Okay... I missed day one. I get that. Why? I was rather apathetic about the whole thing. I ran into differences of opinion and felt attacked. But I'm not going to let that stop me!
I saw Sherlock Holmes the other day. It had great acting, a good plot and excellent special effects. The dangler was most interesting! Anyway, I'll continue this blog at another time. I screwed up. I hope that will be the last time.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Friday, December 11, 2009
Thoughts on Screamo
I recently talked to someone who looked at this blog and they said that my opinion on screamo was a bit of a turn off. I appreciate the feedback on that. Truly I do. In light of that, I thought that I would explain my ideas on screamo music.
First and foremost, I will say that I have not found one screamo song that I like. I'm not saying that I hate screamo and I admit that it does take talent to do that screaming bit, but, alone it cannot comprise a song. I feel like it lacks a particular element. Perhaps it's the element of varied emotion. Pure anger just doesn't seem... human... if you can understand what I mean. I suppose, at the very core, it lacks a connection between song and listener. The lack of that personal element gives no reason for anyone to listen. At least I find no connection to it.
Second, I think that since screamo cannot stand a viable genre of music, its only use is to provide a personal accent to an artist's work. An excellent example of this, I find, is in The Darkest Nights by As I lay Dying. They have a predominant use of screamo in this song, but what makes the difference for me is that their chorus is understandable. This can stand alone as a song. I feel a connection to the understandable words but feel them empowered and accentuated by the screamo aspect. The screamo binds sorrow and anger rather than drowning the sorrow out.
Trivium is an excellent example of how screamo can be incorporated into music without it hogging all the limelight and preventing some sort of human connection. On Trivium's latest album, Shogun, they have a song that I particularly like. It's Down from the Sky, and the link goes to the Youtube video for it. This work is strong in presenting a point of view that is purely about seeing parts/aspects of the world for what they're worth. Dictators sit up high and watch the world burn while they wallow in wealth. All we are to some people are pawns, just ready to be used. All of the aspects that they describe could stand on their own as a great work of music. But they take it one step further and add a style that is uniquely "Trivium". The screamo aspect of their music, especially in this song, adds an amplification of the emotion that they try to convey. I can make a stronger connection to this song because the screamo doesn't set the tone for the song, it enhances it. It takes backseat to other styles, but is a passive mode for accentuating the point of the music.
To make a final note on this subject, I enjoy certain aspects of the screamo style, but I hardly believe that it stands as a genre, all on its own. My tolerance for screamo extends to just before the low grumbling that is particularly not understandable. Once I get there, I lose my interest and connection.
And I encourage anyone that reads this blog (if anyone is???) to comment and tell me what you think. If you agree or disagree. If you want to hear my opinion on something else? Or if you want to add you own opinions! I'm thinking about doing a piece on Miley Cyrus soon. And it is going to be a bash fest. When the time comes, I hope you enjoy!
Keep reading, listening and living art every day! Thanks for reading!
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First and foremost, I will say that I have not found one screamo song that I like. I'm not saying that I hate screamo and I admit that it does take talent to do that screaming bit, but, alone it cannot comprise a song. I feel like it lacks a particular element. Perhaps it's the element of varied emotion. Pure anger just doesn't seem... human... if you can understand what I mean. I suppose, at the very core, it lacks a connection between song and listener. The lack of that personal element gives no reason for anyone to listen. At least I find no connection to it.
Second, I think that since screamo cannot stand a viable genre of music, its only use is to provide a personal accent to an artist's work. An excellent example of this, I find, is in The Darkest Nights by As I lay Dying. They have a predominant use of screamo in this song, but what makes the difference for me is that their chorus is understandable. This can stand alone as a song. I feel a connection to the understandable words but feel them empowered and accentuated by the screamo aspect. The screamo binds sorrow and anger rather than drowning the sorrow out.
Trivium is an excellent example of how screamo can be incorporated into music without it hogging all the limelight and preventing some sort of human connection. On Trivium's latest album, Shogun, they have a song that I particularly like. It's Down from the Sky, and the link goes to the Youtube video for it. This work is strong in presenting a point of view that is purely about seeing parts/aspects of the world for what they're worth. Dictators sit up high and watch the world burn while they wallow in wealth. All we are to some people are pawns, just ready to be used. All of the aspects that they describe could stand on their own as a great work of music. But they take it one step further and add a style that is uniquely "Trivium". The screamo aspect of their music, especially in this song, adds an amplification of the emotion that they try to convey. I can make a stronger connection to this song because the screamo doesn't set the tone for the song, it enhances it. It takes backseat to other styles, but is a passive mode for accentuating the point of the music.
