YTSEJAM Digest 6429 Today's Topics: 1) RE: $20 by "Costello, Daniel J" 2) Re: Threshold by Chris 3) Ron Jarzombek's Solo CD by Mike Shetzer 4) Re: Some comments / queries / thoughts... by Dave Peterson 5) Re: Some comments / queries / thoughts... by "Rick Rosinski" 6) Re: Threshold by Michael & Pamela Nazer 7) DTIFC CD? by WB Henderson ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2003 16:29:49 -0500 From: "Costello, Daniel J" To: "'ytsejam@torchsong.com'" Subject: RE: $20 Message-ID: >The number of claims filed will determine the actual amount of the individual refund but will not exceed $20.00 per claimant. That sucks. I was hoping that since $44M is earmarked for this, and only 30,000 people have signed up, I'd be getting a check for a bit over $1000. :-) -Dan. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2003 20:22:19 -0500 From: Chris To: ytsejam@torchsong.com Subject: Re: Threshold Message-ID: <018901c2b90f$e30ca560$message_id_removed> Hi everyone! I've been lurking for the last few months or so and have been moved to post by the recent Threshold thread as well as the Christmas cd I received from the fanclub today. I read the instructions and the FAQ, but since this is my first post, I hope that I'm doing this right! Threshold is an amazing band and I completely agree with the person who wrote that they have not made a bad album. Imo they haven't even made a mediocre or good album - they're all great. Everyone here seems to have a different opinion about which is their best, which is always a good sign I think. Mine is Critical Mass as of right now, but the excitement of it's newness probably hasn't fully worn off. Wounded Land is a wonderful album, as is Extinct Instinct, and for anyone new to Threshold having trouble with Damian's voice, my suggestion is just let yourself acquire a taste for it. :) The music is just too good to miss out on, and he really is a good singer - it just takes a little getting used to I think. I liked Glynn's voice better at first, but now I can't really decide which of the two I prefer. Mac is my favorite - I think he has the most powerful, unique, and emotional voice of the three. I got to see Threshold live at ProgPower and he was even better live - I was amazed. About Critical Mass. The first time I heard it I thought it was pretty good, but not as good as Hypothetical (one of my favorite albums). My opinion of it improved with each listen - I kept hearing new things and different songs would suddenly come together for me. I got to a point where I was listening to it almost every day, and 3, almost 4 months after it's release, I'm still listening to it almost every day. It's my "best album of 2002." It's one of those albums that just lifts me up - I get this incredible soaring feeling while listening to it, and I find that when I'm feeling frustrated, down, or angry, it actually makes me happy. The title track is my song of the year - that one has reached Xanadu and Learning to Live (two of my favorite long songs) status for me. Hopefully, this hasn't been too boring, and maybe someone reading will pull out Critical Mass again and give it another chance. :) I really just can't say enough about this band. And they're incredibly nice guys too. Here are their albums and singers: Wounded Land (1993) - Damian Wilson Psychedelicatessen (1994) - Glynn Morgan Extinct Instinct (1997) - Damian Wilson Clone (1998) - Mac (Andrew McDermott) Hypothetical (2001) - Mac Critical Mass (2002) - Mac They also have two live albums, Livedelica (1995, also included as a bonus disc on special edition Psychedelicatessen) featuring Glynn on vocals, and Concert in Paris (2002) featuring Mac. The Dream Theater fanclub is awesome. They are also incredibly nice guys and it's clear that they truly appreciate their fans. This Christmas cd is quite a gift! Be well! Chris ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 00:25:11 -0500 From: Mike Shetzer To: ytsejam newsletter Subject: Ron Jarzombek's Solo CD Message-ID: <000b01c2b931$d03a8f70$9b00a8c0@SHETZ> --Boundary_(ID_AUJE3sTjGH4jRbAQPIT8ww) Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable I'm sure by now you guys have heard of the prog metal band Watchtower, that produced extremely complex metal music many years ago (with screeching vocals to boot). Maybe some of you have heard of Spastic Ink, Watchtower's guitarist Ron Jarzombek's side project, featuring incredible instrumental-work. But I bet lots of you didn't know Ron Jarzombek has a solo album he just recently released. It's got 45 songs, each ranging from about 3 minutes to oh, about 4 seconds. Many compositions are designed to drive the listener wild with polyrhythmic craziness and insane guitarwork. After purchasing this CD from his website www.spasticink.com , I must encourage anyone who plays guitar, and anyone else in the mood to be completely BLOWN AWAY, to BUY this album, you won't regret it... IIVII..