...with my next album. As with most of my personal projects, I'm proud of what I've accomplished and can only wish upon a star that anyone will be affected by it. I take my seemingly comedic writing seriously, but I think people mostly hear it as a bad joke. And you know what? Whatever. At least it's easy to trick people into the first two seconds of listening. I'm thinking of July 4th as a release window, considering its political subjectivity. And I guess to highlight my seriousness, here's the summarized context and the final track titles that took hours for me to perfectly write out because something is wROnG wiTh ME:

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Opinionated

Thomas Ashcom

[@ ZipZipper]

The growing disappearance of the polar icecaps may very well reappear as growing polarity between our sociopolitical positions. A lot of stressful, traumatic, conflicting, and extraordinary things have happened in the past decade. And in my view, most of these things were realizations rather than discoveries. This has lead to open discussions frozen into blocks of opinions, then stacked into walls that aren’t very useful in creating impactful, balanced solutions.

One of the biggest obstacles towards social success is simple: meaningful, organized work is…work. It’s extra effort alongside the daily struggles of maintaining our immediate livelihood. There’s also huge trouble in that the shrewdness of misinformation has turned accusation into an instinct; compromise comes off more like a risk than a need, when stability is so fragile.

‘Opinionated’ is my small snapshot of politically incorrect cartoons fitted as music. In particular, each track deals with a contested topic surrounding U.S. instability, topics that can also apply to broader global issues. I’ve always had to laugh louder than I’ve cried. If I didn’t, I’d be sad beyond saving. The poetic quotes are my own imaginations, but I hope they reflect something similar you’ve thought of, even beyond the context of the song titles.

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[1] Speak To The Manager

“Each societal, often existential dilemma 

Will beg me to ask the same question: 

Who’s in charge?”

[2] LGBTQ+

“My deeply personal potential

Is allowed or restricted by choice.

Otherwise, it’s a cheap label.”

[3] Weather Or Not

“Modern convenience disrupts nature. 

And nature responds appropriately,

In ways that will outlast me.”

[4] Great Again

“The whole world is simple

When I deny how complex it is.

There, my boredom is justified.”

[5] COVID-19

“Any contact could be for worse,

Especially if my heart is so close.

How do I continue living?”

[6] Triggered

“Only I know what threatens me!

 Let's shoot all the bad guys!”

[7] Wage Is Just A Number

“Blood and tears lose to sweat;

The hustle derives some safety.

Still, my fair share isn’t a healthy one.”

[8] Next Generation

“There’s a chance I fail to meet

A myriad of so-called deadlines

That my kids have zero chance with.”

Anyways...as a reminder, there are two main reasons why it's been taking me a year+ to finish this project. One is my day job. And two is the Washington Metropolitan Gamer Symphony Orchestra [@ WMGSO] I mentioned in a previous post that my marimba concerto arrangement was being premiered? If you want, you can click here to see that performance. It's not the best audio, but we're continuing to improve. Can you spot my bald-ass head in the 2nd row amongst the alto section??

So that concert pictured there, along with our upcoming Spring concert on May 20th, have included a majority of Final Fantasy arrangements that we'll be recording over the course of this summer for our 2nd studio album:

We are an official 501c3 nonprofit organization. So we rely on charitable monies to function, especially now with this album very much on the way. I please ask that you click here for donating to this project. We're about halfway to our goal right now and you can choose to contribute any amount (which is tax deductible). Sharing this link, or any of these links, with others is also greatly appreciated. And yes, one of my own arrangements will be recorded for this album and premiered live in our next concert:

At any rate, you could also tune in to the concert on May 20th via our Twitch channel. In fact, any of our concerts, recitals, and streams can be viewed/reviewed for free on there. Or if you happen to be in the area of Largo, MD at that exact moment...well you could attend in-person! Click here if you wanna get tickets now!!

Okay that's all for now. I've also been spending an unhealthy amount of time playing Have A Nice Death and can't wait to be even more sunk with new Legend of Zelda and new Pikmin coming out soon. See you in 59 years!

~ ~ ZipZipper