So, I didn’t get a chance to do this right after the 1st, but as an ode to 2011, I thought I’d write up my top albums that I discovered in 2011 (that didn’t necessarily come out in 2011!).

Nocturnal Rites – The 8th Sin

Favorite Tracks: Leave Me Alone, Never Again, Not Like You, Not The Only, Me

Daft Punk – Tron Legacy

Favorite Tracks: TRON Legacy (End Titles), Adagio for TRON, Rinzler, Derezzed

Blind Guardian – A Twist in the Myth

Favorite tracks: Fly, The Edge, Another Stranger Me, Lionheart

New Kids on the Block

Favorite Tracks: Dirty Dancing, Looking Like Danger, Click Click Click, Full Service, Put It On My Tab

Symphony X – Iconoclast

Favorite Tracks: Dehumanized, Heretic, Children of a Faceless God,

Train – Save Me, San Francisco

Favorite Tracks: This Ain’t Goodbye, Parachute, Words

Kamelot – The Black Halo

Favorite Tracks: Soul Society, Abandoned, When the Lights Are Down, The Haunting (Somewhere in Time)

Jamiroquai – Rock Dust Light Star

Favorite Tracks: White Knuckle Ride, Angeline, She’s A Fast Persuader, Rock Dust Light Star

Van Canto

Favorite Tracks: Lost Forever, To Sing A Metal Song, The Tribe of Force, Master of Puppets, My Voice

Darren Hayes – Secret Codes and Battleships

Favorite Tracks: Taken By the Sea, God Walking Into a Room, Hurt, The Siren’s Call, Cruel Cruel World, Bloodstained Heart, Black Out the Sun

Isn’t it difficult to view the world in a consistent way?  I think that’s one of the biggest challenges facing a person who evaluates the world based on logic.  We want things to be consistent, but they just…  aren’t.  So why do we continue to go through all the trouble of constructing a logical framework by which to observe and interact with the world?  I wish I knew.  Sometimes I just think too much, I guess.  I guess the only way to escape is to live in the moment. Good thing I got a strobe light for Christmas.  What better way to seize the day than to have an in-the-moment dance party with myself?  STROBE LIGHT INCLUDED!  :queue bumpin’ dance music here:

Hope you guys are celebrating with family and friends in an epically metal way this December and on into the New Year!  Much love from Order of Týr!  (See what I did there?) 

Sometimes pain can be so great that it paralyzes you.  You get caught in a wave of indecision and can’t seem to fight your way to the surface.  One of the greatest pains I have ever faced has been the kind I experience when I encounter a situation that does not allow me to express who I really am as a human being.  Who can you be but yourself?  I think this type of pain manifests itself in many ways for different people.  For me, I mostly end up feeling angry at myself.  Why can’t I just be different?  Why can’t I be what people want me to be?  But life would not be nearly so interesting without the struggle between who I am and who others want me to be.  And I’ve found that it’s in these times that I learn the most about myself and the human experience.  I think it’s these struggles that ultimately hone us into wondrous and beautiful souls, and for that, I should be grateful.

A Minecraft parody of Michael Jackson’s Thriller:  CREEPER!

I wonder why humans have the tendency to find their opinions and stick to them so vehemently that they lose respect for those who disagree.  Why does the person on the opposite end of the pole have to be “stupid” or “misguided”?  What makes his life choices so much less than your own?  I find more and more that the less “by the book” you are, the more likely you are to be viewed by others as “misguided”.  How do they know I’m misguided?  Every single thought, experience, and person in my life up until this point has guided me perfectly to the conclusions I’ve drawn.  I think it’s the same for everyone in the world.  People don’t randomly have opinions.  They have them based on the culmination of everything in their lives up until the present moment.  Now it is true that many opinions go logically unexamined, but nonetheless this is another part of the life experience that leads a person to his thoughts.  Why do people devalue another’s life experience?  Why is any one life experience better or worse than another?  I wonder how much better things could be if we could learn to value those with whom we disagree as much as those with whom we agree.  I mean, have you ever sat down with a person you disagree with and traced back to the origins of his opinion?  You may be fascinated by what you find there, and you may find that you and he are not so different as you expected.

