CD of the week.

The Shanks
The Dark Richard Show
2009



Let me first apologize for the two day delay, my bad guys, but I'm doing it now instead of my two design projects that are due tomorow morning.

This CD fell into my lap this week quite unexpectedly, I was hanging out visiting my mom before she goes to Thailand for 5-6 months, we went to a bar in Guelph hopeing to catch a show by "The Wooden Sky." As we finished our first beer the bartender informed my mother that the band wouldn't be going on until 12, a good 4 hours from then and well past her bed time. We ordered a couple more beers and decided we didn't want to pay the $8 cover to see the other bands that were playing, kinda shitty I didn't get to review a live show this week instead but oh well. So when we got home she tossed me the CD I am now listening to, saying that "a family friend's daughter's band (Machettes) had open for this band but it wasn't really her kind of music, did I want it?" I previewed a few tracks and decided "Yes, I will keep this album. Thanks mom!"

I had never heard of this band until then. I am now listening to the two piece band and I have to admit at first it was a bit underwhelming, nothing too special. But now I can see the merit in their music and I am getting a feel for it and I changed my mind, this band is special. The drums, guitar and vocals go together in much the same way DFA's music sounded, but it doesn't quite accomplish the gritty and booming sound that only DFA can pull off. Instead the band has saturated their songs with clever melodys and pop influenced leads that make the songs sound big. But on the same note the songs gave me the feeling of a sort of emptiness, like something was missing. On parts of the CD there is a strings section that they put in, it helps a bit to fill out the songs. My favourite tracks from The Dark Richard Show are track 1: Bastion of Sebastion, track 2: The Undefeated Donkey and track 6: Napoleonic Dread Pt. 1.

Track List.
1. Bastion of Sebastion
2. The Undefeated Donkey
3. Killing Tune
4. Mirror, Mirror
5. Jesus, Make it Fun
6. Napoleonic Dread Pt. 1
7. The Matador
8. Christmas Star
9. Start Taking You Home

The Dufferan based band has a show coming up on December 15th at the Horseshoe in Toronto, go pick up their CD and catch an awesome show.

www.myspace.com/herecometheshanks

Peace and Love
Joey

Assassin's Creed II Review

The two targets anxiously walk along the dirty street away from the crowds, away from the prying eyes. Cautiously they scan the alley for threatening shadows, were they followed? The real danger was above crouched on the rooftops. Like a trap ready to spring Ezio waits for the right moment. It comes as the prey turns their back to him. like an eagle he descends upon them, the sharp sound of dual hidden blades un-sheathing is heard and the hapless souls look skyward. Too late. With his full body weight behind him, Ezio plunges each blade into the eye socket of his victims, gracefully dropping the dead weights to the ground. "Assassino!" cries a guard as he stumbles upon the very men he was to watch out for, dead at the hands of a hooded figure. He turns his head to call again, "HELP! Assassino!" But the murderer was gone. The flick of a cloak over the buildings giving the only clue to his whereabouts.....

8-bit games. A culture?

I saw this today and began to think is the 8bit retro gaming beginning to rise more as a culture than just the "old video game"? Someone did a lot of work to code this homage to out favorite multiplayer zombie shooter: 8-bit Left 4 Dead. Also a great use of hip-hop (that's what the kids call it, right?) for the loved Punch Out! The Punch Out Rap.

What do you think? Is retro gaming becoming or has become an accepted culture of gaming? or is it just tributes to old friends?

What happend to D&D?

Dungeons and Dragons: a name that is deeply etched in the bible of nerd culture. Sleepless nights, 20-sided dice, and Cheetos are commonly associated with the original role playing game. But this is not a story about those things; this is a story about war, controversy, and an undying love for nerd culture.

As time goes on, products evolve. Dungeons and Dragons is no exception to this rule, they have consistently revised and relaunched the game over the last few decades, but to make changes to a game that so many hold so close to their hearts is a very delicate job. This has never been more of an issue then it is right now with the recent release of 4th Edition,  and the drastic consequences it has brought to an already divided fan base.

Modern Warfare 2 Review

On November 10, at approximately 9pm my History lecture had finished. I eagerly rode the bus back to my dwelling with one thought in my mind "3 hours....." You see, a new kind of history was about to be made. The sequel to the most played video game of all time was dropping from the skies and gracing the human race. Call of Duty's, Modern. Warfare. 2. The game that brought in 4.5 million preorders, 1.5 million more than all the copies of Halo 3, matching GTA IV's total sold copies. On just preorders. It went on to sell 7 MILLION in 24 HOURS. In one day it shattered the records and became the highest selling piece of media eva. For realz.

New site!

Myself and Alex have decided to start up a small side site we have been talking about doing for awhile. It is called A Moment of Awesome.

This site is pretty much dedicated to all the awesome stuff that people say when intoxicated. Its great. Look at it.

CD of the week.

Burn Planetarium
Valse Mechanique
2008

Let me start off by saying it is very late right now. I have been procrastinating and putting off the mountain of homework that looms on the shelf above my bed, instead I've been wasting time (I like to call it being productive in an ambiguous sense) playing super mario 64, watching man vs. wild and the food network on demand and inventing games, now I'm going to write a review because that is obviously my highest priority.

Now to the album... while I was efficiently wasting my time into the wee hours of the night, songs from this cd kept coming up on shuffle, prompting me to just listen to the Valse Mechanique all the way through for what will be my probably 100th time. Listening to it I realized that I didn't know a whole lot about Burn Planetarium, I don't even know where I found this cd (likely when I interned at the radio station).

