Latest entries in Arts and Entertainment
Everything in music, art, film and food.
Nov. 4, 2009
Modern Warfare 2 may be crossing a line
A good video game can be shocking. Take, for example “Bioshock,” the game that had a story that could knock you off your feet. A bad video game can also be shocking for many different reasons, think of the gratuitous violence of the "Manhunt" series or the often questionable judgment of the “Grand Theft Auto” games. Infinity Ward’s masterpiece “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” was shocking for all the right reasons: story, gameplay and overall fun. But Infinity Ward is slowly swaying public opinion to the wrong kind of shocking: the one that loses fans.
Early last week, a clip of the new “Modern Warfare 2” game, a sequel to their earlier smash hit, was leaked to a less than thrilled crowd. The clip featured a playable sequence where the player joins a band of what we’ll call “terrorists” for the use of imagery in a full out assault on an airport. The elevator doors open and the player takes control of one member of the group as they walk through the crowded airport, gunning down completely helpless citizens. As shocking as it reads, it is even more so when seen.
Now with a game dealing with current conflicts, hence “Modern Warfare,” events in the game are going to coincide with real events, and in this case it begs to ask the question, is it too soon? “Call of Duty 4” had its set of shocking set pieces including a nuclear device being detonated and decimating an entire city while the player watched, but this new sequence hits close to home. Granted, we know nothing about the context of this clip. It could be at the end of the sequence the player takes down the terrorist group or leads them to arrest but by then the impression is already made.
A few days later a viral video was released to hype the game, even more than it already has been, that featured Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies talking about how he hates grenade spamming in video games. For those who don’t know “grenade spamming” is when players in the game toss grenades as far as they can in random areas hoping to get a kill. At the end of the video Hamels states that “random grenades are for pussies” before being blown up in front of the camera by a gang of the grenades that fly from out of nowhere. To sum it all up, the end of the video informs us that the public service announcement was brought to us by the Fight Against Grenade Spam. Check the acronym. The video was taken down only days afterward following rumblings from all over the Internet.
Loud, belligerent video game trash talking is something that will never be done away with, but this steps into the area of endorsing words that are taken by many to be a very hateful. To make the assumption that every one of their fans would be OK with these slurs was not an intelligent move on Infinity Ward’s part and a slip up considering the clip that had been leaked earlier that week.
While I completely disagree with IW’s decision to run the Hamels video with that ending attached, the gameplay clip has me thinking. Shocking yes, but that is the calling card of the Call of Duty games produced by this company. It might not sit well with some of the gaming crowd but let’s see how the overall game and story runs.
Nov. 3, 2009
Dress your online avatar in black and gold
How true of a Mizzou fan are you? Did you stay to the very end of that disgusting Nebraska game? Have you actually incurred an injury to see if you indeed bleed black and gold? If you answered yes to these two questions then head over to your Xbox 360 and fire up the new Avatar Marketplace.
Xbox Live has rolled out a “University Collection” clothing line for your avatar and alongside big name colleges such as Florida, Ohio State and University of Southern California stands Mizzou. But they don’t come free; nothing ever does on Xbox Live.
For 240 points in Microsoft’s fake money system your avatar can rock a very retro Mizzou varsity jacket. Or for the low low price of 40 points you can sport the Mizzou wristband just like Zaire Taylor surely does.
If this sounds a little ridiculous, it is. Paying real money for Microsoft Points and using them to buy clothes for a virtual self is a little out there. I understand if you buy points for maps or downloads and have a few left over, but buying points for buying clothes in the virtual world? No thanks.
I’m much more excited for Avatar awards that will be unlocked (for free) when you do certain achievements in games. Left 4 Dead 2 is the first to announce this partnership and I cant wait for my zombie t-shirt. But until then, I’ll just rock the Frankenstein hat that I bought for my avatar last week.
Opening Pandora's online box
Music before you discover it is kind of like America before Christopher Columbus: sure, it existed, but it didn't really matter until white people found it. Or so my racist history textbooks tell me.
More music exists than a normal person who values their earbuds and time cares to listen to. So how is a music geek to find new music?
