Official Off Topic Thread

[Kenneth R.]

There's films like Mullholland Drive where figuring out wtf is going on is half the fun.

In print, Wolfe's 5th Head of Cerberus comes to mind. The first thing any reader has to do is figure out who the narrators are, then the order of events, and only then, the greater meaning/message.

 

[EyeballKid]

Oh, no, I get that style of storytelling, Ken. I'm usually a fan of it. I'm usually the guy defending David Lynch. I've never read Wolfe, but I am a big fan of post-modern lit, which shares much of the same stylistic flair.

The issue with Prometheus is that it gives us new information that directly conflicts pre-existing information. It seems like Lindelof and Scott decided it wasn't going to be an Alien prequel, so they changed just enough of the tiny details to make it something different, i.e. LV-223 (not LV-426) being the planet on which an Engineer vessel crashed with only a single alien around to start causing trouble. It just don't make a damn lick a' sense. If it was a stand alone story, everything would be kosher. But it clearly was meant to set up Alien, and yet the filmmakers claim the opposite. So I guess my issue is more with Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof than with the film itself, which I found highly entertaining.

 

[Kenneth R.]

fair enough. i never went in expecting or caring about any tie-in. 223 could be a different place than 426. The only part that ties it too strongly, and causes me to side with you on that aspect, is the last 30 second scene which shouldn't have been included. in my mind, the film ended before it and that just makes it flawless.

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

Save for a few poppy moments, am I the only one that thinks the new Circus Maximus is great?

Detective, my favourite track is number 9 (Burn After Reading). I don't know if you've made it that far, but I think it's a great track.

The single is easily the worst song on the album.

Overall: Solid, shows maturity, and has a nice layer of polish. Contains some of the worst CM moments, but also some of the best.
I also love that a lot of the verses are interesting, and the song structures aren't always Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus; there are modified versions of verses second times through, or different parts thrown in altogether (though not as varied as the godly Opeth/Leprous structures).

 

[Isaac_de_Moorea]

^

There are more than a few poppy moments on Nine. IMO Game of Life, Reach Within and I Am are maybe the worst 14 consecutive minutes of CM

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

I know what you mean... and I really dislike pop, but for some reason, I still love the album overall.

 

[Detective Clarence Beauregard]

Detective, my favourite track is number 9 (Burn After Reading). I don't know if you've made it that far, but I think it's a great track.

The single is easily the worst song on the album.

I also love that a lot of the verses are interesting, and the song structures aren't always Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus; there are modified versions of verses second times through, or different parts thrown in altogether (though not as varied as the godly Opeth/Leprous structures).

Just heard Burn After Reading; great song. The instrumental part gets a bit nu-Dream Theaterish, but only in tiny doses. I'm going to give this album another full spin soon to see how it compares to their first two, which I like a lot.

Listening to the last track right now, and wow does the opening guitar sound like Satriani. Nice.

Which track is the single?

Also, I will always defend unorthodox song structures; verse-chorus gets old very quickly for me. It's one of the problems I've had with Symphony X's last few albums.

Favorite CM songs:

- A Darkened Mind
- From Childhood's Hour
- Ultimate Sacrifice
- Sin
- Alive
- Glory of the Empire

 

[Kenneth R.]

Glory of The Empire is head and shoulders above most of their catalog. Sin & Alive are quite good though too.

 

[JesterIF]

Save for a few poppy moments, am I the only one that thinks the new Circus Maximus is great?

Detective, my favourite track is number 9 (Burn After Reading). I don't know if you've made it that far, but I think it's a great track.

The single is easily the worst song on the album.

Overall: Solid, shows maturity, and has a nice layer of polish. Contains some of the worst CM moments, but also some of the best.
I also love that a lot of the verses are interesting, and the song structures aren't always Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus; there are modified versions of verses second times through, or different parts thrown in altogether (though not as varied as the godly Opeth/Leprous structures).

I mostly agree with you here. I think it's a great album overall. However, I believe "poppy" is not something that's inherently bad. It's just that pop is shitty nowadays.

The album isn't The Second Chapter or Isolate Again, but it's pretty good for what it is.

