Alexander

A hot welsh rarebit perhaps?

While the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner" are by F. Scott Key, the tune is only English drinking song, which I think is remarkably apt. One thing I've noticed about our (that is America's) national anthem is that it never actually mentions the country its supposed to be about, and it's probably the only anthem ON EARTH with fuckin' rockets and bombs in it. I like the suggestion in "Pogo" that we change it to "O, I was eating some chop suey with a lady in St. Looie when I suddenly heard a knocking at the door..."

Does anybody have the famed "Real Basement Tapes" five CD bootleg? If so, please PM me...

What made Dahl so much fun was the cruel streak that ran through his books. Read a book like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" or "James and the Giant Peach," and you'll notice that most of the really funny bits involve people getting hurt or even killed (Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker getting run over by the peach while the Centipied cries out "Oh, what a glorious bump!"). That same British streak of sadism animates the Harry Potter books today...

Another sample of Jason's work. This is from a feature he did called "A Peanut Scorned" which places Charlie Brown, et al in a post-apocalyptic future a la "Mad Max." Brilliant stuff, and great artwork.

One of Jason's...sick, but funny!

I grew up on my dad's Marvel comics from the early and mid 60s (those would be worth a pretty penny today, if they hadn't been stored in a paper bag in the attic...) and I loved them. I still remember reading those old X-Men comics (I was SO resentful of the "new" team when they appeared in the 70s...to me the X-Men was Cyclops, the Angel, Marvel Girl, Iceman, and the Beast) and loving every hackneyed cliche that Stan Lee would put in their mouths...fun stuff! By high school I was a die-hard Marvel fan. Hated DC and anything to do with it. I actually made my dad return the two copies of "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" #1 that were accidentally put in with my order one week back in 1986 (he's never let me forget that). Later, I got into Miller's "DK" and Moore's "Watchmen." Then I gave up superhero books and only collected "alternative" comics (Eightball, Hate, Yummy Fur, Julie Doucet, anything and everything by Crumb). Today, I've struck a balance. I currently collect the following books: The Amazing Spider-Man (written by J. Michael Straczynski) The Incredible Hulk (written by Peter David) The Black Panther (art by John Romita, Jr) Blood of the Demon (by John Byrne) Doom Patrol (by John Byrne) Wolverine (art by John Romita, Jr) Anything still printed by Alan Moore's ABC line (Tom Strong, Promethea, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, etc.). And anything else written by Alan Moore. Anything by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale (Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Dark Victory, A Superman for All Seasons, Catwoman: When in Rome, Daredevil: Yellow, Spider-Man: Blue, Hulk: Gray, etc). I also read some alternative comics when I like the artist or writer (people like Spiegleman, Chris Ware, the aforementioned Crumb, Bagge, and Clowes). In addition, I read a VERY sick book called "Deep Fried." The artist/writer (one Jason Yungbluth) grew up with me in Buffalo, NY. I was best friends with him and his twin brother, Chris. He has a website, which I suggest you check out:www.whatisdeepfried.com. I warn you, however: Jason's work is NOT for the faint of heart. He has a habit of tackling material that most people wouldn't TOUCH. One of the features in his book, Clarissa, is the heartwarming tale of a little girl who is being molested by her father. And it's FUNNY (in a deeply disturbing way). Don't say I didn't warn you.

I haven't seen the 2nd one out yet, how is it compared to the first with Osby? I love that one - in fact it IS probably my favorite Hunter album. I still have the Natty Dread cd and the Candyman one, but rarely pull them out. They are my favorites of his BN stuff at any rate. I'd bet he'd be fascinating to see live (or on the DVD), but I've grown a little tired of the "thin" sound of most of his discs. Not enough going on for me in general. ← Well, I got the first one *because* it has Osby, and it is a very good disc. I got the second one because I was curious to see the series continue. The guest artist on this one is DJ Logic, and the three of them do create some EXTRAORDINARY sounds. All of the music was performed live in the studio, so everything DJ Logic does he's doing with his own two hands in real time. The album doesn't have that "programmed" sound that so much electronica has these days. That said, I think the disc rambles at times. Worth a listen, though...

Must be a Rod Stewart fan...

The only Hunter I own are the two Groundtruther albums. Both are pretty good, if a bit long...

