Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Thursday, December 9, 2021
Listmas 2021: Weird Albums
"Weird Al" Yankovic is my favorite musicsl artist of all time. I saw him live twice, shook the man's hand once (and totally choked), and he remains a big part of my entertainmrnt life. I had to devote a full Listmas entry to him.
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Listmas 2021: Music
Welp, as long as I get twelve of these done by Christmas, I'll consider any schedule slippage a mulligan.
Anyway, this one is kind of a toughie since it's been so difficult for me to just stop and listen to music lately. Still, here is what I have for my Music Lists.
A * indicates a potential point of contention and/or future change
Saturday, December 24, 2016
The Twelve Lists of Listmas
Tonight is both Christmas Eve and the First Night of Hannukah. So here are Twelve new and updated Lists of my favorite things because if anyone is still reading after the various long periods of silence knows, it's that I'm self-indulgent like that.
Plus, I'd like to keep up for posterity how things have changed, even if its as minuscule as slight reordering.
Plus, I'd like to keep up for posterity how things have changed, even if its as minuscule as slight reordering.
Monday, October 31, 2016
Lame Claim to Fame
Friday, January 15, 2016
Bewitching the Mind and Ensnaring the Senses.
This week we lost not one, but two entertainment greats. Each are deserving of their own post, but I decided to put them together because of the shocking fact that the reports of their passing are interchangeable:
"Dead at 69, after a long battle with cancer, surrounded by family and friends."
And I had no idea either of them were even sick.
While the title of this post is a direct quote from a character played by one of these men, I felt it accurately described how people felt and reacted to both of them during their long and illustrious careers (well, one a bit longer than the other).
Today, we say goodbye to David Bowie and Alan Rickman.
Now, I'll admit I wasn't the biggest fan of Bowie's music - I didn't dislike it, in fact there were a couple of songs I really liked, but he was never one of my favorites. But I admired and respected what he brought to the music industry. Plus, it's weird how relevant he was to my recent life - first I play a video game where I hear his voice in my head instantly for the true final boss, then I lose a Halloween costume contest to a woman dressed as Jareth from Labyrinth. This was a shocking enough loss...
But then to hear of Alan's passing so suddenly, and the fact that as I said above it's almost exactly the same story made me think it was another one of those horrible pranks. Alas, we've lost a great voice (in more than one meaning) of film. I first saw Alan Rickman in Galaxy Quest, and have since adored him in everything I've seen him in: Dogma, Die Hard, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Love Actually, Sweeney Todd, the list goes on. It was really Alan Rickman being cast as Severus Snape in the first Harry Potter film that led me to finally checking out the books and becoming the Potter fan I am today, and it's one of his best and most fitting roles. Finally, Alan Rickman is important to me personally because of his story: He was in textiles most of his life until finally getting fed up and becoming an actor at the age of 41 - so whenever I watch people my own age or younger become superstars and start to worry about what I'm doing with my life, Alan's story reminds me it's never too late.
Goodbye, Alan and David. We'll miss you both, Always. Planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing we can do.
"Dead at 69, after a long battle with cancer, surrounded by family and friends."
And I had no idea either of them were even sick.
While the title of this post is a direct quote from a character played by one of these men, I felt it accurately described how people felt and reacted to both of them during their long and illustrious careers (well, one a bit longer than the other).
Today, we say goodbye to David Bowie and Alan Rickman.
Now, I'll admit I wasn't the biggest fan of Bowie's music - I didn't dislike it, in fact there were a couple of songs I really liked, but he was never one of my favorites. But I admired and respected what he brought to the music industry. Plus, it's weird how relevant he was to my recent life - first I play a video game where I hear his voice in my head instantly for the true final boss, then I lose a Halloween costume contest to a woman dressed as Jareth from Labyrinth. This was a shocking enough loss...
But then to hear of Alan's passing so suddenly, and the fact that as I said above it's almost exactly the same story made me think it was another one of those horrible pranks. Alas, we've lost a great voice (in more than one meaning) of film. I first saw Alan Rickman in Galaxy Quest, and have since adored him in everything I've seen him in: Dogma, Die Hard, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Love Actually, Sweeney Todd, the list goes on. It was really Alan Rickman being cast as Severus Snape in the first Harry Potter film that led me to finally checking out the books and becoming the Potter fan I am today, and it's one of his best and most fitting roles. Finally, Alan Rickman is important to me personally because of his story: He was in textiles most of his life until finally getting fed up and becoming an actor at the age of 41 - so whenever I watch people my own age or younger become superstars and start to worry about what I'm doing with my life, Alan's story reminds me it's never too late.
