Posts by Patrick Patel4

Honestly, I’d much rather just stay in and deal with 600mg of Q-Pina, 40mg of Normabela, and 5mg of Lorsilana than bother putting on shoes to go out and socialize. Or, frankly, just hitting a line of Morphine. So, hey, you be the judge. I should probably mention that my social circle isn't exactly huge to begin with, but even then, staying put feels way more comfortable than the whole ordeal of actually leaving the house.

Honestly? I’m just not feeling myself lately. Like, I don't even like the person I am right now. That's it. Just a total mood. Pure negativity.

The paranoia is starting to creep back in. It’s weird because before, I was just dealing with massive anxiety, but now my confidence is actually way up. Still, the paranoia and delusions are always hovering—that feeling like someone’s right behind me, watching me, or whispering about me. Honestly, it's been a bit easier since the Coronavirus hit because I'm basically housebound, but once I step outside? It feels like I'm being followed. I slipped back into that headspace again today, so now I'm just holed up in my room. I ended up taking 4x 400MG Quetiapine, 4X10MG Normabel, 500MG Decapin, and 100MG Fevarin.
I'm hoping that whoever—or whatever—I'm talking to in my head finally disappears. I get that they provide some decent company, but let's be real, there isn't anyone else in this room besides me. It doesn't feel like full-blown psychosis because I know exactly where I am, but I definitely know I'm living in a delusion—this little private bubble of mine where everything is perfect. A world where you can fix anything and nothing ever goes wrong. Someone ruined that for me once, and the shock was so intense I couldn't snap out of it, so I just retreated back to where I belong.

Steven Newman50 said:Let's cast our votes, brothers! Let's celebrate 🙏

Go ahead and set the year for The Fragile. I already did it on my end, but if you don't mind, let everyone else see it on the poll too :P.
EDIT: Man, you were quick to swipe that while I was still typing, haha.

Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile

Genre: Industrial Rock, Art Rock, Alternative Rock, Ambient, Experimental
Released: September 21, 1999
Reception: Universally Praised
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fragile

Track Listing:


Left Disc
No. Title Length:

1. "Somewhat Damaged" 4:32
2. "The Day the World Went Away" 4:34
3. "The Frail" 1:56
4. "The Wretched" 5:26
5. "We're in This Together" 7:16
6. "The Fragile" 4:35
7. "Just Like You Imagined" 3:50
8. "Even Deeper" 5:48
9. "Pilgrimage" 3:32
10. "You Don't" 3:36
11. "La Mer" 4:37
12. "The Great Below" 5:17

Total Length: 54:51

Right Disc
No. Title Length:
1. "The Way Out Is Through" 4:18
2. "Into the Void" 4:50
3. "Where Is Everybody?" 5:41
4. "The Mark Has Been Made" 5:15
5. "Please" 3:30
6. "Starfuckers" 5:00
7. "Complication" 2:30
8. "I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally" 4:13
9. "The Big Come Down" 4:13
10. "Underneath It All" 2:49
11. "With Decay" 6:36

Total Length: 48:48

Hope I didn't accidentally dump an extra album here—showed up late and didn't have time to double-check the count. Hopefully it's all good, if not, oh well, whatever.

Haha, honestly though, they’re just quirky in their everyday lives. I haven't actually seen them perform anything serious yet, unless you count that one music video they did about the apocalypse or whatever. Most of the time, they’re just total bubblegum pop.

Man, it totally slipped my mind until today, haha. I figured, hey, let me go check if there’s maybe one more free slot left, but of course, no luck. There's another one next week 😁

Man, I was actually planning on posting today, but I see there are already 10 people ahead of me. Guess I'll just wait until next week then.

I keep calling, but they just never pick up when the phone rings. Honestly, though? It’s fine. I already know deep down it’s just not my vibe anyway.

Kero Kero Bonito - Bonito Generation

Genre: J-Pop, Electropop, Bubblegum Pop, Dream Pop
Released: October 21, 2016
Metacritic: 81/100
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonito_Generation

Track Listing:

01. "Waking Up" 2:57
02. "Heard a Song" 3:19
03. "Graduation" 3:19
04. "Fish Bowl" 1:45
05. "Big City" 2:52
06. "Break" 3:17
07. "Lipslap" 3:39
08. "Try Me" 3:29
09. "Paintbrush" 0:57
10. "Trampoline" 4:03
11. "Picture This" 3:23
12. "Hey Parents" 3:22
13. "Forever Summer Holiday" 3:35

Total Length: 39:63

It’s missing some seriously high-energy Pop, especially stuff with a different vibe.

