That all of you go here and listen to Marilyn Manson's new songs. Rather than Tim Skold simply jacking riffs from his former musical buddies KMFDM to insert into new Manson material like on the majority of GAOG, this new album is shaping up to be a COMPLETELY new musical direction for the band. The first time I listened to "Heart-Shaped Glasses" I was like... "No way." It's completely unexpected, yet entirely satisfying. "If I Was Your Vampire" isn't AS big of a departure as "Glasses", but it's still a pretty different sound and isn't what I really expected to hear. While Manson has always reinvented both the image and the sound of the band on each album, this seems to be the most significant departure for him thus far, leading the band into more of a gothy alt-rock kind of sound. The most interesting thing about it I think is that the whole feel is reminscient of certain elements of several of his other albums, as i he's taken bits and pieces of his old material and brought them together, creating something entirely new.
I love it, you all should check it out.
4.28.2007
4.27.2007
4.25.2007
Art Is Resistance
What better way to start out my posts on this blog than to review Nine Inch Nails' new album Year Zero. There are so many things to say about this album that it has been hard to write something more coherent than it rocked my freakin' world. Although that might be an appropriate review for Cory, I have a hard time sounding like such a fanboy; so this will be my attempt at reviewing Year Zero and the universe it has created.
I first heard Survivalism when it was "leaked" a few weeks before its release date and I got the impression that the song was a loose follow up to The Hand That Feeds. In many ways, it really is, but what I didn't realize is that the whole album would have this political/rebellious/angsty theme. Unlike With Teeth, which is much more traditional Nine Inch Nails album refined to musical perfection, Year Zero is gasp A CONCEPT ALBUM. Thats right, you heard me, Year Zero is actually an album that doesn't have to do with Trent Reznor's self loathing. It actually has a story line and even has an entire alternate reality game that was started a few
months before the album was released.
I have to admit, my first reaction when I realized this was one of shock, surprise, and glee all at the same time. While there is a whole game with the album, I'm not going to get into that this post. I'll save that for later. Right now, I just want to review what I thought about the album
itself. The first thing I noticed about the album when I bought it (yes Cory, I actually bought it) was the fact that the CD is black, but when you heat it up, the black turns to white and you can see Nine Inch Nails, zeroes and ones, and the copyright notice at the bottom. Pretty damn cool I must say. Aside from that, you have your album artwork, which is kind of strange by
the way, and the liner with all the songs lyrics.
Year Zero starts out with HYPERPOWER! an instrumental intro that reminds me
of Pilgrimage on The Fragile. After that we kick right into The Beginning of the End which is a great opening track with a nice swagger to it. We move right into Survivalism with no delay and that songs just gets you really pumped up for the rest of the album. Oddly enough, I would say that Survivalism has the most energy in the album so it gets you all excited, just to relax and have a more political/angsty feel. Odd, but Nine Inch Nails pulls it off. Survivalism really sets the tone of the album for me with lyrics focusing on America and Americans attitude.
I got my propaganda
I got revisionism
I got my violence
In high-def ultra realism
All a part of this great nation
Selfishness, apathy, and manifest destiny run thoughout this song and the rest of the album.
The Good Soldier is one of my favorite songs on the album right now and it has a sort of relaxed and uncaring attitude. From The Good Soldier, Vessel breaks in with a noisy, very Nine Inch Nails beat. This song really is what Trent Reznor was talking about when he said Year Zero was "Very noisy, fucking cool."
I think the standout song on this whole album is Capital G. While all the other songs completely kick ass, this is just so good! If you haven't heard this song, you really need to go out and do that now. Last I checked, it was on Nine Inch Nails Myspace page. Go listen to it now, I'll wait, seriously.
OK good.
I'll stop reviewing each track individually now, but what I can say is that the
album has a great flow and each song is carefully ordered. Although I love the whole album, I have to say I have grown extra attached to a few of the songs. Right now, my favorite songs on the album in no particular oder are: Vessel, Capital G, My Violent Heart, God Given, The Great Destroyer, and Zero Sum. As you can see, I had a hard time actually picking out those songs that rose above the rest.
