So the new Max Richter reworking of Vivaldi's Four Seasons is delectable. I can't recommend it highly enough. I am listening to all kinds of new music, and spurred on by Cascadian Black Metal, a nice genre of black metal coming out of the Cascade Mountains, a range that extends from BC to Northern Cali.
I downloaded a couple of Skagos albums from bandcamp, and I dig their one track album from 2012, "Anarchic." It's a solid song. I'm definitely going to be exploring this genre a ton more, as it lines up with my ethics almost seamlessly.
I'm about to go downtown and get groceries and get money for my landlady. I have found a few sweet recipes that I'll share tomorrow. Should be a fun week of experimentation. I invited Lora over for dinner, and we'll see what she has to say about that. I have so much work to do, and here I go.
No Lora, but more music. Very excited to be alive right now.
"This bright thread so pure,
drawn through everything that is.."
I choose to live. One day as a lion.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
(Saturday Life #8) 29 September 2012
New layout and all kinds of edits. Haven't really changed anything in the four years or so of this blog's existence, but I'm finding a new place in life, mentally and physically, and I've been due for a change.
I've listened to and reviewed about 20 albums in the last few days and I'm still stuck on the first minute of Jane Campion's The Piano. I hope to watch a tad before I slink off to sleepyland. I'm so stuck on black metal right now, and I think I will be for good. Finally a genre that is depressive enough to allow me to fully express myself. It would be a good substitute for religion.
I've listened to and reviewed about 20 albums in the last few days and I'm still stuck on the first minute of Jane Campion's The Piano. I hope to watch a tad before I slink off to sleepyland. I'm so stuck on black metal right now, and I think I will be for good. Finally a genre that is depressive enough to allow me to fully express myself. It would be a good substitute for religion.
Friday, September 28, 2012
(Friday Life #4) 28 September 2012
Perhaps the best cure for the fear of death is to reflect that life has a beginning as well as an end. There was a time when you were not: that gives us no concern. Why then should it trouble us that a time will come when we shall cease to be? To die is only to be as we were before we were born. -William Hazlitt, essayist (1778-1830)
I've been listening to a lot of music these last few days. I've uncovered a few amazing albums, including Sabaton's Carolus Rex and Agalloch's Faustian Echoes. It's been great to consciously listen to music again, and I've even been writing short reviews of each movie I've seen, with the impetus to become a better writer. I've been suspended for 6 days now, and it's very frustrating. It should end soon. Tomorrow I will overnight a letter to Portland to get it there by Monday.
I've been listening to a lot of music these last few days. I've uncovered a few amazing albums, including Sabaton's Carolus Rex and Agalloch's Faustian Echoes. It's been great to consciously listen to music again, and I've even been writing short reviews of each movie I've seen, with the impetus to become a better writer. I've been suspended for 6 days now, and it's very frustrating. It should end soon. Tomorrow I will overnight a letter to Portland to get it there by Monday.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
(A Look at the Weekend #6) 27 September 2012
Hmm. Going to see a "Galician" neo-folk band at Ritval tattoo tomorrow night with Lora. They're named Sangre de Muergado. Should be pretty sweet.
I had better be back at work next week too, so that means I need to do laundry as well. Being off a whole week has done wonders for my writing, and my apartment is looking a bit better.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
You Are a Daughter of Heaven (Music #7) 26 September 2012
"For me, hardcore is simply unapologetic music, free of rules. By that definition, we're a hardcore band."
Jacob Bannon of Converge, in interview here
Today I'm going to write about an album that changed my life:
Burzum.
Jacob Bannon of Converge, in interview here
Today I'm going to write about an album that changed my life:
Burzum.
This self-titled album by Burzum from 1992 is the first non-demo album by notorious Varg Vikernes, or "Count Grishnakh." It is widely considered to be the first atmospheric black metal album. It is shrill at times, evoking the poor production quality that was heralded by the Norwegian Black Metal (NBM) scene. It involves a lot of references that I'll try to include here, and it's part of a complex NBM mythology that is anti-Christian and anti-commercial.
