Gold Skulltulla

Opening Today: For Rent

2012-01-27T14:06:00.000-05:00

Taken from press release:

The Transients presenttheir first group exhibition:

For Rent

Opening Friday, January 27^th, from 8 p.m.-1 a.m.

Open hours Saturday from 4 - 6 p.m.

3224 Indiana Ave, 2nd Floor
St. Louis, MO

For the exhibition For Rent, TravisHowser and Gina Grafos have transformed their soon-to-be former apartment intoa temporary gallery space.

There is a time when domestic and commercial spaces sit vacant in anticipationof their future occupants. Spatial vacancy is an ephemeral period of timepotentially ranging from hours to days to years. This exhibition is a result ofplanned choices manifesting an opportunity to consciously inhabit this spaceduring a time of vacancy.

For Rent will include works by Jessi Cerutti,Jake Cruzen, Bryan Eaton, Dani Kantrowitz, Kelda Martensen, Dan Solberg, B.j.Vogt, and letters to Mick Jagger (collected by Travis Howser).

Inaddition, J. Taylor Wallace will host a “Tea Parody” and Sarah Palin will becooking up more phallacies.

To gain access to 3224 Indiana Ave 2nd Floor, please follow the posted 'forrent' signs through gate to the rear of the building.

For more information aboutthis and other events organized by The Transients pleasevisit: http://thetransience.blogspot.com/

Pleasealso visit the Facebook event page for updates and to RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/events/327372650617049/

The Transients are a collaborativeteam, currently consisting of Gina Grafos, Travis Howser, and B.j. Vogt.

Review: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (WiiVC/SNES)

2012-01-22T02:10:00.001-05:00

Should we review old games as artifacts or in the same light as their contemporary brethren? Even if a new title is released with decidedly retro stylings, does its position upon release matter more than any time in the future? The relevancy of art often fluctuates based on where a society or individual is in their lifespan at a given point in time. I wonder how people 10 years from now will view retro-styled games produced in 2010, 2011, or 2012. Will they be seen as artifacts the same way as games from the 1980s, or has this pixel-art fetishism somehow put things on an even keel?

I've now played every console Legend of Zelda game with the exception of Skyward Sword. Most recently I took my maiden voyage through the oft lauded SNES entry: A Link to the Past. It's impossible to view this game in a vacuum where I can unremember collecting the Triforce some 7 times prior. Yet it's also unrealistic to expect this game to be iteratively better than say, Twilight Princess. Considering these factors and most of all my general adoration for the Zelda franchise, I was still truly stunned to find myself in an early dungeon of LttP almost totally lacking the desire to continue forward. Ultimately I did push on, partly due to my self-inflicted charge to finish games that I purchase, but also because I possessed optimism that this version of Hyrule could grow on me.

LttP is the template for almost every Zelda game that has followed it. I had assumed that these precursory duties belonged to N64 showpiece Ocarina of Time, but now understand that game more for what it did to change how the series' core mechanics were implemented. The structure of the Zelda game and its modern tropes fall square on LttP's shoulders. Master Sword? Check. Parallel worlds? Check. Spin attack? Check. Some of these traits are more integral than others, but my point is to illustrate how far-reaching and specific LttP's role as a mold for the franchise was and how difficult it is to play in 2012 as anything other than a piece of history.

In light of Nintendo's recent bend of pedantic in-game instructions for how to use Wii controls, it's refreshing to play a Zelda game that hearkens back to simpler times when you could press "start," enter a cave, pick up a sword and begin an adventure. A pitfall of this strategy is that it requires a high level of preconceived curiosity and exploratory desire on the part of the player that is more difficult to achieve when the world is somewhat familiar and lacking the visual "awe" factor that usually accompanies these flagship titles at initial release. Additionally LttP offers a decent amount of player choice, which is always neat to see in older games, but once again this relies heavily on your own initiative since the game merely suggests where to try next, rarely narrowing where you can actually explore.

Put in perspective of the whole Zelda bloodline, LttP feels the most unique in its dungeon layouts. You know the drill when it comes to the objective list in a given dungeon: fight enemies, locate map and compass, unlock doors, pull switches, discover special item, and defeat the boss. However, the physical blueprints for these levels use verticality to add a dimension that was not a part of previous 2D Zeldas (I can't speak to DS entries). This is implemented in individual spaces with ladders and staircases that lead to higher ledges and walkways, but also on a more macro level with the dungeons being multiple stories high. In a single room this changes the way you approach enemies, perhaps prompting you to remain on higher ground, hurling pots at enemies below instead of jumping down into a sword fight. Considering the entire dungeon as a puzzle, some rooms are placed directly above others, encouraging you to blow holes in the floor to gain access to depths otherwise unreachable. This puzzle design sensibility has been carried into the polygonal Zeldas out of necessity to make a compelling three-dimensional experience. In LttP the verticality feels truly innovative; it's version of Hyrule might not be "round," but it's definitely more than just a flat surface.

I began to approach sitting down to play more LttP similarly to filling out a Sudoku, as it required me to be in the mood for solving that particular brand of puzzle. I feel a little bad constantly conjuring up references to other Zelda games in this review, but how else can a game like this be evaluated in 2012? It's a franchise so staunchly rooted in its formula that it would almost be like writing a Madden review that doesn't acknowledge the previous year's game's existence. Often with Zelda games, style differentiation is enough to warrant giving each entry a try. Nintendo consistently trots out top-notch art direction no matter how underpowered the hardware they work with may be. Perhaps Zelda games really are meant to be played exclusively around the time they originally come to market. This allows enough time between doses to build the demand for a new version, while the visual changes make things appear just different enough to distinguish it from the last one.

On the other hand LttP is still a game worth playing on its own merits, as many of my gripes are personal in nature. Uncovering the original appearances of so many Zelda standbys was a pleasant surprise. The overall difficulty was spot on. There's little more thrilling in an action sequence than besting a powerful foe by the skin of your teeth, which LttP offered more than a couple times. I wouldn't say the game ever really got its hooks in me, but it came closest with its brainteasingly tricky puzzles. I faulted LttP's early game for asking the player to bring too much curiosity to the table, but once I began accomplishing the games tasks, their occasionally harrowing nature had me intrigued enough that I was eager to see what else those clever Nintendo developers had up their sleeves.

Completing Twilight Princess granted me with a cautious optimism for the future of my beloved franchise, but A Link to the Past has left me with a sense of acceptance that Zelda is what Zelda is. What it is is something pretty grand though. It may be built around a formulaic structure, but it's a system that works. My only fear is a personal one: that I've exasperated this series' magical hold on me. Though, since I've laid out that I think these games are optimally played when they're most current, I suppose I should withhold judgment until reporting back post-Skyward Sword. The fact that I'd even seek to play more Zelda after this must count for something, right?

Best Music of 2011 (Part 3 of 3)

2012-01-08T01:31:00.002-05:00

10. Africa HiTech - Out In The Streets VIP

This year I learned that VIP can stand for "variation in production." This is mainly used in drum n' bass circles when a producer remixes his/her own track drawing from mostly the original components. "Out In The Streets" isn't the first time I came across this, but it was the first time when a VIP blew me away to such a degree that I had to uncover more about what's going on behind it. Africa HiTech's self-titled debut LP is solid all the way through, but "Out In The Streets" is the footwork-y standout. The VIP takes that flurry of skittery snares and cymbals and straps them to a dnb rocket. AHT's post-LP single asked "Do You Really Wanna Fight?" in a way that talked down aggressors by puffing their chests. "Out In The Streets VIP" shows that they were serious when they coyly asked that.

9. The Field - Looping State of Mind LP

I've gushed so much in the past about how great Axel Willner is at what he does, that I honestly don't have all that much more to say. When I first listened to Looping State of Mind I simply thought of it as more music from The Field, and I'm perfectly happy to have it. That said, LSoM doesn't hit the pleasure centers quite as hard as some of the producer's previous long players, opting for a more sustained bliss than the hills and valleys of his more dramatic pieces. The Field has produced a more balanced album as a result, which I imagine has to be part of the reason I've seen it showing up on other people's lists who I've never known to be Field fans. If broader appeal(?) means Willner can continue on with his practice though, I eagerly await the next dose.

8. Zomby - Dedication LP

Zomby is one of the most difficult producers to pin down in a genre. He has tropes that recur here and there (8-bit blips, gunshots, airhorns), but to say that this collection actually defines what Zomby sounds like is a gross over simplification. On Dedication we're turned in yet another new direction, and this one's pretty dark (see song titles in the album art). It's hard to listen to Dedication and not feel a sense of lurking. Ghostly synths haunt some tracks juxtaposed with poppy hi-hats that make me sense one sound is hunting the other. Dedication is music of contained unrest, possessing the ability to remain calm in the face of pure terror. Playing this while driving at night out in a rural area might be the ideal way to listen to it, but I don't think I have the constitution for that sort of thing.

7. Cut Copy - Zonoscope LP

2011 was more of an "album year" than one of singles for me, and I think that changeover is easily paralleled with the way I listened to Cut Copy's latest. The reason I never clocked a multitude of replays with In Ghost Colours had most to do with the fantastic remixes that were being released of that album's singles, which were more attractive to me at the time. Now in 2011, I still DJ, but it's not the primary reason I'm seeking out Cut Copy tracks. I think the singles simply got stuck in my head and I found myself cycling choruses in my mind, which drew me into Zonoscope enough to realize that every song on it had an infectious hook somewhere. I may still seek out remixes that have risen to the top, but I feel like my heart has already staked its loyalty with the originals.

6. James Blake - Limit To Your Love

Reactions to James Blake's reintroduction to the world as a pretty boy, piano bar crooner have been incredibly varied depending on which circle you travel in. With this emergence, Blake was suddenly on the big, Pitchfork-christened indie music circuit which many latched on to, some of whom would then turn around in traditional, popular backlash form. I liked James Blake as an underground UK "dubstep" producer, and was really more shocked than anything else when his first true vocal outing, "Limit to your Love" was shared around the Internet. Perhaps even more surprising to me, was that this Feist cover was the best thing Blake had yet produced. There's a variety of great elements to dissect here, but none more impactful than James Blake's use of silence. When all of the sounds drop out, that silence perfectly encapsulates the depression of being left behind, only to have those old hopeful feelings rush back again when those familiar piano chords signal the music's return.

5. Pictureplane - Thee Physical LP

I wish I had it in me to attempt to create music the way Travis Egedy of Pictureplane does, but I feel like only some bizarro world version of myself would actually be of a mindset of produce and perform this kind of stuff. Egedy's meditations on the ways human relationships evolve amidst oceans of technological advancements are messy in the best way possible. The sampling techniques employed here are very DIY, laying out repetitions that are pretty raw in a way that nicely reflects on the digital production process. The samples themselves are pitchshifted diva calls, paired with sped-up and slowed-down trance synths, a nice correlation to the current US pop landscape which itself is basically a form of trance music. Egedy's breathy vocals are the cherry on top, rounding out Thee Physical as a concept album that absolutely delivers on its core ideas without sacrificing any of its hooky madness.

4. The Rapture - How Deep Is Your Love?

Great singles can sometimes serve as enthusiastic hype-men for upcoming albums. A couple years ago when M83 put "Couleurs" on the band's website prior to Saturdays=Youth, I was ready to preemptively grant it "album of the year" status. Though my expectations were a bit more reserved for The Rapture due to their extended hiatus and member shake-up, "How Deep Is Your Love?" had me as juiced to see what else the band had in store as I could have hoped. After repeat listens, In The Grace Of Your Love may be kind of a mixed bag, but that lead single still shines brighter than perhaps any other individual song released in 2011. Almost all of The Rapture's best traits are on exhibit with this one: Luke Jenner yelping at top-range, infectious piano-stabs, music-centric chanting ("Let me hear that song!"), and a saxophone breakdown. The band may have shed their punk-infused adolescence, but they've kept their ability to make a track that is equal parts charged rock song and heart-wrenching dance cut.

3. Andy Stott - Passed Me By / We Stay Together LP

Andy Stott's 2011 output feels like it was made just for when I'm in a "music-listening" mood. The compiled EPs isolationist aesthetics are perfectly suited to the earbud-donning lifestyle. It's amazing how cold and distant the music comes off despite all the vinyl scratch and static fuzz on display here, which normally lend a homespun warmth the the proceedings. Stott slows his tempos down to gurgling chugs that sound as if the inertia continues to fight back. The beats hit like implosions, gasping for air instead of rippling out across the dancefloor. The same way The Field floored me with their debut by producing sample-based techno music that sounded like nothing else, Andy Stott has done likewise here with Passed Me By / We Stay Together, a combination of the two EPs released separately this year, along with a couple very worthy bonus tracks. I'd like to convince more people to give this stuff a spin (that's why I include the YouTube links), but I also know this is the type of music that's already in my wheelhouse and probably in few others.

2. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming LP

Another year, another M83 album in my top 2. Anthony Gonzales was heavily influenced by the stadium-filling rock bands he was touring with as he conceptualized this double LP. I totally understand where this is coming from in terms of his bold vocal performance on Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, but everything else about the album reads as studio wizardry, not live performance improvisation. "Wizardry" is actually an understatement as the diversity of instruments and styles M83 pulls together here is masterful. Woodwinds, strings, guest vocalists and more are culled together to form a truly bombastic soundstage. Gonzales hasn't forsaken the signatures of his past work either, giving shoegaze, 80s synth-pop, and cinematic dreamscapes equal footing. Hurry Up, We're Dreaming basically has everything an M83 fan would have already wanted, plus Gonzales showing off his pipes like never before. This album showcases just how great a work of art can be when an artist bares their soul to craft it. M83's latest is a testament to dreaming big and following through on that vision to the fullest.

1. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact LP

In interviews, members of Gang Gang Dance have spoken of this year's album as being a moment of clarity for them. Signs of this are apparent even before listening to Eye Contact, from the song titles ("Glass Jar," "Thru and Thru") and sharp cover art. In comparison to their previous LP, the experimental Saint Dymphna, Eye Contact definitely has a direct focus; a successful melding of bizarre vocal stylings, pan-global tribal influences, and modern electronic instrumentation. Perhaps it goes without saying that everything works well together (there are even designated interludes), but the real reason this album is so good is that every song is fantastic in a totally different way than the last. Leaving things here, the decision about whether to put this or M83 on top might as well been a toss-up. The scales tipped in GGD's favor primarily based on the incredible strength of the 11-minute epic, lead-off track "Glass Jar." The first half of the track is all build-up; constantly evolving and reshaping, but always growing. It would be all for naught if the payoff weren't so huge when the drums finally kick in, but GGD delivers on this too, offering up a psychedelic whirlwind of synths, beats, and voices that a lesser band would have had to divide amongst three or more pieces. If GGD has one core strength, it's their ability to draw from influences that have very concrete connotations, and redefine them. "Glass Jar" and the whole of Eye Contact performing this feat would be impressive enough, but to do so under the "guise" of clarity shows they trust their listeners to trust them back, which I certainly did.

Best Music of 2011 (Part 2 of 3)

2012-01-02T00:54:00.000-05:00

20. Panda Bear - Slow Motion

19. Escort - Escort LP

18. Chrissy Murderbot feat DJ Spinn- Bussin' Down

17. Surkin - Ultra Light

16, Salva - Complex Housing LP

15. Burial - Street Halo EP

14. Blue Daisy - The Sunday Gift LP

13. Silkie - It's Late

12. Shine 2009 - Realism LP

11. Jamie Woon - Shoulda

Best Music of 2011 (Part 1 0f 3)

2011-12-28T03:57:00.000-05:00

Once again I'm doing this list as a "best music" one, meaning songs, singles, EPs, and LPs will all be included in indiscriminate fashion. I'm trying to keep things lean this time with an even 30 selections to be spread over 3 posts. All entry titles are hyperlinked to YouTube videos featuring correlating songs. I'll do some writing for the top 10, which hopefully won't delay the post too severely.

Happy listening and Happy New Year!

30. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross feat. Karen O - Immigrint Song

29. Four Tet - Locked

28. Joy O - Wade In / Jels

27. ZZT - Vulkan Alarm (Proxy Remix)

26. Tim Hecker - Dropped Pianos LP

25. Rustie - Glass Swords LP

24. Surgeon - Breaking The Frame LP

23. Gatto Fritto - Beachy Head

22. Hercules & Love Affair - My House

21. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs LP

Review: Not Tetris 2 (Mac)

2011-12-26T17:30:00.000-05:00

Tetris has changed, apparently. There are so many versions of the seminal block puzzle title that small variations can make all the difference in selecting which one to play. I have spent my time with Tetris almost exclusively on the NES and Game Boy, and have been surprised at how difficult it is for me to accept how the game controls on other platforms. I gave the recent PSN iteration a spin only to find the change in what the up and down buttons do quite debilitating. I like to think I'm pretty good at Tetris, but faced with the option of reeducating my synapses, I've decided to stick with what I know.

This revelation has left my desires for fresh takes on the Tetris formula to come from games that diverge significantly from the original structure (Tetrisphere, Tetris Attack, etc). This way I wouldn't have to overwrite any of those twitch instincts I've have developed over the years. This must be the sort of thing that drives the hardcore fighting game community crazy as their prized title gets tweaked in successive sequels and updates. I own a copy of Street Fighter: Anniversary Collection which allows you to select 5 versions of Street Fighter II Chun Li's. To the uninitiated, it's confounding.

In no way did I expect Not Tetris 2 (NT2) to tie into any of these issues, because it appeared to be more of a mildly amusing gag than a real game. NT2 is visually the Game Boy version of Tetris, monochrome design and all, but with a physics-based play structure. It's pretty amusing to have pieces capable of 360 degree rotation, bouncing and spinning off one another, and ultimately building an unfixable mess that fills up the entire space. When I first began playing NT2, it was just that; actually playing well seemed not only impossible, but against the tongue-in-cheek spirit of the game.

But I kept playing it.

The goal shifted from simply figuring our how to play NT2 to how achieve a higher score. This is something that in the long term, my old Tetris games never truly provided because they're lacking an internal battery to retain leaderboards. I developed various strategies to best tackle NT2. Firstly you have to approach block stacking with greater patience and care than classic Tetris because of the delicate rotational balancing required to place pieces in specific crevices. You can press a piece up against the side wall to get it in a "right angle" position, which is helpful to maximize your early game before things get messy. If you've got a decent pile built up at the bottom, I found that holding the "down" button as you place new pieces will slam them with extra force that can occasionally trigger a line clear somewhere below (line clears are based on horizontal block density).

I could continue divulging my strategies, but I should note that I reached a point where my feelings toward the game turned about face: I hit a 9999 point cap. This made me feel conflicted about the whole play experience. It seemed like maybe I had been playing something that wasn't really meant to be played. I come from an art background, which has taught me that you shouldn't always believe what an artist says about their own work. Artists have every right to lie about what a piece means or what their inspiration was. Heck, maybe the explanation is its own separate piece of performance art! Was NT2 a game, despite itself?

The amount of time I spent with NT2 dropped dramatically after reaching the cap. Modern story-driven games add meta-game achievements, side quests, and multiplayer modes to flesh out their worlds, which also keeps us playing them longer. Old arcade games like Tetris need that high-score mechanic to incentivize replay. I suppose in this regard that I've "beat" NT2, but that's not something I'd quote in the game's favor, even if it's cool to say about a Tetris game.

Not Tetris 2 is definitely worth experiencing, but as for seriously playing it, that depends on personal discretion, and perhaps a releveling of what to expect from a free, interactive experiment. Download Not Tetris 2 for free here.

Review: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)

2011-11-14T18:20:00.000-05:00

The appeal of the Metroid series has long been the isolated adventure through uncharted worlds. It's surprising then in the final chapter of the Metroid Prime trilogy that Samus Aran spends so much time listening to other people tell her what to do and where to go. This is the case in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption because Samus is basically a federal contractor; a one-woman cleaning crew assigned to rid the universe of the glowing, corrosive element, Phazon.

The game opens strongly with an intense Ridley set-piece, but quickly turns chatty with the introduction of military commander types, sentient computer brains, and a butt-ugly cast of tag-along bounty hunters. Samus, like fellow Nintendo mascot Link, remains quiet through all this, coming off increasingly like a silent film actress who's just been cast in a talkie. I could relate to Samus' stoicism though, as it seemed the less said, the sooner conversation would end and exploration could begin.

While Retro Studios may have taken some of the implicit appeal of a Metroid game off the table with the tone of their third go-around, they have made additions in other places, most notably their informed integration of motion controls. One could look at the way MP3 asks you to interact with switches and levers by rotating and pushing the Wiimote as a concession to some kind of mandatory waggle clause, but I found these movements almost universally satisfying; none moreso than the Grapple Beam which is implanted in the Nunchuk controller. You can grasp onto labeled grapple points by locking onto them and them whipping the Nunchuk forward to unleash your electrified lasso. Then you can throw your wrist back to pull shields away from enemies, rip loose panels off of walls, or remove any other such precarious object from its perch. It's hard to call this motion a novelty when it comes in handy so frequently and feels like a natural part of the game.

The impressiveness of the of the motion controls actually comes pretty wholesale, which leaves me dumbfounded as to why there weren't more FPS-type games on the Wii. MP3 decoded a fluid way to use the Wiimote/Nunchuk combo to turn a Prime series entry, traditionally referred to as "first-person-platformers," into a legit shooter. MP3 is still a shooter in a different class than modern military fare or even closer-in-setting Halo mechanics, but an action oriented game nonetheless. This is especially prevalent during the Leviathan boss encounters, which require you to use most of the tools at your disposal and, most importantly, to actually aim. When fighting tougher enemies you can lock your sight onto a particular weakpoint, but you still must free-aim Samus' arm cannon, which makes for some welcome wrist-cramping difficulty spikes in an otherwise breezy title.

I'm not one to berate games for being too easy if it still does a good enough job of incentivising me to keep playing. Corruption keeps pace on its main quest line pretty well (a little too narrowly perhaps), leaving the trickiest puzzle solving to missile pack and energy cell upgrade retrievals. While the additional life bars came in handy on a couple occasions, there is absolutely no functional need to have a stock of 200+ missiles since I never had an encounter where I used even 50. There's nothing inherently wrong with having collectibles, but when those items serve a purpose in the game world, it's a shame that their usefulness caps off so early.

The worlds of MP3 are in the same vein that you've come to expect from this series: lush organic environments juxtaposed with bio-mechanical factory garb, but the linear pacing of the plot and the ability to fast-travel with your dropship often leave you feeling like you're following orders instead of exploring the worlds to figure things out for yourself. One could lodge a complaint against the previous Prime games for the amount of time spent backtracking and walking through already-cleared rooms to get where you want to go. Prime 3 admirably solves this problem by allowing you to secure dropship landing sites to quickly move across the map. What this adds in ease-of-movement it loses in isolated immersion, a franchise keystone. Samus is never really stranded anywhere, she's just a tourist, popping in to have a bit of fun before taking off to do the same somewhere else. Mission objectives are boilerplate space marine droll too (power down the enemy defense shield! again!) leaving the moment-to-moment gameplay to hold your interest. Only the wrecked Valhalla space barge left me actually asking questions instead of simply pressing a button and moving on (though you do just that at the end of the Valhalla too).

Thankfully, shooting and double jumping through MP3's admittedly narrow corridors hits its Prime series high point here. There aren't much in the way of alternative weapons (your beam upgrades stack), which gives combat tactics precedent over pre-engagement strategy. Retro Studios must have known the Wii's weaknesses well enough to make sure their AI did not exploit them. The most prominent systemic hindrance is Samus' sluggish turn speed. For most traversal your stiff neck actually helps keep your trajectory steady, but when confronted with speedier foes, there's a delay in how quickly you can rotate to face them. Rarely in these cases will you be blindsided though, resulting in skirmishes that always seem fair.

MP3 is extremely balanced and well-polished, so much so that it can feel like Samus is toying with some kind of virtual training simulator instead of actually going out and being a hero. The action is tightly executed, but in an attempt that appears aimed at easing more casual players into the series, the dialogue-heavy mission assignments negate some of Samus' independent spirit. I'm not saying I think games need to be self-congratulatory, but Samus is supposed to be a rogue bounty hunter, right? Where's the grand reward?

Opening Today: 002 @ Favorite Goods

2011-11-12T12:33:00.000-05:00

This Saturday the 12th at Favorite Goods in Los Angeles, CA is the opening of 002, the gallery's second exhibition. The show contains a collaborative work from Dan Solberg and Jake Cruzen. along with solo works from Cruzen, Matthew Strauss, and Dashiell Manley. Check out the official Favorite Goods site for more details.

