Journal

Shpongle - The Dorset Perception



How do you define this music? I define it as mesmerizing. Spark up a coner and let the music take you to another dimension. This eclectic mix of western electronic samples and eastern sounds captures the essence of psychedelia. This stuff is just so danceable, so fun to jam along to and so incredible as ambient background music while studying or getting your own creative juices flowing. Nuff said.

Thin Lizzy - Opium Trail from Live Killers and Bad Reputation



The live version of this song captures the feel so much better than the recording, and the mastery with which the band is able to muster in a live recording is no less than impressive.

The Riffs - It is impossible to deny the magnitide of that buildup intro and transition riff that keeps building and refusing to let go

The Lyrics - There aren't too many songs about getting high in China, but I'm convinced this is the best. With lines like "The wizard wanders through the world we made from dreams", the

The Vocals - Phil Lynott? A GOD. His yearning sounding singing and what appears to be an echo effect thrown in both combine to create the surreal mood of what the Opium Trail is all about.

The Solos - I once read in a guitar magazine column from Kirk Hammett that he considered Brian Robertson to be the master of the wah pedal and this song is one of the reasons why he incorporated one into his playing. The speed and punch of the soloing is a face-melting kick in the balls.

The Drumming - extremely tight and creative drum line. Brian Downey is certainly one of the most underrated drummers in rock.

The Bass - Once again, the great Phil Lynotte delivers with his fast picking bass lines that harmonize with the guitar parts as per Steve Harris of Iron Maiden fame.

Posted for STONER MUSIC GROUP

1. Kyuss – "Molten Universe" (from Blues for the Red Sun, 1993)
A classic from the band that spawned Queens of the Stone Age, the whole album is revelatory, but this instrumental number showcases the intricate playing by Josh Homme on a guitar apparently tuned down two octaves for even more sludgy goodness.

2. Monster Magnet – "Pill Shovel" (from Spine of God, 1992)
While the New Jersey combo may have devolved into Rob Zombie-like self-parodies in their later years, back before their rock radio hits they made 30-minute jams and put sci-fi weirdness on their album covers. This track's a little more straightforward, but still features thick reverb and menacing Eastern tones.

3. Clutch – "Spacegrass" (from Clutch, 1995)
Clutch have as much in common with prog-metal bands like Primus as they do with Kyuss, willing to leave out the drums for a whole verse and then scream their heads off in the chorus, but the sludgy groove keeps them firmly on Earth.

4. Sleep – "Dragonaut" (from Sleep's Holy Mountain, 1995)
One of the great underappreciated bands of the era, Sleep formed in San Jose and set their sights on Black Sabbath, but their weed-addled brains got a little lost. On "Dragonaut," they let the gloomy grooves evolve at a languid pace, although they would eventually push patience to the extreme with a 50-minute song. That, my friends, must have been some good pot.

5. Fu Manchu – "Asphalt Risin'" (from In Search Of…, 1995)
This SoCal band evidences a little more of the stoner stereotype: inconsistency and a tendency to devolve towards in-joke kookiness. When they hold it together, though, they sound awesome: the guitar lines in the chorus seem pulled down by their own weight.


taken from: http://www.motherjones.com/riff_blog/archives/2008/08/9205_top_5_stoner_me.html

Jacked from Blessedheart

1. How did you get into 29? (HammerFall) About 5 years ago someone randomly recommended them on my blog as a good power metal band to check out. I was living in China at the time and picked up a DVD of theirs. Some of their songs hit home for me at the time, but don't really do it for me anymore.

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22? (Black Sabbath) It's far, far too long ago to remember now, but I'd have to say that Iron Man is probably the song I connected with them first in my life, but I must have been 8 years old.

3. What’s your favorite lyric by 33? (Muse) The only MUSE song I dug is "Knights of Cydonia" really. I never listened to the lyrics much, so I can't comment. I'm not the biggest fan, anymore.

4. What is your favorite album by 49? (NOFX) Definitely Punk in Drublic. The only album by them that I ever owned.

5. How many albums by 13 do you own? (Queensryche) I own EMPIRE, Hear in the Now Frontier and the great OPERATION MINDCRIME!

6. What is your favorite song by 50? (Frank Zappa) Good question! There's so many to choose from and it changes often. My all time favourite is definitely the insrumental Peaches En Regalia.

7. Is there a song by 39 that makes you sad? (Stratovarius) Actually yes, my heavy Stratovarius listening years were after a harsh breakup and lots of guitar playing. The tune "Desiny" especially hits home.

