Personal Log: TJ Dragonblade

I learned fairly recently that Nightwish and Anette parted ways in October. Which is too bad, but c'est la vie and all that. Nightwish isn't hiring a replacement right away, probably won't even start looking (based on a November interview) until sometime next year. In the meantime, they've brought in Dutch singer Floor Jansen to finish out their world tour and other committed engagements. I was curious, so I went looking for videos of her old and current bands to get a feel for her voice. As it turns out, however, YouTube is already well-stocked with smartphone recordings of Nightwish shows with Floor on vocals so I got a better taste of how they mesh than I'd expected. She kind of sits right in between Tarja and Anette, stylistically; I looked up performances of songs from both former singers and she pulls them off impressively, adds a tastefully-balanced bit of her own flavor. And...well. I know she's not likely to end up as the official replacement (even though the way she was introduced in an Australian show a few days ago apparently has rumors flying that she might be), that she's got her own prior committments and projects and her own band and all. But I wouldn't mind being wrong about that; my first impression is that she's a really good fit for the Nightwish sound and style. I mean, when she sings Ghost Love Score with the band and it still gives me the same massive goosebumps despite crappy bootleg sound quality and an very enthusiastic fan right next to the video-taker shouting lyrics along in an off-key monotone? Yeah. I could definitely live with this as a permanent arrangement.

...Also. The Nightwish version of 'The Heart Asks Pleasure First'? Awesome. ♥

Have had this song on loop the past three or four days. Somehow this seemed worth posting about at 3am. In looking up the YouTube link to do so, I discovered that Nightwish--who would probably qualify as my favorite band if I had to pick--has crafted a version of this song, which they included as a b-side to the single they released last March.

Huh.

Too bad iTunes isn't selling the single. May have to go old-school hardcopy on this and buy the actual CD.

Somehow I missed the release of Nightwish's latest album Imaginaerum in November, but remembered that it had been forthcoming and picked it up a couple of months ago. As I understand it, the band has made or is working on a movie by the same name meant as a companion piece to the album, or vice-versa. Or something. I have yet to investigate that side of things, but I thought I may as well share my thoughts on the music.

( Under the Cut )

Ack. I composed most of this a couple-few months back when the album came out and I had it on repeat, but never quite got around to finishing and posting it. It's ended up less a proper review and more a rambling of my impressions.

( Album Review - A Thousand Suns )

Because I couldn't resist slipping in a request on Xpyne's version of the meme:

The first TEN people to comment in this post get to request a drabble of any pairing/character (from one of my usual fandoms) of their choosing from me. In return, they have to post this in their journal, regardless of their ability level. If you absolutely can't write, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to offer drawings or icons or something instead.

On the one hand, I'm going 'Crikey, TEN??' *commitment-phobia* On the other, I'm wondering if there's even that many flist-folk who'd have time to jump on this. So whatever. I haven't done drabble in a very long time, I miss fic writing, and this might be a good opportunity to get a little creativity flowing.

A couple stipulations:
1) I make no guarantee how quickly these will get done.
2) Please give me some sort of quick prompt/scenario for your pairing or character so I've got somewhere to start.

I'll assume that most people who'd read this are familiar with what I'm comfortable writing in Saiyuki, and GW is still fair game. Other fandoms:
- Naruto (willing to try paired, gen, or individual with any of the following: LeeGaa, Kakashi, Iruka, Gai, ShikaChou, the Sand sibs and possibly NaruNeji)
- DS9 - Garak and Bashir
- PSoH - Count D and Leon
- Avatar - anyone gen, or canon pairings (have never attempted/considered attempting fic here, but I'm willing to give it a shot. No guarantees on quality/accuracy, however)

Also, for those who collect music:

Have a 12-track sampling of Doa, a Japanese band whose sound often falls just shy of country-western (more western than country) with a healthy dose of 70's rhythms and vocal harmonies for flavor. Good stuff, and fun.

I should gab about my Friday night class at some point. Some other point. ^_^;

To-Do List, elsewise:
- Clean Leon's tank
- Descriptive paragraph homework for Written Communication
- Beta-work on Wish
- Various fic comments
- Dissect/Reassemble ded laptop for familiarity
- Arrange AJ's playdate for next wkd
- Finish half-done pages for haku_ryuu
- Assorted ficwork

Redoubt is still rumbling in the background of my day-to-day, apparently unable to decide if it's going to blow or not. Boss out of town this weekend means that I'll be on volcano-watch duty. If it blows, I get to come in and ensure that all the servers etc etc are shut down, properly covered, the works. And boot them back up once an all-clear is given. *sigh* Will be OT, at least. Assuming it comes to that. Please, please, if it comes to that, let it not be at like three in the morning... T_T

If you're interested in this ever-so-exciting little bit of Nature's Indecision, feel free to check out the observation webcam. During daylight hours, anyway (sunrise is rather pretty, between 9:30/10:00-ish local time, 13:30/14:00-ish Eastern). Except that you'll not see much of anything last I checked, day or night, because it's been snowed under. Brilliant, right? Well worth the expense of flying someone from the observatory out to set it when the volcano started rumbling, let alone the expense of getting someone back out to clear the snow every time this happens. It's really not funny, I suppose, but I find it no end of amusing all the same. ^_^

Elsewise, briefly:

I've a small music share posted up elsewhere; download link is here for anyone who likes collecting random music.

Songs in the zipfile:

Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster Stronger
Linkin Park - KRWLNG (re-working of the radio single 'Crawling' featuring Aaron Lewis from Staind)
Nat King Cole - Nature Boy
Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah
Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
Foreigner - I Wanna Know What Love Is
Mama Cass - Dream a Little Dream of Me
Nickelback - Gotta Be Somebody
Ishida Akira - Secret - Dareka No Message
Ishida Akira - (counting sheep for 26 minutes)

If you're interested in the Why, see the comm post here.

Also? Saiyuki omake* tracks are still awesome. Especially with translations. ^_^ Though I do need to get ahold of new copies of the tracks from the earliest three vocal albums - my iPod won't play those six tracks all the way through. Or half the Gaiden drama tracks, either. T_T Maybe if I burn them off to CD, and rip them back...nnh. Worth a try, I suppose.

*Whether they're actual omake tracks from Drama CDs, or the stuff from the Party CD, or the 'mini comedies dramas' from the Vocal albums. I tend to refer to them all as omake tracks.

A music post. My flavor of the moment recently has involved a bit of cello rock.

Apocalyptica is a Finnish band that started out as a cello quartet performing Metallica covers several years ago. Benjamin and I thought it was a geekishly cool idea, but their rendition of 'Unforgiven' was really the only one that caught my ear. Recently, I discovered that they've kept on, done more Metallica covers (I need to get my hands on their version of 'Nothing Else Matters'), changed up membership and added some more conventional rockband instrumentation, branched into original stuff, and have recently-ish released an album called 'Worlds Collide' that I went ahead and picked up.

There's a single out, "I Don't Care", that's made an appearance on alt/rock radio in my neck of the woods and is what caught my attention in the first place. Features Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace on vocals, and isn't too bad a song.

"Helden" features Till Lindemann of Rammstein. It's one of the better tracks on the album, imo.

"Stroke" is an awesome instrumental thing that, once it reaches the melody about a minute in, is just a thing of loveliness. The backbeat and bass rhythms would be very annoying by themselves, but underneath the rest of it they just work.

In a similar musical vein, I'm also offering up an extended version of the theme song from 'Angel'. There are elements that I prefer about the TV-size (which I have yet to actually get ahold of), but this is a pretty good version too.

Download links can be found here.

Feel free to come back and share thoughts if you're so inclined. ^_^

Whoops - boarding.

Threads elsewhere have got me ruminating on diversity in fandom and solidarity as fannish people despite that diversity. Which prompts me to go ahead and move on a music post I've been idly composing of late. I am forever applying my fandom experience to music that I hear, testing for echoes of familiarity in the lyrics, the notes, the overall feel of a song. I find a lot of them could be applied to any number of pairings in any fandom, but I tend to apply toward Saiyuki, as that's my prinicipal focus. Even therein, however, I find that a great many songs have themes that could apply to 585 or 393 equally, depending on how a person chooses to interpret. Being more of a 58-oriented fangirl, most of those pairing-ambiguous songs end up on the 585 playlist. However, I have managed to come across a nice manageably-sized handful of songs that definitely strike me as 393. Seeing as how the list is thus manageably sized, and several of you are 393-ers, I figure it's a good share. If you've been hanging around my LJ awhile, chances are good you've seen some of these up before for one reason or another. But you might find something new.

( Songs in the key of 393 )

So that's that. If anyone is inclined to share their own sense of 393 tunes, please do - I'd love to add to my list, or at least explore others' musical impressions and how they see/feel these two.

And, as usual, if I've flubbed any of the links or they're otherwise broken/uncooperative, holler and I'll fix. ^_^

I picked up the soundtracks to Pirates 2 & 3 over the holidays, because despite their over-the-top moments here and there the PotC movies resonate with me on all sorts of levels that I feel more than I can verbalize, and the music is part of that and helps evoke that sense of...joy. Enjoyment. Liking-ness, excitement? *waves hands* Vocab seems to be switched off tonight. But. Hans Zimmer does all manner of awesomeness with musical scores, and these two are no exception. There's a playful epic grandeur that I love about it. Thus. I subject you to a handful of the bits that keep sticking in my head.

Up is Down

One Day

Drink Up Me Hearties

Davy Jones

Wheel Of Fortune

As usual, if links are wrong, yell and I'll fix. Enjoy. ^_^

...Yeah, it's about two months overdue. Not that anyone was actually waiting for my opinion. ^_^;

( Album Review: Nightwish - Dark Passion Play )