#there was a lot of trial and error when they were younger for Sonic to figure out how to groom long fur cus all of his is super short and

[lunaviathan]

You ever think about the idea that Sonic, Shadow and Silver all might have impressively long quills for hedgehog mobians? Cus I do. Cus they all have reasons to. Sonic’s constantly tearing through solid metal and wires, the more buzzsaw like he can make himself the better and the more layers between him and sparking machinery while spindashing also all the better. Shadow’s a living weapon and part alien and he has the same reasons as Sonic to maintain them, also, his quills must be So Weird to other hedgehogs. Why are they so dark? I’ve never seen that stripe pattern in my life. How are they going up so much?? And so on. Silver. Silver dude guy. Post/mid-apocalypse extraordinaire (had to look up that word. why the hell is it spelled like that) Between his insane quills and the telekinesis, touching him if he doesn’t want you to is guaranteed pain. Someone get him some industrial scissors his quills don’t need to be that long anymore.

Imagine being a normal little hedgehog mobian. You’ve been living your life, having your quills carefully trimmed and blunted for your convenience and others’ safety, trying to find a nice balance between lengths so it looks nice without ruining the couch. the couch probably gets ruined anyway but it takes longer than if you were doing nothing. You kinda wish you could grow them out more cus other mobians with just fur do some pretty cool stuff. And one day your town gets overrun by robots by this human dude and you get saved by this blue mobian who you haven’t been able to get a good look at because he’s going So Fast and when he finally slows down you’re like. oh. neat I’ve been saved by a superspeed porcupine-wait no. why’s he look like. hedge hog??? Quills? Why????????? Are they so long what.

This guy has done the equivalent of growing up in a world of sewing needle hair and decided to grow them out to goddamn knife points. How has he not stabbed himself. what does his monthly spending on couches look like? And then two other guys show up. they also get mistaken for porcupines. they are also hedgehogs. What.

They all look cool as hell. plotting to ask them about their quill care routine is in your future. Maybe you’ll ask the pink one that just showed up. She seems like the most normal (wrong.) She might know how they do that.

[sargenthouse]

Dylan Carlson’s Theme for an Imaginary Western // Interview

Feature by Kate Koenig via Premier Guitar After nearly 30 years as the only constant member of drone-doom-metal cult heroes Earth, guitarist Dylan Carlson has released his first album, Conquistador. As the title suggests, the work espouses a fantasy world that’s rooted in history, not unlike the one explored on Earth’s 2005 Hex; Or Printing in the Infernal Method—a belated imaginary soundtrack to novelist Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian. Carlson has also done soundtrack work, under his solo moniker drcarlsonalbion, for the film Gold. But this time, the music speaks exclusively to his personal vision.

Carlson has always been known for wading against common trends—an approach that’s helped him define his voice in the sparse, expansive sound of Earth. Like most artists, he’s proud of not fitting into a mold. “I make records for people. I don’t make records for guitar players,” he says. But it’s not an exclusionary statement, just one that acknowledges the detachment he takes from the technical and cultural associations with the instrument while songwriting. Drawing heavily from his tastes in film and American history, he gradually and steadily builds a world on the all-instrumental Conquistador in which he becomes more of a visual architect than a guitarist, exploring the negative space between rich, textural tones.

The minimalist, ambient compositions on Conquistador rely on the subtle personalities of Carlson’s guitar tones, which he achieves with a lot of patience, trial and error, and the perfect combinations of gear. Though, he admits, gear is not as important to him as it used to be. “There’s no magic box or magic amp. It’s all you, for better or for worse,” he laughs. Even so, he keeps a particular family of pedals—“discovering compression was a godsend”—and has refined, over the course of his career, the routes to creating the precise hues of distortion to furnish his sonic world. On the album, he worked with producer and Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou, and is accompanied by his wife, Holly Carlson (who’s also the model on the cover), on percussion, and Emma Ruth Rundle on baritone and slide guitars.

What inspired you to write your first solo album? We had finished a lot of touring with Earth, for our last record for [L.A.-based label] Southern Lord, and we had just changed management. I had some ideas for some songs, so it seemed like a good opportunity to get into a studio and get some music done. The idea originally was in the vein of Hex, which was sort of a soundtrack to an imaginary film, and the other soundtrack I did for the movie Gold. Conquistador is also sort of Western-themed, and a soundtrack to an imaginary film. Since soundtrack work is something I’m really interested in, I hope to get to do another one at some point, but until then, I guess I’ll keep doing imaginary film work. [Laughs.]

So if Conquistador is a soundtrack to an imaginary film, is that film a Western? The era that Conquistador envisions is during the initial collision between Europe and the New World. When I was in junior high, I lived in Texas, and we had a Texas history class where I read about a conquistador. He had a Moorish squire named Esteban, and they went to what was then Northern Mexico, now the American Southwest, and got lost for 20 years. They had a bunch of, I guess you could say … “adventures” where they were sold into slavery by one tribe and escaped, and worked with another tribe—basically, things didn’t go as planned. The album was more based on this memory of the story rather than the specific text. I’ve also been influenced by a number of my favorite films, like The Fountain by Darren Aronofsky. So it was a bunch of little things all bubbling around. Is your guitar playing usually guided by that kind of visual experience? I’ve always been visually oriented when it comes to guitar playing. When I first started, I’d find patterns on the guitar and see how they sounded, as opposed to being an ear player. And as I’ve progressed, I’ve become much more of an ear player. Also, since the title is the only verbal cue to describe the narrative arc of the song, I’m very conscious of the way the title looks or sounds. I’m always trying to look for something evocative, ’cause I’ve always believed there still needs to be narrative arcs to the songs—even songs that I do with a lot of repetition. I believe that there should be a narrative arc to the record as well, which I feel is something that’s a bit lost with the advent of the CD, and now digital media. It’s the order of the songs that makes a great album, as well as the songs themselves.

