Hello everyone. It's been a while since a serious blog post. I've been meaning to write one (I had a great idea for a "NES music that inspired me" blog post, but it would have been too long and pointless). This blog is in regards to the 2 things mentioned in the title.

First off, I had a silly idea for an April Fools joke. I thought it would be funny to write gag songs for people I was writing actual songs for on "DCA DLC" (originally titled Volume 3). The original blog post was supposed to be as if I suddenly became hollywood and decided to do whatever I wanted with the album. I would've made comments like "I didn't like ____'s title and idea so I used my own" and "After years of meditation, I've realized that my ideas are just plain better".

But I wasn't able to achieve what I wanted. Instead, I changed the concept to This.

The original plan was to write 15 songs, cutting the album in half, saying the other 15 would have to wait months until volume 7 came out. I was only able to write 10 because I kind of waited to the last minute (the last 7 songs were put together on the 31st of March). The new plan was for the album to both seem rushed, and that I was also being pursued by the police while I was typing up the blog post, so I couldn't exactly focus on what I was typing (it also helps that I was actually pretty drunk when I wrote it).

I posted it on March 31st because I wanted people to see it. From what I recall of Destructoid front page April Fool's jokes, it pretty much blocks access to the c-blogs (unless you directly link, although I think one year it would redirect to the front page anyway). I didn't realize this year's joke would let people still access the c-blogs.

The joke album was a combination of "not sure if serious or joking" and "obviously a joke song". Some songs would sound pretty cool, while others were obviously gags. These are the actual song titles (I labeled most of them Untitled in my original post).

01-Tapdancing Pirates (SephirothX) - Song is very playful but could pass for semi-serious. The 2nd half of the song is pretty silly with the organ/tuba combo.
02-PB & KY Jelly (Mix) - Obviously a joke song. While the drums and bass are fine, the electric piano is all over the place and usually not in time with the song. Not to mention the "solo" :p and the last note.
03-Court-appointed Therapy (Sir Legendhead) - Joke song, from beginning to end. Those are my vocals :P I basically improvised the song on the spot. I think I had to do a 2nd take on one of the later parts because I flubbed the lines I had thought up :P
04-Where Dingos Go To Die (Brett Zeidler) - The only real joke aspect is at the very end with the chants.
05-Mannpon (Lord of the Thunder) - I used loops to make this song. Some of them simply don't match up to the tempo, which is why there are empty gaps throughout the song.
06-Beggin' n' Ekks (StriderHoang) - Musically silly. More vocals from me, including some singing at the end.
07-Chunks of Stuff (Usedtabe) - MERRY CHRISTMAS.
08-Pussy-whipped Cream (Tarvu) - Pretty catchy song. Bassline is all over the place. Cats meowing :p
09-Tandem Tricycle (Truongasm) - This could be an actual song :p I thought the maniacal laugh and lady screaming "help me" were silly.
10-Oh No He Didn't (Ckarasu) - More vocal silliness. Song speeds up and slows down.

I had a good time making it. It kind of burned me out writing so many songs in one day, and I haven't quite recovered yet. I was probably going to take a different approach to DCA DLC. I would share the song with the "owner" of the song only, and once all 30 owners are ok with their songs, I would just release it on Bandcamp.

Also, Dtoid Album review Part II:

11) The Ruffians (VenusInFurs): One of my favorite types of compositions, the "dueling 8-bit leads" (split left and right) with the main lead in the center. Has a great melody and feel to it. The slowdown part at 2:27 is fantastic. [9.0]

12) Facemelter (Kaggen): Similar to track 11, dueling leads with one in the middle. Faster and darker. Very good song. Doesn't really do much, but still a great listen. [8.0]

13) bbliss (bbain): Absolutely love the guitar parts in this song. Drums work really well. 2nd part with the synth is just wonderful. [9.0]

14) Sultry Sounds of Thugnificent and Stranger Danger (SteezyXL): Very dark intro. Nice sounds in the background. I like it when the drums come in. BOOM @ 2:39. Very nice speed up and dramatic chords. [9.5]

15) Up in The Sky (manasteel88): Love the horns in the beginning. Unusual chord progression for me. Thumping bassline. This is basically an airship song for a video game. Nice 8-bit synth lead. Excellent 2nd part at @1:35. Awesome chords and bassline. [9.5]

16) Nagareboshi (Aiya): Very positive synthy dance song with a really fast lead melody. Intro sounds like FF Victory music =P. @1:11 2nd part sounds great. Love the buildup with the drums and then the synth. [9.0]

17) Garthim Goes to Wal-Mart (Occam's Electric Toothbrush): I was hesitant to include this song on volume 1 because I was afraid I wasn't experienced enough to create it yet. Many people requested it be the next song I work on so I put out what I could. It's one of my favorite songs on the album. It has a nice peaceful intro, which explodes into a dark, dramatic piece. [10]

