As you may or may not be able to tell from previous posts, I am a big fan of what I am going to call Nerd Rock. Actually, to be fair I stole that term from this article. But what I mean is music that is about books, movies, pop culture, robots, zombies, etc. Whether it's Jonathan Coulton, one of my many favorite Wizard rockers, or some random song about Bellingham on YouTube, (and I could go on) these songs seem to always be at the top of my playlist (and they crowd out the thousands of other songs on my iPod to make it into the Top 25 most played). I love it when these songs are humorous and when they are emotional. I enjoy songs from the point of view of fictional characters, or those that look at the happenings of a story from the outside. When the song's interpretation is similar to mine I can find an instant connection, and when it's different then I can see this story in a new light. My two recent online music purchases add tremendously to this growing genre (further proof that nerds are taking over the world in more ways than before) and I cannot stop listening. Here's a brief summary and review of what I have been listening to repeatedly since downloading.
The Oceanic Six - Greatest Hits, Vol 1
Now that I've finished Lost I was finally able to download for myself what I had purchased for a friend at the beginning of the year. Alex Carpenter (of the Wizard Rock band The Remus Lupins), Jason Munday (of the Wizard Rock band Ministry of Magic and his own project Skyway Flyer), and Luke Conard's (also of Ministry of Magic as well as ALL CAPS) band dedicated solely to one of the most popular and discussed TV shows in the last decade. The album only covers seasons 1-5, so if you haven't gotten around to the final season there are no spoilers. The music combines everything that I love from the band members' other efforts and their respective styles, and sings about things that I can now relate to. I absolutely love Henry Gale - which I listened to prior to watching and was a bit of a spoiler when I finally watched the show, but I think general pop culture knowledge had spoiled some elements of Michael Emerson's character - which is high energy and very catchy (in a good way, not like a disease). However, I think Will You Be My Constant and Dude are my favorites, largely because they are about my favorite characters. Will You Be My Constant tells beautifully of Desmond & Penny's love while Dude gives a little insight into how everyone loves Hurley, even if he thinks he is cursed. The whole album is fantastic, and if we're being honest, a small part of why I wanted to watch this show. If people who write such fun and at times poignant music about other things that I love can put together an entire album about this show, it must be worth checking out.
Alex Carpenter - Freedom in Panem
As the world prepared for Mockingjay the final chapter of the Hunger Games series (my review/reaction can be found here), Alex Carpenter did so in his own way, by writing an emotional EP about the first two books in the series. These 5 songs cover brilliantly the important moments and emotions from Hunger Games and Catching Fire. There are some catchy hooks and some beautiful melodies. Overall, a fantastic EP, so wonderful that I haven't even picked a favorite song yet.
I am hopeful that these guys will write just a little more on these topics - the final season of Lost and Mockingjay - but I am elated to have these 15 songs playing randomly and repeatedly for now and look forward to more music from them all on whatever topics, nerdy or otherwise.
Showing posts with label Lost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lost. Show all posts
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Something new, something old, and something beautiful
No, this is not a blog about my friend's wedding a week and a half ago. Instead it is about how I spent last weekend, which included a gaming convention, a music festival, and the final season of one of the most watched shows of my generation. That's right, PAX, Bumbershoot, and the final season of Lost all happened in one long Labor Day Weekend. That's a lot to cover, so let's get into it:
Friday was my first ever trip to PAX, which is a gaming convention (see my previous post here). As the only things I was at all familiar with (Wil Wheaton Q&A, Jonathan Coulton/Paul & Storm Concert) were happening Saturday (when I would be elsewhere), my plan was to let my far more experienced gaming friend decide what we were doing. I met up with her as she was defeating a purple blob-like monster at the Nintendo booth. When I say "booth" I should note that when I refer to the booth for a major company, such as Nintendo, the booth is massive with multiple areas for people to try out their newest games. What I quickly learned was that most of what we would be doing at PAX was playing video games. I'm not sure why more people don't go to these things. We tried out a variety of new games (although we were not hardcore enough to wait in the super long lines for the BFD games like Dragon Age II), and then went up to the free play area which was a giant room filled with TVs and various gaming consules that you could check out games to play on. It was all outstanding, and in case my various gaming adventures weren't enough (what with the roller derby and the dancing and the skull-eating), I also went home with an inflatable sword (thank you Dragon Age II). I could really get into some of this. Yes, this was definitely a nerd event, but I'm not entirely sure why. I would consider the majority of my friends to be nerds of some kind, however there are few that would fall into the gaming nerd category. That said, almost all of them enjoy playing video games on some level, and I would venture to guess that most of them would have been just as entertained as I was to try out these upcoming games. I also learned a little about RPGs, which I found to be fascinating. I love learning about things that were previously a little foreign from people who really love and appreciate it. Plus, I got to roll some sparkly purple dice while helping my friend create characters for some game about stealing babies. Yeah, that's right. Purple dice and gaming. Sparkling purple dice. And I got "infected" with a sticker from a girl who was so excited that I made a Princess Bride reference that she squeed. These are my kind of people. But the most important thing that I learned at PAX was that I need a Wii. So I'm going to have to work on that.