How do you give your music a narrative arc? Usually it’s through textural cues. I’ve always been interested in subtle dynamics in music. The thing that always bugged me about grunge is it reduced musical dynamics to “here’s the quiet part and here’s the loud part,” and I’ve always preferred music where the textures and the interplay of instruments build small crescendos and dynamics in that way. The intensity in the playing, you know? And then I was lucky in that Emma Rundle joined me to add her music to mine. I’ve definitely always been a believer in that approach—where if you limit the options in certain things, it forces you to become more creative with what you have. I’m also a strong proponent of what I like to call “happy accidents.” What is the ratio of improvised versus composed music on the album? I don’t know … 80/20? [Laughs.] The riffs were there, but the structures were done in motion. And then a lot of it had to do with the fun of looking for guitar tones. Some songs are more composed than others, but even with the ones where there’s a strong compositional presence, I’ve always believed in leaving room for improvisation. The most composed song is the last song of the album, “Reaching the Gulf.” There’s the basic riffs, but then the arrangements sort of happened naturally as I played them in the studio, so they have much looser organization. Which, again, I think helps with the narrative arc of the record, because it’s about leaving, heading into the unknown, and then stuff happening that you don’t foresee, and then the return at the end to a controlled environment—or at least a more controlled environment. What is it that draws you to repetitive patterns? I’d always hear stuff in other songs and be like, “that’s a great riff, why don’t you just keep going with that rather than immediately jumping to another one?” I always liked Indian music and psychedelic stuff and, obviously, blues. Maybe it’s this atavistic thing from my Scotch heritage, like the bagpipe or something. [Laughs.]

How was it working with Emma and Holly on the album? I played a show with Red Sparowes and Marriages, bands Emma was playing with, and I borrowed some of her gear that night. And then she’s on [our label] Sargent House, and my wife, Holly, and Emma got along quite well. I think she’s a fabulous musician and she really added a lot to the proceedings. Holly was travelling with me at the time, and we needed extra percussion. She played piano when she was younger and sang in choir. She was also a dancer, a belly dancer, so she has good rhythm [laughs], so that’s sort of how that happened. It was also my first time working with Kurt Ballou, which was really enjoyable. He has a cool studio and a really good ear and a lot of helpful ideas. At the same time, he doesn’t force them on you. He’s really open to your ideas. And then he has a lot of interesting equipment. But it was a very easy record, in a lot of ways, because it flowed quite well and everything that needed to get done got done. I enjoyed it. I hope other people do, too.

Let’s talk about gear. How important is your gear to the songwriting process? I’m much less gear-centric than I used to be. I realized over the last few years that no matter what I use, I’m going to get my sound and be me. And obviously, there’s slight variations based on gear choice, but I realized I could have saved myself a lot of time and money in the early days.

What guides your preferences? I don’t like a lot of pedals. I think there’s almost too many to choose from nowadays. [Laughs.] I see some people’s pedalboards and I’m, like, confused. I think some of the prices on gear lately are ridiculous. You don’t need to spend $10,000 to sound good. I’ve always been a big MXR fan. I use a Custom Comp, which is the sort of nicer version of the Dyna Comp. I love the regular Dyna Comp, too, but I find that the Custom Comp has a lower noise floor. And then I like the Shin-Juku Drive for distortion. Then, I just got this HBE Dos Mos, which is a dual MOSFET preamp. I really like it because it allows me much more textural options, where the distortion becomes a texture, too, so I can also do a loud cool sound. In the studio, I’ll end up using more modulation to separate the tracks and to color them. Live, I reduce the number of effects I use.

What about amps? I’ve actually gone solid-state. [Laughs.] I have a bunch of tube amps lying around and they all need servicing and are annoying to carry around. Right now I’m using a DV Mark 50-watt solid-state head, and I have a Crate Power Block solid-state head. I think a 50 watt is the largest head you’d ever really need. You’re never gonna get to the sweet spot on a 100-watt head, you know? We all grew up with pictures of Hendrix with these huge amp stacks, and that was because they were playing without PAs. Nowadays, you don’t need to do that.

One of the best shows I think we ever did was opening for Neurosis in London, and I was playing an old WEM Dominator, which is basically a 15-watt amp. People were saying how great we sounded that night, and no one thought we were too quiet or not loud enough. Because a 15- or 30-watt amp will scream. People seem to forget that you double the wattage of the amp and you’re only increasing the actual volume by 3 dB. All you’re increasing is your headroom. If you want the harmonic enrichment, you have to drop the headroom.

How did you first get into guitar? I guess my favorite guitar would be the Tele. Right now I’m on a bit of a Strat jag. I’ve played other guitars, but I always seem to come back to the Fender style. I find them the best for touring, ’cause they have the straight neck instead of the angled headstock, and they’re not finicky. They get the job done and they take the road really well—whereas set necks and headstocks that are angled are accidents waiting to happen.

How did you first get into guitar? My parents were into music, so I grew up with a lot of music around me. But no one really played an instrument. And then when I got into music, as in buying my own, AC/DC was the first band I got into, and that’s what made me want to play rock ’n’ roll, I guess. For a long time, I wanted to play guitar, but never really got around to it. Then one day my dad suggested it, so I bought one finally on my 15th or 16th birthday. A good friend of mine at high school who was a big prog-head showed me a few chords, and that was sort of my beginning. I immediately started trying to write songs rather than learning other peoples’ songs. I taught myself the rudiments of theory. Although, the thing I’ve always tried to remember is, the music comes first—the theory grew out of that, not the other way around.

What influences your guitar playing? I’d have to say the guitarists I really gravitate to serve the music or serve the song—people like Steve Cropper or Cornell Dupree. I’ve always felt like the thing that really motivates me is, “Is the riff something that’s worth repeating, and does it convey my conception of the song?” I always find it very interesting when people talk about a song I’ve done, and they’ll say it’s similar to something I may have thought about the song, and the landscape I may have envisioned for it.

Earlier you mentioned how the music industry on the whole has somewhat lost sight of the album. Do you think this would ever shift your approach to your own music? When I was young, Buzz from the Melvins was talking to me and he said, “There’s two ways to do things.” He was speaking specifically of music, but I guess it could apply to other things. “You can try to jump on the trend, or what’s happening at the moment, and you might succeed famously, but you might not. Whereas, if you do what you do and you just keep doing what you do, eventually people are going to pay attention to it, hopefully.”

I’ve always tried to follow that advice. I just do what I do, and just try to keep doing what I do, and it’s obviously not the quick route, but it’s seemed to work up to this point. I haven’t had to take advice from record labels, or play songs by hit songwriters I don’t know or don’t like, or dress up in clothes I don’t want to wear. You may not have a mansion on MTV Cribs, but you can go to sleep at night and look at yourself in the mirror, hopefully.

[colliermelissa1994]

Cat Pee Get You High Wondrous Diy Ideas

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Cat Spray Pee

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What Does Cat Spraying Smell Like

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[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

“Unlike Peter, Miles was bitten at age thirteen, making him younger and more unprepared to cope with his powers and the responsibilities of being a superhero.”

 Is there really that big of a difference between being 13 and being 15 when it comes to risking your life by swinging from sky scrapers and  dodging bullets.

 15. TURN INVISIBLE/CAMOUFLAGE

 “One of the more notable uses of this tactic was when he disappeared from Earth 616 Peter and then reappeared on the side of the wall and kicks Peter in the face. ”

 You mean when Bendis jobbed Peter by deliberately ignoring the Spider Sense, one of his most iconic abilities?

 14. VENOM BLAST

 “This ability comes in handy in battle, especially when fighting high-powered villains such as the Scorpion, who was knocked out using the electric sting, and Green Goblin, who was badly injured by it.”

 In other words this ability enables Miles to cheaply and easily gain the upper hand in fights since it’s an electrical discharge which can even electrocute a guy who’s entire powerset is electricity based.

 “At one point, as Earth 616 Peter Parker and Miles are fighting, he even used the venom blast on Peter and briefly knocked him out.”

 Again through the power of bad writing by ignoring the spider sense.

 “Miles also was able to separate Venom from his host with a venom blast, which has notoriously been difficult for Peter to do.”

 Not really, Peter can do it so long as he has access to fire or sonics.

 13. ENERGY BURST

 “Closely related to his Venom Blast, Miles discovers almost accidentally that he is also able to release large bursts of energy that incapacitate those around him. When Miles is under extreme amounts of stress and or close to losing a battle, he can release this energy. This ability makes him a powerful opponent, and also gives him the upper hand as most villains are caught off-guard by it.”

 So again over powering Miles and making him a Spider-Man equivalent of a Super Saiyan. Lovely.

 “However, his energy burst does have two major downfalls; one being that it is incredibly unpredictable and he does not know how to utilize it in regular battle, and the second being that it drains him of most of his energy, making him useless for the remainder of a fight.”

 Well that’s something.

 12. COMMUNICATE WITH HIS BEST FRIEND

 “Ganke provides comedic relief, advice and builds Miles’ confidence up while also chastising him when needed.”

 In other words the exact same role Ultimate MJ filled except with less romantic tension. Also the same role 616 MJ used to fulfil. Not saying Ganke is bad but this is hardly something Miles has over Peter.

 “Miles allows himself to be emotionally vulnerable with Ganke, which is not the same vulnerability he has with his parents. Miles is unafraid to cry and hug Ganke while leaving himself vulnerable as he tells Ganke about his deepest fears of a “bad person” because of his family history.”

 See above.

 “Communicating his struggles to a close friend who knows him as both a boy and a superhero differs from Peter, who never had that immediate support while in high school.”

 In the 616 universe this is accurate, but putting aside how he did have it later in life, again Ultimate Peter Parker did have this in high school.

 11. BE PLAYED BY DONALD GLOVER 

 Outside of voice acting Glover is too old to play Miles.

 However in voice acting or in live action he could play an age appropriate Peter Parker.

