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I just wish that I was perfect >.<
I have forgotten the page and chapter in which F. Scott Fitzgerald describes Jay Gatsby’s smile in his novel The Great Gatsby.
This is a very important setback.
Alright folks, it’s that time of the year again – the moment where I start to blab near-endlessly about what constituted auditory heaven for my ears over the past 365 days or so. I admit that this year’s edition of my musical faves has been a bit late in its coming, and – with the self-trumpeting hope that there were actually some of you out there who were waiting for this list LOL – I apologize for the slight delay, and thank you very much for waiting. Reason for delay? Well, I think I’ve lost my blogging “mojo” (as Atif would put it) as of late, and getting it back hasn’t been the easiest of tasks lol >.< As I write this, I have about five different posts on draft, and none of them are even close to completion lol. Which is quite a shame, as I think that some of them really deserve as much air-time as possible and haste of production.
Regardless, I have to say that I think I actually spent quite a few days (subconsciously) mulling about this particular post over and over again in my head, mainly thinking of how best to pull it off. There are quite a few things I want to achieve with it, and as seeing that I only get to do this once a year, I want to make sure that I would be completely and thoroughly satisfied with the end-product. In order to achieve this, I began asking myself these following questions over and over again as a rubric of sorts to help me complete this recollective post:
1 – Ultimately, what makes a music album definitively enjoyable?
2 – How do I reconcile albums from different genres (and thus different aims) with my different tastes?
And most importantly -
3 – How do I do all of these works justice, regardless of where they came from?
Previous editions of my annual musical reviews have featured a ranking system of some sort, in where I would name the “Top 5 Albums of the Year” and proceed from there on, providing special mentions to the odd album here and there because I felt they merited it. However, with 2008 being my year of introduction to Metallica (I thank you very much Mr. John Sergeant!!) and their brand of heavy metal, coupled with my personal discovery of what constituted musical critique and finesse (merci beaucoup Monsieur Atif Slim! =) ) I realized that a ranking system would be terribly inadequate. Artists have different goals when they set out to create their respective works – some aim to experiment (the Butterfingers), some aim to recreate and renew old melodies (The Black Mages); yet some aim to return to their same old winning formula in the hope that it will sell (Metallica & R.E.M.), while others just want to have a ball while they’re at it (Trent Reznor of the Nine Inch Nails).
So how do I show my respect to those varying goals and aims, and yet manage to critically evaluate the songs as unique and whole works (as per the questions above)?
Easy. I’ll scrap the ranking system.
For this year (at least), I will be doing away with my past trend of ranking the albums I listened to over the past year. Instead, what you will see is a clear subdivision of albums which I very highly recommend (for sampling and/or purchase), contrasted with albums which I thought were essentially forgettable and worth missing out on. Personally, I think that is the best (and only) way that I can manageably answer all the three questions which I posed to myself at the start of this review. Before I begin, two more caveats; they are as follows: firstly, unlike previous years, in where the best music of the year was defined as the stuff I listened to over the course of the year, this review will only encompass albums from the past calendar year – that is to say, only 2008 releases need apply. This is because I listened to a LOT of old stuff this year – the best example of which I guess is my stint with Metallica and also Nobuo Uematsu’s soundtracks for Final Fantasies I-IX – thus this limitation has to apply, for if you told me to fly with my previous system, this post would essentially be a recap of Metallimaterial lol.
Secondly (and this is the flipside of #1 above), I listened to very few new albums this year – only fourteen in total – as a result of my frequent forays into the past. This was further aggravated by the fact that halfway through 2008 I randomly decided to adopt a “No More Illegal Downloading” policy, effectively isolating myself from modern musical development until I had the moolah to actually go and get them legally. Also, since I didn’t listen to all that much that’s new this year, I can actually afford to spend some time on all fourteen of the albums I listened to, and tell you specifically why it is where it is. Heh, so far, this edition of my personal review on musical greats of the year past promises – at the very least – to be obliquely interesting eh?
