Video Game Addiction
Overall, I think that the danger in gaming these days is not necessarily the violence portrayed, but the addictive qualities within them. It’s very easy to just place yourself into another virtual universe, in much the same way that some claim drugs can transport the mind to another place. To those with troubled home lives, or who feel they have little value in life, I think it’s easy to see how massive RPG’s like World of Warcraft could be addictive. They go to these places to become beautiful, to have a social life, or for a million other reasons. In reality, though, they are forsaking their real existences for a virtual one. On a personal note, I was at least somewhat addicted to games like the Elder Scrolls series and The Sims for a while. I don’t consider myself addicted, necessarily, but I used to be a very frequent user. Even though I play these games less now than I used to, I still get an occasional craving to play them. The rewarding aspects are so appealing, and disenchantment with life for one reason or another makes it easy to crave an escape route. If you bomb a test or your girlfriend breaks up with you, etc. you can always escape to the land of Morrowind, where you’re Thrugg, the Level 41 Nord Battlemage, and you can kill a Golden Saint with a single swipe of your enchanted axe. I finally decided to take it out in a more constructive form – writing. I found that by writing fiction, I was even freer to explore my own path than in gaming worlds. I was the director, the producer – I could play God, if you will. Plus, I was creating something that if I kept with it might be able to get me some money. I currently am about halfway through a novel of my own, working on it when I have the time.
This, I think, is the direction that we as a society need to take. When kids devote all their spare time to video games when they should be out hanging out with friends, they miss lessons they won’t get in the classroom. In some areas, I still have the social skills of a fourteen year old. It is a bit of a losing battle in a sense, though, since the game designers are trying to produce a hit product, and with increasing technology, the final products will only continue to be more impressive. My main concern, though, is that we will become so focused and dependant on electronics for our entertainment, that we will miss out on the fundamental parts of being humans. Of course, they said the same thing about comic books in the 1950’s, and kids still turned out all right. So maybe I’m right, and maybe I’m wrong, but what I do know is that there are way too many kids who need to get off the couch and do something constructive in this country.
Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace is Uplifting, Drab, Irritating, yet Decent
This week, I decided to review the relatively new Foo Fighters album released this September, since I hadn’t gotten the chance to hear it yet
The Pretender – An upbeat, track with a very Foo-Fightersish riff. But, Honestly I’m not really a fan – it has a sound and tone very reminiscent of One-by-One era Foo work. As it progresses, the song picks up in my mind, but overall, nothing spectacular.
Let it Die – Like many songs in this album, it features a primarily soft, more acoustic sound, building into a more upbeat, driving sound. There’s nothing particularly spectacular or noteworthy about the track, so let’s move on.
Erase/Replace – In contrast, this track is a driving, hard-hitting track from the very start. Ultimately, though, cheesy lyrics and a less-than-spectacular rhythm make the listener move to the next track before the song is even done, as I’m doing right now.
Long Road to Ruin – At first impression, not a bad song – it has the same feel as other big Foo songs like “Times Like These” and “Learn to Fly” I can see this being a decent single. It’s upbeat and yet decidedly unique.
Come Alive - I can appreciate acoustic at times, but personally it’s not my cup of tea. This song has a certain sound though, which is just overall pleasing to listen to. Much like “Let it Die,” though, it features a soft first 2min. followed by about another three minutes of the same clichéd upbeat guitar that is so characteristic of this album. The solo isn’t bad, and I always like to hear Dave Grohl screaming, but it’s decidedly mediocre.
Stranger Things Have Happened – The acoustic part at the very start of the single is very interesting – I’d even go so far as to call it a little Nirvana-esque at times. It showcases a little bit of that grunge influence still present on the first Foo-Fighters album. All in all a decent track.
Cheer Up, Boys (Your Makeup is Running) – Right from the start, a total contrast to the previous track. It has that classical uplifting Foo Fighters sound, to make an excellent track, all in all.
Summer’s End – As the album begins to wind down, Summer’s End provides a slow steady tune to bring the album toward a close. Ultimately, though, there isn’t really anything special or noteworthy about the track.
Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners – I think it’s really great that the Foo Fighters put this track on here – it has a cool, acoustic sound, and though an instrumental, is worth a listen. The song was written for the Beaconsfield miners, who were trapped in an Australian mine collapse, and while awaiting rescue requested just an iPod with Foo Fighters songs on. Way to repay the favor.
Statues – A nice track overall – it has a good uplifting beat, it features a cool piano part, and what I’m pretty sure is an accordion in the background – a really nice song.
