This one took a while because I got REALLY ambitious with it, and haven't been playing Magic as much as I have, but I'm please with the end result.
The set was all about Legendary creatures, and with so many in the set, I had to incorporate legends into the theme. Also, the set is a return to the previous "center" of the Magic Multiverse, Dominaria, so legendary planeswalkers like Teferi, Karn and Jaya Ballard make a comeback. But, it's mostly to set up the current generation of Planeswalkers (Gideon, Jace, Liliana, et al) and their story going froward.
Also, this song is about David Bowie.
FREE SONG: "E3 NUMBER 5"!
OK, so TheHashtagonist on Twitter, a writer and podcaster, made a parody version of Mambo No. 5 about E3, and I became REALLY TEMPTED. So I got home, got a free karaoke track, and got to work. All I really had to do was change some words around to fit better, and BOOM, you get this mess!
JAM OF THE WEEK: "Dancing In The Dark" by Bruce Springsteen
OK, So I know this isn't regarded as the BEST Springsteen song, but I have been thinking about it a lot lately, primary because it's so different. The pacing is upbeat, Bruce begs more than sings, and the song is about that unique kind of depression where you're stuck in a rut and have nothing to do.
However, that specific synth sound, is so calming. It's still the main hook, but the edges are rounded enough that it acts like a sedative. Like, the synths in Toto's "Africa"- Wait.
OK! So, I'm finally getting some momentum on this month's song, and I'm liking how it's turning out. So my missing Dominaria song is going to be May's Patreon song.
For June, there's a couple things in the pan, but I want that project to be a "Sell Out" album, where I try to compose over video games and take on whatever goes on SongTrader.
I will have some over stock available on my Bandcamp, but those are limited in supply. I also pan on having my Dino Hunter MD Playmat up on Inked Gaming as well.
JAM OF THE WEEK: "This Is America" by Childish Gambino
Wow, this is really a music video for the internet age: Using a unique hook to draw the viewer in, and has plenty of small details open to interpretation that become clear on multiple repeats. I want to go back and listen to Childish Gamino's other songs!
Let me just go on YouTube to get the embed code and-
...oh
JAM OF THE WEEK TAKE TWO: "Redbone" by Childish Gambino
OK, this is another Childish Gambino that hasn't been memed to the point of diluting the original. It's a soothing, calming blanket I can wrap my self up in at night.
NPR's Tiny Desk Contest was due this past week, so I farted out an entry 30 min before the deadline. I figured "Status Quo Radio" was that fine line between "Sounds good for NPR" and "Trupunx". Still, I'm on a hot streak with putting up video content!
JAM OF THE WEEK: "Q.U.E.E.N." by Janelle Monae
It's
Black History Month (which I'm making Black Current-cy Month), and I
firgured I'd focus these jams on black artists I like who are doing cool
stuff today.
First up, Janelle Monae. I've gushed about her before on this site, but she deserves way more attention, even with two movies coming out in 2016. "Q.U.E.E.N." is the first single of her 2013 album The Electric Lady, and while "Dance Apocalyptic" is my favorite track, this one can't be discounted, because it was the song that got me into her.
The music video starts off in this very clean, elegant museum, while a voice over talks about "time traveling rebels". Then the sick guitar riff kicks in and so it begins, slowly ramping up until Erykah Badu's verse breaks it down to the slick bassline. Finally, top it off a tight, defiant verse set to so,ething striaght out of a James Bond movie.
"Q.U.E.E.N." is everything thing I love about J.M.'s music: smooth, weird and proud.
I wanted to see Hidden Figures, where she plays one of the black female NASA mathematicians that helped launch the programs' first sucessful space missions but it's a movie and apparently I don't watch movies.
GIANT ROM 4!
Giant Bomb's Game Jam is going on right now, and I'm working on a project with frequent I'd Rather Not guest Trace Evans. The themes for this edition were "ONE GIANT CHOMP" and "EAST VS. WEST". EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW
5CALLS.ORG
Things have been happening kinda fast ever since Donald took office.Due to potent combination of ego and money, insane bullshit is being passed under the rule of "executive order" left and right.
The speed at which this hits is overwhelming, and by design it's supposed to be. You're supposed to want to give up and submit.
However 5calls.org is a website where you can look up your local representatives, and make some quick phone calls with scripts to help you organize your thoughts. It's quick, actionable and straight forward.
Resist.
