Welcome to the last blog! It really doesn't seem like the semester should be over already. Good luck with exams and I hope y'all enjoy my blog.
For this last blog I wanted to talk a pretty cool place and culture. Ukraine has some really interesting instruments, dances, and (of course) heavy metal bands.
A traditional instrument used in Ukrainian folk music called the Trembita. This instrument is made of solid wood and looks like a tube. Usually they are up to 4 meters long. This wind instrument is documented at the longest musical instrument in the Guinness World Records. The Trembita is very popular in western Ukraine and is often used by shepherds to communicate with each other. This instrument makes beautiful, trumpet-like sounds that are found in folk and modern Ukrainian music.
The next thing I want to talk about is a very interesting Ukrainian dance called Hopak. The dance originated in the 1600s in southern Russia and in Ukrainian communities. When they returned from battle, they would gather and do an improvised dance in celebration. Men began to preform acrobatics as well during the dance while others would squat in order to prove their "manliness". The Ukranian verb "hopaty" means to jump which is where the dance name came from. The dance pace is based off of the performers preference so they can change their tempo at any time. Usually the music continuously gets faster and ends with a bang. Most of the dance is in unison as the men squat and the women spin.
And finally, my favorite part of the blog... HEAVY METAL! :)
I have been waiting all semester for a chance to truly focus on this amazing band. Jinjer is a female fronted band from Donetsk, Ukraine. They are a four-piece progressive/groove metal band that formed in 2010 with Tatiana Shmailyuk as the vocalist. The band's popularity has skyrocketed within the last few years as they signed with Napalm Records. With Roman Ibramkhalilov on the guitar, Eugene Abdukhanov on the bass, Vladislav Ulasevich on the drums, and Tatiana Shmailyuk on vocals, this band has produced 5 studio albums. Their first album called Inhale, Don't Breathe was release in 2012 and rereleased in 2013. Cloud Factory soon followed in 2014. One of my favorite albums was released two years later and it was called King Of Everything. This album is responsible for the band hitting it big because of the song "Pisces". Last year, the band released an EP (Micro) and another album (Macro).
The band takes musical influence from other metal bands like Gojira, Lamb of God, Pantera, and Slayer. Tatiana has been screaming since she was young and actually screamed so much that she developed a hernia in her stomach. When she wasn't screaming, she was singing along to Ukranian pop music. She began taking singing seriously and started getting lessons. She ended up performing with a choir but the songs were accompanied by dancing so she quit. Her older brother suggested Ukranian heavy metal bands, like Aria. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, she began listening to bands like Nirvana and The Offspring. Eventually, Tatiana stumbled across a female fronted band called Otep and was inspired to form a band of her own. Now she uses her music to talk about her life and her music has become a way for her to vent about her emotions. One of their singles called "Ape" actually talks about her view on how horrible mankind can be and how it infuriates her.
Song suggestions:
"Perennial"
"Teacher, Teacher"
"Retrospection"
This song is partially written in Ukrainian!
So there ya have it folks! I hope you guys enjoyed my blog! Goodnight everyone, thank you for coming!
(There's always room for a vague Eminem reference, right?)
Hey y'all! I hope you guys have had a great week. I know it's been super stressful since finals are coming up soon. Just remember that we are almost halfway through freshman year, stay motivated and work hard!
So I wanted to dig into Arabian instruments, cuisine, and of course... heavy metal!
I started to do some research on Arabian cuisine and found out some super interesting things! Having communal meals is common in Arabian culture. Family and friends eat from a shared dish and they move what pieces of food they want to their "section" of the plate. They also don't usually use utensils which means they eat with their hands (not very covid friendly). There are rules such as only eating/drinking with your right hand and using your thumb and index finger to pick up your mouth.
Families usually return home and eat a communal meal of couscous after attending mosque. They all sit around the table to enjoy couscous, meat, and vegetables. Guests are always offered the best pieces of food from the whole dish.
