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[barytyrannus]

Art Analysis: Gorillaz Bonus

Ok, so this is going to be really short and sweet. I’m gonna cover one image that I found that I’m really curious about:

This is an image that, I believe, first appeared in Rise of the Ogre. I’ve seen it floating around on the internet for a while now, and I always referred to it as Jamie’s “Phase 1.5″ artstyle, as I assumed it came either from late in phase 1 or early in phase 2. I actually don’t know when it came from- that was just an assumption after all-. But the reason it caught my attention is because the art style does seem to be beginning to change here. Its like a transitional fossil for art styles. It’s grittier and more detailed than phase 1 art. Murdoc is also green, and Cortez is present. 2D has more visible wrinkles, and his hair looks a bit different. Noodle is starting to look like her phase 2 self. Russel....looks basically the same, but when does he not......and of course, the most noticeable difference is Del. Almost looks like a different character. 

I don’t know the backstory of this image, but it describes an idea of what I would have wanted phase 2 to look like. The phase 2 artstyle strayed too much from the style I love. This would have worked better, in my opinion.

[barytyrannus]

You realise what you said is just an opinion right? Not factual? Just because YOU personally prefer the older style doesn’t mean it’s literally better. Some think Jamie has IMPROVED on his work and detail. Some LOVE Humanz. It’s ok if you disagree, but the way you worded it was as if it’s a fact, but it’s just your opinion. Just because Gorillaz are changing and evolving and the style and stuff is different, doesn’t mean it’s worse or less good. It’s just different.

“Remember, this is all my opinion”. That is an actual quote from the analysis. Of course it isn’t factual. That should go without saying tbh. 

[barytyrannus]

Art Analysis: Gorillaz, and How an Art Style can Lose its Edge.

Ah, Jamie Hewlett. My hero, and ultimate inspiration. I hear y’all praising Damon all the time, but I never would have gotten into Gorillaz if it weren’t for Jamie’s artstyle....at least, it was amazing. What happened though? How does Gorillaz in 2018 compare to Gorillaz in 2001? Well, lets take a look back through the history of Gorillaz.

Welcome to the first Art Analysis. I’ve wanted to do this for a while because, frankly, I haven’t seen many other people do it. Today, I’ll be talking about the art style of Gorillaz, not actually Jamie Hewlett specifically (bummer, right?) We’re going to analyze what made it great, and why, I feel, it has lost its magic. Remember, this is all my opinion. Even though your wrong, feel free to tell me your thoughts as well.

Phase 1:

(Early Gorillaz Concept Art)

The Gorillaz was born when Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett expressed dissatisfaction with the modern state of mTV. The idea of having cartoon characters replace real musicians lent itself to be a vessel for great social commentary, but in order for this to work, the characters had to be distinctive. Gorillaz in phase 1 feel very at home in the early 2000s. Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory, and Johny Bravo all rocked the specific, thick-lined, angular, flat shaded style, and the Gorillaz followed suit. Many have pointed out how this style feels like a throwback to 50s UPA animation, and the Gorillaz use similar animation methods as well.

Let me just say that this is, in my view, the BEST cartoon style. Phase 1 Gorillaz art and animation felt more lively and slick. They had an over-emphasized cartoonyness that not only carried their message well but also contrasted beautifully with the dark nature of the characters. Jamie Hewlett’s work in Gorillaz phase 1 was his best work to date, outside of maybe Get the Freebies.

The Gorillaz in phase 1 also remind me a lot of urban vinyls, like those of KidRobot. This may be due to the smooth, flat colors and shading. It suits the more urban feel of their first album quite well. The Gorillaz fan artist Irina Bolshakova has mastered this style and deserves a mention because I think she is the greatest Gorillaz fan artist of all time. I often reference her work more than Jamie even!

Phase 2:

The most significant change in direction in terms of the Gorillaz artstyle, atleast until recently, was with the beginning of phase 2. Demon Days, as an album, have significantly different themes than the band’s previous outing. It was a post-911 world now, and gone were the innocent, chill vibes of Self Titled. The world just got a whole lot drearier and more paranoid. The cartoon network inspired style wouldn’t work for this, and changes needed to be made.

