A ESCUCHAR III:

Well, A Week Late It May Be; Pointless It May Be, But That Type Of Thing Never Stopped Me Before. So Here She Goes The Third Installment Of New Music Tuesday!!! YAY!!! Today I Am Obligated To Review The Latest From Atlanta R&B Genius Terius(The Dream) Nash. Its Called "LoveKing" And Is The Third Installment In The Dreams "Love" Trilogy. The First Being "LoveHate" The Next "Love Vs. Money" And The "FINAL" Ahem Installment Being "LoveKing" I Have Been Anticipating This Album Ever Since My First Complete Listening Of "Love Vs. Money" Which Had Such Club Successess As "Walking On The Moon Feat. Kanye West" And "Rockin' That Shit". But What Made "Love Vs. Money" Such A Timeless R&B Album Wasnt Merely Radio Play Or Single Popularity, The B-Sides; Namely "Love Vs. Money" "Love Vs. Money Pt.2" And "Fancy" Really Make It One Of Those Albums That You Really Could Listen To Once A Day For Eternity... So How Does "LoveKing" Stack Up You Ask. Well, Like Its Predecessor "LoveKing" Isnt Necessarily In The Singles. While Current Radio Hits Like, The Title Track "LoveKing" And The Second Single "Make-up Bag Feat. T.I." Are Truly Incredible Songs That Get Better Every Time You Hear Them, The Show Stoppers Come With Some Of The B-Sides. The Filthy "Panties To The Side" Is So Incredibly Dirty That It Could Make A Pornstar Blush, And It Is Absolutely Loaded With Use Of The Word Fuck. One Thing I Love About Dream's Music Is How It Takes On A Sexy Kind Of Poppy Vibe While Utilizing Words That You Arent Aloud To Say On The Radio. The Dark "Abyss" Is Reminicent Of My Favorite Two Dream Songs "Love Vs. Money 1&2" However, The Thinly Veiled Threat To Drown The Subject Of This Creepy Track (Chained Up In The Bottom Of A Lake. Now Let The Water Fall. Abyss) Really Made It Something I Could Sink My Ears Into. Meanwhile, Dream Reprises His Obvious Homage To Prince From His First Album With "Nikki Pt. 2" Which Has A Deep Princey Feel. "Yamaha" Sounds To Me Like Something Prince Would Have Written And Then Cut From "Purple Rain" For Being Too Superficial. Not That Its Not A Good Song, Just "Purple Rain" Is An Incredibly Deep Album, And This Song Is About Not Knowing Some Girls Name, And Instead Just Calling Her Yamaha. Its Alright. One Thing That Will Never Cease To Entertain And Fascinate Me About An Album Is The Blending Of Tracks Into One Another. Its Very Concept Albumish, And Will Keep You Wondering What The Fuck The Concept Is. Over All, In Comparison To The Dreams First Two Albums I Think He Fell Short Of The Mark Set By "Love Vs. Money" But Grazed The Top Of "LoveHate"'s Cranium. Im Gonna Give This Album A Thumbs Up, Just Because Its A New Dream Album, And The Man Really Can Do No Harm.

Lots Of Love And Kisses And Hugs.

ANTONIO MICHAEL SILVERA

Briefly Now: A Poem!

The Last Dance By Antonio Silvera

I Know It Was Convenient To Leave Me Hanging On A String, But I Am Not A Puppet And Being Controlled Just Aint My Thing. Ill Dance Until I Drop, Swing Until The String Breaks. And If You Like My Song I Will Sing Even If My Voice Shakes.

A Quick Update For The Curious...

On The Good Side: I Told You She Was A Muse. Look At The Elephant ("Out My Backdoor") Isnt It Marvelous? I Have Some Qualms With The Direction Some Of The Elements Had Gone, But Ink Hath Been Applied To Paper, And Not Even Whiteout Will Seperate Them Entirely. I Hope You People Like It, I Do It All For You. Me And Jackie Have Been Hanging Out A Lot, Which Inevitably Raises Questions... "When Are We Going To Declare Our Affinity For One Another On A Public Forum?" The Answer To That Question Is... Yesterday

FACEBOOK, UGH...

Now For the Bad Side: I Was Anticipating A Whole Slough Of Problems Arising From This Mere Status Change And Was Not Dissapointed, Sue Me For Staying Facebook Friends With Jessica May... But She Saw And I Guess It Caught Her By Surprise. She Called And Even Though I Was Relishing In All Of It, I Began To Feel Badly. Why? Why Would I Feel Badly, When She Broke Up With Me, Refused To Take Me Back, Strung Me Along For Quite Some Time Now (Though To Her Credit, Always Maintaining That Me And Her Could Only Be Friends.) I Feel Badly Because I Dont Like To Hurt Friends, In Spite Of All The Hurt They May Inflict On Me, It Literally Makes My Stomach Ache To See A Freind Of Mine In Pain. And Jessica And I Are Friends If Nothing Else. So I Feel Badly, Even Though I Know I Shouldnt, And Then On Top Of That, As Im Talking To Jessica I Realize That I Had Left The Room (And Jackie) To Argue With My Ex, Sure Enough Jackie Is Packing Up Her Shit And Leaving As Im Coming Back Into The Room. Oh Gosh, How Can This Get Any Worse... I Can Open My Big Stupid Mouth, Of Course. And I Do Of Course. Luckily Jackie Seems To Really Like Me, So She Put Up With This Uncharacteristically String Of Stupid Decisions Pretty Well. So A Light At The End Of The Tunnel. While I Still Feel Badly About Hess, I Know Now How Important The Golden Rule Of A New Relationship Is (That Rule Being, Never Ever, Under Any Circumstances Mention Your Ex.) I Learned My Lesson...

