MikeD's Ten Instrumental Songs You May Have Never Heard

On Monday, Scooter posted his Top 10 Instrumental Songs. Using his criteria (listed below) I compiled my own list.

No themes from movies or television are allowed. (Love Theme, Peter Gunn theme, Guns of Navarone, TSOP)
Not a single word may be said during the whole song. (Reel Big Fish's 241, Tequila, Wipe Out, The Hustle, Daft Punk's Musique)
Lyrics may not exist for the song upon recording. (Jeff Beck's A Day in the Life, SRV's Little Wing, Sing Sing Sing)
No overly campy songs featured prevalently in media. (Dueling Banjos, Star Wars Cantina, The Entertainer, Soul Bossa Nova)
Cannot predominantly feature a solo as the majority of the song. (Moby Dick, Eruption, I Know You're Here)

Music is a powerful tool that I think helps exemplify many aspects of life, whether ones life experiences, hardships, celebrations, or misery. I've always had a interest in instrumental music though, even at a young age when I first bought my first Metallica album, actually cassette Master of Puppets in 1989, which features of course Orion, which Scooter mentioned in his post. (Which you can purchase on the left in it's amazing lo-fi sound.)
It's emotional impact ran deep even without words you get a keen sense of what kind of moods they were expressing throughout the passage. Since then I have greatly expanded my musical influences; whether it's traditional folk, classical, jazz, rock, metal, electronic or anything in between. I like music that takes me on a journey, something to ponder, or simply zone out to.

Words never meant much to me too often in music because I think of them as more personal to the artist, unless the subject is more historical. This is probably one reason why I got very into heavier death and black-metal as the vocals were used more as instruments of rage and fury.

This post is not intended to be a 'best of' by any means. This list was sort of thrown together from bands off the top of my head that I greatly enjoy. These also are not listed in any particular order. I could probably go on and list 50 more ranging from all different genres but I'll keep this short and to the point. Hope you may find something you enjoy. If you do, check out their albums or buy them HERE.

Guest Blogger Thursday - Mike D's Trappist Monks

Anybody that may know me, probably is aware that I am not the biggest fan of organized religion. I`suppose that might be a little strange considering the topic for today is on the Trappists. Trappists, who are part of a Roman Catholic order abide by the very strict rules set forth by Saint Benedict who lived in the 500's AD in Italy. These philosophies and rules are intriguing as they follow an almost extreme sense of seclusion and solitude. They live a life mostly in silence, speaking only when necessary. Most of their time is spent between studying, prayer and work related activities. They are almost entirely self sufficient, as they are known to grow their own crops and live stock as well as produce many goods such as cheeses, breads etc. The ones that interest me the most are the ones that (you guessed it) brew beer!