Holy shit… I missed all of 2014 and most of January 2015.

So, here am I back after a near 13 month hiatus, wondering why the hell I didn’t write at all during the previous number of months.  Writing for Cultura is slow, but steady; the Lay of Seidenbard is still slowly (read: very slowly) progressing.  Further, I’m no longer a bureaucrat.  I departed from the steady progress I’d been doing for a number of reasons, all of which I hope to express and discuss further.  I also intend to write a music review a week, offer an update on Cultura/the Lay once per week.  I won’t have much more time than that as I’m moving to start a scientific job within the next week to the east coast.

Like previously, I hope to feature songs and/or a inspirational piece of art once per day (some of Paimona’s newer pieces, if possible).

The section in which I make excuses:

So… why didn’t I write for a damn year and month?  Simple: I was exhausted.  Being more prone to quiet introspection and carrying a generally introverted disposition, my position within the monolithic pyramid could either be performed coldly or spun in a more humanistic way.  Being a metal fan, I decided to rebel against the standard order of business and applied far more supportive techniques; the end result being that I was available and open to my subordinates and their clients as often as I could allow.  The structure does not like this, I noticed, but it won me high praise from my direct managers.  However, the interpersonal interaction that faced the typical day’s work left my nerves and mind to an absolute frazzle (as my very Southern forebears would say).

In the interest of full disclosure as I still maintain a level of anonymity here, my position was as a specialist and later a supervisor at a Department of Human Services (in some states, Social Services) in a small, southern flyover state.  The overall state’s population is unimportant, but suffice to say that it is a poor, historically so, state with poor access to education and a history of segregation.  This office is located in one of the larger counties in the state, exhibiting both very urban (for the state) and rural populations with a far higher degree of diversity than the flyover states are often considered as having.  In the local area, there is a major state run university, a private fundamentalist Christian university, several community colleges, and a number of vo-technical schools.  Major companies in the area are dominated by a global, multibillion US Dollar per year company and its satellite vendor companies, agribusinesses of all types, and transportation.  In other words, there are a lot of people (and goods) coming in and out of the area for a variety of reasons.

The agency itself evokes a snapshot of feudalistic grandeur both (a testament to medieval law and administration).  Many hours travel from the capital city of the flyover state, the county office sits tucked into a curious hinterland – one that is very much part of the state and the other that is very much independent of it at the same time.  This dissonance was astounding.  Previous to the October 2013 threshold (see the link for further information), the role of the specialist within the agency was to interview, document, and dispose (official term for completing) of applications for SNAP (formerly known as Food Stamps), TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families – formerly welfare), and Medicaid (services ranging from children’s programs to medicare assistance).  After ACA began in October 2013 and after the policy writers and managers returned to their jobs, Medicaid became a mostly automated system with applications occurring through the Federal Healthcare Marketplace or the State Healthcare Marketplace.  Hospitals hired specialists away from the agency and governmental contractors did as well, because the positions paid better, offered better hours, and better benefits.  All these are valid reasons for leaving employment, especially after the threshold of fear ramped up due to the governmental shut down.

Returning to the new marketplaces, it became evident early that were a number of issues with the new web-based data hub driven system.  This was explained effectively by a high ranking member as “attempting to build the airplane after we’d all ready taken off.”  Due to the new income thresholds, the number of new available categories for Medicaid eligibility, and a relaxation in some policies, more people than ever were eligible for Medicaid services, ranging from full coverage (very few) to assistance in paying private premiums.  The hiccups in the system and the delay in training made serving the valid questions of these individuals difficult, time consuming, and heart wrenching for both parties involved.

Having become a supervisor a earlier in the same year this unfurled, I came to realize my role as defined by the agency was to review cases of all types for accuracy, ensure timeliness, and to maintain some semblance of order/discipline.  In actuality, the role needed to be redefined. Accountability needed to be shared to all points of the team, transparency needed to rule (where it could, obviously one need not violate the places where it was not allowed), and the staff needed a leader that was available, open, and honest.  The clients needed this more than anything, because the emphasis returned to focus on the barest fact – the currency of the agency’s work is generally the people that we serve and not the statistics that they become when their application is approved or denied.