18) The Purpose of Patterns (Scissors): This song stumped me. It was the last song I began work on in 2011 before I took a huge break and finished it in Feb of 2012 (after doing Hopelight for de5gravity). I like the speed and the instruments. What really sells me on this song is the time signature changes throughout. Starts with a typical 4/4 beat, then 6/4, then 4/4, then 5/4. 6/4 and 5/4 are the same melody with a note missing each measure. It might be hard to tell them apart. [9.5]

19) In Season (Wrenchfarm): Awesome beat at the beginning. Love slow tempo music. Excellent Bassline, and then when the guitar kicks in, I melt every time I hear it. [9.5]

20) Man Child of Destiny (meteorscrap): This (to my knowledge) is the only song that I didn't get approval from the person I wrote it for, because they never responded to me. I think he may have just stopped coming to Dtoid (or changed his name). It's a great song. Written mostly in 20/8 time, because that's the time signature of the drum loops I used. Guitars are a bit overwhelming, and it might be hard to hear what's going on in most of the song. Awesome 6/4 part at 0:55. Guitars sound excellent. Beautiful 8-bit synth lead. Reminds me a bit of the title theme from Solstice for the NES. [9.5]

Thank you for reading :) As mentioned on Twitter, I plan on doing a kickstarter to help create my next album. It won't be an actual kickstarter, I'm just going to post my phone number online so people can call me and tell me to get the fuck to work =p

Hello as I'nm typing this I've had a few frinks and I'm being chased by cht cops. I fnished vel3 of dtoid and uploded to

ybtoube before I get arrested. I wnt frm memory so it might nt be wht ppl asked 4 but is still accrate. OPnly 10 tracks,

other ppl gotta wait for Volume 7. Thx.

1-UNTITLED (SephirothX)
2-UNTITLED (Mix)
3-UNEFLTED (*(siR Legendhead)
4-UNTITLE$D *(B reet Zeidler)
5-VNEUSAED (Lrd OF THENXDER)
6-UNTKLELD (StderHwang)
7-Bully Goat Cheese (Usbatabe)
8-HAEL FAKER (TVUr)
9-Tandem Tricycle (Truongasm)
TEN-NOVEDISNAT (CKAWAEWRARAKRASU)

Pls comment rate and suvbricse so I can post bail. thanks. Happy new year.

Alphadeuseseses.

Hope you enjoy my confusing title. DCA obviously refers to Destructoid Community Album, a project which I am really proud to have created. If you don't know what it is, I basically wrote video game style theme songs for ~65 members of Destructoid, including staff. It can be listened to and downloaded for free on my bandcamp http://alphadeus.bandcamp.com

DCA Volume 3

I am going to start working on Volume 3 (name will be changed before completion since 1 and 2 were combined). If you recall being contacted about being on volume 3, I need you to contact me at Alphadeus@gmail.com (or pm) so I can confirm you are still around and want to be on the album. I will try to reach out to as many people as I can, but it's been a year, and I imagine some people either moved on, changed their names, or completely forgot about the project. I will make attempts to reach out to people to the best of my ability, but if I don't hear from anyone in a few weeks, I'll take their name off and find someone else that may be interested.

2AD13 Pt I

I didn't get a chance to mention this in my previous blog post, but I had originally planned to write a song for every day of the year. It became too much for me early on due to real life issues, so the project has been put on hold indefinitely. I created 8 songs:

1) Nocturnal Massacre (2013) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFd9aGWfxJI
2) Hold Back the Tears (2013) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhoLNGs0Rl8
3) Whispering Arrow (2013) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJKRCjixNXU
4) Nightmare Fuel (2013) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWDgVK94LlY
5) Distant Grave (2013) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NkQfaInKuI
6) Flight (2013) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEjtQi7FTBQ
7) A Flash of Death (2013) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIaqgsiDLas
8) Progress (2013) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISqTzvv6Guo

I hope you enjoy them.

DCA Review Pt I

As mentioned in my previous blog, I thought it would be a good idea to look back on my creations and give you my personal thoughts. Instead of reviewing 65-72 tracks in one shot, I'm going to split it into 6 parts (10 tracks for the first 5, 15+ for the 6th). I'm going to give a score to each track based on how much I enjoy listening to them. You may not know this, but I generally spent a few hours on each track, which means I never got sick of hearing them as I worked on them. I still listen to them almost daily before I go to bed. If you see that your song has a lower score than most, do not be discouraged. It's nothing personal, just my own personal feeling on the song that usually means "I could've done better on this track" as opposed to "this track sucks".

