[WII] WII-KLY UPDATE: TWO NEW CLASSIC GAMES ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

March 31, 2008It’s a week of fun-filled firsts at the Wii™ Shop Channel. Each of the latest game offerings represents the first title in a memorable series that has influenced many subsequent titles over the years. Whether you prefer high-speed drives or side-scrolling adventures, it’s clear that these classic games have lasting appeal. What’s more, Wonder Boy is the first-ever Sega Master System title to be made available via Virtual Console.

Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii™ owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

Cruis’n USA™ (Nintendo 64®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): Ever felt like driving to the Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Rushmore and the White House in one day? Well then, gear up to put your racing skills to the test in a frantic trip across the United States, following a route that you won’t find on any map. Whether it’s the rolling hills of Appalachia, the flowing cornfields of Iowa or the crowded tunnels below Chicago, you’ll find yourself too focused on the intense racing action to worry about the scenery. Get started by picking from a garage full of cars to find the one that best suits your style—if you’re good enough, you’ll even find a few hidden ones to round out your selection. Then choose one of three different playing perspectives and get ready to hang on tight. With five difficulty levels, the ability to remove traffic or other racers, and two- player simultaneous racing, it’s enough to make you forget all about finding that next rest stop. Just watch out for the cows, OK?

Wonder Boy (Sega Master System, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone—Comic Mischief, 500 Wii Points): As Tom-Tom the Wonder Boy, it’s up to you to rescue your girlfriend Tanya from the vile clutches of the monster that has kidnapped her. To do so, you must navigate a series of worlds in a race against time to reach your goal. Along the way, you’ll battle foes and collect fruit that will add to the amount of time you have to complete your mission. You can also receive helpful power-ups from various eggs, but make sure to avoid the bad eggs and poisonous mushrooms that sap your precious vitality. Find the magic doll in each level to open up hidden areas, and make it to the very end of your journey to rescue your one true love.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

 

[METRO MEDIA COMPLEX] I choose Blue!

The final deadline of Color Wars 2008 is on Monday at Midnight. So, if you haven’t already done it… Do it soon!

As for the photo, I selected “rock” and the Blue Team. For some reason, I wanted to have Ryu of “Street Fighter II” fame holding his fist in a rock or even The Thing of “Fantastic Four” or WWE – the Rock. But all I could find was Sakura. Hehe… what the hell….oh well…

Here is the info:

http://colorwar2008.com/

All you have to do is:

1. Take a picture of yourself throwing either “rock”, “paper” or “scissors”.
2. It must be clear which of the three you are throwing.
3. You must be in your team uniform (do your best).
4. Upload your photo to Flickr and tag it like this:rsb:move=yourmove rsb:team=yourteam rsb:player=yourtwittername(for example rsb:move=rock rsb:team=blueteam rsb:player=zefrank)
5. Submit a link to the flickr photo below or at http://www.colorwars2008.com/rsb

 

[Nintendo] SUPER SMASH BROS. BRAWL SMASHES NINTENDO SALES RECORDS

Wii Game Sells at a Rate of More than 120 per Minute

REDMOND, Wash., March 17, 2008 – After just one week on store shelves, Super Smash Bros.® Brawl for Wii has become the fastest-selling video game in Nintendo of America’s history. Since its launch on March 9, the feature-packed fighting action game has sold more than 1.4 million units in the United States, including more than 874,000 on March 9 alone. It has sold at a rate of more than 120 units per minute between launch and March 16.

“Super Smash Bros. Brawl has made the leap from video game to cultural phenomenon,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Game reviewers and the public alike praise its fun game play and extensive, inventive content.”

Super Smash Bros. Brawl features a nearly limitless variety of options for players. Dozens of classic Nintendo characters like Mario™ and Pikachu® are joined by industry icons like Sonic The Hedgehog™ and Metal Gear’s Solid Snake for all-out four-player battles. The endless customization keeps players coming back for more. The previous game in the series, Super Smash Bros.® Melee, became the best-selling Nintendo GameCube™ game of all time with more than 7 million copies sold worldwide, so it’s no surprise to see this latest installment racking up record numbers.

