OlderMusicGeek's Stupid Entertainment Stuff

MUSIC: Songs Of The Day: Christmas Music From Devo And Monty Python

2011-12-13T21:43:00.002-06:00

MUSIC: Song Of The Day - To My Daughter For Her Special Day

2011-06-09T20:11:00.002-05:00

Well, this is a few days late. But this is for my daughter on her special day! - OlderMusicGeek

MUSIC, MOVIES/VIDEOS, BOOKS, TELEVISION/VIDEOS and COMICS: Just A List Of My Favorites

2011-03-14T19:22:00.003-05:00

Well, I just suppose to list my favorites for my OkCupid profile, but I got carried away and came up with this. It's obviously too much for a dating profile, but I figured I can put it here.

There's some stuff that I might take off later and stuff I probably forgot to put here, especially the comic book section since I haven't read them that much since the 80s. And in 3 to 6 months time, I'd probably have something slightly different anyway!

But generally speaking, it's probably fairly accurate. For this day and time. - OlderMusicGeek

Music – favorite artists - Violent Femmes, Flogging Molly, Cracker, Lipstick Homicide,The Vandon Arms, Wall Of Voodoo, Sloppy Seconds, Talking Heads, Devo, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Raveonettes, The Hallowmen, Head Candy, The B-52’s, The Velvet Underground, The Pogues, North Of Grand, The Psychedelic Furs, Visage, Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, Klark Kent, Ultravox, Fine Young Cannibals, Rockpile, (80s) R.E.M., The Beatles, Gaelic Storm.
Music – favorite local (Iowa) artists – Lipstick Homicide, Vandon Arms, North Of Grand, Look Out Loretta, Peace Love & Stuff, The Reckless Hearts, Rumble Seat Riot, Ladysoal, Nuclear Rodeo, Poison Control Center, Pumptown, Slaughterhouse 6, Old Stick Revival Singers.
Music – favorite albums (NOT by favorite artists) – The Police’s “Outlandos d’Amour” and “Reggatta de Blanc”; “Saturday Morning Cartoon’s Greatest Hits” by various artists; “Live On St. Patrick’s Day” by The Dropkick Murphys; David Bowie’s “ChangesBowie”, “Station To Station” and “Scary Monsters”; “Tubthumper” by Chumbawumba; “Dookie” by Green Day; The Strokes’ “Is This It?” and ‘Room On Fire”; “Machine Gun Etiquette” by The Damned; “Kings Of The Wild Frontier” by Adam And The Ants; Elvis Costello’s “My Aim Is True” and “This Year’s Model”; The Presidents Of The United States Of America’s “The Presidents Of The United States Of America” and “The Presidents Of The United States Of America II”; “The Pretenders” by The Pretenders; “Everything Is Wrong” by Moby; “The Garden” by John Foxx; “Deep Forest” by Deep Forest; Blondie’s “Eat To The Beat” and “Parallel Lines”; “Electric Warrior” by T Rex; “No Thanks! The 70s Punk Rebellion” by various artists; “Loud, Fast Ramones: Their Toughest Hits” by The Ramones; “Greatest Hits” by Neil Young; “The Raw And The Cooked” by Fine Young Cannibals; “Journeys Of Glory” by Spandau Ballet; “Big Science” by Laurie Anderson; “Children Of The Night” by Nash the Slash; “Zoolook” by Jean-Michel Jarre; “Get The Knack” by The Knack; “We Miss You Manelow” by Chicco; Peter Gabriel’s “Peter Gabriel III: Melt” and “Peter Gabriel IV: Security”; George Thorogood And The Destroyers’ “George Thorogood And The Destroyers”, “Move It Over” and “More George Thorogood And The Destroyers”; The Who’s “Quadropheia”, “Tommy” and “Thirty Years Of Maximum R & B”; “A Little Bit Of Mambo” by Lou Bega; “Saturday Night Fever” by various artists and The Bee Gees; “Greatest Hits” by The Beach Boys; the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar”; the musical “Camelot”; the musical “My Fair Lady”; Philip Glass’s “Glassworks” and “The Photographer”; “Tubular Bells” by Mike Oldfield; “Star Wars: A New Hope” by John Williams; “The Good, The Bad And The Ugly” by Ennio Morricone; “Psycho” by Bernard Herrmann.
Music – favorite genres – alternative, punk, new wave, electronic, Cajun/zydeco, bluegrass, musicals, classic rock, southern rock, soul, disco, big band/swing, oldies, Celtic, reggae, Latin, Americana, folk, African, children’s music, world music, soundtracks/movie scores, Christmas/holiday.

Movies – Star Wars, Blade Runner, It’s A Wonderful Life, Kill Bill 1 and 2, Sin City, Pulp Fiction, The Matrix Reloaded, The Good The Bad And The Ugly, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, Cloverfield, Yellow Submarine, Monty Python And The Holy Grail, Brazil, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior), Psycho, Batman Begins, Batman, Pink Floyd – The Wall, The Wizard Of Oz, 300, (500) Days Of Summer, High Fidelity, Wonder Boys, Raising Arizona, Apocalypse Now, Eraserhead, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, The Shining, A Christmas Story, The Godfather, Casablanca, Miracle on 34th Street.
Movies – favorite genres – science fiction, horror, action/adventure, suspense, comedies, animation/cartoons, film noir, independent, cult films, arthouse, classics, westerns, foreign films.

TV shows – all-time – X-Files, Lost, all the Star Trek series, Kung Fu, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, South Park, The Simpsons, Millenium, My Name Is Earl, Doctor Who, Scrubs, Looney Tunes, The Tick, Duckman, Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Pizza Cats, Freaks And Geeks, Futurama, Malcolm In The Middle, Seinfeld, Popeye (the black and white Fleischer ones), Tom And Jerry, Boston Legal, Barney Miller, SCTV, The Twilight Zone, Andy Griffith.
TV shows – current – South Park, Community, Simpsons, Doctor Who, Supernatural, The Cape, Chuck, Outsourced, In The Middle, Big Bang Theory, Undercovers, Hope.

Books – “The Odyssey” by Homer; “The Epic Of Gilgamesh”; The Theban trilogy (“Oedipus The King”, “Elektra” and “Oedipus At Colonus”) by Sophocles; “High Fidelity” by Nick Hornsby; “Catcher In The Rye” by J.D. Salinger; “If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler” by Italo Cavino; “Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain; “Short Stories” by Ernest Hemingway; “1984” by George Orwell; “The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror” by Christopher Moore; “The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy” and “The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe” by Douglas Adams; “The Name Of The Rose’ by Umberto Eco; “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky; “The Lord Of The Flies”; “The Shining” by Stephen King; “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory” and “Charlie And The Glass Elevator” by Roald Dahl; “Old Mali And The Boy” by D.R. Sherman; “The Post Man” by David Brin; “The War Of The Worlds” by H.G. Wells; “Dracula”; “Tarzan of The Apes” by Edgar Rice Burroughs; “Doc Savage: The Man Of Bronze” by Kenneth Robeson; “Beowulf”, any "Calvin And Hobbes" by Bill Watterson, any "Bloom County" collection by Berke Breathed, any "Doonesbury" collection by Garry Trudeau, any "Far Side" collection by Gary Larson.
Graphic novels and comic book runs – the Alan Moore run on “Swamp Thing”; “The Watchmen” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons; “V For Vendetta” by Alan Moore/David Lloyd; the Alan Moore run on “Miracleman”/”Marvelman”; the Starman omnibuses by James Robinson; “The Dark Knight Returns” by Frank Miller; “Sin City” by Frank Miller; “Batman: Strange Apparitions” by Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin; the Denny O’Neil/Neal Adams Batman comics; the Chris Claremont/John Byrne/Terry Austin run on “X-Men”; the Frank Miller run on “Daredevil”; “The Rocketeer” by Dave Stevens; the Doug Moench/Gene Day run on “Shang Chi: The Master of Kung Fu”; “Warlock” by Jim Starlin; the Len Wein/Berni Wrightson run on “Swamp Thing”; “Deathlok, The Demolisher” by Doug Moench and Rich Buckler; War Of The Worlds” by Don McGregor and P. Craig Russell; the Michael Golden run of “Micronauts”; the Doug Moench/Bill Sienkewicz run on “Moon Knight”; the Peter David run on “The Incredible Hulk”; "Star Wars: A New Hope - The Special Edition" by Bruce Jones/Eduardo Barreto ;“The Death of Superman” by various writers and artists; anything by Rick Geary; the John Byrne run on “The Fantastic Four”; the Stan Lee/Steve Dikto on “Doctor Strange”; the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby run on “The Fantastic Four”; the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko run on “The Amazing Spider-man”.
Children’s books – “Eric The Punk Cat” by Adrian Henri and Roger Wade Walker; “Green Eggs And Ham” and “Fox In Socks” by Dr. Suess; “Birthday Monsters” by Sandra Boynton, “Anansi The Spider” by Gerald McDermott; “The Polar Express”; “Santa’s Twin” by Dean Koontz; “Mpho: A Child Of Lesotho, Africa’s Mountain Kingdom” by A.M. Fullerton Thorn; “What Are You Doing In My Universe” by Chuck Hillig.
Books – favorite genres – science fiction, mysteries, horror, Victorian literature, comedies, folklore/myths/legends, children’s literature.

MUSIC: For Valentine's Day

2011-02-13T22:00:00.003-06:00

Just a couple of videos for Valentine's Day featuring two songs that I like about love. - OlderMusicGeek

Count the Weezer boys for catching the love life of a nerd so perfectly in 3 minutes!

TELEVISION/VIDEOS: Holy Stockings, Batman!

2010-12-24T12:01:00.000-06:00

MOVIES: 15 Films In 15 Minutes

2010-12-05T16:35:00.002-06:00

sI got this from a friend on Facebook - OlderMusicGeek

The Rules: Don't take too long to think about it - fifteen films that you've seen that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen that you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. - PS, If I tagged you, it's because I'm genuinely interested to see your list, cuz I think you might have good recommendations that I haven't heard before. :) Plz tag me back.

1. Star Wars: A New Hope (The most important film to me personally, not 100% sure why!)

2. It's A Wonderful Life (What can I say? I relate to Mr George Bailey!)

3. 2001 (one of the first films to really blow my mind)

4. Eraserhead (The film that has probably blown my mind the most. Still have no idea what it's about!)

5. Yellow Submarine (A great fun film with great music. It was kind of mind-blowing for the age when i first saw it!)

6. Wizards (Can't say I like it as much in my 40s as in my 20s. Bbut in my 20s, I went to every showing of that movie I could - Remember this was before vcr's and dvd's - That was the only way to see a movie!)

7. High Fidelity (Totally relate! Being the music geek i am!)

8. Wonder Boys (Again, I relate to both the kid and the old professor. I was/am like each!)

9. (500) Days Of Summer (Just an awesome film about boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy moves on.)

10. Bladerunner (Just a beautiful, well-made film, great message, great blend of film noir and science fiction.)

11. The Wizard Of Oz (Family would go to grandpa and grandma's to watch this cus they had a color tv! And fond memories of my daughter and i watching it!)

12. A Christmas Story (Do i have to say anything?!)

13. Fantastic Planet (Just another film that blew my mind when I first saw it. Still like it now, though not impressed as I was a teen)

14. Rust Never Sleeps (Another midnight movie of my youth. A great concert movie by Neil Young.)

15. Pink Floyd's The Wall (Great well-made movie with great music.)

MUSIC: Song Of The Day - Halloween Edition: "Boris The Spider" By The Who

2010-10-10T14:57:00.009-05:00

This is from me, and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

Well, it's that time of the year again. Which means it's time for Halloween music. This song is dedictated to The Blag Hag aka @jennifurret on Twitter aka Jennifer McCreight!

A link to other Halloween music

MUSIC: My Quick Thoughts On Yellowbrick Magazine's 8 For 8 Show At People's

2010-10-03T16:02:00.005-05:00

This is from me, and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

I and my friend, Sassy Witch, went to The 8 For 8 Show (8 bands for 8 bucks) sponsored by the Yellowbrick magazine.. And I didn't have my phone with me to send tweets and Facebook updates, so I scribbled my thoughts on a piece of paper. And The Sassy Witch decided to add hers too!

The first band, Goodbye Kai, I thought were a good, but not great band that were driving. The Sassy Witch said they were very energetic, but not her cup of tea.

Sassy Witch liked the second band, Happy Go Lovely, which we both thought were very 70s-ish. In fact, their lead singer with his curly blond locks would look perfectly fine in a 70s rock video!

The third band, Bella Verona, was slow noisy generic indie rock with six members including two guitars and keyboards. I thought they would have sounded better in a stripped down quartet. But Sassy Witch thought they were the best band yet, but would be better in a quieter genre.

A Past Unknown were interesting! In fact, The Sassy Witch, thought her tattoo covered son would love this Christian screamo/hardcore band. Yes, they were a Christian band but with a lead singer wearing a stocking cap that sings like Patrick Warburton (Joe, the handicapped cop n “Family Guy”) screams. But why choose a genre where noone can understand the lyrics as a way of passing a Christian message? And they preached too long for a secular show!

But one guy in the band had a shirt that said “We mosh for the Lord”! And, dang, the three guys backing the singer could squat down low with their legs far apart while still playing! My thighs got sore just watching them!

Just The Kid, the fifth band was freaking awesome! The just played this super fun catchy rocking alternative music. And they knew how to work an audience. They had us all dancing, singing along, and laughing at their between song chatter. As The Sassy Witch thought they were the best of all and cute as well as having great lyrics. Plus, the band does a rocking cover of “Tik Tok”!

The sixth artist, Cashes Rivers, was pleasant acoustic rock. The Sassy Witch wanted to hear him playing with his full band.

The last band, History On Repeat, was good, but generic, hard-driving rock.

