Whatever happen to the sax?

Sitting here today I am listening to my ‘Huey Lewis and the News Greatest Hits’ and I wonder to myself: Whatever happened to the saxophone as a rock n’ roll instrument? I mean, give me sick guitar and drum solos, but there’s really nothing like the smooth yet raspy sound of a good sax solo! Did the sax die with the 80’s? I had a friend of mine tell me the saxophone was the WORST INSTRUMENT EVER! Really?

Actually, whatever happen to the brass section in rock? The sax, trumpet and trombone used to seem to be a big part of 50’s rock. Why? I mean, just listen to this:

Oh man, I love me some brass. Maybe the sax can make a comeback! Maybe…..

Cowboy Bebop OST3:Blue:Call Me, Call Me

Cowboy Bebop OST3:Blue:Mushroom Hunting

Though I know the term has somewhat sexual and negative connotations, this is a great jazz track from Yoko Kanno and Seatbelts, from what is likely the greatest anime of all times, Cowboy Bebop. Enjoy.

Mini Super NES – Super Y-E-S!

I was going to post this as a comment to the Well-Red Mage’s post on the rumors of a SNES Classic Edition out by Christmas time, but it’s not really a comment so much as a trip down memory lane for me.

I wasn’t able to get one of the mini NES classics, and personally I doubt I’ll buy a mini SNES classic, though the prospect thrills me. My first “real” job was at the Longs drug store near my home where my mother worked. It was through this job that I was able to purchase a brand new Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or, fondly, the SNES.

Now you can have your PS4’s and your Xbox One’s, and even your PS3’s, 2’s and 1’s. None of them – NONE OF THEM, hold a candle to the SNES. Sure, they are graphically leaps and bounds beyond the SNES, but it doesn’t matter. There comes a point and time in a game when you don’t care about graphics anymore. I mean, sure, you may see something and ‘ooo’ or ‘ahh’ for a moment, but it is soon forgotten as you concentrate more on GAME PLAY! Poor game play makes fancy graphics moot! The SNES had both excellent graphics (for it’s time and even by todays standards in a time of ‘throwback’ games that rely on 8 and 16 bit pixel sprites) AND excellent gameplay, in spades!

I won’t go into details about the hardware, which was sexy as hell with that sleek grey body and rich, purple, sliding power and reset buttons. Or the controller that was PERFECTLY fit to the hand and paved the way for multi-button controllers for the rest of human history. Or how there were ZERO LOAD TIMES ON GAME CARTS! That’s right, youngsters! Back in those days when you slid that power button forward (with a satisfying -snap!-) you were seeing intro screen within five seconds and, if you so desired, in the game within ten. No fifteen minute load screens or “here play this mini-game while waiting for the game you actually bought and paid for to load into memory”.

Final Fantasy Friday XVIII

Today I will be streaming all my Squaresoft/Square-Enix soundtracks on Beam as I listen to them while working. If you have never listened to any of these take a moment to stop in and check it out, you (probably) wont be disappointed! The music ranges from fully arranged orchestra pieces to rock songs to 8-bit chip tunes!

Because this is all streaming from my work computer there may be interruptions in play throughout the day, but if you don’t hear anything or the sound cuts out, give it a few minutes. As long as the page doesn’t say I am offline then I’m still good.

http://beam.pro/snappertrx

And don’t forget that you can catch me playing Dissidia, FF14 and other Square games throughout the week on Beam, and FF15 on Sunday mornings on my Twitch feed (see the sidebar).

Also, if anyone notices any weirdness in the stream let me know. I’m new to this and Microsoft’s Beam is new too, so there may be some bugs that need to be worked out. Just comment on this post and let me know what you are seeing and I will try to fix it.

Robert Plant/Alison Kraus : Let your Loss be your Lesson

Enjoy a great song by two great artists!

Moana: A different kind of Disney princess.

I went and saw Moana for the second time this past weekend, this time in 3D and it was no less impressive than the first time I saw it. On a technical scale the movie is absolutely breathtaking. There must be terabytes of data for every minute of video that plays across the screen and I continue to assert that every frame of the film is a piece of art.

That being said, I noticed the first time I watched it and was reminded during the second viewing that the title character and princess, Moana (who is modelled and rendered beautifully) doesn’t really follow the same ‘you go girl’ pattern that other Disney princesses do.

Moana is a girl drawn to the sea living in a tribe of peoples who live on an island sheltered from the sea by a reef, of which they never leave. Her father, the village chief, is adamant that no one goes past the reef, and is somewhat dismayed at his daughters desire to do so. Moana is in line to become the next chief of the village, but she continues to be drawn towards the open sea.

Now a typical Disney princess story would have Moana fighting with her father until, deciding to take matters into her own hands, she flees the island to ‘find herself’, but this film takes a slightly different turn.

The next part of the post contains some video clips that may be considered spoilers, but they don’t give too much away as far as the plot of the film goes.