Some random comments about music and games
I'm currently playing The Witcher 2. The original Witcher was a decent RPG but with a few too many flaws to be a true classic. The Witcher 2 has fixed all of these and so far I'm thinking it's one of the best RPGs I've ever played. I think I'm currently about a third to a half of the way through so things could change, but I can't see that happening. One of the best things about it is that it deals with adult themes in an adult way without making a fuss about it. It's not just that they've thrown some swearing and nudity in (though there is quite a lot of swearing and regular nudity.) It's the fact that there's no real good and bad, many of the people you meet aren't especially pleasant, and it's hard to decide that one side or the other is right or wrong. You just have to make some tough decisions as best you can and accept that things aren't going to always work out the way you intend them. In fact, small decisions can have major unforeseen consequences later in the game. Dragon Age did a good job of making a more mature RPG with a darker setting, but compared to The Witcher it was practically Narnia. And that's why I love this game so far.
Currently The Witcher 2 is only out on PC, but it's coming to Xbox 360 in the next few months, so if you're unable to play on PC, you don't have to miss out.
A few comments on some random albums I've been listening to:
Brian Wilson - In the Key of Disney: The Beach Boys vocalist and Disney seems like a perfect match, but the album didn't quite work. It has some decent moments including a bizarre mostly instrumental melding of Heigh-Ho, Whistle While You Work and A Pirates Life For me, a couple of decent covers of Baby Mine and Kiss the Girl, and a predictably nice version of When You Wish Upon a Star. The problems lie partly with the disappointing song selection that isn't always suitable for Wilson's style (Two Elton John Lion King songs? Two Randy Newman Toy Story songs?) and partly with the unusually flat performances on much of it. Not much more than a curiosity overall.
Scott Walker - The Drift: A major contrast to the above, this is the most disturbingly bleak and scary album I've ever listened to. I really don't feel capable of actually reviewing the album just yet. I think it's something that needs time to sink in. It sounds like nothing I've ever heard before, but it's all the more extraordinary for that. It's a long way from his Walker Brothers days. The song Cue in particular I found really disturbing, and it's hard to pin point exactly why this is without actually hearing it. However creepy and at times downright terrifying the album might be though, I'm strangely compelled to listen to it again.
I'm writing more than I intended to so I'll try and be more brief with the rest. Join Us is a return to form by They Might Be Giants after some decent but disappointing releases. It's easily their best album is over a decade and feels like their earlier work. Bad As Me is a predictably great album from Tom Waits that covers just about every style he's performed in his career, yet within a surprisingly brief running time. Hell Broke Luce is a particular highlight, being an angry anti-war song from the perspective of a soldier that avoids any hint of sentimentality and is full on Waits stomp and growl. A Testimonial Dinner is an XTC tribute album and Hello Radio is a They Might Be Giants tribute album, both of which have the odd decent cover on them, but are mostly fairly mediocre and not really worth hunting out.
I was going to post a video of one of my favourite Christmas songs, "A Change at Christmas" by the Flaming Lips, to close the post in a nice festive way, but annoyingly I can't find any. The only one I can find on Youtube has had the audio removed by the Warner Music Group. The WMG says bah humbug and wishes everyone a dreadful Christmas. I can't think of anything else to post as a replacement, so I'll have to leave this in a decidedly unfestive and sudden way instead.
Currently The Witcher 2 is only out on PC, but it's coming to Xbox 360 in the next few months, so if you're unable to play on PC, you don't have to miss out.
A few comments on some random albums I've been listening to:
Brian Wilson - In the Key of Disney: The Beach Boys vocalist and Disney seems like a perfect match, but the album didn't quite work. It has some decent moments including a bizarre mostly instrumental melding of Heigh-Ho, Whistle While You Work and A Pirates Life For me, a couple of decent covers of Baby Mine and Kiss the Girl, and a predictably nice version of When You Wish Upon a Star. The problems lie partly with the disappointing song selection that isn't always suitable for Wilson's style (Two Elton John Lion King songs? Two Randy Newman Toy Story songs?) and partly with the unusually flat performances on much of it. Not much more than a curiosity overall.
Scott Walker - The Drift: A major contrast to the above, this is the most disturbingly bleak and scary album I've ever listened to. I really don't feel capable of actually reviewing the album just yet. I think it's something that needs time to sink in. It sounds like nothing I've ever heard before, but it's all the more extraordinary for that. It's a long way from his Walker Brothers days. The song Cue in particular I found really disturbing, and it's hard to pin point exactly why this is without actually hearing it. However creepy and at times downright terrifying the album might be though, I'm strangely compelled to listen to it again.
I'm writing more than I intended to so I'll try and be more brief with the rest. Join Us is a return to form by They Might Be Giants after some decent but disappointing releases. It's easily their best album is over a decade and feels like their earlier work. Bad As Me is a predictably great album from Tom Waits that covers just about every style he's performed in his career, yet within a surprisingly brief running time. Hell Broke Luce is a particular highlight, being an angry anti-war song from the perspective of a soldier that avoids any hint of sentimentality and is full on Waits stomp and growl. A Testimonial Dinner is an XTC tribute album and Hello Radio is a They Might Be Giants tribute album, both of which have the odd decent cover on them, but are mostly fairly mediocre and not really worth hunting out.
I was going to post a video of one of my favourite Christmas songs, "A Change at Christmas" by the Flaming Lips, to close the post in a nice festive way, but annoyingly I can't find any. The only one I can find on Youtube has had the audio removed by the Warner Music Group. The WMG says bah humbug and wishes everyone a dreadful Christmas. I can't think of anything else to post as a replacement, so I'll have to leave this in a decidedly unfestive and sudden way instead.