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visualtaehyun · 4 months

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When you get this you have to answer with 5 of your fav songs and then tag your mutuals to do the same :) (no pressure <3)

Tagged by @chickenstrangers @twig-tea @thegalwhorants - thanks y'all ☺️ please never stop tagging me in music games, I love discovering and sharing music <3

I'm cheating here but a lot of my fav songs are OSTs so to not give myself a headache give the rest a fighting chance, I'm gonna choose 5 favs, excluding OSTs, and 5 only-OST favs!

ดาวหางฮัลเลย์ - fellow fellow

/daao haang Halley/

youtube

This song has not released me from its clutches since I first heard it during the musical portion of the ZeeNuNew concert last year. I love the lyrics and the vibes so so much. 🥹

ติดฝน - PiXXiE

/dtit fon/

youtube

I. LOVE. THESE. GIRLS! They're so talented! I legit struggled with which song of theirs to choose but I'm most obsessed with this one these days and, recently, I keep hearing people I follow sing it or play it as background music. Case in point: Keng Harit, Domundi gen 3, singing it on an IG live.

ฉันมันเป็นคนแบบนี้ - Boom Saharat

/chan man bpen khohn baaep nee/

youtube

The weirdest thing happened: I was listening to NuNew's cover of this song (listen- I'm aware I discover a lot of songs through him but he IS my favorite performer dsjshdhhs) and got real confused because I was able to sing along right away but cannot for the life of me recall how I knew this song already! I hadn't seen the MV, no one I follow seems to have covered it, and I didn't know the artist at all?? It remains a mystery to me but I've played it endlessly since then. New Thitipoom stars in the MV btw!

ต่อจากนี้เพลงรักทุกเพลงจะเป็นของเธอเท่านั้น - No One Else

/dtaaw jaak nee phleng rak thook phleng ja bpen khaawng ter thao nan/

youtube

I don't remember how I originally found it but it's one of those songs that routinely has me singing along. The title translates to 'From now on every love song will be yours'. I love the lyrics a lot!

Complicated - MATCHA

youtube

This is one of many songs and artists I discovered on that one afternoon-turned-evening-turned-night when I decided to start tracking down every song Amp Achariya has had a hand in (I then realized I was in over my head and that she'd worked on so. many. more. than I ever expected and that my spreadsheet skills weren't sufficient to catalog them lol). Needless to say, Matcha is incredibly talented and I've so far only scratched the surface of her discography.

Onto 5 of my fav OSTs!

ร้อยฤดูหนาว - Pond, Phuwin

/raawy reu duu naao/

youtube

I love the way this song builds with the instruments coming in one after another. I love their voices. I love the lyrics. This song was written by ณกมล ปุคคละนันท์ aka PEPPERY P who penned a lot of the My School President songs - อีกนิด (Come Closer), รักษา (Healing), พูดได้ไหม (Let Me Tell You), ก้อนหินกับดวงดาว (Rock&Star), and รักคู่ขนาน (Multi-Love). Yes, I am in fact sneakily rec'ing the MSP OST here too lol

คือเธอ - Zee, NuNew

/kheuu ter/

youtube

I could've chosen so many songs among the Cutie Pie OSTs but ended up deciding on this one because P'Pin truly wrote this song to highlight both their vocal talents and it shows. ✨️ He works a lot with Domundi artists (especially ZeeNuNew) and FreenBecky, writing songs and OSTs for them and arranging songs for them for concerts - his IG is full of song insights and singing snippets if you like any of these artists!

ภาพสุดท้าย - William Jakrapatr

/phaap sut thaai/

youtube

Do I even need to explain? It's an Amp Achariya song, the lyrics are beautiful, the meaning within the show is so !! and this LYKN boy right here kills it with his performance. 👏

แค่เธอ - Jeff Satur

/khaae ter/

youtube

I'm not a KP girlie and this song wasn't even on my radar when I watched the show. I kinda rediscovered it a few months later, most likely either by going through Jeff's discography or maybe through Joong Archen singing it on an IG live (I realize it must look like I sit and watch a shit ton of IG lives but the honest truth is that I don't even use IG, I just stumble upon clips on twt and YT a lot lol). And boy howdy did Jeff's writing strike a chord! Don't get me wrong, the English version is nice too and all but it doesn't come close to the Thai lyrics and how well they flow with the melody, Jeff really outdid himself there!

คู่คอง - Kong Huayrai

/khuu khaawng/

youtube

นาคี is not a drama I've seen and, yes, I again know this song through a NuNew cover lol but I really wanted to make sure to include a ลูกทุ่ง (Luk Thung) song because I love this genre. This song is extra special because the lyrics are in Isan, which is a Northeastern Thai dialect (though it's actually far closer to Lao than Central Thai). I routinely get this song stuck in my head.

/end of Thai music ramble

I'm sure I'm late to the party again so if you've been tagged already, please kindly ignore this or point me towards your post. ✨️ Tagging @raktae @sunshinechay @btwinlines @zimmbzon @airenyah @rocketturtle4 @telomeke and whoever sees this and wants in on the fun~

#tag game #thai music #tpop

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bestgameostcrownduel · 5 months

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Round 1, Side B: Silent Hill 2 (2001) vs Fire Emblem: Awakening (2012)

Silent Hill | Fire Emblem

Campaigns under the cut!

Campaign for Silent Hill:

Akira Yamaoka makes such excellent use of samples throughout the soundtrack to the point where you would have never even known he did unless you listen in very closely. We got some of the most iconic tracks like the Day of Night, Promise (Reprise) or Null Moon on the track listing. Not all the soundtracks are haunting and mellow, sometimes it's broken up by absolutely dreadful tracks like Ashes and Ghost with its suspenseful fast paced drum beats and an eerie absence of instruments otherwise. Listen I think the Silent Hill 2 soundtrack overall has just done more for us as a society and is just more iconic. Silent Hill 2 SWEEP

Campaign for Fire Emblem:

Don't Speak Her Name is incredible even as a standalone composition, but it's truly fucking magical as an example of video game music. There's other pieces in the OST obviously but I've been obsessed with Don't Speak Her Name for about a decade now. Some context: FE Awakening (aka FE13) is a turn based JRPG, and in terms of combat music, there's two tracks for most pieces - one that plays when you're zoomed out and seeing the chess-like overview of the map, and an embellished version that is seamlessly transitioned into and out of when your units make an attack and the camera zooms in on them. (It's a little hard to explain in words, so if you're curious you can look up a gameplay video.) There's also a third track that plays whenever it's the enemy's turn. Story spoilers here on out! The ruling queen of the kingdom you're fighting for is taken hostage by the enemy kingdom, whose king demands the Fire Emblem (important macguffin) in exchange for her. The queen instead jumps off a cliff, becoming a martyr to both her kingdom and the enemy kingdom. In the fight afterwards, Don't Speak Her Name is the track that plays for the entire fight - while you're zoomed out, while you're zoomed in, and even on the enemy's turn, because the enemy is just as reluctant to fight as you are. The title of the track comes from the protagonist of the game, the queen's brother, who is furious at the enemy commander for talking about his sister. I can't do the moment justice by just describing it - Don't Speak Her Name is so fucking good in and of itself, but I also think it's a superb example of the narrative power music can wield AND an example of the unique way games, as an interactive medium, can exploit the intersection of mechanical-musical structure to enhance their narratives. FE13 sets up the expectation of out-of-combat + in-combat + enemy turn tracks, so when Don't Speak Her Name breaks that expectation it communicates something. So so cool.

#polls #round 1 #side b #best game ost crown duel #silent hill #silent hll 2 #sh2 #fire emblem awakening #fe13 #fe:a #fire emblem

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odnson · 1 year

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two tag games involving fic stuff under this

one line any fic! rules: pick ten of your fics, scroll to somewhere midpoint, pick a line chunk and share it, and then tag ten people.

tagged by @b1uetrees, thank u so much!! i’m a little late but i finally got the time!! i don’t think i can pick 10 fics tho; i’ll get to posting a 10th fic someday. 😂 also not putting the entire titles because i’m on mobile 💀

1. this one is from rivers aka one that is still very dear to my heart 😂

Instead of saying anything, Joowon chooses to act: he lets his breath ghost Dongsik’s nape, watching the hairs there stand before he leans in and kisses the skin between his shoulder blades, at the first knob that formed his spine.

2. this is perhaps my fave line from hook, only because i have a vivid image of ds tearing down the walls caging yy’s remains with his hands after he saw there 👀

Dongsik knows how to be gentle, but sweetness eludes him.

3. to the sun features jw and hyuk having a moment and looking back, i still like it so:

Joowon is steadily working past all these preformed prejudices in his mind, and he’s long realized that he’s been treating Hyuk like shit because he never saw Hyuk’s concern for him as something sincere.

4. from waterworn wishes, aka perhaps me at my cheesiest

Dongsik wonders if this is how it feels to be loved.

5. from tall ships, which i think still has the intro i’m really proud of:

There’s no guitar, but Dongsik’s heart sings nonetheless.

6. from as the world, one of my stuff that i look at rarely, but doing this fic meme thing reminded me that i had this bit in it

It takes him back to the reed fields, to wind against his hair as he tugged Joowon away from meeting the brunt of it.

7. this one is from company policy, and i really like it only because i think it hones in on the fact that jw is the “get out of my school” meme the moment he developed a crush 😂😂😂

He hates how everyone is entitled to Lee Dongsik’s kindness, but his dislike is reserved only for him.

8. this is part of wasted love’s summary, but eh, i think it says a lot about my hcs about these two lmao

The longer he remained here, the more he realized that this was exactly where they differed: Han Joowon was capable of loving only one person, but Lee Dongsik possessed a heart too big to love just one.

9. from qualm, the only fic i have that had the scenes flowing in a pace that didn’t require any separator, which, i think, is really interesting fsr bec i never trusted myself to have a piece that had one cohesive flow

There is no torrential downpour soaking them, no more darkened, dusty basement concealing decades-old secrets, and still Han Joowon is pleading.

second meme starts here, the fic writer interview. @b1uetrees was very kind to tag me once again, thanks very much!! 💕

name/nicknames: j

fandoms: be nowadays; gotta love how insane those characters made me

two shots: hmmmm to the sun and hook, perhaps? hook is so self-indulgent lmfao i wanted service top jw shaving off ds’ stubble and it was so specific that i knew i had to do it myself if i wanted it to exist 😂😂😂 to the sun was also self-indulgent, (all my stuff are lbr) but not as much as hook, i think. it did have jw in eyeliner tho, which ngl, i wrote for me 😂

most popular multi-chapter fic: exec horny/company policy 😂😂😂😂 funnily enough, it was 50k when i completed it and i thought “yeah i can post this in chunks” because i like finishing stories before posting, but idk. sth happened and it turned into an 80k thing somewhere along the way.

actual worst part of writing: oh, writing itself, i guess. like, wdym i gotta do it myself and that idea won’t spring out of my head fully formed like athena?? what

how do you choose your titles: unless something fits for the whole thing (like company policy), i go through a bunch of instrumental osts

do you outline? the better question would be “do u follow the outline” imo because that’s when i’ll start sweating 😂😂😂 i mean i do outline, but only for significant stuff i’ll likely forget (covid did me so bad and gave me horrible brain fog), but how to get from one plot point to another…………i wing that most of the time 💀💀💀

ideas you probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?: mafia au, i stg, i did this little meme re: zodiacs and battery percentages on the cursed bird app and it revealed a “gang au” which is basically the same thing?? yeah. i do have an idea for it and the whole vibes, but wdym i gotta sit down for it to see it happen? 🙃

callouts @ me: ur phone is not a suitable device for writing

best writing traits: i think it’s the fact that i always write for me 😂 like, i write what compels me, what i want to see, what i enjoy. other ppl liking it is a very nice bonus, but me liking it has to be the most important factor here. i’d hate for the joy of writing to be taken away from me.

spicy tangential opinion: this might come as a shock to some ppl but if u don’t like sth, pressing the backspace key usually makes the thing go away. also if u’re going to be nasty to some fics, do it in ur dms and gcs and not on the cursed bird app bec u don’t know who sees those and don’t, ffs, bookmark the fic and tag it with “meh” or put a rating 💀💀💀 i’ve seen these things happen and with all due respect to ppl who do these: wtf is wrong with u??? (if u dont have gcs or frens to trashtalk stuff with then guess what, u’re probably a nasty fandom police that everyone has blocked)

not tagging folks bec i think everyone has done this by now 😂😂😂 if anyone wants to do it tho, say u’re tagged by me!! 💕

#tag game #very late to this but thats life for u #also no if u know me on twi u dont; i refuse to interact there #i use that app to see impressive art tagged ‘rkgk’ and look like they can be on louvre #text

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nachosncheeze · 2 years

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Music of Blindspot

The music of Blindspot 2x10 - Nor I, Nigel, AKA Leg In Iron

Another one that's several weeks delayed, but I'm still catching up on the rewatch, and honestly this episode is SO INTENSE that it's hard to focus on any one thing at any moment!

