Bitmaster hyper-god Tettix (formerly Cicada, AKA Judson Cowan) is currently rockin' my iPhone, it's the perfect music for sitting on the bus and staring out into space. You may be familiar with this chiptune artist already, as his track "Earth's Assault on the Central AI" is currently being used as the Weekly Geek Theme song. I've found in my nerdy search of nostalgic beats that the quality of chiptune artists varies as much as the quality of old school NES games, they are all fun in their own right, but only a few are true classics. Tettix has skills. Mad skills.
He's even created tracks for Nike, Diesel and Cartoon Network. But with his albums Technology Crisis I and II he has painted a landscape for a non-existent game from the 80's. His albums take on their own narrative depending on your interpretation, much like an artist like Sigur Ros, Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky. He perfectly encapsulates what made NES music classic: catchy melodies, cohesive flow and a striking sense of mood. The best part? He has offered all his tracks online, gratis. There's even a sweet album of Metroid covers.
I'd love to commission him to do a real theme song some day. And hey! Check this out, he's also a great graphic designer. High fives all around.
I found out about Art of Noise today, just moments ago. After watching this video, they remind me of a cross between The Knife and Justice. It's hard to believe that this song was originally released in 1987. When I realized Trevor Horn was involved, my disbelief was suspended somewhat, but I'm still inclined to agree with my friend John, who introduced me to the song, that they were creating music way ahead of their time. As for the video, I have no clue as to why they are hacking at a grand piano with chainsaws, electric sanders, and what appears to be a lamp stand, among other things, but it seems to go with the song somehow. Perhaps the piano was too grand to exist?
Some music we associate with a certain nostalgic era in our lives, and for the longest time, I thought The Get Up Kids would fall in that category for me. Most music I reminisce about blankly after 5 years is unceremoniously banished from my music collection never to be seen again. But On A Wire, the 2002 record from the aforementioned post-punk group has endured quiet nicely.
"Overdue" with its sincerity and mellow, bittersweet chorus harmonies opens the album with a certain gravity that's hard to deny a place in your heart. Along with the odd video that accompanies it, The Get Up Kids have ridden the angry wave of my fickle memories and come out on the other side almost better than they looked going in.
Listening now, I believe James Mercer must've heard this record quite a few times while writing the calmer cuts on The Shins' albums - even if he'll never admit it to anyone.
posted by Chris on April 21, 2008 1:59 PM in Music
Being into indie rock is dangerous territory. You're often called elitist even though everyone knows you just have better taste than everyone else. I read Pitchfork often, and while I don't always (or usually at all) agree with their album reviews, I decided to give Vampire Weekend a chance. Pitchfork has been nutso about this band, who fuse indie rock sensabilities with an African influence. It's almost classic high life music and instantly addictive. I've had this song stuck in my head all day and put "who gives a fuck about an Oxford Comma" as my IM status message.
Of course everyone IMs me all like "I actually like serial commas". It's a good thing I have such great music taste so I can enlighten you guys. *sticks nose up and swishes ascot authoritatively*
posted by Chris on April 2, 2008 11:23 AM in Music
It took me a while to actually get into Of Montreal, despite music editor Mike's drooling obsession over Kevin Barnes. I had listened to Hissing Fauna... a couple times and just wasn't convinced of their brilliance. It took a certain mood and about the 10th listen to really dig the groove, and now here I am a staunch Of Montreal fan. This video for Gromlandic Edit features art drawn by Kevin's brother David, proving crazy brilliance runs in the family.
Björk has been in my music library since Post. Here was a woman who literally did her own thing. When trying to label my MP3s, I always have a hard time putting her into a specific genre. Is she electronic? Is she Icelandic pop? I ended up just filing her under "Björk".
While I wasn't too impressed with 2007's Volta, here is one of the tracks that stood out to me. Lucky for us it also comes with an incredible video.
