Anime Recommendation:
Interviews with Monster Girls
I'm watching quite a bit of shows on Funimation this season like Tanya the Evil, Acca, Fuuka, Mob Psycho 100, & more. Yet, I wanted to share this show strictly due to this dub's fantastic scripting. In my opinion, it's last season's Keijo when it comes to writing & acting. The performances are so believable and incredibly hilarious when it needs to be. Otherwise, it's a very heartwarming story about being able to accept the differences everyone has and still being able to find your place in society, especially in the quintessential time of your life when that discovery truly manifests itself: high school. Even in its original sub form this point is well executed, but as discussed in the Sub VS Dub article it's nice to see that it can be enjoyed in both formats that way the work never suffers. I'm looking forward to continuing this with more laughs and smiles expected to come. Maybe you could, too!
My Guilty Pleasure Recommendation:
All things Poppy related
If you haven't heard about Poppy yet, I'm sorry I may have just allowed you to be entranced by this enigmatic figure in the weird side of YouTube. Her channel and music is almost like the social experiment that works all too well, while satirizing what makes pop figures and pop culture so influential in the first place. The music isn't that bad in that it truly is "Poppy", but the content surrounding the popstar itself is disturbing and infectious at the same time. It truly gets you to question how the industry machine affects the stars and who they influence or just leads you deeper into the dark black hole of "what is this and why can't I stop watching?"
Favorite Music Performance (Non-Hip Hop):
Spicy Boyfriend - Shawn Wasabi
I know, I listen to more than Hip Hop and R&B! Haha. I caught wind of Shawn Wasabi through a Facebook video a while back and decided to subscribe to his occasional uploads to YouTube. This video is a great display of why I made this choice. He makes really great happy electronic tunes that make you want to bounce along to! Plus, being able to see him do all the work live makes it the skill more apparent than from a stage where it seems likes a simple button push on a laptop. Yet, that's a whole other conversation about the EDM craft itself. Hope you can enjoy the video, though!
Favorite Dance Video:
Love on the Brain - Galen Hooks Choreo
I have loved Galen Hooks (choreography) for a very long time...even before her days working with Ne-Yo, or the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (LXD), or her cameo in La La Land. I believe it was Janet Jackson's Rock With U that I first remember noticing her. Anyway, anytime I can see something new from her passionate and versatile choreography, I jump at the chance to watch it. This here is a perfect example of how she can take simple movements and still express so much. Check her own channel out for more and I promise you won't be disappointed!
Favorite Live Performance (Hip Hop):
D.R.A.M. (Tiny Desk Concert Series)
D.R.A.M. is one of the many rap singers of this generation of hip hop. Yet there is something that sets him apart from them: his genuine positivity. That energy he brings to his music permeates your soul and just makes you jam along with him. You can tell that he's just like your friend from church singing with a smile on his face. He just now became your friend who makes music you can jam in the car and club too. That's how you get hits like "Broccoli" & "Cash Machine" and their live renditions are just as fun along with his other selections. Hit play and vibe out!!
Favorite Music Discussion
The Needle Drop: Rap's Punk Phase
Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop occasionally does think pieces on music and this one had me thinking. As a big fan of hip hop music and a person raised during the golden era of the genre, a lot of the "mumble rap" has irked me. Yet Anthony's perspective, by way of parallels to rock music, had me second guess if it's really just the growing pains of a genre. I, along with a few of my friends, know that Lil' Yachty gets the brunt of the "mumble rap" hate since he's the most outspoken, but with the game being as flooded with similar artists, it is concerning. But I guess I may be like a rock purist who will have to see if my mentality can outlast a trend or join the new norm.
Best Verse from a Disliked Album:
Big Sean feat. Eminem (Bar for Bar Breakdown)
I know this may be an odd category, but I just couldn't pass up talking a little about this song. Also, I'm sorry YouTube wouldn't let me embed the video here. Now, this song comes from Big Sean's new album, I Decided, that I chose to skip reviewing in depth since it boils down to him still being a mediocre rapper that leans on the corny side. I admit that he's still improving, but he's still has a lot of room for improvement. Despite that, he still managed to get a technically vicious verse from one the best to ever rap: Eminem. I do have to agree with Andre of Lyricology 101, though, in that Em did not fit the song well and Big Sean didn't really slouch on his end. Ultimately, when it comes to the craft of wordplay, Eminem is winning there.
Favorite Release of the Month:
Christ Crunken Commentary - Brail
Brail is my favorite artist of all time. Yeah, I'm not afraid to say it without hesitation. It's just been hard to promote him lately, though since he has released a new full length project in a few years. Therefore, the announcement of his new EP Christ Crunken Commentary was had me ecstatic! That does mean I will give this a Fair Shake Review soon, meaning an unbiased opinion first with bias coming second. Its release is just around the corner as I write this, but should be available by the time you see this post. So I'm going to leave my main thoughts on this artist to that review and leave you with a single from the CCC project to whet your appetite. Be warned: once you go Brail...something that rhymes with that!
Now that I’m up-to-date with the No Sleep Podcast, I find myself looking for other spooky podcasts to fill my time at night before bed. One in particular is The Black Tapes Podcast. I’m hesitant to share it with you for a variety of reasons; it’s kind of a mixed bag.
The Black Tapes is a serial-like mockudrama podcast of a journalist researching a collection of “unproven” paranormal documents owned by a professional skeptic who is offering a million dollar reward to someone who can show irrefutable proof of ghosts. Think of the X-files but if Scully was the optimistic aliens-are-totes-real newb and Mulder was the cynical one. I found that aspect to be really appealing and is the main reason why I’m sharing this with you.
I didn’t like that it was so similar to Serial. I LOVED Serial; it’s what started my foray into Podcasts. For some reason, I just didn’t like the style here. It seemed too…manufactured and Alex came across as kind of a dick. She is patronizing to the people she interviews and is a bit unethical. Meanwhile, I found myself constantly siding with Dr. Strand, though the show goes out of its way to try to cast him as unhelpful and dodgy. Alex doesn’t trust his constant skepticism and is frustrated that he has a rational explanation for everything (the horror!) while her dupey self takes everything at face value. The last thing that made me think twice about sharing is that it is currently on hiatus, until the group finalizes a new podcast they are working on. Boo.
But don’t let that detract you from checking it out. The story is intriguing and creepy and it’s fun to see how everything starts to fit together. The other cast members are believable enough to where you get the itch to google some of the oddities mentioned to make sure they’re completely fictional (like the unsound). Overall, I give it a B.
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