We're a geek culture podcast and blog covering video games, music, food and more. We are the kinds of people who evangelize whatever we are into - it could be anything - but it's usually pretty geeky. We're casual, conversational, NSFW and hopefully interesting. We hope you enjoy it.
Another week, another crazy slew of search terms. Whenever I talk to someone who listens to the podcast, I always ask them "how did you find it?" A surprising amount of people say they just did a random web search. Completely un-targeted, independent discovery. Crazy! Here's a list of some of the weirdest search terms people actually used in order to eventually end up at The Weekly Geek. I have also provided subsequent Google Image Search results for extra crazy.
posted by Ryan on February 25, 2009 1:00 PM in Food
I've got a thing for fandom. While usually reserved for deeply layered characters, niche creations, or historic franchises just about any (well executed) public display of enthusiasm seldom fails to please. Though my own attendance at various conventions, midnight movie premiers, or sordid book signings has typically remained content driven I can imagine several scenarios appealing to a broader audience, harnessing a sort of universal sensory appeal which lures aficionados and passers by alike.
I speak of Grilled Cheese.
Admittedly we have a history, hours spent in dimly lit spaces hunched over a lease-violating hot plate patiently watching the subtle reactions necessary to achieve that edible, viscous gold. I'd gently prod the intentionally burnt spillage whose bubbling surface signaled the climax of a reaction entirely vital to the reproduction process.
This level of devotion is pleasant but unnecessary.
Look now through the above portal for a brief account of the 2nd Annual NorCal Grilled Cheese Invitational. Witness the screaming throngs, manic man flashing, and overall spectacle centered around this universal act built on the simplest of culinary combinations. While the event organizers and participants are undoubtedly hardcore the energy bursting from attendees is what strikes me as the purest. I can easily imagine a casual passer by - whose thoughts of grilled cheese do not border on sexual - suddenly alert, nostrils flared and body in tune with the siren song of sizzling skillets. They act on pure instinct, joining those already present in a wordless worship of both simple and complex mastery.
They likely don't frequent food blogs, drool over the glossy pages of a favorite chef's cookbook, or swap recipes in their off time. Yet they are fans still, devotees if only for an afternoon caught up in either the spectacle or experience of a mob whose immediate goals are perfectly genuine. While levels of fanaticism certainly vary I doubt the outside observer would be able to discern any difference in the antics displayed above.
It's pleasing to know these events exist, transcending the norms of obsession and morphing to a kind of inclusive flash mob whose only defining characteristic is enthusiasm.
posted by Mike on February 24, 2009 8:34 PM in Music
More often than not, the compilation is an afterthought now. A group of people (usually a record label) pick a chic charity, gather a slap-dash bunch of artists willing to re-package their latest b-sides and voilà! A comp that not only sounds boring, but is.
If you will, re-imagine this lackluster institution, with me, as something else entirely. Start with a truly worthwhile cause (AIDS awareness), take two musicians (the Dessner brothers from The National) rallying their friends around that cause to commit new and interesting material to the project, and there you have it: Dark Was The Night.
From the get-go, this compilation is anything but ordinary; David Byrne joins The Dirty Projectors for the harmonious "Knotty Pine". Disc one also features performances coupling the sibling curators with other independent celebrities for fresh performances - Bryce with Antony Hegarty and Aaron with Justin Vernon. Other highlights include Ben Gibbard and Feist on a dreamy acoustic duet "Train Song", The National taping "So Far Around the Bend", Sufjan Stevens covering The Castanets' tune "You Are The Blood", and the best Decemberists song I've heard in a while, "Sleepless".
Disc two starts with a calculated effort from Spoon's Britt Daniel and the quality of Dark Was The Night never relents. Arcade Fire's "Lenin" recalls an warmer, fuzzier period in their early career. Dave Sitek from TV on the Radio makes an appearance for "With A Girl Like You". Even Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, who add some soul to the rock-laced album are completely on point. And Bright Eyes rehashing his own "Lua" seems fresh, as Gillian Welsh joins him to make it a duet.
The crowning point (for me, at least) on Dark Was The Night is The New Pornographers covering the Destroyer song "Hey, Snow White". It's solemn, clear, building, and triumphant; encapsulating the feel of the entire project, both from a musical and human standpoint.