JAM OF THE WEEK: "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" by The Dead Kennedys Only Every Syllable Richard Spencer Gets Decked In The Face
For the record, the punchee says shit like this:
Fascists don't deserve a platform because there is no debating, they know their ideas are ridiculous and extreme and saying "Well hey guys, it's just a difference of opinion" validates genocide and oppression as a legitimate opinion. Once you fall down the rabbit hole of saying white supremacy slogans for "top kek" and waving Pepe flags, you're beyond debate.
Also, it works:
ACTUAL JAM OF THE WEEK: "Victorious" by Wolfmother
OK, on to something more triumphant that you can have in your head while punching said Nazi: Wolfmother's "Victorious". It sounds a lot like their earlyier stuff, particularly "Woman", with that constant gallop, but Andrew Stockdale's vocals send it over the top with a huge arena rock chorus.
Plus, I love this music video. It probably cost like, $50 and whatever they had lying around, trhen shot it front of a green screen, but I'm always a sucker for some cheap B-movie shit.
Then again, Knights Of Cydonia takes this and cranks everything about this song up to 11, but "Victorious" only came out last year, and it made for great BG music when it came on in the gym.
STATUS QUO STREAM: Aether Revolt Magic Duels
The new story mode for Aether Revolt was released on Magic Duels! Been out of the game for a while, now I'm back in, even though I have none of the new stuff. Don't even get me started on how behind on Hearthstone I am.
TO RECAP: * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the DOJ’s Violence Against Women programs. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Minority Business Development Agency. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Economic Development Administration. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the International Trade Administration. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Legal Services Corporation. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the DOJ. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Electricity Deliverability and Energy Reliability. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. * On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Fossil Energy. * On January 20th, 2017, DT ordered all regulatory powers of all federal agencies frozen. *
On January 20th, 2017, DT ordered the National Parks Service to stop
using social media after RTing factual, side by side photos of the
crowds for the 2009 and 2017 inaugurations. * On January
20th, 2017, roughly 230 protestors were arrested in DC and face
unprecedented felony riot charges. Among them were legal observers,
journalists, and medics. * On January 20th, 2017, a
member of the International Workers of the World was shot in the stomach
at an anti-fascist protest in Seattle. He remains in critical
condition. * On January 21st, 2017, DT brought a group
of 40 cheerleaders to a meeting with the CIA to cheer for him during a
speech that consisted almost entirely of framing himself as the victim
of dishonest press. * On January 21st, 2017, White House
Press Secretary Sean Spicer held a press conference largely to attack
the press for accurately reporting the size of attendance at the
inaugural festivities, saying that the inauguration had the largest
audience of any in history, “period.” * On January 22nd,
2017, White House advisor Kellyann Conway defended Spicer’s lies as
“alternative facts” on national television news. * On
January 22nd, 2017, DT appeared to blow a kiss to director James Comey
during a meeting with the FBI, and then opened his arms in a gesture of
strange, paternal affection, before hugging him with a pat on the back. *
On January 23rd, 2017, DT reinstated the global gag order, which
defunds international organizations that even mention abortion as a
medical option. * On January 23rd, 2017, Spicer said
that the US will not tolerate China’s expansion onto islands in the
South China Sea, essentially threatening war with China. * On January 23rd, 2017, DT repeated the lie that 3-5 million people voted “illegally” thus costing him the popular vote. *
On January 23rd, 2017, it was announced that the man who shot the
anti-fascist protester in Seattle was released without charges, despite
turning himself in. * On January 24th, 2017, Spicer reiterated the lie that 3-5 million people voted “illegally” thus costing DT the popular vote. *
On January 24th, 2017, DT tweeted a picture from his personal Twitter
account of a photo he says depicts the crowd at his inauguration and
will hang in the White House press room. The photo is curiously dated
January 21st, 2017, the day AFTER the inauguration and the day of the
Women’s March, the largest inauguration related protest in history. *
On January 24th, 2017, the EPA was ordered to stop communicating with
the public through social media or the press and to freeze all grants
and contracts. * On January 24th, 2017, the USDA was
ordered to stop communicating with the public through social media or
the press and to stop publishing any papers or research. All
communication with the press would also have to be authorized and vetted
by the White House. * On January 24th, 2017, HR7, a
bill that would prohibit federal funding not only to abortion service
providers, but to any insurance coverage, including Medicaid, that
provides abortion coverage, went to the floor of the House for a vote. *
On January 24th, 2017, Director of the Department of Health and Human
Service nominee Tom Price characterized federal guidelines on
transgender equality as “absurd.” * On January 24th,
2017, DT ordered the resumption of construction on the Dakota Access
Pipeline, while the North Dakota state congress considers a bill that
would legalize hitting and killing protestors with cars if they are on
roadways. * On January 24th, 2017, it was discovered
that police officers had used confiscated cell phones to search the
emails and messages of the 230 demonstrators now facing felony riot
charges for protesting on January 20th, including lawyers and
journalists whose email accounts contain privileged information of
clients and sources. And today: the wall and a Muslim ban.