“It’s important to remember,” Dunaway said, “that we have lots more fun on the way: Upcoming titles like Mario Kart® Wii and Wii Fit™ will keep our momentum going strong.”

Mario Kart Wii launches April 27 with the Wii Wheel™, which lets players drive their speedy karts with the intuitive feel of a wireless steering wheel. It’s another “bridge” game like Wii Sports™ that lets video game novices and veterans play and have fun together. Wii Fit arrives May 19 with the Wii Balance Board™ to combine fun and fitness. It lets users track their progress over time, and it’s an easy way for every member of the family to keep active and play together.

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.

For more information about Super Smash Bros. Brawl, visit www.SmashBros.com.

About Nintendo: The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™, Nintendo DS™, Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.5 billion video games and more than 430 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario™, Donkey Kong®, Metroid®, Zelda™ and Pokémon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company’s Web site at www.nintendo.com.

 

[WII] WII-KLY UPDATE: TWO NEW CLASSIC GAMES ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

March 24, 2008It’s a mad season for basketball lovers, but even the most hardcore hoops fan needs a break from the action this time of year. While they’re a far cry from basketball, the latest additions to the Wii™ Shop Channel offer plenty of fast-moving fun and high-scoring thrills of their own. Check them out and get a fresh taste of gaming excitement that can last well into April and beyond.

Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

KING’S KNIGHT™ (NES®, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points): In the kingdom of Izander, the fair Princess Claire has been kidnapped by a foul and insidious dragon, and it is the mission of four brave fighters to save her. Through five thrilling, fast-action stages, our gallant heroes-a knight, a wizard, a monster and a thief-will take on an army of incredible enemies. You must help them reach their goal, as you are now part of the team that will fight to free the princess from her imprisonment. Keep your wits about you, plan your strategy and set off on an exciting adventure.

POWERBALL™ (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): Eight different teams representing various nations are vying to become the POWERBALL champions, and you control one of the eight in your quest for the championship. A hybrid of games like rugby and football, POWERBALL is played on a 100-yard field. Try to score by either carrying the ball into your opponent’s end zone or kicking it into your opponent’s net for points. This one- or two-player game offers both exhibition and league play. Jump into a game of POWERBALL and try a brand new sport.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

 

[DVD REVIEW] Dragon Ball Z Season three and four

DVD: Dragon Ball Z Season Three and Season Four

DURATION: 780 minutes (Season 3, total of 33 episodes, Episodes 75-107), 755 minutes (Season 4, total of 32 episodes, Episodes 108-139) on 6 discs

DVD INFO: 16:9

COMPANY: FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT

What can I say about “Dragon Ball Z”, for me, this anime is just a classic that I’ve loved when I was younger and love it today over a decade later.

I would drive over an hour away to visit my local Japanese video rental store and pick up the latest four episodes to come from Japan and would be all giddy about the latest episode and giddy of what would come out via the video games for the Sony PlayStation.

So, here I am with a DVD review for Seasons 3 and 4 after spending my holiday weekend, chilling out and just watching each episode and surprisingly this time around watching them dubbed and not in Japanese this time around.

First, let me just say that I have never watched the series in the US only when it came out in Japan.  I realized they were out on DVD but seriously, what you are getting now for the price of less than two DVD’s for one season box set, you are saving a lot of of money because back several years ago, these DVD’s were released to the US with I believe only four episodes and I can’t fathom those who spent thousands of dollars buying them, to find out they are now being released for under $35 per season.

Of course, there have been controversy surrounding the DVD release, mainly with the 16:9 as hardcore fans say that the animation was just cut off and not a true anamorphic widescreen.  These are among the hardcore who compared their original releases or possibly their old video tapes and hey, I can understand them being upset but for me, didn’t bother me one bit.

First of all, the animation is restored.  The animation looks clean and the colors look brilliant.   Not only are you getting a lot of episodes but you can enjoy it in Japanese (2.0 soundtrack), English 5.1 dubbed and English 2.0 (which has the added digital music which I presume was used for the television series).

