Britpop Resurgence

I have no idea why... maybe it's because I've been cranking Oasis a lot lately, because now all my old Britpop albums that I was so fanatical about from 1994 onwards have come back out. I'm loving every second of it. I miss those days.

"The Nod"

Found an interesting blog entry via news.com.au's website about the iNod, or simply, The Nod, applying to users or customers who share their product experience via a "niche market" view.

I find this occurs mainly with other people I see wearing a metal shirt of a *decent* band (i.e. a solid Black Metal band like Enslaved, as opposed to mainstream bullshit trash like Metallica or Slipknot [which all real metalheads know isn't real metal anyway]). A decent metal shirt gets the stare from other metalheads, and even a kind of "protect your clan" or "metalfan-bonding" kind of attitude (which I experienced at the beach other day infact by chatting to two guys who also had metal shirts on, yet I had never known the guys before).

An excerpt of "The Nod" is below:

Sit in a cafe with a Mac PowerBook, and chances are you'll get The Nod--that acknowledging, approving, knowing, we're-special look. MINI Cooper owners give each other The Nod at intersections. Display GNOME on your ThinkPad and you'll get The Nod. But run Windows on your Dell and you won't. (Never confuse the "I feel your pain" look with The Nod.)

More here.

NEGURA BUNGET Schedules CD-Release Show

Transylvanian black metallers NEGURA BUNGET will launch their new digipack release, "OM", with a live appearance on October 27 at the Old School Club in Bucharest, Romania. The band will perform a two-hour show featuring new and old songs."OM" was recorded at Negura Studio and features artwork by Encoil Mark.

The album is being released via Code666 Records as a deluxe eight-panel double digipack, including the regular CD and a bonus DVD disc featuring a visual presentation of the album, three new music videos, in-depth interview with the band, live footage, and special unreleased exclusive material.

F**K Discriminatory Segratation

It's a shame that in this world we have to deal with people who choose to hate others.

People often forget that we are all truly one gigantic family, an internationally complex tree, all of the same root, regardless of colour, height, gender, religion or language.

It infuriates me that within my chosen genre of favourite music, idiots have to use their stupidity to make statements that are even more stupid. Riding on the coat tails of the mad, evil, murdering and unjust, all the while believing that their leaders have something positive to achieve.

What is the most treacherous of all, and incredibly illogical, is that National Socialists can create some of the most amazing Black Metal ever, and yet be so fucked in the head. Fuck you, you racist fuckers: you will never win. Your pathetic dream is already dead, multiculturalism is far too developed to fight against and is a return to the source: a human being... no different at its core to how we are today!

Pagan my ass! Real pagans are good, spiritual people, not hateful, demented pieces of shit! Fuck anyone who supports discriminatory segratation!

IT People “Twice as Likely” to Wear Heavy Metal T-Shirts as Other People

"IT people are 34% more likely to wear a ponytail than others and 63% more likely to wear black jeans, according to survey of 1000 office workers."

I wonder where they get these ideas from? Do they concoct fake surveys? Is the company who conducted the survey so bored that it has to conduct a stupid survey like this? More here.

eBay Banning Sale Of Black Metal Albums?

I love how outsider opinions on Black Metal place it above music like Rap in terms of negative effects on society. The below is courtesy of Blabbermouth:

Paula Hogan of MANIC Music & Distribution and Candlelight Records USA has contacted BLABBERMOUTH.NET to report that "eBay is [allegedly] currently starting a ban on black/extreme metal. A few of our vendors who have sizeable eBay stores are now finding their items pulled down by eBay directly. The list we have compiled so far that have been pulled for sale via any eBay stores or auctions is noted below. I'm sure there are more."

Added Dan Ferguson of Indianapolis, IN's Abyss Records: "I had a number of items removed and account suspended by selling black metal. It seems a group of so-called Christians have been reporting black metal bands (even though eBay has black metal as a search genre) as all racist and hateful and discriminatory."

