And as for the title? Check what I was listening to. Two-thirds of the title is based off of that.
CURRENT MUSIC:
Harry Gregson-Williams - "Metal Gear Saga"
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Original Soundtrack
Before I list why this is on my music list for today, I have to say that out of all the video game series out there, none have captured my imagination and mind quite as well as the Metal Gear Solid series.
I've been a loyal fan since the original PlayStation game, praising its complex and rich story and the amazing soundtracks the games have offered.
They say sometimes that video games are like interactive movies, and so far this series has presented the gaming world with that kind of experience.
Probably one of the greatest pieces composed for any of the Metal Gear Solid games.
"Metal Gear Saga" is one of the the game's tracks that captures the whole essence of Guns of the Patriots (as well as the other Metal Gear Solid games) in its entirety.
After the action part fades off, a lone guitar strums its way in at around 2:43, kicking off what most Metal Gear Solid fans would highlight as their "Top 5" segments in the game (or at least in the music department). The guitar gives way to a trumpet lead continuing MGS4's leitmotif, building up to an aurally amazing ending.
As a die-hard Metal Gear Solid fan, I'm not ashamed to say that this piece (particularly: the lone guitar leadoff mentioned above coupled with the cutscene it prominently plays in*) will occasionally summon manly tears of awesomeness from me. I'm serious.
When a game or movie has you emotionally invested that well, you know someone made that moment right.
Now, the only thing that would make me happier than watching that scene after a fun Metal Gear Solid marathon would be hearing "Metal Gear Saga" live in orchestra format.
I... I'd think I'd cry manly tears of manliness there, too. I just love the series that much.
Shouji Meguro - "I'll Face Myself (Battle)"
Persona 4 Original Soundtrack
A rock piece played during the boss fights of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, "I'll Face Myself (Battle)" carries an overall theme of denial and acceptance - something that (in my view) the RPG game was speaking to us about.
Each of the primary characters that you end up recruiting in your party are Persona users (where they create physical manifestations of various facets of their psyche). However, in order to use this ability, they have to be able to accept who they are - and unfortunately, each person has some sort of inner demon within themselves that they can't accept as real.
While these characters would lie to everyone and themselves about how they truly felt (e.g.: feigning a happy-go-lucky outlook to hide a brooding boredom with their life, or resentment over having your destiny chosen for you), the reality of their terrorizing truths slowly ate at them, and when they finally come face-to-face with their inner demon in question (quite literally, might I add), they deny it as being an actual part of them.
Of course, that just makes the demon go nuts with power, and the result is a boss fight with some of the craziest-looking bosses I've seen to date.
Anyway, I digress. This is a great piece, and with my dissertation of it (via the explanation above), "I'll Face Myself (Battle)" definitely lives up to its name.
As today's entry has a bit of focus on facing off against myself, I thought it fitting for this track to play.
Heck, a good three quarters of the time I spent writing today's entry was spent blasting this through my headphones.**
* = The video should start at around 6'45". For those of you wondering the synopsis of this cutscene...***
(Author's Note: SPOILERS have been blacked out so they're visible only when highlighted. You've been warned...)
**SPOILER**
...after intense fighting, Solid Snake and Liquid Ocelot face off in one final and epic showdown to the death. Their brutal fist fight wears on to the point where both men are exhausted. Noticing nanomachine-suppressing syringes falling off their persons, the two grab a syringe each and - in a show of respect (despite their rivalry) - inject each other with them, evening the odds and culminating in one of the most badass boss fights ever.
**END SPOILER**
** = After reading that summary, did you get a case of déjà vu? Some of you might have - any old-school readers who've read my Facebook entries will notice that line-by-line, it's a similar description to when I talked about it back with "The Persona of Astigmatic Reflection."
*** = Are you interested in finding out more about Guns of the Patriots but afraid of encountering MGS-related spoilers along the way? Well, I happen to know of a video that sums up the game in roughly ten seconds! No spoilers guaranteed! Plus, it provides us southern Californians with valuable insight as to what we'll be needing in the summertime!
It's way too warm outside. It might be the alcohol talking, but I think it needs to cool down some. Anyone have any beverages of any kind lying around?
None? No liquid whatsoever?
...oh. The footnotes from the music's done. Whoops. Uhm, lemme retry that.
*clears throat*
H-Hello, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to today's edition of The White Knight Chronicles.
Once again, it seems that I've held up until the last minute on posting something here (gee, this is becoming a trademark thing, isn't it?), but at least I've yet to miss the deadline.
(Author's Note: Today's entry will definitely seem more... melancholic. After a long day of meditation - followed by a walk to the local Mexican restaurant for some tasty brain fuel - I had an epiphany. Mind you, I've had epiphanies before - but those realizations were insignificant next to
(Author's Note: On a lighter note, I had to warn you. I figured that every blogger out there has to vent like this once in a while, so this is my moment for that. Besides...
 |
| taken from the Avatar: The Last Airbender online forum "Distant Horizon" (I'm not the original creator. Just putting that there for copyright reasons.) (for more A:TLA-related demotivationals, see this thread) |
So today I've come to the realization that I'm severely burned out.
Mind you, I'm not burned out on posting here - but virtually everything else I've done for enjoyment has rattled to a standstill in terms of how often I engage in the activity in question.
I've probably stated signal sentences on previous entries beforehand (Hell, I have - does the phrase "I'm lazy" qualify?) and have yet to realize the case until now.
It scares me that I'm at a state like this. Sure, a bit of hyperactivity is responsible for overfilling my plate, but the fact that I've yet to finish anything on it... it's sickening.
I'm destined for greatness. I know I am. I'm not trying to sound all self-centered or anything here, but I knew from the moment I began doing all the things I do - all the work and dreaming I did during grade school - it all meant that I was going to make it out there.
I was going to see my names up in lights somewhere, famous for some crazy works or just for being awesome in some level. (No, people: we're not doing the "infamous criminal" route of fame. That's "infamy," and I don't want that on me... unless it involves the vuvuzela drive-bys...)
But... but I'm burned out. I... I see it now. Anyone around me lately can easily attribute most (if not all) of these symptoms and current personality quirks.
This explains a lot - why I've been getting random doses of inspiration and motivation to work on something only to get hit with a bigger dose of lethargy... why nothing has been entertaining as of late...why I hesitated on even posting this entry on here in the first place.
Why...?
Now, that's a question I want answered. Why did I get burned out? What caused me to become the underachieving slacker I didn't want to transform into? Was anyone partly to blame (aside from myself)?
More importantly, how do I combat it? How do I emerge from this self-dug hellhole alive?
What do I need to fight, and how long would it take before I can claim myself as victorious?
I... I don't know the answers to any of these questions...
...but I do know one thing.
*cue "I'll Face Myself (Battle)" as the area goes black and a spotlight shines down on me*
I now know that this is the inner demon that disguised itself as me in "Cryptic Metaphor" - the one I've been subconsciously grappling against for eons without me realizing it. And also subconsciously, I've been denying its existence - and maybe that is what has been fueling this... this... lethargy. It's a sickness (not that sickness, Disturbed fans) and I need to be cured of it muy pronto... or else I'll be consumed by it. Forever.
So, now that I know this demon's identity...
*deep breath*
To the unholy parasite of a demon that spawned within me: this is your vengeful host, Josh Blanco the White Knight! You have corrupted my soul and slaughtered my dreams for far too long! It is time to meet your end and vanquish you once and for all!
(Author's Note: The previous fully italicized sentence is best read when "I'll Face Myself (Battle)" is at this part. Read along and imagine some pseudo-sequence where energy is flowing around me Dragon Ball Z-style, the camera pans in a 360 degree angle around me, and I'm decked in some special-ops olive drab uniform as I dramatically pull out a pistol and a knife and get into a combat stance. Oh, and as the guitar stops wailing, the camera stops panning so that it's facing right at me and a stock "shing!" sound effect goes off. Gotta love my overactive imagination, huh?)
So, apart from wanting to wage war on this burnout... I don't think I have much else to report.
Oh, wait; never mind... I do.
Fish tacos and beer... WOW. What a combination.
Until the 'morrow, everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment