http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9934&PID=110056&title=bdsm-bartossos-daily-saturnine-musings#110056" rel="nofollow - #3 - Coffins on Io, reviews and other astronomical anomalies

http://shrineofllyria.blogspot.com/2014/10/me-music-and-musings-1.html" rel="nofollow - #6 - Me, Music and Musings #1

http://shrineofllyria.blogspot.com/2014/10/i-didnt-expect-spanish-inquisition-and_29.html" rel="nofollow - #7 - "I didn't expect the Spanish inquisition" and other stories

http://shrineofllyria.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow - - Shrine of Llyría

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I'm deeply sorry as I think it was unwise of me and just unnecessary. Not because no one wants to know that shit. Not because it's impossible to be THAT objective. No, I'm sorry because rating anything that is art, even whole albums not only doesn't do them justice, it hurts you as the audience. Yes, I think rating music (or books or paintings and other pure arts (movies ain't pure ~art nazi) harms you and makes your perception of art pragmatic where it should be spontaneous and well... not hampered by cold reasoning in the first place. 

Numerical rating forces you to asses something that can't be assessed precisely. What's even worse it makes you wonder if the rating you've given is objectively justified: "Do I like it as much as this other album? For what reasons?". Also, it often changes the way your review is perceived or even discourages people from reading it - they just check the rating and they're done.

Sure I did, I had no choice. Besides, everyone knows that I actually worship this band and love every single track by them No rating's gonna change that! ^^

Before I start, a disclaimer, let's make it a tradition:

Music. One word, countless feelings evoked. Ah, yes, so you came here to read something written by this guy that tries soooo hard. Here you go. Today's essay's about emotional/conceptual associations we make between books and music we listen to at the moment of reading. 

The first time it happened to me was looong before puberty. I think I was 5 - 8 years old at the time. I had a Disney book called "Hercules". It told a disturbing story about a ginger muscle guy, no need to talk about it now. Anyway, somehow I ended up listening to M people cassette while reading the book. Even now, many years later, I still "feel" the book every time I listen to M people... which is never by the way, I don't listen to that crap anymore! So, I felt it, every time I listened to M people. By feeling it, I don't mean any scenes or characters in particular, just the atmosphere in general and feelings the book evoked in me. It's just as if the music were a soundtrack to the story, regardless of how incompatible M People and Hercules are. Another, maybe even sillier example, is Bjork's Isobel, a track from Post. As an avid dinosaurs fan, I read many books about these amazing creatures throughout my childhood. I fantasized about them, I saw them among the trees while looking through the car window, hell, I even pretended to be one! It's not made up, I swear! So, anyway, I used to listen to Bjork quite a lot too at the time. Isobel has become that one track that I instantly associated with dinosaurs. I actually thought it was ABOUT dinosaurs, running through the forest, majestically raising their heads above the treetops. How disappointed I was when I found out, many years later, that the track's name is Isobel (yeah as a kid I didn't care about titles) and what's more, it's absolutely not about dinosaurs.

A few years ago I realized that I could actually enhance my reading experience by listening to one album over and over again while going through a book. It creates a bond. Obviously it can't be just any album but rather one that you already know pretty well and like quite a lot. For instance, I've been reading Murakami's Hard-boiled Wonderland and The End of the World, one of his most surreal books. As I head some awesome experience with Reisefieber by Mikołaj Łoziński and One Armed Bandit by Jaga Jazzist, I started to associate an album with a book and listen to it. If it worked, I had this book "stuck" in the music for the rest of my life. If it didn't, well, I'd change the music or read without any music at all. So, anyway, I listend to Kayo Dot Choir's of The Eye while reading Murakami. And let me tell you, it worked great. Both the book and the album are great but they're even better as a duo. Kayo Dot gives you the sense of wonder, menace and psychedelia and that's exactly what you need to amplify the mood of Hard-boiled Wonderland.

