The Birthday Massacre- Hide and Seek: One of my favorite goth bands. It's always great to hear something by these guys, and this album is a great representation of why I like them: pulse-pounding industrial synth-backed rock with an emotive female singer, catchy hooks, and great effects. Pretty much every song is great, the energy levels are manipulated perfectly, and the songs all fit together well. If you mourn the loss of Evanescence from the annals of great gothic rock, definitely give this group a listen, you won't regret it. 8.5/10

Anberlin- Vital: Ah yes, more Anberlin is always a good thing. While not their best album, Vital still showcases a sound that remains easily identifiable while evolving in small ways. This definitely lacks a lot of really strong, emotional standouts, at least when compared to their last few albums, but the wall of sound approach they have makes it decently coherent, even across slow, soft songs like "Innocent". Well, I said that, but things pick up in a very subtle way in the second half. So yes, not their best album, and newcomers should check out Cities or Blueprints for the Black Market for a better view of them at their best, but I will always value an album with a strong ending than one with a strong opening and a weak ending. 8/10

Three Days Grace- Transit of Venus: I've always liked 3DG, but this time around, I'm not feeling it, which means either they've changed or I have. There's just something lacking here: the music isn't as intense and emotional, or it's not as powerful, or... something. It's still energetic rock with the same elements as their previous albums, I just don't like it. I dunno. 4/10

Flyleaf- New Horizons: I pretty much know these guys from a single Rock Band track from a few years back. This isn't a great album, but it's got enough going for it that I don't feel I've wasted my time listening to it. I appreciate that, it happens far too infrequently. Anyone who likes goth-ish female-fronted hard rock will definitely want to check Flyleaf out. 6.5/10

Aerosmith- Music from Another Dimension: Aerosmith is one of those bands that was really great once upon a time, and so I keep listening to them, despite the fact that every time they come out with a new album, it reminds me of how far they've fallen since their heyday and how much I wish they would stop making music and just rest on their laurels already. From the outset, this carries a distinctive Aerosmith feeling: the singing, the guitars, pretty much everything is there that would make you go, "Whoa, a new Aerosmith song?" if you heard it on the radio. Except it's slower. Listless. Like they're running on empty, just doing the same thing over and over. Still, I'm glad it sounds more like "Love in an Elevator" than "Just Push Play". Unfortunately, that means it's easy to forget just how old these guys are and pretend they're back in form. If you're a big fan of ignoring inconvenient truths and holding on to the past, this is the album for you. 5.5/10

Dragonette- Bodyparts: She says "my little pony" in track two. This is obviously the best album ever and Dragonette confirmed for brony. Joking aside, I've come to know Dragonette as a purveyor of hip-hop-infused pop-rock, and generally a good listen. And that's a very good description for this album. It's not exactly in the same genre as CHVRCHES or The 1975, but something about the particular way it coheres and the pop sensibility evokes a similar feeling. These songs have a strange propensity to start off rather iffy and then turn out to be great by the end, but it's a blast from start to finish. 8.5/10

Muse- The 2nd Law: This album seems to be a happy medium between the stadium jock rock they've been purveying recently and their early more dreamy, experimental sound. I absolutely adore "Panic Station", given that it sounds like it's a cover of an 80's rock song that I can't quite remember the original artist of. There's a certain Queen-ness to this, for sure. Well, except when they're doing dubstep; I really can't explain that. And I don't know what to make of this, beyond "it's better than their last album". Something of a return to form while keeping their options open, I guess. 6.5/10

Matt and Kim- Lightning: One of my favorite electropunk bands is back! This is definitely missing something, though. I don't hate it, I'm just somewhat nonplussed overall, which is unfortunate, since I typically love Matt & Kim. 5.5/10

Coheed and Cambria- The Afterman: This is actually two separate albums, Ascension and Descension, but given they both share a title and I don't really care about C&C, I'm gonna list them as one. They generally sound like Coheed albums, with a couple decent songs each. Descension is slightly heavier overall, but I actually like it more. I don't get either album and I never will, as far as Coheed and Cambria goes, so have a 5.5/10 for Ascension and a 6/10 for Descension.

