#b1689q's top music artists

[gzw1689]

My Top Music Artists

Day 22: Queens of the Stone Age

First album owned: Songs for the Deaf and ...Like Clockwork (June 2013) Favourite albums:

...Like Clockwork (June 2013)

Songs for the Deaf (June 2013)

I decided to check out Queens of the Stone Age due to collaborations principal member Josh Homme did with other bands and musicians I like (Mastodon on “Colony of Birchmen”, and Trent Reznor and Dave Grohl on “Mantra” for the Sound City documentary). Like a few other bands on this list, I think they were a bit of an acquired taste for me, but I grew to really like their sound.

I think quite a bit of what defines their sound on a surface level is its tonal quality. They use guitar tones that I would describe as fuzzy, and I think there’s quite a clear low end, too. Homme also has a pretty distinctive songwriting style as well. I’m not sure exactly how to describe it, so similarly to Radiohead, I’d say you just get a feel for it from listening to it. Homme himself says that he takes inspiration from electronic music, but uses rock instruments.

Another defining trait of the band is that they seem to have quite a bit of fun with their music. Oddly enough though, my favourite album of theirs---...Like Clockwork--is probably their most serious. I really struggle to describe it, but while their sense of fun isn��t completely absent from that album, it’s heavily laced with a haunting sense of sadness that sort of gets me on a visceral level. On the other hand, Songs for the Deaf shows the band really having fun and rocking out.

Overall, I think Queens of the Stone Age is one of those bands where I like to hear what kind of quirky thing they’ll do next.

[gzw1689]

My Top Music Artists

Day 25: Aimer

First album owned: DAWN (December 2015) Favourite albums:

DAWN (December 2015)

Midnight Sun (February 2016)

Sleepless Nights (February 2016)

daydream (September 2016)

The first Aimer song I heard was the ending theme for Zankyou no Terror (Terror in Resonance), “誰か、海を。” (Dare ka, Umi wo.). But it was with the songs she did for the Ufotable adaptation of Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works--”Brave Shine” and “LAST STARDUST”--that I was compelled to check out her music.

I realize that all of the major studio albums under her name are listed as my favourites. That’s because I like them all so much that each one of them has had heavy listening rotation. Back when I was commuting to and from work last year, her music would often be playing through my headphones. Nowadays, I continue to listen to her music every now and then.

One of the things about her music that initially captured my attention is her very distinctive husky voice. I would later come to learn that she’s also very musically versatile. I got to know her through the heavier tracks that were on her third album DAWN, but that album also has poppier rock tracks and ballads. I was surprised to learn that she started her music career primarily with ballads on Sleepless Nights. I initially thought that one wasn’t quite dynamic enough, but it came to grow on me later on. Midnight Sun, her second album, is where she really started to branch out, with both heavier songs and more electronically driven ones. Finally, her latest album daydream features collaborations with other musicians, such as Taka from One OK Rock, Abe Mao, and Noda Yojiro from Radwimps.

I’ve wanted to talk about Aimer on here for quite some time, but never really got around to it. One of the cool things I noticed about her first three albums is that--on the surface, at least--they all seem to be built around a theme. Each title refers to some time of night (except DAWN, which seems to mark the end of her “first phase”, in a sense). Each also begins with a short cover of an English song, and ends with a reprise of the same song. And finally, each album contains a song referring to some time of night (“2:00AM”, “3:00AM”, and “4:00AM”) and a song with “Re:” in the title (“Re:pray”, “RE:I AM”, and “Re:far”). I’m not really sure what it all means, but I really enjoy noticing these kinds of patterns. daydream seems to break out of that, which makes me excited to see where she goes in the future.

When I would listen to her music on my commute, I would try to practice my Japanese by trying to recognize some of the words she was singing. I think it’s good to note here that she writes a lot of her own lyrics. I didn’t get very far, but I could tell that some common ideas she sang about were sleep and loss (and maybe moving on from the past or something like that?). I found the lyrics on Sleepless Nights easiest to decipher, likely because it was her first album, though I found the ones on DAWN to be rather intimidating.

