still let him run the Jam Nite.. that was always a lot of fun… I told Richelle if he has more gigs, and she wants someone to hang with, to let me know… I miss catching live gigs…………. And hanging out at pubs… and I never see Richelle anymore LOL isn't it funny how we get so wrapped up in our lives, but when asked what we have been up to all we can say is “not much”…

• They are playing the new Muse album, The Resistance, on Triple J this week... as they did last week... I just think it is overkill... I still cant tell if I like it or not.. I hate “United States of Eurasia” as it sounds too much like Queen, and grates every time I hear it. They do have one song I think I like, but the rest is just so... I don’t know, I just know that if Triple J hadn’t been pushing it the last two weeks, I wouldn’t have too big of a problem with it. But last week, they were doing a pre-release showcase where they would play a new song each day, then they played the whole thing later that week. I thought, yeay, now I can have some peace... until I found out that its this week's feature album! WTF!?! So my sigh of relief turned into a groan, and I am getting PO'd every time they play a song... Seriously, THERE IS SUCH A THING AS OVEREXPOSURE!! Cant wait for next week, just so there is a new artist to listen to...

• I bought my Soundwave tix this morning!!! So freaking excited! I'm flying up to Brisbane in February to attend... Lillian is bussing down from Toowoomba, and Sami, Tara and Bubbles (AKA Colin) are flying down from Townsville.. Ari and Rat have also said they are likely to be going, so should be able to catch up with them too. I wish Lindy could be there, but the tickets are $164, so I can understand that... Its gonna be freaking awesome!!! plus, I miss Sami... she is flying down in Nov for the Australian Metal Awards, and it will be brilliant, but I miss hanging out all the time. and she is my only friend who likes the same sort of music events as me.. we have to same style of music appreciation LOL so this will be brill!

*the naming convention of this series is from Dredg's El Cielo album...

music survey

1. What are you listening to right now?
Young Cardinals - Alexisonfire

2. Your favorite band/artist of all time?
Opeth

3. The band or artist you hate the most?
Britney Spears - i know thats a cop out, but i dont listen to music i dont like, so i cant think of any other artists LOL

4. Your last musical discovery?
The Gossip

5. Best feminine voice?
Bjork or Tori Amos

6. Best masculine voice?
Mikael Åkerfeldt followed by Maynard James Keenan

7. What is the musical genre you listen to the most?
Metal --> Death Metal --> Melodic Death Metal

8. Last concert/festival you went to?
Ba'lakor, Dreadnaught, Switchblade, Darker Half and From Winters Grace - played at the Bald Face Stag last month.

9. The last VERY famous band or artist seen live?
Morbid Angel

10. The band or artist you listen to the most?
Opeth

11. What is the worst song in the world?
the popcorn song

12. A band or artist you think the world should love as much as you do?
Opeth or Sigur Ros

13. The coolest music video?
The whole of Lateralus played in a row.... Tool is amazing... the whole thing is claymation, and all the clips sync and create this long narration..

14. Which song makes you sad?
lots of them.. music moves me

15. What do you listen to, to feel bouncy and happy?
metal

16. What do you listen to when you need to relax?
metal

17. A song that makes you think?
a lot of stuff by heaven shall burn, tool, ani difranco and rise against.

18. What is the perfect song for a love night?
opeth, maybe sigur ros

19. Can you play a musical instrument?
no *sigh*

20. Which musical instrument do you dream of learning how to play?
guitar or drums

21. Do you play in a band? If yes, which kind of music and what is your part in the band?
no..

22. Did you ever go out with a musician?
no... had flirtations tho ;)

23. And what song are you listening to right now?
Misanthrope - Ihshan

24. What do you think of classical music?
I like some of it. And I love how classical is woven into a lot of melodic death metal..

25. What do you think of French Variety?
no idea

26. What do you think of death metal?
its heaven!

27. Are you a fangirl?
totally

28. Do you listen to music in other language than English?
yes.. quite a lot of it.

29. The best band or artist in your town or near around?
this is a hard one.. i live in sydney now... we have a lot of fantastic bands!

