Originally Posted by Trollheart (Post 1357804)

Sorry to hear that, Power me old mate, but as I said myself it's a massive committment, the moreso the way I was doing it, and when you have pretty much lukewarm response from people it becomes a question, unfortunately, of why bother? If people had loved the idea and been more engaged with the table I would have maybe kept going, but other than The Batlord, yourself and one or two other people nobody was interested, not even Screen13 who occupied the top spot for the entire tenure of my running of the table.

When it comes down to it, it's just too much work for no reward, and we all have better things to do. The final conclusion is that the only people really invested in the table are/were those who are/were compiling it, so it's just not worth all the hassle.

Sorry you didn't make it, but it really is a massive job isn't it? Fair play to you for trying though: at least now I know it wasn't just my innate wimpiness that stopped me. As Homer says: "You tried and you failed miserably. The lesson here is, never try." ;)

Originally Posted by FETCHER. (Post 751880)

How to describe this album? Well in all honesty. It blew me away. Its everything i ever wanted as a massive electronica fan. Seriously.
At first i doubted it, it looks like a typical common Ibiza complication, but its so so much more.
what i find most facinating is the fact that i never knew most artists (still dont) but knew almost every song.
when i listen to an album, i judge it on how it makes me feel.
this album in particular makes me feel, excited, wanting to dance. its almost like a cliff hanger, but in music.
its undescribable! it leaves me wanting to hear more.
the sounds of it are almost hypnotic.
the thing i like most about these three :love:
William Orbit - Adagio For Strings (Ferry Corsten Remix)
Wow. Thats what. Ferry Corsten has taken William Orbits tune, and gave it some kind of twist that makes it sound totally amence.
it starts off slow and peacful, then builds up to a small backbeat sort of which is kind of electronic, it just keeps on building up and building up with all the electronic sounds, and turns into a repetitive tune, which never fails to make me want to dance like a complete idiot. this song doesnt have any vocals either, the vocals would drown out that amazing sound! i feel at the end. it just ends. which is the only thing i can pick on, Ferry needs a good anticlimax in there to leave people basically begging for more. Also, this version kicks Tiesto's danish ass.
Push - Strange World (Airwave Remix)
is the fact that its made entirely of a chillout, relaxing sound. with lots of buildups and anti climax's. which i like ;) this song doesnt have any vocals. im my opinion vocals would ruin it entitrely. well it kind of has these streched out deep "oooooh" 's through some parts. i dont really know how i feel about them or how to describe them. with all this combined the song is somewhat simple.. peaceful.. and simply amazing!
John O'Callaghan Ft Sarah Howells - Find Yourself
quoting myself on the first time i heard this "Awwwww Wit!"
a popular Scottish term which means to me, "that is fucking amazing!"
the start i admit is pretty low, yet fast, somewhat depressing beat.
then Sarah Howells vocals start, what a voice, sooo soothing/calming. i think she has been monitoring my life somehow. some parts describe me, then again, others don't.
After her vocals start the beat brightens up gradually, then at parts when shes singing, it beat drops right down, quietens.. and then goes with the context of the lyrics

Drawn into the backdrop here
you could fade, you could fade away
bright lights on a starless night
burn a hole in the dying day

Looking at life through a loaded gun
take your best shot, aim it at the sun
looking at life through a loaded gun
you know you'll find...

you'll find yourself, you'll find yourself alone
you'll find yourself, you'll find yourself alone
you'll find yourself, you'll find yourself alone
you'll find yourself, you'll find yourself alone

at the first stanza/paragraph/thingy, the beats rhythemical, it sounds basically like the only beat that exists, when im sure theres a small quiet natural beat kicking about, i concentrated so hard on it, im not sure if im imagining stuff or what :(. in the "You'll find yourself, you'll find yourself alone" part its a happy bouncing beat that exists amounst it, which i find ironic (right context?) as its a negative expression.

any thoughts, questions (: ?

