So I've been on a bit of a binge of listening to my favorite band a lot lately for some odd reason. I'm thinking it might have to to with me running into a whole bunch of videos a little while ago from their live show they did at the E Center out here in Salt Lake back in September a and really, really wishing I could've gone (Next time they come through Utah for sure!). And since then I've been wondering about which Pearl Jam album is the greatest of all time. It's kind of hard to say though, PJ is more of a song band than they are an album band. In which sense they have some of the greatest songwriting and lyrical writing capabilities I've ever heard. A lot of people though would probably tell you that their old classic debut album that made them so huge and legendary in the first place, Ten, is their finest work. It certainly is their most popular and successful one, that's for sure. I myself have maybe wondered if it is, given the fact that classics like the heavily rocking Even Flow, the mellow yet high energy leveled Alive, the passionately emotional and dark and somber Black, and the powerfully shocking tribute Jeremy are on there, all of which do indeed rank amongst some of their finest work. But what does the album have outside of that? From what I've been able to tell, it's mostly just a heavy rock out fest. Which is cool and all, especially since Pearl Jam does it as well as anybody, but outside of Black and Jeremy, it doesn't really have the powerfully inspiring or contemplatively stimulating touch that makes them such an amazing band. Despite that fact though, the album does indeed have those two songs, both of which are probably two of the greatest songs they've ever written, and most definitely two of my all time favorite songs from them.
Of course you've all heard me go on and on about Black, heck, I've even posted the lyrics for it on here before if you remember. But today I listened to Jeremy I think for the first time in a good long while, and I must say it really reminded me of not only why it's such an incredible song, but why Pearl Jam is my favorite band. For those who don't know it's basically a tribute to a Middle School student who headlined newspapers back in '91 when he walked up in front of his English class and shot himself, and it features, along with Black, some of the finest lyrical writing PJ has ever put out. Not to mention the song itself is as full of compelling energy and passion as any one of their songs can be.
Jeremy
At home
Drawing pictures
Of mountain tops
With him on top
Lemon yellow sun
Arms raised in a V
Dead lay in pools of maroon below
Daddy didn't give attention
To the fact that mommy didn't care
King Jeremy the wicked
Ruled his world
Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today
Clearly I remember
Pickin' on the boy
Seemed a harmless little ****
But we unleashed a lion
Gnashed his teeth
And bit the recess lady's breast
How could I forget
He hit me with a surprise left
My jaw left hurting
Dropped wide open
Just like the day
Like the day I heard
Daddy didn't give affection
And the boy was something that mommy wouldn't wear
King Jeremy the wicked
Ruled his world
Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today
Try to forget this...
Try to erase this...
From the blackboard.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
The Choice Has Been Made: BroEl's Summer Season 2010 Anime Lineup
Seems almost like yesterday I was making my picks for what I would be watching for the spring season, doesn't it? Well it wasn't yesterday, no, but it was only about two months ago or so that I did. Time sure does fly by when you're watching a season of good anime. Even the 11-13 episode series from last season have yet to finish their run yet, but with them coming close to doing so and the new season approaching us, it is now time to take a look at what I will be watching. Though I probably won't be following all of them to the end given time restrictions (maybe a couple and that's it) I figure I ought to at least give all five of these series a shot.
Although I've never been a particularly huge fan of Death Note, the names of Madhouse Studios and Tetsuo Araki still give meaning enough for me to want to give this series a shot. Because those same names are associated with my #2 anime released in Japan from 2008, that of course being Kurozuka. Death Note I still thought was a pretty excellent series despite not really liking it all that much, and Kurozuka was just a downright flashy cool series in it's own right. That said expectations are pretty much right up in that same capacity for this series as well. Definitely looking forward to what it brings to the table.
From the looks of things, the premise of this series looks to have something to do with both the supernatural and time travel at the same time, amongst various other interesting phenomina. Which I must say, definitely intrigues me quite a bit. Based off of the premise alone it seems like it's at least worth a shot, but we'll see. If it's anything like Ghost Hunt (it actually kind of reminds me of that series more than anything else) it may end up being one I'll have to have patience with before it really starts to keep my interest.
I must say, the animation for this series really caught my eye at first glance. It's from the same person who brought us Twelve Kingdoms (which I have yet to see or even really know anything about) and, oddly enough that I mention it again, Ghost Hunt, although unlike the latter, this one looks like it could be a real creepfest right from the start. It definitely has a very eerie feel to it, which has me very intrigued. Plus that and the plot summary on ANN makes it sound like this one could end up being a really engaging thriller. Definitely going to keep an eye on this one, that's for sure.
This one seems to be the least intriguing of all of the series I've decided to give a shot this season, and probably the most likely to be the very first series I decide not to follow to the end. Despite that fact though it still at least seems decent enough to give a shot to anyways. It does sound like a kind of series I might like after all.
I think I've come to find that Seinen has definitely become one of my top favorite genres of anime, and from the looks of things this series falls right under that category. Meaning I'll definitely be giving it a shot. Doesn't really look like there's much information on what this series is about; no trailer or plot summary or anything, but the art style and, well, pretty much the entirety of the image above really makes it look like it could end up being quite the unique and intriguing experience of the new season. If it turns out the way it looks it's probably going to be the only series on this list I'll be following all the way to the end for sure.
And that folks would be my lineup for the season. As always be sure to look forward to both mine and JayGee's first impression posts over on ArizUtaku about these series and more come next month.
Friday, June 4, 2010
On This Day.....
Today has been a bit of a nostalgic day for me. My younger brother graduated from high school today, which him being the youngest in our family and how old that makes me feel is a completely different subject matter all to itself. Where the feelings of nostalgia lie is not so much in the fact that he graduated today as much as it is the very interesting coincidence that it just so happened to fall on Friday, June 4th. That is the exact same day 6 years ago that I myself graduated from high school.
That was a day that will be long remembered. A day that I believe will forever be etched into my memory as if it only happened yesterday. And not just because it was my graduation day. No, that would be incredibly cheesy if it was just that, although I do believe one will probably still find the cheese factor pretty high nonetheless, heh heh. ^_^' The reason why I will probably forever have memorized the exact happenings of that day are because at the same time as being a wonderful, joyous day, it was also perhaps one of the worst days of my life as well. It was the day that introduced two people experiencing true feelings of love for someone for the first time into the dark and hopeless world of that love being taken away from them. For one of those two people however, it only really took them about 6 or 7 months to recover when he met the woman of his life whom he is now preparing to become espoused to in just a few months. For that same other person however, that day put him in a dark abysmal hole that took him two years to climb out of and, though that past is well behind him, even still to this day struggles with the effects that experience had on him.
If you haven't noticed yet, I speak of my best friend and myself respectively. Now the happenings of that day and the contents of both of our situations are a bit complex for me to go into very deeply, but what I will never forget are the exact feelings of that day. At times I felt the rush of excitement a graduating student always feels. But at others I either felt concern for my best friend, feelings of loneliness and inferiority, or feelings of sadness and desperation in trying to tell someone how I felt about them before I would never see them again and then inevitably the feeling of that hope I had when I finally got it off my shoulders go fluttering out the window. I was honestly at a point by the end of the day where I am probably lucky to be here before you all today, if not for the encouraging words of my best friend, who was experiencing the same things I was.
Flash forward to six years latter. Both these fine young women are married now. Don't know about the one involving Peter but the one involving me even has a one and a half year old son now too boot. Of course I already mentioned how well off Peter is doing, and then of course, there's me...... Though I have long since moved on from that particular situation, and though I am much wiser and far more skilled with people than I was back then, I still can't help but think of how it might have effected me in the long run. For the most part I like to say it helped me develop into the person that I am today - a much stronger, more mature and capable person than I once thought I could ever be. And even though I still remain to be very much so the friendly, laid back and good natured person that I've always been, at the same time I can't help but think this development into a strong, mature and capable person has also made me more cynical, rebellious, bitter and angry than I thought I could ever be. Though I'm as introverted as ever, and probably always will be, I really have broken down a lot of my personal walls that I used to have, and am still in the process of breaking down even more. Gradually I have been breaking out of my shell I used to be in way back when, and I do believe the events of 6 years ago today lead me in that right direction. But recent events involving my driving people that I love and care about deeply away from me and my current confrontation with others (including my aforementioned best friend) over wanting to follow my own advice and live my life the way I feel is right for me rather than take their guiding advice is starting to make me wonder if the strong, mature and capable and at the same time cynical, rebellious, bitter and angry person I have become today is starting to drive everyone I love away from me, and that one day I will wake up cold and alone.