I figured that I enjoyed the series in Japanese, let’s try it dubbed.  I tend to prefer watching my animation via Japanese with English subtitles but I have to admit that I enjoyed the dubbing of the series.  I felt the acting was really well done with Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Bulma and the whole cast.

But watching the anime all over again, with season 3, the whole season literally focuses on the battle against Frieza.  Season 1 dealt with the battle against Vegeta and Raditz.  Season 2 features Gohan, Krillin and Bulma searching for the Dragon Balls in the Planet Namek but Frieza and his gang also pursuing them.  As with Vegeta who wants them as well.

Of course, Season 3 is very action packed as everyone risks their life to go against Frieza but I found myself realizing something that I never realized back then was how impatient I was getting for them to tie things up.  They really dragged the battles so very long and what I felt could of lasted 10-15 episodes, really went on for 30+ episodes.

But yet, I was still enjoying the battle and to see Son Goku reach Super Saiyajin or Super Saiyan which is the widely used term for the dubbed version.

Season one and two were awesome.  Season three though is just a great season because of the hardcore battle against Frieza which results in a few major deaths.

Season four  is actually a season filled with filler episodes in the first three discs.  You get the return of Garlic Jr. which was just average as he uses the dark mist to turn the Planet Earth to violent zombie like people.  Piccolo, Gohan and Krillin must save the day.  Well, add in Kame and Mr. Popo as well.  Plus the Krillin and his girlfriend Mellon storyline.

Then things start to pick up as Frieza and his father King Cold go to Earth to blow up the planet. Yes, Frieza is still alive and wants his revenge on Goku.  That is until a Super Saiyajin from the future pays a visit to give a warning to Goku.  The Super Saiyajin known as Trunks goes to battle against Frieza, King Cold and their goons.  This leads to the next major battle against the Super Androids and from disc four through six, things start to pick up action-wise again and building up to next major season which introduces the Cell storyline.

Personally, I would have skipped all those episodes if not for the English dubs.  I guess to hear it in English and in some ways, adds to the enjoyabilty for me.  For example, Mellon sounds just like a total braindead tease, Mr. Popo is just a character that is either stereotypically just wrong or just comic relief, I don’t know.  But the interaction between Bulma and Vegeta and the banter against each other is just fun.  So, the English dubbing worked for me, I really enjoyed the voice acting.

The box sets come with a booklet featuring hero and enemy profiles and episode summaries.  Also, information on the remastering process of “Dragon Ball Z” which was a special feature on the first season.

As for special features, mainly the trailers but nothing major!

I have to give full props to FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT for actually selling the season box sets for such a spectacular price!  I’m sure previous buyers are a bit ticked that they spent so much money just to acquire the seasons when they were released years ago but for me, for a series that had so many episodes, there would be know way for me to buy them on DVD without breaking the bank.

Personally, you can’t go wrong with the release as you get a digitally remastered version of the animated series with the original Japanese and English dub tracks and again, I’m not a big English dub fan but this is probably one of the best dubs that I really enjoyed in a while.

If you are a fan of DBZ or even interested, you can’t go wrong.  Over 30 episodes per season for under $35, that’s a steal!

As for season three, very awesome!  Season 4, many filler episodes but then again, if you loved seasons 1-3, more than likely you are going to get season four.

So, all in all….you get my highest recommendation for these box sets. It may not be perfect for the hardcore but for those of us who want things on a budget especially during these crazy economic times, the cost of each box set and for what FUNIMATION has presented is just worth it!

