IWRESTELDABEARONCE

iwrestledabearonce - "Tastes like Kevin Bacon"

Iwrestledabearonce- "Tastes like kevin bacon"

Very interesting music, by a slightly twisted band (check out their myspace). You're not sure what that means?

Here's an excerpt of the blog post on myspace introducing the new members (line-up has changed since the video):

"First is mikey on drums... mikey is a sexual beast and enjoys long walks on the beach as well as spooning.

next is mim on guitar... she is krysta's sister and she shreds balls. period. the end.

anndd finally we have dave on bass. he is a beast and makes love to the bass like it's an underage malaysian prostitute."

Heavy mosh parts + original music + lead singer and lead guitarist are sisters + funny bits + varied structure = one new fan...me! he!

:)

IWRESTLEDABEARONCE - "ULRICH FIRELORD: BREAKER OF MOUNTAINS"

2:27 to 3:11 destroys all!!!

Future Of The Left: my discovery for this week :-)

Future Of The Left, a band I discovered 2...days ago. ^^ Good music, straightforward yet complex enough. Perfect to re-conciliate yourself with good ol' rock'n'roll spirit.

This particular song, "adeadenemyalwayssmellsgood" makes me think of some sort of noise-style Rage Against The Machine. Veeeeery catchy, groovy tune :P

"Manchasm": The ending is fun: the cam starts following a cat called Collin instead of the white-haired man, and the band sing along stuff like "Colin was a pussy, a very pretty pussy" ^^ And it is kind of cute, I have to admit lol

Heavier music I love

The song by Zao, "The Rising End" is great stuff, albeit perhaps a liiiittle repetitive, but both the main riff and the break (x2) are fantastic! Can you believe these guys are fervent christians? 

Converge - Drop out: The beginning is "ok", but the end of this song is PERFECT!!!

Soft, harmless pop (before I post some more "catchy" stuff later on :P)

Most of the time I listen to violent stuff, so people might think that's ALL I like. It's not true, I sometimes appreciate a little pop or pop/rock...given it's not too plain and/or that it's beautiful.

This song is extremely well-known, "commercial" in a way, soft. But I love it!

But THESE guys below really get to me! Such amazing music. Both of their albums soooo great, from A to Z. Presenting Needtobreathe!

Pursuit

Ever wondered what it'd be like to go 
From apathetic ignorance to enlightened willpower?
Run away, but escape not in vain.
 
Explore the vast jungles and lost temples of our time
Open your eyes to the futility of being self-assured
Unexpectedly calm bursts of violence
 
These walls are made of spiders
The ground is covered in leeches
Your nest is filled with slime
 
But find truth, find truth,
The darkest moments are lit only by the brightest lights
(And your madness is blinding)
Find peace, you’re now the prisoner of the freedom you chose.
 
Branches break under your feet,
The trees slouch in the heavy, humid air
Mosquitoes in your neck.
 
Rashes burn your skin,
Sweat crusting your hair
Dirt on and in your clothes,
And nowhere to sleep.
 
The trail is getting steeper now,
The air is crisp.
You can see the whole valley below.
And the bridge ahead.
 
All the bright colors,
Glowing even through the setting sun.
The strong scent of the blooming flowers
Makes your head spin.
 
You are above the birds now,
Above these white clouds.
(And Oh! The hypothetical fall…)
 
They won’t be keeping their terrible secret much longer.
Not from you.
 
The night is newly born.
Still, you keep ascending.
One step at a time, one breath at a time.
Following that haunting noise.
 
Your whole body is numb with pain,
Your hands keep shaking.
 
Breathe in…Breathe out…
Breathe in…Breathe out…
 
A sinister crack.
A dark bush trembled,
As though convulsing in violent, sudden pain.

Stop. 
Your eyes wide open.

Only silence now survives the tension.
Your pounding heart invades your mind.

Patient… rigorous… pressure.
 
And in that very moment,
As warm blood gargles up your throat,

Death.
 
All your efforts erased in the blink of “Its” eye,
Such a simple lesson learnt, truly.
About greed, envy, and pride. 

Farewell

Well hey gorgeous, what were you hoping?

You crazy, furious waste of blue

Didn't you see the days slipping away,

The thick moist night swallowing you?

 

The time has come, everything has an end.

 

What makes it frightening is shattered and lost

When you forget you're alone. You aren't.

Around, the dance has only just started, unstoppable,

And soon, you’ll see, I'll be holding in your heart, burning it with love.

                                                                                                             

A burst of white heat fills your insides, acid rain running down your skin…

I appreciate your concern, but you won't be cared for ever again.

 

You’re helplessly longing for more time, when it finally strikes you.

You’ve spent your life in your deathbed.

 

And when you leave us here all dried up like summer grass,

We'll send you postcards of the desert in Chicago,

Remembering your mirth, and innocent selflessness,

Applauding how we smoothly drowned you in yourself.

