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a couple of week ago, I started working on a MAME cabinet. this apparently isn't an uncommon pursuit among geeks. heck, CmdrTaco, whose own cabinet inspired me to give it a shot, built his some eight years ago, and since then, many, many other people have done the same, which has left me with tons of information on the subject. thanks, Internet!
so, here are a couple of shots of the control panel. I didn't think to take pictures of the construction process, but documenting that is probably best left until I figure out what I'm doing.
as it stands, I only have the control panel assembled, wired, and working, but I am pleased with the results so far. it was made from MDF and assembled it a few days ago at my folks' place with my dad's help. I spent a few hours priming and painting this past Saturday, which incidentally is not a bad way to spend shaking a hangover, and then yesterday, I mounted and wired the joysticks and buttons.
my next steps are to 1) do some field research on real-life arcade cabinets, 2) build my own cabinet, and finally, 3) put together an adequate box for running MAME. stay tuned as I will post updates from time to time along the way.
for what it's worth, I highly recommend the Happ 8-way competition joystick for anyone who is thinking about heading down this road.
during a ski trip a couple of months ago, a cousin of mine, a fan of the Good Music, introduced me to a band he claimed to like better than Explosions in the Sky. now...those are some pretty strong words as far as i am concerned. my feelings for EITS are fairly well-documented, and i guess that i took it as a bit of a challenge. well, i changed my tune after giving them a proper listen and now see his point. not that i would say they are necessarily any better than Explosions, and i can see where he's coming from.
This Will Destroy You is, for me, one of those rare and wonderful occasions where you sit down to listen to a new band only to find that, at least to some way, you've known them all along. it isn't that their music is formulaic or predictable, but that it is strangely familiar. a moment of deja vu hit me while listening to the San Marcos quartet's debut EP, Young Mountain. the album starts off strong with a patient and glacial piece entitled "Quiet" segueing directly into "The World Is Our ___". with this track, i find myself thinking that maybe i had heard a similar tune in my head at some point, but the thought passes as the track unfolds into a triumphant and soaring expanse, then, turns away to a reflective, logical progression of the opening melody.
what do they sound like? Jesu comes to mind with all of the deep, lush guitar sounds, but the band will likely draw the most comparisons from, yes, Explosions in the Sky. the biggest difference between the two bands lies chiefly in their differing styles. being a pair of instrumental bands from Texas who are both known for their lengthy and powerfully evocative soft/loud compositions, i can see how TWDY might be written off as a johnny-come-lately, but there is a key difference in style that separates and distinguishes these two bands. for my ears, EITS generally weave tapestries of intricate melodic lines that shift and overlap in a rather linear, story-telling manner. TWDY on the other hand, seem to me to be a bit more abstract. a pattern i have noticed in their compositions is how they take a melodic line, deconstruct it into it's basic chords, and shred it apart. there is something beautiful, almost hypnotic, about the way they present and destroy their songs; for a few seconds, i can just lose myself in it, like watching Matisse deconstruct a statue of a panther with his bare hands.
on the strength of the EP alone, i am convinced this is one of those bands i need to see live, and from the live clips of them that are out there, they appear to put on a good show. i have been cranking these tunes at work and at home over the past couple of months, but i still get the feeling that it would be even better live. regrettably, i missed an opportunity to see them a couple of weeks ago in fort worth and again last sunday at the House on Swiss just a few blocks away. i certainly hope they find their way back to the metroplex later this year.
they recently released their self-titled LP. it appears to be generating some buzz, and after a few SXSW appearances, they embark on a european tour. hit up their myspace page for a few examples of their work. "Burial on the Presidio Banks" is particularly interesting, like standing on the beach, watching a tidal wave approach, and then being crushed by it.
with many thanks to my friend Whitney for hooking me up, i had the pleasure, once again, this past Monday to watch and listen as Explosions in the Sky performed much of their new album along with a few older favorites (1st Breath After Coma, Memorial, Greet Death, Your Hand in Mine). what a show! the performance, mix, energy: the whole thing was great. that's really all i can say.
