WU-TANG's GZA raps and rhymes on StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson

Grand Theft Auto V (Gameplay)

en

Top 5 Greatest Anime Soundtracks!

Top 5 Greatest Anime Soundtracks!:

Previous Lists... Top 2D Fighting Games
Welcome back to the Top 5, Vice-squad. This week, I’m
tackling every otaku’s secret obsession - - the anime OST. If you watch Japanese
cartoons with any kind of regularity, then you’re sure to have noticed the
music. And if your heart’s not made of stone, then you probably have an opinion
about 'em!
Even my shriveled black heart doubles in size when I hear
the FIST OF THE NORTH STAR theme…

This is not the Top 5 of theme songs, though! Those
heartless devils at the VICE PIT already covered that one. No no, we’re talking
about albums here - - music that supports, enriches, or defines the feel and tone
of an anime. Albums I might even listen to if I didn’t like the show
they’re associated with...
HONORABLE MENTION == BIG O

This soundtrack could have made this list on the merits of
the insane Queen-take-off theme song alone - - but the rest of the album is pretty
damn solid, as well!
There’s the expected bombast of a giant-robot-show, but also
plenty of moody, spooky and haunting songs to fill to out the track list. The show is half-mystery, after all, and the album reflects that. In fact, I’d argue
that the more pensive and somber tracks actually steal the show some!

Plenty of memorable songs, and a tone that manages to
effortlessly cover epic robot fights and foggy memories of a mysterious past, make this a real winner.
NUMBER FIVE == NEON GENESIS EVANGELION

I’ve ranted before about my feelings for this show, but there's no denying the power and
success of its music. The theme song is recognizable from the first note and
catchier than a bad cold on an airplane. Despite all the poppy melodies, the hilarious synth-horn-section and
upbeat tempo, there’s a fair amount of sadness in the vocals. That sadness
hints just a bit at what you’re in for with this emotional rollercoaster of
cartoon.
This soundtrack is all about melodrama on an almost operatic
scale. The mood bounces back and forth between somber and panicked, with some
really epic moments and spirited climaxes. For the most part, this music lurks,
creeps and smolders; such that when the big horns and more aggressive melodies do
arrive, it all feels especially gigantic.

“Rei I” is full
of sweet, lilting melodies played over sparse piano and strings, while “EVA 00”
opens immediately with tense stabbing staccato strings before introducing
ominous swelling horns and some nasty guitar.
“Marking Time Waiting for Death”
uses a pounding, clicking rhythm that suggests both a ticking clock and a
beating heart. The track builds steadily until reaching its climax in a heap of
horns. And of course, there’s the triumphant swell of “A Decisive Battle” and
the shuffle of “NERV” which has a bit of a spaghetti western vibe to it.

These songs and themes are absolutely memorable and the
grandiose horns make a lot of sense with the enormous robots, monsters and big, big
feelings of the show. The performances are all dead-on... with the possible
exception of what sounds to me like a flub towards the end of “Tokyo-3" (or is not there, and I'm just crazy?).
NUMBER FOUR == FLCL

Almost on the opposite spectrum from EVA, here's non-stop, messy, garage energy - - with tons of gems by J-rock superstars, the Pillows. I have to admit, I’m not usually into J-rock outside of the context of
anime, but these guys totally won me over. “Ride on Shooting Star” is
undeniable and infectious. The cutting twang of that guitar fits so nicely next
to the slight sneer of the vocals, and the drummer knows exactly when to
let the song breath...

The songs without vocals tend to work just as well,
balancing between screeching, fuzzed-out guitar, and a refreshingly raw drum
sound. Songs like “Rush” and “Advice” set a somewhat aggressive tone, but the grunge and fuzz always give way
in time for an optimistic or triumphant melody to poke through. Despite being
so loud and aggressive, these songs are never overbearing or gloomy.
This is a case where the whole feel of the show is so dependent on the music that this soundtrack feels completely indispensable.
FLCL just wouldn’t be as good with a more traditional, reserved, or less
aggressive soundtrack. It supports the style of storytelling and the manic nature of the characters, as well as just sounding damn nice.
If this soundtrack stumbles at all, it’s in the slower,
quieter moments. These feel a bit more like padding, less memorable, and less
interesting than their more boisterous counterparts. Honestly, I think the Pillows are just more comfortable playing loud and messy, and it shows.

This is absolutely an album I would listen to if I’d never
seen FLCL (or even if I hated anime). It fits alongside albums by
Yuck, Sonic Youth, Wavves, or even Boris. And if you’re familiar with any of these
bands, you know what a compliment that is!
NUMBER THREE == VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE 1 + 2

This is an example of music that works less in individual albums, but perfectly as support for a show. The music itself is often
subtle, airy and sparse (though there are definitely some heavy-hitters),
designed to fit behind the action of a scene. This is a collection of very well-composed music that anchors the show and defines the setting.

