Monday, December 27, 2010

Favorite Music of 2010

2010 was a great year for new music. The following are some personal favorites. There's a playlist of tracks that are available on Rhapsody - given the mix of genres it seems to work best on random. There are also links to Amazon, Beatport and iTunes where I could find them. Many thanks to all who made recommendations and introductions. Please keep them coming! (And let me know what I missed or got wrong).

Favorite tracks of 2010 (alphabetical order by artist):Also love (alphabetical order by artist):
(Obvious?) omissions include anything from Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs", Broken Social Scene's "Forgiveness Rock Record", OK Go's "Of the Blue Colour of the Sky", and "High Violet" from The National. I didn't get into any of them in time.

Finally, special kudos to Alex Metric; his remixes, BBC Radio 1 DJ sets and Twitter feed, are my source for about half of the songs above.

Monday, November 29, 2010

SF Bay Area Concerts - Fall 2010

Fall and spring normally provide many opportunities to see live music in the San Francisco Bay Area. Fall 2010 was exceptionally fruitful.
  • The Chemical Brothers @ The Fox Theater, 28th August
    Great sounds. Fantastic visuals. Superb venue.

  • Does It Offend You, Yeah? @ Mezzanine, 18th September
    Lead singer was ill and didn't show so they played a short set of their "bangers". New tracks sounded promising.

  • Kele (Bloc Party) @ Mezzanine, 18th September
    Kele sang and played a little guitar while his group (three more people) did percussion, keyboard and effects. He also took off his Public Enemy t-shirt for the last few songs - the crowd approved. (He kept his basketball shorts on).

  • Local Natives @ The Fillmore, 22nd September
    High energy indie rock with mesmerizing choral harmonies and numerous instrument rotations. More lively than expected, they resisted the urge to rock psychedelic. Methinks they will be awesome at Coachella 2011.

  • School of Seven Bells @ The Independent, 30th September
    Great and also much more energetic than expected, thanks in part to their drummer - he beat the s**t out of his kit and enjoyed doing it.

  • Kaskade @ The Warfield, 1st October
    The show was a bit different - it was 18+, so there were semi-naked teenagers aplenty. Kaskade came on stage soon after midnight and played for nearly three hours. There was a lot from dance.love but he also mixed or sampled The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Justice and Swedish House Mafia among others. I was tired from the night before but we danced long enough to hear "Move For Me" close his set as we left.

  • Treasure Island Music Festival, 16th October
    • Holy F**k - I feared the open air, daylight performance would not work for their style. They proved me wrong.
    • Die (fokken) Antwoord - When I grow up I want to be a Ninja...but maybe without the incessant dick slang.
    • Phantogram - sounded good...even from the food and merchandise stalls.
    • !!! aka Chk Chk Chk - Nic Offer's funky dancing took him into the crowd. On returning he proclaimed "...advice for you! Join a band! It's a lot of fun!!".
    • Four Tet - great, livelier than expected.
    • Kruder & Dorfmeister - good tunes, first-rate light show, slightly annoying MC.
    • Deadmau5 - fantastic light show, quirky DJ goofiness, disappointing music. After two opening tracks, Joel Zimmerman played 20 minutes of tuneless beats that did not impress this fan or win new ones. He also didn't play "Hi Friend" at all (which strikes me as perfect festival music).
    • Miike Snow - much harder, better dance music than their recorded material might suggest. So much dry ice!
    • LCD Soundsysyem - excellent, polished, sober (I think!). We were a ways back and left after about four songs to catch the bus home.
    I had tickets for Sunday too but I wasn't as excited about the lineup - cold, wet weather meant I made other plans.

  • Bell X1 @ Swedish American Hall, 21st October
    The venue was cool but the seats were very uncomfortable. Bell X1 were funny and charming.

  • Laura Veirs @ The Independent, 2nd November
    Had tickets but strep throat intervened.

  • Florence and the Machine @ The Fox Theater, 5th November
    Florence was like a supernatural force. She was entertaining to watch and a joy to hear. At times, her show verged on over-indulgent (e.g. the "shawl song") but that was easily forgiven.

  • Thievery Corporation @ Greek Theatre, 6th November
    Thievery Corporation's live performance (by twelve people!) was brilliant but they made the mistake of opening with their best-loved tunes e.g. "Lebanese Blonde" - some fans had not yet arrived or were still searching for seats.

  • Massive Attack @ Greek Theatre, 6th November
    Massive Attack's propaganda machine blew my mind (again). A captivating light show of incredible, infuriating and shocking statistics (that we strained to read from near the back/top of The Greek) was accompanied by a melancholic, Mezzanine-drenched soundtrack e.g. in Britain anyone can be detained without charge for up to 42 days. In USA, imprisonment is (still) indefinite. (Canada is a single day). The concert closed with the words "beyond petroleum"...