here are the "good" pictures i ended up with from the show.
and here is a clip of Memorial from the show. the microphone on my camera wasn't quite up to the task, unfortunately.
oh! and three cheers for all the great shows in the area lately! The Shins, Ken Andrews, Mur; EITS, TV on the Radio, Ted Leo, and Guster this week; Amon Tobin and Ben Gibbard next month (not together, two separate shows ;-). that's something to sing about. it's the most wonderful time of the year, again!
so often over the past year or more, i have heard phrases such as "otherworldly" or "American Radiohead" bandied about to describe Louisville, Kentucky's own My Morning Jacket, and though, apt descriptors they are, i found them to also be woefully insufficient. having heard such praises being sung for this quintet for, again, about a year or more, in typical mandesean fashion, i set myself to looking into them just a couple of months ago now after noticing a four-LP vinyl copy of their live album Okonokos for sale at the local record shop.
i had a best buy gift card yet to use from Christmas, so i grabbed the DVD version, popped it in, and bought all four of their full albums (and the vinyl of Okonokos) shortly thereafter. these guys (or maybe it's just Jim James, i don't know) make some of the more, what i can only call, strange rock compositions i've heard recently. and "strange", of course, is a great thing in this context. keep in mind that i'm talking about a band from Louisville, which is home to other other "strange" but wonderful rock-ish acts. *cough* Slint *cough* (who by the by have scheduled dates in europe for this year).
so, again, i ask myself what is going on in Louisville to bear great bands such as MMJ. according to interviews with the band i have read, it has to do with Louisville itself. part progressive, part south, artsy, homely, a little shady, maybe. sounds a little like Austin to me, and i'm told that place turns out some good musicians as well ;-)
at any rate, they're music blows me away with its bizarre arrangements. check out "What a Wonderful Man" or "Run Thru" or the totally rockin' "One Big Holiday" in particular to get a better idea of what i am talking about. according to my brain, the changes in style and delivery should not work, but, somehow, they do! and they work the in the very same way all good rock music works: it makes you move. that is, it moves you. a large part of this is due to songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Jim James, whose "reverb soaked" (another much bandied descriptor for you) vocals are as distinct as they are beautiful. to contrast the smooth, haunting, big touch the reverb adds, i find many imperfections in the vocal tracks of MMJ's recordings. many would (and probably do) scoff at such "laziness", but for me it adds to the beauty of the music all the more. there's that raw, human edge there, like some of Zepplin's recordings capturing the moment, that make the work as a whole all the more human and all the more perfect in its imperfection. for probably my favorite example of this, listen to "Anytime" from the album Z, their latest release. the way Jim James's voice cracks on the opening line of the verse nearly brings me to tears every time. here's a guy who's ripping out his heart for us all to see and rocking with his whole ass to make sure we see it still beating. his lyrics on that one are alright, too ;-)
as to the comparisons, well sure, ok, i can see 'em. Coldplay's big sound is there. that is, the not over-produced sound from their earlier work as my buddy Steve pointed out. "Gideon" from Z sounds strikingly like "Clocks" to me and in a good, not-a-rip-off way. Radiohead is the big one the critics seem to throw around all the time. hell, i throw it around in hopes of grabbing people's attention, so they'll check them out. it tends to work and for good reason. the songwriting, lyrics, hooks, unorthodox arrangements that really rock, and ethereal soundscapiness seem to nod at Mr. Yorke and company. finally, there's the genre-fication of "southern rock", which, too, is fitting. many of MMJ's tunes either breakdown into a rocking jam or simply are a rocking jam, and during which, either there will be a great lead guitar line or simply the entire band is in the throes of a fantastic southern rock groove. so, yes, all of these are indeed fitting comparisons for MMJ's music. however, that isn't the whole picture, and i invite you to hear for yourself how this fantastic rock outfit blends those influences into something wholly and uniquely their own.
i had the good pleasure of watching Isis and Tool perform at the Double-A-C a few weeks ago. these days i tend to not get too excited about anything, but as the day wore on and while my buddy Steve and i were making our way to the venue-plex, i did find myself a little bit excited.
