News & Reviews – Page 5 – Oddball Update

SHO-CO-REVIEW 13: I Was There, I’m Here

April 27, 2010September 29, 2011 Pooch

After a break of almost exactly three years since her last record (Love, painful love), I Was There, I’m Here was released on September 21, 2003. It was Shoko’s first live album, and her first record released as an indies (non-major label) artist — this and several of her following releases would come through indie label Wonderground Music.

SHO-CO-REVIEW 12: Love, painful love

April 20, 2010October 7, 2011 Pooch

Original released on September 27, 2000 (held back from an originally announced release date of August 23), Love, painful love was Shoko Suzuki’s first entirely self-produced album, and also her last original album recorded under her contract with Warner Music Japan — and also, her final album as an artist tied to a major label.

SHO-CO-REVIEW 11: Atarashii Ai no Uta

April 13, 2010October 7, 2011 Pooch

Atarashii Ai no Uta, released December 10, 1999, saw Shoko reunite with Yoshiyuki Sahashi, her original producer (and with whom she hadn’t worked in any capacity since RadioGenic in 1993). After the retro ’60s rock style of her previous three albums (all of which were co-produced with Hiroaki Sugawara), Atarashii Ai no Uta would see Shoko embrace more of an ’80s-style of pop/rock music, something along the lines of music she began her career singing (albeit with more of a rock edge).

Pictorial: The Xbox 360 Hard Drive Transfer Kit

March 24, 2010September 29, 2011 Chief Oddball

Since there seems to be a dearth of conclusive information (and a lot of repetitive questions) about the Xbox 360 Hard Drive Transfer Kit, I thought I’d document the process of using mine in case anybody is wondering how the thing works.

If You’re Gonna Buy an Xbox, Buy an Xbox

March 22, 2010September 21, 2011 Chief Oddball

So after my 2006-era Xbox 360 suffered terminal RRoD on Friday night — you may have read about it — I decided to pool together my remaining Gamestop store credit and some cash from a recent side job in order to replace it.

SHO-CO-REVIEW 10: Shishousetsu

March 9, 2010October 7, 2011 Pooch

Shishousetsu, released August 26, 1998, was Shoko Suzuki’s first album under her record contract with Warner Music Japan, with whom she signed after leaving Epic/Sony Records in 1997. Like her previous two albums there is an appreciable rock and roll influence; however, this is balanced with orchestrated pop, ballads and even a country number, making for a fairly diverse album (and more-or-less setting the pattern for many of Shoko’s future releases, which all tend to have a fair bit of diversity to them).

SHO-CO-REVIEW 9: Candy Apple Red

March 2, 2010December 19, 2011 Pooch

Candy Apple Red, Shoko Suzuki’s final album recorded for Epic/Sony Records, was released on March 1, 1997. In hindsight, Shoko leaving her record company seemed to be a foregone conclusion — the record company wasn’t happy with Snapshots, and Shoko presumably wasn’t happy with how they handled her career after Hourglass.

Star Trek Online: Latest Screenshots

February 28, 2010September 29, 2011 Chief Oddball 2 Comments

I last posted about the massively multiplayer PC game Star Trek Online during the open beta phase. The game hit retail release in early February, and now that it’s been several weeks since then, what’s the current state of the game?

Review: Star Trek: The Original Series (Blu-Ray)

February 27, 2010October 7, 2011 Chief Oddball

For my birthday this year, my friends Pooch and Reaper gifted me with the Season 1 and 3 boxed sets of Star Trek: The Original Series on Blu-ray disc. Since this series (hereinafter referred to as TOS) was perhaps my first television love, and sparked an obsessive fanaticism which hasn’t waned for a minute since, I thought it appropriate to post my impressions of these all-new, high-definition episodes.

SHO-CO-REVIEW 8: Snapshots

February 23, 2010October 7, 2011 Pooch

Snapshots, released June 21, 1995, is generally considered the album where Shoko Suzuki’s music went rock. Of course, this isn’t something on the scale of Dylan going electric, as Shoko had recorded rock songs as far back as her first album…and she would continue to showcase pop songs and ballads on her future works.

Category: News & Reviews