Opening Today: (e)merge Art Fair

2011-09-22T10:20:00.000-04:00

This Thursday the 22nd at Capitol Skyline Hotel in Washington, DC is the opening of the inaugural (e)merge Art Fair. The show contains new work from Dan Solberg and many other local and international contemporary artists. The reception will be held from 7-11PM, and the exhibition will be on view through Sunday the 25th. Check out the official (e)merge site for more details.

Nice Look

2011-08-18T01:17:00.000-04:00

This latest mix is just short of an hour and pretty upbeat. Lots of breakdowns and build-ups to keep things interesting, and that's about all I have to introduce it with. It's been a while since I last posted a mix, so thanks for checking it out. There will be more to come.

Gold Skulltulla - Making Faces

Tracklist:

Villa - Beats of Love (Mylo Remix)
We Are Standard - Don't Give Up (John Talabot's Slowing It Down Remix)
Shit Robot - I Got A Feeling
Fiflos - Lesbienne
Louis La Roche - Love
Tensnake - Coma Cat
Miami Horror - Grand Illusion
Gorillaz - Stylo (Alex Metric Remix)
Tiefschwarz - On Up (Magik Johnson Remix)
The Krays - We're Ready When You Are (DJ Mehdi Remix)
Louis La Roche - Be Brave
Boys Noize - Yeah
Pendulum - The Island (Part II, Dusk) (DJ Edit)
Tim Berg - Bromance (Avicii's Arena Mix)
Bobmo - Turn On Cop Out
The Vanish - Hold On (Russ Chimes Remix)
Ou Est Le Swimming Pool - Dance The Way I Feel (Armand Van Helden Club Mix)
Kris Menace - Swarm
Daft Punk - Rinzler (Kaskade Remix)
Florrie - Give Me Your Love (Fred Falke Remix)
Bag Raiders - Castles In The Air
Jon Giovanni - Take Off (12" Version)
Vitalic - Second Lives
Vampire Weekend - White Sky (Basement Jaxx Club Remix)
Pacific! - Narcissus (Alan Braxe Remix)

Review: Pokemon Puzzle League (WiiVC/N64)

2011-07-10T14:35:00.000-04:00

Unlike most of the games I review, I actually spent time playing Pokemon Puzzle League (PPL) back in 2000, when it was current. However, that was only a singular rental that, for whatever reason, didn't prompt me to purchase the full $60 game. On the Wii's Virtual Console, that price has been significantly reduced, effectively eliminating my barrier to entry on a title that I vaguely remembered being pretty fun. Turns out that faint inkling was pointing in the correct direction as PPL is a deceptively deep and satisfying puzzle experience.

The core gameplay of PPL is a tile swapping puzzle game, known to long-time importers as Panel de Pon. You are confined to a rectangular column wherein tiles ascend from the bottom and you must switch them left and right to match three same colors in a horizontal or vertical row, making them disappear. From that basic mechanic you can also chain combos together for a higher score or to dump junk blocks into your opponent's column in head-to-head competitive mode. If you played Tetris Attack on SNES this is probably sounding familiar.

Of course the big draw here is that this is a Pokemon game, right? OK, maybe not, but the game is enhanced if you can derive some sort of amusement out of that material, ironic or otherwise. Every time you turn on the game a FMV clip (extremely rare for a N64 title) featuring characters form the original Pokemon cartoon series prompts the "story" that sets up the game. There isn't much of a plot to speak of, though each mode does take a slightly different angle on the Pokemon world. In the 1P Stadium mode, you defeat a ladder of CPU competitors that are recognizable from the animated TV show, and in Spa Service, Team Rocket, appearing in various cross-dressed regalia, tries to trick you into something-or-other in between line clear challenges. The toon-representative, voiced audio during matches can be grating, but since sound is largely inconsequential to this game, I usually had it muted and listened to something else.

What I'm trying to get at is don't let the Pokemon name scare you away from this superb puzzle game. The PPL developers did everything short of retro-actively adding online multiplayer to expand and enhance the simple gameplay needed to justify this as a full retail product. Some of these work better than others but the range of options is encouraging since the game feels too easy at the outset. It became clear before long that I should have been utilizing those easy stages as training grounds for combo building because I hit a wall in the unlockable Very Hard difficulty where I could only win on pure luck. If you hit that wall or just want a change of scenery, you can check out Puzzle University instead and tackle block elimination puzzles at a more methodical pace. In this mode you are presented with a small amount of tiles and a limited number of swaps to clear them all from the board. In theory you could translate these combo triggering skills to the competitive modes, but the frantic nature of those battles just drove me into a mindless, button-mashing panic.

Other modes in PPL include Practice, Endless, Time Attack, and the aforementioned Line Clear. These can be nice distractions, but they aren't where the real action is, so I doubt much time will be spent there. Plus, with the lack of online leaderboards, these score-focused modes lose a lot of their incentive since I'm the only person with access to my copy of PPL that spends any time playing it. Additionally you can switch on 3D mode which turns your rectangular game board into a rotatable cylinder with tiles emerging from the bottom all the way around. The cylinder is clear so you can see through to the back if there's an area requiring immediate damage control. This, like the other modes, goes a long way in showing the effort that was put into extending the Panel de Pon play experience, but always feels like an aside to the "real" head-to-head mode. Sure, doing the puzzle thing with polygonal graphics in a 3D space works fine, but like Tetrisphere, it doesn't measure up to the addictive nature of the basic 2D structure.

It's a relatively common thing for Japanese developers to take classic puzzle franchises and reskin them for Western audiences (think Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine), but PPL seems to go that extra mile with its supplementary content. The resulting world is pretty silly, with its paper-thin premise and goofy cartoon tie-ins, but it does serve to bulk out the puzzle gameplay, and do so with a sincere charm.

Review: Cave Story (WiiWare)

2011-06-22T01:17:00.000-04:00

For a long time I've been wanting to build an art piece that centers around "cave themes" from videogames. The eerie ambiance has been handled in many different ways over time, each composer setting the correct mood for the cave level from an individual game. This had me extra excited for Cave Story, as I imagined a boatload of variations on cave tunes I'd looked into previously. Going in with that expectation, I ended up a little disappointed to find that the cave-yness is often downplayed in the soundtrack in favor of a wider-spanning action/adventure score. Ultimately this plays to the strengths of the game's action, which is fast and frantic, instead of the sleepy, subterranean atmosphere of cave dwelling in itself.

For most people who play games, the side-scrolling shooter/platformer, Cave Story, came at a time when it could provide a superbly constructed retro experience, serving as a welcome deviation from Call of Duty and Gears of War clones. I've actually spent time playing 8 and 16-bit era titles more than anything else lately, which makes for an interesting juxtaposition. Since Cave Story gets by a lot on its old-school charm, I felt like the nostalgic hook didn't quite grab me as I assume it did for others; the soundtrack being one example. This did allow me to judge the gameplay and story more on its own merits though, and directly compare it to its latter day in-genre competition.

On that line of thought, Cave Story actually feels pretty unique. Sure it looks and sounds retro, but they way it actually handles is unlike any side-scrolling colleagues I can put my finger on. I haven't played Super Meat Boy, but the two seem to stem from a similar school of thought about what it means to make a new old game. Parts of Cave Story are extremely difficult (I played on Normal), but save points are frequent, and the post-death reloads are snappy, making subsequent attempts at tricky boss encounters challenging exercises in learning from mistakes, instead of frustrating retreads (though that does happen on occasion).

One of the more outstanding aspects of Cave Story is the weapon system. Once you acquire a gun you can upgrade it by picking up the flashing triangles that drop out of defeated enemies. Seems simple enough, but the trick is that taking damage when attacked not only sucks your life bar, but also reduces the level of your equipped weapon. This places a premium on agility and long range shooting accuracy, since trudging through enemies will leave you twice as weak as other similar games. This lead me to play pretty conservatively, constantly topping-off my weapon stats to maintain their max level. The payoff is that the blasters are extremely satisfying to use. Beams and rockets burst out in rapid multiples, dwarfing their humble pea-shooter source. These blasts demolish enemies by turning them into animated tufts of cel-shaded smoke. The result is that gunplay is cartoonish, but weighty and believable within that cartoon setting.

What's more nonsensical is the story, which is hard to get behind as the serious dramatic epic it seems to be attempting. You play semi-amnesiac Quote, a humanoid robot and post-war relic who finds himself on a strange floating island inhabited by a race of talking rabbits. Turns out an evil doctor has kidnapped most of the rabbits and is turning them into rabid killing machines with the intent of unleashing them on Earth proper, and it's up to you to stop him. I've never really seen Lost, but I like to imagine that plot plays out similarly. There's quite a bit of dialogue here, and it seems like the game's developer really wants to to feel for these characters, but ultimately when we're talking about preventing a glorified rodent infestation, the impact just isn't there. There was a time during my playthrough when a prominent character died, and I only found out by reading online that the sword he gave me was his dying gift. Who knew. Unfulfilled gravitas aside, I did enjoy the emphasis on mystery and detail-unraveling in how the story is told. Things play out like a talky version of Metroid, a narrative approach of which I'm a large supporter.

Cave Story is also a game that pushes you towards multiple playthroughs in order to see all the weapons, and ultimately the best ending, assuming you didn't do everything perfectly the first time. I can say undoubtedly, that if you don't use a faq, it's very unlikely that you will get the best ending on your first try (Spoiler: there's and even meaner, more powerful guy behind it all!). I'm not one for multiple playthroughs unless the game is short and arcade-y or is Chrono Cross, thus I found the specificity of the win conditions to get the most out of the game needlessly contrived. I'm sure to the player that figures out the correct sequence of events to trigger the best outcome, he/she must beget some degree of grand satisfaction, but for me it's not worth the unfun trial and error process, especially when I'd rather just play a new, different game.

As a love letter to classic videogames, elegantly crafted by a single individual, Cave Story stands as a tremendous achievement. Sure you can download this as freeware on your computer, but I think the WiiWare pricetag of $12 justifies itself with additional modes and enhanced graphics and sounds. Since the 8-bit pixel art doesn't really do it for me all on its own, I appreciate the higher fidelity of the upgrades. Though I'll probably never play those additional modes, I'm happy to see the effort put forth to add value to this as a purchasable product. Cave Story is a pretty unique retro adventure title that, lack of "cave music" aside, pleases much more often than disappoints.

Review: Super Mario World (WiiVC/SNES)

2011-05-03T01:49:00.000-04:00

Having only ever played Super Mario World in brief spats on friends' SNESes, I went into my full playthrough with skepticism. Sure, I had confidence that this would be a satisfying game, but many enthusiasts herald this as the best Mario title to date. From what I had touched previously, this hardly seemed the case. Now, with numerous castles, ghost houses, and another Bowser battle under my belt, I can see where that stunning appeal comes from, even if it doesn't strike my fancy to quite the same degree.

I possess a long-standing fascination with floating platforms in games, and even though SMW doesn't really dig into that meta-game analysis, it does make you think about platform placement and level construction. Maybe it's just that the era when the platformer was the dominant game genre is behind us, but SMW is a perfect poster-child for what a well-honed 2-D platformer can achieve. This is something that modern games have a difficult time replicating without exuding nostalgia or at least coming off as largely referential to historical material. It's hard to think back to a time when Yoshi made his first appearance, and was brought on for broad gameplay variance, instead of existing as a callback or one-off power-up for use with an individual sequence.

What I liked best about SMW was the way it mixed elements of action, adventure, and puzzle solving in a fashion I don't recall another Mario game doing. The action side is largely what you'd expect if you've played a Mario game since Super Mario Bros 3. There are power-ups that let you fly and throw fireballs, and, for the most part, jumping on enemies heads still does them in quite well. That said, if you've somehow only ever played the original Mario Bros, you might be surprised at just how complex the action system has become. On the adventure tip, you navigate levels via an overworld map, complete with branching and reforming paths. The map is good at letting you know when there's something secret in a level without giving away the answers. Every level doesn't need to be completed to beat the game, but since you can save progress, you have the luxury of taking your time to explore and replay levels without fear that the electricity might go out. A significant part of the adventuring is intertwined with the heinous puzzles that meter out the exploration phases in ways that require strategic item gathering. The most difficult puzzles are totally optional, but are pretty satisfying brain teasers that taunt you to give them a shot. Part of the reason I like the puzzles so much is because at their core, they can be solved by intelligent platforming. Thus SMW doesn't balloon it's gameplay by bolting on other genre mechanics, but instead, expounds upon the intricacies of its core conceit. The result is a game that justifiably places itself on top of the platformer pile, and serves as a substantial step forward for game design at the time.

This dedication to form is what often makes Nintendo games great, but I could have done with some tweaking to particular elements of SMW. In comparison to SMB3's raccoon tail, the feather cape seems needlessly complex to control, especially in parachute mode. Coupled with the fact that none of the puzzles I completed seemed to require the gliding function (82% completion), it seems unnecessary. Then of course there's Yoshi, who I do not outright dislike, but find that I prefer not using him unless I have to. For me, using Yoshi changes the game a little too much, to the point where I'd rather just have a Yoshi game instead of putting him in a Mario one. I ended up more or less using Yoshi as a shield since you can sustain a hit while riding him and not take any damage other than losing your mount. You can wager a guess that I don't care for using the feather cape in conjunction with Yoshi either. Maybe it's the blatant disregard for physics, but, yeah, not a fan. As a small aside, the designs of most of the new enemies unique to SMW seem pretty uninspired, and it's no wonder that they haven't really shown up again since.

I appreciate Nintendo taking these risks though. They wanted to increase the complexity of their platform hopping game while also iterating on the blockbuster success of SMB3, all while positioning itself as the killer app for Nintendo's new 16-bit console. The list of games that have even been in that situation is pretty small, and shorter still for those that actually deliver on the bulk of their ambitions. SMW is such a game, but in some ways it actually feels remarkably humble. This feeling could have more to do SMW standing in contrast to the modern Mario's franchise-driven market saturation. Name a genre and there's a Mario version of it. SMW was Nintendo building upon an already solid foundation, but also venturing into innovative territory that so much iterative design is afraid to do. Sure, not everything works perfectly, but a lot of that is user preference. The brilliance of SMW's design is that there are multiple options for how to play a level, and one of those almost always feels spot on.

Unstuck

2011-03-18T00:55:00.000-04:00

My latest mix is full of many of my favorite tracks from last year from the bass music family. It's around 72 minutes long and I called it Gluestick because the it sounds like a very UK, dubstep-y word and it inspires the visual of a slowed-down, sticky lurch, which I think plays into the momentum of a lot of the songs included here. Hope you like it, and thanks for listening.

Gold Skulltulla - Gluestick

Tracklist:

Dark Sky - Something to Lose
Hyetal - Phoenix
Skream - Fields of Emotion
Guido - Mad Sax
Terror Danjah - Proplus (feat. DOK)
Girl Unit - Wut
James Blake - CMYK
Ikonika - Look (Final Boss Stage)
DJ Madd - Detroit Skank
Darkstar - Deadness
Squarepusher - Abstract Lover
Addison Groove - Dumbshit
Dark Sky - Ghost Notes
Untold - Stop What You're Doing (James Blake Remix)
Joe - Rut
Pangaea - Router
Scuba - Three Sided Shape
Joy Orbison - So Derobe
Martyn - Hear Me (Zomby Mix)
Ikonika - Psoriasis
Kingdom - That Mystic
Shortstuff & Mickey Pearce - Tripped Up (Ramadanman Re-Edit)
Pariah - Crossed Out
Way Out West - One Bright Night (Scuba's Broken Window Dub)
Supra 1 - Still Believe (feat. Amy Douglas) (L-Vis 1990 Remix Dub)
Ikonika - Dckhdbtch
Pariah - Railroad
Jam & Spoon - Odyssey to Anyoona

Review: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GC)

2011-02-11T00:32:00.000-05:00

Zelda games don't come around terribly often, and when they do it's with extremely high expectations. Looking at Twilight Princess now, it's easy to forget what this game's release was in response to, and why it was framed as the "mature" Zelda the way it was. Though the previous GameCube Zelda, Wind Waker, was highly regarded, series purists discounted its cell-shaded cartoonish style as childish. Thus Nintendo, in a move reminiscent, but thankfully not as extreme, of Ubisoft's Prince of Persia sequel (Warrior Within), gave Zelda nerds what they wanted in a grown-up, more darkly toned game. At least that was the billing. The reality is that TP pretty well matches the teen-Link portions of N64 favorite Ocarina of Time in terms of "maturity" and "grittiness," which is to say, it's a better looking version of what you've seen before.

Unfortunately, for as good a game as Twilight Princess is, a lot of the systems and story beats also feel like they're something you've played on an older system. The "dual worlds" theme was done back on the SNES, and the gameplay and items systems are heavily based on Ocarina's well trodden inventory. You'll be none too surprised to find out that at some point a mystical object is broken into several distinct pieces and scattered across the land, and the only way to recover them is to navigate a corresponding dungeon for each. Forget Ocarina, if you've played the original Legend of Zelda on the NES, you know how this is going to go.

Not that TP doesn't throw interesting change-ups your way, it's just that they simply add to the formula rather than innovating it. The most distinctive new feature of TP is that you'll spend part of the game as a wolf version of Link. Playing in lupine form is fun for a little while, but since you can't use items or alternative weapons, I found myself racing through these portions as quickly as possible to return to my full arsenal. Once you reach the point in the game where you can shift between human and wolf on the fly, being a beast is a little more fun to mess around with, but I often wished I could just have used my wolf abilities without having to change shape since it becomes just another item, albeit a multifunctional one.

For most franchises, the preceding list of grievances would have you believe this game was nothing but a disappointment, but Zelda is a series with such time-tested gameplay structure and clever design, that drawing heavily from the well guarantees quality that at least approaches the genre's high-water marks. Functionally, most everything here flat-out works. If you've played a polygonal Zelda before, you'll feel right at home with TP's Z-, er, L-targeting, its lack of "jump" button, and its item usage. These aspects may not have changed, but everything does feel a little suped up. As examples, you can combine bombs and arrows to shoot exploding projectiles, use not one, but two hookshots (called "clawshots' here) to cling from wall to wall, and learn a series of helpful sword techniques that make dueling more dynamic than it's ever been in a Zelda game.

TP's aesthetic style turns out to be one of the game's highlights, and is for more subtle and nuanced than labels like "mature" or "dark" imply. One of my favorite visual components was the Twilight Realm, a light-bloom filled, desaturated world of eternal dusk. It might not seem like much, but the very idea that there aren't antithetical light and dark worlds, but instead two dimensions that correlate with a more complex relationship was quite refreshing. The Twilight Realm feels bizarre but not entirely foreign since it's just a different version of the regular one. The beings that reside within are a combination of Metroid Prime 2's Ing and computer glitches straight out of Tron. Creatures emit sounds of formerly organic beings that at some point mutated and had their vocal cords filtered through computer garble. There's a part of the game where you have to flee from a group of gigantic "birds" in the Twilight Realm that squawk hair-raising bellows akin to a modulated foghorn, to terrifying effect.

The list of stellar design choices carries beyond just the Twilight Realm. There's the gorgeous Snow Peak mansion dungeon which is like no "snow level" I've ever played before. I'd also like to note the "Hyrule Field Night Theme", which perfectly embodies the feeling of adventuring out into the woods in the dark, both calm and tense at the same time. Then there's the addition of the plucky, occasionally devilish sidekick Midna, who not only acts as your reference guide, but also brings plenty of color to the game's business-as-usual narrative. These pieces are just a small smattering of the ways in which TP successfully avoids a full-on retread of franchise trademarks, and in turn, offers something new to the Zelda-faithful.

I sincerely hope the next console Zelda game (Skyward Sword) significantly changes the way we play this series the way Ocarina did, because I don't think another incremental addition to the franchise is going to do it any favors. At TP's best it's as smart and polished a product as one would expect. But at it's worst, that expectation is met to a very predicable end. I hope this review doesn't sound overly harsh, since I genuinely enjoyed playing through this game for 50+ hours. I just think with Twilight Princess, Nintendo gave fans exactly what they asked for, instead of something they didn't know they even wanted. That sense of wonder is important to Zelda games, and when it shows up in TP here and there, that's when the game felt like something special.

Best Music of 2010 Part 3

2011-01-14T13:06:00.000-05:00

13. John Talabot - Matilda's Dream (Jacques Renault Remix)
Jacques Renault is an artist on the rise these days, most notably for his classic disco infused French house numbers. This remix of John Talabot plays more to the original's style and strengths than trying to make the track sound like a typical Renault tune. That said, the best part of this song is the pitter-patter drum breaks, which are entirely Jacques' addition. Nothing revolutionary here, just fine work.

12. Girl Unit - Wut
It's a good problem to have when you produce a track that people are pining for so hard before it's even released that a radio rip version is getting played out in clubs, forcing an early official release of the track. That's what happened with Girl Unit's "Wut," which possesses one of the strongest hooks of the year. The full track turned out to be slightly disappointing at 7 minutes long, and barely any variation in its loop. It seems perfectly suited for a DJ mix, seeing as you can pull a strong 3-4 minutes out of anywhere with it. The Night Slugs label is pushing bass music in pretty interesting directions, keeping tempos up in dubstep territory, but breaking most of the other guidelines that normally classify music clocking in at 140BPMs as dubstep.

11. Onra - Long Distance LP
I don't remember what the last instrumental hip-hop album I heard that I genuinely loved was, but let's just say it's been awhile (I put Flying Lotus in a different category). OK so, there are some tracks with vocals here, but nonetheless, leave it to the French to bring me back into the fold. Onra's latest is constructed in classic form: 20+ tracks, most of which last a mere 2-3 minutes. These productions know how to hit your brain's pleasure center, leaving you both satisfied and wanting more. Some great music, often lyrical in my case, bores me on repeat listens once I have a thorough knowledge of the plot (see Kanye's latest), but I'd seriously consider Long Distance as a desert island record for its unbridled replayability.

10. Scuba - Triangulation LP
Scuba's latest is the sound of the cold, wet city. I can't help but visualize raindrop-splattered metal sheets clinking into one another when I listen to it. Perhaps if 90s-era Photek would have taken his minimal drum 'n bass style and slowed it to more of a dubstep saunter, you'd get something similar. Not that there aren't warm elements here, like the vocals on "Before," but they don't alter the palette despite their more organic nature. This record makes me reimagine my time slogging through dank city streets with a certain degree of fondness and enrichment. This is not something easily accomplished, even if the next real experience I had in said environment resets the scale back to regular levels of resentment.

9. Caribou - Swim LP
Best Caribou album to date right here. It's clear Dan Snaith and Kierren Hebden get along well seeing as they both have tendencies to employ literal bells and whistles, and they both released the closest thing to a techno record of either of their careers this year. Where unfortunately Four Tet's LP never came close to reaching the heights of its first single "Love Cry," Caribou's effort is both rife with variation and constant surprises. Somehow the band manages to pull off sounding like a techno act and a psychedelic jam band. Actually Caribou sounds like neither one at a given time, but rather a seamless fusion of the two. In the same way that LCD Soundsystem brought dance and rock together like no one before, let Caribou be considered the precedent for any psych-tronic music to come.

8. James Blake - CMYK
James Blake really had an all out stellar year in 2010, showing his exponential development from the relatively amateur-sounding Bells Sketch EP not all that long ago. The hype has built up the expectations for what is my most anticipated release of 2011 with Blake's self-titled debut LP. Blake isn't an artist to rest on his laurels or even be content to shack up for a while in the new subgenres he invents for more than a couple months. "CMYK" is a swirling convalescence of blips, warped synths, rhythmic, yet off-setting beats, and distorted Aaliyah samples. On paper it might sound like a gimmick to appropriate "R U That Somebody?" but the vocal clips aren't the trick. It's how much they feel like Blake's own creations, matching the frenzy of the rest of the track, thus actually downplaying the pop reference, that really impresses.

7. Klaxons - Surfing the Void LP
If I were to pick a band on this column that I was supposed to list as a guilty pleasure, I suppose it'd be the Klaxons, but I don't really feel the guilt. Heck they're pretty much the only real rock band on this list, so interpret that how you will. Just like Klaxons' debut, Surfing The Void did not strike me at first. It did maintain a place on my iPod though, and eventually got more listens to the point where I was deleting everything else off the device leaving it as the only survivor. This process probably happened about 4 times. The record itself might not have quite as hard of an edge as its predecessor, but it has enough heavy riffs to keep it from feeling like straight pop music. The catchy melodic sing-a-long style that's become synonymous with the band is in full infectious bloom here as well. Throw in my soft spot for absurd astronomy/ology concept albums (there aren't many!) and Klaxons have yet another winning product that I can't resist.