I - Feeble Screams From Forests Unknown
I have to give Vikernes a lot of credit. He played this entire thing himself. He's clearly got a lot of talent, and you can tell some of the timing is off and his concepts of solos and other musical ideas come from a background where he can't choose which instrument he really wants to play. Perhaps that is part of the genius? Overall he creates a very dark mood here that you can't help but see as hugely influential. He has said crazy things, like:
What strikes me as crazy here might not to most. I'm more worried about the welcoming of catastrophe, and labeling the best amongst us.
"We saw what happened to ancient Greece and the Roman Empire when they started to let other cultures influence their own culture, and the same is happening to the rest of Europe today. On the other hand we cannot be so conservative that we want to keep inferior systems and ideas no matter what, if there are better alternatives. I think we should be open to everything that is in accordance with our blood and our collective meaning of life, and reject the rest. On the other hand, I have never heard a good idea from outside Europe (and by Europe I mean "the European [Nordic] race"), so I don't think this will be much of a problem to Europe.
Burzum means "darkness" and was originally first named "Kalishnikov" (after the inventor of the AK-47) and then Uruk-Hai (the name of Orcs from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series). Varg referred to himself as Count Grishnakh, an orc commander from the aforementioned series. So it's kinda goofy, right? Varg has also made mention of influence by lots of classical music as well. So maybe it's not so goofy? The album features shrieks that would have probably been chill-inducing in the early 90s. Track II is about Ea (Babylonian), or Enki (Sumerian), as he was originally known, a great God who (at least in Babylonian lore) took the shape of many twisted creatures.
Vikernes himself seems to be like this. Sometimes supporting racist music (Waffen SS) and claiming to be incredibly racist, and then an Enki-like maneuver to be as void of contact with them as possible, Vikernes is wearing whichever face seems to thrill best and then stripping himself of the facade in time to avoid consequences. I am fully aware that he served time in prison. It's possible that he should have served more, however. He was sentenced to 21 and spent almost 16.
"Ironically, the only thing that can save mankind is a stream of pandemics, natural disasters and other human catastrophes, wiping out most of us. In fact, I think the catastrophe is inevitable -- unless something drastic happens very soon -- , and to be honest I even welcome it. The sooner this world order collapses the better. We don't even need to do anything for it to collapse in chaos. The best and only thing we can do is to get away from the tidal wave, and make sure the best amongst us survive, along with our Pagan culture."
The concept of multiculturalism is just brain-dead crap, as one culture will eventually prevail at the expense of the other cultures in the same area, so if we wish to see our own culture survive we have to be intolerant and conservative, and reject - and even destroy -- alien influences."
That's about as racist as it gets, and sad. It's disappointing. I'm grateful for artists taking the quality parts of this and moving forward with it, but it begs for explanation, I feel. The music is metal, which is fairly multicultural, when you think of bands like Sepultura, Slayer, and Metallica, who have all had non-caucasian members. It continues to become more multicultural and diverse, a fact that must really irritate Varg, enabling him to belch out lines like, "The world's tragedy, is served at my feast!"
Still, this album doesn't really showcase his bizarre worldview. It's an album worth hearing, there can be no doubt about it.
References
Film
-Until the Light Takes Us, Aites and Ewell, 2008.
Literature/Websites
-Atmospheric black metal, from rateyourmusic.com
-Ea, article at wikipedia
-Lords of Chaos, Moynihan and Soderlind, 2003 (Updated version)
-Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
-On the Importance of Burzum, from burzum.com
-Time's Arrow: Show No Mercy - An Interview with Jacob Bannon of Converge, via Pitchfork here
Music
-Burzum, Burzum, 1992.
Other things of interest. A new video for "Astral Body" by Between the Buried and Me off of their forthcoming Parallax part 2, new songs by Converge, "Aimless Arrow," which was made into a good music video, and a second mentioned by Stosuy in his recent Show No Mercy.
