Geekin’ out

I may be lacking a ‘home’ as such (crashing your mom’s living room ftw?) and have spent the majority of the year literally in transit, but that never quite stopped me from geekin’ out. And while the geekin’ took a back seat to travelling during my little ‘world trip’ this summer, it’s back in full swing now since being back in Europe and having an internet connection as well as a job that involves being in front of a computer all day. So in no specific order, here’s a rundown of some choice things you should definitely be checking out for across the spectrum… kind of like a short run up to an end of year list (it’s getting to that time pretty soon).

Things to enjoy… on TV
Well technically I have been enjoying these on my laptop not on TV considering I’m now living in Italy where it seems every major TV show is about 2 seasons behind, everything is dubbed and most national programs would give Japanese TV a run for its money. But you can enjoy it on TV, or DVD, or the internets…

• New season of Heroes. The good: credible ‘villains’, some pretty nifty acting and some nice little twists on standard super hero storylines, like “bad guy turns out to be good guy while good guy turns out to be bad guy”. The bad: season 2 was so bad it’s gonna be hard to let that go, the whole alternate future storyline thing has been beaten up more than the proverbial dead horse
• Soul Eater, a new anime series that started just before I left Japan. The good: the animation is well above the rubbish of a lot of recent anime (combining computer graphics with a bright and instantly likeable visual style that references more ‘classic’ anime while keeping a distinct 00s feel), the humour is excellent with a good dose of self satire that is well weighted against the fairly bland and generic storyline, there’s plenty of wtf moments just when you least expect them and coupled with the non sensical humour it reminds of High School Kimengumi which is a very good thing, the sound effects and scene music is actually really nice, it’s made by Square Enix (yes I am totally biased). The bad: the theme song (like all modern anime), the aforementioned storyline which is pretty bad though it is developing into something that could be really interesting, the pace is also a bit too cliche, with filler episodes and the likes (but that’s always a given with anime adaption of manga which always end up catching up to manga too quickly)

Things to enjoy… on DS/PSP
What with not having my own place my gaming has entirely move to portable formats. I do miss the commuting journeys in Tokyo where everyone has a phone/PSP/DS so you don’t feel so conscious while on your way to work, luckily I don’t commute anymore. These games have been firmly sloted for a while now…

• Dragon Ball Origin (DS). A simple, and very linear retelling of the entire original Dragon Ball saga complete with dialogue and blocky, animated cut scenes taken straight out of the pages of the manga. The gameplay is pretty good, all touch based a la Zelda Phantom of the Hourglass, but with less RPG-ness to it and more simple but fun monster bashing. Definitely one for the aficionados, but also a good introduction to what actually made Dragon Ball good, before it got silly with space monsters and power levels.
• Final Fantasy Tactics ‘War of the Lions’ (PSP). After Final Fantasy 6, this is probably the RPG I spent the most time on, wasting pretty much an entire 6 months of university on it back in 99. This is the PSP reissue which came out last year and basically came everything that made the original great (ie they didn’t change anything to the gameplay) and added really nicely animated cut scenes and a few multiplayer/online options. It’s a turn based, strategic RPG, about as nerdy as it gets but with one of the best stories of the FF franchise.
• Echochrome (PSP). Wooden stick men, puzzles based on perspective, creepy, hypnotic music and a simple concept. A winner, and proof that the simple ideas are often the best for video games.
• Kord DS-10 (DS). Not a game as such, but a reissue of a classic Korg synth as a DS software. A drum machine, 2 synths, 2 kaos pads and a simple 16 step sequencer make this a must for anyone into music, especially into making music. It’s simple and intuitive to use, it has limitations but those also make it that little more enjoyable. When was the last time you knocked out a beat on the way to work. And it’s got that crunchy, video game sound too.

Things to enjoy… on [insert mp3 player name here]/vinyl/CD/cassette(?)
Music is the one thing I never really stopped geekin’ out on, and I won’t really run down everything here that I’m enjoying at the moment cos we’ll be here all night (check the radio shows for that), but here’s some recent favourites, all heavily recommended.

• Maga Bo ‘Archipelagoes’. A bit late on this, released earlier this year on Soot Records. If The Bug’s ‘London Zoo’ album is the defining sound of London in 08, than Maga Bo’s is the defining sound of worldwide bass, blending rhythms, samples and voices from Africa, South America and beyond around heavy sub bass and at often times, pretty mentalist electronic percussion. Takes everything that is good about ragga, jungle, grime and dubstep and smashes it with sounds and influences few ever truly touch or contemplate. Inspiring.
• Nobody presents Blank Blue ‘Western Water Music Vol II’. Also late on this, and while I was never a big fan of Nobody’s more folky output, this totally works. Nobody brings together hip hop and folk influences and stylings in a surreal package that lulls you into a beautiful world of possibilities with piano, guitars and beautiful voices. Sounds a lot better than my explanation too.
• All City 7×7 series. It’s definitely looking like 2008 will be remembered as the year the beats came back to hip hop, albeit in a way most quite didn’t expect. All City’s 7×7 series, 7 7″ from producers worldwide, is a great example of that embracing the diversity of the renewed beat movement from France to Spain, UK to America. It’s simple and to the point, and some of those tracks are absolute killers like Fulgeance’s ‘Revenge of the Nerd’ or Mike Slott’s ‘Knock Knock’. Each 7″ is limited to 500 I believe so best get searching while there’s still some left. The latest is from Hudson Mohawke and it’s out now.
• Jackson Conti ‘Sujinho’. Aka Madlib and Azymuth’s drummer Mamao, who together revisit Brazilian classics from yesteryear with a twist. They keep the twist down though, focusing on the rhythmic and percussive elements of the originals while adding just the right amount to them and throwing some original tracks. I’ve never been a massive fan of Brazilian music as such, enjoying the odd thing here and there, but this album has had me hooked for a while now. Sometimes all you need is some really good covers to make you discover the worth of some ‘classics’, much like Madlib did with some of his YNQ outings, especially the Stevie one.

Things to enjoy… on the big (small) screen
I have been to the cinema maybe twice in 2 years, but I’ve watched more movies in the last two years than in the previous three probably. Which says a lot about the state of the movie industry or something like that.

• Iron Man. This was surprisingly really good, which is nice because I’m a big Marvel fan and ex-comic addict so I wanted it to be good, especially in light of more mediocre Marvel related outings. I missed it as I went travelling when it came out, but I can see now the hype was totally founded. Robert Downey Jr proves that you can come back from a drug addiction and media shame and still totally smack it. The adaptation was pretty good, and even Gwineth Paltrow comes out good. And the armor was absolutely spot on. A few things could have been better sure, especially the portrayal of the Islamic terrorists, but it’s a Hollywood blockbuster so you got to have some give. Looking forward to seeing how they spin that one.
• Hulk (2). This on the other hand was kind of bad. I wanted it to be good but it didn’t really deliver, and I still think the first one was better, even though I can’t remember meeting someone who also holds that opinion in the last 3 or so years. The acting wasn’t bad, though Tim Roth could have been better, and again the female lead was actually pretty credible, but the execution was pretty poor overall and it lacked a certain something. On the upside, I liked the portrayal of Banner, and the ending while totally cheesy was a geek’s wet dream with Downey Jr showing up and hinting at the creation of the Avengers. Looks like they’re going down the road of using the ‘Ultimate’ storylines/themes which is no bad thing and is what X-Men did and it worked, for 2 out of 3 movies.

I’m pretty sure there was more, but I can’t quite remember now. It’ll have to wait for the end of year round up.