Haven't posted in a couple of days, mostly due to:
A) my room-mate has been on a Warcraft-binge lately, and I have been hogging quite a bit of the computer time in the past, so I'm letting him have "the night shift" computer-wise (even though it is MY computer, one must be egalitarian about these sorts of things).
and
B) As uneventful weeks go, this one has been a doozy of a nonevent.
So: time to make up for lost time by presenting, for your reading pleasure, a series of random asides, quips, rambles, and half-baked witticisms.
On Guitar Hero 2: the other night Eric brought over his copy of the game, and much faux-guitar rocking was had at Chez Norton's. Right now, the songs I'm digging the most are "Rock This Town", "Misirlou" (which is damn near impossible on Expert), "Message In A Bottle", "Trogdor", and "Cherry Pie". The beauty of the Guitar Hero series is its ability to make otherwise insufferable songs addicting and fun to play; hence why "More Than A Feeling" and "Sharp Dressed Man" are my two most played songs on GH1, even though I despise Boston and ZZ Top. "Cherry Pie" is very much in the category of "shit song to listen to, fun as hell to play". While I'm on the subject of shit songs: the cover band for GH2 occasionally misses the mark. Case in point: the vocals on "Killing In The Name Of" are beyond pathetic. The music in GH1 at times sounded almost exactly like the original. Some of the songs in 2 sound like bad covers of the originals. I really hope that the Guitar Hero series one day makes enough money that they can afford to use all the original versions of the songs. Having a bit of Led Zeppelin and AC/DC on the tracklists would be nice too, but I doubt that'll happen.
My dream additions to a Guitar Hero game:
-The Pixies "Vamos": hell, it stops pretending to be a song within a minute and a half, and shows itself for what it really is... a wicked extended guitar freakout.
-The Velvet Underground "Sister Ray" and/or "I Heard Her Call My Name": the last two songs off of "White Light/White Heat" would be incredible songs to play, "Sister" because of its loooooonnng merciless grind, and "Name" for having one of the most atonal, fucked up guitar solos in rock history.
-Radiohead "Paranoid Android": its like six songs stitched together into one, and its got two killer Johnny Greenwood solos
-The Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock": most of "Siamese Dream" would be appropriate picks for a GH game. This is just the one that first comes to mind.
-David Bowie "Fashion": I shouldn't even have to explain this one.
-Sonic Youth "Teenage Riot": sure, its the most obvious SY pick, but if any "indie" band deserves to be included in a GH game, the Youth should get a slot.
-Bloc Party "Like Eating Glass": if they need another contemporary band a la Franz Ferdinand, the opening track off BP's debut would be a solid pick. The intro alone would make its inclusion worthwhile.
The odds of these songs ever ending up in a GH game? Next to nil, but one can dream...
Wacky work stories: none, chums. The work week has been a dull grind. Instead of crazies, we just get cheap-as-fuck old people.
Some of that fancy book-learning: I finished that intro-to-pop-culture-theories book, read Georges Bataille's "Story Of The Eye" (awesome), and I've read bits and pieces of "Despite Everything" by Aaron Cometbus. The Cometbus zine collection is nice, but the print is so small and tightly packed that reading it can be a chore. It's worth the effort, though, particularly for pieces like a history of the Gilman street scene and the "Punk Love Is" page. A lot of the writing is very adolescent and brash and unpolished, but that is part of its charm.
Event Happenings: I was planning on going to SG Burlesque on Monday (not so much out of a desire to see the show, because frankly I could care less, but more so out of a desire to hang out with SGAZ people and because I just like going to the Marquee and having a drink). It got cancelled, though, so that's 20 bucks I can keep in my pocket. I was thinking of maybe seeing Jello Biafra on Tuesday, but I close at the store, so that isn't happening. *shrugs* I do hope to catch a good live show before December, though, because I really miss that jolt of energy that comes from live music.
Anything else to say?: nope, not this morning.
