New Music Download Page

I created a Music Downloads page. Right now we don't have alot of music on there but we will add more when we have time. If you have any requests, let us know. We have the direct links on our side bar. Happy Downloading.

Thanks :]

Posted By: Amanda

D.Gray-man

Imagine being abandoned by your birth parents because you were born with a deformed left arm, then being adopted by a loving father named Mana Walker, who dies and leaves you behind. While you mourn your dead father, an unusual man named the Millennium Earl approaches you and tells you that he can help you resurrect your father. You, being a child in grief, agree to the proposal and end up turning your father into an Akuma which is a mindless soldier that is doomed to follow the Earl's orders for all eternity. Your resurrected father then curses you by slicing through your left eye, leaving the mark of the Akuma also known as a "Pentacle". After this your disfigured left arm transforms into an anti-Akuma weapon which immediately and instinctively kills your beloved father. Because of the immense shock you received from killing your father, your hair turns snow white and you are left alone, confused, and broken. This is the story of Allen Walker, the exorcist.

After destroying his father, Allen comes across a general from the Black Order named, Cross Marian. Marian clarifies what Akuma are and how exactly they come to be. He also explains that a soul entrapped in an Akuma is trapped forever, and that the only way to save it is to exorcise it. Allen decides to become Cross' disciple and spends three years with him. Cross then sends Allen to the Black Order to become an official exorcist. The Black Order is a group of exorcists that are connected to the Vatican in Rome. Their primary purpose is to stop the Millennium Earl from destroying all humanity. The Earl believes he will cleanse the world by annihilating all humans, the way God did in Noah's great flood. The Exorcists are people who are gifted with the ability to use and control Innocence which is a weapon that was created in the past in order to fight against the Akuma and the Earl. There are supposedly 109 pieces of Innocence scattered around the world. The only way Innocence can evolve and become a weapon is by finding its compatible person.

The first time I encountered D.Gray-man was when a friend of mine let me borrow the manga. I didn't think too much of it after I read it. Later on I decided to watch the anime because the animation was awesome and I loved the music they chose for the opening and closing of the show. I have to say that the anime is easier to get into than the manga it's also a load of fun. The voice actors are great and the series moves on in a reasonable fashion. There are currently 37 episodes out now and it is still going. I recommend this anime to Gothic-like lovers and Shonen readers because this anime is dark but still fun and full of adventure and action. The plot thickens gradually and each episode is filled with exciting material. Allen is a very deep character with many layers, like an onion. He seems like a happy 15 year old kid but the more you watch the anime, the more you, as the viewer, understand his pain and his suffering. I am enjoying this anime very much. I give it three and a half stars out of five.

Written By: Amanda
p.s. One of my favorite characters is Lavi.
You'll understand when you meet him, haha.

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix

Lights faded to black as I was able to attend a black curtain screening, provided by Myspace.com of “Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix,” set to be released July 11th, 2007 in a theater near you. This time around, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and the gang head back to Hogwarts to continue studies, as well as to fight off an evil vengeance remerged encounter with Lord Voldermort, who if you are a fan remember killed off one of Harry’s friends in the end of the last film.
Throughout the film though, Harry is faced with lies as the Wizarding community denies the truth about Harry’s recent encounters with Lord Voldermort and Dumbledore becomes shady not talking to and avoiding Harry. We however, are introduced to a new character, Dolores Umbridge, set to make his life and his fellow classmates a living hell. The film envolves the Minister for Magic and an army set by Harry, calling themselves the “Dumbledore army,” who is taught by Harry to prepare them for a possible attack of Lord Voldermort.

Personally, I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars. If you love Harry Potter or love a good movie, then you definitely won’t be disappointed. The cinematography of this film is incredible and the magic and mayhem are present as well, so make sure you go are catch “Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix,” the fifth Harry Potter movie to come out. You won’t be disappointed regardless they take out a few things here and there than what the book has.

