Honestly, it's been a rough couple months, with my day job throwing me for loops on top of loops with a very irregular schedule, I'm never 100% where I'm going to be the next day, so it's hard to get a consistent schedule going.
Every time I wanted to do anything, my body just needed sleep so bad and it kept perpetuating this cycle of staying up late to catch up on lost time and sleeping in late to catch up on sleep
ANY CONS COMING UP?
Mizucon, Lumi-Con and Anime Iwai have all cancelled their conventions for 2020.
I, like many of you, am disappointed in the cancellation, but they made the right decision, especially since Florida's governor and the rest of his administration is making a bad problem worse by putting profits over people.
There's a lot that's still up in the air right now, but I'll let you all know what's going on the second I am able to.
As far as what CAN be done, Megaplex and Anime Iwai are doing online events, and I'll let you know about any upcoming concerts.
The 3000 Brigade show WILL happen in a different format
In the meantime, I CAN promise you more Twitch concerts and stuff on YouTube, but again, anything comes my way, I'll let you all know.
AFO is still on the table, and Holiday Matsuri is still up in the air but WHO KNOWS?
JAM OF THE WEEK: "A Good Look" by Sturgill Simpson
Country music gets real fucking good when you leave the Radio Stations.
This is "A Good Look" from Sturgill Simpson's most recent project "Sound and Fury". It's an album that has a short animated film attached and this is one of the song segments. Everything I've heard is emotional whiplash from one track to the next.
"A Good Look" has its feet very firmly planted in funk, and your feet are moving through out the whole thing. The bass work on the track is solid, and provides a solid groove while every other instrument does its own thing. The guitars screech enough to get your attention, but the licks never overstay their welcome, and the synthpop elements here are used to great effect.
DEFINITELY looking at more Sturgill Simpson in the future!
I have yet to see the full thing because I want to be context free as possible, but I 100% respect the concept of it being concieved as both an album and short film simultaneously, ala 5555.
And I've stopped giving a fuck. Not in a bad, "OH WOE IS ME KIND OF WAY" or the "Hahaha I'm SOOOOO OFFENSIVE AND REBELLIOUS (by telling the same hack jokes for years) I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK (because I'm really doing this to have fascists suck my dick)" way, but it a "Why bother with regretting it?" kind of way.
You're going to get criticized for bullshit anyway so why not embrace your weirdness?
If I didn't say "fuck it, why not?" and "Yeah, and?" I would not have done all the cool stuff I did for the past 10 years.
I was WAY busier with cons this year, and I got to play a lot of newer cons.
Megaplex- My first furry convention, the same weekend as AFO. I didn't know anyone there, since any of my usual con-rades but it was really easy to make friends at the Artist Alley where I set up my merch. And just in general, really.
That, and not having to be up on the latest anime made things a lot easier, since everyone is dressed as their OC.
Lumi-Con- The Halloween to Christmas's Holiday Matsuri! EVEN THOUGH PARKING WAS WAY EASIER! This was my first time being up in Tampa, and I saw all of my favorite people there, namely Symphonic Pheenix Force and Roborob.
Alright, let's get this on!
MOST RECENT SONG: "I Want To Fuck Krampus For Christmas"
I posted about it recently, but I'm still really happy with how it turned out. Between this and my Weezer song, "Remember", this was the a song where I felt like I was clever with my lyrics again, and I haven't felt like that in a while. It bodes well for 2020 ;)
2ND FAVORITE SONG I RELEASED THIS YEAR: "Mercedes Merced"
Krampus was my favorite, and a lot of other songs were re-records, but the other song I felt really good about (that I might rerecord because that bridge was kinda weak) was "Mercedes Merced". It sounded the most profesional, and it's my writing at my most pop, but not it's still not too simple.
COOL SHIT I DID: Play My Song About The Goon For Eric Powell, THE CREATOR OF THE GOON!
He liked it a lot ;)
Held A Marathon Livestream
For 12 hours, April 27th, 2019, I streamed for 12 hours, with various friends of mine switching out between games to raise money for my transmission. It's the closest thing to me running a con, and it shares the same ethos: Here's a bunch of my friends who do cool shit, hanging out, talking about their cool shit, and playing some games we all enjoy together.
