tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62054221912445406082024-02-18T18:37:43.843-08:00In My Life...Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-23844009844329824682012-11-01T09:20:00.001-07:002012-11-01T09:20:44.682-07:00Muse: The 2nd LawWelcome back Muse!<br />
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If I had to pick my favorite band on the planet, I'd definitely be Muse. So I was very excited to pick up their new album when it came out October 2nd. Before I even heard a song on the album though, I heard about the, for lack of a better word, controversy surrounding it. I say controversy in the sense that some fans were upset with the direction the band was taking. One thing about Muse that I love that you'll always hear me talk about is their constant evolution and progression. They have this unquenchable thirst when it comes to music, they refuse to settle. To me a complacent band is a boring band. So I was actually pretty excited when I heard people talking (some of them angrily...) about this new sound Muse was unleashing on The 2nd Law. Unfortunately to some fans and critics they will forever refer to this album as the album that "Muse went dubstep". A completely unfair and wrong critique...<br />
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Muse gets compared to Queen a lot (a favorite band of mine). The more reviews I read about Muse though, especially with this album, the more I realize that the comparisons are dead on, but not necessarily because of the layered harmonies and overdubs (that helps and Muse does it with a nice nod to Queen, but in no way rips them off). It is actually the fact that the critics don't seem to get Muse, much like the critics back in the 70s and 80s never really got Queen. Critics (not all, but many) lashed out at Queen for their sound, their theatrics, wardrobe and tongue in cheek nature. They didn't get it. Queen never conformed to the standard "rock sound" of the time. Queen used the studio like an instrument, and were constantly evolving and changing. Critics never had a chance to catch up. Now Queen, rightfully so, are seen as the innovators and geniuses that they always were.<br />
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Enter Muse. Their sound is unlike anybody else out there today. So while their vocal harmonies and touch of theatrics evokes comparisons to Queen, the real comparisons is the fact that most critics just don't get it. Now I don't want to make it seem that every Muse album is trashed by the critics. Not at all. What I'm trying to get across is that I don't feel that people are seeing Muse as the real innovators that they are. Their albums are a continuous evolving piece that leaves hints of where it's going to go as it charges along. Case in point, their last album The Resistance. There was a song on there called, <i><b>Undisclosed Desires</b></i>. It was unlike anything Muse had recorded up to that point, it involved electric drums, keytar-like instruments, and an emphasis on more electronic beats. That right there is what I believe was the prelude or birth of what would become The 2nd Law.<br />
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So how about I finally start talking about their new album?!<br />
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Well the album starts off with a bang (<b><i>Supremacy</i></b>), there is no intro for you to get a firm hold before you are launched into Muse's best attempt at writing a James Bond theme song (a damn good one I might add, I hope the producers of Bond 24 are taking notes...). It has all the hallmarks of a great Bond tune, the strings, the spy-like riffs and the exploding chorus. A great intro song and a great example of Muse starting to flex their muscles and letting you realize this isn't going to be unlike any other of their albums. This song also lets you know this album is going to be a showcase of Matt Bellamy's vocal range. He is all over the place with this song, his falsetto soaring over riffs and strings. They even go a little "thrash" towards the end (Dominic Howard, the drummer kicks ass on this song), letting themselves go completely wild. In true Bond fashion though, the song ends with a final guitar riff that is perfect.<br />
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<b><i>Madness</i></b> is one of the few songs I've heard that puts me in a trance a soon as I hear that hypnotic opening. Bassist Chris Wolstenholme is on double duty for this track with a double neck instrument, a Misa Kitara (a digital MIDI controller) on top and a headless bass on the bottom. I feel this song is a direct descendent of <b><i>Undisclosed Desires</i></b>. This song is a triumph for Muse. They set aside the big heavy riffs, and wild falsetto vocals for a introspective song of paranoia and the effects on the relationships between people (something VERY Muse-like). The reason I bring up the trance it puts me in is because I feel like it is a setup for what happens around the midway point. An "excuse me while I kiss the sky" guitar break from Bellamy that snaps you back into reality and for I think is one of the most inspiring and cinematic endings to a Muse song ever. A complete realization from the singer that what he needs is, "to love.". We also get another soaring vocal line from Bellamy, this time in his normal register (and with a touch of falsetto toward the end). He sings the line with such conviction and emotion that you can't help but feel optimistic with a lump in your throat. Just as you feel that the song is going to explode into total hysteria and um...madness, Muse reigns it back in, and the trance is regained if only for a moment. We realize that the singer's relationship is nothing more, than madness, however detrimental or possibly beautiful, that's up to you. A real beauty of a song and possibly the song of the year for me.<br />
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So after my first listen to <b><i>Madness</i></b> I sat there in awe for a moment, only to be immediately snapped back into reality with the motha funker of an intro to the next track, <b><i>Panic Station</i></b>. This song actually does remind me of a lost track off of Queen's (see even I compare them sometimes...) 1980 album The Game (for you non Queen fans out there, it's the album with Another One Bites the Dust). This song evokes everything 80's, slap bass (Chris steals the show with his bass intro), pop brass, razor sharp synth riffs and a vocal call and response line from Bellamy. The great thing about this song is the building wall of sound that is constructed throughout and only to be eventually torn down.<br />
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The next song is "The Official Song of the 2012 Olympics". Now Muse didn't write this song specifically for the Olympics, it just happened that way. This is the song that you need to have in your iPod to help you get through that last rep or lap. It is the "Muse-iest" song on the album. What I mean by that is it is totally ridiculous, over the top, grandiose and wonderful. Muse always has these songs on their albums to show you how out of this world they can truly be (<b><i>United States of Eurasia</i></b> and <b><i>Knights of Cydonia</i></b> to name two...). The song starts with a <b><i>Prelude</i></b> which is very Muse, and is a beautiful piece of music in it's own right. What we are treated to after that is <b><i>Survival</i></b>. Bellamy wanted to get inside the mind of the athlete and find out what it is that makes them tick and want to continue to fight on. I said earlier that <b><i>Madness</i></b> was a triumph for Muse, this song is equally triumphant. The vocal line hits every note of Bellamy's range, with some notes soaring beyond belief ("Yes I'm gonna WIN!!"). The Greek-like chorus of souls chanting ("So I told you!"), counter the cheery happy piano intro. The song evolves from that intro into a full blown stadium/sports anthem. The riffs are huge, the drums are pounding and the lyrics are inspiring. The lyric that always gets me is, "And I'll reveal my strength, to the whole human race!" Being a comic book fan, that line always makes me think of a young Clark Kent realizing his powers and what he is going to become one day...a Superman. Ok, I had to throw that in...back to the album...<br />
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The next song <b><i>Follow Me</i></b> is one of the more emotional songs for Bellamy. He is a father for the first time while writing and recording this album, so naturally this is going to effect the way he writes. <b><i>Follow Me</i></b> I believe is the product of that. The song takes up to this point of the album (there's a big one later...) probably the biggest step toward the electric sound they were going for on the album. The chorus explodes and takes you into a digital landscape that Muse pulls off very well. The electronically slick feel is mixed of course with the emotionally powerful lyrics and what I considered some of Bellamy's best and most powerful vocal work at the end (which is very reminiscent of Springsteen's wails and cries at the end of Jungleland).<br />
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<b><i>Animals</i></b> is a slow bowling track that builds as it goes along. Bellamy's vocals are smooth and airy but also filled with rage. This is a song pointing the finger at the "animals" of the human race destroying the very planet they live on (i.e. the fat cats he sliced and diced on The Resistance's opener <b><i>Uprising</i></b>). It's a song that makes you wonder, how can people be capable of causing so much harm, and never having to answer for it. The cries and anger that accompanies the song's end says it all.<br />
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<b><i>Explorers</i></b> is beautifully haunting. A cliched term maybe, but very true in describing this song. The planet isn't infinite, and the themes of this song are similar to <b><i>Animals</i></b> in a way. Will it be too late when we finally realize we are abusing this planet and tapped it for everything it has to offer? This is a heavy song folks. The melody is top notch, and Bellamy completely captivates with his vocals (a common trend on this album!). I don't mean to get preachy, and never want to get political, but the themes in this song (and the overall album) are important. Read the lyrics on this one.<br />
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The next song <b><i>Big Freeze</i></b> is a driving upbeat song that slips in and out of the shadows (does that even make sense?). The intro is classic Muse. I does have a bit of Black Holes And Revelations on it, the intro, the vocals, the chorus and the lyrics. It's inspiring, and Bellamy pleads with us ("Hear me! What words just can't convey!") I love the call and response vocals throughout the song. It gives the song depth. The band is tight on this track, the guitar break is perfect and a bar away from full blown insanity.<br />
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<b><i>Save Me</i></b> is interesting for a couple reasons. The first kind of stupid reason is, the intro for a split second reminds me of Lawrence of Arabia. The second and more important is that it is Chris on vocals! He regularly tackles the back-up vocal duty like a champ, but to hear him step into the limelight and shine is something wonderful. He wrote the tune to, a personal one about his alcoholism and the people in his life that no matter what happened stayed with him throughout it all. A gem of a track and I'm very pleased Bellamy gracefully handed over the mic to Chris. The vocals are layered and never reach the absurd (not that when Muse does that it's a bad thing). A powerful song, written by the quietest member, but sung loud and clear.<br />
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That isn't the last we hear of Chris on vocals though! The very next track <b><i>Liquid State</i></b> has Chris on vocal duties again. This time his voice is a little harder edged and in your face, but still holds that melodic quality to it. This song deals with Chris' alcoholism again, and this time deals with the inner demons fighting with the sober side. The aggression works, and you can hear the struggle for freedom from the bottle. A hard rocker indeed. It's interesting that even though the song rocks, it never loses control and becomes just a generic rock track. The lyrics keep it grounded just enough.<br />
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The next song <b><i>The 2nd Law: Unsustainable</i></b> is the the track that kind of freaked out some fans, and divided others. This was the first track I heard months before the album was released when the band had a trailer put out about the upcoming album. The intro is something you'd expect to hear in an epic film directed by Christopher Nolan or Peter Jackson, aggressive strings and soaring melodies, then we are giving the definition of the 2nd law of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">thermodynamics. AH HA! It all makes sense now, the album title, the themes of the songs...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><i>All natural and technological processes proceed in such a way that the availability of the remaining energy decreases. In all energy exchanges, if no energy enters or leaves an isolated system, the entropy of that system increases. Energy continuously flows from being concentrated, to becoming dispersed, spread out, wasted, and useless. New energy cannot be created and high-grade energy is being destroyed. (THE 2ND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS)</i></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">The album and the majority of the songs are about this very definition. THE PLANET ISN'T INFINITE (sorry caps lock got stuck...). So after getting a bit of an education on thermodynamics the bands ROARS (damn caps lock...) into the most fearless choice a band has made all year, they go dubstep! The song does evolve to a more tradition rock song with Bellamy wailing over the electronic shout of "UNSUSTAINABLE" . The cool thing about this song, and the dubstep part especially is it's all done with their own instruments. Muse was interested in the idea of dubstep, and the laptop being the new amplifier and/or guitar. They wanted to see if it was possible to create that sound organically. Many scoffed at the idea, but once you hear the finished result, there isn't any doubt...Muse did what most thought was impossible. They made a smart, epic dubstep track with solely their own instruments. I'm don't listen to dubstep, so I'm kind of a fish out of water talking about the genre, but one thing I know is...it's heavy! Muse grasped on the idea of the heavy bass and huge beats and made it their own. Another HUGE triumph in their career, and the biggest step forward to a new sound and direction the band has ever taken.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">The album finishes with <b><i>The 2nd Law: Isolated Systems</i></b>. I guess what you'd call Part II of The 2nd Law Electronic Opera? Hm...sounds good to me. This strings are a bit more quiet and haunting than the biting striking strings that were heard during the intro to <b><i>The 2nd Law: Unsustainable</i></b>. Bellamy says it best, "</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">It's the noise of humanity on a tiny planet in the middle of nothing...</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">". A perfect end to the album. And a reminder perhaps?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Well that's it folks. To call this album a cinematic album is almost an understatement. It's huge, moving, haunting and brilliantly ballsy. Muse doesn't push the envelope, it shoves it out the door. I can't want to see these guys on tour, and what they decide to tackle next.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/Muse_2nd_law.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/Muse_2nd_law.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE 2nd LAW</td></tr>
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Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-87474298305753776642012-05-14T13:05:00.001-07:002012-05-14T13:05:24.679-07:00Masked Men: Big Screen "Goalies"To non-hockey fans when someone says goalie mask, what is the first thing they think of?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Jasonf.jpg/250px-Jasonf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Jasonf.jpg/250px-Jasonf.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does Crystal Lake even have a hockey team?</td></tr>
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Yes that's right. That horrible kid swimmer, turned machete wielding un-killable brut that we all know as Jason. He's single-handely brought the goalie mask to the mainstream, probably more so than any other pro hockey player ever has. It all started when the guys behind the movie wanted a new look for the previously bag headed Jason...enter Martin Jay Sadoff. He was the 3D effects supervisor (for Part III, which in every series turns into the 3D one...) and also a huge hockey fan. He had a bag of hockey equipment and pulled out a Detroit Red Wings goalie mask (Hockeytown even dictates the direction horror icons take!). It was remolded and fitted for the actor and the rest is history.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Jasonmask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Jasonmask.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original mask as seen in Part III</td></tr>
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I never really grew up on the Friday the 13th series, and even when I did become a horror fan my favorite "slasher" icon was Michael Myers. Which has nothing to do with hockey so moving right along...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.wikia.com/horrormovies/images/1/1e/Michael_Myers_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://images.wikia.com/horrormovies/images/1/1e/Michael_Myers_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HOCKEY!</td></tr>
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So what is the point of this blog? Well to discuss my origin for the love of the game, and my fascination with the goalie mask. I've already pointed out that Jason brought the goalie mask to the big screen, but it was another mask that caught my attention as a kid that led to my fascination of the goalie mask.<br />
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Ladies and gentlemen, a blast from the past...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://collider.com/wp-content/image-base/Movies/T/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles/DVD/teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_film_collection_casey_jones_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://collider.com/wp-content/image-base/Movies/T/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles/DVD/teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_film_collection_casey_jones_01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CASEY JONES!</td></tr>
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Now I realize I might be losing some of you readers right now, but I hope that the ones around my age 25-30 are being hit in the face by the nostalgic beast that is the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. I recently re-watched this (which was great fun) and realized that all this obsession with the goalie mask had little to do with watching NHL games as a kid, but from the masked vigilante Casey Jones. Which probably seems insane being a huge hockey fan now, but seeing a character like this as a kid was awesome! Before I ever saw Jason, I saw Casey high sticking and slashing punks and "lawbreakers" on the big screen and on the TV screen in the original cartoon series.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/eTiAM_Xnq3A/hqdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/eTiAM_Xnq3A/hqdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filthy LAWBREAKER!</td></tr>
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Plus the mask was really cool looking!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.wikia.com/tmnt/images/f/fd/102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://images.wikia.com/tmnt/images/f/fd/102.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hence the reason why it's my profile pic!</td></tr>
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Now in the movie (which I remember him best) he was played by Elias Koteas (as fun a performance you'll ever see) and is a former hockey pro turned vigilante. So there's a reason for the mask...and keeps this blog still having a hockey vibe...kindof. In the movie whenever he showed up, he was always doing something badass! He also got the girl in the end! He was full of one liners, and he became a great friend to the turtles. In the movie he talks about having to end his career after suffering an injury...it never really goes into details about who he played for, or what position...but me being a Red Wings fan, lets pretend he was the craziest Red Wings goalie the NHL ever saw.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.static.ovimg.com/episode/148910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://cdn.static.ovimg.com/episode/148910.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RED WINGS!</td></tr>
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What I always liked was in the original cartoon series he NEVER took off the mask. Which I always found funny. Even when he went on a job interview (note to self...). I mean, he LOVED that mask.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__8tv2laMEBk/SzvljAkiPgI/AAAAAAAAD_4/aGi9s0o4ip0/s400/Number07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__8tv2laMEBk/SzvljAkiPgI/AAAAAAAAD_4/aGi9s0o4ip0/s320/Number07.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Experiences? Hmm...hockey...baseball...golf...cricket.</td></tr>
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Another thing I always loved was he was always spouting sports references. As seen <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_6KMGB_Pkw">here</a> in his introduction in the original movie. He became a fan favorite to TMNT fans, along with the movies and tv shows, has been in comics (where he was originally introduced and created by Kevin Eastman) and had countless toys made in his likeness. He is also scheduled to be in the upcoming Ninja Turtles movie (scheduled for a 2013 release). One of the coolest things a fellow fan did was actually create a fan film based on Casey Jones! You can watch the movie <a href="http://caseyjonesthemovie.com/">here</a>. That's dedication, and pretty cool if you ask me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RdfmCNFNL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RdfmCNFNL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This might be worth something now...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111010195341/tmnt/images/thumb/f/f8/CaseyJonesTheMovieposter.jpg/308px-CaseyJonesTheMovieposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111010195341/tmnt/images/thumb/f/f8/CaseyJonesTheMovieposter.jpg/308px-CaseyJonesTheMovieposter.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shout out to Polaris Banks, director of the fan film.</td></tr>
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Anyway I thought it'd be fun to reminisce about the birth of my goalie mask obsession, which however weird has led me to admiring the sport and the men and women who stand guard between the crease.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/75/Caseyjones-tmnt10.jpg/250px-Caseyjones-tmnt10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/75/Caseyjones-tmnt10.jpg/250px-Caseyjones-tmnt10.jpg" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Wayne Gretzky...on steroids?!"</td></tr>
