tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88784091486586816202024-03-08T02:36:01.879-05:00Pop Culture Pariah<u>Pop Culture</u>- commercial culture based on popular taste.
<u>Pariah</u>- an outcast.<p>
I'm Denim. These are my opinions on all things Pop Culture: movies, TV, music, the internet.<br>
You may love me, you'll probably hate me, but that comes with the territory of being a Pop Culture Pariah.</p>Denim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-12657611669343208622014-06-13T10:54:00.000-04:002014-06-13T10:54:18.812-04:00Please don't kill Lord MorpheusIf DC/WB seriously ruins The Sandman, the greatest comic book of all time, I think I will vomit out of disgust.<br />
<br />
In the early 1990's, my world was a slightly better place thanks to a very entertaining and well told story, found in the pages of DC's dark spinoff, Vertigo Comics, spawned from the creative mind of writer Neil Gaiman. Dream, his equally flawed siblings of The Endless, and the eclectic cast of supporting characters populating Lord Morpheus' gloomy, yet quirky realm, a wonderful fantasy land where I actually felt like I belonged, were a huge part of my adolescence.<br />
<br />
Let's hope producer Joseph Gordon-Levitt doesn't cast himself as Dream. That would be a travesty, an injustice the likes of which even the Endless have never seen before.<br />
<br />
No offense to "Dark Knight" writer David Goyer, but Neil Gaiman should be writing the screenplay, not just "executive producing".<br />
<br />
In this matter, I agree with Sandman creator Neil Gaiman. I'd rather there be "no Sandman movie than a bad Sandman movie." Lightning only strikes once. It's hard to do justice in reproducing such a rarely brilliant piece pop culture art. That is why The Sandman film has been in limbo for over two decades, and probably should remain so.<br />
<br />
If this project ever makes its way to the big screen, I hope I will be pleasantly surprised at the results, but if not, I will be devastated that my adolescence has been turned into a theme park.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
©2014 Denim McDemus</div>
Denim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-8758211902443291812014-06-13T10:15:00.002-04:002014-06-13T10:15:38.981-04:00Why Marvel is winning the movie warHere's the big difference between Marvel movies and DC movies:<br />
<br />
Marvel/Disney announce them, promote the heck out of them, and then release them soon after. They also promote the characters through cameo appearances, which leads to solo films, which then leads to team-ups and team films. Plus they keep the public excited about their product, by putting out several blockbuster Marvel films every year, strategically spread throughout the year, so that one is opening as another is fading out.<br />
<br />
DC/WB announce possible films that won't even be cast for several years, and often don't ever happen, featuring characters the non-comic-reading general public isn't familiar with, without introducing the characters first, and featuring actors/actresses most people aren't yet familiar with, or who most people hate. Sure, DC has the big one-two punch. Batman and Superman will always be big draws. But other DC characters? Not without the type of visual promotion rival Marvel employs.<br />
<br />
What do you get more excited about, possible films with sketchy release dates far in the future, featuring obscure characters and unannounced actors/actresses, or action-packed previews of soon to be released films, featuring the actual cast and a set release date? <br />
<br />
Of course, the one problem both companies share is their habit of casting Ryan Reynolds. Stop doing that!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
©2014 Denim McDemus</div>
Denim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-15079913392279410572014-04-11T01:59:00.003-04:002014-04-11T01:59:29.960-04:00No Hope For Television<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left;">
FOX dropped the ball again. “Raising Hope” was
the best comedy on TV, and the most quirky fun I've had in a long time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Burt and Virginia Chance (Garret Dillahunt and
Martha Plimpton) were TV's best couple, and the show had the best supporting
cast on TV: Gregg Binkley as Barney, Todd Giebenhain as Frank, Kate Micucci as
Shelley, and of course Cloris Leachman's brilliant performance as Maw Maw.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Sure, Lucas Neff and Shannon Woodward were average
at best as Jimmy and Sabrina, but the rest of the cast more than made up for
it, and Burt and Virginia were the main focus of the show anyway, and
rightfully so. Sure, they got away from the premise of Hope's upbringing, in
favor of more quirky adventures, but that's what made the show so great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
The show still had a lot left in the tank. It
hadn't gotten stale at all. There was a lot more they could have done yet. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Once again, FOX had a great show, and once again,
they failed to promote it, moved its time slot too many times, and gave up on
it way too soon. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Poor Jeffrey Tambor (Virginia's father, Arnold)
was on the wrong end of FOX's ineptness again (Arrested Development). Series
Creator Greg Garcia once again had a quirky comedy with a loyal cult following
canceled after 4 seasons (My Name Is Earl). His other current show, The
Millers, just doesn't have the quirky feel of “Raising Hope” and “My Name Is
Earl”. It comes off as normal TV fare, despite starring the brilliant Will
Arnett. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
I will miss tuning in to one of the few shows
worth watching in these sad days for television. Pat yourselves on the back,
America, as you corrode your brain with the mindless drivel, rehashed content, and
staged reality shows which you have demanded the television landscape be
littered with. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
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©2014 Denim
McDemus</div>
Denim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-4378195409538142302014-04-02T01:24:00.001-04:002014-04-02T01:24:50.681-04:00How I Met Your Mother Finale Failure<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS:</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
So... I watched the HowIMetYourMother 2 part
finale, and I kind of wish I hadn't. The episodes weren't funny, but also
weren't nostalgic. They certainly weren't legend...wait for it...dary. They
were even depressing and infuriating at times. Sure, life has sad moments.
People grow apart. But this is fiction, television, entertainment, an escape, a
comedy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
This should have been the episode that lasts in
our memory of all that was great about the show. I was looking forward to the
finale, but I was very disappointed in it. This show went out with a dud rather
than a bang. (no Barney pun intended)</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
All along, I've been making more appropriate mock
titles for the show, so here are some based on the finale (spoilers): </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How I Wasted 9 Years Searching For A Temporary
Solution"</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How I Met Your Mother, But Still Ended Up
With Robin"</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How I Ruined A Great Show In 2
Episodes" </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How To Build Up To A Brief Footnote In Ted's
Life"</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How To Spend Your Life Searching For Miss
Right, and Still End Up With Miss Wrong"</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How To Abandon The Show's Premise After 9
Seasons"</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How To Untie Loose Ends"</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How To Punish Barney For Finally Settling
Down"</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How To Alienate Your Fan Base"</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How To Make Your Kids Uncomfortable For 9
Years" </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How To Disrespect Your Late Wife's
Memory"</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How I Never Loved Your Mother"</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How Your Mother Wasn't Robin"</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How I Gave Robin Yet Another Chance To Use
Me"</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
"How Bad Was That Finale"</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Maybe you liked it? Maybe you're glad Barney and
Robin got divorced? Maybe you're glad Ted and Robin MAY HAVE gotten back
together? Maybe you're ok with the show spending 9 seasons leading up to Ted
meeting "The Mother", and then have her killed off a few minutes
later (in real time, not the in show timeline)? Maybe you're ok with Ted
finally finding and marrying the perfect woman for him, but ending up with
someone who has been proven to be wrong for time many times? Maybe you're ok
with Barney losing the only woman he ever truly loved, and that incident
pulling the gang apart? Maybe you enjoyed the "How I Met Your Mother"
finale, but I did not. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
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©2014 Denim McDemus</div>
Denim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-70384881172767659652013-05-09T00:37:00.000-04:002013-05-09T00:39:47.763-04:00Movie Reviews: Hyde Park on Hudson, This is 40, The Guilt Trip<u>"Hyde Park on Hudson"</u> 7 of 10 Stars<br />
The Great Bill Murray played FDR surprisingly well in "Hyde Park on Hudson". It's a good film for fans of Murray and fans of history, of which I am both. Otherwise, you may find it a bit dull.<br />
<br />
It's mostly about one of FDR's many affairs, this one with his distant cousin Margaret "Daisy" Suckley,<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>with a visit from the King and Queen of England to discuss the impending war with Germany as a secondary plot.<br />
<br />
Murray once again has shown his versatility, going from campy goofball movies like "Caddyshack" and "Meatballs", to still goofy, but slightly more leading man comedic roles such as in "Stripes" and "Ghostbusters", to somewhat more cerebral comedy in "Groundhog Day" and "What About Bob", "Ed Wood" and Kingpin", to dry, quirky comedy in Sofia Coppala's "Lost In Translation" and Wes Anderson's films, to now portraying one of America's most beloved presidents in a historical drama, along with portraying a polio victim.<br />
<br />
I enjoyed this film, but the Roosevelts, history, and Bill Murray are all points of interest for me. Unfortunately, I'd wager it's not for everyone.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>"This is 40"</u> 4 of 10 Stars<br />
This somewhat sequel to "Knocked Up" features writer Judd Apatow's real-life wife and children in a depressing film about family disfunction, making you wonder what he's trying to tell us about his home-life.<br />
<br />
Apatow's regular quirky comedy was mostly missing from this film, except for a few amusing moments. When it was funny, it was really funny, but those moments were few and far between. Even cameos by Apatow regulars such as Jason Segal and the sex appeal of Megan Fox couldn't save this film.<br />
<br />
The film was marketed as a comedy about reaching middle-age, but it's far from comedic. The majority of the film is depressing and annoying. It's mostly about a couple's marriage and both of their businesses failing, their financial ruin, and their worsening relationships with their bratty teenage daughter and both of their fathers, who both oddly have started new families of their own. Basically, we are show over two hours of people yelling and cursing at each other, while their lives and finances fall apart. People watch films to escape the harsh reality of their real lives, not to watch it in a mirror.<br />
<br />
The film makes the situation between Debbie and her father very unclear until the end, but not in a plot twist type of way, just in a "neglecting to tell us" way. There are a lot of aspects of the film's characters that they just never tell us, that would've helped move the often stagnant plot and help viewers care about the mostly hatable characters.<br />
<br />
The biggest problem with this film is its length. The first hour was slow and boring, but it picked up quite a bit halfway through. Had Apatow cut it down to the standard 90 minutes, he would've brought us a much more entertaining film than this 134 minute mistake. <br />
<br />
<br />
<u>"The Guilt Trip"</u> 1 of 10 Stars<br />
This film is just plain awful.<br />
Barbara Streisand's character is supposed to be who the viewers feel for, but the character really has no redeeming qualities.<br />
Seth Rogan really has no place in a dramatic film, even though it was falsely advertised as a comedy. He can only be taken seriously in slacker comedy rolls.<br />
If you enjoy watching people make each other feel bad and constantly fail, or if you are suffering from extreme insomnia, this is the film for you. If you are looking to be amused or entertained, avoid this film like the bubonic plague.<br />
<br />
Copyright 2013 Denim McDemus Denim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-28839316072186144162013-05-01T02:27:00.001-04:002013-05-01T02:27:57.917-04:00Is it Easter at Netflix?<br />
As we anxiously await the 5/26 return of Arrested Development, Netflix has decided to have some fun with Seasons 1-3 on their site:<br />
<br />
They use bananas instead of stars for rating the show.<br />
<br />
If you search for any title containing the word "blue", there will be Tobias' blue paint on the results page, which is clickable.<br />
<br />
If you go through the "Popular on Netflix" list, there is a clickable note saying "Milk".<br />
<br />
In the comedy section, there is a clickable actual egg on the cover of "Nature Series, Volume 3: Dance of the Chicken".<br />
<br />
There's a clickable yellow bow-tie on the bottom of the Watch Instantly page.<br />
<br />
If you search for many of the fictional shows/films mentioned on the show, you'll find a Netflix write up for it, such as:<br />
<br />
Wrench<br />
Caged Wisdom<br />
Les Cousins Dangereux<br />
Scandalmakers<br />
Girls With Low Self-Esteem<br />
Families With Low Self-Esteem<br />
Ready, Aim, Marry Me<br />
Mock Trial with J. Reinhold<br />
Boyfights<br />
World's Worst Drivers<br />
Love Indubitably<br />
Homeless Dad<br />
El Amor Prohibido<br />
<br />
It's nice to see that: 1. Netflix is actually promoting the show, something Fox never bothered to do. 2. That someone at Netflix actually "gets" the humor of the show, and recognizes the savvy of the show's core fans, and the vital role of the show's MANY running gags and catchphrases.<br />
<br />
It's not a show for everyone, it's a show for a special breed of viewer, and apparently Netflix gets that.<br />
<br />
Copyright 2013 Denim McDemus <br />
Denim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-62541430939664205412013-03-08T10:44:00.000-05:002013-03-08T10:44:31.352-05:00King of Terrible Endings<br />
Terrible ending to "King of the Nerds" last night!<br />
<br />
1. It's dumb that they had the final 4, 3, and 2 all in one episode instead of three.<br />
<br />
2. Ivan, the best contestant by far all throughout the show, lost in the final 4 in a physical challenge. This is a show to determine who is the biggest nerd, so why a physical challenge? Wouldn't the person losing the physical challenge be the biggest nerd?<br />
<br />
3. It seems obvious that they rigged the show to keep three cute girls as the final three to keep their male viewers watching.<br />
<br />
4. Stop giving Danielle camera time to boo hoo!<br />
<br />
