New Bloc Party Single: Hunting for Witches

Bloc Party’s third single off of their newest album (and one of my favorites of all time) A Weekend In The City has been released today in the form of Hunting for Witches. Not only does the single include the excellent song it gets its name after, but it also contains a new B-Side, Cavaliers and Roundheads, and a remix of Uniform by James Rutledge (whom I’ve honestly never heard of). I highly recommend the new B-Side, it being an incredibly growing and catchy song that echoes of the Bloc Party of the past. Check it out here or on iTunes.

Must Love Stats: How Web 2.0 is Fueling our Statistics Hunger

Statistics have been around since, well, anything has been worth keeping track of. The much used and much cliched phrase “just another statistic” is echoed throughout many different cultures, all with different meanings and connotations, both positive and negative. Now, in our modern web world, we are being bombarded with more and more statistics, ranging from the truly useful to the truly atrocious. What began this stat craze? In the current standing, all signs point to the O’Reilly Media company, which first coined the ever popular term “Web 2.0” back in 2003. Web 2.0, the hailed “second-coming” of the internet as we all know it, ushered in a new brand of web, one with shiny gradients, overly protuberant fonts and glossy buttons (usually of the star persuasion). Along with websites getting this fresh coating, our favorite statistics were also candy covered and served to us, just waiting to cause cavities.

 

Our love of statistics in the Web 2.0 atmosphere is most evident in the juggernaut that is MySpace. While not particularly Web 2.0 in appearance (and not a particularly good website either), the stat tracking available on this site is utterly astounding. Don’t believe me? Go to your profile (which I know you have, as everyone seems to these days) and track this for me: How many friends do you have? How many comments? How many profile views? How many blog posts? How many comments solely on blog posts? What are your details? When is the last time you logged in? I could truly go on for however long you would like to stare at your poorly designed custom MySpace page (which, I pray, is no longer). All of these statistics have one thing in common: they are all entirely pointless. What does it matter if you have 23480 friends on MySpace? Do you actually know half of them? Of course not! Then again, the internet was built on this unstable foundation uselessness, so I can’t really argue it too much. Even still, tracking stats on MySpace is a dumb, meaningless affair, used only to keep teenagers coming back day after day for ad revenue (which I know they make more of in a day than you will make in your entire life. Sorry.).

 

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum of statistics comes those of Last.fm, the social music website recently purchased by CBS for £140m ($280m), making it the largest UK Web 2.0 purchase of all time. Once a user signs up for a Last.fm account, he or she can download a plugin known as Audioscrobbler which will monitor and track all of the music you play on your computer (or even iPod with a separate plugin). This information is then displayed for all the world to see on your own custom Last.fm page. Now, those uninitiated with Last.fm may be wondering what this type of information may be good for. For those in the know, they understand just how valuable this tracking is. Using your scrobbles (as they are so aptly and lovingly named by Last users), the site can give you recommendations for new bands, find shows in your area you would like and link you up with other people who dig the same music you do. The community on Last.fm is one to be applauded and one that everyone should try out if only to find some new tunes. This is Web 2.0 stat tracking as it should be: clear, concise and with real, meaningful purpose.

 

Another site that gets a nod for achievement in statistics based products is the social news website Digg. Digg allows users to submit news stories in numerous categories – everything from technology news (on which the site was originally based) all the way to Entertainment and 2008 US Elections news. Once submitted, stories can be “dugg” by other users and, once a story gets enough diggs, get moved to the front page, a storied slab of HTML for only the most worthy of news (or something to do with Ubuntu, Apple, or cuteness). However, the statistics powerhouse that is Digg doesn’t lie in how many diggs a story gets, or how many comments are tracked, or how many stories a user has dugg, etc. etc., but instead in the presentations available. Within Digg is a playhouse of sorts for ideas from Digg developers, known as Digg Labs. In the Labs, there are four official Digg projects: Arc, BigSpy, Stack and Swarm. Each of these projects have their own unique way of delivering data in a way that makes it interesting and, dare I say it, fun. In fact, these Digg Labs projects are so popular that a recent contest was held to choose the best uses of the Digg API. The three most popular ones, Digg City, Digg Charts and Digg Expose, are all just different ways of displaying statistics to the masses.

 

My question is this: have you ever willingly looked at numerous different applications just to get the same exact data in a different way? Of course not, hence why so many people hate the monotony of statistics. But, thanks to websites such as Digg and the Web 2.0 movement, stats are becoming increasingly popular with every tracked comment and every digg. This movement is only just beginning, with more and more websites flooding the internet everyday (for better or for worse), giving you something more to track and observe. Could there have perhaps been a better waste of time and energy than statistics? Maybe, though the popularity of Web 2.0 (and my 1,300 Bloc Party scrobbles) say otherwise.

Avada Kedavra

My band, Avada Kedavra, now has a MySpace (like all bands should these days, or so I’m told). Basically, it’s Harry Potter Grindcore, or Wizardcore, if you will. Check us out and be prepared to be tortured via music even worse than a Cruciatus curse.

Avada Kedavra on MySpace

Jamendo: My New Favorite Place For Music

Now, I like free music as much as the next guy, and maybe even more so. However, most free music is a little bit less than, eh, legal, meaning I could be infiltrated, seized, sued, and killed (well, maybe not that one) all for a simple folder of MP3s. A strange world we live in, no?

Luckily I have found Jamendo. Basically, it is a place for people to put their music online so it can be heard (like music should). All of this for free. Not only that, but the BitTorrent speeds are fantastic (even on my lame connection with only a few seeds, I get 100+kB/s at all times). In terms of the music itself, everything I’ve heard has been very, very high quality. My favorites are the Celestial Aeon Project, a great orchestral soundtrack that makes relaxation quite easy. I also like Rob Costlow, a solo pianist, whose songs are incredibly well-composed and played. On the heavier side, I really like anything by JT Bruce.

