31 posts tagged “music”

"Bow down before the one you serve
You're going to get what you deserve."

Head Like A Hole - Nine Inch Nails

I admit it;  for all of my griping about my last Nine Inch Nails show, the announcement of the NIN/JA tour and Trent's ominous "after this, Nine Inch Nails is going away indefinitely" blog had me glued to my computer on presale day, determined not to miss what might be my last chance at seeing a band that shaped my musical landscape from my teens forward.  As much as I like to think that Trent's choice of words indicates that he will continue to make music, albeit released from the box of expectations associated with the NIN brand, I fear Trent has grown tired of the bullshit of the industry and fickle fans unwilling to embrace anything new.  This astonishes me, as I'm of the opinion that The Slip was one of Trent's strongest albums to date;  it delivered hard rocking tracks with biting lyrics, danceable tracks for nights at the rock club, and haunting melancholy pieces.  Its one weakness perhaps is Corona Radiata, which isn't terrible, but is not up to par with other instrumental works he's done.

With this tour, a co-headliner with the reunited original line-up of Jane's Addiction, Trent has been treating fans to more varied sets night to night, a ban on the omnipresent Closer (a shame, since there are other songs far more in need of retirement, like Hurt), and breaking out songs that have been scarcely/never seen live.  With minimal instrumental tracks, a plain stage show without visual effects typical for NIN tour set-ups and NIN NOT headlining, it was a very different animal from recent tours.  That said, I'd have to declare this the best of the three shows I've seen.

This show, with a few set insertions/switches (Somewhat Damaged in lieu of March of the Pigs; The Wretched in lieu of I Do Not Want This; Dead Souls in lieu of Burn, which I love but have heard), was custom-designed from my dreams.  Sure, I could have easily embraced other songs not played, but all of them have been done for me before, so I very easily will live.  There were no instrumentals, no long periods of Ghost tracks, no weak songs.  The set was incredibly hard and up-tempo.  Best of all, I was graced with my favourite track of all, The Fragile.  My set staples (Terrible Lie; Head Like A Hole; Gave Up) all made it that night, and the brain-dead clapping spider monkeys that ruined Hurt at my last show did not attend, it seems.  Trent threw down microphone stands and his keyboard, tripped and fell in his angsty vigor, and generally belted his heart and soul out, with an extremely poignant whispered "Goodbye" as he left the stage.  I truly feel the lack of restriction and repetition that comes with more elaborately staged tours did wonders for the performance in Toronto.  If Trent is to return, with a new project or with NIN, I hope he leans towards a loosely structured stage show in the future.

The entire show was pretty much a highlight, but I'll point out a few tracks here that really stood out for me:

1,000,000:  This track is stellar, classic Broken-esque NIN.  How anyone can slag The Slip with this brilliant song being on the disc, I do not know.  Coming off Terrible Lie into this track made for vicious headbanging delight.

Heresy:  I'd never heard this one live, and it was incredibly good, a great crowd sing-along for the chorus in my area of the theatre. 

I'm Afraid Of Americans:  Despite my assuming that the earlier appearance of Metal would be our only cover of the night, in hindsight, this song's appearance shouldn't have surprised me at the one Canadian date of the tour.  Trent really poured himself into this Bowie track, pretty much blowing the minds of the entire audience.

The Fragile:  This song has an inredible significance to my own life, and did not disappoint me.  The vocal delivery was appropriately soft at the start, growing in strength towards the peak at the end.  Why oh why did I not see the tour for this album?  It made for an incredible transition from I Do Not Want This, the contrast sharp between it and "Don't you tell me how I feel..."

Mr. Self-Destruct:  This song was too hot for words.  I'd never heard this either, and it's a favourite from The Downward Spiral for me.  I think this was the track where I completely screwed the muscles in my shoulders and neck rocking out.  It was worth it.

Head Like A Hole:  Way back in grade ten, on the bus for a school trip next to my oblivious History class crush, said crush offered to share his headphones with me after I said I had never heard Nine Inch Nails.  His mix tape of personal favourites began with this song, and from moment one, I was hooked.  This needed to be in my goodbye show as a full circle moment.  I actually found myself rather emotional, knowing the set was closing as my fandom had begun.

Hurt:  I'm kind of tired of this song overall, but in the context of a goodbye tour, with such a fragility to Trent's vocals (and no off beat clapping), this moved me. 

Well done, Mr. Reznor.  Well done, indeed.  Please don't go away for good.  Enjoy your break, renew and revive your creativity, and I'm sure I speak for every fan who's attended this tour when I say I hope we see you again soon.

For the record, opener Street Sweeper Social Club was incredible, and I highly recommend you hit ninja2009.com and download the sampler for this tour, which includes all three bands on the bill.  Due to work constraints I had to bail halfway through Jane's Addiction;s set but I have to say Perry Farrell is an incredible showman and their performance was tight.  Check them out too!

SETLIST

Now I'm Nothing
Terrible Lie
1,000,000
Heresy
March of the Pigs
Metal (Gary Numan)
The Becoming
I'm Afraid of Americans (Bowie)
Burn
Gave Up
I Do Not Want This
The Fragile
The Way Out Is Through
Wish
Survivalism
Mr. Self-Destruct
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole

Hurt

Relevant in so many ways...  Today would have been my grandfather's 70th birthday, if he lived to see it.  And just as I was at a concert as he was passing slowly on, I will be at this band's show in 15 hours...  For every loss, death or heartbreak, this speaks to me now.

Lights in the Sky - The Slip - NIN

Everyone has a relationship, where things fluctuate, where things ebb and flow...  And yet, it's meant to be.  Or so you think. 

But life has a way of upending things, of turning them on their heads and making yours spin into oblivion.  Life has a way of leaving you standing alone, clinging to desperate wanting, desperate inner pleas inside your mind.  You feel, so clearly, that to part will forever haunt you both.  But there you are, turning around slowly and walking away from the one thing you wanted to hold onto, the one thing that mattered.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - The Scientist

Everyone wants to erase and rewind.  Everyone wants that second chance.  Sometimes, people just aren't willing to choose it.  They say if you love something, you set it free;  if it's meant to be yours, it will return again.  I have never set someone free before with that aspiration, with that intent.  When I have set someone free, it is usually because I cannot give them what they need or deserve, or they cannot ever measure up for me, so to string them along is cruelty.  I have tasted the bitterness of setting free someone you would shackle yourself to, if you believed it would be a fruitful way to hang on to their light, and there is nothing worse.  It taints everything:  food, drink, sleep.  You look in the mirror with loathing, with incredulous eyes wondering how you could do such a thing.

Logan & Veronica - Epic

Love isn't supposed to be sunshine and kittens,  It isn't supposed to be blissful and easy.  Love - true love, enduring love - is work.  Love is loving the flaws, and not merely criticizing but wanting, more than anything, to watch another person grow to become the potential within, that dream they are afraid to reach out and take hold of.  After all, no one writes songs about the ones that come easy. 

But one person cannot work alone.  The pyramids were not built by a single person, and nor is a good love.  It's foolish to believe that you can hold the weight of the world upon your shoulders and not break your back eventually, no longer able to stand from the agony of that loneliness.

Sometimes, to understand what we have, we must lose it, or risk that loss.  My only wish now, is for understanding.

Veronica Mars: I Hope Your Heart Runs Empty (LoVe)

Today was a dark day indeed in music:  the Junos (the Canadian version of the Grammys) offered up five nominations to Nickelback (for an album that received one star reviews across the country and was aptly referred to, largely due to high levels of misogyny in the lyrics, "a soundtrack for date rapists everywhere" by one weekly), and Amanda Palmer blogged about the vast majority of UK outlets refusing to promote or play her latest single Oasis, or its accompanying video.

Oh wow.  First her belly does not resemble an anoretic's and thus, Leeds United's video is unsuitable to her label.  Now this.  Since when did artistic licence to approach the world with black humour suddenly become revoked?  Aren't the British of all people notorious for black humour and taking the piss?  Or have I gone mad and missed a mass brainwashing via The Hills and its spawn reality shows?

Amanda's entry does a commendable job of expressing my views on the subject of censorship in the arts, and I strongly encourage a read.  Do also feel free to join me in emailing the guilty parties and asking them what is up with this nonsense.  I've been merrily clicking the links supplied by Amanda all evening. 

Here's what I've been sending to the outlets banning Ms. Palmer's single:

I am extremely disappointed and disillusioned with your lack of respect for artistic integrity by opting to decline to promote/play Amanda Palmer's latest single, Oasis.  It is my understanding that this outlet falls on the side of the song being offensive and 'making light' of the issues of rape and abortion, 

First of all, the song's lyrical focus should make it clear that what the song is truly addressing is the fact that teenagers exist who idolize celebrities and have such a shallow view of their lives that a girl who is date-raped and ends up having an abortion cannot even take her own dreadful situation seriously, her head being firmly inserted into her rear.  Hence the chorus centred around the band Oasis.  The storyline of the rape and abortion are rather incidental and serve only to flesh out that broader point.

Second of all, even if the song and video do jest in a black humour fashion at those issues (and the 'annoying' Fundamentalist Christians), so what?  I am actually disturbed that songs such as Eminem's Guilty Conscience (which promoted date rape in a way that did NOT feel sardonic) are permissable and promoted, but this one isn't.  Why not?  Why can we not examine serious issues through black humour?  South Park's bread and butter is a dark humour examination of multiple issues, with there ultimately being an intelligent point to the exercise.  Amanda Palmer musically embodies the same spirit of 'everything is fair game' as Trey Parker and Matt Stone embody.  BBC6 aired the song;  surely you could choose to promote it as well. 

As a survivor of rape and molestation, never mind abuse, I am not offended in the slightest by Oasis.  In fact, it's one of my favourite songs on the entire album.  A long time ago, I decided that I could do one of two things:  I could cry, and continue to cry, or I could laugh, and try to find beauty in the darkness, find things to be grateful for from those experiences and how they shaped me.  Oasis is bold, admittedly controversial, but to shy away from such things only says that these issues are not okay to speak of in a public forum. 

I urge you to reconsider and give Oasis its due.  Be daring.  Be bold.  Open the forum up for discussion.  Here in Canada, the song Leviticus Faggot by Me'Shell Ndegeocello was played despite its controversial lyrics and title, and Muchmusic then held a TV special with panelists including Me'Shell addressing issues about the song, gay rights, and suicide.  If you genuinely believe the song could offend, open up a similar discussion and get the issues into the open! 

Sincerely,
Amber (Toronto, Canada)

In light of this nonsense, I welcome those of you who are NOT Amanda Palmer fans to take a gander at the video for Oasis.  If Ben Folds can produce this song after his girlfriend in high school had an abortion, and Amanda can write it after her own abortion, then surely world sensibilities are not nearly as hypersensitive as these supposedly edgy outlets believe?  Surely, I can cling to the knowledge that the world will not be assimilated by Celine Dion and Carrie Underwood?  Please?

The "Oasis" Music Video - From "Who Killed Amanda Palmer"

This post is explicitly aimed at the fans of the fanfiction story Disc Jockeys.

I've had several inquiries about the music referenced in the story, or comments cheering certain choices.  Granted, I have been spinning a 200-track playlist during the writing of this monster, but there are songs that are more crucial to the story and its mood, as opposed to 'good writing music'.  Unable to narrow it to a few tracks, I've created a two-disc compilation.

I mainly opted for songs mentioned in the fic as being played by the characters in the store, although a few obvious choices were dropped (Rick Astley) in favour of pieces that would play if I were to film certain scenes.  The discs are zipped, with the file names changed to reflect correct order of sequencing and play.  I will make notes with the tracklistings below to indicate such.

As per the RIAA and their rules, you know the drill:  these are for educational purposes or review purposes only, delete after 3 days or I'm not responsible, etc etc etc.  On a more serious note, I strongly encourage you to support the artists on these discs, especially the indies.  Supporting art is crucial now more than ever.

DISC JOCKEYS:  THE SOUNDTRACK

DISC ONE

1. The Pot - Tool.  Played in the store during the opening - chapter 3.
2. Discipline - Nine Inch Nails.  Played during chapter 3 and leading into chapter 4.
3. Money - Pink Floyd.  Alice plays this as a salute to Edward's awesome gambling skills.
4. Common People - Pulp.  Played after the 'songs for disenfranchised workers' conversation in chapter 5, after Carlisle breaks the bad news about Virgin.
5. The Grace - Neverending White Lights.  Jasper plays this after vetoing Eminem..  Fits his mood about things with Alice.
6. Portrait of a Dead Soul - The Red Paintings.  Emmett plays this for Alice before he does his 'call to the supplier' for some interesting CD titles.
   
7. Youth of America - Birdbrain.  Alice blasts this after she and Jasper mock the cannibal customer in chapter 6.
8. Womanizer - Britney Spears.  Emmett earns himself a dance in chapter 9 to this from Rosalie...
9. The Mountain - PJ Harvey.  Alice is listening to this as Carlisle talks to her about her foster mother's abandonment.
10. The Thin Ice - Pink Floyd.  The source for the title of chapter 10, Bella sings it in that chapter after her disaster of a chat with Edward.  Note that at the end of chapter 9, Alice quotes from In The Flesh?, another track on the same Pink Floyd album.
11. Like A Friend - Pulp.  This is the first of the 'mood songs'.  It could have been played by Edward while driving to Seattle in chapter 1 and 2, but it also fits his broken heart state after talking to Bella and throughout chapter 10.
12. Straight - Amanda Palmer.  Alice plays this for Bella (and herself) in chapter 10.
13. Pandora's Aquarium - Tori Amos.  Another mood track.  This one sets the feel for both Bella in the forest path, feeling hopeless, and Alice, who feels as if she can never be 'normal' enough for Jasper again.
14. Paint's Peeling - Rilo Kiley.  Another mood song, a sort of angsty piece that tracks Bella's overdose and its feel for her, as well as Edward's treatment of her to come.
15. Failing The Rorschach Test - Matthew Good Band.  Jasper plays this for Alice in chapter 11, one of her 'Alice' songs.
16. Round Here - Counting Crows.  Carlisle sings and plays this before discovering the dance party out front.
17. Butterflies and Hurricanes - Muse.  A mood track that captures both the fight with Edward and Carlisle, the chaos with Rosalie and Rick, and Bella's meltdown.

