All posts by Axonn Echysttas

Mentatul.

Recoil – Want

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Here are a few twisted little verses that cut and gash like rusty razor blades:

“I want to strangle the stars for all they promised me.”
“I want matches in case I have to suddenly burn.”
“I want to write my secret across your sky.”
“I want to watch you lose control.”
“I want your touches to scar me so I’ll know where you’ve been.”
“I want to reach my hand into the dark and feel what reaches back.”
“I want to be there when your hot black rage rips wide open.”
“I want to know just how much you hate me so I can predict what you’ll do.”

Want more? Full lyrics:

https://genius.com/Recoil-want-lyrics^

Besides its assault on imagination, this song features one hell of a composition. It’s diverse, ruthless and in perfect rhythm and mood with the lyrics. Take a walk on the dark side together with Recoil and the best possible singer for such verses.

YouTube (decent quality, featuring a nice and dark fan-made video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZST-Ok7VUo^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

http://open.spotify.com/track/5iNQlXcx7pLgkwknQMhHcU^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/72935811^

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.

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Children and Apologies

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Children do not perceive mistakes the same way we do. They are oblivious to most social norms and cultural taboos. However, children have been found to have an understanding of right and wrong from as early as 19 months old^. I believe they can empathize from a much earlier age (depending on the emotional nourishment they received as infants).

The article below discusses how parents sometimes force their children to say “I’m sorry”. It’s a double mistake: first of all, the child is humiliated and secondly, the child doesn’t even understand the reason why the apology is made, hence damaging his or her understanding of the concept of being sorry:

http://www.janetlansbury.com/2009/12/youll-be-sorry/^

Around the same time I read this article, I also came across this beautiful poem about children. I think it is very much in the spirit of what the article says. Enjoy!

 

On Children

By Kahlil Gibran

 

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.”

I’ll end this post with this wise quote I found today. Again, something that just seems to fit right in:

“Respect the child. Be not too much his parent, but also his pupil…”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Argaman – Walk On Your Way (Day)

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Warning: this track may contain traces of other dimensions. It may cause (at least) the perception of temporal shifting in the auditory cortex. Can be used by professionals to test the temporal lobe of the brain.

Jokes aside, never underestimate the beauty of tampering with and distorting rhythms. When done right, it’s exactly what a song needs to shine. Let yourself soar with this playful, airy tune and its dreamy singer.

“Walk on your way,
You paint your road,
Take off your load,
And be yourself.

Now you’re here,
Just keep it clear,
Without a fear,
the skies will tear.”

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 Argaman’s album :).

https://argaman.bandcamp.com/track/walk-on-your-way-day^

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g53JDSmLU9I^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/39XbyeLjVTZ0fEeJ1H8R1z^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

https://www.deezer.com/track/63182652^

[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/03331-ArgamanLivingInABubble-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Argaman – Walk On Your Way (Day)’ desc=’Let yourself soar with this playful, airy tune and its dreamy singer.’]

Salma Hayek and Harvey Weinstein

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Weinstein’s disgusting behavior^ towards women triggered the famous #MeToo^ social media campaign. It’s all history now. There are some very good articles^ out there about Weinstein and other libidinous rich men^. There’s also the shocking leaked audio of the predator in action^.

In this eye-opening timeline^, we are shown how much things have changed because of the scandal that has rocked Hollywood, the world’s #1 exporter of corrupt cultural values. Thanks to #MeToo, the protest went global. I feel like women’s rights have made an important step forward since then.

But from all the articles I read, I took a particular liking to Salma Hayek’s story about the movie “Frida”, produced by Weinstein. This vulnerable, heart-felt story made me empathize with the victims more than anything else I read or heard on the topic:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/13/opinion/contributors/salma-hayek-harvey-weinstein.html^

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Darude – Sandstorm

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From beginning to end, this song is a sandstorm. It powers up mighty fast and, out of the blue, you’re catapulted straight into a dance frenzy. Or at least that’s probably the intention behind the unrelenting synth Gatling guns. The melody isn’t very complex, but all movements are well timed and interconnected to such a degree that this can become an addictive experience. This is the stuff that immortal songs are made of.

I can hardly believe this song is almost 20 years old. Its age, together with the sheer power carried by the sound waves definitely qualifies Sandstorm for the Blast from the Past category.

You can listen to the melody for free 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. However, I found that the quality of the BandCamp recording is rather poor, much more so than other stuff that the website allows online play for. However, this may not be an issue when purchasing, because then you are entitled to get a FLAC file. The question remains if the FLAC file is genuine or coded form a questionable source. But anyway, here’s the link:

https://ministryofsound.bandcamp.com/track/darude-sandstorm^

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRczGJ-4M5g^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/2kWB9IV8EHDOU9EjgxWFrF^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

https://www.deezer.com/track/63653810^

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This Year’s Dose of Horrible Behavior Towards Animals

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How would you feel if some dudes would grab somebody dear to you from the comfort and safety of their home, tie that person to a car and drag them around town for a couple of miles? While doing this, of course, they would laugh, because torture is fun:

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/13/us/shark-dragged-video-arrests-trnd/index.html^

And then there’s this horrific way to celebrate students’ achievements: a jungle-themed prom where majestic wild animals are disrespected and psychologically tormented. This sets, of course, a wonderful example for the adults, parents and decision makers of tomorrow:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/miami-dade/fl-reg-tiger-at-school-prom-20180514-story.html^

There’s a reason why I’ve timed this post to show up exactly after the one detailing how ants take care of their wounded^, which is yet another discovery from a long string of marvelous findings about the creatures living along side us on Earth. I’d like to create contrast between the amazing diversity and complexity of life on Earth and the lack of respect (many) humans show towards it.