For starters, the characters became more gritty and detailed. They often looked worn out and ghoulish, like zombies, which was especially fitting. The thick lines, unfortunately, were diminished significantly, replaced with what almost resembles pencil lines, and shading began to use a gradient. It was often darker as well, making the eyes of the characters look sunken in and vampiric. Limbs showed more of a natural curve, and were less geometric, and muscles were more toned. The characters often felt stiff and spidery in phase 1, legs jutting out at exaggerated angles. They were often posed more naturally in phase 2. The colors in this art are often muddled and dull as well. To me, I describe the style of phase 2 as akin to walking into an old, dusty antique store.

While this style works very well for Demon Days, I feel like it was overall a downgrade. The characters feel less distinctive and eye catching. That may be why they are often seen wearing outlandish costumes in this phase, but I digress. The gothic feel of the album should be right up my ally, and, well, it is. I love this album so much, as well as D Sides. And I love the artstyle, don’t get me wrong. I just feel it changed too much and lost what made Gorillaz art so appealing to me in the first place.

Much like Irina is the best phase 1 Gorillaz fanartist, Lora Zombie gets the award for the best phase 2 Gorillaz fanartist.

Phase 3:

Phase 3 marks the beginning of a downward trend in the artstyle’s evolution. Plastic Beach is a bit of an odd-ball album from them, and a hit or miss for many people. The style of the album was dramatically different then previous outings, transitioning from demons and self destruction to a “Gorillaz at Sea” carnival attraction. At least that’s how I would describe it. 

With only 1 2D animated music video for this album, and considerably less promotional imagery than past outings, there isn’t as much to go off of. The first thing I noticed was that the pencil lines in Demon Days are significantly more pronounced, making much of the art look unfinished at points(ironic, considering Rhinestone Eyes). This clashes with the more dynamic shading , leading to a bit of a strange look. Perhaps this would look good with darker colors, but since this album is much more pop-y and upbeat, the colors are actually much brighter than past incarnations. It is also here that Jamie appears to loose a sense of consistence with his character designs. Most notably is Murdoc, who appears to have gotten some sort of jaw reduction surgery (something we’ll see more of in phase 4), and at some points looks like a racoon, as the dark circles around his eyes are often extremely exaggerated. Murdoc particularly looks distinctly different at different parts of the album. 2D’s issue in phase 3 has to do with magically reducing his age. In some art, he has very visible wrinkles and a receding hairline, but other times, he looks just as old as he was in phase 1.

Phase 3 is a dramatic drop in quality, and it feels fitting that this album led to a falling out between Jamie and Damon due to his art feeling underutilized.

Phase 4:

7 years after Plastic Beach, the Gorillaz make an admittedly lack-luster comeback. Not only was the music of Humanz pretty dull, but the phase 4 artwork in general was Jamie Hewlett at his worst. The first change was the abandonment of any sort of consistent outlining on the characters. I hate when cartoons do this; thick outlines are amazing! Why tf would you get rid of them? The characters in this album are designed to look very human like, with very human proportions and less exaggerated features.

The style is unrecognizable. Eyes are smaller and less circular. Limbs are lankier and hands grosser. The classic “ape nose” seen in the past three phases and an iconic part of their design was shrunken and narrowed. Shading is more 3 dimensional, adding to the comparably realistic character designs. 2D and Noodle also joined Murdoc in getting jaw reduction surgery. 2D also grew back one of his front teeth apparently. And with this album, any consistency in character design is gone completely. I wouldn’t believe you if you told me that this:

and this:

Were the same character. What the hell? Phase 5 was a dark time for Gorillaz, and it shows, as not only the music itself, but the art also felt jumbled and inconsistent.

I feel like I should add, though, that while this is my least favorite Gorillaz artstyle, it is by no means a bad artstyle in general.

Phase 5:

It was with phase 5 that the Gorillaz started to look more like the Gorillaz again. It was also with phase 5 that Russel finally joined the jaw reduction club, but that’s besides the point. The Now Now was one of the best albums to come out of the Gorillaz, and that says a lot. It’s somber vibes were the score to my summer vacation, and were a breath of fresh air after the hot mess that was Humanz. The new art with this album took a different turn, feeling yet again like a throwback, not to UPA unfortunately, but to old fashioned comicbooks. 