I Did Not Learn My Lesson As It Applies To Vehicles However. My Fresh 92 Merc Cougar That I Just Payed Straight Cash For In February And Is My Lifeline Has Been Running Fairly Well For A Grandpa, Well Except That Blasted Wheel... "It Will Be Fine." I Said "Just Coz You Can See Radials Poking Out Doesnt Mean You Have To Change Your Tire."I Said. Wrong, Very Very Wrong... I Hopped Onto Highway Four On My Way To Work On Saturday, And As I Sped Up To Pass Some Turtle Going Eastbound With Me, An Explosive Sound Ripped Through My Ears And Made My Poor Old Car Begin To Shake. Well, A Blown Tire Isnt A Serious Problem For A Veteran Tire Changer Like Your's Truly. So I Had My Doughnut On With Time To Spare Before My 9:00 AM PST Start Time, And I Wasnt Even Gonna Be Late. So I Started My Car And Drove To Work... Except For The Starting My Car Part, And The Work Part. As A Matter Of Fact That Whole Last Sentance Was A Fantasy I Concocted While Sitting In The Sun On The Right Shoulder Of Eastbound Highway Four Trying To Will My Car To Start. It Just Wasnt Possible, A Blown Tire And A Broken Car. Oh My God. I Must Have Done Something Wrong To Incur Gods Vengeful Vehicluar Wrath... Oh I Neglected To Care For My Whip. Thats A Punishable Offence. Long Story Short, Got A Tow Home, And Now My Poor Old Lady(Kim Catrall I Call Her, Because Shes A Really Old Cougar... Do You Get It Or What?LOLOLOLOL)Is Just Sitting There Helplessly. I Need Some More Good Luck... Enclosed In This Post Is A Finished Picture Of "Lookin' Out My Backdoor" And A Picture Of Babygirl And I... Thanks For Listening... Tune In Tomorrow For New Music Tuesday, Where I Will Review The Dream's "Love King"

Love Always,

Antonio Michael Silvera!!!

NewsAndAMuse!!!

For All Of You Waiting On My Tuesday New Music Review Of Ke$ha's "Animal" Who Are Too Dense To Figure Out My Sense Of Humor, Youre Going to Be Waiting A Really Long Time, Not Only Was That Album A Waste Of Time And Money To Write And Record, It Is Almost A Bigger Waste Of Time To "Purchase",Listen, And Review... So Fuck New Music Tuesday. Its Wednesday Anyhow... A Lil' Bit Of News, This Young Lady (Currently Shall Remain Nameless To Protect Her Innocence Of Course) And I Have Been Spending Some Time Together. And While I Dont Want To Bore You With All Of The Aspects Of Our Blooming Relationship I Would Like To Describe The Effect It Has Had On Me Personally. First Of My Creativity Output Has Quadrupled Since Meeting Her, I Dont Know If Its Because She Is Some Kind Of Muse, (Or Something Trite Like That)Or Possibly Love Makes Me Creative. I Wouldnt Call What Ive Been In A "Slump" But It Was At Least Second Cousins To Slumpery. The Words Are Flowing Much More Freely Now That She Has Liberated The Dammed Up Waters Of Creativity That Used To Flow So Regularly Through Me. I Wanted To Post A Ball Point Drawing I Just 50% Completed, (I LOVE BALLPOINT SO UNDERRATED) It Is Her Elephant, But Hes Playing A Banjo, And Hes Not So Fucking Pissed. I Titled It "Out My Backdoor" Or "Bluegrass Pachyderm" Either One Seems To Work With The Subject Matter. I Hope That This Is Only The Meager Beginnings Of Something Great For Her And I And For My Art Portfolio And Song Index. I Can Only Imagine. And If The Art Is Anything Like The Sex It Gets Better Every Time. "JME+AMS" Thanks For Listening To This Soppy Cornball Rant, I Apologize, Its Just Been A Long Time Since Ive Been Able To Do That.

Love That Bounds Through The Barriers Of Time And Space,

Antonio Michael Silvera 7-7-2010

Ode To A Button...