  10. BE A TEAM PLAYER / MORE SOCIABLE

 “Though Peter joined teams, such as the Avengers, he was never a true part of them and had difficulty at times accepting help from other members. Peter also had self-doubts, which affected his relationships with members of these teams.”

 Yeah...not if you read New Avengers also written by Bendis or Spidey’s involvement in the FF. Then none of that shit applies.

  “This is unlike Peter, who before being killed in Ultimate Spider-Man, was told by Captain America that he was not ready to be an Avenger– in Ultimate Fallout, Cap admits that they failed to train him properly because they did not view him as a team member.”

 Doesn’t that mean Cap and the other guys were the people with the problem not Peter?

 9. WALL-CRAWL

 “Miles’ ability to adhere to various substances is slightly more impressive as he is able to use it to lift and throw literal tons of items as weapons, even though he is still a kid. ”

 That is literally no different to what Peter could do.

 “Miles’ wall-crawling, unlike Peter’s, is mostly centered on his hands and feet, and Miles also discovers that he can use this ability through regular clothing, such as his shoes.”

 See above.

 “Miles can also deactivate and activate the adhesion ability at will.”

 Also see above.

 Y’all know Spider-Man can stick to stuff with any part of his body right and it works even if he’s asleep or unconscious.

  8. MAINTAIN A RELATIONSHIP WITH GWEN STACY

 “Initially introduced as Peter’s first love, Gwen Stacy and Peter always seemed to be star-crossed lovers, as Green Goblin threw Gwen off a bridge and Peter attempted to save her, but she died from a broken neck. ”

 There was little star crossing those lovers.

 “Even with a clone of Gwen Stacy, Peter is unable to continue to maintain a relationship with Gwen because he and Mary-Jane rekindled theirs.”

 That’s not so much an inability so much as a choice. He didn’t want Gwen he wanted MJ.

 “Unlike Peter, Miles’s relationship with Gwen Stacy in Earth 1610 is a friend and confidant. ”

 Wasn’t that mostly exactly Ultimate Peter’s relationship with Ultimate Gwen and Carnage clone Gwen?

 “More recently in the Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen comics, Miles is transported to Earth-65, where she and Miles share a kiss in Spider-Man, issue 12. Like with her 1610 counterpart, Miles establishes an easy rapport with Gwen as they commiserate about being superheroes and having parents who are willing to sacrifice themselves to keep them and their secrets safe.”

 The author does realize 616, Ultimate and Earth 65 Gwen are all vastly different to one another right?

 “Miles is also able to save Gwen, which Peter was unable to do, in Spider-Gwen #16, when Doc Ock attacks and nearly succeeds in beating her.”

 Didn’t Peter save Gwen MULTIPLE times before the one time he failed?

 Like Miles saving her once = he can do what Peter couldn’t.

 7. LEARN QUICKLY

 “When Miles was introduced, it was established that he was an intellectually gifted individual with an aptitude for learning. Though Peter was also brilliant (he did create his own web after all!), Miles’ ability was beneficial to him as he could view videos of Peter’s fighting and analyze it for his own improvements, much like a sports team watching game footage. Miles translated that knowledge of Peter to improve his own abilities as a hero at the tender age of thirteen.”

 That’s not really learning quickly then is it.

 That’s saying an airplane pilot is better because he figured out how to fly faster than the Wright brothers.

 Well sure, he had all of the Wright brothers’ work to build upon, he didn’t have to learn via trial and error and figure things out from scratch.

 Really Peter getting so good at heroing so quickly with nothing to go on is actually more exemplary of his ability to learn quickly than it is in Miles’ case.

 “Because of this study, he was able to defeat Osborne.”

 Pretty sure his ability to beat Osborn (there is no ‘e’) had less to do with him studying him and a lot more to do with just shocking him over and over and over.

 Also

 “He utilized this same method of self-improvement through quick learning in Ultimate Spider-Man, #6, where he studied Norman Osborne before confronting him in battle. Because of this study, he was able to defeat Osborne. Miles translated his knowledge into an ability at thirteen that helped him be a better superhero, even if he stumbled a few times along the way. In Ultimate Spider-Man, issue #6, Miles also tells Norman Osborne that he studied up on him and knew his fighting style, which is why he’s able to defeat him.”

  Great proofreading there buddy.

 6. SPEAK SPANISH

 “Though Peter Parker was able to appeal to the residents of New York, he had some difficulty connecting to some of the residents in his own city and within his own community. Although Miles’ cultural background is not an ability, Miles can speak Spanish and English, which is important as it gives his character more depth and acknowledges culture and his community.”

 ...Peter Parker can speak Mandarin...

 “In Spider-Man, issue #2, Miles is still trying to figure out how to be Spider-Man, and his grandmother comes to visit him at his mother’s request, due to his failing grades. Though Miles does not speak Spanish in this issue, his grandmother does and it’s obvious he understands her. Being bilingual differentiates him from Peter as he is connected to not only family, but another community that would help keep him grounded.”

 I mean yes but Peter Parker doesn’t require a community (ethnic or otherwise) to keep him grounded.

 “During his time in Earth 65, Gwen Stacy makes a comment about needing a spy name and dubs herself  “Tigra La Muerteface,” to which Miles responds with an “Uh, you don’t speak Spanish, do you?” while grimacing at her garbled spy name. ”

 He doesn’t grimace in the issue because he is wearing a mask.

