Does anybody mind that this is like, 3 days late? I'll have you know I'm very easily distracted.
Now D could be for Depeche Mode, or Daft Punk, or Death Cab for Cutie, or Deftones, but I'm sure everybody's heard that. D could be for DIO, or Dimmu Borgir, or Dark Tranquillity, but everybody who is metal has heard that. D could be for Dir En Grey(nsfw), but everybody who is japanese (or a Japanophile) and metal has heard that. So no, I'm gonna talk about Doctor Octoroc.
Doctor Octoroc is a chiptune artist. I know not everyone who reads this is a hopeless geek like I am, so I'll explain. Chiptunes are songs made using the sound processors from old gaming systems. The artists are thusly working with the limitations of the hardware to create some pretty sweet retro gaming style beatz. Wikipedia is a lot more in-depth, if this concept intrigues you. Anyway, Doctor Octoroc is probably best known for his Christmas collection, 8-Bit Jesus. I'm gonna focus on 8-Bit Jesus, 'cause it's really all I know, and I'm already running way too late to do any research.
So each song is a classic christmas carol done in the style of a classic video game, usually with a pun-laden monicker such as "Carol of the Belmonts."
Mirth!
If you pay close attention, and have a pretty good background in NES gaming, you'll appreciate how closely all of these songs resemble classic tunes from childhood games! Nerd glee! That's my take on that!
If you find this music at all interesting, check out Doctor Octoroc's site! He's got a couple more releases out, including a St. Patrick's Day themed album!
Additionally, here's a great site for chip music in general.
Well, that's that. Be sure to take another look at Saturday's post. I've added the other review I promised.
Originally I'd planned on catching up on all my posts tonight, but no such luck. Try not to be too angry, the failure is punishment enough.
Later, smooth operator.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Close. So close.
Crap. Here I am starting my monday blog post at 12:01, tuesday morning.
C is for Cut Copy! I'm not even sure I need to say much here. They're getting pretty popular.
We'll start of with some of their older stuff though. I found Bright Like Neon Love pretty solid, though nowhere near as polished as their newer records. I find it necessary to point out a certain song though. Time Stands Still is stellar, and easily one of my favorite Cut Copy songs to date. The synth melodies just make my brain smile.
Then, there's In Ghost Colours. In my opinion, it's a perfect balance of electronic and rock. My favorite Cut Copy album. Sweet Video.
Their latest release, Zonoscope, is pretty good. Definitely moving away from the rock thing, which I'm a little disappointed about. It's still a great album, but I thought they had a really good thing going on. Maybe it's better that they didn't play it to death though. As always, sweet random videos. Lulz
Ooh, here's an interesting one:
C is for Cut Copy! I'm not even sure I need to say much here. They're getting pretty popular.
We'll start of with some of their older stuff though. I found Bright Like Neon Love pretty solid, though nowhere near as polished as their newer records. I find it necessary to point out a certain song though. Time Stands Still is stellar, and easily one of my favorite Cut Copy songs to date. The synth melodies just make my brain smile.
Then, there's In Ghost Colours. In my opinion, it's a perfect balance of electronic and rock. My favorite Cut Copy album. Sweet Video.
Their latest release, Zonoscope, is pretty good. Definitely moving away from the rock thing, which I'm a little disappointed about. It's still a great album, but I thought they had a really good thing going on. Maybe it's better that they didn't play it to death though. As always, sweet random videos. Lulz
Ooh, here's an interesting one:
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Better Late Than Never
Back with the letter B. Pardon my tardiness, I've got a couple reviews for today's post.
B is for Boards of Canada. Incidentally a Scottish duo, Boards of Canada draw their name and some inspiration from The National Film Board of Canada. Their music has a lot of warm analog sounds and synth melodies, similar to 70's and 80's NFB documentaries. [example]
I don't know how well suited I am to reviewing artists, since my first instinct is to just say "go listen to this and this and this!" but I'm giving it a go.