30. If you were a musical instrument, which would you like to be?
Guitar... have you seen Alexi Laiho play? <3

31. Do you listen to the radio? Which one is your favorite?
Yes, and I listen to triple j

32. Do you watch music TV?
rage on abc

33. Do you follow the charts?
hells no! not the mainstream... i listen to music on triple j tho..

34. Have you ever met a famous musician?
it depends how you define famous...

35. The song that could describe your mood and feelings at the moment?
same ol' road - dredg

36. The song that could describe your life?
winter - tori amos

37. Do you know the name of the people in the bands you listen to?
sometimes

38. Does physical appearance influence your musical choice?
no... but i have to say, a hot lead, or a buff nuff guitarist sure doesnt hurt my eyes at a metal gig ;)

39. Favorite Original Soundtrack?
the crow or 300

40. And RIGHT NOW? What are you listening to?
Sewn & Silent - Karnivool

41. Do you wear t-shirts or anything else of your favorite bands or artist?
yep.. at the moment its a morbid angel one i picked up a few months ago

42. What do you think of people who do that?
metal is awesome... i keep my eyes out for guys wearing metal shirts... its a sense of idenity..

43. Which song did you have in mind all day today?
bird of prey - bertie blackman

44. Do you sing in the shower? If yes, what? If not, why?
no. i have housemates. i do sing in the car tho...

45. To which musical culture to you think you belong to?
metalheads are my people

46. What is in your MP3 walkman at the moment?
opeth, morbid angel, heaven shall burn, tool, rise against, karnivool, dredg, the gossip and a random selection of mp3s

47. Which importance have the musical taste of your boy/girlfriend? Friends?
extremely important

48. Hanson moves in next to your house, do you go introduce yourself or make everything impossible so they want to move somewhere else?
as a 13/14 year old I would have jumped Tay LOL now i would just thing, "huh", and keep on going... although I would probably work it so i could introduce my friend to them.. as she is still hooked after 10 years LOL

49. Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll, is that your thing?
rock n roll... actually, metal all the way, but you know, its the same mentality.. LOL

50. Do you sing on the toilet?
wtf? do people do this? bahahaha

The Do - On My Shoulders

The Do - On My Shoulders

Why would I carry such a weight on my shoulders
Why do I always help you carry your boulders
You wonder why I carry such a weight on my shoulders
And why would I tttts such a load

‘Cause someday you’ll see
Next time I’ll try it another way
Why would you try to make me friends with them soldiers
When you know that I’ve never been familiar with orders
When you know that my heart is in a pretty disorder
And you should know that in my heart you fill every corner

And someday you’ll see that all I want is to please
Next time I’ll try it another way

How long will I sit and wait like a soldier
How many summers will it take
How many summers will I wait
How many shoulders will I break

Why would I carry such a weight on my shoulders
Why am I always by your side when you’re down
Why did I help you build a beautiful house
And why did I break my back for you in the cold

‘Cause someday you’ll see
Next time I’ll try it another way

Why would I have to quit if time makes me older
Why do they wonder why I never get bored
How could I tell them that I’ll never let go
But hey, you’re my man but they just won’t understand

‘Cause someday you’ll see
Next time I’ll try it another way

How long will I sit and wait like a soldier
How many summers will it take
How many summers will I wait
How many shoulders will I break

Why would I carry such a weight on my shoulders
Why do I always help you carry your boulders
You wonder why I carry such a weight On My Shoulders
And why would I tttts such a load

‘Cause someday you’ll see
Next time I’ll try it another way
How long will I sit and wait on that boulder
How many summers will I wait

