Episode 9: The Sobercast

Hello and welcome back to Decoded! This week we start off pretty simply counting down the best Superbowl movie trailers before moving into darker waters with sex and pornography bans in the USA. Episode two Miguel and Keith fight each other over FIFA and other sports games becoming digital only vs disc based. The final episode is the big one which we have to debate which is better Digimon or Pokemon? So sit back, put on some headphones, and dive deep with us on this episode of the Decoded Podcast.
P.S. If you prefer audio-only or are having issues with Youtube you can listen to the Soundcloud file here

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Episode 8: The One With the Guest | Decoded Podcast FEATURING SOLSHOW

Hello and welcome back to Decoded where today our crew are joined by our special guest Christian Solberg from Solshow. Today we have him introduce himself before we dive into the Fine Bros React World Debacle, celebration for the 20th Anniversary of Pokemon by listing off our favorite games, finishing out with our dream super hero team-up films along with Kingdom Hearts 3 Worlds. So sit back, press that like button, and feel free to share your thoughts for the newest episode of the decoded podcast!
P.S. If videos are not your thing remember we have all episodes available on Soundcloud and iTunes under Decoded Podcast for your ease of access!

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Episode 7: I Want to Belieb | Decoded Podcast

Hello and welcome back to The Decoded Podcast, this week we review Leonardo DiCaprio's newest gut-punch film The Revenant, discuss game delays versus FNAF World early release, Youtube's broken systems, and when do TV shows need to call it quits? Click the links below, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment sections, and don't forget to share!

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YouTube, we need to Talk... | Decoded Rant special

Hello and welcome back to Decoded where the Youtube System is fucked. As the video will make you aware more and more channels are being taken down, losing monetization, or getting unjust copyright strikes. This needs to stop or we will no longer have the ability to keep around quality content. Please do your part and share this/other videos with the handle #youtubeweneedtotalk. Thank you so much for your time please enjoy

Episode 6: #Ohmiguel | Decoded Podcast

Hello and Welcome back to the Decoded Podcast. This week we start things off better wildly with our picks for the most deserving Oscar picks and Oscar snubs from the 2016 list. We then lead into the rise of R-rated films and if they can be financially successful before capping off with a tribute to the man, the legend, Alan Rickman. Please Enjoy!

Part 1

Update #1: We now discuss Square Enix shooting itself in the foot with the recent Hitman pre-order scandal and why console exclusives are becoming a thing of the past.

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Update #2: We move forward to compare and contrast the fan reaction to Man of Steel's ending to Jessica Jones ending

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January 2016 THANK YOU Update

Hello and welcome back to Decoded and wow has it been a busy January for all of us here on the Youtube and website. I wanted to start this update by thanking each and everyone one of you for your continued support the Youtube has reached well over 1,000 subscribers and we could not be more ecstatic at the response this community has given. If you have not done so already you of course can subscribe to this blog to get the updates a day or so after they release on Youtube or soundcloud. The easiest way though will be clicking here and pressing subscribe on the Youtube page to never miss an upload the moment it happens.

Now for the big news, We have officially been accepted and are on iTunes now! That's right if you have an apple device just go into the iTunes store and under search enter the term "decoded podcast" and this image will appear for you to subscribe or simply listen all our whacky antics. This is of course in response to those of you wanting a way to easily access the 'Decoded Podcast' while out and about without having to keep the Youtube app open so be sure to subscribe as we're testing out which day would be best to release the episodes. If you have an ideas be sure to leave them in the comment section below as it truly helps us.


In other news, we had our first written review created by Decoded's own Michael Smyth on Pusha T's, 'King Push-The Prelude' album available here. On top of that we've released Decoded video episodes and written episodes of The Weeknd's 2015 album, 'Beauty Behind The Madness' and our first official video Independent Closet on Larusso's 2014 album 'Life In Static' available under the hyperlinks.

On the podcast though we've been going hard from our reaction to the Suicide Squad trailer, to a visit from Kaitlin Barth down in Australia, all the way to the largest cast of people in an episode, January has certainly been an amazing month and we cannot wait to show you what February has to offer!

