Updates

I know! I know I neglect this blog more than is fair but I'm just so busy! Anyway, here's some info on The GODS are DEAD?! We finished the game and were very happy with the results, we couldn't have been more proud. The game made it into Game Fest for the competition and while we didn't place in the top five, I feel like we did very well. You can find out more about the game or download and try it for yourself here: The GODS are DEAD?!

Other than that I've been keeping busy by playing games, working, and doing some DC sight seeing with my wonderful girlfriend. Next semester will be more fun and games (literally, there will be more games) and I will start writing my thesis about sexism and the portrayal of women in video games. I thought this would be an interesting topic, and it is something I feel strongly about. BUT, there will be more about that next year and as long as it's allowed by RPI ( I don't see why it wouldn't be) I'll port the entire thing right here for your reading pleasure. Until school starts though I hope to start working on some Skyrim mods, maybe some that are pretty cool. I have little to no experience with modding games, but I think this would be a good one to start with. Also I don't know what everyone knows about it, but the Source Film Maker looks AMAZING, and when I get a beta invite I would love to make some TF2 films of my own. Otherwise I'll try to update this more, and let you know when I make anything new, until then, play some Dawngaurd, and be excited for Black Ops 2.

It's Been a Long Time

Yes, I haven't updated my blog in a very, very long time. I'm sorry. I have a good excuse though, I've been busy. But I am happy to say all the hard work will be done soon, as the game I have been working on The GODS are DEAD!? is almost complete. We are about two weeks away from competition, and while there is still a lot to finish a lot is already done. The game is a four player networked multiplayer game, where 2v2 teams fight using the power of the dead gods of Mount Olympus. Both teams have an Architect, who creates defences and buildings, and a Ranger, who fights in first person using weapons build by the Architect. The game is close to being done and has been a blast to work on, but soon I will be able to show it off here and everyone can give it a try. 

The good news is, drumrollllllllll, our game made it into RPI's annual GameFest! Only five games from RPI are admitted, and ours was one. We are all very excited and are hopeful about our chances. So stay tuned, in just a few short weeks I will post more info about the game, and you will even be able to play it.


And then I can go back to posting stupid CoD videos and being overly critical to new music. Just like I'm supposed to. 

Mylo Xyloto Mini Review

So I haven't listened to Mylo Xyloto a TON, but I have listened enough to make an arbitrary and meaningless conclusion about it....


Not the best.


It's not that Mylo Xyloto is the worst album ever, it's just the worst Coldplay album ever. While Coldplay used to be straight up Brit-alt-rock, they have seemed to transform into some sort of pop-rock hybrid, and it's maddening. The album is full of terrible sounding synth noises, things you are used to in bands like Angels and Airwaves, but feels extremely out of place on a Coldplay album. This keyboard synth garbage permeates almost every song, and it drives me crazy. Several songs avoid this annoying and crappy pop influence, my favorite being "Paradise" and I also enjoy "Us Against the World" Not that there isn't any enjoyment to be had from the other songs, they just aren't for me I guess.


So yeah, I'm not impressed. My favorite Coldplay album is A Rush of  Blood to the Head it's darker, more meaningful and more heartfelt that Mylo Xyloto. But the worst part of Mylo isn't the crappy synth, but the lyrics and writing is also pretty terrible. Many of the songs seem random and poppy, not about meaningful topics or love, but just crap. 


And then there's Rihanna.


Man.


Oh well, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends had an epic rolling and wondrous scale, with a cool and novel French revolution theme. Mylo Xyloto seems to be a bad ecstasy experience. They can't all be winners I suppose. 


4/10

Can't We All Just Get Along?

So pretty soon Battlefield 3 will be released, and a little later megagiant game Modern Warfare 3 will be released as well. Both games are set to be the new standard in first person shooters, and the internets are ablaze with fanboys and trolls just waiting to pick fights over which is better and which game sucks harder. But here's my question, can't I just enjoy both? I mean, I have over $60, I could hypothetically buy both games and enjoy them both. I love Call of Duty, but I also love Halo 3, they are both first person shooters, and I enjoy them separately. I think we get caught up in the idea that "I support Infinity Ward" or "I support DICE" and not "I support good games." You can love one and undeniably hate another if you wish, but I think a very viable and respectable option is just enjoying the games that are good, and not making an alliance towards only one. I know I am biased as well, I'm no saint. I think Call of Duty is the current best FPS franchise, I believe BF is too boring, too team oriented, and not arcade styled enough to really peak my enjoyment. But that doesn't mean I won't enjoy a few camper filled, vehicle heavy games of BF from time to time. Ok yes I am pretty biased, so maybe there just isn't an answer, we will always love one child more than the other, but all I'm saying  is that doesn't mean BF3 has to go live in the dog house, it deserves some love too, even if you love MW. 