The Button

A Poem Of Love By Antonio Michael Silvera

I Have To Resist The Urge To Move So Fast,
Because She’s Got Horsepower
I Have To Exercise Restraint When I Throttle Her.
I Don’t Want To Arrive At My Destination So Soon.
Because When She Grabs My Wrists
She Puts Them Behind My Head,
I Have To Resist The Urge To Cuff Her,
Immediately.
Because Shes On Fire,
I Have To Stay In The Wintery Cold
So I Don’t Burn Myself, Or Incinerate Us.
Because All That You Can Do With Ashes Is Attempt
To Reassemble Them From Memory, Always In Vain.
Because She Rakes Her Nails
Across The Ridges Of My Back,
Exhuming All Of The Corpses
Of Dead Feelings Put To Rest Long Ago,
I Have To Fight The Amorous Undead
From Rising Like Zombies From Their Graves,
To Feed On The Supple Infant Of Our Newborn Love.
Because I Cant Believe
Shes Not A Shade Of A Dream,
Waking Leftovers From Last Nights
Unconscious Buffet,
A Fading Imprint Left On My Mind
From Vignettes That Always Seem So Real
As They Are Being Portrayed
In Front Of Your Closed Eyes By A Schizophrenic
Cast Of Characters, I Pinch Myself To Draw Out Reality.
I Must Believe It, Because Shes Still Here.
Because She’s A Button I Have To Be Sure
To Press Her Just The Right Way.
Not Push Her Away, Or Press To Hard For Information.
Because She's A Button,
I Have To Resist The Urge To Sow Her Up,
Before She Gets Attached To Someone Else’s Pants.
But Ill Probably End Up Doing It Anyway.

The Elevator In The Room...

Sit Down Children And Ima Tell You A Little Story... This Particular Story Is True, And Took Place At My Work (Concord BMW Dealership Where I Am A Photographer) On Sunday June 26th 2010 @ About 6:25 (Sorry About The Lateness Of This Post I Had To Allow A Couple Of Days To Appreciate The True Hilarity Of The Story.) On This Particular Sunday I Had A Whole Flock Of Beemers To Photograph So I Decided, Even Though The Dealership Closes At 7pm, To Stay Until My Eight Hours Were Up At 6:30. I Work In A 3 Story Building Called The Annex And My Office Is On The Top Floor Of Said Building. Usually The Building Would Be Full Of All Sorts Of Dealership Types, But Not Sunday; Sunday Its Just Me And That Damned Elevator! So As Im Leaving I Stopped At The Second Floor To Turn The Lights Off And Save My Company Some Energy Moneys. I Was Currently Engrossed In Tool's Lateralus At The Climax Of The Song Reflection, So When I Got Back Into That Silver Casket To Descend To My Freedom I Didnt Notice The Buzzing Emenating From The Control Panel... After A Foolish Minute Of Waiting For The Door To Open As It Would Normally, I Took The Music Out Of My Ear And Became Alarmed When I Realized That The Elevator Was Screaming! I Pressed All Of The Floor Buttons Which Lit Up Accordingly, However Would Not Enable Me To Descend!

So Ever The Patient Person I Proceeded Not To Panic. When I Was Absolutely Certain That I Couldnt Force This Elevator To Let Me Out Of Its Deathgrip, I Pushed The Emergency Call Button And Was Immediately Put In Contact With Someone At The "OTIS" Elevator Company... (It Felt Like I Had Called 911) She Seemed Skeptical When I Told Her I Was Trappen In One Of Her Machines, And Asked Me Had I Ever Pressed The Door Open Button? "Uh, Yeah, I Pressed All Of The Buttons, Baby." I Patiently Replied. "Okay, Let Me Attempt To Get In Contact With Someone At The Dealership So They Can Come Let You Out." (Paraphrase Of Course.) Relieved By The Simplicity Of The Proceedure I Replied:"Okay, Sounds Good Sweetheart." After 15 Minutes Of Waiting To Hear Her Darling Voice Once More, And Calling All Of My Closest Friends To Inform Them Of The Current Catastrophy At Hand And Getting Nothing But A Hearty "That Sucks Bro." From All Of Them, She Finally Called Me Back With News That You Didnt Have To Be Clairvoyant To Forsee:"No One Is Answering At Your Dealership... I Left A Message, And They Might Call Back, But For Now Im Gonna Go Ahead And Send One Of Our Techinicians Your Way To Let You Out..." AWESOME!!! A Technician Would Assist Me In Escaping My Stainless Steel Coffin... "Do You Know When He Might Be Out Here, Darlin?" I Patiently Queried. "Nah Dawg, Just Chill.(In So Many Words...) I Wont Know Until I Get In Contact With The Technician. Then I Will Call You Back..." "Okay Sweet Thang." "You Cant Even Give Me An Estimate Angel?" My Patience Was Waning, As You Could Tell..."Nah, Ill Let You Know When I Talk To Him." Oh, Okay.:(

SO After Another Fifteen Minutes Of Waiting For My Girlfriend To Call Me Back On The Emergency Line, And Noticing The Smell Was Fairly Unpleasant And The Heat Was Getting To Be Unbearable I Got The Call I Was Waiting For... "So, A Technician Will Be There In Around An Hour..." "WHAT?" I Could Not Mask My Surprise. "Hes On Another Call, Hell Be There As Soon As Possible, But It Could Be At Least An Hour Probably More." "Okay Then, Bye." My Patience Was Exhausted, I Had Set A Predetermined Limit For How Much Time I Would Spend Consecutively In One Elevator, And An Hour+ Was Far Beyond Thoses Limitations... I Just Wanted to Go Home.

