Tuesday, January 29, 2013

January ´13 Music Box

As I was scrolling through songs that I liked, all I can say is that January was busy! I noticed that there were many songs that I already had forgotten, not in a bad way though- new ones just kept coming in! Anyways here are the tunes, which deserve attention.

1. Pinback - Proceed To Memory

Make sure to watch the video, it's mint.




2. Santigold - Girls

It's quite funny that Finnish band PMMP has a song called Tytöt (=Girls) and a similar video concept. Click here to see it.




3. Telekinesis - Ghosts And Creatures




4. Widowspeak - Thick As Thieves




5. Widowspeak - Locusts




6. Kali Ma - Great Lake (Demo)




7. Baroness - March To The Sea

Tour footage before the bus accident.




8. Gerry & The Pacemakers - You'll Never Walk Alone

Finally a video for this song.




9. French Films - When People Like You Filled The Heavens




10. The Strokes - One Way Trigger




11. fun. - Sight Of The Sun

Probably the band's best song.




12. Crystal Castles - Sad Eyes




13. Shelf Nunny Ft. Briana Kranich - Cause I Had The Time

My favorite of the month, featuring his fiancé. Check out the cool video too.






What were your favorite songs of January? Leave a comment below or on Facebook or tweet to me @InJallusWords

Friday Feature Special: The Carpenters



I keep on listening to new music. I'm keen on finding out if there's a band, which could shook me like my all-time favorites Interpol, Nirvana and Bloc party, just to name a few. The chances are small, as it's become hard to stick with one act for no more than a week. Not to mention every single band, which is labeled as indie has started to sound just the same as the previous and the next ones. It's like tasting so many different beers that in the end you can't taste the difference anymore.

Then you move on to the wine.

Sitting in a hot van for several hours, many days straight and the same record on repeat... It's a scenario I could see governments using for human torture. But if you have good speakers and great pop tunes playing, it's a brain wash I kindly accept. Suddenly, the van was not an unpleasant place to be in.

It's sad that I'm not one of those kids, who had gone through their parents' record collection and discover something magical (MTV did it for me). There simply wasn't much to find, except for a couple of Abba and Queen cassettes. But this time I was sure that I'd find something to get excited about, so I asked my mother: Don't you have The Carpenters at home?, with a spark in my eyes. The spark died, when she replied no.

Off to an unexpected record shopping then.

As the new proud owner of a 40th anniversary 40 track edition album and DVD, I showed everyone what I got. My sister asked me if it was for our mother, to which I replied slightly offended no. It is weird, though, to be the one to have this on my record collection. All I knew was that January was dedicated to The Carpenters.

Watching the DVD surely shocked me, as I've never seen live footage of the brother and sister duo playing. Learning that Richard played the piano instead of the guitar (not too dramatic) and Karen not only singing and being a pretty face, but playing the drums as well (WTF!) gave an even more interesting aspect to one of the most successful music acts of all time.

According to Richard, Karen had always thought herself as a drummer who sang. One year she was chosen as the best drummer by a music magazine, leaving Led Zeppelin's drummer second on the list and very pissed off. Another thing what surprised me was the fact that they were the first bands to include electronic guitar solos in their songs. This, on the other hand, angered some of their fans, who called the band sell outs. It's hard for me to imagine something like that happening in the 70s, but then I didn't think that women played drums either. 

Although, to hear that many of The Carpenters' hit songs are actually covers or taken for example from commercials, was quite disappointing. Then again, if it wasn't for Richard's composing and arrangement skills and Karen's killer voice, the songs wouldn't be what they are today- an influence to the likes of Madonna, Michael Jackson, Alicia Keys and many more.

The Carpenters recorded 11 albums and toured massively. In 1974 they did over 200 gigs, which is astounding, since successful musicians didn't have to perform as much, as records were bought- the complete opposite of today. Consequently, the exhausting life on road and personal challenges took a toll on the duo. Especially on Karen, who tragically died at the age of 32 of a heart failure caused by anorexia in 1983. At that time there was little knowledge of eating disorders, but Karen's death urged for a change. It even helped celebrities, like Princess Diana, to openly talk about their sickness. 

Richard considers himself lucky, because they were not only able to make timeless music, but also that his sisters is regarded as one of the greatest female singers of all time. I will always be amazed of how she was able to use her voice in the way she did. And to keep the whole band in rhythm at the same time. Pff.

The longer you keep a wine, the better it will get.




And perhaps the strangest song I've heard:

Sunday, January 27, 2013

The Wedding


Finally, we have the last entry of the trip. It's about why we even traveled to The Philippines in the first place.

My sister decided to have her church wedding there. Although, attending her civil wedding in Canada via Skype was a huge success a few years back, we thought to try something different this time.

What even might shock you more is the fact that we met her husband for the first time. And after four weeks of severe harassment by the whole family, it might have been the last.











It was the first time for me to be the maid of honor, and there's this scene in the movie Freaky Friday, in which someone hears the word wrong- maid of horror.


I had to walk the aisle twice, which means that I don't need to get married.


the wedding planner

the man who can't dance




the man whose bus broke down  in the middle of nowhere










dancing for money, except if it's gangnam style
the doves which did not fly far

Once again congratulations to the couple, who look like rappers, who look like pimps!


Saturday, January 26, 2013

The Left Overs


This could have contained even more food pictures from our trip, but in this case left overs mean all those pictures, which need to be shared and things quite different to what I'm used to...

The country is very Catholic, which can be noticed basically everywhere, especially in the jeepneys.









Though, unfortunately due to poverty, things like in the picture above are done.

Ruled by Spain before, some customs stuck. Like siesta, but mainly for farmers, who can't work during the hottest hours. Also, I was surprised that there was a sense of Spanish timing as well, especially with services. For example at the hotel, the masseuse comes half an hour late or an order doesn't show up at all.

Once when I ordered a mojito, it took them ten minutes to tell that they're out of mint leaves. Then the next drink they didn't have, and finally when they were able to prepare my third choice, it took also ten minutes. Sometimes it's easiest to just ask what on the list is available, like one guy, who had to go through the whole menu at a cafe first.



Over 7000 islands inhabited by over 93 million people, for sure there are safety issues and regulations made.






A recent study suggests that the happiest people can be found in Latin America. The Philippines is in top 10, stop the pouting then we'll reach number 1!




Everyone should be more like these boys. Posing to a stranger.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Friday Feature: InMe


What I love about bands like InMe, is their technical skills. Although, it necessarily isn't obvious until the songs are played acoustically. That's also when you realize that the musicians sing beautifully. It's like when people heard Lady Gaga do a piano version of Poker Face- proving that she was more than a pretty face in questionable outfits.

InMe's melodic alternative metal has drawn an impressively loyal following in their home England, as well as in Europe and other parts of the world. The band was formed in 1996, when most members were only 14, who managed to release their first album seven years later. Four more studio albums have been released since then. I don't see them slowing down anytime soon, especially with their amazing fans helping the band to reach their pledging goal just in four days recently.

Though, no wonder, as members of InMe are a great example of using different social media channels to keep in touch with their fans. Something that many artists lack.