bErG lOvEs PiZzA

I’ve got a headache and it’s not the light kind. I suspect I’ve got hypertension… sheesh I don’t wanna get all these health problems at my *ahem* very young age. So anyway, amidst my hectic, tiring, crazy schedule these days I was able to get on Yahoo Messenger for about an hour or so earlier tonight… just to check out who among my friends were online.

I got to chat with a good friend who now lives in Australia… haven’t talked to him in a long time. As usual, topics bounced off from the pointless to the uber-serious. Kumustahan to the max. What was interesting was something that we both thought is happening to our world… we both feel that the world is probably ending soon. Heck, even his Iranian friend has sensed it and has already made plans to go back to his country. Don’t call us crazy, we don’t need you telling us we are because we know we aren’t… not totally anyway haha. The world is full of problems, life for everyone has gotten much harder, and nature isn’t cooperating (global warming, etc.).

A thought crossed my mind… if the world is indeed ending soon, I don’t want it to end in chaos (world war, natural disasters, fighting, etc.)… I’d rather it end with the whole of humankind united… like if we were attacked by aliens and the world rose up together to fight… hahaha I’ve gone mad coz of my headache. Speaking of alien attacks, the trailer for the new movie The Day The Earth Stood Still came out a couple of days ago. (See what I did there? Nice segue oh yeah, I rule!!!) The new movie stars Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly, among others. And its about… well I think I already gave it away (or did I?). Watch it below.

I am sooo watching this come December. While I was watching this on *yooootoob*, I noticed the trailer for the 1951 version of the movie was available, too. Yes folks, the film is a remake. Watch the trailer for the original version [here]. It made me laugh, not in a way that mocks the 1951 version of the movie… I was just amused at how far technology and film-making has come in terms of technique and special effects since way back then. I hope the movie is good… finally, something to look forward to in December other than Christmas season and New Year and Misa De Gallo and… yeah.

This is still a music blog, primarily, so here are some songs in a mix that doesn’t really have a theme… the mix of songs start off a bit folky, then bluesy, then alternative-y, rock-ish, progressive, then electronic-y. You be the judge… I love these songs, I can tell you that much.

>>>Jakob Dylan - Something Good This Way Comes<<< This is from Jakob Dylan’s debut solo album called Seeing Things, which is out now. I emphasize *solo* because he has a band called The Wallflowers, for those who didn’t know. Jakob is Bob Dylan’s son… still for those who didn’t know. I don’t mean to be so all-knowing and stuff, just felt like saying it all because I have nothing much to say… I’m too lazy to look for info. I have not heard the album yet but I heard two tracks from him through his myspace and I liked what I heard. This song is one of those two tracks. Sounds to me like Jakob was having a good day when he wrote this… the lyrics certainly present that imagery to detail. This is the folky track i referred to above. The album was produced by veteran producer Rick Rubin.

>>>Amos Lee - Street Corner Preacher<<< This is, in my opinion, the best track on Amos Lee’s third album Last Days At The Lodge which came out last month. I don’t like the album it as much as his first two releases, but its growing on me more and more with each listen. The sounds on here range from folk to bluegrass to country to blues to r&b… though that makes it sound like its all over the place, the songs are actually cohesive. This is the bluesy (also folk-y and bluegrass-y) track i referred to above. “He got a new mercy, a new grace/ street corner preacher with the angry face/ he got two years off for good behavior/ back in the neighborhood working for the savior” … the song’s obviously a narrative. The album was produced by Don Was.

>>>Thriving Ivory - Angels On The Moon<<< There’s hype about this band. I haven’t bitten it yet. They don’t sound too special to me. I like the song though, and the fact that the piano is part of the band’s sound. The singer’s voice is unusual and unexpected. And with lyrics like these, maybe I’d soon be singin’ praises for these guys…“Don’t tell me if I’m dying, ’cause I don’t want to know. If I can’t see the sun, maybe I should go. Don’t wake me ’cause I’m dreaming of angels on the moon… where everyone you know never leaves too soon.” Nice!

>>>Matthew Ryan - It Could’ve Been Worse<<< This guy’s grossly underrated. I only know a few songs from him and I like most of them. My favorite is “Return To Me” from his CD Regret Over The Wires. This one was the first single from his current new album Matthew Ryan Vs. The Silver State, an album I have yet to find. I say ‘was’ coz it was released some months back, but I didn’t realize that I didn’t put it up yet. It sounds so Bruce Springsteen meets Bob Dylan meets Marc Cohn, if you ask me. I love it! “So you stood on that bridge overlooking old crappy town. Snow was falling slowly all around. You smoked a quick cigarette. But I’ll never believe that you jumped and just ended there. The note you left read ‘look everywhere’ and ‘you’ll never bury me’.” Makes me wonder who its about.

>>>Lifehouse - Broken (Radio Version)<<< Finally, this is getting released. It’s the 3rd official single from Lifehouse’s album Who We Are and it is my favorite on there next to “Storm”. I’m still not over this song, been playing it for over a year now. The new version of “Broken” has new vocals from Jason Wade and edgier radio-ready production. Doesn’t matter, this or the album version, either way the song is awesome! I really wanna go watch their concert in Manila on July 26 but I am currently in too much of a financial crunch for that… huhuhu. Bad timing. I’ll just settle for the CD for now… love this band! “The broken clock is a comfort, it helps me sleep tonight. Maybe it can stop tomorrow from stealing all my time. I am here still waiting though I still have my doubts. I am damaged at best, like you’ve already figured out.”

>>>Seether - Rise Above This<<< I thought this was just generic rock, till I listened to the lyrics. Its actually well-intentioned if you knew the story behind this song. Written by the singer after the death of his brother. Its from their current album Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces (i like the title). “Hate the mind, regrets are better left unspoken. For all we know, this void will grow and everything’s in vain, distressing you though it leaves me open. Feels so right, but I’ll end this all before it gets me. Call your name every day, when I feel so helpless. I’m fallin’ down, but I’ll rise above this… rise above this.”

>>>Mogwai - The Sun Smells Too Loud<<< I have heard of this group(?) before, just never bothered to try them(?) out till a friend sent me one of their songs last March. It was called “Take Me Somewhere Nice”… a very good song to put in the background when I’m wallowing in my depression. Though that song has vocals, this one right here doesn’t. Because this group(?) is an instrumental group… progressive rock, right? They(?) have a new album coming out in September called The Hawk Is Howling. Check out the titles of their songs, they’re very creative. This one is not an exception. “The Sun Smells Too Loud” has an electronic feel to it and is quite nice. Mid-tempo background music for… i dunno… washing your car and just looking at it because gas prices have gone way up high to go driving… or something. Listen to it but don’t expect any words. :p

>>>Cary Brothers - Ride (Tiesto Radio Edit)<<< The song’s from 2006, but this version is from this year. Tiesto gave new life to Cary Brothers’ “Ride” and it sounds excellent… a different flavor from the original version but equally great. If you haven’t already, check out Cary’s album Who You Are… a fine collection of great music from one of Zach Braff’s legion of tune-smiths he calls friends. “You are everything I wanted, the scars of all I’ll ever know. You saw all my pieces broken, this darkness that I could never show.”

’til next time… enjoy!