It is 2000. I am 9. I have just received an awesome Pokémon Gameboy Colour and Pokémon Gold Edition. It is an amazing time of my life, strategy guides, trading, battles, adventures.
Generations.
And now, with the death of the save battery in my old cartridge the next generations has stepped up to fulfil the epic task. 100 hours gone, 9 hours 30 on the new restarted clock. In no particular order, I'm hoping to train a Donphan, have a kickass Pidgeot, complete the Unown thing which I'm certain I never managed before and I guess I want to catch 'em all. For sure though, I feel like a little kid again which is no good now I'm attempting to write essays and revise for exams (see Stevo's new blog, Studenting, for the perils of essays).
Now with that tackled here's the end of my 3 Blog Post 30 Song Challenge!
21 A song that you listen to when you’re happy - C'mon and Love Me by Kiss! This song reeks of satisfaction. I could also have picked the 1986 version of Can't Stop This Feeling I Got by Prince which came on as soon as I found out I made it into York last year. 70s Kiss always makes me happy.
22 A song that you listen to when you’re sad - Beautiful Girls by Van Halen. David Lee Roth is a totally radical man, and when I'm down in the dumps I just wanna turn up a fun rock n roll song. Kind of humerous, definitely lighthearted, lift the spirits! Don't mention Hoobastank or Breaking Benjamin...
23 A song that you want to play at your wedding - Crucial by Prince. Yeah he's back. This song is lovely. Look out for the version with Miles Davis on if you're into it, I think the song is better without horns. Could have chosen a lot of Prince songs for this one, he does a ballad well. No doubt I'll have something more tasteful ready in the next 20 years!
24 A song that you want to play at your funeral - I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead by Mogwai. Kind of sombre but in a way uplifting I find. Would suit a funeral I think. On the other hand don't want to make it more miserable, but to play a really happy song would be distasteful.
25 A song that makes you laugh - Bobby Brown Goes Down by Frank Zappa. Very very close to the line, still not sure which side it sits on. But it is a funny song for real.
26 A song that you can play on an instrument - Honestly cannot. Sorry to leave this blank, looks like I have failed the challenge.
27 A song that you wish you could play - Are You In? by Incubus. Yes another repeat offender, I would love to break out the bass and do this one. Also in the running was another Incubus track, Here In My Room which I think is beautiful. Piano. Well I suppose I own a keyboard.
28 A song that makes you feel guilty - Until You're Over Me by Maroon 5. Eek did another repeat. My music taste is mainly insular I guess.
29 A song from your childhood - Pokémon World. See what I did there?
30 Your favorite song at this time last year - I'm A Legend Tonight by Kiss. Ending on a repeat what a shame. But it is true. I look back to the blog posts of last year and find that Kiss was on heavy rotation and I remember this kickass song was going on. You may remember this song from a few blog posts back, I was listening to it on the train. It wasn't exploding enough to be fitting for this song though. Paul Stanley is a God.
Well there you have to folks, the key to my failing to do anything good this week and the culmination of a musical voyage through memory. Look out for more posts in the near future. Peace.
I was surprised and glad the last post went down well, but unfortunately I've got little to blog about apart except this 'amazing' song challenge. So we've got 11-20 today for your pleasure.
11 A song from your favorite band - Psychopsilocybin by Incubus. Fungus Amongus won't be to everyone's taste but this song is pretty awesome. Especially Mike Einziger's guitar work.
12 A song from a band you hate - All The Pretty Faces by The Killers. You know I dislike this band, I happen to think this particular song is alright. Hate is a strong word.
13 A song that is a guilty pleasure - Dancing Queen by Abba. The harmony is extremely special in this one. I'm being very brave putting this instead of something less homo. It's a good song.
14 A song that no one would expect you to love - Sunshine by Twista Feat. Anthony Hamilton. Like the sample most obviously, Bill Withers is brilliant, but Anthony Hamilton in particular makes this version particularly memorable. Twista also lays down a decent rap about hustling and serving muthafuckers.
15 A song that describes you - De Do Do Do De Da Da Da by The Police. Hard to think of one. This seems alright. Remember well; I am me and no song can immitate that.
16 A song that you used to love but now hate - Don't Stop Believin' by Journey. Horrifically overplayed since 2009. Went from favourite song contender to active avoidance. Gee thanks, song challenge question number 2.
17 A song that you hear often on the radio - Forget You by Cee Lo Green. Really like this song, think its still awesome even after all the exposure. Gateway into a fantastic artist. I regret that few will be able to check out his Stray Bullets mix tape which blows away the already great album The Lady Killer. Fuck You was better, mind.
