92.
artist:thrice
album:alchemy index (earth)
haha. while sitting here thinking about what to write about this album, i made it almost all the way through the artist and the ambulance. and then i stopped writing again and am now halfway through something else. you can see how committed to my craft i am tonight, huh? (though to be fair, this is the fifth entry I've done today.)
the final installment of the alchemy index is the one that held up the arrival of my box set, and the prettiest of the four records, literally speaking. the earth record is brown with brown swirls. musically, its beautiful as well. earth and air are definitely the favorites to take the number one spot in this competition of which EP is the best, but from that point, i cant decide.
while i don't know that its my favorite on the album, "child of dust" stands out in my mind the most from this album because of the way that it ends. it was recorded to sound like a funeral procession and burial, complete with dirt being thrown on the casket, and i think that it is exactly how it comes across. in the liner notes for that EP, one of the members of the band (most likely Dustin, but i cant remember) talks about how, in order to get that effect, he actually buried a wooden box with a mic in it and recorded the sounds of the dirt hitting the top of the box. that stuck out to me as not only something different, but dedication to his craft.
really, there are no bad songs on this EP. "moving mountains" is one of my favorite thrice songs ever. its one of those songs that i cant move past...i just have to keep hitting repeat until i fall asleep or have reached my destination. "the lion and the wolf" plays like a tale right out of Aesop's fables. "come all you weary" might as well be an old time hymn.
overall, i really love this record. it tends to be the one that i go to first, and if i had to choose between this set or the first to take in the car, id almost always chose this one. its just that damn good.
Showing posts with label alchemy index. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alchemy index. Show all posts
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
365 project:"woke up to a brand new skyline. licked our wounds and mourned the dead"
91.
artist:thrice
album:the alchemy index (air)
this album is home to the song "broken lungs" which still shakes me up every time i hear it. its clearly a song about the events of 9/11 and the aftermath. while I'm not sure how much i agree with Dustin's political viewpoints in this song, the overall message of pain and sadness is one that i will carry with me for the rest of my life.
most of us remember that day quite vividly. its the day that our kids and our grandkids will ask us about. "do you remember what you were doing when you heard about the airplanes?" they'll say. with a sad look in my eyes, i know that ill be able to give them every detail, down to the color of the sweater i was wearing, the shape of the clouds in the sky, and later the taste of the dust that had blown across the bay.
as this is a music blog, I'm not going to get on my high horse about that day or the resulting war, because my views tend not to be the same as most of my friends, but i will say this...on that day, and for the days, weeks and months after we swore we would not forget. i can remember not being able to drive two minutes without seeing flags everywhere. i remember all of the we will never forget stickers on the backs of cars and the ribbons and everything else that went along with it.
now i know that it has been nearly ten years and i don't expect the ribbons and the flags to still be flying everywhere that they once were, because i am an American and i know how Americans are, but i feel like that day just passes by without an eyelash batted these days. i was talking to my friend Kaite about this the other day, and i was saying to her that i feel like people just forgot, like that day never happened, or happened so long ago that its a distant memory...like the JFK shooting or WW2.
this breaks my heart.
i know that i take things more personally than a lot of people. i know that i was in a lot closer proximity to the events of the day than most of the rest of the world, because while i wasn't in Manhattan, we were right over the bridge, and on a clear day could see the towers, so i wasn't far. i was so freaked out that day. i knew that it was never going to be the same again. i was wrong. it hasn't even been 10 years and things are right back to how they were.
i think the whole of the problem is that i was so close to it. i think that its the same thing as the earthquakes in japan or us bombing Libya. I'm not there. i cant physically see the destruction. i can turn the TV off and pretend that none of this horrible stuff is going on around me, and that outside of my house is sane and safe, although i know that's not the case. its just a lot easier to disconnect when you don't actually see it with your own eyes.