5. After a whole season of challenges on a competition show, it was ridiculous to have the winner be chosen by their former competitors' voting, rather than the winner earning it in a final challenge. The final round should have been the hardest to win.<br />
Obviously the other contestants had biased opinions and grudges, so they wouldn't necessarily pick the deserving winner. Many of them were eliminated by losing to Genevieve, and were never threatened by useless Celeste.<br />
Plus, the contestants who were eliminated early in the show weren't around to see which finalist had performed the best.<br />
<br />
6. Celeste of all people winning really hurt the show's credibility. She's not even nerdy or smart or anything. She didn't earn her spot in the final 4, 3, or 2, and certainly not victory and $100,000. She was never in a nerd-off because no one saw her as a threat, since he didn't do anything at all during the whole competition. She was often a liability to her team in the team challenges, or just a non-factor. The ONLY things she achieved were pitting Danielle and Genevieve against each other in the second to last episode, and being so harmless that she went unnoticed by her competitors.<br />
<br />
Congrats "King of the Nerds", you ruined your competition with an ill-advised ending that produced an undeserving winner.<br />
<br />
Copyright 2013 Denim McDemus<br />
Denim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-11271592529151992752013-02-26T10:45:00.000-05:002013-02-26T10:45:10.292-05:00Superman is not a nerdHere's a thought to ponder:<br />
Lately I've been discussing the degree of nerdiness of King of the Nerds contestants on Thursdays.<br />
I recently watched a Big Bang Theory clip where Sheldon was wearing a Superman shirt and it got me thinking. I know Sheldon is a fictional character, but why would any nerd be into Superman? Superman is the original big dumb jock.<br />
Batman is a dark loner who uses technology. Spiderman is a nerd who got bitten by a radioactive spider, and many superheroes received their powers from an accident or freak genetic mutation. And they often have trouble fitting into society.<br />
Superman is an alien who uses superior strength to defeat his opponents, and as if that wasn't enough, oh yea he can fly too. Even when he puts on glasses to be Clark Kent, he's stiff a big buff jock type. And he's just pretending to need glasses, when really he can shoot laser beams from his eyes.<br />
And he's accepted by everyone, celebrated like a Friday night QB who just won the big game.<br />
How can any nerd relate to Superman? He should remind them of the jocks who pick on them for being nerds. Just a thought.Denim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-21819063625784752872012-12-03T16:53:00.000-05:002012-12-03T16:54:08.038-05:00Who's Dead on The Walking Dead?(There are spoilers galore in this review, so I suggest not reading it if you haven't seen the episode yet.)<br />
<br />
After The Walking Dead's mid-season finale last night on AMC, a lot of people are up in arms worrying that popular character Daryl Dixon will be killed off, along with his hated brother Merle, due to the precarious situation the episode left them in.<br />
<br />
First of all, Norman Reedus (Daryl) and Michael Rooker (Merle) are the only 2 cast members I had ever heard of before this show, other than recognizing Laurie Holden (Andrea) from X-Files, so I doubt they'd kill them off, especially with Daryl's popularity and Reedus' name recognition. On a side note, I saw Andrew Lincoln (Rick) in "Love Actually" recently, and was shocked by his English accent.<br />
<br />
Also, it'd be silly to bring back Merle just to kill him off. The show has lacked an inside villain/cancer to the group since Shane's abrupt death, and Rooker is great at playing twisted, unscrupulous characters. Merle is a much better villain than Shane, and Rooker is a much better actor than Jon Bernthal. <br />
<br />
Thirdly, in the previews for February, it looked as though Daryl brought Merle back to the group with him, so apparently they survive Woodbury.<br />
<br />
Lastly, I didn't really feel overly moved by the cliffhanger ending. Daryl and Merle weren't in THAT much danger yet. Had The Governor (David Morrissey) thrown a few walkers at them, forcing them to fight for their lives with their bare hands, that'd be different. <br />
<br />
As for who is next to die, Daryl and Glenn (Steven Yuen) are my favorite characters, so I hope they survive. I think the writers have done a good job of making the show realistic by the toughest characters (other than Shane) surviving the longest, and having the weaker characters such as Lori and Dale dying off. By that logic, you have to wonder how long they can justify allowing Carol and Hershel to survive. I'm not going to suggest they kill off Beth, simply because she's the best eye candy on the show. And before you get all up in arms, yes, her character is 17, but the actress (Emily Kinney) is 27. Maggi (Lauren Cohan) isn't bad either though. It's hard to see Laurie Holden as attractive when she always plays characters I completely despise. If you get hired for a realistic zombie program, you can't really expect job security, because any could be killed off at any time. The fact that they're willing to kill off regular characters to add to the realism and drama is admirable. <br />
<br />
I really hate Carl (Chandler Riggs), and not just because the actor was probably named after a character on Friends. I don't like the character or the way the young actor plays him, but I think that the character is essential to the program. I do like how the character has gotten progressively creepier and colder. Living in that type of hardcore world would harden anyone and easily steal away any amount of childhood innocence they had left inside of them.<br />
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I hated Lori, and T Dawg was pointless, so I'm glad they're gone. Michonne and Merle are much stronger characters to replace them. It also appears they replenished their minorities in the last episode, although African Americans always seem to get killed off. I knew Oscar wouldn't survive the rescue mission. I'm not sure if there's some racism by the writers going on or not, but it's hard not to notice. I know Michonne is one of the most popular characters from the comic book, so maybe she'll having staying power. She's pretty hard to kill and I think they're be a fan backlash as there would be with killing off Daryl.<br />
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Michonne coldly killing The Governor's daughter right in front of him was brutal, and it really added some much-needed shock value to the episode. The show's greatest flaw has been predictability, even to those who haven't read the comic books. Carol still being alive, Sophia being a walker, Lori being pregnant, etc, the list of predictable revelations is endless. I always seem to be able to predict who will get killed in each scene too.<br />
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Daryl and Merle finally being reunited directly into a situation where the tough S.O.B. brothers are forced to fight together for their lives is classic.<br />
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The further unraveling of The Governor and Carl's minds amid what they've been through is a great addition to the plot, while Rick's renewed mental clarity is necessary to the plot moving forward. Andrew Lincoln plays unsure leader Rick much better than mental breakdown Rick. The phone call cliffhanger was ridiculous. <br />
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I kind of had a feeling they were going to make Axel into a pervert, and somewhat "Chester The Molesterish", instead of allowing him to be a nice guy convict as he initially appeared. Folks, it IS possible for someone to be a good person despite having spent time in jail...<br />
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All in all, it was a good episode. It was nice to see some action for a change, with the heroes fighting against both walkers and The Governor's troops. Hopefully there will be a little less soap opera drama now that Lori and Shane are both dead. I understand that they throw it in to reach beyond their target audience and draw in a non-traditional zombie viewing audience, but it really detracts from the program for those of us who enjoy the zombie apocalypse genre.<br />
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Does ANYONE want to wait until February for more of The Walking Dead? I sure don't!<br />
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Copyright 2012 Denim McDemus Denim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-83145004751598370252012-09-30T11:45:00.000-04:002012-09-30T11:59:00.297-04:00Live what you write, rather than writing what you live<br />
Nothing is more fun than writing and letting your imagination run wild and spew all over paper or a computer screen. You can get into all kinds of amazing capers and adventures without having to get your hands dirty, risk danger, or leave the comfort and security of your own mind. You can make the impossible possible and ignore all the restrictive boundaries of logic and sanity. Just think of all the wonderful worlds your words can create.<br />
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I didn't write for a few months due to some things going on in my personal life that consumed my mind, body, and soul. It feels SO good to be writing again!<br />
<span style="background-color: #5687d9; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px;">©</span>2012 Denim McDemusDenim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-19748105391192225442012-06-20T16:41:00.000-04:002012-06-20T16:41:24.395-04:00Top 13 TV VillainsI’ve always been a huge fan of villains. They’re more fun, more interesting, and much more entertaining than heroes. Villains get all the best lines, because they don’t have to be proper, kind, and inoffensive. They also get the best costumes, because looking bad often also looks very cool.<br />
When I watched wrestling, I cheered for guys like Rowdy Roddy Piper and Jeff Jarrett, who were great at antagonizing the good guys and riling up the crowd. In comic books, I liked guys like The Joker, Magneto, and Dr. Doom, brilliant cerebral villains who could out-think their drably heroic nemeses. Villains like Darth Vader and Darth Maul are just a lot cooler than their goodie goodie counterparts. Villains are dark, flashy, sarcastic, strong willed, intelligent, and know no boundaries. The greatest villains are experts at making people love to hate them. <br />
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I’m only listing actual villains, not characters like Archie Bunker, George Jefferson, Major Charles Winchester, Stanley Roper, and Sheldon Cooper, who are obnoxious antagonists, but not pure villains. I’m not including characters like Wesley Crusher who are hated for their suckiness rather than evilness. I’m not including characters like Barnabas Collins, James “Sawyer” Ford, or Barney Stinson, who are more anti-heroes than villains. I’m not including characters like Colonel Klink, Taylor Doose, and Roscoe P. Coltrane, who are too inept to be a threat to anyone, and are far too laughable to be considered evil. With the exception of #12, I’m not including groups such as the Borg, the Cylons, etc., just individuals. I’m not including cartoon villains, because they’ll get their own list at a later date, as will movie villains. <br />
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I find villains to be wildly entertaining and have much more creative content than heroes. I root for them, even though in most cases the good guys always win. Here are the live action TV villains I’ve most enjoyed:<br />
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<b>13. Robbie Rotten (Stefan Karl Stefansson) “Lazy Town”</b> Quirky Icelandic kids show <i>Lazy Town</i> brought us a very enjoyable, if inept, villain in wanna-be slimeball Robbie Rotten, delightfully played by Icelander Stefan Karl Stefansson. Robbie comes up with many accidentally innocuous plots attempting to thwart goodie goodie Sportacus from teaching the kids of Lazy Town to eat right and exercise, but he always comes up short. Robbie fancies himself as an evil villain, but is more a big kid who just wants to fit in and be included. Robbie may not be dangerous, but he’s certainly rotten, his intentions are certainly villainous, and his bumbling plots are fun to watch unravel.<br />
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<b>12. The Daleks “Dr. Who”</b> One of Time Lord Dr. Who’s greatest enemies in the classic BBC series, Daleks have been terrorizing the various incarnations of the Dr since 1963. They look like robotic tanks, but are actually genetically modified alien cyborgs created by the scientist Davros. They are ruthless creatures, determined to conquer the universe through annihilation. The only emotion they’re capable of feeling is hate. What’s more villainous than that? Growing up in rural PA, Daleks helped make <i>Dr. Who</i> on PBS the best Sci-Fi on my TV.<br />
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<b>11. Ben Horne (Richard Beymer) “Twin Peaks”</b> Bizarre crime drama <i>Twin Peaks</i> brought us many strange and memorable characters, many of which were villains in some way, and all of which could have been the series’ main villain, as most of the town were suspects in troubled prom queen Laura Palmer’s brutal murder. Rich and unscrupulous businessman Benjamin Horne owned many legal and illegal businesses in the Twin Peaks area, and many of its citizens in one way or another. He was a creep, a jerk, a liar, an embezzler, an adulterer, a pimp, a drug dealer, a conman, a terrible father, and that’s just scratching the surface. Before he lost his mind and had a re-awakening of sorts, he was the most diabolical man in a town full of greedy cutthroats, with his hands in the majority of the webs of deceit strung throughout the small logging community, including the surreal last night of Laura Palmer’s life.<br />
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<b>10. J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) “Dallas”</b> There were no villainous slimeballs on late 1970’s-early 1980’s television that could rival <i>Dallas</i> oil magnate John Ross Ewing Jr., who terrorized Northern Texas for 14 seasons. Hagman’s character had such a cultural impact that the cliffhanger episode <i>A House Divided</i> and the catch phrase “Who shot J.R.?” became pop culture landmarks in 1980. Probably the most cutthroat and immoral man ever on TV, in both Ewing Oil business and his personal life at Southfork Ranch, J.R. personified 1980’s excess. His love of money and women are virtually unrivaled throughout televised fiction. J.R. even had the Dallas Police in his pocket. One of the most memorable characters of television history, J.R. Ewing was a true villain people loved to hate.<br />
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<b>9. Newman (Wayne Knight) “Seinfeld”</b> You may argue that he’s a comic foil rather than a villain, but Wayne Knight’s Newman is as evil and vile a creature as they come. Jerry described Newman as “Pure evil”, “His sworn enemy”, and “The Lex Luthor to his Superman”. The very sign of this ach-nemesis causes Jerry to mutter “Hello Newman” in the tone someone might use to greet the Grim Reaper or the person who ran over their dog. The twisted postman, often disgruntled neighbor, and the bane of Jerry Seinfeld’s existence had no morals and only two agendas: filling his belly and driving Jerry beyond the brink of insanity. Every ounce of Newman’s rotund body oozed sinister villainy. He often used oblivious mutual friend Kramer as a pawn in his unraveling of Jerry’s comfort and sanity. He had the sinister voice and diabolical laugh prerequisite of a villain. Someone who’s every goal in life revolves around making someone else miserable surely belongs on this list among the murderers and criminals. <br />
