itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Playlist:

The Vandals -- A Gun For Christmas
Intro [3:00]
Bob Dylan -- Must Be Christmas [3:59]
Wesley Willis -- Kris Kringle Was A Car Thief [6:41]
Avenue D -- X-Mas Song [10:02]
Kay Martin & Her Body Guards -- I Know What You Want For Christmas [12:35]
Midtro 1 [15:44]
Richard Cheese -- Last Christmas [16:16]
Kurtis Blow -- Christmas Rappin [18:14]
Midtro 2 [26:26]
Simple Plan -- My Christmas List (You’ll know why this is in here) [27:29]
Midtro 3 [30:56]
The Vandals -- My First X-Mas (As A Woman) [31:28]
Sonic Youth -- Santa Doesn’t Cop Out On Dope [34:08]
Run-D.M.C. -- Christmas In Hollis [37:25]
Stephen Colbert -- Another Christmas Song [40:22]
Midtro 4 [43:01]
Irwin The Disco Duck and The Wibble Wabble Singers & Orchestra -- Disco Duck II [44:35]
Mirror Image -- The Twelve Days of Christmas [48:27]
Sy Mann -- Jingle Bells [52:23]
The Vandals -- Nothing’s Going To Ruin My Holiday [54:07]
Midtro 5 [56:31]
Jandek -- Bring It In A Manger [58:13]
Baby Lu-Lu -- Jesus Loves Me [60:27]
Vaginal Jesus -- Happy Hanukaust [63:24]
The Gerogerigegege -- White Christmas White Sperm [67:20]
Outro [73:56]
The Vandals -- Hang Myself From The Tree [75:12]

itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Playlist:

The Velvet Underground – Rock & Roll
Intro [4:40]
Animal Collective – What Would I Want? Sky [5:08]
The Pillows – Your Order [11:49]
Brother Ali – Fresh Air [15:00]
Midtro [19:41]
Dead Kennedys – Kill The Poor [19:58]
Major Lazer – Pon De Floor [23:02]
Television – Guiding Light [26:34]
Midtro 2 [32:08]
Them Crooked Vultures – New Fang [32:36]
Nirvana – Aneurysm (Live) [36:23]
Daft Punk – Face To Face [40:48]
Outro [44:46]
Between The Buried And Me – Obfuscation [45:47]

I am quite aware of the criticisms of the series, and I wholeheartedly agree.

The book is poorly written. Twilight is analogous to something I’d find at a fan-fiction website. I wouldn’t call them the greatest works of fiction. There is plenty of poorly written fiction out there, and I don’t think that should stop someone from enjoying the story.

I feel that the fan base is a large factor into the harsh criticism of Twilight. You have Harry Potter fans, Joss Whedon fans, Star Trek fans, and all sorts of aficionados of various science fiction works scouring about, but at least those works are somewhat tried and true. While Harry Potter may be children’s fiction, at least the writing is fairly solid.

Horror fans who have liked vampire fiction are generally embarrassed at how vampires are treated in these novels. The vampires play baseball in the rain, and they glisten in the sunlight!

So Twilight seems to do a lot of things wrong, and make plenty of people upset due to the assumed subpar nature of the work.

What does it do right?

The series has sparked a craze for more vampires! This work has modernized vampires and made it popular. The market seems flooded with copycats, but at least Twilight is trying something different from what the genre has done in the past.

Twilight is a catalyst for a modernized vampire genre that appeals to a much wider demographic than the classic stories of Dracula. I respect the classics, but sometimes genres need to evolve. Evolution has to start somewhere. Eventually, someone will come along and try to capitalize off the success of Twilight, but they’ll do it better. Perhaps some would say HBO’s True Blood series already did.

Every series will have its annoying fans, and Twilight is no different. I feel this series is bringing about change, and even though not all change is good – at least change is….entertaining. Isn’t entertainment why we read books and go to movies in the first place?

We got impressions of the new Animal Collective ep, Tekken 6, and New Super Mario Brothers Wii. We also dedicate 5 minutes to crying over the unfortunate and sudden death of Miley Cyrus. RIP MILEY-CHAN!!!

itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Download now, or hit the jump for the schedule and youtube playlist for this week’s show!

~Intro~
Week: Clubbing, Schoolwork, Netflix PS3
Miley Cyrus Eulogy
Segment: Hentai: La Blue Girl, Princess 69, Bondage Game, Bible Black. Lucky Star JAV, preggos, eel porn.

music: Animal Collective new EP, Major Lazer Them Crooked Vultures, Rin Toshite Shigure, Cherry Filter
gaming: Tekken 6, Arc the Lad collection, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Rock Band 2
anime: Halo Legends, Sasameki Koto, Insterstella 5555, Mariko Parade (manga)
movies/TV: Machine Girl (movie), Men Who Stare at Goats (movie), Weeds, This American Life

Craigslist
Housekeeping

Stream and download here!