 

BEST LIVE DVD -PREMIUM LIVE DREAM SELECTION- (a J!-ENT Music DVD Review)

TITLE: BEST LIVE DVD -PREMIUM LIVE DREAM SELECTION-

COMPANY: avex trax

CATALOG #: AVBD-91511

DURATION: 100 Minutes

DVD INFO: Region 2, 16:9LB

RELEASED ON December 5, 2007

1. Tohoshinki – Rising Sun (from 2nd LIVE TOUR 2007 – Five in the Black)
2. AAA – SUNSHINE (from a-nation `07 BEST HIT LIVE)
3. Suzuki Ami – Delightful (from SUZUKI AMI AROUND THE WORLD – LIVE HOUSE TOUR 2005)
4. Do As Infinity – Tokumade/Yesterday & Today (from Do As Infinity -Final- Live at Budokan 2005.11.25)
5. m.o.v.e – come together /Blazin’ Beat (from LIVE TOUR “DECADACE PARADE ’03)
6. Kiyokiba Shunsuke – Utai hito – (from LIVE TOUR 2006 Sore ike!)
7. globe – DEPARTURES/Love again (from globe the best live 1995-2002)
8. day after tomorrow – faraway (from 1st Love Tour 2003 – elements)
9. Shimatani Hitomi – Amairo no Kami no Otome (Hitomi Shimatani Live 2007 – PRIMA ROSA)
10. TRF – CRAZY GONNA CRAZY – EZ DO DANCE/Where to begin (Life e-Motions TOUR 2006)
11. BoA – QUINCY (BoA ARENA TOUR 2005 – BEST OF SOUL)
12. Every Little Thing – Shapes of Love/Hi Fi Message (from Every Little Thing 10th Anniversary Special Live at Nippon Budokan)
13. Hamasaki Ayumi – M (from A museum -30th single collection live)

The latest compilation DVD from avex trax features live performances from 13 artists/groups from various avex entertainment inc. labels with a total of 17 tracks and offered on DVD for an attractive price (for Japan) at Y2,800 ($28).

The hard thing about reviewing these type of DVD’s is that if you watched many of the live concert performances of the groups featured (and other artists not featured), you either take what they give you or you question why was this on here and not this.

Starting with the first DVD track, Tohoshinki’s performance of “RISING SUN” from their 2nd LIVE TOUR 2007 DVD was one of the most amazing performances I’ve seen from a boy band. The choreography was awesome, as it was very reminiscent of Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” (people in uniform marching and incorporating dance choreography) and I felt that the selection of that performance definitely deserved placement on this DVD.

As for AAA’s “SUNSHINE”, I would imagine that the reason why this performance was chosen was because they lost one of their members earlier in 2007. And taking footage from their live concert DVD release three months prior to this DVD release was too soon. But “SUNSHINE” from a-nation is definitely not their best performance but because of circumstances of losing a member, this was probably the only footage they could have used of the group with it’s current members.

Suzuki Ami is another situation where there is only one DVD release of her live performance and the rest were a-nation live concert performances. So, another reason why I can understand they chose to go with “Delightful” from her 2005 concert. Definitely one of her most lively performances since returning to Avex.

Do As Infinity in a way was surprising because of their inclusion on this DVD. The group broke up back in 2005 and they could of went with another group such as m-flo, EXILE or someone else from their various sub-labels and feature their current performances. But at the same time, Do As Infinity is one of the most popular bands from avex and despite their breakup, I think it’s understandable why they included both performances and fortunately it was from their Final Live from Budokan.

m.o.v.e was a surprise as well because their last live concert DVD was back in 2003. But because the group is celebrating their 10th Anniversary, I can understand their inclusion on this DVD and because they are one of the long standing groups from the avex label.

Kiyokiba Shunsuke’s inclusion was pretty cool and good to see another rhythm zone artist on this DVD but then again, it makes you ask why the group he was formerly a member of (EXILE) and Koda Kumi are not on this DVD, is surprising. But nevertheless, it was good to see Kiyokiba included.

globe had the ultimate concerts in the 90′s for any avex artist or group and it was no surprise that they would have some inclusion on this DVD and the two performances of “DEPARTURES” and “Love Again” were awesome to watch.

day after tomorrow was another one I just wondered…what about Amuro or even Otsuka Ai. But day after tomorrow was big for avex in the past before their breakup and it was no surprise to see them featured despite not being a group anymore. But I would have thought for a different performance than “faraway”.