New Bob Dylan, new Swans, new Grizzly Bear, new Fiona Apple, new Max Richter, along with checking out notable releases this year of bands I'm not at all familiar with, like Tame Impala, and so much more that I still need to hear this year. I've listened to bits and pieces of all of those above, but I'm so focused on black metal right now that it's difficult to give them the amount of time they deserve. I am working on it.
Speaking of black metal (and metal in general), I missed a couple of really good shows this last weekend and Monday, with bands like Yob, Ash Borer, and Menace Ruine. It makes me that much more desperate about making the Converge trip happen. To end it for this week, here's a fun new song by the fun stoner metal bad Red Fang, out of portland.
I - Feeble Screams From Forests Unknown
I have to give Vikernes a lot of credit. He played this entire thing himself. He's clearly got a lot of talent, and you can tell some of the timing is off and his concepts of solos and other musical ideas come from a background where he can't choose which instrument he really wants to play. Perhaps that is part of the genius? Overall he creates a very dark mood here that you can't help but see as hugely influential. He has said crazy things, like:
What strikes me as crazy here might not to most. I'm more worried about the welcoming of catastrophe, and labeling the best amongst us.
"We saw what happened to ancient Greece and the Roman Empire when they started to let other cultures influence their own culture, and the same is happening to the rest of Europe today. On the other hand we cannot be so conservative that we want to keep inferior systems and ideas no matter what, if there are better alternatives. I think we should be open to everything that is in accordance with our blood and our collective meaning of life, and reject the rest. On the other hand, I have never heard a good idea from outside Europe (and by Europe I mean "the European [Nordic] race"), so I don't think this will be much of a problem to Europe.
Burzum means "darkness" and was originally first named "Kalishnikov" (after the inventor of the AK-47) and then Uruk-Hai (the name of Orcs from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series). Varg referred to himself as Count Grishnakh, an orc commander from the aforementioned series. So it's kinda goofy, right? Varg has also made mention of influence by lots of classical music as well. So maybe it's not so goofy? The album features shrieks that would have probably been chill-inducing in the early 90s. Track II is about Ea (Babylonian), or Enki (Sumerian), as he was originally known, a great God who (at least in Babylonian lore) took the shape of many twisted creatures.
Vikernes himself seems to be like this. Sometimes supporting racist music (Waffen SS) and claiming to be incredibly racist, and then an Enki-like maneuver to be as void of contact with them as possible, Vikernes is wearing whichever face seems to thrill best and then stripping himself of the facade in time to avoid consequences. I am fully aware that he served time in prison. It's possible that he should have served more, however. He was sentenced to 21 and spent almost 16.
"Ironically, the only thing that can save mankind is a stream of pandemics, natural disasters and other human catastrophes, wiping out most of us. In fact, I think the catastrophe is inevitable -- unless something drastic happens very soon -- , and to be honest I even welcome it. The sooner this world order collapses the better. We don't even need to do anything for it to collapse in chaos. The best and only thing we can do is to get away from the tidal wave, and make sure the best amongst us survive, along with our Pagan culture."
The concept of multiculturalism is just brain-dead crap, as one culture will eventually prevail at the expense of the other cultures in the same area, so if we wish to see our own culture survive we have to be intolerant and conservative, and reject - and even destroy -- alien influences."
That's about as racist as it gets, and sad. It's disappointing. I'm grateful for artists taking the quality parts of this and moving forward with it, but it begs for explanation, I feel. The music is metal, which is fairly multicultural, when you think of bands like Sepultura, Slayer, and Metallica, who have all had non-caucasian members. It continues to become more multicultural and diverse, a fact that must really irritate Varg, enabling him to belch out lines like, "The world's tragedy, is served at my feast!"
Still, this album doesn't really showcase his bizarre worldview. It's an album worth hearing, there can be no doubt about it.
