Year of the Rabbit is a rock band assembled and fronted by Ken Andrews, formerly of Failure and ON.
If I’m trying to be hidden,
You still see me.
If my faith has been turned into fear.
If my whole world is crashing,
It won’t matter.
I can keep it together if you’re here.
Cause you are the one
Who holds me up when I come down.
You are the one who I can trust.
You are the one
Who holds me up when I fall down.
You are the one who I can trust. If my dreams start to crumble,
You won’t worry.
If my heart starts to sink into fear.
If my whole plan just shatters,
It won’t matter. I can keep it together if you’re here. You are the one I can trust.
You are the one I can trust.
People born in the Year of the Rabbit are articulate, talented, and ambitious. They are virtuous, reserved, and have excellent taste. Rabbit people are admired, trusted, and are often financially lucky.
They are clever at business and being conscientious, never back out of a contract. They would make good gamblers for they have the uncanny gift of choosing the right thing.
However, they seldom gamble, as they are conservative and wise.
They are most compatible with those born in the years of the Sheep, Pig, and Dog.
THE SWORD - AUSTIN, TX. (1) CELESTIAL CROWN (AGE OF WINTERS)
"There hasn't been an album which is this bursting at the seems with huge, super heavy, rumbling, meaty, crushing, Sabbath-inspired, fret board smoking riffs since Mastodon's "Leviathan" was released in August of 2004."
The Sword is an American heavy metal band that formed in Austin, Texas in 2003. Since its inception, the band has comprised vocalist and guitarist John "J. D." Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and drummer Trivett Wingo. Signed to New York-based record label Kemado Records, The Sword has released two full-length studio albums: Age of Winters in 2006 and Gods of the Earth in 2008. As of December 2009, a third album has been written and prepared for recording, with a 2010 release planned.
A PERFECT CIRCLE - BELL GARDENS, CALIFORNIA
(2) JUDITH (MER DE NOMS)
(3) THE HOLLOW (MER DE NOMS)
(6) 3 LIBRA'S (MER DE NOMS)
A Perfect Circle has released three albums: Mer de Noms, Thirteenth Step and Emotive. A CD-DVD set, Amotion, has also been released and contains thirteen music videos in addition to a number of song remixes created by Danny Lohner. The group has not recorded, toured or released any new material since its hiatus began in 2004. Since then band members have worked on other projects; the most notable being Keenan's work on Tool's 2006 album 10,000 Days, and Howerdel's founding of the band Ashes Divide.
THE SHINER - KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
(4) THE SIMPLE TRUTH (THE EGG)
(5) THE EGG (THE EGG)
"We came out of the post-grunge era into post-rock," Epley said from his Kansas City home a couple days before leaving on the tour that brings Shiner to Omaha Oct. 16 to open for Death Cab for Cutie at Sokol Underground. "For some reason, Shiner has flown under or above the radar of many different styles of music, which is either our Achilles Heal or our strength. While we've been labeled as emo, post-grunge or math, we're either too indie for rock or too rock for indie, which may have been a blessing."
LIFE AND TIMES - KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
(7) FALL OF THE ANGRY CLOWNS (TRAGIC BOOGIE)
Shimmering post-rock trio the Life and Times was formed in 2002 after the breakup of frontman Allen Epley's infamous math rock outfit Shiner. Guitarist Epley recruited Someday I's John Meredith on bass and Strings and Return drummer Mike Myers to make for a relentless three piece of layered guitars and driving rhythms.
RADIOHEAD - ABINGDON, OXFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND
(8) EVERYTHING IN ITS RIGHT PLACE (KID A)
Radiohead seamlessly merges divergent electronica with rock riffs and melodic interludes, inspiring the listener to be uplifted and reflective in equal measure. Their career highlight, 1997's OK Computer, has been nominated as one of the greatest albums of the last 20 years.
