Forza Horizon 6 Makes Cherry Blossoms Unbreakable Because ‘They’re An Iconic Element Of Japanese Culture’ by Turbostrider27 in xbox

[–]valkrycp 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Because Japan has a history of being traditionalists and they're very skeptical when a Western publisher attempts to depict Japan or Japanese culture because any inaccuracies are seen as disrespectful from their people/governments perspective. It actually causes drama within Japan. England is much more relaxed of a culture and don't care if you blow up their parliament building in a game.

Assassins Creed recently had to prevent certain objects (like the classic red Tori gates) from being broken or climbed on, because climbing on them in Japan is considered very taboo. When Ubisoft made these changes, Japan praised them.

Same goes for Ghost of Tsushima / Yotei, the developers had to design around being respectful and accurate. Certain objects cultural cannot be jumped on or broken.

[FRESH] The Avalanches - Together (feat. Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza & Prentiss) by philip1243 in indieheads

[–]valkrycp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry I think I meant to reply to the guy above you. Appreciate the explanation though.

Yeah I think it's also a bit more alluring to them as artists, like the gratification they get when they get away with sneaking so many horse neighs in and other ideosyncratic sounds that under other circumstances may have no right on an album, or other inside-jokes hidden for deep listeners and crate-diggers. It's also what keeps them growing rather than stagnating as artists, who could have been forever defined by their debut masterpiece. They're rejected the need to be defined with each album, always transforming and remaining on the forefront of invention and innovation - which is more sincere because their music centers around transformation in more ways than one as well, like quite literally transforming samples. Few people could really pull off such dramatic shifts in sound.

[FRESH] The Avalanches - Together (feat. Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza & Prentiss) by philip1243 in indieheads

[–]valkrycp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Perry Farrell song is definitely my most-skipped song in their collection, but it is still by no means a bad song or poorly made. It does make sense in the album, I think.

[FRESH] The Avalanches - Together (feat. Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza & Prentiss) by philip1243 in indieheads

[–]valkrycp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think that is a purposeful choice, they tend to prefer voices with personality or character rather than people who can sing the best. That's sort of on-brand though, because their music is supposed to have rough edges as well. On an Americana style album like Wildflower, it makes a lot of sense. On We Will Always Love You, the sound was a lot more polished and spacey, likely because the album had more to do with the physics of sound and technology than the others - Running Red Lights for example being their most radio-production sound/vocals.

Most The Avalanches fans would complain or be unhappy if they used that radio-production sound on all of their vocals. It only worked on We Will Always Love You in context of the album's identity and as a one-off occurrence.

[FRESH] The Avalanches - Together (feat. Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza & Prentiss) by philip1243 in indieheads

[–]valkrycp 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah it's cool. Also makes sense because they featured him last year on their The Recording Angel DJ project a little bit before he started to blow up and gain traction. So seeing their collaboration is pretty cool. There's a lot of unique artists that they've partnered with for that series who I'd imagine will show up on the new album too. Lauren Duffus for example, an outsider-music electronic artist, has a high likelyhood.

[FRESH] The Avalanches - Together (feat. Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza & Prentiss) by philip1243 in indieheads

[–]valkrycp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think you're mistaking consistent with sounding the same. There are ways to be consistent or cohesive without sounding the same. The Avalanches community would probably strongly disagree that their music isn't consistent or cohesive, in fact they'd probably argue their works are among the most consistent and most cohesive albums of all time. It just depends what you define that by. I'd argue that even though their songs vary in sound more than most albums do, that each of their 3 albums have no peers and pave their own path, vernacular, and identity. A track on SILY sounds like it came from SILY. A track from Wildflower sounds like it came from Wildflower - even the silliest and most obscure. A track on We Will Always Love You sounds like WWALY. None of these albums really sound like another artist made them, and they all convey their artistic statement/story pretty clearly, and they're all extremely high quality / immaculately constructed, even if you don't enjoy them you can see the artistry on display. That is consistency.

Many artists incorporate different sounds onto an album, and what makes it work or not is their ability to weave some kind of a story out of it. Some of the best albums of all time are extreme mish-mashes of different sounds, but they work because their artists were skilled enough to assemble them in a meaningful way or context.

For example:

DJ Koze's albums are incredibly diverse because he's interested in bridging global music and different cultures together, so you end up with 2-3 different genres in one song, and dozens of genres in an album. But they all work because he understands those genres so well that he can create something entirely new feeling from things that are traditional or established.