Soundwave 2010

So Im pissed off. I am REALLY looking forward to the Soundwave Festival. My Sydney friends dont like the same (heavier) music as I do.. But my Queensland friends do, so I am heading to the BrizVegas leg of the festival. Sami and Bubbles are flying down from Townsville (fucking awesome and rocking my world), Lillian is coming from Toowoomba, and I will probably be catching up with some awesome people I havent seen since highschool. Today the Early Bird tickets went on sale for Brisbane, and I was waiting for an email... which never came. My profile says I live in Syd, but want to attend the Brisbane gig, so I dont know how they suss out who to email for which. If you live in Coffs Harbour, would they send you the email f0r Syd or Briz? If another city (perth, melb etc) had have gone on sale first, I could have changed my settings, but now its too late (uproar on the forums LOL a lot of people didnt get an email at all..) They have so many bugs on their website, and they never specified this, so i just assumed everyone would get a mass email. But they didnt, and i missed out. I just recieved my email notification about the Sydney EB tickets.... Which I am obviously unable to use. So instead I will have to pay $150 something instead of $120 something... the other problem is, I have a visa debit which I only use for this type of purchase - which means I now have to wait til my payday until I can put cash on it to buy my ticket... I tell ya, its all fucked up! if i miss out on getting a ticket (all the early bird tickets were sold out, which makes me wonder how fast the full price tix will sell) I will be so fucking enraged... i may actually be speechless.....

Bands I am particularly looking forward to seeing: Isis, Trivium, Meshuggah, Alexisonfire, Janes Addiction, Faith No More. I will need to do some research to find out which of the rest I really want to see.... bones on to see Isis, Alexisonfire and Trivium...

The 2010 Soundwave Line Up

• Faith No More
• My Chemical Romance
• Janes Addiction
• AFI
• Paramore
• HIM
• Alexisonfire
• Taking Back Sunday
• Trivium
• Sunny Day Real Estate
• Eagles of Death Metal
• The Get Up Kids
• Reel Big Fish
• Meshuggah
• All Time Low
• A Day To Remember
• It Dies Today
• Escape The Fate
• Clutch
• Anti Flag
• Isis
• Gallows
• A Wilhelm Scream
• The Weakerthans
• Emarosa
• Anvil
• The Devil Wears Prada
• Comeback Kid
• The Almost
• Dance Gavin Dance
• Four Year Strong
• You Me At Six
• Whitechapel
• The Aquabats
• Rolo Tomassi
• Baroness
• RX Bandits
• Maxium The Hormone
• The Creepshow

VENUES AND DATES

SATURDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2010 - BRISBANE, RNA SHOWGROUNDS
SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2010 - SYDNEY, EASTERN CREEK RACEWAY
FRIDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2010 - MELBOURNE, SHOWGROUNDS
SATURDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2010 - ADELAIDE, BONYTHON PARK
MONDAY 1 MARCH 2010 - PERTH, STEEL BLUE OVAL

*Venues and lineup subject to change

youtube: my electic music playlist

Music Survey

Favourites


What is your favourite genre of music?
Metal

Why?
It makes me feel alive.

Name your favourite band(s)
Opeth, Morbid Angel, Heaven Shall Burn

Name your favourite solo artist(s)
Ani Difranco, Jeff Buckley, Tori Amos

What is your favourite album?
I couldn’t tell you… I have too many..

What is your favourite album cover?
Tool always has the best artwork..

Name your favourite song(s)
way too many… by opeth, tool and tori amos..

Favourite CD you own
um…….. Do you KNOW how many cds I own?

Favourite song on your computer
Anima - So Confused

Favourite song you DON'T have
way too many… um at the moment, maybe Daniel by Bat for Lashes..

Favourite lyrics
Winter - Tori Amos

Favourite vocalist
Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) but also Maynard (Tool) and Trent Reznor (NIN)

Favourite guitarist
Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom - the man is the Guitar God! Lord of Shredding!)

Favourite bassist
Dave Vincent (Morbid Angel)

Favourite drummer
Pete Sandoval (Morbid Angel)

Favourite instrumentalist (any instrument not mentioned above)
Dredg (they do a lot of instrumentals)

Favourite classical / jazz composer
I'm not sure… I'm sure I have one LOL

Favourite rapper
Ozi Batla, Urthboy and Phrase (check out Aussie Hiphop - its quite distinctive..)

Favourite theatrical score
300

Favourite of anything not mentioned
everything! Eastern music, dammit! What about Azam Ali, or Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan etc




The bad stuff


What's your least favourite genre of music?
cheesey pop rock on mainstream radio, american rap.

