The Man Who Wasn't There

callmesteam mentioned a post and it was one that I was going to post about as well, but accidently X'd out before I was done. Well, yay for LJ because it kept my post saved for me. Anyway, here it is:

I've talked a lot in the past month about Saul Williams' new album that was produced by Trent Reznor of NIN. It's a terrific album and worth more than the $5 they're asking for. Much like Radiohead's latest, they also offered it for free. Today, Trent posted some insight into the stats, etc. in releasing Saul's new album. Some of it is heartening. A good portion...not.

( Trent's post )

The interesting and sad part is the fact that only 18% of those who downloaded it thought the album was worth paying $5 for. Especially given that Trent's right that those who bought it were probably either NIN or Saul fans, 18% is kind of a disheartening number.

Right now, I've been in a Nine Inch Nails/Saul Williams type of mood. Whenever I discover new artists, like Saul, I tend to go a little overboard and learn all I can about them. Saul is a pretty cool guy, it seems. I totally didn't realize he was in K-PAX and I want to see Slam now, where he's the lead actor. I think it's cool that he has a B.A. in philosophy and acting. He's a good lyricist and Trent definitely provided him with some awesome beats for his new album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust. I never would have thought a mix of hip-hop and industrial would work, but it does. I still maintain it's the best $5 I've spent.

So, I've been alternating between listening to Saul's spoken word poetry and Trent circa With Teeth and Still. I never got the chance to get Still before; it was the only non-remix album of his I didn't have. Since it's now available via itunes and Amazon.com MP3 downloads, I got it. I love it. It's Trent at his most organic and the version of "Something I Can Never Have" is amazing. That sad song is probably one of my favorites and hearing it without all the glitz, stripped down to its essential, is brilliant.

There's a cool interview with Trent up at Wired. Very long. Large blocks of text. But very interesting, discussing his ARG for Year Zero.

The Hellgate: London forums have some information about their upcoming Stone Henge chronicles patch. Nothing about the actual content, but a lot about fixes, class balances, etc. Evokers and Guardians are getting a lot of love and changes. I'm really curious to see the Evoker changes in action. I'm also glad that respec coins are being given out to those affected and to subscribers.

I played very briefly last night and ended up quitting early. The game was moving super smoothly as usual and then all of a sudden, the game turned into a slideshow and crashed. I don't know what was up with that, but it was a cue to stop.

Back around Thanksgiving, I had a few resolutions I wanted to accomplish over break. I failed. But, better late than never, right? I now have reviews up at CADMedia for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Super Mario Galaxy. Finally. Over break, my goal is to finish Mass Effect.