COMICS, MOVIES and TELEVISION/VIDEOS: Triumph, The Insult Dog, at ComicCon

Found this surfing the net. - OlderMusicGeek





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COMICS: Batman And Superman Text-Message In Heaven

This is from a blog that read when I have time to read blogs, Serious/Silly. - OlderMusicGeek

it was just another day, like any other day. something good was going on somewhere. something bad was going down somewhere too. like a tale of two cities, or a hidden identity. something with teeth waiting beneath the rainbow. last week's humidity had finally dispelled and the afternoon was warm, but nice. bordering just on being hot, threatening to push that edge in an hour or two. suddenly:

'hey. what r u up to?' a familiar question in an unfamiliar voice. i knew what was going on here.

'are you looking for ashley?'

ashley had been taunting me from somewhere beyond. the most quotidian of things were repeatedly besmirched by the spectre of her past. ordering pizza. reading a book. enjoying the outdoors. she never showed up, but was always there, lurking, a threat not-quite promised, a scythe never quite swinging.

'yes. who is this?'

'not ashley.' i thought that would scare off the ghost.

'then who is this?' 'i mean like what is ur name?'

i threw the phantom a handful of misdirection: 'i'm the joker. or maybe i'm batman. it's so hard to tell the difference these days...'

i waited, biding the minutes to see if my ruse were uncovered.

'o i c. in that case i am super man.'

clark, despite his failings, is an impeccable typist - years of working for a newspaper will do that to a guy. not only would he never misspell his own name, he would never resort to the crass aberrations found so frequently in text-speak.

'you got it, supes.' i thought again this would deter my assailant.

'lol ya what are you doin batty.' clark always calls me 'bats.' interesting. there's only one man on the planet who calls me batty to my face. the crown prince of crime. the master of mayhem. the one-man insane clown posse: the joker.

now that i knew who i was dealing with, i ended our discussion. for all his razzle-dazzle and his chaos, the joker is little more than a lunchroom bully: if you don't let him bait you, he'll leave you alone. and usually gotham as well.

then, this morning, after hours of silence:

'hey what r u doin'

damn. he's a relentless clown. i answered honestly, letting him know i knew who he was: 'getting some sleep after a long night protecting the citizens of gotham.'

i waited. would i have to go back out there? would gotham once again need salvation from its own red-headed, painted-face step-child?

'o i c. i was just having some fun with mrs. superman. hahaha......'

that laugh. it haunts my dreams and my waking moments alike. i could hear it, from wherever he was, like cat-claws on a chalkboard. i know what it means: lois is in trouble...

and i gotta go to work....

fronted by dr. wigglebutt at 8/31/2008 |

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MUSIC: Certain Songs: The Clash - Safe European Home

I found this piece from Medialoper while googling. It reflects a lot of my views. Though I must admit it was The Sex Pistols that introduced me to punk rock, but "Safe European Home" is one of my all time favorite songs! - OlderMusicGeek

Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Certain Songs: The Clash - Safe European Home

“Certain songs,” Craig Finn sang on The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me, “they get scratched into our souls.” That’s the basis of our latest feature: a look at the songs that have done just that. These aren’t necessarily our favorite songs or the songs that we think are the best, but rather songs that — every single time we hear them — instantly transport us back to a place and time in which that song is forever intertwined. This is one of the reasons we so hate the RIAA’s attempted stranglehold on the dissemination of music: you never know where that next certain song is going to come from.

You know how sometimes you hear an album — or even a song — for the first time, and without even realizing it, by the time it’s over, your whole perception of the world has forever been changed? That was what hearing The Clash for the very first time did to me. It was late 1978, I was a junior in at San Joaquin Memorial High School in Fresno, California, and I pretty much liked what other white, suburban males my age liked: Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Yes, etc.

But, something had happened: about a year before, I’d started reading rock magazines — Circus, Rolling Stone and most especially, CREEM. And those rock magazines were all buzzing to various degrees about something called “Punk Rock.” Punk seemed strange and weird, and it was very much unheard on Fresno radio. So even though the Sex Pistols had already crashed and burned on American soil, I actually hadn’t heard a note of their music.

But I had heard The Cars, and their debut album was the very first punk-associated thing I ever bought. But of course, The Cars were really “new wave,” which was a totally different head, man, so I finally took the Punk plunge with Rocket to Russia by the Ramones and Marquee Moon by Television. Those are still two of my favorite records, and they just whetted my appetite for more.