Well, Since I Was Going To Be Here For A While, And Since No One I Knew Was Capable Of Helping Me, I Guess I Better Just Roll With It. But Then! Eureka! An Idear. Ive Seen Numerous Movies That Have Documented Elevator Escape In One Way Or Another (Blankman, Mission: Impossible, Many More...) And It Always Seemed To Involve A Trapdoor Above The Lights In the Ceiling Of Said Elevator. I Would Just Shimmy My Way Into The Shaft And Make A Daring Escape All On My Own! I Was Not Helpless, My Love Of Ridiculous Movies And Tendancy For Remembering Trivial Aspects Of Them Would Help Me Out Of This Jam!!! SO Proud, But OH, WAIT!!! WHY IS THE FUCKING TRAPDOOR LOCKED? WHATS THE DAMN POINT!!!!! Oh Gosh, I Am Helpless!!! A Caged Rat, A Fish In A Barrel, An Ostrich At The Olive Garden. Helplessness Is Not My Favorite Quality! I Like To Be Able To Help Myself And Others Whenever Possible. And Now Not Only Was I Helpless, But I Wasnt Being Helped. Bully.

Resigned To Helplessness I Took My Shirt Off, Rolled Up My Pants And Watched "Always Sunny In Philidelphia" On My IPOD. It Was Fine, I Guess. I GUESS. It Could Have Been Worse... Someone Could Have Been In There With Me. Or Even Worse, Someone I Didnt Like Could Have... Luckily I Like Myself Plenty Fine, So It Wasnt Unbearable Even Though It Was A Nightmare. For The Remainder Of The Total 1:45 I Was Trapped, I Just Sat There Cursing Names And Considering What To Do With My Looming Freedom! How Would I Adjust To Life In The Outside? What If Things Had Changed Signifigantly During My Incarceration? While I Was Thinking These Thoughts Quietly To Myself The Otis Technician Knocked On The Elevators Steel Door To Make Sure It Wasnt Some Stupid Immature Prank. "No" I Assured Him, I really Couldnt Get Out Of There. So, Casually Enough, He Let Me Out... My Reception Party Was Weak To Say The Least, Literally Nobody Had Come To Wait To See My Pretty Face Once More!!! Until, Like A Firefighter Coming To Sweep Up The Ashes Of A Burned Down House, Slim Brunson Rides In Right As Im Walking To The Cougar! Talk About A Rescue. "Dont Worry About It Slim" I Said... And For All This, I Was Awarded Two Whole Hours Overtime, Several Inappropriate Chuckles From Co-workers And Friends, And A New Nickname: "Hey, Youre That Guy That Got Stuck In The Elevator!" I Prefer My Old Nickname: "Hey ASSHOLE!" Thanks For Listening, And Not Laughing, At Least Not Out Loud! LOL!!! Love, Always And Forever, ANTONIO MICHAEL "Hey, Youre That Guy That Got Stuck In The Elevator!" SILVERA 6/30/2010

A Escuchar II:

Welcome Back Folks To New Music Tuesdays!!! A ESCUCHAR BABY! I Know, This Is Completely Pointless, Every Other Blog Out There Is Dedicated To Reviewing New Music For The Artists And The Reader's Benefit. Well Im Going To Do It Again Anyway And Im Doing It For My Benefit, Not Yours Or The Artist's So If It Bugs You, Just Skip Over Tuesdays... Last Week I Reviewed Drake's "Thank Me Later" And It Recieved A Thumbs Up, (im Going To Keep The System Simple, Thumbs Up Means I Liked it, Thumbs Down Means I Hated It, A Palm Refers To Complete Indifference, And A Fist Means I Would Like To Punch All Parties Responible In The Mouth!!! Easy No?) This Week I Want To Review Two Rock Albums So Im Going To Keep Both Reviews Shorter (No More Rants About Degrassi) And More Music Oriented. Forgive Me If I Meander Onto A Tangent, Its What I Do...

