Scar Symmetry

I say it time and time again, but I'm someone who that says they 'like all types of music' and actually mean it in all seriousness. Except for dance music (in all seriousness). However, most of my attention usually rests on melodic death metal (the only extreme metal I listen to, pretty much). They say once you're a metalhead, you're hooked for life..

Metal, specifically genres under the 'extreme metal' umbrella (such as (melodic) death metal, doom metal, thrash etc.) are to me, fiercely overlooked. People often see metal as an antisocial, satanic, unlikable genre (hey, sometimes it's some of those things.. but..). It always irked me when I saw the lack of a 'metal' category on the iTunes store, let alone the absence of all the sub-genres (they do actually have a metal category now, the bastards could have waited 'til this blog entry was done). This meant they were mis-categorising a hell of a lot of stuff.. It's as if they were trying to 'hide' the existence of metal, because everyone who means something likes Bieber, Lady Gaga and Tine Tempah, right? I wouldn't have been surprised if I saw 'iTunes is not affiliated with the musical genre 'metal''' in small print. Anyways, I'm talking melodic death metal (mdm) here, and it's something beautiful. I hear more energy, technicality, melody, progression, thought provoking and complex lyrical themes, raw talent from all the band members etc. from mdm time and time again over so much stuff from other genres. I'm not just saying this in a metalhead hissy fit, I really, sincerely mean it. Scar Symmetry alone proves my point. If there was one band the metalhead army had to present to the naysayers to try and convince them that metal can be all those things I mentioned above, Scar Symmetry would probably have to be the band.

I remember browsing the net one night a few years ago looking for mdm bands. I was new to the genre, and pretty much the only bands I knew of were In Flames and.. maybe Dark Tranquillity. I found a thread on a metal forum where some members were discussing the new Scar Symmetry album (Pitch Black Progress at the time). I must have gone to YouTube after that to have a listen and I remember thinking 'wow' at the time. It was certainly something new.. I'm pretty sure the first song I heard was The Illusionist. I thought, extreme metal with progression, synths/electronics and clean vocals mixed up with the death growls and aggressive down-tuned guitar riffs work so well… I think Scar Symmetry were quite ahead of their time at this point (modern mdm today is evolving again in many strange and wonderful directions).

Scar Symmetry (line-up until 2008, with Christian)

Scar Symmetry are one of few bands in my collection that get me so psyched. Like, really psyched. When I get really passionate about some things I sometimes get obsessed. I'm not really sure where to start with this band. I can't pick an album as an example, so I might just talk and pick example tracks. Then you can YouTube them and listen to the WHOLE song. Yes. I don't even know why I bother, I only know one person as a friend who actually likes mdm and might read this. I understand that you either like metal this aggressive, or you really don't.. But what bugs me the most is the people who fail to see the beauty in mdm, even if they don't like it or even claim to hate it.

Perhaps the thing I like most about Scar Symmetry is the progression, which when they started was quite unusual for melodeath, I'd say. Their songs bounce around in pace, aggression and melody. I also love the contrast in the between the changes in pace from aggressive riff sections with the death growls and slower/melodic sections with clean vocals. The clean vocals - especially songs when Christian Älvestam was still around (first 3 albums - Symmetric in Design, Pitch Black Progress and Holographic Universe) - really put a lot towards the melody of the song. He is such a talented vocalist.. Scar Symmetry have a special skill where they manage to have a very heavy, distorted, aggressive sound while also being very, very melodic (usually in the chorus) and technical in song structure. They often switch between cleans and growls in their songs to mix up the melodic/aggressive aspects. A good example is in Deviate from the Form. Another is Frequencyshifter Another reason I have got so obsessed in Scar Symmetry is the amazing guitar work. Scar Symmetry have two guitarists (Per Nilsson and Jonas Kjellgren), which is quite common in Swedish melodeath. It adds depth/layers to the songs, makes it interesting and technical, and makes for some fantastic solos.. Take for example Dreaming 24/7. Man, I love this song. It really is beautiful.. Now, lyrics. Scar Symmetry's lyrics are usually based around time/space theories, quantum mechanics etc. which is great because it compliments the epicness of the energetic melodeath perfectly!

I have selected some of my favourite SS songs to talk a little about. If you have got this far in reading, you might as well listen to the songs - but if you are going to listen to them in full, damn it!

Symmetric in Design (2004)

Chaosweaver - The start of this song is epic, and in my opinion this song wins the award for the most badass song of all time (with some The Duskfall songs being the only competitors..). Christian's growls are great in this. The chorus is amazing too.. There is a really awesome solo too with some great cleans. This has got to be one of my old favs from Scar Symmetry..