This style is marked by harsh shadows and flat, two-toned shading. Yes! Its about time you brought that back. Just like the album itself, the art gives a 70s vibe, particularly with the choice of color and tacky clothing. But a few things in this style don’t work.The body proportions of the characters are identical to real humans, and the hands and ears are considerably more realistic. This really bothers me, but at this point I’ve excepted that the Gorillaz aren’t just cartoon characters anymore. For the most part, this art is more consistent and stylish, and is a welcome change to the previous incarnation.

Having a damn good style for the Now Now is great and all, but I certainly miss what we had back in 2001. The Gorillaz are less underground now, and feel more consumerized, especially seeing as Noodle has an instagram, and I feel that the art has gone a similar route. I hope to see a bit more of that classic Gorillaz in the future, and I sure hope that the television show takes pointers from the OG Gorillaz. Until then, here are the artstyles of each phase ranked:

5. Phase 4

4. Phase 3

3. Phase 5

2. Phase 2

1. Phase 1

I hope to do more of these Art Analysis. This was really fun to put together.

[barytyrannus]

My Conversation w/ Murdoc Niccals

(Just posting this cause I want to save it somewhere)

Hello Michael Meyer. Welcome to the Wormwood Scrubs Prison Messenger System. You can now receive a fortnightly digital visitors pass. Would you like to apply for the fortnightly visitors pass?

12:14 PM

Yes

Free Murdoc,12:14 PM

Ok. To receive your pass, you must first get through our really strict security process.

Free Murdoc,12:14 PM

What is your name?

12:14 PM

Michael

Free Murdoc,12:14 PM

You want us to call you Michael? We'll call you Michael. So, Michael...

What is the name of the prisoner you wish to contact?

12:14 PM

Murdoc Niccals

Free Murdoc,12:14 PM

You have selected Murdoc Niccals.

Please type the prisoner's number:

12:15 PM

24602

Free Murdoc,12:15 PM

Please type #24602's favorite alcoholic beverage:

12:16 PM

Rum

Free Murdoc,12:16 PM

Close enough. He’ll drink anything.

Congratulations, you have passed the vetting process. You now have digital visitor access once every two weeks (in case you don’t know what fortnight means).

Connecting you to prisoner #24602…

Finally! Where the bloody hell have you been!?

12:16 PM

Trying to get pass security

Free Murdoc,12:16 PM

Whatever. Right, well long story short, I'm stuck in bloody prison because some dodgy bloke named El Mierda framed me! So, naturally, I hatched a masterplan to prove my innocence

Genius, isn't it?

12:17 PM

Wow. Amazing

Free Murdoc,12:17 PM

Course it is. It's fullproof. Right, so the only way to prove my innocence was to get some INFO on El Mierda.

The only way to do that was to gain RESPECT! And the only way to gain respect around here is to pick a FIGHT with the biggest baddest bastard in the bin, Big Balls Mcguinness.

So, bet you’re dying to hear about how I gave Big Balls a proper beating, MMA style, eh?

12:17 PM

Tell me

Free Murdoc,12:17 PM

Well, it didn't go quite as planned. But in my defense, I had no time to defend myself. He sucker-punched me as I was doing my warm-up stretches.

I protested, only to be informed there are no rules in a prison yard brawl.

How was I supposed to know?

12:18 PM

You never really can know, can you

Free Murdoc,12:18 PM

Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine, luv. Anyway, no honour amongst thieves, as they say.

Next thing I remember is waking up in the infirmary. I’ve had a lovely time in there, tbh. Comfy pillows, daylight, and all the baby food I can drink.

Still gorgeous, eh?

12:18 PM

You're a fine pickle

Free Murdoc,12:18 PM

I know.

Anyway, they’ve wheeled me into the computer room for my five minute’s chat time. Which is expiring faster than a raven in a microwave (which was a friggin’ accident, btw, I’m not a sicko). So let’s keep this moving.

Listen, mate - I cannot in good conscience go on without warning you. El Mierda is an evil, twisted bastard. Imagine if Anne Robinson mated with Krampus and sired a child. Actually don't. That's horrible. Has he reached out to you? Maybe an email? Carrier pigeon? Horse's head in your bed?

12:19 PM

Not yet. I worry that he may try to, though.

Free Murdoc,12:19 PM

Phew. Some say he can turn your own mother against you, so watch your back.

