This is different. For the past several months, I had been using this digital space as a means of catalog. It feels like a record of my encounters with media over the course of the last summer. I've talked music, I've talked anime, but I haven't talked about myself. When I say "myself" I mean myself within daily life, not just how I interact with media. While yes, media makes up a susbtantial part of my life and how it's shaped me into who I am today, just as it has for everyone reading this right now, I figured I could pull back the curtain just a bit. I could use blogs the same way that many others with more exciting lives do, to talk about my own with the pretenses of a review or a look down memory lane. This is quite literally me and my state of mind at 1:21 in the morning on Saturday, August 25, 2018, and all the things that pop into my head at a particular moment in time. Here is a little ditty I call SOC Eye, and it goes something like this.
1. During the summer, I become a night owl.
2. There always seems to be someone who can stroll past my window during the day, so it's nice when it's night and the only thing you can see through the curtains is night.
3. I am too awake to fall asleep, and I tried sleep but it wasn't working
4. Late night HBO is a funny thing. Animals is a great show and Random Acts of Flyness is one of the most fascinating shows I've seen, one that defies description.
5. I was going to make a blog post about Random Acts of Flyness after seeing an episode last week for the first time and had more of an analysis about that one episode than I did any piece of TV I have consumed this year, live-action or not. I was just lazy
6. Apparently, when it's midnight and my body still can't rest, it's apparently second nature for me to go cook ramen.
7. Apprently, late nights and ramen seem to blend well together. Especially since I moved to a new state in 2016, I have spent many moons eating instant noodles under the artifical glow of light bulbs in the dining room.
8. Watching Boomerang at late nights is one of the best reasons to fuck up a sleep schedule.
9. I realize once again scrolling through my Kitsu account that the only reason I am able to partake in my hobbies this deeply is because my social life is almost non-existant.
10. I wonder if I'll ever put all the ideas I have in my mind into coherent thoughts for people to see.
11. I'm not sure whether I should be worried or excited about my upcoming college stint.
12. My mind seems to often wonder into just how different I would be if one thing had changed. I'll let your mind wander on what that one thing could be.
13. I've watched more anime on August 24th than I did any individual day all week.
14. This week imageboards and J-pop are what I gravitated to.
15. I can't stop buying strawberry milkshake pop tarts because of a powerful mix of 2000's nostalgia and limited edition status.
16. The fact that 2000's nostalgia is an idea slowly rising to popularity is bizarre yet utterly fascinating to me.
17. The SOC in SOC Eye is an abbreviation of Stream Of Consciousness.
18. The SOC in SOC Eye is pronounced sook.
19. Yes, it's just like that closing song from that band I like. You know the one.
20. Even if no one reads it, blogging is oddly fascinating, even if it takes up time.
21. The Eye in SOC Eye means I, referring to myself.
22. I'm sure this idea for a blog post will sound awesome while I'm in this state late at night, but maybe I'll hate it in the morning.
23. Do I need to have long essays for every blog post?
24. It just so happens that i do, except in the times that I don't.
25. I have realized that my post regarding Kablam is the best thing I will ever write this year.
26. I say this part because of the personal narrative woven into a look at a not-that-popular 90's cartoon, and part from the positive response I have gotten from my best friend.
27. I notice that the wait between Circle of Friendz gets progressively longer and longer. Always forward, never backwards.
28. One of the shows I look forward to the most is Ongaku Shoujo, even if it's not in my top 5 favorites this season.
29. Every time Souk Eye comes on, I wanna dance like an idiot.
30. I have a feeling that I will become a hikikomori in the near future, and I wouldn't really notice it.
31. I want to get into visual novels someday
32. I am too lazy to finish games.
33. Night is beautiful, and the nighttime in winter is astounding.
34. Everything comes back to night, I guess.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Circle of Friendz: Africa Express Presents....
Welcome back to the Circle of Friendz, my never-ending joy ride across music history to talk about the many, many groups with ties to everyone's favorite cartoon band, Gorillaz. I realize that this project is one that's for the long-term. I mean, I'm only 8 albums deep into a 79-album experiment! Think of all the hundreds of hours of music that is! That's why I have always considered this project as, above all things, a journey. At least, that makes the idea of listening to all these albums and talking about them seem like a much more interesting prospect. In any great journey, the adventurer gets to see lots of different sights, each as distinct as the last, traveling what seems like a never-ending road. Here, I think that my experiences with this project are fitting to the idea of a great journey. It's been a great surprise to see just how diverse each album I've listened to so far has become. I mean, I've hopped from Welsh indie rock to ska to jazz, never content to settle for too long on one thing (Does that remind us of anyone?) I think this album is the first one I've reviewed so far that feels like a journey of its very own.
Who is this? The Syrian National Orchestra
What did they do for Gorillaz? Performed on White Flag for Plastic Beach (that will be brought up later.)
When was this performed? June 25, 2016
Where was this performed? The Southbank Centre in London
Why is this so good? Before I talk about the Syrian National Orchestra, I should probably talk about the man behind the animated mask, Damon Albarn. Damon Albarn is a man of collaboration and experimentation. For years, he's showed up not just on other's projects but also had many, many artists come home onto his home turf with his own records. While he mostly kept to his own band Blur during the 90's, occasionally reaching out to people like Phil Daniels for the landmark Parklife and playing keyboards for his girlfriend's band, Elastica, this changed heading into 1999. Damon had found interest in hip-hop and electronic music, the electronic influence seeping heavily into Blur's 13 as the Britpop sound Blur had eroded into the passage of time. While Blur got more experimental, Damon wanted to take that even further. It's because of these new influences and this new desire for a change in style that led Damon to make Gorillaz. While Blur leaned mostly into Britpop and alt-rock music, Gorillaz was much more than that. The constant genre-switching reflected Damon's new interests that he could never fully explore with Blur. One aspect of Gorillaz that also wasn't expanded on much was his focus on collaborations. Gorillaz was and still is a way for Damon and his wide array of friends to scrape off their egos and perform music without focusing as much on their own celebrity status. This was amplified by a project that released a year after the debut Gorillaz album, Mali Music.
Mali Music grew out of a trip to Mali in the early 2000's that fostered a love of Africa by Damon. This effort was a much more low-key affair than Gorillaz or Blur before it were. While new copies of the album have Damon's name on the wrapping, don't be mistaken for thinking that this would end up being a new effort from either of those bands. Damon only has vocals on two tracks on the entire album. Instead, he hands the reigns over to local Malian musicians for the vast majority of it while he acts more as an overseer. It was from this album that grew from it Africa Express. In 2006, after Demon Days had finished and The Good, the Bad and the Queen was finishing up, Damon Albarn alongside many other musicians began a project that would act as a meeting point between western music and African music. Several people who would wind up being involved with Africa Express also happened to work with Gorillaz at some point, from Kano to Faia Younan. The goal would be for African music to leave a greater mark on the worldwide musical landscape. Africa Express would a project that would go on and off over the years, and the album I'm covering today was one of their latest efforts, a spin-off of sorts it seems like.
On June 25, 2016 in London, a 50-piece orchestra of Syrian musicians had gathered at the Southbank Centre alongside a number of different guests, both Syrian and not. This had been the first time that the orchestra had been gathered together in the same place since the end of the Escape to Plastic Beach world tour from 2010. In that time, civil war had broken out in Syria. In the ongoing conflict, thousands had died and even more lost their places to live, fleeing all across the world in hopes of a place to stay. After that world tour, there was a chance that the group would never have seen each together, either from displacement or death. But on June 25, 2016, the odds were defied and the entire group that Damon Albarn (or Murdoc Niccals, whoever you want to believe) had called on to play on the third Gorillaz album had reunited in one spot for another show. In the opening speech that Damon gives at the start of the concert, I can hear the disbelief and amazement coming off of him that he was able to have this massive undertaking finally come to light. This show is a sight to behold. It's almost two hours of pure magic. I could feel this sense of warmth surround me when I was listening. Even my notes reflect this, or lack thereof for a few songs. Listening to some of these tracks, I just felt so caught up in the music to where I lost track of my surroundings! The show is primarily Middle Eastern orchestral and folk music with some western tracks thrown in the mix and given the amount of depth and wonder that only this show could provide. There are quite a few highlights throughout the show. As with other Africa Express performances, Damon takes a sideline to the array of musicians, but when he's there he absolutely shines. He pulls off a beautiful cover of Blackbird from The Beatles with Paul Weller. It's actually quite fitting that Blackbird was chosen for this event to be covered. Paul McCartney had given several reasons behind the tune's birth. The most common element of the stories involves taking a look at the civil rights movement of the late 60's. Having a song that could be about the black struggle could fit in well with the overall message of Africa Express. It's about being able to overcome any challenge and truly soar above the clouds, with this message being demonstrated through being able to make and play music as a group and overcome differences. Damon also comes in to play a special version of the Blur track Out of Time. Out of Time is my favorite Blur song, coming from my favorite Blur album, Think Tank. It's lyrics perfectly convey that sense of loneliness that comes from someone leaving and a lack of communication. The vocals are quite possibly even better than they were on the track as it's accompanied by the gorgeous orchestra that gives the song new life. I'll be talking more about the original song on another section of my blog sometime or another.
