katoarts

2010: Half Year New Music Love List

Owen Pallet: Heartland 

January 11, 2010

After finally giving into the demands of the famous Japanese RPG developer SquareEnix, Owen finally has grown out of his slightly childish moniker 'Final Fantasy' and is now known simply as Owen Pallet. With his new grown up title, he has brought the world his most beautiful recording yet. With the help The Czech Symphony String performing his lush string arrangements, Owens usual enchanting narrations, and some demanding synth sequences, this release belongs on my shelf till my death. And yes, I actually bought it!

The songs on Heartland apparently form a story concerning a "young, ultra-violent farmer" named Lewis and his relationship with his deity. Although I didn't pick up on this personally, it certainly makes for a great album.

Other January Awesomeness:

Memory Tapes: Seek Magic - January 19th, 2010 

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Pantha Du Prince: Black Noise 

February 8, 2010

Continuing in the same vein as his damn good previous release, The Bliss, Hendrick Weber weaves his German electronic grooves into similar, but always welcome territory. The endless collection of dissonant yet soothing metallic percussion beats away in a roaming stereo field.

Unlike most minimal techno, Panthu Du Prince has direction in his songs. It's not the usual dazed out wondering electronica that makes for an endless and meaningless dance party. It's a deliciously refined composition from start to finish. The yellow cheddar is gone and is replaced with a creamy aged bleu that goes good with a variety of mental salads.

Further February Fineness:

Field Music: Measures - February 15, 2010

 
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Twin Sister: Color Your Life EP

March 30, 2010

With a lead singer that features a bedazzled green dress and hair that would rival any member of Poison, this Long Island 5 piece is making soft ballads very cool again. Color Your Life, the groups 2nd EP, is a patient collection of songs that slowly churn the colors of the aural rainbow into flavors I've been happily sampling for 3 months now. By the time you reach "All Around And Away We Go", it's an all out celebration and all the sudden your the center of attention even though no one is around. I certainly would have loved a full length album, considering there's not a bad song on the EP. Get working Eric!

More March Mastery:

Bonobo: Black Sands - March 29, 2010

Data Dogs: Night Light EP - March 22, 2010

 
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Shugo Tokumaru: Port Entropy

April 21st, 2010

How I love Shugo. I have a very childlike image of him. He's my Japanese Pied Piper who I found in a talking story book. While listening one might hear whistles, birds, bells, ocarinas, piccolos, wood blocks, a koto, a childrens choir, toy pianos, found metal objects. It's enough to make you laugh like an entertained toddler. Although I haven't a clue what he is saying (and I do prefer it that way) and with song titles like 'Drive-Thru' and 'Tracking Elevator' giving you clues to what the music is about, the prolific instrumentation and performance do describe in great detail the playfulness and imaginative nature of the world that Shugo paints. I guess eventually I would like to know what the hell it's all about.

April Afterthoughts:

Caribou: Swim - April 19th, 2010

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Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma

May 3, 2010

I certainly don't want to give anyone credit other than Steven for his personal musical imagination, however being direct blood relatives with Coltrane himself can never hurt. That's quite the spiked gene pool he's swimming in. It also probably gets him a killer sampling library, one that perhaps even rivals Madlib. The Lotus that Flies is mostly an instrumental affair besides a track featuring Thom Yorke and one with Laura Darlington. Blending hip-hop with all my favorite electronica tricks and treats, Flying Lotus is dream come true only second to none next to Daedalus. Good thing they roll together.

May Honorable Mentions:

LCD Soundsystem: This is Happening - May 17, 2010

Broken Social Scene: Forgiveness Rock Record - May 4, 2010

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Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: Before Today

June 8, 2010

Deary me. I think Ariel is all grown up. Although I do not know that much in the realm of Mr. Pink, I've been told he is loyal tape recordist, dwells in his mother's basement, and was an awful coked up performer when starting for Animal Collective in the early 00's. Not much to go on. But having known a few of his last recordings, I know something has changed. It's subtle, but it's there. It's as if Donald Fagan was hiding somewhere in the studio while recording, always leaving post-its around saying "there isn't enough polish", or perhaps "that could be a bit more smooth." Being a fan of both Ariel and Donald I am large fan of the outcome. Ariel has brought his usual array of silly voices, eclectic synth patches, and dancing basslines to the party. However, it seems he really thought about where they all belong this time.