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So reminisce with me in the comments! Let me know who got you started with the obsession of the mask? the position? the game? And let me know if you grew up with Casey Jones like I did!Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-14307937484709418572012-05-12T15:25:00.000-07:002012-05-12T15:25:21.566-07:00Masked Men: The Phantom of the Crease<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: normal;">“There are a lot of very good goalies, there are even a fair number of great goalies. But there aren’t many important goalies. And Jacques Plante was an important goalie.” Ken Dryden</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Today's vintage goalie mask, is THE vintage goalie mask. While Plante wasn't the first to wear a mask, (Clint Benidict did to protect a broken nose for 5 games), he was the first to introduce it as regular equipment and continued to work o</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">n and perfect the mask the rest of his career. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.yourememberthat.com/files/1357474204e23646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.yourememberthat.com/files/1357474204e23646.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmm...Clint's interesting first attempt.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">The story goes...on November 1st, 1959 Jacques Plante skated into the crease to play the New York Rangers...3 minutes into the game he took a puck to the face, slicing a cut open that went from the corner of his mouth to the bottom of his nostril, and breaking his nose. 21 minutes later Jacques Plante emerged from the locker room wearing a mask that looked like it belonged as a prop on the Phantom of the Opera. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.cdn.nhle.com/canadiens/images/upload/2009/10/High%20res.%206%20x%206%20Jacques_Plante_Putting_on_Mask%20copy_std.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.cdn.nhle.com/canadiens/images/upload/2009/10/High%20res.%206%20x%206%20Jacques_Plante_Putting_on_Mask%20copy_std.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ouch.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">The Habs won the game 3-1. Plante's coach make him promise that he'd discard the mask after the cut healed, he didn't and won 18 in a row. Finally Plante's coach made him take the mask off and they lost the game that night 3-0 against Detroit. The mask returned for good the next night, and the Habs won their 5th straight Stanley Cup that year. The NHL would never be the same...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0910/nhl.scary.goalie.masks.halloween/images/jacques-plante.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0910/nhl.scary.goalie.masks.halloween/images/jacques-plante.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Phantom of the Crease.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">The era of the mask had begun, and no longer was it seen as a "sign of weakness" although some held out and never donned the signature piece of equipment, others saw it's usefulness. Plante's impact on the game of hockey and especially his beloved position can not be overstated. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0912/all-decade.nhl.top10.goalie.masks.2000s/images/josh-harding-05-06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0912/all-decade.nhl.top10.goalie.masks.2000s/images/josh-harding-05-06.jpg" width="311" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh Harding pays tribute to the greats...there's Plante's above the eye.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">The mask wasn't the only "first" or innovation he brought to the position and to the NHL. He was the first goalie to play the puck outside of his crease, which would help aid defencemen. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978, his number (1) was later retired by the Canadiens as well as being named the goaltender on their "Dream Team". </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Plante would go on to become a mentor and idol for future goalies, and continue to work at perfecting and protecting the faces of sport's most important position. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">Here are some more of his masks...a true innovator and icon.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tenderslounge.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/hhof-masks-plante-pretzel-mask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://tenderslounge.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/hhof-masks-plante-pretzel-mask.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HOF: The "Pretzel" Mask</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.classicbuffalo.com/images/HOFPlante2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.classicbuffalo.com/images/HOFPlante2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HOF: Another classic</td></tr>
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I'll leave you with one more picture. One of my favorites of Plante or any goalie. The picture says it all, the unbeatable concentrated stare, the posture, the mask...<br /><div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.nhl.com/images/upload/2009/10/Jacques-Plante6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://cdn.nhl.com/images/upload/2009/10/Jacques-Plante6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This had to have been a terrifying sight for ANY shooter.</td></tr>
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</div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-84694142196770423722012-05-01T18:29:00.000-07:002012-05-01T18:29:59.835-07:00Masked Men-An Era of Intimidation and Art<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">I’m a fan of hockey, and more specifically what I think is the hardest position in sports, the goalie. I also think that while the goalie masks of today are awesome, the masks of yesterday are true works of art and intimidation. So every so often I write about some of my favorites and the men behind the masks. Here are a few of my favorites...don't worry I'll post others on a more regular basis as well!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://arthurkade.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/bernie_parent_cover-of-time-magazine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://arthurkade.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/bernie_parent_cover-of-time-magazine.jpg" width="242" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bernie Parent on the cover of TIME</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">This one is one of the most intimidating and scary in my opinion. It was worn famously by both Bernie Parent and later Pelle Lindbergh (both Flyers). The mask itself has an open canvass, which means anything</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> can be projected on it, much like the infamous Michael Myers mask. Just look at it! All you get is the eyes (in the picture it’s Bernie Parent). And unlike the famous Jason Voorhees mask, this one is more angled and gives it a more angry vibe. Even with all the talented airbrushed artists out there, I h</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">ave yet to</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">see a mask more intimidating today. Pelle’s story is a great but also sadly tragic one. Imagine your favorite team, position and player growing up…now imagine that you get drafted by that team, play that position and are coached by that favorite player of yours! That was Pelle’s path to stardom and greatness (drafted as the Flyers goalie and coached and befriended by Bernie Parent). He went on to win the Vezina Trophy in 1985, won the Bronze at the 1980 Olympics for Sweden, and holds to distinction as being the only goalie NOT to lose to the famed 1980 USA “Miracle on Ice” team that year. Sadly he died in 1985 after sustaining injuries in a horrendous car crash. He was kept alive long enough for his organs to be donated which his coach at the time called “the greatest save” a goalie could make. He was then the first player posthumously chosen for an All-Star game in North American sports that year.</span> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goaliesarchive.com/flyers/goalie/lindbergh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.goaliesarchive.com/flyers/goalie/lindbergh.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You are officially intimidated...just try to score on Pelle.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another great vintage goalie mask. This one belongs to Gerry Cheevers. The cool thing about this mask is, every "stitch" that you see was painted on after that certain part of the mask was hit with a puck, stick or just beat up somehow. Wow, and to think goalies used to NOT wear masks.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.faniq.com/images/blog/tumblr_ljg7hugIPT1qb8ipz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://cdn.faniq.com/images/blog/tumblr_ljg7hugIPT1qb8ipz.jpg" width="277" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheevers' "scars"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goaliesarchive.com/bruins/goalie/cheevers2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.goaliesarchive.com/bruins/goalie/cheevers2.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheevers in the crease.</td></tr>
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<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">In honor of the next round of the NHL Playoffs and the Rangers advancing, here's a nod to a legend of the NHL (and ex-NY Ranger) Gilles Gratton. Although he only played about 46 games in the NHL, he was very talented his "legend status" really came from his eccentric personality...supposedly hanging out after practice naked (and skating naked during one), talking in great detail about his past lives (he had been a soldier in the Spanish Inquisition), growling and hissing at opposing players who got to close to him, and most famously refusing to play if the moon was in the wrong part of the sky. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0907/nhl.goalie.masks.expansion.era.1967to82/images/gilles-gratton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0907/nhl.goalie.masks.expansion.era.1967to82/images/gilles-gratton.jpg" width="274" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gratton...goalie...madman.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">But to me, he is awesome for coming up with probably the coolest mask the NHL has ever seen. The "Tiger Mask". Listen to the man tell the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://video.thescore.com/watch/face-paint-with-gilles-gratton?&_suid=133568321647309517226724419743">story</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> of the "birth" of the tiger (mistakenly thought to be a lion by many) and Madison Square Garden's response at it's unveiling.</span><br /><br /><div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goaliesarchive.com/rangers/goalie/gratton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.goaliesarchive.com/rangers/goalie/gratton.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*growling/hissing noises*</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">MORE TO COME SOON! Including the Holy Grail of masks...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-60565287767107986672012-02-20T21:53:00.000-08:002012-02-20T21:53:38.515-08:00Having fun.You know that feeling you get when you hear something, see something, experience something that inspires you to the core? Well I just got that feeling after listening to the band fun.'s debut album, "Aim and Ignite". I mean, my God. I hear ELO, The Beatles, Queen, Weezer, and Neutral Milk Hotel...but most importantly I hear a band totally finding a balance between those band and themselves. I'm so excited and inspired that I don't know what to write...actually I just feel like anything I say won't properly convey the joy this album brings to me. I feel like I'm way behind just discovering this band 44 minutes after midnight aka the day they release their second album. Which is a great feeling and a blessing in disguise that I get to go pick up their second album later today and go into complete fun. overdrive.<div><br />
</div><div>This is as strong a debut as I've EVER heard. <b><u>This band is fearless, this band is the future</u></b>. The album is so damn powerful, and full of insane melodies, and inspiring lyrics. I am so excited to discover this band. I hope you discover them too, and are overtaken by the complete joy this album delivers.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Here's to all kinds of fun. in the future with this band. I've been waiting for a band like this...</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.wikia.com/lyricwiki/images/7/70/Fun_-_Aim_and_Ignite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.wikia.com/lyricwiki/images/7/70/Fun_-_Aim_and_Ignite.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />
</div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-81011311111152846272012-01-23T14:29:00.000-08:002012-01-23T14:29:45.506-08:00Chasing Another Super BowlI'm a life-long New York Giants fan.<br />
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That being said, this season has brought every emotion possible. There have been rousing regular season wins (Patriots), horrible losses (Redskins...twice) and blueprints for later success (Packers). The playoffs are a whole other emotion. What a wild ride it has been leading up to another Super Bowl appearance for the New York Football Giants.<br />
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But my favorite story of this season is one that is largely forgotten... <br />
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Chase Blackburn's return to the NFL. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.3430416.1325824288!/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/feature_196/image.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.3430416.1325824288!/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/feature_196/image.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Math Teacher, Hard Hitting Linebacker</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Blackburn was an undrafted pickup for the G Men in 2005, he was also part of their 2007 Super Bowl run (although he sported a different number, 57). He was a hard hitting, hustling linebacker who for 4 straight seasons played in all 16 games. But after the 2010 season he was an unrestricted free-agent and nobody picked him up. He practiced with a couple teams, but eventually went on to teach middle school math (he graduated with a math degree from Akron). His life after football had begun...until an injury and a phone call made him the final piece to the Deja-Blue puzzle the G Men needed to make it back to the Super Bowl.<br />
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Blackburn had spent the first 12 weeks of the season watching his former team struggle, through the ups and downs. He wisely stayed in shape so when the Giants called, he answered physically and metaphorically. A couple of hours after the phone call Blackburn was on a plane to NJ, practicing the next day and starting in the week 13 match up against the then undefeated Packers. You couldn't script it better...a week prior Blackburn was picking equations to put on math tests for his middle schoolers, the next week he was picking off Aaron Rodgers to help the Giants give the Packers their first real test of the season and eventually knocking them off in the playoffs...a win that was largely sealed by a 40 yard fumble return by none other...Chase Blackburn.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_296w/2010-2019/Wires/Online/2012-01-18/AP/Images/Giants%20Packers%20Football.JPEG-06f8b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_296w/2010-2019/Wires/Online/2012-01-18/AP/Images/Giants%20Packers%20Football.JPEG-06f8b.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackburn's 40 yard fumble recovery</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I love watching the Giants. I especially love the way on every play, defense or special teams, Chase Blackburn is somewhere to be found around the ball. Whether it's making the tackle, being the first guy there to congratulate the Giant who did, or to pick them up, dust them off and give them the "we'll get 'em next time" helmet smack. Just watch, he always has the dirtiest uniform on the field.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ohio.com/polopoly_fs/1.254843.1326420337!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_500/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://www.ohio.com/polopoly_fs/1.254843.1326420337!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_500/image.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome back Mr. Blackburn</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>As well all know this Super Bowl coming up is a rematch of Super Bowl XLII. For Blackburn the only thing different for him is the number on his back. His will, determination and toughness never changed. He knows as well as anyone else, on any given Sunday your (new) number may be called to make a difference.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.3366337.1326579779!/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/display_600/image.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="165" src="http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.3366337.1326579779!/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/display_600/image.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New number, same toughness</td></tr>
</tbody></table>GO GIANTS!<br />
<br />
P.S.<br />
Eli is Elite.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1010137.1327295771!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_630/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1010137.1327295771!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_630/image.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5 for the road...aka an NFL Record</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-17476393123475016392012-01-16T21:40:00.000-08:002012-01-16T21:40:31.594-08:00Justifying Justified<a href="http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTQ4MDUyNDU0NV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjY0NTQyMw@@._V1._SY317_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTQ4MDUyNDU0NV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjY0NTQyMw@@._V1._SY317_.jpg" /></a>I don't have HBO anymore, I've never had Showtime, and I don't watch Breaking Bad. Most people would agree the best show out there is on one of those two networks, or it is just...Breaking Bad. But for me FX has done it again in creating my favorite show on TV, Justified. Like with most of my favorite shows in the past (Dexter, Mad Men, Scrubs, Frasier) I came late to the game, and had to catch up on Seasons 1 and 2, which was no problem at all after the pilot. This show is written sharper, shot grittier, acted better and laced with humor better than anything I've seen on TV since...well it's predecessor Nip/Tuck (possibly my favorite show of all time).<br />
Timothy Olyphant (who has struck TV gold again after staring in the brilliant Deadwood) plays Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (a character created by novelist/screenwriter Elmore Leonard who appears in 2 of his novels and a short story). This seems like the role Olyphant was born to play, and hopefully will have more than 3 Seasons to expand on this character. He's just as likely to throw a joke your way, before a punch...but will then will follow with said punch. But he's not just a gun totting cliche either. Sure he wears a cowboy hat, boots, jeans and a bad tie...but he also is an oddly touching character who goes out of his way to make sure he protects everyone he cares for. And this sometimes blurs his sense of right and wrong, and it's fascinating to see which way he decides to go. His relationship with his father is also the most compelling and complicated father/son storyline I've EVER seen in a TV show. He's a true lawman for the 21st Century and I live for characters like this...these are the kind of guys you root for.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.poptower.com/pic-40016/justified.jpg?d=600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://img.poptower.com/pic-40016/justified.jpg?d=600" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TV's Biggest Badass: Marshal Raylan Givens</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>His Lennon to his McCartney is the absolutely brilliant Walter Goggins (who plays the morally grey Boyd Crowder). I don't think I've hated a character more than I hated Boyd Crowder during his introduction in this pilot episode. By the end of Season 1, he was one of my favorite characters on the show...now what does that say? Interested yet?? He chews up the dialogue and scenery like it's good ol' fashioned spittin' tobacco. Walter Goggins has a couple awards in his future and his rocky back and forth character ride he takes us on is the most compelling storyline of Season 1.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3woH3l_Pa67wRDi5Vh_L-VP0LJJHu-a9bq_aAYPKOzoB0_vp-Fj2PFsr0Ig0nEI7E-QRGKoJefK3s4fXAFLEc7pFuNYW1JKr9QHFVItb3tFp75T7RTgzail9fUR6dFcqSLyhnrRa56b7/s1600/justified+boyd.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3woH3l_Pa67wRDi5Vh_L-VP0LJJHu-a9bq_aAYPKOzoB0_vp-Fj2PFsr0Ig0nEI7E-QRGKoJefK3s4fXAFLEc7pFuNYW1JKr9QHFVItb3tFp75T7RTgzail9fUR6dFcqSLyhnrRa56b7/s320/justified+boyd.png" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walter Goggins' Boyd Crowder</td></tr>
</tbody></table>This is a show that is constantly bringing in new complex storylines as well as new complex characters. It's rich with scenery and lush with moral dilemmas that confront those characters. Oh and it also has the best gunfights around...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tvedge.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Justified-Season-3-Wallpaper-3-1024x768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.tvedge.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Justified-Season-3-Wallpaper-3-1024x768.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
So...check out my favorite new show on TV. You have until 10 pm tonight to catch up...GO!Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-2349995699145591202012-01-08T19:53:00.000-08:002012-01-08T19:53:24.014-08:00Top 10 Movies of 2011<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As Mike Portnoy has said before, there are no such thing as "bests" just "favorites"...</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That being said here is a look at the AMAZING year of movies that was 2011 (and one possibly late 2010...). To me this was the year of movie magic, which I'm a sucker for and the thing I look for most in movies. It doesn't have to be critically acclaimed, or on a big budget, it needs to grab my soul. And every single one of these movies did exactly that...</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">10. Somewhere</span></b><br />
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</tbody></table><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This one technically came out in select theaters December 22, 2010. But it wasn't released until 2011, and took me a while to see it on DVD. This is one of those movies that nothing really happens during, which of course can be dangerous, but when you cast the write people, and write the right words...magic happens. This is the first of three movies that Elle Fanning appears on, and it's no coincidence. She has a BRIGHT future ahead of her in the world of acting. The father-daughter relationship that Sophia Coppola creates seems genuine and real. Probably because she lived a life like this under her famous father Francis as a child.</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">9. War Horse</span></b><br />
