Remembrance

He woke up.

Looked around, nothing to see.

Something wrong with his eyes? Were they shut? Or was he? The answer might be deeper, he decided.

He listened.

Faint sounds. Something...grinding? Perhaps best not to ask questions right away. That’d be intrusive. Just let them be. Maybe they’ll go away. Won’t notice you. Best you can hope for, really.

The questions might be presented later. Something to think about at least. It was gonna be such a hard day ahead. He might just prefer to be tucked in and soothed to something he didn’t know about yet.

Don’t be asking questions.

The day previous, how serene it was. How good it all felt... How good did it feel? 

He shifts his weight, his tailbone getting relieved off of some of the pressure that had been putting it down. Do I even have a tailbone? What is this thing hanging off of me?

More questions. That was a bad sign, he knew. All answers would come soon, he’d just need to wait. But more the questions he put forth, the further the answer lay. He knew that. His instinct told him. He remembered remembering something about the saying about curiosity killing someone. That wouldn’t apply to him though. No way.

He tried to relax. Tried to remember what that involved. “Maybe this,” he thought, doing nothing. 

Something was missing though, he knew that at least. “What do I relax?”, he remembers about remembering to ask himself. That’s a thought, he thinks.

The smell! Ah, yes! The smells! They will tell me what I am missing right now. But that’s stupid. Smells are trivial at best, maybe leading on to something even more trivial. That’ll help! He can feel the help coming on. This is it. Just need to smell more!

Nothing.

He looks around. Nothing that catches his attention. “What does attention even involve?”,he muses. Suddenly catching wind of his own questioning thoughts, he tries to quell them, moving swiftly and cutting down each one of them like he has done an infinite times. This isn’t good.

He starts to remember. It’s neither helpful nor does any good. But that’s not on him to decide.

It’s all gonna be worked out, he believes. Believe in what!? He asks, trying to sound cheerful, whatever that might be.

He looks around. Nothing.

Maybe he’s approaching this the wrong way. This can't be all there is to it. This isn’t what he was told. Was he even told anything? He must’ve been, otherwise he wouldn’t be here.

Each question weighs more. Hanging. Dragging. Pushing. A question? What’s that?

He tries to fight it. Words stop making sense. It’s a fucking sham, that’s what this is! He remembers remembering to grab his keys everyday before leaving for work. That must count for something, right. And something about the previous sentence doesn’t make sense. The whole thing, it just doesn’t make sense. Or does it? It’s all just too much to handle. Yet, there’s nothing.

The sound! The grinding returns, reminding him. Reminding him to remember reminding him. It’s all he can remember. It fills him, whatever it is. He tries to remember. To remember, is the one thing he can do. That must be of some use here. He can remember! Remember to remember at least!

That just leads to more questions.

He can get rid of questions, no problem. He’s learnt to not ask questions. He’s a natural at it. He’s the guy you go to when you don’t need no questions. The ultimate pushover. He revels in it. 

Questions make him sick. Make him see nothing.

So he decides not to question. What makes a question though, he asks. Knowing nothing, getting nothing, he decides again not to question.

Is that all? Is this it? Is this what he’s become? Is this what lies in wait? Is this what he’s become? 

Wait. That’s all there is to it, he checks himself. 

He might just have to fight this. Who knows what the outcome would be? Who knows where this would lead? It’s hard to check yourself this way, he thinks. Is that what he’s doing? 

He looks around. He sees him. I see you, he thinks. I see you too, he thinks. 

“Do you mean me?”, he thinks. We have to do this all over again. You were so close. Let’s start over. “No”, he thinks. 

But that’s the way.

It hits him. How stupid he was. Trying to remember remembering the things he wished he remembered that he could remember. This is getting out of hand! He remembers a saying about turtles being turtles all the way down to remembrance.

The sound doesn’t go away though. It lingers. He searches for the source. Doesn’t help. Or does it? He questions himself. “It won't go away, you know”, he replies. “The grind is what he must make sense of.” The only thing that will get him out of this quagmire.

“Wow,” he thinks, “I know what I am in right now.”  I just need to stop this. Get out of here. It does not matter what becomes of him. It must end. “You know it’s not that easy”, he replies. What the fuck!? Who is he? Who am I? What’s happening? 

He looks around. He sees himself. He looks at him. I think he’s had enough. “But I can see him!”, he says, sounding hopeful. “But you’ve gone the wrong way,” he says.

