Richard D. James Album
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (28 January, 1997)
list price: $11.98 -- our price: $10.99
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Editorial Review

If techno ever does become the sound of young America, don't expect Richard James to be its poster boy, deserving though he may be. A native of Cornwall, England, James is obsessed with the mechanics of music making: As a kid, he took apart and reassembled the living room piano. Under the names Aphex Twin, Polygon Window, AFX, and other aliases too numerous to mention, he showed that he could make entire tracks with the sounds produced by tapping on a Coke can. Like the indie rockers of yore, he revels in his marginality because of the creative freedom it gives him. His full-length U.S. debut, Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994), includes some of the most serene sounds this side of the Orb, but his favorite hobby is the not-at-all-blissful pastime of driving a Daimler Ferret Mark 3 tank through his parents' backyard.

None of his recordings have captured the competing impulses to lull you to sleep and blast out your eardrums as well as Richard D. James, his third and best album. As the title indicates, James has turned inward for inspiration, painting aural pictures of real and imagined scenes from his west country childhood. "Goongumpas" is a fanciful, playful tune that wouldn't sound out of place on the soundtrack to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. As his adventures with the family upright indicate, James was a bit of a devil even as a child. "Beetles" is the sound of a boy frying bugs on the sidewalk with a magnifying glass, and "To Cure a Weakling Child" shows flashes of the sort of sadism found only on preschool playgrounds. If you still doubt that young Richard developed early on, the romantic Nino Rota-style strings on "Girl/Boy Song" are just made for passionate seductions, and the tune appears in three mixes, each one hot and hornier than the one before.

The raucous undercurrents of even his calmest tunes and the sources of many of his most common sounds are what link James to the rock tradition. With Richard D. James, the artist solidifies his position as an electronic music mastermind who has earned a spot beside such well-respected innovators--whether or not he's destined for stardom. --Jim Derogatis ... Read more

Reviews (115)

Just a note:
Richard D. James Album is the first ten tracks of this album:

1. 4
2. Cornish Acid
3. Peek 824545301
4. Fingerbib
5. Corn Mouth
6. To Cure a Weakling Child
7. Goon Gumpas
8. Yellow Calx
9. Girl/Boy Song
10. Logon Rock Witch

When bringing the album to America, the record companies decided that 32 minutes was too short for an album and added on the (entertaining, but IMO inferior) 5 tracks from the Girl/Boy EP.

11. Milkman
12. Inkeys
13. Girl/Boy Song [£18 Snare Rush Mix]
14. Beetles
15. Girl/Boy Song [Redruth Mix]

Those five tracks are BONUS TRACKS - they are NOT part of Richard D. James Album. Please consider this when reviewing the album.

As for my opinion, RDJ Album is a masterpiece of Drill n Bass, which is the term for the lightning quick, spastic drumming that is so prominent in this work. Note that this rather up-tempo drumming isn't always intense...it can actually be quite soothing (For the best example of this, see Flim from the Come to Daddy EP). For this, I couldn't do anything but give it 5 Stars. Once again, Aphex Twin has released something completely alien to my ears and I love it.

Absolutely Amazing.
I recently purchased "I Care Because You Do" and this album and already I'm addicted to the work of Richard D. James. Although this album is somewhat short, it still packs an immense impact on your ears.

Songs like "4" sound like he took music from the nintendo game "Zelda: The Adventure of Link" and completely rearranged it and added some fast, happy beats. "Peek ..." is my favorite song by far, however. I can't explain it except that it is chaotic and beautiful at the same time - which I can only imagine is hard for any elektronik artist to acheive. "Corn Mouth" is insane - enough said - but I do like it. "Cornish Acid" and "Fingerbib" are great as well - and "Milkman" is HILARIOUS. "Logon Rock Witch" is a compilation of noises and bings, bongs and rings. It's cool. "Girl/Boy song" is cool - but actually, it's one of my least favorites. Sorry.

Also, the import version of this album ends after "Logon Rock Witch." The American version of this album has added the "Girl/Boy EP" after track ten which includes tracks 11-15. I hope that that clears up some questions. Also, to find out why RDJ is a genius - play this music on a disc player and put in headphones. When the albums over with you'll know why he's a genius... but - only if you have an open mind.

way too overrated
the sound of this cd is incredible. Aphex Twin made it off of his analog studio but where did he get this sound. If you read the back of squarepusher's "Feed Me Weird Things" Richard D. James gives him all the credit. I love this cd but i don't like the fact that all of his songs are under 4 minutes. He couldn't hack it. Here he is doing drum loops on an 808 through a filter bank while squarepusher has cruddy equiptment making the most out of it and doing 6 minute long drum solo's. Thats talent. ... Read more

Asin: B000002HOF

Le Tigre
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (30 November, 1999)
list price: $11.98
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Reviews (50)

Excellent!!!
First of all - I would give this more 4.5 stars than 4 stars.

This CD is empowering, energetic and fun. It's great to dance to but the lyrics are meaningful. They're a hard band to define, they aren't exactly electro but this is NOT Bikini Kill. It takes more after where Julie Ruin left off I think. Kathleen Hanna sounds like she's having a good time throughout the whole record which makes it just that more good. Even if you aren't a feminist (although if you are - listening to the album is a lot more enjoyable) this a great album to look into. I would get this CD before "Feminist Sweepstakes" because it's harder to get into "Feminist Sweepstakes" if you don't know how Le Tigre began.

Deceptacon - GREAT, the first few times I couldn't hear anything she was saying so I didn't like it very much but after I knew the lyrics it turned out to be one of my favorites.

Hot Topic - This song is OK, I think it's a great idea for a song but it carries on a little too long.

What's Yr Take on Cassavetes - I love this song, it's hilarious and intellectual at the sametime. It also has a great beat to it.

Empty - Takes a while to like, but after you get into it, it's a great song to dance and sing a long to.

Phanta - A mediocre song, it's good the first few hearings but it gets a little boring after a few more.

Eau D'bedroom Dancing - ABSOLUTLEY BEAUTIFUL! This is my favorite song on the album. It's slower than the rest of the songs but it keeps you hooked. Simply singing about dancing in your bedroom but amazing lyrics.

Let's Run - Good lyrics but I don't really like the beat. It's a so-so song.

My My Metrocard - GREAT song, it's witty, clever, energectic, danceable and fun all at once. I love it.

Friendship Station - Another so-so song, not much to say about it.

Slideshow at Free University - This is a pretty good song, it has a good beat and it doesn't get tired. Not much to say about it either though.

Dude Yr So Crazy! - I love this. Johanna Fateman sings in this song and the beat is haunting. Probably my second favorite song on this album. It's also different from the rest since the beat isn't as upbeat as the rest.

Les and Ray - I like this song, I didn't really like at first but I think it's a good song to end. It's sweet and has good lyrics so I'm okay with it.

Le Tigre's Le Tigre
Social protest? Dance fun? Social protest? Dance fun? What's your take on Le Tigre? Luckily, its both and so much more. Who would have thought "revolution girl style now" could have been so infectious or catchy? Le Tigre consists of ex-Bikini Kill Kathleen Hanna, a zine writer, and an indie filmmaker. Perhaps this motely collection of bursting creativty and energy lends itself to such a wildly fun record. At first listen, Le Tigre is instantly catchy, an explosive spontaneous dance album. There's no monotomous pattern here, Le Tigre tries a little of different musical styles never comitting themselves to one, making their debut album all the more exciting and hilarious. Riot grrls everywhere should've found out the simple yet devastatingly effective use of bouncy cheerful sing-a-longs. Le Tigre take it to the extreme, but come out unscarred and credibility in tact due to the intelligent, witty lyrics. But we've come to expect nothing less from Kathleen Hanna at the helm. "Deceptacon" is a fast-paced, hand-clapping, hard-hitting opener to the album. When Hanna cries "I'm so bored that I'd be entertained even by a stupid f***in' linoleum floor...Your lyrics are dumb like a linoleum floor. I'll walk on it! I'll walk over you!" you can't help but laugh. "Hot Topic" is a delightfully catchy tribute to certain feminists, encouraging them in their beliefs and activism with everyone from Aretha Franklin to Sleater-Kinney to Yoko Ono to Gayatri Spivak included. If "Hot Topic" doesn't get you singing along and dancing then you probably are a linoleum floor. "The The Empty" resembles Bikini Kill more than anything else on the album, grinding guitars drive Kathleen Hanna's Valley Girl delivery forward with unrelenting momentum, only stopping for a second to allow you enough room to breathe and for Kathleen Hanna to sneer "Oh baby!" before blasting off again. "Phanta" is a creative science-fiction spin with a stuttery robotic beat encompassing bleeps and blips and control tower emissions. "Eau D'Bedroom Dancing" which translates to "Water of Bedroom Dancing", which I won't pretend to understand, but its a beautiful love song that floats like water and had me dancing in my bedroom. "My My Metrocard" takes a stab at Giuliani for shutting the stripbars all disguised in a deceptively cheerful sing-a-long. Two finger snaps start off "Les and Ray", a sparkling dedication to old neighbors who used to play the piano. "You were my oxygen, the thing that made me think I could escape." Kathleen croons. It's also a song for any of us whoever used music as an escape. If all that glitters is not gold when inside it's dead, then Le Tigre glitters like gold AND its full of life.