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</tbody></table><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Steven Spielberg is such an icon and a joy to have making movies as a lover of movies myself. The best scenes in this movie come when there is no dialogue. Jeremy Irvine was key to making me care about a boy traveling around the world during World War I looking for his horse, and in the process becoming a man. To me in the end it was that transformation from boy to man that made the movie worth watching, and provided that great Spielberg movie magic. The final moments of the film are beautiful.</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">8. J. Edgar</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flicksandbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/j-edgar-poster-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.flicksandbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/j-edgar-poster-02.jpg" width="207" /></span></b></a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Leo strikes again. He is the master of the biopic (acting perfectly in Scorsese's Aviator as well, a personal favorite). Clint Eastwood was the perfect director for this film because he lived through the subject matter. He was there when J. Edgar was the pride of the country, the American Dream in a suit. He was also there to witness the unraveling and self destruction, which makes for a great movie, but is also tragic when you know it actually happened.</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7. Contagion</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://wgtccdn.wegotthiscovered.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/tumblr_lhhcy8wCiw1qb8qrao1_5001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://wgtccdn.wegotthiscovered.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/tumblr_lhhcy8wCiw1qb8qrao1_5001.jpg" width="239" /></span></b></a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is one of the few films that truly frightens me. It shows how terrifyingly easy it is for a disease to spread and ravage the human race. It shows how quickly we become selfish violent animals to try to save our own skin...but...it also shows the wonders mankind can accomplish during it's darkest hour. This is a movie of subtly. A handshake there, a cough there. Truly scary, but also truly uplifting as well. Matt Damon (who I've always said plays the "every-man" better than anyone else) and Laurence Fishburne steal the show for me. Matt Damon's first of two on the list.</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6. Super 8</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www-movieline-com.vimg.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/super8_poster2-hr-thumb-630x932-30697.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www-movieline-com.vimg.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/super8_poster2-hr-thumb-630x932-30697.jpg" width="215" /></span></b></a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This movie was the start of this...movie magic kind of year. This is a movie where the parents don't save the day, because they don't believe. The kids are the heroes, they are the ones who teach us the lessons and opened my eyes to a younger version of myself making movies in the backyard and pretending to be whoever I wanted to be. Elle Fanning makes her second appearance on the list (her final being number 1 on the list...), and totally steals our heart in this movie. She breaks my heart throughout the movie, when she confesses in the glow of the home movies that is was her father who inadvertently caused the events that killed the main character's mother...heartbreaking. J.J Abrams doesn't simply mimic Spielberg though, he creates moments and images that will stand along with Spielberg (the necklace held frozen in the air along with that single note of music, the water tower through the hole in the wall...). I look forward to more of Abrams in the future.</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. Moneyball</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://impawards.com/2011/posters/moneyball_ver2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://impawards.com/2011/posters/moneyball_ver2.jpg" width="215" /></span></b></a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill deserve the highest praise for this movie and Oscar nods at least! Pitt is great at just being cool on screen. Not hunky, "sexiest man of the year" cool, just...cool. I am 100% a giant baseball fan, and have been my entire life, but this movie like Field of Dreams uses baseball as a topic to draw people into something greater...accomplishing the impossible, carving your place in the world, and making something of a lost opportunity. I already knew the outcome of the A's season that year, I watched it, but I still sat transfixed, because I didn't know what was unfolding inside the clubhouse. Baseball is romantic, it's America's Pastime, and this is one hell of a movie. It's a real lump in the throat for not only fans of sports, but fans of the impossible. Which should be everyone...because like this movie proves, nothing is impossible.</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. Drive</span></b><br />
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</tbody></table><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ryan Gosling. That is all.</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No but seriously, the greatest actor of my generation, easy. This movie provided a movie going experience like none other. I was fully aware of what I was about to get into, but the majority of the theater was expecting a Fast and the Furious action pic...their opinion of the film was felt early on, until certain events transpired and they were just as locked in as I was. This is a brilliant film...brilliant. Heck of a soundtrack too!</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Rise of the Planet of the Apes</span></b><br />
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</tbody></table><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm a huge fan of masked acting, and in a perfect world Andy Serkis would get the Oscar for Best Actor. Anyone who gives this movie crap over "CGI monkeys" doesn't know anything about this movie, or the performance they are witnessing. This movie is the biggest shocker on the year, because every time I saw the trailer I thought it would be nothing but possibly a fun "popcorn flick". Wrong. This movie is fascinating and compelling on the highest level. This movie contains a scene that left me with my jaw wide open and goosebumps across my whole body. The theater was completely stunned in silence. It took my breath away. This is a movie I truly loved. I can't wait for the sequel...</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo</span></b><br />
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</tbody></table><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ok. Rooney Mara's performance is FLAWLESS. Absolutely and completely compelling, tragic and perfect in every way. What I loved about her performance so much was it was mostly done in her eyes, her silence, and her body language. Her transformation was inspiring, and my Oscar for Best Actress goes to her, easy. Oh and the movie is great as well! There will be endless comparisons to the Swedish version and the book, which is expected. But like the Swedish version it tries to pay homage to the reason for it's creation...the book. It's cliche, but both are similar and different. It was fun seeing Daniel Craig not be the hero of the movie, and see him in peril needing saving. That Mara family is one talented bunch...dominating on the screen and on the football field (her Mom's side of the family owns the Steelers and her Dad's side of the family owns the New York Giants...GO G MEN.)</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. We Bought A Zoo</span></b><br />
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</tbody></table><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cameron Crowe is my hero. He makes movies void of cynicism and dread, because he knows sometimes we already have enough of that in our life. He writes and directs like no one else. I LOVE THIS MOVIE. The scene where Matt Damon (second appearance on the list) goes through the slide show of his wife on his computer and relives their past with the song "Sinking Friendships" in the background is THE scene of the year. Perfection. I had a hard time realizing what my number 1 movie of the year would be until I realized that scene is everything I love about movies, everything. The dialogue between the father and son are the best written scenes of the year. Matt Damon's performance is second only behind Rooney Mara's as my favorite of the year. The script was perfect, but it needed that performance to breath life into it, and Damon did exactly that. Crowe also brings in his knowledge of music (unsurpassed by anyone) to the film and like every movie he's made perfectly places songs in scenes and lets them speak for themselves. The soundtrack to this movie is not only my favorite of the year but one of my favorite ALBUMS of the year. Jónsi (from the amazing band Sigur Rós) needs to be Crowe's John Williams. I love this movie. This is the kind of movie I live for.</span></b>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-57995772183857092702011-12-27T22:57:00.000-08:002011-12-27T22:57:11.216-08:0020 Seconds of Insane Courage...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This isn't a review as much as it's a reaction to an amazing movie. Pure inspiration and joy caused this outburst of Jerry Maguire-esqe rambling (I even had The Who's "Getting in Tune" playing in the background)...</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So We Bought A Zoo was a knockout. With a Cameron Crowe movie you are guaranteed a couple things...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) <u><b>A great soundtrack and perfect music cues</b></u> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only QT and PTA have come close to matching Crowe's perfect ear for using a moment of a song an actor. His choices for the Vanilla Sky soundtrack alone should have gotten it a supporting actor credit.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) <b><u>Great performances from his actors</u></b> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Great directors bring out the best in their actors. Simple. Everyone he's worked with has seemed to come to the conclusion that they end up seeing a little of Crowe in their final acting product they put on the screen. His talent and passion is contagious.</span></span><br />
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</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) <b><u>An amazing script</u></b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He has a way with conveying emotion that is more real to me than any other writer/director...ever. I've always said nobody reads his lines better than Tom Cruise...well Tom might have found some stiff competition with Matt Damon. The shouting scene between the father and son in We Bought A Zoo is written and acted so well you forget you're watching a movie. It's as real as anything else you'll see this year.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4) <b><u>A GREAT MOVIE!</u></b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a couple of my favorite movies...that happen to also be films he wrote and directed...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><b><i>We Bought A Zoo</i></b></u>- See below...an easy Top 10 this year.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><i>Elizabethtown</i></u></b>- I enjoyed it the first time I saw it in theaters, but the second viewing was much more enjoyable in the end. The epic couple hour long phone call between strangers played by Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst will forever bring me back to this movie over and over.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><u>Vanilla Sky</u></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">- One of my favorite movies of all time. This is to me a true masterpiece. I absolutely love everything about this movie. Every cue of music is perfect. That final climb in the elevator to David's conscience truth in the climax is perfect on every level (no pun intended...or maybe).</span></b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><u>Almost Famous</u></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">- I need to revisit this one soon, but this movie had me fall in love with Kate Hudson, much like Elizabethtown had me with Kirsten Dunst. The fact that Cameron basically lived this life at that age is almost as amazing as the way he told it as an adult.</span></b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u><i>Jerry Maguire</i></u></b>- Probably Crowe's greatest achievement overall...and it's all about a sports agent who grew a conscience. Nobody on the planet could have played Jerry Maguire like Tom Cruise did. The Oscar should have been his that year, along with Crowe for screenplay, film and director. It's a tie with Vanilla Sky for me for best of Crowe/Cruise.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So...whatever the definition of a soul is, he manages to always grab mine with his movies. His movies are beautiful. Matt Damon also plays the "every-man" better than anyone else around (he did it in Contagion as well this year). Everyone shines in this movie. Crowe engages everyone and infects them with whatever power he has to make everyone leaving his movies feel better about life, because there are already enough movies out there to show how bleak life can be. It's true, all we really need in life is 20 seconds of insane courage to accomplish something great. Crowe has been doing that his whole life.</span></span></span>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-91214070768415723202011-12-06T14:07:00.000-08:002011-12-06T14:07:50.424-08:00How I became a monster: The unlikely transformation into a Lady GaGa fan<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>First of all a huge shout out to @SoPoeticPhil, he got me inspired to start writing again, check out his blog (<a href="http://trumpetsofthelastjudgement.blogspot.com/">Phil's blog</a>)...</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Ok...</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I love music. It is the one true love of my life when I stop and think about it. Out of all the albums and bands I admire, there have always been three bands that I consider my cornerstones of music and inspiration to everyday life...</b></span><div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://longshotsblues.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/brucespringsteentheestreetbandthe_e_street_band_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://longshotsblues.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/brucespringsteentheestreetbandthe_e_street_band_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Boss & the E Street Band</td></tr>
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</div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those bands each build on achieving what I think is the ultimate goal in music and any profession you choose...fearlessness, an </span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">un</span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-quenching creative flow that never quite climaxes, because it can't, and always asking the question, "Why not?"...i.e. never settling for the status </span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">quo</span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. ALWAYS pushing the envelope in whatever it is you're doing.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well to be quite honest there is a part of me that feels disappointed in the music that is being put out nowadays, even though I hate the cynics who repeat that ever so annoying phrase, "Music was so much better in the ____ (fill in your decade of choice)". So many musicians nowadays just seem to be satisfied with staying put and being safe. I've been searching for bands and musicians that are striving to achieve that goal mentioned above. Little did I know that I would find it in the Mother Monster herself, Lady Gaga.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now it was no surprise for my friends to take a collective gasp when I announced that I had finally come to my senses that Lady Gaga is putting music on the right course. To most people I'm seen as a </span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">metalhead</span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, or an old school music lover who could never evolve to the music of today...</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well I surprised myself and my friends. Now I'm not a huge fan of the meat dresses and the egg arrivals, but when I sat back and read her story, her inspirations (her name was taken from the monster Queen hit, Radio Ga Ga) and her goals I was taken aback. Especially by this song...</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeWBS0JBNzQ&ob=av2e"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">EDGE OF GLORY-Lady Gaga</span></b></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a song that has an amazingly catchy and uplifting chorus...i.e. the first thing that hit me. I'm a sucker for big sweeping arrangements, and big powerful voices. </span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gaga's</span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> voice is so on point and strong throughout this song that it forces you to believe every single word that she sings. Another thing that struck me about this song was her choice of guest musician...THE BIG MAN...Clarence Clemons! She truly respects the rich history of music and choosing The Big Man to play with her was a stroke of genius and a great treat to us fans of his...especially because of his sudden passing this year. It makes his solo even more triumphant because this is a song about claiming ownership over your life, so when you are breathing your final breath you can look back and realize that you were the champion of your own fate. It is impossible not to feel that emotion during this song, and that is hard to accomplish for any musician to achieve.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also took notice of her as a performer during the </span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">VMA's</span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> this year. Dressed as her alter ego (</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jo </span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Calderone</span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) and ripping through an thunderous version of You and I. It also helped that she got guest guitarist Brian May to join her on stage to the delight of myself as well as a very excited Dave </span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grohl</span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (who the cameraman happened to pick up at the moment of arrival).</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now I'm not calling Lady Gaga the savior of music, because frankly music doesn't need a savior. There has always been good music out there, no matter how many auto-tuned future has </span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">beens</span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> arrive, there is always someone waiting in the corner to jump into the spotlight and shake the music industry up, which is what it needs every so often. And that is what I'm trying to say about Lady Gaga. I have a long way to go in terms of diving into her music catalog. I've only really discussed one song, but a huge song none the less in terms of opening my eyes to a performer who is more than the outrageous outfits, more than the tabloids and taboos, more than the magazine covers and interviews, she's 100 percent true to herself and isn't satisfied with limiting her creativity to anyone.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She is fearless.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She pushes the envelope.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She refuses to accept the status </span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">quo</span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...it also doesn't her she got Clarence Clemons and Brian May to guest on her album.</span></b></div></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've got my eye on you Gaga, but rest assured it is as a budding fan, not a cynic who thinks music's glory years are behind us, if anything we just might be on the edge of music's glory...the best is yet to come....always.</span></b></div></div></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-72250239111184573292011-08-09T00:13:00.000-07:002011-08-09T00:13:53.244-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.comingsoon.net/gallery/20561/Valkyrie_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.comingsoon.net/gallery/20561/Valkyrie_poster.jpg" width="204" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I recently re-watched the film Valkyrie about the last attempt to assassinate Hitler. Like most people (Americans or otherwise) I was completely unaware of this until I saw the film. Which in it's own right speaks to how powerful and important movies can be. The film doesn't try to be a history lesson, which is clearly stated throughout the commentary (which was great by the way), it simply tells a thrilling story with interesting characters, it just happens to be all true.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The movie succeeds on two major points for me...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1) We already know the ending, nobody killed Hitler before he took his own life. So we in effect are being shown a movie that we know the ending too, but I still found myself literally on the edge of my seat (not just using the expression). So nothing is "spoiled" or "ruined" by already knowing the outcome.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2) IT GOT ME INTERESTED IN A HISTORICAL EVENT. That is enough of a point right there. I'm not saying I don't care about history, I do...but it set a spark of interest in me so that when the credits started to roll I was already looking for books and documentaries on the subject to light a full on fire (again the 2 disc DVD has a great 45 minute documentary on the actual event).</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Like the movie I don't mean to give a history lesson with this blog, partly because it's almost 3 in the morning, and partly because there are far better writers who have written great books on the subject.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">No I just felt it appropriate to try and explain to you what this whole assassination attempt means to me and should mean to the rest of the world for as long as we're around.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What theses men did, and not just in Operation Valkyrie but throughout the war on both sides trying to get rid of a mad dictator was and still is inspiring.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I took a great interest specially to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. A man who while served in the German Army during WWII, was NEVER in the the Nazi Party. He fought because he felt it was right to fight for his country, but from early on realized something was wrong.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VNk88J_pJJ4/Tid8Yju4L1I/AAAAAAAAAww/M38nss73zAY/s320/440720+von+Stauffenberg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VNk88J_pJJ4/Tid8Yju4L1I/AAAAAAAAAww/M38nss73zAY/s320/440720+von+Stauffenberg.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some scholars as well as conspirators at the time argue that Operation Valkyrie was too little too late. Some even suggest that it was all in the Axis' plan to have the Allied Powers feel sympathy for their defeat and that they were doing nothing but covering their own asses.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bull-Shit.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You have to realize that the attempts on Hitler's life had been going on for years, and that this final and most famous was to reach the final planning stages days before the Allied Powers even invaded Europe on June 6 1944. The bomb went off July 20th. If they had succeeded in killing Hitler that would have stopped the war 9 months earlier and saved nearly 12 million lives. I hardly doubt this was solely an attempt at good will in the eyes of the conspirators.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They wanted to WASH the blood and dirt off their sacred Germany. They wanted THEIR country back from the grasp of an evil crazed madman. They wanted to prove that there was a pinpoint of light in the darkness.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/holoprelude/images/wreckage%20from%20the%20stauffenberg%20bomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/holoprelude/images/wreckage%20from%20the%20stauffenberg%20bomb.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wreckage from the blast</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hitler wasn't killed July 20th as we all know, and in his place over 700 were rounded up for the plot and nearly 200 were executed. Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg along with others were taken outback and executed by firing squad hours after the attempt failed.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But I don't think it was a failure.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Did the bomb kill Hitler? No. Was Germany the sacred Germany again? No and the conspirators who gave their lives were seen as traitors for a decade after the fact.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Even after Hitler was gone, people were still afraid to admit they were wrong.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But failure? No. Hardly a failure. These men renewed a spirit in their country and the world. The closest another human being came to killing Adolf Hitler was from his own army. Men who realized that enough was enough and they didn't serve a man...they served a COUNTRY, their families, and their heritage.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">COL Stauffenberg was missing an eye, a couple fingers and his entire right hand. But he was given the duty of arming the bomb, and delivering it. Why? Because even though he was a physically broken man, he was hardly a spiritually broken one. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He is someone who should never be forgotten. And is proof that you can stand up and do the right thing even if your entire country is engulfed in the wrong. There is no medal, or pin big enough for a man to carry or wear that can capture what those men attempted to do July 20th. While they failed to kill a man, they helped save a country.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6714IiUUM_Bod7XC_CG7KQAs2iylK1-ZNhzO7bh_AZEXkhGM4tbyJ64NxzOKRmIsE4eIdIS5dT25dir5cZ9qCdgcq0pWLX__EwVnlumeNFoTKazLzAkO9B7_aq0E0Nf3U81A1DSfH38/s400/Berlin-Bendlerblock-Tafel-2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6714IiUUM_Bod7XC_CG7KQAs2iylK1-ZNhzO7bh_AZEXkhGM4tbyJ64NxzOKRmIsE4eIdIS5dT25dir5cZ9qCdgcq0pWLX__EwVnlumeNFoTKazLzAkO9B7_aq0E0Nf3U81A1DSfH38/s320/Berlin-Bendlerblock-Tafel-2007.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><b><i><u>Memorial for the July 20th Plot</u></i></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><b><i>You did not bear the shame.</i></b></div><div id="yui_3_3_0_3_13128741239111024" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><b><i>You resisted.</i></b></div><div id="yui_3_3_0_3_13128741239111027" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><b><i>You bestowed an eternally vigilant symbol of change<br />