These AKI Engine games always have a distinct sound to them: that squealing guitar, how every drum beat manages to sound like it's in quadruple time, that guttural rhythm guitar. Everyone remembers the Mario 64 games and everything Grant Kirkhope did, but this has lowkey been one of my favorite songs on the N64.
So, I don't have any music updates this week. I'm experimenting with some stuff, and my brother's getting married this weekend, so I will be lite on updates for a while. STATUS QUO STREAMING!
I beat Mystakin in Hitman. Here's the proof:
YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT MAGIC NOW, DON'T YOU?
Yup!
I went 2-2, going with a W/B deck that relied on Revolt. Oddly enough, I wasn't able to get Revolt off, since a lot of my matches were basically "whoever got their engine off first". I had a lot of bombs in Consulate Crackdown, Noxious Gearhulk and Cataclysmic Gearhulk, and a sick combo in Call To Unity and Hidden Stockpile, but nothing to support them.
1. A lot of was lost in 2016. I'm 29 now, starting to feel that crunch. However, one big thing I developed this past year is a new attitude.
Bowie, Prince, Carrie Fisher, and so many other brilliant artist and creatives were lost, and we're not getting anything new from them. Still, the rest of the world moves on, it has to. And that's when I developed this mantra:
"Now's my turn"
My turn to make great art that resonates throughout. My turn to be an advocate. My turn to make a mark.
2. Let's stop being downer and get to the music shall we? MOST RECENT SONG: "EPIC POKEMON COVER!!"
Fuck you, I liked mashing up Pokemon and The Dead Kennedys
FAVORITE SONG I MADE: "Anguished Unmaking"
This one is because I just love how different it is from anything else I've done. The songs for the "Battle For Zendikar" block were good, but were still within my wheelhouse. The "Shadows Over Innistrad" block, as well as the upcoming "Amonkhet" block are good reasons to venture out of the punk genre.
28 YEAR OLD RESOLUTIONS? DID MAKE THEM? -A
music video.
YES. SORT OF. See above. I plan on doing more, or at least one more with a better budget.
-More presence
and making myself more accessible.. I've always done this stuff for fun,
and for the experience of meeting new people and just having that
"ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!" feeling of living in the city. The post I made
about cons was just about expanding my horizons. I'm trying to reach
out, 'cause if you like my music, or my writing, or my podcasting, then I
like you :D
SURE? I GUESS?
-Stream more, be
it gaming or music making. I love games, and I want to have you all
along for the ride. Also biweekly Twitch concerts would keep me in
practice for bigger shows. YES, I DID STREAM MORE. I did an entire LP of new Magic expansions and Dishonored. So I plan on doing more into this new year.
29 YEAR OLD RESOLUTIONS
-More collabs. I participated in the Nerdcore VPC this year, that was a lot of fun. More opportunities to come. hopefully!
-Album #3. Not quite finish it, but have an idea of where it's going.
-A proper music video. With like a crew and shit.
-Another game. Maybe it's part of a bigger project, maybe it's another game jam. WHO KNOWS? -500+ Fans on Facebook.
I'll talk about it more on the future Echo Chamber, but Hitman is the kind of game where it's big enough that I'm always finding out new stuff, but small enough that I can get really good at certain maps.
WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME ABOUT THIS BEFORE AWARD?- Hearthstone
It's like Magic where I can turn in my jank immediately and play it in my underwear.
MOVIE I WAS WATCHING WITH GREAT TREPIDATION- Deadpool Good News: I enjoyed the movie, and it's a testament to low budget not getting in the way of making the movie you want to make. Bad News: The script I read 5 years a go spoiled a lot of it.
TOP 40 SONG I HATED THE LEAST- "Cake By The Ocean" by DNCEThis was the closest thing to a "rock" song on the top 40 charts. It's solid, groovy, but it only wins this category because Blink 182's "Bored To Death" and Green Day's "Bang Bang", while great to listen to, didn't get a lot of play on pop radio.
