It's Halloween. All week I've been spamming my facebook profile with random "dark" themed songs that none of my normal people friends give two shits about. Thankfully, I can always count on you bloggers to put up with my crap!
"...please take my hand."
"...need to know!"
"...enter to the realm..."
"...sworn to black we'll always be."
So happy Halloween. I guess. haha. I worked all weekend so didn't really do much celebrating (other than watching Evil Dead II at a friends house which is always awesome though). This year Halloween lands on a Monday, so blaaah. Here's a pic from a two Octobers ago, the last time I dressed up:
*hint* I'm not the mouse with the crooked ears. I'm the half-assed Abbath!
I'm working 6 days this week and 6 days next week as well. I swore I'd scrap together a legit blog post today but I just got home from work and am too tired to stare at the screen for too long, so I'll just share this with you...
Driving home last night. iPod on shuffle. This song comes on:
Immediately started speeding/rocking out.
I forgot how awesome Third Eye Blind's self titled debut album was. They have all the hits, "Semi-Charmed Life," "Jumper," "Graduate" and "How's It Going to Be" lined up all in a row! Twas' the greatest drive home I've had in some time.
The answer to yesterday's post is:
Fred Dekker's 1987 cult comedy/horror classic, The Monster Squad.
So what is The Monster Squad? Well, imagine The Goonies on steroids. Instead of dealing with crooks and pirates, The Monster Squad kids battle the unholy forces of evil! They're not a bunch of sniveling pussies either. No, the sassy middle school punks from Monster Squad, use foul language, raunchy humor, weapons, explosives and like to look at naked chicks with binoculars, voyeur style. And while Sloth did look kind of gnarly in The Goonies, he's got NOTHING on the awesome creatures in Monster Squad. The film features all the original Universal Studios monsters from the 1930's, re-imagined by Stan Winston and updated for the Reagan era. I first saw this film in either or 90' or 91'. The point is, I was extremely young. My aunt recorded it off HBO one night using fancy VCR technology. I cherished that tape for the next two decades.
swag
So the film follows a group of pre-teens who like to hang in their tree house and talk about monster films/comics and other geeky sci-fi shit. Seems innocent enough, until Mother Fucking Count Dracula comes to town. Dracula starts rounding up a posse, consisting of some jailbait lolita vamps, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, Frankenstein's Monster and the coolest looking Creature from the Black Lagoon (aka the Gill-Man) ever. Strange things start happening, people start dying, 2,000 year old mummies vanishing from museums. You know, weird shit. With all the grownups head's firmly up their own asses, it's up to the members of the Monster Squad to save the day!
Sounds cheesy I know (and it partially is), but this flick is way more mature than it should be. First, the monsters are pretty hardcore. Dracula and the Wolf Man tear through more cops than I can count. Every time you see a dude in a Sheriff hat he's only moments away from getting his ass kicked. That, and they're also trying to kill a bunch of children. Like legitimately kill the fuckers. Dracula evens TNT's their tree house! Second, the kids get away with saying and doing some stuff that simply would not fly in a modern PG-13 movie. Case in point:
Ok, that wasn't so bad. Just a cutesy five year old hanging with a giant zombie, using a little profanity.
The rest of the squad is bit more frank. They curse, vandalize & blackmail their little hearts out and it's oh so amusing. This might sound crazy, but I think the Monster Squad gang was an indirect influence on South Park. Watch this movie a few times and I think you'll agree with me.
my personal hero: RUDY
Like most 80's popcorn flicks, Monster Squad is rife with ingenious one liners. That clip above where little Phoebe calls her brother's gang chickenshit. There's Rudy, the ultimate badass this side of The Man With No Name, valiantly heading into battle saying:
"I'm in the goddamn club aren't I?"
And how could we forgot the moment where Fat Kid kills the Gill-Man and proudly clarifies what his real name is:
So there you have it. The Monster Squad is easily one of my favorite movies of all time. I watched that VHS tape my aunt gave me for 15+ years until I found a bootleg rip of the film on DVD in the mid 2000's. Then, in 2007, the film was finally, officially released on DVD in a special two-disc 20th anniversary edition. I'm still reeling with excitement in case you can't tell!
