"The End of Everything"

When I bought Trivium's Ascendancy album in a local record store (the CD in the upper-right corner within the photo), I wasn't expecting to hear the first track (called The End of Everything) at all. While I do have the album in my iPod, I've been scouring the earth for this album as well as their debut album, From Ember to Inferno, to complete my Trivium collection. Now that I have Ascendancy, From Ember to Inferno is left, but it'll be that much more difficult to find. Anyhow, the reason I never heard the intro track until now was that I never had that song in my iPod in the first place! My younger brother, who had given me a digital copy of this LP years ago, never gave me that song. Maybe he forgot or thought he included it in the digital copy, who knows. So for the past 5 years or so since I've been listening to this LP, I always though Rain (the second track) was the first. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that that wasn't the case.  As I'm sure you've heard it already, the intro track is moody, foreboding, but immensly enticing. I'm really glad to have found out that this is the first song in the LP, since it leads into a perfect buildup into Rain. 

Phantogram

Alright, so I caved in and bought Phantogram's Voices a whiles back. Though, I'd like to say that I've outdone the Mainstream by going out of my way by also getting ahold of their debut album, Eyelid Movies, but something tells me that won't fly with the indie folk. 

Voices... where to begin? When I bought this album, the only song that I knew from them was Fall in Love (the third track in the LP), since that's the only song on the radio at the moment. I also stumbled a brief (yet thorough) review of this album in an Los Angeles Times article, stating how this LP builds upon their unique sound, structure, and strengths as a duo, while also addressing some of their weaknesses that were prevalent in Eyelid Movies, their first album. It was enough to put them on my radar, and when this LP was released, I went on a scavenger hunt to find it (I had to go through three music stores before I actually found this CD). Since I've never listened to them and the only song I was familiar with was Fall in Love, it took me some to be familiar with this album, since Fall in Love is perhaps the most radio-friendly song (although Bill Murray and Celebrating Nothing are can be radio-friendly also). The sound from this album (and perhaps Eyelid Movies also) are reminiscent of underground trip-hop movement of the 90's, while also blending in hints of electronica (think of The Sneaker Pimp's Becoming X, to some extent). When compared to Eyelid Movies, Sarah's voice is more prominent and powerful, making her vocal presence known (whereas she seemed to coyly whisper throughout Eyelid Movies). Of all the songs in Voices, perhaps the one that I'm inexorably attracted to the most would be I Don't Blame You (the ninth track in the LP). The beginning of the song caught me off guard, since it sounded like a man screaming, but once you get past that, the song is actually quite intriguing. There seem to be intervals of layers of sounds (sampled from God-knows-where) that compliment the looping drum tracking. While Josh is the weaker vocalist of the duo, his voice feels at home here and I don't think the song would be the same if Sarah was the one who sung in this track. Below is the song itself so you can hear the intricate layers of sound in the intervals I was talking about.

I accidentally stumbled across this album at a Best Buy, when I bought my MacBook Pro (more on that later). I impulsively bought this CD, since I figure it'll a very good while since I'll see this album on the shelves again. Compared to Voices, this album has a completely different feel to it, but I can't really describe the differences. As I mentioned earlier, Sarah's vocals are less powerful here, as though she is whispering loudly than singing her heart out. Mind you, this isn't bad at all and may have been her intention in the first place, since this LP is slightly more ambient than their sophomore album. Josh also has a more prominent singing role here, but since he's the weaker vocalist of the duo, he stepped back from the mic in Voices to let Sarah take control. I'm still in the middle of digesting this album, so I really don't have much to say at the moment other than it's quite an enjoyable listen. and its ambient soundscapes feel like you're dreaming...only you're not, of course. It draws you in and keeps you engaged until the very end of the LP, only to realize that the virtual dream was over way too soon. Like Voices, there is a song in the track list that I find infectious. It's called As Far As I Can See. When I first heard this song, its glitchy intro made me think that my disc was scratched. However, this glitchy intro (which loops indefinitely through the song) was what enticed me the most, since it's been quite some time since I've heard something so unique. Furthermore, Sarah's sultry vocals really add to the atmosphere of the song and the looping drumming track complements the glitchy loop perfectly. This may be my most favorite track in the entire album. Below is the mesmeric video for the song. Enjoy!

