Music reviews...

I'm starting to notice that a lot of music reviewers are taking a rather vehement tone. "Questionable Content" notwithstanding, people seem to have no sense of humor regarding their taste in music, and speak out of both sides of their mouth regarding certain iconic artists. Far be it from me to join in the noise. I just bought a few records, and I want to review them, and I figure this is a good place for it.

Okay, awaaay we go...

Rush "Moving Pictures": I've actually "had" this album before the computer crash, but haven't actually bought it until now. And, quite frankly, this album is amazing and essential. If you don't like this album, I'm going to have to question your sanity. It contains the quintessential geek driver's anthem ("Red Barchetta"), the greatest musical testimony of fame ever recorded ("Limelight"), and of course, "Tom Sawyer", for those of you that remember. What would I rank it? Well, I try to only buy records that are nines or tens. This is definitely a ten.

Rush "Vapor Trails": Rush's newest non-cover album. It's hard to believe this came out in 2002. This album is very unlike "Moving Pictures"; it's quite rough around the edges and, if it weren't for the unmistakable voice of Geddy Lee, could be taken as a Tool record. There's a lot of catharsis here, as this is the first record Neil Peart wrote since he lost his daughter and wife. But you come out feeling hopeful and willing to move forward, unlike anything that ever came out of the mind of Maynard James Keenan. (Yes, I don't like him.) This would be another ten, but if you've never heard Rush before, listen to "Moving Pictures" or "2112" first.

The Smashing Pumpkins "Greatest Hits (or, Rotten Apples)": I'm still not sure why I bought this. I wanted to re-purchase Richard Ashcroft's "Human Conditions", but the record store didn't have it, and I was feeling sentimental when I saw this. Frankly, the record is kind of sad for a few reasons - it relates Corgan's ostracization from the music scene (not that him or I care about such things), and it's missing a few important songs, such as "Thirty-Three". But hey, it has the only purchasable version of "Untitled" and most of the good songs. This one I'd have to give an eight.

Billy Corgan "TheFutureEmbrace": I've been looking forward to buying this album for a long time, and now that I have it, I am frankly a little bit disappointed. A little bit, mind you. I really like the album, but it's not as immersive as his work with the Pumpkins. Critics like to tear Billy Corgan apart, and quite frankly I think most of them are fucktarded, but a few of them unfortunately make good points - the album has a hint of stagnation. There are some lovely songs ("A-100" and the single "Walking Shade") and there's nothing that stands out as bad, but it doesn't sound as happy as "Mary Star of the Sea". Number? Forget it, I'd rather not in this case.

Power Color...

Your Power Color Is Teal

At Your Highest: You feel accomplished and optimistic about the future. At Your Lowest: You feel in a slump and lack creativity. In Love: You tend to be many people's ideal partner. How You're Attractive: You make people feel confident and accepted. Your Eternal Question: "What Impression Am I Giving?"

What's Your Power Color?

Which Sailor Moon character are you?

I am Sailor Pluto! (the image doesn't fit on the blog.)
Which Sailor Moon character are you?

Fandom is retarded.

Riddle me this, folks... how can you claim to be a fan of a certain television series (anime be damned, they are television series), call its creator a genius etc., then turn around and say a certain character is the "spawn of Satan" and denigrate everything she does? Doesn't that make you a hypocrite?

If you've figured it out by now, yes, I'm talking about the Anti-Chibiusa cult that has developed in the Sailormoon fanbase. If you say you like Sailormoon, but hate Chibiusa, fuck you. I hope you die of uterine cancer. If you're a man, I hope you develop a uterus just so you can get uterine cancer.

This also goes to the "Sasughey" faction of the Narutards. Get bladder cancer and die.

Sometimes God hands you clear signs.

My brother went to the emergency room for... an unmentionable condition. While I was there, I had an overwhelming feeling of serendipity, like I was meant to be there. Upon further thought, I decided that I needed to simplify my life to prepare for my upcoming transplant.

Two links are missing from the right - GlobalMUSH and Shoryuken. The former was removed because I actually changed the password to my account and then forgot about it. None of the wizards visit the area anymore, and even the MUD's most devout adherent, Adrick, is 100% sure that the site will disappear in the near-future.

Shoryuken is gone because no matter what I do, I always seem to get flamed by morons. The advent of MvC2 and Magneto have made a lot of people lose self-consciousness about their idiocy, and they just flamboyantly prove time and time again that they deserve to walk into a moving truck. So I just made my peace and left.

It feels good. Simplifying doesn't feel so hard anymore.

A story about high school crushes

Well, when I was in high school, there was this girl I liked a lot. Her name was Gwen... ultimately, I didn't tell her because she had good grades, was sociable, and had a future, whereas I was too busy pretending to be a cartoon character on the Internet to make anything out of my opportunity at education.

I ended up being friends with her though, along with two other kids (Starla and Michael) because we sat in the same area in one of our classes senior year. I was thinking about telling her my feelings at graduation, and ultimately decided against it.

Today, on a whim, I check MySpace for people who I would have known in high school, and I find her. She's married with a child on the way...

I'm happy for her and I mean that 100%... which I am currently observing with a bemused kind of wonder.

Revenge of the MeMe (Villain Type)

What Type of Villain are You?

mutedfaith.com.


Sounds about right.