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30 August 2011

Early September Update: Post-Irene 

"What You Want"

(CREDIT: to Evanescence... about time...)
RANK: 2 out of 5 <-- Try Again
After FIVE freaking years, Evanescence FINALLY released SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!! (yeah, there was "Together Again", but that's another story...)

My impression of "What You Want?" "...bleh."

You all know how I feel about this band, so I won't dive into what drives me up the wall. Yet my most viewed posts are related to Evanescence. Either you like to read my obnoxious nitpicking, or you like to stick to what's familiar. Whatever the reason is, that is an irrelevant issue here.

As a sneak peak into the new album, "What You Want" is - admittedly - decent on the heads side of a coin. Unlike most tracks off of The Open Door, a balance between the band and Amy exists in a more harmonious manner. In a way Amy's vocals in "What You Want" reminds one of Simone's in "Never Enough" by Epica (check it out.) This in a way is not terrible, because this single sounds more complete and satisfying than anything since Fallen. On the other hand, Amy still dominates so much that my annoyance meter is in the red. A mixed bag is the final result instead of an improvement. Oh well.

The actual music is repetitive and catchy, but not memorable. Feel free to sit back and listen to "What You Want" when your ipod is set on random. No harm done in such a mindless setting, but this song has very little repeat value. No new territory in mainstream rock has been explored, especially when it's needed in this sea of club songs, bragging raps, and tasteless auto-tune. Still, "What You Want" is not "Bring Me to Life" but maybe this marks a chance for rock to get solid footing again. If only Evanescence's new album doesn't suck...

I am not excited about it, but I might check out the new album sometime in the future. My cynical self will not be quick to give Evanescence any praise for originality and authenticity until they fully deserve it.

Once again Evanescence remains stuck in the shadow of European "gothic metal" bands with female singers. Almost every song released by this band can be compared to that of such acts. As a result, people place Evanescence in the same box as Lacuna Coil, Epica, Nightwish, and The Gathering and claim that such acts are inferior. However, one must acknowledge that Evanescence is a mainstream band, at most a gateway towards the aforementioned bands.

"What You Want" made a tiny scratch, noticeable for a short while, on my thick skin, only to heal without a scar. Take it as you will, because I'm not really interested in how well or badly it is received. I do not mean to discourage you from checking this out or having a different opinion; however, I have simply distanced myself from Evanescence on an emotional level a long time ago.

Geez, this song is so bland, I have brought little to the table in terms of criticism. In conclusion, "What You Want" is an Evanescence song, but there is little to no signs of actual growth despite the four-five year hiatus. It makes one wonder what was going on...

Now that this 2-ranked average review is over, time to listen to some legitimately interesting pop music. Oh, Ben-chan! Will you share your new single to the rest of the world instead of letting Japan hog it...? Labels: 2 star, evanescence, Fangirl is not pleased, mel's reviews, overhyped, rock

25 August 2011

[Trying to] Stay Positive The one collection I'm proud of. :) 


'Finally Free'

From the above rank he obviously does it right. 

19 August 2011

Random Bundle of Fangirlism

If one never knew this before now, then you shall be informed that I'm a city person. I might not have lived in one for more than three weeks but I gain a greater sense of freedom and confidence than if I'm in rural or suburban nowhere. Maybe it's because I can't drive yet and I have no desire to learn how to. This lack of interest places a humungous twenty-foot thick steel wall between my house and where I want to go. No matter how I see it, I must learn how to drive even if I cry like a baby.

Travelling, however, is not the only flaw. The people tend to be more homogenous and identical than a huge mixed group of Asians in the same room (thanks to my Chinese friend and Japanese anime, distinguishing is not as hard as many say...) And when people like the same things, the "minority" have to suffer with hunting hard to find more obscure and less popular things. Thankfully, cities are far more forgiving to folk like myself.