Moving on to the guest performers, there are lots here. Of particular note for Gorillaz fans is that Faia Younan and Eslam Jawaad show up here. I'll be covering both of them sometime later for Circle of Friendz. Faia has two wonderful songs here, Zayene el Marie and the folk song Ya mahla'l fus'ha. She's got a beautiful voice and stands as one of my favorite performers at this event. Speaking of standout performances, there's a very fun performance of the Gorillaz track White Flag here, swapping out Bashy and Kano's grimey verses and the synths for a more stripped-back instrumental relying purely on the strength of the orchestra. Plus Malikah drops some fucking fire, she's easily my favorite guest here. She's got enough energy for everyone there! But the best of the bunch was a track that isn't related to Gorillaz. That honor goes to Al Ajahleh. It's an 18 minute epic of an intermission, where what it lacks in vocals makes up for that in the incredible performances on display by the orchestra, Bassekou Kouyate and Seckou Keita. When the track started I thought it was just going to be a 2-minute interlude going into White Flag, as that was what happened with a portion of the track on the Gorillaz tour (OK so it does kinda tie into Gorillaz.) Then it became truly its own, as the track expanded farther and farther. Bassekou tears it up on his ngoni, which is this ancient West African string instrument that was used by storytellers every so often. I also really gotta give props to Seckou's kora playing, which adds a bit of unexpected funk to the song that I really loved. The track Bayat Samaei feels like a musical journey all its own with all the changes it makes in its run-time. It sounds like the score for a fantasy adventure movie and all its dramatic twists and turns.
If the goal of this concert was to get even one person to go home and try looking up some of the artists there, it worked for me at least. This was a pleasant reminder of just how powerful music can be, how it can tie together all of these distant people and cultures under one idea. It felt like, even if only for a moment, the world felt at peace as music filled the air. That's a pretty good feeling, don't you think? I give Africa Express Presents... a 9.5/10.
Who is this? The Syrian National Orchestra
What did they do for Gorillaz? Performed on White Flag for Plastic Beach (that will be brought up later.)
When was this performed? June 25, 2016
Where was this performed? The Southbank Centre in London
Why is this so good? Before I talk about the Syrian National Orchestra, I should probably talk about the man behind the animated mask, Damon Albarn. Damon Albarn is a man of collaboration and experimentation. For years, he's showed up not just on other's projects but also had many, many artists come home onto his home turf with his own records. While he mostly kept to his own band Blur during the 90's, occasionally reaching out to people like Phil Daniels for the landmark Parklife and playing keyboards for his girlfriend's band, Elastica, this changed heading into 1999. Damon had found interest in hip-hop and electronic music, the electronic influence seeping heavily into Blur's 13 as the Britpop sound Blur had eroded into the passage of time. While Blur got more experimental, Damon wanted to take that even further. It's because of these new influences and this new desire for a change in style that led Damon to make Gorillaz. While Blur leaned mostly into Britpop and alt-rock music, Gorillaz was much more than that. The constant genre-switching reflected Damon's new interests that he could never fully explore with Blur. One aspect of Gorillaz that also wasn't expanded on much was his focus on collaborations. Gorillaz was and still is a way for Damon and his wide array of friends to scrape off their egos and perform music without focusing as much on their own celebrity status. This was amplified by a project that released a year after the debut Gorillaz album, Mali Music.
Mali Music grew out of a trip to Mali in the early 2000's that fostered a love of Africa by Damon. This effort was a much more low-key affair than Gorillaz or Blur before it were. While new copies of the album have Damon's name on the wrapping, don't be mistaken for thinking that this would end up being a new effort from either of those bands. Damon only has vocals on two tracks on the entire album. Instead, he hands the reigns over to local Malian musicians for the vast majority of it while he acts more as an overseer. It was from this album that grew from it Africa Express. In 2006, after Demon Days had finished and The Good, the Bad and the Queen was finishing up, Damon Albarn alongside many other musicians began a project that would act as a meeting point between western music and African music. Several people who would wind up being involved with Africa Express also happened to work with Gorillaz at some point, from Kano to Faia Younan. The goal would be for African music to leave a greater mark on the worldwide musical landscape. Africa Express would a project that would go on and off over the years, and the album I'm covering today was one of their latest efforts, a spin-off of sorts it seems like.
On June 25, 2016 in London, a 50-piece orchestra of Syrian musicians had gathered at the Southbank Centre alongside a number of different guests, both Syrian and not. This had been the first time that the orchestra had been gathered together in the same place since the end of the Escape to Plastic Beach world tour from 2010. In that time, civil war had broken out in Syria. In the ongoing conflict, thousands had died and even more lost their places to live, fleeing all across the world in hopes of a place to stay. After that world tour, there was a chance that the group would never have seen each together, either from displacement or death. But on June 25, 2016, the odds were defied and the entire group that Damon Albarn (or Murdoc Niccals, whoever you want to believe) had called on to play on the third Gorillaz album had reunited in one spot for another show. In the opening speech that Damon gives at the start of the concert, I can hear the disbelief and amazement coming off of him that he was able to have this massive undertaking finally come to light. This show is a sight to behold. It's almost two hours of pure magic. I could feel this sense of warmth surround me when I was listening. Even my notes reflect this, or lack thereof for a few songs. Listening to some of these tracks, I just felt so caught up in the music to where I lost track of my surroundings! The show is primarily Middle Eastern orchestral and folk music with some western tracks thrown in the mix and given the amount of depth and wonder that only this show could provide. There are quite a few highlights throughout the show. As with other Africa Express performances, Damon takes a sideline to the array of musicians, but when he's there he absolutely shines. He pulls off a beautiful cover of Blackbird from The Beatles with Paul Weller. It's actually quite fitting that Blackbird was chosen for this event to be covered. Paul McCartney had given several reasons behind the tune's birth. The most common element of the stories involves taking a look at the civil rights movement of the late 60's. Having a song that could be about the black struggle could fit in well with the overall message of Africa Express. It's about being able to overcome any challenge and truly soar above the clouds, with this message being demonstrated through being able to make and play music as a group and overcome differences. Damon also comes in to play a special version of the Blur track Out of Time. Out of Time is my favorite Blur song, coming from my favorite Blur album, Think Tank. It's lyrics perfectly convey that sense of loneliness that comes from someone leaving and a lack of communication. The vocals are quite possibly even better than they were on the track as it's accompanied by the gorgeous orchestra that gives the song new life. I'll be talking more about the original song on another section of my blog sometime or another.
Moving on to the guest performers, there are lots here. Of particular note for Gorillaz fans is that Faia Younan and Eslam Jawaad show up here. I'll be covering both of them sometime later for Circle of Friendz. Faia has two wonderful songs here, Zayene el Marie and the folk song Ya mahla'l fus'ha. She's got a beautiful voice and stands as one of my favorite performers at this event. Speaking of standout performances, there's a very fun performance of the Gorillaz track White Flag here, swapping out Bashy and Kano's grimey verses and the synths for a more stripped-back instrumental relying purely on the strength of the orchestra. Plus Malikah drops some fucking fire, she's easily my favorite guest here. She's got enough energy for everyone there! But the best of the bunch was a track that isn't related to Gorillaz. That honor goes to Al Ajahleh. It's an 18 minute epic of an intermission, where what it lacks in vocals makes up for that in the incredible performances on display by the orchestra, Bassekou Kouyate and Seckou Keita. When the track started I thought it was just going to be a 2-minute interlude going into White Flag, as that was what happened with a portion of the track on the Gorillaz tour (OK so it does kinda tie into Gorillaz.) Then it became truly its own, as the track expanded farther and farther. Bassekou tears it up on his ngoni, which is this ancient West African string instrument that was used by storytellers every so often. I also really gotta give props to Seckou's kora playing, which adds a bit of unexpected funk to the song that I really loved. The track Bayat Samaei feels like a musical journey all its own with all the changes it makes in its run-time. It sounds like the score for a fantasy adventure movie and all its dramatic twists and turns.
If the goal of this concert was to get even one person to go home and try looking up some of the artists there, it worked for me at least. This was a pleasant reminder of just how powerful music can be, how it can tie together all of these distant people and cultures under one idea. It felt like, even if only for a moment, the world felt at peace as music filled the air. That's a pretty good feeling, don't you think? I give Africa Express Presents... a 9.5/10.
Friday, August 10, 2018
Summer 2018 Anime: 1 Month In
Hello and welcome, all three people who read this thing! I haven't done a post talking about anime in a while (it's been almost three months!) I did say on my first post ever on this site that I would cover anime, and I really don't think I've held up much in that regard. It's not like what I have used this blog for was a waste, by any means. I just could stand to talk a little more about my absolute favorite hobby! So here I go, as I take a dive into what's turning out to be another great season!
2018 for anime so far has been quite an amazing experience, with winter having lots of slice of life for me to consume not too long after having finished K-ON! and finding new love for the genre and just about anything with adorable anime girls in them. Spring was great too, with Wotakoi being one of my favorite anime this year and one of the best romance shows I've seen and other stunners like Megalobox and Steins;Gate 0 sprinkled throughout. I did end up putting a few shows on hold however, but there's was still lots of stuff that interested me enough to continue to now or finish. Does summer live up to the high expectations set in place by the rest of 2018? So far, I think it's doing a fine job of that!
I had stuck very close to the shows I had planned on watching when looking at the seasonal guide beforehand, a recent phenomonon of mine. I wanted to keep to thing that looked super super good that I felt like I could watch for the whole season. What deviations I did make from my planned seasonal watch list I ended up dropping anyway, and I might as well get those out of the way first before getting into the cool stuff. Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs was a pretty typical supernatural harem comedy, with not much to impress me. There were some jokes that landed, but lots more didn't and felt too heavy on jokes that were already getting tired in 2008. I guess it's cool that a more typical harem show has come out for the big fans of the genre, as harems that weren't tied to battle shows or fantasy adventures have become a bit of a rarity lately, but this didn't have enough in terms of characters or production to really grab me in. The other drop so far was the little-known space adventure series The Journey Home, a story of a chironomid bug and their friends trying to make it onto earth. The CGI is very fluid, and Gurihiru has some appealing character designs. There's also nothing really like it this season, but the focus on exposition dumping and uninteresting characters made this show feel like a bit of a chore that I wasn't really anticipating another episode of. It does say something about this season when even the shows I dropped weren't even completely godawful! That's a good sign in my book.
Now onto the stuff I believe I'm watching to the end. Keep in mind that many of the shows I'm listing I'm not caught up with, but I have at least seen the first two episodes of (with the exception of one show that just started in the last week that only has one episode as of this writing. I admit I've been falling behind, but that happens every season and is but a natural result of watching as many shows as I am. I won't be talking about any leftovers from past seasons either. First I'm going through the shorts this season rapid-fire to get those out the way first. Even though I haven't even seen the Cinderella Girls full length anime, I'm still enjoying the latest Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls Gekijou season. It's short, sweet and I love the character designs, as there truly seems to be a character for everybody to latch onto and adore. Working Buddies 2 continues to be a neat little show of two cats working different odd jobs, as well as having a really fun twist for the third episode that I don't wanna spoil here. One Room, a show about literal self-inserting as you play pretend that you hang out with anime girls from a first person perspective, is back for season 2. I'm liking this just as much as season 1, and I don't mind 4 minutes of wish fufillment a week. Yamishibai came back for season 6 and it's Yamishibai alright. You love horror, you might be down for these shorts. Oshiete Mahou no Pendulum: Rilu Rilu Fairlu is a very calming 12-minute iyashikei show about a girl getting transported in and out of a land of fairies in a book. The animation in the fairy world is...rough, to say the least. I got over that pretty quickly when I saw how colorful everything is and how soothing it is. It's the only iyashikei this season, so it's an even more welcome addition to my season lineup. Hopefully fansubs don't die out too quick. Last but not least is the third season of Yama no Susume, a show I had been catching up on in anticipation for season 3 about schoolgirls going mountain climbing. It's just as wonderful as season 2, and I love that I get to see more of the adorable Honoka from towards the end of the second season. It's the best short of the season, by far.
Onto the full lengths! I'll be splitting these shows up by genre. Some I'm fully caught up with, but many I'm a little behind on.
Action: Sirius the Jaeger may very well be my favorite show of the season, even if I was starting to feel a tiny bit weary at the more exposition heavy fourth episode. The 1930's setting is really cool, and when there's fights, the fights are amazing. This vampire-fighting show is one I look forward the most each week. It isn't disappointing so far! Speaking of cool, Banana Fish has cool in spades. It's got cool oozing off it's setting and atmosphere, as well as it's badass action scenes. I'm certainly getting a "retro action OVA'' vibe from this like I did MAPPA's last work Garo Vanishing Line. Most importantly, I really wanna find out just what the hell that term "banana fish" even means. Cells at Work has one of my favorite color palettes of the season, one with lots of bright reds and light blues. There's lots of fun fight scenes and situations at play, and certainly educational too. Little can match up to it in terms of pure fun this season (and before anyone asks, yes the platelets are great.) Gintama is back from a quick break for a second part to the Silver Soul arc. I loved the first part's mix of drama and comedy into a total thrill ride, even though this season seems a bit more dramatic than last. I'm still on board though, Gintama all the way!
Comedy: There are several pretty fun choices for comedy this season. There's the demonic Jashin-chan no Dropkick. It's really fun to watch these different supernatural creatures just hanging out around the MC's house without much of a care in the world. The faces feel more 90's or 2000's in their design (maybe it's something about how angular the faces are?) All the girls seem very cute, especially the gothic lolita main character Yurine. I really liked how the first episode was approached with the transition from Yurine summoning Jashin directly to a whole bunch of demons just hanging around Yurine's apartment having hot pot, that took me by surprise. My brother thought before the show came out that it would be more along the lines of Maid Dragon, seeing Jashin and Yurine on the poster and the brief description. It seems to be much more focused on getting big laughs than the mix of light drama and more soothing comedy of Kyoto Animation's slice of life hit. Another stark difference was how the characters were introduced. Maid Dragon took its time to introduce everyone and this show prefers letting the audience see how these characters interact with each other after settling in and maybe considering going back to see how they ended up there. I'm still having a really fun time with it. There's Next, Chio's School Road is another fun gag series involving vignettes chronicling Chio, an orange-haired gaming fanatic on her way to school. Every day seems to bring up new challenges for her to get there on time. This sounds like a show that could getting tiring pretty quickly in 24-minute chunks. Thankfully the challenges for Chio's journey to class are always hilarious. If it keeps being as funny as episode two and makes the situations varied it'll certainly be a highlight in a comedy-packed season. Ongaku Shoujo, an idol show with a lead who can't even sing. It seems to be idols doing some idol stuff. I really like the character designs, especially Uori's and it's a nice way to spend 24 minutes. Sunohara-sou no Kanrinin-san is a pretty breezy slice of life may-as-well-be-a harem with a middle school boy moving into a dorm with older women. It's got some bright pastel colors and a very cute gyaru in the cast, so I'm all in. Grand Blue is a really funny series about college parties, underage drinking and supposed diving. Episode two was the funniest of the episodes with the room decorating jokes. Watching this show is a load of fun and I would love to party with these guys. It's got some really funny reaction faces too. Speaking of reaction faces, Asobi Asobase is definitely one of the finer comedies around this season. I'll admit that I got fooled by the OP and poster and thought I would've gotten a Manga Time Kirara-style cute girls doing the absolute cutest things, maybe getting some yuri undertones along the way. What I got was something a little raunchier, focused on providing fodder for 4chan reaction image folders than the calming nature of many shows with a similar setup. I'm really enjoying the character dynamics on this one and how it deviates away from many of its kin in its approach. It's got this nice looking pastel artstyle too. High Score Girl is my second favorite anime this season, one that could possibly crawl up the ranks depending on how Sirius fares the next few weeks. I was a little weirded out by the CGI, but I got settled into it well after the first episode. Having a rom-com centered around 90's videogaming is honestly one of the most creative premises this season, and I love the dynamic between the two main characters and how Akira uses her body language to play off of Haruo. It's also thanks to this show that I found this awesome group who did the opening theme, sora tob sakana. They're this at the surface typical idol group that swaps out a more traditional J-Pop sound for a math rock approach. They have a really good self-titled debut I highly recommend if idols or math rock are up your alley. Back to High Score Girl, I am shocked about how quickly it pulls the timeskip card in comparison to other shows, with the aftermath of the tearjerking third episode. It's not a detriment to the show at all, just something that took me by surprise. I was hoping to find a romance show I could enjoy as much as I did Wotakoi after I saw the last episode of it and I was shocked to see how soon that day would come. Too bad there's gonna be people who aren't watching this because of Netflix doing what they do best and holding the show until it's complete and they have a dub for it but I hope people can find it and watch it because there isn't much better for anime romances this year than it.
Drama/Horror: I'm not actually sure what to think of Happy Sugar Life's first two episodes. There's crazy and there's yuri? I'll keep watching out of pure intrigue. I liked the three volumes of the manga that I could read for it, so I was shocked at the announcement for Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation to get a TV anime. It's a decently obscure Shounen Jump mystery/horror manga from the mid-2000's about a pair of spiritual detectives tracking down and banishing ghosts under Magical Law. The adaptation turned out decently well., getting what made the manga exciting right here in full color and animation. Moving away from horror into the dramatics, the number three spot for the anime of the season contender is.... Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight! A great premise handled excellently by some of the best directing of the season. When I saw the show on preseason charts, I assumed would be Love Live with performing arts (not a bad thing by the way!) What I got was something more dramatic with some crazy awesome performance arts fighting and a talking giraffe. Everything is better with a talking giraffe. This show is one of the most entrancing of 2018 for sure. The wait for episodes kills me inside.
Mecha: Even though I didn't quite finish any of them, I really liked what I've seen of the various Zoids series that came out throughout the years, so Zoids Wild definitely took me by surprise when it got announced for an anime after going dormant for so long. It's a pretty OK kids mecha show. I wouldn't mind getting a Wild Liger model kit. I don't have a whole lot to say about this one, maybe watching past episode 2 will give me more to say. Planet With is a fascinating project this season. Satoshi Mizukami's designs carry over well into animation, I'll admit that the main reason I wanted to watch this, other than for Mizukami having his hands over it, was because of Ginko's kinda cute design. What I'm staying for now is an intriging tale where you're not quite sure who's quite good or bad, or why the main character is fighting, leaving some interesting questions in between episodes. This show definitely has me guessing about what's coming next.
Sports: There's three different sports shows I'm watching this season, that all seem to go in different directions. First is Harukana Recieve, the Manga Time Kirara adaptation of the season about a girl named Haruka who moves to Okinawa and starts playing beach volleyball. Next is Hanebado!, about a girl slowly settling back into badminton after cutting off from it in middle school. Last is Free!: Dive to the Future, with the cast of the first two seasons as they move onto adulthood. Besides the different sports, the three shows all seem to have different approaches to a sports narrative. Harukana leans the most on the comedic side of things, with a greater focus on fanservice and showing off just how cute these girls are. The girl is also a newbie to her sport as opposed to the other sports anime leads. Hanebado's lead isn't new, she was just hesitant to get back to playing. Hanebado also leans towards drama. Free also goes for drama but with an all male cast and having better animation than Harukana (it's about as good or better than Hanebado.) The lead is also the most experienced of the three, Haruka having been swimming since middle school as the show focuses on his college years. Which one is best? I'm going with Free, but Hanebado comes close.
