I don't like to listen to the radio. I won't pretend that my opinion of contemporary music is objective, but it certainly seems to me that music used to be better. It used to have more life, it used to be more thoughtful, it used to be art - even the radio stuff, which was generally approved for mass-consumption on the basis of its simplicity and ease of digestion. Everyone says this at some point, and I'm only now beginning to realize that. My car does not have a CD player, and I am often forced to listen to the radio when I have run out of songs to sing to myself. There is a "Gen X" station in my area, and I'm drawn to that quite often. It's surprising to see just how well I fit into that marketing bracket. I'm also frequently surprised by how many songs are now considered oldies.
I see myself aging. Why isn't my taste in music evolving anymore? Why am I stuck in the past? I used to ask that of my father when he would listen to Bread or J. Geils, and now I ask it of myself when I'm turning up Nine Inch Nails. Maybe it's because my formative years are over, but I still cling to the soundtrack of those years. On a long enough timeline, I suppose we all give in to nostalgia.
And this brings me to my point. What are the children of today going to look back on? Bieber? The whipping back and forth of hair? The monstrous (and pretty much inexplicable) fame of Lady Gaga? I can look back very far, even past my time. I can look back on Queen and Zep, Jeff Beck and Elton John, Phil Collins, Genesis, Wings, The Beatles, Annie Lennox. So many timeless acts, music that is still influential after thirty years or more. Will the youth of today look back at the same things? What is the musical legacy of the last decade? The 90s had a strong musical identity. So did the 60s, 70s, and 80s. But I don't see that in the music of the Oughts. I don't see the flair, the style, the originality. I find a hard time believing that anyone will some day claim to have been influenced by Miley Cyrus in the same way that so many have been influenced by Chuck Berry. Contemporary radio music seems disposable. It's immediate, dated almost as soon as it hits the airwaves, a photograph of a moment and a place that no one will identify with in 10 years, much less 20. Little of it will stand the test of time the way Queen, Black Sabbath, orNirvana have. This past decade has been a festival of youth worship, and youth and beauty do not last. No, it is the truly great artists that we remember - they who not only defined their generations but whose music was less an appeal to the empty-headed masses who want only a backing track for the meaningless circus of their wasteful lives than it was often a portrait of the human condition as it could be, or as it could not possibly be, and that is what we remember.
We do not remember the elevator music. We remember songs that capture our feelings honestly. In 30 more years, people will still be listening to Born to Run. But will we look back on the last decade of top 40 hits as fondly? What will shape the music to come?
To quote Bertrand Russel: "...in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible." I have lived this to a fault - and quite unintentionally. I have believed that anything with mass appeal must be of lesser value, because the only way to engineer a work of art so that it appeals to the masses is to remove all intelligence and uniqueness from it. But, clearly, this is not always true. Ghostbusters did phenomenally well in theaters, and rightly so. Queen is remembered for being an incredibly versatile and consistent band, and they deserve their place in the Hall of Fame. But I see my prejudice gaining more and more support as years wear on. Will we some day look back on 2000-2010 and point to musical acts that defined that decade? I expect us, instead, to look past that pop radio wasteland to the eternally fertile ground of the days when we all expected music to really mean something.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Playstation Move
So, the other day I decided to splurge and buy myself the playstation move. I had a bad a experience, as I had bought everything but the controllers from best buy. I ended up returning the playstation camera, and buying the bundle from gamestop. The bundle I purchased contained a game called Sports Champions. It also had one controller and the camera. Got it home and enjoyed it a lot. The game includes a bunch of different sports games you can play volleyball, bocce, disc golf, table tennis to name a few, as well as gladiator, a sword and shield battle game. Flailing my arm around to swing a sword that isn't even in my hand has never been so much fun.
The move system as well as the game is extremely fun. Your movements are really accurate. Spiking a volleyball by making the movement with your arm has a satisfactory feeling when you score on the spike. That's just one of the cool movements in the game. You can jump to indicate a jumping sword strike, make a bump gesture to cause your character to bump the volleyball in the air to setup your partner, throw a Frisbee up and on a slant to curve it. The system and game can also be a work out at times. I literally broke a sweat at 12:00AM while playing gladiator and volleyball last night. It also strains your arm a little bit. I'm actually a little surprised by the move system.
