majestic

I'm in the middle of it, but the setup of the entire show is such that spoilers barely matter. The anime adaptation has 46 episodes. I guess the OVA left out the Playboy reading ape that oggles a young woman taking a shower on a ship that's a figment of his imagination (well, his stand, actually)?

I also just managed to beat Absolute Radiance - currently only in the Hall of Gods, not as part of the pantheon - for the first time. It's 00:45, and that was, while great, pretty bad. I'm perfectly sure I'm not going to get much sleep now. Stupid adrenaline rush.

Grandpa Joe already survived being shot into space on a giant rock by causing a massive volcano eruption and the subsequent re-entry and crash into the ocean while he was young*, so... that's not as much of a surprise as you might think it is. He was bit younger back then tho. *He did all that while fighting Kars, the super being who managed to overcome the weakness of vampires by becoming immune to sunlight, a creature capable of transforming into a bird, launching razor sharp feathers at JoJo which then later turn into piranhas that almost eat him. So yeah, uhm. It's called Bizarre for a reason. xD

Ah, well, then I still have like 95 tries left. Not that it would do me any good. I've already forgotten most things, to be honest, e.g. I can no longer read or write notes for instance. I also never could, and probably never will, hear key changes, or even keys, or guess tones like other people do, not even in relation to each other. I'm as tone deaf as they come, I just know when somethings nice to listen to, and when not, and that's pretty subjective. I dislike most Jazz, for instance, and that includes Slow Love, Slow. There's only so much of any melodic pattern subversion that I can take before it breaks my brain, and Jazz makes a point of seemingly doing either only that or having three or four separate tracks playing over each other, i.e. a piano, bass, drums and an optional vocalist all performing their own songs at the same time that are vaguely similar to each other, but not enough to form a coherent whole. That really does a number on me (brain trying to find patterns that deliberately aren't there, yay!). I know, I'm painting a huge and varied genre with very broad strokes here. It also doesn't help that Jazz has some of the worst fandumb imaginable: A bunch of entitled elitists, most of which probably hate the music anyway but pretend they love it to apepar sophisticated and upper class. Glad to be of service. Who knows, maybe it will come in handy at some point. Not only that, but it also kinda misses what I like so much about You'll Never Get to Heaven: it's just this...perfectly consistent mildly low-toned half-whispering kind of singing. Lunascape...doesn't do it for me on multiple levels, . BREAKING NEWS: Bartimaeus continues to be the pickiest bastard about anything and just about literally everything, more at 11! Mmh. 'twas a shot in the dark, anyway. That sure was... something. I think that's about the only thing I can say about it. Not going to repeatedly listen to that. I can't avoid it. Watching the news and reading papers is enough for me. Adele I know from the occasional bout of listening to radio when I'm subjected to it. Can't stop being me, so it's all absorbed and sticks for a while. A long while, in most cases.

Yeah, it's Worf, his son, Data and Deanna, not Beverly in a Wild West setting, and the computer is turning everyone into Datas. Marina Sirtis very noticably enjoyed playing the part.