What I believe I need to do in order to prevent that is to find the middle grounds between the positive and negative effects of breaking down those walls. I've forced too much of the negative in the former example and as a result I may never be able to salvage what I lost as a result and may have to live with that mistake for the rest of my life. With the latter however, I am trying to find that middle ground and even though I've succeeded for the most part, some of the negative has come out towards them. So far they have been as understanding and forgiving as I've always known them to be about it, but at the same time I can't help but feel I'm on thin ice as they continue to confront me about it, and I continue to wonder whether or not they'll be true friends in the end and eventually understand what it is I'm trying to do. But I do believe that if I can find this middle ground and I can find someone who can understand it and not get offended, then perhaps the day the effects of today 6 years ago will finally, truly be behind me.
That was a day that will be long remembered. A day that I believe will forever be etched into my memory as if it only happened yesterday. And not just because it was my graduation day. No, that would be incredibly cheesy if it was just that, although I do believe one will probably still find the cheese factor pretty high nonetheless, heh heh. ^_^' The reason why I will probably forever have memorized the exact happenings of that day are because at the same time as being a wonderful, joyous day, it was also perhaps one of the worst days of my life as well. It was the day that introduced two people experiencing true feelings of love for someone for the first time into the dark and hopeless world of that love being taken away from them. For one of those two people however, it only really took them about 6 or 7 months to recover when he met the woman of his life whom he is now preparing to become espoused to in just a few months. For that same other person however, that day put him in a dark abysmal hole that took him two years to climb out of and, though that past is well behind him, even still to this day struggles with the effects that experience had on him.
If you haven't noticed yet, I speak of my best friend and myself respectively. Now the happenings of that day and the contents of both of our situations are a bit complex for me to go into very deeply, but what I will never forget are the exact feelings of that day. At times I felt the rush of excitement a graduating student always feels. But at others I either felt concern for my best friend, feelings of loneliness and inferiority, or feelings of sadness and desperation in trying to tell someone how I felt about them before I would never see them again and then inevitably the feeling of that hope I had when I finally got it off my shoulders go fluttering out the window. I was honestly at a point by the end of the day where I am probably lucky to be here before you all today, if not for the encouraging words of my best friend, who was experiencing the same things I was.
Flash forward to six years latter. Both these fine young women are married now. Don't know about the one involving Peter but the one involving me even has a one and a half year old son now too boot. Of course I already mentioned how well off Peter is doing, and then of course, there's me...... Though I have long since moved on from that particular situation, and though I am much wiser and far more skilled with people than I was back then, I still can't help but think of how it might have effected me in the long run. For the most part I like to say it helped me develop into the person that I am today - a much stronger, more mature and capable person than I once thought I could ever be. And even though I still remain to be very much so the friendly, laid back and good natured person that I've always been, at the same time I can't help but think this development into a strong, mature and capable person has also made me more cynical, rebellious, bitter and angry than I thought I could ever be. Though I'm as introverted as ever, and probably always will be, I really have broken down a lot of my personal walls that I used to have, and am still in the process of breaking down even more. Gradually I have been breaking out of my shell I used to be in way back when, and I do believe the events of 6 years ago today lead me in that right direction. But recent events involving my driving people that I love and care about deeply away from me and my current confrontation with others (including my aforementioned best friend) over wanting to follow my own advice and live my life the way I feel is right for me rather than take their guiding advice is starting to make me wonder if the strong, mature and capable and at the same time cynical, rebellious, bitter and angry person I have become today is starting to drive everyone I love away from me, and that one day I will wake up cold and alone.
What I believe I need to do in order to prevent that is to find the middle grounds between the positive and negative effects of breaking down those walls. I've forced too much of the negative in the former example and as a result I may never be able to salvage what I lost as a result and may have to live with that mistake for the rest of my life. With the latter however, I am trying to find that middle ground and even though I've succeeded for the most part, some of the negative has come out towards them. So far they have been as understanding and forgiving as I've always known them to be about it, but at the same time I can't help but feel I'm on thin ice as they continue to confront me about it, and I continue to wonder whether or not they'll be true friends in the end and eventually understand what it is I'm trying to do. But I do believe that if I can find this middle ground and I can find someone who can understand it and not get offended, then perhaps the day the effects of today 6 years ago will finally, truly be behind me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)