This month is going to be horrible! I've just handed in my dissertation and now I have to get ready for exams :( Furthermore, my department has, as per usual, put all my exams in 2 weeks so now I have exams on the 18th, 19th, 23rd, 26th, 27th and 28th. Only God can get me through this...
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Wouldn't it be nice if we were older, then we wouldn't have to wait so long...
Totally about me today! Just Came back to England a week earlier...mouwahahahahahahaha...Scared a certain mr. X ;)
Yesterday I found out that my favourite band is suffering an immense loss. Their drummer and co-founder Mike Portnoy (the world's most awesome drummer!!) is leaving the group after a dispute. For those who have ever experienced this - you will understand my pain and shock. Never again will the tunes by that band sound the same, any drum solo will always lack that little something added by the genius that is Portnoy, and every dark song will have to do without his deep voice in the background setting the setting for a horrible story in the lyrics. After 25 years, Dream Theater are no longer. I am going into mourning....
MIKE PORTNOY QUITS DREAM THEATER (info provided by TotalRock Newsletter and Dream Theater's official site)
Drummer Mike Portnoy has sensationally left Dream Theater. However, the band intend to carry on without the founder-member. This is what Portnoy has said: "After 25 years, I have decided to leave Dream Theater... the band I founded, led and truly loved for a quarter of a century. "To many people this will come as a complete shock, and will also likely be misunderstood by some, but please believe me that it is not a hasty decision...it is something I have struggled with for the last year or so... "After having had such amazing experiences playing with Hail!, Transatlantic and Avenged Sevenfold this past year, I have sadly come to the conclusion that I have recently had more fun and better personal relations with these other projects than I have for a while now in Dream Theater. "Please don't misinterpret me, I love the Dream Theater guys dearly and have a long history, friendship and bond that runs incredibly deep with them... it's just that I think we are in serious need of a little break. "Dream Theater was always my baby...and I nurtured that baby every single day and waking moment of my life since 1985... 24/7, 365... never taking time off from Dream Theater's never-ending responsibilites (even when the band was 'off' between cycles)... working overtime and way beyond the call of duty that most sane people ever would do for a band. "But I've come to the conclusion that the Dream Theater machine was starting to burn me out...and I really needed a break from the band in order to save my relationship with the other members and keep my Dream Theater spirit hungry and inspired. "We have been on an endless write/record/tour cycle for almost 20 years now (of which I have overseen EVERY aspect without a break) and while a few months apart from each other here and there over the years has been much needed and helpful, I honestly hoped the band could simply agree with me to taking a bit of a 'hiatus' to recharge our batteries and 'save me from ourselves'... "Sadly, in discussing this with the guys, they determined they do not share my feelings and have decided to continue without me rather than take a breather... I even offered to do some occasional work throughout 2011 against my initial wishes, but it was not to be... "While it truly hurts for me to even think of a Dream Theater without Mike Portnoy (hell, my father named the band!!), I do not want to stand in their way...so I have decided to sacrifice myself and simply leave the band so as to not hold them back against their wishes. "Strangely enough, I just read an interview that I recently did that asked me about the future of Dream Theater and I talked about 'always following your heart and being true to yourself'... Sadly, I must say that at this particular moment, my heart is not with Dream Theater...and I would simply be 'going through the motions,' and would honestly NOT be true to myself if I stayed for the sake of obligation without taking the break I felt I needed. "I wish the guys the best and hope the music and legacy we created together is enjoyed by fans for decades to come... I am proud of every album we made, every song we wrote and every show we played.... "I'm sorry to all the disappointed Dream Theater fans around the world... I really tried to salvage the situation and make it work... I honestly just wanted a break (not a split)... but happiness cannot be forced, it needs to come from within. "You Dream Theater fans are the greatest fans in the world and as you all know, I have always busted my ass for you guys and I hope that you will stay with me on my future musical journey, wherever it may lead me.... (and as you all know my work ethic, there will surely be no shortage of future Mike Portnoy projects!)" The band have also issued a statement: "To all of our loyal fans and friends: It is with profound sadness — regret — we announce that Mike Portnoy, our lifelong drummer and friend, has decided to leave Dream Theater. "Mike's stature in the band has meant the world to all of us professionally, musically, and personally over the years. There is no dispute: Mike has been a major force within this band. "While it is true that Mike is choosing to pursue other ventures and challenges, we can assure you that Dream Theater will continue to move forward with the same intensity — and in the same musical tradition — that you have all helped make so successful, and which is truly gratifying to us. "Fans and friends: File this episode under Black Clouds And Silver Linings. "As planned, we begin recording our newest album in January 2011, and we'll follow that with a full-on world tour. "All of us in Dream Theater wholeheartedly wish Mike the best on his musical journey. We have had a long and meaningful career together. It is our true hope that he finds all he is looking for, and that he achieves the happiness he deserves. He will be missed."