I showed this video to Jinny earlier who responded "I wonder if she's lonely."
posted by Chris on March 24, 2008 1:53 PM in Music
This weekend Sexcab came by to play some board games. As these board game sessions go, not only do I subject my guests to poorly mixed drinks and slightly manhandled snacks, I force them to listen to my music. Luckily The Flaming Lips came on to which Sexcab remarked "I love robot music from the future." Then I kicked his ass thoroughly at Carcassonné. Enjoy this epic theme which accompanied said ass-kicking.
posted by Chris on March 19, 2008 5:39 PM in Music
Oh how I have waited for this day. Ten years since the last Portishead album. Ten years we have had to wait to hear anything from the brilliant trio that is Beth Gibbons, Adrian Utley and Geoff Barrow. Ten freakin' years. I'd like to say that you will have to wait till April to hear their newest album, Third, but you know what? Fuck it. It's out right now on the internets and I urge you to find it. Third is epic life-changing music filled with sounds that literally I have never heard before. Listen to the first single off the album, Machine Gun, and enjoy being filled with the beauty that is Portishead once again. The beats sound like two robots fighting, and watching the loops being drummed live is remarkable. Delicious.
posted by Mike on March 11, 2008 10:05 AM in Music
I'll admit: I was a late-comer to The National's acclaimed 2007 record Boxer. When I did discover it, I was almost instantly enamored. There's a depth to their calm, collected charisma that doesn't let you glean enough from the first listen - and that's a good thing. It forces you to try again harder to get their message fully.
"Fake Empire", Boxer's opening track, is a great example of said depth. There's a lot of urgency in rock music these days and not a lot of mystery, and The National are nothing if not mysterious. This live version on Letterman gives a great glimpse into the shadowy glow of this band. Anybody who gives it time will see why they're one of my current favorites.
posted by Chris on February 15, 2008 8:36 AM in Music
Ben Folds is one of those artists that when I hear his songs come on my iPod in the car, I can't help but sing along. I listened to his stuff heavily in high school and continued after he shed the "five" moniker, and this song called Not The Same is probably my favorite. I love his little stories, especially this one about a guy who climbed a tree at a party and came down a born-again Christian. I've never seen him live, though I know people who have. They always say it was the most fun they've ever had at a concert, and I believe them. You'll get a chance to experience the awesomeness of Ben Folds this year as he is touring universities around the US, including a stop at my alma mater. Check out tour dates at BenFolds.com.
There are few things better in life than a really good 8-bit musician. Catch yourself in the right mood, with a good set of headphones handy, and walking around with some 8-bit in your ears turns the world into a video game, a really fun one, and you're winning. The frenetic pacing of Sabrepulse is what really seals the deal for me, any music that can make me feel separate from my surroundings as I zip past my fellow man in a blur of beats and tuned in head-bobbing automatically gets the Weekly Geek seal of approval.
posted by Chris on February 1, 2008 10:41 AM in Music
A band called The Builders and the Butchers opened for The Decemberists last night at The Moore Theater in Seattle, WA. I've been to many Decemberists shows and as a rule their opening bands are impressive and complimentary to Colin & crew's unique sound. I really enjoyed the folksy sort of Led Zeppelin thing this band does. They have a gimmick but they wear it well, passing out makeshift instruments to the crowd to join in their impressive two person percussion section. I was entranced by them, they were like some crazy two-headed ogre beating war drums. This song, Bringin' Home The Rain, was one of the highlights of the short set.
posted by Chris on January 15, 2008 1:32 PM in Music
The Books is my coding music. The kind of music that just puts me in the mode to roll up my sleeves and dive headfirst into work. The Books are just two guys, one with a guitar and another with an electric cello. Mike and I saw them perform this song - Smells like Content - live last year, and the syncopated text playing behind the performers was mesmerizing. What is funny about The Books is that they use a massive amount of audio samples from what sounds like movies from the 1960s or 70s. As I listened to their albums over the years I had a distinct image in my mind of what these people from the sound clips looked like. Then, when I finally saw them perform live, they played the video from the sound clips, and for the most part they matched up. Very strange.
posted by Chris on January 11, 2008 12:45 PM in Music
Rumors of an April release for their first new studio album in almost 10 years have rekindled my deep love for Portishead. I just hope their new album feels as classic and timeless as their old stuff. Here is one of my favorite songs performed live, Wandering Star.
posted by Chris on January 3, 2008 10:07 PM in Music
Certain songs appear in different places in life. As I've wandered on this completely odd journey, I have found that I identify moments by what I was listening to at the time. One of these songs is Heartbeats by The Knife. The first memory is tied to my importing it into E4 and playing time unlimited mode for two and a half hours. It was pretty amazing. The second time was tied to a Yelp Elite party my girlfriend and I attended, where the DJ seemed like he had spun all his tracks straight off my iPod. The third was the other day, hanging out with Qais at his apartment while it rained horribly outside. I look forward to other places in my life I may travel, where The Knife again magically becomes my soundtrack.