2012 - The Demise Of The 5th Sun - Lyrics about the Mayan prophecy obviously.. What makes me love this song is the solo (1:51)… maybe my second favourite just behind A Parenthesis In Eternity.. More epic lyrics 'cosmic ray mutation' and 'ASTROID FATALITY'!!! Other than that solo the song is a little average, but I love that solo so much..

Dominion - Another song similar to 2012 - The Demise Of The 5th Sun really where I have just fallen in love with the solo. But I do like the beginning a lot too..

Pitch Black Progress (2006)

Mind Machine - This one has some of the best of Christian's clean vocal in any of his songs. His voice really makes a lot of the melody in this.. The whole damn song is an example of this.

Dreaming 24/7 - Another classic Scar Symmetry instant-starter! This song may be best example of what Scar Symmetry do. It's very melodic but also aggressive.

Deviate From The form - I really think that this album is Christian at his best on vocals. He proves his talent doing both growls and cleans so well.

Holographic Universe (2008)

Morphogenesis - This song has such a great start.. Christians growls are great, then he bursts into his amazing cleans (I big highlight of this song in my opinion), accompanied by a great, catchy guitar riff. Again, a great song lyrically. This song has a very cool solo that blends into an aggressive part, then back to a more melodic section!

Timewave Zero - Again, a great intro! I don't get how Scar Symmetry write so many different, interesting, epic songs that are all so good.. This song has a different feel to it.. It's Christian's vocals mostly.. It's sort of other-worldy.

Ghost Prototype I - Measurement Of Thought - This is a classic ultra-progressive Scar Symmetry song. Again, another song that just leaps straight into the action instantly. The guitar work at the start of this song and Christian's clean vocals are just so beautiful.. Then theres the aggressive part, which then blend back into a very melodic solo, with some of the most appealing guitar work in any Scar Symmetry song. It's just one of those that my words are not going to do any justice. Listen!

Dark Matter Dimensions (2009)

Nonhuman Era - This is another example of the type of Scar Symmetry songs - it starts very aggressive very quickly. Now, thrash metal has grown on me a lot. This song is very thrashy in the verses, which I usually don't like, but in contrast with the melodic chorus and cleans I love it to pieces. This song is so energetic. Notice how the multiple guitars work in this one too. It took me a while to get into this song, let alone the album; but I think the constant bombardment of aggression and little changes in the song despite being so aggressive makes it very listenable.

A Parenthesis In Eternity - There are a few different types of Scar Symmetry songs in terms of song structure. A Parenthesis In Eternity adheres to the type that starts with a slow, semi-acoustic type that very quickly turns to a fast-paced aggressive riff at a certain lyrical point. This song is largely blast beats (fast drumming in layman's terms) and aggressive down-tuned guitars (which doesn't really narrow Scar Symmetry songs down that much, but hey..). I love the really aggressive solo part at 2:42.. so epic. It also has fun lyrics such as 'creation's labyrinth, it morphs eternally'!! I think one of the secrets to Scar Symmetry's songs being so likeable and replay-able is the technicality - there is much much going on in the songs.

Frequencyshifter - This song follows the same sort of song structure as Nonhuman Era - fast, thrashy verses and a very melodic chorus. I really like the distortion on the guitars on this album. The rhythm and main guitars have such a nice sound.. The cleans in the chorus are the thing I lie most about this song, and the lyrics 'Light falls from the sun and carries on, to invite the dawn when it's born, a new day has come, now deeds be done, in the shift of frequency..'!

Scar Symmetry just hook me with aggression, constant progression and changes in riffs, amazing vocals from Christian and those solos that are unmatched by any other band I can think of...

WRONG SCALE

The last month or so I have attempted to write blogs for several of my favourite artists. However, each time one of my fav bands comes up on shuffle, I open a new text doc and start writing about that one instead. Shows how much I like music and apparently how much I want to write about them! I settled for WRONG SCALE because I wrote down a longish list of good material that really relates to why I like them. Also, they are a new band to me, so while they are fresh in my mind...

I don't know that much about WRONG SCALE, except that, true to their name, the titles to their tracks are an odd mix of lower and upper case. They are not that well known, and being Japanese all the information about them is in Kanji. I do know they were a four-piece band together from 1999-2009. It didn't take me too long to get into them. The list I have applies to WRONG SCALE as a whole, but for concentration purposes I have chosen the album 'bed and board' as my WRONG SCALE example album (It is by FAR the best in my opinion).