6. Dark Sky - Something to Lose
Using a sample that was implemented not-so-long ago by the posterboy of your given musical genre sounds, on paper, like a recipe for failure, but Dark Sky ignored the warning signs and created a must-dance-now dubstep floor-filler with "Something to Lose." It really helps that the sample in question is a series of piano stabs (one of my favorite sounds). That said, there's no way this song could go toe-to-toe with Zomby's "Float" like it does if it wasn't bringing something more to the table than informed appropriation. Dark Sky seems to understand how to successfully build momentum and highlight the strengths of the audio snippets being brought in from the outside. I like to think of a track like this as a continuation of a story, knowing the same sample was also used by early ravers Bizarre Inc on "Playing with Knives." It adds another layer to the meta-musical postmodern context that sampling has been said to have made manifest. Did I mention this track is a banger and also contains a killer B-side?

5. Pariah - Safehouses EP
The reason I have so many "dubstep" entries on this list is because it's a genre that seems more exciting that most other kinds of music these days. The sounds are evolving and progressing in very interesting ways, outputting music that sounds like nothing else. I even find myself putting the word dubstep in quotes when referring to such acts (here, Pariah), because these bass music subgenres might not fit that original mold; not that categorization matters all that much. Pariah has come a really long way since his initial single to his Safehouses EP this year. If I was giving out awards for most improved, this would be it. Not that Detroit Falls/Orpheus was a bad single, but it pales in comparison to the vision and execution of Safehouses. Take in the ghostly atmospherics of Burial or Scuba, combine it with the nonconformist streak of James Blake, and splice that with the new school club sound and vocal sampling style of Joy Orbison, and you've got the match made in heaven that is this EP. There's not a track on here that doesn't shine, and yet they all come together in support of each other in a well-rounded package. Pariah is definitely an artist to keep an eye on.

4. Danger - 3h11
For a long time this year I thought my favorite track of 2010 was on lock with Danger's "3h11." It didn't pull it off, but did give a rather impressive showing. Sometimes I get really bored of the grind of making new mixes, downloading tons of music, deleting most of it, categorizing everything and then making more mixes. "3h11" pulled me right out of that hole. Actually you could say it pulled me out of my chair, because it absolutely compels you to dance. The main synth loop reminds me of the backing melody from Inner City's "Good Life," and that's a very positive thing. The melody is accented by a fist-pumping baseline, filtered through some videogame buzz, that's catchy in an almost primal way. Danger illustrated the attached EP's release with 16-bit River City Ransom callbacks, meant to flesh out his comic-book persona. As a soundtrack to that fake game, "3h11" is also a perfect fit. This is basically the best Sega Genesis-era soundtrack rework you could ask for. French filter-house lives on, apparently.

3. Robyn - Body Talk LP
I really love Robyn's "Dancing On My Own," but limiting this entry to just that individual song doesn't do justice to one of the most successfully productive years I've ever seen from a musician. With two full LPs and then the 3rd "best of" compilation, listed here, which itself includes new tracks that actually belong on the highlight reel as well, I don't know how someone could have avoided Robyn in 2010. Body Talk might come off as a string of excellent singles more so than a narratively structured album, but the diversity of Robyn's sound keeps things interesting throughout. Sure she can hit the pop-ballad highs with "Dancing On My Own," and "Indestructible," but then when she turns to dub tempos on "Dancehall Queen," or plays with traditional pop song structure on "Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do" and "We Dance To The Beat," she's also showcasing the producers behind her tunes as much as herself. These actions are in service to the music at hand, and the results are all the stronger for those creative decisions. Body Talk might not be on the top of this list, but it does deserve the title of greatest quantity of quality.

2. Ikonika - Contact, Love, Want, Have LP
Let it be known, when Hyperdub presses a full-length album from their talent pool, they're bringing their A-game to the party. If Danger's "3h11" was a ravey slice of 16-bit homage, consider the debut LP from Ikonika the full arc of the best 8-bit action/adventure title you never played. Of course the production values are considerably higher than anything coming out of the chiptune arena, but clearly Ikonika herself wants to make the gaming connection explicit, titling tracks "Ikonoklast (Insert Coin)," "Continue?," and "Look (Final Boss Stage)," among others. For anyone else whose mind takes on the illustrative when they listen to music, they'll have a lot of pictures to compose with this record. Ikonika occasionally evokes similar emotions to Scuba (see #10), but instead of extrapolating the intricacies of one particular color, she opts for the whole palette. I don't know how much having a depth of experience with videogames adds to this since I can only speak for myself, but it would seem to me that a long journey is being implied, across a variety of different lands. In other words, it feels like the album moves from level to level, even sometimes along standard gaming conventions like a desert ("Sahara Michael") or underwater ("Fish") world. What makes this trip engaging is the forward momentum, and the feeling of fighting against the odds. Contact, Love, Want, Have doesn't simply evoke games, it calls upon the the best moments games can offer; be it an epic boss battle, the uncovering of a new world never before seen, or the rush to the climax of a character arc that would normally take 40+ hours to reach. That alone is an impressive feat, but Ikonika's rhythmic aptitude and ear for driving hooks are what round this debut out as a complete package.

1. Blue Daisy & Anneka - Raindrops (John Talabot's Cosmic Remake)
Blue Daisy is taking bass music in some interesting directions these days, often in the realm of more classically ambient fare like contemporaries, Nosaj Thing and Mount Kimbie. "Raindrops" marks Blue Daisy's second collaboration with a vocalist (Anneka here, who also lent her pipes to Vex'd this year), but neither track comes off as decidedly vocal. Somehow Blue Daisy retains a feeling of precision amongst all the static and drone, making for pretty stunning experiments. As much as I can applaud those efforts, John Talabot is the one who really seals the deal here. Anneka's faint vocal is brought forward but still remains beautifully transient. Similarly to Basement Jaxx's "Raindrops" last year, the track reads as a deluge, and is texturally wet as a result of both a cascading rhythm section, drippy synth plucks, and the noisy source material. Talabot also reconditions the track into his cosmic house mold in most dramatic fashion. He turns the propulsion way up, but knows when to kill the bass to setup the build-up and climax of the year. When the ensuing wave reaches its tipping point, splashy cymbals accent the reinvigorated, more powerful bassline as Anneka's coos are stretched out like heartstrings about to snap. We're talking tears on the dancefloor here. The palpable feeling of yearning combined with the explosive payoff is hands-down to most satisfying musical moment of 2010.

Best Music of 2010 Part 2

2011-01-03T21:50:00.000-05:00

29. Four Tet - There is Love in You LP

28. Pantha du Prince - Black Noise LP

27. Kingdom - Mind Reader feat. Shyvonne

26. Matthew Dear - Black City LP

25. Superpitcher - Kilimanjaro LP

24. Joker - Tron

23. DJ Madd - Detroit Skank

22. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs LP

21. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening LP

20. Chemical Brothers - Further LP

19. Tensnake - Coma Cat

18. Miami Horror - Illumination LP

17. Cologne Tape - Render EP

16. ceo - White Magic LP

15. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles LP

14. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma LP

Best Music of 2010 Part 1

2011-01-02T21:18:00.000-05:00

I'm composing this list similarly to last year in that "best music" includes individual songs, EPs, LPs, and whatever else is out there. It's all pretty subjective on my part, so don't look too much into the science. This post will be followed by two more parts, the third of which will include my absolute favorites from 2010 with supplementary writing. Wish I had time to write something for all these selections, but hopefully the YouTube links will fill the void a little bit. Before getting on with it, a couple notes.

There is only so much music I can listen to in a year, and there's certain music I hear about while I'm actually making this list and don't include to give it a little more time to sink in. This year the big one for me is Tokimonsta, whose Cosmic Intoxication EP and Midnight Menu LP both seem really awesome. Also cool are '08 (Live at Teotihuacan) and '09 (Goodbye) releases from French artist Koudlam, in addition to some pretty sweet remixes. Lastly is Gang Gang Dance's one-track Kamakura EP, which took me forever to find.

Enjoy the list and Happy New Year!

43. Vex'd - Cloud Seed LP

42. Martyn - Hear Me (Zomby Mix)

41. dB Soundworks - Super Meat Boy OST LP

40. Florrie - Panic Attack (Fred Falke Extended Mix)

39. Jacques L. Dorsey - Hard Drivin'

38. Bobmo - Turn On Cop Out

37. Goldfrapp - Rocket

36. NDF - Since We Last Met

35. Surkin - Easy Action

34. Mille - Crysteena (Fear of Tigers Remix)

33. Shine 2009 - New Rules (Reprise)

32. Breakbot - Baby I'm Yours (Aeroplane Remix)

31. Janelle Monae - Cold War

30. Underworld - Between Stars

Face Melt

2010-11-11T00:30:00.000-05:00

In another instance where I have a handful of tracks that I really like that I have a hard time fitting into my usual mixes, I've come up with a new minimix, this one with an emphasis on drum n' bass. DnB is honestly a genre that I only tangentially follow, but have come across a handful of remixes that have really grabbed my attention (bookended by Onra's instrumental hip-hop). I find the velocity of these songs addicting, and the reworked production enthralling enough that I've included a Sean Paul track with full confidence. The term "human disaster" comes from the safety instructions for the Chicago Half Marathon, which specified that a black flag would be waved on the course in the event of said disaster. Clearly this is a serious thing, but my word association takes me straight to professional eating competitions. So, with that image, enjoy the mix!

Gold Skulltulla - Human Disaster (minimix)

Onra - L.A.I.B.
Rihanna - Rude Boy (TC Remix)
M.I.A. - Born Free (High Contrast Remix)
Rusko - Hold On (Sub Focus Remix)
Basement Jaxx - Feelings Gone (Spor Remix)
Sean Paul - So Fine (TC Remix)
Onra - My Comet

Review: Championship Bowling (NES)

2010-11-08T11:18:00.000-05:00

The recent influx of motion controllers in the videogame market has also exponentially increased the number of people who spend time bowling, or at least pretending to bowl. I think I understand where virtual ball rolling gets some of its appeal: you can wear whatever shoes you want, you have less chance of hurting yourself, you don't have to deal with a bunch of annoying kids on the next lane over, and you can stay home/play your own music/etc. While that can be convenient, physical bowling alleys are areas that maintain a behind-the-times ambiance and exude a unique brand of charm. So when games strip away all of the cigarette machines and dusty arcade cabinets, all that's left is simulated pin+ball physics coated with a splash of style in line with the other mini-game collections on you console of choice.

It's with this contemporary backdrop that I'm playing Championship Bowling, a product from a company called Romstar (a great name for a UK grime MC) originally released in 1989. Like bowling, the core game is 10 frames of rolling heavy spheres down a slippery wooden plank. Championship Bowling relies on old fashioned timed button presses to gauge how powerful and with how much curve each ball will be thrown. This is indicated by some self-explanatory HUD devices. That's pretty much the entirety of how the game plays.

There are a few variables to choose from before you begin a game that might accommodate different play styles. There are 4 characters to choose from, all of which look appropriately bowler-chic. There's not much difference in the way each handles except whether they are right or left handed, which affects your ability to hook the ball in particular directions. Since pins are setup symmetrically, it's not really a factor though. Also a matter of preference is the ball weight, which has 5 metered options. The pros and cons of the each size are what you might expect, balancing the scales between power and spin control. Oh and the lanes have 5 color swaps, one of which I found really difficult to see the power meter on my TV.

The surprising thing is that Championship Bowling can be kind of fun. Perhaps this is because the core of the bowling simulator experience hasn't really changed much over the years. It's still satisfying to get strikes and challenging to throw them consistently, yielding ever-prized depictions of turkeys. Likewise, Championship Bowling is a better group activity than a solo one. Bowling is often an activity associated with parties, another aspect that translates well from the real world to the game world. You don't have to pay attention to Championship Bowling or any other bowling game until it's your turn, keeping associated party experiences well-rounded instead of feeling gamer-exclusive.

Championship Bowling can be a bit frustrating for 2 reasons: party-killing music, and the rarity of strikes. Short in its loop, incessant in its repetition, and skull-gnawing in its melody, your television's mute button was invented to deal with tunes like the one Championship Bowling spews out. Doing so will also cancel out sound effects, but the noises employed here won't be missed. Something that will be missed however is at least one pin on the first bowl of each frame. Something is wrong with your bowling game when I can nail splits that I'd never be able to replicate in real life, but will finish 10 frames without a single strike (and around 9 spares). The exactness with which you must align, power-up, and hook shots to knock all 10 pins down is far too unforgiving. I'll wholeheartedly concede to modern bowling games on these two fronts.

I hope we'll get a break from bowling games for a while, seeing as they're now on every system on the market, and an individual console definitely doesn't need more than one of them. At this point, if you're seeking a bowling videogame, just pick up one for whatever controller you like best. As for Championship Bowling, there's not really much reason to go back to it, though, music aside, there's not anything horribly wrong with it either.

:screenshots from VGMuseum and Giant Bomb:

Review: TaleSpin (NES)

2010-10-16T17:12:00.001-04:00

Having just reviewed Capcom's DuckTails game, their take on TaleSpin seemed like a fitting companion piece. The two have a lot in common, visually and structurally, despite fitting into totally separate genres. While they both seem to be marketed towards kids, the difficulty of TaleSpin doesn't dwindle as soon as you figure out how the core systems work. In fact, TaleSpin relies on pattern memorization and quick reflexes to a degree that will challenge most first time players.

TaleSpin is a side-scrolling shooter that requires you to dodge enemy fire, pick-up money and cargo, and defeat a boss character at the end of each of the 8 worlds. The game starts you in a frustratingly underpowered position, allowing you only one shot at a time, and clunky maneuvering capabilities. It's worth stomaching the first level and collecting enough money in the process, because you can use the cash to upgrade between stages. I found that getting the rapid fire gun as soon as possible made the gameplay much more pleasant to work with.

Even with an engine upgrade, the movement controls can feel sluggish from time to time. As a nice touch you can press A and flip your plane around backwards, making the screen scroll left instead of right. Unfortunately you can't flip while moving up or down, stunting the fluidity of an entertaining genre alteration. In general, every game mechanic is a bit of a chore to use until outfitted with the proper upgrade, at which point that device becomes enjoyable. I understand this concept as an incentive builder, but it's killing replay value for me because I know I'll have to drudge through those early stages if I want the game to become fun again.

I appreciate the challenge that TaleSpin throws at you, particularly with some of the boss encounters and the well-hidden bonus worlds. The final boss was the most satisfying and arduous to take down, which is just how I like my action games to end. It's a plane vs. plane dogfight followed by a battle against an immense airship. In order to supe up your flying machine to a level that can compete with these tyrants, it's helpful to gain access to secret bonus worlds. These minigame stages let you rack up points and extra lives with ease by simply piloting around an enemy-less area, popping balloons. Hunting down these locales encourages you to swap between left and right scrolling often to fully explore each area's nooks and crannies.

TaleSpin's flaws end up denting the overall experience, but certainly not rendering it undrivable. Even more so than DuckTales, TaleSpin demands your respect, as it's not to be taken lightly despite it's cartoon tie-in.

:screenshots from Giant Bomb:

Review: DuckTales (NES)

2010-10-15T21:44:00.000-04:00

Thinking about the broader concept of DuckTails as a "thing" is a bit mind-boggling. Nonetheless, numerous strings of duck-related cartoons and merchandise poured out of Disney in the late 80s and early 90s. The culmination of this has to be the point where duck-branding seeped into the real world as a professional hockey team. Considering all of this, Capcom's DuckTales game for the NES seems pretty understated and an example of a game that rises above the cash-in tendencies of most licensed fare.

In the game you play as Scrooge McDuck, crotchety mansion dweller and greedy treasure seeker. In an action-platformer style, you cruise through 5 levels, collecting precious gems, uncovering hidden treasures, and defeating several bosses. From the outset you're given a choice of which of the 5 levels you would like to begin with. The non-linear approach is pretty striking, though there does seem to be a planned progression to the levels in their given order, since the designs do gain slight complexity later on in the Himalayas and on the Moon. All in all, the path doesn't matter too much as there's just a cakewalk of a boss in each that needs to be defeated to get the special prize for each world.

The traversal does take some getting used to though. You can jump, but can't kill enemies by simply jumping on them Mario-style. In what is actually a needlessly complicated motion, in mid-air you can press and hold B and down, and Scrooge will start hopping on his cane like a pogo stick. Now you can stomp enemies, reach higher platforms, and open chests, and you'll keep hopping as long as you hold B. It's a fun twist on gameplay that had become pretty conventional, even if getting into the hopping animation takes a little more effort than it should.

I had a hard time making it through DuckTails at first, and was disheartened when I read reviews claiming how it's so easy. I don't think I approached this game with proper respect though, as the change-up in control scheme will make this feel like a different kind of game, and it takes getting used to. That said, once you do get it down, and figure out where the bosses are, the difficulty ratchets down tremendously and I found myself blazing through the entire game in no time. There are higher difficulty settings to add more challenge, but it becomes clear eventually that this game was probably meant for the younger set.

As a kid's game, DuckTales is really fantastic, but even without that qualifier it's pretty fun. There's a lot of exploration to undertake if you want to collect as much money as possible instead of simply conducting speed runs. The game seems like the type of thing that would have entertained me for hours back in the day, scouring print-outs of maps and hearing rumors at school about secret passages. In 2010 the brevity of the adventure keeps it from having Zelda-esque immersion, but consider how much more you're getting out of a licensed DuckTails product than what you were reasonably expecting.

:screenshots from Giant Bomb:

Can You Feel It?

2010-10-03T22:44:00.000-04:00

It's been almost 2.5 years since I initiated the Feel Music series of mixes, and was beginning to feel silly for putting the "Vol. 1" tag on the end of that Mixo de Mayo so long ago. But it seems now is not the time for remorse as Feel Music Vol. 2 is fresh out of the oven and picking up right where the first left off, stylistically anyway. If you never checked out the first entry, Feel Music is for the more ambient and experimental sounds that aren't necessarily crafted for the dance floor. There are definitely oddballs in the mix, but some of my favorite songs of the year are featured prominently here. The mixing style is more long-form to let individual tracks do the talking rather than the crossfader. Thanks for listening.

Gold Skulltulla - Feel Music Vol. 2

Pantha Du Prince - Im Bann
Ben Frost - O God Protect Me
The Orb - Perpetual Dawn
Basement Jaxx - Alkazaar
Four Tet - Our Bells
Caribou - Jamelia
Superpitcher - Moon Fever
Matthew Dear - Gem
Pariah - Safehouses
Oneohtrix Point Never - Beyond the Octagon
Luciano - Celestial
Orbital - Planet of the Shapes
Clark - Luxman Furs
Vex'd - Remains of the Day
Shining - Exit Sun, Pt. 2
Cologne Tape - Render 5

Opening Saturday: Tiny Content @ Snowflake

2010-10-03T17:40:00.001-04:00

This Saturday the 9th at Snowflake/City Stock in St. Louis is the opening of a new exhibition titled Tiny Content. The show contains new and recent work from Dan Solberg as well as John Early. The reception will be held from 7-10PM, and the exhibition will be on view through December 5. Hope to see you there.

Opening Friday: Solberg / Grafos @ Low Road

2010-09-05T17:31:00.001-04:00

This Friday the 10th the Low Road Gallery in Greencastle, Indiana is hosting its season opening exhibition Scenes, containing new work by Dan Solberg and Gina Grafos. The reception begins at 7PM and will include an artist talk at 7:30PM. For more information on the gallery and the show, visit the Low Road's website. Hope to see you there.

Lunar Rave

2010-08-11T23:39:00.000-04:00

Everyone has been very patient. Hope you find this mix to be worth the wait. It is just over an hour long and is made for DANCING. More good things on the horizon...

Gold Skulltulla - Moonstrobe

Breakbot - Baby I'm Yours (Aeroplane Remix)
G.L.O.V.E.S. - PYX (Strip Steve Paradise Dub)
Crookers - Cooler Couleur feat. Yelle (Junkie XL Remix)
The Swiss - Manthem (Tensnake Remix)
Janelle Monae - Dance Or Die feat. Saul Williams
Private - My Secret Lover (Lifelike Remix)
The Chemical Brothers - Swoon
Kalle J - Vingslag
Uffie & Pharrell Williams - ADD SUV (Armand Van Helden Club Remix)
N.E.R.D. - Hot-N-Fun feat. Nelly Furtado (Boys Noize Remix)
Robyn - Dancing On My Own (Fred Falke Remix)
Crystal Castles - Intimate
Niko Schwind - Hangover
Evil Nine - Ultimo
Josh Wink - Stay Out All Night (Radio Slave Remix)
Strip Steve - Breakin'
Surkin - Easy Action
Mr. Blink - Gecko
Kingdom - Pathfinder
SaintSaviour - Star Jumps (Urchins Remix)
Bobby Analog - Boppin
Bizarre Inc. - Playing With Knives (Quadrant Mix Radio Edit)
High Powered Boys - We Do It
Worship - Cosmic Roller Girls
Basement Jaxx - Samba Magic

Review: Abadox (NES)

2010-05-26T02:46:00.000-04:00

If the intro cinematic for Abadox doesn't get you excited to play it, I doubt anything I say will change your mind. The setup seems pretty simple. You play as a blaster-toting spaceman who must cut a path through the insides of a living planet-sized alien. The action alternates between side-scrolling and top-down perspectives in classic on-rails shooter fashion. Abadox isn't a perfectly balanced game, but it does have an impeccable visual flair that upholds and builds upon the more-than-competent shooter skeleton.

The analogy of visually overlaying a skeleton is particularly apt in Abadox too. In a genre where it's pretty easy to default to jets, tanks and other standard military combat fare, Abadox rises above a lot of the competition with its disgusting, fleshy art direction that still carries over despite the 8-bit representation. Giant tongues writhe and intestinal masses twitch as disembodied eyeballs and teeth attack from all sides. Altogether it amounts to one of the most creatively repulsive-looking games I've played.

By all accounts, Abadox operates as a serviceable shooter, and true to the hardcore leanings of more contemporary takes on the genre, it's strikingly difficult in a few places. There is an emphasis on pattern memorization and flawless maneuvering to the degree that continuing after your first death (enemies kill you in one hit unless you have certain expendable power-ups) can be a frustrating struggle. After a fatal mistake, your character is reset to just after the most recent boss battle with only your initial bare-bones abilities, expounding the treacherousness of the part of the game that was already difficult to pass with an upgraded arsenal. If nothing else, this forces you to learn the intricacies of the enemy placements, which will inform successive playthroughs.

That said, I seemed to die by running into walls as much as anything else. So, when the game allows the spaceman character model to overlap solid surfaces a little on the top and bottom, the inconsistency of what counts as "contact" is magnified as a significant problem in a game that asks for such agile pathfinding. I'd have to assume that the flipside of this "bug" is that it's an attempt to compromise on the lessened negative space that exists as a result of using relatively large character models. These detailed sprites help set Abadox apart from other similar games like Life Force that may control with more fidelity but offer only minuscule shaceships or indistinguishable triangle forms as protagonists.

Abadox distinguishes itself visually as a unique slice of genre-fare with a solid Konami-like soundtrack. It can satisfy some impulse-play tendencies, but once some of the more arduous levels pop up, Abadox increasingly becomes a casual gamer's nightmare. Abadox is far from being a purveyor of "bullet hell," but it's also not to be taken lightly.

:screenshots from VGMuseum:

Review: Metal Gear (NES)

2010-05-14T01:49:00.000-04:00

As I'm playing many of these acclaimed game franchise originators, I've noticed that some possess certain core elements that make the game a blast to play even on older hardware, and others seem overly ambitious or less-than-fully-realized until further iterations down the road. Metal Gear definitely qualifies for the latter category. For example, the first descriptor that springs to mind when I think of the Metal Gear series is "cinematic," owing a significant debt to the movements of the camera in a 3-dimensional space to convey a story across cutscenes in Metal Gear Solid and beyond. This debut game, ported from the truer MSX computer version, isn't able to pull off, in large part, what are understood as the concepts that Metal Gear does best.

