Zeke’s Year In Review – Music

Zeke’s Year in Review – Music

When it comes to music, I have to admit that I’m rather plain-jane. I typically listen to whatever comes on the radio, and if I like the song I’ll check out the album. That means that I don’t typically “discover” music, rather I enjoy what others have discovered. That being said, there was a lot of big stuff happening in music, and I have for you my 2012 Song of the Year and Album of the Year!

2012 Song of the Year – PSY: Gangnam Style

Cliche? Predictable? Uninspiring? Maybe. But there’s no denying that this song took the country, hell even the world by storm. Whether it was it’s catchy beat, it’s unforgettable (even if incomprehensible) lyrics, or it’s crazy music video, Gangnam Style was a musical anc cultural sensation, ranging from podcasts to stage shows to even the amazing performance with MC Hammer at the American Music Awards. I know a lot of people absolutely can’t stand the song, but despite it’s questionably overplayed status, I can’t help but hear it singing in my head, and doing the horsey dance down the halls of conventions, my apartment, and even at work. From the countless parodies to the classic original, Gangnam Style is without a doubt the Song of the Year.

2012 Album of the Year – Muse: The 2nd Law

2012 was a great year for music, but I’m going to have to go with a personal favorite here. Ever since I first heard Knights of Cydonia, I was a Muse fan. Each new single and album release gave me more and more reasons to love them, and to me they are one of the greatest rock bands out there today. Their blend of rock and electronica is haunting and mysterious, intriguing and passionate. While a lot of their songs share similar musical blendings, each one is unique and powerful. This is another one of those albums where I can’t seem to find the “skip” button no matter what song comes on. It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely great, and it earns my 2012 Song of the Year.
Come back tomorrow, when I’ll discuss Gaming! What’s my Game of the Year? Tune in to find out!

It’s Thursday’s talk about a song called “Saturday”.

Good morning friends and faithful watchers of anirage.com! Miroku here and I’m pretty certain that, by now, everyone has seen the trainwreck of a Music video that is “Friday” by Rebecca Black (great song, wasn’t it? -Insert heavy sarcasm.-). Well, as I was mandering around the internet, I discovered that ol’ Becca wasn’t the only one to take up the charge and sing about her favorite day. Another contender has thrown their hat in the ring. A young gentleman by the name of Brian Haner has recently released his own day inspired video. The title of which is “Saturday”. And, for your viewing pleasure, we here wanted to give you a chance to see a video that is not only just as good , but even greater then the homage that was payed by Ms. Black. So, without delay, I offer you all “Saturday”!

“Saturday” by Brian Harper

Hope you all enjoy and stay tuned for more great comedy, wacky videos, and all the other fantastic holabaloo you come to expect from us, here at anirage.com… And, keep you’re eyes peeled. We’re starting our next tour on the Convention circuit with Freecon which will be taking place on April 8th-9th in Tallahasse. For more info check out Freecon for more info. Catch you guys later!

~Miroku

aniRAGE! Year in review: Miroku’s Favorites list

Greetings and Salutations, Everybody! As most of you well know, today is the very last day of the year 2K10! Having seen Zeke list his favorite albums/Soundtracks made me want to take a moment to list some of my favorites of this year as well! So, without further adieu, I’m going to list a few of my favorites (From songs to Cons to moments shared) from this year:

Favorite Song of this year:

I probabaly have to say that my absolute favorite song from this year has got to be “Monster” by Skillet. It’s an amazing song from start to end, chaulk full of great rifts, an awesome beat, and enough energy to match a 12 pack of Red-Bull! Can’t tell you how many times I found myself jamming to this song during the year… Whether it was in going places or trying to psyche myself up during excercise or even when I was feeling a bit down. It’s just WAY to awesome of a song and I recommend checking it out, if you haven’t already.

Favorite Movie of this year:

I haven’t seen “Tron” or “Voyage of the DawnTreader” yet, but I figure that I can safely say that “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt.1” was probably the BEST movie I have seen! I’m not a huge fan of the illustrious “Mr. Potter” but, I have always enjoyed the movies. This last one, however, really blew me away and I loved the fact that they played back on events and conversations that were had back from a few movies ago and how this transformation of Harry from “Young Innocence” to “Dark Messiah” is coming to it’s fruition here. Not to mention that the telling of the ‘Deathly Hallows” story is and AMAZING treat in the midst of the story. Hands down, the BEST of the “Harry Potter” chronicles that has yet to been released… Still looking forward to Part 2 ^_^!

Favorite VideoGame of this year:

Call of Duty: Black Ops….What can I say about this game that hasn’t been already stated? It TRULY is an AMAZING gaming experience! I really, REALLY have loved playing this game and with it’s multiple play modes, customizations, Zombies, and the “Easter Egg” at it’s ending…. I have to say this has been and continues to be one of the funnest games I have yet to play!

Favorite Manga of this year:

I’ve enjoyed and am still enjoying quite a few manga’s this year… But, I feel that the best I have read or, rather, completed this year was probably “Full Metal Alchemist”… I mean, WHAT AN INCREDIBLE STORY!!! Hiromu Arakawa is a brilliant manga writer (if I do say so myself) and the series, with it’s many twists and turns and epic battles, really earned a place in my heart. I can say with sincerity and fondness that the story and its characters were truely A-list material and just stunning both in the reading and in the art! A must read if you haven’t already or aren’t already reading it!

Favorite Convention of this year:

Good gravy! We’ve been to QUITE a few in this year. It’s hard to say which one i liked the most because I really, REALLY liked them all! But, If I had to throw out just one convention that, in my mind, just stood an inch taller then all the rest… I think I would have to say that Metro-Con probably was my favorite again… True, we didn’t perform much there, but that may be just some of the charm that places it above the others. I’ve had a blast EVERYWHERE we went AND being able to do our improve with the likes of “the Nostalgia Critic” and “Ego-Raptor” or Hosting a Ball with “Anime Belle” are events that I shall NEVER EVER forget! But, there is something about Metro-Con that really puts a smile on my face and alot of joy in my heart. I always meet new and interestig people there and deeply enjoy the events and all the folks I’ve met… And, HEY! I’ve did something I never thought I’d be able to do. I was able to give blood to help people whom need it to live. Honestly, I’m scared of needles and the fact thta I worked up the courage for this has been a SUPREME accomplishment for me this year! It really was an amazing con and I’m TOTALLY looking forward to go back again this year… But,it better watch out. Exp and ShadoCon were REALLY, REALLY high up there!

And, there ya go! These are my favorites for the year! There is alot more I could post here, but I think I’ll hang back a little. However, I sincerely hope that you all had a WONDERFUL year and an even better year here in the next! God Bless you all and a very Happy New Year from myself and all of us here at aniRAGE.com!

~Miroku

Rediscovering Old Music

Now that my desktop is back in my possession, I decided to scour my often overlooked music folder.  I don’t have a huge music collection, but it does stretch back to my highschool days in some places.  With my MP3 player now being 16 gigs instead of 4gb, it was time to update the music on it.  (When I first got it a couple months ago I just transfered everything from the old one to the new one).

One little treasure that I rediscovered buried deep in the music folder was the Black and Blue album.  Not just any Black and Blue album though, a very specific one.  One that wasn’t released in stores.  Let me give some backstory.

Back in 2003 when Jay-Z released his Black Album, he also released a vocals-only version of it, to encourage mixes and mashups with his lyrics.  One of the more popular mashups to come out of this movement was The Grey Album, which put Jay Z rapping over The Beatles.  MTV would later “mash up” Jay Z and Linkin Park, but both bands had a hand in that one, while most of the others were done independently of either of the utilized talent.

The Black and Blue album combined Jay Z’s “The Black Album” with Weezer’s Self-Titled CD, often called “The Blue Album”.  Most wouldn’t think that either of these artists would make a good collaboration, and indeed some of the songs don’t fit together very well.  But when they do, which ends up being a majority of the songs, then it’s just audible awesomeness.

My personal favorite is the track “Encore for Wayne”.  When I first discovered this, I used to play it over and over to drive my buddy Cliff batshit insane, because he was such a huge Weezer fan and hated to hear it “ruined by Jay-Z”.  Bah I say!  It sounds awesome and I don’t care!

If you are a fan of either Jay-Z or Weezer, and even better both, then go check it out!  The “band” who makes the album is called Jay-Zeezer, and you can find the album, which was made by the “DJ” who goes by Mike, and by the DJ name “Uh…Mike”, over at http://www.jay-zeezer.com/ It really is awesome, and Mike goes into what went behind creating the album (or as he puts it, “The Story of How an Indie Rocker Learned to Love Like Rap Music”).

I’m sure as I dig deeper into this collection I’ll find more and more gems from the way-back machine.  Until next time!

-Zeke