Miscellaneous Music Musings, pt. II

Awesome, man. I'm going to review more awesome music for you, as I listen to it, for the best quality review. Over coming weeks, I might go for genre reviews. I listen to many different genres.

1. "Dragula" by Rob Zombie
This really has to be one of the best metal songs ever. It's got this catchy beat (well, for metal, anyway) and sounds pretty much well, awesome. It's got smashing guitars mixed in with some techno sounding stuff, and the chorus is delightfully RAWR. Rob Zombie has a drill sergeant voice. If you are a metal fan, you'll definitely want to check it out. A techno remix was on the Matrix soundtrack, but I don't like it as much because for some reason I feel the remix removes some of its intensity.

2. "Shut Me Up" by Mindless Self Indulgence
Okay, guys, it looks like I'm on a metal roll here. This song is also fantastic, once you can get over the singer's oddly high pitched voice (don't worry, it isn't like that for the entire song.) There's the characteristic pounding, grating guitarwork, mixed in with some trancey synth work. It's a very fluid song and moves along well with its quick pace. Metal and techno is a fantastic combination. The chorus is the best part, but I do like the line, "I like my coffee black just like my metal."

3. "Wednesday the Third" by Saves The Day
This is definitely not metal and is more slower (but not boring) than the first two. The vocals just sort of seem to flow along and the intricate guitarwork is a nice touch. But what I really like is how the vocals undulate and don't seem to pause for too long. I'd classify this perhaps as emo or post-hardcore. Post-hardcore definitely doesn't necessarily involve screaming, guys. In fact, I believe it's a more delicate version of hardcore and any screaming would relegate said song to the hardcore genre.

Miscellaneous Music Musings, pt. I

I'm been listening to some random music from my favorites list, so I'll rate it as I go.

1. "Sunburn" by Muse
A beautiful song, period. Probably one of the most beautiful I have ever heard. The undulating piano at the beginning is sublime in a backdrop of percussion, and when it gets combined with the pinging guitar, it just gets better. The lead singer Matthew Bellamy's vocals are in an undulating fashion as well, as is the style of Muse, and the whole song is just so harmonic. I could listen to it forever, over and over again.

2. "Cochise" by Audioslave
In all honesty, I was disappointed to realize that Audioslave is just Rage Against The Machine with a new singer. Chris Cornell's voice is amazing, but Audioslave as a whole is like a tamed version of Rage. "Cochise" features Tom Morello's beastly guitarwork, a Rage signature, but Audioslave's other songs seem fit for the radio. This song, however, it quite nice. I recommend it for Rage fans who have overplayed all of their Rage tracks.

3. "For The Workforce, Drowning" by Thursday
You will probably hear a lot about Thursday as they are my favorite band. This song was on a Vans Warped Tour compilation (2004, I think) and is definitely one of Thursday's best songs. Their signature lovely lyrics, written by the brilliant Geoff Rickly, are present as are a classic element of post-hardcore: complex riffs, and many of them. I don't know why I like Thursday more than other post-hardcore bands though. Perhaps it is because their songs are softer (well, sometimes) and more complex. And those lyrics. They're amazing. I urge you to look at them now. They're really like poetry.