In the year 2000, Radiohead ditched its former "real" rock sound for Pink-Floydian, electronic post-rock. The result was "Kid A," where they relearned everything they knew about music from scratch. Some people loved it. Some didn't get it, and felt it was "pretentious." But there's one undeniable thing -- this chilly, eerie collection is a marvelously complex piece of work.
An ominous keyboard melody and gibberish vocals open the album in "Everything In Its Right Place," sounding a bit like a possessed radio. Then the fuzz and hums kick in, adding a spacey dimension to an already strange melody.
PEARL JAM - SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
(9) THE FIXER (BACKSPACER)
Pearl Jam were one of the forerunners of grunge, joining contemporaries Nirvana and Alice in Chains in pioneering the genre that defined Generation X and pervaded through the next decade of alternative rock.
SMASHING PUMPKINS - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
(10) PERFECT (ADORE)
(12) THE EVERLASTING GAZE (MACHINES OF GOD)
The direction of the band was dominated by chief guitarist, lead vocalist, and principal songwriter Billy Corgan. Journalist Greg Kot wrote, "The music [of The Smashing Pumpkins] would not be what it is without his ambition and vision, and his famously fractured relationships with his family, friends, and bandmembers." Melissa Auf der Maur commented upon news of the group's reunion, "Everyone knows Billy doesn't need too many people to make a Pumpkins record, other than Jimmy [Chamberlin]—who he has on board."
HOLE - LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
(11) VIOLET (LIVE THROUGH THIS)
Throughout Hole's career, vocalist/guitarist Courtney Love's notorious public image has overshadowed her band's music. In their original incarnation, Hole was one of the noisiest, most abrasive alternative bands performing in the early '90s. By the time of their second album, 1994's Live Through This, the band had smoothed out many of their rougher edges, also adding more melodies and hooks to their songwriting. Through both versions of Hole, Love's combative, assaultive persona permeated the group's music and lyrics, giving the band a tense, unpredictable edge even at their quietest moments.
Note: I've just produced the first digitally published rock mix-tape, Copyright 2010 Hero Mechalith. If you copy it, you will be guilty of biting the original, i.e. Me & My Ipod/Mixpod Playlist Jan. 2010 CD 1.
Note: I made The Hammer Finally Swings vid before I saw Survival Skills.
Todd Angkasuwan is a music video and documentary film maker.
www.toddangkasuwan.com/
In the 2006 film No Sleep Til Shanghai (Raptivism/Imperial/Caroline/EMI), Angkasuwan follows rapper Jin Au-Yeung, the first Asian American signed to a major hip-hop label, on an eight-city tour of Asia. The film documents the experiences of Jin and his entourage in visiting cities like Shanghai, Tokyo, Taipei and Singapore for the first time. The film screened to a sold out audience at the 2006 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Documentary. It was also nominated for Best Documentary at the 2005 Atlanta Hip Hop Film Festival.
After making their indelible marks on the game luminaries KRS-One and Buckshot, arguably two of the games most prolific emcees, link up to give fans a collaborative album entitled SURVIVAL SKILLS.
On the surface the album is a testament to the resiliency of two lyrical titans, but at its root SURVIVAL SKILLS is a blueprint for life.
Objective #1: Learn the Game & Identify your Competition.
TUES. 01.05.09 What They'll Never Tell You about the Music Business reveals what most savvy music executives already know-and hope that readers never find out!
This insider guide discloses the hidden dynamics and often unfortunate consequences of what really happens when a deal is prepared, contracts are signed, and promises are made-and alerts musicians, attorneys, songwriters, and anyone else interested in the music business to the potent dangers lurking beneath the surface of this incredibly competitive industry. Twenty chapters cover virtually every aspect of the music industry, including recording agreements, record royalties, artistic management, music publishing, music marketing and promotion, merchandising, copyright infringement, and the international music business scene. What's more, the information in this invaluable reference is all explained clearly and concisely with no legal jargon. For anyone involved in the music business, here is your source of inside information.