I know it might not be the most groundbreaking thing and some of you have already tried this. Still, if you haven't, give it a shot: pick an album you like, album you think would go well with the books you're reading and listen to it. Bind the album to the book and keep it this way forever.

http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9934&PID=108921&title=bdsm-bartossos-daily-saturnine-musings#108921" rel="nofollow - - - Back to Table of Contents -

Also, I posted a Part the Second "review" a day or so ago, it's my 100th review so I celebrated big time. It's more like a BDSM blog post so I strongly encourage you to take a look :)

Daily Disclaimer:

***

I hate statistics. Mostly because there's a significant gap between required amount of critical thinking to interpret them and the actual intelligence of people doing it. Still, a non-metal friend of mine once told me that there's been a study about correlation between music preferences and intelligence and guess what. People listening to metal are apparently, allegedly more intelligent STATISTICALLY than your average rocker or popper (my word for pop music fans, but also  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poppers" rel="nofollow - THIS ). Ha! You listen to metal, right? You feel better now? Don't get excited just yet.

So, why is that? Why would we be so awesome, you ask? Isn't it obvious, we're outcasts, living on the edge! I started listening to metal when I was around 12 years old. I remember having a Judas Priest and Overkill cassettes from my cousin and played the shit out of them. Mostly of Painkiller, actually, since Overkill bothered me greatly. I listened to Metallica and System of a Down too. And when I was 14, my girlfriend introduced me to Slipknot, my first extreme metal band. Yep, whatever we might think of Slipknot now, they were pretty extreme back in the day. Then I realized Slipknot sucked, I discovered Opeth and my whole life changed. So, anyway, you may think that my music tastes made me an outcast but that's not true. I was one long before all that. And you know what the life of outcast taught me? Always think for yourself, don't follow the crowd, be yourself. Also: don't look'em in the eye, run before they form a circle, hide in the bushes.

According to the study, people listening to metal, and especially to the more underground forms of metal, are statistically more intelligent. I was stumped when I heard that. First of all, most of my intelligent friends (friends that were better at the sciences than me, for instance), didn't listen to metal. The only subject I was really good at was Polish (it's my native language) and history (kind of). I was writing high rated essays, basically. So apparently, from an educational standpoint, I wasn't especially intelligent. Just your average alienated kid that can't play football and hangs out with other alienated kids but they don't form any real group or subculture... although today we could easily be classified as nerds due to our fascination with tabletop rpgs. Whatever the actual level of my intelligence may be, assuming it can be accurately measured by those silly IQ tests, I think the word "intelligence" should be replaced with "independent thinking" in this particular case. We, people of both sexes listening to metal, often are independent thinkers. We listen to music that is harsh, raw, music that most people consider to be an obnoxious noise. We don't follow their judgement, though. We judge by our own standards. And that's the point: why do we consider an ugly, obnoxious noise to be enjoyable or even... beautiful?

Good question. I'll try to answer it in the next installment of BDSM. For now, that is all. Almost. Before you go... recent studies have shown that all kids are intelligent and everyone is born with a talent. Don't believe those who try to tell you otherwise. What education (and stupid parents) makes us loose, is the ability to think for ourselves. So, if you're young, don't let the education ruin you! If you're old and listen to some sick music, don't worry, you're fine.

http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9934&PID=108921&title=bdsm-bartossos-daily-saturnine-musings#108921" rel="nofollow -

I thought one line in your review sums up the album just about as well as it's possible to do.  It made me pause and go "oh... of course", like it's natural to do when you realize something fundamental.  Anyways, I enjoyed reading it.  This line: What I say may seem quite vague, but this record really sounds as if it were aware of itself. Every sound, every word is there for a reason and for no reason at all.

