the near future.
September 10th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
about last night…
sorry about that guys. i realized when i’m in that type of mood [that level of intoxicated], maybe pouring my soul out to the internet isn’t the best way to cope with that [or maybe i'll make a tumblr so i can do that]. i need to just be creative, or get out of my room and do something. but anyway, i apologize and it won’t happen again.
tonight is a new night.
so i’m sitting in my room, listening to iwrestledabearonce and the bunny the bear [go listen to these bands] and thinking about my life. not my life in any sort of depressing capacity [intentionally] but more of my life in a “what am i going to do in a year?” capacity. and i’m trying hard not to panic about it because panic attacks aren’t any fun, but i’m having trouble with that. i just have no idea what i want to do after i graduate.
what are my options?
1. graduate school – yeah no thanks. i have been in school for like…16 years now and i’m kind of just done learning stuff for a little while. and i wouldn’t even know what to go to grad school for [english or marketing/business] or even begin to know where i’d want to go [most likely odu because it is sort of cheap and close to home/work]. i’m trying to talk [trick] my dad in to paying for it because i really don’t want to be even more in debt.
2. get a big boy job – i know what i want to do…sort of. well i have a lot of employment ideas but all of them require a massive stroke of luck and an extensive network of incredibly well connected people that have an affinity for chubby bearded hipster dudes that like writing and video games. so yeah, that isn’t gonna happen.
3. take a year off from school and continue working at gamestop – this is looking like the most probable solution to my problem.
4. move west and start over – i mean…why not? worked for a lot of other people, maybe my luck/demeanor/life will change for the better. isn’t like i can’t ever move back if it sucks worse out there.
so….yeah.
i’ll probably continue working for gamestop and hope and pray that i get promoted to assistant manager while i figure out what i want to do with myself. not the greatest option but it’ll pay the bills until i have to start paying back my almost six figure college debt.
anyone looking to donate to the lumberjack relief fund can contact me at —> theindielumberjack@gmail.com.
thanks for reading. more substantial/important posts coming soon.
-the lumberjack.
the emptiness.
January 20th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
So guys, guess what?
I love hardcore music.
This is a fact that practically everyone that knows me could tell you with complete and total confidence. My first dabble in hardcore music was Dance Gavin Dance a few years ago. I found that guttural noises and angry screams were just the thing to get me in the mood to go to my senior year of high school [sad but true]. Then I moved on to more and more hardcore music [The Devil Wears Prada, Polar Bear Club, Chiodos, Emmure, iwrestledabearonce, A Day To Remember, etc. etc. etc.] all the way down to Alesana. I listed all those bands for no reason except to make a segue in to my next point.
Segues are fun.
Once again, due to the grubbiness of my paws, I got a hold of Alesana’s brand new album The Emptiness and I have to say, this album is perfect [I know what you're thinking, I'm being a big softy with these albums...and you're wrong. So shut up.] I am completely pleased with how wonderful this album was.
I was a huge fan of their second album, On Frail Wings Of Vanity and Wax, due to the song “Apology” which is wonderful and amazing and everything that a song should be. I do, however, prefer the acoustic version to that song for some reason…it sounds really nice with a “grandpa’s guitar” as they are called on Metalocalypse.
The album title is an allusion to Icarus, the son of Daedalus. Daedalus, in an attempt to escape their imprisonment on Crete, fashioned wings made of feathers and wax. Icarus, because he was young and overtaken with curiosity, flew too close to the sun causing the wax holding his wings together to melt. He crashed in to the sea below. His frail wings could not support the weight of his vanity.
The album in question.
So The Emptiness is Alesana’s first album that is not a reference to anything historical or mythological, which could have been a very costly choice, but wasn’t. The story told by Dennis Lee [screaming vocals] and Shawn Milke [vocals, piano, guitar] is amazing. It is the story of the murder of Annabel and the man who loved her. But it is also about the murderer and the Devil and how everyone is involved in this unholiest of slayings.
It was really hard to find a song that I could pinpoint as my favorite/least favorite because they were all good. It is a lot like The Decemberist’s album The Hazards of Love in the fact that if you listen from start to finish, it is one big epic journey, but this journey only takes 50 minutes…which is the worst part.
