# Jeez, my tweets these days are pretty much political or Munsters related… should I be concerned about this?

# TWILIGHT Soundtrack Review @ FEARnet: http://tinyurl.com/6r53km

# I dreamed about Heath Ledger & he was playing soccer. He looked gorgeous in his soccer jersey. I still can’t believe he’s not “here.”

# Washington already abuzz w/ Bush’s plans to block all investigations of his crimes & even to pardon everyone involved?! Can U say GUILTY?!

# Bush & Cheney stand accused of 39 grave & impeachable offenses including war crimes, torture, warrantless wiretapping & more. [Jeezus]!

# Impeach Bush to Stop Pardons [Petition Here]: http://tinyurl.com/5joj6a

I can barely keep up with the guy, so you really should just save the FEARnet music page to your blogroll or in your RSS news reader for all the latest and greatest in the world of dark music. You may notice that unlike many large-scale music blogs out there, G9 likes to devote a lot of time and space to indie musicians.

[ G9 on MySpace ]

Has TV brought any great “monster families” to our homes since the ’60s-era Addams Family and Munsters? Anyone? I myself will have to think about that one and get back to you. Or maybe I should be working on a TV pilot script! What kind of “monster family” would you want to see on 21st Century Television? Not too long ago, we at The Crow’s Nest completed The Addams Family DVD collection, and this week, moved on to collecting The Munsters. Busier than hell [and hell's working overtime these days], we don’t have much time for TV anymore, so TV series DVDs tend to be “drool in front of the telly” material for us… usually at 3 or 4am. And of course with Corvo, the monster, the merrier!

It’s been wicked-fun watching both shows again as if for the first time, caught up in many “aha” moments that were most certainly missed through childhood eyes. Of course, with the Addams’, it’s all about sex. It’s amazing how coming of kinky-kooky-spooky age puts a whole new spin on a gleeful reference to “the rack” between a darkly amorous husband and wife. With The Munsters, the “aha” moments arise out of being a total horror nerd now, which I couldn’t have been at a young age, because my parents were a bit overprotective. To be fair, they were cool enough to let me watch Creature From the Black Lagoon in 3D, but that was about it for childhood horror… my horror geekdom really didn’t start until junior high, when I was able to sneak away to slumber parties that involved lots of snacks, lots of ’80s crap slasher films, and rampaging in grave yards in night gowns [that's a whole other blog entry]. Ah yes, the good ol’ days when Clive Barker’s hellraising seduced me and Wes Craven’s nightmares made me fear our friendly neighborhood Elm Street. But I digress. Now that I’m all “horror growed up,” I watch The Munsters and think, so many Universal Monsters, so little time! Hey, why didn’t I ever appreciate the raven clock [voiced by Mel Blanc aka Bugs Bunny]?! And lots of Hollywood pop culture references in general that I wouldn’t have quite understood at the time, including the rights to use a Beatles song ["I Wanna Hold Your Hand"] in season one, when a rock band uses the haunted homestead as a party crash pad, and then it turns into “open mic night” with the town beatniks.

As an adult viewer, I feel a sort of… irony of the eras when I watch The Addams Family and The Munsters. That the very things that tend to frighten conservative people now, were actually disarming during “The Pleasantville Era.” The families’ strangeness, fashion sense included, was disarming and charming, rather than alarming to mainstream, prim-and-proper audiences. I often wonder what some people must have felt at a deeper level while laughing at the fiendish families’ reckless abandon, gleeful irreverence, open sexuality and acceptance of “fringe” people, like beatniks, Bohemians and rock stars… hell, The Addams’ invited Russians into their home! This was during the Cold War! *gasp* Did some people wish that they could be so bold and brave, and so effortlessly? I have a feeling I would have.

