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:

'Razorblade Romance'

(CREDIT: Truely not mine. Obviously.)

My Rank: 4.3 out of 5 <- THE PINK BURNS ME EYES!

The first time I saw this album, I was ready to puke my organs out. The first listen wasn't so bad... but the nausia remained.

Yes, Razorblade Romance is obnoxious in many ways. It's bright. It's PINK. The music remindes one of eating hard candy. The love songs are so corny you want to shoot Cupid with a bazooka. And Ville Valo... WHY look so ridiculous?! The worst part is... this album is lovable.

It's like that loud class clown who does the stupidest things to get people to pay attention to his joke. But at least, the joke makes the majority of the class genuinely laugh until they cry. And no, Razorblade Romance is not that fantastic, but it's kinda hard to think badly of it.

Let's re-examine the formula this album is based on: Cliche love songs to make the females' hearts flutter? CHECK. A singer whose charisma and voice make the estrogen rise at dangerous levels? CHECK. A product whose appearance screams "Look at me!" to passerby? CHECK. A rock band that plays their instruments well enough to bring wine to make the cheese taste better? Well, a friend of mine on Pandora once commented that one of the songs off this record had badass riffs and lyrics that made vomit slightly rise to his throat. So I guess that's another CHECK.

So yeah. This record is a cocktail of [a very small amount of] goth, hard rock, love, the 80's, and glam. And a song that sounds like a rip off of Bon Jovi. ...and high fructose corn syrup.

Because listening to this is like having a really fruity, tart, and strong non-alcoholic drink at a resteraunt, Razorblade Romance should not be a first purchase for anyone interested in HIM. At least, that's just me talking. Any HIM fan I have seen as said this is the band at their peak (which is true in terms of record sales and European popularity,) but this is a wilder side of HIM I was not ready for when I was a new fan. If my one Pandora friend only listened to HIM songs off this album, he might have ran away like the plague was coming. So if you are one who doesn't like to be surprised too much... avoid this for now. Razorblade Romance is best as a second or third HIM purchase.

Some highlights I'd like to name are "Razorblade Kiss," "Death Is in Love with Us," "Join Me in Death," and "Right Here in My Arms." The singles are definately worth checking out though... but prepared for the look of "Join Me in Death..." that one is... interesting.

If you ask me, this is the HIM album I listen to the LEAST. I love it, since I love each record almost equally, but this is not one I would talk too much about. It's like a place I'd only visit every once in a while, but my mind is too preoccupied by other things. When life gets too busy, sometimes I need that insane clown to scream, "LOOK AT ME, FANGIRL!!!" for me to laugh for a while...

'Little Fockers'

(CREDIT: to the owner... obviously.)

My Rank = 3/5 <-- a good laugh

Yesterday was a great birthday. The Nostalgia Critic made a hilarious Christmas special, I stole a cookie from one of my friends (long story), and my mom and friends from church took me to dinner and saw Little Fockers. So many laughs in such a short day.

I admit that I never watched Meet the Parents or Meet the Fockers, so I can't say if this serves the prequels justice, but man, this film was cool. Maybe I liked it so much because I didn't expect too much from it in the first place. Comedy is a hit-or-miss that I take very seriously, and my problem with the genre mostly lies in execution of wit and laughs. As for stupid humor, like the stuff Will Ferrell does... don't be shocked if I turn down the opportunity to see it. Perhaps it's my subconscious taking revenge on the world for never understanding the dry humor my family and friends love me for. But thankfully this film left me laughing over a scene even a minute after it ended. As I walked out of the film, I was still laughing. This film deserves a gold star for it, because this is a rarity.

The film is basically family drama that most of us can relate to, and all hell breaks loose when Robert DeNiro's character names Greg Focker (Stiller) the head of the entire family (giving away the title will ruin one of the funniest jokes.) From syringes, pits, animals, eastern wisdom, and misunderstandings... I say that the movie executed jokes well.

However, that's the only field that did justice. The plot was fairly weak and some plot holes were left uncovered. The each character had one dynamic trait that separated them from the others, but they were two-dimensional. The kids, which I assume gave the film its name, barely had to do with the story on a microcosmic level. In a way, Little Fockers is a misnomer.

Overall, the movie proved itself better than I hoped comically, though lacked in plot. My mom said that it's predecessors are much better, and I'm curious to see if the others are funnier. Despite that, I recommend it, even if you are curious.

So... I wonder if Netflix has Meet the Parents as an instant watch...

To Conclude 2010...

And of course, credit to owners. (Hopefully I won't die. lol)

It's hard to believe that the year went by so quickly; and that so much can happen in such a small amount of time. I have decided to make one or two more posts on my overview of this year... on things important to me. Melanie Light is such a self-centered witch, thank you. :P

Some Memorable Mentions:

One Year, Ten Months, and Eight Days Later...

I was never one to love a particular band or artist above all else for years. All sorts of music can sound enjoyable to my ears, and once I found one thing amazing, something better will ultimately come around. That's how HIM ended Evanescence's two-year claim to the throne. Even if another come around and rises up to them, I hope I don't discard HIM just as I have done to some other bands I used to listen to so much (like Lacuna Coil and Breaking Benjamin... *sniff*). But for now, HIM has reigned for one year, ten months, and eight days...

Meanwhile, I wonder if the fanbase has chilled a bit...

Freddy!!!!!

Last month's Marilyn Manson post received more views than I expected, and it's great that it was a rant not wasted. In a dying year when we think back on what we received, I'm thankful I had the chance to learn more about the fearfully awesome double M. Clicky to read my lovely post on him. :)

PS - Tenebris In Lux, I'd love to read your post about your take on Marilyn Manson, especially when you're more of a fan than I am. Haha! And here's the link to where I found this picture. :)

Not Quite Under a Rock Anymore

Although my visits to Pandora Internet Radio have waned dramatically this year, I was still around to hear of the three pop stars that make my skin crawl: GaGa, Kesha, and the Beaver. While roaming around thatguywiththeglasses.com, a hilariously fun site with great ranters of all kinds, I found Todd In the Shadows. He calls himself a "popologist" and reviews the latest disasters, annoyances, and piles of dung from the hottest artists. And he's hilarious about it. I might still not listen to pop music, at least I can take a peak from under the rock. Who knows, maybe I can learn to appreciate the genre again. If you love it or not, I highly recommend viewing his latest videos on thatguywiththeglasses.com or his older videos on his Youtube channel. :)

Deaths in the Heavy Metal Family

Damn, death sucks. This was a pretty sad [and kinda scary] year for heavy metal. Though I never really was a fan or real listener to the bands these guys played in, it still hit me hard, since I was familiar with the names of them or their bands.

• Pete Steele of Type O Negative (pictured above). Just when I got to enjoy Type O Negative's music on Pandora, three days later, bassist and singer Pete Steele died. I can't really explain how upset and annoyed I was when I heard of it. To start to like a band and lose all hopes of possibly going to a concert of theirs.... depressing.

• Paul Gray of Slipknot. I never really liked this band, but playing "Before I Forget" on Guitar Hero III was always really fun. From my experiences, Slipknot was the poster for a heavy metal band with obnoxious, prideful, and rude fans. Oh well. I still felt really bad for them and refrained from commenting on the Slipknot page on Pandora.

• "The Rev" from Avenged Sevenfold. Another band I never tried out, but recognized the name. Death is not something I take lightly, even for deaths of people I never heard of. So like Paul Gray, I can't say much about James Sullivan and his band, but I hold regard to their mourning fans.

• Ronnie James Dio. A legend. DEAD. The best I could do was look up videos on his funeral, especially when Metal Hammer mentioned that the Westboro Baptist Church was planning to picket it. Thankfully nothing stupid or insane came from it, but those "God Hates Fags" people really had no respect for the death of a man. All they seemed to say was, "Thank God that Satan-worshipper is burning in hell right now!" Morons.

Maybe one or two others passed on, but these four left a mark for me in some small way. But all others who died are no less important.

People to People 2010

I never had the time to post pictures or write about my experience, but maybe sometime next year. I SWEAR.

But to keep it short, it was a fantastic trip. Ireland was beautifully green and calm; Wales could have been better, but some locals insulted us in Welsh ^^'; England, hands down, was the best, especially London (if only my camera didn't malfunction...); France had wonderful bread... and hot chocolate; Belgium and Holland were short stops, but both countries were lovely. :)

December 23 Is My Seventeenth Birthday And...

... I still don't have my driver's permit. XD

High School Is Over Half-Way Completed

Junior year is tough, but at least college is not too far off... (speaking of which, oh God. Where am I going?!) As much as I love my friends there, I really dislike the "new school" more than I usually detest school in general. So don't be surprised if I have a religion rant similar to what I had over a week ago. At least from there, I can find new topics to rant about. :)

Eight Months of Blogging?! WHOOT!!!!

It seemed it was only yesterday when I wanted to start a blog...

Rants From a Fangirl is all about me writing about whatever I want, whenever I want. No matter what I will excel at in a future career, my creativity in drawing or writing will always be my backup plan. So until that day comes, pruning and refining these skills while I can will always count. I might not be in an AP Literature class yet, but this will be good practice.

Say I suck at writing and you shall die... or maybe I'll weep and try better next time. >:P

Though it's early, Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it, Happy Holidays to everyone else, and Happy New Year to all! :)

- Melanie~"Fangirl"~Light