Now Music for Pop Guys
Yes, all but the most Hemi-headed will find something to bop to and maybe, just maybe, stick around long enough to "listen." Smart, funny, tough, kick-ass power-punk-pop where the B-52s meet the Clash and take Sandra Bernhard for a ride. Julie Ruin began this? Hey kids, get some HISTORY! But sure, it's the new thing, the now thing, the grrrl thing and it rocks. My 5yr-old says, "My five favorite bands are the Beatles, the Pretenders, Ella Jenkins, Dan Zanes, and Le Tigre. And my own band, the Maruumba Band." What a recommendation! My wife says he gets to listen to it until he figures out the adjective they use to describe Rudy Giuliani, and I don't mean "jerk." "But they're right, aren't they?" I counter, but she's a protective soul. I say, start your boyz out right and they grow up to be HUMAN BEINGS. And they get to have some fun while doing it. So give this album to your sons! Your boyfriends! Your dads! Your Uncle Charleys! ... Read more

Asin: B00001ZSUF
Sales Rank: 22792

Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise from the Ashes
Average Customer Review:
CD-ROM (02 May, 2000)
list price: $49.99
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Editorial Review

A first-person shooter/strategy game based on a Japaneseanimation series, Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise from the Ashes isstrictly "fan fare." Set around the time of the original Mobile SuitGundam cartoons, the war-story plot here is from the grunt'sperspective, with players cast as the leader of a combat unit of MobileSuits (think giant robots). Gameplay is broken down into missions inwhich players command their own Mobile Suit as well as issue orders tocomrades.

Although recent Gundam converts may be less than thrilled withthe old-school looks (circa 1978) of the Mobile Suits in Gundam SideStory 0079, the 3-D graphics and animation of the Mobile Suits areincredibly faithful to the cartoons, as are the sound effects. On theother hand, the experience of piloting a Mobile Suit leaves much to bedesired, as it's not nearly as graceful as it looks in the cartoons,and feels more like you're piloting a tank. The controls here areoversimplified, and the first-person cockpit-view perspective is aboutas effective as a peephole in combat situations.

While Gundam Side Story 0079 is the first Gundam title tobe released in the United States, it comes from a line of officiallylicensed titles that have always had a spotty history, one which thistitle simply doesn't rise above. --Joe Hon

Pros:

• Excellent Mobile Suit 3-D graphics and animation
• Sound effects faithful to the cartoons

Cons:

• Oversimplified controls; clunky combat
• Short game length

... Read more

Reviews (49)

Great game, but a few problems.
For those of you who wonder why they called this game "Gundam" Side-Story, it's because Gundam is a type of class of mobile suit based in the Gundam Universe. So technically there are "Gundam" class mobile suits in this game, but not the one's most people unfamiliar to the Gundam Universe are thinking of. (There is no Wing Gundam, no Death-Scythe or any of the mobile suits from Gundam Wing. Gundam Wing is based in an alternate timeline AND is a 100 years after when this game is based. If you're looking for a game based in the Gundam Wing universe, buy Gundam Wing battle for Playstation this winter.) So now that the rumors and questions are out of the way...how does the game itself play? Really well if you ask me.

Control-This is a breeze. It takes you a little while to get used to handling your Gundam's view point and manuevering seperately on the directional pad and analog stick, but that doesnt take long. The auto target button makes it a cinch to attack your enemy as well. Double tapping the directional buttons will let you use your verniers to get around easy. One gripe...down down shouldn't really crouch you, it should let you jet backwards. Besides that, control is very nice.

AI-This is kind of a double edged sword here. Your team's AI is great, they are responsive (at times they will kind of walk around though instead of heading directly to their goal) and do as they're told. Its a pain in the but when one of your buddies shoots rockets at you while yer saber dueling another mobile suit, but that isn't too damaging. However...enemy AI is kind of a let down. Most of the time they'll use their preset range attack (they have it set so AI controlled suits attack at long, medium, or short range) and not even move. Once your out of their preset range they'll move ONLY to get back into their specific range to attack. Only way to force them to change is to ram them and force them to saber duel you. While it may seem like you have the advantage when it comes to AI, it takes some of the fun and realism out of the game.

Graphics-Absolutely superb...enough said. I dont see one problem with these graphics, they're high res and the color count is just spectacular. This is the biggest place the game excels.

Sound-Another great feat in this game. Probably the only part of the game that reminds people of gundam wing. The sounds of movement of your gundam, the clashing sizzling sound of two beam sabers in a test of strength. That pretty much says it for sound effects, as for music it aint half bad. You dont really pay attention to it while in the heat of battle though, so it aint a big deal.

Gameplay-Fantastic. Put all the above together and you got one great game. The AI is flawed, but it can be forgiven with the way Bandai made the battle such a great experience. So the gameplay is almost perfect right? Wrong. While the gameplay itself is excellent, it doesn't last long. Ten missions goes by pretty quickly, if you're good at this game you can complete it in less than an hour. Right when you get to the end is when the game really stars to grow on ya. Replaying the game won't make up for it either, since the linear extras are unfulfilling. (You get to have a few photos placed in your cockpit and pick whatever weapons you want for your mission...this doesn't make replaying the expericence any better.) So while the game is short and enemy AI could have used some polishing, this is one game a Gundam fan can definitely enjoy.

Nice and solid game..
Gundam Side Story 0079 is a cross between Armored Core from the Playstation and Earthsiege from the PC. It's not quite ground based as Earthsiege and not quite as quick in hovering and jumps as Armored Core. It doesn't really have a whole lot of choices in mobile suits or variety of weapons as one would hope so its below Armored Core or Earthsiege in that respect as well. At most, it has 4 mobile suits and about 5 or six different weapons. It does simulate piloting a mobile suit as would be expected in a Gundam world pretty well. So, if you're into Gundam or want a mech game that's more down to earth than AC, this would be it. The controls, although at first overwhelming, are actually pretty solid and become much easier as times go by. I can pretty much go into battle, enter snipe mode, and go back into normal battle mode by instinct now, and I've only had the game for two days. I think the only drawback to this game is the small number of missions.... Nine in total if I remember right. And the AI of the computer if you're a flagrant sniper like I was, wasn't very smart in coming after you right away if you sent your two wingmen to attack close up. Still, as a first import Gundam game, it's a nice way to get introduced to the Gundam world with some nice, solid gameplay.

Gundam games at their best.
This a truly fun game. Short, but amazingly fun.

Graphics: 9/10
Great graphics add to the fun of this game. The mobile suits (giant robots) are very detailed and cool looking. The enviroment isn't the best but are better than your average game.

Gameplay: 9/10
FUN!! You have 4 Moblie souts to choose from. Each with it's weapons. Then you go duke it out with your foe! First gun! Then come in with the swords! The sword fighting makes you feel like your actually in the mobile suit!

Replay Value: 5/10
Too short. A great game and all but just to short. The first time you play is grand, but.... after that it's pretty much just a game in your library. Multiplayer and other modes would make it better. ... Read more

Asin: B00004SSN8
Subjects:  1. Gundam Wing    2. Video Games    3. Sega Dreamcast    4. Action    5. Adventure    6. Strategy (Strategic)   

Spriggan
Director: Hirotsugu Kawasaki
Average Customer Review:
DVD (23 April, 2002)
list price: $29.98 -- our price: $26.98
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Editorial Review

Fast paced, violent, and loud, Spriggan uses a combination of drawn and computer animation to deliver the kind of slam-bang thrill ride Final Fantasy only promised. The convoluted plot, based on a manga series by Hirotsugu Kawasaki and Yasutaka Ito, mixes elements from Raiders of the Lost Ark, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Akira, and Universal Soldier. Yu Ominae (voice by Christopher Patton) is a Spriggan, a member of an elite corps of biologically engineered warriors created by the secret organization ARCAM, who finds himself involved in a baroque adventure centered on the newly discovered Ark of Noah. The Ark is actually an extraterrestrial vehicle with the power to alter the Earth's climate and spawn new animal species. A sinister cadre of rogue Pentagon generals wants it and dispatches a corps of murderous cyborgs lead by Col. MacDougall (Kevin Corn), a monstrous child who's also the product of biological experiments, to capture it. ARCAM is determined to prevent the generals from gaining control of the Ark's awesome powers. Yu battles his way to victory through car chases, sword fights, shootouts, explosions, knifings, and psychic blasts, with a little help from fellow-Spriggan Jean-Jacques Mondo (Andy McAvin). Director Hirotsugu Kawasaki handles the action sequences more effectively than the minimal character development, and Katsuhiro Otomo's screenplay doesn't always make a lot of sense. But Spriggan supplies what hard-core action fans sought in vain in many recent Hollywood blockbusters. Just don't sit too close to a speaker. MPAA rated R, under 17 not admitted (for considerable violence). --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Features

• Animated
• Color
• Widescreen
• Dolby

Reviews (64)

Worth Watching
Spriggan is an excellent anime, and more than worth watching in the theater rather than waiting for it on video. The plot is fairly standard SF anime fare: the hero is a high school student who works for a mysterious organization that tries to prevent ancient artifacts from falling into the wrong hands. He has to work to protect the artifact and the scientists who are studying it from the evil clutches of those who would use it destructively. This provides plenty of excuses for exciting chases, dramatic fight scenes, interestingly portrayed psychic powers, and fabulous displays of cosmic power.