I can't remember the last time a joint effort by this many artists sounded so well-meshed. If nothing else, Dark proves that a compilation, done right, is still a beautiful thing.
posted by Chris on February 23, 2009 6:49 PM in Podcast
Hey there, denizen of the Internet! Are you interested in what many people (read: zero people) have described as "The View" for the gamer set? Aren't you in luck! Join me, Jinny, Ross and Ryan as we round up the week's news. We talk about why none of us has bought Street Fighter IV yet, GTA's Lost and Damned DLC, how Noby Noby Boy is not a game and actually not very fun at all anyway, Destructoid being one of the most valuable blogs on the Internet (really!), and how Call of Duty can't *really* make you honor or dishonor the Geneva Convention, no matter what Cory Doctorow says. In addition, thanks for all the mailbag letters this week! We try to answer them all. Enjoy!
posted by Chris on February 20, 2009 10:01 AM in Games
I love these photos from the Puzzle Quest: Galactrix launch party at Meltdown Comics in LA. My friend Pinguino was there and captured the pure essence of these events; lots of booze, half-naked girls, loud music, and scores of nerds in t-shirts trying to avoid each other. Even in such dense fog they cannot be swayed from staring intently at their DSes. Truly these are gamer's gamers.
Seen above: an awesome Galactrix mural done by artist Jim Mahfood. See the rest of the set at Pinguino's Flickr.
Every once in a while I like to look at the raw server stats for the site. Sure, I use Google Analytics to see pageviews and Feedburner to check podcast downloads but the raw server logs - that's where all the meat is at. I can see everything: the VW Golf forum members (and the Pokemon forum members and the members of that one Invader Zim forum) stealing my bandwidth by hotlinking images, the weird directories and random urls that generate 404 errors... but the best part? Search terms. These are what really make running a website worth it. Seeing what people type into Google in order to get to your website is like staring into the face of God and for the first time ever I am going to share this transcendent experience with you. Here are some actual search terms people have typed that brought The Weekly Geek to their attention.
And for kicks I am also going to show the subsequent Google Image Search generated by the term because I am a sadist. Let's begin!
Apparently we are a niche blog that hits all the fringe niches equally. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to find a way to get Ryan to write articles about bacon while wearing a fursuit.
posted by Ryan on February 18, 2009 8:00 AM in Movies
I'll never forget my first exposure to Bruce Campbell. Over a period of months during my freshman year of high school a new friend shared out his VHS library, one tape at a time. We'd make the swap before first bell, lack of explanation intentional as the tape changed hands, and I'd spend my insomniatic weeknights engrossed in the works of Kubrick, Argento, Tarentino, Stone, and Lynch. The morning after Reservoir Dogs brought a brief discussion, mostly about the tip scene, and of course another swap. This time it was Army of Darkness.
Having already run the Monty Python gambit in grade school and just starting to feed a burgeoning enthusiasm for horror this flick satisfied deeply and remains my favorite film to this day.
Over the years I've seen Bruce Campbell's movies, read his books, and - much to the eye rolling of my friends - managed to ask the sole question during a Q and A session (following a Bubba Ho-tep viewing) that didn't elicit a good-natured yet clearly mocking response.
You could say I'm a bit of a fan, but I have some reservations with the term. Fandom exists in degrees, tangible levels distinguished not only by enthusiasm or dedication but an understanding of the etiquette of devotion. Sure I might have a drive filled with Brownlee/Ross slash (and isn't it time for another?) but you don't see me bringing that to the podcast or comment fields. Fans are, by their very nature, often embarrassing personifications of what a creator in all probability likes least about their work. Yes, we all like Invader Zim but you don't ask Mr. V to sing the doom song. Come on, folks, creators don't like book tours, conventions, or signing endless stacks of paper to be inserted in the much sought after limited editions. Buy their merch, show your support, and try to lay off the creepy.
As a horror icon Bruce Campbell gets the worst of this and, impressively, retains at least the appearance of gradual acceptance for this phenomenon as outlined in his first book (which I highly recommend, his second not so much) If Chins Could Kill as well as his documentary short Fanalysis. I've seen first-hand the unending Evil Dead 4 questions and inane requests (Will you say "Thank you very much") expertly fielded ("I might say that, if I were your little monkey.") and could only laugh when I heard of the upcoming film My Name is Bruce which just saw DVD release here in the states last week.