Let not the Beast get a taste for you, for he serves la Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte, Our Lady of Holy Death, and her teeth shall feast on your flesh for all eternity.

Anyway, lovely stuff! BTW, by proving I can take a beating, I’m now respected in here for having medium-sized balls.

What do you think of that?

12:19 PM

I think you're over-compensating for something

Free Murdoc,12:19 PM

Oh FFS the keyboardjkljlk is stickopkling again. Bloody savages don't wasgfgfgh their hands before using thffsis computer.

Anyway, fortunately, a few of my fingers aren’t broken, so I can still get online and take care of the important things…

12:20 PM

Like what

Free Murdoc,12:20 PM

I'm talking about messaging you to begin stage 2 of my master plan, tentatively titled: Murdoc Niccals Proves His Innocence, Gets Gorillaz back and Makes The World Great Again with the Help of an Awe-Struck Fan, Act II. What do you think of the name?

12:20 PM

Needs work.

Free Murdoc,12:20 PM

Looks like it's international 'I don't give a monkeys' day so in the spirit of the holiday, I'm gonna ignore what you just said.

Anyway, it's a work-in-progress, and thanks to my new medium-sized balls, a little birdie whispered in my ear that an associate of El Mierda is currently residing IN THIS VERY PRISON!

What are the chances?

12:21 PM

Pretty high I guess, considering how contrived this whole thing is.

Free Murdoc,12:21 PM

If I was a betting man (and my gambling debts would suggest I am), I'd say you're a prime smart-arse!

Anyway, El Mierda’s associate goes by the name of Vlad the Inhaler…

Not the prettiest but if we’re gonna track down El Mierda and prove my innocence, we're gonna have to go through Vlad. You up to this?

12:21 PM

I'm up for whatever

Free Murdoc,12:21 PM

Lovely! Now, the problem is, the location of El Mierda’s hideout is a closely guarded secret. When I say "closely guarded", I mean Vlad keeps it on him at all times. And by "on him", I mean literally ON HIM…

Am I going to have to spell this out for ya?

12:21 PM

So are they a gay couple or what?

Free Murdoc,12:22 PM

Well you'll just have to tell Eusebio AND Sebastian that you're not that kind of boy, honeybuns...

Soz mate, that last message wasn't meant for you.

Anyway, I meant a tattoo, you wanker! On his body somewhere. He’s such a moron he got the map to El Mierda's hideout tattooed onto himself cos he kept getting lost.

Oh, by the way, how well can you impersonate a woman?

12:22 PM

Depends on what type of woman

Free Murdoc,12:22 PM

You had me fooled, darling.

So, here's the plan. Vlad is going to reach out to you in two weeks’ time. Thanks to a nifty bit of hacking by yours truly, he’ll think he’s chatting with his fiance Millie. But he’s really talking to you!

Your mission is to GET HIM TO SEND YOU A PICTURE OF THAT TATTOO! I don't know why I'm screaming. Bloody caps lock.

Anyway, can you do that?

12:23 PM

I'll try my best.

Free Murdoc,12:23 PM

Smashing. I’d do it myself only this needs to come from an outside line. Your mission: convince Vlad you're Millie, then get a peek of that map tattoo.

Right! Don't let me down, Michael Meyer, I mean Millie 😉. Gorillaz, the free world and my private collection of nearly extinct Bornean Orangutans are depending on you. Seriously, I forgot to feed them before I got locked up. LMAO.

Oh, and one more thing, mate…

12:23 PM

What

Free Murdoc,12:23 PM

Write this down: BEETLEJUICE. Remember that word. It'll come in handy.

Ok, good luck with Vlad. Look out for his message in TWO WEEKS TIME! Right, I best get back to my one-handed press-ups. Murdoc out!

[barytyrannus]

Clashing Elements in Videogames

Those moments that make you go “What the heck is THAT doing there?”

Videogames. In 2018, everyone is a gamer. No longer is it a niche genre for only the nerds sitting huddled in the back of the cafeteria. I play games myself. Now, as an artist, I care just as much about the design and aesthetic of the game as the gameplay. So I’m going to talk about something that really bugs me; clashing elements in videogames.

What do I mean by this? I mean that a frying pan should not be a weapon in a realistic battle royale game. Usually what creates these scenarios is that a developer is excited to throw many different items into the ring to cater to different people without thinking whether or not they feel consistent.

