Cool CDROMs
24 messages in this thread
Don,
Changing completely the subject but keeping with CDs. I am amazed how things
have changed in a few months about CD-ROMs. They are slow but who cares? CDROMs
are the best thing since the invention of 3DS <g> However, I know of only a few
that really fulfills my list of what a good CDROM should be. A few games and a
few educational titles. Nevertheless, there is a CD that is, IMHO, a true piece
of art and awesome design condensed in 600MB: Explora by Peter Gabriel. Either
if you like his work or not (personally I am a fan and I think that, with David
Byrne, he is the only musician who have mixed and transformed technology in a
succesful way), you will love this CD. The elegance of the design is one of the
few examples of translating the spirit of vanguard design in paper to a
computer medium, and creating a totally new thing. And the best thing after
enjoying the design: you will have fun.
Well, after this fanatic introduction (I am really happy for finding a real
cool CD -even better than 7thGuest and Myst), did you see the CD running at
comdex? (as you see, I have spent a 1K introduction for a yes/no question 🙂
Anyone have find this jewel of the computer era? I bet that it will a hit at
Siggraph.
ana /krazy images
ps.After experiencing Explora I can't wait for Jean Giraud "Moebius"
StarWatcher virtual reality theme park (yeah, on a Pentium at 150MHz <g>)
Anyone here is a Moebius fan?
Ana:
O.K. O.K. the bit on the PPC was tolerable, the spewage about pornography I
even tolerated but to say:
"Explora by Peter Gabriel. Either if you like his work or not (personally I am
a fan and I think that, with David Byrne, he is the only musician who have
mixed and transformed technology in a succesful way)"
you have managed to discount the efforts of Les Paul(mixed electricity with a
guitar), Robert Moog (inventor of the Moog synthesizer), Godley and Creme
(produced a bunch of your favorite rock videos as well as a string of cool
albums), Todd Rundgren (recorded the first album made of sounds sampled
entirely of sounds he produced vocally -not to be confused with acappella- and
is the only musician I know of who performs music live *and* controls
interactively a complete video projection system which is tied to a bunch of
Amigas via a video toaster), and everyone in between. Your view of music and
technology is extraordinarily narrow to plop your opinions here in the ASOFT
forum without expecting to get flamed as a result. Sorry, :-{ I just couldn't
let your message go by as I was just listening to Godley and Creme's album
Freeze Frame.
Bob
Then you and me doesn't have the same idea of high technology and art, sorry.
Not to talk about tastes. Certainly Gabriel and Byrne are one of my favorite
musicians but if you want a list of vinils here (which are still bigger than
the CD collection) and favorite musicians I can give you 2MBs in any database
file format. IMHO, both Gabriel and Byrne are the only ones who have developed
strong ties to visual high technology. I have not seen LesPaul or Creme in Art
Futura, sorry, althought I have quite a few LPs of them. Check Explora and you
will be closer to what I mean with "ties to high technology", not only samples,
synthesizers, Amigas and Toasters. I think that you are the closed mind here.
My point was about the use of multiple media and technologies to convey a
message, rather than only sound experimentation (which, as a purist, I have to
admit that most times escape from my understanding – I am of those who thought
in the past that the only good synthesizer was the one that was unplugged- it
is a question of taste).
We all have our favorites, Robert. I have arround 5000 favorites and all of
them are in the top. From Dogs d'Amour to Led Zep, from old Queen to U2, from
Primus to Anthrax, from the Beatles to the Rolling Stones, from SoundGarden to
Tom Waits, from Byrne to Gabriel, from Pink Floyd to ACDC, from the Sex Pistols
to Thin Lizzy, from Barrikada to Rosendo to many other underground European
groups that will never appear in the MTV, from… well, should I start with the
Duke, Amstrong, BBKing and the gang?
Trust me, get explora and the latest Art Futura tape to check what my previous
message meant. And get also the reverse side of technology, latest Waits. hey!
I want to play the bones and I wanna a Ride too!
Bye,
ana /krazy images
Ana:
Neither David Byrne or Peter Gabriel has the mulitimedia skills that are
present in Todd Rundgren. With lotsa outside help Byrne and Gabriel may
produce an awesome multimedia CD-ROM but only Rundgren has the knowledge and
required skills to perform both video and audio in a live performance and I'd
suggest he's by far the most competent of the three with a computer. I am
saying this after seeing a special about his work which included an interview
segment where he spun the dials, flipped the switches and twiddled the ivories
and produced his high technology audio/visual multimedia show. I am not arguing
preference as I do not own a single disk by Todd Rundgren although I have heard
a good portion of his work dating back to the Nazz. However, I own a pile of
Byrne/Byrne-Eno/T-heads and Gabriel/Genesis and I can assure you that your
broad stroke is in error if you believe that "Gabriel and Byrne are the only
ones who have developed strong ties to visual high technology." Hell, even
Graham Nash has a bunch of IRIS printers at his company Nash Editions! So, you
see, there are a few musicians that have strong ties to visual high technology
unless you do not consider print media high technology. As far as who has
developed strong ties to visual technology you have every right to believe as
you do but you are in error.