Shimatani Hitomi’s performance of “Amairo no Kami no Otome” (since this song is very special for Shimatani and like she told J!-ENT, this was the song that got her on “Kouhaku”) was no surprise but I would have thought they would of included other performances, especially “DESTINY” or another performance from the “PRIMA ROSA” DVD.

TRF is no surprise since avex would not be avex without TRF, the group who helped put avex on the map in the early 90′s. So, it’s cool to see them include their first major hit song “EZ DO DANCE” and “Where to Begin” to give a nod to their 15th Year Anniversary.

BoA’s performane of “QUINCY” is actually very cool but I wished they included another performance. There are so many live performances of BoA that could have been included on this DVD.

Every Little Thing is another group that had no relation to Komuro Tetsuya that helped drive people towards Avex. And another group that celebrated their 10th anniversary, so no surprise to see them included on this DVD.

And last, Hamasaki Ayumi. She’s had so many memorable concert performances but yet “M” was chosen and only “M” was featured. So, a bit surprised about that. I would of expected a second or third song (since they do that with the a-nation DVD releases) included on this DVD.

The quality of the DVD performances selected are from the better live DVD’s from the artists and the fact that it’s on 16:9 is cool. But one thing not included on this DVD but are included on the original live performance DVD of the majority of the artists is that the choice to listen to the performances on 2ch or digital 5.1. Unfortunately, this audio option is not available on this DVD.

All in all, “BEST LIVE DVD – PREMIUM LIVE DREAM SELECTION -” is a cool DVD featuring a good number of performances from various avex labels.

When you create a DVD compilation like this, you’re never going to please everyone.

I could be nitpicky and wonder why this artist and that band is not included. Also, question why some of the bands who are no longer around were offered on this 2008 DVD release and not current artists such as Otsuka Ai, Amuro Namie, EXILE, m-flo, etc.

Also, question why some of the videos selected for inclusion on this DVD were selected and not other awesome performances… but again, when it comes to live performances, it’s always in the eyes of the person of which performance was awesome to them. So, taking it for what this DVD is worth and its low price point (low for Japan), this DVD still offers over an hour and 40 minutes of live concert footage and a good number of the performances are awesome!

If you happen to enjoy the artists featured on this DVD live performance compilation DVD, then definitely check this DVD out. Especially if you have never seen their live performances before. Again, you get the video in 16:9 but you don’t get the digital 5.1 audio. Just the Stereo audio track.

But again, for the price it’s being offered for and the number of artists featured, it’s still a pretty cool live performance DVD compilation.

 

Justice League: The New Frontier (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

TITLE: Justice League: The New Frontier

DVD INFO: Widescreen, 75 minutes, Rated: PG-13 – Violent Content/Images

DISTRIBUTED BY: Warner Video

RELEASE DATE: March 2008

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Comprehensive Documentary “Super Heroes United! The Complete Justice League History
• Exclusive Sneak Peek at DC Universe’s: Batman Gothic Knight
• Audio Commentary 1: Featuring the Talented Filmmakers of New Frontier, included Executive Producer Bruce Timm, Supervising Producer Mike Goguen, Voice Director Andrewa Romano, Director David Bullock, Screenwriter Stan Berkowitz and DC Comics Senior Vice President/Creative Affairs Gregory Noveck
• Audio Commentary 2: Featuring Comic Book Writer and Artist Darwyn Cooke

Since I was a child, I have always been a big fan of the “Justice League” comic book series. I actually grew up reading Justice League, Justice Society and Legion of Super Heroes comic books from the 70′s and 80′s and even up to the 90′s.

For me, it was the comic to get because all the major DC Super Heroes were featured. You had Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Green Arrow and many others. So, when you bought these comic books, it was a bang for your .25 or .65 cents (depending when you started reading comic books) unlike the several dollar per issue cost that they are now.

As for “Justice League: The New Frontier”, this animated film is based on Darwyn Cooke’s award-winning graphic novel featuring the Justice League during the Cold War. The heroes under government suspicion, the end of the Korean war and the heroes created with a look that looked unique for that era (despite it being created in several years ago).

