The Blip festival in NYC from November 30 to December 3 is a huge party celebrating music created with low-tech computers and consoles. From the site:
An exploration of the chiptune idiom and its close relatives, the Blip Festival is the biggest and most comprehensive event in the history of the form, and will include daily workshops, art installations, and nightly music performances boasting an international roster larger and more far-reaching than any previous event of its kind.
Certainly sounds awesome, and there are tons of DJs and artists lined up, including Tugboat, an excellent drummer who plays along live to original chiptune music he created. We saw him at the i am 8 bit art show at E3 2005, and he was incredibly talented.
Also included is an interesting movie called "Super Mario Movie", which is created entirely on a hacked NES cart. Check it out if you are in the area.
posted by Chris on November 29, 2006 12:34 PM in Games
Remember the Left Behind game we talked about a couple weeks ago? In a stunning turn of events, it seems that the Christians are leaving behind Left Behind after all. GameDaily.biz reports that certain Christian groups are actually coming together to protest the game (what won't Christians get offended about?) in light of it's interpretation of biblical events. From the article:
In particular, Rev. Tim Simpson, a Jacksonville Presbyterian minister and president of the Christian Alliance for Progress, said that the game actually distorts biblical prophecy while promoting religious intolerance and violence at the same time. He also said that it rejects accepted biblical scholarship by misreading prophetic books like Revelation.
Considering that the bible sees eating shellfish and having gay sex equally sinful and hell-worthy, this is pretty silly. While I agree that Left Behind has some pretty negative themes, the bible is viewed by most Christians as very open to interpretation and cherry-picking. I just think it's funny the Christian Coalition thinks that enough people will actually play this game to warrant an all-out protest.
Video games being regarded as "Art" seems to serve as a sort of validation for our hobby. If games are Art, then they serve some sort of higher social significance than the standard "they allow us to improve hand-eye coordination" argument we have all heard. Certainly, gaming is big business and a serious one, but can games be "Art"? What is "art", anyway? Having a bachelor's degree in art doesn't make me an expert by any means, but I was taught that art is anything anyone takes the time to call "art". A broad definition, but it works. It's not just how pretty a game looks, or if it is made to look like a painting. Art requires the person viewing to think, to maybe change their world view through the eyes of the Artist, who is regarded as a sort of seer, someone who can visualize and filter the world in ways we cannot.
We here at The Weekly Geek think that video games are the very definition of Art. Hit the jump for our Top Five Games As Art lists!
Make sure you remember where you were the moment you learned that Sexualcabinetry began his weekly column on the Weekly Geek, The Mind Boggleth, because in 30 years, it will come up in conversation much like Kennedy's assassination, only somehow better. This week, he examines that creepy Burger King and his latest foray into video games on the now defunct (and wip3d) X-Box 360. The views expressed in this column don't necessarily reflect those of weeklygeekshow.com or the majority of the human race, for that matter, but it's about time a lone man... in a time of hypocrisy and greed... takes forth a blade... AND FIGHTS FOR WHAT'S RIGHT... COMING THIS SUMMER...
posted by Chris on November 26, 2006 10:23 AM in Games
There are reports all over the internets of super fun times had by families and friends with the Nintendo Wii during this Thanksgiving holiday. Here at Weekly Geek Headquarters we too experienced this phenomenon called "fun" as we all gathered to celebrate one more year of me not dying. In this picture you can see The Geek, White Mage, me and Caspian milking a cow in Rayman Raving Rabbids. Lots of grunting and ARRRGH-ing and laughing happened. Rayman is crazy fun multiplayer, though the majority of mini games tend to be hot seat style, the cow milking is played with everyone at once. It's the Wii version of the Mario Party button masher, with you literally making a cow milking motion with the Wii remote and Nunchuk as fast as you possibly can. As you can see in exhibit A: the results are clear. The Wii will make you and your friends look like idiots, but it will be the most fun you've had all week.