Idealistan: 8 required films... you know, for kids

In some nook of brain, there lies the imaginary country of Idealistan where I rule with supreme authoritarian control over my worthy subjects. In my strict Autocracy, children are taught to be anything but mediocre drones floating through life without purpose and aspiration. From a young age children are required to watch abstract animations and films that teach us about the cruelty of living in this world, the obscure nature of all living beings, and the massive range of unique emotions. Plus anything that promotes praise of their Almighty Ruler.

REQUIRED VIEWING

1. Return to Oz

Start with the original. Fill your child's heart up with the joy of the magical land of Oz! Then drop a healthy dose of reality on your little one. A Depressing, dirty, and despicable reality. Oz has been completely destroyed by a demon, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion are now made of stone, and to top it off Dorthy's getting Shock Therapy.

2. The Last Starfighter

When your child just isn't trying hard enough, tell them you'll grow up to be just like The Last Starfighter. Lackluster, characterless, uninspiring, and definitely not Star Wars. It's an instant shot of confidence in knowing that everything you do and say can and probably will be better than the Last Starfighter.

3. Indiana Jones

This wonderful trilogy defines the modern Hero. He encapsulates everything good in the world and the Nazis everything bad. And by no recollection of mine, or any of my precious subjects, was there ever a 4th film made. It's trilogy. As in Three. 1-2-3. (Secret copies of the 4th will be "illegally" distributed so everyone can learn the benefits and pitfalls of clinical denial)

 

4. Nightmare Before Christmas

In no way shape or form should this film be introduced to teenagers. It invokes violent adoration in the form of Jack Skelington merchandise, obnoxious dyed bangs, and fictitious depression. It takes an innocent mind to understand the intricacies of Jack's genius and his amazing discovery that all religions, holidays, and birthdays are just fabricated ideas to promote the evils of commercialism. Match that with a bright new outlook on death and you've got one hell of an educational film.

 

5. Brave Little Toaster

This should be shown at a very young age. Preferably 2 or 3. For this society to work, we need to instate who's the master and who's not. I mean this Authoritarian rule needs to have some traditional values, does it not? This film is a wonderful example of the extreme sacrifices of a ragtag group of household appliances in there adoration and deep devotion of their "Master". I mean it's only appropriate.

6. Labyrinth

Teach your child to have homoerotic feelings for David Bowie at a young age. It's healthy. It aides with the confusion normally not felt until the late teens or early twenties when some wierdo like me freaks out when he finds out you've never seen Labyrinth. The music invokes similar feelings, but nothing speaks mutually agreed sex appeal like David Bowie in a leotard dressed up as the glamorous Goblin King. I'm tingling just thinking about it.

7. Dumbo

Show this one after signs that your child might be a bully. Explain that all the elephants daddy picked on for being different actually did end up being able to fly. And they make a fuck of a lot more money too.

 

8. Alice

The Disney version has been banned. The last copies remain in my secret archives in a cave under Lake Merrit. Jan Švankmajer's Alice has replaced the colorful yet marred Disney vision. This classic tale is told through a series of jarring images and an equally jarring soundtrack. This is to be used to prepare the children for the coming war between my frontal and temporal lobes in 2057 in the fight for my sanity. Good luck my little minions!

3D Sound Amazes Humans, Grandma Will Love It

"Back when I was a kid, we used to have 2 speakers! And the pops, clicks and burnmarks and shit were just part of the Showww!!"

It appears the human mind needs exponential stimulation over time. If technology can create it, our minds will consume it. Seeing a movie in an IMAX theater is quite the experience. In 3D, it is intensified almost to the point of nausea. On top of all this is IMAX's pristine audio flowing from it's many hidden surround speakers envelopes you into the picture. Now let's bring Iosono Sound's new '3D Sound' into the situation. 

