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7/27/2012

GAMES: Top 15 Video Game Songs of All Time

Before going into this, I'm only going to list songs that are exclusive to, or at least exclusively KNOWN from, a video game. Which means no "Lol, Guitar Hero's setlist is uberleet." Aside from that, this is pretty straightforward (I'm also not giving reasons; let the music speak for itself) (also, in most cases, I tried to link to people playing the songs, as opposed to the songs themselves)


15) Skyrim Theme (The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim)


14) Portal 2 Ending Song (Portal 2)


13) Hell March (Command and Conquer Red Alert)


12) Tetris Theme A (Tetris)


11) Uncharted World (Mass Effect)


10) Donut Plains Theme (Super Mario World)

(I know that this is from Super Mario Kart. Super Mario Kart's Donut Plains Theme was the same, but longer)

9) Route 30 Theme (Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal)



8) Guile's Theme (Super Street Fighter 2)



7) Halo Theme (Halo: Combat Evolved)



6) Mario Overworld (Super Mario Bros)



5) Kirby Dream Land Theme (Kirby's Dream Land)


4) The Man with the Machine Gun (Final Fantasy VIII)


3) Zelda Overworld (Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past)


2) Still Alive (Portal)







1) Morrowind Theme (The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind)









6/07/2012

GAMES: Top 10 Best Fighting Games for Neo-Geo

The Neo Geo was simply the greatest platform for fighting games. Even though its competitor, the CPSII had games like Marvel vs. Capcom and Street Fighter, nothing could really stand up to the selection that came with the Neo Geo. Even though other systems compounded on what made this system great (Sega NAOMI, Taito Type X), there was never any system that had such consistently good fighting games as the Neo-Geo.

10) King of Fighters 2000


Okay, if you know anything about the Neo-Geo, you'll be able to predict that the King of Fighters is one of its landmark series. While not very popular on the competitive fighting circuit (due to its unbalanced characters and high learning curve), KoF 2000 is still a very great title in the series. The only thing holding this back from being at the top of the list is the fact that compared to the 2 games before and after it, the roster for this game seemed to be very lacking.


9) Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory


Oh yes, Fatal Fury. For those who don't know, Fatal Fury is famous for one thing, and that is that the series is often confused with King of Fighters (King of Fighters is really a mix of Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting). The series as a whole, isn't that good. Weird hit detection and high competition from better games made it an overall flawed experience. The third game, however, did EVERYTHING right. The moves were tight, and the characters were all balanced in their own rights. Plus, SNK decided to add in an early build of a 3D movement system which worked surprisingly well, and it still stands to be the only 2D fighter with 3D movement that doesn't suck.


8) Waku Waku 7


Alright, time for a history lesson kids. The Neo-Geo's main competitor in the early 90s was the CPS (both 1 and 2). While Neo-Geo had more games, and USUALLY better gameplay, the CPS had better graphics due to its ability to handle a wider range of colors. Waku Waku changed this. It proved that the Neo-Geo could have vibrant colors and cutesy animations. While the gameplay was ultimately flawed (you could really just juggle the opponent against the wall using the HP button and they wouldn't be able to retaliate) the graphics were still some of the most COLORFUL to hit the Neo-Geo.


7) Samurai Shodown III


This game, more than any other in the series, reinvented how people played fighting games. Gone were the days of spamming Hadoukens and Senpukyakus. This game made you actually feel like a Samurai. You waited until the opponent attacked, then you either blocked it or dodged it, and when they were caught off guard, you unleashed a flurry of swipes and took out a chunk of health. While this lent itself well to make the series unique, it also turned off many Street Fighter players who could no longer turtle or spam.


6) Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle


The true underdog in this list. Kizuna Encounter wasn't the most popular game for the Neo-Geo, but boy was it fun. Have you ever played a tag-team fighting game and then had your first character die thinking that it was okay because you had another character, only to find that you have to keep both characters alive to win? Well, this is the game that introduced that concept. Basically, this game made your team choice, and the way you handled your team very important. It is almost 100% impossible to beat this game only using one character. This game also had extremely smooth combat; you could just line up combos and beat your opponent into submission so easily and beautifully. The only downfall to this game is the fairly uninspired character design.



5) Last Blade 2


If any game has a more beautiful soundtrack this, I'd really like to know. Let's get past that and just say that this game oozed beauty. The game had amazing stages, and the character sprites were fairly detailed. The fighting mechanics were very fluid, and every character seemed to be on a very equal playing field. That isn't to say that this game is easy, because it isn't. The way that the characters are balanced is that each of them has a distinct weakness that can be exploited by everybody else, and if you didn't know how to accommodate for the weakness, you would be a few miles up shit-creek with a paper paddle.