However, on her latest album, she only wrote lyrics on a few of her songs. Just on a superficial listen, I get a sense that this marks a major shift in her lyrical identity, though with my limited understanding of Japanese, I suppose I can’t really know that for sure. At any rate, I’ve never looked at translations of the lyrics to her songs, in hopes of someday finding out what they mean for myself.

Out of all the Japanese musicians I’ve discovered since Supercell, I think Aimer was the first I decided to seriously listen to, and probably the one I’m most enthusiastic about.

[gzw1689]

My Top Music Artists

Day 21: Converge

First album owned: Jane Doe (March 2013) Favourite albums:

Jane Doe (March 2013)

You Fail Me Redux (July 2016)

Axe to Fall (October 2013)

Oh man, haha. I’m not gonna lie, when one of my friends tried to recommend me this band all the way back in high school, I absolutely hated them. I thought to myself, “What is this nonsense? Is this even music?”

I eventually returned to them almost half a decade later to see if things changed. I remember it. It was a listen through the entire Jane Doe album as I sat in my chair just focusing on it. It was one of the most punishing musical experiences I had. By the end of it, I felt like I’d been aurally assaulted, and I left the experience emotionally exhausted. But I mean this in the most positive way possible.

On the surface and without prior experience, Jane Doe as a whole sounds like a sustained cacophony, with quite a bit of dissonance and subtle hints of melody poking through. Given more time with it however, I realized that they were doing quite a few different things with each track, that there is a careful attention to its rhythm and sound, but all calculated to be jolting and uncomfortable. Even though it’s almost impossible to understand the words, I could just feel it in the most visceral sense. I read a pretty interesting point on TVTropes, that this album may be an example of how people can use extreme aggression to mask a profound sadness.

I was wrong about Slipknot. This is the epitome of raw emotion in musical form. Holy. Shit.

Although as far as I know, most consider Jane Done to be their magnum opus, some of their other music is a bit more on the accessible side. You Fail Me has more traditional punk sounds and structures, but with the band’s distinctive harsh noise. It also contains some slow burner tracks, like the title track and the acoustically driven “In Her Shadow”. I wasn’t that big a fan of this album at first, but the Redux version--which beefs up the sound, and especially the low end--made me fall in love with it.

Axe to Fall contains further experimentation, and really demonstrates how the band pushes themselves as musicians (though it also features a wide array of guests). To me, the songs on there that stand out the most are the ones that show the most branching out, like “Cruel Bloom”--another acoustically-driven song--and “Wretched World”--a melodic slow burner with evocative lyrics and clean singing from guest vocalist Mookie Singerman from Genghis Tron (I thought of making that my featured song, but I didn’t think it was representative enough of their overall sound).

Converge made me rethink what music is and what it can be, heavy music in particular. In recent years, I’ve usually liked melody to be a major fixture. Before that, I was all right with heaviness and screaming as long as there was some sort of catchy rhythm. But Converge seeks to kick the listener right out of their comfort zone. Much of their music is pure emotion expressed in the harshest way possible, and I admire their ability to make that absolutely compelling.

[gzw1689]

My Top Music Artists

Day 26 (final day): Justin Hurwitz

First album owned: La La Land Original Soundtrack (February 2017) Favourite albums:

La La Land Original Soundtrack (February 2017)

Whiplash Original Soundtrack (not yet owned)

Justin Hurwitz is a fairly recent finding, but I feel confident enough to include him on this list. It may be a bit strange to include a film composer on here, but I guess the songs from La La Land can be enjoyed outside of their original context pretty easily.

I wanted to include Hurwitz on here because Whiplash and La La Land together reinvigorated my passion for film (well, films other than Star Wars, that is). I suppose a lot of that had to do with Damien Chazelle’s writing and directing--as well as Whiplash’s editing and La La Land’s cinematography and so on--but seeing as both films are heavily centred around music, Hurwitz’s compositions and arrangements are a huge fixture in them.

I like how Hurwitz’s music both serves the story in those films, but also stands on its own outside of its context. I suppose that’s a bit more obvious in La La Land, but I think it was present in Whiplash as well. I think the greatest example of this is the final drum solo at the end of “Caravan”. Evident in the music is all of what Andrew Neiman’s going through: his frustration, his persistence, and his satisfaction at both earning Fletcher’s approval and spitting in his face all at once. Before Whiplash, I had no idea I could get so emotionally invested in a four minute drum solo.