While reveling in the strange, macabre, yet innocent world-view of the families and feeling both shocked and disarmed, did some “Ward and June” types feel a little wistful? On the inside, did they kind of wish that mom had more of a “say” in the family, and that kids could be treated like little adults, and that uncles could light up a room with their mouths, and that “honey, let’s build a ‘honeymoon torture chamber’ to spice up the bedroom” could be freely suggested? Did they understand just how much The Munsters and Addams Family poked fun of their “vanilla” lives, or was it just another sitcom? In a sense, looking at it now with an analytical view and as one that works in art and in television, it feels like these shows were “crossroads shows” that depicted a shift in some people that were brave enough to go against a conservative tide and start pursuing a path that wasn’t quite up to “Ward and June” standards. [Fuck The Cleavers, right]?

I’d always considered myself more of an Addams Family enthusiast than a Munster-maniac, but I’ve gotta say, I really underestimated the intelligence of The Munsters. Make no bones about it, The Munsters will always be the more slapstick-y of the two, but at the black heart of the show, there’s some pretty clever stuff in there, if you look for it. What I enjoy most about The Munsters now is that they shot the show on The Universal lot, and being a Universal show, they [of course] were able to cash in on the Universal Monsters franchise, from sets to characters, which I wouldn’t have recognized as a kid. So from time to time, you’ll see a couple of members of “the family” stop by, like The Creature From the Black Lagoon and The Wolfman. It was also interesting to watch the pilot episode of The Munsters. The original Lilly Munster looked a hella lot like Morticia Addams [pretty smokin' hot], and the show was actually more mean-spirited in its original concept, with Eddie acting more like Cujo, and Herman and Lilly relating to each other like Fred and Ethel rather than Lucy and Ricky. It would have grown annoying really fast, and the powers that be were smart to play it fun, lighthearted and naive… but again, if you look for it, there’s more sharp writing in there than you’d think, most often tailor-made for the ever-biting delivery of the brilliant Al Lewis as Grandpaw.

It seems to me that both shows accomplished what great macabre art, horror and comedy always tend to accomplish: find the pulse of a new social heartbeat and bring it home in sarcastic, sardonic, satirical layers…even today, The Addams Family and The Munsters are a breath of fresh air to watch, and with each viewing as an adult, I have so much fun being a monster-loving kid again.

I’m not going to mention the amazing looking red velvet cake until I completely give in to lust and devour the entire give it a tiny taste test someday in the very near future. Instead, I’d like to fixate on a more politically correct temptation, the charming “Great American Pie Race.” What a breath of fresh air [*sniffff*... mmm... blueberry!] to see a fun and delicious way to raise funds for your chosen candidate. Basically, buy blueberry, Obama gets a buck for each pie sold. Buy cherry and McCain gets a buck a pie.

Now then, candidates and pie aside, here’s what I have to say about the election…

Vote Responsibly.

1. Ask yourself, why am I voting for [insert candidate]? Is it because he has an “R” after his name? Is it because he has a “D” after his name? Is it because my family has been republican or democrat my whole life, therefore, I must vote along that party line? Is it because he’s “just like one of us,” or because his last name is more familiar? Wrong answers… keep asking why.

2. Ask yourself, what is it about this person that scares me or makes me feel like he’s not qualified to lead this country? If the answers can only be found through chain emails, hearsay, or TV and Internet ads, wrong reasons… keep asking what.

Voting is a lot like sex. If we don’t do it responsibly, we open ourselves — and worse, everyone around us — up to communicable diseases.

Make sure before you vote that you’ve at least done your research, and by research, I mean by observing how the candidates are perceived both globally and domestically, in all types of news media, not just the mainstream-manipulating-machine. Watch factcheck.org like a mo-fo, and don’t listen to people or advertisements that cannot back their claims with concrete sources. Look up each candidate’s political records… we have the Internet now, so there’s no excuse. Look up their life stories. If you’ve missed the debates, watch them online… we have YouTube now, so there’s no excuse. The future President of The United States is applying for one of the most important jobs in the world… and we are the ones doing the hiring! Vote like you’re hiring this person for your own business, your own investments, your own bodyguard and financial adviser all rolled up into one person. There is no excuse for not doing homework — serious homework — on one of the most important hires of your life.

