Geek-Boy @ Blogspot

We have moved (Well, I have moved...)

2011-11-02T00:22:00.002Z

This blog is now obsolete, if you would like to continue reading my rantings and ravings then please may I direct you to my website where you can find my new blog and a dedicated reviews section.

Thanks
GB

Geek-Boy @ MusicSense Radio (07/02/2011)

2011-02-07T19:21:00.001Z

Apologies for not going online on Tuesday, but I was very busy and very tired (yes it does happen). I am however going online tonight, and I will be announcing my top albums of 2010!! Bit late, I know but oh well, that's life. I will of course be posting a blog post about it AFTER the show, so tune in tonight!! 8pm!! www.music-sense.co.uk!!

Geek-Boy @ MusicSense Radio (25/01/2011)

2011-01-25T17:34:00.002Z

So it seems I quite like this whole radio shindig, and I was told that I wasn't too bad...so here is the song-list for tonight's show, as with last week, it is likely to change before, and even during, the show.

Points Of Authority (Reanimation Remix) - Linkin Park
Do No Wrong - Thirteen Senses
Toxic - Marillion
Obsession - Innerpartysystem
One Of My Turns - Pink Floyd
Rubik's Cube - Athlete
Dance Floor Anthem - Good Charlotte
Halo - Porcupine Tree
Within You - David Bowie
Simple And Clean (PlanitB Remix) - Utada Hikaru
Cartoons And Macramé Wounds - Mew
Country House - Blur
The Fountain - Pendulum

This weeks set list is a lot more electronic than last weeks, the songs on it are also a lot shorter than that of last week, with only 1 being over 5 minutes long...

Tune in tonight for a great show!

Geek-Boy @ MusicSense Radio

2011-01-18T16:49:00.002Z

Yes people, it is me, the one and only Geek-Boy come here to my glorious blog to inform you that I will be 'DJ'ing on Music-Sense.co.uk this very evening. From 8pm.

Here is the provisional set-list for this evening.

Beatiful Songs You Should Know - noman

A Smart Kid - Porcupine Tree

Dreaming Light - Anathema

Passion ~opening version~ - Utada Hikaru

Sometimes Life Isn't Easy - Mew

Time is Running Out - Muse

Take My Hand For A While - Red Box

Grounds For Divorce - Elbow

Haemoglobin - Placebo

Feuer Frei - Rammstein

Staralfur (Acoustic) - Sigur Ros

The Big Sleep - Bat For Lashes

If you have any requests then feel free to make them at www.music-sense.co.uk, click on the "listen now" button and then select requests!

See you all online!!

Anathema, Red Box and Linkin Park

2010-12-20T15:02:00.001Z

So the re-branding to Dingram@Blogspot didn't work, due to the fact that my contributors didn't send me anything other than abuse, so stuff them. In this blog post I will be reviewing three albums which I believe will be numbers 1, 2 and 3 (though the order is as yet unknown) when the “Best of 2010” is announced. Two of these albums are from bands which I haven't listened to before, even though I have heard of them in passing. The first album is by a Liverpudlian band called Anathema, this distinctly proggy band have been on my radar for a few years due to them being on the same record label as Porcupine Tree (k-scope). The second album is a resurgence by a vaguely successful 80's band (they had 2 top ten singles) who have decided to reform a mere 20 years after their previous album. Though I have not heard any of their previous stuff I had heard of them due to the fact that my father had been trying for years to purchase on of their albums/EP's off of ebay for less than £100. It was my father who recommended that I give the album a listen as it is very similar to the stuff which I am listening to at the moment. The third and final album is by the Mega-Rock superstars who are Linkin Park, A Thousand Suns.

Anathema – We're Here Because We're Here (2010)
iTMS - No Spotify Link

I was slightly reluctant to listen to this album because I already have far too much music on my iPod, and I expected the Anathema album to be some sort of generic psudo-prog. How wrong I was, this album was an early contender for “Album of the Year”, it is immediately obvious that this album has had Steven Wilson all over it (he mixed the album). The album starts out strongly with Thin Air, this track starts off slow, and then build and builds, the lyrics of this track are quite emphatic as well, the main chorus line of “And it feels like we're already flying/But the air is too thin and we're dying” really brings the sense of emotion to the fore. The album has no dull moments, and even the Pink Floyd-esque Presence - which is just an instrumental track with someone talking over it, about struggling with mortality – conveys such a sense of emotion and calmness that it is very hard to criticise. After Presence Anathema really hit their stride with the über proggy A Simple Mistake it has been argued that this is the best track on the album (by none other than my father) I disagree with this (With track 3 Dreaming Light being my favourite at the moment) however I do agree that it is a spectacular, and epic, song. This album concludes with another instrumental/spoken word track, this time a female voice talking about the power which love has. The track begins with the old war chant “We're here because, We're here because; We're here because we're here.” which is a really inspired idea, and works really well in the context of the album.

Writing – 9
Flow Of The Album – 9
Originality – 8
Overall Sound – 8

A

Red Box – Plenty
iTMS - No Spotify Link

This was another album which I was reluctant to listen to as I had not heard them before, though of course because of my father I knew of them. Red Box were a band who were quite successful with their first album (released in 1986) which spawned two top-ten tracks in Lean on Me and For America. Unfortunately they were quite original so the record company didn't promote their second album at all, and they fizzled out of existence...until now! (Shock, Horror and Awe!)

Plenty is one of those albums where you hear the first minute of the first track and you think “I love this”, the opening track Stay is quiet, yet powerful. The second track is much more lively, yet still with that same power. I could say the same for the rest of the album. There is not a duff track on this album, some do take some listening to before they click, but the whole album is a Pop Masterpiece. The stand out tracks on the album are Hurricane (Track 2), Don't Let Go (Track 8), Sacred Wall (Track 11), Let It Rain (Track 12) and The Sign (Track 5). The reason I have ended with The Sign is because it is the stand out track on the album for one reason alone, it has the same great writing and music, but the thing which makes this track so good is the chorus line which consists of normal vocals combined with a sort of tribal chanting. It may sound like it wouldn't work, but surprisingly it does.

Writing – 9
Flow Of The Album – 8
Originality – 9
Overall Sound – 7

A

Linkin Park – A Thousand Suns
iTMS - Spotify

The third and final album to be reviewed, and yet again I was very reluctant to listen to this album. Though unlike the previous two the reason is not due to the fact that the band were unknown to me, on the contrary Linkin Park were one of the first bands which I listened to and enjoyed (along with Rammstein and Blur). The problem I have with Linkin Park is that Hybrid Theory (The band's first album) was so good, Meteora (Second Album) was great, though not to the same standard of Hybrid Theory and Minutes To Midnight (Third Album) was average in places and just plain bad in others. So with this in mind I delayed on purchasing A Thousand Suns because I assumed that it would continue the trend, then loads of people started ranting that it wasn't any good, that they too believed that since Hybrid Theory the band had decayed. I eventually bought the album when I was Christmas shopping, it was on special offer, and I had this blog post in mind the first time I listened to it. I had a whole post developed about bands which have peaked too early (Keane, Thirteen Senses, Guillemots, Enter Shikari and to a certain extent The Killers were on the list). So I listened, and I judged, and all I can say is...

