Did I Say That?

You know who you are and what I mean... I hope.

Go, then. There are other worlds than these.Stephen King, The Gunslinger

And meek'll inherit what they damn well please...

Get ahead: I just cleaned out my closet, 'cause apperently when they're going to replace the boilerthing in your kitchen, they need to drill some holes in there. If you understand what's up with that, mail me, 'cause I'm clueless.

Go figure: Other than that, nothing much. It's my mother's 50th birthday sunday, I got nothing planed on saturday, tomorrow I'm working at home, and it's cold outside right now, as well as dark.

Go ahead: And pull the trigger. Everything under the gun.

So this thursday night...

I got, once more, nothing much to say. I 'spose that the saying is true... Happy people have no stories. At least, no interesting ones. Or ones they'd like to tell. Or...

And on a completely different note

Is it really so hard to check if your tie is on straight? I've noticed that lately it seems to be trendy (in the way you can consider our minister of justice trendy, that is, not) to have your tie on at some odd angle. It looks just as silly as thoe big knots in them.

Some additional thoughts

Okay, so last nights post... Yes, I still think that Meat Loaf's last DVD is great. And no, I wasn't exaggerating when I claimed that there was not a dry eye in the house. I was feeling a little bit emotional and stressed and god knows what when I watched that DVD for the first time, and the song got to me. I love it when it happens.

So while I love the DVD, that does however not mean that the accompanying CD is of the same quality. I mean, it's not like it sounds bad or anything, but there are just too many little details that prevent it from being the definitive Meat Loaf live CD. The DVD comes close to being that, but that is no CD. And for all his previous live offerings? They all suffer from one flaw or another.
So what's wrong with this one?

For starters, the idea. Bat Out Of Hell is a classic album, and it's been re-released in a zillion different versions, but apparently a live version was missing. Although all songs appeared on 1996's Live Around The World. So you get a live CD with songs you (should) have heard a billion times by now, in a live setting with an orchestra.
Then there's another thing: the sequence. As on the "regular" album, all seven songs from Bat Out Of Hell are present, starting with Bat and ending with For Crying Out Loud. No surprise there. Only one problem, though. They weren't played in that order. The last song that was recorded is the first you hear on the album. And because the "natural order" is disrupted (or re establish if you like), the tension curve of the concert is broken. I guess that is why it still does not feel like a coherent entity to me.
I would have used a different approach to these concerts. If you know you're going to release a live version of an album, you anticipate on that, right? So first you play a set with the additional hits and other stuff, intermission, play Bat Out Of Hell live in the right order so you stop with a no-holds-barred rendition of FCOL. And for an encore? Well, take a grab in the goodie bag. Anything For Love maybe?
But no, mr. Loaf played his "regular" set, resulting in a product that could've been better.
The track listing of the DVD is a good reflection of the setlists of the two gigs that were recorded. All songs that were played are on it. So where the hell is Heaven Can Wait? Well, it can't be shown on the DVD, because it was not played on any of those two nights. So the real question is, where did this live version (and two of the three audio-only tracks on the bonus DVD) come from? Rehearsals? Soundchecks? Studio? Who knows? Not me!

Maybe more if can think of something, but this is my main beef (or minced meat if you're so inclined) with the CD. Rock on.

Untitled

There's been not much to complain about lately, so as you might have noticed, my post-rate dropped a bit. Here's an update.

As of about three weeks ago, I got a job. As a webdesigner. With XSLT (and HTML and CSS of course) I tackle the XML output of a database. I think I'm getting the hang of it now, were it not that most (read: all) sites that are currently up and running use tables for the layout, and I'm practically clueless as to how to tackle them. Give me DIV's anyday.

Other than that, I'm doing fine. In fact, I'm doing pretty alright.

There has been one thing that kept bugging me the last two weeks or so. Because I really didn't know what to say about the event that started it all, I left that post blank.
And because I still don't know what to make of the developments in the whole fuckin' situation, I'm not going to try to say something about it. I tried it, but it went nowhere.

So now it's midnight, I'm sitting here -not in a hurry because I'm working from home tomorrow- and I've said pretty much I had to say. So is there anything left? Oh yes.

A confession. Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. Over and over again, sinned without end, amen! Well, it's nothing big actually, but I've doubted the Loaf. When I first heard the mp3s (the sin!) of his new live album I wasn't impressed. Not at all. It sounded fragmented, forced, incoherent and bad. I wasn't holding my breath for the accompanying DVD.
Say Hallelujah and give me a Gawd-bomb and an amen, for I was wrong. While uncle Loaf may not have been top-notch those two evenings, that DVD is a pleasure to watch. Well except for that song, but anyone who still can stand that one needs his/her ears cleaned. The DVD has one big advantage over the CD—it has the visuals. With some of the songs (All Revved Up, Dead Ringer, Mercury Blues) you might be able to do without, but when he does the big ones, you need to see it to get the vibe. Or at least, I needed them.
Example: you might say that For Crying Out Loud is my favorite Meat Loaf song. 'Cause it is. When I heard just the audio, it didn't get to me. Not one bit. Okay, maybe just a little shiver because that song isn't playd that much and the only (official) available live version sucks quite a bit, but other than that, nothing. Until I saw it. Imagine an empty stage, except for a singer on a barstool, a pianist and an symphony orchestra, drowned in blueish light. First part really low key. Just a piano and a singer. It's about as low key as the Loaf ever gets. Then, the second part. The piano is joined by the orchestra. Slowly building up. Slowly. Violins commenting on the lyrics. Ever so slow. Then, suddenly, drums. From that point, it's full on until the second chorus. Then it breaks down again to just piano and strings, just to build up again.

For taking and for giving
And for playing the game
For praying for my future
In the days that remain

Oh Lord—For that I hold you

Oh but most of all
For crying out loud
For that I love you.... Meat Loaf, For Crying Out Loud

That final verse is repeated three more times, and when I saw a fat(ish) little balding old man going nearly mental to get through the last one, it was goosbumps, shivers and "not a dry eye in the house".

You know what time it is

This post is intentionally left blank.

We'll never be as young as we are right now

I can't explain it away
It doesn't make any sense
To know what it's like
I guess you gotta go through it Loving You's A Dirty Job (But Somebody's Gotta Do It)

Amongst the in-crowd there is the thought that you either love or you hate Jim Steinman's work. With a passion. I don't think that's true. I know quite a few people who can appreciate his songs, without being either totally in awe or utterly repulsed by them.
In my theory, you either get it, or you don't.

Most of the people I know don't (didn't) know who Jim Steinman is. But most of them knew his work. Total Eclipse Of The Heart. It's All Coming Back To Me Now. I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That). Paradise By The Dashboard Light. The guy who wrote those hour-long songs for Meat Loaf. That guy.

You get it, or you don't.

The people who don't get it, often dismiss it as being too pompous and too far over the top. They fail to see the subtleties and the layers. Or they've heard that song too much. And think it's more (too much) of the same. They don't care about music that much. Or they don't like that kind of music. Their loss.

The people who do tend to get it, are the lucky ones. They see how the cliches are being twisted. They get what that is. They revel in music and heed the words. They understand that you have to go over the top to see what's on the other side.

I am glad to be one of them.

Happy birthday, Jimmy.