We then played some Wii sports, including a very long 9 holes of golf. The entire time we were standing up, having fun, laughing, eating chips, socializing with people not currently playing and accidentally smacking each other in the elbows (thanks, White Mage). Is the Wii going to be relegated to holidays and gatherings? Only to be pulled out and dusted off when friends come over, much like it's oft-ridiculed brother the Gamecube? Maybe. I believe Nintendo is capable of creating games that make the system worthwhile year-round, but at this point there is still the possibility of Gamecubeitis, where every three months or so a new great game is released, we play it for a month and then wait for the next one. As far as party systems go, the Wii wins hands down. Even just Wii Sports is worth the price of admission. It will be hard to have people over in the future and not play Wii Sports. Fun times are being had by people. You should participate. If you don't already have one, go pick up a Wii.
Overview: Since we first heard of the Wii (or "Revolution" in those days. Ahhh, those days) Ubisoft has praised Nintendo for creating a developer's dream system. They went nuts; developing games exclusively for the console, including a new Rayman title - this time breaking away from the platform norm and focusing on Wario Ware-style minigames. The thing that set the game apart from the multitude of copycat minigame titles, however, was the art style. Rayman Raving Rabbids features insane looking rabbit... things... with beady eyes, no nose and two teeth. Completely creepy and extremely hilarious, the Rabbids won me over instantly. I knew that any game being created by a developer so completely ecstatic to actually develop had to be worthwhile. Being one of almost 30 games at the Wii launch, is Rayman Raving Rabbids doomed for the Best Buy discount bin? Or will it get noticed by the drooling masses and sell like Wii-disk shaped hotcakes? Click past the jump for my full review. And hotcakes.
posted by Mike on November 24, 2006 5:07 PM in Music
Sorry for the one day delay here, but we’re back to the good ol’ 80s series after a brief thanksgiving holiday. So pull your collective belts tighter and get ready to stuff some yummy music in after all that turkey and stuffin’
Our second classic nineteen hundred and eighties album is a record by who I like to refer to as “The Beatles of the 80s.” Smart pop rock with innovative hooks, evocative lyrical lines, and superb orchestration. The genius of Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding (XTC’s founders) clashed in a hard, tumultuous rumble with the lush, glossy production style of 70s Prog-Freak Todd Rundgren on Skylarking.
The result was one of absolute discontent for XTC. Rundgren and Partridge grappled radically over the sounds on the record and the overall concept of the finished product. But this struggle is ultimately what made XTC’s brilliance more immediate and apparent to the listener. English Settlement and Black Sea only hinted at accomplished sounds on Skylarking.
How the songs blend so seamlessly on this one is just incredible. The opening medley of “Summer’s Cauldron/Grass” automatically earns your trust and from then on, it’s like the second coming of Abbey Road. “Earn enough for us” and “Another Satellite” are two more gems just familiar enough and just experimental enough to work.
The record ends with the most controversial song- a song that was one of the first outright Atheist anthems. The Christian community lashed out at the single “Dear God,” but to any educated person, the song comes off more as an ultimatum to the people that fight over religion and make the world a horrible place for everyone. Given the right-wing power in the U.S. currently and the radical Islamic terrorism in various places, the song is very resonant 20 years after its release.
posted by Chris on November 20, 2006 6:42 PM in Podcast
It's the big Wii show! [Insert witty use of the word "Wii" here]. In this episode, The Geek and Frodo discuss the Wii launch, the anxiousness of waiting in line, line camping and their initial impressions. Frodo rants about Zelda and a good time is had by all. Have some notes!
posted by Chris on November 20, 2006 9:48 AM in Rant
Editorial Note: This was written at 5 hours into the game. For more recent impressions, see bottom of page. It's the same damn game you've been playing for years. Boy with pointy ears has to rescue princess with pointy ears from dude who looks like a pig. Zelda is a tried and true formula, and Zelda Twilight Princess was supposed to be the best yet in the series. Indeed, many review sites gave the game perfect or near-perfect scores. I want you all to know that I am basically the biggest Nintendo fanboy there is. I am a Nintendo apologist and I freely admit that. I also want you to know that so far I do not like the Wii and more specifically, I think Zelda Twilight Princess sucks. There, I said it. Phew. Feels goooooood to say it.