It usually is for me, too. There are very few exceptions, but they exist. I usually dislike all harsh vocals (growls, or mostly untrained grunting, rasping, etc.), it takes exceptional groups to make me like that, like Sirenia, even though they mostly dropped them. Sirenia's Meridian is one of my most favorite pieces, actually, even though it's full of black metal elements, but that's neither here nor there, and you really don't need to check that one out. However, she does sing the non-growling parts in a much more contemporary, slightly raspy rock voice, as opposed to what she usually does, even in Nightwish. That makes sense, I think, because the lyrics are about internet trolls. I think, at least. I can't answer that, but I would never assume you'd actually like Nightwish based on the things you've shared you like. That's most likely driven by a desire that you at least enjoy something they do. Or maybe they just wanted to win the "I found someone you like to listen to" @Bartimaeus special trophy. Coveted indeed, but probably never truly given out. Do I win if I recommend Talking Heads? You'd imagine wrong. I don't know about the music, but I like the singing just fine - however, you can't possibly know that or even assume anything like that from what I've been talking about. I do have a soft spot for vocals like these. It does remind me a little of, say, something like Lunascape, however, Lunascape might just be a tad too breathy. Because that's really audible, like: So Lunascape is so far removed from my usual preferences that I have no idea how to explain why I like them. I can explain how I know of them, beause they were used as soundtrack for an IMAX film I watched. Like, back when IMAX theatres had actual documentaries and interesting originals, instead of bad films or special effects porn. Like Matrix Revolutions and Avatar. I'll also address the "secret" revealed later in the post. For effect. Yay! I've seen Lord of the Rings half a dozen times, but I never would have known it was her singing that song if Google had not told me earlier looking for Jungle Drum. Guess I suck, huh? I thought Jungle Drum was okay, but I did not understand its popularity. On the other hand, I barely ever do when it comes to pop songs, and it becomes worse every year (Adele for instance makes me want to stab my eardrums). But yes, singles do usually come in the form of whatever song the recod labels think best for mass appeal. Good if you enjoy that sort of thing, but horrible otherwise. Jungle Drum exploded over here because it was used in a casting show. For, uhm, fashion models. With Heidi Klum. I, ugh. That woman has a voice that can cut steel. She also makes Baby Jesus cry! Sharon is the one breathing audibly, the other one is called Anneke van Giersbergen. Which is a mouthful. Who coincidentally is actually not at all related to Dianne van Giersbergen who is also a vocalist, and was singing for Xandria, which I also kind of like, but they go through vocalists like some people go through underpants, and it's apparently - from what I've gathered from various social media and forum posts - related to the band leader being a complete asshat. I have no idea what Anneke van Giersbergen did or does otherwise. Ah, a pity. Heh. That was Princess Naoko, and you know it, but... honestly, Usagi would make a good figurehead queen. Just not a good actual ruler, but that's what Mamoru is there for, hm? At least, for the sake of the planet Tokyo, I sure hope so. On the other hand, going by what I've seen in Crystal, she does call the shots too. Guess you can only hope that she learns something quickly, huh? The episode had a brilliant moment at the end where everyone spontaneously decides to sing the first ending song at Honoka. Which is really fun because she made that one up on the spot and it never comes up again in the entire anime, so all the other girls can't know about it (well they could, off-screen, maybe). Details, shmetails, it was a really nice moment. It's still super dumb that she was made head of the student council, but eh, what else can I do than live! with it. Finally: Mhm. So you really don't like vibrato, at least of the slow variety, because that's the frequency change you can hear when Annette holds a note. Floor does that too, it's something that is depending on the genre, used prominently or ideally not at all. For opera performances, Floor's is pretty much the gold standard. It's consistent in frequency, has a high rate (i.e., it's fast, sometimes to the point of being barely noticable) and varies a little in rate between the beginning and the ending of a note. It's also a sort of side effect of classical voice training - most untrained voices have barely any, often even no, vibrato. You can actually hear this when Sharon sings, or mostly from Bozo Vreco. He still does long drawn out notes, but the frequency is perfectly stable. It's meant to feel more lively than a perfectly stable note, and changes in frequency like was another way to carry voices over orchestras. Not entirely sure why Floor's vibrato bothers you less. It's much faster, but still really audible in the operatic performance. It becomes so fast that it's barely noticable in her regular performances, however, I do suspect that you not liking her voice might still be linked to that. All the examples of vocalists you like are pretty vibrato-free. Might be a starting point in figuring it out. However, that also means pretty much every vocalist I know is out (I already figured that out, anyway). Because, like... uhm. They're almost all classically trained and use that training. ... We have also definitely reached the very limit of what I know of all that.

Something on topic for a change: I started the second season of Love Live!, and it begins with Ericchi, otherwise known as Eli or Eri - the blonde girl, who is blonde because she's partly Russian (wow, they really put some thought into why she's blonde, but everyone else has anime hair too and no explanation is given, uhm... so that's not for the blonde hair, but for her severe disposition I guess, yay...) - stepping down as Studen Council president. That title is given to Honoka. I'm barely two minutes into the season and it is already dumber than the entirety of the first one. Who thought it would be a good idea to make this universe's Usagi head of the student council? edit: Umi and Kotori are on the council as well, and the following scene reinforces that they're probably really intentionally modelled after Usagi, Rei and Ami in early first season Sailor Moon. Just without Kotori being a super genius. Umi just Rei'd Honoka hard, and Kotori was trying to be supportive but was shot down by Umi saying "You're too soft on Usagi Honoka!" Well it was fun to watch, but it's still stupid. Eri apparently was the one who recommended Honoka. Sure, after sniffing too much glue, or under boob rubbing duress, perhaps. Doesn't bode too well, does it?

It probably is like any other sports anime. It starts out somewhat grounded, if unrealistic, and eventually becomes a martial arts tournament show with basketballs. Tiger Flip Dunk or Falling Leaves Three Point are probably thing that come up. Or they face a team coordinated by some computer program. Or... something.

Given the amount of times the holideck (I'm totally keeping this typo, it's awesome) made a mess of the ship you'd think they'd have turned the bloody thing off by the time A Fistful of Datas happens, or at least totally isolated it from the rest of the Enterprise computer and energy systems.

KP watched Legend of the Overfiend recently, so anything's pretty possible.

Was that on purpose? If not C.G. Jung would say something about synchronicity now.

