Sad music indie style
Before anything: yes, i know this group has been around for a very long time, yes, i know they are famous elsewhere, but hey, i was just a kid when they started playing and that kind of music never stuck around here.
Anyway, this time around i write about a group i started listening to about a year ago. This Toronto based group has been around since the 90s. However, their style has given them a very unique identity. Death cab for cutie has succesfully created their own place in music, with a specific mixture of lyrics, piano-based music and pop-like rythms
At first glance, this group might seem a bit familiar, like you’ve heard the type of tunes before. But (at least for me) there is one constant all the time in their songs, it’s there in their instrumental arrangements, in the tone the lead vocals take, and definitely in the lyrics. Nostalgia is one of the core ingredients in this group. Their songs speak about the sadness of reality, the grim vision of the present, and the distant memory of when things were better.
However, it all comes together very well. There’s normally a sort of calm instrumental cycle in the background, which just serves to increase the sense of nostalgia in the songs. Love seems to be at center of things (isn’t it always?), of enjoying it, accepting it’s gone, moving on as it turns just into another memory.
Maybe the cold and hard canadian winters shaped this vision, i don’t know, but in this style, and through the feelings they try to evoke, there is something else lying underneath the songs…peace. Beneath every layer of music you can find peace while listening to it. It’s surely not happy, and it speaks some pretty though words, but peace can coexist with both, as it does in this group’s music.
So, feeling lonely? Sad? Want some calm tunes floating around your head? Listen to this group then: sad music…indie style.
Times, they are a changing
Well, it certainly has been a pretty long while since my last post. Last months were certainly tough, but i thought i should return to this blog, and stop leaving it on the shelf. So, what? Another music review? A movie one? No..this time i write about new persepectives on what it means for some men to take care of their apperance.
Though some time ago guys who shaved their pubes were commonly cause of stirred discussions regarding sexuality, nowadays it seems to be not only accepted, but even encouraged. Even gillette itself has published videos on how to do it. Tagline: when there is no underbrush, the tree looks taller.
I, for one, have never done it. Does the “tree” look taller?? Maybe, but it also makes you look like a 10 year old who has not even hit puberty, in my opinion. However, to each his own, and it seems that more and more guys are considering it to be a great idea.
You decide for yourself.
Transmetropolitan
Hey bloggers,
Its certainly been a while since you saw me here in Indie-retro, but let me tell you I have not forgoten you all and that’s why I’m coming back to you with a post about one of my favorite comics/graphic novels (it is actually a comic but I’m willing to have a debate over it), Transmetropolitan.
Transmetropolitan -as wikipedia wisely describes- is a post-cyberpunk comic written by Warren Ellis with art by Darick Robertson. Published by DC comics it ran from 1997 to 2002 and its supposed to be a homage to Hunter S. Thompson. But that my friends is all technical rubbish, it really is a comic about a crazy rouge journalist called Spider Jerusalem who writes one column a week in a newspaper called the Word. Ok I admit it, it sounds boring when I say it, but trust me it is the most sarcastic, nasty, and incredibly refreshing comic I’ve read. So here are a few things that made me love the comic:
- Spider Jerusalem, He is an incredible character, he makes fun of people, storms into bars, newspapers and pretty much everywhere he wants using bombs, guns and his favorite: the Bowel Disruptor (and that my fellow bloggers is a gun that makes people shit themselves literally).
- The filthy assistants: Yelena Rossini and Channon Yarrow, they are Spider’s bodyguards more than they are his assistants but they are incredibly fun. Yelena is a daughter of a rich philanthropist or something similar, and Channon is an ex-stripper.
- The culture: ok the city is similar to new york in many ways, and it’s got several details in it that make it awesome. The TV for example has Anthrax Cat, and Sex Puppets (imagine Sesame Street but full of nude girl and sexual imagery). It’s a city in which a new religion is born every hour, and people are able to change their body buying genetic traits from any species known to man, and I could go on for ages talking about this, so I’ll stop now before I embarrass myself.
- Th Politics: Yep my friends it is about politics, its not however about the politics in which we live right now but about the politics in which the city dwells. Trust me between police brutality, corrupt presidents and the power of the media it is one interesting piece of fiction.
Those are some of the reasons but you’ll have to read it to get the real feeling of the comic. But I’ve got good news for the ones that I got interested in the comic, you can download for free the first issue in pdf format form DC comics just by clicking here.
Have a good weekend.
Get rid of some stress
Hey hey bloggers! Its been a hard semester in college but it is already coming to an end. Two more weeks left so countdown is on! Unfortunately this also means we are up to our guts of stress. No really, we need some stress relief. At least we can expect to have some awesome games waiting for us after school is done. Also lots of bicycle riding, T.V. watching and beer drinkin’.