The items that were allegedly removed by eBay because they "violated the eBay Hateful or Discriminatory policy" are as follows:

BURZUM - Complete 6 LP SET
EMPEROR - IX Equilibrium ORIG. LP
WOTANORDEN - From The.. CD
BURZUM - s/t / Aske DOUBLE LP
1349 - Beyond The CD
DARKTHRONE - Panzerfaust CD
MAYHEM - Collection 4 LP SET
PANTHEON - Krihapentswor CD
DARKTHRONE - Total Death CD
BURZUM - Draugen CD DVD
BURZUM - Daudi Baldrs LP
BURZUM - Daudi Baldrs CD
ZYKLON B - Blood Must Be Shed CD
ARMAGGEDON - Imperium CD
EMPEROR - Demo LP
1349 - Hellfire DOUBLE LP
DARKTHRONE - Hate Them CD
BURZUM - Filosofem DOUBLE LP
BURZUM - Hlidskjalf LP
BURZUM - Det Som Engang Var DIGI CD
CAMULOS / AINSHVAL - Split CD
BURZUM - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss LP
BURZUM - Det Som Engang Var LP
NOKTURNAL MORTUM - Weltanschauung CD
SATYRICON - Now, Diabolical CD

In eBay's e-mail to Ferguson explaining their decision to remove his listing, they write, "eBay doesn't permit sellers to list items that promote or glorify hatred, violence, or racial intolerance. Items that promote organizations with such views are also prohibited.

"eBay will judiciously disallow listings or items that promote or glorify hatred, violence or racial intolerance, or items that promote organizations (such as Nazis, neo-Nazis and Aryan Nation) with such views. This policy also applies to listings that offer shipping to countries where certain items may be illegal."

To review eBay's list of Prohibited, Questionable, and Infringing items, click here. To learn more about why eBay may remove listings, go to this location.

iTunes 7 : outrage for Windows users

Yesterday Apple released iTunes 7, coinciding with Jobs' conference announcments of new Nanos among other things.

After installing it, I quickly discovered that not only is it slow as hell, but results in sound distortion and crackling during song playback.

This is a real shame considering the new iTunes has some cool features (e.g. gapless playback, but we need this on the iPod itself, Apple!!!).

After chatting with Alex for a bit (not sure if he was experiencing the problem as he's on a Mac), I wandered about the Apple forums and found only one thread on the Windows sound problem.

Well, a look back at the forum today, and there sure as hell isn't just one thread, there's a few:

Topic: Major bug in iTunes 7
Topic: HUGE Problems with ITunes 7 with Windows
Topic: so many itunes 7 problems

Nice one Apple! You'd think a large company has the brains to at least TEST their software before releasing it. I guess we'll see an upgrade on iTunes in the next few days. In the meantime, I like many other Windows users will be sticking to iTunes 6 until the problems are fixed.

Edit/Update: looks like the Sydney Morning Herald picked up on all of this this afternoon as well:

Apple's new iTunes version branded a lemon

Borknagar: Origin

Sidenote: I'm a big fan of Vintersorg, his vocals are beautiful, but in recent years, I have felt his work has been getting experimental in ways which aren't really productive, most noticably in his vocal delivery and usage of keyboards (simplistic structures and terrible chosen effects).

His vocal work is best when he delivers sustained lines, not breaking them with falsetto (and I'm sorry, but his falsetto isn't one which sounds good because of his kind of mid-range natural voice). I wish he would concentrate more on his lower and middle registers, because his are fantastic and he has more power at this range too.

... however, he certainly delivers on Origin!

Also of note: Asgeir's outstanding contribution to drums on this album: he's been known for some time as one of Metal's better drummers, but this time we see him playing with more feeling, a slower and more creative pace. The results are fantastic.

Borknagar's music definitely has a unique style (I wish I knew the "technical" musical expressions to use). Brun has a writing style which is reminiscent of early Ulver in some respects and he does what he does well. He certainly has a unique stamp that is recognisable.

The usage of Western Art string instruments on Origin is very well done: over the years, I've noticed that when a band tends to use them, a string section constantly seems to be there for more aesthetic reasons, as opposed to actually providing proactive participation or another voice to the music.

Origin does not fall prey to this. The cellos and violins actually [I]drive [/I]the melodies on this album, which I feel for metal is actually quite a remarkable achievement. There are so many moments where I could hear that songs could be played entirely on a string ensemble and I think this factor is very deserving of a nod to Brun in respect.

