Back to the Lists

The end is nigh, my brethren, because we are back with the Top 10 albums of the year. This year I will skip the movie list, because I haven't been doing so well on my current movies - and neither have the filmmakers. So, without further ado, I present you with the following list of my Top 10 albums of 2008.

1- Watershed by Opeth

Oh, yeah, after multiple listens I can safely declare without any hesitation that the latest by the Swedish band is the best album released in 2008. Like its predecessor, this album has a million brilliant ideas, yet it manages to be anything but convoluted. It will take a few more months to see if this is actually even better than Ghost Reveries (2006). Best song: "Hessian Peel"

2- Death Magnetic by Metallica

I was considering making this the album of the year, but I realized that there was a little bit of a hype on my part that got me a little carried away. However, if Opeth had released their album in another year, Death Magnetic would have been a shoo-in. Best song: "Broken, Beat & Scarred"

3- A Sense of Purpose by In Flames

Despite the fanboy backlash against their new sound, the second best Swedish album of the year is a collection of ferocious, infectious, and brilliant tracks. Yes, it sounds even more polished than Come Clarity (2006), but after giving it a couple of spins, it is endlessly rewarding. Best song: "Alias"

4- The Formation of Damnation by Testament

Let's get this statement out of the way first: Testament were/are the most underrated thrash metal band of all time. Fact. This is a comeback album unlike Death Magnetic in the sense that this is definitely a back-to-roots effort - it could have easily come out in mid-80s. Best song: "More Than Meets the Eye"

5- Nil Recurring by Porcupine Tree

More of a companion piece to last year's Fear of a Blank Planet, this 4-song mini-album manages to be more cohesive and affecting than the said album. With "Normal" - itself a companion to the song "Sentimental" - Steve Wilson and his company released, in my opinion, the best song of the year. Listen and weep. Best song: "Normal"

6- Rock and Awe by Young Heart Attack

Here comes my fanboy attack: it is a lot slower and more polished than their debut. However, there is no denying the quality of the songwriting on offer here. The vocals are somewhat subdued, but now in a world without Wolfmother, we desperately need this band. Best song: "Munki"

7- Twilight of the Thunder God by Amon Amarth

Continuing with my Swedish obsession, this true-to-blood Viking metal band is coming up with a better album every other year. Could it be another Opeth incident? How they manage to be catchy and this heavy without resorting to DragonForce cheese is an amazing feat in itself. Best song: "Twilight of the Thunder God"

8- Bedlam in Goliath by The Mars Volta

Perhaps their most down-to-Earth album. This time the infusion of rock and jazz is not as traditionally progressive sounding as before, but the album is still a rocking good listen overall. However it lacks a killer tune. Hence its lower position. Best song: "Ilyena"

9- Folklore & Superstition by Black Stone Cherry

Another solid effort by the Kentucky rockers. It has the energy and production value to be comparable to any great Rock'n'Roll album of the last decade. What lacks, though, is a song that defines the album. Best song: "Reverend Wrinkle"

10- ObZen by Meshuggah

What's with all the Swedes? I can assure you that the Swedish Recording Artists Industry (if such a thing exists) is not paying me for this list! If you're looking for insanely talented musicians with a sick sense of song arrangements, look no further. Also, if you really like your drumming, then this is definitely for you too. Best song: "Bleed"

And the rest:

Inflikted by Cavalera Conspiracy

Slania by Eluveitie

Hymns in the Key of 666 by Hellsongs

XV by King's X

Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace by The Offspring

Peace.

"Color of Magic" by Terry Pratchett

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
Discworld is a truly "magical" setting and Pratchett created one of the most intense and wacky worlds. However, the episodic structure belittles the premise and the characters roam from one perilous conflict to another rather easily. The sense of danger / doom is relegated to a mere nothing.


View all my reviews.

Hold on a sec!

I just realized this: "Times of Trouble" from Temple of the Dog and "Rotten Apple" of Alice In Chains share the same riff. A little bit of research revealed that Alice In Chains' song came a good three years after. I am not insinuating that Jerry Cantrell and co. nicked the riff, but it is a little uncanny.

Peace.

Yet Another Awesome Playlist

"Austral Spectrum" by Alchemist
"We Die Young" by Alice In Chains
"Twilight of the Thunder God" by Amon Amarth
"Sweet Emotion" by The Answer
"Blind Man" by Black Stone Cherry
"Joan Crawford" by Blue Oyster Cult
"Riot Act" by Exodus
"King for a Day" by Faith No More
"Guardian" by Fates Warning
"Seasons in the Abyss" by Hellsongs
"Psycho" by Kosmos
"Get It on" by T-Rex
"Inertiatic Esp" by The Mars Volta
"Seabeast" by Mastodon
"Broken, Beat & Scarred" by Metallica
"A-Hole" by Mother Superior
"Nutbush City Limits" by Nashville Pussy
"Mota" by The Offspring
"Face of Melinda" by Opeth
"Prelude to Descent" by Paradise Lost
"Sentimental" by Porcupine Tree
"My Enemy" by Skid Row
"Jesus Christ Pose" by Soundgarden
"Serenade" by Steve Miller Band
"Cold Winter Nights" by Stratovarius
"Times of Trouble" by Temple Of The Dog
"More Than Meets the Eye" by Testament
"Teaser" by Tommy Bolin
"Schism" by Tool
"The Answer" by Warrior Soul

Peace.

Reverse Sacrifice

Last night I attended the second night of the Northwest Film Festival, organized at the Northwest Film Center in Portland, Oregon. The night's screenings involved a collection of shorts handpicked by the judges from local filmmakers (Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC). Needless to say it was a mixed bag of oddities, impenetrable tosh, and run-of-the-mill squares.

Two films, however, grabbed my attention: Jamie Marie Waelchli's excruciating Little Pleasures and Vincent Caldoni's brilliant The Rifle Workbook. The former consists of Waelchli stuffing as many gums as possible into her mouth until she pukes (multiple times) and her cheeks enlarge to contain the elastic sugary mass. It is a heavy-handed metaphor for a society where we subject ourselves an overload of puny pleasures, instead of experiences that are rewarding for a longer period of time. The film - experiment, if you will - reaches a point where it ceases to be funny (as was evidenced by the ending laughter from the audience three quarters of the way) and becomes painful to watch. A ridiculously simple premise and execution, but very effective.

The Rifle Workbook, on the other hand, showcases the talents of Caldoni as a future superstar movie director. Using a soundtrack by Explosions in the Sky, the film takes place in a wooded area where an angel oversees a strange ritual where the locals place their most precious belongings (mirror, knife, hair, whiskey, etc.) in a case. The angel then burns the case and from the ashes comes out ... It is a fantastic little film - music video, if you will.

Both films were shown in the middle of the schedule, so they overshadowed everything that came before and/or after them. Interestingly, though, both films were satisfyingly unconventional, yet accessible. Just like short films should be.

"Anathem" by Neal Stephenson

Here is my review of Stephenson's latest book, Anathem as posted goodreads.com.

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Despite its grand ambitions and occasional bursts of genius, it falls short of its promise. Stephenson's linguistic prowess is undeniable, but his prose is far from poetic or emotionally gratifying. However, it is one of the more interesting and challenging science fiction, or "speculative fiction", books I have read and would recommend to anybody searching for something slightly out of the ordinary. Prior knowledge of the Long Now Project isn't essential - the book is only marginally connected to it - but adds to the experience.


View all my reviews.

Goodbye to Massachusetts

I posted this blog somewhere else by mistake. Oops...

It has been a little over three and a half years since I arrived in Beantown with no definite game plan for the long run. I had signed up for the summer school to get some film classes in order to find out if the whole scene was right for me. My original plan was to travel around the world for a year with the money I had in the bank (a few years' worth of savings and what I got for my 2001 Ford Fiesta 1.6L 5-speed manual). However, after a couple of weeks in Boston, I decided to stay here. I enrolled - miraculously - in graduate school and the rest is history (I can't escape cliches nowadays).

My three and a half years (with 3 months break in the City of Angels) has been full of ups and downs. Here's the lowdown:

Ups:
- Regan - love of my life and the most gorgeous girl in the world.
- Friends - mostly through BU I met some amazing people that are now my lifelong friends.
- Accent - my new British-American-Turkish hybrid of an accent is apparently a hit.
- US of A - there are so many places to see and things to do here, I love it.

Downs:
- My car - how can a car break down this frequently?
- Personal issues that I don't want to divulge - those close to me know what they are.
- Job situation - unless you're an accountant or have a medical training, Boston is devoid of job opportunities.

Now I'm heading out to Oregon - a place I fell in love with two St. Patrick's Days ago. A new beginning. I'm sad to say goodbye to Boston, but at the same time I am very relieved to be out of this place. Who knows when I will be here next - not for a long time. I hope life treats me a little better out there, because I'm running out of options.

Anyway, this is getting pretty morbid. This is my last blog from the East Coast. Next blog will be written in Pacific time.

Peace.