Watches

Dream Interpretation please!?

Okay I don’t dream alot but I dreamt last night. It all started when I was at the grammys (don’t know why) and I watched some performances and then everyone walked out at the same time. When I got in the parking lot, it seemed as though everything had taken place at walmart. So there’s this bands bus (I can’t remember which one) and The bus driver starts talking to me and he was very friendly. I asked him if I can meet the band and he said no. So I walk over to the walmart vending mechines and the lead singer’s walking towards the vending machines.He said something before he picked up his bottle of water. Then he looked over at me and then he walked my way.He was really tall and said,”you’re so cute.” and then I hugged him and I hugged him until we got on his bus and we talked about music and life and everything. Scary thing is, I can remember how it felt to hug him.

How can I tell if my xbox points card has been activated? Does it say on the receipt?

I bought a $20 xbox 360 points card from walmart for rock band this week. I entered the code in and it won’t work. It just says “invalid”. Aren’t these activated when scanned at the checkout, or do they have to do something special?? I wasn’t watching her scan them, I was putting other stuff on the belt.

I found my Walmart receipt with the card on it. In addition to being listed among my other items, it displays the points card on the very top of the receipt the card amount and the card #. Does that mean it was activated?

I need to know that it’s not my TV being fuzzy on the code display because otherwise I have to drive all the way back to walmart which is a bit of a drive..
I thought it had to be activated at the store because then otherwise people could just easily steal them. Right?

Im getting a new router because of lag issues…PLEASE HELP?

Ok so my ISP is AT&T and my modem brand is motrolla…anyways i have a belkin g router and I have a wireless thing that connects to my router but when i watch netflix it slows down my internet too wear my family cant go on the internet smoothly and when im playing xbox live and call of duty it slows my connection down to 2 bars so its pratically unplayble….We looked online at walmart.com and they have a dual band N+router belkin for $69.99 and it says good for HD streaming videos and online gaming performance transfers up too 300Mbps…so will it stop the lag or is it just my connection?

Extreme Metal.. can too clean of production RUIN IT?

I started thinking about this based off a question one of my R&P pals (ShreDoktor) asked, which had to do with a “Black” Metal band called Winterhorde, of which he is very fond of, and most of the rest of us were kinda… ambivalent toward. The problem, for me was because the production was so clean.

It works nice to have ultra crispy production value in Visual Kei, Power Metal, Prog, Some of the more Operatic styles of Symphonic Metal, but IMO, I think it detracts from heavier stuff, like Doom, Death and Black Metal. Don’t get me wrong..I think all too often the “Atmosphere” argument a lot of Raw Black Metal fans espouse is a bunch of crap trying to explain away poor production hiding poor musicianship, as atmosphere can is achieved more through the songwriting than whether or not some idjit recorded it in the woods on a WalMart tape deck.

My thought is.. Extreme Metal is rather like having an argument. It should be rude, angry, abrupt and not too thought out. How attention grabbing would it be to have someone say they are mad at you, then they “Yell” at you in a perfectly calm, measured tone, using perfect syntax, pacing, grammar and speech?

Doesn’t really come off as angry does it? But if they are frothing at the mouth, forget words, cuss, sometimes don’t make sense and shouting harshly at the top of their lungs…. one tends to buy into the individual being genuinely pissed, (though one can go too far, where pretty much there is nothing valid said, just a bunch of juvenile cussing… we have all seen that… well, I consider stuff like Suicide Silence the musical equivalent.) right?

So it is at least to me with Extreme Metal.. too clean of production bleeds the raw emotion, the anger or whatever is supposed to be fueling it out, and you end up with a really shiny, but not very believable piece of music.
“Clean Produced Extreme Metal”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJp1DWD6Dws

“Dirty Produced Extreme Metal”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjr3le5GXBc&feature=related

What do you think? For “Extreme” Metal.. can too clean of production hurt it as bad as bad production can hurt stuff like Power Metal?

BQ: Favorite “Dirty” sounding Metal band?
(Bolt Thrower for me)
BQ2: Favorite “Clean” Sounding Metal band?
(Iron Maiden baby!)

(Also this is not saying he is wrong, and I am right, just some thoughts I had that came up from his Q, to which I was curious how other people felt)
@Peace Sells.. actually, they did have a choice in the 80s. Listen to 1984′s Powerslave album. Even today, the mixing stnads up, the instruments are distinct, and every instrumental track is easy to follow.

Conversely, look at 2003′s St Anger, where they intentionally used few mikes, stuff was left out of tune, the bass was recorded though the drum mikes, all to give it more of a live, impromptu feel. (Not saying this to tout the merits of St Anger, just an easy, obvious example of intentional poor sound mixing to create an “Atmosphere”. Even Progressive acts like Ihsahn and Agalloch intentionally use a “fuzz” sounding, instead of clinically precise sound mix intentionally to build an atmosphere, whereas Dream theater, Maiden, Nightwish and others go for such a high standard of mixing that every note of every individual track is easily heard, and no one thing drowns out another.
@Shred.. never said who’s side of the argument had more validity… just which sounded more extreme or angry. A person can be well chastised in a very polite, succinct manner, but it ain’t gonna wake up the neighbors and shock people like a good drunken white trash domestic dispute. THAT is the point of Extreme Metal. It’s meant to be a biker brawl, not the eloquent elocution one would hope to get in a good court case.

