Thrice - Vheissu vs. The Artist in the Ambulance

Thrice's next to last CD (Vheissu) is definitely a step away from the more prevalent "basic" rock of their previous CD (The Artist in the Ambulance). Vheissu still has some of the same hard rock/screamo themes of The Artist in the Ambulance, but it also expands more on a softer side of their music. While I would in no means call Vheissu a "soft" CD, it does bring a fusion of screaming and a softer style together in a moving way.

One main varying component of these two CDs is the drum styling. In The Artist in the Ambulance the drums were more of a hardcore, double-bass heavy, driving force. Vheissu, however, has a more "artistic" style drumming, not counting on a prominent bass drum sound to carry the drums. While Vheissu still contains a substantial amount of the "hardcore" drums, it is produced in such a way that it doesn't feel overpowering.

While they are both great CDs, I'd have to say that the winner of this round is Vheissu. It's originality while still containing a rock feel gives it a slight edge over The Artist in the Ambulance.

Ratings:

The Artist in the Ambulance:

Quality of Sound: 4/5
Lyrics: 4/5
Originality: 3/5
Music: 3.5/5

Vheissu:

Quality of Sound: 5/5
Lyrics: 4.5/5
Originality: 4.5/5
Music: 4/5

The Current Departure of Musical Talent and Musical Popularity

Music. It is a great thing. But what happens when the musical artist no longer has to be musical? You get today's popular music.

What happens when you turn on the "pop" music stations? Do you hear some creative, original, talented music? Probably not. You would most likely hear some sort of electronic beat, with some other synthesized sounds, put together in such a way that is catchy "cool". Something along the lines of what I could make in GarageBand in probably about an hour or two. What's even sadder, is the fact that most of the music to the songs probably has relatively nothing to do with the artists themselves. Now this of course is not always the case, but it is probably more often true then "real" musicians would like to believe.

But I guess that's just the way the music biz is...