Since day one of ARK Survival Evolved back in 2014, I felt it had a significant style clash. The game was fairly realistic and grounded at the time, which is why it felt out of place to have this super-expansive character customization system which allowed human anatomy to be warped to cartoon proportion. Similarly, the ability to poop in game felt overly comedic and silly. It also bothered me that, using raw materials, one could progress from wood tools and weapons to night vision goggles and plasma rifles. This feels so out of place in a realistic survival game.

Here is another example. 7 Days to Die is a crafting survival game (which is a severely under utilized genre, by the way. Crafting-survival and zombies go together like peanut butter and jelly, and yet 7 Days and Unturned, and maybe minecraft, are the only ones of note). 7 Days feels much more realistic, but suffers from several stylistic problems. Firstly, all structures are made with blocks, to allow easy of use in building. This makes sense, but in such a realistic setting, it feels off. Another issue is with the zombie enemies. You can have scaly, reptilian looking “Feral Wrights” in the same swarm as a zombie stripper, and these two entities simply don’t feel like they could exist in the same universe.

This stuff just grinds my gears. Maybe I’m nitpicky, I dunno. What do you think? Can you think of some other examples?

[barytyrannus]

Gorillaz: The Now Now Song-by-Song Review

Its about time I review another Gorillaz album. Wait? Another? What is he talking about? So, in case you missed it, I reviewed the past five studio albums by Gorillaz on my deviantart. They aren’t there anymore, so don’t bother looking. (Or do- I could use the pageviews). I will be re-uploading them here in the coming days. 

In anycase, The Now Now has dropped, and many may have noticed that I haven’t commented on it yet. I’ve heard the album about four times at this point, so this isn’t a first-time reaction like the past five. Nonetheless, I’m here to give my thoughts on each individual song.

1-Humility: This song dropped on the first day of summer vacation for my school, which may be why I liked it so much. It had the perfect summer vibes I needed after a year of three AP classes and an SJW English teacher. The video too was an explosion of fun, beachy energy, feat. Jack MothaTruck’n Black. I memorized the song in less than a day.

2-Tranz: A more funky, upbeat tempo helps distinguish this second song. Damon’s voice is very high pitched, and sounds odd. But the beat is great. It feels like the theme of some punk rock movie, in all honesty. The image in my head of 2D singing this fits the picture of him in the visualizers, with his hair slicked back and wearing a leather jacket.

3-Hollywood: This is the most Humanz-y song on the album, and that taught me something; Humanz should have been one song. I’m sorta joking, but in actuality, this one song sums up the best moments from Humanz. Its not my favorite, which we will be getting to in a moment, but its a fun song with a great verse from Snoop Dogg.

4-Kansas: The FEELS! This is easily the best song on the album. The chill, sad vibes. The depressing singing. The heartfelt lyrics. I love it! This song also displays the main vibe of the album; not the summer jams I expected from Humility, but the sad, mourning songs. This seems like a fitting choice, as Demon Days pulled it off so elegantly over a decade ago. Of course, I’m not ACTUALLY going to compare this album to Demon Days.....am I?

5-Sorcererz: This, unfortunately, is the weakest song in the album. The washed out vocals get hard to listen to at this point. The beat feels over the top and silly, in all honesty. I haven’t heard the live version yet, but I feel it will be way better.

6-Idaho: What a polarizing song. How can one song be so uplifting, and yet, so ominously depressing at the same time? In any case, this song feels like it was pulled straight from The Fall, and considering that many of these songs are named after locations, that seems like an apt comparison. Idaho is a good listen, country-esque at points. I want to see the day the Gorillaz do an actual country song. Then, they can say that they have done basically every genre.

7-Lake Zurich: This is basically the flagship song of the album, and its one of a  fun, booty-shaking techno beat. No real vocals, but in this case, I feel that having vocals would make it loose something. Its just a fun, upbeat song. Nothing else to say.

8-Magic City: I started to notice the more repetitive aspects of the album at this point. Magic City and Idaho seem to blend together a bit in my memory. In any case, it isn’t a bad song on its own, and has some good vocals. Just a bit bland is all.

