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Channel Nine has decided that Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and Hells Kitchen is not enough Ramsay to satisfy the average Aussie viewer so it’s decided to add The F Word to it’s weekly lineup.
I’m not going to rant and rave but I’ll open it up to you guys:
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Telstra have just announced that they will be selling the iPhone 3G from July 11 which is a massive surprise to most of the Apple / Telecommunications community as up until now there was no official announcement and to be honest not too much rumor too.
Not only have Telstra hit us with a right hook they have followed with a stunning left jab by releasing pricing too at the same time! Whammy!
From their press release:
iPhone 3G will be available from Telstra on July 11 with a range of specially designed Next G™ iPhone 3G plans that meet the needs of any customer. The Next G iPhone 3G plans start at $30 per month with an upfront cost of $279 for the 8GB model and $399 for the 16GB model.
Customers will receive the 8GB iPhone 3G model at no cost with the $80 plan and either the 8GB or the 16GB model at no cost with plans starting at $100 per month. All plans include free Wi-Fi access at Telstra hotspots and require a 24-month contract.
Customers can find further information and register their interest in iPhone 3G by visiting a nearby Telstra Shop, calling 1800iPhone or going to www.telstra.com/iphone.
The price seems about right (although further info as to what the plans consist of is needed) and free WiFi just sweetens the deal. Optus and Vodafone better deliver the goods sooner than later to counter such a surprise attack.
If you’re one of the 16% percent of XBOX 360 owners who have had to replace their console due failure you would understand my frustration where all of the content (map packs, arcade titles) I had bought from the XBOX Live Marketplace became unplayable when not connected to the internet and signed into XBOX Live.
The reason for this is due to Microsoft’s crippling DRM (Digital Rights Management) and not taking into account that a significant amount of their users have had to replace (Microsoft call it upgrading) their console.
Now I can understand why DRM exists however the majority of companies either take DRM to ridiculous levels or don’t manage it properly, which is the case with Microsoft.
It’s taken a couple of years but now Microsoft has released an online tool to transfer the content licenses from one XBOX to another. It is a rather simple method and can be done online in a matter of minutes (make sure you are sitting next to your console) but the kicker is that you must re-download all of the content that was downloaded on the previous console. BUT you are not really downloading it again just re-downloading the license which is OK as you’re not going to use up lots of data but if you’re like myself I had to re-download 171 items one by fucking one.
That method both sucks and took up a large amount of my time. Why couldn’t the licenses be re-activated the next time I used that content? i.e. I start to play UNO and it contacts XBOX Live and sees that UNO is in fact licensed to my new console and it authorizes it and away I go.
No matter how frustrating this is it is good to see Microsoft address this issue and as you can only do this once every 12 months Microsoft appear to be rather confident that your new XBOX won’t be breaking anytime soon…
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox360/licensemigration/
After a rather lengthy hiatus Gav, Stu and Fu have regrouped and kicked off ‘Season 2′ of the HundredPennies podcast.
This episode we:
I hope you’re ready for the final part of my Alchemy Index review, since this ones going to be a big one feel free to skip to the final verdict if you’re too lazy to read. While I found Thrice’s first two volumes to be slightly lacking in depth, they’ve more than made up for the disappointing Water EP with the final two volumes of III:Air & IV: Earth.
Though concept album’s have been kicking around since the 60′s (The Who’s Tommy & Pink Floyd’s The Wall), most modern attempts at the Rock Opera seem to revolve around the principle of tying an album’s songs together through a storyline rather than a instrumental theme. (Green Day’s American Idiot, My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade and all of Coheed & Cambria’s albums). Therefore when I first heard that Thrice’s next album would revolve around capturing the raw feel & power of the elements I was intrigued to see what their interpretation of a concept album would be.
While the initial two volumes of The Alchemy Index succeeded at capturing the fury of fire & the calm of water they seemed to be lacking the heart & passion of previous Thrice Albums. The theory of a concept album only seemed to constrict their sound and resulted in too many songs sounding the same. Thankfully their previous experimentation seems to have paid off with volume III :Air & IV: Earth. So without further ado here’s my track by track review of Air & Earth.