I'm a fan of the novel, and I've always hated the Gene Wilder version, so this one can't be worse.

I thought "Hot Rats" was a good place for me to start...

Well, it certainly wasn't aimed at the comic book fans. Who do you think was the Burton film's target audience?

One excellent book on the subject of Batman, his history, and his place in popular culture is British professor Will Brooker's "Batman Unmasked: Analyzing a Cultural Icon." In one of the later chapters, Brooker deals with the release of the Burton film and how the die-hard comics fans saw "their" character compromised in that film. Essentially, Brooker sees the world divided into two camps: Those who read the comic books, watch the movies, and generally care about the character and how he is portrayed, and those who vaguely remember the Adam West TV series as part of their childhood. The first four Batman films were aimed at the latter group, this most recent film was aimed at the former.

I'm sure that "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be exactly the same way...but I'm gonna go see it anyway!

Gotta say, that's the kind of attitude that gave us the last couple of (horrible) Batman flicks... ← Yeah, but isn't that what comic book charactors should be doing? Kicking interesting criminals asses. I see nothing wrong with that. This one does the same thing, except it's buried in bat-istory. I'm not sure what makes this Batman a good one and the others bad. The special effects are better and you have some good supporting actors true. But I thought the story itself was pretty lame although well executed. Actually though the Batman with Michael Keaton was the best one. ← But the ass-kicking, however much fun it may be, should be in the service of a good movie. The Burton-Keaton film is not without merit, but as a Batman film it left much to be desired. I guess what it comes down to is this: Whenever a movie that's based on a book or a comic book sees fit to deviate from its source material, I always wonder, "Why did they want to make this movie at all?" If Warner Brothers liked the idea of a superhero battling the guy who killed his parents, why didn't they create a NEW superhero and a NEW bad guy and leave the Batman the hell alone?

See, my iPod reflects my musical tastes, so when it's set on shuffle I get a real mix. I'll have Stan Getz followed by Rage Against the Machine followed by Mahalia Jackson followed by OutKast followed by Glenn Gould followed by a Monty Python skit followed by Bob Marley or Black Uhuru followed by the Who. This, to me, is a truly eclectic mix. Sticking a bunch of top 40 songs from the 70s, 80s, 90s, etc isn't exactly mixing it up except to those who have led a very sheltered existence. "What?! The Police next to BTO? Have they gone mad?"

Well, I know that JACK doesn't use real DJs. I think it's a pretty horrible format, although I like the idea of mixing genres. If I could, I'd do a show that mixes jazz, rock, funk, punk, country, blues, soul, r&b, classical, etc.

The obvious choice, if they want the movies to go cosmic, is Galactus. That way they can introduce the Silver Surfer. I'd like to see them go into the Negative Zone, which means Anhilius and Blastaar! And what about the Skrulls?!

I've come to the Dead relatively recently (as in, during the past five years or so), but I've only just started getting really hooked on their music. Several years back, I picked up "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty." I also got a couple of "Dick's Picks" sets (number 8 and number 11) which I really liked. The only "early" album I had was "Live Dead," and I picked up a couple of other live releases ("Skull and Roses" and "Europe '72'). I dutifully upgraded these when the reissues came out in 2003 (my last act - literally - before getting fired at B&N). Since then, nothing at all until recently. Just for the hell of it, I put on "Dick's Picks #8" and...BAM. It just kinda hit me. Wow! What an amazing set! Don't know why I didn't see it before. Prompted by that, I got their first three studio albums and "Postcards from the Hanging" (live material from between '73 and the 1990s in which the Dead cover Dylan material...much better than they did with Dylan himself on "Dylan and the Dead," I might add...although I really don't think "Dylan and the Dead" is nearly as bad as its made out to be). I've also ordered "Blues for Allah," "Reckoning," and "The Arista Years" (which, according the Jerry Garcia's biographer Blair Jackson, is the best way to approach the material from the late 70s and 80s). I'd be interested in any other recommendations. I see that "Greyfolded" gets good reviews from the folks on this board. What else should I look for? What "Dick's Picks" or other live sets are essential? I've considered "Dozin' at the Knick." As to how one "justifies" the Dead...It's hard to explain. What I admire in them is the same thing I admire about Elvis Costello: These guys were clearly fans themselves. Their sheer pleasure in playing a variety of music is clear when you listen to them. And Jerry's improvisations are definitely something that a jazz ear can appreciate!