What I think makes a lot of the music such a compelling listen outside of the film context is its sense of energy and drive, such as in the arrangements of jazz stands like “Caravan” and “Whiplash” itself. If not that, then it’s in how it fully embraces strong emotions in tracks like “Mia & Sebastian’s Theme” and “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)”.

But I think the main appeal of Hurwitz’s music for me is its personal nostalgia value. Whiplash reminds me of when I played in high school jazz band, which was one of the highlights of that time of my life (though I sure as hell wouldn’t want a teacher like Fletcher). La La Land just reminds me of the time I spent in my school’s music department in general; performing, watching people I know perform, the volunteering, the touring, the things I learned, and the friends I made along the way.

Every time I listen to the music, it takes me back to those times, and a mix of elation and wistfulness washes over me. Combine that with the emotional and thematic content of the films themselves--which speaks in some ways to my identity as a creative person, my worries for the future, and what feels like distant faraway dreams--and I feel this special connection, almost like the music is communicating directly to my heart.

The other day, I wondered if future high school jazz bands will play songs from La La Land or Whiplash. I’m almost certain they will. When that time comes, I’m going to be very jealous.

(On another note, I love how it’s wonderfully fitting that my series ends on a track called “Epilogue”.)

[gzw1689]

My Top Music Artists

Day 24: Love Live! (μ's and Aqours)

First album owned: N/A (Though I have the first two seasons of the anime and the movie on Blu-ray) Favourite albums: N/A

(Since YouTube isn’t really the best place for Love Live!, I will be leaving links to the Love Live! wiki--which has the songs in ogg format; just scroll down to the “Audio” section of each page--for my featured songs.)

Out of all of the music artists on this list, I don’t think anyone has had as much of a presence in my everyday life as the idol groups in Love Live! have.

What started as a casual decision to watch a season of an anime in mid-2014 eventually gave way to starting my first mobile game, Love Live! School Idol Festival, shortly after. Since there are ~10 day long events that occur twice a month in that game, I play it pretty regularly, which involves hearing their songs (or short game versions of them) every day. I’ll admit, doing that for almost three years now has made their music grow a little stale to my ears at times, but I can’t deny that Love Live! has been important to me.

μ's (Featured Song: “ユメノトビラ” [Yume no Tobira])

Musically, I think what I appreciate most about Love Live! is the versatility of its music groups, and that began with μ's. In addition to their more “standard” J-pop idol sounding songs, they and their subgroups dabble into a few different genres. Heck, they’ve even done at least one metal song (see “after school NAVIGATORS” by NicoRinPana; highly recommended because it’s pretty funny). I think some of the genres they touch upon include rock, electronic dance music, retro J-pop, Latin pop, and others (I’ll admit, I’m not really well-versed in music genres other than the ones I usually listen to, so this is mostly just guesswork). Their backing tracks use many different kinds of instruments, from acoustic to electronic. In short, there’s a lot of variety to go around.

That said, I think I was a little bit late to the party when it comes to μ's. As a result, I don’t think I developed as much of an emotional attachment to them and their music as some other fans have.

Aqours (Featured Song: “Humming Friend”)

That’s when Aqours comes in. I’ve been following them since the time they were announced (though quite loosely at the start). Toward the beginning, I wondered if Aqours and their subgroups were just going to be like carbon copies of μ's. For example, when they were revealing the subgroups, CYaRon! was the first to release a single, and I was concerned they might sound too close to the μ's subgroup Printemps. But their song “夜空はなんでも知ってるの？” (Yozora wa Nandemo Shitteru no?)--with its sort of nostalgic, bouncy, yet soft and soothing sound--put those worries to rest. From then on, I started to look forward to every release by Aqours and its subgroups. I would listen to each of the songs in full after their release, which is something I never did with μ's.

