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Queen of Liars

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Blog Entries posted by Queen of Liars

  1. Queen of Liars
    Happy new year. I hope 2014 goes well for everyone.
     
    2013 was a pretty mixed bag for me. The first half of it was probably the best time of my life, and the second half... kinda went in the other direction.
    And you know, I'd like to be optimistic about 2014, but I have two university assignments that are due on the 6th followed by exams on the 7th and 8th that I'm honestly not feeling very good about, so I'm starting this year pretty stressed out. Hopefully once that's done I can get back on track though. Hopefully being they key word there.
     
     
    Anyhow, I'll probably do a top 10 albums of 2013 over the next couple of days if I get around to it.
    In the meantime, here's one of two songs I love from a rather disappointing album that won't even make it to honourable mentions (I like the title track a lot more, but it has a certain word in it so you get this instead):
     

  2. Queen of Liars

    Birthday

    By Queen of Liars,

    Well, I'm officially 20 years old as of about an hour ago.
     
    20 is a nice number and all, but obviously it just goes downhill after 18 because this song doesn't fit anymore:
     
    http://youtu.be/vMCyX0P_dGE
  3. Queen of Liars
    I talked about Refused in my last entry, so I thought I would next talk about other projects of their vocalist Dennis Lyxzén.
     
    Dennis is probably one of my favourite people in music. He's a very talented vocalist with an impressive range, and he's a good guitarist and bassist too.
    Beyond that, he is also a fantastic songwriter and lyricist, with a strong passion for his music and message.
     
    After Refused broke up, Dennis went on to form The (International) Noise Conspiracy - a garage punk/dance punk band which was his main focus until he ended the project in 2009.
    During that time he also formed the Lost Patrol Band, later renamed to Invasionen and currently known as INVSN, which has more of an indie-rock edge and, now that T(I)NC is done, is his main project.
    In 2008 he also formed a hardcore punk band with Refused's drummer David Sandström after the two started talking again, under the name of AC4. After releasing the second album earlier this year, this project is also coming to an end, with Dennis having said that there's a compilation to be released after which the band will split up.
    During Refused's time, he was also in Final Exit - a hardcore punk supergroup of sorts, formed by members of Refused and Abhinanda, which released two albums.
     
    So, onto my collection of his stuff. Along with everything by Refused, I have this:
     

     
    The (International) Noise Conspiracy - The First Conspiracy; Survival Sickness; A New Morning, Changing Weather; Armed Love; Bigger Cages, Longer Chains EP and the Capitalism Stole My Virginity single
    The Lost Patrol Band - The Lost Patrol Band
    INVSN - INVSN
    AC4 - AC4; Burn The World
     
    I'm missing quite a lot, including the last T(I)NC album, two albums by The Lost Patrol Band, the two albums by Invasionen and the two albums by Final Exit.
    Those albums get harder to find as the list goes on, with me waiting for the T(I)NC album to drop in price, and with the Final Exit albums being pretty much impossible to find at this stage.
     
    Either way, that's quite a lot of bands for one person to have been in, and not only are they all at least pretty good, but they all sound very different from each other. It's almost hard to believe that INVSN are fronted by the same person as Refused.
     
    I'm eagerly awaiting to see what Dennis comes out with next. Of course after the amazing tour last year, the hope is that Refused will return again, but I'm just as excited for anything else he might do.
    Even if none of these bands were as influential or revolutionised punk like Refused did, Dennis always creates quality music.
  4. Queen of Liars
    I'm barely using my blog at all, so I thought I'd start a little series where I basically just talk about music. Maybe talk about my favourite bands and why I like them, maybe show off interesting albums in my collection. Stuff like that.
     
    Just over a week ago it was the 15th anniversary of what I currently hold to be the greatest album of all time - The Shape of Punk to Come - and so I thought I'd talk about the band responsible for that album: Refused.

    Refused were one of the most important (and certainly the most well known) bands in the Swedish hardcore punk scene and during their career from 1991 to 1998 they became one of the most influential punk bands in history.
     

    In order: This Just Might Be... The Truth; Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent; The Shape of Punk to Come; This Album Contains Old Songs and Old Pictures Vol. 1 (Also Known as the EP Comp CD); This Album Contains Old Songs and Old Pictures Vol. 2 (Also Known as the Demo Comp CD); The New Noise Theology EP.
     
    With their first album and first few EPs Refused started out playing what was pretty much typical hardcore in the scene at the time (mind you, they did it incredibly well). Their second album saw them exploring more complex post-hardcore before revolutionising punk in 1998 with their third album, The Shape of Punk to Come.
     
    I love everything Refused have done, but it is this third and final album (the band broke up shortly after its completion) that has earned them their spot in music history, and with good reason.
    With 15 years since its release, I think it is still completely unparalleled.
     
    A very ambitious and forward-thinking record, it experimented a lot with what hardcore was and could be, with complex songwriting and seamless incorporation of many jazz and electronic elements (indeed, the album's title is a tip of the hat to Ornette Coleman's album The Shape of Jazz to Come).
     