Originally Posted by Ki (Post 1359135)

It is funny that you mention your heartbreak section because when I posted the introduction to that sort of section to my journal, I then went and read your journal entries only to stumble upon what was the same concept. I had not known that prior to making it a part of my journal. Great minds think alike I suppose.

Originally Posted by Trollheart (Post 1359595)

Yes indeed. It's like we're finishing each other's...

Originally Posted by Trollheart (Post 1359761)

I was going to say sandwiches....

Originally Posted by Urban Hat€monger ? (Post 702910)

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l99/urbanH/310476.jpg
Psychic TV - N.Y. Scum

This album consists of two songs both of approx 15 minutes each. Here's a brief description of each song.

N.Y. Scum - For the first 5 minutes some guy rips as much feedback out of his guitar as he can manage while being backed by a bunch of Hare Krishna's on percussion, all the while a drunk couple has a domestic argument. For the next 5 minutes said drunk guy decides to meditate while still shouting for his best mate (Possibly). Then the guitarist returns with a drummer and the two of them alone with the drunk guy attempts some lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-fi Joy Division / White Stripes hybrid garage rock. The final 2 minutes drunk guy attempts to make a techno record.

Haters - What remnants of a song there is here is quickly forgotten about after just a couple of minutes as the song decends into some random shouting & howling feedback.

In a word ... Brilliant.

Boo Boo would shit himself listening to this

Rating 5/5 Soiled Pants
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l99/urbanH/pants.jpg

Originally Posted by YorkeDaddy (Post 1345650)

Entry 4: Character Development (Tracks 1-3)


Ok, so now you've got the lowdown on where we're coming from, our direction, and the style in which we create our work. Now it's time to dive head-first into the songs themselves! In this entry, the first three songs will observed from conception to recording, with analysis and explanation with respect to the whole album.

As we explained earlier, the first three tracks were as far as the initial planning really went; we needed an attention-getting first track that introduces the protagonist (who is still part of the 'system'), a track in which he becomes aware, and a track that introduces the regime itself. I guess the best place to start is at the first track, so that's where we'll begin!

1. The Fire This Time

Since we knew our biggest literary inspiration would ultimately be '1984,’ we wanted to start off with a tribute to something else. What better for a fiery first track than the cynical 'Fahrenheit 451' for inspiration? The auditory opportunities of depicting the novel's frightening book-burning were too vivid in my mind to pass up. However, the exact nature (or genre) of this depiction was subject to several changes! Prepare yourself for one of the longer song descriptions we'll write!

For a long time I messed around with slap bass licks, trying to find something that would represent the searing swagger of the novel's peace-keeping fire squad. I came up with a couple decent riffs, but it just wasn't feeling right. And, there was the problem that transitioning funky instrumental sections into the indie/alternative verses we would inevitably write might be a disastrous clash of genres! So it was back to the drawing board.

We refused to surrender this song to our niche of dark and pretty indie pop; we wanted to start off with a bang! So I turned to a classic rock/indie mix. The ambitious major chords were powerful enough, I thought, and they offered a better transition to the verses. It was during this period that those verses were actually written: a swooping melody that builds in drama over a chord progression hanging between C major and A harmonic minor. But ultimately the classic intro felt too generic and safe for us. We continued on the search for the appropriate attention-grabbing riff.

The whole time the lyrics were coming along in little chunks, revealing themselves to me in random and spontaneous bursts. They were inspired by, but not derivatives or references to, Bradbury's novel; the perfect balance. The name of the song was also chosen, 'The Fire This Time,' referencing the flames of the novel, as well as an inside joke from my year at Purdue and dealings with a certain organization (but THAT is another story).

The third musical incarnation of the song was the most breathtaking and long-lived. It was a pulsating and driving orchestral attack, created over hours of recording with keyboards and dozens of instrument settings, exact mixing (including panning each instrument to the seating arrangement of an orchestra), and the sound of flames. This neo-classical onslaught was very impressive, but began to bug us as we continued the album. Unfortunately it began to sound more and more absurd when compared to the heartfelt and simple arrangements of some other tracks. In the vein of true artists striving for perfection, we eventually scrapped the style and started again.

