12.28.2010

Random pieces of poetry, X: Lies, they taste like wine...


The purple wine tastes so fine
So do lies, they sound so nice
The lies you hear... 
I'll paint myself in your colorful, vivid dreams
I'll live with you in a green, lonely field.

Lock Yourself , throw away your feelings
After so many lies, you believe it's the only way to succeed
Money will come, men and women will fall for you
Congratulate yourself, successful fool





Random Pieces of Poetry, IX: Buried, together with my hopes...



No matter if you're good or bad...
Our end lies in a cold, lonesome graveyard
Our memories, ideals, buried together with us
As well as the hope of finding a free world.

I feel poisoned, but I'm told I should feel loved
The curtain falls and the plot starts
Two souls, were one once, but now... separated
A human eye can't see how it feels being caged.



Random pieces of poetry, VIII: False Heroes, The Sinner and the Saint



The sinner is rewarded, the penitent... tortured
False heroes started to arise
The promise of peace, freedom for all?
It's just the trap set to catch the fish...
It's the can of worms

Words are easy to put together
The fools, keep getting stronger... stronger
Words are easy to put together...
Read between the lines.... 

Would I see a New Dawn?

Random pieces of Poetry VII: Justice is a joke.



Lies, they're here, there... everywhere. They seem to take human shape
Justice? It's a fucking joke, it's usually told by the corrupt souls
"Mother and Daughter Killed", the newspaper says
... And out there, there's a starving man

The world we live in, is full of pseudo kings without crown
The paradise they talk about, is a fake town
Blinded by "The Holy Spirit" we seem to be
Always praying to a savior that isn't here.


Random pieces of Poetry, VI : Happiness, A true Mystery



Life, it ain't sunshine
Always raining, it seems to be
Sometimes I find hard to believe
There's happy people around me

There's no science in feeling miserable and lonely
Every once in a while, we all fade slowly
The real mystery, to me, lies in
How to be happy, in the world we live.

12.26.2010

Random pieces of poetry, V: A Fearless Seagull With No Destiny


- A Hopeless cold breeze runs through the window
And the only thing I hear is the dying breath, of the lonely sea waves...

The Seagull flies with no destiny
Outside, the Sun is almost gone
The sea waves keep wishpering: 
"There's always Hope"
But sometimes, it becomes the suicidal home




Randoms pieces of poetry, IV: Time As A Coffin


No Shakespearean Sonnet would open your heart
I don't blame you,  because I know it's my fault
My worst fear, was to destroy your soul,
Believe me, I just wanted to love you

But I fullfiled my own prophetic nightmare... 
My fear did.

The clock is ticking, the facade has fallen
It's time to destroy, time to remove the mask

Away you go, my loved
Away you go, my loved

Random pieces of poetry, III - The Sun Stalker.


My eyes are burnt, but I keep staring at the Sun
And suddenly, everything around me turns into dust
A dust, just as cold and infertile like my arid dreams
Feeling Bitter, and Faithless...

Abandoned and lost, I keep staring at the Sun
I wish I felt the human lust
I feel so unworthy, so ashamed of myself
I can't see my loved anymore...

Random pieces of poetry, II - I'm not even close.


The void keeps growin' inside,
Surrounded and hopeless I am
I ask myself every day, every night:
"How worthy is my life?"

The closer I am to you... The farther you seem to be.
The wound gets deeper... I pushed inside the spear...
I'm about to born again, through self-inflicted pain
No doubt I wouldn't die in vain.

Inspired by someone I met at College a year ago.
The most beautiful woman my eyes have ever seen... 
I wish I could go back in time, and fix things. 
But I can't

11.27.2010

Random pieces of poetry, I. - Cumulus Ragged

The sky is a blue ragged curtain 
And the gods up there look us with disdain... 
Prayers made by every man sometimes get lost... 
sometimes... 

Disgrace dances in the streets 
Acid thoughts found a nest in my skin 
I cannot stare at the sun anymore... 
After all, paranoia always lived in my soul 

Arms open, I want to embrace the sky 
The ragged curtains, the eternal home.. 
A silent creature, a loyal companion... 
No one deserves to die alone...



10.31.2010

Journeyman in the 26th Street...





- Time ain't coming back, son... 



A friend of mine has this quote that goes... "Death or Glory". He knows way better than me what does it mean...

Time sure does fly... 


I always think of the years behind me as if they were yesterday... It feels weird having a certain age where you're expected to do "some things" according to the normal "behavior" of society and adults.