My only comfort is that at least society is taking some action against such behavior. It’s a step in the right direction. I await the day when all of our children will respect wildlife and will leave it well enough alone.

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Amorphis – Summer’s End

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I’m usually happy to hear what a few extra instruments can do to a metal song. It doesn’t matter if those instruments are physical or spawned from the digital innards of a synthesizer. What matters is how they are integrated with the rest of the orchestration. The solid riffing and drumming here is all laid upon a dreamy foundation, the perfect soundscape for the song’s eerie lyrics.

True to the roots of the group’s name, Amorphis has gone through quite a number of musical transformations. The band has become a successful example when it comes to incorporating other instruments into the traditional metal repertoire.

The melody hails from Amorphis’ Pasi Koskinen^ era, when they released a few progressive metal albums. The band has released many more albums after they changed to a new vocalist (Tomi Joutsen^) who brought a blast of fresh energy to the band’s music. This is surely not the last Amorphis song you’ll see around here.

“In the morning mist by the waning moon
through the woods she set on foot
With a sacred blade cut the berries down
Dug up the dreaded mandrake root

[Chorus:]
Tread my path to summer’s end
This bequest I leave you she says
You will see what could be evergreen
Turn to copper and fade to gray

By the standing stones
Atropine eyes smiled at me
Sitting in a sluggish vertigo
Sands of time form another dream
No love without sacrifice
No lige springs without decay
The final kiss is a wormy one
In soils cold caress to rest we’ll lay”

Unfortunately, I can’t find any way of purchasing the album digitally from any ethical shop (such as BandCamp^).

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aXDr3a1utU^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/4j3x8hnOJvHwe89efGZRCo^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

https://www.deezer.com/track/11125946^

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Ants Take Care of Their Wounded

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It’s impressive how creatures with a (much) smaller brain than ours are capable of complex behaviors such as taking care of their wounded. Could it be that instinct is smarter than being smart?

This is evolution at its best. As the main author of instinctual behavior refinement, evolution has given these ants an edge. Because they take care of their wounded, they could very well prevail should they get into a contest with other (ant) species:

https://www.i4u.com/2018/02/127173/ants-rescue-their-warriors-licking-their-wounds^

Here’s to more amazing finds about the ecosystem!

…And to less cruelty^ towards^ it^…

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Michael Mayer – Mind Games (feat. Ed Macfarlane)

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Enough, enough, enough, enough, mind games.

I couldn’t help writing that. It’s because I love how the song starts. And guess what: I love how it continues even more, otherwise why would I even type these words?

Welcome to a musically playful exploration of a mentally complex topic. I feel that the vocals are spot on given the way the topic is approached (Ed does a great job of communicating a feeling of “this must end”). And when it comes to Michael Mayer’s music, I can only say that the way this song is layered and architected is highly entertaining. It’s almost as if two melodies are playing with each other. They’re very much alike and yet, with the use of (mostly) three simple chords, so different.

I tried to find the lyrics for the song (there’s some interesting sentences in there), but only found results that are clearly somebody’s (very) broken interpretation of what Ed sings. I can probably write a better “translation”, but I think it’s the artists that should publish the lyrics if they wish to.

Enough mind games!

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://michaelmayer.bandcamp.com/track/mind-games^

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoTt4i9knCY^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/59FxcA9nXTJO7d88SlyZSJ^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

https://www.deezer.com/track/130937706^

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The Three Gates

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Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates. At the first gate, ask yourself ‘Is it true?’ At the second gate ask, ‘Is it necessary?’ At the third gate ask, ‘Is it kind?’

This beautiful Sufi saying has been with me for several years now. I wanted to write a few words about it since quite some time ago. First of all, this is one of the best rules for life that I’ve ever encountered in any culture. I’d like to also paraphrase it as such:

Before you take any action, let your thoughts pass through three gates. At the first gate, ask yourself ‘Is it an honest action?’ At the second gate ask, ‘Is it necessary?’ At the third gate ask, ‘Is it kind?

Applying this throughout my life is, however, much more difficult than I could have ever imagined. I believe there’s a certain culture clash occurring here. I live in a culture where I need to stay competitive in order to make ends meet. In the same time, I have creative cravings that are incompatible with what society currently values (being a writer doesn’t pay much).

But then I should at least be able to live by these words at home, right? Or at least in how I treat myself. Well, it’s not that simple actually. Being constantly submerged in a certain culture (and exposed to all the behaviors that culture comes with) makes this very difficult.

I guess it’s time to invest in training my will and patience and my “cultural immune system”, whose duty is to filter out cultural elements that are preventing me from choosing my words and actions more wisely.

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