So check out Jamendo, register, and download some great music. If you’ll excuse me, I have about 50 new albums that need listening…and I need to run to the store for a bigger hard drive.

Apple iPhone

You’ve already read about it, so I will spare you the details. Just look at this thing:

Somebody give me $500 right now.

Knytt – 16-Bit Platforming Freeware Action

It appears as though my day has just been made, thanks in full part to Nifflas’ Knytt, a 16-bit style, 2D platformer that is just too awesome not to talk about. Taking cues from Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, Doukutsu Monogatari and Seiklus, Knytt is about a young Knytt (the little guy you play as) who has been abducted by an alien. After going through space, the UFO hits a meteor and crash lands on the nearby planet. Once landed, you must find the parts to repair your ship. From there, soothing 2D platforming action ensues to my (and hopefully your) great pleasure. The game looks beautiful, has very simple, but incredibly fun gameplay and some of the best, most soothing music seen this side of Colossus. You must try this game out, I can already say it is one of my favorite games on my computer (and I have quite a few, let me assure you of that). Get Knytt here (click here for installer) and get playing.

Note: this game comes form the same maker of Within A Deep Forest, a game with a similar style that I also wholeheartedly recommend. Now back to playing Knytt…

I’m one of the first Diggers!

In an unexpected turn of events, it appears as though I have made it on a list that I had no idea existed until all of a few minutes ago. Today was Digg.com’s 2nd birthday, so first I must say congratulations on changing the way I look at the internet and news. Digg is truly my favorite site of all time, and if you have never been to it, shame on you, and you should go now.

Moving on, it appears as though I am on the list of the First 10 Diggers who are still active. The list can be found here, on Digg’s blog. A proud day this is for me…I guess I need to go make a certificate for myself or something…just kidding .

Long live Digg!

Sega Saturn Thin-Pak Cover Project

I’ve stumbled upon what could be one of the coolest video game related projects on the web – even if it is only game covers. The Saturn Thin-Pak Cover Project aims to create covers for every game in the Saturn library, Thin-Pak style. The samples (click here and here) look great so far, and there are already over 90 covers. Plus, if you are into creating something cool like this, you can submit your own (using the provided template) and if you are the one with the most *quality* covers by Valentine’s Day 2007, you win a modded Saturn, courtesy of Mookyjooky (cover master). For all the info, check out both the original CAG thread and also the cover site set up by SaurianOverlord (Mooky’s right hand man). Oh, and also The Cover Project, by snowcone, which is where all the covers will eventually end up (and there is already quite an archive as it stands).

Man I really need a modded Saturn…

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Now get off this blog and go eat some foodstuffs.

Gears of War Thoughts

Gears of War, the most hyped-up, biggest game for the 360 is now upon. Having played the game for quite awhile now, I thought I should offer up my thoughts on this splendid blog of mine.

First of all, you will see the graphics. And you will marvel in them. They are truly next-gen in a way no other game has captured, and I would say it is the best looking game I have ever seen. On top of that, the frame rate is very smooth, with little slowdown at all (at least from what I’ve played). Characters and environments are detailed and have that grimy, dirty look to them that really put you inside this raging war between you and the Locust. Environments also take damage, contain great effects like bloom lighting, fire effects, and more. This game is truly THE GAME to show off to your buddies, if anyone is in that position.

But, as we’ve seen before, graphics aren’t everything. When it comes down to it, Gears of War is a shooter. It doesn’t have anything terribly innovative, but it does everything, and I mean everything, right. Cover works beautifully using only the A button; within an hour of playing, you will have no doubt mastered all the cover techniques, creating some great looking (and highly useful) cover combos (a personal favorite of mine is jumping right into cover, popping a few shots, then roadie running up to an enemy and letting them taste the old chainsaw – which is one of the best weapons ever I might add). Like I said, nothing super new, but it all just comes together in the most polished gaming package this side of Half-Life 2. Another plus is that the somewhat monotonous-on-paper idea of stop-n-pop game play doesn’t ever really get old. You constantly find yourself using new types of cover and new techniques and manuvers, which keep the game fresh and new, always. And with the wide variety of weapons and special enemies, its hard to get bored of killing those nasty Locust.

The Locust themselves are rather smart as well. While the A.I. isn’t perfect (some baddies, especially those who just got shot off the turrets, seem to have some problems shooting you) it is still plenty sufficient for a challenging game. It is one of the harder shooters of recent memory, something that I can appreciate as I don’t have endless amounts of cash to spend on a game, and I like to get my money’s worth.

Multiplayer in the game is, in some ways, barebones with only 4-on-4 matches, and something like 8 maps, but what is there is incredibly fun. The cover really adds a new aspect to the run-and-gun norm we have become accustomed to with games like Halo 2 and Unreal Tournament. There’s nothing like jumping out of cover to chainsaw some poor saps face either (for those who haven’t noticed, I’m a pretty big chainsaw fan).

I suppose the only negative thing I can say about the game is that the storyline isn’t very innovative. It has a very simple feel to it, with a basic “you get out of jail to find a gadget that can end the war”. While this isn’t too big of a negative, considering the genre and the fun had, it would have still been nice to see a more fleshed out narrative.

Overall, Gears of War is easily one of the best games for the system. Great graphics, fresh game play and intense firefights make this one a “hype live-up-tooer”, if you will. Snag this one right away (like you already haven’t).