So overall, it was a good, but not great show. But definitely not worth 8 bucks, although I appreciate Yellowbrick sponsoring a show like this. And I'm definitely going to check out Just The Kid again!

MUSIC: Fifteen Albums In Fifteen Minutes You've Heard That Will Always Stick With You

2010-09-19T15:27:00.013-05:00

I got this on Facebook from an old friend of mine, so I thought I'd post it here. - OlderMusicGeek

The rules: Don't take too long to think about it - choose fifteen albums you've heard that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.

In no particular order except the order I remembered them...

1. Q: Are We Not Men? - Devo (introduced me to alternative music)
2. Drunken Lullabies - Flogging Molly (showed me i could still go crazy about a band like I did in my teens and 20's)
3. Outlandos D'Amour - The Police (the soundtrack of my high school years... "so-o-o-o-o-o lonely")
4. Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes (soundtrack of my college years and introduction in the greatest band ever with the greatest bassist of rock!)
5. Star Wars soundtrack - John Williams (great soundtrack to a great movie)
6. Never Mind The Bollocks - The Sex Pistols (introduced me to punk)
7. Red Roses For Me - The Pogues (introduced me to celtic punk, was probably the start of it actually!)
8. Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd (great album, but also reminds me of bygone days with my old brother and also hanging out in my college dorm)
9. Tubthumper - Chumbawumba (don't know why, just like it!)
10. Systems Of Romance - Ultravox (just takes me back to hanging out with my younger brother and my two best friends in high school)
11. Pretty In Black - The Raveonettes (introduced me to The Raveonettes, a new band I like - again showed me some good music coming out after I turned 25!)
12. Call Of The West - Wall Of Voodoo (just an interesting band that did an interesting mix of country and new wave, big part of my teens, and probably was the start of me giving some country music a chance)
13. Presidents Of The United States Of America - Presidents Of The United States Of America (taught that pop and alternative music doesn't have to be serious and can just be fun!)
14. The Big Easy soundtrack - various artists (introduced me into the great music form known as cajun/zydeco!
15. Sinister Flower Gift - The Hollowmen (an album by my friend's band in the 80's who I watched countless times in my college years!)

(I cheated, this took more like 25 minutes!)

MUSIC: My Destiny With Devo

2010-07-28T19:42:00.010-05:00

What can I say? Especially since I wasn't kinda sorta not there.

I was thrilled when I heard Devo was coming to my town. I had been a big fan of theirs since the late 70s. They were the band that introduced me to alternative music. I saw them on “Saturday Night Live”doing “Satisfaction” and “Jocko Homo”.

They, along with other alternative bands, became an unifying force between me, my brother, and my two closest friends of the time. And I've been hooked on Devo and alternative music ever since. And their first four albums are constantly on my iPod.

Unfortunately, thrills do not a ticket buy. And with my finances being what they are, I could not afford the $50 they were asking. I know by today's standard that's a reasonable price, but if you don't the money...

But I had been to a Cracker show at the outdoor amphitheater where Devo was suppose to play. And I saw people on the bridges watching the show. Admittedly, they saw the back of Cracker's heads from a distance, but hey, they got a free show. So I knew what I was doing for Devo!

My single brother with no children, though, had no problem getting the 50 bucks for the show! The jerk! Grrrrr, he needs more responsibilities!

Anyway, a few days before the show, I heard they were the show to one of the nearby bridge, because the flooded river made the amphitheater useless. I shrugged my shoulders. Maybe I wouldn't see the back of their heads, but I would still be able to hear them fine.

Then my oldest friend, one of the two friends I listened to Devo with, put on Facebook how he was going to watch Devo free from the bridge!

I got there first, and sat with someone parked across the river with some lawn chairs. It was right at the intersection where the bridge was blocked off for the show. And people would ask from their cars what was going on. When we told them it was Devo, we got some interesting reactions! “Devo?!?!” “Oh really?” “Are we not men?”

I thought of yelling “Duty now for the future!” to some of the spud boys in the red flowerpots passing by. But considering that album came out about 30 years ago, I probably should have yelled “Duty then for now!”

Strangely enough, before the show started that played this weird combination of classic soul and old school punk. I love both of types of music, but I don't see how soul music revs someone up for a Devo concert.

Finally, my friend arrived and I joined him on the bridge. Actually, we could see the band. Not a great view, but I've had worse in a stadium like when I went to see The Who in the 70s!

So after 30 plus years, there was my oldest friend and I finally at a Devo concert. Okay, couldn't see the band real well, but hey, it was free!

And as my friend said, since we can't see them that well, we can imagine still being thin and young while they played.

How was the show? I liked it! The band started off with some of their newer stuff which doesn't really appeal to me. Only one song out of the first five or so came from the four albums I listen to!

But then the boys got into their old yellow jumpsuits, and it was a wonderful stroll down memory lane with band playing most if not all of my favorites.

My friend and I were standing at that bridge singing along. My friend actually started singing kind of loud, and I said people would probably prefer hearing Devo sing.

I was tapping my feet and bobbing my knees. Must have looked a little silly to the people crossing the bridge!

Of course, it must have looked sillier when my friend and I were pretending to scream at Devo and “woot” them. We knew they couldn't hear us from the bridge, so we didn't do it seriously. Though I did do a pretend shout of “Mark and Gerry, we love you!” Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerry Casale being the leaders of Devo.

My friend's wife was there and she was kind of laughing at us. Can't really blame her.

And the show eventually its conclusion with Booji Boy singing “Beautiful World”. And then strangely enough, it ended. No encore, just thank you.

My friend thought Devo needed The Blue Man Group's guide to rock and roll, which says there's always an encore. But Devo always did things their own way!

And as a bonus track, just because it's Devo and it's so awesome!

TELEVISION/VIDEOS, MOVIES/VIDEOS and COMICS: Of Ducks, Rabbits, Looney Tunes, The Justice League And Gods!

2010-07-01T16:48:00.005-05:00

This is from me, and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

My daughter and I were watching How I Met Your Mother. On this episode, they were explaining to Robin how someone's view of a person can change. Ted used a picture that can look like a duck one way and a rabbit another way.

Then they compared a bad boyfriend to a rabbit and a good one to a duck. Marshall, and rightfully so in my opinion, asked why the rabbit was considered worse than the duck. This started a huge argument among the group until Marshall gave in.

Well, of course, my daughter had to take the duck side, so we, ourselves had a long argument.

Of course, I talked about how cute and cuddly rabbits are, especially compared to ducks. And how much people would rather have a pet rabbit than a pet duck!

My daughter, though, brought up Donald Duck, and how there was no rabbit in Disney.

I, of course, brought up Bugs Bunny, and talked about how he was MUCH cooler than Donald Duck, and even cooler than Daffy Duck.

My daughter tried to say Daffy could kick Bugs' ass, but I and her text buddy set her straight on that point!

Then my daughter claimed, "Well, Bugs Bunny couldn't defeat Super Duck."

Surprised, I insisted, "Are you crazy?! Bugs Bunny could defeat Superman. Bugs could defeat the whole Justice League!"

"What do you think Bugs Bunny is a god?"

"Have you seen the Warner Brothers cartoons. They all have the powers of gods. They come back from explosions and falling from great heights! Roadrunner can even run into a picture painted on a rock wall!"

Then later, we were watching Arthur and I pointed out how Arthuyr's best friend is a rabbit. Plus, one of the bullies is a rabbit. "Where's the duck on Arthur?! There isn't one!"

My daughter just shook her head! I should have been on that episode of How I Met Your Mother!

MUSIC: Woody Guthrie Talking About His Father's Songs

2010-05-29T16:56:00.005-05:00

Heard something similiar on NPR, but I got this from this link: http://www2.timesreview.com/ST/stories/T072309_Arlo_A_Cover_ES from The Suffolk Times. - OlderMusicGeek

Arlo Guthrie talking about his father's music: "On the one hand, it's great that the songs were written with a long shelf life. But it's too bad the world still sucks. You'd have thought we'd have gotten somewhere by now."

BOOKS: It is believed most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?

2010-05-17T20:27:00.005-05:00

Supposably, the BBC believes this, but I can't find anything on the net. So I think that the story is bogus. But it's still fun to see how many you've read, want to read or think you should read! - OlderMusicGeek

Instructions: Copy this. Look at the list and make a mark by those you have read.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (started it but didn't finish)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (only now reading the second one!)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible (about 1/3 of the old testament and most of the new)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
* 8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (3 times!)
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Total: 1 so far!

* 11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (listen to the audiobook)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller (on my must read list!)
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (Has anyone really read this! I've read over 5 of his plays! That's got to count for something!)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier (Taught a condensed version of this for beginner's English.)
* 16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulkner
* 18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (rereading it right now!)
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (haven't and won't!)
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
Total: 4

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
* 22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
* 25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (must read!)
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
* 27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (A great book everyone should read!)
* 28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
* 29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
Total: 9 already - ha!

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (not interested)
34 Emma-Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hossein
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (I do need to read this some time!)
Total: Uh oh, 9 still!

* 41 Animal Farm - George Orwell (fun book!)
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (Not really interested, seems like a second rate Umberto Eco-wannabe book.)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (want to!)
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
* 49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
Total: 10

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
* 52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
* 58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Total: 12 - ha! twice as much!

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
* 62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac (on my must read list)
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Total: 13

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
* 72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce (started it and gave up!)
* 76 The Inferno – Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
Total: 15

80 Possession - AS Byatt
* 81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
* 87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
* 89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (probably read most if not all of these stories!)
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
Total: 18 - 3 times as much, bbc!

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
* 94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (seen more than one version of it on film!)
* 99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Bringing me to a total of 19!

But if I was making this list, I definitely take off a few books (like "The Time-Traveller's Wife"!) and add a few that are seriously missing, like "The Odyssey" for example!

MUSIC: Just Some Really Awful Gary Numan Jokes

2010-04-16T19:44:00.006-05:00

This is from me and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

This is taken from Twitter and some bad jokes I made with @SpookyChan and Patrick McEvoy.

SpookyChan: OH, MY... I, me, myself, *i*- deleted my Gary Numan collection on accident... MOTHER. Of... i'm going to go weep with GOTH DOG now.

Patick McEvoy: @spookychan Wait... Follow me on this: dogs chase cars... Numan sang about cars... Goth dog deleted your Numan songs. It all makes sense!

OlderMusicGeek: @patrick_mcevoy @spookychan - You know those goth dogs work on The Pleasure Principle, don't you?

OlderMusicGeek: @spookychan @patrick_mcevoy - You know where to look for goth dogs that eat Gary Numan mp3's? Down in the park!

OlderMusicGeek: @spookychan @patrick_mcevoy - Okay, I'm done with the Gary Numan jokes for now - Me, I disconnect from you two.

COMICS: Another One Down

2010-03-27T15:53:00.007-05:00

This from me, NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

Dick Giordano died yesterday. He was an incredible inker who help Neal Adams created the look he gave Batman. He eventually became an editor and the executive editor of DC Comics. His influence on comics cannot be exaggerated.

As tribute, I present my favorite panel that he ever inked, from Superman Vs Mohammad Ali. Double click on the art to see a bigger version.

MUSIC: Question From FormSpring.Me - Who's the most overrated musician?

2010-03-19T22:43:00.005-05:00

Well, I have to admit that I can't stand Celine Dion and Micheal Bolton. I think Micheal Bolton has done more for African-American music than Pat Boone - and I'll leave it at that!

Then there is the Journey/Styx/Boston/Foreigner conspiracy. Always hated that stuff.

And Hall and Oates. The big problem with their music is it's not that horrible - though it's bad enough! - but it's so damn catchy, it just stays in your head! http://oldermusicgeekentertainment.blogspot.com/2005/08/music-hall-and-oates-why-i-hate-them.html

Ask me anything

BOOKS: Question From FormSpring.Me - What was your favorite book as a child?

2010-03-19T22:33:00.006-05:00

As a pre-teen, it was "Man of Bronze", the first Doc Savage book. As a fairly intelligent boy who was unsuccessful with the ladies, I could relate. Of course, I don't think Doc had the same problem that I did!

Hmmmm, but if he was a transsexual in denial, it would really put an interesting spin on the relationship with his five associates!

As a kid, I really liked "Fox in Socks"!

And ever since high school, I have been madly in love with "The Odyssey". Odysseus is the most awesome man ever! Strong, courageous, humble, and a dedicated husband to boot!

Ask me anything

TELEVISION/VIDEOS: A Lost Valentine

2010-02-14T17:22:00.004-06:00

I found this surfing on the net at Beavotron's Deviant Art page. - OlderMusicGeek

A link to Beavotron's Deviant Art website
A link to other Valentine's Day posts on my blog

MOVIES/VIDEOS: Question From FormSpring.Me - Who's the most underrated actor?

2010-02-01T19:51:00.000-06:00

Who's the most underrated actor?

William H Macey and John Hurt!

Ask me anything

MUSIC: Question From FormSpring.Me - If you could only listen to one song for the next month, which would it be?

2010-01-16T21:25:00.004-06:00

If you could only listen to one song for the next month, which would it be?

I actually don't think I could do that. It would drive me nuts. I listen to my 120 gig iPod on shuffle constantly. I'd rather just not listen to music that month!

But if I had to choose a song, right now at this moment I'm really into "Bad Dream" by Violent Femmes. I'd probably hate it - or any song - if I had to listen to it over and over again for a month!

Ask me anything

MUSIC: R.I.P. The Compact Disc, 1982-2008?

2010-01-10T02:37:00.002-06:00

I found this piece on NPR's All Songs Considered blog. It was my NetVibes page that led me to it.

Actually this piece on the death of cd's reminds me of vinyl's demise.

And yes, I know there are still fanatics making and buying vinyl records!

But back in high school, I had read about this format that was suppose to replace vinyl records from a magazine I saw in my electronics class. And the more I read about it, the more I started slobbering, and couldn't wait for these compact discs things.

