Current Listening

Right now: Cicatriz E.S.P. by The Mars Volta.

An interesting band to say the least. Progressive, experimental rock with a touch of insanity thrown in for good measure. I'd say that brings them a few steps closer to my taste.

One of my new favorite bands which I discovered via Pandora, a wonderful little music application, is called The Gabe Dixon Band. I'd go as far as to say that if you like good music, you will like Gabe Dixon. He's got an ear for song writing that seems to be missing from most of the stuff that comes out these days. I'd be curious to know if he's had classical training or not, because his arrangements, while tight in harmony, are so fluid in motion, that it creates a really strange jazzy dichotomy, and in doing so, an extremely unique sound. He only has two albums, but I cannot stress enough how important it is that they be purchased forthwith. I haven't actually purchased an album from a store in a long time, and I went out and bought both of them after hearing two of his songs. I was not disappointed.

Another recent favorite is the new Dream Theater album. Now, Dream Theater is a beastly band that has been around for, I believe, twenty years now. They still have a fresh sound, and it still works well with their need to release anthemic, epicly poetic albums. It's a bit heavy on the electronic, and most of it has extremely dark overtones, but it's so well arranged, that any fan of hard rock or metal can get into it easily. The dark parts contrast the lighter parts as they should, and in true Dream Theater fashion, most of the songs are pretty long, but well worth the time spent listening. They draw heavy inspiration from Metallica, and it's easy to hear in their music, but make no mistake--Metallica they are not. They are a better band, and a more accessible one at that.

Now, I got my hands on the new Linkin Park album this week as well, and I must say, it is truly horrendous. It's so bad, in fact, that I actually felt as though listening to it was a complete waste of my time. Here is a band that does one thing, and one thing well: they create over the top catchy guitar riffs with overly emotional dark lyrics and then scream them at you. It worked for two albums before, so why doesn't it work here? Linkin Park now apparently wishes to be taken seriously as a band, which, to put it simply, isn't going to happen. They were never great, and they have never even really been good either. So, what does the new album sound like? Well, let's just say that I'd rather listen to white noise from a television channel that isn't working than listen to it through another time. To be frank, the songs are unoriginal, bland, and lacking in substance. This seems odd to me, seeing as how there is one song on the album that does sound like the old LP. In fact, they felt the need to add swearing into the mix, because they weren't hardcore enough before.

I'm so sick of the emo-punk rock movement happening in this country. It seems that for every good band that comes along, fifteen more shitty emo bands will arrive with a number one hit single that sounds EXACTLY the same as the one before it. But, that is the nature of music I suppose. When it's so easily accessible these days(at least to play music), everyone thinks they're a musician. I'm just shocked that people show up to those concerts.