My favorite part of the album, however, was the spoken word pieces to some of the songs. The opening track ["Curse of the Virgin Canvas"], starts with this really creepy message from the protagonist about the story he is about to tell. My favorite spoken word part, by far, is this right here –>
The depth of a man’s soul can not be measured in a manner of meters and fathoms, but rather it is in my opinion only quantified by his proximity to heaven and hell. – “The Lunatic’s Lament”
That is only part of it, but it made a lot of sense to me. I actually like that it had meaning. This album spoke to me, and I really liked that.
Final thoughts?
So far, 2010 has been wonderful for the music that I love. I’ve heard two incredible albums within a week of each other and that is just wonderful. I love this album and have probably listened to it, in it’s entirety, seven times. I’m going to give The Emptiness a 10 out of 10 for being a beautifully crafted story accompanied by beautifully crafted musicianship.
Thanks for tuning in.
Cody.
My next post…?
Will probably be an update on my life…or maybe ranting? Or maybe even a preview of some pretty awesome video games. Who knows? I do.
ear candy – october 5, 2009.
October 5th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
iPod Suggestions/Ear Candy will officially start being posted on Mondays now. It didn’t make any sense to give you music suggestions for the week…at the end of the week. This can also coincide with #musicmondays on Twitter. Enjoy!
This weeks list took me a long time to figure out for some reason. I’m not sure why. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this week’s music.
#1. “Get Up” by Mayday Parade off of Anywhere But Here. The song I really wanted to post…probably would have just been awkward, so I’ll post this one. This is off their new album, and it is really catchy. I’ll post a review of Anywhere But Here tomorrow…when I am legally allowed to have it. Enjoy “Get Up” —> Download!
I didn't say anything about Alesana this week...but I love this album cover.
#2. “There’s No Penguins In Alaska” by Chiodos off of All’s Well That Ends Well. I’ve been on a really big Chiodos kick lately. I got all three of the Chiodos albums this weekend when I was in Delaware and All’s Well That Ends Well is probably my favorite one [although Bone Palace Ballet is growing on me]. I also really like the name of this album, its awesome. Enjoy “There’s No Penguins In Alaska” —> Download!
#3. “Swing, Swing” by The All-American Rejects off of their debut album, The All-American Rejects. I have always loved this song, and this band. I don’t care what sort of stigma exists with being a fan of this band, they have always been really good. This song is just a really great piece of music. I think you’ll like it, if you already don’t. Enjoy “Swing, Swing” —> Download!
#4. “So Peter, You’ve Become A Pirate” by The Scene Aesthetic off of Building Homes From What We’ve Known. What could you possibly hate about a song with a title involving adopting a life of freedom and piracy. You know who hates pirates? The devil, Hitler, Ted Bundy, and every other serial killer since the dawn of time. So enjoy this song. Enjoy “So Peter, You’ve Become A Pirate” —> Download!
#5. “Sleep With Me” by City Sleeps off of Not An Angel. This song reminds me of Spring 2008, what I like to call the low point of my life. I bought this album on iTunes right before I went on a camping trip…that camping trip..well I don’t really want to talk about that trip. It had it’s moments. Anyway, this song came on my Pandora radio today and it made me think of that. I like this song, this band, and this album. Enjoy “Sleep With Me” —> Download!
#6. “Smells Like Kevin Bacon” by iwrestledabearonce off of It’s All Happening. I love iwrestledabearonce. Not only is their name awesome [because it is the coolest name ever], but their music is actually really good too. I think you’ll like this song. There is even a remix for it by Benjamin Weinman of the Dillinger Escape Plan]. Enjoy “Smells Like Kevin Bacon” —> Download!
Side note: Their lead singer is a girl…now listen to the song with an all new awareness.
That’s all for today. It isn’t the usual suspects [I'm trying to expand my horizon as well as yours]. I hope you enjoyed it.
Cody.
My next post…
A review of Mayday Parade’s new album Anywhere But Here. Did I like it? Did I hate it? You get to find out.
