Matt and Kim, Phoenix, Arctic Monkeys, Passion Pit, and Kid Cudi. No, that's not not a list of my favorite music from the past year, it's the options PKG has given the UVa student body to vote on for who they want to play Springfest 2010. Yeah, that's a damn good list.
Let's hope PKG can get any one of these artists here, but in the mean time go vote here, after you've gotten over how awesome each one these artists is. Also, for those of you who have been living under an Indie rock, here's a taste of what each of these artists has to offer.
Matt and Kim - "Daylight" (above). Otherwise known as the song from the Bacardi commercial. I hear they have a few other decent songs as well.
Phoenix - "1901." The entirety of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, their most recent album, is excellent. Look for it to appear on a ton of "Best of 2009" lists.
Passion Pit - "Moth's Wings." They've been featured here and on every other music blog more than a few times this year.
Arctic Monekeys - "Brianstorm." It's very tough to pick one favorite from this band. Their first album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, became and still is the UK's fastest selling album ever.
Kid Cudi - "Pursuit of Happiness." Cudi is kind of like a big deal. You might have heard "Day n' Nite" just a few times on the radio earlier this year. Plus, we already know, he's awesome live.
The choice is yours, and yours alone.
Springfest 2010
Artist Watch: Wale
Wale has really been around the rap scene for a long time. Well, for a new hip-hop artist in the age of free internet mixtapes at least. His first mixtape dropped way back in 2005. Wale then floated around the hip-hop universe as an independent artist, releasing three well received mixtapes, until 2008 when he signed with Interscope. Later that year, The Mixtape About Nothing was released to wide spread critical praise, Pitchfork calling it "one of 2008's best rap albums." The self-aware tape and 2009's Back to the Feature built up hype for his long awaited debut album, Attention Deficit, which came out this past Tuesday (11-10-09). After one listen to the album, I can happily say that it retains the qualities that have kept Wale around this long. It's catchy, but not a ringtone catchy way; original; and lyrically substantial. Favorite song so far, "Mirrors." If you're a UVa student, definitely check the album out, as our beloved UPC has scheduled the DC emcee to play at the Student Activities Building on December 4th.
And as a bonus, check out "Letter," which Wale recorded with John Mayer and released for free early in November. It shows off many of the same qualities mentioned above, and it's John Mayer on a hip-hop hook. Tell me you're not curious to hear how that works out.
Brand Spankin' New: Isaiah and Hovey
Isaiah & Hovey are a new Hip-Hop tandem who hail from Yarmouth, ME and Arlington, VA, but both currently attend VCU. Isaiah Cee, the emcee, and Hovey Benjamin, the producer, have only put out two songs, but both feature a refreshingly original sound. Their second song, "Can't Help Myself," really shows that this isn't a typical hip-hop group. On that track, Hovey demonstrates some impressive musical knowledge, sampling and borrowing the chorus from the 1983 New Order song, "Age of Consent." Overall the production value is remarkably high for a new producer.
While the production plays a crucial role in building the catchy base for these songs, Isaiah Cee's lyrics will keep these songs on repeat for hours. Both songs are about Cee's love for all things womankind, but both avoid most of the clichés that are so common in mainstream hip-hop. In both songs, the lines are witty without sounding gimmicky. He delivers a flow that is Kid Cudi-esque, but not as sing-song like. Also like Cudi, is the sincerity of the message behind the smooth flow. Cee, especially on their first song "I Really Enjoy (Those) Girls," makes you believe that he is rapping about his life, instead of just rapping for the sake of showing off lyrical prowess.
While "Can't Help Myself" is somewhat of a weaker track overall than "I Really Enjoy (Those) Girls," the two songs make for a great first impression of this new duo. Let's hope they keep it up.
Both tracks will be on their first EP, "Being Good At Everything." The songs can be downloaded here and here.
Protoculture Review: Scribblenauts
Imagine a game where you can simply summon almost anything into the game world to help you achieve your goals. Done yet? If so, you've just imagined Scribblenauts, the cutesy game by 5th Cell that allows you to do precisely that.
The basic premise for the game is simple: you are given a scenario and a set of objectives to complete, and then it is up to you to solve the puzzle by typing in any combination of the 22,802 items cataloged in the game's dictionary to help achieve your goals and collect stars to open up more levels.
While this concept sounds endlessly fun, as the player can spawn anything from tornadoes to kittens, the game suffers from some mechanical issues and unclear objectives that unfortunately led me to start looking for the easiest way to complete goals rather than the more creative route.
For example, one puzzle presented me with a traffic jam caused by a cow, followed by a row of houses, a butcher, and a field. The game then simply gave the the objective "get him home." Of course, I had no idea who this "him" guy was, so I had to start guessing my way through the problem. First, I tried killing the cow. This resulted in a game over. So then I thought "Oh, I have to get the cow to the field," but when the cow would get near the butcher, he would kill it; but, if I killed the butcher, I would also lose! In the interest of keeping this a relatively spoiler-free review, the solution I came up with happened on accident, and I'm still not entirely sure who I got home so I could keep progressing.
Unfortunately, this isn't the only problem with the game though. For a lack of a better phrase, Scribblenauts has one of the worst control schemes I've ever encountered on the Nintendo DS. With the d-pad and face buttons both controlling the camera, it is up to the player to move and interact with objects using the stylus. This set of controls has been the reason for many of the times I failed a puzzle as well. The path finding protocols for the player character are simply not up to par for a game where almost any obstacles can be presented before you.
All this being said though, being able to spawn ninjas into a level at the drop of a hat is still a ridiculously cool idea. In fact, that is really the only redeeming quality of the game: the freedom to do whatever you want. So, if you don't give a flip about getting "him" home and just want to see God lay the smackdown on a horde of zombies, you are free to do so. At the title screen, the player is free to simply play around with any of the game's objects to your heart's content. And this, is where the game is at its most fun.
Basically, Scribblenauts is fun when used like a toy and not a game. As long as you are willing to simply enjoy the freedom of experimentation presented by the game, you can have a good time. However, if you are looking for a rewarding gameplay experience, I suggest you look elsewhere.
