Christmas Eve Post

It's Christmas Eve, and I've got a couple things to mention, but figured it'd be a waste to put them in separate posts. First, a friend brought this to my attention; you can track Santa's sleigh ride 'round the world. So...enjoy that.

Additionally, our second round of voting also ended in a tie, so I'm just going to arbitrarily pick the song that was part of both of the ties, and play that one. Look forward to that.

My brother bought NHL '09 for the Xbox 360 a couple months ago, and while I was unexcited initially, I've come to really enjoy playing it. It's got a neat feature that coincides with similar features present in most other EA Sports games where you take control of a single player and try to guide them to the promised land...which I guess is the hockey hall of fame? I haven't gotten that far into it yet, still in season one. Anyways, it's really interesting to try to learn a specific position, to work off the puck, and to play positional defense (rather than the wild checkfest that my normal defense tends to deteriorate into).

Don't forget to check out our partner site, Joe and Joe Sports, now on its own domain!

The Big Vote: Overtime!

So it turns out that we had a tie, and I didn't really have an opinion on how to resolve the tie, so I just posted two DMB songs and Hey Hey What Can I Do. Vote for whichever you want, and we'll try to get a winner here. Make your choice.

Left 4 Dead Deal (Xbox 360)

Amazon has a deal on Left 4 Dead for the Xbox 360. It's a good game offline, but a great game online. My brother and I have played it in both contexts and enjoyed both, but playing online against real opponents offers a great opportunity for teamwork to triumph over the chaos that normally thrives in online gaming.

I highly recommend the game if you've got Xbox Live. I also would like to be your friend to play this game with on Xbox Live; my gamer card is over there on the right side. Friend me up.

A Neat Feature For Rock Band 2

There's an interesting (though functionally useless) feature for Rock Band 2 that I discovered last night. In your Band Profile, you can edit the list of "stand-ins" for your band. You can choose from any of your created characters, and assign them to different instruments. I had no idea what the actual result of this was until last night, when I finally assigned some characters to instruments just before playing a few sets.

The "stand-ins" are on stage with you when nobody takes that instrument. For example, my stand-in drummer is Randy Savage (yes, that Randy Savage). I played guitar last night (as Hulk Hogan), and while I played, Randy Savage was the computer player playing the drums.

Is it useless? Completely. Is it a feat of programming? Definitely not. But is it cool? It is. For some reason, it is.

Poll-star

I posted a poll to the right, and I'll live up to it (though I don't know how long it'll take me to get the resulting audio track posted). Anyways, have a look, vote, and get out of my face. (Check it around 2:45 if you just want the highlights)

The Office - Season 5, Episode 7

The latest episode of The Office has been posted on Hulu. I have not watched it yet, so I can't offer any personal commentary, but my brother was watching it and I heard him laugh out loud, so there's probably at least one good joke.

At least.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/44303/the-office-business-trip#s-p1-so-i0

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

I'm always open to new TV shows. I gave Carpoolers a shot. I even watched all six episodes of Cavemen. But sometimes I find out about a show that's simply fantastic.

Enter It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. The pilot was filmed by the three main characters on a camcorder, which is just awesome, but more awesome is that the show is actually hilarious. It's depraved and inappropriate, but if that doesn't bother you, this is your kind of show. I'd compare the humor from the show to that of stand-up comedian Daniel Tosh; it's off-the-wall and irreverent, and makes fun of everybody. The show airs on FX every Thursday night, and the episodes get posted on Hulu 8 days after they air.

Here's the link for the show's main page on Hulu, which has links to most of the show's episodes (a few are missing from season 3). I'll post the direct links for new episodes as they come out.

http://www.hulu.com/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia

Let's Stop Driving.

Enough is enough.

On Tuesday morning as I was getting ready for work, my mom told me about a terrible tragedy. A car accident occurred Monday evening in Damascus that claimed the life of Ryan Didone, and has another teenager fighting for her life. Ryan Didone was the son of Tom Didone, a police officer who worked closely with my father (Joseph A. Mattingly) as members of the underage alcohol program in Montgomery County. Chances are, if you were busted at a drinking party in the late 80's or early 90's, they were among the officers who made your night suck.

As many of you already know, my father was also killed in an automobile accident, back in 2003. But they aren't alone. There are about 45,000 transportation-related fatalities a year in the United States. Not fender-benders, not injuries, deaths; 45,000 of them. Of those 45,000 deaths, approximately 42,000 were a result of motor vehicle collisions. The remaining 3,000 include aviation, boating, heavy/light rail, railroad and railroad trespassers (people standing in the way of trains), and others.

But back to the focus here, 42,000 people die every year while driving on, biking on, or walking near roadways. Cars kill people. And despite dramatic advances in technology and information, they haven't really stopped killing people. Air bags, seatbelt laws, anti-lock brakes, these have all been around for over a decade now, and there has been no noticeable decrease in the number of people getting killed by car accidents. And I use the phrase "getting killed by" rather than "dying in" intentionally. Car accidents deserve the same level of villainy associated with heart disease and bears; not completely unavoidable, but very preventable.

I'll probably be making several posts over the next....well, over the rest of my life, arguing that the United States needs to take the lead in reducing our dependence on motor vehicles, with the intent of eliminating them altogether.

I'm not going to go into the whole discussion right now, but I do want to handle one point right off the bat. I've talked to several people about this viewpoint of mine, and often one of the first arguments against it that comes up is, "People won't want to get rid of their cars." In the past, I've accepted this as a likely hurdle, and one that would be difficult to overcome. Now, however, I'm realizing that it's perhaps the most foolish hurdle of any. People will initially want to keep their cars, yes, that's true. But I think that most people are smart enough that when they think about it, they'd rather be alive and ride a fancy metro system than be dead and own a Mazda Miata. It's a tough sell, but I think I can pull it off.

1996 Royal Rumble Match

The 1996 Royal Rumble was right before the Monday Night Wars truly began, and featured many of the big time stars who would make WCW a factor for the next 5 years. Diesel (Kevin Nash), Razor Ramon (Scott Hall), and the 1-2-3 Kid (Syxx, X-Pac) all make an appearance during the Rumble match (though only two of them are actual participants...you'll have to watch to see what I'm talking about).

Below is the link for the 1996 Royal Rumble match. The star power overall is very good, but towards the end, it becomes pretty clear who's going to win the match (at least, if you're a wrestling historian like myself, it does). It's also fun to see some of the stars of the future in their formative years in the WWF (Stone Cold Steve Austin as "Ringmaster," Triple H as "Hunter Hearst Helmsley: the American Blue Blood").

It'll seem like you've only got part 1 of the match, but when part 1 finishes, the page will automatically refresh itself and load part 2. Enjoy.

Royal Rumble Match: 1996

Old Wrestling PPVs

Listen, if you're anything like me (and if you're happy with your life, chances are you're nothing like me), you've got a soft spot in your heart for old wrestling pay-per-views. I'm talking about the classic Royal Rumbles, Summerslams, Survivor Series, and of course, the grand-daddy of them all, Wrestlemania. But you're also interested in some of the classic WCW pay-per-views, like Starrcade, The Great American Bash, and Fall Brawl.

Sometimes I go scouring the Internet for clips of these old wrestling PPVs, and sometimes, I come across the whole entire event, or at the very least, an entire Royal Rumble match. (Those are very good days.) So, I'm going to start posting links to the full wrestling pay-per-views that I find, but only when I can find those full events (or full Royal Rumble matches). If it's just one clip, I'll leave that for another time; maybe I'll put together a "greatest matches" post for a certain wrestler, and include clips of each of those matches.

A heads up, though: These full pay-per-views tend to be split up into multiple clips, so when I post an "event," it'll probably actually be several separate clips. I'll post them in order for you, though, so you can click them one-by-one to go through the event, or open them all at once in new tabs, and then just progress through the tabs with the clips completely buffered. That decision I leave up to you.

I'll have the first event posted later today or tomorrow.

So I've Been Playing....Smackdown vs. Raw 2007

As you've probably gathered from my post about my Rock Band 2 band, I've got a soft spot for wrestling. Mostly, that gets manifested in watching old pay-per-views and relating stories to other old school wrestling fans. But, from time to time, it also manifests itself in other media. I saw that awful movie Ready 2 Rumble. I've looked around for MIDI files of old wrestling entrance themes. And I like a lot of wrestling video games.

Recently, I realized that it's been a long time since I played one that I really liked. I believe the last one was Wrestlemania 2000 for the Nintendo 64, which, interestingly enough, came out around the year 2000. It was just the right balance of complex and simple. You could create your own wrestlers, and many moves and outfits of former and other-brand (WCW) wrestlers. The gameplay was fun, and this'll sound foolish, but they had the Royal Rumble, and that's more fun than any other match in any wrestling game. Hell, with the old Super Nintendo games (WWF Royal Rumble and WWF Raw), it was the only match we ever played.