Do not vote out of fear. Do not vote out of loyalty or obligation. Vote your conscience, not somebody else’s. The voting booth is a sacred place, and none of us need worry about our Republican uncle learning that we voted Democrat, or vice versa!

So… join me in my campaign: think for yourself, question what you read, see and hear, and vote responsibly. And have some pie too! I’m thinking it’s a good recipe for making the American Dream thrive once again.

[Project Vote Smart] [OpenSecrets.org] [FiveThirtyEight.com Electoral Projections][FactCheck.org Wire]

[FactChecks - Obama ] [FactChecks - McCain] [FactChecks - Biden] [FactChecks - Palin]

[ Filterbank Abusers Unite! ]

SOULSNATCHER MIX Comments…

KEYVO says: I think my brain just exploded, i love it.

MADDSKEELZ says: I really don’t care that this has limited vocal samples. This is completely amazing. It reminds me of one of the Closer remixes. Singlehandedly the best industrial mix on here. Absolutely gut wrenchingly scary. Well freakin done.

GHOSTLIGHT MIX Comments…

PD17 says: so beautiful it sends chills down my spine

MALOK THE MULE says: I love this sound…the name pretty much directly describes it too, ghostly as it is. Its beauty all over. Great stuff.

JANUX says: Now THIS is what im talking about. Something unique! I love it. It doesn’t sound like everyone else. -Travis of Janux

We did not “win” the Celldweller SWITCHBACK remix contest as far as prizes or placement in the top three. We also did not make it onto the remix CD, at least not yet… I’m not even sure that a remix CD will be made, honestly… it seems that Klayton prefers widgets these days [as do most indie musicians, ourselves included!], so maybe at some point, we could wind up being featured on the Celldweller widget. That would be a dream come true, but if it doesn’t happen, that’s fine by us, because the contest benefited us above and beyond widget-stardom or CD placement in ways we could not have predicted when we first created the remixes.

It’s an honor that we were welcomed as a featured remix artist, which thrilled us about as much as [if not, more than] getting on a CD. We also received some great compliments from the Celldweller community, a few favorites are posted in this entry. But most importantly, the one outcome we could not have predicted was that it showed us what we’re really, truly capable of as musicians. We took a few risks, mixed together some genres that typically aren’t “supposed” to work together [what did we have to lose?] and made them work… I mean, really, really work. In essence, dissecting SWITCHBACK helped us further evolve our signature sound: beauty and beast [GHOSTLIGHT=Beauty, SOULSNATCHER=Beast], a mix of symphonies, choirs, crunchy guitars, fucked-up drum kits and frightening electronics… and we continue to explore that crazy Corvo concoction with each track as our debut full-length TELLTALE unfolds.

So thank you, Klayton, for letting us dive into a song you’ve written that we’ve always loved… you continue to inspire us as indie musicians, and through your work and embrace of independent musicians, we… well… know it sounds hokey, but… we sort of found ourselves. -NiNi + G9

Listen to Song and Add Comments at Celldweller.com

Listen to Song and Add Comments at Celldweller.com

“White spotlights appeared one at a time to highlight each player as he launched into the enigmatic opening strains of the title track from Worlds Collide. The cheers built to a deafening crescendo as Mikko’s thunderous toms launched the song’s first explosive synchronized cello riffs. I felt a physical blast of compressed air from the amp stacks as the low-end vibrations kicked in, hammered home by a machine-gun double kick.”
-From G9’s FEARnet Review

I have never in my life experienced a concert more perfectly than at Apocalyptica’s very first show in Dallas, TX [at the House of Blues]. At first, I was just going to string together a few videos and a bunch of photos my new-found front-row friend Shelby had captured on her camera, but then… this video just took me on an artistic journey of its own, and I couldn’t stop it [nor did I want to]! Enjoy this fan documentary, and let me know what you think of the video. Finally, if you ever get the opportunity to see these guys in concert, don’t let it pass you by… it’ll be one of the best shows of your life, I promise.

