Q: “What is your perspective on the keys to success?”

A: “For better or worse, success is always a cocktail of the following three ingredients:

1. TALENT

2. APTITUDE

3. LUCK

TALENT: Those innate gifts which one cannot buy, learn, or earn. Whether it be charisma, coordination, or the ability to write lyrics, these things can be honed, but they cannot be transferred from one person to another. To be successful, we must recognize our talents and sharpen them through discipline.

APTITUDE: The sum total of our skills and disciplines which can be learned. This is the measure of how well one has honed his or her talents.

LUCK: Being at the right place at the right time.  Every day, we spin a huge wheel like on The Price is Right. Once in a while, we land on a spot marked “opportunity.” This is LUCK in action. However, if we do not have the TALENT or the APTITUDE, then the opportunity is wasted and our good luck means nothing.”

-Brent

As the number of video game tribute bands increases, new and existing groups are challenged to distinguish themselves from others to avoid sounding generic. For instance, Bit Brigade accompanies live playthroughs of classic games, Select Start opts for a classical chamber ensemble, and even VGM staple The OneUps have recently started performing with a freestyling hip-hoparista named Lucio. The emergent Los Angeles-based band Tanuki Suit Riot, with their unique sound and wickedly clever mashups, have proven that they are able to distinguish themselves right off the bat in their ten-track debut album The Edo Sessions.

The album begins with a high-energy arrangement of the “Burning Building” theme from TMNT II: The Arcade Game for the NES. Right away, it establishes the potential of the group’s arrangement. Soaring above a solid rhythm section and spot-on keys is the main source of Tanuki Suit Riot’s aural flavor: a sexy tenor sax, and a trumpet reminiscent of the band Cake. This two-man horns section, provided by Matt Van Gelder and Kyle Polich, sets the band apart with a sound I’ve never heard before in the VGM scene.

But where TSR really sets themselves apart is in their mashups, such as “Megaman Cowboy Bebop,” which alternates between Mega Man 3’s “Snake Man” Theme and the iconic Cowboy Bebop title theme. Over the course of ten tracks, they seamlessly blend elements as disparate as Journey, Michael Jackson, and Mozart in between tasty marble cake swirls of classic game tunes. And on top of their ability to backflip from one tune into another, they also tackle a huge array of musical styles—a big jiggly swing tune, a tom-heavy jungle rock jam, and a Shaft-like 70’s groove are represented, among many others.

If there is one blemish on the face of this fun-fest, it is the occasional sloppiness of the very horns section that makes it so tangy. The trumpet and saxophone sometimes lack a sense of tempo and rhythmic simultaneity; in some cases, this gives their arrangement a fun, messy feel, but my inner music teacher wants it to be a little more together and a little more on-beat. In any case, it will probably only bother the more anal-retentive listener and may not even occur to the average retro game fan.

My favorite track is TSR’s interpretation of the overworld theme from Zelda II. Fun fact: Hearing their live version of this song over a Ustream feed last year led me to write “Zelda II With Lyrics.” It takes the song from a noble march to a lackadaisical, almost Caribbean feel. What was once a hero’s fanfare now sounds like it could blend into a Luau playlist quite nicely. And that is just one example of the reason I’m recommending this album to you: you’ve never heard video game tunes quite like this.

All in all, The Edo Sessions is a fun ride that shows Tanuki Suit Riot to be exactly what they are: A promising new band in the VGM scene that—while not always perfect in their mechanical delivery—provides a sound unique to the genre, bites off an ambitious amount of fun, and in the process gives the listener a lot to chew on.

PROS
Refreshing new arrangement. Great mix of classic and obscure tunes. Brilliant, ballsy mashups of different styles and genres.

CONS
Sloppy playing in parts. Only ten tracks.

BRENT’S FAVORITE TRACKS
Track #6: “Zelda II”
Track #4: “Moon Patrol”
Track #10: “Driver’s High/F-Zero”

OVERALL SCORE
B+

RECOMMENDED BUY?
Yes!

The Edo Sessions by Tanuki Suit Riot can be purchased on iTunes for $9.90 here.

The band may be contacted at info@tanukisuitriot.com or by tweeting to @tanukisuit.

You announced that you won’t be a quitter,
and referred to a “tweet” as a “twitter.”
To court your next female,
why not just use email
to transmit a pic of your critter?

…you see, this is actually why you should be following ME on Twitter; because if I send you a picture of the hairy banjo tonight, I’ll never lie about it in the morning.

