Posted by ryan on 23 Dec 2008 at 12:33 pm

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“Game of the Year” stuff is starting to roll around, and it looks like it’s pretty unanimously Grand Theft Auto 4. I guess I just don’t get it.

I mean, yes, stealing cars and driving around causing havoc is undeniably fun as hell. The problem I always have with any of the GTA games, and 4 is worse than all of them, is when they try to get story all up in my driving around and causing havoc simulator. I’ve always thought the GTA games were good in spite of themselves. They’re fun until you have to actually do what the game wants you to do. The thing that keeps people coming back to these games and talking about them is not the stories, it’s not the missions, it’s the running over of grannies and hookers.

Or is it? I’m not sure, because apparently I don’t get it. Do people like the stories and characters? Do people like the missions? I guess I’m not exactly the target audience for these games, but really, does some guy shouting about “beeg american titeees” really equal The Godfather? If it does, that’s cool, I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m missing some subtlety somewhere?

Seth Schiesel in the New York times calls it a “masterpiece” and says that the writing is the most impressive part. “It is one of the few games that even try to take on the real world in any adult way,” he goes on to say. And to that, all I can say is “really?” I mean, I guess it does sorta take on the real world, but it does so with the subtlety of a bag of bricks. And it just seems to be closer to what a repressed teenager thinks is “adult” than what I, as a (repressed?) adult think is adult. “Real world” also seems to be a bit of a misnomer, as the world of the Grand Theft Auto games seem to me to be about as real as an R. Crumb comic.

I guess my real problem is I just hate to see people settle. Like, there’s sortof a “This is as good as it’s going to get” feeling with the GTA series. I have a sinking feeling that the defense of the story and setting of the GTA games goes something along the lines of “Well, ok, maybe it’s not the Godfather, but it’s really good for a video game.” I guess now we’re getting into an argument about subjectivity and objectivity and whether good things are good across the board or if they must be examined in their own context but… I dunno…

Why the hell can’t we have a game with a story as good as The Godfather? Maybe it could be done in a more restrictive system than the GTA games? Are games and stories really polar opposites? Do game designers really have to give players unlimited choices to make their actions meaningful? Why the hell can’t I write a post that isn’t rambling, incoherent, and asks obnoxiously grand, open ended questions? Why did the chicken cross the road? Who the hell ate my leftover pizza? Why can’t we all just get along?

These questions will haunt me until the day I die.

Posted by nick on 22 Dec 2008 at 03:17 pm

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To celebrate our ongoing obsession with the winter holidays, I give you “XMAS IV and… Hanukkah!” a free MP3 holiday EP from ‘09 Kindercore groups Grape Soda (with members of The Buddy System and two whole songs about something called Hanukkah!) and The Young Sinclairs plus an absolutely amazing song from Deidre of the Sad Cobras with the Magic Twig Family Band (members of The Young Sinclairs, SUNKING!, Sad Cobras and Boys Lie)!

Please to enjoy:

1: The Sad Cobras + The Magic Twig Family - Wrap Me Up on X-Mas

2: Grape Soda - Rock of Ages (Traditional)

3: Grape Soda - All Walls Fall

4: The Young Sinclairs - It\’s Christmas Time All Over Again (Tom Petty)

Also you can still buy last year’s XMAS 3: The War on Christmas from iTunes iTunes (it includes the comic book!) or order the CD only from the Kindercore Shop.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS Internet, we love you!!

Ryan & Dan Kindercore.

Posted by ryan on 22 Dec 2008 at 01:57 pm

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Recently we have been going remix crazy over here at Ruby Isle central. We are remixing others are remixing us, its madness…

We have several remixes of other artists nearing completion, this one is the closest, its our stab at Cut Copy’s “Faraway” which we have done in cooperation with the Buffet Libre Djs PROYECTO BATIDORA. Give it a spin, play it at your dj night and pass it on.

Cut Copy - Faraway (Ruby Isle Remix)

We also have a Night Shot remix record planned for early next year including remixes from Will Eastman (Blisspop DC), Immuzikation, Black Dominoes, and many others. It also will include this little electropop gem remixed by La Chansons.

Ruby Isle - Hey Hey Hey (La Chansons Remix)

Please enjoy and happy holidays!!!

Posted by dan on 19 Dec 2008 at 03:53 pm

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Posted by ryan on 18 Dec 2008 at 02:44 pm

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I always forget to do this but I was asked to submit a list to CMJ so I went through my iTunes and this is what I came up with:

1 - Los Campesinos! - Hold on Now, Youngster… - Wichita / Arts & Crafts
2 - Ruby Isle - Night Shot - Kindercore
3 - Headlights - Some Racing, Some Stopping - Polyvinyl
4 - A.Armada - Anam Cara - Hello Sir! Records
5 - Sad Cobras - No More Graves - Magic Twig
6 - Hot Lava - Lavalogy - Bar None
7 - Black moth Super Rainbow - Drippers - Graveface
8 - Peace!! - Black Power (reissue) - Groovie
9 - Stereolab - Chemical Chords - Duophonic / 4AD
10 - Ruby Suns - Sea Lion - Sub Pop

