Powet.tv has through an insider source come across a promotional video for the next Guitar Hero game. In an effort to combat the announcement of Beatles Rock Band, Activision is doing a game based on the music of Beatallica.
We bring you this video exclusively on Powet.TV!

Ok, so it’s not so much an “Obscure Find”, as it is a “You Need to Take a Look” feature, especially for those of you who are, like me, huge fans of video game music.

Overclocked Remix is a site dedicated to the remastering and reinventing of previously-composed video game music. It’s not a newbie to the internet and has been around for almost a decade, bringing together gamers and musicians and combining the respective loves of each into a community of enthusiasts dedicated to finding new ways of spinning old classics and new classics alike in the realm of game music. Eventually, what began as individual musicians making individual remixed tracks from all sorts of games, spawned into groups of the independents combining forces to produce remixes of entire game soundtracks. Hence, OCR Albums came about.

Many great game albums have been recomposed by some of the best OCR has to offer. Classic soundtracks came about, such as “Hedgehog Heaven” – a remix of the entire Sonic the Hedgehog 2 soundtrack and “Relics of Chozo” for the Super Metroid soundtrack. My personal favorite has to be “Project Chaos“, an entire remixing the the Sonic 3 & Knuckles game album.

Overclocked managed to gain some heavy notoriety with their site albums when their remix project of the Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix was actually featured as the in-game soundtrack for the release, featuring the ultra-talent of individuals like José E. Felix, Shael Riley, and even big-wigs such as site head David Lloyd and his trusty sidekick (err, fellow staffer) Andrew Aversa.

With the most recent release of “Summoning of Spirits“, an arrangement of the Tales of music soundtracks, these site-wide project album of OCR’s are most definately an Obscure Find you’ll want to check out.

Warning: the following video is NOT safe for work!

The Lonely Island released their first CD this week, and I considered doing a review to tell you all how funny it is, but I’m afraid my review would be me repeating lines and laughing for 5 minutes.
So with that in mind, watch the above video and then buy the CD.

In another kick-back to the beauty of retro gaming, I was called to the attention of a interesting little pocket of nostalgic gold not too long ago – a quaint little album of independently-created fan covers of Sega Genesis music.

LOSER: A Sega Genesis Tribute Album is a collection of fan-made tracks from several of the popular games from the 16-bit era that graced the Genesis console. A wide range of classic and not-so-classic game music from several Genesis games are covered on the album, from the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog, Ecco The Dolphin, Golden Axe, and even John Madden Football. Arrangements come in all sorts of flavors, from totally remastered melodies to those barely above chiptune-level.

Granted, while I may not agree that the Genesis was a “loser” in the 16-bit war of the 1990’s, I do appreciate the fact that a few brave souls managed to gather together to give the console its proper due – even if their choice of titling sucks.

Check out the album – LOSER Website

“Shackler’s Revenge” from Rock Band 2

The unbelievable and unreal is about the occur. Guns N Roses will release their first album of new material since 1991 on November 23, 2008, exclusive to Best Buy. The only original member is Axl Rose, with fellow founding members Slash and Duff Mckagan moving to other projects long ago. Those hoping for the retro lineup should grab their debut album “Appetite For Destruction” when its re-released on vinyl LP on October 28.
Read more at Billboard, or on the ridiculously long Chinese Democracy Wiki

This is the latest in Powet Editor Zac Shipley’s series on video game culture in Madison, WI for TheDailyPage.

Rock Band 2 retains title as the Golden God of music games
Music and video games have been naturally complimentary since the latter became complex enough to emit more than a single beep. Rhythm games have allowed players to experience music by tapping out beats on controllers, using dance pads, or even shaking maracas. But there has been no game as successful at simulating the truly American art form of rock ‘n’ roll as Rock Band. >More

Ever wanted to make your own block-rockin rap beats? Can’t afford thousands of dollars worth of studio equipment? Got a PSP? Well, Eidos has something for you. Traxxpad basically places a sequencer, sampler, and drum machine in the palm of your hand. The learning curve is a bit steep (especially if you are unfamiliar with music-creation software), but the disc is divided up into four basic functions. You lay down samples in the R.T.I.S.T editor, use the M.E.L.O.D to adjust their pitch and volume, and use the S.T.A.C to combine sequences and create a track. The Myxxer is basically a portable jam session, which makes it best for experimenting with the different samples. You can create tracks, export them as MP3s, or just save them to edit later. The WAV editor can be used to trim and crop your sounds, and you can use a PSP microphone to record vocals. Traxxpad contains over 1000 samples to use, and many of them have been supplied by outside producers and labels such as Sha-Money Management, Traxxamillion, and even Psychopathic Records (of ICP fame). The samples have been organized into sound banks, which you can load up and switch between at any time. You can even swap out samples from one bank and create a custom sound bank for whatever you need. There is a variety of different instruments, bass lines, and vocal effects, so if you’re creative, then you can come up with just about anything. Of course, seeing as how this is a PSP and not a computer, the limited controls will present some interface issues. Navigation through the menus is tricky, and there is a steep learning curve. The instruction book contains a brief tutorial, so you’d be wise to follow that before jumping in to the game.

Even with the steep learning curve, Traxxpad is an impressive piece of material. You’ll have to spend a lot of time with it to get the most out of it, but when you learn its ins and outs, the interface will become second nature, and you’ll be making dope tracks in little time at all. This PSP disc is quite powerful when it comes to the options you have available for making beats. There are better and more complex tools out there for producers-in-training (especially on the computer), but for beginners and seasoned veterans alike, Traxxpad is a good way to start out.

Directed by Takashi Murakami, this is the animated music video for the opening track of Kanye West’s album “Graduation”

Do note an appearance by one of our Top 5 Movie Cars!