Yeap 800+ words and I still haven’t started the review yet LOL =p I guess my blogging mojo’s back after all XD
Anyway, here we go:
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
I begin this review with my list of the albums which in my books were incredibly brilliant and definitely worth checking out. The very first album I would like to mention is this one:
The Black Mages III – Darkness and Starlight, The Black Mages.
Release Date: 19th March 2008, Number of Tracks: 10-
If the ranking system was still in place and I had to pick an “Album of the Year”, it would – in all likelihood – be this one. In featuring an eclectic yet absorbing blend of tune remakes that will excite many a Final Fantasy fan, The Black Mages’ third album is by far their best yet. What makes this album stand out in particular is the fact that it is blatantly clear that the song selection was predicated on the internal question of which tunes did fans of the original franchise probably want to listen to the most; to this end, Darkness and Starlight succeeds magnificently. From the first introductory beats of Final Fantasy VII’s Opening – Bombing Mission, all the way to the stunning finish of The Extreme (Final Fantasy VIII), and the soaring vocals of the title track, this album never fails to please. The added bonus of improvement in the band’s overall cohesion and instrumental speed further adds to this wondrous collage of metalized remakes.
My only complaint is this – the band had initially promised a two disc album. Big lie. LOL.
A must-have if you’re a metal fan with deep childhood roots in the FF franchise.
Death Magnetic, Metallica.
Release Date: 12th September 2008, Number of Tracks: 10-
However, the only other thing that is just as fantastic as a Japanese album full of classic remakes is a return of a heavy metal powerhouse; for 2008, Death Magnetic was that compilation. The first full Metallica studio album since 2003’s (bad) St. Anger, Death Magnetic begins the redemption process from the get-go. Fast, furious, and a welcome return to the roots of the late 1980s, this album never fails to please with it’s fantastic band jams and guitar solos. The album’s first single, The Day That Never Comes, is in and off itself indicative of the direction that Metallica would take for its ninth studio album – it is arranged in the exact manner of classics like One and Fade To Black. And if super-catchy guitar riff sections are your thing, then try Cyanide, which hands-down gets my vote for best riff of the year; it won’t disappoint. Want a lengthy instrumental? Suicide & Redemption is right up your street.
However, the best track on this album by a mile is the nicely-titled midpoint All Nightmare Long. Booming, loud, and amazing to hear live, this track is also where vocalist Hetfield showcases some of his best lyrical writing in many many years, and is proof that these metal gods are far, far from going down the path defined by Neitzsche’s lamentations.
And oh, did I mention that it has four Grammy nominations? Including for Best Rock Album?
Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes.
Release Date: 3rd June 2008, Number of Tracks: 11-
Okay the fact that I’m subsconcsiously ranking these albums is getting annoying. I openly admit that the first three albums I am listing here are definitely ordered in a sequence that yields my personal favouritism; I promise that this trend will probably stop after this one, however.
That said, the Fleet Foxes’ debut album is a particularly amazing compliation. For the uninitiated, the band is a baroque harmonic pop group from our friendly neighbours down south; Seattle to be specific. The band catapulted themselves into the public eye with their Sun Giant EP, solidified their position with their first single off their self-titled debut – White Winter Hymnal - and have stayed there ever since. If you were to grab me by the throat and jam a mottled sandwich up my behind by way of forcing me to come up with one word to describe this album, it would be “beautiful”. Incredibly harmonic yet ingenious in its simplicity, the album never fails to put me in mind of serene winter landscapes and lush green forests at the same time; particular gems on this one do include tracks like Sun It Rises, Quiet Houses, Tiger Mountain Peasant Song and Ragged Wood.
And if you like, there’s even a pseudo instrumental – Heard Them Stirring – with the marvellous implement of vocals to accompany the gentle strumming and haunting bass line. This album also ranks as the eleventh best album of the year on the Rolling Stones, the third on Amazon.com, second on Q Magazine, and # 1 on The Times, Under The Radar, and No Ripcord.
So how can a body die, you tell?
