Oh yep. I’ve since forgotten who introduced me to Amphetamine Reptile Records way back in the day, but it was a fine and more than a little insane musical journey that was great while it lasted. MVD Entertainment Group is getting me (and some of you) to relive those glory days of noise rock with what’s going to be one of the best documentaries on the subject, Eric Robel’s The Color of Noise in a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack. This trailer gives you a little taste of what to expect when the doc appears on home video November 24 and even better, MVD and AmRep will also re-issue some of the best releases from the label’s catalog on vinyl and CD starting in December 2015 and continuing into 2016 and beyond. Continue reading →
Sure, the premise is supremely goofy and practically guaranteed to make some of the more obstinate old-school fans of the long running Shin Megami Tensei and Persona franchises get a bit cringe-y. But Persona 4: Dancing All Night manages to shake off most any negative vibes thanks to it not only being a pretty decent rhythm game, but a really well-made spin-off to the Persona 4: Golden (that’s also gotten a pretty darn good 2D fighter with an even better follow up). Keeping the surviving characters and situations from P4 intact and working them into the game’s plot was an inspired touch that’s hopefully going to sell those gamers who are only buying this for music and gameplay into picking up P4:G at some point if they’ve yet to.
On the other hand, if you go into P4: DAN with skeptical intent, don’t expect to be knocked off your feet by the game’s premise, how some characters act and the overall gameplay that may not be your cup of tea. Fully enjoying this one means throwing caution to the wind, diving in feet or face first and letting the music and atmosphere wash over you like a sudden summer rain shower. Continue reading →
As a longtime fan of the Shin Megami Tensei series since the mid-1990’s, I’ll admit to getting a glorious case of the heebie-jeebies about Persona 4: Dancing All Night as soon as I heard it was in the works. However, as Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax showed after I dragged myself kicking and screaming into both games and loving them, a little funky is a LOT of fun.
When the opportunity arose to check out a review code for P4: DAN, on went my finest disco wear with the hope that I didn’t look too foolish on that digital dance floor. Thankfully, the game doesn’t disappoint where it counts and even the most jaded non-music game fan of the franchise will want to slide somewhat electrically into their favorite game emporium on September 29, Vita in hand to snap this one up.
It may be hard to swallow for some of you out there, but here’s an uncomfortable (and thankfully, verifiable) fact: “American” isn’t a language. Never was, never will be. I guess some people into speaking their minds at every opportunity in front of a camera won’t ever grasp that being the loudest person in a room doesn’t make you at all correct in what you say. It’s amazing that some continue to get away with this stuff and flock in the irate, gullible sheep because of the VERY oddball belief that someone who has strong convictions about stuff means they’re somehow immune to being dead wrong every time they open their mouths. Of course, if those strong beliefs go against yours, that person is somehow an idiot. Even if they know more and are dead-on correct, too many out there won’t open their brains to fresh ideas because of fear and plain old ignorance.
If you’re somewhat cranky about that news flash above, go find someone who still believes without a shred of doubt (and less proof) that the earth is flat, the Matrix is real, or that Santa Claus isn’t a relative or very good friend running up his or her credit cards (or paying in cash if they have it handy). Holding onto as many untruths as possible as one ages only keeps the crap train alive too long and makes us less smart about things we need to let die off gracefully. Pulling the plug on the old ways is hard, yes. But that necessary mercy killing of dated thinking will surprise you in how it unlocks doors you’ve never even seen in that brain-shaped house in your head.
Also, regarding refugees seeking asylum: Anyone on the “Send ’em back so they can fight!” or other “not in my backyard!” tip should take those words and apply them to the Mayflower landing as seen from the perspective of the natives in that era. The world would most certainly be a far different place if that particular boat full of immigrants was turned away in anger, ladies and gents. Nope, I haven’t a hearty clue or a handy solution to this particular (but not *new* at all) problem other than to say ignoring or flat out erasing history has always been mankind’s main folly and we seem to never want to learn how not to dig these ruts in the first place.
Yeah, wonderful. I woke up yesterday feeling a bit odd and had a VERY slight eye pain and a bigger headache. The headache was from caffeine withdrawal (whee) and the eye pain faded to a slight itchiness. I do have an eye allergy, so I ignored fussing with it and as it was a lazy kind of day, I spent much of it doing not so much and didn’t actually look into a mirror until about 8pm. Wonderful. I have a nice case of what looked like conjunctivitis in my right eye. Nice. I’m gathering it was from the puddle that bus zoomed though during the rain storm a few days back. I thought I was clear, but I got a nice bit of not so clean water hitting me on the right side of the face under my umbrella. Yuck.