First Up: Devo "Something For Everybody":

Well, Devo Is Back Huh? Awesome... You May Not Know This But, I Am A Huge Devo Fan. Even After "Dev 2.0" And Some Of Thier Other Disasterous Outings I Remain A Loyal Listener And Devotee, However: The Anticipation I Felt For Their New Album Was Dwarfed By The Fear And Anxiety I Felt That This Would Be A Dying Gasp, A Death Rattle For The Aging Punk Pioneers. After Seeing Them Perform "Freedom Of Choice" From Front To Back In San Francisco Last Year And Ruin 1/3 Of The Experience By Not Being The Tight Robots I Have Come To Expect From Watching Devo Live Videos In The Past, I Feared That My Love Of Devo Was Unreasonable And Waning. However Upon Several Listenings To Their New Release "Something For Everybody" And A Performance Of The Second Single "Fresh" On The Colbert Report My Fears Proved To Be Unjust. Devo Is Just As Capable Today Of Making A Good Album As They Were 30 Years Ago... While The Subject Matter Is A Little Tame For A Devo Album (I Think Attempting To Truly Provide Something For Everybody.) And There Are A Few Songs That, Were I On The Focus Group Panel They Used To Create This Album, I Would Have Rejected I Am Impressed By Any 30 Year Old Act That Creates A New Album With New Material And Manages To Keep It Fresh! While Maintaining The Devo Sound We Have All Come To Adore, Devo Experiments With New Less Robotic Synth Sounds And Even Brings Out The Talkbox (Autotune)! The Standout Tracks On The Album Include: Track#6 "Human Rocket" A Catchy Rock Tune With A Rippin' Bobby Mothersbaugh Guitar Solo That Even References "Duty Now" (So Exciting!!!) Track#3 "Please Baby Please" A Doo Woppy Track With Some Of The Most Interesting Synth Generated Melodies Ive Heard On A Recent Release. Track#11 "No Place Like Home" Which Starts With A Fucking Piano, So Very Un Devo You Could Call It Evo? And Down Tempo Verses That Make You Almost Want To Cry. I Even Love Their New Colors And Outfits!!! The Blue Is Very Becoming Of An Energy Dome, And The Album Cover Is A Gorgeous Woman Taking An Energy Dome Like A Valium!!! I Am Thoroughly Impressed By Devo's Leap Back Onto The Scene, And I Hope This Is Merely The Start Of The Revitilization Of Their Well Deserved Career! Thumbs Up!!!!!

Next Up:Deftones "Diamond Eyes":

Once Again, Another Band Trying To Make A Comeback, And The Verdict Is Out... Once Upon A Time I Used To Think The Sacramento California Hard Rock Band Deftones Was The Top Of The Pops. "Adrenaline" Is Still To This Day One Of My Favorite Rock Albums And Anything Up To "White Pony" I Was Ravenous For. But Something Happened With Me And Rock Music That I Just Cant Explain. My Passion For Deftones Fell By The Wayside Like Every Other Rock Band (Except For Tool And Melvins) That I Adored In High School. I Just Couldnt Keep Up... Deftones Subsequently Released Two Albums That I Ignored Completely, And I Was About To Ignore "Diamond Eyes" Just As I Had "Saturday Night Wrist" And "Deftones". But Then I Discovered Albums Could Be Magically Delivered To Your Ipod Via The Pirate Bay And Since This Discovery A "Torrential" Downpour Of Music Has Flooded My Desktop!!! So I Gave "Diamond Eyes" A Chance. And It Is Not As Much Of A Dissapointment As I Was Expecting. (I Know, Rave Reviews) I Genuinely Like It, Almost As Much As White Pony (Thats A Hell Of A Recommendation Folks). My Favorite Tracks (Although 9 Of The 11 Are Incredibly Good) Are As Follows: Track#4 "You've Seen The Butcher" Which Has A Very Interesting Compound Meter Metal Melody, And A Hulking Swinging Rythm To It That Is Very Un-Deftones. Although I Cant Understand Word 1 that Chino Moreno Is Singing, The Vocal Melodies Are Very Haunting In A Traditional Deftones Fashion. The Guitar Tone Is Gritty And Has A Blues Feel That Is An Interesting Addition To Their Dynamic. Track#7 "Rocket Skates" Is Probably My Favorite Song(And Has An Awesome Re-mix In The Version I "Purchased") Its Tempo Changes Show That While They Are Trying To Remain What Made Them Deftones In The First Place, They Are Maturing As Any Good Band (Metal or Not) Should. And This Is The Only Song Where Chino Eludes To What His Voice Was Once Capable Of. While Not The Screaming We Have Come To Expect From "Around The Fur" Or "Adrenaline" He Sure Does Screech Out Some High Notes, And He Has The Courtesy To Add In A "WHOOO" At The End Of Every Chorus. Just Awesome!!! Track# 9 "Risk" Is A Lil' More Down Tempo, But Not Quite Ballad. These Are Some Of The Only Words I Can Understand On the Album " I WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE, ILL DIE FOR YOU" Not Because He Is Screaming So Much, But Because His Beautiful Vocals Are Mixed So Completely Into The Music (A LA TOOL & MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN)But Because Its Downtempo And Beautiful Doesnt Mean "Risk" Doesnt Have A Metal Edge. The Drum Beat Is Menacing At Times, And Restrained At Others... It Doesnt Stop There, I Feel Like A Dick Giving Out All Of These Thumbs Up, But Jesus Both Of These Albums Scream "Comeback" To Me. And I Love The Cover Of This One Too! A White Owl Mid Flight With A Black Background With White Outline Block Letters. (Did They Have A Focus Group Too?) "Diamond Eyes" Really Has Caused Me To Rethink My Ignorance Of Deftones Last Two Albums. So I "Purchased" Their Entire Catalogue! IM Going To Give All Of Their Music A Relistening, And Im Not Ashamed To Admit That Deftones Have Reclaimed Their Place As One Of My Favorite Rock Bands. "Diamond Eyes" Gets Another THUMBS UP!!!!!!!! (I Dont Know If Ill Ever Give An Album A Thumbs Down, Oh Wait, Im Gonna Review Ke$ha's "Animal" Next Week, Get Prepared For A Thumbs Down Bitch.) Thanks For Listening And For Reading!!!!
Love, Tone:E (T1) 6/29/2010