Let's get right to my reasoning, shall we?
The Graphics. I am the first person in the room to say that graphics don't matter. As a matter of fact, that was the title of last week's podcast. Somehow Nintendo has convinced me otherwise. The graphics for Twilight Princess aren't even Gamecube quality. At times they are N64 quality, and that's just inexcusable. Maybe I have been playing Final Fantasy 12, Okami and Shadow of the Colossus too much, but Zelda seems to strive to be the perfect combination of those three, and failing miserably. There are jaggies. Hair looks like plastic. The character design is ugly and miserable. In fact, there is a supreme lack of design in the game. Wind Waker was a beautifully crafted masterpiece, everything flowed together and was a joy to just look at. Twilight Princess, in the push to make Zelda more "mature" has lost any style whatsoever for a crappy pseudo-realistic look. Not only that, but there are clipping errors everywhere in the game. Link's sword passed through his clothes and Epona's bridle disappears in the freaking cutscenes. Too often I look at the cutscenes and say to myself: "THAT is what you went with?! THAT was the cutscene you chose?!" Even the intro is so lacking style and interest, it makes me want to weep. Look. The Gamecube is more powerful than the PS2 in graphical power. So why, then, does Final Fantasy 12 look so freaking amazing and Zelda look like it was made 6 years ago? It's intolerable. NEXT.
Use of the Wii Remote. Why, Nintendo? Why are you making me jiggle my controller to swing my sword? Sometimes it doesn't even work. I have died in this game multiple times because I wasn't able to control my character. This just doesn't happen in a Miyamoto game. Miyamoto games are KNOWN for their excellent and tight play control. As a matter of fact, I find it very hard to believe that he even signed off on this game. The Wii controls feel tacked on and lazy. They add nothing to the experience or immersion and just come off as awkward and frustrating. The speaker in the Wii remote is annoying and chintzy, and using the pointer in the game is a gimmick. An annoying gimmick because very damn time you move the pointer across the screen that damn fairy makes chiming noises. EVERY TIME. I turned it off. It was giving me a headache. Look, I just want to play Zelda with a normal controller and know what I am doing at any given time. I don't want to be forced to play like some sort of epileptic every time I want to swing my sword. It is not fun. It is anti-fun.
Lack of Joy. One thing I always loved about Zelda games was the amount of joy I would feel playing them. Every new dungeon, every new discovery was met with a smile and a surge of joy. I haven't felt that in Twilight Princess. All I have felt is frustration and anger so far. There is a distinct lack of anything in the game, let alone secrets. Walk into a house in town, what is in there? Oh, right. Nothing. Not a pot to break, not a rupee to find, not a chest to open. Just walk through the door, wait for it to load the room, walk around the room, realize you CAN'T DO ANYTHING and then walk out. Thanks for wasting my time, Nintendo. And the music! The music is the same crappy midi on steroids we've been forced to listen to for the past 2 generations. WHAT IS SO HARD ABOUT ORCHESTRATED MUSIC, NINTENDO?! Please. Stop giving us stupid remixes and rehashes of the same damn Zelda music and compose new, original and beautiful music. I keep comparing the game to Final Fantasy 12, but it works. The game has gorgeous and memorable music. Zelda Twilight Princess's music is lazy and unimaginative. And you delayed the game for years for THIS? I want originality. I want joy. I want the feeling I had with Wind Waker, Ocarina of Time, Link to the Past and even Link's Awakening.
I want a Zelda game. This isn't it. While Nintendo is playing back in the dark ages with their lack of voice acting, good music, and original gameplay, other companies are leaving them in the dust. I'm going to go play Okami now and actually have some fun with my video game playing.