8. What is your favorite album by 15? (Foreigner) Oh, probably 4, because it's the only one on vinyl and it is the only one I've actually listened start to finish a few times. Dirty White Boy and Head Games are the most memorable tracks.

9. What is your favorite song by 5? (Rush) I have to choose ONE!? Ok. Red Barchetta.

10. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy? (Led Zeppelin) All of them, of course. Especially "When the Levee Breaks", ironically enough.

11. What is your favorite album by 40? (The Cult) Definitely LOVE. I have much love for this album, but it's so hard because Sonic Temple and Electric are so damn good as well.

12. What is your favorite song by 10? (Camel) I've actually already been asked this today, and my answer was LADY FANTASY.

13. What is a good memory you have involving 30? (AC/DC) Seeing them live!

14. What is your favorite song by 38? (Steely Dan) Easy. "Do it Again"

15. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy? (Angra) Not really. The music is rather dark.

16. How many times have you seen 25 live? (The Tragically Hip) Honestly? Never. I can't hardly call myself Canadian anymore.

17. What is the first song you ever heard by 23? (ABBA) Hells if I know. My ex-girlfriend scrobbled all this shit!

18. What is your favorite album by 11? (Fleetwood Mac) Definitely RUMORS

19. Who is a favorite member of 1? (The Beatles) George Harrison. I'll have to leave it at that to prevent myself from writing a book.

20. Have you ever seen 14 live? (Jimi Hendrix) Are you mocking me? He died 12 years before I was born! CURSES!

21. What is a good memory involving 27? (Aerosmith) Once again, seeing them live. And rocking out to Pandora's Box Disc 1 on a road trip in the Yukon.

22. What is your favorite song by 16? (Iced Earth) Tough call. I'd have to take Waterloo or Atilla, because of the history aspect. And 1776 as an instrumental.

23. What is the first song you ever heard by 47? (Gordon Lightfoot) I've probably heard dozens before I can remember..But our teacher taught us the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald in grade 7

24. What is your favorite album by 18? (The Cars) Their debut album!

25. What is your favorite song by 21? (Rage) That would have to be SENT BY THE DEVIL or DOWN

26. What is the first song you ever heard by 26? (The Offspring) Probably in Grade 7, SELF ESTEEM.

27. What is your favorite album by 3? (Alan Parsons Project) Once again, I've already been asked this today. My answer is TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION, but Turn of a Friendly Card is a close 2nd.

28. What is you favorite song by 22? (Black Sabbath) Excellent question! The debut album of course.

29. What was the first song you ever heard by 32? (Falconer) Oooo, I love these guys. The first song I dug by them was THE CLARION CALL.

30. What is your favorite song by 8? (Ozzy Osbourne) Another question I've already been asked today. The answer is "YOU CAN'T KILL ROCK AND ROLL" for the message and for Randy's guitar playing.

31. How many times have you seen 17 live? (Bruce Dickinson) Well, technically never, but I saw IRON MAIDEN once, and he was singing!

32. Is there a song by 44 that makes you happy? (Coheed and Cambria) No, the only thing that will make me happy is when they get pushed out of my top 50.

33. What is you favorite album by 12? (Daft Punk) Discovery!! The one that they made the Anime movie, Insterstella 5555 out of... I love it to death.

34. What is the worst song by 45? (Queen) There are so many songs I can't stand by Queen, really, but the worst is Bicycle Race.

35. What was the first song you ever heard by 34? (Dream Theater) Hell's Kitchen, and I was STOKED!

36. What is your favorite album by 48? (Joe Satriani) Surfin with the Alien of course!!!!

37. How many times have you seen 42 live? (Extreme) Never. SOME DAY! SOME DAY!

38. What is you favorite song by 36? (Uriah Heep) . Hmm, tough one. I'd say Stealin' because I love that line "I've done the rancher's daughter, and I sure did hurt his pride. hehehe"

39. What was the first song you ever heard by 28? (King's X) That would have to be Dogman.

40. What is your favorite album by 7? (Pink Floyd) TOo hard. But I'll say THE DIVISION BELL to be different. It's in my top 3 anyway.

41. Is there a song by 31 that makes you happy? (The Rolling Stones) Pretty much all of them put me in a good mood, except BEast of Burden and Angie..blecchhh.

42. What is your favorite album by 41? (Guns 'N Roses) Extremely difficult question, even they only really have 4 studio albums that count. I'd have to say USE YOUR ILLUSION 2. Civil War and Breakdown are just too damn good.

