NEW ORDER - SINGULARITY

Spunk Back Home True
by Ryan Avellanosa y Cervantes

What do we have here?   It does seem kind of surprising how bands reunite themselves to form another set of songs that they would eventually have to set free and keep in motion.  Peter, Stephen, Bernard and that chic.  I could recall their past groupings, satellite recordings and other stuff.  We or I got to listen to Bad Lieutenant, Electronic and The Other Two.

What can I say? They were some sort of like a fraud in the 80s that had us dancing and clouded, dazed in our teenage years. The stuff that produced a world  that's renowned to somehow make us feel young again,or just to stop time and keep us abreast of the memories of that piece of heaven we fought to own and stay, unmindful of the other reality that somehow should not dominate other notions cultural.  I and every each one of us should find time for self culture.  Such is this  type of music that somehow stuck and remain.  

All along this stride, and the music culture of college music, new wave, modern rock,.. new music, one can't deny how good   New Order was before, and still is anyway not mentioning their roots which we somehow seem to forget how or might need to be deleted from memory.

There's Joy Division, Monaco , and some other stuff they're associated with.  Spunk, spunk, and the spunk.

It does semm kind of obvious and thus has made one feel psychicly or cyclicly stupid for we found ourselves strange or might feel estranged on moments we felt free in our singularities.  Every once in a while when

one does need to do be so, and these moments shared for a generation that remained strong and high strung.

And before this release, I must say though that this could blow up in your face.  In honor for the friendship, I took the time to listen  and write the lyrics of this wonderful single.   Take heed for it might just change your way of thinking.

Singularity

winter came so soon
and summer never happened
with players on a stage
with roles already scripted
working for a wage
we're living for today
on a giant piece of girth
spinning in the universe

I can hear/feel your presence/cry out there
and I can feel you close to me/everywhere
(winding softly through the air)
one day at a time
inch by inch
for every kiss
on lovers' lips
for all the souls
we can't conform
for friends that aren't here
we shed our tears

and all i wanna do
make the right impression
an instrument of truth
a soldier with no weapon
I guess so much for you
I crawled a thousand miles
in deserts full of sand
for love on every land

VA - 再见张炬 (GOODBYE, ZHANG JU - A TRIBUTE TO ZHANG JU) TRACK PICKS

By Jake Kussmaul

Original cover art

Today marks the 20th anniversary in the death of 24-year-old Zhang Ju, founding bassist of Tang Dynasty, who was killed in a motorcycle accident on May 11th, 1995. A year to the day of his passing, various prominent acts of the Beijing rock scene decided to collaborate on a musical commemoration. The resulting effort, "Goodbye, Zhang Ju", is a collection of 13 mostly stripped down rockers (plus two commentary tracks), completed in a period where Chinese rock mainstays had experienced an indefinite lull. (1996-c. '98). Regardless, the scene is still strongly unified by their passion for music, and, ultimately, their respects for their deceased comerade.

In honor of this event, I wanted to share my views on the tracks that managed to stand out for me.

"That Day" (Luan Shu of Black Panther): I was under the notion that this would sound like a typical glam metal jam, given his roots in the band Black Panther - boy, was I wrong! Early 90s pop metal hooks are stripped in favor of mid 90s shoegaze and reverb. The guitars are definitely melodic and dreamy, a stark contrast to anything from his former band (then-frontman Qin Yong actually managed to push their signature--albeit extremely dated--glam sound to greater success!). But Luan has gone a more experimental direction. His vocals are a bit reminiscent of Porno for Pyros-era Perry Farrell, and. The chorus-laden vocals and airy guitars blend within the song quite well, and it's an interesting shift of influences.

"Live in Your Dreams" (Ding Wu of Tang Dynasty):  Makes itself out to be acoustic, only to become progressively thicker. Interestingly, the electric guitars make a subtle entrance into the song; they don't arm themselves to pop out spontaneously at any specific point. Instead, they  are at equal pace andcarefully add another layer of depth without obscuring the acoustics. I felt it was more appropriate having this song be straightforward prog, rather than heavy metal, in accordance with the album's concept.  Ding Wu's vocals could be interpreted in two ways: To the passive listener, they might come off as "stuffy" or lackluster (and, perhaps occasionally incoherent). However, if listened to actively, the vocals convey a sense of hesitation, as if Ding was fighting to hold back tears. The end of the song definitely hits home.

"I Almost Blew Off My Eyelashes" (Zhang Chu): Probably the second song I've heard from him, after "Sister" from the China Fire compilation (Maybe I've heard his contribution from China Fire II...not sure though--it's been years). Definitely a lot more raw in terms of arrangement: The bass line is grungy and its gain tends to fluctuate, particularly in the first verse. Also, the rhythm guitar is slightly out of tune with the piano, but whether intentional or not, it doesn't detract from the song as a whole. What remains consistent, though, is the amount of soul in Zhang's voice. From the second half of the first verse onwards, he just kills it!

"Little Brother" (Zang Tian Shou of 1989): In a way, the song's melody evokes the feeling of being alone, aloof, and vulnerable in the streets. I like how the almost erratic style of the vocals during the verses resembles passive thought speak. My guess is that the singer thought of Zhang as his little brother, who was ultimately in need of guidance. The distorted bass during the last chorus starts to free itself from the mix and really starts grooving toward the end. "Green Grass" (Gao Qi of Overload): The most tender, succinct, and hands down best song on the album. This is another instance of a metal oriented band broadening their scape of influence. Gao's use of a twelve-string acoustic really accentuates the quality of his singing. When the harmonies came in during the second chorus, I'll admit, I let out a couple tears (and even as I listened back to it for this review)! This further solidifies the idea that music has the power to reach deep within the heart, regardless where it's from.