Remorse of the things done and undone is a waste... It's a waste of energy, of will power... of determination. Thousands of times before my 26th birthday my conscience attacked me incessantly about a lot of things, specially the ones I haven't done yet or left undone... Like a machine gun fully loaded with the most powerful gun powder, my brain projected images, feelings, sounds trying to make me plead for mercy... trying to make me go crazy... trying to make all my efforts and decisions vain.


But I'm stronger... I know that... just like some kind of veteran soldier who have fought an entire war almost his whole life. A war for survivalism, a war for mental sanity... a war for spiritual enlightening... a war against myself.


On my way to one of my journeys, I realised that it's better to accept what we haven't done... and reconsider if we could do something, yet. If don't, it would be like fighting a battle with wooden swords against an enemy who have nuclear bombs. Being myself the wooden-armed soldier, and being my conscience the bomb-armed entity.


If I was sentenced to shot myself with a bullet for each chance I've missed, in any aspect, I'd be dead. All the shots of the bullets would aim directly towards my head... towards my hands, and towards my legs. Being the reason, for thinking too much, for not doing anything, for not moving in the right direction.


Man, how much have I lost... Money, Opportunities, Women... all the "things" that make one man's life "good". But, you know what... It's allright... losing is a way of understanding... losing is a way of learning ain't nothing granted, for no one... losing is a way to be humble... to be open... to be present.


I'd like to believe that in some weird way, life's been trying to teach me a lot of things, which in some way, I either, accepted or refused. It could be anything, it could be how to do something, it could be how to make money, it could be about women... but life's always there, teaching something... the hard way. And I like it.


And that's why I feel more alive than ever...


The more the days pass and the more I realise I'm 26, I understand that all of these events, have happened or not because of my own decisions, being myself the architect of my own destiny. Maybe I'm designing my destiny not in a Le-Corbusier-esque way, but rather, in a Dali-esque way... in a wild, self-destructive, spiritual, reconstructive way.


What to create, What to destroy? I'm not sure, I guess it depends of the heat of the moment.


Sometimes I'm peaceful... Sometimes I'm the wildest thunder... 


I see destruction as a way of creating something new. Maybe, I have to destroy the worst parts of myself to get the real diamond in the rough beneath this skin... beneath this ancient shelter.


From zero to one... from river, to ocean... I realised I'm like nature. 
Violent, but Calm. Silent, but Noisy at the same time
Love and hate living inside ... I am the beginning, and I am the end.
I am the sinner and I am the saint
The saint wishes to be loved like a sinner.
I hate and I understand myself
It's human to hate yourself... as it is human to make mistakes. 

10.19.2010

The Death of Music... < Written by Robert Fripp >

Robert Fripp
For those of you who know me, Robert Fripp means a Father figure in both musical and spiritual aspects of guitar playing. Much of the people I admire, play the guitar like in a sexual way, which I am not saying is wrong, but personally, I feel more identified with Robert's approach of playing as both a craftsman, and as some sort of monk.


In any case, this is not an article "praising" and saying that he's the best guitar player in the history of guitar...  
< To me, he actually is, but I understand we all have our own preferences, so it would be ignorant to say this as a definitive statement >


This is something I want to share for my fellow musicians friends < and fellow guitar players > to read...


The Death of Music


If you know what you are going to play, play something else; or nothing at all.

After all, why hit the right note when a lot more notes get in the way?

One string is often sufficient; and sometimes already one string too many...

Rhythm becomes more apparent when we stop playing from time to time.

Dynamics are good, and more obvious when some notes are quieter than others.

If you like to hit things loudly, constantly, relentlessly, consider becoming a drummer.

Loud, endless strumming = death.

Good to listen to yourself; but listening to others is necessary. 

Remain in motion, whether stationary or not: Stillness is dynamic, and only appears to be static.

Breathing is permissible

The criteria are reliability, repeatability & responsibility.

You are playing with friends;whether you like them or not, whether they like you, or not; whether we know it or not.
If none of these apply to you, a career in artist management, A&R or drumming is waiting.


Qualities of time & our experiencing of it…

                                                                                          Creative Time
                                                                         My beginning & end are not apart
                                                                I Am one instantaneous moment of presence
       

                                                                      Time’s Cycle                    Eternity
                                                       Welcome the unexpected            This is the first time


                                                                                      Time’s Arrow
                                                                              One thing after another
                                                                              Welcome the expected



10.15.2010

Why was I born ... ?



As I'm writing these lines down, I'm getting closer to my 26's ... closer to the 30's...


I just read right now that Autumn started. The time when the whole ambient gets gloomy, darker, slow motioned... monochrome. The leaves fall, the alive becomes dead, the sky turns grey... 


Slipping away from any sign of my former youth...

I am not scared of being old at all, in fact, I think it's quite something I made up to this point of my short, weird, sometimes worthy, sometimes miserable < just like everyone's > life. When I was younger, I thought of suicide every time my eyes blinked... Back then, I always saw salvation in a silver bullet. A river of thoughts have gone through my mind, I've felt the indifference daggers, the falls, the near-death experiences, but I'm still here, standing.

As usual, music has been with me this whole year... I've been getting some music knowledge since January, nothing makes me more happy than that. People are happy with pretty much ridiculous things, such as fame, stability, and attention. I don't give a fuck about those, as long as I've got music with me...

Maybe, that's the real reason I was born. Music... The moment I'm away from it, it's the moment I become destructive, angry, and even mad... Like fishes need water to survive, I need music to behave. In any form, in any style... the need of hearing music, of playing it, of studying it as much as I can and the need of rooting it deep down in my spirit, keeps growing every day...

I have realized that, the more I understand music, the more I understand the nature of the human spirit.

Chaos, oh yes... It's everywhere, every day, every night. It's always looking down on each one of us, but we don't realise it. The moment it visits us, the moment we panic. And most of the times, we lose a great chance to show how strong our spirit is... To understand this, one must have to learn how to spill the water, how to make a mess, how to lose, how to break the glass...

But I'm pretty sure, few are the ones who dare to destroy... to lose, because most of us, are afraid...

Why Men are not humble enough to thank the Sun, every day?
Is it because, the sun would not always give us what we ask from him?
- How miserable are we?

It makes sense I was born this time of the year, my character just reflects the time I was born...

Darkness doesn't mean, that there isn't life. It means, that it's a light we should see with our eyes closed.

9.04.2010

Hopeless



The sun always burns...
The sky isn't always blue...
The moon just reflects...
Fire isn't always destructive...

My eyes met hope once...
Hope was the name I gave you...
But I rejected hope, mercilessly...
And since then, I'm hopeless...

It was our day... It was our afternoon
Your eyes met hope too...
Hope was maybe the name you gave me...
But I turned myself into a demon

A demon your angel eyes despise
A demon you would never understand
A demon who seeks redemption
A demon who will remain condemned.

It was our night...
Cold as it was, I embraced you...
Warmth was the thing you needed
Warmth was the thing I gave you

It was our night
Cold as it was, I finished it...
Maybe your dreams of me... and my dreams of you...
You didn't asked for it, neither did I

It was me turned into a demon,
The demon you despise...
The demon you never want to see again
The demon who stares at you... hopelessly.

It hurts and I guess no one will understand
Maybe you, because you were hurt by me too...
It hurts and I guess no one will understand
How I just decapitated the newborn feelings in us.

Not even the most beautiful melody
Not even the most haunting song
Would make you change your mind
Would make you hate me less

I guess I'm the one to blame.

Myself only...

More reasons, to self-destruct the demon.

8.31.2010

The Fool on the Hill



Anger, how are you doing old friend?

I'm doing fine, I guess. All the same, me sitting on a dirt room, studying the same things, living the rock n' roll road, practicing my guitar scales and all that... and hating my own music from time to time, as well as myself.

Reflection is something I excel at, but lately, what I've seen, what I've saw, and what I've been through, have turned me into some kind of mechanic soldier, immune to bullets of indifference, rejection, useless hatred, things like that...

I used to be hurt, I used to cry over the past....

But as soon as I grew older, each day, I find myself free, accepting things I cannot change or turn back in time. There is no use, the things I did, stay there, and the things I didn't stay there as well, undone of course.

The past sometimes tries to hunt me in every single form, in the shape of words, thoughts, dreams, people...

But I won't let it destroy me, I won't let it drive me insane, I know there's a driving force that keeps me in one piece, the one that has been with me all this 25 years of existence in this Earth.

I've faced some things, some situations, some useless rage. Every day that goes away, is one day more I keep distancing myself from people, even the ones I am close to. It's scary sometimes, yet I know it's the path I have to follow, to walk and keep walking, no matter how miles long my road is, no matter how high the mountain I have to climb. I have this feeling I'll end up just like The Beatles' song "Fool on the Hill" says.

It's not negativity, it's just that more and more, I find difficult to connect with people. It's depressing.

Music is the thing that keeps me alive, still does. Gives me a reason to not give up my arms, gives me a reason to look the sun every time it goes up, and down... Gives me a reason to keep finding my own voice, 'cuz I feel voiceless... Gives me a reason to think, re-think, push myself through difficult times, to fall and once again rise... It's the only true thing I've found, and I hate it because music is surreal... you cannot touch a melody...