Well… on with the pics!
Wouln’t expect less from this brands
“Take me to the candy shop, I’ll let you lick my lollypop”
Batman bat-flashing his bat-fans
“What are you looooking aaaat? Freeeee meeee damned kiiiid!”
“On my school days, teachers used to lift a table to do this. Oh those were the good days”
Remember, your shadow can show what you have in mind
The quick way to hell
“Being discrete is my strongest virtu… whoa! what a nice trunk!”
The nicest way to say “I love you”
Hope you liked the pics, have a nice day and relax!
Must-have games from August to the end of the year (part 2)
Hey hey bloggers! well well it is already October and lot’s of games from the list are already out or are a few days from being released. Have you got your wallets prepared for all this purchasing avalanche? Hope you do, these games are worth.
Assassin’s Creed 2 (PS3, XBOX 360, PC)
Well this game speaks for itself. With a whole new location, el romanche e la paccione de la italie is cutted sharp by the new hero; Ezio Auditore. A new phantastic gameplay, improved characteristics and customizable items.
All these with the most pleasant company of distinguished allies such as Loenardo Da Vinci. Really a must have with all its letters. Wait for it, just a month or so to go, you won’t regret it I’m sure.
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (PS3)
Another great title from these well known franchise. And now, it makes use of the six axis controler for a very “bouncy” gameplay. Don’t get it? well I wouldn’t like to talk deep about this and leave the rest of the game untouched. But since you all asked so nicely, here is the video explanation, look what happens when you move the controller.
Well, after that, back to the real game. Graphics are amazing, they have lots of detail and color. Plus a multiplayer action mode, 3 playbable characters and some number of enchantements that would make a good reason for replaying the game. A really nice choice of an action filled game with the sharpest swords holded by beautiful ninjas ;).
Dissidia Final Fantasy (PSP)
Finally, the every Final Fantasy wet dream come true. Every main hero and every main villian from Final Fantasies come in this great big battles between good and evil, or harmony and caos. This game, more than just being the Smash Bros. of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy saga, offers a very interactive gameplay, upgrades and very impressive cinematics and attacks from each single character.
Besides, each character is included with his/her true way of being, weather it is to be a jumpy happy fighter or a quiet and quick fighter. It’s truly a game that must be on every gamer’s PSP répertoire.
Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines (PSP)
What happened to our good friend altair after Assassin’s Creed finished? Well this might have some answers. You might think, an Assassin’s Creed game on PSP? Well in fact it is amazingly good for the platform. Besides, this game comes with the sequel of Altair after Assassin’s Creed main story, and probably, gives of a few clues for the upcoming game of Assassin’s Creed 2.
What sounds even better is the compatibility this game will have with AC 2. Sorry Xbox 360 users, but DLC for this platform is almost a sure thing two. For what concerns the PSP and PS3, there will be a couple of features which will give the player weapons from onw game to another, treasures and some other stuff. Be sure to get it, even more if you will get AC 2 for PS3.
Batman Arkham Asylum
Finally, since a very very long time, a Batman title that really makes up for the name. Located on the craziest, weirdest, and most dangerous place on Gotham city, this Batman adventuure takes him to face some of his most memorable enemies. Aside from the amazing graphic design, this game comes with a great gameplay. Stunning moves and gadgets that make of Batman the most badass detective of all time.
There’s been some free DLC for this game, thus the PS3 comes with an extra game mode in which you get to wack police guards as the Joker, who by the way, is the most badass clown of all time.
GTA IV The Ballad of Gay Tony (Xbox 360 DLC)
Well this isn’t exacly a stand alone game unless you get the GTA IV Episodes from Liberty City disc, which will have both DLC; The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. Which ever the way you want to get this game, you gotta get it. The second DLC for one of the greatest games of all time. With colorful lights, dancing, gay talking and other new features for this awesome game.
Although this DLC may not last for as long as the original story, the new features and the story are worth the play. Besides, if you haven’t downloaded The Lost and the Damned, you can have both DLC in a disc, saving you the downloading time or even the internet connection if you don’t have one for your Xbox 360.
Well bloggers, this is the main list of game you have to have till the end of the year. Save up your money, buy a new chair of sofa cause your butt is going to be put for a looong time 😛
Enjoy!
Eco Design on two wheels
Hey hey bloggers! Well its strange how this things come by on their own. I remember all I wanted at the beginning of college was a car. I thought it was going to be perfect, nothing else would be needed. I was so badly wrong.
Well now, after some streets closing I found out that my car is probably the worst way to go to school. So I asked myself the classic “now What?”. Was I going to buy a chopper to get to school? Probably travel by the finest, safest, cleanest, smartest, politest, most efficient public transportation this beautiful city has (by the way, I WAS BEING SARCASTIC). So my choice was this beautiful two wheeled device: the bicycle.
