Month: February 2019

  • Agnes Obel – Fuel To Fire (David Lynch Remix)

    Agnes Obel – Fuel To Fire (David Lynch Remix)

    Some songs are only about music. Some others are only about words. Some are about atmosphere. There is no right or wrong. And even though this melody shines particularly through its atmosphere & lyrics, listen carefully and discover the mastery of faking monotony.

    And yes, this is the David Lynch. He sure did a good number on this one! The original song is pretty good as well (which should go without saying if David Lynch decided to touch it – and no, I’m not one of his fans, it’s just semi-objective reality [that’s another word for statistical reality]).

    “Do you want me on your mind or do you want me to go on
    I might be yours as sure as I can say
    Be gone be faraway
    Roses on parade, they follow you around
    Upon your shore as sure as I can say
    Be gone be faraway”

    YouTube (decent quality):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNV28kwDWHA^

    For Spotify Users (high quality):

    https://open.spotify.com/track/4q0kDr0OcmlTxgxg0L1K7N^

    For Deezer Users (high quality):

    https://www.deezer.com/track/82380282^

    The original version:

    YouTube (decent quality):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqZGvkF00DI^

    For Spotify Users (high quality):

    https://open.spotify.com/track/0xX9YuaP8t6N2YsPGjxLmL^

    For Deezer Users (high quality):

    https://www.deezer.com/track/82380242^

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/03570-AgnesObelAventine-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Agnes Obel – Fuel To Fire (David Lynch Remix)’ desc=’Even though this melody shines particularly through its atmosphere & lyrics, listen carefully and discover the mastery of faking monotony.’]

  • Smoke and Water, Environmental Downs and Ups

    Smoke and Water, Environmental Downs and Ups

    When looking at the bigger picture, it sure seems like there are more “environmental downs” than “ups” at the moment (2019). Sure, there have been several small victories recently, but overall, our hyper-consumerist^ ways are still driving us on a highway to hell.

    Smoke

    Nine years after such information was widely available, I finally got to understand just how insanely terrible sea shipping is for our planet. Consider that a single massive cargo ship puts out more cancer and asthma-causing pollutants than 50 million cars:

    https://newatlas.com/shipping-pollution/11526/^

    This is because these ships use a very dirty type of fuel. And there are a lot^ of cargo ships on Earth. Not all of them may be as massive as the monstrous OOCL Hong Kong^, but consider that even back in 2009, just 16 of the world’s biggest ships emitted more pollution than all of the cars on the planet combined^. And while vehicle pollution has started to improve thanks to more efficient engines and electrical cars, cargo ship pollution is almost completely unregulated and still running amok.

    I remember being surprised to hear how much fuel^ an airplane uses. Then again, turns out airplanes are actually pretty efficient^ compared to a car transporting less than 3 people. In any case, all my surprise regarding airplane fuel has now been completely snuffed out by the sea of jaw-drop I’m drowning in after getting the facts on cargo ships.

    And here we are thinking buying a Tesla will save the world. No. Nothing short of fully-committed activism will prevent the disastrous ecosystem changes that might will put future generations at great risk.

    Big Waves

    Surf’s up (pun not intended)! A 23.8 meters high wave was recorded in the Southern hemisphere. For reference, that’s about as high as a 6-stories building. And it wasn’t from a tsunami. Just good ol’ mother Earth reacting to global warming:

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-44078255^

    And all this nicely leads to…

    Ocean Heat Buildup

    This is a phenomenon which has long shadowed the true extent of global warming, because the planetary ocean gives our world a certain amount of thermal inertia.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/10/31/startling-new-research-finds-large-buildup-heat-oceans-suggesting-faster-rate-global-warming/??noredirect=on^

    As pointed in the article above, the research has seen a few corrections. Even so, there are several other studies that ocean heat buildup is a major problem, one that is seriously underestimated:

    https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-ocean-heat-content^

    That solar panel problem few people talk about

    “In November 2016, the Environment Ministry of Japan warned that the country will produce 800,000 tons of solar waste by 2040, and it can’t yet handle those volumes. That same year, the International Renewable Energy Agency estimated that there were already 250,000 metric tons of solar panel waste worldwide and that this number would grow to 78 million by 2050.”

    Ugh…

    https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2018/10/25/18018820/solar-panel-waste-chemicals-energy-environment-recycling^

    How about cleaning the atmosphere?

    Is global warming worrying you? Do you think we’ve run out of time? Well, here’s some good news. If we, as a species, would for once work together, we could actually achieve negative carbon emissions. This would require a massive economic shift, but it is already within our technological reach:

    https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/energy-and-environment/2018/10/24/18001538/climate-change-co2-removal-negative-emissions-cdr-carbon-dioxide^

    The conclusion?

