...nothing else needs to be said...

Gatsbys American Dream

This band are quite unique, and...sometimes a bit strange.

On the whole, I would say I very much like this band...some songs I absolutely love, such as "Theater", but other songs are just a bit too strange for my tastes. 

Loosely, I would suggest they are Punk Rock to some degree...but then, they aren't.  You really would have to check them out to understand I think, but that is the best conclusion I can draw for the defenition of their genre.

Here is the music video for "Theater" to help you.

This song is also from the album I would consider my favourite, "Volcano"

Although this is completely the opposite reason for liking an album (and honestly, it's really NOT the reason), but some of the song titles alone on this album fill me with mirth:

"Shhhhhh! I'm Listening to Reason"
"Meet Me At the Tavern In Bowerstone"

They obobviously liked (and played) the game "Fable", especially as one of the tracks is titled that also (and of course, everyone knows Bowerstone is the main city in those games).  Who cares that the song Fable is actually about the film "Lord of the Flys" - it's called Fable, so shhh.

Speaking of which, "Fable" is another song I would highly recommend checking out...but after Theater.

Oh dear...this particular article has broken down into ramblings.

Do you like pie?

This Day And Age

 

This Day And Age are another one of my favourite bands, but unfortunately one that are no longer together.  

They were active I believe between the years of 2001 and 2006.  They had a couple of really amazing albums, my favourite of which being the second album entitled "The Bell And The Hammer".  

The song from this album with the same name remains my all time favourite song by any band, ever (despite the band themselves not actually being one of my all time favorites).  It's a very emotionally charged song, which whilst also conveying feelings of loneliness at times ("I should run away but I can't, chasing dreams that are slowing down for me")  seems to also manage to really lift me when I listen with it's intelligent use of dynamics and harmonies.  

The song is just fantastically composed, and it's such a shame it hasn't had far more media attention (even now it would stack up against anything else out there I feel).

I'm not entirely sure what the singer is doing these days, but I believe the rest of them (or nearly all the rest of them at least) are now in the band The Reign of Kindo.  I am not anywhere near as keen on Kindo as I was with This Day, but they are OK.  Very different type of band...more experiemental I would say, and still highly worth checking out.

The Classic Crime

A VERY underrated band.

The Classic Crime are a fantastic indie rock (as I would describe them) band who I feel should be a hell of a lot more famous than they are.  They are certainly better than everything you find on Radio 1.

They've come back this year with their new album. Phoenix, which is currently on loop in my iPod.  I haven't had a full chance to digest it all yet, but essentially it's just more amazing tracks from an amazing band.

This guys voice is simply superb;  I would love to be able to sing as well as he can.

My favourite song, live:

This is not my favourite song, but here is a nice live performance I found on YouTube:

Come on, Radio 1; why exactly are you pissing around with crap music when stuff like this actually exists right now???

Batman

Dead Letter Circus

I've been listening to this album quite a bit lately

Although it's not new by any means (2010), it's got some fantasticly atmospheric tracks on it.  I also really enjoy the lead singers higher (falsetto like) vocal range.

If you are going to check out anything at all, I would highly endorse the track "One Step" as a starter.

Oops!!

I forgot I even had this blog...

...and within a week, I will probably forget all about it once again.

Idiot drivers

I haven't posted on here it quite a few months, but after I was nearly run over by some cavalier-driving-Neanderthal, I felt I needed somewhere to vent.

Firstly, how the hell do the DVLA let so many ass-holes out on the roads who, in all fairness, can just about manage to get their brain to process the complex workings of brushing their teeth. I cannot count the times that I see someone on the road doing something fucking stupid, or worse, nearly causing a crash by doing something stupid. Usually it's something as retarded as idiots pulling out in front of you, but it can work up to something as simple as not signaling correctly, causing you to think a car is going left when in fact they intend to go straight on. Then the fool behind the wheel beeps at you because its "your fault", when at the end of the day if they can't figure out how their indicators work, then god help them.

No-one is a perfect driver, don't get me wrong. I do my own mistakes, but I can honestly say that they are few and far between, and I - to this day - have not had a serious infarction of any kind behind the wheel. I've done the thing we're all guilty of from time to time, which is come out in font of someone when they were a bit nearer than you thought, but not close enough to cause any problems (especially after you accelerate away like a bitch).

But back to the point at hand (this really is making me feel better, strangely). What arse-hole carries on driving over a crossing when someone is walking over it - this stupid bitch missed me by what must be mere centimeters. She didn't even looked concerned as I jumped back out the way, but waved a crap apology at me. Fucking tool.

If I hadn't have been so shocked by her idiocy and me nearly being run down, I would have taken her number plate and gone to the police station.