DAMN YOU LINKIN PARK!! You have ruined a perfectly good blog post, with a sound theme! This album is excellent, I can understand why people don't like it, the band has overcome the burden of being at the forefront of American rock music, and have gotten on and done something new and different – yet still Linkin Park – and they should be (and quite rightly are) proud of it. If you take the individual tracks from the album and lay them side by side with those from Hybrid Theory I think the tracks from Hybrid Theory would just about win it, but listen to the two as albums, as they should be heard, and with A Thousand Suns you have something pure, whole and utterly outstanding. The things which served Linkin Park so well on their first two albums – the back and forth between Chester and Mike; the Electro-Synth-Pop from Joe Hahn and the innovative merging of several genres – have returned, along with what was good about Minutes To Midnight - the thought provoking lyrics; epic guitar solos; emotional togetherness – have combined, along with something new which I just can't place, to create this album which should change the face of rock for years to come. When They Come For Me (Track 5) has that same back and forth between the two frontmen which was missing from Minutes To Midnight, and includes a line, from Mike Shinoda, obviously aimed at those people who did just want more of the same which is Cos' even a blueprint is a gift and a curse // Cos' once you got the theory of how the thing works // Everybody wants the next thing to be just like the first which entertained me quite a bit when I realised it was there. This is Linkin Park back to their best, and I truly believe that this album is better than Hybrid Theory. The reason that some people dislike this album is clear, it's new, it's creative and most obvious is that it has a distinctly Proggy edge to it, so much so that I believe that they have, once again, created a new genre, taking their Nu Metal moniker, combining it with progressive thinking, longer tracks and a better flowing album (which more bands seem to be doing now) to create Progressive Nu Metal. Well done guys! You have done the impossible!

Writing – 9
Flow Of The Album – 9
Originality – 10
Overall Sound – 10

S

Well that's it for this post, though I'm sure there will be a few more in the future, I am going to try hard to get out a few posts a month, though don't count on it...

Laters
GB

Song of the Week is:-
Linkin Park - Robot Boy
iTMS - Spotify

Monday Music Madness!

2010-08-28T05:27:00.000+01:00

-Results-
By Dingram

Well that went well, I have had one response to the "Quiz" and I had to force her to do it (Not physically, but she really wanted something and this was my compensation for it) and then I've just had too much to do lately so no posts... Anyway, now for the answers!

1) Rammstein - Amerika

2) Enter Shikari - Return To Energiser

3) Jay-Z - 99 Problems

4) The Veronicas - Untouched

5) The Killers - Somebody Told Me

6) U2 - No Line On The Horizon

7) Porcupine Tree - A Smart Kid

Those are the answers (for those who are interested the one response was a correct guess of 99 Problems...).

The next quiz (posted at some point tomorrow) will be Obscure Tracks (be they b-sides or unknown album titles).

Monday Music Madness!

2010-08-23T08:00:00.000+01:00

-The Start of a New Era of Blogging-
By Dingram

Welcome, people, to my first in what will hopefully be a long running series of posts, written for Mondays. We all hate Mondays, it's just something which naturally develops in all people, now whilst I am not yet on Monday (it being -1:40 1) I appreciate that a lot of you are, and I'm sure you're all hating it.

Monday Music Madness, then, is designed to either frustrate you with the sudden realisation of your inadequate knowledge of music or enthrall you in a brand new and exciting quiz. There will be rewards and prizes (initially in the form of GBP2 until I decide on something better) and fun facts. These rewards can either be cashed (for as yet unknown gifts) or you can hold on to them until my website is fully developed (i.e. 2015), there will be a use for them then. I will try my best to calculate and I have a spreadsheet ready for all of those points accumulated.

So let's get this party started already!!

The first quiz is a simple, fun, yet still annoying concept. The lyrics in songs are often left up to personal interpretation, but can you guess which songs (and artists) these are by my interpretation of the lyrics (these may not be my interpretations just fun stuff) - There are 5 GBP up for grab for each correct answer.

1) This band are situated in the USA, with coca-cola and wonderbra...but remember, this is not a lovesong!

2) This band are playing quasar and have run out of lives and need to get more.

3) This gentleman has a multitude of issues, but he manages to keep his women in check.

4) This duo just need some human interaction, as they are feeling a little lonely.

5) This guy has been informed that you were dating a man who could be a woman he's previously had relations with.

6) Look into the distance, there aren't and 1 Dimensional objects there...

7) Post-apocalyptic boy, left all alone. Aliens appear to discover what happened.

Answers either in the comments section (below), it is now unlocked for anyone to post in with or without a Blogspot account, on the FB status promoting this entry, via direct message (twitter), e-mail, or on a Post-Card3. Answers will be revealed on Friday.

Did You Know?

On Lateralus, by Tool, the title track (Lateralus) incorporates the Fibonacci sequence? See here for more details

That's it for todays Monday Music Madness. I have just received an e-mail from Fernando De La Queso, which is probably his football report, so I'll read that and see about posting it in the next couple of days, but for now thanks for reading.

1 If you are still not caught up on 1337 time then a) Shame on you, and b) let me elaborate, due to my job and sleep pattern I needed a new time zone, and seeing as 13:37 seemed to be roughly midnight to me I decided that all of my timings are now either + or - 1337 if it is + & - 12 then it is Anti-1337 (or midday).
2 GBP is Geek-Boy Points, which I have just realised doesn't work now that I have a new poster called Geek-Boy, see I knew we'd end up fighting over this whole anonymity thing.
3 Post-Cards to :-
Seriously,
Are You Living In the Stone Age,
The Internet,
HA2 9HA

Daily Dose of Dingram

2010-08-20T11:25:00.000+01:00

Ladies and Germs the time has come, once again, for some ~~reorganisation~~ development on this blog. So, to assist me with this transition (hopefully to my own hosted website *crosses fingers that he can get off his arse and do something about it*) let me introduce to two new, hopefully regular, contributors to the Geek-Boy @ Blogspot. I will, from now on, be assuming the moniker of Dingram. One of the new contributor wishes to remain anonymous so you will only see them in the guise of Geek-Boy (2.0). Fernando De La Queso completes the trio.

Geek-Boy (TWO-POINT-OH!!) is a living technological guru and will post mainly about Games and Gaming, but will also cover cool techy stuff and new developments in the industry(ies) He is currently writing his first post and I have asked him to deliver his first draft on Monday so expect a post on Wednesday which will essentially be him introducing himself and, I think, informing you of his top 10 PC Games ever, though that may change.

Fernando De La Queso (FDLQ from this point in this post) is our resident Football pundit, he will be analysing a few games a week and upcoming games, plus all of the developments up to the end of the transfer window. I have asked him nicely to start off with MK Dons and Newcastle games, which he promptly laughed at and said he would cover "whatever games he fancied". FDLQ is an Arsenal fan and is well known in the world of Football Manager (see here) and I look forward to hearing his insight, whenever he turns in his post.

So I think that's that, oh wait, no it's not...