TREND I LIKED THE MOST- Nerdcore Musicians Putting Out Games
Let's take a look, shall we? Capcom vs. Harambe- Richie Branson certainly did this...
MC Lars The Game- A fun rhythm action game that takes a quick trip through some of his best/most popular songs (excluding Lars Attacks!) Tales Of The Elements- With Mega Ran, K-Murdoch and Last Benevolence, this is an action RPG that takes cues from games like FF6 and Chrono Trigger. TREND I LIKED THE LEAST- People Whose Asses Got Beat In Previous Wars Thinking They Got A Chance Now That Trump Was Elected President
ANNUAL STUPID REMINDER THAT I SHARE A BIRTHDAY WITH MC BAT COMMANDER
WHOA! EPIC THEORY VIDEO ON THE KOOPAS FROM MARIO! INSANE THEORY!
JAM OF THE WEEK: "Psychobilly Freakout" by The Reverend Horton Heat
They are so good live! And then Jello Biafra from the motherfucking Dead Kennedys goes up to sing a couple songs? WHAT?
THE LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS, THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT AND JELLO BIAFRA
This show, more than anything, has taught me the value of a good front man. And the value of an upright bass.
Really, it was just the Shack Shakers and Reverend, since Jello was only on for a few songs and the encore.
The Shack Shakers, a band from good ol' Kentucky, were a great opener,
especially J. D. Wilkes, their lead singer/harmonic player, who looks
like David Byrne, moves like Iggy Pop, and whose performance style lends itself to have a "Splash Zone" set up. I couldn't hear shit over the sound system, but the band just worked so well together I didn't care. Listening to their songs on YouTube, they have this almost Gothic edge to them. Like, even they said, "We have three types of songs: songs about chickens, songs about the devil and songs about trains."
Then The Reverend Horton Heat went on. The only song I know from them is "Psychobilly Freakout" off Guitar Hero 2, and now I feel like an idiot, because Jim Heath is a really good guitarist. For a band that's over the hill, people were moshing on pretty much every song.
Then Jello Biafra came out.
Holy shit does he still have it. At almost 60, he was moving around the stage, mugging like a motherfucker. It didn't last long, since he came out to do a Guantanamo School Of Medicine song, a cover of "House of the Rising Sun", then the Dead Kennedys songs "Holiday In Cambodia", "Too Drunk To Fuck" and came out for "Viva Las Vegas" for the Encore. Still, 110% into it.
All in all, a great show, and some incredible music I wouldn't have discovered otherwise.
For a major pop star, a lot of people have been sleeping on Ke$ha. She's wrtitten a lot of songs for other artists (her mother is also an accomplished song writer), and is a genius in her own right, having a 140 IQ, and getting a 1500 on her SATs. It's a shame that she signed a recording contract before finish High School, especially considering A. How Dr. Luke convinced her to sign her first recording contract and B. How well that all ended up for her.
I got into this song after Twill Distilled was on I'd Rather Not and did such a good job the podcast. I remember Ke$ha doing a song with Iggy Pop, and was thinking of this to collab with Twill on, since Twill's collab with John turned out so well.
Ke$ha's energy is infectious on "Dirty Love", and Iggy Pop, doesn't do much, like his other collabs,. But he still brings this kind of sexy, intense delivery to his verse.
HOLIDAY MATSURI RECAP
Oh yeah, I was at this thing. TIMELY, HUH? Nah, but seriously, I enjoyed it. Some quick hits:
-A LOOOOOOT of Team Skull cosplayers. A LOT.
-There was also some HUGE meetups for Borderlands and Overwatch.
-Instead of partaking in Saturday festivities I went to the Geek Easy to check out some music friends Jackson Parodi, Eye-Q, Sci-Fried, and Roborob.
-Sunday morning was my show, and while people came in and had fun, it was still a Sunday morning show. Afterwards, I caught Noise Complaint, who collected a shitton of the Magic cards I threw out and enjoyed the show. I also caught fellow con regulars Geekapella.
-The Iron Robot Cardboard contest was very fun, and I think my team did well despite only being 2 people:
I still have the helmet in my room.
The only disappointment is that I didn't get to show off the cosplay I've been working on, because everything fell apart THE SECOND I got out of my car. So I'm fixing some things and am going to be stress testing my stuff in the coming weeks so that for next con, I'll be ready.
