#demo disc friday

[numberxxisora]

Today, it's a lonely spot when an army blows a trench around where you're standing. Good thing we're a big, green monster that can take some aggression out on them.

[catastrophic-crisis]

[Demo Demolition] The Great Snake II: Part 2: Countdown to the Year of the Snake

The countdown to the lunar new year continues, and today is a day packed with games!

At 7:00 PM ET, EEK3 - the E3-inspired indie horror showcase - will be airing, and while I'm not watching it live you better believe my eyeballs will be on it. Let's all hold hands and summon a demo disc!

Check out the updated list of demos to beat here, and let me know live which ones you want to see.

Friday 4:00 PM EST / 9:00 PM UTC/GMT / 1:00 PM PST; twitch.tv/catastrophe_jupiter

(Spiked Punk Jacket & Toxic Love Pants by 404DOTEXE)

[herrlindemann]

Metal Hammer - July 2015, interview with Till and Peter

The most unusual and at the same time most exciting constellation of the year is clearly Lindemann. Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain) and Till Lindemann (Rammstein) teamed up to record the debut Skills in Pills, which was already hotly debated online, between Pärlby in Sweden and Berlin. The result: a monster of an album and a band that might even have a medium-term future. Till and Peter tell Metal Hammer in a personal conversation what Lindemann means to them.

Fun turned serious - but not quickly, but after years of dancing around each other. The Lindemann protagonists Peter Tägtgren and Till Lindemann tell us how much time and work went into the country from the idea to the initially unplanned album.

A few years passed from the initial idea of the band Lindemann to the final implementation. Did you take this time to get to know each other personally?

Peter: Not only that, but we also needed the time to coordinate our schedules. We've been friends since 1999 and met up as often as we could, talking on the phone or texting. Two years ago I attended a few Rammstein gigs in the run-up to Wacken, Till invited me. We met and he said that he had a break soon and we could realize our project. That's how it all started, initially with just one song.

Till: Before we started we met in Sweden at the Bravalla festival, but friends and family were there and we only got to talk briefly. I said: «After Wacken I have a break of about one and a half to two years, then let's do something together. "Somehow Peter didn't really want to believe in it, because this promise had existed for almost ten years. But a few days after Wacken I actually called him. I said: "Send me what you have. » Four weeks later I got a file and worked on it for a few days; this became 'Ladyboy', the first track. I think Peter was a little confused at first. I said, «Let's get some opinions on the internet. » Peter didn't do that, but sent me more files. It went in quick succession.

Then did you meet?

Till: No, that didn't happen until five or six songs later. At first, ideas were simply sent back and forth.

Peter: Till wrote lyrics and I wrote music.

Till: I worked with my Logic system, he with Pro Tools. I loaded his stuff into my system and worked on the chants. You have to admit: the first demos were pretty terrible. Still, somehow we suddenly had five songs, so the question came up: EP or mini-disc? I refused to think about more, but Peter said: «Let's make a full album! » However, I didn't find the idea that exciting. Then I visited him in his studio and from then on I kept commuting back and forth. That was great, almost like a weekend vacation. I was always otherwise busy during the week, but from Friday morning to Sunday evening I was able to be with Peter at the Abyss Studio. His studio is right on a lake, it really was like being on vacation.

Did this pleasant atmosphere in Peter's studio help the project a lot?

Till: At least it helped not wanting to shorten the studio time because you don't like the place. The atmosphere there was very good, even if the studio is pretty gross. (Laughs) Somehow everything came together, it was the perfect work situation. In addition, it went really fast, because Peter brought an incredible amount of experience with him. I explained to him how I like to work. After that, it only took us a few weeks, a few sessions, until it really clicked.

How do you feel today that it is certain that there will actually be an album and a band and that it is completely different from what you are doing with your other projects?

Peter: To be honest, we can't really enjoy it yet. Before that there was no record company, no management, nobody involved and that was nice.

Till: It wasn't easy for Peter to go public, to present things and to get reactions to them. I, on the other hand, had a good feeling from the start. For me, this mixture of gothic and metal, which meet here like a big accident, was very exciting.

Was it clear from the beginning that the sound would be like on the album and the lyrics would be sung in English? Or how was this mix found?

Pete: I have no idea. Learning by doing, I would say. Originally we just wanted to do a song or two together. Everything else only came about because we were further inspired by the lyrics or music. It was kind of a Ponzi scheme. The only thing that was clear was that we wanted to differentiate ourselves from Rammstein and my projects Pain and Hypocrisy. With Till, of course, as far as Rammstein is concerned, this is only possible to a limited extent. But working on the lyrics was very interesting because for Till it was like a kid in a candy store, with lots of new words, lots of new phrasing. We often laughed when he sang something. Sometimes even before he started singing, because he always had to sit down on the sofa because something didn't work. I then said: « Come on, let's try it », only to find out from time to time: Oh God, that doesn't work at all!

Till: Of course I wanted to explain to Peter what the lyrics are about.

Peter: Sometimes he sent me a text to one of my music files. On other occasions, I would just get lyrics he sang on his smartphone in the bathroom and then build a song around them. So we tried different ways.

So completely different than you normally work.

Peter: Yes, completely different. There was no pressure at all, we just experimented.

Is that the great freedom of this album? That you could do whatever you wanted without pressure from other band members or the record company?

Peter: And without any pressure from the fans. You could just try everything and do the craziest things.

Till: For me it was like when we started a new band project and Rammstein was still very young. You just play around, everything is allowed, it's like freestyle, there are no limits. Whereby: With Rammstein there are no limits, only expectations on the part of the fans, i.e. artwork, music, concerts. Now it's an open field in the middle of no man's land.

