Musical Pens

Some happy, some sad. Some good, some more good. In the happy and good department, we have a new site section, the Music page. It has two track-by-track album reviews and a handful of nice little links; I plan on expanding it to provide comprehensive thoughts and sources for all the music I listen to. I'm not sure what the "guides" section is for, but time may tell. The playlists will be entertaining, as well. I already have a few lined up; I simply have to find a good format for the playlist pages.

In the sad and good department, I wrote what I find a marvelously expressive sketch war tonight. It was born out of a brainstorm I've had raging inside me for some time; speaking in futility to my parents about my motivations, or lack thereof, brought this sketch to the surface. I find it sad and a little scary, but there is a lesson to be learned, and there may yet be beauty in't.

LET'S GO RED SOX, AGAIN

I'm 1800 words into my next story. I don't think I'll be done any time soon; I'm seriously taking my time, and nothing has actually happened yet. I'm simply developing the characters and revealing the workings of their society. This society and its members will undergo an important change soon, so it's necessary to give some small impression of where they came from. I believe I'll make this whole thing publicly available once it's done, rather than sending it off to a magazine. With any luck, it will exceed the usual submission word limit anyway, and I'll be forced to publish it myself! Writing this story is making me truly happy. It's already my best yet; once it's done, I'll either have a great thing on my hands, or I'll lay it down and start writing something even better.

If you want a piece of the action, e-mail me. I'll be glad to leak previews. I even developed a formatting program so I could share it with others (I've begun typing this one before completing it in writing; anything longer than a few thousand words needs to be typed in parallel if only to avoid tedium later).

Underworld has had to cancel the European leg of their world tour because one or several of its members are very ill. Let's hope they recover their vitality soon!

Dub, Edits, and Whiskey-Coke

Chab is a musician from Switzerland. His album, Dub, Edits and Whisky-Coke, is a recurring favorite of mine. Most of the tracks harbor some hidden bitterness or sadness that is so cold it's beautiful to hear. Next time you're feeling just a little bit alone, listen to "Sunrise." You'll shiver and look around yourself. If you want to know what I listened to as I was writing "Subject B," have a listen.

I've begun a new story that will be part of a trilogy. The focus this time is not only a superb plot, but more character development than my writing of the past two years has attempted. It's a spin-off of Equinox, but beyond happy coincidence on the part of the characters, nothing is shared between Equinox and this trilogy. I have a very positive feeling about this project; it's the beginning of a steep ascent.

Speaking of Equinox, those of you who haven't read it and would like to: let me know. I'm not going to put it on this site unless it is rejected from the magazine to which I'm sending it. I do not want to get into legal trouble for providing a free online version of something that another party would own. In any case, I can certainly send it to individuals, so e-mail me if you want it.

I received Oblivion With Bells a few days ago. It is an album of singular beauty. There are parts that grate on me a little, but the more I listen, the more I like everything. This record is a masterpiece. Every time I start listening to it, I say to myself, "this is the last time." But once it's over, I put it on again. Underworld is to music what I want to be to writing: an entity of pure artistic freedom. I'm glad that they now have complete control over their music (the Oblivion cover proudly displays that the music inside is (c) Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, trading as Underworld. Can you imagine what that's like?

I think it's also about time to do another batch of Sketch Wars. Perhaps if readers tune in tonight, they will see a new sketch.

OHMIGODWHATHAVIDONE

I got a few CDs yesterday: C+C Music Factory's Gonna Make You Sweat, Digitalism's Idealism, and The Chemical Brothers' We Are The Night. C+C, of course, created their socially and intellectually potent album in 1990, while the other two are from this year. I'll focus on those two albums here (I know any readers need not re-read that Gonna Make You Sweat crosses temporal and spatial gaps of excellence to this very day).

Digitalism is best known for its highly addictive single "Zdarlight." I first heard it on Benassi's Cooking for Pump-kin Vol. 1 and I was immediately hooked. For the next year and a half, I wondered if Digitalism had any other songs. The answer was no. I soon gave up, thinking these guys had both started and ended their careers with "Zdarlight." I ended up in Borders and, to my surprise, I saw that Digitalism had released an album at some point this summer. Idealism is not the greatest thing I've heard (that honor belongs to Underworld's entire catalogue), but it technopop mixture is entertaining enough that I know I'll be playing it fairly regularly. For those who need a comparison, I'll say it sounds similar to Daft Punk. Anyway, it has an unadulterated version of "Zdarlight." That alone will get more rotation than all of We Are The Night.

Why is that? Well, those of you who know me may remember my Chemical Brothers phase a year or two ago. Starting with their first two albums, Exit Planet Dust and Dig Your Own Hole, I enjoyed the breakbeats (or whatever people call them—stupid electronic genres...). Their later works were always a mixed bag; I loved Surrender, was lukewarm to Come With Us, and I really hated Push the Button at first. PtB eventually grew on me; it had enough songs that I could ignore the Chemical Brothers' sudden, bizarre entry into the field of hip-hop. During the summer, I wondered a little about future Chemical Bros. releases, but I never knew they were due for a 2007 album. Then I saw it right near Idealism in Borders and cautiously picked it up. Was it going to be another PtB? The answer is no. It is far worse than their last album. The tracks with lyrics are solidly horrible, while the ones without lyrics are still subpar. It almost seems that the Bros. knew what they were making; their overplayed terrible track, "Do It Again," asks, "OMIGODwhatHAVIDONE?" repeatedly, while "The Salmon Dance" raps at one point "I heard someone say out loud, 'Wut da fuck iz dat?'" (Side note: I never knew "Do It Again" was by the Chemicals—every time I heard it on the radio, I assumed it was yet another annoying song by Timberlake or similar. If only I had been right.) I admit that it may grow on me, but it better do so quickly, or else the CD will find itself cracked in half under a landfill. I advise against getting the album. As I meditate on whether or not I'm going to destroy my copy, I'll listen to my favorite song from it, "The Salmon Dance," which wins "best song" simply because of its sheer stupidity.

Oh yes, we saw Underworld, too. I won't try to use words to describe it; all I can say is that it was well worth the money and I will see them again as soon as I can.

KILL ME EP: Extended

The Syringeguy page now contains something I can't believe I forgot: KILL ME EP, the first music I've ever "composed." It's pretty cutting-edge stuff.

Oh yeah, and since I have three other (unrelated) songs I won't be able to release anywhere else, I've put them into the KILL ME EP bundle. Those who already have the original EP release can download an add-on pack from the SG page.