Europa

Clipper, Clipper, Clipper.
Bring me news that the subsurface ocean is gushing with life. As we know it. Primitive or not.
And I'll play "Age of Aquarius".

On repeat for a few months now.

Abyss - Shepherds of Cassini
Withering Strands - Be'lakor
Grandis Spiritus Diavolos - Rotting Christ (goofy name aside, this is stellar music - and so is a lot of their work)
The Law of Asbestos - Ashenspire
Slaves & Bulldozers - Soundgarden (Thayil, Cornell and co pack such a punch)
Equivalence - Insomnium

These Polish groups make great music

Memories of Falling Down - Obscure Sphinx (really good post-metal music overall). The live show of their Thuamaturgy record was epic.
Hybrid Times - Riverside

Saw Ne Obliviscaris live and its the best I've seen so far. They totally owned the stage. Loved it.

While it appears that things are burning down all around us, let us not forget that there are incredible things happening all the time. A cursory look at the Turing award winners over the last decade should keep one busy. 

Young Archie finalists and their work is really good. 

Do not burn the bridges, build them to last.

From nothing to everything

Cygnus
The Wreck of S.S. Needle
  - Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas

What an absolute killer collaboration between the two. The entirety of the Mariner record is great. Cygnus especially had a profound impact. As the song progressed, I felt like I was being pushed into a corner of a green floating room where I witnessed myself being shattered into a million pieces, only to slowly become whole again by the end of the song. The last 5 minutes of the song entered into a whole new level of intensity.

You can't really play post/sludge/doom metal in the background. It's not good commute music either, in my opinion. Spirits have a dulling effect, and I feel like the mind tends to rush through without really experiencing the sonic journey. I have to set aside or make myself available for a good hour or so to give my full sober attention and seek out all the parts. From nothing to everything. Its the layers and layers of sound all mixed up to create a unique sonic atmosphere. You wait for the build ups, sometimes 10 mins into a song, but the payoff is guaranteed. I think stuff like this just happens over time and its quite hard to explain to someone why such kind of music exists. Its the open minded experimentation with different sounds that leads one to keep exploring. Arabic hip hop, Nigerian folk music, Indian carnatic/hindustani, Japanese ska, Qawwali, Scandinavian black metal contrasted with Atmospheric sludge metal, or even mainstream pop - and a million other types. Such diversity in sounds. Our ears can take it all. Whats important is the feel and the places music takes one to. One need not dwell in the past, but look far ahead to interpret a future within reach. 

At this point, I get these flashes at various times during the day where I just pause - and conjure up a place and time when an unheard, punishing, soul-rectifying track zips past me, leaving in its wake a scene that is just unexplainable.

Grinning Mouths - ISIS
Rocking Chairs and Shotguns - Mouth Of The Architect
A Solitary Reign - Amenra

The space between me and Earth

When you superimpose the daily soundtrack onto the needlessly noisy world, something cancels out and a muted scene takes over. The weary cloud stops being weary and negotiates a pause. 

We listen to the tales and romanticize
How we'd follow the path of the hero
Boast about the day when the rivers overrun
How we'd rise to the height of our halo
        (10,000 Days (Wings, Pt 2) - Tool)

Tool is really special. While the whole song is one great piece, the part that bricked me was around the 7:30 mark when the solo picks up and I felt the whole song come together in an epic way. Maynard's vocals kicks it off while Danny's drumming and Justin's bass provide the perfect blend for Adam's solo. The entire discography of Tool is breathtaking, but I tend to almost always spend time devouring Fear Inoculum, 10000 days and Lateralus.

Forget Not - Ne Obliviscaris
And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope - Ne Obliviscaris

Ne Obliviscaris was a great find. Blasted my ears, but I still keep finding the nth experience to be as thumping as the first one. 

Exploring metal music is a conscious exercise. What I love the most about it is how you need to explicitly seek it out rather than being shoved and imposed by algorithmic recommendations. There's a wide range of sub genres out there ready to be explored.

Pale Folklore - Agalloch
The Mantle - Agalloch

I always prepare myself before putting on Agalloch so I can listen to all tracks in one go.

