This strip is based on an extremely interesting conversation that took place in the road trip back from the Blue …yster Cult show down in Rochester. At one point, someone's iPod started playing something DragonForce--no idea what; it all sounds the same, basically--and this conversation was started. There were five of us in the cart. Due to space limitations, the driver and shotgun were cut; they both did, however, say quite a bit in the discussion. I retooled the actual conversation from more of a round robin-styled discourse to a smoother monologue jumping between Brown and Blue, to partially symbolize the fact that the rest of the car (aside from Orange) was unanimously opposed to playing DragonForce because they simply were not that great. (Also, there were much better songs available to listen to. Like Bang Your Head! And Thriller!) In any case, let it be noted that the strip above is based on the events, but does contain accurate criticism. Points of DragonForce songs that were brought up to critique included: * Similar keys * Similar chord changes * Reliance on extensive guitar solos as the rule, not the exception, to verses * Pseudo-virtuoso solo bridges * Extensive repetition of lyrics and themes * Generally, a lack of variation in music * Supersaturation of popular culture due to Through The Fire And The Flames * Musical monotony Note that not all of these are necessarily bad things, nor are they all present in all of DragonForce's songs. Merely that, when taken together, the pattern formed is definitely a reason to eschew their music in large quantities. And yes, kids, musical illiteracy is a terrible thing. Do your part to prevent it: smash a DragonForce CD today!