Yeah I'm going to give this thread a kick to the ass next week, I've been meaning to for the last month but have just been a lazy tosser. Going to start anew, rather than continuing this Canadian trend (I really only have Buck 65 left).

:clap:

OK time to give this thread a well needed kick in the ass and start filling inboxes with some more music that hardly ever gets commented on. So here's what we're doing this week:

For the next two weeks I'm going to focus on two artists and their love of a little blue guy named Mega Man. Yes you read that right, Capcom's little robotic dude with a gun hand has inspired not one, but two artists (that I'm aware of at least) to write a series of albums on him.

First up is indie rock band The Protomen (fans of the Mega Man series will get the meaning) from Mississippi who put on an elaborate live show, often dressed up in costumes and doing a high energy show. Their first album, The Protomen was a very well done album with high energy and an intriguing story if you could follow it. They later followed it up with Act II: The Father of Death which ups the ante in terms of epicness, at times it sounds like something Meatloaf would create (however we'll get to that next week). If you like indie rock operas created by a bunch of geeks, then you'll probably like these guys.



Second up is hip hop artist Random who's 2006 debut album The Call gave off no impression that his follow up would be one dedicated to Mega Man. However in 2007 he dropped Mega Ran and has brilliantly written a story very similar to the games. One of the things he does differently is his heavy use of creating beats around the actual music in the game, so it gives off some nostalgia vibe to the listener if they're familiar with the game. His 2009 follow up Mega Ran 9 is far superior in terms of production, however I think it's important to start the story from the beginning. Next week I'll send out the 2009 albums for both The Protomen and Random and you can see for yourself the rise in quality for both albums.

Mmmm, I downloaded Mega ran solely on the cover and was pleasantly surprised. Firstly that is was rap, and also how well the production works with game music. The instrumental on Megalude is actually super awesome. Haven't tried to follow the story.

It kind of makes me wish I did play Megaman as a kid, just so I could be nostalgic.

Haha I understand that! I'm glad you liked that album because it means you'll mostly like love the follow up to it that I'm sending out next week. It's very similar, but far better production value.

I've gotten Mega Ran thus far as well. It was a pretty good listen, though I haven't really played the Mega Man games. I'm very glad it doesn't sound like much of a novelty as I was afraid it might.

Thanks Pete, looking forward to hearing their next album too.

The Protomen surprised me. Definitely something I was in need of, to break up the monotony that is, at times, my taste.

I'm interested to hear their development for sure.

Great to see this back in action, btw, and as always, thank ya!