To make a final note on this subject, I enjoy certain aspects of the screamo style, but I hardly believe that it stands as a genre, all on its own. My tolerance for screamo extends to just before the low grumbling that is particularly not understandable. Once I get there, I lose my interest and connection.
And I encourage anyone that reads this blog (if anyone is???) to comment and tell me what you think. If you agree or disagree. If you want to hear my opinion on something else? Or if you want to add you own opinions! I'm thinking about doing a piece on Miley Cyrus soon. And it is going to be a bash fest. When the time comes, I hope you enjoy!
Keep reading, listening and living art every day! Thanks for reading!
Chemistry is a Bitch
Molecules, atoms, all of that such and such,
kill me, please, it's all too much.
Electricity and ions,
don't get started with nucleons.
It is general, it is chemistry,
all I want is this class to be history.
A constant is a constant,
but not all are constant.
Riddle me this, riddle me that,
lone pairs take up space- they're just fat.
I'll let you know now,
my rant has ended... I'll take a bow.
kill me, please, it's all too much.
Electricity and ions,
don't get started with nucleons.
It is general, it is chemistry,
all I want is this class to be history.
A constant is a constant,
but not all are constant.
Riddle me this, riddle me that,
lone pairs take up space- they're just fat.
I'll let you know now,
my rant has ended... I'll take a bow.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Breaking Benjamin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Benjamin
http://www.facebook.com/BreakingBenjamin
Of late, I have discovered a new favorite band. Breaking Benjamin is crawling their way the number one spot on my music list. Why? Well, I think we have Pandora to thank for that! For those of you that have not heard of Pandora, it is "Internet Radio" that plays songs that it thinks you might like. You just type in a song or an artist and it finds relevant music. It's all part of their "Music Genome Project". Personally, they're doing a hell of a good job!
But back to the point of this entry...
Pandora brought up Hopeless by Breaking Benjamin. As part of their Genome Project, they assigned this song a particular set of characteristics that they believe exemplify the structure and overall body of it, including "hard rock roots, a subtle, use of vocal harmony, mild rhythmic syncopation, thru composed melodic style, minor key tonality, [and] an aggressive male vocalist." I'm no music major, so I don't really know how to pinpoint a lot of these characteristics in the song. I can hear the vocal harmony and an aggressive male vocalist though! I could probably attribute that to my background in vocal arts... or maybe it's just blatantly obvious. From there, I started to look more into the band I liked what I saw. They have similarities to Three Days Grace, Chevelle, Seether, Trapt and Crossfade, among others. I either music by one of these artists or heard them on Pandora. They are all great and sound fairly similar. My exploration, at this point, is getting into finding more of Breaking Benjamin's music.
So that's really how I got started. So what are my opinions on Breaking Benjamin?
First, I think that most of their music has meaning beyond what the lyrics say. I found this heavily with Hopeless. I could analyze the song... but that was the issue with my last post.
Second, they have a darker outlook on the world than some other artists. The titles of their songs are evidence for this. Though, personally, I have no problem with the darker outlook. I have long had an outlook on life were the people of the world only had the intention to hurt. My mentality was, "grow up as fast you can because it's better to strip your own innocence away than to have it ripped way from you." Hopeless reminds me of this mentality and helps me realize how badly that affected my life.
Third, an perhaps most important, they have talent. The subtle vocal harmony with a dash of scream-o is an "it's not too hot, but not too cold" experience for me. It's just right. On a side note, I do not think of music that is purely scream-o or otherwise to be a genre of music. I understand that the point is to convey anger, but I think that they could do it in a manner that everyone else can understand and NOT require the lyrics to do so. Love me or hate me for saying it, it matters not. I've said it. And that's that.
Finally, there's a fluidity to the music, like a caress that traces, gently, a sensitive part of the body and lingers long after its gone. It's a good feeling. It's a feeling that most musical artists cannot bring upon me.
That's it for this entry.