Music wise, I’d say I like Aqours for basically the same reasons as μ's, as they continue in the tradition of trying different things musically while having their own distinct musical identity (though I’m not sure exactly how to describe it as of yet). Other than that, I think the difference is that I feel a stronger connection to Aqours, since I’ve been with them in some capacity since the beginning. Watching the Sunshine!! anime series as it came out, and seeing each of the characters in the mobile game during the days in between, I think I came to care about them a lot. And now, while they’re in their prime, there is almost always something to look forward to.

[gzw1689]

My Top Music Artists

Day 23: Supercell (and Egoist)

First albums owned: Today Is A Beautiful Day and Extra terrestrial Biological Entities by Egoist (December 2015) Favourite albums:

Today Is A Beautiful Day (December 2015)

Extra terrestrial Biological Entities by Egoist (December 2015)

As a note, I grouped Supercell and Egoist together, since they’re both musical projects by the composer Ryo.

Although I bought my first albums from Supercell and Egoist in 2015, I’d actually discovered them around late 2013. I think it was around the time my friend showed me covers of their songs from Guilty Crown by the YouTube pianist Animenz. Those made me curious to check out the original artist of those songs. Today Is A Beautiful Day eventually became the soundtrack of the homework sessions for my computing science courses.

On that album, the musicians dabble into a lot of musical styles, though I suppose all of them have a J-pop tinge (whatever that means). There’s tracks on there driven by all manner of instruments, like piano, guitar, and electronics. There’s some rock, some ballads, and even some jazziness. Yanagi Nagi’s full voice is just very pleasing to the ear, and the album as a whole has this sort of warm tone to it that’s just really soothing overall. My Japanese isn’t good enough to understand the lyrics, but I can really appreciate the music on it.

Extra terrestrial Biological Entities, in contrast, is more electronically driven and has a colder sound to it. Some (or all?) of the songs were written for Guilty Crown, and they have sort of a grand sound to match. However, it can also get a bit more low-key at times, and more playful at others. I think I’d describe Chelly’s voice and singing style as a bit more restrained. I love the sound of it, and I think it’s great that Ryo has continued to collaborate with her. If I were to choose a featured song for Egoist in particular, I’d go with “Planetes” (below).

I think what’s important to note though is that these groups (Supercell especially) represented a lot of firsts for me when it comes to Japanese pop culture.

Before discovering them, I wasn’t really too big on anime (I think I’d only watched Death Note, Elfen Lied, Evangelion, and maybe a couple of others at that point). Egoist and Supercell brought me to Guilty Crown. Admittedly, I didn’t like it that much, but I think it acted as a gateway to modern anime because I liked the visuals and character designs.

After that, Supercell brought me to the Monogatari series due to the song “君の知らない物語” (Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari) being the ending of Bakemonogatari. Out of all of the anime series I’ve seen, Monogatari is probably one of the ones I’ve stayed dedicated to for the longest.

Also, I didn’t find this out until much later, but Supercell also gave me my very first experience with the Nasuverse: “星が瞬くこんな夜に” (Hoshi ga Matataku Konna Yoru ni) is the theme song for the visual novel Mahoutsukai no Yoru. Even though I’d heard about and wanted to try Fate/Stay Night since early 2013 (though didn’t get around it until around mid 2014), this discovery made me feel as if the Nasuverse and I were meant to be.

So yeah, you could say I have Supercell to thank for kick starting my passion for anime, which endures to this day.

[gzw1689]

My Top Music Artists

Day 9: Brand New

First album owned: The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (July 2008) Favourite albums:

The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (July 2008)

Deja Entendu (July 2008)

Daisy (October 2009)

Although Brand New eventually became one of my favourite bands, they were very much an acquired taste for me. When I first heard Deja Entendu, I found it kind of boring, probably because most of the songs aren’t really that “catchy” in a sense.

But I can remember the exact moment I fell in love with Brand New. I was lying in my bed about ready to go to sleep, when I decided to listen to some music first. I thought I’d try The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (which I hadn’t heard before at the time), since I predicted it’d be rather low-key and in a similar vein to Deja Entendu.

I was completely wrong. From the very first cry of “YEAH” in “Sowing Season” and the heaviness that came immediately afterward, I was thrown into a total state of unease, in the best way possible. The intensity lasted until the very last notes of “Handcuffs”.

