2014 FRC Build Season Blog Vários alunos trabalharam na construção do trussing para o campo. Eles começaram com suportes de madeira de 1,5 x 1,5 polegadas e passaram o dia todo construindo as várias porções do truss. Eles estão no caminho certo para completar o quadro de trussing principal amanhã. Alguns alunos começaram a trabalhar na fiação do robô. Especificamente, eles trabalharam na fiação dos controladores de velocidade Talon para o Power Distribution Board 40PDB41. Eles cortaram, criaram e soldaram fios e completaram a maior parte da fiação para os controladores de velocidade Clapper Popper The Clapper Popper é o protótipo indexador para a bola. Ele usa um mecanismo de elevação de tesoura para empurrar a bola para dentro do volante para disparar. Os alunos adaptaram o velho popper com quatro pistões em vez de dois. Isso ajudou a melhorar a estabilidade distribuindo uniformemente a força dos pistões em cada lado. Isso levou a menos inclinação quando os pistões estavam completamente estendidos. Por favor, ative o Javascript para assistir a este video Por favor, ative o Javascript para assistir a este vídeo Por favor, ative o Javascript para assistir este vídeo Brogramando Os brogrammers trabalharam no seguinte: Obtendo o controlador de unidade para girar arcos Adicionar cabeçalho e dimensionamento para a trajetória Corrigir o controlador de distância Corrigindo bugs e Limpando o controlador de unidade Adicionando o controlador de posição de espera Finalizando o Data Logger Continuamos a detalhar o projeto no robô. Por exemplo, hoje trabalhamos para finalizar a superestrutura além de trabalhar na entrada da frente. Criamos desenhos de peças para a entrada frontal, de modo que a usinagem pode começar nessas peças. Além disso, trabalhamos na limpeza das bordas ásperas do modelo CAD e na inserção de detalhes, como furos e outras peças. Design gráfico A equipe de mídia trabalhou na concepção de novas camisetas, chapéus, camisolas, estojos de telefone e óculos de sol para o próximo ano. Os alunos apresentaram 3 rascunhos iniciais incorporando os elementos do Aerial Assist nos elementos de design. O design do estojo do telefone está concluído e os alunos continuam trabalhando tanto na camiseta quanto na camisola amanhã Por Fabricação Clay Rosenthal: muitas peças foram fabricadas hoje. Os gussets para a superestrutura foram usinados no CNC e escavações tricotadas manualmente. As fichas dos eixos foram ligadas no torno. As peças a serem fresadas pelo CNC mais tarde para a entrada e o capuz foram cortadas na serra de fita horizontal. Os eixos para os rolos também foram cortados na serra de fita horizontal. Também começamos a programar o CNC para fazer as fichas que prendem os subconjuntos da superestrutura. Estudante scotch briting Estudante scotch Briting Estudante cortando os eixos para rolos Gussets para escorregar com brilho Torneamento de peças no Jato Lathe Lab Mantenimento O motor de partida dos motores manuais é queimado, então não funcionará por enquanto. As reparações foram feitas ao longo do dia, mas ainda não funciona. Novas peças precisam ser encomendadas para isso. O moinho CNC estava vazando refrigerante hoje por uma razão desconhecida. Será examinado mais tarde na semana e resolvido. O projetor no andar de cima estava montado acima da tela, de modo que não está mais na mesa. Trabalhando no vazamento do refrigerante do moinho. Eww Projectors new mount Hoje nós pedimos muitas peças. Especificamente, nós pedimos os suprimentos de fiação e a eletrônica para terminar a movimentação do robô até sexta-feira. Construção de campo A madeira cobrindo a estação do condutor finalmente quebrou após o impacto repetido das bolas pousar no gol. Modelados após o campo oficial, os tubos de PVC foram colocados em outros tubos para fornecer a mesma proteção com menos material. O PVC foi anexado ao objetivo e o I45beam na parede frontal do laboratório. Os tirantes zip podem ser substituídos por algo mais resistente. Novo PVC high goal cover Itens de ação Verifique o trello Quando a eletrônica chegar, um robô. Pergunte a Mani ou Torrance. O CAD precisa ser trabalhado e finalizado, pergunte a Mani ou EJ. Fabrique mais peças para o robô. Faça as caixas de velocidades para ter a unidade de base do robô até sexta-feira. Isenção de responsabilidade O WiFi estava no laboratório e o envio de peças anodizadas foi atrasado até amanhã 4012941. Como resultado, não foi feito muito trabalho. Programming Programmers coding Shockwave Hoje, os programadores testaram um novo sensor ultra-sônico 40Maxbotix MB101041 no robô. Este sensor será usado para determinar a distância da parede da estação do jogador em modo autônomo. O sensor estava determinado a ser uma melhoria em relação ao sensor ultra-sônico Vex e outros dois foram pedidos. Os programadores também continuaram a programar o sistema de disparo Shockwaves. Além disso, os membros retrucaram os 18 suportes inclinados para tubos 1x1 para começar a construir a ingestão final. Eventualmente, esta peça será soldada e revestida com pó. Além disso, os alunos terminaram a primeira peça do suporte do carregador de perfuração, e mais dois serão usinados no futuro. Suporte de carregador de brocas usinadas Peças rebitadas para ingestão Estudantes idéias de ideias para o vídeo de lançamento do robô. Se alguém quiser ajudar, pergunte Maxwell Yun. Submissão do prêmio Chairmans Jeremy liderou alguns alunos com o desfecho do Prêmio Chairmans offline e planeja finalizar a redação até o final da semana. A escrita na parede para os itens de ação da Chairmans Continue com o brainstorming e o desenvolvimento de idéias de vídeo com o Maxwell Mantenha a usinagem e montagem de peças para entrada e superestrutura traseiras. Veja o Trello Today. Os membros fabricaram eixos de atiradores, distanciadores, espaçadores para caixa de engrenagens e crosspieces para vedação. Além disso, eles começaram a detalhar e fabricar peças para a entrada frontal e traseira. Eles também usaram peças para o conjunto de soldagem do capuz, que ainda precisam ser soldadas. A maioria dos outros elementos do capuz ainda estão sendo projetados. As peças da superestrutura são feitas e prontas para serem soldadas. Parte do acessório do capô ainda precisa ser CNC antes de enviar itens para o soldador na segunda-feira. Membros alegres montando caixas de velocidades Os membros também montaram caixas de engrenagens, substituindo longos distanciamentos por curtos. Houve alguns problemas depois de montá-los na primeira vez em que os rolamentos não se encaixam adequadamente. Essas questões foram resolvidas principalmente depois de as montar novamente, mas com mais cuidado. Pode haver mais problemas com espaçadores que precisamos investigar amanhã. Em suma, apenas 2 das 6 caixas de velocidades foram montadas 40 para as competições bot41. Fiação de Mani com precisão Começamos a fiação até a noite e estamos cuidando de fazê-lo com precisão. O objetivo é ter feito isso em breve para que possamos continuar dirigindo. Pat e Andrew CADing Após o teste bem sucedido do popper em forma de V45, a equipe decidiu entrar com o protótipo e atualmente está projetando no SolidWorks. Houve um trabalho significativo feito no CAD do atirador e do capô. Os membros adicionaram mais detalhes, bem como alguns eixos, espaçadores e parafusos. Programação Hoje, os programadores trabalharam extensivamente em interpolação de spline cúbico e cálculos trigonométricos. O objetivo é ser capaz de girar de forma suave e precisa. Eles implementaram os cálculos em um novo projeto Java chamado TrajectoryLib, completo com teste de unidade. No final do dia, eles corrigiram a maioria dos erros e ainda não testaram o código no robô. Avançando, eles estão procurando criar uma página de posição ao vivo45 para o robô. Design gráfico 100 padrões de identidade compatíveis Hoje, alguns alunos fizeram progressos na camisa oficial da equipe para esta temporada, tentando um novo design baseado no logotipo do Aerial Assist. Eles também incorporaram os logotipos dos nossos patrocinadores atuais. Elementos do jogo O trem magnífico e econômico. A equipe montou uma armadura caseira 40 em vez de comprar o elemento oficial do jogo ou comprar trussing real, o que levaria mais de uma semana para embarcar41. Infelizmente, não é completamente robusto e arcos no meio. Ainda não foi deslocado no campo. Itens de ação Verifique as bases da unidade TrelloWiring Continue projetando o capuz Depurar e testar o código de rotação Travis mostra um brinquedo Por Clay Rosenthal As peças da superestrutura foram feitas hoje para serem soldadas amanhã. As peças para segurar as peças no lugar enquanto eram soldadas também eram usinadas. A superestrutura será soldada e revestida em pó em breve. As peças para o capô e a entrada traseira também foram montadas e logo serão soldadas e preparadas para revestimento em pó. Superestruturas deitado na mesa, pronto para ser enviado ao soldador Brandon Usinagem de peças para segurar as peças da superestrutura durante a soldagem O design da válvula foi trabalhado hoje e está quase concluído. Os pistões de bloqueio para o capuz também foram projetados conceitualmente hoje. Uma nova placa de controle com dezesseis botões está sendo projetada. Os botões são descritos abaixo 40R significa rotação, ou um interruptor, e M é para momentâneo, ou um botão41. Painel de controle sendo layout do botão CADed para os elementos do jogo da placa de controle O truss foi trabalhado em mais hoje e está quase concluído. Está em pé alto, mas ainda está dobrando. As duas metades de ontem estavam juntas. Ainda não foi pendurado no campo e ainda está sendo concluído fora. Drive Base A base da unidade de competição foi conectada e praticamente está pronta para dirigir. A base da prática não está muito atrasada. Os eixos da roda agora têm correntes que os prendem às caixas de velocidades e as caixas de velocidades na base da condução prática possuem CIMs sobre elas. Novas CIMs foram encomendadas e serão colocadas quando chegarem. Fiação rígida por Mani EJ trabalhando na fiação Estudantes conectando cadeia aos eixos da roda CAD e Usinagem O CAD está quase finalizado e apenas detalhes menores foram descarregados esta noite. As várias placas da caixa de velocidades 40inta, entrada frontal, entrada traseira, shooter41 foram finalizadas e CNCd. Hoje também usamos novas peças para o eixo de transmissão do atirador. A super estrutura e o atirador foram limpos com brilho escocês. Em breve, um monte de peças serão enviadas para serem revestidas em pó. Uma vez que todas as peças estão de volta do revestimento em pó, tudo o que temos a fazer é montar o robô Scotch com partes brilhantes, incluindo caixas de engrenagens de admissão, placas de capota e uma placa de caixa de câmbio espacial. A entrada frontal soldada e revestida de energia foi retornada ontem e não tocada hoje. A soldagem do capuz parece ótimo também. Fiação da base da unidade. Finalizamos a fiação do botão da concorrência e quase terminamos de conectar o bot da prática. A cablagem da base da condução da prática está quase completa e equipada com caixas de engrenagens totalmente montadas. A cablagem da base da unidade de competição está completa e apenas faltam CIMs para as caixas de engrenagens. Hoje estudantes e mentores começaram a discutir métodos de explorar o jogo em eventos regionais, determinando métricas objetivas para comparar robôs. Isso continuará ao longo do tempo. Protótipos Hoje, todos os protótipos para este desafio de anos foram desmontados e as peças colocadas em seus recipientes. Já não precisamos dos protótipos e eles estavam apenas ocupando espaço. No entanto, eles cumpriram sua finalidade. Diversos Nós limpamos e organizamos os Gabinetes Mentor e Office Supplies para tornar nossos mentores mais felizes. Nós também fizemos duas placas para o suporte de broca sem fio. Mais placas