I knew they were going to be big! And I still don't know why I didn't buy any stock in compact discs companies!

Apparently, there were some kinks to be worked out, because cd's didn't come out until I was graduating from college. So maybe it was just as well I didn't invest in any companies. I'd have probably invested in the wrong company!

Well, I missed the big change of vinyl to cd's, because I joined Peace Corps and went over to Africa. But I kept hearing how fast vinyl was dying. - OlderMusicGeek

R.I.P. The Compact Disc, 1982-2008?
by Robin Hilton

I recently came to work with two large tote bags filled with compact discs and dumped them out on a table in the middle of the office. To me, they were garbage. But for the vultures that are my fellow NPR Music producers, it was like finding a mountain of free money. They shuffled through the pile, grabbing everything that caught their eye. At one point, Stephen Thompson held up my discarded copy of Radiohead's OK Computer and incredulously asked, "Why would you get rid of this?"

For about a year now, I've been slowly purging my once-proud CD collection. Twenty-five years' worth of music, from the first disc I ever bought (Pink Floyd's The Wall) in 1984, to more recent releases.

Of course, I'm not really getting rid of them. I'm ripping everything to a massive hard drive hooked up to what has become my stereo: my computer.

This is partly because I don't like having a house overrun with thousands of CDs. Invisible sound files on a hard drive are simply more convenient. You can also do a lot more with digital files and iTunes, like delivering an endless stream of music through the house in any conceivable configuration, by artist, genre, or favorite playlists. Changing out a CD in a player feels as clunky and outdated as flipping a record on a turntable.

But I'm also purging my CDs because I believe they're a dying format. There's never been a more obvious trend. CD sales continue to plummet at a breathless -- and, if you're one of the big labels, alarming -- rate. Meanwhile, digital download sales continue to climb.

None of this is as sexy as having a tangible package of music, with artwork and liner notes. And downloading files isn't nearly as cozy as flipping through the local bands section of a record store. But the truth is, I never listen to actual CDs more than once or twice. After that, they're ripped to my computer -- I put the discs away and never look at them again.

Lately, I've felt a sense of urgency to get rid of the rest of my old CDs before they become as obsolete as 8-track tapes and cassettes.

So, what does your CD collection look like? Is it getting smaller? Do you even buy actual CDs now, or do you just download everything?

Tags: cds compact discs are dead downloads
11:38 AM ET 04-14-2008 permalink

Some of the more interesting comments...

Dude!
I did the download thing for a while, but decided that nothing beats having those lovely liner notes, in that clear plastic case, and that CD that you can pop into your hi-fi - with no loss in sound quality, and no annoying DRM to hack around. So I'm back to the ol' physical copies, either from a record store or an online outlet.

Yes - it's even worth the shrink wrap, IMHO.

Sent by Tim 2:25 PM ET 04-14-2008

My house sound system is wired to my computer and iPods go everywhere. I mainly purchase downloadable copies. I only by CDs if it is an album that can't be downloaded, but it is quickly ripped and discarded.

I do have about 600 vinyl records left.

Sent by Wayne 2:37 PM ET 04-14-2008

I hear what you are saying, Robin, but I take the opposite view. Despite having a large collection that takes up space, I like having cds. Similarly, I like having books on my shelf. Both books and cds are nice to look at for me, and each item has memories. To be sure, I rip the albums on my ipod, but just because I like having my collection when I'm out an about. Then again, I also make time to listen to an album every night before I go to bed. It is a great way for me to relax and decompress from a long day. I just sit on my sofa with a cup of coffee and magazine or a book while the music plays for about an hour.

That's great, Pablo. Bob was just asking me whether I ever just sat and listened to an album all the way through and did nothing else. I still do it, but not very often.

Sent by Pablo 2:51 PM ET 04-14-2008

I think Pablo makes a great point in comparing CD's to books, but like others have been saying, it's really all about vinyl records. Sure I have loads of music on my computer and iPod (as Pablo said, for convenience), but my "collection" is split between CD's and vinyl (mostly because promoters only send CD's nowadays), and I'll proudly display them on my shelf as long as I still enjoy listening to music.

To me, it's owning the actual "thing" that someone put countless hours of hard work into, and not just having a few sound files on my computer. That's what makes vinyl so nice, it's like having a book. The sound exists on the record, like words in a book; the grooves in the album are the real sound waves, just like the fading ink in my dad's copy of Time And Again (on loan to me for 20 years now) is real ink.

Call it "emotional" or "romantic" but isn't that what real music collectors seek? Isn't that the whole point of still going to record stores, sifting through boxes of unorganized singles?

I do 90% of my listening from my iPod and computer, but when it comes to "owning" music, I have to have it on my shelf, where I can look at it and say "yes, I own that music."

Sent by John Michael Cassetta 3:39 PM ET 04-14-2008

I am only 19 years old but I live in the flat that has shelves with old Beatles and other LPs that were mostly sent from family friends in Sweden (I am from Slovakia and during communism it was almost impossible to simply buy music). We also have shelves of old cassettes with music like Nirvana, Depeche Mode or Cure that belong to my older siblings. And I represent the generation in my family with a shelf of very few CDs.

Though there is something magical about CDs, I guess that my kids won't have any shelf with music. Probably they'll stack three ipods on the shelf and that's the end of it. :) And I like this change :)

The best thing about music downloads is that the artist no longer has to invest so much money into releasing the CD. Thus new great music is produced as an open source every day. Therefore my CD collection is increasingly getting smaller but my music collection has never been so rich and I am just in the beginning of quest for great music.

Sent by Lenka Bliss 4:57 PM ET 04-14-2008

The thing that scares me about the death of the CD and is that with it dies the Album, and in the end, the ability to truly appreciate an artist in all of its subtle detail. There's a whole generation of people who are going to be used to the idea of single song downloads, who find value in three minute pop escapism instead of the art and the artist.

My fear is that this will lead to smaller fanbases, which means less concert attendance, which in turn is going to make it way harder to make a career out of being a musician.

Or maybe I'm just a fatalist and really like the idea of a physical product.

Sent by David W. 5:53 PM ET 04-14-2008

I always buy the CD, and then put it on my computer. Have you ever been screwed by itunes from reformating your computer and losing your albums? Plus, I like the tactile response that CDs bring, a complete package, a solid album. I-tunes just is so seamless (ack). Even though cds might be a dying media, I love my trinquets!

p.s. Robin/Bob, you should analyze some of the coming festivals based on artist composition. With all these festivals springing up, it looks like long time acts like ACL are having problems figuring out who to book to meet their target audience.
http://www.austincitylimits.com/forum/tt.aspx?forumid=3

p.p.s. Throwing away OK Computer . . . you should shame yourself.

Sent by hobbesgallo 10:02 AM ET 04-15-2008

well, what can i say?

even in the vinyl days, i made over 20 mixed tapes just for myself.

and in the early days of cd's, i made a few of mixed cd's myself.

but with shuffle and a 30 gig mp3 player - i slobber over getitng a 80 gig one - plus a one tetrabyte external drive, i love my mp3's!

i miss the tactile of the big vinyl record, but i love the experience of not knowing which song or genre will be coming next. could it be could it be a luther wright and the wrongs' bluegrass version of a tune from the wall, some old cajun from clifton chenier, some weird bit from ken nordine, some classic punk from the pistols or the clash, some some south african pop music i picked up when i lived next door to south africa in the 90's, some new electronica, a pop song i picked up from my tween daughter? who knows? and that's the thrill!

Sent by OlderMusicGeek 1:28 PM ET 04-15-2008

Yes, I'm pretty much in the download camp. And it worries me. With so much music at my fingertips, I no longer listen to one album/cd over-and-over-and-over. I no longer sit through songs I don't initially appreciate but later come to love after continued listens. I no longer have every layer and turn in my head.

So many of what we agree to be the greatest albums required a commited courtship. Would Pink Floyd have created the art they did in today's digital, single based environment? Would "Pet Sounds" or "Sgt Pepper" or even "Joshua Tree" had the impact and significance they did? Would we even know about "Kind of Blue?"

I'm definately living my music life via the MP3 file, but I know I've given up a lot in doing so.

Sent by Jeffrey Mason 2:46 PM ET 04-16-2008

So, I have a collection of tapes, cds, and records, and they probably constitute less than twenty-five percent of my listening time. I knew cds were out when I took a long plane ride and brought a rug weaver size spool of cds that i was trying to sort through on the plane and the kid next to me was whipping through his I-Pod while I dropped burned cds on the floor. That said, this post reminds me of the non-problematic post http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/03/30/93-music-piracy/
and I guess the real question for me is kind of like Bob's post about the future of music formats, what's the future record/music store look like? I mean online stuff is okay, but I agree that there's something special about a record store and the conversations/sharing that take place person-to-person, that I don't see recreated in online music blogs, magazines, etc.

Sent by zach 8:15 PM ET 04-16-2008

OlderMusicGeek here. *waves at my, ahem, many readers, all 4 of them!*

Funny enough, I remember having a conversation with a co-worker when cd's had reached their 20th anniversary.

The co-worker was wondering what would replace cd's. I told him nothing.

"Nothing?! What do you mean nothing?!"

I explained how there wouldn't cd's or vinyl records are anything. We would just download our music onto the player.

He thought I was crazy!

Interesting enough, the next post of the All Songs Considered blog asks reader what they want in the next music format.

And there are some good ideas - such as adding a visual element and making them more social.

But the best idea is having the lyrics available and a list of who did what on the song! That is something I can't wait for!

To the future!!

A link to the original piece on NPR's All Songs Considered's website
A link to All Songs Considered

TELEVISION/VIDEOS and MOVIES/VIDEOS: Happy New Year - Pee-Wee Style

2010-01-01T07:03:00.003-06:00

MUSIC: My Top Ten Albums

2009-12-28T22:20:00.008-06:00

This is from me, and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

Well, a while back Patrick McEvoy on Twitter asked what our top 10 favorite albums are.

After some thinking, I have come up with mine. But this could change depending on my mood and new memories!

10 - The Raveonettes' Pretty In Black
9 - Chumbawumba's Tubthumper
8 - Visage's self-titled debut
7 - The Clash's London Calling
6 - Ultravox's Systems Of Romance
5 - Devo's Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
4 - The Sex Pistols' Never Mind The Bollocks Here Comes The Sex Pistols
3 - Flogging Molly's Drunken Lullabies
2 - The Police's Outlandos d'Amour
1 - Violent Femmes self-titled debut

Yeah, my top ten albums is heavy and completely dominated by alternative stuff! Have go into top 25 or 50 to find other genres!

But looking at my top ten albums, it's still a pretty diverse bunch - punk to synth dance pop - with folk, reggae, celtic and 60's influences!

My Big Brudder Now Has A Blog - Go Check It Out!

2009-11-11T15:19:00.002-06:00

Like me, my older brother has finally got tired of boring people around him with his endless talk of pop culture, and now has the chance to bore all of you on the internet!

Seriously though, if you're into music, movies, tv and/or sports, give his blog a look.

You can even read how he fell off a ladder and discusses our family history of falling off ladders with the nurse!

So go check it out!

If you didn't catch all the other links, here's a link to his blog!

MOVIES/VIDEOS and ART: A Charming Story Of A Scarecrow And Some Halloween Pumpkin Pictures

2009-11-01T01:11:00.001-05:00

This is a little late, but I just came across these videos.

The first, I think, is the telling of a traditional tale involving a pumpkin-headed scarecrow. The other videos are just artwork with scarecrows and pumpkins. - OlderMusicGeek

A link to my other Halloween posts

MUSIC: The Most Played Songs By Me In October (Halloween) 2009

2009-10-31T00:48:00.012-05:00

This from me, and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

Well, if anyone is interested, these are the most played songs by me for the month of October, in other words for Halloween.

5. (two-way tie)
Hotel California - Penny Loafers

Fashion Zombies - The Aquabats

4. Halloween - Aqua (The favorite song I discovered this year!)

3. Edgar Allan Poe - Lou Reed

2. (three-way tie)
Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me - The Chubbies

Devil In My Car - The B-52's

Sleepwalking - The Raveonettes

1. Zombies Ate Her Brains - The Creepshow

TELEVISION/VIDEOS (and sorta MOVIES/VIDEOS): The Ronny Horror Picture Show

2009-10-26T07:50:00.009-05:00

I saw Man On The Moon and was looking up Andy Kaufman on the internet - and that led to the show, "Fridays" - which led me to this great mega-sketch.

I saw it when it was orinally showed on television and died laughing. I hope you enjoy it too. - OlderMusicGeek

Well, unfortunately, you got two not-so-good choices here. The first clip has a clear-ish picture like the above clip, but the sound is out of sync. The next clips have a fuzzier picture and they skip a bit, but the sound is in sync. - OMGeek

Technicolor Dreams's take on "The Ronny Horror Picture Show"

Halloween post on this blog
Halloween posts on my regular blog

MUSIC: Some Necrophilia For Halloween

2009-10-03T11:51:00.011-05:00

Nothing says Halloween is coming like some necrophilia from Alice Cooper.

TELEVISION/VIDEOS: Star Trek, The Knights Of The Round Table

2009-09-26T21:56:00.007-05:00

MUSIC: What's On Michelle Obama's Ipod?

2009-09-26T14:42:00.004-05:00

I got this from Yahoo.

And if you've read my blog before, you know I'm fascinated by what people have on their mp3 player - as this, this, and this show! - OlderMusicGeek

SUMMIT NOTEBOOK: Michelle Obama's request hour
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer – Fri Sep 25, 7:54 pm ET

PITTSBURGH – Hey, Michelle Obama — what's on your iPod?

Sara Bareilles, among other things.

If the singer-songwriter didn't know already, she — and plenty of other people, too — now know that the first lady is one of her biggest fans.

