2012.01.15
Posted in Music, Music Spotlight at 12:40 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
Hybrid is a progressive breakbeat act from Wales known for their interesting use of orchestral segments in their music. Yes, that means they actually hire an orchestra to record parts of their songs. The end result is interesting if a bit on the unusual side.
Most of the tracks feel like their origins were on the electronic side of the spectrum, though the classical portions never feel bolted on. This is exactly the opposite of what Daft Punk did with the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, which was clearly a classical endeavour with a few electronic bets that felt bolted on (except for Derezzed). Like all artists that combine things traditionally from very different ends of the musical spectrum, it’s not always 100% successful, but generally I enjoy their music and they get it right more often than not.
Their sound is different enough that it’s not for everyone. It isn’t the sort of stuff you’d expect to hear on a night out at the club, and I listen to it pretty much exclusively at home as I find it a bit distracting / challenging to listen to at work.
Unfortunately, their music can be a bit tough to track down on this side of the pond (well, in Canada at least, maybe it’s easier to find in the US). I had to special-order a couple of the CDs I own, and their older stuff seems more problematic than their latest releases to find over here. iTunes does appear to have it all now, but if you want CDs or Vinyl, happy hunting…
Their most recent album, Disappear Here has been criticized as being too vocal as compared to their older stuff. Some people may prefer this, but I prefer the sound of I Choose Noise more.
It’s hard to pick a long list favorite tracks as I’m not as familiar with their entire discography as I am with many other artists. Here’s a short list of tracks (albums) I particularly enjoy of those I’m familiar with:
- Finished Symphony (Wide Angle)
- Dogstar (I Choose Noise)
- Until Tomorrow (I Choose Noise) <– Easily my favorite song of theirs overall
- Break My Soul (Disappear Here)
- Can you Hear Me (Disappear Here)
And for those deadmau5 fans out there, his remix of Finished Symphony is actually pretty decent.
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2012.01.13
Posted in Board Games at 10:17 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
This week I had a chance to play the Legendary Asia map for Ticket to Ride for the first time. I wound up squarely in last place, partly due to bad luck on card draws, and partly due to a few mistakes. Had I had better luck I would have finished third.
One of the more interesting aspects of this map are the mountain routes which require you to sacrifice additional rail cars from your supply for some additional points. Assuming you don’t get too ambitious with your route planning, I would now consider this to be very advantageous in almost every way. It’s not obvious at first until you consider some of the details.
First, each car you sacrifice in this manner is worth 2 points. The “break-even” point is a route of length 5 (where each car is worth 2 points). Shorter routes all give you less bang for your buck, and this map only has a very small number of routes that are 5 or longer. The other, more important effect is that it brings on the end of the game faster, and gives you a better chance to catch your opponents short.
To give a specific example, there are some routes of length 2 which require a 2 car sacrifice. You only need to play 2 cards to claim the route, and you will get 6 points as well as be 4 cars closer to triggering the end of the game.
Now that I understand this aspect of the map better, I’ll definitely not make some of the same mistakes next time. As for the luck, well, let’s just say I had better draw locomotives a little more often if I want to claim a few ferry routes…
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2011.12.30
Posted in Music, Music Spotlight at 10:54 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
Love him or hate him, Tiësto is an icon in the trance scene, and he’s been around for a very long time. He’s not one of my favorites necessarily, but he’s consistent and knows how to produce, remix, and DJ.
His studio album experience is hit and miss for me; by contrast, the In Search of Sunrise series is a series of DJ mix CDs that don’t necessarily feature his own work, and they’re generally solid. The original In Search Of Sunrise album was my introduction to Tiësto. He does have about a half dozen studio albums available and while I enjoy them as background music when I’m working or driving, I generally prefer the material on his DJ mix albums. If you’re exploring Tiësto’s stuff, and you enjoy it, he’s consistent enough that it’s worth continuing to explore.
