Odium

So, I was making vodka jelly earlier tonight, and I think I got the water:vodka ratio wrong. This is how I made them:

I put a mixture of water and vodka in the refrigerator first. 3/4 cup water, 1 1/4 cup vodka.

I brought 1 1/3 cup water to a boil, stirred in jelly mix until dissolved

Stirred in refrigerated water/vodka mix

Refrigerated for about an hour

Added granny smith apple pieces that had been soaking in about 1 1/2 cup of vodka - poured excess vodka in as well.

It's been refrigerating for 3 hours total now, and it still hasn't set.

That makes my ratio about 2 cups of water to 2 3/4 cups vodka.

Will this set, or should I add more water to it?

Hey R&P! I'm curious to know: Who are your favourite cover bands? Any will do!

My personal favourites are:

Dread Zeppelin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZHWy6W00oM

Skanatra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jljmm9yztIE

BQ: Favourite Led Zeppelin cover?

BQ2: Favourite Frank Sinatra cover?

BQ3: Favourite cover album?

I feel like sharing with you some of my favourite bands. In this question, I'll be sharing The Dears. The Dears are a band from Montreal, Canada, formed in 1995. Their debut album was released in 2000. Their singer, Murray Lightburn, has often been called "the black Morrissey" for his similar vocal stylings and penchant for dark lyrics. They're probably my favourite band within the Canadian indie scene.

So, without further ado, allow me to share with you some of their music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o-eADVHVe4 - Who Are You, Defenders of the Universe? (By far my favourite of their songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbsfs114rTk - Warm and Sunny Days (another of my favourites)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0zRxxBKZ1A - Lost in the Plot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty41BuLsc1A - 22 the Death of All Romance (Watch the video - it's heartbreaking. And awesome)

BQ: Opinions?

BQ2: What do you think of the whole "The Black Morrissey" thing?

BQ3: Which song of those did you like best? Worst?

BQ4: Did you watch the video for 22 the Death of All Romance?

BQ5: Favourite Canadian band?

BQ6: Favourite indie band?

So, feel free to ponder this question and answer later - I'll be leaving it open for a few days so as to draw in as many answers as I can before choosing one.

So, I want to know:

What do you think of the way we, as people, tend to define ourselves(at least partially), by the music we enjoy? This is a phenomenon you see particularly in the teenage years, but I've seen it extend to the mid-twenties, and even the 30s and 40s in some cases.

Why do you think we do this? Does the music we enjoy allow us to feel some kind of kinship with those who share our tastes, people who we might not otherwise spend time with?

For instance, I often see people on here lead an answer, or part of an answer, with "Well, normally I like to listen to X", or "Well, I'm really more a fan of Y than Z, but..."

On top of that, a lot of users choose handles and avatars that represent their favourite bands. We might impersonate our favourite singer or guitarist, or maybe just go with the name "BVBLUVR4EVA".

And then, on top of that, we judge other users based on their usernames or avatars before we even begin to read their response - oftentimes, we'll dismiss a valid argument that disagrees with our own held views if the name or avatar of the person who posed it happens to be something that we dislike or hold in contempt, when we might not do so if the person in question has a more "reasonable" or "neutral" name.

That long-winded question out of the way, I want to try something new, something exciting: I want you to tell me your favourite genre of music, your favourite band.

Then, I want you to think of a song or band you enjoy that is radically different from that genre or band.

Share with me the weirdest, most off-the-wall music you can think of, something you delight in or enjoy.

Let's air out our guilty pleasures, expose ourselves for what we truly are - fans of music.

I'll go first, shall I?

My favourite genre(including all subgenres, because the subgenres of this particular genre can be a headache at the best of times) is metal. I love metal, and the more brutal and heavy, the better. I love Electric Wizard, Acid Bath, Sunn O))), The Melvins, and Celtic Frost in particular.

I also happen to love ska. Not just ska punk, but any and all ska, and raggae and rocksteady, too. Light-hearted, fun, airy, ska is the antithesis of metal.

But the weirdest music I can think of that I enjoy is known as "Outsider music". It's music that just... doesn't fit. Something, or multiple things, are horribly wrong with it, and yet, it makes something beautiful.