In which it's also a lot easier to decide things because there are only two people involved instead of five or six.

Till: How right you are. For me it was a great relief.

Now that the music and lyrics are finished, how was the visual impression, i.e. photos and artwork, fine-tuned?

Peter: The ideas came from Till. I only helped a little in this regard.

Till: We simply distributed the tasks. Everyone did what they do best. I brought this experience with me from Rammstein. Peter dived deep into all the production parameters while I took care of the visual design.

Peter: All ideas went back and forth and were discussed, regardless of whether they came from me or from Till. That was the easiest way for us. The first photo session in October was great fun because we had no idea where this was all going. There were four photographers present.

Till: We had an idea...

Peter: Not professionals from big companies, but friends. Stefan Heilemann turned out to be the one who was supposed to do the main work for us. The others were then selected for press photos et cetera. Then Till took the photos and edited them. A crazy result!

To be honest: Nobody would have expected Till Lindemann and Peter Tägtgren to work together. But now that the result is in and there may even be more records to follow, this seems to be the perfect combination: Till as lyricist and singer, Peter as composer and producer. Why did you have to wait so long for such a collaboration?

Peter: Because we simply had too many other tasks to do.

Till: Every project has its very specific time. I was pretty sure of it. Even my colleagues have already commented: "Whenever he's bored, he goes to Peter Tägtgren and makes music with him. » I had had the idea in my head for a long time, I just didn't have the time. For me it was and always will be: Rammstein comes first. But it was also clear that at some point I would do this project with Peter. I had clear ideas of what to sing to that rolling wall of guitars, bass and sequencer. Because that's exactly what I appreciate about Peter's music and his compositions. I wanted to do it even better than himself, and we're not talking about the lyrics, we're talking about the vocal melodies. And when one day you realize that these visions have actually come true, it gives you a really good feeling.

So there's only Till's vocals, but no voices from Peter, right?

Peter: Right, that's what we thought from the start. Till is the captain on the ship, on THIS ship...

Till: Yes, on THIS ship, you have to say that.

Peter: For me, this experience is also a real relief and would also be the only conceivable solution on stage. I'm so tired of being the front man. And Till is one of the world's best. I can hide behind him. For me this is the perfect situation because I can concentrate on my music and the production. When you divide things up like we do, only good things can come of it. When I do my other projects there are always many things I have to consider. You only notice that a few months after the release of an album, when you realize: crap, I should have done that differently. With Till we are, to a certain extent, two producers who both know exactly what they want. We always find a match; everything we decide makes sense.

Now that you know each other a lot better than you did ten years ago, there must be traits in each other that you weren't aware of before, right?

Peter: Till is the biggest crybaby I know. (laughs)

Till: All day long.

Peter: We're like brothers who fool around all day.

Do you fight over details, vocal melodies or the like in a project like this? Do you have to seriously deal with it?

Till: In the beginning, of course, everything is pure sunshine...

Peter: Like in a young marriage: I love you. (Laughs) And then later: You bloody carrion, I hate you!

Till: The dispute will probably come over the years. We are currently on our honeymoon. No bad words, everything is harmonious and runs by itself.

Peter: The good thing is: I don't care about things that bother Till, and vice versa. He often says: "Do what you want, I don't care. » Everyone has their own role in this.

Are you already thinking about where this project could take you? And how far do you want to push it?

Peter: There are no plans after the album release. We really liked the phase when nobody knew about this project and we could easily think about everything — about video et cetera. We sometimes asked ourselves: should we think like a band? Or should we just make sure it's a cool album?

Peter, did you play all the instruments on the album?

Pete: Almost. Clemens von Crach Angren also played an important role. He helped me out with the violin parts, he also does film music and stuff like that. He is responsible for all the orchestra parts.

Till: Apart from that, Peter played all the instruments, produced, recorded, edited the disc — everything.

Peter: That also made things so easy, because if we wanted to change something in the arrangements, we didn't have to call any band members to try it out.

Till: Peter is an absolute workaholic, he can sit in front of the computer for 14 hours. I have no idea how humans are able to do that. I would go insane in two hours. He was still in the studio when I had to go to the toilet at night. I stood on the terrace and saw the lights on in the studio because Peter still had a problem that was not solved and he really wanted to fix it. His head is always crazy and it is almost unbearable for others.

You've produced so many bands in recent years...

Peter: Yes, I know, and I'm also trying to slow down a bit and enjoy life more. But of course there is always a schedule that needs to be worked through.

Till, what was the biggest challenge for you — singing in English? In Rammstein there are short English passages from time to time, but this time you sing in English throughout. And you know better than anyone else that the German language is massively different from other languages.

Till: The biggest challenge was gaining the necessary self-confidence. I wasn't sure at all. That's why I finally suggested putting something on the internet and waiting for the reactions first. But Peter and a few other people around me encouraged me. First I wrote down words, and then translated them into a singing situation, which was quite strange for me. This gives it a much more international approach right from the start.

Peter: Do you miss German lyrics when you hear the songs?

To be honest: Whenever I hear Till sing in English, I translate it into German. As a German, I associate German texts with his voice. I suspect that international ears perceive this very differently. This could be very interesting.

Peter: So far we haven't had any reactions to it at all. But maybe nobody speaks up because people don't like it. But as soon as the first song hits me, I'm like, yes, that's it! That's really cool! Because it's still very rough. You immediately recognize the attitude.

Till: We overdid it a bit and I tried to get rid of my accent; but somehow he also makes the charm.

Peter: I think that's what people want to hear. You don't want someone who sounds like an American.

That would not fit Lindemann at all.

Peter: Exactly. It would be foolish to change that. The only thing we paid close attention to is correct grammar. So that no " you ist " or something similar slips through to us.