Anyway, between that and some other nonsense that popped up yesterday, I’m needing to maybe actually take a day off. Off to get my puffy eye looked and and I’m gathering it’ll be some sort of over-priced eye drop prescription that I’m going to substitute with something cheaper and over the counter. Anyway, yeah. I also need to change the banner and background on the site. I’ll do that later today or tomorrow. Hell, if I’m going to be confined for the next few days, I may as well suffer a lot less than I need to. Boo.
Not to make today any extra gloomy (it’s not, but I know some of you are sensitive like that with some subjects), but we all have to go sometime. Although we can’t always pick the manner of our demise (er, under “normal” circumstances), it’s nice to have the time to really plan out everything one can in regards to how our friends and families celebrate our time spent here. Of course, this is just an excuse to play this clip from 1943’s awesome Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man which just so happens to be awesome thanks to that clip above. That said, I hope someone plays this at my funeral or at least hums it before things get all sappy. Everybody sing, now!
(thanks, Cinefix!)
While many will remember the late James Horner for his work on Titanic, Avatar, Braveheart and other major Hollywood blockbusters, my own memories of the man’s work go back to his 80’s output when a few of his scores stood out and made me seek out their soundtrack albums, which back then were sometimes available weeks before a film was released. Amusingly enough, I hadn’t realized he’d done the score for the icky schlock-fest Humanoids From The Deep until I re-watched the film for a recent blogathon.
One more reason to cut certain foods out of the diet, I suppose. But also a big little mystery that needs solving, so I’m (kind of) on the case. I defrosted a whole Purdue chicken and put it in a simple salt water brine overnight. As I tend to handle raw proteins as little as possible, I didn’t realize until this morning that the chicken ended up in the store sans one wing. Eek. From what I recall, chickens don’t fly very well at all, so this couldn’t be the result of the one I was about to cook being gimped because it wanted to go all Freebird from wherever it was raised.
“It’s a factory second!” was a guess tossed into the hat I wasn’t wearing. But that wasn’t the case, as it was a full price chicken with a clipped wing and someone out there walking around with it in a pocket as a good luck charm. Or something a lot less disgusting. Speaking of disgusting, as soon as I saw that missing wing, I had a serious Eraserhead flashback. You know the scene: “Just cut them up like regular chickens!”:
Yuck. Anyway, a coin was flipped and it was decided to not waste a good and already brine-soaked bird. So a bit of Madras Soul (TM!) spice blend and a good shake in a plastic bag later, into the oven it went. As it’s meant to be split with a friend going through some bumpy times of late, I decided to keep the wingless half for myself. There’s nothing like having to answer questions about what happened to that missing flapper on a gift half chicken. Some questions weren’t made to be answered without a legal team handy. Or at least the Scooby Gang. Anyway, it’s a sunny Sunday and too nice outside to dwell on a dead (now twice dead) piece of poultry. That said, guess who will be pickin’ chickens a lot more carefully from now on. Or a lot less carefully because I’ll have changed my dining options.
Then again, having tried faux poultry on a few occasions, I can very safely say that every one has had missing wings, legs, thighs and bones. That’s not a mystery at all other than why some of those ersatz birds sometimes end up in assorted poultry shapes. Then again, if it were a tofu bird with a missing wing? Well… THAT would be even more creepy.
So, I had a weird day today that turned out great by the end. I got stuck in an elevator for a bit (boo), and during that quiet bit of hell, I missed a few calls about attending a game preview event. Fortunately by the time I was freed, I still had time to make that event and you’ll read the results of that little trip over the weekend. In the meantime, here’s a little tune to listen to that might be familiar to some of you out there. I kind of like this version better.
It’s been out for a few weeks now, but Final Symphony, featuring music from Final Fantasy VI, VII, and X performed by the London Symphony Orchestra is sitting in the #4 spot on the Billboard Classical Chart. Nobuo Uematsu‘s timeless music from the Final Fantasy series gets new arrangements from the master himself and is powerfully played by one of the most famous orchestras on the planet.
If you’re new to the game soundtrack thing, this digital LP may not make you want to pick up a controller and go seek out those older games (that requires a bit of work non-gamers may not want to tackle). But your ears will thank you for exposing them to something different whether it’s inside or outside of your comfort zone. Get it on iTunes (link above), Google Play or Amazon for somewhere between eight and ten dollars.
Platform: PlayStation Vita
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 