 5. SPIDER-SENSE

“Initially, Miles’ “Spider-Sense” seemed to be weaker than that of Peter’s. However, in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, issue 3, Miles dreams of being attacked by Electro, who has come to kill Spider-Man. When he awakens, he is told that Spider-Man was killed. Miles knows that the dream was a warning that danger was coming, and this suggests that his Spider-Sense might actually encompass more than just immediate danger (like Peter’s) and may eventually develop into something much larger and more significant as time goes on.”

 Pretty sure Peter’s spider sense has been linked to prophetic dreams at least once or twice like during the Other.

 Also Peter’s spider sense does not merely warn him of immediate danger. He’s used it to track down loved ones and to find bad guys concealing weapons. He’s even linked them with his spider tracers.

 “This Spider-Sense also seems to affect him physically and comes across “louder,” depending on the threat level. In Nova #4, Miles’ Spider-Sense goes haywire, indicating that there is a serious threat and that he and his team need to escape from the battle or risk serious injury.”

 Peter’s does that too, see the original Morlun appearance.

 “Miles’ Spider-Sense also seems to work faster than Peter’s, as shown in Spider-Man, issue #2, when Miles’ Spider-Sense goes off before Peter’s as they are about to be attacked by a demon.”

 No Miles spider sense works period whilst Bendis once again underwrote peter in that issue to make Miles look better.

 4. REGENERATE

“Another of Miles’ abilities that differs slightly from Peter’s is his ability to heal at an accelerated rate. Though Peter and Miles are similar in this regard, Miles appears to be slightly more durable, and the limits of his regenerative abilities have not fully been explored.”

 So he has like Wolverine levels of durability and healing. Charming.

 3. (ALLEGED) IMMORTALITY

“After a lengthy battle where the Green Goblin escapes and then comes back later to continue the fight, Osborn alleges that the Oz formula that the strain of spider that bit Miles was from had one side effect, and that was immortality.”

 So again, making Miles over powered and on top of that less vulnerable and human like Spider-Man is supposed to be. Charming.

 “Given that Osborn initially created the Oz formula to cure disease, and Peter Parker died and came back, there is some merit to this madman’s ramblings which may pose a fun and interesting plot line in the future of Miles.”

 If this is so speculative how can it justifiably be placed on a list like this?

 2. TAKE SERIOUS THINGS SERIOUSLY

 “Miles Morales is no stranger to witnessing the unfair treatment of others and has been on the receiving end of unfair, biased and at times, prejudiced opinions of himself and his family. ”

 So has Peter, just not to as bad of an extent because it didn’t manifest itself as racism.

 “Peter has only had that experience as Spider-Man and tended to deflect his feelings about the issues by using humor, whereas Miles goes home and speaks to his father about it.”

 Didn’t Peter repeatedly brood, angst, beat himself up and feel bad about himself for failing the people in his life multiple times?

 And hasn’t he spoken about this to people like Aunt May, Mary Jane, Johnny Storm, etc on multiple occasions?

 It’s not like he just laughed crap off and moved on.

 “Miles himself becomes a victim of Ulysses’ visions and is almost arrested by Carol and Miles expresses his feelings of horror, fear, and disbelief by falling to his knees and crying, instead of making a witty remark like Peter would have done.”

 Peter wasn’t cracking wise when Gwen died and he was accussed of her murder.

 Nor when he accidentally killed Charlie in Berlin.

 It is a false narrative to suggest that something as serious as this would automatically or probably result in Peter simply cracking wise.

 1. STAY ALIVE

 “Considering he has been Spider-Man for less than two years, Miles has faced more than his share of near-death experiences. ”

 Miles has definitely been Spider-Man for longer than 2 years.

 “However, Miles’ ability to stay alive when placed in these situations speaks volumes about his awareness and adaptability, especially considering his age.”

 I fail to see how this is something he can do that Peter couldn’t.

 “When Miles fights the Green Goblin shortly after Peter’s death in Ultimate Spider-Man issue #7, he uses his energy burst to defeat him instead of being killed.”

 When Peter battled Juggernaut and Firelord he used his superior speed and smarts to avoid being killed...and owning their asses...

 “During Secret Wars, Miles is also able to use his wits and hides aboard a ship as Earth 1610 and Earth 616 collide, which allows him to survive the initial collision of the two worlds. When he wakes from stasis in Battle World, he befriends Molecule Man and provides him a hamburger that he happened to have on him. Molecule Man saves Miles, and as a sign of good faith and in appreciation of Miles’ kindness, Molecule Man also brings back his mother. So, not only does Miles have the ability to stay alive against foes who just can’t stay dead, but his actions also bring back his loved ones.”

 Again...not seeing how this is something Peter couldn’t do. It’s not even like he intended to bring his mother back to life, that was a fluke.

 Hell between cloning, mystic ninjas and everything he’s seen peter could probably bring his loved ones back to life but opts not to.

 Overall...weak list.

[jstevens1015]

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER

Hey! Alright so one of the main reasons I decided to start writing on Tumblr at least semi-regularly was to translate some of the thoughts in my crazy and sporadic mind to a concrete format. Sometimes the thoughts build up so much and I never express them, whether verbally or written, so it can become overwhelming. While I am an English major with a Bachelor’s degree, I still find myself struggling to formulate thoughts and reasoning that make sense to anyone but myself and I am even worse about committing these thoughts to memory or paper so I am going to use this as not only a writing tool but hopefully as a self-improvement tool as well.