Here is the track list for bed and board (2007):

1 melt down 2:44

2 calling 3:36

3 ACT 4:33

4 a lie 0:56

5 frames laid out 3:27

6 Car Chain 5:30

7 hold in your arms 3:04

8 Delete 3:30

9 Standing in the city lights 3:58

10 The day rain changes to the rainbow 2:51

11 erasing my memory 4:01

The first song I heard by WRONG SCALE was 'Trace of Grief', which is one of their catchiest songs by far in my opinion. And from that song, I had already started to get into WRONG SCALE's rhythm and style unique to them. I really connect with artists that have their unique approach to songwriting - as I mentioned in my Feeling Strangely Fine entry I am picky and impatient with music so when stuff that sounds different comes along my ears are suddenly alert. WRONG SCALE have a sound that is unmistakably them, and so this is a big musical turn-on for me. Fold Zandura is another great example of this in my collection - I have many examples but they are a great example, and I shall write about them sooner or later :)

Perhaps the second most noticeable aspect of WRONG SCALE are the vocals. Vocals are very important to me, and I love it when the vocalist's singing voice is part of the music and contributes to the song's melody. After all, the voice box is an instrument too, there's no doubt about it. The main vocalist sings a lot of the lyrics in English, which gives his voice a certain 'foreign accent' sound which really contributes to their unique sound. At least two of the band members alternate singing on a few songs, which is nice. Also, I really like the parts when they harmonise with each other (for example in frames laid out).

The guitar riffs of WRONG SCALE are very energetic and change often. I have always liked this. Sometimes the guitar doesn't even sound like a guitar. The drums are usually interesting to listen to as well as they seem to change nearly as often as the guitar! The vocals then come in and the style really gels together. There's no doubt about WRONG SCALE having a great rhythm. The progression and intros to some of their songs are so melodic and set you up liking the song instantly.

I'm not sure what it is (probably the fast-paced sound of their music), but when I listen to the album through from beginning to end the first half flies by quickly, and the second goes by a little slowly. All my favourite songs apart from erasing my memory are at the start of the album, and the second half has a few slow songs on. As I think I have mentioned before I am not so interested in slower songs. Anyhow, I have decided to cut down on discussing the songs and only talk about my favourites and things that are worth mentioning.

melt down is a nice start to the album. It starts energetic then gets more energetic! It is quite a short song and I think it is a nice intro to the album. The guitar and vocals compliment each other - when one picks up so does the other, then one changes riff / tone and so does the other. The song is as catchy as any WRONG SCALE song. Unfortunately, although a fair chunk of the lyrics are in English I can't really tell what they are singing. I never was good at picking words out.. Although, for now (until I learn Japanese), the lyrics are not one of the main reasons I like WRONG SCALE anyway.

calling might be my be my favourite song on the album. I love the chorus. I like the way the song makes me feel, and the way the instruments set an interesting mood. Then the chorus sets in and the mood is changed completely in an instant. It's almost quite melancholy at the start, but fast-paced. It's interesting to me how this song feels sad and happy at the same time. The song sounds almost like they are improvised at times with the guitar - in a good way. WRONG SCALE's signature sound is sort of a mish mash of sounds and feelings. I really like the vocals in this song as well they are expressive.

frames laid out is great at the start - so upbeat and it gets progressively more energetic. As I said earlier, I love the way the guys harmonise with each other in this song. It is quite easy to like this song it is so catchy because the riff changes so often.

At this point, I find myself about to repeat myself about why I like each song. These songs are quite similar.. I like WRONG SCALE because they are catchy, eclectic, different. Mostly because they have their own very distinctive style. Can you name a band similar to WRONG SCALE? I would say that this band sells itself...

Welcome to D'espairsRay.

Ok, I'll start off with a little context for you to understand my ramblings. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Visual-Kei, it is a genre predominantly hailing from Japan which refers mostly to the wardrobe of the band members. Rather than trying to describe it, just Google 'Visual-Kei' and you will be hit by an array of VK bands (there are a lot out there trust me.. ) The music is rock, usually quite heavy, some of it metal. So, VK's musical range can be broad. There are also genres that originate from various districts in Japan - for example Nagoya kei, from Nagoya, which usually has a dark, heavy sound. Lynch are a good example of this genre. Other popular genres are Shibuya kei (Pizzicato Five) and OShare Kei (An Cafe).

A lot of Japanese bands have their name typeset in English because it is considered quite trendy (it would look cool if we used Kanji). Japanese bands also like to capitalise English words for track names. For some reason, there are often disputes over the correct typesets of bands. It can get messy because bands sometimes change the typeset after a while. Many bands use Katakana, which is the Japanese loan word Alphabet (e.g. ナイトメア or Nightmare use Katakana) which is used for words that derive outside the Japanese language.

Before I got into D'espairs, I was into a band called ナイトメア (Nightmare). I first heard ナイトメア when I started watching Death Note, a Japanese manga series ('manga' simply means 'cartoon' in Japanese, by the way). And I really started to love the theme songs for the start and end credits, both by ナイトメア. So, I checked out the WORLD ruler by ナイトメア, and I love the rest of the album too. I had not heard anything quite like this music before, it was as if ナイトメア had the secret to producing rock music completely unlike the rest of the world, they had (have) such a great sound! I had kicked off my love for VK! So, I decided to investigate further. I discovered D'espairsRay - I think through a user's profile. I thought 'that band name sounds cool', and usually that is enough reason for me to check a band out.