And I WILL be doing it again!
Once a season, just to promote fun things, cool people, and help with my con costs and production of merch.
Did music for a video game: RETROMANIA WRESTLING!
While I previously did music for a wrestling game, Suplex Saga, this one looks like it will actually come out! It fucking better since there are a lot of big names involved, like the Road Warriors, Tommy Dreamer and Colt Cabana!
Retrosoft Wrestling is currently holding IndieMania, a 32-man tourney of indie wrestlers, with the winner getting a spot in the game. So far there's been a pretty good spread, and a couple names I heard through the grapevine. Two of the guys I was pulling for just because I thought their themes would be fun to rework.
PODCASTS RPG Pals Club- I started it this year, and it's so fun to edit. This is my first long term campaign I've been a part of, and every one of our characters and so well done, and so entertaining to work with. We each come to our PC with different philosophies and different goals, and Luke, our DM, has been MORE than accommodating.
I'd Rather Not- Yep, we're still doing this. Yep, still bullshit.
Yep, still fun.
3000 BRIGADE BECAUSE IT'S A REGULAR THING I DO AND IT'S NOT TECHNICALLY A PODCAST BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO PUT IT
Last year's show was put up on YouTube earlier in July.
This year's show was a fun mix, since I got to be a Herald, Green Link, and Johnny Fucking Cage of all people!
TREND I LIKED THE LEAST: People Getting Booted Off Of Social Media For Calling Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists TERFs
TERFs are basically people who pretend to be feminists but talk like Mens Right Activists, putting women in very narrow boxes that, like MRAs, say that you only matter when you can breed. And seems to focus more on excluding transgender people than promoting women's rights.
They get very butthurt when you call them out on their bullshit, and always search out that term, claiming it is a slur. After SonicFox was banned from Twitter for saying "Fuck Terfs", I wrote this song:
"Fuck Terfs (But Don't Have Sex With Them)"
TREND I LIKED THE MOST: Milkshaking Fascists
They take it SOOOOOOO hard! They're a group of people who are only tough because the cops are there, and when you fight back anyway, it's like all that facade disappears.
So if you've got an asshole conservative relative, just beat their ass.
Those kind of people find disrespect the most offensive thing of all, and their reaction to a punch or a milkshake is mor
FAVORITE SONG OF 2019: "Juice" by Lizzo
I first heard of this song after I found out it was the opening "Sexy Dance Number" for 2019's 3000 Brigade Show, and it's stuck with me ever since. Every time I listen to it, I find a new thing within the sound to obsess over, when it's a really simple song.
TOP 40 SONG I HATED THE LEAST: "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X Feat. Billy Ray Cyrus
Listen, you can't knock the kid, Lil Nas X made some good music this year. "Weeeeellll..." has joined the ranks of "Some-BODY" and "IT'S BEEN" in the ranks of songs that you're complelled to sing the rest of when you hear that first line. Billy Ray Cyrus's bridge makes the song feel finished and provides a great contrast between young optimism and the cynicism of a One Hit Wonder.
His EP 7 was really good, and while his rapping isn't anything stellar, he knows how to work with the beat, whether it's new wave, punk, country, etc.
2019: The People Didn't Fuck It Up!
"WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME ABOUT THIS SOONER?" AWARD: The Switch
Backlog? Why not simply clear it out whilst on the toilet?
I was able to break up this year's GOTY in to TWO Categories since I was able to play so many cool games!
OLD GAME OF THE YEAR RUNNERS UP:
5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate- I'm not that good, BUT JUST SHOVEL THE SPIRIT BATTLES IN MY FAACCE AAAAHH I LOVE THESE REFERENCES!
4. Bastion- 90% of this game is due to the omnipresent narrator's sexy
voice narrating most every move I do, the other 10% being the flowing
combat.
3. Golf Story- Imagine if someone tried to make Tony Hawk's Underground 2 with the engine to GBA's Mario Golf, which is the best way to describe how Golf Story takes a singular concept of "Golf" and expands it to make a fun story mode.