Update: Okay, after about 15 hours in, I am enjoying the game a bit more. I have gotten used to the controls (to an extent) and my initial frustration has pretty much faded away. Actual sword swiping moves instead of jiggling seems to work better, though the Wii controls still feel tacked on. I stand by my original statements about the graphics and art style, though some of the later dungeons look a bit better. So then, why make the beginning of the game so hard to get used to? My suggestion would have been to find a way to get us really really sold on the controls in the very beginning, blow us out of the water with impressive visuals and story and then go from there. Instead it only starts getting good later on in the game. Maybe most people will have the resolve I did and try to plod through the first couple hours in hope of a better experience? Who knows.
Thassright, the holidays are coming around again (seems like they do every year...) and it's time to think about what kind of crappy bag of socks Grandma is going to get you again (hint: the same crappy industrial-sized bag of socks she gave you last year). Give a good impression with your own gift giving by checking out what is offered in The Weekly Geek Store! No crappy Cafepress items here, it's all hand made art and some high quality shirts from Brunetto. To your left you can see an example, a high quality linoleum print depicting a Bob Omb pre-explosion. There is a limited quantity of items, and all are reasonably priced! We take paypal exclusively, and shipping is a breeze. I personally guarantee everything to be shipped properly, as I am the shipper. There is even a possibility you can get some of my pocket lint in your package. Excited yet? Click here to shop!
Protip: buying things from The Weekly Geek Shop makes you a better person and may actually end world hunger.
posted by Mike on November 16, 2006 6:52 PM in Music
"Putting The Days To Bed" Long Winters
The first time I heard John Roderick talk on a live radio appearance, I knew I was going to like his music. During the interview on KEXP he talked about old Seattle being ruined by ugly high-rise condos, presidents running in historical cycles from autocratic to reformers, and he even stopped between songs to point out that his sister was calling his cell phone. Poignant, Informed, Down to Earth. It definitely shows in his songwriting too, except instead of dwelling on political tirades and social commentary, Long Winters linger on the heartfelt.
Putting the Days to Bed weaves Roderick's cold Alaskan roots with the brightness of Seattle's rock scene. Evident in pop gems like "Fire Island, AK", "Teaspoon", and "Seven" is the feeling that the Long Winters never stray from strong lyrical lines and very simple arrangements. It lends very well to getting immersed in the age old stories we'll listen to over and over- falling in love, being afraid of committing, or missing someone who is gone.
All the while the music is vaguely familiar of early Counting Crows and more recent efforts by Jakob Dylan and the Wallflowers. But with crunching guitars, vibrant organs, and warm vocal passages, the common denominator with bands that made it through the 90s doesn't wear thin. In the end, the Long Winters' sound never gets old. Like candle lights they are brilliant when present, and when they fade with a slow, dying ember you remember how warm and fuzzy you felt by it.
I hereby declare that from henceforth, November 16th shall be known to gamers around the world as Shigeru Miyamoto day. Miyamoto changed the world of gaming forever and brought us to where we are now. I just happened to feel like looking him up on the good ol' Wikipedia today and noticed that it is actually his birthday. What an amazing coincidence! Anyway, share with us your love for the Shigmeister today on Shigeru Miyamoto day.
posted by Chris on November 13, 2006 7:11 PM in Podcast
Is the big push for graphics a generational thing? This week, The Geek and Frodo discuss graphical comparisons in next gen systems, the PS3 and Wii launch, song sharing with the Zune, Penny Arcade's Child's Play, home SNES game repair, Final Fantasy 12, Gitaroo Man Lives! and David Copperfield fooling stupid people.
Overview:Finally I can beat up aliens, devils and men in bee suits with my magical space guitar on the go. Koei is releasing this PSP version of the original Gitaroo Man for the Playstation 2 (a cult hit sort of rare game, you know the type), with an all-new duet mode and two extra songs. Gitaroo Man is a rhythm game along the lines of Guitar Hero, Amplitude/Frequency and DDR, with a wacky anime flavor. You trace a moving line with the analog nub (or "nubbin" as I like to call it) and press the circle button to the beat indicated. Occasionally you change to a more DDR-style mode using all of the face buttons, but the formula stays generally the same. 10 songs in all, but is this port enough to satiate your need for portable button-pushing? Is it even worth a purchase? Read on.
posted by Mike on November 8, 2006 12:01 AM in Music
Tentacle TV Heads. Lactating Breasts. Cigar Smoking Sharks. Fat Super Heroes. Body Builders. Floating Bones. A General In Drag. And My Wife Is Disgusted By It!