MP3

Download or stream!

itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Playlist:

Intro [5:00]
P-MODEL – ronri kuugun [7:46}
Spangle call Lilli line - with in zz/oo!! [11:00]
goatbed – monica [14:03]
Segway [17:18]
Kokusyoku Sumire – Watashi no Orchestra [18:23]
Kilhi+Ice – Keep Cool [23:11]
Tujiko Noriko – Narita Made [27:47]
黄金の手 – 石ころ [32:49]
Segway #2 – [37:45]
太平洋ベルト – 渚の（甘い）想い出 [39:15]
Coaltar Of The Deepers – unlimber [42:47]
HIZAKI – Ritual [46:30]
渋さ知らズ – スターフィールド [52:21]
Outro – [55:55]
あふりらんぽ – I Love You [58:50]

Correction: When we’re talking about Indisfest, the artist’s name actually was 8-bit wonder.

Download here!

itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Introduction:

Week: Laughter… local crime…Indisfest
Listener Mail: awesomo316

Segment: We discuss the hype of various media. We explore why it happens, and how it happens. Mostly related to podcasts and how they can be a vessel for hype. Also many other exciting musings relating to podcasting, journalistic integrity, responsible shopping, and more!

Music: lolicore [Lolishit, LOLI RIPE, onomatopeee], Aliceffekt, Weezer, DJ Sharpnel
Gaming: Uncharted 2, Sega Pico Import Game Roundup [Mini Moni, Sailor Moon S, unknown 2003 dance-pad title], Valkyria Chronicles, South Park dynamic theme [PS3]
anime: Trapeze [kuchu buranko], Sora no Otoshimono
movies/tv: It’s always sunny in philadelphia

Craigslist: Here’s an extra one, it was too long to read: http://bit.ly/23kqN0

We’ll be back next week with a regular episode of talking and discussing things. We don’t spoil our segments anymore, so be sure to check in next week for some cool stuff!

Listen now!

itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Playlist:
Bauhaus – Of Lillies and Remains [00:00]
INTRO [3:10]
Lucifer Luscious Violenoue – Vampaia Wo Oreru Ureta Umasoba [4:13]
Beat Mistress – Tigerlilly [9:48]
Inkubus Sukkubus – Lucifer Rising [15:04]
MIDTRO [19:43]
The Electric Hellfire Club – Psychedelic Sacrifice (Say You Love Satan Mix) [20:06]
Miranda Sex Garden – Peep Show [23:33]
The March Violets – Snake Dance [28:39]
The Church – Day of the Dead [32:46]
OUTRO [39:10]
Christian Death – Deathwish [40:37]
Type O Negative – All Hallow’s Eve [42:42]

Total Running Time [51:15]

Because Halloween is this week, you can expect a super special .5 from Andrew featuring Halloween themed and scary music, perfect to play at your Halloween party! Check back later this week for that episode.

Download now!

itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Playlist:

0:00-2:23: Andrew Jackson Jihad – We Didn’t Come Here to Rock
2:23-2:56: Intro
2:56-8:13: Porcupine Tree – The Incident [Requested by Instrumedley (Ctrl Alt Kill)]
8:13-13:17: Japandroids – Young Hearts Spark Fire
13:17-18:11: M.I.A. – Bamboo Banga
18:11-23:04: Pavement – Range Life
23:04-28:21: The Flaming Lips – Watching the Planets
28:21-31:44: Streetlight Manifesto – Would you Be Impressed
31:44-33:49: NOFX – Linoleum
33:49-37:16: Notorious B.I.G. vs Miley Cyrus – Party and Bullshit in the USA (Hathbanger remix)
37:16-39:06: Outro – Housecleaning
39:06-End: Outkast – B.O.B.

Download now!

itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Show Notes:

Intro
What’s Your Week

Listener Voicemail

Segment: Rape-revenge, Pink Films, Gore, and torture flicks!
Thriller: A Cruel Picture, Baise-moi, Lost Paradise, Brainsex, Scrapbook, School of Holy Beast, SS Experiment Love Camp, Yukoku, Entrails of a Virgin, and Lolita Vibrator Torture.

PROMO

Music: Aliene Ma’riage, Checkicco, Between the Buried and Me, Boredoms,
Gaming: Brutal Legend, Batman: Arkum Asylum, Critter Crunch, Onechanbara, casio loopy, Ogre Battle & Secret of Mana
Anime: Trapeze, Sasameki Koto, Sora no otoshimono, Magic Knight Rayearth
Movies/TV: The IT Crowd, The Mighty Boosh

Craigslist

Itunes User Review

Housecleaning

There are a lot of very diverse shows, and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with what you actually like. Spring season seemed to have a number of interesting shows, but I had a harder time finding things to watch for the Fall 2009 anime season.

I found summaries of all the shows before the season started. Very little seemed to interest me, but I tried really hard to find something that I could watch. It’s getting colder outside, so being indoors with interesting shows to watch is paramount!

New Shows

Kämpfer

Senou Natsuru is mysteriously given a magical blue bracelet that turns him into a girl with special powers, or “Kampfer”. These Kampfers are chosen randomly and given bracelets by these adorable Hara Kiri dolls – like a teddy bear with a knife in its stomach and some guts protruding. He only transforms at certain points during the show, as opposed to Kashimashi where the protagonist is permanently a female.

The point? Some sort of competition with other Kampfers who are also given bracelets in similar ways. The whole show is very vague on the topic of ‘why’, it just happens!

The different Kampfers are supposed to fight against each other, and the show has at least one battle scene each episode. However, the show is more of a comedy with a tinge of shoujo-oriented romance than a straight-up “action show”.

The show is fairly interesting to watch. I appreciate the balance between the action and comedy. The premise’s confusing origin doesn’t bother me, and I assume that it will probably explained as to ‘why’ they’re fighting later on. For now, it’s just a show that is fun to watch as embarrassing things happen between the cast.

Sora no Otoshimono

A mixture between Chobits and Happy World, Sora no Otoshimono is about an android the falls from a singularity in the sky that is now a slave to the main character Tomoki Sakurai. The difference in this show, is that the android can make anything come true due to the use of a supercomputer in another dimension.

I caught myself laughing during this show much more than in Kampfer. The main character always tends to word things the wrong way, and the “angelroid” Ikaros always tends to misinterpret his wishes.

In episode two, Tomoki didn’t like a girl’s pair of panties so they flew away. They were literally drawn like birds flying out to the sunset. It was pretty hysterical, and I hope the show continues to offer some absurdity as it airs.

Trapeze (Kuchu Buranko)

This is the new show that airs in the Noitamina time block on Fuji TV that has shown some of my favorites like Eden of the East, Moyashimon, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, and Paradise Kiss. I had some pretty high expectations about the quality of the show, and it didn’t let me down.

The show definitely has some quality, it’s definitely pretty trippy sometimes. Trapeze is about a guy that works in a traveling circus and his doctors that help him with various things.

Trapeze uses real life actors and facial realism at certain parts to add to the style of the show. It’s very visually appealing, although the plot hasn’t taken shape. As of this writing, only one episode has aired.

Sasameki Koto

This is a yuri anime about a girl that…likes other girls! Most guys think yuri is the female equivalent to yaoi, but it’s usually more about relationships than yaoi which focuses more on the physical aspect. That being said, this doesn’t really do much to separate itself from other yuri shows that I’ve seen.

The main character likes other girls, and other developments stem from that. Not everything is completely typical though, not EVERYONE in the show likes other girls. Sasameki Koto is more about one openly lesbian character at an all-girl school that doesn’t want to break her friendships.

Usually shows in this style are somewhat dry, and do very little to keep a guy like me interested. The show focuses more on characters, feelings, and how to deal with the drama therein. I do enjoy the story, but the execution of the show makes it hard to pay attention occasionally.

The show has an interesting sense of humor when it wants to. There are quite a few funny moments, but the overal atmosphere is not that of a comedy.

Continuing From Summer Season:

These shows are continuing shows from previous seasons that I feel deserve some recognition. I was planning on watching Guin Saga because Nobuo Uematsu does the score, but it just doesn’t look that interesting.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni (When Seagulls Cry)

The third “When the Cry” anime from 07th Expansion, creators of the popular Higurashi no Naku Koro ni series. Umineko is about the affluent Ushiromiya family and the tale of their brutal murders on their island.

The story revolves around a golden witch named Beatrice and Battler, a Ushiromiya family member. The witch murders people as part of a ritual to reawaken; however, if someone can solve her mystery they can become the heir and inherit all of the family’s gold.

A good chunk of the show is about Battler dueling Beatrice in classic “whodunit”  style, trying prove that all of the murders actually happened instead of being caused by magic.

The show is pretty creepy. There’s more to it than just murder mystery, you actually get to see how the murders happen and all the conflicts between Beatrice and others.

Umineko is a smart show, but it has more than just brains. Witches don’t just talk, they also kill people. If you’re squeamish, then some episodes might not sit well with you. It’s not necessarily a gory show, but it has its moments. Some are very sick and twisted, but it generally doesn’t show anything too shocking. Umineko doesn’t push the envelope much further than Higurashi no naku koro ni did.

Dragon Ball Kai

This show is a remake of Dragon Ball Z. The original show was nearly 300 episodes, and this has been edited down to 100. Dragon Ball Kai is the story of Goku defending the Earth against supervillains. It’s a shonen jump action show, so there’s a lot of action, powering up, talking, and powering up – but not as much as the first time!

What Dragon Ball Kai does is take out all of the annoying filler, and makes the show flow much better. It’s not the best show in the world, but it’s a fairly easy action show. I loved Dragon Ball Z as a kid, and haven’t actually seen all of the episodes.

I know a lot of people who don’t want to watch it because they’ve seen it already. There’s hardly any new content, but there is some new animation put in place to make the continuity better. If you’ve never seen it before, you’ll never know what was cut!

For our first episode, we asked some of our fans at VGEVO what they’d like to hear. We’ll continue to take some suggestions in our comments or wherever the podcast is posted. We can’t play everything, this is a 40-minute show!

Download now!

itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Playlist:

Coheed & Cambria – delirium trigger [Requested by aots16]
Intro
Amon Amarth – Valhall Awaits Me – [Requested by BigC3]
Circle Takes the Square – In The Nervous Light of Sunday
Dead Can Dance – Ocean
Flower Travellin’ Band – Satori Part 1
LITE – Ef
Outro – Housecleaning
Dan Deacon – Wham City

10. Hannah Montana

She might not be a busty anime star, but she’s a busty real life star. Sometimes you gotta come back to reality and realize that real girls are hot too!

