Song of the Week 9

Origin of Symmetry - Muse - 2000

My brother told me I would probably like Muse. I asked where they were from, he told me England and I agreed I probably would like them. I have since found I really enjoy two of their six albums, though I haven't listened to the others yet.

This album is quite hard to only pick two songs from. Bliss, Space Dimentia, and Megalomania are definitely the top 3 songs from the album, and among my favoritest songs ever, but the other pieces are also quite enjoy able. Let's start with Bliss. I love high, electronic sounding, arpeggiated melodies (or really, they're more like harmonies).

Bliss - Origin of Symmetry - Muse

Everything about you is how I wanna be
Your freedom comes naturally
Everything about you resonates happiness
Now I won't settle for less

Give me all the peace and joy in your mind

Everything you pains my envying
Your soul can't hate anything
Everything about you is so easy to love
They're watching you from above

Give me all the peace and joy in your mind
I want the peace and joy in your mind
Give me the peace and joy in your mind

Everything about you resonates happiness
Now I won't settle for less

Give me all the peace and joy in your mind
I want the peace and joy in your mind
Give me the peace and joy in your mind

This song is mostly dark and creepy. I like that.

Space Dementia- Origin of Symmetry - Muse

H8 is the one for me
It gives me all I need
And helps me coexist
With the chill

You make me sick
Because I adore you so
I love all the dirty tricks
And twisted games you play
On me

Space dementia in your eyes and
Peace will arise
And tear us apart

And make us meaningless again
You'll make us wanna die
I'd cut your name in my heart
We'll destroy this world for you
I know you want me to
Feel your pain

Space dementia in your eyes and
Venus will arise
And tear us apart
And make us meaningless again

I LOVE the pipe organ. A couple of days ago I bought an electric guitar, so I can learn to play Through Fire and Flames by Dragonforce (and of course everything by Nightwish), but if there's one other instrument I'd like to learn to play someday, it's the pipe organ. On that note, on to Muse.

Megalomania - Origin of Symmetry - Muse

Paradise comes at a price
That I am not prepared to pay
What were we built for?
Could someone tell me please

The good news is she can't have babies
And won't accept gifts from me
What are they for?
They'll just grow up and break the laws you've loved

Take off your disguise
I know that underneath it's me
Who are you oooh

Useless device it won't suffice
I want a new game to play
When I am gone - it won't be long
Before I disturb you in the dark

And paradise comes at a price
That I am not prepared to pay
What were we built for?
Will someone tell me please

Take off your disguise
I know that underneath it's me

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Song of the Week 8

The Crypt - Red Flag - 2000

In 2000 I bought a new Red Flag CD, and it seemed like quite a departure from their earlier work. It was also my favorite album for a long time. I believe it was late spring/early summer the next year that Red Flag came to Utah and I went to my first concert (of my own volition). It was at a small goth dance club, the place was a dive, not the kind of place my wife and I usually go, but I had a lot of fun. It was the only time I saw Red Flag in person, probably the only time they were in Utah.

Anyway, my favorite pieces from the record are I See You and Heaven In Medias Res.

I See You - The Crypt - Red Flag

I've seen faces on a runaway ghost train
Bound for nowhere, going nowhere
Having no shame

I've seen the light at the end of the tunnel
Oncoming train, captain insane
At the end of the tunnel

I see you, I see you
I see you, I see you
You see me too but I'm getting through

I've seen the righteous
So filled with hate
Define a foe is all they know
Their common trait

I've seen people who lack ambition
Take a life without a knife
For recognition

I see you, I see you
I see you, I see you
You see me too but I'm getting through
You see me too but I'm getting through
I see you, I see you
I see you, I see you

As mentioned in the previous Song of the Week post, Red Flag started making their CDs neat looking, and I think it started with The Crypt. Pressed in glossy black plastic, this is one of the best looking CDs I have, and I think it spawned the 'Megablack' name used for the singles from this album. You can't quite tell from this picture, but the edges and inside of the disc are black, the bottom side is even prettier. I'd take a picture of mine, but unfortunately it's currently trapped in a car CD player that won't release it.

There's not much I'll say about this song, except that it's possibly the most moving song I've ever heard.

Heaven In Medias Res - The Crypt - Red Flag

My love has died and they have lied
There is no heaven
My lover sleeps and no one weeps
Cause there's no heaven

Set the table, try to dine
But I'm unable to pour the wine
Only one glass still remains
Sadly for me, no one complains

Then night falls and she calls
No longer my name, my name

My love has died and they have lied
There is no heaven
My lover sleeps and no one weeps
Cause there's no heaven

I cry out loud but my tears do not fall
They have all cried and died with my love

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Song of the Week 7

End Titles - Blade Runner - 1994

According to Discogs.com, Vangelis started writing music at age 4, and performed his first live concert at age 6. That's pretty impressive. I've heard only 3 of his albums, one is really quite good, one is mediocre, and the third had only one song I liked. Oh, and the theme to 1492 - Conquest of Paradise was also really good. The Blade Runner soundtrack is the mediocre one, unfortunately, I don't particularly care for most of the music (nor the movie, for that matter), but it does have one of my most favoritest songs ever, the song that got me interested in Vangelis in the first place, off a soundtrack compilation CD. The track in question, is the End Titles piece.

End Titles - Blade Runner - Vangelis

View this album at Discogs.com

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Pic of the Day 156

Dragon Skull! Part of the World of Warcraft Premium Series 2, Thrall figure. By DC Unlimited.