This week's post is fairly short and mostly nonsense. This ep has a lot of borrowing and recycling of sounds from different season 1 tracks and although they're largely in bigger, more identifiable chunks than previous season 2 episodes, there's very little that strikes me as particularly compelling in terms of themes. I feel like I should state again that I'm by no means a music critic, composer, or anything remotely in that realm, but my impression as a Dork Who Likes Soundtracks is that they were probably going more for feelings and ambiance rather than actual callbacks and references. Either that or the holidays and omicron have rotted my brain (eminently possible tbh), because if they're there, I'm not hearing them this week. Links will be sparing but there'll be at least a couple.

As always, all music is composed by Blake Neely and Sherri Chung; I’m getting nothing out of this except an excuse to re-watch with my own little auditory memory mini-game. Please don’t do anything shady with the YouTube links; I don’t want to get the OPs in trouble or we could lose access to this awesome content. Also note that linked music recycled from season 1 was released on an official soundtrack, which is still purchasable on iTunes etc. And it's good to support the things we love! :D

Post is behind a cut, because it’s long and at this point, almost entirely spoilers. :D

~~~~~

When Thornton is confessing to Patterson (tied to a table) about why he joined Sandstorm - for his late wife - the music is not the same but reminds me a lot of Ultimate Polygraph in 2x01 - different melody but similar sound/instruments/structure from the moment when Nas asked about Oscar, and Jane's (tied to a chair) confession really got underway. This comment means absolutely nothing, I just thought it's neat. There are a lot of instances of "similar but different" between Jane and Borden apart from their shared history; for example Patterson's attempt to arrest him at the end of the previous episode ("FBI, you're under arrest... whoever you are") struck me as a really similar vibe to "So if Taylor Shaw is dead, who the hell are you?" at the end of 1x23.

The fight in the diner is a veritable root veg mash of season 1 fight scene sounds. I'm not gonna try to tease that apart, but if you think it's funky try tracks from season 1 like "Field Trip" or "Exploding Art" or "No Love in an Elevator".

We're still getting a lot of Torn Apart sans "The Truth Can Save You" (season 1) elements. On first watch, it was around this point where I really started to think of Torn Apart as the "Roman and Remi" theme specifically as opposed to "Jane is conflicted" or "Jane's past/family" more generally, because it increasingly centers around Roman and ditches the "Jellery" bit.

So here's something not really related to this episode but I don't know why I haven't said before now (and it's gonna get weirder the longer I put it off... really I should do a season 1 OST post at some point): when I say "Jellery" bit, I'm of course referring to elements (esp. perc) borrowed from The Truth Can Save You, which we call the Jeller Theme because it tends to come up whenever Jeller are having Very Emotional Shippy Moments. But Torn Apart isn't the first track to borrow it: you can hear a variation on the same underpinning "Learn to Trust" (also from the season 1 OST)... which is the piece from the end of 1x11 when Jane goes to meet Oscar for the first time... and that borrowed "Jellery" bit I keep referring to kicks in right when she's at the crossroads deciding whether to go to the park or to the tower.

When Shepherd first starts interrogating Patterson - There's nothing I'm picking up on here specifically that's of note, but I'm listing it anyway because it (especially the piano near the end, as she's first introducing the needle) very vaguely made me think of Departed Host and I got nostalgic and wanted to highlight that amazing track because imo it's one of the best standalones from S1 and everyone should listen to it absent the dialogue at least once. That is a run-on sentence and a half and my English teachers would be scandalized, so I may as well compound their suffering by continuing this sentence ad infinitum as well, and tell you that's the piece from the end of 1x20 that covers the montage of Mayfair's hotel suite date with Alexandra, Jeller and Sawyer playing Uno, Jane spying on Oscar, and Mayfair discovering Alexandra's body.

#blindspot #blindspot 2x10 #blindspot rewatch 2021 #blindspot rewatch #blindspot ost #music of blindspot #blindspot s2 spoilers #i was hungry when i proofread this okay?#i have half-assed #nachos blindspot oc

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ziggyzagreus · 3 years

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do you have a favorite piece of music from the game? what about a favorite level? (tartarus, asphodel, etc.)

OOH this is such a good one!!!

Music is really important to me, as well as one of my favorite parts of the game, so I don’t have a particular favorite, there are so many things I like about each piece. I will list the ones that actually made me stop and listen the first time I heard them, though!!

I also listen to these when I write and study 😳 I have an entire Hades-themed playlist on Spotify that includes the actual OST as well as songs I listen to that make me think of the characters...

Anyways!

The opening title, “No Escape.” The first time I heard it was when I opened the game and I almost crapped myself, it was so cool. Every time I open the game, I always have to wait till 00:08 for that first base line because that shit hits differenttttt at 2 am on weekends which is when I play this game. 10/10 good shit.

“Lament of Orpheus,” the first song we hear Orpheus actually sing... It’s so beautiful, and I’ve always personally loved the actual myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, so hearing that in such a haunting tune tugged at my heartstrings in a particular way. I’ve heard some people find Orpheus’ voice annoying???? But I really love it. It sounds like mist. It’s terrifying in such a heartbreaking way and very fitting for his character.

“From Olympus,” or better known as “that song that plays when you find Patroclus and he’s muttering about his lost husband.” I love the cadence of this piece because it’s very fitting of Patroclus’ vibes - it’s downtrodden, paced and methodical, there’s a tune to living in it, but it lacks any jarring beats that the other tracks have. I feel like it really encapsulates Patroclus’ dead inside vibes and I love that for him tbh. Very mellow, very chill, very soothing in my opinion.

“Good Riddance,” both Eurydice’s solo version as well as the duet with Orpheus. Again, the first time I heard it, I was absolutely stunned that they had like - good songs with lyrics in this game, so I just stood outside her door for 2 minutes to hear the whole thing. Every time I meet Eurydice I stay to listen to her song before going inside. If you guys can’t tell from my Icarus OC Fic, Eurydice is one of my favorite characters because of how motherly and calming she is. I feel so safe in her presence, and that’s not an exaggeration - even IRL I get a sense of peace when hearing her sing. This song is also in my Crying playlist on Spotify, as it hit me in a personal emotional spot as well as a Good OST spot.

“Final Expense” holy shit, Charon’s theme HITS DIFFERENT. It has like - a dual effect on me. On one hand, I get the same feeling from it as I do Eurydice’s song - I feel very safe and content listening to that tune, and I feel very safe in Charon’s shop. This piece is in one of my “so you’re crying about school and need to calm down and feel safe” playlists, it’s just got that wholesome effect on me. But it also makes me want to go fuck around in a Spencer’s store with my friends, or go to an arcade, and I love that too.

“Final Expense (Payback Mix)” AKA Charon Drip. That shit hits so hard. I love it so fucking much and I fucking love fighting Charon in Erebus anywaysssssss

“Hymn to Zagreus,” if you guys can’t tell, I love Orpheus’ voice so much... and I love the legend of Zagreus anyways!! This song is just so fucking cool and brings so much new edge to the story and Zagreus’ origin (as well as his connection to Dionysus like holy heck aahHHHhhhHHhhHh) i love it sooo much

“Last Words” I LOVE THANATOS SO MUCH. The first time I heard his voice I had to put down the game to process how much I loved him, and so I associate his theme very much with that experience. I love the harpsichord in it, and how the theme itself is very different compared to the other tracks - it has a lot more modern instrumentation, as well as just a generally different and more dangerous, energizing vibe to it and I love that so so so so so much.

“The King and the Bull” I don’t have much to say on this except Theseus and Asterius is my favorite boss fight so I just love this track haha

“On the Coast” I just.... I cried the first time I reached the surface and once again, I associate this tune with that experience. And the sunrise and the snow, just... wow. Just wow, you know? Also I can’t tell if that’s an oboe or an English Horn but I think it’s an english horn - either way I love double-reeded instruments. (Or if it’s a soprano sax then good on them, I have so much respect for sop sax players)

“In the Blood” is just.... so good. And Orpheus and Eurydice duetting hits me in the feelings so hard. I also love this song because it brings so much explanation to the game as a whole, like - Zagreus is the fucking life of the Underworld and that has SO many deep connotations that I have pages on pages of headcanons/thoughts written out about... it’s so cool... wow. Just wow, you know? Also that lyric “Run all you like from the place you belong...” is such a haunting line, it just - wow. Wow. WOW.

I realize I just went on a full rant about most of those pieces to the point that I just started typing “wow” to make up for not having words, but music is very very important to me so I think about it way too much... Anywaysssss.

As for your second question, I do have a favorite level!! Elysium!!

Tartarus is really fun for me because it’s not very hard, and I can just smash through all of the chambers... Asphodel is SO irritating because of the magma, and there’s this one chamber that is literally ONLY witches and it has island terrain and the witches always float out over the magma, so you can’t get to them unless you go out there and it’s just SO FRUSTRATING. I love the aesthetic of Asphodel but hate playing it.

And I hate the Temple of Styx just because of stupid poison and stupid rats. It’s just - not my bag.

Elysium though!!! It’s bright, it’s pretty, it’s super challenging with the levels of foes you face there, and I love seeing Pat and I love fighting Theseus and Asterius!!! I love Elysium so much... ALSO I love seeing my Good Shade!!! Every time!!!! My love....

Thank you so much for the ask, this was super fun!!!!

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radramblog · 3 years

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Album Discussion- Floral Shoppe

Haha why do y’all let me do this.

It’s been almost a decade since Macintosh Plus (aka Vektroid, aka Ramona Xavier) popularised and codified vapourwave as a genre with its first actually popular release in Floral Shoppe. Since then this sub-sub-genre has developed its own subgenres and become its own flourishing marvel of internet music culture. But Floral Shoppe itself is worth examining- not to see where it all began (I haven’t even listened to Chuck Person’s Eccojams or Far Side Virtual yet), but where most people got into the genre. The lifting off point, as it were.

So grab your Arizona ice tea (don’t, it’s fucking awful) and lets dive in.

The first track, ブート(Boot), opens with a buttery smooth cymbal and saxophone line, obviously slowed down, but evoking a level of chill few songs manage to get to for their whole duration, in a total of approximately a minute. It’s a genuinely masterful piece of music. As the vocals come in, you hear them get twisted and chopped, distorted and looped, almost jolting you out of that trance, until it’s clear that the lyrics aren’t lyrics but another instrument, you get used to the nonsense, and you’re back in the zone. The looping with some of the instrumentation makes parts of it feel almost clockwork-like, in a very satisfying manner- especially as the majority of it gets muffled and you realise that opening bass/sax line has been running through the entire time. While the next track on this album tends to get most of the attention, I genuinely think Boot deserves just as much praise.

リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー (Lisa Frank 420/Modern Computing) is another one of those tracks where it’s just like, what could I possibly say about this that hasn’t been said. If you’re reading this, there’s basically no way you haven’t heard this song, so you know what I’m on about. It’s the quintessential vapourwave track, even if it’s showing its age a bit. It’s just so perfect. When I decided to write about Floral Shoppe, I didn’t really want to spend too much time here- me saying “hey I like this song everyone knows” isn’t the most interesting thing on the planet, I guess. I will say, it’s one of the few vapourwave songs you can actually sing along to, and that’s fun as heck.

