Apparently this is my 200th post. According to the blogspot home thingy anyway. I suppose technically it should be a special one so it's fairly apt that I'm writing it from my new little netbook.
It's an Asus Eee PC something something something. It's tiny and and runs Linux *DUN DUN DER!* I've only ever used Windows really so Linux was a bit of a shock. A nice one though. It looks nice, its organised and have plenty of key things like web and office tools already installed. That was my first impression though. Since then I've tried to install various programs and things have changed. Instead of the easy window's installation Linux just sort of rises up and bitch slaps you. It's like the OS has a grudge against being used. At the moment I'm convinced it's just an under powered version of Skynet and that it spends much of it's time laughing at my human frailties.
That said there is a certain amount of satisfaction to be gleaned from using Linux. Getting things to work is a bit like completing a task from the Crystal Maze. It feels like you're hacking into your own computer. I'm sure things'll get easier though.
In other news because of the heat I've been sleeping with the window open. This has invited in huge angry moths who insist on dive bombing me. I snapped last night and picked up the closest book to hand so I could visit death upon them. When I realised it was a John Donne anthology I started shouting 'Death be not proud' as I ran around swatting at the beasts.
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Cloverfeck
I’ve seen Cloverfield. I’m not mad at it, I’m just very disappointed. It seems to have kind of got the gist of what monster movies are meant to be about but then just decided to bugger it up completely. It’s not really a monster movie in the proper sense, it should probably just be called “THIS IS WHAT LIVING THROUGH A BIG TERRORIST ATTACK MIGHT BE LIKE”. It’s about as subtle as that as well
Traditionally monster movies are either have a message, are really good stomping fun, or are an awesome combination of the two. The original Godzilla was about the devastation and effects of nuclear bombs/testing with lots of stomping on people. Since then Godzilla has been used to represent the restless souls of the forgotten war dead amongst other things. He’s even had enemies that represent pollution or the potential folly of genetic modification or engineering. All with the backdrop of superbly fun stomping action. It’s been done badly many times but when a Godzilla movie is bad it’s still good fun to watch, bar the American version.
Cloverfield barely focuses on the monster. In fact it barely focuses on anything because of the Blair witch-esque camera work. On the few occasions you do see a monster it looks a bit crap. It’s nothing special. And the little ones that drop off it like fleas well…aside from not looking great or being that scary are pretty much a direct rip off from some of the little monsters in a Gamera film. In fact the tunnel scene in Cloverfield is worryingly similar to the one in Gamera.That’s not the only similarity. At times it’s very 28 days later, without the benefit of being as gritty, scary or original. It didn’t need to try to be like. In fact the camera work was pointless on the whole. It was meant to make it more intimate, look realistic and make you care more. But the characters are bland and largely faceless. They didn’t need the up close camera work and over long build up to make me care. I just didn’t. I wanted to see people get eaten by monsters. I don’t care that one of them is related to another one and that one of them is leaving and that OMG! LOVE TRIANGLE! I want them to die or be useful to the plot. Thankfully most of them do eventually do the first, just not quick enough. As for plot there’s little point in establishing a back story. I imagine if there was to be a huge monster attack my motivation for doing things would largely be based on me not wanting to die. They spend ages building up the fact that one of them, who is soon to leave, was involved with someone who left the leaving party early and is now trapped on the other side of the city when the monster attacks. The first half an hour is pretty much there to just set this up. Surely you could do that in five minutes?
:: Monster Attacks! Roars can be heard, explosions can be seen and rubble is everywhere. Everyone leaves a party ::
Man 1: Oh no! Look a monster! That’s terrible!
Man 2: Shit! Lets run for our lives. That way!
Man 1: I can’t! My girlfriend lives on the other side of the city. You know, where that big pile of monster made rubble can be seen.
Man 2: But she’s probably already dead. That crappy monster doesn’t look like it’s messing around. OMG! It’s like a giant terrorist!
Man 1: I have to try. I’m the faceless courageous type.
:: Men go their separate ways. They are reunited later, in the lower intestine of the monster ::
There. You don’t need to even have names. You don’t need to waste time with a love triangle that has no bearing on the plot. You can use the wasted time to show more of the monster kicking the shit out of skyscrapers.