    PS A thick blanket to sit on makes all the difference at The Greek!

  • Stars and Geographers @ The Fillmore, 10th November
    I'm a recent Stars fan and until this gig, I'd never seen them in person or paid attention to their publicity shots. They did not look how I imagined. Amy Millan was five months pregnant but still rocking out. Torquil Campbell's melodious voice belied his physical and facial intensity (which quite often, more closely matched his lyrics).
    Opening acts aren't always worth seeing but Geographers were great. Solid vocals, interesting electronic melodies and beats, strings and a drummer that looked like "Vin Diesel in a beard and sunglasses".

  • Junip (Jose Gonzalez) @ The Independent, 13th November
    The focus was off Jose and on his new band. His vocals were good but not quite as enchanting as the recorded material. Jose also refused to play any solo songs insisting "This is Junip".

  • Pretty Lights @ The Fox Theater, 24th November
    Watched and danced from the perfect spot - one section back, behind the barrier, beside the stairs. The "white-boy hip-hop" was fun but eventually the tunes became difficult to distinguish. The amount of weed smoked by crowd was impressive. No need for dry ice!

  • Bonobo @ The Rickshaw Stop, 28th November
    The nine-person band including live drums, lead guitar, trombone, trumpet, flute/saxophone/clarinet, bass guitar, keyboard and live vocals (from Andreya Triana) squeezed into a small venue that was packed in spite of the Sunday night and late start. The set was mostly tracks from Black Sands. This one was very impressed.
PS Gigs I missed included: Ratatat, Dirty Projectors, Gotan Project, Broken Bells, Caribou, Paul Oakenfold, Birds & Batteries, Hot Chip and Sleigh Bells, Clinic, The Frames.

PPS Acts I'd like to see in 2011: Soulwax, Alex Metric, Eric Prydz (aka Pryda), Phoenix, Broken Social Scene, Wolfgang Gartner, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (aka TEED). Joe And Will Ask?, The Souls.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Pacific Masters Swimming - 9th Oct 2010

The months preceding the Pacific Masters Short Course Championships included knee surgery, gum surgery, gum infection and strep throat. In spite of all that, I thought I was fit to compete. I ultimately proved myself very wrong.

My expectations were fueled in part by my surprisingly speedy swim in the relay earlier in 2010. My 1:00.09 split in a 50 meter pool translates to between 58.35 and 59:29 for the same distance in a 25 meter. [1][2][3]

My only event on Saturday was the 100 meter freestyle. I guessed it would take place before midday but it didn't get going until after 1pm. As a result, I hadn't eaten since breakfast (around 7am) and hoped (in vain) that Gatorade would be enough to sustain me.

The pool was outdoors but I stuck to the sparse shade. This worked fine until about 20 minutes before my heat began; a senior female competitor decided to hang out in the same area and badmouth my coach (among other things). In hindsight, I should have diplomatically asked her to get f**ked, but I listened politely while my positive energy drained away.

When it came time to race, I felt rushed and under-prepared. My dive was a too deep; my turns were poor, the halfway flip was terrible - I got much too close to the wall; my stroke felt sloppy; I ran out of steam on the last length and my finishing touch wasn't clean. I was bitterly disappointed to look up and see my time at 1:01.48, roughly three seconds slower than the equivalent distance in July. (My splits were 27.97 and 33.51).

Given my performance and since transport logistics (aka Sunday BART service) meant that I might miss the 200 meter freestyle on Sunday morning, I decided to throw in the towel.


PS Walnut Creek Masters' achievement board claims they won the Long Course Championships but USF beat them 2,777 points to 1,019.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Knee arthroscopy - 14th July 2010

Background:

Since November 2009, I've been unable to run or bike without significant right knee swelling, loss of mobility, and discomfort. Less demanding tasks like walking to work, or simply standing for more than fifteen minutes, are also problematic. My knee did not respond well to standard treatments such as physical therapy, rest etc. An inconclusive MRI indicated two possible meniscus issues; discoid and a small tear. A steroid injection in May didn't help so I canceled my 2010 race plans and prepared for something more invasive...

Surgery:

During the arthroscopy, the surgeon trimmed some tissue around my kneecap (below and on right side). However my meniscus looked better than the MRI suggested so it wasn't touched. Unfortunately there was no Eureka moment. I might need more work on my IT-band and I definitely require post-surgery physical therapy.