All Time Low- Don't Panic: Hey, some fun teenpop punk. I'm enjoying these songs, but I'm not feeling it. I think I may be officially old, in which case this is the most depressing album I have ever listened to. 6.5/10

Haha, forgot again.

Mika- The Origin of Love: I've enjoyed Mika in the past, but long gone are the days of "Lollipop". What this album is lacking is major standouts. There's good songs, yes, but nothing I'm likely to be humming for days on end. "Overrated" comes close, but that's the best I can say for it. That said, there is a nice slew of catchy tunes in the middle, but the lack of a strong opening is definitely not in this album's favor. One song makes a reference to "popular corn" that just has me dying. So this isn't a waste of time, but it could definitely be better. 6.5/10

Pet Shop Boys
Elysium: These albums came out in the last two years. I love when that happens. This is a thoroughly downtempo album that might be a surprise to people expecting dancepop. Like, y'know, me. It's not bad, it's just not terribly exciting. 5/10
Electric: I could imagine these were devised as a sort of dual-concept, the first album soothing and this one invigorating. This definitely has more hallmarks of their classic style, like "Love Is a Bourgeois Construct", but it still isn't what I'd call 'exciting'. At least it's got some energy to it! 6/10

The Killers- Battle Born: That's a pretty metal album title for a band like the Killers. Otherwise, this is a pretty standard album for them. I suppose the nice way to put it is, "If you like the Killers, you'll like this," but honestly, there's nothing notable other than it's yet another decent collection of modern rock. 5.5/10

Ben Folds Five- The Sound of the Life of the Mind: Ah, here was a huge reunion. Being more a fan of Ben Folds' solo work than BFF, however, I'm more or less sitting by intrigued to see what comes of it. I dunno, there's just something about Ben Folds working in a trio that dilutes the pure awesomeness he displays on his own. And while this is definitely wrought with Ben Folds' signature lyrical style, well... "Do It Anyway" I must have heard as a preview or something, because it sounds familiar, and despite that familiarity, it's got a certain laxness about the chorus that I can't help but feel encapsulates my thoughts on the album overall. I do like the one about hearing beards and drawings dicks on the wall. 5/10

No Doubt- Push and Shove: Here's a return I was NOT waiting for. Their last album together was the disappointingly reggaepop Rocksteady, and I'm anticipating more of the same, which is to say, not ska. Yes, once again, "No Doubt" becomes a nostalgic smokescreen hiding yet another Gwen Stefani record, just your standard dancepop-rock with the occasional laconic bassline to tease at the faithful. The No Doubt I once knew and loved is dead, but I don't have to like it. 4.5/10

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12955603/

Hey, check that out! :D You'll be seeing a lot more of that picture in the future!

There is now nothing holding me back from rebooting ILM! (Other than laziness.)

Billy Talent- Dead Silence: I liked their stuff when I first heard them, but I don't think they've made a decent album to date. This is more of their Green Day-but-harder-but-still-political stuff I expect. Definitely a solid album, I'm just not feeling it overly much. 6.5/10

Agnes- Veritas: Agnes is a not-well-known pop artist I've heard quite a few good songs out of. And this is a pretty good collection, but nothing spectacular. If you like dance pop, Agnes is worth checking out; her older song "Release Me" will give you a good idea of what she's capable of. The only thing on this album that comes close would be "Like God". (Sadly, neither of the last two tracks -- "Nothing Else Matters" and "The Unforgiven" -- is a Metallica cover.) 6.5/10

The Script- #3: Why do I bother listening to these guys? They're who you should point to to explain to someone who doesn't listen to the radio what modern pop rock sounds like. They're literally every rock band out there right now, a poor man's Coldplay and not nearly as good. Plus there's a heaping helping of pandering with plenty of rap quasi-religious allusions. A far cry from "Breakeven", which, by the way, is the answer to the question posed at the start of this review. This is just a collection of songs about all the things songs are generally about when CEOs want young people to buy them, and nothing about it made me feel anything but disappointment for wasting my time. 3/10

The punchline is, this album came with a second disc, the first track of which, "Moon Boots" was instantly ten times better than anything that appeared on the album proper.

Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra- Theater Is Evil: I was never big into the Dresden Dolls, but I do like a lot of Amanda Palmer's solo work since then. That said, this feels more like the Dolls than anything. It's a lot of weird music with lyrics rambling about any old thing, really. I do like "Melody Dean", but I've definitely heard better releases from Amanda. 5.5/10

Dave Matthews Band- Away from the World: It's great to hear DMB truly back to form. Even without Leroi, this has a real classic Dave Matthews Band sound, all funky jazz fusion and cool syncopated vocals. This is really a pretty cohesive album, though the energy wanes in a big way toward the end. Still, listening to it made me happy, and that matters for something. 7/10

Hoobastank- Fight or Flight: Kinda can't believe these guys are still around. And I still can't believe it. 4/10

Matchbox 20- North: Hey look, Matchbox 20 put out another album and I don’t think I’ve heard any of these songs on the radio so it must not have done well. The opener is okay, but by the second track, I’m hating this. Matchbox 20 were amazing when they debuted, and then they decided to not be amazing anymore, so everything they’ve done since just disappoints. The dance-rock is just not doing it for me. Unless you listen to radio pop and nothing else, this is garbage. 4.5/10

Toad the Wet Sprocket- New Constellation: So psyched these guys finally got back together. I found out about their reunion, and this album, thanks to a tour stop in my town. Not something that happens often! Of course, I realize in listening to this that I only know TTWS from one (rather amazing) song, and there’s not going to be anything like that here. Still, this is solid alt-rock, and they’re at their best when doing four-part harmonies. “Rare Bird” reminds me of Chicago somehow. The one thing that really caught my attention is the song “I’ll Bet on You”, which is exactly the same as a song called “See You Again”… which it turns out is by TTWS side project Lapdog, so no foul. Let me tell you, that was some frantic Wikipedia-ing I did just now. Anyway, fans of acoustic-heavy alt rock will definitely want to check this out. It’s gentle and uplifting. 7/10

Above and Beyond- Group Therapy: These guys are a great trance duo, and I’m pleased to be hearing this album. This features Zoe Johnston and Richard Bedford on vocal collaborations, and… no one else. Odd, since I’ve never heard of either, but whatever, both are good. I think it’s safe to say that if you like vocal trance, you will like this. Pretty much every track is great. 8.5/10

Plug in Stereo- Nothing to Something: They don’t exactly sound like Dashboard Confessional, but I’m drawing a parallel: acoustic emo punk, albeit occasionally with a female vocalist. Despite the “emo” appellate, this is fairly light fare, emotional but not whiny, just sort of your general teenager stuff. I probably would have enjoyed this more ten years ago; now, a whole album of it is just too much.

Yeah, two journals in one day. Imma try and post these around 10PM my time so I have a cutoff.

Lynyrd Skynyrd- Last of a Dyin' Breed: I don't know why I downloaded this. I've never liked Skynyrd. Maybe it's just the novelty of knowing a classic rock act is still alive and kicking? Worse, this isn't even classic rock; it's "Sweet Home Alabama" Skynyrd and I think I just got roped into listening to a country album. 4/10

Markus Schulz- Scream: It's not often I find full-length albums from electronic producers, and I feel like this is the first I've run across from Schulz. This of course features a lot of collaborations, mostly with vocalists I've never heard of, but the lineup does include Ferry Corsten, Elevation, Aruna and Mark Frisch. This is a good collection of trance music, with a lot to like, if not necessarily altogether memorable. It's definitely worth a listen for electronica fans. 7/10

