The Art

// writing //
StageWrite was rather successful! Rockin' Beatz, naturally, was a crowd favorite. I have performed it ten times since Friday afternoon. Wheeee.

// photo //
My first roll for Photo class came out meh; the second came out mostly meh. Lots of blur that wasn't supposed to be there- damn shaky hands.

The Music

// recommendations //
Today's recommendation is a band called Sieges Even- some more good ol' prog rock. The Art Of Navigating By The Stars is a good album.

Last week in music:

The Art

// photo //
Developed my first real roll earlier this week; I probably have one or two decent shots off of that.

// writing //
Two of my pieces were accepted into StageWrite, the ultimate DHS performance of poetry and prose: "Sonnet 1" and "Rockin' Beatz". At least the latter will certainly be super fun to perform.

The Music

// recommendations //
For you post-rockers out there, you probably already know about Explosions In The Sky, Mogwai, and Red Sparowes-- if not, listen.

For you prog-rockers out there, you probably already know about The Flower Kings and its various offshoots and side-projects (Karmakanic, The Tangent among them). If not, listen.

For you metalheads out there, you probably already know about Sonata Arctica. If not, listen.

For you jazz-rockers out there, you probably already know about Return to Forever. If not, what is wrong with you? It's like in the undisputed top 3 fusion bands of all time.

Today's albums to check out:
Explosions In The Sky: The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
Mogwai: Happy Songs For Happy People
Red Sparowes: At The Soundless Dawn
The Flower Kings: Unfold The Future
Karmakanic: Wheel Of Life
The Tangent: The Music That Died Alone
Sonata Arctica: Ecliptica
Sonata Arctica: Winterheart's Guild
Return to Forever: Romantic Warrior

The Life

What life?

The Art

// photo //
There's basically one shot worth looking at from my first roll, maybe two or three at best. (Better than I expected!) My scanner is t3h sux0r so I may or may not get to submit to my scraps. If I do, remember that the quality is awful in part because of my scanner ^^ Looking forward to actually developing my shots by hand, so I can at least have an 8x10 to scan.

The Music

// recommendations //
Alright, so in my last journal entry I kind of offhandedly mentioned Riverside as a band worth checking out. Let me clarify. RIVERSIDE OWNS. I just listened to Out of Myself and Second Life Syndrome back-to-back, and I have to say that the latter is one of the best albums of 2005. (And it has Dream Theater: Octavarium and Sufjan Stevens: Illinois to compete with!) If I had to compare Riverside to anything, I would say it's somewhere between late Porcupine Tree (Stupid Dream onward) and Devin Townsend. Check Second Life Syndrome out, you'll be impressed.

The Life

// mmorpgs //
This is hilarious, at least in my eyes. Just as my interest in Guild Wars started to re-wane, I was informed that a particular MMORPG had recently become free, at least in a slightly crippled state. So, I loaded up my Java interpreter to make a brand-new character on--yes--Puzzle Pirates! Turns out I've spent long enough away from the pentominoes and gunpowder that (a.) it's once again interesting, and (b.) I kinda suck again! Thankfully, since I'm not paying for the thing, I can feel comfortable with only playing casually. I'm currently looking for a crew that is talented enough to pull in good money but friendly enough to accept a casual player. And learning how to reach Ultimates again. (At least I still own Shipwrightery- I wasn't 7th in the ocean for nothing. Still get Incredibles every time ^^)

The Art

// photo //
So now I am a photo n00b, 11 shots into my first roll. How cute! I'm looking forward to seeing how this roll turns out, so that I know how far I have to go yet. I consider myself a pretty objective and fair critic of art, especially photography, and so it will certainly be interesting to see how far my first shots fall below my usual standards. Thank God I'm at least familiar with Photoshop; I can cheat minor camera errors a little bit.

// writing //
The other day I submitted five of my pieces to StageWrite, my school's verbal presentation (if you will) of poetry and prose. Beats me if I'll get anything in; performing poetry would be a fun experience though.

// visual art //
I might scan some fun cartoony characters I drew a while back and put them in my scraps soon. Iced Toga Man is brilliant.

The Music

// smrq //
I've been working on Legionary Fanfare for too long now, and I think that the long process has finally approached its conclusion. The latest MP3 is available at my webspace; no major recent changes to that except the exchange of an english horn in for the oboe in the solo section at the modulation to Bb minor. I've been working almost exclusively in Finale, getting the actual score ready for our ACTUAL BAND to play, and I get to extract the parts today and hand them over to Mr. B within the week. At that point, it will be pretty much officially over. w00t.

Also: I never mentioned it before, but I went out on a limb and performed an extremely dumbed down version of "The Blind Messenger" a few weeks ago, solo voice y acoustic guitar. It was a good experience; performance freaks the hell out of me when I'm not used to it, and I'd really like to play or sing in a band sometime. Just have to get better at singing and guitar!