    We can switch technologies all we want, but unless we don’t switch (off) our way of (consumerist^) life, the ecosystem will suffer some catastrophic changes in the next decades.

    Here’s a soundtrack for all that…

    Skeler – Falling Apart^

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/03563-SmokeWaterEnvironmentalUpsDowns-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Smoke and Water, Environmental Downs and Ups’ desc=’Consumerism's hidden costs (shipping), the dark side of solar energy, the ocean is heating up and how could we clean our atmosphere? Your February 2019 environmental debriefing is here.’]

  • Skeler – Falling Apart

    Skeler – Falling Apart

    Faded and subdued chords accompany the relentless sound of time ticking (and picking) away at life, which is exactly what this melody is about. The song’s grayed-out beginning soon unveils an epic and diverse soundscape. Melancholic to the extreme (that voice!) and yet… so, damn, massive!

    “I don’t wanna fall apart
    I wanna be alive with you
    I’m running
    I’m running
    I’m running now out of time”

    YouTube (decent quality):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrscZX3Hz3s^

    For Spotify Users (high quality):

    https://open.spotify.com/track/02lPNSgehiFIo7BcdCnkt0^

    For Deezer Users (high quality):

    https://www.deezer.com/track/414783912^

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/03557-SkelerFallingApart-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Skeler – Falling Apart’ desc=’The song's grayed-out beginning soon unveils an epic and diverse soundscape.’]

  • Bluetech – Two River Sisters

    Bluetech – Two River Sisters

    Despite it being a playful song from start to finish, there’s still a certain solemnity about it. Perhaps it’s the otherworldly chants and voices, or maybe it’s the thump’n’bass foundation. It’s a melody of delicate contrast. Dance the river sisters!

    You can listen to the melody for free, in good quality, on BandCamp, which is one of the best websites when it comes to supporting artists. You can also purchase the song (or album) from this same location. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I did purchase Bluetech’s album :).

    https://interchill.bandcamp.com/album/love-songs-to-the-source^

    YouTube (decent quality):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnuHyt2uUno^

    For Spotify Users (high quality):

    https://open.spotify.com/track/0OPmLm0fBkElyVnRIAXaBA^

    For Deezer Users (high quality):

    https://www.deezer.com/track/12666597^

    This Weekly Song entry has been brought from the FaceBook archive of Weekly Song^. This exploration was originally started through a FaceBook page, about 13 months prior to launching Mentatul. Slowly but surely, the entire FaceBook archive will be brought here.

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/03551-BluetechLoveSongsSource-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Bluetech – Two River Sisters’ desc=’A playful song from start to finish, a melody of delicate contrast.’]

  • Kognitif – Babe I’m Gonna Leave You

    Kognitif – Babe I’m Gonna Leave You

    Despite the rock-solid beat, this piece is all about atmosphere, distortions, samples and clever orchestration. And despite all the bad news that the song brings, ears couldn’t be happier with such an action-packed ride.

    You can listen to the melody for free, in good quality, on BandCamp, which is one of the best websites when it comes to supporting artists. You can also purchase the song (or album) from this same location.

    https://melting-records.bandcamp.com/track/babe-im-gonna-leave-you^

    YouTube (decent quality):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2TXa-rdgfI

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2TXa-rdgfI^

    For Spotify Users (high quality):

    https://open.spotify.com/track/6fRr3nyrSJcjG4D8Hau7UT^

    For Deezer Users (high quality):

    https://www.deezer.com/track/64382078^

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/03545-KognitifMySpaceWorld-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Kognitif – Babe I'm Gonna Leave You’ desc=’Despite the rock-solid beat, this piece is all about atmosphere, distortions, samples and clever orchestration.’]

  • Ah! Kosmos – Wide (feat. Ozgur Yilmaz)

    Ah! Kosmos – Wide (feat. Ozgur Yilmaz)

    De’licious is the first word that comes to my mind as I try to review this fabulous song. It’s a passionate feast of crescendo orchestration transporting a solemn voice. And isn’t it just awesome when great music comes with a great video too?

    It’s one of the most beautiful creations I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing in 2018.

    You can listen to the melody for free, in good quality, on BandCamp, which is one of the best websites when it comes to supporting artists. You can also purchase the song (or album) from this same location. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I did purchase it (d’uh!).

    https://ahkosmos.bandcamp.com/track/wide-feat-zg-r-y-lmaz-2^

    YouTube (decent quality, AWESOME VIDEO):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmV09X368PQ^

    For Spotify Users (high quality):

    https://open.spotify.com/track/3sFYF55GIVbmjc9xnjT0WT^

    For Deezer Users (high quality):

    https://www.deezer.com/track/526681822^

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/03540-AhKosmosWide-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Ah! Kosmos – Wide (feat. Ozgur Yilmaz)’ desc=’A passionate feast of crescendo orchestration transporting a solemn voice.’]