I am going to be introducing new sections to this blog (not physically but new "weekly events") which I hope will encourage user input, the first of these is the Monday Music Mayhem section, rather surprisingly, expected on Monday, this is co-hosted with Facebook and Twitter (though not affiliated with in any way) and will be initially quiz based. Other sections will be announced as and when I see fit.

That now is that, thanks and don't be too harsh on the new posters!!
Dingram

My World Cup XI

2010-06-23T13:47:00.000+01:00

So, the world cup is here, England aren't playing to their full potential (What a surprise) and I seem to have been pretty accurate with my predictions (except the Brazil one, feel I may be way off with that one). All in all a good couple of weeks. Now I was watching the Japan vs. Cameroon match and noticed the presence of two players called Honda and Matsui, both hardware companies (one Japanese, the other Pseudo-Japanese) and I joked (to myself) about their being a Nintendo and Capcom on the bench. At work a few days ago I was reliving this experience and laughing about how awesome I am to have made those jokes and I elaborated on it - “Oh and Honda scores after a fantastic cross from Matsui, and there's an action shot of the bench showing the reactions of Nintendo, Capcom and Pikachu!” - “Pikachu” I thought, where did that come from, then it hit me...I needed to make a Video-Game Character Football Team!! Why didn't I think of this before, it seems so obvious doesn't it...and so I began...

Now traditionally in Football games (Football Manager, PES and FIFA) I play in a rather attacking 3-5-2 formation or a more ~~conservative~~ ~~liberal~~ ~~Labour~~ generic 4-4-2D formation (more recently it has been the latter, due to the lack of PES play and 3-5-2's defensive record). I decided this time to go with the 4-4-2D.

My 4-4-2D formation uses wingers rather than the FM suggested method of playing a narrow midfield and allowing the full-backs (/wing-backs) to play more aggressively. I also use a tall and strong CF with a pacey and intelligent Striker. This is how I line up on FM2010 :-
So I decided that my players had to have all of the attributes required to play in the position I put them, i.e. height and concentration for a CB, composure and control for a Striker.
This is my team :-

Goalkeeper – Kirby (Kirby's Dream Land; Nintendo)
I wanted to put Kirby in my team somewhere and initially had him as a centre-back due to his ability to fly up high (good for countering crosses) and his resilience, then I remembered his most powerful attribute. Kirby sucks...and not in a bad way, Kirby has the ability to suck in objects coming in his general direction and then redistribute them quickly and effectively, exactly what you want from a Goalkeeper. He also has the ability to suck in air to make himself larger, this is a plus when defending penalties and free kicks as he can take up a larger portion of the goal than he would normally be able to do in his smaller form.

Right Back – Sora (Kingdom Hearts; Square-Enix & Disney)

A right-back has to be both attacking and defensive (at least in my team they do) and able to both support the winger ahead of him, then get back to his position when the winger fails to make the cross work. This requires stamina, something which Sora has in abundance. How else does he persevere with tracking down his friends through hundreds of giant, scary, Disney inspired worlds whilst maintaining his pure heart? Sora's stamina combined with his attack/defence capabilities (Only if you choose to discard magic at the beginning, and let's be honest, who does that?) make him a great Right-Back.

Left Back – Samus Aran (Metroid; Nintendo)

Samus Aran is a bounty hunter raised on Chozo. One of the key things to note about Samus is her resilience to foreign entities, provided by being infused with Chozo DNA when she was young, and the amazing powers of her aptly named Power Suit. With the power suit she can change into a Morph Ball form, a tiny, high defence machine/ball thing, which prompted me to tout her as “The Ball, but then I realised that kicking around 90kg of Chozo hardware probably wasn't good for the feet. Samus, like Sora, has very high stamina (Expandable when necessary) and excellent defence, combined with an awesome attacking flair rarely seen on left-backs, she may be better than Ashley Cole.

Centre-back – Link (The Legend of Zelda; Nintendo)

Link, the Hero of Time (or one of his descendants), defender of Hyrule. This green suited elven lad is one of the greatest heroes ever known, appearing in one of the greatest games...ever known. While he may not be tall in his kid form, Adult Link is a beast, literally if thrust into twilight. He is epic defensively due to his sword and shield combination, yet he is not hot-headed and does what needs to be done without complaint. Has great concentration and anticipation he will be able to stop any strikers attempting to make a run in behind the defensive line. Also he has Navi who would generally assist the whole team as a 12th player, but shhhh don't tell no one!

Centre-back (c) – Master Chief (Halo; Bungie)

Possibly the least difficult decision of my life, who better to be a central defender on my team than the defender of earth? He possesses strength, composure and great height, key for a centre-back. He's also not afraid to lead the forward line and put pressure on the opposition. His height and attacking strengths mean he'll be a dangerous threat at corners. He also has fantastic leadership qualities, able to inspire greatness in anyone who meets him, this makes him the ideal person to be the Captain of the team as well.

Defensive Midfielder – Gordon Freeman (Half Life; Valve)

Dr Gordon Freeman a Theoretical Physicist/Xen annihilating, Combine crushing (in progress), Headcrab stomping meta-Hero. Gordon was a difficult one because he is certainly worthy of a place in any VG football team but, a bit like Stephen Gerrard, I had no Idea which position to put him in, I initially toyed with the idea of placing him alongside “The Chief” as the most awesome CB pairing ever! Then I put him in as an attacking midfielder, thinking that his ingenuity and attacking flair, plus his ability for squeezing through tight spaces, made him the perfect Trequartista. I was then hit by what G-Man says at the beginning of Half Life 2 - “The right man in the wrong place can make all of the difference...” - and I knew where to put him. DM is a position which many people have differing opinions about, some (like Arsene Wenger) like to play a DM as a purely defensive player, hovering in-front of the back four and cutting down attacks. Others (like Fabio Capello and Rafa Benitez) like their DM's to get forward a bit and play long accurate balls to wingers and strikers. I prefer to combine the two, thus Gordon Freeman, the earth's original saviour, back again to do it again...on the football pitch.

Right Winger – Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog; Sega)

What do you want from a winger, what do all 4 of Capello's potential (initial 30 man squad) right wingers have in common? SPEED!! And who is the epitome of SPEEED!!! in the video-game catalogue? SONIC!! He has the ability to blast past defenders before they realise he's on the pitch, although, a bit like English wingers, he does lack that end product...but the SPEEEED!!!! more than makes up for it.

Just

Left Winger – Pitt (Kid Icarus; Nintendo)

As I think I mentioned in the previous position, one of the key attributes of a decent winger is speed, but that is only to get past the defenders and put in that killer ball that will lead to a goal. Pitt doesn't have as much speed as Sonic, by quite a margin, but that's because Sonic just has too much speed. Pitt is fast, yes, but he can also fly. This means that he will be able to literally glide past defenders using either his awesome ball control or just playing keepy-uppy while flying. Regardless Pitt also has the trait which Sonic lacks, accuracy. Wielding a bow and arrow in the Kid Icarus games proves that Pitt has fantastic hand-eye coordination, and the ability to put ~~an arrow up a bad guys arse~~ the ball accurately in the box from ~~3 miles away~~ anywhere on the pitch might come in handy.