Isis took the stage shortly after we found our seats and grabbed a beer. i am passingly familiar with the works of Isis, having been turned on to their intense post-rock stylings a couple years ago. in my mind, if you properly coerced Explosions in the Sky and, maybe say, Tool to, uh, commingle, you might yield offspring similar to Isis. if anyone else, they're like Explosions or Pelican or Mogwai, so if that's your bag, grab it. i didn't recognize any of the tunes from their set, but as it turns out, they played one song from Panopticon (which i do not own) while the rest of the set was from a forthcoming album. at any rate, they rocked it. the cool thing about Isis is that even when they're playing clean, theirs is a powerful sound. i don't much care for scream-vocals in general, but with such emotive compositions, this did not detract from my experience. so yes, very much recommended are Isis.
after hearing word that they had postponed their gig in San Antonio due to Maynard's illness, i was more than a little concerned about the quality of the performance we would be treated to if at all. as it turned out, we were treated quite well. to perhaps overemphasize the point, let me say that any lingering trepidation i might have had regarding the merits of 10,000 Days have been thoroughly absolved now.
i'll get to the setlist and whatnot in a moment. the stage setup demands some time first. if you had been to a Tool show for either of the Lateralus-era tours, you are familiar with the band's stage orientation. this time around, there were significant modifications to this setup. in place of screens flanking the band, there were strings of lights behind the band (similar to what they had during the Aenima tour) and laser light rig reminiscent of Pink Floyd or something. the lasers kicked in (unless my memory is failing me) during Rosetta Stoned and made for some very cool visuals. speaking of visuals! twice during the concert, during Lost Keys and then during the "intermission" before Vicarious, people started raising their lighters. it was quite an effect: a sea of tiny flames everywhere i turned. i was really pretty to see, like being in a huge church or something. heh, i wonder if that happened at the show at SMU back in May.
you may be asking yourself, "but if there aren't any screens, where did they project the standard Tool-ish video clips?" well, that's the neat part, and from what i've heard it is Tool's way to getting back at scalpers and those that buy scalped front-row seats. the fact of the matter is that if you were seated anywhere near the floor, you couldn't properly see the videos because they were being projected onto the all-white stage floor. the chaotic star-maps and Area 51 stuff during Rosetta was pretty cool though, as was the smoke and fire stuff during The Pot. the jumbo-tron was also showing these, but the required angle i'd have had to crane my neck kept my eyes on the stage most of the time.
and that's where most of the action was anyway, aside from the not so inconspicuous stoners and other nutcases. Tool played everything on 10,000 days except Right in Two, along with Stinkfist, 46&2, Aenema, Lateralus, and Schism. that's right: they played Rosetta Stoned *and* Wings for Marie Parts 1 + 2. not only that, but Maynard, as far as my ears are concerned, was spot-on. he ducked out on one line from Aenima, and that's the only glitch i saw in his performance. i don't know what concert the "reviewer" from the Dallas Morning News attended. there were a couple of rough spots during Rosetta and Wings, but i don't think it detracted too much from the overall performance.
overall, the sound was alright, but far from perfect, and this may be due to the venue being more or less a cavernous echo chamber of concrete and steel. it seemed a little muddy to my ears, but i'm no audiophile. strangely enough, Steve noticed (during 46&2) that the louder Tool played, the cleaner their sound became. let me tell you that the drum feature (solo?) during the middle of 46&2 was simply amazing. wow.
a Tool show wouldn't be a Tool show without a little banter from Maynard. as is the case with Mr. Keenan, his interaction with the crowd was sparse (Tool's all about the musics, man). other than mentioning that he was still sick, Maynard didn't have much to say until towards the end of their set at which point he began a running gag about how he had to take a leak. at one point (during the intermission maybe) he said that the show was over because he needed to go to the bathroom and return some videos. so, they played for about another half hour ;-) the best part was during Aenima when he swapped out the lyrics "learn to swim" with "gotta piss" and "insecure actresses" with "insecure urinals". however, my favorite was "i wanna watch it go right in, and then, i'll flush it all away..." brilliant!