So, in the interests of complete openness, I give you: Y. Bhekhirst.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exTMCq0cnLs - Hot in the Airport

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKTioEi4Iug - I Run My Car (in all honesty, I don't particularly enjoy this song, but I feel that it has to be included)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBTq0DNUgbw - Rain in Summer

I come to you all because the responses I get here will be very different from those I'd hear in R&HH. I already know about Nas and Biggie and Tupac and Eazy-E, I'm not here to hear about the greats - I want to get some responses from the group that listens to what has essentially become the polar opposite of rap music. I want to know about the best, most meaningful, or weirdest rap music you can think of.

Before you say something along the lines of "rap is crap", I've heard that plenty of times before, and I really don't give two **** about your uninformed opinions. Rap is spoken word poetry set to a beat. It's prose in one of its finest forms. If you don't like it, that's fine, feel free to say so, but give me a legitimate reason. "It takes no effort to rap" and "All rap songs are about sex/drugs/money/violence" are also not valid answers.

BQ: Favourite rap album?

BQ2: Favourite rap artist?

BQ3: Out of the four greats I mentioned above, who would you say is your favourite?

BQ4: Drake or Common?

BQ5: Tupac or Biggie? Everlast or Eminem? 50 Cent or the Game?

BQ6: Best rap feud in terms of spawned creative works?

BQ7: Favourite decade for rap music?

So, in the 7 years I've been on this site(account number 4, baby!), I've seen thousands of questions and answers that completely fail to understand what screamo is, and simply define anything that involves screaming, grunting, and growling as "screamo". This is incorrect, and I feel it's far, far past time someone actually comes along, sits people down, and explains it.

The objective of this Q is to spread knowledge and understanding, in order to lessen the spread of misinformation, and hopefully educate some of the more ignorant members of this website.

Misconception 1: "Screamo" is anything that involves harsh vocals, esp. metal.

The truth:

Screamo is a genre that first developed in the early 1990s. It's a Hardcore-Punk inspired subgenre of Emo, another actual music genre(not Pop-Punk) that developed and became popular in the 80s. It is best described as a fusion of Post-Hardcore and Emo.

Screamo is characterized by blast beats, fast tempos, amplified feedback, dissonant and chaotic music, screamed vocals, and lyrical themes such as emotional pain, romantic interest, and politics.

One of the major reasons Screamo became popular because it is often about acceptance of society's outcasts and the downtrodden.

Misconception 2: Screamo bands/musicians are Satanic.

The truth:

A lot of Screamo bands are openly religious(or at least advocate religious acceptance and tolerance), and a good many of them Christian. A lot of them also advocate straightedge lifestyles, abstinence from drugs, alcohol, and wanton sex. They're about as far away from Satanism as you can get.

Misconception 3: Screamo bands advocate self-harm

The truth:

While songs about emotional pain and heartbreak are common themes in Screamo, most bands do not advocate self-harm at all. There are some that do, just like there are some metal bands that advocate devil-worship or paganism, but like those examples, they are in the minority. Significantly so.

Actual examples of (well-known) Screamo bands:

Thursday

Silverstein

The Used

Alexisonfire(sort of. They helped develop the genre, but I wouldn't necessarily call them "Screamo")

Hawthorne Heights

Underoath

Senses Fail

Funeral For a Friend

Alesana

Blessthefall

Now, most of these bands could also be defined as Post-Hardcore, the genres are pretty strongly entwined, but they have all been part of the Screamo movement, or have helped bring the Screamo movement into the limelight, at some point in their careers.

So next time you ask for some Metal bands sans harsh vocals, the next time you want a good band with harsh vocals, the next time you decide to condemn music with screaming as "Satanic" or "evil", think on this. Fight ignorance, spread knowledge, and help make the world a better place.

MQ: Favourite Screamo band?

MQ2: Favourite metal band featuring screaming/growling/squealing/whatever?

MQ3: Favourite metal balad?

MQ4: Favourite band with a musician who is a Satanist or Pagan/Neo-Pagan?

MQ5: Did you learn anything new?

Oh my lovelies, it's been a long time since I've done one of these, long enough that most of you probably wouldn't remember the last one, and I highly doubt there's anybody around who remembers back when I would do one every night.

As such, I will explain the rules. They're quite simple. I will give you a series of words in square brackets. These words/phrases will be synonyms or descriptions of OTHER words. By decoding each box, you'll be able to put together the name of a band. The first to get all 5 bands will be awarded 10 points!