Have you seen Apocalyptica live? What do you think of the band? What are some of your favorite Apo songs? Who is your favorite band member? Register -free- to share your thoughts with me here!

[ @ YouTube ] [ Right Click For MP4 ] [ Right Click For FLV ] [ Apocalyptica.com ]

The Cart
First off, Amazon now offers the special edition CD for the same price as the regular CD oh wait, I’m sorry. The special edition CD is a penny more than the regular. *shaking my fist* You bastards. Seriously, no-brainer, there. Night Eternal Special Edition: sold. *ka-ching!* View shopping cart: Night Eternal Special Edition + book that I’ve wanted for ages. Both items covered by prime membership = free 2-day shipping for me, *ka-ching!* But… I don’t want to wait two whole days… I don’t believe in bit-torrenting [it goes against my nature as a musician]. Hmm… computer speakers and flash streaming just isn’t cutting it anymore, and it’s Friday night, dammit, I want to listen to Night Eternal now-now-now-now-now! [That was my Herman Munster tantrum]. Update shopping cart: full album MP3 download + Special Edition CD + book I’ve wanted for ages. *ka-ching!* Sold to the crazy pig-tailed metal head.

Sidebar: I Believe in Music Karma Faeries
Yes, it’s true: I purchased Night Eternal twice. It’s just a fact: my music consumption habits straddle two worlds, that of the physical collector, and that of the instant gratification digital consumer. It’s probably a good thing that I never got deeply attached to vinyl [love the sound, hate the warping]. So I admit, I do sometimes buy MP3s first, and then buy the physical CDs later. I double-dip. Into my wallet. For my favorite bands. I figure, enough people probably steal their music anyway, so I’d like to think that maybe I’m helping set the scales back into balance in some small way. I also figure, it can’t hurt to spread some good musician mojo around, right? Call it karma, and call it a day? While I’m confessing, I’ve done this for two other bands, at least. Stream of Passion, Apocalyptica and Dimmu Borgir… okay, three… no, four, including Moonspell. /Sidebar

Try the NIGHT ETERNAL Diet and Be Instantly Transformed!
BEFORE:

AFTER:

The Perfect Drug
After a difficult day at the loathsome 9-5, and then another eight hours working on Corvo, the work I’d rather be immersed in all day, I’d mapped out a perfect 16-hour work day exhaustion escape plan. I loaded up the CD player with my burned MP3s, turned off all the lights [except for that white-light holiday strand that's never unplugged], poured a glass of red wine, and soaked in the sounds of Night Eternal from a *proper* stereo [and a pretty f^cking loud one, too]. All this at around 2:30 AM. SO perfect. A little delirious from fatigue, slightly numb, very comfortable in the dark, and greatly in need of going someplace far, far away in my mind for a while. Of course, purring cats involved themselves in this escape plan… my cats love metal, it actually calms them.

…what’s so cool about Moonspell as artists, is that they’re not following the latest “Goffik trends,” this is just… who they are… and they just may “turn” you if you don’t cover your necks.

School of Metal
G9 was there next to me, so at times throughout the CD, “musician nerd-speak” would ensue, with talk of things like lyrics, mood, gear estimates, melodies, orchestral elements… like our own musical “In Search Of…” complete with mystery, theory and conjecture. Even when huge fans of a band, we still can’t help but treat the experience of a new album or new concert as school… we can’t help but wander down the path of, “How did they do that? Can we be that effective, and how?” [We draw the line at pocket protectors]. But with Night Eternal, the album was so gripping, we mostly enjoyed the journey together in silence, saving every musician’s note for when the musical notes took us to our final destination.