Since I'm done with all the new stuff I'm watching I may as well start talking about plans for the future. Simply put, the way I watch anime in my day to day will be changed. Last week, I was putting more episode data in for my Kitsu.io list. Looking at that list, I had a realization. "I'm watching 55 fucking anime!" It just then, scrolling through my list of close to 500 shows I put on hold for later just how truly huge my viewing habits have become. So I had an idea. Let's not watch 55 fucking shows next season! As it turns out, it could be easier than I thought. I've been looking intensively at live guides for each anime announced for the fall season. Instead of just picking up whatever I come across, the 5-10 coolest looking shows are what I pick up, a far cry from the 30 new shows I picked up this time. I'm changing my strategy for a few reasons. For one, there isn't as much cool stuff next season, but the stuff that looks good looks really damn good. Next, I'm starting to watch some, and I can't believe I'm saying this...shows that aren't anime. DUM DUM DUM! Seriously, I do watch some cartoons and the odd live action series every so often (I'm watching Preacher right now!) I've just been meaning to watch more J-Drama, especially ones based on manga I've read or anime I've seen. I tried a handful a few years ago but never really finished any of them, and I wanna get back in the game. Most importantly, there's college. It's coming up fast, and the workloads will be heavy. There will inevitably be a cutback in any hobby time, anime included. It's not to say I don't love anime. It's the opposite, I love it more than I ever have before and I appreciate just how it has showed me things I never would've delve into otherwise more than before! It's also leading to my last reason for this switch. Backlog! Less focus on seasonal shows, more focus on shows I've been meaning to watch or finish throughout the 6 years I've been watching anime. I think this will be a refreashing change for me, i think. Oh, and I'll be sure to blog about these shows too. So what's your favorite shows from this season if you're watching anything? What sounded the most interesting from this that you wanna check out? Lemme know in the comments. Sayonara~
2018 for anime so far has been quite an amazing experience, with winter having lots of slice of life for me to consume not too long after having finished K-ON! and finding new love for the genre and just about anything with adorable anime girls in them. Spring was great too, with Wotakoi being one of my favorite anime this year and one of the best romance shows I've seen and other stunners like Megalobox and Steins;Gate 0 sprinkled throughout. I did end up putting a few shows on hold however, but there's was still lots of stuff that interested me enough to continue to now or finish. Does summer live up to the high expectations set in place by the rest of 2018? So far, I think it's doing a fine job of that!
I had stuck very close to the shows I had planned on watching when looking at the seasonal guide beforehand, a recent phenomonon of mine. I wanted to keep to thing that looked super super good that I felt like I could watch for the whole season. What deviations I did make from my planned seasonal watch list I ended up dropping anyway, and I might as well get those out of the way first before getting into the cool stuff. Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs was a pretty typical supernatural harem comedy, with not much to impress me. There were some jokes that landed, but lots more didn't and felt too heavy on jokes that were already getting tired in 2008. I guess it's cool that a more typical harem show has come out for the big fans of the genre, as harems that weren't tied to battle shows or fantasy adventures have become a bit of a rarity lately, but this didn't have enough in terms of characters or production to really grab me in. The other drop so far was the little-known space adventure series The Journey Home, a story of a chironomid bug and their friends trying to make it onto earth. The CGI is very fluid, and Gurihiru has some appealing character designs. There's also nothing really like it this season, but the focus on exposition dumping and uninteresting characters made this show feel like a bit of a chore that I wasn't really anticipating another episode of. It does say something about this season when even the shows I dropped weren't even completely godawful! That's a good sign in my book.
Now onto the stuff I believe I'm watching to the end. Keep in mind that many of the shows I'm listing I'm not caught up with, but I have at least seen the first two episodes of (with the exception of one show that just started in the last week that only has one episode as of this writing. I admit I've been falling behind, but that happens every season and is but a natural result of watching as many shows as I am. I won't be talking about any leftovers from past seasons either. First I'm going through the shorts this season rapid-fire to get those out the way first. Even though I haven't even seen the Cinderella Girls full length anime, I'm still enjoying the latest Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls Gekijou season. It's short, sweet and I love the character designs, as there truly seems to be a character for everybody to latch onto and adore. Working Buddies 2 continues to be a neat little show of two cats working different odd jobs, as well as having a really fun twist for the third episode that I don't wanna spoil here. One Room, a show about literal self-inserting as you play pretend that you hang out with anime girls from a first person perspective, is back for season 2. I'm liking this just as much as season 1, and I don't mind 4 minutes of wish fufillment a week. Yamishibai came back for season 6 and it's Yamishibai alright. You love horror, you might be down for these shorts. Oshiete Mahou no Pendulum: Rilu Rilu Fairlu is a very calming 12-minute iyashikei show about a girl getting transported in and out of a land of fairies in a book. The animation in the fairy world is...rough, to say the least. I got over that pretty quickly when I saw how colorful everything is and how soothing it is. It's the only iyashikei this season, so it's an even more welcome addition to my season lineup. Hopefully fansubs don't die out too quick. Last but not least is the third season of Yama no Susume, a show I had been catching up on in anticipation for season 3 about schoolgirls going mountain climbing. It's just as wonderful as season 2, and I love that I get to see more of the adorable Honoka from towards the end of the second season. It's the best short of the season, by far.
Onto the full lengths! I'll be splitting these shows up by genre. Some I'm fully caught up with, but many I'm a little behind on.
Action: Sirius the Jaeger may very well be my favorite show of the season, even if I was starting to feel a tiny bit weary at the more exposition heavy fourth episode. The 1930's setting is really cool, and when there's fights, the fights are amazing. This vampire-fighting show is one I look forward the most each week. It isn't disappointing so far! Speaking of cool, Banana Fish has cool in spades. It's got cool oozing off it's setting and atmosphere, as well as it's badass action scenes. I'm certainly getting a "retro action OVA'' vibe from this like I did MAPPA's last work Garo Vanishing Line. Most importantly, I really wanna find out just what the hell that term "banana fish" even means. Cells at Work has one of my favorite color palettes of the season, one with lots of bright reds and light blues. There's lots of fun fight scenes and situations at play, and certainly educational too. Little can match up to it in terms of pure fun this season (and before anyone asks, yes the platelets are great.) Gintama is back from a quick break for a second part to the Silver Soul arc. I loved the first part's mix of drama and comedy into a total thrill ride, even though this season seems a bit more dramatic than last. I'm still on board though, Gintama all the way!
Drama/Horror: I'm not actually sure what to think of Happy Sugar Life's first two episodes. There's crazy and there's yuri? I'll keep watching out of pure intrigue. I liked the three volumes of the manga that I could read for it, so I was shocked at the announcement for Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation to get a TV anime. It's a decently obscure Shounen Jump mystery/horror manga from the mid-2000's about a pair of spiritual detectives tracking down and banishing ghosts under Magical Law. The adaptation turned out decently well., getting what made the manga exciting right here in full color and animation. Moving away from horror into the dramatics, the number three spot for the anime of the season contender is.... Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight! A great premise handled excellently by some of the best directing of the season. When I saw the show on preseason charts, I assumed would be Love Live with performing arts (not a bad thing by the way!) What I got was something more dramatic with some crazy awesome performance arts fighting and a talking giraffe. Everything is better with a talking giraffe. This show is one of the most entrancing of 2018 for sure. The wait for episodes kills me inside.
Mecha: Even though I didn't quite finish any of them, I really liked what I've seen of the various Zoids series that came out throughout the years, so Zoids Wild definitely took me by surprise when it got announced for an anime after going dormant for so long. It's a pretty OK kids mecha show. I wouldn't mind getting a Wild Liger model kit. I don't have a whole lot to say about this one, maybe watching past episode 2 will give me more to say. Planet With is a fascinating project this season. Satoshi Mizukami's designs carry over well into animation, I'll admit that the main reason I wanted to watch this, other than for Mizukami having his hands over it, was because of Ginko's kinda cute design. What I'm staying for now is an intriging tale where you're not quite sure who's quite good or bad, or why the main character is fighting, leaving some interesting questions in between episodes. This show definitely has me guessing about what's coming next.
Sports: There's three different sports shows I'm watching this season, that all seem to go in different directions. First is Harukana Recieve, the Manga Time Kirara adaptation of the season about a girl named Haruka who moves to Okinawa and starts playing beach volleyball. Next is Hanebado!, about a girl slowly settling back into badminton after cutting off from it in middle school. Last is Free!: Dive to the Future, with the cast of the first two seasons as they move onto adulthood. Besides the different sports, the three shows all seem to have different approaches to a sports narrative. Harukana leans the most on the comedic side of things, with a greater focus on fanservice and showing off just how cute these girls are. The girl is also a newbie to her sport as opposed to the other sports anime leads. Hanebado's lead isn't new, she was just hesitant to get back to playing. Hanebado also leans towards drama. Free also goes for drama but with an all male cast and having better animation than Harukana (it's about as good or better than Hanebado.) The lead is also the most experienced of the three, Haruka having been swimming since middle school as the show focuses on his college years. Which one is best? I'm going with Free, but Hanebado comes close.
