Jimi Hendrix - Machine Gun (Band of Gypsys)

Some more awesome Jimi Hendrix today. First off, I have to acknowledge this song is an acquired taste. The first few times I heard it, I was like "what's up with that shrill sound?". But afterwards I started to see it for what it is. A sad anti-war song. When he starts playing, you can feel the sadness of it all.


Hendrix also tries to recreate war sounds with his guitar. You can hear rockets, machine gun salvos, helicopters. Granted, you won't spot most of them when you listen the song for the first time. But it's a neat touch.

Again, this was recorded live with the Band of Gypsys (Hendrix, Miles, Cox). Buddy Miles again makes sure that the song has got more punch with his drumming. He also adds some lyrics of their own, which are quite heartwrenching.

Don't you shoot him down.
He's about to leave here.
Don't you shoot him down
He's got to stay here.
They shot him down to the ground.


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Tool - Forty Six and Two

Today I want to share something special. First off, I want to say I'm not into the darker rock, like Death Metal and all that stuff. It screws with my vibe. But Tool is something different. It's an alternative rock band, but it does sound a little dark, luckily, not too dark.

This is the first song I heard of them, about 7 years ago. I was instantly sold. The lyrics are quite remarkable, the song's title Forty Six and Two refers to the number of chromosomes humans will have, as the next step in evolution. Right now we have 44 autosomes and 2 sex chromosomes. If we would reach the stage of 46 and 2, we should evolve into "a more harmonious state".

Furthermore, the song references a wish to experience change through the Shadow, an idea which represents the parts of one's personality that one hates and fears. Supposedly, these are your repressed weaknesses, fears, shortcomings and instincts.

So there are alot of "out there" concepts in this song. But it doesn't matter that these concepts are weird or unaccepted. What matters is the idea that the lead singer puts forward. And I find it somehow connects to you, on some level.

Give it some thought.

PS: more info on this here



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Kasabian - Shoot The Runner

Kasabian is a British rock band, that formed in Leicestershire, in 1999. They named theirselves after Linda Kasabian, who was involved with the infamous Charles Manson. So far they have released three albums: Kasabian, Empire and Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. They will be starting to work on their fourth in November of this year.

I started listening to Kasabian after I heard the track Reason is Treason as the intro track for Gran Turismo 4. I find their songs all very catchy, a good example of good contemporary rock music, which in my opinion quite hard to find these days, with all the rap and electronic music.

The lead singer, Tom Meighan is known for alot of funny and outspoken comments about other musicians. After playing the Ibiza Rocks 2007 event, Meighan told The Skinny that he "wouldn't give a fuck if the island sank". Additionally, in an interview with the New Musical Express, he said that David S. Sexton and Mark Wahlberg were "absolute fannies".

Also after the Live Earth concert he said that he wished to see Madonna perform as she looked like his old gym teacher, although he then went on to say that his old gym teacher was a man. He has also called Julian Casablancas as "a posh fucking skier", Pete Doherty "a fucking tramp", and Justin Timberlake "a midget with whiskers". Great stuff.

Enjoy!

Webdesign class

Right now I'm at school. I'm a computer sciences student, in my second year of university. It so happens that I'm in my least favorite class now. Webdesign. But don't get me wrong, I like HTML, CSS and Javascript. Now I'm studying PHP, which is the biggest pain in the ass ever. I find it all so damn random, and it doesn't help my teacher is kind of a gullible idiot. While we work, he's pacing through the class constantly, making it very hard for me to play UT2004.

Another thing that is pissing me off to no end is the temperature in the class. It's 22 °C outside, and it feels like they put the heater on full. I'm sweating litres here! This also results in a rather disgusting smell coming from my armpits, making sure that the people sitting next to me now, won't be doing so the next time. Only one more hour of this hell to go, and then I can get home, and eat.

I'm hungry.


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Stevie Ray Vaughan - Lenny

Another one of my favorite guitarists, and to me, he is one of the all time greats. He dedicated his life to become a guitarist, after falling into a barrel of sauce while working at a fast food restuarant. He then dropped out of school and started his first band named Blackbird. In 1977, he formed the band Double Trouble which had great commercial success with albums like Texas Flood and Couldn't Stand the Weather.

He tragically died on August 26, 1990 while on his way to a sold out concert of 30,000 people in East Troy, Wisconsin. It featured an encore jam with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and others. When his helicopter took off to take him to Chicago, it crashed.


I always listen to this song to get relaxed. Lots of his music really speaks to your soul. Later on I will post some more songs, but this one is great to start off with.


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Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way

Most of you probably know Lenny Kravitz. This was the first song I heard of him, and I was instantly hooked. The song was released in 1993, and became an instant hit. Are You Gonna Go My Way was one of the most played videos in 1993 on MTV and is considered a landmark music video of the 90s. It won the 1993 MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Artist, and was played live during the show with John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin fame on bass. In 2006, it was ranked as one of VH1's Top 20 Most Memorable Videos of All Time.

Also worth noting is that Kravitz is an avid fan of Jimi Hendrix. The main riff in this song is based on a riff from Hendrix' Easy Rider!

Kings of Leon announce U.S. tour dates

The Kings of Leon are bringing out a new album, Come Around Sundown on October 19th. But they also announced a US tour, which consists of three dates!

• Boston, TD Garden, November 14th 
• New York City, Madison Square Garden, November 16th
• New Jersey, Izod Center, November 18th

You can start buying tickets on October 2nd via Ticketmaster.com!

Kyuss - Un Sandpiper

Stumbled upon this through a friend of mine. Was really suprised! Kyuss is a band formed in Palm Desert, CA, in the 80's. They are one of the 'founding members' of stoner rock. Also worth noting is that members of this band went on to start other successfull and well known groups. Lead guitarist Josh Homme went on to play in The Eagles of Death Metal, and on top of that, he's also the founding member of Queens of the Stone Age!

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