SalsaC

Same. Or at least I used to be that way. I'm slowly getting over my fear of deep water, but I used to be scared to death whenever traveling by boat or ship.

That's a fact no one in this world knows about, but somehow I ended up letting it out here. Oh well... Thank you for caring. It always helps! I've never traveled on an airplane.

My mother, my brother and myself have all gotten nearly drowned as children. And on the same island, too! I get scared just thinking about it...

Surfing through this forum, I feel like I'm controlling an international space station. New stuff coming in faster than I can properly read. I gave up, and now I'm just picking threads that seem the most interesting.

Chaos Ridden Years was pretty good, with the setlist and sound. But I think Alexi messes up one time too many on the solos. Just looks kind of amateurish. Can't deny that the atmosphere is really good, though! My two favourites are Dream Theater - Metropolis 2000 Scenes From New York The band plays a 4 hour show without an opening act, which ended in the drummer being hospitalized after the show. It just contains every single song fans could possibly want to hear, in addition to one of their classic concept albums played in it's entirety. The band members are spot on, as usual. A musical bliss. Iron Maiden - Rock In Rio I can remember how I knew close to nothing about Iron Maiden when I got the DVD. The gig is just huge, in every sense of the word! They included pretty much all of their classics, and most of my favourite album "Brave New World", so what more could I possibly want? There's something like 200,000 people in the audience, so that definitely adds considerably to the atmosphere of "being there".

Kajaanissa oon töissä, mutta kai se koti on Jyväskylässä kun yleensä viikonloput vietän siellä. I work and live most of the time in Kajaani, but I still consider my home to be in Jyväskylä.

Oh, one more! Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine Once again, it's the guitar solo... I learned it as a little teenager, but it wasn't enough! I knew the notes inside out, and there were no technical challenges in the traditional sense, but I just couldn't replicate the sound Slash gets out of his guitar. I couldn't tell what it was that I was doing wrong. Now I'm starting to get there. He does these barely audible, subtle tricks with his pickstrokes every now and then, which get the string vibrating in a different way than it would normally do. All that aside, it is still one of the most moving guitar solos I've come across in my life. Maybe it's the fact that I've learnt it myself, so that I can appreciate every single note in a new way. And then there's this short build up when Slash turns his wah pedal on. Works perfectly in the context of the solo.

Would you be surprised if I told you that Hayley played Wolfenstein 3d as a child? I watched some e3 video with Hayley in it or something and the guy asked her "So, have you checked out any of the games here?" And she replies "Yeah, I checked out the new Wolfenstein since I used to play that as a child." That's when I went:uhh: Okay, so playing video games nowadays is ONE thing, but I can't remember any of my female classmates playing Wolfenstein in the early grades of elementary school back in 1994 or whenever the game came out. Of course me and my friends were obssessed with it, but we were boys, so it was only natural. (You know, nazies, zombies, big guns, all that cool stuff)

^^Has this gif animation in her sig that just goes beyond me. <-And this dude here is late again. ^The oldest member here? Huge respect for that.

Pour everything out that you have! Here's at least one person who loves reading these.

What I'm seeing in the myspace Kelly showed, is not just the hair, but the shirt, and the way she poses. I could've sworn it was Hayley before I saw the name and all that other stuff. But yeah, she doesn't mention Paramore nor Hayley one single time, which might mean that she is trying to make a division between herself and her idol. Or it might just as well mean that she has never heard of them. Who knows? My theory is that she fancies Hayley's fashion sense a bit too much, but isn't necessarily obsessed with the person itself. But anyway, this goes into the same category as all these dudes that are making Elvis impressions. Being a huge fan is one thing, but I can't see myself doing any of that. Feels too much of an unhealthy obession to me.

You know, one of those moments that just send chills down your spine? I just started thinking about this the other day, and I noticed that they aren't necessarily the most genius moments in music, they just have SOMETHING about them that strike a nerve in me. Here's the deal: Think for a moment. Try to remember if you ever heard a song that fits the description above. And then try to think the reasons for why it affects you the way it does. Doing this might help you understand music a bit better, especially from your own personal point of view. I'll list a few of mine: Dream Theater - Peruvian Skies The song itself is really calm and dreamy, but the song picks up pace after the second chorus. The guitar solo...just knowing that it's coming is enough for me to get goosebumps, and the feeling just gets stronger when it finally starts. Possibly the best use of the wah pedal I've ever heard. As the chords underneath change, John always hits the perfect note for it. Perfect build-up towards the end. Dream Theater - Hollow Years (Live at Budokan) The guitar solo here is supposed to be a short melody with an acoustic guitar, but live, John exchanges it for a couple of minutes long electric guitar solo. The harmonic minor is the star here. Beautiful melodies... Dream Theater - Lines In The Sand Pretty much the same as Peruvian Skies. Clean guitar sound transformed into a distorted one halfway through the solo. Gets me every time. Dream Theater - Change Of Seasons Dream Theater - Octavarium Both of these songs are a little over 20 minutes long, so once the actual climax comes, it's phenomenal. Opeth - Ghost Of Perdition Crushing death metal transformed into an acoustic guitar and this distant male voice in a blink of an eye. It's beautiful on it's own right, but I guess the context just adds to it. Opeth - Heir Apparent Basically the same, but the other way around Gregorian - Close My Eyes Forever You know what gregorian chanting is? It's this sort of a medieval male choir. This particular choir covers all these classic rock songs from the 80's and 90's. This Ozzy cover is one of my favourites, but it differs from most of the other songs that it has a modern elctric guitar solo! And what kind of a solo it is! The guitarist displays terrific sense of melody and phrasing, but again, it's the context that makes it so special. I used to listen to this on repeat even before I had started playing guitar myself. It's partially the reason I started guitar in the first place. Porcupine Tree - Arriving Somewhere But Not Here A mellow sounding pop song which goes a long and seamless transformation into a face-melting trash metal eruption. It just leaves you wondering "how the hell did they pull that off?" Porcupine Tree - Way Out Of Here Really simplistic guitar and vocals, with hardly any melody at all. The chorus just comes out of nowhere with about 10 tracks of distorted chords from the guitar, and the same distortion is added to the vocals as well. Amazing effect. Devin Townsend - Earth Day Devin multitracks his voice and his guitars so many times that it's just this big wall of sound that you get sucked into. Everything about this song is just so big that I can't help but shiver in the magnificence of it. Metal Gear Solid Theme Remember this video game? It was huge hit on the original Playstation back in the day. The melody in this song takes me back there to my childhood, where I would play this game till the sun rose. Marc Anthony & Tina Arena - I Want To Spend My Lifetime Loving You The vocals...One of the best I've ever heard, and being backed up by an orchestra of epic proportions, it gets ridiculously......epic. VersaEmerge - Clocks A new acquintance. And I'm talking about the version on their new EP here! They use the acoustic guitar so damn beautifully...not just normal chords, but natural harmonics and percussive effects as well. The vocal melody is backed up with the synth sounds terrificly. The melody is beautiful on it's own right, too. Nothing too fancy, it just goes so perfectly with the underlying chords. Paramore - Franklin Don't know what it is, but I get goosebumps pretty much throughout the entire song. I'm thinking it has something to do with the lyrics. I'm not on international tour (yet), but I've just moved out to live on my own in a new town, and I've been thinking about how me and my friends will never get to be together the same way we did throughout our childhood, since we are all scattered across Finland now. Emotional connection with the lyrics? I guess that's the culprit here. Paramore - My Heart (Live) In the end, Hayley hits all these notes that just send shiver after shiver down my spine. This is another slap on my face about how my musical ego kept me from listening to Paramore for so long. Paramore - Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover) Exactly the same. Paramore - Born For This You all know the chorus, so I don't have to decribe it much. The guitar underneath "everybody sing" is kind of muted and rhythmic. A bit held back, in other words. Once "like it's the last time" comes, the music just explodes! Like all that was held back before, gets unleashed. Chills. Conclusion 1.I'm more connected to the guitar than I am to any other instrument, so a good guitar solo in the right context is enough. 2. A moving vocal performance. I've started to pay more attention to the vocal delivery after I discovered Paramore, and now it can grab me pretty much like a good guitar solo would. 3.Radical, unexpected change. A sudden shift in the emotional tone of the song will never fail to amaze me. 4.Lyrics. If there's something in the lyrics that I can relate to, it doesn't matter how great the song is otherwise. I just love to listen to it anyway. Doesn't happen too often. 5.Epicness. This doesn't always work. But if there's something in the song that makes me connect to it, then once the song gets all bombastic and epic, I'm feeling the sensation in myself as well. 6.Memory. If a song brings back happy memories, it results in goosebumps pretty much always. 7. Interplay of instruments. The way the instruments/vocals are melded together can make a huge difference. It rarely results in goosebumps, but it's possible.