I wanted to look into the Qanun because I thought it looked pretty cool. It was introduced to Europe in the 12 century and it is a descendant of the Egyptian harp. It has over 81 strings that are attached to the right side along a long bridge which is on skin-covered windows. The strings can be plucked with one or two fingers. Also, the strings are organized into 3 groups (24 chords) which consists of three chords to one notes and there are 8 notes per octave. There are tuning pegs on the left of the bridge. On the left side of the instrument, there is a row of brass levers that change the pitch of the notes. The Qanun is typically played on a table or on the player's knees.
I'm very excited for this section of my blog because I found a super cool band called Kimaera. Kimaera is a death metal band from Lebanon that formed in 2000. Their discography includes aspects of doom metal, death metal, and progressive metal. The first song I heard took me off guard because it starts with the same vocal style of the Arabic music we listened to in class. After a second or two, the instruments come in and the vocalist hits you with some intense screams. I certainly could see myself listening to this while running or something. I highly encourage you guys to listen to it so you can understand what I mean! This band is very successful as they have produced three studio albums and two singles. Their last song was released just a few days ago and it includes beautiful female vocals which is a direct contrast from the dark instrumentals. The song is different from the first one that I came across and is much less intense.
Here is the first song that I came across:
Here is their newest song that was released at the end of last month:
I hope you guys enjoyed reading my blog and have a great weekend!
So for this blog I wanted to talk to my dad about his background with music. After all, he is the reason that I am into the types of music that I am now. He has been a major influence on my taste in music so I wanted to get a little more information about where Dad's top notch music taste came from. Enjoy!
Me: "What kind of music did you listen to growing up? What were some of your favorite bands?
Dad: "I listened to a lot of rock music growing up. I really loved bands like AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Led Zeppelin, Beastie Boys and Pink Floyd. I wasn't allowed to listen to Ozzy Osbourne but my mom listened to him which never made any sense to me."
Me: "Who had the biggest influence on your taste in music?"
Dad: "Probably my mom. She was always into the harder stuff while my dad was into Elvis and The Beatles."
Me: "Did you ever listen to any music that your parents didn't approve of?"
Dad: "Oh yeah. All the time! I started listening to Ozzy, Marylin Manson, and Slipknot when I was a teenager. They got really mad at me when the found out about Slipknot and Marylin Manson. Mom said they were Satan worshippers and that their music was of the devil yet she listened to Ozzy Osbourne."
Me: "Oh, wow. That doesn't really add up if she listened to Ozzy, he's pretty wild. Have you ever been to any concerts? I know we've been to quite a few."
Dad: "I went to see AC/DC and let me tell you, that's the best show I have ever been to. Your mom and I went when we were younger. We couldn't hear for a couple of days after. Obviously, you know that we've seen Five Finger Death Punch and Shinedown multiple times, we've seen Breaking Benjamin, Jinjer, and The Browning too. I want to see Slipknot once the Rona goes away. Looks like they'd put on one heck of a show."
Me: "Yeah, we need to go see them before they get too old to run around stage. Well, I guess I'll ask my last question. What's your favorite song or artist right now?"
Dad: "Definitely something by Jinjer or Lamb Of God. I've been listening to 512 by Lamb of God lately."
I had fun talking to my dad and getting a little backstory from him in the music department. I wasn't expecting to hear about my dad being rebellious as a teenager, that's for sure. I hope you guys enjoyed this blog!
Hey y'all! I'm glad you dropped by to hear me talk about my favorite genre of music. I know I talk about heavy metal in almost every blog but today I'm here to talk about a certain type of metal. Obviously there are many subgenres of heavy metal and my favorite is called nu-metal. So buckled up because I'm about to rock your socks off ;)
How did nu-metal get started?