"I love her," Mrs. Obama gushed Friday, giving a shout-out to Bareilles for the performance she was giving at a concert the first lady organized for students at the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School.

"She is on my iPod. She has gotten me through many a day," Mrs. Obama said, ticking off the names of two of Bareilles' songs, "Gravity" and "Love Song." Bareilles performed the latter selection during the show.

Mrs. Obama could hardly contain her excitement as she said country crooner Trisha Yearwood, "another of my favorites," and cellist Yo-Yo Ma would be performing.

"You know, what more is there to say?" she said after uttering the world famous cellist's name. "I'm just (as) excited as you all."

MUSIC: Favorite Bands A to Z Survey

2009-08-29T20:17:00.013-05:00

This is just a survey I did on Facebook. - OlderMusicGeek

A: Adam And The Ants
B: Bowie
C: Cracker
D: Devo
E: Eurhythmics
F: Flogging Molly
G: Gaelic Storm
H: Hayseed Dixie
I: Icehouse
J: Jean-Michel Jarre
K: Klark Kent
L: Ladysmith Black Mambazo
M: Me First And The Gimme Gimmes
N: Nash The Slash
P: Presidents Of The United States Of America
R: Raveonettes
S: Sex Pistols
T: Talking Heads
W: Wall Of Voodoo
Z: Where's V for The Violent Femmes?!?!?!?! / ZZTop

For the letters missing in the poll -
U: Ultravox
V: Violent Femmes
X: XTC
Y: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

COMICS: Archie Broke My Heart! Now What?

2009-08-20T06:46:00.006-05:00

I heard this on NPR. - OlderMusicGeek

August 19, 2009

Dear Amy:

I have been going out with my high school boyfriend, "Archie," for 67 years, though honestly it feels like longer.

We've had our ups and downs like any other couple, but for the most part we get along great.

Sure, he has commitment issues, but that's normal, right?

Unfortunately, it seems that whenever Archie and I get in a little tiff, "Veronica," my worst frenemy, sweeps in. She's, like, really manipulative. But what can I say — she's rich and stuck-up, and really knows how to work her curves. Plus, she drives a roadster.

Yesterday, I found out that Archie is planning to marry Veronica! I don't know how many times he has hinted that he and I would live happily ever after, but when I think about it, he never actually said the words. It was always implied, though.

I'm heartbroken. I'm mad, too.

The worst part is that they've asked me to go to the wedding! Veronica is even hinting that she wants me to be a bridesmaid! Can you imagine?

Of course, I'll probably do it because that's just the sort of person I am. But it's hard to imagine picking up the pieces after dating the same guy for three generations.

Amy, what am I supposed to do now?

Betty

Dear Betty:

Here's what you should do.

Pour yourself into a red dress — the one with the big white polka dots on it. Take your hair down for once, OK? You're a natural blonde, Betty — don't be afraid to work it! Don't wear your neck scarf; a simple strand of pearls would be nice.

I want you to hold your head up high, go to that wedding and tell yourself that you are better off without him.

At the wedding reception (I'm sure it will be held at the Riverdale Country Club), if you have a few too many appletinis and decide to tell off Veronica once and for all, and maybe dance a little too close with Reggie or Jughead, so be it! You're a free woman, Betty, and now's your chance to stand up for all the Bettys everywhere!

I have a really good feeling about you, Betty. I know there are many adventures in store for you. Have you thought about getting a job in the city?

You probably haven't heard the last of Archie. No doubt he'll come crawling back to you, just like he always does — and this will probably happen sooner than you think.

The real question you need to ask yourself is — what will you do then?

A link to the original website including a link to listen to the piece

MUSIC? and MOVIES/VIDEOS: Is It Raining?: An Interesting Piece Of Performance Art

2009-08-09T19:38:00.002-05:00

My friend, Ernest T Spoon sent me this. - OlderMusicGeek.

MOVIES/VIDEOS, TELEVISION/VIDEOS and COMICS: Science Fiction's Presidents Of The 21st Century

2009-08-09T16:52:00.014-05:00

I found this from io9surfing the net, and thought I'd share. I edited down. You can read the whole thing here. - OlderMusicGeek

POLITICAL SCIENCE (FICTION)
Science Fiction's Presidents Of The 21st Century
By Alasdair Wilkins, 4:00 PM on Sat Apr 4 2009, 9,296 views

Looking to get a jump on the history books? Science fiction already has a complete list of the men, women, and murderous aliens who occupy the White House in this bright new 21st century.

The late twentieth century had a bit of a rough time when it came to fictional presidents, what with Richard Nixon's controversial five-term administration, the suspected impersonation of a comatose president by some two-bit lookalike, and the short-lived Rigelian takeover of the White House in order to build a giant ray gun for an interstellar war (and feel free to blame me – I'd sooner be blasted into space than vote for Kodos). But with all that behind us, the future looks bright for a brave new twenty-first century of honest, inspiring fictional presidents who could restore honor and dignity to the White House…

42. Lex Luthor (2001-2004)
43. Pete Ross (2004)
44. Jonathan Vincent Horne (2004-2009), from DC Comics

Well, that didn't last long, did it? Sure, Lex Luthor seemed like such a refreshingly different choice - a successful industrialist, an inventive genius, and a man so wealthy there was no danger he'd ever have to bow to special interests. He was like Ross Perot without all the crazy except, as it turned out, he was just a little too obsessed with killing Superman. He did have an early success when he led the successful defeat of the cosmic destroyer Imperiex, but his naturally criminal inclinations soon got the better of him. His attempt to frame the Man of Steel for launching a kryptonite asteroid at Earth was foiled by Superman and Batman, leading to his removal from the presidency. Vice President Pete Ross took over briefly, but then it really, really looked like he was the supervillain Ruin, so he had to go. After all this turmoil, Jonathan Vincent Horne rather quietly led the US through two crises, World War III, and an entire year without the world's most powerful superheroes, without once suspected of being a supervillain (although there was that evil robot...).

45. Barack Obama (2009-2017), from pretty much every other comic ever

He teamed up with Spider-Man, shook hands with the Savage Dragon, helped fight back an alien invasion, handed the Avengers over to noted psychopath and goblin enthusiast Norman Osborn (although that might not technically have been him)...and that was just the first three months.

46. Arnold Schwarzenegger (2017-2021), from Doctor Who, Demolition Man, The Simpsons Movie

After accidentally electing a space monster back in '96, I guess a non-natural-born citizen wasn't quite as big a deal for the American electorate (or the Constitution, for that matter). His decision to encase Springfield, the country's most polluted city, inside a massive bubble proved controversial, although this was ultimately revealed to be the work of his villainous head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Russ Cargill. More politically damaging was the secession of Los Angeles, which had never recovered from the earthquake of 2011, to found the new city-state of San Angeles. His sense of fashion was still known and honored in the year 200100, when two homicidally fashion-conscious androids complimented Captain Jack Harkness on his presidential dress sense before trying to forcibly rearrange his face.

49. Oprah Winfrey (2029-2033), from Century City

The short-lived CBS scifi legal series presented a world of fifty-two states, lunar colonies, increased life expectancies, and, most shockingly, universal healthcare. The legendary talk-show host and philanthropist served as America's first female president (she also was one of the oldest presidents ever elected), and her vice president was an openly gay, retired four-star general.

56. Robert L. Booth (2069-2073), from 2000 AD (Judge Dredd)

He rigged the election of 2068, and then he manipulated public opinion by telling the American people that the rest of the world was freeloading. He started seizing foreign oil, killed anyone who got in his way, and ultimately initiated a nuclear war that devastated the entire planet. He then fled to the Rocky Mountains, where he fought his last stand along with his army of murderous robots against the Judges that now ruled the country. He was finally captured, put on trial for war crimes, and sentenced to a century in suspended animation. He's not generally considered one our better presidents.

60. FXJKHR (2093-2097), from Futurama

Like the first robot president, John Quincy Adding Machine, the question of whether this alien would go on a murderous killing spree was a key issue in his campaign. Unlike President Adding Machine, he made no promises he couldn't keep, following through on his pledge to devour as many humans as he possibly could. He declined to run for reelection, feeling he had accomplished everything he set out to do.

61. A President (2097-2099)
62. Victor Von Doom (2099)
63. Steve Rogers (2099-), from Marvel: 2099

History has not bothered to record who precisely the time-displaced Victor Von Doom deposed to become president, so completely had the office been taken over by corporate interests. The Latverian ruler's time in the White House was brief, however, as Steve Rogers, the legendary Captain America, reappeared to take back the country and ultimately became president himself. Whether or not this President Rogers was in fact an evil nanotech creation of the mega-corporations is still a matter of lively scholarly debate.

MUSIC: The Most Played Songs On Internet By Me From July 2009

2009-08-06T06:43:00.000-05:00

This is from me, NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

Well, my iPod is still missing and I'm stuck listening to real life, physical cd's at work. (Yeah, a few years back I was stuck with cassettes! My, how quickly we get used to stuff!)

But at home, I got Last.fm and Pandora to listen to and provide me with a bunch of variety!

So here are the songs that these two stations played for me the most for the month of July 2009. Obviously, I can't choose which songs come up and how often they play them. I only have veto power to choose to listen to them or not.

And it won't show me the most played songs for the last month, so here are the ones from the last 3 months.

1. (three-way tie)
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – Stand by Your Man

Paul Revere & the Raiders – Kicks

Toumani Diabaté's Symmetric Orchestra – Ya Fama

2. Kate Bush – Babooshka

3. (four-way tie)
Screeching Weasel – I Can See Clearly

Nat Johnson – Heart of Clay

Roger Miret and the Disasters – 1984

Dead Kennedys – California Uber Alles

COMICS and MOVIES/VIDEOS: Red State Update On Comic-Con

2009-08-03T18:50:00.006-05:00

My buddy, Ernest T Spoon, sent me this. Almost as funny as when Triumph was at the Comic-Con! - OlderMusicGeek

MUSIC: Johnny Cash's Version Of "In My Life"

2009-08-02T20:21:00.006-05:00

Just cus I heard it and liked it so much! - OlderMusicGeek

MUSIC: 50 Concerts (But Really 50 Music Acts Seen Live)

2009-07-30T21:31:00.006-05:00

Okay, I got this from a friend on Facebook. - OlderMusicGeek

OK, here are the rules. Test your memory and your love of live music by listing 50 artists or bands (or as many as you can remember) you’ve seen in concert. List the first 50 acts that come into your head. An act you saw at a festival and opening acts count, but only if you can’t think of 50 other artists. Oh, and list the first concert you ever saw first (you can remember that, can’t you)?

Should you choose this challenge, here’s what you do:
Copy this. Make your list. Change the number at the top, and add your title. Then email it to your friends, and return it to the person that sent it to you.

Well, I don’t know if I can remember 50 concerts I’ve been to, but I think I can remember 50 acts I’ve seen. I mean I could if I included all the local acts I’ve seen at various bars – though if I could remember all the names of the acts is another question! But I’ll stick to fairly well known groups here – the key word being “fairly”! So here goes…

(To be honest, I kinda cheated and looked up on the web to see who were at some of the festivals I attended to refresh my memory!)

1. Kiss
2. John Cougar (And NOT John Mellencamp or even John Cougar Mellencamp. This was in support of his first album. And it was an vinyl record album, NOT a cd!) (opening act for Kiss – believe or not)
3. Ted Nugent (twice)
4. Molly Hatchet (twice) (Don’t judge! This is how we rocked before punk!)
5. Blackfoot (opening for one of the Ted Nugent shows)
6. The Tubes (The stories I could tell about going to this show and coming back – but that is a blog in and of itself!)
7. Husker Du
8. Soul Asylum (opening for Husker Du)
9. Rick Wakeman
10. Ian Dury And The Blockheads (Glastonbury Festival ’85 – the one where it rained and the place was covered in mud)
11. The Pogues (Glastonbury Festival ’85)
12. The Men They Couldn’t Hang (Glastonbury Festival ’85)
13. Billy Bragg (Glastonbury Festival ’85)
14. Monochrome Set
15. The Ramones (Lollapalooza '96)
16. Rancid (Lollapalooza ’96)
17. Cornershop (Lollapalooza ’96)
18. Phillip Glass (also saw an opera of his if that counts)
19. Peter, Paul and Mary
20. Flogging Molly
21. Violent Femmes
22. Cracker (twice)
23. The Bottle Rockets (opening for Cracker at one of the shows)
24. Duke Tomatoe & The Power Trio
25. Pookiesnackenburger (an English cabaret band)
26. The Police
27. Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble (Taste Louisiana Festival ’06)
28. Sankomota (South African band I saw in Lesotho)
29. Electric Light Orchestra
30. Hall & Oates (opening for E.L.O. – otherwise, trust me, I wouldn’t have seen them at all!)
31. Ravi Shankar
32. Pat Benatar
33. Sonic Youth
34. R.E.M. (twice)
35. 10,000 Maniacs (opening one of the R.E.M. shows)
36. The Bangles
37. Boomtown Rats (Glastonbury Festival '85)
38. Joe Cocker (Glastonbury Festival '85)
39. The Style Council (Glastonbury Festival '85)
40. Calliope (a group that played Renaissance/medieval music)
41. Queen (Who had a horrible opening act! I went to the bathroom during the act, and there was a line at the toilet! And the group got their biggest applause when they said they were doing their last song. Then they dared to come out for an encore – despite a very mild applause at the end – and asked if the audience wanted another song. More people said no than yes!)
42. The Who
43. George Thorogood & The Destroyers (If memory serves me right, I saw him twice. Once was during his 50 states in 50 days tour back in ’80. We were state/day 37, and he was still going strong. Of course, he was a lot younger and thinner then!)
44. Jamie Bergeron & the Kickin’ Cajuns (Taste Louisiana Festival ’06)
45. Reel Big Fish
46. Roger Miller (Musician formerly of Mission of Burma, not the folk musician – but I was actually first interested in the concert because I thought he was the folk musician! He did though do “King Of The Road”! – On a synthesizer!)
47. Elvis Costello (who told David Letterman that our town was the best audience on that tour!)
48. Echo And The Bunnymen (Glastonbury Festival ’85)
49. Talking Heads
50. Frank Zappa

Local acts, past and present, I’ve seen (Support local music!) - at least, the ones I can remember:

1. Sinister Sons
2. Buick McSnake
3. The Hollowmen (numerous times)
4. The Chant (a few times)
5. The Big Picture
6. Vandon Arms
7. Slaughter House 6
8. North Of Grand
9. Look Out Loretta
10. Hollywood Burnout
11. Little Mojo
12. David Zollo
13. Poison Control Center
14. Pumptown
15. The Delstars
16. Gumbohead
17. An Afternoon Snatching
18. Old Scratch Revival Singers
19. Steve Robinson And The Foundation
20. Exit

MUSIC: If Abraham Lincoln Had An iPod

2009-07-27T19:30:00.015-05:00

As usual, I'm late putting this up late. The 200th anniversary for Lincoln's birthday was back in February. But as I'm always interested on what people are listening to on their mp3 players - I watched a show on John Lennon's "iPod" and reprinted a piece on George Bush's from the BBC. So here's Abraham Lincoln. If anybody knows of similar stuff, please let me know! - OlderMusicGeek

If Abraham Lincoln Had An iPod
By Mike Hoffman

February 16, 2009 - To celebrate Presidents' Day, we have conjured up Abraham Lincoln, but in a less-than-presidential pose: with earbuds dangling from his ears.

