But I have a good excuse: I got Soul Calibur 2. The first Soul Calibur was perfect. This one is perfect too. If you want something else in a fighter game, you might be a decent person, and you might have a good heart, but I would not seek your company.

KC - 2003-08-29 - 18:51:39

For us (Joe and myself), a review isn't a sort of popped-off reaction - we're careful to craft something useful. This means a) we take longer to do it, and b) ideas have to be eschewed if the shape of the review doesn't allow for them.

Take the Tiger Lillies review. I gave the impression of the album without discussing individual songs since that would have disrupted the flow and weakened the writing. But I want to say more:

Brothel To The Cemetery is annoying because it combines one of my favorite artistic forms with one of my least favorite artistic tendencies. On this album they play a Brecht/Weill sort of Germanic pub music, stuff I love. But they seek to offend for no other reason than to offend. For example, the song "Banging In The Nails" is about crucifying Jesus. With glee. The Goat is the last place in the world for religious talk, but this sort of thing doesn't sit well with me. I love the music, and several songs make it clear that they are talented and good at what they do...but I am given pause. Just thought you oughta know.

In the history of the Exploded Goat, August has been our best ever, averaging roughly 1000 hits a day (according to server statistics and a front page counter that's not too inaccurate). Enjoy yourself, and feel free to contact either one of us, kent@explodedgoat.com or joe@explodedgoat.com. We like feedback and friendliness...or we would, if we ever got any. Tell your friends about us - but not too many. We're nowhere near the bandwidth limit, but I'm still scared of it.

KC - 2003-08-22 - 22:31:31

Have you seen eX-Driver? Good show.

The Goat is kicking back into gear, so all you doubters and "haters" can eat our dust. Sure, nobody doubts or hates us, but I can read your minds.

Sorry. That doesn't make sense. I've been listening to the Tiger Lillies. Heard of them? Here's a lyric:

On thursday I throw molotov
At the orphan's home
I love those little orphans
Charred down to the bone
I'm terrible I'm terrible
I shouldn't be allowed
To sing my songs of filth
To a decent crowd

The singer uses a falsetto and plays an accordion. Expect a full review on Friday.

KC - 2003-08-20 - 20:05:45

Unexpected things came up. The sort of things that happen when you don't think they will. That aren't in the realm of possibilities one can expect.

Anyway, I got a job. Last time that happened the Exploded Goat went on a small KC-hiatus, which wasn't good. It won't happen again. Now we'll be working on a site paid for with money earned, not borrowed or stolen¹.

And of course, Joe, the battle-scarred Joe - scars that say he has many long stories to tell, but who keeps mainly to himself, and even the little kids know that you don't go up to him, you wait for him to come to you. That Joe has put up another round of small movie reviews, Movie Snips 2. He talks about a few movies I agonized over having to write about, and now feel I don't have to. Woman In The Dunes, for example. Or Kwaidan.

Next week the pace should be back to normal. So stay tuned, all of our new friends, and don't abandon the Goat you've just learned to love.

¹Of course, I'm only talking about myself. Joe the unimpeachable is much more scrupulous. And I'm not engaging in some sort of self-effacing irony here. Joe's a good guy. Read his stuff. Here, here, and here.

KC - 2003-08-15 - 09:00:28

I just realized that a few of my opening messages have inadvertently ripped off the cards for Adult Swim. I saw one that was like a post I did...and I'm pretty sure that theirs came first, and I stole it.

Unintentionally.

So apologies to anyone who saw the similarity and figured I was nothing more than a thief. I'm not (at least not on purpose).

KC - 2003-08-07 - 23:46:38

Articles like this, and their subsequent reaction in the game community, give me pause. Essentially, the article says that the GameCube is a bad sell. If I owned stock in Nintendo, that would be upsetting. But I don't.

Some folk say:

I sensed that the 'Cube boat was sinking recently, and sold my stuff/games to get money for an XBox. Seems like a good move so far.

blink...

blink...

Is GameCube going to fail me, now that it isn't selling? Is Ikaruga going to quit because other people did not buy the system? Believe it or not, I hook up my Dreamcast from time to time. And goddamn, but it works. Really, after Sega abandoned it and everything.

Moral of the story? Good games are fun to play regardless of where you play them. Abandoning a system, or being proud of abandoning a system because the company that produced it isn't making money off of it, is plain silly.

So is Samurai Deeper Kyo, which I have a review of. Yesterday I put up the brand new episode guide for Outlaw Star. And there's another review for Key: The Metal Idol.

More to come soon.

KC - 2003-08-06 - 18:57:04

Recently the Goat has been getting heavy traffic...though some of you come looking for "goat love." When we say goat love, I don't think it means what you mean when you say goat love.

So let me explain the Exploded Goat to you. In some ways we are like a blog, but we don't update a lot. Plus, we have content, which I think is anti-blog. The site is the brainchild of Kent Conrad and Joe Cormack. We seek love in the smart discussion of things that are cultish in pop culture (though I tend to review mainsteam-like movies that are overrated). Our form of seduction is the considered and not-too-wordy review.

So, if you're new, check out my vicious attack on George Lucas, and Joe's piece on Love, the psychedelic band from L.A.

Enjoy yourself.

KC - 2003-08-01 - 21:00:26