8+

"Weightless and Horizontal" by Jesu which clocks in at 10:06

Heyo! Woo hoo! Congratulations! No, really. You've earned it! It's... it's EAR FARM reader appreciation day!

Now, I may not be able to respond to each and every email that is sent to EAR FARM headquarters but you should know that I do in fact read every last little line of text that shows up in the EF inbox. And what better way, I figured, to give back to all of you (the loyal readers) than to open up the mailbag and respond to one such previously unanswered email. Cue the music.

Letters. We get letters. We get stacks and stacks of letters...

This one comes to us from Robert (aka "Bob the Baron") von Richthofen in Arkadelphia, AR:

Subj: 8+ question

I had a suggestion for something for you to post about on your blog in the 8+ category. And then also I have a question. The song suggestion is either of the songs from the new Jesu album that are 8 minutes plus. They're both dope, so either one. Unfortunately you said no live tracks because I can think of tons of great live metal for this feature. It's a great idea btw. I'm just wondering how you keep it up week after week even when your busy. That's all. Oh that was my question, what do you do when your too busy to write an 8+ or just don't want to? Thanks and keep it up.

- B

Well Robert, Bob if I might, thanks for reading. I actually drove through Arkadelphia recently while I was away on tour. Or, well that's a lie. We didn't "drive through", but I saw the name Arkadelphia on a sign on the highway and I laughed at it. Kenny did too. In fact seeing Arkadelphia and Texarkana on the same highway sign ended up providing us with jokes lasting the entire trip (and beyond). That counts for something, right?

Anyway, I'll tell you what I do when I'm too busy, or feeling too uninspired, to write an 8+ on any given Thursday... I'll tell you the answer to that question and I'll post a song from/agree with you about the most recent Jesu album all in one fell swoop. Hopefully this won't be too much of a glimpse behind the curtain for you loyal EAR FARM readers here on EAR FARM reader appreciation day.

You see Bob, when I am not in a good place to really give the 8+ feature my "all" with a true story or actual research, well, I just make things up. Things such as EAR FARM reader appreciation day, or that you're from Arkadelphia and that your name is Robert von Richthofen*. I just reach right into my creativity storage unit and pull out something new and exciting that won't take much effort at all. It's like Mary Poppins used to sing "just a spoonful of bullshit helps the 8+ go down"...

No kidding about the song though Bob. You're right on about this one. The song posted here is pretty much the core of the album it comes from and seems to represent the overall aim of the entire album fairly well. I seemingly can't get enough of both this song and the first song on the album ("Conqueror"), each of which are over eight minutes in length. In fact, as of this moment, I'd say that Jesu's Conqueror is one of my favorite albums of 2007. And you Bob, you're the #1 lucky reader who gets to have his email answered here on EAR FARM reader appreciation day.

Try not to lose yourself.

*right so the truth is that I'm not sure of the name of the person who submitted the above email but the letters "RvR" were indeed in the email address, so coming up with Robert von Richthofen as this person's most likely name was an elementary deduction.

Buy Conqueror HERE on Amazon.

EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
Nuh Uh - "This Is Embarrassing"
The Cure - "Carnage Visors: The Soundtrack"
Aphex Twin - "Ziggomatic V17"
Agalloch - "In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion"
Explosions In The Sky - "It's Natural To Be Afraid"
Guns N' Roses - "Locomotive"
Guns N' Roses - "Estranged"
Guns N' Roses - "Coma"

To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.