A Bureaucracy of One

New Music Monday

In the Distant Past, during a time of Vastly Superior Wage Earning, I would go into Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, and Borders on the weekends and walk out with four or five new cd's.  The following Monday at work would then be New Music Monday for my friends in the office, wherein I would bore them with news of my latest music purchases.

I can't afford to do that anymore.  Also, I don't work in an office.  The two are related, but that isn't important.  What is important is that due an infusion of birthday cash, I was able to go on a mini-spree at B&N today.  Below is a list of the cd's I purchased.  Really, I should probably wait to post this until I have actually listened to all the cd's, but bugger that for a lark!

Conjure One - Extraordinary Ways
I really love Conjure One's eponymously titled first cd.  It is a gorgeous blend of vocals and electronica, with guest appearances by Poe, Sinead O'Connor, and couple of singers I'd never heard of before.  For the last five years I have hoped for a follow-up album from Rhys Fulber, and Extraordinary Ways is it.  Of course, EW actually came out in 2005, meaning I've unwittingly denied myself satisfaction for two extra years.
   As with the first album, Poe does vocal duties on several tracks on EW, appearing under the pseudonym "Jane".

When in Rome - When in Rome
Quintessential 80's One Hit Wonder.  Yes, I bought this album just for The Promise.

Once - Music From the Motion Picture
I bought this one sound unheard, based simply on the recommendation of a good friend of mine.  The movie is supposed to be a very sweet love story that utilizes the songs in key plot points.  Unlike other movies, the songs are actually performed by stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.

Alison Krauss - A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection
It could be Alison Krauss Reads the Phone Book, and I'd still buy it.  This cd, however, allows me to own a copy of Whiskey Lullaby without actually having to own a Brad Paisley album.  Yay!

KT Tunstall's Acoustic Extravaganza
I love KT's debut album Eye to the Telescope, so picking this one up seemed like the natural thing to do.  That it comes with a bonus dvd only sweetened the deal.  I just hope neither cd nor dvd actually suck.

Daft Punk - Homework
I've always regretted the lack of Daft Punk in my life, and with this purchase I have corrected that minor error.  If you remember the video of the guy in the dog mask walking around the city at night, then you remember Da Funk.

Afro Celt Sound System - Volume 1: Sound Magic
An incredible fusion of African and Celtic musical influences, this trip-hop group has been a favorite of mine since I purchased their Vol. 3: Further in Time album back in 2001.  Originally I had bought the cd for the Peter Gabriel-voice track When You're Falling, but I soon fell in love with the entire album.

"Thou Shalt..."

Youtube is Eating My Brain - the Music Video

From Nerf Herder (I Don't Wanna Be No) by The Younglings, to Mr. Spock by Nerf Herder.

Two from Mindy Smith: Jolene and One Moment More.

What Set the Gorillaz on the map, and my fave Gorillaz track.

Tommy Shaw had one decent song in the Eighties.  And somebody made it better by using it for a Dirty Pair AMV.  I remember seeing that DP video on a VHS tape I borrowed from a friend in college.  That would be around '93 or so.  Never thought I'd see it again.

I have the Eskobar EP this next song is from, and I can't say I much enjoy the other tracks.  Someone New however, features Heather Nova, and she is my queen.

Finally, two from the kickass Spanish band Celtas Cortos.  Tranquilo Majete, and (my favorite) Romance de Isabella y Domingo.  Almost makes me want to go back to Spain this summer.

More Music Videos That Don't Suck

Last year I posted links to some music videos made using machinima (though several of them were not technically machinima, but simply used footage from in-game cut scenes).  Well, here are some more music videos that I think don't suck*.

First up, Mr. Bright Side by The Killers.  This one is done using The SIMS 2 engine.  A little rough, but entertaining.  And now that the song isn't getting flogged by every radio station around the country, it is even tolerable!

Next up, Lily Allen's Smile - this one also uses the The SIMS 2 engine, but goes a bit further and uses Simlish as well.  Actually, this one falls under "Annoying" after the second viewing, but the first viewing is very funny!  Here is the original video which is also very entertaining, and doesn't become annoying upon a second viewing.

And since I am on a Lily Allen kick, here's one more: Knock 'Em Out, also using the SIMS 2 engine (yes, I am looking for other non-SIMS videos).

Now for a change of pace in the form of footage from the first Bloodrayne game set to a song by Finnish metal band Nightwish.  Because cheesecake and cheesy metal were made for each other.  But the Bloodrayne joy doesn't end there, oh no it does not!  Next in line is Meat Loaf's I'd Lie For You (And that's the Truth), followed up by another Nightwish song, Planet Hell!

Okay, I'm going to go to bed now.

*No pun intended on the Bloodrayne videos.

Machinima Meets Music: Music Videos That Don't Suck

I gave up on MTV years ago.  Not only were they starting to phase out music videos in favor of reruns of The Real World, but the music videos they did show invariably sucked.  I do not mean that the music sucked (though, there was that problem, too), rather that the videos themselves were starting to become drab, uninteresting affairs that did little to engage my attention and imagination.

Then, a couple years back I lucked into a show on either Fuse or MTV that showcased machinima music videos of popular songs and I was immediately entranced.  Here was a medium that combined music and video games, and I couldn't get enough.  However, as is common with us ADD types, I pretty much forgot about it by the next day.  And while those videos did pop back into mind every now and then, I never held out much hope for seeing them, or their like, ever again.  Then Youtube exploded onto the scene, and Google Video followed closely after. 

Honestly, I didn't "get" the whole Youtube phenomenon until just recently.  Head up my ass, or head in the clouds, but my few brushes with Youtube and Google Video had left me cold.  Fifteen second clips of grainy video and crappy sound of some guy getting it in the joyjumblies with a baseball bat?  I decided to take a pass.   What I didn't understand was the unique venue that Youtube and Google Video offered - a free and (more importantly) easy to use platform for amateur filmmakers to showcase their work.

I didn't appreciate that, until this.  While it is true that the Internet is for porn, it is now also for some truly creative and inventive artists to finally get notice.  Here, then, are a few of my favorite machinima music videos.

From the Sims 2 we get this tribute to Captain Picard.

Some enterprising individual took the cinematic cut scenes from FFX and put them to James Blunt's Beautiful.  It is, to use a little vulgarity, f***ing beautiful.

One of my favorite songs of the last couple years, Breaking Benjamin's So Cold is used for Still Seeing Breen, a video that uses the phenomenal Source engine from Half Life 2.  The lip-syncing of the G-Man was done using the Faceposer tool included with the Source Engine.

A really annoying song that has a really well done music video.  I'm Too Sexy as imagined by a World of Warcraft clan with way too much time on their hands.

Here's a unique one: it is an original song written specifically for a character class in World of Warcraft.  I give you...Big Blue Dress.  Funny and awesome.

And finally, we have a new twist on an Internet classic.