 

[Sauna]

Glory of The Empire is head and shoulders above most of their catalog. Sin & Alive are quite good though too.

Alive is like the worst song ever. uke:

It's just that pop is shitty nowadays.

No it isn't. It's like many genres of music: a lot of it is pretty bad and the bad stuff is getting the most attention.

 

[Phanto]

only in dance music and dubstep is the non-mainstream just as shitty as the mainstream.

 

[Wander]

Quality and popularity are two completely separate things. Something can be both or neither or just one of these things.

 

[Sauna]

^---Yes.

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

Quality and popularity are two completely separate things. Something can be both or neither or just one of these things.

"Can" is the key word, though.

The single on Nine is Reach Within... and you can tell.

 

[Postulate]

"Can" is the key word, though.

The single on Nine is Reach Within... and you can tell.

Ha. If I heard it on the radio, my first thought would be "that's weird, why does this band have a proficient drummer?"

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

I don't really like comedy in my music either.

I haven't heard Weather Systems by Anathema yet, but the new RPWL has a great chance of remaining in my top 5 of 2012 by the end of the year! Fantastic album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgl-lNNHSKs

Also, Dark Suns' new album "Orange" is fantastic (I finally got my copy ). It sounds very authentic... it's very strange (notes, progressions, arrangements), and I get the feeling that not many bands could have pulled off an album like this. It took me a couple of listens to fully realize its greatness. Not for everybody. (I know this album may be considered a 2011 release, but it was not avail. for me to buy until 2012... so uhh... 2012 release, dammit!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldT9oTKSEGU&feature=relmfu

From what I'm hearing about Weather Systems, it will probably make it to my top 5 as well! Good year so far!

I forgot I posted this; it was the last comment on a page a few pages ago.
I wanted to get other opinions on this, too.

The first half of the new RPWL is best, imo, but I'm still fairly new to the album.

Coincidentally, I'm halfway through Weather Systems right now... so far so good

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

Ha. If I heard it on the radio, my first thought would be "that's weird, why does this band have a proficient drummer?"

Ouch...

I'm not a fan of his style on the first two discs either.

 

[donKyle]

Popular music: why is it popular?

 

[Wander]

Cause a lot of people like it. But of course it goes deeper. Marketing, promoting, radio play, whatever.

 

[Sauna]

Saw Prometheus just now and it was awesome. A movie that doesn't hold the viewer by the hand all the way through seems to be a rare treat these days. I was really surprised to find that it actually made the lore of the Alien universe even more interesting, kudos to Ridley for pulling it off. Also, H. R. Giger once again proved that he rules.

Sorry, but no. There's simply nothing to get. It was just plain bad writing.

Seeing Alien before seeing Prometheus makes it easier to digest. Also, you clearly weren't paying enough attention.

The issue with Prometheus is that it gives us new information that directly conflicts pre-existing information.

The only thing that is in conflinct between Alien and Prometheus is the name of the planet, since I'd say it's pretty safe to assume both movies are set on the same rock. I could think of reasons why they would do this on purpose, but they'd be a bit contrived.

Why do you assume there was only one alien around on the planet in Prometheus? There were most certainly more, since some of the dead beings found lying around the alien ship were described as being ruptured from the inside. It's an organism that's strange by definition, we can't pretend we know precisely how it works based on Alien alone. It seems they had reverted into some kind of dormant state when they ran out of people to eat and started to become active again when the crew of Prometheus came strolling around. There were plenty of indicators pointing towards this. It's assumable that the larva-like alien that those two stranded guys found would have, along with it's brethren, entered the cocoon-like state seen in Alien by the time Ripley and co. got there.

That said, it's exceedingly confusing and feels like minor details were changed halfway through development for the sole purpose of saying, "No, this movie isn't an Alien prequel"

I didn't think so at all. Please elaborate.

If I had to bitch, it would be that the last 10 seconds of the film be cut. Nothing else.

I can't recall what exactly would be lost if ten seconds were cut, but personally I would have ended it without revealing whether Shaw and David got the other ship working. Showing them heading towards it and ending it there would have been perfect.