I chose the album REDEEMER (2009) as it is the best D'espairsRay album to get my point across, partly because it is more accessible than the others. It is also my favourite D'espairsRay album.* (see footnote at the end of review for more detail on this)

Here is the track list for REDEEMER (2009) (notice the mix of Kanji and English and the capitals..):

1 Lizard 4:29

2 BRILLIANT 4:33

2 REDEEMER 4:20

4 琥珀 4:23

5 KAMIKAZE 4:24

6 Lost In re:birth 4:09

7 R.E.M-冬の幻聴- 4:58

8 HORIZON 4:07

9 MASQUERADE 4:00

10 夜空 4:12

11 PARADOX 5 5:40

12 HEAVEN'S COLOR 4:42

D'espairsRay (formerly typeset as DéspairsRay or +DéspairsRay+) was formed in 1999 by: HIZUMI on vocals, Karyu on guitar and backing vocals, TSUKASA on drums and ZERO on bass. HIZUMI usually writes the lyrics and Karyu writes the music. I warn you now, I am going to bow down to this band like they are ancient gods, starting from now. HIZUMI and Karyu are fantastic writers :) D'espairsRay typically base their songwriting on the themes 'despair' and 'hope'.

So, the moment you have been waiting for! The reason why I love D'espairsRay so much. Well, I would recommend playing REDEEMER while reading, or listening first. Listening and reading will give you a much better idea of what I am talking about as the awesomeness music is fresh in your head. So, I mentioned in my previous journal (Feeling Strangely Summarised), that I am a very picky listener, I quote specifically 'I like my music to be upbeat and I like the riffs to change frequently to hold my interest.' D'espairsRay are a kick-ass example of this, especially on REDEEMER. I love their sound - again it is like nothing you have ever heard before - the sound is D'espairsRay. I have A lot of respect for bands that have their own sound. In my opinion, this puts D'espairs several notches above other bands that don't have their own sound. If I were to try and describe D'espairs in genres, I would say they were Industrial metal mixed with electronics, mixed with alternative metal.

The first time I heard REDEEMER, I thought it was ok. I really liked Lizard, and I quite liked BRILLIANT. What was wrong with me? I don't know. I have this a lot, I listen to albums, and at first I think - yeah, it's good but not great. But, after so many listens, It grows on me. Before I know it, I think, wait I love this song, and it is almost an instant realisation. Then I look back and think, 'why didn't I love this song before?'. I don't know why I grow into them so much. I think it is because you sort of get to know the song, and know what is coming, and somehow that makes it more interesting. This might not make sense to everyone..

I remember thinking Lizard was an interesting song when I first heard it. I still think so now. It has a different vibe to the rest of the album, so does BRILLIANT actually. I always felt that this and BRILLIANT would fit better on MIRROR (the previous D'espairs album -2007). The starting riff is quite industrial, then breaks into an even more industrial but melodic section that I love. There are a variety of ear-pleasing instruments. I love the changes in guitar riff and the solos, and what always attracts me nowadays are synths/keyboard/eletronic sounds in metal. They really contribute to the melody. Another thing I like about this song is it's fast pace. HIZUMIs voice finishes it off between his screamy growls and his clean vocals, and makes it sound quite rough, yet very melodic and listenable. At least to me. If you don't think it is melodic, give it a few listens. Maybe you are not into metal, but believe me metal can be very melodic. Trust me because all I listen to is melodic metal.

BRILLIANT also has an ear-opening intro. There are some background 'sparkly' synths that sound cosmic or something that I love. BRILLIANT is also fast-paced, but less industrial. It's a song that is very in your face, or should I say ears - especially when played loudly. The bass and drums are as prominent if not more prominent than the guitar in this one, until you get to the solo, which is epic. HIZUMI yet again provides the great sounding vocals to compliment the song. No growls this time though. I know he has variety in his voice.

REDEEMER is a completely different song than the first two. The intro is again interesting - those drums, then KARYU on guitar.. It is very catchy after a few listens. Also, notice HIZUMI sounding different again for this song. It is quite a strange sounding song really.

I really really love 琥珀. Yet again, this song is different to the first three on the album. It is  at much slower tempo, but it still isn't a slow song! But it sounds like it after the first three. It does have those electronicy synths that I love, though most of the way through, which gives the song most of it's own sound. It is a little progressive as well, with the instrumentation changing all the time. HIZUMI sings with passion in this song.

