Tag Archives: tony gao

Louie & Having Trouble Speaking

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This week, we’re talking about the latest season of Louie! Tony returns to discuss the FX dramedy by Louis CK, relationships with women, romance & communication, long takes, and our favourite episodes this season. We also comment on the guest stars, the creepy/brilliant Todd Barry, and shout-out Nathan For You and Review. And fittingly, Earl is incapable of making coherent ideas and sentences together all recording. (Spoilers on season 4.)

Guests:
Tony Gao – “Try again”

Audio notes: (54min. runtime)
00:45 – Season finale, the whole series, short & long stories, relationships with women, and questioning continuity
12:15 – Dream-like qualities, long takes, cinematography, and being critical
21:35 – Pamela, Nice Guys™, people complementing each other, communication, and long arcs
34:05 – The intro, being tongue-tied, favourite episodes, Janet, and Marc Maron
45:55 – Todd Barry, integrating short stories with long arcs, Nathan For You, Review, and season rankings

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E3 2014 & The State of Video Games

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Tony Gao returns for another round of E3 discussion! We discuss our issues with the bombastic conferences, the latest game reveals, Nintendo turning the tide again, and the deluge of sequels and remakes being announced. We also get into Uncharted, getting a WiiU or a 3DS, no women allowed in AC: Unity, and Kojima’s self-indulgence. And somehow, Earl manages to turn The Last Guardian’s death into a fitting symbol for the lack of innovation in the industry.

Guests:
Tony Gao – “Electronic Excrement Expo”

Audio notes: (1hr. 1min. runtime)
01:10 – The conferences, Sunset Overdrive, Aisha Tyler, and The Division
09:05 – Assassins Creed, Unity & no women characters, Watch Dogs, Mass Effect, LittleBigPlanet 3, and Metal Gear Solid
21:40 – Nintendo, “the plague of Call of Duty”, Splatoon, getting a WiiU or 3DS, Xenoblade, and The Last Guardian
34:00 – Bloodborne, Grim Fandango & remakes, Uncharted 4, and No Man’s Sky
48:35 – Sequels, indie ideas in AAA games, what Last Guardian means for the industry, and Nintendo’s creative niche

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The Black Keys, Turn Blue, & Rock Bands

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This week we get the band back together to talk about The Black Keys and their latest album, Turn Blue! Tony and Brent discuss their discography, Danger Mouse, and make warranted (but also unwarranted) comparisons to other contemporary bands. We also start a new hashtag trend, connect the band to Linkin Park, and pick on Brent, who redefines the meaning of turning blue.

Guests:
Tony Gao – “#fuckdangermouse”
Brent Peckham – “Completely listenable”

Audio notes: (55min. runtime)
04:25 – Album thoughts, “the Danger Mouse effect”, and EDM
15:10 – Favourite releases, album lengths, and how often we listen to the Black Keys
20:55 – Favourite songs, being a live act, Danger Mouse pt.2, and influences from older bands
29:45 – Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Damon Albarn, and Gorillaz
45:55 – The White Stripes, similar trajectories, returning to roots, and incorporating new sounds

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Late Night Tales

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This week we’re getting into Late Night Tales! Earl, Brent, and Tony talk about the long-running music compilation series, discuss the format, pick their personal favourites, and offer up their own fantasy draft of musicians to try making an album. They also get into listening to singles vs. albums, and Earl tries his hand at making a mixtape in the same style as Late Night Tales, with interesting results. Like their motto, this is worth staying up for, so check it out!

Guests:
Brent Peckham – “For Pleasure”
Tony Gao – “No Theme”

Supplementary notes:
Official Site / Youtube Channel
Late Night Tales: Philler – Soundcloud / Youtube
Late Night Tales: ‘Perfect Comedown Music’ – Interview

Audio notes: (1hr. 9min. runtime)
0:01:25 – Intro to Late Night Tales, the compilation format, and unique albums with every artist
0:15:55 – Tony’s listened albums, our LNT pick, Earl’s favourites, and custom mixtapes
0:27:10 – Brent’s disliked albums, continuous mixes, and album talk
0:35:05 – Categorizing the albums, thematic continuity, and curve-ball song choices
0:44:50 – Listening to singles vs. albums, getting hooked to songs, and track burnout
0:50:40 – LNT fantasy draft, and not using popular/mainstream songs
0:58:48 – LateNightTales: Philler
1:03:30 – How to get into the series

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Final Fantasy

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This week we’re talking about the Final Fantasy series! With FFXIV in full swing, and Lightning Returns now released, Earl brings in Brent and Tony to talk about the long-running game series, with Stephen jumping on-board a little later. They talk about Tony’s involvement with the Official Strategy Guide, Brent’s impression of the updated MMO, among a ton of other things. They also end up talking about the ridiculous names for titles, and offer Square-Enix some spin-off game ideas. (Very light spoilers, or some so old they don’t matter anymore.)

Guests:
Brent Peckham – “Brently Default”
Tony Gao – “Unredacted: Gao’s Fortune”
Stephen Hanek – “The Late of Us”

Supplementary notes:
Lightning Returns: Complete Official Strategy Guide
Unsong Story – Kickstarter

Audio notes: (1hr. 10min. runtime)
0:00:55 – The FFXIII-3 strategy guide, what’s interesting about the series, and FFXIV
0:08:45 – FFXIII’s story, lead designers & ideologies, Stephen appears, and FF’s problems
0:20:35 – Battle system, FFXV & Kingdom Hearts, and nomenclature
0:27:50 – Unsung Story, Bravely Default, spin-offs, and solving franchise issues
0:36:10 – FFXIII, how Tony worked on the guide, and story vs. gameplay
0:44:10 – Mystic Quest, completionists, FFT, Fire Emblem, and Valkyria Chronicles
0:54:25 – FF13 trilogy, time travel, Crazy Chocobo, FF10, and villains
0:59:35 – Franchise’s future, lack of identity, and going mobile
1:02:40 – Series’ successors, MMOs, F2Ps, RPG issues, and money

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Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!
Follow us (@AKOPPodcast) or email us at akop@phillerworks.com!

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