there is a pervading aura that the only entertainment worth bothering one's self is exciting, fresh and fantastic. as an admitted fan of music, comics and books without pictures, i have felt the need to find something that just blows my mind. instead, i have decided to consider that i still have a large stack of books, what may be an even larger stack of comics, and a very large number of songs in my music collection that i haven't even listened to yet. i know i am certainly not the only person who could possibly be afflicted by this sense of ennui with what i already have. however, as an attempt to clean up all the crap in my life, i have noticed that there is a fantastic amount of things i haven't even gotten to yet.
i finally started reading michael moorcock's elric series, and find it to be most delighting. it's incredibly awesome and there is already epic levels of magic not half way through the book.
similarly, i noticed that i am halfway through the ultimate fantastic four series, and left off on perhaps the worst string of issues i have ever read by mark millar, which were to say, mediocre at best, and not becoming of him. however, mike carey is the writer thereafter, and i have found the issues he has penned to be quite fucking good. the pace is excellent and there are some awesome nods to jack kirby.
finally, i created the first of two playlists of music that i intend to listen to. i still haven't really given a thorough listen to all my tom waits and am instantly regretting it, as tom belts out some awesome/strange tunes.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
the most difficult consolidation of preference ever, pt. 1(?)
trying to get this down from a list of 2000 potential songs has taken me five hours, and the best i have come up with is down to 7, and i really, really fucking like these songs so the best i could come up with is that i basically have my top five album closers, and then an additional two songs.
the black heart procession & solbakken - your cave
i have always stated that in the fishtank 11 was a masterpiece. this song is needlessly pretty, and i have had two very good friends tell me it was needlessly pretty.
hum - the scientists
a song about a girl who takes a boy to outer space. if that's not enough for you, this song is noisy and pounding and even when it stops for a bit, you can still hear the amps buzzing. matt talbott also sounds like an immense slacker, and it makes me wish malkmus used more distortion and sang about spaceships. it's not so much riff-driven as just thoroughly done, and it demands to be played louder, which is rather difficult, especially if i'm the one who is in charge of the volume and it's the end of a hum album.
my bloody valentine - sometimes
this song is also noisy. it's also one of the two non-album closers. it is however, a b-side, and i love my fucking b-sides. i once read an article talking about how this song was so perfect that few people would ever recognize it. well, the lyrics are mostly indecipherable, it sounds like there is some sort of miniature organ in the background or series of steam whistles with the reverb turned way up, the song builds so slowly that it takes five minutes to come to a close, and not a lot happens other than what sounds like an extremely distorted guitar hanging out with an acoustic guitar and whatever instrument i was trying to decide was in the background being way more clear than kevin shields's vocals. at the end, none of that matters, because it's still probably the most beautiful thing i've ever heard, and i don't give a shit how long you've been studying mozart.
neutral milk hotel - two-headed boy, pt. 2
this is the end of what is probably my favorite b-side. i think it starts out with a synthesizer and a singing saw, and then is jeff mangum and guitar. there are no less than three points i would consider dramatic climaxes in this song, and it's extremely poignant, no matter who you are, because the imagery is extremely simplistic and evokes nothing but awesome. the very end from "two-headed boy" on is earth-shattering and soul-shaking and all matter of really intense things and it's just a dude and a guitar.
portishead - glory box
i have people who are pissed at me for having seen this live. beth orton delivers what i think may be the greatest breathy vocal of all time and it's got loads of vibrato in there. then, it practically changes colors, and the slow drum and bass with the light reverb from the guitar are perfectly balanced against the strings. the guitar solo is really good, and then the organ coming is amazing. then, there is the section with the actual drum and bass sound slipping right back into the chorus is really damn good.
slint - good morning, captain
this song has probably one of the best crescendos ever giving post-rock all the inspiration it ever needed to do minimalist rock that got progressively louder, and probably gave all the math rock bands there inspiration with it's off-kilter rhythm and angular guitar sound. the song is about samuel taylor coleridge's "the rime of the ancient mariner" and most of the lyrics are delivered in a whispered spoken word. the song goes back and forth from creepy to noisy, and then just passed the very middle, everything cuts out except the picking and strumming on the two guitars and then everything picks up with the picking still sitting on top of the original groove for a few measures. out of the noise rising back up, comes what is probably the best climax of i have ever heard. the shouting of "i miss you" does anything but suck. it's impassioned and filled with a genuine longing, and the guitars ring with fucking harmonic joy!
