ITS THE CLIMAX! The most requested Pillows song for me to cover on YouTube and Reddit! This one was a bit odd to produce since I like to match as close as possible to their original production and the quality of the original recording is uhhhh... Not great by 2022 standards. (Google "Loudness Wars" if you want to get nerdy about this.) It can honestly be a little grating to listen to, but that's also kind of the nature of the song itself. It grabs you on the first beat and doesn't let go except a tiny bit in the half time sections. Its exactly what makes it so great for the frenetic pacing of FLCL. Lyrically, it's pretty close to translations I found on the web. As always though, I took some artistic license here and there for both the sake of English cadence and rhythm and infusing a bit of my own personal feelings into it. But like I said, the overall theme of the lyrics is about the same: a sense of "burn it all down", destructive nihilism in the face of hopelessness... which uhhh, really changed the vibe of the song for me when I started sifting through translations. Always thought it was the complete opposite based on the uplifting C-Major bounce of the music and how its used in FLCL. But perhaps a great anthem for us Millenials and Gen Z! Also, I got to make a William Gibson reference without bending the original lyrics much at all. Shout out in the comments if you can spot it.
Hostos Community College (CUNY) - Scholarship Program Promotional Video
A commissioned video editing project for Hostos Community College in Bronx, NY. It was really a privilege to collaborate with a colleague who did an excellent job selecting clips from hours of interviews with the schools stakeholders, students, teachers, and alumni to tell it’s rich history in such a short time frame.
The Sopranos Two Decades Later - Reckoning With The Ghosts of Masculinity's Past Present and Future
Exploring how The Sopranos challenges us to reckon with our patriarchal indoctrination and why modern media fails to do so in spite of trying so much harder.
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My dude and fellow writer shouted out in the Epilogue: ronnysalerno.com
The Pillows - I Think I Can [English Translation Cover by @CarlsManager]
Finally, another English cover of something from The Pillows and FLCL! Once again, I just kind of felt compelled to do this one, but people on YouTube and Reddit have been requesting more. So maybe last one. Maybe not. Subscribe and comment your thoughts! Lyrics (Note these are not direct translation, nor do I know enough Japanese to vet the translation I worked from initially)
"La" Mean Fire "Vos" Mean Big - Lavos Theme from Chrono Trigger Arranged & Performed by CarlsManager
Cover and music video of Lavos Theme from JRPG Chrono Trigger for SNES. Lets call this genre Reggae/Stoner Metal. Part of a Chrono Trigger OST Dub/Reggae arrangement project work in progress.
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Arranged//Performed//Recorded//Mixed//Video by CarlsManager. @CarlsManager on Instagram All production by CarlsManager AKA elstroproduction.com