KAMIKAZE is one of my favs on here too. Different sound again. HIZUMI's voice is put through a distorter in some verses. I really get attached to the drum beat in this one, and HIZUMI's voice is also very likable. The solo in the middle is fantastic. All the instruments come together in awesomeness. I don't know how he does it, but KARYU always manages to make his guitar sound different even in the middle of the song - perhaps a 'waah' pedal of some sort.

Lost In re:birth was my fav for a while. It is quite a heavy song. Again, this song, is so different. Just thinking of the songs in this album makes me realise this. A lot of HIZUMI's lyrics in this song are in English by the way :) 'Gotta wake, gotta wake, gotta wake you A.S.A.P!'. The guitar in this song is exceptional, and so is HIZUMI.

R.E.M-冬の幻聴- Is one of my lesser fav tracks on the album. I still like it. It is still better than anything that has ever been in the iTunes chart a hundred times over. Maybe I like it less because it is slow and I am never really in the mood to listen to it after listening to the rest. I hate to repeat myself, but again - different.

I love HORIZON so much too! I love the start with the electronic, I love the guitar riff, I love the drum beats. Everything together. Then I love HIZUMI's lyrics. ZERO's bassline in this too is quite noticeable and cool. I you watch the awesome video ZERO and KARYU dance around. It is a very well made video. I like the way HIZUMI sort of raps as well. The solo is short - not the best on the album by far, but at this point it doesn't matter. Every instrument and every part of this song I love. It is my second most played song on las.fm at the moment. I also like the way this song wraps up as it starts the same way as it ends.

MASQUERADE is a little more fitting on this album and feels less out of place, it has a sound similar to HORIZON in places. I like the way D'espairsRay can hide the fact how heavy they are, because they are rather heavy, but can hide it behind synths and lots of melody and HIZUMI. The solo-y bit in this song is quite cool when HIZUMI screams. I think this song flows especially nicely.

夜空 is my least fav on the album. I just don't like the drums really. I think it is uninteresting up against the rest of the awesome atmospheric songs on the album. I still like it, but like R.E.M-冬の幻聴- I find it hard to like after hearing the rest.

PARADOX 5 is sort of junglely sounding. It is interesting, but a bit slow for me, and whiney. It does follow the different sounding theme though, but in a different way to Lizard and BRILLIANT, it almost feels out of place.

HEAVEN'S COLOR is a nice upbeat end to the album. It might be a bonus track actually. I don't really have anything else to say about it. Oh, it does have some nice electronic sounds, and HIZUMI sounds nice and varied.

Just thinking about those songs has made me realise how eclectic this album is; yet it also suits itself and flows well, except for maybe Lizard and BRILLIANT. Somehow even they manage to work though. Unlike Feeling Strangely Fine, REDEEMER has a few kinks in the road, which is a shame. But that is a bit petty to say, because I really love this album it's my favourite D'espairs album and has most of my fav songs on it - as well as some of the most well crafted songs that they have ever composed. I fear that this review is comprised mostly of my unending praise for D'espairsRay. But if there is anything that I would ever recommend in the music world, it's this band and this album. Forget anything else I COULD recommend, this is what I WILL recommend to you. Something that isn't mainstream, but is rather popular in it's own way in J-rock circles, and rightly so in my opinion.

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*It is also a widely controversial album. Maybe idiotic fans (my journals are never subjective) often condemn this album. If I were to try and say why, I would say the closest explanation is that it 'isn't classic D'espairs'. To translate this further, they mean that 'it isn't raw enough'. I hate this in metal, it happens so often that so called 'true' or 'elitist' metal fans disregard bands / albums because the band have supposedly sold out when they produce an album that is less heavy than their last. It is so stupid. Sometimes bands do sell out, but seriously, often enough the music hasn't strayed too far musically, and it still sounds good. And sometimes bands are just experimenting. What is wrong with experimenting? It is disrespectful to the band to bash the music.

Feeling Strangely Summarised

So, today Chris and I were talking about music on our walk. This is not a rare occurrence, but we don't often talk for too long about it (I think this is because our music tastes are not that similar). Chris told me that he wanted to know why I like these bands and why I dislike bands that he likes such as Arcade Fire. Last week at my friend Gareth's birthday party, Gareth told me that he didn't know why I liked the music that I like (D'espairsRay specifically).

So, the purpose of the digression above was to contextualise this blog entry, and introduce why I am writing it in the first place. I love listening to music and talking about it, but this is a rare occasion unless I'm on the internet talking to my pals across the world on Last.fm. I have been meaning to write blog entires on my favourite bands / albums before, but have been put off mostly by the thought of translating why I like the music into words, or an explanation why. I warn you, though, this might not be much of a review but more of a personal account!

As we all know, Semisonic is my favourite band. This is clear to me. I would even go as far as saying this is purely due to the existence of Feeling Strangely Fine (1998). I give all those songs 5 stars. I know it sounds a little cheesy quantifying how much you like something by giving it a star rating, but I think it is important at the same time. It gives you a nice gauge of how much you are into a track. The other three albums (including Pleasure EP) are very good, but they don't stand up to Feeling Strangely Fine for me.