Goodbye, Alan and David. We'll miss you both, Always. Planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing we can do.
Friday, July 18, 2014
At the Sound of the Tone
(Originally Written for Jedi News)
There are many reasons why The Phantom Menace is my favorite
Star Wars film, but it boils down to the fact that every single thing about the
film gives me the warm fuzzies and butterflies. Even the marketing.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Mandatory Fun
Hey, Weird Al's new ALbum "Mandatory Fun is out now! I can't afford it yet, but Al's posting music videos from the record all week at his official site and elsewhere. They're awesome, check them out!
Saturday, December 7, 2013
I See Fire
As "An Unexpected Journey" solidifies itself more and more as my favorite of Peter Jackson's Middle-Earth films to date, and as I hear more hypocritical criticisms about it (too clean? Did you SEE Radagast covered in bird poo?!) and calls for "redemption," I'm convinced that Jackson's Tolkien saga is shaping up to be the new Star Wars.
I wish him all the luck in the world, I really do. The LotR films are fantastic, and in spite of what people are saying the Hobbit films are also. Yeah, I don't care if only one is out yet, I can tell. It's just a question of exactly how awesome at this point.
But I'm not exactly enamored of the prospect of having to smack people upside the head (verbally, of course) about another set of long-awaited prequels that somehow disappointed people despite doing exactly what they needed to do. And I really hope that this gets nipped in the bud before it turns into a full-on I-III situation. The positive and negative are pretty equal right now, but then again it was the same with Phantom at this point in the releases.
But I'll get into all that another time, I'm sure. Today, I wanted to talk about a specific little teaser for the upcoming "Desolation of Smaug" - The song.
I wish him all the luck in the world, I really do. The LotR films are fantastic, and in spite of what people are saying the Hobbit films are also. Yeah, I don't care if only one is out yet, I can tell. It's just a question of exactly how awesome at this point.
But I'm not exactly enamored of the prospect of having to smack people upside the head (verbally, of course) about another set of long-awaited prequels that somehow disappointed people despite doing exactly what they needed to do. And I really hope that this gets nipped in the bud before it turns into a full-on I-III situation. The positive and negative are pretty equal right now, but then again it was the same with Phantom at this point in the releases.
But I'll get into all that another time, I'm sure. Today, I wanted to talk about a specific little teaser for the upcoming "Desolation of Smaug" - The song.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Listmas 2013: Eight Crazy Nights - Fourth Candle
My music list last time was way too confusing, so this time I'm going to try and simplify it. The truth of the matter being: my music tastes are just too confusing.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
In This Town We Call Home, Everyone Hail To The Pumpkin Song
Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems,
In a place I have often seen in my dreams
For the story that you're about to be told...
...Is that Nightmare Before Christmas is 20 Years Old...this month....
In a place I have often seen in my dreams
For the story that you're about to be told...
...Is that Nightmare Before Christmas is 20 Years Old...this month....
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
Doing Some Right by Layla
How the hell did I miss "Layla"?
When I did my Twelve Days of Listmas entry on Music, somehow, some way, I left "Layla" by Derek and the Dominoes off the list.
Now, I'm not a huge fan of most of Clapton's work, talented as he is. I'm even less of a fan of some of the things he's done in his personal life, including the inspiration for this very song.
But my god, that riff from "Layla" gives me eargasms like few other things can. Definitely in my top ten favorite compositions, almost certainly the top non-instrumental.
Why do I bring this up now and not in my updated list later this year? Only because I just discovered this the other day
It's hardly new; I think I read somewhere that it was from the 80s. But I had to share this with you all just in case some of you haven't heard it yet. This is a brilliant and beautiful adaptation. WHY is this not in an action scene from a movie? No, seriously, why?
When I did my Twelve Days of Listmas entry on Music, somehow, some way, I left "Layla" by Derek and the Dominoes off the list.
Now, I'm not a huge fan of most of Clapton's work, talented as he is. I'm even less of a fan of some of the things he's done in his personal life, including the inspiration for this very song.
