No NMT today, but...

I am working on a Top 15 albums of 2010 list to post as soon as I'm finished deciding and writing. Also I'm in the midst of preparing for another physiology exam so thats another reason for it getting left out this week. However, here are some links/topics that might be interesting to people as something to either waste your time with or judge me for wasting my time on them!

-I recently found Audacity after I realized that I don't need to use any fancy mic's just to record simple ideas. With this realization I figured there has to be some sort of free audio editing software out there and Audacity is what I found. Pretty easy to use, and as long as you don't care that the sound quality from your computer's internal mic is awful, really easy to record and export as an mp3 for reviewing.

-After this find, I wanted to find a digital synthesizer for putting together some beats and rhythms to practice with. While I've found a program, I am awful with it. I found the FLStudio demo, which seems to be pretty in depth, but I am pretty much garbage when it comes to actually trying to come up with something that doesn't immediately give me a headache. Though, through all of this its made me think that taking an electronic music, and music production class at some point would probably allow me to really grow a bit and give me more confidence with what I do write. And I AM writing now. So watch out world. I'm not just talking about maybe-possibly-somehow doing it at some point in the near future anymore.

-Found a link from VGCats to this free game called Octodad the other day. Just watch the trailer and if you laughed as much as I did, you should go download it and try it out. Wacky and weird game.

-Oh and I saw the Dandy Warhols this past Sunday with Becca. It was pretty cool seeing live, but they were definitely visibly tired with this being the last show of their tour and Courtney just looking completely wiped. Zia kept up the energy though and it was nice to go to a rock concert that had people actually dancing and moving to the music, as opposed to the cool indie 'stand and look like you are above everyone' look. (And yes, I know everyone is dancing at the electronica and more dance oriented band shows).

Thats it for now, back to the books.

Oh yah, and if you haven't seen the stop motion Community, you need to.

NMT: Daft Punk's 'Tron: Legacy' Soundtrack

Now usually I start one of these reviews with a bit of my own personal background with the band and how I 'found' them and so on. But this is Daft Punk. Everyone and their mom knows them (including mine). My first album I owned of theirs was Discovery and I've been hooked since I was given it for Christmas of '01. That album has led to so many things ranging from arguments, dancing sessions, an inordinate amount of nostalgic conversations and good feelings.

Their other releases (Homework, Human After All, Alive 1997 & 2007) have similar good feelings and thousands of plays from my various audio devices. So needless to say, hearing word that Daft Punk would be involved with the score/soundtrack of the new Tron left me frothing at the mouth.

Now being familiar with their film work with Interstella 5555 and Electroma, I was fairly sure that this was not going to be a 'typical' Daft Punk album. Not that any of them have been typical when compared to their antecedent, its just that this was not going to be as much of an electronic pop album. Its the score to a film with appropriate drama and instrumentation to fit the epic visuals and feeling of a large scale sci-fi film.

Starting out with the overture, the album sets an appropriate tone for the rest of the album, with a somber and dark classical music styled progression with crashing symbols and a hint of digital distortion; coming off as a less bombastic 'Zarathustra' as seen through the eyes of the French electronic duo. This track sets the tone for the score which follows with amalgam's of digital effects and full outright orchestration, providing strong and moving soundscapes that I am sure will more than back up the film when it is released on December 17th.

The album works well as a mood setter and has particularly energetic 'stand-out' tracks such as 'Derezzed' (which has just received a new music video release), 'End of the Line', and 'Arena' which gives you a taste of what the albums most electronic and energetic tracks will be built upon.

My only criticisms come as a Daft Punk fan looking for individual tracks to pick out and play for friends and in the car, but I won't let those mar how I view this album. As the track 'The Game has Changed' is named, the album and music must be viewed differently. Daft Punk have always been something different in the pop music, dance and electronic scene. They are artists and this project is just further evidence that this duo can keep changing, and keep making memorable and forward thinking music. While I can't personally say its as enjoyable as Discovery (which is in my Island 5), it is of the par to keep it in the same league as the rest of their body of work and should not be dismissed like some music fans would discount Queen's 'Flash Gordon' soundtrack (though the theme song is SO catchy).

Daft Punk's 'Tron: Legacy' Soundtrack - > 4.5/5

Also an interesting fact; I saw an interview with Joseph Kosinski where he discussed how he asked Daft Punk to work with them, and they came to him with a full set of songs before even seeing any of the material. From the way he described it, the demos did not change very much and even ended up effecting the movie's production. These projects were developed in coordination with one another and I look forward to seeing how the music affects the pacing of the film in two weeks!

Is it just me or does the little Disney symbol kinda ruin the simple design of the cover?