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RANTS-N-RAVES
The World According to Scott
This is the section of my site that is strictly reserved for my opinions, my beliefs, and whatever I feel like talking about at the moment. It's updated generally on a fairly regular basis, so check back to see what the most recent things on my mind are.
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My presentation at RPI went pretty well on this past Wednesday. Got the chance to meet some very cool people, as well as some of the students, who were also cool. With some luck, I'll get the chance to continue doing stuff like this in the future.
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Boo hoo, too bad for Korn. Their records don't sell as well as they used to, so now they have to make some lame attempt at stirring up "controversy" by trying to portray themselves as underdogs artists who are oh-so-persecuted, with their pathetically trite song & video of "Y'all want a single." The song is supposedly enlightening everyone to the fact that the music industry is owned by a small number of large record companies & that fat cats A&R dopes are the ones who determine what gets released for us to listen to. HELLO - is this supposed to be news? These no talent clowns have worn out their welcome as the champions of "nu-metal," & they've started to realize it. They've blamed peer-to-peer downloading services for poor sales of their most recent albums as well as the "record industry." Why don't they just accept the fact that they've ridden their wave of fame & fortune as far as it could go & just admit to themselves that people just aren't that interested in their music any more? But no, they have to keep pointing fingers & blaming everyone else but themselves for the fact that they suck. I mean come on - these idiots are rich rock stars & we're supposed to suddenly jump on their bandwagon & feel sorry for them?? Get over it - your time is done & no one cares any more. Pack up your stupid haircuts, your stupid Adidas schtick, & your stupid music, & go away already. Lead idiot, excuse me, lead "singer" Jonathan Davis has some brilliant sound bites about all of the song & video - "The stuff we said in the video (is the stuff) the music industry doesn't want kids to know about," & that it was an "uphill battle" with their label Sony Records to release the song, but "They let it go under artistic freedom." Who does this idiot think he's fooling? It's all a big joke - the fake rock stars portray themselves as the victims so they can point fingers at the big bad record labels, who in turn "allow" them to release this crap & in the long run END UP TURNING A PROFIT FROM JUST LIKE THE BAND!!! Does anyone else sense the irony here? Davis goes on to say, "This video) is making a statement to stand up for every artist that's been screwed around." When was the last time Korn was "screwed around?" The last time someone "screwed around" with their massive tour rider backstage & didn't give them every single little thing that they demanded? Or maybe was it the last time that their album only went platinum, as opposed to multi-platinum? Who are they trying to kid? Korn stopped "screwed around" well over 9 years ago when they signed to a major label, & started touring arenas as opening acts for already established artists. From there on, it was just a matter of time until THEY were the headliners. And now, just because they KNOW that they're starting to lose it, they suddenly come out with this "feel sorry for me while I tell you how it really is in the music business" nonsense. These hacks cannot go away soon enough for me.
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Well, the rumors have been flying & now it's confirmed - Van Halen is going to tour again, & Sammy Hagar is back in the fold as lead vocalist once again. No official word on any new music, other than another greatest hits album, possibly with some new songs with Hagar on vocals. Now the big question is - does anyone still care? Time will tell.
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It appears that the Democratic party has condemned George Bush's idiotic, completely tasteless jokes about not being able to find weapons of mass destruction, that he had the unmitigated gall to say recently. Over 500 people killed, over 3,000 wounded, & he's making jokes about it. What a loser... I can't decide if I should be completely appalled, or ecstatic, because if this moron keeps making comments like this, he's going to put himself right out of office. And that's exactly what I want to see happen. Keep it up Junior, you're just making it easier for Kerry to crush you in November.
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As I generally tend to be somewhat cynical and/or suspicious of most celebrities' self-serving attempts to promote themselves, it's kind of sad that no matter how Courtney Love tries to do to grab headlines, her new album isn't even among the top 50 selling albums when she's in her prime creating a media frenzy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) for herself. Nice try on her part, you have to give her an "A" for effort. Maybe she should just stick to living off of Kurt's Nirvana royalties instead. Regardless, I still will probably end up buying "America's Sweetheart," as I do like her music, even if she's a clown as a person.
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Walter Cronkite, news anchor extraordinaire, has published an open letter to democratic presidential John Kerry. The gist of the letter is Cronkite asking Kerry not to shy away from either himself or his actions being labeled "liberal." Cronkite seems to feel that if Kerry doesn't do this, he's trying to make himself appear to more conservative to the far right in order "to make "L" for liberal a scarlet letter with which to brand all who oppose them." (I'm using this quote out of context, as Cronkite used it to describe former presidential candidate Michael Dukasis, but I think you get my meaning.) Cronkite asks Kerry outright: '"When the National Journal said your Senate record makes you one of the most liberal members of the Senate, you called that "a laughable characterization" and "the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen in my life." Wow! Liberals, who make up a substantial portion of the Democratic Party and a significant portion of the independent vote, are entitled to ask, "What gives?"' It's this type of stuff that causes me a lot concern in regards to the upcoming election. We all watched in disgust as Al Gore practically threw the race in 2000, as he tried to be so careful not to offend anyone on any side, that he came off more like a watered down republican, than a democratic hopeful. If that's what we have to expect from Kerry, I think we may be in big trouble. Part of what makes Kerry a credible candidate is the fact that he OPPOSES everything that Bush & the republican party stands for. To me, that's a huge part of what helped him win the nomination for his party. If we can't rely on him to stick to that, now that he's gotten this far, we're just going to end up with another four years on nonsense George Jr.