wilco - at least that's what you said
a song that is seemingly about abuse. the guitar sits very quiet in between the lyrics and piano which make up the first section of the song, and then, after everything cuts out, the guitar comes back with fucking fury, and jeff tweedy shreds like a motherfucker. seriously, i don't give flying fuck about most other guitar players or how fucking amazing you think whomever on whatever album is. this shit sounds like he just plugged it in while playing in the garage and destroyed your twenty favorite metal guitarists' fingers while banging out the noise from his guitar. i almost cried the first time i head this and i am not much for crying.
the black heart procession & solbakken - your cave
i have always stated that in the fishtank 11 was a masterpiece. this song is needlessly pretty, and i have had two very good friends tell me it was needlessly pretty.
hum - the scientists
a song about a girl who takes a boy to outer space. if that's not enough for you, this song is noisy and pounding and even when it stops for a bit, you can still hear the amps buzzing. matt talbott also sounds like an immense slacker, and it makes me wish malkmus used more distortion and sang about spaceships. it's not so much riff-driven as just thoroughly done, and it demands to be played louder, which is rather difficult, especially if i'm the one who is in charge of the volume and it's the end of a hum album.
my bloody valentine - sometimes
this song is also noisy. it's also one of the two non-album closers. it is however, a b-side, and i love my fucking b-sides. i once read an article talking about how this song was so perfect that few people would ever recognize it. well, the lyrics are mostly indecipherable, it sounds like there is some sort of miniature organ in the background or series of steam whistles with the reverb turned way up, the song builds so slowly that it takes five minutes to come to a close, and not a lot happens other than what sounds like an extremely distorted guitar hanging out with an acoustic guitar and whatever instrument i was trying to decide was in the background being way more clear than kevin shields's vocals. at the end, none of that matters, because it's still probably the most beautiful thing i've ever heard, and i don't give a shit how long you've been studying mozart.
neutral milk hotel - two-headed boy, pt. 2
this is the end of what is probably my favorite b-side. i think it starts out with a synthesizer and a singing saw, and then is jeff mangum and guitar. there are no less than three points i would consider dramatic climaxes in this song, and it's extremely poignant, no matter who you are, because the imagery is extremely simplistic and evokes nothing but awesome. the very end from "two-headed boy" on is earth-shattering and soul-shaking and all matter of really intense things and it's just a dude and a guitar.
portishead - glory box
i have people who are pissed at me for having seen this live. beth orton delivers what i think may be the greatest breathy vocal of all time and it's got loads of vibrato in there. then, it practically changes colors, and the slow drum and bass with the light reverb from the guitar are perfectly balanced against the strings. the guitar solo is really good, and then the organ coming is amazing. then, there is the section with the actual drum and bass sound slipping right back into the chorus is really damn good.
slint - good morning, captain
this song has probably one of the best crescendos ever giving post-rock all the inspiration it ever needed to do minimalist rock that got progressively louder, and probably gave all the math rock bands there inspiration with it's off-kilter rhythm and angular guitar sound. the song is about samuel taylor coleridge's "the rime of the ancient mariner" and most of the lyrics are delivered in a whispered spoken word. the song goes back and forth from creepy to noisy, and then just passed the very middle, everything cuts out except the picking and strumming on the two guitars and then everything picks up with the picking still sitting on top of the original groove for a few measures. out of the noise rising back up, comes what is probably the best climax of i have ever heard. the shouting of "i miss you" does anything but suck. it's impassioned and filled with a genuine longing, and the guitars ring with fucking harmonic joy!
wilco - at least that's what you said
a song that is seemingly about abuse. the guitar sits very quiet in between the lyrics and piano which make up the first section of the song, and then, after everything cuts out, the guitar comes back with fucking fury, and jeff tweedy shreds like a motherfucker. seriously, i don't give flying fuck about most other guitar players or how fucking amazing you think whomever on whatever album is. this shit sounds like he just plugged it in while playing in the garage and destroyed your twenty favorite metal guitarists' fingers while banging out the noise from his guitar. i almost cried the first time i head this and i am not much for crying.
hot music nerd action!
so, i was a little put off the other night when on the phone with my dad and he asked if a particular song was in my top five all-time songs. this song was freebird, and it is most certainly not in my top five. however, now that this is the age of the ipod, these are the albums i have apparently been listening to the most, so i would suppose they are my favorite (the order is alphabetical)...
beulah "the coast is never clear"
the black heart procession & solbakken "in the fishtank 11"
eluvium "when i live by the garden and the sea"
neutral milk hotel "in the aeroplane over the sea"
shocking pinks "shocking pinks"
beulah "the coast is never clear"
the black heart procession & solbakken "in the fishtank 11"
eluvium "when i live by the garden and the sea"
neutral milk hotel "in the aeroplane over the sea"
shocking pinks "shocking pinks"
Monday, January 5, 2009
a guide to making lists about immensely powerful fictional characters
it is really easy to make individual points of conjecture about which characters may be you favorite, or who may be the most badass, or simply 'best', whatever that's supposed to mean. however, when it comes to making silly lists for me to read regarding extremely powerful characters in fiction, one might want to consider what immense power entails. i am going to go through the ones i am familiar with through comics, because i would be extremely unreliable in doing a mass amount of coverage in other mediums...
1. god-like concepts
-endless (sandman): destiny. death. dream. destruction. desire. despair. delirium. absolute power in their own relams, with pretty damn near there everywhere else, and seen to be far more powerful than not only most superheroes, but most gods of various mythologies/religions.
-lucifer morningstar (sandman/lucifer): got what he preferred over the preferences of yahweh in rebelling against heaven, being ruler of hell, contributing to the creation of two creations outside of yahweh's, and inevitably escaping creation. also, has supreme power to manipulate things within the realms of creation, and is supposed to be more powerful than the endless.
-jack frost (the invisibles): defeated lovercraftian horrors by meditating, and supposedly the new buddha.
-dr. manhattan (watchmen): the only superhuman in watchmen, who was not only capable of duplication, vast psionic powers and all the other awesome stuff, but literally could see and control the fabric of all space-time.
-thor (marvel): impossible to injure, impossibly strong, and can shoot lightning out of a hammer. literally, a reinterpretation of a god, and could probably beat the shit out of odin.
-galactus (marvel): has this thing for eating worlds, and thought up when stan lee wanted the fantastic four to fight god.
-new gods (dc): orion lives on the idyllic new genesis, and has a super-cool chair, which is kind of an impossible toy to break, and he's fairly similar to superman in most respects of being really powerful. darkseid is his father, who is feared by pretty much everything, including all the other new gods on the non-idyllic apokolips, and has this thing called the omega beam, which he can shoot from his eyes, and erase things from existence.
2. ubermenschen:
-wonder woman (dc): born out of clay, and the best that the amazons of themyscera have to offer.
-miracleman family (miracleman): miracleman. miraclewoman. kid miracleman. young miracleman. all of whom essentially have god-like powers, and even by extension, all of their offspring are superheroes from birth with the ability to communicate, and are essentially little gods themselves.
-kryptonians (dc): superman. supergirl. superboy. powergirl. krypto. general zod. bizarro (sort of), etc. they'll all beat the crap out of most anything.
-marvel/marvel family (dc): captain marvel. mary marvel. hoppy the marvel bunny. black adam. isis, etc. saying a magic word gets you the ability to beat the crap out of things like a kryptonian, substitute heat vision for thunder powers.
-green lantern corps (dc): hal jordan. john stewart. kilowog. mogo. sodom yat, etc. wielding the ultimate weapon and only having to think of what to do with it.
-sinestro corps (dc): sinestro. anti-monitor. mongul. superman-prime. parallax, etc. corrupted version of the ultimate weapon.
-century babies (planetary/authority): elijah snow, jenny sparks, etc. no aging, mad powers over temperature or electricity, which gives one the power to freeze the blood in someone's body or turn off their brain.
-the invisible woman (marvel): sue storm is the most powerful member of the fantastic 4, and could set off a tiny force field in your head.
-heralds of galactus (marvel): silver surfer. destroyer, etc. a piece of infinite power cosmic, would still be infinite, right?
