Ayreon - 01011001 ( or Y)

The new album from dutch hippie metal prog dude Arjen Anthony Lucassen is a milestone. A milestone in the career of the multi-instrumentalist maybe not creatively speaking at least in the big Ayreon story.

Though I will not dwelve into the deep and rich Ayreon history, i'll just lay a few ligns for those you do not know the guy and his project.

Ayreon is A.A Lucassen, metal prog hippie dude fan of TV series, movies and SF. He makes records but not your average ones.

He writes a concept, and go find other instrumentalists and mostly singers away to come and sing on his prog rock metal concept opera rock record.

Yes it may sound like a huge melting pot but Lucassen way, production and music (he composes almost everything and plays half the stuff) gives it a strong sense and direction.

It is not merely an album... it's an Adventure !

So the new album is well the last about a long running SF concept that went through the final experiment, the electric castle, universal migrator and human equation.

01011001 (or Y in binary) wraps up the concept of the story. The alien species called Forever are dying on their planet and decide to shoot a comet to earth to insure the survival of their species...

But unto the music itself. The 2 discs version (with dvd for fans too) is filled with music divided between songs from the planet Y (with it's horde of singers listing there. http://www.ayreon.com/ayreon/ay_01011001.html

and the songs from planet Earth.

The opening track age of shadows is pure ayreon, heavy riff with metallic sound and the singers coming slowly one after the other starting the tale. Rightaway you want to headbang and you let yourself goes on the ayreon rollercoaster. For event if the songs from Y are not really originals as far as Ayreon songs goes, you cannot take it that the chorus lines sink in pretty quick and the riffs stay in the head long.

Here is pure ayreon, nothing new for those you like change but damn efficient.

The change is coming from the 'earth' songs who are mostly quiet and well a bit off from the concept and well break a bit the flow of the disc. If the last one to fit well story-and-music-wise, the other two on the first disc are really odd (though they are nice songs in themselves ^^)

The last song is well really a testament, a legacy, the quintessence of ayreon and the concept and is ( but of course ! ) sung by the man itself.. for he is the main protagonist.

Apart that, the production is as good as always, the chorus ligns insure a good uniformity though each singer still can be recognise with their vocal 'trademarks' (daniel G. hmmmmm yeah ! moaning ^^)

So a strong release, with the concept and lyrics being a real added value as always.

Find your own truth but hey a bunch of them are in there.

Diamond Dogs

It 's starting to get all over the Net ; Diamond raises its order minimums.

http://comicsworthreading.com/2009/01/16/diamond-raises-order-minimums/

Diamond has a quasi-monopole over comics distribution which means two things mostly.
Independents comic publisher will either disappear from diamond's catalog and or they'll stay but probably raise their price in order to match the new benchmark.
A little math is done there on this blog.
http://blog.comichron.com/2009/01/order-cutoffs-and-charts.html

That's a sad news because indies will have to raise their price and try to go for quick and cheap plot in order to sell asap and amap.
Hopefully this may be the rise of a secondary distributing market or maybe make the wave of digital comics grow stronger and bigger... We will see.

I want it all.

If my precedent post was about the effect Media has on the buyer, i must turn now to a similar yet different habit that plagues the person looking to purchase any art item (music , movie, comics...) in any form.
The completism.
The completism is that thing that push us to buy EVERYTHING a guy did, all his art, all the music he did even if it was just a small guitar solo or a singing on a single track. You feel compelled to have everything, to satisfy an urge to possess or even a sure method to explore all the facets of an Artist in order to comprehend his work or well, Him.
Mind you, completism is a good thing on some accounts. It well helps the guy you support live and create more and it also lead, by the ways of multiple works, discovery of other artists.
I started small but I ended up discovering many bands by just following a bunch of creators I liked.
In that completism is a good thing... but it has also Major drewbacks.
First and foremost is the fact that if you buy everything at least read it and enjoy it.
If you start reading something by alan moore you fell is crap event after 10 reading then ditch it.
Matt Wagner (of grendel fame) used to say that it's first 3 issues of grendel would never have seen print as he thought they were crap. Pression made it reconsider his word and he did reprint it. Interesting historical document but let's face it... Art sucks, storytelling sucks, story not even finished. After reading it I could understood what he meant and wanted.
So do you need to have everything (if possible money and time wise ?) ? No we should limit ourselves to things that makes you really feel something (good eh ! Not feel bad or disgusted ^^).
There are so many things out there to see, hear, read you cannot bother to keep on reading/ seeing/hearing things that leave you cold.
You can skip issues of X-men... Yes you won't have the complete collection but at least you won't have a longbox of comics you never read and just keep because you need a complete collection.
It does not matter if one thing is a classic to have if you do not enjoy it.
Feel free to buy the next thing your artist did because you like what he does most of the times and you want to enjoy some more stuff from him.
And then, ditch it if it sucks.
Yes you may have holes , you may miss numbers, records of else but hey if you have it but do not use it... What is it for ?