There are only a handful of actual locations using '3D Sound' which makes it a luxury to enjoy these days. Seeing the large hardware investment that it requires, it will be surprising if this technology goes mainstream anytime soon. From the photos on the website, it appears that an entire ring of speakers surrounds the room being equipped for 3D. By using Wave synthesis and a boatload of speakers, it apparently creates an aural environment that is so believable that "the loudspeakers themselves, cannot be localized." Probably because there are 500 speakers surrounding you. Nonetheless awesome and probably an uncanny experience.

What's next? I'm hoping to be strapped into a vibrating or spinning chair while bundled up in preparation for weather machines to throw hail and salt water at me. For now I will settle for 3d Audio. I would love to install this system in my house though and torture my cat with fleeting locationless animal noises. That's a sure way to drive him insane. Perhaps I'll just journey to LA someday and check er out.

Ye Olde Food Stamps

I was digging through a crate of great-grandfatherly belongings and found a few relics from the last time our country was even deeper in the shitter. I came across a collection of four 'War Ration Books' all in a nice 'Tip-Top War Ration Book Cover'. These books were given out from 1942 to 1944 to "guarantee your fair share of goods made scarce by war". Used for rationing as well as subsidizing commodities, you could get your sugar, flour, fruit cocktail, or even a pair of shoes from Sears with the stamps. Seeing that 1 in 8 now receive food stamps and America is waste deep in endless wars, I find these stamps quite relevant.

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Mmm... Food Iron!

These books were not just given out for the well-being of America's subjects though; they had a nice bit of self interest and propaganda thrown in as well. During the same time these booklets were being distributed, there was a push for the public to donate vital resources to the war effort. Certain metals, nylon, rubber, and even cooking fats.  (Check the bottom of pic #4 above)

The metals were said to build tanks and planes, unfortunately only pure metals could be used rendering Grandma's donated pots, pans, and cocktail shaker to be made into brand new metal cookware. Cooking oil was also said to be in high demand by our boys over sea. Fat makes Glycerine, and Glycerine makes bombs. Unfortunately only a small amount of Glycerine is needed in the process so it is assumed the collective fats were buried in landfills. Interestingly, the push to donate fats was in most part by the soap industry as shown in their sensational newsprint ads. Collecting rubber was actually the most legitimate salvage drive. Almost 90% of the US rubber supply was coming from Southeast Asia and Japan had effectively cutoff the supply lines. Nonetheless, in the end, there was enough rubber reserves to win the war without the drives. 

Although millions of pounds of resources were gathered and many were put towards the war effort, the economics of the operation did not make sense. Too much of what was collected could not be used or was in such large amounts could not be effectively distributed to be reused. What did make sense was the extreme show of patriotism and support for the war it created. People felt like they were giving all they could to win overseas even though they were probably throwing there money away. 

Beyond the desired patriotic affect of the drives, people were still hungry and unemployed. Patriotism certainly didn't solve that problem. The stamp books were handed out to not only ration but feed and cloth millions of downtrodden Americans. Along with this stimulus came a crazy bureaucracy to keep it in order. A point system was developed and was reported everyday in the newspaper. It ended up looking like a modern day sports section. 

 

  

 

Critique: Lost Odyssey (VG)

A Final Fantasy clone for the XBOX360

Lost Odyssey is your run of the mill FF type RPG. You control Kaim, a quiet fellow who has lived for over a thousand years and has no memory of his past. The game takes place in a world where a Magic-Industrial Revolution is taking place and where graphics come before storyline. Thank Jebus it finally ended. I inevitably ran out of sidequests. I could have played another 50 hours. Not saying this game is any masterpiece or anything, but hell it is addicting. It really tickled my obsessive RPG completist nature. Although, other than some really enslaving gameplay, I can't say that many good things about it. In fact, I expect to shit all over this game in the review.