The Alchemy Index: Volumes III & IV, Thrice.
Release Date: 15th April 2008, Number of Tracks: 12-
Okay so here’s where it gets a bit too close to call. Coming in at no particular position is the second parter of The Alchemy Index album series by the alternative band Thrice. Originally planned as a compliation of four discs – with each section representing the four elements of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire – The Alchemy Index was instead distributed over two sections in 2007 and 2008. Here you see the volumes of Air & Earth, which built on the illustrious songwriting epitomized by the series’ first two releases. Very, very rarely do you see a band change their sound as part of their musical growth; believe it or not, Thrice does it four times over the course of two years. In the case of this compliation, the Air section sounds VERY distinct from the later Earth, with the former sounding more rarified as opposed to the closing six tracks, which have a bluegrass feel to them.
Element-based auditory changes aside, check out the songs themselves as individual components – Broken Lungs (nice title eh?) for one, identifies itself as a post-9/11 tune…without telling you so. No joke – upon listening to it you will know it’s a song with apocalyptic regret and despair without any real inkling why you feel as such @.@ Incredible. Then there’s the pair of allusionary tracks – Daedalus and A Song For Milly Michaelson – in where the former is particularly brilliant; all this is followed up by the Earth section, which trumpets fantastic haunting tracks like Come All You Weary and Moving Mountains, plus catchy ones like The Earth Isn’t Humming.
An incredibly solid second effort to follow-up and equally solid first parter.
On a final note – check out the titles of the song and see how they relate to their respective elements. Neat eh? =)
Narrow Stairs, Death Cab For Cutie.
Release Date: 13th May 2008, Number of Tracks: 12-
First runner-up of my random “Lend Me Your Ears” post, DCFC’s Narrow Stairs was also well worth the purchase. Its first single I Will Possess Your Heart is the epitome of radio perfection, with its heart-felt bassline and catchy piano-guitar intermissions. Many, many songs on this one present the fact that the band toiled long and hard to create songs that actually worked on more than one level – even if they were as short and apparently pointless as You Can Do Better Than Me. Songs to look out for aside from the first single do include Long Division, Talking Bird, The Ice Is Getting Thinner, Cath…, Your New Twin Sized Bed, and Grapevine Fires.
In short, nothing incredibly perfect (and from what I hear, nothing close to 2003’s Plans as well), but highly commended nevertheless. I should also note that this work was memorable enough to make me look forward to purchasing DCFC’s earlier releases in the near future, which is a very strong accolade to say the least.
Finally, for those completely new to the band, the best way I can describe them is that they sound like a weird cross between Coldplay and Snow Patrol; stronger beats, less subtlety, and better lyrics. This is by no means a bad thing, as even independently the band stay remarkably pristine, but to set them up against another band from the same genre is where one truly appreciates the music that DCFC produces by way of noticing the little things that matter.
Speaking of which -
Viva La Vida, Coldplay.
Release Date: 11th June 2008, Number of Tracks: 10-
The sixth album I want to mention in this space is the much-touted Coldplay release of 2008, Viva La Vida. I’ll be open and honest – I don’t think it’s anywhere as good as the Fleet Foxes’ self-titled debut, or even Day & Age (see below) but it’s still a pretty good album overall, if not ultimately forgettable. Chris Martin sounds harsher and less sultry – a reinvention if you will – and the band has chosen to do away with meandering tunes, instead going for the hardline, packaging solid guitar riffs in songs like 42 and Violet Hill. The album is great music for the mornings, and also for long bike rides on a cool summer day (my personal favourite is listening to Strawberry Swing whilst I roll past Dow’s Lake on the Rideau Canal…sorry, that was random XD), and I think it’s safe to say that everyone can find something to like about this release.
And if you want more value for your money, try going for the Viva La Vida + Prospekt’s March EP combo. I haven’t heard the whole EP myself, but Glass of Water sounds impressive, as does Life In Technicolour II.
Not the best album of the year, but a solid effort nevertheless from this influential British band.
Day & Age, The Killers.
