Bill Gates: Chair-jumping Fiend
Ya, that’s cool and all, but Steve Jobs could run a sprint and long jump over ten Herman Miller Aerons…on ten hits of acid. Lets see you do that, Billy boy.
Just Call Me Claude – GTA3 Action Figure from Rockstar Games x Sideshow Collectibles
10 years ago, this month, the revolutionary open-world epic Grand Theft Auto III was released to the world – a game that set players loose as a small-time criminal at the bottom of the food chain in Liberty City, a sprawling metropolis where anything can happen – and probably will.
To commemorate the game’s 10th anniversary, Rockstar Games is proud to present this limited edition action figure of lead character Claude, an ex-con out for revenge in a city filled with mobsters, street gangs and cops on the take.
Found running the streets of Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto III, Claude rose from a small-time bank robber who is betrayed by his girlfriend to a big-time gangster ready to get revenge.
Produced in partnership with Sideshow Collectibles – Renowned toy manufacture revered by collectors around the world. This fully articulated 1:6 scale action figure of Claude comes dressed in his original attire of cargo pants and a bomber jacket, but he can also sport his iconic Liberty City Prison-issued jumpsuit (supplied).
Claude comes equipped with an arsenal of classic weapons from Grand Theft Auto III including a bat, knife, grenades, pistol, sniper rifle, and assault rifles.
Limited Edition – Only 1,500 pieces
Features:
– 12 inch body with nearly 30 points of articulation
– Fabric Liberty City State prison outfit
– Bomber jacket with real zippers
– Canvas cargo pants
– Two assault rifles
– Sniper rifle
– Grenades
– Knife
– Sub machine gun
– Baseball bat
– Pistol
– One pair of fists
– One right trigger hand
– One left C grip hand
Modeselektor feat. Thom Yorke – Shipwreck
Again, my heart and mind are blown away by the sincerity of these two artists. And to think they named this gem after little old me. Geez guys, I’m getting all teary here. You sure know how to make a guy feel special ;)
Adam & The Amethysts – Dreaming
The PR likes to say this video is a little NSFW. I guess if a little risqué but it’s good to go if your office doesn’t mind average looking people in love skinny dipping up at the cottage, artfully shot in black and white by director Yuula Benivolski. A good old fashioned piece of Canadiana right here, that is.
Free MP3 download of this song: bit.ly/dreamingmp3
iTunes:
itunes.apple.com/ca/preorder/flickering-flashlight/id469090493
LP/CD order:
bit.ly/amethysts
|
Plaid Predict the Future of Electronic Music
Warp Records
Posted on Sep 30th 2011 5:00PM by Jesse Ship
Warp Records’ Plaid — comprised of Ed Handley and Andy Turner — are back with the album ‘Scintilli’ (meaning “I am many sparks” in Latin). The disc features signature spiraling beats and chimes from Bjork‘s former bandmates as well as computer-produced vocals that sound eerily human.
Reproducing human voices opens up debate over the validity of the musical experience and, of course, leads to the possibility of sci-fi scenarios where artificial intelligence assume human roles (it’s already started with Japan’s ‘real-life’ virtual pop star Hatsune Miku).
“I think it scares a lot of people,” Turner tells Spinner. “Because any kind of intelligence than what we can’t classify as natural is going to be alien, disturbing and threatening. But we should obviously make computers our friends, it would be silly not to.
“[For our work], we use software incorporating phonemes [ie: phonetic bits of words] while paying attention to things that happen in our own mouths and throat. There’s a lot going on with the pitch and the breath. It’s an interesting process to examine, it’s actually incredibly complex.”
In fact, aside from a guitar, very few instruments were used on the album at all, as the British duo opted to recreate a warm, almost acoustic, sound using synthesizers. “As you get more evolved in writing music, the concept of instruments becomes unimportant and you get more concerned with the sound. The goal was to create something that you couldn’t quite tell [how it was made], and had a spooky quality.”
The Warp Records sound — once tagged as IDM (Intelligence Dance Music, a name Turner finds hypocritical as he says the purpose of dancing is to escape the intellect) or electronica in the ’90s — was spearheaded by other groundbreaking acts like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher. The style has evolved since then while ‘Scintilli’ is a return to that golden age.
“For the interest of music, we think electronics were finished in the ’50s at an academic level,” says Turner. “But it took decades of tinkering for it to filter through and become accepted by most people’s ears. We’re just finding new ways of performing and interacting with machines. That’s where the future is — but it won’t be perceived as ‘electronic music,’ it will just be seen as music.”
Not only are Plaid making human voices and instruments irrelevant, but the futurists have also taken aim at the CD. They’re still offering their album via CD but they’ve included a Japanese hanging paper ornament called a muda no mono (“useless object”) puzzle, calling the package a “mausoleum,” as if to mock the format, but still reward, surprise and delight their fans.
“It could be a mobile or a desk display,” says Turner. “It doesn’t have that much of a function but it’s certainly more interesting than a digi-pack, of which we have hundreds sitting around the house and studio. Lots of bands, like Parliament, for example, used to do cool things with vinyl gatefolds and album cut-outs so we wanted to do the same.”
“Data storage methods will quickly overtake CD,” he adds. “The end will probably come when we get to the point where people have hard drives in their cars — vehicles are really the last strongholds of the format.”
Oh, How The Mighty Have Fallen…
Hey Mighty Wallet, I like your style, but after a year of use, you’re looking a little rough around the edges and weak in the bones. What gives?
What was once surprise and delight has spiralled into shock and embarassment. Not quite the claim of “even after years of wear, it will still offer surprise and solicit intrigue.” as you wrote on your website.
Montreal Music Fests – Antenna Fall 2011
Epic Meal Time – Antenna Fall 2011
Naked & Famous Denim – Antenna Fall 2011
Max Payne 3 Trailer
Rockstar Games gets wise and take a bite off of VH1’s ‘Pop Up Video!’ for the Max Payne 3 trailer.
