Over the past few days I've been listening to a lot of Heavy Metal. Mostly Lunatica and Within Temptation, mostly because I need something to tide me over until Nightwish releases Imaginaerum. Okay, that and symphonic and power metal goes really well with Dragon Age. Which I'm playing through again to tide me over until Skyrim launches on 11/11.
So, I'm a nerd. Let's move on.
Anyway, sitting on my desktop are a pair of tickets to Wreck the Halls with the Street Dogs. I bought the tickets a while back as a Christmas present for myself and my younger brother. I got a craving for punk, so I cranked my stereo and started blasting Common People by the Street Dogs. And it got me thinking about which I think I associate more closely with. Truth be told, it's a tough question.
Most of the punk I listen to is of the Boston Punk variety. It tends towards Celtic and blue collar themes, and generally is a lot more gritty and accessible, in my opinion, than, say, LA Punk. Plus, Boston Punk tends to involve the bands a lot more than other forms. There are usually a lot more of them on stage. In all, it feels, at least to me, more like a group of friends.
That said, there are other punk bands I like that aren't located around Boston. Ten Pints In (New York), The Briggs (Los Angeles), The Offspring (Huntington Beach), the list goes on, but the point is, punk is awesome.
Heavy metal, well... Heavy Metal is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Nightwish, Lunatica, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Within Temptation, UnSun, After Forever, Sonata Arctica, Epica, Disturbed, the list, as they say, goes on.
What punk does for my ego (in the psychiatric sense), heavy metal does for my imagination. Granted, there are some rather gritty heavy metal bands out there, that deal with very real issues (Disturbed, in part), most of the heavy metal I like deals with ideas and concepts that enhance my enjoyment of escaping the dreariness of the everyday world. There's something epic in scope going on with the heavy metal I love, and I embrace the images of something best described as "other."
So, if I had to choose? I really couldn't. They each give me some sense of musical completeness. (And if there are people out there who think "It's just music," obviously their souls are deaf.) I've said this before, music, good music, moves the soul. But, it is entirely subjective. The music that moves my soul is different from what moves the souls of others.
There is one song, in particular, that I will talk about here. The song is "Two Angry Kids" by The Street Dogs. I first heard this song when my older brother played it. He said it reminded him of the two of us growing up. I didn't really get a chance to pay attention to the words at the time, but, when I got my hands on the CD later, and actually listened to the song and the words, I can't help but think my brother is absolutely correct. It's a small thing, but that's a small hint of what I'm getting at.
Anyway, another top 5 list is in order.
Top 5 Songs on my Top 25 Most Played Playlist:
5. Sudden Death by Megadeth
4. Up the Union by The Street Dogs
3. Fields of Athenry by The Dropkick Murphys
2. The Pretender by The Foo Fighters
1. Shot in the Dark by Within Temptation
(One of these things is not like the others...)
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