A short one and a bit of a mess.
I wrote this really quickly, kind of as a need to decompress a bit after working on the images from the last thing I shared.
Still, I think this gets some imagery across.
I hope you enjoy.
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Many lines running in different directions
Some intersect and create new forms
Though they always retain their own
Angles appear, following the lines
As they keep growing onward
And find ways to illustrate shapes
This was started on Wednesday and finished today.
When I thought I’d finished the lines and started filling in the colours for the fuller variants I discovered I’d made an error and had to redo every line of colour.
I think I’ve spent somewhere between fifteen and twenty hours working on this.
It was tedious but in the end I completed the image and I’m glad I did.
I hope you enjoy.
More writing and once again I have little to go off.
It is one of those days, but I guess I should be glad that it is and not one of the other days where I struggle more.
Maybe I need to look at climbing trees, but in order to climb a tree I need stairs as that will help me better get to where it is that I feel I need to be in order to persevere and assess the thigs that I need to assess.
There will be a table at the top of the whole thing – that thing being the tree – and I will have the things of which I need to assess sitting there. There they will sit and there I will assess them. I will look and analyse each one and I will work out as to which order they are meant to be in. This may take some time.
Thankfully there will be snacks and I like snacking, so therefore this won’t be the worst thing in the world. There are significantly worse things and really, this might just be one of the better things out there that one could ever have to deal with. However, I digress, somehow.
So anyway, I would spend the time and the time would pass by. Night into day and day into night and all that other stuff. There would be the passage of time and there would be the great analysing of things that don’t necessarily matter, but at least they would be analysed. They would be examined. There would be expressing of these things in a linear fashion, but perhaps it would not appear as though it was linear. Perhaps it would appear messy and open and all of those other things that I’d rather not have the whole thing appear as, but sometimes you don’t get a say there and so you just do what you can, where you can and how you can.
Of course you could also choose to not, but that is not something that I’m going to cover here as I need to go over there and then look at some other things. Maybe.
Eventually, of course, this would all grow tiresome and so I would need to go back down the tree and then go home. Of course this is then something that I would gladly do as I would much rather be at home resting than spending far too much time on something that might not warrant it, unless of course I can warrant doing so, which sometimes I can. However, not in this particular instance.
So I’d go home and have a rest and then do some other things which involve sleeping. Maybe there would be a fair bit of sleeping, but then again, maybe there would be very little. Of course it is too early in the day to tell, but sometimes you can tell sooner rathe than later, but right now it wouldn’t matter too much.
The time it took to write five-hundred words: 05:18:59
Good speed, bit of a mess, but I feel I was able to weave some sort of whimsy in which somehow improves this.
Written at home.
Once more I go in with no plans and once more I hope for the best. There will be no derailing this morning, however; there are things of which are things and there are things of which are not things and I’m going to keep my focus going the whole way through as I need to get to the end of this and I start work soon and there already is too much pressure on my shoulders, but I’ll just keep on going as I hope I can get to the end of this in one piece and not many.
Probably will as I’m sitting down and I’m in a safe space, as it were. Unless somehow I spontaneously fall apart – something I do not expect to happen – I’m pretty sure that this will all go as smoothly as my struggle to get to the target will allow, and of course it will be a struggle. It will be a massive struggle.
The road is uphill and backward and the gradient is steep, but by golly I will get there. I will make sure that it is there to which I get, for I do not want to remain here. I want to move on and see other things, but there is the target and once more there is where I will get. I know I can make it and there is no need for planning; the only thing I need to do is push through whatever blocks I keep putting in front of myself.
I cannot tell you as to why I keep doing this, but I can tell you that I am not a fan of an obstacle course. I’m even less of a fan of an obstacle course that I need to go through backward and uphill at the same time. It is not fun and it is not something of which I would ever choose to do, but for some reason right now is the exception. Still, there is no time like the present and present is where I am at the moment. I am not in the past, though you might argue that I was in the past even though the past was then the present. I also am not in the future, though you could argue that I will be in the future at some stage, though by the the future will also be the present and then that will be set and as the present, though the present then will also pass off into the past and that is the way that the things go and so it goes on and on, but this is all beside the point, really.
Right now I am in the present and I am feeling present, so that is something of which I will work to maintain for the time being. There is little else out there to maintain at the moment, but right now this is what I am maintaining.
I also am in one singular location and not many which is something I consider to be a good thing when you’re trying to write and focus on what it is that you’re writing. Of course, if I were in many locations at once, then perhaps I would be able to see more and MAYBE get a little bit more done, or at least get a wider spread of things done, though I imagine that my ability to get those things done in a way that one would consider acceptable would be greatly diminished due to only having so much brain power and not enough to split over many things at once. Maybe.
This is all conjecture, however, and really what I should be doing is focusing on getting this bit of writing done as soon I need to do other things. However, I don’t want to think about that right now as it gets in the way of getting this done and right now I want to get this done. I want to focus on the topic at hand and try and work out why it is eluding me as much as it is, which is to say not at all as there is no subject other than the one at the top of the hill that I need to go up backward which also involves getting through an obstacle course backward which is something that I really, REALLY do not want to do as I find that something that is a bit not fun, or something. I don’t know.
