Miley Cyrus promotes her new album “Can’t Be Tamed” in Madrid

Singer Miley Cyrus presents her new Album ‘Can’t Be Tamed’ at the Villamagna Hotel on May 31, 2010 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images). Content © 2010 Getty Images All rights reserved.

 

NINTENDO DOWNLOAD: SUMMER’S OFF TO A SIZZLING START WITH NEW GAME DOWNLOADS FOR NINTENDO SYSTEMS

May 31, 2010

Temperatures aren’t the only thing heating up this season as Nintendo celebrates the unofficial onset of summer with another round of red-hot game downloads. May has been an especially big month for the Nintendo DSiWare™ service, with notable recent releases such as Photo Dojo™, Frogger Returns and Metal Torrent™. This week’s additions keep the momentum going strong with awesome hand-held games like X-Scape™ and Hero of Sparta. X-Scape is developed by Q Games, the same team that created Trajectile™ and STARSHIP DEFENSE™. (Also, remember that Photo Dojo™ is available for zero Nintendo DSi Points™ through June 10. The game will require 200 Nintendo DSi Points for download as of June 11.) Of course, Wii™ owners have plenty to be excited about too: New offerings include a Ben 10 Alien Force adventure for the WiiWare™ service and the Virtual Console™ debut of a classic cowboy shooter from the Super NES™ era.

It’s also time to announce a new addition to the “Big Name Games” section of the WarioWare™: D.I.Y. series, which features downloadable microgames from some of the industry’s most talented figures. Created by Nintendo Power™ magazine staffer Steve Thomason, this week’s featured game, Revenge, puts an unusual spin on familiar characters from the Mushroom Kingdom. New “Big Name Games” will be added every Monday through July 26, all available to download for zero Nintendo DSi Points to anyone with broadband Internet access and a copy of either WarioWare: D.I.Y. for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems or WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase software for the WiiWare service. Visit the Nintendo Channel on your Wii system today to learn more about these games.

Nintendo DSiWare

X-Scape
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Your journey through the universe of X-Scape begins as you wake from 10 years of cryosleep, only to find yourself unexpectedly thrown into a fearsome battle against an evil empire bent on your destruction. You’ll travel to numerous planets in the Kiisa system and engage in a wide variety of challenges (including optional side quests) in your fight for survival. At your command is VIXIV, an advanced battle tank able to deftly maneuver on land or in the air while loaded with an array of formidable weapons. To help with advice or upgrades to VIXIV’s abilities, you’ve also got your highly capable support bot, VIX-529. Use the touch screen to pilot VIXIV in one of two modes: tunnel mode and free-movement mode. In tunnel mode, you’ll navigate through narrow, dangerous tunnels that connect planets. Successful completion of tunnel mode opens free-movement mode, which allows you to freely roam the surfaces of planets and take up missions. Presented in 3-D with a stylishly retro graphic presentation, X-Scape combines continuous action with an epic story to create an experience that’s sure to keep players on the edge of their seats.

Hero of Sparta
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Blood, Violence
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: You wake up alone on an unknown beach to find your boat and entire fleet missing. It’s the beginning of an epic odyssey to find out just what game the gods are playing with you, King Argos. Your fate now lies in their hands. Battle like the fierce Spartan warrior you are to avoid a tragic death as you journey through mythical lands and even probe the depths of the Underworld. You will fight the most phenomenal monsters from mythology, defy Minotaurs and the Cyclops, and challenge the gods themselves. Unleash your hero’s special powers by performing combos to defeat legions of enemies in thrilling fights. You’ll have fabulous equipment and four mythic weapons to upgrade: draw your mythic swords, axe and shield. Fight, explore and solve puzzles – this is more than a basic hack-and-slash. Use the exclusive camera feature to collect epic pictures and become a real hero yourself.

A Topsy Turvy Life: The Turvys Strike Back™
Publisher: TECMO KOEI GAMES
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Turn your Nintendo DSi™ system upside-down and play as the Imperial Armada out to destroy the Earth Defense Force in this topsy-turvy take on arcade shooters. You control the unsung forces of arcade shooters past with three kinds of ships, including giant bosses. Draw a line to send the fighters down. Touch the guards to make them shoot. Make your boss ship fire multiple weapons, including an enormous blast that destroys everything in its way. Two players can even battle each other on one Nintendo DSi system. Will the Earth Defense Force win again? Or will the Imperial Armada find victory at last?

