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Garrett Williamson

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Posts posted by Garrett Williamson

    What are you career goals?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I think that's another intended effect of people who stand out with their music is that they open the eyes of people who never knew such a thing was possible, and I have to say, it's an amazing effect.

    Yeah it's awesome. I love it and it's really inspiring to me and my music.

    Miyamoto Said Casual Gamers Are Pathetic. Or Did He?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    whatever, they are kinda pathetic. 8-)

    I'm really happy that Nintendo is aiming more for the hardcore gamers.

    like I'm genuinely getting sick of the attempt to make games a thing everyone can do. Unless everyone wants to actually try, then no. Too many people don't care enough and that's kinda why some games are how they are nowadays, because they're aimed for everyone, including those who don't entirely care.

    Of course, this scheme of trying to aim for everyone has a possibility of having a better outcome financially, but I couldn't care less. So I'm so glad that Nintendo is going to be trying to make games more toward legit gamers as they notice that the ones who don't entirely care can just get the "you-don't-entirely-care" games on iPads and iPhones and whatever else.

    Super Smash Bros. 4

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Well, MPH tends to get ignored a lot, so I didn't bring it up (kind like how everything Sonic-related in Brawl blatantly ignored everything after Adventure 2). Seeing Trace as a playable character would be sick though. MPH had some pretty cool character designs, even if the game itself was mediocre.

    Dark Samus has a ton of awesome different powers, like that breaking/recombining thing she can do, floating, ground area ttacks, throw in a bunch of other arbitrary Phazon stuff and she could be interesting. She already floats...hell, she could practically be a clone of Mewtwo. Make her Final Smash having her turn back into fully-armored Metroid Prime and we have even more awesomeness.

    Certainly less of a clone than Dr. Mario, definitely...

    Dr. Mario wasn't much of a clone in Melee. I mean kinda, but not totally.

    What are you career goals?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    You basically said you like it when someone establishes their own unique sound palette / style, and might attract an amount of people to imitating that unique established style. Makes sense to me. I can tell when I'm listening to PrototypeRaptor, Jivemaster, WillRock, etc. because they wanted to stick to a reasonably consistent sound palette.

    Totally. I love when artists will dive into a new sound and try something different but they've always got at least a little bit that straight up says "this is [insert artist here]" just by hearing it. I use MJ as an example for everything. He changed his sound a bunch but you could always tell it was him, just by the way he did it. You just can tell. They establish their own little unique sound and even when they may change it up quite a bit, you can still hear it.

    I'm now officially rambling on and on. Pretty sure I repeated myself a few times there. hahaha

    What are you career goals?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Shouldn't music be more about being a wanderer than a leader? If one leads, one has expectations placed upon them. If one wanderers, they're more free to do as they want.

    While there are bands and artists out there repeating styles of music others before them have done, it could be as simple as that style of music resonates with them above any other.

    Like a friend of mine recently had said he was getting out of metal because it all sounds the same. I found that while part of his statement was true, one can always find 'unique' bands if you seek them, but we're always going to run into bands that 'sound like' someone else. It's like literature - we'll always run into authors whose books read like another.

    I think what the music industry and scene lacks is flexibility in opinions towards artists. People are torn on Amy Lee doing more electronica style music, but she stated she wanted to do something different from the norm. And why not let her? Music should be about exploration and finding that which connects with you, then making more of, fine tuning one's craft in that style until you feel its time to move on to a new style.

    That's just my opinion, though.

    No, I definitely get what you're saying and I agree. By being "the leader", I'm "wandering" into new territory, and trying things different and unique, if that makes sense. By trying to "be the leader"--which in my context more just means to be unique and stand out from the crowd (and if successful, being the "leader" of that new style)--I'm getting into territory that may have not been explored before.

    However, what I love is when unique people simply stand out. They're not just the leaders or pioneers of a specific genre, style, or sound, but they're one of the only ones that does it the way they do, if not the only one. That takes some major talent. Artists like Imogen Heap. Imogen Heap... I mean I really have never heard anyone like her. She's a genre of her own. And I mean there are artists that do a specific genre but sound very unique and I love that and for the most part that's what I've been talking about here. For example, anybody can tell when a song is by Katy Perry, even if her stuff is pretty mainstream pop-oriented. But now that I'm on that topic, she's kind of an example of a "pioneer" or "leader" of a style. She (and/or her producers) got into some different territory and created sounds that hadn't been used in that particular genre before. And then for a while, quite a few other artists were trying to grab that sound.