.
artist:thrice
album:the alchemy index (air)
this album is home to the song "broken lungs" which still shakes me up every time i hear it. its clearly a song about the events of 9/11 and the aftermath. while I'm not sure how much i agree with Dustin's political viewpoints in this song, the overall message of pain and sadness is one that i will carry with me for the rest of my life.
most of us remember that day quite vividly. its the day that our kids and our grandkids will ask us about. "do you remember what you were doing when you heard about the airplanes?" they'll say. with a sad look in my eyes, i know that ill be able to give them every detail, down to the color of the sweater i was wearing, the shape of the clouds in the sky, and later the taste of the dust that had blown across the bay.
as this is a music blog, I'm not going to get on my high horse about that day or the resulting war, because my views tend not to be the same as most of my friends, but i will say this...on that day, and for the days, weeks and months after we swore we would not forget. i can remember not being able to drive two minutes without seeing flags everywhere. i remember all of the we will never forget stickers on the backs of cars and the ribbons and everything else that went along with it.
now i know that it has been nearly ten years and i don't expect the ribbons and the flags to still be flying everywhere that they once were, because i am an American and i know how Americans are, but i feel like that day just passes by without an eyelash batted these days. i was talking to my friend Kaite about this the other day, and i was saying to her that i feel like people just forgot, like that day never happened, or happened so long ago that its a distant memory...like the JFK shooting or WW2.
this breaks my heart.
i know that i take things more personally than a lot of people. i know that i was in a lot closer proximity to the events of the day than most of the rest of the world, because while i wasn't in Manhattan, we were right over the bridge, and on a clear day could see the towers, so i wasn't far. i was so freaked out that day. i knew that it was never going to be the same again. i was wrong. it hasn't even been 10 years and things are right back to how they were.
i think the whole of the problem is that i was so close to it. i think that its the same thing as the earthquakes in japan or us bombing Libya. I'm not there. i cant physically see the destruction. i can turn the TV off and pretend that none of this horrible stuff is going on around me, and that outside of my house is sane and safe, although i know that's not the case. its just a lot easier to disconnect when you don't actually see it with your own eyes.
.
365 project:"i am drowning in a digital sea. i am slipping beneath the sound. here my voice goes to ones and zeros. im slipping beneath the sound."
90.
artist:thrice
album:the alchemy index (water)
initially, water was my favorite of the four EPs, i think because i took such a liking to digital sea, especially after seeing them perform it live. but as time has passed, this EP has lost some footing in the standings. its so hard to dislike anything that thrice does, though. I'm so in love with this band it amazes me sometimes. I'm not insane crazy stalker fan girl with them like i am with brand new, but at this point in my life, id take a thrice song over a brand new song most days.
speaking of brand new, i saw thrice and brand new play together a few times, once being right after this first half of the alchemy index stuff was released. i remember being nervous about going because i didn't really pay a whole lot of attention to the vheissu stuff, and i wasn't sure about this even newer stuff, either. i had seen the video for digital sea, though, and i knew that they'd play a few old songs, and anyway, what did it matter, really, as i was going to see brand new, not thrice. and of course, that was the night that everything changed.
i just tried to find a video on YouTube that would show you how awesome this song was live on that tour, but there was only one that i could find that was even from that tour, and it wasn't the full song and it was crappy quality. basically the light show that went on behind them was about as awesome as the actual video for the song, which is pretty awesome in its own right.
artist:thrice
album:the alchemy index (water)
initially, water was my favorite of the four EPs, i think because i took such a liking to digital sea, especially after seeing them perform it live. but as time has passed, this EP has lost some footing in the standings. its so hard to dislike anything that thrice does, though. I'm so in love with this band it amazes me sometimes. I'm not insane crazy stalker fan girl with them like i am with brand new, but at this point in my life, id take a thrice song over a brand new song most days.