My first exposure to Boards of Canada was the album Geogaddi, and it's still one of my favorite records. Boards of Canada is great to throw on, whether you're doing something and need a good background sound, driving, or just chilling. I for one like to sit down and examine some truly interesting music once in a while.
I found that The Campfire Headphase incorporated a lot more rock-style instrumentation than earlier works. A welcome addition to be sure, and also an interesting departure for them. [example]
Boards of Canada will probably leave you feeling a little nostalgic if, like me, you grew up watching astronomy, biology, and history documentaries by the National Film Board of Canada, and don't think that's a coincidence.
Clearly that's what they were going for, and they've pulled it off flawlessly.
B is also for Buyproduct. This artist is actually somebody I know, but I'll try to remain unbiased. His album Enwirement is pretty heavy on the electronic, which I always enjoy. Everything is really well produced, and the lyrics are outstanding, in my opinion.
I especially liked the lines "Grinding the gears to take us apart, some of our brain, all of our heart, leave us intact, with modified cells, looking the same but just a shell of ourselves."
There's a lot of industrial/dance style music on the record, but some of the songs change it up a fair bit.
Now as much as I'd love to, I'm not going to embed the whole damn album on here, but I'd just like to throw down some other tracks you should check out. I recommend A Tonne of Misticking, Riding Whales, and Soft Bones. Also worthy of mention is Lost in Thought, which has some fucking sweet sound bytes from David After Dentist. Hell yeah!
That's a fair bit to start with. If you like what you hear, listen to the whole album on Soundcloud. That page includes some lyrics too, which is handy. I would've gone into the lyrical content of this album, but I'd rather let you hear it for yourself.
Alright, that's that. I'll just tack a quick personal update on here. I've started drawing again, and as soon as I can get my hands on a scanner, I'll probably do some uploading.
Also, my brother just submitted a t-shirt design to Threadless. It's still pending approval, but you guys should all check it out and maybe give it a thumbs up.
Later, John the Revelator.
B is for Boards of Canada. Incidentally a Scottish duo, Boards of Canada draw their name and some inspiration from The National Film Board of Canada. Their music has a lot of warm analog sounds and synth melodies, similar to 70's and 80's NFB documentaries. [example]
I don't know how well suited I am to reviewing artists, since my first instinct is to just say "go listen to this and this and this!" but I'm giving it a go.
My first exposure to Boards of Canada was the album Geogaddi, and it's still one of my favorite records. Boards of Canada is great to throw on, whether you're doing something and need a good background sound, driving, or just chilling. I for one like to sit down and examine some truly interesting music once in a while.
I found that The Campfire Headphase incorporated a lot more rock-style instrumentation than earlier works. A welcome addition to be sure, and also an interesting departure for them. [example]
Boards of Canada will probably leave you feeling a little nostalgic if, like me, you grew up watching astronomy, biology, and history documentaries by the National Film Board of Canada, and don't think that's a coincidence.
Clearly that's what they were going for, and they've pulled it off flawlessly.
B is also for Buyproduct. This artist is actually somebody I know, but I'll try to remain unbiased. His album Enwirement is pretty heavy on the electronic, which I always enjoy. Everything is really well produced, and the lyrics are outstanding, in my opinion.
I especially liked the lines "Grinding the gears to take us apart, some of our brain, all of our heart, leave us intact, with modified cells, looking the same but just a shell of ourselves."
There's a lot of industrial/dance style music on the record, but some of the songs change it up a fair bit.
Now as much as I'd love to, I'm not going to embed the whole damn album on here, but I'd just like to throw down some other tracks you should check out. I recommend A Tonne of Misticking, Riding Whales, and Soft Bones. Also worthy of mention is Lost in Thought, which has some fucking sweet sound bytes from David After Dentist. Hell yeah!