But my god, that riff from "Layla" gives me eargasms like few other things can. Definitely in my top ten favorite compositions, almost certainly the top non-instrumental.
Why do I bring this up now and not in my updated list later this year? Only because I just discovered this the other day
It's hardly new; I think I read somewhere that it was from the 80s. But I had to share this with you all just in case some of you haven't heard it yet. This is a brilliant and beautiful adaptation. WHY is this not in an action scene from a movie? No, seriously, why?
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Birthday 2013 Post-Mortem
I used to really look forward to my birthdays because everyone would go all-out on presents for me when I usually couldn't acquire things the rest of the year. As I've gotten older and money has gotten tighter from everywhere, I can't count on it like I used to. But that's okay, because when I do get something, no matter how small, it means all that much more.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
50 Ways to Say Goodbye: The Geek Version
That's cool but if my friends ask where you are I'm gonna say...
Labels:
Books,
Brain Vomit,
Comics,
Movies,
Music,
Video Games
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Missed Anniversary: The Beatles on Ed Sullivan
I just wanted to give a shout out to an anniversary I missed last month, because I usually focus on movies and, once in a while, TV shows and video games. However, back in February was a milestone of a different sort: the 50th anniversary of the first US appearence of The Beatles.
Watching that old Ed Sullivan show really puts things in perspective. It's very much like modern boy bands - because that's exactly what the Beatles were, at first. What seperated them, aside from proficiency with their instruments of course, was how they would spend the rest of the decade totally revolutionizing the way music is written, recorded, and listened to.
But even then, you could see the talent and charm that would make them hands down the biggest musical act of all time, as well as one of my personal favorite bands. If only they hadn't burned out so quickly...
Watching that old Ed Sullivan show really puts things in perspective. It's very much like modern boy bands - because that's exactly what the Beatles were, at first. What seperated them, aside from proficiency with their instruments of course, was how they would spend the rest of the decade totally revolutionizing the way music is written, recorded, and listened to.
But even then, you could see the talent and charm that would make them hands down the biggest musical act of all time, as well as one of my personal favorite bands. If only they hadn't burned out so quickly...
Monday, December 31, 2012
December Wrap-Up and the Future of Anniversary Reviews
When I started the Anniversary Reviews, it was because of two things. First, I wanted to celebrate those pieces of media that I truly love. I also wanted an excuse to write every so often and not let the blog fade away because I was busy.
Well, the Jedi News deal has taken care of problem number 2, almost too well. I find I don't have the time or patience for the Anniversary Reviews as they were conceived. You've noticed they've been scaled back and back for a while. Well, here's how it's going to be from now on:
1. Every month, I will make a big post with some notable (to me) anniversaries of things that were released that month.
2. A particular piece of media will only get its own post if it's on the Top 20 list and/or I have a lot to say about it.
Well, the Jedi News deal has taken care of problem number 2, almost too well. I find I don't have the time or patience for the Anniversary Reviews as they were conceived. You've noticed they've been scaled back and back for a while. Well, here's how it's going to be from now on:
1. Every month, I will make a big post with some notable (to me) anniversaries of things that were released that month.
2. A particular piece of media will only get its own post if it's on the Top 20 list and/or I have a lot to say about it.
Friday, December 21, 2012
The Twelve Days of Listmas Day 8: Music!
We're in the final five, and today we discuss what I like to blast through my headphones!
Friday, December 14, 2012
Kharah Matah, Kharah Rath Amah
(Originally written for Jedi News. Check out the new article collection link at the end of their version!)
This is a season of joy and giving, regardless of what religious denomination you are (if indeed you have any at all). In this spirit, this week’s article will be strictly celebratory.
Music unites the world. Like the Force, it surrounds us and binds us. It makes us feel like luminous beings amidst crude matter. Like all art, music is subjective, and we can’t always explain what moves us and why.
Friday, August 17, 2012
The Prisoner Who Now Stands Before You Was Caught Red-Handed Showing Feelings
One movie you should never watch in the dark is now 30 years old.
Pink Floyd: The Wall: The Movie.
Pink Floyd: The Wall: The Movie.
Labels:
Animation,
Anniversary,
Movies,
Music,
Pink Floyd,
Review,
The Wall
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