Also, the lyric is “it’s all in your hands”, not “it’s all in your head”. To be fair, though, the distortion doesn’t help.

The album’s next track is 花の専門店 (Floral Shoppe, hey I didn’t know this album had a title song), a track that heavily relies on this really panned synth (you can’t even hear that on the left ear) and a lot of looping the same bit over and over again. Honestly, the first minute of this song gets a little grating, but it really picks up after that. It’s really fun and jazzy for a solid minute there, a lovely instrumental you can just groove to in your head. The fade out on this piece lasts wayyy too long for my liking, though- a full half minute of outro feels a little indulgent for this one.

Track four, ライブラリ (Library) is lowkey one of my favourites on the album- The slowed vocals work really well, and the instrumentation feels extremely deliberate and methodical. I think my biggest complaint with this song is just that it’s too short, considering Lisa Frank 420 is literally triple it’s length. But I suppose part of this project is how variable the track lengths are- it seems Vektroid was keen to work with these until she was out of ideas, and no longer, and I can’t help but respect that.

地理 (Geography) sounds substantially darker than the previous tracks, with incredibly low drones and a main line that… I mean I dunno how low it is but that shit is definitely in a minor key, you know. It’s also the sparsest track so far, with much more restraint in layering than anything else I can think of on the album. The atmosphere of this is heavy- I don’t know why, but it reminds me of that really creepy loading screen on the fuckin Magic School Bus goes inside the body Edutainment game. That’s probably a bit of a weird connection, but if you played that shit, you know how fucking eerie it’s soundtrack was, and that’s a bit of the vibe I’m getting from this track.

Our next track is a direct nod to Floral Shoppe’s predecessors in ECCOと悪寒ダイビング (Chill diving with ECCO), a reference to the aforementioned Chuck Person’s Eccojams Vol. 1 (itself a reference to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive game Ecco the Dolphin), and Chill is absolutely right. While many vapour/synthwave pieces are more about entering an aesthetic or a vibe than actually listening to the music, as far as Floral Shoppe goes, that’s most true with this track. It’s also the third longest track here (behind Lisa Frank 420 and the next song), and while it doesn’t develop as much as one would hope based on that (or much at all), spending so long vibing out in a track like this is completely appropriate.

I’m going to be honest, I don’t care too much for the next track, 数学 (Mathematics). It might just be because it comes on the heels of ECCO, but the meandering in this doesn’t hit the same chord as that does. While I enjoy the saxophone on this song, all the shit going on in the background just kinda gets my anxiety going eventually. And by eventually, I mean about halfway through this near 7-minute monster. You’ve got these very chill elements that slowly get drowned out by the steadily rising and accelerating chaotic parts of the instrumentation that just take over eventually, and while it does chill back down again, that’s still a long time focussed on the worst parts of the song. This also really didn’t need to be as long as it is, considering the second half of the track is just, like, the same thing again…

We’re at track 8, and at this point I started looking at the Wikipedia page for the name translation and realising that I have no idea which song this is supposed to be. Like, the track lengths on the bandcamp suggest that this is the 2011 release and therefore this is 待機 (Standby), but it has the name of track 8 from the 2017 release, 外ギン Aviation (Foreign Banks Aviation)? This is confusing as fuck, but since this is the only track here with that issue, I’m assuming it’s actually Standby and someone fucked up somewhere. Oh right, the song itself. Well it’s fucking short, barely past a minute long, and doesn’t have too much going on. I’d call it short but sweet, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Jazzy, loungy, kinda chill. I dunno.

て(Te) feels almost out of place on this album. I mean, the vibe is similar, but the birdsongs really come out of left field. This sounds like the track you’d hear in a video game after you’re finally out of a cave you spent hours in. If the build in this weren’t so intense, I think it’d fit right in on the Minecraft OST. That’s a compliment, for what it’s worth. It’s also worth noting this light at the end of the tunnel bit was absolutely intentional, because this used to be the final track of the album. However, there’s two more here, added in a 2012 reissue (originally they were unnamed bonus tracks), so we might as well check them out.

…under no circumstances should you check out track 10, 月 (Moon). I don’t know what vocal sample that is, but it is loud, and grating, and obnoxious, and the instrumentation is not doing enough to carry the repetition through. Holy shit, this is 6 minutes long. I’m going to be honest, I skimmed through this one, and it never changes what it’s doing. This is… a bold play, I’ll give her that, but it absolutely does not pay off. This has gotta be one of the worst songs I’ve heard in a very long time. What the fuck, Ramona?

Finally, 海底 (Seabed). This… is just like Moon, in that it’s a fucked up vocal sample that is looped over and over with little changing instrumental. The key difference is this one is less bad- the vocals aren’t as jilting, the instrumentation is chiller, and it is mercifully only 2 and a bit minutes. It’s far from good, but it’s not as immediately awful. Okay, it is pretty bad. These should probably have stayed as extras- and seeing as they apparently weren’t on the physical versions of the album (in fact a bunch of these songs changed for that), Vektroid appears to agree.

So that’s Floral Shoppe, and it’s really one of those albums that kinda drags on at the end. Frontloaded with the good shit, I suppose. Moon and Seabed aside, it’s not like anything is completely awful, but after 25 or so minutes you’ve kinda gotten the point. With that said, the album is as influential as it is for good reason- the first couple tracks are phenomenal, and once you’re drawn in by those, you’re probably going to appreciate the rest of it at least a little.

Modern vapourwave basically sounds nothing like Lisa Frank 420/Modern Computing, or Floral Shoppe at all- the genre has moved past plunderphonics almost entirely at this point, and the aesthetic has shifted to a more consistent, less memeable tone. Even Macintosh Plus is going new directions- the single released in December 2019 as a teaser for Vektroid’s next project under the name sounds nothing like this album, though it is completely fucking awesome (and completely fucking batshit). While it seems like the genre itself has moved past Floral Shoppe, though, it’s still the touchstone the majority of people, especially those unfamiliar with the genre, recognize as the herald of Vapourwave. I’m pretty sure this was the first album to do the whole pink aesthetic, marble bust, computer graphics style, and clearly that’s the style everyone thinks of when they make bad vapourwave art. That’s the aesthetic this album inspired. Long may it reign.

(Ok seriously though guys go listen to VAPERROR or George Clanton or something)

#ramble #music #vaporwave #vapourwave #america stop being afraid of the letter u

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quantumlasange · 3 years

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A more refined and accurate version of my top 50 Albums of all time in no real order. This time I’m gonna go into some more detail for my choices. So if you wanna read that it’ll be after the line break.

1. Graceland - Paul Simon. This is the only album I have on CD, Cassette and Vinyl. It’s honestly a perfect album. I don’t really like ‘That Was Your Mother’ on it’s own but when hearing it as part of the album it’s great.

2. Abbey Road - The Beatles. My favorite Beatles album and I love how the B-side is knows as The Abbey Road Medley. It also has Ringo’s only Drum Solo in the entire Beatles catalog and we all know Ringo is the best Beatle. I have it on Vinyl.

3. In Step - Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Stevie Ray Vaughan is by far my favorite guitarist of all time. Every track on this album kicks ass and he put his heart and soul into every note he played. I have it on Vinyl.

4. Brothers In Arms - Dire Straits. Over all a great little rock album. I find a lot of the songs to be comforting in their own way, like “So Far Away” and “Brothers In Arms” are very comforting to me. I have it on Vinyl.

5. Winelight - Grover Washington Jr. By God this album is fucking Sexy, like holy shit. This is a more recent listen but I was missing out just listening to “Just the Two of Us” (Featuring Vocals by Bill Withers).

6. Watching You Watching Me - Bill Withers. Nelson George said that this album was I quote "full of little pleasures" and he’s damned right. There is not a single song on this album I don’t like, by far my favorite R&B album of all time. I have it on Vinyl.

7. Future Development - Del the Funky Homosapien. My favorite Hip Hop/Rap album ever. Del’s flows and rhymes are on point throughout the whole album.

8. Spontaneous Inventions - Bobby McFerrin. A live album that you wouldn’t think was live since there’s little to no crowd noise. A great Vocal Jazz album showcasing how Bobby McFerrin can use his voice as an instrument all it’s own. I have it on Vinyl.

9. Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic. This is kinda cheating since it’s a Box Set of every album Weird Al made and an extra album with unreleased stuff. But I can’t choose just one Weird Al album so this will have to do.

10. The Wall - Pink Floyd. This whole Album really resonates with me and helped me understand my depression after I dropped out of college. It really has a place in my life. I have it on Vinyl.

11. Kilimanjaro - The Rippingtons. A fantastic Smooth Jazz / Jazz Fusion album. I really like Jazz Fusion and this is a great example of it. I have it on Vinyl.

12. Dreamland - Black Box. An Italo house/Eurodance album that’s my favorite in the whole house genre. Some great dance tracks on this. I have it on Vinyl.

13. Tourist in Paradise - The Rippingtons. This album came out right after Kilimanjaro and is another great example of Smooth Jazz Fusion. I have it on Vinyl.

14. Teddy Pendergrass - Teddy Pendergrass. His debut solo album and a fantastic piece of R&B. It also has the greatest break-up song ever “I Don’t Love You Anymore”. I have it on Vinyl.

15. S.O.S - The S.O.S Band. Their first album, a disco album that came out in 1980 after disco died in the USA. Was really big in Nighclubs and is a good album aside from "S.O.S. (Reprise)" which just sucks. I have it on Vinyl.

16. Purple Rain - Prince. This album is great. The guitar solo on “Purple Rain” is so good it could bring peace to the world. I have it on Vinyl.

17. Feels So Good - Chuck Mangione. A fantastic Smooth Jazz / Easy Listning. album "Hide and Seek (Ready or Not Here I Come)", “Feels So Good” and "The XIth Commandment" are just outstanding. I have it on Vinyl.

18. Elementary - Wah Wah Watson. Melvin M. Ragin’s only solo album. This is pure Jazz Funk at it’s best. I’ve used this album cover as an Icon online for years, I love it. I have it on Vinyl.

19. Rumours - Feetwood Mac. There’s only one track on this album that I don’t like and it’s "Oh Daddy”. I feel like that song just brings the whole album down emotionally. Other wise this albums pretty damn good. I have it on Vinyl.

20. Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030. Del the Funky Homosapien, producer Dan the Automator, and DJ Kid Koala made a fantastic Hip-Hop/Rap opera Concept album. The story of a city in the dystopian year of 3030.

21. Kisses on The Bottom - Paul McCartney. I caught this at like 2am on PBS' Great Performances one night in like 2013 maybe 2014 and fell in love with it. It’s mainly songs Paul McCartney grew up listening to and he wrote 2 songs in that style and it’s great.

22. Listen to the Scatman - “Scatman” John Larkin. Did you know that Scatman John was a legit Jazz Piano player? This album is just full of fantastic jazz and one kinda out of place dance song.

23. Loop Daddy II - Marc Rebillet. Sure this is more of an EP but I put a whole Box Set on the list so shut up. Every song is a pure sexy dance groove. I love it.

24. Places and Spaces - Donald Byrd. This is 100% Pure Trumpet Jazz-Funk. This album fucking slaps hardcore. The way Donald Byrd plays the trumpet and flugelhorn is magical.

25. Whenever You Need Somebody - Rick Astley. Not only does this album have the Meme hit "Never Gonna Give You Up" it has a very heartfelt version of "When I Fall in Love". Every song is a mad banger. I have it on Vinyl.