That's a fair bit to start with. If you like what you hear, listen to the whole album on Soundcloud. That page includes some lyrics too, which is handy. I would've gone into the lyrical content of this album, but I'd rather let you hear it for yourself.
Alright, that's that. I'll just tack a quick personal update on here. I've started drawing again, and as soon as I can get my hands on a scanner, I'll probably do some uploading.
Also, my brother just submitted a t-shirt design to Threadless. It's still pending approval, but you guys should all check it out and maybe give it a thumbs up.
Later, John the Revelator.
Friday, April 1, 2011
April 1
So I've decided I'm going to attempt this Blogging from A to Z thing. It's going to be difficult because I'm a lazy guy.
Anyways, I've elected to do a band review a day. I know this isn't ordinarily a music blog, but I do love music, so it is this month.
Posts will probably be shorter than normal, but you'll be getting 600% more of them, so suck it up, princess!
For the letter A, I'm going to go with Anathema. I'll start off with a disclaimer now, I am not at all familiar with Anathema's older stuff. As it stands, I've only heard their 3 most recent albums. A Fine Day to Exit, A Natural Disaster, and We're Here Because We're Here.
I find their work reminiscent of Radiohead and Pink Floyd. There's a lot of melodic songs and the occasional bit of synth, which I always enjoy. They can be a bit heavier and more angsty at times, but still, a very talented and inspiring group. I especially recommend listening to A Natural Disaster, as it has the broadest range of musical styles, and some of my favorite songs.
Here's Anathema's "Pulled Under at 2,000 Metres a Second" next to Pink Floyd's "Sheep."
Also here's a couple tracks from A Natural Disaster that I find particularly awesome. Balance / Closer. I don't know why they aren't just one song, because neither seems as great without the other. At any rate, they fade into eachother a bit, and unfortunately it comes across really choppy on a youtube playlist. Hope you enjoy anyways.
Anyways, I've elected to do a band review a day. I know this isn't ordinarily a music blog, but I do love music, so it is this month.
Posts will probably be shorter than normal, but you'll be getting 600% more of them, so suck it up, princess!
For the letter A, I'm going to go with Anathema. I'll start off with a disclaimer now, I am not at all familiar with Anathema's older stuff. As it stands, I've only heard their 3 most recent albums. A Fine Day to Exit, A Natural Disaster, and We're Here Because We're Here.
I find their work reminiscent of Radiohead and Pink Floyd. There's a lot of melodic songs and the occasional bit of synth, which I always enjoy. They can be a bit heavier and more angsty at times, but still, a very talented and inspiring group. I especially recommend listening to A Natural Disaster, as it has the broadest range of musical styles, and some of my favorite songs.
Here's Anathema's "Pulled Under at 2,000 Metres a Second" next to Pink Floyd's "Sheep."
Also here's a couple tracks from A Natural Disaster that I find particularly awesome. Balance / Closer. I don't know why they aren't just one song, because neither seems as great without the other. At any rate, they fade into eachother a bit, and unfortunately it comes across really choppy on a youtube playlist. Hope you enjoy anyways.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Entry 10: On the bright side.
These guys are pretty phenomenal. This video is definitely more opinion than anything, but most of the time they are ridiculously informative.
They had a series of videos on being open minded, and I definitely recommend you check it out.
Yeah.
Things are going good right now. Work was stressful for a bit there, but I'm officially off closing shifts, so that feels really good. I'm also trying to hang out with more of my friends, since it's come to my attention that I haven't seen some of them in like, a month with no good reason.
I guess I have a bit of a cycle... I'll be all for socializing one week, and want nothing more than to hole up in my room doing nerdy things the next. Eh, that's just me, I guess. Everybody wants to be alone sometimes.
In the last couple of posts I got into some pretty personal things, and while I don't mind sharing anything about myself, I really don't want for this blog to turn into Danny's Therapy Corner. I guess I set out with the goal of relating my perspective as an introverted social retard, but I also wanted to keep it entertaining and share stupid links... I've definitely fallen behind on the stupid links.
