Math Rock

Math rock, who knew such a thing existed?
a rather obscure form of experimental rock that arose in the 80's, heavily influenced by progressive rock and various advant-garde genres of music. There is much focus on the music and much less on the lyrics and human vocals, which are either treated as simply another instrument, sometimes found in the middle or at the bottom of the mix, or omitted entirely. The rhythms are atypical, complex, and mutable; one could almost describe the sound as "a pleasant dissonance". It has a very free flowing, jazzy feel to it, in my opinion, so you can think of it as "Jazzy rock" I guess. It gained the name "Math Rock" because of it's complexity; it sadly has no real relation to music with a mathematical theme. The sound is definitely enough to make up for it, though.

But why am i ranting about it? Elvis Costello is quoted saying "writing about music is like dancing about architecture." I may disagree somewhat, but i still hold to that. Reading paragraphs about how the music is "a meld between progressive rock and jazz, it originated in the 13th century, blah blah blah" tells much less about the music than 10 seconds of listening to it. So, what are you waiting for; Math rock is simply a click away.

(This was my first sampling; more will be on the way.)

(Also note: some of the covers and names are a little strange, and one band is called "Hella". If that doesn't bug you, this won't be a problem. If it does but you're still interested, I'll put up a different video soon with more samples. I have become very fond of this genre of music.)

A is for "Albus" (Albinism---First Obsession Topic)

I've always been interested in disorders, conditions, and diseases, mental or physical. Mutations, genetic irregularities of any kind, you name it, I'm fascinated by it. Albinism, or achromatosis, is one such condition; there are varying forms, of which I will delve into more formally and with more detail, but the general meaning of the term refers to lack of pigment in certain cells caused by a deficiency or absence of an enzyme during melanin production.

Unfortunately, this condition is a often considered an affliction rather than a blessing because it adversely effects the albino individual's vision, increases the chance of sun burn and skin cancer, involves bleeding problems (since platelets in the blood frequently malfunction), and often incurs social stigmatism in locations where albinism is associated with witchcraft and the supernatural. At very least, albinism is a quite misunderstood condition, and many individuals who are affected feel isolated from society, in varying degrees.

However, albinism, despite it's difficulties and downsides, is a very beautiful condition.

This is Connie Chiu. She's an albino model, and she's gorgeous.

These pictures are not mine, I found them here. Also, Connie Chiu's website can be located here.