Device Connected - Episode 3 (29/01/2012)

Another week, another episode of my dumb-ass blog. I continue to ramble off-topic this week, mostly because what I have to talk about regarding games and life generally isn’t interesting. But hey, why not go through with that anyway?

Last week was my first official week of school, and it is pretty much what I expected it to be. I dropped Phys. Ed, because I sure-as-shit am not getting up that early in the morning (see: 5h45AM) to do “Active Living”, especially when I finish that day at 7PM. Every other class seems pretty fun, though. I have a creature design class that I am excited about, and my English and French classes both seems pretty mellow. We actually watched part of an episode of Lost last English class, which really put a smile on my face.

As for the other stuff... well, I have therapy scheduled this week. Professional help is kind of what I need at this point. I am continuing to have nightmares and my depression isn’t really getting any better. I have been fortunate enough to have my friend come over pretty often, where we play Modern Warfare 3 a whole bunch and troll 15-year olds online. Hearing them cry and call us hackers makes me smile like nothing else. I just still am having the hardest time finding any motivation to do anything. I try to keep busy, and end up stopping moments later because I just have no drive to do whatever I am doing. It’s crippling, and I need it to stop.

But whatever, that’s going to be dealt with in due time. What really is important here is music. I’ve recently “obtained” access to What.cd, and with it came an opportunity to expand my music collection a little. There are a bunch of artists I had been meaning to check out, and that’s what I did for the entire week. I got a bunch of new music for the trip to and from school, and while I had my problems with some of them, I also found what is probably my favorite album of... well, my favorite album in a long time, really.

The first thing I downloaded was 80kidz, a group I found through Last.fm due to their “similarity” to Capsule and Shinichi Osawa. Their debut album, This Is My Shit, is pretty great. Their style is pretty much Capsule with more guitars and drums, something I can 100% get behind. “Go Mynci” and “Flying Buttress” have got to be two of the most energetic songs I’ve listened to in a while. The only issue I have with the album is that it starts off on an incredibly high note and doesn’t entirely follow through with it. The rest of the album is alright, but is no where near as good as the start. Their second album, Weekend Warrior, is much better paced, although there are no breakout tracks like there are on the first album.

Similar to 80kidz is Shinichi Osawa, only... older. Older sounding, I mean. I’ve fallen in love with the sound of Japanese Electro, and Shinchi Osawa is completely responsible for it. The One, his debut album, is an absolute blast to listen to. “Star Guitar”, “Electro 411” and “Push” are my personal favorites, but going through every track one at a time is a real treat. He’s got a really different sound, and I had a ton of fun listening to it every time I did.

I also decided to check out The Flashbulb, something I probably should of done ages ago. Friends of mine have been keeping up with his music for years, and I’m almost angry with myself that I didn’t check out his stuff any earlier. Reunion was the first album I listened to. I started playing it on the bus/metro ride to school. When I got onto the metro, I closed my eyes and just listened... and almost missed my stop. I zoned out just listening, something I don’t think has ever happened. I also listened to Arboreum the other night while drawing, and I just got into it again. Flashbulb’s mix of breakcore, nu jazz and electronic is, and I swear I hate to say this, enchanting. It inspires creativity when I am being creative, and I love it.

I also want to touch on Flashworx real quick. I haven’t listened to them as much as I have other artists this week, but if you like instrumental 80’s music, you owe it to yourself to check out their album, Two Guys in Japan. “One More Night in Tokyo” and “Odaiba Chase” are great tracks with a really awesome 80’s feel.

But now I want to talk about Grum, which is honestly all I want to talk about. I’ll set the bar as high as I can now by saying this: Heartbeats is one of my all-time favorite albums. There isn’t a single track I dislike, and I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed an album through-and-through like I have with Heartbeats. From the relaxed start of “Through the Night” to the future-80s sound of “Cybernetic”, Heartbeats is fucking incredible to listen to. I seriously haven’t heard Dance music this good in ages. If you’re looking for a point of reference, Grum is very similar to Bag Raiders, only I’ve found Grum’s music to be much more energetic and synthy. Tracks like “Turn It Up” and “Fashion” have so much groove to them that it’s like an internal struggle not to dance every time I listen to them. And, of course, there’s the titular song “Heartbeats”, which I am sure you are all acquainted to it by virtue of it being the best track on the Saints Row: The Third soundtrack. “Heartbeats” embodies everything I love about Grum. It’s not just an amazing track, but it’s perfectly placed in the album. Despite being the peak, it somehow doesn’t make the rest of the album feel any worse. If anything, I found myself enjoying the final tracks a lot more only because I was so excited from “Heartbeats”. It’s seriously a tremendous album, and you owe it to yourself to check it out of if you like electronic dance music.

That’s... about it. I could go on more, but I fear going on and on about shit I probably shouldn’t be speaking of. I’m no music-blog writer. I just listen to music and enjoy it, and thought I’d share. You probably just want the YouTube links, anyway. :P

Whatever the case, that’s that for this week. Oh! And I drew this. You should check it out. ;D See y’all next week!