Monday, September 22, 2014

Underrated Treasures Blogfest! Beware the Awesome....


An opportunity to share some underrated TV, films, books or music that just aren't getting enough love! Share your favorite lesser-known gems with everyone in this BLOGFEST, created by the all-knowing, all-powerful Captain Ninja Alex Cavanaugh.


For this Blogfest, which is brand new, as far as I know, I love having the opportunity to share obscure gems with other people who are not aware of some amazing things out there that I know about. I'm going to separate things into categories: 

TV 

This TV show hails from Japan and it's quite popular over there, but here in the U.S., it's only hugely popular with the anime-loving crowd. Needless to say, that's not a very large segment of the population. *sad face :(* I'm a very big anime and manga (Japanese comic books) fan, so if I'm recommending an anime TV series to people who never watch anime, it's because this one is so different from the norm. 

Shingeki no Kyojin, a.k.a. "Attack on Titan" is like Japan's
version of "The Walking Dead" American TV series. But, these zombies are HUGE. Imagine having to battle zombies as large as skyscrapers! Yeah, it's a very harrowing, terrifying series, but so satisfying. The characters are genuinely freaked-out about their circumstances and not too prepared for what they have to deal with. Many twists and turns abound, so be sure to give this one a few episodes to really show its true nature. Don't expect this show to go easy on you--many characters die. DIE very horrible deaths, even the ones you come to care about. 

When the man-eating giants called Titans first appeared, humans retreated behind massive walls. After a hundred years of safety, a colossal-sized Titan smashes through the defenses, unleashing a flood of giants and carnage in the streets. Eren Jaeger watches helplessly as one of the creatures devours his mother.
He vows to kill every Titan walking the earth.

Eren and his surviving friends enlist to fight against the insatiable monsters. The future looks bleak, but there's more to Eren than meets the eye: he may be humanity's last hope against extinction. From the director of "Death Note" and "High School of the Dead" comes the series
Anime News Network calls an intense, visceral, and graphic thrill ride. The Titans have come to feast. Anything can happen. No one is safe.

Available to watch on Netflix streaming in its original Japanese audio, or on Cartoon Network's Toonami block on Saturdays at 11:30pm in English dubbed voice over. 

MUSIC 

I'm going to be schizoid and jump from this very intense, terrifying TV show to my favorite music composers of beautiful, ethereal music. Try and keep up.... 

Adrian von Ziegler, an independent composer from Switzerland, has had my ear for the past year now with all his gorgeous high fantasy and dark gothic music. This guy is seriously a genius and needs to be hired for film and video games of every kind. He bases himself on Youtube and has quite a good following, making a living for himself from the sales of his audio tracks. Take a listen below!

Brunuhville is a contemporary of Adrain's and a good friend.


Bruno hails from Portugal and composes very similiar-sounding music to Adrian's, but in a very different style. If you end up liking Adrain's music, you're almost sure to like Brunuhville, as well. He, too, is based on Youtube and has a very nice-sized following, so far. He has a fantastic ear for extremely emotional music. Watch out or you may end up balling your eyes out! 


I'm just so happy to have found these masters of music! They are very young and have full careers ahead of them. I can't wait to hear what they dream up next. 

STAND-UP COMEDY 

Now, I'm going to keep up my unpredictability with a plug for a fantastic, but lesser-known stand-up comedian that I have recently discovered. Brian Regan is an American comic who has been doing stand-up since the 1990's, although I've never even heard of him. Maybe you have, since he's been around for so long. He's absolutely hilarious and a very clean family man. You can enjoy his comedy with your teenagers, since the younger ones might not get his jokes. Then again, maybe they will!


And, there you have it! Have any of you ever heard of these lesser-known gems? I'd love to hear from others who like any of this stuff, too.

40 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. @Cathrina: I'm so happy you like his music! He's completely fantastic. :)

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  2. Hi, Cathy. Thanks for sharing your picks for the Underrated Treasures Blogfest.

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  3. I've seen one of Regan's acts - funny guy.
    Will have to check out the anime.
    And the music for the second video was really rich and full.
    Thanks for participating in my blogfest!