No motivation for the monster is every really brought up. He’s not pissed because humanity is polluting his sea. He’s not some form a monsterized wrath. He’s not a tale of woe. He’s not there to fight anything or even eat much. He just rolls up and starts destroying things. Godzilla might have rolled up and destroyed things but at least he had reasons. You start detonating bombs in the sea then the things living there are going to get mad. You disrespect the dead and your elders then there’s ghostly wrath will of course take the shape of a nuclear fire breathing mutant dinosaur. It’s simple logic. The Cloverfield monster is just there to act as a disaster or poorly disguised attempt at showing what living through a major terrorist attack would be like. At the start when they don’t know it’s a monster you can hear people wondering if it’s a terrorist attack. Then five minutes later, ham fisted point made, the whole thing is dropped and we get on with the explosions and running. The monster could have just been a terrible earthquake. Exactly the same plot could have been worked around it.
I do have to say though I’m pleased they didn’t shy away from killing people. I don’t know if that’s how they planned to do things from the start or whether the rubbish acting made them try and live out their fantasies but they did it. People die left right and centre. In fact the only time the camera style works is with one of the final deaths. Camera man is lifted into air by monster and chomped upon, camera then drops to the ground and lies artfully next to the fallen remains. It also has a reasonable unhappy/ambiguous ending so it’s not your normal Hollywood sunshine ending. I liked the effects of the bite as well. They really should have done a lot more of it. Maybe they could have had a seen where an entire makeshift ward explodes in a bid ebola-y mess.
I bought a monster film recently that was basically everything Cloverfield should have been if you’re just going to have one monster stomp around on its own AND try to focus on the human story side of things. It’s a Korean film called The Host. It looked better, made more sense, had more back story, had better acting and was full of dark humour, suspense and some creepiness. But because it’s Korean and Cloverfield is American the latter will get more and has gotten more play.
So, all in all, Cloverfield is a really bad film. It’s not even so bad it’s good. It’s just bad. J.J Abrams should go sit in the naughty corner and think about what he’s done. The stay should be made permanent if he’s ruined Star Trek.
(I've since seen Star Trek. He didn't ruin it, despite...well...many things. He did almost blind me with lens flare though.)
Traditionally monster movies are either have a message, are really good stomping fun, or are an awesome combination of the two. The original Godzilla was about the devastation and effects of nuclear bombs/testing with lots of stomping on people. Since then Godzilla has been used to represent the restless souls of the forgotten war dead amongst other things. He’s even had enemies that represent pollution or the potential folly of genetic modification or engineering. All with the backdrop of superbly fun stomping action. It’s been done badly many times but when a Godzilla movie is bad it’s still good fun to watch, bar the American version.
Cloverfield barely focuses on the monster. In fact it barely focuses on anything because of the Blair witch-esque camera work. On the few occasions you do see a monster it looks a bit crap. It’s nothing special. And the little ones that drop off it like fleas well…aside from not looking great or being that scary are pretty much a direct rip off from some of the little monsters in a Gamera film. In fact the tunnel scene in Cloverfield is worryingly similar to the one in Gamera.That’s not the only similarity. At times it’s very 28 days later, without the benefit of being as gritty, scary or original. It didn’t need to try to be like. In fact the camera work was pointless on the whole. It was meant to make it more intimate, look realistic and make you care more. But the characters are bland and largely faceless. They didn’t need the up close camera work and over long build up to make me care. I just didn’t. I wanted to see people get eaten by monsters. I don’t care that one of them is related to another one and that one of them is leaving and that OMG! LOVE TRIANGLE! I want them to die or be useful to the plot. Thankfully most of them do eventually do the first, just not quick enough. As for plot there’s little point in establishing a back story. I imagine if there was to be a huge monster attack my motivation for doing things would largely be based on me not wanting to die. They spend ages building up the fact that one of them, who is soon to leave, was involved with someone who left the leaving party early and is now trapped on the other side of the city when the monster attacks. The first half an hour is pretty much there to just set this up. Surely you could do that in five minutes?
:: Monster Attacks! Roars can be heard, explosions can be seen and rubble is everywhere. Everyone leaves a party ::
Man 1: Oh no! Look a monster! That’s terrible!
Man 2: Shit! Lets run for our lives. That way!
Man 1: I can’t! My girlfriend lives on the other side of the city. You know, where that big pile of monster made rubble can be seen.