To sum up - fucking bitch!

The end.

We Are Fiction - 12/01/2008

We Are Fiction finally had another practice on the 12/01/2008.

We smashed through our set-list within a 20 minute period, then played it another two times [once on film], before stopping to work on the last three songs. My friend, Mr. Alan Charlesworth, was exploited once more for his amateurish-photography skills.

I should be getting hold of the video camera shortly. Once I have this, I want to A) finally add some video clips to the website and B) rip some MP3s of the best performances of the three recordings we have made.

As we were unable to practice this Saturday, we are hoping for a Tuesday practice. Rather than simply play through our set list, I intend this week to introduce two / three new songs. Hopefully these will become part of the list, which has reached 8/9 songs on last count [we scrapped one or two along the way].

Halo Wars

I've stumbled across yet another game that would be really good if it gets completed. Last updated in 2007, GameSpot brings us Halo Wars:

"The development team behind the Age of Empires series brings Halo to the RTS genre with Halo Wars, set before the events of Halo 1"

Although the screen shots are pretty small at the moment, even the description makes this game sound fantastic. RTS games are always great fun, and although I've never played one on anything other than the PC, it would be pretty interesting to get one for the XBOX.

Catch you on the flip side.

Battlefield: Bad Company

Yet another game that I think looks perfect is Battlefield: Bad Company. I have played 2142 to death, and that was always great fun over the Internet. So, naturally, once I have purchased XBox Live, this will be a fantastic addition.

Prototype

"An open-world game set in New York starring a shapeshifting man who can copy the appearance, skills, and powers of anyone he comes across."

I have literally just stumbled across this game in GameSpot. I have to say, just from the screenshots, this looks like a game I will love. Not 100% sure of the story, except for the synopses that I placed at the top of the page.

Another snipped from GameSpot explains that "Alex can also assume different shapes, most notably transforming his arms into wicked-looking blades which do a great job of slicing enemies clean in half. Another ability lets Alex use his accumulated biomass to create a thick armoured skin. Alex can also "consume" anyone he comes across--he can take on the memories and abilities of any person by consuming their biomass (thanks to icky Spawn-like tentacles seeping from his body). Not only can he take their abilities, but he can also shape-shift into that person, allowing Alex to sneak within his enemies' ranks and even get away unnoticed from any chaotic situations."

All in all though, this is definitely a game I am going to keep a close eye on.

Saints Row

I purchased Saints Row a few weeks back for £10 [it was second hand...no booklet, but who cares?], and I have to say - this game rocks.

Yes, it is extremely similar to GTA in a lot of ways...but, Quake was similar to Doom, and Unreal was similar to Quake, etc etc etc. The fact that a lot of people probably never mention, is its the little things that have been added on to make this game unique that really help it shine.

My favourite things to do are the "side missions". These can be anything from rescuing hoes from their Pimps for the Snatch missions, or diving in front of cars to claim money for the Insurance fraud missions. Please be aware - diving in front of cars is not recommended at home.

Another addition that pleases me, albeit small, is the garage. In GTA, you would park one or two cars per garage, and you would purchase houses mainly for convenience, but also to allow you more garage space. However, in Saints Row you can park [to my current knowledge] an unlimited number of cars in your garage.

Unlike GTA, the cars do not magically fix themselves when the garage doors close. However, once you have "Added" a car to the garage, if you drive it off and dump it, it WILL come back [a bit like Herby, but less-annoying].

Because of the addition of money in a safe in your house [this is generated based on how many areas your gang owns], I find the best way to "fix" your car is to, rather than drive all the way to the garage fix it and drive back, simply get it out the garage. Then, get out your shotgun and blast it till it explodes. You then simply open the garage, chose the car from the menu and pay $500. It is more expensive than the garage, but for time and ease [and the fact that $500 every now and then is nothing in the game], I would do this every time.

Graphically it is superior to GTA San Andreas, although I'd still say San Andreas is bigger in size to Saints Row. Don't get me wrong though, Saints Row is big.

Scrubs - RateYourDoc.Org

During one of the six new episodes of Season Seven, the medical team at Sacred heart were subject to a scrutinizing ratings system on Rate Your Doc.Org

As is usual with Scrubs [for example, in Season Six we learned of The Todd Time.Com, a disturbing homepage for Todd Quinlan], I went to rate your doc dot org to find out if it really existed. Sure enough, it does, and you CAN vote for your favourite Doc. Who the hell has been voting for Beardface?

My favourite page though is the one for the Lab Technition Franklyn [Hiro from Heroes].

HawHawHaw.

Trailer Park Boys - Season 8??