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    1. @Alex: Oh, good! I'm sure he's not all that obscure, but underrated, for sure. I'm glad you like Brunuhville's song. It's gorgeous.

      And, you're welcome!

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  4. I love listening to this kind of music while writing because it stimulates mood without distracting lyrics. So thanks for those suggestions. :) And Attack on Titan sounds scary awesome!

    shahwharton.com

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    1. @Shah: Yeah, it's perfect for writing to if you like writing to music. It's instrumental and very mood-inducing. Attack on Titan IS scary awesome!

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  5. Not an anime or zombie fan. The music is lovely and I have heard of that comedian.

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    1. @Susan: Well, I'm glad you like the music, at least.

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  6. Hmm. I've not heard of any of these. Thanks for the recommendations! :)

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  7. Heck, yes from your ANIME to your musical choices... thank you. Not to familiar with the comedian... will check out.

    Jeremy [HWR:OM]
    Howlin' Wolf Records: On-Line Magazine

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    1. @Jeremy: Thank you! I'm glad you discovered some cool things you didn't know about.

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  8. It's like The Walking Dead? Count me in. Sounds terrific.

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    1. @S.L.: Yep. It's very terrifying in the awesomest way possible. :)

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  9. I love Celtic music, so thank you so much for sharing these!

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    1. @Chrys: You're very welcome! Celtic music is very uplifting.

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  10. I remember seeing Brian Regan on Comedy Central Presents years ago. I thought he was pretty funny. My fiance is a stand-up comedian so there aren't many I haven't heard of.

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    1. @Sarah: I probably saw him on Comedy Central years ago, too, but don't remember. I'm glad I rediscovered him, at least. Such a funny guy! Your fiance has a cool job. ;)

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  11. Attack on Titan is not for me, but I will definitely alert my 17 year old anime/manga fan daughter. This is right up her alley!

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    1. @Dianne: That's great! Your daughter is bound to like it if she's interested in zombies and battle animes/mangas.

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    1. @Catherine: Thank you! They are a bit quirky, as it's not people's typical listening-fare. But, it's candy to the ears and soul. :D

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  13. I've heard of Attack on Titan. Unfortunately, I don't have cable. Or Netflix. :(

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    1. @Loni: Sorry to hear that. All the episodes are free to watch in Japanese with English subtitles at Crunchyroll.com, as well.

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  14. Thanks for sharing these finds. I love the music from Bruno--perfect writing music. Will put it on my listening list. I've shared the Japanese series with my son, who will be most interested to learn of its existence.

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    1. @Stephanie: You're welcome! I'm glad you like Brunuhville's music. It is perfect for writing to. I hope your son enjoys Attack on Titan. :)

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  15. I can't say I've heard of any of them, although Brian Regan's name sounds vaguely familiar. Of course if I heard it in a conversation, I wouldn't have known he was a comedian until now. :)

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    1. @Cherie: They're underrated, so naturally, you've never heard of them. Brian could easily be that one thing everyone might have heard about. He's really funny, though!

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  16. I'm going to have to check out Adrian's music.

    And thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such kind words.

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    1. @Ken: Hope you enjoy Adrian's music. You're very welcome! I hope you and your family can get through your loss.

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  17. Interesting songs.

    I've sent myself the link to the comedian so I can check him out. :)

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    1. @J: I hope you like Brian! He's really hysterical. :)

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  18. I hadn't heard of any of these. I love the album covers for Adrian von Ziegler and Brunuhville. Thanks for all the info - sky-scraper tall zombies? Holy cow!!!

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    1. @Lexa: Yeah, those album covers are gorgeous. Check out Attack on Titan if you're interested. :)

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  19. I've never heard of Brian Regan before but oh is he funny! I've been chuckling over the first half of the video, I'm going to have to watch the rest later when I have a little more time. And Attack on Titan looks really good too. I'm not a fan of zombies but this intrigues me. One of my favorite manga/animes is the Hellsing series, (it's certainly not everyone's cup of tea though...) . :)

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    1. @Elise: Glad you like Brian! He gets me chuckling every time. I've heard of the Helsing series, but haven't ever seen it. I might have to check it out one of these days. Thanks for dropping by! :)

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  20. I really loved watching the video. Thanks for sharing this.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

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