Blog Archives
A Farewell to IVM
Farewell Friends to a site I’ve grown to love, cherish, and adore for 15 years. Read my farewell message at this link here over on IVM. Thank you friends, readers, and supporters of everything we’ve accomplished in the 15 years of operations. It’s certainly been a fun time and many memories to be had. Thanks! Check out the official #RIPIVM Spotify playlist and remember the good times.
Freedom Like a Top100: Most Influential List
Top 100 Album Challenge:
Have you ever been “nominated” by a friend or acquaintance on Facebook for one of these Top 10 Favorite Album challenges but struggle to create a list of your own? Have you sat there in the quiet ambiance of your room or office and been left struggling to find the words to type? You tremble to express just how much 10 albums meant to you over the course (in my case) 36 years of life!!! (triple emphasis) Well that’s me and that’s my story. This is why I haven’t exactly been so keen to commit to these “challenges” and would rather relegate it to my blog here than post it on Facebook/Social media.
So with my best foot forward I am going to attempt a “list” and try to gather thoughts together and try to somewhat assemble what I think are my favorite 100 albums. These are albums that have made an impact at some point in my life over 36 years. Yeah that’s right, I can’t do 10, because in 36 years, far more than just 10 albums have influenced me. So instead of doing just some lazy quickly slapped together “List” meant to impress friends and hipsters alike, I have decided to dive in a bit deeper. Below you’ll find a list of 100 albums that have influenced me at different points over the course of my life. These albums are not in any particular order or arrangement. I just posted them the best I could from memory. I tried to avoid my LastFm playlist because that throws me off every time. I have to consider that pre-2007 (when I signed up for LastFm) I listened to a lot of the below listed albums more heavily and at different times. So join with me and feel free to discuss your likes, dislikes, and general distaste for what I consider MY personal influential list. Remember folks, these are just the albums that impacted me most over the course of my life. No offense to any band or friend left off this list. I know there were handfuls of “independent” artists that have influenced my listening habits over the years but in respect of this overall list and what I listened to the most, I have included my selections below.
Also, before you start asking “why aren’t there very many “NEW” titles in your LIST?” It’s tough to organize so many albums that were listened to at lengths over the years and assemble them in some sort of list off of memory. I am excluding a lot of more recent releases just due to the fact that I haven’t spent quite nearly as much time with these albums (except for My Epic, EISM, The Hotshot Freight Train, etc.). Anyway, I hope you understand.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy.
Welcome to My New Blog
Welcome friends to my new personal blog and music fansite titled “Freedom Like a Song”. The blog takes it’s name from a Five Iron Frenzy song called “Juggernaut” (2001) and basically sums up my love for music, the freedom that comes from listening to it and the healing that can come through a simple song. Freedom Like a Song, The Weak Shall Be Made Strong….
So join with me and let’s talk about what’s important, our love for music and life. Here there are no boundaries or constraints for what we can talk about or discuss. I’ll share some personal experiences over the coming months as well as some “lists” and maybe a few “reviews”, “interviews”, etc. as time permits.
This is NOT a full time gig nor is it going to replace my time at IVM. This is simply a personal blog that will fill time in between my full time job and family time. A hobby as you would call it.
In case you didn’t know, I am in the process of transferring ownership of Indie Vision Music to another interested party and will announce more in the coming weeks.
Thanks friends for joining me on this new adventure and following my exploits through life. Take care and God Bless!
-Brandon Jones
#freedomlikeasong
Twitter: @freedomlikesong
Facebook: facebook/freedomlikeasong
Juggernaut
This seems too big for me
hulking monstrosity
too late to get out now
And like the speed of sound
this thing has brought me down
I don’t remember how
I want to be free
but Juggernaut is killing me
[Chorus:]
Freedom like a song
The weak shall be made strong
I may sink before I swim
but I’m not giving in to you
Juggernaut/ Juggernaut
Beneath machinery
specter of treachery
and I’ve lost everything
And I am getting out
the shadow of my doubt
is suffocating
my own worst enemy
this Juggernaut is killing me
From machines that I have made
I’ve become the slave
but I’ve been carried along
freedom like a song
Freedom lifts me like a song
when the weak shall be made strong…
-Five Iron Frenzy “Juggernaut” [2001]