-sentry (marvel): moves an instant beyond the present, which apparently makes him about the marvel equivalent of superman.
the incredible hulk (marvel): when bruce banner gets upset, it's likely the hulk is going to be fucking livid. there aren't really any upper limits.
3. magicians:
-timothy hunter (books of magic): the world's most powerful magician, enough said.
-dr. strange (marvel): also, the world's most powerful magician, enough said.
4. omega-level mutants (all marvel):
mad jim jaspers: destroyed the universe of earth-238, and could run the world without interference were it not for superheroes.
scarlet witch: altered reality to get her lost kids back, costing most mutants their powers.
proteus: a resurrection by the scarlet witch enhanced his powers and he could already bend reality to his whim and take over people's bodies.
mr. immortal: his power is not dying, no matter what.
iceman: mike carey said he could influence the ecosystem of the whole world, and no one fucks with mike carey.
exodus: can resist jean grey and professor x and the scarlet witch while dealing damage to the remaining as x-men as well as the avengers.
nate grey: beat exodus single-handedly.
jean grey: regardless of the phoenix force, she is more powerful than professor x and her power is constantly assessed to be limitless.
mr. m: complete control over matter and energy.
kid omega: emma frost (super-powerful, but not omega level) admits he thinks thousands of brilliant thoughts per second, and has such control that he can instantly heal wounds and generate loads of telekinetic energy.
vulcan: the youngest summers brother was the emperor of the shi'ar empire and is apparently way more powerful than his siblings.
rachel summers: just like mommy, jean grey, thought to have unlimited power, even after the whole phoenix force possession thing.
elixir: control over all organic matter, whether healing or heaping loads of pain.
legion: untrained, and still supposedly ten times more powerful than his father, professor x, who, though not omega level, is probably nine-tenths there, which means that legion is ninety-tenths there.
franklin richards: apparently, the most powerful mutant believed to exist is the child of mr. fantastic and the invisible woman. he can apparently beat the shit out of a celestial.
5. freaks of nature
-todd ingram (scott pilgrim): vegan with psionic abilities, apparently if you can keep it up, your powers appear limitless.
-the thing (marvel): this member of the fanastic 4 has a long-standing feud with the hulk, because he is pretty much the only member of the marvel universe that won't immediately get the shit kicked out of himself.
-clayface (dc): the preston payne incarnation of this batman foe needed a special suit because he would disintegrate organic matter by merely touching it.
-plasmus (dc): reverts anything he touches to a protoplasmic state, you think you'd need special shoes for that.
-hellboy (hellboy): pretty much indestructible, and that fist of doom thing even more so.
-doomsday (dc): killed superman, and survived entropy.
-mr. mxyzptlk (dc): when his powers are 'mostly' given to the joker, it nearly ruptures the multiverse. being from the fifth dimension don't suck.
1. god-like concepts
-endless (sandman): destiny. death. dream. destruction. desire. despair. delirium. absolute power in their own relams, with pretty damn near there everywhere else, and seen to be far more powerful than not only most superheroes, but most gods of various mythologies/religions.
-lucifer morningstar (sandman/lucifer): got what he preferred over the preferences of yahweh in rebelling against heaven, being ruler of hell, contributing to the creation of two creations outside of yahweh's, and inevitably escaping creation. also, has supreme power to manipulate things within the realms of creation, and is supposed to be more powerful than the endless.
-jack frost (the invisibles): defeated lovercraftian horrors by meditating, and supposedly the new buddha.
-dr. manhattan (watchmen): the only superhuman in watchmen, who was not only capable of duplication, vast psionic powers and all the other awesome stuff, but literally could see and control the fabric of all space-time.
-thor (marvel): impossible to injure, impossibly strong, and can shoot lightning out of a hammer. literally, a reinterpretation of a god, and could probably beat the shit out of odin.
-galactus (marvel): has this thing for eating worlds, and thought up when stan lee wanted the fantastic four to fight god.
-new gods (dc): orion lives on the idyllic new genesis, and has a super-cool chair, which is kind of an impossible toy to break, and he's fairly similar to superman in most respects of being really powerful. darkseid is his father, who is feared by pretty much everything, including all the other new gods on the non-idyllic apokolips, and has this thing called the omega beam, which he can shoot from his eyes, and erase things from existence.