There's always the old-fashioned radio. But here in Columbia, your options for contemporary music are limited. You could check out Y107, a Top 40 station that acts like a crack whore addicted to the cocaine that is Miley Cyrus and Kanye West. Q106 is a bland copycat. With those two, it's like a "chicken and the egg" scenario, except even philosophy majors have better uses of their time.
AM radio is the last bastion of queer-hating Jesus freaks, not music hounds.
Music also comes in physical format in something called a CD, or so my father tells me. Those wacky old people, hung up on the tangible pleasure of goods that are already available online for free! Pure nonsense.
Your first choice should be listening to music online. But what to choose?
Playlist.com is meant for people to build their own playlists of music they already know.
Options abound for people who want to get a fresh sampling of music they are not familiar with.
If you're a college student, let's assume you've graduated to Facebook and left your MySpace unattended, your old MySpace spammed by all types of fetishists and porn stars. MySpace may be a pit of despair, but MySpace Music is still a repository of not terrible music!
Don't be rash and start up your MySpace again, but check out the top of the music charts for artists, both signed and unsigned, that are worth a listen
In my emo youth, I found online sanctum in PureVolume. The site is a hodge podge of mainstream signed artists and unsigned nobodies who will be lucky to make it to 100 plays. You can hop scotch down the top artists play lists from emo to electronica to every other genre of white people music.
But the creme de la creme of online music serendipity is no doubt Pandora.
For the uninitiated, Pandora is an online radio station that you customize. Say you want to listen to songs by Lada Gaga and other ones that sound like her (it?). You can set up a Lady Gaga playlist that will also play Timbaland and the Pussycat Dolls. And, of course, Gaga herself.
If you just wanted to listen to songs that are either by or sound exactly like Lady Gaga, you should just ignore my advice entirely and stick with Y107. However, for those who don't want to criminally damage their ears, and instead listen to some relatively unknown new music, Pandora's the way to go.
Oct. 29, 2009
Minus the Bear releases new single
It’s been almost two years since fans have heard anything new from Minus the Bear, but at last the Seattle-based band has given us a taste of what is to come with their latest single “Into the Mirror.”
The alternative rock band has been holed up in the studio for four months recording their highly anticipated fourth album and finally announced the album will be released in full in 2010. The band says they are looking forward to debuting their new stuff in a live setting during their four-week North American tour beginning Oct. 30 (unfortunately they won’t be making it Columbia).
“This album has more scope than the past records,” says guitarist Dave Knudson. “Some songs are more poppy and immediate while others expand on the complexities we’re known for.”
The new single alone is giving MTB more recognition than they have received in a long time. “Into the Mirror” is already number six on iTunes' alternative chart and number 45 overall. The LP includes two songs, “Into the Mirror” which pairs nicely with the b-side track “Broken China.”
The recognition is well-deserved as these prove to be MTB’s most dynamic tracks yet, filled with key-board driven soul mixed with energetic guitar riffs and synthesized sounds like you’ve never heard from the band before. Top this off with the same good old lyrics MTB loves to sing about (parties, drugs, girls, etc.) and, unfortunately, it has mainstream potential. Goodbye indie, hello trendy.
Oct. 27, 2009
Twitter and the Hollywood set
Celebrities are often vapid creatures whose statements are little more than incoherent word vomit. So it makes sense that the Hollywood set has taken to Twitter like fat kids to cupcakes. Even celebrities can take a minute to type out 140 characters of superfluous drivel, which is what Twitter was made for.
More likely, it's their overpaid assistants who are cranking out these gems. Let's take a look at some of the more popular and braindead Tweeters.
Tila Tequila, who made her name as that chick on MySpace with little self-regard and even less clothing, has more than 265,000 followers on Twitter. She defines the category of famous people known as Internet celebrities (like that kid on YouTube who memorably brandished a light saber and clumsily reenacted Star Wars), so I'm surprised she doesn't have more followers.
She has recently taken to writing her autobiography on Twitter, 140 characters at a time. One item she tweeted, which screams of unnecessary exhibitionism [sic]: "Pervert Alert! @jamie_iovine1 !!! Boy I already told you...I DO NOT WANT TO BE YOUR GIRLFRIEND! STOP EMAILING ME PICS OF UR WEE WEE! LOL." Yes, jamie_iovine1, you really should stop doing that.