I personally love riding on bike. So I figured it wouldn’t be hard at all traveling by bike. Well it’s a long story that you’ll probably come to know later. Today I want to show you a very interesting choice of bikes; the Trek’s Eco Design Bikes.
Tre’s Eco Design bikes concept wants to make a greener process from the very beginning of the manufacturing process: choose the closest transportation route from the origins of materiales, up to decomposable yet durable components of the bike.
These bikes, the Belleville and the Atwood (with their women specific design, or WSD) are fully made of steel which makes them durable and makes a smoother ride reducing vibration. the coat of paint used is made that in case of decomposing, minimum toxins are released. besides, the painting process greatly reduces the waste of paint.
The belleville models come fully equiped with a three speed internal hub, fencers and racks. Leaving the Atwood model like a fitness bike with 7 speeds.
Here a short video describing the Belleville WSD. For more info, visit www.trekbikes.com Enjoy!
Website offers Facebook users’ name and password
Hey hey bloggers! Well again, another Facebook post. I should stop with this thing but I consider this is worth mentioning.
Panda security has reported a website that offers any Facebook user account with user’s name and password for $100 dollars. This website assures to be able to hack up to 99% of Facebook acounts, due to a supposed breach on Facebook’s security defense.
The payment is done via Western Union to Ukrainia although the website is regstered in Moscow. These mafia managed website even offers the opportunity to afiliate and promote the hacking services, with earnings of 20% for those afiliates who sell the service.
Panda security says (and pretty much anyone could guess) that either this website could make the user a victim of fraud or make a cybercriminal of the user, allowing the introduction of spam, virus or spyware thought the Facebook account, not to mention the suplantation of identity.
Ok. Well this really sounds awkward. Anyway, guess that is how Russian mafias work, by afiliating their users and customers to their services. Nah, this kinda makes no sense when offering such service. Better not panic. But as I have mentioned a lot of people who argue me that Facebook isn’t dangerous: it still has breaches and is as well hackeable. There’s been kidnaps helped by following the person through Facebook and now somebody offers all information of any user, not matter if it is a normal person, a politician or a brand’s Facebook account, for just $100 dollars. It is affordable.
Now, if it is a lie then don’t worry. But if you have important, personal or private info on your Facebook account, are you willing to take the risk of leaving all that info on the account knowing you can be hacked? Now think of your friends, family or other important people around you. What would you do if encounter such situation?
Think about it.
Well see ya, take care!
Must-have games from August to the end of the year (part 1)
Hey there bloggers! Long time since I wrote something. Mostly because of lazyness I admit, anyway lets get to it again shall we?
Ok, you know the topic; one of the most important ones of the blog: video games. But today it’s not just any way, but my list of prefered games recently out on the maket and those which are yet to come. Well, here a brief description of eachgame on the list.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade (WII)
Wonderful graphics, an entertaining gameplay and phantasy old Japan style is all what we need to enjoy this game. With a huge varietyon weopns and two characters to play with this game proves to be a nice selection for this month or to play on weekends.
A must have for those who enjoy slashing countless enemies all day round.
The Beatles Rock Band (PS3, XBOX 306, WII)
Do I have to explain myself more? i’ll put it easy for you; Grab a bowl, pour 3 spoons of Rock Band and 4 cups of The beatles and voilà: the best theme for a musical game. Just buy it, you’re gonna like it. If you did not, well… nice to actually not meeting you :p
Nah just kidding. But hey, if you don’t have a rockband, or if you prefer a guitar hero over rockband, try this one, you’re gonna love it.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (DS)
What else could be More amazing than defeating you’re arch rival from the inside? Well this time the DS bring a new Mario and Luigi title. Now your foe somehow swallows Mario and Luigi without exploding, but these guys aren’t happy with just being digested by bowser, but they have to cause all sorts of trouble inside this half turtle- half mutant (not teenager, not ninja).
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)
Action packed game and sequel to the first Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Drake now returns for more tomb raider-like action. Graphics look great and there’s a lot of detail on the environments. More puzzles, more shooting, more action to come.
Dragon Age: Origins (PC, PS3, XBOX 360)
Personally, after The Elder Scrolls IV, I have the huge need of another game like this. Hopefully, Dragon Age Origins will be up for the task of replacing such a wonderfull game. Dragon Age Origins shows a big world full of customazible stuff for character, besides exploring and nice graphics. Lets see what happens and hope for the best.
Demon’s Souls (PS3)
Another game I expect to be up to the task. Looks great, higly customizable and of course, huge dragons you’ll have to take down. Lets see what happens with this game too. Up till now the game looks great, although it hasn’t had any huge publicity despite its soon delivery to stores (October 6, 2009). Guess it’s not a long wait to find out what this game s’got for us.
