Chucky, Katherine Heigl, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Russell Brand, Unbreakable, live sampling, cod pieces, chartreuse, iPod nanos, Nintendo, sequels, Watchmen, Batman TV show, Wanted, Mark Millar, and more.
Monthly Archive for October, 2008Page 3 of 4
So I know in my first few columns here that I haven’t been quite as topical as I might be—more or less current, but not as current as I can be—I do aspire to one day being so on the pulse of American Popular Culture as to blog these things as they happen, but until then we’ll just keep turning back the clocks. This time, all the way back to the beginning of September and the Republican National Convention. Specifically, the following video of Rage Against the Machine rocking out acapella for a crowd of protesters (it’s a long video, so I recommend that you fast-forward liberally, watching just enough to become acquainted with its content (like the incredible lameness of the “acapella” guitar sounds everyone makes):
So, wow, it sure is a good thing that RATM got back together this year for the election, huh? If Obama wins, I’m definitely going to credit them for tipping the balance in his favor. But, I’d like to think that its more complicated than that—that I’m being unfair in rather flippantly blowing off RATM’s supposedly politically motivated reunion as rather being a cynical money-grab (though, maybe it's more just an ego thing, not a money thing - they're probably the types that enjoy thinking that they're making a difference). They’re an interesting band, really (what, they totally, like, invented rap-rock, right?), and most interestingly, they’re the one band that I know of that draws listeners from both sides of the American political mainstream most successfully, despite their supposedly inflammatory leftist lyrics. I’ve definitely had jobs of several workplaces where the agreed-upon music to listen to as a whole group was Rage, with the Republican-types generally saying something to the extent of “I don’t really like their politics, but they sure do rock hard!” Exactly! No one has ever given a shit about what they’re singing, so long as it sounded cool (and it does sound cool).
Continue reading 'Culturology 003 - Rallying 'Round the Rally'
Yeah, so last week I ran The Top 9 Reasons Why Comics Don't Need to Be Saved - Part One, which consisted solely of reasons nine thru six. Why? Because I'm a dick.
And now, for your consideration, are the decidedly more irreverent Top 9 Reasons Why Comics Don't Need to Be Saved reasons five thru one:
5. Newspaper comic strips are dying because fewer and fewer people want to read newspapers, not because they don't want to read comics. Now they go and read this stuff on the Internet. They're called "webcomics" and those are doing just fine.
4. Seriously, Hollywood wants to give comic books fellatio right now. In fact, they may have already finished the fellatio and moved onto the hardcore doggiestyle section of "Filmstriptease presents Cramming Comics vol 1." Soon they're going to be finishing off vol 1 with a spectacular facial (which could be as soon as Watchmen or as far away as the Avengers movie). It all depends on how long Hollywood can keep it up.
3. Single issues are really a niche product at this point and I don't think there's anything that's going to change that. I'm part of that niche audience and I love the singles, but most people want a bigger chunk of story. If that's the case, let the singles slowly fade away and bring on the graphic novels because...
2. Graphic novel sales continue to look hopeful. Bookstores are carrying graphic novels by the hoard and putting them up in huge floor displays all the time. I don't think that would happen if there wasn't some serious coin to be made. Guys whose names have been on the tip of my tongue for the majority of my natural life are slowly becoming adored literary idols for a new generation of readers. Fuck, I just saw Watchmen sitting on a shelf in Borders in their "Bestsellers" section when I went to buy the Iron Man DVD.
1. Comic book storytelling continues to improve. I see it every week when I read my Wednesday haul of new comics. And at the end of the day, it's all about good content.
Next: The Top 9 Things That May Have Gone Wrong with Last Defenders - Part One
Why the Top 9? Because 10 is too many and 9 is better. 3 X 3 = Awesome. Now that’s what I call math.
I was on the phone with the human resources department at DC Comics when I missed a call from Tom DeFalco.
It was early 2005. I had been emailing humormag@yahoo.com for a couple weeks after finding a vague posting on Monster.com calling for humor submissions. I suggest you check out those emails (a.k.a. my wildly inappropriate attempts at employment), and then come back and finish this story.
In some sort of twisted way that I'll never understand, the emails worked. The voicemail Tom left started something like this: "Nick, this is Tom DeFalco. How the hell am I supposed to hire you if you don't pick up your phone?"
Incase you don't know or need a quick refresher, Tom DeFalco is a seasoned comic book creator who served as Marvel Comics' Editor-in-Chief during the wildly successful years of 1987-1994. Tom currently writes Amazing Spider-Girl and other MC2 comics.