Fortunately the fourth version would be the final version. Wanting to keep some of the musical ideas from the orchestral arrangement, we sat down with electric guitars and banged it out. Keeping the same key and notes, but adding syncopation and rhythmic crunch (and a healthy dose of agile synth lead) we created a unique brand of indie pop/rock/dance that hard-presses the listener to avoid bobbing his or her head. We finally knew that we had it, and the slight irritation that the first track did not fit in with the rest disappeared.

2. One Private Moment

As soon as the upbeat and gripping first track ends and the protagonist quits singing about his job with the firemen, something happens. He sees a face, he hears a voice, he suddenly sees things in a new way, for a moment. Something has shaken his rusty heart, and knocked just a little bit of that rust off. As the post-track chaos of air-raid sirens and marching softens into a stately, muted guitar acoustic guitar riff, everything is different.

This track is mostly the work of Bryan; simple acoustic guitar arpeggiation that parallels the simplistic sentiment of the song. The exact tone of the instrument is something perhaps never heard before, as a bizarre combination of factors led up to its sound. It is a muted and thumpy, but very clear tone, and this is a result of the guitar on which it was played. It is the only track on which Bryan's acoustic/electric was used. However, much to my initial irritation, the instrument was strung with years-old strings when we began recording, resulting in a completely dead, floppy sound (the sound that you'll hear on the recording), but with surprising clarity due to the fact that the instrument was plugged in directly.

My contributions include changing the arrangement and adding the first couple of lines to better form the transition from the first track. This track truly feels like the scribblings of a frightened dissenter in a secret diary; it is the same voice as the first track that sings the lines, but with a complete change of emotion.

By the time the track (in typical Bryan fashion) transitions from the interesting verse to the refrain-like coda, the protagonist has made up his mind. He has not decided what action needs to be taken; nothing that major. He's come to a conclusion about something much simpler: he actually feels something, and he refuses to let go of it.

3. Welcome To The Party

So far all we know about the world this album depicts is from the thoughts of the protagonist. It is the job of the third track to be the first time we hear from the other side, the oppressive entity. When brainstorming for this song, we drew a lot of inspiration from ‘1984’ and its infamous ‘party.’ Then the thought hit us: Why not make a double edged song about both the Orwellian regime and a raucous late-night get-together? And on top of that make it in the style of an ominous indie-disco/dance tune? And on top of that, name it ‘Welcome To The Party,’ a painfully ironic dose of wordplay? The prospect of such supreme irony and room for pushing the genre boundary was exciting to us, so we went for it!

As per the character distinction of the album, this song demanded we further experiment and sing it through a creepy vocoder. The result is a song that could easily be very catchy if it didn’t have a strong sense of unease about it. The chirpy syncopated guitar backs the cold voice as it beckons the listener in, leading the ear eventually to a burgeoning synth solo (an instrument that begins to become apparent as a symbol of evil), all backed by a haunting ambient track created by Bryan that only adds to the uneasy feeling of the song.

With an infectious breakdown and some more repetitions of the chorus, our four minute glimpse into the inside of the ‘enemy’ is at its end and the listener gets to hear how the mental state of the protagonist is developing with the next track, a pretty little piece that Bryan will tell you all about in the next entry!

Stay tuned for more; we update twice a week. Also, feel very free to leave your thoughts and feedback and tell us which songs (if any) you most excited about hearing! A mid-August release is probable; we hope some of you are looking forward to it half as much as we are!

Originally Posted by Trollheart (Post 1363605)

I'm not going to castigate anyone about not updating their journal this week, as I'm guilty of the same crime myself. But I hope to address this in the coming week. Hope all of you who have neglected your journals will do the same, otherwise we're leaving it all to these guys...