With that being said, I’d like to take this opportunity to express some feelings that I’ve been having lately about one of my favorite passions: video games. YO THEY ARE SUPER GREAT. But maybe also super awful at times.

I’ve had a love affair with video games since I was maybe around four or five years old. My dad was a big video game fan when he was my age and carried on this passion throughout early and middle adulthood. He lived through the Atari era so he was basically on the fuckin’ landing grounds of the creation of my favorite past time. I remember him telling me how great games like Pong and Pac-Man were and how he couldn’t believe how far they advance in terms of graphics and capabilities every time there is a new system release. 

The first gaming system I ever had was a Sega Genesis. I have some splendid memories of playing Sonic the Hedgehog, Mutant League Football, Streets of Rage 2 and many more games that I can’t possibly remember all at once. And since I was a young and dumb kid, I even got to experience some of the more obscure titles that most older folks wouldn’t have played at the time. These would especially include licensed movie titles like Power Rangers and Home Alone, among others. While games based on movies often get a bad reputation, I distinctly remember enjoying these two titles particularly because of my ever-growing love of the source material. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie game was a side-scrolling beat ‘em up very similar to Streets of Rage 2 so that is likely why I enjoyed this title so much. And man was it a shit ton of fun playing Home Alone and setting traps for Harry and Marv to fall into.

Okay. Let’s get back on track. So my dad started my love for gaming by sharing his memories and experiences and by purchasing me a Sega Genesis. Blah blah blah. Flash forward to my teenage years. By this time, I was long past my 8 bit and 16 bit gaming days and was into 3D gaming systems that were far advanced from the good ‘ol Atari or Genesis days. I watched in amazement as my dad marveled again at “how good this shit looks” and forever possessing the “what will they do next” philosophy and mindset.

On a related note, I remember the day that we finally got high speed internet in my household. Although we lived in the country and were only able to obtain speeds of 1mbps, it was like luxury living for people who formerly lived with dial-up internet. The reason why this is worth mentioning is because this now opened up a whole new world for me: the world of online gaming. Boy, did I not have a clue how great and equally terrifying this would be for me. 

As I became older, I became at least slightly more skilled at playing games than when I was younger. However, I could not understand why the people who played games online against me in multiplayer modes were so much better. I struggled with this a lot and, admittedly, it’s a personal problem that I still have. I’m not sure if I have a competitive complex that I don’t like to reason with or if it’s something else but goddamn do I have some gaming-related anger and self-esteem issues. You would’ve likely heard me yelling in frustration in these angst-driven years, screaming phrases such as OH MY GOD THIS GUY HAS KILLED ME TEN TIMES IN A ROW AND I HAVEN’T EVEN LEFT MY RESPAWN AREA. WHY AM I SO BAD AT THIS? WHY IS HE CROUCHING UP AND DOWN ABOVE MY CHARACTER’S DEAD BODY?!?!

There is a point I’m going to make. God I’m bad at this. SEE THERE IT IS AGAIN. 

My parents, especially my dad, became very angry that I was angry over a video game. The hobby that he once loved so much had mostly become a thing of the past (besides occasional sports games) so he couldn’t possibly understand why a simple hobby was making me so angry. I tried reasoning with him, stating the idea that he was likely angry when he lost to the AI on his older games. He told me he never remembered getting angry because “it was just a game” and “it’s just a computer” and that he never reacted in such a strong way.

Then, it clicked. 

The reason why I get so angry about playing games online is because I am personally interacting with real human beings and not just a computer, not just a form of artificial intelligence. A real, living, breathing, swearing, mother insulting person. And people. SO MANY PEOPLE ALL ONLINE AT ONCE. And these real people don’t give a single fuck about my feelings or how bad I am at the game. Their mission is to make their player beat or destroy or kill my player. It’s truly just a game and shouldn’t hold such a great weight on anyone’s mind but online gaming has a way of making it feel personal and I think that’s why it still has the ability to fill me with such a completely unjustifiable rage.

This brings us to present day. While I still play games online quite often, I feel that my experiences and feelings have changed. I am no longer a child or even a teenager. I am a twenty-five year old man with two part-time jobs, a fiancee, a cat, an apartment to clean and maintain and bills to pay. SO WHY THE HELL AM I STILL GETTING MAD OVER VIDEO GAMES? 

I think that we, as an obviously imperfect species of living biology, are always striving for better. I have clearly evolved and matured as person but there is still that part of me that wants to break shit and throw things when I lose. Maybe I’m just a sore loser. I probably am. BUT. There is so much shit wrong with this world, especially in 2017, that we tend to expect to gain happiness and success out of the hobbies, interests and activities that we spend our free time on while the rest of our time is spent working or sleeping. I’m not sure if this is true for everyone but I think it’s true for me. I think that everything in my life is so uncertain, so messy, so complicated and so challenging for me that I expect my hobbies to provide me an escape from reality and responsibility and send waves of happiness to my screwed up brain. 

Speaking of happiness, I want to mention one of the main reasons why I was prompted to write this very long post. Well, maybe not long by Tumblr standards but surely by my own!