The bottom line is I find the new move system a lot of fun. It's very simple to use. The accuracy is really good and seems it will be able to compete with kinect and wii with no problem. I have a feeling I may use the wand controller more then the original playstation controller because I want to move around when I play now.
The move system as well as the game is extremely fun. Your movements are really accurate. Spiking a volleyball by making the movement with your arm has a satisfactory feeling when you score on the spike. That's just one of the cool movements in the game. You can jump to indicate a jumping sword strike, make a bump gesture to cause your character to bump the volleyball in the air to setup your partner, throw a Frisbee up and on a slant to curve it. The system and game can also be a work out at times. I literally broke a sweat at 12:00AM while playing gladiator and volleyball last night. It also strains your arm a little bit. I'm actually a little surprised by the move system.
The bottom line is I find the new move system a lot of fun. It's very simple to use. The accuracy is really good and seems it will be able to compete with kinect and wii with no problem. I have a feeling I may use the wand controller more then the original playstation controller because I want to move around when I play now.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Back in the Saddle for 2011?
Hey Gang, it's Scott. You're right, I've been slow on all these upcoming updates and projects and I apologize. I also have to introduce the new wonderful staff additions I added to the site for kicking off 2011 this week.
December has been quite a long year. I got over a cold and then, during my week for vacation and time off, my computer's harddrive decided to crash and burn. And not in the glorious way. So here we are. We're ending 2010 soon but we still have some magic up our sleeves. Just watch... ;)
-Scott
December has been quite a long year. I got over a cold and then, during my week for vacation and time off, my computer's harddrive decided to crash and burn. And not in the glorious way. So here we are. We're ending 2010 soon but we still have some magic up our sleeves. Just watch... ;)
-Scott
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Pear Trees and Partridges
This time of year, virtually every where you go there are Christmas songs playing. The weather outside is frightful, yes. We all know this one. We know about the tiny tots, eyes all aglow, and the anticipation for the arrival of a magical, bearded man that keeps them awake on Christmas eve. when know about reindeer games and one-horse open sleighs. None of this is new. And, every December, we get to hear all about these things again - and again - from version to kitschy version. If I sound a little bitter, it's because I recently came to the realization that I am tired of Christmas music.
I tend to push against tradition. I'm not a boat-rocker or a rebel of any kind; I just always feel a little bit of revulsion when I see people doing something simply because it's popular. This can lead me to avoid things that are genuinely worth my time to experience - the more people tell me that I need to see a certain film or read or certain book or check out a certain band, the less likely I am to do any of those things. While I was out shopping yesterday, listening to yet another version of "Walking in a Winter Wonderland," I started to feel that little bit of sickness. It's always been there - the instinct to question Christmas traditions - but I feel permeated by it now to a greater degree than ever before. Clearly, the pageant attitude of Christmas, the mindless ceremony, and the public pressure to take part in all of this holiday madness have simply worn on me. I honestly used to enjoy Christmas songs! But my recent epiphany left me wondering whether or not we sing them and listen to them at this time of year because they genuinely speak to us or because we have been doing so as long as we can remember. I'm inclined to believe that, more often than not, the latter is true.
So why should this be a bad thing? Surely it's harmless. We hum the songs, we spend the money, we have family dinners. We do all the Christmas things just like everyone else. Where's the harm? Well, that's not really my point. My point is that it's just meaningless, and that repeating the same rituals over and over eventually devalues the purpose of the rituals. Like a child who believes that "Elleminnow" is one of the letters of the alphabet, we have, in large part, learned Christmas through imitation. I wonder if there are deeper things at work...if there might be a natural human tendency to fall into endless repetition of virtually changeless routines. Whatever the case, it's getting to me. Christmas is yet another thing that makes me feel like I don't fit in. It doesn't seem like a season of cheer to me; it seems like a season of blind obligation. The old platitudes are empty: peace on Earth and goodwill towards men. Peace is not something that can be obtained through thoughtless conformity. If there is one thing I know about people, it's that we have no natural tendency to shut off our brains and slip through life enthralled to popular edict. No, that tendency is programmed, learned, acquired, and whenever I see people stuck in that loop I get a little sad. We cannot have peace if we do not think about why we do the things that we do and whether or not we actually want to do them, and there will never be goodwill toward men if we hold one another to standards of conformity which have no basis in necessity, being rooted solely in tradition.