References
Film
-Until the Light Takes Us, Aites and Ewell, 2008.
Literature/Websites
-Atmospheric black metal, from rateyourmusic.com
-Ea, article at wikipedia
-Lords of Chaos, Moynihan and Soderlind, 2003 (Updated version)
-Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
-On the Importance of Burzum, from burzum.com
-Time's Arrow: Show No Mercy - An Interview with Jacob Bannon of Converge, via Pitchfork here
Music
-Burzum, Burzum, 1992.
Other things of interest. A new video for "Astral Body" by Between the Buried and Me off of their forthcoming Parallax part 2, new songs by Converge, "Aimless Arrow," which was made into a good music video, and a second mentioned by Stosuy in his recent Show No Mercy.
New Bob Dylan, new Swans, new Grizzly Bear, new Fiona Apple, new Max Richter, along with checking out notable releases this year of bands I'm not at all familiar with, like Tame Impala, and so much more that I still need to hear this year. I've listened to bits and pieces of all of those above, but I'm so focused on black metal right now that it's difficult to give them the amount of time they deserve. I am working on it.
Speaking of black metal (and metal in general), I missed a couple of really good shows this last weekend and Monday, with bands like Yob, Ash Borer, and Menace Ruine. It makes me that much more desperate about making the Converge trip happen. To end it for this week, here's a fun new song by the fun stoner metal bad Red Fang, out of portland.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Removed Forms (Until the Light Takes Us Thoughts and Ideas - Film #5)
Until the Light Takes Us, Aites and Ewell, 2008, 9.2/10
"In our contemporary society, youth are pretty much lost. They have no direction, nobody's telling them what to do. That is, people are telling them what to do, but the youth have an instinct telling them this is wrong, you know? People are telling them that Christianity is good, people are telling them that the USA is good, NATO is good, our democracy is good. But we know if not intellectually, we know instinctively, that this is wrong."
Varg Vikernes, from Until the Light Takes Us
Cut to a series of advertisements and people engaging in consumer culture, and we have a pretty good context for the film. But it's hard to define black metal with one voice, and so we have myriad ("myriads" as Fenriz puts it) others.
"Let's make one thing clear: The world you live in is hollow. It is plain and simple and contains only matter that in itself does not possess anything of lasting value. The only way to create something of dignity and true beauty in this world is by looking beyond its borders, to search outside of the mundane and to enter into connection with that which lies beyond the safety of established form. To step into the realm of liberated wilderness, of untamed fire, and of that ancient chaos for which every true and potent artist has been a mouthpiece. There is a great abyss between this world and that place. An abyss which very few are ever able to cross. But by means of magic and communication with the divine there are ways to penetrate to that vast darkness, to that which lies beyond. To build bridges and open gateways to that terrible and wondrous place that lies outside the borders of the world. This is the way we have chosen to look upon the spiritual characteristics of our work and this is why it is divine. It acts as a mediator between high and low, a link between two worlds, and we have chosen to call it Watain."
From Opus Diaboli, A musical documentary of Watain
Music has always been like this to me, a holy thing, difficult to break down, assess, and analyze. I somehow lasted a full year of music theory at college, but found way too much of the learning to be tedious. I'm not sure if music is quite as arcane as Erik Danielsson is making it sound here, though. More quotable phrases are interesting as well, but they begin to talk about silly concepts of death, corpses, drinking blood, showing bones, animal and human sacrifice, and all of the silly things that make up a lot of modern black metal, most recorded metal for that matter, and I quickly lose interest.
The same could be said about my attraction to the anti-religious nature of Black Metal. I find it inspiring, especially as practiced by bands like Wolves in the Throne Room. I'm just at the tip of the iceberg here, so I'm not going to elaborate too much, but this element of BM makes me sad when I think of all of the churches burned in the name of it, all of the violence enacted against Christians at the hands of devout followers of the music. Don't get me wrong, I fully understand the violence that Christians wreaked upon countless cultures and continue to wreak upon minds of innocent children everywhere. We must take a more intelligent approach to try and counteract this. Violence will breed violence.
