What annoyed you today?

[MatthewV]

I plan to get in on engineering work. SolidWorks or CAD/CAM type stuff.

And then switching to pottery. :-)

But I am not in a super hurry either. I want to leave Fairbanks in September-October. But because of this girl, I might get distracted and take a South American detour for a few months.

But then again, I might jump on the right opportunity in New Zealand.

[Talitha]

You weren't one of the ones who got through the visa application & made payment, only to be rejected were you? Just saw this story & the government decided to accept 306 extra applications:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10804770

I'm sure Sth America wouldn't muck you around like this

[Death Mage]

Having to wait an extra half hour to pick up a limited edition of a game that came out tonight becuase the workers couldn't find the copies - that were sitting in a box next to the desk the entire time.

And yet at least one other store locally was in worse shape - their copies were stuck in receiving, they hadn't been checked in so they couldn't sell them at all.

And another store didn't get any in at all, limited or otherwise.

As bad as my situation was, at least I walked home with a copy.
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[Deception]

Fell for another girl now but I keep forgetting to hit on her D:

I'm just really busy but it's getting annoying and I think she thinks that I don't like her.

[Jedo the Jedi]

Is there another major release than Diablo III?
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Paragon Tally: 18 mafia, 3 SKs (1 twice), 1 cultist, numerous chat scum...and counting.

[jesternl]

Max Payne III

[Deception]

[Jedo the Jedi]

Those definitely aren't worthy of a midnight release on the scale Death Mage was talking.
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Paragon Tally: 18 mafia, 3 SKs (1 twice), 1 cultist, numerous chat scum...and counting.

[Gomez]

I'm currently suffering from an extremely painful and irritating case of shingles and, like a good little hypochondriac, I've been googling my balls off trying to learn as much as I can about this nasty little disease so I can try and stay one step ahead when it comes to treatment, because shingles doesn't always respond to the first medicine prescribed, so it's best to be informed about alternatives.

It's some of these "alternatives" which are pissing me off. The sheer volume of mindbogglingly asinine drippy-hippy, drug-companies-Я-the-evulz, woo-woo glurge out there is enough to fill Wikipedia a dozen times over. Homeopathy, cupping, reflexology, tulip oil, burying a fucking potato in the back garden and then rubbing it on your face during a full moon, the list of trite, hokey "natural remedies" and unsubstantiated old wives tales seems to stretch on forever.

Get it straight, assholes: An "Alternative" treatment is, by definition, something that has either (a) not been proven to work, or (b) has been proven not to work. Do you know what they call alternative medicine that's been proven to work? MEDICINE!!

Honestly, I know my Google-fu could stand a little improvement, but I had to wade through about eighty pages of this crap before I found anything useful. Stupid drippy-hippy idiots and their "fight the man" bullshit natural remedies. For every one person who gets a placebo benefit from this drivel, there's probably a hundred who got worse because they were too busy glugging echinacea or smearing chinese root potion on their faces to make an appointment with their doctor.

The worst thing is that people who believe in this stuff really tend to believe it. I've got a very good friend who's rather enamoured with homeopathy at present. I've lost count of the number of times I have sat down with her and patiently and respectfully demolished every single argument in its favour. Once, I even bought some homeopathic pills and swallowed the whole bottle in front of her, the reasoning being that real medicine would have side-effects. Did it make a difference? Did it bollocks. Explaining the flaws in alternative medicine to a true believer is like showing a dog a card trick, all you do is baffle it and rile it up. Total waste of time and money, all of it.

[The Great Crep'er]

Typing up a long post in a mafia game and not getting to even post it because right when I'm ready to hit submit, the mod decides to call it night and lock the thread! *hits head repeatedly against the wall*

Although in light of the post above me, admittedly I don't have as much to complain about as others.

[Courk]

Not a fan of the dents and holes that adorn my house now.

[Jedo the Jedi]

Having to figure out where, how, and what I need to get a tetanus booster. At least the receptionists were patient and helpful.
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Paragon Tally: 18 mafia, 3 SKs (1 twice), 1 cultist, numerous chat scum...and counting.

[Deception]

Remembering how good Nicki Minaj was before she got famous.

NICKI A DEAD PERSON CAN'T USE A PHONE

[Scurra]

I had never come across that person (I hesitate to call her a singer) until literally a week ago; as I am middle-aged, I lost track of "chart" music years ago. (Hence my weakness on that subject in pub quiz scenarios.)

I am not sure what the song was called, although the video was diabolically terrible, because I couldn't get over how she couldn't sing even with the help of Autotune (although she did the "rapping" bit quite well.) I grant you that the song itself was quite catchy, and she was quite a charismatic performer, but I was spending all my time wondering what it would have been like if someone with talent had been performing it.

I don't especially blame her for the fact that Autotune seems to have infected every record made in the last five years or so. I know it's a classic "grumpy old men" complaint that all modern music sounds the same, but for me it is genuinely starting to be the case.

edit: I have looked it up and I believe the song was called Starships although what that had to do with anything is beyond me...
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_{still Quiz Olympiad champion. Must get a life.
New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[itisally*]

I saw a video with her the otherday as well. I was genually horrified by what they called dancing as it looked more like gyrating to me. I agree that she seemd to be more of and entertainment/shock factor than real talent.