by sacrificing your impassioned lives for freedom, justice and honor.</i></b></div></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-7306369284390973892011-05-19T10:32:00.000-07:002011-05-19T10:32:36.822-07:00Albums I Dig...Nevermind<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sleevage.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/nirvana_nevermind_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sleevage.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/nirvana_nevermind_cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I am thankful to Nirvana for two things...<br />
<br />
1) With a couple distorted power chords and a couple throat tearing wails, they forever banished and destroyed "cock rock" and hair metal, and put the final coffin in the embarrassment that was rock n roll in the 80's...<br />
<br />
2)...and armed with those weapons at their disposal became without a doubt the greatest and freshest band of the 90's as well as a band that will forever stand the test of time. A fearless band, full of promise and angst, love and sorrow.<br />
<br />
Now what can be said that hasn't been said about Nirvana's second album Nevermind?? Well one thing is for sure, whatever "sophomore slump" most bands suffer from with their second album, Nirvana definitely dodged and buried. <br />
<br />
The opening chords to the opening track <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg">Smells Like Teen Spirit</a> are the chords that began a revolution in the kids that heard it. This revolution, this song was for every kid who suffered through the music of the 80's, bands that were too worried about how they looked, what drugs and booze they took, and how many women they had waiting for them on the bus. It was all sex and drugs, and very little rock n roll. This was the kick in the balls that every hair-sprayed idiot needed who thought of themselves as a "musician". This opening track alone was a rebirth in music, and it was going to be a loud one.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kurtcobainnews.com/kurt_cobain_nirvana_live_in_concert_46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.kurtcobainnews.com/kurt_cobain_nirvana_live_in_concert_46.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br />
<br />
SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT is a song that is almost more famous then Nirvana. It is a perfect blend of calm and calamity. People always say how they can't understand a word Cobain is saying in this song, well in a way it's almost a non issue...what is important is that he's screaming it with every thing he's got, and two lines that SHOULD be heard and possibly the clearest...<br />
<br />
<i>Here we are entertain us</i><br />
<i>I feel stupid and contagious</i><br />
<br />
This was an open challenge to the ones responsible for turning music into a sideshow. Whether Nirvana knew it or not, they were forming an army of believers and this was the song that they were going to march into battle on.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lk10k08f7y1qc7s01o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lk10k08f7y1qc7s01o1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The album really doesn't take a breather when it comes to classic Nirvana tracks, after the full on assault that is SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT, they dive right into <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhRwkC6RxcU&feature=related">In Bloom</a>. An explosion of riffage and drums. But it also displays one of the Nirvana's best talents...their dynamics. This is something they obviously took from some of their biggest influences, mainly The Pixies. Instead of beating you to death with a riff over and over again at the same volume in every song (which they did do to some great effect in some songs, don't let me fool you) they would switch tempos, and volumes. The softest verse could be the loudest in terms of emotion when put next to an ear splitting chorus. Nirvana got it, and nailed it on IN BLOOM. <br />
<br />
Ah <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YyDg9tT0Vw&feature=related">Come As You Are</a>...another brilliant use of dynamics and the chorus setting on the amplifier. The title is simple and insanely open and welcoming, but at the same time the guitar part being played over Cobain's vocal always had me uneasy, something wasn't entirely safe, and that is why this song is so haunting. While we shouldn't feel threatened by the song, we still are, because who truly comes into a relationship entirely as themselves? While "heavy" metal bands must have been pissing themselves after hearing SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT, COME AS YOU ARE must have had the pop rock bands scrambling back to the drawing board. Brilliant song. <br />
<br />
I've said it before in my blog about The Pretty Reckless' album Light Me Up...I love bands that have a somewhat softer song, whether it's in volume or lyrical content and then immediately open up the flood gates on the next track, just to throw the listener for a loop. Well welcome to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mC7jbG9yi0&feature=related">Breed</a>. This is a song to crank up real loud, roll the windows down and get dirty looks from the other cars around you. It's only been a couple tracks and Nirvana already was showcasing their ability to throw their sound all over the place, into whatever formula they wanted for a song. BREED chugs along and never lets up, a classic among classics. Speaking of classics...<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fIqq5XVFKQ&feature=related">Lithium</a> is beautiful. I really don't think anything else really needs to be said about this song. It's almost like every song before it on the album was preparing you for its power and strength. That's the thing about Nirvana, you never know where they are going, their dynamics are that good. The lyrics of this song are some of my favorite that Cobain ever wrote.<br />
<br />
<i>I'm so horny</i><br />
<i>That's </i><i>ok</i><i> my will is good.</i><br />
<br />
What "rock star" would sing about their will against their sexual drive? Nirvana was the real deal, they weren't in it for money, fame, and girls. This song has the heaviness of SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT, the quite verse brilliance of COME AS YOU ARE and the unrelenting push of BREED. Not too bad Nirvana.<br />
<br />
Oh yea and it's a song that's chorus consists of mostly...<br />
<br />
<i>Yea Yea Yea!!!</i><br />
<br />
But after hearing it, you wouldn't want it any other way.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBCytd4JgIY&feature=related">Polly</a> is the first true rest that you get as a listener. This is a song that you need to hear a couple times to truly understand it's sheer power.<br />
<br />
Go ahead, I'll wait...<br />
<br />
Ok, first of all Cobain's vocals are amazing. The harmonies are astoundingly good for a rock band. What else is astounding is the fact that they'd release a song like this. The story goes that Cobain saw an article about a girl who was kidnapped and finally escaped by being "human" to her kidnapper, connecting with him in a way that he could only stare in astonishment at her humanity. Cobain saw that, and decided to do the unexpected and write from the perspective of the guy who abuses the woman "Polly". You end up being just as stunned at Cobains humanity and beauty in his lyrics as the criminal who witnessed the real life humanity of "Polly". <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5ENDN0WbE4&feature=related">Territorial Pissings</a>...ehm...I think the title says it all. Again Nirvana reminds us that even though they have haunting thought provoking songs, they still have songs that can test the strength of your ears and your speakers. The band is in full force and Cobain is a monster on vocals...and screams. His voice is cracking and breaking just as much as the beat and guitar riffs. This song really echoes to their first album Bleach, and their complete assault on the ears. The end of the song is hardcore punk brilliance. DRAIN YOU again has its moments in dynamic mastery as well as another use of great double tracked harmonies, especially and most profoundly on the chorus. The song is simple, as well as effective. But just when you think you have Nirvana figured out...they break down the song<br />
<br />
<i>You...you...you...you</i><br />
<br />
Dave Grohl's drums keep the beat going and the occasional guitar flurry reminds you that the song is still going on, until...<br />
<br />
BOOM!<br />
<br />
Back to the beginning of the song, but this time the intro verse is heavier and a little more in your face. A simple idea, and very effective. Nirvana never gets boring and this is a song that showcases that all to well. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPYcFQxsKlQ&feature=related">Lounge Act</a> has a killer bass line from Krist and an even killer vocal performance from Cobain. His voice was really one of a kind. I have yet to find a singer who has such a beautiful melody in his voice that could at the same time scream like an ABSOLUTE maniac. The end of this song will have your ears on edge, and a phantom pain in your throat. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA5HbqgCIUE&feature=related">Stay Away</a> is a song that starts with a build up that when it erupts it doesn't let up. Cobain's vocals sound strained and chaotic, and as a fan of Nirvana I wouldn't want it any other way. The song itself is pretty clear in its intentions, stay...the fuck...away.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGAFR1wVUFY&feature=related">On A Plain</a> is a song so catchy you almost forget it's Nirvana. It is a song about...how to write a song, and introduces a phrase that is classic Nirvana...<br />
<br />
<i>LOVE MYSELF BETTER THEN YOU!</i><br />
<br />
That had to be a crystallizing moment for some kids listening to this album when it was released. A moment of power that they really do matter and had this band to confide it and listen too. A simple line with a lot of weight and power, classic Nirvana.<br />
<br />
The final "official" track, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOAd7tDM8f8&feature=related">Something In The Way</a> might be the greatest song Kurt Cobain has ever written, and one of the greatest song ever written PERIOD. This song separated them from all the other rock/hardcore/"grunge" bands out there...it provided the final hidden weapon in Nirvana's arsenal...melody, and a simply beautiful one at that. You see while all the other hardcore bands coming out of the 80's seemed to rebel against bands like The Beatles, Nirvana embraced them. Their love of melody, complexity in simplicity, all can be traced back to bands like The Beatles, Queen and Led Zeppelin, all huge influences on Cobain. The barely audible cello holds up the chorus and accents Cobain's double tracked vocals to perfection. Again, this is a simple song, and that was exactly what Nirvana was going for. The kids born out of the decade that was the music of the 80's needed something new, fresh, simple and bare. There was something in the way...and Nirvana pleasantly bulldozed it out of existence with this album, and forever changed the world of music. Whether the band knew it or not this album gave kids something to hold onto, something to physically have in their possession at their greatest time of need. The complaint that people think the album is too mainstream is nonsense, an album needs to be heard, and this one thankfully was many times over.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://thissongissick.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Nirvana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://thissongissick.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Nirvana.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><br />
...ah yes the hidden track <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faJdBl0_e-I">Endless, Nameless</a> that appeared on some copies of the album, a perfect bridge to the mayhem and brilliance that would be my favorite Nirvana album, and their swan song...In Utero. Complete noise and chaos, I really love this song. The power this band displayed was amazing.<br />
<br />
Cobain and company (Krist and Dave) truly created a movement, reluctantly took the reigns and steered music back to where it should have been all along.Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-41966813222611730062011-05-10T11:45:00.000-07:002011-05-10T11:45:01.026-07:00Albums I Dig...Tug of War<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/94/PaulMcCartneyalbum_-_TugOfWar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/94/PaulMcCartneyalbum_-_TugOfWar.jpg" /></a></div>Paul McCartney is my favorite musician of all time.<br />
<br />
It really is as simple as that. It can never be overstated what he has done for music, and his effect on pop culture. He came into the music scene right when the world needed him, John, George and Ringo. And it was with those 3 band mates that he reshaped how we listen to and perceive music forever. I can't imagine what would have happened to music if John had never met Paul...<br />
<br />
But as everyone knows when the 60's came to an end, so did The Beatles, and for the first time, all 4 Beatles went on their own...a refreshing, but also scary challenge for all of them. Me being a McCartney fan I dove into his post-Beatles career the furthest and enjoyed gems such as his debut McCartney (in which he played every single instrument), Ram, Red Rose Speedway and Band on the Run (the latter two with his band Wings).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://rgcred.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/paul-mccartney-wings-cartoon.jpg?w=400&h=300" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://rgcred.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/paul-mccartney-wings-cartoon.jpg?w=400&h=300" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul McCartney & Wings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The great thing about McCartney's solo career is that he is always reinventing himself. After the Beatles he released a real deal solo album (McCartney), then decided to start another band...Wings. He proved that lightening could in fact strike twice, and was awarded hit single after hit single throughout the 70s. As well as recording one of the greatest albums of the 70s, Band on the Run.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.americansongwriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/paul_mccartney_26_wings-band_on_the_run_album_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.americansongwriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/paul_mccartney_26_wings-band_on_the_run_album_cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McCartney & Wings' Masterpiece</td></tr>
</tbody></table>But what interested me most was how he reacted professionally to the death of his best friend John Lennon. I say professionally in the sense as a musician...he disbanded Wings and spent his time on his first official solo release after the death of his friend and his band...<br />
<br />
1982's Tug of War.<br />
<br />
Possibly McCartney's greatest solo album sans-Wings. Immediately the front cover sparked something in me, the colors and the look of concentration on McCartney's face, completely in tune with the music coming from the headphones. One thing I also wasn't a huge fan of in the 80's music was...well 80's music. I believe that McCartney did a great job of not making the album just an "80's album". Sure there are some 80's sounding beats and synthesizer here and there, but it is McCartney's melody that changes everything...his strongest weapon.<br />
<br />
The album literally starts in a tug of war, and then gently slips into McCartney on an acoustic guitar crooning away. The title song <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUOJ4dCj5UA">Tug of War</a> is his introduction to a new decade and he has never sounded more confident. You can feel that the song is about to explode at any moment, and he masterfully holds back just a little longer then you'd think. When all the instruments finally come in, you know that McCartney is back and ready to reclaim the top of the charts. Another weapon that McCartney also had at his disposal was the legendary producer George Martin, who always orchestrates brilliant string arragements, and this song is no different, nodding in and bowing out in with complete grace throughout the song.<br />
<br />
The second track (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_DSrzibugU&feature=related">Take It Away</a>) takes no time at all to start and begins with another legendary McCartney bass riff and soon slips into a full on McCartney master class in melody. If this song doesn't have you tapping your foot and singing some kind of backing vocal, you have no soul and might want to get your hearing checked. It never ceases to amaze me how McCartney seems to so easily write what seem like simple beautiful little melodies, and then you try and deconstruct them and realize this is a genius at work. Everyone's favorite drummer Ringo comes back and lays down another great "lets get down to business" drum part. Again this song surprises with a nice horn section at the end that brings to mind <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3xLSJbFiEk">Got To Get You Into My Life</a> off of The Beatles' Revolver.<br />
<br />
The next track (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4gQqpUMotU&feature=related">Somebody Who Cares</a>) starts with a beautiful acoustic guitar and again takes the album in another direction reminiscint of Band on the Run. This song has again those classic lyrics that are meant to inspire and comfort, which is another weapon that McCartney uses masterfully. He was never one to slip into the "rock n roll" attitude of needing to shock and disgust or put on a persona of not caring, being loud and crude. It was this refusal to conform to a rock n roll lifestyle that in itself is quite bad ass. He knew the power of family and love were stronger then anything else could ever be. This song only further proves this point. Keep an ear out for a beautiful acoustic guitar solo...<br />
<br />
The next track is one of my favorites on this album...the beautifully funky duet between McCartney and Stevie Wonder (and not the last on the album) that is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43JwlTs6NaQ&feature=related">What's That You're Doing</a>. A six minute plus all out jam that has Wonder and McCartney trading vocal riffs and scat scaling brilliance. This is a song to turn up and go crazy too. This song only further proves McCartney's genius at crafting songs with so many different styles and attitudes.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.steviewonder.org.uk/bio/images/McCartney+Wonder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.steviewonder.org.uk/bio/images/McCartney+Wonder.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Let's just recap the first four tracks...<br />
Tug Of War-Arena rocker<br />
Take It Away-Sing-a-long pop song<br />
Somebody Who Cares-Acoustic ballad<br />
What's That You're Doing-All out funk rocker<br />
<br />
...and that is just the first four tracks.<br />
<br />
Onward.<br />
<br />
Next is a song that wouldn't be easy for anyone to write, not even the great McCartney.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIPWV9NEbgE&feature=related">Here Today</a> is Paul McCartney's moving tribute to his friend John Lennon. It is simple in its chord structure and melody, but far from simple when it comes to being able to sing it. Whenever McCartney sings this song live he always seems to get a lump in his throat, which is moving for two reasons, one that you are seeing a man sad about the loss of his friend, and two that it still upsets him 30 years later. This is vintage McCartney, and one of his most profound songs.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.summeroflove.org/images/john.paul.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.summeroflove.org/images/john.paul.jpeg" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lennon/McCartney</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The mood is quickly shifted with the next track called <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOUOs0UbEJc&feature=related">Ballroom Dancing</a>. This is a song that showcases McCartney's often overlooked vocal ability. He is EVERYWHERE on this song, multiple harmonies, screaming, crooning, everything. It is an interesting idea for a song, that "ballroom dancing" made the narrator of the song, the man that he is today...but just as you think you are starting to understand the idea of the song, at 2:26 the song changes the tempo and melody at a breakneck shift. Where that riff came from I'll never know, but it is just another nod to McCartney being able to craft an awesomely complex pop song.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK9doTm8CH8&feature=related">The Pound Is Sinking</a> is somewhat of a look at the money issues of the times (1982) but it also a stand out on the album. The guitars swirl along with McCartney's double tracked voiced (at times) and again McCartney changes tempos, and melodies at will and with great ease. McCartney's grasp on pop music is astounding. He throws everything in this song, whether its a waltz infused verse, or an all out scream vocal avalanche that would make Queen blush. But he always ends where he begins, and this song ends just as strong as it begins.<br />
<br />
Ah <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XssYovzh3O4&feature=related">Wanderlust</a>...probably my favorite track on the album, and what George Martin called probably his favorite McCartney vocal of all time (Beatles or solo). It starts with something almost Billy Joel-esque, which is cool since Joel is a monster Beatles fan, but then goes into a complete master class on vocal ability and some of the most precious melodies this world has ever heard. If anyone ever doubted McCartney's talent after The Beatles, this is one of the first songs you need to have them sit down to and let sweep them away. This song is magical. This song is perfect.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i0eE01oRrw&feature=related">Get It</a> sounds very much like a track from his debut solo album McCartney. Carl Perkins lends his vocal to this nice little country inspired duet. A toe-tapping delight of a song. McCartney uses his voice as percussion again reminiscint of his early solo days, and the guitars tangle together in a beautiful little melody.<br />
<br />
Be What You See (Link) is a gorgeous and haunting little vocal piece, that I wish lasted longer. McCartney is always experimenting and this piece is truly beautiful. After that little intro of sorts the band kicks into full force with Dress Me Up Like a Robber. A nice jam that has every instrument going full force and standing out in different little moments. Again McCartney's voice is all over the place and the riff the band lays down cuts right to the chase. Another classic spin on the love song courtesy of Paul McCartney. Here is the full song...<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNzEMhoS4ak&feature=related">Be What You See (Link) + Dress Me Up Like a Robber</a>.<br />
<br />
The final track is probably the most famous that the album produced, as well as its biggest hit, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6LMyqpzn3E&feature=related">Ebony And Ivory</a>. Stevie Wonder joins McCartney again, but this time on a ballad. These two should really write an album together, because their voices complement each other really well, at times it is hard to tell who is who, and that is quite impressive, seeing how both of these musicians have astoundingly good voices.<br />
<br />
This album put McCartney back on the radar for most critics and fans alike. This was another rebirth and renewal in the life and music of Paul McCartney. I like to think that Paul McCartney channeled his love for his dear friend John Lennon throughout the album. It is brilliant to think that McCartney turned tragedy into love and took all that he learned from his experiences as a musician into one of his best albums.Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-7472532141103501832011-05-09T11:51:00.000-07:002011-05-09T11:51:08.355-07:00THE BEST SONG OF 2011...Walk-Foo Fighters<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amoremagazine.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54fefa2668833014e8755c5eb970d-800wi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://amoremagazine.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54fefa2668833014e8755c5eb970d-800wi" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wasted Light<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So I'm coming to the Foo Fighters party a little late...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
I have always had them on my radar somewhere though. I definitely always thought it was awesome that Dave Grohl was from the Northern Virginia area (made me proud to be from the area, our own Springsteen). So fast forward to a couple weeks ago and I finally buy my first two Foo Fighters albums, In Your Honor (the epic double album), and their newest Wasted Light (the hard rocking, heavy riff and melodically infused beast of an album). Now I will probably discuss in more detail what made those two albums instant classic for me, but for now there was ONE track that completely blew me away. The best song of 2011...<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KURb52giNfM">Walk (Studio Version)</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDk44RH65OA">Walk (SNL Performance)</a><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I can only assume and relay what I read about Dave Grohl's writing process for this album and song. I know that they recorded it in his garage and that probably led to a very creative and personally passionate working environment for him and the band. Dave said in L.A. Weekly (source songfacts.com check it out, great website!) "You're surrounded by friends and family and nostalgia, and you're singing about the last 20 years of your life - that became a part of the process." Once I read that, and started to project my own life on the album and what Dave was talking about I realized how amazing the arc of this album actually is, and especially the song Walk. That you learn to become the person that you were meant to be.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A child's first steps are their most important...they stumble, fall and try again. Dave seems to learning to walk again, his love for life, family and music seem to be oozing from the speakers. He is so renewed and rejuvenated that he defies death. He shouts to the heavens that he never wants to die. We can only be so lucky that we reach a point in our life that we can scream at the top of our lungs that we never want to die.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Think of that.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">To be so happy with where you are that you refuse to be content with the inevitable end. Anyone who listens to this song should have a chord struck in them somewhere that they want to reach that state of happiness and renewal. That they want to learn to love again, smile again, and walk again.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The following lyrics are a fucking motto to live by...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b>"Walk"</b><br />
<br />
<i>A million miles away<br />
Your signal in the distance<br />
To whom it may concern<br />
I think I lost my way<br />
Getting good at starting over<br />
Every time that I return<br />
<br />
I'm learning to walk again<br />
I believe I've waited long enough<br />
Where do I begin?<br />
I'm learning to talk again<br />
Can't you see I've waited long enough<br />
Where do I begin?<br />
<br />
Do you remember the days<br />
We built these paper mountains<br />
And sat and watched them burn<br />
I think I found my place<br />
Can't you feel it growing stronger<br />
Little conqueror<br />
<br />
I'm learning to walk again<br />
I believe I've waited long enough<br />
Where do I begin?<br />
I'm learning to talk again<br />
I believe I've waited long enough<br />
Where do I begin?<br />
<br />
Now<br />
For the very first time<br />
Don't you pay no mind<br />
Set me free again<br />
You keep alive a moment at a time<br />
But still inside a whisper to a liar<br />
To sacrifice but knowing to survive<br />
The first to find another state of mind<br />
I'm on my knees, I'm waiting for a sign<br />
Forever, whenever<br />
I never wanna die<br />
I never wanna die<br />
I never wanna die<br />
I'm on my knees<br />
I never wanna die<br />
I'm dancing on my grave<br />
I'm Running through the fire<br />
Forever, whatever<br />
I Never wanna die<br />
I Never wanna leave<br />
I'll Never say goodbye<br />
Forever, whatever<br />
Forever, Whatever<br />
<br />
I'm learning to walk again<br />
I believe I've waited long enough<br />
Where do I begin?<br />
I'm learning to talk again<br />
Can't you see I've waited long enough<br />
Where do I begin?<br />
<br />
I'm learning to walk again<br />
I believe I've waited long enough<br />
I'm learning to talk again<br />
Can't you see I've waited long enough </i></span></i></span></span>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-33578610865687484752011-05-02T18:45:00.000-07:002011-05-02T18:49:24.018-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Ok so this is a list that I found that I did awhile ago back in college. There are plenty of albums I'd add on here...but at the time it was asking what 25 albums changed you and inspired you at the time. It was kind of cool to go back and see what I was listening to a couple years ago...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">1. "Born to Run"--Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">I've been listening to this album since I was 3 years old (there is video VHS proof haha). And as I get older the album makes more and more sense and has become the soundtrack of my life. Nothing comes close to this. The fact he was in his early 20's when he wrote the entire thing (mostly on a piano) inspires me to get my ass moving and do something. Hell I'll probably write an entire other note on this album.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">2. "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J."--Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">The Boss' first album was one I got into as I was older. That's right HE wrote "Blinded by the Light" NOT Manfred Mann...haha. It's an album where he pours his heart and soul and more lyrics then most bands have in their entire catalog (fearing this would be his only album...)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">3. "The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle"--Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Yea there is a reason the Boss is on here so many times, and I'm not done yet. I didn't dive into this album until about high school and what a perfect time too. This is storytelling at its best, and where the E Street Band started to really take shape. "New York Serenade" will send a chill down your spine, and "Rosalita (Come out Tonight)" still makes me smile thinking about the mischief of High School and what the boys would do to impress the girls.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">4. "A Night at the Opera"--Queen</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">I mean do I really have to explain this one? There are probably two other bands that hit every nail on the head and fired on all cylinders like Queen did on "A Night At The Opera" (I'll let you fight that one out yourselves as to who you think the two are). It is a show, it is entertainment, it is mind blowing, it is grand and over the top and THAT is why I love it. Oh yea...um..."Bohemian Rhapsody"?!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">5. "The Great Southern Trendkill"--Pantera</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Some have called this album Pantera's softest album, that's probably only because two songs have a clean guitar tone instead of the usual one or none. But any album that starts with Phil Anselmo screaming his ass off and the guitars bass and drums in a controlled chaos testing the quality of your speakers speaks for itself. This album changed what I thought heavy metal was. It was a statement on what it could be and how it should be. And any album that goes from the haunting acoustic deep vocalized Suicide Note Part I, into the bombarding spastic heavy as all fuck Suicide Note Part II is good enough for me (also it has the greatest head banging riff of all time, Mick I know you know what I'm talking about.)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">6. "Master of Puppets"--Metallica</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">I figured I'd keep the metal alive for a couple numbers, and keep it going with Metallica's masterpiece. This album had me listening to the first track "Battery" for close to a week before I hit the next track button, I was convinced there wasn't anything better...Sweet Lord Almighty was I wrong. Not only was the next track "Master of Puppets" but I ushered in the rest of the tracks that would build the foundation of what I judged every metal album I'd listen to from there on.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">7. “Misfits”—Misfits</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Ok so this isn’t an actual studio album, but it is the first volume of two chronicling the Danzig (founder) years of The Misfits. This album introduced me to punk, to The Misfits. This is as raw, as brutal, and as politically incorrect as you can get with a slew of 2 minute anthems about murder, death, aliens, bank robberies, relationships gone wrong, movies, and JFK. The production sounds like every song was recorded with a cell phone, but to me it only adds to the messiness and rawness of The Misfits.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">8. “Absolution”—Muse</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">So this is the band that I’ve been searching for all my life…well it’s about time I found them. Radiohead fans leave the criticism at the door. Muse does what most bands wish they could do, and they do it with only three members. The mood of the album is about as happy as a Scorsese picture, but it doesn’t leave you feeling empty after you listened to it. In fact, you feel like you’ve heard something you never thought possible. Imagine Queen of the 21st Century, with new technology and an obsession with the end of the world. There is more to being just extremely talented at your respected instrument (which every member of Muse is); it is also about how creative and fresh you can be as well. Listen to “Butterflies and Hurricanes” if you have any doubts at all. Every single note inspires me, it’s insane. Not to mention they saved my ass with getting through a couple of seminar presentations.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">9. “Weezer (The Blue Album)”—Weezer</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Pop rock at its best. Rivers Cuomo (lead singer/guitars, founder) showed me a new bread of songwriter. He showed me pop rock could be 1) really good 2) and taken seriously. Not only is he a Harvard Grad, but he has a formula written on how to write the perfect pop song. Obviously 15 years later, it still is relevant and makes sense. As a lowly high school student falling in love with what seemed to be every couple of months Weezer was always there with an anthem or pop jewel to summarize my thoughts. Now as a college student who is trying to figure out his life and what to do next, the songs aren’t on repeat as much as they used to be, but are always available for a quick jump in the nostalgic time machine.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">10. “Rust in Peace”—Megadeth</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">As a Metallica fan, buying a Megadeth album was the equivalent to being a Yankees fan and buying a Red Sox hat. Although I’d never do anything as stupid as buy a Red Sox hat, I am glad I bought “Rust in Peace” a long time ago. At the time I was stuck in a bubble of what I thought metal (mostly the heavy genre) was supposed to sound like. Within the first 30 seconds of this album and its opener “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” I had to retrace my steps. I had no idea where this album was headed, whether it was a Spanish inspired acoustic guitar fill, harmonic laced thrash riffs, slow brooding chugging guitar riffs, or lightning fast (and I mean lighting fast) guitar solos. If “Master of Puppets” was Metallica’s masterpiece and opened my eyes to metal, Megadeth’s masterpiece “Rust in Peace” held them open Clockwork Orange style to make sure they never closed.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">11. “Alive!”—Kiss</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">I wanted the best and I got the best…the hottest band in the world from 7th grade and beyond is Kiss. This is a live album and one of if not the only album that actually captures what Kiss is truly capable of. There isn’t anything mind blowing, or lyrically earth shattering, and that is absolutely perfect. This is a loud, rockin’ album full of vintage Kiss. Whether it was shouting, “How ya feel?!” or “Rock and Roll!” to the audience, playing a guitar lick from painfully slow and slowly inching faster and faster until it is nothing but feedback and notes being thrown around from speaker to speaker, exploding fireworks and fireballs, or just jamming to a Kiss klassic (I had to do it) for 10 plus minutes. This is a live album that helped me sign my life away to the Kiss army.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">12. “The Rising”—Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">I had been awhile since I heard any new Boss and hadn’t listened to a lot in the tail end of my high school years. Then after September 11, 2001 the Boss put out an album that only he could have done, but first he needed his band back. This was the first album of all original material with the E Street Band since 1984’s “Born in the U.S.A.”. The reason I love this album so much, was because of two main things…it was a reflection of what we just went through as a country, and how to deal with all the pain, as opposed to singing a song about kicking ass (we’d have plenty of time to do that in the coming years), and because this was an album everyone in the United States could bond with and through. This light a fire under my ass to dig up old Boss cassettes and CDs and start listening again, as well as reflect on the events of that infamous day.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">13. “Morrison Hotel”—The Doors</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">You didn’t think I’d have a list of 25 albums and not have a Doors album on it did you? You got to love Jim Morrison and his legendary ways, the 20th century Greek tragedy. Although it was their first album “The Doors” that had the song that mesmerized me to the speakers (The End), it was this album that summed up The Doors to me. I’ve always believed Mr. Mojo Risin’ had one of the greatest voices in not only rock but music history (Blue Sunday). While their self titled debut got me hooked, it was “Morrison Hotel” that got me stuck. Land HO!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">14. “Metallica (The Black Album)”—Metallica</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Many years ago, a good friend of mine (Sean my brotha) and I found a cassette labeled “The Black Album” in his house during a jam session, and hit play. Needless to say we sat memorized for the entire runtime unable to comprehend the heaviness of Metallica’s best selling album to date, “Metallica” or better known “The Black Album”. I still remember hearing the drum/guitar intro to “The Struggle Within” and just laughing at how fucking awesome it was. This was the first Metallica album I ever bought, and the first I ever listened too. Where “Master of Puppets” was what helped to set the foundation, and “Rust in Peace” was what renovated it, “The Black Album” was what the entire foundation was based off of. The album will never sound as good ironically enough as it did on that old speaker system off of that old cassette ever again. This one was a life changer.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">15. “Reign in Blood”—Slayer</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">I’ve been shinning the light on Metallica, Megadeth, and Pantera pretty strongly throughout this list, and now it’s time to shine a light on the greatest, fastest, most evil thrash metal band of all time…Slayer…or excuse me…SLAYER! The first time I heard 1986’s thrash masterpiece “Reign in Blood” I couldn’t really understand what was going on, or even sit still, it was so fast that is sounded like Tom (singer/bassist) was rapping and the reason the songs were so short must have been because they couldn’t stay on beat for much longer…Finally I went out and bought the damn thing and sat and just listened from beginning to end, not interruptions…all 28 minutes of it…that’s right 10 tracks…28 minutes. This album is so demented and evil that it got the classic “parental advisory” sticker and only says “fuck” once, I guess chanting “Praise Hell Satan” or “Enter to the realm of Satan” will piss the mothers on the board of censorship off well enough, and did. I wouldn’t recommend this album to just anyone, listen at your own risk, but if you are going to listen, put headphones on and crank it. This album makes Metallica sound like Simon and Garfunkel, and Megadeth like Air Supply. 23 years later and no metal band has come close to defining thrash metal like Slayer did in 1986, and no one ever will.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">16. “Pinkerton”—Weezer</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Jeez talk about a complete genre switch…Weezer is the exact opposite of Slayer in every way possible, but this album was and is just as big as an influence on me as anything else on this list. This album is probably one of the most depressing albums I have ever heard…here’s the rundown…Rivers (founder/singer/guitarist) wrote the album about basically one girl, every song, and how much he loved her, and in the end she didn’t love him (classic right?)…including a classic about falling in love with the perfect girl only to find out she is a lesbian (only Weezer could pull that off). So needless to say I was feeling like Rivers was living in my brain when he wrote this album, except for the falling for a lesbian part, he hit the nail on the head. This is the album full of anthems you listen to after some nasty break-up or even worse before the damn thing ever got started, and never did. The album is raw and open for all to see, and is one of my favorites of all time.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">17. “Born in the U.S.A.”—Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Ahh…The Boss is back. I thought it would get boring if I just put every Boss album back to back in the beginning so I had to spread him around. This was my favorite album/thing/anything when I was younger. This was all I would listen too, day in and out, singing lyrics that I didn’t understand, and running around with my plastic guitar mimicking my idol on TV. I know I sound like a complete nutcase when it comes to Springsteen, but this is what happens when something or someone’s music changes your life, at least in my case. I fell under the spell as a young lad thinking the song “Born In The U.S.A.” was a patriotic fist pumping anthem only to find out as I got older, it wasn’t that at all, I’m starting to hear things differently and things are starting to mean more to me now then they ever did, and that is why his albums will always be on my list.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">18. “Scenes from A Memory”—Dream Theater</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">I’m not really sure where to start with this one…it’s one of the most complex album on all fronts that I have ever heard…lyrics, story, and of course music. This is the album that introduced me to Dream Theater (beware fans of the 2-3 minute radio friendly song). Their average songs are 10 minutes, and their longest is 42 (although the suite they are working on stands at an hour and 30 right now and it’s not done). These guys are the best at their instruments, and to have them all together in one band is astounding.