Telegraph Sudoku & Kakuro
Publisher: Sanuk Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Play number puzzles from the Telegraph like you’ve never played them before. Discover a whopping 500 puzzles of multiple types. You’re in for many hours of game play. The game includes Sudoku (classic 9×9 sudoku grids with four levels of difficulty), Mini-Sudoku (easier 6×6 grids), Sudoku-X (9×9 grids in which the diagonals must also be filled with all numerals from 1 to 9), Jigsaw Sudoku (9×9 grids with uncommon box shapes) and Kakuro. With its handy interface and intuitive controls, Kakuro transfigures the classic pen-and-paper experience. Notable features include registration of best times in the Hall of Fame, interactive hints to prevent you from getting stuck and an Autosave option to stop and resume a puzzle at any time.

WiiWare

Ben 10 Alien Force: The Rise of Hex
Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Cartoon Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: Ben 10 Alien Force: The Rise of Hex follows Ben Tennyson as he finds himself in the middle of Hex’s villainous plan to control the Earth. Using the powers of the Omnitrix, players can transform Ben into 10 different alien forms including Big Chill, Spider Monkey and, for the first time ever, Lodestar. Choose from 10 different aliens to platform your way through 15 levels, completing puzzle challenges along the way. Fight menacing villains and bosses in Ben’s newest adventure. Experience the world of Ben 10 Alien Force with 3-D characters set in a vibrant, 2-D-styled environment.

Voodoo Dice
Publisher: Ubisoft
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: Mixing action and puzzle mechanics in a 3-D world, Voodoo Dice is an innovative, challenging puzzler that invites you to solve puzzles in unique and interesting ways. Encounter a funny and original universe with great style and distinctive vibes. Travel between different maps, defeat your enemies and solve enigmas.

Robocalypse™ – Beaver Defense
Publisher: Vogster Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor, Suggestive Themes
Price: 600 Wii Points
Description: Set in a world of wisecracking, battling robots, Robocalypse – Beaver Defense offers madcap weaponry and uproarious destruction in a “tower defense”-style game. Players must create and strategically position towers to annihilate waves of enemy robots, while player-controlled Hero robots act as mobile weapons units, bringing heavy firepower to all areas of the battlefield. Players can experience the hilarious Story Mode or face the Beaver’s never-ending supply of robots in Survival Mode.

Virtual Console

Wild Guns™
Original platform: Super NES
Publisher: Natsume Inc.
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Animated Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Discover the wildest West you’ve ever seen in this action-packed third-person shooter. The Kid gang and their army of robots have taken over the town. The only ones who can stop them are Clint, a tough-as-nails bounty hunter, and Annie, a beautiful-but-deadly woman with a serious score to settle. Blast your way through villainous outlaws, diabolical robots and towering, screen-filling bosses. Play by yourself or with a friend at your side in the two-player co-op mode. You’ll need a sharp eye and quick-on-the-draw reflexes. Fortunately, you’ve got plenty of moves to help you survive the hail of bullets heading your way. You can dive-roll, jump, double-jump, rope enemies with a lasso and clear the screen with explosive special attacks. Blast apart just about everything in the environment to find guns, bombs and other hidden power-ups. It’s up to you to bring justice back to town – or whatever’s left of the town when the gun smoke clears.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

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

 

m.o.v.e. – Fate Seeker (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review)

The 30th CD Single “Fate Seeker” features a tie-in with the online video game “TARTAROS” and also features a more return to basics ala post-Boulder for the group.

ARTIST: m.o.v.e

CD SINGLE: Fate Seeker

LABEL: avex tune

CATALOG #: AVCT-30130

DURATION: 27:48

RELEASE DATE: January 13, 2010

BUY THIS CD SINGLE from cdjapan.com:

For over a decade, the synth pop group m.o.v.e has been entertaining fans with their style of pop music.  Known for their tracks for the anime and video game series “Initial D”, the group is back once again with a new single, their first since “Dive Into Stream” (July 2008).

In many ways, “Fate Seeker” feels as if T-Kimura was making a return to the early 2000 style (ala years of Decadence) with “Fate Seeker”.  We see both T-Kimura and motsu returning with remix versions of the main title track and a more experimental approach by T-Kimura when it comes to the musical arrangement.