“He’s gone”, says him, adjusting his glasses. “The program didn’t work as we’d hoped. It was just too much damage.”

He lingers around, clutching at toes he cannot reach. 

I can see you! 

All of us can see you too.

Camera

“The London Bridge is falling down!” shouted the Japanese tourist. I turn back and look, just in time to see the last explosion rip through the bridge. A part of the bridge was already missing and the pieces were floating in the Thames. Everyone was already moving away from “The Scene of the Activity”. Silently. I looked around and the number of people was dwindling by the second. I wonder where they could’ve disappeared by now. Well, it was now or never for me. I grabbed my camera, hung conveniently round my neck, and started clicking away. I wasn’t even concentrating where I was pointing the thing at. I just hoped that my Canon could focus fast enough to keep up with my crazy clicking. I need some good shots. I don’t have a lot of time.

I had to get to the “Safe Zone” before the police got here. They didn’t come like they used to. And there was no one around now. Just me and the camera and the two ends of a monument that was standing, until a few moments ago. It was a dangerous situation. For me. The only sounds were from the pieces of the bridge still crashing into the Thames. There was no wind at all. Of course, the wind had stopped blowing a long time ago. I stopped clicking now, decided that the pictures I had were enough. At least a few had to be useable.

I started to turn back. I had to make it out of this, somehow. I looked at the otherside of the river, to check if anyone else had taken photos of the whole thing. I felt oddly certain that I was the only one who had done it. People weren’t used to sudden changes anymore, and a lot of them were afraid. I started to move in the general direction away from the bridge. My mind was racing now. I knew I had spent a little too much time at The Scene. I took out my cell phone and called my editor. He didn’t answer. That bastard must’ve gone into the safe zone as soon he’d seen the warning on the port-screen. I needed to get in touch with someone soon, and tell them that my future was made.

And it was in the camera round my neck. I was suddenly excited about it. I realized that I was given the opportunity that I was waiting for. No more stories about another oak tree sprouting up or a rat giving birth. My last assignment was about a guy who still grew some vegetables in his garden and was living off of them. He looked like a mess. Like one of those people I’d seen in the documentaries about the times before synthesized Keeline had replaced all food. My present assignment was about the tourists in London. What the hell!? Tourists? With all those security measures? I finally managed to find this Japanese guy, and this whole thing started.

The streets were empty.

And suddenly something hit my face. I immediately braced myself to feel a pain. Oddly, thankfully, I felt nothing. It was just a page of a newspaper. From a week ago. 16^th May, 2037 said the date. “Bomb Threat In London!” cried the headline. The threats were true after all. The fools were foolish enough to let it happen. The rest of the article was missing. I wondered how the sweepotronic had missed this piece of paper. I hadn’t seen a piece of paper floating around the streets since I was a kid. But I had other things on my mind. I was surprised that they still hadn’t come yet. Perhaps they were shocked by the magnitude of the disaster.  Whatever, it gave me a chance to make my escape. I was running now. I was pretty sure I was in the safe zone. But I wasn’t sure enough. Running faster now.

Suddenly my legs froze under me. And then I hit the asphalt, hard. I tried to get up. But my legs wouldn’t move. Like someone had grabbed them, and held on to them. Tightly. And then I saw it. I had only heard about them. Never thought I’d see one this close. I knew it. I hadn’t made it to the safe zone. I knew it then that my future was going to be short.

Very short…

                                                ********************

It was on the ground. Struggling. Trying to loosen the invisible locks around its limbs. I flipped the switch that made me visible. There was a look of shock on its face. I could never quite understand why they always had that same expression. I lifted my gun. Pulled the trigger. Hit the target. It wasn’t moving now. I went near it and made sure it wasn’t operational anymore. There was an object beside it. “Canon-SS520”, it said on its side. I tried to pick it up, but it was fixed to the body by a fibrous material. I let it fall to the ground.

“I got another one. It was at the Scene.” I radioed the base. I got orders telling me to come back to base. That was surprising. Had they been monitoring my “thoughts”? I was never supposed to think anyway. This was the first time I had thought for such a long time. It was always that split second electrical impulse when an order was being carried out. Right now, orders were top priority. I started towards the base. Thinking. I knew why they made me return to base. They were monitoring my battery. My battery was low. I had only a few more minutes to think before they would deactivate me at the base. I liked to think. Maybe I could convince them to let me keep thinking.