While Year Zero is quite a change from the Nine Inch Nails we have all grown up with and love, but Year Zero completely pulls off a musical reinvention without a hitch. I have become completely enamored with the new sound and attitude of this album. While it may be a bit shocking at first, once you give it a listen, you will never doubt Trent Reznor's genius
again.
Sam
I first heard Survivalism when it was "leaked" a few weeks before its release date and I got the impression that the song was a loose follow up to The Hand That Feeds. In many ways, it really is, but what I didn't realize is that the whole album would have this political/rebellious/angsty theme. Unlike With Teeth, which is much more traditional Nine Inch Nails album refined to musical perfection, Year Zero is gasp A CONCEPT ALBUM. Thats right, you heard me, Year Zero is actually an album that doesn't have to do with Trent Reznor's self loathing. It actually has a story line and even has an entire alternate reality game that was started a few
months before the album was released.
I have to admit, my first reaction when I realized this was one of shock, surprise, and glee all at the same time. While there is a whole game with the album, I'm not going to get into that this post. I'll save that for later. Right now, I just want to review what I thought about the album
itself. The first thing I noticed about the album when I bought it (yes Cory, I actually bought it) was the fact that the CD is black, but when you heat it up, the black turns to white and you can see Nine Inch Nails, zeroes and ones, and the copyright notice at the bottom. Pretty damn cool I must say. Aside from that, you have your album artwork, which is kind of strange by
the way, and the liner with all the songs lyrics.
Year Zero starts out with HYPERPOWER! an instrumental intro that reminds me
of
I got my propaganda
I got revisionism
I got my violence
In high-def ultra realism
All a part of this great nation
Selfishness, apathy, and manifest destiny run thoughout this song and the rest of the album.
The Good Soldier is one of my favorite songs on the album right now and it has a sort of relaxed and uncaring attitude. From The Good Soldier, Vessel breaks in with a noisy, very Nine Inch Nails beat. This song really is what Trent Reznor was talking about when he said Year Zero was "Very noisy, fucking cool."
I think the standout song on this whole album is Capital G. While all the other songs completely kick ass, this is just so good! If you haven't heard this song, you really need to go out and do that now. Last I checked, it was on Nine Inch Nails Myspace page. Go listen to it now, I'll wait, seriously.
OK good.
I'll stop reviewing each track individually now, but what I can say is that the
album has a great flow and each song is carefully ordered. Although I love the whole album, I have to say I have grown extra attached to a few of the songs. Right now, my favorite songs on the album in no particular oder are: Vessel, Capital G, My Violent Heart, God Given, The Great Destroyer, and Zero Sum. As you can see, I had a hard time actually picking out those songs that rose above the rest.
While Year Zero is quite a change from the Nine Inch Nails we have all grown up with and love, but Year Zero completely pulls off a musical reinvention without a hitch. I have become completely enamored with the new sound and attitude of this album. While it may be a bit shocking at first, once you give it a listen, you will never doubt Trent Reznor's genius
again.
Sam
4.23.2007
4.20.2007
The Fragile
Gives me eargasms.
In other news, if I'm ever famous I'm going to randomly say the word "nigger" on TV or something, without a context, and just see what happens. Nobody would get it.
Happy 4/20 kids. Get baked.
In other news, if I'm ever famous I'm going to randomly say the word "nigger" on TV or something, without a context, and just see what happens. Nobody would get it.
Happy 4/20 kids. Get baked.
4.16.2007
NIN Reworked
Sam will be covering NIN's new album Year Zero as well I believe, so I'll just lay down my take.
At first, honestly, I didn't like it. It hurts to say that, because Trent Reznor is one of my Holy Trinity (Reznor, Yorke, Hetfield), but it's true. It was just so... unexpected. I couldn't even get through the first 4 tracks. But this week I forced myself to listen through the whole thing, and it's a goddamned good fucking thing I did, because it turns out Year Zero is an excellent freaking album once you get past the initial shock.