serão usinadas quando tivermos tempo. O carrinho do robô tinha alguns trilhos extras ligados aos lados para obter força. Todo o carrinho foi preparado para power45coating. Itens de ação Finalize as peças de usinagem para o atirador e as entradas da frente e da parte traseira. Envie a power45coating o mais rápido possível. Termine a base de condução da prática de fiação. Termine os presidentes 40 ver Jeremy41. Hoje, os estudantes fabricaram conectores internos semelhantes a eixos para a superestrutura. Estes foram projetados para dar durabilidade à superestrutura quando sob estresse. Além disso, os alunos usaram resfriados para o pára-choque. A equipe de escoteiro começou a fazer um brainstorming de um novo método de classificação de equipes, já que o método tradicional de OPR não seria efetivo este ano. Isso ainda está em andamento. Manutenção do laboratório As janelas da estação do driver foram substituídas por novas janelas de policarbonato. Estes foram então meticulosamente limpos. Robot Construction Estudantes e mentores principalmente focados em fiação hoje. O regulador e o roteador na base da unidade foram conectados, juntamente com os encoders de roda. Além disso, os alunos perfuraram buracos através da superestrutura e fios roteados e tubos pneumáticos para o atirador e outros cilindros. Estudantes que fiação do robô de prática A equipe CAD completou desenhos de peças para os conectores de pára-choques do robô. Submissão do prêmio Chairmans A equipe de submissão de prêmios editou parte das entradas que eles criaram anteriormente para os prompts do Resumo Executivo e o ensaio principal 40second draft41. Além disso, eles buscaram evidências em envios anteriores e alteraram as respostas anteriores para serem mais diretos, de modo que aumentasse a experiência de leitura para os juízes. Programação Os programadores se ocuparam de corrigir erros e problemas na iteração atual do código. Isso também envolveu o upload de várias versões do código para o robô de prática 2013. Itens de ação Trabalhe no sistema de escoteamento: veja Art Kalb para detalhes Editar Apresentação de prêmio do presidente: veja Jeremy Tanlimco para obter detalhes Construa o robô com Abhi e Mani Código de depuração com Brandon Verifique o Trello por Eliot Smullen 16 Design gráfico Muitos alunos continuaram a fazer um brainstorm para Waterloo45specific T45shirt. Alguns começaram a considerar a questão de saber se a parte de trás deveria ficar em branco se o design na frente fosse de tamanho e complexidade gráfica suficientes. O resto fez um brainstorming de slogans atraentes como From C40ali41 para C40anada41 brilhante. Frente às peças para o pára-choque na fábrica A usinagem de hoje consistiu na criação de polias tanto para a entrada como para o atirador. Além disso, os alunos começaram a usinar peças para o pára-choque. A equipe planeja trabalhar no volante para o atirador. Robot Construction Fiação no boto de prática Hoje, estudantes e mentores trabalharam na construção da ingestão para o robô de prática. O bot de competição tem sua entrada instalada e seu medidor de pressão com fio. A prática do bot logo seguirá. Cortando um pedaço para a admissão Apresentação de prêmios Hoje, os alunos trabalharam na submissão de nossos presidentes. No entanto, eles ainda precisam editar e adicionar evidências à parte de ensaio da submissão. Além disso, alguns alunos começaram a trabalhar na Entrega do Prêmio Empreendedorismo ao combinar as seções do Plano de Negócios, escritas no primeiro semestre, com seções e instruções nos critérios do Prêmio Empreendedorismo. Itens de ação Monte o robô com sensores Mani e Abhi Wire com Mani e Tom Programando com Kevin e Brandon Os alunos usaram madeira para o pára-choque e os macarrão da piscina chegaram. As peças para o painel de controle foram usinadas para construção posterior. Estudantes que trabalham no torno para peças de máquinas para a placa de controle O trabalho de construção do robô no robô de prática continuou incluindo mais fiação e trabalho nas caixas de engrenagens. Os pneumatics para o pinniped foram construídos e anexados ao robô. A caixa de velocidades para a ingestão foi anexada. O trabalho nos pára-quedas começou no final da noite. Estudantes trabalham na fiação do robô de prática O trabalho na Cordura para os pára-choques começou no final da noite. Programação Nossos programadores trabalharam em uma aplicação de horário de equipe, e outros também pesquisaram e fizeram o brainstorming dos LEDs para o poço em Waterloo. Mais tarde, os programadores trabalharam nos mecanismos dentro do código do robô. Os programadores continuaram a melhorar a unidade e o código autônomo em preparação para o próximo scrimmage Release Video Students fez um brainstorming e começou a escrever o script para o vídeo de lançamento, bem como coletar fotos e vídeos para serem usados. Vários Mais slogans cativantes foram pensados para serem colocados no Canadá T45shirts, como Prepare-se para Waterlose e Nós viemos para o bacon e ficamos para os robôs. A madeira exterior foi organizada de acordo com o tamanho e a dimensão. O galpão é organizado principalmente agora e não deve ser perturbado até a embalagem. Itens de ação Monte o robô com Mani e Abhi Construa pára-choques 40 bolsos de madeira em madeira e finalizando marcando Cordura41 Programação com Kevin e Brandon Check trello Hoje, os alunos continuaram a construção dos pára-choques. Nos pedaços de Cordura cortados, eles marcaram caixas de 4 polegadas por 12 polegadas sobre as quais o número da equipe de 254s será bordado. Estudantes que trabalham no logotipo para os pára-choques Alguns alunos usaram dois pedaços de tubulação que serão usados para segurar o braço de tiro no robô. Estes serão temporariamente utilizados para fins de teste até que os pistões os substituam. Godwin e Gregorio usinando a peça temporária Robot Construction amp Testing Alguns estudantes e um mentor trabalharam no robô da competição, anexando e organizando tubulações pneumáticas na base de sua unidade. Mais tarde, os mentores e um grupo de estudantes começaram a testar o atirador de robôs e conseguiram marcar o alto objetivo. Estudantes e EJ trabalhando no robô Submissões de Prêmio Hoje, um grupo de alunos continuou escrevendo e editando a submissão de 254 para o Prêmio Chairmans. Alguns outros alunos criaram uma lista de tarefas que afirmava o que seria necessário para completar o prêmio de inovação em mídia e tecnologia. Estudantes que trabalham em inscrições de prêmios Itens de ação Monte o robô com Mani e Abhi Programação com Kevin e Brandon Check trello Hoje, o time passou muito tempo montando os robôs de competição e competição. Bumper na superestrutura Os alunos adicionaram pára-choques de borracha à superestrutura usando rebites. Isso impede a entrada frontal de bater na superestrutura e danificá-la. Fiação e Pneumatics Encanamento do robô de competição Os alunos ajudaram a finalizar o encanamento do pinniped no robô de competição e no robô Practice. Os dois lados do pinniped podem ser disparados de forma independente. Os alunos também encaminharam os cilindros na caixa de velocidades para o robô da competição. A competição Air Tanks truss estava montada em bases improvisadas Os alunos montaram o truss e montaram-no no campo. O truss montado, habilite o Javascript para assistir a este vídeo. A base da unidade e o pinniped foram testados. Eles funcionaram bem e os motoristas conseguiram marcar no baixo objetivo. Configuração autônoma de 3 bolas Itens de ação Concluir rolos de fixação 40 e motores41 para ambos os robôs Adicionar pára-choques para ambos os robôs Melhorar as montagens e bases do treliça Instalação e encanamento completo Hoje, nossa equipe trabalhou para resolver alguns problemas em nossa entrada e truss. Trabalhamos também na programação de um sistema importante em nosso robô. Nossa equipe trabalhou para instalar e melhorar nosso sistema de admissão. Primeiro, nossa equipe mudou os braços dobrados em nosso robô e instalou algumas caixas de velocidades e motores. Em seguida, nós perfuramos furos de aparas e terminamos algumas fiação. Por fim, utilizamos fiação pneumática para melhorar ainda mais nosso sistema de admissão. Alguns alunos criaram suportes de entrada muito importantes para o sucesso do robô. Melhorias do trecho Cortando a barra Para fazer com que o truss mais estável e confiável estudantes fizesse uma barra que garantiria que funcionaria corretamente. Programação O robô precisava de um sistema que lhe permitiria rapidamente preparar sua bola para passar ou atirar para um objetivo. A equipe programou o robô para que ele pudesse mover-se rapidamente através de vários estados pré-gravados e atirar em um objetivo. Itens de ação Armar o robô com Mani e Abhi Programação com os amortecedores do acabamento Kevin e Brandon Finalizar o estabilizador do treliça Continuar o controle de teste Construção de campo Os trabalhos começaram a montar o campo hoje. Primeiro abrimos todas as paletes de envio que continham os elementos do campo e os colocamos no campo. A equipe de montagem começou com o baixo objetivo. Eles montaram os dois golos baixos azuis e depois se mudaram para o alto gol azul. Eles montaram o objetivo, incluindo a saliência para proteger a estação de direção. Em seguida, anexaram os pólos no truss que representam os limites do campo acima do truss. A equipe de campo também montou um dos pódios para a bola descansar atrás da estação do motorista. Algumas pessoas juntaram outra estabilização à base do polycarb no final do treliço. Todos os itens de campo estabelecidos Low Goals montados Pedestal para a bola Fazendo a barra de estabilização Barra de suporte será montada na base do polycarbd High Goal foi montado Pole para luzes de sinalização A equipe de fiação, liderada por EJ e Mani, conectou os motores banebot Que conduzem as entradas, bem como os encoders anexados a eles. Eles também conectaram os sensores do botão VEX que mantêm a bola estacionada nas tomadas. Para fins de condução e teste, eles conectaram um único tanque pneumático ao robô comp. Motores de entrada de fiação Sensor de botão com fio Motores de admissão com fio Paralisarias e Condução Os pára-choques foram bem sucedidos anexados ao robô de prática para permitir que o robô seja conduzido e testado. Laços de fecho de correr anexar pára-choques para o robô Os programadores fixaram e calibraram os encoders na base da unidade Travis fez algumas pequenas mudanças nos pára-choques nas peças de fabricação do CAD para as montagens do encoder de entrada e as montagens do sensor de objetivo quente foram fabricadas hoje. Os lados de madeira para os pára-choques também foram fabricados. Montagens para sensores de objetivo quente Espaciadores para encoders de entrada Fabricando painéis laterais de pára-choques Itens de ação: Termine o campo de construção Finalize o robô de construção Fale com Tom ou Jared sobre a programação por Vidur Maheshwari 17 e Eric Wang 17 Rotina de limpeza Uma vez que o golpe será realizado no dia 43 e 44 , O trabalho de hoje foi principalmente limpeza. A maioria dos times na área atenderá, portanto, o objetivo principal de hoje foi tornar o laboratório tão possível quanto possível. A equipe terminou de montar todo o campo para ser operado amanhã. 