18 A song that you wish you heard on the radio - Ain't Nothing Wrong With That by Robert Randolph and the Family Band. Totally unexpected song that came to me in a Halo Reach Beta montage last year! Definitely deserves to broadcast the good summer vibrations over the waves to the mindless public who otherwise wouldn't hear this. A feel good tune tha promotes tolerance. What?!?
19 A song from your favorite album - Radio by Jamiroquai. Am I copping out by choosing High Times, a singles collection? This album was a surprise hit in summer 2008 for me, and I can still mostly happily listen to it again and again (did so yesterday in the car). Sure, the single edits cut out a lot of great music from the tracks but its an essential collection and brilliant introduction to one of Britain's most funky exports. Plus the song I have chosen is insanely sexy, and I really hope the band goes in this direction more in the next album. Opportunity missed on Rock Dust Light Star?
20 A song that you listen to when you’re angry- Lying From You by Linkin Park. It had to be this band. Nearly picked One Step Closer but this one is normally more apt if a little extreme. Don't get angry very often. Woe betide the person who witnesses it.
This was a really hard task to complete. Hope you appreciate at least some of this choices. Back soon with the ultimate blog post (if penultimate is second to last I guess last is ultimate?)
I spend a lot of my time listening to music or reading about my favourite acts online these days and I feel apart from the Prince entry a couple of years ago (wtf?) I've not given music enough of a go on this blog amongst all the sci-fi, games, comics I've spoken about. Gonna go few a through bands/singers I've been listening to lately to broaden your minds and review my own mistakes which will become evident as we go along. Then I'll put together my list of 30 day song challenges except without whoring it out over a month, instead making it easy right here for your aural pleasure. Or maybe 3 posts over the next week to make it less long.
So let's begin with Maroon 5.
Gayest straight man, lead singer Adam Levine, about to tuck in to his daily virgin.
Wrote off their latest album, Hands All Over, as a poppy mess. It certainly is poppy but it's also a grower, got some good songs going on especially on the deluxe version. My main problem with the record is the lack of funk rock. Somehow the opening song Misery is a very close immitation of This Love the band have somehow managed to mix out the funk guitar work. It's there, deep in the mix, awaiting some kind of alternate universe liberation where it won't be drowned out by synths. Mutt Lange may have worked on some very acclaimed work, but this was a mistake to my ears at least. Synths I've got no problem with, make a great song even greater much of the time and in fact some of my favourite bands have used these at the forefront but they managed synth/funk guitar combinations just fine in the 80s. Why not now? Some hot songs from this album were the titular 'Hands All Over', 'Runaway' and 'Give A Little More' which should have been a bigger hit as a single. Songs About Jane remains the best album. Give the remixes a good listen too, some excellent work there.
Moving a little unconventionally away from the true mainstream I'm gonna probably introduce you to a band called Mogwai. They are a post-rock outfit from Glasgow.
How anyone could create depressing music AND come from here is unfathomable.
What is post-rock? I assume we're talking about a lack of traditional rock guitar, a more melodic sound juxtaposed with a pretentious sentence. Wait. Juxtaposed with harsh, almost white noise sound. When I had the opportunity to see this band live I took it, and it was a very interesting one I must say. The latest album I would say is not their strongest but again I'm limited in experience having listened to them for about a month at this point. All I can really say is their live album is really good and the first is quite striking. The soundscapes would be ideal for movies, or if you're feeling boring doing work. In a moody way.
Next up is one even I wasn't expecting. A woman called Nikka Costa.
Might be a little out of date.
Now I was browsing prince.org, the foremost discussion of his royal badness on these internets, and a dude said he was sure he heard Prince on this song. While not of the Minneapolis sound, like The Time, Sheila E or Alexander O'Neal who I previously found thanks to Mr Rogers Nelson this was some pretty cool, if begging for the mainstream, funk/pop. I can't really say much more except Spotify tells me the nearly unreleased son 'I Don't Think We've Met' is my most listened to lately. So I shall embed.
Truly a reminder of the better days, before 2003. I also think Prince is there on this one even if it can't be confirmed right now. The album it was intended for has contributions from Prince and Lenny Kravitz, everyone's favourite black jew. If they don't speak for it what can I say?
Let's talk Robert Randolph and the Family Band for a bit.
Ain't no Guitar I ever heard of.