09. Mitsuki Koyama [Full-Moon wo Sagashite]

She’s like the original Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus with the dual identities. Except she has cancer, and she’s going to die. If that’s not completely scorching hot I don’t know what is.

08. Dokuro-chan [Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan]

With her, there is no safe word. And that’s fine, because she can repair you after you explode into a thousand pieces. She just doesn’t know when to stop, and I like a girl that knows how to be bold and take what she wants.

07. Pretty Sammy [Tenchi Muyo, eponymous OVA]

I mean come on, just look at her gams! You can’t tell me your keyboard is not covered in drool right now!

06. Chibi Moon [Sailor Moon]

She has a floating cat balloon! She’s also good at twirling and casting magic. She put a spell on my heart.

05. Chiyo-chan [Azumanga Daioh]

If you have to ask, then you’ve obviously never read Azumanga Daioh. I mean, she can take her pigtails off and replace them. I wish I had a girl with that kind of talent. Just imagine what else she might be able to do? Plus, I hear she’ll dress up as a penguin for you.

04. Maria Ushiromiya [Umineko no naku koro ni]

Ever since I saw her severed head on an exquisite dinner plate being fed to her own mother in episode 11 all my fears were immediately vanquished! At first she was sort of this annoying child with a sinister side, but once I realized her head was a bit loose I couldn’t help but be attracted.

03. Nadeko Sengoku [Bakemonogatari]

She’s possessed by two snakes. You know, they said Satan was a snake in the Garden of Eden when (s)he tempted Eve to eat the apple. I guess you could say that Nadeko is twice as tempting as that apple.

02. Ranka Lee [Macross Frontier]

Traditionally, characters in Macross use song as a method to keep aliens at bay. I’d let Ranka keep my aliens at bay any day of the week! She’s a tried and true Jpop star with sugar on top! How much more busty can you get? Well, she’s #2 for a reason…

01. Saki Morimi [Eden of the East]

She’s like the boring housewife with a sensual side just waiting to burst open. Girl next door? Yeah, that too. She’s a little bit of everything. She’s so mysterious, and yet there’s that side of her you want to “burst open”. In my opinion, she’s a very dynamic character. Most luscious and busty characters lack a lot of depth. This one doesn’t, and that’s why she’s my #1 Busty Anime Babe of All Time!

There’s honestly not enough Sega Pico love on the internet, so I’m reuploading this video up on principle. I’m getting this game in the mail in a few weeks, but I figure we need something to watch in the mean time!

source

Also, there is some slight issues with stuttering. Like an idiot, I was video encoding during the recording and I guess 32-bit Windows can’t handle the awesomeness of multi-tasking.

Listen now!

itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Hit the jump for the show notes and videos showcasing a few of the things we talk about in this episode!

Housekeeping/Final Words

Craigslist: Missed Connections -- Phoenix concert, Guys Only Want to Score, Dan Deacon concert

Agenda -

Music: Sonic Youth, Major Lazer, Flight of the Conchords, They Might Be Giants-kids album, Gerogerigegege, Passenger of Shit, melt-banana
Gaming: Final Fantasy IV, Dragonball Origins, Jeanne D’arc, Tails & the Music Maker (Sega Pico), Brutal Legend, Bioshock, Home 1.3
Anime: Kampfer, Umineko no naku koro ni, Hatsukoi Limited, Fist of the North Star, Afro Samurai
Movies/TV: All About Steve (movie), Cleavagefield (movie),  It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Dollhouse, Community,

SEGMENT-CHAN: Geek Media Expo, Dan Deacon, Sunn O))), and some Jazz concert!

You ARE WEAK -- In this segment we share you with the frailties that life has given to us in the last fortnight or so

Intro -- WE ARE SO GLAD. SO GLAD. SO GLAD. SO GLAD. Thanks for putting up with the delay, we’re very happy to be here in the studio here in the underground dungeon again.

I took quite a bit of video footage from all three bands, and perhaps offer some insight as to how awesome the whole night was. Be sure to check out BFM Podcast 19 [forthcoming] to hear more about my impressions of the night.

The first band was Totally Michael. He’s sort of a pop-rock act that’s conscious of hip hop culture. It’s exactly the most serious music, and it’s a lot of fun.

The second act was a group called Nuclear Power Pants. They are a bit more aggressive, and had more tendencies of psych-rock. The show had lots of glow in the dark objects, and people dressed up in costumes. There was one member on the audience floor opposite of me that you may not see. I think he was playing an oscillator or something, I’m not exactly certain.

Lastly, there’s Dan Deacon to show off. There were some parts of his show I didn’t record like the human snake chain tunnel. Everyone had to form a tunnel for us to pass through and work our way through back to the inside. I also didn’t record the last few songs. Wham City and Crystal Cat are my favorite songs so I compromised my good recording spot to get next to his recording table in order to actually enjoy myself and freak out a bit.

Be sure to buy his album too!

