MOG - democlez's Posts

My (Perspective) Next MP3 Player: Creative Zen X-Fi

democlez — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:09:01 GMT

I’ve been passively monitoring MP3 player reviews since my old one bit the dust but haven’t found anything to get excited about… until now.

Though it hasn’t been officially announced yet, specs have been leaking for months now. The specs I’m stoked about is the WiFi capabilities and the Crystalizer and Expand sound options. Crystalizer restores details that might have been missed out during compression, and Expand moves sound from ear to your front, simulating a live experience.

Here are the full specs available now:

WiFi

Media streaming & sync
Instant Messaging (Gtalk, MSN, Yahoo!)

Hardware

9 button keypad for messaging
SD Card Slot
FM Tuner
Voice Recorder
External speaker
"Premium quality headphones"

Software

Crystalizer and Expand
MP3, WMA, AAC, Wave, Audible
WMV, MPEG4-SP, DivX 4/5, Xvid, MJEPG

Numbers

36 hours of audio, 5 hours video
2.5 inch display
Available in 8, 16, and 32GB capacities

For more info:
http://www.pmptoday.com/2008/06/29/creative-zen-x-fi-announced/

Nerdcore

democlez — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:17:13 GMT

What is "Nerdcore" you ask? It's a sub-genre of Hip-Hop that is for artists who rap about Dungeons & Dragons, Video games, and the internet instead of hoes, drugs, and guns. One such artist is 'Beefy'. For a little taste of how nerdy nerdcore can get, check out this track:

"Hand me a 20 sided die, and I'll show you who is the man!"

Help me build a Wedding-themed mix

democlez — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:37:33 GMT

I was on vacation in Ontario from May 26th - June 14th and didn't have a chance to do any mogging; so to say I feel a little out-of touch is an understatement. Looks like Mog has gone through an upgrade and I like what I see so far (though I'm hearing some whisperings of posting problems).

Anyways, after being home for the past week I'm going to be going out of town again this weekend for a friend's wedding (What's with all my friends getting married? I'm not that old... am I?)

I'll be hitching a ride there with a few friends, and it's a 6+ hour drive so I'm planning on burning a few mixes for the road. Being the ever-so-clever individual I am, I thought a wedding themed CD would be appropriate.

So this is where I need your help, my Mog friends. I'm looking for tracks from any genre that having 'wedding', 'marriage', ECT. in the lyrics. The twist is that I'm not looking for sappy love songs. The more twisted the better!

Yet another music site to digg (the sixtyone)

democlez — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:52:31 GMT

Set up similar to the social content discovery system, Digg, 'the sixtyone' allows users to listen to music and bump the tracks they like causing them to rise up positions on the Democracy Playlist (the tracks feature on the front page). To make it even more interesting, bumps cost you points that you can earn various different ways. If you find a song that you would like to add to your digital collection, a majority of the tracks include links to download through Amazon or even for free.

The fact that the music featured (at least right now) is by unheard-of artists is both a positive and a negative. It exposes you to music you might not hear otherwise, but that also opens the door to music you never would have liked to hear in the first place. However, I've found the music featured to be of surprisingly good quality so far.

When I first signed up, I was hoping it would allow you to upload tracks yourself so you could show off your own discoveries instead of having to rely on the tracks that are posted by the artists themselves.

These are just small gripes though, and so far I've been enjoying my time on the site.

Check it out, and if you sign up be sure to tell them democlez sent you! (I get extra points if you do)

http://www.thesixtyone.com

Music Scrapbook - My Favorite Concert Story

democlez — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:55:29 GMT

The first of the "Music Scrapbook" series can be read here:

Music Scrapbook - Last Summer

What is your favorite concert story? The time you were invited backstage to meet the band? The night you had your nose broken in the mosh pit by the individual you would later spend the rest of your life with? My favorite concert story involves a few thousand people at an outdoor music festival, a gas leak, and a missing person's report.

Back in 99', I was working for the summer before my senior year at High School at the 'greatest outdoor show on earth': the Calgary Stampede. After being cramped in an ice cream float stand the year before, I realized how much I hated customer service and decided instead to apply for a behind-the-scenes stock boy job this year. Now stock boy is a great summer job. I would say 75% of my time was spend either walking leisurely around the fair grounds or asleep in the stock room.

Since it was a 2 hour transit ride every morning to and from the grounds, and my friend Mike who was also working the stampede that year lived much closer, he was nice enough to let me crash at his place for the week.

Besides being a pretty lax job, the stampede is a pretty sweet gig because every night they have a mainstream artist play free concerts in the park. I have many good memories of those concerts, from 'Matthew Good' setting fire to stuffed animals to 'Len' cheerfully racking up $2,000 in fines for swearing.

1999 was also the last year Edgefest, a large outdoor music festival, toured the country. The amazing line-up that year included Hole, Moist, Big Wreck, Silverchair, Matthew Good Band, Edwin, Wide Mouth Mason, Rascalz, Len, Treble Charger, Finger Eleven, Vertical Horizon, GOB, and Serial Joe. There was no way Mike and I were going to miss it. We booked the day off work, bought our tickets, and headed down to Race City Speedway where the festival was being held.

It was a scorcher that day. Since it was all being held outdoors, if you didn't have the proper sun screen your skin would be sizzling like pork rinds by the end of the day. To fight sun stroke, they had a free water station in the centre of the complex. It wasn't long before there was a moat of mud surrounding the water tap, and a line up to roll around in the muck to stay cool.

There were two stages set up, the Village stage where the lesser known bands played between performances on the Main stage where the big names played. While the first bands played on the Village stage, Mike and I made our way to the Main stage to get a good spot. By the time the Rascalz were ready to take the stage, Mike and I had maneuvered ourselves within spitting distance of the band.

The excitement had peaked as Red Dog, a local radio personality, took the mike to introduce the first main stage band. As he rushed through all the usual legal house-keeping of thanking the sponsors, and a short band bio, the crowd was a buzz with anticipation. Just before announcing the band and rushing off the stage, he said "...and will Daniel Oldfield please phone home." At first, I thought I had heard wrong. Mike and I looked at each other in shock and the audience were working up into a frenzy.

"Did he just say my name?" I yelled to Mike.

"I think he did!" Mike yelled back.

All I could think was 'well, there's my 15 seconds of fame I guess'. I told Mike I would meet up with him at the water station once Rascals finished their set and made my way out of the mosh pit. Once I found a pay phone, I phoned my housed to find my Mom in a panic.

"Are you OK?" She screamed. I had the receiver pressed firmly against my ear, and my other ear covered, but still it was difficult to hear anything over the sound of the crowd.

"Yeah! What's wrong?" I yelled back, still unsure what was going on.

"I've been worried sick! I thought you were dead!"

"What?" I couldn't believe my ears.

"I hadn't heard from you since yesterday, there was no answer at Mike's. I thought something horrible had happened."

A few days before my Mom had watched a story on the news about apartment complexes that had faulty gas lines that would crack and release gas until residents start getting sick. After not hearing from me, the scenario had developed in my Mom's mind that Mike and I were passed out in his room as poisonous gas filled the apartment. Since neither Mike or I had cell phones, my Mom was frantic to get a hold of us. She phoned the police and told them it had been 24 hours since she had last heard from me, and filed a missing person's report. The police then phoned the organizers of Edgefest and asked that they announce my name in case we had made it out of Mike's place alive.

There wasn't a gas leak, but the bands were great, the mosh pits were spirited, and I was a missing persons for a full 3 hours. Needless to say, it was an eventful day.

Attached is the track 'Blown Wide Open' by Big Wreck. When they played this live, I remember all you could see around you was a mass of bodies swaying in unison. It was a great experience.