Love,

Brent

This blog entry has to do with my participation on Empire Avenue. It’s kind of like a social networking stock market. So if you subscribe to this blog, sorry for the useless blog entry.

WAIT, ACTUALLY… since so few people actually follow this little outpost, I may as well tell you… the brentalfloss Karaoke tracks are now available on iTunes and Amazon Music… just search “What if This CD… DIDN’T Have Lyrics?”

…there. Now it’s not totally wasted.

-BF

It’s time.

Unfortunately, making a Wikipedia page is a pain in the ass, and you’re not supposed to create one about yourself. That’s where you guys come in. Here—within this very blog post—lie all the tools you need. Ideally, the page would be for Brent Black with a “brentalfloss” redirect. Preferably you’re someone who has made Wikipedia pages before; you know, the kind that don’t get taken down immediately?

Here goes:

Fact 1: I am known for adding lyrics to video game music. Reference: The Canadian Broadcasting Company. Here’s the article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/media/story/2010/09/08/videogame-music.html  …I’m mentioned in the ninth paragraph.

Fact 2: I was born on April 12, 1984 in Dallas, TX (I don’t have any websites referencing this. Please don’t tell Donald Trump.)

Fact 3: My subscribers have topped 99,000 Reference: Youtube.com/brentalfloss

Fact 4: My first CD, “What if This CD… Had Lyrics?” was released in the spring of 2010. Reference: http://itunes.com/brentalfloss

Fact 5: My CD, “What if This CD… Had Lyrics?” has had tracks in the top 100 on iTunes comedy charts worldwide. Reference: http://www.music-chart.info/artist/53807/brentalfloss

Fact 6: I attended undergrad at the University of Oklahoma. Reference: http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=272&articleid=20090104_272_D3_Elissa783157

Facts 7 and 8: I earned a masters at NYU for musical theatre writing and wrote an off-broadway show called I’ll Be Damned which was at the Vineyard Theatre in New York City in 2010. Reference: http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/theater/reviews/13damned.html

The rest is up to you. I’m counting on someone who knows their way around Wikipedia to complete this page. To do so is to enter me into the international lexicon of significance and to legitimize me as an Internet phenomenon. Also, it’ll make me feel ah-so niiiiiice.

Dicks and farts,

-Brent

Occasionally, I really get into a twitter trending topic and start to feel like I’m on a roll.

For those of you who aren’t aware, trending topics are phrases on Twitter that are smooshed into one big word and marked with a pound sign; they are also called “hashtags.”

In the case of funny hashtags, it sort of becomes a game, not unlike the “Scenes from a Hat” improv game from Whose Line Is It Anyway?

So yesterday I discovered a new one called “Higher Stakes Children’s Books,” or #higherstakeschildrensbooks. The idea, if it isn’t clear, is that participating tweeters would think of classic children’s books, but alter the titles to raise the stakes. Anyway, I clogged up my follower’s feed with as many as I could think of. Here are some of my favorites:

Goodnight, Moon. And cruel world.#HigherStakesChildrensBooks

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, He’ll Get Diabetes#HigherStakesChildrensBooks

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Charlie Sheen#HigherStakesChildrensBooks

A Blood Clot in Time #HigherStakesChildrensBooks

Charlotte’s Ponzi Scheme #HigherStakesChildrensBooks

The Lion, the Witch, and their Rough Divorce#HigherStakesChildrensBooks

The Bipolar Express #HigherStakesChildrensBooks

The Little Engine That Couldn’t Produce His Citizenship Papers#HigherStakesChildrensBooks

One Bitch, Two Bitch, Dead Bitch, You Bitch#HigherStakesChildrensBooks

Horton Hires a Ho #HigherStakesChildrensBooks

Green Eggs, Ham, and So Many Tears#HigherStakesChildrensBooks

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Commerce#HigherStakesChildrensBooks

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Poop#HigherStakesChildrensBooks

Ramona Quimby, Dead at Age 8 #HigherStakesChildrensBooks

And special thanks to David Hawley and Corey Schwanz for these two:

Where Did They Bury Waldo?#HigherStakesChildrensBooks

The Incredibly Selfish and Kind of Asshole Tree.#HigherStakesChildrensBooks

-Brent

THE MEGAS: Blond Californians, also Mikey.

POWERGLOVE: Hug as a greeting.

DANIEL TIDWELL: Nice, and SUCH HAIR.

THIS PLACE IS HAUNTED: Sweet nerds, also Peat.

BRANDO: Laid back; likes sandwiches.

TOMMY TALLARICO: Friendly, intense, and vegan.

MEGARAN: Biggy meets Mr. Kotter.

MUSTIN: This guy deserves five words.

As you probably know, a blizzard has struck the northeast United States, crippling air travel to and from the area. As usual, I spent Christmas in Texas where my family lives. Since I’m slated to perform with Video Games Live in Newark, New Jersey on December 29th and 30th, I scheduled a return flight for the 27th; my flight has been cancelled. Luckily, the airline agent I spoke to was able to book a flight to the Philadelphia airport for the morning of the 29th, so I have a very good chance of making it to Newark for both performances (knock on wood).

HOWEVER, I have been trying to contact the Video Games Live people because I’m not even sure THEY’RE going to be able to fly into the city. If they can’t, I imagine the performance will be cancelled.

The reason I’m writing this blog post is to tell you that I will be at the NJPAC in Newark at 7:30pm on December 29th and 30th if AT ALL POSSIBLE. If the Video Games Live show gets cancelled, I’ll be there at the front doors of the NJPAC at 7:30PM on both nights, and if some of you want to show up, we could go as a group and get some food somewhere in the area. I hate the idea of letting you down after promising you an appearance.

SO, stay tuned to my twitter feed [ http://twitter.com/brentalfloss ]  and/or my Facebook page [ http://j.mp/BF-FBfan ] and I’ll make announcements regarding the performances. I really hope to be able to perform alongside Tommy Tallarico and the symphony orchestra, but even if that falls through, I hope I can still have fun with some of my fans.

Cheers!
Brent

Fool me once, LOL. Fool me twice, FML. #21stCenturyProverbs

Love is legally blind, but there’s always Lasik. ##21stCenturyProverbs

Do unto others in a public forum what you would have them do unto you in a public forum. #21stCenturyProverbs

@assclown_jr: If you can’t beat em,troll em. #21stCenturyProverbs

You can’t have your cake and eat it too without better funding for stem cell research. #21stCenturyProverbs

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to use the internet and he’ll fap for a lifetime. #21stCenturyProverbs

Where there’s a will there’s a reality show about it.#21stCenturyProverbs

You can’t judge an eBook by its kindle. #21stCenturyProverbs

You can lead a horse to water, but you’re probably gonna want to bring a Brita filter. #21stCenturyProverbs

A leopard cannot change its spots, but it can be upgraded to Snow Leopard. #21stCenturyProverbs

Riku1824: Be a Tweeter not a follower. #21stCenturyProverbs

Every dog has his debut on Youtube. #21stCenturyProverbs

Sticks and stones may break my bones but bullying’s the real danger. #21stCenturyProverbs

Man cannot live by reconstituted rib-shaped rib meat patty alone.#21stCenturyProverbs

… Type your 21st Century versions of well-known proverbs in the comment box!

PAYPAL
If you have a Paypal account and already have my CD, use this method:
Go to Paypal.com, log in and use the “send money” function to send $10 to “savebrentalfloss@gmail.com”… you can designate it as a “gift” or a “purchase of goods”, whatever you want. At the bottom of the final confirmation page, there is an option to send an email with the payment. Change the subject from “You’ve got Money” to “TICKET” and in the message box, type the name or names of the guests, and I’ll add them to the will call list.

BANDCAMP
This method involves buying my CD. Yes, you actually get a free CD for pre-ordering a ticket to my show (actually, you can pre-order a ticket by buying it… same diff). Go to http://brentalfloss.bandcamp.com/ and click “buy now”. A window will pop up asking you to choose the format of the CD download and “name your price”. Enter a price in a multiple of 10 depending on how many seats you are reserving (10 for 1 seat, 20 for 2, etc) Click the green “checkout” button. Fill out your credit card info and email address. Your payment will show up on my Paypal account. Once your payment has been confirmed, shoot me an email at savebrentalfloss@gmail.com from the same email address you just used on the payment page … the subject should be “TICKET” and the body of the email should be the name or names of the guests; I will check that your email is the same one as in my account and put the name or names on the list. Also, ENJOY MY CD!

Sorry for the complicated-ness. If someone tries to pre-order after we’ve sold out, it’s very easy for me to refund online, so don’t worry. Thanks, y’all!

Brent