Monday Eargasm #12: Local Natives - "Wide Eyes"

Turn that radio off! We know you grow tired of the cookie cutter top 40 hits that's bombarded at you 23 time a day. Let us soothe your ears to something new and maybe introduce you to something entirely different, no tip required. All in a day's work for The Monday Eargasm:)

A good friend of mine with excellent taste in music introduced me to this band called Local Natives, specifically this video featuring their song "Wide Eyes" and I decided to pass it forward to you! I'm impressed with their musicality and how everyone in the band lends their vocals to the track. The lead singer also has a glorious mustache. Thumbs up! Check them out!

Wasted Guy Vs. Flip Flops - Hilarious Viral Video

This is seriously one of the funniest videos I've seen in a long time.



This hilarious event was taken during Coachella 2010 last weekend. Good to see the drunk guy finally won! I think we all cheered for him at the end! Maybe his backpack was just too heavy.

Indie Game Wednesday #2: Bubble Tanks 2

Alright, kids, it's the second Indie Game Wednesday and I'm featuring one of the most innovative shooters ever: Bubble Tanks 2. BT2 show us what it would be like if bubbles decided to fight other bubbles...in big bubbles...using bubbles as ammo. Intrigued yet? You better be.

HeroInteractive spared no expensive in the creativity department when improving their first successful game, Bubble Tanks. For those of you who haven't played BT2, you start out with a simple tank with a single firing gun. As you move through what I call "Bubble Stages" (basically huge bubbles) you encounter enemies. These enemies drop (yep, you guessed it) bubbles that you collect. When you finally collect enough bubbles, the fun begins. You get to choose from three different paths for your tank upgrade to take: Heavy, Balanced and Agility. With ever successive level you get to choose another upgrade, further diversifying your tank. By the time you reach your maximum level you'll have a tank all your own to destroy bubbly baddies with. But with all this awesomeness, I must warn you; this game's replayability is through the roof which makes it highly addicting. Please, if you have a good job and/or family I must stress to take this game in small doses, we don't need complaints coming in about your unemployment due to my incredible game suggesting skills (seriously, don't do it.).

There you have it, folks. Hope you find as much enjoyment out of this game as I do. Here are the links for the game on HeroInteractive's website as well as Kongregate.

Thanks for reading and in the spirit of the recent April 20th holiday: Go in peace, stay in love.

Monday Eargasm #11: Corinne Bailey Rae - "Closer"

Turn that radio off! We know you grow tired of the cookie cutter top 40 hits that's bombarded at you 23 time a day. Let us soothe your ears to something new and maybe introduce you to something entirely different, no tip required. All in a day's work for The Monday Eargasm:)

It's about time that I featured a female artist, so what better way to start off with Corrine Bailey Rae? "Closer," from her sophomore studio album The Sea released this past January, is what I miss about R&B soul today - smooth vocals, funky rhythms, and real instrument sounds. The English musician has been nominated and awarded with many honors including an Album of the Year Grammy and two MOBO Awards. Here's to here continuing success! Check out her website at www.corrinebalieyrae.net.

Are There Any Talented Vocal Artists Anymore?

We are obsessed with "reality." It has seeped into our TV's with reality shows and cable network channels devoted entirely to reality television. It overcame our video games with life-like graphics and advanced realistic artificial intelligence. It has even infected out moviegoing experience with 3D technology to make the films seem more real and part of our world.

Then why the hell do we not feel the same way about popular music?

Beginning in the late 90's, music artists began to use Auto-Tune to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances, primarily in recording studios. Trade secrets like these were nothing new. When you hear an artist sing on the radio, more than likely it was cut with multiple takes of okay performances and taking the best parts to paste into one great definitive track. All Auto-Tune did was save time and trouble by fixing pitches on the fly. Then Cher made her comeback with her 1998 hit single "Believe." Her altered vocals brought a new sound to popular music and everyone wanted to imitate.

Now everyone does.

Reinvented for modern times in the mid-2000's, T-Pain began using Auto-Tune to the extreme, making his vocals sound roboticized. The "T-Pain Effect" is now copied by most hip-hop artists like Kanye West, Drake, and Lil' Wayne. R&B artists like Usher who were popular because of their naturally talented vocals now feel like they have to "catch up" with the new crowd of performers. This has got to stop. What happened to vocal integrity?

Gone are the days where vocal musicians would come into the studio to lay down vocal tracks and nail them within the first couple run-thrus. Frank Sinatra didn't have to use Auto-Tune when recording, he was just a talented vocal artist who actually knew what he was doing. Today, most vocal artists presume that engineers will run their vocals through the box. This isn't always bad, because I'm not totally against the use of Auto-Tune, just the overuse of it. Of course there will be a few intonation problems while recording tracks that Auto-Tune can fix in a jiff - No one's perfect. Auto-Tune should only be used in moderation. What suffers the most from the overuse of Auto-Tune? Live performances.

My way of calculating if artists are really talented (or if their engineer is) is through their live performances. I can't count how many times I've listen to singers live and was disappointed in their vocal performance compared to their recording. That is a by product of Auto-Tune. Jay-Z headed up the "Anti Auto-Tune Movement" last year in hopes that it will bring back integrity to the vocal artist and to inspire new artists to not rely so much on Auto-Tune. Thankfully, several artists have jumped on board, so maybe there's hope for the future of music. I'm not completely for abolishing Auto-Tune, but allow the performer's natural talent to shine through without newfangled technology getting in the way.

