If you want to hear some seriously amazing song writing, and the best album of the year, check out Thrice’s newest album, “The Alchemy Index Volumes III and IV.” These boys have truly stepped up their game in big, big ways. You aren’t going to get that screamo, hardcore sound that you may have heard them do many times in the past. No no, this record is truly musical, tasteful, thoughtful, emotional, mellow, and very awesome in just about every way. If I was in Thrice, that’s the type of music that I would love to make myself.

I’m curious about what musical influences they’ve taken on over in the last couple of years. I’m thinking that they might have listened to the first “Q and Not U” album, as there are hints of that sound in there, as well as classical sounds that you’d hear in World War II Germany. It sounds like they’ve gotten a lot more inspired, and dug deeper into the soul of what songwriting is all about. I’m sure that there are some longtime Thrice fans out there that won’t be too pleased with it, because it doesn’t have the type of sound that people may have grown accustomed to. I actually did not like the Alchemy Index Volumes I and II. I am totally blown away by III and IV. Best of all, every song on the CD is totally great. No fillers.

Nice job, Thrice!

I’ve noticed that with much of my songwriting, the song builds up, climaxes, then comes back down to a resolution. I feel like there is really no way to connect with my songs by only listening to 15-30 seconds of it, then voting for or against it. That’s not what music is. At least, not to me. My songs have parts, and aren’t the same throughout the entire song. Hearing only the beginning, or skipping through it, then voting is actually common here, because there is so much material to cover, and so little time (it would take longer than a month to listen to each and every song on the site all the way through). I know for a fact that there are not 300+ songs better than “Waiting for the Moment” in the Indie rock category, and looking at it’s rankings proves to me that people aren’t listening to the full song. “Injected” is probably one of the best songs I’ve ever written, and it too doesn’t get heard, because the listeners on this site are encouraged to skip through the songs and move on.

Having said all of this, I feel like songwriting really isn’t about competition at all. At least it shouldn’t be. I feel like this is a great place to meet both fans and musicians, and that’s what it’s really all about. More importantly, writing songs that mean something, and speaking from the heart. While this is all true, and while I’m happy to have people listen to my stuff at all….....as artists, I think that we appreciate it more when the audience or listener gets the full understanding of it all. This simply isn’t possible with the short period of time that people spend listening to not only my songs, but all the other bands on here as well.

Remember, it’s all about quality, not quantity. I’m sure that many people would agree with me here…..and of course, there are always going to be those that disagree. Either way, thanks for reading.