Here's the clip from The Monster Squad that features the horribly awesome Michael Sembello song from the previous Take a Guess challenge. This is montage of the squad preparing for their coming battle against the monsters is perhaps my favorite 80's montage of all, 2nd only to Rocky IV's training in the snow sequence.
This year, spend your Halloween with The Monster Squad, and kick anyone dressed as a werewolf in the balls =)
Can any of you bloggers tell me what movie features this song?
Feel free to answer below in the comments section. Please refrain from using google/wikipedia/browsing the youtube comments to find the answer...cheating gets you nowhere! I'll post the answer tomorrow (or the next time I update) and the winner gets my total movie nerd respect and a shout out/link for being awesome.
Last night Immolation played a show here in Southern California. A headlining show with another sweet band I love called Gigan. Alas, I was stuck working and couldn't make it to the show. Even if I had ditched work, there was a family shin dig going on I would have been obligated to attend so, I was doubled fucked from going to this show regardless.
I've seen Immolation several times before but never headlining on their own. Bummer. See, this band doesn't exactly get out much. They're a bunch of regular working class dudes with full time jobs who, for the past 20+ years, sporadically meet up to record albums and tour the country in a van as this interview attests to.
I think that's their secret weapon though. Most bands usually start to suck by this point in their career, but Immolation keeps getting better and better. I actually look forward to their new material. So I was stoked when the mighty Scion swooped in and teamed up with the band to release a brand spankin' new EP, Providence, completely free of charge.
Some people hate on Scion or Vans or Converse or any other company for snooping their noses in the underground metal scene and throwing their corporate money around for publicity. Well I say, MOAR! Moar Scion sponsored albums and music festivals! Immolation is a perfect example of corporate sponsorship done right. The band doesn't have to change their sound and pander to a mainstream audience that will never embrace them to begin with. No, instead they get paid to keep doing what they always do. The audience gets free music/concerts and best of all, it doesn't suck either! Everybody wins. This is my fourth Immolation post of 2011. Three of those posts (including this one) were because of Scion. I rest my case.
Here's a the first song off Immolation's awesome new, Scion sponsored release:
It's heavy, ominous, twisted...and the guitar harmonics sound like angry kittens. Everything I love about this band.
You can get your paws on the the entire Providence EP (for free!) HERE.
Star Wars and kittens. I'm sure Lucas would have just made them CGI if he had done this, but wheres the cuteness in that man? I'd rather watch this video a 1000x than Episode I in 3D.
Gorgeous. Intelligent. Sexy. Creative. Lucy Liu is many things, but most of all, just plain awesome. It's been a while since she's appeared on Hollywood's radar but the ever elusive Lucy Liu remains as productive, and beautiful as ever. Welcome to the latest installment of, Female Obsession...
Liu as "Ling"
Lucy Liu began acting on television in the early 1990's. She had a few small roles on random shows here and there (like her awesome appearance on Home Improvement!) until Lucy finally got her big break in 1998, becoming a regular on the Fox smash, Ally McBeal. My mom was all about this show back in the day. The only thing I remember about Ally McBeal was Calista Flockheart danced with that CGI baby, the cast would do karaoke at a piano bar and Lucy Liu's character was crazy. Crazy, and HOT. Lucy Liu's eyes were unnaturally beautiful. It was like she could see beyond the camera lens, across my TV, actually look through me and after wards, slap me across the face. She was terrifying and invigorating at the same time.
Liu crossed over to the big screen and starred in a string of Hollywood films in the early-mid 2000's. Most notably, the Charlie's Angels franchise and Quentin Tarantino's epic, Kill Bill.
If you haven't seen Liu's performance as the deranged mob boss O-Ren-Ishi in Kill Bill, you are missing out. Watch THIS clip, then hunt down the Blu-ray/DVD/bootleg VHS copy and learn something.
Painters Gonna Paint
Of course, Ms. Liu has taken on more than a few questionable roles in, um, how do I say...less than stellar motion pictures. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, Code Name: The Cleaner, Rise: Blood Hunter? Yeah, I'm not so sure about those ones. She's stared in the uber succesful Kung Fu Panda animated films but I haven't gotten around to seeing those yet. Regardless of her choice of acting roles, Liu has a lot of other things on her plate. She is also an accomplished painter/artist, practices martial arts, speaks something like 6 languages (Madarin & English fluently, some Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese too!) and is an all around awesome human being, advocating for marriage equality/gay rights.