Recuperation:

The post-surgery pain is not yet enough to warrant medication but I have that option. I can hobble around my apartment but I need crutches for the stairs and San Francisco hills outside my door. :-) Bandages come off on Saturday - I cannot shower until then (so don't visit! :P). I need to elevate and ice as much as possible. The fluid in my knee should disperse in a few days too. Stitches should come out in about two weeks. Then the real recovery starts!


Friends and family have been amazing and supportive as ever. Thank
you all so much!!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Pacific Masters Swimming - 11th July 2010

I missed/cancelled most of my 2010 races due to injury, includingFortunately my knee problems (discoid meniscus) (see following posts) didn't prevent swimming, so long as it was freestyle i.e. relatively little leg motion, knee bending or impact.

The 2010 Pacific Masters Long Course Championship was held in UC Santa Cruz from July 9th to 11th. I competed as part of the USF team on Saturday July 10th. Given my injury and lack of training, I was very pleasantly surprised by my performance - it was faster than at my "peak" in my teens when I trained five or six times a week, and often raced twice a month.My lack of recent race-experience and stamina is telling from my 200 meter splits - they are embarrassingly front-loaded. I also had my share of race-drama - my goggles broke as I was about to mount the blocks for my relay swim. Luckily a teammate promptly loaned replacements.


Official results. Official splits.

Here's hoping I can get race-fit in time for the Pacific Masters Swimming Short Course Meters Championships, on October 8th through 11th.

Swim distance converters:

Friday, July 2, 2010

Batteries for Jesús - part 3

Some friends meet semi-regularly to catch-up over strong booze, good food, and great (new to the someone in the group) music. They recently invited me to join and after requests from other friends, and my own desire to capture this somewhere other than email, here are the (incomplete) "minutes" of the first session I hosted.

Luke's original playlist:
  • "Create Your Fate" Steadman
  • "Blue Hour - (home recording)" Turin Brakes
  • "Perfect Opening Line" The Frames
  • "Hollocaine" The Frames
  • "Water" Feist [i skipped this as it was too down-beat but it's worth a go]
  • "Step Away From The Cliff" Blue-eyed Son
  • "Red Lights" Holy F*ck
  • "For Silence" Paul Hartnoll
  • "Moar Ghosts n Stuff" Deadmau5
  • "Belfast" Orbital
also played:
  • "Two-Headed Boy" Neutral Milk Hotel
  • "You've Got The Love" Florence & The Machine
  • "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" Neutral Milk Hotel
  • "Black Cat" Ladytron
  • "Runaway" Ladytron
  • "Fortress" Pinback
  • "AFK" Pinback
  • "The Fatalist" Robbers On High Street
  • "West Coast" Coconut Records
  • "The Ghost Inside" Broken Bells
  • "Drunk Girls" LCD Soundsystem
  • "Dance Yrself Clean" LCD Soundsystem
  • "Streets Score (Instrumental)" The Streets
  • "Uninvited (Original) (Radio)" Freemasons
  • "Escape Velocity" The Chemical Brothers
  • "My Car Is Haunted" Royal Bangs
  • "Falling Day" Kaki King
  • "Celestica" Crystal Castles
  • "And The World Laughs With You" Flying Lotus
  • "Sun" Caribou
  • "Wide Eyes" Local Natives
We also had a screening of Circus Porcelina - I think now we're all in agreement that clowns are scary. :-) Food was provided by Paxti's on Filmore. This post title was inspired by a doll who joined us for the evening...

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Mass Effect 2 - Xbox 360

Warning: Text and pictures contain spoilers.

In spite of its flaws, I thoroughly enjoyed Mass Effect. The sequel was my first pre-order of 2010. I even splashed out for the "Collectors' Edition". (I bet that pun got both grins and grimaces at BioWare...).


The opening task in Mass Effect 2 is to retrieve over 500 MB of DLC including an additional character, missions and equipment. BioWare's recent Dragon Age: Origins featured similar content and this trend is set to continue for purchasers of new copies of EA titles.

Re-using Mass Effect saves is handled well. Veterans are rewarded with additional cash, experience and resources but not anchored to past appearance or class choices.

Mass Effect 2 makes a good first impression. Prettier than its predecessor, it's visual style doesn't seem far from other Unreal Engine 3 titles but if it ain't broke...

Gameplay:

The next revelation is that everything is streamlined. Mass Effect 2's take on RPG is a stark contrast to both its predecessor and the micro-management of Dragon Age. Elements such as leveling up and allocating skill points "intrude" only after discrete missions. All team members get an equal share. No need to worry about who killed what or even whether what was killed at all - completing the objective is paramount, not grinding out XP.

Equipment upgrade and distribution is similarly low-touch and egalitarian, yet still rewarding. Improve one weapon class and the whole team gets a sharper shooter.