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<b>8. Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) “Boardwalk Empire”</b> First of all, being Steve Buscemi is villainous enough. He looks more the part of post-lab accident mad scientist than prolific actor. Secondly, who in American History and fiction exemplifies the term “villain” more than infamous 1920’s gangsters? Though murderous and dangerous, they’ve always held a dear place in our hearts as folk heroes. Historical drama <i>Boardwalk Empire</i> spotlights one of the slimiest and most opportunistic of classic American gangsters, Atlantic City’s Irish kingpin Enoch “Nucky” Thompson. Nucky will do whatever it takes, or tell someone else to, to line his pockets and have whatever and whoever he wants. Anyone in his way ends up in a casket…or the Atlantic Ocean. Controlling local politicians and law enforcement, not fearing the feds, and even orchestrating a presidential election are among Nucky’s accomplishments. He’d probably have me bumped off if I didn’t put him on this list.<br />
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<b>7. Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) “Star Trek”</b> Before eliciting William Shattner’s famous elongated and overacted “Khan!” in franchise best film <i>Star Trek II</i>, Ricardo Montalban’s villainous character got under Captain Kirk’s skin on the original TV series. The genetically engineered superhuman dictator from the 1990’s was revived by the crew of the Starship Enterprise, a huge mistake they wished they could take back. Khan captured Kirk, took over the Enterprise, and almost blew it up. Revenge-minded arch-nemesis Khan’s actions also endangered the life of Kirk’s son David in the film that is the character’s claim to fame, but his Season 1 appearance allows him to be on this list.<br />
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<b>6. Q (John de Lancie) “Star Trek TNG”</b> While Captain Kirk had his hands full with Khan and Klingons, the bane of <i>Star Trek The Next Generation</i> Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s existence from the pilot episode on was probably Q. When your enemy is both omnipotent and sadistic, you’re bound to be toyed with for his amusement. Q also wreaked havoc on franchise spinoffs <i>Deep Space Nine</i> and <i>Voyager</i>. In the series finale of TNG, Q saved humanity from destruction, but probably just to avoid losing his favorite chess pieces. One of the most powerful villains on this list, Q was also probably the most frustrating to his victims and one of the funniest for us viewers. As much as you want to hate him, you just can’t help loving him and his twisted brilliance. Maybe his views on humanity being a dangerous race aren’t too far off? Maybe deep down we enjoyed watching him torment the somewhat annoying and uptight TNG crew? Regardless, the master of manipulation brought me great enjoyment.<br />
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<b>5. The Joker (Cesar Romero)“Batman”</b> Veteran actor Cesar Romero’s giggly portrayal of all-time great villain The Joker in the 1960’s campy classic TV show <i>Batman</i> was more like Lewis Carroll’s Mad Hatter than the darker, edgier, twisted film portrayals by Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger, and the murderous and sadistic Joker of the <i>Batman</i> comic books, but is no less effective as a villain. The Joker’s colorful clothes, painted on smile, lively cackle, and cartoonish motions made him a villain that was fun to watch, even while knowing the Dynamic Duo would eventually foil his ludicrous but inventive plans. The Joker is one of my all-time favorite villains in comics, movies, TV, and pretty much any medium, and Cesar Romero certainly did him justice.<br />
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<b>4. Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) “Black Adder”</b> Brilliant British comedian Rowan Atkinson played several generations of vile men named Edmund Blackadder who appear throughout the program’s hilariously skewed version of English history, from Medieval Times all the way to the Millennium. At times Blackadder was a wanna-be villain, at times he was full fledged. While his effectiveness matured throughout the series, his selfish ambitions and evil intentions never changed. Each incarnation of Edmund was a little less inept than his predecessor and a bit shrewder, even though his station in life lessened in each generation. Perhaps the less power Blackadder possessed, the more he craved? Regardless of his position, Edmond always plotted against those above him and viciously abused those below him, especially poor Baldrick, who’s family line was unfortunate enough to always end up indentured to Edmund’s. Blackadder is a vile scumbag guaranteed to make you both cringe in disgust and laugh hysterically. <br />
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<b>3. Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) “Dukes of Hazzard”</b> In the campy, often mindless fun of <i>The Dukes of Hazzard</i>, the redneck paradise of Hazzard County was ruled with a pudgy iron first by former moonshine runner Boss Jefferson Davis “JD” Hogg. Boss Hogg was probably the most corrupt and greedy lawman ever to grace the small screen. He used his bumbling lackeys Sheriff Rosoce P. Coltrane and Deputies Enos and Cletus to line his pockets and dinner plate, and control Hazzard County in classic Tammany Hall fashion. The rebellious Duke family was often set up as patsies to take the fall for Boss’ schemes, but his inept underlings always found a way to unravel his best-laid plans. Living in excess and wanting more, Boss Hogg often aspired to reach even greater heights of power, but he was never able to extent his reach across the county line. Sorrell Booke played the fat power-hungry Boss to perfection, with brilliant acting skills combined with slapstick delivery. I’ve never seen someone play such an unserious role so seriously. Boss Hogg had some of the most corrupt morals and most villainous aspirations of any character ever on television.<br />
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<b>2. Ben Linus (Michael Emerson) “Lost”</b> The best words to describe the leader of The Others would be “pure evil”. If Ben Linus wasn’t fictional, it’d boggle my mind that someone could be THAT depraved. He even looked evil, with those tricky beady eyes amid the vulnerable-looking expression on his baby face. He was almost as coercively deceptive as the Devil himself, somehow continually convincing people he betrayed many times to trust him again despite six seasons of sadistic treachery, continually perpetuating self-preservation by convincing people that they needed him. Ben’s only agenda was brutally opportunistic selfish ambition and his own survival, sacrificing anyone, including his own daughter, and murdering anyone to achieve those goals. He only had a “daughter” because he kidnapped an infant her from her mother. He killed off the entire colony of people he grew up in, just so he could be in charge. He played with other people’s minds and lives almost as much as Q. I’m not sure a single truthful word ever came out of Ben’s mouth. I’m not sure he was capable of honesty. Amazingly, there is one character in television history with more sins to atone for than Ben Linus, which is why Ben is at #2.<br />
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<b>1. The Cigarette Smoking Man aka CGB Spender (William B. Davis) “X-Files”</b> “The Man Who Sold World” comes to mind when discussing the Cigarette Smoking Man. This character did more to shape, or warp, the history of the world and the universe, than any other role ever played on television. He was untouchable, able to operate off the grid, independent of all morals, laws, and limits. He had a hand in most of the subversive things that happened during his lifetime: the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cold War, alien abductions, government experiments on citizens, and spreading cancer. He assassinated JFK and MLK, sold out humanity to alien colonization, betrayed the aliens colonists in favor of a rebel faction, killed off his own accomplices, and hid it all from many generations of American citizens. Need I say more? He tormented Agent Mulder’s life by sending him on wild goose chases and filling his head with endless conspiracy theories, including the possibility of Spender being his father, and continually playing on his emotions about whether or not his missing sister was alive. He is the thief in the night, the bogeyman, the monster under the bed, the thing that goes bump in the night. Spender would make a deal with the Devil, go back on it, and shoot the Satan in the back of his head. He was a character so evil you HAD to hate him, even struggling to pity him when he was sick and vulnerable. William B. Davis’ portrayal of slimy immoral conspiracy theory villain CGB Spender for nine seasons of <i>The X-Files</i> was one of television’s greatest performances of all time, and definitely the most villainous.<br />
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<b><u>Honorable Mention:</b></u><br />
<b>George Bluth Sr. (Jeffery Tambor) “Arrested Development”</b> Adulterer, embezzler, escaped convict, and committer of high treason is just a sampling from the villainous resume of the patriarch and slimiest member of the morally empty Bluth Family. <br />
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<b>The Riddler (Frank Gorshin) “Batman”</b> Possibly the quirkiest of Adam West’s adversaries, the Riddler’s cheesy riddles added to the wonderful campiness of this classic kitschy show. <br />
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<b>The Penguin (Burgess Merideth) “Batman”</b> Another delightful <i>Batman</i> villain played by a veteran actor. The Penguin’s laugh, look, and antics provided some of the programs most humorous moments.<br />
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<b>Catwoman (Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt, Lee Meriwether) “Batman”</b> The three sultry women who played Batman’s enticing enemy Catwoman in the 1960’s series gave us guys yet another reason to enjoy the show. <br />
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<b>Killer Bob (Frank Silva) “Twin Peaks”</b> The man just plain looked evil. He was scary as hell! While working as a set designer, his terrifying looks were noticed by director David Lynch, who then cast him in the role of <i>Twin Peaks</i> killer spirit, Bob.<br />
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<b>Jerry Horne (David Patrick Kelly) “Twin Peaks”</b> The brilliant character actor always brings a quirky flare and undying energy to his characters. He was one of the most enjoyable side characters of the <i>Twin Peaks</i> saga, and that’s saying a lot. <br />
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<b>Leland Palmer (Ray Wise) “Twin Peaks”</b> I won’t ruin the story for you, but the previously drab Leland’s meltdown turned him into almost as freaky and demented a character as Killer Bob. Maybe it was his former demeanor that made his turn so disturbing? Ray Wise played the part brilliantly. <br />
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<b>The Devil (Ray Wise) “Reaper”</b> The Devil in <i>Reaper</i> was more of the wisecracking villain type than anything scary or demonic. The fact that he was played by Ray Wise is what added a sinister edge to the character. <br />
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<b>Dr. Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris) “Lost in Space”</b> Dr. Smith was one of the greatest Sci-Fi villains. He was somewhat of a comic foil, as his sinister intentions were always undone. He really wanted to be evil, he just wasn’t very good at it, although he did get them lost in space… <br />
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<b>Sheriff Tom Underlay (William Fichtner) “Invasion”</b> A creepy guy with an air of evil surrounding him and a villainous underlying agenda, selling out the human race. <br />
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<b>Sheriff Lucas Black (Gary Cole) “American Gothic”</b> A murderous, yet charismatic villain with an agenda from hell itself. <br />
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©2012 Denim McDemusDenim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-8946430774388090562012-04-07T20:37:00.000-04:002012-04-07T20:37:12.526-04:00Top 13 Underrated Albums of My EraThere are some really great albums from my era that aren't on this list, since they achieved significant commercial success. For an album to be considered “underrated”, it had to have gone mostly unnoticed by the general public of its era. With nostalgic 80’s and 90’s Alternative Rock stations online and on satellite radio today, some of this music is more well-known now than it was back then. <br />
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I consider “my era” to be when I was in high school, 1989-1993, and college, 1993-1997. Many of the greatest albums of all time came out in the early 90’s, in particular 1991-1992. I was fortunate enough to be a teenager and an Alternative Rock fan at that time, so I enjoyed these albums immensely. That was the last great era of music. It’s been going downhill since the early 90’s, and most of today’s music is horrendous. While most of my contemporaries were listening to Snoop Dogg and Coolio, and the worst song of all time, Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You, was dominating the airwaves, I was rocking out to the albums listed below. <br />
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<b>13. The Church “Gold Afternoon Fix” 1990</b><br />
Australian Alternative band The Church was under a lot of pressure to produce a successful follow up to 1988’s surprising hit album <i>Starfish</i> and brilliant single <i>Under The Milky Way</i>. After the distractions of producer switches, studio meddling, substance abuse, and volatile studio sessions, the result was 1990’s <i>Gold Afternoon Fix</i>. Steve Kilbey’s ethereal voice, Marty Willson-Piper’s darkly toned guitar work, and a litany of ambient sounds make the songs sound haunting and desolate, yet they’re all so catchy. The single <i>Metropolis</i> is delightful and very underrated. Lead track <i>Pharaoh</i> is wonderfully eerie. Other highlights include second single <i>You’re Still Beautiful</i>, single-worthy <i>Terra Nova Cain</i>, <i>Fading Away</i>, and <i>City</i>, the poppy <i>Transient</i>, and the melodically slow <i>Monday Morning</i>. Even though it’s the band’s least favorite album, I loved it. <br />
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<b>12. Local H “As Good As Dead” 1996</b><br />
Illinois Alternative Rock duo Local H, consisting of vocalist/guitarist/bassist Scott Lucas and drummer Joe Daniels, had a College Radio hit with the rocking single <i>Bound For The Floor</i>, and minor hits with the clever pop-like <i>Eddie Vedder</i> and hard-edged <i>Fritz’s Corner</i>. The album is also note-worthy for the scathing potty-mouthed song <i>High-Fiving MF</i>. (You can use your own imagination on the acronym “MF”.) Lucas’ rock star voice, grungy looks, rocking guitar work, and energetic performing should have translated into major commercial success. Maybe his harsh fan and industry-attacking lyrics held them back? <br />
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<b>11. Superdrag “Regretfully Yours” 1996</b><br />
Knoxville’s Superdrag would have been Pop Rock superstars had they come out alongside the Beatles and other melodic Pop Rock bands of the 1960’s. Coming out in the 1990’s only allowed them to make it into MTV’s Buzz Bin. On the great lead single <i>Sucked Out</i>, both the music and John Davis’ vocals seamlessly transition between sweet Power Pop and whiney, almost EMO, Alternative Rock. Follow up single <i>Destination Ursa Major</i> may be even better. The bittersweet Alterna-Pop songs on this album definitely deserve a listen by anyone who grew up listening to 90’s Alternative Rock or the British Invasion of the 1960’s. <br />