Release Date: 24th November 2008, Number of Tracks: 12-
Now this one I like a lot. It was officially the last “new for the year” album I listened to in 2008, and probably one of the best as well (Atif mesti tengah suka nih XD + =p). I picked up half of it just before I left for Cork Worlds (damn that reminds me – am yet to get much done on that post >.<), and resumed listening after I got back – God bless this last-minute entry lol. Verdict? Good. Very, in fact.
I never gave much air-time to The Killers, never having really fallen for their oblique tunes with random lyrics and equally arbitrary silliness, but I’m glad I did this time for Day & Age is a truly spectacular release. Human and Spaceman, the first two singles off the album are near the top of my repertoire of favourites at the moment; don’t let that distract you however, for the compilation has much much more to offer. The arrangement of the songs are fantastic, and all of them exhibit the one thing that is soooo missing in many a modern track – a good hook lol. Try songs like I Can’t Stay and This Is Your Life to see what I mean - the former has an incredibly haunting tonal lift to the chorus (“In the darkkk…for a while now…“) while the latter has this enchanting pseudo-choir and bassline at the very beginning which never fails to get my head bobbing in time with music.
And when you’re done with those two, try Neon Tiger, Losing Touch, and A Crippling Blow (another personal fave, this one). Even the extremely long Goodnight, Travel Well is pretty fine in it’s own right actually; they all sound weird, completely unserious and even sarcastic – if that trait can be expressed musically that is. In short, this album simply bleeds character. Highly recommended.
A much better listen than the over-hyped (to me at least) Viva La Vida, seriously. Run Neon Tiger!! XD
Kembali, Butterfingers.
Release Date: 6th July 2008 Number of Tracks: 11-
“Ku mahu hidup seribu tahun lagi…“
If the band keeps producing albums like these, they sure as hell will lol. Kembali is the Butterfingers’ sixth full-length studio album, and the second one recorded entirely in Malay. Regardless of what language these guys sing in – they can yodel in Tagalog for all I care – their abundance of creativity never fails to amaze me. The Butterfingers are perhaps the only Malaysian alt rock band that I know who are really capable of infusing Malay cultural heritage into their music, creating a coherent final work that screams modernity, yet preaches memory…if that makes sense at all.
Joget Global is a pristine example of this. Never had I envisioned a syair being used to introduce a rock song lol. And there’s Bebas, with it’s intelligent usage of Malay nursery rhymes to tell a story of a modern soul desiring the freedom ring. Then there’s Maharani – vintage musical commentary at it’s best. And that’s only the first three songs – I haven’t even gotten into describing how much I like 1000 Tahun Mahu Hidup yet. However, despite all this, some older fans of the band might find this release a little too hard to stomach – gone are the days of heavy guitar riffing and throbbing bass lines; the best parallel I can find to this is Metallica’s almost random country/blues reinvention with Load and ReLoad in the late 1990s, after almost a decade of heavy metal.
But hey, isn’t that what good artists do?
The Slip, Nine Inch Nails.
Release Date: 5th May 2008 Number of Tracks: 10-
Ah, yet another late entry; in the case of The Slip, I only began listening to it around ten days before the end of the year lol; but trust me, it’s good fun. From the moment the very first notes of 1,000,000 (yes that’s the name of a song XD And believe me you, the song before that one is called 999,999 LOL) exited my speakers, I was hooked lol. The album is extremely catchy, and features Trent Reznor at his absolute digitized best – claustrophobic, surreally rockified, and hauntingly ambient. Interestingly, the entire work that is The Slip was written in a month, mixed in the space of three weeks, and the final flurry of activity came in the form of the track listing and lyrics being finished on Wednesday the 1st of May, the final mix and sequencing on the Thursday, the mastering on Friday, artwork on Saturday, with the album being released on Sunday – the fifth of May.
I kid you not lol.