4) King of Fighter 2003


I'd like to warn in advance, that this is the last KoF game to make the list. Why? Because it's my favorite, obviously. This is the only title in the series which I feel to be fluid. Instead of having weird button combinations to switch characters, this game simply has a button to do so. This can allow you to create some crazy, amazing team-based combos. It also has an enormous character list in comparison to other games in the series. Needless to say, I've sunk plenty of time into this game.


3) GAROU: Mark of the Wolves

Now, this is usually where a top 10 Neo-Geo game lists would end, and it's obvious why. This game had, hands-down, the greatest graphics of any game on the Neo-Geo. It also had some pretty good gameplay. (although nothing too innovative, outside of TopSet) The main thing that makes this game great though is the fresh new characters. Even Terry Bogard (the most notable character out of all the characters in all of the SNK games [he's the one with the red cap]) got a fresh new coat of paint. While I can't say I liked the new look, it was still amazing that they could completely redesign such an iconic character.



2) Samurai Shodown V Special

Now, remember how I said that Samurai Showdown III reinvented fighting games? Well, this game did the same, but this time, they did it by combining the defensive aspect that the series is known for with the offensive aspect of games like King of Fighters. No longer was it limited to defending and blocking, now there was (technically) parrying and combos. This game also had the COOLEST, if not the most diverse (they took out Slash and Bust classes) roster.



1) Art of Fighting 3

Fluidity. How many times have I brought this up so far? Well, it doesn't matter, because this is the most fluid game for the Neo-Geo. You could string together attacks and blocks and parries and more attacks, all very quickly and with tons of style. The structure of the fights also seems to play out like a tutorial. The first match is just punch until the enemy is dead. The second fight basically emphasizes the importance of combos. The third fight teaches you when to block. The fourth teaches you how to mix them together. Everything after that just tests the skills you have learned. The ONLY (and I mean ONLY flaw) is the limited character selection, but that is only a minor problem.


4/30/2012

MUSIC: Top 10 Best Tech N9ne Songs

Alright, some things to get out of the way before this list starts. I only like Tech N9ne for his recent recording. Why? Simply, he was a juggalo rapper before, and it wasn't until he "sold out" that his music became tolerable. Another thing, Tech N9ne's best works are his songs where he features other rappers. Not because he can't work by himself, but rather because he has such great synergy with other rappers.


10) Midwest Choppers (from Misery Loves Kompany)

This was the song that I discovered Tech N9ne with. The song really just displays how quickly he can spit. Aside from that, it's a fairly average song. It also features Krizz Kaliko, who is technically (no pun intended) Tech N9ne's sidekick and his best, consistently-featured rapper.


9) Who Do I Catch (from Welcome to Strangeland)

Might as well anger all of my readers early on. Yes, Welcome to Strangeland is Tech N9ne's latest album. And yes, this is the second album that could be considered a sell-out album. However, the fact is that if you use the word "sell-out", then you have no business talking about, or listening to music. This song is basically Tech N9ne reflecting on his career, and is the single best song off of Strangeland.


8) Cult Leader (from All 6s & 7s)

Remember what I said about juggalo's before? Yeah. This song responds to the fact that Tech N9ne's fan-base became close to that of the juggalos.  Luckily, this song is much better than any song ever released by ICP. I digress. This song is the only song that features Liz Suwandi, and doesn't sound childish. Definitely one of the highlights of All 6s & 7s.



7) I Love Music (from All 6s & 7s)

Proof that Tech N9ne's flow is far beyond basic. If you listen closely to what's going on in the background, you'll realize that this song is written in a compound time signature (6/4). This is what give it that feeling of jumping at the end of the phrase. This requires him to extend his phrase an extra two beats, and reset. It sounds a lot simpler than it is.




6) Welcome to the Midwest (from Everready)


There's something about the production of this track that really appeals to me. It's almost like... Bram Stoker meets jazz meets Goosebumps theme song... The rap on it is pretty weak, but luckily the production is extremely solid.





5) Like Yeah (from Killers)


More of a party song, but still a pretty good song. Nothing in the way of production, but it's still very catchy and as always, Tech's rap is over-the-top technical. I'd also say that, aside from Caribou Lou, this is Tech's most famous song.