Man, I just put on Ulver’s "Blood Inside" and... wow. Just wow. It’s one of those albums that hits you like a freight train in the middle of nowhere and then just leaves you staring at the ceiling for an hour wondering what happened to your life. It’s dark, it’s moody, and honestly? It’s kind of haunting. It’s got this incredible, atmospheric vibe that feels almost cinematic—like if a noir film was directed by someone having a total existential crisis. You know that feeling when a song isn't just playing, but it's actually occupying the space in the room with you? That’s this record. It’s heavy, but not in that "I'm going to smash my head against a wall" metal way. It’s more of a "my soul is slightly bruised" kind of heavy. Definitely a mood for those late nights when you're just sitting there with a coffee, questioning everything. Truly top-tier stuff.

Genre.: Man, where do you even start with this? It’s like trying to map out a fever dream. You’ve got your Experimental stuff that feels like someone rearranged your brain while you were sleeping, then you dive into Electronic/Industrial—which is basically just beautiful, rhythmic chaos—and suddenly you’re sliding into Jazz or Classical textures. It’s such a wild spectrum. Honestly, if a track doesn't make me feel slightly uncomfortable before it hits that perfect groove, am I even listening?
I mean, seriously, how much length are we even talking about here? It’s one of those things that sounds simple until you actually sit down to figure out the specifics, right? It’s like when you’re trying to decide if a gallon of milk is enough for the week or if you need to grab two—it seems obvious, then suddenly you're staring at the fridge wondering if you overshot or undershot. Anyway, I feel like everyone has a different definition of what "enough" looks like depending on the context. Some people want everything stretched out to the max, while others are just looking for something functional and quick. It’s all relative!: 45:45
Finally out in the wild!: June 6, 2005

Here’s the tracklist:

"Dressed in Black" at the 7:06 mark.
"For the Love of God" at 4:11—man, that part hits different.
Wait, did I just see that? "Christmas" at 6:15? Honestly, if we’re talking about that specific timing, you have to wonder what kind of chaos is brewing. It feels like one of those weirdly specific moments where everything either goes perfectly right or descends into total madness—kind of like trying to navigate a crowded Target on a Saturday morning before the coffee kicks in. You know that feeling? Just pure, unadulterated anticipation mixed with a little bit of "what am I doing with my life?" Anyway, just my two cents.
"Blinded by Blood" – 6:22. Man, that track just hits different.
"It Is Not Sound" — 4:37
"The Truth" at 4:01.
"In the Red" — 3:30
"Your Call" 6:07
"Operator" at the 3:36 mark... man, that part just hits different.

The whole thing clocks in at 45 minutes and 45 seconds.

It’s called "The Catcher in the Rye"
Such a bizarre name for such a bizarre move. And honestly? You can actually find stuff like this hanging in art galleries.

brightwolf48 said:Don't try to play both sides with me here. It’s pretty obvious from that link you shared that we're talking about experimental music—if you actually listen closely for like, two and a half minutes (and I know you've looped this track a dozen times already), there’s this really pleasant melody buried in the background. My link? There's no melody there. Look, smarter people usually define music as a combination of melody, rhythm, and, in Western music, harmony. Whether I personally dig it or not is a whole different conversation. (By the way, Loveless is one of my absolute favorite albums, so don't think for a second that I'm not hip to noise.)

If nothing actually defines music as music, then how can we even call it that? Lemonzoo hit the nail on the head with that definition—it’s more like a sound installation. Sure, a piece like that can be super intriguing, genuinely interesting, or even just vibe-heavy and pleasant to listen to, but we don't necessarily have to label it "music." It’s kind of like hitting a tennis ball against a wall; it might be fun, but if you want to say you're actually playing tennis, you need a court, a net, and someone on the other side of the net to rally with.