This isn't to say that Metal Gear is totally lacking in Hideo Kojima signatures (behold the cardboard box!), but they do come of as underdeveloped in many cases. The largest innovation Metal Gear brought to the table was the notion of stealth gameplay, which stood in substantial opposition to the run 'n gun and brawler games that the action genre was so saturated with. The idea of not destroying everything that moves was certainly novel, as was the narrative twist (along with the something's-not-right-here hints) towards the end of the game. Seeing those two aspects carried out at what feels like such an embryonic stage for the Metal Gear franchise was my favorite component of playing Metal Gear, because it felt like I was seeing the beginning of something great.

You still take control of Solid Snake here, infiltrating the oft future-referenced Outer Heaven stronghold, to rescue POWs and gather intelligence about what kinds of heinous activities are taking place there. You're dropped off on the island in the jungle with only your fists and a pack of cigarettes at your disposal. Early on you learn how to use cover to your advantage to sneak up behind guards and take them out quietly. Throughout the game you will build an arsenal of weapons and gadgets that will make handling unfriendlies much easier and allow access to areas of the map that would have been otherwise restricted. Freeing POWs and responding to transceiver frequencies will prompt you to the next destination and provide hints for items to look out for.

The problem is in how the game actually plays, despite the grandiose framework it's supposedly built on. The efficacy of the stealth method is often compromised by indecipherable hit detection. When you approach an enemy from above, it's a touchy guessing game to see how close you need to be to land a punch. Character movement is also a bit clunky as Snake frequently gets snagged attempting to hug around corners. These aspects suck some of the cool factor out of the Escape from New York-inspired protagonist.

I can't go any further without addressing the cumbersome and tedious menu system, which interrupts the flow of the game throughout its entirety. You can assign one weapon and one item to your A and B buttons from the menu screens, but anytime you want to switch, you must reenter the menu and choose the new item. Other games have pulled this off without issue as even the original Legend of Zelda comes to mind. The main flaw here is that the game is full of doors that require 1 of 8 keycards to pass through them, and each of these cards are represented as separate items on the menu. This means approaching a door and pausing and unpausing the game up to 8 times until the correct card has been found. It's baffling in the face of such a simple solution as recognizing the highest rank keycard in your possession and allowing doors to open accordingly without having to individually equip them. I'd recommend keeping a map handy just to eliminate the trial and error process. Finally, with regard to the menu, it's worth mentioning the inconsistencies of its button navigation. The "back" button varies depending on which section you're looking at, making even simple menu navigation require memorizing an obtuse control scheme.

There remain a cavalcade of other minor annoyances in Metal Gear that serve to mar what could have been a truly great game. Each caveat adds it's own brand of monotony to the proceedings, leading you to trudge through one poorly designed element after another. I won't list all of the issues individually, but the point is that what this game lacks that the Metal Gear Solid series really utilized to its advantage, is polish. I understand that Kojima has dismissed this NES port as some kind of bastard child, but regardless of where the blame lies, even he understands where this forebearer fell short. And no, Metal Gear is not a bad game, but it's certainly not up to the usual standards of the pedigree behind it.

:screenshots from VGMuseum:

Review: Pixelated (Mobile)

2010-05-10T22:39:00.000-04:00

This past weekend after my Samsung Instinct touchscreen phone died, I picked up a sharp new BlackBerry Curve and set out to see what apps I could download for free. A quick stop at the Top 10 list gave me the game Pixelated by Ebscer, which turns out to be a simple and addictive little puzzle experience. The game sort of plays like a combination of 7up's Spot for the NES and Tetris if you play with the random garbage blocks turned on to fill up a level. Beginning in the upper left corner, you have 21 turns to switch the entire mess of colored blocks on screen to one color. You select one color at a time to decide which color of adjoining blocks to convert next. Soon the rectilinear blob will be overtaking the rest of the squares in waves as you make strategic decisions as to which color selection will yield the greatest advancement while also tunneling the most effective avenue across the board.

Pixelated's appearance is as basic as it gets, this side of color TV. The squares are as directly geometric as they sound and there are no graphical flourishes or sound effects to correspond with the moves you make. That said, the game doesn't really require any of that, and it's otherwise justified by the game's nonexistent price tag (unless you want to Plus version, which has extra difficulty settings and other options). I basically made a competitive analog version of this game 2 years ago using construction paper and a tile floor, so I understand why Pixelated's banal aesthetic has it's own brand of appeal. Also, this being a mobile game, the easier it is to distinguish between objects, the better.

I'm just speaking from playing the free version, but one of the keys to Pixelated's addictiveness is the 21-move completion point. For the size of the board, 21 moves is the perfect number to maintain a relative level of difficulty and force most rounds down to the wire. I actually enjoy how the free version doesn't display a move counter, adding a degree of suspense when you whittle the screen down to a couple of remaining squares and you wonder for a quarter second whether or not you've got enough selections left to complete the round. Maybe I'm being overly dramatic about what is essentially an on-the-go twitch puzzle experience, but I still see a simplistic elegance at work.

On The Move

2010-04-27T00:48:00.000-04:00

So the blog has been quiet for over a month and lacking a new mix since the end of January, but this is not without explanation. Gold Skulltulla has moved to DC! Behold my luxurious digs pictured above. It's been a long process and my time has simply been otherwise occupied. However, it's my sincere hope that this latest mix will win you back and make up for my taciturn behavior.

Reflect The Future is a straight-up dance party, perfect for letting off some steam, finishing up a semester, and getting down like you used to. There's lots of electro style here, but really the playlist is pretty diverse and includes a couple certified oldies. Also, without me realizing, Mediafire upped their individual file limits so I can record longer mixes at higher bitrates without resorting to a messier service. The end product is below: 75+ minutes of dancefloor frenzy. Thanks for listening!

Gold Skulltulla - Reflect The Future

Tracklist:

Moodymann - Hello 2morrow
Hey Today! - Talk To Me
Dada Life - Love Vibrations (D.I.M. Re-Loved Mix)
Inner City - Good Life (12" Version)
The Rapture - I Need Your Love
Beyonce - Broken-Hearted Girl (Alan Braxe Dub Remix)
The Juan Maclean - Feel So Good
Florrie - Panic Attack (Fred Falke Extended Mix)
Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman (Russ Chimes' Unofficial Remix)
Dealer's Choice - Funtime (Pete Dafeet's Fun In The Cellar Mix)
Mason feat. DMC & Sam Sparro - Corrected (Alex Gopher Remix)
AC Slater feat. Ninjasonik - Take Me (Tete-A-Tete Remix)
Justin Faust - Holdin' On
Bart B More - Romane (Para One Remix)
Hot City - If That's How I Feel
Jungle Brothers - I'll House You (Kenny Dope Remix)
Dirty Super Car - Get A Grip (The Loops Of Fury Remix)
Fred Falke - When I Look Into Your Eyes (Quinten 909 Rework)
LBCK - Start
Azari & III - Hungry For The Power (Riviera Remix)
Fragma - Memory (B Rich Remix)
High Powered Boys - Highway
Boys Noize & Erol Alkan - Lemonade
Dopefish - Big Bad Wolf
Cassette Kids - Lying Around (Sharam Jey Remix)
H.I. - Mastermind (Nid And Sancy Remix)
L-Vis 1990 - United Groove
Cubic Zirconia - Josephine (GreenMoney's Trancestep Remix)
Danger - 3h11

Review: Final Fight (WiiVC/SNES)

2010-03-17T05:46:00.000-04:00

Unlike the other older games I've reviewed on the site so far, I played Final Fight back when it was current. Though I'm sure I previously touched the SNES port I'm evaluating here (via Wii Virtual Console), my primary experience with it was in the arcades. Unfortunately the console port loses some key components of Capcom's original product. That said, this is still classic beat 'em up action with iconic characters and late-80s style at its most ridiculous.

Structurally, Final Fight is incredibly simple. The plot is no more than a save-the-kidnapped-girl story while the game plays as a basic two-button brawler. However, the strongest appeal of Final Fight is its style, which melds perfectly with the rudimentary backdrop. You play as either Metro City Mayor, and former pro wrestler, Mike Haggar or streetwise roughneck, Cody. The level of cheesy machismo on display here is at superhero action figure status, where musclebound, often bare-chested thugs will take you on in the streets, in subway cars, and across other rumble-worthy locales. In between tussles you can bust up barrels to reveal large plates of barbecued meat, which act as health items. The wrestling motif also continues with set-piece fights staged in a boxing ring and in a steel cage match. One reoccurring enemy is Andore, a 16-bit replica of legendary grappler Andre the Giant. In fact a lot of the bad dudes in Final Fight could be interpreted as homages to WWF heel characters. You have to be able to extract value from this kind of dumb, sweaty-guy soap opera source material to appreciate the vibe Capcom was going for with Final Fight because they absolutely nail it.

Pro wrestling and John Carpenter film references aside, the gameplay mechanics of Final Fight hold their ground. As with many games of this type and era, the solutions to the game's challenges often involve very game-y tactics. For example, enemies frequently fly off-screen after taking several punches, and instead of waiting for them to come back, it's most efficient to walk to the edge of the screen and rapidly jam on the attack button as the gang members continually waltz into your blind jabs. It might seems strange today, but this was just the way games played back then, often acknowledging space outside of the viewing area, but only allowing the player to partially access and exploit it. One could draw the connotations between this and the knowledge that pro wrestling is fake. Knowing this might cause some disillusion, but allows for a more honest appreciation (or disgust) of what is actually happening.

With those positive aspects of Final Fight laid out, it's worth addressing the porting issues that make this Wii Virtual Console version of the SNES game not the quality of product that a fan of the arcade game would hope for. A quick list of problems and omissions is as follows: no two-player cooperative play, only two of the three protagonists are present (no Guy), various censorship throughout, including that of salty language, transvestite/transgender enemies, and other non-kid-friendly (as determined by Nintendo) components, the lack of an entire level from the original, and a drop in audio/visual quality due to the limitations of the console hardware. These are serious shortcomings that may dissuade someone from purchasing this title. It should be noted that Final Fight: Double Impact is heading to PSN and XBLA in April, which looks to be the best version of this rather old game to date and rights all of the wrongs I mentioned while adding a hearty number of unique bonuses. If Wii is all you have then the SNES Final Fight may be the easiest choice, but it's a bittersweet package. My final technical note is that I played this game with a Gamecube controller, which has a painfully misguided and unalterable button configuration (Y=punch, B=jump) that makes special moves frustrating to execute and is just plain uncomfortable for rapid button presses. Why the punch command isn't the giant "A" button, I cannot fathom.

Despite these caveats, Final Fight is still a fun old-school beat 'em up game, and one of the best in its class. The SNES version doesn't offer the full original experience, but if you're just looking to feed a quick fix, it can do the job. Otherwise, seek the more robust port which will be widely available soon.

:screenshots from VGMuseum:

Review: Sin & Punishment (WiiVC/N64)

2010-03-02T04:02:00.000-05:00

10 years ago cult-favorite developer Treasure put out Sin & Punishment, an English voice acted on-rails shooter, for the Nintendo 64, but only made it available in Japan. It's the N64 game that I came closest to importing purely on the basis of how it looked and what I had read about how it played. There's a grandiose anime-inspired, more mature (for N64) storyline with StarFox-like action, but you control a person instead of a plane. It was a game that looked extremely desirable in tiny screenshots on the back pages of EGM magazines. Now that Sin & Punishment has finally come stateside on the Wii's Virtual Console service, it was time to see if I was actually missing out.

For starters, let's get the unmet lofty expectations out of the way. S&P does not belong in the pantheon of all-time great N64 games, but it is still an incredibly stylish and unique product that has moments of absolute brilliance. Visually the game has a low polygon count for its characters, but not unexpectedly so, given its turn-of-the-millennium release. That said, the character models are rather grotesque, but in a way I find undeniably appealing. Everything has sharp, pointy angles, rigid joints and muddy textures. It seems like Treasure was trying to pull off something ambitious and cinematic with the designs, but I'd argue the game's all the better for these shortcomings as the characters literally look uncomfortable in their own skins.

This individualized discomfort seems to be one of the key elements of the story, but the character models alone do a better job of conveying this than any part of the formal plot in S&P. You control a guy who occasionally transforms into a giant mech-like monster and a girl who fights through an alternate future dream world and ultimately against the evil plot of their supposed-friend who I think they originally shared a common enemy with. So the story here, told mainly in non-interactive cutscenes, is nonsense that can be casually watched for awkward laughs, but thankfully skipped at will. As for the English voice acting, it's on par with some of the worst out there. All of these sloppy elements combine to create a broad feeling of camp that may have been awkward had this game actually been played in the US 10 years ago. S&P's overall presentation has aged both extremely poorly and extremely well, if that makes sense.

The design elements of S&P are worth noting, but are overall somewhat inconsequential to what this game is about. Like other games from Treasure, particularly those from the shooter genre, S&P leans heavily toward the hardcore sect. You control a character that, at times, must strafe, double jump, target, and shoot and/or sword slash at the same time, with each of those actions mapped to separate buttons. The control scheme has a sharp learning curve that requires significant practice to even handle properly, much less master. None of the three control setups offered are ideal on the Gamecube controller that I used to play the game, but hopefully the Classic Controller is more intuitively functional. S&P isn't a game that gives you much time to feel this stuff out either (though there is a tutorial mode) as you're quickly thrust into barrages of unrelenting enemy fodder at the game's outset that never let up. Still, it only takes about an hour to get through everything, so learning takes place on successive playthroughs more than over the course of one. As a side note, I would personally prefer a more movement-sensitive targeting cursor, as the sluggish one you're given makes parts of the game frustrating that could have been simply challenging. If it's not already clear, I recommend playing this game on Easy difficulty before engaging with Normal.

The strength of Treasure's game is its epic set-pieces. The ocean fleet chapter is particularly thrilling. The protagonist stands atop a floating platform that dramatically sweeps past armed frigates, waves of jet fighters, and countless energy blasts. Players would do well to get into pattern-memorization mode in such levels if they hope to get through with the least damage and highest score. After the sea battle the scene shifts to the sky where you must then take out a giant satellite fortress. Once destroying that, a huge asteroid mass hurtles towards your transformed mechanized monster friend and it's up you to tail the rock and detonate it before impact. There are quite a few tricky moments in this chapter, but in general it makes for an intense ride. Speaking of epic, the final boss fight is against some kind of evil clone Earth, and feels like an updated take on Space Invaders. When Sin & Punishment puts you in these larger-than-life scenarios, it's easy to get wrapped up in the excitement and discard the half-hazard story behind the action.

As with many elusive products, Sin & Punishment seems to be viewed by many critics through rose-colored glasses, glossing over the game's faults in favor of hardcore allegiances. To be fair, it does appeal to those tastes, but all in all it didn't live up to the expectations I've harbored for this game over the past decade. Perhaps the best news to come out of the Virtual Console version of S&P is that Nintendo plans for an international release of Sin & Punishment 2 for Wii this year. I have to imagine this sequel will control much more naturally given the light-gun style aiming that will be implemented into the Wiimote controls. The original Sin & Punishment still remains a stylistically unique, frantic shooting experience, but one would do well to keep their expectations in check before getting all huffy towards Nintendo for depriving US and European gamers of it for so many years.

:screenshots from Giant Bomb and IGN:

Review: StarTropics (NES)

2010-02-24T19:06:00.000-05:00

It's about time I put a non-generation-spanning franchise game under the microscope here, so I present my critique of Nintendo's StarTropics. This Japan-developed but US-only release really presents itself as a game that Americans are supposed to like. You take on the role of Mike, a baseball-loving, yo-yo-swinging adventurer from the island of Americola. If the title wasn't a giveaway, the setting of StarTropics is a series of islands, each with a humorous "cola" ending on their title. The game is broken up into 8 chapters, each taking place on a unique island, except for the final two which are on a spaceship. So we've got baseball, soda, aliens, and action/adventure. Maybe Japan had our 1990's interests down pretty well.

With each chapter, StarTropics presents a smaller story that needs to play out in order to progress further with Mike's overarching plot to find his scientist uncle who mysteriously disappeared. This leads our protagonist to traverse numerous underground caverns, littered with puzzles, enemies, and secrets. It's very Zelda-like in the way you usually advance from one screen-filing, top-down perspective room to the next, but the controls are altered in a significant way, and not necessarily for the better. StarTropics surfaces are basically laid out as large grids, limiting your movement to only four directions. More the issue though is that Mike is always stuck on the grid and can never stand in-between "tiles." This means if you move one way and immediately recognize that as a bad move, Mike will still need to fully subscribe to the original command, stop, and then turn around. This grid makes sense for the jumping puzzles that use actual tiles and switches, but makes regular ground movement horribly stilted.

The lack of fluid control does seemingly make the game more difficult, but StarTropics is actually a very fair game, despite the frustration it can cause. Dungeons are conquered with sometimes lengthy trial and error, slowly progressing and figuring out the tricks to passing through each room. The nice thing about this is once you figure out how to beat a room, you'll likely breeze through it on successive visits, making the restarting process feel like the game is trying to teach you rather than punish. Boss fights often require you to use the surrounding environment to defeat them, adding a level of strategy to the projectile-dodging. In general, the puzzles and action in StarTropics are smartly designed experiences that both with and despite the controls, feel very unique.

The art direction is initially one of the main draws here. The tropical ocean backdrops are a nice change of pace from the high fantasy worlds that are so commonplace in this genre. I found the whole setting to be pretty amusing, as all the islands are filled with what seem to be sun-tanned Caucasian natives. Pale-faced Mike clearly hasn't spent enough time outside in Americola to fit in with his beach-bum relatives. Visuals in the overworld are pretty bland and blocky, but the caverns have a zoomed-in perspective that lends iself to a higher degree of detail. Unfortunately, most of the caves look pretty similar, with only some palette-swapping taking place occasionally (but with purpose). The alien levels are the obvious black sheep here, presenting a jarringly divergent aesthetic of pipes and ducts to the previous crevices and rocks.

For all the connotations critics draw to the original Zelda adventure, I found the gameplay experience of StarTropics to be entirely different. Most of this has to do with the tone of the game being rather upbeat and tongue-in-cheek. I know when I first played Zelda I was much younger, but the dungeons in that game were terrifying. By comparison, StarTropics feels more like The Goonies, with a kid exploring some caves and fending off the occasional ghost (OK, perhaps I was afraid of The Goonies too, but I'm guessing most kids weren't). With the trial and error process in the dungeons, I continually had to die and restart the levels, making me consistently aware that I was playing a video game where I needed to get past some challenge. The story of StarTropics is mainly corny fun, and doesn't pull you further into the world so much as simply make you recognize that it's done some cool or cute things. This is partially due to the largely episodic nature of the chapters, but also the cliched implausibility of its alien invasion conclusion.

Maybe this review reads as a little more harsh than I mean it to, but while StarTropics pulls off a fun and unique challenge, it's also a game that I'm glad to be finished with. Maybe this says more about me than the game, but 8 chapters feels like just the right length for a game of this structure and type of difficulty. I should probably seriously avoid Demon's Souls. Thus, I leave my time with StarTropics very well satisfied, and willing to play its sequel (Zoda's Revenge) at some point down the road, but it's not at the top of my queue.

:screenshots from VGMuseum:

Opening Saturday: Solberg / Cruzen @ CEM

2010-02-16T19:13:00.000-05:00

Craig Elmer Modern announces its first exhibition opening this Saturday, February 20th, in the form of new works by artists Dan Solberg and Jake Cruzen. CEM is located at 3194 South Grand Avenue in St. Louis, MO. The opening reception is scheduled to take place from 7-11PM.

UPDATE: Thanks to all who came to the opening or otherwise showed your support. It was a great reception and Jake and I are very thankful. To see pics from the night, go here. Official images of the artwork will be up on my site this week.

Review: Castlevania II - Simon's Quest (NES)

2010-02-06T05:32:00.000-05:00

Another famous game franchise entry is up for review here in the form of the sequel to Konami's side-scrolling action/adventure game, Castlevania. Unlike so many follow-ups, Simon's Quest actually innovates and dramatically changes the gameplay structure of its forebearer. These deviations don't work in all cases though, making Castlevania II a game that strives for more ambitious inventiveness than it's ultimately capable of fulfilling.

The alternative tone is apparent from the outset as whip-cracking protagonist Simon Belmont begins his quest in a small town absent of enemies, but instead inhabited by townsfolk who offer cryptic "clues" for Simon's journey as well as selling items as merchants. The only direction given the player is the paragraph of prologue during the title screen dictating that Simon must recover five pieces of Count Dracula, whom he defeated in the previous title, in order to rid himself of a deadly curse which has been cast upon him. The player can choose to exit the town screen to the left or the right, which seems to offer a degree of open-worldness, but the left option is a far too difficult path at the beginning of the game. This is one example of many in Simon's Quest where the game appears to offer the player distinctive choices when in actuality there is only one correct solution.

Upon exiting the town the player will have to fight though enemies to get to the next destination, which, for the most part, is a breeze. If the player simply upgrades Simon's equipment at every opportunity in the towns and finds hidden items along the way these monsters will continue to be pushovers. Even the boss characters can be beaten with ease given constant attacks with the right weapon. Defeated bad guys might drop hearts which act as the game's currency. Simon's Quest also cycles through day and nighttime settings every few minutes, with enemies at night being more powerful and espousing more hearts as a reward. There will probably be a couple occasions where the player must grind through some enemies outside of a town to build up enough hearts to purchase a desired item for sale, but usually normal world traversal will yield enough moneys to serve one's needs. Simon begins with three lives, and will lose all stored hearts if he is killed in action so it's best to think strategically about when to venture away from towns and when to grind through nearby enemies to play it safe.

Simon's Quest is a very difficult game, not because of its enemy forces, but because the game is incredibly vague about what the player is supposed to be doing in so many situations. The "clues" from townspeople are most often not helpful or incorrect information. There are three acquirable crystals that are essential to progressing in the game but even in the instruction manual it's not explained how they can be used. Apparently having one equipped and holding the "down" button in the correct locations will open up new pathways. This obtuse trial and error process also rears its head with the countless fake floors and walls that reveal themselves after being doused with holy water, requiring throwing vials of water every step just in case there might be something secret that would otherwise be overlooked.

Unfortunately, the way to make Simon's Quest a much more fun and manageable game today is to sparingly use an online walkthrough to inform players on these otherwise indecipherable situations. It seems reasonable that if someone was to play this game when it was just released that a number of the abstract solutions to the game's challenges would have been spread through word-of-mouth. Given that Simon's Quest is a much older game now, using a free guide is the way to go unless an extensive timeframe has been set aside to play it.

Castlevania II does have plenty of positives going for it that both show innovation for the series and help compensate for some shortcomings. First and foremost the game has an excellent soundtrack that players may find stuck in their head hours after putting down the controller. The score includes the debut of Castlevania series staple "Bloody Tears," which sounds especially great considering it's coming off a NES cartridge. Simon's Quest's day and night cycle may not have truly capitalized on the feature, but it was still a pretty novel addition at the time. The main purpose of the device, other than some combat variety, is to keep track of time. Remembering back to the prelude text, Simon is growing weaker because he's been cursed, and so the sooner he can defeat Dracula for good, the better. This brings about another emerging gameplay system: multiple endings. Depending on the speed one completes the game, they could be rewarded to one of three endings depicting whether or not Simon was fast enough to reverse his condition and truly kill Dracula.

Castlevania II certainly has its problems (botched localization, lack of instruction, and an incoherent hint system), but knowing about these issues ahead of playing will prevent them from being much of interruptions. This is a case where some limited exposure to help texts or even just taking into account the troublesome scenarios listed in this review, will make for a far less frustrating game experience and allow for the positives of the game to shine. Not to make too many excuses for a game that clearly misses the mark on some important design decisions, but there is still a considerable amount of fun to be had here.

:screenshots from VGMuseum:

Disco Construction

2010-01-28T22:06:00.001-05:00

Merry belated MixXmas everyone! I wanted to use a bunch of tracks that more explicitly fall into a disco category for a mix, so expect all sorts of mirror-ball tropes to pop up as you listen. Of course it's mostly much more contemporary than the true disco heyday, but I see it as a modern tribute of sorts. The mix clocks in at 68 minutes and in general I let the tracks play out a little longer than usual. Hopefully this will lead to a listening experience with long, smooth build-ups and extensive breakdown jams. Thanks for listening!