posted by Chris on December 28, 2007 10:18 AM in Music
Nothing makes me happy like Sigur Ros. It's my ultimate personal soundtrack. When I'm feeling low, or just want to chill out with a cup of hot tea on a cold, dreary, rainy morning, I put on Sigur Ros and everything just feels a little bit brighter. I recently picked up their DVD, Heima, and I heartily recommend it. The sparse imagery of Iceland mixed with the absolutely transcendent music of Sigur Ros is an incredibly moving experience. Their music videos are just a small sample of how amazing this band is, and this video for Vaka is one of my favorites.
posted by Qais on December 27, 2007 10:06 AM in Music
I am a voracious beast. My addiction to new music is near insatiable. My days are usually spent with at least one ear crammed with ear bud and a constant stream of noise flowing through it, occasionally dipping into my babbling brook of new things to snatch forth music like a wriggling fish for your enjoyment.
Akala may not be for everyone. There's a fair bit of rapping/rhyming going on over the incredibly hot beat and for many that can be an immediate turn off or appear in a song and completely ruin it. I'll be honest, on first listen I was angered at the initial appearance of Akala rapping over the track. My funky fresh beats had been stepped on by a feckless, supposed master of rhyme.
Eventually I found myself to enjoy the lyrical stylings of Akala; the lyrics are just right for strutting down the street on a rainy afternoon, head bobbing in time to the fat bassline, pretending you're electro living in the land of the light.
posted by Grant on December 22, 2007 10:28 AM in Music
While working at a college radio station, I had the opportunity to run into lots of music that I would not normally seek out on my own. There were a lot of typical indie and emo college-type bands that were a dime a dozen in our rotation. But every now and then I found a little diamond place in the rough by our program director. Super Rad! by The Aquabats is just such a diamond. This song appeared on the band's second album, during the big ska movement of the late 90s. The quick tempo and lively brass make this song a lot of peppy fun. I command you to watch this delightfully low budget music video.
Amélie is one of my badge movies. One of those movies you whip out in conversation when someone asks "what's your favorite?" I freely admit that I cry at the end of this movie every time I watch it, not from sadness but from sheer uplifting joy. Besides the stunning cinematography, beautiful acting and womanly charms of Audrey Tautou, the soundtrack is one of my absolute favorite film soundtracks of all time. Yann Tiersen is an amazing composer, and as of late I have been listening to his various works. It's the perfect ambient music for working to, but my favorite setting for listening to Yann is a rainy Saturday morning with a cup of tea and my RSS reader in front of me. Here's A Quai, from the Amélie score. Enjoy!
posted by Chris on December 17, 2007 11:36 AM in Music
We should just name this feature "songs in Rock Band that we really like". While I usually scoff at bands that have the pedigree of opening for AFI and the like, Coheed and Cambria fascinate me. Their albums are all part of a huge sci fi story arc surrounding two characters, Coheed and Cambria. They have this fantastic alt-metal epic sound, and this track titled Welcome Home is one of the most fun songs to play in Rock Band. Okay granted, they are all fun.
You just can't beat a music video featuring a double necked guitar. COME ON.
Your Personal Soundtrack is a semi-daily feature at The Weekly Geek where we profile a song that we have stuck in our heads, making it a sort of Personal Soundtrack. Check out the archives here.
The Wizard has a special place in the hearts of (most of) the staff here at The Weekly Geek. It's a big, horrible, unabashed Nintendo commercial and yet we loves it so. The main love theme or whatever from the movie was by a little Australian new wave band that really didn't do anything else of note. Not that I'd really call being on on the soundtrack of The Wizard "of note". In any case, it's wonderfully 80s and gets stuck in your head for days upon days upon days. Now that it's stuck in my head again, allow me to do the same for you.
I highly enjoyed the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, and most everyone likes at least the first one. One of the great things about the movie was the fantastic original score. The main theme prevalent throughout the whole of the score fits in so nicely no matter how composer Klaus Badelt arranged it. If you have a chance, listen to all the songs on the soundtrack. But the He's a Pirate track focuses solely on that main theme. And it's so good. Y'know how they say that things that have neat mathematical properties tend to be extra aesthetically pleasing in media such as art and music? Well this is the first song I have ever consciously noticed that seems to fit in both 4/4 and 3/3 time. Go ahead, listen to it and count off. 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4. And then 1, 2, 3, 1, 2 3. It works. It's crazy but it works.
posted by Chris on December 14, 2007 12:33 PM in Music
I love Grizzly Bear. Ever since I saw them live at Sasquatch this past summer I've been entranced by their soothing harmonies. This video is just crazy weird, though. Enjoy The Knife from the album Yellow House.
