Brandon Boyer

The Art and Motion of The Beatles: Rock Band

Apart from a loving tribute to a landmark act, Harmonix's singularly-focused rhythm game The Beatles: Rock Band is just as significant a work for being what is essentially gaming's first, best interactive documentary.

Tracing the band's rise and rise from their inauspicious Cavern Club beginnings to the Apple Corps rooftop finale, TB:RB offers a look inside the life of the band both overt (see: the traces and ephemeral snippets in the form of unlockable photos and fan club merch) and covert (see, here: the difficulty-arc-dip from their early, more technical work -- a band with something to prove -- to the remarkably simple bliss-outs as they move into their, er, higher, altered states).

But possibly its most remarkable achievement is the art and motion graphics that went in to the game, from Passion Pictures' eye-searingly gorgeous intro and outro videos, aided by Alberto Mielgo's concepts (at top), and the 'Kid Stays in the Picture'-esque interstitials by Kansas City, MO's MK12.

Below the fold, then: the best of all the above in a high-res gallery, giving you everything but the game.

READ THE REST

Brandon Boyer

Hey NYC: see Nullsleep, Bit Shifter, Minusbaby, No Carrier for free tonight

Bit of late notice with this one, but there's still time for Big Applians to make it to the No Malice Palace at 197 E 3rd St (between Ave A & B) for tonight's late night Nullsleep, Bit Shifter, and Minusbaby show, featuring the always dependable No Carrier on (all new) visualizations. [via Zen Albatross and Minusbaby]

Brandon Boyer

Listen: 8bitpeoples releases BlipFest 2008 2xCD, announce BP2K9 dates

My gut's quite certain that, looking back some years on, 2009 will be the year chiptunes broke as big as they're probably ever going to break, thanks in no small part to the 8-bit Weezer album, the newly announced Beatles cover album, and the various other projects on the side.

Though it's still quite hard to keep abreast of all of the developments in the chipscene without dedicating yourself to it entirely, 2 Player Productions and 8bitpeoples' just-released two-disc compilation album bringing together 32 live acts from BlipFest 2008 is probably the best catalog of all the current top acts in their native setting -- surrounded by an adoring crowd (as you've seen from the frequent BlipFest videos featured here).

For the long time listeners, your favorite artists will probably remain your favorite artists (my choices for compilation toppers: Unicorn Dream Attack, Minusbaby, Nordloef and Anamanaguchi), but for newcomers, there's a lot to discover here: find the double album at the 8bitpeoples store.

At the same time, festival organizers have announced the first information about the next Blip Festival, which will be coming to Brooklyn's Bell House on December 17th through the 19th.

No acts have yet been revealed for the latest Fest, but tickets are due to go on sale next Monday the 28th, so expect much more specifics by then.

Brandon Boyer

Digital Digital Elf: James Kochalka's GBA/Nanoloop album arrives on iTunes

For all those waiting for James Kochalka's Game Boy Advance/Nanoloop album Digital Elf to go digital download before you bought (and I know there's at least one of you), James has just written in with word that the album has freshly arrived on iTunes for your preview and purchase.

Offworld's also got a full streaming cut of the album's Robot Shark waiting for you back over here.

Brandon Boyer

Buy it now: Attract Mode's attractive shop opens its doors

Long teased since the earliest days of Offworld, Attract Mode's Adam Robezzoli has officially opened the doors to the games/culture site's web shop, which is already spilling over with indie/art game accoutrements.

Apart from the Harvey James Game Girl T-shirt I've been pining for for what seems like a year and a half now, Robezzoli has curated a collection of goods including 1" button sets for games by Auntie Pixelante and Cactus, Tetris ice cube trays, and Anamanaguchi, YMCK, Leeni and :( CDs.

Best of all, though -- and still not quite ready for shipping, is the pair of prints by Offworld-favorite illustrator SUPERBROTHERS: man-sized pixel-art works that I'm just about desperate to have hung in my office.

Brandon Boyer

Hey LA: go see Night Game music played live Sept. 17th

Chris Schlarb -- the man behind the gorgeous lullaby score for Nicalis's Night Game, the latest from Knytt creator Nifflas -- has written in to let us know that he'll be playing 30 minutes of live music created for and inspired by the game as part of the Slow Sound Festival, this Thursday, September 17th.

The show will be accompanied by, says Schlarb, "projected footage from the game. It's possible that some of that footage is heretofore unseen." The Slow Sound Festival will be taking place at 2226 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA. 90814, and starts at 8pm, with a $5 entry fee.

For more details, check the Festival's Facebook event page.

Brandon Boyer

Listen: Anamanaguchi, Minusbaby, goto80 appearing on Beatles chiptune cover compilation

Yet another 09/09/09 surprise, this time the Beatles-half of the blowout day that surprisingly has nothing to do with monophonic reissues or Rock Band: 8-Bit Operators, the same group that brought you the eponymous 2007 Kraftwerk chiptune cover album have just announced WANNA HLD YR HANDHELD, a new 20-track compilation covering the best of the Beatles.