Graphics & Artwork 

 

Might as well start on the bright factor of this game. The game is beautiful. The landscapes and cities are all well thought out and give the surreal image of the magical-industrial society they live in. The cinematography of the game is very alluring. Great angles and pans make it feel more dramatic than it actually is! The dreams were these musical story sketches, vivid tales told in full color with sound effects and orchestration and were a unique part of the game. I'm sure most people didn't even watch them as they weren't really necessary. The world map was pretty stale and the underwater map was a dark, boring mess. Overall stellar aesthetics, but at what cost to everything else?

Gameplay

 

A Final Fantasy clone. Seeing that Hironobu Sakaguchi was holding the ropes this comes as no surprise. An old and tried formula for a game.  It's not bad thing, but it can be if you water it down enough. Beautiful artwork cannot cover up the lack of Summons, the weak and unoriginal spell selection, or the completely useless and time intensive Ring Creation system. How many Black Monster Bug Oils and Adamantine Ores do I randomly need to collect until I can make my god damned Monster Ring‽ Also, the insane load time in this game really made cinematic sequences very fragmented and unsuspenseful. And couldn't I have went and explored Khent before it was leveled to the ground, Hmm? Alas, there were many compelling elements. There's a whole bunch of great side quests, plenty of exploring to do, and one of the best RPG battles of my life.

Story & Characters

 

I really enjoyed the underlying story. That's probably why I read every single one of Kaim's lost dreams as irrelevant to the game as they were. The dreams were the most poetic and emotionally packed elements of the game, yet they never represented the cold and contained realism of Kaim's demeanor. Gongora, our 
tale's villain, was a complete failure. If there is one thing my father has ever taught me in life, it is that no story is complete without a mean, cold hearted, despicable villain. Preferably one that holds reason and wretchedness in the same light. Someone you wake up thinking about. I couldn't tell if Gongora was the main baddy until halfway through the game. I figured I would get to the man behind the man eventually but it never happened. Sad actually. You would think after 1000 years a man would find something more interesting to do than become a 'god'. All in all, the story was almost acceptable. It just lacked substance from the bland characters and for being a 60+ hour game it felt short and unfinished somehow. I could look at Ming's unnecessarily revealing chest all day though.

Sound & Music

 

A very bright point of the game that was dimmed by repetitiveness and bad voice acting. Bringing Nobou Umatseu was a very smart decision. As always his provocative compositions bring the magic into the story and the many atmospheres it accompanies. Although less melodic and more death metal than his other ventures, he successfully adds a new level of imagination and introspection into an already artistic game. Certainly not as memorable as his past soundtracks (I always compare to FF7). I also would mention that music is overused far too much and tends to water down drama when you've heard the same tracked used on all 4 disks.

Prologue (Good example of the main theme)

The sound design was solid. A sonic realism was used to create an organic world which was complimented nicely by the surreal electronic sounds of the magic-industrial times they lived in. A few stand out sounds included the airship spinning into the air and violently slamming back down into the water. The 'Roughs' in the Black Cave gave a wonderful zombie bird screech. But as for many modern games, the lack of stand out sounds comes with the territory as most games are now designed with organic sources rather than synthesized weirdness and also require 1000's of unique sounds and variations on each.

Awful English voiceovers. Absolutely awful. I don't know who was being catered to, but there were some poor voice actor choices with some poor voice direction in the English dubs. The Japanese voices on the other hand were incredible. Very emotional and believable voices that made the characters a little bit less bland.

Verdict = Still Holding 7 Eggs

I understand making games is a very exhausting process, creatively, mentally, and physically. I do wish all this talent and creativity did make a truly remarkable game. They didn't. Lost Odyssey had a super team working for it, an incredible Japanese folk tale to work with, and a renowned director. Yet it failed to reach any new heights. Yes, they did create a very playable and enjoyable experience, but they did not create anything new. Stunning graphics, artwork, and music never forgive bland and regurgitated gameplay, stories, and characters. I did use 70 hours of my life to complete it, so by all means please call me a hypocrite.