What’s astounding (despite all the speed of production) is the fact that The Slip is simply an all-round good album, to put it in layman’s terms; tracks to watch out for include the aforementioned numerically titled ones, Discipline (the first single), Head Down, Echoplex, and also Letting You. The ambient tracks like Corona Radiata may take a while to get used to, but it’s a very welcome addition to the musicscape regardless – I like to think of it as a pseudo-ballad in the absence of any real ones (rock ballads) on the album.
And you know what’s the best part? This album is completely, absolutely free – for all the generally-frowned-upon acts of download, remix, and distribution. Again, I kid you not; to quote Trent Reznor himself: “thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years – this one’s on me”. I encourage you folks to check it out and give this fantastic artist the attention he deserves; it may even go a long way towards settling the “music = public domain?” debate lol.
The NIN website can be found here. And do try this song out while you’re there =)
Flavors of Entanglement, Alanis Morissette.
Release Date: 10th June 2008 Number of Tracks: 16-
The final album to be categorized as a hit – everything else after this is all a miss – is the latest release from the lady who arguably forms the home team lol. Ottawa-born Alanis Morissette’s latest work is the only new female work I touched all year, and it gives me hope that someday I will be able to expand my musical tastes to more than the young male adult stereotype of metal and alt music lol. Flavors of Entanglement retails in two forms – a standard single disc edition and a double-disc deluxe alternative; this review centers around the deluxe addition. Arguably this is quite a shame, as most of my favourites are from the second disc to be honest (songs that come to mind do include On The Tequila, Madness, Orchid, and Limbo No More). This second parter contains the best ballads, and also some more uppity tunes that I would highly recommend getting for only a couple dollars more.
Assuming that you only have enough turkey to peruse the first disc however, it’s still not a bad bet. Underneath, for one, is the best Alanis song I’ve heard in ages. Others like Straitjacket, Citizen of the Planet, and Moratorium are far from shabby as well. One of the best descriptions that I can find (read: not original) for this experienced artist’s songs this time around would be the following: imagine a “fuse of technological sonic landscapes with more organic ones”.
Pretty much how I would describe this one; a sweet piece of work indeed.
THE MISSES:
Alright, now for the not-so-good ones. WARNING: some of my personal choices may disappoint many of you lol:
Accelerate, R.E.M.
Release Date: 1st April 2008 Number of Tracks: 11-
Yes I can see the flak coming right about now lol. Yes folks, I did not like R.E.M.’s latest release. I thought that it – as a independent music piece at least – was incredibly bland, simplistic, and forgettable *runs and hides from Daniel Sonego’s – my housemate who’s an R.E.M. fan – intense shelling XD*. But seriously though, even though it had it’s moments, I felt that Accelerate was more than easily eclipsed by other releases of the year – a pretty sad statement for a bad in it’s fourteenth studio album cycle >.< It’s not completely bad, it’s just that I did not find it memorable at all, in any way whatsoever.
Is it catchy? No.
Is it haunting? Not really.
Is it interesting? I’m sorry, but no >.<
Maybe I’m still not mature enough musically to appreciate this band, but that isn’t really my fault is it? I’ll be looking at this album long and hard 20 years down the line, and if I have to retract my opinion, I will. But for now, it stays here as a dud of 2008.
We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, Jason Mraz.
Release Date: 13th May 2008 Number of Tracks: 12-
I’m sure this is a surprise as well. I know many a friend out there who feels that Jason Mraz produced another sure-fire winner with his latest release; but I have to beg to differ. I listened to We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things over the summer of 2008, and I have to say that it was almost a complete waste of my time lol. The album drags on, and on, and on, with no real attempt whatsoever to define itself – save for the fact that this isn’t classic catchy Mraz anymore - leaving me struggling to pick out the occassional gem in the whole pile of mediocrity. There are some tracks which are pretty good I guess – the duet with Colbie Caillat is particularly nice, and so is Love For A Child plus Beautiful Mess…and I suppose I could say The Dynamo of Volition is okay-ish. But the other eight are infinitely forgettable >.<
I’ll name the outright duds though: Live High – bleargh I get nightmares TRYING to remember that one =.=” – , Butterfly, Coyotes (a lame excuse for a song), Only Human, and If It Kills Me.
