Down

I've liked Down for a few years now, but any time I try to talk to someone else about them, they've never heard of them. That seems to be changing a little now with the release of their latest album, due to the fact that they're getting more coverage in the media. But still, for a band fronted by ex-Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo and including members of Corrosion of Conformity, Crowbar and Eyehategod, all big bands in their own right, Down are relatively unknown.

Down released their first record NOLA in 1995 and consist of Phil Anselmo on vocals, Rex Brown on bass (both of Pantera fame), Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity) and Kirk Windstein (Crowbar) on guitars, and Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod) on drums. In the beginning, the band was just a side project, and this was not actually the original line-up, Rex and Kirk only joining later on. NOLA was followed up in 2002 with Down II: A Bustle in your Hedgerow. Marking a very different stage in the band's development, the whole tone of the album was less frantic and more contemplative that the first, while retaining Down's characteristic southern grind. Following this, the band once again went on hiatus until 2007 when they released Over the Under, unveiling a whole new kind of Down. Drawing heavily on experiences relating to Hurricance Katrina, Anselmo's lyrics were some of his most interesting and engaging ever, while the overall texture of the music became bigger, more layered and much more powerful. As of right now, Down IV is apparently in the works in some form or another, and will apparently be a return to a more NOLA-esque sound.

The whole point of this half-assed review is to encourage anyone who might happen to read this to give Down a listen. You won't be disappointed. If you are, you and I obviously have very different tastes in music, in that yours is shit, and mine is sublime. The link below will take you to a video of one of their best songs. Go, watch!

Stone the Crow

The Crusades, Machiavelli and Warcraft

So this is my first year of college (studying History), and I have to hand in two 2,000-word essays, on the "Reasons for the successes achieved by the First Crusade" and the "Extent to which the Values of the Renaissance informed the politics of sixteenth-century Italy", by the 16th of November. The first essay, relating to the First Crusade, is done, dusted and ready to be handed in. The Renaissance essay, on the other hand, isn't going so well.

If a book exists which deals directly with the question of the extent to which the values of the Renaissance informed the politics of sixteenth-century Italy exists, I sure haven't found it. And I've looked. If a book exists which deals even indirectly with the same question, I still haven't found it. I'm beginning to think that this question is deliberately vague, in order to make us work harder, or some rubbish like that. For a start, what exactly are the values of the Renaissance? Are they the humanist values of education and focus on the learning of the ancient world? If so, can we call Machiavelli's values, Machiavelli technically being a member of the humanist camp, "values of the Renaissance"? I asked my lecturer those same questions. He told me that answering them was the whole point of the essay.

I was right. Deliberately vague.

My attempts at research have also been hampered by World of Warcraft. Damn that thing is addictive. Geeky, and a waste of time, but addictive. I should never have renewed my subscription two weeks before these essays were due. Interestingly, I'm starting to draw parallels between World of Warcraft and Machiavelli's The Prince. After all, Machiavelli's ideal leader is one who will do anything necessary to ensure the security and continuity of his state; I'll do whatever is necessary to ensure the security and continuity of my Undead Warrior. Machiavelli calls for a reliance on domestic troops rather than the forces of others; I always play by myself rather than grouping with others.

I should do an essay on "The Extent to which the Values of the Renaissance inform the Tactics of World of Warcraft". I could fucking own that essay.

A Declaration of Intent

I don't really know why I'm starting this blog. It's highly unlikely that anyone will ever read it. It's even more unlikely that anyone who happens to read it will care about what I have to say, regardless of topic. Maybe I'll use it as a forum for my woeful attempts at writing, or maybe for my musings on everyday life. Maybe I'll eventually settle on a topic and stick to it, trying to carve out a niche for myself like so many small-time bloggers these days. Perhaps I'll do all of these things. All I know is, I keep picking a topic (music reviews, book reviews, current affairs), posting once, and then forgetting about it for months. So from now on, I'll just post about whatever takes my fancy at the time.