 

You’re so close, yet still believe in your strength as a shield.

Think again, for we breathe that painful sweet-scented air about.

And so do you.

 

You wipe every single grain of dust off of the empty floor.

You'll be safe wherever you are, tiny particles just craving to unite.

It's funny how a few million years can change convictions, so don't worry,

We'll come back here after the dance, to spare us this farewell. 

Blast from the past!

Silence Is Sexy!

And it's FREE, too! (Oh! And legal!) :P

Check it out...here!

Irrational, explained

FEAR, stress, FAITH, envy, pleasure, beauty, LOVE, trust, HOPE, hate.

All irrational, yet feared, hated, believed in, trusted, enjoyed, contemplated, and loved always.

Why can't life be logical and clear-cut? "It would be cold?" What's that?...cold? Ha!

It would be EASY, that's what it would be. Perhaps a little boring too, but hey that's not too high a price tag for inner peace, right? 

I have this lingering contradiction in me: I know for a fact that if there was only black on the one hand, and white on the other, I would probably spend my whole life blending both in infinite shades of grey. To me, unease in its most vibrant expression. Such a brilliant driving force.

I guess my desperate need for a logical explanation for everything expresses itself in my constant emphasis on relativity. Trying to find patterns in random systems, whilst unavoidably acknowledging the complexity of the task. Trying to reach something simple the hard way. It's all very much like rock-climbing, mind you.

Always -and only- at home away from home.

And that's just wrong, isn't it? 

:-)

Free drum lessons!

I really miss formal musical education, like I said already, but there are things on the net that come quite close to a formal teacher/student learning process.

NO, It's not a chat room where you talk to drummers live and play together via webcam... this could be very interesting, but extremely difficult to manage and supervise. And music is one of these things you either learn by yourself, or with someone with whom you have to work "live", or else it's just distracting...

HOWEVER, I really like this website Free Drum Lessons.

It offers very high quality drum lessons. From beginners to polyrhythm masters, anyone can learn on this site. There are a few e-teachers on this project, and all of them seem quite passionate about teaching drums.

Each lesson looks at a particular aspect of drumming. You find everything on there, from drum tuning to music notation, from dynamics to rudiments, or counting in 5/4. You can learn rock drumming, jazz drumming, latin drumming, and double-bass. you name it they have it. Each lesson is also associated to downloadable sheet music of the stuff covered in the video, so you can print it out, jot down a few things from the video, shut down the computer and PLAY!.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!! If one day you just don't feel like "learning" (in the formal sense) all that much, but still feel that urge to play for fun...you can conciliate both! Because free drum lessons has a whole bunch of pretty cool play-alongs, and you can download the drumless audio-only mp3 track for free as well!

Ex. of a play-along: 

So yeah, just thought I'd share this with you ;-)

Fabulous movies..."Oh yeah, they're ab-so-lu-tely fab' " ^^

Hi there! :D

Ok, I know almost no one actually reads this blog, however it's always a good idea to keep posts coming, just in case someone stumbles upon it ^^

Today I'm going to recommend three movies I've seen recently that I just can't get out of my head:

* "Crash"

* "The Shawshank Redemption"

* "Torremolinos 73"

- Crash was released in 2005, and I believe won numerous awards. It is a very powerful movie about how people relate to each other. The focus is on the people of L.A. but most of the message is universal. Touching mostly on the issue of racism, the film also includes a spectacular view of the holistic explanation of fear between people of different social levels. "Blacks, Whites, Spanish and Middle-Easterns, Riches and Poors, or the difficulty of interaction in a world of misunderstanding". That could fit as a suitable alternative title. 

The movie dives deep into the psyches of its main characters, so as to allow the viewer to understand just how little control over themselves people have in an environment where stereotypes have power over individuals. Not only do these preconceived ideas about people keep others from seeing who they really are, but the movie also goes to show just how everyone unconsciously starts to fit these stereotypes. And thats the most tragic part of it all. Everyone feels trapped, because everyone actually is. And the only "easy" way out becomes violence.

- The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 movie that I unfortunately only got to see this year for the first time. It's about an innocent man, accused of having murdered his wife, who is sent to prison for life. The plot is quite "basic", because it just seems like one of these movies that focus on stuff you could just as well read about in your daily newspaper. But the story line goes much deeper than originally expected. 

The movie becomes a tribute to willpower, patience, and the accomplishment of dreams, self-empowerment. As you see how this man leads his life in prison, intelligently laying low, yet gradually becoming a key individual for the prison's administrators, you learn more about prison itself. Of course it's a place of violence, of conflict, of loneliness and despair, but nothing is comparable to the destructive power it has on people. When you spend 20 years between 4 walls, you just don't feel the urge to get out anymore, because you start believing you could never get back to a normal life. Prison destroys dreams as it slowly becomes home. But not our man's. A very involving movie, with the touch of magic Frank Darabont always includes in his films.