Everything in the movie is well done. The action scequences are exciting and well placed, and incorporate their fair share of interestingly designed weapons and gadgets. The drawing is high quality, and the animation is a good example of the modern mixture of cell and digital animation. The character designs are expecially well done, which you'd expect of a movie in which Katsuhira Otomo is heavily involved. As well made as it is, though, Spriggan simply isn't a great movie. That's not to say that there's anything wrong with it, as it's a very well made movie. It simply lacks the special spark that defines the difference between craftsmanship and genius.

Spriggan is anime done correctly
Such slander has been spewed at one of the best action anime films in recent times. The animation is superb, the japanese dialogue is fantastic, and YES the plot does rule. For people to say the plot is weak, it's pretty asinine. To sum it up... Spriggan offers us plenty of action, and similar character designs from Akira with a simpler, yet highly intriguing storyline. I would agree that McDougal is total Akira, and it's also no surprise that Otomo supervised this film. Don't let that fool you though, this is far from ripping Akira off. Spriggan is also known as "Striker" in manga format, and it's been around for years. People compare this to Raiders of the lost ark as well, and the only similar points are that different organizations are after a religious artifact. Spriggan makes raiders look like childs play. Universal Solider is also compared, I won't even bother to comment because U.S. doesn't hold a candle to this. Look, if you want an anime with great action, and an interesting plot you can follow, Spriggan shouldn't be left out of your collection.

weak plot, useless dialog, and a horrible ending
Plot:
The hero tries to stop the United States from obtaining alien technology. U.S. forces hit the hero with everything they have, but the hero cannot be killed. A little boy super villian takes about 30 minutes to tell the hero that he doesn't really like the United States and was really just using the United States to to help him get the alien technology so he could destroy the world. After the little boy super villian finishes talking. The hero stops the little boy super villian. The end.

Positive:
1. The anime has fluid motion.
2. There are quite a few action scenes.

Negative:
1. There is actually a lot of talking scenes, but its meaningless dialog that adds little to the nearly non-existent story.
2. The hero literally cannot die no matter how much the bad guys shoot him. Bullets, electricity, explosives, etc. merely stun him. He cannot be killed.
3. The ending is very drawn out with a very long conversation between the hero and the top villian. The action and graphics seem to go down hill towards the end too.
4. A lot of the scenes appear dark and the graphics aren't as good as more recent anime.

Overall, Spriggan had some decent action, but there are quite a few slow scenes and Spriggan is not worth watching once the little boy super villian shows up. ... Read more

Asin: B000063IMS

Record of Lodoss War
Average Customer Review:
CD-ROM (02 March, 2001)
list price: $49.99
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Reviews (9)

Don't get too excited
I love the anime, so i figured I'd get the game. It started off promising. Though the graphics were weak for the DC, it had some nice strategic gameplay elements and the way some of the characters from the anime were brought into the game was quite nice (at least the two I got to). Unfortunately, it's very easy to get stuck partway through the game, and that's what happened to me. As a result I can't give this game a very good score. If more effort had been put into it it would have been great, but sadly it falls short.

Hmmm rare game
This game was very boring. I mean really boring. The graphics were bad. But I heard this was a good game and rare, yes rae. The only good thing about having this game is that its one of those hard to find games that make people say "ooooo" because it hasnt bin seen in stores for decades (well actually years but....) The gameplay was that of diablo (ack I hate tht game) quit slow. I never cared to beat it because it just got so da#@ (Am I alound to swear in review?) boring the 1st hour, yes in the first hour. Theres nothing in this game that stood out. The characters from the series never showed up either (well as far as I got )-not very far. I didnt recognize really anything from the series. I was a joke I was expecting more. For those thinking of buying it I say trade in your dreamcast and get another, better game station! And just don't get this game its a waste of time and money.

A plethora of delights!
This is probably my favorite game that I ever played on the Dreamcast. It is a very hard game at times(It took me forever to beat Wagnard the first time. Exploring every inch of the sixth level of the cold cave was also a doozy.)It also is a very long game for an action rpg. There are so many items that you can find. I have played it for a while and I still haven't found every one. It is definitely worth the time it takes to play through it though because it is a very fun game. I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Asin: B000059Z7S
Sales Rank: 7796
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Sega Dreamcast    3. Action    4. Adventure    5. Role Playing Games (Game, rpg, rpgs)   

Generation Star Wars
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (21 November, 2000)
list price: $11.99 -- our price: $11.99
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (2)

Great Empire
Don't buy this album because it has "Star Wars" in the title, it's not related to the trilogy at all. Buy it because it's Alec Empire at the top of his game. No one else mixes ambient techno with the super-fast and hard noise he's known for. This is great stuff, but be forwarned, it's an aquired taste. Personally, I think you should start with Empire's more recent "The Destroyer" and work your way back to this. Also, if you like the hard stuff, check out Atari Teenage Riot's "Burn, Berlin, Burn" where you'll hear more of Empire's signature sound.

starwars music gone bad
some of the songs on this cd started out good with the sound effects but went like the poeple playing them were on drugs or something.one of the songs talks about lsd. ... Read more

Asin: B0000508PH
Sales Rank: 291234

Neon Genesis Evangelion - Perfect Collection
Average Customer Review:
DVD (09 April, 2002)
list price: $169.98 -- our price: $135.98
(price subject to change: see help)
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Editorial Review

A benchmark series in the history of anime, Hideaki Anno's Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most widely discussed in anime. It's not the first series to combine mecha (futuristic machines, especially robots) with theology and a character-driven story, but it does so exceptionally well. The designs of the robots by Ikuto Yamashita are strikingly original; the questions raised about the future of the human race stimulate viewers' imaginations and the characters show a depth of personality rare in anime. The story is set in 2015, 15 years after a cataclysmic explosion in Antarctica that caused the ice cap to melt, killing a large portion of the Earth's population. Although it was reported as a meteor impact, the explosion was caused by human interaction with Adam, the first of a series of powerful, sentient creatures known as "Angels" to appear on Earth. To defend against their depredations, humans rely on NERV, a secret agency dedicated to destroying the Angels with their gargantuan robot suits called Evas. Only teenagers with special psychic powers can pilot the Evas, and the best pilot is the repressed 14-year-old Shinji Ikari, who is a more interesting, believable character than standard mecha pilots. The two final chapters of the Evangelion series (which originally ran in 1995-96) are highly philosophical ruminations that satisfied neither Anno nor the viewers. The episodes were remade as the theatrical features; however, only the original 26 episodes appear in this set. Not rated; suitable for ages 14 and up: Brief nudity, violence, sexual humor, and complex adult themes. --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Features

• Animated
• Color
• Box set

Reviews (246)

Eva's in a Boxed Set, and All's Right With the World...
Neon Genesis Evangelion is an anime series that you either love or hate. Controversial to say the least, it blends the elements of a classic giant robot series with intenese religious symbolism and Jungian-styled psychology.
The story focuses on the life of Shinji Ikari, a boy who had been abandoned by his father years earlier. Now his father has called for him again. But it isn't to be a warm family reunion. Shinji's father needs him to be the pilot of a mechanical monster known as Evangelion, and fight a race of beings known as Angels, who have come to ignite the Apocalypse.
Shinji is not alone in this endeavor. Rei Ayanami, a fan favorite character, is pensive, withdrawn, and holding a dark secret. Asuka Langley Sohryu is loud, obnoxious, and a skilled combatant. And it is on the shoulders of these three children that the fate of the world rests.
Evangelion is beautiful to look at, but the final few episodes are definitely a head trip. This is a series that is not for everyone.
There aren't much in the way of extras, but then, that's standard with anime DVDs. ADV ensures quality tracks on the Japanese and English languages, and throws in Spanish and French to boot.
ADV has adopted a standard on their anime DVDs of retouching the artwork whereever possible to eliminate the Japanese alphabet and replace it with English text on signs. This is only noticeable, though, if you've seen the original art, and they take great care not to alter more than the signage.
The design of the Box is nice, sporting the NERV logo from the series against a black background.
If you're a fan of the series, this DVD set is worth the effort.