CD Quality Downloads

democlez — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:20:29 GMT

Want to be legit with your digital music, but don't like having to worry about sacrificing sound quality or limiting DRM? Looks like there may be a solution coming down the pike. I just read about HDtracks.com and it sounds like a pretty nifty service. A few of the highlights: + Your choice of 3 high quality formats (uncompressed AIFF, FLAC, and 320kbps MP3) + Cover and liner notes in PDF + ultra high resolution 96-khz/24-bit files will be available on a limited number of titles The cost will be $11.98 for an album and $1.49 for individual tracks.

Since they are just starting up I doubt they have a very impressive library, but this is something I would be very interested in. If they could come out with a subscription service I would be that much closer to my dream online music store

Say What? or Can't get this song out of my head.

democlez — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:32:16 GMT

After hearing Lillasyster's cover of the song Umbrella (a discussion on different Umbrella cover versions can be found on Mog-Queen Anna's Mog) I did some research on the band and found this track from when they were called 'Rallypack'. Ever since giving it a spin, I haven't been able to get it out of my head. I would love to know what the lyrics for this song are, but I haven't been able to find them anywhere.

Please be warned, this song is rather vulgar.

Update: Stream New Nine Inch Nails track

democlez — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:27:24 GMT

I knew it was just a matter of time before someone ripped the track. This is the new track from Nine Inch Nails. Possibly part of an album coming out in 2 weeks. This clip was taken from a radio broadcast so the beginning and ending is cut. Enjoy!

New Nine Inch Nails track released to radio

democlez — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:54:00 GMT

http://www.theninhotline.net/news/index.php#1208889313

After noticing NIN's website updated yesterday with the statement "2 weeks", NIN Hotline is reporting that a new song (with vocals) titled "Discipline" has been released to radio stations. I have yet to hear it, but apparently Milwaukee (http://www.fm1021milwaukee.com/) 102.1 has been playing it.

Updated: Listen to the track here: http://mog.com/democlez/blog_post/157671

Singing the praises of ambiguity

democlez — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:30:02 GMT

On the way home from work tonight I heard 'Always' by Neverending White Lights and it reminded me of Frost's post on Songs that you love but don't know the meaning of. This song definitely benefits from the use of ambiguous lyrics. Even without paying attention to lyrics, the music is powerful enough to really capture your imagination.

As an added bonus, the video is pretty open ended as well.

Metal Umbrella or It's Raining Covers

democlez — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:24:01 GMT

The song "Umbrella" by Rhianna has been covered numerous time by everyone from the pop-punk band Vanilla Sky to the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers. My favorite had been the haunting interpretation by indie singer / songwriter Scott Simons. That was until I heard this version by the Swedish metal band Lillasyster.

It may not be the most original version, but I always get a kick out of bands doing covers of songs you would never expect them to even like.

Nine Inch Nails fan site membership to be free

democlez — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:32:21 GMT

http://www.nin.com was updated Friday with the news that many aspects of the paid ($25/month) fan site 'The Spiral' will be incorporated into the new redesigned Nine Inch Nails site. Once the site has been updated, 'The Spiral' will become inactive.

I can't wait to see the new 'Interactivity' and 'Benefits' that will be offered since I hadn't gotten around to purchasing a paid membership to 'The Spiral' though I had been contemplating it.

Korn / Electrelane Mashup

democlez — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:51:33 GMT

This is one of my favorite mash-ups. It's a mix of Electrelane's 'Cut and Run' and Korn's 'Coming Undone'. I think the contrast of folk / NuMetal and upbeat music with downright depressing lyrics is funny and brilliant at the same time.

Music Scrapbook - Last Summer

democlez — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:46:15 GMT

Sometimes you hear a song that connects with you on such a personal level that it instantly becomes a favorite; this is the idea behind a series of posts I'm planning to make entitled 'Music Scrapbook'. These posts will be about songs that conjure specific memories for me, either through it's lyrics or because they were playing as the memorable event happened.

The first trip down memory lane is 'Last Summer' by Lostprophets.

It's July 2000 and my years of Public Education are now behind me. I've reached the time in my life that every kids dreams of from the first day of class: I've graduated High School. Grade 11 is spent counting down the days until you are free, only to have the pressures of final exams, passing grades, and post-secondary education hit you like a ton of bricks in grade 12. Before you know it your last exam has been handed in and the remaining days of class are a mere formality.

To commemorate our transition from students to graduates, my circle of friends planed a weekend-long party / camping trip away from the prying eyes of parental units. Nowhere was it expressed that this was a last-hoora, but deep down we all knew that for some of us this would be the last time we see each other.

At the camp site the booze flowed like water, and the hi-jinks were aplenty. All rivalries and squabbles were put aside, and for those few days everyone was best friends. The euphoric atmosphere was intoxicating. I had never before experienced such complete and intense happiness in my life, and I remember thinking that these days would live forever in my memory as the best time of my life.

Sunday rolled around things were winding down as people began packing their things and saying their goodbyes. Up to this point, graduation was an just abstract idea in my head. Just a word without much meaning or consequence. Now, the finality of the situation was daunting. A huge chapter in my life was now closed, never to be revisited. I knew that from this point on things were going to change drastically; for better or worse it was too soon to tell.

Every time I hear 'Last Summer' by Lostprophets, I'm transported back to that weekend. Playing like a Hollywood movie, more based on a true story than a factual record, I'm sure my memory has glorified it well past reality. Regardless, it's a memory I will always cherish and as a result this song will always have a place in my heart and my MP3 player.

Huge Metal Fan

democlez — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:58:55 GMT

Unfortunately, I won't have much time to Mog today as I'm going to get my passport in order (for a trip next year). This made me think of ya'll though....

TGIF!

Give it a spin: Justin Nozuka's Holly

democlez — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:12:24 GMT

Singer / songwriter Justin Nozuka may be young (19) but his debut release is a soulful album that shows a maturity greater than most artists out there. I had no idea I was going to enjoy this album as much as I did when I first gave it a listen. I look forward to see how Justin's career and sound progresses. I recommend the tracks 'After Tonight', 'Supposed To Grow Old', and 'Don't Listen To A Word You've Heard' for a good sampling.

Canadian broadcaster to distribute prime-time show through P2P

democlez — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:29:42 GMT

CBC has announced that it is going to offer people to download episodes of their upcoming show "Canada's Next Great Prime Minister" as high-quality, DRM-free files using bitTorrent P2P technology. They will also be creating behind-the-scene podcasts for fans to enjoy. Though not directly music-related, I think this is big step towards legitimizing new digital distribution methods. I'm assuming the files will include commercials, but there's nothing wrong with that in my opinion.

Does this bug anyone else?

democlez — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:58:46 GMT

Post (required)

The first time I saw someone post this, I had a bit of a laugh. Now it's starting to get to me. Is there a way for Mog to actually refuse to post something until the required field has been filled?

RIAA open to P2P tax

democlez — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:11:49 GMT

http://techdirt.com/articles/20080313/114351536.shtml

According to wired.com, the RIAA is warming to the idea of a $5 charge added to broadband internet access that will go towards artists who's work is being shared on P2P. Though the editors at Techdirt don't seem very impressed with this news, I'm actually pretty stoked. I for one would gladly pay $5 for the guarantee of not being sued down the road.

I agree that it's unfair to assume that all users are downloading music, but this could be remedied by making the charge voluntary. However, I think the rest of Techdirt's article is unfairly critical. I don't see why this has to be a government matter to begin with. Could this not be an agreement between the music industry and ISPs directly?

