After feeling that women were somewhat underrepresented in my music collection, my mistress Fate, in her wisdom, has placed a veritable bevy of lady-singers into my paint-stained hands! Aside from Beth Gibbons on Portishead's newest, I've been introduced to Ruth Skipper and Hannah Miller, also monikiered as "Chesty LaRue" and "Cruella de Mill".
Both of these ladies take up vox in two separate bands, Modernaire and The Moulettes. While both very good, both bands run the same vein through two different genres of music; Moderanire are the rather arty electro outfit (along with a chap named "Oscar Wildestyle"), and The Moulettes are all fiddles and oboes, and are leaning towards more traditional folk music.
Moulettes and Modernaire both are very Gothic, in the old English sense of the word. Charlotte Bronte, but with a more viciously playful side, and a not-so-subtle suggestion of murderous intent. "Bloodshed in the Woodshed" for Modernaire lists a number of gruesome ways to get dead in zombie-chant, and the chorus is delivered with yearning laced with scorn. Hell hath no fury, and all that. Other tracks showcase the duo's dueling harmonies, my favorite being the aggressively affectionate "Distraction".
The Moulettes have many of these themes, but they're tamed or sedated entirely in lieu of more subtle tales of depravity, the the oft-scorned ladies label themselves. "Cannibal Song" flourishes with snatches of violins and oboes, and with lyrical content of jealously and castration, this depravity takes on a Penny-Dreadful aspect of vicissitude.
Devil of Mine, however, is quite simply the best song I have had the pleasure of hearing in a good long time. It is one of those songs that conjures all manner of images, of candlelit stonework and dirty ballgowns. The two girl's vocal ability has an awful lot to account for, but this song really cements the violin as the Devil's instrument in my ears. Fucking wonderful, it is.
Modernaire - Myspace, album available for a fiver
The Moulettes - Myspace page, if someone can enlighten me as to where to get their music, I would be very grateful indeed.
S/Cooke
Thursday 14 August 2008
Thursday 31 July 2008
Rainy-Day Games
The Internet is a fickle mistress, and I imagine anyone who is looking to make money on this series of tubes will have no doubt realised this, and the record and film industries know this far too well. This is because the ones who traditionally make money from their forms of entertainment are the distributors, and the Internet undermines them quite fantastically. The Internet is an indie paradise because it makes it easy and cheap for both parties to send and receive their media, without the need for any third party.
The above has been well-documented, and is no revelation. But while music and film have had their indie success-stories sung on and off the Internet, indie games have not had the same amount of attention, and rightly so: there are very few indie games worthy of this praise. Over the last few years, low budget hits such as Introversion's back catalogue (Uplink, Darwinia, DEFCON) have all been for sale, and therefore void their validity as an indie game, and the browser-games, as championed by Orsinal and their peers, but these are variations on a theme, and a theme that originated decades ago.
Introversion call themselves the "Last of the Bedroom Programmers". They may well be, with the videogame industry being at it's technological high-water mark at the moment, and the amount of man-power to produce something akin to the thousand-strong GTA4 team is unmatchable by the lonesome amateur programmer.
There have been success stories, of course, such as Counter-Strike, quickly snapped up by Valve, as was the (once free to play) Garry's Mod, and hundreds of others buried in the obscurity of riding on the back of commercial releases, but as far as I can tell, there has been only one game worthy of mention that was created from the ground-up, and it is called Dwarf Fortress, by Toady One of Bay 12 games.
The title will be an immediate turn-off. "Dwarf Fortress" sounds like fantasy wank, and it very much is fantasy wank. It is also ASCII-text generated, which is going to be another turn-off. It looks, at it's very finest, like this:
But Dwarf Fortress is the future of videogaming. It is a leap that will fundamentally change the way videogames are made, or, it should be. It is the first gun, crudely made from a section of pipe and gunpowder, when everyone else is using bows. While the subject matter may be fantasy wank, the promise and potential lie within the way it makes the subject matter. Dwarf Fortress generates a world unique to the player (complete with geology, erosion, and climate), with two thousand years of events and history, and this is before you start messing with the generation controls. The end result is drama. Unscripted, and unwritten, but instead generated.
