Topic: The Music Thread

@StitchJones That's the first time I heard Devil Wears Prada in years. A lot of the Halsey songs I like are from her Badlands album. It's one of those what I call perfect albums because I skip no songs and continue through the whole thing in one sitting. It's very mood specific though. Deeply meaningful but not what you'd want to listen to on a bad day. I think people naturally see parts of themselves in music, maybe it's something the mind does automatically. I just know my ears enjoy a band like Slayer but I've never been able to personally relate with those songs. I don't think God hates us all, and a song like Angel of Death absolutely tells a story. I've been to Auchwitz and after that I never listened to that song again. I tried but as it ramped up I felt my heart ramp up too. They are one of those bands that I don't have a favorite album of, more like a mix of a couple. I'm not being sexist but maybe it's an angry young man thing? Slayer says punch a wall and Halsey says punch a pillow. Melanie Martinez is similar, I'll listen but then sort of reel myself back in.

Meanings change with personal understanding too. I thought this one was about something else until I did look a little into faith. I still don't know the meaning of some of my favorite songs. Halsey is just very visceral in a way,

@GirlVersusGame I've seen a lot of bands in Dublin. The reason being a tour will usually end there. Most of the RoadRunner bands start in America, head through Europe, the UK then finish there. It's not that it's a party town (although I have stories, I can't share) logistically it makes sense to end there then head back across the Atlantic. For many bands I did that London to Dublin jump. There's an image of bands partying every night on tour, maybe years ago. Now so many of them are older and spend more time lifting weights than downing alcohol. City to city, country to country can destroy your sleep schedule etc very quickly. But when it came to Dublin people let loose. Do you know I've never seen Lacuna Coil live? Every time they played even at a festival I never made it to that stage. I discovered NightWish first. I listened to them when I wasn't even double digits, they had that storybook quality about them, I didn't know what Metal even was. They are one of my top ten favorite bands of all time, then Lacuna Coil, then Within Temptation. In that order.

I've probably listened to Comalies more than most other albums. After those three it was Leaves Eyes (like a tree leaf I always assumed) and then Arch Enemy. Eluveitie came much later, a tour manager kept telling me about them and hyping me up, he said not to listen to them online but to wait for the show. I waited three weeks, patiently, he was right. They absolutely blew me away, I don't know any other band who is that diverse in instruments and in range and in vocals. That's the great thing about European Metal there are so many cultural aspects and instruments, I never found that with something like Rock on the Range, Wacken is another world. Ghost is another band I keep missing live, every time something came up. That tour manager did the hype thing with another band, you won't know them but I'll share.

@ Ravix I'll get to Drive eventually, maybe after the barrage of really bad Christmas horror movies. I think some awful killer gingerbread man one is next. It's a romance movie? I thought he was a get-away driver or a fixer like The Transporter.

These songs feel like they mean a lot to you but I don't know if i'm reading between the lines, or just being slapped with a large fish (overthinking) but then you added a third and shared a joke so i'm maybe just tired.

• I think most music I listen to means something to me, sometimes lyrics say things people can't. That's how I looked at music from the start and maybe I got my wires crossed and should look at it in a different way but my attitude was always that music is always there for a person and people aren't. If you press play it's always there, you aren't overthinking you are absolutely correct. Except for that French Metal one, I don't want to ice-pick random French men. I didn't notice myself until I looked at a playlist with almost 500 songs and as I scrolled down it each title when put together actually formed sentences, it is what it is. Maybe cathartic would be the right term, it's not something I want it's something I need. Music is a kind of glue.

@GirlVersusGame I'm not surprised you already knew AmityA but surprised you haven't heardy any Devil wears prada

@StitchJones Oh I mean I do know Devil Wears Prada, I just hadn't listened to them in years. Underoath, Senses Fail, Escape the Faith and Hawthorne Heights always had more plays. An album like Their Only Chasing Safety became something that just devoured so much of my listening time. I was learning piano and cello one day then sneaking away and blasting my ears out with that the next, I still love classical music but I've never touched a guitar, only the plastic video-game kind.

I was aware of others like Devil Wears Prada, Bayside, Thursday, Anberlin, and so many others. I eventually had access to all of the Screamo/Emo catalogues but I found it hard to move away from Underoath/Senses Fail/Escape the Faith. The odd thing is that out of all bands Escape the Faith did sort of grow with me, their lead singer did his prison time and then reinvented himself with Falling in Reverse. His music has been with me my whole life.

@GirlVersusGame when i discovered AA years ago, its was during a rabbit hole dive on youtube. They were already established. I believe it was right before their last 2 albums. In '19 so that would have been right before "everyone leaves you....once you leave them" album. I was blown away. The mix of really heavy nu-metal, the melodic choruses and bridges. The way the can infuse melodic progressions into the heavy parts as well. And their whole band theme being about depression, addiction, suicide and stuff. They were very intriguing on top their songs being so freaking good. I guess their music speaks to me too, since I have hereditary depression and have been on meds since a teenager (over 30yrs now).

And they didn't fall off, seemed to get better with age. The song "not without my ghosts" on their latest album.....holy F that song hit me right in the soul first time I heard it. Still get chills to that song. Esp the part Phem sings. They are just a great band.

The chorus of "give it all", these lyrics....
"I give it all, and when I fall
I get up and give some more
Until there's nothing left of me
Just some bones stacked on the floor"
Prob most powerful set of lyrics I ever heard IMO only of course. I wanted to try and incorporate that chorus in my next tattoo somehow after i heard that years ago, but unfortunately its just too damn long lmao hahaha

as far as devil wears prada. they were yet another rabbit hole discovery from youtube for me as well, years ago. But they are awesome in their own way. Much more straight forward band then AA, but still pretty epic. They have a great sense of being Heavy as F and melodic as well. I love bands with the duel singers. The growler and the "dude with girl voice" to balance things out. Genius use of harmonizing in music to me is what makes a song really special

@GirlVersusGame I've seen Lacuna Coil three times, should have been four, but I had to give the one a month ago a miss due to health issues, which is still bumming me out.
The best one was in 2012 where they first played a decent electric set, then took a short break before Christina and the guitarist (can't remember who played guitars back then) sat alone on stage for an acoustic set and then they finished off with another electric set.
Check out the brilliant setlist here. Easily one of my top three favourite concerts. It was a small, intimate venue as well, which I love more than the big festival venues

I haven't been to any gigs this year but have already got my first lined up for next year when I'm going to see The Wonder Years play in Bristol.

I don't know why but I never followed them too closely in the past but have been listening to the couple of albums I have a fair bit recently and saw that the tour is for the 10th anniversary of No Closer to Heaven which I didn't have. I've been listening to it loads since the reissue came out and it's one hell of an album with such amazing lyrics.

This is one in particular that hits hard every time which is about a friend of the singer's who died from a drug overdose, particularly the lyric "I'm sure there ain't a heaven but that don't mean i don't like to picture you there"

@FuriousMachine I saw Lacuna Coil in 2004 and I can still remember how great they were live!

@Thrillho That’s a very powerful song and definitely hits close to home.

Just a great song from a great album that was mostly recorded live off the floor over a couple of days.

Disposable heroes, synthwave version. That Bridge is amazing, sounds like its out of skate or die on commador 64

@GirlVersusGame Understood. And yes, cathartic is the word. I think I just want to make sure whether I ever need to tread carefully or shut the fudge up when I see these things standing out so clearly in the music shared, as we know they ain't light topics and i'm like an emotional bull in a china shop, shall we say.

The french one I didn't even know there was a metal one, I thought the French one was like the folky jig with the guy and girl frolicking about, so I missed the other one, clearly 😅 but yes, no ice picks for you.

But the Maroon 5 one and then that one right after it. I was like. 'Damn' 'Fudge' and also 'expletive'! Some people maybe just see the music, but both you and Tjuz have recently shared ones that hit me like a brick within seconds and I don't want to be overprotective or like "are you okay?" Every damn time, because well... I don't know if I should say this, F***! i'll say it anyway. Etc etc and yeah, that one really spoke to me, too. Knowing they are cathartic to you is good, so I will try to avoid thinking is this someone reaching out looking for help right the fudge now? I think i mentioned that is how me and one person in particular used to communicate with other people's music and lyrics, and that could get very, very messy. But when those words kind of describe something you are going through or have gone through, well, you know. My goddamn sensors are tripping haywire. But yeah, i'm doing it too, posting things relating to my past, and stuff that is cathartic to me both then and now. And the release is a good thing, hahahahaahahah extended laugh etc.

