EyeZayZay's Listening Log

[eyezayzay]

Alright, let's start this thing up! I'm so glad to be given this opportunity.

07/11/2014 - Monday


9:00AM PST Arcade Fire The Suburbs

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The Suburbs by Arcade Fire

I can't get Rococo out of my damn head. I went to the Arcade Fire show at the Gorge and they intro/outro'd the song with lyrics from "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. Washington State represent! It was a pretty exciting show but they didn't have any sort of screens like at Sasquatch so I could never really see the band. I didn't really care though because I was drunk and dancing around with good friends. The Suburbs is my favorite album by AF. However, call me crazy but Reflektor is REALLY starting to grow on me. It's far from garbage, in fact it may be one of their best projects yet. The lyrics on every song have so much meaning and are so relevant to me. I feel the raw emotion coming out of each song. It's clear that Win is still struggling with family issues due to being from a heavily Mormon family. "WE EXIST!" Anyway, since I was already going to listen to Rococo, I decided I'll just listen to the entire album.

Ready to Start is my favorite Arcade Fire song. I bust out in emotion singing it EVERY SINGLE TIME.
"And I guess I'll just begin. You say can we still be friends? IF I WAS SCARED, I WOULD. AND IF I WAS BORED, YOU KNOW I WOULD. AND IF I WAS YOUR'S, BUT I'M NOT."


10:28AM PST Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

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My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West

I'm going through some crap right now. I've been arguing with a few of my (ignorant) caucasian friends regarding an incident that happened at a National tournament and just discussing race in general. It opened my eyes to a lot of their true personalities and that they really don't give a flying F about me at all. They're just trying to defend themselves/make excuses and that's why nothing is ever going to change. Stop defending yourself and stand up for a good cause. This album is perfect because it outlines just how awful it is to be an African American in America. I relate to Kanye because I feel like I've become the "Kanye" of their community. "He's crazy! You need help." Or as Kanye says "But they would try to crack me if they ever see a black me." I don't need help, I really don't. You need help. You don't understand what I go through on a day-to-day basis, what my family has to go through, the awful experiences I've had in the past and my fears of the future. I want my nieces and nephews (and kids, if I ever have any) to grow up in a world with equal opportunities and you know....not be at risk of being shot over nothing. If that makes me crazy, then I'm the craziest MF in the world. Gorgeous is my favorite song on here for very obvious reasons. It's irony, America is far from Gorgeous from our perspective. I might consider Stankonia next because it goes along the same lines.


11:25AM PST Tycho Dive

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Dive by Tycho

I needed something to calm me down. I actually think I should go back and get a little bit more sleep. Tycho is my constant go-to in these situations. This album specifically, I think it's his best work. I started getting ripped apart for looking underweight and having purple hair, and because of those things I was deserving of all the treatment I was receiving. I'm sorry that this has started to become a more personal ULL but things haven't been all that peachy for me. It feels like every time I take a step forward, someone has to push me back two steps. At least when listening to Tycho I feel like I've been transported to a deserted tropical island. At this point, that sounds ideal. I know having anxiety only amplifies my uncomfortableness in those kinds of situations but I din't think I should have to feel bad for being different in general. Hey maybe I'm not attractive to girls or whatever, that's fine. What's not fine is not being able to express myself in whichever ways I choose. I chose purple hair because it's my favorite color and I've been wanting to do it for so long. I think unnatural hair color is one fo the coolest things ever. Even as a young kid, I always thought it was fascinating. I guess that's why I like dystopian films, and psychedelic/surrealism. It's a nice escape from the world I currently live in. I deserve that at least right?