Attacking Midfielder – Lucario (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl; Game-Freak)

Oh come on, do you really think I would do a VG Football team without a Pokemon in it? Just be glad I didn't put Samus Aran as AM and Plusle & Minun as the LB/RB combo (I was thinking along the lines of Rafael and Fabio Da Silva). Lucario is one of those players who is excellent in an attacking sense, above competent in a defensive situation and has that special ability to make something out of nothing, also possessing above average speed Lucario is the Lionel Messi of this team. He will play in a similar role in this team that Messi does at Barcelona, he'll be given free roam of the pitch to do as he pleases.

Striker – Sam Fisher (Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell; Ubisoft)

I had trouble picking out a suitable person for this role (This is the pacey/intelligent striker) and my mind immediately went to the stealth genre, so of course Solid Snake (Metal Gear; Konami) and Garret (Thief; Eidos) were in contention. Snake was cast aside due to his stealth being to hide under a box, not going to work on a football pitch. Garret, meanwhile, was rejected because he was too slow and not attacking enough. Sam Fisher, then, was the man to go for, he has that ability to remain undetected for great lengths of time, and then punish someone if they give him too much space. Yes he may be a bit tall for the role he will play in, but he is intelligent and fast enough (we're talking Chaos Theory, peak fitness speed) to avoid the offside trap and score plenty of goals from the knock-downs of his partnering Centre Forward...

Centre Forward – Auron (Final Fantasy X; Squaresoft)

Again this position had quite a lot of competition for it, with Kratos (God of War; SCEA) being the front-runner and Jack (Madworld; Sega) placed just behind him, then I decided that both of them were too attack minded (that and I didn't want the opposition box to be blood drenched) for the position they would be playing in, this role is similar to the role Crouch plays at Spurs, leading the front line, heading down crosses and goal kicks to the striker assisting him, getting more assists than goals. Thus Auron came into contention, Auron has the height and strength to deal with even the most battering Central Defender partnership, he also has the vision and concentration to play the ball into the correct position for his strike partner. He would also be vital in teaching the younger players who are being nurtured to eventually replace him. He is exceptionally level headed given the situations he is thrust into (though that may just be in the Dub), which allows him to make the right decision for the whole team. Also...HE HAS AN AWESOME MOTHER FRAKKING SWORD!!!!!!!1!

So there's my team, let me know what you think, post your own, berate me for being sad enough to do this, I don't care, enjoy this while you can, the next blog WILL be a rant, I can promise you that (unless I decide to trawl through loads of You Tube videos to link to my thesis).
Adiós
GB

p.s. Song of the Week is:-
Athlete – Black Swan Song
iTMS - Spotify

Upcoming Postings...

2010-04-26T02:06:00.000+01:00

Dear ladies and gentlemen (and those in between),

I am writing to inform you that there will be a new blog entry coming soon, but right now I need to obtain all of the Data I require to formulate the arguement for which I will be ranting about.

Yours Sincerely

GB

Review of the Decade!

2010-02-11T06:00:00.000Z

BREAKING NEWS
Reports are coming in that the Blogspot user Geek-Boy is finally getting around to writing his “Best of the Noughties” list, at the rather late date of February 11th, not only is he doing this at this late date he is also attempting to do it at a time which would be considered anti-social by many. Oh well, better late than never hey! More on this story as it develops. This is Daniel Ingram reporting for BBC News 24, Back to the studio.

Yes the above report (appearing on a reputable (ish) news broadcaster) is correct, aside from the usage of the term “Noughties”, that's just plain disgusting. It is time for my long overdue “Things of the Decade”! During this inevitably long blog post I will be guiding you through the last decade and telling you all about my opinions on what the greatest “Things” of that era. This will include everything from Media Products (Games; Films; TV; Music etc.) to technological advances/items. Now go fetch something to eat, drink and listen to because this is going to be one hell of a ride, one which you're not going to want to stray from!!
Before I start I'm going to lay down some rules, because if we didn't have rules the world would fall apart...either that or everyone would be so much happier.
1) Items must have been released within the time period
2) With exception to Music I will set a limit to the number of items I can put down (otherwise it would just turn into a long list of things I have purchased over the last 10 years)
3) I am allowed to group series of books and films into one selection (i.e. LOTR and Harry Potter), reasoning for this is obvious.
4) If I rattle on for too long about how awesome or terrible something is, or if I stray off topic then I give permission for every single one of you to hunt me down and slap me, though I cannot vouch for your personal safety after doing it.
Last thing to mention before I begin (no idea where I'm going to start but meh) the lists hereafter are my own opinions, nobody else has influenced my decisions (despite Micro$oft offering me £2.5million to not list Vista in the “Failures of the Decade” section). Thank you and enjoy!

Albums of the Decade
As I have previously mentioned this is the one section that I will not be limiting I will just pick out the best albums of the last decade along with release date and list them for you to view.

Athlete – Beyond The Neighbourhood (2007)
Bat For Lashes – Fur And Gold (2006); Two Suns (2009)
Coldplay – Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends (2008)
The Decemberists – The Hazards Of Love (2009)
Elbow – Asleep In The Back (2002); The Leaders of the Free World (2005) The Seldom Seen Kid (2008)
Eminem – The Eminem Show (2002)
Fort Minor – The Rising Tied (2005)
Good Charlotte – Good Morning Revival (2007)
Innerpartysystem – Innerpartysystem (2008)
The Killers – Sam's Town (2006)
Liam Frost – Show Me How The Spectres Dance (2006)
Linkin Park – Reanimation (2002); Meteora (2003)
Mew – Frengers (2003); No More Stories...(2009)
Muse – Origin of Symmetry (2001); Absolution (2003); Black Holes And Revelations (2006); The Resistance (2009)
Placebo – Sleeping With Ghosts (2003); Battle For The Sun (2009)
Porcupine Tree – In Absentia (2002); Fear Of A Blank Planet (2007); The Incident (2009)
Rammstein – Mutter (2001); Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da (2009)
Riverside – Anno Domini High Definition (2009)
Sigur Ros - ( ) (2002); Takk... (2005)
Steven Wilson – Insurgentes (2008)
Thirteen Senses – The Invitation (2004)
U2 – No Line On The Horizon (2009)

So what's that, 34 albums. Not bad considering that there were 150 released between 2000 and 2009.

Breakthrough Artist of the Decade
Elbow
Releasing their debut album in 2002, which gained a Mercury Award Nomination, the band have received critical acclaim amongst Musical journalists, developing a large and loyal fan base along the way, many of whom wanted Elbow to stay hidden away. With their most recent release, The Seldom Seen Kid, Elbow have soared to the heights that many have seen coming since they first formed, and it is well deserved.