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">19. “Vulgar Display of Power”—Pantera</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">I’m pretty sure the title says it all. Not to mention the album cover is a ready and willing fan being punched in the face. If only I knew the foreshadowing the cover would have…This album feels like a repeated punch to the face, and I love it. This is Pantera’s masterpiece and completes the fourth cornerstone of metal albums…along with Metallica’s “Master of Puppets”, Megadeth’s “Rust in Peace” and Slayer’s “Reign in Blood”. There isn’t a single dull song on this album. Even their “love ballad” kicks you in the mouth and asks “what the hell were you thinking?” Not only does this album have its multiple metal classics…it also has one of, if not the most haunting song (not just in the metal genre) I have ever heard…Hollow…I’ll leave it at that.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">20. “Sam’s Town”—The Killers</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">So Brandon Flowers said it was going to be something along the lines of the best album in the past 20 some years and that pissed some people off…mistake? Well maybe he could have just let the music do the talking…While I’m sorry to say it isn’t the greatest album of the past 20 years, it still is a damn good one. This album actually caused me to get off my ass and go get it at midnight the morning it was released, so that has to say something. While “Hot Fuss” gets a very VERY high honorable mention, I have to give The Killer’s “Sam’s Town” the nod as the album that helped me get serious about music again. I’m not talking about writing and trying to become a musician or “artist” blah blah, nonsense…I’m talking about just sitting down and listening to an album again and getting the inspiration going. This is an album that takes you somewhere, and I definitely enjoyed my stay.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">21. “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”—The Beatles</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">So I always thought it was interesting that you would get made fun of for liking The Beatles in elementary school and middle school because they were “old” and it was what “my mom and dad listened to”, but as soon as you walked through those high school doors everyone’s favorite band was The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. Well I was that nerd who loved The Beatles from the beginning or at least 4th grade. This was my first concept album, and at a time when Korn and Limp Bizkit were ruling the charts and everyone’s walkman, I had Sgt. Pepper’s blasting in my ears (for a little kid that song was heavy as hell, and still carries its weight today). Not a single note is wasted, and the idea of a band playing a band has been used to no greater effect then the masters who did it the first time.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">22. “Origin of Symmetry”—Muse</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">I’m tempted to just say “Space Dementia” and leave it at that…seeing how long this damn thing has become, and letting you discover the rest…but I won’t…I’ll also say “New Born” and “Citizen Erased”…it’s that simple.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">23. “…And Justice for All”—Metallica</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Soooo Metallica can get technical when they need to eh? If I’m not mistaken this was my second Metallica album, and the first of my little metal buddies to hear it and to explore its uncharted territory. Let me just say I must have had the biggest fucking grin on my face when I heard the opening track “Blackened” for the first time. I wanted to run over to my nearest friend’s house to show them this amazing thing that I had just heard/discovered. I didn’t know riffs could sound that complicated, fast, and clean. This was a Metallica I didn’t know existed. These weren’t the guys who were singing about banging your head, addiction, and H.P. Lovecraft novels…they were singing about the end of the world, political corruption, death, destruction, and dropping an “f bomb”. You see for Metallica at that time, saying fuck was only common during a live show, and for a little kid, having a audio recording of James Hetfield utter “fucking” was awesome. This proved metal could be complex, dark, and smart.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">24. “Led Zeppelin II”—Led Zeppelin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">If “Led Zeppelin I” was the blues, “III” the acoustics, and “IV” their greatest hits… “II” was their heavy rocker. As a little kid desperately trying to find a band that was heavy, but also still sounded good and talented I ran across the almighty Led Zeppelin. Very stupidly I bought their “Early Days: Greatest Hits” before anything else…stupid…stupid…stupid…never do that with any band. So after that I bought their discography in order, I, II…stop… “II” was exactly what I was looking for back then. It had the heavy chugging guitars, the slick sexy solos (“Whole Lotta Love” is still unreal) and the high whinny wail I wanted in a band at the time. It wasn’t until the last track, “Bring it on Home” that I knew I had found an album that changed my life. Lying on my bed with my headphones reading along with the lyrics for the always important first listen, I was blown away by the sudden change from the bluesy harmonica guitar song I thought I had pegged, into the ROCKIN harmonized guitar drum driven coda. Oh yea and that drum solo?!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">25. “Darkness on the Edge of Town”—Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">Ah the end of the road. And why not end with the Boss? This is the album that when I listened to it all the way through for the first time (many years after it’s release) I knew I was a different Boss fan then when I first started as a 2-3 year old running around my parents house in Germany trying to do exactly what the Boss did on TV. While I couldn’t identify with being married and divorce, and really love at that point, I could identify with the fact that I wanted to do something, but I had to find that something first. That is in essence what every album has meant to me; a puzzle piece to finding that something that will make me truly happy, and feel like I earned my place in this world. It may sound hokie and that’s probably because in all honesty it is. But these 25 albums do mean a lot to me, and there will probably be many more then 25 to come. But to quote the Boss and “Darkness on the Edge of Town”… “Tonight I'll be on that hill 'cause I can't stop, I'll be on that hill with everything I got, Lives on the line where dreams are found and lost, I'll be there on time and I'll pay the cost, For wanting things that can only be found, In the darkness on the edge of town”</span>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-43335640040405235432011-04-28T11:15:00.000-07:002011-04-28T11:15:56.998-07:00Albums I Dig...Light Me Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cache.interscope.com/images/local/400/9f686e6e-810f-40e6-baf0-312834df6cd8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://cache.interscope.com/images/local/400/9f686e6e-810f-40e6-baf0-312834df6cd8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">OK</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> so you know that feeling when you find a great band that isn't really in the limelight yet? Well I totally have that </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">feeling</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">, and that is thanks to The Pretty Reckless' debut "Light Me Up". THIS IS A KILLER ROCK N ROLL RECORD. What is even more amazing is the powerhouse of a voice that leads the band, Taylor </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Momsen</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. It is amazing because the first thing I ever saw her in was the live action remake of How The Grinch Stole Christmas starring Jim </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Carrey</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. Now she is a full fledged rock n roll </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">bad ass</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> writing and singing the hell out of her creations, and mixing in heavy guitars, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><em style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">schizophrenic</span></em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> drums and a surprising melodic bass. She says that her biggest influence are The Beatles...well that had me hook line and sinker. I always respect anyone who can see the major influence and importance that The Beatles had on modern music, and will continue to have forever.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So I have to admit that I was a little skeptical at the thought of an actress fronting a rock band, and releasing an album...I mean how many times have we heard about that? But the biggest difference is that voice, and that determination. Taylor isn't using her fame like some of those other "starlets" did. This isn't Taylor </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Momsen</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> AND The Pretty Reckless...hell the front cover isn't even the band! This is the real deal folks, and I can't stress enough how much of a great rock album this is.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It starts with the bluesy crunch and the drag of a cigarette that is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnVOw-nECaw">My Medicine</a>. The production of this album also amplifies how important each instrument is in the mix. The album goes in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCxKKa9gZ60">Since You're Gone</a>, which almost has a Rage Against The Machine groove, and it is clear by the first chorus that this is an album that I need to see live. The album then takes a turn with the intro of the single <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txBfhpm1jI0">Make Me Wanna Die</a>, which almost sounds like a Strawberry Fields Forever influence...but it </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">immediately</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> turns back into a Pretty Reckless number with a riff that any heavy metal band would be jealous of. What this song does well is it plays the dynamics better then probably any other song on the album, and Taylor's voice sounds so amazing, a real </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">roller coaster</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. Throughout the song you can't really tell where she is going to go, and that is part of the fun.</span><br />
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The next track <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKze5359leM&feature=related">Light Me Up</a> slows things down a little bit musically, but the lyrics don't take a break (Does what I'm wearing seem to shock you...Well that's okay...Cos what I'm thinking about you is not okay.). The song then has a cool spiral staircase of a melody before the chorus, that is a pure pop rock explosion. This is a defiant song for Taylor, she smokes, she doesn't care what you think, and she's going to wear whatever she wants...do not fuck with this chick. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZyOTJHZ5CE">Zombie</a> is the next track, and this might have been the song that convinced me to go ahead and buy this album. This is a song that should make every other band nervous...this song is killer...no pun intended. For a song called Zombie, it is so damn smooth. Every little choice the band makes, a little echo here, a repeated scream there, breaths life into this zombie. Maybe my favorite track on the album.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The next track <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7VGOnV2QhU">Just Tonight</a> is another single, and upon hearing it you can tell why. This is probably the most pop rock sounding song up until this point in the album. In no way does that make this song "soft", like I've already said a couple times what makes this band for real is Taylor's voice. This song really showcases it to its full potential. But if for some reason the last track thought that maybe that was the direction the rest of the album was going, the opening riff of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFlHsKExcYg">Miss Nothing</a> will end that theory quick. I kind of see Miss Nothing as an extension of Since You're Gone...Taylor is letting you know what she thinks of everything, and isn't someone to be taken lightly. This song again proves that this singer has an amazing </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">capability</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> to write a GREAT hook for a song.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">OK</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. I've said it before about Slipknot, but this next song is the kind of song that you turn up real loud and let the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">neighbors</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> get nervous. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyYgCbr8bXM">Goin' Down</a> is easily the hardest rocking song on an already hard rocking album. The subject matter is grim and intense, and the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">riffage</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> and melody is as in your face and brutal as anything any rock band has released in the past year. LOOK OUT. The razor sharp spiral of a confession is definitely a stand out of the album...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>I didn’t wanna do it, Father</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>But I caught him with another woman in the bed I made him</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>And so I put him in a grave</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>And now there’s no one left around to get me off</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>When I want it's a drag</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The next day on the television they identified him</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>By the circumcision that I made him and now I’m on the run</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>But wait, why did I have to go and kill him</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>When he was the best I ever had</i></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">This band kicks so much ass, I really can't say it enough.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So the band does what any good band would do after a rocker like Goin' Down...slow things down on the next track. For me one of the first things I listen for in a band is their use of dynamics, and they could have easily tried to match Goin' Down, but that would have been boring, and uninspired, instead they hit you with the ballad that is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MkJNDuSJx4">Nothing Left To Lose</a>. Again, the lyrics are somewhat grim, but with a hint of optimism. They are just as strong with a ballad as they are with a hard rocking number. And again, Taylor's voice is everywhere on this song, love it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cjJStLShOU">You</a> is the track I was waiting for when I was listening to this album for the first time. Let's hear the band totally stripped down, vocals, guitar, strings...that is the type of stuff I live for. And surprise surprise, Taylor hits it out of the park. This song could easily be a hit single for them, and the fact that they have a song like this AND Make Me Wanna Die...is truly special and a recipe for </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">success</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. This band has a beating heart, just as much as a beating fist.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">BUT</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> they </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">aren't</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">done</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> yet...the last track <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNA8qR4rCdI">Factory Girl</a> starts with a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">kick</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">drum</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> letting you know </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">it's</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">still</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> there and a the rest of the band </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">soon</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">follows</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I'M</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> A </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">FACTORY</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">GIRL</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">WON'T</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">YOU</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">PARDON</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">ME</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">!"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The album starts just as strong as it </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">begins</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. The song </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">itself</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> sounds like </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">something</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> out of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">80's</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Aerosmith</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">vault</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">, and that is a damn good thing. The song </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">gets</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">stronger</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">stronger</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> as it goes on, and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">must</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> be a real </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">mother</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">fucker</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> live.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So if you </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">haven't</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">stopped</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">reading</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> this </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">review</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">halfway</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">through</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> to go and buy the album then I </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">guess</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> I </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">didn't</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> do my </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">job</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">, because you really should have </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">bought</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> the album already...it is that good, and it is just another album </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">proving</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> that GREAT music is out there if you </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">look</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. I'm </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">pretty</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">psyched</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> about The Pretty Reckless.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjvrT8eCOHc16MV1hmBa-SlQoRr3CFWy2QEDFqxNDXm62a-HnpXDvxtLsR-VucPK4vTVx3_J0dJcOJSoHSrAPfEGQmsc-49QntkPAqrZJBWT91pvmiY2_xTj1CAxDpI8qRkU748AV2UI/s1600/epcoverprettyreckless.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjvrT8eCOHc16MV1hmBa-SlQoRr3CFWy2QEDFqxNDXm62a-HnpXDvxtLsR-VucPK4vTVx3_J0dJcOJSoHSrAPfEGQmsc-49QntkPAqrZJBWT91pvmiY2_xTj1CAxDpI8qRkU748AV2UI/s320/epcoverprettyreckless.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-37173712054017092902011-04-25T09:46:00.000-07:002011-04-25T09:46:47.099-07:0030 Day Song Challenge...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the full completed list of my 30 Day Song Challenge that I did on facebook, it was actually pretty fun...</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 01 - Your Favorite Song</u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsVGBBeQK8E">Jungleland-Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band</a></u></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;">Easy...hands down my favorite song of all time. There is no better storyteller. I've been listening to Springsteen since I was 3 years old, there isn't much more I've known longer then his music. Now youtube doesn't have the album version available, but that's ok The Boss was meant to be heard LIVE.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 02 - Your Least Favorite Song</u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is so much crap to choose from...I was never a fan of "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" but kind of felt bad ripping on it because it's the only song Brett wrote that has somewhat of a melody, but then I read that the rose was supposed to represent "the vagina" and the thorns "the vaginal teeth"...haha fuck you Brett...terrible song. No link. Poison blows.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 03 - A Song That Makes You Happy</u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMytHN6odD4">Wouldn't It Be Nice-The Beach Boys</a></u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMytHN6odD4"></a></u>This is one of the most beautifully innocent songs ever written. I was going to write this long explanation for why this song makes me happy, but seriously if this song doesn't make you happy, you're an idiot. Also my explanation was way over the 420 allowed.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 04 - A Song That Makes You Sad</u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt3IOdDE5iA">Beautiful Boy-John Lennon</a></u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt3IOdDE5iA"></a></u>John Lennon was ready to start fresh, rekindle a friendship with his best friend, and see his boy grown into a man. The song itself is beautiful, but I can't listen to it without the thought of the events that happened after the song was released creeping into my head. The line "I can hardly wait, to see you come of age." is always a punch to the gut.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 05 - A Song That Reminds You of Someone</u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmiP7mmmJ7Q">Street of Dreams-Guns N' Roses</a></u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmiP7mmmJ7Q"></a></u>This song will forever remind me of myself and two drunk fuckos at Mac n Bobs trying like hell to remember the lyrics to this song (OHH they know who they are). Me and drunko numero uno trying to drunkinly sing the lyrics, while drunko numero dos searched her phone for the lyrics we couldn't remember (which were almost all of them). GEEETAR</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 06 - A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere</u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZIEHh5BPug">All These Things That I've Done-The Killers</a></u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZIEHh5BPug"></a></u>This song reminds me of one of the rooms I had at VFMC. I'd just sit there when nothing was going on and listen to this song on repeat and zone out. It's crazy to think how much I've learned to love this band, meet crazy cool people and eventually meet Brandon years later, all because of that room at VF and this song...