Favorite remixes on his (albums):
- Delerium / Silence / Tiësto’s in search of sunrise mix (In Search of Sunrise) <– all time #1 favorite, probably 70% nostalgia and 30% musical merit though
- Cass & Slide / Perception / New Vocal Mix (In Search of Sunrise 2)
- Fortress / An Angel Saved my Life / Mark Shimmon & Third Degree Burn mix (In Search of Sunrise 2)
- Way Out West / Mindcircus Gabriel and Dresden remix (In Search of Sunrise 3)
Favorite Tracks (studio albums)
- Adagio for Strings (Just Be)
- Love Comes Again (Just Be)
- Break my Fall (Elements of Life)
- Feel it in my Bones (Kaleidoscope)
And for those keeping score at home, it’s no coincidence that 2 of these tracks are ones where he collaborated with BT. My love of BT colours my interpretation of other work where he collaborates. Hey, at least I admit my biases.
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2011.12.29
Posted in Board Games, Family, Friends at 9:12 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
I’ve been doing some gaming over the past few weeks. It’s been a mix of old and new.
Flash Point: Fire Rescure is the “new hotness” as Jason puts it (pun intended), and he got me a copy for my birthday. To date, I think this one is only available to people who backed it on Kickstarter, which is a shame because it’s a fantastic cooperative game. The mechanics fit the theme really well, and the game moves along with relatively little downtime. The difficulty is adjustable but so far it feels about right at the regular difficulty level. You’re not going to win every game (it’s been close every game so far, either winning or losing), but it doesn’t grind you into the dust like Ghost Stories always seems to. I’ve only tried the two maps that come with the base game, and haven’t yet attempted the expansion maps which appear more difficult.
As for older games, I played all three of the following with various members of my family over the break:
- 6 Nimmt (Category 5 in English)
- Carcassonne: The City
- The Settlers of Catan
I have played all of them before, but I was the only one at the table who had played them. 6 Nimmt went over predictably well, and we got pretty goofy by the end of the game (a couple of glasses of red wine may have contributed). Everyone had fun, and we all agreed the light tactics were just the right level for what we wanted that evening.
Mom and I played a couple of games of Carcassonne, and though it took her a little bit to see the strategies, she enjoyed playing the game and came pretty close to beating me both games. This is still my favorite incarnation of Carcassonne to play, and the chance to play it with mom reminded me of why.
Finally, Settlers of Catan hit the table. My sister wound up winning quite handily, and although it’s still far from my favorite game, I enjoyed this play of it more than previous plays. The dice still hated me as they always do, but I started to at least get a bit of momentum in the mid-game. It proved to be too little, too late as mom was challenging me for the longest army while my sister had somehow managed to get 4 of the VP cards in the development card deck. I ended up in second place, but there was a lot of back and forth to get there (I was in last for the majority of the game). I’d be willing to give this one another try, although I will stick to my vow to never play it with the 5/6 player expansion ever again.
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2011.12.10
Posted in Music, Music Spotlight at 1:35 am by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
It was inevitable that I would eventually write a post about The Chemical Brothers. Any serious attempt at discussing electronic music as a whole cannot possibly ignore them, given that they were an early influence on the scene in North America.
One of my few musical regrets (if you can call it that) of 2011 is not going to Coachella and seeing the Chemical Brothers perform live. Simply put, The Chemical Brothers are one of the powerhouses of electronic music for a reason. They’re awesome, both live and recorded.
One of the things I find interesting about their recorded work is that their albums follow a particular structure that will feel oddly familiar to fans of rock / pop / alternative music. They all start off somewhat middle-of-the-road in terms of tempo, and quickly ramp up to some hard-banging big-beat tracks to get you moving. You get a bit of a break in the middle, a brief return to booty-shaking madness, then end on a very spatial / mind-expanding note. This structure isn’t the same as a pop album, but fans of that genre will feel right at home after listening to an album or two.
The fact that the Brothers can consistently turn out solid albums is a testament to their staying power as an electronic music act. They just won’t die, and I wouldn’t want them to. I’m going to buck the trend of listing favorite tracks in this blog entry, because the list can be summed up like this, more or less:
All of them
If you’re new to the genre, you owe it to yourself to listen to The Chemical Brothers. You can literally pick any of their albums and you won’t go far wrong; if you want a recommendation, I would suggest the following three albums to start with:
- Surrender
- Push the Button
- Further
For me, these three typify the Chemical Brothers album experience. And for you skeptics in the crowd, know this: The Chemical Brothers, unlike many electronic music artists, produce albums that are meant to be enjoyed as an album, not a collection of singles bought individually a la iTunes. This is a rare and unique thing in the electronic music world where the single is king, followed by the EP, and it’s something that should be savoured.