I think what really got me with Devil and God was its atmosphere and dynamics. The album has a rather cold texture. It can be pretty intense even in its quietest moments, and sometimes these build up to these sort of cathartic louder sections. It’s not really straight soft-loud dynamics either. For example, “Jesus Christ” has this sort of buildup that kind of fizzles out at one point, while “Luca” has a rather abrupt shift that freaked me out the first time I heard it.

It’s been a while since I really looked into the lyrical part of things, though a lot of it delves into subjects like death and loss, which are themes that have always resonated with me on some level. Interestingly, the majority of the songs are rather mid-tempo, which I think lends to its sort of contemplative tone.

For most of the years I’ve been listening to Brand New, Deja Entendu was often a rather distant second favourite, but I’ve come to appreciate it more in recent years. Lyrically, it might be the most interesting album in their discography, as I discovered an interpretation of the album (via TVTropes) as a deconstruction of rock music cliches. For example, “Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis” is about sleeping with women, yet the narrator of the song deliberately comes across as rather manipulative and callous.

But overall, I think the main reason I like Brand New so much is due to the emotional quality of their music. I have a hard time describing it, but I think a close word is probably “understated”. Maybe it’s sort of the difference between a more “extroverted” and a more “introverted” sounding band, if that makes sense. I guess they’re really quite in line with my personality in some ways.

[gzw1689]

My Top Music Artists

Day 20: Steven Wilson

First album owned: The Raven That Refused to Sing and Other Stories (March 2013) Favourite albums:

The Raven That Refused to Sing and Other Stories (March 2013)

Hand. Cannot. Erase. (March 2015)

I think I discovered Steven Wilson through Ultimate Guitar--a website I visit to find guitar tablature--since he and his band Porcupine Tree are rather popular on there. Although I like Porcupine Tree as well, I chose to add Wilson’s solo project to this list, as I think it deviates a bit more from my usual music tastes.

I’m actually not too sure what musically differentiates Wilson’s solo project from Porcupine Tree, other than the people involved in each. I guess Porcupine Tree went in more of a metal direction with In Absentia in 2002, and Wilson’s solo project seems to stray away from that a bit more. It’s interesting, but--in yet another scenario that’s hard to describe--the music Wilson’s involved in seems to have this sort of distinctive sound, even though he goes through a lot of different styles.

The Raven That Refused to Sing is sort of a progressive jazz fusion record hearkening back to bands of the 1970s. I like it for a lot of the virtuosity displayed by the musicians there and how the songs seem to tell their stories through the changes in their music as well as the lyrics. Even so, the musicians seem to know when to hold back to serve the songs, as shown with Guthrie Govan’s guitar solo near the end of the title track. It’s probably one of my all-time favourite records by now.

Hand. Cannot. Erase. has more of an overarching concept behind it that really resonated with me. Inspired by Joyce Carol Vincent (a woman who died in her apartment and wasn’t discovered until years later), it delves into themes of isolation and emotional distance. Musically, it’s got some progressive rock song structures and virtuosity on display, but it also adds some electronic elements and other experimental things into the mix.

Although I’ve mostly been averting it so far, I decided to go with a music video for my featured track this time around. When I first saw this video during Wilson’s concert two years ago, it almost brought me to tears. I was so moved by it that I just had to share it. (Other songs I considered were “The Watchmaker” and “The Raven That Refused to Sing”.)

I’ll leave this off with a quotation (or paraphrase?) from Wilson himself, which I think he repeated at the concert I went to: “Miserable music makes me happy, and happy music makes me fucking miserable.” I actually disagree with this statement in a general sense, but at the same time, I think it describes really succinctly how his music makes me feel.

[gzw1689]

My Top Music Artists

Day 19: Deftones

First album owned: Koi No Yokan (January 2013) Favourite albums:

Koi No Yokan (January 2013)

Diamond Eyes (February 2013)

Gore (April 2016)

If I remember correctly, I checked out Deftones’ Koi No Yokan after a friend recommended them to me. Although I usually see them classified them as a metal band, their music doesn’t really sound like any other metal I’ve heard before.