Intellectual anime
This is a 26 episode series on 8 DVDs. It revolves on the workers of a Secret Organization known as Nerv, in an apocalyptic age, that protect the Earth from surreal invaders known as Angels. In this story Nerv develops bio-machine robots that 3 children operate to defeat the 17 Angels that come to Earth, based on the prophecies in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It starts out simple enough, kill one Angel move to the next etc etc. But each new Angel is more harder to kill, and not everything at Nerv is as it seems.

This series presents many religious and philosophical questions, dealing with God, Man, his place in the world, and explores many psychological issues of modern man. It goes into an in depth look into its characters, what makes them who they are, why they are, why do they do things, what purpose do they serve, what is the meaning of their lives, and how to improve their lives and find happiness. The dialogue and questions raised can be debated many times. This is just the themes, and ideas being presented, I haven't even mentioned the intriguing story that unravels as you get further and further into the series. There is a lot of conspiracy and secrets, and things that are not as they seem. I won't spoil it here and give any of the secrets away, that would not be fair. If you enjoy Anime that makes you think, and that you can come back to, and analyze and go over many times, this is for you. The animation, battle sequences, music, all add to the quality of the story, themes, questions, and answers brought out in this series. This is a great piece of art that rewards upon multiple viewings. Bring your friends, watch, and when its all over, you'll have lots of things to talk about. 5 stars. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

The Greatest Anime Series of All Time
Not necessarily the most enjoyable or the best, but certainly the greatest.
I first picked this series up when I was just getting into anime. Browsing through various titles at the library, I found the first volume. It looked interesting, so I borrowed it.
Cool, interesting, but nothing special.
That's what I thought, anyways...
I was interested enough to pick up the next volume, but trailed off after that.
Months later, I stumbled upon the next tape in the series and figured, "Eh, why not."
I took it home and watched it, and from that moment on, I was devoted. I reserved the next volumes so that I could borrow them as soon as they arrived, sometimes on lists with over 100 people preceding me. Slowly, surely, I finished the series.
Admittedly, I was a bit irritated at the last two episodes, but that was okay, because the movie takes care of that. More on that later.
This is, in case you don't know already, the story of a future where Antarctica has been melted by a massive explosion governments claim was a meteor. I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but at least in Japan, where the story takes place (of course), there are no longer any seasons. There is only summer, with occasional rain.
Over two decades after the explosion in 2001, strange, massive aliens called Angels come down from space and attack the HQ of NERV, the organization created to battle the Angels. NERV has built a few giant robots called Evangelions, the only things capable of truly fighting the Angels. In the first episode, you see the true invulnerability of Angels to conventional weapons as one is bombarded by a barrage of missiles, bombs, and, eventually, nuclear mines.
Shinji Ikari is a boy whose mother is dead and father is distant. His father, Gendou Ikari, is the head of NERV and summons him one day to pilot an Evangelion (Eva Unit 01). From here, we meet a whole cast of deeply messed up characters:
Rei Ayanami - The mostly emotionless pilot of Unit 00. She's the blue-haired one.
Misato Katsuragi - An alcoholic and sex fiend by night, powerful commander of the Evas by day! One of the few truly good people in the series.
Ritsuko Akagi - Daughter of the designer of the MAGI, the NERV mainframe. A bit heartless and screwed up in her own way.
Asuka Langley Sohryu - An attention-grubbing, mean-spirited redhead with more than enough attitude for the whole cast. We find that she has an EXTREMELY troubled past, however...

That's just a few, but there is an immense cast of realistic characters, and the plot is insane, weaving all of their stories and motives together into one hell of a tapestry.
One tip of advice, however, before I go any further: by the sixth DVD, you should be watching the series in its original Japanese with subtitles. There is a very specific episode where the English dubbed version pales in comparison to the original haunting screams of the Japanese voice actors.
This series is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. It seems tame enough "giant robot" battle at first, but later in the series, things just keep getting darker and harsher. The characters are forced to endure horrific mental and physical tests, and there are points in the series when blood is literally gushing everywhere.
The characters are neurally connected to their Evas, and hence feel everything that happens to the Unit they are piloting. They cut neural connections or fade them to dull the pain, but this results in some pretty heavy material. I'll never forget when an Angel begins infecting an Evas arm and Ikari orders it severed. The operator insists that the neural connections need to be cut first, but he sternly tells her that they have no time. The film cuts to the Eva's shoulder as the arm blows off. You are then taken to a shot of the pilot inside, in shock and clutching at a shoulder that her mind is convinced is nothing more than a stump.
And that's minor for this show, kids!
In any case, it's very well made in terms of plot and action, and has more than its share of disturbing moments. However, the main merit of this series is its psychological aspect.
Each character, as mentioned before, has their own personal issues. There are entire ten minute spans devoted to analyzation of a character's problems, and there's such a diverse cast with such a diverse set of problems that there's no way that anyone with any issues can't relate.
This comes into play in the movie, but more on that later.
Now, about the last two episodes. Extremely controversial, simply because the people in charge of the series basically said, "Hmmm... You know what? Viewers don't need to know how the plot turns out! Let's just look at Shinji's issues in philosophical discussion for the last two episodes!"
That's right. The plot is abandoned for the sake of some deep discussion time.
However, that's okay.
The series was intended to end with the movie, "End of Evangelion."
That's where the true payoff lies. However incredible the series is, the movie is exponentially greater.
But I'll save that for the movie review. ... Read more

Asin: B0000639E0

Skies of Arcadia
Average Customer Review:
CD-ROM (19 November, 2000)
list price: $49.99
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Editorial Review

Arcadia is a magical world in which folks float through the air on giantairships. A young and lively air pirate, named Vyse--who leads the swashbucklingBlue Rogue pirates--spends most of his time traveling fromfloating island to floating island. While touching down on the Valuan Empire onefateful day, Vyse and his sidekick Aika rescue a mysterious girl, named Fina,who was captured while trying to find six magic crystals that are used to summonGigas--powerful ancient weapons. Naturally, the Valuans want the Gigas fortheir own malevolent political plans; Vyse, Aika, and Fina, then, set out tofind the precious, scattered crystals and fight enemies (both human andnonhuman) to keep the world safe from tyranny.

Graphically, Skies of Arcadia is surreal and stunning. In total, thereare six huge lands to explore, with many different kinds of environments--suchas villages, dungeons, forests, and deserts, as well as otherworldlylocations.

The turn-based combat system is effective, with more than 70 customizableweapons to use (based on different colors) and more than three-dozen magicspells (and special attacks), as indicated by the game's "spirit bar," shown onthe screen. The visuals during the fight scenes might cause your jaw to fall tothe ground, with its bright lights and mesmerizing colors and textures.

Skies of Arcadia is a highly addictive, gorgeous, huge, and deep RPG, andworthy of your attention. Kudos to Sega for creating a breathtaking fantasy thatlikely will be a mainstay in Dreamcasts, well into the spring. --ToddMowatt

Pros:

• Awesome graphics
• Solid story
• Lots of customization

Cons:

• Random battles can become tiring

... Read more

Reviews (100)

Headline: Only decent RPG for Dreamcast also best one ever.
OK. This game...words...cannot describe. OK, lets take a logical look at this. I would rate this game up with Final Fantasy games, and Chrono Trigger. You heard me, Chrono Trigger. First off, the graphics are unbelievable. Now, you probably are wondering, "Oh.. and RPG with good graphics can't be good in any thing else" WRONG! This game has everything. You may have read other reviews, saying stuff about the annoying battles that plauge you every 5 seconds. Well, true, there are a lot of battles, but it won't bore you. There is quite a bit of variety. And just when you're tired of fighting, and exploring, you can sit back and enjoy an airship battle, which are, to quote this generation, WICKED! The sound is incredible. Plus, if you're a fan of Japanese anime, this game will please you. I don't know why. It just does. Anyway, the whole story line is fabulous. I don't want to spoil it, so just trust me. If you own a Dreamcast, a VMU, and 50 bucks to use, buy this. Not Phantasy Star Online. I hear its good, but it is not a true RPG. In fact, I would say Chrono Trigger is, 20 times better than PSO. And Skies rubs shoulder's with it? 3 words: Buy this game! Please. If we can get enough sales, then maybe we can persuade Sega to make a sequel!

