Wednesday, April 25, 2012

I Audio Feel Ya Audiophilia...

Audiophile - a person in pursuit of the perfect quality of sound, usu. desperate enough to spend gobs of money on quality sound systems to vintage phonographs.

Why did I choose to blog about audiophiles? Because I have the same knack for quality. No, I'm not the guy who is just in pursuit of Beats, I am also after the sound of the song itself like most others.

This doesn't mean I am an audiophile. First of all, I don't have the money. Next, I don't have the time. Lastly, I don't have the amount of fucks to give necessary for me to enjoy it. Though my ears may be sensitive, it doesn't mean they are not open.

Call me an anti-audiophile which is completely different from an audiophobe. An audiophobe fears sound and would completely cut off his ears faster than Peter did with a Roman soldier. An anti-audiophile is also not to be mistaken for a guy who hate audiophiles.

My definition of an anti-audiophile is someone who loves any form of sound but has a weird preference to a deliberate assault on the eardrums. Think of guys who like metal, BROstep (not to be mistaken for dubstep,. more on that on later blogs), lo-fi, experimental, and the like. Of course, with metal, hard rock, hardcore, screamo, death metal and what not, it's usually the sheer emotion, and brutal frankness of the lyrics & message, coupled with the adrenaline-defying guitar shreds, and heavy drum poundage. For others that are pure music, and no lyrics, well, guys like me are in it for DAT SOUND; the sound of pure angst, rage, anxiety, and hatred in the world in which we translate to indefinite bliss and escape. Or maybe, we just have a different ear.

One that can understand the chaos. One that can appreciate a blatant disregard for noise and distortion. It's gotten to the point where I enjoy the sounds of construction workers, microphone feedbacks, bass guitar slides, violin shrieks, human violence, creaky furniture, ballpen springs, basement generators, motorcycle and automobile engines (who wouldn't like the roar of a good chopper or supercar once in a while), wub-wubs, clanks, beeps, whirrs, sprangs, booms, and the other cacophony around us. Other than being a total stress reliever for me, it also inspires me to be myself in a way.

Take these which have always been my de-stressing tracks. Ventolin is a drug which has the unfortunate side-effect of tinnitus a.k.a. ringing in the ears.


And let's try this one from Mr. Tobin, made out of lions and faulty stringed instruments.


Lastly, pure dubstep filth made out of a chainsaw.


One person's noise is another man's eargasm. This is just my way of saying music is subjective. Of course, this is only one side of my musical tastes, you'll see more of 'em in a bit. I need my daily dose of noise now.


A Whole New World

It must've been some time since I blogged. Time to figure out how this new interface works...

Thursday, April 12, 2012

CHALLENGES ACCEPTED

You remember this post? Something did happen. Something too depressing for words... but mostly because it is promised to be kept secret. Time went slower, walks became longer, summer became hotter, and shit became way too bad to be real. I would like to think it was some sort of April Fool's gimmick. I lost a roommate. College claimed its first victim.

Surely, it'll take some getting used to but I guess it's time for me... rather, us, to change. To be more productive and pursue what we aimed to do together: Blue Hour, Radio.Active, The Final Score, our indie video series, novels, and whatevers. Wherever you are, make us proud out there! We'll be trying our best to make you proud of us too. What matters is that all lessons are learned... by all of us. Heck, I might even be taking this harder than the guy himself. Here I am, eating myself alive yet again with the past and his good friend nostalgia.

All hope is not lost. But for now I shall


lie down in darkness. I feel somehow... destroyed.

Monday, April 9, 2012

(22) Days of Summer

So yeah, me and my big mouth are about to list down the things I did during my 3 weeks of summer vacation:

1. Made a music video for my roommates' extra credit for Theology.
2. Booked an online flight, messed up with the dates.
3. Boarded *** at about **:** *.M. on ***** **, 20** en-route to ***.
4. Slept for 8 HOURS STRAIGHT in the flight.
5. Felt that "AMERICAN COLD" I've been missing so much.
6. Ate at a Japanese restaurant. (Okazu Ya)
7. Slept over my cuz's place.
8. Ate at a Vietnamese restaurant. (I forgot the restaurant...)
9. Bought a CD of Florence + The Machine's Ceremonials for...
10. Played some Borderlands, Rainbow 6: Vegas 2, and Generals: Zero Hour co-op!
11. Went to the Palm Sunday mass at a Catholic church. (Palms here have only ONE STALK.)
12. Noticed each person has their own songbook and that responses here are slightly different. (e.g. The Lord be with you... And with your spirit.)
13. Ate at a Middle Eastern restaurant. (Filafil)
14. Discovered that California's number one foreign residents are Indian.
15. Discovered  that there are more Filipinos here than Mexicans and Chinese people.
16. Installed an antivirus and updated Windows.
17. Discovered how freakin' fast the internet is here!
18. Exploited number 17 for the rest of our stay.
19. Ate American. (Fuddruckers)
20. Ate Filipino food at relative's place where we're staying (i.e. EVERYDAY!)
21. Went to the core of APPLE at Cupertino and got myself an iPod Classic. (No iPads for me, thank you very much...)
22. Ate at a Mexican restaurant. (Rubio's)
23. Attended Maundy Thursday service.
24. Had the Sacrament of Reconciliation at Good Friday.
25. Ate at an Italian restaurant. (Olive Garden)
26. Attended the 7 last words and Good Friday service.
27. Survived numbers 1-26 without eating meat due to Holy Week. (Well, except for April 3: Carl Jr's... I was weak.) Challenge accepted...
Breakdown:
*March 30 (A Friday) - Japanese (Salmon, Sushi, Raw Shrimp, and Miso Soup)
*March 31 - Vietnamese (Beef Plate with Pho-Hoa) Not counted yet...
*April 1 - Middle-Eastern (Lamb Plate with Hummus) Still doesn't count...
*April 2 - American (Salmon burgers, peanuts, salad) It begins...
*April 3 - Outlet Deli (Avocado, Mushroom sandwich with cheese.) and yeah Carl Jr's. soon after... STAINED
*April 4 - At home all-day (Sinigang na hipon, Bagels, Salmon, Tinapa, Mixed Vegetables)
*April 5 - Mexican (FISH TACOS) In your face!
*April 6 - Italian (Seafood pasta and Minestrone) So far... still cleansed.
*April 7 - VICTORY!, BIRTHDAY!, BUFFET! Arguments are now invalid.
*April 8 - BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF UNCLE! Challenge completed with minimum casualties.
*All other meals were at home and mainly consisted of either mini-donuts, seafood, bagels, candy or vegetables.
28. Had birthday at Berkeley docks (H.S. Lordships)
29. Got secondhand BEATS! (Close enough.)
30. Purchased a pre-order of Borderlands 2!
31. Attended Easter Vigil which was combined with Baptism and Confirmation of recently converted Catholics.
Breakdown:
7:00 PM - Arrived at Church
*Realized it starts at 8 so waited for an hour but got the best seats in the house.
8:00 PM - Lights out, people out, candles lit
8:15 PM - Get back inside for the Easter vigil proper.
8:30 PM - Let there be light! Mass starts...
9:00 PM - Baptism of 33 PEOPLE starts... (Each person is drenched in 3 pitchers full of water, what a show!)
10:00 PM - Confirmation of 15 PEOPLE starts... (So... they aren't slapped in the face after the oil. Back in my country...)
10:30 PM - Mass resumes...
11:00 PM - Mass finally ends.

*In short, 5 hours in the Church! Memorable holy week, vacation, and birthdays indeed!

32. Went back home. Okay...