Reznor has once again successfully reinvented NIN's sound, while still making it sound like NIN. That's the damn cool thing about Trent- no matter how different the style is or whatever, you can always tell that he's touched it. The album is brutal, brooding, beautiful, intense, and most importantly, impossible to just write off. Believe me, I tried at first, but I just couldn't do it.
(Really, if Trent put out an album consisting in its entirety of him farting into a microphone and adding various reverbs and other effects to it, I'd freaking buy it, and I'd freaking love it in private. But I'd be a pretentious asshole about it in public.)
So, basically, Year Zero blows my mind, and you all should go buy it, and not illegally download it like I did because I'm poor (someday I'm going to send Trent a manila envelope full of cash to make up for all of his music that I've stolen).
And... stuff.
At first, honestly, I didn't like it. It hurts to say that, because Trent Reznor is one of my Holy Trinity (Reznor, Yorke, Hetfield), but it's true. It was just so... unexpected. I couldn't even get through the first 4 tracks. But this week I forced myself to listen through the whole thing, and it's a goddamned good fucking thing I did, because it turns out Year Zero is an excellent freaking album once you get past the initial shock.
Reznor has once again successfully reinvented NIN's sound, while still making it sound like NIN. That's the damn cool thing about Trent- no matter how different the style is or whatever, you can always tell that he's touched it. The album is brutal, brooding, beautiful, intense, and most importantly, impossible to just write off. Believe me, I tried at first, but I just couldn't do it.
(Really, if Trent put out an album consisting in its entirety of him farting into a microphone and adding various reverbs and other effects to it, I'd freaking buy it, and I'd freaking love it in private. But I'd be a pretentious asshole about it in public.)
So, basically, Year Zero blows my mind, and you all should go buy it, and not illegally download it like I did because I'm poor (someday I'm going to send Trent a manila envelope full of cash to make up for all of his music that I've stolen).
And... stuff.
New Blood
My good friend and musical pal Sam has joined forces with me to rule the galaxy together as father and... a good friend of his. He'll apparently be writing about music and such, and hopefully not technological computer geek stuff, because that's what he does. If he gets out of line I'll just put it in his butt.
4.11.2007
Better Late than Never pt II
YouTube stopped being shit, so here's Samwell's "What What" video. See "Better Late Than Never" from earlier today.
I obviously have nothing better to do today
I think Kate Beckinsale is one of the most beautiful women. Ever.
Better Late Than Never
Today I become the 2455877678764556th blogger to write about this video since it was released on Valentine's Day this year. I suppose it's okay though because Jessica Cutler only just wrote about it on the 9th of this month, and she's my hero.
Samwell is a freaking genius. I mean, that guy has some massive cojones. It's one thing for a straight girl or guy to sing about sex and be that explicit about it, but for a gay man to do a song called "What What (In the Butt)" is damned ballsy. The song and the video are hilarious as all hell too, yet another testament to his ballsy-ness. Not only is he totally fine with singing about buttsex to millions of YouTube browsers (quickly followed by the viewers of MSNBC and VH1, etc etc), but he can be FUNNY about it. It's like... a sincere parody? Or something. But it rocks, whatever it is.
Props to Samwell.
Samwell is a freaking genius. I mean, that guy has some massive cojones. It's one thing for a straight girl or guy to sing about sex and be that explicit about it, but for a gay man to do a song called "What What (In the Butt)" is damned ballsy. The song and the video are hilarious as all hell too, yet another testament to his ballsy-ness. Not only is he totally fine with singing about buttsex to millions of YouTube browsers (quickly followed by the viewers of MSNBC and VH1, etc etc), but he can be FUNNY about it. It's like... a sincere parody? Or something. But it rocks, whatever it is.
Props to Samwell.
It's an Epidemic of Personal Proportions
Or something. I've been sick more times this year than the combined total number of times I've been sick over the last three years.
WTF?
Fuck college, dude. I stopped drinking and everything. Damn... life. Want to know how upset I am? I'm listening to Linkin Park. That's right, Linkin Park.
Yeah.
WTF?
Fuck college, dude. I stopped drinking and everything. Damn... life. Want to know how upset I am? I'm listening to Linkin Park. That's right, Linkin Park.
Yeah.
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