The film begins as only this type of thing could, a duo of Hot Topic'd youths each entrenched in their self-made set of exaggerated ideals en route to a cemetery while rehashing one liners that have no place in daily congress. What follows is a tongue-in-cheek experience tailored to the über fan's palette as a self-mocking Bruce Campbell plays a caricature of himself and is involuntarily enlisted to play the role of Ash, in real life, to save a small mining town from a supernatural evil.
What follows is a series of ultra-niche references, slapstick, and intentional camp that viewers will either love or hate. One of my favorite scenes depicts the hallowed offering of an iconic, fan-made weapon - one guess at what it is, Deadites - which naturally isn't accepted as the adoring fan intended. Are they ever?
The best thing to come away from this Stooge'esque homage is, against all odds, the positive spin that Bruce Campbell manages to put on his fandom. Sure there is a grudging acceptance of a temporary evil that has managed to last decades, like the scab from a smallpox vaccination that just won't fall off, but it came alongside the ability to direct and produce his own movie with a group of friends.
Be sure to catch the DVD special features for a behind-the-scenes look at the film's production which outlines how all exterior shots were done on Bruce's property out in Southern Oregon, not to mention 18 days of shooting plagued with troubles of a low budget ($1.5 million) indie film from rain to bees to poison oak. One of the things If Chins Could Kill did so well was divulge a lot of details on the nitty gritty of film making, which is echoed here as Bruce loads his dishwasher while explaining the benefits of not changing lenses to save filming time.
Certainly not for everyone, but My Name is Bruce will amuse those that get a fake Shemp reference or can appreciate a bunch of friends having a good time making a campy horror film.
posted by Chris on February 16, 2009 6:56 PM in Podcast
It was a great week for gaming and geekdom in general with downloadable content and new releases galore. Join me, Jinny, Ross and Ryan as we fill your ears with insane babbling for a full hour. This is the future of media, people. We talk about a variety of subjects from Flower on the PSN to the Grand Theft Auto IV DLC to downloadable vibrator programs. Popping open the mailbag leads to a discussion about movies and we find that we actually have a lot to look forward to in 2009. We also continue Ryan and Jinny's Gamerscore battle saga. Epic. It's a good show, won't you join us? Won't you?
posted by SecksCab on February 16, 2009 12:17 AM in
Oy gevalt...
Chris and I have been laughing about this one for years. 1998, the year I graduated from high school, and three years until we even met each other, yet within a week of knowing each other in college, Chris and I were doing impressions of this long-forgotten oddity on a nearly daily basis.
"KABOOM! BALL LIGHTNING!"
I had assumed footage of this lameness had been lost to the sands of the fogs of the mists of the winding scrolls of the sands of time, but thanks to YouTube, we now have proof that we were just really drunk at the time.
Sad to say, the kid who lost that tournament made more money than anyone on the Weekly Geek staff has ever seen.
As promised (threatened?) I recorded my most recent custom Mini Munny project so you can see the process of making one of these little guys. Since I've been pretty obsessed with Fallout 3 I thought a Vault Boy would be perfect to show the ins and outs of how something like this comes together. In it I discuss tools and procedure and show you what to do and what not to do. Custom toy creation is actually pretty easy, and hopefully this video answers some of your questions!
posted by Sitnalta on February 13, 2009 6:22 PM in Rant
Well, there's no Doctor Helmig for this week. February is not a good time for me, and the past week was particularly horrid, but I won't bore you.
I feel I have some sort of responsibility for providing you, our audience, with some sort of humor-based visual stimuli. So instead of a comic that takes many hours to complete, how about a random bitter commentary on an episode from a television series nobody remembers? That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I present for you:
posted by Chris on February 12, 2009 10:07 PM in Games
Art evokes, inspires, makes you feel. No matter what anyone says video games are art as long as someone asserts they are art. If a piece ignites you, sets the gears of your mind working and gives you that little jolt of inspiration or awareness, that's art. Flower is art. Flower is essentially a short, compartmentalized platform game with incredibly forgiving controls. But that's just the construction of the piece. That is the medium. That is the wood framework and linen canvas and gesso. Flower is the piece and Flower is awesome by the very definition of the word.