Daily Disclaimer:

***

Before you kill me, I'll just say that I actually somewhat like Iron Maiden, I'm just a kind of person that would say anything to seem cool and ironic. Basically a kind of person you wouldn't like to know in real life. I have an excuse, though! I'm sick, I sleep eight hours a day and another ten at night, waiting for something to happen. If I'm to be completely honest with you, this blog marks a transitional phase in my life as I learn to accept my health problems despite their life and hearing impairing implications. I have to accept them. Not because I need it to feel better. It's just that after two years of treatment, surgery and inconclusive diagnosing, I feel like resuming my life would be a good move.

I know, I know, it was supposed to be about us, not me. I didn't plan this outburst, I hope all two people who read this won't hold a grudge against me... The question we asked in the previous installment of BDSM was, more ot less, "Why do we like extreme music?". The answer is partly expressed in the question itself (oh how clever!). Extreme situations is what thrills us. Why would people watch thrillers, read horror books or gather around car accidents like idiots, if not for the excitement? It's obviously directly connected to our morbid curiosity and I think at the very basis, that's what gets us hooked on extreme music in the first place. Still music compared to movies, books or real life situations, is abstract. Yeah, sure, Cannibal Corpse lyrics (and cover arts, for that matter) are not particularly abstract and I bet some people find this aspect of their music very exciting. Still, even if you leave aside the conceptual basis of the music, it's still extreme. That's where another thing kicks in - letting oneself go. Extreme music is liberating and helps us relax. It's funny because it usually has an opposite effect on those who don't like it.

Okay, but what about those who find the music not only liberating but also beautiful. If you get shivers down your spine upon hearing a Gnaw Their Tongues track or an emotional arrhythmia while listening to Meshuggah, you're one of those freaks. You are one of these sick deviants that listen to atonal noise and still somehow look like a birdwatcher surrounded by nightingales. That's not normal! I mean really, peeking at birds, come on! So, anyway, we are willing to sacrifice social conformity and often part of our sanity just to explore that music and experience something extraordinary. Or maybe it's just that only extreme music is capable of conveying the full spectrum of human nature? All that we know about, all that we accept, but also things we'd rather forget about or don't even know exist in our subconscious? Knowing and accepting all that shit we have inside is part of our evolution. And yes, we're talking metal here, but also avant-garde jazz or RIO, or chamber music. All music that challenges your limits, opens your mind and forces you to give in to it, is extreme.

Nowadays, especially nowadays, in the postmodern age, extreme music is a perfect artistic vessel to express things otherwise inexpressible. Bands like Kayo Dot, Unexpect, Cloak of Altering, Thy Catafalque, however different they are, all aim at transcending the borders of art in order to achieve the ultimate goal - ecstasy, freedom, spiritual unity of body and mind. Without dogmas, prayers, or masturbation. Just you and the sounds. And when the silence comes, you're a changed man.

***

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http://shrineofllyria.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow - - Shrine of Llyría

Is there such a thing as Independent thinking?   

 

Btw, anime avi bros unite! ^^

I see, okay, so that's basically what I thought it meant. I'm not a native-speaker as you've probably noticed already, so it may happen that I use terms that mean something else or don't exist at all. 

...also, initially I planned to keep that back... as it's shameful of a seinen anime fan... bur I've not seen Neon Genesis Evangelion yet.

Right now I'm going through Texhnolyze, have you seen this one..?

As for Texhnolyze, yes, it's definitely one of the more experimental and bold anime series. It's a little bit like watching a Lynch movie set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world. It's brooding and mysterious, full of ambiguous scenes and sparing in dialogues. And the soundtrack is just amazing! I thoroughly enjoy it so far, but it's not a series to watch in one go if you want to keep your sanity intact. 

Thanks mate, it's actually one of the most fleshed out female characters in anime, Senjougahara Hitagi from Bakemonogatari. I love her, man

Does it get frustrating?? Staying single? Personally, I get frustrated 

 

Just a short thought that I might rewrite into something more "serious" in the foreseeable future if it proves good enough. I try to keep distance from my ideas for some time, they often turn out to be ridiculous despite seeming great at first glance. 

