Wednesday, 1 April 2009
“Of the Month” April ’09
Link of the Month:
165 Bots With Stuff
Cartoonist/Illustrator Chris Grine has committed himself to drawing three robots every week until he’s drawn 165 total robots. But not just any robots; these are robots “with” stuff. He’s already up to #26, and he’s already getting a little desperate, but some of his more imaginative inventions are quite a hoot, like his robot with a really cool jetpack but no friends to show it to, and the robot with a delicious groundhog. I always like it when artists commit to projects like this, so I’m planning on keeping up with his progress. I suggest you do the same, buster!
Album of the Month:
Three Ninjas: Welcome to Boy Zone
Self-described as Nerdcore “Hip Hop” (quotes included), Welcome to Boy Zone is a wonderfully weird album, ranging from songs about evolution and taxonomy like “The Premise of Dogs” through melancholy religious musings like “Not Devoted” and back out again to a song about House M.D., the delightful “Going Gay for House” (which eventually evolves into a cover of Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” except that Three Ninjas sings, “Sweet Dreams are House M.D.”). The music is an equally eclectic mix of beats, electronica, samples, and acoustic guitars, and styles vary wildly from song to song. The whole affair has a definitely endearing lo-fi quality to it, making the album as a whole nearly impossible to categorize… in a good way.
Game of the Month:
BIT.TRIP BEAT
Only $6 on the Wii Virtual Console, this Wiiware game is an absolute hoot. It’s basically a one-player Pong variant (or multi-player cooperative). You control a paddle on the left side of the screen and you try to deflect the dots coming from the right side of the screen. But as you hit each dot you’re actually contributing to a steadily-building song in each of three massive levels. The better you do, the better the graphics and sound become, ranging from at worst a 2-bit, monochrome and monotone netherworld up through a mid-level with 8-bit-style graphics and sound, and culminating in 16-bit-style graphics and sound. Each level has multiple zones to complete, and the dots begin moving in more and more complicated patterns. There are even boss fights at the end of each level. And the game is hard. Really, really frikkin’ difficult. But its simplicity of play and damnably catchy music make it difficult to put down. You keep thinking, “This time I know I can do it!”
Categories: Links, Music, Of the Month, Robots, Video Games.