If you have any topics for Independent Closet, Decoded Podcast, or Decoded reviews be sure to leave them in the comments section and we'll throw them in as soon as possible

King Push-Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude by Pusha T| A M. Smyth Decoded Review

Hello and welcome back to Decoded where we take your favorite content across all media, break them down piece by piece, and see what’s left standing. I’m Michael Smyth and let’s get started with today’s review of Pusha T’s 2015 album, “King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude”

HISTORY:

Pusha T was born May 13, 1977 in The Bronx borough of New York City under the name Terrence Thornton, this would not last forever as Terrence would eventually relocate to Norfolk, Virginia.  Pusha T alongside his brother Gene, going by No Malice, initially gained notoriety as the hip hop duo Clipse and with the help of record producer Pharrell Williams, signed to Elektra Records in 1997. This would lead to Terrence’s featuring on the singles “Good Stuff” by Kelis in 1999 and “Run Away (I Just Wanna Be With U) by Nivea in 2001.

Real progress would come in 2004 when the Clipse duo would launch their own record label imprint ‘Re-Up Records’ which led to the inception of the group, “Re-up Gang” with additions Ab-Liva and Sandman. Throughout the next 7 years much would change from the release of “Hell Hath No Fury,” gaining critical acclaim for the duo, a hiatus in 2009, and Pusha T signing to label ‘GOOD Music’ which led to his featuring on Kanye’s stellar rebirth track “Runaway.”

Pusha T refused to be a featured artist or just one-half of something so after an initial delayed his first solo record, “My Name is My Name” was release in October 2013 to great praise and a number 4 on the US Billboard 200, selling 74,000 copies in its first week. The bar was set pretty high for this rising star and many were questioning if he had peaked out and a return to Clipse was inevitable so does “King Push-Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude” leave him at the round table or just another jester?

The SINGLES:

Untouchable:

A good introduction to the album, the single begins with a vocal sample from The Notorious B.I.G.’s off of Pudgee’s 1995 single “Think Big.” It’s most likely a tribute to him as Pusha T has been on record as stating that Biggie was the greatest rapper who’s ever lived in a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone. The first verse has probably one of the most standout lines in the entire album: “I am more U2, I am like Bono with the Edge. In Mexico, fuck Donald and his pledge.” The U2 reference is Pusha basically claiming that he wants to be ‘the biggest in the world’ as U2 was considered for decades, and reference to U2’s guitar Edge is definitely not lost, but also a double entendre for his advantage over the competition. The second line is an obvious blast at Donald Trump’s political rallying movements. The best part has to be the production work by Timbaland and Milli Beatz as the simple hypnotic loop does not take away from anything Pusha is laying down, this single is a must-buy for any true hip hop fan.

M.F.T.R.:

Now this single caught a lot of attention as it has a hook that makes one think it’ll be a hit in the clubs with it’s smooth beat and rhythm that will have one ‘waving at everything’. M.F.T.R. stands for More Famous than Rich, which is a reference to the current state of society in which social media and YouTube has made the average Joe famous without the influence of money. The single features The-Dream who performs the hook. This single is also a must-buy as it shows enough promise and intrigue more so than the final single on the album.

The Rest of the Album…

Intro:

When it comes to rap and hip hop albums, tracks labeled “Intro” are typically just skits or in the case of Mike Jones, him just repeating his phone number over and over again, which can lead to an auto skip for an music fan. In the case of this Intro it begins with Mr. Lee, who was previously featured on Clipse’s “We Got It for Cheap,” the intro on Hell Hath No Fury – which is widely regarded as one of the best album intros of all time. Then Pusha goes pretty hard in this track and drops a strong verse before going back to Mr. Lee who makes bilingual (in Spanish and English) references to the drug game and a “Pablito” (probably a reference to Pablo Escobar) before jumping to the next track “Untouchable.”