Some boxes will be separated by spaces, these indicate spaces within the band name, the separation of words. If there is no space between the boxes, then the two words combine to form one word. I will give a few examples to make sure the rules are understood.

If, within the box, you see terms separated by a semi-colon ( ; ) that means that there are two separate definitions/synonyms in an attempt to make the clue a bit easier, or to denote what the proper answer would be, if the first clue has too many possible answers.

[Related to air or aircraft ; a bubbly treat][Metalworker] is [Aero][Smith] or Aerosmith

[Definite Article] [Murderers] is [The] [Killers] or The Killers.

Seem simple enough? Fantastic! Let the game begin!

[Members of the LGBT community] [Preposition] [Trascendental state of total awareness of an object ; popular name for 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methamphetamine]

[Definite article] [Collection, commonly auditory or photographic in nature] [Flat plant organ ; Sheet of paper within a book]

[Rapid oxidization of an object during combustion][Hydrogen oxide]

[Charge ; Hurry ; Surge ; Hasten]

[Substance that makes up the surface of the Earth ; Sully ; Suffix with Top-][Labour ; Toil]

Some of these will be considerably harder than others - don't be afraid to use Google to help, it's not cheating, although please try without it first - you'd be amazed at what you can reason out if you try hard enough.

We could always just return fire and go to their site ( http://br.answers.yahoo.com/dir/index;_ylt=AnnLgH4... ) and do the same. The layout is identical, and the category string if you want to ask a question is:

Entretenimento e Música >

Música >

Rock e Pop

Although, admittedly, you could just preface any question title with "Rock e Pop" and it will probably suggest it automatically. Anyway, if you want, there's the location. Enjoy, or not, it's up to you.

I've been listening to a lot of classic piano music(see: classic, not classical), and I've come to a conclusion: There are four fantastic piano players who just consistently write gold. Who is your favourite, Rock and Pop?

Contender 1: Bruce Hornsby. The man is a living legend, having worked with Tupac, Don Henley, and Grateful Dead, as well as having a successful solo career.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlRQjzltaMQ - The Way It Is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcbZMy0c42k - Mandolin Rain

Contender 2: Billy Preston. Another absolute legend, with a magic 'fro that has more bounce than flubber, this cat's played with everyone, and released some of the most memorable songs of the 70s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_DV54ddNHE - Nothing From Nothing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnx2XxP05ic - Song of Joy

Contender 3: Billy Joel. The Piano Man himself, Billy Joel is probably the name everyone who looks at this question thought of when they first saw the title. He's also probably the person people who don't bother reading the question before answering suggest. His name is synonymous with the term 'piano man".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVKtL9VU8rQ - Piano Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH1dnK76uLc - Only the Good Die Young

Contender 4: Elton John. Arguably the most famous of the 4, Elton John is simultaneously one of the most successful musicians in history, and the butt of, like, all of the gay jokes. He's so prolific, even musicians who are very vocal about their dislike of homosexuals(Eminem) have played with him(ha ha).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6KYAVn8ons - I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTa8U0Wa0q8 - Your Song

And just for kicks,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHwVBirqD2s - I'm Still Standing

Seriously. Watch that video. You can't not love this man after watching it. Find me someone who's not entertained by it, I'll find you a grumpy, life-hating soul-sucker of a demon who doesn't understand fun.

MQ: Favourite of the four posted?

MQ2: Have another contender who you feel is better than any of those four? Post them up! (And I'm not just talking about skill, or I would have mentioned Jordan Rudess - They need to be able to sing and command a show, not to mention have a solo career. They need to be a performer, not just a musician.)

MQ3: Favourite song by each of the four mentioned?

Lately I've been listening to a lot of Princess Chelsea, but the one song that I keep getting drawn back to is her cover of the Beatles' "And I Love Her", and I realized that there are a number of Beatle covers that I really, really enjoy. I got to wondering just how many great covers are there out there that I've been missing?

My personal favourites:

Princess Chelsea "And I Love Her" - Baroque Electropop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZk2nYt_Q58

Realm "Eleanor Rigby" - Thrash Metal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9XNoU3tHqU

Rest Among Ruins "Eleanor Rigby" - Metalcore

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic85cGnXuoc

Ringo Ska "Hey Jude" - Ska

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmP4Nwk3G6w

Helloween "All My Loving" - Power Metal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgFPbBV-z0g

Siouxsie and the Banshees "Dear Prudence" - Goth rock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25weBjXioB0

The Feelies "Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except Me and My Monkey)" - Indie Rock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5o1-HxaRFM

The Church "It's All Too Much" - Progressive Rock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPrnA9bcFKk

Alison Krauss "I Will" - Bluegrass

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sTBJoOZGa8

I also love Chris de Burgh's "Blackbird", but there's sadly no youtube link to that.