I tend to push against tradition. I'm not a boat-rocker or a rebel of any kind; I just always feel a little bit of revulsion when I see people doing something simply because it's popular. This can lead me to avoid things that are genuinely worth my time to experience - the more people tell me that I need to see a certain film or read or certain book or check out a certain band, the less likely I am to do any of those things. While I was out shopping yesterday, listening to yet another version of "Walking in a Winter Wonderland," I started to feel that little bit of sickness. It's always been there - the instinct to question Christmas traditions - but I feel permeated by it now to a greater degree than ever before. Clearly, the pageant attitude of Christmas, the mindless ceremony, and the public pressure to take part in all of this holiday madness have simply worn on me. I honestly used to enjoy Christmas songs! But my recent epiphany left me wondering whether or not we sing them and listen to them at this time of year because they genuinely speak to us or because we have been doing so as long as we can remember. I'm inclined to believe that, more often than not, the latter is true.
So why should this be a bad thing? Surely it's harmless. We hum the songs, we spend the money, we have family dinners. We do all the Christmas things just like everyone else. Where's the harm? Well, that's not really my point. My point is that it's just meaningless, and that repeating the same rituals over and over eventually devalues the purpose of the rituals. Like a child who believes that "Elleminnow" is one of the letters of the alphabet, we have, in large part, learned Christmas through imitation. I wonder if there are deeper things at work...if there might be a natural human tendency to fall into endless repetition of virtually changeless routines. Whatever the case, it's getting to me. Christmas is yet another thing that makes me feel like I don't fit in. It doesn't seem like a season of cheer to me; it seems like a season of blind obligation. The old platitudes are empty: peace on Earth and goodwill towards men. Peace is not something that can be obtained through thoughtless conformity. If there is one thing I know about people, it's that we have no natural tendency to shut off our brains and slip through life enthralled to popular edict. No, that tendency is programmed, learned, acquired, and whenever I see people stuck in that loop I get a little sad. We cannot have peace if we do not think about why we do the things that we do and whether or not we actually want to do them, and there will never be goodwill toward men if we hold one another to standards of conformity which have no basis in necessity, being rooted solely in tradition.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Leaving the Lights Off
I've only just learned that Ridley Scott is making a prequel to Alien. I don't know how long this news has been out, but it was shocking to me. This comes on the heels of the revelation that infamously curvaceous video game character Lara Croft is being redesigned for a Tomb Raider reboot. Add to that the fact that the Coen brothers have filmed their own adaptation of the novel that originally inspired the John Wayne classic True Grit as well as the Ghostbusters III buzz I previously mentioned, and I start to wonder why we're resuscitating so many old franchises.
Let's start with Lara Croft and Tomb Raider. Why has this character endured? Is it because of her compelling story arc? Her deep and interesting personality? Is it because the games have all be good? Certainly not. What is the secret to her staying power? Look at the original game and, comparing it to later and more technologically advanced iterations, you're likely to find it difficult to see that jagged-pixeled sprite as the sex symbol Lara seems to have turned out to be. But, indeed, Croft's prolonged popularity seems to be largely due to nostalgia about what the character was when she first came on the scene. In that way, the franchise has propped itself up from one flawed game to the next, enticing us with unlockable bikinis and that remarkably persistent "naked code" rumor. With its reputation sagging, I understand the impulse to give new life to Tomb Raider, but I ask you this: how long can the series support itself on that first rush of fame? Furthermore, what story do the developers have in mind that could only be told by the Lara Croft character?
Write a new story. Create a new character. Lara Croft broke new ground, pulled to the fore something that had been sleeping in the shadows as the next generation of video games emerged. Instead of working on the new Lara, I assert that developers should be working on the next Lara, leaving Croft in her tomb and giving birth to a new hero who can revolutionize the game industry again and eclipse her. There is no sorrow in this. There is no shame. Croft or no, a bad game is going to fail and a good game is going to move units. Banking on the franchise's history makes it seem like the developers don't have faith that their product will be marketable if it isn't strapped onto the back of a recognizable character.