This one sure as hell almost did lol.
Ghosts I, Nine Inch Nails.
Release Date: 2nd March 2008 Number of Tracks: 9-
The only artist with two albums in my review list also has the not-so-fun distinction of having an album in the bottom half of the ranking as well; Trent Reznor may have done well with The Slip, but Ghosts I isn’t that big of a hit in my books. For the uninitiated, the album is the first parter of a four disc release (Ghosts I-IV) of NIN instrumental tracks; Part I – as you may have guessed – is available for free download, much like The Slip. I will begin this critique by conceding that the Ghosts compilation is meant to be listened to as a whole, coherent work, and that this IS a free work by NIN; what struck me though, was that this album seemed musically aimless as a whole.
I recognize that it attempts to impose a musicscape on a real, tangible background, all while infusing ambience and growth – but somehow the whole concoction just seems to fall short somehow. One caveat to this commentary though, is that apparently I stand alone – Ghosts I-IV has been lauded by many reviewers as “the most interesting NIN in years.” Fair enough, I guess. My defense is again, musical maturity – but I’m in no hurry to get that as of yet. For now, let’s just say that it doesn’t resonate with me yet.
I wouldn’t say no to a sampling though, this is free material. And if you choose to download it, do tell me what you think =)
Also, there’s some great accompanying art for this one. LOL.
Pretty Odd, Panic At The Disco.
Release Date: 21st March 2008 Number of Tracks: 15 -I may be unsure about NIN’s other release of 2008, but I for this one I am incredibly definite – Pretty. Odd sucks to high heaven. Right from the get-go (a song titled “We’re So Starving” =.=”) I noticed that this album was starting to sound really iffy. REALLY REALLY IFFY. Things didn’t improve with the advent of the first single, Nine In The Afternoon…and really, with lyrics like “It’s nine in the afternoon…and your eyes are the size of the moon”, who would? =.=”
I was challenged by this album in all directions. It destroyed what little respect I had for Panic At The Disco after the dust of their debut album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, had settled. The band is entirely unrecognizable (in a bad way) from any of their previous releases, and far gone are their catchy beats, clever metaphors, and frightening lyrics. I guess the whole stinky-ness of this thing can be summed up by the fact that was is perhaps the best song on the album – Northern Downpour – sounds a LOT like Coldplay’s The Scientist for quite a bit? Meh lol =.=”
Pretty odd, this is. Seriously, stay the hell away.
***
Alright folks, that just about concludes my review of the tops and flops of 2008. I have to say it was a very interesting year musically, the highlights of which were definitely the return of the metal masters (Metallica and The Black Mages), and a diverse expansion of my musical tastes to include bands that I had not listened to in depth as of yet (DCFC, The Killers) and also genres that I had not paid attention to at all in recent times (Fleet Foxes’; the Butterfingers’ Malay repertoire). Where do I go from here on end will be interesting though, as my “No Illegal Downloading Policy” looks solid enough to continue chugging on into its next phase of existence; at this point I would say to all of you that you can expect my musical tastes to really diversify – as I attempt to compensate for the lack of real moolah by hunting down legal free downloads, and exploring other cheaper alternatives for auditory entertaiment.
Is that a bad thing? Heck no, I look forward to it actually =) It will be an incredibly essential next step in the maturity of my thought process and expression; if not musically, then personally at least. Speaking of looking forward to things though -
THE WISHLIST 2009:
So these are the works that I am eagerly anticipating as we enter the 2009th year of the Gregorian calendar. Some of them are particularly sentimental and represent a return to my teenage roots (God I sound old again =.=”), while others are just born out of standard interest and the desire to experiment. Here goes:
1.) Everything Comes And Goes, Michelle Branch.