Fast forward to 2008, and it's been a while since I got around to playing any wrestling games. So I went into a local Gamestop and said, "I've got an Xbox 360. What wrestling games are out there?" They directed me to the Smackdown vs. Raw franchise, tossing in their compulsory recommendation to pre-order the upcoming game new. But they definitely recommended the older ones as well (I think Gamestop actually make a much greater profit on used games anyways), and I elected to get the 2007 iteration.

The game is solid. The controls are not intuitive, but the game offers a quick rundown of the buttons during the load screen before regular matches. Additionally, when you're in some kind of specialty match (steel cage, ladder, etc), the loading screen tells you what special buttons are used in that match (how to climb the cage, how to move the ladder, etc). With the relative complexity of the controls, I was surprised at how quickly I was able to get comfortable playing.

The season mode is alright, though it's got its share of weaknesses. You tend to feel a little detached from the action, because commentators and other wrestlers only refer to you as "the superstar" or "the champ" or "the contender." I understand that it's part of the limitations that come along with allowing you to select any superstar (including created superstars); I just think it'd be better served by having a more immersive experience, even if it means you can only select a few superstars. (By the way, the upcoming Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 release is following that exact format. It limits you to a few wrestlers, but has a much more personal season experience).

There's another unique feature called GM Mode which I really enjoy, but I'm going to get into that in a future post. It's got enough to it that I don't want to shrink it down to a paragraph.

The create-a-wrestler feature was initially daunting, but after putting some time in to learn the in's and out's, I'm much happier with it than I originally thought. The ways you can adjust the shape of your created wrestler are a little over the top, but when you're trying to get a guy to look exactly like the Honky Tonk Man, it comes in handy.

Overall, I'm not disappointed with the game. It's got enough features and game modes to keep it pretty fresh. And for a guy like me who has an unhealthy interest in unlocking achievements in Xbox 360 games, there are plenty of challenges to take on. It's a fun game, although I don't expect that it'll be as big a part of my social life as WWF Raw was.

By the way, if anyone wants to get together for another Raw party, all I need is a couple more Super Nintendo controllers.

That Dr. Pepper Song

Some of you know that I was racking my brain trying to figure out how to find the name and artist of a song I heard in a recent Dr. Pepper commercial. It is also often used at sporting events to get the crowd going, and I believe was first used in that manner for the Chicago Bulls teams of the mid-1990s.

Anyways, the song is called Sirius, and it's by Alan Parsons Project. In its original context, it's also used as an introduction to a popular song by the band called Eye In The Sky. Not surprisingly, they're the two highest rated tracks by Alan Parsons Project on Rhapsody. Also, is anyone talking about this site? It's awesome. You can listen to anything they've got on a whim. It's the site I linked to when I wanted you to listen to a song off of a 5-song special release CD from the Dave Matthews Band. I'm gonna do some more research, but best I can tell, this site is just sweet.

Socialism rules!

Yeah, that's gonna bring traffic to this blog, but maybe not the kind of traffic I want...oh, who am I kidding, any traffic is good.

My Rock Band 2 Band Is Made Up Of Former Wrestlers

You would think that the title pretty much tells you everything you need to know about the situation, and you might be right. But I'm going to tell you more.

My band in the original game was a hodgepodge, including Dr. Heimlich (a Southern rock guitarist from Berlin), Sticks McGee (a punk drummer), Dylan (a hillbilly off-the-street singer), and joe2 (a hastily created second guitarist). I also had a female singer, "Chick," created for when girls wanted to join in. That band was fine, and I'm not mad about the way it turned out. But I felt like I was under-utilizing the options the game gives for customizing characters. Then, while visiting the other Joe (from Joe & Joe Sports), he told me his band would be called Donnybrooks, and the members of his band would be assorted trouble-making baseball players.

I liked the idea of having a themed band, and since I've recently been reading about and watching a lot of old wrestlers, I decided it was as valid a theme as any. I was a little worried about how well I'd be able to execute the idea at first, so I started with perhaps the most recognizable face in wrestling history, Hulk Hogan. And I've got to say, I was pleasantly surprised at how well I was able to craft the Hulkster. The key was the bald top/long around the sides hairstyle. I combined that with a chopper mustache, and I'm looking forward to hearing what people think of it when they see him.

Second on the list was "Macho Man" Randy Savage. I used the same haircut for Savage, but a full beard instead, and made it all black. Savage is also shorter and leaner, and when I get some money together from touring, I'll buy him some sunglasses and a hot pink outfit with a hot pink cowboy hat. It's gonna kick ass.

I've added three more band members for now: Ric Flair, Honky Tonk Man, and UltimateWarrior (so named because I didn't have enough characters to put a space in between the words). I've got face paint on the warrior, as well as tattoos that sort of look like the streamers he'd wear around his biceps.

The band name: The Ring Ropes. See you at the show.

So I've Been Playing.... - Animal Crossing (GameCube)

I tweaked the title of the new feature a little bit to accommodate games that I've played in the past (and thus would not have "just started" playing), but have given renewed attention. The main reason is that this game, Animal Crossing, is one such game.

First of all, it's ridiculous. The game is ridiculous. Your character is a human with some kind of horns or something, maybe a demon? I don't know, but you're like a little kid and not evil at all. Anyways, you move to a new town and get a house and get to know your neighbors. Not like that, sicko, it's rated E. Your neighbors, of course, are different kinds of animals, from elephants to alligators to dragons, as well as the more pedestrian cats, dogs, and chickens.

Your character spends the majority of his/her time running around doing errands, like delivering items for the various animals of your town, fishing, catching bugs, picking up seashells, etc. You can sell most items at the local mart, and use that money to buy furniture for your pad. There's also a museum that houses local fauna, priceless art, and fossils. To dig up fossils, you need a shovel. To catch fish or bugs, you need a fishing pole or a net, respectively. And to acquire art, you just have to buy it or get it from someone for doing one of their errands.

The game sounds a bit simplistic, and truth be told, it is pretty simple. But there's something about the small sense of accomplishment you get when you pay off your mortgage, or complete a T-Rex skeleton, or catch a rare fish, that keeps me going back to the game over and over.

While there's no true multiplayer option, you can have up to four characters living in your village, and there are a number of small, fun ways your characters can interact. You can make posts on the local bulletin board, place signs in the ground and write on them, write letters to each other, and put items in your "gyroid" (a helper robot that manages the business related to your house) to make them available for other players to purchase. Additionally, the animals in the town will gossip about other characters ("Where has player B been?", "Check out this letter Player D sent me!", etc). A little personality gets added to the game when other people live in your town.

It's a pretty cheap game these days, so if you've already got a GameCube or a Wii and it sounds interesting, it's worth checking out. Also, there's this story, which tugs at the heart-strings just a little bit. It probably won't (and shouldn't) affect whether or not you want to play the game; it's just something for you mushes out there.

Buffalo Wings & Beer

First, let me start by saying that the combination of eating buffalo wings and drinking beer is solid. I have no issue with the combination of food and drink, and I like buffalo wings, and I enjoy the occasional beer.

My issue is with the Gaithersburg bar/restaurant that goes by the name, "Buffalo Wings & Beer." I say specifically the Gaithersburg one because I haven't been to any of the others, but my guess is they all suffer from the same weaknesses. The most amazing part is that their weakness is not food quality or service, the two most likely culprits when a meal is ruined. The weakness is in their policies, policies that make you feel like they're really out to get you. And it's not a stretch to think that they might actually be out to get you.

First off, they don't offer free refills on sodas. This has become such a convention in restaurants that it's literally shocking for a place to not have that feature. And the sodas are fountain sodas, not bottles, so it's even more puzzling. Normally this would be bad but not unbearable, as you can just get a water. But at BWB, they also don't offer water at no charge. The only water they make available to customers is bottled water, at a cool $1 apiece. Feel like you're getting screwed yet? Sit tight, we're just getting started.

Their menu says the following phrase word-for-word underneath the wing prices and flavors:

• Wings are served with either Blue Cheese or Ranch Dressing, Two Celery Sticks and Two Carrot Sticks
• Extras.......................... .75

My brother and I went in on Tuesday and got FOUR orders of wings, and we each got 1 small cup of ranch dressing, and we were charged $0.75 apiece for those two small cups. And not by mistake. That's just how these guys do business.