So yes, Ms. Lucy Liu, you are amazing. I'd love to hang out at one of your art exhibits, talk about film, religion, social issues and maybe even impress you with the handful of Spanish & French words I sort of know. Here's a clip of Lucy being awesome with my personal hero, Craig Ferguson.
Oh yeah...here's Lucy Liu being gorgeous:
*BONUS Lucy Liu Overdose clip!*
*Original Youtube clip was removed =/ Here's new improved version:
You know you're getting old when you nostalgia for crap you barely even liked (or flat out hated) before only because it reminds of the past. Ladies and Gents, respected bloggers and all you trolls out there, it's with great sorrow that I present this latest installment of Vile Nostalgia...
DAT Glove
Sometimes it's ok to like stupid crap. I just bought Piranha 3D on Blu-ray the other day. Sure it's a horrible movie but in my humble opinion, it's so bad it's amazing. That same logic applies when listening to Sisqo's "The Thong Song." It's just so bad you can't help but love it.
I wasn't the totally depraved death metal aficionado I am now back in 2000. No, back then I still listened to the radio and watched MTV regularly and although more often than not I was starting to lose interest in the mainstream drivel being forced down my throat, something about the "thong song" lured me in. Yeah, it's about sexy women's underwear. Yeah, I was a pervy teenager at the time and yeah the music video was jam packed with hot chicks, but I'm talking about the contents of the actual song. Sisqo's use of repetition is what did it. He's like a silver haired cult leader, chanting his way into the listener's psyche. Repeating the words "truck" "what" and "butt" 3x in a row before going off the map repeating "thong" until your brain wants to suddenly invest in Victoria's Secret.
How about that video? Joseph Kahn is a damn genius! Did you guys like that little SFX sonic boom the dancers do at the 3:04 mark?! I always thought that was rad. After the Matrix came out everyone was trying to do awesome stuff like that for no reason. Oh Sisqo, where are you when we need you man?
Don't worry. This review will be short and to the point. Do you like cheesy 80's action flicks? Then you'll love Killer Elite. Tough dudes beating the shit out of other tough dudes. Guns that never run out of ammo. Random explosions. Sickening displays of hand to hand (and groin) combat. Awesome novelty deaths. Occasional boobs on the screen. It's all there. Most of all, the film actually takes place in the 1980's! Yes, Killer Elite is actually a period piece. Who'd have thunk it?!
So the film is supposed to be based on actual, real life events but I highly doubt that. Either way, Jason Statham and DeNiro are badass assassin dudes whose team travels the world killing foos for money. Statham's character decides he's had enough and retires for a spell but he gets sucked back into the business Godfather III style when his homie/mentor (DeNiro) gets captured. Now Statham and his boys have to do some Mission Impossible type ish and take out some gnarly former SAS (British Special Forces) agents or DeNiro gets it. Should be easy enough for these alpha dog assassins but alas, Clive Owen, the epitome of badassery in this film, stands in their way. He's a former SAS nutjob himself and doesn't take too kindly when his buddies start pushing up daisies.
Gettin' Jiggy Wit It
The movie is fast paced, has lots of cool action sequences and doesn't completely insult your intelligence. Be warned, there are a lot of AWESOME displays of facial hair in this movie. Sideburns and mustaches galore! This is definelty a dude's movie if there ever was one. There's only like 3 women in the entire film and 2 of them are naked so you don't have to worry about that. DeNiro's performance is totally phoned in but even on his worst day, he's still friggin' DeNiro man. Clive Owen absolutely steals the show and he's the only character who's name I actually remembered (it's..."Spike"). This was actually the first Jason Statham staring vehicle I'd ever seen at the theater and must say, overall, I was pleased. Good job man. The 80's live on.