Nu-metal music got its start on October 27, 1995 thanks to a band called Korn. They had a gig in London with that caught the attention of the 800 metal fans in the crowd. The band from Bakersfield, California fronted by Jonathan Davis (a former mortuary assistant) released its debut album the previous year. They took influence from Rage Against the Machine and made their own style of rap-metal. The LA music scene was revived when bands began to follow in Korn's footsteps by down-tuning their guitars and diving into nu-metal. Another one of the founding bands of nu-metal is called Limp Bizkit. Fred Durst (tattoo artist) decided to take more influence from hip-hop into Limp Bizkit's music. The band wasn't quite metal but it wasn't hip-hop either. It was a perfect blend of the two genres and this attracted tons of fans. Static-X is another important nu-metal band. This Chicago band captured the outsider look of nu-metal with their lead singer sporting a hairstyle that made him look as if he had been electrocuted. One of the most unhinged bands from the genre is a nine-piece band from Iowa. Slipknot perfectly encompasses all aspects of nu-metal in all fields. The creepy mask wearing group were known to huff fumes from a dead bird in a jar before shows to get themselves in a dark mindset. Pretty crazy, right? Well, that's what nu-metal is about. These people don't fit in so they go out of their way to further push the boundaries of society with their music.
As quickly as nu-metal was born, Linkin Park came along in 2000 to put it to death. Their first album was an instant success as it sold 5 million copies in 12 months. The expectations were set far too high which took away the spotlight from other bands of the genre. As they were struggling to keep up with the demand, members of Korn, Deftones, and other bands fell into drug addiction. Limp Bizkit lost many fans and lost their place as one of nu-metal's leading bands. Many artists decided to leave the scene while bands like Slipknot and Korn stood strong. The 2013 Download festival singlehandedly save the entire genre with a killer line-up featured Slipknot, Korn, System of a Down, and Limp Bizkit. Since then, nu-metal has been pretty successful and you usually hear a few songs from the genre every time you turn on your local rock station.
Here is one of Korn's most popular songs just to give you an idea of what they sound like.
Also, here is a great song from Slipknot's first album.
What is nu-metal?
The majority of nu-metal lyrics deal with struggle and mental health. For example, Jonathan Davis of Korn writes about the abuse he endured as a child and his insecurities. Nu-metal artists use their lyrics to talk about all of the anger and sadness they feel. One of my favorite albums from Slipknot features songs that discuss the depression that overtook the band once their bassist passed away in 2010 from an accidental overdose. As you can already tell from the two songs I have included, most songs are very vulgar. It just adds to the intensity and helps the artists to really express their emotions.
Nu-metal is a mixture of grunge, alternative metal, hardcore punk, hip-hop, other genres of heavy metal (industrial, groove). It includes melodic vocals, guttural screams, shouting similar to hardcore punk music, and rapping. It is also common for songs to have rapped verses with screamed choruses.
Overall, nu-metal emphasizes mood, texture, and rhythm over melody. Nu-metal uses rhythmic and syncopated riffs on distorted electric guitars with down-tuned strings to create a dark and resonate sound. The drumming often consists of hip-hop, funk, and heavy metal. Double bass drumming is not very common but Slipknot is one of the few exceptions.
The bridge is often the climax of the song and sometimes it is just one line repeated over an over, getting louder and louder.
ICONIC lyrics
Nu-metal lyrics tend to show the vulnerability of the artist and it has always helped me connect with the music. It often makes the listener feel understood because they talk about very real and common problems that people experience.