MIKE PORTNOY QUITS DREAM THEATER (info provided by TotalRock Newsletter and Dream Theater's official site)
Drummer Mike Portnoy has sensationally left Dream Theater. However, the band intend to carry on without the founder-member. This is what Portnoy has said: "After 25 years, I have decided to leave Dream Theater... the band I founded, led and truly loved for a quarter of a century. "To many people this will come as a complete shock, and will also likely be misunderstood by some, but please believe me that it is not a hasty decision...it is something I have struggled with for the last year or so... "After having had such amazing experiences playing with Hail!, Transatlantic and Avenged Sevenfold this past year, I have sadly come to the conclusion that I have recently had more fun and better personal relations with these other projects than I have for a while now in Dream Theater. "Please don't misinterpret me, I love the Dream Theater guys dearly and have a long history, friendship and bond that runs incredibly deep with them... it's just that I think we are in serious need of a little break. "Dream Theater was always my baby...and I nurtured that baby every single day and waking moment of my life since 1985... 24/7, 365... never taking time off from Dream Theater's never-ending responsibilites (even when the band was 'off' between cycles)... working overtime and way beyond the call of duty that most sane people ever would do for a band. "But I've come to the conclusion that the Dream Theater machine was starting to burn me out...and I really needed a break from the band in order to save my relationship with the other members and keep my Dream Theater spirit hungry and inspired. "We have been on an endless write/record/tour cycle for almost 20 years now (of which I have overseen EVERY aspect without a break) and while a few months apart from each other here and there over the years has been much needed and helpful, I honestly hoped the band could simply agree with me to taking a bit of a 'hiatus' to recharge our batteries and 'save me from ourselves'... "Sadly, in discussing this with the guys, they determined they do not share my feelings and have decided to continue without me rather than take a breather... I even offered to do some occasional work throughout 2011 against my initial wishes, but it was not to be... "While it truly hurts for me to even think of a Dream Theater without Mike Portnoy (hell, my father named the band!!), I do not want to stand in their way...so I have decided to sacrifice myself and simply leave the band so as to not hold them back against their wishes. "Strangely enough, I just read an interview that I recently did that asked me about the future of Dream Theater and I talked about 'always following your heart and being true to yourself'... Sadly, I must say that at this particular moment, my heart is not with Dream Theater...and I would simply be 'going through the motions,' and would honestly NOT be true to myself if I stayed for the sake of obligation without taking the break I felt I needed. "I wish the guys the best and hope the music and legacy we created together is enjoyed by fans for decades to come... I am proud of every album we made, every song we wrote and every show we played.... "I'm sorry to all the disappointed Dream Theater fans around the world... I really tried to salvage the situation and make it work... I honestly just wanted a break (not a split)... but happiness cannot be forced, it needs to come from within. "You Dream Theater fans are the greatest fans in the world and as you all know, I have always busted my ass for you guys and I hope that you will stay with me on my future musical journey, wherever it may lead me.... (and as you all know my work ethic, there will surely be no shortage of future Mike Portnoy projects!)" The band have also issued a statement: "To all of our loyal fans and friends: It is with profound sadness — regret — we announce that Mike Portnoy, our lifelong drummer and friend, has decided to leave Dream Theater. "Mike's stature in the band has meant the world to all of us professionally, musically, and personally over the years. There is no dispute: Mike has been a major force within this band. "While it is true that Mike is choosing to pursue other ventures and challenges, we can assure you that Dream Theater will continue to move forward with the same intensity — and in the same musical tradition — that you have all helped make so successful, and which is truly gratifying to us. "Fans and friends: File this episode under Black Clouds And Silver Linings. "As planned, we begin recording our newest album in January 2011, and we'll follow that with a full-on world tour. "All of us in Dream Theater wholeheartedly wish Mike the best on his musical journey. We have had a long and meaningful career together. It is our true hope that he finds all he is looking for, and that he achieves the happiness he deserves. He will be missed."
