Music and Emotions

Gutentag alles. I'm currently listening to The Mars Volta's De-Loused in the Comatorium. True, I've already talked about this CD a few times, but I think I shall talk about it's greatness yet again. Besides, you're sick of hearing about how my running goes and frankly, among other things, I'm sick of running. Anyway, about this CD I'm listening to. It is by far one of the top 3 weirdest CDs that I have in my collection. I have yet to even decipher 95% of the meanings behind the lyrics on the album. What makes it so great is the fact that you don't even need to really fully understand the lyrics. I guess the best analogy is to say that listening to the Mars Volta is a lot like listening to opera (except, unlike opera, it totally kicks ass and will leave you craving more). Omar Rodriguez, the guitarist for the band, is a friend of John Frusciante's (another one of my fav.'s), and stylistically it shows. There is absolutely no shredding on the album, nor is there anything even resembling your standard rock guitar solo. Instead, the guitar follows weird rythms and utilizes every type of sound processing equipment under the sun. The finished product is an album that you can truly feel. When TMV want you to feel sad, they do it through the voice and guitar. They hit the high notes on guitar and vocals in a way that creates this sense of fear and frantic urgency that is just amazing. And at the same time the congas are being pounded and the marracas are shaking..... different for prog rock, huh? This brings me to my next point about the album. I'd mainly consider it to be progressive in the styling that it's styled and being that the album is created around one theme (the death of their beloved friend). However, there are so many different bits and pieces of genres scattered throughout the album; rock, emo, punk, and salsa are just a few. So buy the CD (it's $10, that's cheaper than Britney, Justin, The Vines, Slipknot, Sum 41, or any other shit that you might be tempted to waste your money on) and play it at least 4 or 5 times (each time played all the way through... with no interruptions if possible) before you make a decision.

Summer is fast approaching and all I can think about is laying on the beach and finally hiking Mt. Lafeyette. I found out that seniors get out a day and a half early this year (BFD, in the past they got out at least 3 days ahead of time). So far it looks like I'll be getting out to NH sometime in mid-late June, which is fine by me because that will give me a little time to start out with some of my slower base mileage before totally kicking my ass out on the mountain roads of NH. The thing that's so great about running out there is that it doesn't even feel like running. Your there. And so are the trees. The air is fresh. The views are so beautiful whether it's sunny or raining. And the best part is the quiet. There are hardly any cars. No people. Just you, the birds, and the mountains. I cannot wait.~ Rich