Alternative - Soundtrack - Phantas Melodia

Phantasmelodia

follow this blog

7 followers

98 daily readers

rank of 417

E-mail Subscription

Receive an e-mail notification of new posts on this site:

Alternative Soundtrack - Phantasmelodia

Into Dust - Ashtar Command

June 19th 2008 23:21

The O.C. Mix 6: Covering Our Tracks - Various Artists

The O.C. Mix 6: Covering Our Tracks by Various Artists

Base a song upon a mesmerizing guitar riff played as softly as possible and you are on your way to a relaxing plane. If your muse is really in its element, it can convey you a melody not only calming but also somewhat hypnotic when repeated over and over again. If that is the case and you have no intention of decorating your song with heavy orchestration, just the intense plainness of your melody and you, mumbling scattered lyrics of desperation then you have a haunting song. American dream pop band Mazzy Star's Into Dust is that song. It is rare, almost astral sounding and adorned with imaginary lyrics. Just when one thinks this song can't get any better, American alternative band Ashtar Command appears and takes it to an even more starry dimension. They so elevate an already dreamy song that the song becomes the dream itself.

Little is known about Ashtar Command. It is formed by Chris Holmes, Steve Fitzpatrick and Brian Liesagang, who also formed the industrial/alternative rock band Filter (Filter is known for the controversial single Hey Man, Nice Shot, their band members' appearance with Smashing Pumpkins in various projects and soundtrack contributions; check Filter's music at Spawn, Songs in the Key of X, The Crow: City of Angels and The X-Files: The Album soundtracks) Brian Liesagang provided samples for Smashing Pumpkin's vocalist Billy Corgan's solo tour as well as doing additional programming for Corgan's album. He left Filter to form Ashtar Command with former college pals from University of Chicago, Chris Holmes and Steve Fitzpatrick. Holmes also had a band called Yum Yum but he concentrated on Ashtar Command with Liesangang when he decided to leave Filter for good. Steve Fitzpatrick played with local bands like Farmers & Creeper, he plays the guitar and bass.

Among Ashtar Command's contributors are Matt Walker (former Filter and Smashing Pumpkins drummer), Kellii Scott (drummer for -now defunct- Failure and Veruca Salt), Ian Read (folk singer/musician) as well as Loise Post of Veruca Salt and Sinead O'Connor who sang the vocals for Summer's End, the band's second contribution to The Avengers Soundtrack alongside Solve My Problems.

On their MySpace, Brian Liesagang states that they are "getting close to finishing a buncha stuff for release", hinting a possible album but the when of it is currently unknown.

The origin of the band's name is an interesting side note as well. The Ashtar Galactic Command is a concept promoted by New Age believers, ufologists and contactees. They are believed to be an extraterrestrial organization and their prime contactor is known as Ashtar Sheran, the leader of the organization. They communicate through channels (mediums) to spread their message just like their counterparts. In 1977, one of the members of the Command, Vrillon, is believed to have interfered with the broadcast of Independent Broadcasting Authoity for 6 minutes and as is the nature of all such incidents, some consider it a hoax while others believe it.

Into Dust is featured at the popular TV show The O.C. in its original purity by Mazzy Star during the course of the very first episode when Ryan carries a drunk & passed out Marissa in his arms to her doorstep. It is then featured yet again in Season 1, Episode 7, and enhances the finale where Ryan takes an unconscious, overdosed Marissa into his arms yet again and carries her out of a dark alley in Tijuana. Finally, the song is reprised with its Ashtar Command cover at Season 4, Episode 83 where Ryan sits at the lifeguard tower, a special spot for the Ryan-Marissa relationship, all by himself and this time lets Marissa go out of his arms, metaphorically. With that, the Marissa-Ryan arc is complete and the song is featured to mark the end of the duo just as it marked their beginning.

The cover opens the same way the original does, with the part soothing part entrancing guitar riff that makes the song's backbone and in doing so, pays a tribute to the Mazzy Star version. It then introduces an oriental woodwind, a goblet drum, a harmonica and an emphasized bass rhythm to sustain its exotic flow.