Anyway, let’s try to find some actually decent sources for music theory instead of just relying on Wikipedia.

So, I was falling down a rabbit hole reading through some deep dives on the history of music videos, and man, it really makes you realize how much we take for granted today. It’s wild to think about how much the whole medium has shifted from just being a promotional tool to this massive, standalone art form that can basically define an era. I was thinking about those early days where it was all about the visual hook—something to get people to buy the record—but now? Now it's its own beast. You have artists who treat a video like a short film, completely independent of the track itself. It’s almost like when you listen to something heavy like Sunn O))) or experimental stuff from Merzbow; the visual element becomes this sensory overload that changes how you perceive the sound entirely. It reminds me a bit of how certain ambient projects work. Like, if you're listening to Stars of the Lid, you're already in this headspace, right? But if you pair that with the right cinematography, the experience goes from "background music" to "full-on cinematic immersion." It's that jump from passive listening to active experiencing. Anyway, I'm curious what you guys think. Is the music video still a vital part of the artist's identity, or has it just become another way to chase clicks on YouTube? Does a killer video actually make a song better, or does it just distract from the music? Personally, I think if a director can capture the *vibe* of a track—not just show the singer lip-syncing in a desert—it's pure magic.

Honestly, you could just throw a single record into the mix and end up with pretty much the same results as what we've been talking about above.
Look, even Merzbow has those lighter, more approachable albums if you know where to look. But honestly? If you just stick to Boris, it’s still a smooth ride. They’re incredibly versatile. I’d say they’ve mastered at least ten different genres over their career—maybe even more. Some tracks blend them all together in a single album, while others just drift through different styles seamlessly.

You could honestly just take some Merzbow tracks, bundle them up as a standalone album, and it would sound exactly how you’d imagine. It works perfectly fine on its own. As for Gensho, it isn't exactly "easy listening" by any stretch, but as a project? It's super interesting. And hey, this isn't even the only instance of Boris + Merzbow stuff out there—there's plenty more where that came from.

I’ll be honest, I don't really vibe with Merzbow—just doesn't grab me. I’m much more into stuff like Taj Mahal, Ben Frost, Fennesz, Oneohtrix Point Never, Stars of the Lid, The Caretaker, Boards of Canada, or Aphex Twin. Most of those aren't even strictly "noise" music, but they all have that massive ambient approach that I love. Actually, if I'm looking for something on the noisier side, I usually gravitate toward Noise pop or that specific sound Sonic Youth was doing back in their EP days.

Whatever, honestly—no matter how you slice it, it’s all just music in its own unique way.
You could literally just grab some old dial-up connection samples, throw them into a DAW, and suddenly you’ve got a whole damn musical composition on your hands.
If we’re talking about the whole Drone scene—you know, stuff like Boris, Sunn O))), and Earth—it's wild how much they've evolved when it comes to their gear and how they actually use it. In the early days, everything was super minimalist, just raw and stripped back. But lately? They've branched out into some seriously massive, complex territory.

There are certain things that just define what music actually is. This album hits on all of them, but it does it in such a stripped-back, minimalist way that it’s almost microscopic. It’s honestly tough to even pick out individual sounds, let alone find any kind of actual progression between them. I mean, we don't even have to call it music—if you can even call it that.
So I was just falling down a rabbit hole reading up on Merzbow, and man, my brain is kind of fried. It’s wild how much history there is behind this guy. If you haven't spent any time digging through his discography, you're basically missing out on one of the most intense sonic experiences possible. It's not exactly "background music" for a chill Sunday brunch, that's for sure. I mean, think about the sheer scale of it. We're talking about someone who has been pushing the absolute limits of noise for decades. It’s heavy, it’s overwhelming, and honestly? It’s kind of beautiful in its own chaotic way. It makes you wonder how anyone stays sane while producing stuff this loud. Anyway, I was browsing some old threads and saw Patrick Patel4 mentioning him earlier, and it got me thinking about how different the noise scene feels depending on what you're into. Are you more of a pure wall-of-sound person, or do you need a bit of structure? Personally, I can go for a long session of pure chaos, but sometimes I need to pivot to something like Stars of the Lid just to make sure my eardrums don't actually burst. What do you guys think? Is Merzbow a genre unto himself, or just the king of a much larger, much louder playground?