Actually the album above isn't what I want to speak about but I gotta say I had no idea what a steel guitar looked like before I saw that. Pity the album isn't very upbeat (and is possibly even brought down by incessant, and unfun, segues as many are these days). Snowblind however is one of the most fun records I've heard in a long time and really suits the sunny weather I've been seeing lately. Very funky, but also kind of goddy, this is a steel guitar driven empowerment fest. And is not really too criticisable. I'm reminded of Santana's Supernatural album, in spirit if not in sound, but that might just be the inclusion of Dave Matthews as a guest. Yes we have another album with some great contributors, including Eric Clapton. I was really hoping for more of the same when We Walk This Road came out last year but hey it doesn't stop this album from rocking. Totally suits the summery mood.
To round out this eclectic and entirely unsacrilicous pentagram is Living Colour! I bet you overlooked or didn't know about these guys before?
Not gay I swear.
Funk metal, more metallic than funkadelic but what is wrong with that? Their first album, Vivid, truly is as it describes. I'm not sure what makes these guys so good but their songs are exciting, the lyrics often meaningful, I think its the style of the guitarist, Vernon Reid, that provides the hook and the percussion session that give it the line (bassline? Yeah?) and the singer the sinker. Eek that was a rough spot. Moving on...
3 Blog Post 30 Song Challenge! Are you ready to be unimpressed/despairing?
1 Your favorite song - This Guy's In Love With You by Faith No More. A cover of a Burt Bacharach classic, Mike Patton kills it as he does with much of what he does. A very romantic song, perhaps also a candidate for unexpected favourite. Not sure I can think of a song I like more.
2 Your least favorite song - Any song by the Glee Cast. I know of some stinkers, Rebecca Black's unparralelled effort of last week a recent contender, but at least it was... original. This is hypocritical given my favourite is a cover but its neither autotuned nor devoid of human emotion.
3 A song that makes you happy - If I Like It I Do It by Jamiroquai. From Emergency on Planet Earth, couldn't believe my ears when this was played 17 years later in the Debut Club last year for the 1000 luckiest people in London that night. How can you not glide along the street on a sunny day when the vibes flow from this one?
4 A song that makes you sad - Sometimes It Snows in April by Prince & The Revolution. One of his bestest songs, exceedingly sad. Gives me shivers down my spine. Can't say more.
5 A song that reminds you of someone - Get Down Saturday Night by Oliver Cheatham. Mr Alex Smith you always come to mind when this song comes on. Make Luv just isn't as good though. Hope you made it down this far.
6 A song that reminds you of somewhere - I lead an unexciting life and can't really think of one of these. Everywhere is pretty dull. Can I have a song that reminds me of something I'm gonna do in the future? If so get ready for a sweet ride in my convertible in the sunny USA listening to The Sun by Maroon 5. If you're lucky you'll get to be there.
7 A song that reminds you of a certain event - Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. This reminds me of the awesome Matthew Harrop Wingman Event. And also, more well known, the awesome Joe Medforth Karaoke Party. That was a radical time and this is a radical song.
8 A song that you know all the words to - The Bad Touch by Bloodhound Gang. Classic song, and though I can do a lot of songs well I thought this one might be moderately impressive. My goal is to do Rappers Delight.
9 A song that you can dance to - Boogie Nights by Heatwave. What a classic song. Jazzy intro, funktastic rest of the song. Iconic.
10 A song that makes you fall asleep - Sleepwalker by Faunts. Pretty well titled I've gotta say, this song is but a snippet from one of my favourite records, M4. Thank you Mass Effect for bringing me to this brilliant brilliant band.
I think we've had enough for today. Maybe we'll talk later.
I'm gonna go right ahead and say that Blade Runner is my number one tip top movie or at least in the top five alongside comparatively trivial things like Spirited Away and Anchorman. I'm supposed to be concerned that the proposed movie(s) to be made by Alcon Entertainment will ruin the original movie forever! I have never understood how en -equel can have any real effects on the original and the feelings you got when watching it. I think that concept has been flawed from the get go.
I can see where the problem may lie. The propensity to use computers instead of practical effects has become a truly problematic blemish on filmmaking perpetuated by George Lucas (the Battle of Endor was way more realistic than the Battle of Coruscant don't you think?) and I do realise I am perilously close to slipping between Harrison Ford movies. Despite the best efforts of filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, who manages to use real objects in real space, and the academy, though I don't put any weight behind their choices, who know this and this year gave Inception the effects Oscar. For a film where the sheer viceral weight of the objects and characters was the crux of grounding the world, and making it feel like a world and not a set, a modern version could likely ruin that feeling. I have my concerns. I've seen anime that has managed to feel real that was made since Blade Runner but never a film. I'll take my Spinners as models thank you!
Not that kind of model, Denmark.