Other than that, nothing really around here until March.
Since it's the holidays, I'm going to be giving away T-shirts, CD, posters and more! Also I'll be premireing some new songs!
In addition to that, there will be plenty of other songs music acts throughout the week, such as Ben Briggs, SPF, Teh Walleh, Noise Complaint and Geekapella! I'm also going to check out the Iron Robot Cardboard Cosplay event Propeller Anime got running, which is basically making a giant robot cosplay out of nothing but cardboard, construction paper and duct tape. Back in college, we had a boat race called the Roth Regatta where everyone had to build a boat out of cardboard and duct tape. JAM OF THE WEEK:"California" by U2 For all the shit they've gotten over the release of this album (it just showed up in Apple iTunes libraries), I've been enjoying the songs we've gotten from Songs Of Innocence in Rock Band. "California" is the one that's shown up the most, and the one I've liked the most. I can see myself cranking this up when I go up to Orlando this weekend.
U2 was always known for "big" sounding songs, meant to be blasted in arenas the size of two football fields, and songs off "Songs Of Innocence" don't feel as big, and it's nice to see them dial down the bombast, akin to what Green Day has done in recent years. The orchestral flourishes are still there, and Bono is still singing to the back of wherever the hell he is, but they sound just as good on a smaller scale.
Sci-Fried, Jackson Parodi, EyeQ and DJ Roborob all throwing down some music in celebration of the Star Wars! $5 cover at the door, and raffles for tons of cool prizes!
HOLIDAY MATSURI
Yeah! The Facebook Event is up! This is going to be a fun one.It's late, I know, but I have confirmed arrangements for both HolMat and PAX East, so as I say, LET'S DO THIS!
THIS WEEK'S JAM: "Downtown" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
All right, I'm digging it, Macklemore's pretty good, but I don't see why-
DOWNTOWN!!!! *Foxy Shazam Outta Nowhere!*
Yeah, this is the same jokey Macklemore we saw on "Thrift Shop", where most people fell in love with him, but it feels like a step up in the rapping department. All well and good, then motherfucking Eric Nally from Mother Fucking Foxy Shazam comes in with the hook that takes a low key chill beat and turns it into an epic theatrical number with blaring trumpet, pounding tops, and Nally's vocals.
ROCK BAND RIVALS NEWS: #THEMEGAMIX IS NOW BLOODSTONE! HEY BASTARD, WHATCHA PLAYIN'?
Stardew Valley. Like, can we talk about Stardew Valley?
I'm not going to mince words here, this game is basically "Harvest Moon: 2016". But you know what?
I LOVED Harvest Moon for the GBA, and spent hours at a time on it.Stardew Valley is Harvest Moon with all the trappings of a modern game. There's crafting (you need to harvest resources to make buildings), RPG elements (you can level up your proficiency in skills and tools), and online multiplayer (haven't gotten to that yet). It's not an original idea, but it's an old one I've longed to revist for a while.
Instead I got Zero Time Dilemma off the eShop sale. Like most games in the Zero Escape series, they take a while to get started, but once the requisite "WE'RE STUCK SOMEWHERE?" and "ZERO IS ONE OF US?" questions end, the game gets really interesting filled with all that anime pseudoscience I know and love.
The one thing I'm not liking so far is that you can't play it through until you reach a fail state; everything is so compartmentalized. Instead of VLR's one long timeline, ZTD breaks them up into smaller sections.
THIS WEEK'S JAM: "POLKAMON" by Weird Al Yankovic
It's Weird Al, Pokemon is the clickbaity thing I'm going with here.
ANIME IWAI RECAP
Anime Iwai, coming from the ashes of Chibi-Pa, hit the ground running in its first year. While not filled with big guests or ULTRA HYPE EVENTS (aside from the usual glow party/raves/costume party), there was still enough experience behind the staff that it made it a good time.
S.S. Hanami, short a man, still managed to do well with their show, the late night variety event was loads of fun, and like AFO, it had a dumb metagame to keep people involved. Only instead of collectable cards for Warriors of Orlandia, it was ribbons. Just ribbons. I wanted all of them because FUCK YOU.
I'd like to take the time to give a shoutout to Alex, who runs the Video/Gaming Room at these events. He also does the sound for the Iwai events and Fandomania. Every game room, in addition to the latest consoles for mostly fighting games/Halo and the now requisite Project Diva setup, has a LAN set up with 8 PC that have a lot of games new and old.
