Benzaiten

My blog has moved:

Minus — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 06:09:54 +0000

My new blog is here.

Sublime has reunited.

Minus — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:39:32 +0000

With a new singer.

Ultimate Guitar Article

Here’s a video to hear what it sounds like with the new singer.

Video

Variations of a Storm

Minus — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:27:43 +0000

Every note is perfection, singing out in a soundscape of white noise.
Golden ringing, strung together to form a melody of life to enjoy.
Grains of sunlight in a storm, thundering, rife with dissonant tones.
Yearning for sight, the rain reigns over a missing harmony of stones.

Kissing in the wind, two themes meet. Lips of melody and harmony meld.
Intertwine to form a complete song. Stones of tone together forever held.
My sun and your sea become waves of light, a tidal force of the tolling bell.

Utada – Come Back To Me MV

Minus — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:51:44 +0000

Utada – Come Back To Me
by UniversalMusicGroup

Nine Inch Nails – Burn

Minus — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:58:04 +0000

Live from Melbourne. Click the link for the video.

NIN: Burn Live from on stage, Melbourne 2.25.09 [HD] from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo.

Vienna Teng – Enough To Go By

Minus — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:14:43 +0000

Vienna Teng is an amazingly underrated artist. I would have seen her live when she came through Texas but things came up. I’m still wishing I went in some ways.

Her new album, Inland Territory is set to hit stores next month. Be sure to get it! This is one of my favorite songs from her debut, Waking Hour.

Depeche Mode – Wrong

Minus — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:41:56 +0000

What are your thoughts on the new DM material?

New Frogfish Species Discovered!

Minus — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 04:56:06 +0000

A new species of frogfish has been discovered with eyes that face forward, like mammals, rather than the traditional fish, which has eyes that face the sides. Check the video:

Click Here

benzaiten – the return

Minus — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 04:30:55 +0000

I can’t believe I let this blog go unattended for so long! Well in any case, I’m back and rather than post 10 songs a week, I’ll be posting random tidbits every day just to have something to do. Are you ready for a journey? Let’s go!

Utada Hikaru is readying her second American album. In interviews she has stated that she’s going for ‘good pop’ and in my opinion she’s done it very well.

If there’s anything that I have against the song, it’s that a) it’s too catchy (not a bad thing, but it gets stuck in my head), and b) I don’t think she can hit those high notes anymore. She could back when she first debut in Japan (when she was what, 16? 10 years ago?) but now it just kind of detracts from the song.

Song Rotation #5

Minus — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:46:26 +0000

Hello everyone! I know it’s been a couple of weeks since the last rotation of songs, but there’s good reason. That being, well… I couldn’t find any great music to share that fit the theme. I’ve got it now, so yeah. Wells, this rotation is going to be a bit on the, um, I guess you would say ‘indie’ side, with mostly unknown artists, local acts, or unsigned/independents. Still good music though, and I figure it’s a nice change of pace. As usual, the artist and track names are the links to the songs.

1. Craig Jeffrey – Hard to Say
This a beautiful song, too bad there isn’t a full studio version on youtube or myspace. But you’ll have to do with the live acoustic version. All the profits from this single goes to Macmillian Cancer Care. It’s a great cause and Craig is a great artist.

2. Vienna Teng – Gravity (Lake Version)
I’ve shipped this song everywhere, but it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful this arrangement is. Vienna Teng has a beautiful voice. This is actually an alternate version of the song Gravity, created because Vienna couldn’t play the studio version live. Good thing though, because this version is so much better. The percussion isn’t present in the studio version of this version, but I believe it’s a nice touch. There’s an extra song at the end of this video as well, just for you. Vienna Teng is among the artists I need to see live before I die.

3. Jon Foreman – The Cure For Pain
Jon Foreman is best known as the lead singer of Switchfoot. With hit singles like ‘Dare You To Move’ and ‘Meant To Live,’ you’d think Jon would be satisfied with his career as a lead singer, but he apparently has an acoustic side that needs to be fulfilled as well. This song comes from his Fall EP, and is the first track on the CD. Foreman is releasing an EP for every season, and so far Fall and Winter are out. I personally think Fall is the stronger CD, but then again, it’s all good… so I recommend everyone check it out.

4. Marty Casey – Trees (Acoustic)
This one is rather old, and is a video of the second-place finalist of Rockstar: INXS. Each contestant had to write an original song, and this was by far the best one of them all. Featuring Dave Navarro on rhythm guitar. There is also a full studio version of this song available with Marty’s full band, The Lovehammers.

5. Artist Vs Poet – An Infallible Remedy
I know I had AVP on here last time, but they released a new song and it is quite possibly better than their last. I got to see them at their very first show live and it’s definitely worth it. They will be playing South By So What? at the Plano Centre on the 14th along with 40+ other bands. A must-see.

6. Jason Falkner – Afraid Himself To Be
Another old one, this song verges on more than 10 years old. I first heard this song at one of my old band rehearsals, where a friend learned the song for his friend’s wedding. I was taken away by the simple melody and the power of the chorus, and ended up buying Jason’s CD on iTunes. This is one of the fan myspaces of the man, and the song in question is the last on the player. All his other songs are great as well, so check’em out while you’re there.

7. Kina Grannis – Strong Enough (Acoustic)
I posted the Hydroponikz remix of this song a few days earlier. Kina Grannis was the winner of the Doritos Crash The Super Bowl Contest, and this is my favorite song by her. There’s a full studio version coming out soon, but until then, you can download the acoustic version for free at her website (linked on the youtube page).

8. The New Frontiers – Mirrors
Probably my most listened to song of the past few weeks… this song is quite possibly the most beautiful song ever written. Forgive the quality and the sci-fi quotes (unless you’re a big sci-fi fan like me) and just focus on the song. The New Frontiers are native to Dallas and their CD just came out this year… I bought it and it was worth it for sure.

9. Nine Inch Nails – 36 Ghosts IV
Ah, NIN’s instrumental album. If you visit my xanga enough you already know what this is, so I’ll just say this is the last song of the whole set. Very beautiful… sounds so tragic with a glimmer of hope.

10. Copeland – Every Breath You Take (The Police Cover)
This cover by Copeland I heard at Hollister a few years ago… and it got me hooked onto Copeland forever. This song has sentimental value to me and is probably one of the best covers of a song I’ve ever heard. Copeland’s mix of soft rock and pop is fabulous and a must-listen.