speaking of brand new, i saw thrice and brand new play together a few times, once being right after this first half of the alchemy index stuff was released. i remember being nervous about going because i didn't really pay a whole lot of attention to the vheissu stuff, and i wasn't sure about this even newer stuff, either. i had seen the video for digital sea, though, and i knew that they'd play a few old songs, and anyway, what did it matter, really, as i was going to see brand new, not thrice. and of course, that was the night that everything changed.
i just tried to find a video on YouTube that would show you how awesome this song was live on that tour, but there was only one that i could find that was even from that tour, and it wasn't the full song and it was crappy quality. basically the light show that went on behind them was about as awesome as the actual video for the song, which is pretty awesome in its own right.
you really need to take four minutes out of your life and watch that video. its really awesome, and the time and effort that went into it astounds me. seriously, its something sick.
i left that show that night on a serious concert high, but looking back, i don't remember much of the night now, except for this performance.
365 project:"tell me are you free in word or thought or deed"
89.
artist:thrice
album:the alchemy index (fire)
I've been putting off this set of albums since the beginning of the year because i wasn't sure how i wanted to break them up, or if i even should, but since I'm like 11 days behind, i figured i could bang out all four as separate albums (as each element is its own volume) and get caught up a little bit.
fire is my least favorite of the four elements. i adore thrice, but am not as big a fan of their harder stuff as i am of the stuff where you can actually hear and understand Dustin's lyrics. the music is fantastic, but in my opinion the lyrics are what make the songs most of the time. that being said, i dont by any means hate this album. of the six songs, "firebreather" is my favorite. actually, I'm sitting here listening to the song live from the house of blues and i just got the chills. you need to check this out.
what i really wanted to talk about in this entry, though, was how awesome my friends can be. I've been a thrice fan for a while, and had both sets of disks already, but was really excited about the release of this album on vinyl. four records, four different colors. each was color coordinated to the element it represented. i wanted this so badly but knew that i didn't have 50 dollars to spend on wax.
at my birthday party Nicole made me open my card. in case you didn't know this about me, I'm really not a fan of opening gifts in front of everyone. I'm not sure why that is, but i don't like doing it, and prefer to avoid it if possible, though i always seem to get caught. at any rate, i opened the card and out fell this folded up piece of paper...Nicole and Anne Marie had gone in together and purchased this album for me. i didn't get it for about three or four months after this due to manufacturing issues, but now i own it and its probably my most favorite piece of my record collection...even beating out my copy of your favorite weapon on vinyl.
artist:thrice
album:the alchemy index (fire)
I've been putting off this set of albums since the beginning of the year because i wasn't sure how i wanted to break them up, or if i even should, but since I'm like 11 days behind, i figured i could bang out all four as separate albums (as each element is its own volume) and get caught up a little bit.
fire is my least favorite of the four elements. i adore thrice, but am not as big a fan of their harder stuff as i am of the stuff where you can actually hear and understand Dustin's lyrics. the music is fantastic, but in my opinion the lyrics are what make the songs most of the time. that being said, i dont by any means hate this album. of the six songs, "firebreather" is my favorite. actually, I'm sitting here listening to the song live from the house of blues and i just got the chills. you need to check this out.
what i really wanted to talk about in this entry, though, was how awesome my friends can be. I've been a thrice fan for a while, and had both sets of disks already, but was really excited about the release of this album on vinyl. four records, four different colors. each was color coordinated to the element it represented. i wanted this so badly but knew that i didn't have 50 dollars to spend on wax.
at my birthday party Nicole made me open my card. in case you didn't know this about me, I'm really not a fan of opening gifts in front of everyone. I'm not sure why that is, but i don't like doing it, and prefer to avoid it if possible, though i always seem to get caught. at any rate, i opened the card and out fell this folded up piece of paper...Nicole and Anne Marie had gone in together and purchased this album for me. i didn't get it for about three or four months after this due to manufacturing issues, but now i own it and its probably my most favorite piece of my record collection...even beating out my copy of your favorite weapon on vinyl.
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