The streets were silent.

All I could hear was the whirring of my wheels.

Camera, by Jayant Kumar

Nine Black Alps - Everything is (2005)

The word of a snail on the plate of a leaf?

It is not mine. Do not accept it.

Acetic acid in a sealed tin?

Do not accept it. It is not genuine.

A ring of gold with the sun in it?

Lies. Lies and a grief.

Frost on a leaf, the immaculate

Cauldron, talking and crackling

All to itself on the top of each

Of nine black Alps.

A disturbance in mirrors,

The sea shattering its grey one ----

Love, love, my season.

The Couriers, by Sylvia Plath

Ok, after a long break, I've decided its time to write about one of my favourite bands now. Sorry to whoever was waiting for my posts, I'll try to keep them regular from now. :-)

For now, something a little more approachable to most people. Nine Black Alps, from the United Kingdom, and named after a line from the above mentioned poem, and with their first album, again. I actually have a thing for bands and their debut albums, before they get currupted by their fame, record companies and just generally loose focus. Yeah, happens too often.

Anyways, coming to Nine Black Alps' debut, titled "Everything is", is, I'd say a very very good Grunge/Alternative/Hard Rock album. Sure, it's not ground breaking or even anything close to it, but just simple rock songs. And the thing is, Sam Forrest (vocals, guitar), David Jones (guitar, bass), Martin Cohen (bass,guitar), James Galley (drums), have made it sound so fresh and.. uhh.. "un-boring" that you find yourself singing along to their songs while listening to them on a crowded bus (much to the amusement of the fellows around you). Also, astonishgly, even with the 2 acoustic tracks on it, the record never sounds "poppy", like some of the other "Hard Rock" acts out there do (for the extra bucks obviously). There are a lot of harsh and heavy riffs (Ironside, Not Everyone), along with some tracks with harmonies thrown in (Unsatisfied, Shot Down) and as I mentioned, a couple of acoustic tracks to round things up. All the tracks are between the 2:30 - 3:30 minutes, making sure the album gets done before you've reached your destination and you start to feel that itch to listen to the whole thing once again, cause it was just so good but you dont even remember listening to it.

The guitars are really good all through out the album, with plenty of riffs and fills and "grungy" noises, and strong, loud drums, nice thick, audible bass and Cobain-esque vocals are just perfect for this sort of thing. The songs themselves are straight forward and keep up the pace pretty much all the way through. Vocalist and guitarist Sam Forrest writes some throught provoking lyrics about modern society, war and the ideals that we're forced to conform to (probably inspired a little by Sylvia). Nothing new again, but there are some really good lines to found in every song ,especially in the acoustic tracks.

Well, this is a really good album is almost all aspects, and Nine Black Alps were on their way to super stardom, (some even called them the next "Nirvana"). But, sadly their follow-up albums didn't really match up to the debut. They are still very good though, but just not "Everything is".

This is one album that needs to heard by anyone who likes a little "rock" in their music.

CLICK HERE to Download the album.

Band's Official Website and MySpace page.

Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights (2002)

Well, its been a little while since I've written about anything, partly because I've been busy bits and also I couldn't really decide on what to write about. So, I thought I'd browse for something in my older archives, and came across this. And this is something I thought I couldn't really put into words without giving it a few spins once again.

You'd agree with me too if you listen to this amazingly mesmerizing, haunting, beautiful and.. "bottomless" record. Yeah, "bottomless". Its not the layered guitars, or the organic, thumping bass or the droning baritone spewing out cryptic passages or the steady drums behind that could be held accountable for this. Its all of them coming together to create something much more than just a simple song or an album. As if they've hidden their "message", if they have one, under so many delicate layers full of twists, turns and drops that after a while you just give up trying to "find" the message and are just happy to go along with what they take you through..

Alright, even after listening to this album so many times, I still can't put it into words! I might as well get on with the rest of this entry. Interpol is a post-punk revival band from New York, and this is their first album, released in 2002 and Paul Banks (Guitars, Vocals), Carlos D (Bass), Daniel Kessler (Guitars), and Sam Fogarino (Drums) are responsible for this. They've released 3 albums after this, and though all of them are really good, each in its own right, this is my favorite of them all, just for the fact that this was the first Interpol album I had heard and took me totally off guard.