    That's what I love. I love both the person who's just completely unique and no one can even follow along, and I love the person who's completely unique in a way that he/she is a leader/pioneer of the sound and so they own it, and others may often follow. Am I making sense? Sometimes I don't and I wanna make sure that by trying to explain that statement, I'm not making things more confusing. :-P

    Mario Kart 8

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I am absolutely giddy over the Triforce cup and what the track designs may be like - Lake Hylia dodging octoroks and going underwater and stuff. Goron Mountains, passing by a giant goron and those giant rocks falling everywhere. Holy crap the possibilities are endless. And you know they're going to toss the Lost Woods up in there, with either the Link To The Past or Ocarina of Time forest music playing. Mark my words.

    dude.

    the dream.

    the dream is real.

    New Nintendo 3DS (3DS's successor)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    honestly I think part of the reason their systems aren't selling well is because recently they've been giving their stuff the stupidest names I've ever heard

    New 3DS? really? it sounded like a joke when I first heard it, just as much as Wii U and Xbox One sounded like a joke. what is up with these companies giving the worst names to their products?

    Super Smash Bros. 4

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    even if you act like Prime Hunters didn't exist.

    I think you mean Other M

    but yeah MPH had a few playable characters.

    there are very few characters I can think of in the Metroid series that would be good playable characters though.

    Dark Samus would seriously just be a clone of Samus. After all, Dark Samus is sort of a clone in Prime anyway.

    Super Smash Bros. 4

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Sooooooo no Metroid characters outside of Samus then, still? How sad. :( It's like they don't even want to acknowledge Prime 3 (RUNDAS RUNDAS RUNDAS RUNDAS) or something.

    There has never been more than Samus representing Metroid. She's the only character from that series to pop up as a playable character in any of the games.

    What are you career goals?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Lindsey Stirling is just one example. Violins have been used in EDM before as has performing with any kind of musical instrument while dancing. Being "unique" isn't as much of an advantage as you think it is because the second anyone does something unique that is cool, everyone else starts following suit and now you're among countless doing it. A few years ago, Amaranthe "stood out" because they mixed EDM with melodic death metal and had a mix of growls and sung vocals. Now I hear more and more bands doing that...oh, and bloodstain child was doing this whole EDM death metal thing years before Amaranthe. So much for being "unique".

    Also, where did I say it was "impossible"? I said it's not a reliable means of making money - which I didn't say was a reason not to try.

    I don't think you entirely read what I said hahaha. I had stated that record labels (and often artists themselves) get this mindset that "oh this guy did a new unique thing--everybody, we'll make a lot more money if we do the exact same thing" which always happens. Doesn't mean that "being unique" isn't an advantage. Often artists are titled the "pioneers" of the specific style because they began it before a crap-ton of others started doing it too.

    It always happens. You do something unique and people are going to follow. Period. "So much for being unique" is silly because whoever started it (or made it popular) still will go down in history for it. The pioneers almost always get noticed, often more than any of the "followers", if you will. You may be "among countless doing it", but there's a difference between the leader and the follower.

    I always strive to be the leader.

    What are you career goals?

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Garrett Williamson

    Good quote, but also

    I wouldn't say that's the only reason. It just might be the most common reason.

    It depends on how you are defining "musician". A person who just plays violin is probably going to have a hard time finding any paid work at all. The type of gigs they can get are limited to playing in an orchestra for films and games, playing on cruise ships, session work or teaching. For a violinist, all of those jobs are extremely scarce and even if you do land a major gig nothing says that you'll ever get another major gig again. In orchestra land, "major gig" is usually limited to playing in orchestras that record for media or are prestigious ensembles that host critically-acclaimed concerts. You have to be the best of the best to play with those ensembles. You can increase your chances by being a multi-instrumentalist, but that is often impractical as it takes many many years to get really good at just one and a lifetime to master.

    Lindsey Stirling pulled it off. Don't give me an excuse yet. Why'd she pull it off? Because she stands out. She's ridiculously unique. I don't really prefer her stuff but she has every right to have the popularity she does, because she did something entirely differently. I mean, she can freaking do an entire dance routine playing the violin, over well-produced EDM most of the time, and it actually works. I don't really like it, but I can't lie and say it sucks. It works. And it's super different because no one else does that.

