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Aug. 15th, 2005 04:10 pmIt's been just under 3 months since I quit smoking (again). I don't even think about it. Hard to believe there was a time where I did think about it, every hour or so. Nicotine free, baby!
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I'm convinced System of a Down is actively trying to be worse and worse every album as a social experiment. "Hmmm, that last piece of junk went multi-platinum," they muse. "Let's see if they'll buy this next one!" It's particularly annoying to me as their music is great, and Serj's vocal ability is unique and excellent. Their lyrics, however.... Dan Quayle could write lyrics with better composition and style.
In a similar vein (so to speak), I liked Disturbed's The Sickness and loved Believe, so I was thinking Disturbed might have blitzed the sophomore slump before it had a chance to take hold. First hit albums for bands tend to be the result of months or years of testing in front of fickle club audiences. Once the album hits and a new album is demanded, bands don't have the opportunity to tweak and test songs in front of an "objective" audience any more. They're either overrun by fans and yes-men, or they have to compose in isolation. A good (or better) second album is usually a sign of a band in which decent talent outweighs pure luck. However, I've been listening to "Stricken" off their new album Ten Thousand Fists, and...it's not bad. It's not great, either. I'm kinda wishy-washy on it. Which makes me disappointed in them.
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I'm convinced System of a Down is actively trying to be worse and worse every album as a social experiment. "Hmmm, that last piece of junk went multi-platinum," they muse. "Let's see if they'll buy this next one!" It's particularly annoying to me as their music is great, and Serj's vocal ability is unique and excellent. Their lyrics, however.... Dan Quayle could write lyrics with better composition and style.
In a similar vein (so to speak), I liked Disturbed's The Sickness and loved Believe, so I was thinking Disturbed might have blitzed the sophomore slump before it had a chance to take hold. First hit albums for bands tend to be the result of months or years of testing in front of fickle club audiences. Once the album hits and a new album is demanded, bands don't have the opportunity to tweak and test songs in front of an "objective" audience any more. They're either overrun by fans and yes-men, or they have to compose in isolation. A good (or better) second album is usually a sign of a band in which decent talent outweighs pure luck. However, I've been listening to "Stricken" off their new album Ten Thousand Fists, and...it's not bad. It's not great, either. I'm kinda wishy-washy on it. Which makes me disappointed in them.