2. Danganronpa 1 and 2- As batshit and Very Anime as the story can get sometimes, this series serves up dramatic and intriguing mysteries that leave me in suspense of what's to come next.
#1 OLD GAME OF THE YEAR: Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight scared me way more than RE2 just through its environment alone: there's bugs every where, it's dark, and every new area you are in has you without a map until you can find the seller. If you die, you have to go on a corpse run ala Dark Souls, and even then, success isn't guaranteed.
And I loved every second of it.
It has all the components of a great Metroidvania wrapped up in pleasing package that's both a joy to look at while being
The backgrounds and enemies are hand drawn, giving it this organic look
that makes it feel more uncanny than if it were just cel shaded, and even with more "comforting" environments like the City of Tears or the town of Dirtmouth, there was always this overwhelming sense of dread and melancholy.
With every moment of relief in the stellar gameplay, I was further sucked into the world of Hallownest, with it's unique population trying to survive in a world that has long been left to rot.
NEW GAME OF THE YEAR RUNNERS UP:
5. Sayonara Wild Hearts- If I was more into Chvrches music, I'd put it higher because I respect the concept of a playable album so much.
4. Slay The Spire- StS takes my favorite part of Hearthstone, The Dungeon Runs, and expands it into a full on strategy game.
3. Resident Evil 2- Playing this coming off a run of REmake, RE 2 adds so many Quality of Life things, while refocusing the story to Anette Birkin in a way that signals that maybe Resident Evil would have been better off as an anthology series with more dramatic, unconnected stories as opposed to science fiction inspired by Romero.
2. Dicey Dungeons- I'm a slut for Roguelikes, but DD takes the concept of "you play it with dice" as far as it can go, seeping into the adorable character design.
#1 NEW GAME OF THE YEAR: Disco Elysium
I was up until 3 AM last night playing this, because there is ALWAYS another thread to pull, ALWAYS a new character you want to meet again, and ALWAYS a decision that can go horrifically wrong.
You play a detective who's lost their memory and is tasked with solving a murder, and then the game lets you go ahead. As you start to investigate, you find yourself embroiled in a union dispute that might force you to take sides to find out what's REALLY going on.
I was a fan of the Shadowrun games by Harebrained Games, because in addition to a well developed world, and interesting setting, each game has a focus on a central "hub" world that you return to in between missions, and develops as you get further along in the story.
Disco Elysium is similar, as it takes place within the small municipality of ficitional city Revachol, and while the map is maybe 3 city blocks large, it's packed to the brim with intrigue, conflicts, and writing that is at times the funniest thing ever and devastatingly bittersweet. Plus, everything looks like it was made with water color, which gives it a nice, hazy tinge that lends itself to the surreal and dreamlike story being told.
Most importantly, the game features VO by the cast of Chapo Trap House and allows you to be super Communist, so it objectively has the best politics
ANNUAL REMINDER I SHARE A BIRTHDAY WITH MC BAT COMMANDER
Nerd Music Meltdown is run by Kent Ward of Ongaku Overdrive, which puts on great nerdcore shows in the Orlando area, and it was an honor to be interviewed on a show that's had so many big names in the scene before.
We talked about my work ethic, my inspirations, the furry community in relation to punk rock, and lots of other tangential topics.
ANYWAY, in what looks a strong contender for "Best Song/Best Top 40 Song", we have Lizzo with "Juice". This is a such a fun song, with bouncy delivery of ridiculous lyrics ("Boy I'm not a snack at all/Look baby, I'm the whole damn meal", "I be drippin' so much sauce/Got a bih looking like Ragu"), backed to some sweet, sweet, funk guitar.
I wanted to talk about this song WAAAY sooner, because when I was tipped off to the song's existence, I loved it on the first listen. Every sound and beat is like dopamine and Lizzo's vocals are so confident and full of self love, it's impossible not to smile. However, it was featured as part of the 3000 Brigade Preview Show at Mini Iwai, so it had to be our little secret.
Also liking her other singles "Truth Hurts" and "Good As Hell", which are just wonderful pick me ups.