City of Lanterns

I must admit I'm baffled. I love comics but sometimes I can't understand People.
During the 90ies, the comic book market crashed because of over speculations, multiple gimmick covers and such.
And now, it's the nineties all over again.
Barrack Obama is on the cover of amazing spiderman and people are selling this issue on ebay even before it is out (now it's out and the second printing is already on the way...).
http://www.examiner.com/x-591-Childrens-Book-Examiner~y2009m1d9-Obama-Spiderman-already-on-Ebay

I'm puzzled to see people still going for this limelights. 'Oh great Obama on a spiderman issue, let's buy.' It's touching but the worst is that few people will stick around to buy other comics, let alone read it before bag it or resale it as incredibly rare first printing.
Of course it does bring a light on MARVEL and spiderman comics thought I doubt it will change anything sale-wise speaking besides a huge peak on this issue.
It's a bit sad to see that people still follow the blindling lanterns without looking around and try to go beyond mere publicity stunts.
Don't get me wrong, I can understand the editorial staff of the House of Ideas doing that kind of stuff to attract people, it's their jobs. I don't know if the issue is any good but the problem is not there.
Stunts like that one, the death of captain america and such or the uber huge crossovers are good to bring back people to the fold of an Art which probably suffers from it's image of senseless-kid stuff. The main problem is People. The People who follow blindly the lights of lanterns of media market. People who buy an issue without really looking into it. People who buy 20 $ an issue who is gonna be on sale the day after fo 3.99$ (yeah probably gonna sell fast but hey you could try). People who buy things because it's been talked about on the telly without really exerting a real critical look on the item.
How many Da Vinci code sold without the people really looking and admitting it is badly written (well provided they do have other references to realize it is badly written but that 's another problem.) or not so great.
It is hard to have an objective look at things but if anything is stupid is just not to really look at it, not to look with your own eyes and develop your own point of view.
The lanterns are there to show the path not to blind yourself.
Go buy your Obama if you like, pay it the hard way if you want first printing for collecting, but if you just want a pic of Obama in Spiderman you can wait second printing or the trade. And read the story and see if it moves you in any way. That's the whole point of a comic book.

The Old Road

One thing that make me despair with today technology and downloading is the impact it has on our society.
Moreover it goes beyond the sad facts that people loose money, cannot live from the craft the people crave so much they bleed it dry, it strikes straight in the heart of Art and its purpose.
Not that I'm going to indulge myself with a definitive definition of the purpose of Art (yet) but I must show the collateral damage and consequences of Downloading.
When people download music for example, it's because it's free, because they can, because CDs cost too much...Not as much as the I-pod Nano probably but anyway they cost too much.
In old times, you had little money so you bought a record you barely knew anything about. Maybe you heard something on the radio or heard the buzz among your friends.
So you grab this vinyl or CD or tape, you put it on and you listen. You listen a lot because you don't have a lot of other record to listen to.
You impregnates yourself with it, you listen to it 'till you have discovered all its depths and highs.
Nowadays, a song and a record are just a bunch of Mo on a walkman; among how many others Mo ?
These songs become the equivalent to fast food for music...Instant music for instant result or the shuffle death will strike...
How many people do you seen looking at their Ipods shuffling and shuffling and shuffling among the hundreds of songs they have ?
For free or even bought, overconsumption is the key problem of this.
With so many songs available, people starts to spend less and less time on it... nor even artists do the same composing. The music loose its added value. Songs must catch the listener right away to please and /or sell.
Art becomes fast food, fingerlickin' good but with no real taste, no real craft in the making and without a real sensation of fullfillment.
Art is starting to become senseless because we stop taking time to look into it with a grid of understanding and meaning. Mass consumerism is slowly killing Art and all the good it can bring. Don't get me wrong... Plenty of choice is good, free legal download is good to discover things but in the end take time to discover things that can really rock you world.

Connecting the dots

I indulge myself with a rewriting of an old text I used to post on internet forums... People who knows me ,knows I dislike Illegal Download (or DL).
So here's a bit of the 10 commandements about Illegal downloading (of whatever movies, music...)


1- It is illegal to download if not permitted.
Meaning, if it is not legal, it's illegal and therefore makes you a thief and guilty. Period. That's law.

2-Only the creator/owner of the art should be the one putting it on the net.
More than the downloaders, there's the people who put it on the net...The Uploaders. They should be the first to pay...It like dealing... Here lies the source of the Problem.

3-Majors ! Only thiefs who make money on the back of the artists.
You don't buy pricey CDs from filthy robbers majors... You rob the majors AND the artist. Who's the bigger thief ? Great solution.

4-I should be able to hear before buying.
Indeed that's why lots of great bands put free DL (and legal !) so you can get a taste of their music.If artists make that people can discover without buying first. Easy step to make everybody happy. On the other end you never ask for a sample of food at the restaurant. You go, you make your experience and taste and go there again or not.
4.1-I only like one song, won't buy the CD.
Well a system of Pay-per-song could be created on bands site or DL platforms.(if not already done)

5-This cannot be found in a store near my house.
Well if you can find it on the net/mule/torrent, you can really find it on a e-seller or the bands site (who should be SSL encrypted and up to date.)
5.1-This band is no more... can really find it or at incommensurable price.
Yeah, lost bands... Ican understand especially if nothing is still in sale, I can understand that one but that is really not the majority of music round here...
5.2 Live bootlegs and such.
Depends on the policy of the band ( who should be clear on that) Most bands I know accept recordings as long as it's not a show who's gonna be out someday and if it's not for sale.. Trading 's free I mean. At least the man who recorded paid for the show.