@StitchJones I thought the lyric for 'are you ready to make this one breath your last' was 'are you ready to make this boyfriend your last'. If you listen now you'll hear it too, then the song will be ruined for you too. I wasn't even sure if they were Screamo or Emo the first time, then I found the lyrics and 'definitely not Emo'. I don't even know where that band came from. It feels like Youtube too but it was like hearing a modern Screamo band and I still think they were the only one. Actually I have one for you.

@Ravix Was it really so obvious? No one offline knows what my music is even about, especially if it's screaming. It's okay if you make those kinds of connections, you understand the music therefore you understand the connection. I got used to being able to hide it in plain sight. Even now it's noise, we all need something I suppose.

The french one I didn't even know there was a metal one, I thought the French one was like the folky jig with the guy and girl frolicking about, so I missed the other one, clearly 😅 but yes, no ice picks for you.

• Yes there was actually a song in that video, but that kind of content is normal for France. That's funny how your eyes took over for your ears. I'll remember that when I watch that video.

But the Maroon 5 one and then that one right after it. I was like. 'Damn' 'Fudge' and also 'expletive'! Some people maybe just see the music, but both you and Tjuz have recently shared ones that hit me like a brick within seconds and I don't want to be overprotective or like "are you okay?" Every damn time, because well... I don't know if I should say this, F***! i'll say it anyway.

• If I wasn't okay I wouldn't be typing here and enjoying all of this good music. I understand the concern, I just have very cathartic tastes in music, maybe all my favorite songs are like that. I thought everyone's were, do you just listen to music for the sake of it?

Etc etc and yeah, that one really spoke to me, too. Knowing they are cathartic to you is good, so I will try to avoid thinking is this someone reaching out looking for help right the fudge now?

• I'm definitely not. I'm not being held against my will. I just like music that I can relate to, and now I can see why that might seem 'are you okay?'. I'm as the rappers say, Gucci.

  I think i mentioned that is how me and one person in particular used to communicate with other people's music and lyrics, and that could get very, very messy. But when those words kind of describe something you are going through or have gone through, well, you know.

• Yeah, that's a correct assumption. It's cathartic, I always thought of music as something that reaches your soul. Even if it's someone screaming into a microphone it means something, and if you can't scream back it does it for you. I'm resourceful, if I needed an out I'd find one. I just wasn't aware that it was so transparent.

Also look at that happy Kurdish man all the way up my playlist. That's a happy song.

I won't link the video it's not your kind of thing I don't think, unless you like Kurdish music.

@GirlVersusGame I mean, I guess it feels obvious to me, as I am much the same with music. And yes, a lot of the time I listen to music with personal meaning, or very raw emotional themes, sometimes not, but mostly yes. We know this 🙈

I didn't quite mean reaching out in that extreme a way, more in the general sense. But yeah. I'll shut up because shutting up is good

I think maybe the french one I meant was just a totally different song/video. Oh it was like the synth pop one, not folk and definitely not metal and definitely not ice picky. Maybe there was more than one french one posted or I got the language wrong. I totally missed the one you are actually talking about.

And yeah, you'll find out when you watch Drive how it subverts the usual Hollywood fare. But it is Nicolas Winding Refn, to be fair. So...

@Ravix I appreciate it, you noticed something I was hiding for maybe ten years. Not one person offline picked up on that and you did in ten days, it says a lot. They never will, I always make sure of that. You do know the music but you know people too. I wouldn't call reaching a logical conclusion as extreme, you caught it so I won't pretend you are wrong, nothing goods from confusing people.

Oh the French one? You mean Armour Plastique with the boy and the girl? I like that song a lot. On the surface level it's about teenage romance and the kind of emotions and tribulations that comes with it, so in a way it's a story but it's not mine. I like the level of intimacy, the words and the visuals manage to capture, most of my favorite French songs are about that kind of emotional connection. Then the deeper meaning is that the love is plastic hence 'plastique', it presents the listener with the belief of a kind of blossoming love between two people then brings them into a bubble of perfection until the realization is made that it's not really love, it's about image, it becomes superficial. As if the aesthetic they present was perfect (the fashion) but really it wasn't. I see is as allegory of how people see the perfect relationship from how it's presented outwardly (social media etc) but inwardly it's not wine and roses at all.

I never did get to watch Drive, I had to go out tonight and maybe last night, I forget, but maybe tomorrow. It's moved up the list, if just for the music.

@Ravix nice gif. such an amazing game. I loved the music and scene for "the story of Rainy".....so epic man! Kojima knew how to punch us in the soul in both DS games in this way