The Music Thread

I think I only feel in extremes. Maybe I have bipolar tendencies, because any music that's middle of the road doesn't do anything for me. I can't listen to the radio. I turned it off in 2003 and haven't gone back since. The song that did it for me was Incubus, "Megalomaniac." Colossally stupid. Like a low-IQ kindergartner who's in the special class because he only speaks in grunts. I've never forgiven the FM airwaves. I only have a vague idea of what people listen to these days based on what the gym pipes through their system. (And it's dreadful.)

Anyway, here are my recent pre-orders. I trust these artists. They are kings/queens of their genre.

• Hiromi playing neo-classical. She's a compositional genius, a virtuoso whose name can be spoken with Tatum's. What she does with jazz is superhuman. Truly, it isn't normal, and when I see her perform, I feel respect, joy, and fear. If this is what a person is capable of, then what am I doing here? What's my excuse for having achieved so little?
• Canadian tech death from Archspire. Yeah, those are Tech9-inspired death vocals. I love how the melody carries. It seems to strengthen as the track goes on. I want to chase someone with a claw hammer. (See? Bipolar.)
• Sayumi with cutesy j-pop. She's still smoking hot (32 years, really?) and does that layered squeak. I'll ignore the Pamyu-Pamyu vibes. They're friends so maybe Sayumi had help with the video. She has such a good catalog of music. She can draw on the best from Morning Musume, plus her last album (her only solo CD) was superb. I hope this one is too. The trick is in finding a good composer. Not much j-pop manages that.