Speaking of Tuesday, we went in because they have a "deal" (you'll understand the reason for the quotes in a second) where you buy one pound of wings and get a second pound free. The second pound has to be the same flavor, and I have no problem with that. You can't get them boxed up, and I suppose I understand that; I'm sure their hope is that the deal brings people in who will buy drinks. But here's the kicker: you can't share. So if you want to take advantage of the deal, you have to get two pounds of wings yourself, or not get any. They're kind enough to let you share if everyone at the table gets their own double-order; what a bunch of sweethearts.

One last issue that didn't affect me personally but I found laughable was their list of lunchtime specials. You can get an order of a number of appetizers for about half of the normal price. Of course, these orders only contain about half of the food as the regular orders (5 cheese sticks vs. 10, 2 chicken tenders vs. 5, 4 broccoli cheese balls vs. 7). Also, there's a two drink minimum. FOR LUNCH. I'm fully convinced that the only people who can go to this place and not get pissed off are alcoholics.

It's a shame they have such an awful sense of customer relations, because the food is good. The wings are large and flavorful, and despite all of my nay-saying, it's still a valid place to grab some carryout wings from. But don't let them suck you into their den of deceit. You'll walk away angry, or walk away with blood on your hands. Or both. Probably both.

However, in my magnanimity, I've decided to come up with a new marketing strategy for BWB. I like to help even the most villainous of restaurants. So here you go:

Buffalo Wings & Beer: A place that sucks.

Short, catchy, effective. Lock it up.

So I Just Started Playing... - Crysis

I've decided to make a new feature for this blog (since it seemed like a good idea for my other blog). This feature will highlight some game that I've started to play a lot recently, or CD I've started to listen to, or movie I've watched. It won't be isolated to new products, mostly because I generally don't see movies in the theater, don't like new music, and don't buy games new. But that means that you'll mostly see me comment on things that you've heard of or tried out yourself, so hopefully it'll result in a little more discussion.

If you're worried that this will replace the halls of fame, you're right to be worried. This will replace the halls of fame. The reality is that, without a gallery and bronze busts of the inductees (or at least a list somewhere), there's just not much reason to keep it up. I could make the lists or fashion the busts, but we both know I have neither the motivation nor the tendency to succumb to modest peer pressure to do that.

So anyways, let's get to work. Crysis. When the game first came out, it was highly thought of for being an exceptional work of programming, specifically when it comes to graphics. Unfortunately for many PC gamers at the time of Crysis' release, the hardware demands made by this game prevented many from playing it at all, and prevented most from being able to really enjoy the full capacity of graphics that the game offers. But I just got a brand new computer with high-level components, so I've been able to see the game as it was intended, and let me tell you; it's spectacular.

All of the character models are solid, but you find solid character models in a lot of games. The explosions are very good, but again, not unique to Crysis. Yes, you can fell trees and blow up shacks, but the most impressive part visually is actually the terrain. The entire wilderness moves all the time, leaves rustling, seagulls scampering, and water running. This might seem small, but I assure you, it's huge. In most games up until now, you could find your enemies simply by scanning the horizon for movement or waiting to hear anything other than music. But when every bush and blade of grass is moving, and when there are fluctuations in environmental sound based on wind and wild animals, it's a much more difficult (and realistic) task to stay alive.

The gameplay is fun, similar to Halo in a lot of ways, but a little more realistic. Your character is a super soldier from a couple decades into the future, rather than a couple centuries. The actual tasks are relatively similar; you have to travel through the jungle, picking off or eliminating patrols, making your way to some landmark where you get information or take out a target. But it's such a beautiful terrain, and the game is pretty tough, so each leg of your journey is a new challenge.

The most unique part of the gameplay is the ability to gear your nanosuit to allow you to do different things. The default setting is for it to act as armor, giving you an extra health bar. You can also set it to stealth (cloaking you from your enemies), speed (giving you extraordinary running speed, useful for escaping), and strength (increasing the power of your melee attacks and giving you the ability to jump high in the air).

You can also customize your weapons, adding silencers, sights, and scopes, and switching between different kinds of ammunition. You can carry two rifle-class weapons, so you can have one long-range, non-silenced, scoped weapon, and one with normal sights and a silencer for eliminating enemies with a bit of discretion. Coupling a silenced submachine gun with the stealth nanosuit option makes for some enjoyable, movie-style assaults.

I like the game a lot. I'm not going to break it down into different categories, because different games will have different relevant categories. So I'll just give it a base-100 rating (and I'll do this for all of these kinds of posts).

Final Score: 93

Video Game Hall of Fame - Metal Gear Solid

Oh, Scott Riley. My old high school buddy taught me so much about the world, simply by telling me to play Metal Gear Solid back in the late 90s. I didn't think anything of it at the time, just another fun video game. But the more I learned about video games, new and old, the more I came to appreciate the true masterpiece that is the third installment in the Metal Gear series.

And those first two are key reasons why this game was important. Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Snake's Revenge were both interesting games that I found utterly impossible. Joe Perez, another pal from my youth, engaged me in multiple conversations about the original game, usually culminating in something along the lines of "the damn dogs."

The concept was unique. There were dozens of games about using overwhelming firepower and quick dodges to defeat your enemy; there were precious few that relied on stealth as a key factor. And even though I never got the hang of either of the first two games, I saw the merit in the idea.

So when I started playing Metal Gear Solid, I quickly embraced it as "my kind of game." Sneaking around, outsmarting guards by knocking on a wall to draw their attention, hiding in a box to get transport between areas, and using a cigarette's smoke to locate security lasers, these are my kinds of things. It's no secret that the more complex a game is, the more pieces of the environment that you can use, the more fun it is.

MGS also had some of the best boss battles of all time. There was always a trick or a strategy that you had to figure out to win the battle, and it helped to integrate a puzzle nature to the game. In fact, one of the strongest reasons I think the game was so successful was that it relied not so much on being fast with the trigger and dodging attacks, but on being intuitive and deductive. It certainly made it more fun for me, being someone who's not altogether that good at being fast with the trigger or dodging attacks.

Metal Gear Solid (along with its sequels) was also known for its cinematic presentation. It offered a complex storyline, along with many cutscenes that moved the story along. Personally, this didn't do much for me, but I acknowledge its value to some gamers, as well as the fact that it was among the first non-RPG game to employ such tactics. These days, most of the best games have some kind of cinematics integrated, and some of the credit for that, and for the in-depth storylines we find these days, has to go to Metal Gear Solid.

Thanks Scott.

Guitar Hero: World Tour

As I'm sure many of you know, Guitar Hero: World Tour comes out October 26, 2008. It will follow the Rock Band precedence by including microphone, drums, and the two guitars. I just got a glimpse of the set list (currently 86 songs) that will be included with it... and it does not disappoint:

30 Seconds To Mars--The Kill
311--Beautiful Disaster
Airbourne--Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast
The Allman Brothers Band--Ramblin' Man
Anouk--Good God
The Answer--Never Too Late
At the Drive-In--One Armed Scissor
Beastie Boys--No Sleep Till Brooklyn
Beatsteaks--Hail To The Freaks
Billy Idol--Rebel Yell
Black Label Society--Stillborn
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club--Weapon of Choice
blink-182--Dammit
Blondie--One Way or Another
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band--Hollywood Nights
Bon Jovi--Livin' on a Prayer
Bullet for My Valentine--Scream Aim Fire
Coldplay--Shiver
Creedence Clearwater Revival--Up Around the Bend
The Cult--Love Removal Machine
Dinosaur Jr.--Feel the Pain
The Doors--Love Me Two Times
Dream Theater--Pull Me Under
The Eagles--Hotel California
The Enemy--Aggro
Filter--Hey Man, Nice Shot
Fleetwood Mac--Go Your Own Way
Foo Fighters--Everlong
The Guess Who--American Woman
HushPuppies--You're Gonna Say Yeah!
Interpol--Obstacle 1
Jane's Addiction--Mountain Song
Jimi Hendrix--The Wind Cries Mary
Jimi Hendrix--Purple Haze (Live)
Jimmy Eat World--The Middle
Joe Satriani--Satch Boogie
Kent--Vinternoll2
Korn--Freak on a Leash
Lacuna Coil--Our Truth
Lenny Kravitz--Are You Gonna Go My Way
Linkin Park--What I've Done
The Living End--Prisoner of Society
Los Lobos--La Bamba
Lostprophets--Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)
Lynyrd Skynyrd--Sweet Home Alabama (Live)
The Mars Volta--L'Via L'Viaquez
MC5's Wayne Kramer--Kick Out the Jams
Metallica--Trapped Under Ice
Michael Jackson--Beat It
Modest Mouse--Float On
Motorhead--Overkill
Muse--Assassin
Negramaro--Nuvole e Lenzuola
Nirvana--About A Girl [Unplugged]
No Doubt--Spiderwebs
NOFX--Soul Doubt
Oasis--Some Might Say
Ozzy Osbourne--Crazy Train
Ozzy Osbourne--Mr. Crowley
Paramore--Misery Business
Pat Benatar--Heartbreaker
Radio Futura--Escuela De Calor
R.E.M.--The One I Love
Rise Against--Re-Education Through Labor
Sex Pistols--Pretty Vacant
Silversun Pickups--Lazy Eye
Smashing Pumpkins--Today
Steely Dan--Do It Again
Steve Miller Band--The Joker
Sting--Demolition Man (Live)
The Stone Roses--Love Spreads
Stuck in the Sound--Toy Boy
Sublime--Santeria
Survivor--Eye of the Tiger
System Of A Down--B.Y.O.B.
Ted Nugent--Stranglehold
Ted Nugent--Original Guitar Duel Recording
Tokio Hotel--Monsoon
Tool--Parabola
Tool--Schism
Tool--Vicarious
Trust--Antisocial
Van Halen--Hot For Teacher
Willie Nelson--On The Road Again
Wings--Band on the Run
Zakk Wylde--Original Guitar Duel Recording

Enjoy!