Gold Skulltulla - Building Sensation

Tracklist:

Le Knight Club - Rhumba
Cheek - Venus (Pepe Bradock’s Cheeky Precog Version)
Ali Love - Diminishing Returns (Extended Version)
Jaques Renault - Sweet Rollin’ On
Hot Toddy - Delta Blues
Free Disco - Left Field Boogie
Lady Gaga - Bad Romance (Hercules & Love Affair Dub)
Tensnake - In The End (I Want You To Cry)
In Flagranti - Business Acumen
Canyons - Blue Snakes
40 Theives - Don’t Turn It Off (feat. Qzen)
Munk - Back Down (Cut Copy Jackmaster Remix)
His Majesty Andre - Hold Tight
Cecile - Una Domenica Italiana (feat. Dennis Coffey)
John Talabot - Africa
Sister Sledge - Lost In Music (The Revenge Rework)
Michael Jackson - I Can’t Help It (Todd Terje Remix)
Shazam - Hello Cat

Review: Metroid (NES)

2010-01-26T03:39:00.000-05:00

Some of these older videogame reviews will be for games I'm somewhat embarrassed to have never played. Metroid is one of those games. I feel I can't justify this omission without noting that my first full playthrough of a game in this series was Metroid Prime for Gamecube. Some would call that heresy, but I came away from Prime and its sequel having had some incredibly profound and affecting (in a good way) gaming experiences. As a result, I've been pining to go back and check out where this all started.

Two of the more amazing things about playing Metroid now are how many well-executed similarities it has to the Prime series and how much of a sense of adventure this old game could convey despite my mind being spoiled by the visually immersive gaming experiences on modern systems. The player controls Samus Aran, then-secretly female bounty hunter, equipped with an arm cannon, as she explores the planet Zebes. At the beginning of the game, Samus' abilities are limited, making the locations she can access restrained. By locating ancient relics she will learn new techniques which allow her to research new areas and progress through the game. This formula is still the core of contemporary Metroid gameplay.

Even knowing this, I remain surprised by just how non-linearly Metroid allows you to play. There are three boss characters in the game, the final of which cannot be fought until the other two have been defeated, but you can approach either of those two first. The non-final boss characters can also be faced at any point once the required abilities have been found to conduct the platforming needed to reach them. In other words, they can be faced with a bare bones set of skills for the player looking to speed through things, or by the well-prepared player who has found all of the helpful abilities that will make the battles easier.

Another key aspect of "adventure" as a genre is exploration, which Metroid offers, but not without one caveat that my Prime sympathies can't help but mention: the lack of a map. To be clear, I would have liked a map that only kept track of where I had been, not where there was still to go. Having that sense of discovery and not knowing what's through the next door is what adventure games are all about and I wouldn't want to disrupt the up-and-running system already in place. However, when I finally reached the point where I was ready to descend to the final boss confrontation, I discovered that I had to go back and reacquire the ice beam to continue further. Without a map to assist in retraversing the entire maze, this fetch quest became unnecessarily frustrating. Alternatively, Samus could have been given the ability to switch between different beams on the fly. Sadly, I remember Metroid Prime pulling a similarly unfun backtracking stunt on me at the end of that game. Some traits shouldn't be passed on through generations.

The lack of a map is truly a shame though, as it's the only aspect that mars the otherwise stupendous game. Metroid is a game that knows how to set an eerie, enveloping mood. Zebes is a harsh and alienating place, without any lines of dialogue or townsfolk to offer hints or friendly confidence. The music is bizarre and not always conventionally melodic or rhythmic, but still impressively memorable. The titular Metroid creatures are legitimately terrifying monsters. The story begins when Samus is simply dropped onto the planet and given little in the way of further direction. Granted Metroid was produced during a time when instruction manuals were actually used as a reference, so it was assumed that the player would be able to look up things like power-ups and know what they do. In an ironic twist, since the game itself doesn't tell the player anything, the world becomes even more authentic than the developers may have intended. I was consistently having to figure out what I just picked up and truly get acclimated with the item rather than the screen telling me what I could now do differently. This makes for an even more pure adventure experience without adding frustration.

Metroid is the total package when it comes to game design, so much so that the franchise isn't much different in modern iterations (though improvements have been made). It offers a legitimate challenge, one that actually forces the player to think strategically during combat while presenting puzzles and hidden secrets that test one's wits and encourage (and reward) discovery. I have come away from the game extremely eager to jump into Super Metroid in the near future.

:screenshots from VGMuseum:

Gold Skulltulla Talks Games, Review: Super C

2010-01-18T06:12:00.001-05:00

Welcome to a new category of posts on Gold Skulltulla wherein videogames are the core topic. Even though I find myself playing fewer games nowadays, I still enjoy finding new game experiences and try to stay up to date on the contemporary ongoings of the larger videogame world as best I can. Expect to see more editorial-style columns showing up around here in addition to reviews like the one that follows. The way I approach games and the games I choose to play has changed quite a bit over time. The games chosen for review and editorial extrapolation will reflect this viewpoint moreso than trying to stay up-to-the-minute on recent releases, although current events and news will likely factor in at times. I hope that some of the readership and listening audience for Gold Skulltulla's DJ mixes and music lists will find something worthwhile about these videogames discussions; the focus being to cross-pollinate my own interests and see if there is an audience out there with which to share them. So I'd like to kick things off with a review of Konami's NES sequel, Super C.

The original Contra on the NES is a classic run n' gun game that sits in the greater game canon and is looked upon with a nostalgic fondness by those who grew up with it. People tell me that game is supposed to be difficult, but it's one of those few games that I've beaten so many times that there's no real challenge and I instead enjoy it as a form of catharsis. Strange then that I'm only recently playing its sequel Super C (short for Super Contra, one would assume). Full disclosure: this review is referring to the original NES cartridge version of the game.

As with many sequels, it's difficult to talk about subsequent entries in a franchise without addressing their predecessors, especially one as iconic as Contra. Super C recycles some of the original graphics, including the protagonists, a few enemies, and sound effects. However, there are plenty of newly minted sprites here as well, and for the most part the new graphics appear slightly more sophisticated. Gameplay is nearly identical, maintaining the basic format of platforming, shooting, dodging, grabbing power-ups and fighting bosses at the end of each level (8 here). There are a couple notable exceptions including the addition of inclined surfaces, a retooling of the F gun into a charge shot, and two stages where you control the character from a top-down perspective. All three are well-executed and either enhance or take gameplay into a new direction for the series. The music is still solid this time around, but not quite as catchy as some of the tunes in the original.

As for that trademark difficulty level, Super C proves to take a bit more skill, but maybe this is just because I haven't locked in near as many hours as Contra. That said, level 8 in particular throws a lot of obstacles in your way that if you die and lose what is likely your spread shot gun, it can be rough. We're still talking one-hit deaths here. Even so, bosses are, for the most part, a cinch. The final boss is especially a letdown seeing as you fight through a grimy, disgusting alien fortress only to discover a weird, gray, human-faced statue-like mass coming out of the ground to spew a few spike-balls your way as you easily run up to it and shoot it in the face, totally unabated. Furthermore, the lame ending then kicks in which is just a shot of a helicopter flying during a sunset, offering no text explanation or really any kind of resolution. Not that anyone really cares about the "Contra fiction," but something to add more of a sense of accomplishment would be welcome.

Some design choices in Super C certainly raise a few eyebrows. It's no secret that the protagonists Bill and Lance are clearly modeled after Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator and Sly Stallone from Rambo, but the design knock-offs go further in the sequel. The running alien enemies in the last two levels are total rip-offs of Ridley Scott's Alien aliens and you could make a case that the level 6 boss' face looks an awful lot like the Predator monster. Sure these developer decisions seem a bit dubious in a way, but they also provide a gameplay experience that compliments those films pretty well. Where I'd rather criticize design is when it comes to the sharpness and clean appearance of the last two boss characters which really don't fit into the fleshy, sticky alien lair where they are found. Those fights feel more like they're against some crappy background image than an actual monster to be feared.

It's not really fair that Super C is as overlooked as it is, seeing as it's a successful sequel to a hit game. Perhaps it's the fact that Super C is short on significant innovations in the greater series that keep it from standing out. If you're only going to play one Contra game per console, you should select the original game since it's more relevant in terms of modern references, but Super C does follow-up on that formula in an incrementally satisfying way that will serve players who are already series fans just fine.

:screenshots from VGMuseum:

It's Twenty Ten!

2010-01-09T04:25:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! I've yet to finish my MixXmas mix this year so I'm padding out the delay with a minimix. This is the first minimix I've put together in a long time, and it's a fun bundle of tracks. It's only 6 songs and 19 minutes long, so it's not a huge time commitment and offers tunes that might not regularly end up on one of the bi-monthly mixes. Hope you all like it and come back soon for the next full-length.

Gold Skulltulla - Lil' Stab (minimix)

Tracklist:

Lindstrom & Christabelle - Lovesick
Das Glow - A Lighter Shade Of Bright
Hot Toddy - I Need Love feat. Ron Basejam
Al Usher - Lullaby For Robert (Bogdan Irkuk Remix)
Little Boots - New In Town (Golden Filter Remix)
Javelin - Doug Flutey

Best New Music of 2009 pt. 2

2009-12-29T05:32:00.000-05:00

15. La Roux - In for the Kill
There was a time this year that I thought In For The Kill was going to be this year's D.A.N.C.E., not because of popularity (though it seems like the UK got really into it), but because everyone decided to try their hand at remixing it. The results were less in quantity and quality to those inspired by Justice (Skream's take notwithstanding), and seemed to overshadow the original cut. Turns out the unremixed version is the best of the bunch. 80s synth stabs and drum machine punches bop along as La Roux sings along with a slightly strained-sounding croon. I'm still waiting for another song from her that can match this, but luckily I'm not tired of In For The Kill just yet.

14. Hot Chip - Take It In
I was so happy to hear a new Hot Chip song as strong as Take It In is. I was left with a pretty mediocre opinion of the band's last album overall. Nothing was there to match anything from The Warning or My Piano (my favorite Hot Chip song). So this new track and closer to their forthcoming album plays to the band's strengths. We've got basically two modes of play during the track, alternating between dark synth pop and unabashedly sweet balladry. Honestly, it's just their catchiest track in over two years. It's nice to hear them retaining their signature sound (name another band that sounds like Hot Chip, I challenge you) and still being able to pull out new tricks.

13. Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension
Some may know this already, but until this year, I'd never listened to a Strokes album all the way through. This wasn't because I didn't like the band, I just never gave it a shot. Seeing this solo album coming out, I decided to give it a shot, looking to it as a potential gateway album to The Strokes proper. For the most part it worked, but it had a lot more to do with the single 11th Dimension than anything else. I really like The Strokes' guitar work, but the synthesizer lines here aren't too shabby either. I like this song because it seems to indulge a bit in each component of the song at one point or another. I've actually have to rebuild my liking of the track after seeing Julian perform live on The Tonight Show, which was one of the most embarrassing TV show sets I've ever seen. I can't help thinking of the way he awkwardly slinked around the stage swinging his non-mic arm around (read: dancing), but I'm trying.

12. Basement Jaxx - Raindrops
Jaxx album covers always do such a good job at conveying the so-called maximalist style of the band, always heavy on collage, color saturation, and light-heartedness. Raindrops is a successful, straight-forward house floor-filler that makes you wonder why they only had Felix Buxton (one half of the Jaxx duo) sing on one track from the full LP. It's not an innovation in style, just great execution of a signature. One thing those great Jaxx songs all have in common is a feeling of rich density. Raindrops is no different. The sound is extremely lush, a perfect compliment to lyrics about dripping moisture, created with rising and then cascading synth lines and horn samples. Actually there's a watery aesthetic that is effectively conveyed throughout the whole track, nicely complimenting the ecstatic yearning of the vocals. More Jaxx like this, please.

11. Joker - Psychedelic Runway
For over a year now Joker has had my utmost attention, showing up as one of the biggest players out to change the dubstep scene. Joker probably shouldn't even be referred to as dubstep though, seeing as his sound deviates quite a bit from that genre's standbys. This factors in as part, but not all, of Joker's appeal. He sounds like he's onto something and most everyone else is playing catch-up, singlehandedly putting bloghouse's wobble appropriation to an abysmal shame. Part of the appeal of a track like Psychedelic Runway is its emphasis on creating a likable hook out of grimy synthesizer beats, and matching that with dubstep-y bass modulations. The resulting tracks sit in a weird place, too loud to be mood music, but too methodical to really go crazy with. The fact that a combination like that isn't frustrating to listen to is the real genius.

10. Royksopp - The Girl and the Robot (feat. Robyn)
Royksopp albums only come around every few years, but are always welcome. Their entire third LP was an upswing from their previous effort, but The Girl And The Robot featuring Robyn in Madonna-like pop songstress mode is the biggest winner of the bunch. There's a back and forth in the track between Robyn exclaiming her wavering yearning for a mechanically minded being and what can be interpreted to be the titular robot replying that she's turning a blind eye to reality. That's my take on it anyway. So what are the implications? Going by trademark Royksopp sensibilities, one has to take emotional exposition largely with sincerity, though a strain of humor, perhaps in the form of irony here, is usually present. I mean, they put a real robot figure in the music video, so this can't be seen as a totally serious piece. Whatever the interpretation, the track explodes with glitz and glam and one of the most dance-compelling tracks of the year.

9. 2000F & J Kamata - You Don't Know What Love Is
With Joker's Digidesign on the reverse of this, it's hard to argue against this split vinyl as one of the essential releases of the year and an absolute must-have for dubstep fans. Again, if you want to call this dubstep at all, that is. I have a soft spot for a well-executed heart-wrenching vocal which this has. Though I suspect it's a modified sample and not an original recording, the yearning resonates with an undeniable authenticity. In fact, I can't even make out what most of the lyrics in the song are since they're so distorted; that's how well the emotive tone of the vocal comes across. I've gotten this far without mentioning the backing production which is wonderful all in itself, bubbling drum beats and squeaking analog synth lines stride along as a nice compliment to the aforementioned lyric track. I also recommend 2000F's remixes if you can find them.

8. Shazam - Pool Party 2009
I can only hope Shazam keeps up with the excellent track record he's laid out for himself so far. This 2009 reimagining of his song from last year is his best production to date, though he's also done some truly great remixes for the likes of The Tough Alliance and Bag Raiders. Basically the title here doesn't lie, and Pool Party 2009 sounds like a pool party. There should be a music video for this consisting simply of people sipping drinks around a pool while others perform cannonballs in the deep end and splash-fight on the shallow side. The cascading synthesizer lines perfectly evoke sun-drenched swagger and the general upbeat ensures that this track exists to be fun and nothing deeper. It just manages to be magnificently executed fun. It even has "party" in the title, I mean, c'mon.

7. Flaming Lips - The Impulse / Silver Trembling Hands
The Flaming Lips win the award for most pleasant surprise this year for their wonderful album, Embryonic. I've been only slightly into the band, owning the Soft Bulletin mostly on recommendations about how good it is (I do think it's good btw). So not only did I not know they had a release this year, had I known, I likely wouldn't have really cared. After seeing some pretty positive reviews and hearing that it was a departure from what the Lips had been doing recently, I gave it a shot and was not disappointed. This is such a marvelous treat of a turn for this veteran band. Not being able to get into Dungen's 4 with the same enthusiasm as previous releases, Embryonic more than fills my need for contemporary psychedelic rock. The two songs here represent two of my favorites from the album, but also a great contrast of styles that represent so many aspects of why this album is the gem that it is.

6. Hot Toddy - I Need Love
Hot Toddy is a late-comer to my musical radar, but wow, what an impressive little catalogue he has going. While everything with his name in it is worth checking out, I Need Love was released in vinyl form this year and is the best showcase of the man's talent. It's a slow-burn disco house number that will break your heart when the vocals claim "I can feel my life slipping away," followed by a pointed piano crescendo that just runs you right through. I actually don't know if I'd dance to this if I heard it out somewhere. It fits in a similar category to Hercules & Love Affair's This Is My Love, in both lyrical content and tone, but while that track is about revealing new feelings in an upbeat, fun way, I Need Love feels dark and motivated by desperation. Likewise, you need to check this out if you haven't already along with the perfectly nice Morgan Geist remix that comes with it.

5. The Juan MacLean - Happy House
This track is a victim of my lack of a 2008 singles list, which is why it shows up here. Luckily I'm able to get away with it because it was a part of The Juan MacLean's sophomore LP that came out this year. This is epic disco house that shows that James Murphy isn't the only one that can do it well on DFA. When I say epic, I mean literally as the song lasts for a good 12.5 minutes and can be read as transitioning through no less than 3 movements. Nancy Wang provides vocals with a deadpan singing style that delivers the goods while maintaining a playful nonchalance. The song literally "spaces-out" towards the end with a bare-bones beat breakdown, emphasizing the lyrics "Launch me in to space," followed by a Pink Floydian wobbly build-up that eventually settles and retires the expedition. If there's one track from 2009 that I'd like to see set to a laser light show, it's Happy House.

4. Four Tet - Love Cry
Everything coming out of the Kieren Hebden camp since the Ringer EP has me the most interested in Four Tet that I have been since Spirit Fingers. Basically he's been on a bit of a techno kick lately as opposed to the folk-tronica sound that he's so well known for. This couldn't be a better move for him as Love Cry is absolutely fantastic techno. I realize this makes for yet another song on this list that is explicitly about love, but this track is as different from the rest as they are from one another. The vocals repeat "Love cry," and "Love me," with a mechanical precision, layered over one another, creating a ghostly distance and coldness. Some unintelligible vocal bursts provide nice accents amidst the broken 4/4 beats and whirring drones. Oh, and he puts color gradients on the cover? I'm sold. More like this, please, Mr. Hebden. Maybe you could do some more work with Burial too? Maybe?

3. The Field - Leave It
Given the utter ecstasy that was From Here We Go Sublime, Axel Wilner had quite the mountain ahead of him in preparing his second full-length effort, but for the most part he pulled it off. Though there are some really tight compositions that push The Field into new territory, the highlight is still Leave It which remains stylistically close to Sublime. This is hardly something I can complain about as The Field makes music that transports the listener to another world like no one else. I love they way he can create such a sense of speed and euphoria, it's magic. I feel kind of ridiculous talking about this because I only have such glowing things to say about it and I feel like my 2007 assessment of The Field is still valid when it come to this song here. I should note that the part when the beat drops out at 7:45 and then returns three measures later is my favorite musical moment of the year.

2. Joy Orbison - Hyph Mngo
Let's get the bad out of the way first. Joy Orbison is a stupid name for a band/musician following steadfast in the redundant naming convention of taking celebrity names and changing one of the syllables. Everyone, please stop this. Don't let this prevent you from checking out one of the best tracks of 2009 in Hyph Mngo, though. If you're catching onto a trend with this list here, you'll notice an affinity for dubstep that isn't dubstep. At some level categories become a hindrance, and titles, insufficient. The heck is the title of this song, really? The final version of this track makes good on the widely-circulated edit, merely repeating itself a second time and adding a minute and a half of ambient intro before queuing in the samples. What makes this track work so well is the core loop. Consisting of cut-up female vocals saying something close to "I do" bouncing off "ooo"ing interjections with stop-start beats that keep a herky-jerky pace above heavy bass hits. Basically it wobbles without actually including "wobble," which is a feat in itself. I can't describe what makes this loop hook so much more significantly than others, but it does and it definitely got a hold of me.

1. Animal Collective - Brothersport / My Girls
Booooring to put this on top, I know, but anything else would have been a lie. For what it's worth, I wasn't an AnCo fan before this album, but after being warmed up by Person Pitch, I was totally won over this time. That's not to say that I now have a desire to go back and delve into the band's back catalogue, I've tried. I can appreciate that stuff, but it's just not my thing. In a way this makes MWPP that much more special though. As someone who is often slated as preferring instrumental music to turn a corner with a band who for the first time in their career has largely decipherable lyrics is a noteworthy irony and a humorous contradiction. To be fair, when a band bases one of their standout songs on a Frankie Knuckles tune, we are talking about a foundation that fits squarely in familiar territory for my music preferences. Both of these tracks have been written about to death, but I'd just like to say that I love how triumphant Brothersport is. If the track was meant to be inspirational to Noah Lennox's brother, or whatever the story is, that uplifting wish is contagious as the song asks you, literally, to sing along ("You've got to open up your throat"). It might seem kind of hippieish and cheesy, but it exists outside of the cliches that usually signify that vibe, making it sound like truly nothing else.

Best New Music of 2009 pt. 1

2009-12-18T22:29:00.000-05:00

These lists are mostly structured around songs rather than singles, EPs, or full albums, but doesn't hold to that particular standard universally. I just wanted to make a list of my favorite music without having to deal with all the technicalities. So, in this post I've listed a bunch of my favorite new music of the year in unranked alphabetical order. Part 2 of this post will contain a ranked top 15 with listen-to links and written reflections. Look for that to pop up soon.

Before getting on with the list, I'd like to note a couple reissues that I quite enjoyed. Since these aren't composed of new music, I didn't think they should be included with the rest.

Kraftwerk - The Catalogue
Though I don't own this, I do have digital copies of the older versions. Kraftwerk is an amazing and seminal group, and any adequate compilation of their work can't help but get praise from me. I'd recommend their live album Minimum-Maximum to anyone who is curious, but yet to delve into this band.

Nirvana - Live In Reading
The proper Nirvana albums have, for a long time, been on my should-buy list, but I never have gone through with it. With this new live album I see no need to do so anymore. This contains all my favorite songs of theirs and avoids the ones that I'd skip over on the proper albums. There is also a tremendous raw energy to the performance that suits this band much better than studio recordings anyway.

DJ Shadow - The 4-Track Era
There is so much good music here, it's astounding. This compilation gathers early Shadow remixes and rarities along with two radio mixes for KMEL San Fransisco. The radio mixes are all "old-school" hip hop and are flawlessly composed. The remixes and early recordings are also great and show the tremendous talent and potential of the then budding DJ prospect. If you can actually find this compilation, pick it up immediately, but good luck because I don't think there was actually a US pressing.

Warp Records - Warp20
I seriously wish I'd have been on the ball and gotten this, considering the limited pressing and immediate sellout. The packaging looked immaculate, and everything organized and compiled with Warp's design expertise and knack for recognizing musical talent when they hear it. Warp is one of the few record labels that I still look up to, and envy being a part of. There's a lot to like with the music on this box set for both fans of older IDM-centric Warp and those more inclined to their more recent sonic diversity.

OK, onto the alphabetical list. A lot of this stuff can be found and downloaded via blog aggregaters like Hype Machine, and everything on here is worth hunting down. All titles refer to individual songs unless other wise noted.

2562 - Unbalance LP
Air - Love 2 LP
Andreas Tilliander - Caught in a Riot (feat. New Moscow)
Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind EP
Anja Schneider & Lee Van Dowski - La Roulette
Annie - Songs Remind Me of You
Avner - Kanslor
Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars (Shazam Dub)
Bloody Beetroots - Have Mercy on Us (Feat. Cecile)
Blue Pearl - Naked in the Rain (Sidechains Remix)
Booty Luv - Say It (Sidechains Remix)
Boys Noize - Gax
Burial & Four Tet - Moth / Wolf Cub EP
Canyons - Blue Snakes
CFCF - Come Closer
Clark - Totems Flare LP / Growl's Garden EP
Dam-Funk - Toeachizown LP
Dance Area - AA247 (Elecktrobrothers Remix)
Danger - 07:46
Deepgroove & Jamie Anderson - The Clock
Ernesto Ferreyra - Hunted
Golden Filter - Solid Gold (Russ Chimes Remix)
Gui Boratto - No Turning Back
JJ - Intermezzo
Joe - Rut
John Talabot - Africa
John Tejada - Fractals EP
Michael Jackson - I Can't Help It (Todd Terje Remix)
Mille - Crysteena
Mr. Oizo - Stunt (Bandit Remix)
Nacho Patrol - Futuristic Abeba EP
Prodigy - Warriors Dance
Simian Mobile Disco - Cruel Intentions (Joker Remix)
Stimming - Reflections LP
Surgeon - Body Request EP / Screw the Roses EP
Tensnake - In The End (I Want You To Cry) EP
Tesla Boy - Spirit of the Night
Tiga - What You Need (Proxy Remix Edit)
Toasty - The Knowledge (Untold Remix)
Tough Alliance - A New Chance (Juan MacLean Remix)
Xplo-Sean - Spring Time Trilogy EPs
XX - Shelter (Them Jeans Drum Edit)
Zombie Nation - Worth It Pt. 1
Zomby - One Foot Ahead of the Other EP

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PS - This blog turned 3 years old today! Thanks for reading!