When it comes to their sound (at least on their later albums), I suppose I’d define it as sort of “spacey”. Chino Moreno’s singing often consists of a lot of long notes, and as a result, the lyrics can be pretty minimalist. The guitar playing covers a wide range of ocatves, especially when they use 8-strings. In the heavier parts, it works together with the drums and bass to make sometimes unconventional rhythmic parts. At other times, they use effects and keyboards to create a heavily textured sound. My inclusion of Deftones here follows a sort of pattern in this series, where I like a certain band or the music they make for the atmosphere they create.

I’m mostly talking about Koi No Yokan here, because that one’s by far my favourite from this band. I have listened to their pre-Diamond Eyes material, but haven’t really digested it fully (though I am quite fond of the last three tracks of White Pony).

Considering the above, I think Deftones--and especially Koi No Yokan--made me think about metal in a different way. While usually I’d associate it with the complex riffing of Metallica or the low rhythmic aggression of Slipknot (and a few other things as well), this is probably the first metal band I’ve encountered that really had this sort of heavily “textured” and “spacey” sound, for lack of a better description.

[gzw1689]

My Top Music Artists

Day 18: The Republic of Wolves

First album owned: Varuna (December 2012) Favourite albums:

Varuna (December 2012)

His Black Teeth (June 2016)

No Matter How Narrow (December 2013)

I first heard of this band in 2009 when tracks from their EP His Old Branches were put on YouTube, falsely titled as Brand New demos for their album Daisy. I can’t remember if I thought too much of them back then, but they’d eventually become a band I’d listen to quite often.

Although their sound seems to have clear influence from Brand New, they do some different things as well. Their early music on the aforementioned EP and Varuna has some folk influence, with banjo playing and the like. Tone wise, it’s a bit similar to Brand New’s The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, with its cold sound and dark sense of atmosphere. Moreso than Brand New though, they play around with somewhat unconventional timing and rhythm, which is also showcased on their later effort No Matter How Narrow. That one has more of a lighter tone to it, further separating them from the band that people thought they were. His Black Teeth--a more folk-ish re-imagining of His Old Branches--became one of my top played records during my commutes to and from work last year.

Another thing to note is that this is probably one of the smallest bands on my list, in terms of how popular they are. As far as I know, the members mostly play in this band on the side in addition to living out more “regular” lives, and don’t go on tour. When I bought their albums online, they sent me a handwritten personalized thank you note, and I really appreciated that.

Since I really want to see this band get some more love, I decided to leave Bandcamp links to each of my favourite albums at the top. For particular song recommendations, “Oarsman” is probably their most well-known song on Varuna, with “The Attic” being a fan favourite. On No Matter How Narrow, I like the unconventional rhythms of “Frozen Feet” and the more straightforward soft rock of “Stray(s)”. “Slide” is probably my favourite track from His Black Teeth, especially because of the strings.

[gzw1689]

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Day 17: Mastodon

First album owned: Crack the Skye (December 2012) Favourite albums:

Crack the Skye (December 2012)

Once More ‘Round the Sun (June 2014)

The Hunter (February 2013)

Leviathan (February 2013)

I think my discovery of Mastodon came at a time when I was kind of bored of metal. For the past year or two, I’d been trying new things and broadening my horizons. Mastodon brought me back to the genre that likely had the biggest influence on my life.

It was funny. I remember seeing Crack the Skye in my local music store for $5. I’d never listened to Mastodon before but I knew that they were quite highly regarded, so I thought hey, why not? $5 well spent.

I think Mastodon is one of those bands where each of the members are technical powerhouses that bring something distinct to the table. Brann Dailor has his jazz-influenced drumming, which made me appreciate the instrument a bit more. Meanwhile, Brent Hinds plays guitar parts that invoke the banjo, since he plays that instrument as well. Bassist Troy Sanders... well, he does this. And guitarist Bill Kelliher is responsible for a lot of the heavy.

Vocal wise, each member (except Bill, who doesn’t sing) also adds their own flavour. Troy has a sort of low aggressive grunt, Brent has a nasally drawl, and Brann (probably my favourite singer in the band) sounds really smooth.

