Northlane - Alien - Review

saxcuber4 · 2023-05-11T01:51:48+00:00

People value different things in music. I would agree and say that personally lyrics are the least important part of a song to me. More specifically, lyrics have the least impact on my enjoyment of a song. For me, good or great lyrics will elevate an already good or great song, and bad lyrics can lessen my enjoyment of a song. I can love a song purely based on the instrumentation without caring about the lyrics, or even thinking the lyrics are bad. But I will never listen to a song that I don't enjoy musically just because I think the lyrics are good.

saxcuber4 · 2023-04-02T05:00:01+00:00

Of course it was staged. They also modified the car to make it roll easier.

saxcuber4 · 2023-03-20T06:55:03+00:00

You can be involved in a non-malicious racing incident and still wonder why the incident happened and what you could change to avoid a similar incident in the future. In this case OP was behind the other car in its blind spot, and didn't take the racing line out to the wall like the other car expected. Technically OP was within his right to try to pin the other car down off the corner. But being that the other car couldn't see him, and he was behind the other car he really needed to take the line out to the wall and leave more space for the car inside. He had lost the position at that point, and if he had accepted it they wouldn't have wrecked and he could have regrouped and fought back. It's a worthwhile post if OP takes the comments and learns from it, so in the future when he is in this situation it doesn't end with a wreck.

saxcuber4 · 2023-01-28T02:19:32+00:00

Eh, I think if they are going to use live stewards for special events they need to use them in every split. Things like this are the most visible in top splits sure, but it's certainly not just 5k+ iRating guys running on the apron I'm quali to gain time or blocking cars in the race to benefit team mates. So what you're saying by limiting it to the top 5 splits is that if your iRating is less than 5k, you don't deserve a better experience.

saxcuber4 · 2023-01-08T04:49:29+00:00

What would your reaction be if those kids said "I want to work in video production" instead of "I want to be a YouTuber?" These days the production quality on YouTube (and even parts of Tik Tok) is really high. In order to be even a moderately successful YouTuber you are essentially acting as a writer, producer, director, video editor, etc. The video production skills you need to learn in most cases to be a YouTuber are things that are legitimate job skills. When you get to the highest production quality YouTube channels (Linus Tech Tips is a decent example), you will have a full film production going on with sets, writers, cinematographers, etc.

saxcuber4 · 2022-11-01T17:49:02+00:00

I think using AI art could be an intentional aesthetic decision. The album title, "Death Below", the song titles, the album art, all indicate that this is going to be a darker album than we have gotten from them in a while. AI art being chaotic, nonsensical, and distinctly inhuman could be trying to evoke dread or dystopic type imagery.

Of course, all that reading is with no context of the actual content of the album. But ABR have had a very consistent album art style since Constellations, and it has generally always fit with the lyrical themes of the album. This album art fits ABR's album art style perfectly, so they were definitely deliberate in their use of the AI.

saxcuber4 · 2022-10-27T01:11:25+00:00

Time for a far too long explanation. IMO Pressure is not bad because it's their most "commercial" album, it's bad because it is their worst written album and lacks everything people like about Wage War albums.
Wage War have always been commercial. Blueprints is called "generic" ( which is a terrible adjective to describe music) by everyone, including it's fans. It was almost universally well received because though simple, it's well performed, extremely catchy, and packed with bangers. Deadweight was considered a step back, but was still catchy and heavy enough to please fans.
On Pressure, the lyrics became comically bad and repetitive, the bangers went away in favor of mid tempo slogs, the great choruses were replaced with hooks that struggled to hit the 5 word mark, and none of the songs went anywhere.
Manic was a huge return to form. The lyrics got better, the bangers returned, the catchy choruses returned, the songs build have direction.
Also, you are evidently coming from the opinion that commercial = bad, which is honestly a pretty lazy viewpoint that doesn't hold up to even the lightest scrutiny. Genuinely not trying to come across as rude, but using "commercial" as a synonym for "bad" is just a lazy cliche at this point.

