Journal Entry - May 2015

OK I guess it’s time I posted up a new journal. I think this time I’ll start by addressing the ever-decreasing frequency of my journal updates. It seems now that rather than weekly or fortnightly journals with one or two discussion points and one or two songs, I have resorted to monthly journals with a longer list of discussion points and a good 2 or 3 songs. I am now seriously considering making this a regular occurrence, primarily in an effort to make them a bit more full and interesting, and hopefully reduce the need for frequent entries. I plan to have these done and up at the start of each month to cover reports for that said month. Every once in a while if something comes along that is so major that I have to share/talk about it immediately, I will either post it in a separate journal or status update. Let me know what you think about this idea in the comments below. 

So what has been happening this month? Well in the world of film, we have had some pretty major releases, most notably in the form of “Fast and Furious 7”, which I’ve already reviewed, and “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, which I will get to review as soon as possible. This month, we’ve also had one pretty major trailer for one certain upcoming release – that, of course, being “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. And my immediate reaction to it was simply “wow”. From the gorgeous opening shots to all the epic new footage, to hearing the voices of the familiar characters, and that final shot just before cutting to the title, I just had a huge smile on my face watching the whole thing. I was already pretty excited before but now December cannot come soon enough. It’s unlikely you haven’t already seen the new trailer, but I’ll still be nice and post it below.

Next a bit of gaming world news, which is something I rarely talk about. A couple of weeks ago, it was announced that after a lengthy hiatus, Activision is reviving the Guitar Hero series. As a once frequent player of the original games, this certainly caught my attention, and I’m definitely intrigued by this comeback release. With a new controller design and gameplay style, it looks like they are trying to show innovation, something that was severely lacking with the series before, and rejuvenate it with a new playing experience without deviating too far away from what made it so appealing. That said, there are some clear elephants in the room regarding this surprise announcement. You could easily say something like “stop wasting your time with video games and learn to play a real guitar”. Well, we could also say stop playing Gran Turismo and learn to actually drive a car, or turn off FIFA and go and play football/soccer outside. Yes, these activities would be more practical, and in the case of playing guitar you do have Rocksmith, but not everyone is willing or even physically capable of doing these things, and I understand that as they are all frustrating and can be difficult for many people to grasp. Personally, I don’t see the big deal about it. Let the gamers have fun with their video games. There’s also no full band with this new game, and due to the redesigned controller, no backwards compatibility, which may put it at a disadvantage against the upcoming Rock Band 4. However, I think Guitar Hero Live may have an advantage due to the wider platform range, as it will be released for all three 8^th generation consoles, and also Xbox 360 and PS3, whereas Rock Band 4 is only being developed for PS4 and Xbox One. Finally, it’s Activision, and all I can say to this is I hope that they now understand the importance of “less is more”, and have learned from the mistakes that killed the series the first time.

Next up, it has recently come to my attention that MLP will soon be losing one of its regular writers. That’s right, earlier this week it was confirmed that after five seasons, Amy Keating Rogers will be leaving the show for the foreseeable future, as she has now been offered a full-time job writing for Disney. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t sad about this announcement as Amy has written some truly classic episodes, but to work for Disney is a huge opportunity that’s a bit hard to turn down. It’s unknown whether she’ll be writing for cartoons or live-action work, but I do still look forward to seeing what she brings. It’s a shame to see Amy depart from MLP, but I wish her the very best of luck.

Now onto my song choices; three this time. The first is one of a genre that I very rarely share; it’s a hip hop song. But it’s a very recent one that I am sure many of you will be familiar with, whether or not you have seen the movie it was written for. I am, of course, referring to “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa Feat. Charlie Puth, the song written as a tribute to Paul Walker and featured at the end of the new Fast and Furious film. I described the song in my recent review for the film as “beautifully moving”, and that’s still the best way I can describe it. It is a lovely song and a wonderful, perfect tribute to the late actor. But what also works about it is the fact that guest singer Charlie Puth wrote his parts whilst thinking of a close friend who also died abruptly, so despite the hip hop sound making it a perfect fit for the Fast and Furious series, it can easily apply to and resonate with anyone who has lost something close to them. It’s been a number one hit in several countries for good reason. Unfortunately, the official music video spoils the end of Furious 7, so for those who haven’t yet seen it and still plan to, I’m posting a lyric video instead.

The next one is a song called “Strangers” by Scratch21 and ElieMonty. These two names might ring a bell for those who know their brony music, as they have both made names for themselves in the community. Last week, this song was given new recognition after it was used for an animation featuring Sweetie Belle and Button Mash. This was where I first heard it and I’ve been loving it ever since. With no actual direct connection to MLP itself, the song can easily be enjoyed as a beautiful duet about two individuals who miss each other greatly. With just an acoustic guitar and vocals, the music itself is wonderful with its simplicity, but it’s the heartfelt lyrics, sincere vocals and lovely voices of these two talented artists that make it a complete package well worth listening to. I’ve just posted the lyric video below, but if you get the chance, definitely search for the new PMV animation by Mr KupKake as it’s definitely worth a watch.

Finally, something completely different, and which may be unsuitable for some people. My third song choice comes from Lily Allen with a track simply titled “F*** You”. To say that this song comes with a Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics warning would be quite an understatement, but I still share it as a choice purely because it’s just so fun to listen to. The message is pretty clear: Lily’s angry, and she’s angry about a bunch of things that we can easily relate to, but she expresses it in such a tongue-in-cheek way that it’s very hard not to smile. I’m not a big Lily fan, but this song just cracks me up every time I listen to it.

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