That's Just Sam.

My name is Samuel. This is my tiny piece of the internet that I use too infrequently to share my thoughts on things.

[thatsjustsam]

Home is where the heart is

I've spent the past 5 years dreaming of relocating from the United Kingdom to Canada.  On the March 17th 2014, that dream became a partial reality, when I landed at Toronto Pearson airport carrying a case full of clothes, a laptop, and little else.

I've been in Toronto for less than 3 weeks, and have already secured a job and a place to live, along with meeting an incredibly numerous and diverse group of people - some of which I'm pretty certain will remain friends for life - and I've had so much fun along the way. I love the city, and I love the people that I've encountered.  But I already know that this is just a temporary adventure.

Home is where the heart is, and my heart is where the people that mean the most to me are.  And to that place I will always return.

[thatsjustsam]

Bring Me The Horizon have always been somewhat divisive, and perhaps their willingness to market themselves with an image rather than any substance has amplified that. Too fashionable for the metallers, and too heavy for everyone else.

Personally, I've never liked them. When I played on the same bill as them several years ago (at the beginning of their rise to the 'big band' status they have now), they were arrogant and really quite unpleasant. And this story doesn't help.All of that said, their latest offering Sempiternal is really, really great.

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START - 1878 - THE DEAR HUNTER

I don't know that much about The Dear Hunter other than I don't listen to them nearly enough.

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START -Right Now, I'm Anyone's -DEAF HAVANA

Not my favourite Deaf Havana track - I was a big fan of their EP They Call It The Easy Life, and for me the debut album that this track is taken from Meet Me Halfway, At Least was, save for a few tracks, a let down.

I've known these guys in some capacity for several years, and remember watching a band that some of the members were in playing Poison The Well covers while they were in school.  They've come a long way since then, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't envious of their success.

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START - The Melodramatic - RENEE HEARTFELT

Random Start actually threw up the title track from the Renee Heartlength full length, Death Of The Ghost, but I couldn't find a video or anything at all on youtube for it. This track is taken from the MagadaleneEP.

I've never tired of Renee Heartfelt, and always seen them as a band that others could learn a lot from. No bullshit, no haircuts, just great songs.

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START - Abandon Ship - GALLOWS

I used to know some members of this band. Well, I suppose I still do, I just haven't seen, spoken to or heard from them in a while. All the same, when Gallows first started, the buzz they created was unprecedented but completely juistifiable. They were working day jobs and recording their debut album Orchestra Of Wolves in evenings whenever they got a chance, and playing shows anywhere they could in between.

This is the perfect example of why they got so big so quickly - aggressive, energetic, hooky and heavy.

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START - Blood On The Ground - INCUBUS

Every now and then I get into phases of listening to an awful lot of Incubus. I think this has probably just started the latest one. The diversity of their first 4 full lengths (Fungus Amongus through Morning View) is mind blowing.

I remember being slightly disappointed when Morning View was first released because it wasn't heavy. I was foolish.

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START - Tattered Youth - ATTENTION

I'm a massive fan of Attention. I first heard them a few years ago after the demise of the Jonah Mantragna fronted Gratitude - and looked around to see if the members had any new projects. I wasn't aware then but Jeremy Tappero and David Jarnstrom had actually been in Attention for a number of years.

To bring it up to date, as recently as last Christmas I re-discovered them from their Bandcamp page and I bought all their albums, including the latest, which this is the title track from. It's been played a number of times in my car since.

Buy Tattered Youth (pay what you want...but please pay something), and everything else Attention have ever put out here.

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START -The Number Of The Beast -IRON MAIDEN

This video is the exact version that came up on Random Start this morning, from the Rock In Rio live double album - which is one of, if not the greatest live albums ever made.

I don't own much Maiden material, but they're everything a heavy metal band should be; and they're still going as strong as ever after nearly 40 years and 15 albums in. I've seen Iron Maiden a couple of times in the past 10 years, and they're simply incredible.

Killer song by a killer band.

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START - Beyond Man - SHAI HULUD

Riffs. Shaid Hulud have got all the riffs.

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START - Misery Train - CONDUITS

Conduits is a band that I don't know much about. I came to have their self titled record through The Sound Supply's (something that everybody should know about) Drop 4.

I've given the album a couple of plays since then, and it's an enjoyable, atmospheric set that according to the bio on the band's website falls somewhere between My Bloody Valentine, Led Zepplin, and Fleetwood Mac. Sounds cool, doesn't it? It is.

Buy Conduits here.

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START - Three's A Crowd - BELVEDERE

First off, I could only find this live video from a Belvedere reunion show last year, so apologies about the quality.

I own two Belvedere records; that I picked up on a recommendation from a friend, but I'm not familiar with either of them or any of the band's material in general.

Maybe it's time I paid these records the attention they probably deserve?

Buy Fast Forward Eats The Tape here .

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START - White Wedding Dress - BOYSETSFIRE

A cool live video of this track from Tomorrow Come Today.

Not their best offering in my eyes, but if you don't know anything about BOYSETSFIRE, change that now. Buy Tomorrow Come Today here.

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START - Leave Me Alone - MICHAEL JACKSON

Terms like "Legend" and "Icon" are thrown around all to easily these days. In my living memory, I don't think that there has been another artist quite as deserving of any as Michael Jackson.

This song is taken from his Bad record, released in 1987 - just two years after I was born. When I was 4 years old, it was also the first album I owned. I had (and still have) it on cassette tape. This song only appears on the CD version of the album though, and I didn't add that to my collection until some years later. I now own this record on vinyl, cassette and CD - in the interests of completism.

And what a video! For all of his eccentricities, Michael Jackson was an innovator. While you watch this video, remember that it's 25 years old.

Thanks, Tuesday. Thanks, Michael Jackson. Rest In Peace.

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START - This song is definitely NOT about a girl - Set Your Goals

I don't think anybody can really dislike SYG. Several years ago, before I'd actually listened to them but was familiar with the name, I had always assumed that they were a chuggy-chug-chug-chug-chugg kind of hardcore band, and I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong on that count. The record that this comes from, MUTINY! still has periods of heavy rotation in my car every now and again; not bad for a 7 year old set. It's the only SYG record I own, and I should probably address that.

I've managed to catch them live a few times - their touring schedule certainly seems pretty relentless - and for what must be a pretty road weary group of guys, I'm always amazed by the energy and positivity that comes across in their live show. Buy MUTINY! here.

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START: Master Blaster - thisGIRL

7pm on a Saturday, and this is the first music I've deliberately listened to all day. I'm happy to hear it too (nb: to be completely honest, the track the shuffle actually threw up was Drake from the same record, but I couldn't find a video for it). I always really admired thisGIRL - their music, their attitude and their work ethic. At one stage they had a couple of major labels clambering over themselves to sign them, but the band wanted to do things their way, and eventually put out the Uno record through Drowned In Sound in 2004.

The band I used to play in had the priviledge of playing with these guys prior to their split, and aside from being some of the nicest guys I can remember meeting, they were full of support and advice for us (as we were then) setting out on our journey as artists.

Listen to this, enjoy - and track down their record Uno.

[thatsjustsam]

RANDOM START- Grist for the Malady Mill - mewithoutYou

While driving home late last night, I realised that I'd made a huge mistake by ommiting mewithoutYou's Ten Stories from my top-whatever of 2012 list. This morning, I logged in to edit my post to include it, then hit shuffle on media player - and what should pop up? I love mewithoutYou, and this song is as good an illustration as any as to why you probably should too.