WEDS. 01.06.10
The theories expressed in The Prince describe methods that an aspiring prince can use to acquire the throne, or an existing prince can use to maintain his reign.
What he was doing was describing the rules of the game that have existed and always will exist for many situations involving selfish humans in competition. Machiavelli's rules are neither good nor bad in themselves -- they describe a process. What is good or bad is how those who master Machiavelli's rules use their power and position, in a society that tempers actions according to law and basic Judeo-Christian principals.
THURS. 01.07.10
Every card in the Lord of the Rings Tarot shows a scene from Middle-earth, the setting of J. R. R. Tolkien's famous trilogy.
The text at the bottom of each card describes the scene chosen which corresponds to the meaning of the card. This deck follows the traditional tarot, but joins to it the spirit and mythological symbolism of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. There is a companion book The Lord of The Rings Tarot Book, but it's now out of print.
FRI. 01.08.10 PAN'S LABYRINTH REORDER
Following a bloody civil war, young Ofelia enters a world of unimaginable cruelty when she moves in with her new stepfather, a tyrannical military officer. Armed with only her imagination, Ofelia discovers a mysterious labyrinth and meets a faun who sets her on a path to saving herself and her ailing mother.
Pan's Labyrinth takes us directly into the subconscious, and into the storyforms that infuse all of the great myths, fairy tales, and religions. It's a rich and satisfying stew of symbolism, mystery, and redemption. Multi-layered and inspiring, it's a film you'll want to see again. It's hard not to gush, but it's been so long since a movie this good has made it into the quasi-mainstream.
What makes Pan's Labyrinth most effective is it's juxtaposition of harsh "reality" and the mysterious world that lives side by side with it. The heroine, a young girl who may carry a magical seed of immortality (the soul of god's only child who once ventured into the world of men, suffered, and died long ago), is contacted by shapeshifting fairies who lead her to a faun (much like the mythological Pan) who says she may reclaim her throne and escape the mortal world by performing three tasks. The faun in Pan's Labyrinth is every bit as complex as the mythological Pan, a creature perhaps older than the gods themselves. There's something sly, and perhaps even sexual about this elegant and almost alien faun, as he represents the forces at play inside this sensitive young girl. In fact, like every good fairy tale, all of the strange, wondrous, and chilling creatures represent facets of the subconscious, including baby-eating ghouls, flitting fairies, and gluttonous toads.
Pan's Labyrinth is a commentary on the resiliency and power of the human imagination, and takes us to the place where dreams are spun and the great heroic tale of overcoming (of the self and the world) takes root. That spark of the divine in all of us -- or at least the hope of it -- powers the great story of our lives, and we need tales like this to remind of us of the magic and trans-formative power of story telling. In the flickering light of the theater, like some great hearth around which we've gathered, Pan's Labyrinth took me back to my childhood, and made me think of so many of the great stories I'd read over the years -- of demonic dogs with saucer-sized eyes, of child-stealing trolls, and evil stepmothers. And, finally, of the champions who venture down into those great cracks in the Earth, where the roots of mythic trees twist and wind and the greatest treasure of all can be found: the noble, heroic, and undying spirit that lies within us all.
"The writing of the first ten minutes of the film,
were the hardest thing in the screen-writing process,
I was stalking this for months & months...and the moment
I saw the image of the blood going back into her nose,
I sort of understood it was not about a girl dying,
(In leiu of making note of being the very definition of resilience)
LEGACY OF THE DIVINE TAROT - CIRO MARCHETTI
The ACE OF SWORDS is a symbol of Fortitude
overcoming adversity
facing problems
resolving situations
finding the strength to overcome
surmounting obstacles
being undaunted by setbacks
This word I want to speak to my enemies:
What is the murder of all human beings, compared to that which you have done to me? What you have done to me is more evil than any genocidal tendency; you have taken from me the irretrievable. For you murdered the visions and dearest wonder of my youth. My playmates you took from me, the blessed spirits. In their memory I lay down this wreath and this curse. This curse against you, my enemies! For you have cut short my eternal bliss, as a tone that breaks off in a cold night. Scarcely as the gleam of diving eyes it came to me -- passing swiftly as a glance. Thus I speak to you, my enemies.