Downtime - 1PM to 7PM

I took a break to boost my confidence by bumping some of Yeezy's cockier/race sensitive songs while driving down the road (I hate it here and the people that reside in this wretched city, seriously can't wait to move). Once I got home, I got onto Skype to talk with some of the BEA crew about the nominations for Hip Hop tournament and to discuss the start of the collaborative BEA Hip Hop Spotify playlist project I'm trying to work on. It'll help expose the community to some of the better stuff and to hopefully abolish the assumption that all "rap is crap." But then I decided that I needed something to escape. I seriously can't believe what's going on regarding the STL riots. Bigots are finally coming out of their shells, the police officers are forcing people with cameras to leave the premises (so they can get more brutal) and innocent people are being injured by riot gear for doing absolutely nothing but silently protesting for what's right. Almost everyone I know is completely ignoring that any of this is happening and that's what hurts the most. Slipping this under the rug is only going to prolong the overall problem here. At this point, the constitution must be a joke because they're violating it like nuts.

7:00PM PST M83 Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

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Hurry Up, We're Dreaming by M83

"I must be dreaming I kept saying, this isn't' real. People aren't actually this rotten are they?" I just want to escape to a dream world, where I don't have to worry about race, gender, orientation, differences or any of that. It's very clear that this country is becoming one strictly for the wealthy and that's really it...I'm ashamed to be from here, but I can't let this stop me from succeeding. I'm sure I'll face a crap load of bigotry in my life but I have to ignore it and stand strong regardless. My father didn't want me to become a coward that is constantly afraid and didn't want me to give up on my dreams because ignorant people don't agree with it. Regarding the album, it's a masterpiece. I feel a wide range of emotions all at once, not every many albums can do that. "Outro" and "Wait" seriously hit me the hardest. They are amazing cinematic theme songs for a reason, damn. I can't help but to think about Cloud Atlas though, haha.

9:20PM PST My Bloody Valentine Isn't Anything

Isn't Anything by My Bloody Valentine

I meant to listen to this sooner, I promise! I am in love with Bilinda Butcher, can't think of a better woman for me, to be honest. Unless she had cool hair and tattoos. She's starting to replace Grimes as my celeb crush. <3 A beautiful shoegaze guitarist with a lovely voice? YES PLEASE. This album is great and a little different. I think it's sort of a transition into Loveless but still a good one at that. It's not better but still pretty damn good. My Bloody Valentine honestly can't do any wrong in my eyes. I need to listen to M B V a second time as I recently purchased it on vinyl. A lot of people don't like it but I feel like I need to listen to it a few more times before making a final assessment. Maybe that'll occur this week? I tend to listen to softer music later at night, so be prepared for that trend to sort of follow for the remainder of the week.

10:28PM PST Cut Copy In Ghost Colours

In Ghost Colours by Cut Copy

I saw Cut Copy at Sasquatch and they had a pretty cool set. It was a groovy way to finish off the first day. However, none of their songs really stuck with me between their two most recent albums "Free Your Mind" and "Zonoscope." I really like the song "We Are Explorers" but other than that, I didn't really like much else. As a result, I eventually just stopped listening to them entirely. However, upon finding out they had an earlier album, I figured it was worth checking out. This album is AMAZING. I had an uncontrollable urge to dance right from the get go. It's a shame that they sorta got worse as they progressed but I might actually give "Free Your Mind" and "Zonoscope" another listen because of this. I haven't listened to either one in months and I did pick up "Free Your Mind" on vinyl, so I don't want it to turn into a waste. It's also not too overwhelming or LOUD for this time of the night, so it's an excellent way to groove myself off to dream world. Which I'm about to do now...


That's it for today. See you guys guys tomorrow!
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[NowhereMan]

Liking this! Might persue these sometime..
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''Isn't He A Bit Like You and Me?''

#1-#100 https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=3641

#101-#200 https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=49444

Check Me Out!

[AlexZangari]

[benpaco]

You got some awesome taste in music Zay. I'd rec you an album but you have such varied taste I wouldn't know where to start.
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. . . 2016 . . . 2015 . . .

Things I Make

[eyezayzay]

As a reference, here is my queue of albums at the moment. But I'll be mixing that with stuff I've already listened to as well.

https://docs.google.com/a/isaiahmiddlet...edit#gid=0
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[NowhereMan]

[TracyJacks]

Great topic. Today was Arcade Fire day for me, first after waking up I listened to some songs from Funeral before I had to leave for work, then I listened to Neon Bible and Reflektor, and finally, some songs from The Suburbs.

