Pokemon Soul Silver

I was reminiscing on how much I used to love the old Gameboy Pokemon games. I got a lime green Gameboy Color and Pokemon Yellow version for Christmas in 1999. Since then I've also owned and beaten Blue, Red, Silver, Gold, and Crystal for Gameboy Color until they started releasing games on the Gameboy Advance. I borrowed my friend's GBA that he never used to play Sapphire, Fire Red and Leaf Green.

Lately I've been wanting to play Soul Silver, but I don't have a DS. I'm short on money (college student lol) and I'm pretty sure I would only play that one pokemon game unless I bought a few others like Heart Gold, Platinum, etc.

Is it worth spending $100+ just to buy a DS and Pokemon Soul Silver?

What are the pros and cons of playing these games? They look ridiculously advanced compared to the old ones. What are some of the things you can do, multiplayer-wise? Wireless trading/battling? Tell me of your first hand experience with these games. Thanks!

Abbey Road

Need I say more? This album is a classic. The entire thing is a huge medley and is unbeatable. Comment if you love this album as much as I do!

Pinkerton

I admit: I'm not a very big fan of the modern Weezer. But their first two albums are so god damn good that it's hard not to enjoy them every once in a while. While their debut, the Blue Album, was a complete commercial success and goldmine... I prefer the more looked down upon "retarded-twin-brother" sophomore album, Pinkerton.

This record means a lot to me because when I was a freshman in high school my first "band" played a cover of "The Good Life". I had never even listened to the song until the drummer told us we should play it. I was hooked immediately. It was completely different from their first album, and I can understand why they would want a different sound- making a follow up to a great album such as the Blue Album would be damn near impossible, and by going in a different direction made sense. To me, this is a better recording than Blue, but again, it's just my opinion.

Apparently the album is loosely based on an opera by Puccinni called Madama Butterfly. A lot of the lyrical topics and themes involve the Japanese, their culture, sex, sex with Japanese girls, etc etc. You can read more on Wikipedia if you're interested.

Anyway, here's "Butterfly" from Pinkerton.

Oracular Spectacular

A couple years back, I was wondering what all the fuss was about for this band called MGMT. Their debut album, Oracular Spectacular, was released in 2008 I believe. I went two years without listening to them...WHY WOULD I DO THAT. I love this album in all its synth-y-glory.

It took me a while to get into them but after listening to their hit singles a few times, I downloaded their two albums. They're both fantastic but I like their debut album more. To me, it's more cohesive and pure.

I love how down to earth the band members are. They don't take interviews seriously and just want to have a good time. They're high all the time and joke about everything. I can totally relate to them.

This song hit me like a ton of bricks: "Time to Pretend" by MGMT.

In Rainbows

I will be starting a series about my favorite albums.

I'm kind of a weird music-listener. I go through phases of a band where I listen to all their stuff. I dissect all of their studio recordings and learn how to play the majority of their songs on guitar, bass, and drums. I study their songwriting techniques and structures and find the things they all have in common. I go through the band history and study their stage presence. Then after a few years I move on to another band and start the cycle over again.

Currently I'm obsessed with Radiohead. I don't know why, really. I used to HATE them because they were so depressing. There weren't any sing-along pop/rock choruses. Nothing was really memorable for me. Everything was bleak and negative. They weren't nearly as accessible as some of the other British bands of their time. But...Then they released In Rainbows. The whole music industry was buzzing about Radiohead and how Thom Yorke is the most powerful man in music. Now that I think about it, I'd much rather have Thom Yorke and his reputation for pessimistic lyrics be the center of the music industry than Justin Bieber or some other pop star.

I started listening to In Rainbows religiously. It really struck me as a powerful and cohesive album, and suddenly Radiohead were my favorite band. I loved them. The song "Reckoner" really stood out to me. The way the instruments enter, one after another...The layers upon layers of instruments and how they blended together to form this massive crescendo at the peak of a song and then.....nothing. Just silence in the middle of a song. And then it builds up and swells with a string section and wall of vocal harmonies and fades out, seemingly never ending. It's just perfect to me.

Anyway, at the moment my favorite album is In Rainbows by Radiohead. If you feel like it, give it a listen.

LET'S DO THIS

Starting in the next couple of days I'm going to write a series of guitar lessons. I just have to get some lesson plans ready and you can start rockin in no time. What kind of lessons would you be interested in?

best video ever

I saw this video the other day. I miss having kittens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiHXASgRTcA

old friends.

I was catching up with an old friend of mine the other day through Facebook Chat. He was my best friend and neighbor until I was 10 and my family moved to a different town. In the first year since I moved we had visited each other two or three times but I could tell we were losing interest and had nothing in common. After that we hadn't spoken for 7+ years, until Facebook hit its peak of popularity and he added me as a friend.

We got talking and I searched through his pictures and wall posts and realized he and I were completely different people. He exclusively wore Abercrombie and Fitch and other brand clothing like American Eagle. He practically lived on his iPhone. He was into drugs like cocaine, ecstasy, binge drinking, pot, etc. He listens to popular mainstream rap music like Eminem, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, and whatever else teens currently listen to, and expected me to keep up with popular trends.

I couldn't give a shit about popular rap music. I listen to the Beatles. I don't give a fuck what people think if I'm not wearing Abercrombie or if I don't drink. I'm 6'4", white, I wear glasses, and I play guitar. How did we become completely different people within a few years? It's certainly strange how far apart people grow. All I know is I'm happy with who I am and who I have become and wouldn't change a thing. Probably more to come later when I collect my thoughts together....

Redo

Do you ever wish you could have a "redo" moment in life? Sometimes I reflect on my life and realize there were some situations where I really would like to change my reaction. There were lots of moments in my first two years of high school. Seriously... Too many.  And quite a few in my last two years of high school. And even some in my first year of college. Maybe I should just think more thoroughly before committing to an action or a statement. I suppose I can prevent more of these moments by being more self-conscious (not in a bad way) and more aware of my surroundings.

But then I wonder if my current situation would be different if my past was affected in a redo? If I were unhappy then I'd have to redo the redo. Shit.

Zombies

I'm watching Resident Evil on HBO right now. I love zombie movies. I've always been fascinated by the idea of the dead attacking the living and causing the apocalypse. The sheer thought of having hundreds- even THOUSANDS of the blood-thirsty undead surrounding your area, attacking you, and ripping you to pieces is enough to keep me entertained for hours. Or similarly, what if an illness caused a worldwide pandemic (like 28 Days Later)? Who would become infected? How many would there be? Would there be any survivors? What about a cure? What would I do in the event that the end of the world arrives at my doorstep TONIGHT? What would you do?

College

I'm going to school for a marketing degree. My classes this semester include principles of accounting, macroeconomics, business writing/communication, music appreciation, and public relations. I'm usually an A or B student, and I just got a C on my Accounting test. Feels bad, man.

I play trombone in the jazz band at my school. I also play guitar. I just bought a new Gibson SG on a whim, so now I don't have a lot of money in my savings account. I need a job but I can't find anything around here...I don't have any prior job experience so it's even more difficult for me to find a job. Any advice?

First Post

I've decided to start blogging lately. I'll probably update with thoughts I can't seem to get out of my head.

I'm a musician and lately I've been starting to write songs. I might post some stuff up after I finish it and am not embarrassed by any of my material.

Thanks for reading! See you around.