As a closing note, even if Daft Punk headlines Coachella 2012 and I get to enjoy their robotic madness in person, I will never be able to forget the fact that I missed the Chemical Brothers at Coachella 2011.
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2011.12.10
Posted in Board Games at 1:21 am by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
Last night, Thebes hit the table for the first time in about a year. It’s a very unique game, and if you haven’t tried it yet, you should.
What was interesting about last night was watching Rafael, who had never played before, play the game. He got into it in a way that made me think, “yes, this is IT!”
He took crazy risks (let’s dig for 4 weeks, drawing 3 discs) and they paid off. He drew the discs out of the bag and slapped them down on the table, counting them as he went. He watched with interest as Jason draw from the bag and found nothing but rubble. He managed to get second place in his very first game.
For me, it was a lesson in why we play board games in the first place. Everyone had a good time, and I got to witness a first-time player totally get into the game and play it the way it’s meant to be played – on the edge of a razor, tensely drawing discs from a dig site in hopes of striking it rich. Although I wouldn’t classify Thebes as a push your luck game in terms of the core mechanic, when you go on a dig and you have to decide how long to spend a the site, there is a definite push your luck element to it, and it never fails to draw people into the game completely.
Although I eventually won the game, watching Rafael play was my reward. This is what board games are all about.
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2011.11.28
Posted in Music, Music Spotlight at 12:20 am by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
One of my not-so-secret guilty pleasures is pop music. But it generally leaves me feeling pretty empty, which is where Morgan Page comes in. Like many electronic music artists, Morgan Page got his start producing remixes of other artists’ work. He quickly became known in the scene and started doing remixes of some very big name artists / tracks. His music feels very pop / dancey, but somehow it’s not saccharine in the way that artists like Lady Gaga or Madonna tend to be. I frequently tell people that he does “dance music for grown-ups”. It’s still dance music, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a lot more intelligent than average and some of his remixes have a sound I’ve never heard any other producer pull off.
When deadmau5 remixed his track “The Longest Road”, it was nominated for a grammy. That track wound up being equal parts Morgan Page and deadmau5. Need I say more?
Morgan Page doesn’t have a lot of his own material out there; his albums are usually a combination of his own work and remixes he’s done of other artists. Here are a few tracks (albums) I particularly enjoy:
Tell me Why (Believe)
The Longest Road (deadmau5 remix) (Elevate)
Dirty Laundry (Morgan Page Remix) (Elevate)
Fight for You (Believe)
Call My Name (Elevate)
He also recently released a single titled “In the Air” where he collaborated with a few other artists including BT. It’s a great track and it stands out well as a single, but I’m curious if there is more oomph coming for his next album.
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2011.11.20
Posted in Music, Music Spotlight at 11:04 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
It’s unfortunate that many people think of Fatboy Slim’s remix of “I See You Baby” when they think of Groove Armada. I’ve never been much of a fan of Fatboy Slim, and this song got way more radio / MTV / MuchMusic exposure than it deserved. It’s easily the worst song on the album it comes from.
If you’re willing to move beyond this and give Groove Armada’s discography a browse, you’ll find quite a bit worth listening to. Their albums generally include a fair number of downtempo and triphop tracks and at least a few that will get your ass(ets) shaking.
My first Groove Armada experience was with Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub), and while I still really enjoy it, I prefer the sounds of their previous album (Vertigo) and subsequent album (Love Box) on the whole.
Soundboy Rock took things in a bit of a different direction with more pop influence, and while the result is good, it seems to have lost some the sound I associate with Groove Armada and so it doesn’t get as much love from me as their older stuff. I haven’t given Black Light much of a listen yet, so I can’t really comment on it. I don’t own it yet, if that means anything.
Favorite up-tempo tracks (albums):
Superstylin’ (Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub))
The Final Shakedown (Love Box)
In My Bones (Vertigo)
Love Sweet Sound (Soundboy Rock)
Favorite down-tempo tracks (albums):
Edge Hill (Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub))
Think Twice… (Love Box)
Tuning In (Rewritten) (Love Box)
Pre 63 (Vertigo)
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2011.11.20
Posted in Board Games at 10:53 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
On Thursday it was game night as usual. We decided to pull out Acquire, followed by Rheinlander.
Even though I have seldom won Acquire in the past, everything went my way this game, and I won very handily, with a nearly $20,000 differential with Craig who took second place. The group generally seemed to be preferring to hold stock rather than liquidate, which worked in my favor (I think Tower got acquired 4 times, with a nice payout to me each time). I also managed to maneuver things such that Continental was re-founded well out of harms way in the corner of the board, giving me time to focus on my long-term buy and hold hotel (Festival). I got a lot of dirty looks when I founded Continental where I did, but it’s probably the one move I made that most directly led to me emerging victorious.
I didn’t win at Rheinlander, but did manage a second-place finish, by far the best I’ve ever done in that game. I feel like I’m finally beginning to understand the strategy in that game, something I never really felt I had a grip on at all previously. My score was about double my previous personal best score (41 points this game, I think my previous best was 22 or 23 points). We don’t play this one that often, but it’s nice to finally feel like I can play it competitively.
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2011.11.20
Posted in Music, Theatre at 10:46 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
I’ve been out to a couple of plays and also some electronic music shows recently, and generally things have been a bit of a mixed bag.
First up, an electronic music show at Flames Central: Steve Aoki and Datsik.
I bought the ticket more to see Datsik than Aoki, as I’m not really an Aoki fan, but I knew I was in trouble when the venue switched to Flames Central from the Big 4 where it was originally scheduled. Flames Central is a much smaller venue, and it was packed to capacity.
The line-up to get in was the first sign of trouble. I still don’t understand why a line about 100 people long took over an hour to get through. It’s not that difficult to put wristbands on people after checking their tickets.
That mess negotiated, I thankfully didn’t need to head to coat check where it sounds like another hour long line awaited. I did manage to get a reasonable spot on the dance floor, but I was forced to abandon it after I got tired of people shoving and pushing their way past me (where they were going I have no idea, the dance floor was pretty dense).
Which led to another problem. As a result of the venue change, Flames Central was so close to capacity they ticketed the balcony separately from the main floor. My usual escape plan (to the balcony) wasn’t available. I stuck it out for Datsik’s set, which I enjoyed (but most of the crowd seemed to dislike), and left 1/2 hour into Aoki’s set (which was as much of his music as I could stand).
Next up was Ronnie Burkett’s play Penny Plain. I have seen many of his plays in the past, but this one was my least favorite. It wasn’t bad by any stretch, but it seemed like he kind of lost his mojo with this one. It was an interesting premise, but the characters were just too bizarre and the ending a little too predictable in some ways, and way too weird in others.
I still maintain that everyone should see a Ronnie Burkett play once in their life, as he is a true master of the art of marionettes, but this play isn’t the one.
On a more positive note, Bassnectar’s show at the Big 4 last night was pretty good. The crowd was less college-bro-ish than a lot of other shows I’ve been to lately, and generally a lot more respectful. The music was loud as expected (PK provided the setup), and it was fun to dance for the evening. Earplugs were a requirement, and I handed out a number of them to nearby revelers who didn’t bring their own. Lorin has also stepped up his light show since I saw him at Sasquatch, and that was pretty neat to see. Really the only negative was a long line at coat check, but that was predictable given the weather.
As a bonus, one of the opening acts for Bassnectar was Bonobo, who I missed seeing at Sasquatch back in May, so I was glad to get the chance to see him DJ. His set was refreshing, something a little different than what I usually listen to. And the dance floor hadn’t yet packed in so I had lots of room to dance.
I don’t have tickets to any other plays or concerts coming up, although there are a few which are tempting. I think I may start to see more smaller shows / smaller venues and skip out on the bigger acts playing places like Flames Central as I tend to not enjoy those as much.
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