Volume III: Air
Broken Lungs: The opening track begins with subtle guitar strumming, gentle drumming & a chime of bells before it hits it’s stride with a soft chorus at the minute mark. While it’s name brings to mind screaming vocals, at heart it’s really a mournful ballad about the S11 attacks ‘Cause we all watched the buildings fall, watched the scales fall from our eyes’. While the pace gently changes throughout, the anger is effectively held back until the final minutes when the drumming reaches a crashing peak & the vocals break out with ‘We want answers, scream from the roofs, we want justice, we want the truth’.
The Sky Is Falling: The lines ‘Your dance & jingo cabaret, it’s coming down’ perfectly sum up the feel of this hand clapping, bell jingling track. While this is one of the most pop sounding and catchy Thrice songs I’ve heard it’s contrasted with a conflicting message about war and the condition of the world, ‘I’m gonna be strong enough, not let my fear decide my fate, surrounded by *jingoists* , I don’t want any part of this’.
(* There’s your word for the day).
A Song For Milly Michaelson: Wind chimes, simple guitar chords and some beautiful singing are the only components in this song based on the 1980′s film The Boy Who Could Fly. While it’s probably not to everyone’s tastes it’s stripped back nature and haunting melody makes this the most effective sounding wind song on the EP.
Daedalus: This 6 min long tale, tells the story of Icarus’s father with a metaphoric message that could be interpreted as giving someone more responsibility than they’re ready for. Dominant instrumental work give this song a strong backbone to work with but the coarse vocals are a bit too gravelly to fit in with the wind theme. It’s also a bit too meandering and slow for my liking.
As The Crow Flies: Another acoustic track that sounds fairly similar to A song for Milly Michaelson. Mandolin & soft vocals conjure an airy peaceful atmosphere about a child growing up & spreading his wings. While it hasn’t grow on me as much as the earlier tracks it may appeal to those that like slower paced songs.
Silver Winds: Volume III is concluded with the synthetic beats of Silver Wings. While it sounds fairly similar to songs on the Water EP this one has more life due to prominent vocals that weave a less abstract and more personal tale about love & relationships. At only 2 min long it doesn’t really have enough room to spread its wings (excuse the pun) and would have benefited with a longer length.
Final verdict: Thrice have successfully managed to capture the ethereal nature of air on their third volume of The Alchemy Index. While the first three tracks on the EP contain poignantly powerful lyrics & interesting melodies the remaining songs seem to loose a bit of steam and unfortunately start to sound fairly familiar to each other. Additional guitar overlays and more drumming work would have alleviated these problems but as it stands this EP is much better than the boring drone of the Water volume. If your in the right frame of mind and just want to kick back & relax Air is definitely worth a listen and is a perfect contrast to the Fire EP.
80 / 100 pennies
Highlight Tracks
Broken Lungs
The Sky Is Falling
A Song For Milly Michaelson
Volume IV: Earth
Moving Mountains: This raw & sincere acoustic track appropriately sums up the earthy sounds found of Volume IV. The presence of twanging guitars, subtle foot stamps & absence of drums lend this track a real blues & roots style. The honest lyrics ‘All hidden things are opened up to me, but I don’t know the first thing about love’ are at the forefront of this song and showcase how far Dustin’s singing has progressed since the early days of Thrice. This simple yet effective track has become one of my favorite tracks from The Alchemy Index.
Digging My Own Grave: Another quality track that really has a life of it’s own. The prominent and mournful piano melody sets up an atmosphere thats probably not to everyones tastes and brings to mind Brand New at their depressive best. The title pretty much speaks for itself & I can only assume this is a fiction tale about resignation & defeat ‘You know cancer can’t catch me, let’s have another drink or three, don’t be a bore’.
The Earth Isn’t Humming: Some fantastic bass chords lend this one a real tribal beat that blends perfectly with the rich arpeggio style guitar chords. This heavily instrumental track gives the song plenty of weight while the powerful vocals are used to conjure an apocalyptic menace with the repeating message ‘Fall down’.
The Lion And The Wolf: A real stripped back song with soft vocals accompanied by more sombre piano. The presence of choral support vocals lend it an almost classical sound and while this may not appeal to everything it really shows that Thrice are capable of tackling any musical subject matter. The melody & fairy tale lyrics bring to mind a haunting brother’s Grimm tale but the words could also be interpreted as an anti war analogy ‘The lion’s outside of your door, the wolf’s in your bed, the lion’s claws are sharpened for war, the wolf’s teeth are red’.