To live life, is not how much people you fuck, it's how many times you sit, and confront yourself.

I feel alive... but sometimes to feel alive, you've to realise there's death also...

I wish to share, but wishes are hopeless. And hope, in the end kills...

8.03.2010

Spoken Word music and its effects on me...


During my short 25 years of highs-and-lows existance, one of the main concerns this humble narrator of yours has is to continue exploring through music, through words, through syllables, through sounds I thought didn't exists, through images I've found sometimes unpleasant, through ideas I thought were crazy...

And here I am nowadays, still stretching the boundaries of my musical self... 

Lately I've been fond of three particular things in music... Three particular things that are not usually "heard" or "noticed"... Being those three Spoken Word material, Ambient and Minimalist Music and John Coltrane's music.

Let's start with the Spoken Word thing...

To be honest I wasn't that familiar with the term Spoken Word 'till a few years ago, while a friend of mine showed me the works of a man who I've talked about in this blog before, named Henry Rollins. He took the Spoken Word art to levels of high instrospection, reflection and meditation. That's what it is to me, to say the least...

What this Spoken Word thing represents to me is something like a mantra. A mantra you keep hearing to be strong, over and over again, words resonating in your head no matter how troubled you feel.

And that's what happened in my case with Henry Rollins material. The first spoken word thing I heard of him was his famous "I know You", in which Rollins takes a deep breath and rides directly to the core of how people feel when being lonely. It's kind of odd, but we all somehow in our short lifetimes have felt like that too. Some more than others... but we all have felt lonely at any time of our lives.

It's easy to bash people, but it's hard to listen. 


I think one of the first Spoken Word material were displayed in the movie "Taxi Driver" < Which I highly reccomend >


"Loneliness has followed me my whole life
Everywhere, in bars, cars, 
sidewalks, stores, Everywhere...
There's no escape... I'm God's lonely man."

Being inspired by these two characters I am currently working on some Spoken Word material... because I think, I have a lot to say, against all the things I see which I really consider, are not going well later on this society.


- Being for the sake of artistic expression, I hope no one scares of this performance -

We all have something to say, the thing is... we should let the words flow, like water...




6.20.2010

Lifting Shadows of a Dream, once broken...

 


And certainly, we all have to follow the light, even if we are not prepared for it...

Since I am not so good talking with people, I'll just, write down what I've been through, as I've been doing up to now... This is a journal, where I keep memories, and from time to time, I read these memories to remember how I felt in a particular moment of my short existance.

I'll ask a question. Open for whoever wants to answer it... 

Do you know how does it feel the feeling of loss?

Out there, there must be millions of people who have lost someone, or something cherished. So cherished that it became part of our lives, So cherished that we thought it would last forever, So cherished that we took for granted the fact it will always be there... So cherished, but at the same time, so temporal...

Through my 25 years, I've met people who have gone through the loss process, people who have lost their parents, or their grandparents... Most of the time, Loss is an act of making the iron stronger, meaning by iron the people who went/will went through that loss...

Loss is not only what makes you a loser. Loss is, taking again my own words... Losing something or someone that somehow was a cherished part of your life.

In my own personal history, I've gone through loss since I remember. The loss of friends, the loss of feelings, the loss of one of my grandparents (My dad's mother), and the loss of pets.

The first time experiencing the loss of someone arrived when I was 6 years old. My mom's grandmother (That  means, my great-grandmother) died at age 90. From all her great-grandsons, I was the closer one to her, I remember visiting my grandma's house and running directly to her after I saluted my grandma. I remember I cried an awful lot when it happened... 

The second time I experienced loss happened when my first pets, a couple of parrots, died. My dad gave to me those parrots as a gift after he came back from one of his business trips, and I was so happy when I had those beautiful creatures in my hands. They were my first pets so why not?! 

What happened to them... Well, one day one of the parrots (I think the female one) appeared very, very sick and soon afterwards, it just died. And weird enough (Later on I understood why it happened), the other parrot died a few days later.

Too much going on for a little kid like me, but no one choses the events that would happen in life.

The most dramatic loss scenarios happened when one of my aunts died, and when my grandma (My dad's mother) died.

When my auntie died, I felt so weird. I'll be very open and honest, somehow I thought it was "justice" being done... because her daughter, a person who I cannot stand that much nowadays, brought a heavy shadow over my family's life, and unfortunately she still does. 

I feel so sorry, and embarrased for feeling that back then, how could a 9 year old feel that? I think I know the answer... the answer is the pain I was goin' through because of the reasons I'm calling now, but I really, really feel deeply sorry for feeling that. She was innocent.

My auntie, for the record, was an extremely beautiful person. She had gone through a turbulent lifetime but she always stood still, and that's why I admire her. And she loved me a lot, to the point we always went for a walk while I was just 5. 

I know it's too late to say this,  but I always keep her among my lifetime greatest memories. Memories full of joy.


I was way too little when my dear grandma died (I was 9 or 10) and, at the time I was kind of in the middle of a heavy endurance process... that sort of marked what kind of man was about to become later on. So, it kind of went unnoticed for me. However, what shocked me was my dad's reaction. He barely could talk the days after it happened. I silently observed him for days, weeks, months, it was very hard for him.

Later on, I realised I was just like him, when I went through the loss process early in my teens.

While I was 10, my mom, just like my father did, gave me a big joy. This is another memory I cherish and remember cheerfully... I remember I was doing homework, and looking for my lil' baby uncle, and the bell rang. While opening the door, a little white furry ball appeared and ran quickly and I was like "A puppy? Hey you must be lost!" After this happened, my mom told me it was a puppy our neighbor just sold her and she gave it to me as a gift.

It was so awesome... I had a dog! But, he became quite agressive later on, maybe because I was kind of hard with him sometimes... But still, I loved my pet.  

One day, after coming back from some classes I attended in order to approve some Pre-High School tests, some weird things happened. Being the first one, my mother buying me some gifts, clothes, shoes, all of sudden. To be honest, my mom rarely gave me gifts in a regular basis, I was ok with it, it showed me to value another kind of things, and not only the material ones.

While arriving home, expecting my dog's greetings, I was told by my mom that my dog died in the morning, just after being dropped at school. The thing that happened was that a car hit my dog, because the dog stepped in the middle to save my dad's life. In the morning, I was told my dog was in the streets, I was told a fucking lie. And while I was told my dog just died, I was angry, so angry that I was mad at my dad for lying me, I honestly didn't care if he was alive or not. I know, how could a 10 year old kid feel like that?

I know not all kids are like me, and I say this not pretending to sound "special" because I am not.

The day after, my mom found out another dog for me, out of pity because she saw me very, very depressed (It was the first time I went through depression). But it wasn't the same. Although, I liked the dog, I named her Darkie, because it was a big black dog. Unfortunately, since she was very, very big, we couldn't have her on our house. So she was sent back to where my mom got her... Another loss, in less than a week.

On a Sunday, I was told by one of my sisters that I was gonna get a lil' dog. I was kind of skeptical, but while I went to the pet store to get the puppy, it was so funny, so weird, that the puppy kind of "convinced" me to take him home. What makes this story more weird is the fact that the pet store's vet told me that this particular puppy was kind of "agressive" towards people who wanted to pick him up, and it was the first time he behaved like that with someone.

So finallly, I went home with this weird little furry ball, and I named him just like the other pet. Klinton. But soon, I started to call him Clay, because he was white as sand.

Where am I going with this story?

Clay, the pet who went through hard times with me, just died. He was 14 years old. Just like my dad, I didn't want to talk, and I still don't want to talk...

He died just after I arrived from my music classes, and told him "Thanks for being with me in the hard times.."
I think he was waiting for me...

If there is an Afterlife, I'll see you there. If not, thanks for all the memories... 

You will live forever on my thoughts, my dear friend...


 In Loving Memory 
1996 - 2010

6.13.2010

Face 2 Face: Sir Elton John and Billy Joel



When writting about music, sometimes I have to put in order my thoughts.

Why? Because there's so much goin' on while I think 'bout it, and all of sudden a cloud of words arise, all of them positive, specially when the post that is 'bout to be started, is about my favourite musicians, people who challenged the face of music in many, many ways.

In this particular case, we'll review the history of two piano players who made piano the main drive or their Rock And Roll. Two guys who share the same display of energy, raw emotion and determination to let us the listeners travel through their music, and learn something.

I'm talking 'bout Sir Elton John, and Mr. Billy Joel.

We all know both of 'em somehow. We know Elton because of songs like "Nikita", "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" or the majestic re-arrangement he made for Princess Diana's funeral "Goodbye England's Rose".

And we know Billy because of his two major hits, "Piano Man" and "Honesty".

But I'm telling you, these two gentlemen have more music to display and hear... I'll try to serve you people as a guide. Let's start with Sir Elton.