Classical music commentator Miles Hoffman agreed to explore the 16th president's musical tastes, as well as what music Lincoln might have chosen for his iPod, had he owned one.

The Lincoln iPod would have needed a lot of memory, as the president apparently enjoyed all sorts of music and loved opera. His love of opera apparently got him into trouble during the Civil War, when he was taken to task for attending a performance while the war was ongoing. To this, the president responded, "The truth is I must have a change of some sort, or die."

"We know that Lincoln liked the opera Martha, by Friedrich von Flotow, and had it performed during the festivities for his second inaugural," Hoffman says. "Martha is not performed very often now, and it's mainly known for one very beautiful aria, 'Ach so fromm,' where the male romantic lead, Lionel, sings a love song to the title character, Martha. "We also know that one month before he died - on March 15, 1865 - Lincoln attended a performance of Mozart 's Magic Flute at the National Theatre in Washington," Hoffman says.

Another big favorite of Lincoln's was a kind of "crossover" artist, Louis Moreau Gottschalk . A Southerner by birth, born in New Orleans, Gottschalk was a one-of-a-kind composer, a virtuoso pianist and, perhaps surprisingly, a supporter of the Union cause. One of his most famous pieces is The Union (Fantasy on Patriotic Airs). When you listen to the beginning of the piece, it sounds like any flashy, 19th-century European virtuoso piano piece. But then Gottschalk launches into the tunes we all know, treating them in his own inimitable way.

Lincoln was also partial to popular music and sentimental ballads, such as the songs of Stephen Foster. One of his favorites was an old Scottish love ballad called "Annie Laurie."

Remarkably, No. 1 on Lincoln's iPod might have been his all-time favorite, "Dixie."
"It had already been a popular song before the Civil War and came from a minstrel show," Hoffman says. "Lincoln had been quoted as saying, 'I have always thought "Dixie" one of the best tunes I have ever heard.' "

"After the war," Hoffman adds, "he is reported to have said, 'That tune is now federal property, and it is good to show the rebels that, with us in power, they will be free to hear it again.' "

Comments...
David Lewis (UncleDave) wrote...
Lincoln's favorite song, it is reported, was "Listen to the Mockingbird." The polymorphously prolix composer Anthony Phillip Heinrich once played a concert at the Lincoln White House, according to John Tasker Howard. After Heinrich was done playing one his heavy, florid and long compositions, Lincoln innocently asked, "Couldn't you just play 'Listen to the Mocking Bird'?" Heinrich obliged with an improvised set of variations on the tume, which pleased the Lincolns greatly, but left Heinrich less than happy.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 11:02:44 AM

TJ Wilkinson (bullmoose) wrote...
A very nice piece, although the story did fail to mention that Lincoln was a devotee of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns. No doubt a fair number of the songs of Burns would have appeared on Lincoln's "iPod" as well.
Ironically, 2009 marks the 250th anniversary of Burns's birth on January 25th.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 11:20:37 AM

Catherine Loomis (TS2_1_181) wrote...
Lincoln's i-Pod would also include sound recordings of Shakespeare's plays. I try to get my students to listen to them, since they rarely have a chance to watch the plays performed.
Monday, February 16, 2009 5:50:22 PM

A link to the original site
George Bush's iPod
John Lennon's "iPod"
What *I* listened to on my iPod before I lost it

MUSIC: John Lennon "iPod"

2009-07-27T18:47:00.001-05:00

This is an essay that went with a PBS show. I edited it down, but you can read the whole essay here. - OlderMusicGeek

WHEN WRONG IS RIGHT
By Ed Ward

From the very first song we heard, no matter when we dropped into the Beatles story, it sounded like they were doing something utterly original. But they weren't, not entirely.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney, their young friend George Harrison, and, later, drummer Pete Best, along with John's art school friend Stu Sutcliffe, were actually rock and roll fans. Like lots of British kids, they idolized Gene Vincent, Little Richard, and the "girl group" sound coming from New York's pop factory, the Brill Building. They listened to what the British called "Tamla Motown" and to early soul singers like Arthur Alexander. These were the sounds they worked into their repertoire as the Silver Beatles, and the songs they played night after night during their arduous sojourns at the Star Club in Hamburg.

But as the Beatles searched for new stuff to copy, they began to write their own material. Try as they might, they couldn't come up with rock and roll songs that sounded like the ones they'd been hearing. Their songs sounded better, because they were their own.

This is what makes artists artists: they take little bits of things from here and there and put them together in unexpected combinations that seem new and original. Some of them are pretty obvious: one of Little Richard's trademarks is the "Ooooo!" he interjects into a lot of his hit songs. Richard got it from the world of gospel, where it's a standard of Alex Bradford, among others. The Beatles grabbed this little trick for themselves, and it's all over their first recordings: girls went wild when Lennon and McCartney stepped up to a single microphone, shook their mop tops, and went "Ooooo!".

Other borrowings aren't so obvious. JOHN LENNON'S JUKEBOX will introduce most people to a singer-guitarist named Bobby Parker. I'd never heard of him until watching this program, and all I can discover about him is that his record "Watch Your Step" was on the pop BILLBOARD charts for six weeks in 1961 and got as high as number 51. It was released on V-Tone Records, a label I'd also never heard of. The guitar lick Parker plays on this record morphed into "I Feel Fine," but also, I think, "Day Tripper." Watching Parker demonstrate it, I realized that John Lennon probably had trouble playing it: it's simple, but not nearly as simple as Parker makes it seem. And of course, Lennon had no way to watch Parker's fingers. So because John couldn't play that lick, it became another song, "I Feel Fine," which went to number one.

But it would be a mistake to assume that the music in John Lennon's jukebox was there only to be copied. Especially in pop music, it's essential that the greatest innovators remain fans, enthusiasts, explorers of the past and present.

Ditto the Lovin' Spoonful. By the time their records started appearing, the Beatles were established and deeply involved in creating their own music. The Spoonful were doing music that was similar, but different enough that John could listen to it and imagine that here was a bunch of Americans who had understandably wanted to imitate the Beatles -- but they'd gotten it wrong, just wrong enough that what they did was completely right.

In the end, the records in John Lennon's jukebox simply confirm that he was a rock and roll fan -- as if there could have been any doubt about that! -- and that he wasn't averse to lifting a little something here and there to further his own art, even if he couldn't imitate it perfectly.

**********

In 1989, a Bristol music promoter purchased at auction an old Discomatic jukebox owned by John Lennon in the 1960s. Its track list, written in Lennon's own hasty handwriting, catalogued 41 remarkable discs of American soul, R&B, and rock 'n' roll -- a collection that shaped his musical education and became the musical style source from which the Beatles sound derived. Below is a complete list of all the 45s included in the jukebox.

Some of the songs are missing on this, and a couple of songs are by artists different than the ones on John Lennon's jukebox.

1. "In the Midnight Hour"
Wilson Pickett

2. "Rescue Me"
Fontella Bass

3. "Tracks of My Tears"
Smokey Robinson

4. "My Girl"
Otis Redding

5. "1, 2, 3"
Len Barry

6. "Hi Heel Sneakers"
Tommy Tucker

7. "Walk"
Jimmy McCracklin

8. "Gonna Send You Back to Georgia"
Timmy Shaw

9. "First I Look at the Purse"
The Contours

10. "New Orleans"
Gary "U.S." Bonds

11. "Watch Your Step"
Bobby Parker

12. "Daddy Rollin' Stone"
Derek Martin

13. "Short Fat Fannie"
Larry Williams

14. "Long Tall Sally"
Little Richard

15. "Money (That's What I Want)"
Barrett Strong

16. "Hey! Baby"
Bruce Channel

17. "Positively 4th Street"
Bob Dylan

18. "Daydream"
The Lovin' Spoonful

19. "Turquoise"
Donovan

20. "Slippin' and Slidin'"
Buddy Holly

21. "Be-Bop-A-Lula"
Gene Vincent

22. "No Particular Place to Go"
Chuck Berry

23. "Steppin' Out"
Paul Revere

24. "Do You Believe in Magic"
The Lovin' Spoonful

25. "Some Other Guy"
The Big Three

26. "Twist and Shout"
The Isley Brothers

27. "She Said "Yeah""
Larry Williams

28. "Brown Eyed Handsome Man"
Buddy Holly

29. "Slippin' and Slidin'"
Little Richard

30. "Quarter to Three"
Gary "U.S." Bonds

31. "Ooh My Soul"
Little Richard

32. "Woman Love"
Gene Vincent

33. "Shop Around"
The Miracles

34. "Bring It on Home to Me"
The Animals

35. "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody"
James Ray

36. "What's So Good About Goodbye"
The Miracles

37. "Bad Boy"
The Miracles
Couldn't find this on Blip.fm or YouTube!

38. "Agent Double O Soul"
Edwin Starr

39. "I've Been Good to You"
The Miracles

40. "Oh I Apologize"
Barrett Strong
Couldn't find this on Blip.fm or YouTube!

41. "Who's Lovin' You"
The Miracles

MOVIES: The Lightsaber Duelist Test

2009-07-05T15:53:00.001-05:00

Your result for The Lightsaber Duelist Test ...
Luke Skywalker
"You'll find I'm full of Suprises."

From humble beginnings, this boy grows to become the last hope of the Jedi. He fights with passion & athleticisim, but ultimately the greatest battle this warrior must face is within. This struggle both gives him the pluck he needs to survive, but seems to be a downfall, until the moment he finally lives up to his own expectations...

RATE MY TEST!

Currently quiz/5 Stars.
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click away

COMPARED TO OTHER TAKERS

64/100You scored 68% on Emotion, higher than64% of your peers.
16/100You scored 45% on Direction, higher than16% of your peers.

Take the quiz

MUSIC: Some Independence Day Music

2009-07-05T00:06:00.002-05:00

My brother, Harmonica23, put these up on his Facebook page.

To quote my brother - "What better way to celebrate this all American holiday than with an American band singing about American music."

American Music -Violent Femmes
by radarhead

TELEVISION/VIDEOS and MUSIC:: Happy 4th Of July

2009-07-04T23:55:00.003-05:00

COMICS: The Top 10 Best — And Worst — Dads In Comics

2009-06-21T17:29:00.027-05:00

Found this through Bart_Allen on Twitter. It's from Newsarama.com. - OlderMusicGeek

The Top 10 Best — And Worst — Dads In Comics
June 20th, 2009 Author David Pepose

Wow, is it that time already? Sometimes, you have to give a shout-out to the men who have raised us. But in comics, sometimes having a dad isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. For every Luke Cage, we get a Magneto — because villainous fathers have always been a time-honored trope in the comics community. So with that in mind, we at Blog@ decided to take a look and create a light-hearted, sometimes tongue-in-cheek (and obviously subjective) look at the top ten best and worst dads in comics!

The Top 10 Best Dads in Comics: With parental fatalities often being the impetus for superheroics, it’s tough to find a good dad in comics. But the good dads are often the best, even if they’re no longer with us. Let’s take some time to tip your hats to these great men in sequential art.

10. Ted Knight: Ted shows that it’s never too late to connect with your kids. Somewhat estranged from his son Jack until his son David is killed, Ted soon establishes a bond with his son through advice and adrenaline. While Jack first was all about himself, now he’s a hero, partially because of circumstance, but mainly because of the interaction he has with his dad.

9. Mr. Fantastic: While Reed Richards is a bit of an absent-minded, albeit good-hearted, space case, it’s clear how much he loves his kids. It’s one of the reasons he’s pushed himself as hard as he can go, to support his children, and while he can sometimes be a little distant, when push comes to shove, you know Franklin and Valeria come first to this super-stretchable polymath.

8. Wally West: When he had to make a work-related trip, he took his kids along for the ride. This might be a glib way of looking at Infinite Crisis, but that’s pretty much what happened — during his battle with Superboy-Prime, Wally was being sucked into another dimension. But he brought Jae, Iris, as well as his wife Linda along with, and raised his kids — despite their superspeed aging — in that parallel world. He has since fought the Speed Force itself — taking a hit on his own limitless speed — to save his children from its shackles. This guy? A great dad.