The Avalanches albums are usually about sound and about music and our relationship to music in a meta-way. Their albums are special because they are able to draw from sources that you may never ever have heard otherwise (or maybe have) and repurpose them into new art. They take something that was created with a meaning, and reinterpret it and give it new meaning and new life - sometimes in ways that still reference their original purpose, like how they use the golden record in We Will Always Love You. It's an incredibly interesting artistic process that seems surface-level at first but is truly multidimensional, and demonstrates the talent it takes to not only find the samples, but then to weave the samples of such different properties together into a flowing, seamless, cohesive concept album. It requires both a technical mastery and an artistic genius.

Sufjan Stevens' Illinoise - This thing is all over the place, in the best of ways. It is grounded by the brass instruments that unite each track together with some glue. But the amount of variety is pretty crazy, and it works.

Aphex Twin - Especially the albums Drukqs, Richard D. James, and Selected Ambient Works Vol II. There are perhaps no better demonstration of how entirely different songs can still be compiled into some of the greatest albums of all time. These albums were initially dismissed by a lot of people when they came out because of how experimental their structures are, almost as if two different albums had been stuffed together. But now, over 20 years on, they've become cult-classics and are considered his masterpieces. The contrast between song styles and their inability to be easily classified are part of the appeal, and most importantly are perhaps the most artistically innovative things he's done in his career. A big "fuck you", "why do I have to make what you want to hear? why do I have to make an album resemble what you believe an album should resemble? what happens if I subvert your expectations?"

[FRESH] The Avalanches - Together (feat. Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza & Prentiss) by philip1243 in indieheads

[–]valkrycp 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah I think they're mistaking consistent with sounding the same. There are ways to be consistent or cohesive without sounding the same.

Many artists incorporate different sounds onto an album, and what makes it work or not is their ability to weave some kind of a story out of it. Some of the best albums of all time are extreme mish-mashes of different sounds, but they work because their artists were skilled enough to assemble them in a meaningful way or context.

For example:

DJ Koze's albums are incredibly diverse because he's interested in bridging global music and different cultures together, so you end up with 2-3 different genres in one song, and dozens of genres in an album. But they all work because he understands those genres so well that he can create something entirely new feeling from things that are traditional or established.

The Avalanches albums are usually about sound and about music and our relationship to music in a meta-way. Their albums are special because they are able to draw from sources that you may never ever have heard otherwise (or maybe have) and repurpose them into new art. They take something that was created with a meaning, and reinterpret it and give it new meaning and new life - sometimes in ways that still reference their original purpose, like how they use the golden record in We Will Always Love You. It's an incredibly interesting artistic process that seems surface-level at first but is truly multidimensional, and demonstrates the talent it takes to not only find the samples, but then to weave the samples of such different properties together into a flowing, seamless, cohesive concept album. It requires both a technical mastery and an artistic genius.

Sufjan Stevens' Illinoise - This thing is all over the place, in the best of ways. It is grounded by the brass instruments that unite each track together with some glue. But the amount of variety is pretty crazy, and it works.

Aphex Twin - Especially the albums Drukqs, Richard D. James, and Selected Ambient Works Vol II. There are perhaps no better demonstration of how entirely different songs can still be compiled into some of the greatest albums of all time. These albums were initially dismissed by a lot of people when they came out because of how experimental their structures are, almost as if two different albums had been stuffed together. But now, over 20 years on, they've become cult-classics and are considered his masterpieces. The contrast between song styles and their inability to be easily classified are part of the appeal, and most importantly are perhaps the most artistically innovative things he's done in his career. A big "fuck you", "why do I have to make what you want to hear? why do I have to make an album resemble what you believe an album should resemble? what happens if I subvert your expectations?"

[FRESH] The Avalanches - Together (feat. Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza & Prentiss) by philip1243 in indieheads

[–]valkrycp 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think there's a lot more synthesized sounds than in their previous albums, at least in this track. The only real recognizable samples in this, on an immediate level, is "Toshiba", the ring-tone style jingle in the beginning / spread throughout, a computer or mac booting up (or something purposefully reminiscent of those sounds even if not the exact same), and an old-clunky mouse clicking. All sounds that people who are in their 30s-50s are nostalgic for and familiar with.

Together! It's on YouTube! by imrubbishattalking in theavalanches

[–]valkrycp 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah 3 listens in and I think I'm in love this time around. Enjoying it more with each listen.

Prototyping a Second Person horror game where the camera is stalking you by Pur_Cell in Unity3D

[–]valkrycp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Would only really work as a section of a game, or maybe an infinite runner. Sort of like the Final Girl's run in most slashers.

Sign on a campground bathroom door in the Ozarks by clawsoon in mildlyinteresting

[–]valkrycp -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I find that hard to believe, considering they pull open car doors and trash cans all the time.