It was a face-melting experience that I won’t soon forget. Namely because I recorded a good portion of it. I apologize for the bad sound quality. I was right up front and did not figure out a good way to pad the microphone appropriately.

Sunn O))) is widely recognized as Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson, but at this concert they had a guy on the synthesizer who also played trombone. Attila Csihar from Mayhem performed the vocals as seen in the later videos.

This is a playlist of youtube videos, since youtube only allows 10 minutes at once. Just click on the corresponding arrows on the window to move between the different shots. Each are around nine and a half minutes.

You can buy their new album now. I hear it’s pretty great. There’s a lot more instrumentation than in their previous endeavors, but it’s supposed to be getting a lot of good reviews.

There are TWO contests in this episode! We are giving away 3 copies of the exclusive Brutal Legend demo, and also a one month subscription to Marvel Comics unlimited. Listen to the show to find out how to win!

Listen now!

itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Intro -- [this is where we say some relaxing things and perhaps our names!]

Week -- College! Dreamcast 2 launch party call to Gamestop.

Segment -- Football Culture: we nag about football…

Music: The Beatles, Kid Cudi. Listener Email: Concerts: Lollapalooza/Ozzfest/Eminem -- Lye By Mistake, L’arc en ciel, Protomen, Stolen Babies, Laundry Room Squelchers
Gaming: Rock Band 2, Ikaruga, Dance Dance Revolution Mario, Resident Evil 5,
Anime: Diebuster, Gunslinger Girl 2, Shakugan no Shana, Black Cat
Movies/TV:MTV Video Music Awards, Anime Select

Craigslist

Contests: Brutal Legend demo. First come first served, can be activated 3 times! Second contest for a free month voucher for Marvel Comics Unlimited [listen for details]

Housekeeping/Final Words

~Andrew E. & Tony B.

Many other blogs are probably writing similar Dreamcast retrospective articles given that the date is 9/9/09. One thing to remember is that this is MY list. There are plenty of your favorite games I probably haven’t had the pleasure of playing much (Power Stone 2). Also because some may be more known on other systems, or I waited to buy them until PS2 versions came out (Street Fighter III or Rez for example).

15. Space Channel 5

This game was pretty fun, and had its own unique style that went alongside the Dreamcast in saying, “The future is now!” It wasn’t the most innovative game ever, but it had much more substance than most rhythm games of the time.

14. Phantasy Star Online

PSO was a pretty cool sci-fi experience. I first played it after conquering Phantasy Star IV, so the changes were a little unsettling at first. However, the fact it was one of the first console MMORPGs it deserves some props.

13. Shenmue

This is supposed to be a list of games, what is a life simulator doing on here!? Shenmue was more of an annoyance than something I ever truly enjoyed. I respect that it goes much further than most “games” go, but sometimes I feel like it tried too hard and all the fun was thrown out the window. Having to remember and physically dial phone numbers isn’t exactly what I had in mind. Along with hours of searching and getting lost I didn’t have much ambition to further play this. Maybe I’m just a noob, and I can only enjoy games that hold my hand. Yeah, maybe that’s it! It’s very polished and very interesting. It definitely did something different, and that’s why it’s even on this list.

12. Resident Evil: Code Veronica

Perhaps it’s nostalgia goggles blurring my vision, but I really enjoyed this game. At that point, I had only played Resident Evil 2, and I was interested in Claire’s storyline. I also thought Wesker was badass. Similar reasons may also explain why I enjoy Resident Evil 5 when others do not. I enjoyed the amounts of travel. Up until this point, most of the Resident Evil games took place mostly in one area. Code Veronica travels from France to icy cold climates!

11. Typing of the Dead

It’s House of the Dead 2…but with a keyboard instead of light gun. What else more is there to say? The cheese instilled by HotD remains the same, but is amplified by the usage of a keyboard. I’m not sure how well this actually helps a person’s typing skills, but there is something tintillating about a game where you literally kill zombies by typing words.

10. Last Blade 2

When it comes to 2D weapons-based fighters some people like Last Blade, and some people like Samurai Shodown. While I enjoy both of them, Samurai Shodown never came to Dreamcast. Besides, Samurai Shodown didn’t have the character Akari Ichijo that could summon demons and spit her out all over the screen. I also feel like its take on weapons based fighting is probably one of the more intelligent ways it can be done without resorting to 3D style gaming.

9. Virtual-ON: Oratorio Tangram

Fighting game? Party game? Yes. Virtual-ON is one of those “mech fighter” sorts of games were it’s some strange mix of action and fighting genres. I’d consider this title more of a fighting game since it’s generally 1-on-1. There’s not a whole lot of mech games that are as much fun to play as this one. The controls take a few minutes to get used to, but once you get the hang of it Virtual-ON is a blast to play with your friends.

8. Sonic Adventure

This is the 3D Sonic game that was good. This is the one that all 3D sonic titles aspire to and fail miserably. Sure it’s not without its faults (Big the Cat?) but the overall experience was probably the best I’ve had from any Sonic game since then. Sonic Adventure also had a pretty good balance of exploration versus gameplay. It always felt like there was something fun to do. Sega’s decision to allow for internet capability also saw some early “DLC” such as being able to download Christmas themed central plaza skins for the in-game world.

7. Power Stone

Power Stone was not the most original concept, but the execution was spot-on. I’ve seen games like Ehrgeiz attempt to create an open-arena fighting game before, but nothing seems to capture the true open-endedness of that style like Power Stone. You could pick up anything, destroy lots of stuff, and there were big explosions. It was the perfect game to play with your friends who weren’t quite the “Fightan’ Game Fanatic” sort of crowd but still wanted to kick some ass. I hear Power Stone 2 is amazing as well, but I haven’t had the chance to play it but on a few occasions.

6. Marvel vs Capcom 2

In the beginning part of the blog, I said I was going to refrain from posting DC games that are well-known on other systems. Sure this game is well-known and hard to find on other systems, but it was THE game back when the Dreamcast was around. It had an astounding amount of characters. It suffered from some gameplay issues, but those were most likely marketing decisions to make the game fun for a mainstream audience instead of the core fighting game audience (who tend to expose infinites and other game-breaking elements). As a kid who grew up playing tons of Capcom fighters and X-men in the arcades, this game was a fun mashup of what I grew up with. Sure, I had played games like Marvel Super Heroes and X-men vs Street Fighter, but neither had the scale of Marvel vs Capcom 2.
5. Seaman

Don’t panic! Seaman has an attitude problem. Remember furby? You were able to talk to it and teach it phrases to say? Seaman was like that, but more along the lines of Furby meets gigapet videogame. You were responsible for nurturing these baby human-faced fish creatures into evolution. The player controlled the food and air supply, temperatures, and was in charge of talking to seaman in order to teach it things. You’d speak into the microphone a name which it would recognize as its own. The only trick with this game is that it used Dreamcast internal clock and each day you had to care for your adorable seaman. It might not “sound” like much, but with Leonard Nimoy on narration and seaman’s keen sense of wit in his dialog made for a solid gold package!

4. Project Justice

Project Justice was a game with style. Each character was a Japanese school stereotype of sorts. You had the baseball player, swim team, punk, schoolgirl, biker gang, teacher, moe little girl, and quite a few more. It was a game you could almost look at and just immediately assume they were based off a manga or anime storyline. Project Justice also seems to have aged rather well, and the gameplay mechanics are still easily learned. Unlike quite a few games of the time, the storyline was also pretty interesting. Back then, a few games had some FMVs here and there or the occasional storyline right at the end. Project Justice got you involved with the school you picked for the story mode and chronicled your adventures in a similar vein to Guilty Gear XX.

3. Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves

I’ve written about this one before, but I’ll say it again: this game is fun! It might not have all the fancy things other fighting games had at the time, but something about Mark of the Wolves still encourages me to play it for hours on end at least once a month on my trusty Dreamcast.
2. SoulCalibur

This was one of the reasons many people bought a their systems. Sure, some may have bought it for Sonic, but anyone over the age of 14 probably bought their DC for this title. A lot of us had played Soul Blade on the PSone or Soul Edge in the arcades. When Soul Calibur was first introduced, the game took everyone by storm. The game had a very robust adventure mode, and none had seen a game with weapons utilized in such an elegant way. The DC version has aged a little bit, but with the VGA box it still looks like the arcade version. If you’ve ever played part of the Soul series, this might be one of the more important ones to check out.

1. Skies of Arcadia

Finally! We’re at number one! What else did you expect for #1? Grandia 2? I never got around to owning that on the DC. Instead I got Skies of Arcadia, and I loved every minute of it. So few games seem to tackle steampunk, and even less tend to chronicle sky pirates unless you want to count Final Fantasy IV. Skies of Arcadia had a rich story that really seemed to put the “roleplay” back in roleplaying game. Skies also catered to my sense of exploration, which is a big plus for someone who enjoys the RP portion of RPG. Flying ships, commanding crews, home bases, notoriety rank, and smart VMU utilization were just icing on the cake for the incredible storytelling in Skies of Arcadia.

Fans continue to clamor for a sequel to Skies, but I am somewhat doubtful. Overworks merged with an internal Sega developer, and now they’ve created games such as Valkyria Chronicles. So while there might not be a sequel, these guys still make some damn good games.

Listen now!

itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Intro:

Your week

Segment-Japan Culture: People who take it too far, why it’s so popular, and the difference between appreciation and obsession. “Cartoons are for kids” -- or are they? Racism towards American people. Andrew’s visit to Japan in 2005 and experiences from that trip.

Music -- Dan Deacon tickets, Goatbed, Guruguru Eigakan, Jay-Z, Kylesa
Gaming -- PS3 SLIM, King of Fighters new Patch, Droplitz, Battlefield: Bad Company, Shadow Complex
Anime -- Canaan
Movies/TV -- Miss March, Hana Yori Dango Final, Inglorious Basterds, The State (TV)

Craigslist -- Bears?

Listen now!

Hit the jump for the show notes and the youtube playlist!