Saturday I switched gears and went from gamers to music and headed to Bumbershoot, as I do pretty much every year. I went with my little sister and her friend, and met up with some other friends later in the day. I did spend some time solo as well, I was the only one with a mainstage pass and was not going to miss the Decemberists and Bob Dylan for anything. The morning was spent jumping around to different shows, including the as awesome as they sound Becki Sue and her Big Rockin' Daddies (an older man in red pants played his massive bass behind his head, what else do you need to know about them?) and the indie-rock Rilo Kiley-esque Submarines, before checking out some stand-up. The stand-up was pretty solid, even the intro by Doug Benson of Super High Me fame was hilarious. Morgan Murphy cracked me up, Chris Hardwick (even though I had heard 1/2 of his act on a podcast) was definitely on and rockin' his Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien shirt, and Jamie Kilstein was a wonderful blend of funny, brilliant, and inspring. I made a mental (and, iPhone) note to find his podcast. After that it was back to find some more music including Justin Townes Earle and Wheedle's Groove. Bumbershoot can be so random and so awesome. I had been drinking beer all day, so I was happy to venture off to the main stage for the Decemberists and a little nap. Seriously, I laid down on the ground, closed my eyes, and listened to Colin Meloy. It was beautiful, and then I was ready for more beer and to meet back up with my friends. We headed to the beer garden by the Broad Street Stage to see this brilliant band whose name I cannot remember, but who were just a little too popular for this smaller stage. The security in the beer garden lost all control of the situation and people were jumping over the fence to enter. It was pretty amusing as we were viewing two shows at once, the eclectic band with the lead singer who seemed to be losing a piece of clothing with every song, and the chaotic beer garden with people running and fences falling. Revived by this concert and some quality time with a friend who was moving away the next day, it was time for Bob Dylan. I said my goodbyes and headed back to the main stage, mentally preparing along the way for this concert. Because you have to be ready. You are seeing an icon, the speaker for an entire generation, but one who is way past his prime and never was the world's greatest singer. That said, it was definitely enjoyable. I mean, it kind of sounded like a dead frog was singing, but the music was still enjoyable and the harmonica was excellent. I think some people were probably disappointed, but it was exactly what I had expected and now I can say, that I too have seen Bob Dylan. And he played my favorite song (Don't Think Twice, It's Alright), just for me, I'm sure.
The rest of my weekend needed to involve very little energy, and that was pretty much the way it went. As the final season of Lost was not on Instant Watch, I didn't think that I would be finishing it up, but 5 episodes in I went ahead and paid Megavideo my $9.95 so that I could keep going without interuption. And when it was all over, I was totally satisfied. Of course there were tons of random things left up in the air and I was completely wrong about the island. I had assumed that everyone was already dead and somehow it wasn't real and it all symbolized something, but I should have kept in mind that we were dealing with JJ Abrams. If it seems like there is some crazy supernatural something happening, then that is what is happening. Between Rembaldi's green liquid on Alias and the Star Trek time travel it should not have surprised me at all that the battle between Jacob and the Man in Black, while definitely rich with symbolism, was, for our characters, very real. But more importantly, that wasn't what mattered. I wrote a little ways into the series that what I loved more than the crazy plot twists and adventures was the brilliant character development. And that was what mattered, both within the show and for its appeal to the audience. We fell in and out of love with all of them and as they grew and changed and evolved on the island, under these extreme circumstances, we couldn't help but love them, faults and all (except Shannon, she was so annoying... come on Sayid, I know there weren't a ton of people on the island, but her?). When I try to list my favorite characters in order I sound like Sheldon Cooper naming his favorite X-Men, stopping and starting to insert various people I've forgotten. What was clear at the end when they all met back up in their afterlife, they all loved each other even more than the viewers loved them. They had been lost in their lives before the island, and this crazy world (aided by Jacob) brought them together and made them better. I found the ending to be beautiful. No matter what your beliefs are, I think it's wonderful to think that regardless of what there may or may not be after this life, the important thing is to be with the people who truly matter to you. The people who are the closest to you and who have had the biggest impact on your life will be there with you forever on that next great adventure.