I have recently been playing a game called Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds. It’s a PC game I’ve been playing with my friend Ben on Steam. The elevator pitch for this game is imagine you’ve been put into a Hunger Games style world where you are dropped on an island and must fight to the death with all the other inhabitants. It is simply amazing to realize that there are up to one hundred people in any given match of this game and it could be one hundred different people that you are fighting every time. One hundred different characters that represent one hundred real people, just like you and me. Except maybe not as nice. This game is super stressful, intimidating and difficult at times but HOLY SHIT it is fun. I can honestly say it is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with a video game. The constant desire to finally get that win, or “chicken dinner” as the game refers to it, is the pure carnal force that is driving me to keep playing. I keep telling myself the frustration will pay off and I will eventually win.

Well, long story short, I have played countless matches of this game with Ben and I had never won a game of it until last night. We have made it into the top ten out of fifty teams on several occasions and have put over fifteen hours into this game so far but had never won up until this point. I won’t describe this play-by-play but here’s the general gist of it: my friend Ben died early in this match so I was left alone to proceed through the rest of the match. At first, I was completely unsure of how I could possibly proceed without him but then the number of players left in the game started sinking lower and lower until I was finally in the last ten remaining. And then eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. There were three players left, including myself. I had not landed many accurate shots in this match thus far and was almost sure that I would blow this. At last, I fired my virtual assault rifle and eliminated the last player. A screen popped up that said, “WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!” and gave me some match statistics. I was in a state of shock as Ben yelled in excitement and couldn’t believe it. After hours of trial and error, I had finally won. 

I know this post may sound completely trivial and unimportant to anyone but me. The truth is that video games mean a lot to me and being good at them means more than I wish it did. But I think that video games aren’t nearly as irrelevant or pointless as some people make them out to be. Personally, this was a learning experience for me that I needed to have long before adulthood. Sometimes, trial and error is the only method that leads to success. But if you don’t try in the first place, you can’t even reach the point of error. I worked past my fear of being bad at video games and the judgment that would follow by the other players and I accomplished a goal.

Simply put, I expect too much from video games. They have given me fun and happiness for years but how dare they not do this 100 percent of the time or else it will inevitably lead to me being pissed off and destructive.

So thank you, video games. You non-living, virtual, amazing, bullshit, absolutely wonderful creation.

[rbeatz]

A Beautiful Tragedy: An Interview with Conrad Clifton

I met Conrad Clifton at an event and like most new producers I meet at these events, I immediately checked out his music when I got home. I was impressed by the versatility in his beats and eclectic nature to his sound. There were elements of hip-hop, trap, indie, latin, and dream synth oriented electronic music that had me dubbing his sound certainly as unique. I couldn’t quite put my finger on a specific genre, and at the same time, I couldn’t stop listening. When I normally hear someone who makes “beats,” I’m waiting for a top line (aka vocals) to help the track add another layer; however, Conrad’s beats stand alone and that need for a vocal element doesn’t necessarily exist. Although he has some vocalists on certain tracks.

Conrad Clifton has been praised by various publications. He is an Independent Music Award Winner for BEST DANCE/ELECTRONICA EP. He was dubbed one of the Top 10 Standout Act at SXSW 2017 by Culture Trip. He performed at Billboard Hot 100 Festival in 2015 and has continued to work with artists and other producers in the industry. His sound production and arrangement narrative are super professional, and he does a lot of his acts LIVE. This is NEXT LEVEL if you ask me.

His newest album, Infinity Pool, was released this spring. I listen to this album while I work, while I clean my house, and I’ll throw it on in the background if I have a bunch of people over. It’s the perfect ambiance music, and I’ve heard through the grape vine that his live act really takes his music to the next level.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Conrad Clifton. You know the drill, click the Spotify embed below and read his full interview below to get the FULL Conrad Clifton experience.

INTERVIEW:

Where are you from and how has that shaped the musician you are today?

I grew up in the Midwest, where everything I listened to was also influenced different genres. I mainly listened to hip-hop, but being in the middle of the country, rap didn’t really have it’s own distinct sound, so we pulled heavily from the East Coast sound as well as West Coast and Dirty South. I came up listening to a lot of Wu-Tang, Nas, Snoop, Dr. Dre, OutKast and UGK. Hip-hop and the samples being used in their productions really exposed me to all different genres of music, so from that, I started studying songs from jazz, soul, indie rock and experimental electronic music. It wasn’t till much later that I got into dance music and started seeing how all these sounds and vibes fit together, or (more importantly) how they could fit together.

What instruments did you play when you were younger?

I studied piano for a few years when I was a kid. My parents got me lessons, but I had too much energy and would’ve rather been outside playing basketball or doing anything else that was actually fun, haha. So I didn’t stick with it, unfortunately. I retained just enough to be creative, now. Can’t really read music anymore. I just play by ear.

Are there an instruments that you currently wish you COULD play?

I’ve always wished that I could play the drums. Percussion really, really speaks to me. You can hear that in my music, I love the creative possibilities of what you can build with only percussion-like sounds.

Tell us the story of how you started creating music on your computer?

I use to play around with rap when I was really young, rapping to songs on the radio or rap instrumentals, but eventually I decided I really wanted to try to write lyrics and make songs. That’s what made me start producing; the necessity of original music to make songs to. I started using really lightweight programs like MTV Generator & Hip Hop eJay, where you just drag and drop samples into place on a timeline. I’ve come a loooong way since those days, thankfully. I graduated to hardware samplers, and then heavyweight DAWs like Cakewalk, Nuendo, Cubase, and ultimately ProTools. Now, I do all my work in Ableton.