7. Luke Cage: A superstrong fella with steel-like skin, it’s a tribute to Brian Michael Bendis how soft this one-time Hero for Hire can be around his baby girl. Luke, despite having a rough-and-tumble existence with the Avengers, has done everything he can to protect his wife and child — even selling his soul to Norman Osborn to rescue her from the Skrulls. When the enemies in question are shapeshifters, it’s tough to give Cage some flak — the man seems so dedicated to his family first and foremost that he deserves a spot on the Top 10.

6. Blue Beetle’s father, Alberto Reyes: Ah, one half of my favorite parenting couple in comics. Alberto Reyes has served his country and helped his community, despite being an unsung hero in the sleepy town of El Paso, Texas. Yet when his son Jaime returned from a year’s absence — with a suit of alien armor, no less — Alberto was the one who embraced him as his son, even if the rest of the family was a bit freaked out. Alway a man to turn to and a shoulder to cry on, Alberto Reyes is the reason why Jaime Reyes is a hero.

5. Cable: On the run from time-traveling mutant Bishop, Cable has protected the Mutant Messiah — a baby he named Hope — by any means necessary. A very cool dynamic that has revitalized the character, because now he has something to fight for. If mutantkind survives, know that it rests not on Cyclop’s Machiavellian plans, but on the parenting chops of Nathan Christopher Summers.

4. Pat Dugan, aka Stripesy: If you can’t beat ‘em, ground ‘em. And if you can’t ground ‘em? Make sure they have protection. In Pat Dugan’s case, that protection is a 7-foot-tall armored robot known as S.T.R.I.P.E.S., as he pursued his stepdaughter Courtney when she assumed to mantle of the Star-Spangled Kid. Never quite comfortable with her superheroics, Dugan did the responsible thing, and watched her back, until she could receive some dedicated training from the JSA.

3. Uncle Ben: “With great power, there must also come great responsibility.” Uncle Ben’s words have rung through Spider-Man’s psyche for years and years, as his unseen ghost continues to haunt comics to this day. He toiled ceaselessly to provide a life for his nephew, even bequeathing him his first microscope. I doubt Uncle Ben would approve of Peter squandering his life for the sake of Spider-Man, but his love and honesty made one of the greatest heroes in the Marvel Universe.

2. Jor-El: When the odds seemed hopeless, Jor-El chose life. Creating a spaceship for his infant son Kal-El, Jor-El knew that the plan had a million-to-one shot of working — but work it did. Jor-El seemed to think of everything, even implanting a crystal that would create Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. Despite being turned down by the Science Council, Jor-El did preserve Krypton, until his son would save the Bottle City of Kandor from the ruthless Brainiac.

1. Jonathan Kent: The greatest dad in the history of comics — Pa Kent. When Superman had a problem, Jonathan was the one he went to. This was the person who made the “super” second only to the “man.” Teaching his son to use his powers for good instead of evil, Jonathan Kent’s parenting will stand the test of time, as his kind, gentle son Clark is Earth’s greatest hero.

The Top 10 Worst Dads in Comics: This was a bit of an easier list, only because villainous dads are sort of a trope when it comes to comics. But there are some heroic stragglers on the paternity queue, so let’s take a look at the demented and the dead-beat!

10. Batman — Y’know, it’d be cool if Bruce Wayne simply adopted kids on a Bradgelina level. But he takes them off the streets and allows them to accompany him on caped vigilantism. This has already messed up his kids pretty completely — Dick Grayson can’t hold down a steady job, Jason Todd had his head bashed in with a crowbar (but he got better), and he gave Tim Drake enough of an allowance to build his own twisted cloning facility in his basement after his best friend died. Bruce Wayne may give his kids everything, but even he can’t teach life skills. (Disclaimer: Devin Grayson and the Black Cat’s versions of Batman would put him on the Great Dad list. But that isn’t the status quo. Curse you, canon!!)

9. Green Arrow — Kind of a jerk when it comes to kids. He ditched his ward, Speedy, and then when the teen started living up to his name with a heroin addiction, GA starts slapping him around. He doesn’t even stick around to help him quit — that was all Black Canary. But the kicker — the kicker — is that he was there when his son Connor was born, and still walked out on him, then pretending he was so surprised when his starry-eyed kid had followed in the family tradition.

8. Cyclops — Cyclops has more issues than Action Comics. (Comics zing!) After he couldn’t get with Jean Grey (not without a shovel in the dead of night, anyway), Scott Summers went for the next best thing: her clone, Madelyne Pryor. But when the Real Deal came back from the dead, Scott left Madelyne — and his newborn baby Christopher — to, um, “check up on Jean and make sure everything was okay.” By joining X-Factor and not telling his wife where he was going. He ended up making up for it in the future by raising young Cable into a freedom fighter, but has since waffled around whether or not he trusts his son’s judgment by sending X-Force after him, just to make sure he’s doing his job right. Between this and his tendency to cheat on his significant other (moving on from redheads to blondes with Emma Frost), Scott Summers’ mutant power is being an optic-blast-powered homewrecker.

7. Magneto — He unwittingly drafted his twin children — as well as many other young impressionable mutants — into his war with humankind, abusing and manipulating their trust at every turn. When push came to shove, he’s put his cause before his kids (even shooting Quicksilver in the knees in the Ultimate Universe). While he did step in to prevent the Avengers from taking down the Scarlet Witch, it’s too little, too late, as his vendetta against the human race would eventually twist and soil the actions of all his children — Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Polaris.

6. Omni-Man — At first he was a good guy, until his secret life came back to haunt him. Nolan Grayson was a bestselling author as well as the hero Omni-Man — but when his son Mark, aka Invincible, finally comes of age, Nolan decides to let the other shoe drop: he’s an advance scout for the Viltrumite Invasion. He proceeds to beat the tar out of Invincible before leaving out of guilt, only to then pursue an affair with a bug-like creature on another planet. Oh, and the kid he has with the bug lady? His first wife Debbie is taking care of him. Omni-Man, you are one deadbeat dad.

5. Doctor Doom (and Apocalypse… and Ra’s Al Ghul) — At first, Doom’s relationship with Kristoff Vernard was benign, adopting him after his mother was killed by robots. (This is a common occurrence in Latveria.) But soon the parenting went bad, as Doom programmed his robots to brainwash young Kristoff if anything were to happen to him. Doc, when they say “live through your children,” it’s not meant literally! (Special mention goes to the ancient mutant Apocalypse, who had a similar stratagem for Stryfe in the 1990s series The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, as well as Ra’s Al Ghul, who planned to do the same to his grandson Damian Wayne in The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul.)

4. Darkseid — It’s kind of sad when the embodiment of all evil in the DCU only makes #4 on this list, but there you go. Treating his son Orion like political coin, Darkseid trades one of his kids to avert a war. To make matters worse, Darkseid continually belittles his other kid Kalibak, who just can’t measure up to the distant ideal that is Orion. And while some lucky kids get baseball games and movies from their dads, Darkseid just gave Orion the Anti-Life Equation. And did I mention he turned half the DCU into mindless zombies, as well as incinerated Batman?

3. Deathstroke — He’s kind of like the soccer dad gone wrong, juicing up his kids with mind-bending steroids to twist them into sidekick support roles. Deathstroke was so obsessed with winning that he even put a piece of Kryptonite into his daughter’s vacant eye socket! Dude, that’s messed up! Chalk up this mercenary’s drive to prevail at any cost, and you got yourself on the Worst Dads list.

2. Norman Osborn — Norman, Norman, Norman… he’s cold to his son to the point of driving him to costumed villainy. (Check out his thoughts on Mary Jane in the first Spider-Man film.) He puts hits out on Iron Man, Thor, Deadpool, and seems to have a mad-on for anything whose name rhymed with “Smider-Man.” He’s got the Marvel Universe by the short hairs and will cackle his way through his secret underground Cabal. Oh, and he decided to throw Gwen Stacy off a bridge when he got her pregnant and she wouldn’t give up the kids. This guy? One bad dad.

1. The Comedian — When your dad tried to rape your mom, that’s the sign of a pretty sick dude. Yet the Comedian was the embodiment of the American Dream in Watchmen, and we were all the more disgusted for it. The fact that he didn’t unequivocably shut down Laurie’s flirting with him — why yes, that would be his own daughter — at the word “GO” also bumps him up the list considerably, as well as the fact that he shot a woman in Vietnam who was pregnant with his kid. Yep, the Comedian pretty much hits every mark for being Worst Dad Ever.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 20th, 2009 at 10:00 pm and is filed under DC Comics, Image, Marvel, News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

MUSIC: The OlderMusicGeek Guide To Road Trip Music - Part One: CD's

2009-05-16T00:19:00.009-05:00

This from me, NOT some material reprinted from somewhere else.

I had a Twitter friend, Emma, asked for road trip music. Well, after giving it some thought, I realized I had a bit much for a letter, but a lot of stuff for my blog!

Blog entries like this are, by their very nature, very subjective. And unless the blogger has an ego as big as the sun, one has to realize that there's NOT going to be someone who follows your suggestion religiously and makes a playlist according to your exact specifications!

All this can be, is a way for you, the reader, to come up with YOUR OWN playlist/cd/whatever - and be suggestions to POSSIBLY include on your own playlist.

Okay, with that all said, it's time to determine what should be included on a road trip music collection.

#1 - Should be for the most part uptempo. You want music that will keep you awake on the road. A few slow ones are okay to change the pace around and add variety, but generally, you want uptempo songs of whatever genre you listen to.

#2 - It usually helps, though not necessarily, if the song have a "flow" to their sound! By "flow", I mean the song should be move easily. You should seem to be able to almost slide through the song.

#3 - It also help if the songs are "sing-along-able"! The more you can sing along with them, the better you'll feel and the more awake you'll feel too. And if you don't like singing along with music, then get over yourself and enjoy life!

#4 - It would also be nice, but again not necessary, if the song has something to do with roads, vehicles, driving and traveling.

The simplest and easiest way to start your road trip collection is look at your favorite cd's and see which of these fit into any of those three categories! If you rate your music on your mp3 player, your job is even easier. Check out the cd's with a lot of 5 star songs - or if that's not enough, check out the ones with 4 stars too!

Don't worry if you think I'm going to leave you hanging! I'm not! I have some suggestions!

1. Swagger, Drunken Lullabies, Within A Mile Of Home, and Float - Flogging Molly
If you're into Celtic music and/or punk, this is Flogging Molly's 4 studio cd's will energize you! The two times I went all a Flogging Molly kick and listen to all 4 cd's in one setting, I felt exhausted at the end, cus the music is THAT energetic!

2. No Thanks! The 70s Punk Rebellion - various artists
This is a wonderful 4-cd 100-song collection of the punk, new wave and alternative music that came out in the mid and late 70s! Talk about energy! This will work just as good as caffeine! If you're downloading it until a mp3 player, I would recommend adding "Anarchy In The U.K." and/or "God Save The Queen" by Sex Pistols, since The Sex Pistols refused to allow any of their music on this collection, the twats!

3. Me First And The Gimme Gimmes
If you're into punk, this is a great band to have on your playlist. They play all these different covers from different genres, but they do them in a punk rock fashion. And since all they do is covers, you'll know most of the songs and probably know a lot of the lyrics, and therefore can even sing along with it, which to me, is a great plus when you're on the road, and especially when you're trying to stay awake!

If you don't want or need too much punk, then you could just go with their compilation cd, Have Another Ball. If you're into 70s pop, I suggest their first album, Have A Ball And for 60s pop, Blow In The Wind. If you like musicals, then you'll want Are A Drag. For contemporary R&B songs, try Take A Break. And for country tunes, Love Their Country. Me, personally, I'd put ALL their cd's on the playlist!

4. Born In The U.S.A. - Bruce Springsteen
What can I say? I'm a 80s child! And this has what you need for the road. Some heavy beat dance music and some "flow-y" mellow stuff.

5. Riverdance - Bill Whelan / Lord Of The Dance - Ronan Hardiman
These are soundtracks to two great Celtic dance shows! I will admit that some of the songs on the cd's are pretty mellow and you can go without. But some... they just get your heart a-pumping and make you want to do some wild tap-dancing yourself!

6. Saturday Night Fever - various artists (but mostly The Bee Gees)
I'll admit it! I was one of those "disco sucks" people. I listened to classic rock before punk rock, so disco seemed the anti-thesis to my music!

But as I've aged, I've come to realize that there is nothing wrong is funky R&B-influenced soul-influenced dance music!

And this cd has a lot of the disco greats on it like "Disco Inferno". What a great fun dance song! Besides that, you know a lot of the words, so it's another great sing-a-long cd!

7. Visage - Visage
I can't not say enough much I love this cd. When I heard it back in 1980, it was different than anything I had heard, and was quite different than a lot of stuff out there.

This cd, to me, epotomized The New Romance movement. Another great dance cd that flows along and zooms you down the highway!

8. Grease - movie soundtrack
What can I say? It's a musical everyone knows! It's fun! It has high "song-a-long-ability"! Just what you need on a long road trip.

9. Deep Forest - Deep Forest
If you're into world music, electronica and traditional African music, you should definitely consider Deep Forest's debut cd! Two french dj's took a bunch of recordings of traditional African chants recorded by the U.N. and turned them into dancable, grooving tunes!

10. A Motown collection
It doesn't really matter which one you get, but get one of those "Best of Motown" or "Motown Classics" or whatever Motown cd's! These songs have great flow and great sing-along-ability! And who doesn't like Motown?

11. A Stax collection
If you never heard of the Stax record label, it doesn't matter, cus you'll know the music. Most of the soul hits that weren't Motown were from Stax! Just get a collection of their best material, and you'll be going, "Oh, yeah, I know this song..." Again, great flow and sing-along-ability!

12. Saturday Morning Cartoons' Greatest Hits - various artists
If you like 90s alternative and 60s Saturday morning cartoons, then this is the cd for you! Some guy in the 90s got all these alternative acts to cover theme songs from 60s Saturday morning cartoons! This covers uptempo, flow and sing-along-ability! How can you lose?

13. A Ramones compilation
There are a bunch of compilations cd's! Some examples are Ramones Mania, Hey Ho Let's Go!: The Anthology, The Best of The Ramones (aka Best of the Chrysalis Years, and Ramones Greatest Hits. So just depends on what exactly you want. But add one of those to your playlist and you'll have something that works as good as caffeine for keeping you awake!

14. A Clash compilation
Well, there's the 2-cd Essential Clash, the 2-cd Story Of The Clash, Volume 1, and The Singles. Any one of these will give plenty of great uptempo punk rock!

15. George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Move It On Over, and More George Thorogood & The Destroyers - George Thorogood & The Destroyers
The first three cd's by a fun, if poppy, blues rocker. These early cd's were full of energy and joy and will keep you going on the road.

16. A collection of 80s hair bands
We all laugh and mock this stuff, but secretly we find this outrageousness fun and enjoyable! I don't think this collection can be complete if it doesn't "Cum On Feel The Noize" by Quiet Riot and "We're Not Gonna To Take It" by Twisted Sister!

17. Great Gonzos!: The Best Of Ted Nugent - Ted Nugent
There are other Ted Nugent compilation cd's, but this is the best! It has all his older stuff. Unfortunately, it doesn't have "Great White Buffalo", so you'll have to download that song separately!

18. A Kiss Compilation and Kiss Alive II - Kiss
I couldn't begin to tell you how many Kiss compilations cd's are out there. I recommend one that is only one cd, because you don't need more than that really! And then the live cd's to show how the songs are meant to be heard! Again, this should cover the uptempo and sing-along-ability part of your playlist!

19. A collection of dance music
Some people will say I'm crazy for saying this, but you can't have too much dance music on a road trip music collection! So put on a cd collection of what dance music you're into - disco, soul, funk, techno, electronica, trance! Or even one cd of each type!

20. A collection of big band/swing music
It was the dance music of the 40s. It's fun, it flows, and a lot of it is uptempo! And it's more than likely a nice change of pace from the rest of your music! But any collection you do get should have the following 4 songs - "In The Mood" by Glenn Miller, "Sing, Sing, Sing" by Benny Goodman, "Take The 'A' Train" by Duke Ellington and "Begin The Beguine" by Artie Shaw!

21. A cajun/zydeco collection
Do yourself a favor, and put some Louisiana flavor into your life! There is nothing on this planet quite like the sound of cajun and zydeco, so find a best of cajun collection with some Beau Jocque and Buckwheat Zydeco on it and add to your road trip collection!

And if you find yourself liking it, go for a Beau Jocque collection and Buckwheat Zydeco collection!

>22. A rockabilly collection
If you can't get into that twangy guitar that propels this great mix of country and African-American traditional music, then I don't know what to tell you! But if you can, then you know why you should have some in your road trip music!

>23. A bluegrass collection
Though the ballads of bluegrass can drag on and make you sleepy, the more uptempo stuff can juice you right up with some fast and splendid banjo picking and wild fiddling! If you can find a collection with the faster stuff, add it! But if not, then skip it!

24. Hayseed Dixie
This is a bluegrass band that does a lot of covers of classic rock stuff. In fact, they have one cd that only does Kiss songs and another full of AC/DC songs! So if you want some bluegrass playing tunes you know well, this is a great band to have! Again, it will that sing-along-ability aspect going for it!

25. Judy Garland
What can I say? No singer can belt them out like Judy Garland can! So download one of her best of cd's - there's been tons of them made!

Okay, finally, some people like mellow music. So here's a few selections that I think still fulfill at least the flow part of road trip music.

1. Oxygene, Equinoxe, Les Chants Magnetiques/Magnetic Fields, and Zoolook - Jean-Michel Jarre
This is some incredible jazzy, instrumental synthesizer pop music from the 70s. And it has an incredible flow to it. The Zoolook is a bit weird and experimental, but I think it's his best cd!

2. Everything Is Wrong - Moby
This is what I considered the best cd by electronic music pop artist, Moby. Once you listen, you'll recognize a lot of it, because Moby prostituted the rights out to get some exposure for the cd! So a lot of these songs have been on a lot of commercials!

3. The Harder They Come (Deluxe Edition) - various artist (but mostly Jimmy Cliff)/movie soundtrack
This is a reggae soundtrack to a movie of the same name plus the biggest reggae songs from that era. With that reggae groove, you can just slide down the road.

4. Legend - Bob Marley
This is a fun collection of Bob Marley's tune. And you can't go wrong with Bob Marley. Plus, you'll know a bunch of these tunes! You can go with some other collections if you want. There's a ton of them!

5. A collection of classical music for the average listener
There's the soundtrack of 2001, Classical Music For People Who Hate Classical Music, The Very Best of Classical Music for Your Life, Best of the Millennium: Top 40 Classical Hits, among others. Pick one that suits you!

Well, as I said, at the top, you should just think of this list as a suggestion. I'm NOT trying to make this out to be the definitive list for road trip music. So I just hopes this list helps you think what works for you, so YOU can make a list that works for YOU!

MUSIC: My Most Played Music On IPod For March 2009 (For Real, This Time)

2009-04-03T19:33:00.009-05:00

This from me, and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

Well, if anyone is interested, these are the most played songs on my iPod for the month of March. For real this time!

5. 24 Hours At A Time - Marshall Tucker Band

4. (two-way tie)
Useless Stuff - Cracker

You! Me! Dancing! - Los Compesinos!

3. Ever Fallen In Love - The Buzzcocks

2. Time - Kelsey Wood

1. Used To Be - The Violent Femmes

TELEVISION/VIDEOS: Doctor Who - What's Up With That?

2009-03-31T22:44:00.003-05:00

MUSIC: My Most Played Music On IPod For March 2009

2009-03-31T22:06:00.005-05:00

This from me, and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

Well, if anyone is interested, these are the most played songs on my iPod for the month of March.

5. (two-way tie)
More Than A Feeling - Boston

Come Sail Away - Styx

4. Tambourine Man - William Shatner

3. (three-way tie)
All By Myself - Eric Carmen

Tutti Frutti - Pat Boone

Season In The Sun - Terry Jacks

2. (two-way tie)
Mandy - Barry Manilow

I Love You (Hip-Hop Remix) - Barney

1. Anarchy In The U.K. - The Sex Pistols (just click here)

Okay, if you're asking "What's up with that?", then Happy April Fool's Day! The real list will be up this weekend! - OMGeek

MUSIC: Which Rock Star Are You?

2009-03-22T14:41:00.008-05:00

Which Famous Rockstar Are You?

Avril Lavigne

Your a very nice person. You have a great fashion statement. You have nice hair. You also have many people who care about you!

Fun quizzes, surveys & blog quizzes by

Which rock star are you most like?
You are Jennifer Lopez.
Other choices: Ozzy Osbourne, Britney Spears, Clay Aiken, Jessica Simpson.
Take the quiz

Which dead rock star are you?
John Lee Hooker
You scored 33 Addictability, 30 Destructive, 42 Accidental, and 44 Angst!
Face it, you're not going to die young. You face a long and successful career and an on stage heart attack in your mid 80's. (John Lee Hooker died on stage at the age of 82)
Take The Which dead rock star are you Test at HelloQuizzy

Which rock star are you like?
For 42 % you are: You are like James Taylor. You have an earthly aura to you and you are at peace. You're generally a friendly and outgoing guy.
23.75 % of 3351 Quiz participants had this profile!
You could also get this result:
For 33 % you are: You are like Kurt Cobain of Nirvana; grunge clothing, living the wild life, married to punk rock. Generally, you may have trouble with the media.
Or even this one:
For 25 % you are: You're like Michael Stipe of R.E.M. You are very shy, with short hair, you like to jump around and dance with a microphone in your hand. You are generally reserved and quiet in private, but occasionally outspoken.
Take the quiz

Which Rock Star Are You
Axl Rose

Report this image
You're a hard rock hero with a need to be alone. you front a band called Guns N' Roses and you have a kick ass voice.
Take the quiz

Which rockstar are you?
Gene Simmons

Take This Quiz Again

Which Rock Star Are You?
Mariah Carey

Sing it girlfriend! If you were a music celeb, you'd be most like Mariah Carey. Not too shabby, considering her multi-octave voice has dazzled the entire world.

What Kind Of Rock Star Are You?
You are a Emo Rock Star.
You like to cry about personal songs about life or death. You also like to dress differently than every one else and like to stay home.
Emo Rockstar - 60%
Rock and Roll Rock Star -50%
Punk Rock Star - 50%
Goth Rock Star - 20%
Metal Rock Star - 20%
Take the quiz

MUSIC: Questionnaire Using Song Titles

2009-03-16T15:38:00.009-05:00

My brother, Harmonica23, sent me this questionnaire. - OlderMusicGeek

Using only song titles from one artist, answer these questions

Pick a band/artist: Violent Femmes

1. Are you a male or female: uhhhh, I Held Her In My Arms?
2. Describe yourself: Fool In The Full Moon
3. How do you feel about yourself: Good Feeling
4. Describe your ex: Life Is A Scream
5. Describe your current relationship situation: I'm Nothing
6. Describe your current location: Outside The Palace
7. Describe where you want to be: Gone Daddy Gone
8. Your best friend is: Freak Magnet
9. Your favorite color is: uhhhhhh, Black Girls?
10. You know that: I Know It's True But I'm Sorry to Say
11. What’s the weather like: It's Gonna Rain
12. If your life was a television show what would it be called? Blister In The Sun
13. What is life to you: Special (but I was tempted to put "No Killing")
14. What is the best advice you have to give: Add It Up
15. If you could change your name what would you change it to: Jesus Of Rio

COMICS (and MOVIES): Blasphemy: Clark Kent Is Not A Costume

2009-03-12T09:45:00.000-05:00

As you know, I’m quite keen on comic books. Especially the ones about superheroes. I find the whole mythology surrounding superheroes fascinating.

Take my favorite superhero, Superman. Not a great comic book. Not particularly well-drawn. But the mythology… The mythology is not only great, it’s unique.

Now, a staple of the superhero mythology is, there’s the superhero and there’s the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When that character wakes up in the morning, he’s Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic Superman stands alone.

Superman didn’t become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he’s Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red “S” - that’s the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that’s the costume. That’s the costume Superman wears to blend in with us.

Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He’s weak… He’s unsure of himself… He’s a coward.

Clark Kent is Superman’s critique on the whole human race.
– Bill’s Superman speech from Kill Bill
paraphrasing The Great Comic Book Heroes by Jules Feiffer (thanks Timeshredder!)

Now let me start off by saying I love the Kill Bill movies, both Volume 1 and 2. And I love Bill's speech about Superman. It really works for the film, and helps explain some things going on in the film.

But I also have a problem with the speech. Since this speech is in such an iconic film, people take it as the be-all and end-all on Superman and Clark Kent.

Which is unfortunate, because the speech is complete and utter poppycock. - OlderMusicGeek

Local Blogger Writes The World: Blasphemy: Clark Kent is not a Costume

“Clark Kent is a persona Superman puts on to hide his real identity”

I’ve seen this in various forms over the years, mostly from “Comic Fans” that is to say skinny legged hipsters and dudes with soul-patches with no double-chin to hide. It’s the dissembling of Supermand versus Batman that places them as opposite ends of the Heroic Spectrum; where Superman is the Natural State of Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne is the natural State of Batman.

This is so far from correct that it would take a series of GPS Units to Lead you back to almost correct.

While Superman may be naturally super-powered and simply taking advantage of his extraterrestrial birth; he isn’t “Superman” because of his powers. Superman is Superman because he was Clark Kent first. That’s why Clark Kent is so convincing to the people around him; that is the natual state of Superman. He may be the premier superhuman of the DC universe, but Superman relaxes by doing crosswords with Lois Lane in bed, not tossing Meteors at passing Comets (just in case).

Batman, or “The Batman” relaxes by pulling on his cowl and beating up muggers. An Ideal night for Bruce Wayne, going 12 hours without being called Bruce or Master Wayne once. Batman is the Natural State of Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne is a costume “The Batman” wears when he wants to get things done. He also moves around disguised as criminals.

Writers come and go for these two Characters; but the fundamentals have been fairly solid since the mid-eighties. Superman is a powerful homebody named Clark Kent who loves his mommy and goes home to his wife at every opportunity. Bruce Wayne is the farcical personality that the Batman has adopted to allow his activities to be funded and provide the means for his crusade to continue; The Batman barely tolerates Bruce Wayne and would NEVER go home if he could hack it.

I should keep comics on hand for these rants. Oh Well.

Casting Call 1.16.08: Bill's Superman Speech from 411mania
by Justin Chamberlain

Sometimes you're watching a movie and a character says something that just really makes you think. This is one of those quotes.

"Superman stands alone. Superman did not become Superman, Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he IS Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red S is the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears, the glasses, the business suit, that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us."

Hard to argue here. As we know, Superman is born Kal El of Krypton. Truthfully, amongst his people he isn't that super at all. If he had stayed on Krypton he would have just been another dude. But by coming to our galaxy and mingling with us limited humans, he clearly sets himself apart. Way apart. Just by being who he is, on our planet, he truly is a Super Man. And as Bill points out, when he decides to take on a ‘secret identity', it's as Clark Kent.

"Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak, unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race."

It's true that Superman, who could probably get away with ‘being' anyone he wanted to be, made an interesting choice when he landed on the ‘weak and unsure' Clark Kent. I mean, why not pose as a ladies man? Or amass some riches for himself?