Ghost album makes $1.6 million in one week

democlez — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:55:45 GMT

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2008/03/reznors-one-wee.html

One week since silently releasing his four volume instrumental project "Ghosts I-V" Trent Reznor is reporting a profit of over $1.6 million from digital downloads and physical album sales.

Just amazing. Considering his only advertising was word of mouth, and the fact it was an instrumental album (not every one's cup of tea) I would say this that makes it an unprecedented success for Reznor's new approach to online sales.

The argument could be made that his loyal fan base played a big part in Ghosts' success, but I don't think his distribution method should be overlooked. I believe that if his rabid fans were the sole reason behind Ghosts' huge profit, his collaboration with Saul Williams would have been more successful.

I think a little respect for your consumer goes a long way. Trent knows a good number of his audience get their music through P2P, so he targeted that market by serving the first volume up on a well known torrent site for free as a teaser and released the rest of the volumes under a Creative Commons licensed.

iPod Update

democlez — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:07:18 GMT

After my rant about iPods, guess what I get for my birthday from my partner...?

I have to admit, it's a fun little gadget for the gym. I don't really miss a track display and it's great being able to clip it to myself for more mobility. I'm still shopping for a larger-capacity player but in the mean time I'm hoping to get my Shure E2 sound isolating headphones repaired so I won't be wearing the dreaded white headphones.

Favorite music podcast?

democlez — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:59:11 GMT

A majority of the podcasts I subscribe to are humorous in nature, but I've been looking for some good music podcasts. Any suggestions? What podcasts do ya'll subscribe to?

Am I iPod-Hating?

democlez — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:51:07 GMT

As I said before, I'm looking into a new MP3 Player since my last one bit the dust. Every time someone asks "What about an iPod" I find myself searching for excuses why I'm not even considering it as an option. By my own criteria, it would work just fine. Truthfully, iPods bug me. I don't consider myself particularly inclined to counter-culture, but I don't want to become another of the white-headphone masses. The fact that iPod has become synonymous with MP3 Players just doesn't sit well with me. But really, it would be much easier to just swallow my pride and get the tried and true than search high and low for a device that will ultimately do the same thing but is harder to track down or is more expensive.

Why all the iPod-hating? Am I the only one?

Ghosts Ultra-Deluxe Edition: SOLD OUT

democlez — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:46:28 GMT

This is unbelievable!

The NIN Hotline: Ultra-Deluxe Edition Sold Out

All 2500 ultra-deluxe editions of Ghosts (at $300 a pop)have sold out. That's $750,000 worth of profit in less than a week (not including CD or digital download sales) for an album that Trent secretly released without telling anyone. I would say this makes for a pretty good argument for his 'alternative distribution' method.

Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV

democlez — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:40:03 GMT

In an interview with Trent Reznor a while back (dang if I can remember where) he hinted that after how well received the album 'Still' did, he might release an all instrumental album. I have to tell you, I couldn't wait. After becoming obsessed with the track 'And All That Could Have Been', I was bound and determined to get a copy of the out of print special edition live album that the 'Still' disk came with (the only way it was release at the time). I actually had to buy a copy from eBay from a gentleman in England. After all the effort I went through, and the mola I had spent, I was a little peeved when a few months later Trent announced he was in talks to re-release 'Still' as a individual album. Don't get me wrong, I love that I own the original limited SE CD; the CDs look expensive and the 3-fold digipack with extra liner-notes and artwork came in a nifty canvas box. Really though, Trent, did you have to wait until I had the limited edition shipped from England before you started selling it separately for $10?!?
Sunday night, I stumbled upon (literally, I StubleUpon) an image of the Ghosts I-IV album cover with the caption “New NIN Album”. To say I was suspicious would be an understatement. I hadn’t heard about a new album being release, and Ghosts I-IV does not sound like a Nine Inch Album. Poisoned Blood Clot 666… maybe, but Ghosts I-IV? So I went to the source. NIN.com. Sure enough, there it was: 36 tracks of instrumental goodness. I had to have it I’m still waiting to download the FLAC tracks I have paid for, but in the mean time there are alternative distribution methods that offer the album up with more reliable results. I have to admit, the first time I listened to the entire album I was a little disappointed. I think my first impression was tainted by the expectation that it would be Still V2. I was hoping for multilayered acoustic tracks.
Now that I’ve listened to it a few times since, it’s really grown on me. The sound is so varied, there’s a track reminiscing of almost every album in his collection. I think Ghosts is a fitting name, because it’s easy to think of this album as specter of NIN’s past. There are times when the tracks feel a little unpolished or even unfinished, but that just adds its charm. I played a few selections for my partner this morning and I think this quote a pretty good assessment: “I can imagine listening to this while falling asleep, reading a book or just relaxing.” The music doesn’t force it’s self on you, but rather fades to the background creating an environment for contemplation and imagination.

The song that has really stood out for me so far is “22 Ghosts III”. I love piano based songs, and the build-up really does it for me. Anyone else have some favorite selections yet?

I need the new New Nine Inch Nails Album now!

democlez — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 03:31:15 GMT

Randomly through the weirdworld blog (of all places) I found out that Nine Inch Nails has a new album! I don't know how I didn't hear of it until now. I've purchased the digital version (for $5) and I'm currently reloading my inbox every 5 seconds until the download link shows up. You have no idea how excited I am. I've been looking forward to more instrumental music from NIN since falling in love with the 'Still' album. I'll post a review once I've given it a good listen. In the mean time, you preview, purchase, and even download the first few tracks for free here: http://ghosts.nin.com/ If you are going to purchase, I would recommend holding back for a few days. The server seems to be overloaded and running really slow with connection errors galore.
-=Edit=- jt says you can buy the album at http://www.ainr.com including digital downloads. For the next few days this might be the best option since nin.com has been overloaded for some time now.

iHP120 R.I.P. - In the market for a new MP3 Player

democlez — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 01:06:31 GMT

After 5 years of extremely loyal service, my iRiver iHP-120 has kicked the bucket. I'm looking for a new MP3 player that has the following: + over 20GB of Storage + color display + needs to be very durable + plays WMA, OGG, WAV, FLAC, and APE files I would prefer a player that is rockbox compatable (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbox#Supported_devices) but that's not entirely unnecessary. Most MP3 players now-a-days seem to have large screens and I'm worried that since it will spend most of it's time in my pocket that it will get scratched too easy. Touch screens wouldn't be too useful for the same reason (unless they can be disabled and have an alternative navigation method). I was thinking the Cowon iAUDIO X5L but I can't find any local stores that sell it and most online stores no longer have it in stock. Any recommendations?

Desperately Searching for Tracks from Youth

democlez — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 01:22:04 GMT

Way back in 1993 there was a game called "Quarantine" that I was obsessed with. It was based in a troubled future where the city was infected with a virus that turned everyone into violent psychopaths. I can't tell you (nor would I wanted to if I could) how many hours I spent on that game. It happened to also have a great soundtrack made up of mostly unknown Australian alternative bands. I've been Jonesin' for the soundtrack for the past few months but some time in the past 15 years I lost the game CD. Through various outlets (online stores and Google) I've been able to track down two of the tracks, but the 9 other tracks remain frustratingly illusive. I'm almost tempted to track down the original game CD from eBay.

Any suggestions on where I could find these tracks for download?

The track listing is as follows: 1. You Am I - Berlin Chair 2. The Fauves - The Driver Is You 3. Custard - The Wahooti Fandango 4. Smudge – Ingrown !5. Godstar - Lie Down Forever 6. Screamfeeder - Snail Trail 7. The Daisygrinders - Uranium Watch !8. Underground Lovers - Weak Will 9. The Hellmenn – Whirlwind 10. Crow - Yellow Beam 11. Sidewinder - Now You Know

!Tracks I've already found.

