monofiopia

I liked Dead Set a lot. In fact, the only bad thing I can think to say of it was that I noticed one of the more gruesome (but funny) scenes was edited away in the saturday night ‘full’ version. After films like 28 Days Later and the Romero remakes, seeing zombies run no longer irks me. It’s more of an evolution of film than of zombiekind as far as I’m concerned. Yet with films like Romero’s more recent works as well as Shaun of the Dead, the shambling zombies aren’t giving up. They’re just taking their time to get things done right.

Simon Pegg has written an article in The Guardian explaining (in true fanboy detail) why Zombies do not run, and why this spoiled Dead Set for him. While I don’t have the same loathing for the sprinting undead, I can pretty much agree with every point he makes and it’s definitely worth reading.

Article:
The Dead and the Quick - Simon Pegg, The Guardian 04/11/08

Malsain makes a very good point.

Create Your Own Sea Kitten at peta.org!

“North Carolina cops are searching for a guy who successfully passed a $200 bill bearing George W. Bush’s portrait and a drawing of the White House complete with lawn signs reading “We like ice cream” and “USA deserves a tax cut.”

article

I don’t really care about US politics. While I’ll still casually listen in on what’s happening over there, I’m resigned to the fact that whatever happens, our government over here will kiss your ass just as willingly.

Read more »

Charlie Brooker (that guy who used to write the good bits in PC Zone) has written a new series for E4. It’s based around the Big Brother concept and the producers (a subsidiary of Endemol) have let him use the Big Brother house as a set. It looks like it will be a complex tale about the evolving relationships between the contestants in the house, and also a look at their lives when they leave the house.

There’s a little bit more to it than that though.

I would strongly suggest you watch the trailer.

E4 site for Dead Set (with trailer)

- Two patchable dual-oscillator analog synth simulators:
- Four-part drum machine that uses sounds created with the analog synth simulator
- Six-track (analog synth x 2, drum machine x 4) /16-step sequencer
- Delay, chorus, and flanger sound effects available from the mixing board
- Three note-entry modes: touch-control screen, keyboard screen, matrix screen
- Real-time sound control mode via touch-control screen
- Exchange sounds and songs and play multiple units simultaneously through a wireless communications link

The Korg DS-10 Synth for the Nintendo DS was released in Japan last month and is undoubtedly the best music-making tool I’ve seen on a handheld, full stop. Pocket Music was probably the only actual (commercially available) contender to be honest, which was actually a pretty good sample-based tracker that was sadly dolled up and packaged as a ‘you can make Eminem songs’ toy. Nitrotracker is a pretty versatile DS Homebrew comparison but it just doesn’t quite compare to, well, something made by Korg.

There’s a single short sample on the AQ Interactive site which for some reason is just a bland & basic electronica track, wasting a chance to show the actual range of output it’s capable of, but does give an example of the fantastic tone of the machine.

A far better example was produced on video - 2 x 2 serial linked machines hooked up to a mixer and played live.

Also, for some bizarre reason, one of the best features is completely glossed over… the ‘matrix screen’ mentioned in the specs is actually a Kaoss Pad. A proper one. A fully functional Kaoss Pad, controlled on the DS’ touch screen. In a promo video from the Frankfurt thing, the demonstrator mentions the Kaoss Pad as a ‘little bonus’, which I thought was quite a sweet way of understating it. You’d have thought they might play that feature up a teeny bit, but then again, the type of person excited by a Korg synth on the DS is probably already pre-ordering it regardless.

Apparently a US release is scheduled for October through XSEED, and a worldwide release to follow (although no actual dates on that….)

I want many.

The sandwich bit is my favourite.

A very nice article from The Independent yesterday. I particularly like the following quote from John Niven.

“I was in Gap a few weeks ago and there was some sort of generic indie music playing,” he says. “I was with a friend who’s a promoter and a bit younger than me. After about three or four tracks I asked him: ‘Whose LP is this?’ And he said, ‘No, it’s a compilation.’ Every track sounded identical. The guitars, the production; all these bands sound like they’re made in the same studio with the same producer. It’s such a ball-less, soulless, generic whitewashed indie sound. You could probably take a member from each band and throw them together in a new group and no one would be able to tell the difference. They’re completely interchangeable. Scouting for Girls are like the sound of Satan’s scrotum emptying. They’re abysmal.”

article here

Also, quite possibly the most appropriate song to compliment the article:
Mikrofisch - The Kids Are All Shite