Friday Music

Here we go again:

One of my “get pumped up to work” favorites — and, despite the title, not the Sondheim musical number. Robbie Williams – “Let Me Entertain You.” “Hell is gone and heaven’s here, there’s nothing left for you to fear; Shake your ass, come over here, now scream… I’m the burning effigy of everything I used to be; you’re my rock of empathy my dear — Come on, let me entertain you…”

Devo has a new song! I’d seen the Dell commercial that uses it, but the song was so good that I thought it must have been a little-known album track from the classic Devo era. Nope. Mothersbaugh et. al. are at it again. Woot! (Thanks to for the heads-up!) Devo – “Watch Us Work It.”

Speaking of music from computer commercials — I finally tracked down the addictive brainworm that backed Intel’s Core 2 processor ads (the ones featuring the dancers): New Young Pony Club – “Ice Cream.” “I can give you what you want….”

Gorillaz have a new compilation, D-Sides, which is a collection of remixes and bonus tracks from the Demon Days recording sessions. The bonus tracks are all good — so essentially this is another full Gorillaz album! This track was Damon Albarn’s initial exploration of asian musical instruments and themes, which would eventually lead to his opera, Monkey: Journey to the West. Gorillaz – “Hong Kong.”

One of my favorite tracks from the 80s. Important safety tip: Don’t pick this to cover as your “going to a break” song while in a high-school party band. Your drummer will hate you. Icicle Works – “Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream).”

A lot of folks love Queen — me included. A lot of folks who love Queen, however, aren’t familiar with Freddie Mercury’s solo projects of the 80s. Here is my favorite of his solo songs, a duet with opera diva Montserrat Caballe: Freddie Mercury – “Barcelona.”

Lastly, some Japanese instrumental hip-hop from one of my favorite turntablists, from his 2003 album, The Message At The Depth: DJ Krush – “But The World Moves On (featuring D-Madness & Masato Nakamura)”

Enjoy.

New James Bond Title Announced!

I’m giddy.

The producers have announced the title of the 22nd Bond film, due out later this year.

Not only have they used one of the remaining genuine Fleming titles, but they’re using my FAVORITE of the short story titles:

“Quantum of Solace.”

HELL yes.

(Funny thing — QoS was one of the titles I used when I was running a friend through a one-on-one James Bond 007 RPG campaign. I’ve still got it, in the game box. I’ll be amused to see how our plot compares with the film!)

Game As Writing Aid

I purchased an advance order of In A Wicked Age, the new indie game from D. Vincent Baker (designer of Dogs in the Vineyard). I got a PDF of the game, and will have the printed version sent to me when it’s released.

It’s a fantasy story-telling game, owing more to the great Once Upon A Time card game than any RPG. The players and GM deal out cards from an “Oracle” (a specifically-created random adventure element generator with 52 options), and list the characters explicitly stated or implied in the elements drawn. Each player picks one of those characters to play, with the GM playing everyone else. There’s a system for what characters continue into the next chapter, with other players choosing new characters from the new chapter’s Oracle, etc.

Very nifty stuff, all in all.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever get a chance to play it….and in fact, I’m not even sure if I need to. The main draw for me was the Oracle concept, which is a BRILLIANT imagination-sparker for writers. A full four-suit Oracle comes with the game, and there are a bunch more online, in various genres, created by fans of the game.

Readers of my game products will know that I’m a sucker for random generators, and these particular generators are not only useful for gaming, but for a writing aid as well.

For example, using the “God Kings of War” Oracle from the original rules:

A demon of rage and avarice, secret power behind a great tyrant’s rule.

A youth or maiden, the reincarnation of a great hero, whose soul remembers glory.

The mutiny and revolt of a prestigious cavalry company.

The arrival of a hundred fearsome warships on an unprepared, prosperous, peaceful coast.

My head starts filling with ideas and connections between those ideas…..