4) Einstein (from Anghellic)


I still believe that Anghellic was the first good Tech N9ne album. This is easily the second best song from the album, with really cool production and some nice flows on Tech's part. Unfortunately, this song also has, what I believe to be, the worst 10 second period in any Tech N9ne song. Listen to it, and about 3/4 of the way through, you'll probably know what I'm talking about.


3) Worldwide Choppers (from All 6s & 7s)


Alright, this song is like Midwest Choppers except with some of the most intricate hip-hop lyricists in the world. Basically, of the 9 rappers (including Tech) that are featured, 7 of them are among my top 150 favorites, and one of them (Busta Rhymes) is in my top 10 favorite rappers. This song is one of the fastest Tech N9ne songs (think about it, Twisted Insane is featured) and it even includes two foreign rappers. The production is also pretty decent, but it's partially recycled from Midwest Choppers 2.



2) Psycho Bitch (from Anghellic)


This is USUALLY considered Tech N9ne's best song, but as always, I'm not just going to repeat everybody else's top 10 list. The production on this is amazing, using the theme song from the cult classic (and one of my favorite horror films of all time) Halloween. Everything about this song just adds up to 100%. However, I feel that this next song adds up to somewhere near 103%.



1) Promiseland (from All 6s & 7s)


This song is perfect, and more. The production on it is simple, but effective. The vocal work of Nikkiya Brooks (who I feel is a slightly watered-down Erykah Badu) lends itself well to the song. The lyrics are fairly meaningful. Tech's flow is perfect as always. And finally, the little Scarface-themed verse is extremely fitting and almost jaw dropping-ly original. Let the song speak for itself.



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4/27/2012

MUSIC: 9 Great Artists That You've Never Heard Of Vol. I

This is a list of either obscure, or often ignored, artists that I have discovered over my journeys. These lists will be in no particular order.

Amen-Talist Movement
Genre: Breakcore
Bandcamp: http://amen-tal.bandcamp.com/



Mutant Bass Records
Genre: Drum & Bass



Decipher
Genre: Hip-Hop


Dizraeli
Genre: Folk/Hip-Hop


Kno (member of CunninLynguists)
Genre: Hip-Hop


Tim Fite
Genre: Folk


Tonedeff
Genre: Hip-Hop


Twisted Insane
Genre: Hip-Hop


Daikaiju
Genre: Surf Rock



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MUSIC: Top 10 Best Red Hot Chili Peppers Songs

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are by far, my favorite band of all time. Throughout the years, their music has constantly fueled me. As soon as I got my first guitar, I was learning every RHCP song left and right. Every time that they come to my town, I try my hardest to go and end up not being able to afford it. No other band has ever had such an effect on my life as the Red Hot Chili Peppers have. Unfortunately, their only two guitarists that I feel had talent were Hillel Slovak and John Frusciante. As such, you're not going to see any songs from One Hot Minute an only one from I'm With You in this list.

10) Can't Stop (from By The Way)


Alright, RHCP (as I will refer to them from here on out) are a funk-rock band. So naturally, you have to list a funky song. Do I honestly believe that this song is AMAZING? No, it was just extremely popular in the mid '00s. But this song does give you the best first impression of RHCP's entire discography. Not only does it have the infectious funky chorus, but it also has the deep melodic tone that they are also well known for. Regardless of where I am, and whether or not it's socially acceptable, I always rock out to the song.


9) Scar Tissue (from Californication)


This song is one of those melodic songs that I was talking about. A beautiful melody coupled with a love-story with lyrical competence that could (but doesn't) rival with that of Bob Dylan. I still remember a week where I listened to this song non-stop. Don't remember why, but probably a tough break-up or something silly.




8) Factory of Faith (from I'm With You)


Yup, yup. This is the lone "I'm With You" song that made the list. Why? Let's put it this way. Flea is one of the top 10 greatest bassists of all time, and due to Klinghoffer's incompetence, Flea was forced to carry the entire rhythm on his bass. And such a great bass-line he produced. Not one of Kiedis's greatest points as far as singing, but still a good, funky song.





7) Parallel Universe (from Californication)


One of the most solid basslines of all RHCP songs. The lyrics are also very pretty good, and Kiedis does well with them. The guitar could be much better, because as it is, it only stands in the way of the perfect bassline. Although, the song does seem to drone on and on...



6) Catholic School Girls Rule (from Freaky Styley)

Probably the most light-hearted song ever made by Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the only song that I feel that it is appropriate to headbang for. Honestly, one of the stupidest RHCP songs. Luckily, that means that this song keeps it in your mind that RHCP wasn't always as serious as they now act. It also reminds you that RHCP is, in fact, a punk band.