To think that this all started with Cher. Shame on you Cher. ;)

NCAA 2011 Massacre

Okay, I love football and I love games so, naturally, I love football games. Now given my passion for college sports the only logical game for me is the Electronic Arts NCAA Football franchise. This franchise has defined the college football experience for a gamer and continues to amaze consumers with every successive year. However, a tragedy has occurred. On April 8, 2010, EA announced that the cover of the upcoming NCAA 2011 game will be home to none other than Tim Tebow. In the article EA released they labeled Tebow one of the greatest players of college football. Now, since he has finished his final year at the University of Florida, I can admit that he had a pretty good run the past four years, however, as a die hard University of Georgia fan (Florida's sworn rival, for those of you who don't know) I must detest this fowl outrage. It wasn't enough that I had to watch ESPN continually compare everyone to Tim Tebow, now I have to see his often tear-filled face every time I reach for my latest football game?! He hasn't even been drafted yet! This cannot stand. The first option is to boycott the 2011 title. This seems to be the consensus among Tebow haters out there but I doubt they will all follow through with their threats because, let's face it, it's the only college football game worth playing. So I purpose something a little more drastic and creative. Everyone needs to carry on like they would with the annual NCAA release. Buy your beloved title, then, just as you return home to start your new Dynasty or Campus Legend (I;m more of a Campus Legend guy, myself), pause. Now after this oh-so-brief pause, pull the artwork sleeve out from behind the protective layer of laminate and go kindergarden on it. That's right, reach for those colorful markers and give me your best mockery painting of the teary-eyed gator. Then, as you finish your masterpiece of defamation, snap a quick pic of the beauty and post it on your Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. That way everyone can see your distaste for this awful decision from EA.

Well, there it is. I've said my piece on the matter and I hope to see several designs come release date (July 13). Send me those Van Goghs, Picassos and Monets via redforsaken@gmail.com and I might just make an album of them and feature it on here. Thanks for reading! Game on and...

GO DAWGS!!!

Indie Game Wednesday #1: The Bloon Series

Here's the first of a weekly series I am calling Indie Game Wednesday where I will feature an Indie game I have found that I believe is good enough for the world to see. This weeks game is actually a series. The Bloon series. Now if you haven't played this highly addictive set of games then you've probably been living under a rock (or somewhere without internet) because every Bloon game has been featured in every major online gaming site I've seen. The series started as a puzzle game where you, as a dart wielding monkey, must pop an intricate pattern of balloons with a limited number of darts. As simple as that sounds, the higher levels can get very difficult. Another fun quality to the Bloon puzzle game is user generated content. Ninja Kiwi, the creator, has released numerous "Player Packs" featuring levels created by everyday people.

Now I know this already sounds awesome, right? Well it gets better. The success of the puzzle game birthed an even more successful tower defense collection. Bloons Tower Defense mixed monkeys as towers and balloons as creeps in a way that captured every hardcore TD player. I, myself, raced with a friend of mine to see who could beat the first three games (let it be noted that I was the victor). With every successor in the series, Ninja Kiwi has continued to innovate the puzzle and tower defense genres which makes every game with the Bloon name a must play for the casual and hardcore gamers alike.

Now that I've enticed you, here's where you can play these games. If you wish to play all the Bloons games and keep up with the newest releases then the Ninja Kiwi site is best but if you long for a social environment for your gaming then I would suggest Kongregate.

Monday Eargasm #10: The Temper Trap - "Sweet Disposition"

Turn that radio off! We know you grow tired of the cookie cutter top 40 hits that's bombarded at you 23 time a day. Let us soothe your ears to something new and maybe introduce you to something entirely different, no tip required. All in a day's work for The Monday Eargasm:)

Get your ears ready for an amazing time!

Last week, I saw the amazing movie 500 Days of Summer and quickly fell into love with the clever and entertaining love story that wasn't a love story. Better yet, the music featured in it was equally as awesome. The Australian alternative rock band, The Temper Trap has in the past couple years gotten a large following around the world with help from the many placements that "Sweet Disposition" has been in. Ranging from movies like 500 Days of Summer to car commercials, it's definitely helped them get the recognition they deserve. Check out their website at www.thetempertrap.net.

Monday Eargasm #9: Faunts - "Feel.Love.Thinking.Of

Turn that radio off! We know you grow tired of the cookie cutter top 40 hits that's bombarded at you 23 time a day. Let us soothe your ears to something new and maybe introduce you to something entirely different, no tip required. All in a day's work for The Monday Eargasm:)



I featured Faunts in a post a couple months ago about music in video games, but I love this band so much that I had to give them a shout out as a Monday Eargasm. Faunts was a joy to discover because I really like their electronic, shoegaze, and alternative rock sound. From their newest album, Feel.Love.Thinking.Of, released last year, comes a music video of the same title. It features an interesting art style and a very catchy 80's-esque riff. Check out their official site at faunts.com.

If you still haven't listened to M4 Pt. II by Faunts, listen to it after this. It's eight and a half minutes of pure epicness that everyone should experience.

Lego Matrix: Trinity Help Video

There are no words to describe how cool this is...



...other than they need to make more! Combining two of my loves, Lego's and the Matrix, is a match made in heaven! These guys put in over 440 hours just to make this minute and a half video, getting the movements and camera angles down to a T. Check out hose these guys did it at www.legomatrix.com. Happy Friday!