And for you Kindercore readers here are some things I have been loving this year but didn’t come out in 2008:

Dan Deacon - Ultimate Reality - DVD
Holy Fuck - LP
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Dandelion Gum
The Black Angels - Passover
The Young Sinclairs - Feel Bad
Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Curtis Mayfield - Curtis
One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds, Lost and Found - Boxset
Blak Thor - all of their EPs
The Last King of Scotland - Soundtrack
Venice is Sinking - AZAR (coming in 2009)
Maserati - Inventions for the World Outside
The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - pretty much everything they released
and shitloads of old dub downloaded from various downloady places

Posted by ryan on 17 Dec 2008 at 03:48 pm

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Not only is Stuff White People Like a Kindercore favorite blog, but now they have partnered with the killer peoples at FatAmerican to make a shirt celebrating the many loves of white folk with 100% of the profits going to a non-profit in need (you can actually help choose which non-profit gets the help HERE)

Check it:

Buy it

Also as an aside I would like to add something about how awesome I think the Fat American folks are… Last week I ordered the wife one of their shirts for the XMas (shhh don’t tell her) and yesterday I got an email from Mia over there apologizing for the fact that it had taken them a few days to ship the shirt. Not only do I appreciate the fact that a human took the time to write me, but I was pumped to find out in her email that - like Kindercore - there are just two folks behind Fat American and holiday orders have them backed up and crazy trying to get everything packed and out the door. I feel your pain Mia, believe me, these past few weeks have been killing me filling orders in the middle of the night after my day job. Hooray for small indie businesses making magic online! Fuck the Man! Woo hoo!

So please go visit FatAmerican.tv and order up something special.

Posted by ryan on 17 Dec 2008 at 02:40 pm

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I’m back with more news of upcoming magic…

Before the end of the week we will be releasing a surprise Kindercore Holiday Digital Single for FREE on this very web place. If all goes as planned (read: if those rascally Young Sinclairs finish up in time) You can look forward to two tracks from Grape Soda “celebrating” some obscure holiday called Chanukah (seriously) plus a track from the Young Sinclairs and a Magic Twig Family track! Keep your peepers here for info on how to download.

Here’s that Grape Soda track that WordPress wouldn’t let me upload yesterday. Look for Grape Soda’s debut home recorded disc “Who the Hell is Tony Peppers?!” coming sometime in the next month or so (read: as soon as we have time to finish a little more recording and a whole lot of mixing and cover printing).

Grape Soda - Not Our Time in Time • FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD

After the smashing success of Travis Pitt’s first shirt design for Kindercore we are pumped to announce a second shirt coming in January (it’d be done sooner but our shirt printer is closed for “the holidays” (whatever that means, am I right?):

More soon…

Posted by ryan on 17 Dec 2008 at 01:46 pm

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So I’m the one hounding all those folks named in our fancy writers list (to the left of this post) to post more often (or in some cases for the first time *cough* Ted Honda *cough*) but seriously, why in the F haven’t I been posting? Well S man, I’ve been like hella busy filling orders from the Kindercore Shop and digging up old records from Dan’s hellscape of a garage to post in said shop.

Well and also there was a trip to Toronto for the Buddy System (plus new songs), new songs and shows with Grape Soda (including one tomorrow Wed 17th at the Go Bar with Twin Tigers and Witches), coloring and designing the cover for the soon to be released “Foxymoron” collection of Travis Fox’s best comics, work on the upcoming “Songs of the Young Sinclairs” collection (plus the digital release of a bunch of their previously unreleased albums) and of course time with the wife and our menagerie of furry creatures.

Oh and there has also been this little thing called Fallout 3 ruling my brain nightly from 1 to 4 am.

But let’s be honest, you probably don’t care and wonder why the H I am wasting your time with this post instead of getting on with the business of real posts. What, this post ain’t real enough for you?

Ok here are a few sneak peeks at stuff we have coming up to hold you over until I can manage some real posting:

The Young Sinclairs - Cancelled Flight

p.s. I kept trying to upload a Grape Soda track for you all to check out but WordPress is being janky so that will have to wait for another post.

Posted by ryan on 16 Dec 2008 at 04:55 pm

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While everyone around here appears to be wasting their time on movies and music, I have decided to make a top ten list about iphone apps since I waste wayyyyy too much quality time with my iphone. There has been about one good App for every 100 crApps that have been taken by the Appstore. That gives a small pool to choose from, but here are the best as I see it. I have also included some apps from cydia and installer as they provide critical functionality to jailbroken phones.

1. PdaNet (cydia): Tethering is still just a promised feature for the unbroken masses, but PdaNet solves the problem of tying your laptop to the iphone internet highway for free. Rumor has it that the actual ATT tethering app will have a hefty monthly pricetag and this one carries none. I can’t tell you how valuable this functionality was when Ruby Isle was on the road this year. Cruising down the highway at 75 with your iphone wirelessly streaming the internet to your laptop is pretty exciting for geeks like me. That actually reminds me of a dream I had when I was 12. In it, I was skateboarding down the street when a phone rang. I pushed a button and was able to talk on a headset to my mom. I woke up thinking “wow, that would be awesome”. I should have patented the idea. Keep in mind this was way before cellphones were the affordable little computers we have today. The only cellphones that existed came in a big bag and cost more than my rapidly depreciating house. The internet didn’t exist either, so I had no idea what was in store, but PdaNet is almost more exciting than skating to the Quick-E-Mart with a Bluetooth headset.

