Listen: HEALTH - "Tears"

Man oh man have I been waiting for this to drop ever since it was announced some months back. Los Angles noise band HEALTH created the score for Rockstar Games latest blockbuster franchise release, Max Payne 3, which drops today. If you have seen the onslaught of commercials for the game on TV and are a HEALTH fan like me than it goes without saying that the 2 minutes of “Tears” have been a very big tease and left you wanting more. Available today via iTunes, you can download the single tune for a dollar, or for the gamers out there, as part of the special edition packaging of the game which includes the score in its entirety. It’s a pretty breathtaking tune in my opinion and having not heard the full album yet makes we want more.  For those who don’t want to shell out a full $100 just to get the score (maybe you aren’t a gamer) have no fear as it will be available in its entirety on May 23rd via iTunes and in the future as a physical vinyl release. Unfortunately I don’t know the details of the vinyl drop yet or even how long the score clocks in at but you can be sure I will feverishly continue to track down the info and share it with our readers. For now enjoy all 4 plus minutes of lead song “Tears” below….

Video: PUNGA's 8-bit FOX retro ad

PUNGA is a design/animation house out of Buenes Aires known for it commercial work. Below is an ad for FOX Italy promoting what I can guess is a retro lineup of shows. I am a sucker for good 8-bit art and this fits the bill.

BONUS - PUNGA's run of ads for Wrangler jeans. Simple but beautiful animation.

Watch: Portal: No Escape - Short Film

This short film (I refuse to label something with this production quality a "fan video") directed by Totally Rad Show host Daniel Trachtenberg and featuring a masked cameo by co-host Alex Albrecht is simply breathtaking.  "Portal: No Escape" is based on the mechanics of the Portal games and was shot before the release of Portal 2, my favorite game of the year.  Highly recommended for fans of the games or any sci-fi aficionados.  Watch below (suggest HD, full volume and wide screen):

 

The Electric Dock Ellis Acid Test: An Attempt To Recreate Ellis's Drug-Addled No-Hitter, On Xbox

You may recall our post on former pitcher Doc Ellis pitching a no-hitter while on acid. Two guys named A.J. Daulerio and Matt Toder tried to recreate the experience via x-box and documented the whole thing, take a look at the video below..

Acid No Hitter 06 from source/record on Vimeo.

Diff'rent Strokes

Every once in a while you get some story on sex in videogames which is usually followed by parents groups and politicians losing their minds over how our children are spending their time. When I was growing up sex wasn't the taboo subject it is today in popular American culture, 80's hair metal was, whatever the case there seemed to be a sense of humor that is lacking in todays games that was ever present in games like Leisure Suit Larry and other popular Sierra franchises. "Stroker", a game on the Commodore 64, was one that slipped me by and didn't come to my attention till recently. This would not fly today but thanks to the various moding specialists out there you can now play this game on your Nintendo Wii, and the 9 year old in me is happy you can.