Well bloggers stay tunned for the second part of thi list. Save up lots of money to buy all this wonderful looking games and for the all new PSP Go, which is not exacly a game but seems like a nice portable device.
See ya later, take care!
MUSEical Power
Since the release of their first album “Showbiz”, this trio joined ranks with the endless list UK groups that have left their mark on music history. Armed with a great new style in guitar chords and piano arrangements, the group presented a complex and interesting sound combination that resulted from the influence of many elements, including electronic music, classical, rock beats, and even traditional spanish tones.
However, Muse’s success doesn’t stream from the quality of their music alone. They also give a little extra to their live performances, giving them world recognition for throwing some of the best shows. Their songs are matched by equally impressive visuals and special effects that make the entire presentation a unique experience, which calls on thousands of people every time they play a gig.
Over time i began to realize the main thing about their music: it is one pure shot of emotion. Seing them live is like inyecting a full dose of adrenaline, pumping emotion through every vein in your body. However, it doesn’t just make you stand up full with energy, it totally amps up the current emotions you’re feeling. If you are feeling certain anger or rage at the moment, with certain songs you will most likely feel it bubble up and take hold like never before. For example, if you have ever felt so much in love with someone it actually hurts you and the frustration makes your body ache in pain, then you should definitely give “Space dementia” a try during this kind of moments. You will find how every agressive piano chord and arpeggio seems to increase and amplify your feelings every time as it reaches the climax and then resolves and falls slowly back.
“You make me sick, because i adore you so, i love all your dirty tricks and twisted games you play on me…”
“you make us wanna die, i cut your name in my heart…”
Or maybe you just feel like going against the flow and against the whole world, then “Invincible”, paired with its brilliantly accomplished live visuals will surely make you feel alive and empowered to take on anything. You will see as the song progresses and the volume rises that the intensity and brutality of the video increase accordingly, giving the whole thing an extra pump of energy.
On an other level, the music complexity that Muse creates should not be underestimated. The group has good knowledge of every chord in their instrument and how they can blend in together. You can find jaw-dropping music passages in most of their songs. The piano solo of “butterflies and hurricanes”, “united states of eurasia” or the final chords of “apocalypse please” are just fine example of the music quality that the group has achieved time after time.
Four studio albums and 15 years later, Muse is now launching “The resistance”, an album that promises to push the envelope once more and deliver new and interesting sounds as always. This time around, the groups seems to be going back to their original style, straying a bit away from the more “electronic sound” of “Black holes and revelations”. Either way, it is great to see that there are still groups completly committed to making music that actually makes people feel things and not just empty noises to pass the time.
Give “The resistance” a listen if you get the chance, or check out the videos from the glastonbury performance.
Hangover fun
Hey guys! Sorry it has been a long time since the last post, this semester looks pretty hard and with lot’s of work to do every week! Finally I got a couple of minutes to write a new entry, this time on the summer-hit hangover.
Yeah I know, this movie came out ages ago, i’m late….bla bla bla. but there might be some people who haven’t seen it, our maybe have very different opinions on it, so i’ts always interesting to see what people have to say.
In case you don’t know, this movie brings together 4 guys, one of them is getting married and the rest throw him a bachelor party…in vegas. Things get wild and next thing you know the groom is missing, time to collect clues on the events of the night before!
Well, first i was wondering, what is it that we loved so much about this film? Why was it that we kept on laughing as we sa w all the crazy things they did while they were drunk as hell? Maybe it was the fact that some of us have done crazy things too that way and that we can relate, or perhaps the mere insanity and surreal feeling to the situation. I mean, no matter how wasted you get, it is hard to think you’ll wake up with the room torn apart, missing a tooth, married to a hooker, a chicken behind you, a tiger on the other room and a naked man in your trunk (i don’t think there was even enough time to do all that happened during one night!)
This kind of things make Hangover such a great movie. It is just too out of this world! But it is not just the situation that’s hysterical, the movie brings together very different characters that cope in their own way to the plot. All guys seem to be reacting differently, and each brings something else to the table.
I’ll try not to spoil anything else from the plot. But know this, this is not a movie for any person who doesn’t like sexual humor andreferences, cursing, and all things revolving around that. In the end this film rewards the viewer with every new twist and surprise unveiling all the mistery behind that night. And even though the movie has this incredible and over the top feeling, at the same time it seems kind of real, and i think that it comes from each of the character’s persona and reaction.
So, if after all this i may have sparked your interest, go see it as soon as you can! great laughs and a whole new idea for hollywood comedy films.
Waiting for the sequel already….
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