Before I attempt to detail why, I will just remind you that I am a very picky listener. More than you think. I get bored very easily, which is why I don't listen to dance and pop - nah I'm kidding - It's why I don't listen to 'slow' songs, often acoustic guitars, and the vast majority of Indie music - Indie music in terms of the musical style not lyrical, if you know what I mean (although I don't much like the lyrics usually either). I don't mean to generalise but to be honest, this is usually the case. I like my music to be upbeat and I like the riffs to change frequently to hold my interest. Again, as I have mentioned before, I value melody over lyrical content in a song. Sometimes I go for a while listening to a song before I even know the lyrics and/or understand them. Some people don't understand this, but whatever. I do value lyrics.

One last thing - some of you might be thinking (especially if you know me from Last.fm or have seen my charts there) 'he listens to so much meldodeath and J-rock/VK, but Semisonic is his favourite band?'. Yes. They are. And, there is one solid reason why this is - because I can listen to Feeling Strangely Fine over and over and I don't get bored. As I said, I am picky, but I can also have a short attention span. And when I love some music, i'll listen it to a load then get a little sick of it.

Ok, so onto Semisonic. Here is the track list for Feeling Strangely Fine (1998):

1 Closing Time 4:34

2 Singing In My Sleep 4:30

3 Made To Last 5:02

4 Never You Mind 4:24

5 Secret Smile 4:29

6 DND 4:11

7 Completely Pleased 3:17 

8 This Will Be My Year 4:31

9 All Worked Out 2:51

10 California 5:26

11 She Spreads Her Wings 3:06

12 Gone To The Movies 3:52

So, a little trivia. Dan Wilson was in a band called Trip Shakespeare in the early 90's, which was actually his brother's (Matt Wilson) band. John Munson who went on to be part of Semisonic was also in Trip Shakespeare (cool band!). So, Dan and John teamed up with Jacob Slitcher to form Semisonic in 1995.

Now, I have a few theories as to why I like them so much - I will explain in detail. I got into them through dad. He bought Feeling Strangely Fine back from the US after he heard them on the radio (the radio is actually good in the US!), and he played it quite a lot. I remember liking them but not in a big way. I would say, in the last 4/5 years I have come to really love this album to the extent I do now. This sort of helps one of my theories that if you listen to some music a lot (as long as you are not too opposed to it in the first place of course), then you may eventually come to like it a lot, perhaps mostly from familiarity. Sort of contradicts my 'listening to tracks too much makes me sick of them' theory, but I don't care. I listened to tracks repeatedly on game soundtracks such as Ordinary by The Buzzhorn (NFS: Hot Pursuit 2) and Broken Promises by Element Eighty, (NFS: Underground 2) and I came to love those songs so much, and still do rather a lot. I know one actually that Chris also likes and thats Handful of Redemption by boysetsfire (1080 Avalanche), so that further backs my theory there :) My second theory as to why Feeling Strangely Fine is my favourite album, is that it satisfies me musically by fulfilling my love of ever-changing, interesting riffs (that come from Dan Wilson). This sort of ties in with my theory that I love anything and everything that Dan Wilson writes, like he is my music god, my musical twin or something. I don't have an explanation for this.. sorry Chris! My third theory is that I love Dan's lyrics. I will say why when I go through the songs. So, these theories may seem weak, but they are just a basis which I will expand on as I go through the songs individually below.

Closing Time, of course, the first track on the album. I must clear this up - I say this to everyone - this song is not about a bar at closing time! It is about childbirth. I am pretty sure it is based on Dan's personal experiences. Now I have cleared this up for you, listen to the song again :) It makes even more sense. Believe it or not, this is my least favourite song on the album. I still love it to pieces, but I just wanted to put it out there. I think this is such a nice sounding song. The piano is a nice touch at the start. This song, like many on the album, builds up progressively a little until the chorus kicks in and so does the guitar. As usual, Dan's lyrics are really nice, especially when you know what he is talking about. I think Dan has a gift in songwriting - both musically and lyrically, just listening to how this song flows. I like the concept of this song.

Singing In My Sleep.. I usually mark this as my favourite song of all time, not just the album. I love the build up in this song, and the repeating riff at the start, and the riff all the way through it stays amazing. This is probably the most upbeat song on the album. I know that is the main reason I like it so much. Dan excelled himself with the lyrics on this song as well - they are so singable and quotable! One of my favourite lines is: 'In the city the Lion sleeps, pray to Sony my soul to keep'. The song is catchy and likable, and leaves you quite happy. The music video is also amazing!