So, it's basically a kind of extension of my first article here, the one on numeral ratings and why they suck satan's scaly member. You know, when you give a 10/10 rating and that would mean the album is 100% perfect, flawless, mind-blowingly awesome and you should totally buy it now IT"S worth EVERY PENNY! etc., you know, that kind of PERFECT bullshit. First of all, I strongly believe there's no such thing as "perfection", even less so when it comes to art. That's why perfectionists are never happy - they just keep improving stuff until they die. Funny, cause death is one of those rare, pure phenomena that I'd actually dare to call perfect. Hah, ironic. Would that mean we're all perfectionist as we all die, eventually? Okay, I'm getting carried away. Right...

I'm loosing steam already. Perfection, la la, what was I about to... ah okay. Language. Language is inherently imperfect. Language is imperfect. Even this short statement is imprecise and therefore can be interpreted in many different ways. We don't have time to talk about linguistics here, though. It's just a canvas for my main thought: Imperfection is beautiful. Language is a code, it's imperfect so it leaves room for interpretation, for vagueness. Hence it's beautiful. DNA, the code of evolution is imperfect, flawed - AND THAT"S WHY we exist by the way, we were such an evolutionary fuck-up, that we needed to develop two most dreaded, disgusting features (or you can count them as one), self-awareness and intelligence, in order to survive. And look at us now: lost, conflicted and violent; neurotic and gentle or cold like degenerated predators. We invented perfection even though (or because) we're the least perfect of all things. Fuck, it's got so deep, I can barely reach the keyboard. Depths of metaphysics, I feel like a poor imitation of Emil Cioran right now! He loved those nihilistic aphorisms. They didn't make much sense sometimes but boy, did they sound good!

Alright, final thought, I'm tired. Please, if I may consider myself entitled to ask you to do so, next time you'll be about to use the word "perfect", ask yourself what do you actually love about the piece of art you're referring to: the fact it's "perfect" and works like a swiss clockwork, almost like it was not created by a human being but by a supercomputer, or for what it is, with all its imperfections, human weaknesses and subtleties? Yeah, all that may depend on your taste, the genre and so on and so forth, but I think it lets you write a review or voice an opinion that is not about your rating, your assessment but about the music itself. I myself am still trying to put this idea into practice, and even though it may not work "perfectly" just yet, I certainly feel better now, every time I voice an opinion about a piece of art. It just seems fairer to me to just say "I love it, and there's why..." instead of "not exactly a perfect masterpiece, buuuuuuut...". You know what I mean? Was it all obvious to you from the start? Oh well...

As far as I remember you do listen to extreme metal, damn, you even play in an extreme metal band! So don't worry, it doesn't apply to you, Kim  It applies to people who, in general, not just IM, listen to mainstream band(s) but do not embrace the "full spectrum" of what metal has to offer. I'm not even criticizing them, it's not the point of my article. Honestly, I don't give a shit about what people listen to as long as it's not entirely brainless pop/techno crap. I can get slightly judgmental if someone says that Miley Cyrus is their favourite singer. And Maiden ain't brainless, obviously. I like the band, actually, just not very much.

The fact you've taken my joke seriously means it's not funny. An important lesson for the future, heh.

Honestly, if someone came up to me and said Miley Cyrus was their favorite singer, or even liked her for that matter, I would have to play some metal to give them a taste of good music.

Definitely, I've even written a little article about that http://shrineofllyria.blogspot.com/2014/10/i-didnt-expect-spanish-inquisition-and_29.html" rel="nofollow - HERE . 

I think pop music always reflects the state of society. The way the aggressive consumerism has changed us over the last century is quite alarming. As long as the music sells, it's alright, apparently. That's why we have the same crappy r'n'b about sex all over and over and over again. Most of the good stuff left the mainstream long time ago.

Agreed, sex sells in the world of pop music.

What's bad is that mainstream art has become worthless, no doubt about that. At the same time, however, the "underground" has never been more prolific. And I love that.