[Rant] ‘What Music [Is] Worth, According To My Mom’ – A Response

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Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on March 28, 2012 @ 6:54pm
Category: Music / News
[Rant] What Music [Is] Worth, According To My Mom A Response
A video that was uploaded to YouTube about nine months ago showing a mom yelling at her son for his guitar hobby is starting to become a viral senstation through the metal community. Mike, a 17-year old guitarist in Logistic Slaughter, started the video by preparing to show people a preset on a multi-FX rack unit when suddenly his mother enters the room and starts berating and scolding him not only for his guitar hobby but also about his life. It’s a video that resonates deep within myself as this is something I have heard more than once from my own folks. Check out the video below and then read on for my response.

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[Rant] I Hate Chris Brown

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Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on February 29, 2012 @ 9:22pm
Category: Music / News
[Rant] I Hate Chris Brown
Okay, it’s gotten to the point where I can’t be silent anymore. F*ck Chris Brown. Seriously, what an utter waste. I didn’t write anything when it came out that he beat Rihanna. I kept quiet after his performance at the Grammy Awards. Both of them. I even kept a lid on it when two (!!!) remixes came out featuring the two together. But thinking about it, I feel that this is something I need to get off my chest. So, here we go…

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[Rant] Why I Hate The Grammy Awards

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Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on February 13, 2012 @ 6:09am
Category: Music / News
[Rant] Why I Hate The Grammy Awards
Disclaimer: I did not watch the Grammy Awards nor did I follow the goings on with any sense of scrutiny. These observations are purely personal in nature and might seem a tad disjointed.
Ah, the Grammy Awards. A celebration of the previous year in music. An opportunity for some of the most popular and well-respected musicians to come together and recognize the works of each other. It’s a time to see what true musicians have accomplished and enjoy the anticipation of what the next year will bring. It is also a time to aim the spotlight on up and coming artists who show great promise, ones that will add to the splendor that is music.
Oh wait, that’s what it should be. Instead, what we have is a big circle jerk where known musicians fawn over each other and the public gets to see more of what they’ve been seeing for the past year. Wonderful.
As you can tell, I have some serious issues with the Grammy Awards. So, I’m going to rant about them for a little bit! Warning: strong opinions lie below. 

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[Rant] Please Stop All The Music Piracy

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Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on January 10, 2012 @ 7:07pm
Category: Music / News

In light of a comment posted on an article earlier today, I feel like I have to make my position on illegal downloading very clear. But before I begin, I will preface this by saying that I am not an angel and I am surely not innocent. I have illegally downloaded music in the past but I don’t do it anymore. If I download an album it is either given to me by record labels OR I download it for review purposes, after which I immediately delete it. 

That being said, let me go down a few points that irk the hell out of me when I hear an album has leaked.

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Editor’s Rant: Is ‘True Blood’ Already DEAD?

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Movies
Posted by MrDisgusting on August 02, 2011 @ 2:27pm
Category: Movies / Editorials

It took a boring weekend back in 2008 for me to finally give HBO’s “True Blood” a real chance. After forcing myself through a handful of episodes, I was finally hooked. It played like a darker side of Twilight, with vampires and shape-shifters unleashing a vicious wrath upon the residents of Bon Temps. There was heavy romance, lots of nudity, and more blood than you could ask for. The characters – based on their counterparts from Charlaine Harris’ novels – were being incredibly well-developed for future arcs.

Flash forward to 2010, show creator Alan Ball and HBO decided to push the envelope with the third season. Nearly every episode ended with a violent, tense, and engaging cliffhanger that made the weeklong wait practically unbearable. We saw Tara bash in Franklin’s head and a twisted sex sequence between Bill and Lorean, among other absolutely horrific moments. It was a horror fan’s wet dream.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

What’s more shocking than the various “holy sh*t moments” of 2010 is how quickly HBO is tanking the beloved franchise. Actually, I think tanking might even be an understatement. Five episodes into season four and I’m tearing my hair out in frustration. I originally planned on writing a brief article detailing just how HBO could save “True Blood” from being drained of all of its lifeforce, but after going over my mental bullet points, I decided that it’s already too late — “True Blood” is DEAD.

0trueblood080101 1024x297 Editors Rant: Is True Blood Already DEAD? READ MORE

Duke Nukem Desperately Needs to Grow Up

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Games
Posted by Adam Dodd on April 08, 2011 @ 11:05pm
Category: Games / News

You would think that after being well over a decade in the making this game would have plenty of time to grow up. Apparently, this is not the case. You see, I have a serious issue with Duke Nukem Forever. As a gamer, aspiring game designer and just a decent human being, this game disgusts me. Plenty of games try to push boundaries by showcasing gorgeous scenery, revolutionary stories or groundbreaking features to grab as many headlines on game news sites as they can. But when it comes to stupid, irrelevant features The Duke takes the cake. Instead of showing us interesting things that would make a gamer want to pick up and play the game, Forever shows us irreverent features that only shows how dated this game really is. Looking at the more recent headlines The Duke has become a 12 year-old jumping up and down, waving his arms and yelling “Hey! Remember me? I’m that game that’s been over a decade in the making! I let you throw feces and slap chicks, hey! HEY!”

1 Duke Nukem Desperately Needs to Grow Up

Duke Nukem: Forever is a game that’s been well over a decade in development and has become synonymous with vaporware. Now that it might actually be coming out (I’ll believe it when I see it) the companies behind it feel the burning desire to get as much attention, bad or not, centered on this aging game. Apologies to anyone who’s still looking forward to it but here’s a spoiler: at this point Duke Nukem Forever will never live up to the hype. Instead it’s going to show you tits, gore, feces and foul language in equal amounts. It’s also going to try to be funny but from what I’ve seen of the game so far it will fail miserably in that department as well. READ MORE

Proud Straight Male Gamer Calls for ‘No Homosexuality Option’ in Dragon Age II

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Games
Posted by Adam Dodd on March 27, 2011 @ 2:25am
Category: Games / News

For the most part Dead Pixels is a place TJ and I try our damnedest to make a fun, stress-free corner of the internet. This is a place where you can get caught up on the most recent happenings in the industry and perhaps sip some tea while reading one of our many delicious features. Rarely do I feel the need to put on my serious face and talk about things that really matter, or more specifically to what I’m about to talk about here, issues that fucking bother me.

8 Proud Straight Male Gamer Calls for No Homosexuality Option in Dragon Age II

An out and proud ‘straight male gamer’ (a term this individual uses often) has taken offense to BioWare’s inclusion of gay romance in Dragon Age II. His long-winded post in the game’s forum has been making its rounds on several gaming sites over the past week so I thought I’d take a minute to discuss this as well. Plus, one of the game’s writers responded to the post and his polite retort is so beautiful I just had to show you it. READ MORE