Sir Elton in the 70's, with his classic weird glasses. 

Sir Elton was born long ago in England * I'm not gonna enter in specific details 'cause if you want so, go and visit the Wikipedia ;) * And, technically he has been involved with music his WHOLE life, starting to learn the piano at age 3 and then at age 11 he earned a music scolarship in the Royal Music Institute of London.

If you believed that "Prodigy Childs" in contemporary music were something exclusive of our Youtube times, where we just witness kids who play covers only, well, you might be wrong. Talent and Prodigy are characteristics that always have existed, and rarely go together... but in this particular case, they did!.

As soon as Sir Elton was becoming a young man entering adulthood, he was trying to find his place on music. At first, he auditioned for the almighty King Crimson * If you don't know them I strongly suggest you check them out * but, since his voice was in another kind of Rock shape, much less abrasive than the Crimson's jazz/rock driven music, he was rejected. But that didn't stopped Elton tryin' to find his way...

He finally had a chance when he met a fella called Bernie Taupin, who happened to be a lyricist who was trying to find a musician who could sing his lyrics. Elton was the right guy, at the right time, and the two of them became later on one of the most respected music partnerships, just like Lieber & Stoller.



* From Elton's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Album *

The story of Billy Joel is kind of parallel to Elton's. But, Billy story is a little bit raw, and funny as well.

 Billy in the 70's. He looks more Streets-Driven than Elton.

Billy, just like Elton, was raised in a musical environment. But, unlike Elton, he was forced to learn piano, 'cause his father was an accomplished classical music pianist. The funny thing is that, his former teacher, was a lady who also taught how to dance in ballet performances, and the kids in Billy's neighborhood bullied him 'cause they thought he was taking ballet lessons.

Because of that, Billy started to learn how to box, so he could defend himself. He eventually did, in fact.

The most fascinating thing in Billy's history is that, just like Elton's he met with rejection and very weird situations. I remember this particular story where, one of his girlfriends left him because he was without money, and a place to live, and the only thing he had was his music. According to Billy's words, that event almost led him to crazyness and left him bummed out - obviously -, but after that "Bad Experience", he created a song thousands of people world-wide would feel connected with: "Piano Man".



* From Billy Joel's "Piano Man" album *

So, what would happen if these two get together, you might be asking yourself!

Sheer Class. Picture from their "Face To Face" tour, 2009.

Well, let me answer you, it let us mere mortals to witness (with our own ears) one of the best pairings in contemporary music history. In 1998 Billy Joel and Elton John started to tour together in a series of concerts they call "Face 2 Face Tour". And why they call it that way? Because, the 2 of them perform facing each other on their pianos! And it's awesome. In fact, the tour is still going on, and, it's one of those things we have to witness before we die!


If you haven't listened to any Elton's or Billy's, you're missing something great.

My suggestions to get you started? Well, Elton's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and Billy's "52nd Street".

5.16.2010

Good Things Never Last...


Rest in Peace, Ronnie. It was sad I never saw you onstage... 
Man, thanks for your music, specially while on Sabbath.

4.27.2010

The lost art of making great lyrics...

When it comes to music, I feel like Roland Deschain, the lone Gunslinger character, from the Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series.

Only armed with two old Smith Wesson guns and with a crow as a companion...


Why I decided to put a picture of Roland as this post's main one?

Today I was talking with a good friend of mine who happens to be the bass player of my band (I cannot reveal details about it at the moment. What can I tell is that we would kick a lot of sleepy and artsy asses in my country, then South America, then the World, HA! - See, my ambitions are quite wild).

Anyway what we were talking, yeah. We were talking about the lost art of making lyrics. Like thousands of times before... ha! I admire this fella for having the patience to hear me discuss and give a million reasons why modern music and Indie rock suck! (In my own opinion, sorry if I offend anyone with it).

So lyrics...

I'm a guy who's into music for the music. Believe it or not, I'm eager to find if there's someone OUT THERE who still makes good music, I mean fellas who are contemporaries of my age... Except for a few exceptions (One of them Bat for Lashes) I always end up frustrated after my "Seeking" task, because it seems NO ONE wants to make good music anymore, and lyrics as well.

And I say this from the deepest end of my heart, it's quite sad!

- Once again I say, this is my point of view, if you think that modern rock music, is up to you. -

When someone mentions that X band or musician "rules so much", I always go skeptical. I mean, I go out, find the music and hear it and see if it's good or not for my ears. We all not have the same thoughts structure, after all, but there's one thing musicians seem to forget nowadays: MUSIC, or any art form have a deep message within.

My question, with capitol letters is :
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MESSAGE MUSICIANS ARE TRYING TO DELIVER NOWADAYS?"

Let me get started...
  
Let's start with someone who's a master of symbols in lyrics. A man called "Legend". That guy is Bob Dylan. Deeply influenced by beatnik writers such as Allen Ginsgberg, Bob had an amazing display of lyrics. All of them were either way too much straightforward, or way too much symbolic. He's considered a master among us musicians and fans worldwide.

Let's check one of his songs, called "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll".



But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears. 

A song charged with a deep, social message... 

Now, when I've been told there's many good new singer-songwriters, people have told me to listen this fella called Sufjan Stevens. I have no clue if he's related to the late-great Cat Stevens, but after what I've heard, it's just "happy chilly" music. I've got nothing against being happy by the way, but my point is, how can you be happy in a world that is somehow fucked up? To me is like, lying. 

Once again, this is my personal opinion. And I'm sharing it to you...


Twenty-seven people, even more
They were boys with their cars, summer jobs
Oh my God 
Seriously, man. I thought the idea behind this music was awesome but, honestly the lyrics (In paragraphs like the one I posted) and this fella's voice are way too "cheesy" and that's when I ask "Where's the catch, Lou?!"

I guess I'm getting old!

I'm not saying that lyrics have to be like a cryptic writing. All I say is "Have some real feeling in there!". Just now I'm talking with my friend again, and paraphrasing another friend's thoughts (He happens to be a writer, a really good one) I told him "Life ain't a happy journey, it's a rough trip where only the brave go along with it". 

I see stability and calmness as trouble. I'm not a trouble maker or something, but I cannot stand the state of alienation that my young counterparts are going through their whole life! 

Cat Stevens, one great musician I recently came across recently, kind of describes what we humans are going through our whole life, in a constant basis: Trouble.


Trouble 
Oh trouble move from me 
I have paid my debt 
Now won't you leave me in my misery  

That's what I call lyrics with feeling, with sense of reality, of present.

I found the other day that someone called James Blunt the Cat Stevens of our times. I laughed my ass off.





Saw the world turning in my sheets and once again I cannot sleep.
Walk out the door and up the street; look at the stars beneath my feet.
Remember rights that I did wrong, so here I go.


C'mon? If your woman doesn't love you, then why the heck you sing it in a happy mood?!
This guy wishes he was Cat Stevens! I must admit though, his voice is quite similar. But that's it.


So far, new artists are ripping off, in a very terrible way the masters. 


What 'bout the artists who use image as a device for the message? Let's say, Peter Gabriel while on Genesis, David Bowie while portraying Ziggy Stardust.


Let's pick David. While he performed as Ziggy Stardust, he embodied some kind of mesianic personna. A rock n' roll hero who came from another planet, with his band The Spiders from Mars. Damn, this is when David really started to cook! (I mean, when he started to rise and find his voice in music). 


I think if it's possible to define the word "Imagination" with a person, that would be David Bowie.


Making love with his ego, Ziggy sucked up into his mind
Like a Lepper messiah... When the kids had killed the man... 
I had to break up the band


Nasty song isn't it?!


I've been told countless of times that one of our current top artists, who runs by the name of Lady Gaga, is just as talented as Bowie, greatly influenced by Queen and Elton John.


With all due respect, I say: BULLSHIT.

I must admit she knows how to draw attention to her personna. And she does it in almost a natural way but, what's the message of her music? I don't see any. Just an ode of words to the disco life... Oh , "YAY".


In fact, I actually believe her music reflect the state of alienation and lack of focus of my generation with this statement: RAMARAMARAMARAMA...


And I say: BULLSHIT! I refuse to accept that, but that's just me, once again...


Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma Roma ahah ah!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la! 

Can you tell me WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?! That's NOTHING! 
And, That's called talent in this times, ladies and gentleman...

- I just remember I had a huge argument with a very beautiful lady I happened to like 'cause of this woman, boy some things never change... -

The lyric thing goes through all genres, in progressive rock, in metal, in grunge, in the "so called" modern rock & indie rock. I'll finish making an overview of these things...

In metal, back in the 1970's there were 2 pivotal bands that helped define the genre: Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. 

Let's start with Sabbath. The idea behind the Sabbath lyrics, in both Ozzy and Dio periods of time, was to deliver the most darkest lyrics ever in music. The genius behind the lyrics was no one else than Mr. Geezer Butler, the bass player of Sabbath who also, came up with the band name.


