DELFINA UTOMO, LEAD EDITOR
MUSIC
BANDWAGON TV
B4-XVI beforesixteen
As we know, there’s a Tumblr for everything. Kim Jong-Il looking at things, those gif-based ones on being an expat in Singapore or something, Out Of Context Science, Ugly Renaissance Babies (my fave) and so much more undiscovered. Then there’s B4-XVI where they highlight the similarities between Medieval and Renaissance art and hip-hop artists and iconography. There’s Durer v Drake, van Eyck v The ATL Twins, Henry VIII v Rick Ross, it’s great, wondrous, super informative and it’s uncanny. Get yourself a dose of culture, son.
GAMES
Hugs 'n' Kisses
Describing themselves as a “online fashion experience” - I think First Person Lover is much more. It’s part The Sims, part FPS action, and part online fashion store. It’s a game for haters, and a game for lovers. Actually you literally go around stripping hate from the haters (yep they go nude) and ‘liberate’ them with funky sports luxe attire. Did I also mention that instead of shooting guns, as per FPS games, you shoot… kisses.First Person Lover is free to play (and shop!) online.
FILM
Don't Speak
The Oscars ceremony each year is a perpetual can of worms. How do they choose the films? How to they decide if it’s a winning film? Who decides? What is she wearing? Was the host good? What did she say at her speech? Say what you want, but hey people do talk about it. At least for the next few days. But what if there was no talking? Literally no talking. At all.Someone took the liberty and free time to exclude all the dialogue from the Oscars. It was awkward, bittersweet, and peaceful.
DANIEL PETERS, EDITOR
MUSIC
Wu-Tang Secret Album a Cashgrab?
Many of you have already read about Wu-Tang Clan’s The Wu - Once Upon a Time In Shaolin aka the secret album with only one copy in existence. Group leader RZA has likened it to “…having the scepter of an Egyptian king”, declaring it as “…a piece of art like nobody else has done in the history of [modern] music.” With that kind of hype, any self-respecting Wu-Tang fan would be foaming at the mouth. Of course, none of us can hear it even if the future buyer wants to release it — the album’s protected by a strict 88-year copyright. Wu-Tang affiliate Cilvaringz has deemed their efforts "...for the fans."
One fan, however, has called bullshit on them. Going by the throwaway account name of ‘OnceUponACashGrab’ on Reddit's hip-hop subreddit 'r/hiphopheads', he concludes this whole ‘one copy’ affair as, yes, nothing more than a dishonest cash grab by RZA and Cilvaringz. He backs up his case with minimal but fairly convincing evidence, due to his claim that Cilvaringz is constantly deleting any old evidence that supports this story.
What does this means? It means that RZA probably had nothing to do with the album and he’s just rebranding it as his passion project to earn some serious money — not to mention, lend some hype to their very recent (and very mediocre) album A Better Tomorrow, which was released commercially.
OnceUponACashGrab brings up some strong points — the strongest being the involvement of Wu-Tang member Raekwon on Once Upon a Time…, despite his very shaky public relationship with RZA (a relationship that threatened the making of A Better Tomorrow, by the way). Why would he willing work with RZA on an ambitious double-album if it already took a shit-load of convincing from RZA’s part to get him on a regular record? Definitely doesn’t add up but it’s all allegations at this moment.
TL;DR Fan alleges that Wu-Tang Clan's secret album is just a ruse to earn money — a lot of money.
GAMING
Unreal Tournament returns!
An almost unreal piece of news for fervent gamers but it looks like Unreal Tournament’s getting its much-needed comeback. The multiplayer franchise broke ground back in 1999 and after three very good instalments, Epic Games is rebooting the series for a new generation of gamers.
What’s exciting about this is that they’re planning to retain all the elements of the original game — the ridiculously fun game modes along with the over-the-top and frenetic style intact — but the best part is that this new version is absolutely free, and not free-to-play with additional paid items (we’re looking at you, Plants vs Zombies).
There aren’t a lot of levels right now but they’re opening it to the online community to help build the game as its development progresses — something made incredibly easier with the free release of Unreal Engine 4. With the advent of shoddy game development and overpriced DLCs, this is very refreshing.
FILM
BBC documentary India’s Daughter available online
Something you can’t miss, while it’s still up on YouTube anyway. Be warned, it’s not an easy film to watch but it’s important viewing: India’s Daughter, the documentary about the gang-rape and murder of a young girl in Delhi. Filmmaker Leslee Udwin paints a grim picture of India, where she investigates the treatment of women in Indian society — repressing treatment that goes way back in their culture.
The Indian government is trying to get it banned but BBC isn’t budging, good for them anyway. I guess India's hilariously backward decision to threaten BBC from releasing it complements their disturbingly backwards treatment of women really well.
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