Personally, 2014 opened with a heartbreak.  Paimona and I had discovered that we were pregnant (we’d been trying for nearly 4 years to have another child).  We miscarried to start the year and I had to center myself to her grief to help her heal from it (you never do, I don’t think… there are times when I still think on it and cry).  Fortunately, we have an awesome, wonderful, scientifically minded big kid with a great attitude, a beautiful smile, and a penchant to give the best hugs for which a dad could ever ask (her team went undefeated in softball! in the Spring)  This, though she was just as heartbroken, was the only way we were able to pull ourselves from it.  My role as a bureaucrat began taking between 45-60 hours per week, my second job began taking 10-20 hours a week, and the rest of it was devoted to family.  This is why it’s such a BIG DEAL that I got a single job, performing science for one company, earning as much as I would working both currently.

These facts combined resulted in the loss of my “ear” as it were for music.  I was too tired, emotionally and mentally, to fully devote my time and energy to that when I had so many other projects going.  Therefore, I had to abandon this dream here, which is something I appreciate when it works well to keep my nose to the grindstone and continue writing.  It makes me think of creativity and the process of it all.

The plan:

Given that this period has now ended, I intend to return to writing a review per week and featuring some of the new promos and other information that I still get as result of my previous writing.  I’m not going to catch up what I missed in 2014, I can’t, but I can continue from where I left.  To heal from my job with DHS, I will be writing a section regarding a particular facet of what the position entailed either each day or three times a week, depending on how much time allows.

Ultimately, I’m left with the question: “Is it such a crime to go apart and be alone?”

 

Opinion: “The Animated Life of A.R.Wallace” – NY Times

From the New York Times:

“Although Alfred Russel Wallace made one of the most important scientific discoveries in history, he’s been all but forgotten. A contemporary of Charles Darwin, Wallace was the other guy to discover natural selection – the evolutionary process whereby better adapted organisms are more likely to survive and pass on their traits than less adapted ones. Although two people discovered this theory, evolution by natural selection is virtually synonymous with Darwin. This is partly due to the lasting fame of Darwin’s opus, “On the Origin of Species,” but some argue it is also due to Wallace’s extraordinary modesty – he lauded Darwin’s work and humbly downplayed his own contributions. In 1889 he even wrote a book in support of evolution titled ‘Darwinism.'”

Go watch the video and read the article.

 

Bohemian Gravity

From io9:

 

Diurnal Aural Experiences: Locktender’s “Aphorism #17” from Kafka

Enjoy.  If you do like it, then read the lyrics or the actual aphorisms.

 

In memoriam

From Caity Weaver of Gawker.

This is so delightfully existential.

“Kachemak was not afraid of dying before she was put to sleep on Saturday (“releasing her from a rapid decline in the last week from age-related infirmities”), because Kachemak was not aware that dying was something that could happen to her. She wasn’t unhappy about leaving the other sea otters. She didn’t worry about whether or not she would be remembered fondly. She didn’t reminisce about her lost youth or dream about all the things she had never done. The final moment of her life was not particularly different from any of the moments that proceeded it; she just kept on living right up until she didn’t. It was different, but not sad.”

Applause, Ms Weaver, applause.

 

 

Image taken from Silver Train at the Zurich Mdizinhistorisches Museum.

Often untrained, the Plague Doctor was the last, horrifying line of defense in treatment of the ill and disposal of the dead during the Black Plague in Europe.  The outfit is stunningly ominous: a grey robe with a hood that covers a leather or ceramic mask that typically had a beak and portholes for sight.  The beak was purely functional in regard to the scientific understanding of the time.  The miasmatic view believed that diseases assaulted their sufferers through poor air and being around death.