A Escuchar:

Hello Again Old Friends And Lovers,
I would Like To Change The TONE Somewhat Momentarily, And Introduce A New Aspect Of This BLOG That Is Very Important To Me... This Is Going To Be A Regular Post Probably Coming About Once A Week Depending On How Diversified My Music Tastes Are In Said Week. Im Going To Call It "A Escuchar" Which Is Spanich For "To Listen". So Come With me And We Can Talk About Music (Or I Can Talk And You Can Listen Rather) For A Lil' Bit.

As You May Or May Not Be Aware, Tuesday Is The Requisite Day For New Releases In The Music Industry (Like Friday For Movies) And While Nothing This Week Has Really Interested Me Enough To "Purchase" It, There Are Some New Sonic Offerings I Would Like To Discuss. This Entry Will Not Center On New Music, But All Music That I Am Currently Enjoying, Or Is Making Some Sort Of Impact In This World:

First Off, New Entries:

-Drake "Thank Me Later"

Personally, I Have Been Anticipating This Major Label Debut Of Aubrey Grahm's Ever Since I Heard That The Dude Who Did That Song "Best I Ever Had" Was The Same Kid That Got Shot In The Back On "Degrassi: The Next Generation" Sometime In Early 2009. Let Me Explain, Ever Since I Was A Wee Sophomore In Highschool And My Girlfriend Got Digital Cable I Have Been Watching Canadian High School Drama "Degrassi: The Next Generation" Loyally. If Youre Okay With Basic Subtraction, And Aware That I Graduated In 2003, You Will Understand That This Was Shortly After The Show Premiered In America. I Watched As Young Jimmy And Ashley First Decided To Give Themselves Over To One Another And Then Decided That 8th Grade Was Far Too Soon. I Watched As Jimmy, Overwhelmed With The Pressures Of Highschool And His Father's Constant Absence Took His First Swig Of The Hard Stuff. I Watched As Rick, Bullied By All Of His Classmates After Harming His Girlfriend (Terri) Was Pushed The Brink And Put A Bullet In Jimmys Back Paralyzing The Poor Kid Before Putting A Bullet Into His Own Brain. I Even Watched As A Paralyzed Jimmy Tried to Overcome This Adversity By Joining The Band "Downtown Sasquatch" And Later After Frontman Craig Hit The Big Time Pick Up The Mic And Drop A Few Lines On Top Of His Reunited Girlfriend Ashley's Whack Ass Song To Much Praise Of All In Attendance At Degrassi's Talent Show (Much To Ashley's Chagrin."

I Know, The Drama Is Palpable!

So You Can Imagine My Excitement When I Heard That Aubrey Grahm Was Picked Up As A Fledgling MC By None Other Than Rap Pioneer Dwayne "Lil' Wayne" Carter My All Time Favorite Rap Artist. I Immediately "Purchased" the Mix-Tape "So Far Gone" And Was Thoroughly Impressed. "So Far Gone" In My Opinion Is A Cross-Over Masterpiece, Blending Hip Hop, Rap, And Even Some Rock Elements (Thanks To Downtown Sasquatch Im Sure) With Very Memorable Lines And Echoing Melodies That Still To This Day I Cannot Put Down. In All Front To Back, This Mixtape Sounds Very Much Like A Studio Album, Cutting The Bullshit That Other Mixtapes Are Wrought With (Drops, Crappy Intros, Shitty Covers) And Being Geniunely Enjoyable To Listen To From Front To Back, With Only A Few Songs That I Will Skip Over Regularly (I Just Dont Like "Lets Call The Whole thing Off" At All).

