Saturday, March 08, 2003 :::

okay...so...Coldplay is the best band currently in existence - on most days, anyway. After much listening, I've decided that I prefer A Rush of Blood to the Head over Parachutes, although Parachutes remains in my all-time top 10. "Warning Sign" and "The Scientist" are absolutely delicious...so warm, so uplifting...yet so somber at the same time - it's genius, i tell you! GENIUS!

overly brief review of the new Evanescence record, Fallen: The recording quality is excellent. The quality of (almost) each song is superb. The band could not be tighter. Overall, it really is a great album...but now, on to my gripes. When listening to the record from start to finish, it often feels as though you've heard the same song a few times over. Stylistic diversity is lacking. There ARE two ballad-esque songs ("My Immortal" and "Hello"), but other than that, every track is pretty much built with the same structure, same guitar sound, and same mood...and as far as "My Immortal" is concerned, they completely destroyed what was once a beautiful song (as it was found on their previous album, "Origin") with utterly tasteless electronic strings. I could bitch about this one aspect of the album all day, but I usually just skip the track and rely on "Hello" for a (huge) change of pace. Really sad song...but after a few listens, I came to appreciate it on several levels, primarily because it does an excellent job of showcasing singer Amy Lee's beautifully dynamic and seamless voice. Another gripe - remember my last post, when I commented on "thirty seconds of greatness" within the duration of "Imaginary?" Yeah, well...the powers that be completely removed that part of the song. I cannot convey to you how upset I was when I first listened to it on the new record...ugh. But that, "My Immortal," and the redundant structuring of the songs aside, it's an impressive major-label debut. In final reference to the feeling of similarity found throughout the cd - fortunately, the songs have several layers - layers that I notice more and more each time I listen to the record. In conclusion, I definitely recommend purchasing the album. I guarantee that Evanescence will go down as being one of the very few bands that actually found success in pairing heavy rock with a female vocalist.

I'm sick, and lemme tell you, it's absolutely shit-tastic. "Here's spring break, Alan...here's a week at home with all of your friends, Alan... - oh, and we can't forget to present you with this mother of a sinus infection." Thanks a pant-load. This pretty much screws up any plans of practicing with my band, since my throat, chest, and ultimately, my voice have been destroyed by this bitch-ass infection. On the bright side... - wait. There isn't a bright side to being this sick. Ugh...

I should comment on last weekend: Good times, good times...It was great to hang out with everyone at Animal Kingdom, MGM, and Epcot. Highlights would have to include getting pictures with characters, seeing the down-syndrome panda bear, getting the shaft-seat on the tower of terror (everyone but me had a bar to keep them in the seat - i had a seatbelt - scary stuff), riding the "Best Ride Ever!," and of course, seeing Juan and Will as extras in the Indiana Jones show at MGM. Absolutely hilarious... The party at Juan's was excellent, as well... - it was superb to see Juan's Mac screw up over and over again :) Just kidding...but seriously, PCs are just as good, if not a thousand-times better.

Of course, the biggest news of the year has been the announcement of the engagement of my main man Frank and his girl Lauren. I won't lie - I'm more than a little skeptical about this whole thing...but in the long run, if Frank has truly thought this thing out and is sure that this is his path to insurmountable happiness, then I'm all for it.

Time to catch up on sleep - missed two nights in a row. More posting to come... Hope to see everyone soon...

::: posted by AJBrotz at 1:52 AM

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