music's always been a wonderful part of life. a good song colors the listener's world with melody, and enraptures the soul. this post is a list of recommendations of tracks, some from niche genres, and mostly stuff you'd hardly, if ever get to hear on a mainstream radio station. after all, where's the fun in recommending stuff you hear played ad nauseum on MTV and top 40 stations anyways? hence, here are some picks from the author's playlist... great music off the beaten path.

x japan - longing -togireta melody- (japanese rock)

it's a ballad by what is arguably the biggest rock band in japan up till now, ten years since they've disbanded. the song is in japanese, with an english chorus, but the emotionally charged melody alone conveys the mood more than the lyrics.

avenged sevenfold - warmness on the soul (ballad)

a 2001 power ballad, slow rock tune against piano background music. with a nicely played guitar solo. the music video tells a story, too.

shawn colvin - never saw blue (sentimental)

this one's a really beautiful romantic number with meaningful and poetically written lyrics, and sure as hell's a lot better than so many love songs with cliched lyrics out there.

annie lennox - a whiter shade of pale (alternative pop)

procol harum originally did this track back in the 1960's, and it's redone with annie lennox's haunting vocals in this 1994 cover.

hayley westenra - who painted the moon black (classical)

a classical number with nicely crafted lyrics. definitely worth listening to.

bullet for my valentine - tears don't fall (rock)

"your tears don't fall, they crash around me..." wow. talk about hyperbole. nevertheless, one of the best emo-rock numbers around. the acoustic version also rocks.

the beach boys - california dreamin' (surf/pop)

it's a classic. still sounds really good, even today. a great song to play while driving along the boulevard.

snow patrol - signal fire (indie)

a great new song from the spider-man 3 soundtrack. it's still that familiar snow patrol sound though.

mary chapin carpenter - he thinks he'll keep her (country)

this one's a really good listen. it's a country song about how husbands don't appreciate their wives, and a grammy nominee in 1995.

the verve - the drugs don't work (brit/indie rock)

richard ashcroft of the verve really nailed this one. a nicely composed ballad with great lyrics.

paul mccartney and wings - band on the run (brit/70's pop/rock)

an upbeat pop/rock title. sounds really great, even more than thirty years after it was released in 1973. the album of the same name 1974's top selling album and is ranked at number 418 in rolling stone magazine's 500 greatest albums of all time.

kamelot - love you to death (rock)

um... this didn't come from the author's playlist, but a friend of the author spent an entire day listening to it over and over again. so maybe you'll like it, maybe not. it isn't really the author's cup of tea, though.

logged at 1:58 AM

Friday, May 11, 2007

the author is writing this in between trying to mug.

wait, no. mugging? the definition of that is 'rote learning.' and while that can somewhat be a good thing because one probably uses less processing power, does one really 'mug', per se, for subjects that require analysis, calculation, dissectation and academic discursion? so while, admittedly, the 'mugging' that takes place involves memorising principles as if they were scripture, the overall preparation for those examinations include training oneself to use those mugged tools to produce academically sound arguments, solutions etcetera.

slightly confusing, perhaps, and the author feels that a disclaimer is warranted here.

the above paragraph was written in a state of slight inebriation.

logged at 2:54 AM