// recommendations //
Sufjan Stevens--- It's about damned time that I heard Sufjan Stevens; Illinois is probably my favorite album at the moment. "Casimir Pulaski Day" absolutely owns. You have no excuse not to listen. See this review for more information on why Sufjan is your new favorite musical artist.

Devin Townsend--- For the fans of heavier prog. Devin never reaches the raw growling of Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt, but can get a bit screamy at times--not that that should stop anyone from listening, because it is done very tastefully. His 2006 release Synchestra is a great place to start, being at once modestly accessible and still true to the core Devin Townsend sound. It's probably his most progessive and least metal album. If you happen to like the metal half, perhaps check out Accelerated Evolution.

Today's other recommended listening--- Kevin Gilbert, Polyphonic Spree, Riverside, The Books

For older recommendations--- The Music Entry

The Life
My life basically revolves around school, Legionary Fanfare, and Joppa at the moment. It's sort of a sad existence; meh. College will come around soon enough. No videogames for now to speak of.

By the way, my sister recently (like in the last couple days) became officially engaged; w00t for her. The wedding won't be until she graduates from college, I'm sure; either way, I'm really happy for her. Her fiancee is rather nice and has good taste in music ^^ (but bad taste in MMORPGs- WoW? bah!) Both of them are going into music, so they're screwed financially, but hey- whatever. Roll the bones, eh?

The Links
My last.fm
smrq

New additions:
Ayreon
Gordian Knot
RPWL
Arena
Kino
Marillion
Talking Heads
Bass Communion
Riverside
Jim's Big Ego
Red Sparowes

I just had an idea for the medium that I think would be perfect for this little project. I'm going to look into setting up a wiki (or see if there already is one!) that can contain reviews of bands and suggestions for other bands to listen to if you like any particular one. That would be neat.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
- I thought this band was obscure until I saw the liner notes of their triple (!) album Little Worlds, which seems to indicate that they know everyone important in the music industry and asked them to play on the album. They're somewhat like a mixture of bluegrass and jazz, combining Bela Fleck's banjo with Jeff Coffin's sax, alongside Victor Wooten's awesome bass and Futureman's, ah, synth percussion oddness. Recommended albums: Little Worlds, Outbound. (Off The Top from Little Worlds is phenomenal.)

Dream Theater
- Features incredible musicianship, incredible diversity in composition, and almost perfect production. (Almost, because the bass, John Myung, is almost universally mixed too low. He shreds on a goddamn six-string bass, and they don't even let you hear it. I had no idea how skilled he was until I saw Dream Theater live.) Their concept album masterpiece is Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory, which is fantastic on just about every listen. (I've listened to it fairly obsessively for at least 2 years now, and it's still fresh and original.) Other highlights include... their entire discography. Images and Words is a good place to start if you're coming to the band from a prog rock background; Train of Thought, or maybe Awake, is a good starting place if you're into harder metal. Almost every group in progressive metal today has been influenced significantly by Dream Theater's music.

James LaBrie
- Dream Theater singer. I haven't listened much to the MullMuzzler albums, which are supposedly pretty good, but I am familiar with his recent solo album, Elements of Persuasion. If you want the soft James LaBrie from Dream Theater songs like Disappear and Through My Words, look elsewhere- this is heavy stuff, all the way through.

The Jelly Jam
- Supergroup trio featuring Ty Tabor (King's X), John Myung (Dream Theater), Rod Morgenstein (Dixie Dregs). It's been described by the members as more or less a straight-ahead rock group that slips progressive elements into the music when critics of prog won't notice. In that way, The Jelly Jam is an easy group to get into; rarely complex for its own sake, they focus on making great catchy songs first and then complicate them once you're in the groove.

Joe Satriani
- Extraordinarily talented guitarist with a very distinctive style. Almost every song he has done is purely instrumental (and to be honest, those that aren't tend to make me wish he had stuck to the instrumentals). Frequently touted as a "vocal" guitarist, Satriani proves that you don't need a vocalist to do verse-chorus-verse well- his guitar does all the singing you need. Backing band is irrelevant- all of his albums are like solo albums, except that he doesn't have a standard band to get away from. Highlights: Is There Love In Space?, Crystal Planet, Engines Of Creation (if you like a bit of electronica with your guitar). Other than John Petrucci, my guitar god of choice.

John Petrucci
- Dream Theater guitarist. AFAIK, only has one solo album, but a good one: Suspended Animation. If you like Dream Theater and/or Joe Satriani, you'll enjoy it. If you're not familiar with either Dream Theater or Satriani, you should probably listen to them first.

