Musings from the basement...

I could talk music with friends for hours. In this case, it’s U2

November 25, 2017 0 Comments

A year or so ago, Tig over at Nerd Out With Me and I brought Bootsy Spankins P.I. into the attic to talk music. The idea was to do a monthly show where we’d reach into the bins holding my CDs, pull something out at random, and take it from there. We recorded a few segments but ended up dropping the idea. Too much hassle dancing around copyright issues on Youtube in order to use the music. They never saw the light of day. I really liked the idea. I could sit down and yammer about music with someone for hours (especially if there’s beer). I’ve been doing it most of my life! Thankfully, the ’90s podcast I now do with Tig lets me do…
Read more

Music, Videos

, , , ,

There was a Mork & Mindy board game for some damn reason, and I have one

November 21, 2017 0 Comments

The early ’80s were a weird time for board games. You either had hardcore war simulations, lightweight family games, or lousy games based on pop culture stuff. The Mork & Mindy game is obviously the latter. Mork & Mindy was, of course, the “zany” television sitcom that brought Robin Williams and giant alien eggs into all our homes. Robin Williams played an alien who talked in nonsense words. He lived with some woman, Mindy. My family watched this when I was a kid. It was goofy. For some damn reason, they made a board game out of this show. And I got my hands on one. Let’s take a look at it: I’m not sure who thought this would be a good idea. I do…
Read more

Geek Stuff, Television, Videos

, , ,

Writer who laments the lack of smart sci-fi like Blade Runner 2049 doesn’t understand smart sci-fi

November 16, 2017 0 Comments

I’m not keen on attacking other writers, and indeed, this should not be construed as an attach. Still, I can’t help but vent a little frustration at this piece from the Guardian, Has Blade Runner 2049’s failure killed off the smart sci-fi blockbuster? The writer (who I’m sure is a terrific guy) has great praise for Denis Villeneuve’s unexpectedly astonishing sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction cult classic, Blade Runner. I agree with him wholeheartedly about that. This was a visually stunning, thematically rich modern masterpiece of the genre, one that had me talking about it and chewing it on for days after, exactly as great speculative fiction/science fiction should. I expected nothing from it, in fact openly said they shouldn’t even make it when it…
Read more

Films, Geek Stuff

, , , , , , ,

I don’t want Amazon’s Lord of the Rings show

November 16, 2017 0 Comments

Earlier this week, Amazon announced it had struck a $250 million deal to produce a multi-season Lord of the Rings series. As a lifelong fan of all things Tolkien, this is not minor news. The name is a little misleading, of course, as this won’t be a television adaptation of the famous book (which had already been adapted to film by Peter Jackson in a wildly successful trilogy). Rather, the plan, according to their press release, is to “explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring,” along with a potential spinoff series. That’s the part that gives me pause, especially in light of the fact that Christopher Tolkien, longtime guardian of his father’s literary legacy, has stepped down from the Tolkien Estate….
Read more

Books & Authors, Geek Stuff, Television

, , ,

The new Godspeed You! Black Emperor disappoints, until it doesn’t

November 15, 2017 3 Comments

I can still remember my reaction the first time I heard Godspeed You! Black Emperor (then stylized as Godspeed You Black Emperor!): “Sonofabitch, some bastards did it! Those crazy bastards did it!” And it was amazing. This was mid 1998. I had pulled some friends together for a semi-improvisational noise band called Slumbersigh. We played a few shows early that year, blasted some feedback at the audience, and called it quits before summer. During that stretch, I waxed poetic to the drummer about this sound I heard in my head, this musical thing I wanted to do but had no idea how to accomplish. Sprawling, seemingly endless instrumental songs that built slowly towards a raging crescendo, backed by strings and horns, with multiple guitars weaving…
Read more

Music

, , , , ,