I realize I’ve left my blog in somewhat of a state of disarray since October. Well, time to do my monthly tradition again, I’ll try to actually finish it this time. Been hard at work on my webcomic, and just trying to keep busy so that the bad thoughts don’t come back and take over the brain. For the last few weeks I’ve been on a Slowed + Reverb kick. This is a trend on YouTube where people take a song, slow it down and add echoing effects to the vocals and percussion, aka reverb. Now it’s one thing to do it to a corny pop song or some Jpop or something, which you see a lot of, but when you do it to something like The Cure, Type O Negative, Nirvana or Alice in Chains, it super-charges the darkness and depression in the song. Related is the trend of making “Doomer” versions of songs, which while also slowing the song down adds some distortion and crackling effects, making it sound like it’s being played on a dying record player in the next room from you. I don’t know why I seek this stuff out, I guess it’s this time of year. Last year it was the acoustic stuff that got me through winter. I made a playlist of my favorites, and I picked the favorites from this playlist and made a 90 minute mixtape a couple weeks ago too. Have a listen if you wish, it’s got goth, grunge, alternative rock, and a few other genres.
Rob Zombie ~ Return of the Phantom Stranger (Slowed + Reverb)
I never expected Rob Zombie to make my lists again. I liked his first two albums back when I was in my mid-teens and he was kind of a stepping stone into metal for me, but I never liked the whole American nationalist biker direction he went with after his second album (makes me think of The Undertaker from WWE who also went from being an undead zombie to a nationalist biker around the same time for some reason), nor did I like when he became the director of crappy horror movie remakes, but hear me out. This version of the song is like 400% more awesome than the original, and it was always one of the better Rob Zombie songs anyway, although overlooked. It was on his first solo album Hellbilly Deluxe, which when I was 15 was like the darkest music I had ever heard. Just listen to that intro, with the Latin chanting and then the pipe organs. I also like that skeleton animation in the video, it must adds to it.
Slow Danse with the Dead ~ Are You Tortured?
Extra Bleu Ciel ~ Black is Not Dark Enough
Kalte Nacht ~ Inmost Desire?
Altar Ego ~ Altar Ego
One of those titular triple-treats, self-titled songs on a self-titled album. Some good Australian post-punk from 1984, an amazing year for music by the way.