I Never Drink…
While listening to Fernando’s opening words of “At Tragic Heights” [from the book of Revelation, of course], the same image that hits me often when I hear his voice, hit me again: Gary Oldman’s Dracula. And I can’t help but imagine him [Fernando, not Gary] saying to me, “Welcome… to my…. hhhhh…home.” In this inner-dialogue, I omit the part about “I never drink… wine,” because I know for a fact that Fernando does indeed drink wine. [Wouldn't it be cool if he drank Corvo wine]? At any rate, water, wine, blood, Snapple… it doesn’t really matter what he drinks, it will not change the fact that Fernando Ribeiro is the reincarnation of Vlad Tepes… at least, Vlad’s inner rock-god… and Lestat, you’ve got nothing on my visions of Fernando rocking the impaler. *cough*

Six Feet Under the Influence
As each track unfolded, I swear, every time I opened my eyes, I was another foot under ground. By the end of the album, I was literally in a coffin. I don’t know where it came from, but there I was, clad in funeral garb, laying in a coffin. Cobwebs everywhere, doors squeaking for no reason… in unison… mice running across the ceiling, succubi eating babies all around me. It was… out. of. control. What I’m trying to say is that Night Eternal is Gothic as f^ck, people! But… in a very authentic way. Everything I love about Gothic art, architecture, literature and film is present in this album, and what’s so cool about Moonspell as artists, is that they’re not following the latest “Goffik trends,” this is just… who they are… and they just may “turn” you if you don’t cover your necks.

Night Eternal Re-Animated
The special edition CD arrived the following Tuesday, and I jumped around the house yelling, “a penny, a penny, a penny, a penny!” This CD is a thing of beauty. It’s a high quality digipak, very thoughtfully designed with the Devil in the details. It includes a wicked-cool keepsake sticker of the album cover, as well as a lyric booklet dripping with dark art and gorgeous band photos. As if the collector quality of the packaging isn’t enough, the special edition CD also includes three bonus tracks, and a DVD, complete with three live performances from Wacken Open Air, including fan-favorite Finesterra, and one of my favorites, Memento Mori [both from another Moonspell masterpiece, Memorial]. Along with live performance clips, the DVD includes the official video for Finesterra, a behind-the-scenes short video, and… and… the reason why I’m so happy I sprung for that extra penny and bought the special edition: the video for “Luna.” I swear, the bittersweet beauty of the tragically whimsical visuals and melancholic melodies swept me up into a black magic carpet-ride. No pixels, no fuzzy mono-tracks or sub-standard stereo coming from crap computer speakers… this is why I’m not quite convinced that Internet video will ever be a replacement for “real” TV. As “Luna” completed the viewing experience of Night Eternal, G9 turned to me and said, “Did they jump into our heads and rip that video right out of us?” Well… holy head like a hole, G-Man, I do believe they did.

In short, this is one of the best albums of the year, and definitely, one of the best ever by Moonspell. Do with that what you will.

So tell me: What do you think of Moonspell? Do you like the music? How about the videos? If not, why not? Do your pets like metal? Have you seen my teeth? [ Register -Free- To Comment on Moonspell and Metalhead Pets! ]

Warning: the last video in this playlist, “I’ll See You in My Dreams” is NSFW… that is, unless your boss doesn’t mind seeing decapitations, gore and zombies running about… [hey, if your boss doesn't mind, may I apply to where you work]?

I can’t help but look at that shot of Asia Argento in The Filth, and think to myself, with a father like that, who needs enemies? What a fascinating father-daughter dynamic. Not quite like my artistic father-daughter dynamic, in which we performed a duet of “Rainbow Connection” for my first ever opera audition. In later years, I think the craziest we ever got was when dad learned Over the Hills and Far Away on the guitar, and I sang like Robert Plant. But you know… if dad asked me to practically drown in entrails thirteen-plus hours a day, I’d gladly do it, because that would mean I’m starring in a Dario Argento film! What? You need to literally drill a hole into my cranium to get just the right blood squirt for this scene, and then insert a metal plate into my skull not to cover the hole, but to use the metal as an electric conductor for shooting 227,849 volts through my nose, so that when the killer tries to lobotomize me, he’ll blow up, and I’ll run around the room with my head on fire? Yes father, I’ll do it… because you’re Dario Argento and I’m starring in your film!