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Song of the Week 6

I Am the Wind - Red Flag - 2001

It's time to resume the songs of the week feature.

This week, a band that I was introduced to by a coworker during my early high school years. Red Flag is a synthpop band founded in 1984 in San Diego by English born brothers Chris and Mark Reynolds. They achieved some fame in the late 80's with Russian Radio and If I Ever. During the 1990's they formed their own independent record label to continue producing music. In 2003 Mark, who had been the primary vocalist of the band committed suicide. Chris declared that Red Flag was over, but four years later decided to relaunch the band as a solo project. Coincidentally, Chris sounds nearly identical to Mark as a singer, and has been quite prolific, releasing a number of albums and many singles.

This week's song is from the 2001-2001 Fear Series I Am the Wind single, the remix of the b-side I Love You To Death. One thing that I always enjoyed about Red Flag and the fact that they produce their own CDs, is that the CDs are fabricated to match the theme of the album. For example, the Crypt's CD is cast in glossy black plastic. The Fear Series (from the album Fear of a Red Planet) are in a beautiful translucent red.

I Love You To Death (Suffocation Mix) - I Am the Wind - Red Flag

Lay with me
And after the rhapsody
I'll share my philosophy
The irony, I love you to death

With eloquence
I bathe in your radiance
Savor every utterance
The irony, I love you to death

Love
Fire
Love
Higher (higher) (higher)

Melody
And in your eyes, poetry
Behind your smile, mystery
The irony, I love you to death

I'm your angel
All your fears I'll dispel
I'm not from Heaven or from Hell
The irony, I love you to death

Love
Fire
Love
Higher (higher) (higher)

I know this must be love
I know this must be love
What else would I think of?
Am I awake within a dream?

And every night
From dusk 'til dawn
We'll take flight
With you at my arm
We reign supreme
We're awake within a dream

View this album at Discogs.com

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Ultra Leader and Clear Leader by iGear

I received my iGear Ultra Leader today (for those that don't know, the Leader figures are unofficial scaled down versions of Masterpiece Optimus Prime), and I got Clear Leader last week. Here are some pictures.

Ultra Leader with FansProject G3 Trailer

Clear Leader + G3 Trailer

Clear Leader + G3 Trailer Stealth Mode

For a scale comparison, here is Clear Leader with a KO Crystal Convoy (Classics Prime)

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Why I haven't posted lately

The quick answer is that I'm lazy.

The detailed answer is that I've been busy doing other things, though many of them are just extensions of 'I'm Lazy'.

I spent a week's vacation visiting my wife's brother in Arizona (see my previous post), and since I routinely stay up until 2am, while everyone else goes to sleep around 11, I should have had plenty time to write up reviews of Batman: The Animated Series, or post some of the many, many pictures I've taken of my toys, because I couldn't spend the time watching movies or playing my XBox. But I didn't. Instead, I played a great deal of Poker on Facebook with my cousins. I read webcomics, I watched The Dark Knight, and I might have worked on my new collection wiki a little bit (but not nearly enough).

Then, the first week of December I went through Radioactive Iodine Treatment, which has left me isolated and home alone for a week. Though I did work from home two of those days, I didn't work full days, and I had the entirety of the rest of the week all to myself. And I still couldn't be bothered to make a post.

I spent most of the first day (like 16 hours or more) playing XBox (Bayonetta and Assassin's Creed II), then watched Predator (which is a damn fine film). Tuesday I got a box of 60 or so Transformers that I spent all day sorting through, matching up accessories and pieces, etc so I could decide which ones I'll keep for myself, and which ones I'll sell/trade on forums and eBay. I think I had some Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes playing while I did that. That night I watched half of Predator 2 (another damn fine film). The following day was a mix of working on my collection, trying to sort stuff for sale, consolidate and put some of my stuff in storage for another phase of redoing my collection room (not that the first phase that I started last December ever ended, it just slowed down until I barely worked on it once a month, and a year later it's still not finished. Anyway, I mixed that sort of productive stuff in with playing games, and finishing Predator 2.

The next two days I spent some time working, and working on my toys and playing XBox, Saturday I spent a few hours hanging Christmas lights. I got the bright idea of hanging lights all along the roof, because last year we got a hundred or so universal outdoor anchors for like a dollar at Walmart's after Christmas clearance. Of course, I don't have a ladder that can reach, so I had to walk to my brother-in-law's house (my car wouldn't start) to borrow his, then right as I started climbing all over the roof (I thought it would be easier than having to move the ladder around every 30 seconds) it started raining a little bit, so of course my pants got soaked from sitting on the wet shingles. But it looks pretty good, if I may say so. It comes at the expensive of not hanging lights in the girls bedroom, or all over the downstairs living room like I normally do, but change is nice sometimes.

So I did actually get stuff done in all this spare time that I meant to use to do lots of blog posts, I didn't just play video games and read comics (oh, I did nothing but read webcomics all evening Saturday and all day Sunday - I highly recommend The Order of the Stick and Dr McNinja). Oh, and I re-watched Hellboy and Hellboy 2 this week, because they are awesome movies, and I watched the 3 hours of bonus features on Hellboy and started into the 3 hours of Hellboy 2 bonus features. And I finished Blade Trinity, which was a lot better than I was led to believe. Not as good as Blade 2, which was freaking awesome, but good nonetheless.

Actually, I wrote did a review of the next Batman episode while in Arizona, but I never cleaned it up for posting. I'll do that soon, I promise. And I have hundreds of new toys I should post quick pictures of, half of which I've already taken pictures of, but have yet to post. I swear I'll do that one of these days.

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