Staying In Touch

2009-11-11T04:05:00.000-05:00

I feel like I've been working on this mix for a while. I made a draft of it several weeks ago with only minor tweaks needed, but decided it would be better to just rerecord the whole thing. This was supposed to be finished before Halloween, but alas, here we are now. So, "Your Loving Reality" is more in the minimal techno vein of things, which makes it a very versatile mix. It's also quite long (about 70 minutes) and contains 27 tracks (a Gold Skulltulla record high). This is really my favorite mix in quite some time and hope you will like it as well. Oh, by the way, I have a website for my art now (true identity revealed!) over here. Thanks for visiting/watching/listening.

Gold Skulltulla - Your Loving Reality

Tracklist:

John Tejada - Sweat (On the Walls)
Alexander Rybak - Fairytale (Intergalactico Re-Edit)
Reboot - Ronson
Ernesto Ferreyra - Hunted
Kid Cudi feat. Kanye West & Common - Make Her Say (Nadastorm 88 Dub)
John Tejada - Bounce
Kenton Slash Demon - Singla
Flosstradamus feat. Caroline Polachek - Big Bills (Jokers of the Scene 4AM Rework)
Deepgroove & Jamie Anderson - The Clock
Animal Collective - My Girls (Mike Monday Unofficial Remix)
Stimming - The Kiss (Sascha Funke Remix)
Iz & Diz - Mouth (Brad Peep's Remix for Friends)
Wigald Boning - Kobra Dance (Joris Voorn Dub Mix)
Jurgen Paape - Take That
Jurgen Paape & Boy Schaufler - We Love
Morgan Geist - Detroit (C2RMX1 by Carl Craig)
Perc - Bosworth
Voodeux - Just a Spoonful (Edit)
Automat - Droid (Cecile Edit)
Tiefschwarz - Fly
Jurgen Paape - Triumph
Brooks - IWANCHU
Jackpot - Uno Dos Tres (Runaway Remix)
The xx - Shelter (Them Jeans Drum Edit)
Morten Sorenson - Start Something (40 Thieves Remix)
Audiofly & Paul Harris - Miscalate (Partial Arts Remake)
Lullabies in the Dark - Code 7429b

Top 100 Albums of the '00s

2009-09-24T22:22:00.000-04:00

In an attempt to beat Pitchfork to the punch with their best-of-the-decade list I, along with a few friends, have put together our own lists. Mine is below. Now, 100 albums over 10 years is a lot of music from a lot of bands and as such, I don't feel obligated to distinguish an album that gets #84 from #85. My solution is to break it down into tiers (listed alphabetically) and then do a ranked top 10. So, here it is.

Tier 4

Air - 10,000 Hz Legend
Boys Noize - Oi Oi Oi
Broadcast - Haha Sound
Ellen Allien - Sool
Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
Justin Timberlake - Futuresex/Lovesounds
Layo & Bushwacka! - Nightworks
Pipettes - We Are The Pipettes
Ratatat - Ratatat
VHS or BETA - Le Funk
Zomby - Where Were U In '92

Tier 3:

Asobi Seksu - Citrus
Beck - Sea Change
Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
Booka Shade - Movements
Carl Craig - Sessions
Chemical Bros - Come With Us
Chromatics - Night Drive
Clogs - Stick Music
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
Deadbeat - Roots And Wire
DJ Shadow - Private Press
Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven!
Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye
Mylo - Destroy Rock And Roll
Pillows - FLCL OSTs
Radiohead - Amnesiac
Ratatat - Remixes Vol 2
Retro Studios - Metroid Prime 2 Soundtrack
RJD2 - Deadringer
Royksopp - Junior
Soulwax - Nite Versions
Vitalic - OK Cowboy
White Stripes - White Blood Cells
William Basinski - Disintegration Loops

Tier 2:

!!! - Myth Takes
Advantage - Elf Titled
Air France - No Way Down
Alan Braxe - Uppercuts
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Architecture in Helsinki - In Case We Die
Battles - Mirrored
Caribou - Milk Of Human Kindness
Clark - Body Riddle
Dungen - Ta Det Lungt
Fiery Furnaces - EP
Four Tet - Rounds
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Girl Talk - Night Ripper
Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike
Isolee - Wearemonster
Jackson + His Computer Band - Smash
Junior Boys - Last Exit
Junior Senior - Heyheymymyyoyo
Justice - Cross
Keith Fullerton Whitman - Multiples
Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future
Lightning Bolt - Hypermagic Mountain
Lindstrom - Where You Go I Go Too
M83 - Saturdays = Youth
Madvillain - Madvillainy
Minilogue - Animals
Orbital - Live At Galstonbury
Portishead - Third
Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
Radiohead - In Rainbows
RJD2 - Since we last spoke
Royksopp - Melody AM
Various Artists - Katamari Damacy OST

Tier 1:

Air - Talkie Walkie
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
Basement Jaxx - Rooty
Daft Punk - Alive 2007
Death From Above 1979 - You're A Woman, I'm A Machine
Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better...
Gang Gang Dance - God's Money
Herbert - Scale
Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair
Hot Chip - The Warning
Keith Fullerton Whitman - Lisbon
Knife - Silent Shout
Kraftwerk - Minimum Maximum
LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
M83 - Before The Dawn Heals Us
Studio - Yearbook 1
Tough Alliance - New Chance
Trentemoller - Last Resort
Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When You're Gone
Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary

Top 10:

10. Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights

9. King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader

8. Rapture - Echoes

7. Radiohead - Kid A

6. Burial - Untrue

5. Panda Bear - Person Pitch

4. Field - From Here We Go Sublime

3. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas And Lost Ghosts

2. Avalanches - Since I Left You

1. Daft Punk - Discovery

Rock Bottom

2009-09-19T01:51:00.000-04:00

Sorry dubstep haters, the latest mix it strictly that. It's my hope that these tunes are appetizing and varied enough to keep everyone entertained. Clocking in at just over 45 minutes I can definitely say that this genre of music is much more difficult to mix than your standard 4 to the floor house jams, but I think "Bottom Out" serves the tracks well. At this rate I may even get back on track with my new mix every two months schedule since I'm already working on the next one. Until then, enjoy. Tracklist is in the comments.

Gold Skulltulla - Bottom Out

Beat The Heat

2009-08-05T02:05:00.000-04:00

Since it's hot outside, I envision this mix being played in an underground club (literally), built out of cool cement. Maybe it hasn't been quite so hot where you are, but for me, this would be a pleasant relief. That's not to say the mix is "relaxing" as it's still pretty high energy. It goes on for just under an hour and contains quite a range of new and old. So without further adieu, here it is. See comments for tracklist.

Gold Skulltulla - Chill Pill

Photo Credit: Mad Mohre

The Newer Deal

2009-05-28T23:00:00.000-04:00

Yeah, this is late. Like a month late. Sorry. The latest mix doesn't have a particular theme to it, just a straight-up dance mix, about 40 minutes long (256kbps instead of the usual 192, just because I like you all so much). Been really into the Soulwax documentary, which has fostered a liking of squelchy, squeaky sounds, so there are a lot of those in here, but I don't know if I'd call that a theme. Do you guys like that stuff or do you find it annoying? PUZIQUe's "Thomas" is one of my favorites out of the pack, but I could also see it being someone's most hated. Oh well, I tried to put in a variety of things. I will try to get back on the two month track with the next couple mixes. Thanks for listening. Tracklist is in the comments.

Gold Skulltulla - New Deal

The Heat (The Energy)

2009-02-28T05:11:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since posting a high-intensity dance mix, so hopefully this makes up for it. The Energy is pretty relentless in its propulsion so I'd definitely save it for an all-out, uninhibited dance war. It's a little over 50 minutes long and breathers are few and far between. Hope you all enjoy it! Tracklist is in the comments. Now about that thesis I'm supposed to be writing...

Gold Skulltulla - The Energy

Phantom Vibrations

2008-12-25T23:38:00.000-05:00

It's Mixxmas time once again, and so this was my gift this year. I'd been downloading a bunch of dubstep the past couple months and decided to make a mix out of it. To people who listen to a lot of dubstep this may sound like a "best of 2008" mix or something, but I don't claim that kind of genre proficiency. And besides, it means there's no filler, so a win-win. I know this is technically being posted in January which puts me behind the 2 month mark, but that's just because I had to wait until my mix recipient had gotten the hard copy. Hopefully the Googles that be will not take this one down like they did 25th Birthday. If you didn't get the chance to download that and want it, let me know and I'll get it to you. All that said, I hope you enjoy the dubstep mix and wish you and yours a Merry Mixxmas and a Happy New Year!

Gold Skulltulla - Phantom Vibrations

See comments section for tracklist.

Best Albums of 2008: 5-1

2008-12-12T01:48:00.000-05:00

5. Deadbeat - Roots and Wire
This was a nice little surprise for me, courtesy of Mike Treffehn. I'd never even heard of Deadbeat, and went about downloading everything I could find. I'd have to say that his output in 2008 was quite stellar and the best of his entire catalog. His album release, Roots and Wire, is the next thing you should check out if you were into the new DJ/Rupture mix this year. It crosses over genres effortlessly, which highlights just how close certain types of music actually are to one another. You could call this a dubstep record, but that's ignoring the techno, the reggae, and other sounds that play a huge role. The tracks themselves are chock full of wonderful beats, and the way songs featuring Paul St. Hilaire bookend the album, everything feels like a tightly controlled package. It could be considered a blemish how precise everything is, but that's more a matter of personal taste than anything. I certainly can't find flaw here.

4. Minilogue - Animals
It's difficult to say where to start talking about Minilogue's debut album as it takes a lot of time to fully process. I mean that literally as well; we're talking 2 discs totalling over 2 hours of music here. The first disc is the "dance" half, while the second is the "ambient" half. This is for the most part true, but both do deviate a little into the other from time to time (i.e. the 2nd disc brings in beats a few songs in). Oh, both are also fully mixed from start to finish. So yeah, this is a really boring way to talk about one of the most exciting techno acts right now. This is kind of the Isolee's We Are Monster of this year in terms of tone and background. Unlike that record though, Minilogue sticks more to the trademark techno beats. The thing is, for an album that (on the 1st disc) remains in this structure, it's the most organic, amoebic sound I've heard in techno music in a long time. There's always a sound you haven't really heard around the corner at an interval that you might not have expected. Things flow quite easily, and the second disc is like a total dream. Ambient-phobics need not fear that they're in for 5 keys of Casio synth washes on repeat, it retains it's mesmerizing pace and its sense of mystery throughout.

3. Lindstrom - Where You Go I Go Too
I found out this year that my lineage actually traces more back to Sweden than it does Norway, which means I pick up being able to say I'm possibly distant cousins with Studio, The Field, Air France, and The Tough Alliance, but I lose Lindstrom. This is made all the more depressing by the fact that he put his smiling, friendly face on the cover of his debut album. I'm sorry Hans-Peter, it's not my fault! Luckily, with this album I feel like the two of us are spending plenty of quality time together. In an effort that trumps everything Nike could have come up with for a running nix, Lindstrom puts "the journey" in musical form. Take equal amounts of epic buildups, heavy breathing, synth stabs, crashing waves, and disco beats and there you go. You'll forget all about how Lindstrom has said he's not doing any more remixes, because maybe he's working on a follow-up to this, which is something that (despite how great his remixes are) I would definitely prefer if I had to choose.

2. M83 - Saturdays = Youth
The new album from M83 was definitely my most hotly anticipated album of the year, and though I was not disappointed, I was surprised. When I first heard "Couleurs" I thought I had my song and probably album of the year already set. Once I finally got my hands on the album, I had to take a step back and say, "Ok, this is different, I need to get over that it's different because I think it's really good." So I did, and it is. I have read just about every review of this album from every decently notable music site, and have to say that I disagree wholeheartedly with the negative criticism they offer of this album. My favorite part, other than the transition into the last track which then lingers for over ten minutes, is the reading of the poem/diary entry in "Graveyard Girl." It's everything this album is about, and so much what M83 seems to have been aspiring to since Before The Dawn Heals Us. So, yes, it's different (though all the elements from past records are still here in some form), but it's more than a worthy entry in the M83 catalog. Worth noting perhaps that the past 2 M83 albums have been my favorite albums of the year when they were released, and so, maybe I still like them a little more by comparison (maybe not), but this still feels like the most fully formed M83 vision to date. Also, I love when my favorite artists evolve in interesting directions.

1. Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair
Far and away my worst musical addiction this year was "Blind." I listened to it on freaking repeat sometimes, and the video is absolutely perfect as well. Herc was easily the most interesting development in dance music this year. Even though so many elements on the album are borrowed from older funk/disco records (for "You Belong" see Inner City's "Good Life" for example), but everything is made anew with pitch-perfect production and vocal performances. This was competing with M83 since their releases all year, and nothing else even came close. The lyrics are heartwrenching, the beats are infinitely danceable, and the melodies are sweeping. One element that may be underrated with this album is it's diversity of midtempo offerings. Nothing sounds like a template had been used for multiple tracks. Only "You Belong" has obvious club potential, and the rest are content to quietly compel you move rather than shouting "this is dance music!" Thus the vibe of the album is friendly and inviting, which makes Antony's singing all the more empathetic (also, it's Antony). The result is something that's dancey, intimate, fun, and endlessly listenable. Plus it's the best new thing you could have put in your ears in 2008.

Best Albums of 2008: 15-6

2008-12-11T17:50:00.000-05:00

15. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
It's one thing to use 8-bit sounds in your music, but quite another to use the best 8-bit sounds. Crystal Castles is one of those bands where I had more bootlegs and demos than I knew how to categorize. Having no idea what was the proper version of anything is an aesthetic that is carried over into their self-titled album. The LP jumps all over the place, blurring the line between original material, sampled based material, and remixed material. On one hand there's Crystal Castles vs. HEALTH, but on the other is the track "Vanished" which is basically a CC remix of "Sex City" by Van She. This interplay is pretty interesting, and raises some significant questions about authorship and ownership. This aside, the music is still pretty great. I've grown more detached to the screamo side of CC in favor of more subdued fare like "Magic Spells" (my favorite song from the album) and "Reckless." It'll be interesting to see where the band goes from here, especially considering their most recent remix included no 8-bit samples at all.

14. Quiet Village - Silent Movie
This album may give off the vibe of a film score, but it would definitely be a film score that demands your attention during the movie, and not just providing a pleasant backdrop. Each song would also be coming from a totally different movie as well, and it's fun to imagine the genre-specific imagery that would accompany each song, especially since this is something I have a tendency to do with instrumental music anyway. If all you know of Matt Edwards is Radio Slave, the sound of Quiet Village will be incredibly surprising. There's is very little "techno" at work here, instead Edwards is pulling more from his Rekid alias side of things, but stripping the club atmosphere in favor of the movie theater. I heard they did a live show where they essentially brought people into a tent and piped in their album while they screened silent films, which is probably the best way to accurately "perform" this album anyway.

13. DJ/Rupture - Uproot
Rupture outdoes himself here with what is definitely the most accomplished release of his career. With more listens, Uproot would likely ascend higher on this list, but for now it stays here. A denser atmosphere has been curated here than on Special Gunpowder, bestowing more of a moody, ambient setting. I tend to favor this strategy by default (but can definitely go the other way too) and it's nice to see it accomplished with such attention to detail here. The mixing and track selection is picture perfect, resonating between history and contemporaneity in a very dynamic sense. With still no new Avalanches record this year, Rupture more than fills the gap left behind in their absence and given me a whole host of artists to seek out more material from.

12. Sally Shapiro - Remix Romance Vol.1
Sure, I liked the original Disco Romance alright, it appealed to certain sensibilities, but I've since come to enjoy the darker side of Italo disco more via Chromatics, Glass Candy and others. So when the album is remixed by some of the best new (neu) disco and Balearic-themed producers, the results are totally right up my alley. I don't know that a comparison between this and the original is really apt, but I can say for sure that I like this one better. Add to that that everything Juan Maclean has touched recently has been nothing short of fantastic, and the album leads off with one of my favorite producers as of late, Tensnake, turning out the best version of the most recognizable Shapiro track, "I'll Be By Your Side" that has been, and likely will ever be, created. Normally remix albums fall pretty flat with a couple standouts, but Vol. 1 here is clear exception. I haven't listened to Vol. 2 which on the surface seems unnecessary, because this is already the perfect compliment to the original.

11. Clark - Turning Dragon
Dear God this album hits hard. Each beat is the audible equivalent of someone's face being smashed with a cinder block. It's a dry and gritty baseline, making use of noisy textures in a profoundly visceral manner. True the album isn't without its blissful breakdowns, but rather than the quiet ecstasy evident is Body Riddle, Turning Dragon more just offers a brief opportunity to lick your wounds. The hooks are catchy enough that you may feel compelled to dance, but if you try, you're likely to invent all sorts of moves that you never knew you had in you. I suppose the closest thing I can think to relate this too would be Clark's Warp brethren of IDM staples, but I happen to think he stands out pretty brilliantly from the pack. If you ever wanted to listen to the soundtrack to a post-apocalyptic urban war zone, look no further.

10. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Ha, this is my indie rock entry this year, which is funny because rock people (the music kind, not the mutant kind) point out how dancey this band is. I suppose it's true, but I found them catchier, more consistent, more well-rounded, and more fun than their MGMT (great singles, meh album) and Vampire Weekend (meh) contemporaries. I came to Cut Copy more through them being remixed, but have since adopted a wealth of original tracks as being superior to any remix that follows them. I'm also pretty excited to see them live in the Spring as I picture them naturally awash in tinted lights as seen in the cover. The album continues this feeling of being awash in the sound, keeping everything very fluid. Through there are some driving beats, melody takes precedent and occasional group harmonizing results in a bit of a Klaxons-like vibe, but more sophisticated and less undirected youthful recklessness. It's been a good time for Australian music lately, which is a trend that I hope would continue.

9. Portishead - Third
I was totally surprised by Portshead this year. First we get their new material fresh off an 11 year hiatus, and then it sounds like this. Whether or not they sound like they used to is a moot point, the new sound is striking and varied and kind of depressing and pretty wonderful. Every track on here has at least one point where the instrumentation absolutely clicks and creates a memorable sound that yearns to be replayed. I really appreciate the varied song structures as well, keeping the whole thing feeling rather unpredictable, but without getting completely unhinged. The tone is sparse, hard, and cold. It's something that can only be played in specific conditions or risk putting everyone around you into an edgy state. Oh, and Beth Gibbons sounds as good as ever.

8. Ellen Allien - Sool
Speaking of sparse... This is one of those albums this I initially dismissed. Having come out of her collaboration with Apparat in what could only be classified as a techno pop album, we get Sool, just about the most minimal non-ambient album I've ever heard. I came back to this though, and tried to parse through its hard exterior, and once I did, the results were incredibly rewarding. This is the best Allien release yet, and a fresh take on what minimal techno can be (not everything has to aspire to Villalobos standards). It's hard to talk about the sound of Sool without stepping on the analogies of other critics, but I particularly liked the envisioned scenario that there are tiny machines that have evolved in the absence of humans, and they decide to make music. The point is that maybe it would sound like this. There's a weird organic structure that exists within the framework here, but it's tough to put your finger on exactly what quality it possesses. It remains that Sool continues to intrigue.

7. Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna
Now it's easier than ever to get your non-weirdo friends into Gang Gang Dance. Following in the footsteps of "Nicoman" from their RAWWAR EP, GGD have taken on a more pop and much more polished sound. Listening to this and then going back to God's Money, I have to say that I prefer the older material, but Dymphna is an exiting evolution for them nonetheless, and a bountifully accomplished album. It's their most varied effort to date showing a wide variety of influences, and thus helping to create what can only be defined as the sound of contemporary New York music. When I think of the New York sound, I don't think of The Strokes or The Rapture, but rather this mishmashed collage of sounds and musical sources. Ironically then, for all their weirdness, GGD become an articulate voice for this sound; one that I hope continues it's evolution into whatever form it takes next. Oh, and for all the talk the true pop songs ("House Jam" and "Princes") received from critics, the best track is actually the instrumental "Vacuum." Just wanted to get that out there.

6. Air France - No Way Down
I'm still riding on last year's high of Studio and The Tough Alliance, and it leads straight to Air France. Here we have the release of a new EP and then a mini-album that places that EP together with 2006's On Trade Winds to create this stunningly blissful listening experience. Air France is different from their fellow Swedes though, less epic and more intimate than Studio, and more straightforward and less conceptually perplexing than The Tough Alliance. Sure the vibe is similar, but I could never mistake one for the other. Air France are close to the sound of The Avalanches in tone, but with a beachier vibe and without the hip-hop background. The draw comes from the creative use of samples, recontextualizing disparate elements into something that becomes a unified statement. There's a playfulness and a humor that makes No Way Down really easy to like, but I'd argue that there's plenty of content to unpack within the very accessible surface.

Into Dusk

2008-08-22T02:17:00.000-04:00

Well, I've returned from Berlin now, and it's back to the grad school grind soon, so I thought something a little more relaxing and chill was in order. A lot of these songs have been in my frequent rotation this summer and so I hope everyone else will enjoy them too. Into Dusk is at times more of a mixtape than a mix I would traditionally do, but that's the pace I was going for, so I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I think it's best listened to if you have to drive somewhere that's going to take 80 minutes, and it's dusk in there at some point, of course. Sorry for using megaupload, but nowhere else let me upload files over 100 Mb. Thanks for reading/listening!

Gold Skulltulla - Into Dusk (via megaupload)

Sigur Ros - Illgresi (Them Jeans Dance Remix)
Anoraak - Nightdrive with You
Kraftwerk - The Model
Ratatat - Shempi
Junior Boys - FM (Tensnake Remix)
Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Horizon
The Sound of Arrows - Danger (Mr. Pedro Remix)
Daft Punk - Nightvision
Escort - All that She is
Maethelvin - Lost in Big City
The Tough Alliance - Taken Too Young
Hercules & Love Affair - Raise Me Up
Kavinsky - Grand Canyon
Chromatics - Night Drive
SymbolOne - Love Juice
Passion Pit - Sleepy Head
Boards of Canada - Chromakey Dreamcoat
Kylie Minogue - 2 Hearts (Studio Remix)
Jackson + His Computer Band - Hard Tits
Lindstrom - The Long Way Home (Prins Thomas Edit)
Air - Alone in Kyoto
Burial - In McDonalds
M83 - Midnight Souls Still Remian

Foreign Things

2008-06-28T16:07:00.000-04:00

OK, so it's been a little over 2 months (not by much), but I do have an excuse...I'm in Europe. Specifically, I'm in Berlin for the rest of July. So basically I've been seeing how some of the best DJs in the world hold it down. I mean, Erol Alkan's set was crazy good, as was Superpitcher's. So I had this mix mostly finished before I left, but wasn't satisfied with a number of things so I didn't post it and went back to rework them. The result is There and Back, a weaving roller coaster of up-to-the-minute dance tunes that spans almost 45 minutes. Also, I'm using Mediafire this time, so I think downloading will be easier and less ad-filled. Hope you can have some fun with it.

Gold Skulltulla - There and Back

Bloody Beetroots - Storm
Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down (Duke Dumont Remix)
Proxy - Dancer in the Dark
DJ DLG - Dimension
Edison Gem - Hold Back (LA Riots Remix)
Laidback Luke and Tom Stephan feat. Romanthony - Show
Outlander - The Vamp
Roger Troutman - Do It (Xinobi Remix)
Justice - Phantom Pt. II (Boys Noize Unreleased Turbine Remix)
Goyte - Heart's A Mess (Ocelot Remix)
Duke Dumont - Hoy
Madonna - Give It 2 Me
Lil' Mo' Yin Yang - Reach (Basement Jaxx Firecracker Remix)
Little Boots - Stuck On Repeat (Fake Blood Remix)
Fake Blood - Mars
Prodigy - Funky Shit
Rafale - Rock It (Tepr Remix)
The Juan Maclean - Happy House (Trim the Fat Jeans Edit)

Mixo de Mayo

2008-05-16T02:15:00.000-04:00

After such a joyous MixXmas last year, it was decided to spread the cheer all the way into this Spring. Thus, the first Mixo de Mayo mix exchange was initiated. I made my mix for my honorable east coast artist colleague Mike Treffehn this time around, and, like MixXmas, have decided to change up my routine a little bit. By and large, this is not dance music, though some kinda is. I wanted to take this opportunity to start my first ever mix series, and I'm titling it "Feel Music." These songs have had a big impact on the way my studio work has developed conceptually this past semester, and so I thought making a concise mix of them would both pay them tribute, and include them in a new self-contained piece altogether. I hope people like it, because I'll probably make "Vol. 2" someday. Also, I know there are two little blips in The Field's remix right before it leads into the Basinksi track, but that's because my rickety computer had a hard time getting the 20 minute Disintegration Loop going. I left it in as a nod to The Field's own "Sun and Ice." As a bonus I'm also posting a zip file with all of the individual tracks from the mix. Ciao.