posted by Chris on December 13, 2007 12:21 PM in Music
From Battles' album Mirrored comes this bizarre and excellent track titled Atlas. I am a huge fan of math rock, and I love any song that makes you go "huh?" Also, holy crap does this song get stuck in your head.
posted by Mike on December 12, 2007 9:03 AM in Music
The Gorillaz are beyond groundbreaking in both genre and presentation. This "virtual band" started by Britpop band Blur's frontman Damon Alcorn and comic artist Jamie Hewlett is a defiance of everything we've previously known a music act to be. Yet, the mainstream radio success and subsequent tour failure (video projectors being out of sync, hologram projection tour being cancelled, etc.) has some saying Alcorn is abandoning the project to kick start Blur again.
I really hope that doesn't happen. This is a group I could see being one of the most novel live attractions, maybe ever. And with the music being a strong as it is, I'd love to see a full-length album companion DVD with the awesome animated cast.
posted by Chris on December 11, 2007 1:01 PM in Movies
Probably one of my favorite music videos ever, Zach Condon from Beirut serenades a group of synchronized gypsies with a small mandolin-like instrument called a "fluke" and his most excellent moustache. Enjoy Elephant Gun from the Lon Gisland EP.
posted by Mack on December 10, 2007 2:31 PM in Music
Optimus Rhyme have blown the damn doors off every year at PAX and this year was no exception. You can have your MC Frontalots and your MC Chriseses, but I'll take OR in a lyrical battle or a ping pong tournament any day. Here's the song at PAX06 that hooked me for life.
posted by Grant on December 9, 2007 9:17 PM in Music
Into every life, a little metal must fall. And sometimes that metal is glammed up with spandex and big, feathered hair. But despite the poor fashion choices of the 80s, they produced some kick ass tunes. Here's one I really like to rock out to in my car now and again.
posted by Grant on December 8, 2007 8:54 PM in Music
I don't have much to say about this wacky little song other than it's by the guy who was one half of one of the greatest shows ever on MTV, Sifl and Olly. I believe Liam made this song as kind of a private joke to himself and it just took off and reached a healthy level of popularity and has a nice cult status as well. It's fun. Whatever.
And as a bonus since this song is so short, here's Lynch performing the song with a couple of dudes from No Doubt on The Late Late Show.
posted by Chris on December 6, 2007 9:30 AM in Music
Dancey electronic duo Justice has been called the new Daft Punk, making crunchy delicious club tunes seemingly made by sexy robots from the future. One of my favorite tracks to listen to in the car is this one: DVNO. Turn it up and let it hit hard.
A few years back, Cartoon Network was enjoying a huge surge in popularity. At least, it seemed that way to the outside observer. They were running tons of classic popular toons as well as really starting to create and air lots of great new originals. During this time, CN had an amazing string of "bumpers". That is, little bits between shows that weren't exactly commercials, but just promos for the channel you're already watching. Everything from Aquaman explaining why the channel was the only place where his aquatic telepathy was a useful job skill, to Wonder Woman using her golden lasso of truth on various CN stars, to famous cartoon characters interacting with each other and live people at the "real life" Cartoon Network headquarters.
One of my most favorite bumpers was a little ditty sung by several toon stars such as Brak, Daffy, Johnny Bravo, and Space Ghost. It was a fun arrangement of several names of well known and not-so-well known cartoon characters in groups of rhymes or alliterations. Watch it!
posted by Grant on December 1, 2007 10:30 AM in Games, Music
As much as I know and understand that Squeenix is milking the Final Fantasy series for all it's worth, particularly the over-rated VII, I still really, really like it. Most gamers cringe with a FF7 fanboy goes on a tear about how it's the best game ever, and rightfully so. But it's still a fun game. And I still really love Sephiroth. And I still really, really love his theme music. I'm sorry, I can't help it. It's just so good. I listened to it over and over again in the synthesized version from the OST when I bought it from GameMusic.com. When I got wind of the fully orchestrated version, I found and downloaded it during the glory days of Napster, and eventually bought it on the imported CD itself. But when I heard it at the More Friends concert before E3 2005, I nearly died. Not only did I get to see and hear it performed live with a full chorus and orchestra, but the fucking Black Mages joined in and rocked the house down. And then at the Squeenix booth at the expo the following day, I caught a little bit of that rock/orchestra version during the teaser for Advent Children. And of course, I eventually bought the movie and the soundtrack. And the Advent version of One-Winged Angel is the pinnacle of any version of the song. I love it so much. (Ok, fair warning, going into full-on pathetic fanboy mode here.) I believe I have listened to it more than any other bit of music in my entire life. I feel, nay, I know that it is the greatest piece of music ever composed or ever will be composed.