Come All You Weary: This is the only earth track to contain drumming from Riley Breckenridge (he must have felt really left out on this EP) which lends the song an extra layer of depth and provides it with the same hypnotic quality as Burn The Fleet (from the Fire EP) . The rich timbre guitar sounds blend perfectly with the husky vocals & fit in with the laid back vibe.
Child Of Dust: The finale to the Alchemy Index doesn’t really live up to the hefty standards set on the previous tracks. Like all the final songs from each volume this ambient track is really a poem about man’s relationship with the elements. Since all these songs contain the same verse structure, vocal melody & chord progression (in a different key) it comes as no surprise that this tracks just as disappointing as the other finales. Interestingly there’s a dramatic cutout of the piano at the half way point with a muffling of vocals that convey the smothering feel of being buried alive. The last minute of silence is a stark ending to the album which symbolises returning to the earth through death (Either that or it could just mean that after 24 songs of The Alchemy Index, Thrice finally ran out of ideas of how to end it).
Final Verdict: The final volume of The Alchemy Index is a perfect example of how to embrace a concept album. While Volume I was fully of intense rage & power it’s lack of uniqueness didn’t really push the band into any new areas. On the flipside the antithetic nature of Volume II resulted in too much digital experimentation that ultimately resulted in a flat and lifeless EP. Fortunately Volume III breaths some new life into The Alchemy Index & perfectly captured the soothing & incorporeal nature of air. Volume IV brought Thrice back to earth with heartfelt acoustic numbers that showcased the spirited nature of the elements. I would definitely rate Volume IV my favorite EP from The Alchemy Index and would place it just under the sublime Vheissu as my favorite Thrice release. The only downside is that they didn’t make this EP into a full album and therefore I can only wait to see where their next evolution of sound will take them.
90/100 pennies
Highlight Tracks (yep pretty much all of them)
Moving Mountains
Digging My Own Grave
The Earth Isn’t Humming
The Lion And The Wolf
Come All You Weary
Congratulations to Heath Tully for ticking off yet another of his goals on project 183.
For those unaware this project consists of completing 183 various goals/achievements before the time he hits 30. So far he’s completed 32 of these goals including, getting a motorcycle license, being a contestant on a TV game show, completing a rubic’s cube in under 183 seconds & abstaining from alcohol for 100 consecutive days.
While he’s a bit far behind the pace he’s set there’s still ~5 yrs to go so it’ll the project will definitely keep him busy till then. Considering I’ve only got two goal’s in my life at the moment (drink as much as I can & not die from it), heath’s attempt is ambitious & has even inspired me to maybe try one myself (watching the 50 lowest rated movies on the imdb website).
Anyway the real reason for this post was to document Heath’s successful attempt at traveling the entire train network all within the space of one day (it was on Tuesday but I suppose this posts better late than never). While other people have said to have done the same thing, this attempt was captured on an online web blog & even managed to get him in the news & on TV (look ma, i’m famous!). I don’t know how he managed to survive all the hobo’s or being bored to death, but all up it took him ~ 18hrs.
Anyway, the project 183 website is an interesting read so check it out if you’ve got some time to kill.
If you’ve read my previous post then you should know that Thrice have recently announced an Australian tour to promote the release of the final volumes in their Alchemy Index project. I therefore though it would be a good time to write up a full review of this ambitious four volume epic, which I’ll be breaking up into two parts. Without further ado here’s my coverage of Volume I (Fire) & Volume II (water).
Volume I, heralds it’s arrival with an air raid siren on the start track Firebreather. This heavy hitting song smashes all the right notes with thrashing guitar & thunderous drum work that mash together with some contrastingly soft vocals & a choral harmony near the end. This heavy, hard & intense sound sums up the overall feeling for the first volume.
This vibe is continued with The Messenger which has Dustin using his powerful vocals to blunt & direct effect. With a relatively short length this song doesn’t really introduce anything new into Thrice’s repertoire but it should appease fans as it sounds very similar to work on their earlier albums Artist In The Ambulance & to a lesser extent Vheissu.
Backdraft is given a bit more room to breath with a 4 min running time and an atmospheric start containing an acoustic guitar & a simple drum beats that work well to suck you in. This soft introduction is broken at the minute mark with some hefty riffs and a ripping chorus.