Casting will be very important here. The original cast was interesting, I think it all worked out in the end. It's hard to think what holywood will do with the story without attempting to match the characters and performances of Blade Runner. Note that a game was made, a sequel book was produced and at least one of those was good so a prequel/sequel tie in IS potentially viable. But in a sea of uninspired sequels a Blade Runner movie made now will have to stick to the original's guns in order to set itself apart from whatever Leonardo DiCaprio or god forbid SamWorthington (like the guy but c'mon) are up to.
I figure I ought to finish off here given this blog post has been W.I.P for about a week and I've had little to say. Maybe I'll get inspired when/if some real news about one of these projects pops up.
Still got nothing from the lady about the house. I'm getting uncomfortable now. Mmmm.
I had a little go on the radio a couple of weeks ago on Uni Radio York and since they're getting a refit soon I thought it might be worth jumping on the bandwagon and making an honest man out of myself. Obviously a talk show would be unfathomably awful so I'm wondering what sort of show I should present? One idea I had would be a Get Psyched hour, and putting in a mix of hyping up songs. Struggling to think beyond that. Leave a comment with your ideas/opinions and yes this was a test to see if anyone reads this.
Been getting in to Mad Men a lot. Finished the first series. Feel sorry for Don. He's a dick but his wife is a massive annoyance to me and to everybody I'm gonna assume. What strikes me about this show apart from how cool smoking and drinking is in it, and its overall super-style, is the humour that occasionally springs up. The election night office party and the scene where Don and Roger have to take the stairs are some of my favourites.
Speaking of drinking, had the Arnold Schwarzenegger marathon last night which was a great success. Managed to avoid most of Predator by falling asleep, fantastic win. Shocking favourite had to be The Sixth Day which was very biopunk, if not cyberpunk and cool, I especially liked the helicopter-cum-jet ships that Arnie chartered. Stylish film I thought. 2 Arnies are better than 1.
Further to that sci-fi movie today I watched Ghost in the Shell. For a film so lauded with praise I'm not sure I enjoyed it as much as I was expecting. It is undeniably well animated but the pacing was weird and it seemed extremely tame especially for its time of release. Still, it is a cyberpunk universe I shall be revisiting.
I also managed to get myself a copy of Akira used. If they release it on dvd again I'd probably buy it, depending. But for now eBay has provided me one for under a tenner delivered which I call a win. A classic anime film and a true inspiration. I really wish I was with my LEGO right now.
Inkeeping with this week's cyberpunk theme I had some time to play Dystopia again. For those inevitably unaware its a free, source-engine online game where teams fight to complete objectives. I really like the feeling of this game, its environments, its similarity to Gibson's Sprawl Trilogy. The fact that gameplay rests on 2 separate types of action, run and gun and hacking into a virtual world, set it apart from the norm. I was quite unhappy to find only 2 servers active. And that I'm rubbish at the game now.
I think maybe its a product of the gloomy 80s feeling, and the cyberpunk genre's origins in those times, but the music of that era fits the feeling of low-life and high-tech, oppression, powerlessness and apocolypse very well. That's why, in true Mini fashion, today's blog was brought to you by the song 'The Dance Electric' performed by André Cymone which isn't a patch on the 12 minute Prince & The Revolution version despite being effectively the same except without a high quality version existing. Have fun y'all.
[11:27am) Hello blog reader(s?). Here I am writing up a blog.
It's been a while hasn't it? There is little time so by this thing's publication it will probably be next week or perhaps this evening. But rest assured it is still morning in fact I'm gonna timestamp this mother.
This weekend is massive for sport and I shall be accepting tiredness and academic compromise by watching Superbowl XLV! Steelers vs Packers. So I guess I'm behind the Steelers if anyone. But we all know that the game is only half the fun of the Superbowl and the trailers we get to watch after (or during if we live in the USA) are simply essential to the experience.
[12:51pm] Wow its Friday. Just caught a bus in the nick of time. This is the first stage of my epic journey home and as usual I am nervous about trains and me missing them or getting the wrong one. More later.
Superbowl ended up good, watched the slightly dull first half and then listened to the rest on 5 live. The commentators behave as if its real soccer football or something. Needless to say the Black Eye Peas were abysmal, the only saving grace here being Slash's brief appearance which doubtless pissed Axel off sufficiently. This resulted in a very tired day of lectures. Ho hum.
Managed to put dibs on a house on Saturday. Great eh. Still awaiting a lease and contract details but hopefully shotgun for eternity is in effect right now. [1:11pm] Seems like it'll all be fine and we shall have our bachelor pad (with a garden big enough for a helipad).