In contrast the doctor would have his cane, prodding the afflicted so that they would not have to touch the victim.  The doctor would smell of a mixture of pungent aromas and straw was thought to serve as a filter. Some doctors of note that served in the plague were Nostradamus and Paracelsus.

 

Recognizing the difference

For some reason, this has been bothering me again.  But at where I currently work, people have been tossing pentagram around where they should be using pentacle.  They have very opposite semiotic qualities.

The above image is a pentacle and a pentagram.  In occult sorcery this is traditionally linked with evil; it’s linked with Satanism, and negative emotions.

 

This is a form of pentacle (more similar to the Star of David and Israel), but it stated to be a a positive image, encouraging positive energy.  In traditional European societies, it has been linked to feminine fertility imagery and ritual.

Both images are from wikipedia and are used here under CreativeCommons.

 

Nocturnal Rumination: Hippie Metal, Pt 4

So, now I’ve gotten myself into this damned corner, I need to figure out how to get out of it, hey?

Starting with the actual music, I believe, ultimately, that most of this progressively minded music is inherently related in more than just its abrasive sound and usage of extreme vocals.  The main dividing lines I see come up most often (and now I freaking realize I missed Deafheaven – stupid, stupid, stupid me) are a sort of Cartesian plane where the X axis is the degree to which the metal is either Black or Death and the Y axis is the degree to which the music is classic rock inspired or folk inspired.  Some bands, especially the French bands currently, are adding a third dimension to the music in which the use of electronics, looping and effects is done to ramp up the positivity or negativity of the sound or the soundscape’s atmosphere.  Referring to the music I embedded in yesterday’s installment, it’s easy for me to see this progression of a sort of three dimensional approach to  music.  As this is the music’s most base qualities, I feel this breaking down of the completely superfluous ideas of “blackened death metal,” “deathened black metal,” “shoegaze prog-funk jazz-trio fusion post-metal metal” to be the most important aspect here.

Lyrically, all these bands have related themes.  This is not to say that Opeth and Katatonia speak to the same subjects or that Wolves in the Throne Room are saying the exact same things as Agalloch.  Rather, they’re in the same universe, somewhat similar to Eliot, Yeats, &c inhabit similar places in time.  Since this is a form of art rock (I sincerely and genuinely believe this), that analogy is the best descriptor I can consider here.  Typically, these bands tend to avoid political discussion at all or rather make their words demonstrate the convictions they have.  Often again, I’ve noticed that a good number of them are environmentally minded (Agalloch, WITTR, Gojira, Autolatry, Krallice, Fen); others deal with traditionally romantic themes (Opeth, Katatonia, DT,  Fen, Alcest, Amesouers).  Satanism is discussed (Akercocke, I’m looking at you), but is more often a tool of opposition against the mainstream than a fastidious religious concentration.  Ultimately, most of the focus seems to be on a philosophical or emotional examination of a particular situation (in concept albums) or of a particular feeling or thought (in the case of single songs).

Other commonalities, based off the above mentioned, include long, complex emotional pieces and an intense regionalism.  It reminds me very much of the Bay Area Thrash versus the English Steel in the 80s, but with much, much more collaboration and related music styles.  The Northeastern US brings bands that talk about the ghosts of history, nature, and people of the Northeast, while the Northwestern US bands have a far more tribal feel to them.  The French bands really seem to look toward art and the romantic landscapes (regardless if it is Deathspell Omega ripping your eardrums to shreds).

Ultimately, it’s not fair to call one band a member of X movement and another a member of Y just for the sake of differences. I realize metal is good at that in that metalheads want a typology so that they know which version of the uniform in which they feel most comfortable.  Yet, it is ultimately so limiting when attempting to define how these bands sound or the specifics of the movements in their work.  Therefore, to describe this unique, inter-connected though grossly diverse collective of metal, I believe that just using Atmospheric Metal works just fine.  No, it’s not really hippie music though it is dark folk music at its basest level.

