Blue Dragon

Got a hankering for Neil Young (one of the trifecta of whiny singers I adore XD. Tom Petty, Neil Young, Bob Dylan). I think On the Threshold of a Dream is my favorite Moody Blues album (followed closely by Days of Futures Passed and A Question of Balance). But this song is pretty b*tchin' Maybe I should give their late 70s/early 80s stuff another listen.

I'm diggin' the synth! Found this one by accident when looking up 60s/70s moog (was looking for George Harrison's Electronic Sounds album)

I'm probably always gonna be a little slow, but I also wanted to say congrats!!

Maybe should have waiting for St. Patrick's Day for this one, but it's too good to wait.

Got to see Monster Magnet perform live sometime in the early 2000s. It was a b*tchin' concert with pyrotechnics and dude was in his mid 40s then and running all over the stage in leather pants with flames running up the legs XD It was a pretty good show. Buck Cherry opened for them (and was pretty good. Dude wasn't too doped up to perform. I sometimes wonder whatever happened to them o_O) Kinda rambly tonight XD Anyway, great choice! Spine of God is just an all around solid album Also a classic, I still love this music video XD

Woke up with Queen in my head

Can't remember if I ever shared this song or not. Local band out of St. Louis. Got to see them before we moved. Pretty good band.

Not sure if you're still around, but I thought I'd have fun with your questions. Thank you for posting them. Sorry this is so wordy. I'm uh...I'm stalling. I shold be working, but I need a break XD What kind of influence did anime have on the youth? A lot. It's why I got into manga, which lead to me creating comics. I have always loved animation. Anime lead me to the realization (beyond films by Bakshi) that "cartoons" didn't have to be just for kids, and that even animation for children can and should tackle tough concepts and themes sometimes. what obvious changes did you see with the anime from a few years ago and now? A lot of changes on the technical side of how it's created. Less hand drawn/painted cells. It's nearly all cgi or digital these days. That's not snubbing my nose at the new tools for the craft: it can and does look gorgeous. As an old school animation fan, I do, at the same time, hope there is a rejuvenation and rebirth of hand created animation. There is a feel and look to it. It is a craft I will be very sad to see die. I would prefer if the new tools and techniques exist, and the old were still allotted a space to exist. Um...I haven't been watching a ton of new anime. I need to find something that speak to me. I think I am probably looking for long form anime verses series these days. Though JoJos is always a joy (*ahem* I take issues with Netflix; I feel they are causing problems with scheduling and...I am disappointed in how the last season was handled. I do not blame the animators-I think it really does have to do with how they're releasing episodes now). What kind of influence does anime have in your country? I feel like the US always relegated animation to being related to kids. A lot of adult animation always had a ton of push back from society. I think that the popularization of anime allowed for us to grow up a little bit. You can see that influence in how more children's shows are allowing some adult topics into them-much like how anime often tackles sensitive topics like death. I think you see that in how now fans who grew up on anime are getting into the animation industry and incorporating all their influences. I think it also helped open the door for more adult animation. Not to say we didn't have any, but there's a lot more choice now. How do you see the future of anime? I can't presume to guess. Things tend to be cyclic in that over saturation leads to stagnation, then something revolutionary comes along and revitalizes the medium, and makes it fresh and inspiring again. And even as I write that, it's all subjective. People are enjoying newer anime series, and I am very happy that it's bringing joy to so many people. I need to find something that appeals to my taste. I know this is MY inability/failing to find something I like, and not commentary on anime as a whole. I know I'm the problem. I am not their target audience. The well on good (subjective) anime hasn't dried up, I'm sure. I foresee more and more use of cgi and computer generated animation. I'm not against this. I foresee it improving. But, as an old school anime and animation lover, I do hope that an interest in hand drawn/painted cells returns. There's room for both techniques, I feel. I like elements to digital and cgi/3d, but I also highly value the craft of hand drawn animation. I imagine, once they get it there (much to my chagrin), there will eventually be a time when people use AI to develop animation. I don't think that human stories will be replaced. I see something like Carol and Tuesday...a blend, with eventually ai being the standard, but humans writing their own stuff and being enjoyed by people. Who knows. Universe: I challenge you to prove me wrong. What kind of influence does music have on anime? The same it has on me. God, there are so many animes whose sound tracks are married to the work. I think of Satoshi Kon and how the soundtrack is always amazing. I love the jazz influences on so many, too. Bebop; Lupin; JoJos; Nadia (didn't it have a jazzy sound track?) I outright listen to the Full Metal Alchemist OVA soundtrack just for the beauty of its composition, and the fun pop songs. There are bands I was turned onto thanks to anime—I've bought Asian Kung Fu Generation albums because every song is just banging. FLCL-amazing! And it's not just that the music is good; the movements and timing and how the animation correlates to the music. It is art. It's a love letter to music, often, just as much as it is to the craft of animation. And then I wondered, would we even have Street Fighter if Araki wasn't such a huge music fan? I thought that Street Fighter like...was super inspired by the Phantom Blood? I could be wrong. I would need to find sources. But lemme tell you, when I found out all the bands they were references (bands I like), that's why I started watching JoJos XD What do you prefer, anime or manga? I don't feel like there needs to be a preference. I suppose I could say that it does depend on the execution when it comes to an original manga being translated into an anime; but that's often a failing of directors finding the right way to transcend the original (that is, I can like anime that's different from the manga: it has to be done well, and often is). I don't see the point, though, in comparing reading to viewing. They both stimulate the mind; they appeal to different senses; they both have their pros/cons. I read books just as much as I watch shows. I find value in both. What makes anime different from other animations The country it comes from. Animation in the US is often different than that in France, or Brazil, or Italy, or the Philippines. The country of origin has its own way of developing methods of technically crafting the animation, though I know people have been inspired by each other, too. But there's storytelling elements and cultural references that differ from Japanese animation vs animation in the US. A lot of US cartoons are/were very fast paced and don't leave room for dwelling; whereas a lot anime are more likely to have quiet moments where the story is allowed to breath. This used to be considered "boring" or "slow moving" here, but...I think with the popularization of anime, a lot more of the US audience has gained a bit of patience. I really feel this is a US thing, because when I watch foreign films or even films from the 1960s or before, things moved a bit slower. Not sure when that changed. Probably the 1980s? At any rate, even that this a generalization... Anyway, yeah, I think the main differences just stem from how storytelling developed in each nation. I could bring up the "stylization" but like even saying that...having seen so many animes and differente Western animations...and even if you compare animation here...yes there is a style that was influenced by Tezuka, there is no denying that, but the influences are so reciprocal. And US animation has stuff like Disney, but you've also got your Nickelodeon stuff. When we look at adult animation, you got older stuff like Bakshi, but you also have the Animatrix (which was a blend of cultures and animation anyway). Hm....I mean, we have our generalizations, but animation always breaks the mold, too. I look at Yellow Submarine and that's Western and there's nothing I can think of really like it (in animation; Kris Kool definitely has some Peter Maxx vibes). But then that leads me to thinking about a lot of the cartoons I grew up with that were US companies or Canadian companies hiring out Japanese artists, and are THEY anime? The Hobbit *feels* like Japanese animation for sure, but it's not Japanese story telling. Someone tell me, because I think we all kinds dip our brushes in teh same water and mix everything about especially these days. This is super rambling because I just let my brain melt thinking about this question. Sorry I make no sense, but I think my circuits have overloaded XD XD Playing it fast and loose are things like Pop Team Epic and Crayon Shin Chan. I can look at Rick and Morty or something by Matt Groening...or you can look at US animations like Castlevania and Bee and Puppycat. I know there are differences, I'm just playing devil's advocate. Ken Lauderdale did an amazing video asking the question: what even is anime...and I don't know what happened to the video, but it was amazing. Sad day it's gone I wonder if he had to take it down for some reason. It wasn't offensive or controversial, it was just a fascinating history with questions about a lot of strange media and whether or not we should dub (no pun intended) it anime. Le sigh. I need to just start downloading YouTube videos I enjoy before things happen to them. Talk about lost media.

Their albums really are meant to listen to all the way through. But felt like hearing these two.

Was disappointed by Salt and Sacrifice...so... Playing with partner: Ship of Fools (first play though, so far so good) Enter the Gungeon (haaaaard but fun) Playing for self: Final Fantasy VII Remake (liking the dialogue, it's funny. could do without all the early foreshadowing. But these are nitpicks. Some cuts scenes are laggy) Dragon Quest 100-I mean XI (it's fun).

Dudes, Deetlit. But there's no telling how old she's supposed to look XD (These feel kinda cheaty) Even older looking but still got it: Edit: My song contribution. This may be a little more in the theme?