I often turn to music in order to express my feelings.  It’s amazing how much of the human experience is shared, and yet each experience with a thousand of its own idiosyncrasies.  And somehow we still believe ourselves to be alone in the world.  Perhaps if we spent more time focusing on our similarities instead of always pointing out the differences…

Beautiful right?

So, this is something I shared in the long lost Just Donna interview that no one will ever get to hear, but I thought I’d write a blog about it because I hope it might be inspiring to others who have experienced something similar.  So, here goes…  Long, long ago I tried out for my high school talent show and did not make it.  Then again in college I did not make the cut for Sound Fuzion (the U of M singing group).  Then just a few months ago I participated in a karaoke contest where I didn’t even make the top 7 (and there were only about 15 acts)…  and there were some not-so-talented homeless people who made the top 7…  I have also had several other instances where I was turned down for singing opportunities I really wanted and where I received negative feedback from others.  Those experiences left me really insecure about my singing abilities, and I battle those past experiences and the thoughts that my voice is not good enough pretty regularly.  When I listen to the music of Order of Týr, I oftentimes worry that my vocals RUIN the awesome music the guys write, and I have already mentally prepared myself for the chance that they will find someone waaaay better than me one day and replace me.

I’m not writing any of this to fish for compliments.  I’m writing it because these are thoughts I have pretty regularly regardless of the good things others might say.  Even though the thoughts are really discouraging and make me feel like I shouldn’t even bother trying, I still sing because it’s what I love. Pretty much anyone who is really successful will tell you they’ve had the same kinds of experiences at one time or another.  I watched an interview with Lady Gaga not too long ago, and she said she was constantly told she wouldn’t make it because she wasn’t pretty enough, and well, you see how that turned out! Christina Aguilera was told her voice wasn’t unique enough, and there are tons of other stories like that.  So, despite any negative feedback I may receive, I’m going to continue to sing because I’m passionate about it and it brings me joy.  And really, when you truly love something you do, I think other people take notice and want to join in with you, even if you’re not the best in the world at it.  So, you shouldn’t ever let anyone else’s opinion or your past bad experiences ruin something that you love. Any of you out there that have ever had the same thing happen to you, KEEP UP THE GOOD FIGHT!  Because I fully plan to, and you never know where it may lead.  You might be the next Lady Gaga. 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder anyways…

Do you ever have one of those days where you just can’t seem to contain your smile?  I had one of those days.  Actually, my whole weekend was like that.  It’s a good feeling, and I hope that every one of you out there experiences it on a regular basis.  If not, perhaps it’s time to reevaluate life, take a different direction, and get into a groove where instead of having too many days where you can’t contain your sadness, you have many, many more where you can’t contain your smile.  Jump into that thing that’s been calling your name over the years, and don’t look back.  Even if it’s the scariest thing you’ve ever thought about doing.

Have you ever noticed that many of the things that are valued most in this society deal more with being extroverted than introverted?  Large circles of friends, interacting well in group settings, being warm, friendly, and open with people right off the bat…  These are all things our society tends to admire.  But what if you’re not that person?  What if you can’t stand the thought of being in a group bigger than 3 people?  What if you’d really like to be warm, friendly, and open but just can’t seem to figure out how?  There are so many misconceptions out there about what exactly it means to be introverted.  This week I was accused of being depressed during a group project.  Depressed?  Hardly.  Quiet?  Unwilling to interrupt the other group loud mouths?  Pensive?  Yes, that’s more like it.  Still, it’s irritating to be labeled incorrectly for something that is simply a part of who I am and has very little to do with my mood.  In MY opinion, I think more people could stand to take notes from their neighborhood introvert.  Why shouldn’t an extrovert take 10 seconds to think before he insults someone accidentally?  Why shouldn’t an extrovert give others time to express their opinions (that happen to be just as important as his own!)?  If the extroverts would just give us a chance…  they might be surprised about what they’d learn.  We’re not as un-opinionated or sullen as they might think!

No offense to any of you extroverts out there…   But seriously, when was the last time you shut your mouth long enough to hear “the quiet one” speak?