The only question I ask myself after listening to the songs a few times; Is all this meant seriously, or is it supposed to be humorous?

Till: It's good that you're asking yourself that, because then we did it right.

Peter: One should think about it. It's like an open book.

Till: The listeners are forced to read between the lines a bit in order to understand the irony. With Rammstein, the listeners sometimes take it too seriously, so that you are misunderstood. There, too, you should read a lot more between the lines. There is a wide range of what you can sing and what meaning something has. The topics are very complex, and the reactions we have received in recent weeks have also been totally different.

Peter: Every song has a completely different meaning for different people. It was funny to hear how different opinions on a song can be. Sometimes we sat there and thought: Oh yes, that's right, it could actually have that meaning. It's always good to be open to all things.

One of the tracks that most resonates with me is 'Yukon' after reading that you were there on vacation. When you hear the song, you have the landscape in your mind. I could actually imagine how you felt there.

Peter: I felt the same way when I wrote the music for the lyrics. I had his words in front of me and composed the music to go with them, and there was this mood of distance and seclusion.

'Fish On' is also a very lurid number.

Peter: By the way, the song has a very confused origin story. Listeners probably won't hear that, but it was a pretty odd way of coming about this piece. There are very different parts and putting them all together was pretty rad. It just happened while we were experimenting with the arrangement, the verses, the chorus. In the end everything came together. Till had lyrics and wanted to sing them to a click track — but he started rapping like the Beastie Boys.

Till: I said to Peter: «I have a vocal line here and for the first time in my life I would like to write the music to an already finished vocal melody. “My desire was to have the written word first and then compose the music around those words, rather than having to jump on the music and find words to go with it as usual. The only problem was that I was pressed for time because I had to go to the airport. So I said to Peter, "Just give me a click track. » Of course I had no experience with this way of working, especially since the click track calls for a kind of rap singing. The freestyle raps also usually start with a drum loop. So I just sang two verses and had almost forgotten the piece shortly afterwards. But three months later Peter sent me a file with this sequence and its music. It sounded great. As my voice started, I remembered that short singing session again. Peter had even written a chorus. A really great experience.

Peter: Then Till sang the final version and we had a new song.

Till: Some things have been changed, the chorus and the intro for example. We also developed a C-Part, a bit like Lego bricks.

Peter: Half of the remaining pieces were put together like Lego. The longer we worked on an idea, the crazier it got. Over time we became more and more courageous to try really crazy things.

What is the biggest goal you are pursuing with this disc? I guess that in the beginning you mostly wanted to have fun with the songs. But now that it has become a serious project...

Till: It's in human nature that you always want to achieve a positive result with everything you do. Otherwise there would be no reason to do it at all. No one intentionally messes things up. Of course we hope for good reactions. It's not like Nirvana 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' but we wrote a very good album. The entire process of creation was a lot of fun, because everything was created on vacation in a kind of holiday idyll.

Will you take anything from this production with you to Rammstein?

Till: Yes, guaranteed, but I won't tell you that. (laughs)

...possibly the idea of experimenting with English lyrics at Rammstein?

Till: Of course you never know what will happen in the future, but the German language is part of Rammstein. Of course you could check lyrics like 'Pussy' or 'America', but I'll leave that to the German department in my main band. (grins)

And how about you, Peter? Do you take something away from this project for your further work?

Peter: I brought my experience from twenty years of work and thanks to Till I was motivated to become better than ever before. If I had stopped whenever I felt it was good enough, the result wouldn't have been as fabulous as it is now. I also wanted to prove to Till that I can do things just as well as anyone else. It was a helpful kick in the ass.

It's quite interesting that Till as part of a democratic band and Peter as, let's call it a lone fighter, were able to work so well together.

Peter: I don't have an ego, and neither does Till. We just did what we felt was best for each song.

And how do you like, Peter, the fact that this project is called Lindemann?

Peter: The thing was, we didn't have a name for this project.

Till: Tägtgren would have been a great name too.

Peter: After we had finished a few songs, it was clear that we now also need a name. For months we texted each other with silly band names. Some were just for fun, while others were meant to be taken seriously.

Till: It's incredibly difficult to find a good name these days. We had some good ideas like 'Way Outs' or 'Krauts' and for me the perfect name would have been 'Stockholm Syndromes'. We then settled on a single word, but most of them were already taken or had domains already registered on them.

Will we ever see you live somewhere?

Till: We want to wait and see how things develop.

Peter: First of all we have to wait for the reactions to know exactly how big it would have to be raised if we want to do it; so not just 50 people in a pizza shop. We'll have to wait and only then can we decide whether and within what framework we can tour. It's difficult to assess at the moment. But we still have time, the entire summer is available to us for planning.

[greensparty]

Album Review: Oasis "Definitely, Maybe (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)"

On August 29, 1994, Definitely, Maybe, the debut album from U.K.'s Oasis was released. It came out just as Britpop was making a splash thanks to bands like Pulp, Blur, Suede and Oasis (all one-word band names). It is hands down one of the best albums of the 90s. It came out a few months after Kurt Cobain's passing and the music world was ready for something new. After years of music groups bemoaning fame, here was a band that wanted to be famous and loved being rock stars, which seemed refreshing. As Oasis-mania swept the world, I actually got more into them in 1996, by which point they had oversaturated rock radio. I picked up Definitely, Maybe on CD and loved it. A lot of people say the best Oasis album is 1995's follow-up (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, which is quite good but isn't nearly as epic as Definitely, Maybe (later the name of a 2008 movie that I worked on too). Being released this Friday on the 30th anniversary (a day later) is Definitely, Maybe (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition).

