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kasari
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Name:
Country: United States
State: Pennsylvania
Metro: Philadelphia
Birthday: 6/8/1977
Gender: Male
Interests: photography, old cameras, medium format cameras, music production & recording, bass guitar, beat programming, creativity, concerts, travelling, new experiences, books, Cosby sweaters, record stores, HBO shows, alternate realities, parallel universes, choices/consequences, making friends, learning...reading, writing....fuck arithmetic
Expertise: I have no "expertise." I'm originally from Louisville, KY. Check out my photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kasari
Occupation: Artist
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
2/15/2003
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hello.
i like take photo.
i put photo on interwebs.
i am liking you to see them.
gratitude.
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alright, quick update...
things are good.
Radiohead.
Not only are they playing 2 nights in Philly right? But the shows are at the Tower Theater which holds about 4000 people and has amazing sound and sightlines. AND, I'm lucky enough to have an amazing girlfriend who actually got through on ticketmaster.com and scored us tickets! unbelievable. After the Tool show at the same venue sold out in about 5 minutes I assumed that Radiohead would be even tougher, but fate smiled on us and we're in.
I was checking out setlists from a couple of recent shows that they played in Copenhagen and they were full of new songs as well as a few older rare songs that they haven't played in 7 or 8 years!! We're talking Planet Telex, Nude, Let Down, and freakin' Black Star!! I'd freak out about seeing any one of those songs...much less all 4 in the same show. This little mini-tour should be interesting.
Tool.
ALSO playing at the Tower Theater next Wednesday, May 17th! After getting completely shut out for tickets when they went on sale, I eventually got a ticket thanks to some very cool people with "connections."
So, essentially I am going to see my 2 favorite bands in the world at special shows at the same small venue within 2 weeks of each other.
And speaking of Tool, I guess we should probably talk a little bit about "10,000 Days" huh? I, like most Tool fans, heard "Vicarious" first. It popped up online around the time it started being played on the radio. I tried to resist downloading it at first because I thought maybe I should wait and hear the whole album start to finish, ya' know? But, I'm weak. I couldn't resist hearing new material. So, I listened to it and was blown away. I was up jumping around my apartment in excitement. It sounded to me like all different parts of "Lateralus" taken apart and pieced back together to make something new. My already high expectations for the album climbed even higher. Then, when the album leaked I couldn't wait to check it out.
I'll admit, at first I was a bit disappointed. I put "Lateralus" on such a pedestal that it is probably impossible for anything to ever top it for me personally. I think maybe I wanted "Lateralus 2" and the similar style of "Vicarious" had me kind of expecting that. But "10,000 Days" is not like "Lateralus". That's kind of the beauty of opening the album with "Vicarious" though. It's like Tool saying, "remember when we sounded like this?...wasn't that great? well, now we sound like this...you don't know it yet, but it's great too..." And it is..it just took me a few listens and a few days to really start appreciating it. It takes patience...it's emotional and personal and somber a lot of the time, but after I had a chance to listen to the lyrics and learn the subtle changes within the songs, things began to click for me.
Some of my observations and highlights...
"Vicarious"
Still my favorite track on the album. 5/4 time. Everyone is completely ON. "part vam-pire...part war-rior...carn-i-vore...and...voy-eur..." Maynard's spacing of his syllables in that section remind me of the "black...then...white are...all i see..." stuff on "Lateralus". And it's sync with the guitar in that part is siiiiick. I also really like the "killed by the husband...drowned by the ocean...shot by his own son...she used the poison" verse.
"Jambi"
The timing on this song is just crazy...interlocking beats and what-not. Parts of this song feel like A Perfect Circle meets Tool to me. This is one of the things about this album that really bothered me at first. There are a few cases on the album that make me feel that way and it just seemed like APC was rubbing off on Maynard and subsequently Tool. But, the band still does some cool shit on this one. Adam's talk-box solo is so much cooler than I was imagining when I heard he was using one on this album. I think I was hearing cheesy Frampton style shit in my head...but I should have known better than to doubt Jones...and the section immediately following the solo is one of my favorite riffs of the album, but it's only about 12 seconds long. But, i kind of remixed it in Pro Tools and looped that part a few times seamlessly as to extend it a bit...it's just too badass for 12 seconds. haha...