Next time...
Friday, March 18, 2011
Entry 9: Falling into place.
Turn up the bass, put on some headphones, and listen to this:
Hail to the Thief came after Amnesiac, so it's possible that the matching chord progressions in these two very different songs was a bit of an easter egg... I don't know for sure, but I think it's pretty goddamn cool.
I've been thinking a lot lately, and didn't really want to get into it until I'd come to some conclusions. To be perfectly honest, I was considering moving to Vancouver for a while, but I've decided against it. I guess I realized that I was unhappy with my life, and was desperately looking for ways to shake shit up. Turns out I don't really need to.
A few weeks ago I was hanging out with some friends and just having a blast, and I came to the realization that I can be happy even if I am single. It's just always such a struggle for me... I've gone through a pretty long streak of being sad and alone, punctuated by relationships that ended just as they began-- and usually ended with the sentiment "I thought I really liked you, but now that I've gotten to know you, it's just... not the same."
Fucking pitiful.
Anyways, that's why I pressure myself, and that's why it never works out, and that's why I obsess over it to the point where my happy/sad switch has been contingent upon my relationship/alone switch.
Of course, now I realize that I could've been happy the whole time, and that I've been taking a lot of really great friendships for granted by just choosing to be miserable instead of appreciating all that I have.
All I can say now is that I apologize for being so self involved that I've somehow become absent from my own life.
Ah well, the main thing is, I'm optimistic now.
Hail to the Thief came after Amnesiac, so it's possible that the matching chord progressions in these two very different songs was a bit of an easter egg... I don't know for sure, but I think it's pretty goddamn cool.
I've been thinking a lot lately, and didn't really want to get into it until I'd come to some conclusions. To be perfectly honest, I was considering moving to Vancouver for a while, but I've decided against it. I guess I realized that I was unhappy with my life, and was desperately looking for ways to shake shit up. Turns out I don't really need to.
A few weeks ago I was hanging out with some friends and just having a blast, and I came to the realization that I can be happy even if I am single. It's just always such a struggle for me... I've gone through a pretty long streak of being sad and alone, punctuated by relationships that ended just as they began-- and usually ended with the sentiment "I thought I really liked you, but now that I've gotten to know you, it's just... not the same."
Fucking pitiful.
Anyways, that's why I pressure myself, and that's why it never works out, and that's why I obsess over it to the point where my happy/sad switch has been contingent upon my relationship/alone switch.
Of course, now I realize that I could've been happy the whole time, and that I've been taking a lot of really great friendships for granted by just choosing to be miserable instead of appreciating all that I have.
All I can say now is that I apologize for being so self involved that I've somehow become absent from my own life.
Ah well, the main thing is, I'm optimistic now.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Water over the bridge.
Every year.
Every year I think about it... I try to ignore it, but I still end up giving it some serious consideration. Should I send her a message?
Happy Birthday.
Just two words.
It doesn't have to be anything more than that... but I know that's not true.
If I say anything, I risk rebuilding this bridge. As much as I want to... I know that some things are better off broken. I know if I start, I won't stop. I'll gravitate back into her life.
I'll hate it.
And she'll hate it.
After all these years, I'm still in love with her.
As long as that's the case, I cannot be her friend.
So every year, I think about saying it...
and every year, I don't.
Every year I think about it... I try to ignore it, but I still end up giving it some serious consideration. Should I send her a message?
Happy Birthday.
Just two words.
It doesn't have to be anything more than that... but I know that's not true.
If I say anything, I risk rebuilding this bridge. As much as I want to... I know that some things are better off broken. I know if I start, I won't stop. I'll gravitate back into her life.
I'll hate it.
And she'll hate it.
After all these years, I'm still in love with her.
As long as that's the case, I cannot be her friend.
So every year, I think about saying it...
and every year, I don't.
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