BQ1: Favourite Beatles song?

BQ2: The Beatles, The Crickets, or Badfinger?

BQ3: John Lennon or Buddy Holly?

BQ4: Favourite Beatles album?

I've noticed over my years on this forum that there are a lot of people in this section that have some kind of massive, irrational hate b*ner for rap and hip-hop. Before we begin, let me state that I am a huge fan of music in general, including rock and metal, and most of my answers on this site attest to that.

The most common things I see cited are:

1) "Rappers have no talent, unlike rock musicians!"

So, let's discuss this: With rap music, you have to be able to get by on lyrics alone - with rock, as long as it's catchy enough, you can get away with just about anything. Case in point - "Hook" by Blues Traveler. "Smells like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana.

Rap songs have pretty strict guidelines when it comes to song structure. Your lyrics have to flow continuously, without breaking the pace except in the parts of the song where your tempo changes. They have to follow a pretty strict rhyming pattern. Not all rap follows this, of course, but rap works very much the same as rock/pop music. You don't want to listen to what's *popular*, because that stuff is garbage. If you're unwilling to dig, you won't find good stuff.

Rappers have to be able to enunciate clearly, especially when they've got their stretch of lyrics that they spit at breakneck speeds - you've all heard at least one song where the artists starts rapping so fast that you don't even have time to process what he's saying. But you can understand it, because the words don't run together the way they would if the rapper's enunciation weren't perfect.

In rap battles, you have to be able to more or less memorize your opponent's entire spiel - you have to listen, sort, and retain that information so that you can debunk and counter his assertions with your retort. On top of that, it's all improvisation, so you have to come up with entire stanzas at a time that keep a rhythm, rhyme, dismiss whatever your opponent said about you AND have a rebuttal, while you're in the middle of saying something completely different. This means that you have to be able to simultaneously speak, flow, rhyme, respond and counter while thinking of something else entirely. And they keep this up until there is a clear winner.

For an idea of how difficult this is, go ahead and write a poem. It has to follow a specific rhythm and rhyme scheme, and be sure to include a rebuttal to a supposed insult. Now, while reciting that poem out loud, write another poem beside it that follows the same rhythm and rhyme scheme, but has very little to do with the first poem. They both have to have a clear train of thought, and decent quality writing. Do not even begin to consider the second poem until you start reciting the first. I guarantee there's not a single person who answers this who can do it.

2) "At least rock musicians can play instruments!"

This is a logical fallacy. There are a lot of rock vocalists who can't play any instruments. There are also a lot of rap artists who can - many of them at least play either the keys or the drums, which are two of the most common instruments you'll find in rap music.

3) "They're all about drugs and money and crime"

No, they're not, and the ones that are are examples of their demographic culture - that is to say, ghetto kids, a lot of whom are stoners, grow up without much money, and are in and out of trouble with the law. Rap music isn't written for upper-crust , white-collar rich people, so don't expect the lyrics to be about running corporations or paying off your mortgage. Rap music is about sharing shared experiences with the fans.

On top of that, there are a lot of rap songs about just being yourself, rising above the stuff that goes on in the streets, and, hell, some of them are even tributes to people who played a big part in various artists' lives, such as Tupac's "Dear Mama", Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth's "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y)" and People Under the Stairs' "Days Like These". How often do you see that in rock?

If you're going to complain about and insult entire genres of music and the people who perform them, at least have some valid points.

BQ1: Who is your favourite rap artist, if applicable?

BQ2: What is your favourite rap song?

BQ3: Would you be willing to listen to rap music if it had lyrics that weren't about drugs, crime, or money?

And by this I mean songs done in a completely different genre. Like Punk Goes Pop, not thrash metal covering heavy metal.