VIDDY-EWWW: Seen La Terza Madre? Did you survive? What did you think? Do you dare? [Register -Free- To Comment on La Terza Madre + Dario Argento!]

The depth of Asia’s filth and pain-threshold is astounding, and in La Terza Madre, I started to think, wow, she’s kind of getting through this one like she’s in a Jerry Bruckheimer film, or something… until the scene from that photo up there ^. Wow… it’s… a force of nature to watch her trudge through it all. Even though La Terza Madre is, as Dethklok would declare, f^cking brutal, complete with blood, boobs, impaling, baby eating and more [for one very low price], this film made me laugh. Out loud. A lot. I know, it’s totally sick, but I giggled like crazy through the whole thing. So what if all of Italy and the world gets raped, pillaged, and possessed by ancient demons, this is opera at its finest. As I watched old Mater Lachrymarum’s witch-brigade trolling about, acting like The Pïnkk Läydeez, I was reminded of the years I’d spent in opera performing in the women’s choruses. Part of the reason why I love Argento’s work so much is that I recognize that it’s Italian horror opera… maybe that’s why I’m able to take the brutality in-stride. You could say that death in vivid colors takes me back to fond memories of watching people die when I was in grade school… characters in my operas, sillies, not real people!

G9′S ARGENTO TOP 5:
Suspiria
Tenebre
Inferno
La Terza Madre
Deep Red

NiNi’S ARGENTO TOP 5:
Suspiria
La Terza Madre
Do You Like Hitchcock?
Pelts
Opera

Another reason Argento’s films resonate with me as opera, is the importance placed on the music. In La Terza Madre, Claudio Simonetti’s score delivers a powerful “character” to the film in what I would consider one of the best film scores ever made, and definitely up-to-snuff with his Suspiria score. The final [closing credits] track “Mater Lacrimarum,” performed by Daemonia, with guest vocalist Dani Filth, is a horror music masterpiece. When I first heard it, I just wanted to loop it over and over again for days… seriously… and I did!

On that [literal] note, I’ve enclosed Mater Lacrimarum herein for your listening pleasure.

If “Mater Lacrimarum” resonates with you, please show your support by visiting Daemonia on mySpace, adding them to your fiends list, listening to more [as G9 would say], melodies of horror, and downloading some free tracks! It’s Italian horror metal with progressive rock sophistication, and they’re truly one of our hugest inspirations.

Finally, for we who’ve been following these Argento witches for so many years, La Terza Madre goes out with a bang, providing perfect closure for The Three Mothers Trilogy, all the way down to casting Udo Kier and Daria Nicolodi [and of course, our beloved Asia]. Still, this film [much like Dario Argento] isn’t for everyone… how about you? [Register -Free- To Comment on La Terza Madre and Dario Argento!]

[ G9's Review of La Terza Madre Soundtrack ] [ G9's Exclusive Interview With Daemonia ]

We started this new format a few weeks ago, and those of you on our older e-newsletter list have probably noticed that updated emails have been coming your way a little more often since then. We used to send maybe a newsletter every few months, but since The Chamber Door launched, it’s been more like once a week, sometimes even, twice a week. So let me explain: We’ve decided that band pimping is, in the infamous words of Metalocalypse’s Skwisgaar Skwigelf, “dildos.”

There is so much more to our creative process than writing, recording and promoting our music… so much more than that, so we’ve decided to extend an invitation to you to enter our studio any time by sharing all of that “so much more” with us here. That’s where the phrase “madness, murder and music mania” comes in.

Madness: Deranged humor, cult and genre TV, pop culture, weird hobbies and gear/fashion obsessions.

Murder: Horror and macabre topics of all varieties [especially art, literature, entertainment, music and film], as well as “The Murder,” being you, the Corvo community [y'know, a murder of crows?].

