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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 21, 2012 21:35:03 GMT -5
How about Hobgoblins followed by Village of the Giants ? Or maybe The Sinister Urge . Very funny. Why not throw in The Violent Years and Horrors of Spider Island, too? It's better than learning about it on the playground.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 21, 2012 0:00:36 GMT -5
Have you heard this album, Mod? I thought they're first two were okay. They showed glimmers of genius, but still too much in the hair metal style for me. This one is a progressive masterpiece. I don't want to call it a rock opera because it's not really telling a narrative story like other rock operas. It's more dealing with deep philosophical questions like a rock epic poem; or like, you know, actual opera. Which makes me keep thinking about the Queen connection, since they approached this stuff in a similar way.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 20, 2012 23:23:55 GMT -5
My kids love the show, but rarely make it through an entire episode in one sitting. They also love "The Day the Earth Froze", so that's a great one to start with. Ditto "Jack Frost".
I asked my 9-year-old what his favorite MST episode was and without hesitation, he shouted, "PUMA MAN!" I've also gotten a lot of mileage out of "The Giant Gila Monster" and "The Painted Hills" with them.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 20, 2012 20:48:56 GMT -5
I still think Resident Evil: Afterlife was the worst movie I've seen in at least a decade. Every minute of every scene was a complete cliche and total rip-off of a better action movie. Mockable in its entirety.
I also think Battle Los Angeles would make for a great riffing project.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 20, 2012 17:05:16 GMT -5
4. Color Me Blind
We continue on with the first movement of the album, this time turning our attention to racism. "Color Me Blind" (not to be confused with Color Me Badd) keeps the heavy rock train moving at full blast.
The Music: This one is a straight-ahead, driving pop metal number, based around a great riff and amazing harmonies. There's some Beatles in the harmonies, but the chunky riff is all metal. Nuno has a ton of harmonic screams on this one. The way he creatively noodles around the chords differently in each verse is so stinkin' impressive.
I've been asked before if I like Progressive Rock as a genre, or just certain bands. I like THIS kind of prog rock. It's straightforward, melodic pop, but the playing underneath it is far better than the simple song merits. The technical prowess in the solo, in the chord voicings, in the harmonies, and in the way the song is arranged is so mind-blowing that I forget I'm listening to what is probably the weakest song on the album.
The Lyrics: The idea behind the lyrics is a good one, and it fits the theme of this part of the album. However, the sentiment and depth is pure 1992: "Picture the world minus a rainbow...I don't understand why we fight with our brother, color me blind just to love one another." It's a simple song with simplistic lyrics.
One fun allusion, however, is to MLK's "dream" speech. "I had a dream I was looking over the mountain, but I've yet to see the so-called promised land." It's not great, but it introduces the MLK thread which pops up again and reaches an amazing zenith just a few songs later.
Favorite Moment: Nuno's noodling under the second verse.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 20, 2012 13:57:05 GMT -5
I vastly prefer the KTMA season to season 1. I also tend to prefer it to season 10. Mostly because the movies were far more interesting and watchable. I know the riffing wasn't up to par with later years, but I prefer to sit through "The Last Chase" or "Hangar 18" or "Superdome" or "Million Eyes of Su-Maru" over "Mad Monster" or "The Corpse Vanishes" or "Squirm" or "Blood Waters of Dr. Z" 100 times out of 100.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 18, 2012 21:44:56 GMT -5
There seems to be this thing were people who champion Godfather as the #1, have to pipe in that Kane is clinically great, but not entertaining for modern audiences. I find that odd. I have my issues with Kane, but the story is very powerful and entertaining. I found the Godfather to be dull as paint. Am I not a modern audience? Nice list you got here. Needs more Coen Brothers.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 17, 2012 19:08:20 GMT -5
I KNOW #10! I KNOW #10!
Should I break sirhamhat's reign of terror quest for perfection?
Yes. I shall.
It's the one and only Big Stupid from The Girl In Lovers Lane, Brett Halsey.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 16, 2012 10:16:43 GMT -5
I'm not at all surprised by the Broncos loss. We played over our heads with inspired but inconsistent QB play, won an incredible playoff game in exciting fashion, only to be blown out by a vastly superior team. It was exactly like Elway's first 3 Super Bowl runs. I guess 45-10 isn't as bad as 55-10 in SB XXIV, but it felt eerily similar to that game.