"People don't want to be European, they want to be Finnish, or Norweigian or whatever."
From Pagan Metal: A Documentary
Until the Light Takes Us raises some incredibly good points. Is Christianity founded upon the myths of older mystical worldviews? Is trying to create an anti-commercial scene a valid goal? Should we strive to have integrity in our artistic endeavors? That is, should our lyrics match our actions? Are there any evolutionarily salient points made here? These questions and more are worth considering in relation to "Until the Light Takes Us" but also in relation to music itself, of course including metal music, Norwegian black metal, and contemporary American black metal, especially of the atmospheric kind.
References
Film
-Black Metal University by Fenriz, Aites and Ewell (Special Feature on Until the Light Takes Us), Available, respectively, in parts 1 and 2 via Youtube (here and here)
-Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Dunn, McFadyen, and Wise, 2005
-Once Upon a Time in Norway, Aasdal and Ledang, 2007, via Youtube here
-Opus Diaboli, Documentary about the band Watain, 2012, via Youtube here
-Pagan Metal: A Documentary, Bill Zebub, 2011 via Youtube here
-True Norwegian Black Metal, a Vice Video, via Youtube here
-Until the Light Takes Us, Aites and Ewell, 2008
Literature/Websites
-CVLT Nation (http://www.cvltnation.com)
-Lords of Chaos (2nd Edition), Moynihan & Soderlind, 2003
-Music and Dance as a Coalition Signaling System (click for full text), Hagen & Bryant, 2001/2002.
Music
-Bathory, Bathory, 1984
-Black Metal, Venom, 1982
-A Blaze in the Northern Sky, Darkthrone, 1991
-Burzum, Burzum, 1992
-Celestial Lineage, Wolves in the Throne Room, 2011
-Dead As Dreams, Weakling, 2000
-Deathcrush, Mayhem, 1987
-Diadem of the 12 Stars, Wolves in the Throne Room, 2006
-Satanic Rites, Hellhammer, 1983
-Under the Sign of the Black Mark, Bathory, 1987
The Last Films I've Seen
1. Mrs. Miniver, Wyler, 1942, 4.8/10 (See Last Week's Review)
2. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans, Herzog, 5.5/10
Nicholas Cage is a strange guy. His acting goes from good to hammy to just plain bad. This film has him at all stages. The story is lacking, and if this ever becomes a franchise, I would lose yet more faith in humanity. That being said, it's rather entertaining.
"In our contemporary society, youth are pretty much lost. They have no direction, nobody's telling them what to do. That is, people are telling them what to do, but the youth have an instinct telling them this is wrong, you know? People are telling them that Christianity is good, people are telling them that the USA is good, NATO is good, our democracy is good. But we know if not intellectually, we know instinctively, that this is wrong."
Varg Vikernes, from Until the Light Takes Us
Cut to a series of advertisements and people engaging in consumer culture, and we have a pretty good context for the film. But it's hard to define black metal with one voice, and so we have myriad ("myriads" as Fenriz puts it) others.
"Let's make one thing clear: The world you live in is hollow. It is plain and simple and contains only matter that in itself does not possess anything of lasting value. The only way to create something of dignity and true beauty in this world is by looking beyond its borders, to search outside of the mundane and to enter into connection with that which lies beyond the safety of established form. To step into the realm of liberated wilderness, of untamed fire, and of that ancient chaos for which every true and potent artist has been a mouthpiece. There is a great abyss between this world and that place. An abyss which very few are ever able to cross. But by means of magic and communication with the divine there are ways to penetrate to that vast darkness, to that which lies beyond. To build bridges and open gateways to that terrible and wondrous place that lies outside the borders of the world. This is the way we have chosen to look upon the spiritual characteristics of our work and this is why it is divine. It acts as a mediator between high and low, a link between two worlds, and we have chosen to call it Watain."