During the dusk sequences I can literally feel the cool summer evening breeze sweeping over me, in the sunlight I can smell the grass and the crickets chirping and wind rushing past my ears literally made me tear up. One button to go fast. The motion controls move you around, and the whole package is one of the smoothest, most satisfying play control schemes I have ever played with.
Like tasting all the individual ingredients in a dish, I can see all the different individual game influences in Flower. Katamari Damacy, Sonic the Hedgehog, Braid, Okami, Yoshi's Island...
I am so gay for this game. Buy it with your ten dollars on the Playstation Network now, please. Flower is beautiful and great and everything I love about video games and the hobby surrounding playing them. I have no complaints.
posted by Ryan on February 11, 2009 7:00 PM in Comics
If your DVD rack, bookshelf, or gaming library are anything like mine I'd warrant a guess at all three proving that you have already made a move to a town that's right for you. Between movie remakes and video game franchises one need not linger long to feel fetid undead breath close at hand. We have mallzombies, casino zombies, racist zombies, radioactive zombies, thinking zombies, and even playable zombies.
While I've enjoyed the gradual cross-genre escalation, to the point of peeling an Oprah's Reading List sticker from a paperback, saturation doesn't always equate quality.
In the giant bucket of media that has felt the zombie bite Left 4 Dead easily floats to the top, a rich layer of calorie-packed fat teeming with delicious enjoyment. Game play aspects aside the experience remains a finely executed spin on the classic zombie spawned scenario, situation mere catalyst for the senses as both scripted and unscripted experiences unfold. The Hows and Whys are irrelevant, major background history given but a ghost of a whisper with subtle visual cues or multi-faceted graffiti. Of the many steps Valve took in the right direction with this game's creation the deliberate separation of chapters took the longest for me to appreciate.
It's for the complete opposite reason that, in the wake of a recent re-exposure, I'm so fond of the ongoing series The Walking Dead.
Where each of the four "movies" in L4D are split up as to not thoroughly crush the morale of the survivors as they'd escape one predicament only to step in to another, The Walking Dead embraces that very formula to better develop interpersonal relationships in the scope of the ever widening complications of the zombie apocalypse. Where situational dialogue or panicked cries evoke attachment to the characters in L4D, a small part of the whole really, seeing the polar opposite long-haul approach as penned by writer Robert Kirkman elicits an entirely different mindset with a sort of slow-burning dread that fuels the experience uncharacteristically long enough for our main character to grow a beard or whose goals are dynamic and conclusion yet to be determined.
This isn't your afternoon in the mall or road trip to the ocean and as the series progressed, now 57 monthly released issues in, I've witnessed extremely well scripted executions of several "what if" ideas I've always harbored about the zombie apocalypse but are have rarely seen attempted in either the confines of a two-hour production or otherwise.
The image above is the first cover I ever saw and sums up a lot of what makes the series worthy of the praise its received over the years. Here we see our primary character draped in a decidedly non-bad ass quilt, entire composition vastly far flung from any cross-genre depiction (especially in a horror comic) that usually sports a buxom lass, cleft-chinned hero, or oozing monstrosity. That isn't to say that this Romero-inspired epic doesn't sport tell-tale undead gore or the ghastly ultra violence synonymous with most introspection flavored survival stories, both are certainly present, but ultimately The Walking Dead isn't really about zombies.
Comics have long since cast off super hero stereotypes and juvenile themes and while most of my favorites are long out of production The Walking Dead holds a key spot in the zombie genre as a still-breathing series representing some of the best creative content available to sport the pallid skin, rotting flesh, and guttural moaning so many of us have come to love.
posted by Chris on February 11, 2009 10:09 AM in Food
The fois gras debate has ramped up in Seattle recently as local fundamentalist crazies who won't listen to reason NARN began protesting Lark, a restaurant in my neighborhood that serves fois. It's been discussed ad nauseum on the Slog, but Kate from Accidental Hedonist provides the most level-headed voice in the crowd. Fois isn't as cruel to geese as NARN or other animal rights activists may lead you to believe, despite the kneejerk reaction you may have to the term "force-feeding".
