@derekrobertson's...

Loco Roco inspires Air video

One of the games that I think set a standard in terms of its aesthetic was Loco Roco for the PSP. I remember playing this when it first came out a few years back and how transfixed I was by the combination of the incredibly appealing, malleable and down right cuteness of the graphics coupled with the mesmerisingly beautiful soundtrack. Played with earphones on this was just a sheer delightful pleasure.

Watching some music videos in order to chill out tonight I cam across Sing Sang Song by Air. Have a look and just give a nod in the direction of Loco Roco as a possible inspiration for the design of the video.

I wonder if there have been many other music videos that have been inspired by the world of the computer game. 

Hope you enjoy their music anyway.Oh, and Eddie, this is the first of many posts ;-)

Korg DS-10 to be discontinued! Grrrrrrrr!!!

Just I was getting in to my Korg DS-10 for the Nintendo DS in order to support a possible trial in schools I find out that it's to be discontinued. Sheesh! What can a man interested in games based learning do when he see something a little bit special albeit it seems with minimal mass market appeal (look at Electroplankton), and then it gets pulled. There is an issue here in terms of people working to support schools and make recommendations for software to use when there is the distinct chance that what you find of great use may not be available after a certain date. What use is that?

I fear that wonderful titles such as Endless Ocean may also go this way. It seems such a pity when it is clearly a superb teaching and learning resource. What, if anything, can be done to ensure that schools can still access these resources?

Well, for those of you who missed it here's what you could have done with it. Ryuchi Sakamoto eat your heart out!

Play Kraftwerk on the DS

I remember the late 1970s and the initial sounds of keyboard bands. Before Depeche Mode and the Human League I remember my brother playing Warm Leatherette and TVOD by The Normal. Great stuff but one day he came home with a 12" single of a German band called Kraftwerk and I was attracted to the somewhat harsh/angular sounds that were really quite infectious. They became the huge band that we all now know with Trans Europe Express being my particular favourite.

Now you can have a go at recreating your own Kraftwerk song as this chap has done by using the Korg DS-10 Synthesizer for the DS.:

Apparently it's quite a complex interface but I wonder how secondary music departments might be disposed to trying this out?

Here it is in action...

...and here's a fill list of the detailed features:

• 2 patchable dual-oscillator analog synth simulators + 4-part drum machine.
• 6-track/16-step sequencer – connect wirelessly to play up to 8 units simultaneously or exchange sounds and songs.
• Delay, chorus and flanger sound effects available from the mixing board.
• 3 note-entry options: touch-control screen, keyboard screen, matrix screen.
• Sequence keyboard and KAOSS Pad, allowing intuitive note input and control using the Nintendo DS Touch Screen and Stylus.
• Unlimited range of sound creation thanks to an authentic synthesizer sound editing environment with an installed patch-panel

The sound output from a DS is really quite something so I look forward to hearing what can be created with this. I'm not doing the robotic movements though.

Weezer front man questions Guitar hero!

Since the release of their first album in 1994 I have ben a huge fan of Weezer. Brilliant geek rock tunes, (that are pretty easy to play along to on real guitar) have now even featured on the game to beat all games - Guitar Hero! However, it seems that Weezer's front man Rivers Cuomo isn't a big fan of Guitar Hero. In a recent interview he is attributed to have said:

" I just don't get these games at all..to me, "I mean, I haven't tried them. But they must be fun because people love them. But, to me, it seems like if you're going to put that much effort into playing something, you should just play a real instrument."

'Say it Ain't So' was always one of my favourite songs by Weezer and to get the chance to play this in Guitar Hero was great for me. More Weezer tunes in future versions please, and Rivers, have a go at it, you might be surprised at how much fun it is and who knows, it may encourage people to take up the guitar who might not have even considered it before!

I'm sure there is a little bit of fun in his comments particulalry in view of the video for their new single 'Pork and Beans' which parodies aspects of game and internet culture. The main game reference is in reference to the phrase 'all your base are belong to us' which became an internet phenomenon in 2001. It came about as a result of a mis-translation from Japanese to English of the game Zero Wing for the Mega Drive.

Here's their new single with lots of faces from the web that you'll no doubt recognise:

Hoppipola: looking at things from a different angle

I was trading YouTube clips the other day with my friend from school John Whyte (programmer extraordinaire with Rockstar Studios)   and I fired through this clip of the video for Hoppipola by Sigur Ros. The first time I saw this video I could not believe how it made the hairs stick up on the back of my neck. Packed with pathos and humour it inverts our normal view of life to some degree and looks at age and behaviour from a somewhat leftfield.

I love things like that: a little different, creative, not the norm but most interesting! Hoppipola should be the anthem for the Consolarium.

Consolarium to storm the music charts ;-)

My very good friend and colleague from the University of Dundee, Bob Doig, has taken it upon himself to jettison me in to the world of dance music! Poking a little fun at my appearance on the BBC he has sampled my 'choice phrases' and mixed them into a dance track. (link below my picture on the site)

He's done quite a decent job may I say and I think that there's a touch of the Prodigy about what he's done....

Bob's real musical passion is Scottish folk and his band are well worth a listen. Have a look at 'Aff the Cuff's' website. Who knows Bob, maybe we can collaborate on the classic and much loved singalong song Dolphin Boy and share that with an unsuspecting public!

Wake up and feel the goosebumps

Do you ever get goosebumps when you hear a song for the first time? You know the type of thins that just gets to you, resonates with you and even moves you? Well, it happened to me on my way to Edinburgh last night when I listened to Wake Up by Arcade Fire and David Bowie. Performed live at a fashion show in the states very recently I found myself listrening to it again and again and again and again on the train from Dundee last night...until Tess Watson and Ollie Bray picked me up in the taxi at Waverley Station!

Some people out there just have it when it comes to creative expression. I'm not to sure what this lyric means...

"..with my lighting bolts a glowing I can see where I'm going to be"

...but somehow I feel it and every time I sing along to it the hair stands up on the back of my neck and goosebumps appear on my arms.

Fantastic! Here are the guitar chords if you want to play along.

I hope you enjoyed that and wonder what tracks have done a similar thing to you recently...if at all! Thanks for indulging me on this occasion.:-)

One last thing, doesn't Bowie still look good and really, isn't he one of the best musicians/performers ever? Oh yes indeed!

...a little light relief

Nothing to do with games and learning or technology...just spend a couple of minutes watching this. It's the funiest thing I've seen in ages. All hail to the Flight of the Conchords that's on BBC4 at present. I first heard this as a radio comedy on BBC Radio 2 some months ago but the TV show is ace. Have a look at this comedy rap number. Priceless.

Marvellous!

Guitar Hero III is on its way, hooray for online play!

Autumn hurry up and arrive because there will be a third version of the fantastic Guitar Hero game, yes Guitar Hero III is to be released. It will be available for the PS2, PS3, Wii and Xbox360. The one thing they had to do to improve this has been done... YES, we will be able to play each other online!

Guitar Hero II was particularly good due to some of the songs that were featured, my favourites being...

• YYZ: Rush
• Surrender: Cheap Trick (who I saw support Motley Crue in 1986)
• Crazy on You: Heart (before they became MOR)

...but crunching grunge and geek rock classic songs that have been confirmed for Guitar Hero III include:

• Cherub Rock: Smashing Pumpkins
• My name is Jonas: Weezer (have a look at this one in GH3 format below)

Looking forward to online moshing and jamming but in the meantime we'll have to make do with Guitar Hero: Encore, Rock the 80's.

Frets on fire: free guitar hero for PC/Mac

Don't have a PS2 or an XBox? Desperate to have a go at the wonderful Guitar Hero? Then do not fret...download an open source version of the gane from fretsonfire. It works with Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems and is free. Here's an example of what it lok like:

It works with the guitars that you get with guitar hero but if you don't have these then you can use the keys on your keyboard. Not bad for free. It seems that you can also use it with a Wii and the Nunchuk controller! Here is how that looks although the control with the wiimote looks and sounds quite difficult: