It goes without saying that Mike Patton is one of the most unconventional artists of today. From his alt-metal days of Faith No More, to the noise and psychosis of Mr. Bungle and Fantômas, he has a knack for creating sounds and concepts as yet unheard of in the musical world. So when Patton decided to create his idea of a pop album — the opus known as Peeping Tom — it also goes without saying that the entourage supporting said album is as diverse as his musical background. And when the onstage musicians weren’t odd enough, the crowd’s reactions made up for it.

(Read more…)

Thank God I finally found a good song called “Bad Day”, instead of all the preprocessed crap that the music industry passes off for “good music”. Yes, R.E.M. rocks my socks.

It really has been a bad day. As a human being who has not yet reached the age of 25, and as a human being in possession of one of the most potent, if not lethal, tools of online publishing phenomena — that is, a personal weblog — I feel that it is my right to take an opportunity to complain about it, now that it is over. And before you even start pointing a finger at me or scoffing at me for “childish remarks” and “why don’t you just grow up”, etc. etc., consider the fact that even the most mature, the most “grown-up”, and the most mentally sound of us, occasionally have moments where they need to UNWIND and LET IT ALL OUT.

So at the risk of having ANOTHER nervous breakdown tonight, I’m going to spew.

(Read more…)

One will find, in the course of arena tours, that the biggest, most well-known and well-renowned bands will often have a varied fanbase. By “varied”, I refer to both the fans I have often ranted about — who are fanatical about the band in question because they’re “really good” by popular viewpoint — and also the true, honest, hardcore fans. The people who know all the words, are filled with enthusiasm, and carry a spirit of unity in their fervent excitement. And THOSE are the kind of fans who come to a Pearl Jam show.

(Read more…)

Every so often, there will be that band that is not only incredibly popular, but also incredibly GOOD. It’s a double-edged sword with them, usually; the shows they perform are usually arenas and/or full of the fans that love them for their popularity alone (i.e. have little knowledge of their songs or history, just that “they’re good”). Every so often, however, there will be a band of said standing who will perform a show — or in this case, an entire TOUR — that is totally out of left field and meant for the most intimate settings. Such the case was definitely present with the Foo Fighters, which saw Dave and the band setting off on a special acoustic tour as a chance to present a more intimate look at some of their popular songs, as well as the chance to perform some songs that had never been played live before.

(Read more…)

This past Friday I was asked, or rather told, to make a decision which I consider highly significant to me. In keeping with a professional atmosphere in the resort I am currently employed in, I was asked to cut my hair.