Dear World
Before you start reading this merry thing, I shall warn you, it is not a subject matter as happy as the last thing I wrote to you. But it is a thing that effects us all.
That's right...
Death.
By that mere word, people may instantly call me emo, goth or any other stereotypical words that are linked to death and the afterlife. But I have one question for you, World. Why must we know, and simultaneously not know, about how we will end?
Hear, well, read me out. I had no knowledge that I would be born. The first time I realised that I existed on this planet was when I opened my eyes and saw something that I cannot remember at this time. Well, be fair I was only a few minutes old at the time. But why do we need to know the fact that we will die?
We all know that we will die. Nothing can dress this up. You can live your life as happy and as freely as you like, but at some point you will fight with the fact that you are not immortal. Well, probably. I know I have.
I'll be completely honest with you, I fought with the fact that I will die before my age turned into double figures. I remember crying with panic and shouting "I don't want to die" when there was a news article on the BBC saying how the Earth will end. I was about eight, nine at the time. Why am I telling you this? No idea. Maybe it's one of the earliest memories I have, well that and being punched in the nose in nursery. Lovely.
As I was sitting my exams in school, I was stuck in a pickle. In one train of thought, I thought "Come on, Ga, concentrate. You need to do well in these exams", while on the other, a more silent train of thought secretly snuck up on me, thinking "What's the point? We can't take it with us when we die". It was only just before I sat my A level exams this year that I finally defeated my thoughts, but it was too late. I did rather horribly in my exams, but I passed regardless.
I know, I was a really depressing person in school. Ah well, can't change that now.
If you do know me, you will know that it will be my nineteenth birthday this week. I won't tell you when it is. We'll make a small competition, first one to guess my birthday gets a mention on mine and Wicid's twitter feed. Yes, I know it is a prize too good to ignore.
Anyway, since I remembered that I'd turn nineteen this week, it kind of brought everything back. Why? Answers in the comment area please. Maybe it is just a natural way of keeping people in line. You know, reminding someone that they are stepping closer to death than they were a year ago.
Maybe that is one reason why I just see my birthday as just another day. Why? Well, because it is. Because my mother gave birth to me at ten to midnight on my birthday doesn't make that day more special than if I was born the day before, the week after, or not born at all. Maybe it should be a day to celebrate for the parents of the child, since they were the two people in my family who made me. All I've done is existed, my parents are the ones who looked after me when I was younger and made sure I was fine. So why do I get all the credit?
I'm not trying to write this in a way to depress you, world. I just thought recently, why do we have to know that we will die? I know that I could have a good thirty years left here, but in some sense that doesn't seem enough. I mean, I've read somewhere (can't remember where, so apologies if I mis-state the facts) that the average age a man dies is roughly in the seventies, or late eighties. That means that, if I am the average man, I have lived a quarter of my life. I'm beginning to be at that time in life where I'll be closer to my death than I am to my birth. That said, nobody really knows when they'll die, people just cram many a thing into their short lives before the inevitable happens.
I shall not depress you further, dear world, as I know you are technically the same age as me, and will have a long time before you go (though, in your case it's more like a few millennia, while in my case it's only a few decades).
I thank ye, world.
Sunday 31 October 2010
Wednesday 27 October 2010
Dear World - Guitar Hero
Dear World.
As you well know, games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band are all over the face of the earth. And I for one like this genre of gaming.
It's a very entertaining thing. And not only entertaining, educational too. Others may read that last statement and think, how? Well, it introduces the player to a variety of music. I have had this happen to myself. For example, before I played my first Guitar Hero game (which was Guitar Hero II), I'd never heard of artists like Cheap Trick, Buckethead and Avenged Sevenfold. Now, Jordan (by Buckethead) is one of my favourite instrumental songs, while I'm a fan of Avenged Sevenfold's new album, Nightmare.
Not only that, it introduces people to playing instruments. I'm one of these people. I've started playing the bass guitar after playing the bass of Sweet Child O' Mine on practice mode as I wanted to get better at the game, but unintentionally fell in love with the sound of the bass riffs in that song. Indeed, I am a sad child for admitting that fact, but it proves a point. The chances of me picking up a bass guitar would probably be next to non-existent if I didn't play a few songs on practice.
But there's one thing that rather confuses me, and I call it 'guitar snobbery'. Allow me to expand.
There's this website - let's call it Ultimate Guitar, because that's what its called - and on this website these days, there are some articles about Guitar Hero and Rock Band. And all these articles on this subject matter, some users have the same train of thought. Allow me to quote one of the comments from the most recent article about Rock Band's new Pro Mode...
"In all seriousness....IF YOU ARE A PARENT AND YOUR KID ASKS FOR THIS CRAP BUY HIM A REAL GUITAR...."