- Torremolinos 73 is perhaps the lighter movie of the three. A Spanish-Danish production, it has that typical feel of Spanish films. The theme is love, undoubtedly, and how couples try to have their professional lives and love lives to go the best possible. The main character is a man, a movie director, who lives with an unhappy wife. His job keeps him from understanding that his wife needs more attention and love. Eventually, he starts making pornographic movies to make more money, and his movies feature him and his wife. The good part is that he spends more time with her, the bad part is that the wife starts to feel as though their renewed relationship is more of professional than romantic nature. And the husband is still completely blind. 

One day he decides to write a more conventional movie: "Torremolinos 73". The movie as always, features his wife. (who by then has become an international porn star without the couple even noticing.) They go to Torremolinos (a city in Spain) and direct the movie with foreign actors. But towards the end the producer decides that the movie needs sex to attract people. The problem is that the wife now has to have intercourse with a complete stranger, while her husband (!) directs the scene. The man refuses but his wife readily accepts. "Why???", one may wonder. Well, it turns out the experience is so painful the husband realizes how much his wife matters to him. The movie is a success, the couple adopts the child conceived during the scene with the stranger (the main character is infertile) and everything ends for the best! And that's partly why that movie is lighter than the others! :) EVERYTHING is fixed.

I hope you'll go check these movies out at your local DVD rental shop because they are reeaaally worth it, you can take my word for it (although I don't do refunds if it turns out you don't like them lol) 

See you later!!!

Flying stool

Hi everyone!

Today I wanted to share this sweet video by a band I love: The Dillinger Escape Plan. The music video for "Milk Lizard", an interesting (albeit not as violent as other DEP songs) new single from their album "Ire Works". This video depicts the amazing adventures (and city exploration) of a selfless flying stool thrown by a girl during a bar fight. I thought that it wasn't that cool a video at first, but the end just got me laughing, so I think watching this is really worth it. Note also that this is one of Gil Sharone's first appearances with DEP as their new drummer. Enjoy!

I'm a drummer

Hi again, this is my third post today, my first day of blogging. Hooray! :D

I figured you maybe wanted to know more about me. (yes I'm quite the egocentric ^^) After all, you are reading this blog, you might as well find out, piece by piece, who writes it. 

So as I was saying, I am drummer. I have been one for the past two years, and this puts me in the "just-past-beginner" stage. I try to drum as much as I can, unfortunately I don't have loads of time nor a very easy access to drums where I live. I'm hoping next year to find some sort of local music centre where you get a 2€/h drum set and rehearsal room to play with friends, rather than the putrid cave I've practiced in several times this year (for 50€/ year) where the drums are always conveniently stored as a puzzle. :'(

My stage experience is rather short. I must have played a grand total of 3h30 in concert playing things I can't honestly say I enjoyed. Next year (a year of great expectations indeed lol), I'm going to see if I can get my band mates to write music together, or at least choose the stuff we play together... 

Maybe I can also hook back up with a teacher to formalize my learning process. I started with a great teacher the first year but then left for my studies, so I started self-teaching myself. It works. You do grab a few techniques, tips and cool riffs here and there, but I feel it really isn't enough to achieve better independence, agility, dynamics and so on. Practice makes perfect and nothing beats, in my opinion, spending 2h a week with someone who knows how it's done.

If you're a drummer too, please contact me, share your experience and techniques, I'm eager to learn!!! 

 

I will be posting more about drumming, most probably, and about music in general... ;-)

Thibs

This is how laundry should be folded!

Hey, 

I know this is the lamest first post in terms of actual "content". But I just had to share this with you. It's my secret weapon when it comes to doing the laundry, and doing it as fast as possible. This Japanese-ninja-what-have-you technique WILL blow your mind as it blew mine, and will save you precious minutes when doing your chores.

 

Folding Clothes Japanese Style - CrazyAsianVids.com

Enjoy ;-)

The Opening!

Hi all! :-)

I thought I could resist this new blogging trend forever, but in the end I think it's kind of fun to just put my opinions "out there" and see what comes of it. Yes, I am weak. And I enjoy self-mockery quite a bit as I might or might not show in the articles you'll find here.

I almost forgot to introduce myself. The name is Thibaut. You are probably asking yourselves many questions now that you've learned this. So: 

-First answer: it's pronounced "teebo". 

-Second answer: it's French, as I am. 

-Third answer: yes, you can just call me Thibs with whatever accent you wish. :D

Now I won't bother you with my personal life too much as of now, and I probably won't ever. The purpose of this blog is to be a place to post my thoughts, ideas, likes, dislikes, content from youtube or any website for that matter, so that you'll be able in turn to delve into my psyche and somehow get a sense that you know me personally... OOOOOOH THE ORIGINALITY! 

Anyways, I really hope you enjoy my blog, that it'll give you stuff to reflect on, things to do when bored, etc. I want this to be as interesting for you as I hope it will be for me.

See you soon! ;-)

Thibs