Introduction
Your week -- Relatives, drunk videos, drunk church!
BigC3’s itunes review

Segment-chan: Final Fantasy -- Reasons why it sucks and/or is awesome.

a) MUSIC — Sabaton, Amon Amarth, millionaires, Circle Takes the Square, Killwhitneydead, Vaginal Jesus, Arctic Monkeys, RX Bandits, Outkast

b) GAMING — MAG beta, BF1943, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Resident Evil 5

c) ANIME — Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Dragonball, Bakemonogatari, Full Metal Alchemist

d) MOVIES/TV — I love you man, Dragonball Evolution, Dollhouse unaired episode

Craigslist -- Just take a look at this picture and tell me that you aren’t going to like this week’s Missed Connection segment.

Housekeeping: itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

BFM 16 Forum Discussion Thread

Be warned, some of the videos may be somewhat offensive. Though if you’re already a listener, I suppose I shouldn’t have to say that!

Sure you can read reviews for this game, but there’s no better way to judge a game than seeing visually what the title has to offer.

Sexy Poker is a strip-poker game for the Nintendo Wii’s Wiiware platform. You either play texas hold’em or blackjack against several manga-styled female characters. There are certain goals, and as you win more money the girl will take off part of her clothes.

Introduction- Introduce ourselves

Tell Us Your Week -- How was it. Really. How?

SEGMENT-CHAN: There is no segment. Only our hearts and minds as one.

EDP PROMO

a) MUSIC -- Dot Dot Curve, Burzum, DJ Sharpnel, Y. Bhekhirst, Passenger of Shit, Onomatopee, Modest Mouse,
b) GAMING -- King of Fighters XII, BlazBlue, Sexy Poker (WiiWare), SFIV, Red Faction, Battlefield 1943, Shatter
c) ANIME -- Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Eden of the East
d) MOVIES/TV -- Kenny vs Spenny, Michael & Michael Haz Issues, Liquid Sky, tosh.0

CRAIGSLIST

Housekeeping: itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Discuss on the forums

There have been quite a few negative reviews of this game from all over the spectrum. Whether it’s someone who isn’t familiar with King of Fighters feeling they’ve been ripped off, or someone who is familiar feeling like it’s too bare-bones to be considered a fully-numbered sequel.

King of Fighters XII is a great game, but it is not the best ‘package’. Compared to the likes of BlazBlue and Street Fighter IV this game is definitely bare-bones. However, there are factors that lie at this game’s core that make it a ‘great’ game.

I’ve been an avid fan of King of Fighters for the last couple of years, and I sort of knew what to expect. I had heard that the game changed a lot of the character movesets and eliminated quite a few of the extraneous characters from the previous entries. This game was being called a “rebirth” or a “Dream Match.” I knew there would be a lack of characters, and a lack of moves when I first bought this game. I also knew that there would be no story and no boss.

I think it’s pretty obvious I knew what to expect, but should I have expected more? Perhaps I should’ve, but I didn’t. I find this game to be incredibly fun. As long as I can avoid the online, I think I can get over the fact that this is a fairly bare-bones game. I really enjoy the game-play mechanics. Maybe it’s because I’m used to SNK style games as of late, but it just seems more realistic to me. There’s far less broken characters, and the competition is never the same due to the 3 on 3 aspect of the game (instead of one on one).

One of the complaints I hear about this game relates to the graphics. The artists for this game used pixel art instead of cel-shaded graphics like in popular games such as BlazBlue. I feel that by using pixel art, you are given an aesthetic that is reminiscent of the old-school King of Fighters without feeling terribly dated like the sprites in King of Fighters XI. As long as you sit the reccomended six feet away from your TV anyways, you usually won’t be able to tell how pixelated the graphics are regardless of the softness settings.

Personally, I have a lot of fun with this game. I do realize that this title has its issues, and these are things that someone cannot simply ignore from a critical standpoint. King of Fighters XII feels like more of step back than a step forward. The online is terribly laggy as of the first few weeks. If you can ignore the bad online play, and can enjoy offline modes then this game is for you. If you have friends to play with you, and you can appreciate the unique gameplay elements than I suggest you pick this up. For such a bare-bones package though, I wouldn’t suggest picking it up for full price. Either wait till it drops in price, or trade in a few games you no longer play. The game may be somewhat lacklust as an overall package, but it is definitely worth picking up to play with your friends.

I am generally not a fan of rating systems, especially numeric ones. King of Fighters XII gets a C+ from Black Flower Music. As much as I enjoy this game, the overall package is simply too embarassing to give a rating of anything higher. Fix the online, and it would get a B+

Want a second opinion? Check out The Fighters Generation review of King of Fighters XII

Introduction- SAY WHO WE ARE. NAME OF PODCAST

HOW WAS UR WEEK DEARY? -- we did stuff during the week. No joke.
SEGMENT-CHAN: Tap and dance and click to the beat. Rhythm games!