The Ultimate Game
Skies of Arcadia is the ultimate game for dreamcast. With almost 24 hours of tough RPG combat and the best 3D-Graphics i have every seen. The game follows the story of Vyse, a young Blue Rouge pirate with fighting and people skills to unite all nations to take down your common every day World Domination physco who threatens to destroy the planet with an attack of the gods called, Rains of Destruction. But in order to do so, he must collect all the moon crystals. So, Vyse and his friends decide to foil his plans by finding some of the crystals and keeping them away from him. This is the best game i have ever played. It took me three months to find it and i'm glad i spent those 3 months on such an awesome game. Believe me, IT'S WORTH IT!!!

Forever a Champion
I have ejoyed this game from the moment I put it in my Dreamcast to the second I completed it some 90 hours later (yes I am slow). The Graphics are somewhat dated and blocky but they're good enough and in the long run are not that important anyway. Skies is just plain fun, it keeps you wanting more with interesting characters and a well executed story line. I recomend this to anyone and if you don't own a dreamcast GET ONE or buy the gamecube version, either works and I doubt you'll be disappointed! ... Read more

Asin: B00004WLVV
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Sega Dreamcast    3. Role Playing Games (Game, rpg, rpgs)   

Brotherhood of the Wolf
Director: Christophe Gans
Average Customer Review:
DVD (24 February, 2003)
list price: $19.98
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Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Widescreen
• Dolby

Reviews (332)

Werewolves, spies, Kung-Fu, assassins---& a killer hedgehog?
Visually breathtaking and always intriguing, Christophe Gans's chimerical "Le Pacte des Loups" ("Brotherhood of the Wolf") hurls together a wild array of clashing cinematic genres: martial arts, political intrigue, 18th century costume-drama, comedy, philosophy, horror, and romance. Insanely, it works, and the result is a capricious, baroque, cinematically stunning and always engaging little film that defies expectations and easy categorization.

The movie is loosely based on the events that supposedly took place in the remote French province of Gevaudan in 1764. According to accounts of the time, a monstrous and elusive wolf killed and partially devoured hundreds of French peasants, mostly women and children. Local hunters sought to kill the beast, to no avail; eventually a French regiment was dispatched by the king to bring order to the countryside, and some hapless wolf was shot and showed to the peasantry as the monster that had terrorized the countryside.

The movie builds deliciously on this legend, following the investigation of the French naturalist and philosophe Chevalier de Fronsac and his Mohawk blood brother and companion Mani (deftly and athletically played by The Crow's Mark Dacascos). Fronsac (played by Samuel le Bihan)is swiftly ensnared in the countless intrigues of the treacherous province, and swiftly finds himself hunted---by both the Beast and a rogues' gallery of other sinister characters.

Brotherhood is a visual treat, with stunning colors and a masterful use of setting to accent the film's gothic, broding, and occasionaly playful mood. From the infamous opening melee fight scene with kung-fu and bo-staves in the rain, to the smoky, exotic interior of a Gevaudan brothel, to the airless and baroque sitting rooms of the local nobility, Christophe Gans revels in the strangeness and opulence of a demon-haunted pre-Revolutionary France.

Better still, Director Gans has mastered the most important rule of horror-filmmaking: that which is unseen is more terrifying than that which is seen too much. The scenes wherein the beast is barely seen are so eerie that it's almost a letdown when the most fearsome beast that ever slouched out of Jim Henson's muppet shop lurches from the shadows---almost.

The acting is solid throughout, with le Bihan stoic and convincing as Fronsac, Vincent Cassels dastardly as a fanatic nobleman, and Dacascos kicking and thwapping evildoers with great alacrity; sadly, the windsome Emilie Dequienne is thrown away as the love interest.

Horror film, period piece, 18th century spy story---who knows, and really, in the end, who cares? Brotherhood of the Wolf is a lavish two hours of glorious fun. Vive le Loup!

Magnificent folly, way ahead of its time
BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF (Le Pacte des Loups, 2001): In 18th century France, a brave young naturalist (Samuel Le Bihan [TROIS COULEURS ROUGE]) and his Native American companion (Mark Dacascos [DRIVE]) are hired to trace the origins of a bloodthirsty 'beast' which has been terrorizing the countryside, killing women and children. But their investigations uncover an appalling conspiracy which cuts to the very heart of French high society...

Loosely based on true events, this high-powered Gallic blockbuster - directed by Christophe Gans, hired on the strength of his incredible genre-bending adaptation of CRYING FREEEMAN - wowed French audiences when released in 2001. And no wonder! A high-kicking combination of horror movie, period drama, political thriller and 'Matrix'-inspired kung fu pageant, the film combines the best elements of these disparate sub-genres in a dazzling display of technical wizardry. Photographed in widescreen Super 35 by Dan Laustsen (MIMIC, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN), and played with solemn conviction by an all-star cast - including relative newcomers Vincent Cassel (LA HAINE), Monica Bellucci (the MATRIX sequels) and Jeremie Renier (LES AMANTS CRIMINELS), and veterans Jean Yanne (most recently seen in BELLE MAMAN) and Edith Scob (the elegant heroine of Franju's LES YEUX SANS VISAGE) - the movie is a riot of action and intrigue, sustained by a multilayered screenplay (co-authored by Gans and Stephane Cabel) which recounts an elaborate fable of class warfare and religious bigotry during a grim period of French history. The fight scenes - choreographed with ruthless efficiency by Hong Kong movie veteran Phillip Kwok (MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE, HARD-BOILED, TOMORROW NEVER DIES, etc.) - are fashioned with elegant grace, and edited to perfection by Sebastien Prangere and David Wu Dai-wai (another prominent HK movie figure, Ronny Yu Yan-tai's current editor of choice). Much of the film's otherworldly visual texture is due to the sumptuous art direction (by Guy-Claude Francois [JEFFERSON IN PARIS]) and costume design (by Dominique Borg), which roots proceedings in a recognizable period 'style', despite Gans' resolutely modern approach to the material. It shouldn't work, but it does, somehow. The 'explanation' for the beast and its murderous activities - which takes into account a wide range of modern research into the story of an animal which really DID terrorize the French countryside during the 18th century - forms the backbone of the entire production, and while much of the film is a rip-roaring joy, the climactic sequences are offset by an element of tragedy and sadness, which thoroughly distinguishes the movie from most of its Hollywood counterparts. All in all, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF is a magnificent folly, way ahead of its time, and quite unlike anything ever made before.

This review is based on a viewing of the Canadian disc from TVR Films which presents the original French version in its entirety (the international version, including the one released in the US and UK, appears to be shorter by about 10 minutes) and runs 150m 34s, minus the logos which open the video print and weren't part of the original production, and letterboxes the scope frame at 2.35:1 (anamorphically enhanced). The US disc - a region 1 release from Universal - is a no-frills affair which features a letterboxed anamorphic version of the shorter print, and some reviews suggest it's a better-looking transfer than the one featured on the Canadian disc. Captions and subtitles are provided. The Canadian version, however, is a 3-disc spectacular, and features (amongst many other things) an extremely frank documentary on the making of the film which opens with an actress being clobbered during an accident on-set, and proceeds to outline the various obstacles which constantly threatened the production schedule (not least the unpredictable weather during location shooting) and ultimately strained relations between director Gans and co-producer Samuel Hadida. That such a remarkable film emerged from these traumatic circumstances says much about the talent and dedication of these extraordinary gentlemen and all those who helped bring their unique vision to the silver screen. A triumph.

terrible!
i am completely amazed as i read the other reviews of this movie and have to wonder if we saw the same film.
did we?
a movie with no characterization? terrible dialogue? a lot of slow-motion action sequences (trying desperately to copy the John Woo style)? a lot of style and glitz but no plot motivation to back it up? and a SUPER hokey ending?
and don't even get me started on the character of Mani. i'm from the region Mani is said to come from, and all of the displays of Native American traditions which are presented in this film are fabricated and presented to the point that i was insulted!

did we see the same movie?
this is a good movie for cutiosity sake but little else. ... Read more

Asin: B00006ADEM
Sales Rank: 2809
Subjects:  1. Foreign Film - French   

Parasite Eve
Average Customer Review:
CD-ROM (16 November, 1999)
list price: $49.99
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Editorial Review

Parasite Eve tells the story of Aya Brea of the NYPD on a case involving massspontaneous human combustion, mutating animals, and the mitochondria revolution. Sound fun?Confusing? Parasite Eve is both.

It begins when Aya is attending an opera at Carnegie Hall. The soloist bursts into song and theaudience bursts into flames. Somehow, Aya is the only attendee who isn't affected. Notsurprisingly, she wants to know what's going on. This curiosity, coupled with her duties as a policeofficer, grows into a full-scale investigation.

Parasite Eve's mechanics are simple, yet elegant. From combat to level advancement, thegame runs easily and smoothly, making it ideal for someone new to role-playing games (RPGs).Experienced RPGers should still enjoy it for its brilliant storyline.

