I admit it, I loved Danger Days

January 17, 2011

First, Danger Days is an album by My Chemical Romance.

Secondly it has a subtitle : The True Lives Of the Fabulous Killjoys. Which gives it a sense of gravity and a sweet cover with a white spider with a lighting bolt branded upon it, slightly sci-fi.

And it is, it’s a glorious album that has a concept. The concept is that this album materialized from an alternate future that is downright Road Warrior/Tank Girl in style. It’s a future that is in love with the 1980s and music that you thrash to.   The album starts off with one a DJ doing an intro that reminds me of 3-dog from Fallout 3 then leads into ‘NANANANANANANA” which is possibly the most fun one can have with a song. The video of which features the band driving around in a desert being chased by Grant Morrison and clowns, and laser guns. It’s possibly more awesome than Knights of Cydonia, wait.. it is as it is done in the name of fun. The album then gets into some lows, with ‘Sing’ being okay and ‘Planetary: Go’ being a great song that makes me want to drive fast and blow shit up. Then there is the death notice in the middle. At that point ‘Party Poison’ kicks in with a sound that reminds me of The Stooges and something dusty and harsh. ‘Destroya’ is a pretty strong song that goes into sounds that I never associated with MCR’s light punky sound being heavier and a chorus that kicks. Vampire Money is another amusing song that references ‘ballroom blitz’ and some glitterpunk style.

Overall, a fun album that probably didn’t get enough love from people as it was written off as a ‘My Chemical Romance” thing and not something different.


Scott Pilgrim Is A Movie

August 16, 2010

Aside from being a comic book, Scott Pilgrim is a movie.  The movie is a separate entity than the comics.  The movie is a great comedy/action movie that feels like Manga brought to life.  It also uses fighting game cliches and indie music.  I enjoyed it.  It had a couple great dramatic moments, like when Scott dumped Knives, and Ramona leaving Scott.  I could relate to those moments quite well, I felt for them, as I’ve been there.

I already saw it twice, not like I was trying to, but I had 2 chances to see it, and I said yes both times.

The comic however, is different.  I can curl up with it and it’s intimate to me, it’s a special series, I feel it strongly.  It’s an amazing series.  It’s about more than just love and beating the exs to me.  It’s about trying to belong and find happiness.   It’s about trying to get past yourself and being a better person.  It’s still about love and action, but.. just something about it feels true to me, I’m still going to bust out my copies of it years from now.


Maps

July 27, 2010

Is a pretty rad song.

Just listen to Karen’s voice.

The sound of her crying ‘They don’t love you like I love you’

It’s a powerful song.

I don’t know what it’s about, I don’t care what it’s about.  To me it’s about losing something, and it’s an amazing song.

As music is about the listener, you may think Maps is about something else, Karen O. can say it’s about something else, I don’t care.  I take it my way and I will hold it dear to me.  Music is what we make of it, and I am making the song to be about loss.


Concert Review: Foxy Shazam @Eagle Theater

April 9, 2010

I am going to do my first concert review while my ears are still ringing.

Earlier tonight I made it over to the Eagle Theater in Pontiac, MI to see Foxy Shazam play.  As with every concert in my lifetime, there are bands before the headliners.

The bands consisted of ..well, I forgot the first band.  I wouldn’t say they were bad, they were just kind of generic post-punk scream style, and they didn’t have great presence.

The second band were the Bad Rabbits , they were quite fun.  Their light dancing and use of distortion made for a fun concert.  I could tell that the rest of the crowd had never head of them and we were all pleasantly surprised by them.   I smiled quite a bit during their set and had my toe tapping.

Sadly the Bad Rabbits were followed by the Young Veins, I am not going to link you to them as they are boring and you will fall asleep.  Longest 30 minute set I’ve ever seen, at least by a band that was technically competent.  The Veins just lacked any sort of soul to them, it just felt like generic indie-pop.

Finally Foxy was on.

Foxy Shazam is a crazy band with a very strange sound.  They got a bugle, but it’s not ska. They scream, sometimes. It’s really good and I enjoy the shit out of it.  But they are also really a band to be seen live.  They have the type of stage activity that needs to be seen.  The singer Eric dances around and gets that mic stand moving in an amusing way, lots of crowd diving, and standing on the backs of the other band members, without anyone missing a note.  He climbs up speakers, he throws water, but all with style and a an air of enjoyment.  The fans end up on the stage and Foxy takes care to push off those who hog the stage for too long.  Sky, the keyboardist is also fun to watch, as he moves with strange motions and expressions that are just entertaining to watch, and of  course the playing with his feet. upsides down sometimes. Gigantic flourishes to lightly tap a key. Smiling and frowning to the beat. Holding the keyboard out to the audience to tap a key, and that beard, that beard is huge.  Combined with the other things the band does, the crowd is moving, everyone is having a good fucking time.  It’s excitement and fun, and odds are they will be playing bigger venues soon, and the magic may be lost then, check when they roll through your town, and make sure you see them while you can get the full Foxy Shazam experience.

So yeah, the concert was pretty fucking good, and I want to see Bad Rabbits again and Foxy as well.  Very worth my $10 I paid.


