The TrendRobot Marches On » Bryan Kinnear

The ol’ musical attic.

Bryan Kinnear — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:13:37 +0000

Ever get an album, listen to it, think to yourself “man this is rad” and then forget about it for years? I recently stumbled on one of those albums. Asheru and Blue Black of the Unspoken Heard is not a familiar name to most, and it’s no surprise to me that many of the people I’ve talked to about this particular work are absolutely blank when I mention it. They released Soon Come in 2001 and it went under the radar instantly. No large label, no champagne, no flashy music videos to be replayed over and over on TRL. Just fantastic music. Replete with intelligent lyrics, jazzy intros, and fantastic horn sections, this is one album that demands your full auditory attention. Listen, enjoy, and next time, bring a friend.

Pick it up on

[Album Review] Gorillaz and the Boss Dawg…shit yes.

Bryan Kinnear — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:49:21 +0000

Ok, let us lay something out and be absolutely clear about it. I love the Gorillaz. Like there is no other. I’ve listened to D-Sides more times than I have said good morning to beautiful women… significant. Their new album is out now, get it on here! ”WAIT A MINUTE” you say, “what if it’s terrible!?”. It’s not. It’s so so so not. ”Prove it” you respond in time, like an expert fencer parrying in trice. EN GARDE!

Our new venture into the works of 2D, Noodles, Murdoc and Russel begin with a very very mellow track. We get a pleasant orchestral intro followed by none other than the Boss Dawg, the Doggfather himself, Snoop Dogg. Say whaaaaat?! Yes, oh yes. and it’s about to get better. What is the last thing you would expect to follow an appearance by such rap loyalty? Oh, The National Orchestra for Arabic Music and some brit rappers? BOOM, Gorillaz delivers. Finally in Rhinestone Eyes we are graced, and in being so blessed our ascent into musical clouds begins with a greeting at the pearly gates of audio heaven. Who is this glorious being greeting us? Why, none other than 2D! And off we go…

From here the album spirals off the beaten path to a mixture of acoustic mellowdies and techno-boppy upbeat potential remix club bangers (say that three times fast, you know Russel could). Sometimes even in the same 4 minutes of a track (see Empire Ants (feat. Little Dragon). And immediately afterwards we get a load of super fuzzy bass and Murdoc’s incomprehensible moaning “Where’s north from here?”. How can you not be enjoying this by now?!

Mos Def, De La Soul, and even Lou Reed stop by on our auditory journey. And, when your head is spinning, your ear drums pounding from this welcome assault? Cloud of Unknowing brings our delicious roller coaster of sounds to a calm, wondrous finish, Bobby Womack and sinfonia ViVA do it right. BUT WAIT! What’s that, you say? You bought the deluxe version? Well ho ho ho, what’s this? Three extra tracks? Oh Man! Pirate Jet (also included in the normal version of the album), Pirate’s Progress and Three Hearts, Seven Seas, Twelve Moons give us more of this same halting, boop filled eccentric horror show that we have been enjoying up until now. The Gorillaz have certainly returned, and what a triumphant return it is after too long in hibernation at Kong Studios. The album delivers, in the same unpredictable way the first two have defined music for us in the past.

My only complaint, yes, yes, there is one. Where is my ultra-catchy track? Where’s the thing I’m going to be humming to myself over the course of the next year endlessly? I don’t see it. Stylo, the first track to have a video made for it is very very good, but, as much as I absolutely enjoy Mos Def’s lyrical stylings, I’m not sure about it being that top 10 Billboard hit. We will see how the masses recieve it, maybe this is the album that’s not going to be played to death on the airwaves, and maybe, just maybe, that’s a good thing. Only time can tell… until then, enjoy your days sunning on the Plastic Beach.

Brutal and Spooky. No, it’s not another Rob Zombie movie.

Bryan Kinnear — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:09:24 +0000

The Artist: Todd MacFarlane is the mastermind behind so many childhood memories I just don’t know where to start. Creator of the world renown comic series Spawn, his art style is immediately recognizable and provokes a myriad of responses from various folk the world over.
The Writer: Kirkman has already recieved accolades on this, your most circuitus of news and culture sources. Our very own BRQ lauded the man for his genius work on Walking Dead. I’m forced to agree, as a comic writer he is in a league of his own, unparalleled.

So what have they been up to lately that would provoke written word from yours truly? Possibly the next great american comic. Haunt

Following in the footsteps of Spawn we once again have a semi-dead hero who uses a kind of symbiotic suit. Catch? It’s two brothers. The dead brother was part of a secret government organization and was on a hot trail to stopping some serious corruption. The living one is a priest who obviously had some serious issues with what his brother did for a living and the fact that he stole his woman. The story picks up when the dead brother begins haunting the living one and acting as his guardian angel(ghost?) now that international bad guys are on his trail. Interesting? I’d say. Right now is the perfect time to jump into this story line as the next episode is a sort of reloading, a view of the very first issue from another perspective.

Go drop $4, you won’t regret it.

Purchase Haunt at Midtown Comics, or support your local comic shop

Headphones: Aerial7 – The Chopper 2

Bryan Kinnear — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:06:52 +0000

After being provided with a pair of the Chopper2 headphones by Aerial7, a robot does what he can to test them, put them through the ringer, and see if they emerge proper. These guys certainly put down some beats, but are they the pair for you? Read on

I’m a headphone junkie . . . I’ve gone through countless pairs since the time I was in 6th grade when our school started to allow us to bring CD players to class. It wasn’t long before I was begging my mom for those “DJ style” headphones and got an entry level pair of Sony headphones. Since then I’ve been through them all; Phillips, Bose, Apple iBuds, Sennheiser, Skullcandy and recently I picked up a pair of Beats by Dre. I use headphones all day, every day. At home I have a pair on almost every minute I’m there. So of course when I’m sitting down with a new pair I have a set test I use to see how much I like the sound and feel.

The Looks

I must admit, I was a little taken aback as the particular pair that I got looks like something out of the 90′s rave scene; the box says “retro”, so I was more skeptical than usual when actually listening to them. Looks will inevitably influence my opinion of anything . . . I’m just a visually influenced robotic machine. I looked through their catalog when I got home and found that actually their other colorways are very pleasing. If you love lime green and silver, then get the Hype colorway (the one that I have on now), otherwise they have some fantastic and tasteful styles. The Chopper does look like something out of a Vietnam war movie, and for that I applaud Aerial7. I love the old school and to see something that’s molded after it warms my 80′s-born processor. I must admit, the rich kid-wannabe in me yearns for a pair of those Royale Bourbon, as pretty much nothing on the market is more plush than the russian call girl that Bond seduces to get closer to that diabolical Specter agent.

The Sound

This is what really matters right? Right. So what do I do to determine how much I enjoy the sound quality? I have a playlist set in my iTunes called BananaManchester (inside joke) that I throw on whenever I’m putting a new set to the test. This is a gauntlet of songs with hard-to-hear basslines, subtle vocals, interesting instruments and subdued sounds . . . it also features a significant amount of Rap/Hip Hop because I do enjoy a well-produced bass sound in my ‘phones and usually those are the best songs to hear it in. A few of the songs featured in this playlist:

“The Way You Move” – Ouktast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
The bass in this song hits 3 separate notes and usually a pair of headphones that’s subpar will muddle the last hit. Aerial7 passed this test, all 3 of the notes were clear and distinct.

“Hobo Blues“ - G Love & Special Sauce – Thicker Than Water Soundtrack
Occasionally I’m in the mood for some blues, and the only kind of blues to listen to is the kind where the harmonica is sweltering and a proper steel guitar is being picked. This is a song that impressed me with Aerial7, as most headphones don’t even register the vinyl like popping that happens on this track. Well done. Steel guitar sounds fantastic and the harmonica might as well be right there next to you.

“Pachuca Sunrise” – Minus the Bear – Acoustics
Everything about this track is complex. The bassline is very subdued, the drumming is quick and full of top-hat, and the guitar is acoustic. You can hear every slide along the neck, every tap of that top-hat and the vocals come through pleasantly.

Those are just a few of the tracks that stand out to me. A few others of note that I used to thoroughly put the Choppers to the test:

“Heart Attack Feeling“ – Socalled – Ghettoblaster
“Auditorium” – Mos Def – The Ecstatic
“Fuel Injected (Remix) Ft. Saukrates” – Swollen Members – Monsters in the Closet
“The Great Golden Baby” – Circa Survive – Juturna
Brimful of Asha (Cornershop FBS Remix) – Fatboy Slim – The Greatest Hits Why Try Harder
Cish Cash – Basement Jaxx & Siouxie Sioux – Kish Kash
The Lengths – Black Keys – Rubber Factory
What’s My Age Again (live) – Blink 182 – The Mark Tom and Travis Show(live)
Evening/Morning – Bombay Bicycle Club – I Had the Blues but I Shook them Loose
The Funeral - Band of Horses – Everything All the Time

The Feel

Are they comfy? Could I fall asleep in them? What about extended periods of headphone listening? The Chopper delivers. One of the few headphones that fit completely over the ear, they manage to be comfortable in a way that not even my Beats can match. With absolutely zero pressure on any part of the actual ear, I wore them for 6 hours last night while playing games and listening to music with no need to adjust or to take a break. Wonderful design, and the higher end models look to be just as comfortable. The problem with this? The noise reduction (note: they are not noise canceling, which requires a separate power source to create frequencies) on them is minimal, which is disappointing and one of the few points that I will call Aerial7 out on. Every headphone these days is built with a good amount of noise reduction, it’s just a standard feature on high quality ‘phones. Nevertheless, would I go out and buy a pair of their headphones today? Absolutely. At a fantastic price point, and producing wonderful sound quality, there is just nothing to really complain about with these.