Man 2: But she’s probably already dead. That crappy monster doesn’t look like it’s messing around. OMG! It’s like a giant terrorist!
Man 1: I have to try. I’m the faceless courageous type.
:: Men go their separate ways. They are reunited later, in the lower intestine of the monster ::
There. You don’t need to even have names. You don’t need to waste time with a love triangle that has no bearing on the plot. You can use the wasted time to show more of the monster kicking the shit out of skyscrapers.
No motivation for the monster is every really brought up. He’s not pissed because humanity is polluting his sea. He’s not some form a monsterized wrath. He’s not a tale of woe. He’s not there to fight anything or even eat much. He just rolls up and starts destroying things. Godzilla might have rolled up and destroyed things but at least he had reasons. You start detonating bombs in the sea then the things living there are going to get mad. You disrespect the dead and your elders then there’s ghostly wrath will of course take the shape of a nuclear fire breathing mutant dinosaur. It’s simple logic. The Cloverfield monster is just there to act as a disaster or poorly disguised attempt at showing what living through a major terrorist attack would be like. At the start when they don’t know it’s a monster you can hear people wondering if it’s a terrorist attack. Then five minutes later, ham fisted point made, the whole thing is dropped and we get on with the explosions and running. The monster could have just been a terrible earthquake. Exactly the same plot could have been worked around it.
I do have to say though I’m pleased they didn’t shy away from killing people. I don’t know if that’s how they planned to do things from the start or whether the rubbish acting made them try and live out their fantasies but they did it. People die left right and centre. In fact the only time the camera style works is with one of the final deaths. Camera man is lifted into air by monster and chomped upon, camera then drops to the ground and lies artfully next to the fallen remains. It also has a reasonable unhappy/ambiguous ending so it’s not your normal Hollywood sunshine ending. I liked the effects of the bite as well. They really should have done a lot more of it. Maybe they could have had a seen where an entire makeshift ward explodes in a bid ebola-y mess.
I bought a monster film recently that was basically everything Cloverfield should have been if you’re just going to have one monster stomp around on its own AND try to focus on the human story side of things. It’s a Korean film called The Host. It looked better, made more sense, had more back story, had better acting and was full of dark humour, suspense and some creepiness. But because it’s Korean and Cloverfield is American the latter will get more and has gotten more play.
So, all in all, Cloverfield is a really bad film. It’s not even so bad it’s good. It’s just bad. J.J Abrams should go sit in the naughty corner and think about what he’s done. The stay should be made permanent if he’s ruined Star Trek.
(I've since seen Star Trek. He didn't ruin it, despite...well...many things. He did almost blind me with lens flare though.)
Don't put off till tomorrow what you could do today
I should probably start blogging again. I keep meaning to start the whole thing up again but it’s hard because I’m just so lazy*. I get to the point in the night when I used to blog, back in those carefree undergrad days, and I’m just too tired. Too tired to write that is. I’ll stay up watching stuff or listening to music but I just won’t write. Maybe it’s because of all the work. Things are definitely getting buisier and I find myself doing more and more work at the computer, for longer and longer. I worked out that if I was to do all the testing I’ve managed so far in my PhD it would either take two weeks straight, with no break, or a fortnight of working And I’m still not published. In time though, in time. I’m getting closer and closer to that**.
I’m also getting closer and closer to finishing the PhD. Over half way through now and the end should technically be in sight. The end means having to find some sort of job. And by some sort of job I mean some sort of research or teaching post. The latter would be harder to get with my lack of teaching and experience, and be the most common post available. I just want to research but you can’t escape the other side of it. Although I do think I’d like teaching in my subject area. It’s just a case of finding the opportunity to do so. As things stand I’ll do pretty much whatever, wherever, if it involves staying in science/psychology and using my PhD. I would hate to get it and then end up working in a fish factory again.
Anyways, I’m going to try and start blogging more. If only to keep me more organised. 10pm watch TV show, write blog, collapse into a fretful sleep filled with statistics.
*I wrote this about a month ago, almost two.
