Music Forums Review

There are so many forums out there targeted for music lovers. And most of their contents and discussion are generally the same. However, the fun you have while you are surfing these forums depend on that specific online community and it's niche where u fit in.

Personally, i love 2 music forums where i frequently visit. I may not contribute much to them, but, i could juz spend hours studying all the info being poured into interesting discussions.

Topics on guitars and gears are especially of my interest. After reading one of those threads, i can actually understand and appreciate slight differences of Charvel guitars of different eras. Now, how awesome is that. Even faded glam rockers can't do that. There are really intelligent people out there, who are willing to pour information into these forums. Time spent browsing these forums is certainly time well spent.

The 2 forums i mentioned, were jamtank.net from malaysia and the soft.com.sg from singapore. As i said earlier, the discussion in these 2 forums are rather similar in some ways. I guess it's because of the generally similar social background of Malaysians and Singaporeans. That is also probably the reason i feel at home in those 2 forums.

As often as i can, i try to stay updated about news on the latest gigs from both these forums. Some of the members there are also active musicians. So you don't have to go too far to hunt for tickets to your local gigs. This was how i got my tickets to the Caliban gig in Kuala Lumpur last year. Ijam from the band Restraint was kind enough to take a longer ride after work to drop me the tickets for the show, in which Restraint was one of the opening acts.

There are so many gigs in Singapore that don't get well publicized in Malaysia and the news travels a lil slow (Well, maybe a day or 2 later. Heck, that's still a delay) sometimes across the causeway. So, I find it quite useful to stay in track of news in soft.com.sg as well and not just JamTank.net.

These forums are also a great way for people to share knowledge on music gears, how to use them, how to mod em, how to screw with em, who is the best guitar tech in town, what gears to complete that never-complete rig of us basement rockstars, and valuable recording tricks. After reading a couple of threads, you'll feel like a newly grad music producer, eager for making music and shoving it out into the public, now that you know how. Well, maybe it ain't that easy. But, it certainly helps. The user Fish on Jamtank.net has contributed a lot to this sort of threads. He has some nice recordings to prove the quality of his work too.

And the best and most addictive of music forums are of course the classifieds. It's an open market out there. No written rules. Just gentleman's agreement to seal the deal. Now, if only, the world economy was done in such a way. We wouldn't have to worry about oil wars in the Middle East anymore. It would probably be much worse. The Middle Easterners would probably trade oil for porn. But, there still wouldn't be oil wars.

Anyway, if you've got anything related to music to put up for sale. This is where to put it. It's free. And the traffic in these forums are pretty decent. Well, of course it's not like your old beaten up Squier Telecaster is gonna get snapped up in minutes. It may take quite a while (by that, i mean a few days to a few months) to get some real offers, especially with increasing value of your product. I got an offer for my Boss DS-1 almost a year after i put it up for sale but, my Squier Telecaster got sold withing 2 weeks i put it up.

My suggestion is to research the market value, before putting anything up for sale. But, don't worry. Most of the time, overpriced items are usually commented on by fellow forumers quite quickly. However, i must say, the price offered by most buyers online far surpasses offers from second hand stores anytime. So, unless you are boarding the next plane to neverland, and there's no rush, i'd say u should put ur gear up for sale on forums. However, i must warn u about lowballers. These are probably just folks trying out their luck or pricks who enjoy annoying people. Well, you can't blame the forums. It is an open registration anyway.

Another advantage of selling through a forum is that you are able to trade stuff with others. So, sometimes cash isn't needed at all.

Putting stuff up for sale also teaches you about your instrument. Like my friend's Ibanez Rx. I didn't know it was one, till i put it up for sale. I thought the damn thing was an Rg. Silly of me of course, but at least, i learned from the kind forumers.

Surprisingly, buying is a whole other ball game. You may find the very gear you need at an unbelievable price, and the deal maybe real. You might be the owner of a mint Yngwie Malmsteen Fender Stratocaster for merely RM 3000, cuz the seller's flying away to Detroit to be a rockstar. But, most times you have to be extremely wary of deals when buying. Things that may go wrong are like, the product doesn't work since it was soaked in a flash flood, or the guitar neck could have been broken in a bedroom gig and since replaced, reducing the value of the guitar itself, or the guitar could very well be a China made copy made of plywood and fiberboard, or worst of all, the product probably doesn't even exist and the fake seller is just trying to make off with a one time rip off, and you will never hear from the f**ker ever again, and never could nail him down for ripping off ur RM 2000 for that "imaginary" Ibanez Prestige RG (not that it happened to me or anything, but, i have read some sad stories on the forum after these tragedies had occurred to the unwary). Nevertheless, I must stress out that these bad deals are a mere minority. Most of the deals are done on both sides (buying and selling) by honest joes like you and me. The safest buying, in my opinion, are from "established" sellers. These are usually forum members with high ratings. (forum members rate each other to boost the reputations of those who deserve). These sellers do not own shops, but otherwise they run a business similar to a music store in any other manner. Some sellers offer testing of their products, at studios. There are some who offer product viewing at home. Especially, sellers on soft.com.sg. Personally, i find that risky in so many ways. So, i suggest you discuss with the seller to meet at a neutral ground if you really intent on buying the item. I will introduce some of these sellers in subsequent posts. I have contacted some of them in regards of product buying, and they have all been extremely cooperative and helpful. Never pushy even once.