As far as getting the latest Waits, I don't think I can listen to that marble
mouth voice of his. I'll probably pick up something sweet like the new Sarah
McLaughlin (sp?) disk. Maybe it'll be Nine Inch Nails, now there's a band with
some multi talented individuals.
Bob
<…Gabriel and Byrne are one of my favorite musicians…>
That would be… uh… two.
yeah, two, whatever, it was 4:00AM here in Europe when I posted that message 🙂
ana /krazy images
Hi Ana,
PMJI, I just wanted to say that Gabriel an Byrne are at the top of my list. 3rd
and 4th would be Adrian Belew and Danny Elfman.
Kurt
I personally would switch those around and put Elfman followed by Belew at the
top instead of Byrne and Gabriel…..you were close though <g>. Brent Bonet –
POP! Multimedia Atlanta
I was early for an adrian belew show (Mr.Musichead) at the Roxy and this guy
bummed a smoke from me out front only to realize a second later it was belew
himself.
The Roxy in Atlanta? I was working on a multimedia project last fall in
Milwaukee and saw him at a little tiny dive called Shank Hall in an acoustic
set (He apparently lives in nearby Lake Geneva, WI). It was
incredible…especially when he did Frame By Frame. Brent Bonet – POP!
Multimedia Atlanta
THE Roxy in LA. Frame by frame is one of my favorites. You've heard all The
Bears right? the Eno stuff? Talking Heads?
>> Elfman followed by Belew at the top…
Just curious what Elfman has done besides Oingo Boingo, the Simpson's theme and
Beetlejuice… Can you recommend an Oingo Boingo album for new Elfman fans?
I'd recommend any of the early LP's. I can't remember the names of them since
my LP collection got ripped off a couple of years ago. The first LP is Only A
Lad, and any of the next two are excellent….I wish I could remember the
names! Brent Bonet – POP! Multimedia Atlanta
<< The first LP is Only A Lad, and any of the next two are excellent….I wish
I could remember the names! Brent Bonet – POP! Multimedia Atlanta>>
Good for your Soul, Nothing to Fear, BOI-NGO, Dead Man's Party……
LP? CD!<G>
Yeah, I was truly psyched up till BOIN-GO. After that they were merely great!!
Brent
>> Good for your Soul, Nothing to Fear, BOI-NGO, Dead Man's Party……
If you had to save your pennies for more 3DS goodies, which ONE album would you
pick as a favorite?
Kurt,
Hey, did you check Explora? From what I hear, Interplay will release it for the
PC. You will love it. It is the best CDROM ever. In fact, it gives CDROM and
multimedia its true meaning. I am really impressive.
As for tops of the list… well, I have horizontal list of favorites. That way,
all of them are at the top <g>
ana /krazy images
What is Explora? I've heard there is a good Peter Gabriel CD and a Todd
Rundgren interactive. (both for the mac)
I'm wating for the PC.
^
?
Kurt
Explora 1 is the Peter Gabriel's CDROM (only for the Mac 🙁
ana /krazy images
Actually, Les Paul didn't invent the electric Guitar. He was predated by
Fender, who was predated by Rikenbaker {sp}
Evan
>> Explora by Peter Gabriel.
PMJI, but I believe it only runs on the Mac for now. I have heard it's simply
fantastic, but I really can't afford a Mac to run it on. If you hear anything
about a PC version, please let me know.
I will. It seems that Interplay will release it for Windows. It is based is
Hypercard, so I am a little eskeptical about it. I am sure you will be able to
play with it at Siggraph. It is a truly great experience. The real meaning of
multimedia. I'm exploraholic now 🙂
ana /krazy images
Ana, I must be a complete bore for someone like you as I don't really care for
the multimedia CDroms, games etc. I have lots of CD's but they are directories
and other databases, encyclopedias, guides like family doctor etc. The best
CD-s are the ones that run without hard drive space requirements. Yes they are
slow but getting the kinds of information, even on CIS takes longer. I do have
some multimedia CDs but find them a little too much flash and not enough
backbone. Remember the CD Sherlock Holmes? I loved that one because of the
way it worked but the game was god awful boring. My favorite CD is the
coreldraw clipart from 3.0. I actually bought a dedicated drive for that one
so I could have it full access on my network. I have 3 CD drives here and 2
are multimedia capable. BTW the answer is no. <g> Didn't spend any time at
all looking at games.
The CD is not a game. More like a kind of a exploration of gabriel's "secret
world" (well, not so secret 🙂 I don't have time too much time for playing
games, running fancy dinosaurs encyclopedias 🙂 and getting lost in 3D
imaginary worlds, but I like to explore everything I can, from books to videos
to CDs. If there is someone in the information highway running at Mach 3,
that's me <g>
ana /krazy images