original album cover

anniversary edition album cover

Through this blog, I've actually gotten to cover some Oasis releases including the 2021 live album Knebworth 1996 and the 25th Anniversary Edition of Be Here Now. Considering the band broke up in 2009, there is still an avid fan base wanting more compilations, live albums, documentaries and anniversary editions. The lineup of Oasis changed many times over the years but the heart and soul of the band has always been the brothers Gallagher: Liam on lead vocals and Noel on guitar and songwriting. Being in a band with your sibling can be both a good and a bad thing. I saw Oasis in 2000 and again in 2001 on the Brotherly Love Tour with The Black Crowes and Spacehog and the Gallaghers had the worst track records of in-fighting of any of those sibling bands.

the vinyl deluxe edition

After the band formed in Manchester, England in 1991 the lineup at this time also included guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs, bassist Paul "Guigsey" McGuigan, and drummer Tony McCarroll. This lineup was among their strongest. Easily! Disc 1 of this edition is the original album remastered. Every song rocks from the epic opening "Rock 'n' Roll Star" down to the acoustic kiss-off of "Married with Children". Disc 2 is the Monnow Valley versions (they first recorded at this studio and the sessions were scrapped, so you're hearing earlier recordings with these versions), Sawmill Studios outtakes (they recorded the album and Sawmill and these outtakes are ones that weren't used in the final recording) and an early 1992 demo of "Sad Song". The original album is a masterpiece and I don't use that term lightly. It was something that was truly of-the-moment: Britpop, Gen X, mid-90s and yet it was also retro with their Beatles' obsession not quite as overt as it would be on the next album, but also their love of Stone Roses, and yet it was also timeless. It's an awesome blast of Marshall amps in a melodic cocky made-for-arena sing-alongs! These new outtakes and alt versions don't really improve on the album, but it is kind of cool to hear the little differences of what it went from to what it became. Some are better than others, but it's short enough to enjoy what you're hearing as opposed to a box set with multiple takes of each song. We also haven't had any new Oasis music in over 15 years, which makes these unearthed versions seem more exciting than they'd normally be. As I was working on this review, news broke this week that Noel and Liam are reuniting with an Oasis tour in 2025 (no U.S. dates yet, but fingers crossed) and that proves how much these songs have stood the test of time!

For info on Definitely, Maybe (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

Original album: 5 out of 5 stars

Anniversary Edition: 4 out of 5 stars

[gauntletqueen]

🤜STREAM TONIGHT🤛

It's Friday the 13th Saturday! That means my buddy Luuk and I are gonna check out this totally haunted PS1 Demo Disc and get killed and stuff! Yaaay!

7PM GMT+2, see yall there~ (twitch link)

[noloveforned]

putting together stuff for tonight's no love for ned on wlur at 8pm. you can catch a repeat of last week's show immediately after at 10pm to give you four solid hours of whatever it is i do on the radio. as is the new norm, last week's show is below and streaming on mixcloud for those of you with more exciting friday night plans!

no love for ned on wlur – july 21st, 2023 from 8-10pm

artist // track // album // label the certain someones // sad salvation // murderecords 7" singles 1993-1998 compilation // murderecords the edsel auctioneer // slouch // simmer // decoy cheerbleederz // cute as hell // even in jest // alcopop! guardian singles // pit viper // feed me to the doves // trouble in mind the ape-ettes // hearing protection // simply the ape-ettes // snappy little numbers the dad // 2nd best friends // 7 a.m. 7" // unread snooper // pod // super snõõper // third man dr. sure's unusual practice // carol // remember the future? live from the future // marthouse keel her // boner hit // with me tonight 7" // o genesis uppendix // desire's not the one // bliss is solipsis // discontinuous innovation famous mammals // comets for poets // instant pop expressionism now! // siltbreeze private lives // hit record // hit record // feel it andrew savage // thanksgiving prayer // several songs about fire // rough trade prairiewolf // sage thrasher // prairiewolf // centripetal force matthew sage // tilth dawn rustles // paradise crick // rvng intl. laraaji and kramer // ascension // baptismal // shimmy-disc anton lukoszevieze, alexander hawkins and heather roche // variations vii and ix (excerpt) // jack cooper 'arrival' // astral spirits carlos niño // brooklyn zoom, brooklyn zoom // international anthem at public records volume four, december 10th, 2022 // international anthem mike reed featuring marvin tate // call off tomorrow // flesh and bone // 482 music john coltrane // impressions // evenings at the village gate // impulse! napoleon da legend and giallo point // game plan // coup d'etat // fxck rxp billy woods and kenny segal featuring quelle chris // soundcheck // maps // backwoodz studioz kenny g featuring barry johnson // hi, how ya doin'? // g force // arista wendell harrison // the glamorous life // the carnivorous lady // rebirth snoh aalegra // be my summer // be my summer digital single // atrium bernice // underneath my toe // cruisin' ep // telephone explosion ivy // get out of the city // apartment life demos // bar/none bonne idée // it will be back // a dream of you 7" // cloudberry lily konigsberg // at best a #3 // the best of lily konigsberg right now // wharf cat u.s. highball // see you in hell // no thievery, just cool // lame-o the particles // driving me // 1980s bubblegum // chapter music

[paulodebargelove]