Music Hall of Fame: Crash (Dave Matthews Band)

Crash was on my short list of albums to draw from for the next hall of fame inductee, but after LeRoi Moore's death earlier this month, there was no question anymore.

Crash was the first Dave Matthews Band album whose release I anticipated. Their three earlier albums came out before I was really into the band, and were released on a smaller scale. Crash was a blockbuster album, the follow-up to the wildly successful Under The Table And Dreaming. It didn't disappoint.

The singles off of this album were Too Much, So Much To Say, Crash Into Me, and Tripping Billies. I wouldn't put any of them in my personal top half on the album, but they're all fine songs; it's just that the other songs are fantastic. You ask Sam Cole what his favorite Dave Matthews Band song is, and he'll probably tell you Two Step. Sammy T. might say #41. At one point or another, Say Goodbye, Lie In Our Graves, and Drive In, Drive Out would each have been my favorite. And the first song I ever solo-ed along with on guitar was Proudest Monkey.

The album embodies most of what people like about the band. It's got the smooth saxophone, searing violin, and transcendent drums that have attracted people of all ages to the band. Matthews' voice isn't as breathy on this album as it sometimes is in their newer songs, and that's to the benefit of the band. Drive In, Drive Out specifically is a showcase of how all of these different sounds and different musicians can weave a tapestry of song that explodes with precision and mayhem.

In thinking about this album, I've realized that it came out almost half of my lifetime ago. But instead of thinking of that and feeling old, it just makes me realize how strong the music is. The fact that I've enjoyed the same music for 11+ years speaks either to its magnificence or my own stubbornness. I like to think it's a little of both.

The funny thing is, Crash is definitely one of my top five favorite albums of all time, but it might not even be my favorite Dave Matthews Band album. Under The Table And Dreaming and Before These Crowded Streets are both elite albums, and all three are constantly jockeying for position on the metaphorical totem pole of my musical taste.

Normally I don't plug products for purchase in the text; I let my opinion make the recommendation, and you can either follow it or ignore it. But this time, I implore you, buy the CD. It's listed at under $10, and it's a steal at twice the price. Get it.

Cover Bands Redux

I spoke with a few friends over the weekend, and realized that I may be using some incorrect terminology. I've been saying "cover band," but the way I understand it, when a band covers only one band's songs, they're more properly classified as a "tribute band." So that's what I'm looking for, a festival-style concert involving tribute bands.

I'm on the case.

Cover Bands

I was thinking the other night about LeRoi Moore, and how the Dave Matthews Band, in its original, most correct state, is done. The same is true for thousands of bands who've lost a member: Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers Band, Metallica, The Doors, Alice In Chains, and many more. Granted, Metallica's most popular days came after the loss of Cliff Burton, and the Allman Brothers Band still tours today, but to people who've followed the band since they became popular (like myself with regards to the Dave Matthews Band), the band is gone, and this is a new band with similar members.

Anyways, it got me to thinking about all of the bands who've broken up or lost members and who I'll likely never see in concert, and how that's a shame. Then I thought about the Michael McDonald concert I went to a few weeks ago (laugh if you like, but it was a good show), and how many of his most exciting songs were actually cover songs: Living For The City (Stevie Wonder), Into The Mystic (Van Morrison), Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen), Walk On By (Dionne Warwick), and several Motown songs. This is along the same lines as many jazz artists, who often play almost exclusively songs written by someone else. Jazz fans appreciate this; they get to hear familiar songs with a personal touch by the artists. But if you were to go to a rock show and the band played mostly cover songs, you'd be dissatisfied.

Or at least you think you would be. But say you went to a concert of a newer band, Wolfmother we'll say. They've got one album with 12 songs. Presumably they'll play more than 12 songs, so you're either going to hear songs you don't know, or covers. While I'm open to some new songs, it's always nice to hear familiarity. So if they played 8 of the songs from the album, plus assorted songs by their stated influences (Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, The White Stripes), I don't think anybody would go home unhappy (unless of course they sucked, but we'll assume they play the songs reasonably well).

A couple of particularly interesting bands to cover (and two that support the point I'm about to make) are Led Zeppelin and The Beatles. Those are two bands who've broken up for good and lost former members to death (George Harrison and John Lennon from The Beatles, John Bonham from Led Zeppelin), and even if they hadn't, the living members are getting awfully old, and we can foresee a time when they're all dead and gone, or at least incapable of playing shows.

So should the band's music die with the band? Of course not. We own CDs, we bought songs on iTunes, some of us own records and cassettes, we know how to play the songs on guitar or bass or drums, we sing the songs. We know the songs won't die as long as we like them. But there's something different and special about hearing a song played by professional musicians, people who know the song inside and out. But if Led Zeppelin is gone, how will we ever be able to enjoy their music in a concert again?

Cover bands. Cover bands are the answer. I know what you're saying, "Cover bands are lame, they just play other people's music." Think about that, though. Most music today is derivative of some music played in the past. Some of it is more than derivative; some songs are simply rearrangements, identical songs with changed lyrics, or out and out cover songs. And we're generally okay with that. So why would we not give any credit to a cover band? They've got the chops to play the music, and we like the music (or at least we did when the original band played it). I understand that there's a concern for a quality drop-off with cover bands, but if it's a really good cover band full of folks who can really play the shit out of their instrument, what do I care?

I'm stating for the record, here and now, that I'd love to see a Doors cover band open for a Led Zeppelin cover band in a legitimate concert theater. I'd be willing to pay good money to see a 3-hour show by a Pink Floyd cover band. Hell, I did pay good money to see the Allman Brothers Band, and they've only got half of the original members. And historically, when I go to concerts where I don't know the band's music that well, cover songs are sometimes the highlight of the show. As humans, we appreciate familiarity.

Thus, my new dream is for a festival-style concert featuring only premium cover bands. You can pay them cheaply, and after a few stops, people will start to catch on. I'm gonna do it. I'm sooo gonna do it.

Okay, probably not, but I hope someone else does.

Rock Band Guitar Strap Deals

A couple of really cheap guitar straps on Amazon:

- Tibetan Design
- Gothic Design

Buy them.

LeRoi Moore, 1961-2008

Dave Matthews Band saxophonist LeRoi Moore died Tuesday from complications resulting from an ATV accident on June 30th. He was no small part of the reason that the band enjoyed such success. Moore's strong jazz saxophone offered a thick complement to the more mainstream members of the band.

They've been my favorite band since high school, and it speaks to the strength of the band that I haven't wavered on that. I regret not getting out to see the band over the past few years. While I'm sure whoever they get to replace Moore will be an accomplished musician, LeRoi brought a special flavor to the music. There was a sense of maturity about his play as well as that of drummer Carter Beauford, when compared to the playful nature of Dave Matthews (guitar/vocals), Stefan Lessard (bass), and Boyd Tinsley (violin).

I can't really explain why Moore was different from other saxophonists, or why I think he was better. It's a subjective argument, and one that you couldn't in good conscience agree with without hearing the music. Luckily, the Internet offers about fifty billion ways to listen to music. I was able to quickly find what is, for me, the most memorable LeRoi Moore tune. It's a cover of All Along the Watchtower, off of the band's Recently CD. Moore's best segment starts at about the 4 minute mark, and culminates at about 5:30.

Enjoy it.

R.I.P. LeRoi.

iCraveit Coupon

iCraveit.com has a $5 off coupon. Enter code MIDNIGHTBOX when you're placing your order and you'll get $5 off your purchase. Expires August 30, 2008.

