Finished with You? Not Even Close..

I just love it when I change my mind completely. I saw clips from 30 Seconds to Mars music video for The Kill numerous times on MTV two years ago, and I remember I didn’t like it much. I probably thought to myself something like: “Eh.. Nice tonsils.”

It took about two years before I actually listened to the song in its entirety, and concentrated on it. As usual, the song sounded good at that point. What made me take this step was actually my friend who likes this band – and Jared.. Being a multitalented guy, Jared Leto makes both great films and music, and for some reason, is adored by a few billion women..

Yes, I love him too. I had only seen one of his films before my friend recommended watching some more. On May Day I decided to check him out, and found some seriously good-looking pictures. Then, I found some more, and more, and more.. I found some nice interviews, television appearances, DVD’s, and tickets to the 30 Seconds to Mars live concert in Helsinki.. This is one of the greatest obsessions I’ve ever had, and I’m really enjoying it!

It is simply great that the best-looking, most beautiful, and gorgeous human being on the planet makes amazing stuff - films and music. I love watching Jared’s films, and I’m particularly happy about the music. 30 Seconds to Mars has been number one on my playlists lately. Listening to 30STM hasn’t been very difficult at any point. In fact, I’m totally hooked on that stuff. 30STM has even triggered a wider interest in emo (or polka, or whatever you want to call it..) in me.

A Beautiful Lie (2005) is the second and more recent album by 30STM. It is very different from the band’s first album that was created by Jared and brother Shannon Leto without any other band members. The most important thing is that it really is a wonderful, emotional, and atmospheric album with awesome songs.

The singles Attack, A Beautiful Lie, The Kill, and From Yesterday are all great. However, I’m positive about the fact that the band achieved their goal of making a listening experience out of this album rather than a collection of singles. The result is a very consistent album with only great songs, added with utterly wonderful emotionalism and melancholy, very similar to the feel of The Cure’s masterpiece Disintegration. Savior sounds like an impressive modern recreation of Fascination Street. Was It a Dream is very Cure-like, too. The sound of rain and thunder is combined with a gothic guitar riff, Shannon Leto’s brilliant drum beat, and Jared’s wistful vocals. It’s all very enchanting and wonderfully sentimental.

My favourite song is From Yesterday. I just love it, it’s so powerful and awesome, and I never seem to get tired of the beautiful melody and Jared’s perfect vocals. Major chords and angst make a winning combination. The music video for it is also something astonishingly beautiful, I might add..

The 2007 version of this album is actually quite brilliant because it features two excellent bonus tracks and a hidden track. This means that the album has, in fact, three different endings. I find all of them great. I really enjoy Battle of One, the first of the two bonus tracks. Björk cover Hunter is also brilliant. Jared sings it so well that it makes me want to listen to Björk (since I haven’t done that much, yet).

This is so beautiful music. Something else than sugary power pop, for a change.. Stuff that is sentimental and kicks ass – could I ask for more?

30 Seconds to Mars at MySpace