Personally, my five are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tJ8jGndviI The Busters - We are the Champions (Queen) - Rock to third wave ska

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic85cGnXuoc Rest Among Ruins - Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles) - pop/rock to metalcore/post-hardcore

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMq7gR0DU80 The Dust Bowl Cavaliers - F*ck Her Gently (Tenacious D) - Hard rock to bluegrass

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdkBs0VCSX0 - Scala and Kolacny Brothers - Hier Kommt Alex (Die Toten Hosen) - Punk to woman's choir

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5pY-_e8znE - Sonata Arctica - Wind Beneath My Wings (Roger Whittaker) - Easy listening to power metal

BQ: Opinions?

BQ2: Of the covers you post, which is your favourite original song?

So, to start, how do we accurately judge "good" and "bad" in terms of music? We can't use sound as a basis - that's too subjective. Different people enjoy different things, so to use that method, we could never agree.

No, to determine between "good" and "bad", we'll have to use skill. And, by that, I mean the overall level of skill portrayed by the band as a whole - that is, the sum of the parts, and not each individual member. Otherwise, we can't accurately say if a band is good or bad.

Songwriting is a skill. Anyone who disagrees has never attempted to write a song. Songwriting actually encompasses a lot of skills: You have to have lyrical flair - the ability to write a form of poetry that doesn't follow a standard beat or pattern. You have to be able to come up with a melody and beat that goes with those lyrics. Lyrics without music are nothing. To come up with a melody you need at least a basic understanding of music theory - keys, scales, how notes fit together, and what notes to use and when.

Now, that's just songwriting. Let's move into the more technical aspects of the music. The guitarist needs to be able to play the melody that the lyricist wrote. If the lyricist has not written a melody, only lyrics, then the guitarist also needs to be able to take the lyrics, isolate a beat, and then write music to it. That's not a simple task. The guitar and the vocals need to blend well in order for that music to be successful.

Next comes the bass. Now, the bass is more simplistic than the guitar, but it is vital, along with your drums, to keep the beat. The bass should play complimentary to the guitar. Once again, this requires a working understanding of music theory. Or, at the very least, a good ear for music. The bassist not only needs to be able to do all this, but also needs to be able to keep in time with the guitar, because the bassist falling out of time can ruin the song.

The drummer has to be able to keep the beat, and keep the percussion section interesting. A 4/4 snare beat would get really boring really quickly. No, the drummer needs to be able to focus on doing 2+ separate things, usually at varying intervals, all while keeping in time with the rest of the band. If the drummer falls off-beat, it's very noticable.

The band then, in turn, needs to be so well-practised together that they can confidently play a live gig without any significant screw-ups. This means learning to know each other's strengths and weaknesses, and getting to know each other as musicians as well as people.

As well, just being able to play the instrument is a skill. Musicians need to be competent enough to play their instruments, or they're doomed to fail.

There are millions of bands in the world. Most of them write their own music. A good songwriter is expensive, they're credited and paid mechanical royalties, and they're really not worth the expense if you're not particularly well-known.

I would say that, mathematically, less than 5% of the existing bands in the world make enough money to support paying songwriters to write music for them, and less than 25% of those actually do. I am pulling these figures out of thin air; I suspect my estimates are higher than reality, though. Anyway.

This means that roughly 1.25% of bands in existance get their material from an outside source.

Now, we've already established that being able to write a decent song takes a lot of skill. On top of that, you need a band sufficiently skilled in playing their instruments to produce this music. It needs to sound good if the band is to have any number of fans at all.

By this logic, 98.75% of bands out there have skill. If bands with skill are "Good bands", this means that 98.75% of bands in existance are good bands.

The simple fact of the matter is, to argue even that *most* of today's music sucks, you'd need to be able to accurately state that at least 51% of bands are too unskilled to be considered a good band. And that's just not going to happen.

Who said you never use math after high school?

So, to turn this into a viable question: What are your thoughts? Agree? Disagree? Why?

Mainstream is not everything. In fact, it's so far removed from everything as to be almost nothing, comparatively. Do people fail to realize the wealth of music that exists, the vast, vast oceans of absolutely fantastic music that exists, just outside their figurative peripherals? Turn off the damn radio and turn on your computer. Use the internet. Search, look, sift. There is absolutely no way that anyone can say "all of today's music is garbage". Why? Because, unless you simply hate music in general, all of it, there is something out there for you. Nobody alive could listen to every band out there - it would take more than your lifetime. But that doesn't mean you have to just disregard everything.