"Wings For Marie Pt.1"
I love the panning in the beginning and the way it speeds up and slows down. This is where the lyrics get particularly personal with Maynard singing to his late mother.
"She never told a lie
Well might of told a lie
But never lived one.
Didn’t have a life
Didn’t have a life
But surely saved one.
Alright, now it’s time for us to let you go..."
"10,000 Days (Wings Part 2)"
Maynard continues to sing to his mother, describing her faith and devotion. I find this song fascinating because of Maynard's willingness to accept her faith, despite his own indifference. A stark contrast to his bitter viewpoint on songs like "Judith" (also about his mother) and her blind faith. But, he still seems to resent what happened to his mother urging her to demand her wings from "the spirit, the son, and the father" before revisiting his words from part one...
"please forgive this bold suggestion:
should you see your maker's face tonight.
Look him in the eye.
Look him in the eye and tell him
I never lived a lie, never took a life,
but surely saved one.
Hallelujah,
it's time for you to bring me home."
It's a pretty powerful song...it sneaks up on you. If and when they play this live it is going to be mindblowing, especially with the corresponding thunder storm sounds and effects. Going to be epic...
I could go on and on...I'll get around to writing about the rest of the album soon. For now I'll just say that while the new album isn't quite on par with "Lateralus" or "Aenima", it is still 77 minutes of new Tool material and that's better than 99% of, well...just about everything.
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I should have written this a while back but I procrastinate a lot. I do. I admit it. It's a problem. Anyway, Katie and I went to NYC the weekend before last to see Broken Social Scene at Webster Hall. So, for those of you that like BSS, I thought I'd post a few photos and what not.
They actually played 3 nights there so we went up on Saturday to hang out in the city and try to find tickets before the show since it was sold out. We kind of figured that if we couldn't find any tickets outside we could at least just go bar hopping in the Village all night. Nothing wrong with that. But, things actually worked out great. We took the train up from Philly and checked into the Union Square Inn which was really pretty affordable for a hotel in the city. We then walked around the village for a bit before making our way over to Webster Hall to hopefully find someone with extra tickets. Turns out they had released tickets before the show the previous couple of nights and were doing the same that night, so the minute the doors opened up we strolled right in and bought 2. Perfect. Sometimes it pays to take chances.
Tickets in hand, we walked around the corner for a pre-game beer or 2 and found a bar called Nevada Smith's. This place is awesome. It is a full on soccer bar. The only thing playing on about 10 TVs was soccer. All sorts of different games...current, historic, classic, World Cup, etc...This is one of the things that I love about New York. There aren't many cities in America where you can dedicate an entire bar to soccer and have it be successful. But, you can in New York. And they had a lot of good beers on tap taboot! Cheers mate!
On to the show. A lot of people that see a lot of shows in NYC often complain about shows at Webster Hall for some reason. I'm not sure why. This was my 3rd time there and I found it to be perfectly enjoyable. The floor ended up a little packed but there was plenty of room up in the balcony and the sound up there was great. Before the show, this guy (i hesitate to call him a DJ) was playing all sorts of cool shit. This is the kind of "DJ" gig I would love to lock down. Very little actual mixing involved, just picking out really cool shit to play and crossfading into the next song, etc. But, i'm not talking shit because the guy had great taste....Juan Maclean, Clap Your Hands, The Rakes, etc...
The lights go down and "For Those About to Rock" by AC/DC comes on. Kevin Drew slowly struts to the mic and informs us that it is night 3 in New York and that 3 is his favorite number. I took that as a good sign. The show was incredible. I'm not going to give a song by song or anything like that, but suffice to say they came to play Saturday night. They played over 2 and a half hours and played 20 songs. And they played what, to me, were definitive versions of a few of their songs. There was just a LOT of good energy going around and it was coming through in their performance. Some highlights as far as I'm concerned:
*They opened with their fairly new song "All the Gods" which was my first time hearing it played. Great opener.
*Emily Haines was there and she came out to sing quite a few songs like "Anthems For a 17 Year Old Girl" (which she called "a really sad song" afterwards), "Swimmers", "Backyards", "Almost Crimes", etc. That was great because up until this show, I had seen BSS perform with Amy Millan (from Stars) once, Lisa Lopsinger a couple of times, and Feist once...but I'd never seen Emily Haines. So, that was cool.