Why isn’t it LOUDER!?

Bryan Kinnear — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:56:44 +0000

SO, since I usually assume the people who are robotic in nature are aware of things like this, imagine my surprise when I find out how many people I know have yet to witness it’s glory. It Might Get Loud is possibly one of the most amazing rockumentaries (working on the copyright for that one) that has ever been made. Please please please, if you are a fan of any and everything rock, watch this movie. Jack White, Jimmy Paige and The Edge come together to awe us… and man, do they ever awe us. Trailer below, you can get it on and watch it on your phone while you’re sitting on the bus, because you’re just that environmentally aware, aren’t you?

Beep Boop: RjD2 is back in the loop.

Bryan Kinnear — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:02:42 +0000

Listen to Let There Be Horns from The Colossus

Ladies and Gentlebots, RjD2 has a new album and if you haven’t heard it in the two weeks since it’s release, it’s time to get on the wagon. Or get down off it and boogie. The master of beats, drum slayer and beat maker is back, and has blessed us with his greatness. Opening with “Let There Be Horns”, it forces you out of your seat and demands that you boogie-oogie-oogie. Percussion is the name of the games, jive cats and kittens and RJ knows how to play it in spades. With solid sampling and delicious drumming this album will redefine your view of electric music and open your eyes to what you could have been enjoying all these years.

Including a sample of the ever enjoyable “Salad Fingers” in “Salud 2″, the album is replete with old and new, shiny and downright dirty… and the dirty is so so good. All at once soulful and robotic, this album is what the year needed to start out right. We can now expect so much more from a year with a beginning like this. Go ahead listen to it all, or, “Let There Be Horns” and then take some time to smell the “Tin Flower” where the album really hits it’s high, the kind of music you could walk down the street to in bellbottoms and star shaped shades, platforms and all. Enjoy. Do it for you, do it for me, just don’t do it for free, Artists like this are one in a million, they deserve your funding and believe me, they give back in droves. If you don’t know who RjD2 is already (FOR SHAME) get in touch and download his newest work, The Colossus available on iTunes for a mere 10 dollars. It’s going to be possibly the best thing you’ve done on the internet since you typed Trendrobot into your browser. After you’ve acquainted yourself with the new, get down to the old and start listening to Deadringer.

Buy The Colossus from

“I can’t die. I have too many men to kill” Yojimbo.

Bryan Kinnear — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 09:29:27 +0000

I feel the quote from Yojimbo (directed by Akira Kurosawa… go watch it, edify) is especially fitting to introduce what is possibly the best comic I’ve read… period.

Vagabond follows the story of two young ronin. The main character Takezo and his semi-sidekick Matahatchi, childhood friends, have left home to become men of the sword. They separate, after Matahatchi takes up residence with a mother and daughter who take the young men in off a bloody battlefield. Takezo begins his journey on the path to becoming a legendary samurai. After returning home and being shunned he takes on a new name Miyamoto Musashi, who is based in reality. He is a legend in Japan, and was said to have won 100 duels consecutively. The story follows in the footsteps of the greatest samurai stories we have, and while it’s a story arch that has been told, and retold, and then told some more, it’s just as enthralling now as it ever was. Repressed love stories, sake abuse, and cold eyed swordsmen abound, and you’ll be asking for more at the end. Ending on a cliffhanger with each book these are impossible to put down, as I write I’m on book 4 after starting yesterday. It taps into the most simple human emotions and grabs them, twists them, and strokes them.

Now, I’ll play the devils advocate and say this: being a manga, it’s written in a standard manga form. Right to left is something that some people will have a problem getting used to, and to be honest, if I wasn’t familiar with the format I would probably not have gotten so quickly trapped by this sweeping epic. Pick up some smaller mangas if you don’t think you can jump right in, get a little practice with reading in the style and you will enjoy Vagabond all the more. There are sequences where you will be flipping a page nearly immediately for 3 to 4 pages in a row, the action is just that fluid. Don’t let this scare you off, just know that the learning will be worth it as the series is massive. Each volume is in the neighborhood of 300 pages and right now the most current is Volume 32. Everything about this series screams for attention, it’s a wonder it hasn’t gotten it stateside yet. Try out volume one, you will find yourself pleasantly surprised.

Who is this Socalled?

Bryan Kinnear — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:58:05 +0000

For those of you unaware, the group is Socalled. The music is amazing. The front man is Josh Dolgin…and he’s from Canada, eh? A mix of various styles and genres; his music is most often referred to “Klezmer Hip Hop”. Klezmer, being a form of traditional Jewish music, has a very unique sound. Go forth, educate your circuits. This robot recommends beginning your journey with the “You Are Never Alone” music video.