Dull Boy- Mudvayne
"By the way just so you know
Always everyday this is how I feel
I'm not the reason
Its not my fault
Its not my problem
I'm not the cause
I'm not your scape goat (I'm not your scape goat)
I'm not your god (I'm not your god)
I'm not your martyr (I'm not your martyr)"
Down With The Sickness- Disturbed
"Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me"
One Step Closer- Linkin Park
"I find the answers aren't so clear
I find the answers aren't so clear
Wish I could find a way to disappear
All these thoughts they make no sense
I find bliss in ignorance
Nothing seems to go away
Over and over again Just like before
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
I need a little room to breathe
'Cause I'm one step closer to the edge And I'm about to break"
The Light- Disturbed
"When you think all is forsaken
Listen to me now (all is not forsaken)
You need never feel broken again
Sometimes darkness can show you the light"
The Heretic Anthem- Slipknot
"If you're 555, then I'm 666"
Okay, this song needs an explanation. I swear these guys aren't evil. This song is about individuality and fighting the society that we have been brainwashed into conforming with. Simply this song screams the message of "If you all are the same, then I want to be different. I want to be the one person to stand out among the crowd." This is a common theme in most nu-metal songs because this genre is the black sheep of the entire metal genre.
Suggestions
Dig- Mudvayne
(get ready for a strange video)
My Own Summer- Deftones
A Different World- Korn (ft. Corey Taylor)
I hope you all learned a lot from my blog! Let me know if you liked any of these songs!
Peace out!
Sources
Everley, Dave. “Revenge of the Freaks: the Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Nu Metal.” Metal Hammer Magazine, Louder, 19 Mar. 2020, www.loudersound.com/features/revenge-of-the-freaks-how-nu-metal-took-over-the-world.
“Nu Metal.” Metal Wiki, Fandom, metal.fandom.com/wiki/Nu_metal.
Pereira, Ansel. “100 Best Nu Metal Bands - Spinditty - Music.” Spinditty, 5 Feb. 2020, spinditty.com/genres/100-Best-Nu-Metal-Bands.
Hey guys! So for this blog I'm gonna be educating y'all on African music and culture. Go ahead and prepare for a brief section on heavy metal as usual! :)
I was really interested to see all of the different instruments used in Africa. Out of all of the different instruments I found, I thought the mbira was the coolest. It's an instrument used by the people of Zimbabwe and it consists of 22-28 keys on a soundboard usually made out of wood of mubvamaropa tree. The keys were originally made of smelted iron ore and now they are made of recycled metal from other objects such as bed springs or bicycle spokes. The mbira is usually put in a calabash resonator to amplify the sound. When the mbira is played, it has a unique buzz that adds depth and volume to its sound.
Below is cover of "Africa" by Toto on the mbira.
Also, I just wanted to include this video of "Avatar's Love" on the kalimba. The mbira and the kalimba are not the same by the way as you can tell lol.
Next, I researched the Gumboot dance. The Gumboot dance originated from South African gold mine workers. Flooding became a major problem so their employers decided to give the workers rubber gumboots to protect them from getting ill instead of draining the flood water. In order to communicate in the mines, the workers made rhythms and by stomping their feet or slapping their boots. It was a way of expressing their ethnic identities and communicating with each other. The dance began to spread outside of the gold mines into the city as a form of entertainment. The employers took their workers and formed groups to represent their companies. The workers preformed and were able to mock their employers without them knowing with their dances. Now, the Gumboot dance has evolved into Step Dancing. It involves similar moves and instruments as Gumboot dancing but it has been made more modern. The performers are more dramatic and they use their voices in their performances.
Now for my favorite subject... heavy metal! Africa was had a turbulent political history. Music is how they expressed their opinions and emotions. One band that I came across is named Terminatryx. This is a female-fronted band from Cape Town. One track on each of their albums is in their own language. They use their music as a way to protest and express their beliefs about what is currently going on in the world around them which is very common in metal music. Unfortunately, I was unable to find much information on this band. The lyrics are a little strange but here is one of their songs! (This was the only video I was able to embed into the blog lol.)
Hey y'all! I have been looking forward to discussing music and gender. I have A LOT to say about this topic so get ready. First off, society has shown that girls specifically need to listen to "girly" music. What does that even mean? To me, gender and music have nothing to do with each other. Guys can listen to whatever genre they want to and women can as well. I would just like to say "screw society" before I really get into this blog.
