better late than never

THE BLACK PARADE - REVIEW

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE - "THE BLACK PARADE" 

I must admit... upon hearing the first single, "Welcome To The Black Parade" from My Chemical Romances' third studio release, "The Black Parade", I dismissed this record as an obvious and pathetic attempt to revive or duplicate the magic of one of the greatest rock bands of all time... Queen. From the swell of the arena worthy guitars to the multi layered rock-opera background vocals, it appeared to have it all... but still fell short of the original genius I felt they were trying to emulate.
Had I stopped there, I might have missed one of the best rock records of 2006.
From the opening track, TBP tells a story of great sorrow.  This is not a tale filled with the elegant beauty of a 'beginning and end'.  Singer and chief lyricist Gerard Way attempts, and more times than not, succeeds on a mission to bring the listener to an understanding - an understanding of life and death - and the struggles we face simply living.
For the most part, this album ebbs and falls with great precision.  From the fragility of the piano heavy "Cancer" to the angst of "I Don't Love You", each song is an intricate piece.  One problem that does develop along the way is the band's tendency for sound-a-like arrangements.  After spending more time with the record, the listener tends to lose track of the material due to their similar structure and familiar chord progressions (several songs begin with a sterile piano line that ascends into an anthem heavy hook).  Though not a huge distraction, at times this does leave the listener a bit confused.  It is an expected weakness given the concept behind the project.  Way was quoted as saying, "this is the story of a man who dies tragically before his time in a hospital."  
It is a rare find when a songwriter allows himself to touch such sorrow without the trappings of too much self exposure.  MCR proves with their third release that rock-n-roll is not dead... it's just a little darker than the current landscape.
IMMEDIATE DOWNLOADS: "Cancer", "This Is How I Disappear", "I Don't Love You", "Sleep" & "Famous Last Words"

split personality

josh cole is a one badass mofo...

create it

... the lights have come down (OR THEY SHOULD BE DOWN!!!)... the tree has found a new home in the nearest dumpster and we anxiously await the adventure that will be 2007. In the next month we will spend a great deal of time agonizing over how to change the most ridiculous things (as though the other 11 months of the year have the title "I CAN BE A LAZY ASS" attached to them)... from diets to fitness... no drinking to the patch. Things I like to refer to as January-isms. The, more than not, half ass attempt at better-ing ourselves for the sake of vanity. I mean come on... all the things we start and usually fail at have very little or no other relevance than vanity. CAPITAL V-A-N-I-T-Y.
Now don't send me a ton of bullshit comments about how "change is good" and "what's wrong with becoming a better person"... blah, blah, blah. Of course those statements are true but one must be a CONSTANT work in progress... not a seasonal one.
I believe that to achieve real CHANGE you have to know WHY YOU WANT IT. We can strive to look thinner, stop drinking, stop smoking, eat better, work out more and do all the other (usually) short lived resolutions... but if in the privacy of the soul we only want the surface... we are destined to fail.
It has to be about more.
I think our problem comes from a media induced stupor that has become all too accepted. It's about looking younger, being thinner, having more... more of what? Things that will fade? Empty relationships?
I ask you to think harder this year as you plan your self improvements. Do something to truly change your life and those around you. Stop looking to others to define your worth... create it.

happy new year

... the Holidays are near their end and nostalgia is beginning it's approach. The messy mind game where memories of the past are stacked next to each other in an effort to prove (either consciously or unconsciously) progress has been made. Progress in life... the maturing of oneself. It sounds as if I am I referring to it as an ailment... in my case... I am. It has a way of driving me to melancholy. I'm usually counting the minutes until all the decorations are down and life returns to 'normal'. Don't get me wrong... I do love the Holiday Season... but by this time I'm ready... ready for the grind... ready to be so busy that I forget I'm thousands of miles away from family... have not found the women of my dreams & am not exactly where I want to be with my career. You know... all those memories and feelings that start building around the end of November and usually linger through the first week of January. Here's to the end of another season... may the next find us further along in the pursuit for our truth.

happy new year

a bit delayed

...I was away with the fam & couldn't post on the computer that was available... I'M BACK!!

the tour has come to an end and the holidays burn into full steam. I'm writing from 30K feet... small cramped quarters where strangers sleep closer than lovers... mouths gaping... elbows invading... invading what little space is bought and paid for with a hefty exchange... both in time and hard earned cash.

I'm beginning the first of ten sun-filled days in San Diego... my experience once a year where past & present collide in a frenzy of insecurity and maturity gained. We (my siblings & Mother) tiptoe around my Father who tends to bring a large bag of coal with him each and every year. It has become somewhat of a tradition... if complete lack of communication can be a tradition. He feels the need to impart religious wisdom to three completely individual thinkers... who, because of his failure to communicate outside the realm of "faith", have and are having an interesting time coming to terms with their own spiritual journey.

12/21/06: Something happened last night that brought my childhood rushing back with a furry. I was raised the son of a preacher man... strict and stern... told the path was straight and never allowed to think otherwise. We were raised without movies, dancing, "secular music" or anything else that would lead to the demise of our faith.

I can remember the rare occasion when a movie was rented... which was a painstaking event all on it's own. 99% of the time not worth the torture endured to get from the opening sequence to the credits. The routine would go as follows: We would go to the video store and spend FOREVER picking out a lame, PG rated, waste of film... only to get home and make it about 32 minutes... that's when shit would hit the fan in large amounts. It would start with either a very MINOR sexually suggestive scene (which usually meant women where in bathing suites, in the water but the strap of their bikini tops were visible... straight up porn) or the words "damn" / "hell" had been uttered. What followed directly after is what, still to this day completely baffles me... and again happened last night. At the moment either of those two events occurred my Father would promptly turn to us, as if we had wrote the script. Every single time!! We were somehow responsible for the moral degradation that had just flashed before our eyes... a lengthy scolding concerning the ways of the world usually followed. This is but a glimpse of Christmas past & present... some things will NEVER change. This weekend should be interesting... my brother & his family arrive. GOD BLESS US EVERYONE!

hu's on first?

so ... this may come across as "bush bashing part deux"... but it's not. He's a good man & all that shit... I just think he's made some serious miscalculations.
for those of you who are in a holy uproar over my previous post here are some carefully chosen words: chill the f*ck out.
life is too short not to be honest... whether it be pretty or ugly, happy or sad. Step back and HONESTLY look at the situation... if you STILL feel I'm misguided or going to hell in a hand basket... wow... you need to get laid.

enjoy

top 10 albums of 2006

10. smoking city - david condos
9. under the iron sea - keane
8. guerolito - beck
7. long island stories - mindy smith
6. loose - nelly furtado (what can I say... I love timbaland)
5. futuresexlovesounds - JT (shut it... the production is sick)
4. blue on blue - leigh nash
3. sometimes - city & colour
2. how to save a life - the fray
1. tourniqet - magnet