It's a well-guarded secret, but if you sail right out to the horizon, then sail west for a full day, east for another full day, then neither east, west, north or south for another two days you will eventually come to an island which is on no map known to man. Only the very brave or the very foolhardy attempt to visit here, but if you have the right stuff and decide to land on the island's shores, and make your way inland for about three miles you will see as you go a gradual increase in warning signs that scream things like “No Trolls on pain of death!” and “Zero Tolerance Area for Spam.” Cresting the rise of the last hill you will find yourself looking down into a valley which is as quiet and undisturbed as anything that Time may have forgotten. If you're very lucky, and very quiet, you may catch a glimpse of the residents of Journaltown busily going about their daily tasks, muttering to themselves, tapping ipads or nodding their heads, those heads crowned with large expensive headphones.Step lightly, and respect their privacy (no photographs or videos please) and you may be invited to view the Jobs Board in the centre of town, where each member of Journaltown posts his or her articles, and where they often hint at what they intend to do next. Do be careful though, because though they seem like quiet, unassuming little creatures these Journalads and Journalettes are subtle and quick to anger, and will turn upon anyone who gets in the way of their work. But if you're prepared to abide by the rules here and give them their space, you may witness wonders and have tales to take back with you on the long voyage home....Now that he's introduced us to the prog rock phase of his childhood,
Anteater is moving on to the influences that bore on him with regard to Heavy Metal in
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...n-dollars.html, with bands like Scorpions and Deep Purple featuring prominently.Continuing the Heavy Metal theme,
Briks has been trying out “Chunks of Metal” (TM, all rights reserved Briks Enterprises MMXIV) with Amon Amarth, Blizzard of Oz and Bon Jovi, to name a few, the last of whom he dealt with very harshly! There will be blood at dawn, I tells ya! Catch his impressions by heading on down to
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...seur-cave.htmlDJ is back! Taking
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...chameleon.html for the first time in quite a while we find him talking about Sixx AM and a festival in Austin called the SXSW, which apparently can give rise to some of the next big things in music. Interesting.
Pop quiz, hotshot! What do Lou Reed, Zara McFarlane and Restiform Bodies all have in common? They're all on
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ening-log.html, as well as a whole lot more.
Which takes us to
Ki, and he's listening to, among others, Riverside, Black Sun Aeon and The Foreshadowing in
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...nal-music.html while some of the latest to make it onto the list on
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...le-albums.html include Radiohead and the Beatles! Hope you've got your safehouse sorted, man!
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ly-review.html is going great guns since its startup last week, with
Pet Sounds checking out songs by Buddy Holly, Smokey Robinson and Jackson Browne, as well as one selected by our man Briks. All getting very exciting in there! Oh, did I mention a six-foot American alligator?
Here I sound a note of caution: our Sara, known to us as
the Phanastasio has been in a bad place and if you read her latest entry in
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...s-ashland.html it makes tough and upsetting reading, rather like Steph's entry a few months back. But like that sad article you really should read this one. I think she's ok now but applaud her for having the courage to put such personal stuff on the internet. All I can do is send my best wishes, which I'm sure are echoed by everyone here.
There's a rare update from
PsycheDub Dude in
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ool-stuff.html where he's talking about an acoustic guitarist called John Butler. I say rare: his last update was September of last year!
I think that girl secretly enjoys reviewing bands with hard-to-spell or obscure names just to make it tough for me! Oh well.
Silenzio is this week looking at Steve Moakler, Ludovico Einaudi and Cage the Elephant (see what I mean?) in
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...mix-music.html
A new journal this week comes to us courtesy of
Tristesse, who is the one
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...tristesse.html apparently. Looking first time out at the Fratellis, Kenickie and rather a lot of Katy Perry! Wouldn't we all like to do that?
There are, as ever, big things planned for my journals, to be revealed soon(ish), but for now I'm starting a new section called “Klassic Korner: Classic Albums I HAVE heard” and kicking it off with Floyd's undoubted timeless classic “Animals” in
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...d-journal.html while in
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-emporium.html there are intros for “Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy” and, um, “The Apprentice”. Shut up: it's
my journal, see! Also some Supernatural to keep you going. Big, big things are on the horizon! (
yeah you say that every week Trollheart! No, I mean it this time!
Yeah, believe it when we see it etc.. You just wait etc you'll eat your words mutter mutter...)
1981 continues to throw out great albums by great bands as
Unknown Soldier delves into Saracen, Van Halen and Praying Mantis to name but three. All can be found as ever in
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...y-history.html
The epic is finally up!
Urban has completed his review of the Doctor Who TV movie and it is well worth reading. If you haven't yet sampled the delights of
http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...who-thing.html now would be a great time to start. He's also got some really interesting music crossover stuff from the sixties: people knew how to cash in back then. Uh...
And so we come to this week's
I thought long and hard about awarding this to Sara's entry in her journal this week, but decided in the end that would only be cheapening what she went through. Yes, I know to say such a thing is private when she has written it in her journal might seem a contradiction, but to my mind those who know her will read her account there, and I don't believe it would be right for me to sensationalise it here, even though it easily wins the contest for this week. Instead, have this.
To be honest, I'm not that impressed with the post
per se --- it's great but why should it be picked as post of the week, you ask? Well, just read the intro, that's all I have to say. As they used to remark in Marvel Comics, 'nuff said!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pet_Sounds
Good evening, fellow Music Banterers. As you probably didn't notice, I neglected to post last night. I will not elaborate on the reasons, except for saying that it involved a six-foot American alligator. However, the track's lyrics really weren't worth reviewing. Here they are, see for yourself. But without further ado, I present tonight's program...
Time to Pretend - MGMT
To me, these lyrics are about the rock star lifestyle, "Make some music, make some money, find some models for wives" and how it comes with its own baggage. "The models will have children, we'll get a divorce, we'll find some more models, everything must run its course." How many times has that happened? This is why I don't think I'd want to be a star. The story is always the same in the end. Divorces, affairs, drugs... pretending to have a decent life. I challenge somebody to show me a rock star with one marriage. I'm sure there are a few, but I honestly can't think of one. The song ends with a Jimi Hendrix reference: "We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end."
Apparently, they're actually about the life cyle of the praying mantis. Hmm.
I'll give them a 7/10. Not life-changing, but not a turn-off, either. I don't think I could write better lyrics myself.
Tomorrow, I review Sunny Day Real Estate's Song for an Angel, as requsted by Briks. Hopefully, no reptilian creatures will delay it. But for now, I wish you a good night.
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So we end on something of a sombre note and can only wish Sara aka The Phanastasio a speedy recovery and a happier time ahead. We're all thinkin' of ya girl.
Well, it's a long way back to your home so you had better get started. Though here's a thought: why not stay? Houses are cheap and the place is very friendly once you get to know us, and we're always looking for good writers. Something to consider before you decide to rejoin the rat race...
If you decide not to join our little community we hope you'll stop by again soon and that you continue to enjoy reading our journals. Till next week at the same time,
Toodles!