This release is by far and away the 2009 work that I want to listen to the most. That statement might shock some of you people – especially in the aftermath of the metal front that I have been putting up in recent times – but I’ll have you know that if I had to list the best albums that I have EVER heard, a Michelle Branch one would actually be on it lol. That incredible release is the artist’s sophomore Hotel Paper, and I tell you that it’s ABSO-BLOODY-LUTELY brilliant; a perfect album if you will. I last listened to this album in late 2004, and was only reminded of it very very recently (*high five* 
); as a result, I have taken the liberty of inscribing Miss Branch’s next release on my waitlist for the rest of this upcoming year.
It has been close to six years since Hotel Paper, and I’m extremely intrigued to see what this young lady has to offer these days.
2.) Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, Franz Ferdinand.
Franz Ferdinand is an enigma to me. I think I have this massive love/hate relationship with them over the past few years, and I really want to see what I think of them nowadays with my newfound musical diversity. The band is extremely talented, sure, and they can produce catchy tunes – the question is whether they can sustain my interest beyond the album’s first single that is Ulysses.
In order to answer that question, I might just be willing to fork out CAD 10 on their upcoming CD.
3.) No Line On The Horizon, U2.
This next one is more random. I have never been a real fan of U2 at any point in my life, but I figure that now might be a good time to start. The band is no stranger to any of us at all, as they have been around for ages – my Dad actually listened to them when he was around MY age lol!!! – and quality is not really an issue, with people like Bono and The Edge at the help. So, out of pure unadulterated interest on my part, you might just see No Line On The Horizon on this space in the near future.
Bapak borek anak rintik lol.
4.) The Fray, The Fray.
Also another point of random interest; The Fray’s next self-titled release sounds like an interesting prospect to say the least. The band generally follows the line I evolved on this year through the likes of Coldplay and DCFC, and throwing another one into the fray (XD?) might just be a good idea. I’m not too convinced on a purchase though, but we’ll see – maybe I’ll run another “Lend Me Your Ears” post this year lol XD
(damn this lifestyle can be kinda expensive >.< + =.=”)
-
From here on end the next albums to be listed are basically random shots, added with some overspill from last year’s listing:
5.) Untitled Studio Album 2009, Mute Math.
Ibrahim Sulaiman is turning out to be some sort of a music advisor for me. His taste is GEWD lol @.@ Up to this point, he has never pointed me in the wrong direction for musical expansion (for example: NIN’s The Slip, Thrice, and my Radiohead sampling are all based on opinions from him, seriously!!) and I trust that his latest random suggestion of Mute Math is probably another gem in disguise lol.
Try this one – Chaos – out for size; do watch out for the bit starting at 3.00 in particular:
Pretty gewd eh? @.@
6.) Untitled Studio Album 2009, Incubus.
I liked 1999’s Make Yourself.
I enjoyed 2001’s Morning View.
Had an orgasm on 2004’s A Crow Left Of The Murder.
And thought 2006’s Light Grenades was well worth the RM 45 purchase.
Nuff said XD
7.) Untitled Studio Album 2009, Switchfoot.
The title of this blog is the name of their latest album lol, and I haven’t seen fit to change it as of yet. I think that’s proof enough =)
A shout-out to Adib Amir – you’re missed loads tau!!
8.) Untitled Studio Album 2009, Sophie-Ellis Bextor.
This lady has never failed to provide a single that I enjoy – Mixed Up World, Murder On The Dancefloor, I Won’t Change You, Take Me Home, Today The Sun’s On Us, Me & My Imagination…I think it’s time I rewarded her lol.
Also, I think she’s GORGEOUS XD Hope the album comes with a free wallpaper or poster =p
9.) Untitled Studio Album 2009, The Black Mages.
Ehhh no, don’t get excited…there hasn’t been talk of one at all. It’s just that I’m ALWAYS looking out and hoping for a new TBM album XD + =p
-
So that was my 2008 musically; how about yours? =)
And so he sat there. Wee hours of the morning. Exhaustion. Random thoughts.
The flicking through of old photos.
Flick. Click. Flick.
F(c)lick.
Then it came; screeching off the walls, bouncing into the silent gloom -
Finally here. The way to dusty death.