“Fate Seeker” is a track that features Yuri’s vocals, motsu’s rap and T-Kimura’s synth strings and metronomic-like beats.  While “Blue Trail” is reminiscent to the group’s upbeat synth style and to be truthful, “Blue Trail” was a track that I enjoyed more than “Fate Seeker”.  I like beat arrangement and how the song complimented Yuri’s vocals and motsu’s rap.  And definitely enjoyed the musical and beat arrangement from T-Kimura for this track.  In a way, without sounding too Eurobeat, it had that “Initial D” style of flair.

The 3rd and 4th tracks feature Motsu and T-Kimura’s remix versions of “Fate Seeker”.  With Motsu’s more house-driven but also using the vocalyzer a bit more on Yuri’s vocals, while T-Kimura gives a more electronic remix for the track.

The final two tracks are the instrumental versions of both vocal tracks.

As for the CD insert, included are the lyrics for the single while the back cover (the wordtype is in blue foil) of the CD case is used for the front cover.  Included is a mini-insert promting Yukari Tamura’s “My Wish My Love”, m.o.v.e’s upcoming album and a dual campaign for “Fate Seeker” and “TARTAROS” online video game.

If anything, “Fate Seeker” is a pretty good m.o.v.e. single but it all depends if you are still open to their style of music which they have been doing since the ’90s.  Although, not Eurobeat-driven like the group was known for back then, for those m.o.v.e fans who like the more synth pop driven style from the group (post-”Boulder”) will find their 30th single to be another enjoyable release, while others may have grown tired by it.  Although, “Fate Seeker” is nothing groundbreaking, it’s a music style that the group is known for and that fans appreciate.

BUY THIS CD SINGLE from cdjapan.com:

 

alan – Swear (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review)

Although alan is identified more for her beautiful ballads, “Swear” features two well-done upbeat tracks but can fans accept the upbeat, pop-side of alan?  I suppose time will tell but overall, I felt that “Swear” was a solid pop single!

ARTIST: alan

CD SINGLE: Swear

LABEL: avex trax

CATALOG #: AVCD-31737

DURATION: 18:13

RELEASE DATE: November 4, 2009

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Alan has had a successful 2009 with having two successful ballads “Kuon no Kawa” (which made her the first Chinese artist in Japan to achieve a #1 ranking on the Oricon Daily Charts) and with “Ballad (Namonaki Koi no Uta)”, alan returns with her 11th CD single titled “Swear”.

The track is written by Aico and Yuka Miyagawa and produced by Kazuhito Kikuchi and features two upbeat tracks “Swear” and “Beauty”.  The former is used as a theme song for Bourbon’s Blanchul Mini Series commercial and the latter isused for Yomeishu’s  Re:on Nutrition Drink Product”.

My first impression with this single was that alan was going to need an upbeat pop single.  Known for her beautiful vocals and each ballad being quite enjoyable (and it’s important to note that I love her ballads), as an avex trax artist, you kind of expect to see a pop track but I’ve asked myself the question many times of “how would her pop music be differentiated from the many female vocalists on the label?”.

And sure enough, “Swear” is a perfect answer to that question.  The track is fun, upbeat and catchy.  No bump and grind R&B music, this is straight up pop music with a cool beat and works well with her style and vocals.  The coupling track “Beauty” is also an upbeat track and features a wonderful acoustic guitar arrangement and strong beats.   Both tracks are solid!

The remaining two tracks are the instrumental versions of both vocal tracks.

As for the CD insert, it’s a standard bi-fold with lyrics and production credits.  There is also a CD+DVD version available.

Overall, “Swear” is a very good upbeat track and possibly my favorite alan pop release thus far.  If you are a fan of alan, definitely give “Swear” a chance!

BUY THIS CD SINGLE from cdjapan.com:

 

“Gossip Girl” actor Ed Westwick at the EXPRESS “30 Years of Fashion with Vogue” party in New York City

ED WESTWICK.at EXPRESS party to celebrate 30 years of Fashion.with Vogue at eyebeam studio, New York City 05-20-2010. 2010.K65040JBB. © Red Carpet Pictures
Content © 2010 ZumaPress All rights reserved.

 

BBC Radio 1 (Top 10 UK Singles and Album Charts): Dizzee Rascal takes the #1 spot on the Singles Charts and Pendulum takes the #1 spot on the Album Charts (5.30.10)

The following top 10 charts are from BBC Radio 1′s Official UK Top 40 CD singles:

NOTE: Dizzee Rascal’s “Dirtee Disco” debuts at the #1 spot while B.o.B. drops to #2.  Iyaz takes the #3 spot!