26. Mint Jams - Casiopea. Casiopea makes some great Japanese Jazz Funk Fusion and this is by far their best album. I love me some Jazz Funk Fusion and some of the best stuff came out of Japan in the 80′s.

27. Hi-Five Soup - The Aquabats. A great New Wave album that kids will enjoy. The Aquabats got more child friendly since they got a kids TV show but this album does have my boy Strong Bad on it. I have it on CD

28. Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2 - The Aquabats. An earlier Aquabats album since it’s a bunch of unreleased stuff and B-sides. “Pizza Day” speaks to my soul. I have it on CD

29. The Dance - Dave Koz. One of the first Smooth Jazz albums I ever listened to, it really helped me get into Smooth Jazz which lead me to my love of the Smooth Jazz and Jazz-Fusion. I have it on CD

30. The Corner Grocery Store - Raffi. This is an album form my childhood. I still have my VHS bootleg of Raffi on Broadway from when I was a kid. This album has my favorite song sung by Raffi, “Anansi”.

31. Led Zeppelin 2 - Led Zeppelin. My favorite Zepplin album. “Moby Dick” is my favorite song off the album even if it’s just a big ass drum solo. I have it on Vinyl.

32. Darkside of The Moon - Pink Floyd. This is what I consider to be Pink Floyd’s most Jazz-Rock-Fusion oriented album. The whole albums flows together into a great soundscape. I have is on Vinyl.

33. Random Access Memories - Daft Punk. I find this to be a concept album about how Daft Punk is a pair of Robots. Part of it seems like that with the album title being a close reference to Random Access Memory aka RAM and the song title "Motherboard". A lot of the lyrics in the album make me think it has some kind of concept but that’s just me. I have this on CD

34. Thriller 25 Super Deluxe Edition - Michael Jackson. This was the first CD I remember buying with my own money I got it at FYE. I only really listened to the songs that originally came on Thriller and not the new 2008 versions of the songs.

35. Can’t Get Enough - Barry White. This album is sexy as fuck, god be damned if you listen to this and not get turned on even slightly.

36. Larry Carlton Plays the Sound of Philadelphia. This is a great full of classic Philadelphia R&B as preformed by legendary session guitarist Larry Carton. He plays all the songs in a very Jazz like style that I just love.

37. Pure Pure - Moe Shop. A fantastic little Dance/Electronic EP. I like to call it a Future Funk EP but it’s in that vain of Vaporwave and Future Funk which are both good genres.

38. The Soundtrack to Mulan. Mulan is my favorite Disney animated movie so of course the soundtrack is on my list. I have this on cassette and it’s one of the two tapes I always listen to on long walks.

39. Every Breath You Take: The Singles - The Police. This is my other go-to cassette to listen to on long walks. This is basically the greatest hits of The Police but it’s fantastic.

40. Head Hunters - Herbie Hancock. I told you I liked Jazz-Funk Fusion right? This is perfect example of the genre made by the fantastic Jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock.

41. Marcos Valle - Marcos Valle (1983) Marcos Valle released a self titled album in 1970 according to Wikipedia, but I’m talking about the one from 1983. A great Brazilian Disco/Dance Bossa Nova Samba mix album with some great dance-able tunes.

42. Homestar Runner Original Soundtrack Volume 1 (Songs, Background Music, Jingles, and Worse).

43. Homestar Runner Original Soundtrack Volume 2 (Songs, Background Music, Jingles, and Worse) .

44. Homestar Runner Original Soundtrack Volume 3 (Songs, Background Music, Jingles, and Worse) . If I could have all 3 volumes in the "HSR OST Full-On!" playlist from they would all be one entry leaving me a bit more room to play with. Plus the fact that Volume 4, a Limozeen album, a Sloshy album and a Videlectrix album are all planed for release it would help to just bundle all the Homestar Runner music together.

45. Strong Bad Sings (and Other Type Hits). This is the more “Legit” Homestar Runner Music. I love Homestar Runner and was even featured in the 2018 Fan Costumes video so technically in a way I’m part of the Homestar Runner Cannon.

46. Fallout: New Vegas OST. My favorite Fallout game and I’d be amiss if I didn’t add the soundtrack to my list. One of my favorite games of all time even if I rarely play it.

47. Dinosaur Dracula’s Halloween & Christmas Jukebox. This is another one of those kinda cheating options since it’s two mix-tape type things. If I want to get in the Halloween or Christmas Spirit I can turn one of these Jukebox’s on and not have to worry about searching for mood music. With 100+ songs on each Jukebox I’m guaranteed good music.

48. 3 Hours of Relaxing Super Nintendo Music 1 & 2 - SNES Drunk. This is the music I turn on if I need some chill background noise or need something to fall asleep to. With a total of 6 hours of relaxing music I’m sure to fall asleep or just relax.

49. Xerf's Jazz/Fusion Mixes. So far there are 5 volumes of Japanese Jazz Fusion and like I said I like Jazz Fusion, espicaly Japanese Jazz Fusion.

50. Xerf's Jpop/AOR Mixes. There are thechinly 8 Volumes but volume 3 is just not there probbably due to copywrite. These mixes are more City Pop and older Japanese Pop, Adult-oriented rock, Funk that kinda stuff.

#top 50 #this time it's better #read more #Long Read #music

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rerwby · 6 years

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Volume 5 OST

I don’t normally have such verbose opinions on the RVVBY music (it’s like writing a review for fiberglass insulation) I managed to sit down and listen to this album the whole way through. My feelings on these tracks feels like a culmination of all my feelings of previous RVVBY music. I won’t try to be lengthy about this but I got some solid thoughts.

First of all, can we just collectively agree to stop making every fucking RVVBY song put on Youtube use fan art? Like can we just get a solid fucking static picture of the volume cover art maybe? I’m sick of the mediocre ship art used for goddamn everything and it looks incredibly unprofessional. Also since these are RT fans you know they don’t give a flying fuck about credit.

The Triumph Not to kick this off on such an upbeat note but this is one of my favorite OP’s. Maybe my favorite. Maybe. I could not fully appreciate this song when the episodes were coming out because the opening itself was the biggest trashfire to come out of this show. Like, sorry I can’t get hyped up on 10 seconds of Ruby and Ren and Jaune sitting on a couch. Listening to it alone though? Big improvement.

Jeff Williams does this thing where he’s clearly way too proud of his proud choice and rhymes, and usually lines end with a big focus on stupid vernacular. Trust me, this will come up later. The Triumph manages to avoid that. This Will be the Day does as well because it’s a pretty hammy song with a better, more consistent tone. “Back to reality, back to the show” is an awful, terrible, horribly ironic line in the context of Volume 5, but it’s not as in your face as it could be, so it gets a pass from me. I also think “That’s when you learned you were messing with gods” is awesome, sorry. It could be more awesome if these characters like, seemed more like gods? And they don’t? So eh.

Then the second verse happens and it calls back to the first with “Yeah I’m a girl but I’m also a god” and I’m like, oh, so you’re just gonna- oh, okay then. Yeah let’s just beat the one good part like a dead horse, sure. That really ruins the song for me ngl.

It also manages to avoid the formulaic trend of post-second verse slow sappy breakdown. Time to Say Goodbye and Let’s Just Live do that and it gets old after a while. If you’re gonna give me hype music then stick with it. Not that Let’s Just Live really hypes you up.

Overall it’s like a 7/10 for me because it has a good pace and it doesn’t scream “look at how clever I am!” at every turn.

Ignite The song I was most excited for and the most disappointed by. I wrote about it here and I’ll try not to do anything more than summarize what I said there.

It’s obnoxious and the lyrics are way too dumb. Not funny dumb, not hammy dumb, nope, just dumb. It’s not even in the style of Yang’s usual dumbness, which by all accounts should now be under Armed and Ready’s foot since that is now the prime Yang theme. The major problem is how obvious these issues are. Like you can’t not hear how bad the writing is.

Then Lamar comes in, and I usually enjoy him since, like I said above, he brings with him some hammy, corny lyrics that manage to be fun. But he’s phoning it in here. He’s mumbling and tripping over his own words. God I didn’t even understand what mumbling truly sounded like until I heard that verse.

4/10 and I hate to write that on a Yang theme but this song is everything wrong with these soundtracks.

Path to Isolation Which brings us to my favorite annual game of “Count How Many Times a Weiss Song Uses the Word ‘Mirror.’” Spoilers: it’s a handful.

It’s fine. Weiss songs have always been fine. The worst thing I can say about them is that you have to dredge through their slow-ass, repetitive openings to get to the good part. 5/10

All Things Must Die aka “Slow And Brooding Villain Song That Turns Into a Rock Anthem #5″ aka “Sacrifice And Divide Did It Better But Even They Were Only So Good” aka “We’re Not Even Going For A Subtle Title Here.”

I don’t even know whose perspective this is sung from anymore. Like Cinder is our designated villain song candidate but she has like no autonomy this volume so that falls flat, meanwhile Salem still has no clear motivation. Hazel and Adam might be the most developed(?) bad guys this volume but this song has nothing to do with them. 4/10

This Time (From Shadows Part II) I’m writing about this one before Smile for a reason.

A song called From Shadows Part II deserves better, lol. Also given the fan art uses on the version I found posted, this is a Blake+Sun song? I don’t know. It starts with the beautiful piano solo from the original which was godlike and relaxing and also dramatic.

Lyrics are just shitty but in a shocking twist they’re hard to hear other than THIS TIIIIME in the chorus which...I’m fine with. I’m legit convinced that the fewer lyrics you can make out in these songs, the better. This all sounds rather nice and has a good flow to it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s kinda just trash. Absolute filler. Fluff. Churned-out melodrama to keep the White Fang kindle going.

Also I guess in hindsight it’s weird to have Jeff singing here since this song is supposed to represent Blake moving on with new resolve. Like before it was clearly Blake and Adam singing, but now it’s Blake and...Sun? Adam again? Like some non-canon reformed Adam? Idk. At least it’s tonally a good contrast to Part I. It’s easy to listen to the song without focusing on the lyrics which is rather soothing, but it’s still nonsense. 5/10

Smile (From Shadows Part 0)

No yeah I made that part up, but I think this song is a better From Shadows Part 0 than This Time is a Part II. I’m dead serious. They gave us an Ilia song and made it more interesting than her character is in volume 5, if not extremely on the nose.

Because my god, it’s on the nose. It’s just Ilia’s backstory about blending in to avoid all the pain your oppressors brought you and biding your time until you can rip the smiles off their faces...oh I don’t think that’s how Ilia’s backstory went. This is much darker. Very Count of Monte Crisco and dare I say actually interesting. It makes Ilia sound way more compelling than Blake while also making her out as a foil to her. Except I don’t know why the fucking hell the character presented in Smile would ever join the White Fang, especially under Adam’s authority, and then follow him so blindly. But I guess as of last volume’s OST we should be use to that disconnect between show plot and music lore.

7/10 for being accidentally interesting.

All That Matters

It’s....fine? Fine-ish. Obligatory slow and sappy song because ofc. Casey at least sounds like she’s in her comfort zone. It just doesn’t mean much to me.I guess it’s the theme of the girls being back together but I have my own issues with that, which is mainly that three of them were already reunited halfway into Volume 5 and it was only Blake’s arrival that really pushed them into sappy territory.

5/10 it’s not bombastically terrible enough to merit a lower score and not interesting enough to be higher.

I’m Her Daughter After All - RVVBY Volume 5 Official Score

I don’t know why this song is here because it’s an actual non-lyrical official part of the soundtrack, which is mind-blowing. You’d think Jeff was contractually obligated to have his blood’s voices dip their toes in every track.

It’s a nice medley of Yang’s themes, namely I Burn and Armed and Ready. It also makes you appreciate how Yang’s musical themes have actually evolved, unlike those of the other characters. Why do we have this Western thing going on? Qrow had it too in Bad Luck Charm. I don’t mind it since I think it’s kinda neat, but 6/10 for being a random score track.

Mayday! Lancers! - RVVBY Volume 5 Official Sc- wait