Technically speaking, the game's graphics and sound are good, but not spectacular. The full-motioncutscenes are superbly done. Parasite Eve is a good game--there's just not enough of it.While it doesn't feel crammed together, the story seems to resolve quickly. Brilliant while it lasted,Parasite Eve left me wanting more. --John Cocking

Pros:

• Mutating dogs
• Involving storyline
• Elegant game mechanics

Cons:

• Too short, and it's confusing

... Read more

Features

• Sci-Fi horror roleplaying game
• Fight against dozens of mutated monsters
• Numerous high-end CG movies take the player directly into pre-rendered game maps
• Based on the best seller science fiction novel by author Hideaki Sena
• For 1 player

Reviews (97)

Most original game! besides FF7...
This game is one of the best games that I have played on the PLaystation console. It has a brilliantly intricate storyline with many twists to keep you surprised here and there, and the fact that all of the science in it is real just makes your blood turn in to ice.(i am doing this research in school).The smooth cut scenes are grizly, with a lot of blood and goop to get you creeped to the point of no return. The battle system is original, and it is really good because there will be a lot of enemy attacks in the last two parts that you will defineitly want to avoid. Dont get me wrong, there are the drawbacks: 1. This game is too short. It took me about 10 1/2 hours to beat it. 2. The final bosses (eves 3, 4, ultimate being stages 1-4) are the easiest bosses in the game, similar to Zelda. Overall, this game is excellent. I would reccommend it to any RPG/Action gamer. And hey, its from Squaresoft-how can you compare to that?

Like watching a movie
I'm thirty-one years old and I usually play nothing but RPGs, such as the Zelda series, the FF series, Chrono, Breath of Fire, etc. Started playing this one because my teen-age brother forgot to put the CD back in the case and left it in the playstation console by mistake. Have to say I got hooked immediately.

Story plays out like a movie, and the dialogue sounds like something real people in the 20th century will actually say. Though other folks may find the game too short, it was actually one of the things I liked about it, since I have to work and don't have hours to spend in front of the playstation. Some people may also compare it with survival horror games such as Silent Hill or Resident Evil, but I think this game isn't as creepy (just for info, my measure of a game's creepiness is totally subjective and depends on whether or not I can play it at night when I'm all by myself :).

The pacing of the story is just right, just enough to hook you in so that you'll want to know what happens next. Beating the game once also enables you to play in ex-mode, where you can enter another area and find out a little bit more about Aya. In addition, the game allows you to carry over stats or features from previous weapons and armors so that, if you're obsessive about perfection, like most RPGers I know, you end up spending a lot of time customizing in order to get the best possible weapon & armor.

Battle system is nice too, kind of like dothack (where you can run around the enemy and essentially pause the game while you bring up the menu and choose what you want to do next) but without the camera whiplashing around like crazy. Good music as well. Overall, a good buy.

HORROR, ACTION, GOOD GAME PLAY, its all here!
i got this game thinking it would be a complete piece of crap, but to my suprise, this turned out to be one of the best games i have ever played...EVER! the story line was quite good and the game has kind of a twist ending, and that ties the disemboweled story together. another thing i liked, is that the battle system is sooo much better than any of the thousands of final fanticys out there; it kinda works like this, you can run around and dodge the creatures attacks, but when ever you shoot, or hit, your range of fire comes up, and you then can attack. the next great thing about this game is the spooky, yet wonderful sound track, the sound effects, and over all the whole game its self is worth buying a play station for. ... Read more

Asin: B000038ABO
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Sony Playstation (Play station)    3. PSX (PS1 PSOne PS (1 one I)    4. Role Playing Games (Game, rpg, rpgs)   

Field Manual
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (04 July, 2000)
list price: $13.99 -- our price: $13.99
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (7)

NUTS
it would be very hard to find something more hardcore than bomb20, if you like hellfish and producer, venetian snares, or any of the other "harsh" electronic acts out there, definately check out bomb20

Sonic nihilism
This is amazing, the sonic equivalent of a machine gun raid at a dance club. Menacing, dark, funky, noise-ridden breakbeat collages not for the faint-hearted popster. Excellent!

Niiiiice.
Incredibly clever use of movie previews, television and hip-hop samples combined with some of the darkest, grittiest beats ever created make Field Manual a must-have for any Digital Hardcore fan. "Burn the Sh** Down" has got to be my favorite song on the album, for the incredibly hard and fast bass beat and whining synth background. The beat is almost militaristic at times, which reflects the angst Bomb20 has against society in general....Good stuff...anyhow...hey you other person who has reviewed this in upland, write me sometime so i can have a fellow DHR fan in yuppytown here. Bye. ... Read more

Asin: B00005JIXE
Sales Rank: 181111

Nine Inch Nails: Self-Destruct
by Martin Huxley
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 October, 1997)
list price: $13.95 -- our price: $10.46
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (33)

One of the best NIN books that I have read
When I first got this book, I figured that I would be dissapointed because I have read many pieces on Trent Reznor and all the authors that I have read do not do a good job to represent Trent's musical vision and honesty. After reading this book, I realized that Martin Huxley did quite the contrary of what I expected. Although the book was a little outdated (published in 1997, before "The Fragile" and other NIN halos), it still contained a lot of information on my favorite musical artist and person-Trent Reznor.

Good summary of NIN
I've always been a pretty big fan of Nine Inch Nails, as Trent Reznor is one of the few people with an actual musical vision or views worth listening to. While the book skips most of Reznor's adolescent life and teen-years, unlike the later released "The Long Hard Road Out Of Hell" by label-mate and fellow shock-rocker Marilyn Manson, the book does a better job of telling Trent's story of how he evolved into the music industry and how his life turned into using the studio itself as an instrument. While Manson's autobiography was pleasing in it's disturbing details of the lead singers troubled youth, "Nine Inch Nails" is better off leaving such details out, as Trent has always really wanted things to be about the music and not a bunch of out-played "my parents hate me, I was abused" drivel that would probably be in any book written by a member of KoRn or similar bands.

Instead Martin Huxley decides to focus more on Trent's musical career prior to Nine Inch Nails, with the various successes and failures which filled his life in the musical world, also discussing the making of all the albums up to "The Downward Spiral", the stress of touring and writing an album, and Trent's fallout with one-time bandmate Richard Patrick of Filter.

Piecing together pieces of articles and interviews, along with his own views on Nine Inch Nails' honest and disturbing message, Martin Huxley does a good job of compiling some of the best information on one of the best industrial artists in history (even though Trent prefers not to be called "industrial"). After all, genres can be real limitations. Pick this up whether you're a hardcore fan of NIN or not. Either way it's well-written and interesting and you'll learn something about the band that you didn't know before.

Interesting book
I've not listened to much NIN before. They / he started getting popular when I was in college but I didn't have any albums until recently - I just bought 'The Downward Spiral.' I'm not a huge fan but I thought this book was interesting just because it tells about how Reznor became successful and how he approaches music, etc. It doesn't bash him or portray him as perfect either, which I like. ... Read more

Isbn: 031215612X
Sales Rank: 38883
Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. General    4. Genres & Styles - Rock    5. Music    6. Nine Inch Nails (Musical group    7. Reznor, Trent    8. Rock musicians    9. United States   

Don't Fuck With Us
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (16 April, 2002)
list price: $15.98 -- our price: $15.98
(price subject to change: see help)
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Features

• Box set

Reviews (3)

The fallen Empire
Once back in the good old days of '97 DHR was for a period one of the most hyped "underground" labels around. But when time got by and several mediocore releases followed each other. Most artists on the label got fed up with the nonsense attitude of Mr. Alec Empire and left the sinking ship. Frustrated and with his hands in his hair Alec planned his next move.

The result of Alec's next masterplan is a 3 CD set of probably for most people unknown artists and to be honest if you don't know artists like Heartworm, Ronin & Schizoid praise yourself lucky, because most artists on this compilation can't even compete with the material from old DHR acts as Ec8or, Bomb20 & Christoph de Babalon. The whole concept just got stucked in an amateurish attempt from some DHR fans who are probably now living on top of their narrow minded musical world because their name is on a CD which also contains the DHR logo and some manifest from the master himself you can't hardly take any serious.

This release is a complete joke and if your name isn't on this CD don't buy it!! There's plenty of talent running around in the underground scene these days only they're not so stupid to send their material to the DHR label.

Final conclussion: complete waste of money even for a good laugh

Not for the squeamish...or dull-minded
3 CDs, 35 Bands, 66 Tracks and one low price. If you roll over the great American behemoth and slit open its soft underbelly, you'll probably find something like this among the innards. This is the true face of the hardcore electronic underground music scene in all its unsanitized, unrestricted fury. You want anger? YOU GOT IT. You want noise? YOU GOT IT. You want sociopolitical diatribes that make you proud to be in a country where we still (mostly) have freedom of speech? YOU GOT THAT, TOO. Alec Empire is not someone who takes his music lightly and his assembled arsenal spread across these three discs underscore that fact. And there's an equally brutal European roster as well.