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<b>10. Violent Femmes “Why Do Birds Sing?” 1991</b><br />
Is there anything more fun than an album by Milwaukee Folk-Punk trio the Violent Femmes? 1991’s <i>Why Do Birds Sing?</i> is often forgotten in comparison to the band’s earlier work, and most people have only heard their eponymous debut. But Gordon Gano, Brian Richie, and Victor DeLorenzo put together a great album for a new generation of fans before drummer DeLorenzo’s temporary split. Single <i>American Music</i> is one of Alt Rock’s greatest anthems. The Culture Club remake <i>Do You Really Want To Hurt Me</i> has a lot more passion than the original. <i>Out The Window</i> and <i>Hey Nonny Nonny</i> are fun story songs. <i>Look Like That</i>, <i>Used to Be</i>, <i>Girl Trouble</i>, and <i>Lack of Knowledge</i> are classic bouncy Femmes songs at their best. <i>Flamingo Baby</i> and <i>He Likes Me</i> would fit perfectly on the revered first album. <i>More Money Tonight</i> is an underdog success story any early 1990’s Alternative Rock fan can relate to. This is a great album that came out at a great time. <br />
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<b>9. Eels “Beautiful Freak” 1996</b> <br />
Eels revolves around singer/guitarist/keyboardist/drummer E, aka Mark Oliver Everett, who had a semi-successful solo album <i>A Man Called E</i>. On the early Dreamworks Records release <i>Beautiful Freak</i>, E was joined by drummer Butch Norton and bassist Tommy Walker. E’s dreamy voice pushes out edgy lyrics while the melancholy, but enjoyable, music makes the perfectly somber songs stand out even more. The addition of Walker’s stand up bass really helped define Eel’s sound. First single <i>Novocaine for the Soul</i> is an Alternative Rock classic with a Beatlesque chorus. The darkly delightful single <i>Your Lucky Day in Hell</i> would be a Pop hit if it was about cheerier subject matter. <i>Susan’s House</i> gives a narrative about everything E sees on his walk to a girlfriend’s house. The title track is a beautiful love song for a one in a kind girl. <i>My Beloved Monster</i> is wonderful, cute, and catchy, with some hints of Rock and Experimental Rock, and lyrics that could easily have multiple meanings. This album also featured haunting cover art of a little girl with oversized eyes crawling on the ground. This is one of the best albums of its time, and is still very enjoyable today. <br />
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<b>8. Cracker “Self Titled” 1992</b><br />
Alt-Country band Cracker is most well known for 1993’s <i>Kerosene Hat</i> and its singles <i>Low</i>, <i>Get Off This</i>, and hidden track <i>Euro-Trash Girl</i>, but their finest moment was their 1992 self-titled debut. Singer David Lowery of Camper Van Beethoven brought his humorous lyrics to his new project Cracker, enlisting the guitar work of longtime friend Johnny Hickman. First single <i>Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now)</i> is a great Alternative Rock slacker anthem. It’s twangy, but it rocks. Second single <i>Happy Birthday to Me</i> is whimsical fun, harkening back to the wacky humor of Camper Van Beethoven’s <i>Take The Skinheads Bowling</i>. The album is fully of quirky, witty lyrics, especially on tracks like the Outlaw Country song <i>Mr. Wrong</i>, the self-defeatist <i>Can I Take My Gun Up To Heaven</i>, and the almost carnivalesque <i>Dr. Bernice</i>. <i>Another Song About The Rain</i> is a beautiful Country ballad with an Alt Rock edge. Songs like <i>This is Cracker Soul</i>, <i>I See The Light</i>, and <i>Someday</i> almost defy categorization, but do so brilliantly. Cracker even borders on Pop Rock with <i>Satisfy You</i>. Simply put, this album is fun to listen to, so get to it. <br />
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<b>7. Lemonheads “It’s a Shame About Ray” 1992</b><br />
This was the album that blossomed Evan Dando and company, with help from also about to blossom Juliana Hatfield, into Alternative Rock superstars…briefly…almost anyway. Unfortunately, this brilliant album full of deliciously sweet vocals and clever lyrics went largely unnoticed, until their rocking cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s <i>Mrs. Robinson</i> from the remake of <i>The Graduate</i> was added on. If you only bought it for the soundtrack cover, you missed out on many great songs. Singles <i>It’s a Shame About Ray</i> and <i>Confetti</i> should have been enough to garner mainstream attention. Album tracks <i>Rockin Stroll</i>, <i>Ceiling Fan in My Spoon</i>, <i>Rudderless</i>, <i>My Drug Buddy</i>, <i>Bit Part</i>, and <i>Kitchen</i> are some of the best songs of their era. The rocking fun of <i>Allison’s Starting to Happen</i> alone is reason enough to buy this album. I met Evan Dando once, although he was too drunk to remember. Perhaps only Dando’s alcoholism and substance abuse prevented this handsome, beautifully voiced singer from becoming a superstar? <br />
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<b>6. Live “Mental Jewelry” 1991</b> <br />
York, PA band Live hit it big with their sophomore effort <i>Throwing Copper</i>, but their best album was their first, which most people missed. <i>Mental Jewelry</i>, produced by Jerry Harrison of the Talking Heads, has a raw edge the band seemed to lose when they went commercial. Everyone’s heard stories of how quickly success went to singer Ed Kowalczyk’s head, and it showed in their more pop-ready, singles factory albums to follow. <i>Mental Jewelry</i> is filled with socially, politically, and ecologically conscious lyrics from a youthful but intellectual and philosophical perspective. The beautiful anti-racism song <i>The Beauty of Gray</i> is by far the best song in Live’s catalogue. Youth anthems <i>Pain Lies on the Riverside</i>, <i>Operation Spirit</i>, and <i>Tired of Me</i> should have fueled an angst-filled generation. <i>Mirror Song</i>, <i>Waterboy</i>, <i>Take My Anthem</i>, <i>You Are The World</i>, etc are beautiful songs with poetic lyrics on topics most bands shy away from. The albums after <i>Throwing Copper</i> were a major disappointment to those of us who knew what Live was really capable of. If you want to know, check out <i>Mental Jewelry</i>. <br />
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<b>5.Ned’s Atomic Dustbin “God Fodder” 1991</b><br />
English band Ned’s Atomic Dustbin’s sound is fast paced, guitar and drum-driven Alternative Rock with the added twist of two bass players, Alex Griffin and Mat Cheslin. John Penney’s vocals spit out the band’s clever lyrics at a fast pace too. Their full-length debut <i>God Fodder</i> garnered them some short-lived notice on both sides of the Atlantic. The album starts off with the raucous rocker <i>Kill Your Television</i> that will kick your teeth in. Alternative Rock masterpiece <i>Grey Cells Green</i> is one of the finest songs ever written. <i>Happy</i> describes a volatile romantic relationship better than any of its contemporaries, while the blitzkrieg of <i>Throwing Things</i> kicks it up even another notch. <i>Less Than Useful</i> is a slacker anthem for a slacker generation. <i>Your Complex</i> has the best guitar riffs of the album. <i>Selfish</i>, <i>Cut Up</i>, <i>What Gives My Son?</i>, and <i>You</i> all exude angst-driven Alternative Rock greatness. Sadly, you probably missed out on this band. <br />
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<b>4.Teenage Fanclub “Bandwagonesque” 1991</b><br />
As with Superdrag, Scottish band Teenage Fanclub would have thrived in the 1960’s world of over-sweetened, harmonious British Invasion Power Pop. Their sound based around smooth but powerful guitar riffs and harmonized vocals has been likened to Big Star and the Byrds. Their third album, <i>Bandwagonesque</i> actually beat out Nirvana, R.E.M., and My Bloody Valentine for Album of the Year in Spin Magazine. Despite that honor, you probably never heard any of their songs until <i>The Concept</i> was in the 2011 film <i>Young Adult</i>. <i>Star Sign</i> would have been a #1 hit in the 60’s. <i>Alcoholiday</i> and <i>The Concept</i> are among the elite songs of a decade filled with great songs. <i>Metal Baby</i> and <i>Guiding Star</i> are beautiful Alternative Rock ballads that still find a way to rock. <i>December</i>, <i>Sidewinder</i>, and <i>Pet Rock</i> are Bubblegum Pop/Alternative Rock songs that your ears need to be treated to. If you saw a gorgeous flower, you’d probably pick it. Don’t pass by this piece of musical art without picking it up and giving it a listen. <br />
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<b>3. Dinosaur Jr. “Green Mind” 1991</b><br />
Another great album from 1991 is Dinosaur Jr.’s major label debut <i>Green Mind</i>. Most of the instruments on the album were played by singer J. Mascis, with drummer Murph (also of the Lemonheads) appearing on three tracks. If ever someone deserved be the voice of Generation X, it was the lethargic-voiced Mascis. Unfortunately, they didn’t bother to listen. Despite the title, <i>Puke and Cry</i> is one of my favorite songs of all time and a great Alternative Rock love song. <i>The Wagon</i> is a fast paced rocker (except for Mascis’ always drawn out vocals) with clever lyrics and fun music. <i>Blowing It</i>, <i>I Live For That Look</i>, and <i>Thumb</i> display both Mascis’ distinctive vocal and guitar skills, and could have easily been on mainstream radio. Without knowing better, you’d think <i>Flying Cloud</i> was by Led Zeppelin. <i>How’d You Pin That One on Me</i> is a blisteringly fast-paced Rock song, with the great line “Get me a bucket” in the chorus. <i>Water</i> almost sounds like a Bob Mould song, which is an amazing compliment. <i>Muck</i> would be a hit single with anyone else singing it. It’s the one song where J’s raspy voice doesn’t seem to fit. Despite that one criticism, this album is great from start to finish. Unfortunately, it’s more known for its controversial cover art by Joseph Szabo of a young girl smoking a cigarette than for its brilliant songs. <br />
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<b>2. Nine Inch Nails “Pretty Hate Machine” 1989</b><br />
I have a personal story about this one. At my graduating class’ all night party, my friends and I suffered through the Pop and Hip Hop songs our classmates were requesting, but took a chance and requested <i>Head Like a Hole</i>. This was before Trent Reznor became a household name and an MTV staple. Surprisingly the DJ had it, but was reluctant to play it, seeing as the crowd was appeased with the drivel his speakers were pumping out. We took turns requesting it all night, until he finally gave in just to shut us up. We had a great time dancing around to that great song, while all the Snoop Dogg fans quickly cleared the dance floor.<br />
This entire indie album is brilliant, with no weak spots at all. It is intense Industrial Rock at its best, with detailed programming, expertly distorted sampling, powerful riffs, and well-written lyrics. The angry anthem <i>Head Like a Hole</i> rocks the socks off any other song from 1989. <i>Terrible Lie</i> and <i>Sanctified</i> lull you into a false calm before screaming straight to your brain and shoving their metaphysical feet down your throat. The great songs <i>Down In It</i>, <i>Kinda I Want To</i>, and <i>That’s What I Get</i> offer up clever lyrics and innovative music. <i>Sin</i> is an amazing barrage to your senses. <i>The Only Time</i> channels the Blues before erupting into Industrial Rock. <i>Ringfinger</i> is a guitar driven assault. And then there’s <i>Something I Can Never Have</i>… If you had the cassette tape like I did, this piece of bliss ended the often-played side one, and was the only reason you’d want that side to reach its end. That song provides the nearest to an orgasmic experience that listening to music can. Many people discovered the brilliance of <i>Pretty Hate Machine</i> after Nine Inch Nails achieved commercial success, but be honest, you didn’t hear it back when it was fresh… <br />
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<b>1. Sonic Youth “Dirty” 1992</b><br />
NYC Noise Rock pioneers and Alternative Rock icons Sonic Youth’s 7th studio album was produced by the highly successful Butch Vig. The diverse album seamlessly switches back and forth between songs showcasing Thurston Moore’s smooth voice and those assaulted by Kim Gordon’s intense growl, both taken to higher levels by Sonic Youth’s brilliant avant-garde musicianship and the perfected guitar work of Moore and Lee Ranaldo. No one does “Noise Rock” better, while still mastering traditional rock sounds. If you love guitars and hearing how far their limits can be pushed, this is that album for you. The aural assault starts off with <i>100%</i>, a guitar and feedback driven song with Pop sensibilities. Next your ears are attacked by Kim Gordon’s scathing commentary on the modeling industry, <i>Swimsuit Issue</i>. <i>Theresa’s Sound-World</i> brings us back to the gorgeous vocals of Moore in a laid-back song that at times kicks into a feedback-fueled rage. <i>In Drunken Butterfly</i>, Gordon again kicks your teeth in, all the while saying she loves you, despite the not knowing your insignificant name. <i>Shoot</i> is Kim’s anthem of an abused and controlled woman’s sly self-liberation. <i>Wish Fulfillment</i> is yet another Thurston Moore Alternative Rock classic with the beauty of Mainstream Rock mixed with the intensity of hardcore. <i>Sugar Kane</i> is even better, with Thurston’s velvet vocals and he and Ranaldo’s virtuoso guitar work making it one of the best Alt Rock masterpieces of the 1990’s. Gordon’s hardcore <i>Orange Rolls, Angel’s Spit</i> and Moore’s anti-racism rant <i>Youth Against Fascism</i>, featuring a cameo by punk legend Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat and Fugazi, pack the blistering sonic punch the band’s name suggests. In the short tirade of <i>Nic Fit</i>, Thurston somehow channels his wife’s frantic vocals. Kim then returns the favor by contributing her most harmonious offering of the album, <i>On The Strip</i>. Next is my personal favorite, <i>Chapel Hill</i>, an epic song, and quite possibly the greatest Alt Rock song of my era. Yea, I said that. Listen to the whole song and then try to prove me wrong… The chaotically beautiful <i>JC</i> (along with <i>100%</i>) pays tribute to Sonic Youth’s murdered friend and roadie, Joe Cole. <i>Purr</i> kicks the frenetic Noise Rock back into high gear, again showcasing Thurston Moore’s lethargic, but rock star quality vocals. Kim Gordon puts the finishing touches on <i>Dirty</i> by growling out the pretty and simplistic song <i>Crème Brulee</i>. The US vinyl and the Japanese CD releases have a bonus track called <i>Stalker</i>, but I really don’t think it fits in with the other 15 tracks of the album.<br />
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Sonic Youth’s <i>Dirty</i> is the most underrated album of my era. I loved the whole album back then and I still love it today. If you see me walking my dog with earbuds in, it’s probably what I’m listening to. If you’ve never heard it, you’re really missing out on some great music. Now that you’ve heard of it, you have no excuse for denying yourself this epic event in music history. <br />
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©2012 Denim McDemusDenim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-10399351975490512682012-03-07T00:56:00.002-05:002012-03-07T01:21:09.525-05:00“My Trip Back to 1984”I’ve always loved music. When I was still forming inside my mother’s womb, I was dancing around at my dad’s band practices. I grew up exposed to the great Rock music of the 60’s and 70’s pumping out of my parent’s stereo, mostly from records and 8-track tapes. I was alive for vinyl, but was I young enough that most of my own records were Sesame Street related. By the time I started seeking out musical tastes of my own, the dawn of the cassette tape had arrived. Vinyl was still around, and I had many 45’s, but the new technology that allowed me to play a little tape on a little personal player called a Walkman sucked me in. The first cassette tape I owned was Billy Joel’s “An Innocent Man”, a great album, which unfortunately is usually overlooked in favor of his earlier work.<br />
