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Why is it that I seem to only get into weird obscure music that no one else likes? Apparently psychedelic trance just wasn't inaccessible, strange, and hard-to-find enough; now I've developed this strange fascination with the experimental fringes of doom metal.
Yeah, I know. But while it's not something I'd listen to just for fun I actually find it fascinating, if occasionally difficult to listen to. Once you start getting into slower, heavier metal, it becomes less about rocking out really hard and more about creating eerie, unsettling soundscapes, bearing (surprisingly) a closer kinship to the work of Brian Eno or even John Cage than, say, Black Sabbath. Some of the artists I've been listening to create these dense, soupy drones with subtle effects that fade in and out; they're deliberately amelodic or even grating without becoming unlistenable. And it made me think about how one would assemble music like that, how you would compose outside the traditional ideals of musical beauty and how you would create a sound that is just eerie and just dissonant enough.
So, yeah. It'd be nice if just once I could get into post-rock or soul like everyone else, it really would. I'd feel a little less odd on the whole.
If you fancy a listen, this is probably the most accessible track of the genre; it's technically an anomaly, but despite its radically different style I feel it offers a glimpse into the musical method of the genre, with its foggy sonic landscape and slow, melancholy drift. Even if you don't like metal of any description, check this one out; it's a lot different than you'd think, and is actually a very peaceful listen.
If you're into something just a bit heavier, there's also Earth's later releases, when they started venturing back into melodic music without totally forsaking their work on drone soundscapes. This track is one of my favorites so far.
---
On a completely different note, I wrote a poem. It's short and off-the-cuff, but here it is.
What I remember most about Father is how he cleaned strawberries
He cut out all the dark spots
All the bruises and infirm red flesh with a surgeon’s precision
Cutting and paring and shaving away
He would say, “No sense in wasting one”
No matter how rotten or cancerous it was
“Underneath the mushy spots
This one might be the sweetest of all.”
But after all that care
All that lifesaving, delicate care
He would carve them in quarters
And serve them in bowls
To us.
---
And I never did e-mail that guy back about holding my resume. I should do that before I go to bed.
Yeah, I know. But while it's not something I'd listen to just for fun I actually find it fascinating, if occasionally difficult to listen to. Once you start getting into slower, heavier metal, it becomes less about rocking out really hard and more about creating eerie, unsettling soundscapes, bearing (surprisingly) a closer kinship to the work of Brian Eno or even John Cage than, say, Black Sabbath. Some of the artists I've been listening to create these dense, soupy drones with subtle effects that fade in and out; they're deliberately amelodic or even grating without becoming unlistenable. And it made me think about how one would assemble music like that, how you would compose outside the traditional ideals of musical beauty and how you would create a sound that is just eerie and just dissonant enough.
So, yeah. It'd be nice if just once I could get into post-rock or soul like everyone else, it really would. I'd feel a little less odd on the whole.
If you fancy a listen, this is probably the most accessible track of the genre; it's technically an anomaly, but despite its radically different style I feel it offers a glimpse into the musical method of the genre, with its foggy sonic landscape and slow, melancholy drift. Even if you don't like metal of any description, check this one out; it's a lot different than you'd think, and is actually a very peaceful listen.
If you're into something just a bit heavier, there's also Earth's later releases, when they started venturing back into melodic music without totally forsaking their work on drone soundscapes. This track is one of my favorites so far.
---
On a completely different note, I wrote a poem. It's short and off-the-cuff, but here it is.
What I remember most about Father is how he cleaned strawberries
He cut out all the dark spots
All the bruises and infirm red flesh with a surgeon’s precision
Cutting and paring and shaving away
He would say, “No sense in wasting one”
No matter how rotten or cancerous it was
“Underneath the mushy spots
This one might be the sweetest of all.”
But after all that care
All that lifesaving, delicate care
He would carve them in quarters
And serve them in bowls
To us.
---
And I never did e-mail that guy back about holding my resume. I should do that before I go to bed.
bored
(no subject)
Thanks for sharing these, though! Sunn O))) is a band I've been meaning to listen to for a while now, as well as Earth. Have you heard of Alcest and Amesoeurs? (I hope I spelled the name of the latter one right!) From what I've heard, both are pretty good as well -- I love Alcest's album "Souvenirs d'un autre monde." I'd also recommend Jesu, Ulver, Isis, and Pelican, if you haven't heard of them already.
And that poem is amazing! Great form, and it conveys its point very directly and sharply, almost like the knife in the poem itself. I'd probably critique it, but I can't brain all that well right now, so it might have to wait. Thanks for sharing it! I've been meaning to post some of my own, so I might do that soon. ^_^;
(no subject)
I'd heard of Sunn O))) a while back - can't remember why - and meant to check them out for a couple of years, but was kind of put off by the way people described their music. I was surprised when I actually listened to them; some of their tracks are certainly abrasive and/or creepy, but they're not quite as unapproachable as I thought they were going to be. It helped that I'd heard music in a similar style in a couple of soundtracks already, too.
It looks like you spelled Amesoeurs right, since a search for the name worked okay. And thank you for introducing me to those, too, because they're really beautiful. Their music has a similar sense of space and dimension to bands like Earth, and I love the ethereal quality of Alcest's music especially. The title track to "Souvenirs" is gorgeous. And while my brother's a huge Isis fan and has a few tracks by Pelican I've listened to, I haven't heard anything by Jesu or Ulver. I'll be sure to look those up as well.
I'm glad you like it! I'm never sure how I'm supposed to structure a poem when I write one; if I can't stay in a pre-established structure I tend to just speak the words aloud and put a line break wherever I pause. And please do share some of your own; I'd love to read it!
(no subject)
Hah, about the whole music thing. I used to listen to more metal in high school, and my first year of college, now I listen to more indie, pop-rock/alternative, but I do enjoy a lot of hardcore, and experimental hardcore like between the buried and me. They actually took their name from a line in a Counting Crow's song. I think the song is called "Cannon Ball"
Im coming back to MD in August, or end of July. We need to chill.
(no subject)
I don't know why, but I've never been able to get into indie rock. I respect it and the musicians who play it, and there's a lot of talent (especially new talent) in the genre, but it's never been something I'm all that heavily into. *shrugs*
Sure, let me know when you're home again!