In my continuing quest for musical enlightment (whatever that may be) I'll be shifting a bit my listening habits. What I'm going to do for some time, to see if it suits me, is to periodically choose half a dozen or so different albums, mostly albums that I haven't really absorbed yet. With all the music I currently own and all that I keep getting every day I feel it's a tough job to actually properly listen to most of it and that's something I don't really feel comfortable with. So the idea is to listen to a selection of works for some time and getting properly acquainted with those, then deciding whether I like it or not.

For whoever's interested and for me to keep track, I've put together this shabby page. From here you can get to know what's spinning around here. Who knows, it may even give you some ideas.

For the record, this has been inspired by Steven Wilson's Current Playlist page. Just so that I don't get suited for copying others without giving credit where credit is due ;) In case you haven't noticed yet, I'm a big fan of Steven Wilson for all his work, especially Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, No-Man, Opeth and Paatos (these last two as a producer).

Oh and by the way, have a good year. Do yourself a favour and be good to yourself and to others. Don't rely on random luck and some god's blessing to do the work for you. Do whatever makes you and the ones you like happy.

"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

Mini-holidays are now officially over. This is going to be insane until mid-January. Resuming work on the Data Warehouse project right now, remotely working with Tiago on this, let's see how it turns out. Right now he's confident we can pull this off, I wish I could share such high spirits about this, but I guess with hard work anything is possible. To make a long story short, we're trying to build a data warehouse out of a regular database which contains information concerning biological warfare. I guess this sounds quite good in theory but rest assured, it's a pain when it comes down to these database issues, it's really not my cup of tea. But hey, it's my job right now and we have to do it.

Other than that and as far as pending tasks are concerned, here's a short breakdown of what's to come in the next few weeks:

* Logic Programming project work: implementing the Othello board game using Prolog. Right now, I don't even know where to start but it's probably not that difficult afterall. Something to start tackle sometime this week too.

* finals on Logic Programming (gotta read on Constraints...), Economy and Numerical Analysis. (I'm particularly worried about this last one but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do).

Ah well.. back to DW.

Playlist for today:

Camel - The Snow Goose
Massive Attack - Danny the Dog
Godspeed You Black Emperor - Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada EP
Dungen - Ta Det Lungt
Kaipa - Notes From the Past
Bola - Gnayse
Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun
Devin Townsend - Accelerated Evolution
Threshold - Wounded Land
Blackfield - Blackfield

Lately, I've been doing quite a lot of research into Mikael Akerfeldt's (Opeth) musical tastes and influences. The most obvious one - judging by the fact that he talks about them one way or another in every interview he gives - is Camel. I've already got hold of their entire catalogue up to 1991 and I'm nothing short of mesmerized. While it is certain that not all of the material has the same quality and while it is also true that I haven't heard enough to make a proper judgement, I can honestly say that some of the more progressive and instrumental passages are quite beautiful. Again, it's music quite unlike much of the other stuff I've been listening to for the past couple of years and to be honest about it, that always pleases me. I like new things.

What triggered this journal entry however was the following quote from a "Damnation" review I've just read a few minutes ago..


Much like Pink Floyd’s conceptual Dark Side Of The Moon and its study of the human psyche, Opeth’s Damnation is rumination on the human ability to deal with loss. The ability for a band with such a bombastic arsenal of musical ability in the field of metal and hard rock to actually perform such songs of melancholy and beauty is a thing of true spectacle. The even more amazing fact is that they performed and recorded Damnation at the exact same time they did Deliverance. Their ability to create two startling pieces of art within the same time frame and under a sense of pressure I can’t even imagine is superhuman in it’s theory alone, much less it’s application. Damnation will be a timeless testament to the will of Opeth’s vision and talent. This is the band that Tool longs to be only if they had the humility, the band that Radiohead longs to be if they only had the chops; Opeth is the band, and make no bones about it; they are the band to lead metal (be it death, black, heavy, progressive) into the promised land.


