Florence + The Machine

The album is called, Lungs, her website is here.

I've really been enjoying this album the past few days and thought I should pass it on.  Its kinda folky, dark spectral type music tinted with a sort of wonderful innocence.  << I think I just invented a music genre!

The silence is broken...

A new blog brought to you by the makers of, I cant believe I just smoked that whole bong and am now trying to make my first blog post in a long ass time!  Like a galaxy far, far away long time...!

But here we are, and now its to late to turn back, so sally-ho, saddle up and yeeeee-haw...!

Right.

Egg Nog.

That's why I haven't been blogging.  Some time shortly after my return back to the city and my slow rehabilitation into city life I decided that I was not going to blog until Egg Nog was in the stores and I had bought my first carton.

This has been done.

Twice now actually.

Heh.

Soooo...yeah.  Egg Nog.

To be honest there were quite a few times where I wanted to blog!  It wasn't easy.  Just a lot of personal shit going on in my life at that time and I didn't feel like allowing it to spill over here at Elusive Twilight.  Things have stabilized, and now I should be a bit more regular in my blog postings again.  I figured putting a condition on my return was a way of guaranteeing myself any embarrassment over emo style blog postings.  Time will now be our judge and jury.

Ahhhh.  Explosions In The Sky.  Anyone a fan?  Thats what's playing right now (is the only reason I mention them).  good band - really chill, but in a quiet, epic kinda way.  Anyways, kudos to them and I highly recommend them. :)

Ohhh look!  Shiny!

I'm baaaaaaaack!  *grins*

The Dead Weather.

They have released their debut album, Horehound, and it is FANTASTIC!

>>Band Website<<

Strange.

I am listening to Kelly Clarkson right now.

...

On...purpose!

...

WTF?

Slush...

"We are fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance."

The above was a quote that author Jonathan Carroll twittered a couple of days ago...and it has stuck with me since.  How true it is.  Life is short, moments pass by so quickly and it is so easy to just sit back and watch them flick by.  How much more fulfilling it is, however, to get up and dance with every single breath of our existence.  How much happier we are when we are 'dancing' rather then sitting glumly along the sidelines.

Its looking like I am going to get to see AC/DC play this August!!  I contacted the lodge and asked if we would be on our break then or not...and they were going to double check for me but were 90% sure that the concert date fell among our time off.  You have no idea how happy this makes me!  AC-freaking-DC yo!!  To say i am a fan is an understatement.  Love love love the band and I have never before had the opportunity to see them live, so this would most certainly be a big fat red check mark on the 'ol bucket list!

Time right now is flying by for me!  two months time and I will be back in Nunavut working my ass off in the middle of nowhere at the fishing lodge again.  Mixed feelings on this.  I'm leaving a lot behind me for the summer to head there again, and this time I wont have Torte Girl beside me for support.  I truly will be alone out there in every sense of the word.  The staff that work there are very reclusive and when their work is done they bunker themselves in their cottages.  Last summer Torte Girl and I ran jumped and played together on our downtime, this go around I wont really have anyone at all to run jump and play with.  Not gonna lie, it all makes me pretty nervous.  I just have to keep reminding myself about the beauty of the place.  It truly is going to be a pretty introspective learning process.  I expect to discover a lot about myself this summer.  I plan on de-stressing all my worries, meditating and reflecting on what it means to be me, and hopefully walk away a better person from it all.

And yes, Torte Girl is once again a very active part of my life.  Its been a hell of a roller coaster ride for us, but I can say in all honesty that the feelings that I have for her never once wavered.  I may have been able to burry them down deep for a period...but they never lessened or went away.  I'm not sure what we are, or what we will be...but I do know that right now, right this second, just thinking of her brings a smile to my lips and makes my insides all squirmy with happiness and prospect. 

She makes my world shine.

And that's that.  I have been seriously considering taking up a 'blog every day for a year' challenge.  I always feel so much better after I spew out the random thoughts that skitter about inside my head, and this challenge would force me to be a bit more steadfast in my updating of good 'ol Elusive Twilight.  we'll see.  Perhaps I'll start a little bit smaller and aim for six months rather then a year.

...