Dwarf Fortress really requires you to be a like a child with an empty box. To use your imagination to fill in the blanks, and to piece together what happens between the entries in the "Legends" screen. Toady One, the sole developer, does such while experimenting with world generation with baby-snatching enabled, and comes up with the following little tale.
"Kivish Soarcrafted the dwarf was abducted at age 3 and moved to the Cruel Tower in Felldweller. He became a farmer and married Olin Roofchanced, another abductee, and eventually joined the guard. The humans and goblins were fighting a lot at this time, and the demon and many goblins were slain in the wars, as well as Kivish's wife. Kivish then personally led four defenses against the human onslaughts on the dark tower, and by the year 33 there were only 11 defenders left. In the year 34, only 4 defenders remained, and Kivish became the leader of the goblin civilization, such as it was. More attacks followed, and in the year 35, Kivish stood alone against twenty four human attackers, defending Felldweller and a goblin baby that had been born in 33, the only other resident. Kivish was victorious, but the dwarves then launched an assault on Felldweller, and Kivish faced 22 dwarves in the Forest of Dashing outside Felldweller, killing 4 of his own kind before being fatally shot by a crossbow bolt. Although the dwarves were victorious on the field, the humans slipped in and installed a new leader in Felldweller, who lived alone with the goblin child, Amxu Blottedvile, for a year before more humans decided to move in, establishing a temple to Odel the goddess of truth called the Truthful Temple in 37 and a mead hall called the Muscular Voice in 54. The original human city declared war on the dwarves after this and was eventually conquered, and the humans there died out over fifty years, with dwarven populations established in two mountain fortresses and the formerly human town. Felldweller, now a human-populated dark tower, never went to war again, but without support from the original human city, the humans left there eventually died out. I'll have to check out exactly what happened there."
S/Cooke
Dwarf Fortress is still in production, and can be downloaded for free from Bay 12 games. Also, google "Boatmurdered" for an in-depth exploration of an average game of DF.
The above has been well-documented, and is no revelation. But while music and film have had their indie success-stories sung on and off the Internet, indie games have not had the same amount of attention, and rightly so: there are very few indie games worthy of this praise. Over the last few years, low budget hits such as Introversion's back catalogue (Uplink, Darwinia, DEFCON) have all been for sale, and therefore void their validity as an indie game, and the browser-games, as championed by Orsinal and their peers, but these are variations on a theme, and a theme that originated decades ago.
Introversion call themselves the "Last of the Bedroom Programmers". They may well be, with the videogame industry being at it's technological high-water mark at the moment, and the amount of man-power to produce something akin to the thousand-strong GTA4 team is unmatchable by the lonesome amateur programmer.
There have been success stories, of course, such as Counter-Strike, quickly snapped up by Valve, as was the (once free to play) Garry's Mod, and hundreds of others buried in the obscurity of riding on the back of commercial releases, but as far as I can tell, there has been only one game worthy of mention that was created from the ground-up, and it is called Dwarf Fortress, by Toady One of Bay 12 games.
The title will be an immediate turn-off. "Dwarf Fortress" sounds like fantasy wank, and it very much is fantasy wank. It is also ASCII-text generated, which is going to be another turn-off. It looks, at it's very finest, like this:
But Dwarf Fortress is the future of videogaming. It is a leap that will fundamentally change the way videogames are made, or, it should be. It is the first gun, crudely made from a section of pipe and gunpowder, when everyone else is using bows. While the subject matter may be fantasy wank, the promise and potential lie within the way it makes the subject matter. Dwarf Fortress generates a world unique to the player (complete with geology, erosion, and climate), with two thousand years of events and history, and this is before you start messing with the generation controls. The end result is drama. Unscripted, and unwritten, but instead generated.