2. ubermenschen:
-wonder woman (dc): born out of clay, and the best that the amazons of themyscera have to offer.
-miracleman family (miracleman): miracleman. miraclewoman. kid miracleman. young miracleman. all of whom essentially have god-like powers, and even by extension, all of their offspring are superheroes from birth with the ability to communicate, and are essentially little gods themselves.
-kryptonians (dc): superman. supergirl. superboy. powergirl. krypto. general zod. bizarro (sort of), etc. they'll all beat the crap out of most anything.
-marvel/marvel family (dc): captain marvel. mary marvel. hoppy the marvel bunny. black adam. isis, etc. saying a magic word gets you the ability to beat the crap out of things like a kryptonian, substitute heat vision for thunder powers.
-green lantern corps (dc): hal jordan. john stewart. kilowog. mogo. sodom yat, etc. wielding the ultimate weapon and only having to think of what to do with it.
-sinestro corps (dc): sinestro. anti-monitor. mongul. superman-prime. parallax, etc. corrupted version of the ultimate weapon.
-century babies (planetary/authority): elijah snow, jenny sparks, etc. no aging, mad powers over temperature or electricity, which gives one the power to freeze the blood in someone's body or turn off their brain.
-the invisible woman (marvel): sue storm is the most powerful member of the fantastic 4, and could set off a tiny force field in your head.
-heralds of galactus (marvel): silver surfer. destroyer, etc. a piece of infinite power cosmic, would still be infinite, right?
-sentry (marvel): moves an instant beyond the present, which apparently makes him about the marvel equivalent of superman.
the incredible hulk (marvel): when bruce banner gets upset, it's likely the hulk is going to be fucking livid. there aren't really any upper limits.
3. magicians:
-timothy hunter (books of magic): the world's most powerful magician, enough said.
-dr. strange (marvel): also, the world's most powerful magician, enough said.
4. omega-level mutants (all marvel):
mad jim jaspers: destroyed the universe of earth-238, and could run the world without interference were it not for superheroes.
scarlet witch: altered reality to get her lost kids back, costing most mutants their powers.
proteus: a resurrection by the scarlet witch enhanced his powers and he could already bend reality to his whim and take over people's bodies.
mr. immortal: his power is not dying, no matter what.
iceman: mike carey said he could influence the ecosystem of the whole world, and no one fucks with mike carey.
exodus: can resist jean grey and professor x and the scarlet witch while dealing damage to the remaining as x-men as well as the avengers.
nate grey: beat exodus single-handedly.
jean grey: regardless of the phoenix force, she is more powerful than professor x and her power is constantly assessed to be limitless.
mr. m: complete control over matter and energy.
kid omega: emma frost (super-powerful, but not omega level) admits he thinks thousands of brilliant thoughts per second, and has such control that he can instantly heal wounds and generate loads of telekinetic energy.
vulcan: the youngest summers brother was the emperor of the shi'ar empire and is apparently way more powerful than his siblings.
rachel summers: just like mommy, jean grey, thought to have unlimited power, even after the whole phoenix force possession thing.
elixir: control over all organic matter, whether healing or heaping loads of pain.
legion: untrained, and still supposedly ten times more powerful than his father, professor x, who, though not omega level, is probably nine-tenths there, which means that legion is ninety-tenths there.
franklin richards: apparently, the most powerful mutant believed to exist is the child of mr. fantastic and the invisible woman. he can apparently beat the shit out of a celestial.
5. freaks of nature
-todd ingram (scott pilgrim): vegan with psionic abilities, apparently if you can keep it up, your powers appear limitless.
-the thing (marvel): this member of the fanastic 4 has a long-standing feud with the hulk, because he is pretty much the only member of the marvel universe that won't immediately get the shit kicked out of himself.
-clayface (dc): the preston payne incarnation of this batman foe needed a special suit because he would disintegrate organic matter by merely touching it.
-plasmus (dc): reverts anything he touches to a protoplasmic state, you think you'd need special shoes for that.
-hellboy (hellboy): pretty much indestructible, and that fist of doom thing even more so.
-doomsday (dc): killed superman, and survived entropy.