Hardware of the Decade
Throughout the 2000s we saw quite a surge in technological advances, Google, Facebook and Twitter became household names (although obviously Facebook isn't quite there as my spell checker is highlighting it...). Mobile phones are now considered a necessity rather than an employee benefit. Most people in MEDC's use Personal Computers on a daily, if not hourly, basis. Listening to music on the move no longer means carting around hundreds of cassette tapes or CD's. Films are regarded as incomplete and underwhelming if not in a glorious 1080p 3D Uberified Format (Give it another 2 months...). I will name my top 10 pieces of hardware this decade, in no particular order.
Nintendo DS - “Use your stylus to Pick Wario's nose” Eeeeew...but ok...(WarioWare)
iPhone – The Jesus Phone, 'nuff said...
Nintendo Wii – A wiggle here, a waggle there, shakedy shake shake, inflict MASSIVE DAMAGE
iPods – I want to listen to 40 thousand songs at the same time!
Wireless Networking – Anyone can access your internet from anywhere, ANYONE!!
USB Storage – Carry your most intimate files around unsecured in your pocket, then lose them...
Blu-ray Discs – Higher storage capacity than DVDs (also the DVD was made in 1995...who knew!)
High Definition TVs – Watch TV so clear you can spot when that chick is being played by a dude...
Digital Video Recorders – Watch your TV whenever, without Ads.
Serial ATA Ports – Faster internal data speeds, no funny joke for this one...suggestions welcome...

Films of the Decade
Again limited to 10 films, but as I said above, groups are allowed. I will list the year released and director,
Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001;2002;2003 / Peter Jackson)
Shaun of the Dead / Hot Fuzz (2004 & 2007 / Edgar Wright)
Serenity (2005 / Joss Whedon)
Batman Begins / The Dark Knight (2005 & 2008 / Christopher Nolan)
Kingdom Of Heaven (2005 / Ridley Scott)
Munich (2005 / Steven Spielberg)
The Prestige (2006 / Christopher Nolan)
Iron Man (2008 / John Favreau)
Cloverfield (2008 / J.J. Abrams)
Wall-E (2008 / Andrew Stanton)

TV Shows of the Decade
Actually from now on just assume that unless I tell you otherwise it's the top 10.
24 (2001 – Present)
Firefly (2002)
Battlestar Galactica (2003 – 2009)
Lost (2004 – 2010)
Hustle (2004 – Present)
House (2005 – Present)
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006 – 2007)
A Town Called Eureka (2006 – Present)
Big Bang Theory (2007 – Present)
Dollhouse (2009-2010)

TV Mini-Series / Special of the Decade
Limited to five, not to challenge me, but because I can't think of ten...
Revelations (2005)
The Lost Room (2006)
Terry Pratchett Adaptations (2006 & 2008)
Red Dwarf : Back To Earth (2009)
Torchwood : Children Of Earth (2009)

Books of the Decade
As with films I will list the year of release and ~~Director~~ Author. Also limited to 5.
Harry Potter series [Goblet of Fire onwards] (2000; 2003; 2005; 2007 / J.K. Rowling)
The Amber Spyglass (2000 / Philip Pullman)
Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures (2003 / Walter Moers)
Artemis Fowl series (2001; 2002; 2003; 2005; 2006; 2008 / Eoin Colfer)
Penguins Stopped Play (2006 / Harry Thompson)

Video Games of the Decade
Video Games which I have played, though not necessarily owned. Format is Title,2007 & Year, Developer/Publisher, Format.
Half-life 2 2004 Valve (PC/Xbox360/PS3)
Football Manager 2008 & 2010 2007 & 2009 Sega (PC/PSP)
Stalker : Shadow Of Chernobyl 2007 THQ (PC)
The Legend Of Zelda : Wind Waker 2004 Nintendo (GC)
Halo series 2001; 2004; 2007 Bungie (PC/Xbox; PC/Xbox; Xbox360)
The Elder Scrolls IV : Oblivion 2006 Bethesda (PC/X360/PS3)
GTA San Andreas 2004 Rockstar (PS2/Xbox/PC)
Metroid Prime 3 : Corruption 2008 Nintendo (Wii)
Black 2006 Criterion Games (PS2/Xbox)
Bully (or Canis Canem Edit) 2006 Rockstar (PS2/PC/Wii/X360)

Right, I think that's about it. To be honest I think you could probably have stopped reading after the music/gadgets section because the rest is just me listing my favourite stuff...then again wasn't it all. I think I've just realised that I've just wasted the last 3 hours writing this crappy thing and I haven't even formatted it yet...was going to linkify everything but I can't be bothered any more, so I'll say one final thing and be off...It's been one hell of a decade guys, and I'm very much looking forward to the next one. Oh and GOOGLE IT YOU LAZY GITS!!!

Adios.
GB

The End Of The Year = Awards Season!

2009-12-23T02:57:00.000Z

So here we are again, the end (almost) of another year, and it falls to me to tell all of you incompetent fools what the album(s) and song(s) of the year are, and why you should bow before their awesomeness. Now don't let the lack of reviews fall you, most of these were released before this blog came into full existence. There have been 12 albums released this year, and all of them have been amazing, astounding and all around great to listen to.

Now over the last 2 weeks I have put myself through the painful process of listening to all 12 of these albums in order to deduce the Album of the Year 2009. Now unlike 2008, where there was only going to be one winner (Steven Wilson – Insurgentes), 2009 was a much closer contest, even now as I'm writing this I am undecided as to which album is to be number one, although I think that it has to be the one which I'm listening to...

So just to quell curiosity here is the short-list for AotY 2009 :-

30 Seconds To Mars – This Is War
Bat For Lashes – Two Suns
The Decemberists – The Hazards Of Love
Jonsi & Alex – Riceboy Sleeps
Muse – The Resistance
Placebo – Battle For The Sun
Porcupine Tree – The Incident
The Prodigy – Invaders Must Die
Rammstein – Leibe Ist Fur Alle Da
Riverside – Anno Domini High Definition
U2 – No Line On The Horizon
Mew* - No More Stories Are Told Today I'm Sorry They Washed Away No More Stories The World Is Grey I'm Tired Let's Wash Away

*Please note that Mew would be in alphabetical order IF the album title wasn't so bloody long!!

The format for this award will be me telling you the top 5 albums this year, along with a short paragraph explaining the good points of the album and why they are better than the rest (to just skip to the number one then press CTRL+F and search for “1)” then hit enter twice) I have to say that even I am surprised at the top 5, admittedly I'd been waiting for one of them since 2005, and the others just came out of nowhere this year. None of the prime suspects are there as well. It has been a thoroughly good year for music. By the way, just a prewarning, you might not have heard of some (any) of these bands unless you actually listen to me when I'm talking complete sh*t or (in one case) follow the Mercury Awards or read NME or Kerrang!.

Right let us begin...drum-roll please...No? No one wants to do it? Fine...here I go...

Budubudubudubudubudubudubudubudubudu Tish!

5) Mew – No More Stories... (I'm not typing that again)

This album is the only one in my Top 5 which doesn't surprise me, after all And The Glass Handed Kites (2005) was epic and Frengers was even better (2003). What's that I hear? Nothing can be better than epic? But you sir (Madame) are incorrect in this assumption! No More Stories... is one of those albums where you both do and don't want to hear it. You want to hear it to see where the band is headed in terms of musical/lyrical style, but you don't want to hear it because you don't want to be disappointed that it's “Not quite as good as the last one”. There have been many instances where bands have had a really good/well received album and followed it up with a piss poor excuse for an album. Sigur Ros with Takk... and the follow up Med Sud are a prime example. This album however is one where the band have pushed through that barrier and have made something superb, that combined with the fact that if you play the opening track backwards it's a bonus song, makes this album an essential in this top 5.