The 70s was also the heyday of Gamble and Huff. I don't consider any of the proto-disco material they did with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, the O'Jays, or Teddy P. to be a "guilty pleasure!" The 70s were also the time of Thom Bell, and you know I LOVE me some Spinners! Phillipe Wynn was one of the great voices of soul. Love the way he sings "with you" as "witcha" in "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love!" Leave us not forget that the 70s were the era of the great George Clinton and the Parlafunkadelicment Thang! When it comes right down to it, I don't believe in guilty pleasures. You likes what you likes. Who cares what somebody else thinks? I can't stand Rod Stewart, Elton John, or James Taylor NOW, but I like their 70s material very much!

My wife is on vacation this week, so she and I went to see it this morning. Being a fan of the FF comics, I was unimpressed with the film as a whole. It certainly wasn't "Spider-Man 2," "Sin City" or "Batman Begins" (three of the best comic-book-based movies in recent years). I would put it more on the level of "Daredevil," although that showed more respect for its source material. The idea of Victor Von Doom going up in the spaceship with the FF is completely wrong. Doom is a *non-superpowered* villian. His only assets are his genius and his boundless ego. This Doom was a joke. There was none of the moral ambiguity that makes the comic character so interesting. As to the members of the FF, I liked how they handled Ben and Johnny, but Sue and Reed were horrible. They made Reed into a wimp! And there was no indication that he was as smart has he's made out to be. Where was the technobabble? Where were the elaborate battle strategies? As for Sue, she was handled best during the John Byrne years. She's supposed to be a strong woman, but really more of a mother figure. She and Reed really should have been older. The effects were dissapointing too. Not on the level of Ang Lee's "Hulk," but pretty fake looking on the whole.

Just got into the Kinks recently. I picked up all of their Pye albums through "Village Green" on CD, and have several on LP ("Arthur," "Lola," "Muswell Hillbillies," "The Kinks Kronicals," and "The Great Lost Kinks Album"). So far, I've enjoyed everything I've picked up, although I think either "Village Green," "Arthur," or "Lola" is my favorite.

Okay, so I went out and rented all three original "Dead" films over the weekend and watched them pretty much back to back. Some thoughts... I LOVE the fact that all three films have strong leading roles for black actors. This was a very unusual choice for the eras in which these films were made. During this period, black dudes were sidekicks who usually got killed before the end of the second reel. Not only do all three black males make it to the final reel, in the second and third films they are among the sole survivors! Very cool. While there were no real decent female parts in "Night of the Living Dead," both "Dawn" and "Day" had meaty roles ("Day of the Dead's" heroine can be ranked with Sigourney Weaver's Ripley and Linda Hamilton's character in "T2" in terms of butt-kicking movie women of the late 70s through early 90s). Although I enjoyed all three films (in spite of, rather because of, their stomach-churning excesses), I have to say that "Day of the Dead" was my favorite. I loved the setting (the isolated military base - smack in the middle of Florida, no less) and the antagonism between the science team and their military protectors. It said a great deal about the hubris of Reagan's Cold War. Moreover, Howard Sherman's peformance as Bub (the zombie with an individual identity) was among the best in the series. He projected a soulfulness that reminded me of Karloff in "The Bride of Frankenstein." Actually, all three films had surprisingly strong performances considering that these films were made on low budgets with unknown casts. The films were often extremely well-written in places, demonstrating considerable wit on Romaro's part. I'm looking forward to seeing "Land of the Dead" at some point in the near future. I can only imagine how shocking these films must have seemed on the big screen! BTW: the poster for "Dawn of the Dead" scared the living crap out of me when I was a kid. That's probably the reason I hadn't seen any of these films until now...

Well, I can't speak for others, but I can tell you that I'm resistant to the movie because I'm a fan of Wells' original novel. There are a lot of things that I can tell won't work in a 21st century setting. For example, the Tripods. It would be very easy for a 21st century army to take out a Tripod: Just blast away at its third leg! In the 19th century, heavy artillary wasn't as sophisticated, and the Martain's heat-ray was sufficiant to keep the British cannons out of range. Today you could go in with a couple of F-15s and knock the clumsy thing down. This sort of thing would bother me. How do you think a fan of the novel would react to the film as you saw it?