Seri (et al)!  Are you familiar with the Canadian band, The Tragically Hip?  I am just listening to their new album right now and for some strange reason it made me think of you.  Nothing deep and personal - just music tastes!  They have a boatload of albums out and for some strange reason I think you might like 'em!

here's an older song of theirs that I really dig!

Beirut - La, Llorona

You either love Beirut...or you don't.

Me?

Why I LOVE! 

Love, love even.

Either way, here's a pretty kick ass video from the new double ep, March of the Zapotec.

More 2008 jams...

A week after making this blog entry, here, I find myself suddenly overwhelmed by another onslaught of some TOP NOTCH releases.

I dare not leave them unmentioned. They are that good.

• The Dandy Warhols - Earth To The Dandy Warhols.
• Ladytron - Velocifero.
• Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea.
• Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer.

I'm not sure of actual release dates on any of these beyond the fact that it is in 2008, but holy cow man...some GREAT music so far this year! I'm particularly digging the hell out of the new Wolf Parade album, but really I cant complain to much over any of these releases.

2008 releases thus far...

I was going through my iTunes library recently and was checking out what I have in there so far this year that I have really been enjoying.

So...heres a quick round up of 2008's releases that I've been digging:

The Whip -X Marks Destination.
Electro/indie/rock...some solid guitar riffs blended with some trippy synth. While there are some tracks where they try to be a bit darker The Whip have that classic jump up and dance feel to them. Dont really know anything about them, but they have a solid hook that draws me in and before ya know it either my foot is tap tapping or my head is bobbing a long to the catchy rhythms.

Mindless Self Indulgence - If.
I listen to it enough...but truth be told it almost feels like a sell out album. Don't get me wrong, I still like it (it is part of this list after all) it just doesn't feel as raw as their past albums. It feels almost like they made this album so that some mall outlet store could play it and feel cool about themselves. I just look at it as a softer version of MSI. While i prefer their harsher punk electro sound this new album still feeds a certain hunger that I find myself craving.

M83 - Saturdays = Youth.
This is the second album from M83, and even though they still somehow keep the same flavor as their first album, it's still miles away from what I was expecting. The big difference is vocals. The first album was a dreamy landscape of drifting musical imaginings, and while Saturdays=Youth still has those elements, we now find ourselves guided through by the use of words as well as music. M83 to me has always been about layers and this newer release delivers that in spades.

Moby - Last Night.
It's Moby...and he doesn't sing this time. What more can I say really? You either like him or you don't like him. The important thing to remember this time around is that he doesn't sing...and all vocals are performed by guest artists. I dig it. I dig it big big.

The Black Keys - Attack & Release.
I don't even know how I stumbled upon this album (which apparently is their 5th), what I do know is that I really dig the blues rock thing they have going on. I guess it would be easy to compare them to The White Stripes...but without Jack. Thats not really fair though as The Black Keys have a style all onto their own that goes more classic rock/blues then the White Stripes would ever hope to touch.

British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
I'm a big British Sea Power fan! The problem I have with traditional indie rock is that it all starts to blend together and sound the same to me. With British Sea Power the moment you hear them you know its them. Their distinctive sound and amazing story telling ability make them a must in my books. On the downside, this new album doesn't stray to far on this tried and true method. While that may make it boring to some, for me I still love it and more of the same is fine and dandy.

The Raconteurs - Consoler of the Lonely.
Its Jack White from the White Stripes...I love the White Stripes, and to me The Raconteurs are just a further extension of the White Stripes, only with a fuller sound. Consoler Of The lonely seems to be a much better put together effort then their first album, but still keeps the same choppy pace and wonderful lyrical wit that Jack White always seems to pull off so well.

Ayreon - 01011001.
These epic metal story tellers have pulled it off again. 01011001 is a double CD set packed full of incredible sonic battlegrounds. Ayreon may not be the most notable metal band out there - and I don't even really know if they should be considered metal, I do know however that the story that they're CD's weave are always incredible, and never fail to stun me. This new release is no different.

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend.
They are all over the indie news sites, indie blogs...they are the new big indie scene band. At first I didn't really see the big deal...they sounded ok, but they didn't really stick out at me as something new and incredible. The thing is I find myself time after time going back and playing this album. I guess that means something?

