scrap224; Rush- SIGNALS

This is a journey into sound.....

What is it about Rush I enjoy so much? Is it their musicianship? Is it the lyrics contained in their songs? Is it respect & reverence for their nearly 40 years of unyielding work ethic? Honestly is all of the above for me. Rush has always been about their music first & if people wanted to tag along that was fine, if not that was fine with them.
By 1982 Rush found themselves further experimenting more with the electronic sound from previous albums such as; PERMANENT WAVES & MOVING PICTURES. So on September 9, 1982, rush released their 9th studio album SIGNALS. Stylistically, the album was a continuation of Rush's foray into the technology-oriented 1980s through increased use of electronic instrumentation such as keyboards, sequencers, and electric violin. Other noticeable changes were decreased average song length and lyrical compression. The album reached #10 on the Billboard album charts and was certified Platinum (1,000,000 copies sold) by the R.I.A.A. in November 1982.
Drummer/Lyricist Neil Peart, Guitarist Alex Lifeson & Bassist/Singer Geddy Lee created a majority of this album during their Moving Pictures Tour.
The album is comprised of 8 solid Rush tracks. 1. Subdivisions. 2. The Analog Kid. 3. Chemistry. 4. Digital Man. 5. The Weapon (part 2 of Fear). 6. New World Man. 7. Losing It. 8. Countdown.
Personally, I dig this album. In many ways it's pure previous Rush & in others it hints at some things to come. Subdivisions has been a Rush concert staple since 1982.
My vinyl is 120gram mint. It looks new & sounds even better. It's an original pressing & is an interesting listen. The electronic sound of the album is very good & loud. It's a clean sound.
The usual Hugh Syme cover artwork is of course unique.
The map of the imaginary secondary school on the back of the album cover was named after Montreal Expo slugger Warren Cromartie.
Hugh Syme: "Well, I was given the word "Signals." It was such a broad concept that it was baffling for all of us. We really had trouble with that one, and I decided that, with such a phenomenally important word with the kind of potency it potentially had, to go with something really dumb, really inane. But something which would still tie in with songs such as "Chemistry," and the subdivision aspect of the fire hydrants, lawns, and neighborhood dogs."
Geddy Lee said: "Well, we wanted the album to sound different and we also thought that the packaging should have a different feel. When we were talking about Signals, Hugh had this concept of taking the idea down to a basic human level - territorial or even sexual. So that's how the design with the dog and the fire hydrant came about. The little map on the back features make-believe subdivisions, with a lot of silly names and places. The red dots represent all the fire hydrants and basically the whole thing maps out a series of territories."
This is an excellent Rush album. Pick up on this albums signals. Spin it.

Puscifer Conditions Of My Parole

  What is independent music?  When most people think about independent music, they get it mixed up with ‘Indie’ music, bringing up images of hipsters throwing money on anything they think is cool for the minute, joining causes because they’re currently popular and doing almost anything ‘ironically’.  ‘Indie’ music originally started out with the idea that a major label wasn’t needed to put out music, but the term became commonplace and people flocked by the thousands to grab onto this fad, making the ‘indie’ labels powerhouses in themselves and suddenly they are as corporate and sell-out as the mainstream bands they so desperately wanted to not be like.

Dear reader, this is not a soap box to complain about ‘indie’ music, it is instead, what it always is and that is an album review.  However it was first necessary to distinguish what ‘indie’ music is, because true independent music is definitely not described by what is written above.

What happens when you take a group of musicians who are like minded in wanting to present a project centering around music, theater, discussion, art and most importantly, comedy, get together one simple task of simply creating for the fun and challenge of it?  You have Pusifer.  Puscifer is the brain child of Maynard James Keenan of the metal band Tool.  If you round out the lineup with several musicians from his other side project, A Perfect Circle’ and add a second vocalist in the form of British Alt-rocker Carina Round, you have an adventure in music that simply can’t be ignored.

                The project has no label behind it and it is financed by the band.  The money they mgake on tour tickets, merchandising and wine tastings from Maynard’s own vinyards before the show, provide the finances necessary to keep Pusifer on the road and in the studio.  The album itself is as varied as the musicians ranging from rock to metal to electronic to country, but with a wit and a sarcasm that just can’t be ignored and will leave the listener rolling on the floor with laughter, screaming along lyrics with a fist in the air and in some instances, just quietly listening to the melodies. 

                Personal favorites include Green Monster, going from a delicately picked and sweetly sung ballad to a heavy rocking monster of a track that feels like it should belong in A Perfect Circle’s catalog, but of course it is also distinctly a Puscifer track by being completely like their other music and yet nothing like it at the same time.  Toma is a loud rocking track with huge drums and guitars and just demands to be played loud enough so that everyone in a 3 block radius could hear it.  The title track Conditions of My Parole tells the story of a man who killed a woman convinced she was a ‘zombie or a dracula’ and hoping against hope he doesn’t go back to jail for his actions.

                This is only the second album that Pusifer has released.  They are only able to record because of concert ticket sales, merchandise and of course album sales.  Pick this up on vinyl and CD immediately to fund the collective so they can keep doing what they do best. 

scrap224; Van Halen- MCMLXXXIV (1984)

This is a journey into sound.....