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My second album on cassette tape was one of the greatest Rock N’ Roll albums of all time, Van Halen’s 1984. It was the pinnacle of the band’s career, and contained many classic songs such as the mega-hit “Jump”, the sultry fun of “Hot For Teacher”, and the brilliant rock barrage of “Panama”. Despite the commercial success and critical acclaim of the album, the band was falling apart. Personality conflicts, differing musical visions, and side projects drove a wedge between the clashing egos of energetic front man David Lee Roth and guitar virtuoso Eddie Van Halen, leading to Roth’s departure from the band and the group’s musical decline. Always being a huge fan of Diamond Dave, that’s also the point where they lost my allegiance.<br />
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Now 28 years after their last full album together, the Van Halen brothers and Roth have reunited, minus long-time bassist Michael Anthony, recording an album of new material, “A Different Kind of Truth”, and embarking on a tour of the same name. On Monday night, I went to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia to see if three people who used to hate each other could re-capture the magic none of them have had since their breakup in 1985, while enlisting the help of a bassist who wasn’t even alive during their glory days. <br />
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First of all, I have to give proper recognition to Kool & The Gang. Everyone was shocked when the late 70’s-early 80’s Disco-Funk Party Band was announced as the opener for Van Halen’s 2012 tour. It’s hard to imagine the same crowd of people attending concerts by the two diverse acts. But in all fairness, Kool & The Gang are very good at what they do. Their somewhat antiquated party anthems are still catchy, and it’s hard not to sing along once you realize you remember the words to all of their hits. The aging members of the group still perform with the energy and intensity of their heyday. The 11-member ensemble showcased the talent throughout their roster, as they took turns singing and being the featured instrumentalist. Most importantly, the members seemed to have a great time, which couldn’t help but trickle down to the audience. They obviously love what they do, which makes it hard for the crowd, even a Hair Metal crowd, not to have a great time. <br />
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And then, after an unusually long wait, it was time for the headliners to take the stage. Would I regret taking a chance on Van Halen, or would they rekindle the love for their music I had as a child? Well, every group is as strong as the sum of its parts. Let’s examine the reassembled parts of this once well-oiled machine… <br />
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Most artists sound much better on their doctored up recordings than they do live in concert. This cannot be said about veteran drummer Alex Van Halen. I was immensely impressed with the 58 year-old man pounding his drums unmercifully harder, faster, and more intensely than drummers half his age. The rhythm section of Van Halen is often overlooked due to the attention grabbing boldness of Dave’s on-stage antics and Eddie’s over the top guitar work. I now appreciate Alex Van Halen’s skills more than I ever have. He really blew me away in every song, not just his impressive drum solo. He never sounded as good on tape as he does live. <br />
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Like most of the world, I scoffed when control freak Eddie Van Halen replaced longtime bassist Michael Anthony with his then teenaged son, Wolfgang, who wasn’t even alive during the band’s glory days. This move also gave the Van Halen family three votes on band-related matters rather than two, further forcing their influence on each decision, regardless of the current singer is. This being the 20 year-old's first full tour, and my not having heard the entire new album, this concert was my first taste of Wolfgang beyond the disappointing single “Tattoo”. Could he really fill the void of the band’s legendary bassist, replacing that all-important rhythmic backbone? Fortunately, Wolfgang did not disappoint. He does seem somewhat stiff and awkward up on stage, possibly worried his dictatorial dad is looking over his shoulder, and completely unsure of how to interact with Dave’s cartoonish but sleazy antics. All things considered, Wolfgang did a great job.<br />
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I was never much of an Eddie Van Halen fan. He always seems to look and act like an obnoxious creep. I’ve always agreed he is a great guitarist, but I’m not a huge fan of the whiny noises he makes with his guitar, especially when he started experimenting with power saws and other strange items. Apparently a guitar virtuoso like Eddie Van Halen has to be heard in person to be properly appreciated. His live playing won me over, and I’m not easily impressed. I can easily see why he is so revered in the world of music. He may not be the easiest guy in the world to work with, but his amazing, one of a kind guitar skills more than make up for any personality deficiencies. <br />
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I’ve always been a huge fan of David Lee Roth. Say what you will about him, and it’s probably true, but as a front man, a showman, he has few equals. He’s flamboyant, arrogant, showy, and maybe a little bit crazy, but all of that is what makes him a legend. He also makes more wardrobe changes than a runway model, but it’s all part of his charm. Dave’s voice is still as crisp as ever, belting out songs that never sounded as good with anyone else on the mic. He may have aged since his glory days, but his star has not faded, his spark has not gone out. Diamond Dave still struts around the stage like he owns it, and Monday night he did. <br />
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One highpoint for me of the concert was that they completely omitted the band’s pop songs from their commercially successful, but musically atrocious “Van Hagar” era. Diamond Dave is back. He is and always will be Van Halen’s front man. His charm, energy, and showmanship cannot be replaced without bringing Jim Morrison back from the grave. Another highlight for me was the new song “China Town”, which I had not heard prior to the show. Simply put, this new track rocks, and is much better than first single “Tattoo.” It’s by far the best Van Halen song since 1984, and one of their hardest rocking offerings ever. Of course, the biggest highlight for me was rocking out to the favorites of my childhood. They played every song I wanted to hear: “Panama”, “Hot For Teacher”, “Jump”, “Dance The Night Away”, “You Really Got Me”, “Pretty Woman”, “Somebody Get Me a Doctor”, “Beautiful Girls”, “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love”, etc. <br />
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My brother in laws, neither of which were alive for the majority of Van Halen’s career, had a great time, one of which described the concert as “The greatest experience of my life”. I too enjoyed the concert. I went into it skeptical about Kool & The Gang and Van Halen re-capturing their glory days of the 70’s and 80’s, but both delivered without disappointment. I was worried whether Van Halen could put to rest their tensions, shake off the rust, and overcome the absence of Michael Anthony enough to operate as a cohesive rock unit. They did not disappoint me, far exceeding my skeptical expectations. They rocked their songs as if they hadn’t missed a day of playing together. They rocked the sold out Wells Fargo Center like a band of 20 year olds. I had a blast, liking Van Halen again for the fist time in decades. Apparently it is possible to travel back in time to “The Good Old Days”, at least for one night. <br />
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©2012 Denim McDemusDenim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-47737934224802935302012-02-29T20:33:00.000-05:002012-02-29T20:33:23.550-05:00RIP Davy Jones!RIP Davy Jones 1945-2012! Thanks for all the fun you brought to pop culture throughout so many years.<br />
My parents grew up on The Monkees, my mom in particular being a big fan. I grew up watching the Monkees TV program, enjoying the campy fun, and singing along to my parent's Monkees LPs (yes, music was still on vinyl when I was a kid). As a teenager and adult, I grew to appreciate the more adult humor hidden below the surface of The Monkees slapstick silliness. <br />
Davy was always my favorite Monkee, and by far the best singer of the group. <br />
RIP Davy, and thanks for all the great times!Denim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-14249241270076807132012-02-24T13:35:00.000-05:002012-02-24T13:35:43.311-05:00Movie ReviewsHere are my reviews and ratings on a scale of 1 to 10 for the films I have seen recently:<br />
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<u><b>In Theaters:</u><br />
“One For The Money” (2012) 6/10</b><br />
One For The Money is a cute romcom staring the resurgent Katherine Heigl and Irishman Jason O’Mara. <br />
Heigl has resurrected her career in this niche, with films such as Life as we Know It, New Years Eve, Killers, The Ugly Truth, 27 Dresses, and Knocked Up. She’s making a mint off of playing sappy lovelorn characters. O’Mara makes a successful transition to the big screen, after appearing in many television series, including the Sci-Fi hit Terra Nova. <br />
In One For The Money, Heigl plays Stephnie Plum, a down on her luck New Jersey woman who’s recently lost her husband, job, and car. Desperate for money, she begs her cousin for a job as a bail-bondsman. The former lingerie saleswoman turned recovery agent has to quickly learn to bring in wanted criminals, including Joe Morelli (O’Mara), a possibly framed cop wanted for murder, who also broke her heart in high school, and the occasional naked old man. Plum becomes determined to bring in Morelli, more for revenge than the money, aided by a delightful group of quirky characters, including her oddball family, two humorous prostitutes, the kooky bail-bonds staff, and an over the top bounty hunter named Ranger. The love/hate tensions heat up between Plum and Morelli, as they engage in a dangerous, but romantic and comedic game of cat and mouse. <br />
This film is not great, but it’s entertaining. The on-screen chemistry between Heigl and O’Mara, the interesting and action-packed storyline, the hilarious situations Plum gets herself into, and the delightful supporting cast make this romcom enjoyable for both men and women. <br />
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<u><b>On DVD:</u><br />
“The Rum Diary”(2011) 5/10</b><br />
I am not a fan of the grossly overrated Hunter S. Thompson’s writing, nor the horrible attempts at adapting his novels to film. They directors always try way too hard to make the films strange and hallucinogenic, making the already uniteresting material even more contrived and forced.<br />
The Rum Diary gets lost within itself somewhere along the way. The story never really progresses, and the film never actually goes anywhere. It’s more boring than entertaining, painful than humorous. Stagnant would be a fitting adjective. Even the usually entertaining Johnny Depp couldn’t save this film from being a dud. I really wanted to like it, but was unable to. I even watched it a second time trying to find something to like about it, but was unsuccessful. Don’t waste your time watching it. <br />
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<b>“Anonymous” (2011) 4/10</b><br />
I’m a fan of Shakespeare, history, and conspiracy theories. I agree that it’s quite possible the man we know as Shakespeare may not have written all or even any of the works we attribute to his name, or that he could be a figurehead for the works of several writers of that era. While this film only follows one of those possible scenarios, it does so convincingly, but also confusingly. <br />
The film jumps around between several time periods, showing several of the characters throughout their lives, often without need to, and often without explaining which of the younger versions of the similar looking characters is which. This tactic may work in other films, but in this one it comes across as a sloppy chaotic mess. <br />
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<b>“What’s Your Number” (2011) 6/10</b><br />
This romcom pairs up Scary Movie alum turned romcom mainstay Anna Faris with chiseled superhero Chris Evans (The Human Torch, Captain America, Lucas Lee). Faris’ character Ally Darling enlists the help of her resourceful manwhore neighbor Colin (Evans) in tracking down her 20 exes, fearing that she may have missed out on the proverbial Mr. Right. Will Ally be too busy dwelling on past mistakes to notice the romance brewing right under her nose? You’ll have to watch the film to find out. <br />
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<b>“A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas” (2011) 6/10</b><br />
The campy characters of the Harold & Kumar series offer up yet another film full of sophomoric delight. The third installment is nowhere near as funny as the first film, but way better than the second. The NPH cameo is again the highlight of the film. If you’re up for a rowdy romp through the holiday season, check this film out. If you’re easily offended, obviously avoid this film like the plague. <br />
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<u><b>On Netflix:</u><br />
“Restraint” (2008) 2/10</b><br />
An Australian thriller that has an interesting premise, but falls short in so many ways. It really drags on, with out much action or suspense at all. There are a lot of plot holes and improbable developments. It’s not worth watching. <br />
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<b>“Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog”(2008) 7/10</b><br />
An overly short, yet silly and enjoyable 3-Act musical series from writer director Joss Whedon of the cult hits Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Firefly. Staring the always hilarious Neil Patrick Harris as blogging wanna-be supervillain Dr. Horrible, Nathan Fillion of Firefly as his nemesis Captain Hammer, Felicia Day of cult hit Eureka as their mutua love interest, Penny, and Simon Helberg from the smash hit The Big Bang Theory as Moist, Dr. Horrible’s useless sidekick. <br />
This series of shorts is hilarious fun for anyone not trying to take life too seriously. <br />
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<b>“Pervert” (2005) 2/10</b><br />
This ridiculous horror/comedy is barely watchable. They were obviously trying to be ridiculous and over the top, and they succeeded in that, but that’s the only way they succeeded, other than in being titillating.Denim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-70616718766385980132012-02-17T12:51:00.001-05:002012-02-17T15:44:54.535-05:00“Top 13 Reasons the Entertainment World is Better Off Without Whitney Houston”First of all, even I’m not <i>that</i> insensitive. I’m not celebrating her death, just her forced retirement. She was one of the worst and most overrated entertainers of all time, and unfortunately during my lifetime. Her more than a decade long spiral into self-destruction, leading to her early demise is tragic, but that doesn’t make her contributions to the entertainment world any less excruciating. <br />