4) Jónsi & Alex – Riceboy Sleeps

Riceboy Sleeps is a very interesting album in the sense that the band (or “duo”) never intended to release it as an album, it was written and produced with a view to putting it on the documentary that the two of them (Jónsi Þór Birgisson (from Sigur Rós) and Alex Somers (Visual Artist who produced covers to SR albums)) were making at the time, but when they presented the documentary to the studio they were advised to release it. And I'm bloody glad they did, this album is amazing, much better than the most recent Sigur Rós album, it epitomizes the genre Ambient. It is so relaxing and fluid that it should be classed as an illegal substance and banned, but I would still “use” it!

3) Bat For Lashes – Two Suns

Bat For Lashes released her début album Fur And Gold in 2006, to critical acclaim, and also received a Mercury Award nomination, so Two Suns was right at the top (well almost) of my Most Wanted list for 2009, even though it was another case of want to have it but don't. It was quite annoying, then, when I couldn't get a hold of a copy until 3 months after release. I don't regret the wait however, the wait was worth it, the wait might have indeed made the album for me. Actually scratch that, the MUSIC made the album for me. This album is another indie classic, released to more critical acclaim than Fur And Gold and giving Bat For Lashes another Mercury nomination.

2) Riverside – Anno Domini High Definition

I started listening to Riverside by accident. Working at The ~~Shittle~~ Thistle we are often visited by a dutch group Oed, and one time when they came one of them brought with them a stack full of CDs (enough for one for every member of staff) and gave them to my manager, he put them out the back and we forgot about them, a few weeks later I was working a Sunday shift (which is slow on the best of days) and heard some music on which I liked, I asked my co-worker at the time what CD he had put on, his response “Some of that Dutch sh*t”. I took an album (Riverside – Rapid Eye Movement) home, listened to it, and liked it. Anno Domini High Definition (ADHD) is the follow up album to that album. In the grey area between Prog Rock and Prog Metal Riverside are right up my street. ADHD is an album consisting of five 8 minute + songs. It is epic on an epic scale.

Right then, here we have it...the Album of the Year for 2009 is...

1) The Decemberists – The Hazards Of Love

I went to see The Decemberists a few weeks ago and, looking back, I can safely say that they are one of the best bands I have ever seen live. The Hazards Of Love (HoL) is a concept album in the style of medieval folklore, this one being quite grim and gruesome. It's one of those albums where you have to listen to it start to finish to get the best effect. Listening to the lyrics is not a requirement but is very much advised. HoL is a fantastic album and contains some of the most atmospheric and varied sounds to appear on any album ever. It well and truly deserves the number one spot!

Next up on the agenda is the Song of the Year 2009, I'm not going to post a shortlist or even explain my choices, I'm just going to tell you what the 5 best tracks of the year have been.

5) U2 – Unknown Caller – No Line On The Horizon
4) Placebo – Julien – Battle For The Sun
3) Porcupine Tree – Drawing The Line – The Incident
2) The Veronicas – Untouched – Untouched: Lost Tracks - EP
1) Steven Wilson – salvaging (pat mastelloto mix) – NSRGNTS RMXS (EP)

Wahey what a way to end the year, all that excellent music (By the way, I'm running out of superlatives...) and a great big long blog post.

So, to finish off let me tell you my Most Wanted for 2010 (Listed by release date)

Massive Attack – Heligoland - 8th Feb 2010
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach – March 2010
Good Charlotte – Cardiology – March/April 2010
Elbow – N/A – Q3 2010
Guillemots – N/A – TBC (2010)
Innerpartysystem – N/A – TBC (2010)
Linkin Park – N/A – TBC (2010)
Radiohead – N/A – TBC (2010)
Sigur Ros – N/A – TBC (2010)
Thirteen Senses – N/A – TBC (2010)

Now hopefully there will be more albums than this released, and hopefully some new artists will enter the mix...watch this space...

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post as much as I've enjoyed writing it.
See you all in 2010...

GB
x

Review : 30 Seconds To Mars - This Is War

2009-12-09T05:50:00.000Z

Well here we are, 16 days before Christmas, and a brand spanking new 30STM album sitting on my...well that's funny isn't it...there's no sign anywhere of "This Is War" anywhere near me, or even in my "Music" folder. I haven't purchased this album as of writing, I have merely listened to it via Spotify. The reasons I haven't purchased this album are both work related, working too many hours at work (75 hours last week!!) and not being paid PROPERLY for 2 Months...Huzzah for me!!

Anyway, onto the review...

Now I should mention before writing that through using Spotify I have come to realise two things.

1. Spotify is by far the best (legal) method of listening to music without buying it.
2. Spotify is by far the worst method of listening to music with or without buying it.

These two things may seem contradictory to the untrained eye (and to be honest they are to the trained eye as well...not the point) but they are in fact both true! It is the best method, essentially, because it is so easy to use. It is the worst method because of the advertising! I would love this App to be free of charge to everyone without someone trying to sell me Wife Beater.

(Once again) Anyway, onto the review!!

Despite having only two previous albums 30 Seconds To Mars are quite a success in both the UK and USA. Their previous album "A Beautiful Lie" is one of those albums that you either love or hate, I personally love it and as such recommended it in a previous post. 30STM have had some very difficult times trying to get "This Is War" to be released, this includes an estimated $30m legal battle with Virgin Records. Since the last album 30STM have shed their "Emo" look, Jared Leto has had a haircut (!), and it seems to have had an effect on their music. "Kings and Queens"
the first single off of the album is a complete contrast to "A Beautiful Lie" the last single from the previous album. Not that the change of style is a bad thing, it was just very unexpected. The three "Stand-out" tracks from "This Is War" are "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Search and Destroy" and "Hurricane". "Stranger in a Strange Land", the penultimate track, is a deep and brooding track which is full of dark guitar riffs and electronic synth sections. As such it is right up my street, I always say that bands are better when being dark and brooding, just look at Elbow and Sigur Ros.

"Search and Destroy" is probably the closest thing on this album to anything from "A Beautiful Lie" think "From Yesterday" with more electronic sounds. The final track I wish to pick apart "Hurricane" is a fantastic track, both musically (Lots of orchestral sections, excellent synth parts) and Lyrically. The predominant question throughout the song is "Would you kill, to save a life?" while an interesting question in itself, it shows the bands grasp of thought producing lyrics.

The whole album is very well produced, from the crowd "sing-along" in most of the songs, to the monk chanting in both the opening and closing tracks. All in all this album is very impressive, and boosts 30STM from being a "recommendable Emo band" to an "essential purchase" for anyone with even the slightest Rock leaning.

Writing – 10 –

Lyrics are thought provoking and well processed. I have already mentioned the great morality questions in "Hurricane"

Flow Of The Album – N/A –

I have been unable (as of yet) to listen to the whole album from start to finish.

Originality – 9 –

30 Seconds To Mars have almost completely reinvented themselves with this album, making it almost completely original!

Overall Sound – 8 –

The overall sound of this album is good, although I fear it will only appeal to Rock lovers, and the 9s and 10s in this category must appeal, at least with some tracks, to everyone.