Video Game Hall of Fame: Grand Theft Auto 3

Listen, you guys might have thought you liked the first two GTA games, and they were alright, but the jump from GTA 2 to GTA 3 was like the jump from 10 Yard Fight to Madden 2001. On top of that, GTA 3 wasn't just an extremely fun game (which is definitely was), but it was also an important game.

First off, it gave the adventure genre something outside of the standard medieval style, a la Zelda or Diablo. By doing this, it set the stage for similar games like Mafia, Scarface, and Saints Row (which by the way is a phenomenal game, and a likely future HOF inductee), not to mention the 3 sequels, all of which have been highly-rated and well-received games (and again, candidates for future induction).

But while the style of game was creative, the content of the game was revolutionary. Never in such a mainstream game had mature themes been so front-and-center. From robbery to murder to prostitution, the game had plenty for the censorship boards to scream about. The game was widely condemned by supposed "moral leaders," including several religious groups, school administrators, and politicians.

For all the hullabaloo, though, the first amendment prevailed. The game received an "M" rating, restricting its sale to people 17 years or older, or children with their parents' presence and permission. It went on to become one of the highest-selling games of all time, selling over 15 million copies. More importantly, it paved the way for explicitly criminal activity to be featured in video games, which is really what we all wanted anyways, right?

The game itself is huge, with good enough variety in the missions, and a lot of freedom to explore, as well as rewards for doing so. It's got limitations, such as an inability to actually use taxi services or swim, but they really just gave the game designers something to fix in future versions. All in all, the game was more than most of us could have asked for, and it put Rock Star Games on the map for good. Hell, they can just keep making GTAs and never run out of business...not unlike the Madden franchise.

Xbox 360 + Madden '09 = $50 Amazon Gift Card

While I'm sure the title of the post gives you enough information to figure things out, let me spell it out for you. Amazon will give you a free $50 gift card if you purchase an Xbox 360 system and a copy of either Madden '09 or Madden '09 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition. It's not a bad deal if you're thinking about getting into the 360 game and are a Madden fan. Or hell, you can get the deal, sell Madden on eBay or Amazon, and use the money plus the gift card to buy some other games.

"Yeah and that's what happens when you talk about a disciplined defense. They stay at home and wait for the runner to come to them."

Music Hall of Fame: Keys To The Heart (Brian Auger's Oblivion Express)

"What the hell album is that?" That's probably your initial reaction, as well as your second, third, and fourth reactions to this induction. That's okay, most people haven't heard of the musicians or the album. The best description I can give for it is smooth jazz; it's generally light-hearted and agreeable, but still creative enough to be a worthwhile listen for the discerning ear.

I could go into a whole spiel about this album, but it's all already out there on the Internet, in the review I wrote for epinions a while back. So read that, and you'll understand all you need to know about this album.

One note: In my review, I declared the album to be a four star album. I stand by that rating, but I should point out that my opinion on ratings is less of a straight percent-based rating, and more of a bell curve. That is, 80-90% of albums will be 2, 3, or 4 stars. Only the sensationally good albums are 5 stars, and only the sensationally bad albums are 1 star. So, many albums that I might cite as being 4 star albums are still, in my opinion, hall of fame worthy. Just wanted to clarify that before opening things up to comments.

Cheap Ass Polo Shirts

Sears has a decent stock of polo shirts for $5.99 apiece. The link is here. They don't have anything in "man-size," but for all of you little people (XL or lower), you should be able to find something cheap.

A Meaningless Rock Band Post - Part 2

What do you do with a meaningless post? You follow it up with updates and responses, of course. After giving it some thought (and seeing that my list was 80% classic rock...when really 70% is plenty), I've made a couple of adjustments to my Top 10 Songs That Should Be In Rock Band list. List 2.0, again, in no particular order...except for Jungle Love. That song has just got to be in there. Anyways, the list:

1. Steve Miller Band - Jungle Love
2. Dream Theater - A Change of Seasons (don't tell me a 24 minute song won't work...it'll work)
3. Finger Eleven - Paralyzer (I don't care, I like it)
   
4. Ted Nugent - Stranglehold
   
5. Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers
6. Motley Crue - Kickstart My Heart
   
7. Jethro Tull - Locomotive Breath
8. Bill Withers - Use Me Up
   
9. Hard-Fi - Gotta Reason (if you own FIFA '06, you know the song)
   
10. Velvet Underground - Oh Sweet Nuthin'

A Meaningless Rock Band Post

So here's something that's completely useless: What songs should be added to the Rock Band downloadable content list? It's a discussion you can have with friends, but forwarding the results of that discussion to the folks at Harmonix is completely useless.

Fortunately, this a blog, where I can say whatever asinine shit I want, so here goes. What follows is my top ten songs that ought to be available for download for Rock Band (excluding Led Zeppelin, who apparently aren't yet interested in joining the fray...I guess the Beatles as well, but they don't have any songs that would make my list).

In no particular order:

1. Steve Miller Band - Jungle Love
2. Dream Theater - A Change of Seasons (don't tell me a 24 minute song won't work...it'll work)
3. Finger Eleven - Paralyzer (I don't care, I like it)
   
4. Cream - White Room
   
5. Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers
6. Motley Crue - Kickstart My Heart
   
7. Jethro Tull - Locomotive Breath
8. INXS - Elegantly Wasted
   
9. Scorpions - No One Like You
10. Velvet Underground - Oh Sweet Nuthin'

Yeah, so what it's mostly classic & 80s rock? It's my goddamn list.

Rock Band 2 Setlist

For those of you I haven't seen face-to-face recently, and who aren't on the pulse of the video game industry, here's a bit of news for you: Rock Band 2's release has been announced for September of 2008, and the setlist has been released.

A couple of the more exciting songs for me are Livin' on a Prayer, Peace Sells, Eye of the Tiger, Alive, and basically all of the 1970's songs. And of course, fans of The Office will appreciate You Oughta Know.

Video Game Hall of Fame: G.I.Joe

I was a huge G.I.Joe fan as a kid. I liked the toys, I liked the cartoon, I liked the idea of G.I.Joe. This persists today, as I'm a strong advocate of red lasers for good guys and green lasers for bad guys, and nobody ever dying in war, people always leaving their vehicle just before it explodes. I like that.

We got the G.I.Joe Nintendo game when my brother had some kind of ear surgery and was given the choice of a single game. Eddie's made some bad decisions in his life, but G.I.Joe was oh so good.

The basic gameplay is a pretty standard platform game. You are assigned a leader for each mission, and select two other soldiers to complete your team. Each soldier has varying capabilities; for example, Captain Grid-Iron is a dominant hand-to-hand combatant, while Snake Eyes can leap through the roof, and Rock n' Roll is your heavy weapons expert. Playing to each guy's strengths is part of the fun of the game, but really the fun is just playing the game.

Each level has a well-constructed boss, and by "well-constructed" I mean that each boss has a particular method to its madness. One of the keys to a good NES game is having tasks that can be figured out and defeated with the proper plan and execution. Newer games work on complex AI that mirrors human thought, but older games tend to work better if they're more like puzzle games. G.I.Joe does exactly that.

As usual with older games that I like, the music kicks ass. Unfortunately, though, OC Remix hasn't produced any remixes of songs from the game. I even posted a request in the forums (which I think is like sending an email to a professional athlete asking for an autograph: good luck). For those of you interested in this or any other old Nintendo game's original music, I've got a post in the works giving you the rundown on how to get the song files and how to set up your machine to be able to play them. It's easier than you think.

Back to the game, it's really one of the all-time greats on the original Nintendo system. I suggest you try it out, if you're able. Be a Real American Hero.

Printable Best Buy Coupon

Here's a printable $10 off $75 coupon for Best Buy, but you can't use it online. Gonna have to get off your butt for thirty seconds and drive over to the store. But hey, $10 off is $10 off.

The link is here.

Rockin' Deals

Hey guys, here are a couple of good deals on Rock Band/Guitar Hero gear.

• Amazonhas the Playstation 3 wireless Les Paul style guitar for $31.36. (Please note: As best I can tell, this guitar is not usable with Rock Band or Playstation 2 versions of Guitar Hero).
  
• For those of you living in the past who haven't bought a current-generation console yet (like myself), Amazonalso has the PlayStation 2 Rock Band Special Edition set (which just means it comes with all the instruments) for a cool $99.99.

Movie Hall of Fame: DONE

I've decided to nix the movie hall of fame. I like movies, but I don't see enough of them or care enough about most of them to really legitimately declare "hall of fame caliber" movies. So we're going to switch to 1st and 16th of each month, a new inductee for the music and video game halls of fame, respectively. To fill the void left by the ousting of the movie HOF, I'm going to start posting deals and coupons. I know I said previously that I was going to do it, but now I'm actually going to do it.

So, be ready for that.