Chic - Everybody Dance  November 22, 1977 - “Chic”, the debut album by Chic is released. Produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, it is recorded at Electric Lady Studios and The Power Station in New York City from September - October 1977. After playing together in various incarnations since first meeting in 1970, bassist Bernard Edwards and guitarist Nile Rodgers form the band Chic in 1976 with keyboard player Rob Sabino, drummer Tony Thompson and singer Norma Jean Wright rounding out the basic line up. A DJ friend of theirs named Robert Drake gives them an opportunity to make demo recording of their song “Everybody Dance”, by sneaking them into Electric Lady Studios after hours where he works part time as a recording engineer. A few weeks later, Drake invites Rodgers to The Night Owl, an upscale disco where he DJ’s. Spinning two acetate discs he has cut of Chic’s demo of “Everybody”, Rodgers watches him in stunned amazement as the DJ spins the discs non stop for nearly an hour to the euphoric crowd on the dance floor. Shortly after this, the band return to the studio to cut the single “Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)”, which attracts the attention of Buddah Records executive Tom Cossie who options the record for release. When Cossie moves to Atlantic Records only a couple of weeks after Buddah releases “Dance”, he takes the band with him, signing them with Atlantic in spite of the fact they had been previously rejected by the label. The debut album by the New York City based R&B/Disco band is recorded in only three weeks for a budget of $35,000. It features all original songs written by Edwards and Rodgers with vocals by Norma Jean Wright, Alfa Anderson, Diva Gray, David Lasley, Robin Clark and Luther Vandross. It spins off the hit singles “Dance Dance Dance (Yowsah Yowsah Yowsah)” (#6 R&B and Pop) and “Everybody Dance” (#12 R&B, #38 Pop). Instead of putting themselves on the front cover, the album features models Valentine Monnier and Alva Chinn. Originally released on CD in the early 90’s by Atlantic, the original CD is deleted and goes out of print for several years. It is reissued by Wounded Bird Records in 2006, with WEA in Japan remastering and reissuing it on CD in 2011. Out of print on vinyl for more than thirty years, it is remastered and reissued as a 180 gram LP by Friday Music in 2016. The album is remastered and reissued on CD and vinyl again, as part of the box set “The Chic Organization: 1977 - 1979” on November 23, 2018. “Chic” peaks at number twelve on the Billboard R&B album chart, number twenty seven on the Top 200, and is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

[rockabillyfootnotes]

'i'm no moody guy' says shane fenton

nottingham evening news nottingham, nottinghamshire, england friday, november 3, 1961

"i'm no moody guy" says shane fenton as the rockets go up this weekend. in fact shane fenton and the fentones, the mansfield rock 'n' roll group are happy guys because their debut-disc "i'm a moody guy" is anything but a demo squib—it's fringing the top twenty charts. the accusing fentones are bass-guitarist walter bonney, drummer tony hinchcliffe, lead-guitarist jerry wilcock, and rhythm guitarist micky eyre.

[veeranger]

✌️❤️ October 10 - 16 Schedule 🤍✌️

got a good week for yall

check my pinned for all my links

Tuesday - some crazy shit happens in donbrothers im sure. Donbros #32 + Geats #06

Friday - hey remember how I didn’t finish this game last year! yeah!

Saturday - I got an AV to HDMI adapter just because I wanna share some neat PS2 stuff i got at a vintage fair, most notably the MGS2 demo disc and the DMC1 demo disc

Sunday - I’ve been tossing this around for a while now. We’re gunna do a discord watchalong of the key important episodes of KR Black cuz Black Sun comes out this month. We’re doing eps 1-2, 17-19, 22, and 34-35 this week. next sunday we’ll do ep 36 and 45-51. Again this’ll be on discord so join the server if you haven’t already cuz there’ll be no archive of this. also I won’t be talking over it we’re gunna do it like a normal movie night.

[numberxxisora]

Last week, we went on a Disney adventure with what seems to be many elements from the original Jak and Daxter game.

[blazehedgehog]

Response to the Ryan Davis thing, it was in the "How is it Friday" stream at 2:55:00

(As a reminder, technically this is an extension of this)

Huh, that's why I missed it. Seems to be a Twitch-only stream archive that never got put on Youtube. I wonder if he ran in to some copyright stuff with the trailers he watched from that Xbox disc.

Since I assume that vod isn't going to live on Twitch forever, here's a recap of the relevant parts for future people reading about this: the short of it is, Jeff opens with his usual preamble where he rates an energy drink on the list and then works through the very first OXM (Official Xbox Magazine) demo disc ever, which isn't actually a demo disc but is just a normal DVD containing a lot of early Xbox video features. Mostly interviews with the hardware designers as they talk about the Xbox "secret sauce" and letting you "explore the sauce" on "the molecular level" or whatever.

This gets Jeff reminiscing about his time at Gamespot during that era, and how Microsoft was so desperate to prove they were "cool enough" to understand console games. Too desperate, in a lot of cases. They did a lot of dumb posturing like give Seamus Blackley the official job title of "Games Otaku" at Microsoft.

This leads in to talking about the Xbox's role in the game industry back then and how Gamespot dealt with platform differences in reviews, and eventually to Jeff being part of overhauling Gamespot's reviews system not just once, but twice (I believe he was fired before the second overhaul was completed).

Which leads to him talking about the recent wave of firings in the games industry, particularly in the games press, as the big corporations brace for what people are saying is going to be the next great recession. Jeff offers his condolences to those who are fired and ultimately blames the corporate cycle of hiring too many people and then having to fire some, both to save money and possibly even put fear in to the remaining employees as a reminder to never step out of line.

He talks about his time at CBS after they bought GiantBomb and how weird that merger was for them. As they were coming in Jeff said he didn't want to be treated like a startup company anymore, he wanted GiantBomb to be fully integrated into CBS and treated like valued asset with a proper studio, budget, and benefits. By his account, CBS did nothing but give them the runaround, moving goalposts and never letting GiantBomb meaningfully grow as a business. They were always somebody else's problem. All of the downsides of still operating like a startup combined with all the downsides that come with being part of a corporation, and no upshot to speak of whatsoever.

So, around 2012, he was getting ready to walk. Quit GiantBomb entirely. CBS was leaving them to rot, and he did not want to be a part of that anymore.

Then Ryan Davis died.

And suddenly the whole tone at CBS changed. By Jeff's account, he says CBS saw the writing on the wall and the industry-wide outpouring of support GiantBomb was getting in the wake of Ryan's death, and it put fear into them. CBS had already been taking a beating for overpaying on their purchase of CNET, so maybe they didn't want another albatross around their neck, but Jeff says they probably were afraid that everybody at GiantBomb was going to quit, since it was clear they could have jobs anywhere they wanted.

So all those broken promises and all that delayed funding magically came in to focus as a way to sweeten the pot and keep everybody at CBS. Jeff says he believes Ryan's death is the only reason CBS let him hire Dan and Jason. And it worked; most of them stuck it out for another ten years after that, until it all finally fell apart with the pandemic.

He closes out the stream fighting back tears, lamenting what a mess this line of work has always been. To always fight for credibility, accountability and respect, but watching it slip through his fingers, as money dries up and colleagues get run through the grinder over and over. He expresses frustration that there needs to be more to this than just some kid running a studio out of their bedroom. That there needs to be an authority (of sorts) that people can look up to and trust to do the right thing, something that the suits that run these corporations never seem to understand.

Jeff expresses that he has plans in the big picture on what he wants to do now that he's starting over from scratch, but implies that could be years away, since right now, he just wants to spend some well-earned time with his family. He talks about how much Ryan's death was a wake up call for him, how much he's changed over the last five or ten years, and how all he wants to do right now is be there for his kids, because "they're only young once."

And I don't know what to say about that one way or the other. More just a repeat of what Jeff himself expresses: it sucks, but businesses exist to make money. CBS was protecting an asset. And in a perfect world things would be better, with smarter people who didn't wait until a moment of panic to properly support their employees.

We can only fight for a better tomorrow.

[tremolo]

The Cure - Wish (Deluxe Edition)

Disc 1

01. Open 02. High 03. Apart 04. From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea 05. Wendy Time 06. Doing The Unstuck 07. Friday I'm In Love 08. Trust 09. A Letter To Elise 10. Cut 11. To Wish Impossible Things 12. End

Disc 2

01. The Big Hand (1990 Demo Version) 02. Cut (1990 Demo Version) 03. A Letter To Elise (1990 Demo Version) 04. Wendy Time (1990 Demo Version) 05. This Twilight Garden (Instrumental Demo Version) 06. Scared As You (Instrumental Demo Version) 07. To Wish Impossible Things (Instrumental Demo Version) 08. Apart (Instrumental Demo Version) 09. T7 (Instrumental Demo Version) 10. Now Is The Time (Instrumental Demo Version) 11. Miss Van Gogh (Instrumental Demo Version) 12. T6 (Instrumental Demo Version) 13. Play (Instrumental Demo Version) 14. A Foolish Arrangement (Instrumental Demo Version) 15. Halo (Instrumental Demo Version) 16. Trust (Instrumental Demo Version) 17. Abetabw (Instrumental Demo Version) 18. T8 (Instrumental Demo Version) 19. Heart Attack (Instrumental Demo Version) 20. Swing Change (Instrumental Demo Version) 21. Frogfish (Instrumental Demo Version)

Disc 3

01. Uyea Sound (Dim-D Mix) 02. Cloudberry (Dim-D Mix) 03. Off To Sleep... (Dim-D Mix) 04. The Three Sisters (Dim-D Mix) 05. A Wendy Band (Instrumental Version) 06. From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea (Partscheckruf Mix) 07. Open (Fix Mix) 08. High (Higher Mix) 09. Doing The Unstuck (Extended 12'' Mix) 10. Friday I'm In Love (Strangelove Mix) 11. A Letter To Elise (Blue Mix) 12. End (Live In Paris)

[squeemcsquee]

Anime Iowa 2022, Friday

Hooray! This year, we were at Anime Iowa from the beginning! We went up Thursday to get settled in the Homewood Suites by Hilton – not the host hotel, but very close to the con (5 minute walk, roughly). Not gonna lie, I’m torn on the idea of staying there the next time we attend Anime Iowa – I loved having the convenience of a mini kitchen area for saving costs on food.

 And the walk wasn’t bad, unless you’re bogged down with purchases from the various con vendors. You can see the con hotel from the edge of the parking lot of the Homewood Suites.

 On the other hand, it was harder to get going back to the con again sometimes after settling in the room for a meal.

The complementary continental breakfast offered by the hotel was also a strong point in its favor for future Anime Iowa trips.

On Friday, we headed over to the con at about 1130. As expected for a Friday, crowds were somewhat sparse. 

Once we collected our badges, we split up – @lechevaliermalfet​ headed to attend a Gundam panel and I headed toward Main Events for the AnimeIowa Idol Showcase. While I was watching amateur idol groups, @lechevaliermalfet​ was people-watching, as his panel was unfortunately cancelled.

With time to kill after the idol showcase concluded - well before the Marketplace opened – we hit up the wetland park behind the convention. The area really is quite pretty and its easy to see why it’s a popular place for cosplay photoshoots.  It’s also not bad for Pokemon Go.

After the park, we took a lunch break. When we return to the con, we wandered to video gaming. Anime Iowa doesn’t do an arcade, and we didn’t feel like waiting around for a console to open up. But by the time we decided this, the Marketplace had opened, so all was well.

In the marketplace, we made sure to stop by RightStuf’s booth, as they were running giveaways all weekend. But, unlike our last two Anime Iowa trips, we didn’t win anything from Right Stuf this year. Oh well – we tried!

The selection of artists and vendors on hand was nice. You had your usual mix of sword vendors, artists, cosplay dealers, etc. Wild Bill’s was present and we once more realized we’d forgotten our mugs & coupons. Maybe next time?

After wandering the Marketplace – and miraculously not yet spending $$ - we hit up the Right Stuf panel. As usual, they had a demo regarding the superior quality of their packing. As usual, despite being thrown, kicked, etc., the set within the package was unharmed. 

We left the panel with a resolve to obtain a copy of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei after hearing about the efforts the team made to explain all of the gags present in the show. When your reference book is thicker than the actual disc set itself, you know you’re in for an interesting time! Sadly, we had to order online as we didn’t see any copies at the booth during the con.

After Right Stuf, we had plenty of time for a dinner break before returning to the Main Events area of the con for Sh*t Cosplayers Say, which was an 18+ event. Hosted by LaVie Cosplay, who run a podcast with the same title, the panel is styled after Jeopardy. Phil the Fridge, the podcast mascot, was on stage.

Some lucky panel attendees got to play Phil the Fridge, the shape-sorting game for toddlers. 

Attendees were treated to categories such as “Iowa Man” and “Drunk O’Clock.”  Many anecdotes were shared that sometimes seemed too ridiculous, even though all were true. This is a panel I highly recommend trying to catch if it’s at a con you’re attending.

When the panel released, we went out to join the line for the Drag Show. This is probably where one of my biggest complaints about this year’s Anime Iowa was most evident – masking was not enforced and we were crowded into that room. I don’t believe there were any empty seats once the ones reserved for Sponsors and non-attendees were freed up (they had to be unclaimed for the first 15 minutes, I think, after seating began). Yes, non-attendees. Anime Iowa sold wristbands this year that let folks who didn’t want to attend the con come in for the Drag and Burlesque shows. On the one hand, I understand that this means more money for the con. On the other – especially since the Main Events room for Friday was only half the size that was allotted for Saturday  - many con attendees were disappointed because they weren’t able to get into the room for the show.

And it was a spectacular Drag Show. The crowd got into it, sometimes singing along with the music that accompanied a performance, sometimes whooping for a specific move. I was somewhat hoarse by the end, myself.

When we exited the drag show, it was clear that there was no way we would be able to get back into Main Events to attend the burlesque – we would��ve been much further back in line than we had been for the Drag Show. So we went to the Family Programming room for the Art Jam, instead. It was basically quiet time to doodle whatever we wanted.

We probably chilled there for about 30 minutes or so before deciding to call it a night. We took a stroll through the back patio party as we headed back to our hotel. Caution tape and a tent marked a mini dance area, where a DJ was busy entertaining. We also watched a Star Wars cosplayer practicing with his lightsaber. Another joined him for a short duel.

And thus concluded our Friday.

For all Anime Iowa 2022 posts

Friday

Friday cosplayers

Saturday

Saturday cosplayers

Sunday

Sunday cosplayers

[noloveforned]

the sad news came out on wednesday that steve albini passed away from a heart attack on tuesday. rather than our normal show tonight on wlur, we're going to spend two hours tonight listening to just a small sample of the albums he recorded over his forty year career as a recording engineer. here's an excellent obituary from the atlantic (gift link that should give the full article for two weeks) that i would encourage you to read.

and as always, you can catch up with last week's show on mixcloud.

no love for ned on wlur – may 3rd, 2024 from 10pm-midnight

artist // track // album // label beings // flowers that talk // there is a garden // no quarter the aislers set // mission bells // john peel session on april 10th, 2001 ep // precious lud // starlight // music for librarians ep // (self-released) elf power // historical ant wars // when the red king comes (outtake) // orange twin tape olympics // ketamine daydream // so many things at once compilation cassette // 6612 tapes cindy lee // glitz // diamond jubilee // (self-released) adult human females // tuck tuck goose // demo cassette // lost sound tapes so cow // ara sure look // affected services ep // (self-released) tsunami // load hog // diner 7" ep // simple machines camera obscura // big love // look to the east, look to the west // merge nancy sinatra // my baby cried all night long // how does that grab you? // light in the attic r.e. seraphin // argument stand // fool's mate // take a turn blondshell and bully // docket // docket digital single // partisan jen powers and matthew j. rolin duo // peridot (excerpt) // clearing // astral editions daniel bachman // blue ridge turnpike // the music of invisible ground compilation // aquabear legion hochzeitskapelle featuring enid valu // we dance // we dance ep // alien transistor kara jackson // right, wrong or ready // right, wrong or ready digital single // September amirtha kidambi's elder ones // the great lie // new monuments // we jazz ghost trees // meanwhile gesture // intercept method // (self-released) harry beckett // third road // flare up // philips saba and no id featuring madison mcferrin, ogi and jordan ward // head.rap // head.rap digital single // (self-released) lilblackkids // friday // planet of the blues: part one // epistrophik peach sound sam gendel and sam wilkes // rugged road // the doober // leaving salami rose joe louis and flanafi // american moss // sarah // (self-released) prince // magnificent // musicology (outtake) // npg u.s. girls featuring alanna stuart // pump // bless this mess // 4ad phantom handshakes // passport (how far i will be) // a passport to remain // (self-released) kirsty maccoll // he's on the beach (extended) // he's on the beach 12" // stiff poundsign // rooftops // michigan 7" // belmondo discs the reds, pinks and purples // rare night (don't say goodbye) // this is adult art school // (self-released) velocity girl // it's all alright by me // incidentals ep // (self-released)

[raeuberkotzenrotz]

IPoRC (Internet Protocol over Rail Carrier)

I was on a small trip this weekend, part business, part pleasure. Visiting a supplier on friday, crashing on a friend's couch for the night, tradeshow on saturday, home by saturday night.

My wonderful host (Let's call him F.) is an old school nerd. Involved with the demo scene all the way back (he's in his mid-thirties by now I'd wager?) F. is a treasure trove of stories from that general area (and time, the time of sourcing dubious phonecards to acquire the latest shit from demo parties in Helsinki).

F. had a bunch of friends in the Ruhr, a group of 3 who were absolute savants at cracking games. No DRM was safe, it sometimes took them less than a day to breach the latest and greatest of the gaming market.

Now the new C64 hype game is coming out, the title eluded the narrator, and it's looking like primo material for the gang. HOWEVER: Distribution details mean the European release is delayed, compared to the NA one. Game releases on Friday, Europe can expect it by the following week some time. Time may not be money here but it's clout. Whoever has the crack up first gets the accolades and there's no way our friends will let them slip.

A friend in Paris works at a distribution center for software and as it just so happens the discs will pass through him. He gives word he can walk out of work with the disc Friday evening. This leaves one issue: How do you get the disc from Paris to Germany and FAST?

France boasts one of Europe's finest high speed rail networks and by that time the Trains à Grand Vitesse are already well connected into Germany with Cologne serving as the primary hub there. One minor problem: none of the people involved have the spare cash for a TGV ticket (and back). So on friday our man in Paris goes to the Gare de l'Est, slips onto the train and tapes the disc under the first seat he can find. Word is given to Germany about the carriage number and seat, our man exits stage right and into the Parisian night (this was prior to SNCF becoming paranoid to the point of parking police with military grade weapons at the entrance to the platforms, you could NOT pull this maneuver nowadays).

Meanwhile over in the Ruhr our friends board their car bound for cologne central. The train has about a 20 minute layover before turning the other way back to Paris, so after it has emptied the gang heads in and retrieves the disc in a truly Hollywood maneuver.

Saturday noon the crack is up, they are the first and they did so before the game even hit stores in Europe.

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

LZZY HALE And AMY LEE Team Up To Record New Version Of HALESTORM's 'Break In'

HALESTORM's Lzzy Hale and EVANESCENCE's Amy Lee have teamed up to record a new version of the HALESTORM song "Break In".

The reimagined version of the track, which originally appeared on HALESTORM's second album, 2012's "The Strange Case Of...", was recorded last October at a Nashville studio with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who had previously worked with both bands.

The new version of "Break In" will be released in August, presumably as a standalone single.

On Friday (May 8), Lee was a guest on Hale's Internet show "Raise Your Horns With Lzzy Hale", where the two also performed a quarantine rendition of "Break In" from their respective homes.

Speaking about the collaboration, Lzzy told Amy: "What I love about dueting on that song with you is that it started out as as love song that I wrote for my significant other" — referring to HALESTORM guitarist Joe Hottinger — "but when we sing it together, it's this act of unity, especially with the two of us being women and being women musicians. It's like we have each other's backs. And the lyrics mean something completely different when I sing it [with you]."

Regarding the way the new version of "Break In" was recorded, Lzzy said: "We did it performance-style, literally next to each other in the same room — from beginning of song to end of song, singing with each other.

"I've never done anything like that, but especially with a female singer of your prowess."

Amy added: "Nick always gets the challenge and gets the most out of me… So he made us stand there in the room and sing it live together a bunch of times. What that really means is that editing, you couldn't use when you did something cool but I messed up; it would have to be that we both nailed it for it to make the cut. So to do it in that way was really challenging and it was really cool and it fits the song so well.

"I remember you saying, and we both were saying, when we were listening back, it's really weird, at times — I know my part, but you can't pick out whose voice that is in that one particular moment, 'cause we started matching each other, 'cause it was on the spot. It's really cool how that happens.

"It feels like a match. It doesn't feel like any one person is pulling the other person along a little bit or leading the train. It really felt like an evenly matched dance."

Lzzy and Amy originally performed "Break In" together in 2012 during the "Carnival Of Madness" tour, which was headlined by EVANESCENCE and featured HALESTORM in the support slot. At the time, Hale told Zoiks! Online about how the live collaboration came about: "It's funny. We had talked in the beginning of the tour, 'Oh, we should do something.' What would we do? Do we do a cover? Do I come out during her set? She came up to me, I think it was two weeks in and said, 'I'm obsessed with your song 'Break In' right now.' I was like, 'Thank you so much.' Then she said, 'I know all of your parts, all the backing parts and everything.' I was like, 'Sweet, that's awesome.' Then she said, 'This is going to sound really weird and please feel free to say no, but do you think I could come up during that song and sing it with you?' I'm, like, 'Of course. This is awesome.' We didn't have a whole lot of time to rehearse. We literally ran through it once before our show in El Paso, right before the doors opened. It was perfect. I told her, queue insane crowd noise. She was like, 'Oh, I don't know.' 'No, seriously — they're going to freak when you walk out on stage.' ... [And] they did. We couldn't hear each other for the first four lines."

EVANESCENCE's long-awaited new album, "The Bitter Truth", will arrive this year. The disc's first single, "Wasted On You", came out last month and is the first in a series of songs that the band will make available from "The Bitter Truth" incrementally, culminating in the release of the full album.

Lzzy said in a recent interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation" that she is using the downtime during the COVID-19 lockdown to keep working on material for HALESTORM's fifth studio LP.

HALESTORM has been writing and demoing material since January, with Hale saying she can record almost everything except drums in her home studio.

The next HALESTORM album will follow up 2018's "Vicious". The band has hinted at recording one or two EPs in the interim, but have not revealed any further information on whether they've been completed or what they contain.