Let me point out what I did know.
1. I know they are a college/university punk/altpop band.
2. I know nearly all their songs by heart.
3. They kind of sound like a mix between Born Ruffians and Tokyo Police Club
Note: While they share certain qualities with these bands, Burn Planetarium has it's own sound.

What I didn't know was that this band was from one of my home towns, Guelph! Ok, so the music on the album. Musically its not super impressive, its got all the components of a generic teen punk artsy pop-influenced band making it fun to listen to automatically with a bunch of really cool lyrics. But what really makes this album worth getting is the enthusiasm that Burn Planetarium put into each song. Trust me, none of these songs will disappoint you. Each time the track changes you are hit with a fresh new song that will make you move in different ways.

Track List.
1. Death! Death! Death!
2. Frankenstein kids
3. Snakefight at the Octagon
4. Werewolf by Night
5. The Mechanical Waltz
6. We Were Stenographers
7. New Way to Love
8. Red Army Fighter
9. City Wings

I'd love to see a music video for any of these songs. Maybe I'm just bad at the Internet but I couldn't even find fan made music videos for any new or old song by Burn Planetarium. I did however find a really cool live video of them in a radio library. It's on their myspace, you should probably check it out. www.myspace.com/burnplanetarium

Sorry for a sort of vague review, but that's my album pick of the week. If you are at all interested in punk/altpop get Valse Mechanique (although it might be hard unless you go to one of their shows, which is also a good idea)

Support the local scene
Peace and love
Joey
ps. if you're a band send me your stuff, I like new music, my pockets are empty so i can't buy cds and i never download because i just don't.

MW2 Review Update

So if you have checked my recent tweets or facebooking, or have a pulse, you probably noticed that Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2 has been released. I promised to you friends that I would have a review of this up soon as well as a little story of the midnight release event that I attended, with pics. There are no pics,  I will explain further in my coming review. see you real soon!

DJ Hero review, by Mitch!

With the release of the much anticipated DJ Hero, I can honestly just say wow. This game just took the music video game genre by storm, and also my heart.  The game is so much fun you’ll honestly want to do nothing but play it for 13 hours straight. Much like I did.

ODST OST

In my past review of Halo 3: ODST I mentioned the musical talents of Martin O'Donnel and Michael Salvatori. I said something along the lines of how great it was to compliment the game. After listening to it for several weeks I can confirm that this transcends just video game music. Mr. O'Donnel was given free reign of his skills with the new Halo/non-Halo game. Where in the previous games he was essentially restricted to the classic Halo monks that we all know and love.

CD of the week

Port O'Brien
All We Could Do Was Sing
Self-Released May 13, 2008

Tap Tap Tap Tap! As track one begins to play I can't help but to tap my thumbs and my feet it time with the steady percussion section (drum set with an ensemble of pots and pans.) Based on first impressions alone I am already in love with this band. "I Woke Up Today" (the title track) is fun and easy to sing along with and it is one of those songs that will get stuck in your head in a very non-intrusive way. Expect to be humming its joyful melody for the rest of the day.

Port O'Brien has done an amazing job writing songs are both pleasing to and to play. The levels of the songs on this album compliment each other and flow nicely allowing for breaks in between high energy songs and slow grooves. The guitar, banjo, violin, bass and drums work together very well and lay the foundation for the awesome songs on this CD and the clear vocals chime out with a folksy and whimsical intensity that is east to listen to. The band frequently jam on certain songs and really bring up the pace and viscosity, if you will, before breaking back into a chorus or verse (the best example: Pigeonhole)

The album ends on a peaceful and short sort of sea shanty that slowly rocks and waves to a silent close.

Track List.
1. I woke up today
2. Stuck on a boat
3. Fisherman's son
4. Don't take my advice
5. Alive for nothing
6. Pigeonhole
7. Will you be there?
8. The rooftop song
9. In vino veritas
10. Close the lid
11. Valdez

My copy has no album art but the cover I found online is beautiful. Port O'Brien has a very distinct style that sets them apart from other bands like them. Instead of explaining it I'll show you with this delightful music video.

- "I woke up today" music video
The Indie/Folk band comes from California and has a definite west coast sound. They are currently doing shows in there home state in preparation for their Euro Tour starting November 20Th, 2009. If you ever get a chance to see them live DO IT, you won't be disappointed.

I highly suggest getting this album as well as checking out their latest album "Threadbare" released in October of this year.

Check them out at www.portobrien.com or www.myspace.com/portobrien

Peace and love
Joey

Grand Theft IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

The final expansion pack for GTA IV hit the shelves of the local EB Games and Xbox Live Marketplace last Thursday and with Modern Warfare being a week away downloaded it to switch gears from my constant firefighting in ODST. Besides, that commercial had some of the best dance music I just had to get it. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, click here)

Left 4 Dead 2 Demo Impressions by Tyler

As of roughly noon today the Left 4 Dead 2 demo hit Xbox Live, giving gamers a taste of what the latest Valve shooter had to offer.

As an avid zombie lover, I eagerly queued it up for download. These are my impressions.

Mass Effect 2 DLC Rumor

I recently borrowed a copy of Mass Effect from Luke, and in anticipation for the squeal have started a new character. This has also caused me to pay a little bit closer attention to the news surrounding the second games release. Then I stumbled across this; according to a recent retailer training quiz, the DLC plans for Mass Effect 2 has been accidentally revealed.