The Arsonist follows the Backdraft by ripped straight into a pounding beat and some dark lyrics ” I love this city, but I’ve set and numbered its days. I love this city, enough that I’ll set it ablaze”. Since there’s so much going on in this track it nay take a number of listens before you’ll be able to pin point all the elements that make it work. The rumbling bass work, interplaying guitars and empowered drum solo’s means you’ll really need to crank up this track to get the most from it.
Burn the Fleet is a soothing contrast to the previous Fire tracks & has a slower tempo which takes a while to wrap your head around. The crashing drums & soaring vocals perfectly complement each other and are hypnotically captivating (like an arsonist to a flame). This is the standout track on Volume I and is one of those compelling tracks that builds on you the more you listen to it.
The first volume is then concluded with the anticlimactic The Flame Deluge. The eerie distorted piano introduction is the highlight of this track & sounds like a melody from a broken music box. Unfortunately the rest of the song is ruined with undecipherable screaming vocals that crunch & grind their way through the ear like broken glass. Thankfully there’s a bit of relief with a final soothing vocal harmony fadeout.
In summary Volume I will likely please old school Thrice fans or those into metalcore music. While it would have been nice to see a bit more diversity throughout the album, songs tracks like Firebreather, The Arsonist and Burn The Fleet are strong additions to the bands already impressive back catalog.
Final Rating: 80 / 100 pennies
Volume II, begins with the appropriately titled Digital Sea. This opener contains a slow electronic back beat, dreary vocals & stripped back instrumental work which unfortunately sets the scene for the rest of the album. Maybe it’s my short attention span but this means every track seems to surge together into one coma inducing snooze fest. I’ll therefore skip the song descriptions & just give you my opinion on the album as a whole.
I was originally expecting the interpretation of water to echo the ebb & flow of an open sea and to conjuring an atmosphere of conflicting rage and calm. While Thrice have managed to nail the calming part, all of the tracks ultimately feel empty & lifeless.
This is mainly attributed to the overuse of digital effects & synthesised beats which were engineered by guitarist Teppei Teranishi (cool name). All the songs thereby sound like they’ve been manufactured by a computer rather than having the vibe of a whole band working together. This means the subdued vocals & instruments are often drowned out by digital noise thereby making making the whole album feel real laid back & mellow. Therefore if you’re in a mood to chill out or if you enjoy techno influenced harmonies then you may get more out of this album than I did.
Final Rating: 50 / 100
In conclusion while Thrice have effectively managed to capture the energy & intensity of the fire element on Volume I, they’ve unfortunately missed the mark with Volume II’s dreary techno babble bubble tracks which just sound boring.
Fortunately Thrice have greatly redeemed themselves with the final two volumes III:Air & IV: Earth which I’ll be covering in part II of my Alchemy Index writeup so stay tuned.
My 12″ PowerBook died (may you rest in peace ‘Pete’) so I promptly replaced him with ‘Black Betty’ my shiny matte new MacBook. I loved the size and style of ‘Pete’ but a brand spanking Intel processor a couple of GB’s of RAM and all the other treats that ‘Betty’ has to offer has made the mourning period rather brief.
As with all new Macs ‘Betty’ comes with an inbuilt iSight and I thought I should do something with it so following in the footsteps of Raj and many others I’ve decided to take one photo a day for the next 365 days.
Below is Day 1:
Follow my progress at Flickr and subscribe to my RSS feed here!
You can now follow HundredPennies on Twitter! Every time there is a new post or something of interest we’ll also do a tweet so you’ll always be in the loop and know when there is something fresh just for you.
Follow HundredPennies at http://www.twitter.com/hundredpennies and while you’re at it follow Gavin, Stu and Crazyman too.
Just read this morning from the good guys over at Bombshellzine that Thrice have recently announced a tour to coincide with the completion of their ambitious & variable Alchemy Index albums.
Melbourne is the only state lucky enough to host two shows so make sure you don’t miss the chance to see Thrice playing at the Corner Hotel on Saturday 30th & Sunday 31st of August. Details for the other shows can be found here.
Tickets go on sale this Friday (20th) from 9am & can be picked up from the Corner Hotel box office. The website hasn’t posted the gig yet so no word yet on ticket prices but make sure to check back as they’ll be going quick no matter what the cost.
It will be interesting to see whether they’ll play the Alchemy Index in full or whether they’ll mix up the set with some older material (hopefully anything off my favorite albumVheissu ). That’s about it for the tour info but I’m thinking of writing ranting about the Alchemy Index in another post so check back later in the week.
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