Muffin Princess

Ok, so there's this new-fangled invention out there know as the "tele-vision", meaning literally "to see across", and it's used to convey images over vast distances with, or, and this shit's seriously going to blow your mind, without, wires.  And some people have done something pretty clever with this "tele-vision", and  by clever I mean that they've.... drawn some pictures.... ok... um, well, so they drew some pictures, each one much like the one before it (those clever bastards), and then they run them past in rapid sucession so that it look like what they've done is draw a living thing in paper form.
...
I know what you're thinking...
and
NO!
They're not evil wizards summoning processed-tree-demons in order to melt the minds of our youth and steal all of our virgins for pagan sacrifices to martian tentacle sex monsters.
They're.... artists..... which may be worse.
And what they've done is call "ani-mation" which, in the latin, means "to give life to".  Ok, that didn't make my case for them not being evil wizards... maybe I should have been an artist, er, ink tree demon wizard.
So... by now you're surely quite bewildered as to where I'm going with this.

Again with the motherfucking moon...
and a chick....
and it's Japanese....
Rule 32....
FUCK, some things cannot be unthought.
DAMN YOU MOON!

Annnnnd, the picture probably didn't help.... again.

Well, I'll explain.
I'm going to tell you about Murder Princess.
And yes, you read that right.  Murder Princess.
What IS Murder Princess (fuck italics) you ask?
It's a strong contender for being one of the best anime mini-series made in the last half-decade.
Now, I say "last half-decade" solely so that Cowboy Bebop is completely excluded from these discussions.  And if anyone brings up Naruto or some other shit that's been on for 57,000 seasons just know that there's an angry honey-badger on its way, and it intends to ambush you in the shower, with bees... bees with tentacles.
So, I say it's good.  But why?  Well, lets start off with the fact that's its only 6 episodes.  Now, that's not a lot, but, if you just want to watch it all in one sitting, it's perfect.  And that's a good thing in this case, as that allows you to keep all the utter fucking nonsense fresh in your mind.  And by 'utter fucking nonsense' I mean, midget death robots with rocket-fists.  However, unlike the highly entertaining nonsense in, say, Bayonetta, this nonsense does, eventually, make about as close to perfect sense as is possible for an anime named Murder Princess.

Well, according to Google this is a 'midget death robot'...
So far Murder Princess is kicking Google's ass when it comes to making sense.
But... the picture...
I'm concerned, and I want to know as little about this picture as possible.
I do not fucking want to know where/how the midgets and/or death are involved here.

While I do say that it makes something that at least resembles perfect sense, I can't say that it actually makes a lot of sense.  Most of the character interactions are pure gold, the setting's good, and even the character motivations are solid, and the plot leading up to the ending is respectable, if a bit cliche, but the ending... eh fuck it, don't know, don't care, like I said before, midget death robots, with rocket fists.  (I'm repeatedly mentioning only the midget robots so that I don't start giving out spoilers or some shit; yeah, that's right motherfuckers, all this batshit insanity is relevant to the PLOT, which it HAS, unlike some other highly popular series where certain main characters sparkle and other main characters need orthodontics and a therapist to maybe help them figure out how to express emotion properly, but i digress....)  Anyway, it kicks ass, is entertaining, it even makes a good bit of sense, and all it asks in return is that you leave your logic, and maybe a bit of your sanity, at the door and hell, maybe break out some vodka.


But really, all Murder Princess is... is a pregame for Needless.  Which you'll all learn about in next whenever-the-fuck-I-feel-like-it installment of... being told about thing... because lets face it, you can't be trusted with figuring this shit out for yourself, if I had left this entire situation up to you it's be on the news, and it'd be a scene of you, outside, all but naked except for a set of plastic moose antlers, tying an artist to a tree and making him dress up like sailor moon as retribution for him conjuring tree demons and sending all the damn virgins and rum to the martian tentacle monsters.

And no, they wouldn't have let you out on bail.

Muffins, Muffins, and Rock 'n' Roll

Ok, I know the whole "sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll" image has endured for decades. And I can even understand why it started - a counter-culture, a statement against the "man", a way for people to make a new name for themselves. Hell, I can even appreciate some of what it added to music. However, I submit that this image is dead, and here's why.

First and foremost, if you can go through the top 20 Billboard hits and not find a single song about or containing references to sex or drugs, I would be astounded. There is no "edgy" factor to talking about sex and drugs when everyone is doing it and it's exceedingly popular. It's still a statement, I'll give you that, but it's saying something completely different now. It's saying, "This is the formula that's worked for everyone else, so I'm gonna keep using it!" It adds nothing to the message of the music. Period. (As a side note, at least the bands who started the trend had the lyrical ingenuity to hide their references with clever writing. I may not like it all, but I appreciate the lyrical ability.)

The second - and, frankly, the more upsetting -  reason is this: it is expected for musicians to abuse drugs, alcohol, have a multitude of sexual partners. They're expected to have little respect for people and laws. And why is this? Because they're "making a statement" or they're "eccentric". Except they're not. If this is expected behavior, you're no longer making any kind of statement or being eccentric or unique in any way. It's just pathetic and immature, which is, sadly, the image that most artists have adopted for themselves.

"Now, Pawn," you may say, "you don't listen to mainstream music. You like your metals and punks and hardcores and whatnot. Why do you care about any of this?" Well, dear reader, let me tell you.

I care, first of all, because the popular music dominates the entertainment sphere. It's what kids are listening to all day, every day. They soak it all in because it's what they're "supposed" to be listening to. So, if this is something that is so profoundly and completely impacting the next generation, why are we pushing substance abuse and a pressure to sleep with everyone you meet? Why aren't these public figures fashioning images of responsibility and a mindset that leads to the betterment of ourselves as a nation and as a species? This is my first issue.

Seems legit...

The other reason that I care is because it's spilling over into my scene. In the last couple of years, many of you have probably heard about the nonsense that Jonny Craig (of Dance Gavin Dance fame) has gotten himself embroiled in. He's been kicked out of almost every band he's fronted, sent to rehab numerous times, and even stole hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars from his fans in a Macbook scam. I wish I could say it was just him, but even more recently, members of I See Stars were arrested on drug charges as well! And the number of band members who have died from ODing is growing every year. Do a little research for yourselves if you don't believe me. The "sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll" mindset that has dominated pop music for years is permeating the underground.

And the worst part is that everyone has a tendency to play it off as yet another instance of them "just being rockstars" or having that "rockstar mentality", both in the underground and in the limelight. So that's what it boils down to: the image that dominated the early years of rock has just been held over into the current culture. Those artists did it because it was taboo, because they were standing against something they disagreed with. I may not agree with their choices, but I can understand the rationale behind it. The problem today is that it's not a taboo thing any more. As comedian Christopher Titus says, "You don't get to claim you're not accepted when you have over a billion hits on YouTube." He may be exaggerating slightly, but his point remains: if you have that many people listening, you're not making a statement against anything any more.

So, what is my aim in all this rambling? Why am I saying this to all 7 of you who might actually read this? Because I'm pissed at the state of things and I wanted to tell someone. If even one of you listens and takes it to heart - and if you actually start examining what you listen to, what you consume - I'll feel better. Because if I can convince someone to become conscious of what's going on, it means that there's a chance - maybe only a small one, but a chance nonetheless - that hope is not yet lost.

...

Or maybe 7 was too high of an estimate and I'm only talking to myself. Hello? Anyone there?

*grumblegrumble* Damn kids and their rap music...