$ --e=A2][-][=F826-- =3D) --Boundary_(ID_AUJE3sTjGH4jRbAQPIT8ww) ---YTSEJAM FILTER: Rest of message skipped because of attachment ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 01:21:13 -0800 (PST) From: Dave Peterson To: ytsejam@torchsong.com Subject: Re: Some comments / queries / thoughts... Message-ID: > AVG wrote: > > I, on the other hand, consider "Chaosphere" to be the best extreme > music release of the last decade. The absolute high point of > heaviness. Finally, we get some love for Meshuggah! I also absolutely can't get enough of them. I'd definitely recommend Destroy, Erase, Improve. Luke (the original poster of this thread) mentioned he only owns Contradictions Collapse / None. Luke: hear this: IMHO, the first 2/3 of that combo-album is just garbage. The "CC" portion of the CD is where Meshuggah hadn't found their unique sound yet. Just run-of-the-mill extreme metal. "None" (the last 4 songs) is where they carved their niche. They took that idea and ran with it on DEI. Granted, Chaosphere is just a WALL OF NOISE when you first hear it, I promise you that it's immensely rewarding if you stick with it and wrap your mind around the otherworldly riffage within. Specifically tracks 2 and 3 (New Millennium Cyanide Christ and Corridor of Chameleons) are quite possibly the most neck-snappingly heavy and groovy tracks ever written. Both guitarists are drummers at heart and it shows with their percussive riffing. Meshuggah is not for everybody. Meshuggah is not about melody. Meshuggah is not about key changes. Meshuggah is all about rhythm. Listen with that in mind and you'll see through the seemingly impenetrable wall of noise to the stark beauty that lies within. Here's how I'd rank the albums: 1. Chaosphere 2. Destroy, Erase, Improve (Pretty much a mandatory starting point) 3. Fredrik Throdendahl's Special Defects (Meshuggah's twisted little brother) 4. Nothing (The new one, similar to Chaosphere. I'm still learning it) 5. None 6. Contradictions Collapse (Only for the most devoted fans that want to see the steamy shit from which the rose grew) I hope this has helped! - Dave __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 08:18:13 -0500 From: "Rick Rosinski" To: Subject: Re: Some comments / queries / thoughts... Message-ID: <074d01c2b973$e57c2050$6401a8c0@amd1> > 3. Is it just me, or is Porcupine Tree's new album In Absentia absolutely > fucking AWESOME!? As much as I've liked PT's earlier albums (Stupid Dream, I agree about this CD, although I like all of their CD's (with the possible exception of On The Sunday of Life). I think this is a CD that can be liked by prog fans, but also by a much wider audience if given a chance. > 4. Did anyone enjoy Enchant's new one, Blink Of An Eye? Some parts of it are > cool, but overall it was pretty dissapointing. Break didn't do much for me, > so I stayed away from Juggling 9 Dropping 10. I freaked when I saw that Paul I like the new release and I consider it their best. I wouldn't say Enchant is my favorite band, but they are very solid and worth listening. > 5. Threshold's new one, Critical Mass is fairly average. Some great moments > again, but overall it's nothing significant. Pychadelicatessan however was > very cool, same with Extinct Instinct, and I did prefer Glynn Morgan's vox > to Damian Wilson. What are Hypothetical and Clone like? Is Wounded Land > worth checking out? I really like the Mac releases (Critical Mass, Hypothetical and Clone), but I haven't been able to get into the other three studio releases yet. I need to give them more time though. BTW, Clone is my favorite of the Mac releases, but this changes all the time. I would get all three of them and enjoy! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 08:44:28 -0600 From: Michael & Pamela Nazer To: Subject: Re: Threshold Message-ID: on 1/10/03 7:35 PM, Chris at email_address_removed wrote: > > Hi everyone! I've been lurking for the last few months or so and have > been moved to post by the recent Threshold thread as well as the Christmas > cd I received from the fanclub today. I read the instructions and the FAQ, > but since this is my first post, I hope that I'm doing this right! Hey Chris, Welcome to the jam. :) All this talk about Threshold is making me think I should buy some of their discs. I just got my fan club stuff yesterday and I was very impressed with all that I recieved, cd, mag, stickers.....great stuff. Pam "Hi" John Myung, 8/23/1998 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 12:52:35 -0500 From: WB Henderson To: ytsejam@torchsong.com Subject: DTIFC CD? Message-ID: >I just got my fan club stuff yesterday and I was very impressed with >all that I recieved, cd, mag, stickers.....great stuff. What is this year's fan club CD? I was in the club from '96 to '01, or thereabouts, but let my subscription die out after the demise of the X-mas discs. >I'd forgotten how many albums he had! If you go to Rykodisc.com you can >order the intire 61 CD catalog for a mere $950! Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaahhhhh! Holy cow. Do you know if that 61 includes compilations and the 'beat the boots' series? I thought the 31 Zappa albums I owned was a decent chunk of 'em...but it's barely half! (Didn't pay anywhere close to $475 for them, thankfully. Used CD stores are a music addict's (wallet's) best friend.) Brian [NP...The Who -- Live at Leeds] ============================================= WB Henderson email_address_removed (or, if you prefer / that email_address_removed) ============================================= ------------------------------ End of YTSEJAM Digest 6429 ************************** === Contributions to ytsejam: ytsejam@torchsong.com === === Send requests to: ytsejam-request@torchsong.com === === Brought by the ghost of ytsejam@arastar.coms past === === Reach the owner of this list at: ytsejam-owner@torchsong.com ===