This animated film continues DC’s continued work to feature our heroes but not cookie cutter as in Saturday’s morning cartoons. From the Justice League Unlimited series that was on the Cartoon Network to the last DVD release of “Superman Doomsday”, “Justice League: The New Frontier” continues animation for adults.

The film centers around the super heroes as Superman is loyal to the government (despite the government not trusting the heroes); Wonder Woman as the Amazon blood thirsty fighter; Batman as the dark knight that is labeled as an anti-hero, thus being a good guy, is looked at as an enemy due to media portrayal. The Flash as the latest new Hero with super speed who is just emerging onto the scene and the series introduces Hal Jordan (aka the Green Lantern) and how he becomes the one of Earth’s heroes and Martian Manhunter, brought to this world but disliked because he is an alien.

Needless to say that each hero has their storyline tied together but the main heroes focused on are Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and the Flash. Hal Jordan as the risk taker, Martian Manhunter aka Jon Jonzz trying to assimilate into American culture via trying too be human and the Flash who feels his power of super speed is not so important.

You do also see a few cameos by other heroes such as the Blackhawks, Adam Strange, John Henry and more.

But all unite together to take on the toughest enemy Earth has ever faced but can the heroes work together despite their differences and will the US government work with them.

All in all, “Justice League: The New Frontier” is a refreshing animated film, something different, that DC fans will just enjoy. It’s unique and something that many people familiar to original comic book series may not be accustomed to but moreso, to watch something that is for mature audiences. For example, Hal Jordan having to fight for his life and having to kill and have the blood of the enemy splatter all over him after shooting him with a gun. Again, this is not for the kiddies.

As for the DVD, the special features are simply awesome.

For one, the featurette on “Super Heroes United! The Complete Justice League History” is probably a documentary that I would have bought the DVD just for it. Interviews with past and present DC Justice League writers and history on each heroes and overall, pretty cool featurette on the Justice League. Simply awesome.

The exclusive sneak peak to “Batman Gothic Knight” left me giddy as DC chose to work with Japanese anime creators to create the upcoming Batman animated release.

I have listened to Darwyn Cooke’s audio commentary as he talked about the film, the differences between the film and the graphic novel. Actually pretty cool to hear the original creator of the graphic novel chime in on the animated series.

As for the animation, I felt that the animation in correlation with the era this animated film takes place worked quite well. The voice acting is superb with voice acting by well known actors and actresses David Boreanaz (“Bones”, “Angel”), Brooke Shields, Lucy Lawless, Kyra Sedgwick, Neil Patrick Harris, Jeremy Sisto and Kyle Maclachlan. Just awesome!

All in all, I am very pleased with this animated DVD. I do know that there were several releases with the TARGET version having a PC downloadable version and WAL-MART coming with a bonus DVD and possibly the Blu-Ray coming with more features. But whichever version you do end up getting, you won’t be disappointed with this film.

Again, this covers the Justice League in the late 60′s with John F. Kennedy and the paranoia that blanketed the United States at that time but having been based on a well written (and award winning) graphic novel, the animated film version despite being condensed to 75 minutes still works quite well. I’m very happy with this DVD and I hope a second film will be considered for release.

The Justice League is one of the most popular comic book super hero teams of all time and although not based on the modern version of the team, still…this film is pretty good and I highly recommend purchasing this DVD.

 

[WORLD GROOVE] Currently listening to Boredoms – Live at Sunflancisco May 2005

BAND: Boredoms

ALBUM: Live at Sunflancisco May 2005

LABEL: rhythm zone

CATALOG #: RZCM-45758/B

DURATION: 11:26

Released on December 19, 2007

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

1. U-Bus
2. Relerer

DVD: Region 2, 4:3, Duration: 65 minutes

1. SF Live DVD

My first discovery of the Boredoms was back in the 90′s when I was listening to their album “SUPER ROOTS 6″ and was just enamored by their sound. Afterall, the Boredoms were the quintessential experimental noise band from Japan.

