Rock Band Unplugged

Harmonix is one of my favorite video game developers because, in a way, they are not trying to be video game developers. They started out trying to find a way to bring the experience of making music to people who don’t play instruments or sing, and before really striking a chord in the hearts of millions with Guitar Hero, they released two great games called Frequency and Amplitude. They have returned to that original concept with their newest game, Rock Band Unplugged for the PSP.

Like those two games, Unplugged tasks the player with activating multiple instruments, Rock Band‘s signature drums, vocals, guitar and bass. This is done by perfectly playing a section of the track, which activates the instrument for a little while, so you can address the other three. The controls are very precise, and the songs are tabbed well, although it can be occasionally difficult to find the tempo when switching between tracks.

Unplugged offers the standard World Tour mode as its main way to play, and sadly it just doesn’t work as well in this setting. The game is entirely single player, and having to play the same tracks over and over gets old, especially with some tracks that have been around in these games for ever, like “Carry on my Wayward Son.” In fact, far too much of the track list is recycled for people like me, who still play Rock Band 2 every week. There are like ten new songs in the game, which are great, I just wish there was more. There is DLC too, but it’s priced the same as console DLC, and I can’t bring myself to spend my money like that.

But that’s not to say this game isn’t fun. This is a lot a fun, and even playing the old songs the first few times is a pretty great experience. You just get worn out. There’s little motivation to keep playing too, since the character customization is pretty limited. But if you’re in the mood, this can be a blast. Just consider getting something like DJMAX or Ouendan first.

The Dead Weather – Horehound

Now I like Jack White as much as the next guy but c’mon a third band? It’s almost like he’s just trying to rub it in our faces that he’s a big rock star and that he can basically do whatever the hell he wants. Now taking on drum duties, along with some occasional vocals, guitar and of course producing duties, let’s get to know the other members of his latest supergroup first.

First is Alison Mosshart (Who’s also featured on the album cover) of The Kills who takes on the front-man or should I say front-woman role with most of the lead vocals and guitar. I’d actually heard The Kills last album Midnight Boom which had kind of a catchy lo-fi charm to it and although Mosshart may not be the most gifted vocalist, she easily makes up for it with personality and all out energy. Next is multi instrumentalist Dean Fertita (primarily the guitarist of the group I believe) who’s probably best known as the keyboard player for The Queens of the Stone Age and as a touring member of The Raconteurs (I saw him play with them live at The Moore). Finally is bassist Jack Lawrence, the bassist for The Raconteurs and rock trio The Greenhornes… Whatever happened to them I have no idea. So all in all a well blended group of musicians.

Now I was basically ready to trash this album before it even came out. I figured “Why should I care about Jack White’s table scraps?” But even though you can definitely hear his influence, he’s really just another member of the band. As a matter of fact, Alison Mosshart wrote the bulk of the album and the result is a nice n’ raw collection of bluesy garage rock. I love all the blaring vintage organs, crunchy over-distorted guitars and intense percussion. Lead off single “Hang You from the Heavens” is an early standout with “Treat Me Like Your Mother” close behind, followed by plenty of other some hard rockin’ tracks.

The Dead Weather may not be as catchy as The Raconteurs or as interesting as The White Stripes and there really isn’t any “great” songs here but it finds a mildly compelling mid-ground and should satisfy most Jack White fans. It’s not a very accessible album and kind of fizzles out around the last three tracks but for the majority of the album it’s a fairly enjoyable ride.

Favorite Tracks: “Hang You from the Heavens”, “I Cut Like a Buffalo”, “Treat Me Like Your Mother”

Moon

Further postponing my “Top Ten Baseball Movies” due to the fact that I still need to see a few more films, here are my thoughts on the relatively new indie/sci-fi flick Moon. Directed by first timer Duncan Jones (AKA Zowie Bowie, the son of David Bowie) and filmed on a minimal budget, Moon is low-key sci-fi thriller propelled by the performance of it’s talented lead and atmospheric surroundings.

Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is an astronaut employed by Lunar Industries to extract helium-3, as a solution to the Earth’s energy crisis. Stationed at a lunar base for almost three years, Sam (along with only a computer companion named Gerty (Kevin Spacey) now eagerly awaits his return home to his family. Though with no more than a few weeks left, Sam’s mental state slowly starts to deteriorate, leading him to discover that things may not be as they seem.

There’s not a lot I can say about the story without revealing too much, but Moon certainly has it’s fair share of twists and turns and is compelling both as science fiction film and a drama of the psychological variety. Rockwell’s more or less one man show is quite impressive as he never fails to disappoint with his enthusiasm and rather oddball charm. The voice of Kevin Spacey is also a nice touch and despite the minimal cast, there’s rarely a dull moment.

Naturally the strong acting and intriguing story are a driving force, but I find the film’s setting and atmosphere to be the true centerpiece. The desolate and dreary landscapes are beautifully photographed and some of the model work has an excellent retro charm to it. I’ve heard some critics compare Moon to Douglas Trumbull’s 1972 ecological sci-fi film Silent Running and I definitely see a resemblance in the style and even some of the themes and other elements.

Duncan Jones looks to have a bright future ahead of him, especially if he keeps to sci-fi. It’s always nice to get somewhat of a throwback in the genre opposed to some of the loud and flashy sci-fi films of today. So far it’s been these indie flicks that have kept me coming to the theaters this summer and it’s always a nice change of pace. Moon will probably challenge some moviegoers patience with it’s somewhat slow pacing or lack of extravagant effects but I found it to be a mildly entertaining little sci-fi flick and would recommend it to sci-fi fans.