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Tag: music

  • Still here.

    neon

    My last post was in May. Funny enough, it expressed a genuine love for the design aesthetic of the new Marathon game. Turns out that was built on stolen design. I’m mostly shocked I hadn’t picked up on any of it as I’ve been a fan of Antireal’s design work. The idea that they lifted another designer’s work, put it in their game, and said “I made this” is absolutely insulting. If they wanted that so bad they should have consulted and paid Antireal properly. Just… wild.

    What else? Well, I’ve been “gone” because I’ve been busy… and sick. My wife has had a solid number of conventions lately since it’s con season, and I’ve even done a few as well. I’m currently working on new designs for apparel, accessories, and even a few zines. The first of which I’ve mentioned here several times. On top of that I’ve been getting back into the groove of work for a few projects I’ve been commissioned for. I can’t quite talk about them but I will say one is an indie video game and the other is work for a tabletop RPG.

    Needless to say I’ve been busy.

    I’d love to get back into making music again. The last release I dropped was a rework of the low.poly.exception track “Nanocarbon Shrine” but under the neon shudder mantle. It’s a silly idea but very much intentional as the tweaked version fit the direction of neon shudder more than low.poly. I have two rough album concepts in the works: “Traveler” and “Seraphim.” The first being funkier, more chill, and more instrospective; based on, you guessed it, traveling. Being on the move. Seraphim is more conceptual and has a theme about angels and demons and all that fun stuff. Still figuring out what that looks like. I would have loved to release either of them much sooner than whenever they will come out, but I’d rather take my time.

    If you’re reading this, what have you been working on?

    Now playing:

  • Among other things.

    neon

    My love for Casio watches should have been mentioned at some point. If it hasn’t been mentioned… well, there you have it, I guess. I don’t remember exactly when or why I ended up loving them, but some version of the popular F91W watch caught my eye. I ended up settling for a clear one, which I still love very much, but I’ve since expanded my collection with the LF20W-8A, the flashy A120WE-1AVT (silver with the teal/purple buttons), and most recently, the polarizing GA-V01 (silver version).

    The GA-V01 arrived yesterday and I’m obsessed. It’s no secret I love Y2K style design work and I fully intend to break that down in another blog entry. The new Casio line, however, has generated a lot of conversation online, mostly around how ugly people think it is.

    I feel like at some point in my life that would have concerned me. That I liked the watch but most people found it hideous. Now though? I’m not sure it bothers me that much. To be honest, I even understand why people don’t like it, but I love the damn thing. Maybe a symptom of getting older. Good.

    What else? The new Ghost album, Skeletá, dropped. Maybe not as cohesive or consistent as Impera, but it has really grown on me. A few tracks already rank as “all time favorites” while others are finding themselves in regular playlist rotations. We’ve been listening to the album in full quite a bit lately.

    One of the limited offerings from Rucking Fotten on Alien Day.

    4/26, the day before the album dropped, was Alien Day. We watched the first movie for the millionth time and it still holds up. The atmosphere and aesthetics are just unmatched. Incredible movie.

    We also took a trip to some interesting shops about 30-40 minutes away from us ranging from oddities shops and haunted offerings to more simple thrift stores and ice cream shops. It was a pretty typical venture further into the suburbs but the places we visited were fun. Though I didn’t experience anything strange in the part of the shop/museum that was designated as “very haunted” it was still an incredibly unique offering compared to some of the other stores in the area. The scenery around town was gorgeous too, I’ll give it that.

    Tomorrow the Mrs. is off with friends to thrift stores which leaves my boy Dan and I hunting monsters once again. Only one week or so left of leisure before we really kick into overdrive with con season. Let’s go!

    Now Playing:

  • neon

    Saw this quote from Geddy Lee today that really stuck with me”

    “The more influences one has that are then filtered through one’s own personality, the more one ends up with a style and a sound that one can legitimately call one’s own. If you have three bands influencing you, you’re derivative; if you have a hundred, you’re original!”

    I used to worry a lot about having so many different styles of music when it came to neon shudder. Now I feel like it’s where I’m supposed to be.

  • rain

    neon

    It is not apparent from this photo but it is raining quite a bit today. I’ve been eagerly anticipating the spring but I’ve always loved rainy days. I grew a bit tired of them the 13 plus years I worked in the city between train delays and needing to trek from the office to the station, but working from home? It’s very relaxing. (As long as there isn’t horrible wind along with the rainy skies.)

    I finished the song I was working on. I won’t rehash the whole thing but the album it originated from had some lukewarm reviews. I should be grateful anyone listened at the time but when it got some less than stellar feedback I didn’t handle it well. I do believe one in particular was maybe more aggressive amd mean spirited in tone than it needed to be, however more than one did suggest it sounded amateur due to some synths sounding like they were presets and default.

    I still hold very strong opinions about the idea of using default settings – that shouldn’t dictate your enjoyment of a song but years later I can understand why they’d mention it. I mostly think it’s silly now but I can draw a direct line from the weak points of that album to my own struggles with ADHD and anxiety.

    And maybe that’s why I wanted this new version to feel complete. Whether it is or isn’t is up to each listener but ultimately I’m happy with it and that’s the base line “most I could ask for”

    The rest is just a bonus. Listen for yourself by clicking here: