The Highest Praise You Can Give... Vol 1

What is the highest honor you can give something? It almost certainly must vary from thing to thing. As the highest praise you might give a song will undoubtedly be different for a movie, or a television show, or a person. This also will most definitely be different from person to person. However, here I will tell you the highest praise I can give to various things.

Music. While I am not huge into music, I do know what I like. And the highest praise I can give a song is staying in the car to hear the end of it. I have already reach my destination, but I enjoy this song so much that I will let the car run a few more minutes to hear it till the end. This doesn't happen often for me.

Video games. I am a collector of games. Whatever the system, I tend to amass large libraries of games. However, I will almost never buy a game for more than one platform (of the same generation). Yes, it does happen with remakes across hardware generations, but I am not talking about that. Hollow Knight has received this honor from me, as I first owned it on Steam, but liked it so much that I bought it again on Nintendo Switch, so that I could play it on the go. Payed full price for it the second time too.
 
A person from the internet. Ever meet someone on a forum, or a comment section, etc? How often have you been interested enough in that person to stay in contact with them out side of that website? Well for me, only once. I won't name them here, but there is one person that having meet online, I have gone out of my way to stay in contact with them.

There are of course many other things that need praise. However, I can only handle so much positivity at one time. So, this will serve as the first part of a series.

Suicide is Awesome (a song parody)

Suicide is awesome
Suicide is cool when you're ending your life
Suicide is awesome when we're ending the dream

Suicide is better when we do it together
Side by side, you and I gonna end it forever, let's end it forever
We're the same, I'm like you, you're like me, we're all working to harm on me

Suicide is awesome
Suicide is cool when you're ending your life
Everything is awesome when we're ending the dream

(Booo)
3, 2, 1. Go

Have you heard the news, everyone's talking
Life is done 'cause suicide's awesome
Lost my life, it's a mortal commodity
Less free time for my depressing community

I feel more suicidal than an suicidal idol
Dip my body in tasteless poison'
Three years later, find me decomposin'
Smellin' like a fossil, suicide is awesome
Stepped off the edge, guess I couldn't fly
It's suicide to live, and it's suicide to die (it's suicide to die)

Suicide is better when we do it together
Side by side, you and I gonna end it forever, let's end it forever
We're the same, I'm like you, you're like me, we're all working to harm on me

Suicide is awesome
Suicide is cool when you're ending your life
Suicide is awesome when we're ending the dream

Blue balls, cancer springs
We just named two reasonings
Lack of job, and the last string
You know fixes everything? SUICIDE!

Drug mixing, a loaded gun,
The mess it leave will not be fun
Jumping off, a knife in chest
The quick ways are the best

Money, bills, pills
They're reasons
Debts, bets, and meds
They're reasons
Depression, rejection, and perception
Everything you see, or think, or say
Is the reason

Suicide is awesome
Suicide is cool when you're ending your life
Suicide is awesome when we're ending the dream

Song Parody.

Sometimes you hear a song and you hate it. In your hate you start making up other lyrics for the song. Sometimes these amuse only yourself, other times you can make others laugh with it.

The original is by a below average band called Linkin Park, and the song "One step closer". The lyrics originally were generic angst ridden bullshit, like the vast majority of their songs, and the songs of their contemporaries. So here is a nice lyrical parody.

I cannot hold it anymore 
I've been holding it since the day before
All this piss it  makes no sense 
I need a place to drain my piss
 
More I drink the more I spray
You'll clean it up anyway 

(Just like before)
 
Every time I take a leak
(Takes me one step closer to the edge) 
(And right up on he seat) 
I need little time to piss
('Cause it's one step closer to the edge)  
(Right up on the seat)
 
I hate when my urine is all clear 
Drank too much and now its here 
All this piss it makes no sense 
I finally found a place to piss
   
Nothing seems hit the bowl  

All over  the seat again 
(Just like before)

 Every time I take a leak

(Takes me one step closer to the edge) 
(And right up on he seat) 
I need little time to piss

('Cause it's one step closer to the edge)  
(Right up on the seat)


Every time I take a leak

(Takes me one step closer to the edge) 
(And right up on he seat) 
I need little time to piss

('Cause it's one step closer to the edge)  
(Right up on the seat)
 
Shut up when I'm in the bathroom
Shut up, shut up, shut up  
Shut up when I'm in the bathroom  

Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up 
I'm about to... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh


Every time I take a leak

(Takes me one step closer to the edge) 
(And right up on he seat) 
I need little time to piss

('Cause it's one step closer to the edge)  
(Right up on the seat)

Every time I take a leak

(Takes me one step closer to the edge) 
(And right up on he seat) 
I need little time to piss

('Cause it's one step closer to the edge)  
(Right up on the seat)

Song Covers.