(~B~)*

*This is a B only because I am unable to analyse the "Flow of the Album", once I have purchased the album and listened to it from start to finish then I will adjust the score!

P.S. Just finished listening to "Paramore" - "Brand New Eyes" will review soon.
P.P.S. The Song of the Week is :-

Panic! At The Disco - New Perspective

iTMS - No Spotify Link ATM

The Decemberists

2009-11-20T03:26:00.000Z

Tonight I went to see The Decemberists, and it's safe to say that they are probably in the top 4 bands I have ever seen live! They were truely epic. Now I'm not going to go into any details about the show, or even post a set-list, this post is purely to get people to listen to this band!!

Their most recent album "The Hazards Of Love" is a concept album. The album goes through the life of the narrator/the rake; finding his true love, getting married, having kids/losing his wife, killing his kids etc. It's all very sinister. The album style is technically folk-rocky but there are pieces of everything in there.

GO LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM NOW!!!

By the way the Song of the Week is:-

Mew - Cartoons And Macramé Wounds

iTMS - Spotify

Album Recommendations

2009-10-21T03:23:00.000+01:00

Thought I'd take the time to sit and recommend some albums that you lovely people might like to listen to from each "Genre".

Electronica
Massive Attack - Mezzanine - 1998
The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die - 2009
Innerpartysystem - Innerpartysystem - 2008

Prog Rock
Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream - 1999
Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun - 2000
Riverside - Rapid Eye Movement - 2007
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here - 1975

Rock
Good Charlotte - Good Morning Revival - 2007
The Killers - Sam's Town - 2006
Linkin Park - Reanimation - 2002
Mew - Frengers - 2003
Placebo - Meds - 2006
Muse - The Resistance - 2009
Steven Wilson - Insurgentes - 2008/2009
U2 - No Line On The Horizon - 2009

Heavy Rock
Rammstein - Reise Reise - 2004
Apocalyptica - Worlds Collide - 2007
30 Seconds To Mars - A Beautiful Lie - 2005
Enter Shikari - Take To The Skies - 2007

Indie/Pop
Liam Frost - Show Me How The Spectres Dance - 2006
Bat For Lashes - Two Suns - 2008
Blur - 13 - 1999
Athlete - Beyond The Neighbourhood - 2007
Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends - 2008
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid - 2008
Elbow - Leaders Of The Free World - 2005
Thirteen Senses - The Invitation - 2004

Other
Jonsi & Alex - Riceboy Sleeps - 2009 - Ambient
Sigur Ros - Takk... - 2005 - (Technically) Post-Rock
Sigur Ros - () - 2002 - Same as Above
Fort Minor - The Rising Tied - 2005 - Rock/Rap
Eminem - The Eminem Show - 2002 - Rap
Gorillaz - Demon Days - 2005 - Post-Rock
Amiina - Kurr - 2007 - Ambient

And there we have it, only a few albums there (34) that should keep people going for a while.

Also Song of the Week is:-

Porcupine Tree - Drawing The Line

iTMS - Spotify

That's all for now, I promise I'll get the Muse review out onto the 'net as soon as possible, probably tomorrow.

The Geek(-Boy) Of The Ding(ram) : The Two Posts

2009-10-05T14:32:00.000+01:00

Well here it is, my second blog entry, and the first “Proper” entry! During this post I will be explaining the format to which I will attempt to follow throughout the duration of my blog. This time on Geek-Boy @ Blogspot. I will devote a majority of the two posts to Reviews, both elaborating on the review scoring, reviewing 1 album (With 1 still to come). Please remember that these reviews are my own opinions and are not skewed for my own personal gain (Though I could be swayed Mr/Mrs Record Label :-D).

Format & Frequency

In terms of format and frequency, I have decided to have neither. I will attempt to post most weeks, even if it does just end up being one of the forthcoming “Regular Features”, most of which will require input from me. I will also be attempting a sort of quiz/fun-game type thing...how well this works is dependant on two factors – 1) My ability to ask good questions and update when I say I will. 2) Input from you, my audience, for without your input there will be no point in doing this sort of stuff – I'm hoping that some people seize the opportunity to show off/ridicule me for my lack of knowledge (or a combination of both) and I can get this sort of thing going on a regular basis, and inevitably come up with a type of rewards system on my website (When I get around to finally making it).

Regular Features

Certain “Features” will be more regular than others, this will be pretty much “X of the Week/Month” probably including Single (or song), album, game, film, iPod/iPhone App, website (:S) etc. This type of thing is more so that I can attempt to brainwash everyone into liking the same sort of music/games/films etc. Of course making a welcome return is the highly regarded “Fan of the Month” which will be decided on the last day of every month, and awarded to the person who I think has made the greatest contribution to the blog over the last 31/30/29/28 days, they will be immortalised on their own personal post with a photo of themselves (stolen from Facebook or Myspace) and a little golden trophy jpeg which I will need to either redesign or just use as it is.

I have also decided that rather than post everything in one big block of text I will use one of the basic, yet oh-so-useful, tools provided by the nice Google people... “Categories”. These will be assigned as required, for now I can only see about 5 categories (Reviews; Rants; Work; Leisure; Fan of the Month) and as you will expect some of those may interloop (mainly Rants and Work). I'm thinking about splitting “Reviews” into 3 to have VG Reviews, Music Reviews and Film Reviews, but I'm not sure whether I could bring myself to write that many reviews...so we'll see how it goes.

Reviews

In terms of the Reviews themselves (Only Music so far) I will write a brief little bio on the artist (as it's likely you won't have heard of most of them) then an analysis of the album itself, though how long this will be I have yet to decide (First draft review of The Incident took up two A4 pages). The analysis will be followed by a conclusion (Look at mah engleesh skillz!!) and then finally the scores. For the scores albums will be given a mark out of 10 for each of the following:-

Writing
Flow Of The Album
Originality
Overall Sound

For a total score of 40 (rather like Famitsu). Which will then be given a “Grade” like that of a exam paper split as shown below (Yes I have slightly ripped off the GCSE mark scheme, so what?).

36 + = S

31 - 35 = A

26 – 30 = B

21 – 25 = C

16 – 20 = D

11 – 15 = E

6 – 10 = F

1 – 5 = G

0 = U

I am also toying with the idea of removing a point for each “Dud” on the album (Any song which seems out of place or is just plain bad.), also I might start deducting points for the genre being listed as “Alternative & Punk” on iTunes (though admittedly this is iTunes + the record labels fault) because Alternative Rock and Punk Rock are two completely different classifications (Seriously it's like me using a “Teen-Pop & Metal” classification) and should never be crossed (even if they “are” then that itself is “Post Rock”). Let me know what you think, and I'll tell you whether your opinion means anything.

As I have discovered the wonders of Spotify I will now be able to do requests for reviews (As long as the album is on Spotify) which I will gladly do as long as it isn't you guys forcing me to listen to some drivel that no one in their right mind would listen to...trust me, I'll be able to tell...

The review this time is in a separate post BELOW this one, alternatively click on the Reviews link to be shown all of the reviews (which at the moment is only 1).