** And since I have something in submission and a conference to attend :D
I’m also getting closer and closer to finishing the PhD. Over half way through now and the end should technically be in sight. The end means having to find some sort of job. And by some sort of job I mean some sort of research or teaching post. The latter would be harder to get with my lack of teaching and experience, and be the most common post available. I just want to research but you can’t escape the other side of it. Although I do think I’d like teaching in my subject area. It’s just a case of finding the opportunity to do so. As things stand I’ll do pretty much whatever, wherever, if it involves staying in science/psychology and using my PhD. I would hate to get it and then end up working in a fish factory again.
Anyways, I’m going to try and start blogging more. If only to keep me more organised. 10pm watch TV show, write blog, collapse into a fretful sleep filled with statistics.
*I wrote this about a month ago, almost two.
** And since I have something in submission and a conference to attend :D
Sunday, 5 April 2009
I'm a Right Clicka
One of many videos on youtube that I've favourited recently. There's nothing quite like the PC V Mac battle. I have to admit I'm firmly on the PC side. That probably has more to do with the fact I've never had a Mac myself than PC's being inherently awesome. For me I think it boils down though to the right click. When I last used a Mac not being able to right click on things drove me mad. Charlie Brooker compares it to having an arm hacked off and he's not wrong. It's probably something you would be fine with if you use Mac's for long enough but when you first come across it it does feel like a cruel joke.
There's also the fact that the last Mac I used was at a hotel, and as swanky and nice as the everything, including the Mac, looked I struggled to actually do anything on it without it going into hibernation mode. Maybe it was something the hotel had done to it but seeing as nothing else in the room was quite as temperamental* I'll point a finger at the Mac. That said my PC did freak out today, probably as a response to being driven like a Slave as I collect West Wing episodes, so a Mac might be tempting.
West Wing is taking time though (I'm addicted and I won't be getting the box set till my distant birthday) so a lot of youtube surfing has been done. I stumbled across a couple of video's that have tickled my fancy no end. The first is 'On a Boat' by the Lonely Island.
It's not just a great piss take of the average rap tune but it's actually quite catching. I can't quite get it out of my head, especially the bit about riding dolphins and wearing nautical pashmina afghans. Finding that also lead me to two other Lonely Island/SNL music videos. One being Jizz in my Pants, and the other being Dick in a Box. Yeah....the name sort of say it all. They're all quite good fun to sing a long too and on more than occasion I've found myself and my housemate accidentally harmonising. Also the Dick in a Box song, aside from having a good cameo from Justin Timberlake in, has provided some awesome answers during phone conversations with my better half.
Me: You know what would make your day better?
BH: What?
Me:....A Dick in a Box! A Dick in a box bayyyybeeee!
I probably shouldn't be so childish.
* The shower head did fall on me I suppose.
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Circadian and all that jazz
I've come to the conclusion that that a normal 24 hour day is beyond me. I just can't seem to manage the whole going to sleep when you're supposed to and getting up when you are supposed to. Mornings are the enemy.
My natural bed time seems to be about 3-4am, and my natural wake up time seems to be about 12-1pm. It works out at about 8 hours sleep, which is normal, but it just seems completely misaligned with the world. When everyone else is up and working I'm in bed, and when I'm up and working everyone else is either finished for the day or getting ready for bed. When I'm running experiments and have meetings I can force myself up but it's been noted that I'm not a morning person at Uni.
I do try and shift everything back into place but I don't seem to have any luck. I go to bed earlier I just sleep longer and wake up at 12ish again anyway. If I don't go to sleep and stay up in the hopes of wanting an early night then things last for maybe a couple of days. I get a couple of days of a normal sleep pattern and then its back to how things were. When my better half is around my bedtimes get more normal (and mornings get painfully early*) but again, the moment she's gone things spring pretty much instantly back into insanity.
I've no good idea why. Sometimes I do work late into the night but a lot of the time I'm not doing a great deal. I'll be surfing the web, listening to music, reading, watching a DVD. It's almost like I'm getting my *Me* time in during the night because I won't definately get it during the day. Not very adult I guess. Like the kid who tries to stay up as late as he can and play just because his parents aren't around.
I either need to break myself out of it completely or just have a year or so living alone in my own time zone. Pelham Mean Time = GMT - 5 Hours. I would have to relocate halfway around the globe for my timezone to synch up with a local one I think.
I'd try to power through the night and stay up but my desk chair is broken, meaning I'll eventually relocate to my bed, and then I'll give in to sleep when it eventually comes. Oh
Somnus God of Sleep, you bastard. Or perhaps - Oh Ikea, God of Easily Breakable Furnishings, you bastard.
* As awesome as waking up with the better half is morning's are still the devils work.
My natural bed time seems to be about 3-4am, and my natural wake up time seems to be about 12-1pm. It works out at about 8 hours sleep, which is normal, but it just seems completely misaligned with the world. When everyone else is up and working I'm in bed, and when I'm up and working everyone else is either finished for the day or getting ready for bed. When I'm running experiments and have meetings I can force myself up but it's been noted that I'm not a morning person at Uni.
I do try and shift everything back into place but I don't seem to have any luck. I go to bed earlier I just sleep longer and wake up at 12ish again anyway. If I don't go to sleep and stay up in the hopes of wanting an early night then things last for maybe a couple of days. I get a couple of days of a normal sleep pattern and then its back to how things were. When my better half is around my bedtimes get more normal (and mornings get painfully early*) but again, the moment she's gone things spring pretty much instantly back into insanity.
I've no good idea why. Sometimes I do work late into the night but a lot of the time I'm not doing a great deal. I'll be surfing the web, listening to music, reading, watching a DVD. It's almost like I'm getting my *Me* time in during the night because I won't definately get it during the day. Not very adult I guess. Like the kid who tries to stay up as late as he can and play just because his parents aren't around.
I either need to break myself out of it completely or just have a year or so living alone in my own time zone. Pelham Mean Time = GMT - 5 Hours. I would have to relocate halfway around the globe for my timezone to synch up with a local one I think.
I'd try to power through the night and stay up but my desk chair is broken, meaning I'll eventually relocate to my bed, and then I'll give in to sleep when it eventually comes. Oh
Somnus God of Sleep, you bastard. Or perhaps - Oh Ikea, God of Easily Breakable Furnishings, you bastard.
* As awesome as waking up with the better half is morning's are still the devils work.
Monday, 23 March 2009
Long Way Back Home featuring The Creature from the Black Lagoon!
If you go to the BNL website you can, until the 27th I think, download the entire concert from Universal studios. The first one without Steve. I'm listening to it right now and while you can definitely tell that they are still finding their feet a little I've no doubt that they will.
The biggest thing is getting over the expectations of Steve. It's odd not having his voice there, even though the songs I've listened to so far haven't been big Steve one's anyway. Odd isn't bad though it just something that's going to take some getting used to. They can still nail the songs. In fact I've just heard Ed belt out Long Way Back Home and I think it's something of a favourite for me now, just on the one listen.
Oh...a heartbreaking moment perhaps. Kev is singing Sound of Your Voice and he dedicates it to Steve and the fans. His voice generally sounds like Kittens, Rainbows and Sunshine anyway so it is a particularly sweet rendition.
It's a 22 track concert, including adlibs. I've not come across any big Steve songs yet so I'm thinking maybe I should revisit this blog post once I've heard the bigger Steve ones. But you know, I think I'll just write as I listen. The bigger Steve ones are One Week, The Old Apartment and If I had $1,000,000. And of those two are a duet really. There's no Break Your Heart or What a Good Boy. That's to be expected. I just hope they're not retired completely.
And when it comes to the duet bits, as much as I like Kevin I'm hoping Jim gets a stab at If I had $1,000,000. I think his voice would suit it better, he's already had a go at Maybe Katie and I think he'll be fine with it once he's gotten used to it a little more.
Hehe, they still have the stage banter going on. Mainly Ed and Tyler but then they are the louder ones. Many muppet references so far!
The set list has For You on. It's actually one of my favourite BNL songs. I think it's a little underrated. Maybe it's because it's quite country it gets a little overlooked by lyrically I can't help but love it.
Hurrah! Airport security adlib songs! "Take off your shoes, take off your socks, take off your shoes for me. Take off your shoes, take off your socks....AND YOUR PANTS!".
One Week is nicely done. It's mainly Ed, and the occasional smattering of Tyler from what I can work out. Ed must have been knackered after doing that. Not bad though, I think there was a sound issue with the backing vocals but that's not really a band thing themselves. They mention on their webpage that they had a bit of struggle getting to grips with the sound for the backing vocals. I think that was One Week.
