臺灣音樂。。。想要很多CD!

One of the things I like about going to Taiwan (amongst a never ending list) is discovering new music. Whilst many know of my distaste toward the common popular music in Taiwan, because of its slow nature, they also know i have a thing for the underground scene. Though concerts in the country are a bit lackluster (the audience, not the bands), there is something fresh about the kinds of music I love being played in a different culture. Indeed, they are...given a different flavor. For instance, black and symphonic metal are tossed curve-balls when bands like 閃靈 (ChthoniC) through the 二胡 (Erhu) into the mix (it's kind of like a violin that sits on your knee).

That said, here are some of the albums I'm looking forward to:





















幻日樂團 - 沐血再臨
閃靈樂團 - 祖靈之流
閃靈樂團 - 永劫輪迴
閃閃閃閃 - meet me when you are 25

All of them are already out, but since I am here, I obviously have less access to them. That said, 《永劫輪迴》 is within my grasp as I write this...we'll see in a few days.

p.s. ...whenever go chic comes out with something, I have to get it...love them! Best English I've heard from a Taiwanese band...ever (that is to say, grammatically).

Demons on Tour...finally

I guess it is now or never...

So, the night of the concert, when I got home, I was just...tired. I stayed up for maybe an hour, but I was not in the correct mindset to review or write about any of what I had seen. Then, the next day, I began plotting for my insanely last minute trip to Taiwan. Indeed, even though that has yet to come to fruition (because of job searching), I have been going about the grueling process of visa and job obtaining...neither task very easy.

Anyway, as was reported in an earlier post, I went to a concert at Mr. Small's...what wasn't said was that I went with Scott. The concert featured Dismantled, Aesthetic Perfection, Julien-K, and Combichrist, respectively.

Before I begin, I will report that, heroically, a plant was found growing in a pot of cigarette ashes and pebbles. The little guy, as far as I am aware, still remains in that pot, fighting the traditional system of worldly measures. Scott is featured here with our inspirational flora...go little guy!

OK, so, we waited outside for about and hour (my over-zealous fault), where we were presented with a plethora of clique stereotypes such as goths, mall goths, metal heads, ravers, and other. A really cool couple from Hershey, PA talked to us for a bit before the doors opened; we followed their lead through the first door to wait at the second.

Well, we got to the front of the stage, and I mean the very front, which isn't hard if you are at the front of the line! Our position was a bit right of center, which was perfect because I had an angle from which to video the performances.

First up was Dismantled. Dismantled is this guy who likes to "chill out" on stage with some incarnation of a gas mask, and his two friends, a drummer and a a keyboardist who liked to stomp in high heels. To be honest, I didn't care much for them at the beginning...I'm not one to knock lo-fi, but the start/stop, lo-fi, odd-measured, amalgamation that was their first song, "The Swarm," put me off. As their set went on, and into the pretty interesting, if not mystifying song "Breed to Death," I enjoyed them a lot more. I will say that I appreciated the one instance where they put lyrics on the screen behind them...it was lovely to sing along.



After they exited the stage, it was Aesthetic Perfection's turn. They owned. Seriously. Aesthetic Perfection owned the whole show...the energy they put forth, the heart put into the music, and the sound that spewed from the speakers was almost too much to take in. By far, this was my favorite performance and the one I freaked out to the most.

Later, I will write about how annoyed I was with the singers from the other two bands, but Daniel Graves, vox for AP, was a showman whilst maintaining a cooler and less arrogant air about him. Most of the stuff they played was off of A Violent Emotion, which is pretty rad since it's my favorite of their two CDs. The keyboardist, whilst not being overly violent, was completely unable to keep his keyboards/synthesizers on their stands. Possibly, this was due to his constantly pushing them. Or, maybe, it was due to their being held on only by...Velcro. Regardless, it was amusing and added a more humanizing element to their performance.



Graves, to his credit, never mugged for my camera and kept a professional, non-arrogant demeanor about him the entire time. I must also say that he was one of the more energetic singers, though it could be a bias on my part.

Third on the roster was Julien-K, starring Ryan Shuck (Vox/guitar) and Amir Derakh (guitar/synths) from Orgy. Besides Shuck's Bono posing, the performance was excellent to a point. I guess, the difference between Julien-K and the other bands was quite evident upon reflection. JK is more synth-pop, 80s throwback music whilst the other three bands were more electro-dance inspired, bordering industrial in Combichrist's case. So, the energy was notably lower when JK took the stage, but not in a bad way. Indeed, it gave me some much needed time to relax (passing out by this point!) and let me enjoy the band. Well, I wouldn't say I relaxed more than just didn't dance like a lunatic.



Finally, Combichrist took the stage, complete with two massive drum kits and ponies. I include no photo because it was impossible to get anyone being still, so you can just watch videos.

I should point out that industrial isn't my favorite form of music, and although Combichrist is a pretty decent band, I was not as into them as some of the others. That said, the band kicked some major ass. Andy LaPlegua is a bit nuts...he showboats a lot in terms of his facial expressions and a bit over-the-top "Drink, Fight, F**k" attire. Personally, I find the outfit pretty lame, mainly because it's as if he is trying hard to be rebellious instead of just being thus.

