Niki N. Phaser

              Mazzy Star’s best known song, Fade Into You, is not a very complicated track, it hardly ever crosses the acoustic border. Hope Sandoval’s vocals are also pretty steady all over. The structure is simple, the production minimal. Yet maybe it’s just these things that make Fade Into You the perfect soundtrack for that moment we all take once in a while, those few minutes when we just stop. It provides the distance we all need sometimes when looking at our lives. It might be mistaken for a love ballad, but Fade Into You just seems more like an ode to closeness. Lyrics like “I look to you and I see nothing, I look to you to see the truth” are as truthful and cynical as any relationship, no matter what are the circumstances. The demystifying of love is exactly what gives it strength and before happiness there is the warmth of a comforted heart. But then again, I’m really just guessing here, hear for yourself:

FADE INTO HERE

                Chris Cornell certainly entered the new year with joyful news for all. “The 12 year break is over & school is back in session. (…) Knights of the Soundtable ride again!” was his first post of the year on Twitter. You don’t have to be a master of deciphering to know that he is hinting at a Soundgarden reunion. They disbanded in 1997 and apparently, promised themselves that there will be no reunion, unless they all agree, thus avoiding a Guns N’ Roses/Smashing Pumpkins type of situation. Since then, Cornell released several solo records as well as revived old-school hard-rock with Audioslave. Considering that Cornell’s career was going well, there is no reason to believe that there are unhonorable grounds for this reunion. Hopefully, the band will work on new material and not just tour, though that will be welcomed by quite a few (millions of) people. For more info:

RIDE HERE

         It is official: John Frusciante is no longer a memeber of funk-rock legends, Red Hot Chili Peppers. The experienced guitarist confirmed that he is going rogue and, even more, that he was out of the band for more than a year, around the time his tenth solo album, The Empyrean, was released. The departure was an amiable one:”I really love the band and what we did. I understand and value that my work with them means a lot to many people, but I have to follow my interests”.

         This is the second time Frusciante leaves the band, the first being right after the Peppers made it big with Blood Sugar Sex Magik. At the time, the guitarist thought he couldn’t cope with the rockstar status and quit, just like now, in order to work on his solo projects. Indeed, he released several experimental albums, but also plunged into a lengthy heroin addiction, which was almost the death of him. Johnny Depp and Gibby Haynes documented the state of his house during this period in a short movie called: 

STUFF