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SOL Republic intros Amps and Tracks headphone lines, we go hands-on
Oh my is this interesting. Monster Cable's VP of marketing Kevin Lee (a key figure involved with its Beats by Dre headphone line) has co-founded a new headphone company dubbed Soundtrack Of Life Republic, and we were able to get a very brief hands-on with some handmade prototypes. It's no secret that we're not fans of Monster around these parts, but being that SOL Republic isn't directly tied to it -- and because the headphones bring with them some interesting features without being crazy expensive -- we've decided to give them a quick whirl. It's all detailed just past the break. %Gallery-131400%
The Road to Mordor: Soundtrack bonanza!
One of the probably-not-very-interesting things about me is that I'm somewhat of a video game soundtrack aficionado. Ever since MP3s became all the rage, I've been collecting my favorite tunes from console and computer games, often replacing the in-game score with my own personal soundtrack. MMO soundtracks, as a whole, are hit or miss with me. While there are many incredible pieces out there, a bulk of what you find is low-key atmospheric stuff that isn't meant to be on anyone's Top 40 playlist. Lord of the Rings Online has its up and downs as a soundtrack, but overall it really does evoke the spirit of Middle-earth. It's hard to imagine playing the game, especially the early levels, without hearing these tracks. I've collected both the soundtracks to Shadows of Angmar and Mines of Moria and have been saving them for a special occasion. Today is that special occasion. These were composed by Chance Thomas (who's scored many Lord of the Rings-related games) and Stephen DiGregorio. Ranging from bombastic to sinister to folksy, this score covers the gamut of themes and emotions related to the journey of the Ring. It's cool to listen to it independently of the game, as you can appreciate the score for what it is -- and see how the pieces evoke memories of your times in LotRO. Instead of individually reviewing all 40 or so tracks, I'm simply going to pick my 10 most favorite to share with you!
PSP-playing boy falls onto train tracks, saved by a real life hero (video)
Not the best news for Sony execs to be waking up to this morning, as the company's PSP has played a starring role in an unfortunate, though thankfully innocuous, incident. A 10-year old Milanese boy was recently so absorbed by his portable's make.believe world that he forgot the real one around him had boundaries with bright lines painted around them. A moment later the young gamer found himself next to the train tracks a few feet below the platform designed for human occupation, though he wasn't there long as an off-duty policeman by the name of Alessandro Micalizzi quickly leapt down and lifted him to safety. See it on video below and feel free to draw your own conclusions about your gaming habits.
Michael Jackson: The Experience is in for a Thriller
Ubisoft has revealed three more tracks for the upcoming Michael Jackson experience entitled, um, Michael Jackson: The Experience. There will certainly be more than a few MJ fans happy to hear about the inclusion of "Ghost" and "Rock with You," but the highlight of the announcement is easily the Halloween classic "Thriller." We can only hope that the game will include the full version of the song -- werewolves, Vincent Price and all -- however unlikely that may be. Check out some new screens in the gallery below and some new gameplay footage after the break (no "Thriller" footage, sorry). %Gallery-106272%
Full DJ Hero 2 soundtrack, all 83 mixes revealed
Aided by the skillful hands of DJ Qbert, DJ Shadow, Tiësto, RZA and other cut chemists, FreeStyleGames has mixed and mashed another eclectic cocktail of beats, rhymes and -- Sam Cooke even! The DJ Hero 2 soundtrack boasts 83 original mixes and the actual words to Snow's "Informer." Peep the full soundtrack after the break -- and sample the new mixes on DJHero.com.
Pull up your pants and check out these new Def Jam Rapstar tracks
Def Jam Rapstar gets another 7 tracks deeper today, adding cuts by Busta Rhymes, DMX, Fat Joe, Ja Rule, Lil' Jon and Twista to the official track listing, in addition to another "oldie" by Public Enemy. As with all songs in the game, these will be edited versions, though it's as yet unclear if the censoring suits have finally caught on to the meaning of Lil' Jon's insistence that we all "skeet, skeet" on ... the windows and walls, is it? Of course, players will be invited to invent their own catchy hooks in Freestyle Mode, which today adds a trio of beats from DJ Premiere, Bangladesh and Just Blaze, who has contributed the appropriately dubbed "8 Bit" production. Check out the full update and a new video promo after the break.%Gallery-101839%
This is the full 83-track Rock Band 3 setlist
Recording from Gamescom, Harmonix has issued a video response to the alleged Rock Band 3 song list leak from earlier this week. Three members of the studio appear on screen to discredit the -- wait a minute! Is that the entire setlist scrolling in the background? Head past the break for the complete 83-track listing, as seen in Harmonix's tongue-in-cheek reveal.
