If, like me, you loved the background music used on Ren and Stimpy, you'll be overjoyed to know that a whole bunch of tracks are up on torrents. I found out about it here:
Secret fun spot blog
And the show's creator, John Kricfalusi has a very interesting blog full of character sketches and ideas.
John K Stuff
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( 2.9 / 141 )A vitamin D - infused Diversion. Isn't the sun great? Incidentally, Listen Again didn't cut off any songs! Enjoy the first full-length Diversion in a long time!
01. Escape From Piz Gloria - John Barry & His Orchestra - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
02. The Moon and the Prince - Akitaka Touyama, Kenji Ninuma - Katamari Damacy OST
03. Side Effects - Parliament - Chocolate City
04. Baka Koe no Nirvana - Urami Genkin - Yasushi Ishii - Hellsing OST 1: Raid
05. The Old Piano Roll Blues - Al Jolson
06. Options Beat - Coil - Gitarooman
07. Black is Black - Sounds Orchestral - Sounds From the Lounge: Pop Covers, Lounge Style
08. Seishun Kyosoukyoku - Sambomaster
09. Rock it On - Hideki Naganuma - Jet Set Radio OST
****Congratulations to Richie who recognised last week's music as the main theme form the original Tomb Raider.****
10. ??????????? - ????????? (competition music)
11. On the Sunny Side of the Street - Louis Armstrong
12. Blue Danube Rock - The Jonah Jones Quartet - Cocktail Capers (part of the Ultra-Lounge series)
13. Space Students (Across the Basin Mix) - Toshiya Arai - Space Channel 5 Part 2: Non Stop Mega Mix
14. Stayin' Alive - Ferrante & Teicher - You Light Up My Life
15. Sex Pistols Medley - Black Arabs - The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
16. Love Is - Seguida - The NuYorican Funk Experience
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( 3.1 / 107 )
I recently re-watched this DVD I got a while back of Public Information Films (PIFs). The films themselves range from good common sense advice on how to cross the road, and terrifying scenarios where children playing near lakes are stalked by the grim reaper.
The films are oddly fascinating, and an interesting chronicle of society and its concerns. The tone of the films changes according to the times as well, but anyone who's read 1984 will definitely feel a touch of the Orwellian about them.
Oh yeah. In America, these films are called PSAs (Public Service Announcements).
Right, here are some links for anyone who wants to watch these films:
The National Archive
The World Bank
Attack of the PSAs blog
You Tube user's PIF archive
The American Ad Council
American Red Cross
Enjoy the films, and remember...
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( 2.9 / 162 )Well, this is a situtation...
Subcity's servers went down for a while during my show, and Listen Again has only archived 9 minutes(!). You can listen to the last three songs of my show if you want...
And for what it's worth, here's the tracklist...
(01. Blank TV: Ulala Support Chant - Dr. Pris & Dr. Rachel - Space Channel 5 OST)
02. At the Sound of the Swinging Cy - Brian Fahey - The Sound Gallery vol.2
03. Blowin' Your Mind - John Schroeder - Mood Mosaic 9: The Sound Bullet
I assure you, the rest of the show was fantastic. I'll post a new playlist if the other archive pieces are found...
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( 3.1 / 124 )
Okay, quick rant first: let's face it, the original Tomb Raider was an absolute classic, and the series has been ruined by sequels that even the developers were reluctant to make, though the fact the series was a money-printing machine for so long probably helped in their decision-making process. Recently, Crystal Dynamics have done a decent enough job in rejuvenating the franchise, even though Tomb Raider: Legend was far too easy and short, and despite best efforts, didn't manage to capture the joy of exploration that made the first TR so special (walking into a puzzle room and having the camera pan round, showing the exact route to take does not a good puzzle make, Crystal).
At least promotional videos like this aren't being made any more (are they honestly proud of that headache-inducing coloured lighting?)...
Anyway, you can talk about how Tomb Raider lost it until the cows come home, so why not indulge in the other main pleasure of playing the game? ie: exploiting the engine and all its glitches to get some really amusing results (see pic, above).
(The third best thing about Tomb Raider, was of course, finding the highest point to throw Lara off of).
****
First of all, Tomb Raiders 1-5 were all made with the same engine, so they all suffer from the same problems. The most famous exploit of all is the corner bug, which can transport Lara to the top of previously inaccessible heights. Remember that large medipack in the central switch room of Palace Midas in the first TR? You can only reach it by using the corner bug. Makes you wonder if the designers knew about the bug, or just forgot to take the medipack out of the final code.
I could write how to pull off this trick and more, but I recommend that you go here - they have photos with arrows on them and everything:
Tombraiders.net
There's also this site, which isn't as well-written or navigable, but gets points for effort:
Tomb Raider Tourist
Here are some You Tube videos of bugs in Tomb Raider 1-5
Glitches and shortcuts in TR1
Tomb Raider 4 trigger bug
Tomb Raider 3 graphics bug
Corner bug in Tomb Raider II
Two-headed Lara
****
Then came Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, which was pretty much just one big bug of a game. It was released in such a hurry that whole sections of the game were missing, while even the most basic elements went untested.
It's an awful game, but it sure does have some awesome bugs (these videos do not even scratch the surface of the number of bugs in this game, but they're a good taster of just how bad a state it's in):
Unused tutorial area
Unfinished Paris area
Flying fish
Insane level skip
Water bug
As proof of how rushed the games was (whole chunks of plot were cut out, the game was meant to be the start of a trilogy), there's even a cutscene that's not in the final code:
Lost cutscene
****
Fortunately, although Tomb Raider Legend is made by an entirely new development team using an entirely new game engine, it's still pretty buggy in places:
Japan bike bug
Corft Manor bugs
Ghana shortcut
Rutland lives!