1. Dizzee Rascal – Dirtee Disco
2. B.o.B. – Nothin’ On You (feat. Bruno Mars)
3. Iyaz – Solo
4. Jason Derulo – Ridin’ Solo
5. Eminem – Not Afraid
6. N-Dubz – We Dance On (feat. Bodyrox)
7. Edward Maya – Stereo Love (feat. Vika Jigulina)
8. Aggro Santos – Candy (feat. Kimberly Wyatt)
9. Roll Deep – Good Times
10. Sean Kingston & Justin Bieber – Eenie Meenie

 

J!-ENT’s Dennis A. Amith interviews Asian pop star alan (Alan Dawa Dolma)

J!-ENT’s Dennis A. Amith interviews Asian pop star alan, the Tibetan-Chinese singer who is known for her hit theme songs for John Woo’s “Red Cliff” and the first Chinese artist to reach #1 on the Japanese Oricon Singles Daily Charts.

Known for her beautiful vocals (in Chinese and Japanese) and for her musical talent (she plays the erhu), with the recent release of both “Red Cliff” films on Blu-ray in the U.S. and with the release of her latest album “My Life” and her upcoming new single “Kaze Ni Mukau Hana”, J!-ENT had the opportunity to speak to Alan about her music and her growing number of fans worldwide.

Read our PDF J!-ENT interview with alan by clicking here (or right clicking to save the PDF)

 

alan – my life (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

A fantastic second album from Asian pop star alan!  Wonderful ballads, beautiful arrangement and wonderful vocals!  Definitely recommended!

ARTIST: alan

ALBUM: my life

LABEL: avex trax

CATALOG #: AVCD-29360

DURATION: 1:02:21

RELEASE DATE: November 25, 2010

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mink – Together again (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review)

If you enjoyed the animated CG film “Vexille” and found the theme song “Together Again” to be enchanting and enjoyable, mink’s eighth single features the Japanese version of the theme song and a DVD featuring a Vexille-style animated mink performing the song.  Overall, another solid mink single release!

ARTIST: mink

CD SINGLE: Together again

LABEL: Rhythm Zone

CATALOG #: RZCD-45646/B

DURATION: 16:35

RELEASE DATE: August 8, 2007

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In 2007, with the release of the CG animated feature “Vexille”, Korean J-pop vocalist mink, sung the theme song for the film titled “Together again”.

I fell in love with the song and having several of mink’s singles and albums in my CD collection, I needed to add mink’s eight CD single to my collection.

“Together again” features a beautiful ballad written by Shin Davor Vulama, Ron Irving and Carl Utbuit.  I love the arrangement of the song with it’s strings and of course, mink’s beautiful vocals.  It’s important to note that this is the Japanese version of the track and not the English version.

The second track “Why don’t you” features a smooth acoustic guitar driven track with all the right beats for a summer track.  Featuring lyrics and music by Hakan Lundberg, Raymond MacDonald and Vincent Degiorgio.  But another beautifully sung track.

The third single “I’d forget to breathe” features an all English track written by Davor Vulama, Lorraine Lawson and Marc Jordan.  An acoustic guitar driven track but unlike the second track, no beats, just straight on acoustic guitar vocal track.

The final track on the single is “Blessing you” featuring lyrics and music by Shin Ikesue.  Featuring a jazzy synth arrangement and overall, a smooth and calming track.

The DVD (which comes with the CD+DVD version release) features the music video for “Together Again” and in this video, mink is animated like the characters of the film “Vexille” and is singing the song and we see a few animated clips of the Vexille futuristic Japan (as seen in the film).

The CD single insert is a tri-fold featuring lyrics to the four songs, production credits and includes a mini-information sheet for single/album releases from Rhythm Zone.

Overall, “Together again” is a wonderful single with four smooth and enjoyable tracks.  If you are familiar with mink’s previous single releases and have enjoyed it, more than likely you will enjoy “Together Again”.

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blanc. – canvas (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

A solid sophomore album from Monkey Majik member Maynard (blanc.) Plant.  Featuring good music and wonderful collaborations with Sayulee and AMWE.  Definitely worth checking out!

ARTIST: blanc.

ALBUM: canvas

LABEL: binyl records

CATALOG #: AVCH-78000

DURATION: 48:55

RELEASE DATE: June 10, 2009

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