Which is where The Clash came in: while I was leery that they were “too punk” for me, they had finally made their American debut with Give ‘Em Enough Rope, and spurred on by a couple of incredibly positive reviews in CREEM – Richard Riegel and Robert Christgau (CREEM used to reprint the Consumer Guide) — I took the plunge.

I still remember the exact moment I took the record out of the ultra-saturated red and yellow cover, put it on the turntable and sat back on my bed as “Safe European Home” came blasting out of the speakers, with a “POW!” and bounced all over the corkboard that covered the walls of my room. It was as hard as any metal as I’d ever heard, but it was lighter on its feet. It had obvious roots in my beloved 60’s Who and Rolling Stones singles, but with the guitars cranked ten years louder. And then there was that breakdown at the end where the deep-voiced guy was ranting about Jamaica and the high-voiced guy repeating “Your-oh-pee-un Home!” over guitars that kept stabbing stabbing stabbing like a serial killer until the drums came back up and sealed the whole thing up.

Holy f***!!!!! I had never heard anything like that song before in my entire 15 years. What in the hell was it? Why wasn’t this being played every single minute on the radio? Was there more? I had to find out. Before I could even take another breath, I had played that entire album twice, no doubt at “can you please turn that down?!?” volumes.

Now I know that the critical consensus has always been that Give Em Enough Rope is the weak sister in The Clash discography — that it wasn’t as world-changing as The Clash; as all-time classic as London Calling, as experimental as Sandinsta or as populist as Combat Rock. Its greatest sin has always been that it was seen as some kind of compromise between punk and metal. And I say “exactly!” For someone like me, it was exactly the right kind of record: if this was Punk Pock, then I was totally in.

In short order, I bought the import of The Clash, and all of those import singles that were were at Tower Records, as well the other Ramones albums and records by The Jam, Talking Heads, Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols, etc, so on and so forth world without end amen.

Like the (Minute)man said: Punk Rock changed my life. It changed my life by opening my ears up to a whole universe of music that was never going to get played on the radio. Some of that music was good, some of it was bad, and a lot of it would never be classified as “Punk,” but all of it would have never existed in the same way without Punk.

And if Punk Rock changed my life, then “Safe European Home” was the tipping point — the exact moment where my head was rearranged. I cannot listen to it to this day without thinking of that first time, and all that followed.

Meanwhile, here is what I didn’t do in the wake of my discovery of Punk Rock: cut my hair, dress “punk,” stop listening to other rock music. In other words, I thought that The Clash’s music — and Punk Rock in general — were the next logical extension of the overall story of rock and roll, as opposed to a whole new thing.

Which was why, despite the fact that I’ve primarily focused on music that has radiated from that time and place, I was never a Punk Rocker: because I could never understand why I would want to limit myself that way. For a couple of years, in CREEMs letters page there was always the “Clash vs. Led Zeppelin” debate, as if people couldn’t absolutely love both bands. (And as a matter of fact, nowadays, with both bands so totally venerated, it just seems weird that such a debate even existed.)

Here is what I did do: tried to get my friends to hear what I had heard in The Clash, and all of those other bands they weren’t hearing on the radio. But only my friends: no way I was going to pull my classmates away from Journey and AC/DC. In Fresno in the late 1970s, you had to pick your musical battles. So, to a select few, who I thought might have open minds — or just couldn’t escape me — I preached and I proselytized and I hectored and I harangued. Some got the plot — Tim was an early adopter — but it wasn’t until a few years later, when I got to KFSR, that I started running with people where liking The Clash and/or Punk Rock was a given, as opposed to an anomaly.

But that’s a whole other story. In fact, by the time KFSR went on the air four years later, The Clash had released eight more albums worth of material, all of it mind-blowing in different ways. Thank you, Joe Strummer. Thank you, Mick Jones. Thank you, Paul Simonon. Thank you, Topper Headon. My absolute love of what you accomplished has never waned.

And it all started with “Safe European Home.”

Technorati Tags: The Clash, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Give ‘Em Enough Rope, KFSR, Punk Rock

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By Jim Connelly | posted in Certain Songs, Music, Radio
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(Here's my two favorite comments... - OMGeek)

1. bobby wrote on March 6th, 2008 at 2:51 am

I am a major fan of The Clash and I also consider Led Zeppelin (particularly from 1968 to ‘75) to be without equal in the history of rock music. I graduated from high school in 1977 and always thought it ridiculous that some considered Zeppelin and punk rock mutually exclusive. Almost all the former punkers now admit they were in awe of Zeppelin’s first five or six albums, and were hugely influenced by Zeppelin’s early work (ie Communication Breakdown). When Punk faded, many a rock fan returned to the timeless landmark Zeppelin albums as life rafts, particularly in the barren musical landscape of the 80’s.