Thanks people!
http://www.facebook.com/BreakingBenjamin
Of late, I have discovered a new favorite band. Breaking Benjamin is crawling their way the number one spot on my music list. Why? Well, I think we have Pandora to thank for that! For those of you that have not heard of Pandora, it is "Internet Radio" that plays songs that it thinks you might like. You just type in a song or an artist and it finds relevant music. It's all part of their "Music Genome Project". Personally, they're doing a hell of a good job!
But back to the point of this entry...
Pandora brought up Hopeless by Breaking Benjamin. As part of their Genome Project, they assigned this song a particular set of characteristics that they believe exemplify the structure and overall body of it, including "hard rock roots, a subtle, use of vocal harmony, mild rhythmic syncopation, thru composed melodic style, minor key tonality, [and] an aggressive male vocalist." I'm no music major, so I don't really know how to pinpoint a lot of these characteristics in the song. I can hear the vocal harmony and an aggressive male vocalist though! I could probably attribute that to my background in vocal arts... or maybe it's just blatantly obvious. From there, I started to look more into the band I liked what I saw. They have similarities to Three Days Grace, Chevelle, Seether, Trapt and Crossfade, among others. I either music by one of these artists or heard them on Pandora. They are all great and sound fairly similar. My exploration, at this point, is getting into finding more of Breaking Benjamin's music.
So that's really how I got started. So what are my opinions on Breaking Benjamin?
First, I think that most of their music has meaning beyond what the lyrics say. I found this heavily with Hopeless. I could analyze the song... but that was the issue with my last post.
Second, they have a darker outlook on the world than some other artists. The titles of their songs are evidence for this. Though, personally, I have no problem with the darker outlook. I have long had an outlook on life were the people of the world only had the intention to hurt. My mentality was, "grow up as fast you can because it's better to strip your own innocence away than to have it ripped way from you." Hopeless reminds me of this mentality and helps me realize how badly that affected my life.
Third, an perhaps most important, they have talent. The subtle vocal harmony with a dash of scream-o is an "it's not too hot, but not too cold" experience for me. It's just right. On a side note, I do not think of music that is purely scream-o or otherwise to be a genre of music. I understand that the point is to convey anger, but I think that they could do it in a manner that everyone else can understand and NOT require the lyrics to do so. Love me or hate me for saying it, it matters not. I've said it. And that's that.
Finally, there's a fluidity to the music, like a caress that traces, gently, a sensitive part of the body and lingers long after its gone. It's a good feeling. It's a feeling that most musical artists cannot bring upon me.
That's it for this entry.
Thanks people!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Bad Romance
Although the start of my adventure has yet to... well.. start, I thought that I would do some practice with a little bit on my ideas of Bad Romance by Lady Gaga. I can see some of you out there shaking your heads and hear you saying, "really?" But what better place to start? I like her music and... I just hope you get my point. I'm new to the whole blogging thing. Throw me frickin' bone here (movie reference?)! I'm sure you understand. I know that Gaga has been done... many times... overly done, in fact, but she's a good place to start.
Bad Romance threw my left-dominant brain out the door and on its proverbial butt. There was no logic to it... at the first look. But the lyrics are probably more important than the actual video. In the first part, from the ra's to the "bad romance, " it seems like there's a lot about jet setting and loving it. The ra's signify a cheer- the most basic, yet universal, way to show joy or delight. "Roma" signifies Rome, the Eternal City. Roma is Italian for Rome. The Ga-ga the Ooh-la-la's signify France (where else do you hear ooh-la-la?) and, maybe as a double meaning, that she is loved by all wherever she goes.
Most of the rest of Bad Romance depicts a stage where sex and control are everything. What stands out about the rest of the song is where she sings about the fashion and "work that bitch crazy." It sounds like a reference to the demands of the world of fame and fashion and how she's working to the max all the time. The biggest reason why it stands out to me is that it separates itself from the tone of the rest of the song. It makes me think that her use of sex and control is to correlate the pressure of the industry and how little control she can have. It's a pleasurable experience, but it's one where the industry and corporation are calling all the shots. A love-hate relationship perhaps?
The video itself was odd. I will admit that. But if I can go on with the whole love-hate relationship and with the fame world, I noticed that she goes from plain at the start to looking like Madonna (trying to be Divalicious, are we?). It seems like a comparison to the music industry finding her as a plain Jane and working to make her into a hot, sexy musical artist.