Since I'm done with all the new stuff I'm watching I may as well start talking about plans for the future. Simply put, the way I watch anime in my day to day will be changed. Last week, I was putting more episode data in for my Kitsu.io list. Looking at that list, I had a realization. "I'm watching 55 fucking anime!" It just then, scrolling through my list of close to 500 shows I put on hold for later just how truly huge my viewing habits have become. So I had an idea. Let's not watch 55 fucking shows next season! As it turns out, it could be easier than I thought. I've been looking intensively at live guides for each anime announced for the fall season. Instead of just picking up whatever I come across, the 5-10 coolest looking shows are what I pick up, a far cry from the 30 new shows I picked up this time. I'm changing my strategy for a few reasons. For one, there isn't as much cool stuff next season, but the stuff that looks good looks really damn good. Next, I'm starting to watch some, and I can't believe I'm saying this...shows that aren't anime. DUM DUM DUM! Seriously, I do watch some cartoons and the odd live action series every so often (I'm watching Preacher right now!) I've just been meaning to watch more J-Drama, especially ones based on manga I've read or anime I've seen. I tried a handful a few years ago but never really finished any of them, and I wanna get back in the game. Most importantly, there's college. It's coming up fast, and the workloads will be heavy. There will inevitably be a cutback in any hobby time, anime included. It's not to say I don't love anime. It's the opposite, I love it more than I ever have before and I appreciate just how it has showed me things I never would've delve into otherwise more than before! It's also leading to my last reason for this switch. Backlog! Less focus on seasonal shows, more focus on shows I've been meaning to watch or finish throughout the 6 years I've been watching anime. I think this will be a refreashing change for me, i think. Oh, and I'll be sure to blog about these shows too. So what's your favorite shows from this season if you're watching anything? What sounded the most interesting from this that you wanna check out? Lemme know in the comments. Sayonara~
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Albums I Adore (and Why You Should Too!): The Good, the Bad, and the Queen
Welcome, one and all, to the fourth edition of Albums I Adore, talking and raving over the albums that are very near and dear to me. This episode, I'm covering another Damon Albarn masterwork, his 2007 album The Good, the Bad, and the Queen. This album comes from a supergroup of Damon on vocals, Simon Tong of The Verve on guitar, Paul Simonon from The Clash on bass, and afrobeat master Tony Allen working the drums. The group doesn't technically even have a name, since according to Simonon "names are for a marriage." Nethertheless, record companies, concert organizers and fans alike call the band by the name of their album. This album has roots in 2004, the same year the Demon Days recording sessions started, as Damon Albarn took a trip to Nigeria. he recorded with Tony Allen, who he recently started a partnership with recording in London several days a week before the trip, alongside Simon Tong who had just finished touring with Blur as a replacement for Graham Coxon on guitar. Along with them for the ride was producer Danger Mouse, a man who would become from my perspective very important to the album's sound, having been working with Albarn on Demon Days around the same time. The dark atmosphere of Demon Days would have a very lingering effect on this project, but we'll get to that later. Soon enough after the trip, Paul Simonon was played the demos by Damon and agreed to join the project, even if all those demos were scrapped to start over. After Demon Days had finished production, this new project was marching along before releasing Herculean as a single in 2006 and their album a few months after that. These recordings led to what I would consider Damon's best album that he has ever made. The album was described as being another dark concept album coming off of Demon Days, a "mystery play about London" and its people in times of violence, melancholy, longing and hopelessness. The London protrayed here, very much unlike the London described on Parklife and Modern Life is Rubbish from Blur, is one ravaged by wars that go nowhere and tidal waves sweeping people away. It's much less idyllic in the portrayal, one much more wrapped up in current events. This type of landscape is where our story begins...
1. History Song - This first track acts as a perfect opener to the album. It's very dark, moody and most importantly very foreboding. The track also works as not just the opening act, if you wanna think off this album as a narrative, but also on its own as a warning to people. "If you don't know it now, then it will do..." demonstrates that bad things can happen to the people who don't have an understanding of history and the wrongdoings of the past, becoming unable to prevent tragedies from occurring or even being an active participant in these activities. I really love those last few seconds as the drums and piano wind down, and the line "Sunday's lost in melancholy" works as a perfect metaphor for the London that gets described in this album.
2. 80's Life - It seems the most natural song to come after a warning to people who don't know their past would be a look into the past! I imagine this song as looking through this black and white film reel of a very idealistic view of the London of a different time. In terms of melody, it certainly does feel like one of the lightest on the album, covering up its dark lyricism. Damon says that the light has all gone dead, that everything is absolutely hopeless. Comfort is found in the sound of police sirens flying by before other tracks bring us back into darkness. The subject of war gets made loud and clear here and throughout the album, as Damon hopes for a world without endless war. This song is absolutely lovely, and its another track where I love the winding down at the very end here as well, a compliment that will extend to multiple tracks on the record.
3. Northern Whale - This song sounds like one of several tracks that sound like it could fit well at home with the catalog of Gorillaz. The synth work and pianos working together feel like something that would be right at home with D-Sides alongside tracks like Highway (Under Construction.) Tony Allen gets shafted for a drum machine here, but damn the beeps and boops of the synths here really pick up the slack here alongside the drum machine programmed by James Dring. This lyrics are about a whale who got stuck in the Thames River in 2006, whereas before the album it had been a love song towards Damon's partner Suzi as she went on a trip to Antarctica. This is also the first track to really bring tidal waves and water imagery into play on the album, which get brought up several times throughout the album.
4. Kingdom of Doom - The lyrics have some of the best imagery on the albums. I can truly picture ravens flying overhead a dingy bar filled with people drinking to ease away the pain of endless war while the band plays on a makeshift stage within. I especially like the piano work chugging along throughout. Really love the hook too. This was brought back alongside Three Changes on Damon's 2014 solo tour and I truly hope it can be brought back for any concerts for the upcoming The Good, the Bad and the Queen record for just how much fun everyone seems to have playing it. I totally get why this one has become a highlight for many people that listened to the album.
5. Herculean - A large part of the reason I even wanted to make this review in the first place was to talk about just how much I absolutely LOVE Herculean. First, I really dig the megaphone effect Damon is using here. This vocal trick certainly isn't new, he's been using it since Oily Water on Blur's Modern Life is Rubbish, although it's become synonymous with Gorillaz specifically for me now. It definitely adds to the atmosphere of this song I think. It's parts like that that make me feel like 2D is singing here in place of Damon Albarn, something that stretches across the entire album. It feels like 2D is taking a journey across the UK and seeing just how destroyed his home country is emotionally and making comments on them. I can also really feel like I'm actually in London with the narrator (2D or Damon or whoever) walking past the gasworks or looking out the window to seeing people's daily routines. I also want to use this song as a prime example of just how Danger Mouse's production adds to the album as a whole. The production here felt very layered and crisp. The static of the megaphone really meshes well with the keyboards and synths, which really works well with the drum machine and Simon Tong's guitar at the beginning. It's the type of production that encourages repeat listens to pick up on all the little details. The last two minutes of this track have to be Damon Albarn's finest moment in my eyes. After the second verse, the song descends into this heavenly outro where Damon's oohs are crushed behind the overpowering synths, the drum machine and the amazing choir work. The string section here provided by Demon Strings, who also worked on Demon Days, gels nicely with everything here too, even if they aren't as noticeable in the studio version as they are in the incredible live version. The outro helps to make this song work both as an incredible single and as the centerpiece to this album, as this outro feels like I have ascended to some higher plane of existence and I'm looking over London as it turns itself to hell. This track alone is proof enough that this is Damon's A-game in every aspect, lyrically and musically. It helps that Danger Mouse makes it sound like the best Demon Days track that never made it to the album.
6. Behind the Sun - Speaking of Demon Days, this is another gem that I think could have worked well on that album, thanks to the presence of the megaphone-style effect, the wind sampling and the keyboards. I absolutely love how harmoniously Demon Strings and the keyboards work well together here. I really like the chorus for this one too, it's super pretty! The chorus also makes this song feel like it's taking a look back in time and comparing that to how the state of things is now, "looking at the people we've become" compared to that time far gone, "to the place where you played when you were young." Absolutely wonderful.
7. The Bunting Song - Now you may be asking "Well what exactly is bunting?" ...Or was that just me? I honestly didn't know until Damon Albarn pointed out what it was before a live performance of this track. As I've come to learn, bunting is this form of fabric often made into decorations for different occasions. It's often made into little triangle flags, like the bunting used at the live shows for this album, but they can come in a variety of styles and colors. Onto the track itself, it's another one with this really cool outro that only completes the sort of imagery I have in my head when listening to this thing. Kinda like the intro on Demon Days, I find myself imagining being in a haunted forest in the dead of night, searching around for something. This time around however, this expedition feels less horrifying and dark and more mystical in a sense. The pitch black skies I imagine from the Gorillaz track are replaced by rich purple hues. I imagine trees lined with bunting all around me as "the wild things" described in the song perform some kind of festival or holy ritual. As the traveler you don't quite get what's going on but you're so entranced by the experience that you don't dwell on it too much. It's a magical experience of a track, really.
8. Nature Springs - Tony Allen is at his finest on this track. While the album in general uses him very sparingly, when he is used it's awesome, this song being no exception. His drumming has a very nice groove to it that keeps this song afloat nicely. The outro also has to be one of my favorite moments from the album for just how perfectly every aspect comes together. Damon has this really good whistling section that comes in alongside a very solid Demon Strings performance, Tony's stable drumming and Paul Simonon's deep basslines, another one of my favorite parts of the track. Simon again has a really good part that blends in well to the track to make this all in all and outstanding performance from everybody in the group.