Thus, it was at long last that he found himself wondering: “How could I have ever loved this woman?”
-
I think I’ve done it. I’m over the hill. Thou art completely erased.
Desole pour le confusion.
Fur-lined snow hat received as a gift – Free.
Extra-thick wool socks – CAD 8.00.
uOttawa backpack containing odds and ends – CAD 55.40.
New Structural Geology textbook – CAD 112.91.
Walking in -32 temperature to get that same textbook - priceless. Torture.
-
Also, you know it’s cold out there when your iPod’s scroll wheel stops working.
I am incredibly jealous of people in positive temperatures right now.
One may think
We’re doing fine
But if I had to lay it on the line
We’re losing ground
With every passing day
We’re not ok.
But that’s one thing
I would never,
One thing I would never,
That’s one thing
I would never say to you.
That’s one thing
I would never,
One thing I would never,
That’s one thing
I would never say to you.
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Oh God help me, what do I do >.<
…I randomly think that Amber and Dawn are both very beautiful names.
I think I’m going to give my daughters those names if I am lucky enough to be blessed with some in the future.
Amber.
Dawn.
Don’t know where Synthia comes in the picture now lah Atif =p
As I write this I realize I am very behind with my blogging – I made a mental list of posts to write and by Scott’s left beard stubble it’s bloody damn long @.@ Here’s what I had initially planned on doing (and am yet to do):
i.) World Universities Debating Championships 2008/2009, UCC, Cork, Ireland. ii.) Music of 2008, A Review iii.) The Year That Was, A Reminiscence Post iv.) The Fleet Foxes album review v.) Of Writing On Hotel Paper* vi.) Still Thankful* vii.) On Relationships (I am not kidding you dear reader)-
*Entries #5 and #6 are the author’s memories of songs that defined his teenage years which he had the opportunity to listen to in very recent times.
Damn that’s quite a bit @.@ And past trends indicate that I probably won’t manage to do all, if not half of them >.<
In any case, this is what I wanted to do with this post in particular – as per tradition, here are my upcoming courses for the Winter Semester of my second year at the University of Ottawa. May God help us all:
GEO 2020 – Field Studies I GEO 2113 – PaleontologyGEO 2164 – Analytical Methods in Mineralogy GEO 2321 – Structural Geology and Tectonics FLS 1511 – Communication orale et écrite en français langue seconde : niveau élémentaire I -
As with my last semester, note that I have a rodonculously fun four labs to deal with this semester; remembering how that turned out last time around, suffice it to say that I am somewhat dreading the hustle and bustle of my fourth full semester at the U of O. However I am comforted somewhat by the fact that I know what I’ll be up against this time around, and will be prepared to nip the bottoms of any courses that decide to test my mettle.
With that said, here we go again =)
Expect any of the aforementioned seven to be my next blogpost. Cheers folks!
I arrived back at my place in Ottawa at slightly after 1 am yesterday. Lugging my heavy bags across the compressed snow hillocks for half an hour was not amusing.
Arriving home, I opened the residence door to find the place literally freezing. I checked the thermostat – 5 degrees Celcius. I had forgotten to keep the heater at minimum function – damn. Warming up the whole place took a while, and the script of the verbal communicado that I had with myself was not in the least bit pleasant.
I stared around at the four walls of my room. The same four walls that I talk to every school semester. I had never felt so out of sync with my surroundings in such a long time. I posit that I was in denial that the event which had capped off 2008 (and kicked off 2009) for me was now over.
I stumbled over to the window. The snow was falling in thick pieces, their fledgling bodies pounded mercilessly by the Canadian wind. Snow is only beautiful until it hits the ground, this I realized at that moment.
I stared at my watch. 1.30 am. Still below 10 degrees in Brooks Residence.
I pulled the cold hard chair across my sodden carpet (wet from snow influx) towards my dusty desk. Sat heavily in it. Big sigh. Stared around at the four walls again.
Sure is good to be home.
Cork Worlds 2008/2009 post coming right up.
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