Sometimes the same song is done by more than one artist. Often time the original performer  a song will have influenced or inspired another performer. This can lead to this other artist then doing their own version of that song. This can be done several ways, but the best covers show the style and substance of both the original artist and the person or group making the cover. It can also go completely wrong, and have the two version of the song sound almost identical.

Here is an example of  good cover work.

Original:

Cover:

Above are the original Queen version of "Radio Gaga" and the Electric 6 cover. While they are the same song, there is a huge difference in how they are performed. This shows how much a song can change with artists, as they aren't even the same genre of music.

On the other hand, here is a poorly done cover:

Original: 

Cover:

Here we see a cover that is nearly identical to the original. The singer on the cover is even going so far as to make is voice sound like the original artist. When doing a cover, an artist should try to make the song their own. What is the point of covering a song just to have be so close to the original.  This only a critique of the cover, not of the song itself. 

Worst Parts of Entertainment.

Entertainment comes in many forms, books, movies, video games, music, and many others. Entertainment can be art, or be made purely to make money, both options are fine and most of it falls somewhere in the middle. However, all forms of entertainment have the same cancers eating away at them however. These are the worst parts of entertainment.

The lack of original ideas that leads to the large number of remakes. Movies are most guilty of this, but video games and musicians are guilty too. When a remake is done right it adds to the original, and gives you something new in old skin, it is something that can be compared to the original and hold its own. A musician can do a cover and put their own style into the song and make something great, a directer can do the same with film. The problem is all the lazy attempts at remakes that come out, cover songs that are identical to the original, movies that are poorly made with a familiar title slapped on it. If you must remake something, at least do it right. Sadly it hasn't been done right in a long time.

Every form of media has its fans. Sadly over time some fans change, a metamorphosis happens and they become fanboys. What causes this tragic condition is unknown, but being seated near one is the number one cause of suicide at entertainment venues. Fanboys are a sad lot, they have developed an obsession and are offended when other don't share in it. If you are wondering if someone you know is a fanboy lookout for the following: endless talking about one subject, large amounts of money spent on things relating to same subject, lack of hygiene, fits of rage when legitimate criticisms are aimed at their obsession.

Entertainment makers should try to target a particular audience. Problems happen when they try to make something for "everyone". When you try to make something for everyone, you in the end make something for no one. Somethings are for children, others for adults, and others for any group that might exist. You need to know who you are making something for, this lets you know what to make. On the rare occasion something transcends audiences and is universal, it is not done on intention, it rather just happens.

So lets ban together to stop these problems. Don't pay to see that remake, get the original off Netlfix. Donate a dollar to help find the cause and cure to fanboyism. Remind any person you know in the entertainment industry to target a single audience. Together we can improve entertainment.

Thanksgiving.

There is a holiday between the greatness of Halloween and the horrors of Christmas that seems to get smaller every year. That holiday is Thanksgiving. It is admittedly a waste of a good Thursday where you choke down a bad meal while putting up with people you can't stand. However Thanksgiving used to serve a purpose, that was to hold back all the overwhelming bullshit that comes with Christmas. 

Once upon a time November was all about Thanksgiving. None of the stink of Christmas was on the month at all. Everything in the month was about the long weekend, and bad meal, that everyone had to look forward too. No Christmas movies were on TV during November, nor did you ever hear a Christmas song on the radio or played in a store. It was a time that was a buffer between the best and the worst holiday. The month helped you shift your gears. Not so much anymore.

Now Thanksgiving is almost forgotten. Starting November 1st the "Christmas season" is on, and its volume is turned to 11. Blaring Christmas music is in every store, and every channel play increasingly worse movies about Christmas. Thanksgiving was never a great holiday, but it was a nice calm before the storm.

Sadly, there is nothing to be done. Thanksgiving sucks, and no one seems to miss it, not that there was all that much to miss.

Media Formats.

Over the years there have been many formats for music, movies, and games. Every few years a new format comes out, and people begin to get things they already have have copies of, but in the new format. This has happened with vinyl records giving way to cassette, and later cassette to compact disk. Today we see people do this with Blu-ray copies of moves to replace DVD copies.

While DVDs replaced VHS, they offered more than just the movie. A DVD gave you many special feature, with deleted scenes, commentary tracks, and so forth, things a VHS could never offer. Blu-ray is now replacing DVD, but other than a better resolution doesn't give much more. While a Blu-ray is great for a new movie shot in high definition, what is gained for an old movie? Does "The Godfather" get better with resolution, doubtful, or does a Saturday Night Live movie get any less shitty with resolution, also doubtful.

When the CD replaced cassette the CD offered better sound, and was in someways more durable. That is how a format change should happen, there should be a clear advantage for switching over.  Today we seem to embrace change for the sake of change. A better resolution image is great, but is it really enough reason to buy something you had on DVD?