43. What is your favorite song by 24? (Megadeth) Gah, quit giving me the tough questions!! I'd have to pick Holy Wars or Hangar 18.

44. What is a good memory you have involving 46? (Faith No More) Rockin out to "We Care A Lot" all summer long with my best friend.

45. What is your favorite song by 35? (Edguy) I only know a handful. I'd have to say Babylon.

46. Is there a song by 9 that makes you happy? (Bad Religion) Umm, no? The only thing that makes me happy about listening to BR is how ridiculous their lyrics are.

47. What is your favorite album by 4? (Jethro Tull) Another toughie. I'd have to say Aqualung because I own it on vinyl.

48. Who is a favorite member of 37? (Deep Purple) Richie Blackmore!

49. What is the first song you ever heard by 43? (Helloween) Why, HALLOWEEN of course!!!

50. How many albums do you own by 20? (Judas Priest) All of them!!!!

by Tom Moon

Fusion has meant many things, but the initial hit, spelled out by Bitches Brew, was simple: jazz improvisations over a rock-like rhythm bed. Tailor-made for hotshot electric guitarists and synthesists, it went through many changes from its Seventies heyday. Now, even such pablumized instrumental pop music as Kenny G's gets labeled "fusion". The squishiness of the term makes it impossible to arrive at a definitive list of 10 fusion titles - does Frank Zappa, architect of so much impossibly technical jazz-rock count? Do British prog-rockers like Steve Hillage and Gong? What about the abstractions of Ornette Coleman circa "Dancing In Your Head"? Rather than cover the waterfront, we concentrate on guitar-oriented fusion albums from some of the genre's major figures.

al dimeola
Splendido Hotel (Columbia, 1979)
When Al DiMeola first appeared on the scene in 1974 as a member of Return to Forever, his fleet-fingered runs and dramatic careening phrases set the bar just a little bit higher for fusion guitarists. But it took a few years of record-making until he found a sound that was more than just nerdoid noodling. Though there are plenty of guitar pyrotechnics on Splendido Hotel, they're tucked into all the right places of the stop-start workouts "Dream Theme" and "Alien Chase," and, remarkably, they rarely detract from the overall mood.

Jimi Hendrix
Band of Gypsies (Capitol, 1970)
Fusion purists may quibble with this inclusion, but there's no denying that Hendrix' last trio, with Buddy Miles and bassist Billy Cox, was playing something that was not simply foursquare rock or booty-shaking funk. Whatever it was, it sure had lots of mind-bending guitar improvisation in it. Many fusion guitarists, including McLaughlin, have cited Hendrix as an inspiration, and "Machine Gun" and "Message of Love" offer plenty of reasons why. His lines twist and contort into exquisite shapes, and his harangues are alternately driven by road-warrior rage or an unusually contemplative lyricism- and these qualities, as much as the sheer dense force of this trio, had an influence on everyone exploring music in 1970.

Weather Report
Heavy Weather (Columbia, 1977)
There's no guitarist on this commercial breakthrough, but there might as well be. Playing fretless bass and pitch-bending like he's determined to stretch the neck, Jaco Pastorious brought a guitarlike sense of phrasing to this protean group and showed that it was possible to possess superhuman virtuosity, yet play with a deep appreciation of melody and a lyrical sixth sense.

Return to Forever
Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (Polydor, 1973)
With Hymn, Chick Corea created a dauntingly detailed, intricate music full of spry melodies and subversive counterlines, in which the individual contributions of the soloists (mainly Corea and guitarist Bill Conners) were woven into roiling, syncopated rhythms. Though later RTF albums (particularly those with guitarist Al DiMeola) saw the group concentrate on motifs that tested the limits of technical mastery, this group was more notable for its sheer energy level, high-speed-shuttle grooves and furious, crackling interplay.

Jeff Beck
Blow By Blow (Epic, 1975)
Of all the rock guitarists who ventured into the fusion trench, Jeff Beck looms as one of the most articulate, a rare riff-master who can navigate unusual harmonic structures and tricky, sidewinding lines and still come up with music that speaks with the emotional knife-edge of rock. On the craft Blow By Blow - most notably, perhaps the ebullient stone-cold classic shuffle "Freeway Jam"-Beck employs expansive, fluid lines to soar above high-stepping funk and slippery rock.