I've got it bad, got it bad, got it bad, & so should you. 1984 is one of the best albums of all time. It is Van Halen's sixth studio album. The musicianship. The lyrics. The unforgettable album art of Margo Z. Nahas. I mean a cherub smoking a cigarette is so iconic, so memorable, so associated in my mind with 1984 that other than Orwell's Ingsoc or Ronald Reagan getting re-elected what's the point really.
1984 debuted at #2 (like their 2012 release A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH). It has been certified 10x Platinum. I personally own it on CD, cassette, & vinyl. 1.1984. 2. Jump 3. Panama. 4. Top Jimmy. 5. Drop Dead Legs. 6. Hot For Teacher. 7. I'll Wait. 8. Girl Gone Bad. 10. House of Pain. Ten songs, 33 minutes 17 seconds of rock.
4 singles; Jump, Panama, I'll Wait & Hot For Teacher. Eddie Van Halen, well known for his guitar prowess but also a classically-trained pianist, used 1984 as an opportunity to take the band into different territory. Additionally, 1984 was the first Van Halen album to be recorded at Eddie's home studio, 5150. His keyboard playing is more prominent on this album than on any prior Van Halen album, particularly on the songs Jump and I'll Wait. Eddie Van Halen even mic'd his Lamborghini and revved it up to get the engine sounds in the middle of Panama.
With the original line up intact until after after 1984 was released David Lee Roth (sings & 'jumps' his ass off) Edward Van Halen (guitar & keyboards) Alex Van Halen (3 words; Hot For Teacher) & Michael Anthony (solid as always), created the sublime. 1984 was as fresh & ground breaking as their eponymous first album. It is in my opinion their Pieta'. It's their 5th Symphony. Van Halen has come close to this benchmark but have never surpassed it. If you are new to Van Halen (and shame on you if you are) then all I can tell you is 'you're welcome.'
My vinyl copy is 180g mint & sounds better that any other copy or version I own. Not even close. It's loud, lusciously thick & lovingly equalized.
MCMLXXXIV on vinyl is precisely how this album was intended to be experienced. Jump back, hey what's that sound? If you're like me then it's 1984. Spin it.

scrap224; Anthrax SOUND OF WHITE NOISE

This IS that journey into sound....

Anthrax has had a colorful history. Multiple singers & guitar players, T.V. apperances, changing of record labels, cross-over hits, and working with other groups outside themselves. As a member of the 'Big 4' (Metallica, Slayer & Megadeth being the other 3), they have been cranking out the metal for about 30 years now and if their recent endevour WORSHIP MUSIC is any indication of things to come, then they aren't planning on slowing down anytime soon. Back in 1981, via New York City, Anthrax came into existance. Anthrax was formed in mid-1981 by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker. The band was named after the disease the two saw listed in a biology textbook, using it because it sounded "sufficiently evil." From 1984-1992 Joey Belladonna was the frontman. Then he got himself fired.
Enter the John Bush era 1992-2005, 2009-2010. (my personal favorite). Shortly after Belladonna was fired, he was replaced by John Bush, formerly of Armored Saint who had recently disbanded. Ten years earlier, Bush had been approached by Metallica to sing for them. The band also left Island Records and signed with Elektra Records to release Sound of White Noise on May 25, 1993. Anthrax immediately sounded different. A bit more mainstream yes, but with a clarity and direction they were missing before with Belladonna.
The album, produced by the band and Dave Jerden, includes the singles "Only", "Black Lodge", "Room for One More" and "Hy Pro Glo". This album marked a revision in the sound of the band, with the departure of lead vocalist Joey Belladonna and the introduction of grunge influences (Dave Jerden was the producer of Alice in Chains). The album debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200 charts, Anthrax's highest ever chart position. Sound of White Noise was certified gold by the RIAA. The song Black Lodge is based on a fictional location in the popular early 1990s television series Twin Peaks. Anthrax was able to persuade Twin Peaks' score conductor Angelo Badalamenti to help compose the song.
The track listing for SOUND OF WHITER NOISE is; 1. Potter's Field. 2. Only. 3. Room For One More. 4. Packaged Rebellion. 5. Hy Pro Glo. 6. Invisible. 7. 1000 Points of Hate. 8. C11H17N2O2S Na. 9. Burst. 10. This Is Not An Exit. Each of the 10 songs is fuled with Bush's lyrical & story telling bravado. The album does have a different sound per se than that of some of the previous Anthrax albums. The album is deffinately more melodic and thought provoking. Personally, the first three songs on the album is woth the price of the album for me alone. I loved this album the first time I heard it my Junior year of high school via my good friend Doug Tjarks.
As for my vinyl copy. I have the dual disc-180g version. Love it. It sounds like God intended it to sound, loud, clean, clear, and full of life. The vinyl version of SOUND OF WHITE NOISE sounds and feels more alive to me rather than its CD or cassette tape counterparts (of which I also own). Not to high, nor to low, yes Goldie Locks, this porrage is just right.
Do your metal-self a big favor, get the NOISE going and spin the SOUND OF WHITE NOISE.

Goodbye to MCA

It's been a week since the passing of Adam "MCA" Yauch and it still doesn't seem quite real. MCA was a founding member of legendary hip hop group the Beastie Boys. Yauch will forever be known as the gravelly voiced on of the three with the sharpest rhymes and the quickest wit. A true musician, producer filmmaker and writer.

I think you know what time it is...it's time to get ill! -R.I.P.