The Neighborhoods Review

"I'll never let you down boy." The echoing ethereal sounding vocals of Tom DeLonge make sure you know Blink-182 is back, but something is different this time. It sounds like the boys we used to laugh with, the jokesters that frequently sung about having sex with dogs and crapping grandpas have left the studio, and matured, more jaded replacements have returned. Mark, Tom and Travis are back yes, but it doesn't sound like the Blink-182 we used to know, it is something new, and that isn't a bad thing. 


It's only fitting that the first album Blink's released in seven years is darker and more serious though, the unscheduled reunion of the band was brought about by tragedy and pain. The loss of friends and innocence is reflected in the sounds and lyrics of the album, and makes for a much darker and more emotionally meaningful affair. Something I always enjoyed from Blink albums of the past was this sort of twisted and hurt romantic aspect. Thinking mostly of Blink-182 I always got the idea of loss and hurt, but it was always directed towards a girl, and love and feelings about her, with or without her. There's a little bit of that in Neighborhoods, mostly in "Even if She Falls" but it's something I can't help but miss, even more than silly songs like those from Take Off Your Pants and Jacket and Enema of the State. The hurt is different in Neighborhoods, it's not the story of a lonely guy, but the story of loss, permanent loss. So yes it's darker and different, but I can't say I expected after seven years of growing up Blink was gonna be the same guys they were back in the early 2000's. 


So now let's look at the individual tracks:


Ghost on the Dance Floor: The first track on the album starts out very strong. One of my early favorites after hearing it first live in concert, "Ghost" is a great song, and is one of the songs more reminiscent of Blink-182. It has the classic sounding guitar, but some more mystical instrumental sounds as well. The lyrics and singing are really great and emotional, and leaves you feeling a little sad because he misses someone, but at the same time a little hopeful because at least they had something sometime. It brings up the idea of having something, and loosing it, but even though it's gone you look at it fondly and remember the good time you had while it lasted. The classic idea of its better to love and lose than never love at all. At least that's what I get, I'm sure there could be many interpretations. This song is just plain powerful, you feel it, it pulls you in, and you are sucked into the album right from the start.


Natives: I'm gonna be straight up, at first I wasn't super happy with Natives, the fast pace and rhythm kind of threw me off. It sounds different from a lot of other Blink songs, and is a good example of how different this album really is. But when I listened to the lyrics and spent some more time with it I really liked it. It hits a little close to home "I'm just a bastard child, don't let it go to your head" "maybe I'm better off dead" "just let me go, go. I'm never coming home." At the same time while the lyrics are much darker than their older stuff the guitar remains that same old hint that this is still Blink-182, and says "we are different, but we're still the same." 


Up All Night: This song has been out for a while now, I remember anxiously waiting to listen to it online. It's not as exciting now, just since I've gotten used to it and heard it so many times. It's still a really good song though. When I first heard about a new Blink-182 album, and the first single was called "Up All Night" I took it a very different way. I thought "Up All Night" was some sort of anthem to partying and mayhem, but thankfully I was completely wrong. "And all these demons, they keep me up all night" is one of the most chilling and heartfelt lines on the album. "Up All Night" is a song about loss and pain, like many of the other songs, but it never delves to deep into despair, and somehow always gives me the feeling that while everything is not ok, there just might be a light at the end of the tunnel. 


After Midnight: "After Midnight" is a very traditional Blink-182 song. It mixes Tom and Mark's different singing styles very well. It's a little more lighthearted from the other songs, well, you know, except for the part about Tom not being able to step away from the edge of death. It has awesome drumming, and one of Travis' better songs on the album. It's a good song, and a strong addition to the album. I fell weird that I don't have more to say about it, but yeah, that is all.


Snake Charmer: Now this is a great song. "Snake Charmer" is dirrrrrty. It's sexual and dirty and it works. Tom's voice sounds far away and sort of shunned. It brings up images of sort of the taboo of sex and love. It has really good and interesting lyrics, and a catchy kind of hook.The little instrumental ending is beautiful as well.