    It's a fantastically written and very unique album. Everything from little things to the big things, from the electronic interludes, to the jazz bridge on The Deadly Rhythm, to the fantastic violin intro to Tannhäuser / Derivè (which happens to be pretty much my favourite song ever) serves a purpose in crafting this masterpiece.
    It's an album that is brutal and aggressive, yet delicate and sophisticated.
     
    There's not much I can say about this album that hasn't already been said my many fans and critics. Pretty much everything about this record is perfect and everyone in the band is so good at what they do that it's ridiculous.
    It's an album that has influenced countless artists, but none of them have come close to matching its greatness.
    Of course it's not an album that's for everyone, but it's definitely the album for me.
     
    However, an album this incredible took its toll on Refused's creative energy and the band broke up soon after, vowing to never play together again.
    Fortunately, that was not the case and they reunited in 2012 for one tour to do justice to their last album. Following the tour Refused broke up once again, but stated that the possibility of their return remains.
    I certainly hope that they do indeed return, as they are by far my favourite band.
     
     
    ...And that will be the end of my babbling for this first entry. I kinda wanted to talk more about their early work, but I don't really want to make these entries long, so maybe another time
  5. Queen of Liars

    Paradise Lost

    By Queen of Liars,

    Well, I just got back from Paradise Lost's 25th anniversary show at The Roundhouse.
    It was an absolutely fantastic night, and I'm happy that it was recorded for a live CD.
     
    Katatonia were on first, playing Viva Emptiness in its entirety to celebrate 10 years of the album. Backwards for some reason, but hey, it's still Viva Emptiness and Ghost of the Sun makes for a fantastic closer.
    I'm not sure if the album necessarily translated into a live setting fantastically, but they were still great.
    Highlights of the set: Criminals, Ghost of the Sun
     
    Lacuna Coil were up next and were great too.
    They're one of those bands that I never really looked into despite liking quite a few songs that I've heard. Will that change after tonight? Possibly.
    They were pretty energetic and got the crowd going.
    Highlights of the set: Intoxicated, Spellbound
     
    And then it was time for Paradise Lost.
    They were absolutely brilliant.
    The setlist was... interesting. They left out a lot of songs that seemed like the obvious ones to pick and that they usually play, like Erased, As I Die or The Last Time. Which I think was a great decision as it allowed for songs like So Much Is Lost off of Host, which is without question their most underrated record. Looking over it, they probably couldn't have come up with a better setlist for their 25th anniversary. Containing great songs from albums that often seem forgotten, like the aforementioned Host or Lost Paradise and Paradise Lost, it was a great reminder of the glorious 25 years of their music.
    Highlights of the set: So Much Is Lost, Gothic, Tragic Idol, Never for the ******, Isolate, Say Just Words, One Second, True Belief
     
    Here's to 25 years of Paradise Lost, and hopefully to many more.
     
  7. Queen of Liars
    Well, after a couple of days of unpacking we're starting to settle into the new house. My room is pretty much done now, although not that it matters much anyway, since in just over a month I'll be packing my things up again for university.
    Still, just need to unpack a few more things and hang up some posters and it'll be set. It's a fair bit smaller than my room in the old house, but again it doesn't really matter as I won't be spending much time here once I'm back at university.
     
    Took some pictures (which are of poor quality because it's 11:30 pm and thus there's no natural light... and maybe I'm no longer as good with a camera as I like to think): [1] [2] [3] [4]
     
    My desk and bookshelf are a lot smaller than the old ones so a lot of my stuff will have to stay in boxes and be stored under my bed or on top of my wardrobe. Only have enough room for half of my CDs on the shelf Also not enough room for a chair, so I have to awkwardly sit on the edge of my bed when I want to use the computer.
  8. Queen of Liars

    Moving

    By Queen of Liars,

    Well, it seems like I just got back home with all my stuff from university, and now it's all packed up again as my parents are moving house tomorrow.
    I quite enjoy moving. It's a lot of work, and we definitely have a ton more stuff to pack up and transport to the new house than we did when we moved here, but something about packing your things up is really fun. Especially when you find some belonging that you have completely forgotten about, like when I found my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon Yu-Gi-Oh! card earlier today. Sure was a nostalgic moment.
     
    I also tend to take forever to pack my stuff because I like to sit there and go through each individual thing before putting it in a box.
     

     
    CDs are definitely my favourite thing to pack. So many things to look through and so many "oh, forgot I had that. Should listen to it again some time" moments.
     

     
    Then there are books, which are also awesome. At first I was going to put them all into one bag but quickly came to the conclusion that it would be far too heavy to move, even without my university books.
     

     
    And you know, as much as I prefer buying games physically rather than digitally, I am pretty grateful that I don't have an extra 100+ copies of games to carry from my Steam library.
    Also found some of my PS2 games, which again, brought nostalgia. Will get the console and the rest of the games down from the loft tomorrow and probably spend a good chunk of time playing them once we move.
     