So Its Been A Long Couple Of Months Waiting To See What Drizzy The Kid Would Do When Given Creative Control Over A Studio Release. After Being Pushed Back Numerous Times Due To Thieves (Yeah, You Know You Tried To Steal It) "Thank Me Later" Was Finally Released On June 15th 2010!!! But, Alas, Hype Can Be The Driving Force Behind Album Sales Or It Can Be The Destroyer Of Even The Best Attempt... And I Think Hype Definitely Did Its Part To Sell "Thank Me Later" Short. After Not Reaching The Ambitious First Week Platinum Album Sales Precedent Set By "Tha Carter III" That Drake And Lil' Wayne Speculated It Would, One Has To Wonder If Had They Released The Album On Valentine's Day 2010 And Not Kept Hyping And Pushing, Hyping And Pushing (Just Because It Worked For Tha Carter III Doesnt Mean It Will Ever Work Again) Would It Have Reached That Fabled Platinum Status? In All, "Thank Me Later" Is An Incredible Debut. Star Studded Tracks Like "Fancy Feat. Swizz Beats, T.I." "Light Up Feat. Jay-Z" And "Up All Night Feat. Nicki Minaj" Genuinely Are Better Than Anything On "So Far Gone" And Drakes Crossover Appeal Is Obvious If Not A Little Bit Forced. He Does Have A Wonderful Voice, And Some Serious (Not Quite Lyrical Genius Mother Fuckin Wordsmith Status) Flow, But "Thank Me Later" Lacks Genuine Rap Gems Like "November 18th" And "Uptown Feat. Bun-b And Lil' Wayne" That "So Far Gone" Had In Droves. It Seems To Me He Was Trying Too Hard To Cater To Both R&B And Rap Fans On Every Song, Having Few Genuine R&B Tracks Like "A Night Off Feat. Lloyd" And "Bria's Interlude Feat. Omarion". The Singles Dont Have The Lasting Quality That A Single Should Have, And Seem Too Obvious To Make Them Timeless. However, The Ammount Of Effort Drake Put Into His Debut Is Clear, And While He Gets His Share Of Hate I Think That His Succsess Is Well Deserved. I Hope "Thank Me Later" Eventually Achives Its Deserved Platinum Status, Although Thats A Mighty Big Hope In The Era Of Torrents And Pirates. I Am Very Proud Of Little Jimmy Brooks For Growing Up Into A Big Strong MC And Becoming One OF The Most Talked About Artists Of The Last Year. If You Dont Have "Thank Me Later" Do Yourself A Favor And Buy It, Or Download It If Your Too Chicken To Spend Good Money On Something You Can Get For Free. It Gets Better With Every Listen And Hopefully Is Not The Last We Will Hear From Aubrey "Drake(Jimmy Brooks)" Graham. Ima Give This One A Thumbs Up Ladies And Gentlemen.
Antonio Michael Silvera 6/23/2010

Cast Of Characters:

If You Really Plan On Following This Blog, It Is Impertive That You Are Familiar With Some Of the Names I Will Be Mentioning Throughout. As Much As My Posts Resemble Some Kind Of Demented Fiction, I Assure You They Are All Grounded In Reality In Some Way. Each Character's Name Will Be Followed By Some Sort Of Limited Description, And Although I Will Do My Very Best To Alter Some Aspects Of The Character (To Protect The Innocent, And The Guilty Alike) I Will Be Keeping Most Of Them Very Accurate, So As to Give You An Idea Of Some Of The Shit I Perpetually Have To Deal With. Without Further Adieu Ladies And Gentlemen, The Cast Of Harmonic Intervals Of Tone:E :

Antonio Michael Silvera: The Protaganist And Narrator Of Our Little Tale. An Aspiring Illustrator And Musician, Antonio Is Filled With Delusions Of Grandeur And Impending Fame That Sometimes Keep Him Detached From Responsibilities. A California Native, Antonio Graduated High School, But Never Really Succeded In College. He Struggles Everyday With The Duality Of His Personality, Sometimes Gently Nudging Him One Way; Other Times Forcing Him Toward Others.

Chesty "Fuzz" Laroux: Chesty Is Antonio's Only Full Brother. He Is Two Year's Antonio's Junior And He And His Sheboygan Raised Girlfriend "Bunny" Currently Live With Our Humble Narrator In Martinez California. Chesty And Antonio Being Born Of The Same Parents Within Such A Near Temporal Proximity To One Another Grew Up, And In Spite Of Some Stark Differences Remain Close. Chesty Laroux Is Currently Struggling To Overcome Some Obtrusive Obstacles (Joblessness, No Immediate Sense Of Direction) Including An Affinity For Basically All Narcotics.

Slim Brunson: Slim Brunson Is One Of Antonio's More Respected And Liked Friends. He Grew Up In A City Reffered To As "Cow Town" That Is Just A Few Dozen Miles To The Northeast Of Martinez, And Moved To Martinez In 2002 Where He Joined Antonio In Finishing High School. Slim Brunson Recently Joined The United States Air Force, And Will Be Leaving Some Time In Late Summer.

Matches P. Legless: Antonio's Oldest And Dearest Freind. Antonio, Matches, And Chesty Have Been Really Good Friends For The Last Eighteen Years, And Matches (After Running Into Some Trouble In His Hometown) Joined The United States Army And Is Currently Serving A Tour In Afghanistan. Although They Dont Talk Much Anymore Because Of The Distance And The Circumstances Antonio And Matches Remain Thick As Molasses, And After His Tour Is Over And He Returns Home Safely Will Surely Continue To Have One Another's Backs.

