A Vidclip a Day: Sanctuary, “Future Tense”

There are songs that render me speechless, and set my every nerve on fire. This is one of them.

What do you see on the news when you watch T.V.
War in the name of God, or a playground killing spree
Politicians promise you the world, and a preacher cries
All he ever wanted was your money, and a bitch on the side
What went wrong? Did society twist him?

What do you see in the center of the public eye
Rock stars on smack, and a serial killer fries
Radicals blame suicide and murder on our from of art
Brainwash the youth, you know they claim we all play a part
What a shame that they can’t think for themselves

Past tense to future tense, let history unfold
So ends a decade now what will the nineties hold
You know we’re verging on the edge of an age
Then another century will turn the page

What do you think they will say when they look back on this
Were the eighties just a time of spoiled innocence
We leave our legacy like dust in the sands of time
Let’s hope the seeds we plant can carry the weight of our crimes

Past tense to future tense let history unfold
And when we’re old and gray these stories will be told
You know we’re verging on the edge of an age
Then another century will turn the page

We sail an ocean, a sea of doubt
Sceptics make no sense, can’t work things out
I’ll choose optimism, scream its name
Look to the future, a burning flame

Past tense to future tense let history unfold
So ends a decade now what will the nineties hold
You know we’re verging on the edge of an age
Then another century will turn the page
Turn the page!…

I should only give background info here. This was written by Sanctuary, a late 1980s metal band from Seattle, out of whose ashes rose the entity Nevermore. The lyrics very much reflect the end-of-the-decade feel in 1990 when the album which this piece opens, Into the Mirror Black, was released. Still, they can relate quite effortlessly to our time – and you’ll be more easily convinced after you see the very telling video. I’m going to let you do exactly that. Till later: Q. W3ary over & out.

A Vidclip a Day: Nile, “Papyrus Containing the Spell to Preserve Its Possessor Against Attacks from He Who Is in the Water”

From time to time, life gets brutal, short, and very bloody. Especially when you are chased down by deities who have taken the form of large reptilians. In such cases, you need a “Papyrus Containing the Spell to Preserve Its Possessor Against Attacks from He Who Is in the Water”. The title says a lot, so I need not add much. This is simply one of those ultimately strange things you encounter when you tirelessly dig further and further into all things anciently Egyptian – like Nile do.

Amun
Lord of the gods
Thou who art of the four ram’s heads upon thy neck
Thou standest upon the spine of the crocodile fiends
To thine sides are the dog-headed apes
The transformed spirits of the dawn

Drive away from me the lions of the wastes
The crocodiles which come forth from the river
The bite of poisonous reptiles
Which crawl forth from their holes

The “He Who Is in the Water” from whom we need protection here is Sebek, the god crocodile variously considered both quite evil and substantially good in different Egyptian periods. Yes, religious interpretations, and re-interpretations, and re-re-interpretations, and re-re-re-re… But although these summoning words probably sound like the mumblings of a madman today, they have retained the simple power and beauty of their faith through the millennia. Don’t be afraid of crocodiles; watch the clip, and repeat: “I possess the spell to preserve me from he who is in the water”. Q. W3ary out.

A Vidclip a Day: Sepultura, “Territory”

People often say that metal music deliberately seeks the politically controversial (just look at Slayer), or – on the contrary – avoids politics generally, and considers it separate from, and inapplicable to, art. Musicians and listeners alike are often accused of being ignorant, uncaring, or both. Such people, of course, exist in the world of metal music – just like in every other sphere of life. But they do not represent all of metalheads. Here’s an old-ish Sepultura video to counter the notion of the ignorant and unthinking metal devotee.

Unknown man
Speaks to the world
Sucking your trust
A trap in every world

War for territory, war for territory

Choice control
Behind propaganda
Poor information
To manage your anger

War for territory, war for territory

This video was shot sometime in 1993, if I remember correctly, and shows the band in the war territories of Israel and Palestine. The lands this war has been fought over for so long can be easily described in one word: desert. And in that desert, people still kill each other and die, and no end to the devastating conflict is in sight. Sixteen years ago, the situation looked as bleak as today. Sepultura wanted to show that, expose the destruction – like so many other musicians – so that we could possibly stop it. Today, that may be finally getting nearer: one thing everyone can do to bring it about is support the Goldstone report which, by all accounts, seems to one of the most objective and fair political and legal analyses of the conflict up to now. And while doing that, don’t forget to listen to Sepultura. Q. W3ary over & out.

A Vidclip a Day: Trivium, “Down from the Sky”

Today, a young band with an angry song: Trivium and “Down from the Sky” (off last year’s Shogun). I won’t talk much, but will just give you a short passage instead, to get the blood boiling (and for once, you can see the strong single, and not album, cover on the left):

Hunger pangs strike
For the sweet feast of innocent blood
Of innocent bloodshed
Now here we go

The vampires feed on the wars of mankind
The vampires feed on the wars of mankind

Growing fat on the throne of an empire
Tyrant rules with the threat of a great fire

I’ve opened up my eyes
Seen the world for what it’s worth
Tears rain down from the sky

They’ll blow it all to bits
To prove whose god wields all the power
Fire rains down from the sky

It’s good to know that people who are younger than me see things so clearly. It gives me hope, if nothing else. Now rage on with Trivium. Q. W3ary out.

A Vidclip a Day: Primus, “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver”

A little bit more fun for today: Primus with “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver”, off Tales from the Punchbowl (1995). Hilarious video by Primus; but before you go find yourself a beaver to raise as a pet, I must warn you: they are very dangerous creatures.