Big black shape with eyes of fire 
Telling people their desire
Satan's sitting there, he's smiling
 Watches those flames get higher and higher...  
Oh no, no, please God help me! 

-       Evil imagery turned into art. That's what I call classy! 

Judas Priest, on the other hand, has a very wide range of lyrics, from the ones that are somehow introspective, and the ones that capture a concept, like their latest release, named "Nostradamus", honoring Michel de Nostradamus, the famous french clairvoyant.


Bringing the future, to all mankind
Guider of life, of death The sight of the blind
Rob Halford takes seriously the role of Michel de Nostradamus in this song. 

Even in the 90's rock, with the arise of trash metal bands like Metallica, Pantera, Sepultura, and Slayer you could see how lyrics were developing, as it is supposed to be. Develop instead of going backwards! All of them, influenced in one way or another by these two seminal bands.


But, after the mid 90's, everything somehow ended abruptly, with the death of the late great grunge singer, Kurt Cobain. I see it somehow like a symbol, like the death of the great music... not because of him, but because after his death, bands that came up after his death (With notable exceptions such as Velvet Revolver), started goin' in the wrong direction. Just noise, endless showing off, and a bunch of pure shit.

Now, when you take modern metal bands, the first question that comes to my head is : WHERE'S THE BALLS!? < Quoting Mr. Henry Rollins here >


Why are these guys ripping off Tool ?! 

Talking of Rip Offs, this one goes for all Mars Volta fans out there. I must admit, I liked their music long ago but, once I realised how much they ripped off King Crimson, man, what a deception. I guess it's sad to make a career ripping off someone else's. But anyway...

King Crimson, for God's sake if you haven't heard 'em, what the fuck are you waiting for?! 


Death seed blind man's greed 
Poets' starving children bleed 
Nothing he's got he really needs 
Twenty first century schizoid man. 

-       I guess Peter Sinfield, the Crimson's lyricist in this album, somehow was looking the future!


Now, any similarities of the previous track are bloody obvious. The sad thing is that Omar Rodríguez Lopez gets more kudos than Mr. Robert Fripp, the man who has been ripped off by this fella...

Anyway once again, I state this is my opinion. I have nothing against The Mars Volta, but I cannot stand  the fact  they've took King Crimson's place...




You locked the cuffs , Arsenic erupts
Will you drink the shadow , Of my red hair

My friends, my question is: When does art trascends the barrier between rebellion and pretentiousness... to the point it ridiculizes itself?

I'm sorry, but I happen to not like this thing... at all. And it saddens me that King Crimson remains unknown...

To finish this long post- I bet some of you would be like "Shit, this guy wrote a huge rant! - I'd like to discuss the lyrics in the so called indie rock. 

When I listen the word "Indie Rock" I go like ... "Yeah, Right"...

I'm not a guy who's stuck with old school music but, what can you do when all the great music I happen to like was written long before I was born, or while I still was a kid? Anyway...

I have this motherfucking twisted thing. When someone mentions a band or some artist that "Rules" according to them, I just google the artist, find any song of the artist, and hear it. 99% of the times I ended up like "And this is what is called good?" Yes, I know it sounds so completely hard, but I cannot stand the fact that music, and lyrics have changed in a poor way, instead of going forward we're going backwards!

I mean, have you listened to Pink Floyd? To Neil Young? To Elton John?! To Leonard Cohen?! To Paul Mc. Cartney?! To John Lennon!? Shit, for me it's hard to believe that no one has a thing to say, just like these guys did in their time! They delivered their music with so much ellegance and in a very symbolic way, to me it's hard to believe we humans have run out of ideas for music!


Green is the colour of her kind
Quickness of the eye deceives the mind
Many is the bond between the hopeful and the damned 


Well, all those people, they think they got it made
But I wouldn't buy, sell, borrow or trade
Anything I have to be like one of them.
I'd rather start all over again

- Clever words of Neil, I guess he was speaking for people out there who felt / feel just like the Gunslinger... -


What do I do to make you want me?
 What I got to do to be heard?
What do I say when it's all over?
Sorry seems to be the hardest word

- You can tell, Sir Elton is a human being who has fully lived, loved, and like many of us men and women, had a breakdown sometimes. This is what I'm talking 'bout, communicate and relate with people. Is it so hard to do?! -

Take all these last three songs, and for a second, THINK for Christ sake, dear reader... what's wrong with our nowadays music. Have we accepted to live in a state of denial and comfort, and not being challenged by deep lyrics made by great musicians?

I don't like nowadays music at all... I guess I'm getting old...

Sysyphus

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Would you believe that I speak spanish, but I prefer english instead?