Song of the Week

With the Song of the Week (hereafter referred to as SotW) I will tell you the one song which I believe I have listened to the most that week, sometimes aided by Last.fm, along with two links, one to the iTunes Music Store (iTMS) and one to the Spotify Application (Spot) for the song listed (If they are available) I ask you to listen to the song (even if it's just the iTunes 20 second preview) for I think that most people will like the songs which I post (as usual there will be a few exceptions to that). I would also appreciate it if you could give me some feedback on the songs for future reference.

Also Song of the Week this week is:-

Biffy Clyro – That Golden Rule

iTMS – Spotify

Feedback

And thus we come to the most important part of this post, the section where ~~I beg you to post comments~~ I ask you to post your views/analysis and the like. Doing so will provide a huge incentive for me to continue, even if it is criticism. If you do not know already you can sign into Blogspot using your basic GoogleMail account (If you don't have a GM account then I urge you to get one, even if just for the customisable Google Homepage w/RSS feeds.) and I'm sure you can just post like that, although you might have to sign up for Blogspot, don't really know. I'll find out and let you guys know anyway.

This week/month's "quiz" is to tell me which 2 film's titles I have used both for this post and the first post. Prize will be announced next post.

And that, aside from the review posted below, is a wrap. I hope you've enjoyed reading what will be the first of many posts on Geek-Boy @ Blogspot and I trust that you will appreciate all the time and effort that I have put into this first (technically 3rd) entry. Please do read the review below and take the time to at least listen to a bit of the album. I'll try to write up and post my review of The Resistance soon. Thanks for reading and good night.

Geek-Boy

Review : Porcupine Tree - The Incident

2009-10-05T14:23:00.000+01:00

Not many of you will have heard of Porcupine Tree (Shame on you!!) unless you vaguely remember me mentioning them, or have seen one of their videos on Scuzz/Kerrang or the like. Porcupine Tree are a Progressive Rock band based in Hemel Hempstead (Just up the road from here) and are fronted by musical genius and workaholic Steven Wilson. He has 6 projects for which he is currently writing and recording songs with – Porcupine Tree; Blackfield; No-Man; IEM; Bass Communion; & his Solo Project – and he is mixing the King Crimson back catalogue in 5.1 for future release. Now Steven Wilson's previous album (Solo project “Insurgentes”) was my Album of the Year for 2008, and Fear Of A Blank Planet (Porcupine Tree album number 9) and it's accompanying EP Nil Recurring I believe were my Album of the Year for 2007 (I think...), so it's safe to say that The Incident has a lot to live up to.

Before I indulge in talking about the music I believe I should explain a bit about the album format, The Incident in itself probably, to the uneducated eye (/ear), is the definition of Prog Rock... A single 55 minute song (albeit divided into 14 track names) on one disk and 4 further tracks on the second (acting like FOABP and Nil Recurring in a way).

This format however shouldn't deter you from giving The Incident a listen. While the album is best when listened to, in it's entirety, without any interruptions it is possible to pick out a few choice tracks if should the need arrive.

The first disk of The Incident is a tremendous piece of music, with a vast musical and lyrical variety throughout the entire piece. Drawing The Line is a fantastic section 10 minutes in which has SW rhythmically chanting the lyrics “I'm drawing the line” (among others) with such emotion that it's difficult not to be moved, even without realising the lyrics are about self-harm.

The title track The Incident delivers a swift change of tempo and style, deeper and broodier than earlier stuff, and with lyrics talking about the feeling of separation when experiencing a car crash.

The follow-up track Your Unpleasant Family is a fairly entertaining track lyrically, due to the lines “Your unpleasant family, Smashed up my car (Perfectly uncalled for)”, and also succeeds in reversing what the previous track did by upping the speed and treating us to a delightful guitar solo.

Time Flies opens with the line “I was born in '67, the year of Sergeant Pepper and Are You Experienced” and listening to this album you would think that The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix have had very little influence on PT's musical/lyrical style at all. The band would have been better off to try and fit The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (also released in '67) into the opening line, because Pink Floyd have much more in common with PT than either The Beatles or Hendrix. In fact The Incident sounds vaguely similar to Animals Floyd's 1977 album (precursor to The Wall). This track is bookended by two fantastic guitar riffs which would make Hendrix proud and the borderline psychedelic rock which links the two wouldn't be out of place on Sgt. Pepper.

The final track in the song cycle, I Drive The Hearse, is a rather fitting ending to the piece. Quiet, emotional, epic. My words don't do it justice, if you are to listen to one section of this album then listen to this track.

The four songs on the second CD are more like what I have come to expect from Porcupine Tree, Flicker and Remember Me Lover are the two tracks of note on this CD (Although Black Dahlia and Bonnie The Cat are excellent tracks). Flicker is an observational song about the fact that there is only a “flicker” of light left to come from the sun (in comparison with the rest of its existence). Remember Me Lover is an immense and heavy track, with lyrics about a relationship gone sour and the harsh line “And this too, I hated you, I wish you learn to keep your mouth shut .”. Ouch.

In conclusion this album is perhaps the best album Porcupine Tree (and maybe even Steven Wilson) have ever made, the way that all of the tracks ebb and flow and interconnect despite being so different is genius. To really benefit from the mix of the album you need to listen to the CD version, if not then a 256kbps rip of it, there are so many subtle yet important tweaks that you will miss if you do otherwise. So now onto the scoring.

Writing – 10 –

Lyrics are fantastic and meaningful all the way through the duration of the album, and never falter.

Flow Of The Album – 10 –

The song cycle flows fantastically from start to finish, and listening with the four other tracks, you might not even notice that they're not a part of the piece.

Originality – 7 –

The album format is very original for Porcupine Tree, some of the music however is not, I occasionally thought to myself “Hey, this sounds sort of like (enter track name here) from (enter PT album here)”

Overall Sound – 9 –

The overall sound of the album is great, I do have a minor grievance with the fact that it's not as heavy as the previous album was, which is what was so great about Blank Planet.

(~S~)

Geek-Boy Begins!!

2009-07-07T03:25:00.000+01:00

Welcome, one and all, to my new blog! This blog is going to be my temporary home whilst I continue to procrastinate and delay the eventual awesomeness that will be "geek-boy.net" *URL TBC*.

This brand spanking new blog will be both home to my Web Development updates and pesonal port of call for any personal blogging which I may or may not wish to do. Please, if you have a GMail account, feel free to subscribe to my blog.

First point of interest then is Blogspot itself, for a detailed history please go to Wikipedia. In regards to ease of use I managed to subscribe and set up this blog (along with snappy design format) in just under 5 minutes, although this ease of entry may because I have had a GMail account for over 3 years now. But the whole process was so easy, much better than Myspace, Facebook and Twitter.

Second point of interest is probably the fact that I haven't blogged in quite a while, and as such I am out of practice. I will aim to update the blog as much as possible, and I will notify people via the various Social Networking sites listed above. Please look out for updates and comments are very much welcome, though please try not to be too grotesque with the responses (Moderation will occur and bans may come into play).

That's about all for now, hopefully this will get a few hits, and I will linkify to this blog in various locations to obtain lots of views!!

Thanks for the continued support
Geek-Boy