Daft Punk (TRON: Legacy)

I really dug the new TRON: Legacy movie, and at the risk of sounding like a shill, I'm super grooving on the new Daft Punk original motion picture soundtrack.

I was first exposed to Daft Punk via their Cartoon Network exposure in the late 90s (early 2000s?), and then had elliptical run-ins with them via acting things like their "Electroma" short film Cannes Film Festival offering. Band members Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo are talented, and the soundtrack is a solid album offering from them -- surpassing (I think), even their more well-known "Alive 2007".

I generally wait to buy album soundtracks and musical scores until after I've seen the film, so the music is more evocative of key moments in the film. This sometimes creates a bias for liked and disliked tracks based on their movie tie-in, as opposed to them as stand-alone offerings. But at least I'm honest about my review biases. ;-)

I did the same for TRON, and while there are moments and beats that do pull me back into the film (the music interleaving to the movie sound track is pretty unique) -- "Arena" and "Disc Wars" in particular --there are beautiful, unique tracks that are startling self-contained. The Jeff Bridges narrated "The Grid" is a surprisingly solid tone-setter for the rest of the album, is a wonderful remix of the original TRON theme, and avoids the "show don't tell" trap into which it could easily fall. I actually wish the album started with this particular track.

For whatever reason, I'm fascinated by the Recognizer vehicles -- the hefty AT-ATs of the world of TRON. For me, they're more evocative of the technology gone awry than the light cycles, and the eponymous track drives that home.

Likewise "C.L.U." is a nicely complex piece, evocative of some of the depth of stuff hinted at with that character (and the related relationships). It arguably tries to do too much, possibly because it is the longest track on the album (though short by normal band standards).

"Fall" is one of the shortest, most powerful tracks on the album; it's in danger of being overlooked, because it's easy to mistake it as the bridge between the "Derezzed" (vintage-ish Daft Punk) and "Solar Sailor" (a beautiful, solemn subtle track of its own).

And while not the star of the album, the Amazon-exclusive "Sea of Simulation" track fits solidly (and congruently) within the whole album.

If you do/did see the film, you'll notice Daft Punk's  camera-averse, robot-during-live-shows persona works without much tweaking in their cameo (during the "Derezzed" performance).

Overall, the TRON: Legacy Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is an enjoyable, accessible, semi-house / electronica offering.

(As an aside, I'm also a toy and Japanese anime fan, so add that to my rekindled love for Daft Punk, and I'm likely going to pick up a set of their Zentradi-lookalike Interstella 5555 figures for enjoyment. And possibly parody. It's part of what I do.)

Cloud Cult

I've been listening to a lot of Cloud Cult lately, thanks to a co-worker letting me borrow a couple of albums, "Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus (2005)", and "The Meaning of 8 (2007)". I previously knew their "Lucky Today" song from the Esurance commercial, but not much beyond that.

"The Meaning of 8" is a rawer, more authentic album, largely because a lot of the content deals thematically with the somber and celebratory exploration of what it would have been like if front man Craig Minowa's son had reached 8 years old (he sadly died unexpectedly at the age of 2 in 2002). I'm not sure if the songs for the album were new for the album, or pulled from the nearly 100 songs Minowa allegedly wrote as he grieved for his son.

This is one of the those bands I don't like to say a lot about, because it's kind of hard for me to articulate why I like them, and I don't want to sell there sound or messages short. If you thematically like groups like Bear in Heaven or Cymbals Eat Guitars, you may like particularly like Cloud Cult.

All of their albums are available for streaming from their official (very indie) site.

Osaka Popstar & the American Legends of Punk

I've had Osaka Popstar & the American Legends of Punk (w/Bonus DVD) for a looong time, and realized I've never talked about how pimpin' this album is in it's music, art, and brand model (yes, I said art and brand model). (Official site is here.)

I hate summaries, but I feel OK if I call it a Japanese anime-vibed punk take on OST themes and roots songs (like "Man of Constant Sorrow", popularized by Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?). Seriously.

And the band is comprised some of the (if not the) top punk purveyors -- John Cafiero & Jerry Only (The Misfits), Dez Cadena (Black Flag), Ivan Julian (Richard Hell & The VOIDOIDS; The Outsets), and freaking Marky Ramone (Um, The Ramones).