Favorite Song:

M.P.A.:

Since everyone else has two favorite songs on the album this album seems to garner two as well. Now there is greatness in the album’s singles; but “M.P.A.” must be an honorable mention as it features Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, and The-Dream, with production by Kanye and J.Cole. M.P.A. stands for ‘Money, Pussy, and Alcohol.’ When you hear the melody and the hook, It’ll become obvious why it is a ‘buy it’ as if it does not become a hit something is wrong in the industry.

Now let’s talk FIFA:

No, not the soccer organization or video game, though it can bring one about as much joy listening to the song as playing the game (not really), but is surprisingly less scandalous than the organization. The song is not very long clocking in at a mere 2:18, but it has a smooth beat with a sick hook, like a free kick from Lionel Messi – Sorry for all the soccer references… It’s one of four solo tracks on the album, and features production from Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest.

In all, Pusha T delivers what should have been a nominee for Best Hip Hop Album of 2015, if it wasn’t for its Mid-December release. This is the album people have been waiting for him to put out, as most people probably know him more for his featured work than his own albums. It’s been a long time coming for him, but this could be the album that defines his career – or series, as the album is labeled ‘the Prelude’. In all, I give Pusha T’s “King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: the Prelude” the rating of ‘Buy It’

BUY IT: “Untouchable”, “M.F.T.R.”, “M.P.A.”, “Got Em Covered”, “F.I.F.A.”

HEAR IT: “Crutches, Crosses, Caskets”, “Keep Dealing”, “Retribution”, “Sunshine”

IGNORE IT: “Intro”

Overall Opinion: BUY IT!

*As with all things, the opinions expressed are purely that of the author and should be taken as such. ** All images, music, and information used are for entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement intended.

Larusso-Life In Static review| THE RETURN OF INDEPENDENT CLOSET

Hello everyone and get ready for the first 'true' Independent Closet on Youtube. As is becoming the norm I have included the video THEN the written review for whichever you prefer, please enjoy!

Video Review

Written Review:

Hello and welcome back to Decoded where we take your favorite content across all media, break them down piece by piece, and see what’s left standing. I’m Keith Legion and let’s launch into today’s Independent Closet review of Larusso’s 2014 release, Life in Static.

History:

Larusso is led by it’s creator and long time lead singer Aaron Condrat who established the band in the mid to late 2000’s in the Salt Lake City area with a few other friends who would later leave the project. This did not stop Condrat though as he continued with a rotating cast of musicians still continuing to release quality content over the next 5 years. It was not until a merging of the local bands “Mess of Me” and Larusso did the current line up stand where it is with Tyler ‘Fizzy’ Grundstrom and Justin Trombetti joining the band as bass guitar and drums respectively. While Condrat does play rhythm guitar and vocals as the music grew so did its complexity which called for the introduction of Nick Sasich on lead guitar. With the band completed assembled in it’s current state, a plethora of songs just ready to be recorded, and the fortitude to make sure they were at their best before release how does Life in Static stack up with the big boys?

The Singles:

Chase the Sun (Acoustic):

Now in press kits there are a few different songs included but going off official single releases we can see that the only two for ‘Life In Static’ are the acoustic version of Chase the Sun and The Voice. Before we dive into The Voice I’d like to offer kudos to the acoustic version of Chase the Sun as it is not officially on the album I have a hard time giving the album itself bo nus points for this song BUT it still has a great progression, instrumental performances, and emotive qualities that I feel the full band version sadly may have slightly squeezed out.

Now in terms of The Voice,

If you enjoy bands such as The Startling Line, Yellowcard, the latter years of Blink-182, or any of that genre of band this song will hit all the right beats for you. Condrat’s vocals cut through the mix just enough to give you a clear understanding of the image he is painting across the instrumental backdrop without hindering the instruments as the intro riff rings out with the constant cymbal taps. Then the song really picks up in the first chorus and it’s at this point that Trombetti’s drums get huge in the mix really adding diversity to the sound going forward in the song. This song is a perfect single as it gives you the best example of what Larusso can offer in this album without weighing themselves down in any pre-conceived notions other releases may have had.

The Rest of the Album…

It’s at this point i’d like to jump through a few of the standout tracks on the album as to navigate any potential listeners to the songs that may strike the best chord with them, yes we do puns here…

Set Phasers to Fun:

Now this song had me cracking up a bit at first. Not due to the song itself but due to the complete subversion of the title. I assumed this would be a fast and furious power-chorded Green Day song about skateboarding and having fun, a staple of punk-pop/00’s alternative. But is instead one of the better acoustic tracks on the album completed with a beautiful guitar solo before fading into a crowd that has been growing in presence since the song started. It has a very almost ukelele quality to the strumming pattern which is a relaxing  break from the rest of the album and allows for Condrat to really show off his vocal prowess with holding the melody on his back throughout the song. This is a great song and I’d highly recommend it as a second listen for anyone looking to dive into their catalog.

Take Me Away/Chemical:

I’ve found that sadly my happiest moments from this album are the slower striped down moments. That is meant as no insult to Trombetti or Grundstrum as they both do a stellar job holding the groove of a song and truly making it their own but the piano ballad Take Me Away and ending acoustic number Chemical were all very well placed on the album. It appears that as the album goes on it shifts from an in-your-face pop-punk album to a more spirited rock album leaving no stone unturned as Larusso is trying everything they’ve ever wanted to on an album and for a majority of the time this works. The risks are very real in this album and it would be much too easy to phone in it and say we are sticking to one type of song and one type of genre which I respect the band for not doing. The album ends with a duet between Condrat and Grundsturm chanting “I will become what I desire,” with a steady snare roll and claps to bring the album to a close with intimacy whether than a bombastic showpiece. This works perfectly and allows the listener to truly enjoy the subtleties of these music makers.

Conclusion:

In all, I would say Life in Static is a solid album that will bring in more listeners to this already great band from it’s wide range of content to the amazing mixing this album is very pleasing to the ear and something very easy to get so entranced in that you forget you’re already at the final song. I give Larusso’s Life in Static a high listen recommend, search this out on Spotify or Youtube.

Fever:

Oh you didn’t think we were done did you? Not by a long shot as the guys of Larusso decided to save the best for last and start our 2016 with a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart. Fever was released towards the back end of 2015 with a music video taking a few months to fully get produced making it’s way to the Youtube’s on January 19th 2016. This song is a day to night shift in Larusso. I could not be happier to report how great this song is.
Most musicians, as mentioned in the last review for The Weeknd album, have an issue with starting off soft and building upon that to crescendo to a big moment. While this may have a been a tiny issue with Larusso during Life in Static, Fever shows this band is constantly evolving it’s sound as this song hits hard and does not let up. The song feels like a true rock and roll song as the bass grooves along brilliantly in the background enhancing the tracks intense driven feel. Then the bridge happens… which offers a breath of air for the listener before drummer Justin Trombetti himself grabs the mic and brings the song back to it’s intense finale with that scream. I highly recommend buying this song as if this is any indication of the direction the band is heading they are about to have quite the bright future ahead of them.

SUICIDE SQUAD RAGE REACTION| Decoded Podcast Special

Hello and welcome back to Decoded where we burned the candle at both ends this week to get this video out. In the middle of next week's recording the Suicide Squad trailer dropped and to say it was polarizing is an understatement. After a few more watches we decided to extend our time recording and talk through what worked, what didn't work, and why I hate Jai Courtney please enjoy!

Episode 5: Greetings from Soviet Union| Decoded Podcast

Hello and welcome back to Decoded. This week we go to a land down under as we have Kaitlin Barth (of Kaitlin Barth Art) as we dissect everything from 2016's horrendous The Forest, the death of David Bowie, and how Youtube infamy correlates to financial stability. So sit down, strap in, and get that comment section ready with your thoughts on this week's episode of the "Decoded Podcast."