Dwarf Fortress really requires you to be a like a child with an empty box. To use your imagination to fill in the blanks, and to piece together what happens between the entries in the "Legends" screen. Toady One, the sole developer, does such while experimenting with world generation with baby-snatching enabled, and comes up with the following little tale.
"Kivish Soarcrafted the dwarf was abducted at age 3 and moved to the Cruel Tower in Felldweller. He became a farmer and married Olin Roofchanced, another abductee, and eventually joined the guard. The humans and goblins were fighting a lot at this time, and the demon and many goblins were slain in the wars, as well as Kivish's wife. Kivish then personally led four defenses against the human onslaughts on the dark tower, and by the year 33 there were only 11 defenders left. In the year 34, only 4 defenders remained, and Kivish became the leader of the goblin civilization, such as it was. More attacks followed, and in the year 35, Kivish stood alone against twenty four human attackers, defending Felldweller and a goblin baby that had been born in 33, the only other resident. Kivish was victorious, but the dwarves then launched an assault on Felldweller, and Kivish faced 22 dwarves in the Forest of Dashing outside Felldweller, killing 4 of his own kind before being fatally shot by a crossbow bolt. Although the dwarves were victorious on the field, the humans slipped in and installed a new leader in Felldweller, who lived alone with the goblin child, Amxu Blottedvile, for a year before more humans decided to move in, establishing a temple to Odel the goddess of truth called the Truthful Temple in 37 and a mead hall called the Muscular Voice in 54. The original human city declared war on the dwarves after this and was eventually conquered, and the humans there died out over fifty years, with dwarven populations established in two mountain fortresses and the formerly human town. Felldweller, now a human-populated dark tower, never went to war again, but without support from the original human city, the humans left there eventually died out. I'll have to check out exactly what happened there."
S/Cooke
Dwarf Fortress is still in production, and can be downloaded for free from Bay 12 games. Also, google "Boatmurdered" for an in-depth exploration of an average game of DF.
Sunday 15 June 2008
Money To Burn
There's something very enjoyable about buying CDs. All these downloads and ripped music removes some of the glamour associated with the format: the new, unscratched case, the artwork, the little book inside the cover. You don't get these with a download. I imagine the transition from Vinyl to CDs sparked much of the same feeling in those accustomed to it, the physical grooves in the LP allow you to see your music.
One of these CDs was The National's Boxer
My New Favorite Band, The National are really nothing special. Meaning, I can't pick out anything unique or exciting about them. But, they endear themselves to me greatly. Casual lethargy, objectivity from someone suffering from nothing more than American east coast angst. Berninger barely sings, the music is inoffensive and complementary, the lyrics subtle and often mundane. And I like them, very much.
The other was †, from Justice. While D.A.N.C.E got far too much airplay, and you should be sick to death of it, the rest of the album is of a special kind of quality: the first track Genesis, aside from continuing to lay in Christian tones in the Crucifix-moniker'd debut, starts pace which continues between the tracks. The tracks themselves are like a series of odd, but congruent visitors; The Phantom duo is a lithe boxer, with fast needle jabs of modulated underground-robot-dance-choirs, followed by the tectonic bass-punches of Pt. II, while Stress accosts, and then clubs you with a baton, stealing the television on the way out. They never outstay their welcome, either, which is unusual for what should come under "dance" music.
While (the) other French Electro-House Music does the opposite, staying simple, † manages to come across as the hyperactive youngster, an interesting deformity from inbreeding, but still very much part of the family. On an unrelated note, the album would be far smoother without D.A.N.C.E and The Party, which clog the tubes, so to speak.
The Video to Stress is actually very good also:
S/Cooke
One of these CDs was The National's Boxer
My New Favorite Band, The National are really nothing special. Meaning, I can't pick out anything unique or exciting about them. But, they endear themselves to me greatly. Casual lethargy, objectivity from someone suffering from nothing more than American east coast angst. Berninger barely sings, the music is inoffensive and complementary, the lyrics subtle and often mundane. And I like them, very much.