My 2007 in Music

democlez — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:45:50 GMT

As I said before, this year I wasn't as active in the music community as I would like to be so my music related experiences have been limited. However, I figured I might as well throw my 2 cents in here with my top tracks of 2007. Be warned, it's pretty main-stream and eclectic, and some tracks aren't even from 2007. So, without any more delay, here's the tracks that rocked my 2007 for one reason or another...
10)False Advertising - Bright Eyes I have a few tracks in my library that I love mainly for their novelty. This is one. An artist writing a song about selling out to the tune of a waltz...? Classic. 9) Starting Over - Korn When this track was leaked pre-release, I had it stuck on repeat for weeks. 8) Them Vs You Vs Me - Finger Eleven A friend bought me Finger Eleven's new album for my Birthday and I'm glad she did. 7)The Con - Tegan and Sara I've always wanted to get more into into Tegan and Sara. After all, they are from my home town. 6)Banged and Blown Through - Saul Williams When I heard that the Trent Reznor produced album was going to be put up for download for free (or pay if you wanted) I had to grab it up. 5)Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups I love how this track sounds like a pop-rock song but builds into a heavier section around the end. Good stuff 4)Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd I'm sure I've heard this track before this year but I've been listening to it constantly since re-discovering it a few weeks ago. 3)God Given - Nine Inch Nails I can't get enough of this track 2)18th Floor Balcony - Blue October I wasn't too into Blue October until I saw them live. When I heard this song, it reminded me so much of my partner it has become one of my favorite tracks of the year. 1) Survivalism - Nine Inch Nails I was so excited for the new NIN album. All the hype, the leaked tracks, the secret codes and websites. It was a great time to be a NIN fan.

Where the hell have I been?

democlez — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 23:44:50 GMT

Man, it has been a long time since I've MOGed. I use to keep up with posts at work, but it was blocked a while back and I don't spend much time on the computer when I get home so things puttered-out for me (mog-wise). The same thing has happened with Multiply. I miss the community of music I loved so much, and I've missed all those Mogsters who I've grown to admire and respect. How disconnected I was became evident a few weeks ago when I tried to make a mix CD for my friend. I have made it a bit of a tradition that I make a mix CD for my friend every time we meet up, but this time it was really tough finding tracks to fill it since I haven't had many additions to my music library (besides the new Saul Williams, and RadioHead). It sucks that I can't Mog all day like I use to, but I'm going to make more of an effort to check up on things when I get home. I look forward to catching up with all you, and meeting the new Mog-sters that have joined since my absence. Sorry for being gone so long! -Daniel

"The Music Has You Dano"

democlez — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 06:25:49 GMT

My obsession with music seems to have seeped into my subconscious: I have been informed that I now sing / hum / mumble in my sleep. I wish I could set up a voice recorder so I could hear what song I'm trying to sarinande my partner with...

Zune Part 2 - Enjoy the limitations

democlez — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 00:39:27 GMT

Now regardless of all the things Zune is not (Part 1 can be found here ) I would have forgave all if it only had one feature... A month ago, my friend told me about it and I was stoked. Finally a device to compete with iPod! The only down side I could figure was that it was by Microsoft. Boy was I wrong. Turns out that was the least of it's problems. Disappointed doesn't even touch how I now feel about it. Blue Funk is more like it (thank you Thesaurus.com ) More in the comments:

Zune Part 1 - iPod it is not

democlez — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 00:34:56 GMT

Here I will go run through how Zune stacks up agains iPod. Now, just so you know, I don't own either player. Nor do I want either player. I currently own an iRiver H120 and I love it. I'm comparing Zune with iPod because let's face it, iPod is and will likely always be the product all other MP3 players will be compared to. Anyways, the full comparison can be found in the comments:

Big labels are f*cked, and DRM is dead

democlez — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 05:25:15 GMT

I don't know if any of the rest of you have read this article , but when I did I got pretty excited. In essence Peter Jenner (a big wig musician manager) says that DRM is bound to fail and music labels know this but are just delaying the inevitable. Peter goes on to describe a system where the music industry will be set up much similar to TV... subsidized through taxes so that the masses can enjoy it. This would legalize P2P and I believe open up a whole new world of musical enjoyment for all. Wohoo!

Who I Think Should Be Mogging

democlez — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 00:18:51 GMT

I was reading etcvisitor's post on who he would like to join Mog and someone suddenly popped in my head who has to join Mog. Nardwuar the Human Serviette !!! For all those non-Canadians, Nardwuar is a personality often seen on Much Music (the Canadian equivalent to MTV) who interviews popular musicians and asks the strangest, and best questions. Almost every artist interviewed by him are amazed by how much research that he does on them.

Here's Nardwuar interviewing AFI:

Again with the Club

democlez — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 00:01:49 GMT

I just came to a realization that I thought I would share. I have three version of a song I don't like that much... Who does this happen, you ask? Mash-Ups. It just so happens that 50 Cent's In Da Club has mash up versions with two tracks I really like: Closer (By Nine Inch Nails) and Satisfaction (by Benny Benassi). Now it's not that I don't like the track in it's original version, it has a good beat and is a great booty shakin' tune, but I need to be in the mood for it is all. A quick search came up with another mash up that I hadn't heard yet, In Da Club with Smooth Criminal (by Michael Jackson). I wonder what it is about this song that makes it so Mash-able? I've (nervously) uploaded the mash ups to Multiply, and they can be found here: In Da Club Mas Ups

Tracks vs Full Album

democlez — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 13:32:05 GMT

Man does it ever peeve me off not being able to Mog everyday anymore. I miss catching every trusted Mog's postings, and being able to comment on each one. Now I hardly get the chance to read every posting let alone comment on any. Oh well, them the breaks I guess.

That rant aside, I've had a bit of a musical revelation lately. My old way of putting music into my library was that when I buy a CD, I listen to it three times in it's entirety and take notes of the tracks I like. Then once the three tries are over I transfer my favorite tracks into my digital library. Lately, I've seen the error of my ways. I can't tell you how many times I've heard a song mentioned here, or that I've heard on internet radio that I've been like "that's a good song, oh wait I have that album!". To remedy this, I've transfered all my favorite albums, track by track, to my library so I wont miss out on any hidden gems anymore. Plus hearing all the other tracks might let me warm up to them. The way I listen to my music hasn't changed though, I still listen to my entire library on shuffle so I rarely hear entire albums in their entirety. Now, at least, I have all the tracks and I now have them organized by album rather than just by artists, so if I want to listen to an entire album, it's easy enough to do. My questions to you, oh great Mog community, is have you ever come across a song you liked, only to realized you've had the album it's on for some time already? Bonus question, when you digitize CDs what format do you use? I use to transfer to OGG and FLAC (depending on how much I liked the track) but now I have them all in WAV. I miss you all!

Help! Be My Emergency DJs

democlez — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 03:26:24 GMT

Hello all, long time no Mog! I need everyone's help. I need to make a mix CD of tracks for a contest at work. The idea is to get people to realize what business-casual looks like, to do this they are holding a America's Next Top Model - style contest with judges and a catwalk, the whole sha-bang. I need tracks for people to strut down the catwalk to. Please, any you can add will help. So far I have the following: Disco Kings - Born To Be Aline (Benny Benassi Remix) Hot Chocolate - You Sexy Thing Daft Punk - Revolution 909 Animotion - Obsession (Dance Mix) Daniel Bedingfild - Gotta Get Through This (D 'n' D Radio Mix) Chemical Brothers - Block Rockin' Beats Ginuwine - Pony Moby - Bodyrock Robbie Williams - Rock DJ Fatboy Slim - Praise You Underworld - Rez Fatboy Slim - Right Here Right Now Pink - Get The Party Started (Sweet Dreams Remix) The White Stripes - Ball and Biscuit Tone-Loc & Z Brothers - Funky Cold Medina (Remix) TATU - How Soon Is Now Benny Benassi - Satisfaction _just added_ Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy (Catwalk Remix)

Thanks in advance for any tracks you can add!

