'Saw'

Once I started college, I felt less motivated to celebrate the holidays. I'm not entirely sure of the reason why, but when I do feel that the festivities bit me and gave me a three-day fever, I try not to fight it. So while I have no plans to embrace the spooky on the 31st this year, I can admit that I did embrace some of the feelings Halloween inspires.

For example, I finally watched Saw.

Yep. I watched it. Willingly.

I - Fangirl, Mel, Astrid, or whoever people know me as online - who has denounced the torture porn genre without hesitation, watched Saw.

Even my real life friends and parents didn't believe me when I said it.

I watched the grandfather of the torture porn genre's popularity in the first decade of the 2000s.

And I liked it.

Yes, I am dead serious. I like Saw 1.

And yes, since I am an opinionated bitch who has never failed to completely stop voicing her thoughts on something she feels strongly about, I will explain myself. Spoilers ahead, if you dare.

[Trying to] Stay Positive

My Mac in a relaxing place...

The inner pessimist in me is trying her best to think happy thoughts as Sunday draws near. No matter how many times we check the Weather Channel, hurricane Irene is still heading towards us with a huge grin. From the looks of it, my area's warning signs are between high and extreme. Great: so much for avoiding Florida at all costs.

Plus... our sump pump is dead. Just in time. Hopefully we can get it replaced quickly, yet not ruining my day with dad that took weeks of planning. Damn Murphy's Law. >.<

I'm sure all we'll get is high wind and lots of water, but it still doesn't help that I have no idea how long it'll take. Looks like I'll need to focus on happy thoughts, like music and anime instead of calm beaches, flowers, and flying poptarts. You know, the stuff that really puts an individual in a good mood?

A bit of light reading during the hurricane, no?

Speaking of which... to get my mind on a higher plane... some random stuff I guess to make my blog less blah with the dark background...

The one collection I'm proud of. :)

The End of 2010

Well... this is it, everyone. Over here in Pennsylvania, there's only nine more hours until everyone goes psychotic. I was never one to party or celebrate things like this, but whatever you're doing today, have fun. And Happy New Year. :)

A few posts ago, To Conclude 2010 was basically an overview of what mattered to me. I would go and reminisce on the old news on health care reform, the Tea Party, Korea, the miners in South America, and the economy in limbo... but I'm a self-centered brat. Obviously. :P

Now I will mention the bands/artists, albums, and songs that meant a lot to me this year, regardless when they came out. (I swear that I rip off of Tenebris in Lux too much...)

Bands:

1. Dommin, the boys who toured with HIM in the states this year. Probably the best performance that March night. Too bad I missed them with The Birthday Massacre in September. :'(

2. Diminished 7, the band Tenebris introduced me to.

3. Type O Negative, who lost their beloved singer and bassist. RIP, Pete.

4. Emilie Autumn, an amazing musician and singer who tested the boundary of my music preference. I hope I can get her autobiography...

5. Marilyn Manson. Don't make me re-explain why. :P

Albums:

1. Love is Gone - Dommin

2. Bloody Kisses - Type O Negative

3. Scream - Ozzy Osbourne

4. Greatest Hits 1970-1978 - Black Sabbath

5. Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice - HIM

6. Unbeautiful - Lesley Roy

7. Enchant - Emilie Autumn

Songs:

1. "My Selene" - Sonata Artica

2. "Gothic Lolita" - Emilie Autumn

3. "In the Dark" - The Birthday Massacre

4. "Trigger" - In Flames

5. "In the Arms of Rain" - HIM <- I hate lyric-only videos... *sigh*

6. "Arma-Goddamn-Motherfuckin-geddon" - Marilyn Manson

7. "In My Heaven" - Negative

8. "Love You to Death" - Type O Negative

9. "Tonight" - Dommin

10. "Años de Dolor" - To/Die/For <- sound quality is funny... :/

And the song - um... "mash-up" - that made me laugh so hard that it is an honerable mention for 2010:

'Enchant'

(CREDIT: to the obvious folks. not me for sure. ^_^)

My Rank: 5 out of 5 <- a lifesaver

Finally, I get to write a review about one of my favorite musicians of all time so far! (That was oxymoronic, wasn't it? ^_^')

This album saved my life last year. I was taking Honors Chemistry and struggling to get a decent grade on [what seemed to be] simple homework and long lab reports. Most times, I chilled on my bed and wrote out my recitations while Enchant played at top volume from my headphones, lying next to me. Sometimes she played during lab report nights, but frustration told me to blast a few Marilyn Manson tracks (I was experimenting with his stuff back then.) HIM would never cut it because I would get far too distracted by the desire to look up interviews.

Maybe I'm too attached to this album because it helped me so much in the hardest class I had ever taken in my school career up to this point. But this was perfect enough for me to focus on my work and not suffer a massive breakdown.

I can't fully describe what kind of music Emilie Autumn makes. She's crazy enough for a rock fan, upbeat and electronic like today's pop music, but adds a punch with amazing performances with violins, pianos, and harpsichords. Her voice isn't too bad as well. Opheliac clearly has these elements, plus a good overdose of asylum-esque insanity, but Enchant is different. This is a calmer, sweeter Emilie Autumn ("Across the Sky," "Juliet," "Save You") but still having a bit of spunk ("Chambermaid," "Rose Red," "Secondhand Faith").

Like every album, two or so songs aren't so fantastic here, but they never took away the experience of this album. This semi-metalhead willingly and happily accepted this short vacation from headbanging, aggressive screams, and guitar solos. I really can't explain how much this album has captured me. A trip down memory lane, when I used to thought fairy tales were not so embarrassing to dream of ("Juliet" did this to me for sure)? Now that I am no longer in Chemistry, I haven't listened to Enchant in its entirety in a while. Emilie Autumn, thank you for this masterpiece, this lifesaver.

Pandora Internet Radio says that fans of The Birthday Massacre, Evanescence, Within Temptation, and Epica. If you like female singers like Amy Lee, Sharon den Andel, Simone Simons, or other similar chicks in rock and metal, you might like Emilie. The Birthday Massacre is only similar due to slight gothic atmosphere, electronic influence, and their singer Chibi. Otherwise, this can be debated. These comparisons can be useful for Opheliac, but Enchant sounds too "folky."

I highly recommend Emilie Autumn as an artist to give a try. Opheliac and Enchant are brilliant, so it doesn't matter what you go by. But note that this is a rare time I will advise DOWNLOADING the albums. ESPECIALLY Enchant, because physical CDs are out of print. Have fun. :P

You know, why am I sitting and listening to Type O Negative right now?! *grabs iPod to look up Enchant...*