"Dude, Where's My Car?"

Six days ago (last Tuesday on Sept. 10, 2013), my car was stolen approximately between 12:55 to 4:15 in the afternoon. I say this because I was at work at that time (luckily for me, it was only a half day, as opposed to working a full shift), and it wasn't until 4:15 in the afternoon that I realized that my car was missing! "Just up and gone," as my coworker had phrased it. 

After the initial shock of realizing this, I immediately searched the area where my car was at, desperately looking for shattered glass. There wasn't any. Then, because I had parked in a public lot, I had contacted the towing company in charge of that specific, hoping that my car was towed rather than stolen. Unfortunately, they didn't tow my car. Next, I contacted the city police department, again hoping that my car was in their possession rather than stolen. Again, no such luck, so I had to fill out a stolen vehicle report. Filling out the report wasn't that difficult at all (not that it should be, but the stress and shock of losing a car can interfere with the report), since I was very detailed on how my car looked like (describing pre-existing damages, stickers and decals, and such), as well as giving other pertinent information.

For almost a whole day, my car was missing. I was informed by a sheriff in San Dimas (should give you an idea of the area where I live) that my car was found in that city. Which I thought as bizarre, since a car like mine (it's an Acura Integra LS - without the V-Tec) usually ends up in Pomona, El Monte, or even in Los Angeles! But it was found in the whitebread town of San Dimas (again, bizarre). I spoke to the sheriff on the condition of the car (usually cars like mine and Honda Civics are stolen only to be scrapped for parts) and all he could tell me that my car was in "fair condition." Crap. I thanked him for the news and the following day, I picked up my car.

When I reclaimed my car, my heart was pounding. What will be there? What will be missing? were some of the thoughts running in my mind. I was lucky to realize that most of my engine parts and all my tires were all there! However, what was stolen were all of my personal belongings and such, and as far as my engine goes, only my intake valve (and air filter) were stolen! I sound happy, but it's more like surprised. After all, if the jerks who my car paid more attention, they should have seen that my distributor and gas filter were in excellent condition, as well as some small parts such as spark plugs, some tubing/hoses and electrical wiring. All they saw was that flashy intake valve. So that's the reason I was surprised that my car was in excellent shape: It was still drivable! My mechanic later told me that I was lucky to have my car back in this condition. Lucky, indeed.

So, here is a list of what has been stolen (more or less from what I remember):

Car-Related:

• The Intake Valve (as well as its Air Filter)
• Oil, Filter, and even the cardboard for the oil change! (They were some desperate dudes.)
• Jumper Cables
• Hydrolic Jack
• Fluids (Brake, Transmission, Power Steering)
• Surprisingly, not the Radiator Fluid

Personal Stuff (Materialistically Speaking):

• Car Radio and the sound system (such as the amp, though speakers weren't taken)
• My CD collection
• She & Him - Vol. 1,2,3
• Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks (Deluxe Edition, too...)
• Sara Bareilles - The Blessed Unrest
• Fuel - Something Like Human
• The Strokes - Comedown Machine 
• Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe
• Julien-K - We're Here With You
• DragonForce - Valley of the Damned
• Ender's Game (the book, though this was for a friend)
• Paperwork (Registration, Insurance, misc.)

Personal Stuff (Sentimentally Speaking):

• My Spirit Ghost (it's a little good-luck charm - I called him Frederick)
• My Rubber Band Ball (and I worked so hard on it, too...)
• My Piggy Bank (no coins yet, so that's good)
• My Las Vegas Keychain (I never went to Vegas, but it came with the car's keys)