Reflektor is also starting to grow on me a lot. I didn't like it after a few listens. Now I'm liking it more and more after each listen. I don't think now that it has any fillers on it. Songs like Flashbulb Eyes or Here Comes the Night Time II are ntot loved here on BEA but they are also great songs. I think it is very far from a bad album, and it's musically up there with Neon Bible, maybe with The Suburbs, too. I have to read the lyrics carefully next time because I didn't read it yet.

From Suburbs it was Rococo which caught my ears for the first time, it's so smooth and lush.

See you tomorrow

[eyezayzay]

07/12/2014 - Tuesday


7:15AM PST Swans The Seer

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The Seer by Swans

I figured it was time to give this a listen. Damn it's really impressive stuff, their stuff is so damn realistic. It's nothing like I've heard before but I want more and more and more of it. I'm greatly considering going to their show on the 4th of September because I can only imagine how much better this would sound live. I would honestly probably have a heart attack.


9:59AM PST Swans To Be Kind

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To Be Kind by Swans

This was my second time listening to it, although I didn't really pay too much attention on the first listen. It took me this time around to truly understand and appreciate it. "I'm just a little boy." and then the laughing, holy crap it's creepy. The album starts with a pretty intense track as well, giving every word he says a lot of power behind them. I think I'm going to need to listen to this and The Seer another time, maybe a couple more. It's one of those puzzles that you learn more and more about each time you attempt at it. I seriously don't know how he came up with this stuff but it just works. His storytelling by instrumentation is unrivaled. I was really pissed at work while listening to this because I honestly feel like they're trying to get me to quit/get fired. I was full of rage after listening to this, I probably should have switched over to some ambient at that point but letting out my anger for a few hours helped me to calm down. I took a break for some food and administrative stuff, left work for my appointment and felt hella chill while listening to...


3:07PM PST Alvvays Alvvays

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Alvvays by Alvvays

This is a pretty solid project as far as dream pop goes, they're a quality band but I sort of felt like the entire album blended together. Maybe it's just me? I mean, I still really liked it but I would have preferred some switchups. Regardless, it got the job done in completely calming me down after all the anger I was harboring earlier in the day. They have a show here in December for 10 buckaroos so I figure I might as well check it out if I have the time. Also I was close to drifting in and out of sleep while I had this on. Be careful. (It's not necessarily a bad thing...unless you're operating machinery ofc)

4:00PM PST Lauryn Hill The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

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The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill

This album is the one that hits my heart the hardest. It was there when I was going through some shit with a girl and Lauryn Hill mastered her style in this. It's a style that can't be duplicated. The guitar work by Carlos Santana in "To Zion" is so beautiful and the powerful emotion in her voice makes it my favorite song on the album behind "Doo Woop." (DUH) As a rapper, singer, instrumentalist, she delivers on this album in all three of those facets. Non-stop hits and you can't help but to feel all lovey-dovey while listening. Good luck suppressin' those feelings, gurl/boi.


5-10PM
I'm getting distracted my bad...


10:00PM PST Interpol Turn On The Bright Lights

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Turn On The Bright Lights by Interpol

This album is soo good. It's another one of those albums that I'm actually disliking myself for not checking out sooner. It's one of the better indie rock projects I've heard, not only recently but in general honestly. The lyrics, instrumentation, his voice, all of it. I can see this becoming one of my favorites really fast, don't be surprised to see it high on my Top 100. Not very many albums can get me this hooked so quickly. I'm actually still listening to it as I type this up. AHAH. I also like how you have to really analyze the lyrics to understand what he's trying to say but at the same time they just work..damn. I honestly think I'm gonna listen to this a couple more times this week. I'm so confused, Sorry, dad.

Outtie Andre 3000
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[eyezayzay]

07/13/2014 - Wednesday

7:14 AM PST The Flaming Lips The Soft Bulletin

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The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips

I was having a rough morning. I started to admit that a lot of stuff might have been in my head and that my actions probably inadvertently hurt others. I just wanted to/want to find a way to make things right again but it's no so simple. The only thing I can really do is change myself and give them time. This is a great little album, it's not like the normal Psych rock I've heard, but it was interesting and I felt some emotion out of it for sure. Waiting For Superman hit me hard because I really could have used one at that point.