Alanis Morisette- Havoc and Bright Lights: I have to keep reminding myself that Jagged Little Pill will never happen again. Alanis has gone dance, more or less. Admittedly, the last thing I heard out of her was a cover of Seal's "Crazy" on her greatest hits album, and that was pretty good. Still, she doesn't seem to have progressed much as far as sound goes from post-Pill works. There's some good stuff on this, but it's awfully dour overall. Still enjoyable, but I don't suspect I'll remember it in a month. 6.5/10

Circa Survive- Violent Waves: I know I've listened to Circa Survive before, but apparently I don't have any songs by them. That might be why I'm having no feelings about this. They're a decent rock act, and that's about all I can say. I did like a track or two, but this is more or less the epitome of forgettable. 4.5/10

Two Door Cinema Club- Beacon: You know, these guys are a pretty good indie rock band, but I'm not paying terribly much attention to this. This definitely has the problem of a lackluster opening and a slowdown in the middle, but otherwise it's got some good tracks and like I said, this is a good band and the singer has a nice, clear voice. Maybe not their best work, but worth a listen. 6.5/10

(Post-dated 'cuz I shoulda posted this last night!)

Now that I have finally listened to the entire internet, I can get back into actual albums. :B I started doing these textual reviews late last year on my Tumblr but since not everyone necessarily wants to wade through the mixture of pony junk and politics that happens there, I figure the least I could do is crosspost here.

Soul Asylum
These guys are best known for a couple of songs from the mid-90's, most notably "Runaway Train", "Black Gold" and "Misery". I listened to one of their albums way back when (Grave Dancer's Union?) and was not impressed, but here's the rest, I guess, for no particular reason.
Say What You Will, Clarence... Karl Sold the Truck: Like all good alt rock bands, Soul Asylum started off as a shouty, not particularly talented punk band. This is flat-out pretty bad. 3/10
Made to Be Broken: More punk, but improved. Sounds a lot like early Goo Goo Dolls or the Replacements (who were essentially the same group, sound-wise). Still nothing standout-wise, but improvement is good. 5/10
While You Were Out: According to the tags, this came out in 1986, the same year as Broken, and I've got no way of telling how true that is, nor which might have come first. This one definitely feels like it might have been the predecessor, as it's more raw, like Say What You Will. It's still an improvement, and they're obviously toying with more melodic fare, but I prefer Broken. 4/10
Hang Time: Definitely more solid on the songwriting front, but feels like treading water. "Twiddly Dee" is the first of their songs that catches my attention, entirely because it's a goofy, high-spirited acoustic piece. What. 4.5/10
And the Horse They Rode in On: A slow metamorphosis into the sound they're better known for. I kind of like "Easy Street". 5.5/10
The Silver Lining: Skip ahead 16 years... whiplash. Everything's polished and alt-rock. It doesn't really stand out or anything, though, and if there's one thing I can say about Soul Asylum, it's that they've never stood out at anything. I do like "Lately", "Bus Named Desire" and "Slowly Rising", though. 5.5/10
Delayed Reaction: This is from 2012 and likely the reason I got the discography. I must not be a huge Soul Asylum fan; this just sounds like stuff and even the songs I like -- "Gravity", "Pipe Dream" -- I don't like all that much. Like I said, they've never really stood out at anything. 5.5/10

Passion Pit- Gossamer: Passion Pit is a name I've come to associate with good indie dance rock. And while this has all the earmarks of their style, I had to remind myself that I've only ever had singles of theirs, and never a whole album. The outset is pleasant but unremarkable and nothing really stands out until the middle. It definitely gets better toward the end; well, it could certainly serve as an introduction to the group, at least. 6/10

In This Moment- Blood: Ugh, what the hell happened to ITM? The title track is just horrid. The vocals are like screamed rapping, and it sounds like the vocalist is brand new, though that doesn't seem to be the case. This is not the high-energy, soaring goth metal that drew me to Beautiful Tragedy. "Burn" is more like what I'm looking for, but it's still beset by screaming. I am unspeakably disappointed in this album. 4.5/10