When I started sending my bizarre emails, I had no idea I had no idea that I'd be getting a personal call from a living comics legend. All I had to go on was an incredibly cryptic job posting for a new magazine.
Continue reading 'Sneaking Into Comics 005 - Tom DeFalco + Inappropriate Emails = Cracked.com'
Nathan is one of my favorite pieces of slang that I picked up while living in the FTC house junior year. My roommate was a complex character named J Feezy. A Pittsburgh native, Feezy was always hip to the next big vernacular craze. If anyone had lingo, it was him. I'm not sure, but Nathan may have been his magnum opus, a creation all his own. This is an advanced term, it invariably leads to raised eyebrows and convoluted explanations. Casual use with the uninitiated is not recommended.
na·than [ney-thuh
n]-noun, Na·than Ri·ley [ney-thuhn rahy-lee]
-noun
1. nothing, as in nothing important: Speaker 1: Hey holmes, what's crackin? Speaker 2: Nathan, just chillin at the crib.
2. vernacular alternate and personification of 'nothing really': Speaker 1: Are you doing anything tonight? Speaker 2: Nah, just hanging with Nathan Riley doing fuck-all.
[Origin: 2003, Pittsburgh, PA. Popularized by FTC housemate J Feezy]
formatting shamelessly stolen from dictionary.com
The Street Fighter movie, Super Mario Bros movie, Wes Anderson, Outsourced, Iron Man on DVD, Rampaging Hulk magazine, and reviews of new albums by TI, Skillz, and Solange Knowles are how we celebrate the big five-oh. Then, after the end theme, a special update as we learn about Street Fighter - The Legend of Chun Li.
I'm not really familiar with Skillz. According to Wikipedia he's been active for a while as an artist and ghostwriter. I first found out about him via NothingButEverything. I watched the video for Be Alright and I was hooked. I sent the link to Nick and he felt it too, 'decent feel good track'. It was so laid back that when I got home I decided to peep the whole album, Million Dollar Backpack.
The album features a ton of producers including DJ Jazzy Jeff and ?uestlove. Black Thought, Common, and Freeway are the only named guests.
My favorite cuts:
So Far So Good - Reminds me of a Slum Village cut.
Sick - Great brag track. I dig the beat and all the references. This would be good for a dance battle.
He Don't Own Me - What is it with handdrums? They are so hot right now!
My Phone - Another name dropping brag track like 'Sick', but about girls. Builds up to a great ending.
Hold Tight - The horns do it for me and the rhymes are tight.
Be Alright - Like I said, it's smooth and upbeat.
Preachin To The Choir - Remember story tracks? This is a rare treat these days.
The Bottom Line: The album has some solid tracks. But as LeVar Burton would say, you don't have to take my word for it.
I realize that this post is, maybe, three weeks late to be as topical as it could be, but let’s look all the way back, for a moment, to the month of September and the Coen brother’s most recent film, Burn After Reading. I saw this on its opening weekend and wasn’t disappointed. Wasn’t blown away, but was generally quite entertained by it. I had been nervous leading up to it because of the movie’s trailers, which seemed to be advertising the film as essentially just an ensemble-casted yarn. But this is, in fact, what interests me about the Coen brothers in the first place: they seem to be able to make films with ensemble casts that are not, in fact, ensemble cast movies.
To clarify, by “ensemble cast movie” I mean any variety of film that is recognized, first and foremost, for its breadth of cast before anything else—be it (to keep my points of reference generally contemporary) the not-underrated-but-not-terrible-either Rat Race or the ensemble cast movie for the ages of The Royal Tenenbaums (or the later, terrible, Wes Anderson movies). So how can I separate many of the Coen brother’s star-studded rosters from the category? In a couple of ways:
1) Characters vs. stars-playing-characters. Are the main characters beings unto themselves, or obvious place-holders for the type of character most likely to be played by actor/actress X? With the Coen brother’s being generally well-known for their characters, here is perhaps a key as to why I don’t see their movies as being ensemble-y; for instance (though The Big Lebowski doesn’t necessarily figure into this conversation) Jeff Bridges (one of the great actors of his generation) is so completely The Dude that one forgets he is a star in many other movies as well—if anything, I have trouble forgetting that Jeff Bridges isn’t The Dude in other movies. Ensemble movies, therefore, are more actor-forward, such as Bill Murray playing Bill-Murray-as-a-hack-shrink in Royal Tenebaums, or any number of famous people just stuck into roles just north of cameos to get them on the cast list.
Continue reading 'Culturology 002 - Shoot Brad Pitt in the Head After Reading'
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