Who's your least favourite band?
too many pop rock bands on mainstream radio to choose just one..

Who's your least favourite solo artist?
Britney Spears

Who do you think is the most annoying musician?
Britney Spears

If you could shoot any "artist" or "band", who would it be?
Britney Spears

Who do you think is the least talented?
Britney Spears

Least favourite song
um…

Most annoying song
um…

Most repetitive song
um…

Last song to be stuck in your head
funky chicken

Did this survey just get that song stuck in your head again? (sorry)
yes

Worst band that used to be good?
silverchair

A good band that used to suck?
lots!




Your musical background


What was the first music you remember listening to?
The Beatles and Slim Dusty

What type of music do your parents listen to?
Dad listens to The Beatles and Leo Sayer - mum listens to everything… country, rock, pop, metal etc

Do you play any musical instruments, or sing? If so, elaborate.
I used to sing in choir and musicals but lost my talent..

Do you take lessons for instruments or voice? If so, for how long?
never

Do you plan to / have you gone to college for music?
never

Who are your musical inspirations?
ani difranco, tori amos, the chickies from metal bands like kittie, otep, lacuna coil

Who was your first favourite band or artist?
the corrs

Who is your most recent favourite band or artist?
rise against

What styles of music are you interested in learning about?
metal, punk, indie, post rock, eastern, etc

What styles of music do you already know a lot about?
all of them!

Do you know much about musical theory? If not, would you like to?
not much. Most of what I know is instinctive

If you take lessons, do you like your teacher(s)?
n/a

How many different music teachers do you have, or have you had?
about 4 or 5 at school, and about 3 or 4 choir leader people outside of school. But I didn’t get given lessons, it was all instinctive.. I learnt instinctively to read music from singing hymns at church growing up, but I can't really read music properly..




This or that


Classical or jazz?
Jazz

Classic rock or modern rock?
both! Um, probably modern

Rock or Rap?
rock, although I love aussie hiphop acts

Emo or Punk?
punk!

Funk or Blues?
blues

Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin?
I have to choose?!? Um……..

Bob Marley or Michael Franti?
Bob Marley

Coldplay or Radiohead?
Radiohead

Guster or Dispatch?
???

John Mayer or Jack Johnson?
Jack Johnson

Eminem or 50 Cent?
Eminem

Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera?
Christina

Backstreet Boys or N'SYNC?
Backstreet Boys… I used to be a teenage girl LOL

The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?
The Beatles

Beethoven or Mozart?
Beethoven

Rachmaninoff or Debussy?
Debussy

Duke Ellington or Count Basie?
??

Electric or acoustic?
both.. I love accoustic… but electric gets me going… it depends on my mindset, but I love both equally.

Mandolin or ukulele?
mandolin

Saxophone or trumpet?
sax




Miscellaneous


Why do you like music?
this question is too basic. Music makes me feel alive, it makes me feel, its beautiful, relaxing, energising, the lyrics can be funny, amsuing, sad, melencholic, angry, political, random and fun…. I love dancing, singing, and kicking back and listening to tunes... music is a constant in my life, despite the fact I dont make any myself. i just love it..

When you're angry, what type of music do you listen to?
um metal? But I listen to it all the time.. So it doesn’t mean anything..

Has music ever made you cry? When?
live concert… when its just electric, giving you goosebumps, a vocal rising above…. Its nearly a religion… this especially is apparent with a cappella…. Just a hauntingly eerie voice raised to the heavens… im giving myself shivers just thinking of it..

Has music ever made you laugh? When?
hell yeah! Continually… sometimes its because its so pathetic… others is when there are funny lyrics or its satire… butterfingers anyone?

Do you like local music?
I love local music. Most of the live acts I see are local.

What is the best show you have ever been to?
morbid angel was amazing… but I had more fun seeing Prey, Melodyssey and Cog with Sami

Have you ever played in any shows?
I used to do musicals and choir, but that doesn’t really count

If so, what type of music was it?
musicals and choirs - show tunes, pop music, hymns, musicals

Do you enjoy being on stage?
no

Do you like to sing, even if you don't consider yourself a singer?
yes! I wish I had my own house so I could sing my little heart out!