Gold Skulltulla - Feel Music Vol. 1 (megaupload)

Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve - Before We Start, If?
Clark - Beg
Carlos y Gaby - Space Hammock (Daedelus's Power Cosmic Reprise)
Animal Collective - Peacebone (Pantha du Prince Remix)
Future Sound of London - Omnipresence
Keith Fullerton Whitman - Stereo Music for Serge Modular Prototype (Part Two)
Gang Gang Dance - Oxygen Demo Riddim
Trentemoller - The Forest
Kenji Yamamoto - Dark Agon Wastes (from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes OST)
Orbital - Time Becomes
Krazy Baldhead - Revolution (Para One Remix)
Joakim - Monster #2
Thom Yorke - Cymbal Rush (The Field Late Night Essen Und Trinken Remix)
William Basinski - DLP4

Feel Music Vol. 1 (Individual Tracks).zip (megaupload)

PS - Apparently Megaupload cuts off the title of the mix, so you might want to add a little "1" in there after you download it. Also, this blog is now the #1 Google search result for Gold Skulltulla! Yay!

Just As Planned

2008-04-28T01:56:00.001-04:00

Two months go by faster than you might think, but as promised, I have delivered a new mix within the timeframe. I'm calling it "Criminal Anxiety" for a number of reasons, one of which being that I've been really into Deathnote (see post title and pic), but also because I threw a party this past weekend that resulted in a few of the local officers stopping by (no biggie btw, just a warning for a noise complaint). Anyway, I was spinning a rough version of this mix, and so, that's one reason. The mix itself is 46:46 in length, and contains a bunch of crowd-pleasers. Also criminal is my use of a song containing James Brown's "Whoo, Yeah!" sample which I have previously denounced as the most overused sample of all time. I can only hope my pairing of "Love No" with "Your Love" makes up for this hypocrisy. Enjoy.

Gold Skulltulla - Criminal Anxiety

Tracklisting:

Kris Menace and DJ Spooky - Stereophonic (short cut)
Britney Spears - Break the Ice (Danced Killed N Moved Remix)
Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Laidback Luke Remix)
Justice - DVNO (Surkin Remix)
Decalicious - La Faviere 76 (Larsz Chaptier)
Eric Prydz - Call on Me
The Presets - My People (Kris Menace Remix)
Boys Noize - Let's Buy Happiness (Proxy Remix)
Kap10Kurt - Dangerseekers (Rolf Honey Remix)
Paul Johnson - Get Down (Laidback Luke Bootleg)
Toxic Avanger - Escape (LA Riots Remix)
B. Rich & AC Slater - Poison
Jackson 5 - I Want You Back (Chew Fu Big Room Fix)
The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army (DJ Klutch's The Freaks The Creeps Remix)
Moby - Disco Lies (Spencer and Hill Remix)
The Bloody Beetroots - We Are From Venice
Ladyhawke - Back of the Van (Van She Tech Turbo Fire Engine Remix)
AC Slater - Party Like Us (Udachi Remix)
The Teenagers - Love No (Tepr Remix)
The Prodigy - Your Love

Live The Moment

2008-02-27T04:45:00.001-05:00

New Gold Skulltulla Mix! This one's called "The Moment." It clocks in at just under 32 minutes and fulfills my personal pledge to put out a new mix at least every two months. I made most of this mix pretty well off the cuff (well ok, 1 rehersal round) except for the ending which I spent some considerable time on, but I'm definitely pleased with the way it turned out. It's mixed live as always, and I hope you enjoy it. Also, sorry about zshare, I realize it's even more of a pain than it used to be. I'll try something different next time or maybe I'll update this with a different link.

Gold Skulltulla - The Moment

Tracklisting:

The Tough Alliance - Miami (Stevie Tech Nicks 2008 wmc mix)
Count of Monte Cristal & Sinden - Beeper (Fake Blood Remix)
Villains - RockIt
Ayumi Hamasaki - Grateful Days (Para One Remix)
Nid & Sancy - My Rave (SLUTTT DON'T FUCK REMIX)
Robyn - Be Mine (Ocelot Mthrfckrs Remix)
Surkin - White Knight Two
Kid Sister - Pro Nails (Bag Raiders Remix)
Leonard de Leonard - Screaming Dance (Donovan Nervous Remix)
Fagget Fairys - Samo Ti (AC Slater Remix)
Armand Van Helden - Je Taime (Switch Remix)
Orbital - Monday (Live in Birmingham)
Chromeo - Bonefied Lovin' (YUKSEK remix)
Daft Punk - Too Long

Vengeance

2008-01-08T00:40:00.001-05:00

Time for a little MixXmas cheer. This is my contribution to the mix-giving season, made specifically for Jordan Harp. The title is a response to the mix he made for me two years ago called DaNtaSMaGorIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1. Thus I give you JORdanTaZmAGoriA!!!: The Revenge; a 2-Disc extravaganza where one is a mixtape and the other disc takes all the tracks from the first and adds in a bunch more, resulting in a 77 minute continuous mix. This was a different kind of mix for Gold Skulltulla (me), being that it's full-length and is almost all techno, which was a new experience for me. Everything is from 2007 with the exception of one oldie (but goodie!). Hope you all like it. Tracklists and megaupload links are below. Note that the zip folder will not have the songs in the specified order in which they were meant to be played.

Gold Skulltulla - The Revenge (megaupload)

Junior Boys - In The Morning (Hot Chip Remix)
Tracy Thorn - It’s All True (Martin Buttrich Remix)
Chaton - Catch the Beat (Agnes Remix)
Jurgen Paape - Take This
Daso - La Fie Verte
Supermayer - The Art of Letting Go (Ewan Pearson’s Art of Getting Low Dub)
Burial - Raver
Supermayer - Two of Us (Extended Album Version)
Sebastien Leger - Mercury
Anja Schneider - Belize
Pantha du Prince - Moonstruck
Jerry Ropero - The Storm (John Dahlback Mix)
The Field - The Little Heart Beats so Fast
Deadmau5 - Faxing Berlin (Chris Lake Edit)
Adam K & Soha - Twilight
Amox and Atle - A Witch Kiss (Ink & Needle Remix)
Dubfire - I Feel Speed (Booka Shade Dub)
Orbital - Lush 3-1
The Field - Sun and Ice
Chromatics - Let’s Make this a Moment to Remember

JORdanTaZmAGoriA!!!: The Mixtape (.zip file) (megaupload)

1.Junior Boys - In the Morning (Hot Chip Remix)
2.Tracey Thorn - It’s All True (Martin Buttrich Remix)
3.Jurgen Paape - Take This
4.Burial - Raver
5.Supermayer - Two of Us (Extended Album Version)
6.Pantha du Prince - Moonstruck
7.Jerry Ropero - The Storm (John Dahlback Mix)
8.Deadmau5 - Faxing Berlin (Chris Lake Edit)
9.Dubfire - I Feel Speed (Booka Shade Dub)
10.The Field - Sun and Ice
11.Chromatics - Let’s Make this a Moment to Remember

2007 Round-Up: Singles (21-7)

2007-12-28T20:40:00.000-05:00

Round two for singles. Now the placements are even looser, but at least the top six will be rather tight and specifically chosen. All links are still zshare.

21. All Saints - Chick Fit (Kissy Sell Out's Excellent Adventure) Probably the first great track of the year. It's fallen a few spots since then, but still has great staying power. Kissy's best work this year as well.

20. The Field - Over the Ice The Field's album works better as a complete work as it's hard for me to select a standout song. It's all good, but I suppose I particularly like the opener.

19. Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Strip Steve U and I Remix) So many good Chromeo remixes, so little time. Save yourself the effort and get this one, nothing else comes close.

18. The Tough Alliance - First Class Riot All the elements that make TTA a great band are here. Very catchy and upbeat, while also rather strange. ...something to do with dolphins maybe.

17. Burial - Raver It might be the most straightforward track from the new Burial LP, but that's not why I really like it. I don't really know why actually. Like The Field, I'm used to seeing this in the context of other Burial tracks. Makes for a lovely ending though.

16. Armand Van Helden - I Want Ur Soul (Fake Blood Remix (Mercurius FM House Edit)) Fake Blood tore it up this year. If only his output was a little bit more frequent (we got 3 remixes this year). This edit found the best part of his AvH remix and made the whole track about it.

15. Boys Noize - & Down Talk about setting the pace for an album. "& Down" is positively explosive.

14. Studio - Life's A Beach! (Prins Thomas Mix) Studio's sandy epic gets even more blissed-out and funky with this remix.

13. Chromatics - Let's Make This A Moment To Remember This song makes me want to cry (in a good way though).

12. Radiohead - Videotape I didn't really think Radiohead would make another song of this quality. I guess they showed me.

11. Panda Bear - I'm Not Soft and gorgeous. Other Panda Bear tracks from the new LP might draw comparisons to other musicians, but "I'm Not" stands on its own two feet, sounding like nothing else.

10. Tie: Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (MSTRKRFT Remix) and Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (Jackson's "Do the J.A.H.C.B." Mix) So much good Justice this year, including great remixes. Special shout out to "Phantom" and remixes of it, which were also great, but "D.A.N.C.E." takes the cake. The MSTRKRFT take has the hottest climax of any club track this year, while Jackson's take is simply stunning as it draws in samples from the entire Justice album. I love them both, but each for different things.

9. Dragonette - Competition (Ocelot Remix) This song made me stand up and pay attention to Dragonette. This is my "Bossy - Braxe & Falke Mix" for 2007.

8. Shout Out Louds - Impossible (Possible Remake by Studio) This track is so sentimental and sweet, I just love it. Sound like it could have been right off of Studio's album this year.

7. LA Priest - Engine (Erol Alkan Re-Edit) Erol's a busy guy, but I'm glad he found some spare time to put another certified banger out in 2007. "Engine" is a sweet track all in itself, but Erol sets this on fire.

2007 Round-Up: Singles (36-22)

2007-12-28T05:21:00.000-05:00

The actual order of some of these tracks is pretty loose, but you get the idea. Yeah, it's a top 36, but it was 13 last year. Quantity and quality. It's all here, er approximately a third of it anyway. All links are zshare.

36. Dolly Parton - Jolene (Peter Visti Slow Edit) One of my favorite surprises this year.

35. Bobmo - To the Bobmobile Simple and addictive.

34. Larry Tee feat. Princess Superstar - Work It Out (Herve Goes Low Remix) One of the most dependable club hits of 2007. Herve was on his game here.

33. Danger - 14h54 Another EP I didn't see coming. Dark, brooding, and cinematic.

32. M.I.A. - Jimmy Sorry "Paper Planes" lovers.

31. Digitalism - Pogo (Shinichi Osawa Remix) The original was good enough for the list, but Osawa's edit makes it just a little better.

30. Bloc Party - Where is Home? (Burial Remix) And here I was thinking the new Bloc Party album was a total loss.

29. Supermayer - Two of Us (Extended Album Version) I've come to appreciate more of the Supermayer album for how it's different, but this song is the type of thing everyone was expecting, and it delivers.

28. Tracy Thorn - It's All True (Martin Buttrich Remix) I was all set on loving the Kris Menace remix the best, but then this came along and, well, Kris won a lot of other places so he shouldn't be too disappointed.

27. Michael Jackson - Thriller (Villains Tootight Pants Remix) Best MJ remix I've ever heard.

26. Caribou - Melody Day Sun-drenched brilliance.

25. Battles - Atlas Tough call for favorite Battles song, but this one has the best drums.

24. The Avalanches - Ray of Zdarlight Digitalism + Wham = Yes! (the exclamation, not the band).

23. Hot Chip - My Piano Love the high-pitched synth squeals. Wish this was on the new LP.

22. Simian Mobile Disco - It's the Beat (The Teenagers Remix) Teenagers made one of the best dance singles of the year into a squelchy, climactic epic.

2007 Round-Up: Singles (The Big List)

2007-12-25T03:00:00.000-05:00

I liked a lot of songs this year. Here are most of them. The very best will be ranked in an upcoming post. Let me know obvious omissions so I can check them out.

!!! - [Heart of Hearts, Must Be the Moon]
A Mountain of One - [Brown Piano (Remake by Studio)]
Acid Jacks - [Awake Since '78 (Boy 8 Bit Remix)]
Acoustic Ladyland - [Cuts and Lies (Kissy Sell Out Remix)]
Air - [Mer du Japon (Original Version), (Teenagers Remix), (Kris Menace Remix), Napalm Love]
Alan Braxe & Kris Menace - [Lumberjack]
Alex Gopher - [Brain Leech, Carmilla]
Ali Love - [Late Night Session (Phones Filter Fromage Dub)]
All Saints - [Chick Fit (Kissy Sell Out's Excellent Adventure)]
Amox & Atle - [A Witch Kiss (Ink and Needle Remix)]
Animal Collective - [#1]
Apparat - [Hold On (Chris de Luca vs. Phon. O Remix), (Modselektor Remix)]
Arcade Fire - [No Cars Go]
Architecture In Helsinki - [Heart it Races (Trizzy's Rusty Tin Can Mix), (DJ/Rupture Mix feat. Mr. Lee G)]
Arctic Monkeys [Brainstrom, Old Yellow Bricks (Cryptonites' Tease the Monkey Remix)]
Armand Van Helden - [I Want Ur Soul (Fake Blood Remix), (Fake Blood Remix (Mercurius FM House Edit))]
Avalanches - [Ray of Zdarlight, A Different Feeling (Paperclip People Remix (Avalanches Edit))]
Bag Raiders - [Punch Reprise]
Basement Jaxx - [Make Me Sweat]
Battles - [Race In, Atlas, Tonto]
Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve - [George EP]
Bjork - [Earth Intruders]
Black Ghosts - [Any Way You Choose to Give It (Fake Blood Remix), (Boy 8 Bit Remix), Some Way Through This (Plastician & Skream Remix)]
Bloc Party - [Hunting for Witches (Crystal Castles Remix), (Ruckus Roboticus Remix), Where is Home? (Burial Remix), Flux (JFK Remix), (Punx Soundcheck "Tenebrae" Remix)]
Bloody Beetroots - [Mac Mac, Verra la Morte e avra i Tuoi Occhi, Butter (demo)]
Bobmo - [Home Alone, To the Bobmobile]
Bolt Actio Five - [Tree Friend Tree Foe (The Cleft Palettes Remix)]
Bonde Do Role - [Gasolina (Fake Blood Mix), (Crookers Crunk Remix)]
Boy 8 Bit - [Suspense Is Killing Me]
Boys Noize - [& Down, Oh!, Shine Shine (Original), (AC Slater Remix)]
Bumblebeez - [Dr. Love (Trizzy's Free ODB Remix), (Crookers Remix)]
Burial - [Archangel, Ghost Hardware, Endorphin, Untrue, Raver]
Caribou - [Melody Day, Sandy, She's the One]
CFCF - [The Explorers, Sogni Rossi, Claudio]
Chemical Brothers - [The Pills Won't Help You Now, Do It Again (Olav Basoski Dub), The Salmon Dance (Herve Remix), (Crookers Remix)]
Chromatics - [Night Drive, I Want Your Love, Healer, Tomorrow is so Far Away, Let's Make this a Moment to Remember]
Chromeo - [Fancy Footwork (Strip Steve Remix), Tenderoni (Proxy Distort Mix), (MSTRKRFT Remix), (Sinden Remix feat. Kid Sister), Bonefied Lovin (Yuksek Remix)]
College - [Teenage Color (Russ Chimes Remix)]
Crystal Castles - [XxzxcZx Me, I have so much "unreleased" CC material I don't know what really came out this year. good band though]
Crystal Method - [Keep Hope Alive (MSTRKRFT Remix)]
CSS - [Alala (Clash the Disko Kids vs Keatch Edit)]
Cut Copy [Going Nowhere (SebastiAn Remix)]
Cyndi Lauper - [Girls Just Want to have Fun (MSTRKRFT Remix)]
Daft Punk - [Alive 2007 + encore, Around the World (Killdahype Remix), (Villains' More Cowbell DJ Edit), Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Deadmau5 Edit)]
Dan Deacon - [The Crystal Cat, Pink Batman]
Danger - [09/14 2007 EP]
Das Pop - Fool for Love (SebastiAn Remix)]
DatA - [Aerius Light EP]
Deadmau5 - [Faxing Berlin (Chris Lake Edit)]
Deck Raiders - [Just the Way I'd like to Go (2 Elements Remix)]
Digital Primate - [I Ain't Wid It (Acid Jacks Remix)]
Digitalsim - [Pogo (Original Version), (Shinichi Osawa Edit), Idealistic (Gimmick Machine Remix), Digitalism in Cairo]
Dirty Secrets - [5 Feet of Snow (Miami Horror Remix)]
DJ DLG - [Paramount (Rogerseventytwo Remix)]
DJ Mehdi - [Signatune (Thomas Bangalter Edit), Lucky Boy (Outlines Remix)]
Dolly Parton - [Jolene (Peter Visti Slow Edit)]
Dragonette - [Competition (Original Version), (Ocelot Remix), I Get Around (Original Version), (Van She Vocal Mix), (Midnight Juggernauts Remix), Take It Like A Man (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix), (Felix Cartal Remix), True Believer]
Dubfire - [I Feel Speed (Booka Shade Dub)]
Dungen - [Familj, Gor Det Nu, Mon Amour, Svart Ar Himlen]
Dusty Little Kid - [New Ordinament EP Vol. 2]
Elektrons - [Get Up (Herve Remix)]
Erlend Oye - [Sudden Rush (The Twelves Remix)]
Escort - [All Through the Night, All That She Is]
Eternals - [Wrath of Zeus (Casanova Dub Edit)]
Ewan Pearson - [everything on Piece Work]
Fagget Fairys - [Samo Ti (AC Slater Remix)]
Feist - [My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix), Sealion (Chromeo Remix), 1234 (Van She Tech Remix)]
Field, The - [the whole album]
Frankmusik - [3 Little Words]
Gang Gang Dance - [Rawwar EP]
Girls Aloud - [Call The Shots]
The Go! Team - [Flashlight Fight, Grip Like A Vice]
Groove Armada - [Song 4 Mutya (Linus Loves Dub Remix)]
Gui Boratto - [Beautiful Life]
Gwen Stefani - [4 In The Morning (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix)]
HEALTH - Crimewave (Crystal Castles vs HEALTH Remix), Triceratops (Original Version), (CFCF Remix)]
Herve - [Cheap Thrills]
Hirasawa Susumu - [Shizuku Ippai no Kioku, Nigeru Mono (Meditational Field) from Paprika OST]
Hostage - [Gluttony EP, Schweet Dreams]
Hot Chip - [My Piano, Ready For The Floor (Soulwax Dub), Shake A Fist]
Hybrid - [Higher than a Skyscraper (Orb Remix), (Boy 8 Bit Remix), Theme From Wide Angle (Hybrid Rolling Thunder Mix)]
In The Club - [She's A Man (Killdahype Remix)]
Interpol - [Mammoth (Erol Alkan Remix), The Heinrich Maneuver]
Jape - [Floating (Prins Thomas Miks)]
Jerry Ropero - [The Storm (John Dahlback Mix)]
Junior Boys - [Dead Horse EP]
Junior Senior - [Headphone Song]
Jurgen Paape - [Take This, Fruity Loops 1]
Justice - [Stress (Original Version), (ZUER Edit), Phantom EP, D.A.N.C.E. Remixes EP, Genesis, Let There Be Light]
Justin Timberlake - [Lovestoned (Justice Remix)]
Kalle J - [Vingslag, When You See Me]
Kanye West - [Flashing Lights (Dan-O Remix), Stronger (A-Trak Remix)]
Kap10kurt - [Dangerseekers (TEPR Remix)]
Kate Nash - [Foundations (Metronomy Remix)]
Kavinsky - [1986 EP]
Kid Sister - [Pro Nails (Bag Raiders Remix)]
Killdahype - [Revolution, G-Boys]
Klaxons - [Golden Skans (Original Version), (SebastiAn Version 1.2.0 Remix), (Erol Alkan's Ekstra Spektral Remix), As Above So Below (Justice Remix), It's Not Over Yet (Original Version), (Skream Remix), Isle of Her]
Knightlife - [Ambobop, All Systems]
Kris Menace - [Steamroller]
Kylie - [2 Hearts (Studio Version), (Alan Braxe Remix), (The Twelves Remix)]
LA Priest - [Engine (Original Version), (Erol Alkan Re-Edit)]
LA Riots - [Kill Bill]
Larry Tee feat. Princess Superstar - [Work It Out (Herve Goes Low Remix)]
LCD Soundsystem - [A Bunch Of Stuff EP, North American Scum EP, All My Friends, Someone Great, Watch the Tapes, Sound of Silver]
Lehmber Hussainpuri - [Yaariyan (Remix)]
Love Is All - [Turn the Radio Off (Studio Remix) + probably more off from remix album that i've yet to listen to]
Lupe Fiasco - [Kick Push (Estaw Remix)]
M.I.A. - [Boyz (The Twelves Remix), Bird Flu, Jimmy]
Marcus Schossow, Thomas Segstad - [Moog Me]
Marilyn Manson - [Putting Holes in my Happiness (Boys Noize Remix)]
Mark Ronson - [Oh My God feat. Lily Allen (Chris Lake Remix)]
Marvin Gaye - [Sexual Healing (Mercurius FM Soul of House Mix)]
Matt & Kim - [Yeah Yeah (Flosstradamus Remix)]
Matthias Schaffhauser - [Gott Ist Tot]
Melinda Jackson - [Magic (Moustache Remix)]
Michael Jackson - [Thriller (Villains Tootight Pants Remix), I Can't Help It (Todd Terje Remix)]
Michael Sembello - [She's A Maniac (Bloody Beetroots Remix)]
Midnight Juggernauts - [Into the Galaxy, Out of the Storm (Kris Menca Remix), Road to Recovery (Miami Horror Remix)]
Minitel Rose - [Valerie Cote Ouest]
Moulinex - [Health Care]
Mr. Oizo - [Patrick 122]
Nadiya - [Tous Ces Nots (SebastiAn Remix)]
Nelson - [I Say You Can't Stop (DatA Remix)]
ODB - [Got Your Money (Gingy Remix)]
Outrunners - [Cool Feeling]
Panda Bear - [I'm Not, Comfy in Nautica, Bros]
Pantha du Prince - [Saturn Strobe, Moonstruck, Urlichten]
Patrick Wolf - [The Magic Position, Accident & Emergency]
Pinch - [Gangstaz (Instrumental)]
Pirate Soundsystem - [Loves Hit]
Pleasure - [Uptown]
Presets - [My People (Kris Menace Remix)]
Prince - [My Name Is Prince (TEPR Just For Fun Remix)]
Proxy - [Din Dah (Sleazy V Re-Edit), Ready to Watching]
Puzique - [Cissor]
Quietboy - [All Colours Within, Forever Is Over, might be from '06, can't remember]
Radiohead - [15 Step, All I Need, Jigsaw Falling into Place, Videotape]
Rage Against the Machine - [Killing in the Name of SebastiAn]
Rapture - [The Sound (Ben Trucker's Back to 95 Mix)]
Rihanna - [Umbrella (VNDLSM Remix (Diplo Edit))]
Robert Babicz - [Sin (Gui Boratto Remix)]
Roisin Murphy - [Overpowered]
Rufus Wainwright - [Tiergarten (Supermayer Remix)]
Russ Chimes - [Afterburner, She's got the Heat]
Samim - [Heater]
Scenario Rock - [Both Gotta Move On (SebastiAn Remix)]
Sebastian Tellier - [Sexual Sportswear (Original Version), (SebastiAn Remix)]
Sebastien Leger - [Sun, Mercury, Uranus]
Shesus - [Debbie's Shoes (SebastiAn Remix)]
Shinichi Osawa - [Star Guitar]
Shining - [In the Kingdom of Kitsch You will be a Monster, Winterreise, Stalemate Longan Runner]
Shout Out Louds - [Impossible (Possible Remake by Studio)]
Simian Mobile Disco - [It's the Beat (Original Version), (Teenagers Remix), Wooden, others were on the list last year, no repeats]
Sinden & Countt of Monte Cristal - [Beeper (Shake it Down), Everybody Rocking]
Sneaky Soundsystem - [UFO (Van She Tech Remix)]
Soho Dolls - [Trash the Rental (Crystal Castles vs Soho Dolls Remix)]
Steed Lord - [Bucket of Blood feat. Krummi]
Strip Steve - [Ready Steady]
Studio - [Life's A Beach! EP, No Comply, Out There, West Side, Self Service]
Supermayer - [Two of Us (Extended Album Version), The Art of Letting Go (Ewan's the Art of Getting Low Dub)]
Surkin - [Radio Fireworks 909 Edit)]
Terry Lynn - [Kocky/Kingston Logic]
Terry Poison - [Ballroom (DatA Remix)]
Timbaland - [Way I Are (Crookers Remix), Miscommunication (Bloody Beetroots Remix)]
Tonite Only - [Where the Party's At (Dada Life Remix (Larry Powers Re-Rub))]
Tough Alliance - [Something Special, First Class Riot, Miami, Neo Violence]
Tracey Thorn - [It's All True (Martin Buttrich Remix), (Kris Menace Remix), (Escort Extended Remix), King's Cross (Hot Chip Remix)]
Tuss, The - [Synthacon 9, Last Rushup 10, Rushup I Bank 12]
Underworld - [Crocodile, Beautiful Burnout]
White Stripes - [Icky Thump (Hostage Remix), 7 Nation Army (DJ Klutch's The Freaks The Creeps Remix)]
Xplo-Sean - [Tesla feat Kalle J, Female Voices]
Yelle - [A Cause de Garcons (Riot in Belgium Remix), (TEPR Remix)]
Young Josh - [Act A Fool (Ravestradamus)]
ZZT - [Lower State of Consciousness (Original Version), (Justice Remix), (Delete Remix)]

2007 Round-Up: Top 20 Albums (5-1)

2007-12-21T15:09:00.000-05:00

Alright, so today's the final push. Really all of the albums in the top 10 have been switching constantly over the past few days, but I think this final positioning is right, and I'll agree with it for at least a week. Stay tuned for singles lists coming soon.