Made to Last is a great song. Again, quite progressive. I always think it sounds nice right after the upbeat sound of Singing In My Sleep. The lyrics I particularly like right at the start of this song. I don't have much else to say about this song. I do think the sense of nostalgia is particularly strong with the this song, probably because it's straight after Singing In My Sleep!

Never You Mind is a fun song. It was co-written by Dan and Jacob. Another great example of Dan's talent both with lyrics - 'Shakin my mind like an Etch-a-sketch erasing'! But also with the music, the piano sounds catchy. I can almost imagine Dan writing this song.

Secret Smile is a nice, sentimental song. It has a good feel to it. Maybe it is just after seeing the video, but it really compliments the lyrics and helps you get into the song. I always think the song is pretty melancholy. I'm not sure it is supposed to be. Along with Closing Time, this is a famous Semisonic song. That isn't the reason It's another one of my lesser favourite songs on the album, though. I think I just love the others so much.

Just listening to DND now, I love the start, the acoustic riff, and Dan's voice. Then the drums step in, then the bass a little later. I enjoy progression. The flow of this song is beautiful. Then Violin later still.. Meanwhile, Dan's lyrics are so cleverly put together - so 'real' but sort of simple in a good way, all at the same time.

Now Completely Pleased. I often tell myself this is my favourite on the album, but I say that about a few of them depending on my mood I guess. I love this song so much! When I was young I never knew what it was about, but I never put much thought into it anyway. I love the 4 strums at the beginning, and riff again of course. I also love the drums then straight after the guitar just before the chorus as they pick up a faster pace. Dan's lyrics on this track are so good! It's such a great song, I always develop a vivid imagination listening to it. I particularly like: 'I want to see you hazy, dazed and confused. I want to see you come, come, completely used'. The 'come come' part being clever in itself of course. Already you can see why Semisonic  is so high in my list - I love the music and the lyrics! I think it's the chorus with the awesome guitar coupled with the lyrics that get me in this song.

This Will Be My Year is definitely in my top 3 tracks on the album, alongside Singing In My Sleep and Completely Pleased. Interestingly, it was composed by Jacob Slitcher (bassist). I really like the sound of the.. whatever it is buzzing and the guitar riffs. I like the lyrics a lot on this one too, they are quite funny and clever. My favourite line has to be 'One wheel in the ditch another spinning in the air, put your pedal down to the floorboard, but your not getting anywhere' - its a nice metaphor. Despite the lyrics being a little depressing, I love the upbeatness of the song, and the way it contradicts the depressive tone!

I love All Worked Out because the lyrics are so blatant, real, simple, honest etc. about life and relationships and it just puts it out there 'She's got it all worked out'. But I like 'And it's strange, but your feeling fine' even more. The idea that this guy has accepted it and is completely comfortable with it. It is almost comic in a way, and It's such a lovely, emotional song. It makes you feel secure and happy. Who wouldn't want to be in a relationship like this?

California is an interesting song. It's my favourite 'slow song' ever! It sounds so cool. Again, predictably, I love the lyrics. Apparently the 'Twelve little pieces of me' are twelve songs he wrote (presumably all on this album). And this song is probably a sort of personal journey through them. I heard this on Dan's new live album Live at the Pantages, along with the fact that he regretted all the money he made from the album it wasn't the intention!

She Spreads Her Wings is the first of two really nice slow songs on the album. I'm not sure about the music, but I think the lyrics were written by John Munson (drummer). The song has a very nice, calming sound.

Gone to the Movies has a really nice acoustic sound. I really, really love the visuals that the lyrics make my mind conjure up. The violins are a nice touch again. Even though this song is a little depressing it makes me happy for some reason! 

To Conclude...

Ok, well, I have hopefully answered why I like Semisonic, or at least Feeling Strangely Fine. I think the recurring reasons are the sort of progressive alternative sound, the riffs, the instrumentation - Dan seems to have an ear for what instruments will sound great at what point. Of course Dan's lyrics as well. Also, of course, the nostalgia that is attached to this record for me is very strong, just like the album itself. It has that distinctive Dan Wilson sound plastered all over it; the love, care and attention that he puts into all his songs. It has stood the test of time until now, and has surpassed all of my other 'nostalgic' bands. So, thank you Dan, Jacob and John for this awesome album.

My thoughts on film critics & so on...

This morning I thought of another topic I can discuss: film critics.

Mum often reads out film reviews from the local newspaper, and my response is usually brief, such as 'meh' or 'whatever' if I bother with a response at all. I take nothing from film reviews in the local paper, on the basis that the critics mostly don't know what they are talking about. Do they really know film enough to gain my respect?

A recent example is as follows.. I read a review about Dollhouse a while back, can't recall the reviewer's name, but he condemed the show when he blatantly knew nothing about it. To be fair on him he had only watched the first few episodes which aren't great (blame Fox for the rewrite...). Nevertheless, he hardly gave the show chance. As an avid fan who has been following everything about the show on dollhouseforums.com months before it aired in the US, I could easily tell he hadn't even bothered to research it at all beyond watching the episodes.