What I do know is that eventually I will have to do this and so I should try and get it done before more obstacles get in the way as the sooner I get it done, the easier it will be to do other things and the sooner I will know what it is that I am currently reaching for, but there is only so much diving that I can get done in one day and this isn’t diving, so really that doesn’t factor into this whole issue of which I am currently presented with, though maybe it does and I’m not thinking about it in the right way, or something. Maybe I need to rethink all of this and see where that rethinking leads, then follow the rethinking and see what it undoes and then do a little bit of a dance, but maybe that dancing would be severely truncated and instead of any dancing there just would be prancing, or not even that. Maybe a slight movement and then nothing. There would be nothing to follow and then I’d get on with things.
So, I guess, what I’m saying is that I need to get on with getting on and I need to wrap this up in a way that implies progress toward greater things or something, but of course I won’t do that as that would be too easy.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be easy at all, but I’ll claim it is anyway.
The time it took to write one thousand words: 09:49:20
I sort of tried to focus and not wander too much with this writing. Don’t think it quite worked, but at least the attempt was there, or something.
Written at home.
A tree(s) as seen at Balls Head Reserve.
There’s a moodiness to this image. A sense of drama. Perhaps a bleakness, but not overly so as there are leaves visible.
Certainly a sense of space. Also a sense of contrast in terms of appearance, with the clouds appearing softer than the trees, though now that I’ve written that it seems rather obvious.
This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness” for this week.
I suggest checking out Leanne’s photography, as well as checking out what other people submit.
A lot of what people are submitting will likely end up here.
I hope you enjoy.
It is always a joy when things work as it means that things are working. Rather happy about that and all that other stuff.
When things are not working is when things might not be so good, but you persevere and all that other stuff. You do what you can and then you get going with the going and move on and see what else happens.
Don’t know what I’m going on about. Trying to find the words to construct the meaning, but the meaning eludes me. It certainly does not allude me, or allude to me for that matter. However, it most certainly does elude me.
So anyway, I sit here and here is where I sit and I do the things that lead to other things. Eventually there may be even more things. It is difficult to tell at times, but sometimes the times that do tell the things reveal themselves as to not be as circumspect as I once suspected, but this is of course assuming that I’ve done all the checks that I am reassured (quite often) are entirely routine and not in any way designed to waste as much time as possible without arousing suspicions.
Still, that is no comparison to other things in which revolve around the revolutions that reveal themselves as not having solutions, and perhaps that is the way that the things should be. Perhaps there should be a breaking of the things and a walking away from all of the festivities. Sometimes that is the way that things unravel, but you hope that they don’t as there are so many other things that then spill out from the things and then you need to pick them all up and put them back in and all of that other stuff and I don’t know as to where I am going with all of this as it has been a long day and also a long night and I’m rather tired at the moment. Need rest but rest will come soon.
For now I keep on going with this waffling in the hopes that it ends sooner rather than later as I need to rest and I would much rather rest, but I need to wait for that as there still are things that I need to take care of before the night ends.
Hopefully this won’t take too long.
So anyway, I sit here and I do the writing and then you read the writing and I wonder as to what it is that I’m going on about, but not always of course. Right now I know what it is that I do want to go on about but it is not coming forward and so I should probably just rest, but not before I do the other things and all of that other stuff and it’s all cyclical now, so you could probably put a neat little bow on this writing and then pack it away, or do something else entirely.
The time it took to write five-hundred words: 05:30:58
This was written mostly due to a need to write.
It also turned out the way it did mostly due to wanting to write about something but feeling unable to do so… I think.
Written at home.
This one was difficult to write and I think it was due to overthinking.
Four listens, but a lot of restarts early on in the first due to having a bit of trouble finding my footing.
I stuck mostly to describing the song here. There wasn’t any plan, but I feel this would have worked better if I went for either imagery or something else.
Oh well.
As a side note, I feel as though “Colony 9” is similar to Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays’ “It’s For You” (of which I wrote about here).
Yoko Shimomura’s (下村 陽子) “Colony 9” (“コロニー9“) is from Xenoblade Chronicles Special Soundtrack and Xenoblade Original Soundtrack, both soundtracks for Xenoblade Chronicles. The former is a selection of tracks released outside of Japan, whereas the latter is the entire soundtrack.
I hope you enjoy.
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Simple, rhythmic guitar strumming soon followed by percussion emphasising the rhythm, and what could be either piano keys or some form of bass underscoring the melody. Violin comes in once the sounds firmly establish themselves; it glides and flows along and above the open plains as the sounds move forward. For a brief moment other strings provide a slight shape, almost as though some sort of updraft or additional feature in the landscape, and the violin keeps moving, with a slight boost from the strings.
Suddenly woodwind flickers in, moving almost as a counterpoint, also flowing, before violin once more comes back. The strings also provide a brief moment once more, higher this time, and then once more they provide a slight boost before a brief pause in some of the instrumentation.
It almost feels like a rest. A brief pause for reflection, or recollection. It could be for many reasons. The percussion is stripped back, the woodwind flickers in once more, though with brief strikes, and a melodic sound, low remains as such. The guitar comes back, now with accordion in tow, filling out the song whilst adding a little more to the melody.