The helplessness within a painful separation is polished with the opening lyrics which descend into,

"Still falling
Breathless and on again
Inside today
Beside me today
Around broken in two
Till you eyes shed
Into dust"

What was once one is now broken into two again. The unity, the union is broken. It feels like falling from a high cliff into an abyss, clad in each other's embrace until the pair hit the floor and are broken apart. The pain is unbearable but the end is evident. As love is smashed into pieces of dust, one feels like dying inside,

"I could possibly be fading
Or have something more to gain
I could feel myself growing colder"

Be it small or big, you leave a part of you in somebody else when you depart from a relationship. That part never heals entirely and always leaves a scar behind. One might not loose their heart alltogether but it never looks the same as before. The more relationships one gets to leave behind, the more marred the heart gets. Hence, the lyrics say,

"I could feel myself under your fate"

and highlights a bitter remark of love. Although the relationship is fading, one of the two still feels belonging to the other...

"I could feel my eyes turning into dust
And two strangers turning into dust
Turning into dust..."

...until there are no tears left to cry, until the memories fade into oblivion and the story has repeated itself for the trillionth time:

Once, there were two strangers who came together only to be strangers again.

Ink Blots

Browse music online at IMEEM

Buy the album The O.C. Mix 6: Covering Our Tracks online from Amazon

Meet the artist Ashtar Command at MySpace

Read the entire lyrics at poplyrics

140

Vote

Comments (1)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Ayda - Category: Alternative, Soundtrack

Email this Post to a Friend

Breathe Me - Sia

June 3rd 2008 18:42

Color the Small One by Sia

A penetrating piano tune that finds its way into the heart as it is joined by naive lyrics and balmy strings. Australian performer and songwriter Sia's Breathe Me is a bitter confession, a humble plea and a coy disclosure of insecurity, all combined in a serene 4 and half minutes. The piano captures the soul, the lyrics kiss the heart and the subsequent strings caress the body.

Sia's career was planted in Australia but musical recognition had not bloomed until she moved to England and started working solo. Her first album Healing Is Difficult arrived in 2001 and received critical acclaim. With unconventional songs such as Taken for Granted which sampled Prokofiev's Dance of the Knights, the album soon became an underground success. Color the Small One, her second album, hit the stores in 2004 and hosted one special song which exposed the international audience to Sia's offbeat talent.

When featured at the finale of the popular TV show Six Feet Under, Breathe Me stood up and glittered since it befitted the aura of "Everyone's Waiting" (the title of the episode) perfectly. Its music video made up entirely of polaroid pictures also turned out to be awe inspiring with its artistic and colorful stills. Moreover, it still was equally powerful at delivering the so(u)litude of the song. Sia went on to re-release a USA version of Color the Small One, including 2 remixes of Breathe Me and tour the country to promote both her album and the 5th season DVD release of Six Feet Under throughout 2006.

Breathe Me opens with a lulling piano riff and Sia taking a deep breath before calling out,

"Help! I have done it again.
I have been here many times before.
Hurt myself again today
And the worst part is, there's no one else to blame"

When immaturity still lives in the soul, people tend to put the blame on everybody else but themselves. Even if they know deep inside that they do have a role in the unfolding conflict, they deny it to cover their larger-than-others egos. Ego is even more dangerous than immaturity. Time, however, can be a tamer. It can be the teacher of teachers as it drives human beings closer to the lesson of lessons. In the end, nothing matters because all that come from the earth, return to earth. The instant that one learns that there's no one but themselves to blame and take responsibility for their destiny, the path to happiness opens up in front of them.

"Be my friend
Hold me,
Wrap me up
Unfold me

Holding out a hand towards someone is one's strongest weakness. Realizing that they cannot do it alone, that they are not as strong as they thought to be and, even better, that they needn't be as strong as they seem is a precious realization. A Turkish saying goes, "the baby does not get the breast if he/she does not cry out loud with hunger"; a saying quite similar to "the teacher arrives when the student is ready". If one does not express what they need honestly and openly, they might never get or realize what they actually need.

"I am strong
And needy,
Warm me up""

Need can even be stronger than love. Hence, saying "I need you" is even more difficult than saying "I love you" for the most of us.

The song sets out on its solemn finale after a soft, needing whisper from Sia,

"And breathe me..."

That's the hidden plea behind a kiss. It is the silent urge to share one's life with another, to inhale someone and let your self inhaled by another. That is the most precious gift one can present:

The breath...