Take for example "Human Nature", track 7 on the album: the chorus utilises an old technique (by Western Art Music standards but new for metal given the instruments used) of using short quick bowing strokes in conjunction with acoustic guitars to imitate heavy riffing common in metal. I think this is a very imaginative idea for an acoustic metal album and definitely applaudable - it creates a dramatic moment in the song, and most importantly provides us with what I truly feel is the first ever heavy entirely acoustic metal song.

For once on an acoustic metal album, the traditional "rock" instruments take a back seat, and the older instruments have an opportunity to drive the momentum of compositions on the album, and also provide a second or third voice for Borknagar to work with.

The album is actually quite complex, but I don't think the "average" metal listener is going to pick this up unless they have adequate experience with Baroque or classical music. Origin is an album of intelligence.

The acoustic version of Oceans Rise is a beautiful rendition of a Borknagar classic. They have not only produced an acoustic "version", but it seems the song has been completely re-written to take advantage of different usage of instruments while keeping the feel of the original composition. Very well done.

I've been thrashing this album. The more I listen to it, the more I hear - it is intricately layered. I think the approach to this album taken by the band is a very intelligent one, you can really hear that a LOT effort and thought has gone into this work.

I will definitely add this album to my collection when it is released. Fantastic work and a fresh breath of air.

Early Music: the foray begins.

The time has come to expand into another area: Early Music, namely religious music of the 14th and 15th Centuries and earlier. I feel I've become reasonably versed with Baroque Music (but my investigations into Baroque will never cease) and it's time to expand some more.

About 2 weeks ago, I decided to acquire some Early Music and finally make that leap back even earlier in history. I wanted something which expresses the strong Christian influence (ironic considering my opinions of religion) on the music without being entirely choral.

In Michaels Music Room I picked up a copy of Alia Vox's double CD release of Early Music: "Alfons V el Magnànim: El Cancionero de Montecassino". The music is performed by Le Capella Reial de Catalunya, which includes Jordi Savall, Montserrat Figuraras and Arianna Savall among others, I knew the recording and performance would be spectacular (and it is).

"Cancionero de Montecassino" is the name of a manuscript written in the 16th Century during the reign of King Alfonso V of Aragon. It contains notations for religious and profane compositions. Somehow surviving through to 1944 during the bombing of an Abbey in World War II, the manuscript was found, archived into safe hands and thus comes to us today in the form of this recording.

The first thing I noticed was the absence of vibrato (a big plus in my book, as I generally dislike it): any lines by any voice, whether sung or played by an instrument are clearly held and sustained. The combination of this technique with the Viola Da Gamba and choral singing is just awe-inspiring: the notes are so clear, so evidently identifiable; you can almost see them in your mind. It's also really interesting to hear "proto-counterpoints" heralding the coming of JS Bach several hundred years later when this technique would be perfected.

As an enthusiast of the Viol, I noted that the Gamba's role is even more aligned with the human voice than in the Baroque period (I now realise that they separated as the art of virtuosic playing evolved). It's said that the Gamba was the instrument which could emulate the sounds of the human voice more than any other. This is displayed here with such success that were it not for the texture of the bow across the strings, one is almost unable to differentiate the Gamba from the soprano or tenor's voices.

As with any kind of music, Early Music depicts cultural events or characteristics of the period: Europe underwent massive transformation during the 14th century due to famines, plagues and climate shift (a mild Ice Age). Massive under population combined with conflicts and divisions within the Church paints a picture of Europe's darkest period in history. Thus, the music of the period reflects Christian devotion to Christ through darker tones.

Some of the darkest laments I have heard have been on Andreas Scholl's Kantate. But musically around 200 years earlier, Europe's blackness is expressed with incredibly moving singing, depicting an eternal lament of Christ's death and the solemn celebration of his reign in the world at the time. It is a haunting, raw and beautiful depiction of the devotion to religion, and of a Europe struggling to get back on its feet enhanced by the linearity of the singing and playing techniques in the music.