I found this to be quite interesting and possibly one of the most flattering comments about the band I've ever read. While I don't completely agree with everything it says, I agree with the meaning it tries to convey - that Opeth are an incredible band, capable of doing amazing things and creating fantastic masterpieces. In fact, being compared to Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", even in the most remote situation, is something to be proud of, in my point of view.

However, I beg to differ about the Tool and Radiohead commentary. Both these bands are huge in their own right and I'd rather not mistake grandiosity for humility as far as Tool are concerned. As for Radiohead, if I understood the criticism correctly, the guy who wrote this (Justin Press, for the record) was referring to the Radiohead's drummer being the weakest link of the band. While I tend to agree with that, the band is still so much more than a not-so-good pair of chops. I think whatever Radiohead ever longed to be they always achieved it be it the amazing and heartfelt rock of "The Bends" and "OK Computer" or the electronic experimentalism of "Kid A" or "Amnesiac". All in all, I find it quite difficult to find a term of comparison between these three bands. For me the only thing in common is that within their own particular genre (even if all are genre-defying) they are absolutely terrific and stand well above average.

As for Opeth, I can only eagerly await their next opus, supposedly to be recorded sometime in the Spring of 2005. Considering that Mikael has become a father earlier this year, it will be interesting to see how that will affect his writing, lyrically and musically, and how different Opeth will sound in the future. I'm aware that it'll be particularly difficult to top or even equal efforts like Deliverance and Damnation (in fact that's surely a one-off effort as Mikael states in the Lamentations DVD documentary). But Akerfeldt and the rest of the band are people that, much in the vein of Dream Theater and Mike Portnoy in particular, I've learned to trust and be sure I'll never be disappointed with.

PREFIXMAG

From their Top 60 best albums of 2004:


Xiu Xiu
Fabulous Muscles (5 Rue Christine) Feb. 17, 2004
This is how I like my gays -- wierd and skinny and yelling about cum on their lips.


Priceless.

DEVIN TOWNSEND

So I got sick of hearing good things about this Devin Townsend guy and not knowing any of his stuff. That's no longer the case. I've been listening quite a lot to "Terria" and particularly to "Ocean Machine" and this is great music indeed. Devin Townsend has this unique gift to create a very original kind of metal sound, which bares no resemblance to anything else whatsoever. At least not in my book. Walls of sound, great melodies, churning and downtuned guitars, great and evil screams and soft vocals, this man does everything in a very special and moving way. I can't recommend this high enough.

In a word: lush.

Now I want to get hold of "Infinity" and "Accelerated Evolution"...

OK, back to the Hero of the Day format, for a while at least.

ARJEN LUCASSEN

His latest Ayreon project is just unbelievable. It's called "The Human Equation" and it's a concept album double disc which tells of the feelings and aggravations of this guy who had an accident and now is in a coma desperately trying to get back to life. This scenario turns into redemption and it's amazing how the story unfolds. Many special guests give body (and voice, of course) to the different characters in the concept, which are appropriately called names like "Fear", "Rage", "Love" or "Agony". Of the ones I know (I totally dig!) there's Dream Theater's James LaBrie, Devin Townsend (of Strapping Young Lad and other solo albums) and, most of all for my particular money, Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth fame! But apart from these, I completely loved every other voice. Check the project page for a complete list of every individual that took part of the recordings and for cool studio notes.

I'm totally blown away with this both lyrically and musically. This is totally unlike anything I've ever heard and that also means it is damn good. As the trailer for the special edition DVD claims, it's got 60s and 70s progressive rock elements brought together and evolved into the 21st century. All in all, this album is so musically diverse it's unbelievable. Mixing everything from great keyboards work, to flute, to lots of downtuned guitars and octaved vocals, this is easily a strong (if not the strongest!) contender for best album of 2004!

Already trying to get hold of all of Ayreon's entire back catalogue. Especially because Anneke van Giersbergen of The Gathering sings in one of them.. (Into the Electric Castle).