Last and not least, you can discuss whatever you want with these guys in the forum. Well, it ain't a porn forum, so save that for elsewhere. But, you could always find active discussions on current issues, political, social, and what not. It's really interesting to see what these guys have to say.

Conclusion: These 2 forums, jamtank.net and soft.com.sg are pretty cool and worth the hours of attention. Internet interaction can't get any better than what these online communities can offer. 2 thumbs up for both these websites.

JamTank.net

http://jamtank.net/community/index.php

Soft.com.sg

http://soft.com.sg/forum/index.php

Rock n roll never dies :)

TOOL

I decided to do my first band review on TOOL cuz i've been stuck listening to them for a long time. For around six months now, their 4 studio albums have been on repeat on my music player. That's really way too long for my anyone's good.
I have no idea what i can make out of them actually. They are either pseudo-philosophers. Mere men, pretending to create something SOOO special to ta

ke the world for a ride. Or they could probably be lunatics, who think of themselves as so intellectual that they are too great for this world, that they are mere tools of something greater. Whatever that greater being may be.

Or they could truly be TOOLs of an infinite force unseen. A channel, for the universe's energy to flow into our ears through their music. That is what they claim anyways.

Maynard James Keenan, their infamous vocalist (w

ho dresses up in women's clothing and wigs for fun) has mentioned that many times. He claimed that they are mere humans w

ho are channels or tools of something greater. He also said we are all are tools.

Well maybe we are, but we ain't no freaking rockstars. So what he says matters most anyway...
Anyway, their music is really a blend of trash from the ground and stardust so to say. Their most famous single to date, "Sober", from their album Und

ertow is certainly mind numbing. The phrase, "why can't we not be sober, i just want to start this over" certainly drives deep into the mind of people even in the slightest pool of s**t.

Tool's music seems to be the soundtrack to life itself. It could really reach out to touch the soul no matter how you feel. Songs like "Parabola" , "Push it" and "Aenema" are just perfect in its being. These are songs that seem to remain beyond the touch of humans. Well, I know it's just hard rock songs, bu

t i swear i'm not exaggerating. It's phenomenal.

Nevertheless, there are points you can

 see the very hu

man part of the band. Especially their obsession on being anti-Christ. I find bands who put their anti-religion expression rather hypocritical as it shows their self dilemma and conscience for not adhering to religious beliefs in the first place. This conscience is probably instilled by family values and all, and these musicians just don't realize it. But, just like any other Tool song, even their anti-christ songs sound so deep and addictive. Namely the song "Opiate" from the album Opiate. Personally, i find the ending to the song very amusing. It's actually a description about stoned people and the havoc they wreck, i won

der if they are stoned on religion in the first place?!
There are certainly, many ways that Maynard could entertain us with his 'dick joke' humour in between the "great wonders of the universe", as portrayed by Adam Jones, the lead guitarist, Danny Carey,drummer, and Justin Chancellor, bassist. Songs like "Maynard's Dick", a hidden track in the Saliva! album was practically a song about oral sex on f**kin Maynard. I bet it's every rockstars dream to get away with that sorta s**t. It was a heck of a good laugh to all who listens to it anyway. Classic rock prank on the world.

One of my early personal favorites was "Hooker with a penis" from the album Aenima. That's an 

authentic song from a band

 who's stuck it up to "the MAN", but also the band who agrees they are the f**kin MAN. This reminds me of how they shunned a freaking Grammy, cuz they believed that the Grammy Awards are just a bunch of rich producers trying to promote music to the mass, like a big annual "I'm loving it" advertisement by Mickey D's. Well, it certainly takes the MAN himself to resist another.

Their music is definitely an excellent listen. It 

may not be in the first try. It's not exactly "radio worthy". But, eventually you are gonna love at least one song. One song that will keep playing itself in your head till the day you die, or fall into a coma, or whatever.

Conclusion: Music by a higher force channelled through 4 people towards "intellectual" mature audience. I'd give Tool a 21 gun salute when all of em die someday :D

Check out the band website. There are some cre

ative content there to make you ponder about existence or it could make you winch in disgust or you couldn't be less bothered. It is your call :P

http://www.toolband.com/

This Maynard James Keenan's fan based website. There are some interesting free music available for download. Mainly bootlegs and early works by him. Worth signing in for the free material

http://themaynardproject.wetpaint.com/

Rock n roll never dies :)

Rock n roll ain't dead!!!

Alright, so here it goes... I started this blog with a DREAM (literally, i dreamt this s**t, though, i know how corny/freaky it sounds)...

That dream is to express my opinion about rock n roll, old and new, from Alkaline Trio to ZZ Top, everything I lay my ears upon.

And to talk bout local music stores and the services they offer. And perhaps a lil on music making websites. And whatever there is to talk about rock n roll in my mind.

As for who I am. I ain't no rockstar, ain't no professional musician, ain't nobody. But just an avid fan of everything rock n roll!! I realized being a rockstar is a far fetched dream for me now. Heck, i don't think I'll even be hired as a rolling stones reporter. So, to keep rock n rolling, this is my way, my blog (darn, it sounds geeky) :)

It's gonna take a while till i start putting up all these info. But, it'll be there eventually.

So, stay tuned :D

Rock n roll never dies...