I remember the exact moment I realized I was a huge Foo Fighters fan. It was in 2005, at the Long Beach Arena. Foo Fighters were doing their first nation wide arena tour and were co-headlining with Weezer. The FOOZER tour as it was called was one hell of a show. I'm an die-hard Weezer geek and always liked the Foo Fighters radio songs, I even owned a few of their CD's, so I figured this concert was a no brainer. Well, Weezer was fun and all but holy shit the Foo Fighters stole the show. I walked out that night with one thought in my head: Foo Fighters do not fuck around.
Flash forward six years later. Foo Fighters have only gotten bigger, having become arena rock masters and even headlining stadiums/massive festivals these days. The band's Los Angeles stop on this tour was their hometown show and they sure made it feel like one. It was just the band, the stage, and 18,000 of their friends hanging out for three hours.
We missed the opening bands due to hunger and hassling to park. Eating before hand turned out to be a genius idea since Foo Fighters played a marathon set that yes, really did go on for close to three hours! Everyone got their money's worth tonight that's for sure. They played a heap of tracks off their newest album, Wasting Light. The album is so good it's stupid. Go get it. Aside from their awesome new material, the band tapped into their massive catalog of hits from their 17 year career and kept everyone on their feet. Songs like "This is a Call," "Monkey Wrench," and "Breakout" for the oldz, "The Pretender," "Skin and Bones" and "Best of You" for the millennials. Not to mention the band's laundry list of anthems. "My Hero," "Times Like These," "One By One," "Everlong." It's kind of astonishing when you think about it. Nothing like hearing 18,000 people drowning out Dave Grohl, screaming "Heee's ORdinaarrrrry!" or "THE BEST. THE BEST. THE BEST."
My two highlights of the night were when they turned "Stacked Actors" into an extended jam/dueling guitar solo battle. Then, when they seamlessly mashed up their awesome new song "Dear Rosemary" with Tom Petty's classic "Breakdown." Pretty rad, especially since Dave Grohl was asked to join Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers after Nirvana disbanded back in the day (learned that little tidbit from the Foo Fighters movie =p ).
A few gripes about the show. Our seats were a little farther than I would have liked. We had a great view of the band, but the sound was little muddled at times. Also, with heat tending to rise and all, it got wicked hot up where we were. Nothing major though. The band's energy and amazingly setlist got us through just fine. I didn't take any photos/video since we were a wee bit out of range for that but seriously I'm sure just about everyone knows what the Foo Fighters sound like anyways. If not...get out from under your rock and Google them pronto!
I'll leave you with some rad footage of Foo Fighters playing "Breakdown" in some lucky bastards garage. Imagine this x18,000 and that's what the show at The Forum was like.
Last February I dedicated a Refused track to the rebels in Egypt who were in the midst of revolution. Today I dedicate another Refused song to the #OCCUPYWALLSTREET movement. Despite what the intellectuals at Fox News and The Wall Street Journal would have you believe, this is a legitimate movement and not just a bunch of dirty hippies looking for trouble.
There are new protests taking place in different cities across the country. Yes it's unorganized. Yes their demands aren't crystal clear or 100% uniform but guess what, that's what happens when you're an entirely grassroots movement with truly diverse membership that allows everyone an equal voice in the proceedings. That, and they're operating on the fucking sidewalk/city park.
The #OCCUPY movement is still in it's infancy. Even if the protesters are violently snuffed out by the militarized police/gestapo units in their respective cities (which could happen) the seeds of change have already been planted. People > Corporate/Political Greed.
This is arguably my favorite Refused song. It still knocks me on my ass every time I hear it.
"They told me that the classics never go out of style, but they do, they do..."
Lyrics:
I got a bone to pick with capitalism and a few to break. Grab us by the throat and shake the life away. Human life is not commodity, figures, statistics or make believe. And yeah I like eating excrement and not getting paid for it. Play the guilt, play the fear and play the anxiety x2 Seduced by the opportunity and robbed of hope. Human suffering is not commodity, figures, statistics or make believe. Marginalise away the joy and sell us boredom. And yeah I like working doing nothing and not making anything. Blame the poor, blame the uneducated and blame the sick x2
I took the first bus out of Coca-Cola city cause it made me feel nauseous and shitty.I took the first bus out of Shell town cause they didn't want me hanging around. YEAH. YEAH. I took the first bus. Let's take the first bus out of here.
the title pretty much explains it all. This looks awesome. Even if it the film sucks I'll just re-watch this trailer and imagine a better movie in my head. My day is downhill from here...