    The thing is that every super successful artist--even if they only ever have a one hit wonder--usually gain that success out of creating something different. The stupid mistake labels make is having the mindset of "wow, everyone likes that new sound that guy created, I bet it will make us a bunch of money if we have our artists do that exact sound." And often that scheme works, but for a very limited time. Of course, labels just want money. They don't really care about the artistic image of the artist. At least not for the most part. An artist with a unique sound is going to pop out. And in the long run, what the artist is known for lasts longer than the money he gains from it.

    As we all know, competition here is fierce. You have to be very good at what you do and very well connected. Even if you are both of these things though, making consistent money is a perpetual challenge.

    Uh, heck yeah. It's freaking hard to get in it. Doesn't mean it's impossible.

    Ha. Truth is in this day and age, if you suck, you'll probably get more attention. Actually good artists who weren't gaining any attention ended up making stupid music (which, let's be honest, it's funny... the first guy that comes to mind is Krispy Kreme/Froggy Fresh Raps and IceJJFish) and what happened? Money everywhere. It's both hilarious and the most pathetic thing ever. Everyone loves listening to horrible crap because it's funny. I get that.

    But then the legitimately talented guys are struggling to even make it out there. It's frustrating. I remember there was some celebrity host I think (I don't remember who) that saw a video of IceJJFish (an intentionally horrible R&B singer) and he was honestly frustrated because while he claimed he worked pretty hard to end up gaining the success from what he did, this dude uploaded a video of himself singing horribly intentionally and the guy ended up racking up at least 25 million views and a crapton of money and some legit fame. Like what?

    I definitely don't think it's impossible though because I continue to move forward and I am way ahead of where I was even only a year ago. I believe it's possible, but yeah, it's super hard. I can't deny that. But like I said, I love a good challenge. :)

    Also, good marketing decisions. I couldn't believe how important this was until a year or two ago. You can't expect people to come falling at your knees with a bunch of money begging for albums and gigs by just throwing up an album on the internet even if you're a really talented guy. It unfortunately doesn't work. Horrible artists with good marketing decisions almost always end up being far more successful than the fantastic artist with the bad marketing moves.

    Super Smash Bros. 4

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    it's official. as far as that leak goes and unless the roster wasn't completely updated, there's no ice climbers. wtf

    Wow, I thought that out of all newcomers he would be the most secretly kept one.

    this is sakurai and smash bros 4 we're talking about here. they haven't been keeping anything secret.

    Mario Kart 8

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Double Dash! RR

    yes.

    They changed N64 Rainbow Road too much. They could add in one that is closer to the original

    I think so too. I feel that way about the majority of the retro stages. They're still cool though.

    Really interested in that cup with the Triforce symbol. I'd love to see more on that.

    Mario Kart 8

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I never understood the snobbery towards DLC, truthfully. I understand that if one pays for a game you expect it to be a whole product.

    The problem with DLC is that often the creators just sell the game unfinished and then sell the rest in DLC so the players have to pay more. I've never been a huge fan of DLC anyway but that's the main reason I have a severe problem with it.

    On the other hand, Nintendo successfully made this seem more like an add-on and true DLC rather than "the rest of the game." Other than a few mistakes I found in the game (that they fixed in an update, including adding a mini-map to the screen), the game felt finished... other than the battle mode. Battle mode was completely unfinished. Haha.

    What are you career goals?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I learned the long and hard way that trying to be a successful professional composer is basically a fool's errand these days (no offense intended to you guys still shooting for that) and I really don't want the difference of whether or not I can put food on the table be if I can find someone willing to pay me $400+ a minute for music now that everyone and their Mom does music and voice over work today.

    Getting into music is hard. But I'm motivated as crap and I'm definitely making some progress. Songwriting is one of the only ways people in the music industry make a healthy living nowadays, though. It's kinda always been that way but even more so now. Songwriting and live performances, usually. I'm trying to get into video game music composing as well as quite a few other things but it's all super tricky to get into.

    Getting into show biz can be really freaking hard. But that's all the more reason I'm going full force into it. I like a challenge.

    I believe that if you try hard enough and really have motivation, you're most likely to succeed. I'm not sure that's not always the case, but the more motivation, the better. Always.

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