8:36 AM PST Broken Social Scene You Forgot It In People

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You Forgot It In People by Broken Social Scene

I started to realize that "I forgot the goodness in people" so I figured this album was only suitable. I can see why they are considered one of the great gateway indie bands for future Canadian projects. This is really creative and there is a lot going on, this isn't a bad thing.


9:15 - 11:54 Busy w/ Work Meetings, Etc.


12:57PM PST Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes

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Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes

Oh goodness, I felt like I was in a fantasy land. But this isn't a bad thing, this album is wonderful. Full of joy and it's probably the best folk album I've heard thus far (sorry Neutral Milk Hotel). I can't wait to hear the other projects. I'm not going to lie, I actually listened to this twice in a row. It's that darn good. It made me feel happier/positive near the end of my work shift and I honestly got over the "they're just trying to get rid of me" mindset and I'm hoping to find ways to improve my work behavior and to seek assistance in one of my work friends. Heck, the guy I thought hated me even gave me a lollipop today. :O Also the band grew up like 20 minutes south of me apparently ha.


2:30-8:00PM A Long Well Deserved Nap/Catching Up On Sleep
I had a dream that my car got into a crash and I had to get out another loan to pay for it all. It was because I let someone else drive my car. I was devastated. Glad it wasn't real. Phew...


8:08PM A Sunny Day In Glasglow Sea When Absent

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Sea When Absent by A Sunny Day In Glasgow

The guy that essentially got me into psych rock and shoegaze in the first place recommended I check this out. I wouldn't know about Pond if it wasn't for him, so anything he says is good, I know will be good. So far I'm hearing a good blend of dream pop/psychedelic rock. The stuff they do with their voice on a couple of songs reminds me of Grimes a little bit, that's not bad by any means! EDIT: Wow, this chimey glitter sound surprised me but it was awesome! This band is way more creative than I had anticipated. DAMN, the power in her voice at times, and the unique synth sounds plus the overall above average instrumentation. This might end up becoming a favorite...in fact, I'm not even doubting that anymore! Please come tour here.


9:01PM PST MF Doom OPERATION: DOOMSDAY

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Operation Doomsday by MF Doom

I had been meaning to listen to this anyway but my friend tweeted something that reminded me of "Rhymes Like Dimes", so I re-listened to the song and it reminded me of why DOOM is one of the best out there. His word play/lyricism is ridiculous. My mouth actually just opened itself and failed to close. Haha. I had always been a big fan of MM Food but for some reason, I listened to this and just didn't seem to care. I was pretty ignorant back then, and now that I have a deeper appreciation for hip hop, and realize why this project works. I love the DOOM skits in this one by the way, they're actually better than the ones in MM Food imo. "Only in America could you find a way to earn a healthy buck and still keep your attitude on self-destruct."


10:49PM PST Father John Misty Fear Fun

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Fear Fun by Father John Misty

"Jesus christ, girl!" I remember seeing the video for "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" back in the day strictly for Aubrey Plaza (She used to be my celeb crush, I still kinda dig her though). Once I realized that the singer from this group is also the singer from Fleet Foxes, I figured I'd want to give this another listen. Also, despite not really listening to the album, I had continuously listened to the aforementioned song. It's one of those songs that would get stuck in my head frequently. The album as a whole isn't bad, it's no Fleet Foxes but I still dig what he's doing here.
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[eyezayzay]

07/14/2014 - Thursday


Nick Drake Pink Moon

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Pink Moon by Nick Drake


Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues

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Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes


Kanye West Late Registration

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Late Registration by Kanye West


Kanye West Graduation

Graduation by Kanye West


Andrew Bird The Mysterious Production of Eggs

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The Mysterious Production Of Eggs by Andrew Bird


Kanye West College Dropout

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The College Dropout by Kanye West

I'm hella tired, I'll fill it all in tomorrow.
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