Hump Day Music: Flossophy Impressions

When I updated Silver Bit six times a week back in 2012, Hump Day Music was one of Silver Bit's staples much like Bit by Bit.  Every Wednesday, I would share a piece of video game music or music loosely related to video games to help readers get through the middle of the week.  As things got busier, Hump Day Music sadly became a thing of the past.  I could never update Silver Bit enough to keep Hump Day Music as a recurring article.  After picking up Brentalfloss' newest CD Flossophy a few weeks back and listening it on repeat ever since, I am glad to bring back Hump Day Music for a special review of this CD.

For the uneducated, Brentalfloss is a musician who became popular amongst gamers for his "With Lyrics" videos which add lyrics to video game music from games like Mario, Mega Man and Castlevania.  Flossophy is Brentfloss' third studio album following What If This CD... Had Lyrics? and Bits of Me.  Flossophy contains twenty tracks including album versions of songs previously released on Youtube, iTunes and Bandcamp like The Team Fortress 2 Song and Cave Story with Lyrics and brand new, never before released songs such as Earthbound with Lyrics and Metroid: Fight for Love.  The album has a great variety of tracks that range from comedic songs to serious songs and fast blood-pumping songs to slow soothing songs.  The album's variety makes each track feel special and fill a different void.  There are no songs that sound the same or produce the same feeling within the listener.  First and foremost, Flossophy is made for those who love video games and video game music.  With that audience in mind, there are a lot of great jokes and parodies found throughout the album.  From giving light to the downfalls of modern console releases to making fun of how awkward the messages transferred through StreetPass are to portraying the Link from A Link to the Past as a self-centered obnoxious hero, there are plenty of jokes and parodies to keep any gamer smiling throughout.  Aside from the variety, jokes and parodies, one's enjoyment of Flossophy will come from the songs themselves.  The selection on this album are some of Brentalfloss' best.  While every track on Flossophy is at least worth a listen, there are seventeen this writer believes are well worth listening to more than once.  Among those seventeen, the tracks that stand out above the rest are Super Mario Land with Lyrics, Ken's Theme with Lyrics, Cave Story with Lyrics, Zidane to Vivi, Ballad of the Mages and Metroid: Fight for Love.  Like with most albums, there are a few tracks that add little to one's enjoyment of Flossophy.  In particular, those tracks are Game Launch Rock!, The Game Over Tinies and The Bioshock Song.  Each track tries to be drastically unique, but the attempts do not resonate like the other tracks on the album.

Although it may be for a niche audience, Flossophy is a great album and serves as a excellent homage to the video games that inspired it.  No matter if you pick the album up digitally for ten dollars or physically for thirteen plus shipping and handling, Flossophy is well worth the asking price.  If you are interested, you can pick the album up digitally on iTunes, Bandcamp, Amazon and Google Play and physically from Level Up Studios website. Hump Day Music would not be complete if I did not leave a song for everybody to enjoy.  In particular, one of the songs featured on Flossophy--Ballad of the Mages.

Hump Day Music: Bits of Me Impressions

While it was announced way back in April, I finally got my copy of Brentalfloss' new CD Bits of Me in the mail last week.  Originally when I came on here and talked about Bits Of Me, I was on the fence about buying this album.  After some debating, I gave in and put down my 15 dollars to pre-order Bits of Me and show my support for Brentalfloss and his work.  Even though it took about two months after it's initial release to finally reach me, my patience was well worth it.  I received an autographed physical copy of Bits of Me, a free digital copy, three little Brentalfloss pins and one Brentalfloss sticker all for 15 dollars.  I made such a good choice pre-ordering this CD.

I first listened to Bits of Me when I received the free digital copy over a month, I was not impressed.  I do not know exactly why.  I might have just been in a bad mood when I listened to it.  When I popped the CD into my Mac to listen to it last week, I had a completely different reaction to the CD.  I loved it. There is only one song on the entire 18 track CD that I did not entirely enjoy.  The rest of the CD is absolutely incredible.  I have listened to it many times in the one week I have owned the physical CD.  While I do love every track on this CD other than Meet Me in the Dungeon, Dear, my personal favourites are Contra with Lyrics, Castlevania II with Lyrics, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!! with Lyrics and Zelda II with Lyrics.  All-in-all, any video game fan will find something to love about Bits of Me.  If you are interested in picking up Bits of Me, you can buy the physical CD from Level Up Studios for 13 dollars or download it from iTunes, Amazon MP3 and Bandcamp for about 9 to 10 dollars.  Bits of Me is well worth any price you pay.  And for your viewing pleasure is one of the songs featured on Bits of Me, Castlevania II with Lyrics.

Hump Day Music: Bits of Me

Well it is a good thing I delayed Hump Day Music to today.  This morning Brentalfloss, a musician famous for adding lyrics to beloved video game music, announced his second album is available for pre-order.  This album is called Bits of Me and contains 18 tracks of video game music parodies, 14 classic tracks with new instruments and vocals and 4 brand new tracks just available on the album.  If you are interested, you can pre-order Bits of Me at levelupstudios.com/bitsofme for 13 dollars plus shipping and handling.  Also as an added bonus for those who pre-order, Brentalfloss will autograph each pre-ordered copy.  Personally as a fan of Brentalfloss' work I would love to pre-order Bits of Me, but I spent a lot of money the past month and I am going to limit my spending for the time being and start saving a lot of money for school, which I starts this fall.  If you have some cash to spare and enjoy Brentalfloss' music, go and pick Bits of Me up.  If you are still on the fence, you can find the track list at the website listed above and I have the announcement trailer below for everybody to enjoy.