254 está muito animado e ansioso para amanhã scrimmage Aqui está uma lista dos procedimentos de limpeza hoje: Peças dentro do galpão Skystalker no galpão Os robôs atuais de 2014, Barrage e prática Barrage 40P45Barrage Parrage41, foram cuidadosamente e com segurança trazidos para mesas no andar superior Do laboratório. Barragem sendo levada no andar de cima Twin Barrages nas mesas do segundo andar Bateria bateria Além disso, porque haverá muitas equipes nos dias 43 e 44, a equipe organizou a área de carga da bateria. Durante o espetáculo, a equipe não só estará cobrando robôs de outras equipes, mas também dará suas próprias baterias a outras equipes para que elas possam conduzir e testar mais eficientemente seus robôs. As baterias foram colocadas no andar de cima para que outras equipes possam cobrar suas baterias Últimos anos. Robôs Os alunos embalaram os Overkills gêmeos, bem como o robô Skyfire 2012 em um carro de mentores para serem transportados para o laboratório VEX para que eles não contribuam para o caos em O scrimmage. Configuração do campo Como para o campo, as equipes visitantes precisariam testar a pontuação em ambos os gols, então a equipe adicionou uma rede ao objetivo azul. Isso manteria as bolas que são marcadas de danificar as peças e máquinas por trás do objetivo e ferir qualquer motorista abaixo. A visão geral do campo A rede reunida atrás dos objetivos azuis Limpeza geral A parte final foi limpar as prateleiras e afastar as ferramentas e as peças. Organizar e limpar as prateleiras tornará mais fácil para a equipe e outros encontrar peças, mas também diminuirá as lutas das equipes para encontrar peças no futuro. Por exemplo, a equipe moveu monitores por trás das estações de controle do motorista para a área próxima das brocas 40 nas paredes do sul41. Ao perceber que isso criou uma bagunça também, o time mais tarde moveu esses monitores para fora e destrancou as prateleiras que os seguravam. Além disso, os alunos moveram a bagunça ao lado da parede leste até o andar superior. Esta bagunça incluiu os monitores de computador mais os perdidos e encontrados. Além disso, estudantes aspiraram todos os andares, incluindo o campo de competição, de todos os pedaços metálicos. Isto foi conseguido usando uma combinação de trabalho manual e a Roomba 40Consuela41. Finalmente. Os alunos criaram uma nova prateleira para estações de motorista. A prateleira do painel de controle foi arquivada no trabalho de robô real. Embora a maior parte do tempo de hoje foi gasto na limpeza, a equipe conseguiu arrumar algumas peças também. Notavelmente, a equipe obteve o pó do volante revestido e o pára-choque para funcionar. Um volante revestido a pó Adições ao Poço da Competição A equipe de programação programou a colagem para a tela de exibição gigante no poço durante as competições. Apresentações de prêmios Itens de ação Verifique Trello para To45Do List Concluir ambos os robôs Código de acabamento para o robô e a tela de exibição do poço Faça o Flyer para o robô e a equipe 40Kevin, Godwin e Jeremy41 Make Technical Binder 40Mani e Abhi41 Ajuda Mani e Jeremy finalizam Woodie Flowers The Scrimmage Por Ryan Johnson, Louis Lin e Alex Cherry Team 604 40Quixilver41, Equipe 192 40Gunn Robotics41, Equipe 4765 40PWR up41, Equipe 581 40Blazing Bulldogs41, Equipe 1351 40TKO41, Equipe 3501 40Firebird Robotics41, Team 4990 40Gryphons41 e Team 2813 40Gear Heads41 todos compartilharam nosso laboratório hoje para praticar em nosso campo quase completo. Uma vez que a maioria das equipes não tem acesso a um campo, muitas vezes, em todos os 41, permitiu que eles sintonizassem seus robôs para que eles pontuassem, passassem, pegassem e se movessem melhor. Fiação e montagem Enquanto as outras equipes estavam testando seus robôs, estávamos terminando a fiação em nossos robôs de competição e competição. Especificamente, estávamos trabalhando em sensores e Intake. Também trabalhamos no acabamento do capuz. Além de algumas partes e fios, o robô é construído principalmente. Um aluno que fuma a ingestão Um mentor inspecionando o capô Fabricação Um casal de nossos membros da equipe trabalhou na fabricação de peças de pistão e alguns membros trabalharam na montagem dos pára-choques. Os pistões em que eles estão trabalhando criam uma ligação única entre dois pistões, onde um pistão trava o outro pistão no lugar, de modo que a entrada traseira possa ser bloqueada ao disparar. A equipe do pára-choque começou a fazer dois pára-choques azuis. Os alunos colocaram noodles de piscina ao longo de cada lado do quadro de pára-choques de madeira com fita adesiva. Então, eles esticaram um laço cheio de tecido de cordura em torno de cada pára-choque e grampearam-no pelo interior. Os alunos tomaram muito cuidado para eliminar tantas rugas quanto possível no tecido de pára-choques. Teste de tiro Ao testar o robô do robô, eles notaram que a bola estava sendo impedida por algo antes de tocar o volante do atirador. Usando uma câmera slow45motion, eles conseguiram observar o processo das válvulas empurrando a bola até o atirador. Os programadores ajustaram o tempo das válvulas para empurrar a bola verticalmente. Então, eles ajustaram a potência dos pistões de válvula para otimizar cada tiro. Vídeos em câmara lenta Itens de ação 45 Acabamento Montagem de pára-choques 45 Acabamento Montagem do robô 45 Faça inspeções de robôs 45 Faça o guiador de robôs 45 Programe o robô Tirando-o para um giro Aproveitando algum atolamento aéreo quadcopter por Vidur Maheshwari 17 e Joey Rodoni 16 Scrimmage Complete Today was O segundo e último dia da armadilha. A equipe teve muita diversão trabalhando e ajudando outras equipes. 254 viu alguns projetos e robôs interessantes no último fim de semana. Hot Goal Sensors Today os alunos montaram os sensores que verificarão se um objetivo é quente durante autonomia. Usando esses sensores, a equipe poderá marcar mais pontos em modo autônomo. O sensor localizará a fita reflexiva de objetivo quente com luzes infravermelhas e detectores. Hot Goal Sensors Hoje a equipe terminou os dois pára-choques azuis. O quadro para o pára-choque vermelho foi construído. Hoje, estudantes montaram ambos os indicadores de metas quentes para o objetivo azul durante a eliminação. Entrada traseira Finalmente, a equipe acabou de construir a entrada traseira montando o motor de admissão traseiro e adicionando o escudo para esse motor. Xzibit Pistons Hoje, o time instalou os pistões do coletor no robô da competição e testou-os. Os pistões vão abrir e fechar a porção de captura do robô. Um pistão de cada lado moverá o quadro real e o outro pistão menor trará o pistão no lugar. Configuração do pistão Catcher itens de ação cheque Trello para a lista to45do Acabar com o robô fazer painéis laterais Terminar o código Concluir o panfleto do robô Criar a pasta técnica Fazer o pára-choque vermelho Depois de amanhã, começa o período final da temporada de construção. A equipe terá 48 horas para completar o robô antes de ser empacotado e marcado. Este é um marco fundamental na temporada. B4.DA. 8211 Joey Bada Mike: I8217ve aguardando muito tempo para o álbum Joey8217s cair após a promissora seleção de mixtape de 1999 em 2012 e sua excelente colaboração em 2013 com DJ Premier no 8220Unorthodox8221. E, finalmente, no início de 2015, seu álbum de estréia, o nome maravilhoso B4.DA. (Pronunciado 8220Before Da Money8221) finalmente saiu. Vale a pena esperar Sim, isso realmente realmente bom, se não surpreendente. As rimas de Joey8217s são tão fantásticas quanto sempre e há uma tonelada de musicas assassinas aqui: 8220Curry Chicken8221, 8220Paper Trail8221, 8220Christ Conscious8221, 8220No. 998221. Mas o álbum não é o meu álbum de hip hop favorito do ano (o que seria Malik B e o Sr. Green8217s imprevisível) e I8217 não sei por quê. Talvez eu tenha sido mimada pela mencionada Premier Collab, mas eu sinto que talvez as batidas pudessem ser um pouco mais interessantes ou inovadoras para combinar um rapper tão talentoso e carismático. Também encontro álbuns que compram as faixas lá (há 17 faixas no álbum) muitas vezes lutam para manter o foco. Eu não sei, talvez eu seja exigente, ou talvez existisse um monte de hip hop neste ano. Este é, sem dúvida, um ótimo álbum, e aos 20 anos, Joey tem uma carreira incrível à frente dele. Melhor Natureza 8211 Silversun Pickups Dave: Este é um bom recorde, apesar de o cantor decidir fazer alguma imitação da voz da geração e cantar sobre pessoas na internet simplesmente não obtendo isso (na Conexão) e nomeando uma música Latchkey Kids para Amor dos cristãos. Silvers nunca foi uma letra, mas isso realmente o empurra. Dito isto, Tapedeck, Nightlight e Ragamuffin direto, mesmo que este contenha o que deve ser uma cavidade estilística no The XX. Você deve pesar esse alegre balanço contra a chance de deixar o registro até que ele termine e pegar letras como Um mundo de denúncia é algo para deixar muito para trás se você não se importa. O que você quer dizer, Brian. Adquirindo emptor. Magic Whip 8211 Blur Mike: 2015 viu o lançamento do primeiro álbum Blur novo desde 2003. They8217d nos provocou algumas vezes, com seus shows de reunião começando em 2009 e o lançamento do excelente 8220Under The Westway8221 em 2012, mas rumores de um novo O álbum permaneceu rumores até agora. E enquanto I8217m não era exatamente o maior fã de Blur do mundo (eu sempre estive mais em suas contrapartes do norte e mais loucas do norte), eu certamente tive uma apreciação casual por eles ao longo dos anos, e eu me achei realmente gostando do The Magic Whip. Opener 8220Lonesome Street8221 é clássico Blur no it8217s mais fino: caprichoso, optimista e muito inglês. 8220Ong Ong8221 é uma ótima melodia na mesma linha e, indiscutivelmente, é uma das suas melhores pistas até à data. Alguns dos números mais lentos de I8217m não são tão fanáticos, mas essa é uma crítica que eu poderia nivelar em qualquer álbum do Blur. Dito isto, o excesso prolongado de ponta doce 8220Go Out8221 é excelente e mais do que suficiente para provar que o Bank ainda tem o que é necessário para colocar música relevante em 2015. Noites da Califórnia 8211 Best Coast Mike. Então, mais um ano, outro lançamento da Best Coast para eu gostar. E apesar de ser seu primeiro álbum em um grande rótulo, it8217s são principalmente negócios como de costume aqui, com apenas a faixa do título, fornecendo uma variação notável em suas músicas padrão de 8220pracks sobre California8221 schtick. California Nights is a very worthy introduction to a wider fanbase, but ultimately I haven8217t listened to this album quite as much as I have their previous releases. The songs are as good as ever, but the recording at times is a little too polished. I guess I8217m being picky, but I miss the indie grit that permeated their sound and stopped them from being overly saccharine. But hey, I8217m being picky as only an ultra-fan can. California Nights is a great album, and if you haven8217t heard Best Coast before, this is as good a place as any to start. The Scene Between 8211 The Go Team Mike: The Go Team records are as regular as clockwork: every two years or so they put out an album of unique, uplifting indie rock meets hip hop (it makes sense when you listen to it), each one as good as the last. I mean there8217s not a huge variety between their albums, but honestly, who cares when you sound like this: The Very Important Answers Initiative 8211 J W Friedman Dave: I started laughing in the middle of Tory Street while listening to this and people looked at me funny. It wasnt my first listen either. Freedom 8211 Refused Mike . Another of the great reunion records of 2015, Refused originally split in 1998, shortly after the release of their world beating Shape of Punk to Come album. That album was a monster, combining the band8217s traditional hardcore punk with elements of jazz, electronica and more. The fact that they broke up directly after that album8217s release has only added to its cult status, and to be fair, on Freedom Refused don8217t ever try to emulate its scope, instead putting together an album of straight up riff driven hardcore as only they can. The genre-jumping of its predecessor is largely absent in favour of more solid punk tunes. And while I8217m not exactly praising their lack of vision here, its an approach that just feels right. How do you follow up one of the greatest albums of all time, anyway Refused8217s answer is simply to not try: just do what you