I "half knew" what to expect when listening to this CD (my first "true" experience with Early Music). With my knowledge of Baroque behind me (combined with various attendances at Baroque concerts, and the fact that I have the best Baroque teacher in Linda), interpreting Early Music is becoming a far more interesting experience than I could have first imagined because of the comparisons and evolutional aspects I can draw on. I think if I had gone the other way around (exploring in a chronological manner), I might not have appreciated the more refined or "simplified" aspects of Early Music as having the purpose it does.

I'm truly excited by this music. I haven't felt this moved since listening to some Finnish mood-crushing Funeral Doom (Shape of Despair's "Shades Of..."), but the difference here in Early Music is that this darkness is real, not fantasy.

Through this music, history has been clearly expressed in ways that books can only tell part of the story with. In the "Cancionero de Montecassino" manuscripts, the songs of Christ’s Heaven and the laments of a dying Europe come alive through modern means, teaching us how we have arrived to where we are today. I'm looking very forward to pursuing this new musical avenue with even greater depth, to discovering even more links of musical evolution across time.

F**k Raunch Culture.

I *LOVE* women. I love their sexiness, their curves etc etc. But I also love a woman who is intelligent, is classy and has self-respect, and doesnt come across cheap and a game player.

Raunch culture is the direct opposite: it's cheap, slutty, portrays women as sex objects in ways which makes my jaw job and glorifies the gameplaying aspect of sexual relations. It's become a publicly acceptable version of mysogeny and completely destroys everything women fought so hard for back in the 1970's.

Any female (and male for that matter) who supports raunch culture should be ashamed: you are damning your own rights and condemning yourself to a treatment akin to that of women in the middle ages!

It's UTTERLY disgusting, there is NO justification for it and I am sick to death seeing it everywhere, as well as of people who loudly proclaim they're against against, yet are the very ones waltzing about wearing "Porn Star" shirts. F**K OFF.

Goodbye Steve Irwin, you will be deeply missed.

Most here in Australia are mourning Steve Irwin's passing, but a few who feel embarrassed by his image don't realise its far better to have a "crickey" image than that of perhaps car-racing 2sik4u hoons, or dole bludging pokie addicts in Dural.

I find the intolerance of his image at a time like this extremely insulting in light of this man's fantastic positivity and energy, but I guess some people choose to act like disgusting 9 year old immoral brats as I saw in a forum tonight:

Not to disrespect the guy, but is Steve Crikey Irwin really the image that you want all over the world? He was nearly as bad as Paul Hogan for foreigners' perception of Australians.

Irwin gave Australia a unique image, even if it's not 100% accurate, and helped raise awareness of modern and ancient Australia which in turn helps the economy and raises our own identity.

Regardless of his Australian cariciture, he was a down to earth, positive man, who carried a passionate honest energy like few people in this world can do. Irwin said "Australians get embarrassed by me sometimes, but I think it's just because they see a little bit of me in themselves". I cant help but agree. His down to earth nature is totally Aussie and makes me proud to live here.

I can definitely say that while I am not a huge fan myself, I have nothing but the highest respect for someone who chose a unique path and did it in a unique way. Like many mourning around the world, I honour his passing as a that of a true human being, and a great one at that.

I feel deep loss for his family: I just watched an old interview of him with Andrew Denton, and the passion Irwin displays for his parents, wife and children is just amazing. And now with his passing, you can't help but the feel the pain of his wife and family. To lose someone who has so much energy and love is a devastating loss.

This is a huge tragic blow. Rest in peace Steve.

Troubles with Supernal

I knew somewhere along the line something like this was going to happen sooner or later.

It would appear my order for 2 medium sized Drudkh t-shirts along with my copy of Weakling's "Dead as Dreams" album has been lost either by incorrect addressing by Supernal records, or a bad shipping service.

It's been one month since my order was paid for, and Alex from Supernal is probably spewing that this has happened because now he has an unhappy customer.

I have no idea how to deal with this, as it's the first time it's happened, and I don't think Supernal are going to replace my order (also given he's now taking longer than usual to respond to my passive emails to him).

So it looks like I am going to have to shell out more money to re-order the whole lot and not have it sent to the previous address. Not happy :(