-mr. mxyzptlk (dc): when his powers are 'mostly' given to the joker, it nearly ruptures the multiverse. being from the fifth dimension don't suck.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
awesome things to get when you help your best friend move
-the remainder of the firefly dvds, which you co-own.
-your world of warcraft discs back.
-the complete divine, dungeons and dragons supplemental (for those days you feel like the cleric).
-the complete idiot's guide to creating a graphic novel (i already know just about everything in that book, so i suppose i don't need it).
-an out-of-print complete chronicling of michael moorcock's jerry cornelius novels (win!).
-a t. rex shirt (the band, not the dinosaur).
also, picked up a few vinyls at amoeba...
-jesu/eluvium "split" (limited hydra head records edition)
tarentel "we move through weather"
fly pan am "fly pan am"
-your world of warcraft discs back.
-the complete divine, dungeons and dragons supplemental (for those days you feel like the cleric).
-the complete idiot's guide to creating a graphic novel (i already know just about everything in that book, so i suppose i don't need it).
-an out-of-print complete chronicling of michael moorcock's jerry cornelius novels (win!).
-a t. rex shirt (the band, not the dinosaur).
also, picked up a few vinyls at amoeba...
-jesu/eluvium "split" (limited hydra head records edition)
tarentel "we move through weather"
fly pan am "fly pan am"
Thursday, January 1, 2009
tales from from dystopia amerika: 01-01-2009
background: [see ethical dilemma: xbox 360]
going in to return xbox 360 arcade for xbox 360 pro, and the guy at the returns and exchange desk at wal-mart looks to me as if to say, "ungrateful prick, why on god's green earth would you return a fucking xbox?". so, i explain i am exchanging it for one with a hard drive. then, he looks at me as if to say,"you fucker, i have no money and am working at wal-mart and want to stab you."
nonetheless, wal-mart has a shitty 14 day return policy and seeing that the xbox was purchased on the fifth and i did not receive it until christmas, they were only willing to exchange it because i was willing to give them even more fucking money, which is really why i decided i didn't want the damn thing in the first place. i completely foresaw being stuck with this, and now i have to wait for some fucking wal-mart to get an xbox 360 pro in stock. i called the murrieta store, and they didn't have any either.
in other news, best buy has a fucking wonderful return policy, and even though i did not have a receipt, they put stickers that say best buy on fucking everything. i still hate korporate amerika, but when the bureaucracy is at least acceptable, i curse them less.
going in to return xbox 360 arcade for xbox 360 pro, and the guy at the returns and exchange desk at wal-mart looks to me as if to say, "ungrateful prick, why on god's green earth would you return a fucking xbox?". so, i explain i am exchanging it for one with a hard drive. then, he looks at me as if to say,"you fucker, i have no money and am working at wal-mart and want to stab you."
nonetheless, wal-mart has a shitty 14 day return policy and seeing that the xbox was purchased on the fifth and i did not receive it until christmas, they were only willing to exchange it because i was willing to give them even more fucking money, which is really why i decided i didn't want the damn thing in the first place. i completely foresaw being stuck with this, and now i have to wait for some fucking wal-mart to get an xbox 360 pro in stock. i called the murrieta store, and they didn't have any either.
in other news, best buy has a fucking wonderful return policy, and even though i did not have a receipt, they put stickers that say best buy on fucking everything. i still hate korporate amerika, but when the bureaucracy is at least acceptable, i curse them less.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
on new year's resolutions
time is weird. it's so weird that we have to make up this imaginary and relativistic system to keep track of the damned thing.
what might be even weirder is that despite recognizing that i would constantly strive to be a better person, i really kind of put it off til later. now, as a slacker, this is fairly normal. however, i think basing decisions to be a better person on some sort of time-frame is a little fucking ridiculous, so i think my final new year's resolution ever is just to stop deciding i will eventually do things in a better or preferred manner, and just start acting the way i think i ought.
well, at least i can put it off until tomorrow...
what might be even weirder is that despite recognizing that i would constantly strive to be a better person, i really kind of put it off til later. now, as a slacker, this is fairly normal. however, i think basing decisions to be a better person on some sort of time-frame is a little fucking ridiculous, so i think my final new year's resolution ever is just to stop deciding i will eventually do things in a better or preferred manner, and just start acting the way i think i ought.
well, at least i can put it off until tomorrow...
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