But, Honestly – I consider this the best track on the album. It has an uplifting, acoustic beat, but when listening to it, it can conjure up strong emotion and memories, like other big Foo hits like “Times Like These” and “Best of You” – it has a very nostalgic tone in some ways. They finally got it right when building into a driving climax, though – this is truly a great track. I’d call it one of the top ten Foo Fighter songs thus far.
Home – Not bad overall; like “Statues” it has a piano part as a main part. It’s a good closer, but the album wouldn’t have lost anything by not including it. It’s a little depressing to go from a great track like “But, Honestly” to this. However, it’s not bad. If I were sitting on a front porch in Montana watching the sun set, it’d be awesome.
All in all, The Foo Fighters have produced a mediocre album, I think. I’d give it 3 stars. I’m a little discouraged at the consistency in sound throughout, and their lyrics overall don’t seem to be getting much better. Ever since their third album, they seem to have lost the fluidity present on Foo Fighters and even into their sophomore album. I would say their previous effort, In Your Honor was better album. Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace does make an interesting departure toward a more stripped-down, acoustic sound. There is much more simplicity present overall. What I crave however, is that genius simplicity off their self-titled debut. That album had simple, catchy rhythms, blending what Dave Grohl had learned under the Godfather of Grunge Kurt Cobain in his tenure with Nirvana, and yet a distinctly new, different sound. That new, different sound has been something of a sell-out to typical post-grunge sounds in recent efforts. Still, there is still a certain individuality about this band that will likely never go away, and it’s apparent, if somewhat dimmed.
The Future of Mass Media
Mass Media in its current state is highly dependant on electronic forms of media to convey its points. Right now, we are in a transition state between the traditional forms of media, things like magazines and newspapers, and even television, and moving towards an increasingly electronic field of information. Newspapers are being replaced with blogs of uninformed, often amateur, self-proclaimed reporters. In addition, the newspapers and magazines of America are increasingly transferring to an electronic format themselves. The question is whether they themselves will survive the test of time in the long run; though I think that more people will trust a name like “The New York Times” over a random blog, there is also a general trend of increasing apathy amongst the new generation which ultimately may lead to a decrease in the news industry as a whole. I hope that it never reaches such a point, but it’s certainly possible. What I really find disturbing, however, is that some of these massive RPGs like World of Warcraft and such are actually generating virtual economies and that people are becoming rich off them. Furthermore, people are making new “games” where supposedly people can go to a virtual store and buy real products. I’ve seen and heard some really stupid things before, but this tops them all. We need to draw the line somewhere. Overall, I think that in 10 years’ time, It would not be unreasonable to assume that the newspaper industry and print media in general will be dramaically reduced if not completely erradicated, as new technologies on the internet become more and more advanced over time.
Free Speech
In response to a recent reading on Free Speech and media law, I thought I’d share my views on free speech. I’ll try to make this quick and painless, because I’ve got a game of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion with my name on it as soon as I’m done with this, and as much as I love free speech, I really want a suit of elven armor for my character, Elethor the Bard.
The way I see it, free speech is a common sense matter for the most part – the crazies should be restricted when necessary (or just ignored), but by and large if it’s an educated person, I think that they should be able to say pretty much whatever they want. There are some people I do think should actually have their speaking privileges revoked, among them Pat Robertson, Bill O’Reilly, and Ann Coulter for starters, but they do have the right to say pretty much whatever they wish as Americans. Thankfully, that wonderful, rights-abolishing piece of legislation known as the Patriot Act doesn’t seem to be overly restrictive yet, because they can say things like, say, to assassinate the leaders of certain South American countries (ring a bell, Pat Robertson?) and the media will still make fools of them, as they rightly should. By and large, I think people also realize that people like this shouldn’t exactly be taken seriously, but then, they did elect George W. Bush twice…maybe that’s an overstatement.
My liberal biases aside, I say that as long as what you’re doing doesn’t hurt or defame another person, and that your reporting s accurate, then it should be allowed. By the same token, too much expression can also be a bad thing. Flag burning is alright. Some claim it is disrespectful to the veterans of our country. I think it’s important to show respect to our country, but only when it is worthy of respect. It’s like a little kid – you praise him/her when he’s doing something good, and give him a time out when he misbehaves. This is a little bigger than a time-out, of course, because it’s burning a flag, but the message is more or less the same – “you’ve done something wrong, and you’ve lost my respect for it – fix it now.”