The other was †, from Justice. While D.A.N.C.E got far too much airplay, and you should be sick to death of it, the rest of the album is of a special kind of quality: the first track Genesis, aside from continuing to lay in Christian tones in the Crucifix-moniker'd debut, starts pace which continues between the tracks. The tracks themselves are like a series of odd, but congruent visitors; The Phantom duo is a lithe boxer, with fast needle jabs of modulated underground-robot-dance-choirs, followed by the tectonic bass-punches of Pt. II, while Stress accosts, and then clubs you with a baton, stealing the television on the way out. They never outstay their welcome, either, which is unusual for what should come under "dance" music.
While (the) other French Electro-House Music does the opposite, staying simple, † manages to come across as the hyperactive youngster, an interesting deformity from inbreeding, but still very much part of the family. On an unrelated note, the album would be far smoother without D.A.N.C.E and The Party, which clog the tubes, so to speak.
The Video to Stress is actually very good also:
S/Cooke
Thursday 10 April 2008
Take-Away
Not having a computer for this term of university is wonderful. I'd advise trying it sometime. However, if you do, find yourself
La Blogotheque
Especially Les Concerts a Emporter (the Take-Away shows). The National cutting down their sound to two guitars, vox and a table, The Guillemots in an alley in Paris, Grizzly Bear a cappella The Knife through the streets. Very enjoyable, very enjoyable indeed.
S/Cooke
La Blogotheque
Especially Les Concerts a Emporter (the Take-Away shows). The National cutting down their sound to two guitars, vox and a table, The Guillemots in an alley in Paris, Grizzly Bear a cappella The Knife through the streets. Very enjoyable, very enjoyable indeed.
S/Cooke
Sunday 16 March 2008
Zeig! Heil!
This post is about the demonised Hitler and his Nazi party.
I will not dispute that Hitler was a bad man. He was an awful artist, a racist, and a nationalist. But, because he is dead, and because he was the (often uninvolved) figurehead of the Nazi party, he is methodically demonised. This is extended to the Nazi party, too, and no one puts up any defence, and even happily swallows such inaccuracies.
Any written word on the subject of the Second World War will no be saturated with words with institutionally altered meanings. "Fascism", even as an ideology, has been perpetually altered by the European governments of the first half of the 20th century; you would be surprised how many people agree with authoritarian, socio-collectivistic policy until the word "Fascism" is mentioned. "National-Socialism" also holds these pejorative connotations, when the 25-Point Agenda tipped the balance heavily onto Nationalism, and in which Drexler was not in power of his created Nazi party.
Bearing the inevitable connotations in mind: Hitler is a symbol of all evil in the west. The Pink Swastika is a criticism of Nazism by calling Hitler and his cabinet gay, and investigating a link between Islam and the Nazis (then blaming homosexuality for all evil in the world). Evidently, they don't seem to see the irony. Most of the accusations of Hitler's sexual deviancy are based on biased evidence: That Hitler was a Urophile comes from Otto Strasser, a political opponent of Hitler; that Hitler was gay is taken from a convicted fraudster.
On the Subject, the Annotated Pink Swastika (http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Barracks/8706/) is a fantastic read if you'd like a laugh.
Take A.J.P. Taylor's Origins of the Second World War. While Hitler is not unaccountable for the war to the extent proposed, the lack of previous research (and the outcry following the book) shows how society can have a near-unanimous opinion on something they perceive as true, which is in fact either inaccurate or false.
The reason is the basis of the argument of "Reductio ad Hitlerum", or Godwin's law. You can't use analogy to the Nazis to "win", because it doesn't work like that. Think about what you know, and try to avoid sacrificing reason to the changeling of "public opinion", because it does not imply validity.
