Rating: 1-5
MUSIC&MULTIMEDIA [CD/Game Reviews by tired ant]
CDs
Bumps
BUMPS
Stones Throw
Sonics: 3 out of 5
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
This is a tough CD to rate. There are some terrific, fun beats on Bumps. But then I don't particularly want to listen to 20 one- to two-minute tracks of drums and percussion all the way through, even if they are varied and offer some fresh rhythms that we just don't get enough of incorporated into mainstream music. That being said, I did try to listen to all the tracks in one sitting and found that at times the music is oddly hypnotic; at once you're lulled and caught up in the beat. You shouldn't be surprised. The musicians behind avant-gardish band Tortoise produced Bumps. John McEntire is the main tortoise-shell-bashing creative head responsible for this album. Unlike say Madlib and his culture-crashing Beat Conducta works, this has no soundtrack-like quality. You may not be able to enjoy this music in the traditional way, but that doesn't mean it's not worth listening to. I'm sure some hip-hop heads will give it a good study.
Charlie Hunter
MISTICO
Fantasy
Sonics: 3.5 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5
Eight strings, seven strings -- whatever. Charlie Hunter can play, period. Mistico is a hip, dirty album that combines rock, funk and jazz. To refer to it as progressive music seems to sanitize this raw and energetic collection of songs, but that's probably what best describes it. The recording feels very live, no doubt intentional. Sometimes the guitar sound is a bit too unprocessed for its own good. There are tremendous moments within tracks like "Speakers Built In" when you wish the guitar sounded as big and finely reproduced as the bass and drums. Tonal qualities aside, that may be the best song on the disc; it has so many wonderful changes. That alone is worth the cost of the CD. Actually, almost all the tracks are fantastic. Add some vocals to the arrangements (you can practically hear the singer in your head, the material is so tuneful) and this could be considered an innovative rock album.
Carlos Pezzimenti/Aaron Cotton
DIPLOGENESIS
Mapleshade
Sonics: 4.5 out of 5
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Segovia made classical guitar respectable. Pezzimenti reminds us what is so beautiful about the instrument. He and Cotton play some well-known piano pieces as a guitar duo. Their versions of Erik Satie's "Gymnopedie 1, 2 and 3" are so elegant and simple they play as a kind of distillation of what the composer intended. Put in another way, it's almost as though they bring out the essence of those compositions. This is a great CD for auditioning your system with the channels split for each guitar. As you process the harmony of the guitars from left and right, the beauty of the instruments communicating and mingling with each other is surprisingly touching. You can hear everything in this intimate recording from Mapleshade. The pure recording philosophy employed by Pierre Mapleshade brings out every subtlety, fingernails snapping the strings, plucking them, delicately combining them to produce gorgeous chords. The unadulterated approach matches the almost pristine arrangements.
GAMES
NASCAR 08
EA Sports
PS3
Rating: 5 out of 5
Frankly this game is more fun than watching NASCAR on TV. This version provides additional excitement with all of NASCAR's racers included in the game and manufacturer Toyota (and the Car of Tomorrow) now in the mix. You would think going around an oval track would be a breeze, but this game shows you how difficult it can be. Then again, that's up to you. NASCAR 08 is a great combination of arcade and sim. Or rather, it's a nice compromise. You can get geeky on this and go through a million adjustments for car setup or you can just mash on the gas. Career mode is a long haul. Set up like real life, you have to prove yourself by earning licenses and then race for a team. Racing with a joystick can be frustrating when delicacy is required on a long corner, doing 170 mph. You'll definitely have more fun with a steering wheel. Overall, the graphics are amazing and that combined with the lifelike game play provides you with a thrilling sense of being part of NASCAR.
MLB THE SHOW '07
Sony
PS3
Rating: 4 out of 5
Sports titles can leave you ambivalent as a fan. On the one hand you can enjoy being your favorite player; on the other hand you can completely undermine the realism of it all by failing to produce as say, David Wright or Albert Pujols would in real life. That's why I still prefer simulation mode. I love setting up the team, working the trades and then seeing how the team performs. The Show is terrific for that; in fact, it's just as good as the previous version (it really hasn't changed much in that respect). But year after year, the arcade versions of sports games continue to improve. MLB The Show is phenomenal in terms of its graphics. And if you're the kind of person who enjoys creating a version of yourself in the game, you'll have fun working your way up through the majors in The Show. Everything may not be spot on, but this is definitely the best baseball title out there.