On top of all of that, it has my favorite thing to do when I've had post-show drinks: the big screen playing AMV Hells. Just kick back, buzzed as hell and letting it all wash over you.
THIS WEEK'S JAM: "She Sells Sanctuary" by The Cult
The challenge this week was 80's songs (This coming week is female vocal bands), and given the topic I'm discussing down below, it makes sense. It was also one of the first songs I learned on guitar, because the first pedal I got was a Flange Pedal.
I love how everyone else in the band looks normal, but the singer switches between a pirate and The Undertaker.
"She Sells Sanctuary" was on the soundtrack to Dave Mirra BMX 2. While Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was all about energy, the songs on Mirra were more laid back with songs from Sublime and A Tribe Called Quest. The vibe of the game in general was more chill, with more goals focused on exploring, and wrestling that janky ass system trying to grind one specific rail in one specific rail.
BULLSHIT THING YOUR RELATIVES ARE GOING TO BE BITCHING ABOUT NOW: SANCTUARY CITIES
One of Donald Trumps main "DAY ONE" things was the defunding of what are known as "Sanctuary Cities", which refers to cities that do not prosecute undocumented immigrants just for being undocumented. If they're arrested on other charges, they can still be deported, but they can't be asked about their immigration status otherwise.
It was started in the 1980's, not under Obama, because the kind of person to bring up sanctuary cities is also the kind of person to blame Obama for everything.
What this does is prevent profiling, so you can't stop anyone who "looks" a certain way and demand do see their papers, and allow illegal immigrants to still report crimes without fear.
Mainly the orange one elected to the office of President last Tuesday.
Shit, there's been a billion hot takes on it, and MC Lars really has the one I can relate to the most, how we hoped it would never happen, how we all wondered why it all went wrong, and proceeding forward by Making Good Art.
The key word at this point in time is Vigilance.
Donald Trump has given us NO reason to trust him. His entire campaign was spent othering people who aren't Cis Straight White Dudes. Everyone he wants in his office is clearly reinforcing this notion; from his vice-president Mike Pence, who is SUPER evangelical and anti-LGBTQ, to his most recent appointment of chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, who runs Briebart, which is where you go after Fox News rejects you for being "too racist". All of his debates were spent talking over Clinton, lying about everything, showing an overall poor temperament and just spouting catchphrases ("ISIS!" "EMAILS!", etc.).
The motherfucking KKK is happy about this.
Now you see stories about how he's going back on several of his campaign promises, and everyone's saying "he might not be so bad", and how we should work together and-
What I mean by vigilance is that this validated a lot of shitty people, and be vigilant by sticking up for those who are going to be hurting from all this. Sometimes just the fact that someone is watching is a discouragement. If you're witnessing harassment, interfere.
You can write your representatives:
Make your voice heard, and keep talking. Dissension keeps this shit from being normalized. We've come too far as a nation to have all of that reversed.
Trump supporters, be vigilant too, but not for "Un-American Activities", but to be critical of the man you elected.
Let's not assume you're racist, sexist whatever. You voted for him because he was going to change things up? He hired Newt Gingrich, Rudy Guillani and Chris Christie to his transition team, about as inside ball as you could get. Going back on some his promises, such as when he wants to keep parts of the Affordable Care Act? When the KKK and the American Nazi Party are doing the Daniel Bryan YES! chant over the decisions he's making? Ask yourself "Is this what I signed up for?" every step of the way, and it is perfectly fine to say "no". See the "Contact your representatives" part above.
THIS WEEK'S JAM: "We've Got A Bigger Problem Now" by The Dead Kennedys
Well, duh. Of course, this is super relevant because I'm about to crack into the 33 1/3 version of Dead Kennedy's "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables".
SOMETHING POSITIVE TO END ON THAT ISN'T STEREOTYPICAL CUTE FLUFFY ANIMALS
If you're reading this, you're still alive, and can do something about the future
NEW SONG! sort of... "FREDDY FAZBEAR'S PIZZA (1975)"
Finally recorded this for Ill Gill's Nerdcore Halloween compilation.
ANIME IWAI EVENT! I'm going to be going on at 5:30 PM on Saturday! Anime Iwai/Chibi Pa is always a good time, and while there aren't a lot of guests, there's plenty of panels and plenty of people!
1080p is off her previous album, Infusion, and is an uplifting tale about getting your shit together. In the song, she details all the shit that went down in her life the past two years, and it's a cathartic listen that can show through therapy, medication and proper care, your worldview improves significantly.
