Music Releases and Updates for 4/30/2021

 Last week featured some good previously-unheard music from John Lennon’s boxset, a great new single from Ariana Grande and The Weeknd, a great single from K.Flay, a good collaboration between Becky G and Natti Natasha, a single from Joe Bonamassa announcing a new live album and there was also the first single from the film adaptation of “In The Heights,” an earlier musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the film will also feature Anthony Ramos.  There was also a fun EP from J-Pop artist Sumire Uesaka.  Def Leppard also released their first singles for an upcoming 3-disc set and K.Flay is going to tour next year in February and March, including a show at The Showbox, a Seattle venue I’ve not been to before, so I’m hoping to buy a ticket to that tomorrow.

 

This week has four releases I’m looking forward to and I hope they continue the trend of quality I’m finding.

 

Mick Fleetwood and Friends-Peter Green Tribute: Peter Green was a British Blues Guitarist who helped found Fleetwood Mac and wrote some of its early hits, like “Stop Messing Around” and “The Green Manalishi With the Two-Pronged Crown,” which were covered by Aerosmith and Judas Priest, respectively.  He died last July, but this show was made in February 2020, so he must’ve been in failing health.  This features Mick Fleetwood and Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr’s son and current drummer for The Who) as part of the main band, while guests appear to sing, play guitar or both.  Some of these guests include Pete Townshend, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame, Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac itself and even Kirk Hammett of Metallica.

 

Gary Moore-How Blue Can You Get: A Blues album from late Blues Singer/Guitarist Gary Moore, featuring some originals and some covers, like “Done Somebody Wrong,” which was performed by The Allman Brothers Band in 1971 at their concerts.  The song “In My Dreams” was a good single for the album and I’m hoping the rest of it lives up to that quality.

 

Pink Floyd-Live at Knebworth 1990: A live performance from Psychedelic Rockers Pink Floyd, recorded at the Knebworth music festival.  At this point, the band’s leader was David Gilmour, so most of the music reflects what he wrote or sang for the band in its heyday, such as “Money,” “Wish You Were Here” and “Comfortably Numb.”  It seems like a fun listen regardless of whether you’re on the Gilmour or Waters side of things (I’m personally more of a Gilmour fan) and should be entertaining.

 

Faithful-Go and Speak: This appears to be a collaborative effort amongst woman Contemporary Christian Singers, featuring Amy Grant as one of the singers.  Amy Grant was a favorite of my Mom’s back when Vinyl Records were the default format and she’s still a good CCM singer today.  Some snobs turn up their nose at Grant for pursuing more mainstream success with her music, but I generally enjoy her music across the board and I’m hoping I might find some good names to pay attention to as well.

Timeline of my Personal Smash Bros. headcanon

 Key events:

 

6,000,004 BC-The fallen angel Tabuu is cast into Subspace by Din, Nayru and Farore for trying to overthrow the Lord of Creation.  The three, Master Hand and Crazy Hand are appointed guardians/testers of the Smash World.

 

2,000 BC-Hyrule is founded and the Master Sword forged (see The Legend of Zelda; Skyward Sword)

 

1,000-993 BC-The ancestors of the current bearers of two-thirds of the Triforce fight Ganondorf Dragmire (see The Legend of Zelda; Ocarina of Time)

 

900 BC-Ganondorf attempts escape from the Dark Realm through a Twili named Zant (see The Legend of Zelda; Twilight Princess)

 

600 BC-Ganondorf succeeds in escape, Hyrule is flooded to seal him away.

 

100 BC-A young boy named Link meets Pirates, assembles the Triforce and seals Ganondorf back in the Dark Realm (see The Legend of Zelda; Wind Waker)

 

800 AD-The continent of Fodlan is placed under the rule of a self-proclaimed goddess named Seiros.

 

1,000 AD-Ganon attempts escape from the Dark Realm using a fragment of his power named Aghanim, only to get sealed back again (see The Legend of Zelda; A Link To The Past)

 

1,700 AD-Ganon escapes again as Calamity Ganon.  He is either stopped by the Hyrule Warriors, or they delay him for 100 years. (See beginning of The Legend of Zelda; Breath of the Wild/Hyrule Warriors; Age of Calamity)

 

1,800 AD-Link and Zelda either stop Ganon again or the relatives of the Champions go back in time 100 years (see The Legend of Zelda; Breath of the Wild/Hyrule Warriors; Age of Calamity)

 

1981 AD-The current age of heroism starts.  Major battles between good and evil erupt around the world and continue to rage for decades.

 

1999 AD-Master Hand reveals himself and starts “Smash Bros.”  Mario, the Current Link, an alien lifeform named Kirby and a bounty hunter named Samus Aran join the event.

