Gameboy Camera is loads of fun

It is. Seriously. Thing is, the Trippy-H step sequencer only holds 1 song at a time, so if you accidentally save one of the sample tunes, you lose your song. I found that out the hard way. Oh well, it doesn't take much time to make a tune in Trippy-H, I'll just do it again.

Maybe I should record that chiptune I finished about a week ago...

Anyways, tomorrow I'll be receiving a Gameboy Camera from one of my friends. It's great because he's giving it to me for free, and it has the neat little camera and Trippy-H, a step sequencer for songs. It'll be great to try working with other programs for chiptune; I'd get Nanoloop too, except it's too expensive.

Backwards Motion

It feels like as I've aged, instead of being desensitized to violence and stuff like that, I've actually become more sensitive to that material. It's strange. My empathy with others seems to have gotten stronger and stronger. I can't watch those videos of guys on skateboards trying to slide down a rail and hitting their groins on the rail all the way through without feeling...I guess it could be described as sick, but that's not really what it feels like.

I feel bad for the final fate of the bad guys in movies/comics/TV shows/etc. no matter what their prior actions were. Unless it's animated/drawn, I find it harder to look at blood or that sort of stuff for a period of time longer than a minute.

It's so weird. Before, I could have gone out in the backyard with my dad and shot some wild rabbits with a BB gun, but I'm not sure if I could do that now (besides the fact that my dad's successfully kept the rabbits out of our yard for a while now).

I think I'm either turning into a wimp or developing telepathy. I hope it's telepathy, because that would be really cool, but if it is I really hope that I can turn it on and off at my will.

I love it, but why's it gotta be so $$$? (another rant, more of a thought)

If you know me, you know that I love music. I love listening, playing, and creating music. But I've recently been flipping though various music store catalogs and I've come to realize that in music, there's almost a direct correlation between how much money you spend and how good the quality of your music is (I'm talking more about audio quality, not how good the band is). To be even just a garage band every member has to spend at least a couple hundred dollars for a good instrument, another couple hundred for decent amplifiers, and even more if you include microphones, cables, stands, and even a mixer if you're that serious about it. All in all, a basic band costs something like $1000-2000. And then once you get popular and want to record an album, that's another couple thousand dollars, depending on whether you buy equipment for a home studio or go out and rent a recording studio and an engineer. And if you don't spend that much money, you end up with poor-sounding performances and amateur recordings.

This is all assuming you're forming a rock band. Electronic music, on the other hand, can either be cheaper or even more expensive to compose, record and perform. On one hand, professional-quality software such as Ableton Live, Cubase, Traktor, etc. can be $500 or more, and if you are doing the type of music that involves lots of sequencers, samplers, etc. (like, say, Daft Punk) each module by itself is probably a couple hundred. On the other, tracker (and some sequencer) programs are either completely free or almost-free, and yet they have the capabilities to sound better than professional equipment and software.

I think the reason I like chiptune is that it's cheap: a Gameboy might cost you $50 on eBay, and LSDJ plus a flash cartridge won't be more than $40 (that is, if you get the cheapest, most basic flash cart). It's also easy to grasp, as long as you have some musical training. I remember reading an article a while back where a school ordered lots of Gameboys and LSDJ cartridges to give to students to teach music composition. (wait, have I mentioned this already? Eh, whatever.) I wouldn't call it brilliant, but it's pretty damn clever and cost-effective. Gameboys are pretty tough and can take a fair beating before ceasing to work (heck, most Nintendo products can, too); there's a Gameboy on display somewhere in New York that was caught in a bomb blast (not sure what kind it was), and although the outer case was melted and deformed, it was still able to play games. And if a student succeeds in bashing a Gameboy until it doesn't work, the cost of replacing it is even less than a textbook.

Oh also, single instruments don't count in this. Sure, you can get a harmonica for cheap, but it doesn't have the versatility that a full blues band has.


The backlight's arrived, so I'll be modding my DMG (and posting pictures of the process here) in a couple days, when my dad and I have time to do it. I hate final exams.

Yay! (Good news)

I think I've broken my writer's block, at least temporarily. Started working on a new chiptune yesterday, and so far it's looking pretty good. This one is gonna be a fast, dark, and intense song; perfect for a boss battle! I might post a WIP on my 8bc account, but I kinda want to wait until I finish it.