It goes back to the whole ‘hero' thing. Do you use your powers for good or bad? If Superman ever decided to take over the world, who would be able to stop him? But thankfully he has that wholesome Kent upbringing and a strong moral centre to keep him on the right path. Instead of using his powers for personal gain, he uses them for good. And when he has to ‘decide' who to be as a human being (and really, living as one of us when he doesn't have to is pretty noble) he chooses to take on a role that is somewhat subservient, if anything. Remarkable!

I'm not sure I agree with Bill when he says that Clark is Superman's ‘take' (and a negative one) on us humans. To me, his choice to take on a ‘lesser role' in human society speaks more to his nobility. Why does Superman even need a secret identity? If he just lived on Earth as he was.... he'd be the ultimate celebrity! He could have everything. Perhaps he doesn't want to distract from his mission? Taking on the role of Clark, deflecting the glory that Superman earns (not enjoying the perks, as it were) could be seen as his choice to live a ‘responsible' lifestyle.

I could analyze Bill's quote a lot more... but when I read it, the basic thought (or point) that jumps into my head is simply this; you are who you are. In the case of superheroes that can become a little murkier with the whole secret identity issue. But as I stated before, to me, a hero is a hero. You don't need a costume to be one; you don't need a power (though it certainly helps).

Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, Kal El/Clark Kent/Superman/whatever you want to call him, they're heroes.

And it's a good thing too. If they ever decided to be villains, we'd all be in deep shit!

Everything2: Superman Is Really Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne Is Really Batman

The obvious difference in their civilian identities isn't even the important part. Sure Clark Kent is a small-town country boy, raised on a farm by All-American, salt-of-the-Earth country folks who instilled a strong sense of moral values and responsibility he carries through his entire life. And Bruce Wayne got his start as a rich kid, whose privileged life took a tragic turn at far too young an age when he saw his parents gunned down in the street, right in front of him, by a petty criminal.

But the biggest difference, at least in their modern incarnations, is that Superman is really Clark Kent, and Bruce Wayne is really Batman.

Read that sentence carefully. For Clark Kent, Superman is the mask. Superman is the costume he puts on when he has to go out and save the world. The default identity, when his mighty array of powers isn't needed, is newspaper journalist Clark Kent. Even in costume, when he relaxes his Clark Kent personality comes out. You wouldn't think this is likely, since he is after all a superpowered alien from another planet, trying hard to pretend he's human, constantly on guard against accidentally misusing his power. But he was raised that way, and likes being human. He's used to it.

For Batman, on the other hand, Bruce Wayne is the mask. His default state is Batman, prowling the streets of Gotham City by night on a never-ending mission to avenge the death of his parents and keep the streets safe for ordinary, law-abiding citizens. Bruce Wayne is the face he puts on during those unpleasant occasions when he has to interact with the mundane world, play-acting as a wealthy socialite, millionaire playboy, and business tycoon. But that's not him; he's a lonely, brooding, unhappy man still mourning the deaths of his parents, beating up super-criminals as a kind of self-punishment and therapy.

Clark Kent is Superman when the worlds needs him to be Superman. His parents raised him to be Clark Kent. Bruce Wayne is Batman because that's what his childhood made him, and Bruce Wayne is just what the world expects him to be during the day.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill (David Carradine) delivers his now-famous speech to The Bride (Uma Thurman) to try to make her see herself for what she is, she's special, she's dangerous, she's not the normal family woman she was trying to become. She doesn't have to pick up her sword to be that, like the Green Lantern's ring or Iron Man's armor, she is powerful with or without it. While dramatically appropriate to the scene, it's a relic of an obsolete interpretation of the character.

While this was certainly true, if somewhat exaggerated, of the Silver Age Superman, and his portrayal in the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, we have to remember that Bill is an older dude and probably hasn't picked up a comic book since the early 80s (Bill, if you're reading this, man, I envy you for missing the X-TREME anti-hero 90s).

The modern version of Superman is not this. Like an immigrant who came to the US as a baby and was raised in the white suburbs rather than an ethnic ghetto, he has no personal recollections of the world he came from, and although he feels a connection on some level to his cultural roots, he has never experienced them first-hand. Clark Kent's homeworld is Earth, because that's where he was raised. It's the only world he can call home. And being raised among humans means he identifies as a human being, if a special, privileged one (and even this is subject to confusion depending on whether or not, and in what way, a particular incarnation of the character adventured as Superboy in his youth or was even capable of doing so, which is wildly inconsistent).

If Superman wasn't Clark Kent, then why is he Clark Kent? The Clark persona doesn't really need to exist if it wasn't the true identity. Clark doesn't exist because Superman needs to disguise himself — he doesn't — he exists because Superman wants to have a normal life in between adventures. And because he was raised by humans, with human values, that's what he believes is a normal life. The real man wears a suit and wing-tips, not a cape and boots.

The key issue pushing the speech is that unlike other Golden Age heroes, Superman doesn't need accessories to be Superman, his powers are part of who he is. But this argument is fundamentally flawed: powers do not make one Superman, just superhuman. Bruce Wayne is clearly the more invented of the two mundane identities. Imagine what would happen to each hero if there were no more crime to fight, and no natural disasters to repair. Clark Kent would likely hang up the costume, marry Lois Lane, and never use his powers again. Bruce Wayne's life would simply lose all meaning.

COMICS and MOVIES/VIDEOS: Saturday Morning Watchmen

2009-03-09T21:20:00.010-05:00

MUSIC: My Most Played Music On IPod For February 2009

2009-03-02T04:48:00.003-06:00

This from me, and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

Well, if anyone is interested, these are the most played songs on my iPod for the month of February.

5. (two-way tie)
Another Girl, Another Planet - The Only Ones
on Last.fm

You! Me! Dancing! - Los Compesinos!
on Last.fm

4. Ever Fallen In Love - The Buzzcocks

3. (two-way tie)
Time - Kelsey Woods

The Look Of Love - ABC
On Last.fm

2. (two-way tie)
Every Breath You Take - The Violent Femmes

Another Girl, Another Planet - The Ukelele Orchestra Of Great Britian

1. Happy - Rolling Stones
on Last.fm

MUSIC: Corrupting My Much Younger Brother With The Violent Femmes

2009-03-01T19:35:00.012-06:00

My brother, Harmonica23, wrote this for his Facebook page. - OlderMusicGeek

(Harmonica23)’s Album Life Stories Vol. 1
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes

I’m not sure of the year but I was 12ish. My brother Dan had returned home from college and with him he had brought the Violent Femmes classic first album. Needless to say with it’s catchy hooks and infectious lyrics, it stuck in your head all day. I was instantly hooked.

At this point let me tell you my Mother tried her best to keep my young impressionable mind safe from the sex and violent flooded media of the 80’s….I still snuck into the living room to watch late night Skinamax, but she tried!

One day my brother and I were rocking out to “Add it Up” in my basement bedroom with the door open when my mother was up in the kitchen. It got to the “Why can’t I get just one kiss” part and my brother warned me I’d best turn it down. Being a dumb tween I just replied with a “Huuuuh” . Along came the “Why can’t I get just one screw” line and my mom came storming down the stairs shouting “What on earth are you listing to” fully appalled that her not yet teen son is not only listening to but fully enjoying a song about not be able to get laid. Needless to say after this out bust I turned the stereo all the way down. All I could say was “Um Uhh , Violent Femmes??”. It was then my brother Dan stepped up to bat for me and told my Mom “It’s my album. I’m sorry, I forgot about the suggestive lyrics, I won’t play it around him anymore” (wink, wink).

Apparently my Mom accepted this plea because she went back up stairs about her business and we listened to the rest of “Add It Up” at low volume. We got off the hook and my Mother was forever oblivious to the fact that the very next line in the song was “ Why can’t I get just one F***!”….OK , that is until now.

Sorry Mom, your efforts weren’t completely wasted. I pretty sure I know my right from wrong…despite the late night Skinamax. Still a bit bitter about not being able to see Gremlins in the theater but I Love Ya!

Comments...
(named removed) at 7:03am February 26
But I hope you know.. that this will go down on your permanent record..

(OlderMusicGeek)at 3:52pm March 1
what i remember - is mom being so thrilled when i made a tape of the violent femme's then 3 albums and gave you my ww1 coat before i left for africa!

"Add It Up" on Last.fm

MOVIES/VIDEOS and TELEVISION/VIDEOS: Want To Smell Like Kirk?

2009-02-26T09:57:00.000-06:00

Meant to do this for Valentine's Day - you know, cus Valentine's Day and Star Trek just go together! - OlderMusicGeek

All big movies - and some smaller ones - have a lot of promotional merchandise, but this is one of the more strange ones: they're coming out with a Star Trek cologne.

So...many...jokes.

The real Trekkie man will be wearing either Tiberius (that's Kirk's middle name), Pon Farr (Vulcan horniness), or Red Shirt (they're the guys that always, um, die when they beam down to another planet).

Why would Star Trek fans need a cologne? They don't go on dates! (Just kidding.)
TV Squad: Hey Kirk, What's That Smell

How would you like to smell like a bad ass Starfleet Captain? Or give off that musky Vulcan mating smell? Well now you can! A tie in with the new Star Trek movie coming out this May will include Star Trek themed colognes. Genki Wear is producing the scents Tiberius, Pon Farr, and Red Shirt. So if you’re looking to woo that special geeky girl you’ve been looking to, ahem, stun with your phaser, this may do the trick. There’s no guarantee that the Tiberius cologne will attract green-skinned alien women, though. And let’s certainly hope that wearing Red Shirt doesn’t mean you’ll get killed off before the end of the date.
Geek Six: Smell, The Final Frontier

Apparently, the "Tiberius," "Pon Farr" and "Red Shirt" fragrances will be available in finer stores starting the spring for an undisclosed price. Start saving guys. After all, who could resist the the enchanting musk of James Tiberius Kirk, the raging hormones of Vulcan pon far or the live-fast, die young personality of a red shirt stock character?

comments...
Dirkfart Faeclefunk: Was this tested on Klingons? "They're animals!"
Jrsy Devil's Food Cake®:Red Shirt... It's the last cologne you'll ever wear...
Gizmodo: Love, Jealousy, Passion...Star Trek Cologne For Men

Star Trek Uno, anyone? Perhaps you’d prefer a Vulcan cookie jar. Or maybe you’d like to buy your man some ... Star Trek cologne? Genki Wear is producing a trio of Star Trek inspired scents: Tiberius, Pon Farr, and Red Shirt. So, if you want your man to smell like Captain Kirk, go into a Vulcan heat, or get down like a red shirt, Star Trek cologne can make it happen. That is, if you’d date a guy who’d wear it.

comments...
Simcha: Bring on the dudes who smell like Kirk!
Chelle: WTF? They make one called “Red Shirt”? What does it smell like, death?
The Frisky: Would You Date A Guy Who … Wears Star Trek Cologne?

Have you ever wanted to smell like a sweaty James Doohan? Well, then, good news! CBS is licensing three Star Trek-themed body fragrances in order to market the new movie in the series.

comment...
Gauldar said: Put a pinch of it on your Vulcan neck.
Neatorama:Star Trek-Themed Cologne Coming Out Soon

Oh yes. GenkiWear is apparently developing three Star Trek-themed fragrances to be released in the spring. For those looking to engage another carbon-based lifeform and boldly go where -- nah, forget it, I'm not going to sit here and use lame Star Trek lines as tired sexual euphemisms. I'm above that. So I'll just say that true nerds can rejoice in their complete devotion to one of the world's nerdiest creations as they spray some "Tiberius" on their wrists. I just hope nobody seriously thinks a scent called "Pon Farr" or "Red Shirt" will help them beam a chick off the bridge and into their bed (it was just too easy!).

comment...
Skyhawk: Yeah baby. What woman can't resist Klingon musk? Oh wait that's actually fanboy B.O. Nevermind.
The Huffington Post: Star Trek Cologne:The Next Generation of Nerdom

Usually I’m confused and upset by rampant movie merchandising. I don’t really need Wall-E themed kleenex, or a James Bond Omega watch. OK, scratch that. I’d like an Omega James Bond watch, but there’s no way I could afford it.

Anyways.

Despite my antipathy towards this kind of branding exercise, I find myself oddly excited over the news that the a new line of men’s cologne will be accompanying the new Star Trek film, due out in May. The three scents - “Red Shirt”, “Pon Farr” and “Tiberius” - conjure the muskiness of command, Vulcan mating rituals, and Captain Kirk respectively.

Now, you might be asking yourself “which Star Trek scent is right for me?” Well, this is a deeply personal decision, one you must come to after hours of painful introspection. For me, the choice is clear. If I wear “Red Shirt”, my odds of dying on an away mission increase exponentially. And as I understand it, “Pon Farr” can only be worn once every seven years, and will necessitate some sort of grim battle to the death.

No, “Tiberius” is the Trek cologne for Graeme. Because really, who doesn’t want to smell like Captain James T(iberius). Kirk? A galaxy full of sexy and occassionally green space-babes can’t be wrong!

Nunc Scio: WANT: Star Trek Cologne

I am not prepared to live in a world wear there is Star Trek-themed perfume, okay? Forget the "Red Shirt" one, because it assumably will smell like sweat and fear and having just pissed yourself in fear, but "Pon Farr"? The Vulcan mating time, when they basically hump anything that moves? How was this not recognized as the worst idea in the entire world immediately? Also, how can you wear a scent based on James T. Kirk, the galaxy's greatest poonhound, and not get fucked to death by hot green-skinned alien women?

Okay, "Tiberius" might be okay. But I highly disapprove of the others.

comments:
Scott said: Does Pon Farr burn you when you put it on, causing you unbearable pain until you get some tail?
Zach Oat said: "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the C.K.One."
ZeroCorpse said: Other Trek scents I'm looking forward to: Tribble, Mudd, Horta, KHAAAAAAAAAN!
telezombie said: Dude....if they made Khan I would so buy that by the gallon and bathe in it daily.
Topless Robot: Who Wants to Smell Like a Rutting Vulcan?