It seems to have been a long month
since my last such entry. Probably due to being quarantined, 30 days ago feels
more like 60 days ago. The flow of time is strange. But it is usually better
when it flows more slowly. Anyway, I’ve been listening to a ton of new music
which has made choosing a top 3 this month a tough choice. With concerts
cancelled everywhere this is the time to buy music. I recently purchased albums
from Buzz Kull, Silent EM, and a host of others. But before I get into this,
here are some blog updates.
As I mentioned recently, I’m trying
to prioritize all of my artistic projects, as I’m currently developing a
webcomic as well as working on some novels, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to
quit blogging altogether, just that it’s taking a backseat to other things. I
might do “1987 in Music” this month, maybe, if I have the time. I’m basically
only doing those for my own amusement at this point though. This month I want
to write reflections on my time visiting the Republic of Artsakh from May 8 to
13th, 2015, and later this month write about the Battle of Sardarapat in 1918. There might also be a review of an Oz book or two. And
whatever else I feel like writing about, if I find the time.
Anyway, here’s what I’ve been
listening to.
Cabaret
Grey – Almost Frantic
First up we have a band from Poland called Cabaret Grey. The song “Almost Frantic” has an ominous feel to it, making it a perfect soundtrack to what’s going on in the world right now. And I don’t quite feel frantic about it; just “almost”. I suppose that’s why this song has been running through my head lately. Also, they get bonus points from me for doing a VHS-quality music video. I can’t explain really why I love VHS tapes so much, but I do. The song was released back in 2018 on their Freezing Point single. This band doesn’t appear to have a huge discography to their name yet, but they have been around since around 2011. This is a band worth keeping an eye on.
Ministry
– Alert Level (Quarantine Mix)
I already featured this song in one of my recent blog posts. As much as I prefer synthpop Ministry and rarely have liked anything they’ve done after 1986, I found myself liking this song when I heard it. It gets points for relevance. I’m not sure how relevant it will be after this pandemic is over, but society will still be sliding toward its doom after the pandemic too, so maybe it will stay relevant. The voice samples “How concerned are you?” and “Young people are starting to understand your betrayal. We will not let you get away with this.” are powerful in my opinion. I like a song with good voice samples. Try listening to this song while driving through an abandoned downtown during a quarantine lockdown. You won’t be disappointed.
The
YouTube video has a bunch of links in the description to where to listen and
buy the single, I’ll just direct you there.
Buzz
Kull – Existence
One thing I spent my stimulus check on was Buzz Kull’s 2018 album A New Kind of Cross (I’m two years behind this month I guess). I was not disappointed. Buzz Kull is a darkwave band out of Australia. I already loved the song “Avoiding the Light” so that’s how I chose the album to buy. Like many albums these days you can get it either as a collection of mp3’s or as a vinyl record. I’m starting to miss CD’s, seems like even cassettes are becoming more common than CD’s. I always end up burning the mp3’s onto blank CD’s anyway. But that’s just as an aside. The song “Existence” is my current favorite on the album, as I’ve been gravitating toward anything existential in recent months. The video linked above isn’t official, but the Youtuber did a pretty good job on it.
Honorary
Mention – Vitas – Opera #2
I accidentally discovered this famous Russian pop singer recently through his bizarre and outlandish stage performance of his song “The 7th Element”, and have been getting hooked on his music. He’s just so strange and unique I can’t help but love his music. “Opera #2” is probably my favorite song of his overall, thanks to the accordion and Russian riffs, but I like them all. Russian pop isn’t what I usually listen to, obviously, but part of it makes me nostalgic for Armenia, because a lot of people listen to it there and it gets played everywhere. I definitely think it’s better than American pop, which I generally despise. It’s nice to kind of step out of my musical boundaries every now and then.
Vitas is extremely talented, able to
achieve this powerful falsetto that even many women wouldn’t be able to reach.
He does all these weird and funny vocalizations in most of his songs too, best
seen in “The 7th Element” “Roll with the Beat” and “Dreams”. The video for “Opera #2”
appears to be about how Vitas is a man with gills on his neck, who falls in
love with a woman who he thought also had gills on her neck, but she doesn’t,
and she rejects him, causing him to scream so loud glass breaks. Ah, what a
tragic tale. We can all relate to rejection.
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