If you could meet any musician and ask them for advice, who would it be?
I don't really have any advice I want…

If you could just chill with any musician, who would it be?
Alexi Laiho and Mikael Åkerfeldt are hot and brilliant artists, Ani difranco and Tori Amos are amazing women, and I would also bring Jeff Buckley back from the dead..

What instrument that you don't play now would you like to learn next?
all of them! No, either guitar or drums

Do you like foreign types of music? If so, what types?
yes. Too many to number… celtic, bollywood & hindi, middle eastern, throat singers, lots of folk music, andean music etc

Last.FM top 10 survey

Without looking at the questions below, list your top 10 favorite artists according to Last.fm

1 Tool
2 Tori Amos
3 The Butterfly Effect
4 Slipknot
5 System of a Down
6 Morbid Angel
7 Stabbing Westward
8 Opeth
9 The Cure
10 Tenacious D



Answer the following questions.

Q: What was the first song you ever heard by #2?
A: I have absolutely no idea... probably Forty-Six & 2 or Eulogy or something

Q: What is your favorite album of #6?
A: Gateways To Annihilation

Q: What is your favorite Lyric of #8?
A: um.. maybe "Windowpane"

Blank face in the windowpane
Made clear in seconds of light
Disappears and returns again
Counting hours, searching the night

Might be waiting for someone
Might be there for us to see
Might be in need of talking
Might be staring directly at me

Inside plays a lullaby
Slurred voice over children cries
On the inside

Haunting loneliness in the eye
Skin covering a secret scar
His hand is waving a goodbye
There's no response or action returned

There is deep prejudice in me
Outshines all reason inside
Given dreams all ridden with pain
And projected unto the last

Q: What is your favorite song by #9?
A: The Last Day of Summer

Q: Is there a song of #1 that makes you sad?
A: maybe? I cant think of one.... mostly introspective...

Q: What is your favorite song by #7?
A: Haunting Me

Q: What is your favorite song by #10?
A: Jesus Ranch

Q: What is your favorite album by #8?
A: I love them all... its my favourite band, and I jusdt couldnt choose..

Q: How did you get into #5?
A: My brother bought the single for Chop Suey! and I realised that System of a Down was the band who played that song and aerials - which the boys always played at the parties I was going to.

Q: What is your favorite song by #4?
A: just one? I love the whole of the Subliminal Verses Vol 3 album..

Q: Who is your favorite band member of #3?
A: Clint?

Q: What is a good memory concerning #4?
A: I spent about a year with that as my main tape in my car.... so roaring down the highway, wind in my hair, slipknot as loud as I could get it, and singing along at the top of my lungs....

Q: Is there a song by #3 that makes you sad?
A: yep...

Q: What is your favorite song of #1?
A: um..... something from Aenima or Lateralus... Um Forty-Six & 2, Eulogy, Parabola, The Pot etc

Q: How did you become a fan of #7?
A: Linda gave me their cd

Q: What do you like to do while listening to #6?
A: How awesome they are... they are amazing! and even better live!

Q: Which of the 10 has influenced you the most?
A: haha none! i guess i played tribute or jesus ranch one too many times for it to make my overall list LMAO

Q: Which artist makes you the most happy?
A: Opeth, Tool, Tori or TBE

Q: Which artist makes you the most sad?
A: Stabbing Westwards

Q: Which artist makes the best dance music?
A: SOAD

Q: Which artist have you liked the longest?
A: Tori Amos

Q: Which artist have you liked the shortest?
A: Morbid Angel

Q: Are there any artists you will still be listening to in 20 years?
A: Opeth, Tool, Tori

Ba'lakor and From Winters Grace (7/08/09)

Wow, I had such a whirlwind of a long weekend! My two best friends from Toowoomba flew down to visit me. It was Lindy's bday, so it involved cake, and other fun stuff. I will probably blog about that at my other blog LOL But the reason I am writting this is that I kidnapped them and we went to a metal gig at the Bald Stag in Leichardt... I had heard on The Racket that Ba'lakor would be in Sydney and I really liked the song of theirs I heard... So I dragged them along with me... Its been ages since I've been to a metal gig... god i love it!! it gets in your blood... the wall of sound, the frenetic mosh pit (and metallers leaning on the walls with their BnCs), the METAL!! god the metal... I have an addiction... I havent had that much fun in ages... I really enjoyed the Morbid Angel gig, but I went stag, and I really feel that metal gigs are more fun when you have a friend or two with you...

