'D' Is For Dangerous ...

I started this post a few days ago, but never got around to finishing it. I think I was a bit uncertain as to what I felt like writing. My mind and body was in consensus that something needed to be said, but .. who ever knows what? I'm not back into "life-chronicling" like I used to, though I suppose I do [still] use twitter for that (damn that site & the applications it's spawned). It's funny because the other day when I was battling writer's block, I was considering blogging fiction just to keep my writing skills sharp. I still might surprise myself and actually do it, but no guarantees. I need to get back to getting my own personal thoughts out before I assume other characters...

Anyway, last week/weekend's guilty musical pleasure was the Arctic Monkeys. It all started with an acquaintance introducing me to their music video for "Fluorescent Adolescent." However, if you know me, you'll know that it only took about 7 seconds before I was forced to turn the video off. [If you don't know me, do yourself a favor and look up the definition of coulrophobia...and you'll understand. If you want the story as to why that applies, we can talk.] Anyway, as a result of that, I was forced to find live versions of the song and was pleasantly surprised. I quickly found more and more, until I ended up possessing both Arctic Monkeys albums, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, and Favourite Worst Nightmare. After listening to both several times over and picking out a few favorite tracks, I was thankful for having been introduced to these young folk from across the pond.

And then the musical floodgates opened.

Since then, I've spent no fewer than 2-3 hours daily browsing youtube for live performances by some of my favorite bands at some of the big-name festivals around the world (Big Day Out, Pinkpop, Rock Am Ring..even Woodstock '99). There's something about live rock performances that outdoes almost any other genre. I mean, hip hop concerts are cool and all, but there's so little room for improvisation built in to the dynamics of the show. Of course, rapper X can throw in a freestyle here and there, but for the most part you know every word, every ad-lib, every beat break... and depending on who you see and where, you're lucky to even be able to hear or understand the rhymes. But rock concerts are a little different... as are most shows with live instrumentation (so The Roots can fall into this category, too). There's just so much room for improvisation. You can see the same song performed 5 different times at 5 different venues, know the guitar solo is coming up, and be surprised and amazed at the way that the guitarist deviates just so slightly from the basic solo every single time. I love that! So, as a result, I ended up watching multiple clips of Metallica, Slipknot, Sevendust, Stone Sour, Bush, Godsmack, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Incubus, Korn, Powerman 5000, Queens of the Stone Age, and others just do what they do. Came away with some favorites, too. For example, I'm infatuated with this performance of "Knights of Cydonia" by Muse, live from Wembly Stadium in '07. So epic. Equally epic: Metallica performing "Enter Sandman" at Rock Am Ring '08. There's something about the energy. I love watching artists, especially guitarists, get into their work. It always leads me to one of my favorite images of that instance... Jimi Hendrix playing Woodstock, eyes closed, mouth open, feeling the music. And don't even get me started on what it must feel like to perform in front of a mass of humanity singing and humming and harmonizing with a song that you wrote... jumping and bouncing and... just loving what you do.

There's nothing like it. Makes me jealous.

This is why I love music.

And this... is where I must pause... but I leave you with this: