Follow The Sound - The Go! Team

Bit of a break, but this time I'll pick an album that always seems to affect me on a spiritual level. By that I mean one that always makes me feel something in my very depths, it moves and shakes me, and there are a lot of different emotions that flare up when listening to this album. The album would be this:


1. Panther Dash (2:50)
2. Ladyflash (4:16)
3. Feelgood By Numbers (1:56)
4. The Power Is On (3:14)
5. Get It Together (3:28)
6. We Just Won't Be Defeated (2:45)
7. Junior Kickstart (3:32)
8. Air Raid GTR (0:39)
9. Bottle Rocket (3:32)
10. Friendship Update (4:00)
11. Hold Yr Terror Close (2:18)
12. Huddle Formation (3:11)
13. Everyone's A V.I.P. To Someone (5:08)


Yes, the band was an indie band of the month at one point, but don't hold that against them. So were Andrew WK and Scanners, and they are still awesome, while stock indie rock shit like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! float to the bottom where they belong.

The difference between this album and other "indie rock" albums, is that this does not confine itself to that increasingly stagnant and boring genre. The songs do not follow a strict genre guideline, yet remain perfectly accessible and an easy listen. Every song sounds totally different, with raucous drumming (I love the drum sounds on this album), explosive horns, chanting, record scratches, and about anything you can think of. The songs are the type that rockers can see themselves rock out to, or even dance (or skank, if you're feeling nutty) to. The weird part is that, the lyrics are rather sparse, there's no questioning that the vocals are not the attraction here (even though they sound phenomenal), which is usually what every 'serious' music listener focuses on (hence so many idiots thinking there hasn't been an instrumental since the fucking 60s), making me question why the music elite even bothered with this album at all.

What's real special is how the record makes you feel. This is one of the few records I own that stabs at my core, the way the instruments mesh together to form coherent song structures, the music is not complex at all, yet is able to make me feel such strange emotions while listening to it. In a perfect world, 'Ladyflash' would have been on the radio, 'Bottle Rocket' would have been on 120 Minutes, and 'Everyone's A V.I.P. To Someone' (this song is so beautiful) would have been playing in serious dramatic movies.

This album captures what makes us listen to music in the first place. It has the magic, the soul, and the passion of the best music has to offer, and is easily one of the best albums of this decade, if not of all time.

If you disagree with that, then I feel sorry for you, I really do. Few albums can make me feel this way, and I hope it would for you too. This is an album that just makes you feel great to be alive.

Been a bit slow recently...

I've been a bit dry recently, and Randy has been busy with dealing with his job, so I figured I'd make a simple list post to kill some time.

Since IGN did their take on the top 25 consoles of all time, I'd figure I'd try to do the same. Why not? I'm bored.


1. SNES

This system is so great that I'm still discovering great games I never played before years after it ceased being produced. It was the only system I owned besides the PS1 that was wall to wall greatness with absolutely no lulls in it's release history. From the first time I popped in Super Mario World, until discovering 'Gunman's Proof' on an emulator, their is no system that surpasses it's library and variety. Simply stunning.


2. Playstation

The only thing that keeps this a definite number two is that the 3D is so hard to adjust to nowadays. But this system is just the tops. The 2D (when not plagued by slowdown or missing frames due to ports that shouldn't have been made for the system) was the best I'd ever seen (and the last time they sold decently on a console) and the 3D was a true step forward for gaming. The library is so varied and creative that it's hard for to put this down at all, and just like the SNES, I'm still discovering great games for it.


3. NES

Probably the oldest console I can still play nowadays, the NES defined 2D gaming. While many games were vastly improved in the jump to the SNES, their are many others that never did make that jump. The system had a lot of creativity put into it's library, and lasted for so long, that there are still gems being discovered in it. It may get a lot of nostalgia love, but the games are still playable and still tons of fun, and for something so old, that has to count for something.


4. Sega Genesis

The flipside to the 16 bit war that I was never a part of (Since I rented games instead of bought, I had enough for two systems), the Genesis seemed like a different evolution of the NES style (I didn't know about the Master System until years later) and was faster and flasher than my big bright SNES. I find the ports between both systems negligible, but the originals for this system are still some of the best gaming has to offer.


5. Xbox 360

Might be a bit high for my list, but the 360 helped reinvigorate my love of gaming (with the Wii) by introducing the concept of downloadable games (and the return of 2D to the consoles!), making online play and community a surprising element in my play time, and yeah the games are pretty good as well. The Wii60 combo this gen lit a fire in my passion for gaming that the previous gen pretty much sucked out of me. I rate this half of the combo slightly higher since developers haven't been supporting the other half nearly as much as this one.


6. Sega Dreamcast

The last Sega system, and probably the most interesting one last gen. Arcade perfect ports became a reality, and companies like Capcom were showing us exactly how powerful it was. The controller was a bit awkward to get used to, but the originality in the games and the traditional games still keeping their original high quality, this was probably the best system (technically) last gen.


7. TurboGrafx

I played this system once as a kid, (the game was Keith Courage) and was mildly impressed. But it wasn't until the Wii VC where I truly understood this system. The system has a very impressive library, and the CD mechanic was highly revolutionary for the time. I still want to get one of these systems eventually. It needs more respect than it gets.


8. Playstation 2

I'm listing this purely for the niche and obscure games that were truly great. Otherwise, this probably wouldn't make the top 10. Normally it wouldn't be enough to make the list, but there were a LOT of them. So it makes the list purely for that reason. But I really felt this system was disappointing.


9. Nintendo Wii

The only thing keeping this low is the lack of games for the system. Don't get me wrong, there are quite a lot of good games for the system, and more on the way, but as it is now, it's merely on the cusp of greatness. I love the controls (though the classic controller should have been packed in) and the VC and WiiWare systems help add value to the system (the TurboGrafx games ALONE are enough for purchase of this console), the system is truly great with loads of potential.


10. Sega CD

This makes the list only because I've actually played games on it, but it's not that bad. The ports that made this system were typically the best of them all (beating the Genesis and the SNES) and the original games (that weren't FMV crapstains) were truly a step forward in gaming. The redbook audio was truly interesting and made for some fantastic soundtracks. You know, before game audio became as bland as it is now. The system is a bit underrated though, and should be respected more than it is.


The Gamecube, Xbox, and Jaguar do not deserve a ranking in my opinion. While they each had some truly great games, as a whole they simply do not stack up to the rest of this list. The Playstation 3, though, I'm not sure, as I haven't touched one yet.