Not a bug, but still interesting:
Hidden models in Peru
And then there's a weird graphics card mess-up here :
Nvidia graphics bug
And an odd result of hacking here:
Messed-up Lara
****
Well, that's it for the bugs for now. With Tomb Raider: Anniversary just around the corner, hopefully there'll be a whole new world of glitches to explore and exploit. Better than Prince of Persia? Maybe...
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( 3 / 111 )Here are the results of a recent charity shop trip. the mission? Find some of the worst album covers by Scottish artists. Yep, while hippies were enjoying the Summer of Love in the 60's, and punks were being very angry in the 70's, there was still room for twee shortbread 'n' tartan output like this...
First up, a couple of men in kilts. Original, eh?
****
I love this cover - I don't think it could get more boring if it tried. Illustrating a 'Scottish Dance Band' with a piece of rope hardly inspires confidence in the dance-ability of the music.
****
Another man in a kilt, this time in a living room, with his trusty accordian close at hand.
****
One charity shop had a whole section of Alexander Brothers albums. Here are two of the best covers.
****
And finally, the swingingest family in Scotland...
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( 2.8 / 187 )For once Subcity's Listen Again didn't do too badly - just a little bit got snipped off Senor Coconut, but you can still hear the best part of his Oxygene (Part II) cover in all its glory...
(01. Oxygene (Part II) - Senor Coconut - Fiesta Songs)
02. Updown Town - Sim City 3000
03. The Riddler's Retreat - Sun Ra & The Blues Project - Batman and Robin
04. Ride On - Parliament - Chocolate City
05. Crowd Pleaser! - June 'Chiki' Chikuma - Saturn Bomberman OST
06. She Loves You - Cyril Stapleton - Sounds From the Lounge: Pop Covers, Lounge Style
07. Jumpin' Jack Flash - Ananda Shankar - Ananda Shankar
08. Sensou Suru Nara Yumi, Yari Ken Da Tatakae! - Yasuhi Ishii - Hellsing OST 1: Raid
****Last week's competition music was from the Punish the Wicked Merchant mission of Tenchu: Stealth Asassins. Another rollover, so it's 5 prizes up for grabs if you can identify this week's music.****
09. ??????????? - ????????? (competition music)
10. Twenty-Five Miles - Mongo Santamaria - Mongo Santamaria's Greatest Hits
11. I Got Rhythm - Fats Waller
12. Lillie Mae - Bobby Womack - Fly Me to the Moon
13. When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You) - Louis Prima
14. Everybody Get Ready - The Ray McVay Orchestra - The Ray McVay Roadshow
15. Jaws - Lalo Schifrin - Black Widow
16. Sasasan Katamari - Yu Miyake, Yuusama - Katamari Damacy OST
17. It's a Most Unusual Day - Andy Williams
18. The Dealer - Jamie Coe & The Gigolos - The Roots Rustlers of Funk
19. Vision On - The Palais All Stars - This is the Return of Cult Fiction
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( 3 / 104 )
It's about time Sega restarted the Jet Set Radio franchise, especially with the possibilities that the Wiimote controls and online aspects offer. Wishful thinking I know, but if they're remaking Nights of all games, then surely JSR can't be too far behind. In the meantime, enjoy some of the best tunes from both games.
For the game each song is from, the code is this:
JSR - Jet Set Radio
JSRF - Jet Set Radio Future
(Obligatory Listen Again rant: two songs cut off, one cut short. Booo).
(01. Miller Ball Breakers - Deavid Soul - JSR)
02. Fly Like A Butterfly - Hideki Naganuma - JSRF
03. 'Bout the City - Reps - JSR
04. Let Mom Sleep - Hideki Naganuma - JSR
05. On the Bowl - Deavid Soul - JSR
06. Funky Dealer - Hideki Naganuma - JSRF
07. Humming the Bassline - Hideki Naganuma - JSR
08. Sneakman - Hideki Naganuma - JSR
****Last week's sample was from the original Tomb Raider, when you're training in Lara's mansion. This week's is eeeeeeasy...****
09. ??????????? - ????????? (competition music)
10. Super Brothers - Guitar Vader - JSR
11. Koto Stomp - The Latch Brothers - JSRF
12. The Concept of Love - Hideki Naganuma - JSRF
13. Bokfresh - Richard Jacques - JSRF
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( 3 / 119 )
Oh yeah.
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( 3 / 104 )Yup, Herb's staring into the middle distance yet again for these album covers...
From the back of a generic 'Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' album, here's Herb trying out the classic 'silhouette by the sea' pose. Is he thinking of a lost love or which Beatle's hit to cover in the next album?
****
This one's an absolute classic. The heartbroken look is present and correct, as is the chest hair and gold chain...
****
...and a look at the back of the same album reveals there's also a Beatle's cover! Could this cover get any more perfect? Well, the picture of the 'America' album cover means there's a double-whammy of winsome Herb-ness. However...
****
...a look at the back of the album 'Herb Alpert's Ninth' has a whole montage of melancholic smiles, distant gazes and thoughtful poses.
****
My personal favourite is this one of Herb in the mirrors - it's like gazing into an infinite void of wistful glances with the sound of trumpet-based elevator music in the background.
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( 3 / 153 )
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