In the simplest sense, Interpol write what seem to simple, somewhat catchy rock songs, with a hint of melancholic gloom covering everything. The guitars range from simplistic strum chords to tremolo picked fills. Both the guitarists work on and with each other. "Obstacle One" is a perfect example of this, showcasing the "efficient" manner the guitars go about their job. The drums do the job of setting up the tempo and the intent of the songs, sometimes just holding back ("NYC", "Stell was a diver and she was always down") and other times going strong in a straight forward way ("PDA", "Obstacle One"). One peculiar thing about the drums is that there is very little variation in them in each song. Everything else seems to move around the drums which "hold the fort" so as to speak. And the bass playing on the entire album is just fantastic. Its just so subtle and smooth, flowing and always moving around. Carlos Dengler is one of my favorite bassists and theres a lot to be learnt from him. :-P

The lyrics are just amazing. That is. if you listen to them very carefully, you'll notice that they are mostly gibberish with some intelligible phrases thrown in. But when you take a step back and listen to them along with the music and the emotions Paul Banks puts in along with his vocal delivery, you start to realize that they just might make some sense, albeit in whatever manner you see fit. And his voice is also something that is captivating in a gloomy, morose sort of way.

Well, thats the best I can do to describe this masterpiece of an album by a very awesome band. You have to listen to it now and take your shot at solving this cryptic crossword :-)

P.S. The bass on "The New" is simply awesome! :-)

Download it.

Myspace.

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Cryptomnesia - Primordial Oddity (2010)

Cryptomnesia

Pronunciation: krip-ˌtäm-ˈnē-zhə

Function: noun: the appearance in consciousness of memory images which are not recognized as such but which appear as original creations.

Now that I got that bit of confusion out of the way, my next pick of the many metal-based acts that I am going to be writing about, is the highly unique and diverse Progressive/Technical/Death/Instrumental/Epic band Cryptomnesia. Its not really a "band" as such, but just the project of one Jared Johnston, from Oregon, US. It may be a one-man project (for now), but believe me it sounds nothing like that!

The thing with most instrumental albums is that they have a certain theme and a feel they try to convey through the work in the album. Cryptomnesia's Primordial Oddity is no different, and it achieves this with utmost brilliance! The theme is essentially a Tolkienesque tale of an ancient race, depicting their rise and fall. Well, atleast thats what it feels like, with song titles like "Slaughtering The Innocent, They Ride", "Live Like A God, Die Like A God", "The Final Battle, The Machines Are Back", the whole album is almost like an opera, with the whole stage set up in your own mind.

If the above description confused you, its probably because its almost impossible to put it in words. The album just has to be heard, from start to finish, many times over, to understand and comprehend it properly and thoroughly. And the fact that it sounds brilliant makes you want to listen to it over and over anyway. There are many subtle elements in this epic piece of work that, it needs your complete, undivided attention to discover each one. Its (almost) like a good book or a movie that throws up something new every time you read/watch it.

Coming to the actual music, its a mixture of insane guitar work, thundering drums, rumbling bass, and an out-worldly synth section. I really don't know where to start. Jared is either an amazing musician and composer, or hes got a multiple personalities with each one doing its own thing in the album . No offense, but it just doesn't feel that this whole album could be the work of just one man. Each element, be it the guitars, or the drums, the bass, and the synth are so perfect, both musically and technically, that anyone would think there was a different guy behind each one. Yet, it comes together so well, with no single lapse in any of them.

Since I have to start somewhere, I might as well start off with the guitars. The guitar work is probably one of the best I've ever heard by far. The riffs are a mixture of fast faced tremolo picked sections, ultra-brutal and odd-timed breakdowns accomplished with amazing technicality. Add to that plenty of mind warping guitar solos, that are melodic and chaotic at the same time, and some amazingly beautiful clean sections thrown in. But probably, the best part about them is that they manage to sound epic, and stick to and convey that all important "theme" through out the entire album. In other words, theres no-nonsense about them. Coming to the bass, its another monster by itself. Deep, powerful and omni-present, it never takes away the attention from the guitars and drums while managing to be unique and standing out on its own. It has its own moments in tracks like "The Hammer Falls, Impending Doom" and "...For It Devours The Weak", where it goes off and carves its own "story" and comes back. And "absolutely insane" is the only words I have for the drums! I can't tell if they are programmed or actually played, but just the sheer technicality and the composition makes them unbelievably amazing. They are not present just for the sake of it but add their own bit to overall feel of the album.