I’m actually a bigger fan of their later albums. While I think their earlier ones really showcase their technical playing, Crack the Skye and everything afterwards have greater emphasis on melody. All in all, I think their combination of technique, melody, and progressive metal songwriting keeps this band in heavy rotation (pun intended).

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My Top Music Artists

Day 16: Adele

First album owned: 21 (February 2012) Favourite albums:

21 (February 2012)

25 (December 2015)

I remember there were some songs called “Rolling to the Deep” and “Someone Like You” that were really popular in the year 2011. I don’t really pay too close attention to pop music in general, but something about those songs piqued my curiosity enough to check out the musician behind them. Then, I listened to the entirety of 21, which really impressed me.

I’m not sure how many people have interpreted it this way, but every time I listen to 21, I get the sense that it’s telling a story. I think most people know that it’s about a particularly bad breakup, but the way the album is structured seems to show the protagonist going through various stages of grief. It starts with a lot of bitterness, which evolves into sad reflection, then bargaining, and later acceptance (but a bittersweet kind, as she still says she “will find someone like you”). I’ve never gone through anything like that and I don’t necessarily relate to the lyrics, but Adele’s performance and writing really make me feel and believe it.

25 is quite a different album in comparison. It’s more mellow and reflective, and I think there’s a more uplifting tone to a lot of the songs. One thing I find interesting about it is how it starts with a rather sad song (”Hello”), but ends with probably the happiest one on the record (”Sweetest Devotion”). Usually it’d be the other way around, but I love how the placement starts listeners in a sadder place and takes them to a happier one.

I think it goes without saying that Adele has a strong voice full of depth, range, and emotion. But at the same time, she’s quite a strong songwriter, and I’d say that’s a part of what keeps bringing me back to her music.

(On another note, it was really hard to find a video containing a lesser known studio track from Adele that I’d like to showcase, so I had to go with a live video in the end. Other tracks I considered were “I Miss You” and “One and Only”.) 

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Day 4: Stone Sour

First album owned: Stone Sour (March 2006) Favourite albums:

House of Gold & Bones, Part 1 (October 2012)

House of Gold & Bones, Part 2 (April 2013)

Come What(ever) May (August 2006)

Although Slipknot (of which vocalist Corey Taylor and former guitarist Jim Root are also part) was my gateway band into metal, I think Stone Sour has managed to have more consistent rotation in recent years. In contrast to Slipknot, Stone Sour tones things down more and explores a wider variety of themes and musical styles. I think they’re able to do this while still managing to have a distinct signature sound.

Though I started with their self-titled album--which I merely viewed as a product of Corey Taylor’s “side project” at the time--I think the band really came into their own with Come What(ever) May. Although these days I find a few of the lyrics a little too cynical for my liking, I appreciated this album for two main reasons.

First, it got me to consider and respect the idea of trying different things musically (like pop-oriented songs), even if you’re in a band that’s considered heavy metal to some extent. Second, I followed its backstory pretty closely on the lead-up to its release: a lot of the songs were inspired by Corey’s recovery from alcoholism and a suicide attempt. I guess I find stories about overcoming adversity from within to be quite inspiring.

Nowadays, the House of Gold & Bones albums are my favourites. They’re concept albums built around a story, and I’m a sucker for that kind of thing. Although I find the story in the liner notes rather adolescent at times (I haven’t read the comic yet), I like the overall concept of exploring the darker aspects of oneself and coming out of it as a better person.

Musically, I find the first part a bit less diverse compared to previous albums, but I think they really found a balance between musical experimentation and cohesion. In the second one, I think they nailed the feeling of being transported into a story, with the foreboding atmosphere, changes of mood, and reprises from the first part.

Tone and timbre wise, I find heavy metal can be rather limiting at times. To me, Stone Sour represents a statement on exploring different avenues in music, on never restricting yourself to a box. This mindset informed my own approach to both playing and writing music.

[gzw1689]

My Top Music Artists

Day 15: Crooked Fingers

First album owned: Red Devil Dawn (February 2011) Favourite albums:

Red Devil Dawn (February 2011)

Dignity and Shame (February 2011)

Breaks in the Armor (October 2011)

I came upon Crooked Fingers rather unexpectedly when I was exploring Archers of Loaf. I got into the latter due to the influence they had on Brand New, and Crooked Fingers was the current project of their lead singer/guitarist Eric Bachmann. Out of the two bands, I think Crooked Fingers probably had the larger impact, due to having more of a presence in my listening rotation, and further expanding my musical tastes.