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock's song list (so far)
Formerly known as Guitar Hero 6, Warriors of Rock promises the largest on-disc set list so far, with over 90 songs. Here's a look at the list of songs that have been announced to date.
Def Jam Rapstar track listing adds Tribe, Pun, Luda and more
4mm Games went digging in the crates and pulled out some infectious tracks for the latest update to the Def Jam Rapstar roster. The seven additions, spanning nearly two decades, feature classics and more recent hits, from A Tribe Called Quest's "Scenario" to Big Pun's "Still Not a Player" onto Ludacris' "Stand Up." But does it get any more buck wild than Onyx's "Slam?" (Warning: Backdafucup when that joint comes on.) Additionally, 4mm Games has announced that the game's freestyle mode will feature "exclusive" instrumentals by producers Cool & Dre and DJ Khalil -- as if the main sing-along mode wasn't already designed to expose the living room MC who has no business in the rap game. Check out the complete list of revealed tracks after the break. %Gallery-97147%
No launch DLC for Blur, but there will be plenty
Blur has been in development at Bizarre Creations for at least a year now, and probably even longer, but in all of that time, no one in the studio has worked on any DLC, according to lead designer Ged Talbot speaking to MTV Multiplayer. While the title does have some in-game pre-order bonuses ready to go, there won't be any launch DLC, so you'll have to be satisfied with the 50 cars and 30 racing locales coming on the disc for a little while. But Talbot does say that Bizarre will be releasing additional content soon after the game goes on sale, and that "it's always been a massive part of the strategy to support the game with DLC." Your late '92 baby blue Subaru might not be in there right now, but just be patient, baby -- it's coming for you.
Ten Queen tracks coming to Rock Band later this month
Say it with us, friends, in a high-pitched, sing-song voice: Queen is coming to Rock Band! A rumor we heard in late August claiming Harmonix is planning to bring a slew of Freddie Mercury-voiced tunes to its rhythm platform is true. In the last week of October, the Music Store will be visited by the following tracks: Another One Bites The Dust Crazy Little Thing Called Love One Vision Fat Bottomed Girls I Want It All I Want to Break Free Killer Queen Somebody to Love Tie Your Mother Down Under Pressure We wonder if they'll be available as a collection called "All The Good Ones Except for Bohemian Rhapsody."
David Bowie, Styx, Yellowcard & others join Band Hero
We'd like to congratulate Devo, David Bowie and Marvin Gaye for reaching one of the highest highs in the music industry. That would be appearing in a game with no fewer than three Taylor Swift songs: Band Hero. The artists' featured hits are part of the latest batch of announced tracks -- all of which you can find after the break -- for the tweenybopper spin-off. Also, do we have any volunteers to dive into the belly of Band Hero and rescue the totally awesome "In a Big Country" Saving Private Ryan–style? It ... it doesn't deserve this.
Gran Turismo for PSP finally parking October 1st
Hot on the heels of the PSP Go announcement, Sony also tells us at E3 that Gran Turismo may finally see release on the system. They say that even though the game will be on the tiny system, it will be packed with content: 800 cars to race around on 35 tracks with multiple variations that actually allow for 60 different race route. In singleplayer, you'll be able to run singleplayer time trials, and there will also be a mode to help your driving improve. Multiplayer will bring ad hoc four player racing as well as the ability to trade cars back and forth with your friends.The game will release on October 1, right alongside the new PSP system.
Rock Band track catalog gets statistical-ized
Have you ever found yourself wondering what a statistical breakdown of all the songs in Rock Band 2 might look like while in the midst of one of the game's heavy metal power solos? Admittedly, that's not the most hard rockingest thing we've ever heard -- still, you may want to point your mathematical curiosities at gaming blog Pwn or Die, who recently sorted the series' 591 tracks into different categories using simple bar graphs and delicious-looking pie charts.Here's some of the more interesting tidbits we gleaned from the charts -- nearly three-quarters of the available songs come from DLC, though only about one-quarter of said content is currently available on the Wii version of the game. The decade that spawned the most of the available tracks is the 2000s (making up about 40 percent of the songs), while the tunes of the 1920s remain tragically unspoken for. You can check out the rest of the charts here!
First Look: TuneUp for Mac now ready to tackle your iTunes disorganization
Despite the presence of a checkbox to "keep iTunes library organized" in the application's preferences, the fact remains that iTunes tracks -- coming from a plethora of sources and of varying vintage, and sometimes numbering in the thousands -- are a black hole of bad metadata. Track and performer names may be wrong or missing (the dreaded "Track 01" and my favorite band, Unknown Artist, are frequently seen); other details may be off-base, and as for album art... well, let's just say that I don't use Cover Flow that much, and not because I don't like the way it looks; it's just that the wide stretches of empty covers are depressing. There's some help on the way from TuneUp; the formerly Windows-only iTunes companion is now available for the Mac, with a free version that 'cleans' up to 500 tracks and a paid/subscription Premium license ($19.95 onetime or $11.95/annual) with unlimited scrubbing bubble power. I decided to give TuneUp a trial run on the most confused, mixed-up section of my iTunes library: a collection of professional and collegiate a cappella tracks, with track names identical to the original recordings, sure to befuddle any conventional artist matching strategy. Would TuneUp's leverage of the Gracenote database give it an advantage in dealing with these puzzlers? Read on for more, or check out our gallery of TuneUp screenshots. %Gallery-39057%
Discovered: 64-bit blood on the tracks
It's a shame to see someone ditching their Nintendo 64 on the railroad tracks next to broken dreams and two empty Sprite bottles, especially when there's 17 versions of Rock Band 2 to look forward to.[Thanks, Mike]
Wii Warm Up: Favorite tracks?
Okay, you've had some quality time with every Wii owner's latest obsession, Mario Kart Wii. Now that you've had ample time to play a few of the game's tracks repeatedly, we were hoping you wouldn't mind chiming in and telling us who's hot, and who's not, so to speak. Loving the newer tracks? Been enjoying some of the remakes? Weigh in!%Gallery-4772%
Wii Warm Up: On track
With Mario Kart Wii heading our way soon, we thought it might be a good time to get a little nostalgic over your favorite aspects of past games. Tracks, characters, tiny details -- what makes your favorite version of Mario Kart the one for you? What about track types? Maybe you love the beaches and jungles but hate anything with ice. There's a lot to discuss; regardless of how similar the games seem to be from system to system, there are so many differences to talk about!
Cover Stream brings the old CoverFlow back
I'm sure I'm not alone on this one, but I remember when CoverFlow was basically just a tech demo, and not, you know, the centerpiece of OS X's UI. But of course when Apple picked up the little app to use it for everything else, we lost it -- even if you wanted to use the old simple album-browsing app (and now I'm actually regretting deleting it off of my old PowerBook), you're out of luck.Unless you use Cover Stream, an iTunes helper app that recreates the old CoverFlow interface outside of iTunes. It's even incorporated the "flip-browsing" that you can do on the iPhone, where you just flip the art over to choose a specific track to play. As for how it actually works with iTunes, we can't say, but at least that CoverFlow interface is still available unofficially.By the way, I'm planning on doing a roundup (similar to the alarm clock one) of iTunes helper apps like this, so if there are any you want to see included, drop a note here in the comments. I have a few in mind already, but suggestions are welcome.[Via MacMinute]
Motorstorm tracks drop onto the US PSN Store this week
Remember way back in the mists of time (last Thursday) when Europe received a pair of new Motorstorm tracks in their PSN Store update? Do you remember how it made you feel, as a Motorstorm loving American? How the hate and the anger swelled inside you? Well now you can rest easy and finally get that blood pressure down to a practical level, because Sony has announced that the double track pack will be arriving on the American PSN Store tomorrow.Not only that, but you'll be getting them at a discounted rate, compared to your European cousins. $2.99 for two tracks is not be sniffed at, by any means. For more information check out our previous coverage of the new tracks, or Sony's latest blog post (or just ask a European - preferably one that speaks the same language, though).