What was your favorite studio moment when producing your latest album, Beautiful Tragedy?

Wow, I’m not sure. Probably when I was able to finesse my field recording Roll Call into a percussive transition going into Prince of Crown Heights. I actually recorded the sounds of the West Indian Day Parade, around the corner from my apartment. Then I layered up those live sounds with some tribal percussion that I use throughout POCH. It’s so important for an album to be more than just a collection of songs. It should breath. Like there should be moments, you know? That whole transition from track 1 through track 3 really gave the album a unique feel.

What do you like to do when you’re simply hanging out – aside from music?

I’m pretty heavy into movies. Thrillers and Sci-Fi mainly. And of course, that’s where you hear the most interesting and creative sound design and score. So even there, I can’t get away from it, haha. I’m determined to make music for movies some day. S/O to RZA and Trent Reznor.

Who are your musical influences?

I’m really influenced by “1-of-1” artists and producers, which is what I hope to become. Like, there’s only one Timbaland. Nobody could innovate the sound of a genre the way he did. There’s only one Four Tet, Flying Lotus, Hudson Mohawke, Thom Yorke or J Dilla. So it’s hard to be different. It would be much easier for me to go out and emulate the lit trap artist, or the most pop sounding future bass producer, and win. But that’s short-term thinking. Long-term it makes more sense to be genuine to your creativity and passion.

Who is one of your favorite acts right now to watch live?

Instrumentally, I’d say Bonobo. I love the way he makes use of the players in his band, and all of the sections of his music where he’ll bring in a full choir, or whatever’s necessary to fulfill his vision sonically. In terms of overall music and creative sound design, I love seeing Four Tet or Hudson Mohawke. The way they compose and deliver the music in a live format, and the music itself, really gets to me.

Who has been one of your favorite artists to collab with?

I’ve been working with some really amazing artists that everyone needs to hear. I plan on putting more music out with them in 2018. As far as more established artists, I really loved working with Yelawolf. We did a lot of work together in the past, and to see him become so successful has been really dope. He’s always been a true artist.

What are some of your favorite venues to play and why?

Soundpieces at Monarch in San Francisco was really dope. The sound system was incredible, and the crowd was one of the best I’ve ever experienced. So much love and good vibes from the people there. Also, the main room at Flash in DC was super lit for pretty much the same reasons: the sound system bangs, and the people were dope. In NYC, Rough Trade and Knitting Factory are really good too.

Have you played at any festivals?

Yes! Looking forward to doing more. Billboard Hot 100 Fest was sick, I actually got to watch Lil Wayne’s show from backstage. This year, SXSW was amazing. I got to do a showcase that included some of my favorite artists, like San Holo, Sweater Beats, Chrome Sparks and a lot more. I really loved NXNE in Toronto, as well.

What DAW do you use and why?

I’ve used so many over the years, but now, I do everything in Ableton, composing, mixing, mastering, and performing. It’s the best thing I’ve found that allows you to creatively make different pieces of music, and randomly trial-and-error how pieces fit together like a puzzle. It’s really freeing to be able to work that way, verses lining all your pieces up on a linear timeline, and building song sections that way. It’s also really fun to perform with, triggering audio clips, and throwing in sound effects on the fly.

Do you have a typical music production process? If yes, can you explain it?

Since I’m influenced by so many genres, it’s hard for me to just pick what type of song I want to make before starting on a track, so I don’t fight that. I usually just start by searching for a sound element or virtual instrument that inspires some feeling. After that, I follow it down a rabbit hole, in a way. Depending on what vibe I’m getting from the initial sounds I used and chord progression, I can start to hear/feel how the drums should sound, and I’ll adjust the tempo before starting to add percussion sounds. From there, it’s a whole building process, all driven by feeling. I just go were it takes me, and I never force it. I can’t even complete a song, unless I’m in love with it and feel like I could listen to it over and over.

What is your favorite MIDI Controller or instrument to produce with right now?

In addition to a few other keyboards, I use the Ableton Push 2 when producing and performing. It’s definitely my favorite piece of gear. The tech is deep, and it makes everything easier. I don’t even need to look at my laptop screen when I’m performing, and my sessions are really involved, so that says a lot.

What is one of your favorite or go-to VST Plugin?

I use Native Instruments Komplete, which is more of a collection of VSTs, but it’s definitely a go-to. So many options to choose from to spark ideas.

Do you have a key production tip for our young producers out there?

I’d encourage young producers to take a class on audio mixing, or take lessons from someone who knows. Sooner or later you’ll realize how important it is for you to be able to manipulate the sound spectrum, and be able to bring all your ideas to life. Plus, it’s great to not need someone else in order to finish your own song.

What food do you eat the most?

I’m vegan, so mostly fresh vegetables, big salads, and thick hearty soups.

What is next for Conrad Clifton?

Well Beautiful Tragedy came out this spring, and I released the Nitemare remixes in the summer, but I’m ready to put out some more new music. So I’m currently finishing a follow up to the album. It’ll have a crazy remix of  Time on it, plus some really vibey new originals, and a surprise VIP mix. Beautiful Tragedy was such a strong overall project, and I just want to continue where it leaves off, like a stream of consciousness in a way. You’ll understand when you hear this new EP. Can’t wait to share it!

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