Music: Reformation Excerpts by Matt Gray (Plus an update)

The Review

This review needs no intro, because of the PURE AWESOMENESS of the album. Although it is only a preview of something much larger, I enjoyed this. Epic. No other word to describe how this music feels. They may only be clips, but these tracks have set all of my mind to over-the-top in performance. My imagination is going places I can't describe, I'm analyzing everything at an accelerated rate, and the fan above the kitchen counter seems to be moving slower. I CANNOT DESCRIBE IN WORDS HOW MUCH I ENJOYED LISTENING TO THIS WHOLE THING! By the way, I wasn't given any incentive to make this review. I think there's a law somewhere that states that you have to indicate whether or not something is sponsored, and I figured I might as well let you know this isn't sponsored at all. This is my final review of the month, so good night everyone! 

Update

Two updates in one night, have I gone insane? No, I haven't. I just forgot to mention in the previous update, which I don't feel like going back and editing, that my posting schedule is going to change. I'm going to try and get in at least one review per week. I can't guarantee anything, since my ISP is throttling my connection to the point where it's as slow as me before I've eaten breakfast. For those of you who don't know me, that's extremely slow.  

Update: Something Strange...

Short update: I've been noticing something strange going on. Whenever I post something, there always seems to be a +1 on it a minute or two after the post is made. I'm not complaining about that, since it'll give this blog slightly more exposure online, which in turn means that more people might listen to more music. Here's my theory: most of those +1's come from the same person, and that person consistently checks my page. If you are that person, please comment below so I'm not wondering who you are anymore.

Music: All the Right Reasons

I would like to say something: I like Nickelback, or rather, I like some of their music. This is probably due to the fact that when I was a toddler, my parents bought those "Toddler Tunes" albums for long car trips (mostly up to my grandparent's house, 8-hour drive from our house without traffic or my dad confusing one dirt road for another), but switched the CD after 5 minutes (our car had a 6-disc CD changer, quite nice to have). This album, along with a blues collection, were the two things they'd switch to. The Toddler Tunes CD was taken out long ago, but the blues collection album still remains in slot 1, Eye to The Telescope (by K.T. Tunstall) remains in slot 5, and All The Right Reasons remains in slot 6. The CD full of other Nickelback songs my dad got from a friend remains in slot 4. We still use that car. Amazon link embedded in the image. No, the car on the cover is not the car I'm talking about, might as well get that out of the way.
Warning: this album review is going to be one of my longest ones yet.
Also, please follow this blog. If you do, then you'll know when I start posting the photos I've taken (I'm a novice photographer, aspiring novelist, and many other things, future lawyer and newbie engineer among them).

The Actual Review

Honestly, I don't know why so many people feel as if they have to insult those who like Nickelback. I get why people might not like their music, I, for one, don't like all of their music. However, I do find that I can connect with many of the songs in this album far more easily than I can connect with most music produced today. Maybe that's why people don't like Nickelback songs... many of them are easy to connect to reality in a significant way, and from my experience, many people don't like it when they find out that someone else thinks of reality in the same way they do. That, and all of the screaming in some of their songs.

To me, Savin' Me seems to be describing the thoughts of someone considering suicide. I haven't considered suicide or self-harm (closest I ever got was punching a brick wall, regretted that), but I do know people who have. 

Side of a Bullet sounds like a criticism of the US' eagerness for war. I know that most people there don't want war, but it seems as if the voices of those who object to war are drowned out by the voices of those who want it, which deeply upsets me. I know I might get a lot of heat for saying this, but I think there should be more steps added to the process of declaring war. That way, war is only declared when the people in power have the determination to finish the seemingly-endless amount of paperwork involved. Think about this statement: no one wins at war. All those involved lose quite a lot.

The lyrics of Rockstar are basically just a commentary on aspects of capitalism, how people idolize celebrities, and how many seem to think that being rich and famous will only make their lives better. News flash: money and fame don't solve all of life's issues. Although you may have money, that doesn't mean you have money to spend frivolously.

Remember how I mentioned my two previous schools in my review of Liberation Transmission by Lostprophets? Well, Photograph and If Everyone Cared evoke my memories of those schools, as well as many other things in my life. No matter what age I am, I begin recalling the past whenever I listen to these two songs. 

For some reason, when I listen to Next Contestant, I think of that once scene from Firefly where Nathan and his wife are in the bar, the one where some overly-patriotic drunkard is insulting Nathan because he's wearing a brown coat, and then when the drunk asks Nathan "What'cha gonna do about it?" Nathan says "Nothing. I just got you to face me so that she could get behind you." definitely one of the best bar fight scenes I've ever seen. I like Firefly more than I like Next Contestant, by the way. 

Overall, I enjoyed this album. Sure, I didn't like all of the tracks, but that's minor compared to the effects that certain tracks had on me. Also, this album does cause my imagination to go all over the place, even to places completely unrelated to the track I'm currently listening to, which is something that only Kaboom, DEMOlition, and Portal 2 [SONGS TO TEST BY] have been able to do. By the way, I have reviews posted for those three albums. 