A) my room-mate has been on a Warcraft-binge lately, and I have been hogging quite a bit of the computer time in the past, so I'm letting him have "the night shift" computer-wise (even though it is MY computer, one must be egalitarian about these sorts of things).
and
B) As uneventful weeks go, this one has been a doozy of a nonevent.
So: time to make up for lost time by presenting, for your reading pleasure, a series of random asides, quips, rambles, and half-baked witticisms.
On Guitar Hero 2: the other night Eric brought over his copy of the game, and much faux-guitar rocking was had at Chez Norton's. Right now, the songs I'm digging the most are "Rock This Town", "Misirlou" (which is damn near impossible on Expert), "Message In A Bottle", "Trogdor", and "Cherry Pie". The beauty of the Guitar Hero series is its ability to make otherwise insufferable songs addicting and fun to play; hence why "More Than A Feeling" and "Sharp Dressed Man" are my two most played songs on GH1, even though I despise Boston and ZZ Top. "Cherry Pie" is very much in the category of "shit song to listen to, fun as hell to play". While I'm on the subject of shit songs: the cover band for GH2 occasionally misses the mark. Case in point: the vocals on "Killing In The Name Of" are beyond pathetic. The music in GH1 at times sounded almost exactly like the original. Some of the songs in 2 sound like bad covers of the originals. I really hope that the Guitar Hero series one day makes enough money that they can afford to use all the original versions of the songs. Having a bit of Led Zeppelin and AC/DC on the tracklists would be nice too, but I doubt that'll happen.
My dream additions to a Guitar Hero game:
-The Pixies "Vamos": hell, it stops pretending to be a song within a minute and a half, and shows itself for what it really is... a wicked extended guitar freakout.
-The Velvet Underground "Sister Ray" and/or "I Heard Her Call My Name": the last two songs off of "White Light/White Heat" would be incredible songs to play, "Sister" because of its loooooonnng merciless grind, and "Name" for having one of the most atonal, fucked up guitar solos in rock history.
-Radiohead "Paranoid Android": its like six songs stitched together into one, and its got two killer Johnny Greenwood solos
-The Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock": most of "Siamese Dream" would be appropriate picks for a GH game. This is just the one that first comes to mind.
-David Bowie "Fashion": I shouldn't even have to explain this one.
-Sonic Youth "Teenage Riot": sure, its the most obvious SY pick, but if any "indie" band deserves to be included in a GH game, the Youth should get a slot.
-Bloc Party "Like Eating Glass": if they need another contemporary band a la Franz Ferdinand, the opening track off BP's debut would be a solid pick. The intro alone would make its inclusion worthwhile.
The odds of these songs ever ending up in a GH game? Next to nil, but one can dream...
Wacky work stories: none, chums. The work week has been a dull grind. Instead of crazies, we just get cheap-as-fuck old people.
Some of that fancy book-learning: I finished that intro-to-pop-culture-theories book, read Georges Bataille's "Story Of The Eye" (awesome), and I've read bits and pieces of "Despite Everything" by Aaron Cometbus. The Cometbus zine collection is nice, but the print is so small and tightly packed that reading it can be a chore. It's worth the effort, though, particularly for pieces like a history of the Gilman street scene and the "Punk Love Is" page. A lot of the writing is very adolescent and brash and unpolished, but that is part of its charm.
Event Happenings: I was planning on going to SG Burlesque on Monday (not so much out of a desire to see the show, because frankly I could care less, but more so out of a desire to hang out with SGAZ people and because I just like going to the Marquee and having a drink). It got cancelled, though, so that's 20 bucks I can keep in my pocket. I was thinking of maybe seeing Jello Biafra on Tuesday, but I close at the store, so that isn't happening. *shrugs* I do hope to catch a good live show before December, though, because I really miss that jolt of energy that comes from live music.
Anything else to say?: nope, not this morning.
So, when we saw Bowie - "Fashion" was one of the best songs he did (which isnt saying the rest of the show didn't rock my socks - 'cause it did). But he was clearly having a blast with that tune. Which is a long way of saying: "Fashion" in GH would be bad ass.