Former Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh was found dead in his Chicago hotel room this weekend. He was only 40 years old. I've read reports that drugs might have been a factor but I really hope not. Welsh joined Weezer v2.0 in 1998, replacing original bass player Matt Sharp, played on the band's second self-titled album (aka The Green Album) that resurrected their career and then abruptly left the band in 2001 after suffering a nervous breakdown. He left the music business for good, spending the last decade reinventing himself as an artist and family man. R.I.P. sir.
Last week I attended a rad little art exhibit at Hollywood's Barndell art park. The occasion? A two day event featuring art that payed tribute to the films of Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers...and it was free. How awesome is that?
I didn't take many photos inside the exhibit because it was small/cramped and I didn't want to be a douchelord and get in peoples way. Here is some footage from the exhibit's NYC stop earlier this year (there were three stops, NYC, SF and LA):
I was six years old when X-MEN #1 launched in the Fall of 1991. I remember having multiple copies of this issue and reading it constantly just about everywhere I went. 20 years later, my recollection of the story arch is vague (something about Magneto up to no good on Asteroid M) but the images from this issue are forever burned into my memory. Jim Lee's artwork is what did it. I had never seen anything this rad in my entire life. Sure, I was six, but man I simply could not wait for the next month's issue of X-MEN. Viewing Jim Lee's art was like a drug.
The X-MEN animated series began airing the next year.
My favorite comic book became my favorite cartoon show. I collected it all during this point. For the next 8 years I was an avid X-MEN fiend. I read both monthly X titles religiously, bought all the action figures (re: TOYS) and dropped whatever I was doing to watch the cartoon every time it was on TV. Lets not forget about the stacks of trading cards also. I eventually expanded beyond strictly X titles, exploring more of the Marvel Universe and a few DC and Image comics as well.
The early to mid-90's were fun times for young comic fans. There were a lot of us also, in fact, a little too many. See, I was apart of the comic book speculation crash of 1993. People forgot that old comics were valuable because they were rare. That X-MEN #1 sold over 8 million copies. Yes, MILLION. Needless to say, most of my X-MEN comics from the early to mid 90's are worthless. That is to say, monetarily worthless. There's nothing more valuable than getting a young child's imagination going.
94' Flair X-MEN cards. so much WIN
My girlfriend works with special ed. kids. They may have learning disabilities but these kids still love music, video games and yes, comic book superheroes. I gave her a box of at least 1,000 old Marvel trading cards to distribute amongst her classroom. She says the kids LOVE them. I'm also in the process of trying to donate a large (and damn heavy) box of comics to a local middle school's after school reading program. Reading comics as a kid helped expand my vocabulary/comprehension skills and undoubtedly made me a brighter student. Not to mention all the good guys VS. bad guys story lines subversively crafted a clear distinction between right and wrong in my head. I hope these kids get as much out of them as I did.
Of course I'm not getting rid of all my old comic books. Hell, I still have a box of 1st appearances & crossover/event issues from the 70's and 80's that are worth a few grand and I plan on holding on to those ones for a while longer! Then again, I didn't get into collecting comics for the money. I was 6 years old folks. No, I got into comic books because Jim Lee's damn amazing artwork and the insane fantasy world it sparked in my head.
90's attitude
So while X-MEN #1 is now 20 years old and essentially worthless (with copies available in quarter bins across the country) Marvel knows a good thing when it sees one and will commemorate the anniversary of this iconic book by reissuing X-MEN #1 with modern computer ink/coloring updates. I haven't bought a comic book in years...but I'm getting this!
That's what John Wilkes Booth said when he assassinated Lincoln. It means "thus always to tyrants" and makes these two skits from Whitest Kids You Know even more hilarious.
This ties in with my previous DrumTHRONE: Dave Lombardo post quite nicely. Today I leave you with the lovely Lux doing a cover of Slayer's "Postmortem." Lux is as talented as she is adorable and I'm not quite sure how but she also plays drums in heels.