They did the score thing again. I don’t know why. I also forgot the Lancer scene actually happened in Volume 5 until I heard this. Like, Weiss did so little in Volume 4 that I’m attributing stuff that happened in V5 to last volume.

It’s fine? It’s nice to have a non-lyrical Weiss song, actually. 5/10

Armed and Ready ie The Appeal Of The Original Was Lost On Us

This song did not need a remix lol. Armed and Ready is actually damn good, is a great proper evolution of Yang’s theme that successfully moves her out of the shadow of I Burn, and was a really, really good climax to her recovery arc. This turns it into a dance remix, which ironically is the exact sort of thing the original moved her character away from. 4/10

Gold (Acoustic)

As I listened to this I realized it wasn’t just the original vocals played over an acoustic cover; Casey actually re-recorded the song. That’s blowing it out of the park for a RVVBY remix. Also it’s like, good.

I always liked Gold for whatever reason. I just thought it was uplifting and it did the nice thing where the lyrics are simple and flow well. The loud instrumentals had me unsure if it made for a good complement to the lyrics or if it was just a bad choice. This just sounds wonderful. Most importantly, it makes you really appreciate Casey’s singing talent. More than anything, she sounds absolutely comfortable singing this song. No stressed notes, no weird word choices, no ham. This is just a nice song and it’s my favorite on this album. 8/10

Let’s Just Live (Remix) “The Obligatory OP Remix Oh God Triumph Is Gonna Get This Treatment Next Year

It doesn’t go above my expectations but I like the new instrumentals. Reminds me of Stickerbrush Symphony. I think it’s much more fitting than in the original and is a true improvement on it. 6/10

The final issue I have with this album is this, and it involves some statistics. This is a 12-song album. That isn’t strange. But here are some numbers for you:

Ruby Songs: 0 Weiss Songs: 2 Blake Songs: 1 (2 if you count Smile) Yang Songs: 4 Remixes: 3 Scores(?): 2

Just to put that in front of you. Remixes comprise 1/4th of the album, glorified scores are 1/6th, and Yang received 4 whole slots (one-third of the album!) while Ruby, the protagonist, got absolutely none. Nothing in this album is about just Ruby, and I think she kind of deserves that. I mean she did nothing this volume so whatever, but we didn’t even get Glorious Score Track Of Jaune Healing Weiss so that’s super strange. They didn’t even shaft her in lieu of anyone, she was just left out.

#rwde

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megatentious · 5 years

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My lengthy defense of the most hated Persona game

Here’s my grand defense for the most hated game in the series: Persona 1, AKA Revelations: Persona. I know it’s too late to try and rehabilitate the game’s reputation on the internet, but I’m hoping that by rambling in modestly structured form for a bit, at least some folks might be able to look at Persona with a fresh perspective. It would be cool if everyone could try to understand what the game did so well and why it resonated so strongly with me and 2 or so other people. If you are the kind of person that thinks games age and become archaic, then I probably don’t have any hope of reaching you, but still, try to put yourself in the right mindset and approach the game on its own terms, and maybe you’ll discover something quite special.

So, Persona. Persona does very interesting things with choice. As the first Megaten rpg released in America, the negotiation system was a revelation (har har), providing the choice to talk your way out of battles and into rewards is a natural D&D element that never got a foothold in countless videogame conversions of the game, and in the first Persona these elements are at their peak. With every demon having four moods, four series of animation and four sets of voiced sound effects, the expanded options really let you get into the headspace of the demons you’re conversing with, unlike traditional SMT’s more spare binary system. Getting into the thick of things with complex sets of reactions (Joy + Interest, that’s what’s up) makes for a fun simulation.

The theme of choice is also really built into the game’s fabric, it’s the reason why in old usenet postings, Persona was recommended to folks who were fans of Gold Box games, during a time when RPG labels were more porous and that sneaky “J” hadn’t yet latched itself omnipresently to the term. Choice here also extends to the fifth character in your party, a friendly way to promote replay value without new game plus, and certain choices locking you out of giant chunks of the game, an unfriendly way of getting you through the game again. In a world though where developers are desperate to ensure that gamers experience all content (so many buzzwords!), the chutzpah of Persona being willing to lock you out of huge swathes of the game is something I actually admire.

It’s easy to underestimate the impact of the modern day setting in a post Persona 3/TWEWY/Alpha Protocol world, but dungeons that were hospitals and police stations and high school students snarling “EAT THIS” with MIGs in pitched street battles felt revelatory. Exploring the comically low-rent polygonal city (is this another reference to the abstracted icons of SMT1 and 2 world maps?) was actually fun, as ridiculous as waiting for traffic to pass might seem. There are also many complaints about the first person perspective dungeons, even though the rest of the game is third person, but the setting variety is nice and many of the wall patterns are quite evocative (Deva Yuga looks like Persepolis!)

The game also does PSX-era philosophizing in a tasteful and generally thoughtful way, while contemporaries were drawing from Evangelion, Persona looked to Zhuangzi and Jung. Not very high-falutin, true, but at least middle brow enough such that my 14 year old Sophie’s World reading self was entranced. The game has something neat to say about loneliness and identity and the way we construct the world around ourselves (all hinted at in the moody intro. The story is very nice and very Kaneko, even if he’s overestimating the literary quality in this interview, I’m very fond of it and it is my franchise favorite.

Here’s where I alienate the remaining people who might have been on board with me so far: if you ignore the loss of the Snow Queen Quest, a 20 hour alternate version of the story that takes place in a series of SMT:If... like towers, Revelations: Persona is actually the superior game. “Lunarvale,” a hodgepodge of America and Japan cobbled together by localizers attempting to mask the game’s origins, is actually more weird and interesting than the Mikage-cho that appears in Persona PSP. This bizarre mashup, combined with a nonsense translation attempt, somehow manages to better fit the lurid dreamscape vibe the original developers were going for. I can’t undersell how one-of-a-kind and wonderfully unsettling the game’s atmosphere is in the PSX version, and this is helped along of course by the sound.

Here are excerpts from some things I wrote on the music in this game:

Revelations: Persona has the best soundtrack in the franchise, possibly the best soundtrack ever made. In raw quantitative terms it's ridiculous, 113 songs and 3 hours of music without being looped, and all without doing Persona 2's trick of repeated (but still awesome!) remixes. Two majorly sweet leitmotifs for the two major quests, employed creatively and thoughtfully, four fantastic composers on four discs, cohesive and thematically coherent when by all rights it should feel disjointed as fuck, this is a generous OST!

Hidehito Aoki (R.I.P.) composed the dungeon music, which is exquisite. Lengthy songs that are moody, elegant, just plain beautiful and get you PUMPED! The iconic Deva Yuga Monochrome: School Revisited Dream-like, synthy, catchy, beautiful, quintessential Persona sound. Pandora's Den (Deepmost Area): The climax at 1:12! Ice Castle/Black Snow The twists and turns in this one, so effing good. Sebek Music, Karma Palace 90's music is the best!!! Misaki Okibe's range is ridiculous, she composed some of the most memorable, interesting tracks in the whole game. Reverse Dream World: You think you have this song figured out in the first few seconds, but stick around to see where it suddenly veers off to around :30, hilarious and awesome. Theme of Nemurin's Love: The intro! The power of a simple lovely melody, a little Uematsu-esque. Augustia's Wood: The save music, so memorable, I love the grumbling. City 2 Accident: Do you remember wandering the streets in the town, disoriented, listening to this gorgeousness, thinking about how Lunarvale suddenly seemed so scary, like an unsettling dream? Bar Attacked by Harem Queen: A bit of jazzy beauty. And most important of all of course, Misaki Okibe is the composer of the Pharmacy Music, featuring vocals by one Hidehito Aoki of all people. Satomi Tadashi Drugstore Song In our heads forever, teaching us about item use since 1996.

More alienating for readers who have gotten this far: the “whitewashing” character designs were all improvements, Kazuma Kaneko redrew everything himself and it’s easy to tell that a lot of thought was put into the redesigns. Finally, Mark is also >>>> Masao, everyone’s always yelling about the jive-talking but to me he came across as quite smart and savvy. I dunno, maybe this is just a Flavor of Love/Outsourced minorities just wanna see themselves effect operating here, leave me alone you guys! So yes, the franchise’s current fanbase might not be fond of them, but the cast is comprised of characters that are meant to be iconic and not friends you wish you had in real life, a cast that, FFVI-like, is meant to evoke broader themes and not follow the typical arcs of many RPGs these days. Check out the classiness of Yuki’s design, and allow me to quote some more stuff on how Tsuchiya, master of the character theme, nails it for each party member.

The sign of a good character theme is when you can extrapolate from instrument choice and melody to personality. Here Tsuchiya is the man, no one does it better this side of Uematsu. I hear these songs and I've got a perfect picture in my mind of each cast member. It's what I think of when I think of "videogame music" ha, here are my personal favorites, I could listen to these endlessly. Mary/Maki: Cheerful, just a hint of melancholy in the notes, love that slap bass. Yuki: Starts a bit slow, but soon we learn that Yuki's cool but determined. Alana: The song tells me she's brassy, energetic, fun. Chris/Reiji: Dangerous, exciting, a bad-ass delinquent. Ellen/Elly: Classy, elegant, confident.

Some also rag on the dungeon design, but it seems unfair to expect centerpiece labyrinths along the lines of Strange Journey or Etrian Odyssey in a game going for something completely different. Nevertheless, you’ve got tricky mazes with dead ends that test resource allocation skills and provide a sense of accomplishment. Encounters are tough and require thought, careful consideration of when to flee and negotiate is imperative for dungeon survival. This is something that gets lost a bit in the PSP remake as the encounter rate is increased but battles are a bit easier. Exploiting elemental weaknesses isn’t as elegant as in later games, but with a ludicrously high 14 damage types breadth supersedes depth. And there’s even a positioning system to consider that the developers decided to drop from later games rather than refine. In the end, surviving the dungeon and beating the boss is an RPG staple that just plain works, although yes you will probably grit your teeth at some of the loading times.

And finally, you don’t have to take my random word for it. Parish really liked it too! How’s that for an appeal to authority?

For series buffs, it’s fun to trace this game’s historical lineage, as one of the earlier spinoffs of Shin Megami Tensei, it's easy to spot the mainline series influence: the occultism of the opening ritual, the hospital as first dungeon, the first person perspective for dungeon travel, BLUE POINTER MAN, and the omnipresent danger of demons in town and dungeon alike. Revelations: Persona is drawing from a rich and storied history, but manages to recast SMT traditions in interesting new directions. Again, the atmosphere is really unbelievable and something I haven’t come across in other games. It’s more than a simple curiosity and it doesn’t deserve dumb dismissal or sneering derision for its flaws. Revelations: Persona is a real marvel, modern games ought to draw more inspiration from its lessons, and the game belongs in the RPG canon, there I said it!

#persona #revelations persona #persona 1 #unjustly maligned

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feyariel · 6 years

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Opera Cake: What bands/music do you like?

My tastes are somewhat eclectic.

Genres: Classical (including opera and movie/vidja game soundtracks); techno/EDM; classic rock; some pop; things that sound like traditional music from the middle east, India, and Japan; OC Remixes and similar works of fan music; and some others.