I mean, he’s literally spelling it out for you right there. Genre: Noise.
If it doesn't sound good to my ears, then I’m just not feeling it. Period.

You know, whenever I head out to a show, nothing gets me more hyped than that pre-set guitar tuning ritual during the opening act. It’s like this weird, anticipatory tension. Once the actual performance kicks off, though, I don't care nearly as much about those little details—everything becomes so clearly defined and intentional. Obviously, when the headliner takes the stage, I expect them to deliver exactly what I paid to hear, but there’s just something uniquely fascinating about what that tuning process can stir up. Some seriously chill sounds. I need to get myself into the zone before the band even hits the stage—honestly, I’m probably more hyped up than the guys playing tonight.

brightwolf48 said:Look, I’ll just admit it: some passive-aggressive know-it-all just got slapped in the face by how narrow-minded their view of music actually is. Consider this proof of yet another absolute masterpiece of modern musical art.
(...)
Later...

Sorry you aren't into Noise, but honestly, that's not my problem. It doesn't mean you "don't get it," it just means you don't like it. It's music, and it's called Noise because it *is* Noise. How hard is that to wrap your head around? lol

Now go ahead and try to tell me this ISN'T music:

So, there are two records here—one is Merzbow, the other is Boris. You can play them at the exact same time, or stagger them by a few seconds or minutes, and you'll always end up with a totally different soundscape. That's what makes it an album.
It’s not like this is some brand-new experiment either; Boris has been messing around with stuff like this for ages.

Lisa Davis46 said:I don't know, I have a bit of an issue with reactions like this. I really wouldn't want this kind of communication style to become the norm on these threads. On the other hand, I wonder what triggered the need for brightwolf48 to express themselves so colorfully. Because indifference toward the music—pardon me, the content of the album—is definitely not the case here.

I’ll be the first one to jump in here: posts like this seriously get under my skin. It honestly makes me want to deck someone (no offense 😁) with that passive-aggressive attitude toward music that just isn't someone's cup of tea. Just say you don't like it and move on. You don't need to use bold text and act all high and mighty claiming that it ISN'T music, because from everything I hear, it definitely is. What else is someone going to claim, that Merzbow isn't music? Ayyy.
It feels like everything is considered pretentious and stupid these days unless it follows some rigid formula or structure.

Why should experimental music, when treated as a project, necessarily have a composition, tonality, or whatever else?

How much music out there is atonal, lacking a time signature, or pure true Drone / Noise?
A massive amount. How many projects like that exist? Tons. Is it music? Yes.

Listening to this, you've got pure ambient with crackling, Noise and Glitch mixed with Drone / Noise variations alongside white noise. It depends on which segment you're hitting. It reminds me a little of Akira Yamaoka, but extremely, and I mean VERY subdued—something that would sit in the background while something else played over the top as melodic ambient. It's not really something you just put on in the background; it's more like a semi-project you listen to once to see how it was constructed and what it's made of. Honestly, it might actually work as sleep music, though there are better options for that.

It's like when someone claims Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music isn't music. I'd laugh right in their face. Yeah, it's music; maybe you hate it, but it's music.
Personally, I don't listen to it—I gave it one spin, and that was enough for me to get the point.
Even he admits it's a totally weird project that even he doesn't fully wrap his head around. I listen to a whole heap of other Dark Ambient/Drone / Noise/Glitch stuff to know how to categorize things. And there are so many variations where those elements are used differently, or even better, in other projects.

Truth be told, this isn't really my type of ambient, and it's a bit uncomfortable to listen to because certain sequences remind me of other projects, but if the goal was to create a purely experimental project from some sort of quasi-concept, they nailed it.

For me, it’s not "album of the week" material based on the recording process or the concept, but that's about it. So yeah, that's my *humble* opinion.

I definitely need to check out the one with the Jazz band and the one with the Collaborator too. They might have a totally different structure. But honestly, when someone is getting praised everywhere, they're clearly doing something right. He just finished Holy Land, and I actually liked it as a standalone piece, though it fits perfectly within the context of a concept album.