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The Weeknd Beauty Behind The Madness Review

DISCLAIMER: This time I'm trying something a bit different so let me know what you think. I will attach the video for those who are interested first THEN have the review laid out in text as in the good old days for those that prefer it.

Video Review

Hello and welcome back to Decoded where we take your favorite content across all media, break them down piece by piece, and see what’s left standing. I’m Keith Legion and let’s get started with today’s review of The Weeknd’s 2015 blockbuster album, “Beauty Behind the Madness.”

HISTORY:
Born February 16, 1990 in Toronto, Canada The Weeknd’s legal name is… oh lord I’m going to butcher this… Abel Makkonen Tesfaye. Abel adopted the moniker The Weeknd after dropping out of high school at the age of 17 where he and a crew-member “left one weekend and never came home.” Due to a Canadian band already having the trademark for the proper spelling, Abel needed to modify it so as to avoid legal issues.
Abel eventually met up with producer Jeremy Rose who created the first working rough drafts of the songs, “What You Need,” “Loft Music,” and “The Morning.” The project was inevitably scrapped once Jeremy rose walked away from the project but allowed Abel to keep the produced tracks under the condition proper credit was given. Abel then uploaded these songs to Youtube under his moniker The Weeknd which created quite the word of mouth buzz eventually reaching a blog that also prominently featured Drake’s songs.

In the timeframe of one year Abel would go onto release not 1 but 3 individual EPS titled House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence which received critical acclaim and grew Abel’s fanbase exponentially. Abel would eventually go on to put all of these EPS together, remaster them,  and release Trilogy on November 13th, 2012 which was certified platinum on May 16th, 2013 by the Recording Industry Association of America. Abel would follow this up by touring extensively over the next year and eventually squeezing in time for his first official mainstream album titled Kiss Land. Kiss Land was released on Sept 10th, 2013 and received mostly favorable reviews from critics debuting number 2 on the Billboard 200 being defeated by Keith Urban’s “Fuse” by a mere 95,000 copies. With one massively successful trilogy of EPS and a positive first mainstream release the stakes were set pretty high for 2015’s Beauty Behind the Madness. So the question remains how does the sophomore follow-up compare?

The SINGLES:
Often:
A pretty solid intro to The Weeknd and single for the album. The single starts with something you will see across all of The Weeknd’s work. One a lot of reverb. These songs have an air about that screams mystery and distance while the other trope is The Weeknd’s random usage of Ooh’s in his songs to establish the melody. I would not take either of these as  a heavy criticism against the tropes though as these staples are probably why his songs are so entrancing and enticing. Now the song itself is pretty straight forward. The first verse has a message very reminiscent of the titular track “Kiss Land” from his first major release. The echoes here are that the girls will not be sneaking pictures and if what they’re looking for is something deeper than sex or no sex at all they should get going. It’s another recurring theme in The Weeknd’s song catalog but here he references the innocence of “good girl” wanting to get with him but naively asking if he does this “Often.” All in all a solid SAFE song off the album.

The Hills:

Now when I started listening to this album this track was one I had surprisingly not been bombarded by and the only way I truly knew it was anything special was when I was out visiting my big brother and under ‘bangers’ on his DJ setlist was this song. I’d actually probably have to agree with that sentiment of the song. Unlike a majority of the songs on the album such as “Can’t Feel My Face ” this song doesn’t start out distant and soft, from the get-go it is intense and a bit primal better so then the Kanye West produced “Tell Your Friends.” The song of course does back off a bit in the verse to allow for a dynamic dichotomy between verses and chorus. He almost murmurs the verses like he’s in a very drugged up state before launching in full-throttle in the opening line of the chorus. It works very well as even though it is a slow song from a music standpoint it feels very intimate and a must-buy for any music fan.

The Rest of the Album...
Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey):

Why is this song on this album? Honestly, on Spotify it evens uses the 50 Shades of Grey artwork instead of the official Beauty Behind The Madness artwork, so can someone please explain why it’s here? It must be because 50 shades of Grey was such a success that they banked on people wanting to buy the song twice but I’ll be honest this song is a dark mark on the album. In Songs such as Acquainted the only issue is a pretty generic backdrop for The Weeknd and the unnecessarily long ending that just goes on and on. But this song….. Let’s break it down.