5) Throw Away Your Television (from By The Way)

I figure that people only really listened to this album for Can't Stop and By the Way, but this song is the real masterpiece of the album. One couldn't even believe how many times I've listened to this song in my life.



4) True Men Don't Kill Coyotes (from Red Hot Chili Peppers)


One of Flea's most interesting baselines. Fairly lackluster song otherwise, but the bassline is surely something amazing. For some reason, I don't objectively like this song, but I still find myself coming back to it time and time again for the juicy bassline.


3) Make You Feel Better (from Stadium Arcadium)

This song is very adherent to its namesake. It makes you feel better. This song is one of the few RHCP songs that is neither down-tempo, nor fun. It lies somewhere between the two, in the world of lightheartedness. One of the highlights of Stadium Arcadium, and one of the highest play-counts in my music library.




2) Snow ((Hey Oh)) (from Stadium Arcadium)


This is the most complex RHCP song of all time. From the sweep-heavy melody to the excessively pitch-heavy singing, this song is fairly taxing to learn how to play. The lyrics are very nice and pretty, and simple. But I feel that, overall, the song either takes itself too seriously, or not seriously enough, so I can't list it any higher than this.




1) Under the Bridge (from Blood Sugar Sex Magik)


Hands down, zero argument. This is the greatest RHCP song of all time. This single song cements the members of RHCP as some of the greatest musicians of the past century. While Flea's bass is nearly non-existent on this song (compared to other songs), the song still stands out as having: Anothony's best vocals, Frusciante's best guitarwork, and the best lyrics of ANY RHCP song. While this song is my favorite RHCP song, it is also my single favorite song of all time.


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MUSIC: Top 5 Most Lyrically Gifted Rappers

Before you begin reading this, keep in mind that these rappers are only who I feel to be LYRICALLY gifted. Their production could be terrible, and they'd still be deserving of being on this list. I will also link them with the song of theirs that I feel has the best lyrics.

5) Childish Gambino

Childish Gambino is the alias of Donald Glover, a fairly accomplished sitcom writer and comedian. If you've ever seen any of his comedy specials, 30Rock, or Community, you would realize that Donald Glover, even with his nerdy, borderline annoying voice, has an amazing way of flipping sentences. His songs are kind of a mixed plate, some have horrendously shitty production, while some have flawless production. Regardless of the production, however, ever song he makes is very lyrically complex.


4) Mos Def


There's something about Mos Def that I like, something that I love, and something that I hate. Respectively, those would be: True Magic, Black on Both Sides, and The New Danger. I can honestly venture to say that Black on Both Sides is one of the top 100 greatest albums, and definitely one of the top 10 best debut albums, in the history of hip-hop. Unfortunately, Mos Def's music career has suffered from the "unable to live up to yourself" disease, where his debut was so good that all other albums pale in comparison. Nonetheless, a very talented lyricist.



3) Nas


When I first listened to Nas, I could never get into any of his music. And now, being a fan of his work, I realize that it was only BECAUSE it was the first time I had listened to him. Usually, I'm spoken out against the whole "art has a deeper meaning" debate, because simply, it doesn't. That is, unless you intend it to. Most artists don't; most artists simply create beautiful creation, and there isn't any problem with that. Nas, however, embeds every song with the deepest meaning he can apply to it. Whether or not that's pretentious (it is) doesn't matter. What does matter is that these little intricacies cement Nas as one of the greatest lyricists in the world of hip-hop. (The only reason I'm not using NY State of Mind is because it's too cliche on lists that talk about Nas)






2) Canibus

Canibus is simply, a battle-rapper. If you've ever seen a rap-battle, you would know that it takes a lot of lyrical skill. Being a battle-rapper, his songs are all vulgar and violent, so he may not cater to all the pretentious Atmosphere fans out there who actually believe that rap is some divine, pure medium. I'll let his rap speak for itself.



1) Rakim


Shit, I didn't want to be cliche, but the only reason that anybody WOULDN'T list Rakim at the top of this list would be because they didn't know who Rakim is. The king of lyrics, flow, and everything in between; Rakim has proven again and again that he is the single greatest hip-hop lyricist of all time. Paid in Full is rightfully considered one of the greatest albums in history. Of course, after splitting from Eric B, Rakim's solo albums were pretty weak (for him, they were still amazing) up until his latest one (Seventh Seal).