(you're clicking the BUY button, right?)

Tired? Bored? Try digital hardcore.
You might be asking yourself "Why should I buy a box set of bands I've never heard of?" I asked myself the same question but curiosity won and I'm glad. This collection is a total breath of fresh air from the over produced, over hyped albums that almost made me hate electronic music. It's raw, loud and has plenty of attitude to match the title. There's something for everyone on here. It's got some guitar driven tracks but it also has jungle, drum 'n bass, filthy techno and even some hardcore noise tracks. (Well, the label is called digital hardcore so you shouldn't expect elevator music.) It's a 3CD set so there's plenty of music to keep your CD player busy for a while. It's a little out of the ordinary but I think that's why I like it. ... Read more

Asin: B00005T7JW
Sales Rank: 291787

A Chance to Cut Is a Chance to Cure
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (13 March, 2001)
list price: $15.98 -- our price: $13.99
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (23)

"You're listening to WHAT?"
If you haven't heard Matmos before, and all you know of this CD is the conceit behind it, you probably aren't going to rush out and buy it immediately. It is my mission to convince you to do so.

The sound sources on this disk, as everyone has already remarked, range from innocuously traditional instruments like guitars, drums, and synths all the way to goat spines and the sometimes horrifying, sometimes amusing sounds of cosmetic surgery. What reviewers don't usually discuss is the imagination with which these materials are combined and juxtaposed.

Matmos's music thrives on contrast. Their last LP, "The West", combined twangy steel-strings, out-of-context vocal samples, and Ennio Morricone flutes with clicking, grinding, and occasionally bone-crushing computer-generated noises. The variety of musical material on "A Chance To Cut" is, if anything, more pronounced. To describe all of my favorite moments would be giving the game away, but the transformation of a hearing test into the audio equivalent of a word-association game, and then into a bouncy house track is a bizarre feat of musical wit that must be heard to be believed.

Listen and read carefully, though, as Matmos play both sides of the game. While many of the surgery recordings end up sounding perfectly ordinary, there are a few sounds thrown into the mix that suggest all too vividly the slurping of fat through a tube, or the cutting of skin. Read the liner notes, though, and you see that the sound sources for the song include both "Liposuction surgery recorded in California" and "Straw and Water".

It's not all a gross-out party game, though, as Matmos turns the tempo for an elegiac orchestra in track 05, "for felix (and all the rats)". If the effect of the music is sobering, even more so is the track's description in the liner notes: "Composed entirely from the plucked and bowed cage of our rat Felix (R.I.P.). Sadness at the loss of our pet is put in perspective by the fact that a laboratory animal dies every second in the United States."

If there's one thing this disc lacks, it's the feeling of coherence that Matmos achieved with "The West". These tracks are all great, and the diversity of music is enjoyable, but the disc doesn't really hold together quite as well.

My final verdict: If you already know you like Matmos, buy this disc immediately. It's a solid continuation of their previous work. If you have never heard them before, though, start with "The West".

The funky sounds of surgery coming from San Fran...
Ahhh... The sweet sounds of surgery. Liposuction has never sounded so funky (nor has Lasik eye-surgery or rhinoplasty). Thru excellent source material, great sample techniques, creatvie ears, and a great melodic sense, Matmos have managed to construct their best release thus far. I never realized Bard Parker Scalpels, Draeger Anesthesia Ventilators, and the human skull could be used to such musical and melodical ends. A truly creative album here, that turns the sounds of surgery into sublime house music. This by far surpasses their previous efforts, as it is a much more cohesive work, utilizing their somewhat gimmicky methods of sound gathering to a fully realized end. This CD, along with recent Schematic releases (Lily of the Valley, Ischemic Folks, House of Distraction, and Otto von Schirach), are currently among the best, most daring electronic releases out right now. If you like Plunderphonics, Paul Lansky, Steinski, or anyone else who utilizes interesting sample techniques, you will love this.

"ICE-CREAM...HOT-DOG...EAR-DRUM...MAT-MOS!!!"
Matmos was recommended to me by a guy in the record store after me mentioning my affinity for mixmaster, Herbert (Bodily Functions, Secondhand Sounds). After reading the reviews of Matmos'"A Chance to to Cut is A Chance to Cure," of course I had to check these guys out, and my findings were simply breathtaking. "A Chance to to Cut is A Chance to Cure" is an amazing concept album that at first listen will have you bewildered. Indeed, like most concept albums there's a theme and this one is one of making sounds outta stuff in the O.R.--Hey! Herbert did it with stuff around the house and bodily functions, so why can't these guys make music with stuff in the hospital? I was a bit distrurbed by the sounds of drills, lasers, gurgling and rat cages being rattled and plucked, but once the music came in, I was up movin' and gyratin' what my mama gave me. Songs like "Lipostudio...And So On", "Spondee" (my fave), "Memento Mori" and "California Rhinoplasty" are stand outs--However, I've yet to see or hear the relevance of the "For Felix" song--it doesn't go with the theme, but, hey, not all CDs are perfect. ... Read more

Asin: B000059N62
Sales Rank: 12378

Sharp VLSD20U Digital ViewCam with 3" Color LCD Screen
Average Customer Review:
Electronics
list price: $799.99
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Editorial Review

The Sharp VLSD2OU Digital Viewcam offers a wide range of features beyond the standard Hi8 image quality. Its 660,000-pixel CCD image sensor gives its pictures high resolution and clarity.It provides a large 3-inch LCD screen using Sharp's unique swivel design, making it easy to shoot from different angles. Image stabilization help reduce camera shake, and a 100x digital zoom gets you extra close to the action. This Viewcam's PCM digital audio reproduction and Wind Break microphone provide the sound quality of digital audio tape for playback and recording. Digital gamma compensation adjusts only the dark parts of a shot to optimal brightness levels, leaving the bright sections untouched so they don't become glaringly washed out. The lightweight, palm-size body makes this Viewcam one of smallest and most travel-friendly models on the market. ... Read more

Features

• MiniDV camcorder
• 10x optical zoom, 100x digital zoom with digital image stabilization
• 3-inch high-resolution color LCD viewscreen
• Compact and lightweight body
• Digital video reproduction with digital-quality sound; 7 special-effect modes

Reviews (20)

Fantastic Little DV Camera + Advice on Cheapest DV options!
April 2002

I found this camera ...on Amazon six months ago and was amazed with the picture quality and comfort of use of this camera at the price. I am giving the camera a full thumbs up after more than 6 months of use!

I like the no viewfinder concept... (I wear glasses and it is a pain to look thru viewfinders!) You also center the frame well - what you see in the LCD is what you get!

The camera has a IR remote and a reversible viewscreen which allows me and my wife to take our pictures without anyone elses help. Just turn the camera towards you and you can see yourselves on the small LCD screen and use the remote even to zoom upto 10X. (It has digital zoom, but a purist like me cannot use digital zoom!)

I bought a Inland Firewire Card (which came with a ULead videosystems Videomaker software)...and am very pleased with the quality of the home VCD that I made from it. Of course, I had an old AMD K6-350 Desktop running Windows 98 - which meant downloading patches for DV editing from inlandfaq dot com site and buying a Maxtor 40GB Harddrive ... to upgrade my old and shaky compaq PC!

I am finally happily creating great home movies with lots of special effects at a premium price .. and recommend everyone to do the same. Do not waste money when you can save! DV quality is within your reach...P>As for still pictures, I find grabbing the DV frames at 780x640 resolution using the DV software is the best way. You really donot need a memory stick or more resolution, it prints upto 5x6 prints, even 8x10s look great if printed on a laser printer... Your pictures look great as 10x zoom lets you take great closeups of just the face! I find my pictures better than ones taken on 2megapixel still cameras as the closeup really makes up for lower resolution esp in natural light conditions.

Happy DV editing!

Best mini-DV camcorder for the features and money
My wife and I were having our first child. My father-in-law said I should have a digital camera and a video camera. I wanted a product that would combine the two (...). I didn't know much about them when I started my hunt. I was aimed at the Sharp product from the start because of its style, no viewfinder, a simple LCD screen acts as viewfinder and monitor, also I liked how the screen and camera can twist 270 degrees from each other. Here are some things I really liked: mini-DV format; 660,000 pixel CCD, this is very important for the image size; manual control of focusing, color, etc.; ability to shoot single images (9 or 16 in group) at 1/10 second separation for fast moving sports; digital image stabilization; ability to brighten forground objects against a bright background; ease of use if you read the instruction manual; and availability of Sharp developed software and cable for image transfer to the computer. A few tradeoffs: basic battery is short lived, longer life battery is available, and AC/DC adapter provided and charging is quick; slight motor hum/whine that is picked up by microphone when recording, not serious problem because the frequency is such that any voice or other sound will cover it up and if you do not think about it you will probably not hear it; and I could not find it in any store and had to purchase over the internet (this turned out very easy and great). Conclusion, buy this camcorder and the software, for the features and the money you cannot lose. P.S.: be careful not to compare pixels in camcorder to digital camera, a $150 digital camera, 1.3 mega pixel will beat a $700 camcorder, 0.7 mega pixel. An important question to ask is what resolution will the camcorder create images at for sending on the internet? An average I found was 640 x 480, about 0.3 mega pixel.