Who cares if most mainstream music is garbage? Who cares if it's "manufactured to appeal to the masses"? You're not forced to listen to it. And even if you are, suck it up and find the redeeming qualities. Yes, Call me Maybe is an incredibly ditzy song, and Carly Rae Jepsen's voice is kind of grating, but you know what? It's REALLY catchy. So are pretty much every Katy Perry and Lady Gaga song out there. Even Bruno Mars has some catchy tunes, and he can at least sing.

There's no point getting yourself all bent out of shape because of music that you never listen to. Does its very existence bother you that much? If it does, you need to take a chill pill and get your priorities straight.

Music is subjective. Different people like different things. Think of a band that you really, really love. Go to Wikipedia, and go to their page. Find the first genre linked on their page, and click that link. That will take you to another page that has a plethora of bands that have influenced the genre, were really popular in the genre, and some modern bands from that genre.

Seriously. Wikipedia. It's your friend.

Another thing you could try, is on Youtube, just go through links. Eventually you'll come to what some people refer to as "Youtube Narnia". It's this section of youtube that's just bands that have no particular following, but are fantastic.

Alternatively, go to this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEFxfVyz4Uc That is Greg Lastwell's Comes and Goes Listen to it. It's fantastic. Cool. Now look on the right. YOu should just see a massive amount of musicians that you've never heard of (minus the top... 5? videos to the right - those are recommendations based on what you've watched in the past).

Explore. Find the music you like. Enjoy.

BQ: Favourite album to come out since 2008?

BQ2: Favourite artist/band to start producing music since 2008?

BQ3: Favourite genre of music?

BQ4: Favourite instrument?