So that was my weekend, pretty eventful if you ask me. And in case you were wondering, my countdown to Hawaii is at 9 days.
Friday was my first ever trip to PAX, which is a gaming convention (see my previous post here). As the only things I was at all familiar with (Wil Wheaton Q&A, Jonathan Coulton/Paul & Storm Concert) were happening Saturday (when I would be elsewhere), my plan was to let my far more experienced gaming friend decide what we were doing. I met up with her as she was defeating a purple blob-like monster at the Nintendo booth. When I say "booth" I should note that when I refer to the booth for a major company, such as Nintendo, the booth is massive with multiple areas for people to try out their newest games. What I quickly learned was that most of what we would be doing at PAX was playing video games. I'm not sure why more people don't go to these things. We tried out a variety of new games (although we were not hardcore enough to wait in the super long lines for the BFD games like Dragon Age II), and then went up to the free play area which was a giant room filled with TVs and various gaming consules that you could check out games to play on. It was all outstanding, and in case my various gaming adventures weren't enough (what with the roller derby and the dancing and the skull-eating), I also went home with an inflatable sword (thank you Dragon Age II). I could really get into some of this. Yes, this was definitely a nerd event, but I'm not entirely sure why. I would consider the majority of my friends to be nerds of some kind, however there are few that would fall into the gaming nerd category. That said, almost all of them enjoy playing video games on some level, and I would venture to guess that most of them would have been just as entertained as I was to try out these upcoming games. I also learned a little about RPGs, which I found to be fascinating. I love learning about things that were previously a little foreign from people who really love and appreciate it. Plus, I got to roll some sparkly purple dice while helping my friend create characters for some game about stealing babies. Yeah, that's right. Purple dice and gaming. Sparkling purple dice. And I got "infected" with a sticker from a girl who was so excited that I made a Princess Bride reference that she squeed. These are my kind of people. But the most important thing that I learned at PAX was that I need a Wii. So I'm going to have to work on that.
Saturday I switched gears and went from gamers to music and headed to Bumbershoot, as I do pretty much every year. I went with my little sister and her friend, and met up with some other friends later in the day. I did spend some time solo as well, I was the only one with a mainstage pass and was not going to miss the Decemberists and Bob Dylan for anything. The morning was spent jumping around to different shows, including the as awesome as they sound Becki Sue and her Big Rockin' Daddies (an older man in red pants played his massive bass behind his head, what else do you need to know about them?) and the indie-rock Rilo Kiley-esque Submarines, before checking out some stand-up. The stand-up was pretty solid, even the intro by Doug Benson of Super High Me fame was hilarious. Morgan Murphy cracked me up, Chris Hardwick (even though I had heard 1/2 of his act on a podcast) was definitely on and rockin' his Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien shirt, and Jamie Kilstein was a wonderful blend of funny, brilliant, and inspring. I made a mental (and, iPhone) note to find his podcast. After that it was back to find some more music including Justin Townes Earle and Wheedle's Groove. Bumbershoot can be so random and so awesome. I had been drinking beer all day, so I was happy to venture off to the main stage for the Decemberists and a little nap. Seriously, I laid down on the ground, closed my eyes, and listened to Colin Meloy. It was beautiful, and then I was ready for more beer and to meet back up with my friends. We headed to the beer garden by the Broad Street Stage to see this brilliant band whose name I cannot remember, but who were just a little too popular for this smaller stage. The security in the beer garden lost all control of the situation and people were jumping over the fence to enter. It was pretty amusing as we were viewing two shows at once, the eclectic band with the lead singer who seemed to be losing a piece of clothing with every song, and the chaotic beer garden with people running and fences falling. Revived by this concert and some quality time with a friend who was moving away the next day, it was time for Bob Dylan. I said my goodbyes and headed back to the main stage, mentally preparing along the way for this concert. Because you have to be ready. You are seeing an icon, the speaker for an entire generation, but one who is way past his prime and never was the world's greatest singer. That said, it was definitely enjoyable. I mean, it kind of sounded like a dead frog was singing, but the music was still enjoyable and the harmonica was excellent. I think some people were probably disappointed, but it was exactly what I had expected and now I can say, that I too have seen Bob Dylan. And he played my favorite song (Don't Think Twice, It's Alright), just for me, I'm sure.