Owl City- The Midsummer Station: Wow, finally catching up with Owl City! This is one that has "Good Time". At least I'm prepared for a paradigm shift this time, Owl City having taken up a summer pop feel and why am I telling you this everyone knows this album by now. But yeah, he kind of sounds like everything else on the radio now instead of the twee pop sensation he started out as. I like radio pop, but it is kind of disappointing, though the song he did on the Wreck-It Ralph soundtrack was in this style and totally amazing. Still, he's getting me to add a Carly Rae Jepsen song to my collection, so it's not like I can deny the infectiousness of pop stylings. I'm pleased to see Mark Hoppus on this, too. 6.5/10

Bloc Party- Four: This is a very rough and edgy release from Bloc Party. Granted, I didn't come into this expecting to get it, per se, but it definitely feels like they're trying a new direction. There are a couple good tracks, "Truth" in particular is really great, but, yeah, it's just not my thing. 5.5/10

The Darkness- Hot Cakes: OH GOD YES THE LONG AWAITED RETURN. It starts off slow, then we get a pause and Justin Hawkins screams "Suck my cock!" and I'm going, "Yeah, yeah, baby, they're back." And then the second track brings in the energy and the waily Queen-esque chorus and yeahhhhh... It's good. This combines the mature songwriting of their sophomore album with the cheekiness that made their debut so much fun. It falls in between the two in terms of quality, and that's a swing and a hit for me. "Forbidden Love" is one of their best songs ever. 8.5/10

Why it's  anthrogh!

He's got a four-track EP in his gallery right now that's sure to please fans of hard trance and dubstep. :)

Why do I post these here lol :V

There's a warning on it, but I'll just reiterate that this is full of suggestive language, bad words, and people acting terrible.

Also hilarious(ly bad?) impressions by me.

Once again, featuring our own  annodam and  hannitheliger. Tons of great music.

If there's one thing I've realized over the last two years, it's that if you're a content provider who doesn't provide content, you will fall into irrelevance.

So I don't think anyone's gonna read this BUT IF YOU DO

I'm not going anywhere. But I also question my involvement here. Really, why do I keep hanging around? Well, the quick answer is artists I can't follow anywhere else, mostly musicians.

But while I can expect maybe a few more comments on this journal than my last dozen or so, just because it's topical, I don't expect there are more than a single-digit number of people actively following me here anymore. And I don't blame them; I've reneged on my end of the deal, and I'm no longer relevant.

I'm planning on changing that, of course, but I wonder if it's worth the effort to try and rebuild myself here, if anyone will even notice.

Anyway, all these "Leaving FA" blogs made me realize that I don't know half of the artists I'm following. And especially if they blank their gallery, there's no way for me to know if it's worth clicking that link to DA or Tumblr to keep following them. (There's no way I'm using Weasyl.)

So what I'm trying to say is, I might not be very active as anything but a watcher here. I've got plans to release the two episodes of ILM I've had recorded for the last two years here, if only because they're gonna still be furry-centric and more or less like the old stuff.

But after that? Format change and YouTube. So you'll have more luck following me there. There's also my Tumblr, which is even more active but far less focused. If you like ponies, I'm very active on Fimfiction.

Or you can just watch me eat vegan soy jerky.

Yeah, so I decided with the format change coming up (spoilers: I'm planning a format change for ILM if I ever get off my ass and finish the three episodes I'm sitting on) that I'm gonna start doing mini-reviews on tumblr, for the sake of having something to post.

You can find the first one here. These are likely to be rather frequent, unless I'm not listening to new music (music adds, etc.)

First, you might want to check out my Pokemon Adventure Challenge tumblr, which features a daily recounting of my activities, in-character.

No really, go check it out. You might be surprised.

Otherwise, here's my friend code: 2938-6688-6978

I've actually never looked at a friend code journal before so I have no idea how they do this. I literally learned how to find the thing this morning. c.c I'm old.

After nearly 15 years in this fandom (jeezus) and getting to a point where I more or less don't care about it anymore...

I went ahead and spent a bunch of money on a reference sheet commission so I could update my fursona's look. <.<

You can find it here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11721009/

That is literally the worst song I have ever heard.