Floor is only breathy when she wants to be, did you listen to the Shallow cover, or About Love I Don't Know A Thing (either... are really breathy on purprose)? Not that it really matters. I didn't expect you to like Floor. Hence the question if you hate everything equally. I am a little uncertain why anyone would recommend Nightwish to you. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but... that's as much an auto-no as you can get, even back when Anette was the lead vocalist. I'm pretty sure at this point we can strike classically trained from the list - or at the very least, clasically trained and using that training to sound the part*, which includes operatic and actual opera. I absolutely don't like her Ave Maria. I've listened to four of them, the first one doesn't work for me, without any comment. It either disappeared from YouTube just right after you posted it, or it is locked for me in a way that doesn't even tell me. Which is odd for YouTube, they at least have the courtesy to tell me why. That wraps that up. Please keep in mind that my musical theory knowledge is limited to what we learned in junior high... and yeah, we did have a music teacher who appreciated the finer art of classical music, which meant we also went to concerts on the shool's dime. I have a certain appreciation for the music, but not enough to have really followed up on it. So how long until @ShadySands forces us into the music thread even if he barely posts here?

Well, that I can relate to.

I think I'll let Looks-a-bit-like-Cary-Elwes-But-Isn't explain:

There's that possibility, and it's not necessarily related to eras, but can be, of course. Singing is a relatively varied field with lots of ways you can study - or rather, train your voice for. I have a friend who so far hated each and every clasically trained male vocalist that I listen to. That's definitely a thing - he positively hates clear male voices with a certain range and a singing style that is classical (classical can but doesn't have to include opera training). There's obviously musical theater training, pop, certain types of latin music, soul, stuff that's not actual singing, like rap, different breathing techniques, etc. You could, if you suspect training and singing style as a part of what it is, try and check out the body of work of Floor Jansen*, who is probably the most versatile vocalist currently alive. She can do pretty much anything, from slow, balladish pop, to death metal growls, to actual opera, and she can slide from low belts, to mixed to head voice in an instant. She also made a handful of videos where she explains breathing and jaw placement while singing, so if nothing else... hmm, and she's actually really a nice, unassuming person. However, for all the character flaw she doesn't have, her fandumb has them in abundance. Don't interact with them. Like. EVER. They're the worst. If you hate everything she's ever done equally, there's a decent chance it might just be the actual voices. That could be too, because certain types of vocalists were popular during certain time periods. * Oh, and by the way, while I like Floor as vocalist and am often impressed by how easy she makes singing seem, I'm not at all that impressed by her singing. Technically it's great, of course, but... I like others more, even if they aren't nearly as versatile or even on the same page in terms of vocal control. She currently sings for what once was one of my favorite groups, but I'd still take the old vocalist over her. Which... oh boy, don't mention that to the fandumb.

I aim to please. Wait, was there actually any doubt?

While I was walking the dog yesterday I started humming out of the blue, and wondered what that was... Well, the first ending of Love Live! Say what you will about the anime itself, the music is decent enough. First ending song, particularily the beginning. It's really... well, it sticks. The song is silly, just like everything else in this, but it's also really easy to listen to. It's also... pretty much everything that's wrong with the animation in a nutshell. From the creepy looking CGI to the enhanced swaying of the skirts, to the dance moves and the design of the character models. Love Live!'s bad sides in a nutshell. The first 25 seconds with Honoka singing are pure gold though.

Well, yes, there's that - the average quality of the anime is really great, especially in the first arc. The Sakura card arc takes a couple of episodes to find its footing. What's your movie site?

edit: That doesn't look very appealing, but if it's coming to Prime Video, then I'll probably take a look.

Indeed, °K it is. Althoug the numbers do get unwieldy for daily use.

Here's my post from early June, or part of it, at least: There's something else, I think. I've watched the film after the entire run of the anime, which wasn't a great idea. It really is best before episode 43, and certainly 60. For reasons I can't go into because of spoilers. Really bad spoilers. The kind even you wouldn't want to know. Maybe I was too harsh on it. I did feel like it spent too much time on the storyline in an effort to be interesting for viewers that did not follow Cardcaptor Sakura at the time. I thought the second film was much better.

Good thing I was right. Final episode of the first season sees Honoka spending some time with other classmates who insert themselves into the situation, trying to use the absence of her regular friends to get close to the popular girl. They end up playing Dance Dance Revolution on APOCALYPSE EXTRA mode, which makes Honoka realize that she actually really liked singing and dancing and didn't just do it to save the school. Meanwhile, A-RISE, the group that initially made Honoka have the idea of saving the school with her own group, win Love Live!. Well that wrapped up things really quickly, work a bit on your pacing guys. Wait, Honoka falls on her ass and rubs it like in the first episode, and Nozomi squeezes her boobs at one point. There's always something silly. I'm a little surprised that the season ended with them not even participating in Love Live!, although that does explain what the second season is about. Overall this was more fun than I thought it would be. Except for the end it's a bit on the shallow side, but what else would you expect from a musical anime that features curiously little singing and dancing for being about an idol group. The presentation is what it is. The emotional core of the show, the character interactions between Honoka, Kotori and Umi aren't really original, and I often had the feeling that they were based on and gleaned from better animes. There are better shows one could watch - but also significantly worse ones. Ah, there's still the second season and the spin offs that might make this go down in flames.