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4/14/2012

MUSIC: Top 10 Best Kanye West Songs

Alright, so love him or hate him; Kanye West is, in my opinion, one of the greatest rappers of all time. His albums range from complete sellout pandering (808s and Heartbreaks, Watch the Throne) to true masterpieces (Graduation, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy), but even his lows manage to be higher than a lot of rappers' highs. So without further ado, here's the list:

10) All of the Lights (from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy)

Alright, let's start this off on a good note. As much as I dislike Rihanna, I must say that her overly auto-tuned voice lent well to this song. This song is actually only here simply because of her sample and how well it was intermingled into this amazing production. Honestly, I feel that Kanye's rap on this is very lackluster, but the way in which he produced it was amazing. Not worthy of the top spot, and I had a hard time giving it the 10th spot, but still pretty good nonetheless. I feel I should also relay the warning that this video has been reported to cause seizures in those who have epilepsy, so view at your own discretion.


9) Touch the Sky (from Late Registration)

Okay. Let me get one thing straight. I hate Lupe Fiasco. With that aside, he did fairly well as a featured artist on this song. But, the main highlighting point of this song is how catchy it is. I occasionally find myself sitting, randomly humming to THIS song, and that's because the production is so tight, and the lyrics are pretty nice. Is it deep? Not really. Does it really portray Kanye as an amazing rapper? Definitely not. Does it make Lupe Fiasco look like he REALLY knows what he's doing? Nope. But what it does do is stick in your head.


8) Can't Tell Me Nothing (from Graduation)

Alright, now we get into songs I ACTUALLY like. This song while being almost as popular as Stronger, is actually GOOD. This was actually the song that first got me into Kanye's music. Now, I might be biased towards the song simply because it WAS the first song I actually LISTENED to by him, but I feel that this song has some of the tightest production Kanye has ever done.


7) Good Morning (from Graduation)

Okay, this is the first song on the list so far that I feel stands on the merits of it's lyrics exclusively. I feel that it really kind of just lays out the whole game plan for the rest of the album. On top of that, it has really beautiful production, and the sampling just fits together perfectly. There could have no better song to introduce Graduation.


6) Hell of a Life (from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy)

Now, I know that somebody is going to call me out for this choice. A lot of the rest of you will instantly click away from the window, but hear me out. This song is EXTRAORDINARILY catchy. No song Kanye has ever done has stuck in my head more than this has. The production sound like some guy who is expelling his bowels into a broken guitar plugged into an over-driven amplifier with a busted tube, the chorus is just auto-tuned to hell, the rap is pretty lackluster, and it is amazing.


5) All Falls Down (from College Dropout)

This song has very simplistic fashion, but the rap is pretty... pretty... and Syleena Johnson is pretty good too. Aside from that, I don't have much to say, other than that I found the music video pretty funny, from when it parodies Kanye's need to wear hundreds of pounds of jewelry, to when Common gets all up in his face.


4) Champion (from Graduation)

This is, simply, my favorite song from Graduation. Everything about it is beautiful. From the beautifully corny Steely Dan sample, to the beautiful lyrics, to the beautiful production. Every part of this song just oozes perfection. I can actually sit around listening to this song on repeat and it will never get old. Now, I like Steely Dan, but Champion is better than Kid Charlemagne 10 times out of 10.


3) POWER (from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy)

This is a completely out-of-left-field reason to like the song, but... I fucking love King Crimson. That is all I have to say. Oh wait, one more thing. This song is Africa.


2) Runaway (from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy)

This song is just beautiful, from the intro to the end, there's not a part that doesn't cohere. It also proves that Kanye, despite what you would think from the awful 808s, CAN sing. That's right, there isn't any auto-tune (minus the obvious section at the end). On top of his singing, the production is pretty amazing too. Who knew that such a simple piano progression could sound so beautiful? Certainly not I. Added to that, this is one of his few songs that I can't complain about auto-tune, because he uses it very effectively.



1) Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix) (from Late Registration)

To begin with, I always loved the song Diamonds are Forever, it's such a beautiful song. But when Kanye sampled it, he blew it to pieces, and put the pieces together to form a monument to his greatness. And then, he sold that monument and donated half of it to the Red Cross in Africa (granted, he spent the other half on jewelry, but that's besides the point). This song is just oozing class, from the solidity of its production, to its legitimately meaningful lyricism. Everything just pulls together into a beautiful little package. And then Jay-Z's verse (in the remix) pulls it into a beautiful... ENORMOUS package. I had no trouble putting this as Kanye's greatest song.


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