System of a Down - Hypnotize

ALBUM REVIEW

You may remember me mentioning that SOAD's last album was the first part of a planned staggered release of a double album. You may also recall that I felt that the last album was a bit erratic, and hoped this this one would cement things, and bring it all together.

Boy, was I wrong.

It turns out the first album, Mezmerize, was the more cohesive of the two, and what we get on Hypnotize sounds a bit like leftovers to me. Like song ideas, and brainstorms that needed a lot more studio time to flesh out and turn into real songs. It sounds like a step back, all the way back to their first album and some of the misses on that.

Gone away are the endearing elements and pounding rock, and we have the screechy weirdness cranked up high instead. Did I mention that the politics are on steroids this time around too?

No sense in sugar-coating it. We might as well get started.

We jump in with a flurry of guitar speed, and bombast with "Attack". If you took out the unvarying chorus, this would actually be a pretty good song. As it is, it sort of sounds like a kid with a new word that tries to repeat it over and over just to get used to the way it sounds.

"Dreaming" is actually a very sad song about Armenian refugees. The lyrics are very dark, and the song itself sounds sort of muddled along with it. I hear the angst, but not real passion here, and that's what I expect from these guys. Sort of disappointing for me, but not nearly as bad as some we haven't gotten to yet.

Okay. "Kill Rock 'N Roll" gets some points for delivery alone. I think that guitarist Daron Malakian's homage to Bon Scott scores major points. This song's a little silly, which is definitely an element to some of SOAD's songs. It seems more like parody to me here, and leaves me wanting more. I grin, but I'm also wondering what might have been.

The title track "Hypnotize" sounds like it belongs on the last album. It's put together well, albeit on the short side, and it's a good tune. It's not great, but it's got it's own sound. It's the first single, so I'm sure you'll hear it.

"Stealing Society" starts off great. You've got nice guitars, and yells in there, and then it just loses it's steam. Bogged down with a pointless few verses, by the time you get to the "message" part of the song, you're already bored. They finally head back to the good intro riff at the end, but the bookends don't justify the tomes between.

If you thought that a song about refugees' body parts being stacked up was the most bleak point of the album, then think again. "Tentative" is another anti-war rant that has people rotting in fear of bombs dropping on their heads, and feeling that not even God can save them. Musically, I like this one though. It's quiet and reserved, and something that I really think this band should try a little more of. When they slow things down, they make some fine music, and not just another pseudo-ballad that can be used for some commercial or tribute montage or something.

With the next track, we're back to that theme of anti-war and repetitive chants. "U-Fig" is actually a pretty good song. I like the groove, and it definitely has the passion that was lacking earlier. The thing with passion is that it can be a little extreme, and since the chorus here is a call to take war supporters out in the street and " beat em' beat em' beat em' beat em' ", I'd say a lot extreme. I give my approval to the song musically, but I have to give a pass on the message of being a pacifist, and beating anyone who doesn't agree with you.

"Holy Mountains" is pretty powerful stuff. The song is grand, and sweeping, and the themes are pretty heavy too. I don't pretend to know all the casualties in Azerbaijan that they're singing about, but there's a real Old Testament feel to this one. Like the mountains themselves are crying in outrage, and calling for justice. This song is raw, and it's honest, and I don't think you're really supposed to "enjoy" it, but you can tell it's something real.

Remember that song earlier that I said was a little silly? In my opinion, if you're going to be silly, you might as well go all the way, and "Vicinity of Obscenity" goes there and then some. It's got the lightning fast guitars and vocals. It even has this porn-groove bridge. I'm not even going to try to explain it lyrically. The song starts off with "Banana banana banana terracotta banana terracott terracotta pie!" and doesn't get any more sane as it goes along. I like it, but I'm not trying to figure it out.

It's pretty clear to me that drugs have directly or indirectly affected this band. They manage to get across some message of the barren and depraved nature of what drugs can do in a few of their songs, and "She's Like Heroin" is another. This strips it down to the very basic truths. This is all dirty back-alleys, and sad endings.

My favorite song of the album is "Lonely Day". It's another good example of the good songs that these guys can make when they're not coming at you at 100 decibels and 1000 mph. It's about the struggle of loneliness, which is an epidemic in our society in my opinion. It's not completely without hope, and is seen from a survivor's viewpoint in the end.

The first album, Mezmerize, had this short, noisy intro called "Soldier Side". It was all of about 30 seconds, and amounted to little at all. To close out this album, we get the whole song. By it's title, you can tell where they're going with this one. Another grim journey down the anti-war path, with mourners and graves and lies. It's fair to middlin' musically, and makes me want to throw in another SOAD album instead.

Overall, I really think that their reach exceeded their grasp on this double-album venture. There are barely enough good songs for one album if you cull from both. Unlike the first album though, even the songs that I like on this album don't shine all that brightly. I want them to be better, but it just never happens. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be able to state their point of view in their music, but I think there may be other ways. I'm sure they felt strongly about making a bold statement, and there's no doubt that they've done that. I just don't think that most people will hear that message because the record company won't let them make those songs a single, and the fans are going to skip those tracks because they're not all that good.

I think this is the weakest of their albums to date, and I can only hope that they spend a lot of time touring and writing new material before the next one. I still really like this band, and their style of music when they nail it. I'm still looking forward to their next one, but now they have something to prove to me.

Rating = ** out of 5 stars.

Blue Christmas

Ahh, it's that time of year again. The change of the weather, and the crispness in the air. The falling leaves...and the fall of a great empire that I once called home.

It appears that Netflix and the DVD pricepoint have finally caught up with the ol' Blue and Gold. That's right, Blockbuster is in dire straits without a Knopfler. For the skinny on the figures and details, you can check here.

Not to say that all my experiences with Blockbuster were bad. I found some very good people while working there. A few good friends that I have to this day. A bunch of fun memories of late night inventories, and the countless Denny's runs after work. Heck, I even managed to snag a wife out of the deal, so I can't be too pissed at any place that gave me her.

So, I'm here to celebrate Blockbuster. Here's to Mr. Hoxster, and Mrs. Powell - the man with the patience and the drunk with only one story. Here's to Brownie, and Chuck, and Nick, and Tim, and Zack, and Travis. Wherever this finds you, or doesn't, I hope that you're living well. To the cavalcade of managers that waltzed through our store, I hope you learned something from me, because you sure didn't teach any of us anything on your way.

I've been back infrequently to my old store, and managed to see it's rapid decline from the pinnacle of the district to just another ghetto blockbuster store. It's sort of like a terrarium of urban decay, like a batch of blue-shirted sea monkeys.

Good times, bad times, you know I've had my share, but overall, I've got to chalk up Blockbuster as a fun time in my life. I've led a strange life so far, in so much as I started most things late, so Blockbuster was actually a part of my teenage wild oats phase.

I stuck around longer than I should have, put up with much more than was reasonable, but still managed to have a good time. I have to say that even though I'm ready to pick on her, I'll miss the old gal...

Kicking Against It

Have you ever felt like you were being punished for something?

Some recent developments have made me question whether I've done something really wrong, and I'm catching a lesson because of that.

The saddest part about this is that it all comes from me doing something generous, and good. It all stems from kindness, and love, and it's turned into headache and heartache.

I know I'm not the first person to have their generosity taken advantage of. I suppose I won't be the last one to feel frustrated and betrayed because of it.

My experiences of late seem to be oddly polarized.

Either I'm kicking ass, or getting my ass kicked.[see also attached image] There have been precious few gray areas lately. I'm either on top of the world, or the bottom of the barrel.

I realize this probably sounds like a commercial for Prozac, but I swear that's how things have been. I've been getting one hell of a one-two punch. From blessing to cursing has been par for the course.

I feel spread a bit thin by the whole thing, and yet I do remain genuinely hopeful. I may sound like a manic depressive, but that's not my flavor of crazy.

I hope that some equilibrium is in my stocking, and things level off. Maybe they'll do better than that, and things will get great!

Words

Okay, now I hope that this isn't too much trouble for the few of you that actually do post comments on my blog.

I didn't want to have to do it, but I've added a word verification feature on "Electric Water".

The verification is very straightforward, and I'm sure you're all familiar.

As much as I want to "MAKE MONEY NOW!", I'd just as soon not have unrelated comments popping up all over the place here.

There was a part of me that wanted to keep it, since it actually was feedback of some sort, and it made it look as though people actually stopped by here. Once I realized how sad and stupid that was, I decided to make it easier on those that actually check out the comments.

We should see far fewer anonymous comments that are spam from now on. Unless they are in response specifically to the topic of Spam, and then, by all means, Spam away!

When We Were Young

This may be a phenomenon that's unique to me, and if so, then I apologize for this sidetrack.

I find very few instances where I make any sort of "when I was young" sort of statements. Mainly because I don't feel I'm nearly old enough for that to be endearingly cute yet. The other reason is that I'd like to think I'm aware enough to realize the evolution of time, and the cyclical nature of all things.

That being said, does anyone else find it odd the way Christmas just keeps creeping earlier and earlier every year?

I don't even have children yet, and still I see the sneaking effects of this every time. When I was young, the decorations that pop up in the malls, and in parking lots and things like that didn't show up until the weekend after Thanksgiving. That's what Black Friday was all about - the opening of the official shopping frenzy floodgates.

Whether you condone the commercialization of a religious holiday is one thing. Maybe you're okay with it, like I am, because you realize that it's actually a pagan holiday, and the proper time to celebrate Jesus' birth is in January or April, depending on what you read --->If you're interested in some interesting secular observations on that, here's one sampling.

Anyway, what I'm getting on about is the way that the cobwebs and ghosts were hardly swept away before there were Christmas trees and garland slung from every available nook and cranny of every storefront.

As I've grown older, I realize that there's a lot of planning that's involved with actually buying the Christmas presents, and not just receiving them. I'm willing to accept that as adults, we're obligated to become planning coordinators juggling our schedules with family gatherings, holiday parties, and special events. If you throw in some traditions that you or your family like to maintain, then you've definitely got to start thinking about things ahead of time.

What I don't understand is why we have to rush it? I love Christmas time. You could leave the decorations up all year, and I wouldn't be complaining. I just think that the ninja-like strike of the stores and malls makes people panic, and frantic is no way to enjoy this time of year.

I know that it's not going to change. The time will continue to creep earlier. Heck, one of my favorite movies might actually help them, because "The Nightmare Before Christmas" combines Christmas and Halloween.

I would love a return to simpler times, and, dare I say it, slower times. When there was a glow and softness to even the air itself on winter nights, and you could enjoy them by the flicker of a fireplace. I've already seen the sea of humanity crashing on the shores of commerce at my local mall, and in King of Prussia. Maybe internet shopping will actually help cut down on some of the hustle and bustle.

I want people to slow down, and not speed their lives up in the coming months. I hope that anyone reading this can make an effort to put on the brakes when things get whirling, and try to savor the goodness that can be found in this season...