The Playlist #11

It was a painful week due to migraines. But, at least, I was able to use my sick time, which has already accumulated to 20 days! Anyways, my playlist for this week.

"5" by Ultraspank

I was playing an X-Games video game for the PSone when this song came up, being part of the game's soundtrack. That was 10 years ago and I almost forgot about it. But when I saw Shaun White executed his "Double McTwist 1260" moves at the Winter Olympics, I swear that this song was playing at the back of my head. It was glorious.

"No One's Gonna Love You" by Band of Horses

I own Cease to Begin, Band of Horses' sophomore album, for more than two years now. But I never bothered to digitize it, even for my first mp3 player. I don't like it that much. But when I heard this song on Chuck, specifically in the "Chuck versus. the Nemesis" episode, where Sarah was torn choosing between Bryce and Chuck (fucking cliffhanger), I turned my basement upside down looking for this CD, and ripped in to my iPod right after I found it.

'Wolf Like Me" by TV on the Radio

I saw the movie Rachel Getting Married last Tuesday. I've seen this movie before but I didn't realize that the guy who played Sidney, Rachel's fiancee, is actually Tunde Adebimpe, who's also the vocalist of this excellent band TV on the Radio.

"My Grain" by Corrosion of Conformity

I had a really bad migraine attack last Wednesday night, and it actually spanned for three days. If I rate all my migraines, that last one would be on the top 5. Anyways, this song isn't about migraines, I think. I just chose it because its title sound pretty close. Plus, any song by Corrosion of Conformity kicks ass.

"Promises" by Fugazi

I was in a record store earlier (yes, I know, I got out from my den and went to a place with a lot of people called the mall) and I heard two guys, probably around my age, trashing emo. One of them said that emo "is a shitty new music". I know a lot of people think it's a new music. But emo has been around since the mid-80's. It started with a band called Rites of Spring. Their album was produced by Ian McKaye of Fugazi, which is a really kick-ass post-hardcore band.

"Siberian Kiss" by Glassjaw

Since we're on the topic of emo, I have to admit that I also listen to this music. Albeit it was the earlier inception of the genre, the precursor, the pre-mainstream emo. It was emo as emo can be, like crying about break-ups and killing girlfriends, except they were more heavier and aggressive. They were also labeled as Screamo (due to excessive screaming). Glassjaw is one of those bands that I really love. I still do, and I want them to release their 3rd album already.

"Understanding in a Car Crash" by Thursday

This is also one of my favorite screamo bands back then. They're still around, however, but I don't know anything about their music after their sophomore album.

That's it for this week. Enjoy.

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Of Migraines and Civilizations

I haven't accessed the net for a couple days now, and not because I've been sacrificing my PC usage for lent. I had migraines, terrible ones, for three straight days. So I have to keep myself in the dark, literally. No lights, no TV, no computer. It's a good thing I was still able to listen to music and play with my guitar, since my migraine didn't come with sound sensitivity.

But, anyways, the first thing I did when the headaches abated -after I took a bottle or so of Excedrin tablets- was check for some gaming news. Then lo and behold, Sid Meiers and his wonderful team of game developers at Firaxis finally announced Civilization V, the fifth installment of one of my most favorite games. Go drool over the video.



I was kind of expecting this though. I mean, it's been five years since Civilization IV was released. Still, this announcement -even though I got it late- overjoyed me. It overjoyed me so much that I have to take deep breaths and calm myself because the excitement made the blood rush through my head, and it was so painful it made me gag.

Nothing extensive has been released in regards to its gameplay, however. But from what I read on IGN, this line interested me the most:

"Diplomacy is handled full screen now, with full leader animations and appropriate languages."

This is just wishful thinking on my part but, I think, Civilization V's diplomacy might have some RPG elements? Because that would be awesome. It would be really cool if you can parlay with your enemy before you go to battle and, if your player character has the skill, you can perform some dialogue checks (like intimidate or persuade) to make your enemies surrender or at least lower the morale of their troops.

But, with RPG elements or not, this is going to be a great game. I'm definitely going to lose a lot of sleep playing with this game, and probably get more migraine attacks as a result.

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Guns, Devils and Headphones

Hellboy, listening to Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast".

After a month of searching for the perfect and affordable set of new cans, I've finally decided to get the Audio Technica ATH-30. I just received them today and my initial impression is great. But I have to spend more time with it and do a couple of comparisons before I write a proper review. So, if you're interested, keep an eye for my review in a couple of days.

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The I in iPod Touch

It's been months since I bought my iPod Touch. But I haven't posted anything to show if off in this blog. The reason being is that I haven't tinkered with it, save for loading it with music and listening to it. It wasn't until the last month that I realized the gadget's capabilities, that it is more than just a music player, that it caters to all my entertainment needs, whether as a music lover, a gamer, or a comic book aficionado.

iRock

My iPod Touch, sitting triumphantly on top of my ZEN Vision and Nintendo DS.

The main reason I bought the iPod Touch was because it plays music. Sure, I could've gone with another brand. In fact, I was gunning for an Archos 5, which is $100 cheaper than the Touch and has an HD space that is 4 times bigger. But it is too cumbersome to carry around. The Touch, however has a sleek and thin design. I can just shove it inside my pocket without bulging. The HD capacity of my Touch is only 64 GB though. But it's sufficient enough to hold all of my mp3s. Right now, I have 4500 songs, in bit rates of 256-320 kbps, on my device and it's taking up 40 GB of my hard drive. Combine that with its 30 hour battery life, I could take and listen to all my music anywhere for long periods of time.

iGame

Plants vs. Zombies, invading the iPhone/iPod Touch.

Another reason that I bought the iPod Touch was because of its apps, mainly the games. I didn't really expect to find good games, however. I just thought it would be nice to be able to play some games, even casual ones, and listen to music without having to take both my Nintendo DS and mp3 player with me. But I did find some really good gaming apps for my Touch, and I could see that gaming has a future in this platform. Zenonia, for example, is a fun RPG that reminds me a lot of SNES games. Then there's the iPhone/iPod Touch version of my favorite defense game, Plants vs. Zombies. But the best thing about these games is that they don't cost a lot at all.

iComics

Spider-Woman, the motion comics.

Even though I went fully digital with my games and music last year, I still plan on staying the hard copy route with my comics and books. However, there are some comics that I really want to read but are just too expensive for me to buy. That's where digital comics come in. They're cheap and don't need any maintenance. Apps such as comiXology has provided me with titles from publishers like Devil's Due and Image for only $1. Then there's also the motion comics, a cross between a comic book and animation. I just recently purchased the Spider-Woman motion comics, and I'm very pleased with it. The voice acting is great and it's only $9 for 5 episodes, which is $6 cheaper than the paper version.

I know a lot of people think I'm an Apple hater. I'm not (but I do have something against nosy Apple fanboys). I just don't feel their products are that special. But the 64 GB iPod Touch is different. It has the capacity to store all my music, it has games that I want to play and it even provides me with cheap comic books. I just feel that this device was made for me. Now, if only Jobs and his crew could focus more on gaming and then release a 64 GB iPhone. That would be great.

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