Music: Dopplereffekt - Gesamtkunstwerk

By the way, I'm only posting a lot today since I have to meet my personal quota for the number of reviews I have to post each month. This month, it's 8, next month will either be 8 or 10. Don't know yet. Here's more electropop.

The Actual Review

I'd like to say that I completely enjoyed this album, but I'd be lying. At first, it was something that I found enjoyable, but then it became far too repetitive. The tracks just sounded far too similar, as if they were just repeating the same loops, but with different effects, and a few notes changed or added. Also, there was a note in many of the tracks that gave me a headache whenever it was played. Sometimes, being able to perceive a somewhat larger range of sounds than most people, regardless of age, is painful. 

Thanks to that note, as well as how often it was played, I was unable to listen to the whole 59 minutes and 13 seconds of the album. This also happens to be the first album I've reviewed on here that hasn't sparked my imagination at all, and I can't really enjoy music if it doesn't spark my imagination. So, overall, this album was okay. I've heard a lot worse, mostly during the parts of my life from preschool to third grade. The songs I learned in public-school K-4 got old fast (I was already listening to Nickelback, don't judge me).  

Music: Portal 2 Sountrack [SONGS TO TEST BY]

By the way, I'm reviewing all 3 parts of the OST at once here. Played through both Portal 1 and 2, still having fun with 2's level creator.

The *Bass Drum Noise*

Actual *Another Bass Drum Noise*

Review *Also Sprach Zarathustra plays*

Yes, I know the Portal games are no longer what's "in" right now.

I won't say "The cake is a lie!" oh wait, I just did.

I'll stop with the cringe-inducing Portal jokes here.  

But, many of you who have played all the way through both Portal and Portal 2 know just how much fun they still are, just like I do. Portal 2 shall remain relevant until... well, at least until Portal Guns, the Gels, and Aperture Science Long Fall Boots are all invented. 

Anyway, Portal and Portal 2 remain two of my all-time favorite games, and the Portal 2 OST remains one of my all-time favorite soundtracks. Each and every track causes my imagination to kick into some state above overdrive (since it's already always in overdrive); with each new sound comes another entire chapter of each of the many stories unfolding inside of my mind, and the beginnings of new stories. It's not much of a surprise, since the atmospheres created by each track are so varied. From the epic expectations set by Science is Fun and Reconstructing More Science, to the haunting melodies of Technical Error and Overgrowth, and much more, I have yet another album that makes me experience emotions that have no names! I enjoyed the whole album, as I have never heard anything else like it. 

Finally, I can say it for sure: [SONGS TO TEST BY] is going in the #1 slot of my list of all-time favorite albums, and I have the feeling that it'll be there for quite some time.

By the way, having Portal 3 or Half-Life 3 wouldn't make sense, due to the endings of Portal 2 and Half-Life 2 bringing everything to a close. Maybe Valve can finally get to work on F-Stop though, I saw some of the work on it online, and I personally think that it would do very well, given that Valve has shown time and time again that they can work with unique ideas very well. 

Music: Kraftwek - The Mix (Full Album + Bonus Tracks)

Before today, I had never listened to anything by Kraftwerk, and did not know what I was missing out on. So, huge shout-out to my friend Jupiter-18, who has continually recommended this album to me since day 1 of this blog's existence!
Also, I couldn't find any sites to purchase this album from (I generally don't look at Amazon, eBay, etc.), so you'll have to search for it on Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, etc. if you want to buy it. I had to listen to this whole album using a YouTube playlist.

The Actual Review

As those of you who have read my first reviews know, I love chiptunes. According to Google, this album is classified under "Electropop", a sub-genre of electronic music. Still love this album.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the best albums I've ever listened to, right up there with Kaboom and DEMOlition (see my earlier posts if you want to know what those are). Then again, music that sounds like that of an old video game is one of my weak spots. Jupiter-18 knows that, and that's probably why he recommended this album to me. Speaking of him, I'd recommend that you check out his SoundCloud page if you haven't done so already, he's back to writing music again (YAY!). 

Oh, for those of you who are wondering, the main reason I like this album is because it's a bit more than a whole hour of epic electronic stuff that actually sounds awesome. Now, onto my next review. No, I do not have a favorite track for this album. 

Update: 1... 2... 3...

Okay, no idea why I decided to start counting how many followers this blog has, as that's remained at a steady 0. I know this makes me sound like I'm not happy, although I am quite happy, but I'll just say it: that steady 0 is quite perplexing to me. What I mean is this: I know that some people come back here regularly, probably to check for new content, but it seems as if nobody has noticed the various "Follow by [insert here]" icons I've had on the bottom of the page since day one, which I put there more for everyone's convenience than anything.

After all, if you keep looking at the page, only to find a lack of new content, you might stop checking it, and therefore miss new content; but, if you click one of the Follow icons, you'll be notified of new content, and therefore won't have to obsessively check my blog like I check the daycare in Pokemon (trying to build a competitive team in Moon, but I have too many Gibles).

Okay, I'll just have to end at this paragraph before my rant takes up the whole page. All I'm saying is that I'd rather that people subscribe and only have views counted when they actually visit the page than have people who obsessively check this page for a short period of time, get me a ton of views, then stop checking it just as quickly, thus decreasing the view count dramatically.

Now that my rant is over, I need some help. As I mentioned earlier, I'm trying to build a competitive team in Pokemon Moon, and I can't find any good resources to help me out with EV training. So, does anyone reading this know any good resources, and if you do, can you please provide a link? Note that I will shut off the comments if there's anything that says something like "I couldn't believe it until I saw his paycheck, but my brother makes over $3000 per week!" I have seen those countless times, mostly in the comments section of pretty much every RWBY episode ever on the Rooster Teeth site.

No, I'm not angry, just a little confused, if anyone's wondering. I just tend to type whatever comes to mind, and edit it for content as I go along.

Music: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - Vocal Tracks

I have a confession to make: I have never played any of the Metal Gear games, and all I know of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance comes from a Let's Play on YouTube; I know almost nothing about Metal Gear Solid in any way, but plan on correcting that soon.
On another note, image was taken from iTunes, so click on it if you want to buy this album. As always, I'm not paid to put links in my posts.

The Actual Review

To start out, according to Google, this album is classified under the "heavy metal" genre. I did not know I liked heavy metal until I listened to this, and then I discovered that I don't like all heavy metal. Before this, I knew I liked metal (might do a review for a Gates of Ivory album later), and now I'm able to differentiate between metal and heavy metal. 

Going back on-topic, I thought this album was... meh. I know this is heavy metal, but I thought there was too much screaming, but at least I was able to clearly understand the lyrics, so that's definitely a plus. If you were to ask me what my favorite track is, I'd say that I'm stuck between the Maniac Agenda Mix of A Stranger I Remain and the Platinum Mix of The Hot Wind Blowing. Okay, add the Platinum Mix of I'm My Own Master Now to the list, and you've got the completed version. No particular reason for my choices, or at least any reasons that I want to share, but the reasons are there. 

Earlier, I said that there was too much screaming for me. I would like to finish by stating that in spite of that, I somewhat enjoyed the album, but the screaming still lowered my opinion of the album. If it weren't a constant thing, meaning if it were only present in one or less than 20% of the songs, I'd enjoy the album a lot more.  

Music: Liberation Transmission

Yes, I know why Ian Watkins ended up in prison, but that's not going to be the focus of this review. Someone in the comments section of one of Lostprophets' videos once said that it's fine to like their music, and not like Watkins or what he did. I agree, as Watkins was not the entire band, and I still like their music. If the comments section turns into the usual Watkins-related insults/rants, I WILL SHUT OFF THE COMMENTS FOR THIS POST. Okay, rant over. Image was obtained from Wikipedia, and I couldn't find any sites that still sell this album, so you'll just have to look it up on YouTube or something. On another note, according to Wikipedia, Lostprophets originated in Wales. I did not know that before today.

The Actual Review

I won't lie, I liked the whole of the album. In fact, I sometimes listen to it while I write the "fight scenes" for a game I'm working on with some friends. I don't understand the cover art though. The words below the vulture... raven... okay, the words below the thing-that-looks-like-a-bird appear to be in Classical Latin, which I have studied, but I can't seem to be able to translate them. Not kidding, if I were to give this album a rating, it would be a 9.5/10 simply because of the words below the bird-thing. 

Okay, drop that to a 9/10, as I feel that the songs were a little too riff-heavy. The lyrics (for the most part), I liked. The emotional connection I feel with 4 AM Forever is present because the song reminds me of how I felt when my previous two schools shut down (the second started up after the first shut down). A Town Called Hypocrisy somewhat describes what the second school was like for me. There, I felt as if I was able to help all of the broken and lonely kids who ended up there, that I was able to help them to no longer be broken or lonely. All of us who went there were, and still are gifted learners. No, that doesn't mean we're superior to everyone else in every way, it means that our minds function quite... uniquely, and because of that, the "one size fits all" system of education doesn't work for any of us. 

To those of you who know which two schools I'm talking about, I'm sorry that I couldn't stick with you until the end of the second one. You guys gave me a new lease on life after the first one shut down. The reason I started this blog is not because of a class at my current school, but because I know at least some of you from those other two schools will read what I write. 

Music: Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY

Those of you who know me in real life know how much I love Final Fantasy, although I'm not very much of an "expert" on the series. Well, a few years ago, I heard an advertisement on the radio that announced discount tickets for Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY, and decided that I just had to go. Nobuo Uematsu himself was in the audience, but I didn't get the chance to meet him, had to leave right at the end of the concert to beat the traffic (4-hour drive home without traffic). Needless to say, I do not regret going, and want to purchase tickets to go to the next performance near me.

The Actual Review

How do I put this... I more than enjoyed the whole album. I can't put in words just how much I enjoyed it, which either results from inherent bias or my lack of sleep due to an 9-hour plane trip that ended with me getting home around 11:00 PM last night. Either way, I may have been exaggerating when I said I enjoyed the whole album, there were a few tracks that I found too calm for my own tastes, but I'm still able to appreciate them. So what I meant to say is that I appreciated the whole of the album. 

I honestly don't have much more to say. Expect a flood of reviews today.