You wouldn't really expect this from a video by the two unassuming French buddies Air, would you? But it's there. It hardly makes any sense, yet it fits with the song's strange lyrics and pulsing drum machinations. The flowing masterpiece Talkie Walkie (put out a while back now) built their reputation further for tasteful voice manipulations and weaving standard instrumentations into electronic music. "Surfing On A Rocket" really switched their whole concept into overdrive though. Rivaled only by their fitting soundtrack contribution to the movie Virgin Suicides, this new wave in the evolution of electronica summed up by this absurd video will have people looking to France for the next queues in the pop music revolution.
Final Fantasy 12 is a huge, immersive game. In order to do a proper review, I would have to complete it in its entirety. I am not ready to do this yet. I want to spend as much time as I can with the game, tweaking characters, exploring and unlocking and experiencing everything that SquareEnix has chosen to throw at me with this newest iteration in the classic series. So, that being said, I am about 20 hours in to the game and ready to make my judgement. Get it?! LIKE THE JUDGES IN THE.... Nevermind.
Final Fantasy 12 is the first game in the Final Fantasy series that takes place in a world featured in a previous game. You'd think since the games are numbered that they would all be direct sequels of one another, but noooooo. FF12 chooses the world of Ivalice, which was in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. I spent a good 400 hours in FFTA, so needless to say I was going to enjoy FF12 by default. What is the most interesting thing about FF12 to me is that most of the staff that usually works on FF games at Squeenix has left. The team that made FFTA made FF12, and it shows. The game is absolutely amazing. Only 20 hours in and it is already my favorite Final Fantasy (yes, even over 9, which I am obsessed with). It combines the best elements of Final Fantasy 11, Tactics Advance, 10 and 6 and somehow makes it into an even better game. Read past the jump for the real reason why I am so nuts over Final Fantasy 12.
posted by Chris on November 7, 2006 8:15 AM in Podcast
This week we bring you Classic Weekly Geek with our August 27, 2003 show. As some of you may know, we used to be on KCWU FM in Ellensburg, WA. Listening to this old show you can notice the differences in our format from then to now, even down to voice differences, as this was around the time I reached puberty. Oh, I'm kidding. I never reached puberty.
This episode has The Geek and Frodo talking about how excited they are to be interviewing Rikki Simons from Invader Zim! Then they interview Rikki Simons from Invader Zim! Also included is all the original commercials, concert calendars and weather reports from the broadcast. Fun times.
Listen to the show and travel back in time! OOOoOoOOOo!!!!! *waves hands in air* Enjoy, and join us next week for a brand new show with relevant and current geek news and information!
posted by Mike on November 1, 2006 7:16 PM in Music
"Bring Me the Workhorse" My Brightest Diamond
Every once in a while you stumble on an musician that you are excited about, but you're not entirely certain whether you just like it because the artist's influences are comfortably familiar to you, or if this person brings an individuality to your listening creature comforts. Shara Worden, My Brightest Diamond's mastermind and long time Sufjan Stevens live band member, immediately brings to mind Bjork and P.J. Harvey on her solo debut. In the same instant though, Worden's musical background differentiates her.
The most refreshing thing about Shara's approach to her music is that the instrumentation is hardly an afterthought. Having been classically trained in her college years, Worden's fantastic guitar and piano work serve to strengthen the web she weaves to catch new listeners. But instead of using her instrumental ability gaudily, she chooses to hide it in a complex fog that let's her vocals soar in the clear air above.