Favorite Musicians (at the moment): Adele, Beach House, Beethoven, David Bowie, DeadCanDance, Gareth Coker/Aeralie Brighton, Daft Punk, Florence plus the Machine, Ellie Goulding, Heart, Joe Hisaishi, Yoko Kanno, Koji Kondo, Lady GaGa (aka Our Lady of GodGalupe), Junichi Masuda, Mika, Mozart, Muse, Niyaz, Pink Floyd, Queen, Sigur Ros (kinda-sorta), Sixpence None the Richer, T.a.T.u., Nobuo Uematsu, Vivaldi, Mahito Yokota, and many others.

Soundtracks: The Big O!, Cave Story, Cirque du Soleil’s Alegria and Dralion, Final Fantasy: Unlimited, Hell Girl (mainly “Jigoku Nagashi” and “Hell Rock” - the two songs that play when she’s getting dressed and traveling to waylay her victims and then when she’s torturing/damning them), Kiki’s Delivery Service, Koyaanisqatsi, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Okami, Ori and the Blind Forest, Pan’s Labyrinth, Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow and Gold/Silver/Crystal, Steven Universe, Super Mario Galaxy, Tron: Legacy, The Vision of Escaflowne, Were the World Mine (despite not caring much for musicals), World of WarCraft (but not all of it...), and possibly others (those are what I can think of off the top of my head and aren’t just single pieces).

Other Albums: December Underground (AFI - unusual for me), Exogensis Symphony (Muse), any GaGa except Joann (haven’t listened to it yet), Lights (Ellie Goulding), Mozart’s Requiem (my liking of Classical music is much broader, but I’m not looking up symphony numbers right now), ...

Songs (Non-Exhaustive): “And the Waltz Goes On” (by Sir Anthony Hopkins), “Apoplexy” (from the Final Fantasy Tactics OST), “Are We Arc” by TR/ST, the song from Doc Gerbil’s Boat Chase in Courage the Cowardly Dog, “Faerie Woods” by Bjorne Lynn (I have a MIDI that I can no longer play using the original instruments; I have a section saved as an mp3 with what it’s supposed to sound like and it’s amazing), “Footsteps in the Snow” from the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn soundtrack (Shiva battle, part 1), “Good for Me” by Above & Beyond, “Guilty Moon” (thanks to @emeraldninjaiv for that one), “J’en ai Marre” by Alizée, “Kiss Me,” “Lullabies” (Yuna, remixed by Adventure Club), the song from the rooftop battle in Kara no Kyoukai (really, that scene in general), “Madman with a Box” (Doctor Who, 11th Doctor), “Madness,” the Mii Channel theme, “The One” by Daniel Bedingfield and Sharam, “One Winged Angel,” ...

Like, that’s not even half of favorites not already listed in albums from a playlist of some of my favorites (it’s a fairly small playlist right now). That playlist is mostly soundtracks, though, which isn’t all that representative.

I’m adding new music all the time. Like, @vasteblague got me into this sweet “vampire” waltz on YouTube and @emeraldninjaiv linked me to “Guilty Moon” from the Moon Hunters soundtrack (I’m waiting for that to go on sale on GOG).

I could go on for days about music. I used to not talk about it much (private stuff), buuuut...well, here we are.

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givemechoices · 6 years

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More Than 11 Questions xD

@kennaxval @lizzybeth1986 @violetflipflops tagged me. I’m so sorry it took me this long to respond >_<

The post is going to be super long so I’ll tag all the people I’ve got questions for before I do a Keep Reading tag

My 11 questions that will be going out to these lovely people are as follows:

1. What is one particular storyline you would love to see on Choices?

2. Whose plotline in all of the Choices books aka character’s journey did you most enjoy?

3. Who’s your favourite MC?

4. Who’s your least favourite MC?

5. Which Choices background do you not mind seeing recycled?

6. Which Choices character do you most relate to?

7. If given the choice, would you choose the option to have a polyamorous relationship with any of the other characters? Who would you choose?

8. Which Choices book would you most likely want to live through?

9. Which Choices book, besides Most Wanted, do you want a sequel to?

10. Which Choices book, besides ROE/HFTH, do you want to stop getting sequels of?

11. What aspect of the Choices books would you like PB to improve on?

Tagging these lovely people: @hughater @puckishelfin @chiarace @tinypenguincheesemachine @hamulau @youruinedmylifebynotbeingreal @hhiggs @ellora-ameris @destinio1 @lilywoood

Sorry if y’all have already been tagged before >_< I don’t actually have that many people to tag in the first place heh

1. Favorite female Choices character?

God, too many tbh. Like I love all the female characters on Endless Summer. Literally. All of them. Even Seraxa. And the Endless. And I love Hana, she’s such a sweetheart. I honestly can’t pick just one. ^-^

2. Favorite male Choices character?

Liam, duh. And Grayson. And Sean. And Zig. And Chris. And Mark. And Diego. And Craig. And Raj. And Matt. *dead* I can’t choooooose

3. Favorite dessert?

Pineapple cream cheese pie. I even know how to make it mself ^-^

4. Least favorite food?

There’s this thing in Asia called the petai. It’s called Bitter Bean according to Google but I call it the stink bean because it stinks to high hell and it makes any and all excretions after that smell like death. It tastes awful to me and I’m sorry you had to imagine the excretions. ^-^

5. Are you a coffee drinker?

I’m a tea lover but I partake once in a while.

6. Dream job or career?

Career, I think. My dream job requires me to find a rich benefactor so I can get a proper degree and then pursue it.

7. Favorite non-Choices book series?

Harry Potter, Skulduggery Pleasant and A Series of Unfortunate Events.

8. Do you have any secret talents?

It’s not exactly a secret but I can play a song on any instrument by ear

9. Dream place to live?

Somewhere by the beach, despite the fact that I’m not a big fan of the beach? It’s more about the view than anything else.

10. Do you have any guilty pleasure TV shows?

I honestly don’t feel guilty about any of the shows I watch ^-^

11. If you won the lottery, what’s something fun you would splurge on?

A really good mattress. I’m not even kidding.

12. Are there film adaptations of books that you feel did justice to the book itself?

Sleepers. Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Minnie Driver…need I say more?

13. Favourite Choices Moment.

When Sean and MC became official. I didn’t always agree with the guy because he’s a white knight but I love the shit out of him and waited way too long to get him to 2 fucking hearts xD

14. How did you join the Tumblr fandom?

God…I just started liking Choices posts and it snowballed from there xD

15. Which place do you most consider home?

Cliché as it is, home isn’t a place for me. It’s wherever my family is.

16. Favourite cheese.

Mozzarella and feta

17. Most vivid childhood memory.

Me getting my bike handle jabbed into my chest after a particularly nasty fall and waking up at home. Me falling off the swing and falling on the concrete edge of the platform the swing was on and waking up in my aunt’s toilet being washed off because I had a lot of blood coming out xD I’ll probably never forget that.

18. Favourite hairstyle

The one I have right now is pretty decent. It’s just above my shoulders in a sort of bob-ish kind. Lol, for a writer, I am the worst at describing things.

19. How much do you enjoy naming your MCs?

I love it! There are so many names I love so dumping them on to a character is pretty damn fun ^-^

20. Favourite gemstone?

I don’t have one

21. Would you prefer wearing glasses or contact lenses?

Glasses for sure. They make me less ugly.

22. Favourite OST.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Rent

Stick It

School of Rock

Moana

23. Who is your ideal person to play your favourite choices character in a movie?

So far, my favourite Choices characters already have pretty damn perfect FCs circulating (Liam=Daniel Henney. Diavolos=D.J. Cotrona. Sean Gayle = Jordan Calloway)

24. What, if anything, would you change in any choices story?

Nothing for a specific book but the most frustrating thing I’ve ever encountered for most all is the fact that they don’t offer customisable LIs and male MCs for the majority of the books. So if anything, that’s what I wanna change.

25. Have you ever had an idea for a choices book?

I’m always having ideas xD

26. What’s your favourite choices soundtrack?

I play Choices with the sound off xD But one particular soundtrack I reeeeeally like is the one during romantic/sex scenes. It’s pretty good xD

27. What non-choices form of entertainment do you prefer (movies, tv, books, etc)

I love all forms of entertainment tbh. I’m trying to get my nephew to be more excited about board games instead of his Nintendo so…

28. Who do you think is the most underrated choices character?

Blake freaking Yasuda.

29. Who do you think is the most overrated choices character?

Drake freaking Walker

30. Have you made any friends on Tumblr?

Yes I have. I love them to bits ^-^ Including the people who tagged me :D

31. If choices didn’t exist, would you still be on Tumblr?

I was on Tumblr way before I played Choices so yeah ^-^

32. What couples, if any, are on your notp list?

Drake x MC, Jake x MC. I’m sorry, I know a lot of the people who follow me and whom I follow are mega fans but I just don’t see their appeal :/

33. Which non-LI would you romance if you could?

So far Olivia from TRR, Blake from ROE, Addison from RCD

#got tagged

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toradh · 6 years

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And for the top 5, I’m sending your ask right back at you! =D Top 5 (or 500) pieces of video game music!

HAHAHA EVERYTHING YOU DO IN LIFE COMES BACK TO YOUOK HERE YOU GO, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER (except alphabetical per game lol)

I’m gonna… put this under a cut for length. Oh boy.

Chrono Cross (fun fact: I’ve never played the game but I own a copy of the soundtrack):-Scars of Time-Fields Of Time - Home World-On The Beach Of Dreams - Another World-Departed Souls-Dragon Knight-Prisoners Of Fate-Magical Dreamers - The Wind, Stars, And Waves ~-The Dream That Time Dreams-Dragon God-Life ~ A Distant Promise

Assassin’s Creed II:-Earth-Ezio’s Family-Venice Rooftops (my first contact ever with AC was the Soul Calibur version of Venice Rooftops and at that very moment I KNEW I had to play the game that it originally belonged to. No kidding!)-Master Assassin (it’s from Brotherhood but yada yada)

Assassin’s Creed III:-Main Theme-Ratohnhaké:tonThe Liberation soundtrack was also amazing, I could listen to the Main Theme for days.

Dissidia Final Fantasy:-the openings and ending medleys, and also that new version of The Man with the Machine Gun is killer

Final Fantasy IV:-the goddamn opening of the Nintendo DS remake

Final Fantasy VI:-Terra’s Theme

Final Fantasy VII:-the battle theme and boss battle theme, who doesn’t love it-the main theme once you had spent enough time in the menue to actually ever hear the end of it-Cosmo Canyon AKA Valley Where Stars Fall whatever and Become a Great Soldier-Words Extinguished by Fireworks-Listen to the Voice of the Stars-and of course Aerith’ theme-Towards the Mountain-The Day of Our Last Moments-Perfect Jenova-Carmina Burana reloaded uhm I mean One Winged Angel, too, of course-also the opening and ending credits from Crisis Core which is a mediocre game, but it let me hack n slay, had the infinitely more lovable protagonist, and it had some cool music remixes

Final Fantasy VIII (oh boy, the FFVIII OST is my fav right after IX, although the latter wins every other race in the franchise)-Liberi Fatali and also the Overture AKA the motherfucking opening credits when you insert Disc 1 for the first time-The Landing-Force Your Way (honestly this game has some of my favourite of favourite battle themes EVER; the feeling of beating up bosses after spending hours, HOURS in the menue to set up your team is incredible lol; like OH MY GOD MY PLAN ACTUALLY WORKED)-The Mission-The Stage Is Set-Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec-Premonition-Drifting-The Oath-Trust Me-Lunatic Pandora (gives you a headache if you listen to it for too long tho lol)-Compression of Time-The Castle-Legendary Beast-Maybe I’m A Lion-The Extreme-the Ending Theme (yep, including Eyes One Me! I mean it’s cheesy but it kinda grew on me…)(basically the entire end of the 4th disc is a blast, not gonna lie)

Final Fantasy IX (buckle your seatbelts!):-Place I Call Home/A Place to Call Home/whatever AKA the opening credits-Living by the Sword-Hunter’s Chance-Marsh of the Q Tribe-Sword of Confusion-Eternally Good Harvest-Roses of May-City Under Siege-Protecting my Devotion-Light of Destiny-Chamber of a Thousand Faces-Mount Gulug-Four Mirrors-Concurrent Battles-Terra-You Are Not Alone-Assault of the Silver Dragons-Organum (which is an obscure organ version of the opening credit theme which gets a billion variations throughout the game anyway; it’s on a bonus soundtrack CD that I bought at one point before I finally got my hands on a copy of the actual OST)-and of course the One True Melodies of Life