9. A Soldier's Tale - After the big outro of Nature Springs comes the quieter, stripped back sound of A Soldier's Tale. This album is filled with beauty, and this song in particular is absolutely beautiful! I adore the acoustic guitar here as Damon weaves a charming poem of a soldier and his thoughts and emotions during wartime, tying in nicely to the last track. There's also a hint of what's to come from Damon's solo work in one lyric, noting how "emptiness in computers" bothers him. Damon's solo album seven years after this one would tackle the relationships between man and technology at several points in that album. The whistling section in this one is really well done and adds to the track's atmosphere, as it did on Nature Springs. I love this song for just how calming and peaceful it sounds, it's almost like a really atmospheric adult lullaby!
10. Three Changes - I would like to thank Danger Mouse in particular for this track being on the album at all. He took a look at three different demos the band had made and somehow sown them all together into a very coherent whole. In part one, Damon describes the violence that has only increased in this very hectic form of London while Tony makes his mark on the track with his very prominent drumming alongside the organs and horns. Simon's guitar has this loud crunch to it that it has nowhere else on the album to really add to the madness, like it's becoming just as violent as the residents of London are. Part two slows things down a notch before racketing back up for part three. In terms of imagery here, I imagine this song as being in this dangerous graveyard where people passing by it become much more prone to random acts of violence, but unlike the last interaction a Damon Albarn project had in a spooky graveyard the band acts more as observers of this bizarre phenomenon than trying to fight it off.
11. Green Fields - We're in the home stretch of the album, as the violence has started to subside leaving only a man to their thoughts. Back to that imagery I love so much, I imagine a return back to the bar from Kingdom of Doom after noticing the late night phenomenon of the last track, where the narrator is back on the bottle and reminiscing about London and how the violence that spread in Three Changes had come to rest, leaving behind a hometown that seems unrecognizable from what it once was, the "green fields" that "turn into stone." War, the environment, and violence has destroyed London, maybe even for good. Not all seems lost, however. The ravens flying across the moon have begun to rest as Damon sings of needing only destiny and dreams. Musically, Simon Tong really steals the show here, I love his steady guitar work and how he can really show off in the outro and chorus. I just adore how raw the guitar sound sounds here. Now the narrator leaves this pub, tired and broken looking back at the state of his home. But what does he see when he steps outside?
12. The Good, the Bad and the Queen - The man sees a sunrise, coming out of the clouds and judging all the satellites. People are starting to rekindle their relationships, the morning is calm and quiet and the narrator feels more alive than ever. There's the realization that despite all the troublesome times, despite the disputes and disasters, there will always be a younger generation who will be right on the front lines to combat injustice while many continue to work and play as they usually do. Maybe this whole experience wasn't quite the apocalyptic scenario it was built up to be. Because at the end of the day, there always will be a sun shining overhead. London will keep marching on. Also this is the best album closer I have ever heard from a Damon Albarn album (next to maybe Souk Eye.) This song works in a similar way to Demon Days' title track, a reminder that things won't be all so bad in the end, that there's always a light at the end of the tunnel to look forward too. I feel like any words i say cannot express just how powerful this ending feels, especially with how much the music does the talking here. The rest of this album has very powerful lyrics and haunting slow tracks to back them up. This track is a much faster and more upbeat affair to the rest of the album. Every single member fires on all cylinders as I feel wrapped up in warmth and light in over four minutes of pure power after the lyrics rest. While everyone in the group is at their A-game, I gotta give a shout out to Damon on the piano here. You can just hear the passion and feel the emotion on those keys. It's such a satisfying conclusion to this utterly fantastic album.
So this is my favorite album ever, so it feels really damn good to just have my thoughts out there in a long-form format. It's for works like these that motivated me to even make the very blog you're reading right now. It feels refreshing to be able to flesh out my thoughts on the things that I love without having to conform to character limits. As long as I can write, i can feel fulfilled. Thank you for reading and I'll see you soon. Maybe the next post won't be about music, I'll be finding something else to tackle.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Albums I Adore (and Why You Should Too!): Gorillaz - Demon Days
Welcome to the third edition of a series where I talk about the albums I keep coming back to, ones I hold in high regard and are the best of the best. I can keep these records on repeat and never get tired of them. Last time, I had covered the latest Gorillaz album, The Now Now. This time we're stepping back into the animated band's universe for another go, this time for their sophmore outing (and magnum opus) Demon Days. It's certainly a grimmer affair compared to the summery Now Now or their debut album. Compared to the self-titled debut, everything also feels grander. It has more complex production, smoother animated music videos and boasting a larger guest list to match. The ideas and setting in place is also much grander than anything showrunner Damon Albarn had accomplished. Does the album crumble under this much more ambitious angle? Well look at the title of this post, that might tell you something. On to the track by track!
1. Intro - YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE HARMONIC REALM! I would love to see anyone propose a better way to start off an album. Seriously, I'm up for any and all challengers. This intro feels like a walk through a vicious hellscape. Just imagine that it's the middle of the night, and you're walking through a forest. This forest isn't like any you've seen before. The trees are all dead, the sky is grey and lifeless, and it's filled with demons crawling out of any corner. They are not quite on the attack but lurking patiently with their hateful eyes lusting for a chance to strike. It's perfect for setting the mood!
2. Last Living Souls - This album has just begun and already one of my favorite tracks from this band's entire discography shows up! The wind sample from the intro crossfades here very nicely as this track expands on the feeling of traversing upon a hellish land. I love it when the acoustic guitar kicks in towards the middle of the track and the piano works so well underlaying it before that amazing string section kicks in. It all feels just so natural and the production so layered as the strings continue on into a reprise of the hook. I am floored every time I listen to it, and I just stop doing whatever else I am doing when I'm listening to it just to take this track in. This is a song that encaptures you into the broken, jaded disaster of a world the album takes place in and promises to not let go. This paired with the instrumental intro is everything needed to prepare oneself for this experience, and it does this in such a captivating way.
3. Kids With Guns - One of the best basslines on the record is right here! Demon Days was a record made with the troubles of modern day society clearly in mind, as this tackles the violence seen in everyday life. The Columbine shooting was no doubt on Damon Albarn's mind as he wrote this tune of guns "turning us into monsters." Desire is a powerful thing, and it can turn even the cleanest of human minds into destructive beings, both for themselves and the people around them. This track drills into you by its chorus that desire can lead people down violent paths, even the youngest and most fragile among us. I love the huge explosion of a crescendo this song undertakes in the last minute too, but it will not be the last of its kind on the album.
4. O Green World - Can this be the theme song for that new Swamp Thing TV series that's coming out? But in all seriousness, this is Demon Days leaning on alt-rock, as the guitars twang along to 2D crooning about the polluted, deserted environment he finds himself within. It's another great piece that helps to truly flesh out the setting. This world is dirty, distorted, lacking of purpose as it screams to be cleaned up and brought back to a better place. I really dig the synths kicking it up a notch more and more as the song reaches its dramatic conclusion, changing up from noise to loneliness with only the lone bell playing.
5. Dirty Harry - In true Gorillaz fashion, it seems like it's time to bring in collaborators. While those last three tracks were 2D by his lonesome, with the exception of some backing vocals in the end of Kids With Guns, here in the album is where the collabs really come to the spotlight. This track is also one of the most explicit in its politics, with Bootie Brown's reference to George W. Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech. May 1, 2003 was when Bush made an announcement signaling what was supposed to be the end of the Iraq war. Little did the world know on that day that the war was far, far from over. Two years on from that speech, leaves Bootie Brown playing the role of a soldier who feels like he's been played for a fool and wants to return to his normal life. The use of the children's choir works nicely alongside 2D and I'm pretty fond of the catchy synthwork here. This song helps to ground Demon Days back to earth, to keep it feeling integrated with our reality.
6. Feel Good Inc. - HAHAHAHAHAHA! This was my first exposure to Gorillaz, as had been the case for many around my age. My oldest sister played this track a lot on her computer back when the song was popular, and I heard it blaring on radios all the time during the mid-2000's. The music video was also immensely familiar to me when I first got into the band and watched all the videos, even if I'm not exactly sure how I saw it. Maybe they played it back when The N used to play music videos in-between shows? Was it online or on MTV? However I came across it, Feel Good Inc. became the first thing that many think of when they think of Gorillaz or even Damon Albarn or De La Soul. Mainstream radio isn't wrong in liking this though, this song is great! The transition is seemless between alt-rock and hip-hop, the bassline is sick, 2D is in top-form vocally and De La Soul pulls off a great performance as well. There's a great hook and the laughing feels like the perfect addition, because it helps add to that oppressive vibe the track has. As a centerpiece to the album, it's just about perfect. And who do I have to pay to get a flying windmill island of my own?
8. Every Planet We Reach is Dead - First of all, is this the best Gorillaz song name or what? The title feels like it would be for some post-apocalyptic psychological horror sci-fi film that becomes a cult megahit after doing mediocre in the box office that everyone who's seen it says that everyone else "just didn't get it." This is also the best use of the string section on this album, because they add so much gravity to this track, making it feel otherworldly and even theatrical. Ike Turner's piano feels very sporadic and the synths unorganized, leaving in its wake a cacophony that can be heard out in SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE. It feels grand, it feels bold, it feels chaotic, and it feels fascinating. This is 2D baring his soul for what's left of the world to see. I can truly bask in this song's emotion, get myself lost in its world as I am swept up in its world. It gives me chills, lots of chills.