No Longer Paid to Mog

democlez — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 01:14:58 GMT

Well, the day I've been dreading for months now has finally come. Mog.com has been blocked at work. To add insult to injury, it was blocked right after the sizable post I made on P2P so I wasn't able to take part of the conversation I started. Anyway, this means I will have considerably less time to surf the Mog-O-Sphere. I will definitely be going through withdrawal next week.

Is P2P a Necessary Evil?

democlez — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 15:40:26 GMT

Peer to peer music sharing is illegal. You are enjoying material you did not pay for. That said, is it killing the music industry or is it forcing record companies to evolve into the digital age? Personally, I find it really hard to find where I stand on the issue. (Rant continued in comments)

GooTube

democlez — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 17:03:40 GMT

For all those worried about what will happen to youtube now that they have been bought by Google, check out this article by wired news: The Good News About 'GooTube' Only time will tell what this one. We are all worried about all our favorite videos being taken away because of copyright issues, but what are some things you would like to see come out of this deal? I would love to see bands running contents where they offer a song up to the community and people submit videos featuring the song. The winner gets to direct the song's actual video. How cool would that be? Thoughts?

Mac Vs PC

democlez — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:01:24 GMT

A few of my coworkers almost got into the age-old argument of Mac vs PC. This got me curious, what are you all using? Mac or PC?

Name That Tune!

democlez — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 21:35:03 GMT

I'm looking for the title and artist of a song. It doesn't have any lyrics per-say but the following should be enough of a hint if you know it...

bow, bow chicka-chickahhh .... _ohhhhh yeahhhhhhhhh_

It's cooler to be unpopular...

democlez — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 21:26:04 GMT

Here's a quick Mog exercise for ya'll... List the artists in your library that you consider the most obscure, and see how many of your fellow moggers know of them, or even like them... Here's my picks to get the ball rolling (My tastes are relatively mainstream): Exithiside Celldweller L'Âme Immortelle The Fatman (wrote the soundtrack to many video games including 7th Guest and 11th Hour) Apartment 26 Gregorian Kottonmouth Kings

_Please let me know if any of these links don't work, I can't test them at work._

Education & Inspiration

democlez — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 20:10:35 GMT

I was planning on making this post yesterday, but our network was down at work, then I didn't get home until late last night...

October 5 is World Teachers' Day, and I wanted to make a post here to celebrate this event. First of all, hats off to all those teachers that make school worthwhile, and we should never overlook the huge role of educator that our parent(s) play in our lives. A special hats off to all those who somehow manage both these tasks (anti-amy, take a bow!) Secondly, to bring this back to the music... I think this is an important time to reflect on how the artists we love, have come to be thanks to the talents of the artists that they loved. Here's your homework... (no, this won't be on the final exam): research what artists inspired your favorite artist and see if you can come away with one or two new tracks you like by those artists. I hope that makes sense.

Hockey Music

democlez — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 15:34:47 GMT

Man, oh man. I come in to work today and realize that today was Jersey day! People are allowed to wear hockey Jerseys to celebrate the opening of the hockey season. Dang. I completely forgot. Oh well. To make up for it, here's a sample of songs you will hear at a Calgary Flames game for all you to enjoy:

Renagades of Funk - Rage Against The Machine Navras – Juno Reactor vs. Don Davis Right Here, Right Now - Fatboy Slim We Will Rock You - Queen

And a fan favorite: In The Dome - God Made Me Funky

Pop Song Funnies

democlez — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 19:46:08 GMT

If you haven't checked out nicki's post you should do so, it's a abbreviated version of an article found on McSweeney's Pop Song Correspondences . If you have the time, there's tons of spoof letters on the McSweeneys Site that had me tearing up. Too funny.

(Non-Music Related) HELP! Friends Trivia

democlez — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 17:42:15 GMT

Firstly I apologize for this non-music post... In one episode of Friends, Joey works as a perfume sprayer. For a gold star, can someone tell me what the perfume was that he was spraying? I think it started with an A...

MOG infiltrates my subconscious

democlez — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 16:16:19 GMT

So, I had my first MOG related dream last night... I was at a friend's party just socializing it up, when I overheard someone I didn't recognize talking about MOG. I listened in closer and realized this person was one of my trusted MOGs. I was going to introduce myself, but woke up. How cool would it be to randomly run into one of your trusted MOGs somewhere? Or meet someone only to realize later that you've met them already online and had extensive conversations with...

Hometown Pride

democlez — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 20:28:01 GMT

Inspired by etcvisitor's post on Ohio Born Bands I did some research on musicians from my City (Calgary, AB, Canada). Here's a sample of our homegrown talent:

Jann Arden Paul Brandt Chixdiggit Dan the One Man Band (Not me, I swear) Oscar Lopez Tegan and Sara The Plaid Tongued Devils

If I were to expand my scope to the rest of the province (the Canadian equivalent of a 'State' for anyone wondering), here's some Artists from Alberta:

K.D. Lang Nickelback Terri Clark

Sure, they're no NIN, but not too shabby non-the-less.

Save Me From Myself

democlez — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 21:04:27 GMT

It's wrong how much I like this song . It's one of those instances that the memory attached to a song makes it for you. I wonder if I would be enjoy it even half as much if I had just seen it on TV or heard it on the radio....

Less a Song, More an Epic

democlez — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 19:38:37 GMT

Soulfly IV by Soulfly is one of my favorite purely instrumental songs, and when I thought about writing a post on long songs, it was the first that came to mind. A quick check revealed that at 6:03, it isn't the longest song I have. Just in the limited selection of my library I have here at work currently I found that Aqueous Transmission by Incubus at 7:46 is one of my longest songs. The only one I can think of that is longer is Sway by Lostprophets at 10:24. What's the longest song in your library? To narrow things down a bit, they have to be the original version of the song (not a remix) and a studio version (not live).

Songs That Tell a Story

democlez — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 17:07:24 GMT

Moof's post on Walking in Memphis got me thinking about songs that really pull you into a time and place. Some other examples are:

The Boys of Summer - Don Henley (and covered by The Ataris ) Brick - Ben Folds Five Last Summer - Lostprophets Dry Your Eyes - The Streets Run - Snow Patrol (Jacknife Lee Remix )

Any other good story-telling songs?

iPod Acting

democlez — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 15:25:14 GMT

What was once 'method acting' has been updated for the new generation: iPod acting! The lead actress in Final Destination 3, Mary Elizabeth Winstead , fills her iPod with songs that are sad, or carry emotional value for her and uses that to get into the mood before a scene where she has to cry. Some songs on her playlist were (and I'm guess on the artists):

I Grieve - Peter Gabriel If You Were Here - Thompson Twins Love Ridden - Fiona Apple Love Song For a Vampire - Annie Lennox Play Crack the Sky - Brand New Sweet World of Angels - Violent Femmes The Blower's Daughter - Damien Rice

Music Links

democlez — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 22:03:28 GMT

At some point I'm going to add a Widget on my profile with music related links, but who reads people's profiles anymore? Anyways, here's some of my favorite music-related links. Please add some of your own.

Syching The Fragile (NIN) to The Ring Rockbox Open source firmware for your portable audio player. Can I Get An Amen A critical perspective of perhaps the most sampled drum beat in the history of recorded music. Tune Finder Find songs from TV shows or Movies. Making Music A list of free music making tools. last.fm Another (less social) music recommendation community. pandora Yet another music recommendation site.

_Update: Links Widget added to profile_

Anti-Social Fun

democlez — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:28:19 GMT

Non-music related, but a great deal of fun non-the-less. If you ever wanted to learn how to act crazy, someone has gone through a great deal of time and effort to help you out. Be prepared to make notes!

How to Act Crazy from wikiHow

Fred is Fried

democlez — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:53:22 GMT

Well, after getting all revved up about a weekend of mogging on my new computer (Fred), I come home from work Thursday to find he turned himself off, and refuses to boot back up again. I've taken him in for repairs, and if all goes well he should be returning home sometime this week. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make my planned mogiversary post. Oh well, without any further delay, here's two songs I made in Acid Pro 6 (or so) years ago...

A Slow Walk In The Rain & Lien by Democlez

Please be kind :)

_Warning: There can be quite a bit of bass at the end of Lien._

Happy Anniversary!

democlez — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 15:45:37 GMT

Happy 1/4 year Mog Anniversary to whosyrdad , lemontwist , and Anti-Amy ! Here's to many more Mog posts from all of you!

My Anniversary will be tomorrow, and to celebrate I'm going to share two songs I made around 6 years ago (using Acid Pro ) I was going to host them on streamloader for people to download, but can anyone suggest somewhere that will allow me to upload the songs and allow people to listen to them streaming off the Internet (all for free)?

Another thing to look forward to: I'm hoping to get permission to upload a music video I was part of producing in college to youtube. I just need to ask one of the other producing team members if it would be alright since the song was from a band her brother was part of (Drop Pipe).

Try Before You Buy?

democlez — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 16:52:29 GMT

I can't get enough of Blogmusik , but I know that it won't last for long. Pretty soon it will be brought down by the RIAA, which is really too bad. If someone recommends a track to me, I don't have enough money to burn that I can go out and just buy the single, or album. I don't know anyone who does. There should be some system established where you can preview tracks (full tracks, not just 30 second bites) and be able to do so legally. You can go to the library and take out a CD for a week to try it out (or at least you could), what makes that better than listening to a streaming version online? At least the streaming version is downgraded to a quality no one would want to download for keeps. If the RIAA are worried about people enjoying songs for free, they need to keep in mind that no matter what they do people who want all their music for free will find a way to do it. People who support artists they enjoy will always do so. Here's my dream: A website that has every track ever produced, and you can preview every track in full at between 32 and 96 kbps. If you like the track you can buy it in a variety of formats (MP3, OGG, FLAC, ACC, WAV, WMA ect...) and qualities (lossy as well as lossless). The cost won't be a flat rate, but based on the size of the file, so the better the quality the more expensive. It will also keep track of the files you buy and suggest other tracks that people with your taste like (maybe even offering them at a discounted price to encourage people to experiment). If you are more of an album person, you can buy every track on an album for a flat rate based on the number of songs, and how recent it is. To top it off, people can create playlists of songs that other people can buy as albums. Oh, to top it off it would include links to MOG posts about the artist and track. Any thoughts?

Strange Covers

democlez — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 15:45:52 GMT

I'm sure this topic has been covered before since covers are a popular topic on Mog, but I had to write something about it. I have a song in my library that is so bizarre I could never tire of it. It's a live Maroon 5 track where they cover Closer by Nine Inch Nails. Hearing a band with mostly lovey-dovey songs singing the lyrics "I want to f**k you like an Animal, I want to feel you from the inside" is a surreal experience. Closer has been covered by other artists with wonderfully strange results such as Richard Cheese and then there's the String Quartet tribute. I seem to remember hearing that Tori Amos covered it as well, but I could be wrong. Is there any covers you have in your library that you keep more for the absurdity than musical merit?

Monday, Monday

democlez — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 14:21:09 GMT

I was unable to mog much this weekend, but I have a good excuse I swear. I just bought myself a new computer!!! After moaning for the past year over how my old computer 1) Made as much noise as a vacuum 2) Heated the whole apartment 3) Was progressively getting slower; I finally did something about it. Here's a picture of my new setup:

Here's a picture of the pretty lights on the front of the computer case:

Here's a picture of the nifty new keyboard:

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of one the the best feature of the new keyboard, a screen flips up on the top that cycles through the time, CPU usage, and a RSS feed of my trusted Mogs!

I spent the whole weekend (and will be continuing throughout this week) installing software and getting everything organized on the new system. So far, I'm loving it. Is it wrong to be as excited about a new computer as most people are about a new car?

For those interested, here's some of the computer's specs: CPU: Dual Core 2210 MHz RAM: 2GB Hard Drive: 230 GB Monitor: 19" Widescreen

Oh, and by the way, it's name is Fred.

Time 4 Music About Time

democlez — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 16:50:10 GMT

As a spin off of my number song post, here's a few songs with time of the day in the title. Question is, can we get a song for every hour? Let's see...

3am - Matchbox 20 4am - Our Lady Peace Sunday At 6:00 pm - No Motiv 9pm (Till I Come) - ATB 11:11pm - All American Rejects

Music by Numbers

democlez — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 16:44:04 GMT

This post is inspired by Anna's post on music with colours in the title that was inspired by Takeshi Kovacs' post on music with black in the title . How about music with numbers in the titles?

Please note: while searching for number songs I discovered another related theme, times of the day. I will be dedicating a separate post for these songs so save any time based number songs for that one.

Here's a few to start the ball rolling:

_Band Names_ 2Pac 3 Doors Down Ben Folds Five Maroon 5 Nine Inch Nails Finger Eleven 12 Stones Matchbox 20 Apartment 26 Sum 41 50 Cent 54-40 Blink 182 311

_Song Titles_

Crush - Garbage One Step Too Far - Faithless One Week - Bare Naked Ladies 3 Libras - A Perfect Circle 6 Underground - Sneaker Pimps 10 Miles High - Nine Inch Nails 45 - Shinedown Thousand Mile Wish - Finger Eleven

Why do I like this song?

democlez — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 19:17:38 GMT

I heard 'I Hate Today' by Godhead on last.fm a few months ago and just fell in love with it. Listening to it now, I can't really figure out why I like it so much. It's hard to describe, but the first three minutes sound like the song's intro: its slow, and sounds as if filtered through a radio. Listening to it, you can just feel that it's building to something. The last minute or so the guitars kick in and it rocks out until the end. I have no idea what it is about the song, but I love it.

Does anyone else have a song in their library that they have no idea why you like it so much?

Leave Some Change Behind

democlez — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 14:24:29 GMT

_Come on baby leave some change behind_ _She was a bitch but good enough_ _To leave some change,_ _Everybody's good enough for some change._

_The girl's got family_ _She needs cash to buy aspirin for her pain,_ _Everybody's good enough for some change._

_We all get the flu,_ _We all get AIDS_ _We've got to stick together after all,_ _Everybody's good enough for some change._

Funny how I loved this song when I was younger because it had the word bitch and dropped a f-bomb, but now I love it because it represents how I like to carry myself in regards to all interaction. You have to think of the other person's situation before you even think of judging them.

In regards to waitresses and waiters specifically I give, on average, between 15-20% for a tip. I know I would never make it in the services industry, so I really admire anyone who does it. Regardless of how bad the service, these people have to deal with some of the strangest, and rudest characters. I know I have days where I've had it with human interactions and I just can't take enough, but people in the service industries don't have the luxury of these days.

So, don't forget to tip you waiters, waitresses, and bartenders.

Caught Up

democlez — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 19:47:26 GMT

I'm finally caught up with all my trusted mogs' posts from when I was away on holidays. It's amazing how much you miss here being away for just two weeks. For instance, lemontwist's mix tape project . I wish I could have contributed something into that, but those are the breaks I guess. Regardless, my hat goes off to all Mogers for making this site such a wealth of musical conversations, and making it a great place to visit every day. In my books, this is the way all the Internet should be.

Back From Holidays

democlez — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 13:57:11 GMT

I'm back! Two weeks on holidays with no mog, I'm suffering some serious withdrawal. Luckily (and unluckily if that's a word) I sprained my ankle on my last day in Ontario so that means a week of no work, limited mobility, and lots of time to catch up on all the Mogs I've missed while away. Woho! Bring on the Mog!

Neverending White Lights - Album Review

democlez — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 17:45:55 GMT

Neverending White Lights Act I: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies

I picked up this CD at Music world despite my usual rule of making sure I like at least three of the songs on the Album before buying it. I couldn't pass it up though, I really love the first single "The Grace" and I loved the idea behind the whole project. Every track on the CD has a different artist pulled from different Canadian and American bands lending their vocals. What each track has in common is that they are under the direction of Daniel Victor . A line in the liner notes sums it up with "Lovingly Recorded in Daniel's home, Windsor Ontario Canada". This was obviously a labour of love for Daniel, and it shows. As Daniel Victor says in the liner notes "I started this album shortly after my twenty-first birthday and put four solid years into completing it. I realize now, however, that I've been making this album my whole life." Each song is so polished and immersing, you can't help but be pulled in. Here's my play-by-play:

I. The Hour Arrives 1. From What I Once Was Vocals by Daniel Victor Before the track even starts, there is a jingle. It sounds kind of like a dog's colar jingling as it shakes. I wonder if that's what it actually was... anyway. This is a great flowing song, and the only track that features Daniel Victor singing, and he does a great job. _Sample Lyrics: 'And all my thoughts wrapped up in neverending white lights and celestial beings parting ways with me. I'm losing faith in life.'_ 2. Angels & Saints (Video Here , MP3 from official site Here ) Vocals by Chris Gordon of Deckard This song is ethereal. Chris Gordon's vocals reminds me of Thom Yorke of Radiohead. The first time I heard this song, when he sings 'Walking around with a foot in the grave' I thought he said 'F__king around...' Now that doesn't make any sense. _Sample Lyrics: 'Here in the sun in the snow in the rain, There is a voice repeating the same words about how my life will end, Singing them over and over again'_ 3. Age of Consent (MP3 from official site Here ) Vocals by Nick Hexum of 311 This song has a different feel than the previous two tracks. It's more casual, and gives more a feeling of nostalgia than longing or loss. The title gives me the creeps a bit. _Sample Lyrics: 'Do you find this happens all of the time? Crucial point one day becomes a crime.'_ 4. Ending of a Story Vocals by Chris Gray of The Black Maria This song is large and theatrical. In my mind this song plays out like a scene in Phantom of the Opera. _Sample Lyrics: 'Graceful angels hold you right Like I never could. Take your place in satellites, Leave us all for good'_ 5. Return Our Lives Vocals by Judah Nagler of The Velvet Teen This song reminds me of Sigur Ros, the lead vocals are quite similar at times and the way the song has a supernatural feel. _Sample Lyrics: 'She was brave while they took me away And I asked if she could come back and see If they'll return our lives'_

II. My Angle, My Queen, My Death, My Treasure 6. I Hope Your Heart Runs Empty Vocals by Scott Anderson of Finger Eleven You can really hear the pain in Scott Anderson's voice. Scott said that he "used what (he) had around (him) to [add to] the song: depressing long-distance calls, homesickness and a Chicago winter" to inspire his vocals. Though not my favorite track, it's still quite powerful and has been growing on me every time I hear it. _Sample Lyrics: 'And underneath it all, takes its toll, grudgingly. But with you in here, everything seems ok'_ 7. A Littlepiece Vocals by Marco Difelice of Supergarage A song possibly about giving everything for love, no matter how self-destructive it may become. _Sample Lyrics: 'You don't have to breathe, I will breathe in for your love'_ 8. This Longing Vocals by Daniel Greaves formerly of The Watchmen and Doctor I love how this song transforms 3 minutes in. The lead singer is echoed by a crowd of people, then the instruments stop and the voices continue along with clapping. It reminds me of being at a concert where everyone is really into a song and sing along in perfect harmony. A great idea executed perfectly. _Sample Lyrics: 'I seem so empty. My endless longing goes on. I'm living like I'm lost these days'_ 9. Of All The Things You've Done Wrong Vocals by Nathan Larson formerly of Shudder to Think Electric piano, organ, piano, and guitar performed by Jason Martin of Starflyer 59 This song sounds like a soft rock tune, which is in stark contrast to the content of the lyrics. The lyrics are quite dark, involving war and persecution. The vocals, and music style are similar to Aaron Neville . _Sample Lyrics: 'If God is on my side, Then God is on your side, I murder you, murder me. Matter of personal pride'_ 10. Tired of Saving Souls Vocals by John Campsey of Sleepway When not paying attention to the lyrics, this song has a nostalgic feel to it. Paying attention to the lyrics, I'm not sure what this song is about. Dissatisfied angels? _Sample Lyrics: 'Saving souls is fine I'm sure, but I want more, I want more'_ 11. How Could I Survive (MP3 from official site Here ) Vocals by Sharky Laguana of Creeper Lagoon The intro to this song reminded me of Aqueous Transmission by Incubus. _Sample Lyrics: 'I've waited for dawn to bring her praise, A heart that once was a newer mistake. I know we can't pretend to go on'_ 12. The Grace (Video Here and Here) Vocals by Dallas Green of Alexisonfire and City and Colour I didn't get why this song was called 'The Grace' until I read that the original title was 'The Grace Of A Happy Death'. This is a beautiful song, and the one that drove me to buy the whole album. The vocals by Dallas Green are just amazing, and the lyrics are heart wrenching. _Sample Lyrics: 'Your not coming back for me, these things they will never be. I'm so used to being wrong, so put me where I belong'_

III. A Pale Nation Sleeps in Misery 13. First Days of Spring Vocals by Matt Talbot of Centaur and formerly of Hum) Another great flowing song. The piano tune reminds me of a song used during an Olympics video collage. _Sample Lyrics: 'Feeling my way back just to see eyes, and you never die. I'm cooling my jets down, this never goes away I never realized. Stealing my soul back, I love you more than anything'_ 14. Liar Vocals by Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace I'm a big fan of Our Lady Peace, so when I heard this track I recognized the voice right away. In fact, this was the only track that I knew who was singing before looking it up. This track is a great poor-me song. Well, the whole CD is. With lyrics like 'There's nothing left for you, there's nothing left for me, it's all been done.' this one is a particularly good candidate. _Sample Lyrics: 'Holding on to all this history. Nothing's new its all been ending Over over over again'_ 15. Life is a Dead Scene Vocals by Todd Kerns formerly of "Age of Electric": This song, unfortunately, is forgettable (at least to me). The vocals are sub-par, and the instrumentals are simple. It's an alright song, but is ultimately shadowed by the rest of the album. _Sample Lyrics: 'Take my breath tonight, Make things seem alright. Death will show you how She's got you longing now.'_ 16. Our Final Hymn Vocals by Jimmy Gnecco of Ours This track is used as a wind down for the CD. It doesn't really stand up on it's own, but placed last on the CD works perfectly to wrap up the entire experience. _Sample Lyrics: 'My body's awake and alive, My mind is afraid to fight'_

Almost gone...

democlez — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 17:23:07 GMT

I haven't had too much time to spend on Mog recently, unfortunately. Lots of stuff going on. I'm leaving for London, Ontario tomorrow and I still haven't done any packing. I just got caught up on all the trusted Mog postings and tried to add my two cents where I could. My next posting will be the huge Neverending White Lights album review. I'll never make it to the front page if I keep on slacking like this.

Make You Feel That Way

democlez — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 17:58:08 GMT

I guess this post could be an extension to my post about connections, but this isn't really a strange connection but a direct one. This song is all about things that make you feel good. I love this song, and it never fails to get me in a nostalgic mood. It reminds me of summer time, relaxing with friends, and just loving life in general. If anyone is a R&B/Hip-Hop fan and haven't heard this song, I recommend giving this track a listen.

(This is my last post for a while, I promise. This song just played and I had to share it)

Strange Music Connections

democlez — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 16:47:53 GMT

After reading lemontwist's post on associating Tegan and Sara with Doctor Who, I started to think about songs that I have memories or thoughts attached to. One example would the song 'Maps' by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Whenever I see that song in my library I think of a joke I have with one of my friends: ever since we saw the Blair Witch Project my friend will ask me "What did you do with the map?" and I will respond with "I kicked the f**ker in the river!" Ha, ha, ha. No? Guess you had to be there. Anyone else?

Dani California, Plagiarism?

democlez — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 20:39:41 GMT

In my boredom between reading mog postings, I found a wikipedia article on Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers (the article in full can be found here ) According to the article, a radio morning show accused the Red Hot Chili Peppers of plagiarising the cords, lyrical and singing style of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 1993 hit Mary Jane's Last Dance. A comparison of the two tracks can be found here . The two samples they use to compare are shockingly similar but I think if you look at the tracks as a whole, there isn't enough there to accuse them of plagiarism. Any thoughts?

Canadian Music

democlez — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 16:52:14 GMT

A comment by ninjasavant had me thinking about Canada's contributions to the global popular music community, both good and bad. Here's my list of our top 5 best and worst exports. Please keep in mind this is based on my music taste, and doesn't reflect my opinion on the band's musical talent or relevance.

Top 5 Best Moist Finger Eleven Our Lady Peace Steppenwolf Matthew Good Band

Top 5 Worst Bif Naked Celine Dion Bran Van 3000 Tom Cochrane Avril Lavigne

An honorable mention has to go to Tegan and Sara who I've heard so much praise for, but haven't been able to get into their music just yet.

Feel free to post your own top 5's, a list of Canadian bands can be found here .

Video On Trial: Aggravation

democlez — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 20:34:42 GMT

I was watching 'Video On Trial', a show on Much Music that pokes fun of music videos and I saw their critique of the video for The Kill by 30 Seconds To Mars and it peeved me off that none of the 'judges' got that the video was based on the movie The Shining directed by Stanley Kubrick from a book by Stephen King. I understand how much of the video would go over the head of anyone who has never seen the Shining, but I just couldn't believe that not even one of the judges seemed to have seen the movie. Come on people! It's a classic! You can't tell me that it's a matter of age either because I would be surprised if I'm not younger than every one of the people featured. Grrrrr...

Music in Other Languages

democlez — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 17:22:52 GMT

After my previous post about a song I have in French, I was wondering if anyone else has a few tracks in their collection that are in languages that they don't understand. A few examples of this in my library are:

L'Âme Immortelle (a electrogoth band that write many songs in German as well as English) Sigur Rós (A band similar in sound to Radiohead that write songs in "Hopelandic" a made up language based on Icelandic) Okoumé (An Quebec alternative band that writes in French)

I also have a version of "Nights in White Satin" sung in Italian, but that doesn't count as much because I know what the lyrics are in English.

French Lyrics

democlez — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 14:58:16 GMT

I've had a song in my library for the longest time that's french, and I have no idea what it's about. I put the lyrics into an online translator before and what it came up with was really quite bizarre. If anyone out there could translate it for me, or just give me an idea what the song is about I would greatly appreciate it. (And yes I know, I'm Canadian and I should know french, I am ashamed)

Cheval de fer by Okoumé

Viens faire un tour sur mon bicik J'te jure qu'on va faire de la vitesse Pis j'va pédaler vraiment vite Quitte à pogner des crampes din fesses

Ben oui ben oui tu peux t'asseoir J'ai mis un coussin en avant Mais faut pas que tu m'empêche de voir Sinon on va se ramasser su'l ciment ... Le yeule en sang

{Refrain:} On s'accroche comme on peut Le vent qui berce tes longs cheveux La vie nous porte sur la route Je t'aime Ça fait aucun doute

Le gros Richard t'a invité À t'asseoir sur son banc banane Mais laisse toi pas impressionner Y va finir batteur de femmes

Aller viens t-en on par autour du monde Ensemble sur mon cheval de fer On va descendre la butte ronde Pour atteindre la vitesse de la lumière

{au Refrain}

Aujourd'hui j'apprends dans le journal Que tu t'es tuée en moto Dans mon cœur ça fait un peu mal J'ai le souvenir de ces mots

On s'accroche comme on peut Le vent qui berce tes longs cheveux La vie nous porte sur la route Je t'aime....

Bestest Song Ever

democlez — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 20:54:07 GMT

For a majority of my life, the song that I would call my 'favorite' changed weekly. That is, until a few years ago. Now I have two different favorite songs, my all time favorite song (And All That Could Have Been by Nine Inch Nails) followed by my weekly favorite (currently Milk by Kings of Leon)

Does anyone else have this two-tiered system? If so, what is your all time as well as current favorite song?

Sucker For Sad Songs

democlez — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 16:18:39 GMT

I really love the song Your Own Disaster by Taking Back Sunday. Everytime this track plays I turn it up, sit back, close my eyes, and let the lyrics wash over me. I can't get enough of the "woe is me, my life sucks, my girlfriend/boyfriend left me, my cat got run over with a lawnmower and that makes me sad" kind of songs. That doesn't make me emo, does it? Anyone care to share their favorite rainy-day type of songs?

Update: I've found some good examples on this mog entry by Putty

Chicks That Rock

democlez — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 13:52:51 GMT

My friend played some songs by Pretty Girls Make Graves on the weekend and I really dug them. I can't wait to get some of their songs in my library. Does anyone know some songs by them that they could suggest?

Earphones

democlez — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 21:59:42 GMT

Does anyone want to buy me a pair of headphones ?

New Song Finds for July 19

democlez — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 20:31:20 GMT

While in a HMV store browsing the DVDs I heard a song over the sound system that really caught my attention. So I took note of the lyrics and when I got home I searched for "I tried everything but suicide"+lyrics on Google. I ended up with: Gnarls Barkley – Just A Thought Listening to the track, the first thing I think about is 'layers'. When it's the guitar melody and vocals alone the song portrays sorrow, then the drum samples kick in and the song is transformed into frustration and reserved anger. It's refreshing to find such a complex and well thought out song found in the hip-hop genre. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of hip-hop, but most songs I hear are more about the pounding bass and energy than anything else. Strangely enough, a few days later I saw another song from the same artist on Much Music: Gnarls Barkley – Crazy The video was an interesting idea; the whole thing is animated to look like ink blocks (because it's crazy... get it?) I really liked the song though, the vocals are very reminiscent of Ray Charles and Otis Redding

The next two songs I discovered listening to my last.fm neighbors station: Incubus – Here in My Room Saliva – Famous Monsters

Here in My Room is a nostalgic, mellow tune that just flows. The piano melody reminds me of the circus a little though, I don't know why.

Famous Monsters I heard on last.fm and really liked. It's slow, mellow, and sorrowful (what can I say, I'm a sucker for rainy day music). I was surprised it was by Saliva because a lot of their songs are really upbeat and sometimes gimmicky. I was also surprised to realize that I own the CD that the track it is on.