Camera goes everywhere...
small enough to take everywhere.....it's been all over the world and through some tough climates and still works great! Large LCD for viewing eliminates the need for a view finder, which most people don't use with todays DV camera. Functions easy to access. Takes 37mm filters. Suggest purchase of two batteries so you can cut back on down time when shooting. Liked it so much....getting one for my son in the military!! Looking for underwater case...if available. ... Read more

Asin: B00004SY5M
Subjects:  1. Camcorder - Digital    2. Camcorder (Camcorders)   

Clock Tower
Average Customer Review:
CD-ROM
list price: $49.99
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Features

• Terrifying horror adventure set in Norway
• Five playable characters and ten different endings for extended replay value
• Amazingly detailed, horrific graphics atmospheric lighting, shadows and special effects
• Outstanding sound accompaniment will leave you constantly frightened
• For 1 player

Reviews (13)

Wow!What can I say.. a great classic! (review made in 2004)
I really loved Clock Tower. I'm sick of people saying it's a crappy game. You know what's crappy. Silent Hill 3, GTA series and all sports games. Now that's what I call a load of garbage.Sorry, didn't mean that. Just got pissed off by some bad reviews I read about Clock Tower in amazon. And man do they have some stupid reasons...
Graphics 4/5
I really thought the graphics were really good. Everything is very detailed, but they could have made the characters look
better. Otherwise from that,it's very good.
Sound 5/5
The voice acting is pretty good, and so is everything else. You can hear everything nice and clear. Also the attack music is good.
Gameplay 5/5
Very easy. You just click on an object you want your character to interact with. That's it. On Chase mode you just click on something to attack with or hide in.
Overall 5/5
The story is very well-done, the graphics are good and the gameplay is very easy. It's very scary and full of suspense.
I liked the Resident Evil series, but they were never scary, at all. But Clock Tower is. BUY IT NOW!

obscure little title
Not many people have played this game, which is a shame as it's one of the best horror games on playstation. Definitely superior to the Resident Evil series in terms of fear. Probably the 2nd best "scary" game after Silent Hill. The graphics aren't anything special...there's rarely music,and there's only a couple cut scenes, but who cares? It's a solid point and click game. Good list of characters, and you'd be surprised at who Scissorman turns out to be. There's some really cool scenes in here like when you're in an abandoned office building and it's all quiet and suddenly all the computers flash "DIE" and you see the killer at the end of a long hallway. You should probably put on a David Bowie CD or something while playing this because of the lack of sound. The cover is wrong.

hole-e-crap...
i freaking love this game to death, it is my fave. of all time on the psx, and the best in the series, it includes a total of 10 endings, 5 characters, and of course scissorman, which he is completly random through out the whole game, which is a great thing, the controls are also really easy to get used to, thinks to it being a point-and-click game, which makes it slow paced, but i can stand that, i love these type of games! ... Read more

Asin: B00002SU8F
Sales Rank: 2838
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Sony Playstation (Play station)    3. PSX (PS1 PSOne PS (1 one I)    4. Action Horror    5. Adventure   

Showbiz
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (28 September, 1999)
list price: $11.98 -- our price: $10.99
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

Often compared to Radiohead, the youngsters in Muse make no bones about their love of Thom Yorke and company. Like Radiohead and their other favorite band, Nirvana, the tracks on Muse's debut go straight for the quiet verses and windstorm choruses associated with those acts. Unfortunately, Muse don't have that crackling aura their idols possess, and that's something that no amount of production can fix.Still, it's hard to write them off completely after hearing the single "Muscle Museum," which hints at brighter days on the horizon.Radiohead's Pablo Honey wasn't that great an album either, and look at them post-OK Computer.If they're going to crash American radio, they'll have to wait until the next release. --Jason Josephes ... Read more

Reviews (129)

The best is still yet to come from Muse
Showbiz is a collection of songs which, when written, cover a long time period and it is obvious that all the newer songs on the album (ie Sunburn, Showbiz, Falling Down) are by far the better songs with much more passion and structure to them. Nevertheless, for a debut album, you won't find one much better than Showbiz. Sunburn captures you with an excellent blend of guitars and piano riff, Unintended and Falling Down are slow ballads where you capture the great variations in Matt Bellamy's astonishingly powerful voice. Cave and Showbiz are two epic rock songs and Fillip and Overdue are simple but very catchy stomp alongs. With a voice comparable much more to Jeff Buckley than Thom Yorke, backed with incredibly catchy riffs and meaty basslines(all kind of influences from the Deftones to tango and Nirvana to spanish guitar licks) , this album is unique despite all the Radiohead comparisons. However, if you are not convinced, the simple answer is to see them perform. They are simply awesome. Much more passion than Radiohead and much much heavier! Their record does not really do them any justice but as all their new songs go, they can only get better and better and a new album is much anticipated to be a masterpiece which will not only provide a variety of delicate ballads and huge epic rock songs but also capture the power of their live performances.

Combines the innovation of indie and the energy of grunge
This is a phenominal debut. Muse are fairly popular in the UK (their biggest hit so far is 11 and the album got to 14). This album explains why. It manages to combine the innovation of lo-fi indie rock brit-pop bands like Coldplay or Radiohead with the energy of grunge like Nirvana. And the result is stunning.

The whole album has an angsty feel, and there is serious passion in Matt's vocals, not least in the amazing opener, Sunburn. The lyrics are passionate and if pain could be turned into a song it would sound somewhere near Sunburn, with its heavy guitars, breaking vocals and hyptonising piano.

This is followed up by Muscle Museum, one of the best songs of recent times. The Latin-like guitar riff delicately opens it and the tune is really catchy, with a good bass line. It then breaks into another angsty chorus ('Can you see that I am needing/Begging for so much more that you could ever give/I don't want you to adore me/Don't want you to ignore me/Where it pleases you/I'll do it on my own'). This is the best songs on the album, its also fairly heavy.

Filip is the next. Its a weird track but I've grown to love it. It's chorus is beautifully dischordant and it seems to be speeding up incessantly until Matt whines 'to you' in the chorus.

Next is the first light track on the album, Falling Down, but its not a boring acoustic song, its got a ghostly feel to it. The falsetto is used superbly on this track.

Cave is another angsty rocker. It sounds really ghostly, and nearly descends into goth despite its falsetto as Matt screams 'Come into my cave and I'll burn your heart away' in the chorus. Its another memorable song.

Showbiz is also ghostly, as it begins with African drums and deep vocals, manifesting itself in a heavy chorus as Matt screams 'They make me dream your dreams/Make me scream your screams' but then the original vocal tune is played in a high octave shimmeringly on the guitar like one of those really slow metal songs.

Unintended is the second light tune, but is even more ghostly than Falling Down. The lyrics are superb and the falsetto is totally chilling. This is the first Muse track I heard and I thought they were all like this, but the album is much much harder.

Uno is next and was the band's debut single. It has superb lyrics ('This means nothing to me/ cos you are nothing to me/And it means nothing to me that you blew this away/Cos you could have been number one if you only found the time/And you could have ruled the whole world if you'd had the chance') and a painful chorus. Its the third Muse track I heard and, after Muscle Museum and Unintended, convinced me to buy the album.

Sober is similar to Filip, but with slightly less effect. However its still an excellent track. Escape starts off like Falling Down or Unintended and by the end is a bit harder. Its tune is very haunting. Overdue has a slightly electronic feel to it, but is still primarily rock and in basic tune is similar to Cave, for example.

The final track, Hate This And I'll Love You, is really heartbreaking, and a great album closer. It sounds similar to Showbiz.

I would NOT reccomend this CD if you only like happy music, but if you like good music, I would reccomend it. The best tracks are Muscle Museum, Uno, Sunburn, Cave and Unintended, but there are other excellent tracks too.

A good album
This is a fine album but they do sound a lot like Radiohead!They have also been heavily influenced by The Smashing Pumpkins though the popular music press would have you believe they've been more influenced by Nirvana(typical of the prejudiced way the Pumpkins are treated compared to Nirvana in general).If it wasn't for the sometimes lack of originality,this album would be one of the great debuts of all time.They are outstandingly talented musicians though and Matt's a great vocalist. ... Read more

Asin: B00001SIES