Music Mania: Hey, just because we’re musicians paving our own niche in a huge music world doesn’t mean we’re not crazy about music and totally geeked-out about other bands ourselves! We go to concerts, create fan art and rabidly collect CDs and DVDs too, so why not share music mania of all varieties, not just related to Corvo, but related to our love of music with you?

We will still post updates here on the recording process and on other big “Corvo news,” but in between that news, there’s a huge, dark, twisted world out there inspiring us, pissing us off and challenging us every moment, so… why not write about all of that creative fuel? Well… that’s The Chamber Door.

So, if you do not want to receive email updates from us once or twice a week, we’re sending out a new email subscription confirmation this week. When you receive it, just don’t click the link, and you won’t be re-subscribed. You can keep in touch with us via the RSS Feed, without getting email updates if you prefer that. If you do not get a new invitation, it’s because you are already subscribed to the new e-newsletter feed.

If you want to unsubscribe from the e-newsletter right now, there should be an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of the current subscription emails you’ve been receiving.

We do hope you’ll stay/join us and share your own madness, murder and music mania here! The door is open…

Magic, mystery, love. It’s a book and now it’s a music video. Hear the original song for the summer’s blockbuster novel TURBULENT SEA by Christine Feehan. Find out more at
christinefeehan.com.
~COS Productions

I knew from the very beginning as we wrote Turbulent Sea that my voice would be synced up to a different person, and I’ll admit, at first, I felt a little apprehensive about it. However, it really didn’t take long for me to say, “NiNi get over it, this is done constantly in movies and on TV… Hello, Jonathan Davis and Lestat?!” When the video came out, I loved it immediately. After watching everything come together so perfectly for the book and the character “Joley,” I wouldn’t have wanted to marry the song and the video together in any other way.

I really love the unique look to this video, and am very proud to share it here as a follow-up to the posting of the song. It’s so amazing to say that we wrote the music to the video to the new novel by Christine Feehan. It’s never been done before, and truly, the most satisfying art for myself and for G9 is the work that we take on because it’s never been done before… that’s really what Corvo is all about. -NiNi

[TURBULENT SEA Video - Podcast Link]

Can I steal your mind for a while?
Can I stop your heart for a while?
Can I freeze your soul and your time?
Scorpion flower, Token of death
Ignite the skies with your eyes
And keep me away from your light

Surrender tears to your mortal act
Flower cursed be thy fruit
Of your courage last
Of your grand finale
Flower crushed in the ground
In your empty heart
In the breast that feeds
Flower worn in the dark
~From SCORPION FLOWER, Moonspell Featuring Anneke van Giersbergen

[ Newsletter Subscribers, Click Here to Stream the Album in a New Window ]

If you only have time to listen to one track on this widget, I highly recommend Scorpion Flower [track #4] featuring the amazing voice of Anneke van Giersbergen. To stream the album, just click on the middle “slot” when you mouse over the widget image. You can click on individual songs… the player doesn’t confine you to listening to the whole album, although… if listening to the whole album is “confinement,” throw away the key, because in my opinion, this is a perfect album… at least, perfect for me!

My thoughts in “real time” as I listened to the stream:

Holy Jeebus, I’m only on track one ["At Tragic Heights"] of Moonspell’s new album, Night Eternal, and I’ve already decided to buy it the moment I get paid Friday. See? Label streams entire album online, consumer is willing to buy said album. It’s called “the new era of music sales,” and it’s really not that difficult to let people listen for free as part of the whole purchasing experience. Of course, it’s gotta be a great album if the label’s confident enough to let people “try before they buy,” so that alone is a no-brainer for we who devour music… free online album streams and embeddable widgets are the new “perceived value” of music pricing. But enough with my “industry research” observations and onto the album…

Oh wow, [ex-The Gathering's] Anneke van Giersbergen [one of my vocal heroes] contributes to the song “Scorpion Flower?” Right on! I’m really digging the female vocal seasonings throughout the album… I’m going to spring for the special edition if it hasn’t already sold out. I’ll definitely do a follow-up on the actual [physical] CD soon…

Make no mistake about it, we plan to “try before buy” Telltale… wonder where we could score a nifty l’il widget like this one? I bet SPV had to pay a pretty penny to MySpace for it… but what a worthwhile investment.

