Gorillaz' frontman, 2-D, apparently can see the slice of pizza that I'm holding.

Did you ever wonder, “Hey, why don’t Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett of Gorillaz explore gnostic themes?” Definitely a potent question that I’ve never thought to ask, myself. Well, now they are more than likely to touch on gnostic ideas and explore some aspect of humanity that plagues us all now that Alan Moore is on board to help with Gorillaz’ new opera project. According to NME.com, Moore, writer of such brilliant graphic novels (Watchmen, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, From Hell – all of which were turned into shitty, bombastic Hollywood films), will work on the yet-to-be-titled opera’s libretto.

With Albarn having written 70 new songs for the project, it is looking to be more ambitious than Albarn and Hewlett’s 2008 release, Monkey: Journey to the West, as the new opera will appear in both film and stage upon completion. Moore seems rather excited by the project, which in turn excites me. He said “We’ve hopefully got Gorillaz on board [to appear in a forthcoming issue of Dodgem Logic].”

I'm very excited to get my hands on a copy of this, if I can.

Dodgem Logic is Alan Moore’s new underground magazine which contains artwork from Kevin O’Neill (the artist for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) and even some writing of Graham Linehan (writer/director/creator of The IT Crowd and Father Ted) just to name a couple. The zine is said to be part entertainment, part grassroots activism/advice on all sorts of subjects from guerilla gardening to making your own clothes, living on no cash, steampunk guides to rebuilding collapsed civilization, and basically anything that comes out of the mind of the Bearded Wonder, of whom they call Alan Moore.

Moore’s daughter, Leah Moore, and her husband, John Reppion, (both top-notch comic book/script writers, themselves) announce over on their blog Moore & Reppion that the zine should be expected out sometime this month.

The Gorillaz/Moore opera collaboration is more than likely not due out until sometime next year.

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Bringing Some Beats In

If you’re wondering (you must be wondering, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading these words), I’ve recently been putting together beat after beat after beat after beat et cetera. So, that’s why there’s now TWO beat posts in a row. The Guild of Beatologists have upped my dues as of late, so I have been toiling away at serving up some hot ass jams so that they won’t revoke my membership.

I finished “Blackout” about a week ago. I had iTunes open while I was cleaning the house and it was playing my song library on random, so when Bat for Lashes’ “Horse and I” came up, I knew that I wanted to incorporate the song’s main instrument as a sample. I decided that the song needed a string part, so I went straight to Sufjan Stevens, because he usually has a plethora of orchestral strings that can be used in songs. Sure enough, I used “Let’s Hear That String Part Again” as the chorus for “Blackout.” It’s a fun song. It has it’s sweeping moments. The link posted above all this text takes you to my IMEEM site so you can hear it. Lissssssssseennnnnnnnn 2 iiiiiiiiiiiit.

*DISCLAIMER* The mp3 link posted is for evaluational purposes only. If you are an artist/label that would like for me to remove an mp3 from my website write me a message and save it as a Word document (or RTF file), and  it will be taken down.

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Bringing Some Beats In

“Steer Clear” by Kid Goliath

…In the above song. In the text above is the link to my IMEEM page with the song on it. I made this beat about a month or so ago, and I listened to it today and thought, “That’s not as bad as the first time I listened to it,” so I decided to post it. “Steer Clear” samples bangin’ drums from Dizzee Rascal’s “Fix Up, Look Sharp” and some of the chunky, no-frills guitar from The Hold Steady’s “Stevie Nix.” The mix on it is pretty bad, and it’s without its flourishes.  But, it’s really fun to rap over. Once a vocal track is laid down, the structure will be tinkered with more to give it a fresh, finite product, rather than the straight-forward pattern that it’s in right now.

So, take a listen. If you’re deaf, listen to the braille version. Or, just watch the sine waves and try to guess what’s going on.

*DISCLAIMER* The mp3 link posted is for evaluational purposes only. If you are an artist/label that would like for me to remove an mp3 from my website write me a message and save it as a Word document (or RTF file), and  it will be taken down.

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David Bazan's Curse Your Branches

I’m a tad behind the curve, here, music-wise. I’ve been waiting on my iPod to be repaired for about a month, so I haven’t really been keeping up with what’s coming out in music, due to the fact that I wouldn’t be able to actually listen to it other than at home. And since I’m usually on the go, putting time aside to sit and listen to a record hasn’t been in the cards. But, I noticed that David Bazan put out an album earlier this September and I had been meaning to wedge it into my eardrums for quite some time, now.

Declining the glorious opportunity to record under the moniker of a large Mexican feline (Pedro the Lion), which was mostly Bazan anyhow, he’s put forth a superb effort, Curse Your Branches. Bazan has recently forayed into a life of, what seems to be, full agnosticism, by ultimately having a falling out with God. With Pedro the Lion, Mr. Bazan always showed a doubting in his faith, but now he is clearly heeding his own questions. The opening track, “Hard to Be,” finds Bazan questioning, “Wait just a minute /  You expect me to believe / That all this misbehaving / Came from one enchanted tree?” And, on the title track, “Curse Your Branches,” he shows reserved anger,  declaring, “All fallen leaves should curse their branches / for not letting them decide where they should fall / and not letting them refuse to fall at all.” It’s clear that the lyrics are a lot bleaker, yet it allows room for more realism in the lyrics to re-affirm a sense of humanity, which strangely gives the album a more inspiring twist. Also, throughout the album, he presents a more intimate portrait of his battle with alcoholism. In “Bless This Mess” he puts forth much alcohol-related imagery, but the most striking it’s the striking lyrics, “By my baby’s yellow bed / I kissed her forehead and rubbed her little tummy / Wondering if she’d soon despise the smell / Of the booze on my breath like her mom,” that show a man hoping for a way out.

The production is much smoother and clearer than previous efforts, with Bazan pronouncing each syllable with affirmation. The music also seems a lot more realized with Bazan merging two of his previous projects into one with the raw, roots-rock from Pedro the Lion and the more synth-heavy Headphones. The arrangements are simple and straight-forward, with mostly simple acoustic guitars and the occasional thick keyboard or piano part filling the backdrop with gloom. But, as always, it’s Bazan’s smooth, resonant vocals being put forth as the focus of the songs.

Whether you do or don’t agree with Bazan’s religious departure and frankness in his lyrics, there will always be something admirable in a man that has the courage to lay his bare soul out on the table. I’ve already listened to this album five or six times through, as I’ve done with his other projects, and this is clearly the definitive work of his career, thus far.

David Bazan’s Curse Your Branches was released on September 1, 2009 on the Barsuk record label.

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