Links for 14-11-2007
Punk-rock computer games, full-body haptic suits, Jay Lake and the missile silo, massive backlog of music reviews …
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1 – Live review: Hundred Reasons – Southampton Guildhall
“… a fair portion of this facepainted and glowstick-wielding horde were probably still in primary school when Hundred Reasons released Ideas Above Our Station, and it’s tight trousers, teenaged exuberance and OMFG!! all the way.”
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2 – Album review: Truck Fighters – Phi
“Wash down the pills with the last of the whiskey, roll down the window to let some of the bong-smoke out, and settle back in your seat — Truck Fighters are chewing up mile after mile of blacktop highway, and you just managed to hitch a ride.”
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3 – Album review: Puscifer – V Is For Vagina
“Puscifer is a Maynard James Keenan side-project. Yeah, that Maynard Keenan, the guy who sings in Tool. But let’s be clear from the outset — V Is For Vagina does not sound anything like a Tool album.”
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4 – Album review: The Warlocks – Heavy Deavy Skull Lover
“Hypnotic repetitive chord sequences, the clatter of dual drumkits, the occasional nasal and lost-in-the-haze vocals of Bobby Hecksher — these guys should have soundtracked the graveyard scene in Easy Rider.”
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5 – Album review: The Durango Riot – Telemission
“Telemission is coming from the sleazy and anarchic end of the spectrum, with the accelerator pedal held down by a chunk of concrete and the back seat covered with empty bottles and cigarette packets.”
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6 – Album review: A Crime Called – Burn
“… the diversity is a bit of a double-edged sword, as it means they don’t quite have a sound that they can truly call their own, but there’s plenty of evidence that they have all the talent they require to go out and hunt it down.”
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7 – Album review: The Color Fred – Bend To Break
“… if you’re bored of bright yet plaintive paeans to the turbulent years of youth, save your money — there’s more exciting stuff to spend it on.”
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8 – Album review: Bobaflex – Tales From Dirt Town
“It’s kind of schizoid, as if they can’t quite decide whether to stick to the southern rock/metal formula or slip on some spandex trousers and start pelvic thrusting at the girls in the front row.”
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9 – Album review: The Protocol – Recess
“It’s almost like taking a trip back in time; if you’d handed me Recess and told me it was an album by a forgotten grunge-pop act of the mid-nineties, I’d have fallen for your bluff straight off the bat.”
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10 – Album review: Brown Shoe – Vanity
“Vanity isn’t a miracle, but it’s not an act of charlatanry either — this band’s self-confidence is not misplaced. Call it a blessing, perhaps.”
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11 – Album review: Day One – Probably Art
“… the ideal background soundtrack to a tall skinny latte and a couple of biscotti, perhaps, but not the sort of thing I could imagine putting on for its own sake. It’s Probably Art … but so is wallpaper.”
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12 – Album review: Devil’s Slingshot – Clinophobia
“… while Clinophobia will probably thrill the bedroom shredder in your life, it will probably provoke a morbid fear of staying awake in anyone else.”
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13 – Whats wrong with the game industry?
“I long for ‘punk gaming’ in a rebel movement kind of way – just as punk said anyone with a guitar could make music, I want anyone with a keyboard to be able to make games.” Sticking it to the man is all about just *doing it*.
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14 – Scientists unearth ‘missing link’ jawbone
“If Nakalipithecus nakayamai is indeed the common ancestor of great apes and humans, the discovery supports the theory that it, and subsequently the great apes and humans, evolved entirely in Africa.”
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15 – Russia, India sign joint lunar research deal
“‘The first mission will be solely Russian, but the second will be carried out in conjunction with India,’ Polishchuk said.” Wake up, West – you’ve been resting too long on them laurels, yo.
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16 – Bannerman’s Island
“… Shaun O’Boyle’s photo series of Bannerman’s Island, an old, half-flooded and fire-damaged derelict mansion built on a small island in the Hudson River.” Man, I love old broken buildings. Nice photos.
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17 – They build machines that they can’t control, And bury the waste in a great big hole
Jay Lake visits an old nuclear missile silo.
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18 – How to Find Freelance Writing Jobs
“… by targeting specific phrases with your topic, you can find unadvertised positions with more highly paid sources.” Hmmm. This might be an effective idea.
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“Full-body haptic feedback suits. They’re coming — the question is, what will we use them for?” Hah – what *won’t* we use them for?