DISC TWO
Mirror source

1. The Resolution - Jack's Mannequin.  Edward plays this for Bella in chapter 15.
2. An Unexpected Rain - Melissa Etheridge.  Rosalie is blasting this as she drives back to the store in chapter 16.
3. Mad World - Gary Jules.  Alice selects this as her funeral music...
4. Another Year - Amanda Palmer.  ...But indicates if she could only hear one more song before her death, she'd choose this one.
5. Graveyard Girl - M83.  The song Alice is dancing to at the start of chapter 17.
6. Don't Cry - Jakalope.  I see this as a mood piece for Alice's battle for her life, beginning in the club with her worries and fears.  Alternate song rejected due to length restrictions:  Sing For Absolution by Muse.
   
7. Girl Disappearing - Tori Amos  This song is a mood piece, capturing Bella's feelings for Alice after hearing her story.
8. Bloodflower - Tilly and the Wall.  A nice sassy 'watch out' song for the preparations for the party.
9. Time Is Running Out - Muse.  The first song Jasper's band sings, and indeed, the store's time is running out.
10. 'Til I Hear It From You - Gin Blossoms.  The second song the band plays, the first Empire Records soundtrack reference.
11. Konstantine (live in Ventura) - Something Corporate.  The song, and specific version of it, Edward sings for Bella.
12. You're All I Have - Snow Patrol.  The fourth song played by the band, in the background of Bella and Edward's talk in chapter 22.
13. Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi.  The group sing-along and the last song before the police shut the party down.
14. Sugarhigh - Coyote Shivers.  Part of the party on the roof scene, and the second Empire Records soundtrack grab.
15. This Year's Love - David Gray.  Played in the car by Bella on the way to Edward's in chapter 23.
16. Center of the Sun - Conjure One.  Edward plays this during... well...  you know.  ;)
17. A Single Explosion - Matthew Good.  Closing scene of the fic... 
    

Something Corporate Live Ventura DvD Konstantine

Sometimes, I'm late to the musical party, and this song is one instance of that.  I have liked Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin for a while now, but I only finally heard this, one of the more infamous songs by SoCo, as the fangirls call them, in the last few months.

I'm in love with this version in particular.  There's something about the delivery, about the moment, that breaks my heart and reminds me of timeless, epic love, the sort that withstands everything that the world throws at it.  It reminds me of my grandparents and the love they shared, the love my grandmother keeps alive through her memories.  It's the sort of love that can burn out if not tended carefully, as Andrew sings.

I worry and fear that my love will burn out, turn to ashes, leaving me dreaming in a living room, missing my own Konstantine.  I worry this will be the story of my life, for I am a fire, always burning embers waiting to ignite with the right fuel.  But if I become the one burned, a song this beautiful would win me back. 

Jack's Mannequin - The Resolution

This is the anthem of 2009, I have decided.  Each year seems to become about a certain mood or song, for me.  For 2005, it was Common People by Pulp.  For 2006, it came down to Fly Away by Poe.  For 2007, it became about You Look So Fine by Garbage.  2008 was 99% Of Us Is Failure by Matthew Good.

But this year, I am going to rise from the ashes of the sorrow of 2008, as any good Phoenix should do.  In 2003, I understood it so clearly, the message I fought to embrace even as I tattooed a symbolic reminder of it on my back:  I'm alive.  I survived.  I will always survive.  If the past I have endured already has not killed me, nothing will.  It's given me blows that left me gasping and bleeding, figuratively and literally, and I have always found that elusive light to follow out of the dark.

This song reached out to me later in 2008, and rings truer than ever.  It rings true for several of my friends, fellow survivors who surely, as I do, need to be reminded in darker hours that they too have survived.

There are stories we will never tell, stories from the hell we have endured.  Some stories burn so deeply that only the scar remains to testify, for there are no words to articulate it.  The past, it may haunt us, voices whispering in the back of our heads as the sun sets on another day.  But the sun will rise, and the light will shine again.  And even in the dark, the moon lies near to guide us.

This is my resolution.