The Operators say the full release will include tracks from 8-Bit Weapon w/ ComputeHer, Bacalao, Anamanaguchi, Bud Melvin, Burnkit 2600, Depreciation Guild, Glomag, Herbert Weixelbaum, Neotericz w/ Naku, Bubblyfish, Poke-1,170, Shrimps w Robert J Smith, gwEm & Counter Reset, goto80, Receptors, Psilodump, Cheap Dinosaurs, Saskrotch, Minusbaby, Rabato and Aonami.

For 09/09/09, a preview release of nine streaming tracks has arrived at the new HLD YR HANDHELD MySpace page, with a full Minusbaby-designed site to follow at the Operators' page on 10/09/09, in celebration of John Lennon's birthday.

It's Bacalao and 8-Bit Weapon/ComputeHer that dominate the streamable tracks so far: pay special attention to the former's deep-thumping/square-wave tweeting Blackbird and the latter's Eleanor Rigby -- you've never heard a speech-synthesizer sound quite so plaintive.

Brandon Boyer

Stay away: on Kurt Cobain's Guitar Hero appearance

There's a good chance you've already seen this by now, as it's been making the tear-stained rounds for the past couple days, and I've only held off in posting it because I still can't quite put my finger on why it's as depressing as it is (can you?).

I don't have much personal emotional stock in Cobain's death -- as tragic as it was -- and the co-opting of dead entertainers for advertising, promotional, and otherwise 'estate-of' toe-curling purposes has its own long and storied history.

I suppose it's just that Cobain himself never got to reach/steadfastly rose above the point of self-parody that makes MJ and EP so ripe for posthumous caricature, and it's probably got a lot to do with how clearly lovingly the 'Unplugged' sessions avatar was created straight down to the last thread of his Jeremiah the Innocent T-shirt (and it seems worth noting here that even Daniel Johnston's own tortured struggles are now yours to purchase in vinyl toy and fanny-pack form, though at least Johnston has lived to give what stamp of approval he can).

Either way, this is an image-control warning shot for all future performers. Read the fine print before you consent.

Brandon Boyer

Hey San Francisco: come say hi at the 8bitSF show this Sunday

My adventures here in the Bay Area are winding to a close, but, as I mentioned as I was leaving, I'll be going out with a bang this Sunday night seeing Anamanaguchi, Mr. Spastic, A_Rival, Crashfaster and Starpause, as part of Dutycycle's first 8bitSF show, 7-11:30 PM at San Francisco's DNA Lounge, 375 11th St.

If you're not quite sure what you'd be getting into, you can download a 10 song sampler EP here, and start early with us as friend of Offworld DocPop and 8bitSF host a burger-laden pre-party at Zeitgeist starting Sunday at noon.

See 8bitSF's post for full information, showtimes, and directions to the DNA Lounge, and be sure to come say hi! See you all there.

Brandon Boyer

Listen: preview Metroid Metal's debut CD collection, 'Varia Suite'

Due for an official release September 8th, and coming live to the Penny Arcade Expo just a few days before: Metroid Metal's Varia Suite, the band's first recorded collection of -- well, as you might guess -- metal remakes of various Metroid themes from throughout the game's history.

Metroid Metal's site has more information on both the album, and their PAX live performance, and the Silent Uproar record label is taking pre-orders for the album both in standard form, and in a bundle with an awesomely iconic T-shirt.

Brandon Boyer

Listen: Nullsleep, Random, No Carrier, Enso shape NES reality

A little mid-afternoon demoscene work with Shaping Reality, a NES demo created by 8bitpeoples regulars Nullsleep, Random, No Carrier and Enso for July's LCP compo.

I honestly thought my emulator was on the fritz until I found the accompanying YouTube at top: you can break your own emulator with the .nes ROM here. [via Enso]

[UPDATE: Apologies to musician Random for leaving him off the original list of collaborators!]

Brandon Boyer

Listen: DS-10 creators announce Elvis techno-cover/remix contest

From the same devs, unsurprisingly, that brought you the Steve Jobs parodying Korg DS-10 Plus game announcement: handheld synthesizer creators AQI have just announced Elvis Presley & KORG DS-10 Audition, a new competition in celebration of the 55th anniversary of Presley's debut that's asking DS-10 composers to create their best techno remix of Elvis hits.

Fantastically unlikely as it is, it's all on the level with the Presley estate, and winners of the competition will see their track officially promoted and sold on iTunes and released on a special CD in Japan.

Full contest details are available at the official site, and users outside Japan will be submitting their entries via the newly established ElvisAudition YouTube channel, so watch that for further developments ahead of the October 20th cut-off date.