Site News

Posted on by
Reply

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to take a moment to point out some of the changes around here. First, We’ve introduced a “Tales from Beyond!” section which aggregates data from the RSS feeds of sites that we like. ( Huh? ) So, if you’re looking for something else to read, or somewhere else to go, why not have a look? Also, there are two different sets of links in the sidebar: One highlights work by our authors, and the other contains links to music blogs – and oeuvreblogs – that we’re fans of, as well. (Did we leave you out? Let us know.) Please take the time to visit – we’re sure you’ll be glad you did!

We’ve also introduced a couple of changes to the way RSS feeds are handled around here. The first change involves the length of the feeds, which have now been altered to provide “full text” instead of excerpts. We’ll experiment with this feature over time, but I imagine it will be nicer for those reading through feed readers. (Please do comment on this, if you have an opinion!) Also, you can now subscribe to updates by e-mail using Feedburner. There’s a link in the sidebar, or you could click here.

In addition, we’ve added a little page outlining the process by which one becomes a contributor. We’re very eager to widen the scope of this site, and hope that you will take advantage of this! Please don’t hesitate to contact us for advice, as we really want to make this work.

Lastly, both Chris and Jon have started their own oeuvreblogs. Jon’s focuses on The Cure, and Chris’ focuses on Nine Inch Nails. Go show them some love, eh?

That’s all for now. Our errant contributors should be coming home to roost in no time, so keep watching! And thank you all for your support thus far – we’ve loved sharing our stories with you, and look forward to reading your own.

Dire Straits, “Brothers in Arms”

Posted on by
4

200px-ds_brothers_in_arms.jpgBut it’s written in the stars
and every line in your palm…
We’re fools to make war
on our brothers in arms

 

 

My earliest memories that comprise more than a second’s worth of time are of being on the couch in my first apartment, age three, head on my Dad’s stomach while he rubbed my back, watching television. On this particular night, we were watching The Dukes of Hazzard. Even now, when I feel lost and unhappy, I like to lay on my side and watch television – doesn’t matter what, just so long as I can close my eyes and imagine that I’m back in this first place – Winnie the Pooh pyjamas (with feet, of course) on, and my father’s hands keeping me safe and warm. Some nights, this is the only way I can sleep. Over the years, I watched whole series of shows with my dad – Star Trek: The Next Generation, M*A*S*H, Miami Vice – lots of shows. And just as most sane people would feel some trepidation about saying this, Miami Vice really changed my life.

Continue reading →

Nine Inch Nails, “Dead Souls”

Posted on by
2

The Crow Soundtrack
someone take these dreams away
that point me to another day
a duel of personalities
that stretch all true reality

 

 

 

 

In the early to mid 1990s, there was a period where the soundtrack album was an excellent way to discover new music. Film directors like Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, and Cameron Crowe were using so much popular music to score their films that there was hardly any traditional score at all. And because of that, the albums that came out to accompany the films were often little slices of musical heaven. The soundtracks to Tarantino’s films in particular, with dialogue from the movies spliced between songs, are albums I remember quite fondly.
Continue reading →

Blind Melon, “Change”

Posted on by
4

blindmelonblindmelon.jpg And oh as I fade away,
they’ll all look at me and say,
Hey look at him, and where he is these days…

When life is hard, you have to change.

 

 

Like most people, my first introduction to Blind Melon came from a girl in a bee costume on MTV’s Alternative Nation. And really, looking back on it, the song has all the trappings of a one-hit wonder, doesn’t it? Catchy video? Check. Cutesy melody? Check. Able to simultaneously blend in on college radio and at your nephew’s seventh birthday party? Check. In fact, for most people, this is where Blind Melon remains – a one-hit wonder band from the early nineties. Which is a shame, really, as I think Shannon Hoon was one of the more interesting musicians to come out of the post-grunge explosion of quirky bands. (Far better than those Spin Doctor fellas, at any rate!) Still, this album is one of the fine examples of that bizarre phenomenon of discovering things in your own backyard (so to speak). I received the disc by accident from one of those “cds through the mail” things that were fashionable in the late-eighties/early-nineties, and it remained on my shelf for quite some time. (Beck’s first album did this, as well. Stupidly, I gave that one away without opening it.) It wasn’t until I went away to camp in 1993 that I really got to know and love this disc. And it wasn’t until then that “Change” set up camp in my heart. { In light of the rest of the entry, I realize that this has become an awful pun. I’m going to leave it, though. For those of you who aren’t “irony challenged,” I apologize.}

Continue reading →