Review: Daft Punk's Random Access Memories

Wow, it's kinda been a few weeks since my last post. I guess that sort of thing happens when school gets busier at the end of the year. School is still pretty busy, so I'm gonna  write a shorter post for today. Since Daft Punk just released a new album, Random Access Memories, it might be fitting to have a little review of it, considering the duo's connection to Toonami.

So, what do I think about it? It's definitely nice to hear some new tracks from Daft Punk, but this album is less electronic-focused than their previous albums. Daft Punk collaborated with a whole list of other artists for this album, and as a result, I feel like that in most tracks Daft Punk act second fiddle to the other artist. The music is still very enjoyable, just don't expect it to be the most natural sequel to their earlier albums. As for my favorite track, I would have to pick the tenth track, "Motherboard", which also happens to be one of the two tracks on the album that was solely composed by Daft Punk.

Conclusion: Definitely worth a listen, but don't expect it to be another Discovery or Human After All.

 

My Favorite Toonami Promos/Intros, Pt. 1: Dragonball Z Android Saga Intro (2000)

Every Toonami fan has at least one promo or intro that is forever in their heart as something that they enjoy deeply. I have more than one of those, many in fact, so I decided to have a series of posts, each highlighting a specific promo/intro that has stuck with me for a long while.

My first is probably one of the most well-known Toonami Intros ever: the intro shown during the Android Saga of Dragonball Z in 2000. Dragonball Z was at a huge peak in popularity during this time, so the intro has stuck around in many people's memories. It stuck with me due it being part of the only thing my family recorded from Toonami on VHS tapes: the end of the Cell Games Saga, as my dad was a huge fan and was working evening shifts that week. Anyway, here it is:

 

Music: "Heavy" by Joe Boyd Vigil

So, why is this intro so darn awesome? I think because of its nice, fast pace, along with the alarm-like music that in a way reflects the "imminent threat" feel of the Android saga. Also, it premiered not very long before the Intruder TIE, so "Heavy" also fits really well with that.

Here's a little bonus I found on Youtube courtesy of DuelstG, starting at the 3:00 mark:

It's a TOM 1 (Pre-Intruder) version of the intro! This is probably the first time it has been posted onto the internet, so it's a real great find. It's really fun to think that there are still parts from Toonami's history that haven't seen the light of day on the Web, and this proves it.

Fun little thing: Alternative Covers for the Toonami Music Albums

I was messing around on my computer, and I decided that it would be fun to come up with new album covers for the three officially-released Toonami Albums (though technically the Megamixes can't really be called albums, I will for the sake of simplicity): Deep Space Bass, Black Hole Megamix, and Supernova Megamix. They use the new logo, and I'm proud that I was able to pull it off as well as I did. You may use them in any way you wish, though I ask that if you post them anywhere else, please credit me. Thanks!

Deep Space Bass

Download Here (click the Actions tab, then click "Download Photo")

A trend you'll notice through these covers is that I like having the background image be a representation of the album's title, in this case deep space. The image is part of the famous "Deep Field" picture taken by the Hubble telescope. I added the "Cartoon Network Presents" as a nod to the original cover having the CN logo on it. My favorite part of the cover is the effect I found that made the Toonami logo appear as if it was behind the galaxies shown in the photo. Also, I added a little throwback with the usage of BDDoomed (the font Toonami used from 1999-2000), which is available at Toonami Digital Arsenal, along with the other fanmade adaptions of Toonami fonts.

Black Hole Megamix

Download Here

Taking a cue from ACDC's Back in Black cover, I decided that a full black background with barely visible text and images would be a nice way to replicate the feel of a black hole. This combined with TOM 5's head, the Toonami symbol, and the usage of the other classic Toonami font, SF Transrobotics, makes for an image I am proud to say I made. It might be hard to see clearly in certain conditions, though.

Supernova Megamix

Download Here

This has to be my favorite of the three. It was the first one I made, and I learned some fun stuff to use in my photo-editing future. The artists and title are done in the font Polentical Neon, available at Dafont. I originally was going to put TOM's head in the supernova, until I realized the Toonami symbol fits very nicely in a circle. So I made the cover seen above, and decided to put TOM's head on the BH Megamix cover. 

So there you have it. Enjoy! 

Oh, and for those who are curious, I use Paint.NET.