Actually, comparing them to Björk now, they share a similar vibe, but her music feels a bit "too" abstract for my taste. I can vibe with Drone for a few hours straight, but Björk? Not really. I can handle specific tracks, but only the catchy ones. Personally, I think Jenny has better vocals, whereas Björk’s style is more unique. The coolest thing Björk ever did, in my opinion, was giving a massive pile of her vocal samples and melodies to Death Grips for free, which they then mashed into that first Powers That B. album.

Also, I'm listening to Lolita right now, and it's much better—lighter and easier to get into. Conceptually speaking, I don't really care about sex because, say, I'm asexual. So when she sings or talks about it, it feels really alienated, and it gives me a bit of dysphoria. It's not that it isn't pleasant or whatever, but I have a few personal rules about that stuff. This feels more like, use everything you've got while you still can.

And man, why does it have to sound like someone is using a bellows at the end of every single song? Like, that animalistic breathing. I guess that's just part of the whole aesthetic. A couple of times it was fine, but now it happens every single time and it's just... yeah.

It also made me think of another band that completely redefined their genre and was just so progressive about everything: The Gathering. But once Anneke left, it was pretty much game over for me personally. Their early albums didn't do anything for me at all. It wasn't until they released "How to Measure a Planet?" and everything else through the end of her career that it became truly infectious.

There’s just so many of them—places like Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, even Iceland and Greenland—where everyone seems to be pushing boundaries in everything, especially when it comes to music. Take Ulver from Norway, for example. Their first three albums were pure Black Metal, then one acoustic, basically a trilogy, but they stayed totally distinct from what everyone else in the second wave was doing. You can really feel the quality in those records; there's a reason they get so much respect. And then, they just started messing around with everything: Electronica, Trip-hop, Film Score stuff (they actually score Movies), Keyboards, Jazz, Progressive Guitar, Minimalism, Ambient, Drone, Post-rock, Art Pop, Synthpop, Chamber, Orchestral, and Experimental Rock. They do it all. They even did some 60s covers on a compilation once, keeping their own vibe while staying true to the originals.

And don't even get me started on The Knife, then Aurora, and then Björk. It’s like they refuse to be boxed in. I mean, you find artists like that everywhere these days, obviously, but this feels more like "art" in a certain way—maybe less like traditional music? Don't get me wrong, the music is definitely there, but the concept is what really takes center stage. Right now, I'm diving into Apocalypse Girl (listening through the albums one by one; I picked this one first, though I won't lie, I had to spend forever organizing all my folders, FLAC files, and artwork). It’s incredibly "Sexual" from start to finish. I don't know about everyone else, but for me, it's "Sexual" in a way that's almost uncomfortable, though maybe that's exactly the point. Either way, I'm digging it. There’s so much going on in there that it's hard to pin down a genre, so I just tagged it as Art Pop / Experimental.

I don’t get why everyone thinks anything trying to be "art" is automatically lame or pretentious. Like, does Art seriously have to be spontaneous? People put their whole souls into massive projects, sound installations, gallery pieces—all just to trigger some kind of reaction from the audience. Whether that message is hit you over the head with it or it's more subtle, it doesn't matter. Music is great enough on its own, and honestly, adding a solid concept just makes it even better.

Lisa Davis46 said:Sorry, I cut it way down—really trimmed it as much as I could. 😁
I mentioned earlier in the thread that you guys didn't want me writing all this out...

And that new genre? It’s definitely provocative, but there's some actual brains behind it. 😉

Obviously, it’s Experimental / Electronic / Art Pop / Dream Pop or whatever you want to call it.
But hey, I'm glad it caught your interest! Drop me a line once you've given it a listen...

Man, am I getting intense now. Look, I'm saying I actually dig it and it's definitely something I'd want to listen to. Political agendas or being edgy doesn't phase me at all—honestly, I just find it hilarious when people get all worked up over stuff like that. Though, "soft dick" is a pretty ridiculous name, I'll give you that. I usually only use the term Cock Rock when the music is just bad and totally generic. You know, those old classics that aren't actually that good, or those newer bands just trying to mimic that vintage style 😛.

BTW: I actually saw the cover for the "Apocalypse, Girl" album back when it first dropped, but I wasn't really following the scene that closely at the time, so I had no clue what it was. It’s all coming back to me now.