    Unfortunately, it's apparently going to take Sky up to two weeks to set up the internet in our new house, so might be stuck with having to use my phone for that for a while.
  9. Queen of Liars

    Tragic Illusion

    By Queen of Liars,

    So, Paradise Lost just announced this thing:
     

     
    Tragic Illusion 25 (The Rarities), which will be released on the 25th of October to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary and will be a compilation of rarities and B-sides from over the years. It will also contain a brand new song - Loneliness Remains - as well as re-recorded versions of Gothic and Our Saviour.
    I'll definitely be picking this up. I already have five of the songs from limited edition copies of albums, but I am interested in the rest.
  10. Queen of Liars

    Velcra

    By Queen of Liars,

    Well, I thought I'd share an album I recently discovered and am loving: Hadal by Velcra.
    Velcra made some great industrial metal with their first two albums, but the fantastic third album Hadal is more of a combination of industrial rock, electronic and trip hop. I almost want to say that it's like a heavier, industrial version of Portishead.
     


     
    Unfortunately, I am completely unable to find a copy of the album for sale anywhere. The best I could find was the MP3 download on Amazon, but no sign of a CD copy.
  11. Queen of Liars
    So I'm just gonna jump in on the tide of YouTube posts and leave one of my favourite pieces of music here:
     

     
     
    Being able to do this certainly is nice. Should make the 'Rate The Song Above You' topic a lot easier too.
  12. Queen of Liars
    That's seven years I've been on BZP now, which is a pretty long time actually. The more I think about it the older it makes me feel.
     
    Not much else to blog about besides that.
    The Steam sale is coming to an end, and as much as I dislike buying digital games when physical copies of them are available, couldn't resist picking up a couple of bigger titles, as well as some indie stuff.
    Didn't think that the sale was all that great though. It seemed like the same handful of games going on sale again and again. Granted, there were lots of great indie games with big discounts throughout the whole sale.
  13. Queen of Liars

    Industrial

    By Queen of Liars,

    So, Front Line Assembly are currently streaming their new album - Echogenetic - for free and after my first listen, it seems really good.
    I'd just like to say what a fantastic year for industrial music it is:
     




     
    Fantastic albums by Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly, as well as an upcoming album by Nine Inch Nails.
    What are my three favourite - as well as three of the most influential - bands in the genre each releasing an album this year is a great thing.
  14. Queen of Liars
    Well, I got my results for my first year of university today and I am very happy because I passed, with a B in each module. Not that I thought I was going to fail, but it's a massive relief nonetheless to know that I'll definitely be coming back next year.
    I guess now I can truly relax for the rest of summer.
  16. Queen of Liars
    Well, I'm spending this week in France, so that's nice I guess.
    Got to say, I'm a bit jealous of the French as they still get toys in their cereal. We don't have that in the UK anymore. I know I don't exactly fall within the age demographic they try to hit with those toys, but it's still nice to get them.
  17. Queen of Liars

    Moving Out

    By Queen of Liars,

    Well, tomorrow morning I'll be moving out of my university accommodation and back home to London for the summer.
    I guess I'll kinda miss this room, even if it's not all that great, and thus I decided to take a few pictures of it before I started packing my things: [1] [2] [3] [4]
  18. Queen of Liars

    Community

    By Queen of Liars,

    So, I watched all four seasons of Community over the past few days.
    Now that that's done, I'm not really sure what to do with my life anymore. At least until season 5 starts.
  19. Queen of Liars
    A new song from the upcoming Nine Inch Nails album, Came Back Haunted, has been released today.
    Alongside that, Trent confirmed that the album will be titled Hesitation Marks and that it will be released on the 2nd of September.
    It's definitely my most looked forward to album this year. Can't wait
  20. Queen of Liars
    Just finished my last exam, and so my first year at university comes to an end.
    It's been a fun year and I enjoyed it. Met lots of new people and made some new friends, although with us all being from different parts of the country, I probably won't see many of them over the summer.
    Not sure when I'll go back home to London, but I'll probably stay here for another week or so. My lease doesn't end until the 23rd, so might as well make some use of it.
     
    I'm not entirely sure if School's Out by Alice Cooper still fits, but I'll be listening to it today regardless. It's become somewhat of a habit now.
  22. Queen of Liars
    Paradise Lost are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year and are doing some special shows in October and November, with support from Lacuna Coil and a special guest that hasn't been announced yet.
    Went ahead and got myself a ticket for the London show in November. Really looking forward to it
     
    It's also a reminder of how quickly time goes by. It doesn't seem that long ago that they were celebrating their 20th anniversary with the release of a demo compilation, which I have sitting on my desk right here, and yet it was almost five years ago.
    Why does that make me feel so old, even though I'm so young?
  23. Queen of Liars
    So the exam went much better than I thought it would. The first two questions were very nice and easy, but kind of fell apart at the third one, partly due to lack of time, partly because it wasn't a very nice question.
    But hey, it was a choice of three questions out of seven, so at least I wasn't stuck with the other four, which were pretty horrible.
     
    Having a bit of free time, got myself a new headset and a new pair of earphones, since my old ones broke. It always feels strange switching to a new headset because I get so used to how the old one sounds.
    Also picked up a couple of books: The Revolution of Everyday Life by Raoul Vaneigem, having previously read a library copy, and Selected Poems 1947-1995 by Allen Ginsberg, having enjoyed what I've read of his work.
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