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13. Whitney Houston started “acting” again, in “Sparkle” a soon to be released re-make of a 1976 film. Didn’t “The Bodyguard”, “Waiting To Exhale”, “The Preacher’s Wife” and “Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” display enough of Whitney’s pathetic acting skills? <br />
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12. She also started recording again, reportedly adding two songs to the Sparkle Soundtrack.<br />
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11. Prince can live at ease now that Whitney’s no longer stalking him at his LA concerts. <br />
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10. California liquor stores will now be fully stocked for other lush entertainers.<br />
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9. Houston’s CDs can now be used as commemorative frisbees and coasters, rather than just trap shoot targets. <br />
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8. Jon Bon Jovi can now begin his reign as the most annoying singer from New Jersey. <br />
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7. Whitney doesn’t have to come up any more ways to name albums after herself. (“Whitney Houston” “Whitney” “Just Whitney”) <br />
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6. Her voice is completely gone. She sounds like a soft-spoken troll, or someone with a cold whispering <i>Tommy’s got the Motts</i>. The music world already has one too many Macy Grays. <br />
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5. “The Bodyguard” is just plain awful. Like ALL of her other films, it is a remake, so there’s no originality at work at all. Pairing up Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, two of the least talented celebrities of all time, should be a crime against humanity. But the worst thing about “The Bodyguard” is listed below at #1. <br />
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4. Bobby Brown has one less person to beat up and do drugs with.<br />
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3. No more failed Whitney Houston comeback tours for audience members to walk out on.<br />
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2. “Greatest Love of All”, yet another re-make by the uncreative Whitney Houston, was the second most annoying song of her career, hence the #2 ranking. Like the even worse song listed below, this one seems to drone on and on in sappy, vomit inducing bliss. “The Greatest Love of All” was Houston’s 3rd most successful hit, but definitely her 2nd worst song.<br />
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1. “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston is the lowest point ever in the history of the music industry. Like most of Whitney’s career “highlights”, it’s a re-make. If you were around in 1992-93, which was the epicenter of “my era”, you know that this horribly annoying, seemingly endless, whiney Whitney song was on the radio nearly non-stop. This was before the days of satellite and streaming radio and iPods. There were few choices for musical entertainment, and most of them overplayed this terrible song for about a year. It’s sappy, crappy, and almost as monotone as Ben Stein. This song is by far my worst memory of my senior year of high school, forever scarring my ears, my musical taste buds, and common decency. <br />
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R.I.P. Whitney Houston (1963-2012), a tragic death, but a sigh of relief for people with good taste in music.<br />
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©2012 Denim McDemusDenim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-14553952592246713462011-10-07T11:57:00.001-04:002011-10-07T12:01:20.211-04:00Movie Review "The True Story of Puss N' Boots"I rate movies on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst, ten being the best, 5 being average. A great movie will usually garner an 8, having to be incredible to rate higher than that. A movie receiving at least a 6 is good. Anything under 5 means it's pretty bad.<br />
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<b><u>“The True Story of Puss N’ Boots”</u> 1/10</b><br />
This is not the upcoming Shrek spinoff, but quite possibly the worst animated film I have ever seen. It was conveniently added to Redbox just in time to cash in on the popularity of the Antonio Banderas voiced character.<br />
The film is very awkward, and hard to watch. The animation is horrible. The characters move like marionettes, and they all look very ugly. The movement of their mouths doesn’t even come close to matching the audio. Any secondary characters with multiples look exactly alike.<br />
The voice actors are pathetic. The queen sounds drunk. The Ogre sounds constipated. The cat is voiced by William Shatner, creating the most annoying voice I’ve ever heard, and intermixing it with nonsensical sounds and stuttering. All of the voices are annoying, and the dialogue is terrible, absurd, and forced.<br />
The singing if pathetic. The story is clichéd and forced. The action scenes are slow paced and stiff.<br />
I’m shocked that someone purposely made a movie this poorly. Don’t ever waste your time watching this film. <br />
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<b><u>Other Films:</u></b><br />
<b>Win Win 8/10:</b> Touching, entertaining, and very well acted. Shows that imperfect people can be heroes in the lives they touch.<br />
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<b>Thor 5/10:</b> Better than I thought it would be, and more family friendly than most recent superhero films, but not overly interesting. Thor’s not really a strong enough character to carry a film.<br />
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<b>Everything Must Go 7/10:</b> Touching at times, humorous at times, and enjoyable always. Will Ferrell’s few forays into serious yet quirky films such as this, "Winter Passing", and "Stranger Than Fiction" actually outshine his brilliance in slapstick comedy. <br />
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<b>Your Highness 5/10:</b> Could have stood on it’s own as an interesting and enjoyable fantasy genre film, but is drug down by it’s attempt at low-brow humor. They accidentally made a good fantasy film, rather than a comedic spoof. <br />
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©2011 Denim McDemusDenim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-12448186889305395972011-10-07T11:48:00.002-04:002011-10-07T11:59:24.384-04:00Movie Review "Skateland"I rate movies on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst, ten being the best, 5 being average. A great movie will usually garner an 8, having to be incredible to rate higher than that. A movie receiving at least a 6 is good. Anything under 5 means it's pretty bad.<br />
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<b><u>"Skateland"</U> 5/10</b><br />
They did a great job of accurately recreating the atmosphere and building nostalgia. The soundtrack features a great choice of early 80’s Alternative Rock songs. The characters are likeable, but the acting is one-dimentional.<br />
The story is depressing, and doesn’t really move forward. This film would have worked much better as a comedy or rom-com.<br />
The ending kind of comes out of the blue. All of a sudden, the slacker guy who hasn’t put any effort into his future has the answer fall out of the sky into his hands, and he gets the girl back too.<br />
Out of nostalgia for growing up at Roller Roost in the 80’s, I really wanted to like this film, and from that perspective I did. It really transported me back me in time. But as enjoyable as the nostalgia is, the film itself is hard to enjoy. <br />
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<b><u>Other Films:</u></b><br />
<b>"Paul" 7/10:</b> More hilarious fun from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, with Seth Rogan added to the mix, and cameos from Jason Bateman, Bill Heder, David Koechner, and Jeffrey Tambor.<br />
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<b>"Rio" 5/10:</b> Somewhat clichéd and unoriginal, trying to be a better animated film than it is. <br />
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<b>"Rango" 8/10:</b> A little dark and twisted for children, but that’s what makes this Johnny Depp voiced film so good.<br />
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<b>"Dylan Dog" 1/10:</b> Unwatchable.<br />
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©2011 Denim McDemusDenim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-35809218034145047662011-10-07T11:42:00.001-04:002011-10-07T12:00:09.537-04:00Movie Review "The Gruffalo"I rate movies on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst, ten being the best, 5 being average. A great movie will usually garner an 8, having to be incredible to rate higher than that. A movie receiving at least a 6 is good. Anything under 5 means it's pretty bad. <br />
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<b><u>"The Gruffalo"</u> 8/10</b><br />
This animated film based on Julia Donaldson’s book is short but very enjoyable. It’s cute, humorous, and fun.<br />
The animation isn’t great, but it’s passable, and is outshined by the story.<br />
The voice talent does a good job, with some recognizable names, including Helena Bonham Carter, John Hurt, and Tom Wilkinson.<br />
The Gruffalo isn’t the greatest animated film of all time, but it’s certainly a fun way to spend 30 minutes.<br />
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<b><u>Other Films:</u></b><br />
<b>"The Beaver" 7/10:</b> Very well done, despite the ridiculous concept. It actually makes a lot of sense. <br />
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<b>"Hoodwinked Too" 6/10:</b> Not as good as the first one. <br />
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<b>"The Conspirator" 7/10:</b> Well done historical drama with a touch of conspiracy theory about one of America’s foggiest crimes. <br />
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<b>"Take Me Home Tonight" 2/5:</b> Boring, depressing, poorly acted, and full if anachronisms. <br />
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©2011 Denim McDemusDenim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-4608975199839347092011-01-12T21:27:00.000-05:002011-01-12T21:27:45.634-05:00“The Top 25 Albums That Helped Define Me”First of all, I had to go with a “Top 25” for this list, because music was such a big part of growing up for me. There’s no way I could narrow it down to just 13 albums.<br />
As for the criteria: These are full albums from the era I grew up in, from childhood through my teens, which had an impact on my pop culture experience, and the future of my taste in music. These are the albums I wore out, singing along to the soundtrack of my life. <br />
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Music is a big part of pop culture, and a big part of my life. It always has been. It always will be. Sure, there are years, even decades, in which the musical crop is pretty weak, but the best thing about music is that it doesn’t fade away. Those great old songs of classic eras gone by, that each generation grew up with and still hold dear, are still available to us, to pump out of our speakers and into our minds, to fill the void when musical resuscitation is needed.<br />
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Fortunately, I grew up in a great era for music. I was also born and raised on the great Rock Music of my parents’ generation. There’s great background music augmenting all of my favorite memories of childhood and adolescence. Here are some of the albums that made a lasting impact on my life: <br />
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<b>25. Billy Joel “The Stranger”/The Beatles “Abby Road”</b><br />
The first 2 “adult” albums I owned on vinyl. Before them, I had quite a collection of Sesame Street albums, and a bunch of 45’s of Early 80’s hits, but these 2 epic albums were my first foray into adult LPs. No, I wasn’t alive for one’s release, and was in diapers for the other, but music doesn’t have to be current to be appreciated. The word “classic” exists for a reason, and these 2 albums help to show why. <br />
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<b>24. Billy Joel “An Innocent Man”</b><br />
Again, this is a historical pick, representing a milestone in my personal musical enjoyment. “An Innocent Man” was the very first cassette tape I ever owned (soon to be followed by Van Halen’s 1984). Cassettes were the new medium, and Walkmans were all the rage. I chose to fill mine with this great storybook album, in which all the songs seem to fit together into the greater scheme of a story, inviting us to fill in the blanks in between, connecting the very enjoyable songs. <br />
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<b>23. “Singles” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack</b><br />
One of the many examples in the 1990’s of a soundtrack being better than the movie, the Singles Soundtrack stood out in refreshing brilliance. It introduced the rest of the world to many of the Pacific Northwest’s hidden jewels, such as Chris Cornell (with and without Soundgarden), Mudhoney, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Screaming Trees, plus Midwesterners Smashing Pumpkins, while treating us to an all-time great in Jimi Hendrix. The film is boring to say the least, but the soundtrack greatly improved the musical landscape, and hinted at brighter things on the horizon. <br />
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<b>22. Nirvana “Nevermind”</b><br />
Because of when I was in high school, you knew this had to be on here. As clichéd as citing this album may be, its impact on the pop culture and Rock Music scene of the 90’s and beyond can’t be denied. Nirvana didn’t invent “Alternative” Rock, or even the Seattle Grunge sound. What they did was perfect both for one brief moment, long enough to break into mainstream America’s consciousness, and pave the way for the bands that would follow, and even some which came before them. Nirvana took the music world by storm, kicked it in the butt, sprayed graffiti on it, and put it back where they found it, forever changed, never able to go back to what it had been. Even though their follow up efforts were greatly inferior, “Nevermind” is the album that made Rock Music cool again. <br />
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<b>21. “The Crow” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack</b><br />
An exception to the rule in the 90’s, since the soundtrack and the film were both good, the album mirrored the dark tones of the movie quite well. Most of the featured bands had been around for a while, but weren’t really on the mainstream public’s radar. Most people may still not be overly familiar with some of these bands, but I guarantee they recognize the songs that were in the film. <br />
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<b>20. They Might Be Giants “Flood”</b><br />
Was any other album ever so much fun? Full of catchy, quirky songs that force you to sing along, and demand you get up and dance, TMBG made a big impact on “Alternative” Rock with this great album. They were welcome comic relief to the sappiness dominating Hair Rock, and the intense subject matter of its replacement, Grunge. This album caught them at their campy finest. <br />
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<b>19. Smashing Pumpkins “Siamese Dream”</b><br />
“Siamese Dream” is a very beautiful sonic assault on the eardrums and the music world. Billy Corgan and crew may be better known for their later Pop songs, imaginative videos, and internal strife, but “Siamese Dream” is one of the most magnificent Rock masterpieces of all time. Never before have I felt so serene while something bashed in my skull. <br />
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<b>18. Pink Floyd “The Wall”/”Dark Side of the Moon”</b><br />
Is there anyone with a pulse who wasn’t influenced by these 2 epic masterpieces from this brilliant band? Again, like with “An Innocent Man”, the songs on these concept albums fit together into epic sagas that would be missed by casually listening to only the separate singles. These albums tickle our ears with great music, while exercising our minds with their complex themes. Never again could listening to music be casual or passive. <br />
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<b>17. Misfits “Collection”</b><br />
This is a great compilation of some of the best songs from one of the most enjoyable bands of all time. This album is filled with fun sing-along songs such as “Die, Die My Darling”, “Skulls”, “Mommy Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight”, and “Teenagers From Mars”. Danzig, Jerry Only, and crew took the genres of Punk and Metal, melded them with a love for Sci-Fi/Horror B-Movies, and created a sound all their own. Themes of anger, not fitting in, and non-conformity struck a chord with those of us dealing with the same, while lightening the mood of those same subjects with dark humor. This collection brought together the highlights that are hard not to love. <br />
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<b>16. Concrete Blonde “Bloodletting”</b><br />
A great Goth album with vampiric overtones, at a time when the works of Anne Rice and the new version of “Dark Shadows” made vampire pop culture much cooler than today’s “Twilight” nonsense. Brilliantly dark songs like “The Best”, “The Darkening of the Light”, “The Sky is a Poisonous Garden”, and “Tomorrow Wendy” flanked the singles “Joey” and “Caroline”, which both brilliantly expressed themes of loss, confusion, and unrequited love. Unfortunately, Concrete Blonde’s follow up efforts paled in comparison, but “Bloodletting” remains a favorite of early 90’s Alternative Rock and Goth fans to this day. <br />
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<b>15. Dead Kennedys “Give Me Convenience or Give me Death”</b><br />
80’s Punk greats Dead Kennedys were always political, always controversial, and always a lot of fun. Jello Biafra’s whiney voice sang out lines we love to sing along, but not in front of our parents. This compilation is filled with classics such as “California Uber Alles”, “Holiday in Cambodia”, “Police Truck”, “Night of the Living Rednecks”, and the legendary, only once performed “Pull My Strings”. This collection of their best public-shocking songs proves the clichéd ad slogan, “There’s always room for Jello.” Stop fighting with each other and reunite already! <br />
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<b>14. New Order “Substance”</b> <br />
Following Ian Curtis’ poorly-timed suicide, the remaining 3 members of Joy Division regrouped, refocused, and reinvented themselves as New Order. 80’s New Wave’s best Electro Pop group treated us to such gems as “True Faith”, “Bizarre Love Triangle”, “Blue Monday”, “Procession”, and many other early singles, which were collected on 1987’s “Substance”. A friend and fellow fan gave me this double cassette set, and I enjoyed it greatly (although I think he stole it from someone else). <br />
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<b>13. Husker Du “Warehouse Songs & Stories”/“New Day Rising”</b><br />
Husker Du had the intensity of Punk, mixed with the ability to write gorgeous Pop songs, with a bitter rivalry thrown in for good measure. Bob Mould and Grant Hart pushed each other to greatness by trying desperately to outdo each other. Many of these songs are all-time classics, that were somehow overlooked by most music fans. Had Husker Du survived into the 90’s, they would have become “Alternative” Rock superstars, but alas, only the good die young. <br />
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<b>12. INXS “Kick”</b><br />
This great album produced so many memorable singles, yet some of its greatest treasures are hidden amongst them. It’s impossible to hear one of these classic songs without expecting the next album track to immediately follow it. <br />
Another major impact this album had on my adolescence was when The Young Studs performed our inspired rendition of “Never Tear Us Apart”, to the delight of many young ladies at Caesar’s Brookedale’s talent show. We won. Was there ever any doubt?<br />
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<b>11. Nine Inch Nails “Pretty Hate Machine”</b><br />
In a year dominated by Rap music, underground Industrial one-man band Nine Inch Nails provided much appreciated relief with this unbeatable album. “Pretty Hate Machine” is filled with well-written, well-performed songs, that flow into each other perfectly from beginning to end, the highlight of which being side one’s last track, the orgasmic “Something I Can Never Have”. <br />
One key personal memory involving this album was at my graduating class’s all night party. Two friends and I kept bugging the DJ all night to play “Head Like A Hole”, until he finally relented (just to shut us up). The 3 of us had a great time dancing to it, while everyone else sat around asking each other “What in the world is that?” <br />
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<b>10. Depeche Mode “Violator”</b><br />
English Electro Pop band Depeche Mode had been around for a long time, and had released many great songs by 1990, but “Violator” was by far their pinnacle. It was their musical coming out party, and it was darn near perfect. The gorgeous “Enjoy The Silence” and the beat-driven “Personal Jesus” were deservedly big hits, but songs like “Halo”, “World In My Eyes”, “Policy of Truth”, and “Sweetest Perfection” were equally spectacular. Enjoy the Depeche Mode of the 80’s and the Depeche Mode of today, but make sure you listen to “Violator”, the band’s greatest moment preserved forever. <br />
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<b>9. Sonic Youth “Dirty”</b><br />
Noise Rock/Feedback Rock pioneers Sonic Youth blessed the music world with their earlier masterpieces, such as “Daydream Nation”, but 1992’s “Dirty” was the album that dominated the my late teen years. I even had a hard to find poster of the album cover on my closet door. I really feel bad for the many people who never discovered this underrated album by this underrated band. “Chapel Hill”, “Sugar Cane”, “Youth Against Fascism”, “JC”, “100%”, these are some of the greatest Rock songs of all time, and you need to hear them. Trust me, your ears will thank you, once they get used to the feedback. <br />
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<b>8. Violent Femmes “Self-titled”</b><br />
My friends and I always had a great time bopping along to the infectious songs of this delightful album, while cruising around in my friend Scott’s car. We also shocked a lot of pop culturally brainwashed people by playing Femmes songs at the one high school and one college dance that my dad and I DJed. How can an album that’s so much fun be so controversial? America needs to stop taking itself so seriously. <br />
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<b>7. The Clash “The Story of the Clash”</b><br />
I grew up in the “Combat Rock” era, but The Clash’s greatest hits album introduced me to their wonderful older material as well. Along with the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, the Clash helped to forever change the world’s musical landscape with songs including “Should I Stay or Should I Go”, “The Guns of Brixton”, “This is Radio Clash”, “Career Opportunities”, and of course “London Calling”. This double cassette was one of my favorites in my massive tape collection, and easily influenced my future musical interests. <br />
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<b>6. Social Distortion “Self-titled”</b><br />
The moment I first heard “Ball and Chain” on the before-its-time Sunday Morning Alternative Show, I fell in love with the unadulterated, Rock N’ Roll the way it was meant to be done, music of Mike Ness and Social Distortion. The Country Rock undertones and old-school guitar riffs added a great Americana feel to this Punk album. Throw in a bold cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”, amid great story songs like “She’s a Knockout”, “So Far Away”, “Sick Boys”, and “Story of My Life”, and you have one of the best albums of all time to rock out to for an extremely enjoyable listening experience. <br />
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<b>5. The Doors “Greatest Hits”</b><br />
What can be said about The Lizard King that hasn’t already been beaten to death? The Doors brief career, which realistically ended with Jim Morrison’s death, left the world with many songs that are hard not to love. Morrison’s poetic lyrics, addicting persona, and haunting voice made a huge impact on my writing, singing, and musical tastes, and my life in general. Was he a great role model on how to live life? No. But as a vocalist and frontman he’s only rivaled by Sinatra, and as a lyricist he’s second to none. Crooning along to this collection wore out my voice many a nights. <br />
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<b>4. The Ramones “Mania”</b><br />
The real history of Rock music began in the mid 70’s with the Ramones. The Beatles and Stones are often cited as the greatest bands of all time, but no band has had more influence on the Rock genre than the leather and jeans clad foursome from NYC. They put Punk Rock, Modern Rock, fast and furious music, and the New York Scene all on the map with a fury. This collection containing some of their all-time best work certainly hit the spot for me, and for anyone looking for great songs to stir up the heart and get the blood flowing. In an imperfect world, the Ramones took up the banner of imperfect people and ran with it, letting us all know that it was ok to be ourselves again. This album is a great place to start for anyone searching for good music done right. <br />
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<b>3. Dead Milkmen “Beelzebubba”</b><br />
Presenting Philly’s finest at their finest, I don’t know of any other album that has so many classic songs with so many classic lyrics. Creativity and dark humor are at their very best in songs like “Stuart”, “I Walk The Thinnest Line”, “Ringo Buys A Rifle”, “RC’s Mom”, and the all-time classic “Punk Rock Girl”, despite its mistaking of the Mammas and the Pappas for the Beach Boys. Minnie Pearl trumps all, I suppose. If you’ve never heard this album, do yourself a favor, and treat your ears and your sense of humor to this much needed enema. <br />
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<b>2. “Pump Up The Volume” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack</b><br />
Here’s a rare occurrence where one of the greatest films of all time also produced one of the greatest soundtracks of all time. The movie was filled with great, obscure tunes, some in the background, others played on Happy Harry’s pirate radio show. The soundtrack offers us a well-chosen, yet small sampling of them. Some highlights include the slowed-down “UK Surf” version of the Pixies “Wave of Mutilation”, Henry Rollins and Bad Brains combining to cover MC5’s “Kick Out The Jams”, Concrete Blonde’s rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows”, Peter Murphy, Soundgarden, Sonic Youth, the list goes on and on. This film and its soundtrack were hugely influential in my life, and helped mold me into the person I now am proud to be. <br />
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<b>1. The Cure “Disintegration”</b><br />
“Disintegration” has the greatest production value ever of albums Alan Parsons didn’t have his hands into. This album is dynamic from beginning to end, with no weak spots at all. It was my introduction to the Cure, and the album that made me fall in love with “Alternative” Rock in general. The signature single, “Love Song”, is so good that I’m dancing to it at my upcoming wedding. It expresses love in that self-conscious, afraid to dare expose yourself to happiness, “you make me better than I am” kind of way that only Robert Smith can convey. Songs like “Lullaby”, “Pictures of You”, and “Fascination Street” keep the legendary Cure gloom and doom alive and well, as the master rarely strays from the art he perfected. This album truly changed my life musically, and was the catalyst to the life I would lead from then on, from a pop culture standpoint anyway. <br />
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<b><u>Honorable Mention:</u></b><br />
Agent Orange “This is the Voice”<br />
Bad Religion “Recipe For Hate”<br />
Barenaked Ladies “Maybe You Should Drive”<br />
Black Flag “Damaged”<br />
Circle Jerks “Golden Shower of Hits”<br />
The Cure “Standing on a Beach”<br />
Descendants “Milo Goes to College”<br />
Dinosaur Jr. “Green Mind”<br />
Frank Sinatra “80th: All The Best”<br />
Guns N’ Roses “Appetite For Destruction”<br />
KMFDM “Angst”<br />
Less Than Jake “Losing Streak”<br />
Metallica “And Justice For All”<br />
Ministry “Psalm 69”<br />
P.I.L. “Greatest Hits”<br />
Pixies “Doolittle”<br />
Poison “Open Up & Say Ahhh”<br />
Radiohead “Pablo Honey”<br />
Rev. Horton Heat “The Full-Custom Gospel Sounds of”<br />
Sex Pistols “Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols”<br />
The Smiths “Meat is Murder”<br />
Teenage Fanclub “Bandwagonesque”<br />
U2 “War” <br />
The Vandals “Hitler Bad, Vandals Good”<br />
Weezer “Self-Titled” (aka “The Blue Album”)Denim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-6525199213127444332010-11-22T11:32:00.000-05:002010-11-22T11:32:50.192-05:00“Why Star Wars Is Great”If this is a Pop Culture Blog, then I need to recognize Star Wars as one of the greatest pieces of Pop Culture History ever, and definitely the most significant in my lifetime.<br><br />
Now don’t misunderstand me, when I say Star Wars, I mean the original three-film trilogy that I grew up with. I am not including the “Special Editions” with “additional footage” that George Lucas released to cash in on the original trilogy’s continued popularity. He took some footage off the cutting room floor, slapped it in, and marketed it to the college-age Gen Xers, who had been children during the films’ original theatrical runs.<br />
Nor am I talking about the CGI-driven, profit-seeking prequel trilogy. The prequels have some great moments, but not their own moments, just nostalgia moments for those of us who love the original trilogy and its characters.<br />
And when I speak of “The Trilogy”, I am certainly not talking about the Lord of the Rings films, which are ok, but not great at all, unless you like documentaries about walking long distances. The original Star Wars Trilogy is a brilliant slice of Pop Culture History, which needs to be cherished as such by all generations.<br> <br />
I will start off by telling you that I am not a “Fanboy”, but a fan. I can’t tell you what planet Grand Moff Tarkin is from, or who played the Gamorrean Guards. But I have always been a big fan of the films and their characters, having grown up in the wonderful 1980’s, the best time in history to be a kid. We had the best toys, the best cartoons, and the best movies.<br> <br />
Now, let’s get to the reasons Star Wars is great…<p><b><u>1. Sci-Fi Impact</b></u><br />
Star Wars made the Space Genre, and Sci-Fi in general, cool again for the first time since Star Trek.<br />
I’ve never understood the rivalry between fans of the two most influential Sci-Fi creations of all time. If you’re a true fan of Sci-Fi, and/or the Space Genre, how can you not love both?<br />
The fact that both are still popular today, and both series continue to release new content in one form or another speaks to their cultural impact. And add in the countless Sci-Fi films and TV shows that were inspired by them, or at very least influenced by them, and definitely were made possible by their popularity, and you see where I’m going with this.<br />
Is there anyone living in a modernized part of the world today, who hasn’t heard of Star Wars, and wouldn’t recognize it’s major characters? I doubt it.<p><b><u>2. Great Characters</b></u><br />
That brings me to point number two: Star Wars has the best characters of any film in history.<br />
What little boy growing up in the 1980’s didn’t long to be Han Solo? What little girl didn’t try to fix her hair like Princess Leia, and then try to do so again in their college days? Who wasn’t terrified of Darth Vader as a child, and then idolized him as an adolescent and young adult? Who doesn’t admire Boba Fett’s cool and intimidating presence, despite barely saying a word? Who doesn’t appreciate the Laurel & Hardy, Abbot & Costello, straight man/foil, comic relief of the droids, R2D2 and 3CPO? They were HILARIOUS! And you just know R2 is cussing 3PO out 90% of the time, in whatever curse words droids use!<br> <br />
And we got to see the growth of the main characters throughout the trilogy, as we grew up ourselves. We see Luke’s progression from an annoying, nerdy farmboy, mourning the loss of his family and his mentor, to become an annoying and nerdy, yet very powerful Jedi Master, saving the world in the process. We witness Han’s progression from a selfish criminal, to a galactic hero with love in his heart. We watch Leia grow from a demanding, spoiled brat princess, to a levelheaded leader, who leads by example, and a great encourager to those around her. We’re engrossed as we watch Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker transform from a brutal, machine-like tyrant, to a loving father and a last minute hero, with flashes of the humanity within him peeking out along the way. We see Yoda progress from a strange thief with mixed up grammar, to a brilliant master, imparting to us such brilliant philosophies as, “Do or do not. There is no try.”<br><br />
And these films make you care about the wellbeing of their characters. You have to care about them, because you grew up with them. You worry when they are in danger. You feel for them when they are sad. You cheer with them when they are victorious.<br> <br />
And what’s cooler than a Wookie? Nothing!<p><b><u>3. The Subtle Messages Within</b></u><br />
When we watched these films as kids, to us, it was all about The Rebel Alliance vs. The Empire, but that wasn’t the only battle being portrayed within.<br />
It was also a metaphor for Good vs. Evil, Right from Wrong.<br />
Being released at the height of the Cold War, it was also an Anti-Communism, Anti-Imperialism statement.<br />
It also mirrors Christianity, with the battle of good vs. evil, the false savior coming first and taking over the world, and then being defeated by the true savior, who uses an unseen force within him to defeat evil and darkness once and for all, and make the world a better place.<br />
With the little guys beating the rich and powerful Empire, it’s also a great metaphor for “The Battle of the Underdog”.<p><b><u>4. The Toys!</b></u> <br />
All of you who grew up in the 80’s will agree with me, there never has been, and never will be, better toys than Kenner’s Star Wars line of toys.<br />
Their 3.75” plastic action figures, complete with detachable weapons and accessories, became the industry standard that all future toy lines strove to replicate. GI Joe toys in the 80’s may have been more intricate, but they own it all to the popularity and way-paving of Star Wars toys.<p><b><u>5. Still A Factor</b></u><br />
Even now, decades later, as the original fans begin to show signs of aging, Star Wars is still relevant in today’s Popular Culture. The original fans are still as passionate as ever, and new generations of fans are born every day.<p>The original Star Wars Trilogy is still great, and always will be. Its impact is here to stay.<p>©2010 Denim McDemusDenim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-41289117405744665872010-08-03T04:08:00.000-04:002010-08-03T04:08:13.023-04:00Absence ExplainedSorry I haven't posted anything on this blog in quite a while. Between dealing with serious illness, and working on my quirky adventure novel "The Question", I just haven't gotten around to blogging.<br />
I may write a blog about Knoebel's Amusement Resort, and a Top 13 List of the greatest Knoebel's rides of all time in the near future, so check back. Drop me a line if you have suggestions for the list.Denim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-78845399192064777922010-06-17T01:53:00.001-04:002010-06-17T02:05:39.573-04:00Top 13 Worst Songs of All TimeSorry I haven't blogged in a while. I've been out of commission with illness for quite a long time.<br />
So, without further adieu, here's this week's Top 13 List: <br />
<br />
<b><u>"The Top 13 Worst Songs of All Time"</u></b><br />
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<b>13. "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell or Counting Crows or ANYONE!</b><br />
A just plain annoying song! Being campy, cutsie, and causey all make this song HORRENDOUS! Poorly written, and poorly delivered in every version I’ve been unfortunate enough to hear. <br />
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<b>12. "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus</b> <br />
You knew it would be on here at some point. I had the unfortunate luck of hearing this song live when I worked at the TV station. Even for $11 an hour, it still wasn't worth it to have to endure the 3:40 of hell that is "Achy Breaky Heart".<br />
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<b>11. " Lemon" by U2</b><br />
What the heck was that crap? 100% unlistenable! <br />
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<b>10. "Baby's Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot</b> <br />
A lot of people are humored by this song. Coincidentally, a lot of people have a 12 year old maturity level. This song is asinine at best (no pun intended). Very annoying. If you were alive during it's heyday, you know how often it was played EVERYWHERE, which is highly inappropriate when you think of the content. What a stupid song! <br />
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<b>9. "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia</b> <br />
Idk why this song was popular. It annoyed the crap out of me. Terrible song, terrible lyrics, and she has the most emotionless singing voice I've ever heard. Her inflection never changes! Apparently she’s not really all that “torn”. <br />
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<b>8. "Hip Hop Hooray" by Naughty By Nature</b> <br />
This song is nonsensical, lame, and utterly annoying. I'm down with OPP as much as the next guy, but they should have left it at that. This song stinks! They just keep saying "Hey ho, hey ho, hey ho, hey ho" about 27,000 times. What does that mean? Are they calling for a deaf hooker, or are they just TRYING to be annoying as hell? You be the judge... <br />
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<b>7. “Womanizer” by Britney Spears</b><br />
When I first heard this song (in a music store no less!), the only thought that dominated my mind was, “What the heck is that crap?” It’s bad even for Britney. She can’t sing, at all, and she ruined music, because every girl younger than her grew up trying to sound just like her! <br />
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<b>6. "Unforgettable" by Natalie Cole</b><br />
Who the heck does this chick this she is? Making her brilliant dad sing BACKGROUND, to HER crappy vocals, on HIS signature song? Does ego know no bounds? I'm sorry sister, but you can't even hold a candle to your old man!<br />
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<b>5. “Clumsy” by Fergie</b><br />
The annoying beat, her annoying voice, the terrible lyrics, and the extremely nerve-racking “girl can’t help it” and whatever unintelligible words she yells back parts make this song one of the worst ever. And let’s not forget how annoying the “I don’t stay single long” ego trip speech is. This song almost makes me pull out my own eardrums. <br />
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<b>4. “LoveGame” by Lady GaGa</b> <br />
Sigh. What can I say about Lady GaGa? Every one of her songs I hear belongs on this list, but this is the worst of them. The terribly asinine and perverted lyrics, the annoying beat, her robotic voice, the line “I wanna take a ride on your disco stick”, I’m not sure what is the worst part. It’s VERY hard to believe there are 3 worse songs than this! <br />
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<b>3. "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston</b> <br />
WOW! Does it get much worse than this? Unfortunately and amazingly yes, since this is only at number 3. She just goes on and on with this sappy crappy utter garbage! She makes 4 ½ minutes seem like a lifetime! Did you ever eat an ENTIRE bag of Sour Patch Kids? Too much sugar? Yeah, exactly! I get the same effect from hearing this "song". If it was JUST sappy, maybe I'd just ignore it, but this song is SO BAD it's literally sickening! Whitney, I vomit on your song. Maybe Bobby can beat the crappiness out of you? <br />
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<b>2. "Don't Stop The Music" by Rihanna</b><br />
This song is SO HORRIBLE, TERRIBLE, and ANNOYING that every copy of it should be smashed, melted, and jettisoned into space, so it's NEVER played again! If you have it on your computer, I'm going to break into your house, smash your hard drive, and sell the pieces on E-Bay as garbage barge cargo. <br />
She just KEEPS saying, "please don't stop the music" OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, and I so desperately WANT the music to stop! It made me actually want to smash the radio the 1000 times a day it came on during its recent heyday. This may well be the worst song of all time, and if I hear it even one more time, it will probably move into the number 1 spot. Most of her other songs belong on this list too. <br />
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<b>1. "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" by Crystal Waters</b><br />
This TERRIBLY ANNOYING "song" has been the number one worst for about 17 years! All other crappy songs (with the exception of " Don't Stop The Music") pale in comparison. If she was aiming for crappiness, she succeeded in abundance. Her voice is HORRIBLE, the lyrics are TERRIBLE, and it's SO ANNOYING! I HATE IT! She just keeps saying "lada di lada da lada di lada da" over and over! It annoys the heck out of me! It's supposed to be a "socially conscious" song, but after about the 800th "Lada di lada da", I could care less if she's homeless or not! Worst song ever (but "Don't Stop The Music" is creeping up, and threatening Crystal's 17 year reign). <br />
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So yeah, that's my list. Hope you enjoyed the ranting. <br />
If you have any suggestions, please post them as blog comments. I'm open to suggestions. I'm sure there's quite a few worthy songs I forgot. <br />
Close to making the list were the crappy slow remake of The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry" by idk who, and the crappy white boy reggae remake 311 did of The Cure's "Love Song". If you're gonna remake a Cure song, at least do it well. Do it the same way they did it, to pay homage to them. Don't change the style of the song, because you can't improve on perfection! That's like scribbling in a coloring book, and saying it's better than Rembrandt. <br />
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<b><u>Honorable Mention:</u></b><br />
“Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In” by The Fifth Dimension <br />
“Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis<br />
“Faith in Nothing” by Eve 6<br />
“Hollaback Girl” by Gwen Stefani<br />
“Jive Talkin” by Bee Gees<br />
“Le Freak” by Chic<br />
“Love In This Club” by Usher<br />
“Love Song” by 311<br />
“Poker Face” by Lady GaGa<br />
“Rico Suave” by Gerardo<br />
“Whoomp There It Is” by Tag Team<br />
“With You” by Chris Brown<br />
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©2010 Denim McDemusDenim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-75910410006907179382010-06-03T11:10:00.001-04:002010-06-17T02:05:02.208-04:00“Top 13 Pop Culture Heroes on TV”I don’t mean “heroes” as in they were the bravest and the best. I mean “heroes” of Pop Culture, in the sense that you actually cheered when they came on screen.<p>Most of them aren’t the main characters of their shows, but were very popular supporting characters that really added to the entertainment value of their programs. A few of them are main characters that really carried their show.<p>Some of them are quirky, some are funny, some are cool, and some are just plain weird. Some of them are bad guys you just had to cheer for. All of them stand out as Pop Culture Heroes!<p><b>13. Q (Star Trek The Next Generation)<p>12. Glen Quagmire (Family Guy)<p>11. Carl Brutananadilewski (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)<p>10. Norm Peterson (Cheers)<p>9. Evelyn William “Bill” McNeal (NewsRadio)<p>8. “The Man From Another Place” (Twin Peaks)<p>7. George Jefferson (The Jeffersons)<p>6. Lenny Kosnowski and Andrew “Squiggy” Squigman (Lavern and Shirley)<p>5. Cosmo Kramer (Seinfeld)<p>4. Fred Sanford (Sanford and Son)<p>3. Archie Bunker (All In The Family)<p>2. Arthur “Fonzi” Fonzarelli (Happy Days)<p>1. Al Bundy (Married With Children)</b><p><b><u>Honorable Mention:</u></b><br />
Bosco Albert “BA” Baracus/H.M. “Howling Mad” Mudock (A-Team)<br />
Dr. Johnny Fever (WKRP in Cincinnati)<br />
Dwayne Schneider (One Day at a Time)<br />
Eddie Haskell (Leave it to Beaver)<br />
Frederick “Rerun” Stubbs (What’s Happening!!) <br />
Major Roger Healey (I Dream of Jeanie)<br />
Margaret “The Log Lady” Lanterman (Twin Peaks)<br />
Monroe Ficus (Too Close For Comfort)<br />
Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (Star Trek)<br />
Sophia Petrillo (Golden Girls)<br />
Tattoo (Fantasy Island)<br />
Ted Baxter (The Mary Tyler Moore Show)<br />
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©2010 Denim McDemusDenim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8878409148658681620.post-57405519644325670452010-05-31T11:46:00.000-04:002010-05-31T11:46:26.758-04:00"Twisted Snacks"Well, it’s Memorial Day, and most Americans are munching down ridiculous quantities of hotdogs. This over-practiced part of American Culture begs the question, why in the world is a meat product made from various left over scraps of beef and/or pork called a hotdog? How can we shamelessly eat something named after “man’s best friend”, who’s probably sitting at our feet while we eat it, waiting to be thrown the last piece of “hotDOG”? We are sick enough to feed a hotdog to a hot dog! It’s not made of canine meat (at least I hope it’s not), so why call it that? And yet we go through this ritual every “picnic holiday”, not noticing the disgusting undertones.<p>I was looking at a box of animal crackers the other day, and I noticed something odd for the first time: <br />
You're eating cookies that are shaped like animals. Not shaped like meat, but the actual animals. That's weird. And to make it even weirder and more sadistic, the box is filled with drawings of realistic looking animals of the ones you're about to eat shapes of. And they look quite happy, possibly not realizing their impending fate… <br />
This is very dark, twisted, sadistic, and morbid when you really think about it. Who came up with such a thing?<p>How about Goldfish crackers? "The snack that smiles back", how twisted is that!<br />
They even go to the length of carving little smiles on each cracker, so they can smile all the way to their death in your digestive system! <br />
And now they even have a bio on the back of the package for one of the fish you're about to devour! So now you even know his/her name as you take him out of existence. Twisted I tell you! Twisted!<p>Anyway everybody, have a nice Memorial Day, and be safe.<p>©2010 Denim McDemusDenim McDemushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13115435570118875784noreply@blogger.com0