Porcupine Tree - Shallow
I don't remember
Did something in my past create a hole?
Don't use your gender
To drive a stake right through my soul
I live to function
On my own is all I know
No friends to mention
No distraction, nowhere to go
Shallow, shallow Give it to me
Scissors cutting out your anger
Shallow, shallow No good to me, not if you bleed
Bite your tongue, ignore the splinter
This city drains me
Well maybe it's the smell of gasoline
The millions pain me
It's easier to talk to my PC
Shallow, shallow Give it to me
Scissors cutting out your anger
Shallow, shallow No good to me, not if you bleed
Bite your tongue, ignore the splinter
I don't remember
Did something in my past create a hole?
Don't use your gender
To drive a stake right through my soul
I live to function
On my own is all I know
No friends to mention
No distraction, nowhere to go
Shallow, shallow Give it to me
Scissors cutting out your anger
Shallow, shallow No good to me, not if you bleed
Bite your tongue, ignore the splinter
This city drains me
Well maybe it's the smell of gasoline
The millions pain me
It's easier to talk to my PC
Shallow, shallow Give it to me
Scissors cutting out your anger
Shallow, shallow No good to me, not if you bleed
Bite your tongue, ignore the splinter
Ok, so I have attempted to read this book online but failed miserably as the copy they have doesn't actually correspond to the real book. It jumps over chapters and there are misspellings and misprints everywhere, half of the sentences don't have endings and there are letters in some that just don't belong. So I went to my favorite bookstore to seek a hard copy, yet the only one they had had a Twilight-styled cover that said "Bella and Edward's favorite book, read the original now", and as I could not get myself to buy a book that has anything to do with Twilight I ordered a different copy which will hopefully arrive within a week. Meanwhile I have watched 3 different film adaptations of the book and can say right now that I much preferred the 1998 version to the 1992 and 2009 versions. I also found a song about it sung by Kate Bush. Never heard of her before but the song is good and I guess it helped her earn some money. Well well, as I remarked earlier she is not the only one taking advantage of this book's popularity.
My gosh how quickly the time goes by. Today I woke up and realised that so many things have changed just in a matter of days. Funny how that can happen, right? It's no longer March, I'm no longer in England, I've finished reading 1984 and my holiday will end in just 3 weeks. Everything is changing and I'm not sure whether it's for the best or for the worst. I'm in a state of in-between where nothing is certain, but I'm not even sure I want it to be certain because somehow it seems that as soon as I find out what the future holds it will lose some of the air of mystery around itself. It will be like the past - familiar and safe, but also boring in a sense. Yet there is a need inside for something...constant...something I can depend on so that if everything else fails and falls to a million bits and pieces, like it has done so many times before, that I will still have something left to hold on to. Wow that sounds so melancholy but I guess that's what happens when you've suddenly got so many hours a day to think about stuff like this.