There are probably a lot more things about this song and video that I could expound upon... but this seems to be more like an analysis rather than criticism or my actual opinionated thoughts. My left brain dominated this one... crap. So I'll stop here. Besides, I still have Calculus today. Oh joy. Keep in touch if you seem interested. Anything that you guys want me to talk about, drop me a comment and we'll see what I can do. Laterz...
Bad Romance threw my left-dominant brain out the door and on its proverbial butt. There was no logic to it... at the first look. But the lyrics are probably more important than the actual video. In the first part, from the ra's to the "bad romance, " it seems like there's a lot about jet setting and loving it. The ra's signify a cheer- the most basic, yet universal, way to show joy or delight. "Roma" signifies Rome, the Eternal City. Roma is Italian for Rome. The Ga-ga the Ooh-la-la's signify France (where else do you hear ooh-la-la?) and, maybe as a double meaning, that she is loved by all wherever she goes.
Most of the rest of Bad Romance depicts a stage where sex and control are everything. What stands out about the rest of the song is where she sings about the fashion and "work that bitch crazy." It sounds like a reference to the demands of the world of fame and fashion and how she's working to the max all the time. The biggest reason why it stands out to me is that it separates itself from the tone of the rest of the song. It makes me think that her use of sex and control is to correlate the pressure of the industry and how little control she can have. It's a pleasurable experience, but it's one where the industry and corporation are calling all the shots. A love-hate relationship perhaps?
The video itself was odd. I will admit that. But if I can go on with the whole love-hate relationship and with the fame world, I noticed that she goes from plain at the start to looking like Madonna (trying to be Divalicious, are we?). It seems like a comparison to the music industry finding her as a plain Jane and working to make her into a hot, sexy musical artist.
There are probably a lot more things about this song and video that I could expound upon... but this seems to be more like an analysis rather than criticism or my actual opinionated thoughts. My left brain dominated this one... crap. So I'll stop here. Besides, I still have Calculus today. Oh joy. Keep in touch if you seem interested. Anything that you guys want me to talk about, drop me a comment and we'll see what I can do. Laterz...
An Introduction
I am a scientist. Would you expect that I have no reason to love art? Writing and music are my passions. I may want to look through microscopes for a living, but I don't want to live my life without an artistic outlet. Seeing as how this is an art, music and poetry blog, it would make sense that this could be an artistic outlet for me. But perhaps I have other goals? We will see.
Like me or not for saying this, but this blog is inspired by Julie & Julia. I watched it last night and it very funny! For guys that think that this movie is just another chick movie, I would encourage you watch it... for comedy's sake at least. It's an excellent representation of what life really is: learning to live, learning to love (a passion or otherwise) and learning to take every day one day at a time.
And to conclude on this first entry (which is rather short and scattered), my goal is post one entry per day for one year on my thoughts on art, music and/or poetry. Needless to say, this is going to be a very difficult time for me, as my schedule is crammed with classes, bible studies and other activities. But I think that if I can take just a few minutes every day to expound on my ideas, there should be no reason why this blog should not be successful. And maybe after a year I will keep going.
The date that I will start is the 1st of January. Perhaps I will make a few entries before then, but make note that it starts on the 1st... for real.
And a final note, I may just state where I'm writing my entries from. Today is from General Chemistry, where I am blatantly NOT listening to the lecture. Although nuclear chemistry is very fun. Oh yes... everything about this class is exhilarating. Shoot me... please.
Like me or not for saying this, but this blog is inspired by Julie & Julia. I watched it last night and it very funny! For guys that think that this movie is just another chick movie, I would encourage you watch it... for comedy's sake at least. It's an excellent representation of what life really is: learning to live, learning to love (a passion or otherwise) and learning to take every day one day at a time.
And to conclude on this first entry (which is rather short and scattered), my goal is post one entry per day for one year on my thoughts on art, music and/or poetry. Needless to say, this is going to be a very difficult time for me, as my schedule is crammed with classes, bible studies and other activities. But I think that if I can take just a few minutes every day to expound on my ideas, there should be no reason why this blog should not be successful. And maybe after a year I will keep going.
The date that I will start is the 1st of January. Perhaps I will make a few entries before then, but make note that it starts on the 1st... for real.
And a final note, I may just state where I'm writing my entries from. Today is from General Chemistry, where I am blatantly NOT listening to the lecture. Although nuclear chemistry is very fun. Oh yes... everything about this class is exhilarating. Shoot me... please.
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