Tracks 1-10:

1) Law, Whiskey and Coke (LawOfThermalDynamics) - Upbeat jazzy track. Love the piano part (which I performed personally as opposed to composing it via piano roll). Saxophone sounds very nice. Bassline is awesome. Electric piano @ 2:07 is godlike. Piano solo at 2:39 is amazing. My only issue with the track is that some of the sax notes are a bit too loud. [9.5]

2) Cloudy Torturer (Corduroy Turtle) - Me and Corduroy had a falling out around this time last year, and he had asked me to remove him from the album. At first I obliged, but then I realized I don't fucking need to. I'm not going to change the song or who it's for. Anyway, I love the piano chords and the bassline. The muted trumpet sounds really cool. The calm strings at 1:10 are really nice. The piano notes at 1:30 are really awesome. A very relaxed piece overall, and something I can listen to whenever it comes up. [9.0]

3) Stuck Outside Without A Ticket (ChillyBilly) - Really awesome effects on the drums. Nice arpeggio lead. Piano at 1:28 is pretty. Then the song picks up with the arp and then the drums. Nice lead instrument. [9.0]

4) Knight of the Blogs (rexwolf2) - Excellent strings in the beginning. Love the horns and the snare drums. Dramatic around 1:00 mark. Interesting choice to use an 8-bit synth as the lead in the later half of this song but it really works out. [8.5]

5) in the mcgeether (smufee mcgee) - Love the intro instrument, plus it uses my favorite bass instrument that I use in a decent amount of songs. I love this kind of slow tempo music. Great piano sound, and then the arp. The bassline is a modified version of one used in a previous song. 2:14 when the other lead comes in is just great. Love this song. [9.0]

6) A Bo(e)y And His Wolf (Wolfy Boey) - Probably my third favorite song on the album. Love the beat, and the instruments. The 8-bit leads are amazing. The arpeggio at 1:07 melts me every time. Goosebumps. I love how at 1:42 even though it's the same original part, there's an extra 8-bit layer of notes that really beef up the song. [10]

7) I Love You With All My Arms (Qalamari) - This is probably JohnnyViral's favorite song =p I can see why. It's such a slow, amazing song. Love the piano in the beginning. I don't remember the beats per minute of the song, but it's probably the slowest drum pattern I ever worked with. The piano chords at 1:47 are performed by me instead of composed. Definitely makes the song better. The bell instrument is a great way to end the song. [9.0]

8) Epic Overture (Epic-Kx) - I love the strings and the intro chords/bass. Then the song explodes into an unusual bassline for me. Love the use of the 8-bit synth for the lead. My only issue with the first part of the song is that with the arp, there might be too much going on at once. 1:34 things calm down and then begins one of my favorite solos. I love the song, but I think I could've mixed it better. [8.5]

9) Symphony of the Monk (SuperMonk4Ever) - Best strings and horns intro ever :p. Love the "chanting" throughout the song. The song is pretty straightforward and solid. Not much else I can say. Awesome song. [9]

10) Apathy in Stereo (vApathyv) - Awesome intro. I like the bassline and the lead. I think the lead might be a tad too loud in some parts, but that's my fault. 1:21 when it drops to just a guitarish sound is amazing. Also love how it picks up with the drums and strings. I really enjoy this song. [9]

As you can tell, I'm not very good at reviewing things, especially my own stuff =p. My writing is very repetitive and simple. I could probably go into more details if I wasn't listening to each song as I wrote each review. I'm also really fond of my work, so I doubt any of the serious tracks will get less than an 8.0 score.

I hope you enjoyed the new tracks, as well as my simple thoughts on my own music :P Thanks for reading.

Hey hey! It's your crazy manic-depressive composer Alphadeus here :p Today's my birthday and I'm passing the savings on to yoooooooou! But I need your help.

It seems like every year I do something to help the community. It's entirely my choice and in no way forced. I love this place and anything I can do to help out, I will. I've donated as much as I could to charities done by Destructoid in the past few years. I put together the Destructoid Community Album Volume 1 in 2011, and Volume 2 in 2012.

I plan on writing a personal "review/lookback" of the Destructoid Community Album. I am not sure if I should divide it into separate weekly reviews (maybe 10 tracks at a time), or write one long review. I'll figure it out :)

The reason I'm writing this blog is because I want to do something for Destructoid and I'm not exactly sure what to do. I need your help. You guys put together the original Destructoid albums with your e-mails and messages.

Here's the thing. I believe I have 2 options.

1) Create the Destructoid Community Album Volume 3, which I did promise to approximately 30-35 members, and release it as an add-on to the now-combined Destructoid Community Album. I would need to contact these members to make sure they are still around, and verify the information they gave me. This seems like the best bet.

2) Take 1-65 songs from the original Destructoid Album and remake/re-arrange them. I guess sort of like a 2.0 album. Over the past few years, I am more confident in my abilities, and I think I can really punch up those songs.

So I guess I'm having a vote. You can leave a comment here letting me know either option 1 or 2. Option 3 is for me to go fuck myself, which is fair. I've been kind of a dick to some people over the years, and I'm sorry. I overreact and make it a habit of cutting people out of my life.

If you're not familiar with the Destructoid Community Album, you can find it http://alphadeus.bandcamp.com/album/destructoid-community-album. It's around 70+ songs I wrote specifically for members of the community. It's free to download (don't mind the "Pay What You Want"). I think it's almost 4 hours of original music.

So happy birthday to me, and to all a good night =p.