3. Tim G. wrote on March 7th, 2008 at 10:32 am

From Motown, Tom Jones, Petula Clark and The Beatles early in life, to Woodstock, the ’70s rock, punk/new wave, reggae, etc., I’ve never in my life understood why some people identify with only one or a couple of formats. It’s crazy. One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain. As someone once said.

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TELEVISION/VIDEOS and COMICS: The Hulk Out List

I came across a list of "EVERY reason that Dr. David Banner was driven to Hulk out" on the 70s Hulk tv show using StumbleUpon. Below are ten of my faves. - OlderMusicGeek

10. Being fed poisoned sushi
9. Being rear-ended fifteen times in a row by a mean bully with a bigger car than his
8. Being stuck in a cabin that the police are turning into swiss cheese with their shotguns, even though he and the pregnant woman have no guns and have waved the white flag, only to have the police bullets start a fire in the cabin, etc.
7. Having two mean football players snap wet towels at him and shove him into the steam room which they have turned on to full blast
6. Being hit with a blast of steam in the face while trying to turn off the nuclear reactor that is melting down
5. Being beaten up by the thieves and thrown in the store vault, having the vault door closed on his foot, and then having the air supply cut off by the giggling thieves
4. Having several clay pots broken over his head in the middle of the now-burning room (why is the room always burning?), and then knocking an entire case of same clay pots onto same head, and then, while lying very still and struggling not to get angry, having his pants catch fire
3. Receiving a lethal injection, and then having the person say, "Oh. I just gave you a lethal injection. Sorry, David."
2. Dealing with a pesky operator in a phone booth ("I DON'T HAVE TWENTY-FIVE CENTS!!!")
1. Being trampled by a crowd AND having the hot coffee spilled on his hand while trying to get to the sniper

A link to the complete Hulk out list

MUSIC: Survey Via A Mp3 Player

This is an ancient email my youngest brother sent me. But I didn't have many mp3's or a mp3 player at the time, so I didn't do it. But I found it trying to clear out my emails, so I'm doing it now! - OlderMusicGeek

Survey via a mp3 player

RULES:
1.) Put your music player on shuffle
2.) Press forward for each question
3.) Use the song title as the answer
4.) NO CHEATING!!! What you get is what you get!

1) How am I feeling today?
Seven Deadly Sins - Flogging Molly

2) Where will I get married?
Pain In My Heart - Otis Redding

3) What is my best friends theme song?
People Are Strange - The Doors

4) What is high school like?
Today I Started Loving You Again - Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez

5) What is the best thing about me?
The Wanderlust (acoustic) - Flogging Molly

6) How is today going to be?
Love Power - from the soundtrack of the original version of The Producers

7) What is in store for this weekend?
The Conductor Wore Black - Rank And File

8) What song describes my parents?
Sammy's Fancy - Gaelic Storm

9) How is my life going?
Walk Like A Man (You Can Call Me Your Man) - Grand Funk Railroad

10) What song will they play at my funeral?
The Reaction - Ennio Morricone

11) How does the world see me?
Down In The Park - Gary Numan

12) What do my friends really think of me?
Telegram Sam - T. Rex

13) Why do people secretly lust after me?
I'm Going Home - from the soundtrack of The Rocky Horror Picture Show

14) How can I make myself happy?
One Of My Turns - Pink Floyd

15) What should I do with my life?
Lack Of Interest - Slaughterhouse 6

16) Will I ever have children?
Walking In The Park With Eloise - Wings

17) What is some good advice?
All Along The Watchtower - Bob Dylan (Oh yeah, great! Like I have any idea what this song is about!)

18) What do I think my current theme song is?
Glad To See You Go - The Ramones

19) What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
The Big Issue - Chumbawumba

20) What type of men/women do you like?
Knock On Wood - Eddie Floyd

21) Will you get married?
Knee - Ken Nordine

22) What should I do with my love life?
Primitive Notion - New Order

25) What will your dying words be?
It's My Delight - The Melodians

26) Hows your day going so far?
Network 23 - Tangerine Dream

27) Hows your love life?
Duchess - The Stranglers

28) Where will your next vacation be?
Chattanooga Choo Choo - Glenn Miller