Yoko Kanno, once again proving she’s capable of anything,
composes a score of sweeping and epic classical arrangements. Of all the albums
on this list, this actually feels the most like a traditional Hollywood movie
score like LORD OF THE RINGS or HARRY POTTER.
And then there’s that theme song... that big softie Tom's favorite...
This is about as bubbly as
I’m comfortable getting. To be honest, this is pushing it a little bit, but
yeah, I can’t resist. I’m not made of stone, OK? The driving piano that
introduces the song, the deep bell hits that accents the rhythm, and those
unrelentingly peppy vocals force their way into your heart and never,ever back down...

Things do get pretty dark on these albums, though. There’s a
lot of pretty silly choral chanting of “Escaflowne” throughout, and some really
evocative and somber tracks between all the soaring triumph and giddy J-pop.
“Shadow of Doubt” is a standout with its cascading layers of strings and
syncopated rhythm. I have to admit the choral pieces can also be pretty
beautiful, once you get past the fact that they’re singing the name of a giant
dragon-robot...

Escaflowne has a far sweeter soundtrack than the others on
this list, but the weight of its climactic moments - - and its patient, elegant
approach to themes - - earn it a place on this list, and the distinction of it being
some of Kanno’s best work.
NUMBER 2 == TRIGUN – FIRST DONUTS

This is sort of a no-brainer for anyone who was into anime
in the 90's. Again, I’ll spare you my opinions on Trigun itself and just say
that this soundtrack fits the mood of the show perfectly....
And damn if it doesn’t make my head
nod!
“H.T” charges out of the gate with a dirty, distorted riff that you’d have
to be dead not to love, before the punchy backbeat propels us to a big hook of even more guitar. It’s short, heavy and leaves you wanting more. I also think
it’s a smart decision to go for a kind of “desert rock” vibe with the music. There’s a bit of a winking self-awareness to it, and it promises a
good time.
Plus, are those bongo fills I hear!?

Surprisingly, the rest of the soundtrack is a bit harder to
pin down to one category; though it all feels cohesive and “of the desert.”
Sure, there are the wailing distorted guitars, bongos and funky drums that you
might expect after hearing the theme song, but there’s also a fair amount of
flute, electronic noodling and some really gentle melodies. There’s a wide
range of emotions here, and I actually like the sort of techno-breakbeat-rock
since it hints a bit at the show's sci-fi element.
Album opener “No Beat” is a perfect example of how odd and
awesome this soundtrack is. It’s an immediately challenging song, full of weird
noises, and it does in fact feature a beat that’s a little hard to find at
first. It's surprisingly complex and interesting stuff!
But don’t worry... there are
also plenty of big riffs to come. Not to mention some jangly western guitar, and even a few quieter, jazzy
moments...

Occasionally, FIRST DONUTS does drift off the rails a bit
into cutesy or boring territory. However, while there may be a few stumbles, I
don’t think there’s a true dud on the album. The best moments tend to be the
more ballsy ones, like the soaring guitar in “Blood and Thunder” or the wall of drums in “Yellow Alert.”
It would have been nice to get one more face-melter like
“H.T.,” but there’s a lot to like in what’s here...

This is an album full of impressive musicianship,
interesting and unusual arrangements, and amazing (and surprisingly funky)
drumming. And yes, also big fat
riffs.
NUMBER ONE == COWBOY BEBOP 1

Yoko Kanno seems incapable of making a bad soundtrack and
this is, by my estimation, her greatest triumph. Soundtracks that try to approximate
a certain sound, or genre, often tend to sound false or forced. These songs
feel alive, unique, timeless, and legitimate. I wont pretend that this album
can stand alongside classic jazz albums, but it feels like a loving nod to them
as apposed to a half-assed attempt to replicate.
And that theme song…!
“Tank!” is perfect. I get goose-bumps
every time, and when it’s over I have to fight the urge to hit back and start it
all over again. The feel is perfect for the show, and it’s got an amazing jazzy
swagger that just sounds hip, retro and classy. Like the Lupin III of our generation, COWBOY BEBOP had a lot to offer, and this
theme song made that clear from the very beginning...

Almost unbelievably, the rest of the soundtrack is just
about all on par with the opening theme! This is a rock solid collection of
songs: many you’ll remember from specific episodes, and others you
may have missed the first time through. There’s a mix (unsurprisingly) of
up-tempo jazzy numbers and old west plunking and harmonica, which give the
album a nice variety and pace.
And damn can these guys play!
I was actually a little
shocked to find such a high level of musicianship in all of the soundtracks in
this Top 5, but the Seatbealts blow them all away. They absolutely tear up the
more raucous and energetic tracks, but even the spaced out slow-jams like
“Space-Lion” are pretty flawless (when those vocals creep in at the end, I get
chills!). This album is brimming with heartfelt enthusiasm and confidence.
“Waltz for Zizi” is almost a parody of an old west ballad, but it works because
the band believes in it and they just nail the performance.

