Nine Inch Nails, Sony CMT-CPZ1

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails is coming to Finland to conclude their 2007 European tour in April. Cool, that, and I've got tickets with my wife (and friends). NIN was one of the really big groups in my teenage years and I like them still, which is easy, since they've only released good albums. I hear from last time's witnesses that they are really very good live, which is of course a good thing, too.

Sony CMT-CPZ1

Related to music, we got a new stereo set last night, a Sony CMT-CPZ1 mini-system (weighing in at 300€). We've been without a set for years, settling for portable players and TV output and I have to say that it feels good to hear music properly again.

It's only a mini-set, as I can't fathom putting 200€-plus on just an amplifier, let alone some speakers, but an audible revelation it is, nonetheless. We went with Sony due to it sounding better than the other sub-500€ sets.

It was also the only not hideous-looking set on the shelves, which is just weird. You'd think they'd design 200-600€ worth of electronics a little more pleasing on the eyes. I see now that the set has got favorable reviews and general praise for sound quality, which is always nice. So far I have no problems with it.

Winter

It snowed yesterday. I understand they already have knee-high snow to tread through further up north, but it's often anybody's guess if the capital area gets snow before Christmas. I think it's the sea which warms this area so much that winter is all wet and rarely white and beautiful for more than a couple of weeks in the heart of winter. I do vastly prefer winter's snow and light freezing to fall's wet and cold.

While winter is the darkest time of the year, the world actually feels much lighter once it snows - simply because light reflects off the snow and illuminates the night. And it's lovely how snow changes the city soundscape, muffling the noise. And while the absolute amount of sunlight is reduced, it's often clear in the winter, as opposed to the permanently overcast fall skies.

My sports goal was to keep running until it snows. I accomplished that. Granted, I've slipped to once a week for the past three weeks, but I haven't missed a single week and I have plenty of excuses (flu, hurt knee, hurt ankle, wedding anniversary trip) for the slower pace. Now we'll see how I find running in the winter. It's not an unpleasant thing to consider and the track I use should be in a running condition through the winter. Progress has been slower than I thought, but I don't mind, really.

All in all, things are pretty sweet right now. Work is super exciting due to new colleagues and clients, I just ordered a new PC (my first in, what, someting like eight years) and there's plenty of good stuff on the TV. Oh, and my second to last "must see" band, Nine Inch Nails, is coming to Finland for their European 2007 tour's final gig in April.

Now if I can only figure out how I'm going to change my tires to studded ones from the slicks with roads frozen and snowed-in.

Life-marked music

Sometimes a record or a given song gets imprinted with life. There's like a permanent stamp on it, something that sends me back to a moment in life. Everyone must be familiar with this phenomenon - yesterday my wife told me that for her, some songs associate with smells and tastes. She always had a better sense of smell and taste than I do.

I'd like to share some songs I have strong associations with. If you have similar examples, I'd love to see you post them in the comments.

Paradise Lost - Enchantment (from Draconian Times): this brings me back to the gig at Tavastia in Christmas 2004 (I think). It was a great show. I also recall many scenes from my teenage years; Draconian Times has been with me since its release in 1995. (Damn! That's eleven years already!)

Garbage - Version 2.0: the whole record brings to mind my long-gone pet dog, Piki. He was a miniature schnauzer. Especially the track The Trick Is To Keep Breathing really hits me to this day. I wasn't living with my parents anymore - I think it was 1998 or 1999. I visited my parents to say my good-byes to Piki. My mother, a veterinarian, had decided to put him to sleep the next day - he was just so old and tired. Returning to my wife-to-be later in the evening, I borrowed the album from my sister and listened to it on the road. I was overwhelmed with grief, and the album really got inside my head from that single listen-through.

James Dean Bradfield - An English Gentleman (from The Great Western): I first listened to this album the same evening in summer 2006 when I heard that two of my best friends were going to move away - yes, one of the events which also sparked this blog. I have a feeling that the song will bring me back to this still continuing phase of self-growth, which I believe is going to be a great time of change for me.

Alphaville - Forever Young: This is something I rather wouldn't mention, but I'm going to anyway. I succumbed to junior high peer pressure and hosted a house party when I was fourteen or fifteen years old (1992/1993). It was a disaster: my parents' just renovated house was a wreck. The next morning, floating somewhere between surrealism, being hung over and despair, awaiting for my parents to return home, I remember this song playing on the stereo. That was one of the few days I wish never dawned. It was also the last time I drank apple wine (eugh!).

The Cure - Burn (from The Crow OST): The movie is one of my all-time favorites and the scene in which this song plays does come to mind everytime I hear this, but I also get a warm memory of the best times from my (goth) teenage years (around 1994-1997).