The day you went away
You had to screw me over
I guess you didn't know
all the stuff you left me with
is way too much to handle
But I guess you don't care

You don't need to preach
you don't have to love me, all the time

Whatever on earth possessed you
to make this bold decision
I guess you don't need me
While whispering those words
I cried like a baby
hoping you would care

You don't need to preach
you don't have to love me, all the time

You don't have to preach
all the time

Note to self: never leave your own space. You are comfortable and safe in there. It's stupid to step outside.

That's what I am. An obsessive music fan searching for the perfect album, song, riff.

Lately I've been totally hooked on Queensrÿche's "Operation: Mindcrime". I had some trouble getting into it when I first gave it a couple of spins but now, as usual, something clicked into place and I'm finding this to be one of the best efforts from 80s. I must say I'm not the biggest fan of the 80s as I find the trademark associated with it to be basically hair metal and poor disco music. I know, I know, I'm not being fair, there was a lot of great music in the 80s and I know that. It's just that generally I have a much better idea of the 70s, for instance, than I have about the 80s (David Bowie for instance made the truly awful "Let's Dance" in 1983 whereas he completely rocked the world with "Ziggy Stardust" in 1972).

I think people in general, myself included, tend to tag the different decades with different kinds of music. I mean, when you think of the 60s, it promptly makes you think of a certain band or style that somehow in your mind represents the entire decade. And the same goes for every other decade up to now. As far as I'm concerned, despite being born in the 80s and therefore having not been around before, the 60s make me think of The Beatles (surprise, surprise), the 70s of Led Zeppelin and generally of great rock and early metal, the 80s of the aforementioned hair metal and poor disco and the 90s of Seattle's Grunge and particularly Nirvana (and the birth of punk pop with Green Day and The Offspring). I won't go any further back considering that when the Beatles stole the show, they pretty much redefined music as we know it now so I'd say their appearance is something compared to BC and AD as far as music is concerned. But hey, that's just my take even if based on general opinion (again, I wasn't around). And it goes without saying that I just left out dozens of very influential bands (Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Metallica just to name a few and a bunch of alternative/indie stuff that seem to have marked the late 90s. AND, for my particular money, Opeth, perhaps the most underrated band of the 90s/00s if you don't count its own particular niche).

Anyway, this isn't supposed to be a music history thread and I'm far from being a good story teller, so... Getting back to the beginning of my post, I find Queenrsrÿche's "Operation: Mindcrime" to be really good and even more so if I try and transport myself back to the 80s. You see, getting to know these bands and albums, especially such ground-breaking stuff, right now in the middle of the 00s, I'm sure it hasn't got half the impact it had before, when it was actually released. Even though I'm really digging it right now, I'm sure I'm biased by bands that weren't even dreamed of then. This means that the comparison criteria would be much different than it is now, for obvious reasons and that pretty much explains why it influenced so many people (Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci of Dream Theater fame for instance). This also makes me give an awful lot of credit to Tool. Their music style is so unlike anything around these days that I
can't help myself from labeling them as truly ground-breaking. That's also why I believe they are today's Pink Floyd, if we take into account musical evolution as a whole. Tool is the stuff our kids will be discovering 20 years too late (but still on time, always on time) and feeling about it the same way I'm doing now for Queensrÿche, or that I did before for albums like Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" and "The Wall", Led Zeppelin's I, II, III and IV or Metallica's "Master of Puppets".

Today is a very sad day or music. "Dimebag" Darrell, legendary former Pantera guitarist, was shot to death last night in a Damageplan gig that took place in Ohio. Despite never getting much into Pantera, I respect those guys. And I'm at a loss of words when trying to describe this situation. As I said, the day that a music player dies on stage because some fucking lunatic has decided that way based on whatever, is the day music at large suffers a serious blow. And that day was yesterday. I didn't know Darrell very well but I feel for him and his relatives and I'm shocked that things like this can happen in the 21st century.
I just hope wherever Darrell is now he can rest in peace and keep on rocking up there.

R.I.P. "Dimebag" Darrell