1. Intro - YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE HARMONIC REALM! I would love to see anyone propose a better way to start off an album. Seriously, I'm up for any and all challengers. This intro feels like a walk through a vicious hellscape. Just imagine that it's the middle of the night, and you're walking through a forest. This forest isn't like any you've seen before. The trees are all dead, the sky is grey and lifeless, and it's filled with demons crawling out of any corner. They are not quite on the attack but lurking patiently with their hateful eyes lusting for a chance to strike. It's perfect for setting the mood!
2. Last Living Souls - This album has just begun and already one of my favorite tracks from this band's entire discography shows up! The wind sample from the intro crossfades here very nicely as this track expands on the feeling of traversing upon a hellish land. I love it when the acoustic guitar kicks in towards the middle of the track and the piano works so well underlaying it before that amazing string section kicks in. It all feels just so natural and the production so layered as the strings continue on into a reprise of the hook. I am floored every time I listen to it, and I just stop doing whatever else I am doing when I'm listening to it just to take this track in. This is a song that encaptures you into the broken, jaded disaster of a world the album takes place in and promises to not let go. This paired with the instrumental intro is everything needed to prepare oneself for this experience, and it does this in such a captivating way.
3. Kids With Guns - One of the best basslines on the record is right here! Demon Days was a record made with the troubles of modern day society clearly in mind, as this tackles the violence seen in everyday life. The Columbine shooting was no doubt on Damon Albarn's mind as he wrote this tune of guns "turning us into monsters." Desire is a powerful thing, and it can turn even the cleanest of human minds into destructive beings, both for themselves and the people around them. This track drills into you by its chorus that desire can lead people down violent paths, even the youngest and most fragile among us. I love the huge explosion of a crescendo this song undertakes in the last minute too, but it will not be the last of its kind on the album.
4. O Green World - Can this be the theme song for that new Swamp Thing TV series that's coming out? But in all seriousness, this is Demon Days leaning on alt-rock, as the guitars twang along to 2D crooning about the polluted, deserted environment he finds himself within. It's another great piece that helps to truly flesh out the setting. This world is dirty, distorted, lacking of purpose as it screams to be cleaned up and brought back to a better place. I really dig the synths kicking it up a notch more and more as the song reaches its dramatic conclusion, changing up from noise to loneliness with only the lone bell playing.
5. Dirty Harry - In true Gorillaz fashion, it seems like it's time to bring in collaborators. While those last three tracks were 2D by his lonesome, with the exception of some backing vocals in the end of Kids With Guns, here in the album is where the collabs really come to the spotlight. This track is also one of the most explicit in its politics, with Bootie Brown's reference to George W. Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech. May 1, 2003 was when Bush made an announcement signaling what was supposed to be the end of the Iraq war. Little did the world know on that day that the war was far, far from over. Two years on from that speech, leaves Bootie Brown playing the role of a soldier who feels like he's been played for a fool and wants to return to his normal life. The use of the children's choir works nicely alongside 2D and I'm pretty fond of the catchy synthwork here. This song helps to ground Demon Days back to earth, to keep it feeling integrated with our reality.
6. Feel Good Inc. - HAHAHAHAHAHA! This was my first exposure to Gorillaz, as had been the case for many around my age. My oldest sister played this track a lot on her computer back when the song was popular, and I heard it blaring on radios all the time during the mid-2000's. The music video was also immensely familiar to me when I first got into the band and watched all the videos, even if I'm not exactly sure how I saw it. Maybe they played it back when The N used to play music videos in-between shows? Was it online or on MTV? However I came across it, Feel Good Inc. became the first thing that many think of when they think of Gorillaz or even Damon Albarn or De La Soul. Mainstream radio isn't wrong in liking this though, this song is great! The transition is seemless between alt-rock and hip-hop, the bassline is sick, 2D is in top-form vocally and De La Soul pulls off a great performance as well. There's a great hook and the laughing feels like the perfect addition, because it helps add to that oppressive vibe the track has. As a centerpiece to the album, it's just about perfect. And who do I have to pay to get a flying windmill island of my own?
7. El Manana - Best track on the album by far, and it's in my top 10 favorite Gorillaz songs (maybe I should post that somewhere?) It's a stunning piece of chamber pop and I'm really into how the string section accentuates the track. It feels kind of like a preview, alongside the next track, of the musical direction of The Good, The Bad, and the Queen that was recorded after the sessions for this album and released almost two years later. The odd time signatures make this track very feel unique. I really love the imagery that this song creates, one of stormy days and loneliness, of long nights of self-reflection, finding yourself trapped in thoughts and feeling lost and powerless. It envokes a man who's lost something, or everything he held dear, preying to some higher power and hoping to restore happiness or a sense of well-being to their life. It's truly a masterpiece that deserves to be mentioned among the greats in the animated group's career, and Danger Mouse's finest work on the record.
8. Every Planet We Reach is Dead - First of all, is this the best Gorillaz song name or what? The title feels like it would be for some post-apocalyptic psychological horror sci-fi film that becomes a cult megahit after doing mediocre in the box office that everyone who's seen it says that everyone else "just didn't get it." This is also the best use of the string section on this album, because they add so much gravity to this track, making it feel otherworldly and even theatrical. Ike Turner's piano feels very sporadic and the synths unorganized, leaving in its wake a cacophony that can be heard out in SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE. It feels grand, it feels bold, it feels chaotic, and it feels fascinating. This is 2D baring his soul for what's left of the world to see. I can truly bask in this song's emotion, get myself lost in its world as I am swept up in its world. It gives me chills, lots of chills.
9. November Has Come - MF DOOM. That is All.
Ok, maybe that can't be it, right? Of any of the guests here, MF DOOM dominates the track he is on the most. With his staple flow and odd lyricism, he makes his presence on the album known without compromising anything. There's some pretty nice guitar here from Noodle and 2D delivers a fine hook, adding to the dark atmosphere, but all other aspects of the track just pale in comparison to DOOM doing what he does best on the track. Everyone's favorite supervillain doesn't disappoint with his dastardly deeds here.
10. All Alone - "I've finally found a place where I can be alllll..... ALONE." 2D takes a backseat here, even moreso than on the last track. Roots Manuva and Martina Topley Bird take up the majority of the track. May I say that Martina's part is heavenly? The hard hitting synth beat ceases, almost like a slew of lights are pointing directly at Martina during her voice as the string section plays and Noodle strums along. It almost feels like there was a faint glimmer of light in this bleak world, before harshly getting pulled away from it before the listener gets too comfortable basking within it and finding themselves trapped in darkness once more. Let's not forget the other collaborator, Roots Manuva. His bars are nothing short of passionate and fit really nicely into the groove from the synths. He's definitely one of the best performers on the record for sure.
11. White Light - So I read this comic a month or so ago called Buzzkill. It was a miniseries about a superhero who got his power from abusing drugs and, relevant to this next song, alcohol. This feels like the track that would be going through the main character's head as he fought crime. He became reliant on this alcohol, he needed it to generate his powers, even if it was destroying him. Now it's all I can think of when this song comes on. Otherwise, White Light feels like a throwback of sorts, going back to 1999 when Blur's 13 was released. It was an album that shocked fans, both newer and older. 13 had a sound much heavier, more abrasive and definitely less commercial friendly than anything the Albarn-led quartet had released before. It's sound leaned much more heavily towards punk rock and art rock, mixed with experimentation with keyboards and synths that would eventually lead to the experimentation found on the self-titled Gorillaz album. White Light calls back to this era with its wailing guitars and simplistic synths. It's not too unlike tracks like B.L.U.R.E.M.I. or Battle in a way, it's just given the Danger Mouse touch. It also has another "looking towards the light" moment like All Alone did, as the electric guitar is swapped out for an acoustic one and 2D is replaced by a lovely choir that slows things down for a moment before picking right back up where it started. The band is all around sounding great here, with Russel's pounding drums and Murdoc's bass sliding alongside.
12. DARE - I guess this album needed more singles? DARE encourages you to get up and dance along like Noodle is in the very well animated music video for it. It's an odd switch from the punk rock of White Light and an even weirder transition to the next track I'll be talking about, but that doesn't mean it doesn't serve a purpose. It's a lighter song on the album, one where you don't quite feel like you're trapped in the gloom and doom of a deserted dystopia even as the catchy lyrics might be saying something about peer pressure. It's got a pretty OK chorus and an alright instrumental to dance along to. Shaun Ryder is certainly a cool addition and bounces off of Noodle well. It's almost like this song lures you into a sense of comfort before the rag quickly gets taken from under you later on....
13. Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head - The instrumental hits hard on here. I mean REALLY hard. I'm pinning that one on Russel being on his A-game here in possibly his finest moment on the album. Dennis Hopper also completely nails it on the head with his spoken word tale of invaders intruding on peaceful creatures and bringing darkness into their lives. "There were no screams. There was no time. The Mountain called Monkey had spoken. There was only Fire and then... nothing." That line especially is delivered super well. This is one of the more politically charged tracks on the album, except unlike Dirty Harry the relations to the foreign wars for oil and resources is portrayed through tales of strange creatures. 2D after Hopper's last line talks about a small town in the USA to firmly ground the album back into reality. If it didn't before, it will now. Maybe this horrific, violent, polluted world isn't quite a sci-fi premise, but something very near. The demon days are now, in every town in America, and possibly the world at large as it succumbs to darkness. Brilliantly done, Gorillaz.
14. Don't Get Lost in Heaven - Corruption is everyone, and 2D notices it, from the cities to the mountaintops. A choir warns against going too far into the world of addiction, because it might be a world one may never return from, at least not fully intact. The piano is very lovely on here, but this song acts less as an individual chapter in the saga of Demon Days and more as part one of the final track....