Since I’m not familiar with the genre, I’m not entirely sure how to describe their music. They’re maybe alternative folk or something along those lines. Oddly enough, their lyrics are about all kinds of things I really can’t relate to, like lovers and drinking and travelling and whatnot.

That said, what I love about their music so much is the sound. They change it up every album, but I think what ties it all together is a mix of guitars and electronics. Red Devil Dawn has a colder sound that emphasizes acoustic guitars, but they also add in strings and horns that suit the songs quite well. Dignity and Shame uses a lot of the same instruments, but has more of an upbeat Spanish flamenco influenced sound, and adds piano and the voice of Lara Meyerratken into the mix. Breaks in the Armor sounds a bit more stripped down, and has sort of a balance between acoustic, electric, and electronic instruments, along with contributions from Eric’s wife Liz Durrett.

In the end though, Crooked Fingers is the only band that I’ve really explored in this style of music. I guess it’s because they offer enough variety to satisfy me.

Since they’re sort of a smaller band, I’d like to recommend some more songs in addition to the featured one at the top. Some of my other favourites from Red Devil Dawn are “Disappear” and “Carrion Doves”. “Sleep All Summer” from Dignity and Shame is probably one of their better known songs, though I think “Islero” illustrates more what I talked about regarding that album. “Heavy Hours” from Breaks in the Armor was featured in an episode of How I Met Your Mother, and I quite like “The Counterfeiter” as well.

[gzw1689]

My Top Music Artists

Day 14: Avenged Sevenfold

First album owned: Nightmare (July 2010) Favourite albums:

Waking the Fallen (August 2010)

Nightmare (July 2010)

Hail to the King (August 2013)

To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of Avenged Sevenfold. But the very first musical performance I did that wasn’t for school band or some other program was one of their songs. I played it with a group of friends, which would eventually become a band and one of the most significant musical projects I’ve ever been involved in.

I think it was with Nightmare that I came to appreciate their music more. Since it was heavily inspired by the death of their drummer James “The Rev” Sullivan, it came from a very emotional place that really resonated with me.

I’d later discover one of their earlier albums, Waking the Fallen, which I think was more in line with my music tastes. It was a bit rougher around the edges compared to the more polished City of Evil (their most popular album, but one that I don’t particularly like), but considering what I’ve said in previous entries on this list up to this point, I don’t really think that was necessarily what drew me to it. I haven’t really thought about it too much, so I just kind of take it for what it is.

On another note, I am a pretty big fan of their song “A Little Piece of Heaven”. It’s got this sort of morbid sense of humour with some theatricality thrown in for good measure. I think it would have been awesome to hear the band go in a direction like this with later songs, but sadly, since The Rev was the mastermind behind that song, that will probably never happen.

[gzw1689]

My Top Music Artists

Day 13: Faunts

First album owned: High Expectations/Low Results (January 2010) Favourite albums:

High Expectations/Low Results (January 2010)

M4 (June 2016)

Faunts is probably my favourite Canadian band. I’d actually discovered them years earlier when I first heard their song “M4 (Part II)” during the end credits of the first Mass Effect game, but it took a long time before my local music store finally stocked one of their albums. When they did, I just had to pick it up.

The band has changed their style with each one of their albums or EPs, but I think one of the things that defines them is the sort of “dream-like” quality to their vocals, for lack of a better description. I think this dream-like quality is most present on their debut album High Expectations/Low Results, where it was very present in the music as well. Many of the songs are long, slow, and repetitive, yet full of texture and subtle shifts in dynamics.

I’m particularly fond of their longer and softer songs. Another one that really stands out to me is “Of Nature” from the M4 EP. It has this sort of relaxing and melancholy atmosphere, which eventually builds into a louder cathartic climax, but one that isn’t too overpowering.

I would later develop an interest in post-rock and other kinds of music like this. Explosions in the Sky comes to mind. But I think Faunts remains the one that resonates with me the most.