It’s nice to see Anamanaguchi finally make a music video and they went all out for their maiden voyage, tapping long-time Tim & Eric collaborators Daniel Gray Longino and Eric Notarnicola to direct and a whole host of talented animators/artists to pitch-in on the visuals.
The ‘Guch aesthetic isn’t easily pidgeonholed and the surface comparisons that often get drawn between them and ‘video game music’ and/or 90s-kid culture are, from my point-of-view at least, missing the point of what they’re up to. A few months back Tycho wrote about why naked nostalgia grabs are typically unfulfilling and it definitely applies here:
“That’s the trick of nostalgia, and why yoking it is such a dangerous business. It’s never ‘as good,’ because it can’t be. ‘As good’ wouldn’t satisfy you, now, because you aren’t the person who was satisfied by it anymore, partly because of the satisfaction you felt earlier, but also because of every other force and beam and ray which is always operating on your aggregated being.”
I don’t get the sense that anything Anamanaguchi does is calculated and, even though their style (both sonically and visually) might appear to be borrowed from another decade, it feels inexplicably modern and wholly their own. This is goddamn party music and that shit never goes out of style.
I absolutely love the arcade/clique theme that underscores the whole video and super-dig the pixel art animation sequence that kicks off after Ary is blasted to Furblivion by the L4Z3R R4V3RZ (especially the cameos-created illustrations that run from 2:30-2:33).
Full-screen HD is a must. ENJOY!
[ Anamanaguchi - 「MEOW」 (Official Music Video) ]
posted by respondcreate on Jan. 08, 2013 in Videos | tags: anamanaguchi, animation, bizarre, cameos, colorful, daniel gray longino, eric notarnicola, good times, hd, horror, music video, nostalgia, paul robertson, pixel art
I’ve found it’s always worth-my-while to periodically check in on Paul Robertson. My latest visit to his tumblr yielded a heady crop of candy-colored, bizarre and dark pixel art that I’ve collected here for you to peruse at your leisure. I was also pleased to discover he recently contributed some art/animations to Wizorb, a Breakout-meets-Zelda game by Tribute that’s available on Windows, Linux, OSX and the 360. After parting with the very-reasonable three-dollar asking price I spent a handful of hours combating evil in Gorudo and am happy to report it was worth every penny. In addition to Paul’s always-excellent pixel art, Wizorb‘s wonderful, nostalgia-activating soundtrack and just-right difficulty progression keeps a firm-but-friendly grip on your attention. So yeah, pick that shit up if you’re looking for something to fun to play; you can’t beat the price.
[ Paul Robertson ]
posted by respondcreate on Mar. 25, 2012 in Pictures | tags: bizarre, colorful, dark, illustration, paul robertson, pixel art, trippy, video games
Some more Paul Robertson up ons.
[ Diner Boss by Paul Robertson ]
posted by respondcreate on Feb. 27, 2011 in Pictures | tags: animated gif, bizarre, colorful, paul robertson, strange, trippy
By pixel-art super-talent, Paul Robertson.
[ film stuff ]
posted by respondcreate on Feb. 15, 2011 in Pictures | tags: 8-bit, animated gif, colorful, paul robertson, trippy, video games