</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 07 - A Song That Reminds You of a Certain Event</u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oOQROq3WN0">She Loves You-The Beatles</a></u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oOQROq3WN0"></a></u>THIS IS THE SONG THAT STARTED IT ALL. I remember walking down the stairs and humming this melody as a little kid and thinking "Uh oh, here we go". The biggest event in my life as a music lover. The first Beatles song I ever heard and I haven't stopped listening since.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 08 - A Song That You Know All The Words To</u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ">Bohemian Rhapsody-Queen</a></u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ"></a></u>Try me. Probably my favorite guitar solo of all time too, but that's for another list all together. This is the greatest song ever written. The song is such an achievement in writing, technical ability, and creativity I almost can't take it. Everybody better know the words to this masterpiece.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 09 - A Song You Can Dance To</u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLq3U6hkx-g">Goodbye Horses-Q. Lazzarus</a></u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLq3U6hkx-g"></a></u>I actually really like this song...and that's all I got to say about that.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 10 - A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep</u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIKugx1sToY">Goodnight-The Beatles</a></u></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIKugx1sToY"></a></u>Im going to change the wording a little bit here...this is a song that I like to fall asleep too. Beautiful string arrangement, melody and singing from Ringo (probably his best performance). This proves John could write beautiful melodies when he wanted to. The perfect closer to one of their greatest albums.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;"></span></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 11 - A Song From Your Favorite Band </u></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><u></u></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6iAykoKLog">For No One-The Beatles</a></u></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While The Beatles were busy rewriting the rules of modern pop music in 1966, Paul McCartney decided to just step aside for a moment and write this song (in the bathroom of a hotel). It wasn't revolutionary, it didn't create a new sound, it wasn't even a hit single...it was a simple ballad that runs for only 2:02. But in that 2 minutes he tells the entire story of a doomed relationship (knowingly or unknowingly his own) from start to finish, and crafts a story that will strike a chord with anyone listening. There is no question about it, this is my favorite song (aside from Jungleland obviously), by my favorite band, off my favorite album of theirs. While Rubber Soul was Lennon's statement to the world that he was a serious songwriter, Revolver was McCartney's. And "For No One" was every bit a statement as "Eleanor Rigby".</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 12 - A Song From a Band You Hate</u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Name a Green Day song.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 13 - A Song That Is a Guilty Pleasure</u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHk2I-sNoGI">Take a Chance on Me-ABBA</a></u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHk2I-sNoGI"></a></u>Anyone who knows me, knows I'm shameless when it comes to the music I listen too...that being said it's a good thing the intro of this song is repeated in the chorus...because some of this song is almost unbearable. But I love crazy harmonies and I love the female voice...so this wins.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 14 - A Song That No One Would Expect You To Love</u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fczPlmz-Vug">Us-Regina Spektor</a></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is tough because I basically tell everyone the kind of music I love. Any-fuckin-way I love Regina Spektor, she is a crazy super talented musician. It combines 2 things I love and am a total sucker for when it comes to music...string arrangements and the female voice...done.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 15 - A Song That Describes You</u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETO3YfDKEI4">I'm Only Sleeping-The Beatles</a></u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETO3YfDKEI4"></a></u>I need this tattooed on me..."Everybody seems to think I'm lazy...I don't mind I think they're crazy."</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 16 - A Song That You Used To Love But Now Hate</u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8vurKQ1RJk">Headfirst for Halos-My Chemical Romance</a></u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8vurKQ1RJk"></a></u>I wouldn't say I really hate this song, but MCR has progressed as a band so much since that first album. This however was a song I liked at the time, but it didn't age well. The stuff they are putting out now destroys this song and that first album. If you are going to sound the same your whole career, what's the point? Hindsight is 20/20.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 17 - A Song That You Hear Often On The Radio</u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw">Firework-Katy Perry</a></u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw"></a></u>I'm pretty sure this is the only song that plays on the radio. I've got to give her credit, I thought she was going to be a one hit wonder. This is a pretty solid pop song, and I dig her lower register of a voice. So what I'm saying is...I don't turn off the radio when this song comes on.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 18 - A Song That You Wish You Heard On The Radio</u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdEPnGUPc5s&feature=related">Scavenger of Human Sorrow-Death</a></u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdEPnGUPc5s&feature=related"></a></u>Imagine people turning on their radio and this knocking them in the face?! Death is without a doubt my favorite death metal band, as well as one of the greatest BANDS period. This song is so technically precise, blazingly fast, and bombastic in its heaviness it's dizzying. THIS IS WHAT METAL SHOULD SOUND LIKE. RIP Chuck Schuldiner.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 19 - A Song From Your Favorite Album</u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=526FDxMxojw">Backstreets-Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band</a></u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=526FDxMxojw"></a></u>Born to Run will forever be the soundtrack to my life. The Boss is one of the greatest performers this world has ever seen, and the stories he tells with his lyrics are nothing short of genius. This show showcases everything The Boss has to offer, vocals, lyrics, and guitar chops. This song carries my favorite verse from any song ever written...</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 20 - A Song That You Listen To When You're Angry</u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kyDa5JVGFk">Disasterpiece-Slipknot</a></u></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kyDa5JVGFk"></a></u>Duh. Slipknot is anger in audio form, pure and simple. This song is nothing but pure anger, hatred and aggression camouflaged in double bass, screams and thunderous guitars. By the end of this song you forgot why you were so pissed in the first place and instead have a huge grin on your face from the sheer madness of this song.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 21 - A Song That You Listen To When You're Happy</u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-iTYCCrBjQ">Get on the Right Thing-Paul McCartney & Wings</a></u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-iTYCCrBjQ"></a></u>My musical idol.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 22 - A Song That You Listen To When You're Sad</u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3bowe-W7ZM">Love of My Life-Queen</a></u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3bowe-W7ZM"></a></u>I really don't feel like explaining or typing this one out...beautiful song, but really sad. This version will give you goosebumps.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 23 - A Song That You Want To Play At Your Wedding</u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNnrlVWMTvc">(Just Like) Starting Over-John Lennon</a></u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNnrlVWMTvc"></a></u>Hahaha ok I'll do this one...nobody hold their breath.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 24 - A Song That You Want To Play At Your Funeral</u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukbbPJirTaE">In My Life-The Beatles</a></u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukbbPJirTaE"></a></u>Alright so who knows about the wedding one, not important. BUT...we all know this will eventually happen, and when it does I really do want this song to play because I think it's pretty damn perfect.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 25 - A Song That Makes You Laugh</u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwmhGVVIQMg">Jesus Loves Me-Traditional</a></u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwmhGVVIQMg"></a></u>Um I think it's more the person...completely sober person reciting the lyrics of this song over the phone at 1 am perfectly that makes this song hilarious. Geeeetar.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 26 - A Song That You Can Play On An Instrument</u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uqGCqMYaHQ">Blackbird-The Beatles</a></u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uqGCqMYaHQ"></a></u>I've learned many songs, but forgot most, this is one that stuck. Maybe it's because it is a simple song, when you play it YOU are the band...all you need is a voice, a guitar and a foot to tap along too. Now this version I linked isn't the album version, but a cool "live" version of a still "Beatle Paul" messing around. Genius musician.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 27 - A Song That You Wish You Could Play</u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4X4jlOGG4s">Paradigm Shift-LTE</a></u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4X4jlOGG4s"></a></u>THIS.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 28 - A Song That Makes You Feel Guilty</u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZD4ezDbbu4">Born in the U.S.A.-Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band</a></u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZD4ezDbbu4"></a></u>This is a song that should still make the entire country feel guilty. It is a song about a man who gave his country everything and his country turned it's back on him, disgusting. The scream the Boss rips at the end of the song basically says it all. The Boss ain't no hero, the guy he's singing about is.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 29 - A Song From Your Childhood</u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FocIlccCBsY">Thunder Road-Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band</a></u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FocIlccCBsY"></a></u>I've been listening to this song for 22 years. As a kid I of course had no idea what he was talking about for the most part, but as I got older it's amazing how much all of the Boss' songs mean to me and start to unravel and make sense. You've got to live life to appreciate these song, and this is as rock 'n' roll as it gets folks.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>30 Day Song Challenge: Day 30 - Your Favorite Song At This Time Last Year</u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRmNmoIPxWE">I Think UR A Contra-Vampire Weekend</a></u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRmNmoIPxWE"></a></u>My favorite song of the 21st Century. This song is so ahead of every other song I've heard this century it's almost unfair. Such a beautiful song. People who say music is dead aren't looking hard enough. Take a chance, go buy an album for a change. Music is still alive and VERY well.</span></span></span></span></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-80835254002314642272011-04-18T23:05:00.000-07:002011-04-18T23:05:22.196-07:00Movies I Dig...The Natural<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.joblo.com/posters/images/full/1984-the-natural-poster1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.joblo.com/posters/images/full/1984-the-natural-poster1.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>The Natural is why I love baseball.<br />
<br />
It really is as simple as that. That is almost enough for me to hit the "publish post" button. This movie is everything that is great about movies, sports, and what it means to have dreams and live life...it is also one of the most magical movies I've ever seen.<br />
<br />
What makes The Natural great to me is the determination of its central character Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford's best performance in my opinion, and a damn fine swing as well). A man who has natural talent, but is warned by his father that that in itself isn't enough to get through life, because if you do "you'll fail". It is that talent that attracts the Chicago Cubs to send for him, as well as a beautiful stranger cloaked in black. She represents one of the many themes running deep into the movie. She also represents the sudden and quick end to the promising Hobbs young career. Black equals evil, bad luck, and everything that is wrong with what comes with fame. Whenever Roy is around it, he suffers in one way or the other. But every cloud has a silver lining and that is Glenn Close as Roy's love interest. She represents the good and the passion of what is in Roy's heart, and what his talent thrives on.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s46884.gridserver.com/images/uploads/hobbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://s46884.gridserver.com/images/uploads/hobbs.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>One of my favorite scenes involves just those two themes of good and evil. Roy falls into a terrible slump and everyone seems to see the problem except Roy (Kim Basinger). It takes an "angel" of sorts to end this slump. In the scene Roy has been struggling at the plate all game, until something and someone catches his eye during a break in the at bat. He isn't quite clear what it is, but we as the audience realize it's his true love saving him from his slump. Just like us, she doesn't want to see him fail.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.blu-ray.com/reviews/2647_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://images.blu-ray.com/reviews/2647_3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The pitch.<br />
<br />
CRACK!<br />
<br />
Roy sends the ball flying through the air so quickly, so far, and so high that it shatters the outfield clock. What helps this scene bring a lump to my throat more then anything is the swelling of the music. The elation of the crowd that their hero has returned.<br />
<br />
Now I can't go without mentioning what I consider the greatest ending to a sports movie for sure, and possibly of all time. It is goosebump central people. Roy's past catches up to him, and is asked to throw the game should he play (if he does, he could die as result of the bullet wound he received 16 years earlier). <br />
<br />
Of course Roy suits up. And...hits away.<br />
<br />
The build up to that final at bat is the dream of every kid who ever played baseball. The opportunity to win the big game and in grand fashion. Everything about the scene is magical. The music is fantastic. Again it takes another symbol of good in the crowd to resurrect Roy and give him his power to cement himself as the greatest their was to ever play the game...his son. The symbol of his father, "The Wonderboy" bat forged out of a tree that was struck by lightning near where his father died which had helped to carry him along so far finally splits during Roy's last at bat. <br />
<br />
"Go pick me out a winner Bobby."<br />
<br />
The son who had been watched over by the father, is now the father himself. Roy is now surrounded by good. And ready for the pitch.<br />
<br />
Then.<br />
<br />
CRACK!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://baseballthink.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/roy-hobbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://baseballthink.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/roy-hobbs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The moment the ball hits the bat and begins its ascent into immortality the music parallels it. And right with the ball shatters the lights, the music explodes with as much power as the lights themselves. The look in Pop's eyes (their coach) as the sparks fall toward the stadium is the realization that Roy kept his promise, he'd win him his pennant. And as Roy rounds the bases his dreams are finally realized...he was the best there ever was.<br />
<br />
"God I love baseball."--Roy Hobbs<br />
<br />
Now the book deserves its own blog another day...Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-56329060075635333922011-04-18T20:12:00.000-07:002011-04-18T20:12:26.354-07:00DESTROYER...an ode to DETROIT ROCK CITY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.esquire.com/cm/esquire/images/kiss-destroyer-2009-lg-17422423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.esquire.com/cm/esquire/images/kiss-destroyer-2009-lg-17422423.jpg" /></a></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">After the their first three studio albums, KISS was in serious trouble, but they shouldn't have been. They had a catalog of rock songs that any rock band would have killed for, and a live show that might have been only second to Queen's in the seventies. So why were they in trouble of being dropped by their label and forever being known only as a "failed gimmick"?</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">They couldn't translate that live show to an album. Well that was were the obvious answer came. RECORD A LIVE ALBUM. Fuck it...A DOUBLE LIVE ALBUM...they are KISS after all, bigger is better. Now I'll go into detail another time on what made that album (1975's gigantic live album ALIVE!) the saving grace of KISS. But what I'm interested in right now (as well as listening to) is...</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">DESTROYER</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">The first studio album after the giant that was ALIVE! was an important one. It was the first studio album up to that point that captured the power of KISS. As well as easily being their most ambitious album of their entire 1970's Katalog (yea I went there...it's KISS.). While their first three albums ranged from brilliant rock n roll (1973's self-titled KISS), a poorly produced mess (1974's Hotter Than Hell), and finally to what some call (ehm...pitchforkmedia.com) their masterpiece, but unfortunately paper thin (1975's Dressed To Kill). None of them could capture that explosiveness that ALIVE! eventually did. Problem was they couldn't release live albums for the rest of their career could they? I'm talking to you DMB...</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">The pressure was now on to release a studio album that could finally capture the pure rock n roll that KISS was now know finally the world over for. How do you go about doing that? You hire Bob Ezrin to produce it. You know the guy who eventually produced Pink Floyd's The Wall...yea that guy. Now even though he would go on to produce the BANE of KISS fan's existence 1981's Music from "The Elder". The brilliance that he helped to create with Destroyer he would eventually almost destroy (with the help of KISS, it wasn't all his fault) with that album...anyway...</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">So KISS has their producer...check. Now you hire a choir, add an orchestra, some effects, wailing children and a reversed drum beat and you have the ingredients for what you probably never thought would be on a KISS album if you were a fan in 1976...</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">EXACTLY.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">The stage was set.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">So now what I'm going to do is pick the song that proved better then any other song on the album how KISS finally captured their power in the studio.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">The album starts with a series of sound effects having us believe we are listening to the nightly news, washing dishes, and getting into a car on our way to a KISS concert (if this isn't the greatest opener to a rock album I don't know what is). The news broadcast informs us that there was a car accident where a "...Michigan youth" was thrown from his car and killed after driving on the wrong side of the road..."the driver of the truck was uninjured". We then enter the car, rev the engine and what comes on over the radio?? ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE and LET ME GO ROCK 'N' ROLL off of the album ALIVE!...fucking brilliant KISS, I love it. As we speed into the night on the way to the concert, the soundtrack to the rest of our (very short) lives begins...</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R5J6dvpujs">DETROIT ROCK CITY</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kissfaq.com/KissFAQ-wiki/images/thumb/b/b2/Usa_casbah_nb_863a.jpg/500px-Usa_casbah_nb_863a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.kissfaq.com/KissFAQ-wiki/images/thumb/b/b2/Usa_casbah_nb_863a.jpg/500px-Usa_casbah_nb_863a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">For me this is easily the best song on the album, as well as one of the best songs they've ever written. Now if you think I'm talking about the version on most Greatest Hits Compilations, you need to check yourself before you wreck yourself and go out and listen to the original album version. The song starts with that slow fade klassic KISS riff that turns into the two greatest power chords in the history of rock, and cement the fact that KISS had finally captured their power...just in those two chords...and the first line hasn't even been sung yet. Now if you think I'm over exaggerating, put this song on in your car when you're driving and turn it up as loud as possible and tell me you don't fell a shiver run down your spine and a smile creep across your face.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">This song features some of the finest guitar work KISS has ever done, and they've had some great guitarist though the years put on the paint. Little screams of harmonized madness flutter in and out in between the gigantic Paul Stanley vocals, bombastic rhythm guitars, screeching tires, and distinctive Gene Simmons bass line. Peter Criss pounds the drums with surprising authority, enough to make you forget the horrid excuse they used for drums on 1975's Hotter Than Hell (although I always loved the way the late GREAT Eric Carr played the drums, on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFubbkG84-4&feature=related">this song</a> in particular, probably the greatest live version of DRC there is). </div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Paul Stanley sings as the Detroit native, anxiously driving to the concert...full of cigarette ash and Jack Daniels. He weaves in and out of traffic, driving 95 mph ("but still moving much to slow"), "feeling alive" he cranks the radio as his song fills the car...</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">"GET UP</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Everybody's gonna to move their feet</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">GET DOWN</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Everybody's gonna to leave their seat</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">You gotta lose your mind in Detroit Rock City"</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Enter the KISS solo to top all KISS solos. Is it he most flashy? Hell it isn't even the most flashy on the album, but it evokes what KISS is all about, rocking and rolling. Paul and Ace (who is one of the greatest guitarists to emerge from the seventies) create and harmonize a melodic masterpiece, weaving in around each other like the car the narrator of the song is so carelessly driving on his way to the concert.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Then the clock strikes 12...and this rock and roll fairy tale ends.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">"There's a truck ahead, lights staring at my eyes</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Oh my God, no time to turn..."</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">But before the end...Paul Stanley utters the single most bad ass but much more tragic KISS lyric of all time...</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">"I got to laugh 'cause I know I'm going to die, why?"</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">The song has a controlled chaos that teeters on destruction until it finally loses control and crashes, killing the narrator, us and cleverly and brilliantly transforming into the next song King of the Night Time World. </div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">This my friends IS the greatest rock n roll song of all time. And although sometimes missed because of it's use in sports arenas and parties around the world, it's also one of KISS' grimmest songs...the song was actually written about a real life KISS fan who on his way to a concert was killed in a head on collision...talk about the ultimate tribute. </div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">RIP unknown KISS fan.</div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-37542438523141083442011-04-14T10:53:00.000-07:002011-04-14T10:53:11.448-07:00I love Joan Jett...and rock n roll.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Jett_Rocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Jett_Rocks.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>I have the upmost respect for anyone who is ahead of their time, and someone who pushes the envelope and changes whatever the blueprints are for their respective career. One of those people very high on my list is Joan Jett.<br />