Music Hall of Fame: Houses of the Holy (Led Zeppelin)

Led Zeppelin kicks so much ass.

The thing that I've found most impressive about Led Zeppelin is that, over time, I've come to appreciate almost all of their songs. Wait, appreciate isn't the right word. I can appreciate things that I don't like. I've come to really like almost every Zeppelin tune I've heard.

This CD, Houses of the Holy, has the three song set that might just be the best trifecta to open a CD of all time: The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, and Over the Hills and Far Away. Track one blows you away, seemingly the musical equivalent of a race against time. The Rain Song is arguably the greatest song ever made (I said arguably). The guitar part is smooth and relaxing, but still powerful, and Robert Plant's vocals are, as always, perfectly phrased. Over the Hills is the only radio-friendly of the three, but still holds true to the creative guitar and vocals that Zeppelin became known for.

The rest of the album is great as well. D'yer Mak'er is a huge radio hit and popular among most music fans. No Quarter appeals to a more segmented group, with its darker sounds, but is still tremendous. And the final track, The Ocean, has what I named my favorite lyric of all time:

"La, la, la la la la, la, la la la la la la la la."

What can I say? I'm a sucker for scat.

Most people who recommend Led Zeppelin to someone unfamiliar will recommend the untitled fourth album, also called IV or ZOSO. They're not wrong to make such a recommendation, and I imagine someday that album will make its way into the hall of fame. But for my money, Houses of the Holy is the best album Zeppelin ever made, so that's my recommendation.

Installing Xbox Games

I was at Best Buy the other day, and I found something that seemed seedy; maybe you guys will see it differently. I was looking at Xbox 360 games, and noticed a sticker on one of them offering Best Buy's expertise in installing the game for customers.

What?

Doesn't the installation process for a console game consist of putting the game in the 360 and turning it on? I'm sure it's profitable for Best Buy to charge people whatever they charge for installations, but shouldn't the technicians have some sort of moral problem with it? They know there's nothing to it. If anyone pays to have a console game installed, the technician needs to make sure they only do it once, and they realize how silly it is to pay for that.

Generally I'm fine with exploiting the very stupidest of our fellow humans, but you should feel some kind of guilt when you do it this egregiously. I don't know, maybe I'm a sucker.

Yeah, I'm a sucker.

Video Game Hall of Fame: Halo

We take a step just a little bit forward with this month's induction into the Video Game Hall of Fame, and embrace a game that came out after the turn of the century. Halo was widely appreciated as a great accomplishment, and one of the reasons that the Xbox would be here to stay. It really ended up being the game that was able to counter the ridiculous size of the Xbox controller and have broad-reaching entertainment. People who had never played first-person shooters came around, because the game was so smooth and well-designed. And long-time gamers appreciated the depth of gameplay and the fact that, finally, a futuristic first-person shooter didn't suck ass.

The campaign portion of Halo was tremendous. I say "campaign" rather than single-player because, at long last, this was a game that offered a two player cooperative campaign. The logic behind it was limited, as there is supposed to be only one Master Chief, but when it comes down to eliminating aliens, you don't need a reason. There are lots of situations where one player can hold the attention of enemies, and the other can slip behind them and bust things up. You feel like a well-oiled machine when it goes right, and a complete boob when it goes wrong.

One feature in particular of the multiplayer campaign made for some good laughs when I played through with my brother. When one of the two players dies in cooperative play, the player is spawned at the location of the second player, so long as they're in a safe location without enemies nearby. My penchant for sniping and taking cover, combined with my brother's maverick attitude, meant that he was essentially bait in big battles. He'd run out into the open, kill a couple guys, and draw more guys to him. Then, he'd start tossing grenades, and I'd start popping pistol rounds into alien skulls. He'd die, I'd fall back a bit, and he'd get respawned. And we'd do it all over again.

The adversarial multiplayer options are also very well done. The maps are well-constructed and, more importantly, well-balanced. Some of the weapons are a little unbalanced (specifically the pistol), but in most levels everyone starts with the pistol, so the playing field is pretty level. As far as game types, you have the standard death match and team death match, as well as king of the hill, capture the flag, and "odd ball," in which a player or team tries to hold the "ball" for as long as possible. The options available are numerous and interesting, from giving every player permanent invisibility or unlimited grenades to giving each player a specific target to kill. They make for a wide variety of enjoyable games.

The apex of Halo, however, is in the system link option. You can link up to four Xboxes together for up to 16 players playing together at the same time. The scope of these mega-matches give you the PC online experience of a chaotic, action-packed game, with the allure of knowing everyone in your game. Trash-talking becomes an art form in these kinds of games, and you learn to appreciate it as much as solid gameplay. This facet, the "big game" feature, is what has made the original Halo playable even today. Our familiarity with the maps and nostalgia for the original have brought people together on multiple occasions to compete in massive struggles for supremacy.

In the end, Halo did both ends right (campaign and multiplayer), which is all too rare in the video game world today. It was this combination of accomplishments that made Halo one of the games of the decade, and one of the early inductees into this hall of fame.

Deals?

Hey, I was thinking about perusing Amazon for more deals (mostly video games) to post here, and I wanted to see if anybody has anything else that you'd like me to keep an eye out for. I have a decent amount of free time at work, so I stumble upon all sorts of deals from time to time. I also have a couple of other sites that I sometimes get deals/coupons for, and I'd be happy to share those as well.

They'll be properly linked, which means I get a cut of the action, but the price for you will be the same, so you can enjoy all the benefits of a personal shopping assistant without having to worry about me grabbing your ass...yet.

What?

Movie Hall of Fame: The Usual Suspects

This was the movie. When people wanted to know what movie to rent, this was the movie. When people asked what your favorite movie was for the months that followed your initial screening, this was the movie. This was the movie that made us demand some kind of completely surprising twist at the end of any "dramatic" movie. This was the movie you wouldn't let people watch the end of if they weren't paying attention to the rest of it, because they wouldn't "get it." This was the movie.

The first time I watched it, even I didn't really get it. I mean, I was like 16, so I didn't really get much of anything, but I wasn't sure that I even liked the movie initially. But the times changed. I grew up, and began to appreciate complex storylines, and this movie really started to shine through. I liked the betrayals, the suspicions, and the investigation. Also, as a teenager, I liked the fact that the movie was about criminals and crime. There was (and to an extent still is) something about a life of crime that piques my interest.

The Usual Suspects doesn't have an all-star cast. The "headliner" is Stephen Baldwin, who's fine, but not exceptional. There are some other bright spots: Kevin Spacey is good (but not as good as the accolades he tends to get), Benicio Del Toro does a very nice job of playing a kind of loopy guy, and Chazz Palminteri plays in a much more serious role than he played in A Night at the Roxbury. But generally, it's pretty good acting and fantastic story-writing.

I'd love to tell you more about the story, but if you haven't seen it, I don't want to ruin a moment of the movie for you. I'll leave you with a couple of very vague pieces of information: it's a crime drama that you'll enjoy the first time you see it, and like it more each successive time. And once you've seen it, you'll want to discuss it with everyone around you. Just remember, the movie came out over a decade ago, so you may look foolish. But hey, you never know. You might find someone like me, who, regardless of how old something is, I love it.

(See my video game HOF choices).

Music Hall of Fame: Throwing Copper (Live)

Just to clarify, this album is by the band Live, it's not a live album.

When I was in high school, I didn't really know much about music. I heard songs and liked them, but rarely knew who the band was or what other songs they did. I knew Dave Matthews Band, Counting Crows, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Spin Doctors, and that was pretty much it. My cousin told me she liked Live, and I said, "Oh, I don't know them." Which was half-true; I didn't know who they were. But I would find out soon enough that I actually like several of their songs.

It happened while I was at the beach with said cousin. We were driving somewhere and a song came on the radio, and I said, "Turn it up, I love this song!" She said, "This is Live, the band you said you didn't know." It was Pain Lies On The Riverside, off of the Mental Jewelry album, immediately preceding Throwing Copper. I said, "Oh, maybe I do like them then. What are some other songs by them?"

She proceeded to hum four or five songs from Throwing Copper, and they were all songs I had heard and enjoyed: All Over You, Lightning Crashes, Selling the Drama, I Alone, and possibly White, Discussion. I say "possibly" not because I'm unsure of whether or not I like the song; it's in fact definitely my favorite among the five radio hits from the album. I say it because I'm not sure if she had suggested that song to me at that time; the others I'm fairly certain about.

So, armed with the knowledge that I already liked the album, I went out and bought Throwing Copper. It was beautiful. The album opens with The Dam at Otter Creek, which is anything but mainstream, but it ends up being a really "neat" song. Neat like cool, not neat like tidy. The radio hits are sprinkled throughout the album, but the other songs are often just as good. Iris and Top are both a little less radio-friendly, but a little more interesting. Another tune sort of like Otter Creek. is T.B.D., which may or may not be a playful title, like when Dave Matthews Band uses numbers (#41, #36, etc). Regardless of the meaning behind the title, the song is dark and foreboding, but also quiet and calm. I love it.

You might ask, "Who would like this album, Joe?" And my first inclination would be, "Anyone who likes rock," but then there's the example of Chip. Chip appears to like rock, but can't stand Live (or Van Halen, but that's another story). I would guess that you maybe have to enjoy some of the harder rock bands, like Alice In Chains, Megadeth, or Soundgarden. Not that I know for sure that Chip doesn't like those bands; he may love them. I'm just trying to do what I can to guide your music exploration.

Regardless of your tastes, if you haven't really heard any Live, I suggest you give them a whirl. I'll make you a mix tape!

Memorial Day Weekend

I'm heading to Atlantic City for the long Memorial Day weekend, hoping to come back with at least the clothes that I arrived with. Anything on top of that (you know, like cash) is just a bonus. We're staying at Resorts on Thursday night for free, as I'm finally taking advantage of the money I've lost in the past and getting a free weekday room. Then, Friday/Saturday/Sunday nights, we're going to the Showboat, which had slightly lower prices than the other casinos with vacancies.

There was some discussion when we were making plans about staying in a crummy hotel as opposed to one of the casinos. Initially I figured a hotel/motel would be better because of the price, but a few factors changed my mind:

• Convenience. There's nothing quite like walking out of your room, taking an elevator, and immediately placing bets. Hotels can get close, but they can't match it.
• The "Fancy" factor. I've stayed in a couple of very nice hotels, but casinos are just a little bit better. The room we got at Resorts a few years back was just huge, and while you don't use much of that space, you feel more comfortable with it there.
• Safety. Atlantic City is not a nice town. If you go more than one block off the boardwalk, you're asking for trouble. Staying at a casino means that you never have to set foot on the sidewalk if you don't want to, and trust me: you don't want to.
• Price. I know what you're thinking. Casinos, Joe? They're always so expensive. And you're right, staying in a casino is substantially more expensive than staying in a motel. But really, what's the value of that price? You'd still be paying around $200/night at the crummiest of places in Atlantic City, and if you're going to be shelling out that kind of cash, don't you at least want to enjoy the place you're paying for? You work hard for the money. You'd better treat you right.

Best wishes for everyone this weekend. Have a fun and safe holiday, and we'll see you Tuesday.

Video Game Hall of Fame: Civilization 2 Multiplayer Edition

You know what I’ve noticed about these first few inductees to the video game hall of fame? Well, for starters, they’re all sequels: Civ2, Diablo 2, Mega Man 2. They’re also all older games, which sort of makes sense. You don’t induct Albert Pujols today; you make sure that he can stand the test of time as one of the best in the game. Chances are he holds up, just as chances are that (insert your favorite new video game here) holds up. But that’s why you play the games…hey, how about that double-meaning?

Today brings us to Civilization 2. I was a big fan of the original Civilization game; I remember playing it at Learningsmith in the local mall and thinking, “This is the kind of game I want to play for the rest of my life.” So when Civ2 came out, I was ready to hop on board. The game stays very true to its predecessor, remaining a turn-based strategy game, but with a lot of added complexities that really enrich the experience. They incorporated a couple of new battle concepts (to prevent spearmen from beating tanks…too often), and changed up some of the wonders of the world to try to balance them a little better. Additionally, they improved diplomacy (slightly) and added an Internet- and network-capable multiplayer option.

But at its heart, the reasons that Civ2 was tremendous were the same reasons that the original game was so much fun: building up cities, waging war, managing research, and conquering the world (in whichever way you see fit). The opportunity to play against your friends is obviously a bonus, especially since the difficulty levels on the game seem to get very hard, very quickly. Level 1 is “Chieftain,” which is relatively easy. Level 2 is “Warlord,” where you’ll lose most battles. Anything beyond that and you really must just be a glutton for punishment.

The game runs easily in any Windows starting at 95, up to and including XP (I haven’t tried it in Vista, but I assume Vista cracks your disc in half and spits on your face). It runs in a window; add to this the fact that it’s turn-based, and you’ve got the perfect game for when you’re multi-tasking. You can run AIM and Gmail while you play, and even kick in an online TV show.

It’s not widely available for purchase anymore, but you should be able to find a copy on eBay or Amazon. Give me a holler if you need help and I’ll try to find it for you.

Movie Hall of Fame: Braveheart

Braveheart was one of the least-anticipated movies among those I'd consider hall of fame worthy. The reason, of course, is that when I was 15 years old, I didn't really care for "epic" movies. I was more into...well, I don't know what I was into, I didn't really watch a lot of movies back then. But for as long as I can remember appreciating movies, I've thought Braveheart was a tremendous film.

I've met more than a few people who feel the same way as I do, but I've also met a few people who don't care for Braveheart, and while I think they're as wrong as you can be, I sort of understand it. Some people (such as those who don't like Braveheart) are weak-minded ne'er-do-wells, the dregs of society who can't appreciate a true cinematic masterpiece when it's staring them in the face. That's their cross to bear; mine is that I am compelled to berate them at every turn.

Seriously, how could you not like Braveheart? It's got one of the best villains of all time in King Edward the Longshanks, a great protagonist in William Wallace, and a perfect sidekick, Hamish, the red-haired bruiser. It's got a ton of memorable and quotable lines, some of the best action scenes of this era, and for the ladies, a pair of love interests, both of whom are romanced by Wallace in a sappy enough way that only the truest "chick flick" fan would be disappointed.

One thing I've found most interesting about this movie is looking for some of the actors in other films, specifically Brendan Gleeson, who plays Hamish. He was in the past two Harry Potter films (as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody) and Kingdom of Heaven (as the warmongering Reynald de Chatillon). Gleeson and Brian Cox (who plays William's uncle Argyle) were in Troy (among the siegers), and Cox was also in the first two Bourne movies, The Escapist, X-Men 2, and lent his voice to a pair of video games (Manhunt and Killzone). Cox was also in a bar/restaurant in Westminster, MD one time, and my brother's roommate talked to him. Angus Macfadyen, who played Robert the Bruce in Braveheart, appeared in Saw III & IV and episodes of Alias and ESPN's Tilt.

I don't know why it's interesting. I think maybe it's the whole "six degrees" thing. Plus, for whatever reason, I find some satisfaction out of recognizing voices and faces from movies/shows/video games. Familiarity is the key.

There was apparently a poorly-received Braveheart video game, but I never played it. You have to think that it's a franchise that someone will tap into again to make a new video game, and if they do it right, it could be really excellent.

But back to the movie, it's really one of the best movies of our time, and it will (and should) go down in movie history as one of the all-time greats. In that regard, it is unique among the current member movies of the House Housington Movie Hall of Fame. But don't worry, we'll get some other legitimate powerhouse movies to make Braveheart feel right at home.

Portal

I tried to think of a witty title for this post, but I was up late playing the aforementioned game, and I'm too tired now at work to be creative.

Portal is part of The Orange Box, a 5-game pack from the makers of Half-Life. In addition to Portal, it includes the previously released Half-Life 2, as well as two follow-up "episodes," and Team Fortress 2, a multiplayer shooter game that involves characters with different roles (medic, engineer, soldier, 6 others). While I'm excited about playing the rest of the games in the suite, Portal is the only game I'm going to discuss right now.

The basic concept of the game is one of solving puzzles. Think of a first-person version of The Adventures of Lolo or Solomon's Key. The equivalent of Solomon's wand in this game is the Portal gun, which you don't have fully together until level 7 or so. Using the portal gun, you can create two ends of a portal, one orange and one blue. The two portals link to each other, so you can transport yourself to many different places in the world, and you'll have to do just that to progress in this game.

The first 15-20 challenges are refined, constructed rooms, designed specifically to test the player in a training sort of context. There are still deadly foes, so your life is on the line, but the game auto-saves after every minor accomplishment, and it offers a manual save anywhere in the game, so you won't have to worry about "lives" like in old NES puzzle games. After the final "test" room, you begin the more intense and more Half-Life style portion of the game. You still use your portal gun to move forward in the game, but things are much more dangerous, and you'll have to dodge bullets and pistons to stay alive.