do best and do it well. And I respect them for that. V 8211 Wavves Mike . Wavves have been a particular favourite of mine since I discovered the equal parts punk rock and psychedelic King of the Beach in 2010. Its follow up, 20118217s EP Life Sux . took the songwriting up a couple of levels and the advance singles from the next album proper seemed to be poised to raise the bar again. Unfortunately the resulting album, 20138217s Afraid of Heights was patchy, combining some of their best work to date with some of their weakest. So my expectations were reasonably low for album number five. First single 8220Way Too Much8221 was incredibly promising 8211 one of the best things they8217ve written to date. The next few pre-releases were great too, but this was also the case with the disappointing Afraid of Heights so bets were appropriately hedged. Fortunately V was everything it promised to be. The songs are a tad stripped back from their predecessor, trading in variety for more solid pop punk roots, and there8217s a melancholy there that underpins the upbeat sounding tunes. Fantastic songwriter, energetic and consistent delivery. Top stuff. A Little Night Music 8211 Jonathan Bree Dave: Literally everything I said about his previous album whenever that was still applies here its quirky, its impressive, its really good, its unsettling. Like an audience with Spector where he tells you what he really thinks, the misanthropy is hard to bear. Though unlike last time around, it now feels like Brees gripes are with the entire world rather than just a handful of women, which makes it better somehow. But the humour 8211 Im assuming its humour 8211 and great composition makes it all worthwhile. Little Victories 8211 The Strypes Mike: Being the second biggest Strypes fan in the Riot Radio crew (after Dave ) it was great to see the lads return reinvigorated and with a new sound in 2015. 20138217s Snapshot paid heavy dues to early rock n roll and rhythmn and blues (think Bo Diddley and the first few Rolling Stones albums) by way of Dr Feelgood, a sound that worked perfectly for them at the time but which had admittedly limited mileage. Little Victories sees them searching for their own sound and the result is more of an anthemic indie rock record 8211 the blues riffs are still there, but overlayed over singalong rock choruses comparable to their UK indie brethren of yesteryear: Franz Ferdinand or The Futureheads, say. Their songwriting8217s as solid as ever and it8217s good to see that they8217ve not rested on their laurels and just released Snapshot 2 . Do I like this album as much as their debut I8217m not yet sure. But it8217s great to see that the lads from County Kildare have plenty of staying power. The Collosus 8211 Cairo Knife Fight Dave: First full length from this duo, who had a 50 personnel changeover when guitarist Aaron Tokona left between the last EP and this. The loss is immediately felt 8211 the sound of the band becomes less chaotic, less epic, replaced by clipped and marshalled riffing. Hes missed, but its not a total loss. CKF built their name on jam-heavy live sets and sprawling EPs, but on this album reorient to crisper song-based material. And the songs are pretty solid. All in the Game is as good as hard rock writing gets. Theres lyrical cliches to be had elsewhere, but this is hard rock so deal with it, plenty do. Overall this is impressive as hell 8211 the electronic elements really lift the sound and the whole effect is something very powerful. Courting the Squall 8211 Guy Garvey Dave: Rarest of the rare: a solo record from the singer in an ongoing band which isnt an absolute object of embarrassment. Well, it is, but for Elbow, not Garvey. Every note on this record surpasses his home bands most recent efforts with ease. Garveys lyrical creativity has always been beyond reproach, but here he matches it with varying styles and song structures which only a man on his own can toss about. A lot of this is familiar Elbow territory, such as the great Unwind and Juggernaut. But the brass-heavy Harder Edges and Paris-jazz inflected Electricity are a world apart, as is the very, very Peter Gabriel-esque Belly of The Whale. It really should be impossible for a work to be as deep as this while also being as fun. Star Wars 8211 Wilco Mike . I hate to be that guy, but Wilco8217s recent stuff is not as good as their old stuff. Ever since Jeff Tweedy kicked his drug habit and stopped firing band members willy-nilly a decade or so ago, their music has been much more 8220safe8221. The edginess of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and my personal favourite, A Ghost is Born are long gone in favour of more wholesome melodies and traditional song structures as the band settled into a more comfortable groove. There have been flashes of brilliance since that time of course (8220Art of Almost8221. for example), but nothing has quite reached the heights of Wilco8217s 1998 8211 2004 golden era. And while Star Wars doesn8217t quite reach those lofty heights either, it8217s by far the most interesting album they8217ve put out since those halcyon days. Its method of release 8211 surprise released as a free download from their website 8211 went a long way to side-stepping any expectations based on their previous work: there simply wasn8217t time to have a pre-formed opinion. Suddenly it was there and you were listening to it. The fact that it8217s a return to their more noise orientated work is also a welcome step in the right direction for for me: everyone8217s got a favourite version of Wilco and for me it8217s always been their noise-driven more abstract stuff. The melodies and strong songwriting that we8217ve come to know from all Wilco releases is there as strongly as ever too. This is Wilco doing what they do best: getting together, jamming out some great songs that reflect where they8217re at in their lives right now, with the artistically-freeing knowledge that no-one knew about it. And as a result the album seems to flow more organically. There8217s no notion of singles 8211 this is a record from start to finish 8211 and is their most satisfying post - A Ghost Is Born experience to date. Ten Commandos 8211 Ten Commandos Dave: You know what a supergroup of 90s rock musicians means pointless riff soup. And theres plenty of that here 8211 a good chunk is simply music for musicians. Not least is the lead single where guest vocalist Mark Lanegan has to step through what room is left to try and get some sense of melody across. But the reason this album deserves a mention is the Alain Johannes-fronted tracks. His band Eleven was arguably one of the greatest and most inventive acts of the 90s-2000s, cut short by the death of his wife and bandmate. Whilst hes had impressive solo acoustic outings since, this record is the first time hes exercised his immense songwriting and arranging talents on a scale approaching his previous career. The penultimate track Aware with its simple bitonal riff serves as the ideal launchpad for Johannes guitar lead, and the rest of the all-star group get to properly shine. This is as good a testament as is available to the power of combined rock virtuosity. Look What this World Did to Us 8211 Red Pill Look What the World Did To Us is not really a banger it is a collection of dreary often muted vignettes about alcoholism, loneliness and life as an artist sitting just outside the edge of success. Even the hits so to speak (Kids and All of Us are really the natural stand-outs) are glazed with a boozy mutedness. What is most impressive to me about this record is the production 8211 while the lyrics of most of Red Pills songs seem to teeter on the edge of being depressing, the tunes follow what I sort of hope is a tradition in Detroit hip-hop of soft, funky, woozy and interesting beats (think Slum Village and J-Dillas various manifestations) If I was going to make another pointless analogy Id call him hip-hops Elliott Smith. I mean, I hope he doesnt go the same way and all. And not just because hes white that would be well racist. Recreational Love 8211 Bird and the Bee Dave: Comprised of 70s legend Lowell Georges daughter Inara, and multi-instrumentalist producer extraordinaire Greg Kurstin (best known for his work with Adele), Bird and the Bees last full length record was a collection of Hall and Oates covers. Oddly, this wasnt a vacation 8211 theyve stuck with a pop-breezy-synth sound for this record too. If youre new to BatB Id recommend probably any other album than this to start on, but if youre into it theres plenty here. Single Will You Dance is easily to pick of the tracks 8211 bouncy and fun. The sort of music than not everybody will like, but if somebody actually hates it you know they8217re the problem, not the band. I Want To Grow Up 8211 Colleen Green Mike . Ok yeah, so between this and Best Coast, I like my crunchy indie pop-rock to be simple. Would it surprise you to know that I8217m a big fan of the Ramones Anyway, Colleen Green writes the type of perfect power pop from her bedroom that most indie acts can8217t emulate on a major label budget. Plus she has another album called Milo Goes To Compton 8211 is that just the most perfect thing ever or what This lady is badass, and this album is great. user48736353001 8211 Aphex Twin Hayden . While being interviewed on last years revival album Syro, Richard D James revealed the existence of an untold amount of unreleased material under his guard. A few months later, a seemingly anonymous SoundCloud account was opened under the innocuous artist name of user48736353001. A new track was added every day or so, with the artist posting comments on Aphex Twins actual account, thus prompting a dialogue between the two artists. Eventually a mass of 110 tracks were added to the user487 account, and rabid AFX and Warp Records fanboys (and girls) clambered to rip the below-quality streamed files from the site. A move which turned out to be a waste of time, as a week later, the mysterious user made the entire dump of tunes available for download. But what are the tunes actually like Unmistakable Aphex tracks are thrown together with harsh electronic experiments and ambient noodlings, and while covering even a handful of the 100 tunes would be too much for this review, its comforting to know that the golden boy of many an electronic music fan can still surprise and confound us to this day. Dan . Was there actually an Aphex Twin record out in 2015 Really Really Nah. Really Summertime 06 8211 Vince Staples Dan . In many ways 2015 belonged to two very different forces in LA hip-hop. Kendrick Lamar dropped his chart crushing but experimental To Pimp A Butterfly which showcased a huge swathe of California rap talent. While groundbreaking, To Pimp represented only one side of the story though. While not a member of Odd Future, Staples comes firmly from that wing with his close associations with Earl Sweatshirt particularly and his work with former Black Hippy members he represents a different but equally creative side to LA hip-hop one that has become increasingly important in the last few years. I didnt know diddly squat about Vince Staples until 2014s Hell Can Wait E. P came out and I quickly warmed to the politically charged Hands Up. Summertime 06 is, on the surface of it, a more chilled and muted record 8211 telling the story of Staples life in the summer of 2006 (sort of alludes to it in the title really). Each song reinforces my first impression that Staples is a master storyteller each song being a life-snapshot short story. While musically this record gives the impression of a thick funky but relatively relaxed album far from the off the wall hype of To Pimp, thematically Summertime 06 has a darkness to it without trying to blow the listener away with a bunch of ghetto cliches. As a