Actually 90% of the soundtrack

Final Fantasy X:-People of the North Pole-A Fleeting Dream-Suteki Da Ne, too

Final Fantasy XII-the boss battle theme-the Esper battle theme-also the Imperial March I mean Theme of the Empire

Final Fantasy XIII:-Blinded by Light (VIOLIN BATTLE THEME VIOLIN BATTLE THEME)-Saber’s Edge-Lightning’s Theme-Caius’ Theme from FFXIII-2 (which was a waste of time BUT it had Liam O’Brien. Can I just have a poster of Liam O’Brien’s voice pls)

Final Fantasy XV (I still haven’t played this thing lol):-Too Much Is Never Enough (I bought sheet music lol)-Somnus (both instrumental and /w lyrics)-Departure-Wanderlust-Ardyn and Ardyn II-Labyrinthine-The Hydraeans Wrath-Homecoming

(notice a pattern lol)BTW every single Distant World CD is a fucking gem and you should buy them

Kingdom Hearts whatever (I’m not gonna go through the individual titles):-Dearly Beloved in all versions ever released-Disappeared-Another Side-all of Vanitas’ battle themes-Ventus’ themeand of course Hikaru Utada’s songs I love that woman; and also the orchestral/instrumental arrangements that were used in the trailers.

Tales of Berseria:-BURN (why is it capslocked tho)

Tales of Destiny:-Yume De Aru Youni-Irony of Fate in that goddamn epic remix from that orchestra CD thingy

Tales of Symphonia:-Starry Heavens and the sweet instrumental version that plays when you thought you had lost all your teammates but they come back and help you while you rescue that one team mate whose affection for Lloyd was highest

Tales of Vesperia:-Ring a Bell

Tales of Xillia:-Progress

Tales of Zestiria:-White Light-Zaveid the Exile-Flaming Bonds are Being Tested-Melody of Water is the Guide in Spiritual Mist (can we set a petition for Mikleo to play his own trial theme on the piano, yes, sign here, thank you)-Competing with the Honor of the Land-Fight Between the Wind and the Blinking Sky-Rising Up

(why do these trials themes have so long names bleurgh. So yeah AKA ALL THE TRIAL THEMES)

(basically all the Tales openings lol)

The Legend of Zelda… oh god why are there so many games.So I’m only gonna go through my two favs:

Ocarina of Time:-Lost Woods-Windmill Hut (aka the Song of Storms)-Gerudo Valley

The Wind Waker:-Dragon Roost Island-Molgera’s boss fight theme

also the bonus orchestra CD from Skyword Sword was so good :O

Valkyrie Profile:-Take A Flight

Xenogears:-Stars of Tears-Grahf, Dark Conqueror (only a JRPG would name a villain Grahf tho lol)-Premonition-Awakening-The One Who Bares Fangs at God-Small Two of Pieces (PLEASE I NEED SHEET MUSIC FOR THIS WHERE CAN I FIND SOME; legally if possible lol)-the battle themes aren’s bad, either(fun fact: I’ve never played this game, either)

Xenosaga stuffz(never played that either lol. I didn’t listen to the complete soundtracks, either, only bits)-The Miracle-Kokoro (whoever came up with that song title has guts, but it’s seriously super beautiful, and Joanne Hogg makes a comeback on vocals!)

BTW I never played anything Wild Arms, either, but I really the openings for the first and third game in the series, respectively.Oh and that one boss battle theme from Shadow Hearts II! (I think it’s called Hardcore to the Brain?) I actually never played that thing, but I watched my sister (who’s super fond of the game!) for like 90% of the plot I think.

…Would you believe that this a selectionI… I’ll better not go into movie soundtracks*faints*

…Uhm, do anime songs count lol

#this is my tag meme tag now #I didn’t exactly plan on spending an entire evening on this ask meme (rather like a few minutes)#but it was worth it lol #anyway I keep saying that the 8bit version of When Time Stands Still On the Iron Hill sounds like a boss battle theme straight from a SNS RP #G

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rsenak · 6 years

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Tagged by: @sso-zelda-dusknight, @athena-seawood, @alicehawkpaw

Rules: answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs you would like to get know better

1. Nicknames: Ree, Arsenic (and sometimes common nicknames of my real name... I dont like them at all)

2. Gender: Female

3. Star Sign: Capricorn

4. Height: 168 cm

5. Time: 00:20

6. Birthday: January 8th

7. Favorite Bands: I can’t choose one

8. Favorite Solo Artists: same

9. Song Stuck in my Head:that one Final Fantasy XIV OST that plays at some dungeon battles (or at least the one I finshed today)

10. Last Movie I Watched: some french comedy, I missed the name but it was... meh, would never recommend

11. Last Show I Watched: if anime counts then Yona of the Dawn, if not, I watched Game of Thrones back in August

12. When did I Create my Blog: 2015? 2016? I’m not sure

13. What do I Post: Mostly SSO and drawings but I’m trying to make this blog a little bit more personal

14. Last Thing I Googled: google translate (aka german homework sucks)

15. Do I Have Any Other Blogs: A bunch of, but I always end up forgetting about them

16. Do I Get Asks: Sometimes and I wish I got more but then again, slump at answering

17. Why I Chose my url: I’m not too creative so I went and carefully smashed some letters together

18. Following: 1651

19. Followers: 561

21. Average Hours of Sleep: 5-7

22. Lucky Number: 11

23. Instruments: none

24. what am i wearing: black jeans and a sweater

26. Dream Job: I would like to work with horses, but if that fails something with designing and art would be great too

27. Dream Trip: Anything with horses... really, I would even settle for going riding every day for a week as a “holiday trip”..

28. Favorite Food: I don’t really have one??

29. Nationality: Hungarian

30. Favorite Season: Winter

Tagging: anyone who hasn’t done this yet...?

#tagging thing #i finished #yea it took me long im lazy

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popliar · 7 years

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K-Con Australia, 20170922-23

The first Australian K-Con was held over the last two nights in Sydney, and @proteinscollide and I were there. I'm very behind on everything else as a result! I need to watch Knowing Bros! ANYWAY, short version: IT WAS SUPER FUN. Lots of rambling under the cut as usual.

22 September: SF9, Pentagon, Victon, Girl's Day, Exo

23 September: SF9 (again!), Up10tion, Cosmic Girls/WJSN, Wanna One, Monsta X

Overall this was an extremely well produced show and a really fun show - I had such a good time! Okay, the "convention" part not so much (I'll talk about this a bit at the end of the post) but at both evening shows, the concert ran like a slick machine, stage following stage with no pause, good sound and no technical hitches. Visually the show looked great, with massive screens giving good views of every performer as well as fantastically atmospheric backdrops.

It didn't sell out on either night, and again I'll talk about possible reasons for that more later, but as a vehicle for hallyu and for promoting Korean culture this is potentially such a powerful instrument. One of the most striking K-Con images for me is the footage of K-Con Paris from 2016 - the pan from the section of the crowd for the French dignitaries and delegates, all politely seated and clapping, to the massive auditorium of French youth going absolutely wild for these pop groups from the other side of the world. This show didn't have that element of official endorsement, it was much more a straight-up pop show, but hey you never know, that might come…

Soft power has its limits, for sure, but within those boundaries Korea is working so very hard at being the very best it can be. I admire the gumption, and more importantly to Korea I am happily consuming the product! Give me more product! I'm here for this!

As far as line-up goes, this K-Con wasn't the best. Exo are absolute stars of course and there were other notable groups like Monsta X and Girl's Day; on balance however this was a really rookie-heavy sausage-fest. The prevalence of rookies is probably partly bad timing - the show coincided with the DMC Music Festival (which was eventually cancelled anyway due to labour disputes, argh, we could've had it all!).

But the boy-heavy line-up? Frustrating. Apparently WJSN and Girl's Day are the first girl groups to perform here since 4 Minute some three-four years ago. WHY? Perhaps there's a perception that since Western fans are mostly girls then they'll only turn out for boybands - I know in Korea the audience for girlgroups is skewed towards boys. However, here in the West, pop as a whole is coded so heavily female that I'm sure wouldn't be a problem. I've been to many Western female pop star concerts and trust me, the girls SHOWED UP. Hell, at this very same arena, Little Mix are performing later this year. Besides, this argument falls flat if you look at other K-Con line-ups which, although boy-heavy, still manage more than a measly 2 girl groups. Gosh I'd have been so happy with the addition of any ONE of Red Velvet, Mamamoo, Blackpink, Pristin, Gfriend, Twice, etc…

...that was a long intro. Let's talk the show.

Chanyeol (EXO)

Night 1

The first night of K-Con began with a pre-show of kpop dance cover groups (they were all good but some were REALLY GOOD) and Kevin from U-KISS as MC (did u know he looks like Lee Pace around the eyes?), doing his cheesy best to hype up the crowd and also promote the con's primary sponsor.

Then the show got started with a VCR, featuring Monsta X's Minhyuk in a sort of spaceship-themed narrative? I don't know what I saw but apparently K-Con's first Oceanic showing needed heroes or defenders or something, i.e. kpop groups? Whatever cool. I do know it involved Minhyuk looking at a picture of a kangaroo so we're all good.

Also apparently Sydney is the city of "arts and culture" and also "romance"? I'm flattered on behalf of my home, and I can assure you we have plenty of all three, but really?? Those are not, like, the first words I associate with Sydney. But ok, you do you K-Con!

Exo's Suho and Sehun then came on as the night's special MCs to deliver a brief introduction and be cute together and make the crowd scream. Naturally, there were Exo jerseys and banners and lightsticks all over the place; earlier in the day I got handed a cute banner to celebrate Chen's birthday, which I then promptly used to test proteinscollide's knowledge of Exo band names. (She improved greatly through the evening!)

First group up were rookie boyband SF9 - I've enjoyed their songs and MVs without knowing much about them. This rapidfire 3 song performance made me more of a fan! They just hit all their beats really well, both in terms of performance and in their brief introduction ment, advantaged by one member who was a fluent English speaker. Their line distribution is kind of weird - there's maybe three members who dominate the vocals and the dancing, especially Taeyang who I kept thinking of as "that one guy who looks like Shinee's Jonghyun" - but not enough to detract overall. I have no favourite but maybe my favourite is the rapper with currently red hair who reminds me of SVT Jeonghan and Pentagon's E'Dawn.

Something like K-Con is the perfect platform for a rookie group to get this kind of exposure. My own first exposure to kpop (aka the reason for my eternal downfall) was winning free tickets to a Boyfriend & JJCC show - I knew nothing about them, knew next to nothing about kpop, and JJCC were a hot mess sorry - but seeing the groups in person and live was enough to make me want to know so much more. I feel like this SF9 set functioned in much the same way. It was SO much more impactful than just an MV or a youtube clip or a gifset. This is how fans are made! (That said… I'll get to it, but SF9 got two bites at the cherry. Why?)

Next up were Pentagon and their brief set was great. Their songs are such bangers - I SAID BANGERS, DON'T AT ME - and they were really polished and powerful. Kino's opening dance solo was super charismatic, and E'Dawn (aka the only one I can consistently recognise) was working that jawline of his so well, lol. He does the bad boy thing very well! I admire it! For their ment, they played the "Pinata" game as seen at other K-Cons this year, i.e. a random game was selected. (Would the game be 'Propose'? It was not propose, but one member did get down on one knee to E'Dawn anyway, good job good fanservice.) In this case it was a random dance play, and it was very amusing and silly.

Probably my favourite thing about Pengaton is how far and fast proteinscollide has fallen for them. Can you believe at this time last year she didn't even know all the MX member names? Now the student has exceeded the master! Post your Pentagon post bro!

Sehun and Suho came back to introduce a special stage: Exo's Chanyeol in duet with WJSN's Seola, for his OST track Stay with Me. This was a nice, pretty interlude and a bit of a breather after the fast pacing of the first two sets.

Seola (WJSN)

Third rookie group Victon bopped cutely to a very Australian-themed video backdrop and they were very entertaining, without necessarily making me want to seek them out further. I think that's more to do with their concept being more cute than Pentagon and SF9's, so less appealing to me on those grounds. But they have their charms and most importantly one had a mullet! I'm HERE for the mullets, don't even think I'm joking.

