Alchemy!

From your response you didn't comprehend any of what I wrote. I propose an exercise in logical deduction.

He who thinks he hears voices in his head is schizophrenic and institutionalized.
He who thinks he hears the voice of god/jesus, is considered blessed.

Life is all a matter of perception. Oftentimes the very same event perceived by multiple individuals is entirely different. What is considered mundane to the logic minded, may seem magical to the easily impressed. This is even more profound in ages past when even less was understood about nature.

While a flashlight today is considered commonplace. 300 years ago you would have been accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake for possessing gifts from demons. Alchemy (chemistry) was considered evil magic. Individuals died for practicing it. Modern technology was born from Alchemical research. The technology you now hold so dear and sits in your hands as you read this. Contradicting the church with scientific truth was life threatening. Galileo suffered imprisonment as a result. Even greater numbers died for standing up for their contradictory 'beliefs'.

Many of the truths you even accept now for fact, were once 'heretical' by the very people who first wrote the Bible you hold so dear. Yet have been 'selectively' forgotten due to incontrovertible proof proving their 'bible imbued truths' as being completely false and were based purely on superstitious suppositions rooted in fantasy.

Here is where the logical fallacy lies: By accepting the Bible as the truth, yet only accepting PARTS of said work as truth, and the rest as metaphor and/or ignorable is simply hypocritical. It must be accepted as a whole, or rejected as a whole if your 'faith' in it being the '100%' word of God is required. Partial acceptance is simply a partial commitment and is not complete faith. Total faith in the 'word of God' as written in the Bible means accepting all the hypocrisies, accepting the vengeful/horrific god of the old testament, and believing that killing one's children for not listening to you, and slaughtering non-believers simply because they are non-believers is acceptable.

I ask not this question of you, but you should ask this question of yourself. Do you accept, and fully understand all parts of the bible fully as 100% infallible truth, and can honestly tell yourself that you will follow all teachings, even the ones warranting the stoning of children and non-believers as complete truth as spoken from the 'mouth' (if he has a mouth) of god. Is a talking snake the pure 100% truth. Is the speaking burning bush 100% truth? Did the flood of Noah actually occur absent of any physical evidence (where would all the water 'drain' to anyway may I ask?).

The question isn't mine to answer. The question is for you to answer for yourself.. to either believe 100% in the bible, or live life in a state of partial belief. Partial belief has been tantamount to heretical belief in the eyes of the church for thousands of years (save for more recent, somewhat saner, times).

I'm really looking forward to seeing this. The list of contributors at the end of the trailer is enough to make your hair stand on end. Rick Strassman's DMT book was truly astonishing. Nick Herbert is a genius. Terence and Dennis need no introduction and Alex Grey's stuff also speaks for itself. I have yet to read any of Daniel Pinchbeck's books but I enjoy his musings over on Reality Sandwich.

It's heartening to see such high quality productions like this starting to appear. Their message is made all the more potent by the sad and sorry state the human race finds itself in these days.

Also-
The Alchemical Dream - the history of alchemy
http://www.sacredmysteries.com/public/147.cfm
(torrents for this are out there!)

Astrology has more in common with alchemy, mysticism, and archetypes than astronomy or empirical science.

>> ^rasch187:
^ They didn't become known for their songwriting until years after they became popular.


What, are you stoned again?

They were popular almost immediately when they got Epstien and came to America. They had some good covers, but all of their great songs were originals.

And even you must understand that a song is more than just its lyrics.

Gladwell is saying that the Beatles weren't prodigies because they spent so much time playing in Germany. I like Gladwell, but maybe he doesn't realize that there were a lot of bands all around Europe doing almost the exact same thing.

Lennin and McCarthy were absolutely prodigies, and the two of them together were dynamos.

The Beatles are proof of human alchemy: you mix the right people together, you get explosive results.

And I am shocked...shocked! that you can't see that, rasch.

hehe, this is how i doodle when i am procrastinating at the office. i can't draw, so i end up making strange things like this.
the idea here was that i also wanted to make something from christian bale's rant, but the techno ideas have already been done, so i made something else.

his voice sounds like it goes through a vocoder, but it is actually loaded into "Alchemy"'s granular engine, which chops the sound into tons of little snippets/grains that you can manipulate, here by singing a new melody. the "gimme a gimme a gimme a fucking a" in the start, is that sound.
the more normal bale scream was sent through a guitar amplifier with a spring reverb to make him even more screaming.

so then i had lots of sour

time to add something sweet

the stripper is from www.archive.org and her dancing already fit very well with the "swing" in christians screaming rythm. i did some things like reduce saturation and increase contrast on the long shots, and opposite on the close ones.. etc. fun in "Vegas".

but i still haven't done my accouting for last year

Newton also wrote more about alchemy than about physics.

But Harris' main argument isn't affected by Newton's religiosity.

The power of peer pressure. She secretly wishes she had nicer friends.

`````

"Pain is an alchemy that renovates--
where is indifference when pain intervenes?
Beware: do not sigh coldly in your indifference!
Seek pain! Seek pain, pain, pain!"
~Rumi

EDIT - Actually, instead of just listing it, I'll copy out my descriptions of them too since I already wrote this up for another forum:


1. The Flashbulb - Soundtrack to a Vacant Life | Instrumental | 4.5/5

Simply put, a seamless, sweeping epic of genres that dabbles in everything from sombre piano ballads, to upbeat flamenco, caustic electronica, serene ambience, rhythmic percussive tribal drum sections and haunting string sections, imposing every possible emotion on the listener. If anything, the sole weakness is that the rough 2-3 minute length of each of the 31 songs means they don't work so effectively as standalone compositions but as verses in a protracted poem, making the idea of listening to the entirety of it a tad daunting.


2. Protest The Hero - Fortress | Progressive Metal | 4.5/5

Metal that while relatively intricate yet melodic enough and hell, catchy enough to avoid divulging into incomprehensible technical wankery. Lyrics abound with references to goddesses and dethroned kings but it's decidedly tongue in cheek. Perhaps the biggest weaknesses resides in a lack of coherence, a tendency for the album to mesh together as a string of riffs, with little sense of a recurring chorus or verses within songs, but then you can take that as a plus depending on how you look at it. Besides that and a couple of immensely obnoxious vocal lines it's a pretty solid effort all around.


3. Blue Sky Black Death - Late Night Cinema | Instrumental Trip-hop | 4.5/5

One of the least expected surprises this year for me, partly because I generally despise anything that relates in any way to hip-hop or remixes yet I was sold on first listen. It’s just such a supremely chilled out but simultaneously melodically multilayered album which weaves hip-hop/trip-hop styling with a fairly significant utilisation of violins, trumpets, keyboards and an organ, capping it off with a distinct jazz tinge.


4. In Mourning - Shrowded Divine | Melodic Death Metal | 4/5

Genre-wise they’re probably best described as melodic death metal based but with progressive and doom influenced sections, reminiscent of Opeth, but not exactly the same. I initially junked this when I first picked it up but it’s grown on me immensely since then. There’s nothing immediately about them that sticks out as particularly impressive, the riffs aren’t all too complex, the melody isn’t overly diverse. If anything the drumming is quite good and both the harsh and clean vocals are solid. Nevertheless they clearly have a knack for creating memorable melody lines, and many minor touches such as the use juxtaposed clean and harsh vocals of essentially the same lines, coupled with a number of sexy breakdowns and a consistently bleak and permeating tone really make this album memorable in some indescribable way.


5. Transcending Bizarre? - The Serpent's Manifolds | Avant-Garde Black Metal | 4/5

Typical black metal brain mashing, but nicely broken up by violin sections to prevent migraines! Again it really feels like this band just clicks, but that not to say they can’t put out some impressively melodic riffs, and solos or bring it intensity-wise. In terms of criticism, there’s probably too much reliance on violin for a metal album, but that’s a very subjective disparagement, also a select few sections drag a bit ... oh and the intro is obnoxious and highly skipable. Oh and keyboards, oh the humanity! Run for the hills!


6. Thrice - The Alchemy Index - Vol.3 & 4 Air & Earth | Experimental Rock | 4/5

Partially successful but suffers from issues strangely distinct from the first two volumes. Whereas the first two could perhaps be argued to have taken the element concepts too literally both melodically and lyric-wise, this time around there are fairly tentative connections to the elements. With Air there’s simply a heavy use of reverb and echo to create the impression of an expansive soundscape, among a number of other tricks; whereas Earth is merely embodied by heavy use of stripped back and stark acoustic guitar with an American folk grounding. In all, neither really captures the concept as effectively as the haphazard, chaotic, distorting Fire; and if anything the biggest weakness of Air is it doesn’t distance it enough from the seeping smoothness that characterised Water to offer anything particularly distinctive. All in all it still remains an intriguing unconventional attempt with a number of standout songs, particularly the sonnets that outro each of the volumes oddly enough, led by consistently strong vocals.


7. Bar Kokhba Sextet - Lucifer The Book of Angels - Vol. 10 | Jazz | 4/5

I'm not really qualified to comment on or critique jazz as I'm very much a neophyte to it, but this is some excellent stuff.


8. Lights Out Asia - Eyes Like Brontide | Post Rock | 4/5

To me the main element any post rock effort needs to really be effective is a pervasive, consistent atmosphere, which this album abounds with. It doesn't fall into clichés such as blasting you into submission by badgering you with volume changes, or an over reliance on monotonous arpeggios, but builds upon subtle layers of sound to create a vast, rich soundscape of echoing guitars, staccato electronica beats and fleeting vocals.


9. Opeth - Watershed | Progressive Death Metal | 4/5

Disappointingly inconsistent by their standards, but still a pretty solid album all around. Some songs definitely drag massively, and certain parts sound technically overindulging and tiresome particularly the outro to Burden. On the other hand in my humble opinion it also has some of the best songs they have written, the way the progressive acoustic guitar section fades in and out in Porcelain Heart for example is seamlessly mesmerising, Hessian Peel is almost equally memorable. Regardless this is no Blackwater Park unfortunately.


10. Mutyumu - Ilya | Post Rock | 4/5

Post rock doesn't really give this band justice. It's like an odd mix of opera and hardcore Japanese vocals, with heavily piano reliant post rock grounding. Awesome? Somewhat. Half the time its carried by stirring complex but seemingly effortless piano and string sections unfolding at a blistering pace coupled with occasional strangely effective hushed murmurs, yet the other half of the time it cascades into almost unbearable droning repetition. Now given that, Prayer is damn well one of the best post rock songs I have ever heard and it really is a pity that the rest of the album wasn’t equally brilliant. I probably overrate this a tad too but well ... goshdarnit it’s all gotta be about job creation and shoring up our economy.

Um, listened to the Scarecrow single, think I have some of their actual albums floating around but can't seem to find them at the moment ... <_<
In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Which album are you trying? the pillows have changed their sound a lot over the years (I mean, they've been together for nearly 20 years, so it's pretty much inevitable, haha).

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Could not agree more, but I still applaud them for trying new things. Listening to the Pillows, not bad but not my style to be honest

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Aw man, yeah, that song was sweet. The dynamics and mood changes in the song really sold it for me. For Miles was artistic genius as well. I dunno, I feel like Vheissu was just a DAMN good release. The Alchemy Index hasn't really grabbed me like the previous albums have, but there are sparks of genius in them too.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Yeah, Atlantic was great. Stand And Feel Your Worth also grew on me massively over time, there's a kind of beauty to its subtlety.

Which album are you trying? the pillows have changed their sound a lot over the years (I mean, they've been together for nearly 20 years, so it's pretty much inevitable, haha).

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Could not agree more, but I still applaud them for trying new things. Listening to the Pillows, not bad but not my style to be honest

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Aw man, yeah, that song was sweet. The dynamics and mood changes in the song really sold it for me. For Miles was artistic genius as well. I dunno, I feel like Vheissu was just a DAMN good release. The Alchemy Index hasn't really grabbed me like the previous albums have, but there are sparks of genius in them too.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Yeah, Atlantic was great. Stand And Feel Your Worth also grew on me massively over time, there's a kind of beauty to its subtlety.

Could not agree more, but I still applaud them for trying new things. Listening to the Pillows, not bad but not my style to be honest

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Aw man, yeah, that song was sweet. The dynamics and mood changes in the song really sold it for me. For Miles was artistic genius as well. I dunno, I feel like Vheissu was just a DAMN good release. The Alchemy Index hasn't really grabbed me like the previous albums have, but there are sparks of genius in them too.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Yeah, Atlantic was great. Stand And Feel Your Worth also grew on me massively over time, there's a kind of beauty to its subtlety.

Aw man, yeah, that song was sweet. The dynamics and mood changes in the song really sold it for me. For Miles was artistic genius as well. I dunno, I feel like Vheissu was just a DAMN good release. The Alchemy Index hasn't really grabbed me like the previous albums have, but there are sparks of genius in them too.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Yeah, Atlantic was great. Stand And Feel Your Worth also grew on me massively over time, there's a kind of beauty to its subtlety.

"Muslim"? Why not say Arab, Persian or whatnot?

I don't think sorting discoveries by religion is something the Islamic world wants to tread into...