5. Burial - Untrue
While I haven't read any of the "hauntology" references people have been citing about Burial, I do attest that this album does feel like the long lost ghost of UK rave culture. It's easy to imagine that if one were to happen upon an old warehouse where one of the craziest, most euphoric dance parties was ever held some 20 years ago, that Untrue could be faintly heard whisping about the premises as a reminder of events long past. Untrue is the most prolific purveyor of this new brand of urban mythology. In a metropolitan setting where everything feels mapped out and pre-planned, Burial has found mystery and intrigue and renewed the possibility for discovery in such a place. It's the same sort of exhilaration that I experienced when exploring the rafters of the East College building on DePauw's campus. It's a place humans aren't supposed to go anymore despite them having created it. Related to this is the feeling of isolation. Burial's music puts the listener at distance from it's vocals and melodies by having them fade in and out and repeating the lyrics as if they were fading echoes. The only grip we are given are the cold, driving beats and basslines. It's this isolation though, the necessary condition for meditation even amongst the throngs of city populations, where the settings are most likely to generate discovery, be it personal enlightenment just something that you've never seen before.

4. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
James Murphy may not have captured the top spot on this list (I'm sure he's really torn up about it too) but he definitely gets the nod for "most improved." After an OK album with an excellent bonus disc, he then decided to wow everyone and release a masterpiece of an album where all the songs are quality enough to compete if not, I'd argue, surpass the quality of those much-loved previous singles. This album and specifically the songs "Someone Great" and "All My Friends" made me emotional about music this year. Pretty much everything on this top 10 was somehow affected by my listening to those two songs. Murphy doesn't spend the whole album being sad though, there's plenty of dancing and fun to be had as well. Actually, this is likely the most well-rounded release of the year, worthy of the Hollywood sloganeering: You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll...dance. There is no weak link in the chain and LCD's influences never get the best of the final productions. Much has been said about Murphy's "everyman" appeal, which I feel has legitimacy, especially compared to a lot of modern day "everyman" musicians who end up promoting a romanticized or satirical view of what it means to be just like everyone else. Murphy exudes authenticity and his brash tendency to speak his mind might irk some people, but at least someone's talking about these things.

3. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
This album has grown on me since it's release. I liked "Bros" and "Comfy in Nautica" since I first heard them, but didn't give the full album any attention until much later. What finally struck a chord with me was the song "I'm Not" which has subsequently become one of my favorite tracks of the year. Not to focus too much on that one song (I probably will in a later list), but it really captured my attention and enveloped me in the music. When I began to frame the album around that song rather than the other two aforementioned tracks, the Brian Wilson influence and other references took a backseat to the samples, repetitions, and melodies presented in the album. This reframing was necessary for me to get the most out of Person Pitch. Finally able to access the music was like having a machine that allows me to reexperience my favorite dreams. I can't help but draw the connections between this album and skateboarding videos. Lennox himself spelled out many of these connections saying, "Something about the motion and the fluidness of it calms me and makes me feel good. When they're really good it seems like magic and it's like watching something that's impossible, and watching those impossible moves over and over again is very satisfying for me."

This expresses some of the appeal of the Panda Bear album. He managed to capture tiny little blissful moments (how he crafted these amazing moments I cannot fathom) and repeat them over and over with slight shifts in the surrounding musical tones or pitch or timing. It exemplifies the whole aspect of trying something a billion times until it works. However, the beauty of this concept as it relates to Person Pitch is that which moment gets it right is totally subjective. He never wipes out, not once.

2. Studio - West Coast
Studio overwhelmed me this year. Their sound is stunning, so much so that I feel like my heart is going to stop every time "Out There" climbs to the top of one of its many peaks. They're not daunting expeditions, but there's just so much euphoria to manage. I mean, it's about as frenetic as "beach music" gets. It's also one of those albums where every track has taken its turn as my favorite at some point this year. My reasoning for liking Studio so much is difficult to explain because I'm not sure I understand completely. I think they incorporate a lot of what I like about both The Tough Alliance and Panda Bear this year, so that probably counts for something. Also, like Battles, they're not afraid to let their instruments do most of the talking, but when there are lyrics they work quite well. All I know for sure is that I'm enamored with Studio and want nothing more than some new material from them in 2008. And yeah, I'm listing West Coast instead of Yearbook 1 because West Coast is the CD I own and listen to quite often. That and Yearbook 1 could technically be categorized as a compilation. That said Yearbook 1 is definitely the superior of the two. Even though "No Comply" and "Radio Edit" are really really good songs to add to the already stellar West Coast, both albums would end up at the #2 space, which was the #1 space until about a month ago, which can only mean...

1. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
3 of my top 10 albums are from Sweden this year. Something's going very right on the Scandinavian peninsula. A lot has been written about what this album does technically and the way The Field uses samples, so I'm going to talk about my personal experience with this album this year instead. As much as Person Pitch has grown on me this year FHWGS has really risen through the ranks even more significantly. After initially pretty much dismissing the album I came back to it when I began reading all of its critical acclaim. So I thought it was pretty good, but probably not top 10 material.

One thing I've begun this year with all my time in the art studio is listening to full albums again and getting good use out of my ipod. Dealing so much with weather in my work and the transitions between transforming something physical to digital to physical again, The Field helped me accelerate my thinking. Not that this album is doing exactly the same thing I am, but it's definitely related. I get a particular image in my head when I listen to this music: a vast plain of snow and ice with a bright, glowing, rising sun in the background. It's not a still image though, as there's always the sensation of speeding forward across the tundra, making the light cast on the ice shimmer with movement. Somehow this album lets me feel like I'm dreaming when I'm awake, while at the same time being so much more than background music. Its complexity demands attention, and once I gave it that attention, it definitely influenced the way I was thinking about my work. Now we're talking top 5 material.

So, then over Thanksgiving I went with my family to visit relatives in Wisconsin. I took a train to Chicago by myself the day after the holiday and with a fresh snow on the ground. It was dark when I got on the train, some ungodly hour in the AM. I knew the sun would rise while I was en route. I slumped into a seat next to a window, put The Field on my ipod, and in a half-awake daze watched my day-dream happen as close as was reasonably possible in real life. Number 1.

2007 Round-Up: Top 20 Albums (10-6)

2007-12-19T14:54:00.000-05:00

10. Chromatics - Night Drive
Lots of people seem to be picking the Italians Do It Better comp for their year-end lists, but I prefer the proper album put out by label members Chromatics. Everything you could love about the new sound of italo disco is here. There's creepy horror flick undertones and a tremendous feeling of loss and despair, but there's hope and tenderness as well. The album plays out at a cinematic pace, beginning with an opening "scene" where a woman calls her lover to say she's headed home, but going on a drive first, hence the album title. The mood reminds me quite a bit of M83's Before the Dawn Heals Us, but the ambiance here is far more sparse, and paranoid. Often the beats and guitar ticks feel like they're stalking the vocals. It helped that I kind of got into Italian horror soundtracks this year, thanks to Justice's sampling of Goblin's "Tenebre," and Night Drive operates in a similar way to those with the exception that you feel like you're getting the whole package here instead of a piece of a much larger artwork as with a film score. Despite how great it is, I was considering placing this album lower on the list, but then I gave "Let's Make this a Moment to Remember" (a truly moving song) another good listen and decided this album belongs at least in the top 10.

9. The Tough Alliance - A New Chance
Having picked up on TTA last year via a remix of "Leg 7" I expected more along those lines this year. I was surprised to find out that there are actually vocals in in all the songs, and that they actually have a back catalog consisting of a number of albums and EPs. The album A New Chance is their best work to date though. And even though I had this downloaded and liked it, I'm glad Kyle (and those crazy Swedish bloggers) kept prodding me to listen to it because it brought me back to it. In turn I deepened my appreciation for the album and it has made the leap into my listening cycles rather than becoming something that I would probably never come back to after half-listening to it maybe once. Sad, yes, but that's usually the way it goes when I'm sifting through a new chunk of downloaded material. TTA rose to the top though, as most really good stuff does, and reeled me in with their sweet pop hooks and mesmerizing instrumentation. They sound a lot like fellow countrymen Studio with more vocals and more of a pop music sensibility. Whether you choose to believe what has written about TTA and their stage antics and what their lyrics mean is totally up to you, but I greatly enjoy the ambiguity of the bands true intentions and the way myths about them get built up simply by them not doing any press or in any way overexposing their "personas." Hmm, maybe that's kind of a theme for me this year.

8. Radiohead - In Rainbows
This is the funniest thing I've ever seen Radiohead do. For a band that's had the spotlight on them for such a long time, to still be making great music and having fun is quite the feat. It had been quite a while since album number 6 was released, and I'd all but forgotten that Radiohead would ever put out new material. Then the there was a countdown which turned out to be a tremendous hoax, and everyone's hopes were dashed...until like 2 days later when the real band announced a real album that we could all have real cheap. Oh, it turned out to be pretty good too. The upbeat tracks soar with perpetual motion, and the slower songs (most of them) are some of the most sensuous and intimate in Radiohead's career. The album highlights for me are the beginning and the end. The sample of the children's cheering exclamation followed by stittering AFX-style drum machine drills in "15 Step" is one of my favorite musical moments of the year, and "Videotape" is almost inexplicably glorious. These two songs sandwich the rest of the nothing-but-quality songs that make up the rest of the album. Here Radiohead is showing that they can do guitars and they can do electronics and they can make them all fit together with songs that were written across many different years and have all of those elements function towards a cohesive whole. That's impressive. Is this the last Radiohead album? Who's to say, but it would be a helluva way to go.

7. Boys Noize - Oi Oi Oi
As hard as Justice can rock, Boys Noize can rock harder. Clearly I feel Oi Oi Oi works as an album, just not the same way Justice chose to do it this year. Oi's pacing as an album is more like a rampaging bulldozer than an up-and-down roller coaster ride, which fits perfectly with the heaving distorted synth waves and consistently pounding basslines of which it consists. A lot of people criticize Boys Noize for reusing samples and sounds from his remixes in the songs on this album, but I think he was trying to give everyone the remix compilation they wanted, but have it be in the form of totally original tracks. For example, "Let's Buy Happiness" definitely takes the signature sound from the BN remix of Teenage Bad Girl's "Cocotte," but the actual song is rather different in terms of its structure. It's probably not as good as the remix, but that was one of BN's strongest reworks, so it's just plain tough to top. The way he used the "dance dance dance" line from his remix of Shiny Toy Guns in "& Down" is an example of how well it can work though, as that becomes one of the strongest tracks on the album and bests the remix at least twice over. All this talk is so technical and responsive to what other have said though. The sound of Boys Noize is exceedingly thrilling in its own right. Avoid the hype. Follow the Noize.

6. Battles - Mirrored
As others have said, this album hasn't aged all that well this year. Had it come out this month rather than so many moons ago, it definitely would have been number 1 or 2 on this list. Having genuinely enjoyed the B, C, and TRAS EPs from Battles, I was eagerly awaiting this album's release. I was not disappointed. Yeah, they added lyrics, but they just use them as another sonic element. As someone who grew up listening to mostly instrumental electronic music, this is a stylistic decision that I appreciate. Having been weaned on vocal pitchshifting by The Knife last year, the helium-induced squeals on the likes of "Atlas" make perfect sense. There's something very cold and calculated about the way the songs are put together, very outworldly, but strangely alive. It helps hold everything together when you have as talented a drummer as Battles has (helps to have a background in Metal too). I actually like the way everyone in the band seems to get equal time here, often divvying up who's turn it is to play by single notes at a time. The interplay between bandmembers is apparent and thus we get a sense of the infrastructure of what it took to make the record. This is illustrated further by the band's two excellent (and I mean excellent) music videos this year: "Atlas" and "Tonto." I actually don't know of another band that's doing anything like this, which is pretty, ya know, unique.

2007 Round-Up: Top 20 Albums (15-11)

2007-12-19T14:40:00.000-05:00

15. Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release
Everyone likes them some SMD. Their singles were one hit after another and all those favorites are collected here, plus new gems that aren't all as big of dancefloor bangers, but are good songs in their own right. They help to round out the album too, which if anything is too concise. My version came with two bonus tracks which actually help to expand the album a little bit. "System" in particular isn't afraid to expand to double the length of most of the LP's tracks and shows SMD letting themselves go a little bit. Hopefully SMD will take more chances like this in the future as they've more than proved themselves capable of creating serious dancefloor fire with their singles.

14. Digitalism - Idealism
I'd listened to plenty of Digitalism before this album, but still focused on their very LOUD remixes above all else. Then they released "Pogo" and trumped everyone's expectations of what they were supposed to sound like. As with the SMD album, this one collects the previous singles and then adds tracks around them to flesh out an album. Most of the time these tracks work well, and surprisingly enough for an electronic album, this this rocks hard! Digitalism is a band that is full of potential. You can tell they haven't got themselves as a band all the way figured out yet, but here's hoping that they're only going to get better.

13. !!! - Myth Takes
This album is a collage of sounds churned together and flattened back out, then installed as the floor of a club. Not your typical club, no doubt, but there's definitely been some dancing going on. When !!! sticks to this formula (again, it's a whacked-out formula), everything really gels together. Tracks have a sporadic juxtaposition to one another. Some are very long and have fake endings, while others end without you even realizing it. When the frontman deviates from his whiteboy scat-rap, things get a little iffy (and on "Sweet Life" a little too much Sublime-sounding for me), but the extended psychedelic funk rock of the rest of the album more than makes up for those moments.

12. Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
I don't know if I've ever fluctuated as much on my like/dislike for an album as much as the debut from the Klaxons. I originally thought it was OK, then my liking wained tremendously, only to have a resurgence after buying it on CD. Now I've really come to appreciate the Klaxons as a very promising, very young band that put out an album that has awkward degrees of polish and roughness, which is one of the things that makes it so interesting. There's really too much to say about what this album is doing on a conceptual level to fit in all in a little blurb, but I'll sum up the core ideas in a series of words and phrases: imagination, outer space, the future, expectations of the youth of the world, the apocalypse, super powers, and desertion and isolation...to name a few.

11. Justice - †
Of course Justice is on this list. Justice rules. As Michael said on his list, Justice seems to have done the best job of crafting a rounded, balanced, and varied album of any of the new-French-housers. I still don't really like the Uffie track, but everything else on here shines. New tweaks to early singles work out extremely well for "Let there be Light," making it one of the standouts on the album, but somehow "Waters of Nazareth" lost a lot of the power it used to have. Maybe that's because it's thrown way in the back. "Stress" and "Genesis" are undeniably good and the more I listen to "New Jack" the more I like it. They may not have lived up to the hype, but no one could. Few would have gotten this close though.

2007 Round-Up: Top 20 Albums (20-16)

2007-12-18T17:54:00.000-05:00

Here's the first chunk of my favorite albums list. Notable exceptions include the Daft Punk live album which I'm categorizing as a compilation, and Body Riddle by Clark which is one of my favorites of the year except it came out last year. Oh well, onward we go.

20. Dragonette - Galore
I don't have the Chromeo album on this list, but I think Dragonette's brand of synth-pop does a lot of similar things. However, it's a little less Hall & Oats and a little more early-90s Madonna. I came to know Dragonette through a large number of truly excellent remixes of their singles, and didn't even know they had released an LP until I happened upon it in a search. The non-remixed versions of the tracks are really great songs all on their own. The lyrics are mostly about sexual promiscuity and other relationship toils driven with a strong female-empowerment streak and a sly sense of humor. It only slumps when it get a little too melodramatic, but those moments are few and far between. This album might get overshadowed by it's club-worthy remixes, but I strongly encourage listeners check out the source material.

19. Caribou - Andorra
This is a modern-day take on a 60s-era Zombies album if I ever heard one. It's certainly good though, full of lush samples and sweet serenades. The first time I listened to this album after buying it on CD it was a sunny late afternoon outside when it had just finished downpouring and was still misty outside. Everything was damp and the low sun cast rainbows of light through the mist and onto damp tree branches. It was a perfect marriage of sound and sorroundings. Andorra has never sounded as good to me as it did that first time, but it is able to remind me of that lovely experience everytime I put it on. I miss the "Lord Leopard" moments of the last LP, but this one does enough different things that are good that I suppose I'll let it slide.

18. M83 - Digital Shades Vol. 1
Even if this is isn't a proper follow-up to Before the Dawn Heals Us it's a fantastic deviation into more all-out ambience that the official LPs only touch on here and there. Compared to some of the other critically touted ambient music released this year, like the new Stars of the Lid, this digital-only release from M83 is quite accessible and varied in its sounds. There are even some vocals in there. Sounds are awash in one another, each overtaking the next in waves. There's a little bit of M83's trademark shoegazery going on here, but it's far from being a "noisy" album. If nothing else, I am now really excited for the next proper M83 album which is due early in 2008.

17. Pantha du Prince - This Bliss
There was a point in time this year where I looked at the music I was listening to and noticed how devoid it was of techno. After a quick look around to see what techno people seemed to like, I found this album by Pantha du Prince. It turned out to be the perfect perscription for my techno-less woes and also a nice break from the jittery blog house atmosphere in which I had encased myself. This Bliss is a serene listen. It hits the baselines, but doesn't flaunt them in your face. The melodies are filled with synth bursts and bell chimes, making the tracks glide along in perpetual motion. I'll be listening to this way after the latest blogtastic single has found its way to the mp3 graveyard.

16. Dungen - Tio Bitar
Dungen have been kind of unsung heroes for me ever since Ta Det Lugnt, and this year's follow-up to that record was unfortunately met with some mediocre critical reviews. After initially liking Tio Bitar quite a bit, I started to believe what the critics were saying, basically that this album was less exciting and more boring than Ta Det Lugnt. Time went by and I came back to it though. Now I think it might even be better than the last album. Yeah it's quieter in a lot of places, but it's not less interesting when it gets quieter. In fact it's enthralling and one of the few straight-up rock albums I really liked this year.

2007 Round-Up (Remixers, Remixees and Can't-Wait-Fors)

2007-12-18T00:40:00.000-05:00

Ah remixes; music's candy. For artists to be in the running for the remix categories I had to be able to cite more than one stellar remix that they were involved with this year or in general considered the phrase: "he/she/they really had some good remixes this year" when seeing the band name. I'm saving snippets and blurbs for the tracks and albums posts. Forthcoming is a full list of all my favorite songs from the year including lots of remixes inferred by the rankings in this post.

Top 20 Remix Artists

1. Soulwax
2. Erol Alkan
3. Kris Menace
4. Studio
5. MSTRKRFT
6. Fake Blood
7. The Twelves
8. SebastiAn
9. Hot Chip
10. Van She
11. A-Trak/Trizzy
12. Mercurious FM
13. Herve
14. Crookers
15. Skream
16. Burial
17. Crystal Castles
18. Villains
19. Supermayer
20. TEPR

Most Remixable Artists

1. Justice
2. Chromeo
3. Daft Punk
4. Dragonette
5. Klaxons
6. LCD Soundsystem
7. Bloc Party
8. The Black Ghosts
9. Feist
10. Michael Jackson

Can't wait for New Stuff from:

Avalanches
Gang Gang Dance
Crystal Castles
Hot Chip
Jackson
Klaxons
M83
Escort
Miami Horror
Portishead

2007 Round-Up (Part 1)

2007-12-15T18:20:00.000-05:00

I want to start out by saying that I really liked music in 2007. So many trends are coming back to things that I have always liked and expanding upon them. Daft Punk is cool again, and French house is on top. Justice is on American television. Supermayer and Boys Noize gave the German music scene a swift kick in the pants. A real "new rave" is emerging. Dubstep took over the British mainstream, providing an alternative to the standard club fare. Rock turned to electronic sensibilities to create some truly stunning new albums. Over half of the stuff I really enjoyed this year was created by artists I had not previously heard of. It's all very uplifting and makes the task of looking back and consolidating 2007 and a "year in music" all the more daunting. I'll try anyway though.

Let's get through the negative and the bizarro first so we can move on to more important matters.

That's It?
2007 saw the release of new material from big beat titans The Chemical Brothers and Underworld, along with my favorite drum n bass producer Photek, and none of them lived up to my expectations. None of them were complete failures, but they all fell short in areas that seem easily reworkable. The Chem Bros. We Are The Night simply did not push things far enough. Everything they needed is already in the record, except for the truly stunning moments that make their best songs so good. The title track has some amazing stuff going for it, but it leads nowhere. The chorus dryly repeats itself at what should be the climax of the track. Underworld's new LP faces similar shortcomings, offering a few choice standouts, but also some of the worst songs they've ever made. The there's Form And Function 2 from Photek which shows Rupert Parkes abandoning the sound that he was known for and producing "hardcore" dnb that comes off sounding like any other dnb producer ever. The songs aren't bad, but they're certainly not as entralling as I was hoping for.

'Tronica Oldies
In a strange happening, both Hybrid and The Crystal Method released remix albums of their older material. This isn't bad news but it just seems so obscure. The Hybrid album has some really cool mixes from the likes of Deadmau5 and Boy 8-Bit, but there seems to be a disconnect between the original tracks and the songs these remixers usually work with. Is Hybrid really that cool anymore? TCM chose their remix album to concentrate only on their debut LP, Vegas. While some mixes are better than others, they did manage to wrangle in a mix from MSTRKRFT so good on them. I don't know what else to say other than it's Vegas remixed and it's a little bizarro.

A No-Show
I thought we were getting a Mini-LP from Kavinsky this summer. Then it was "coming soon." Then it was gone and never mentioned again. Same for the "Deadcruiser" video. I know the guy was on tour with Daft Punk and all, but let's make a New Year's resolution to follow through on things, mmkay?

V Live
I want a new Vitalic album. A live Vitalic album does not count.

No Mo Slo Mo
There's a viable excuse for low budget-looking music videos: lack of money. But why are there so many something-happening-in-slow-motion music videos? Even though Vitalic didn't release a new album this year, we all remember his video for "Poney Pt.1" with the dogs and lasers. That was as good as it gets for slow motion music videos. The concept is dead for another couple years. It's time to try something else.

Tepid Sequels
A few returning favorites released albums this year that simply failed to excite like their previous efforts had. Each may be for its own reasons, but all share the same fate: I barely listened to them. The culprits: Arcade Fire, Go! Team, New Pornos, Fiery Furnaces, White Stripes, VHS or Beta, RJD2, Air, Bloc Party, Bjork, Arctic Monkeys, Architecture In Helsinki, Photek, and Underworld. Better luck next time, I guess.