The line up was:
From Winters Grace
Darker Half
Be'lakor
Switchblade
Dreadnaught

We REALLY enjoyed From Winters Grace. It was fronted with a female lead, and her voice was awesome.. and she seemed to be having a lot of fun up there LOL Darker Half didnt really stand out for me... Just seemed like most other metal I have seen live... but Ba'lakor was AWESOME! We all loved them... their set was terrific! I couldnt even tell you why, because I drank a lot of tequila before we got to the Bald Stag, and then started on BnCs, so my recollection is a bit hazy.. But I loved their sound, loved their guitar, loved their singer (boy did we love the singer - such a hottie LOL) and loved moshing in the crowd... brilliant! I think I will be checking out their myspace for cds... also want to suss out From Winters Grace, because I really liked them also. I have to stress, we didnt know which bands were which, besides Ba'lakor. I didnt have time to research like I normally do before I hit a gig... I knew there would be about 4 or 5 bands, and that it was Ba'lakor's first time in Sydney, and Dreadnaught's cd launch... thats about it LOL My friends really couldnt get into Switchblade... it was just too heavy for them. I had a deal that we could leave any time - because they arent metal chickies like me. Linda likes a lot of metal, but doesnt listen to it all that much these days, and Lil is into bands like Metallica and Linkin Park. So I basically said anything that they weren't comfortable, or didnt enjoy the music we could head home.. so we did. Switchblade was too heavy for them (I liked them, but they werent anything too special...) so we headed home. I wish we could have stayed for Dreadnaught, but they didnt start until midnight.. another time!! I know how much it costs for a taxi there now, so I think I may go back for other gigs by myself.. I am kinda sick of missing out because my sydney friends arent into metal... SAMI I MISS YOU! and I have to say a big thankyou to Lindy and Lil for humouring me and accompaning me to this gig! you guys rock!!

From Winters Grace

Darker Half

Ba'lakor

My other impression from this weekend, is maybe I should listen to mother for once. She is deaf as a post these days and partly blames it on a Skyhooks gig she went to as a teen. That is rot, she needs more harm than that to fuck up her hearing, but maybe she does have a point. I love live LOUD music.. With a passion. I dont see myself giving it up, and I do tend to hang out as close to the speakers as I can.. and its taking longer (?) for my hearing to get back to normal. Normally I stay home the day after in bed all day, so it really isnt so obvious, aside from some ringing.. but yesterday I headed into the city.... and my hearing was so senstive... I couldnt hear sounds close to me (lots of "eh?!" and "what?!"'s taking place!!) but the background sounds were so frickin loud!!! traffic sounded like every car was a frackin road train!! So maybe mum is right (OMG, did I really say that?!) and I need to start wearing earplugs... I see a lot of the older metallers wearing them.. by older, I mean guys who have been doing this for 20 odd years... I guess after a while it really does fuck up your hearing.. Does anyone know what earplugs do the quality of the sound at gigs? oh, i wonder if there are any cool ear plugs you can get... like red ones, or little skulls or something?!!? The two things I am concerned about are a) sound quality - is it going to make the sound so filtered that it effects the metal experience, and b) yes, i know I am being such a girl, but the earplugs ive seen are either fluro green or yellow... eek! I'd want something in a darker colour... yes, i know, it seems silly to worry about fashion when my hearing may one day be in jepoardy, but I really cant change who I am. Colour matters... So i guess I should do some online shopping before the Australian Metal Awards in November.. hey, I wonder if they sell any at the metal store Utopia? haha if anyone knows of any, i totally want skull earplugs! wouldnt they be awesome!!??!!