From Opus Diaboli, A musical documentary of Watain
Music has always been like this to me, a holy thing, difficult to break down, assess, and analyze. I somehow lasted a full year of music theory at college, but found way too much of the learning to be tedious. I'm not sure if music is quite as arcane as Erik Danielsson is making it sound here, though. More quotable phrases are interesting as well, but they begin to talk about silly concepts of death, corpses, drinking blood, showing bones, animal and human sacrifice, and all of the silly things that make up a lot of modern black metal, most recorded metal for that matter, and I quickly lose interest.
The same could be said about my attraction to the anti-religious nature of Black Metal. I find it inspiring, especially as practiced by bands like Wolves in the Throne Room. I'm just at the tip of the iceberg here, so I'm not going to elaborate too much, but this element of BM makes me sad when I think of all of the churches burned in the name of it, all of the violence enacted against Christians at the hands of devout followers of the music. Don't get me wrong, I fully understand the violence that Christians wreaked upon countless cultures and continue to wreak upon minds of innocent children everywhere. We must take a more intelligent approach to try and counteract this. Violence will breed violence.
"People don't want to be European, they want to be Finnish, or Norweigian or whatever."
From Pagan Metal: A Documentary
Until the Light Takes Us raises some incredibly good points. Is Christianity founded upon the myths of older mystical worldviews? Is trying to create an anti-commercial scene a valid goal? Should we strive to have integrity in our artistic endeavors? That is, should our lyrics match our actions? Are there any evolutionarily salient points made here? These questions and more are worth considering in relation to "Until the Light Takes Us" but also in relation to music itself, of course including metal music, Norwegian black metal, and contemporary American black metal, especially of the atmospheric kind.
References
Film
-Black Metal University by Fenriz, Aites and Ewell (Special Feature on Until the Light Takes Us), Available, respectively, in parts 1 and 2 via Youtube (here and here)
-Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Dunn, McFadyen, and Wise, 2005
-Once Upon a Time in Norway, Aasdal and Ledang, 2007, via Youtube here
-Opus Diaboli, Documentary about the band Watain, 2012, via Youtube here
-Pagan Metal: A Documentary, Bill Zebub, 2011 via Youtube here
-True Norwegian Black Metal, a Vice Video, via Youtube here
-Until the Light Takes Us, Aites and Ewell, 2008
Literature/Websites
-CVLT Nation (http://www.cvltnation.com)
-Lords of Chaos (2nd Edition), Moynihan & Soderlind, 2003
-Music and Dance as a Coalition Signaling System (click for full text), Hagen & Bryant, 2001/2002.
Music
-Bathory, Bathory, 1984
-Black Metal, Venom, 1982
-A Blaze in the Northern Sky, Darkthrone, 1991
-Burzum, Burzum, 1992
-Celestial Lineage, Wolves in the Throne Room, 2011
-Dead As Dreams, Weakling, 2000
-Deathcrush, Mayhem, 1987
-Diadem of the 12 Stars, Wolves in the Throne Room, 2006
-Satanic Rites, Hellhammer, 1983
-Under the Sign of the Black Mark, Bathory, 1987
The Last Films I've Seen
1. Mrs. Miniver, Wyler, 1942, 4.8/10 (See Last Week's Review)
2. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans, Herzog, 5.5/10
Nicholas Cage is a strange guy. His acting goes from good to hammy to just plain bad. This film has him at all stages. The story is lacking, and if this ever becomes a franchise, I would lose yet more faith in humanity. That being said, it's rather entertaining.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Anima Mundi (A Look At The Week Ahead #7)
No real plans. Become more secure in myself. Send off info for the renewal of my tech license, do laundry, end being suspended. Watch film, and write a couple of great essays.
It starts tomorrow with my review of Until the Light Takes Us and continues with whichever album I choose to review on Wednesday.
It starts tomorrow with my review of Until the Light Takes Us and continues with whichever album I choose to review on Wednesday.
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