I guess for me, because their music were so different from anything I have ever listened to (think drums, garbage cans meets R2-D2), I purchased the album.

Here we are over a decade later and the Boredoms are still entertaining audiences worldwide and have a US tour planned in 2008. The group featured on this album are Yamantaka Eye (Vocals, Noise and Sound Effects and for this album turntables and CD), Yoshimi P-We (drums, percussion, vocals, djembe and keyboard) joined by ATR (drums) and Yochan (drums).

Their music has changed quite a bit when I first started listening to them over a decade ago and focusing on repetitive minimalism, ambient music and tribal drumming.

For “Live at Sunflancisco May 2005″, at first, a 14-minute album with two songs may be a little difficult for someone to swallow and wonder if it’s worth the $40.00 price tag. But this release should be thought of actually as a DVD which comes with a two-song CD instead because the DVD is where the action is at and the album is just a bonus.

The DVD features the four performing in San Francisco in front of a live audience. Huddled in a small stage area are three drumsets and Eye’s hardware.

The DVD I have to say is where things are a bit “iffy” in terms of what one might want to expect from quality. Is the quality great? Is it well produced? Well, I think about an associate who likes to record her indie bands that she manages during a live performance. Preferring the quality of someone holding their video camera at a live concert. I would think that Futagawa Junko is going for that raw, watch it as it happens look.

With “Live at Sunflancisco May 2005″, the DVD starts off in the guest room with the family members getting prepared for the concert. Then for nearly five minutes, the camera’s focus is out and you see the lights which look like blurry diamonds. Now whether or not this was intentional or not, I don’t know. But once the group gets onto the stage, we get an overhead in an angle, look at the group performing in concert with the audience dancing and loving every minute of it.

Production wise, if you are looking for a concert with high production values, this is not it. You get the occassional zoom on a band member and there are some special effects used but it’s a raw, energetic live house filming with a video camera. This is how some people I know who video tape their indie bands prefer their recordings to be and the same can be said for this DVD.

There is no CD insert, the packaging is a cardboard fold out with two CD sleeves. artwork and DVD information.

All in all, this is an album that Boredom fans will enjoy. Their last live video was “Super Seeeeee!!!!!!” video which came out back in 1998. But here we are years later, another live album but on DVD and a CD with breakbeats by Yamantaka Eye.

The DVD captures the group live and the fans enjoying themselves watching the Boredoms perform live. It’s a straightforward video that fans can really enjoy and bare in mind that Boredoms releases are not always easy to find either. So, all in all, if you are a fan of this noise band, you can’t go wrong with this release.

Throughout the years, friends have asked if they would enjoy the Boredoms. I equate it with a lot of the music I listen to, especially with genres such as classical music or opera. It’s all music for your ears and you either find the beauty in it or you don’t.

Experience the Boredoms live in March/April 2008.  Click here.

 

[WORLD GROOVE] Currently listening to the Underneath – MOON FLOWER

BAND: the Underneath

ALBUM: MOON FLOWER

LABEL: JSHOCK

CATALOG #: ADM-101024

DURATION: 46:06

RELEASED ON: March 18, 2008

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

1. Gekkoh
2. Chain
3. Marie
4. Deep
5. Fall
6. Fatty Fatty Fuckin’ Pigs
7. Bite the Bullet
8. Alone Together
9. Womb is Planet
10. Prayer

I have to admit that I’ve never heard of the band “the Underneath” before but for JSHOCK distributing their album to the US along with D’espairsRay for the company and the two band’s making their official US debut, there must be something special about this band to be released first.

The Underneath is a five member band which consists of TAKA (Vocals), MASATO (Guitar, Piano, Programming), TAL (Guitar and Programming), RYO (Bass and Programming) and MASAKI (Drums). According to the press release, members were drawn from the veteran hard rock band TRANSTIC NERVE.

Through an interview done on the JSHOCK site, the band said they would like the following to be heard by American fans.