record it is a soundtrack to grinds, getting by, small celebrations and setbacks. Theres none of the audio wackery common to a lot of 2015s West Coast hip hop in Summertime 06, but a solid and understated ride through an interesting artists day to day. Sol Invictus 8211 Faith No More Dave: Its weird 8211 you cant really think of FNM as a band in the common sense. Sure, they broke up in the late 90s like most proper bands, but they were always so aloof and distant in an age of earnestness that theyre hard to place in the archeological record. Their keyboard-led song compositions had very little in common with their hard rock contemporaries, and the lyricism was unabashed fiction 8211 closer to the character-dramas of Tom Waits than the heartrendingly personal wails of their contemporaries. They were a band out of time. Which I guess should mean it shouldnt be surprising that this new record, released 18 years after the last, sounds utterly unaffected by the break. Its impressive, and enjoyable, and if you werent already looking forward to this record theres really no point for you. Wasted on the Dream 8211 JEFF the Brotherhood Mike: I8217d been a casual fan of these guys for a while, but it was the story of this album8217s release that really pulled me in this time around. Having released their previous LP, Hypnotic Nights . on a major label, shortly before the release of the awesomely titled Wasted on the Dream . the label 8211 Warner Bros 8211 decided to drop the band, for which (as far as I can tell) no reason was ever given. Personally, I think major labels are almost an obsolete concept to begin with, and the band seemed to decided as much too, releasing the album on their own indie imprint, Ininity Cat. To quote the band: 8220Luckily, we help to run an indie label that has its shit together more than the big guys8221. And Warner Bros8217 loss is undoubtably music fans8217 gain, as Wasted on the Dream is without question the band8217s best album to date. Until now they were always a solid garage rock duo, better than average but not mind-blowing, but here they8217ve really stepped up the songwriting. The album is just chock full of killer hits like 8220Coat Check Girl8221, 8220Black Cherry8221 and 8220Cosmic Vision8221 as well as the now-ubiquitous appearance from Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast. The songs range from Ramones-esque pop-punk abandon to sludgy Black Sabbath riffs fueld by a steady intake of beer and psychedelics that doesn8217t let up for the album8217s duration. Lucky Stars 8211 Don McGlashan Dave: Prior McGlashan solo albums have followed a bit of a format a few great GREAT songs which get pinned to the New Zealand coat of arms and sung on television and all that, plus a few more songs which you skip when youre in the car. This record is not like that 8211 it takes a few listens for the gems of this album to shine through, and they are everywhere on this. McGlashan is our nations greatest living songwriter and here proves it, though in a way that wont get as much attention. Shit business, aint it Foil Deer 8211 Speedy Ortiz Dave: Hey, most bands you look forward to the albums and put up with the EPs released in between as morsels to whet your appetite between main courses. Speedy Ortiz buck that trend 8211 so far their EPs between albums have been the better records. This full length doesnt deliver on the promise shown in the previous Real Hair EP but its still super good. Theres an effortless cool to Speedy Ortiz, like if The Dandy Warhols still cared about music, and theyre perhaps the best lyrics in rock today. 8216My Dead Girl8217 is a great track, reminiscent of the feel of last albums standout track No Below. The finale, Dvrk Wvrld, is the crowning jewel, with its subtle dynamic shifts slowly ratcheting up the tension. Speedy Ortiz are a band whose trajectory is unpredictable, but everything theyve done has been some degree of great, so why worry. Luminiferous 8211 High on Fire Rich . Shirtless riff-master Matt Pike does it again, with the perfect balance of sludge, thrash, and stoner metal. This is probably my 8220heavy8221 record of the year, and reinforces my view that Matt Pike is incapable of making a bad record. My faves 8211 8220The Cave8221, 8220Slave The Hive8221, 8220The Dark Side of the Compass8221. To Pimp A Butterfly 8211 Kendrick Lamar Mike . First of all: I love everything about Kendrick Lamar. He seems like a stand up dude and he8217s constantly pushing the boundaries of hip hop, whilst embracing its classic elements at the same time. And it8217s fairly undeniable that To Pimp A Butterfly is one of the albums of the year, if not the decade. But 8211 and this is a fairly pathetic but, I8217m ashamed to say 8211 I do find the album a difficult listen, and as such I haven8217t listened to it as much this year as I have say, Malik B and Mr Green8217s more traditional (and in the context of this argument, ironically named) Unpredictable . That8217s not so much a critique of the album or Kendrick8217s music so much as it is a criticism of my failings as a hip hop listener. To Pimp A Butterfly to me is like cutting edge jazz (a genre I8217ve admittedly not got much fondness for) in that it8217s a piece of art. And that doesn8217t necessarily make it an easy listen 8211 but hell, revolutionary music shouldn8217t be easily digestable right When the revolution comes, it won8217t be Coldplay they8217re playing, let8217s just say that. Shape The Random 8211 Phace Hayden . German drum and bass maestro Phace came out with an absolute cracker of an album this year. Shape The Random does exactly what it says on the tin. Harsh, growling synthesizers crash head-on into meticulously edited beats, some real brain-messing moments align with more than enough funk for the dancefloor. During the opener, My Mind Is Modular, Phace decides that techno is too slow and turns up the tempo to set the tone for the rest of the album. Elsewhere, I Am dives head first off the crazy cliff, warping breakbeats with vocal snippets to send you to the loony bin, while the title track Shape The Random lets loose a barrage of formula one driven drums, reminding us that chaos can often allude to the appearance of being under control. No Life For Me 8211 Wavves amp Cloud Nothings Dan: There are some things that just go together coffee and cigarettes, gin and tonic, a good steak and tomato ketchup, Your mum and. well, you get the idea. On their own they might be decent enough but the perfect blend of compliment and contrast makes the combination sweet perfection. Such is the case with Wavves and Cloud Nothings. Both bands have featured pretty prominently on this weblog and I will confess a preference for Cloud Nothings over-all. I have always felt the Cloud Nothings were the better and more varied sonically. In my mind then, The Japandroids and Wavves are filed in my brain under 2011 and range from Cloud Nothings at one end with the lighter straight up indie-pop sound to Wavves at the other end with the buzz-cut punk rock spike. 8220Come Down8221 and 8220Nothing Hurts8221 represent my bias towards Cloud Nothings poppier sound and are my favourite tunes on the respectably short album but the Wavves-y 8220Such a Drag8221 and the title track 8220No Life for Me8221 is a top tune and definitely the same. What is decent about No Life for Me (were talking about the record now) is it is almost like a greatest hits of any of the rest of their (I think combined 4 albums, I dont have time to look this shit up). All killer and no filler as a lesser music journalist would say. Listen to it or Ill finish that sentence about your mum. Anthems for Doomed Youth 8211 The Libertines Mike . It8217s hard for me to express what a huge deal a new Libertines album was for me this year. For some reason in New Zealand we never felt the full force of the Libertines phenomenon, which is unusual because we8217re usually all over these UK bands here, and rightly so (for further reading see The Arctic Monkeys ). The Libertines captured the zeitgeist of early 00s England in a way that no other bands this century have. For some reason in 2001 we got full on The Strokes fever (and, hey The Strokes are great too, just arguably less relevant from a cultural perspective) but fuck all Libertines, which is a real shame because they truly took the UK by storm. Inevitably for such an impassioned band, their career was short lived, with the turbulent relationship between dual songwritervocalists Carl Barat and Pete Doherty imploding due to Pete8217s well documented drug abuse and super model dating. And that seemed like the end of that. But in 2015 they reunited in Thailand (Pete was there for rehab, naturally) and announced their reformation and a forthcoming new album, and fuck me if it wasn8217t one of the best albums of 2015. It8217s one of those reunion albums (see Blur and Refused) where the band just avoided any obvious follow up mentality and said 8220Here8217s the album we recorded. This is what we sound like now.8221 So you get the reggae tinged 8220Gunga Din8221, the suitably messy 8220Glasgow Coma Scale Blues8221 and a couple of ballads that aren8217t in any way shithouse (a huge achievement in itself). Also, it8217s just great to see Pete back in action again, sweating because of onstage antics rather than 8220other reasons8221. I Don8217t Like Shit, I Don8217t Go Outside 8211 Earl Sweatshirt Brendan: I saw Earl at Laneways a few years back and when I say saw, I mean sat, rather blung, with my girlfriends head on my lap while he performed Yes, my girlfriend was asleep, somehow, despite Earls massive, relentless, blimp-like bass booming out over Silo Park captivating the swaying bros and broettes. I didnt need to get up and dance as just listening was enough, my rib cage rattling away. At that time the album was Doris, another pearl of an album that pushed and bullied its way up the US hiphop charts. The track that immediately grabbed me from I Don8217t Like Shit, I Don8217t Go Outside was the chuggy opener, Huey. Its a classic intro track that sets the albums style perfectly without revealing too much. Kicking off with a lively organ fanfare, you find yourself pondering, Am I listening to the theme song of the Love Boat or something But then drops that blimpy Earl bass we love, his vocals surging melodically with the organ. Its not a song I can sit still too and always has me nodding. Like Burgundy from Doris, its epic, bouncy, catchy and Earls lazy lyrics capture both the depths and trifles of his soul. Its an album lovers album for sure. Huey, like the rest of the tracks has that signature Earl lo-fi griminess that surges effortlessly forward. That notwithstanding, there is a levity lurking underneath the grim, sparse beats that stops the album from being a heavy, arduous listen. The style is consistent, the lyrics and wordplay musical and intriguing, but its Earls artistic touches that made this such a highly acclaimed album with lo-fi crunches and bleats used as flourishes, complementing his lyricism perfectly. The album closes with a cheeky little feat from Vince Staples. Who doesnt love a bit of Vince Like his feat on Doris his vocals complement the tambor of the album perfectly and it is a great sign-off track. Personally, I would put this album up there with To Pimp a Butterfly and Compton for its musical accomplishments in 2015. Top tracks to check: Huey, AM Radio featuring Wiki, and DNA Vulnicura 8211 Bjrk Dave . The sentiment behind Wu Tang8217s decision to sell the only copy of an album to a single individual was reportedly to challenge the way society values music. In an age where a 99c download is the expensive option, what does it look like to make music that demands to be treated as an art object or museum piece Wu8217s experiment ended up seeing them offload a barely legitimate record of b-roll material to a universally reviled human morality play, so perhaps the point was missed. But also in 2015 Bjrk8217s career retrospective exhibit of costumes, bespoke instruments and audiovisual installations was unveiled at New York8217s Museum of Modern Art. To coincide with this was her new work, Vulnicura. 