This Track Is Fire!

I like to tease my partner, Shalee, that she has a thing for scruffy, kinda-dirty-looking male singer/songwriters, like Hozier, Ray LaMontagne, and today's selection: Damien Rice. Some of us have a type, even musically, and for Shalee, that's hers. (To be clear, I say this in jest; I have nothing but respect for these artists, I am just joking about the aesthetic; apparently my preference is for female lead singers with "squeaky" voices, as Shalee tells me, but again, this is not meant to be disparaging.) I try to keep this blog very "stream of conciousness" as to what I am listening to that I think is great, and while enjoying some downtime the other night this came on and I was reminded of just how fucking good this track, and this artist, is. I consider myself lucky that we got to see him live years back. Perhaps a poignant and powerful song about romantic betrayal isn't the way you want to start your weekend, nor is it mine, but there's something...

  Note: In honor of one full year of This Track Is Fire I thought I would highlight the top 10 posts over the last year, but there's a tie in the seventh position, and a three-way tie in the tenth position, so instead you're getting the Top 12 Posts over the past year. Fun fact: Boys Noize came in at #3 this past year and I thought I had just discovered them a year or so previously, even before I had heard that they would be the opening act for this NIN tour, but nope! You see, I have lot of music. Long story short, I had actually been a fan of Boys Noize's earlier work, having bought another track almost 10 years prior. I knew the name sounded familiar! Anyway, if you like your techno mixed with pounding, industrial rhythyms, this is for you. Check out the original post here .

Last week my brother and I went to see Stabbing Westward in concert at a local venue (more on that here ). Unfortunately, by the time we got to the venue we had missed Acumen Nation, the first opening act, but came in just as Priest was performing. I knew nothing about them before the show other than a few song snippets I had listened to briefly earlier that week, but as they were performing my brother pulled up that the performers were previously members of the metal band Ghost. However, instead of theatrical metal, Priest are solidly a synth band. Like I said, they were pretty much new to me, but my brother and I thought they were a blast, and here, five days later, I have been listening to them consistently and admit that I may  be a touch obsessed. Their level of showmanship was unbridled, even in a small club with a capacity of only around 400 people. They could have been playing before 10 people or 10,000 and I believe they would put on a heck of a show regardless. Again, we ...

Note: In honor of one full year of This Track Is Fire I thought I would highlight the top 10 posts over the last year, but there's a tie in the seventh position, and a three-way tie in the tenth position, so instead you're getting the Top 12 Posts over the past year. Coming in at the #4 spot is my favorite Depeche Mode song of all time, the song that grabbed my attention when I was 16 years old and 32 years later has not let go. I could go on and on about why I love this track, and Depeche Mode, so very much, but I've done that several times , not only on this blog, but my other blog as well . Please check out the original post here .

Seven years ago in September PUP came to my town for a show the night before I was supposed to start a new job. I had fallen in love with their second album, most especially the punk assault that is "DVP" and really wanted to go see them. The show was on a Sunday night and if it had been a higher profile act my partner may have joined me, but as she is not a fan of punk she encouraged me to find someone else to go along to the show. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, so I decided at the last minute to go to the show solo. I figured, "PUP isn't that huge, I'm sure I can get a ticket at the box office." Nope. I showed up to the venue and found out that yes, indeed, the show had sold out. Had I gone online I would have seen that, but I just assumed  that it would not sell out. I stood there in line as the people in front of me were finding out that there were no tickets left; I lingered there for a moment when I heard someone say, "Mr. Diaz..." I ...

The early-to-mid 90s were a hell of a time. Thanks to Lollapalooza and the rise of Industrial (NIN) and Industrial Metal bands (Ministry), there was a sudden influx of similar acts that appeared on the scene, such as Stabbing Westward. I remember first hearing them in college and liked them enough to be excited to hear that they would be opening for Depeche Mode on their 1994 tour. Then in 1996 Wither Blister Burn + Peel  came out. With tracks like "Shame" and "What Do I Have to Do" Stabbing Westward vaulted into the limelight. As such, I saw them again in 1998, and again, opening for Depeche Mode during The Singles  tour. More often than not I skip the opening act, unless they are someone I already know or scoped out ahead of time, but Stabbing Westward was a band that I happily showed up to see. Despite seeing them twice open for my favorite band of all time, I have never seen Stabbing Westward on tour in their own right. That is, until tonight. They're playin...