Ok, I'm done.
Now check it out. Oh, and in case you care, there are probably some significant FF7:AC movie spoilers in this little video.
posted by Grant on November 29, 2007 8:17 PM in Games, Music
Like everyone else who happened to have $170 bucks (actually, only $150 at Sam's Club) and an Xbox 360 in the past week, I have been enjoying the hell out of Rock Band. I am not a big music guy. Lots and lots of stuff passes me by. So there are songs on this game that everyone knows that I am not terribly familiar with or just don't know at all. Today's YPS is an example of the former. I know that I'd heard at least the chorus of Say It Ain't So before, but I think that was about it. Anyway, I've played it a few times on guitar and drums and sung it at least once in the past week and it just won't leave my head. It's extremely catchy and a lot of fun to listen to. It also helps that it's the master track and not a cover, like so many songs for this game. So for those of you without said requisite cash and console, please enjoy the following:
posted by Chris on November 27, 2007 12:07 PM in Music
I never really got into the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, even after working at a college radio station for three years where I had to play their albums during normal rotation shifts. They never really grabbed me, at least until I had to play their song Maps on Rock Band. This is the kind of song that grows on you, on the first listen it's not so remarkable. Then as you listen more and more you realize how amazing the lyrics, vocals, and sheer complicated nature of the song are. It's been stuck in my head for days.
posted by Mack on November 19, 2007 1:00 PM in Music
After playing David Bowie's Suffragette City Friday on a Rock Band demo unit in a Best Buy that had a hopelessly busted controller, a coworker confessed to me that he spent the whole weekend humming this song to himself. But because he didn't know the words he had to make up your own. "Don't lean on me man 'cause you ain't my kind of chicken." I like that better.
Every time I hear Steve Conte's version of Rain I have to turn the volume way up. I just can't get enough of his voice. His voice has a quality that his female counterpart, Mai Yamane, lacks. Steve's version of Rain wasn't played in the TV series or Movie, so it can only be found on the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack.
The video has lower quality in some parts, but all that matters is the song, anyway.
posted by Mack on November 14, 2007 9:50 AM in Music
Much like Chris, I too am obsessed with all things Guitar Hero and Paint It, Black is one of the better ones in the third installment's fantastic soundtrack. Here's a great live version on some show or another. Keith looks like a badass, Mick is petulant, and Brian Jones rocks the fuck out of that sitar. 'Nuff Said.
posted by Chris on November 13, 2007 9:35 AM in Music
Scoff all you want at her recently popularity due to being featured on an iPod commercial, Feist's album The Reminder is one of the best of the year. Here is the video for one of the album's gems, My Moon My Man. I love how Feist performs in her music videos. Always dancing, always gorgeously choreographed.
posted by Grant on November 9, 2007 10:51 AM in Music
In case you didn't know it, I'm a very, very big fan of Weird Al and have been for as long as I can remember. I know it's so cliched geekery to like Weird Al, but I don't care. I really enjoy his music. And most people don't realize that it's not all just parodies and polka medleys. About half of all Al's music is completely orignal. As in, he wrote the music, the lyrics, did the arrangement, everything. And honestly, some of his best work is in his originals. My all-time favorite Al song is one of his originals, from one of his most recent albums, Poodle Hat. I just love everything about it. The tune, the harmonizing, the cadence. Everything about it is just really, really fun.
It doesn't have its own music video so I doodled around on YouTube for a little bit to find a good fan-made one. I think this is one of the better ones. The dude actually put some serious effort into it.
posted by Mack on November 8, 2007 12:55 PM in Music
I listen to a lot of music at work and I keep coming back to Lou Reed's Transformer, and specifically the quirky "Sattelite of Love." I scoured the tubes for a good live version of it, but I couldn't find one that captured the fun of the album version. The poppy beginning, the weird flute solo in the middle, and the triumphant end.
The video isn't the most visually interesting thing in the world. I guess you can either turn it on while you do other things or spend three minutes and thirty eight seconds staring at Lou Reed in makeup. I'm going to leave that up to you.
posted by Chris on November 7, 2007 8:45 AM in Music
On today's Your Personal Soundtrack, we see awesome YouTube user nuglah perform Fergalicious. I don't normally advocate exposure to the auditory equivalent of twinkies, but there is something hypnotizing about this guy and his unicorn kingdom antics. I seriously wish I could employ him before some big company snatches him up and makes him rich. I can keep you in mediocrity, nuglah! JUST SAY NO TO THE MAN.
posted by Chris on October 30, 2007 3:43 PM in Music
We've posted about Miss Newsom in the past, but considering I just saw her excellent performance last night at the Benaroya Hall in Seattle, I just had to post another video of her performing one of her incredibly rich songs Peach, Plum, Pear. Joanna is touring the country, playing dates at major cities with the respective city's symphony. I highly recommend checking it out.
posted by Chris on October 18, 2007 2:01 PM in Music
One of my all-time favorite bands, The Flaming Lips, have constructed album after album of sonic amazement. The fun they have making music seeps from the tracks like syrup, and it's made tangible in their inventive live performances featuring massive amounts of glitter, giant hamster balls and bunny costumes. Here is a song that is stuck in my head frequently, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Part 1, off of the album of the same name. Enjoy.
posted by Chris on October 16, 2007 10:26 AM in Music
When Neon Bible was released earlier this year, many reviewers were making comparisons to Bruce Springsteen, with Win Butler's blue-collar man lyrics and powerful voice. Well, a couple days ago, Arcade Fire showed up on stage at a Bruce Springsteen concert to play a couple Springsteen songs. Lucky for us, they also played their own "Keep the Car Running" with Bruce taking the reins for a couple verses. Enjoy this horrible shaky cam footage of this momentous event.
posted by Chris on October 15, 2007 10:01 AM in Music
Jens Lekman sounds a bit like Morrissey if he wrote songs for 1970's educational videos. Jens is a crooner who writes exceptionally honest and completely schmaltzy lyrics. Here is "Sipping on the Sweet Nectar" for Monday's Your Personal Soundtrack. A great soundtrack for fall. Pay attention to the amazingly evocative lyrics.
Jens released a new album last week called "Night Falls Over Kortedala", which is jam packed full of catchy, awesome tunes. Check out Jens' full library on iTunes.
posted by Chris on October 9, 2007 9:17 AM in Music
In 1995, Nine Inch Nails and David Bowie went on tour together in what was most likely one of the biggest concert events ever. At least, in my mind. I was too young to go at the time, but I remember watching the calendar as the concert date came and went. Now thanks to the magic of the Internets I can experience something so completely awesome as Bowie and Trent Reznor live on stage performing Hurt. And you can, too!
posted by Chris on October 5, 2007 2:37 PM in Music
Ahh, 90's alternative radio. Remember Sneaker Pimps? Remember trip-hop? I lived on this stuff in high school, and just listening to 6 Underground takes me back to the good ol days. And by good ol days I mean awkward and awful bad ol days.
posted by Chris on October 4, 2007 10:10 PM in Music
I have become increasingly obsessed with Deerhoof. Ever since hearing them first on KEXP about a year ago, I have been fascinated by this "math rock" band who have just released a whole live album for free on their website. I spent a while going through their news archives on their site, and their 2006 tour with The Flaming Lips sounds like an extraordinary experience. Here is the video for "Kidz Are So Small".
posted by Chris on September 28, 2007 12:46 AM in Games, Music
The Phendrana Drifts theme is probably one of my favorite tracks from the stellar Metroid Prime soundtrack, and in today's Your Personal Soundtrack we see some sort of strange Guitar Hero hack for the Metroid Metal version. It looks pretty intense for such a slow, relaxing song.
Metroid Metal by Stemage is available for free from their website.
posted by Chris on September 26, 2007 11:34 AM in Music
The Blow is one of my all-time favorite bands. Currently consisting of Northwest native Khaela Maricich, electro rocker YACHT created the beats for many of her songs. Actually, I think all of them. After seeing Khaela perform at Sasquatch this year, I can't get her honest, thoughtful voice and insightful lyrics out of my head. In this video for Knowing The Things That I Know, Khaela and YACHT play Magic cards. Romantically.
Bitmaster hyper-god Tettix (formerly Cicada, AKA Judson Cowan) is currently rockin' my iPhone, it's the perfect music for sitting on the bus and staring out into space. You may be familiar with this chiptune artist already, as his track "Earth's Assault on the Central AI" is currently being used as the Weekly Geek Theme song. I've found in my nerdy search of nostalgic beats that the quality of chiptune artists varies as much as the quality of old school NES games, they are all fun in their own right, but only a few are true classics. Tettix has skills. Mad skills. 