The quiet, contemplative Dan Barber gave a highly informative and compelling lecture at TED concerning the issue of fois gras and sustainability. If there's one ingredient that seems completely contradictory to the concept of sustainable food, it's fois gras. Dan tells us about a farmer in Spain he met who is doing everything so right, even nature itself seems to agree with him. His geese are so well-treated that the wild geese in the area actually come to stay, mate and feed. There's no force-feeding going on, it's just happy geese gladly getting fat.
I absolutely adore fois gras and while it is a bit too expensive for me to order on a regular basis, I'll still treat myself every now and again. There's so much wrong with the way we produce our food these days, but I think attacking fois gras is misguided at best. Dan shows us that with a bit of thoughtfulness and conscience, we can overcome these moral issues while producing the best quality product possible.
posted by Chris on February 9, 2009 4:33 PM in Podcast
More than you've ever wanted to be revealed on a Weekly Geek podcast is revealed in this week's episode. We've got Jinny, Ryan and Ross warming up their action figures and doing questionable things to books. In this episode we talk about Dead Rising 2, the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figure molds being brought back into service, Fallout 3's DLC being delayed, the new Kindle and how it may be the bane of book fetishists everywhere, Coraline and how you should definitely see it in 3d (while you can!), our survey results, and my borderline offensive dislike of Anime and the brand of storytelling it promotes. We run a bit long this week and Ross starts to get really quiet around the 15 minute mark, so adjust your expectations accordingly. THANKS.
A few weeks ago I purchased this sweet Little Sister porcelain figurine from the Take 2 website but had no Big Daddy to go with her. I avoided the limited edition Bioshock package that came with the golden Big Daddy, mainly because I thought the figure looked like crap. The official figure is standing up too tall, not hulking and slouched over like the Big Daddy Bouncers in Rapture proper. What is a Bioshock fan to do besides make their own?
Made from a Mini Munny, Sculpey and some wire I made a sort of chibi-Bouncer to go with the little Adam-sucker.
I'm ready for dreamtime, Mr. Bubbles
I took a few photos of the process to show you guys but they didn't turn out very well. The lighting was way off and I didn't document the painting process. So! To make up for it, I'll be posting a video of me making a Vault Boy Mini Munny shortly. Hopefully that will suffice!
Scoundrels win me over every time. It's the charisma, the disarming smile. The inherent honesty in their actions. Characters in TV and movies like Don Draper (Mad Men), Al Swearengen and Seth Bullock (Deadwood), Malcom Reynolds (Firefly), Starbuck (Battlestar Galactica) and Han Solo (Battlefield Earth). These guys, and they tend to primarily be men, all march to the beat of their own drum and make a ton of mistakes along the way. They are self-centered bastards with hearts of gold. I love them. I am instantly drawn to any character with moral gray area. I find that gray area adds a refreshing sense of realism to the typical hero story we're familiar with, and any time you can show that your hero is real, it endears them to the viewer. In a video game they would be considered neutral characters, neither good nor evil. It's my favorite alignment. Why is it then that I can't manage to remain neutral in games that give me that choice?
Scoundrel! Scruffy-lookin nerf-herder!
Perhaps it's the definition of neutral that is the issue. Take Fallout 3 as an example. In the game your actions have a direct scoring system called Karma. If you do something good, you get "good" Karma points. Do something bad or socially unacceptable and you get "bad" Karma points. As your points add up they begin to shape your character and the way the world reacts to them. The amount of variation and choice in how you complete a quest or a speech challenge in Fallout is impressive and one of the most engaging elements of the game. Too bad I have a problem being anything but the pinnacle of All That Is Good when I'm playing a game.
RPGs such as Fallout 3 or even Fable II are escapism for me. I tend to gravitate toward what I feel is my ideal self (consciously or sub-consciously, I'm not sure.) I'll display a sense of self-sacrifice and a paladin-ish level of honor. I selected "The Sacrifice" in Fable II because I felt guilty choosing my own needs over the needs of others. I actually felt guilt! Same with doing anything morally gray in Fallout 3. I literally feel guilty.
I started a new game in Fallout 3 trying to remain neutral. I suppose I could just avoid anything that would give me Karma at all, be it positive or negative. But since I like to consider myself a neutral person in real life (always fair, logical, level-headed and Zen-like) I figured I'd just comport myself in the manner I would in meatspace.
It's difficult to be yourself when faced with the option to be a better person.
You gonna get in trouble...
I enjoy watching these characters on TV because they feel real. They are flawed and charming and endearing. They are a reflection of humanity. Fallout 3 is one of the few video games I've played that feels the same.
There are people who play games that take great pleasure in burning down villages, gleefully tormenting innocents and generally making a mess of things, and then there are people like me. Ross had mentioned in a podcast that he has a hard time playing anything but a perfectly good character, and I was wondering who else out there feels the same? What alignment do you naturally gravitate toward when you pick up the controller?
A long time buddy of mine recently came in to a snazzy new Wacom and, in some cosmic act of humoring good will, bestowed his old one to me. Now my friend is an artist of immense talent. He gets paid to paint, hand tooled both my bitchin' tattoos, and oddly remains the only person that never laughs when I casually mention I'd cut off my left hand to have just half of what his right can do. He works in several mediums but it was his recent progression to a digital medium that intrigued me the most.
Needless to say I quickly, despairingly, learned sexy new gear did not necessarily unlock previously inactive floodgates of talent. While this tool has yet to catapult my ill-fated scribblings to any remotely acceptable level it has offered access to a conceptual interface that entices with the strengths only a digital backbone can provide.
Several of these advantages, such as instant color replication or simple layer manipulation, are fascinatingly revealed in the recent videos shared by The Behemoth's Dan Paladin. Though perhaps more suited to fans of the Castle Crashers' aesthetic both this video and the one before it prominently display techniques (alongside splendid musical selections) that are genuinely digital as modular components are moved, cloned, or overlayed in this virtual workspace. Modifications are swiftly deliberate when content can be masterfully deconstructed.
Of the themes I revisit the battle between analog and digital remains the most vexing. Gary's mod is no replacement for LEGO, a GPS unit's functional simplicity relies on communication through space, and that lens flare filter hardly evokes the same wonder as the real McCoy. A Wacom will never stain your fingernails or accidentally mix colors, Photoshop won't reek of caustic developer or unintentionally overexpose, and for some the word processor will never replicate that elegant suction paper has on the blood of a fountain pen.
The battle continues. I found Paladin's process uniquely thought provoking and, more importantly, inspirational. The ability to sample and replicate content artfully transcends medium, as shown in a sketch's progress or the recent chiptuneinfatuation I've been nursing. This brief pulling back of the veil has rekindled a forced march within my tiny secret sketchbook with the hope of eventual digitalization, a medium dare I say more forgiving for a starter as myself.
posted by Mike on February 3, 2009 8:51 PM in Music
My girlfriend favorite independent songstress, Neko Case, is done with her latest record. Due March 3 on Anti- Records, Middle Cyclone will play successor to my 2006 Album of the Year selection, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.
This first single from Cyclone brings all of Case's typical charm to the table - that trademark strong vocal delivery over a bed of not-quite-country jangly guitars and shuffling drums. But the highlight here is a soaring falsetto bridge part.
Neko, as the lyrics suggest, really is a "man eater" - and Middle Cyclone's uber-awesome album art certainly supports that sentiment.
posted by Chris on February 3, 2009 12:09 PM in Podcast
The news cycle starts to spool up as Ross, Ryan , Jinny and I tackle this week's big gaming news. E3 registration is open and we contemplate what makes it different from other trade shows, and how it's the same. Starcraft classes are being taught at UC Berkeley and we discuss the academic merits of this. We look at some nifty Left 4 Dead valentines and download the Resident Evil 5 demo. After a bit of insight into why the Resident Evil 5 demo makes us not want to purchase the game, we talk R-Type and dip into the mailbag to discuss more quirks and iPhone apps. There's also a survey going on if you're interested in helping us out.
Hi guys, I regret to inform you that I am going to be shutting down the Weekly Geek forums as they exist today. The site has been the victim of repeat attacks over the last few months and I suspect it is because of our outdated forum software. While all your accounts and forum posts are going to be gone, I have implemented *new* forum software which is a completely integrated community solution. That means your commenter account for the blog will be tied to your new forum account, and you can upload avatars and reply to people's comments in fancy threaded fashion. It will be glorious.
Thanks for always being awesome and supportive of the site. I know there were a lot of awesome forum threads in the last incarnation and it was a really difficult decision to lose all that great content. I hope you'll participate just as much as you did before with this new system.
posted by Chris on February 2, 2009 10:53 AM in Music
We've already recorded the top albums of 2008 podcast, but I've been neglecting my editing duties as of late. It will be available soonish. I only say this because I think you guys are really going to like this one. 2008 was an incredible year for great music, and during the podcast Mike turned me on to MGMT and their debut album Oracular Spectacular. Lately it's taken repeat listens for me to really dig an album, the ones that grow on me have a special place in my heart. But every so often an album comes along that just clicks on first listen, and knocks me flat on my ass. That's Oracular Spectacular. MGMT has opened for Of Montreal, Radiohead and MIA... and if that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is.
"A bloated, uncomfortable, saturated throwback to no genre, time period, or movement in particular." - Dom Sinacola, Cokemachineglow
I love the bloat. I love the uncomfortableness and the saturation. It's dismantled and dissected music. Oracular Spectacular is music created by an alternative future Rolling Stones who reveal themselves to have been robots all along and are now malfunctioning as their drug-addled systems create a soundtrack for the post-apocalypse.
This is my favorite track, Kids. Something about it just sends chills up my spine on every listen. I enjoy the meta-strangeness of a YouTube video made out of a... YouTube video, as well.
posted by Chris on February 2, 2009 9:44 AM in Comics
The lady and I went on a bit of an Alan Moore kick last summer, having drained every little rectanglular panel of epic goodness from Watchmen, we instantly gravitated to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I hadn't seen the supposed crapfest that was the film adaptation, but Jinny had. She assures me that the book is vastly superior, and I can assure you she is considerably bright and astute in these matters. If you've never read the series, I can't recommend it highly enough. Alan Moore takes lesser-known (and a few better-known) literary characters and creates a nerdy, turn-of-the-century version of the Justice League set in an alternative past where magic meets science, steam powers everything, Captain Nemo is a badass with a squid-submarine and Martians plot to take over the Earth. It's a hazy, dream-like opium den of a book and it's wonderful.
A new three part series is set to begin at the end of April titled The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 3 Century: 1910. Here's the upshot:
Alan Moore's familiar cast of Victorian literary characters enters the brave new world of the 20th century, set against a backdrop of London, 1910, twelve years after the failed Martian invasion. In the bowels of the British Museum, Carnacki the ghost-finder is plagued by visions of a shadowy occult order who are attempting to create something called a Moonchild, while on London's dockside the most notorious serial murderer of the previous century has returned to carry on his grisly trade. Working for Mycroft Holmes' British Intelligence alongside a rejuvenated Allan Quartermain, the reformed thief Anthony Raffles, and the eternal warrior Orlando, Miss Murray is drawn into a brutal opera acted out upon the waterfront by players that include the furiously angry Pirate Jenny and the charismatic butcher known as Mac the Knife. This book is the first of three deluxe, 80-page, full-color, perfect-bound graphic novellas, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, each a self-contained narrative that takes place in three distinct eras, building to an apocalyptic conclusion occurring in our own twenty-first century. The return of the League is not to be missed!
Alan Moore has the ability to take seemingly mundane characters from humanity's literary collective consciousness and sculpt them into remarkably engaging figures. It's no surprise he's releasing something new around the time the Watchmen movie is set to hit theaters, as I am sure his name is bound to come up at a junket or two.
You can pre-order the new book now at your local comic book shop, or online.
I hope you like the crappy piece of clip art I chose for this survey. I know normally surveys are dumb and boring but I hope that those of you who stumble upon this site take a few moments to fill out this (incredibly short, 8 question) survey about the blog and the podcast. It will help us to improve things and maybe make the world a more entertaining place.
I'm trying to figure out exactly what's up but a few readers have pointed out to me that they are getting virus alerts when visiting the website. It's probably a bit of malicious IP sniffing code (which has happened before), but you shouldn't be in any immediate digital danger. I am investigating and will most likely be able to fix it. Carry on!
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Another week, another crazy slew of search terms. Whenever I talk to someone who listens to the podcast, I always ask them "how did you find it?" A surprising amount of people say they just did a random web search. Completely un-targeted, independent discovery. Crazy! Here's a list of some of the weirdest search terms people actually used in order to eventually end up at The Weekly Geek. I have also provided subsequent Google Image Search results for extra crazy.
