Pimping music? Me? Just a little.

I come to you this fine afternoon to pimp one of my favorite bands. It is called A Perfect Circle, commonly referred to as APC. They're an alternative rock group formed by guitarist Billy Howerdel, who did guitar tech for bands like Fishbone, Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, and Tool (which would be why Maynard James Keenan is the lead vocalist). On top of the fantastic vocals and guitar, they use a lot of heavy bass and haunting string melodies, so their music is very mournful and intense-- except for when it is kick-your-ass hardcore, which is awesome too. Also, they do a lot of sound layering. I love sound layering. A lot.

The general theme of their music is...well, they do war protest, mindless consumerism protest, senseless conformity protest-- it's like those "VERB: It's what you do!" commercials, and APC's verb is "protest". But even if you're not into that kind of thing, you can probably appreciate their sound.

I have a few favorites. "Pet" and "Counting Bodies Like Sheep (To The Rhythm of the War Drums)" are essentially two different approaches to the same song, both of which are fantastic. "What's Going On" is more than worth a listen for its dreamlike quality, as well as "Passive" which is a littler harder, but with a certain trance-inducing way about it, and "The Nurse Who Loved Me" is one of those songs that makes me shake my head and think "Good lord, that was terrible. I have to listen to it again." They've also done a few covers, my favorites being "Imagine" and "Peace Love and Understanding".

So yes. That was me being a shameless music nerd. Later, if I get bored, you may have to listen to be prattle about VAST.