Jordan Rudess
- Current Dream Theater keyboardist. Has lots of fine solo albums, generally either classical piano (4NYC, Secrets of the Muse) or progressive rock (Feeding the Wheel, Rhythm of Time). The former should appeal to any fan of classical solo piano; Rudess is immensely talented not only technically, but expressively. And the prog rock albums are excellent if you have any appreciation for the keyboard in rock music; Rudess shreds on his synths like no other could. The four albums already noted are recommended.

King Crimson
- Arguably the fathers of progressive rock as we know it, thanks to their landmark (first!) album from 1969, In The Court Of The Crimson King. It's very difficult to know where to start with this band, as they have been undergoing constant shifts in instrumentation, members, and direction. I would recommend starting at the beginning with In The Court, with 1981's Discipline, or the latest album, The Power To Believe. All showcase extremely different bands- the only member that has been a part of the group in its 36-year history is Robert Fripp, lead guitarist. Adrian Belew, other lead guitar and vocalist, joined with Discipline, although he still sounded very different in 1981 than now. Also recommended: Lizard (for the fans of In The Court), The ConstruKction of Light (for fans of The Power To Believe). It's hard to give them a proper try without going through the entire discography, though.

Liquid Tension Experiment
- Supergroup featuring John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) and Tony Levin (King Crimson). Put out two great albums, although they're not making any more because after Jordan Rudess joined Dream Theater, they decided it was silly to basically make instrumental Dream Theater albums with Tony Levin. Liquid Tension opts for straight-ahead prog jamming, and all their songs flow along naturally in their complex technical brilliance.

MullMuzzler
- Band that is essentially James LaBrie's side-project, and it sounds like it. Imagine Dream Theater with a heavier emphasis on the vocals, and you've got MullMuzzler- the band is pretty standard prog-rock/metal fare, and the vocals are just like early Dream Theater (reminds me of the Awake era). It's worth picking up if you're a fan of LaBrie and want something different than Elements of Persuasion.

Opeth
- I dislike most of their discography, thanks to the phenomenon that =BlueStrata and I like to call "Cookie Monster voice". Satanic death metal growl-singing sucks. Yet the sad thing is that Opeth's vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt has a beautiful voice about 50% of the time. Thus, I recommend listening to their album Damnation, which is thankfully 100% cookie-free, leaving only a hauntingly rich voice. Damnation was also produced by Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson (who also supplies the occasional keyboard and backing vocal), a spectacular sound engineer. If you're not scared away by a little Cookie Monster, you might also like to check out Ghost Reveries, which is about 90% cookie-free.

O.S.I.
- Supergroup featuring Jim Matheos (Fates Warning), Kevin Moore (Chroma Key, ex-Dream Theater), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Sean Malone (Gordian Knot, ex-Cynic). Laid-back vocals complemented by a pretty talented and rocking band (they keep up with Mike) and some cool hints of electronica influence in the keyboards/samplers (think early Dream Theater, thanks to Kevin Moore, but moreso) make for a refreshing blend that's enough of a change from Dream Theater's often-copied prog rock sound to be worth checking out in its own right. A second album is apparently in the works, so there's something to look forward to.

Pink Floyd
- I'm not the right person to deal this group justice, as I am largely a PF n00b. I recommend most of what I have heard: Wish You Were Here in particular (the one album of theirs that I have listened to for a long time), but also The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon. This is, of course, another one of those groups that you have to live under a rock to be entirely ignorant of.

Porcupine Tree
- Originally a joke, then a solo project, and now a band, Porcupine Tree is the child of guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist/sound engineer/musical genius Steven Wilson. Vocals layered with the sweet density of Yes but a modern rock sound characterize later PT; earlier is more psychedelic rock, obviously influenced by at least stories of LSD trips (Voyage 34, Up The Downstair). I would like to add that Steven Wilson is a phenomenal sound engineer, producing his own albums to perfection. The production on every album from Up The Downstair onward (that's basically all of them) is basically perfect, to even the most discerning ear. Even if you don't know why, you will probably notice that PT's music just sounds... good. That's part good songwriting, part good instrumentalism, and part good production. Favorite albums: Lightbulb Sun, Stupid Dream, In Absentia, The Sky Moves Sideways, Up The Downstair, Deadwing, maybe in that order.

Queensryche
- I didn't feel like putting the two dots above the Y like you're supposed to. Looking at their whole history, I would say that Queensryche is a metal-turned-progressive-metal-turned-progressive-poppish-rock group, although a more fair representation would be to say that they were prog metal from 1988's Operation: Mindcrime to 1994's Promised Land. Those 3 albums (O:M, Empire, PL) are definitely worth checking out. Vocalist Geoff Tate is one of the best voices in progressive music, and is certainly in his prime in that era. There are a lot of high notes on O:M that are quite impressive. The band is also very good, of course, but it's the singing that really sets it apart. As far as I'm concerned, the band started in '88 and ended in '94, though- nothing before or certainly after comes close, especially after lead guitarist and composer Chris DeGarmo left one album later. Operation: Mindcrime is one of my favorite concept albums, by the way, and that says quite a lot. The story is fantastic, and the music sets it off perfectly- like the Dream Theater: Scenes From A Memory of the '80s.