When I was little, I was very much into rock and heavy metal (some rap too). I was never into what other girls were doing and I was literally the epitome of a tomboy. I was judged for being into really dark music when I should have been 100% into boy bands like all of the other girls my age. Now that I'm older, I have realized that people actually think gender and music are closely related which makes no sense. Society views women as overly sensitive so we are supposed to listen to slow, sad songs. I've noticed that a lot of older folks are shocked when I tell them what kind of music I listen to. They would be even more shocked to know that I have attended several metal concerts and taught myself to scream because girls aren't supposed to do things like that. Girls are just supposed to sing and look pretty which I absolutely HATE!
I really have some beef with the music industry because if you look up "top ten metal bands" on Google, you will only see male-fronted bands. Let me just put y'all on a female-fronted band real quick. I would also encourage you to watch to this video as well. It won't let me insert the video for some reason so here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQNtGoM3FVU
Let's compare this to one of my favorite bands, a male-fronted group called Slipknot.
In my opinion, Jinjer should have just as much recognition as Slipknot. Most people don't go out of their way to listen to female-fronted metal bands because the vocals are a little strange. Once you find the right band, it becomes clear that your gender does not dictate whether you can make good metal music or not. Another great female-fronted metal band is Arch Enemy. I could ramble on for hours about how gender has absolutely nothing to do with what kind of music you can play or listen to, but it would be a million words long.
If the music makes you happy, you shouldn't let society's weird view get in your way. Go out and scream to heavy metal or vibe to some rap music, girl!
Have a great weekend and feel free to drop a comment!
So it took me a while to find somewhere in South American that really caught my eye until I ran across Brazil. These people are pretty neat in my opinion so let's get into it.
If you know me, you know that I love heavy metal... A LOT. So naturally I searched for Brazilian heavy metal because I was just curious if I could find some really really heavy stuff. Let me tell y'all something, these people take metal music seriously. The thrash metal scene is very prominent in Brazil which I found very interesting If you don't know what thrash metal is, let me educate you. Basically thrash metal is an overall aggressive form of metal with a fast tempo, crazy guitar shredding, and rad guitar riffs. It's the kind of music that makes you want to jump or "thrash" around. Some thrash metal bands are Pantera, Slayer, Anthrax, and Motörhead. Now that you have a basic understanding of thrash metal, let's talk about Brazilian thrash metal bands. I was trying to find the band name that caught my attention. A band called Torture Squad came up and it turns out that they toured with the two biggest thrash metal bands (Overkill and Exodus). The band has been around since 1990 and their music will definitely pump you up. I listened to a few of their songs but I wanted to highlight "Nothing To Declare" which is partially in their native language. Personally, I gathered that the song is kind of political and it talks about society. Feel free to give it a listen!
The next cool thing I want to talk about is the different instruments that are used in Brazil. Traditionally, they mostly used flutes, whistles, horns and rattles. Now that their music has evolved, their instruments have as well. The Atabaque is a hand drum and there are three different types. The tallest one, which produces the lowest sound, is called the Rum. The medium drum is called the Rum-Pi. The smallest of the three is called the Le. The drum is surrounded by metal rings and is covered in calf skin. Roping can be adjusted along the rings around the drum to change the pitch. Below is a video of a woman playing the Atabaque.
Finally, I have found something strange. Something I have only every seen on TV... dance fighting. It's actually called capoeira. It is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that involves elements of music and dance. It has been suggested that in the 16th century, it was prohibited to celebrate culture or practice martial arts. Capoeira was a sneaky way for slaves at the time to rebel against the law. Eventually, people were punished for practicing capoeira but the art form never died. The end of slavery in Brazil caused the use of capoeira to become more sinister. It was used for criminal purposes and criminals learned to conceal weapons used while practicing the art in the streets. The true past of capoeira will mostly likely remain uncertain but the art never died and seems to continue to grow in popularity. Below is an example of capoeira.