“We mentioned that we would like to have mainstream rock fans listen to our uniquely Japanese melody and be aware of it. We believe the combination of heavy riff and sorrowful melody is what’s attractive about us.”

“We’ve created this album with delicate rhythm and sorrowful chords, and believe this is something that is authentically Japanese. For anyone interested in the Japanese culture, we hope that you will be able to understand the charm of this album.”

the Underneath is a heavy rock band and I’m sure there can be multiple comparisons to other Japanese rock bands, especially those into Gothic or Visual Kei. But there were a few things that caught my attention while listening to their album “MOON FLOWER”.

First of all, their music is high energy, heavy hitting and guitar heavy. One of my favorite rock bands of all time is X-Japan and I love it when my mind drifts off to and in unison, listen to the serene guitar lines and memorable hooks of both guitarists and it’s the same feeling that I have with the Underneath.

I was really impressed by the thrashcore riffs, abrasive and frantic guitar playing, frenetic rhythms. From tracks such as “Marie”, “Fatty Fatty Fuckin’ Pigs”, “Bite the Bullet” and “Prayer”. There are very awesome guitar-heavy tracks on this album and I really enjoyed that.

As the music is very guitar heavy, you also get a good dose of bass and percussions, songs such as the opening track “Gekkoh” really showcase that.

And the vocals of TAKA are charismatic and the vocal melodies in this album are very well done. The lyrics are dark, melancholic and sorrowful and for what TAKA wanted International audiences to get from it, I think he does a great job with communicating that with the listener through his lyrics. Awesome vocals and dark, detailed songwriting.

As for the CD insert, the booklet contains the English lyrics to the album (not the Japanese lyrics) and as mentioned before, just looking at the lyrics, they are not fairly rote, they are detailed and very well imagined and translations really do show the sorrow of each song.

I was very pleased with “MOON FLOWER”. I’ve never hard of the Underneath until this album and I could imagine how awesome this band would be during their live performances (Americans will get a chance to check the out with D’espairsRay for the North American Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour).

You always want to find bands that exhibit the perfect package – vocals and the music and as mentioned in my review, the heavy use of guitars for their music is awesome and the overall band in unison with the melancholic vocals is very well done.

Similar to the D’espairRay album “Mirror”, I enjoyed every track on “MOON FLOWER”. Which is rare for me.

Definitely keep the Underneath on your radar because the band is full of potential and if they are this spectacular live as they sound on this album, you’re in for one hell of a ride because their music is awesome!

 

[Wii] WII-KLY UPDATE: TWO NEW CLASSIC GAMES ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

March 17, 2008Are you afraid of the dark? If so, this is a great week to face your fears with a pair of eerie new game offerings on Nintendo’s Virtual Console™. One will plunge you deep underground to navigate perilous caves, while the other puts you on the front lines of a darkly sinister space war. In either case, your frights will give way to serious fun.

Nintendo adds new games to the Wii™ Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

Spelunker™ (NES®, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Wander through miles of uncharted caves in search of the legendary underground pyramid and its vast treasures. To complete your adventure, you will swing from ropes and ladders, run across unstable terrain and down ravines, operate elevators, mining carts and rafts. You will collect keys, bombs, flares, jewels, sacks of gold coins and other valuable items as you navigate the hazardous terrain. But beware of the scalding steam vents, poisonous bats and the avenging spirits of dead spelunkers that lurk in every corner of this massive underground labyrinth.

SUPER R-TYPE®  (Super NES®, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone — Mild Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): A galactic battle begins. The BYDO Empire of mutant extraterrestrials is back with evil intent and awesome power. Now the evil empire is poised to launch a new attack on Earth. Only the revolutionary R-9, the planet’s most advanced form of defense, stands between these monsters and doom. Fight through seven challenging stages—picking up power-up items as you progress—on the way to each stage’s memorable boss. Is the BYDO Empire invincible? You’ll need lightning reflexes, intuitive moves and a big dose of cosmic luck to hold your own. Better prepare yourself, because the mutants “R” ready for you.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

 

Next Page »