Rush
- Rush is a very talented trio that makes music like a quintet. The vocalist/bassist Geddy Lee is somewhat of an acquired taste for many people, and his unusually high-pitched voice probably turns away as many people from the group as it attracts. I didn't like them at the first, second, or probably fifth listen. However, the more I grow accustomed to it the more I like it. Beware of early Rush if you aren't prepared for the highest male vocals you've ever heard. (I learned to like them by listening to 2112 over and over until I got used to it. I don't recommend the approach.)

Shadow Gallery
- I was lucky enough to catch one of their songs playing on a prog rock internet radio station, and I've loved them ever since. They are obviously part of the progressive metal movement that initially sought to copy everything good about Dream Theater; however, they still bring something original to the table, although I'm not entirely sure what. Whatever- it's good music. Check out Room V, Tyranny, and possibly Legacy. (If you intend to check out two albums, listen to Tyranny and Room V in order, as they form Acts I-IV of an overlying story.) They're a little on the obscure side, so it might be hard to find their music. It's worth the effort.

They Might Be Giants
- TMBG has been my longest-lasting passion with regards to music, as I have been a fan for no less than eight years. That's more than half of my life. TMBG is a quirky and fun group with an equally quirky and fun fanbase. Also, if you go to a TMBG show, get a shirt or two! I guarantee that the next time you wear it to a mall that you stay in for at least an hour, someone will come up to you and at least comment on how they love TMBG. It's funny, because TMBG feels obscure enough that any fan of the band seems like some sort of personal friend, even though they're much more popular than you would believe. Hell, there's a TMBG song in a DDR mix. Anyway, listen to them. Start with the classics (Flood, Apollo 18), and continue chronologically- although, every album is extremely accessible and probably a good starting place.

Transatlantic
- Supergroup featuring Neal Morse (Spock's Beard), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Pete Trewavas (Marillion) and Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings). I'm only familiar with Bridge Across Forever, but it's a decent album. Note that every song on it is LONG- only one clocks in at less than 14 minutes, and the longest is 30 flat. Sounds like a modern take on the classic progressive rock sound (it's reminiscent of Yes and Pink Floyd as much as it is of the four bands that the members come from).

The Who
- Because I needed proof that I listen to non-prog occasionally. Why haven't you listened to them yet? If you've managed somehow, I personally recommend Tommy, Who's Next, The Who By Numbers, and then Quadrophenia once you're ready for a double-length concept album.

Yes
- Well, there's not much to say about the group that brought Roundabout to the world. Instrumentally, they are naturally very strong; Jon Anderson is also a very fitting vocalist, and his particular brand of high singing is nothing like the brash, edgy sound of Rush. Classical in song structure, Yes songs tend to meander across many themes rather than returning to a solid chorus frequently. And their lyrics make no sense at all. I recommend Fragile (featuring Roundabout, Long Distance Runaround, Heart of the Sunrise) and Close To The Edge (title track, And You And I, Siberian Khatru- and that's the whole album). Actually, I recommend picking up Yes Highlights, because although I hate greatest hits albums, the average listener will not lose much if anything from being limited to that particular album. Yes' best work is basically all there.

Other artists:

A Perfect Circle
Arena
Autolux
Ayreon
The Arcade Fire
Bass Communion
Blue Oyster Cult
The Cars
Coldplay
The Crystal Method
Depeche Mode
Dreamlily
ELO
The Flower Kings
Frameshift
Genesis
Gordian Knot
Happy The Man
Herbie Hancock
Jethro Tull
Keller Williams
Kino
Machinae Supremacy
Marillion
Mike Oldfield
Mogwai
Mono Puff
Muse
Niacin
Nickel Creek
No-Man
onoken
Pain of Salvation
Platypus
Puff Dragon
Queen
Radiohead
R.E.M.
Riverside
RPWL
Rhapsody
Russian Circles
smrq
Spock's Beard
Steven Wilson
System of a Down
Talking Heads
TaQ
The Tangent
Umphrey's McGee

If you're an extremely cool person and have more suggestions, just leave a comment! Preferably note band name, a good album or two to start with, and maybe a little write-up of your own. Thanks!

If you want to find new progressive bands (or just listen to classics), check out Delicious Agony Progressive Rock Radio at [link] - it's a fantastic internet radio station that plays a very wide selection of progressive music, from the old favorites like Yes and Pink Floyd to the new favorites like Dream Theater to the unknown. Definitely worth a listen!