One of the more endearing aspects of this game is GLaDOS, the artificial intelligence that guides you through the test rooms, and becomes the main antagonist by the end of the game. It's a robotic female voice that offers advice, quips, and sometimes outright lies about your progress in the game (such as the one room that she states is impossible). She's very funny, as are a few other aspects of the game, such as the machine gun drones who whine when you disable them. GLaDOS also sings a song at the end of the game that really embodies the attitude of the game. If you're itching to hear/see it, YouTube has got a bunch of videos of the end credits (the song is called Still Alive). For those of you who own Rock Band for the 360, it's a free download to add the song to your game.

The one shortcoming of the game is that it's very short. I played for two hours one night, then beat it the following night after another hour. But even though the game doesn't last very long, it's got a decent amount of lasting appeal, as I could definitely see going through the game again in a month.

A link I've found when reading about the game is here. It's a blog with a lot of Portal-inspired media, like songs and sound clips. Some pretty neat stuff on there, worth checking out I think.

Music Hall of Fame: AEnima (Tool)

Note: I know the title isn't written correctly; I tried using the percent signs and such to make the combination A/E but it didn't work. You know what album I'm talking about, so stop complaining.

In high school and the summer to follow, this album was featured heavily when hanging out with "the group," which included Nitin, Sam, Sam, Chip, Laura, Scott, Joe Perez, Carmack, and a few other stragglers from time to time like Lu and Victor. Oh, Victor. Anyways, back to the album. I used to get pissed off when someone (read: Nitin or Perez) would put it on. I found the music abrasive and disagreeable, and a stark contrast from the bands I enjoyed most at that time in my life, like DMB, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Counting Crows.

I don't know exactly when it was, though if I were to guess, I'd say sometime during my freshman year of college, but I quietly started to enjoy the album. I think I warmed up to it a little bit before then, when we all went to North Carolina for our senior spring break trip. Then, a few trips to visit Nitin at UMD, and I was on the path to Toolville...I know it's not a real place, it's a metaphor, dick.

Anyways, eventually I acquired a Tool CD from Scott. He had made his own "Best of Tool" CD, but then changed his mind about what he wanted to put on the album, rendering the original obsolete. The winner, of course, was me.

Among my favorite songs from this album are H, Stinkfist, Eulogy, and the title track, but the first song I truly embraced was Forty-Six & 2. It's more along the lines of a standard song rather than the industrial/electronic sound that surrounds a lot of their other music. It still hits as hard as any of them, but I think I found it easier to enjoy Forty-Six & 2 earlier because it wasn't all that different from traditional music. The guitar hook is tremendous, one of my favorites from the 90s.

But what really defines this album is the tracks that aren't truly "songs" by the standard definition. Message to Harry Manback is...well, you've really just got to hear it. Also, if you're familiar with Ana Nuckols, you've really got to imagine her saying the stuff from that track, it's a riot. Die Eier von Satan is perhaps the most memorable track on the whole album, drawing its lyrics from a baking recipe, but reciting it in German and making it sound like a political rally...think Nazis.

"Die hard" Tool fans will say Undertow should be the hall of fame inductee, and they're not wrong. Undertow is a tremendous album, and I'd venture to say it may even have more of a broad appeal. But I don't have any stories about Undertow. I've got plenty about this one, so this is the one that makes it...first. Stay tuned, maybe Undertow gets the nod down the road.

Ikariam

I've been monitoring the progress of a pending MMORTS (massively multiplayer online real-time strategy) game called Beyond Protocol. It seems very interesting, at least in theory, and I've been doing a little pestering of the folks there, re-applying to the beta at least one extra time, I think twice, and reading up on the discussions people are having about the game. The diplomacy portion is what I'm really interested in, as it looks like they're planning on having a galaxy-governing body through which players can actually generate changes to the game. How this actually shakes out remains to be seen, but needless to say, I'm intrigued.

But in the meantime, I've been looking for other MMORTS-style games to quench my thirst. I play the occasional game of WarCraft III online, but it's not really what I'm looking for. I want more of a broad scope interactive game that includes diplomacy, economics, city management, and a civilian aspect of the game. Beyond Protocol may not even be that game, as I haven't seen much as far as the civilian side of things. So I've been looking around.

I did some browsing on Wikipedia and stumbled upon Ikariam. I've created an account (on Lambda world, if anyone else wants to join up), and I'm sort of testing the waters. It's a free system, though there is some kind of enhanced experience that you can get by buying "ambrosia" (using real money) and spending that. I haven't investigated that aspect too much, since for the time being I'm really just looking for a time-killer.

In that vein, one of the most appealing aspects of Ikariam is that it's a browser-based game. This means that, if I like, I can check in on it while I'm at work without having to install a big program or anything. I like the idea of checking in, giving new orders, and then getting back to the business of the day....which for me would probably be looking for more of those kinds of games.

Anyways, I've gotten to play it a little bit, and it seems very Civilization-esque. It's got a few different levels of management, from inside your city to the island that you share with a number of other cities, to the whole world (again, Lambda for me). You allocate resources to different tasks (military, research, resource management, etc.), and try to build your city so that it's strong enough to defend itself from eventual attackers while having the capacity to expand to new territories. Again, I'm very early in the game, and don't know exactly how combat or expansion works, but I know they're in the game somehow, and I'm looking forward to finding out.

All in all, it seems encouraging. I'm not going to declare right now that it's my kind of game, but it's certainly got the tools to be something I'm happy to throw some time into. If you decide to join up, let me know so I can track your town's progress and direct you towards my own.

Video Game Hall of Fame: Mega Man 2

Younger people are going to remember their first big time video game as something relatively recent, maybe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, or Super Mario Kart, or Super Smash Brothers. And older folks will probably remember Tetris or Pong. For people my age and a bit younger, there's going to be a wide variety of games, like Super Mario Brothers, Ninja Gaiden, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Dragon Warrior. But for me, the first, big time, "gotta play it for as long as my mom will let me" game was Mega Man 2.

Mega Man 2 had all the things people liked about the Super Mario Brothers series: jumping, running, and bad guys. It was a fairly standard platform game, as were many of the most popular games of that era. But there were a few really neat pieces that made it one of my favorite games of all time, and based on my conversations with others around my age, I'm not alone.

First, the concept of taking your enemy's weapon and using it yourself is awesome. I'm sure it wasn't started in the Mega Man series, and plenty of people out there would suggest some other origin for the concept, but the first time I saw it was in Mega Man 2. Beating Wood Man and then using the leaf shield to get through Crash Man's stage was very gratifying. As was using the air cannon from Air Man to take down Crash Man himself in two hits.

The second aspect of Mega Man 2 that warmed my heart was the ability to choose your path for at least the first half of the game. Initially, you spend all your time trying to figure out which weapon works best on which boss, so you can try to always have your enemy's weakness handy. But as time goes on, it became more of a personal challenge. For those of you familiar with the game, you'll know that trying to beat Quick Man's stage without Flash Man's weapon was a very serious undertaking. And when I was finally able to do it, I felt like a million bucks.

But there's one thing that transcends even those two impressive features: the music. You wouldn't think that the music from an old 8-bit Nintendo game would be such a selling point, but it was absolutely tremendous. Each song suited its stage brilliantly, and they were all well made tunes. What's that you say? That kind of music would've been nice enough in the 80's, but nobody cares about it today? Not so fast, my friend. Check out the many remixes that have been done of classic Mega Man 2 songs on OCRemix.org, a favorite site of mine.

This may be called a "Blog For The Modern Human," but sometimes its the classics that hold the most sway. I could play Mega Man 2 today and love it. In fact....I've got to run.

Flight of the Conchords

Alright, it's time. You've probably heard me allude to them on here or my other blog, or make countless references in conversation. But now it's finally time for me to tell you how much I love Flight of the Conchords.

A lot.

There are actually two entities called Flight of the Conchords: the band and the show, starring the band. I like the band, but I'm more impressed with the show. Granted, each episode has at least two songs written by the band, and they're not always perfectly integrated, but their main goal is comedic, and the show has more LPMs (laughs per minute) than any of their songs.

The trouble, of course, is that retelling the jokes in written form is a complete waste. You'll have to get out there and look for yourselves. YouTube has got a lot of clips from the show, but some of them are out of context and may not be as humorous as they could be. In fact, to really show you what the show is all about, it's probably better to tell you to look up the music videos from the show on YouTube. Some of them don't really fit into the storylines, or give you a good idea of what the show is all about, but I've got a few that are particularly funny, and also give you a good sense of the show's sense of humor. I'll link them to their respective videos when I get home; I'm at work right now and YouTube is among the very few restricted websites.

• Business Time
• The Most Beautiful Girl In The Room
• Albi, The Racist Dragon
• Pencils In The Wind

With season one available for $19.99 at Circuit City online, it's a small investment that you can expect to return a lot of laughs. If you enjoy the videos, you'll love the show. Think of the Office, except with characters who are more quirky and less insane.