S/Cooke
I will not dispute that Hitler was a bad man. He was an awful artist, a racist, and a nationalist. But, because he is dead, and because he was the (often uninvolved) figurehead of the Nazi party, he is methodically demonised. This is extended to the Nazi party, too, and no one puts up any defence, and even happily swallows such inaccuracies.
Any written word on the subject of the Second World War will no be saturated with words with institutionally altered meanings. "Fascism", even as an ideology, has been perpetually altered by the European governments of the first half of the 20th century; you would be surprised how many people agree with authoritarian, socio-collectivistic policy until the word "Fascism" is mentioned. "National-Socialism" also holds these pejorative connotations, when the 25-Point Agenda tipped the balance heavily onto Nationalism, and in which Drexler was not in power of his created Nazi party.
Bearing the inevitable connotations in mind: Hitler is a symbol of all evil in the west. The Pink Swastika is a criticism of Nazism by calling Hitler and his cabinet gay, and investigating a link between Islam and the Nazis (then blaming homosexuality for all evil in the world). Evidently, they don't seem to see the irony. Most of the accusations of Hitler's sexual deviancy are based on biased evidence: That Hitler was a Urophile comes from Otto Strasser, a political opponent of Hitler; that Hitler was gay is taken from a convicted fraudster.
On the Subject, the Annotated Pink Swastika (http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Barracks/8706/) is a fantastic read if you'd like a laugh.
Take A.J.P. Taylor's Origins of the Second World War. While Hitler is not unaccountable for the war to the extent proposed, the lack of previous research (and the outcry following the book) shows how society can have a near-unanimous opinion on something they perceive as true, which is in fact either inaccurate or false.
The reason is the basis of the argument of "Reductio ad Hitlerum", or Godwin's law. You can't use analogy to the Nazis to "win", because it doesn't work like that. Think about what you know, and try to avoid sacrificing reason to the changeling of "public opinion", because it does not imply validity.
S/Cooke
Saturday 8 March 2008
I was supposed to be getting an early night tonight.
It is now 3am, and I have stayed up reading Oliver Sacks' "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat", and I literally forgot about the passage of time. It has been a long time since a book has done this to me, and the first time a work of non-fiction has.
The book consists of short case studies, each focusing on a patient and their illness; the Korsakoff's-inflicted Mariner, the disembodied woman who lost the feeling of her body, and the eponymous man who "forgot" how to recognise faces. It tries to pave a path towards the secrets of the human brain, but the roads are not connected to each other, or anything else. It has left me wanting to know.
But, the book is a fantastic read. Sacks can write very well indeed, and can evocate the cases of his patients with a kind empathy. I'm reading it for the Philosophy, however, and it's full of that, too.
I'll get back to musing on the subject of identity, then...
It is now 3am, and I have stayed up reading Oliver Sacks' "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat", and I literally forgot about the passage of time. It has been a long time since a book has done this to me, and the first time a work of non-fiction has.
The book consists of short case studies, each focusing on a patient and their illness; the Korsakoff's-inflicted Mariner, the disembodied woman who lost the feeling of her body, and the eponymous man who "forgot" how to recognise faces. It tries to pave a path towards the secrets of the human brain, but the roads are not connected to each other, or anything else. It has left me wanting to know.
But, the book is a fantastic read. Sacks can write very well indeed, and can evocate the cases of his patients with a kind empathy. I'm reading it for the Philosophy, however, and it's full of that, too.
I'll get back to musing on the subject of identity, then...
Friday 7 March 2008
"Immanuel Kant issues the Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics with a statement that outlines Metaphysics with a degree of poetic accuracy: “For the discovery of a science itself”. What follows is Kant’s attempt to qualify this statement with the establishment of his own theory, which garners threads from the philosophical schools of rationalism and empiricism, towards the tapestry that finishes as his Prolegomena."
I quite like Kant, and the above is very true.
S/Cooke
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