I wonder about what the use of MP3s has done to music as convering to that format filters out the hermonics to save data space. To me it makes the music sound flat, but some of the younger folks thinks that the music I listen to on tape, regular CD or record sounds busy.

And really if you can't sing in tune without digital assistance you, like me, should be limited to the bars!

[Death Mage]

She wrote and performed a song to which the bulk of the lyrics were "you a stupid ho you a you a stupid ho". I don't care if it was a serious attempt or a parody, anyone who writes that does not have any talent to speak of.

And yea, if you can't sing without autotune, you can't sing. You should not be paid to do so.
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[Deception]

Guys guys guys...

Death Mage: Rap isn't about singing.. it's about lyrics, flow, and clever rhyming. And yes, since she has joined young money she has produced a lot of crap. Stupid Hoe was a great example of that, though for the record it was a diss tape for another female rapper.

For the record: Starships is about being young and spreading your wings, so to speak.

Not sure how much hip hop you guys can tolerate but..

Pink Nicki songs which reflect her old style
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fijV5aEBVSM&feature=relmfu
(not her old style, but she in this song admits to changing for money and misses when she used to always to real rap)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdB_5tGpH4g
(kanye kinda kills it but so does nicki)

Underground Nicki:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j4yZorkLSk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O358Qgs_U9U&feature=related

Heads up: Swearing is in every song, but less so in the new Nicki songs I guess

If you don't like hip hop you probably won't appreciate the technicalities of underground nicki minaj but at least now you know the difference. Starships is super catchy but it isn't rap it's pop. It just makes me sad because she had tons of talent and wasted it. She still shows it in features but it's not quite the same.

Once again: Rap isn't about ability to sing or have a pretty voice: It's about lyricism and technical rapping such as flow and clever rhyming. If you don't appreciate that you won't appreciate hip hop. Not saying everyone should appreciate it but just saying. I'm an educated upper-middle class white guy who loves philosophy and logic and I find great value in a lot of this music. No stereotypes please

I should stop here because I could unload tons of hip hop on you guys of all influences from Jazz to Pop in an attempt to make hip hop look mature and skillful to you guys, but I don't think anyone really has time to listen so I will resist the urge and accept everyone has different tastes in music.

[Deception]

Okay I'm just going to post one other song to compare to Nicki Minaj.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_f35N2YXQQ

This song is one of the greatest songs in rap history in my opinion, but to express: If Pete Rock (the artist of this song) has the technical rapping ability of 10, Nicki Minaj has an ability of 8. She has a lot of skill - just isn't utilizing it.

P.s. this song has no swearing I think. Also you get the most enjoyment out of good rap by listening to the lyrics mostly and you get the most enjoyment out of bad rap by listening to the beat mostly.

[Death Mage]

Being able to craft a clever rhyme is nothing new. It's called "poetry" (or rather, a form of it) and has been going on since the beginning of the spoken language. What is supposed to set "hip hop" apart is that it mixes the lyrics with music. And to do that, one must also be talented in, well, MUSIC. There are artists who can mold both the spoken word and a good tune together. But this genre in particular seems mostly devoid of such talent. What songs do have good music that music is usually "sampled" from other songs. Or "plagiarized", whichever sounds more appropriate to you.

If you wish to just illistrate your talent with crafting the perfect set of rhymes, but you can't sing or hold a tune to save your life, your circuit should be in poetry readings. Not in badly computer-corrected toneless "music"

And I maintain that "you a stupid hoe you a you a stupid hoe" is in no way, shape, or form, good flow or clever rhyming. It is the epitome of lazy and insulting.
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[Deception]

Rap is about flow, it's about storytelling, it's about expressing ideas. Listen to the link in post 3458 if nothing else. Tell me you don't like it.

You gotta understand that Lil wayne and Tyga and that stuff isn't rap really. Nicki is the only one of them that's legit but she sold out (I respect her though cus i know she has skill and she needs to get her money she deserves it)

[MatthewV]

Folk music is also about storytelling. Actually, every genre with lyrics has storytelling. So the downbeat really is what rap is about in my opinion.

And I did listen to the song in post 3458. It just wasn't bad but I didn't really enjoy it either. I doubt I will listen to it again or seek out more songs by this artist.

[Jack_Ian]

I can appreciate pretty much any genre once it's performed with skill.
I never really rated Nicki Minaj though, as I always considered her to be more form than content.
Although her style seems to be her own and her lyrics inventive, especially with her use of current slang terms, she still seems to me to be on the catchy-but-shallow shelf, along with previous incarnations like Vanilla Ice.
I don't hear any innovation or depth, just a well-polished filtration of a genre made fit for the masses.
There's not even any danger or rawness. And rap without some form of danger or heartfelt angst is just manufactured commercial pulp.

P.S. Ever heard her in an interview? Not the sharpest tool in the box.