...and this concludes my review! While not being able to understand any Mandarin Chinese myself, I can appreciate the album from a stylistic standpoint; it's craftily thought out and the talent is considerable.  But even as a majority of the songs give off an implicit bittersweet tone, I'd feel much more fulfilled had I known how to speak the language. Only then would I be able to fully recognize the album's substance, both lyrically and sonically.

Download Link
(Once on the page, click the kanji title of the album with the hyperlink attached)

SANDWICH - DEBRIS

In Remnants
by Ryan Avellanosa

This is their latest.  <S>.  Sandwich has not lost their spunk.  Obviously, they are still in the game. 

Well, they featured their full album on YouTube and I have seen their video which featured the awesome Bianca King. I must say again that I should listen first while watching a basketball game on TV and writing this post and waiting for a boxing match later. And who knows I might say something more after I finish listening to this nonstop video. Rock on!

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MILITARY JANE - BLACKEST PAINT COLORED BRUSH

Original cassette release

MJ
by Jake Kussmaul (new contributor)

In late 2008, a simple search of "russian grunge" into YouTube led me to a song called "Wherry?" by Military Jane, its accompanying music video a noticeably worn VHS copy. My initial thoughts were along the lines of "Awesome! These guys are the Russian equivalent of Alice In Chains!" (as anyone might have claimed, provided they aren't too harsh on "clone" bands). In fact, I'd actually left a similar comment: "sounds like alice in chains". Not thinking to further research the band, I passively clicked off the video and moved on.

The next year, I saw an email in my YouTube inbox, which brought up a reply to my aforementioned comment. It read, "That's because AIC is the favorite band of the frontman :))" . From there, I was suddenly inspired to dig deeper into this all-male band with a female name. Think of it as a rather bad ass rechristening of a certain superhero's girlfriend: Military (no, not Mary) Jane.

Upon googling the song "Wherry?", I discovered that it was from their album, "Blackest Paint Colored Brush", from 1996 (thank you, Discogs!). Apparently it was reissued with different, almost bootleg style cover art, shown here:

Now, fast forward to 2014. After having mp3s sourced from a bad tape, I'd actually managed to locate the 2002 copy, for $2.50 plus free shipping. What a deal!

The tape in the flesh, harnessing the energies of my room.

 As you'd expect, this was a brand new copy; no wear or damage of any sort. To say I was relived to hear the album in full sound quality is an understatement. Without further digression, let's talk about the album!

All the songs are in English. English that, even after repeated listens, is still beyond easy to understand. With the exception of a few songs, you may be able to pick out a few words or phrases, but for the most part, it's not very clear. Even so, the vocalist Ilja has a natural grit and isn't afraid to showcase his inner Layne Staley. Yes, the songs do contain obvious Alice In Chains influence, but there does exist some variety (the punk tinged, "time is running out" feel of  "Room #1", the manic, Cobain-esque fluctuations of "Long Rain", and the bittersweet but content ballad "Queen"). Even those that aren't as "original" ("Dark Noise", "Wherry?", "Dead Mary") are worthy of mention for their sheer merit. Another thing to note is that this is an independent release, rather than an investment from a major label intending to capitalize on a fad. This is truly a raw, passionate ode to an era of which the band wholeheartedly embraced.

Since 1997, Military Jane has changed its name to Pilot (Пилот), and continues to experience tremendous critical and commercial success. Although their sound leans more toward modern rock and the songs are in Russian, the band hasn't left their past behind. Check out this Pilot performance of the 'Jane' classic, "Neverman"!

NEW RADIANT STORM KING - AUGUST REVITAL

Radiance and Redundancy
by RC

I hate to admit it but this one has this awesome sound.  After learning that Guided By Voices or was it just Robert Pollard?, covered one of their songs, and it is kind of unsurprising how Mr. Ellie tend to cover some songs from other bands and thus jumping from one band to another and or just having other awesome music materials to collect and putting it all inside a briefcase and thus allowing it to be heard to some group of people, musicians and non-musicians to endear and enjoy.  And much to my delight, this one needs to be heard as well. 

Wait, how many words has is it been?  Well, The Soundtripper recommends this album, nevermind if you won't understand the words or the meanings of all the lyrics, it's just the sound or the music for me is what matters I suppose to some extent.  And the contexts one may need to affirm and learn afterwards. Well there you go.  

CRASH OF RHINOS - KNOTS

Crashing
by RC

Sometimes it does need to be played on the right mood or somebody else around might find you going emotive again playing these kind of songs.  Well, the cover somewhat caught my eye.  And their sound speaks of a generation that remained after the grunge and alternative era, or during anyways.  Not that I am an expert about this whole thing.And since I was within the generation that produced these kinds of awesome music, let me just point out that there are a whole lot of songs and bands out there that still needs to be heard and it sometimes just take too much of my time that I don't get to produce or make my own.  Nonetheless, God has given us this opportunity to express ourselves in many different ways and this is just a a speck of it.

PINK FLOYD - THE ENDLESS RIVER

Floyd and the Barber Attendant
by RC

I have not really listened to the whole album yet. Really, really, am not lying.  Maybe just a a few I suppose. \
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