Dave Lombardo is a legend. Plain and simple. The undisputed king of thrash metal drumming, Lombardo has been flying behind the kit for over 30 years. His innovative playing style is to modern metal drumming what Eddie Van Halen is to guitar shredders. Lombardo is completely self taught and has played with a variety of acts, ranging from metal bands like Slayer and Testament, to Mike Patton's experiment in terror/mind-fuckery Fantomas and orchestral rockers Apocalyptica. One thing is for sure, no matter what he's playing, Dave Lombardo always brings his unmistakable grooves and serious need for speed to the table.
It's remarkable that this dude keeps getting better over time. If I'm HALF as mobile as that when I'm in my mid 40's it will be a miracle.
I don't remember the first time I heard Slayer but I do remember coming home from the store (The Wherehouse I believe) and spinning my very own copy of Reign in Blood for the first time. The album is short, about 28 mins in length which meant I gave it multiple spins that afternoon. Aside from loving Slayer's whole metal meets punk on steroids approach, I simply could not stop thinking about the drums. Every snare crack sounded like Dave was chopping wood. His ride cymbal echoed in my head for days. And then there's the double bass. I was already into Metallica and heard stuff from newer bands (at the time) like Slipknot who incorporated double bass drumming into their music but seriously, nothing prepared me for Dave Lombardo's playing with Slayer. This man single handily took this style of playing to a whole new level.
skip to the 4:00 min mark for Dave's uber famous "Angel of Death" double bass onslaught.
So while there may be faster drummers nowadays, no one plays as powerfully or is as downright cool as Dave Lombardo.
*NOTE*
My first concert ever was Slayer's H82K2 (hate 2002...gotta love the early millennium right?) and Lombardo's other great double bass solo during "At Dawn They Sleep" was so loud my ribs started shaking and I actually feared I might have a stroke/heart attack before the night was over. I'm not joking. Shit was awesome.
Time fucking flies doesn't it? Jimmy Eat World played a special Los Angeles show to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their breakthrough album, 2001's Bleed American. If you lived in the United States during the early 2000's, there's a good chance you heard songs like "The Middle," and "Sweetness" all over the radio and MTV (before reality shows took over). Hell, I remember working at Sam Goody and listening to this album on the store stereo system all day long. The song's were catchy, memorable but most of all powerful. Powerful enough that I still know all the lyrics a decade later. The jammin' songs rocked and the softer ballads were heartfelt but genuine. That's what I look for in music. That's my common ground between Slayer and Jimmy Eat World you know? Is it genuine? Bleed American is just that. Like the title says (never mind the post 9/11 censorship that saw the album changed to simply Jimmy Eat World for several years), this album literally bleeds raw emotion.
kickstart my rock 'n' rolling heart
So about the show. Sold out venue filled with rabid fans plus a set list consisting of the band's breakthrough album amounted to nothing short of pure awesomeness. They opened up with "Bleed American" and the next 50 minutes was like some kind of surreal form of time travel. All those years of air drumming in my car to "A Praise Chorus," all the memories goofing off at the record store singing "Sweetness" horribly out of key. From the bitter separations that prompted many listens of "Your House," and the playful nervousness I felt listening to "The Authority Song" and it's lyrics "I don't seem obvious do I?" with my girlfriend for the first time way back when.
Nostalgia is awesome and all, but all that mushy crap aside, the band just seriously rocked. You wouldn't know they've played these songs a million times before, the passion and energy they put into their performance was inspiring. Jim Adkins is really one of the most engaging frontmen I've seen. He just stands there and plays/sings his heart out. No tricks or stages moves or anything special, other than his genuine passion for being onstage.
The band returned and did a ten song encore that spanned the length of their career. Old gems such as "Goodbye Sky Harbor" and "Blister" mixed with newer material like "Big Casino" and "My Best Theory." People were talking about hopefully getting a Futures 10th anniversary show in 2014. The way the audience reacted when J.E.W. played "Work" "23" and "Pain" proved that they weren't joking around. I remember buying Futures at Tower Records like it was yesterday. Maybe because I got so used to writing the date on my homework back back in the 90's, but the thought of anything taking place in 2014 sounds absolutely frightening to me. Like I said before, time fucking flies. I'll still be listening to Bleed American though. Here's to that Futures anniversary gig fellas.
