In Mark's Head: September 2009

Thursday, September 17, 2009

The Greatest Band There Never Was

On Episode 14 of our podcast my co-host Jessie and I talked about some of our favourite works of animation. I of course took the opportunity to sing the praises of what is not only one of my favourite animated series of all time, but also perhaps one of my favourite musical groups as well. The show is called "Beck:Mongolian Chop Squad". It is a tale of 5 Japanese high school students who set out to create the world's greatest band and just might do it. Don't believe me? Just give a listen to some of their songs which I will post for you below.

Brainstorm

Spice of Life

I've Got A Feeling - A Beatles cover. Better then the original in my opinion. One of my favourite rainy day songs.

Face

Moon On The Water - Not a BECK song, but a song from the series. I think this song is gorgeous.

Hit in the USA - Not technically a BECK song. This is the theme song to the series and is performed by a group called the Beat Crusaders. I think this song should be the theme song for every television show ever. Period.

I hope that you've enjoyed these tracks. The anime series they are taken from is well worth your time. A word of caution though. As is often the case with anime the original Japanese voice cast is superior to the cast of the English dub version. I would highly recommend viewing the Japanese version with English subtitles. Not only are the performers better in the Japanese version, but a considerable amount of the plot revolves around the English vs. Japanese language barrier and is lost in the English dub. Plus for legal reasons you don't get to enjoy the awesome climactic cover of The Beatles "I've Got a Feeling."

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The Best Band that Never Was

On our most recent episode of Across the Nerdaverse (Episode 14 available soon) my co-host Jessie and I took the time to discuss some of our most favourite pieces of animation. I of course couldn’t let the chance slip by to discuss my all time favourite anime series “BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad”. This series follows the exploits of 5 Japanese high school who set out to create the world’s greatest band and just might accomplish that goal. As promised during our discussion I’m going to put down some of the high lights of the band’s music from the show here. Any show that deals with the subject matter of an up and coming band would not be nearly as effective if the music they put out wasn’t up to snuff, and BECK certainly does not disappoint in this department. The music in this series is so good that I count BECK (or the Mongolian Chop Squad as they are called in the States in the series do to the existence of a certain skinny scientologist.) as one of my all time favourite bands. Which is odd, because I still can’t decide if the band actually exists. However, don’t take my word for it. Listen below and let your ears decide for you.

BRAINSTORM – This song rules. Here the band channels Rage Against the Machine to amazing results.

SPICE OF LIFE

FACE – A slower song featuring vocals by the show’s protagonist Koyuki

I’VE GOT A FEELING – A cover of a Beatles tune. I actually think this is the definitive version of the song, and one of my favourite songs ever.

MOON ON THE WATER – Not a BECK song, but another song from the series. I think this song is gorgeous.

HIT IN THE USA – Also not a BECK song. This is the theme song for the series and performed by a band called “The Beat Crusaders”. I personally feel this song should be the theme song to every show. EVER.

So that is a brief sampling of some of the excellent music contained in this series. I hope you enjoyed it. The entire series is available for purchase on DVD’s that feature both the original Japanese voice cast with English subtitles as well as a redubbed English version. If you have the means I would highly recommend watching the series with the original Japanese voice cast, as they are by far more talented singers and perform the songs better. Plus, a good portion of the plot of the series revolves around the language barrier between Japanese and English speaking characters. A tone that sadly gets lost in the dub version. Plus in the English dub version for legal reasons you are cheated out of the amazing climactic cover of the Beatles “I’ve Got a Feeling.” Enjoy!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Episode 14 Teaser!

Last night Jessie and I sat down and recorded Episode 14. We were both very excited to welcome David Leung of Twisted Pixel Games to the show. Dave joined us to give us some insight into his creative process as Art Director behind games such as The MAW, ‘Splosion Man. He also gave us a little tease of Twisted Pixel’s newest project Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley. Check out some of the videos below to get a sample of the fine work being turned out by Dave and the crew at Twisted Pixel! Episode 14’s release will be announced via our Facebook Group as soon as it is ready! Click here to join the Facebook Group and receive updates on new episodes as they are made available!

The Maw