And that's pretty much the tops for my year so far. There are others I could mention of course; Nine Inch Nails have a new album, The Slip, but like the title the album lacks something...and it slipped away from me. It just feels like Trent Reznor is pushing to much at us to fast. Sure its free for download...but i would prefer quality over free. Another album is Death Cab For Cutie's new release, Narrow Stairs, but it didn't quite make the list either. The Roots have a new one out as well, Rising Down. I admit that I'm not huge into the hip-hop culture, however, The Roots have always been a solid sound for me and their new album justifies my reasons for enjoying them so much. Another new group I found was a two piece called, She & Him. The name of their album is simply, Volume 1. Its chill and mellow and is a nice throwback to the 50's or 60's. And I wouldn't want to leave out Matt Costa's new release, Unfamiliar Faces...more indie goodness with his quirky vocals.

Of Wolf Parade and Jonathan Caroll.

I'm a big fan of Wolf Parade, have seen them live, and to this day I still play the shit out of their 2005 album, Apologies To Queen Mary.

Anyways, the band has a new album out this coming June entitled, Kissing The Beehive.

I only mention this because the album title is a direct nod to author Jonathan Carroll's novel of the same name.

Yes. THE Jonathan Carroll...easily one of my top five all time favorite authors. So, now knowing that Wolf Parade have directly named their newest album after Carroll's book...well...I'm intrigued.

Cool cool cool. Cant wait.

and just for fun, here's a youtube of Shine A light by Wolf Parade.

June 9th.

IRON
FUCKING
MAIDEN!

Playing in my hometown they are.

Happy?

Yes...yes I am thank you very much.

Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV

NIN released a new concept album today...36 tracks in total...2 hours worth of listening...all instrumental.

Trent Reznor explains, "I've been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn't have made sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective - dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams. I'm very pleased with the result and the ability to present it directly to you without interference. I hope you enjoy the first four volumes of Ghosts."

The album is available for free download off the website here...but be warned that as it was just released today it is very difficult to get onto that website right now. There are a couple of different versions of the album...the free one and a couple of different ones you can pay for and gain some extra goodies.

*EDIT*
I am now a little under halfway through, and I have to say that the Ghost II tracks are grabbing me a lot more then the Ghost I tracks were. Will keep you updated as I continue through.

*EDIT2*
The Ghost III tracks held me all the way though. A little abrasive in some points, but overall I enjoyed the endless drifting it held me in.

*EDIT3*
Alrighty...the Ghost IV tracks have a drawl to them that cannot be ignored. This is the kind of music that makes me swagger as I walk down the street. Easily my favorite portion of the album. So, for me, in order, my favorite sections would be: IV, II, III, I.

My current last-FM top 50 most often played list

Just for fun.

The Faint, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Android Lust, Nine Inch Nails, Iced Earth, Blind Guardian, Skinny Puppy, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Sisters of Mercy, Blutengel, Tool, Marilyn Manson, The White Stripes, :wumpscut:, Pearl Jam, Felix da Housecat, Diary of Dreams, The Flaming Lips, Wilco, Kamelot, Covenant, Iron Maiden, System of a Down, The Knife, Built to Spill, AC/DC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Rammstein, Green Day, Bloc Party, Combichrist, Lacuna Coil, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, KMFDM, Switchblade Symphony, Mindless Self Indulgence, M83, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, The New Pornographers, Oingo Boingo, Front Line Assembly, DragonForce, The Arcade Fire, Scanners, Ozzy Osbourne, Sonic Youth, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blind Melon,

Ayreon - 01011001

I have been listening to Ayreon's latest CD, 01011001, a lot lately. Not quite Power Metal, not quite Progressive Rock, and not quite Folk, but a weird amalgamation of all those things...and more. Basically its two CD's of EPIC rock opera brilliance. :)

...Love...

The National - Boxer.

GREAT album! Check em out & give a listen here.

Ministry - The Last Sucker.

The the 11th album from Al Jourgensen and band is out, and rumored to be the last album, as Jourgensen has said that he wants to divert all his attention to his new record label, 13th Planet Records.

And ya know what...good on em! The Last Sucker is a heavy hitter, and in my opinion an all around solid experience. Better to get out when the gettin's good, cuz really the whole Ministry sound is starting to feel like a 'been there done that' kinda thing. The whole Bush bashing agenda that has been ever prevalent on his past three albums is getting pretty stale.