20118217s Biophillia was astonishing in its scope, both sonically and conceptually, as a love letter to the entire universe. I had trouble imagining how much further out she could go. Against all expectations as usual, Bjrk turned inwards. Vulnicura emerged as a stripped back and intensely personal record of solely voice, strings and mostly stark, perfunctory beats. The songs are presented in the order they were written during the breakdown of her relationship with the father of her daughter. The first half of the record is an unflinching account of love in decay, at times painful and hopeless, but never short of beautiful. The second half is a bittersweet series of self-affirming songs on the theme of rebuilding and resilience which begin to lift the mood but could never be said to be cheerful. For somebody best known for their kooky 90s persona, this is a heavy album, and the lack of anything approaching a hit song (no singles were released) means non-fans may have trouble finding a handhold here. If you can grab it though, this is a subtle yet astonishingly rich record of brutal emotional honesty. The two epic songs at the heart of the record, Black Lake and Family (18 minutes long in total), are dark, mournful and heartbreaking requiems which showcase compositional and vocal brilliance, ultimately pivoting out of the depths of despair via a rare ounce of quirk into a haunting melody ironically reminiscent of her 1999 hit All Is Full Of Love. While brilliant and important, this isn8217t an album you can play every day 8211 it8217s just not emotionally viable to do so. I figure I can listen to the 10 minute Black Lake once or twice a week max, so the idea that its creator be recompensed by micropayments per stream is ludicrous. As it happened, the iTunes release was rushed in the wake of the album leaking to torrent sites two months before its unveiling at MOMA. This is work which needs to be treated as art and there has to be industry infrastructure and consumer behaviour to support it. That won8217t come from weird shitty millionaires. Music Complete 8211 New Order Dan . The thing about the 1980s is they were largely shitpants. The 1980s in Britain, if any Northerner is to be believed were even worse. One of the things about grim times and grim places is they produce outstanding art that tends to reflect the time and the place (The Smiths, Joy Division, the MC5). Quite often, however, these times and places produce art that draws on this grimness by standing in stark shiny contrast. The history of New Orders futuristic electronic pop music being forged in the wake of personal tragedy against the backdrop of dreary decline is well documented and mainly of interest here because New Order have produced a record, three decades from this point, that harks back to their energy in the late 1980s. Music Complete shouldnt really be a very good album. Nostalgia records usually arent and records that so precisely reform a style and feel of a bygone age are normally doomed to novelty. New Order turning the clock back to the time between the release of Technique and the release of Republic should have been a fools errand. But it wasnt. Part of the reason for why Music Complete works is it pushes two different styles of tune-writing that New Order were really good at, but at different times. New Order were, first and foremost, pop tunesmiths and songs like Superheated and Unlearn This Hatred are just slices of pop genius. Secondly, New Order are able to do things they were clearly trying to do in 1990, better now. Leaps and bounds in electronic music production have meant that a track like Tutti Frutti, which sounds very much like an early 90s dance track, is a lot better having been produced in 2015. Music Complete works because it distills what New Order were great at 8211 writing spine-tingling pop songs and what is essentially house music 8211 into the record they probably should have made instead of 1993s Republic. They also refrained from doing the things they were crap at but somehow tried their hand at 8211 guitar indie-pop and raps about football. No Cities To Love 8211 Sleater-Kinney Mike . There were a slew of reunion albums this year from older bands that had either gone defunct or reunited after a long break: Faith No More, Refused, Blur, The Libertines, and so on. The first of these that I encountered this year was Sleater Kinney8217s No Cities To Love . Although the band had never split up, this was their first album and tour in nine years. To be honest I was never a fan of Sleater Kinney in the past 8211 through no fault of their own, I8217d just never really taken the time to sit down and really give their music a chance. I8217d heard great things about 20028217s One Beat so had given that a few spins in the past and enjoyed it, but nothing really grabbed me like the songs on No Cities To Love . It8217s a beautifully recorded album, with the kind of Albini-esque sound that really puts you in the room with the band. There8217s gaps around the individual instruments but they8217re also unified as one, and the songs are just killer: edgy yet catchy at the same time. To release an album like this so late in a bands career is just great, and they8217ve now converted me to a lifelong fan: I8217m working my way through their back catalogue as we speak. Ghost Notes 8211 Veruca Salt Dave . 8216Kintsugi8217 is the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with seams of gold. The idea is that the breakage of an object is but a part of the object8217s story, that damage doesn8217t end its usefulness, and that its beauty can be increased by the mending. Recent hard rock revival albums from the titans of the genre (Soundgarden in 2012, Faith No More this year) have over-focused on showing the bands are no less tough, no less technically able, no less solid for their time off. These have been impressively competent, but not memorable albums. But Veruca Salt8217s first album since their 1998 disbandment wears all the cracks and fissures on its sleeve, and absolutely gleams. Veruca Salt are one of my all time favourite bands. They were amongst the best songwriters of the 1990s, probably the best harmonisers in rock since the Beatles, and Louise Post8217s lead guitar work was tonally deep and expressive as few others have ever matched. Yet they never stood above their more mediocre, male competitors in the public eye and looked to forever be remembered as also-rans. Throughout the 2000s I followed both Post8217s and Nina Gordon8217s solo careers. Post kept the band name and turned out some interesting and powerful records, heavier but lacking hooks and standout melodies. Gordon released two albums of pop-perfect songwriting but with flimsy, middle-of-the-road arrangements. It was clear as day that each one missed the other. It only takes four tracks into 8216Ghost Notes8217 be prove joyously clear that the pieces have been put back together correctly. The opening track 8216Gospel According to Saint Me8217 sets the scene lower gain guitars herald a more airy, mature sound while still rocking along. Track three 8216Eyes On You8217 sounds like modern Revolver-era LennonMcCartney. 8216Prince of Wales8217 at track four is the album8217s first emotional peak with its mantra-like verses and twin-harmony gutpunch choruses. And it keeps growing from there 8211 by the towering 6 minute lament to heartbreak, deception and loss that is 8216Empty Bottle8217 your heart will be in your mouth. Post and Gordon always wrote about themselves, and one another. At the heart of this record is a 15 year estrangement 8211 the pain and joy at reunion is in the foreground of every song. This is the pinnacle of musical honesty and vulnerability 8211 a mutual musical redemption. Rather than front like the breakup didn8217t ruin the band they8217re open that it took this journey to arrive at this 8211 the album of their career. Unpredictable 8211 Malik B and Mr Green Mike . This album came completely out of nowhere from me. I saw it mentioned on Vinnie Paz from Jedi Mind Tricks8217 Facebook page (who also had a very good album out this year) and just fell in love with it. As I mention in the Kendrick Lamar review below, my taste in hip hop can be depressingly straight forward, and Unpredictable is just that: a straight ahead, classic style hip hop album. At the risk of sounding like a Rolling Stone reviewer listening to a rap record for the first time, Unpredictable is not a particularly innovative album, but it8217s got it where it counts. Song after song of banging hip hop, and for what it misses in terms of pushing the boundaries, it more than makes up for in pure tunes. That8217s not to say that Unpredictable is cliched and predictable either: there8217s no boring bling bling lyricism or misplaced egos here. Just really great beats and stellar rhyming. It8217s just a much more traditional rap record released in the same year that gave us the all-encompassing, genre-bending opus that is To Pimp a Butterfly . But that8217s hip hop for you: there8217s just so much scope within the genre to create amazing music in any style, and I just love that. This album was a real contender for album of the year for me. Dan: This masterpiece of an album will forever be associated in my mind with Brendan and myself getting lit and smashing up a bookshelf to board up one of my windows. What is relevant music criticism anyway Compton: The Soundtrack 8211 Dr Dre Brendan . Dre finally drops another album, and by that I dont mean releases, I mean, you know, dropped the album, Detox, the one hes been harping on about since I can remember, he just nonchalantly kicked it to the kerb. Instead he went with Compton as somewhat of an accompaniment to Straight Outta Compton the movie. But of course you know this and youd have to be sleeping under a massive Nate Dogg shaped rock to not. But you know what I ain8217t buying it. Id say all he has dropped is the name as almost certainly most, if not all, tracks from Compton were destined for Detox. Its such a tight yet diverse collection of songs that seem to capture so many of the styles and subgenres of hip hop that weve heard this last ten years. Its a great album that grows on you with each listen, and barring the entirely superfluous, dated and misogynistic filler track in which a woman is murdered and buried its a near perfect album with some absolute belters. Theres the standard Dre intro paying homage to Compton in newsreel style and then Dre gets his cock out and bangs it firmly and aggressively on the table with Talk about it. Its quite a different style for Dre, with a Schoolboy Q feel to it, but theres just so much energy and it helps the album bursts into life like a war cry. I want it all Apparently, hes just bought California. Lyrically the song pushes the persona we see of Dr Dre in the Compton movie. Alright, youre hardworking, youve made a lot of money and youre driven, we get it. Mind you, its hip hop so you cant fault a man for big noting, can we. The thing I really liked about the album, beyond the pristine production, was some of the unique musical hooks. Check out Genocide, featuring everyones favourite Kendrick, for its unique bassline. As per usual, Dre is adept at digging up talent, the most notable being Anderson Paak in the highlight of the album, Animals, which also features big swinging dick, Dj Premier. A juicy beat with a relevant message has this as the pick of the album for