9-Fire Flies: This one was very close to being my favorite. So, I’ll start with the bad; the singing itself. At some points, it is beautiful. But at others, 2D sounds like he’s been screaming his lungs out at some concert the night before. But the slow beat and great lyrics make up for the lackluster singing. Its so catchy. 

10-One Percent: One Percent suffers from being the most forgettable song on the album. Even on what is now my fifth listen, I forgot that this song existed. I don’t know why that is, really. Its got a nice sound, and I love the chorus. In all honesty, One Percent is one of my favorite songs on the album. Maybe its the fact that Kansas went for the same vibes but did it better, or maybe its the fact that it is unbelievably short.

11-Souk Eye: The last song on the album, Souk Eye, feels like a proper closure, reusing some of the beats from the opening, Humility. It has the summer vibes, but they are more toned down and somber. I imagine it as 2D going into his summer excited and overjoyed, only for his eyes to be opened to the tragic mess that is reality, and have his summer end on a sad, but content note. The beat of this song is stellar, one of the best in the album.

Final Thoughts: The Now Now is a short little album that tells a story following an emotional arc. Its a quick listen that puts the listener in a summer mood. The biggest flaws of Humanz are countered, as the Now Now has few collaborators and is very consistent. I mentioned on a youtube comment that if Gorillaz albums were ranked by how many of the songs I liked, the Now Now would rank higher than Demon Days. But this, actually, highlights one of two major flaws of the Now Now; its bland and not very creative. The older Gorillaz albums were more experimental. Sure, some songs didn’t work for me, but the ones that did felt distinctive and classical. The Now Now songs stick to the same vibes. Sure, they all sound good, except for Sorcererz, but few of them stand out. The other major problem that I KNOW the critics aren’t going to shut up about is the vocal quality. Damon sounds worn out and tired throughout the hole album. My counter to this is to just listen to the live shows.

In the end, I love the Now Now. It ranks as my fourth favorite Gorillaz album, beating Plastic Beach, but not quite reaching the quality of Self Titled. I recommend Kansas, Humility, Hollywood, Lake Zuirich, and Fire Flies.

[barytyrannus]

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.... And Why I’m Still Confused.

Last night was a lot of things. The day before, I had just gotten back from a four day Tennessee trip. I went to Bentos last night, trying sushi before partially throwing up. I then saw the movie with four friends. I had been very excited to see this movie, as someone who was moderately disappointed in Jurassic World. The promo stuff looked pretty awesome. But after I saw the movie, something hit me; I don’t know how to feel about this movie. Even after waking up this morning, I’m still unsure. So I’m going to talk about it in this journal. Warning: I will be discussing spoilers, so.....

The plot of this movie is basically the Lost World II. Which is what I expected, and honestly, that’s fine. I’ve always loved the Lost World, despite its many flaws. The major differences between these two movies are atmosphere, pacing, and timing. Which we will get into. The basic idea is that some old guy on the verge of death sends a crew of people who had been to the park to the island to rescue the dinosaurs before ulterior motives by a younger person who is related to/working for the old guy is revealed. The dinosaur (s) is taken back to the mainland and escapes. That is the plot of both Fallen Kingdom and The Lost World. For the most part.

The first thing I want to talk about is the Indoraptor. The big baddy for this film. I was ultimately confused in the direction they chose to go with this guy. He is less impressive and less destructive than the Indominus. He also got very little screen time (at least it felt like it), and died surprisingly early on. Looking back, basically the entire arc of the Indoraptor was already revealed in the trailers. Every single kill the Indoraptor made was seen to some degree in the trailers. That is really disappointing.

Next, I want to talk about some plot points that went nowhere, or stuff that needs explanation. Firstly, is Dr. Wu dead? I really wanted to know. He is knocked out and dragged off screen early on by some ACU guy. We never see or hear from him again. Which is very disappointing, as a bigger role for him was implied in the trailers also. Secondly, the girl, who is a clone. I expected some moral or ethical questions to be asked, but her being a clone played so little of an impact on the plot. Next, the mosasaur. The mosasaur only got one major scene in this whole movie, and it was before the title scrawl. We didn’t even get to see the mosasaur eat the surfer dude in the trailer. Finally, Lockwood himself. He dies so quickly, before the dinosaurs even escape. What was the point?

Finally, I want to address that curve ball of an ending. What. The. Hell. Somebody has been watching planet of the apes, it seems. What happens is that the little girl lets all the dinosaurs escape onto the mainland. The movie seems to imply that humanity is now forced to coexist with dinosaurs. Which makes no sense, cause all these dinosaurs will be dead very soon. Any offspring they have should be horribly defective, so a breeding population cannot be established. There are also so few carnivores (Like, one T-rex, one raptor, an allosaurus, a baryonyx, and a carnotaurus,) that they are hardly a threat to anyone.

Ok, so I’ve gotten the negative stuff out of the way, so lets get positive. Horror was a great direction to take this movie. The acting was decent enough and the two supporting characters, Zia and Franklin, are both very likable. They also both disappear randomly in the end. That was odd. The idea of a human clone was interesting, even though it was underplayed.

And Rexy. The original JW underplayed her, and even worse, she got beat up by the new girl. Not this time. Every single time Rexy was on screen, she was in complete control and stole the show. She never did interact with the Indoraptor, not even once, but I guess that is fine, cause she would have destroyed it too easily.

Did I enjoy this movie? 

Yes. 

Is it better than Jurassic World? 

Yes? Maybe? I’m not sure. That really is all I can say for now. I do recommend it, nonetheless.

(As a little bonus, I distinctly remember a really awkward comment made by the general guy, which I can only interpret as a Trump joke. He referred to Zia as a “nasty woman”. It was totally random and unnecessary, and sorta killed the mood for a minute, as I am straight up tired of hearing about Trump.)

[barytyrannus]

2018 Animated Music: Gorillaz and Studio Killers

I haven’t posted for a while for a variety of reasons, but I won’t bore you with the details there. While I was “elsewhere” two animated bands I constantly find my self obsessing over both made comebacks. How were they? Well, one was absolutely spectacular, while the other was just a little bit underwhelming. I’m going to be doing a comparison between the two, just cause I need something to talk about.

On May 31st, Gorillaz made their 2018 return with the music video “Humility”. This was a big deal, and it shows, as the song kept #1 on the trending tab for several days. I had mixed expectations for the Gorillaz return. Gorillaz in 2017 were a bit disappointing, in all honesty. Since Saturnz Barz was the only 2D animation used in phase 4, I was really worried that phase 5 would have that lazy 3D animation again. I was on my way back from Valdosta when the video dropped, and I waited till I got home to see it..... and it blew my mind. The song itself was timed perfectly; summer vacation began officially two days later, and Humility has great vibes to start the season. The video had more detail and flow than anything the Gorillaz had done before, and Jack Black made an awesome cameo. I was so impressed that I actually thought, and still think, that phase 5 is already better than phase 4.

Studio Killers had actually been gone for quite longer. The last music video they posted was Jenny in 2015, their biggest hit on youtube. Since their was no indication what so ever that they would even be coming back. Which is why I was shocked to see a new upload by them on February 15th, just three days after my birthday, of 2018. They announced their comeback, and I was hyped as shit. It took a long time, but finally, yesterday, they dropped a new video titled “Party Like It’s Your Birthday.” And in all honesty, I’m not a huge fan. The past few Studio Killers vids had unique animation styles, so it really doesn’t bother me that they tried something new. The problem is that this style doesn’t work for me. It lacks any character, and can sometimes look really awkward. It also feels like a stereotypical “tumblr artstyle” (funny, complaining about tumblr on tumblr). The song itself feels bland and unoriginal, thought enjoyable to a degree. Cherry’s voice is so unique I have a hard time hating it.

Anyway, thats what I gotta say about Gorillaz and Studio Killers. Please check them out for yourselves if you haven’t, and see what you think.

(And by the way, if you’re mad that Jenny has lighter skin, stfu, you over sensitive prick. Its clearly a stylistic change. I don’t see anyone getting mad that Cherry is pink now, so why does it matter that Jenny is a few shades lighter?)

[barytyrannus]

Gorillaz Albums RANKED

I’ve been meaning to post more regularly on both these tumblrs. Since this is my blog page, and I want to post daily if possible, I’ll have to fill the gaps between my thoughts on news stories and such with reviews and the like. To start off with the reviews, I’ll be looking at each of the Gorillaz albums, and ranking them based on MY opinion. Which means it will be out of seven, in case that wasn’t clear. And being last place on this list doesn’t mean its bad; it’s still Gorillaz, so its still better than most other albums out there.

7th Place:Humanz. 

If you read any of my DA posts about Humanz before I cleared them all, you'd know that I was really harsh on this album. Too harsh, I feel. On the second and third listen, I actually enjoy Humanz more. In my DA review, I focused too much on the politics of the album, which I strongly disagree with, and not enough on the music. The songs themselves are decent, though nothing special. The problem with the album, ultimately, is how it is put together. Damon chose guests pretty poorly here, sometimes choosing artists who are notoriously bad, other times placing them in songs where they didn't make sense. The songs don't fit together with coherency.

6th Place:The Fall.

The fall is just a boring album overall. I've listened to it about three times at this point, and I hardly remember any of the songs. Of course, except for one: Revolving Doors. Which is one of the best Gorillaz songs. Other than that, there isn’t much of note.

5th Place: G-Sides.

This album is surprisingly good actually. There are a few songs I can’t get into, but for the most part I really enjoyed it. My favorite Gorillaz song, well, my favorite song in general, comes from this album; That being the English version of Latin Simone. Pretty good album.

4th Place: Gorillaz

The OG album is the one I’ve listened to the most, to a point where I’ve memorized the lyrics to most of the songs. They are all great, Clint Eastwood obviously being high above the rest of them. The music videos in this album are also the best, as I always preferred that simplistic, thick-lined style. 

3rd Place: Plastic Beach

Some may be shocked to see Plastic Beach here; If you know your Gorillaz albums, you know which two I haven’t mentioned yet, and one in particular may be surprising. Nonetheless, Plastic Beach. It is well loved in the Gorillaz community, but mostly unknown to the general public. Which is a shame. I like the tone of the album. I always said that this album felt more timeless, more classical. The best songs are Melancholy Hill, to Binge, SuperFast Jellyfish, and Empire Ants.

2nd Place: D-Sides.

I honestly shocked myself, rating this album so highly. But it isn’t a trick. These songs are some of my favorite. From Murdoc is God, to Hong Kong, to Bill Murray, to People. I enjoy them all. The album generally seems underrated in the community, usually ranking quite low. I don’t get it, in all honesty.

1st Place: Demon Days

Feel Good Inc. Dare. Dirty Harry. O Green World. Every Planet We Reach is Dead. El Manana. That is all I need to say.

(Yes, Demon Days is ALWAYS number one. I don’t care. It is the best).

[barytyrannus]

Let’s *Please* Stop with Syria

Like I mentioned, this Tumblr will serve as the new home for the rants I used to do on Deviantart. So for the first rant, let’s get uber political, something I was warned never to do on Tumblr. So if you didn’t hear, we just launched airstrikes in Syria. France did too, as well as the UK. This was in retaliation for the supposed chemical attacks committed by Bashar al- Assad. Now, from what I can see online, it seems like chemical weapons were indeed used, but it doesn’t seem like there is any proof that Assad used them himself on his own people. If there is proof, and you can show me, please do, but nonetheless, it isn’t important. Whether or not Assad did shit, we need to stop with Syria.

In the early 2000s, President George W. Bush launched this whole campaign in search of “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq. Those weapons didn’t exist, and so it was a waste of time. Think this is a partisan issue? Well, in 2011, President Barack Obama started intervening in Lybia, leading to the death of Gaddaffi, and now, not only is that country in ruin, but the US is in debt. While obviously a president can’t really know the impacts of these interventions until after they happen, we already have two examples of why intervention is NOT a good idea in the middle east. Trump himself said he was against this, but clearly he doesn’t stick to his own principles. We have so much debt and so much war. What happened to America first? It would be in America’s best interest to NOT increase are debt. NOT have people die over pointless conflict. If Mr. Trump  really wants to ‘Make America Great Again”, then he should learn from the mistakes of his predecessors. Stop with Syria.

[barytyrannus]

Getting Started

So, I’ve been totally overhauling my Deviantart, as well as my Tumblr and other social media. This Tumblr is based around my little blogs and rants that I used to post on DA in my journals. They seemed out of place there in any case. My art Tumblr is almost ready, I just need to finish the picture for the banner. My Deviantart changes won’t be ready for a while, as I want to have at least ten days worth of art ready for the relaunch.