Unlike The Hills it starts with a slow string section and basic beat holding the backdrop before The Weeknd starts singing what obviously sounds like a forced boqring verse. Yes there are a few fluctuations in his vocal delivery but take an honest listen and tell me this does not sound like the first time Abel is phoning in it. Then the super high pitch pre-choruses are a bit too airy and upfront to truly enjoy as if this isn’t a true The Weeknd song. Then we get to the chorus and guess what? Nothing changes except for a distant piano melody and an ending punctuation from the strings. This is a lazy song and you should avoid it at all costs.

Favorite Song:
In The Night and Shameless:
While I usually do one song as a favorite in these reviews I would like to throw out an honorable mention to “In The Night.” This song is the better of the Michael Jackson sounding tracks from the album, I’m looking at you “Can’t Feel My Face.” There’s just this liveliness and tour de force coming from the Weeknd through the whole song. From the opening lines to the chorus to the closing lines this song will get caught in your head near instantly if you give it a true listen.

Moving forward, let’s discuss Shameless….
I’m going to jump ahead before we talk about the full song. THAT SOLO IS AMAZING… I was not expecting such an awesome accompanying solo from any instrumentation on this album and then the electric guitar (or electric synth that has been mixed/crafted expertly) comes in and it’s game over this song wins the album for me. Now in terms of the rest of the song this is a very deep song in terms of the overarching main theme that is Abel Tesafaye. The whole song is about a girl breaking down after stating she does not want to be trapped in a loveless sex fest but now wants him back as he’s better than nothing. Abel uses this to strokes his ever-inflating ego in this song and shows his sociopathic tendencies as he berates the girl for being the cause of her own pain. Abel has promised her nothing but sex and no emotion which he has given in spades, any pain she is feeling is of her own accord for expecting more. The title is in reference to how he refuses to feel bad about any situations he has concocted as it’s not his problem but he will always be there for her if she wants what he does. It’s a brilliant character study and honestly a brave song for anyone to release as it does not paint him in any great light.

In all, The Weeknd delivers yet another stellar album, peeling back just enough layers to not make this album seem old and tired but also keeping around the tropes that made him famous in the first place. While I would not say this is risky at this point in his career I feel that he may have only one more album like this before fans are clamouring for more from this new superstar. In all I give The Weeknd’s “Beauty Behind The Madness” the rating of ‘Buy It’

Buy It: Real Life, Losers, The Hills, Shameless, In The Night

Hear It: Tell Your Friends, Often, Acquainted, Can’t Feel My Face, Dark Times, Prisoner, Angel

Trash It: Acquainted, Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey), As You Are

Buy It

Episode 4: Fuller House|Decoded Podcast

Hello and welcome back to Episode 4 of the Decoded Podcast where we have a huge cast of 5 people talking about big topics. Part 1 is all about The Big Short, a Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Christian Bale, and Brad Pitt movie all about the stock market crash of 2008. Trust me YOU NEED TO SEE THIS REVIEW AND THIS MOVIE. We also, in light of Michael Bay returning for Transformers 5 discuss the best and worst of this polarizing director. Come out and join us in the conversation as there are ZERO wrong answers.

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Update #1:
In part 2 we discuss whether or not Marvel is trying to sabotage the DC Cinematic Universe's chances of becoming a reality and our most anticipated TV Premieres of early 2016.

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Update #2:
In part 3 we discuss Assassin's Creed slowing down, Activision buying Major League Gaming, and how PSN/XBL/Steam outages affect video game fans

Part 3

Rebels (Rebels)| Decoded Podcast Episode 3

This week we review The Hateful Eight, take a look through the Deadpool trailer, the new photos released for Doctor Strange and Daredevil, then finish out the week by discussing if movies based on video games can ever be effective. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's Decoded Podcast.

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