Also, my stuff from Nonfinite Electronics shipped! Should be here in a couple days. It's a good thing too; that crack in the screen I made (accidentally, of course) was starting to really bug me.

MadTracker, Take 2

Well, I downloaded MadTracker today. Again. This time I'm hoping to actually learn how to use it instead of just stare at the user interface and be all confused. Now that I've had experience with trackers like this and LSDJ, it shouldn't be as hard to start using MadTracker. Trackers in general have a fairly complex and intimidating user interface, unless you use Midget. But then, do I want power and options or simplicity?

MadTracker 2.61

Midget 3.51

                                       

Meh.

Meh.







Boooop.

Another rant, sort of.

I've been thinking about this all day, and I think I've come to the conclusion that music critics are virtually useless, at least in popular music. (classical music is another thing) Unlike film, book, and video game critics, just because a music critic says one album is bad doesn't always mean it's bad. And even if it is bad, that doesn't mean people won't like it. I mean, look at Black Sabbath's career: almost every single album of theirs has been universally panned by critics, and yet most of them sold very well, if not decent, at least. And then there's lots of indie bands that are generally mediocre, and yet they're commercially successful, too.

Now, in movies, books, and video games, if critics say they're mediocre/bad, that usually means that they will be mediocre/bad. There's exceptions to this, as always, but (as far as I know) there are far fewer exceptions to this than in music.

Actually, the problem with critics in general is that they all have different tastes. If you compare 2, say, book critics that specialize in romance novels, even though they both know what a good romance book is and what isn't, they won't be consistent with each other. One could give a book a 9 out of 10 and the other could give the same one a 6 out of 10. If all critics were somehow bio-engineered to have equal interest in all genres of their media, not preferring one over the other, then scores would be more consistent throughout reviews.

Creative cycles suck. A lot.

Lately I've been having a hard time getting ideas for new songs. I might get a little hook, and I'll build a little groove around it, but then I actually listen to it and then I scrap it. Usually I'm able to get inspiration from my own songs by listening to them over and over, but it hasn't been working lately. In fact, I've been low on ideas for pretty much any creative outlet. I think I need to open up my Gameboy and examine the guts again. I got boatloads of ideas when I Pro-Sounded my GB Color, maybe I'll get some more after I backlight my DMG.

On the upside, I found a copy of the Collector's Edition of Monty Python and the Holy Grail for 7 dollars. I got past that frustrating escort mission in Vanquish with those giant jellyfish bomb thingies. I get to do a boomerang demonstration at school in a couple days. My friend gave me a nose flute. Life's good, except for my writer's block. Downtime sucks.

Any ideas for inspiration?

Oh god what have I done to this and very so green five travel onions frogs flgggrspmt.i

Title unrelated. Anyways, at school today they had this screening of the documentary Race to Nowhere, showing how students are overloaded with homework and extra-curricular activities and how this is hurting us more than it's making us smarter. It was pretty good, and anyone who says it was boring has an extremely short attention span. I related to a lot of it, and I also didn't relate to a lot of the points made in the movie.

For example, there were 7th graders being interviewed, and they said that they regularly stay up until midnight or later finishing homework. First of all, how do you survive on that much sleep every day, especially at that age? Second...oh wait. Well, I just realized that maybe the reason why I almost never had to stay up late finishing homework was that our school had already cut down on it. Hm...nevermind this.

I did relate to how a lot of students were under lots of pressure from parents, themselves, and others to get straight A's and take every single AP course the school offered. I remember my parents used to get all riled up when I missed even just one question on a quiz. It got to the point that I was scared to show them any type of grade. But, after an event happened (it's a bit too personal for me to be put up on the internet), they eased off a bit. It made me feel so much better, although they still don't like it when I get a B. And about taking every single AP course, I'm definitely not doing that. Maybe a couple, but not every single one. I know someone who is doing that, and they sometimes get only 4 hours of sleep, sometimes even less. If I had that much sleep every day, I'd collapse.

A lot of other topics the documentary talked about that I could talk about too, but I don't feel like it right now. Maybe tomorrow.

Autechre makes great thinking music.

Conversely, it also makes great music to trip out to (not that I do drugs or anything; why would I need drugs when I have this?). My favorite tracks for so far are Pen Expers, Eutow, and Gantz Graf. But I only have 3 outta their 24 albums right now, so there's probably others I'd really like too. 