 

2001 AD-Crazy Hand reveals himself in the second Smash Bros. event.  Bowser and the current Zelda join the event.

 

2006 AD-Mario teams with Mallow, Geno, Bowser and Peach to defeat the robotic Smithy Gang (see Super Mario RPG; Legend of the Seven Stars)

 

2007 AD-Mario, Luigi, Bowser and Peach save the universe from certain doom at the hands of the Chaos Heart and Dimentio (see Super Paper Mario)

 

2008 AD-A massive worldwide battle breaks out, resulting in the deaths of the original Master Hand and Crazy Hand.  The Smash Bros. combatants discover the fell demon Tabuu, who reveals himself as the originator of Smithy, Dimentio, Phazon, most of Kirby’s adversaries that aren’t King Dedede or Meta-Knight and most of the rest of the villains plaguing the world.  Samus begins fighting without her armor, attracting the romantic interest of Zelda.

 

2009 AD-A group of youths on Tatsumi Port Island destroy the Dark Hour, a by-product of an industrial accident caused by research at Kirijo Corporations (see Persona 3)

 

2012 AD-Princess Peach is transformed to Queen Peach and marries Mario. A different group of youths in Inaba stop mysterious deaths in the area due to the phenomenon known as the Midnight Channel (see Persona 4) For some reason, both groups stop aging physically at this point. Samus and Zelda are married.

 

2013 AD-In the other world of Remnant, Team RWBY begins fighting.

 

2014 AD-The fourth Smash Bros. event is started by the mysterious return of Master Hand and Crazy Hand.  Byleth Eisner (f) becomes professor of Black Eagle House at Garreg Mach Monastery.  A war breaks out between the Adrestian Empire and the Church of Seiros.  Team RWBY’s Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long and Rise Kujikawa of the Inaba group join Smash Bros.  Blake and Yang move into the guest room of Hyrule Castle and admit their romantic feelings for each other.

 

2016 AD-A third group in Shibuya stops a false Holy Grail from corrupting the masses (see Persona 5)

 

2017 AD-This third group stops a malevolent smartphone app from declaring itself to be God (see Persona 5 Strikers) They also stop aging physically at this point.

 

2018 AD-At the start of the fifth Smash Bros. event, an army of Master Hands descend, revealing the malevolent, self-absorbed deity of light, Galeem.  The equally malevolent and self-absorbed deity of darkness, Darkhon, is revealed shortly afterwards.  Both are defeated and the original Master Hand revives to help break through an army of shadow puppets.  Many join the Smash Bros. event, which is still ongoing.

 

2019 AD-Professor Byleth Eisner and Empress Edelgard Von Hresvelg of the Adrestian Empire eliminate Seiros, revealed to be a dragon called “The Immaculate One.”  The two women then wed after engaging the day after the war in Fodlan ends.  Most survivors of the opposing army are arrested, but some are given non-violent positions to rebuild their lives due to their unique talents.  Joker, the leader of the third group of Youths, joins Smash Bros., the rest of the Phantom Thieves arriving as backup and support.

 

2020 AD-Byleth joins the Smash Bros. event, with Edelgard becoming a second for her and backup and support.  Dorothea of the Adrestian Empire, now moved to the Island of Brigid with her wife Petra, also becomes backup and support, as does her wife.  Callie and Marie, pop stars in Inkopolis, also join the Smash Event as Mii Fighters.  Tifa Lockhart joins the Smash event as a Mii Brawler.

 

2021 AD-Pyra and her shared body-mate Mythra join the Smash Event proper after being support and backup Spirits.

Rant about current American culture

 

I can’t stand it anymore.  Getting into conversations with people who don’t know anything about what I posted.  Asking so many stupid questions that makes me feel like I have to respond even though I’m not sure of the answer.  I’m expecting that one day they’ll just get tired of my attitude of posting what I want and give me a load of comments containing verbal abuse.  I feel it’ll happen after I post the story for Friday, them unable to handle a story featuring a woman who claimed one of their acting gods committed abuse.  It was even proven in a court of law, but that doesn’t matter anymore.  They can simply “decide” what is truth and if enough people believe the lie, it becomes truth and the real truth is silenced forever.  This is the sexist, racist, homophobic culture that the Beast, 45, took advantage of to become President, creating his own “truth” by telling a lie until enough people accept it that it seems more true than the actual, provable truth.  It doesn’t matter what the facts are, what scientists and doctors and those moved to compassion and the truth say, if your idol claims this is true, it becomes reality for the masses, the real truth muted by the lies to the masses.  This is how Stalin operated the Soviet Union, a despicable, aggressive series of blatant lies to make himself look like a god and his perceived opponents look like the demons of Hell.  Read “Animal Farm,” Read “1984” and you’ll see just how much like blind cult members you look.  Or maybe you won’t.  Maybe you’ve drank so much Kool-Aid you don’t see anything but what your gods want you to see, them as gods and their opponents as unforgiveable demons.  Maybe that’s your reality and you refuse to break from it.