Apparently, people who think playing games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band are fools, as they are spending so much time on the game while it is clearly better to play and to invest time in becoming a brilliant guitarist.
I don't know about you, but this makes no sense to me. Guitar Hero is a game. It doesn't make you think that you can pick up a real guitar and play Raining Blood by Slayer after the first time you four star the song on Hard. It, along with Rock Band, is a game. Why can't guitarists get to grips with this fact?
Out of all the instruments available to play in these games, it seems like only guitarists are the only group of players who have something against this game genre. Even bassists - with the bass guitar usually looked down upon as it has only four strings usually, so it must be an easy instrument to master (which, to me, is the wrong thought to have, and if you do have this thought, listen to YYZ by Rush) - find music rhythm games fun to play. Drummers also like the games as they are playing the drums, even if its on a small plastic kit. And yes, I know I'm generalising everyone here, but it seems that the majority of the people who think the same way as the commenter above are guitarists. I have never seen a comment saying learn to play real drums, though I have seen many a comment stating that they have actually learned the basics of drumming from these games.
All I'm asking, dear world, is that why can't people understand that Guitar Hero and its relatives are only trying to help the music it holds in its being? These games are promoting different bands, music and genres to the player, and the world will be a better place if it resulted in more young people listening to rock-driven music. It would be unfair of me to state that music by Justin Bieber, The Saturdays and JLS aren't that good, but to me that is the case. But this article isn't about miming groups and over auto-tuned vocals. Its about trying to make people understand that Guitar Hero and its brethren are not trying to take people under its spell, but to give people the chance to play music and, possibly, influence them in picking up a real instrument and playing that too.
I thank ye, world.
As you well know, games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band are all over the face of the earth. And I for one like this genre of gaming.
It's a very entertaining thing. And not only entertaining, educational too. Others may read that last statement and think, how? Well, it introduces the player to a variety of music. I have had this happen to myself. For example, before I played my first Guitar Hero game (which was Guitar Hero II), I'd never heard of artists like Cheap Trick, Buckethead and Avenged Sevenfold. Now, Jordan (by Buckethead) is one of my favourite instrumental songs, while I'm a fan of Avenged Sevenfold's new album, Nightmare.
Not only that, it introduces people to playing instruments. I'm one of these people. I've started playing the bass guitar after playing the bass of Sweet Child O' Mine on practice mode as I wanted to get better at the game, but unintentionally fell in love with the sound of the bass riffs in that song. Indeed, I am a sad child for admitting that fact, but it proves a point. The chances of me picking up a bass guitar would probably be next to non-existent if I didn't play a few songs on practice.
But there's one thing that rather confuses me, and I call it 'guitar snobbery'. Allow me to expand.
There's this website - let's call it Ultimate Guitar, because that's what its called - and on this website these days, there are some articles about Guitar Hero and Rock Band. And all these articles on this subject matter, some users have the same train of thought. Allow me to quote one of the comments from the most recent article about Rock Band's new Pro Mode...
"In all seriousness....IF YOU ARE A PARENT AND YOUR KID ASKS FOR THIS CRAP BUY HIM A REAL GUITAR...."
Apparently, people who think playing games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band are fools, as they are spending so much time on the game while it is clearly better to play and to invest time in becoming a brilliant guitarist.
I don't know about you, but this makes no sense to me. Guitar Hero is a game. It doesn't make you think that you can pick up a real guitar and play Raining Blood by Slayer after the first time you four star the song on Hard. It, along with Rock Band, is a game. Why can't guitarists get to grips with this fact?
Out of all the instruments available to play in these games, it seems like only guitarists are the only group of players who have something against this game genre. Even bassists - with the bass guitar usually looked down upon as it has only four strings usually, so it must be an easy instrument to master (which, to me, is the wrong thought to have, and if you do have this thought, listen to YYZ by Rush) - find music rhythm games fun to play. Drummers also like the games as they are playing the drums, even if its on a small plastic kit. And yes, I know I'm generalising everyone here, but it seems that the majority of the people who think the same way as the commenter above are guitarists. I have never seen a comment saying learn to play real drums, though I have seen many a comment stating that they have actually learned the basics of drumming from these games.
All I'm asking, dear world, is that why can't people understand that Guitar Hero and its relatives are only trying to help the music it holds in its being? These games are promoting different bands, music and genres to the player, and the world will be a better place if it resulted in more young people listening to rock-driven music. It would be unfair of me to state that music by Justin Bieber, The Saturdays and JLS aren't that good, but to me that is the case. But this article isn't about miming groups and over auto-tuned vocals. Its about trying to make people understand that Guitar Hero and its brethren are not trying to take people under its spell, but to give people the chance to play music and, possibly, influence them in picking up a real instrument and playing that too.
I thank ye, world.
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