Their takes on Sailor Moon and Astro Boy are stellar (I so hope this latter track makes it into the upcoming CG animated film version), the Richard Hell covers ("Blank Generation" and "Love Comes in Spurts", the former being one of my favorites on the album) are tops, the aforementioned "Man of Constant Sorrow" (with contributing vocals from indie icon Daniel Johnston), and Johnston-written "Wicked World" is just ... so apropos.

And it's not just the band and the songs that are an amazing compilation -- its the art and packaging. Contributors include John Pound (Topps bubble-gum cards, Wacky Packs (a special sticker is included with the album), and creator of the Garbage Pail Kids), Dalek (aka at least one-time local-to-me James Marshall (Space Monkeys designer), Butch Lukic (Batman/ Justice League), and Nick Reid Tragnark (who's allegedly partnered with Cafiero to make a "Shaolin Monkeys" animated series, spawned by the album's song, and featuring a wicked slickly stylized look akin to a mashup between Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, or other Genndy Tartakovsky works). Every page of the liner notes is illustrated or photo composited in a playful, cohesive way. As a matter a fact, other than the forgivable divergence of the "Insects" liners, the disc is a great example of brand cohesion.

The album also comes with a DVD that includes animated videos for "Wicked World" (an "evil Kawaii"-esque 2D affair) and "Insects" a photo composited animation, a la early MTV days, and while the bugs are creepy, the flight-suited puppy band avatars are hilarious (as are their reactions to the bugs; every time).

All in all, a great album that scratches all the right spots for me musically, pop culturally, and in a brand-smart, business innovative way.

Play! A Video Game Symphony (Live)

I got to go to PLAY! A Video Game Symphony when the touring show hit North Carolina this month, and it was a phenomenal experience.

If you're not familiar with PLAY!, it's a live symphony performance of music from and inspired by video games -- from Mario to Halo -- with top-notch guest conductors ... conducting.

Our evening's guest conductor was composer, conductor, and symphonist Andy Brick (The Sims II, Arc the Lad, etc.), who aside from being a talented conductor, was personable, engaging, and entertaining (not a given in conductors, unfortunately).

Performances ran the gamut, with images from the games projected over the symphony as they performed, and to me the most technically and artistically sound pieces were the Castlevania, Kingdom Hearts, Halo, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

We were treated to two new performances in NC -- SIM City 4 and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. The former was "OK" (solid, but not differentiated enough for my tastes), but the latter, while rousing in its own right, was even more enjoyable for me because it's one of the titles powered by my company's tech (of course, same goes for Oblivion).

My bias toward WAR and Oblivion speaks slightly to the subjective nature of this performance in general -- it's really going to depend on your emotional attachment to different games, and how those tunes resonate with you in their new form.

WAR was also enjoyable because WAR composer Brad Derrick made a guest appearance.

Also on the guest appearance front, guitarist Carlos Alomar performed on Silent Hill and the Chrono Suite. Alomar might not be a name familiar to you, but his work should be, since he's written and performed with the likes of David Bowie, John Lennon, Iggy Pop, Nine Inch Nails, Duran Duran, and more.

The venue -- the outdoor Koka Booth Amphitheater in Cary, NC -- is fantastic; despite being rained on through the last 4 performances (I was not going to leave, and, besides, I felt the rain added a certain additional gravitas to the Halo suite in particular).

As far as family-friendly (which the event is advertised to be) it's mostly there. There's some fairly disturbing imagery in the Castlevania Suite, and they basically show the entire launch trailer for Warhammer Online, which is bit intense for wee ones. For the most part, they did a great job with the content, and even Silent Hill kept from showcasing its more disturbing moments.

I picked up the CD / DVD combo after the performance, and framkly, am disappointed.

It's an OK CD, but did not (obviously) contain the two new performances from the evening, but it is also so dated that it does not even include the Mario suite, which I very much wanted in my digital library.

The DVD is a disappointment, and feels incomplete and unprofessional, though liner notes caveat this being the result of a challenge with the historic Prague recording location (which, to me, speaks to an opportunity to do it again, "right").

But overall, certainly a worthwhile experience (barring the OK leave-behind reminder), and one that I recommend to lovers of video game and / or symphonic music.