It might work the other way, too! At least it does with me. I'm not that fluent on normal chit chat, so if I ever start up a conversation here or in MSN or whatever, it's because I have something important to say. Just because no one starts a conversation with you, it doesn't mean no one is thinking about you or willing to talk to you, should the opportunity arise. It might just as well mean that no one feels like bugging you with their everyday lives. And what does that say? They put you before themselves. Don't be so emo.

1170 Hah, my reputation is skyrocketing! But still a tiny little alevin that gets swept away by the weakest of currents when compared to the big fish here.

Oh, there it is again...nothing further to add, your honor!

^Her avatar makes me twist my head and tilt it like it is in the avatar and think "is that really Hayley?"

I've noticed how I've become more sensitive towards music over the years. The first times I've cried because of music have been in these recent months. Other one was from Youtube. And actually something Paramore played! It was their cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. It was a combination of different things... I'd just come out of sauna, and I had watched Leonard's original version (not much singing there). Then I watched Paramore's version from Final Riot DVD, and everything that's so great about Hayley's voice hit me at the same time. Something happened...I was just completely showered with goosebumps after goosebumps, and in the end, it resulted in tears. The other one is even wierder, I cried because of my own playing. Self-indulgent, much? I was playing this piece with my classical guitar It's a really demanding piece to play, but everything fell into place with that particular play. I just closed my eyes...let the music take me with it...really felt the melody in my head...swayed with the music...and tears started falling off! Didn't have any goosebumps either, so I felt pretty weird afterwards, but also somewhat proud of myself. I'm proud of the evolution that I've had. While in the army, I felt like it sealed my ears from music to some extent, but now I feel like I've opened again! Feels great. PS Yeah, it rocks being left-handed, even if it was a little hard learning to play a right-handed guitar. And what's cuddywufter?

I'm thinking the same! Especially since I have to get up early and do a 4-hour drive home. But I still have a few more beers to take care of, and a few more albums to listen to. I guess I can always adjust the alarm clock a couple of hours later. I'm left-handed.

84.253.239.217

The picture is from one of my gigs that I played with a good friend of mine. We have this tongue-in-cheek latin guitar duo, and sometimes we play at some parties and what not. Just a little bit of GIMP magic slapped on top of it, and voila! ^^Probably has edited that little heart in her avatar there herself. Late again! Me and my stupid novels... ^Remains a bit "elusive", since I can't find any info on the person herself.

"Asiallinen" will do just fine, thank you. What's sweet about the avatar? Is it me, or is it the guitar? Or is the fact that you aren't talking about my avatar at all? ^^Anyway, seems to have a passion for the Lion King. I admit, I enjoyed watching it when it was released on a dvd. It just has this timeless beauty about it...and talk about all those legendary scenes which are still considered one of the most moving scenes in cinematic history! ^Definitely deserves her place as FOTM. I just wonder why it took this long...

I loved how she talked about music so passionately in some thread weeks ago. I thought "hey, there's at least one person who is as passionate about music as I am". It had something to do with interpreting music how you want. That's the kind of people I secretly wanted this place to have when I joined.

^Just added me as a friend, even though I've never really talked to her. But that's okay, you're Finnish, so we probably have much in common anyway.

I love that Lion King song that was mentioned somewhere before in this thread. My brother would always sing along to it, but that didn't put me off enough to start disliking the song. The primitive percussions and the hilarious Nazi references are what make the song for me. Opeth - Ghost Of Perdition The song is little over 10 minutes long, but...if I was asked to define my perfect song, this would be it. It starts with crushing death metal, but the song goes through so many different transitions and changes that I can't understand how the song manages to sound coherent. This is one part of the song. Try to get the entire song if you can. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28POu4cqWrI This is a great showcase of what the band has to offer. Now, I know that death metal just might not be everyone's cup of tea here, but try to open up your mind a little, and see what else they are made of besides screaming and growling. You can hear a lot of the softer side if you just listen to the whole thing through.

I think the new one is a Yamaha Motif XS. The older one that I remember from the Anaheim bootleg is a Roland Juno D. EDIT: Yeah, did some research... Yamaha Motif XS6 to be exact. Definitely not the cheapest one on the market! I wouldn't mind one of those myself... Even though my Kurzweil beats the living daylight out of everything else.