that's pretty much all i have to say about that. the show was entertaining, moving and inspiring, and i wouldn't expect anything less from these guys.
generally, it takes me a while to get into a new Tool album (or any really good, really different album for that matter), but after three weeks, i am still experiencing a bit more trouble with 10,000 days. on the one hand, there music is unmistakably Tool, crazy time signatures, double-bass, and all, but by the same token it seems far too.....not Tool. having listened to the album three times all the way through, i can say that it is growing on me, but not at a promising rate. i can't put my finger on it, but something just doesn't click for me on this one. my first impression, which kind of still holds for me, was that the album wasn't as "new" as i had expected it to be. instead of being that sound which inspires people until the next Tool album comes out, i thought they were showing influence other bands have had on *them*. i haven't delved into Meshuggah yet, so i cannot say if there is anything to that theory. i mean, how can you *not* show your influences, right? so, yeah, nevermind that idea. if they're making the music they want to be making, that's all that matters.
this isn't to say that i don't like the album. there are some really outstanding moments on this record, and maybe a few more listens to help me see more of the full picture. i find that a live show can really help clarify and convey a musician's work, but unfortunately, i, along with surely countless other local Tool fans, did not have $300+ for scalped tickets. oh well, they'll be back this fall.
i have, however, found a band that i did like right off the bat. during a late saturday night Steak 'n Shake run (don't ask), i happened upon one of the University of North Texas radio station's "popular music" programs. strangely enough, i had the radio on and not some cd. yeah, go figure. KNTU, a delightful aberration upon the barren airwaves of the DFW metroplex, generally plays jazz like 90% of the time or something, the exceptions being on the weekend evenings whereupon they broadcast "not-jazz". so, as i await in rapt anticipation the delivery of a VERY NECESSARY chocolate shake, a song by the band Follow the Train comes on. this song in question is called 1939 from their ep "The Great Disturbance", and it had me immediately. i don't know what they're putting in the water over there in Louisville, Kentucky (surely all those coal mines would've had wide-sweeping affects long ago, right?), but it seems to nurture good, refreshing music...or musicians, whatever. the point is that this atmospheric and haunting music is breathtaking, and if it is, in fact, inspired by the surrounding landspace, cricks, hollers, lush music scene and all, of Louisville, i need to book my ass over to them there parts, post haste.
i suppose this is a place where i can just talk about things, any things, mind you, at length and, even, ad nauseum, and seeing as it has been some time since i last wrote, here we go:
my allergies have been killing me for the past few days. headaches, stuffy nose, runny nose, itchy eyes, and so on and so forth, my symtoms abound, and it seems that even with all the anti-allergy "meds" that i am taking, i still manage to have snot dripping out of my nose holes at an alarming rate. yes, even when they seem stopped air-tight. it's great because there are times when i will not be able to breathe, at all, through my nose. most of the time, it is simply one nostril, which is manageable, sure, but sometimes (that is, when i'm trying to sleep), it's both. let me tell you, it doesn't get any better than waking up after a few hours of breathing through your mouth.
to add to this bothersome state of sinusoidal affairs, amid the pens and staplers of the office supply closet, there is no cache of kleenexes or any adequate, generic brand available. so, being left to my own devices, i have found a reasonable alternative, but i fear the folks at work will soon notice something strange is happening to the kitchen's supply of napkins.
i'll close with this brief, but related, observation for those of you out there to ponder: one can only imagine how much of my own mucus has been transmitted to the many items with which my hands frequently come into contact during the course of my day (i.e. keyboard, mouse, handshakes, people's lunches in the office fridge, etc). i'll pause for a moment to let the possibilities sink in...
so, yeah, other than that, i love spring time.
...and yes, i am actually washing my hands a lot.