Similar in feeling to the late Jeff Buckley's Grace, her earnest, yearning lyrical patterns give Bring Me the Workhorse a heavy feel. Lead off "Something of An End" leads you into the dry, blinding lights of "Golden Star" and Worden makes you believe her lyrics that "everything has come undone/the distance between us." Just when you feel the gravity of the album could be overbearing the song "Freak Out" slaps you in the face with Sonic Youth-like dissonance and is a good change of pace.
The highlight of Bring Me the Workhorse lies in the churning cello-laced "Disappear." Recalling the beauty of Portishead's equally orchestrated and electronic approach, "Disappear" tells of a person tired of the pitfalls of modern life and warning friends not to be "too shocked" when she leaves to escape it all.
The title track closer uses a dirty Rhodes piano to show how methodically Worden has pieced together the songs on Bring Me the Workhorse and instead of a bitter aftertaste of feeling she copied her predecessors, you're left with a sweet amalgamate of blended muses turned into something very unique.
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Remember the Left Behind game we talked about a couple weeks ago? In a stunning turn of events, it seems that the Christians are leaving behind Left Behind after all. 
There are reports all over the internets of super fun times had by families and friends with the Nintendo Wii during this Thanksgiving holiday. Here at Weekly Geek Headquarters we too experienced this phenomenon called "fun" as we all gathered to celebrate one more year of me not dying. In this picture you can see The Geek, White Mage, me and Caspian milking a cow in Rayman Raving Rabbids. Lots of grunting and ARRRGH-ing and laughing happened. Rayman is crazy fun multiplayer, though the majority of mini games tend to be hot seat style, the cow milking is played with everyone at once. It's the Wii version of the Mario Party button masher, with you literally making a cow milking motion with the Wii remote and Nunchuk as fast as you possibly can. As you can see in exhibit A: the results are clear. The Wii will make you and your friends look like idiots, but it will be the most fun you've had all week. 
Overview: Since we first heard of the Wii (or "Revolution" in those days. Ahhh, those days) Ubisoft has praised Nintendo for creating a developer's dream system. They went nuts; developing games exclusively for the console, including a new Rayman title - this time breaking away from the platform norm and focusing on Wario Ware-style minigames. The thing that set the game apart from the multitude of copycat minigame titles, however, was the art style. Rayman Raving Rabbids features insane looking rabbit... things... with beady eyes, no nose and two teeth. Completely creepy and extremely hilarious, the Rabbids won me over instantly. I knew that any game being created by a developer so completely ecstatic to actually develop had to be worthwhile. Being one of almost 30 games at the Wii launch, is Rayman Raving Rabbids doomed for the Best Buy discount bin? Or will it get noticed by the drooling masses and sell like Wii-disk shaped hotcakes? Click past the jump for my full review. And hotcakes.
It's the same damn game you've been playing for years. Boy with pointy ears has to rescue princess with pointy ears from dude who looks like a pig. Zelda is a tried and true formula, and Zelda Twilight Princess was supposed to be the best yet in the series. Indeed, many review sites gave the game perfect or near-perfect scores. I want you all to know that I am basically the biggest Nintendo fanboy there is. I am a Nintendo apologist and I freely admit that. I also want you to know that so far I do not like the Wii and more specifically, I think Zelda Twilight Princess sucks. There, I said it. Phew. Feels goooooood to say it. 
I hereby declare that from henceforth, November 16th shall be known to gamers around the world as Shigeru Miyamoto day. Miyamoto changed the world of gaming forever and brought us to where we are now. I just happened to feel like looking him up on the good ol' 
Final Fantasy 12 is a huge, immersive game. In order to do a proper review, I would have to complete it in its entirety. I am not ready to do this yet. I want to spend as much time as I can with the game, tweaking characters, exploring and unlocking and experiencing everything that SquareEnix has chosen to throw at me with this newest iteration in the classic series. So, that being said, I am about 20 hours in to the game and ready to make my judgement. Get it?! LIKE THE JUDGES IN THE.... Nevermind.
Here's my halloween costume, a zombie from Half Life 2 complete with paper mache headcrab. What was yours?