Gaeta’s mutiny is over, and the fleet has disposed of the two major mischief makers. They are now bereft their Quorum, and Galen has discovered that Galactica is falling apart. But neither of those are important compared to the two other parallel storylines. Read on if you’re prepared for spoilers.
Author: David
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Hitler’s battletech army
Stress is a large part of organising any gaming convention…
I was particularly amused by the person who said, “There, there. Hitler wouldn’t dare run Spelljammer”.
Courtesy of Fear the Boot.
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Music Industry vs Music Games
Wired.com is running an essay on the music industry’s beef with music simulation games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. In some ways, it’s like listening to a broken record: old business hasn’t anticipated how the times are a-changin’ and starts whining about not having a big enough cut of the proceeds.
They’ve done it with Apple and the ITMS, they’re doing illegal things to hinder file swapping, and they’re doing very little to be innovative and stay ahead of the game. What they don’t seem to realise is that if they weren’t stuck in this orthodoxy of the plastic disc, they could be inventing new distribution channels like games and ringtones and online file distribution.
One fact jumped straight off my monitor and burned into my brain when I read the article:
Music games are proven earners—Aerosmith has reportedly earned more from Guitar Hero : Aerosmith than from any single album in the band’s history.
Wow! Aerosmith is one of the biggest rock bands in history, and they make more money off a game? It’s obvious this could be used as a fantastic promotional tool, but it can also help revitalise bands.
Due to the last couple years of music games, I’ve (re)discovered music and bands I haven’t given a thought to in over a decade. I’ve spent money on them. Even if the label gets a relatively small cut from the game, it gets much more from my track purchase.
I would hate to be working for such an introverted, conservative company. It would frustrate me to think that my employer behaved like a spoiled brat who wanted credit every time somebody came up with a better idea.
Buddy! the Buddy Holly Story is an entertaining musical loosely based on the short (but influential) career of Buddy Holly, who is arguably one of the most influential performers in early rock ‘n roll (after Elvis Presley).
I’m no music historian, but Buddy! struck me as a very simplistic view at the life of any human being. The musical paints him as a charismatic and naive kid who stubbornly but charmingly propels himself through trouble to stardom. He seems to drift on a current of luck from being fired by his first manager at a country station through obtaining a valuable recording contract and overcoming race concerns to win the hand of the woman he intended to marry.
Naturally, this luck has to be paid for, but more on that later.
Despite this very simplistic plot, I really enjoyed the way the story was framed. Billy’s first manager Hi-Pockets is a radio DJ, who chronicles Buddy’s story through his broadcasts. I found this technique to be very engaging and helped transition between scenes without breaking suspension of disbelief.
The lighting and staging at the Lyric Theatre was dynamic, allowing for quick changes of scene location, and entrances and exits through different parts of the scene. That “back of house” guy in me was quite appreciative of the work done by the technical directors.
The first act is where all the plot resides. The second act is a quick setup, and then launches into a long rock ‘n roll concert featuring the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. Naturally, this is the infamous Winter Dance Party in Clear Lake, Iowa, where the three of them performed together. The act is filled with as many musical numbers that they can pack in. There’s a fair amount of audience participation, so it’s a good opportunity to stand up, clap your hands and sing along.
It was definitely hard to avoid singing along. If you’re like me and had all those golden oldies poured into you by your parents from an early age, they’ll all come flooding back. There are a lot of musical numbers, and they were pretty much all familiar. I really had a good time (perhaps a little despite myself).
Even so, the second does seem to drag after a while. I wonder if perhaps there could have been a little more plot and a (little) less music in the second act. Maybe some more backstage dialogue?
Of course, this all culminates in the infamous plane crash that Don Maclean later proclaims as the Day the Music Died. I suppose there was a little irony in that I saw Buddy! about a week after the 50th anniversary of the crash.
If you’re in Sydney, Buddy! is playing through to the end of March at the Lyric Theatre. I recommend going for some light entertainment and good fun music.
In closing, I found it interesting to note that while many songs are about the common theme of falling in love, I don’t find it that cheesy. Maybe it’s just nostalgia, or maybe it’s because love music from that period is more than just the latest dribble churned out by a music label’s writer.
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BSG: Again? That never works!
So, last episode was laying the groundwork for the next two. Nothing particularly exciting happened. I’m going to lump the next two together.
As usual, beware the spoilers.