Next up were Girl's Day. They're down to 4 members now but their experience and their casual confidence made them so enjoyable to watch. They played their hits including Something, Expectation and Ring My Bell with such a sense of fun and sexiness, dominating the stage and playing to the crowd with the relaxed ease of vets who have nothing to prove. There was a hunger to the rookies that gave them more edge but sometimes you just wanna watch really talented ppl relaxedly doing their very talented thing.

With everyone acutely aware there was only one act left to take the stage, a couple of SF9s came out to MC a special stage. They did the usual "how are you guys enjoying the show" and "we love Australia" and all that jazz, and then made the fatal mistake of asking an open-ended question:

SF9 MCs: so who is Australia's favourite boy group? Crowd: BTS!!! MCs: Yes, Exo!!! #awkward

I lol'd! I am sorry! Bless you Exo but c'mon!

This was followed by a brief VCR of Australian fans naming their favourite boybands, and then a really fun special stage of boyband covers: Pentagon covered GOT7's Hard Carry; SF9 covered Exo's Monster; and Victon did BTS's Fire.

At last it was time for EXO - MUCH CHEERING FROM CROWD! Exo-Ls were out in force. There were also tons of lightsticks in the crowd and everyone was hyyyyped.

Now some context for my reaction: I can name all the Exo's and I like some of their songs, but I don't quite click with their aesthetic/dynamic in the way that I do with BTS, etc. They were also at something of a disadvantage, with D.O absent from the line-up (I had to count them twice to make sure sob) and Lay MIA from this entire comeback (though I guess that's no longer surprising).

So let that be the background for me saying that I was totally entertained and impressed by their set. Starting with Power and ending with Ko Ko Bop, they came out and gave a great show. They are after all professionally charming and who was I to resist?

For me again it's that idea of a live show being so much more powerful than a video, even for something as preplanned and artificially constructed as pop. A concert is such a powerful reminder that it's more than the performer, and it's more than the audience too - it's about the relationship between the two, that alchemy of atmosphere and act that you only get in that specific environment.

Yes, Kai was deadly with his fucking winks and seductive looks (how dare you sir), but the way the audience reacted to his performance is what made the show go off. Xiumin aka Cat Pirate was also a scene stealer for me, and it was very darling when Chanyeol threw confetti at his head at the end awwww.

(I just wish, like, SM were less SM-y. I got a message from proteinscollide after the show - "Girl walking thru car park: shout out to SM who never give reasons for why members aren't there and if they're ok". Um, yep. I had to check on twitter to find out that D.O was off filming a movie.)

Ending stage was as usual with everyone coming out as tons of confetti rained down. I think a SF9 hugged a Victon? AWWW FRIENDS. A good night.

Night 2

We started again with dance cover groups - colour me EXTREMELY impressed by IME Dance Studio - and Kevin from U-KISS giving away a prize to whoever in the crowd did their best impression of their favourite thing to do in a hotel room. This led to a really hilarious scenario as the cameras zoomed in on 2 girls "dancing" together. "Yes, they're dancing!" Kevin said, "of course they're dancing!" Everyone just cracked the fuck up, Kevin included. They got the prize, bless them, which was - ofc - a free hotel stay!

The show started with the same VCR as the day before and then I was EMOTIONALLY DESTROYED by Monsta X's Jooheon and Shownu taking the stage together to drop an absolutely fire performance. Jooheon's duality is amazing - cuddly scaredy-cat off stage, fucking monster on stage - he was SO GOOD. Shownu's dance break was great as expected and I cried tears in my heart bc I love them.

SF9 returned for the second evening - again, they were slick and impressive, and they namedropped kangaroos and meat pies in their intro ment, good work on ticking off those keywords lol. But I really don't know why they got sets on both days? Did FNC decide they really wanted to build that fanbase and made the necessary commercial arrangement with the promotors? Like I said, stages like this can be real turning points in making a fan. So that's fascinating. If anyone knows, lemme know?

Daehwi (Wanna One)

Three Wanna Ones then took the stage to briefly MC. It was definitely Kang Daniel and uh, two other Wanna Ones! *hastily googles* It was Daehwi, who was the most fluent in English and was super cute & cheesy, and Minhyun, who was also cute but I don't remember much? Sorry team. The only Broduce bro I can 100% identify is Daniel, and sometimes Jaewhan. But! I think I'll remember Daehwi from now on - he was pretty memorable and did the most heavy lifting in the ments. Anyway they delivered some potted intros and then on to the next one.

WJSN then performed a special stage, covering two Kylie Minogue songs as two subunits - Locomotion (which I note came out in 1988, older than every single K-Con performer except for Sojin of Girl's Day) and I Can't Get You Out Of My Head (2001 - there are rookies debuting born in 2001! And younger! God i'm so old). Firstly much love for preparing a special stage with local appeal that didn't feel pandering and really spoke to the long history of amazing women in pop, and secondly THEY WERE SO GOOD. Fun, bright, poppy - I love them.

They were followed by Up10tion who did a high energy set and I remember why I liked them! They're good! I don't quite click with all their songs, especially their more recent ones which I feel are a bit hit and miss, but just like every other group in this K-Con they delivered their set with professionalism and skill and charm.

There was then a brief interlude with MX's Kihyun and I.M, MY TWO LOVES, MCing an audience dance game. We got to see Kihyun doing the Twice TT dance and my world was made. Gosh I love them.

WJSN

WJSN then came back for their set and I just really like them so much. They have that sleekness that I've come to associate with Starship because of them and MX, with both groups always having good choreo and catchy hooks. I like their concept a lot too - they're cute sassy cheerleaders, yes, but I also feel like there's this very cool edge to them, they could easily cut you! I love that! As they acknowledged in their ment, 2 members couldn't make it due to filming schedules (I think it was Cheng Xiao, the dancey/gymnastic one? And Mei Qi, possibly? I'm sorry, I don't remember) but they were still very good and I enjoyed their set a lot. And their main rapper - god, I'm sorry, I don't know if it was Bona or another member - she was SO GOOD? She had so much stage presence. Gosh. I need to find out her name.

Next up were Wanna One. Now, ofc, Produce 101 never officially aired in Australia. We had to watch it on the internet like a bunch of animals. And yet out of all the groups on both days, their fans were definitely the most intense and the most scream-y - yes, more intense than the Exo-Ls and the Monbebes!

I only ever saw snippets of P101 and as I said I can only ID Daniel with certainty, but I was, hmm, not surprised I guess that they turned out to be endearing? CAN U IMAGINE, a group of young men voted for according to their charms turns out to be extremely charming?! The shock! (From a purely commercial standpoint, what a brilliant exercise this has turned out to be. I think the limited timeframe for Wanna One to make bank lends an edge of urgency to their fandom and means their machine is also geared to maximum efficiency. Make! Bank! Now!) And because they're young and new, there was a certain edge of rawness and spontaneity to them which is naturally part of their appeal too. I still don't quite know what I feel about Kang Daniel - like I know he's very fond of cats and therefore a good person, and he has this easy, cocky stage charisma which makes his appeal seem very straightforward. But I think I found him most endearing when he missed a step at the end of his dance solo and there was just the cutest expression on his face, like "my bad."

For their Pinata game, they did photo time with hyung line posing "cutely" and maknae line posing "sexily" followed by some kind of free for all - A HOT MESS, lol.

Daehwi also went off script - or at least, he said he went off script, but can you ever really know? We need to go deeper! - and wished happy birthday to Kuanlin, getting the whole audience to sing along too, awww. As I said: what a group of charming young men; the self-awareness that they were constructed to charm ultimately means nothing.

FINALLY MONSTA X. They're, like, my second favourite group after BTS so I think I would've been just fine if they'd shown up and waved at us and sang like a song or two. But they didn't! They were really, really good. As headliners they had a signficant chunk of time and I think I was smiling from start to end, non stop.

They've turned into such good performers - with something similar to that same easy confidence that Girl's Day and Exo had - and I felt like they really did the most, on the second night, with connecting to the audience. Their performances were all on point, and everyone of them looked and sounded great but Jooheon especially killed me with swag and Wonho's collar & cleavage can fuck right off, ISTG. It just made me so happy to see them doing these songs and choreo I love so much - Shine Forever and Beautiful and Fighter - and they ended with Hero, my very first MX song, which was amazing. (I am a little sad they skipped All In but ok I can live with it.)

For their ment, they played the proposal game, with three members doing their very best fanservice lol. A very happy woman in the standing area got to be audience surrogate as I.M laid on cheesy lines (something about angels and heaven, IDK, why is he like this and why do I love him so much), Kihyun sang a ballad to her (next to me proteinscollide died a death), and Wonho came down to the barrier to to give her a heart, selfie & cheek kiss. It was so! Cheesy! And Wonderful! #the selfawareness does nothing

Everyone then came out for the goodbye, though MX were the only ones who felt relaxed enough it seems to actually get silly with the confetti and do some more spontaneous bows & waves to the crowd. By comparison to every other group on the 2nd night, they must be the old hands at K-Con by now - they've done SO many. Gosh I hope they come back to Australia for a full show. I love them so much.

Fuck, I'm now at 3300 words so let's wrap this up quick:

Unlike other K-Cons which seem to have a proper programming and convention stream, the "convention" part of this was really a disappointment. Minimal programming, minimal stalls (less than 10 vendors), all in one room. It was free entry which is fine I guess except that people were queuing up forever to get inside due to the limited capacity and it was H O T (over 30 C each day) out there. In the end I queued for an hour, and spent about 15 minutes inside. It was really not worth it. Luckily proteinscollide & I had options and just went away for a few hours to pass the time before the show, but I imagine there were a lot of kids left hanging around Olympic Park all day with nothing to do.

The shows didn't sell out. What does this mean? Possible thoughts:

-It was really expensive and the audience skews young. Like, the premium tickets were REALLY REALLY expensive and good tix were expensive. I could afford decent tix, but if I were in my teens? No way. I'd have had to ask my parents for it.

-Sydney has had a run of shows including an Australian-exclusive BTS show. If you're interstate and you already spent $$$ going to BTS, or for that matter $$$ to go G-Dragon in your own state, how much money do you have left over for concerts in this year? There is a limited capacity for this audience to keep spending. Promoters should be careful not to spread us too thin. Put more shows on in Melbourne! (Though I don't know - are there more Koreans and east Asians in Sydney? I suspect there are. The audience, again, skews heavily to those of us who are Asian-Australian.)

-Exo, MX, and Wanna One are very popular but don't have the same mainstream reach in Australia as BTS. BTS also had the advantage again of being earlier in the year, only the 2nd major kpop tour in the year I believe. Since then there's been other kpop and khip-hop shows for people to spend their money on. I really thought Exo would give BTS a run tho, given how well their latest album performed on Australian iTunes charts.

...that was not a quick wrap-up.

TO CONCLUDE: I HAD A GOOD TIME, THANK U FOR READING.

#kcon australia #exo #monsta x #wanna one #girl's day #wjsn #cosmic girls #pentagon #sf9 #victon #up10tion #sydney #kpop #actually using tumblr as a blog how strange #this is really really long #i'm sorry lol #kpop shows

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