Ink Blots

Browse music online at IMEEM

Buy Color the Small One online at Amazon

Meet the artist Sia at **>Sia<**

Read the entire lyrics at Absolute Lyrics

175

Vote

Comments (2)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Ayda - Category: Alternative, Soundtrack

Email this Post to a Friend

Iris - Goo Goo Dolls

May 27th 2008 16:40

Dizzy Up the Girl by Goo Goo Dolls

Dramatic cellos, embracing guitar riffs, chivalrous strings and devoted lyrics... Goo Goo Dolls' Iris is all you could expect from a striking ballad and some more if you've watched the movie it was written for and featured in. City of Angels told the love of an angel who sacrificed his wings and became a a mortal man to be with the woman he loved. Need I say more?

Goo Goo Dolls was formed back in 1986 under a different name which the band, inspired from an ad, later changed into their famous title. They started getting serious attention when one of their tracks, "I'm Awake Now", was featured in Freddy's Dead (the one with the 3-D glasses). Their quantum leap, Iris, came in a time when the leading man John Rzeznik was considering leaving the group and was written in 10 minutes back in 1998. An instant worldwide fame followed when the song hit the big screen and radios. It was named after Iris DeMent, a country/folk singer/songwriter, whose name Rezeznik came across while going through a magazine (as opposed to inspirational suggestions like it was named after the Greek personification of rainbow and messenger of the gods, angels are messengers of gods, City of Angels, do the math). With three nominations and numerous weeks on charts worldwide, the song led the way to the genesis of a rock phenomenon.

City of Angels, with its lyrical story and strong performances from its lead actors Meg Ryan and Nicholas Cage became a huge box office hit worldwide, grossing $200 million, and is still considered among the most touching romantic movies. A remake of Wim Wenders', Wings of Desire, the film has numerous unforgettable moments that warm the heart.

Iris opens with its famous guitar riffs which, much like Bitter Sweet Symphony's haunting strings, carve themselves into one's mind,

"And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now"

Quieting the mind, letting the heart open wide, being in the moment, cherishing the happiness and forgetting about tomorrow or consequences... Those who have rationalized their hearts so as to avoid further disappointment might call it a utopia. Others might still believe in it.

Does it matter? The question is, do you have the occasional musing about a particular person whose memory still clouds your eyes for a split second? As long as there's that "split second", the world will keep filling with those moments when somebody feels so at home with somebody else that they don't want to go anywhere, any time soon.

And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand

As long as there's that split second, there's the possibility -- The possibility that someone who is living under the same sky who shall know one for real, who can walk past through their barriers like a ghost passing through the walls, touch the core within and who can understand while everybody else does not.

As long as there's that split second, human beings will always need somebody who loves them for who they are! That somebody comes in many shapes and sizes. They come in the form of a best friend, a childhood buddy, a parent, a sibling, a cousin, a neighbor, an old lady living in the neighborhood, a stranger, even.

Somebody they can look directly in the eye and say,

"I just want you to know who I am"

That's the angel in all of us. That's the innocence in all of us. That's the call of the child!

Seth: Let's go.
Maggie: Where?
Seth: Anywhere.
Maggie: What'll we do?
Seth: Anything...

Ink Blots

Browse music online at IMEEM

Buy Dizzy Up the Girl online from Amazon

Meet the artist Goo Goo Dolls at goo goo dolls

Reed the entire lyrics at metrolyrics

Vote

Comments (2)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Ayda - Category: Alternative, Soundtrack

Email this Post to a Friend

Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve

May 24th 2008 17:59

Urban Hymns by The Verve

With its lush, illustrious strings that are no less than haunting, Bitter Sweet Symphony is the magnum opus of the British alternative rock band, The Verve. It is a solemn scorn about the materialistic order of the world and an ironic praise on being true to one's self regardless.

[ Click here to read more ]

105

Vote

Comments (6)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Ayda - Category: Alternative, Soundtrack

Email this Post to a Friend

Colorblind - Counting Crows

May 18th 2008 20:40

This Desert Life by Counting Crows

Featured in the Cruel Intentions Soundtrack, Colorblind is an exceptional ballad of emotional appeal from the American rock band Counting Crows. If their hit single Hanginaround is the high quality, precious diamond of their third album This Desert Life, Colorblind is the rare, round pearl. The lyrics are coy yet deep while the sound remains minimalistic, almost as simple and pure as the feeling of loneliness, itself.

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Comments (2)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Ayda - Category: Alternative, Soundtrack

Email this Post to a Friend

[ Phantasmelodia Home ] [ Create A New Post ]

Moderated by Ayda

[ take over this inactive blog ]

Orble

Orble Homepage

Start an Orble Blog