I was so happy to find several things that suburban Pennsylvania would have once in a hundred years. Or maybe I look in all the wrong places. AHHH!!!! Not my hand!!!!!
A single import from Germany?! I don't care if "Solitary Man" was not my favorite cover HIM did, this was still collectable worthy. From now on if I find another HIM single case, back away from the oncoming headstrong Fangirl!
The one time I could have bought an And Love Said No import, but I had no money with me... :'( I finally found the Higurashi manga!! These are only part of the Curse-Killing and Eye-Opening arcs, but this is something. Off to find the other volumes... Found it in Barnes and Noble, thought, "why the hell not?", and bought it. Research is one of Fangirl's closest friends: I might as well be knowledgeable about these dark-loving fellows with a bad rep. Well, it's changing though...

There are other posts about DC soon, like when I visited an embassy of a country I am hoping to visit before I drop dead.

On a different note, I finally am pushing myself to actually make stuff. Currently, I'm experimenting with metal jewelry, specifically silver. Otherwise, I might as well make other, easier things. "There's no strength in numbers." - Shadow, Sonic the Hedgehog 2006
A poster I felt the need to make for my favorite Sonic character. THERE WAS NO TRACING AT ALL. Using a pencil and grid system helped to make sure Shadow didn't look ridiculously bad. I'm better at cartoony humans, not anthropomorphic animals. XD

Now, to get into making that lanyard for school... Labels: art, books, higurashi, HIM, manga/anime, picspam, pictures, shadow, travel

16 August 2011

A Ranting Change of Phase 

15 August 2011

A Rant For Once... By Someone Else...

I'm sorry to you all, but I'm blanking out on rant and review ideas. Just so there is something being updated, here's a rant by a user named NickonAquaMagna2. Maybe later I will add my few cents in response to this. This is a long video but it was worth every second.

Enjoy or ignore: whatever works. :P Labels: art, fun videos found, writer's block


DC Pics A

WOW! Fangirl actually kept her promise to post up pictures she took during a trip? *gasp!* Such a phenomena has NEVER happened before!!!
I have several others, but here are a handful done by a complete amateur. :P This was a nice park near the apartment complex where I stayed. Just nearby sat the Titanic Memorial in a quiet, open space near the Washington Channel. Too bad some new buildings will be placed around this peaceful area in the next few years. *growls* Yay to taking pics on a small boat and risk dropping the camera in the water! All for the sake of art, I guess. Dad loves this shot... Martin Luther King Jr. will be happy to know his memorial looks nice. All it needs is paint, more sculpting, and no construction tools. Walked past the Renwick Gallery. The words "Dedicated to Art" written in the center below the roof caught my eye. Dad holding a leaf. Too bad I couldn't keep this camera. Mine's crappy... The National Archives viewed from the Navy Memorial. More of the Navy Memorial. I was practicing taking shots of water.
Next will be pics technically from another country. Though I was still very far from the desired location by over 30 degrees south and 100 degrees west, it's the closest I was to the real deal. *sigh* Labels: DC, picspam, pictures, travel

06 August 2011

August Update '11

Not dead but aging. XD

Since my last post, I've been going down memory lane and playing some of the few Sonic games I own as well as watching reviews of the more recent stuff. I have a new found appreciation for having just a Gamecube and PS2: thank the superior being(s) I can't play the latest... trash.

But now that I think about it, almost everything I typically enjoy has reached a downhill slope in overall entertainment. It kinda makes me question if it's because of where I am at in my life or because I'm getting jaded. If it's the later, I need to keep child-like curiosity and nostalgia close to my heart. Sure, finding new things and researching them can be fun (at least for me), but I have to look back at what I really used to enjoy two years, five years, even ten years ago. This extends to anything I may have left on the back shelf, completely blanketed in thick, fluffy dust bunnies.

Maybe I should have a month where I rant about nothing about nostalgic things for me... I dunno.

I'm near the end of readjusting to my real house again after DC, but many ideas are flowing through my mind. I hope to get photos up this weekend, though I just planned to make a tiny, flimsy poster for my room. Plus there's a story I want to write, but since creativity is backed up due to severe writer's block, I'm practicing writing on random Word docs. I have books to read for school too. Looks like Fangirl needs to prioritize...

Now that my way of saying "long time no post" is done... adios, readers... if any remain to exist... Labels: nostalgia, updates, writing