But when all of this complex, partially computer-algorithm-generated (except for Eutow) music, I listen to some simpler stuff too. Souleye's soundtrack to the game VVVVVV, is really catchy. I encourage you to download it from his website. When I want something more brightly colored, I go for Anamanaguchi. Seriously, it makes you feel so much better after listening to them. 

Oh, I almost forgot about Clipper. That's another Autechre song I like, and it's not computer generated like Gantz Graf and Pen Expers. 

Upgrades to muh Gameboy!

Well, I went and bought a new screen, Color+DMG cable (for linkin' my Color and my DMG together for future use with music), and also, a backlight kit with rocker switch. You know how the DMG's screen isn't actually black and white, more like green and darker green? It makes it pretty hard to see, even in direct light. And like all Gameboys up to the SP (besides the Gameboy Light, which I doubt many people have even heard of), you had to be in almost-direct light to see what's on the screen. That's not good for musicians like me. It doesn't look very good when you have to have a bright light on a table and you're performing in say, a dark club. To rectify that, Nonfinite Electronics has developed and is manufacturing DIY backlight kits. Basically, it comes with a backlight module that has 2 LEDs, a resistor to give the LEDs the correct amount of power, a non-adhesive rear polarizer film, and optionally, a switch to turn it on and off. And the end product of the kit I bought will look like this:

(might be a slightly different shade of green, though)

I can't wait to get it, because once it's installed I can work on my tracks just about anywhere and anytime. I can wake up in the middle of the night with a great seed for a song and put it down right there before I forget it. How great is that? The only way it could be better is if I could just telegraph the music that's playing in my head at the time into the device directly! 

Also, it'll be a good way to practice my soldering skillz. Maybe. I might just get my dad to do it so I won't accidentally cause a short that totally fries the circuit board. But there's not that much soldering to do anyway. The hardest part is peeling off the LCD's reflective foil and rear polarizer. 

Welp, I guess I'll post some pics on my Facebook and here after I finish in a couple days.

My reaction to my Xbox Live Gold trial running out: Meh. (In other words, it's a rant)

Seriously, the only reason I'd have Xbox Live Gold is for playing online, and even then I don't do that often. Why would I do that when I can play a lot of those online multiplayer games for free on PC? Yeah, yeah, Halo Reach isn't for PC, but Halo 1's just as good and there's still people who play online. In fact, I think Halo 1's the best in the series. But anyway, I'm sticking with Silver until I find a game that's not already on PC, lots of my friends are playing, and isn't a First-person shooter. Third-person, maybe, but not a FPS.

I swear, if I find an Xbox/PS3 fanboy that isn't also a FPS fanboy, I'll *insert act of punishment or humiliation here, except that it won't hurt or humiliate me if I actually have to do it*. FPS's are soo overrated these days. I miss the golden days, probably before right after Halo 1 came out. Might've ended later, I dunno for sure. Those days, it didn't matter if your plot was just a wall of text at the end of the game, all you needed to know is that you shoot people and run around the map, and it was FUN. Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, They were FUN. Half-Life was also really good, but it's not the light, one-against-the-world feel as the former. It's still really good, though. Actually, I think the golden era of FPS's started to wane around the release of Half-Life. It didn't stop all together, but it definitely started around there.

Another thing: Call of Duty. I don't get what's so good about it. Sure, it may be fun to play, but why does everyone say it's the best game in the world? I like games where you're in the future, the past, or just in some fantasy/sci-fi world that could have never existed at the time it was made. I mean, video games were meant to be a way to escape reality, for pete's sake! When I play a video game, I want to be in a different world. I don't want realism. If I wanted realism I'd go outside or watch the news or something!

I'm bored of typing now, I'mma go rocket-slide around in my Augmented Reaction Suit and destroy Russian robots on this colony that may or may not be in space. And my name isn't Vincent, it's Sam Gideon.

/end rant

Also, a reminder that this is a rant, so don't say anything about weak logic or hypocritical statements, I don't think when I write a rant, I just rant.

Well, now that I'm all moved in for the time being....

So um...yeah, I guess. I got tired of my Facebook account having that 420 character limit, and I'm not exactly gonna like Twitter either (how the hell are you supposed to fit more than a headline in 140 characters?!), even though I have an account, so um...yeah, I guess. This'll be where I post my longer thoughts 'n stuff. And maybe some random crap here and there.

To quote the great Let's Player Kikoskia, "Until then folks, until then." *salutes*