There's a strong feeling of nostalgia among Muslims for their once-great empire. Yes indeed, they ruled a fair share of the Old Continent for some time and had very structured societies back in the day, but their advancement has stagnated somewhat. Arabs were renowned for their knowledge of "fringe" sciences such as astrology (not astronomy!), alchemy (not chemistry!) and even some hard sciences such as mathematics and physics. It is undeniable that these forays were vastly precipitated and aided by knowledge inherited from Greek thinkers.

Islamic shortcomings are however ironically linked to the "Muslim" aspect of the whole thing. They adopted an empirical view of things, the exact opposite of the rational impetus the Greeks were leaning towards. Another impediment was that the Muslim world was constantly entwined with the Koran, which is to say that theology played an authoritarian role in legislative, economic, social and pedantic spheres. This prohibited many possible advances.

One reason Europe thrived so much during the Renaissance is that these spheres (although the Church did dominate social life) were not so interwoven as to proscribe scientific endeavours with much aplomb.

I think artsy CAN be good, but only when it means "original AND good music" rather than just "original music." Just because something's different doesn't mean it's good, which is a sad fact that seems to get overlooked in the pursuit of "art" and "originality." However, if you can get the art and originality and still sound fucking awesome, it's way better than just sounding good by itself, because it has way more impact.

For Japanese music, I'd STRONGLY recommend the pillows, as they're my favorite band ever in general. If you want something a little more indie, I know a lot of pretty sick bands, such as Ling Tosite Sigure/rin toshite shigure/凛として時雨 (lol just for searching convenience) that you could give a try (Ling has AWESOME guitar work, but reaaaaaaaally shrill vocals...it's kind of a tradeoff).

Japan is aight. I love the food, and I've gotten to see some great concerts (four of them, to be precise) while I've been here, but I'm headed back in one week, and am pretty much feeling it's time to do so. I need to get some work in before the semester starts so I have some money lol.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Wow you know what, I completely missed the fact you replied to my comment such fail. Hmm, listened to AKFG a while ago and wasn't really a big fan but I'll check out the rest. ... but, but artsy is good no but I agree, they need to bring some of the crazy riffage of old back, although I remember them saying in an interview somewhere around the time they released Vheissu that they felt they go too burnt on heavy music and were trying to stray away from that, or something along those lines.

Also, what's it like living in Japan?



In reply to this comment by JAPR:
the pillows, Asian Kung-fu Generation, Ellegarden, etc. I just saw Ellegarden at Kyouto Taisakusen, it was SO FUCKING GOOD. I'm not sure how to describe it other than I've never been to such an intense concert.

Yeah, I love the acoustic songs! Stare at the Sun acoustic is reallllly tight too. I wish they'd go back to their roots a bit though and stop trying to be artsy with the whole elements theme going on. Nothing good ever comes from being artsy. .____.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Which Japanese bands? I'm more or less slowly turning into a weaboo anyway

Yeah, I love Melting Point of Wax, So Strange I Remember You especially as well as virtually anything on Vheissu. I&II was fairly good, thought they captured water brilliantly, Night Diving especially with the way they conveyed dripping water, and the tranquility of deep sea diving. Fire, eh not so much. Could see they were going for a sense of chaos and distortion but just didn't feel like it came together melodically, Flame Deluge was excellent though. Agree Red Sky EP was excellent, especially their acoustic renditions, particularly Of Dust and Nations, really wish they'd do more of them.

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Yeah, I've heard a few of the songs, but haven't really gotten around to checking it out fully, for some reason. Been too busy with new releases from my favorite Japanese bands, I guess. I thought Alchemy Index vols. I and II was pretty solid, with some tight songs, but definitely not quite up to par with the other stuff. Still, "not up to par with the other stuff" still translates to "pretty damn good," so I can't really complain too much in that department.

I wish they had a music video for T&C, A Torch to End All Torches, Melting Point of Wax, or So Strange I Remember you, because it's always hard to find truly good live videos of songs like that. I was very surprised to see them release Red Sky on that EP thing, but totally dug the coupling tracks.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Heh, yeah it was a bit of a giveaway before, now it's more subtle

Reminds me, I still gotta sift that song too Pity that they never released their better songs as singles though.

Sample the album on their myspace if you want, it's not anything groundbreaking by all means but still a solid album all around. Not nearly as good as Vheissu but still, have to give them props for branching out and experimenting with different styles.