Rollins and The Germany Island Gig

February 14, 2010

And now a brief story Rollins is telling to his crewmates on the Saucy Lass:

So there I was, right? Up on stage in front of an audience of about 5,000 beings, giants, humans, halfings, merfolk, demons, angles, other gnomes, faeries, orcs, elves and goblins . Just me and my trumpet with the backing jazz of The Gentlemen Giants.  I was playing some mean music and rocking the auditorium, which is no easy feat for someone 3 feet tall, but I’m motherfucking Rollins Vas’Tirach ‘the gnome who is big with the giants’.  It says that on my scroll, here take one, I got a few open dates up ahead, just tap there to summon my booking wizard. Anyhow, I had the whole crowd dancing to my tune, no magic needed even, just the magic of music.  I gave them one of the best sessions that has never been recorded, and I know that because I have been to many a session in my travels.

Right, so after I put down my trumpet, I hear a roar and applause.  I had full bottles of booze tossed to me (it’s how you show appreciation on Germany, with booze, what a great place) and flowers and I was showered with plat pieces.  I then made the biggest mistake of that week, I bowed.  See, I had forgotten that bowing is the greatest offense to giants, who are the primary population of Germany.  The Warchief and his concubine were at my performance.  The room went quiet enough for me to hear someone shout “oh, snap! you gonna take that shit Hutta?” and of course now that Hutta has been called out he has to answer.  He bellows “Oi! Rollins, you disrespect me on my island?  On my stage? Your skull will be on my belt buckle!”

Thinking fast, I shattered a bottle of brew that happened to be laying at my feet and used a bit of fairy fire to light a quick blaze.  The booze made a quick large and most importantly, distracting flame, causing everyone to lose sight of me and panic.  I dived down off the stage, leaving behind enough money to get me my own ship, and enough drink to fill said ship, but thus is the life of a bard.

I weaved my way though the panicked crowd, dodging legs and trying to avoid giants, until I found what I was looking for, a woman wearing an oversized dress that skimmed the floor and stuck out to the sides a good distance.  I spotted the dress a few yards away, bright green and going beyond my sight, due to the crowd.  I managed to dive under the hem and realized my mistake, as those legs were huge, and I don’t mean huge to a gnome, but huge to humans too.  Not that they were bad legs by any measure, very nice looking, but her kneecaps were about 6 feet off the ground and light blue.  I suddenly had a horrible feeling, but I had to keep pace with the legs, which wasn’t that hard, as I was quite focused on them, very well formed, in case I didn’t mention.  After the terrain changed from the carpeted amphitheater to snowy streets, I realized why I should be feeling bad, the only frost giant with a blue dress in the joint was the concubine of the warchief Hutta.  I couldn’t peek out from under the dress without risking being seen, so I kept pace with her down the snowy path and into what I assumed to be a mansion, judging by the Arcadian marble floors.

She started talking to someone I can only assume was Hutta “You know, he was only bowing, as that is what musicians do to show respect around the rest of the world!” she said in a fairly nagging tone. “Well, for the last couple hundred years here, as you damn well know, bowing only happens when you are due to be executed, if someone bows at you and you don’t decapitate them, you are considered to be a weaking! You know my rule is only as good as my respect, I can’t handle having a little gnome defy me, even accidentally!” he shouted back at her.  It was another bit of drama, I don’t need to bore you with the rest, as it wasn’t about me, just about them, and it was also in German, I translated it for you, did I mention I also inserted the reasoning as to why bowing is an offense? no, well I did because I am a master at storytelling and I am an expert on history.  oh, why did I bow in the first place?  Haven’t you ever been caught up in the moment and made a small mistake that is kind of awkward to others, shit happens right?

Anyhow, she stormed out of the room and into her own private quarters and this is when I got caught offguard, she whispered “you can come out from under there, as I think you had enough show, Mr. Rollins.” I improvised wisely, by saying “Rollins is my first name beautiful, and I may be small in stature, but I can fill my head with all the show I can see, as I stepped out with a flurish that was considered both appropriate and seductive on Germany.  We had a quick chat after that, full of interesting topics and then she made the night worth it, “..well, I have a giant growth potion here, it will give us plenty of time, it lasts 4 hours.” she smiled at me.  At that point I became gigantic and proceeded to have my way with a frost giant inside of the warchief’s mansion with his woman while he had a bounty on my head, did I mention that I am amazing?  Obviously her moans of satisfaction were extremely loud and we were interrupted by the Warchief right as I was about to get mine, causing me to jump as he kicked down the door, I turned and then uhh.. let fly my arrow at him.  He was completely stunned, giving me time to grab my still gnome sized clothing, and make a quick dash passed the still stunned (and covered) Warchief, as I ran out into the streets of Germantown in the wee hours of the night.  I managed to hide until the potion wore off, then snuck onto a ship while hearing Hutta swear he will find me, kill me, have a priest resurrect me, then kill me again.

My only regret was not getting the concubine’s name.

Spud shouts at Rollins “No fucking way!”

Rollins responds with a shrug “I swear it upon the Vas’Tirach name and my trumpet.  No embellishment, I seduced a frost giant concubine.”


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