Written By: Jessica Potter
Private Screening:
Thursday, June 28th, 2007
Orlando, Florida- AMC Theater Downtown Disney

BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad

This is the anime for music-lovers! It follows a group of teenage, Japanese musicians as they try to make it big in America. The lead character is a fourteen-year-old loner who is catapulted into a phenomenal world of music when he saves a dog named Beck from some kids. Beck’s owner, Ryusuke, is in the process of forming a band, however, he takes the time to teach Koyuki a little about music. Later, they discover that Koyuki has an amazing voice and he joins the band. This anime has an atrocious amount of language, some violence, and a bit of nudity. That’s your only warning.

The music of BECK is described as punk and rapcore, which is a fusion of hip-hop, hardcore punk, heavy metal, alternative rock, and a little funk. There are all sorts of references and homages payed to modern day bands and musicians from the past. The Pillows make a cameo appearance, with portions of three songs played in the final episodes by a band that mirrors them. In the ending theme, a picture of Kurt Cobain appears with the words “Kurt 1994.” Beat Crusaders perform the opening theme, “Hit in the USA,” along with numerous other songs for the soundtrack. During the Greatful Sound Festival, a visitor walks by with the word “BECR” on his shirt, paying homage to Beat Crusaders. The Band Typhoon 24 also wrote and performed many of BECK’s songs.

Bands featured in BECK:
Beat Crusaders - Single
Hit in the USA – opening theme
Super Collider
B. A. D.
Moon On the Water

Meister - Single
Above the Clouds – ending theme
My World Down

Soundtracks:
Original Soundtrack 1: Beck
Original Soundtrack 2: Keith
BECK Tribute – Greatful Sound (Purposefully misspelled…Why, you ask? Nobody seems to know…)

Funimation has liscenced BECK, which means that there is a phenomenal cast! Christopher Bevins and Tallisen Jaffe are the directors. Jaffe moved to Fort Worth for a year and crashed in a voice-actress’ living room to direct this anime. According to him, he saw the Japanese version of BECK before. Then, Chris called him up and said, “Hey, you know that anime BECK?” “ Yeah, I pity the poor bastards who’ve got to adapt it.” “ How would you like to come to Forth Worth and help me do it.” “ What the hell…why not.” It was an impossible undertaking, but they came out with one of the best anime dubs to date. We wouldn’t expect anything less from an amazing studio such as Funimation.
They decided to translate and adapt all of the music in Beck. Some of the songs were in English already, but they still chose to adapt it with their own voice-cast. Fortunately, most of the voice actors are also musicians and understood the way they needed to play their roles. Jerry Jewel plays the same instrument as his character, the bass, and so he was able to play it for his role as well as voice-act. Greg Ayres was able to sing perfectly for Koyuki. This truly is an all-star cast! Mike McFarlane was called in to be the director of music. Some of the songs that were to be adapted didn’t have voiceless, or karaoke, versions. Fortunately, Mike found a guy who helped them to recreate the music itself. If the original musicians used a Gibson, he would pull out a Gibson and play. This adaptation is incredible!

Characters and Voice Actors:
Yukio (“Koyuki”) Tanaka – Greg Ayres (Second guitar and second vocalist…usually for their slower songs.)
Ryusuke (“Ray”) Minami – Eric Vale ( Lead guitarist and founder of the band. Modeled after Jimmy Hendrix…or at least his hair was.)
Ken’ichi Saitou – R. Bruce Elliot (Koyuki’s guitar and swimming teacher.)
Maho Minami – Brina Palencia (Ryusuke’s sister and fantastic vocalist.)
Izumi Ishiguro – Colleen Clinkenbeard ( Koyuki’s childhood friend.)
Yoshiyuki Taira – Jerry Jewel (1st recruited band-member. Plays a Music Man StingRay. Resembles Flea, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist. Plays like the bassist from Rage Against the Machine.)
Tsunemi Chiba – Justin Cook ( Lead vocalist.Named the band BECK after Ryusuke’s dog.)
Yuji Sakurai – Johnny Yong Bosch (4th band-member. Followed Ryusuke from his old band Serial Mama. Drummer.)
Momoko (“Momo”) Ogusawara – Gwendolyn Lau
Eiji – John Burgmeier (Ryusuke’s rival from Serial Mama. His new band, Belle Ame, is also BECK’s rival.)
Eddie Lee – Jason Liebrecht ( Lead Guitarist for the famous Dying Breed. A childhood friend of Ryusuke’s, who made it big in America. He helped Ryusuke steal Beck and Lucille(Ryusuke’s guitar, also called Prudence in the English version.)
Mark Reed – Daniel Katsuk ( Lead singer for Dying Breed.)
Beck – Christopher Bevins (Modeled after Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie.)