[Jedo the Jedi]

The one rap I can tolerate is Fortminor...sometimes.*

The rap these artists do is even less impressive because it was all pre-written. I still don't like it much and find it to be a much lower art-form, but at least freestyle means they are quick-thinking enough to match the style of rhythm and rhyme. Of course, sometimes they can't do it so well, so they "cheat" (in my view) by rhyming things like "word" and "obscure."

I think Jack_Ian's last two lines are important. I feel like most rappers want people to think they are from some horribly oppressed, terrible background, but they aren't. And plenty of other genres do a better job of telling story (and rhyming ).

*My favorite because he demonstrates self-awareness: "Heart full of pain, head full of stress, handful of anger held in my chest. And everything left is a waste of time. I hate my rhymes I hate everyone else's more."
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Paragon Tally: 18 mafia, 3 SKs (1 twice), 1 cultist, numerous chat scum...and counting.

[Admiral Ackbar*]

It's a rap!

[Deception]

Stereotypes which are only relevant to 2012 mainstream rappers are fun aren't they?

Nas, 50 cent, Biggie, Jay Z, Pete Rock are the top 5 rappers almost unanimously by the hip hop community. They were big in 90s and early 2000s.

The problem is that you don't know what skill is in rap.

Folk music is about storytelling? What type of story telling? Does it use raps' flow, raps' rhyming? Is there political folk? What does it discuss? Does folk have beats or make references to other folk songs?

Seriously MatthewV, every genre is different; rap isn't just about money/hoes and I think that rock sounds the same and is 90% about being a loser who can't get a girl but you don't see me writing off the whole genre as bad.

Finally...

Jedo:

1) Most rap is not pre written. Lots of YMCMB (Lil' wayne's record group) is for wayne/tyga/sometimes minaj, but most rappers (even taylor gang which is the other big mainstream record label) don't ghost write. Dr Dre did it for a while in the early 2000s and took tons of flak for it - it's not the norm.

2) Rap isn't about being horribly oppressed. I'll start by pointing out that most rappers from 90s and early 2000s were horribly oppressed. Nas is from brooklyn and had a shit life. 50 cent had people who were dying outside his house. Believe it or not, but LA and NYC areas weren't good places and still aren't. Mac Miller is a new artist who is a white guy who didn't grow up awful and he doesn't rap like he did. In fact, most rappers who aren't hoodrats don't pretend to be. Some do, but most don't.

3) Every genre cheats in so many ways, even shakesphere cheated! Shakespeare would rhyme words like "see" and "sea", or "henceforth" and "sore". Inb4 Shakespeare sucks.

4) Your opinion. I think every form of rock I've listened to has no deep meaning and is very bland. I think that rock/country/folk don't rhyme/storytell well and I think that classical is overrated by people who don't know how to appreciate classical music. Jazz is good though. Inb4 jazz sucks because people who didn't have crappy lives and do heroin try to play it. Rap has a style to it. It emphasizes the beat and it gets you pumped up. There is also no other genre you can consistently play basketball to

[Deception]

also what's wrong with poetry emphasizing the words, as opposed the notes/music?

anyway lets stop talking about this, because we just have different tastes and I dont want to argue about this anymore.

[MatthewV]

[MatthewV]

Deception, one similarity I would like to point out is that the artists we consider to be "very good" are also not current in the mainstream/commercial sense. Rap very well may have been the best music to come from the 1990's.

I grew up listening to what my parents had and not what was popular at the time. The music each person listens to becomes part of you.

[Death Mage]

[Scurra]

[DF*]

As someone who is generally bewildered by the appeal of "rap" and not even sure what "hip/hop" is, can someone tell me where Eminem's Lose Yourself fits in the genre?

[Deception]

[Zag]

My issue with hip-hop is that the lyrics are not good enough poetry that you'd ever want to read it, and the melody, such as it is, is not something you'd ever want to listen to by itself. It is usually so repetitive and driving that it becomes annoying quickly (IMHO).

Consider this song, or, I should say, this poem which is recited with music in the background. I agree that the music itself is pretty boring, but it does help set the melancholy mood that the lyrics portray. The lyrics I would stack up against any poetry anywhere, whether set to music or not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXxPzqk4dDU

[Death Mage]

*gives Zag a gold star sticker*

That said, Lose Yourself is indeed a damn good song as well.

But, when I think of music, I think of music. Or this. Or even this. But must artists today just have no originality.
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[Dread Pirate Westley]

Yes, originality is difficult to come by in music these days.

[Zag]

[Deception]

1) The songs you guys are posting are really cool, I like most of them.

2) Rate these lyrics on a scale of 1-10, im curious (i've c/pd and deleted lyrics like 6 times trying to pick the right song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWJ0I-C1o5A

[MNOWAX]

When I think of Original enjoyable Music, I tend to go all over the place

(and I have seen each and every one of those bands live ( in the case of the drifters, what was left of them in 2006)
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The Man The Myth The Legend
MNOWAX

[MNOWAX]

[MatthewV]