Hearts All Gone Interlude: This instrumental only song is as Mark Hoppus stated the slower original version of Hearts All Gone. It's a nice little soft and a little bit sinister sounding song. It's a nice addition to the Deluxe edition of the album, and a softer quieter break between the mostly harder other songs. 


Hearts All Gone: Hearts All Gone is another song that has been out for a while now. I heard it some time back and its a pretty decent song. Mark really seems to be straining his voice here to hit those notes, but overall its not bad. The song is really fast paced, a little too fast paced and chaotic for me. In the end it's not bad, but not one of my favorites.


Wishing Well: Wishing Well is one of my absolute favorite songs on the album. It's a good pace, it's got really great lyrics and a great overall sound. Tom's lyrics about reaching for something, failing, and then reaching again really evoke a nice image of childhood ambition and blind forward movement. It's hard to describe the feelings I have towards this song. It's about blind optimism and constant negative feedback, all wrapped into an extremely catchy chorus and rhythm. I love this song, and it's one of the best on the album.


Kaleidoscope: At first this song didn't sit well with me. The lyrics seemed really random and out there, completely unrelated and meaningless. Mark stated that it's about the sort of rat race and moving forward in our crazy lives idea. I have come around to it more as time has gone on, and now I enjoy it. It's still disjointed and kind of weird, but it has a nice catchy-ness to it.


This Is Home: This songs another pretty good addition to the Blink library, not super noticeable or unique, but overall enjoyable. I like the theme of the song, and it's the one on the album that really gives me a feeling why it's called "Neighborhoods" the idea of the crappy place that has a lot of pain and loss, but at the same time it's home.


MH 4.18.2011: This song is Mark's on the album. (Notice the MH) Or at least I assume. It again reminds of Kaleidoscope, because I really don't get it and I'm not a big fan. While Kaleidoscope grew on me, MH hasn't, and sadly I think it's the weakest track on the album. Not to say that it's bad, it's just not the same quality that the rest of the album does a pretty good job of keeping up. 


Love is Dangerous: Love is Dangerous is another pretty solid song on the album. Nothing really new or exciting here, but a solid offer never the less. I suppose there really isn't much else to say about it, but it's a pretty good song with a nice little hook that adds some time to the album.


Fighting the Gravity: This is another Mark song on the album, but it works more for me than MH. Its a little dark and spooky sounding, but overall I like it. I again can't really get the point of this song, or maybe I have ideas but I can't know for sure. It's a pretty good song, but like a lot of the album, I have no real complaints about the song, but it's no Feeling This.


Even If She Falls: While towards the end of the album it  begins to drone on with above average songs, Even If She Falls is a nice way to end things. One of the best songs on the album, also is one of the happiest (no coincidence there) It's more of the awkward  romanticism I have come to love and expect from Blink, and I am very glad this song made the album. Without it the album would be a much bleaker affair, and overall a much less enjoyable package. It's one of my favorites on the album, and a good way to send it off with a ray of hope.


Overall the album is good, but not perfect. It's darker and sadder than the Blink albums of the past, and focuses less on girl-boy love, but more on loss and pain. I can handle a album about these darker subjects, but it feels a little weird coming from a band that ran naked through a whole music video. It certainly doesn't fail, but it could be better. Many of the songs are good, but not great. It's so close, but just not there yet. Maybe we will get another Blink album soon, and maybe that will be the one that returns  Blink to their former greatness. I still think Blink-182 is a great band, one of my favorites, but I can't help but feel like the album we have waited seven years for could have been better.


8/10

How I talked to Mark Hoppus (And why it's important)

I've had Blink on the brain for the last few weeks. Last week I went to a show at SPAC with my lovely girlfriend and saw Blink-182 with My Chemical Romance. Even though they confessed Tom was sick and Travis was very very cold, it was a great show and I had a lot of fun. I've been gearing up for the release of Neighborhoods by listening to all the older music, and reading some early reviews and such. But this summer I got an awesome and very unique opportunity to get excited about the new release.

I spoke with Mark Hoppus himself.

Yeah this guy right here.

So yes, little old nerdy RPI student me, got to chat with Mark Hoppus, the bassist for one of the greatest alt-punk-rock bands of all time, Blink-182.

I was able to do this because I got into Google+ pretty early this summer, and while I was mostly alone except for a few friends who also got into the beta early, there were quite a few musicians actors and whatnot to follow and add to my circles. I thought Google+ was pretty cool, I liked how I could add famous people and see thier posts and comment on them as if I was their friend. I even got lucky and a few higher ups on the notability scale (at least my scale) added me to their circles as well. (I won't brag) (Ok yes I will, Hilary Goldstien (former editor at IGN) and David Vonderhaar (Treyarch) both follow me on Google+ Sweet!)

But anyway, soon after "Up After Midnight" the first single from Neighborhoods was released, Mark began creating open hangouts on Google+. For those of you not familiar with Google+ "hangouts" are basically a big Skype call, where 10 people all get in a room and when you speak you get the big main screen, otherwise you are a smaller box on the bottom. After seeing Mark start a few, but not getting into them in time, and announcing he would be doing another later that night, I patiently waited at the G+ homepage, pressing F5 over and over hoping for that elusive not full hangout. As I sat watching The Wire, tapping F5 about a million times, all of a sudden there it was: "Mark Hoppus started a hangout." I immediatly pressed the join button, and clicked as fast as I could through the settings popup, and then there I was. Face to face with one of my Rock Idols, Mark Hoppus... and 8 other random dudes.

Mark looked tired, but was as friendly as I would have imagined 1/3 of the crudest and funniest alternative band to be. We all got to ask a few questions, I asked about what the new album would resemble, the more serious Blink-182, or the silly happy Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. Some people talked a lot, some just sat and watched (a little creepily) but at least no one took out their junk. (Google users are a little more tasteful I suppose from those on Chat Roulette.) Towards the end I told Mark that I wish I had thought of some awesome question to ask him, but I felt more like I was gonna pass out and soil myself. He laughed and said he'll take that as a compliment. I don't know if he got that I was kidding, or just thought I was a weirdo, but I like to think he got it. I then told him I thought it was really cool that he did this, chatting with his fans in a way that didn't use to be possible. Sitting in a hotel room, at 10:00pm, a rock star who is across the country can chat with me, a college student with no money to get VIP tickets or something of the like. That is awesome.

So a little while later Mark proclaimed that he was going to bed, and said goodnight. As fast as it happened it was over, and I was shaking with adrenaline and joy. It was a once in a lifetime experience to me, but for Mark Hoppus it was just a Monday night. And that really shows the power of current social networks and their possibilities. Anyone could set up a hangout and chat with a few of their fans lucky enough to click the link. Politicians, hell, Obama could  start up a chat and answer a few questions from some normal people and get some feedback they may, or may not like to hear. We are not living in a time where communicating with someone takes days or even minutes to do, it's instant, and the world just got a little smaller. I wish more famous people, politicians, artists whoever embraced the idea of chatting and letting people get these cool unique interactions with them that weren't possible before.

But that's it. While unfortunately it seems Google+ will never really gain much steam, I will always look at it favorably for giving me a chance to chat with a personal idol. It was a really cool experience that won't soon be replicated, but maybe if more artists find the heart and time, you could chat with someone you look up to.

New Blink-182 Tomorrow! Review Soon

So tomorrow is a big day in music. The first new Blink-182 album in years is released, and while I did pre-order it (yeah I know I actually BOUGHT music crazy right?) I'm not sure when it'll actually get to me. I ordered the boomba special edition pre-order, so I also get some special gift, from stickers to hats to a signed Mark Hoppus Bass. While I'm not super hopeful that I'll walk downstairs and find a guitar sized package waiting for me, I think it's really cool that no matter what you get, you're getting something cool for no extra cost. Even a few stickers would be a nice little surprise, just a little something extra for being a fan and actually paying for music. I wish more bands did that, maybe if they did I would get more music. Anywhosle I'll review the CD and the individual tracks as soon as I get the CD, (which hopefully comes fast because the shipping was F-in $12!)  But in the meantime I'll be anxiously waiting to get my hands on the new album, and from the few songs I've heard. and heard in person about a week ago, the album should be great.

Also here's the link to order the CD with the bonus stuff, $20 for a deluxe copy and a shirt, not a bad deal at all.

https://shop.bompa.com/blink182presale/men-s-bundle.html


UPDATE: You can listen to the entire deluxe version of the album here: http://neighborhoods.blink182.com/

Also I have seen some people have already received their pre-orders, I can only assume I haven't gotten mine because I am getting one of those signed bass guitars.... one can dream.