 

Nocturnal Rumination: Hippie Metal, Pt. 3

All right, so we made it to through the naturalistic/philosophical forebears to Agalloch’s 1999 release in the last item.  Now, we’re in the most recent period of these types of extreme music.  From this point forward, I’ll be discussing things in the present tense, focusing on scenes in and out of Scandinavia, that have continued the innovation of this sound.

If you’ve read anything by me, then you’d know how much I hate the idea of the “genre” of avant-garde.  The majority of time, bands have a very short avant-garde period where they are innovating their specific sound and refining it to coalesce into the things that others take only the most simplistic parts and evolve them into their complete sounds.  Bathory, for example, offered three avant-garde albums that began the genres.  Avant-garde literally means advance guard; these are those that are “ahead of their time.”  To me, when listening to music that relates to this very delineated genre styling, Peccatum serves as the avant-garde (from 2004)[yes, another Ihsahn project]:

This is a very definite attempt to combine industrial elements, black metal, and pop together to craft something bleak and tragically melancholy.

In France, Gojira began a litany of quality bands, using heavy music that discussed outrage over strongly environmental themes.  Their piece, Terra Incognita (2001), was their first full length release:

Similarly, they use death metal combined with nearly industrial elements, creating a very cold atmosphere with monolithically heavy riffs.  Whereas Deathspell Omega’s Infernal Battles (2000) and Blut Aus Nord (2001) brought black metal in with a furiously thrashing and cold environment:

Amesouers, on the other hand, strikes from melancholic black metal, starting the foundation for the blackgaze movement:

Amesouers would eventually diverge a step away into Alcest, whose music is far more seated in progressive rock than metal:

Further, they also build into Les Discrets, an atmospheric band whose music a touch more like Katatonia:

Meanwhile, around the same time in the Ukraine, a band whose politics are a bit concerning and whose ideas are musically far reaching, Drudkh brings their spin on the naturalistic styled music, replacing the Satanic imagery and philosophical questioning with Ukrainian poetry and folklore:

Hardcore even gets into the act with straight on folk metal, thanks to the Swiss band Eluveitie on their album, Spirit (2007):

This music uses folk instrumentation alongside the heavy metal strikes, more openly demonstrating the hallmarks of this style by this use.

Not to be outdone by the continentals, the UK began to sprout bands that concerned themselves with this style as well.  Paradise Lost was one of the earliest, focusing on death/doom stylings relating to death, sin and all things from Milton’s work:

Akercocke’s offerings during their lifespan approached the blasphemous and explored sexuality; song from Rape of the Bastard Nazarene (1997):

Winterfylleth offers an ambling, folksy approach to their particular brand of darkness:

Fen focuses very much on the boggy, murky landscape of the Isles, especially on The Malediction Fields (2009):

Others, including Nine Covens, have joined the scene as well, focus on the very British interpretation of this style.

In North America, Agalloch seems to have led the charge of this style of music.  Wolves in the Throne Room are a close second to Agalloch in this style from the North American scene.  Their explicit intention is not to indulge in raging violence, rather it is to emotionally release the negative:

Beyond this, you have great variability and exploration of the style.  Devin Townsend joined in as well on Terria (2001):

Ludicra (now defunct) also contributed to the style:

Grayceon has as well:

Krallice makes sure the East Coast is well represented as well:

The same is true of Autolatry, a band from Connecticut, that focus on the Northeastern landscape and folklore:

In a new release from earlier this year, reviewed by this blog, Anciients’ from Vancouver, BC offers a stunningly amazing piece:

Ultimately, I’m sure I’m missing something.  I know I did not include the German school at all due to fact that all the German bands I’ve heard attempt this sound just don’t pull it off well to my ear, and further I must still be in love with German Power Metal.  That written, this demonstrates ultimately that this style belongs apart and separate.  It is inherently regionally focused in that folklore way.  Tomorrow’s piece will be far less music heavy, but will focus on the arguments I hope to complete.  Friday’s installation (and the last piece of this series) will focus solely on non metal influences to these styles.

 

 

Diurnal Aural Experience: Ihsahn’s “Misanthrope” from angL