Mahavishnu Orchestra
The Inner Mounting Flame (Columbia, 1971)
This first effort from the Mahavishnu Orchestra opens with a hefty, rafters-rattling chord, the kind of thing you would expect to hear at the end of an emotionally exhausting piece of orchestral music. From that gathering point, guitarist McLaughlin and his crew (vioinist Jerry Goodman, keyboardist Jan Hammer, bassist Rick Laird and drummer Billy Cobham) embark on a feverish uptempo excursion called "Meeting Of The Spirits," tossing hot-wired melodies back and forth as though their characters were being tested with every note. All of The Inner Mounting Flame burns at that intensity level; even a contemplative ballad like "Dawn" is spiced with a mid-section full of unexpected hairpin turns. And when John McLaughlin launches a more rock-oriented trip, like the percolating "Noonward Race," it's as though he's channeling all the great guitar playing he'd heard in recent years - Hendrix' fury, Santana's elegance - into a brilliantly agitated summation. Flame and its follow-up, Birds of Fire, are both excellent examples of technical mastery in the service of ambitious, relentlessly imaginative music.

John Mclaughlin, Al Dimeola, Paco Delucia
Friday Night in San Francisco (Columbia, 1981)
There was no shortage of fusion supergroups in the late Seventies and early Eighties; only a shortage of interesting ones. The acoustic guitar setting of Friday Night proved perfect for this trio, which reunited for a studio set in 1983, "Passion, Grace and Fire". Both offer pleasurable romps, though the trio's flamenco reworkings are significantly hotter on the performance disc, and there's more live-wire suspense in the exchanges.

Pat Metheny Group
Pat Metheny Group (ECM, 1978)
Most fusion stomps around with a heavy foot. Pat Metheny floats. This Midwestern guitar prodigy borrowed elements from many fusion pioneers-Corea's needlepoint melodies, McLaughlin's ecstatic peak-seeking, Wes Montgomery's rounded mellow tone- then whipped them into a light, pastel-hued approach to rhythm that was revolutionary for its subtlety.

Billy Cobham
Spectrum (Atlantic, 1973)
By the time he made his solo debut in '73, drummer Billy Cobham had done time with Miles Davis and the Mahavishnu Orchestra and was seeking a hybrid of jazz and rock with a more assertive rhythmic foundation- fusion that followed a tighter script. With this charged album, he got it. Though there are two stylized, heavily arranged tracks featuring guitarist John Tropea and a horn section with saxophonist Joe Farrell, the highlights come from the band with guitarist Tommy Bolin and keyboardist Jan Hammer, two technically accomplished musicians who understand the power of repetition and the way to make rock rhythms sizzle. This rhythm section tore through muscular melodies and disciplined solo bursts, and was particularly keen on developing episodes of scrappy, high-intensity crossfire like those on "Red Baron" and "Taurian Matador."

Sonny Sharrock
Guitar (Enemy, 1986)
The late Sonny Sharrock played with Miles Davis just after Bitches Brew, in the band with McLaughlin and Cobham that yielded the funk-tinged Jack Johnson. After that, he essentially disappeared until the Eighties, when he surfaced in Bill Laswell's genre-hopping Materialand Last Exit and began a solo career with this exhaustive, wide-ranging statement. Though he's not considered exclusively a "fusion" guitarist, his approach was marked by an inquisitiveness that aligns him with the genre's masters. On this album, for example, he experiments with slide guitar, offers a tone-poem reverie and a mournful, pondering blues, and veers from crisp, single-note lines to abrasive chordal gales that dance right along the edge of distortion and feedback, yet never lose their sense of musicality.

<<From Guitar World Magazine, Dec 1998 Issue>>

Music Taste "Linked" to Personality

Apparently a new study shows that Heavy Metal fans are gentle and at ease with themselves. As a metal fan, I will attest that this is generally true, and those that have a crazy exterior tend generally to be putting on a show.

Metal fans incidentally share the same personality as classical music fans! They are introverted, creative and at ease.

Other findings:

Indie music fans: Lack self esteem
Country music fans: Hard working
Jazz: innovative and self-confident

The Ten Best:

1. The Living Daylights
2. From Russia With Love
3. Goldfinger
4. Thunderball
5. The Spy Who Loved Me
6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
7. Live and Let Die
8. Casino Royale
9. For Your Eyes Only
10. You Only Live Twice

The Five Worst
1. Moonraker
2. Licence to Kill
3. Diamonds are Forever
4. A View to a Kill
5. Tomorrow Never Dies

Bond Ranking
1. Sean Connery
2. Pierce Brosnan
3. Daniel Craig
4. Timothy Dalton
5. Roger Moore
6. George Lazenby