I respect critics in magazines like Total Film and Empire (sometimes I find Empire a bit too up themselves) a lot more. Generally ive found Total Film's ratings and comments to be fair.

I am going to move on to how people in general sometimes rate films. I think it is interesting how people, mostly film students themselves, fall into this 'trap'; missing out one of the most inportant factors - how YOU personally feel about the film. The enjoyment you got out of it. Your gut feeling about the film. Most people are too quick to pick out the film's technical faults such as direction or editing, but forget to mention how they felt about it as a gut feeling. Somebody I know (who doesnt read my blog but ill still keep it anonymous) I find is far too uptight about films, and lets what he (yes he) thinks about the film from a technical standpoint (editing, direction, script etc. - ill call it all technical for now) get in the way of what I think he actually feels about the film. That is the main reason why I think we sometimes differ greatly in film taste.

The main point im trying to get through here, is that I sometimes let some technical 'issues' in a film slip by when I rate a film. This is because, quite frankly, 'I liked the film and I don't give a shit'. I'm not saying 'technical' factors in a film are unimportant, im saying I think some people rely on them too much sometimes when critiquing films.

I'm going to use Porco Rosso as an example here, partly cause I just watched it and I love it so much, partly cause it sitcks out as a film we both disagree on. Unamed said person doesn't give the film top marks because he doesn't like the ending, he thinks it doesnt summarise/conclude properly. My initial thoughts from a gut feeling standpoint are that I disagree. I can't argue on a techical standpoint here, but I love the ending. I think it says what it needs to say. My main arguement FROM a technical stndpoint is that its a foreign film (Japanese) and their way of storytelling is different. This could be just bullshit, but I think it makes some sense, especailly after seeing several Ghibli films. It's just the way they like to end. It is a shame, It might just be me, but I think he doesn't give the film a fair analysis because he cares to much about conformity.

So, these are just MY thoughts on all this, im not getting all elitist or anything.

Don't even get me started on music critcs and reviews... Music is more subjective than film....

The death of good radio?

This is just something to start my blog off; a bit of a rant about one of the most irritating things about radio & popular music at the moment.

I used to enjoy listening to the radio at least a little when I was younger. Nowadays, there is literally nothing I hear that I enjoy. Yes, my taste has developed, but there has been an increase in copycat artists who churn out the same old cliched content recycled from other bands they have heard. For example, 'Indie' once meant the band was independent, but it quickly became a genre of its own, that, to me seemed to cause an influx of these artists doing the same thing musically that quickly became tiresome. Im not critising the genre itself, but the sheer volume of virtually talentless artists copying each other within that genre. Yes, the same can be said for any genre, but indie / new pop especially becomes noticable due to the vast demographic that listens to it, thus the bombardment of radio coverage.

When I think about it, my favourite music has its own special style, a sound/riff that is unique to the band that separates them from the crowd. Melody is very important to me in music, lyrics are important, but I find no matter how hard I try I cannot get interested in music that doesnt have a tune that hooks me.

Radio content these days is all pretty forgettable mainstream stuff. Yes, thats what people want, but why? It's fair enough that music is not that important to many people, but for those like me who have a passion for it, it's a little annoying. I would like to be able to switch on the radio & find something I like playing.

That being said, most of my favourite music has been introduced to me by my dad. But the Semisonic album (Feeling Strangely Fine) was brought back from the US after dad heard it on the radio over there. I listened to that so much growing up & the songs were all so melodically intriguing for me, so listenable but also lyrically great at the same time. Other notible childhood US bands that were introduced by dad are Dave Matthews Band (who, coincidently I went to see live recently they were fantastic), Barenaked Ladies (oops they are Canadian...), Matchbox Twenty & Foo Fighters to name a few.

Now, there is a great site called last.fm for us music lovers, which is fantastic for finding new artists. Over the last year or so I have been constantly astonished by the amount of artists listed on the site of all genres from all countries. Most with strange names & suprising play counts & fan bases considering I have never ever heard of them, so many I have never heard. I have many people to thank on last.fm for indirectly introducing me to music as I surf through their profiles. Coupled with last.fm, Spotify is a great application that streams pretty good quality music (about 128kbps I think...) completely legally for free, at the cost of a few ads every 4 or so songs.

I may have dug myself a hole mentioning last.fm seeing as you could argue that that is my equivelent for a radio. Yes, but no. Sorry, but it's just annoying for me to hear music thats not that great in my opinion on radio, when there is a vast number of great artists out there I would rather listen to when Im on hold (like Hold the Line by Toto for example!) or at the local laundette or wherever.