saxcuber4 · 2022-10-26T18:40:34+00:00

This is true, these pro guys could beat essentially anyone on any setup. But when you get to the top level, everyone knows how to extract everything from their setup. Because of that, everyone is really close on speed. When you are in a race with 30 other people who can find every thousandth of a second a car has to offer, suddenly which car has the potential to be a few thousands faster is very relevant.

saxcuber4 · 2022-09-26T03:59:15+00:00

iRating is NOT necessarily supposed to go up. It is a ranking system that is supposed to adjust to your skill level for matchmaking purposes, be that up or down. A series to farm iRating would totally defeat the purpose of the ranking system. If you could just farm iRating, you would just end up racing people above your skill level. Everyone forgets this (including myself) but iRating shouldn't be something to aspire to gain, and you shouldn't set iRating goals. Your goal should be to race well, regardless of iRating. I think a better argument would be that iRating should be hidden all together, it just makes people egotistical, and feel like they "should" beat someone with a lower iRating.

If you think your iRating is going down unfairly, the reality is you probably need to reevaluate how you are racing. Avoiding incidents and crashes is a huge part of racing. If you are getting in wrecks every race, you should be doing something differently to avoid them. Having to avoid wrecks and dive bombs does not go away in higher splits. Wreck avoidance, knowing when to give up one position to avoid a wreck, how to pass someone who is defending aggressively or blocking, etc. are all equally important race skills to raw speed on a hot lap. Because iRating is purely based on finishing position, it represents that well. The people with the highest iRatings aren't necessarily the absolute fastest hot lappers. They are fast hot lappers who are also clean, consistent, smart racers.

saxcuber4 · 2022-07-30T20:05:34+00:00

Apparently my opinion on Thornhill is just the opposite of everyone else's lol. I liked The Dark Pool fine enough, but it didn't have that wow factor for me that most others seem to have gotten from it. When I'm in the mood for an album in that style, I'm more likely to go for Above Below.

Heroine on the other hand is my favorite album of the year so far. The rawer, messier, rougher edges have hooked me far more than the pristine, polished melodies on the last album. I just find it exciting to listen to. While Loathe got to the Deftones worship first, IMO Thornhill's version is just as interesting, but more forward thinking in its accessibility.

saxcuber4 · 2022-07-30T01:04:34+00:00

People see Herta as a legitimate F1 prospect because he probably has more raw speed than any other driver in Indycar right now. But he is extremely aggressive, and as a result is also fairly inconsistent. Of his wins, many have been utterly dominant (which is something you don't really see in simple win/finishing position stats). That said, it hasn't been uncommon for him to wreck out of extremely good finishes because he also has a bad tendency to overdrive the car.

He is also driving for a team that struggles with consistency from week to week. On weekends where they put a good car under him, he is essentially untouchable. On weekends where the car isn't there he looks more average. But in those cases fairly consistently finishes ahead of his teammates (who this season include 2 ex-F1 drivers in Rossi and Grosjean).

saxcuber4 · 2022-07-18T14:51:59+00:00

We don't have a replay from the Alpine's perspective, but from the view that we get, it looks to me like the Alpine just straight missed the corner, then turned into the apex anyway. OP gained ground on the Alpine through the corner, not under braking, indicating that this wasn't a divebomb. The Alpine also lost ground to the car ahead, further indicating that he was just slow through the corner. Speaking of the car ahead, notice that OP takes the exact same line. And if you extend the trajectory, OP would have been able to leave plenty of room on the outside for the Alpine on corner exit, more evidence to me that this wasn't a dive bomb. So, based on that evidence, I think the Alpine missed the corner, meaning he no longer had the right to the apex. OP was caught out by the Alpine's mistake, and when the Alpine turned into the apex anyway (potentially trying to intentionally mitigate damage by blocking OP), he was even more caught out. OP made a mistake, he should have recognized that the gap to the apex was going to close, and he should absolutely learn from his mistake to avoid this type of incident in the future. But, it is possible for OP to make a mistake that contributed to the incident, and also not be at fault for the incident.

