B O N D P H O N E.
Words and pictures by Chris Lamb.

Talking about the Arctic Monkeys a few days ago leads all-too naturally to listening to Kenickie. A lot. A lot a lot.

Not wanting to go on too much more at risk of ending up with something on the long and shambling side of a rant, but songs about things that happen while trying to chat up girls are the best thing ever.

posted by chris  # 6:29 PM 0 comments

"Right now, I'm sitting here at my whiteboard with my dry-erase marker and I'm trying to figure out how to get this level to work in our new game for the PSP. That's all there is. On one hand, that's nice because all of the bullshit goes away and you ask yourself, do you truly enjoy the work of being a game designer? There are days where I find the answer is a resounding yes. I'm obsessed with it and I love it. Then there are days where I just want to fucking get out of here and go see the movies because I'm so not in the creative zone. I don't know if that will be it for the rest of my career, if it'll all be about the work or if something else will come along."

1Up.com reposts an OPM interview with David Jaffe, mastermind behind the love letter to reptile brain-thinking. Go read, not just for bits like the above, but to hear one of the few plain-spoken folks making games right now just shoot the shit on whatever.

posted by chris  # 1:33 PM 0 comments

So, the Arctic Monkeys. After months and months of seeing "AM: Cure for Cancer?" style headlines from NME online and the other usual suspects, their first album's coming to America at last. I've listening to an advance over headphones while working. Or putting off working, as the case may be.

They're very charming, aren't they? After three listens to the record I think I've narrowed down the trick - these are songs about going somewhere and doing something, rather than a handful of vague feelings stapled to a riff. It's hardly Shakespeare but it's worth noticing - plot, characters, setting, when's the last time pop music had all this and still succeeeded? And there's an unintentional quality to the band itself, less Cool Rockers, more Kids With Guitars. The difference is all the difference, really. More potential for greatness and failure, and definitely more fun at the end of the day. They won't make it any bigger in the states than Futureheads or any of the others have, but this time, I really don't think they care.

posted by chris  # 10:57 AM 5 comments