I hope you all enjoy BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad! The First DVD and boxset came out today (06/26/07). The box is shaped like an amp and decorated with travel stickers from all over the world. It also comes with BECK guitar picks and stickers. The second DVD comes out 08/14/07. Support Funimation. They are the only dubbing studio working hard to give us QUALITY voice-work. Their translations are always top of the line. I hope you enjoy the English and Japanese versions of this fantastic anime.

Here's the opening scene of the anime:


Written by: Stacey

Amanda's Band of the Week: The Kooks

I enjoy listening to The Kooks a great deal. Luke's raspy sweet voice goes well with Paul's mellow guitar riffs and Max's funky bass lines. Of course there wouldn't be a band without the backbone which is the very laid back drumming of Paul. These guys make some pretty good music together, and because of this I recommend you all check them out. This British band was formed when all the band members were students at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music in England. The first to meet were Luke Pritchard(vox & rhythm guitar) and Max Rafferty (bassist). After Hugh Harris (lead guitar) and Paul Garred (drummer) joined the band all they needed to do was decide on a name. After listening to David Bowie's song entitled, "Kooks" from his Hunky Dory album, they decided on that name.
Members:
Vocals & Guitar - Luke Pritchard
Backup Vocals & Guitar - Hugh Harris
Bass - Max Rafferty
Drums - Paul Garred

This is their video for one of my favorite songs by them, "Naive":

Check them out at: The Kooks.

Written by: Amanda ;p

Amanda's Video of the Day : Urban Ninja

A couple of months ago I found this video on youtube and thought it was one of the most coolest things ever. Enjoy ;]

Atmosphere: We Sing For the Monster

Atmosphere is a Minnesota based, hip-hop duo consisting of rapper Slug (Sean Daley) and DJ/Producer Ant (Anthony Davis).

Atmosphere are one of my all time favorite artists mostly because of Slug's voice. It grabs you and spits in your face, and I enjoy music like that. Atmosphere is a group that puts a great amount of emotion behind each lyrical phrase that intertwines perfectly with the melodic beats of each track.

Lucy Ford is probably one of my favorite Atmosphere albums because I, as the listener, can identify with most of the songs. Their visual lyrics and analogies seem to take hold of your brain. You can close your eyes and picture what Slug is talking about. Those are some crazy skills. A clever verse that I enjoyed was from "Like Today", the second song off the Lucy Ford EP: "so I dipped back out into a cloud of tattoos / pierced body parts and colorful hairdos / and I questioned, did Babylon resemble this? / are we getting any closer to the end of the list? / a sensuous kiss, placed on apoco-lips."

My favorite song from this same album is number 14, "The Woman with the Tattooed Hands". To me, this song was so powerful. I absolutely loved it.

A good amount of people have had an unsuccessful relationship, therefore they can understand where Slug is coming from when he says, "As much as I hate myself, I hate you more / But I still smile when you come through that door / And as much as I hate my life, I hate yours too / Just can't seem to teach myself to ignore you".

This is their video for the song "Say Hey There" that's off their latest album, "You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having".

I know this article doesn't do much for Atmosphere but I love them and hope that you'll check them out after you read this.

Written By: Amanda