2. Beat Maker: The thought of having a somewhat functional sample sequencer on a handset is another really exciting dream come true for me. BeatMaker totally delivers on this front. It is almost shocking how much you can do with this little sequencer. At $19.99, it is not cheap for an app, but it is totally worth it if you spend a lot of time on the road or in the air and want a quick way to throw down some seriously usable musical ideas.

There are other music studio apps available on the Appstore including the recently released 4-track which is cool but requires external equipment and audio sources. BeatMaker lets you do it all inside the phone and even export it to a PC or Mac sequencer when you get home.

3. Orblive: I was all over Orblive when it came out via installer for OS 1.4. Streaming your entire music collection to your phone over the air is another dream come true for the music geek in me. I am actually really excited about losing physical formats and having my entire music collection available anywhere via a little handset, and Orblive delivers the goods flawlessly. It also streams TV to your iphone over the air. That requires a TV tuner for your computer which I don’t have, but the user community seems to be really excited about it. I think it is really for dudes watching ballsports, something we don’t endorse here at Kcore HQ, so just know the option is out there for all you ballsportsfans.

4. Galcon: I took a look at all the games I had installed on my iphone over the past year and the one that has made it back on to the handset after every software upgrade, OS crash and toilet water encounter (yes, I dropped my phone in the toilet this year, a story for another time) was Galcon. It is a beautifully simple strategy game that is different every time you play. Basically you are sending out triangles (spaceships?) to take over circles (planets?).

You tap on planets under your control and tell them where and how many triangles to send to other circles. The goal is to wipe out your opponent’s control of circles. Sounds simple and stupid, is actually engrossing, addictive and extremely fun. The games only last a few seconds to a few minutes, so it makes a great mobile game.

5. Uno: I remember going over to Craig Buddy System’s house for a party when Xbox Live first debuted. He was playing Uno online with a bunch of dudes that were cursing and yelling into their webcams talking smack. I remember thinking, how fun can that really be? I also remember the young guys freaking out every time Lauren Buddy System walked in front of Craig’s webcam. In any case, when I saw Uno on the app store, I figured, “what the hell?” and bought it. Surprisingly, it was totally worth it. There is just something about dealing an online opponent a wild+4 that is very satisfying. While this title could use some more online features, the current ones are sufficient to keep me interested enough to put it in my top 10. I am not sure this one is actually worth the $7.99 they are asking for it, but I really do like it.

6. Tap Tap Dance: I love rhythm games. I was always a huge DDR fan, and while the new rock games are fun. I always find myself coming back to basics with DDR and Parappa type games. If Patapon were on iphone it would have totally made number one on this list. Since patapon isn’t Appified yet, I give my rhythm game slot to Tap Tap Dance. The guys who made this one gave us Tap Tap Revolution, which was awesome pre-appstore, but sort of looked pale when games like Guitar Rock Tour came out. The developers answered back with TTD. This game has two things going for it; great songs and innovative game design. Of course, a game featuring Justice and Daft Punk is going to win me over immediately. Add to it the unique boss levels they threw in to keep things fresh and you have a real winner in the genre. I have also not experienced any slowdown in performance on this title which is a testament to solid coding on the developers part.

7. Touchgrind: Ok, admittedly, this is not a game that is going to appeal to everyone. However, for those of us who grew up flipping our TV remotes (and cellphones for that matter) as if they were a fingerboard, this game certainly fills a huge hole in our hearts. The premise is simple, fingerboarding on your iphone. The implementation is a little difficult to deal with especially if you have never skated, but I have one word for you; 360kickflip…

That probably looks like two words to most people, but I am pretty sure in the mind of any skater it is just one. Anyway, this game lets you do a 360kickflip with your fingers and actually land it. Something I could never really get right with the real thing. You can also do a darkslide, Something else I could never do (not even on a real board). Anyway, if you ever skated, you have to get this one. If not, probably best to stay away.

8. Fieldrunners: I just gave this one glowing coverage as my first official iphone app review. So, yeah, I liked it. Guys getting killed trying to get home from work? Guys getting killed going to see Of Montreal? Either way, towers are rad because you don’t have to put your own ass on the line.

9. Warfare, Incorporated: Finally a functional, fully realized, real time strategy game makes it to the iphone. Apparently, this is a port of a well established mobile game for other platforms that they ported over to the iphone. They did a great job. It is basically Dune for the iphone. I am in love, I just suck at videogames, including this one, so I haven’t got very far yet. Still, I am totally stoked.

10. Installous: You didn’t hear about this from me…

Posted by dan on 15 Dec 2008 at 12:14 pm

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