There is a time, and a place for both.
@Peace Sells, in your argument, you never said anything about unknown vs big money bands. Just that old 80s bands had no choice, and that new bands pretty much always shoot for hi fidelity production. I was pointing out that neither, is actually the case, at least all the time.
@ Shred Dok…. you have a healthy love for all thing Japanese….. are you familiar with the philosophy, or aesthetic, of Wabi-sabi?

THAT, in a nutshell perfectly defines what happens when one cleans things up to much, over produces, and knocks off the rough edges completely. If one polishes all the edges off a diamond, you would have a sphere…. but you would also have no facets that would catch the light and cause the fire within to ignite, and excite. Likewise..if left in their native state, a diamond is just a greasy looking lump of yellowish rock.

But a master jeweler takes a comprehensive look at the stone, and defines the flaws, which in turn define how he will cut and polish the stone. And so every diamond comes out unique, some with more facets, some with less, but with the degree of work and polishing varying from one stone to another, because to bring out the maximum beauty on each, one must be able to see and feel it’s flaws.

Music, is no different. Once you polis
@ Shred Dok…. you have a healthy love for all thing Japanese….. are you familiar with the philosophy, or aesthetic, of Wabi-sabi?

THAT, in a nutshell perfectly defines what happens when one cleans things up to much, over produces, and knocks off the rough edges completely. If one polishes all the edges off a diamond, you would have a sphere…. but you would also have no facets that would catch the light and cause the fire within to ignite, and excite. Likewise..if left in their native state, a diamond is just a greasy looking lump of yellowish rock.

But a master jeweler takes a comprehensive look at the stone, and defines the flaws, which in turn define how he will cut and polish the stone. And so every diamond comes out unique, some with more facets, some with less, but with the degree of work and polishing varying from one stone to another, because to bring out the maximum beauty on each, one must be able to see and feel it’s flaws.

Music, is no different. Once you
polish Punk too much and instead of the Clash, you get Green Day or Blink 182. With Metallica you go from Master of Puppets… to Load.

Each genre and style of music has it’s defining traits and “flaws” and these are what makes them unique and interesting. Production and mixing is very much one of these traits.
(OK..why the heck did it double post.)

For all your love of the Asiatic aesthetic, it seems you really love to define music more mby the Western, or “Greek” school of symmetry and beauty, often captured by concepts liek the “Golden Ratio”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio

anyhow.. different stroke for different folks
So what you are saying is you like the crappy westernized version of Japan that pines for the days pre WW2?

Survery anyone??? (:?

Just copy, paste, and erase my answers (:

Who was your last text from? Chris
Whats your middle name? Paige
Whats on your mind? tommorrow
Does your crush/GIRLfriend/BOYfriend like you back? Yepp (:
What is your current mood? happy
What is your moms name? laure
What color shirt are you wearing? red
Are you close with your dad? yes
If you could go back in TIME and change something, would you? yes
Have a crazy side? YEAH
Ever had a near death experience? plenty of times
Something you do a lot? hmmm, facebook
Angry at anyone? yeah
Favorite Month? June
Name someone with the same birthday as you? No one but i know someone a day older
When was the last time you cried? long time ago
If you could have one super power what would it be? Stretch my arms and legs like elasticagirl so i wouldnt have to get up to get stuff
Whats the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? hmm i dunno lol
What do you usually order from Starbucks? i bearly ever go there
Favorite TV show(s)? none there all re-runs
Do you still watch kiddy movies? yepp (:
What are you eating or drinking at the moment? eating: nothing drinking: water
Do you speak any other language? no
Whats your favorite smell? hmmm… the spell of Mr. Bubble bubble bath
Describe your life in one word. Crazy
Have you ever kissed in the rain? nope
Ever kissed on the beach? nope
What are you thinking about right now? didnt you already ask this?
What should you be doing? sleeping
Who was the last person that made you upset/angry? shawn
What are you listening to? music
Do you like working in the yard? no
Do you ever want to get married? kids? yes yes
Do you act differently around the person you like? YEAH
What is your natural hair color? brunette
Who was the last person to make you smile? cole
What is your favorite meal at your favorite fast food restaurant? burger king
Do you cut out coupons? no
What kind of phone do you have? chocolate touch. its really gay
Whats the wierdest thing under your bed? hmmm, what is under my bed?
What was the last thing you ate? hotdog
Last person you hugged? i really dont rememer
How is the weather right now? hot
Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? J.D.
Whats you favortie singer or band? Justin bieber!!
Are you tired? yes
What do you think about the new walmart tags? i think that is stupid
Last thing that scared you? there was a spider on the wall and i thought twice about his life and when i was about to kill him he was GONE so now im afraid he might eat me.
What kind of ipod do you have? Gay nano