15. Demon Days - The crossfade is incredible and every moment of this song is absolutely breathtaking. Never has any piece of music since Kom Susser Tod stirred up so many chills in me, from the beginning strings to 2D's falsetto to the choir in its full intensity to the almost reggae influence in the beat change. This song is brewing with pathos. Everything comes to a head here, all the lessons learned from the album are wrapped up, telling tales of the world becoming worse with each passing day. How does humanity respond to all this horror? They don't. They numb themselves with mindless forms of escapism just for a day, an hour, a minute or even a sliver of a second away from things. If you find distraction, than the realities can become seem much farther away. But maybe, just maybe, it's not too late. What if there's still...hope? Maybe, just maybe, we can turn our heads around and see that there's a light. It's a light that's burning so brightly because it represents all the optimism and goodwill and pride and hope and happiness and humanity that can be found on earth. Even when it seems like the world is so hopeless, maybe we can all just look to the sun, observing just what exactly makes earth so great to begin with, and start to pick up pieces from there. It's a brand new day after all.
It's certainly been a great experience revisiting this album and being able to put my thoughts into words. It's works like these that motivate me to write, so that each and every day I can get just a little bit better, a little bit more wise in my use of words, to be able to truly convey my experiences and even understand myself more in the process. This album is simply a masterpiece that defies all genres and expectations to create something that's still just as groundbreaking and relevant now as it was in 2005, and I will never not be astonished by that fact. I hope that I did this album justice, and that the people who end up stumbling upon my blog who somehow never heard Demon Days do. It's a modern masterpiece of music and animation that cannot be praised more. Thank you for your time.
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Circle of Friendz - Human(z?)
Ok, so that was a minute. Haven't made anything resembling a proper blog post with proper structure since June 28th, when I tried cashing in on the hype of The Now Now with my own two cents on the album. Hopefully my writing chops, minimal as they are, haven't gotten weak. Back to business with the Circle of Friendz!
Who is this by? Rag'n'Bone Man
What did he do for Gorillaz? Sung on The Apprentice, found on the deluxe version of Humanz.
When was this released? February 10, 2016
Where was this recorded? somewhere in the UK during 2015-2016
Why is should you listen to this?
Rag'n'Bone is the most recent to the music scene of the artists I have covered thus far. Human is his debut, and so far only, full-length album. He also had some EPs, both solo and with collabs, but this is his first major outing. Damn, is it a great first impression! Speaking of great first impressions, the opening track Human certainly works as one for themes the album comes back to later. It's a song of, simply put, humanity. It's about how the narrator isn't some holy power that everyone can come to thinking that their problems can be solved, getting mad when he gets honest in his responses. This record seems to cycle through different parts of humanity, such has family on the tracks Life in Her Yet and Odetta and death in the tracks Lay My Body and Die Easy. The album seems the most focused on love and relationships, both ones that are failing or have failed like in Fade to Nothing or Skin or relationships that are on smoother waters like As You Are. I think this diversity in subject matter under the very basic premise of an album around humanity works well with the diversity in sound thanks to the several different producers. It all meshes well together for the most part, thanks to the almost divine voice of Rag'n'Bone Man. He's got this really deep, soulful voice that brings with it this power to each track. His vocals nail whatever emotion he's trying to envoke, be it loneliness, hope, anger or anything else.
I will say however that I'm not big on the track Wolves. It's just an OK track, certainly not one of my favorites on this record but it's not untolerable. I just feel like it's darker sound doesn't quite fit inbetween the smoother sounds from the rest of the album, particularly the two tracks it sandwiches itself inbetween, Lay My Body and Healed. I wouldn't mind seeing Healed and Lay My Body switch places after removing Wolves. Healed could work as a good way to complete a character arc for the narrator, finding a light in darkness and feeling, well, healed! Lay My Body would still work as a reminder that no matter what, all humans have to pass on, some in darker ways than others like a suicide. Healed would be like the Good End to Lay My Body's Bad End, like in a visual novel where two different routes lead to different results.
Even with this minor setback here, there's still a great album within this. So many great tracks about different parts of the human experience can be found here, and the instrumentals are all strong. Special props goes to Odetta, which gives me some Everyday Robots vibes from its beat (and it almost sounds like 2D is on backing vocals?) The effects on Skin are really cool in the first verse and bridge with that muffled effect to the instrumental. Be the Man is another one of my favorites here, having this really nice beat that doesn't leave your head and a nice message about having faith in a relationship to boot. He may just be a rag and bones, but he certainly has more than enough backbone and support to have a bright future ahead of him in the industry. I'll be cheering him on all the way.
I give Human by Rag'n'Bone Man a 9/10.
Who is this by? Rag'n'Bone Man
What did he do for Gorillaz? Sung on The Apprentice, found on the deluxe version of Humanz.
When was this released? February 10, 2016
Where was this recorded? somewhere in the UK during 2015-2016
Why is should you listen to this?
Rag'n'Bone is the most recent to the music scene of the artists I have covered thus far. Human is his debut, and so far only, full-length album. He also had some EPs, both solo and with collabs, but this is his first major outing. Damn, is it a great first impression! Speaking of great first impressions, the opening track Human certainly works as one for themes the album comes back to later. It's a song of, simply put, humanity. It's about how the narrator isn't some holy power that everyone can come to thinking that their problems can be solved, getting mad when he gets honest in his responses. This record seems to cycle through different parts of humanity, such has family on the tracks Life in Her Yet and Odetta and death in the tracks Lay My Body and Die Easy. The album seems the most focused on love and relationships, both ones that are failing or have failed like in Fade to Nothing or Skin or relationships that are on smoother waters like As You Are. I think this diversity in subject matter under the very basic premise of an album around humanity works well with the diversity in sound thanks to the several different producers. It all meshes well together for the most part, thanks to the almost divine voice of Rag'n'Bone Man. He's got this really deep, soulful voice that brings with it this power to each track. His vocals nail whatever emotion he's trying to envoke, be it loneliness, hope, anger or anything else.
I will say however that I'm not big on the track Wolves. It's just an OK track, certainly not one of my favorites on this record but it's not untolerable. I just feel like it's darker sound doesn't quite fit inbetween the smoother sounds from the rest of the album, particularly the two tracks it sandwiches itself inbetween, Lay My Body and Healed. I wouldn't mind seeing Healed and Lay My Body switch places after removing Wolves. Healed could work as a good way to complete a character arc for the narrator, finding a light in darkness and feeling, well, healed! Lay My Body would still work as a reminder that no matter what, all humans have to pass on, some in darker ways than others like a suicide. Healed would be like the Good End to Lay My Body's Bad End, like in a visual novel where two different routes lead to different results.
Even with this minor setback here, there's still a great album within this. So many great tracks about different parts of the human experience can be found here, and the instrumentals are all strong. Special props goes to Odetta, which gives me some Everyday Robots vibes from its beat (and it almost sounds like 2D is on backing vocals?) The effects on Skin are really cool in the first verse and bridge with that muffled effect to the instrumental. Be the Man is another one of my favorites here, having this really nice beat that doesn't leave your head and a nice message about having faith in a relationship to boot. He may just be a rag and bones, but he certainly has more than enough backbone and support to have a bright future ahead of him in the industry. I'll be cheering him on all the way.
I give Human by Rag'n'Bone Man a 9/10.
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
It's Freedom Day
Hey Hey It's FREEDOM DAY in the land of the burger that we call America! So how's everyone been doing? Grilling, fireworks (I'll be seeing that movie on saturday!), deep frying things, grilling after deep frying things? Wait shit I dunno if anyone is actually reading this but whatever because IT'S AMERICA DAY and I'm off and I'm doing very american things like watching Teen Titans because somehow I just remembered an hour ago that there was a fourth of july episode of Teen Titans (and I mean the original and not GO but maybe GO has one but I dont care about that right now) and it's called REVOLUTION!!! I had those three exclamation points because they're like the three colors of the flag even though I'm not even using those other two colors because I don't know but blue is cool and the color of cool people such as myself so let's roll with it. So this episode is basically about Mad Mod basically hypnotizes everyone in Jump City to be all British and shit and the ALL AMERICAN ANIME INFLUENCED Teen Titans to start KICKING BRITISH ASS (oh my god can I say that its a cristian blog and i have my parents permission pleas dont tell my mom oh gofd please) I like that this was better than the first Mad Mod episode which was shit other than the montage which was based. Speaking of based this whole episode is about KICKING BRITISH ASS which is absolutely based (oh fuck im sorry uk im sorry i like your music honest) and STarfire is all cool and shit giving out her monologue about compromise which is by the by FUCKING BASED AND WHAT AMERICA BASICALLY IS. The background is all sketchy and looks like old drawings of London and stuff and it looks cool but what's cooler are the Teen Titans KICKING BRITISH ARSE! Beast boy's british accent in this episode is basically what i imagine in my head when I give out interviews for my totally real and not imagined platinum selling album witha five season cartoon tie in where I talk about the creative process and the state of the animation and music industries combined and people love me on youtube and write essays about my taste in anime on 4chan. Beast Boy was still dropping some truth bombs about the real ass tea party that THE MAN doesnt want the people to know because they got something to hide. We know you have something to hide, THE MAN, I know.
so basically teen titans is good and cartoon network is better than Nick. Thanks you all and have a happy freedom day
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA and i love this echo effect doesn't this look like an echo it's so based
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