The rest of my weekend needed to involve very little energy, and that was pretty much the way it went. As the final season of Lost was not on Instant Watch, I didn't think that I would be finishing it up, but 5 episodes in I went ahead and paid Megavideo my $9.95 so that I could keep going without interuption. And when it was all over, I was totally satisfied. Of course there were tons of random things left up in the air and I was completely wrong about the island. I had assumed that everyone was already dead and somehow it wasn't real and it all symbolized something, but I should have kept in mind that we were dealing with JJ Abrams. If it seems like there is some crazy supernatural something happening, then that is what is happening. Between Rembaldi's green liquid on Alias and the Star Trek time travel it should not have surprised me at all that the battle between Jacob and the Man in Black, while definitely rich with symbolism, was, for our characters, very real. But more importantly, that wasn't what mattered. I wrote a little ways into the series that what I loved more than the crazy plot twists and adventures was the brilliant character development. And that was what mattered, both within the show and for its appeal to the audience. We fell in and out of love with all of them and as they grew and changed and evolved on the island, under these extreme circumstances, we couldn't help but love them, faults and all (except Shannon, she was so annoying... come on Sayid, I know there weren't a ton of people on the island, but her?). When I try to list my favorite characters in order I sound like Sheldon Cooper naming his favorite X-Men, stopping and starting to insert various people I've forgotten. What was clear at the end when they all met back up in their afterlife, they all loved each other even more than the viewers loved them. They had been lost in their lives before the island, and this crazy world (aided by Jacob) brought them together and made them better. I found the ending to be beautiful. No matter what your beliefs are, I think it's wonderful to think that regardless of what there may or may not be after this life, the important thing is to be with the people who truly matter to you. The people who are the closest to you and who have had the biggest impact on your life will be there with you forever on that next great adventure.
So that was my weekend, pretty eventful if you ask me. And in case you were wondering, my countdown to Hawaii is at 9 days.
I am so lost... horrible pun intended
So, I'm watching Lost, but a little late. I am midway through season 4 and should have no probably making my way through season 5 by the time the 6th and final season comes out on August 24th. I know that I will be able to do this because I watched 14 episodes last Sunday, yes, in one day. The only thing I am willing to guess is that most, if not all of these people have got to be dead. And if they aren't now, they probably will be soon. The other thing I am certain of is that for all the riveting plots and cliffhangers, what I love most about this show is the character development. Each show gives a new angle to a different character and toys with your emotions and feelings regarding them. All of these characters are horribly flawed and have made some pretty poor life choices for a variety of reasons, but flaws are what make people more entertaining and even more lovable.
Everytime I finish watching a few (or 14) episodes, I tell my roommate that I have more information, but am more confused than when I started. But when it's all said and done and I have at least a few of the answers as to what has been happening on this island, I know that I will have no regrets with having spent time watching these complex characters struggle and live with their past and current lives. I may not have all the answers, but I care about these characters, even the ones I wish would drown. Of course that changes with each new hour.
Everytime I finish watching a few (or 14) episodes, I tell my roommate that I have more information, but am more confused than when I started. But when it's all said and done and I have at least a few of the answers as to what has been happening on this island, I know that I will have no regrets with having spent time watching these complex characters struggle and live with their past and current lives. I may not have all the answers, but I care about these characters, even the ones I wish would drown. Of course that changes with each new hour.
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