Kim Kardashian is exponentially more popular, but she clings to the lowest common denominator just as hard. Twitter is supposed to be a celebration of narcissism and self absorption, but Kardashian takes it to a level that even Britney Spears must be uncomfortable with. The signs of her self-absorption: her Twitter page has DOZENS of pictures of herself in different sexy positions modeling sexy outfits giving the camera sexy looks. Her bio even says she is an "Armenian Princess," so that's a bit of a giveaway too.
A more realistic (but less flattering bio) might read, "Self-obsessed pin-up who likes to drink excessively and sex it up in front of as many cameras as possible." That's even under 140 characters, so Kardashian is free to use its!
According to Twitterholic.com, of the top 100 Twitter pages, more than 60 of them are of celebrities like Katy Perry, Nick Cannon and Ryan Seacrest. I say "more than" 60 because in this day and age, I can't objectively say if people like George Stephanopoulos and Barack Obama are celebrities or not.
Ashton Kutcher is the single most popular Tweeter on all of Twitter. More popular than Britney Spears, CNN or Twitter itself. In a highly publicized battle with CNN earlier this year, Kutcher was the first to make it to one million followers. He now has almost four times as many. Our celebrity culture, it does astound me.
But at least Kutcher does not use it to only shamelessly self-promote. Rather, he has funny links to YouTube videos, news links with short commentaries and supports different charities for climate change and cancer awareness. That's how a celebrity should be using his or her power on Twitter.
Oct. 25, 2009
Food Inc shows horrors behind food industry
With the ghouls and ghosts of October in mind, a different kind of horror movie was shown in Wrench auditorium last night.
"Food Inc.," a documentary from Robert Kenner, shows the industry behind the food in supermarkets in the U.S. In the same vein as "Supersize Me" and "King Corn," the documentary presents in-your-face vignettes on topics ranging from a mother lobbying in Washington after her son died from eating an E.Coli tainted burger to a behind-the-scenes view of a chicken farm.
“I’ve seen a lot of movies like this,” junior Natalie Freeman said. “I definitely agree with it. I think the current food production system is disgusting.”
The movie’s Web site says that the filmmakers wanted to show how the food supply is controlled by a select group of corporations and how food and corn are modified to increase production volume, among other topics.
A group of agriculture students attended the movie together. Charlotte Jackson a senior majoring in agricultural education said the movie did not accurately depict how food is raised in this country. “This movie promotes the opinions of the people who created it,” Jackson said. “People who want to learn how food is raised should visit farms and ranches. Agriculturists will never compromise safety in the name of efficiency.”
The movie was shown as part of a series of movies hosted by the MSA/GPC films committee. On Wednesdays the committee shows documentaries and on Fridays they show recently released movies, committee member and senior Jacqueline Brixey said.
Oct. 19, 2009
Movies aren't the only reason to go to the theatre
Who doesn’t love movies? The action, the drama, the scaring you out of your seat scenes? Scary movies are a social experience when seen in theaters. Experiencing a full motion picture in theaters is an activity that will never die, but going to the theater isn’t only about the movie.
As soon as you open up the front door of the theater, you can smell one reason why coming was a good decision: movie popcorn. Yes, it's popping right there behind the counter in the massive glass case; golden yellow, salty and buttery just waiting to be bought in a bathtub-sized bucket and be devoured by everyone seeing the flick. And movie popcorn flavor cannot be reproduced anywhere but the movie theater. No matter how many times the box states its product is “just like the movies,” it’s not.
With gallon of soda and huge popcorn bucket in hand, viewers make their way to their seats for the second part of the holy movie trinity, the previews. Good trailers suck you in and make you want to go home and look up more information on each new movie, and you can also channel a Roman ruler, giving each preview a thumbs up or down. Each trailer is like a mini-movie in itself.
By this time, the popcorn is half gone and the previews are over and you forget why you’re at the movies, until the movie comes on and then you get excited all over again.