The second adlib track, So Many Humans, is fantastic. Beautiful Close Encounters of the Third Kind jokes. It does lead into Shopping though, which I've never really liked but then there are always going to songs like that. Never really been fond of Shopping or Grade 9. Two out of....the entire catalogue ain't bad. Meatloaf would be very impressed.
Heh, I have to change my mind a little. This version of Shopping has broken down into a sort of scatman contest, complete with beatbox.
Now it's time for Old Apartment, one of the last songs on the set list. And it's not bad, not bad at all. Rather than just trying to sing it like Steve there's been a bit of style change and I think that's what's making it work. Ed's voice, good as it is, doesn't have the same ring to it as Steve's. But the slight changes on this version work mean Ed can sing naturally, and still hit the bigger notes. It's still got just as much emotion to it, and I think just as much punch and power, it's just in slightly different places. At the risk of being all fanboyish I approve heartily!
And immediately after is If I had $1,000,000. Hmmm, I dunno. Awesome cover to begin with, great Monster based improv in the middle. But it's Ed and Kev, and I just don't think it should be. Kev's voice is good but it doesn't work as well as Jim's would I think with Ed's. Kev's voice is light and lilty, if that's a word, when it needs to be heavier and smoother. And the 'I'd buy you a Monkey' line should be replied to with 'Haven't you always wanted a MonKEEEE?!'
The style is slightly different, and it has to be, but I love the MonKEEE bit. I'm sure it'll improve with practise, and it doesn't sound too bad at the moment, I just hope Jim gets a chance and the MonKEE bit gets nailed properly. I shan't go on because it feels too much like having a go a Kev which is essentially the same as stepping on Kittens, which no one wants to do.
An announcement! They're going into the studio in about a month, so that would be the start of April ish. Can't wait for new songs, it'll be interesting to see what direction the writing goes in too. They also say they plan to be all over America in Autumn, which I'm hoping means the UK in the New Year. So I can see them, and shout MonKEEE!
The biggest thing is getting over the expectations of Steve. It's odd not having his voice there, even though the songs I've listened to so far haven't been big Steve one's anyway. Odd isn't bad though it just something that's going to take some getting used to. They can still nail the songs. In fact I've just heard Ed belt out Long Way Back Home and I think it's something of a favourite for me now, just on the one listen.
Oh...a heartbreaking moment perhaps. Kev is singing Sound of Your Voice and he dedicates it to Steve and the fans. His voice generally sounds like Kittens, Rainbows and Sunshine anyway so it is a particularly sweet rendition.
It's a 22 track concert, including adlibs. I've not come across any big Steve songs yet so I'm thinking maybe I should revisit this blog post once I've heard the bigger Steve ones. But you know, I think I'll just write as I listen. The bigger Steve ones are One Week, The Old Apartment and If I had $1,000,000. And of those two are a duet really. There's no Break Your Heart or What a Good Boy. That's to be expected. I just hope they're not retired completely.
And when it comes to the duet bits, as much as I like Kevin I'm hoping Jim gets a stab at If I had $1,000,000. I think his voice would suit it better, he's already had a go at Maybe Katie and I think he'll be fine with it once he's gotten used to it a little more.
Hehe, they still have the stage banter going on. Mainly Ed and Tyler but then they are the louder ones. Many muppet references so far!
The set list has For You on. It's actually one of my favourite BNL songs. I think it's a little underrated. Maybe it's because it's quite country it gets a little overlooked by lyrically I can't help but love it.
Hurrah! Airport security adlib songs! "Take off your shoes, take off your socks, take off your shoes for me. Take off your shoes, take off your socks....AND YOUR PANTS!".
One Week is nicely done. It's mainly Ed, and the occasional smattering of Tyler from what I can work out. Ed must have been knackered after doing that. Not bad though, I think there was a sound issue with the backing vocals but that's not really a band thing themselves. They mention on their webpage that they had a bit of struggle getting to grips with the sound for the backing vocals. I think that was One Week.
The second adlib track, So Many Humans, is fantastic. Beautiful Close Encounters of the Third Kind jokes. It does lead into Shopping though, which I've never really liked but then there are always going to songs like that. Never really been fond of Shopping or Grade 9. Two out of....the entire catalogue ain't bad. Meatloaf would be very impressed.
Heh, I have to change my mind a little. This version of Shopping has broken down into a sort of scatman contest, complete with beatbox.