This song starts with a pretty awesome cover of Tom Waits' "midtown" before becoming its own thing. Really love that intro (and the original Tom Waits version)!

I suppose my one complaint with this first soundtrack is the
conspicuous absence of “The Real Folk Blues.” I’m betting this was to get
audiences to keep buying the soundtracks (there are a ton of them after all),
but it’s a shame because this would feel like a truly complete collection of Bebop’s “greatest hits” if it had that closing theme.
I must admit, “Memory,”
the song that does closes the album, is also pretty perfect and always leaves
me wanting more...

I’m sure many of you are outraged that you don’t see one of
your favorites on this list.
Well, you know what to do-- leave an inflammatory
comment in the section below! Maybe I’ll even consider making a Part 2…
Alex Eckman-Lawn is an illustrator and comic artists from Philadelphia. Check out his site - -alexeckmanlawn.com - - rumble with his Tumblr - -dudenukem.tumblr.com - - and hit up his Twitter: @alexeckmanlawn

Monday Morning Podcast 2-4-13

Monday Morning Podcast 2-4-13

Tom Brady’s New Mansion Has A Moat (Photos)

Tom Brady’s New Mansion Has A Moat (Photos):

To loosely quote Drake ‘Just bought a crib so big it came with a moat’.
When you’re Tom Brady rich, things like $10,000 fines for unnecessary roughness and such, are kinda like chump change. The Detroit Free Press obtained photos of the $20 million mega-mansion in Southern California. Here’s some brief details of the near mythical in size abode

Among the many features in its 22,000 square feet are a resort-style pool, massive play area for children and a common medieval fortification system.

I think a lot of the Brady ‘dislike’ comes from the fact that Brady doesn’t do things like the common man, the common man doesn’t have the wealthiest super model in the world for a wife, wear uggs, have 3 Super Bowl rings and I guess, we can now add ‘have a kick-ass home with a moat’ to the list.
All we can do is tip our caps to Brady, as he will have an ultra-cozy place to rest up during the off season. Yes, that really is a moat…

There's So Much More to MLK Than 'I Have a Dream'

There's So Much More to MLK Than 'I Have a Dream':

Back in 2001, I was trying to get my eleventh grade U.S. history class to focus on a passage from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1967 book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? Unfortunately, I was not surprised when a student protested, "We already know about him. We're tired of hearing about Martin Luther King."
So I asked, "Okay, what do you know about him?"
"He had a dream," another student replied as others laughed.
I insisted that there was infinitely more to King and his ideas than one very famous speech. "Well, that's all they ever show us," someone complained.
"And that's why I'm trying to show you something new about him," I responded, showing—I hope—only a hint of my frustration.
I decided to put together a unit designed to help students penetrate the curtain of clichés and lies the corporate media have erected around Martin Luther King, Jr. in order to make him "safe" for public consumption. The bland projection of an image promoting moderate reforms and racial harmony obscures King’s legacy of opposition to capitalist exploitation and violence at home and abroad.
My goal was for my students to be able to explicitly identify the ways in which King is portrayed in the mass media, and specifically, which of his ideas are communicated to the public. I also wanted them to read and discuss a range of King's ideas that are almost completely unknown to most of the public today and reflect upon why many of King's ideas introduced in this lesson are almost never referenced in the mass media or in U.S. history textbooks.
For example, like the students in my class, most students have heard about Dr. King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech, but they rarely hear about his "Beyond Vietnam," address given four years later on April 4, 1967 at Riverside Church in New York City. At a time when nearly 25 percent of American children live in poverty, King’s words on the extremes of wealth and poverty still resonate today:

"… I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."

Many students also don't know that corporate outsourcing of jobs overseas was also a problem nearly 46 years ago when Dr. King gave this speech. He went on to note:

"…A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa, and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say: 'This is not just.'"

While many of my students have at least some knowledge of the Vietnam War, most have been surprised to learn that King vehemently opposed the war and called the U.S. government "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." Of course, this leads to a discussion of parallels with U.S. militarism in our time.
One student wrote,

"What I didn't know was what he wanted to do for Vietnam. He said the bulldozers destroyed their areas and the precious trees, poison their water and kill a million acres of crops. He said if 'we ignore this sobering reality, we will find ourselves organizing [clergy and laymen concerned] committees for the next generation.' I never heard this whole speech before and I thought it was cool that he wanted to help not just the African Americans but Vietnamese."