No need to be sorry, partially I get that. That's my default reaction to rap. Actual discomfort. So I know the feeling - just not with Candice. She's great. Studying singing techniques to understand what you like about them (or hate, as it were) might be a little extreme indeed. It would probably also take more time than just trying artists. If you really live the million years you've set as a goal for yourself, you might start seeing it. Earth's rotation is slowing down after all, so the days will be getting longer. Not sure if a million years will be enough to add two hours though. Too lazy to check how long it would actually take. I can't really gauge if I can fall asleep or not based on any factors. Obviously I know when I am tired enough to try, but knowing if I can actuallly doze off or if I just start tossing and turning around for a while before giving up and doing something else for a while, nah. I do set myself a limit of half an hour or so, if that doesn't work, I get up and do something else. There are obviously things I know will make any attempt pointless. Knowing that the next day holds social situations that I'm unfamiliar with, for instance, is a great indicator for not getting any sleep, but that's different and related to being nervous. Part of the issue is this never ending assault on my senses. It's not just the sound from the tinnitus, I also... like I mentioned once, see things when I close my eyes. It looks a bit like this animated gif, except the color is a really dark shade of blue. Almost black, but still very distinct: Visual noise! Yay! However, almost any type of music helps me fall asleep. I can actually fall asleep to the heaviest of metal stuff. Actually it's easiest with that, because that's my go-to musical genre that I barely ever deviate from, even if this thread might indicate otherwise - those really are just exceptions. Assuming I like the vocals, obviously. Monthy Python films are, by all means, something I should enjoy and find funny, but I mostly don't. Their TV show has a couple of laughs, but even then nothing like it feels like it should be. *shrug* I'm not hate-watching anything at the moment. Love Live! turned out to be a mostly fun, if silly, anime with a bit too much fanservice and a lot of singing that I thought I would hate, but kind of like. I usually only get that after falling asleep and being jolted out of it by something. That cues an adrenaline rush and an ability to fall back asleep. It's often accompanied by a feeling of falling down, or falling over - both of which are impossible lying in the middle of the bed. It also causes my legs to move in an attempt to keep my balance, which by all means should not work - sleep should relax muscles, after all. Might have something to do with dreaming, might not... dunno. There are times when I have to push through being tired because I'm at work or somewhere else, and that will cause being tired to go away for a while, but that's not entirely the same, I think. One of the better things that happened with being forced into working from home was that I could act on being tired enough to try and sleep. I'd just get up, set myself as away from keyboard and sleep for an hour. It lead to a sleeping pattern of sleeping five or six hours from somewhen past midnight to 8 am and then one or two hours mostly around 4 pm. In the long run, that did a number on my ability to concentrate during the day though. It's a good thing we returned to the office. External structure to my days is a good thing. Ah, silly character flaws. Thanks, I already slept the headache off, now all that's left is being a little queasy and the mild fever. I fully plan on stuffing my face with something unhealthy tomorrow to celebrate being back to normal. Hopefully sleeping through the afternoon doesn't mess up my sleeping habits any more than they already are. When it comes to regular pop music, if I had to pick an era, it would be 80ies too - plus 90ies Eurodance trash, but that's me. I don't think I'm familiar with any 80ies j-pop though. Or j-pop in general, beyond the songs that sometimes come up in anime. I did like the Madoka soundtrack though. A lot. More than most, actually. Sorry, can't really help you there. I have problems explaining why I like certain vocalists and hate others even if they're similar.

I watched two more episodes of Love Live! because I thought that would be an easy and actually somewhat fun watch while I'm not feeling that great, and the show pretty much turned upside down. What a bizarre turn of events one episode from the end of the first season. In the past few episodes, Kotori was seen getting a letter and feeling down. If you've seen even a modikum of these shows then you immediately know that Kotori is doing an Ami, she's going to study abroad. Or at least, she's going to appear to be leaving and then come back at the last minute, right? Like Ami in Sailor Moon R. Usagi (Honoka, in this case) will be a bit annoyed, but eventually turn out to be supportive. At least... that's how it is supposed to go. End of episode. Well that's more depressing drama than I thought I would get here. I'm pretty sure that Honoka will make up with her friends and keep Kotori from leaving, because how else are you going to have a second season, but meh. I was watching this for my occasional happy silly fix, not for serious dramatic character pieces.