And thus I say, without prejudice, of Alien. The franchise is dead. It left an indelible mark and has an impressive legacy behind it, despite its decline. It left a pretty corpse, yes, but it's still dead. Craft a new tale, invent a new alien. Why write a prequel? When I watch the first film, which is probably one of the best films ever made, I see a perfectly-wrapped package. I see nothing from which to build a prequel, no backstory to work with. I can't help but think that this prequel will be forced. Of course, there is mystery in Alien. Where did the creatures come from? Who sent the distress signal? What is the history behind the huge pilot? These are all fascinating questions, and they have been tackled in fiction, both official and otherwise, but it's clear that the original film never intended to expand upon them. They were interesting because they were unexplained.
Obviously, this gets very deep into territory I could explore for pages, but my point is this: some territory is better left unexplored. Probe too far into a mystery, and it ceases to be a mystery, and the known is not nearly as exciting as the unknown. What the film industry needs right now is new mysteries, new stories. Sometimes, digging through the past and rewriting history can create new and interesting wrinkles in an already solid franchise. But, more often than not, more light into the dark only serves to reveal mysterious things as mundane and unimpressive.
Let's start with Lara Croft and Tomb Raider. Why has this character endured? Is it because of her compelling story arc? Her deep and interesting personality? Is it because the games have all be good? Certainly not. What is the secret to her staying power? Look at the original game and, comparing it to later and more technologically advanced iterations, you're likely to find it difficult to see that jagged-pixeled sprite as the sex symbol Lara seems to have turned out to be. But, indeed, Croft's prolonged popularity seems to be largely due to nostalgia about what the character was when she first came on the scene. In that way, the franchise has propped itself up from one flawed game to the next, enticing us with unlockable bikinis and that remarkably persistent "naked code" rumor. With its reputation sagging, I understand the impulse to give new life to Tomb Raider, but I ask you this: how long can the series support itself on that first rush of fame? Furthermore, what story do the developers have in mind that could only be told by the Lara Croft character?
Write a new story. Create a new character. Lara Croft broke new ground, pulled to the fore something that had been sleeping in the shadows as the next generation of video games emerged. Instead of working on the new Lara, I assert that developers should be working on the next Lara, leaving Croft in her tomb and giving birth to a new hero who can revolutionize the game industry again and eclipse her. There is no sorrow in this. There is no shame. Croft or no, a bad game is going to fail and a good game is going to move units. Banking on the franchise's history makes it seem like the developers don't have faith that their product will be marketable if it isn't strapped onto the back of a recognizable character.
And thus I say, without prejudice, of Alien. The franchise is dead. It left an indelible mark and has an impressive legacy behind it, despite its decline. It left a pretty corpse, yes, but it's still dead. Craft a new tale, invent a new alien. Why write a prequel? When I watch the first film, which is probably one of the best films ever made, I see a perfectly-wrapped package. I see nothing from which to build a prequel, no backstory to work with. I can't help but think that this prequel will be forced. Of course, there is mystery in Alien. Where did the creatures come from? Who sent the distress signal? What is the history behind the huge pilot? These are all fascinating questions, and they have been tackled in fiction, both official and otherwise, but it's clear that the original film never intended to expand upon them. They were interesting because they were unexplained.
Obviously, this gets very deep into territory I could explore for pages, but my point is this: some territory is better left unexplored. Probe too far into a mystery, and it ceases to be a mystery, and the known is not nearly as exciting as the unknown. What the film industry needs right now is new mysteries, new stories. Sometimes, digging through the past and rewriting history can create new and interesting wrinkles in an already solid franchise. But, more often than not, more light into the dark only serves to reveal mysterious things as mundane and unimpressive.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The Reason for the Season
Well, Christmas is upon us. Also upon us, however, are Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and the advent of a New Year (for some of us). I suppose I would be remiss if I failed to mention World AIDS Day, Rosa Parks Day, Human Rights Day, Pearl Harbor Day, and the International Day of the Disabled Person. Then, of course, we've also got National Fritters Day, National Roof-Over-Your-Head Day, National Cookie Day, Wear Brown Shoes Day, Mitten Tree Day, and National Noodle Ring Day this month. Lots to do! Holiday season and all.
There are many who would remind you to remember the reason for the season. While you're rushing around buying gifts for people you don't know or don't like but will force yourself to socialize with, it can be difficult to remember that this time of year is not about depression, bankruptcy, and merciless self-flagellation. But there doesn't seem to be any real consensus about the reason for this season, does there? Is it a season of giving? Why only have one season for that? If we are going to give gifts and spend time with our families, why must we wait until the end of the year to do it? Of course, there's always the possibility that Christmas, in particular, has something to do with the birth of a deity. I think we all know the problems with that story. Personally, regarding the nativity of messiahs, I'd rather say that this is a season to celebrate the wearing of brown shoes.
But when you look at it and are honest with yourself, you have to admit that there is no reason for the season. We celebrate because of tradition, because of social pressure, and, that being true, we aren't really celebrating at all. I'm sure a great number of us are still clinging to orthodoxy, but I'd wager to say that the majority of us do what we do this time of year because everyone else does it. The image has become more important than the referent. If you want to celebrate the birth of a god, you can do that all year round. I'm sure he would want that! Do you really think that guy would be sulking up in heaven going, "No one remembered my birthday" with his party hat drooping? Of course not. There is nothing that happens during any winter holiday that cannot happen any other time during the year, atmospheric events notwithstanding. So, this year, I urge you to take a stand against mindlessly going through the same joyless motions. Do something for yourself. Decide for yourself what and when you will celebrate. Because mass holidays always outlive personal significance, and the only celebrations that have real meaning are the ones that are important to you as an individual.
There are many who would remind you to remember the reason for the season. While you're rushing around buying gifts for people you don't know or don't like but will force yourself to socialize with, it can be difficult to remember that this time of year is not about depression, bankruptcy, and merciless self-flagellation. But there doesn't seem to be any real consensus about the reason for this season, does there? Is it a season of giving? Why only have one season for that? If we are going to give gifts and spend time with our families, why must we wait until the end of the year to do it? Of course, there's always the possibility that Christmas, in particular, has something to do with the birth of a deity. I think we all know the problems with that story. Personally, regarding the nativity of messiahs, I'd rather say that this is a season to celebrate the wearing of brown shoes.
But when you look at it and are honest with yourself, you have to admit that there is no reason for the season. We celebrate because of tradition, because of social pressure, and, that being true, we aren't really celebrating at all. I'm sure a great number of us are still clinging to orthodoxy, but I'd wager to say that the majority of us do what we do this time of year because everyone else does it. The image has become more important than the referent. If you want to celebrate the birth of a god, you can do that all year round. I'm sure he would want that! Do you really think that guy would be sulking up in heaven going, "No one remembered my birthday" with his party hat drooping? Of course not. There is nothing that happens during any winter holiday that cannot happen any other time during the year, atmospheric events notwithstanding. So, this year, I urge you to take a stand against mindlessly going through the same joyless motions. Do something for yourself. Decide for yourself what and when you will celebrate. Because mass holidays always outlive personal significance, and the only celebrations that have real meaning are the ones that are important to you as an individual.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Turn Out The Lights! The Party's Over!
So, all week the NFL was talking about Jets-Pats 2, as the Jets had the best defense and had already beat the Patriots early in the season. Patriots were ranked 32nd in the league in defense and there are only 32 teams in the league. The game was expected to be really close, most odds has the Patriots winning, but not by much.
In the cold weather of Foxborough, Massachusetts the Jets came North to play a game in which they looked like they had the worst defense, Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez picked off three times. 45-3 was the final score as the Patriots beat the Jets at home. Patriots now are on top of the AFC East.
Now the ironic thing isn't just the ranks of the team, but the Jet's head coach Rex Ryan had some really great comments on the Pats. He swore his team was better. He believed his team would beat the Patriots. Well, Karma bit him right on the rear. To summarize, for a Pats fan, this was a great night!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)