Regular: Project Diva, Beats, Audiosurf, Frequency, Parappa the Rappa, Let’s Tap, Gitaroo Man

Bemani: Beatmania, DDR,  Para Para Paradise, Guitar Freaks, Drummania, Keyboardmania, Pop’n'Music

a) MUSIC- Dr Octagon, Dead Weather, Molotov, The Roots, Beastie Boys, Avenue D

b) GAMING- Battlefield 1943, Disgaea trophies, Burnout Paradise, Godhand

c) ANIME- Eden of the East, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

d) MOVIES/TV - Harry Potter, Bruno, Pineapple Express, Michael and Michael Have Issues

CRAIGSLIST

Housekeeping: itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Say No More Tongues isn’t exactly music in the strictest form of the word. We are a little bit of noise, lo-fi, a bit of classical, and mostly improvization. The group consists of my wife and I, and duties are split between the two of us. She graduation with a 3.975 GPA in music performance for viola at MTSU, and … I’m just a guy who likes to tinker with things. Her insane knowledge of music theory, and my absolute lack creates a weird tug-of-war in all of our music. Every release is intent on having a wholly unique sound from previous work, and this album is no different.

This album is probably good for rainy days, or when you’re in the mood for something creepy and lo-fi. We used a beat-up Fender American Stratocaster, a flute, a korg kaoss pad, and a bit of spoken word thrown in here and there. We tried quite a few things that we haven’t done before, and had lots of fun recording it. Yeah, it’s lo-fi noisy weird stuff, but at least we had fun! The production values may not be as epic as such stars like Lady Gaga or Justin Timberlake, but this is an album I like to listen to.

In other news, ENDLESS is our last album as “Say No More Tongues”. I feel that it’s time to shorten it! From now on, it will be SNMT. You see, this way, it can mean various things like “Satanic Noise-Music Troupe” or “Sadly, Nobody Makes Tacos”. All of the links should still be the same, although I suppose the last.fm page for our new releases will be different since it’s now SNMT instead of Say No More Tongues.

As 2009 is now half-way over I once again feel motivated to get up and do something. Ideas are floating around, and songs may be recorded soon. All I can really say now is to expect to hear Hatsune Miku vocaloid (vocal synthesizer) in some of our songs. Everyone makes dance or polka songs with that, but I want to make this kind! Whatever this…is.

This is Black Flower Music Podcast episode 13, and we have some crazy musings to share with you tonight. We have our podcast tagged on iTunes for Explicit, but this one definitely merits the label. Join us this week as we talk about some hot summer movies, Japan’s new summer anime season, BlazBlue, Michael Jackson, and perverted female duo dance music. On the table this week for our segment is “The latest hotness”. You know that thing where everyone goes and buys the latest games because all their friends do, or something… I’m not going to explain it here! Then you wouldn’t need to listen to the podcast

Introduction- We actually introduce ourselves this time! Thanks HorusInExile for noticing!

What’s Your Week? It was July 4th, so I’m sure you can imagine there were human sacrifices and fireworks and the usual rituals that just scream “Freedom”…

Segment: Bend over, it’s time to buy all the latest and greatest stuff without thinking twice about whether you even want the game or not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

a) Anime -- Higurashi kai -- NEEDLESS -- Code Geass

b) Gaming -- BlazBlue, Piyotama, Sonic’s Genesis Collection, zen pinball, Red Faction Guerilla

c)Music -- Gorillaz, Checkicco, Lords of Acid, Michael Jackson, Baadd, Avenue D

d) Movies/TV -- The Hangover, UP

Housekeeping: itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

Those Japanese people really love their Vocaloid, I suppose. Expect to hear impressions on Hatsune Miku’s new game Project Diva in Black Flower Music Podcast episode 13!

--UPDATE--

Seems like there were some warning signs first. A floating girl in the sky, some leeks on the ground, and a mystical floating leek haunting the rails.

Most of those ‘games’ were adult videos formatted for use with the 3DO. I say adult, but it’s mostly softcore stuff or “please take my picture player-sama!” types of visual novel-esque games.

Sort of like a precursor to DVD, although familiar territory to laserdisc owners. The games had nearly VCD quality video, but I’m assuming not full VCD spec as a VCD add-on was later released for the system. Some of these games were straight-up menu-driven videos. Others, such as Mind Teazzer was an adult jigsaw puzzle wherein the reward was a Vivid! Entertainment produced clip.

Being one of those ‘games’, Body Conscious Part 1: Shinjuku & Takashi Digital Rave! does not really have much of a summary. Some club owners just wanted advertisement, I think.

Intro:

What’s Your Week?

Segment: Hannah Montana The Movie: The Game (PS3 Version, btw)

THE AGENDA:

anime/manga: More haruhi season 2, Eden of the East finale, DB KAI, Yotsuba, Macross 7

gaming: Free Socom,revisiting RE5, 50 Cent, The World Ends With You, Raiden Fighters Aces, Gunstar Heroes

music: phoenix, Air, Scissor Sisters, EAR PWR,  Japandroids, BROKENCYDE

movies/TV: Fired Up, He’s just not that Into You, Bride Wars, Time Warp, Forensic Files

Housekeeping: itunes | RSS | MP3 | podcast@blackflowermusic.com | twitter

In two weeks, our segment will concern the age old argument of quality over quantity. Well, sorta… Quantity in this regard refers to individuals who go buy all the latest greatest games. Do you eat up the latest hot games? Or do you shop around and do your homework? Email us and tell us what you do and why.