me. All of Paaks subsequent work has fulfilled the glimmers and promises of talent he showed in Compton and I would recommend checking his new album out. But, hold on, there are still the old stalwarts of Dres past, with Eminem, Snoop, Ice Cube, X to the Z among others. For me however, their tracks werent the highlight of the album, and dare I use the term warmed over Nah, I wont, its just I enjoyed the newer talent so immensely. The closer, Talking to my diary, is fantastic and perhaps one of the most g-funk beats ever conceived. And when Dre talks about the pages of his diary you cant help but feel hes talking about the album as a chronicle of the work which is so obviously his life. Compton delivered on Dres formula but so excellently added new sounds, more polish and depth. Its easily one of the top albums of the year. Mike . Another surprise release: Dre8217s first new album since Chronic 2001 (which was confusingly released in 1999 8211 I swear it made sense at the time). He8217d been slow releasing tracks from an album with the working title of Detox since as early as 2004, but it seemed that the gt Chinese Democracy aspect of the long-delayed album finally got to him, and he decided to scrap it all in favour of an album inspired by his recent success working on the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton . The most surprising thing about Compton: The Soundtrack is how contemporary it sounds. Dre8217s certainly someone that8217s known for his musical innovation, but at the same time, there8217s certain things you generally expect from a Dre album. Compton eschews these elements in favour of something approaching a hip hop concept album. Songs swing between beats and different rappers (Kendrick Lamar in particular fits in well with this style of album) whilst still staying true to Dre8217s roots. There8217s no dominance from any one rapper a la Snoop Dogg on The Chronic and as such there8217s an edginess and unpredictability here that8217s not found on Dre8217s other records. And sure, there8217s an Eminem verse on here (seriously, has there ever been a rapper whose talent went south as suddenly and as absolutely as Eminem) but there8217s only one and it works fine in the same way as an extended guitar solo is acceptable as long as you don8217t have to listen to too many of them. Is it as good as Dre8217s first two albums At the moment I8217m not sure: I8217ve had a long time to process those records. It8217s certainly a very good record, and different from anything he8217s done to date. I can8217t help but feel that in time history will view this as a close 3rd. Dan: In many ways Compton was a massive sampler a veritable chocolate box of the dominant styles of hip hop around today with an unparallelled number of quality additions this was always going to be an amazing record. From your old favourites like Xzibit and Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg to heavy hitter The Game and wunderkind Kendrick Lamar all contributing it would actually defy whatever science that goes into making a great hip-hop record if it wasnt in the top records of the year. If i was to have one criticism (and evidently I do) and wish to continue the chocolate box metaphor (which evidently, yes, I do) it is the Eminem contribution is a bit like the Turkish delight 8211 no one really wants it but it is definitely there, and you know it is going to be there basically because between 1999 and 2003 Turkish Delight was one of the most amazing chocolates and everyone liked it. In this case it is a bit like someone took the Turkish Delight and instead wrapped a nugget of shit in the Turkish Delight wrapper. Which could happen. Every Open Eye 8211 CHVRCHES Mike . I actually find CHVRCHES really hard to write about. Their music is just so unassumingly awesome, I just have trouble putting that into words. Lauren Mayberry has the kind of vocals that most pop stars would kill for, and add to that the fact that she8217s a a no nonsense feminist role model and you8217ve got yourself one hell of a frontwoman. Combine that with their trademark huge tunes and driving synth backing and you8217ve got a real contender for one of the bands of the decade. In any case, I feel like our love of CHVRCHES here at Riot Radio is pretty well documented so I won8217t go to too much detail here except to say that Every Open Eye improves on everything that their debut The Bones of What You Believe did so well. It was a tough album to top, but they really have here: every single tune could be a massive single. If you haven8217t listened to CHVRCHES yet, you8217re missing out. Art Angels 8211 Grimes Dan: I spent some time trying to convince other-Riot Radio contributor Dave (who you will read stirling segments from on in this blog post) to listen to Grimes. I told him that Grimes unique brand of pop music, where the quirky and weird border closely on the art alluded to in the title but remain rooted to pop tunesmithery made her the natural inheritor to Bjork. An artist he is fond of. Anyway, I was right about both the exciting and above all else, unusual Art Angels and that Dave would like the record. But do I get any credit No. Where is my parade Mike . I wasn8217t as sold as a lot of people were on Grimes8217 2012 breakthrough Visions . I mean, there was nothing wrong with it, it just didn8217t grab me. That can8217t be said about Art Angels . it whacks you over the face with dope tunes and doesn8217t let up all album. Opening with a piece of classical music, your initial reaction is 8220OK, here we go, some pretentious bullshit8221. But honestly it8217s the perfect lead in to what for me is a near perfectly crafted album. Art Angels veers wildly from electronic folk to pop music, but somehow sounds cohesive. Highlights for me include 8220California8221, 8220Kill V Maim8221, 8220Belly Of the Beat8221 and 8220Flesh Without Blood8221, but it8217s tricky to pick out individual songs in an album that holds together so well. It8217s honestly one of those albums where you just put it on and listen right through every time. And did I mention the tunes are huge Like, Jupiter huge. In Colour 8211 Jamie xx Dan: There are two things that annoy me. Well, okay, there are literally thousands of things that annoy me, but for the purposes of this anecdote you are going to have to suspend belief for a bit and imagine a world where the two things that wind me up are related to electronic music. The first, I discovered when I was in mmaly teens, was when people called all electronic music techno (techno is a very specific type of dance music what you were thinking of was house or that 2 Unlimited Song off of the sports) the second was people saying that there are no good techno (meaning dance music in general) albums. The problem with both of these gripes is when I step back and take a cool, well-reasoned and calm view of the situation is neither is actually unfair even if both are untrue. Calling music you are not interested in by a useful catch-all name is really no harm no foul I call all Country music shit and all classical music the music off that bank ad. I know that both this nomenclature system isnt accurate or fair, it is just useful for classifying something I dont care about. The assertion that there are no good electronic dance music albums is of course not true, but it is actually a pretty fair point. There are very few good electronic dance music records that breakthrough and enjoy critical acclaim despite the fact that there are a lot of individual tunes that attain stratospheric popular success and broad critical appeal. It has often kept me awake at night wondering why the most popular and well-known concept paen to the clubbing experience was written by four Scotsmen with a greasy seventies Rolling Stones fetish. Im talking about Primal Scream here by the way. Jamie xx actually foreshadowed the release of In Colour in 2014 with All Under One Roof Raving an epic six minute homage to the threads of music that have made up dance culture weaving disparate styles into a piece of music that is equally a strange mish-mash but also something you could actually dance to in a club. I was never a massive fan of The xx and, while I got what Jamie xx was trying to do with 2011s Were New Here (where he partnered up with Gil Scott Heron) the record seemed disjointed and trying so hard to stick to concept that any sense of groove was subsumed by the project. What Jamie xx gbot right with All Under One Roof Raving was the theme and concept synced perfectly into a well structured tune. I actually have no idea what the theme of In Colour was. I mean, I am sure there was one and I could look it up but whos got time for that. To me it took All Under One Roof and expanded the various musical threads across eleven tracks. Each tune has its own unique sound but there is a thread running through each of them. It is hard for me to pick a stand out track, though Gosh and I Know Theres Gonna Be Good Times are probably the easiest to name check as singles (because, well, they were). The record to me is a single piece of music. And not just because Im battered when I listen to it. Ive listened to it at work and that as well. Whereas my most recent other break through electronic dance music album, Porter Robinsons Worlds, is most definitely a dance music record In Colour is a thick coagulation of soul, ambient and soft breaks on top of the standard. The best parallel that comes to my rapidly-running-out-of-synonyms-for-mixture mind is DJ Shadows 1996 album Entroducing. A record that takes you, for want of a less pretentious idiom, on a journey. From start to tingling finish In Colour takes you a place. Like ketamine. Or jerking off. Check out a few of the tracks below that have been blowing Riot Radio socks off this week. Wavves 8211 Way Too Much (2015) Wavves . shakes his head Wavves . right, you know what I mean Ha Wavves Theyre just one of those bands that everything they touch turns to gold. New single Way too much is no exception. The track bursts into action with their punchy punk rock with its trademark just-enough-sloppiness, and doesnt cease. The track length weighs in at a mammoth 2.33 long so youd be mad to not chuck it on repeat for the sake of rinsability. Its one of those tracks that just puts me in a good mood, hence my reason for thrashing the buggery out of it. Musical highlight: Well, that chorus is immense but the fact that its a new Wavves track is probably the gimme. Jonathan Bree 8211 Bored at the Mall (The Primrose Path, 2013) New Zealand musician Johnathan Bree (of The Brunettes ) blew my socks off last weekend when I stumbled across his album The Primrose Path . I had been searching for an album to play whilst working on a project so was just randomly selecting artists from my Spotify Discover section. Enter Jonathan Bree . At first I thought it was Jon fucking Brion which is quite a compliment but soon I was to discover that not only was it not Jon Brion, it was a Kiwi lad. The song, Bored at the mall . was my personal highlight but the entire album is very very listenable if youre wanting a mellow Saturday afternoon jaunt put it this way, I listened to the album five times in a row. Ding Its tight. Check it. Musical highlight: I really enjoyed the discordant carnival feel of the song and in fact the album in general. Schoolboy Q 8211 WTC (Feat. Game, Too hort) Theres a lot of talk about new Schoolboy Q album, Schoolboy Q 2 . The track that caught my attention was WTC with its phenomenal production, sublime rhymes, and a nice melty female VOX and yes, that isnt a typo and you havent misread it 8211 Too hort. Jeez, hes been around some time now . This track has ruled my playlist the last 24 hours and I wouldn8217t be surprised to see another track from Schoolboy Q 2 . next week in Tracks of the Mo . Musical highlight: Too hort. Did you know he used to be broke and didnt have no clothes Last weekend, I got on a plane with significant other and a few other bods, and headed to Melbourne for a long weekend incorporating much shopping (for the ladies), consumption of beverages, and the 2015 edition of Australia8217s Soundwave Festival (the inaugural 2-day edition). I8217ll be honest 8211 having been lucky enough to attend the 25th Anniversary Wacken Open Air in 2014, Soundwave was kind of an afterthought (with tickets kindly acquired by our housesitter in our absence). The lineup was announced, and there were a couple of bands that I was excited about, but by and large I thought it was kind of average. 