On Track #3 now, and wetting my pants… I looooove this album!

The flash player is of exceptional audio quality, too.

Uh oh… now on Anneke’s song, “Scorpion Flower”. It’s breathtaking! I would buy the album just for this song alone. [Loved it so much, had to post the lyrics].

Finished the album stream: fantastic, fantastic, fantastic!

… what would be really interesting for people to see is how beautiful things grow out of shit. ~Brian Eno

From Daniel Lanois’ film, Here is What it Is, this musing from Brian Eno is so… real and so inspiring, I had to share it here. -NiNi
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Daniel: I’m trying to make a film that’s… beautiful in itself, about beauty, about the source of the art, rather than… everything that surrounds the art… and… I was hoping you might say a couple of words about that subject matter, because you’ve always operated in a relatively quiet way, and yet, you’re like a world artist…

Brian: Well, I tell you, one thing I would say about your film is that… what would be really interesting for people to see is how beautiful things grow out of shit.

Daniel *Laugh*

Brian: Because… nobody ever believes that. You know… everybody thinks that Beethoven had his string quartets completely in his head, that it somehow appeared there and formed in his head, and all he had to do was write them down, and they would kind of be manifest to the world. But… I think what’s so interesting… and what would really be a lesson that everybody should learn is that… things come out of nothing. Things evolve out of nothing. You know? The tiniest seed in the right situation turns into the most beautiful forest, and then, the most promising seed in the wrong situation turns into nothing. And… I think this would be important for people to understand because it gives people confidence in their own lives to know that that’s how things work. If you walk around with the idea that there are some people who are so gifted, that they have these wonderful things in their head, but you’re not one of them, you’re just sort of… a “normal” person, that you could never do anything like that, then… you live a different kind of life, you know? You could have another kind of life where you can say, “Well, I know that things come from nothing very much and start from unpromising beginnings, and… I’m an unpromising beginning and I could start something.

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-NiNi

When my dad and I traveled the roller coaster circuit every Six Flags summer, I used to scream “Daddy, do something!” Then we’d both scream: “Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” all the way down that first big drop. Now, I tend to scream this when I’m in the tub and I picture myself in a teeny-tiny raft, falling down the water pouring out of the faucet…

Today, I present a l’il YouTube fun straight outta my ’70s past. It’s a gem, a true gem, and I remember watching this episode as if it happened at lunch time.

Notes to Self:

1. As a kid, I used to feel sorry for Cha-ka… now, he kinda creeps me out more than Sleestaks.

2. Let me rock you, Cha-ka kan.

3. In Cha-kanese, Sleestak = Sareesataka! The moment I learned this today, I also learned that I have a rare disease called Sareesataka! Tourette’s Syndrome.

4. Holly is ME. I would totally be naming all of the dinosaurs pet names and thinking that they’re cute… that is, until I saw their teeth up-close.

5. OMG, how did I never notice the backup vocals in the opening song: “Lost-lost-lost-lost!”

6. I think I still kind of have a crush on “Will.” Tee-hee!

A Couple of Questions for You:

1. With an older a fresh, grown-up view of the show, which do you find creepier now, Cha-ka or the Sleestaks?

2. Sareesataka??!!!

A Little Personal History

When my dad and I traveled the roller coaster circuit every Six Flags summer, I used to scream “Daddy, do something!” Then we’d both scream: “Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” all the way down that first big drop. Now, I tend to scream this when I’m in the tub and I picture myself in a teeny-tiny raft, falling down the water pouring out of the faucet… and yes, as the audiences watches my teeny tiny raft plunge into the abyss that is the bath water, the CGI effects are just as awful. [So what about my bath time rubber ducky dinosaurs]?!

Sareesataka!