the blog of Jerry Bolton
Posts tagged Mars Ill
…destination: beautiful/intriguing
0Current Tunage: Relient K – Aulg Lang Syne
“Let It Rain… Let It Reindeer” is a really great, listenable Christmas record. I discovered quite a few this year, such as Bebo Norman’s, Johnny Cash’s, smatterings from the Happy Christmas compilations, The Almost’s new EP, Jars of Clay’s, Josh Groban (I blame Steph for that one), Sovereign Grace ministries’ “Savior” album, and so on. It’s been a musically bountiful season.
We left home a week ago and haven’t been back since. Peterborough, New Liskeard, South Porcupine (in Timmins), and later we’ll be in Englehart – all before returning to precious Pickering. It’s been quite a whirlwind tour.
That being said, it’s been full of adventure, conversation, and warm memories which will be treasured all year long.
I have made a few “new year’s revolutions” this morning and although it’s ne’er been my custom to do so (I prefer “new day’s resolutions” on the regular to an annual event), these are more of a compilation of those ‘new day’ items:
I’ve kept it short, I’m just as apt to do nothing if an action list seems impossibly large as anyone else would be.
1. Set up a dual-boot of Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux (Intrepid Ibex version).
2. Complete my professional portfolio and accompanying website prior to graduation.
3. Devote time to daily writing, whether it be a blog, a review, or just adding to current progress on my ‘book’.
4. Read at least a book a month.
There are more, however these “more” delve into the realms of intricate complexity too deep and profound to explicate upon in this hallowed place. In other words, I’m keeping them to myself.
Here’s some things I’m thankful for from 2008 gone by:
1. Marriage, to Steph. It’s pretty much the best thing on God’s green earth.
2. Wonderful in-laws, which I’ve been enjoying throughout the year.
3. A hacked Nintendo Wii full of Homebrew applications and joy.
4. The chance to try out and enjoy the recent WoW beta (for WotLK) and spend some time with old friends from the guild.
5. For such great friends to have stand with me on my wedding day (Noah, Todd, Mark, Al, Ian, Shane) – much love, guys.
6. Terabyte hard drives, even though I don’t yet own one.
7. Getting paid to sleep for the entire fall.
8. A renewed enjoyment of composition as well as quality reading (I believe I read around 20 books this year, give or take).
9. Only 12 weeks of classes and about 3 exams left until being DONE with full-time school.
10. An amazing almost-full-time contract in Peterborough during the months leading up to the wedding.
11. A lot of really great music that came out this year.
12. A lot of really great sermons that I had the privilege of enjoying over the course of the year, both via the internet (ie. Driscoll, Piper, Harris, Mahaney, etc) or via Sunday Mornings (at Harvest York Region, c/o Whittingstall).
13. Good, quality cordless phones. I don’t think I’ll ever look back to corded again… particularly when I throw on that speakerphone and it feels like I’m sitting across from whoever it is I’ve called.
14. The fall LAN party thrown by my little brothers at my parents place – such a fun time.
15. The ESV Study Bible, even though I haven’t gotten mine yet.
16. Great Boxing Day sales – once again, it was worth hardly buying anything all year in order to frugally save a load of cash on some necessities (loot: new keys and mouse, colour laser printer, office07).
17. Living closer to sweet concerts.
18. Coffee mornings with my dad in the fall on my way to classes in Peterpatch.
19. Free Toronto Stars at DC/UOIT Student Commons.
20. The soon-coming TF2 Scout Pack.
21. Harvest Bible Chapel, York Region – I can’t even begin to numerate the blessing that it’s been to fellowship in a place with timeless truth and timely methods.
22. Our Tuesday night small group study in “Lord, Change my Attitude” – profitable not only due to the content but also the community/fellowship, accountability, and growth that we’ve been privileged to be a part of. Particularly, I’m thankful for the wisdom and insight provided us by virtue of the amazing friends who participate with us in it – it has truly been one of the highlight blessings of the year.
23. Paper extensions.
24. Snowstorms.
25. Ice Hockey for the NES.
And now, some far less meaningful lists:
Currently reading:
“Christianity’s Dangerous Idea” by Alister McGrath
“The Master’s Plan for the Church” by John MacArthur
“The Murder of Jesus” by John MacArthur
“Wordliness” by CJ Mahaney
“Through Painted Deserts” by Donald Miller
Hoping to read this year:
ESV Study Bible
“Vintage Church” by Mark Driscoll
“Death By Love” by Mark Driscoll
“This Momentary Marriage” by John Piper
“The Cross-Centered Life” by CJ Mahaney
“Humility: True Greatness” by CJ Mahaney
“The End Of Reason” by Ravi Zacharias
Currently listening to:
“Black-Listed Sessions” by Mars Ill
“Slow Flame” by Mars Ill
“Deepspace5oul” by Deepspace 5
“Bake Sale” by Deepspace 5
Looking forward to hearing this year:
“The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be” by Deepspace 5
new mewithoutYou
new Project 86
new As Cities burn
new Mars Ill
Currently playing:
DotA AllStars
Team Fortress 2
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Looking forward to playing this year:
World of Goo
Sins of a Solar Empire
Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People (Season 1)
Braid
No More Heroes
Hoping to see released this year:
Starcraft 2
Anyways, having now ranted endlessly in list form, I wish you all the best in 2009 and look forward to saturating your blog-reader-eyes with a glut of posts ne’er before seen. Or not. Either way, it’s going to be a crazy ride – even if I am pants-on-head-insane.
…must listen/learn
2Current Tunage: Mars Ill – 2 Steps
“He’s just another couple steps from where he needs to be…”
I was thinking this morning that there’s a short-list of musical artists that I love and/or respect so greatly that I must own whatever they release as soon as they release it. Case in point, this morning Dust of Mars ILL announced via their mailing list that he (and Beat Rabbi) had just done an 18-track double-disc remix of Mars ILL’s 2003 EP “Blue Collar Sessions” entitled “Black Listed Sessions”. I ordered it immediately. You see, Dust is in the habit of remixing his own work, and the results have been consistently amazing – sometimes the remixes are even better than the originals. No small feat, when you consider Mars ILL is behind such underground classics as “Raw Material”, “Backbreakanomics” and “Pro Pain”.
Anyways, I thought about it a bit, and here’s my short-list of “musical artists/groups so awesome I buy whatever they release as soon as they release it”:
x. Mars ILL
x. Project 86
x. mewithoutYou
x. Thrice
x. Deepspace5
x. Underoath
x. Sintax the Terrific
x. DJ Dust
x. As Cities Burn
…paperseasonfall08
1Current Tunage: Mars Ill – The Life And Times Of A Simple Man
Old Ironsides. Classic Mars Ill material circa 2007.
I know, I know. I’m waiting too! Lots coming down the pipelines as soon as it’s ready. How does this sound:
2 Papers (aka Essays), 1 Journal, 1 Presentation, 1 Assignment. 1 week.
This week, that is. Yeah, I thought you’d understand: I’ve been up to my neck and down on my knees.
Anyways, I was just chilling out to some traditional Mars Ill grooves, namely the 5 Year Anniversary Edition of their 2001 classic debut “Raw Material”. Essentially, it’s kind of like a best-of. See, “Raw Material” was released twice. First it was released by Sphere of Hip-Hop (back when they did a little cd-releasing, instead of just being the kings of online conscious hip hop distro and assimilation). It had a couple tracks on it, namely “Destined to Be” and “Under the Sun” (featuring Listener) that weren’t on the next (and much more common) release. Which was the Uprok Records release, which instead of the aforementioned tracks, had two new ones – “The Abolition of Manchild” and “Fade to Black” featuring Sintax the Terrific. Other than rearranging the track orders, the two releases were identical in their remaining 17 tracks, quite a few of which were instrumental.
On the 5 year anniversary, they have all four of the above tracks. They also removed the beloved “Sphere of Hip Hop, Part 2″, but added “Sphere of Hip Hop, Part 3″ to fill the void (you can only fit so much on a disc). Further adding to the fray, they’ve added two versions of a song that was lost in Dust’s basement closet, entitled “Flipside” – represented with two beats, one by Playdough, one by Dave Kelly.
The only interesting catch? Everything but the “new” tracks is instrumental. Which is fine, because freaks like me have all the other songs already anyways.
I’m reminiscing about the 20-01 folks, and the ‘niscin is good.
…a list or two
0Current Tunage: Underoath – The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed
Lost In The Sound Of Separation is incredible.
So. There’s about a month and a half left in the Oh Eight, which may be a bit early to do this, but I feel like doing it now.
TOP TEN RECORDS RELEASED or discovered by me IN 2008 (mostly no particular order):
x LOST IN THE SOUND OF SEPARATION – underoath
x II – maylene and the sons of disaster
x BAKESALE – deepspace5
x CURB APPEAL – sintax the terrific
x SLOW FLAME – mars ill
x THE ALCHEMY INDEX VOLS. 3&4, AIR & EARTH – thrice
x THE SILVER CORD – the classic crime
x THE IV EDITION – braille
…all heaven cries
0Current Tunage: David Crowder Band – Wholly Yours
So here I am, all of me, finally everything: wholly. I am wholly, only, wholly yours. You are holy, holy, holy.
It’s a quiet morning on the Bolton front. We’re up, with strong brewed coffee about to course through our veins at a quick rate (“rappers bored with hip-hop? just wrap your face with grip-tape”) and we’re listening to worship tunes (good ones), and praying that God would shake us up, shake you up, shake everyone up today. In a good, good way.
We love and miss you guys. Peterborough, TCF, family, friends, children of the above – have a great Sunday and join us worshipping the one true God of the universe who loves you and died, was buried, and rose again conquering sin and death and reigns forever and is forever praised and glorious.
Amen. Rock it.
…forward thinking
0Current Tunage: Mars Ill – Shuck And Jive
It goes stick, move / show, prove / blow fuse / grow and let these people know the struggles that you go through. It’s beautiful to do what all these sceptics say you can’t, but they don’t want to hear you rapping they just want to see you dance.
Today:
1. Is Chris & Amy’s wedding, at the same place ours will be. It should be wonderful.
2. I get to spend the day with Steph. I haven’t spent a day with Steph in a couple weeks. (legendary win)
3. I’m listening to Mars Ill for the first time in ages. I love Mars Ill.
4. The dull ache in my lower back is subsiding. I think I just bruised something or pulled a weird muscle.
5. I get to see a ton of my old school friends… well, friends from a few years ago (KLBC)… friends from when I started blogging (ha!). I can’t wait.
6. Jesus Christ is God today, yesterday, and forever.
…so unoriginal
2Current Tunage: The Blindfolded Pianist – Sonic the Hedgehog 3
I think his stuff is at videogamepianist.com – basically its all the classic video game music done with a single piano… brings back memories plus its good chill out music. Some of it is crazy complicated too due to pacing and those crazy old 16-bit composers (final fantasy 6 anyone?)
So, in an effort to rip off Noah’s ideas as much as possible (and also because I never did a ‘best albums of 2005′), here are MY “Ten Albums that Changed my Life”:
01. Project 86 – “Drawing Black Lines”
If I was stuck on a desert island with one album, this would probably be it. DBL got me through high school almost single-handedly. It was the soundtrack to living, and to top it off every word screamed personal reform to me – it is an album of rebirth and true worship in many ways to me.
02. Argyle Park – “Misguided”
I have always had a passing interest in electronic music, and industrial music (which fuses metal and electronic together creatively) has always been one of my favorite genres. Not only is this album a landmark industrial album, but it also helped me to develop the ability to question *intelligently* what I believe.
03. Further Seems Forever – “The Moon is Down”
The album that got me into what would come to be known as ‘emo’… also my introduction to Chris Carabba. Also the soundtrack to my 3-year relationship with a girl (insert shock and memories here).
04. Mars Ill – “Raw Material”
I’ll never forget listening to “Love’s Not” on a GAS compilation and getting hooked, then downloading 3 or 4 mp3′s with a dialup modem just to hear more. Mars Ill got me into rap/hiphop, and despite now owning everything they’ve ever released, this is probably still my favorite work of theirs. Personal challenges abound within.
05. Tonex – “Pronounced Toe-Nay”
Bought it on a whim (which I don’t do often) and it took me a good week to get into it, but otherwise I might never have gotten into jazz/blues and the whole hybrid urban music thing. One of the most diverse urban albums ever… like… I don’t play it for people often enough… but I should.
06. Deepspace5 – “The Night We Called it a Day”
If there was ever a hiphop album I’d consider a complete utter and total classic within which no weak tracks can be found, this is it. This is “hiphop complete” to me, the intro bangs, the skit bangs, and the beats are the most insane things in this world but they work so well regardless. This would be the other album I’d take to that desert isle.
07. Five Iron Frenzy – “Our Newest Album Ever!”
Yes, it is ska. But, it is FIF. FIF > You. Probably their best album ever too in some ways (though The End Is Here is close second).
08. MxPx – “Life in General”
Before Drawing Black Lines, this was the soundtrack to life. I listened through this over and over and over. I still remember flippin’ the tape I made of it in my walkman like at least 5 or 6 times a day. It was obsessive. I felt rebellious listening to it (in retrospect it isn’t even very rebellious as punk rock goes, but from my background it was I guess).
09. MeWithoutYou – “Catch For Us The Foxes”
Rarely has an album influenced my spiritual life as profoundly as Aaron Weiss and his friends on this record. Perhaps its his autistic ramblings about faith and existence, perhaps the bass guitar driven melodies that swirl around you… whatever it is its intoxicating and leaves an irremovable impression.
10. Pedro the Lion – “Control”
Control changed music for me. Control changed faith for me. Control changed literature and lyrics for me. My world hasn’t been the same since I listened through Control the first time, understood the story being told, and was convicted by it on a level that nearly parallels the way the Bible convicts me when I’m right with God.