Now it's time for Old Apartment, one of the last songs on the set list. And it's not bad, not bad at all. Rather than just trying to sing it like Steve there's been a bit of style change and I think that's what's making it work. Ed's voice, good as it is, doesn't have the same ring to it as Steve's. But the slight changes on this version work mean Ed can sing naturally, and still hit the bigger notes. It's still got just as much emotion to it, and I think just as much punch and power, it's just in slightly different places. At the risk of being all fanboyish I approve heartily!
And immediately after is If I had $1,000,000. Hmmm, I dunno. Awesome cover to begin with, great Monster based improv in the middle. But it's Ed and Kev, and I just don't think it should be. Kev's voice is good but it doesn't work as well as Jim's would I think with Ed's. Kev's voice is light and lilty, if that's a word, when it needs to be heavier and smoother. And the 'I'd buy you a Monkey' line should be replied to with 'Haven't you always wanted a MonKEEEE?!'
The style is slightly different, and it has to be, but I love the MonKEEE bit. I'm sure it'll improve with practise, and it doesn't sound too bad at the moment, I just hope Jim gets a chance and the MonKEE bit gets nailed properly. I shan't go on because it feels too much like having a go a Kev which is essentially the same as stepping on Kittens, which no one wants to do.
An announcement! They're going into the studio in about a month, so that would be the start of April ish. Can't wait for new songs, it'll be interesting to see what direction the writing goes in too. They also say they plan to be all over America in Autumn, which I'm hoping means the UK in the New Year. So I can see them, and shout MonKEEE!
Monday, 9 March 2009
Need more boxsets....MOAR!
I think I've got a bit of a boxset addiction. I've got so many lying around that if I was given enough food and a bed pan I could hide away in my room for months. If nuclear winter came I'd be well entertained right up until the point where the mutant zombies broke in and started to eat my brains. My tasty tasty brains.
I've worked my way through DS9, both Stargates, Firefly and Godzilla. Hours there and they're all really good, in my opinion. It's nice to be able to actually sit through something without having to wait weeks for the next part. It's great for work to. But it's always sad when it ends because then you know you need to find an entirely new series of something. After all the above I went for Babylon 5. I remembered watching it with my Dad when I was younger and...it was on sale! It was well worth the money. Bits of it are a little dated, and some of the acting is a little rough around the edges in the first season or so but the plot is fantastic. It's ballsy. There are little hints and clues in the first season that appear as a full fledged plot arcs a good few seasons later. The little details are picked up on again and again and by the end of it you actually care about the characters. Especially G'Kar and Mollari :D Super Camp Ambassadors and general schemers!
Any ways, Babylon 5 is now one of my favourite shows because of the writing. Worth a watch even if you're not that fond of sci fi.
Anyways, my Uncle and Auntie kindly have lent me the first season of the West Wing to watch. It is now my new boxset to watch. At first I wasn't convinced about the whole concept. And I'm many years late on getting around to watching it. But I've just watched the pilot and I think I might be hooked :D I'm almost glad that I'm ill so I can stay up all night and watch it!
I've worked my way through DS9, both Stargates, Firefly and Godzilla. Hours there and they're all really good, in my opinion. It's nice to be able to actually sit through something without having to wait weeks for the next part. It's great for work to. But it's always sad when it ends because then you know you need to find an entirely new series of something. After all the above I went for Babylon 5. I remembered watching it with my Dad when I was younger and...it was on sale! It was well worth the money. Bits of it are a little dated, and some of the acting is a little rough around the edges in the first season or so but the plot is fantastic. It's ballsy. There are little hints and clues in the first season that appear as a full fledged plot arcs a good few seasons later. The little details are picked up on again and again and by the end of it you actually care about the characters. Especially G'Kar and Mollari :D Super Camp Ambassadors and general schemers!
Any ways, Babylon 5 is now one of my favourite shows because of the writing. Worth a watch even if you're not that fond of sci fi.
Anyways, my Uncle and Auntie kindly have lent me the first season of the West Wing to watch. It is now my new boxset to watch. At first I wasn't convinced about the whole concept. And I'm many years late on getting around to watching it. But I've just watched the pilot and I think I might be hooked :D I'm almost glad that I'm ill so I can stay up all night and watch it!
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