NEW SONG INCOMING?
Yes! Well, it's a song I've only played live, and it's going to be featured on an upcoming compilation album "Nerdcore Halloween".
If you want an MP3 of the song, I'll be sending it to the mailing list, as well as some last ditch merch stuff. I'm not going to release it until I get the go ahead from IllGill, but at the very least keep your eyes peeled for the Nerdcore Halloween Compilation when it drops this Monday.
THIS WEEK'S JAM:
We talked a lot about "Flagpole Sitta" a couple podcasts ago, and I was wondering about whatever happened to Harvey Danger. Out of curiosity, I checked out the album "Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone" to see how far the rest falls behind the One Hit.
In every Todd In The Shadows "One Hit Wonderland" series he has a segment at the end where at the end he asks "Did They Deserve Better"? YES. YES THEY SHOULD HAVE. Now, after "Flagpole Sitta" it's hard to go to something LESS poppy, but at least we can look at Harvey Danger and go, "No, these guys can fucking rock".
The first track off Merrymakers "Carlotta Valdez" sounds like Dookie-era Green Day with less crunch and better production, and it has WAY more energy than "Flagpole Sitta". While Flagpole is a good song, it takes a while to get to the climax.
Compared to the Barenaked Ladies, who's "One Week" was the only song with any energy off Stunt, Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone was incredible from beginning to end.
This song came together a little bit before the OFFICIAL MAGIC STORY was being published, because I kinda had an idea of the overall story and feel of the set, however until recently I didn't have the wherewithal to finish it.
But I'm proud of it, and thanks to moopuns, I was able to get it together to this shape.
I went with 70's punk for this because A. I wanted something simpler after getting weird and experimental with the Innistrad block and B. It fit in with the theme of rebellion and renegades fighting authority.
Rock Band Rivals came out the other day, and this week's Weekly Challenge is to play songs with "Love" in the title. This was one of the songs I got as DLC as part of a pack or something, and it went unplayed for a while. Then I played it, and loved it. Garbage I only know through "I Think I'm Paranoid", "Cherry Lips" and "Stupid Girl" so I always assumed they were this very soft, trippy alt-rock band, but "Why Do You Love Me?" is intense as all hell.
UPCOMING SHOWS
I updated the side bar!
CHECK OUT THE MERCH!
I'm running 3 deals right now, so you might want to check out Bandcamp:
All of these are running through the end of October, since I'm going to be changing up a lot of things by the end of the month.
ROCK BAND RIVALS!
Fear #TheMegaMix! We're a team comprised of former RBN and current Rock Band Aide folks, who kick ass and take names. I'll try to update you all as things go on, but for now, it's late, and I need o get this shit done.
I like it so far! Rockudrama has actually been kinda funny, and Rivals mode got be back into regularly playing! Hopefully the momentum keeps up in the coming weeks, and this is a commitment to do more for RB4 in the long term.
Eh... I've usually had bad luck with Ultracon, and it kinda continued this weekend in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. I only went on Sunday because I assumed I had a work thing, but because of aforementioned hurricane, work thing got cancelled.
By Sunday everything was dead, so instead I held a little mini-show and walked around with my guitar/mini-amp rig. It was all right, but again, Sunday wasn't very busy. Hopefully Ultracon fills out this space better next year.
THIS WEEK'S JAM
I've been looking toward early protopunk to get help with the song for Kaladesh, and how can I forget this fucking barnburner I first heard in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith? You;d imagine these early punk groups to not have as much bombast as they do, but here we are, guitars, pianos and David Johnansen's vocals are out in full force.
FUTURE CONS
My last two cons of the year are Anime Iwai and Holiday Matsuri. Anime Iwai is basically Chibi Pa 2.0, and the people that work there behind the scenes are pretty cool, so it's bound to be a Good Time.
Holiday Matsuri was a big surprise last year, because it's on the cusp of becoming a big name con like Supercon and MegaCon, but it's still small enough that you can get around easily. My show slot is not very good, but I'll still enjoy myself regardless.
YO DICKBUTT, WITH ALL THESE CONS, WHERE'S YOUR RECAP VIDEOS?
It's next on the list, right after "The Inventor's Fair" is uploaded.
Would have had this out on time, but I was laid up in bed sick, and then had to take care of some buillshit errands, where I then went straight to bed.
CON TIME!!!
Palmconnnn!
Wasn't as busy as last year, but those who did come and see me around were a great audience! My first time playing at Palmcon, and I caught up with a lot of old friends. Apparently I'm a very swole gentleman, because I was reminded of that a lot.
Didn't go too crazy with spending, but I did get a Lego Taskmaster minifig. Cause I fucking love Taskmaster.
Quick shout out to Grifter's Custom Creations, who I haven't seen in a long-ass time, and helped run the booth for a local costume shop.
ULTRACON SHOW OUTTA NOWHERE?!?!?
Won't be able to make it Saturday due to work stuff, but I will be playing Sunday at 1 PM. Believe it or not, as long as I've been playing shows in Florida, and as many times as I've been at the MACC, I've never attended a con that used the lower levels, so I'm curious to see how it all pans out. THIS WEEK'S JAM:
|I think I found a WWE theme I love more than Shinsuke Nakamura's. It's very reminiscent of Dr. Wily's theme from Mega Man 2, but that was a fucking awesome song.
You guys don't get it: This is so good, it makes me want to go and watch the Cruiserweight Classic, just to see if TJ Perkins is as awesome as his theme song.
THE NINTENDO 64 AT 20?!?!?
We're probablyt going to discuss this on next week's Echo Chamber, but yeah!
This was the first system I bought with my own money, since I inherited my older brother's NES, and was too young for a Super Nintendo.
My first 3 games were: Super Mario 64- Still a game I go back to occasionally. Not one bad level, and I have speedruns of this game on when I go to sleep.
Mario Kart 64- Another game I love to revisit, and a stellar soundtrack.
Crusin USA- ... Fuck you, I didn't want to crowd around this game in the arcades.
I remember renting all kinds of games from the local West Coast Video depending on what was featured in that month's Nintendo Power. Some good, some bad, some I'm hunting down at every convention.
PALMCON THIS WEEKEND!
Sasdly, I did not check the schedule that well, and did not realize I had a gig Saturday. I apologize for the invconvienece, as I also came from a work thing.
-That sound effect at the end fits in perfectly with "You just screwed with Martin Shrkeli!" and the sad trombone is all like "Dang, I can't be Seto Kaiba"
-Persona 4 continues to have the best soundtrack:
THIS WEEK'S JAM:
House music is a secret love of mine. Not a shame, because house music rules. It's secret because all the EDM kids are inbto the wibble wobbles these days. I find it calming in a way that a lot of other genres that are supposed to be soothing aren't.
Also, this song rules, because it's made by a man called Sagat and wears an eyepatch like Sagat, who's the best Street Fighter character.
The lyrics are not high art, but they're stupid enough to be featured on Beavis and Butthead:
PALMCON? PALMCON!I'm playing 3:00 PM on Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!!!!!!!
I've been told this is the "at least" one show "they know about", so keep your eyes on the event page for future updates!
THIS WEEK'S JAM:
I don't know what to think about this one... All the songs I've heard off this new album have been really tight and high-energy, but the lyrics feel disjointedand... kinda lame? It feels like they're written as what's expected of a modern Green Day song, with some really questionable phrasing. "Bang Bang" made a little more sense after learning it's about the mentality of a school shooter, but I this one leaves me wondering what "the deal" is.
At least they're still trying with this album, and the fact that there doesn't seem to be a "deal" greater than "Here's some songs we wrote", after the triple album thing was... eh.... has me really excited for the album, especially after frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said this:
"I think my role is to shut up and
listen," he says. "A lot of white people should shut up and listen. They
really don't know what the African-American experience truly is. When
you have people getting shot in their cars for no reason and being put
in fucking jail cells and it's for profit, we have a serious problem,
and the first thing you need to do is get educated. Don't try to do
this, like, 'Blue lives matter.' Don't try to do the 'All lives matter.'
Just shut up and listen to the experience. And then move forward after
that."
NEW TANK TOP!
I'm trying two new things out here: TeeSpring and Tank Tops! You see me wear them on stage, why not get one for yourself? I even have a super cool 80's design so you can show off those guns in the Florida (or your residential state) sun!
"HOMESICK"- A VOICE OF ALL
More on the recap this Saturday, but here's the first episode of the Kaladesh storyline. I play Dovin Baan, the Velkaden Planeswalker who was revealed yesterday and may or may not be this block's main antagonist:
Regardless, you can listen to it here!
Three months have passed since the Gatewatch defeated Emrakul. What have they been up to?
![frigidloki:
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