Others were equally surprised that King planned to lead a massive direct action Poor People's Campaign. One student explained that she "didn’t know that his plan was to 'mobilize and train thousands of poor and allies to camp out [in front of the White House] with him until they help the poor.' He planned to group the poor together, no matter the color, race. I didn't know he wanted unity, well maybe I did, but I didn’t know he fought for the justice of poor people of all color and race."
This student's closing sentence highlights a key difference between the simplistic racial harmony typically attributed to Dr. King and the militant, multiracial class solidarity he actively organized just before he was murdered.
I have taught a version of this mini-unit every year since developing it, revising it each time based on the previous year’s experience. When I moved to middle school last year I adjusted the pedagogy and content for my eighth graders, who proved to be as receptive to King’s radical vision as my eleventh graders had been. But the administration at my new school objected that "its place in the sequence of the curriculum and its relevance to the content standards is questionable," since California’s eighth grade U.S. History framework formally concludes in 1914.
The administration either hadn't noticed the explicit connections the lesson—taught during Black History Month—made between struggles against slavery and Native American removal. Or maybe they didn't think these connections sufficiently justified two days of instructional time in the weeks preceding the state’s high stakes standardized history test.
I cannot justify taking this material out of my curriculum and denying my students what may be their only chance to encounter Martin Luther King's radical vision that is as relevant now as ever. As one of my students wrote, "We never hear about King’s other ideas because the people in power are afraid that we might try to take up some of King’s ideas and make it a reality."
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
A version of this post originally appeared at Zinn Education Project

Win GREMLINS Art from Bottleneck Gallery's Gizmos and Gadgets Show

Win GREMLINS Art from Bottleneck Gallery's Gizmos and Gadgets Show:

It is a common saying that a man’s best friend....are his Gizmos and Gadgets? Sorry animal lovers but at this show, this new adage rings true. We are constantly reminded by popular culture that in a time of great need, there is nothing better to have at your side than something conjured up by man. Whether the Gizmo or Gadget’s idea came about while on the toilet, was made in the deep recesses of a dark and rodent filled cave, or just simply provides the speed necessary to get you from point A to point B (while eluding your followers), Bottleneck’s newest show focuses on the material items made popular by your favorite movies, television shows and books. Each artist will present a piece depicting a Gizmo or Gadget that has shaped our culture in some way, shape or form. Who said being materialistic was a bad thing?

We've got some amazing geek art from tonight's Bottleneck Gallery's Gizmos and Gadgets Show in NYC, and your chance to win a print. The show starts tonight with an opening reception from 7-10pm, and runs until February 3. Keep reading to check out the images and to enter the giveaway.

 

Thanks to our friends at Bottleneck Gallery, we are able to give one lucky winner the above Gremlin print done by Mark Lones. 

Enter Below:

Entry-Form

.

Follow Jim on Twitter and Tumblr

Cyborg!: New Vibrator Makes Your Fingers The Vibrator

Cyborg!: New Vibrator Makes Your Fingers The Vibrator:

I happen to know finger vibrators have existed for awhile because I remember going to buy vitamins at Target (that's my story and I'm sticking to it) and seeing that Trojan was even selling one. That one wasn't nearly powerful enough for my needs though so I wound up giving it to my roommate to wear as a friendship ring (after it was in my butt -- Sshhhhh!). Enter JimmyJane's $65 HELLO TOUCH, a battery pack powered finger vibrator that makes not one but TWO fingers all vibratey (plus make you look like some sort of pleasure-cyborg from the future) Wear two on one hand and have FOUR vibrating fingers! Wear three on one arm and have all five fingers vibrating and maybe tape the spare you to your peen or a nipple or something. I don't know, get creative! Apparently the thing has 3x the power of regular fingertip vibrators. It's so powerful, in fact, I heard that with just a bucket of water it doubles as a washing machine.

Thanks to Stacy, who I'm pretty sure works for the company. Let me know when my box of dildos is in the mail.

A Breakdown of Facebook Traffic

A Breakdown of Facebook Traffic:

Doghouse Diaries takes a look at what makes up typical facebook traffic.

Charting Employment Happiness Over Time

Charting Employment Happiness Over Time:

Jacob Samuel of The Daily Snooze charts employment happiness over time from unemployed through working.
via Lori Dorn

Funko Announces DOMO + DC Comics Blind Box Vinyl Figures

Funko Announces DOMO + DC Comics Blind Box Vinyl Figures:
Funko proudly announces the exciting new licensing super team of Domo + DC Comics in Blind Box Vinyl Figures.

2.5 ” Vinyl Figures coming in February 2013 with a suggested retail of $5.95.

Wave 1 consists of: Batman (3 versions), Robin (2 versions), Superman (2 versions), Clark Kent, Aquaman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Shazam, The Riddler and Two-Face.
ALSO – Keep an eye out for Domo + DC Comics Pop! Vinyl 4″ figures also coming in February!