Oct. 16, 2009
Indie music with your indie coffee
Starbucks has long sold itself as popularity in a cup. Few things used to make you cooler in the yuppie set than a cell phone in one hand, and in the other a grande café mocha latte crappucino, or whatever those things are called.
The mentality that you were somehow unique and cooler than the average person because you were willing to wait six minutes in line, pay $4.25, and wait another seven minutes for your café mocha latte non-fat crappucino to actually be made still hangs on by a miraculous, paradoxical thread.
To preserve this delusion in its overly caffeinated customers that they are somehow unique, Starbucks began the "Pick of the Week" program in late 2007. Small business cards are available near the register with a picture of a widely unknown band and the title of the song that you can get for free as the "Pick of the Week." The idea of this program is that when you pay some ungodly amount for a mediocre coffee-based drink, you grab one of these cards, fire up the laptop, open iTunes, and go to the "Redeem" section of the iTunes store and type in the code.
The songs are hit and miss, but they are consistently of the coffeehouse genre. The most mainstream band you will find is the Decemberists, but more often than not the pick is a singer/songwriter you've never heard of, and never would if it were not for this program. Some of them are unknown for good reason.
There are fantastic exceptions, however. Blind Pilot being one of them. Last spring, I downloaded their song "One Red Thread." One thing led to another, and I bought their debut album (with real money, mind you) and went to their concert here in August, where I bought a stylish yet comfortable t-shirt. The band is one of my top five favorites, and I give credit to Starbucks for introducing me.
So if you want to expand your indie/hipster/coffeehouse collection of music, give the Starbucks "Pick of the Week" a try. It's certainly not worth going in there and buying a $4.25 café mocha latte non-fat crappucino just for the song, but if you go in there anyway, grab a card.
You might hear something great, but it will not make you unique. Because remember: you're already unique, just like everybody else.
Ghostland Observatory brings Mojo's to their feet
With tight black pants to match his two long black braids, Aaron Behrens aggressively grabs the microphone on stage and yells out “Vibrate!”
The crowd obeys, entranced by his strong presence as he casually picks up his electric guitar to immerse himself in another song.
Lasers dominate the stage. His musical partner, Thomas Turner, sings background vocals, plays the drums, and controls a synthesizer.
Ghostland Observatory combines techno beats with a harsh rock 'n' roll dynamic that is hard to match. The two Texas natives are reminiscent of Daft Punk, The Clash and a little bit of Prince. Anyone can go to their show and leave a born-again Ghostland fan. I was absolutely mesmerized in the front row. The way Behrens takes the stage like a rockstar while Turner handles the beats makes it impossible not to dance.
The combination of electronics inspires a liberating feeling that brings together all the fondness of childhood with the perks of being an adult. With his confident attitude and vivacious dancing, Behrens reminds you that self-expression is the essence of living. There's the temptation to close your eyes to feel free with the music, but then you could miss the epic light show or a piece of the constant entertainment on stage. In my eyes, it's a win-win situation.
Check out this video of Aaron singing "Vibrate" while dancing his head off:
Oct. 15, 2009
ITunes LP revolutionizes album packaging
Probably the most heralded new feature that came with the recent iTunes 9 update was Apple’s attempt to remake the age where you got something tangible when you bought an album: iTunes LP.
On select albums before iTunes 9, some albums would come with a digital booklet which was basically the liner note booklet scanned into a PDF and tagged along with the purchase of the tracks. Not only was this a little skimpy in terms of content, it opened in a completely different program and was not easy to navigate. iTunes LP aims to do those “booklets” better, and does so easily.
The LP opens up right in the iTunes window and right away takes the art style you would expect from the physical CD. From this opening screen, viewers can navigate to videos that were included with the LP, photos, liner notes and a track list of the songs. Paramore’s Brand New Eyes came with a music video and a making of video while Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 came with an interview with Jay himself.
The song list has lyrics for each song and the song can be played easily from the same page. Paramore’s LP even included a handwritten version of the lyrics to “Ignorance” for even more depth. It is obvious that iTunes has worked hard on these LPs and worked closely with the artists to get everything down. It’s a little extra cash, but LPs are definitely back in style.