Okay, worst since Friday.

Have something that's not only got better furry designs, but is worth listening to:

Don't ignore this: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/pe.....-2013/LMzMVrQF

We did it once, we can do it again.

I just read a book about how SOPA was defeated last time. The biggest thing I took away from it is call your congresspeople. And don't stop calling them. It's hard (I didn't do it back then; I might now), but it's what makes them stand up and take the most notice.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4925623/

I don't often do this, but  finnie is having a little contest and will be giving away free plushes! She's quite honestly got some of the best pony plushies I've seen, and I just got back from Bronycon, so that's saying something. (And it's not just ponies either, but that's what I'm interested in.)

Go check her out!

So I've started doing this thing on YouTube where I purchase exotic foreign foods like Branston Pickle and then record myself taking my first taste of them.

I just did Marmite.*



You can find more on my channel. This is only the third one. :B

*Which is to say, I just uploaded it. This was probably recorded back in September.

I was just randomly given one of their books, and after looking them up on Goodreads, it would seem they're a furry writer. Anyone I know?

I just noticed I topped 300 watchers recently.  uk_wolfie was #300!

And this after I've done nothing but post journals for the last year. I really want to change that, but things are moving slowly.

Of course, I'm also afraid that once I get ILM back up and running, no one's going to care. Am I even relevant anymore? Was I ever? Does anyone out there care?

You know, I'm not certain I did this last time. And it was just like, three months ago that I did another music add. Well, here's the new crop of songs what I liked, to anyone who cares:

 huepow00- Chaos Elohim (Afro mix), J to-the E to-the H to-the JEH, Nik to the 3rd
 wolfgun- Fire, Projections, The Woods, Tombstone, Where the Stars Belong
 icewolf747- Guitar Mist
Melodosis- Into the Stars

 annodam- A whole bunch of pony stuff I forgot to keep track of lol oops.
 asher-the-firefox- Twitch's Theme
 aurea- The Gateway, Powell
 chicago-lollie- Out With the New
 colson- No Guns
 corbinbusker- Tell You
 foxamoore- Starry Destination (feat. Colson), The Warriors Dance (feat. Wolfer and merinawish)
 fredrikmiller- Arcadia, Helios, Sunlight
 glaze- Supernatural (Glaze remix)
 granitetail- Lost, Alive (Friendly Beastly Coyote Bootleg)
 grapefruitbat- The Other Side (Grapefruitbat remix)
 hannitheliger- Babs Seed (JayB's Bath Seat remix), Elektronik, Thank You for Your Subscriptions, Penjelajahan (JayB remix)
kazza- Windmills, All the King's Men
kennyfur- Supernatural
luchs- Dance in the Moonlight (feat. asianeko)
megawolf77- Hyperdrive Wingz, Altocumulus (LiteSkyDream mix), Dream Savers
nobuyuki- Theme of 10
orange- Hybrid
ranzor- The Lights (Ranzor remix)
renardv- Great Expectations, Down Lo, NAMx (Booty Heaven mix), Woodgrain
shadowwolfen- For You
tehloy- The Lights (TeHLoy remix)
x-volt- Icarus
zuelo-b-riddick- Tranceless

Wolfgun gets the Best New Artist award (though DJ EAR was close!), while I think Annodam actually beat out Hannitheliger for Best Overall. But, since I'm dumb, you'll just have to take my word on that.

I sure didn't add that much in the way of furry music this time. <.< Has quality fallen? Have my standards increased? Are the bronies just doing that much better? Only time will tell. I need to add more musicians to my watchlist though. :B

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4633950/

All the info is there!

Yeah, I still do those! Even if I don't publish them anywhere at the moment. (That may change soon!)

So  hali put out a call to his mailing list, to leave reviews of his albums on places like CDBaby and Amazon. I had one sitting around that hadn't made its way into ILM yet (go fig), so I obliged him.

And since I posted it online, it won't be going into the podcast ever. So you lot can check it out here.

And listen to The Lives of Dexter Peterson! It's a great album. :D