BQ5: Opinions on mainstream music?

~~~Points mean nothing, Yahoo! Keep deleting, I'll keep reposting!~~~

So, I have these recurring nightmares. There are three of them, all of them take place in the same house. I can barely recall one of them, so I won't post it here, but the other two, I remember well.

So, this is the one I had last night, I wrote it down as soon as I woke up:

An old house with yellowing walls, an unobtrusive dark wooden door hiding a dark, narrow staircase leading from the second floor to the attic. The second floor is decorated like an elderly woman would have her house decorated, the couch and armchair a light pink colour with a flower design, the round carpet on the ground also a light pink. The comforter on the bed is a thick, beige thing.

The house is dusty, as though nobody's been around in a long time. The air is heavy with the smell of something sweet, perhaps perfume.

I walk around this floor for awhile, somehow feeling a kinship to the person who lived there. Maybe a great-grandmother. It is comforting.

However, I keep being drawn back to that door, back to the one that leads to the attic. I'm terrified of it, my heart is pounding, and I just want to stay away. Every fibre of my body is screaming at me to go back to the main floor, where it's safe, because there are people.

Inevitably, I open the door. The staircase is a fairly short one. The walls are dark wooden panels. The stairs themselves are of the same dark wood. It's claustrophobic in here, and I don't like it. And yet, I ascend.

I'm not sure what the stairs are lit by - there are no ceiling fixtures or sconces, no hanging bulbs. I can just see. It's almost as if the dark, dark walls emit light without being bright. It's eerie.

I reach the top of the stairs, and there's another doorway waiting for me. I know there's something behind the door, in the room beyond, and I know it's not human, surely as I know my own name. I have flashing visions of long, sharp claws ripping me apart, and blood splattering everywhere. It's inevitable. This has happened, is happening, and will happen again for eternity.

I take a deep breath, near tears, knowing my death is upon me, and push open the door.

(There's also an alternative dream to this one where there are a group of five teenagers going up there, and I go up to see what they're up to, and we end up talking, and I warn them about it. They've been sleeping up there, apparently. We get 5 (very small) mattresses to arrange together in a circle so they don't have to worry about the creature in the attic - strength in numbers, I guess. I never make it to the stairs in this dream, but I know if we don't hurry up and get organized and together, the creature will come down for us. Oddly enough, this version of the dream has a lot of Christmas decorations up, especially pine garland with little golden ornaments, forming patterns on the walls.)

In the other dream, there's a massive round door(same dark wood as the stairs to the attic) that leads to a large room full of cushions, with a massive fireplace. There is a thin bookshelf on either side of the door, and then the inside of the room is lined with them, as well. The room is large, and also round. The floor descends like steps, with the middle being an open space, large enough for a few people to lay down in. In the dream, I go into that room to relax, and after awhile the door shuts and locks. Nobody can hear me pounding on the door and shouting to unlock it, and I'm alone, stuck in this room, never to escape.

Can anybody help me puzzle these dreams out?

1) What is your opinion on dubstep?

2) What is your opinion on funk?

3) Do you have any local bands you'd be willing to share that are not dubstep?

4) If a dog has dog breath, does a rooster have c*ck breath?

5) Do you like mixes?

6) Would you listen to a dubstep or funk mix if I insisted that they are really very good?

And, for the record, no, I have no interest in hearing Palmetto again, in case ...... actually answers questions and comes across this one.

Jesus or Ganesha?

Now, I know, all of you probably think "Jesus! Look at his long hair and rockin' beard!" when you first see this question, but remember, Ganesha was all like "F*ck the man! I have an elephant head and 4 arms!"

BQ: Who would win in a fight, Bob Marley or Bobby McFerrin?

BQ2: If you could form a band made out of the most badass of deities, who would you choose and what would they play?

BQ3: If God was a DJ, life is a dance floor, but what if God is a smooth jazz musician?

So, boys and girls of Rock and Pop, it's been over a year since my last band puzzle question, so a refresher is probably required. The game is played as follows:

I am going to give you a band name, sort of. Within the square brackets ([ ]) is a word that is a synonym of the actual word in the band's name, or a description of the word. Figure out the band's name by correctly translating.

If there is a space between the square brackets (IE [ABCDEFG] [HIJKLMNOP]) that means that those are separate words. If there is no space (IE [QRSTUV][WXYZ]) then the two words combine to create one longer word.

For example:

[Feathered Projectile][Metalworker] = Arrow+Smith = Aerosmith

[Weapons] [Article] [Flowers] = Guns + And + Roses = Guns 'N Roses.

So, let's play!

[Aurum][Digit]

[Article] [Undo; Women's Undergarment]

[Flashback] [Mums, Lotus, etc.]

[Loud; Acute] [Platter; Dodge Automobile]

[Personal Pronoun] [Parent] [Conjunction] [Canadian gynecologist and abortion advocate (last name)]

The last one is the challenge, so here's a little hint: The band name becomes an alliteration when translated.

Best of luck to you all!

I bought "No Cities Left" by the Dears last night, it's a wonderful album. It got me to thinking, because I don't buy music very often (I'm pretty content with my current library right now. It'll expand sooner or later, though), what the rest of you bought recently?

So, the question, of course, is what did you buy most recently? Be it album, song, EP, mixtape from a busker, whatever.

BQ: How often do you buy music?

BQ2: Favourite album of all time?

BQ3: Favourite song of all time?

BQ4: Ever buy a mixtape from a busker or local band?

BQ5: Now Playing?

Unrelated question: How are you all today?

I have a band for you all. They're an indie from my hometown of Montreal, Quebec, and their vocalist Murray Lightburn has been compared to Morrissey (to the point where he's often called "The Black Morrissey") due to his tendency to write dark lyrics, and similar vocals.

So, here are some songs by them, that I personally love:

"No Cities Left" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlujT3ytnjg

"22: The Death of All the Romance" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty41BuLsc1A

"Lost in the Plot" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0zRxxBKZ1A

"Crisis 1 & 2" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajLNFuu88rI

"Meltdown in A Major" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pc8VxLkfaw

"Lights Off" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWeoruYLmYc

"Dream Job" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2kT8fu94wQ

So, what is your opinion on them? Personally, they've become one of my favourite bands, and I'm hoping to pick up their album "No Cities Left" (which has the first three songs on this list) tomorrow. I bought Missiles (Which has the other three songs on this list) about a year ago, and I listen to it on the way to work a lot.

If you only listen to one song, either listen to "No Cities Left" "22: The Death of All the Romance" or "Lights Off". They're my three favourite songs by them (although Lost in the Plot seems to be their most popular song, according to iTunes, and Omega Dog according to Last.FM.)

BQ: Favourite song?

BQ2: Would you say it's fair to compare them to the Smiths?

BQ3: Would you see them if they were playing a reasonably priced show in your city?

BQ4: Are these guys new to you, or had you listened to them before?

P.S.

Seriously, Yahoo. Pretty much nobody but the States spells favourite as "favorite". Stop trying to correct me, I am right.