2 days before we went over, it was announced that there would be no public transport to the showgrounds. which kind of worried me a bit, but it all turned out for the best. Turns out there were 18 other events on in Melbourne over the weekend, including an Eagles concert, Roxette concert, Guy Sebastian concert, World Cup cricket match, football match, and White Night Melbourne (which sounds like a Klan meeting, but isn8217t), so the city was kinda busy. Anyway, it worked out great in the end, and here8217s brief summary of what I took in: I, Valiance 8211 Local opener from Melbourne. Kids up the front seemed to love them, maybe I8217m getting old. Maybe it was the mix. I8217ve checked out their studio stuff since, and it8217s pretty sweet. Their bandcamp page is tagged 8220djent groove hardcore metal progressive death metal8221, so if that sounds like a bit of you, check them out here . Apocalyptica 8211 Metal by cello. Had the absolute privilege of seeing them play a full instrumental set with an orchestra at Wacken 2014, which was mind-blowing. This time around it was half instrumental, half vocal, with vox duties ably handled by Franky Perez (ex-Scars on Broadway guitarist), who seems to have become the permanent vocalist. Apocalyptica were superb, and if you get the chance to see them, then do it. If you8217re not familiar with the band, then you can check them out here . Killer Be Killed 8211 KBK8217s first ever live performance. Metal 8220supergroup8221 comprised of Max Cavalera (Sepultura, Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, Nailbomb), Troy Sanders (Mastodon), and Greg Puciato (Dillinger Escape Plan). Ordinarily Dave Elitch (Mars VoltaAntemasque) is on sticks duties, but due to Antemasque playing in Adelaide at the same time, Ben Koller (Converge) picked them up. Awesome show, super happy to have been present for their first ever live gig. Their album is superb, and you should check them out here . About this time I8217d originally planned to go and see Confession . because I really dig just about everything Michael Crafter has been involved in (especially old IKTPQ), but the solitary other dude in our group suggested we check out The Vandals . I owned a couple of Vandals records in my teens (8216Hitler Bad, Vandals Good8217, and 8216The Quickening8217) and figured there couldn8217t be any harm in checking out some So-Cal punk on a hot Saturday afternoon, so we headed over to stage 3. The Vandals were absolutely superb, and probably my wildcard highlight of the weekend. I8217ve always been fond of bands that interact with the crowd and don8217t take themselves too seriously, and The Vandals had that in spades. Right from the opener 8220It8217s A Fact8221 through to closing with a ripping version of Queen8217s 8220Don8217t Stop Me Now8221 it was a full set of classics 8211 8220I8217ve Got An Ape Drape8221, 8220Live Fast Diarrhoea8221, 8220Cafe 4058221, 8220Anarchy Burger8221, 82204,3,2,1,0,-18221, 8220My Girlfriend8217s Dead8221 8211 everything was ripping. I only caught the first 20 minutes of Millencolin 8216s set, because there was no way I was going to miss the chance to see Exodus . but what I saw of them was high energy and awesome. They opened with 8220Penguins and Polarbears8221, which is one of my two fave tracks by them, so I was a happy dude. Exodus had Zetro back on vocals and were amazing. Great mix of old and new tracks, 8220Blood In, Blood Out8221, 8220War is my Shepherd8221, 8220The Toxic Waltz8221, 8220Children of a Worthless God8221, they demonstrated why they8217ve stood the test of time and are one of the greatest thrash bands to have ever existed (in my eyes anyway). Judas Priest need no introduction. Priest were probably my biggest drawcard for the weekend, I8217ve been a fan since I was about 7 years old. They played a great selection of tracks stretching across 8216Turbo8217, 8216British Steel8217, 8216Defenders of the Faith8217, 8216Screaming For Vengeance8217 and their new record, 8216Redeemer of Souls8217. Rob Halford is one of the greatest frontmen ever, and their live set and stage show (including a Harley on stage for 8220Hellbent for Leather8221) was perfect. Interestingly, we also saw some dude stop watching the show, put his backpack on the ground, pull out an Andy McNabb paperback, read a few pages, put it back, and wander off. In the pit. Australians can be a different breed. That8217s pretty much the end of day 1. I saw the first few tracks of Smashing Pumpkins while having a feed, and thought to myself 8220something8217s missing8221. The I realised that what was missing was James Iha, Darcy Wretzky, and Jimmy Chamberlain. Brad Wilk (ex-RATM) on sticksman duties couldn8217t even save it. In my opinion they sounded flat and dull, like a band going through the motions to get paid. Disappointing, as I loved Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie back in the day (and still do now). Checked out a bit of Fall Out Boy as well, but by that stage the heat and tiredness were starting to get to everyone, so we headed off home. Day 2 was always going to be a shorter day for me. We rocked up in time for Fear Factory. I8217ve been a fan since 8216Demanufacture8217, and missed their last couple of NZ shows due to poor timing on my part, so I was stoked to see them live. Again, a wicked set, good mix of old and new, with the last 4 songs being the first 4 off of 8216Remanufacture8217 8211 8220Demanufacture8221, 8220Self Bias Resistor8221, 8220Zero Signal8221 and closing with a stomping version of 8220Replica8221. Straight after that was Ministry . Again, another band I was stoked to see. Al Jourgensen8217s autobiography, 8220Ministry: The Lost Gospels According To Al Jourgensen 8221 is one of the best rock bio8217s I8217ve ever read, I think 8216Filth Pig8217 is one of the greatest records of all time, and I8217ve got fond memories attached to the 8216Psalm 69 8216 record. Live renditions of 8220NWO8221 and 8220Just One Fix8221 were particularly awesome. Dragonforce brought the power metal something massive. I saw them in 2006 with original vocalist ZP Theart, and his replacement Marc Hudson is no slouch either. They belted out a solid set of old and new, with the highlight for me being the thumping closer of 8220Through The Fire and Flames8221. I saw both Faith No More and Soundgarden at the height of their popularity in the mid 908217s, so I figured I8217d check out Atreyu . I loved their old records, particularly 8216The Curse 8216 and 8216A Death Grip On Yesterday 8216, and their set seemed like the perfect way to round out the night 8211 including a rip-roaring cover of Bon Jovi8217s 8220You Give Love a Bad Name8221. I8217m not that keen on the new stuff they8217ve put out since coming off 8220hiatus8221, but the set was predominantly old stuff, and super tight. Open air festivals are a great way of ticking bands off the bucket list, and who knows 8211 you might come across something new that you dig. One of our crew ventured off to check out Tonight Alive and assured us that they were fantastic, so I8217ll be adding them to my 8220stuff to check out8221 list for next time. The Auckland leg of the Australian-based Laneway Festival has rapidly become New Zealand8217s best show-case festival of indie music. Pretty much every year the line-up in of guitar-pop cooks, and each year the range of acts has expanded to encapsulate a lot of interesting music. Notable has been the expansion of the array of electronic music and hip-hop heavy-hitters. An aerial shot of Laneway Auckland at Silo Park I definitely didn8217t take and definitely don8217t own. As well as having a hot line-up Laneway is probably one of the better organised festivals, especially for one that8217s slap-bang in the middle of downtown Auckland where nothing usually works properly. With an array of actually edible foods on sale and almost enough porta-loos, it sets in apart from most other rock festivals I8217ve attended. The crowd is usually pretty chill and relatively shirtless-douchebag-free. Sure, the 8216drink buying8217 exchange-your-cash-for-tickets-and-your-ticket-for-drinks carry-on is fucking idiotic but I think this has more to do with the pearl-clutching, Tutt-Tuttarati at the Council than it does with the actual festival organisers. Laneway has its critics, sure, and the people who aren8217t couching their criticisms in asinine cat-calls of 8216hipsters8217, 8216man-buns8217 and 8216I like real music, like Pearl Jam8217 sometimes have a point. Laneway has sometimes tried to be all things to all people, and what some people have called 8216variation8217 and 8216choice8217 can be seen as 8216maybe not focusing on being, say, an indie festival.8217 Also, their line-up in 2014, probably the best in my opinion, was show-cased poorly. This poor show-casing saw massive hip-hop acts Run the Jewels and Danny Brown being relegated to playing a stage that was effectively the size of someone8217s front yard and also led to the wistful folk music of Cat Power following electro-pop mega-hit band Chvrches to close the festival. Not ideal. 20158217s festival ironed out some of these show-casing concerns (In fact, they literally ironed out one of them the mounds of dirt which created an amphitheatre at the too-small Cactus Cat Stage were flattened to create easier access and more space). The organisers in 2015 finally managed to get their hands around the throat of the snake known as 8216running out of booze8217. They slowly suffocated this snake by gradually limiting the time and the amounts of booze they could sell, and clearly advertising what was going on to the punters. How8217s that for a metaphor There were roughly the same amount of toilets, sure, but the festival vastly expanded the range of things you could intestinally-process and dump in them 8211 the range of different foods on offer bordered on the 8216lets-make-funny-jokes-about-hipsters-and-their-wacky-diet8217 territory. While I like hot-dogs on sticks, I appreciate lots of other people want more range and Laneway offered it aplenty. They weren8217t about to run out of kale. Not on their watch. While I8217ll get to specifics about the acts that played in my next blog post. I8217ll say that over-all the festival was probably a little bit less up-beat or poppy than previous years. There was no massive electronic pop groups, or much in terms of loud, fast rock. This isn8217t entirely a criticism some of the quirkier, quieter acts were among the better ones. Stand-outs acts Well, okay, if you want. Obviously, Future Islands. But of course you were expecting this. Surprise stand-outs however, Perfect Pussy, Little Dragon and Vic Mensa however8230were you expecting that No. So shut up. Royal Blood brought the rock, and Flying Lotus brought the 8216weird idea for a closing act8217 and over-all Laneway 2015 was off the proverbial hook. Also, so you don8217t have to take my some-what dodgy word for it, keep up to date for NEXT year8217s Laneway Festivals so you can get off your arse and go yourself.
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