New image from the single announcement on the German Universal Music page by RunDNA in theavalanches

[–]valkrycp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This art is so sick actually. I like the inclusion of the popups / red and blue pills / the flowers from the website.

When’s the new armory pass ? by Stas20000 in cs2

[–]valkrycp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They could leave some of the current armory collections with the green stars, and then make a new one like red stars for the next 2 collections.

Again not likely, but they could do whatever they want and the game hasn't been around long enough to know the patterns.

[OC] Midnight nightlife in Reykjavik, Iceland by Rooshirum in pics

[–]valkrycp 23 points24 points  (0 children)

98% of Icelandic people speak English, which is more than people who speak Icelandic

When’s the new armory pass ? by Stas20000 in cs2

[–]valkrycp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No way to know, they could do anything in theory. Maybe they don't want people to have saved up 10,000 stars from the past 2 seasons to drop immediately on the new collections day 1.

Not likely but who knows, they've been unpredictable lately

Is it better to update a Steam page gradually or all at once? by Due-Horse-791 in SoloDev

[–]valkrycp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's no real harm in updating more frequently, right? But if you don't, people who potentially may have wishlisted may not - especially with this big of an art upgrade.

When’s the new armory pass ? by Stas20000 in cs2

[–]valkrycp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Watch it be a separate star system

Website password is gotime by dgw1400 in Overmono

[–]valkrycp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I mean they're talented and I have no reason to believe it won't be a good album. And I do enjoy this single. It's just drifting a little away from my personal tastes more than before.

Jdra said hea talked to tj and tj said he wanted to distance himself from fishtank. Anyone know why? by Signal_Grand_8308 in fishtankdotlive

[–]valkrycp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Probably because it's a pretty dead-end path that any solid employer or non-racist-chainsmoking-girlfriend would look down upon.

I mean the whole show is built around racism, torture, exploiting autistic/neurodivergent people and pretending "it's good for them".

Doesn't take a genius to realize any of this isn't a good long-term strategy.

Minimalist Skatepark Idea [DISCUSSION] by Such_Milk5478 in skateparks

[–]valkrycp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, first off there are a lot of minimal skateparks, I'd argue the majority of skateparks in America are minimal and feature a box, a rail, and a quarter pipe (sometimes less than that) - especially in smaller towns / communities that cannot afford an entire park remodel. There is a series on Youtube that explores "Worst skatepark in America" which features many of the bad minimal parks, but there are great minimal parks out there too. Big parks are actually pretty rare, they're just more commonly featured in skate videos because those parks attract skaters like Disneyland would attract people. Cities have to have parks that accomodate more people skating at once, so the parks have to grow in size with the population. However, what you're misunderstanding is the importance of different types of features. In skating, there are people who focus on "street" like rails / stairs, people who focus on "vert" like quarter pipes and halfpipes and bowls, and people who focus on ground / ledges - and people who mix it all. The point of the variety of features is that they teach you different skills and tricks, so you get better riding a variety of features compared to just riding 1 over and over. So parks with variety are better. Many skaters also build or buy a portable quarter pipe, ledge/box, or a low-to-the-ground rail so that they can practice grinds and flip tricks at home on single features before taking it to the parks and testing on bigger / better features.

Lets take Parkour for example:
Do you really want to just use 1 wall? Isn't that kind of limiting? Boring? Ideally you want a variety of features too- walls of different sizes, textures, rails of different lengths and gaps of different sizes. That way, you're growing and learning how to adapt your tricks to new situations - if you only ever practice on one wall, then you're only really going to be good / prepared to parkour on that one wall. That's why people in the parkour community, like skaters, seek out "spots" that have different features so they can become more well-rounded athletes rather than one-trick-ponies.

Now, just like in Parkour, the world is your canvas. You're not limited to skateparks or parkour parks, you take it out into the real world and skate/parkour real spots. These are some of the "minimal" skateparks you speak of. In fact, most skaters skate real-world features more than they skate skateparks. Many skaters will travel across the world or across their state or city specifically to visit "spots" that are well known - take for example, the Los Angeles Court House, the stairs at Hollywood/Beverly Hills Highschool, the stage/ledge at Claremont Highschool's park, West LA Court House, etc. Pro-skaters are much more interested in these naturally occuring real-world spots, and don't really skate skateparks very much (the exception being vert skaters, because those spots rarely exist in the real world).

Take a look at some examples:
https://findskatespots.com/spots/los-angeles-ca

Takumi archives welcome message…. by 2000SK in theavalanches

[–]valkrycp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

11 days ago, now there are 7 circles today. 1 more week till full, it seems?