<br />
What Joan Jett did in the 1970s for rock n roll and more importantly women in rock n roll is still not entirely given the credit it deserves. It is crazy to think that it wasn't until the mid-70's that the world saw its FIRST all girl rock n roll band. That was in no small part thanks to Joan Jett, who at 14 taught herself how to play guitar and never looked back. She spent the rest of that decade creating riffs and rock songs that are truly just as rock n roll as any other rock band put out in those 10 years. Seriously check out this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DNmMbyfFL4&feature=related">live performance.</a> But the great thing about Joan Jett is that when her band fell apart, and she was left on her own, she chose that time to really shine.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOR57lI6SC8QvRuIJ4pltI4mWdWOAGxkmtPMIcg63ie8WgXIxYc05sSUW2mFX12yMO-eShdVxJKcuDx28xee3fTq013__5XKUYzGQTFvspQLwG8UQQGeEL8NZTfSanY5nZF6K_QLYL6A/s320/WhiskeyRunaways-70s-th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOR57lI6SC8QvRuIJ4pltI4mWdWOAGxkmtPMIcg63ie8WgXIxYc05sSUW2mFX12yMO-eShdVxJKcuDx28xee3fTq013__5XKUYzGQTFvspQLwG8UQQGeEL8NZTfSanY5nZF6K_QLYL6A/s320/WhiskeyRunaways-70s-th.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Runaways</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It would take a lot of work but Joan Jett would turn herself into one of the biggest stars of the 80s with classic such as the immortal <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3T_xeoGES8">I Love Rock N Roll</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdhonK8NMm8">Crimson and Clover</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RAQXg0IdfI">Bad Reputation</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XELpxApT8Kc&feature=related">Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)</a>, and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbiYv_lNfFA">I Hate Myself For Loving You</a>...to name a few. Joan is a fighter and it took the rejection of 23 record labels for her to decided to start one herself. That's right a newly 20 something Joan created her own record label, and created her own legend from then on. She wasn't and still isn't taking shit from anyone.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l00ku4u2Vu1qzk5h3o1_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l00ku4u2Vu1qzk5h3o1_400.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><br />
I hope that Joan realizes that she's inspired more then just women to pick up the guitar (which is important enough), but that she has inspired EVERYONE to fight for what they want in life. She recently said on Oprah that she has learned to "push back the push back", and that brilliantly sums up the fight Joan Jett has fought for her 35 plus years in the music industry. A truly self made rocker who will forever be linked to rock n roll.<br />
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Here is a recent performance proving Joan hasn't lost a step...<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XXwcRCMYcQ&feature=related">Joan Jett on Oprah 4/14</a>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-43623703403828531532011-04-13T21:33:00.000-07:002011-04-13T21:33:57.014-07:00Albums I Dig...Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.songonlyrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/SlipknotVol3TheSubliminalVerses2004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.songonlyrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/SlipknotVol3TheSubliminalVerses2004.jpg" /></a></div>This would be my first step into the brutally awesome world of Slipknot. Slipknot erupted onto the scene in 1999 with their self titled album and helped to reinvent the genre of heavy metal. I on the other hand as a 7th-8th grader wanted nothing at all to do with these 9 masked metal maniacs.<br />
<br />
It wasn't until I was at military school that I finally decided to give the band a real listen, and it happened to be right about the time that Vol. 3 was released. Now you might think, "Oh, of course. Military school + angry kid = Slipknot." But that isn't entirely what the case was. It was more a matter of I was extremely bored, and was looking for new music. It just happened that Slipknot is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKw2gcz9gKY">aggression in audio form.</a> And boy did it help on the days that I was a little more...upset...then usual.<br />
<br />
That is the great thing about metal music in general though, for me at least. Whenever I'm feeling something that I can't properly spill forth, I listen to something heavy, fast, and relentless until I feel whatever stress, or anger I had dissolve.<br />
<br />
So back to Slipknot...<br />
<br />
It wasn't until I stepped foot at Roanoke College that I dug out the little Slipknot that I had and decided to give it a go full time. And thank the metal gods I did so. I joined the Slipknot ranks at an interesting time. Their first two albums had been landmarks in the new wave of American heavy metal (Slipknot, and Iowa...my personal favorite). This album (Vol. 3) would be a shock to the then loyal fans of the band...there would be heavy experimentation. There was a new producer (the legend himself Rick Rubin), and a new attitude (as always, new masks and outfits).<br />
<br />
Each Slipknot album starts with an intro of sorts, a prologue to the madness that was to ensue. Up to this point the first two albums had at times horrific and static infused screams that would warn the listener of the HEAVY that was about to come. This album started with something a little more...welcoming.<br />
<br />
What hooked me at first listen was the tightness of the group. Which is hard enough for a four piece to do...Slipknot has 9 insanely different members...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>2 guitarist (Jim Root, Mick Thomson)<br />
1 vocalist (Corey Taylor)<br />
1 bassist (RIP Paul Gray, truly talented musican)<br />
1 drummer (Joey Jordison)<br />
2 percussionists (Shawn "Clown" Crahan, Chris Fehn)<br />
1 DJ (Sid Wilson)<br />
1 sampler (Craig "133" Jones)<br />
<br />
The complete control this band had over the music was amazing to me. I had heard all the stories about how they were "emo" and nothing but "nu-metal". Whoever those people were must had been listening to something else, this album just got heavier and heavier until...they dropped it all and threw in a acoustic ballad. What?! This is heavy metal?! No...this is complete control over your career and music. Fearlessness. And THAT is what I love in bands. Most metal bands preach this ideal of doing what they please and this badass sense that they do whatever they want, but fail to ever really change and become more interesting. Every Slipknot album is a step forward. There are as with any band, minor setbacks on certain song ideas or choices, but through it all they always found a way to end up on the step above.<br />
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The album itself is full of thrashy riffs, brutal breakdowns, and double bass assaults (the first three tracks...<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__8OqgtqYuE">The Blister Exists</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBOdhCEtk2k">Three Nil</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MemyEnIthJ0">Opium of the People</a>). There are also the equally creepy and disturbing (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppoo1EJ-Vrc">Vermillion</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrB3D9lOQzs">The Virus of Life</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80P3wRY5h6g">Danger Keep Away</a>). The scream that Corey Taylor emits during Vermillion is truly terrifying, you can almost hear pieces of his throat tear. Danger Keep Away is quite beautiful in a creepy/disturbing kind of way. But again proves that these guys are for real. Then they throw the ultimate curve and slow things down with tracks like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz55DQ4UQjc">Circle</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvetJ9U_tVY">Vermillion Pt. 2</a>. Those two tracks really show that Slipknot don't need to hide behind distortion and percussion to prove that they are a talented group of musicians. These are the tracks that some say started Slipknot on a downward spiral, I however think this only made them stronger. It's funny, the ballads are what proved that Slipknot doesn't take shit from anyone.<br />
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BUT.<br />
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Slipknot also knows a thing or two about an all out assault on the ears and this album has possibly one of my favorite metal songs EVER. That would be the epic, triumphant, real mother fucker of a song called...<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUnzjYmofLI">Pulse of the Maggots</a>. Now for the uniformed, maggots are what Slipknot fans call themselves, and this is their rally cry, courtesy of their idols. If anyone wondered why people head bang...throw <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUnzjYmofLI">THIS song</a> on the stereo. Enjoy. Whoever thought Slipknot went soft with this album needs to turn this song up real loud and let the neighbors get a little nervous.<br />
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Overall this album is special to me because it got me into a band that I truly love, and have been following ever since. I guess you can call me a maggot after all.Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-35231641141467296432011-04-10T22:31:00.000-07:002011-04-10T22:31:09.440-07:00Movies I dig...<a href="http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Games/images-2/ET-movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Games/images-2/ET-movie-poster.jpg" width="205" /></a>I'm not exactly sure the first time I saw E.T. was...It was at least when I was 5 or 6 years old, and even at that age it left a mark on me, a powerful one. Now almost 20 years later I watched the film as an adult and I'm pretty sure I cried more then when I was a kid.<br />
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You see, as I've gotten older I've started to mold my life into the way I want to see things for the remainder of it. What I mean is, I've realized what is important in my life and what I see as something worth pursuing and meaningful to me, and one of those very important things is the power of creativity and imagination. And watching E.T. as a 24 year old the magic of the imagination and the human spirit are alive and well. Seeing the connection that this far away creature creates with a little boy in a matter of days is still inspiring and beautiful, and always will be.<br />
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The scene where Elliott and E.T. take their first ride in the sky was such an emotional experience for me. It is a moment of pure imagination and magic. It is hard to explain what exactly this scene means to me as a fan of movies, but I know it is a special moment that doesn't happen very often. Everything about their relationship and innocence is something that we could all learn to appreciate a little more.<br />
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That is the power of movies, the power of a connection with someone, and the power of imagination.<br />
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Maybe it is because I'm older that now I seem to understand more of themes this movie has to offer and maybe it is because of some of the experiences and friends I've made in those 20 years that it hits me so hard. The film to me still has one of the greatest goodbyes in movie history, and it isn't even their parting words that Elliott an E.T. give each other, it is the look and the embrace they share that is truly beautiful and real.<br />
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Just like E.T. tells Elliott that he'll "be...right...here.", this movie too will always be right here with me.<br />
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Grade - A+Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-31587454903400154042011-04-10T08:18:00.000-07:002011-04-10T08:18:29.764-07:00It was 41 years ago today...<a href="http://thebeatlescompleteonukulele.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/breakup_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://thebeatlescompleteonukulele.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/breakup_2.jpg" width="192" /></a>That Paul McCartney announced to the press and the public that he was leaving The Beatles, and this would be seen as the official day that the greatest and most important band of the 20th Century would break up never to all play together in the same room again.<br />
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While most fans, as well as myself see this as a sad day, it is also the birth of 4 careers that were achievements in their own right from John, Paul, George and Ringo. It also secured the legacy of a band that will never and could never be tarnished. You see The Beatles (with Ringo) were only around for 8 years and 6 of those years in the American eye. In that time they released 13 albums studio albums (including Magical Mystery Tour), altered the shape of music for ever, and did it all before they were 30.<br />
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And in some weird way the fact that they never played together again only adds to their myth. We as an admiring public never saw them fail, we never saw them misstep in any drastic way, they were untouchable and because the fact that they ended musically on such a high note (Abbey Road) and left behind such great music before that, it secures the fact that they will forever be untouchable.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thecitrusreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/band.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://www.thecitrusreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/band.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-30715374830189301542011-04-08T22:19:00.000-07:002011-04-08T22:19:52.539-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me just start by saying that Anthony Hopkins is one of the truly great actors this world has ever seen...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/68/Worlds_fastest_indian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/68/Worlds_fastest_indian.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><u>If you haven't seen the movie there are some spoilers ahead!</u></b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've watched the film <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW61Qiko4sg">The World's Fastest Indian</a> a couple times now, and every time I finish it I truly feel my heart warmed by the experience. It is based on the incredible true story of Burt Munro, an older New Zealander with more zeal for life then any other onscreen character I've seen, be it real life or not. One of the great things about watching this movie is realizing that this is a struggle that was tried, tested and overcome.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The movie works because you feel for and love Burt Munro. The fact that he does what he eventually does (break numerous land speed records, some of which still stand today) is amazing in itself, but it is the fact that he does it with a constant smile on his face and that he never lets the obstacles tear him down that truly touched me.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The little nuances of Anthony Hopkins only add to his acting legend. He has never been one to showoff, which is brilliant. It's his laugh in this film that is infectious, his constant quoting of past sayings, and retelling of childhood memories that win every single person he comes into contact in the film with (even a very rude taxi driver). But there are two particular scenes that nearly brought a tear to my eye (or possibly did...haha).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The scene where Burt finally makes it to Bonneville Speed Week</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and gives a very touching monologue about how he's waited all his life to make it this far. Anthony Hopkins again doesn't go for the "Oscar moment" and holds back the tears and never lets us totally see him break, which to me is one of the greatest things I've seen an actor do (Clint Eastwood in The Bridges of Madison Country does this as well.). He lets us see him long enough and then turns his back to have a moment to himself...beautiful.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And of course when he finally sets the first of his records, we see what I don't think we see enough in films about triumph (primarily sports related films, excluding the first Rocky) is the quiet moment of celebration the victor feels. There is no screaming and crying on Burt's part, there is only a simple..."I did it." As he lies miles away from the roaring crowd on the ground next to the world's fastest Indian...</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GRADE - A</span></span>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205422191244540608.post-79145960749342034212011-04-08T21:52:00.000-07:002011-04-08T21:52:45.122-07:00Movies of 2010 I dig...<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">This is a list I compiled at the tail end of 2010, there may be some movies I'd change or move around a little on this list now that it is 2011, but that would defeat the purpose of what I saw in 2010...</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">3. The Social Network</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.comingsoon.net/gallery/48327/The_Social_Network_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.comingsoon.net/gallery/48327/The_Social_Network_6.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Never has a movie been released at such a perfect time as The Social Network was released. David Fincher perfectly directs the mappings of the greatest technological and social networking achievement of the 21st century, with tragedy, drama, and realism...and it's even crazier to think that I'm writing this blog on Zukerburg's very own creation.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">4. The Town</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.comingsoon.net/gallery/48893/The_Town_Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.comingsoon.net/gallery/48893/The_Town_Poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Ben Affleck gets a bad rap for some reason...Pearl Harbor? Reindeer Games?...I mean we gotta give the guy a break. He first showed his directing chops in Gone Baby Gone, and only enhanced them with The Town. Taking ques from the greatest of bank heist movies, Affleck directs and stars in the best bank heist film since the greatest of all great heist films...Heat.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">5. You Don't Know Jack</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://reviewofall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/0f77a2b31786.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://reviewofall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/0f77a2b31786.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Al Pacino LIIIIGHTS THE SMALL SCREEN ABLAZE!!!!! HOOOOOAH!...all of this being said in the best Al Pacino impression possible. Easily his best performance in years, as well as a very fascinating film that brought a lot to my attention that I never knew in the first place, or had some warped idea about. Think of that, a movie that teaches you something!</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">7.City Island</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.dvdtown.com/images/displaymedia.php?id=29004&sizew=500&cat=3&type=1&page=0" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://media.dvdtown.com/images/displaymedia.php?id=29004&sizew=500&cat=3&type=1&page=0" width="227" /></a></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">This is totally thanks to Mick. He told me about this film, and it didn't disappoint at all. This to me was one of the funniest, smartest (Frasier funny/smart) films of the year, with a very strong beating heart. The entire cast was equal parts funny and tragic, and Andy Garcia put himself back on the map for me.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">8. The Kids Are Alright</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mrschuster.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/kids-are-all-right-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.mrschuster.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/kids-are-all-right-poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">I'm still not entirely sure about the ending, but I got the subtle hint. Mark Ruffalo didn't get enough credit in this film, he stole the show for me, as well as Mia Wasikowska (my newest crush), who was so sweet and innocent (but very strong) preparing for her first year away from home, that at one point in the movie the worst insult she can come up with is "phony" and its one of the most endearing moments in the film.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Jakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536829632671515610noreply@blogger.com0