The violin returns, rising up over a lush, moving landscape. Piano plays around it, careful, precise. The instrumentation grows in its vibrancy, richness and expansiveness. It’s a climax, dramatic and wide, but remains lean and driven; it does not overtake what came before. It then all returns to the opening guitar strumming, the percussion and the low note underscoring, though the piano remains, punctuation, enunciating, and perhaps shining there as a location reached before the journey continues and the song ends.
This was done within the last few hours.
I was sketching a little without any particular aims and this resulted.
Not much else to say about this one.
I hope you enjoy.
I took this in part to try and get a comparison shot to this photo.
I think that you still get a good impression of the size, but with a clearer, calmer sky the area feels so much less dramatic.
I hope you enjoy.
This one took… maybe two hours to edit.
I knocked out a really rough draft about two, maybe three weeks ago. Didn’t do anything with it for some reason. Forced myself through editing it earlier today. A lot of it came easy, but I think it was mostly due to just wanting to get it done.
Not a great read. Kind of gets stuff across. Kind of.
Most of my interview and review work now appears on Culture Eater.
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We’re looking at what we can give to supporters as we don’t want to set up a one way relationship, so suggestions are welcome. Podcast Eater is one of the things we’ve got going and (aside from the next few weeks) new episodes are available through there first.
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I hope you enjoy.
—
Distant Populations starts with a quick, fitting burst of percussion, then kicks into some sort of gear featuring fuzzed guitar, loud drums, shouted vocals. “Inversion” takes these and draws them out, pushing atmosphere forward. This is Quicksand using aggression and sounding spacey. It’s a direct song, it announces intent and it’s lean and mean.
From there “Lightning Field” moves with a driving aggression, but also feels more floaty and detached. “Colossus” goes for this sort of swaggering stomp, perhaps in trying to suggest its title and it sort of works, but doesn’t quite hit the mark. Still, its sound design works well, and once more it continues with a spacey, detached feel.
Okay, so Distant Populations is a pretty aggressive-sounding album, but it’s often as “Inversion” suggests, balanced with something else. Melodies come forward as does groove, among other things. Essentially it’s a heavy album, but without going all out on heaviness. Perhaps it helps that the lyrics often feel like they regard societal issues, though seemingly in a vague manner. There’s enough of a balance in them to prevent them from feeling either too pretentious or too obvious. They’re probably rather simple, but they leave room for thought.
“Brushed” strips back the loudness and instead goes for a softer, moodier space. It remains as such throughout the song, leaving space for shimmery, pretty sections. “Katakana” at first seems like it might follow in a similar vein, but instead brings the loudness back. The percussion plays something reggae-like which works well when the song gets really loud and helps keep things flowing smoothly; the other instruments lock down on the groove and drive on forward with ease.
“Missile Command” builds around this sort of expansive sound for a bit and once more draws sounds out, building atmosphere. It’s pretty straightforward but that works in its favour. “Phase 90”, also is straightforward and it’s fine, but in sticking mostly to a highly familiar melodic pattern it feels like a really, REALLY safe move rather than a strong song. Quicksand kind of tinker with it a bit through guitar and percussion, but there’s not enough to keep the song effective over repeat listens. Perhaps it’s the most personal piece and that’s why the band went for resolute familiarity; I don’t know if that is the case, but in doing so the song grows increasingly flat over repeat listens.
“The Philosopher” has more of a rocking stomp, and seems to end before it shifts gears a little. For a brief period Quicksand get tense and ominous before picking up for one more chorus. At first it feels a little off, but on successive listens it makes more sense.
Following track “Compacted Reality” functions as this small interlude of sorts. It almost sounds like Quicksand made something, then played around with pitch and speed, but it’s hard to tell. It’s a quirky bit of music with a sense of gloominess that shouldn’t fit but it somehow does.
“EMDR” alternates between off-kilter and straightforward rhythms effectively. The way that the percussion handles the shifts creates a sense of compression and stretching, and it almost feels like riding waves. It makes good use of beat and atmosphere to get an expansive feel going where the band felt necessary.
“Rodan” closes Distant Populations with more tension and floating vocals. It has some solid, spaced moments and ends the album on a high note. Maybe it’s in part a nod the band. Maybe not, but regardless it holds a sense of the climactic without going overboard. It doesn’t push loudness or quietness and it doesn’t feel either too aggressive or not aggressive enough. Once more the percussion comes across solidly, keeping things locked down and tasteful whilst adding a lot to the song; Much like the start of the album, it closes things off with a quick, fitting burst.
Whilst Distant Populations is not a bad album, it’s more linear and less adventurous than Interiors. Furthermore, the latter had more space and the former is more spacey, if that makes sense. This said, Interiors also has more bite, and perhaps a bit more refinement. It feels like Quicksand looked to further themselves and in doing so have provided something tighter, more refined experience. There’s meaning here and there’s conviction behind these songs. Not all song hit the mark; some are a bit ho-hum, but overall the album does what it does well.
Distant Populations is available here.
Stupidity Hole 