The damned drummers never stopped, ever. In fact, I was blasted multiple times by water emanating, somehow, from the drum heads being pounded and pummeled. Elias Andra, drummer for Julien-K, even joined Trevor Friedrich for the song "Scarred." Words cannot describe the energy when this song hit; actually, when every song hit.



Interestingly, there were divides in the crowd. The rave-goths danced in one of the back corners, the moshers were toward the middle, the more laid-back but still thrashing crowd was pushed to the front, and random other smaller cliques were spread throughout. I believe this phenomenon was more evident for Combichrist than any of the other bands.

So, before the encore, Scott and I left Mr. Smalls. Why? I was just...done...for the night. After a bit of a recovery sitting in my car, we headed out into the night and began our journeys home.

Word taxation

I think their should be a tax on using the word "standoffish." Should you use said word, the person nearest you should be allowed to punch you square in the face.

Thankfully, I can recall a total of three occasions where I heard, and one occasion when I read, said word. Sadly, I had to write it for this post. True to my wish, however, I did, indeed, sock myself in the face.

I wonder how many people will come up to me now and scream it...beware, I'll attempt to pummel you.

Fun with maps!

Well, fun with a couple of maps...

For some reason or another, I was looking up the use of metric systems in the world. Wait...I remember! There was a user comment on CNN about the 70s push to use the metric system in the US, and how Franken's induction as senator is an indicator of the evil socialist agenda the Democrats are pushing (e.g. the dreaded metric system!). So, I guess I looked it up or something, expecting the US to be he only country not using the metric system. However, in similarity to our own magnificent nation, the US is joined in its use of the imperial system of measurement by its best friends Liberia and Burma. Quite.Why do we still use a system of measurement left over from imperial rule over us? Well, memories, oh, sweet memories...the US is not apt for change, which explains our slow adoption in the metric system (which comes in multiple forms, and is generally known as SI outside of our country), football (the real one, not ours where you use your hands), and fancy dress parties (though, it seems only the British are good enough to pull that one off).

One area in which we excel in being part of the majority is driving! Yes, there we were, deciding what side of the road to drive on when getting our cars, and those bloody foreigners stole our uniqueness.
Hmm...I wonder which countries were colonized by the Brits? Doesn't seem to be a recurring theme, right? I have little else to say about this map besides that most of the world seems to be leaning Republican whilst the Democratic party is suffering. Other than that...happy driving on the correct side of the road...hope you understand kilometers per hour, though.

Album Memories

My music means a lot to me. As such, every album I own has some memory of a place or event or time associated with it. Just flipping through the catalog, here are some of them:

1. Rediscover - "Call Me When You Get This": Danshui MRT station
2. Sevendust - "Home": The market between the Zhongshan MRT exits
3. Static-X - "Wisconsin Death Trip": Winter and snow
4. Nine Inch Nails - "With Teeth": My sophomore apartment at IUP
5. Orgy - "Candyass": Commons area of my old high school
6. Moby - "Play": My dad's basement office playing on Colony City/Cybertown
7. 黃立行 - "Atheist Like Me (無神論)": Yaling's Danshui apartment balcony
8. Yoko Kanno - "GITS: S.A.C. OST 1": Traveling around Pittsburgh with Taiwanese students at night
9. Vampire Weekend - "Vampire Weekend": Wallace Room 111
10. The Good, The Bad & The Queen - "Green Fields (Single)": Walking around the store area of Taipei Main Station
11. Rammstein - "Sehnsucht": Greg Baker's room waiting to watch WWF wrestling with him and Jeff
12. Polaris - "Music from the Adventures of Pete and Pete": Turnbull Hall and pre-revival IUP
13. Crystal Castles - "Crystal Castles": Train ride back to Pittsburgh from D.C.
14. Diamond Nights - "Once We Were Diamonds": Hanging out with Crystal and company in the North Hills
15. Drowning Pool - "Sinner": Riding my bike around in Millvale when I was around 14 or 15
16. Disturbed - "The Sickness": Riding my bike around in Etna when I was around 14 or 15
17. Kasabian - "Kasabian": Washing cars, at night time, at my old job at IUP
18. Unextraordinary Gentlemen - "5 Tales From God-Only-Knows": My last apartment at IUP, spring semester
19. The White Stripes - "White Blood Cells": The month I spent in Florida, with my uncle Bobby, when I was 16
20. The Orientalist - "1000 Sounds Lotus": The Beehive on the South Side

There are a lot more...those were just some of my most vivid album memories.

Zombie Corey

My brother is too awesome. If you ever wondered what I would look like should I be turned into a zombie whilst attending a concert (or, slightly before the concert), then you need wait no longer. Yesterday, as he drafted me once again to the inner workings of Zombie-Fi, I made the request that he zombie-fi me. So, now, I present to you, ME:

Aesthetic Perfection - "Human"

What makes us human?
Are we so different from everything else?
Is there anything inside us that makes us truly unique?
Is it the ability to feel love?
Is it the ability to feel pain?
Is it the ability to feel hope?
Is it the ability to make our own choices, accepting our own mistakes?
Am I who I am because I choose to be, or am I just a simple combination of random events?
Would you still be the same person if you had not lived your life exactly as you did?
Has every minor element of your life helped to shape who you are today?
Do we have enough control to design the person we want to be?
What is it that makes us choose?
What makes you change?
What makes you human?