This is the end of every song that we sing
(Alone, The Cure)

The Cure's latest record is another great release. The first line of the first track Alone had so much in it. Hope they release few more records before they ride off into the sunset.

Korn's live show was great, although I felt Jonathan's vocals got subdued with the heavy bass system. Maybe its the overall sound setup. Gave me a chuckle when he picked up the bagpipes.

Fear not, for such and such is temporary. The riffs of the south pole carry on.

Tender Mercies

The Lost Cause - Tom Morello + Manchester Orchestra
There's No Mountain - Glen Hansard
the fruits - Paris Paloma
Dance Of The Clairvoyants - Pearl Jam
Blackbird - Martyn Bennett

Tender Mercies - Glen Hansard + Eddie Vedder

We restrict ourselves to this narrow range of thought, conditioned by the lived experience, and complain when the solutions don't work. What tools do we have at our disposal to elongate the (narrowed) extremities of thought ? I think the answer could be in the world of arts. We must make arts as accessible as we can. It could be argued that arts come in only after basic needs are met. If all our material needs are met, what would we be pursuing ? I looked around and don't find a satisfying answer, and I don't want to start blaming the ills of capitalism to paint a grim picture. It is what it is. Am I brushing it off by saying "It is what it is" ? A lazy ontological dismissal so I can momentarily disengage from critical thinking. The antidote for such blunt dislocation is to look within. Underneath the layers of ego, lies buried the most pressing questions we must ask. For those of us lucky to be able to do things, we must take a moral high ground. Crack open the psyche and to not be afraid of finding nothing. There is no nothing.

PJ

Release - Pearl Jam

To see them perform live and also open with a deep cut that I never thought would happen. I'm floored. I remember a time when I was desperately looking for a clean live rendition of `Release` and the rarity of it combined with a mystic aura of the song makes it a killer deep cut. Jeff Ament's bass was a force to reckon with. Vedder and his special voice moves the crowd in special ways. Cosmic Psychos opened the evening and they looked pretty sloshed. Great night and what a great performance. Time to finally get the `Ten` album on vinyl. 

Next up is Glen Hansard. I think I know where this is going. There may come a time when I get to see both Hansard and Vedder on stage. To witness the full force of songwriting that these two came up with and rendered in the utmost brilliance of a voice will truly be something.

UDHR

Awake My Soul - Mumford & Sons
Can't Go Back - Blink-182
Destroyer - Of Monsters And Men

To become sensitive to the sensibilities of human sentiments

Structured lives need to be dismantled and happenstance takes priority. To let the mind roam about and lay a new path for itself. The governance of our minds is in shambles. Its time we check out the principles of self governance for its sake, while respecting the boundaries of societal structures which are themselves human constructs. However flawed they are, we must see them as opportunities to tackle and soldier on.

To read the universal declaration of human rights and do everything we can to uphold its values. How it starts off with a heroic tone

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world

Article 26 has:

Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms

It didn't come for free. We must remind ourselves of that.

Count your privileges

Down on the Bowery - Damian Lewis
World Outside - The Devlins
Sinnerman - Nina Simone
Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance

If we start counting our privileges, where do we start ? 

The above question in part arose when I came upon "Pedagogy of the Oppressed". One thing led to another and I happened to read this. While I don't really follow politics, I gravitate more towards the philosophical foundations upon which the modern world lies on. The author mentions about "Ideological dualities" and I sort of understand and now see it almost everywhere. Including me! I constantly flip the metaphorical switch to keep things on an even keel. Its a powerful feeling to know and feel the conflicting ideas residing in our mind, constantly battling and waging internal wars. It also reminds me of Mark Fisher's "Capitalist Realism" which I also now see everywhere. I'm intentionally leaving out the specifics of what "everywhere" means, just so I can circle back at some point and see how it forces me to (re)evaluate what it signifies.

"I file against myself, I represent myself, I convict myself, hereby expanding the full scope of the legal desert, because the judgment's built in. The only thing left is forgiveness and I grant that to myself." - Roman J Israel