*Speaking of Feist...in between a couple of songs, Kevin was talking about how they'd promised to play us 20 songs but they were running out of songs. So, he asked "what should we play?" and someone yelled out "Let it Die" which is a Feist song. So, he actually sang a quick acapella version while the band tuned. He then went on to say "what a great song. ahhh Feist. Isn't she great? I wish she was here..." This only strengthened Katie's theory that he is really in love with Feist.
*At some point during the show, and then again later (man, I wish I'd written down the setlist) they brought out their producer Dave Newfeld to play guitar and keys on a few tunes. I thought that was really cool because he is kind of the unsung here/secret weapon as far as their albums go. Producers never really get as much credit as they deserve so it's cool that they share the stage with him.
*Towards the end of the show, the band had left the stage for an "encore break" and so Kevin sang "All My Friends" by himself. I love that song. One of my favorite simple, quiet, heart-breaking songs, and one that I never thought that they actually played live. I got the feeling that they don't because before it he said, "you're about to watch me re-learn a song on the fly." or something like that. Great moment. Then they played "Jimmy & the Photocall"!! Nice one,two punch there.
*Lights were great in Webster Hall. I'm used to seeing them in smaller places like the TLA in Philly where the lighting leaves a lot to be desired.
and last but not least...
Of course, they closed the show with "It's All Gonna Break" and at one point they had 19 people on stage, i shit you not. Ridiculous...horns, shakers, tambourines, you name it. Brought the house down.
So, yeah...
Train to NYC & back: $33
Hotel in NYC: $150
tickets: $50
beers in NYC: $6
Broken Social Scene: priceless.
There ARE some things that money can't buy. For everything else.... i go in debt...
oh, I almost forgot. If anyone is interested in seeing more pictures from the show, I have more posted on my Flickr Page
check it out.
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I guess it really is mid-December already, which means once again...'tis the season for Top 10 lists. It also means that I really slacked on the that whole writing in the blog thing this year. For that I apologize to any of you out there that might actually care (of whom, I can only think of one). I should make that a resolution this year I suppose...more photos...more blog entries...more personal writing...and so on.
Anyway, 2005 turned out to be an outstanding year for music in my opinion, especially when compared to last year. So many new bands crawled out of the woodwork and grabbed me by the ears and said, "now you're gonna listen to THIS and you're gonna get your shit together man!" And they were half right. I did listen. And I liked a LOT of it.
So, in case any of those bands missed your place on their door to door, ear-grabbing campaigns, I am here to whisper in your ear "psst...check THIS out..." Also, a lot of old favorites popped in just to say "save a bus ride or 3 for our new shit too you fuckin' freak!" So, i did! Those bus rides were great too! And when I put my favorite songs from all of these 2005 albums together in a playlist and put it on shuffle, I can't help but be grateful for the unprecedented access to new music that you and i are privy to. It's freaking mindblowing and it's only getting better.
Last year at this time I had no idea what a Wolf Parade song sounded like and I had only heard a hint of what Bloc Party was rrreally capable of in the studio. Nowadays I listen to those bands daily. Who knows what we'll be listening to next year at this time...(barring the end of the world of course)...and that's...well...comforting.
So, with no further bullshit. Here is what I consider to be the Top 10 albums of 2005...
10. The Juan Maclean "Less Than Human"
9. The White Stripes "Get Behind Me Satan"
8. Sigur Ros "Takk"
7. Brothers Past "This Feeling's Called Goodbye"
6. Okkervil River "Black Sheep Boy"
5. My Morning Jacket "Z"
4. Wolf Parade "Apologies to the Queen Mary"
3. Broken Social Scene "Broken Social Scene"
2. LCD Soundsystem "LCD Soundsystem"
1. Bloc Party "Silent Alarm"
Kind of predictable I guess. I had LCD at #1 for a long time (I've listened to that shit the most all year and still am not tired of it). But if we are talking "albums" here...like, put it on and listen from beginning to end, then I have to go with "Silent Alarm." I'm sure that the hippest of hipsters will scoff...but I could give a fuck. I know that the end of the year backlash is inevitable when it comes to Bloc Party because they had so much hype thrown at them all year. But, that's part of what I like so much about this band...they could back up the hype surrounding them with a brilliant debut album. I can't wait to hear what they do next (as long the aforementioned backlash doesn't do their heads in first).
There were of course a lot of honorable mentions as well...i could easily do a Top 20 but that's just too much. That being said, if I were to expand the list, these would find their way on it...
Out Hud "Let Us Never Speak Of It Again"
Lake Trout "Not Them, You"
Boards of Canada "The Campfire Headphase"
Beck "Guero"
Dungen "Ta Det Lugnt"
Benevento Russo Duo "Best Reason to Buy the Sun"
Spoon "Gimme Fiction"
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club "Howl"
Blockhead "Downtown Science"
There are also several front-runners for my 2006 list. I heard these as imports this year but they won't be domestically released until next year so I'll save them for that list. They are...
The Rakes - "Capture/Release"
Clor - "Clor"
Editors - "The Back Room"
Test Icicles - "For Screening Purposes Only"
In keeping with tradition I also attempted to put together a "Best of 2005" compilation disc with some of the best tracks from all of these albums. I threw them all in an iTunes playlist and ended up with 3 discs worth of songs. hmmm...I told you it was good year! So, I pieced together 2 great discs and sequenced what was left into a 3rd. They ended up looking like this:
Disc 1:
1. "Hi, How Are You" - The Brakes
2. "Like Eating Glass" - Bloc Party
3. "Give Me Every Little Thing (Cajmere Remix)" - The Juan Maclean
4. "On Repeat" - LCD Soundsystem
5. "Fancy Claps" - Wolf Parade
6. "I Want None of This" - Radiohead
7. "Sunny's Song" - Benevento Russo Duo
8. "Will You Smile Again For Me" - ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead
9. "Celebrity" - Brothers Past
10. "Hotel" - Broken Social Scene
11. "Off the Record" - My Morning Jacket
12. "Red Rain" - The White Stripes
13. "Home" - Engineers
14. "Tribulations" - LCD Soundsystem
15. "I Turn My Camera On" - Spoon
16. "We Are All Animals" - The Rakes
17. "For Real" - Okkervil River
18. "You'll Always Have a Place To Stay" - The Brakes
Disc 2:
1. "Yeah (Crass Version)" - LCD Soundsystem
2. "You Are A Runner & I Am My Father's Son" - Wolf Parade
3. "Circle Square Triangle" - Test Icicles
4. "The Good Ones" - The Kills
5. "Price of Gas" - Bloc Party
6. "Disco Infiltrator" - LCD Soundsystem
7. "Welcome Red" - Benevento Russo Duo
8. "Superconnected" - Broken Social Scene
9. "Saeglopur" - Sigur Ros
10. "It Kills" - Stephen Malkmus
11. "Forever For Her (Is Over For Me)" - The White Stripes
12. "My Mathematical Mind" - Spoon
13. " Expiration Date" - Blockhead
14. "Shining Skinned Friend" - The Juan Maclean
15. "Dondante" - My Morning Jacket
16. "All My Friends" - Broken Social Scene
Disc 3:
1. "Wordless Chorus" - My Morning Jacket
2. "Kids With Guns" - Gorillaz
3. "One Rabbit Race" - Brothers Past
4. "BYOB" - System of a Down
5. "Shiny Wrapper" - Lake Trout
6. "7/4 (Shoreline)" - Broken Social Scene
7. "Space For Rent" - Who Made Who
8. "T Bone" - The Rakes
9. "The Song So Good They Named It Twice" - Out Hud
10. "When I Go Deaf" - Low
11. "Windsurfing Nation" - Broken Social Scene
12. "The Stamen of the Shamen" - Shpongle
13. "Complicated Situation" - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
14. "Forever For Her (Is Over For Me)" - The White Stripes
15. "The Present" - Bloc Party
16. "Major Label Debut (Fast)" - Broken Social Scene
17. "I'll Believe in Anything" - Wolf Parade
18. "Compliments" - Bloc Party
If you are a friend of mine, these are what you are getting for Christmas this year from your broke-ass friend....me.
Merry Freakin' Christmas.
So, like I said last year, if anyone out there reads this and has their own Top 10 albums of 2005 list or has put together a Best of 2005 compilation, please, by all means, leave me a comment with your picks. Or, tell me...what is your favorite song of the year? your favorite album? your favorite concert that you went to? What song made you cry this year? What is the one line or verse from a song that you rrrrreally wish you had thought of first? You know, stuff like that....feel free to improvise on these themes...just tell me *something* about music and your life over the past year.
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