Saving is also polished. Autosaves are frequent but not invasive. The most recent mission attempted includes a checkpoint to allow restarts on demand.

Storytelling:

The strong writing continues with NPC-stories and side-quests that are generally darker and more interesting. Needy whiners and inept losers are fewer. In fact, while still unabashedly space opera, the plot feels more mature. There's strong language but, except for one "troubled" recruit, it's used sparingly and the result makes a stronger impact. Physical violence is frequent but rarely graphic (Setting screaming enemy NPCs ablaze during combat doesn't seem to count).

Both humor and gravity are delivered with quality acting. Mordin, The Illusive Man, Engineer Donnelly and Zaeed are some personal favorites.

Shepard's reputation precedes you. NPCs are frequently in awe or in fear of past exploits.

The tale also holds its share of twists and surprises. Major and minor characters from the original re-appear, but they rarely behave as one might expect. The final operation is epic but unfortunately its climactic confrontation feels trite and uninspired.

Gripes:

(May seem nitpicky but two complete playthroughs takes about 100 hours)
  • Planet Scanning. It beats Mass Effect's ugly, repetitive side-quests but the novelty wears off quickly and there are dozens (maybe 100+ ?) of areas to explore. It's unfortunate that it's a necessity for upgrades. (It seems like something EDI should be able to do automatically - maybe launch 30 probes for 90% of the available resources?). Also if a planet has been scanned but its resources have been only partially harvested, there's no way to tell other than re-scanning. (An earlier cue for Rich through Depleted would be helpful).
  • Care for some ants-in-the-pants or whiplash with your dialogue? Some of the NPCs stand up, wander around, then sit down again every time they answer a question. Others try to look Shepard in the eye while facing in the opposite direction...This tranforms serious conversations, into Benny Hill auditioning for The Exorcist. Characters also still "pop" from one pose to the next far too often.
  • Upgrade review menu order. Most things can be upgraded in multiple ways e.g. weapons can use more ammo and deal more physical/shield damage. However names differ for each upgrade so the alphabetical list (which grows long in the later stages) makes it difficult to answer questions such as "How powerful is this weapon class? How good is the ship? How talented are the biotics? How badass is Shepard?". For example:
    • AP Sniper Rifle
    • ...
    • SMG Shield Piercing
    • Sniper Rifle Damage
    • Submachine Gun Damage
    (Weapon codes can be deciphered. It's a cool detail but I didn't see it explicitly explained)
  • Talent details. Talent name comes first, followed by text description, then numbers. When descriptions span multiple lines, comparison becomes more difficult than it needs to be. Reversing the description-number order would make this more legible.
  • Repeated, idiotic soundbites during battle. This was an issue in the first game and persists in the sequel. It's especially aggravating when a teammate is asked to use a special power and they spout triumphant drivel after ineffectually blasting a wall rather than harming the death-dealing target.
  • Using powers from cover. It just doesn't work reliably - again the terrain absorbs the brunt of the firepower. (Maybe biotics and techs just hate the ground?) Intentionally not aiming directly at targets allows projectile powers to curve around obstacles. This helps, but shouldn't it be done automatically? It also means you need to learn two ways of "shooting" and switch constantly between them...
  • Ammunition re-fills. If a gun's ammo is depleted at the end of a mission, it starts the next in the same state. An odd inconsistency given the resources ultimately put at Shepard's disposal...(does this also make the game incedibly tough for Soldiers on higher difficulty settings?).
  • Inter-NPC banter gone. While lengthy elevator loading is not missed (although I suspect it takes roughly the same time, but looks different), the verbal sparring between teammates is. (Admittedly it's difficult to see where this part of the old experience would fit in the new, denser universe).
Sounds:

The soundtrack by Jack Wall is available. Tracks that stand well on their own include "The Lazarus Project" (very Danny Elfman), "The Normandy Reborn", "Suicide Mission". "Thane" is also worth a spin for those who've "been there, done that". Discopolis from Kris Menace & Lifelike may have graduated from the same school of music. :-)


PS The Firewalker DLC marks a return to vehicle-based exploration and combat, and a new platforming element (??). There are improvements - the Hammerhead is more fun to pilot than the Mako. The level design is more varied than the wastelands of Mass Effect but similarly devoid of features. The Hammerhead is a little fragile so battles (still) devolve into long range shoot-outs against barely visible targets. Both these issues hurt the sense of scale - the Hammerhead seems more toy than a tank. Ultimately the experience is still less rewarding than the standard third-person action and the sparse storyline played out over 5 missions does not compensate. But hey, it's free, so gift, horse, mouth, right? :-)

PPS Evil Val Kilmer? Spaceman Randy Couture?