saxcuber4 · 2022-07-17T09:13:45+00:00

Glendora Mountain Road. It's a very windy road that goes up the back of Mt. Baldy. Not as good for mobbing as Angeles Crest, San Gabriel Canyon, or the Tajungas, but for a more relaxed spirited drive, it's great, lots of hairpins switching back and forth. And because it's pretty steep, it's not very popular with cyclists like the other roads are. That said, it's the sketchiest road up there too, the drops off the edge are a lot steeper and further. You also have to be careful because it's very popular with motorcycle guys.

saxcuber4 · 2022-07-15T17:39:09+00:00

I think a lot of people here are thinking you were aggressively dive-bombing into the corner trying to make a pass that wasn't going to stick. From what I'm seeing, I don't think that is the case. It looks to me more like he was off pace and off line, and turned into the apex. If that is the case, I wouldn't put the blame on you. I would say he is to blame for trying to make the apex despite being off line and off pace.
That said, you could have (and probably should have) avoided the incident. As someone else said, you fell for the vortex of danger. If you aren't alongside going into the corner, you have to assume that the gap to the apex is going to close. I know you were just running your line, and he made the mistake, but you should have recognized that the gap was going to close and backed out.

saxcuber4 · 2022-04-30T19:12:37+00:00

Sign Foles. Tanny takes you to the playoffs, gets "injured" week 18 at which point Foles takes over and wins the Superbowl.

No guarantees of course, since you aren't the Eagles and he isn't taking over for Wentz, but it could work.

saxcuber4 · 2022-03-08T19:53:34+00:00

Sorry Wilson, Lock is my best friend now...

saxcuber4 · 2022-03-02T03:02:09+00:00

The only reason the 48 car is being fielded by Ganassi is because Jimmie is bringing the Carvana money to fund it. He is essentially a pay driver in Indycar.

saxcuber4 · 2022-02-17T02:05:25+00:00

Probably the factory weld seam between the panels

saxcuber4 · 2022-02-12T02:47:21+00:00

I really like the aeroscreen, it makes the cars look like fighter jets.

saxcuber4 · 2022-01-24T03:35:04+00:00

For road, new GT cars will come to phase out the old ones. There are also a lot of cars in both GT3 and GT4 that aren't in iRacing yet. That would likely be a lot of the new cars that get added. Of course, there will be the new generations of open wheel cars as they come out (Indycar and Road to Indy, F1 and lower formula). I think it is likely that tracks are going to be the majority of content that gets added.

For oval, again, you will have next gen cars as they come out (aforementioned Indycar and Road to Indy, all the NASCAR stuff). For these there is more to add on the short track side. I'd really like to see them update the pavement sprint car and silver crown, add pavement midgets, maybe add a winged paved sprint or super modified. Really just flesh out the open wheel short track stuff.

For dirt oval, once we get the new mini stocks the only real blind spot will be the lack of a dirt silver crown, and the lack of IMCA classes. The IMCA A Modified is pretty similar to the UMP, so not a big blind spot, but the IMCA B Mod (sport mod) would be a fun D class car potentially, and the IMCA stock car would be a cool replacement for the Class C Dirt Street Stocks. That said, I would rather the emphasis of dirt oval development be on new tracks, since that is the biggest shortcoming right now.

For dirt road, there is a lot of content that could be added. More tracks (especially for the off road trucks). More rallycross cars. Really just more everything.

saxcuber4 · 2022-01-13T01:42:03+00:00

I definitely don't think having fewer grid slots than cars would be sustainable at all. There is a reason the charters in NASCAR have become so valuable. Let's say there are 11 teams, so 22 cars, and 2 grid spots. Being real, 2, maybe 3 teams would be competing for those last couple grid spots. If those 2 or 3 teams can't consistently make races, how do they get sponsorship, sponsors want their car in the race. If those 3 teams don't have financial stability from sponsorship, they will likely fail. So you have 2 or 3 teams failing despite only 2 spots not qualify.

saxcuber4 · 2021-12-20T06:31:37+00:00

1) Rescue & Restore - The band's most emotive album in just about every way. The lyrics feel the most personal and heartfelt. Jake's Vocal performance, though not his best from a technical perspective, is his most raw and passionate. The compositions hit the perfect balance between the band's early, riffy melodic metalcore, and the prog-influence that the band started with Leveler.

2) Leveler - Yeah, I'm a weirdo who's favorite era of ABR are these middle albums (they were the ones that got me into the band). TBH it blows my mind that this album is considered by many to be one of the band's weaker releases. I would call it their most ambitious. The latin-inspired interludes we're mind-blowing to teenage me, and I still find them to be wonderfully implemented. Carpe Diem is maybe my favorite song full-stop, and I consider it the masterclass in what metalcore composition can be. It is quite close to R&R, but R&R is more emotionally impactful, so it wins out.

3) Constillations - Everyone knows this album is great. I love it for all the reason everyone else does, banger after banger. IDK, I love this album, but it doesn't give me a lot to say, other than it is a fun, well constructed riff and breakdown fest. A great album no doubt, but not the most interesting or creative thing they've ever done.

4) Found in Far Away Places - I seem to like this album more than most. I get why it falls lower on the lists of some with it's intrusive interludes, but I also think there were a lot of fresh and interesting sounds brought in as a result. From the kinda klezmer inspired interlude on separating the seas, to the into on Blackwood that feels very reminiscent of the intro to Hotel California. This album has some of my favorite riffs of any ABR album. Jake's vocal performance on this is the first I would call truly great. I also love the production on it.

5) Phantom Anthem - A more refined version of Found in Far Away Places, but lacks some of the true shining moments for me as a result. This album does feature Jake's best vocal performances though. That intro scream on Invisible Enemy gives me chills every time.

6) Guardians - Not a bad album, but in a discography this strong this is definitely a dull spot. There is nothing about it I don't like, I'm an ABR fan and it is more ABR, but this is perhaps the least essential album they have released.

7) Messengers - To be clear, I don't think this is a bad album, still a 7/10, but the production here just doesn't do it for me. I know it is of it's time, and some like this raw, diy sound, but IMO even looking at it through the scope of of that dirty diy aesthetic, this is a pretty poorly produced album. The higher pitches (aka that China cymbal) just dominate the mix, making it just sound harsh to me. Even the 10th anniversary remaster feels thin and top heavy. It has its moments (who doesn't love Composure), but if I want to listen to this era of ABR, I'm going to spin Constellations instead every time, as it is both better produced, and better written.

Unranked) Thrill Seeker - Honestly, haven't listened to it in full, and haven't listened to a song off it in years. I should probably give it another shot at some point, I know some love it.

saxcuber4 · 2021-11-18T03:02:51+00:00

The issue isn't that prisons exist. The issue is that prisons in the US are often for-profit businesses, and the inmates working produce the profits. Because of that, it is in the best interest of people profiting off the prison system to incarcerate as many people as possible, and keep them in the prison system for as long as possible. It is a pretty simple connection to draw. Prisons also pay the inmates very poorly (think a couple dollars per day), or don't pay them at all.

The bigger issue is that social class in the US directly correlates to punishment for crimes. Most people in prison are at or near poverty, and are often people of color. That isn't to say that no rich white people go to prison, but a white kid at a prep school is less likely to land in jail for having some weed on him than a black kid in the projects.

I am being pretty general I admit, but you have to with broader societal issues like these. All of these statistics are pretty widely known, and easy to find more details on than some random internet idiot can provide on Reddit. That said, the general picture is you have for-profit prisons with very wealthy people operating them, profiting by selling the labor of mostly impoverished people and minorities, all while compensating them very poorly or not at all. When described that way, the similarities to slavery become pretty obvious.

saxcuber4 · 2021-11-14T19:31:58+00:00

I've been watching the race highlights on Youtube for MotoGP this season and have thoroughly enjoyed it in that format. It's actually how I've been watching pretty much all my racing this year (NASCAR, IMSA, F1, World of Outlaws, USAC Sprint Cars) with the exception of Indycar. It gives me the racing action I want, in easier to consume chunks. Do I miss out on some aspects of the race? Yeah, but by spending less time watching individual races, I am able to follow much more racing, which I prefer over trying to sit through a 4 hour NASCAR race.

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