My purity spoke one beautiful moment: “All beings shall be divine to me.” then you assaulted me with filthy ghosts; alas, where has this beautiful moment fled to?
“All days shall be holy to me” -- thus said the wisdom of my youth once; verily, it was the saying of a happy wisdom. But then you, my enemies, stole my nights from me and sold then into sleepless agony; alas, where has this happy wisdom fled now?
Once I craved happy omens from the birds; then you led a monster of a vulture across my way, a revolting one. Alas, where did my tender desire flee then?
All impairment I once vowed to renounce:then you changed those near and nearest to me into open sores.Alas, where did my noblest vow flee then?
I once walked as a blind man, along blessed paths; then you threw filth in the path of the blind man, and now his old footpaths nauseate him.
And when I did what was hardest for me and celebrated the triumph of my overcomings, then you made those who loved me scream that I was hurting them most.
Verily, this was always your practice: you galled my best honey and the industry of my best bees. To my charity you always dispatched the most impudent beggars; around my pity you always pushed the incurably shameless. Thus you wounded my virtue in its faith. And whenever I laid down for a sacrifice even what was holiest to me, your “piety” immediately placed its fatter gifts alongside, and in the fumes of your fat what was holiest to me suffocated.
And once I wanted to dance as I had never danced before: over all the heavens I wanted to dance, then you persuaded my dearest singer. And she struck up a horrible dismal tune; alas, she farted in my ears like a gloomy horn. Murderous dinger, tool of malice, most innocent yourself! I stood ready for the best dance, when you murdered my ecstasy with your sounds, only in dance do I know how to tell the parable of the highest things”andnow my highest parable remained unspoken in my limbs. My highest hope remained unspoken and unredeemed. And all the visions and consolations of my youth died! How did I endure it? How did I get over and overcome such wounds? How did my soul rise again out of such tombs?
Indeed, in me there is something invulnerable and unburiable, something that explodesrocks: that is MY WILL, silent and unchanged it strides through the years. It would walk its way on my feet, my longstanding will, its mind is hard of heart and invulnerable.
Invulnerable I am, only in the heel. You are still alive and still your old self, most patient one. You have broken out of every tomb. What in my youth was unredeemed lives on in you; life and youth in you sit there, full of hope, on grey ruins of tombs.
Indeed, for me, you are still the shatterer of all tombs. Hail to thee,
my will!
And only where there are tombs are there resurrections.
Thus sings Zarathustra.
THUS SPOKE ZARATHUSTRA: SECOND PART [THE TOMB SONG]
The clip, directed by Sam Brown (known best for helming "The Pretender" and "Wheels" for Foo Fighters), is shot entirely in black and white (a theme Hova seems to enjoy) and features a series of seemingly disjointed shots of various characters and art projects: A Damien Hirst-esque bejeweled skull, a woman in Kabuki makeup, a tagged Jaguar, a guy who looks like a hobo version of the Joker. Throughout the video, the three stripes that comprise the center of the artwork for The Blueprint 3 keep showing up, and nobody really moves (save for Jay and track guest and producer Swizz Beatz). It doesn't have any sort of narrative arc or connective thread, but it certainly looks super-cool.
The key scene also might be the most random: The clip periodically cuts back to a series of basketballs that bounce in slow motion. Also, those basketballs are on fire (perhaps Jay-Z, in his capacity as part owner of the New Jersey Nets, simply wants to make "NBA Jam" a reality).
Director: Carey Williams Producers: Christopher Watkins & Carey Williams
Pacific Division better known abbreviated as Pac Div is a rap trio signed to Universal Motown. They started out with 10 members in 2002 and eliminated 7 in 2008. The group is made up of brothers Like and Mibbs, along with longtime friend BeYoung.
