Milestones, Turning Points, and Activity Updates – May 2021

Easter’s ending and Ordinary Time’s starting. The middle of the year is coming, too. A lot of times, I wish I could do everything I want, but life reminds me that I can’t do that. I don’t think not being able to do everything I want is necessarily a bad thing, though, especially not with my propensity towards stupid little dreams and all that. Praise and thanks be to God Almighty very much again, then.

And speaking of which, this month’s posts started off as a pretty striking reminder of that too. Had to delay posting that mainly because of a collaborator having to deal with more important life stuff and me wanting the final product to be the best quality it can be. As much as I’d like to practice working with deadlines more and better, I’m kinda glad that I’m obscure enough to not be bugged so much about being late with my self-imposed deadlines right now.

And then there’s the twice-a-month posts with Lisa the Tearer, which were also juggled with yet another music upload. Then there’s that TRY where I also try to make up for being so freaking cringe to my favorite Anglophone Vocaloid producer. And speaking of which, the next month’s posts will be pretty much music uploads. I’m really excited about it, though, especially about the first upload again.

Though while the blog posting has been pushing me to be more organized and punctual about my work, my work on them memes and vlogs has also been reminding me about how I shouldn’t underestimate slowness and spontaneity. I wish I could keep on being a daily poster with those vids, but trying to put that into action has often been getting me trying to cut corners not only in those YouTube videos but also in the stuff I make dedicated posts for here on my blog.

And speaking of YouTube videos, I got another voice acting role thanks to JustinD.G. Oh, and there’s how I got a haircut recently. I didn’t expect Mom to go that far, but eh, at least it can help me deal with the summer heat better. And I think the last time I had that sort of cut was when I was a kid?

And now I’m pretty much out of important enough stuff to talk about here now. Well, aside from asking you to give me honest constructive feedback, of course.

Tobby’s Recommendation Yell: nostraightanswer’s specters

Tobby’s Recommendation Yell: nostraightanswer’s specters

Released on May 29, 2020, specters indeed haunted me with its much shorter and darker yet mostly subdued and pensive Vocaloid-human vocal hybrid sound carrying painfully relatable sensitive themes connected to its creator’s fears, the haunting made more powerful by the electronic pop sound I find myself quite inclined to and, later on, inspired by.

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Imagine Lisa the Tearer as an Idol

Imagine Lisa the Tearer as an Idol

some commentary on Lisa the Tearer by his manager, The Overlord Bear/Jem De Ocampo

Idols gotta be polite? Idols need to rely on management? Idols can’t date and romance and all that? Lisa and I are gonna make sure that that makes sense, then!

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Previous Part: “Being Like Lisa the Tearerist”

First Part: “Introducing Lisa the Tearer”

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fool’s eyes – a Tobby remix of nostraightanswer’s “bokeh”

I’m on time this time, and this time, the post is…a remix of a track from specters? Didn’t you try and fail to roast that before, you stupid bear?

Haha, yeah, I did. I mean, I’m also having a harder time looking back at those posts now thanks to embarrassment. But hey, that time’s yet another thing to be thankful for, too.

Though I’ll discuss more about the album and how I changed my mind about it in my next Tobby’s Recommendation Yell. Right now, there’s this remix I made out of “bokeh,” specters‘s opening track. I think I started writing the lyrics for it during September 2020, in the early days after the roast fail. “bokeh” was the only track I could bear listening to from the album at the time, but while I was captivated by its sound, I couldn’t (and I still can’t) really relate to being someone with visual acuity problems. There may also have been inspiration coming from Calliope Mori happening to me, busting my brain more open to the idea of making lyrical remixes of music from my favorite artists as well, and not just in rap. So yeah, I think those are the inspirations that kickstarted the process of me writing lyrics about my thoughts on and struggles with moral and spiritual blindness, both my own and others’…though probably more my own, hahaha… X”D

And while I’m still nervous about having to endure some highly likely, if not inevitable, suspicion drawn by my “cultured” self prancing around in public while claiming that I reversed my opinion on specters, I do have some confidence in this production. I mean, aside from taking time to sharpen my lyrics and vocals, I’m also glad that I took time and saved up for some freaking beautiful audio engineering from Leanna and some freaking cool illustrations from my cousin beesdeknees. On the other hand, I’m still not that confident in my video and marketing skills, as I still feel like I’m running on instinct more than I should there, but still, I’ll keep on learning and doing my best.

So yeah, here’s the mp3 and the lyrics sheet now. Please credit and link me if you’re using my stuff out there, and please give me some honest constructive feedback.

Being Like Lisa the Tearerist

Being Like Lisa the Tearerist

some commentary on Lisa the Tearer by his manager, The Overlord Bear/Jem De Ocampo

The obscurity can make doing this stuff easier, and fame can make us even more dangerous. You can defeat us, but still, it’s way more complicated than we like to think.

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Previous Part: “Tighter Chains on Lisa the Tearer”

First Part: “Introducing Lisa the Tearer”

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KIRA – Machine Gun – TOB Rap Remix

So this is a Monday post and not a Sunday post. Only guy I think I should apologize to is myself here, considering how obscure I am, but surprisingly, I’m now feeling little to no regret about and a lot of gratitude and joy for the delays I had to go through for this production. I mean, I have a history of being a pretty impatient control freak, and I still need to be served many cans of whoop-ass for that and a lot more stuff. And of course, there’s the production itself, which I started two or three years ago and somehow managed to get to this point where I feel like I’m really pulling out all the stops with it, especially compared to everything else I’ve done before. So yeah, again, any actual good that comes out of this is ultimately thanks to God.

Now, more technical stuff. Remix lyrics were aimed to be English with some Tagalog in the first place, and the start of the first rap verse once had an attempt at referencing the beef between Machine Gun Kelly and Eminem, which eventually got replaced by Devil May Cry references as life subtly reminded me to be less like a clout-chasing rapper wannabe and try being more like the nerd that I actually am. Recording was definitely a challenge, too, especially considering how I went rough with my voice. Mixing and mastering was handled by Shigeru again, and while this sort of production is new to him, he managed to nail the roughness I was aiming for. Illustration was handled by OK!NA again, too, and there was a delay in making it, but in the end, she managed to deliver a very hilariously awesome result along with some motivating tips on making the video. And speaking of the video, I’m especially glad about my decision to make it 1080p instead of the usual 720p.

So yeah, I guess this whole production is another lesson on how change, especially delays, can be good. Praise and thanks be to God very much again!

Now here’s a link to the mp3 and a link to the lyrics sheet. Credit and link me if you’re using my stuff out there, yo.

And of course, honest constructive feedback is highly encouraged and will be highly appreciated~