Now Rex was a Texan out of New Orleans
And he travelled with the carnival shows.
He ran bumper cars, sucked cheap cigars
And he candied up his nose.
He got wind of the big brown beaver
So he though he’d take himself a peek,
But the beaver was quick
And grabbed him by the kiwis.
Now he ain’t pissed for a week.
(And a half!)

So be careful… In other relevant news, I found this video with a passable quality from a bunch of guys who seem to be doing something similar to my “Vidclip a Day” series – many thanks! Here’s the video. Have fun! Q. W3ary out.

A Vidclip a Day: Muse, “Undisclosed Desires”

It’s Saturday, so it’s time to party. Let’s do that! Here’s Muse’s semi-serious “Undisclosed Desires”, off The Resistance (about which I wrote earlier). The clip has been out for a couple of days now, and it’s a sweet affair of musicianship, dancing, and way too many cables.

I want to reconcile the violence in your heart
I want to recognise your beauty’s not just a mask
I want to exorcise the demons from your past
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart

I especially enjoyed Matthew Bellamy’s guitar-synth-hybrid, and the huge number of microphones he seems to require for this simple piece. But then, this is a song about a love going strong, a heart beating and bleeding with power: these things are so rare, they have to be proclaimed, communicated in as many channels as possible. Some cable salad and a little dance can do no harm – only amplify the glory of the feeling. Q. W3ary over & out.

A Vidclip a Day – System Of A Down, “Spiders”

To those who think this piece is about arachnophobia: unfortunately, you’re quite right, but also very very wrong. That’s because the spiders SOAD mention here are of the human kind, and more precisely, of the persuasion that wants to know everything about everyone in order to control us all. Those people tend to act a bit like the spider-bots on the net; but you have to remember, their intent is invariably malicious.

Your lives are open wide,
The V-chip gives them sight…
All the life running through her hair.

The spiders all in tune,
The evening of the moon –
Dreams are made winding through my head…

I won’t now speculate on who the “she” and the “I” in the song are, but one thing is clear: they both live under the foot of surveillance, and both are forced to participate in the production of the sinister, unnatural “dreams”. SOAD present us with a scary and sad vision, but also give us the power to understand and change it at the same time. We should, at the very least, attempt to prevent such a vision from becoming reality – it’s all in our hands. Q. W3ary over & out.

A Vidclip a Day – Strapping Young Lad, “Almost Again”

This being one of the few very serious songs on the last SYL album (from 2006), a couple of brief but essential things need be said about it. Centrally, it seems to be a farewell song, saying good-bye to the people that have supported SYL through the years. The song, and more importantly – the clip, point to a sense of deep transformation, a new beginning in a world of flesh and machine. And last but not least, it states with tranquil clarity that the best place to truly find any one of us is at the laser-sharp edge of the now, riding the wave of relentless time: “So at the speed of sound, I will be found; / At the speed of light, I will be seen.” One discovers the strangest of beauty when one leaps onto the moving mountainous ridge of timespace. Do not fear the energy; watch, and flow with it. Q. W3ary out.

A Vidclip a Day: Metallica, “One”

Today, a return to older times with Metallica’s first video, “One”, from 1989. Those were the days when Metallica still believed that war is bad for everyone and anyone involved, that it only leads to death and destruction, to the horror of endless physical and psychological mutilation. Now they talk about the humanity that goes above and beyond anything political, as if that would stop the wars by itself (just look at “The Day That Never Comes”, “All Nightmare Long”, and what the band members say about these songs/videos). One of things that could bring an end to war, however, is a stomach-churning picture of the terror it creates:

Darkness
Imprisoning me
All that I see
Absolute horror
I cannot live
I cannot die
Trapped in myself
Body my holding cell

Land mine has taken my sight
taken my speech
taken my hearing
taken my arms
taken my legs
taken my soul
Left me with life in hell

I hope Metallica remember this next time they sit down to write songs. Until then, we can see that old video again. And maybe read Johnny Got His Gun. Q. W3ary out.

A Vidclip a Day: Pain Of Salvation, “Iter Impius”

This is not a music video per se, but has most of the required qualities. It’s taken from the DVD for Pain Of Salvation’s original stage production of their album BE (Chinassiah) (2004). I encountered it online by chance, and thought it would make an excellent introduction to BE. And although I rarely do this, here the full song lyrics:

I woke up today
Expecting to find all that I sought
And climb the mountains of the life I bought
Finally I’m at the top of every hierarchy
Unfortunately there is no one left
But me

I woke up today
To a world that’s ground to dust, dirt and stone
I’m the king upon this withering throne
I ruled every forest, every mountain, every sea
Now there’re but ruins left to rule for me
And you see, it beckons me;
Life turned its back on us
How could you just agree?

I woke up today
To a world devoid of forests and trees
Drained of every ocean, every sea
Just like a useless brick upon the shore
The morning after the storm
That swept the bridge away
Relentless tide
No anger
Just this relentless time
That calls us all on

But I’m never crossing that line
Leaving this world behind
I will stay on my own
On this bloodstained throne
I rule the ruins and wrecks
And the dust, dirt and stone
I rule rage rod and rattling of bones

I am on my own
I am all alone
Everything is gone
Stuck forever here
Already cold

I’m never crossing that line
Leaving this world behind
I will stay on my own
On this bloodstained throne…

The character whom we hear speak/sing is Mr. Money, the wealthiest man in the world, who has bought himself even immortality, and now wakes up from the long cryogenic sleep in wait for the technological wonder that enables it. Here, he finds out that there is no one else to share the world with him now. I cannot add anything that would make this moment more powerful, so I’ll shut up and let you see the clip. Q. W3ary out.