Guess what?! Yesterday I went to the Dream Theater concert :D They were absolutely fantastic! I managed to sneak my way to the very front and I could therefore see everything.
A criminally bad picture of the whole band where you can't even see Portnoy (he was hiding behind the drum set)
Although the concert started at 18.30, DT didn't appear on stage until about 21.45 and the time in between was filled with warm up bands - Unexpect, Big Elf and Opeth. Unexpect was way to noisy for my taste, Big Elf made a great impression and I think I might even start listening to them, but by the time Opeth came on my feet and back were killing me because I was still standing in the 2nd row, so I didn't really enjoy them that much.
Rudess, Petrucci and Portnoy. My favourite trio :D
None of it mattered when Dream Theater went on. As I pushed myself to the very front, Petrucci, Myung and Rudess came out, the curtain behind them fell down, and the whole room exploded with cheers. I clambered myself to the rail, receiving the evil eye from those standing beside me and though to myself: "The only way you're gonna get me away from this spot is by carrying away my copse, otherwise I wont budge an inch. I'm here to stay!"
Playing "The Count of Tuscany"
They opened with "A Nightmare to Remember" and my heart filled with joy. The next few songs were from different albums, which was genius because it meant that I could sing till my throat got sore (which I did...and then I sang some more ;p). I almost cried when they played "One last Time", Petrucci looked me right in the eye while I was singing along to "In the name of God", and I screamed my heart out to "Prophets Of War", "A rite of Passage" and "Solitary shell". I don't even remember what other songs they played, lol, I was in a state of complete ecstasy! They finished off with "The Count of Tuscany" and sadly cut it very short :(
After the concert I bought myself a new t-shirt.
Oh, and here's a little solo from the best guitarist in the whole world - John Petrucci
PS: Please excuse the very bad quality and the fact that it's the wrong way. It was hard to hold the camera and I don't know how to turn the video *angel eyes*
Just to give you all an idea of how close I was standing ;)
The view was terrific - John Petrucci (the guitarist) was standing right in front of me playing on the strings of my soul. Right behind him the massive drum set was taking up half of the stage and Mike Portnoy, it seems, was drumming to the beat of my heart. On the other side of the stage Jordan Rudess' magic hands were flying across the keyboard and John Myung's base was spreading from my stomach to the very tips of my fingers and toes. I felt completely in sync with the music, and was one with the lyrics sung by the great James LaBree. It was AWSOME, to say the least.
A criminally bad picture of the whole band where you can't even see Portnoy (he was hiding behind the drum set) 
Rudess, Petrucci and Portnoy. My favourite trio :DNone of it mattered when Dream Theater went on. As I pushed myself to the very front, Petrucci, Myung and Rudess came out, the curtain behind them fell down, and the whole room exploded with cheers. I clambered myself to the rail, receiving the evil eye from those standing beside me and though to myself: "The only way you're gonna get me away from this spot is by carrying away my copse, otherwise I wont budge an inch. I'm here to stay!"
Playing "The Count of Tuscany"
After the concert I bought myself a new t-shirt.
And a scarf...just because I wanted to ;P
Oh, and here's a little solo from the best guitarist in the whole world - John Petrucci
PS: Please excuse the very bad quality and the fact that it's the wrong way. It was hard to hold the camera and I don't know how to turn the video *angel eyes*
- 10 hours on a train (which was 4 hours late)
- 7 hours at work
- 3 hours of sleep
Is it any wonder that I'm tired?
- 7 hours at work
- 3 hours of sleep
Is it any wonder that I'm tired?
Still in the mood for Muse. Don't even know why. Just been feeling a bit lonely lately. Listening to Muse and Keane all day. Waiting. Wondering how it would feel to be at one of their concerts. Somehow becoming a stranger to myself, and watching as others become strangers to me. Waiting. Mindlessly passing time by staring into an empty screen. Waiting. Feeling that life is passing me by.
Waiting for it.
Waiting for them.
Waiting for you.
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