Welcome to Nasty Nat's Musick Blog

So you’re probably asking yourself, “What the hell does this guy know about music?” or “Why should I respect this guy’s opinions?” and the answer is not simple. In fact, I hope to use this blog to gain your respect and maybe provide you with some music you never would have listened to. So what gives me real clout to discuss the art of music? Well, the simple answer is that I have been listening to many genres of music for over a decade and attended numerous concerts and shows. My digital collection of music is now over 200 gigabytes and includes artists from almost every genre. I must make my music tastes clear though, I do not particularly like popular music and I tend to seek the underground and progressive bands and genres. Even so, I will review bands that get radio play and DO have popular appeal, but my true goal is to support and promote the smaller bands and genres that have not garnered the type of media attention and fanbase that the big bands have.

My particular music tastes have changed and evolved over the years but I have always been in love with punk rock and heavy metal. These two genres and their numerous subgenres are what gets me out of bed in the morning. Of course, I love all other forms of music from gangsta rap to electronic house to jazz jam bands. I think that our need to put everything into genres detracts from the music itself, but it is necessary as a point of reference. I will always briefly describe the subgenre that I believe a band fits into but I feel that talking about similar bands and influences is a better way to understand what kind of music the band plays. Some bands are such a confluence of different elements that they defy genre or have created their own space, for instance Dave Matthews Band can be considered a mixture of jazz, folk, pop and jam. The point is that comparing bands is more effective than pidgin-holing bands into a particular style or genre, yet some bands truly set themselves apart.

I will probably review more albums that I actually like than ones that I think are shitty, but I’m not afraid to criticize an album that has received popular acclaim. I will be choosing albums that I think are progressive, groundbreaking or simply need to be listened to by people that love music. There have been countless times in my life that I have “discovered” a band or artist months or years before they get any real attention so stay tuned if you would like to hear about the latest and greatest bands. Even so, well-established bands that make really bad new albums or “sell out” will certainly be trashed on this blog. But I want to reiterate that my intention is to promote bands and music that lack popularity or media attention.

I will have a ruthless rating system and the rating of the album will be posted at the top of each entry, my reasoning will of course follow. I will use a 10 star system with specific titles, so 0-5 will be considered Atrocious, 5-7 will be considered Mediocre and 8-10 will be considered Nasty. If an album actually hits 10 it will be considered “Deliciously Nasty” and you will be obligated to obtain the album in some form. The rating will take into account how the album stands against other artists in the genre as well as the artist’s own discography.

I want this blog to have a dynamic dialogue with its readers/followers. I do not simply want to lecture, I want the people that read this to make comments and even argue with me. However, this needs to be constructive analysis or it will be utterly worthless. If you simply respond, “You’re wrong, this album sucks!” then you come across as a moron and you automatically lose the argument (and my respect) due to lack of support. Please make comments but back up what you say with some constructive points about why you think so. Be creative and have fun because that’s what music is all about!