D.W. Foley Another Of Antonio's Dear Friends, D.W. And Antonio Met In Highschool When D.W. Was A Sophomore And Antonio Was A Freshman. While Very Different People Fundamentally, There Are Striking Similarities In Them That Have Kept Them Close Friends. D.W. Is By Far The Tallest Person In Our Lil' Story At A Towering 6'6.6" (I Know Isnt It Keen?) At One Point In His Life D.W. Suffered From A Head Wound While In The Depths Of A Malignant Mushroom Trip And Genuinely Hasnt Been The Same Since. Now Him And The Narrator Get Along Much Better Than They Would Have Sans Head Trauma.

Edge "ACUBANG" Garcia: Possibly The Coolest Of The Cast(With The Exception Of The Narrator Of Course, Coz Im A Cool Motherfucker) Edge Is Antonio's Cousin And Former Roommate. Edge Is Currently Romatically Involved With Antonio's Ex-Girlfriends Best Friend, And Is Living In A Town To The East Called:"Baypoint"

Mackie Burgess: Mackie Burgess Is Another Of Antonio's Good Friends And Plays Drums In The Band "ORPHANMAKER" That Is Fronted By Antonio (Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Songwriting) Mackie Is Antonio's Hiking Buddy, The Two Recently Spent A Week In The Yosemite Valley Fending Off Wildlife And Foraging For Berries. Mackie Is Also Romantically Involved With Antonio's Ex-Girlfriends Other Best Friend (I KNOW, WEIRD RIGHT?) Named Krusty Loser. Mackie Is Probably Who The Narrator Consider's Antonio's Best Freind, Even Though Hes A Total Dick.

Messica Jay Prick: The Ex Girlfriend, A Real Bitch (Nah, Im Not Bitter.)Used To Be The Most Important Player In The Story, Until The Climax Of The Second Act When She Ran Off To Australia For Some Reason Or Another. Since Returning Stateside Genuinely Believes She's Better Than Antonio, And He Doesnt Have The Heart To Tell Her The Obvious Truth That She Is Very Wrong. A Sad Story, But A Character's Involvement In This Story Is Voluntary, And Unwilling Players Will Be Replaced The Moment A Qualified Applicant Comes Around. Messica Still Makes Occasional Appearences, Just To Confuse The Narrator. Fuck Her.hahaha

There Are Other Characters Of Moderate To Extreme Importance But Ill Be Damned If The Post Isnt So Long Its Nearly Unreadable... Sorry Folks. Youll Catch On To The Other Characters As They Appear....

A Brief (And Very Strange) Introduction...

Good Morning World, Allow Me A Moment To Introduce Myself: "Ahem, My Name Is Antonio Michael Silvera! Very Nice To Meet Most Of You..." Okay, With That Out Of The Way Lets Get On With More Pressing Issues. First Off: Why Are You Here?

Dont Worry I Can Explain That To You. You See, You Have Been Following A Path That Leads Simultaneously Through The Wilderness Of Your Reality, And Along The Spacial/Temporal Axis That Make Our Collective Reality... You Dig? This Path Is Actually A Beaten Old Dirt Road That At One Point Was Paved However Now Looks Almost As Though It Never Existed In The First Place. The Name Of This Road Is Unincorperated Township Road No.9, However The Faded Road Sign At The Intersection Up Ahead Reads "Consciousness Rd."

If You Were To Turn Right At This Crossroads(Toward The Southwest) Onto Unincorperated Township Road No. 6 You Would Be Following Another Road "Consciousness Ave."(Very Unoriginal Names In The Unicorporated Township, Hence The Renaming Of All Of The Roads) Along My Temporal Timeline. Currently We Are At This Intersection ("Harmonic Intervals Of Tone:E") Waiting For Something To Happen. But We Musnt Wait For Too Long, For You Know The Kind Of Awful Things That Are Said To Happen At Crossroads: Vampires, Devils, Witches, Ghouls, Important Decisions...

So Before One Of These Terrifying Creatures Saunter Up From Open Plains Surrounding This Junction Make Your Decision:

Continue Along "UTR #9" Or Hang An Abrupt Right Onto "UTR #6"

Its Really Your Choice, However The Purpose Has Planned For Your Indecisiveness And After Twenty Minutes Of Mulling It Over This Massive Gorgon/Harpy Flies Down From An Unseen Perch And Screeches In Your Ear When You Try To Continue Along Any Road But "UTR No.6". It Is Warning You That You While You Have A Choice In Roads To Follow, Every One But Taking A Right On "UTR No. 6" Ends With Your Bones Bleaching In The Unforgiving Sun Of The Plains. So Comply, Because The Purpose Has Much Grander Plans For You Than To Be A Meal For One Of The Awful Things That Come Out Of The Wilderness Of UTR NO.6!!!

GOOD, YOU MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE.

"WELCOME TO UNINCORPORATED TOWNSHIP ROAD NO. 6 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN"
(And Thanks For Indulging In This Ridiculousness With Me. I Promise They Wont All Be Like This)