6-Madonna or the majors won't need my money with all the one they make.
Yeah right... except then the filthy majors won't make enough money, they won't fire Madonna or change habits. They won't sign younger artists, that is prise de risque (not risk free).And they fire the low ranks people...I mean, even when they make profits they do so. You don't buy and your neighbour is gonna end up fired. Madonna ? She's fine indeed.

7- It's too expensive.
Indeed, CDs are a medium that did not change for many years and even dvds are starting to lower their price. CD MUST cost less if it is too survive but well if you can't afford a car , you just steal it ?
7-1 I pay a tax of virgin CDs so Ialready pay for DL.
Yeah right? Sadly that tax (in France) exist because of DL. That's a vicious circle. But I pay it and I only use for safeguarding data. Should I get money back from you ? As well , they wanna make pay all internet provider as a tax. I don't DL why should I pay ? Always a case-by-case scenario at the end.

8-Access to culture and music should be free/inexpensive/obligatory...
Yeah right. Everybody should have a right to descent house, food, central heating and such. Not the point. It is culture but it is also the money-making job of people. Radios and free download can get you sample of culture and there's lot of legal stuff round here of culture. I mean, everybody should be allowed great sex...

9- I' ain't a robber.
Sadly illegal DL IS against the law, so people using it ARE robbers.And the 'funny' thing is that NO ONE I know DLing is feeling like a robber stealing like you steal an apple.
9.1 But I replicate there is no loss nor theft.
Yeah and the day your boss says he'll not pay you for answering the phone because well there's not product you're gonna be happy.
And that is finally one major problem cause you end up like that....

10-You are stupid to pay.
You can get anything on the net for free....Here the Problem, changes of mentality. People are feeling that if things are free, you are not stealing... And I met one of this a$$.... who was saying to my face I was stupid to buy the cds, that you can get all for free so paying is stupid. I was furious. Labor is not regarded as something to be paid.
10-1.10 Go of music.
And that's another problem finally 'cos people get lotsa and lotsa music for free and finally never listen to half of it... Compulsive eating people we are becoming and so many wonderful tastes for fine [i]palais [/i]around... Like those digital cameras; making tons of pictures but not real meaningful ones most of the time but more on this later.


So... here's some solutions about that. I wouldn't criticise only...

FROM THE MAJORS.
1.LOWER THE PRICE OF CDs.
CD has not evolve, even dvds is getting cheaper nowadays. They must follow the market and make a gesture.
1.1 MUTIPLY THE DISCOUNTS.
on the old catalog and such... lotsa things bit cheaper so all can buy...

2.PUT ON LEGAL DOWNLOADING
2.1 FREE FOR DISCOVERING
2.2 PAY PER SONG
For I wanna the single only.


FROM LABELS.
Same as above and promote well
1.MAKE THE STUFF AVAILABLE.
CDs and such... you can find them and buy them... is great.

FROM THE LAW.
1.GET THE NET PUTTER TO PAY.
First of all get the people putting on the net, slash their net access, make them pay.Not on the net, no DLor UL.
2.GET THE DLers TO PAY.
Prison is too harsh I can relate to that, but making them pay and more if they have lots of it.

FROM THE PEOPLE
1.BUY FROM THE BANDS
if you really want to support the people behind the music and not the majors, buy at concerts or on their wesite.
2. GO TO THE CONCERTS.
they make most of money there... if people come (hell sometimes they loose money playing for you guys).
3.BUY AT YOUR LOCAL STORE TOO.
Yes a bit less cheap than the net but at least you'll help people live too.

Thanks for bearing with me on that and remember... in the end if no Art is done everybody loose.

Double Feature : Traces and Wake of the Abyss

Like in the good old days (who were not so good come to think of it in some ways...) here a double feature... 2 reviews instead of one.
Here's 2 events I saw on the 30 and 31 of December 2008. First (but last) was Traces. 4 guys from canada and a Girl from france gives us an entertaining show of physical prowess, dance and music. Very impressive bunch of guys climbing mast, skating, using basket ball ballon to deliver a very entertaining and funny play where a bit of emotion seems to rear its lovely head (especially coming from Héloïse). But the bulk came from the proposal on stage by one of the performist. Cheers Francesco !



The second and first event was James Thierrée, Veillée des abysses.


With one member short (and poor lad was he not missed at all I must say), James and his crew delivers one truly magnificient spectacle. Pantomime, danse, music, burlesque, athletics and acrobatics, all this melts in a delightful yet powerfully emotional work of living art that cannot leave one's insensitive.


And at some times... You seems to discovers the traces of the famous grand father in james 's work... How he should be proud.

2 great shows, a bit different yet similar I can only urge you to see... Be amazed or be moved but feel.

In Memoriam....

William Erwin Eisner
March 6, 1917 - January 3, 2005
www.willeisner.com