With the film and Season Seven over, Julian is retired, Conky is dead, Ricky is going on the "Straight And Narrow", and Randy and Lahey are stoned and drunk again respectively. One can only wonder, what will be in store for the boys when the new season finally airs. [Although when this is planned, I'm not quite sure yet].

The final episode of season seven saw Ricky, Bubbles and Julian in a stolen park rangers boat in the middle of a river. On the one side we have the FBI, after the massive collection of dope and the Swazey Express that had been stolen. On the other side, we have the park rangers that were after the boys for littering and causing damage, with Lahey and Randy in the middle trying to get them arrested all for their own gain [as usual].

This scene was flawless, as Ricky "bargained" with the various authority figures over who was to arrest them, and who could offer them the least-amount of time behind bars.

But after that is all over, things seem to be getting back to "normal" for the boys. What will be next in store?

As for when? The official Showcase website states the following:

“Showcase, like the fans, is hoping for more episodes once the team has taken a well-deserved break,” explained Ellis. “In the meantime, they are hard at work on a one-hour special that we hope to premiere next year.”

Fightstar

I have been listening to Fightstar again quite a lot recently - obviously their release of a new album has helped, but it has also help enforce how amazing a band they are...and how FAR from Busted a band could ever be.

Take "We Apologise For Nothing" for example - this single is fantastic. It has an "Approachable" radio quality that people could like, but it also doesn't stray away from the hard-hitting alternative sound that Fightstar are famous for.

Another example of this is "Floods" - with it's Muse-like Piano riff that emanates throughout the song, it again mixes soft and heavy in a fantastic way.

Just...download a song will you, and get off my lawn!

Artwork

I thought I'd shove some of my random artwork up here. Lets start with a rather random "Chinese" theme I went for with mind of a t-shirt design:

It's not one I'm insainly proud of, but I guess it's good enough to show people [otherwise I wouldn't be].

Next up is a picture I do quite like - I've simply called it "Night Sky". It's an image of...a sky...and some sea...with the moon...cause it's at night. Inventive name, I know:

This wallpaper is taken from the "We Are Fiction" website [well, at the time of posting it hadn't been uploaded yet, but when I get around to it, it will be]:

Here is another random one [well, even more so]. It's a picture I took of a candle on our table, but I obviously "played" with the image quite a bit:

And finally [for now, anyway] is a drawing I scanned into the computer and started editing using Photoshop. For one reason or another I never did get around to finishing it, but I thought I'd share it all the same:

Scrubs - Season Seven

I always manage to miss the beginning of the new season of Scrubs, but dammit I catch up quickly. We left J.D. and Eliot debating if, once again, they had made the wrong choice in their relationships and should be together. Eliot was about to get married to Keith, and J.D. was having a child with Kim [who pretended to have a miss-carriage, so they're not in the best shape].

I'm going to get those episodes when I get out of work - I have six to catch up on.

701. My Own Worst Enemy
702. My Hard Labor
703. My Inconvenient Truth
704. My Identity Crisis
705. My Growing Pains
706. My #1 Doctor

Silent Hill 5

I absolutely cannot wait for this game to be released - thus far, it is still set for a "2008" release, with no day or month specified. This probably means that it will be released so close to 2009, it may as well say 08/09.

I like to keep on top of the latest news with this game however. I find Silent Hill 5.net is a great source of information [I'm not sure if it is the official site, but it's good enough for me].

Some new screens shots and concept art have been posted on there recently. I am really excited [and a little scared, I must admit] to face some of these new enemies. One aspect of Silent Hill 5 that I personally think is a great addition [but, naturally, has been widely criticized] is the overhaul of the fighting system.

Previously, the fighting - although nothing terrible - has felt more like it was getting in the way of exploring Silent Hill. Most of the time, I would prefer to run away from the enemies like a girl [or like a child, in Heathers case].

However, what I have read is that the new character has a "military" background, and they have created a much more fluid combat system. Also, boss fights will feel more like they do in Zelda. To me, this will add to the game instead of strip from it.

Either way, I am going to keep my eye out for any signs that a release date is confirmed. This, along with Fable 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV are easily going to be the highlights of my gaming year.

Bioshock - Completed

Well, that was probably the quickest I've ever completed a game. Got the game on Thursday, completed it Sunday night. But the game was so good, I'm already thinking about playing it through again on Hard, mere days after completing it.

Do you remember how you felt the first time you saw Fight Club? To me, I was thinking about the plot, twists and characters for days after I saw it. Then, the subsequent times I watched it, I spent most of my time looking for any references to what we already knew about the story.

It is for that reason, without saying anything to ruin the story, that I really want to play Bioshock again.