The 4 teams that are left are all teams I dislike. I'll enjoy the games, but I have no rooting interest anymore. I don't really want to see any of them win.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 13, 2012 1:02:21 GMT -5
I was wondering when you were gonna put this awesome entry from your blog into the music section - it deserved a permanent home somewhere. I enjoyed going back a year later to read what I wrote. It also brought me back to some songs I haven't listened to since I wrote all of this. Not too long ago, they released remixes on box sets of all of the albums, with new interviews on the making of each album. Those interviews have turned up on YouTube, and I found myself staying up until 3 AM the other night watching them. Here's a good one to start with: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx3Tg2Kg4g4
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 12, 2012 13:12:36 GMT -5
You know, I don't even mind that sirhamhat is running away with this contest. I'm enjoying your back-and-forth here. Keep going.
I have no idea who that is, so I'll just guess...the girl from Earth vs. the Spider.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 10, 2012 16:31:15 GMT -5
3. Politicalamity
We are now immersed in the first movement of the triple album, focused on the critique of world philosophies. "Politicalamity" is a simple commentary on how corruption shows no ideological preference. Dictatorships, democracies, monarchies, it doesn't matter when the leaders (and even the voters) are cut from the same selfish cloth. Basically a song that's as true now as in 1992, and will be proven true again and again in every campaign season.
The Music: This is a funky one. It opens with a wah-wah intro and run on the chorus melody. Very Hendrix. Then the rhythm section kicks in under the main riff. There's also a horn section and some crispy '70s funk guitar reminiscent of Kool & the Gang and/or The Ohio Players. Extreme always considered themselves funk-metal, and from the bass & guitar angle, I can see it. The problem is that Paul Geary might be the whitest, unfunky drummer who ever played. At first listen, I'm convinced that the drums on this whole album are programmed or played on midi pads. There are no dynamics in the drums. None. Every snare hit is the same volume on the whole album. There are no grace notes, the fills are all too exact, and the cymbals all sound identical. But then you watch Geary on live footage, and you realize, that's how he plays. They're clearly influenced by Queen, and Roger Taylor is the gold standard of boring, rigid, yet effective drumming. So maybe it's intentional. I love the riff on this song, and I very much enjoy the funky arrangement and horn section. I just wish the drumming was more Motown and less Casio.
I also notice again here just how melodic Nuno's guitar work is. For someone who could shred with the best of them (and sometimes does), he also has the ability to make memorable simple phrases. He holds back when he needs to and lets the hook do the work. Then, when he turns up the musicianship, it's a complement to the piece, not a distraction. Just listen to the simple, yet memorable, melody of the guitar solo here. Not a lot of notes, just the right ones.
The Lyrics: There's not much here that requires explanation. Like the first two songs, there's a criticism of war, but this time the finger is pointed at the political ideologues who drive it. Throughout the album, there are allusions to Beatles' lyrics (or Lennon's "Give peace a chance" on the last song), and Biblical concepts and verses. Jesus said that an increase in "wars and rumors of wars" was a sign of the end times (Matthew 24). That's the first line of this song, and a foreshadowing of where the album will end up by the time it's finished. It's not unique or original for a band to have a rant against warring governments, but how many would come up with the imagery of the lyric, "Donkeys, bears, and elephants all paper trained on parliament"?
Favorite Moment: I love how the chorus melody (referenced in the opening guitar riff & the horns throughout) overlaps with the main guitar riff. There's great contrary motion between them, something the majority of bands would never come up with, and the majority of listeners might never notice.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 9, 2012 20:10:15 GMT -5
Yet another Downfall parody, but it made me laugh. This is how I imagined all of the "NFL experts" and Tebow haters acting last night. (Merrill Hoge, Bomani Jones, Dan Patrick, Cris Carter, Steve Young, Stephen A. Smith, Rodney Harrison, Howie Long, Jim Rome, Brian Urlacher, every Deadspin writer & commenter, and so on.)
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 9, 2012 18:17:58 GMT -5
I've been a Broncos fan since I was born. My first childhood memory was the night the Broncos beat the Raiders in the AFC Championship on their way to Super Bowl XII. I'm a Tebow supporter, but I'd like to think I have a realistic view of his abilities. For 11 seconds yesterday, I was hopping around the room, shouting at the top of my lungs "GO! GO! GO!", and thinking, "I can't believe what I'm watching." Going into that game, I thought they had a 0% chance of winning. I think they have even less chance of beating the Patriots. Even if (when) Brady & Gonzalez & Gronkowski put up 50 points on them, I consider this season a dramatic success. The expectations have been overwhelmingly surpassed. We really having nothing to lose at this point. Does that make you nervous, DW?
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jan 9, 2012 11:27:05 GMT -5
Moon Zero Two
Definitely my favorite season 1 episode. The movie is one of the best ones they did on the show; the moon and outer space sequences were very well done and believable. Fun fact I learned this time: Catherine Schell, the lead actress who is very easy on the eyes, was also in Space:1999 and was a Bond girl. I'm shocked that the last fact isn't on MJ's review site. Then again, it was the Lazenby Bond, so maybe it doesn't count.
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