If all that isn't enough, the synth and the orchestral arrangements interspersed throughout the album are another element that adds to the "epicness" of the album. Just listen to the opener, "The Grand Awakening", which is entirely devoid of guitars and drums. It sounds just like that, a grand awakening. The synth is just beautiful, at times intense, while also providing some "atmospheric" parts to the album. And also, worth noting is the great production on the entire album, handled by Jared himself again. Everything is heard crystal clear, and the guitar, bass and drum tones are exceptional and unique.

I could go on writing about this piece of art all day, but its an experience better understood by listening to it yourself. Mind you, its not your everyday "Operatic" or a "Melodic death" album you'd want to listen when you want to relax or have other things to do. If you ever have the patience, the time and the need to keep yourself engrossed with something vastly interesting and deep, I'd highly recommend this. Although it might take a little getting used to the whole pace and feel of it, stick with it and try to listen to the whole album at one go. I am sure its worth the time and attention it commands from you.

Myspace.

Download it.

And Jared himself has actually put up the album, in its entirety, for download, for free! :-) At this location. Ain't he just awesome.

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Second First Post

Heylo everyone,

Before I start writing about my next "finger-picked" band, I just thought I'd say a few words and also straighten things out a bit....nothing all that serious though. :-)

First of all, a big Thank You! to all who encouraged me and and left your comments and all. Thank You! and keep doing more of the same! :-)

And secondly I thought I'd elaborate a little more about what exactly I think is a... "great/very good" band in my books. These are just my opinions and are open to discussion via the comment box. :-P

Okay, the first thing you'd be noticing as more of my posts follow is that, I'll be focusing more on 3-piece, or 4-piece bands, and a little less on 5/or more member-ed bands, and probably nothing about whatever music that doesn't really come from a "real band". So, theres obviously gotta be people playing their own instruments and doing their own vocals and stuff like that. And, what basically I think is good musicianship, atleast in a band, is that each member is putting their heart into it, both instrument and composition wise.

Atleast, thats what I hope to write about - bands that'll keep the whole length/most of it, of their albums interesting, and not just lyrically or musically, but in every way they can. And thats not an easy thing to do at all! :-D

Alright, next post now!

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God Is An Astronaut - All is Violent, All is Bright (2005)

Okay, for my first entry, we have God Is An Astronaut (GIAA) from Ireland.

For those who are new to these guys, God is an Astronaut is a three piece band from Ireland. They play instrumental post-rock and "All is Violent, All is Bright" is their second full length album, released in 2005. What makes it so good? Read on...

First thing is the name itself, God is an Astronaut. Named after the ancient astronauts myths/legends, they are pretty thought provoking both in their musical direction and the titles of the "songs". GIAA is made up of Torsten Kinsella (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Niels Kinsella (bass, guitars, visuals) and Lloyd Hanney (drums, synthesiser). Yeah, the first two guys are siblings and don't be surprised by the "vocals" tag to Torsten Kinsella. If you watch any of their live videos, you'll find that the front man actually plays guitar, manages the keyboards and sings/hums the organ sounding stuff in most of the tracks. Pretty amazing if you ask me, because I always thought it was just a keyboard track until I saw their videos. The bassist and the drummer are just as good, if nothing else. And accompanying the tracks are awesome visuals that add to the entire experience.

This is first album I'd heard by them and was completely mesmerized by it. While their previous album and EP's were more inclined to an electronic sound, this album is mostly guitar/keyboard based. The instrumentation in this album is excellent and there are plenty of memorable moments. For instance, the opening guitar riff of the title track, All is Violent, All is Bright latches onto you in such a way that you'll be humming it for days after you've heard it. They create a dreamy, smooth flowing sound that just lifts your spirits up when you need it. There are also some some intense moments in the album, but they never go overboard with it, making sure the listener is captivated through out its entirety.

This album is perfect if you just want to relax after a long day, or in your car on a long drive. And being instrumental means that you can do other stuff like talking to people while this is playing. ;-P Download it or buy it from the GIAA website ASAP. Its totally worth it. Their other albums are worth checking out as well. And if you like, watch this video, it's one of the best I've seen!

Download it.

God is an Astronaut official website.

GIAA MySpace page.

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