Ok so I'm here at the station way early and it appears that a schools worth of kids are waiting with me. Imagine my disgust. I only hope they manage to grab an earlier train or at the very least aren't in my carriage. It's more than I can bear to accept designated seats only to be in the midst of 8 year olds. I remain optimistic. just got a text from mother saying train is delayed. What a shocker!
So to Superbowl news. Trailers. First off Cap. Looks quite good,though it is hard to tell. Really impressed with the brief look at Hugo Weaving as Red Skull, glad they decided to use prosthetics rather than a computer to tender that scary scary face of his. I'm even less worried about Chris Evans as Steve as well. Optimistic again.
[1:29pm] Tell you what its bloody cold here on the platform and a freight train is going through. This is a first. Is it taking citizens to City 17 or Nova Prospekt? We shall never know.
On to Thor. Not much to say apart from I've got faith in Chris and Ken to make it lighteningy and suitably awesome. Can't wait for it actually.
[1:39pm] Ok I have boarded a train with annoying kids in it. It smells like a night out on this train which is odd. Is it some kind of perfume? Apparently we are slightly delayed because retards can't put their luggage in properly. Not an easy mistake to make, surely? At any rate got the iPod in, busting some sweetass Advent Children music right now. N.b. I shall not be using the phrase 'sweetass' ever again.
Back to trailers. Transformers: lack of a good name has really surprised me with a badass trailer. It seems far more grand, urban, desperate and transformery. This can be good, not yet sure. My transformers consultant Frazer seems happy with it and he too disliked Revenge of the Fallen. It also seems like Bay is taking some care this time around and though I don't trust him the idea of a more 'black hawk down' feeling and situation is undoubtedly appealing. Too bad (or good?) the toys are so poor so far. Not up to par with the usual quality of the current lines.
I see a glorious power station from my window seat. I know society has prepared me to despise such constructions but they are rather cool looking. Think how important a cooling tower is. Very. Wow another in the distance. Cool journey so far. This calls for a change in music. wWow I just saw fire.
[1:59pm] Well the children are talking about spending all night in the club. They grow up so fast. They have a very fucking annoying accent. Somebody press mute on them. I assume they are from Corby, aka little Scotland, where a flatmate lives. I am infuriated. Just appearing at Doncaster now. Lovely day here contrasting York. And apparently home. Not long now! I don't really understand how short this journey us tbh. Half the length of the car journey. Less than double York to Sheffield. Also less than double the price by a considerable amount. If you can explain please comment, and we will send them a letter explaining our better version of a business plan.
With Kiss in my ears, not in the bad way I hasten to add, we leave Superbowl 45 and instead move to today's (yesterday's?) X-Men First Class trailer. I shouldn't like it apparently because it doesn't have the real first class lineup. The only one it has is Beast in fact. You might be fooled that Angel is there but its a different character, even though THEY ALREADY HAVE AN ANGEL IN THE MOVIES. I guess I should hate it because Fox doesn't know what they're doing with the license and it should totally go to Marvel Studios. But I am a fan of the 4 current X-Men films and this one if anything has more promise than the others because Wolverine won't be the main character. Magneto is looking cool. Besides, Mr Vaughn if that is the spelling made the awesome Kick Ass. We shall see where this goes. Again I am hoping for a good movie.
[2:20pm]So this journey is about half an hour longer than anticipated. More fun for you. If you ever feel like you can't perform or need to do a feat of epicness, go and listen to Kiss and hear the song I'm a legend tonight. It is so good. Gonna take a quick Blogging break. See Twitter for my thoughts at this time.
[3:16pm] Due to low battery I'm now gonna wrap this up. Sorry I didn't include pics. It was too great a task. Hope you liked the blog.
Here's a blog post. Pretty bored and twitter just will not do!
Well it's coming to the wintery time of year. Another year alone. Single life is good. Cheaper this way. Still there is that feeling of missing a companion which sucks but is inevitable at this time of the year. Powerless to act mind you, it sucks because there appears to be a shortage of eligible females here despite them outnumbering me umpteen to one. What a sticky situation. Glad I'm not Ted Mosby right now he'd have a fit. In the meantime I shall read the various 'help me with my (prospective) relationship' threads on Escapist which are somehow cathartic? On the other hand something may present itself as soon as tomorrow but until then I shall bunker up in default mode.
I regret that Marshall, Ted and Barney never were 'what's up New York' as a trio of bachelors. There were some good episodes to be had out of single Marshall. I believe there should be more broings on. Special brocasions. Bro-choice rallies.
Gonna have a rearrange of my movie reel right now. Don't care when I have to get up.