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I'm going to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on 3/24/04 to speak at a Senior Honors Seminar for electrical & computer engineering undergraduates. I've been invited to discuss the admissions process that our department goes through to select its' annual allotment of students. Should be interesting, as this will be the first time I've ever done anything like this. At least I can honestly say that I know my subject matter pretty well. With a bit of luck, I won't fall on my face.
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I was introduced to the Incredible Adventures of Wallace & Gromit this past weekend. Great, hysterical stuff. It's claymation with a British twist of humor, following the adventures of Wallace & his dog Gromit. It's hard to believe that this stuff has to be filmed frame by single frame. The stories come from the same company that did the movie "Chicken 'I don't want to be a pie!!' Run." Be sure to check out these "cracking good" characters with a plate of cheddar cheese & crackers.
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Former US president Jimmy Carter comes out & publicly condemns Bush & Blair for their phony war on Iraq. I love it. Even the article itself states that it's abnormal for a former president to be openly critical of a current one. What bothers me the most, is that it'll probably be something like 20 years (like Watergate), before we ever know the real truth, if it even exists, even though anyone with half a functioning brain can figure out all of these lies on their own, as they are so glaringly obvious.
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Okay, did some preliminary digging on the web about the case of the West Memphis Three (see post below this one for more details) & even just from what I read, this case sounded extremely fishy to me. Check out the following link - it's a long read (about 15 parts), but it gives you a pretty basic idea that this murder investigation was not handled properly at all. I like the tv show CSI & just from being a schmuck who watches tv, even I could have told you that at least from a forensic perspective, the way the investigation of the crime scene itself was very poorly done. It's pretty scary to think that just because this community where these horrible child murders occurred wanted to put a face & a name on the perpetrators of the crimes so bad that they essentially railroaded three teen-aged boys into life sentences (one was also sentenced to death by lethal injection), & then the case has never been overturned, is serious reason to have concern over our legal system. In all honesty, I have no idea if these three kids (now men, who have been rotting in jail for over ten years) committed these brutal crimes or not. But, no matter what they did or did not do, it's pretty clear that they did not get their fair day in court.
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Just finished reading another outstanding book from Henry Rollins called "Broken Summers." It's basically his journal beginning 12/23/01 through 9/15/03. What starts as his journal while he's on the road doing a spoken word tour turns into a behind-the-scenes look into how he came about doing an album of Black Flag (one of THE seminal hardcore punk bands that Rollins was the lead vocalist for from 1981 - 1986) songs called "Rise Above" with a number of different vocalists, with backing tracks by the Rollins Band (made up of the mighty Mother Superior) with a supporting tour to follow as a means to raise funds & awareness for the West Memphis Three. Admittedly, I don't know a lot about the whole situation as of yet, but plan to read up on it. In any case, the book is just absolutely fantastic. Reading a tour Journal from Rollins is the same thing as being carried around in his back pocket for months at a time. His writing is intense, concise & honest to the point of absolute brutality at times. I love this man, I love his music, & I absolutely love his books. If you enjoyed "Get in the Van," his tour journals from his time spent in Black Flag, you'll dig this too. Reading his books are not only great for what you read, but he also gives you a ton of references to check out in terms of books, movies & excellent bands. If you haven't read anything by him yet, you're missing out. Go to your nearest bookstore now, or go to his web site & get busy!!!!!!!
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Now here's something interesting - a urinal for a men's restroom shaped like a giant mouth & lips. Part of their marketing campaign is "Kisses - the sexy urinal, makes a daily event a blushing experience! This is one target men will never miss!" This is just the epitome of culture...
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Forgot, we got the chance to see the almighty Henry Rollins do a spoken-word gig here in town back in February at the State Street Theater. He was absolutely great. This is the second time that we've seen him, but haven't had the pleasure to see him perform with the Rollins Band as of yet (which he's supposed to be re-vamping once again). Hank always has a lot to say about everything, & whether I agree with him (which I usually do for the most part) or not, I always love to hear what he's got to say. He is amazing how he can go off on lengthy tangents, reel himself back in, & pick up right where he left off to begin with. If he comes near you, see him, you won't regret it. We also bought a couple of his spoken-word DVDs, "Up For It" & "Talking From The Box." Great, great stuff. On the way out of the show, Kathryn & I were talking to some friends of hers from work, & I said that Hank should run for president, with Denis Leary as his VP. Now THAT would be a party platform I could get behind.
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Speaking of Denis Leary, I just came across a cool site that has the entire "No Cure for Cancer" album written out in plain text. Check it out here.
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Check out this article/interview with Lars Ulrich of the now sad hacks Metallica. What has happened to this band? When did they lose touch with reality & decide it was more fun to be rock stars & celebrities, instead of innovative musicians who helped define the genre of heavy metal? I could forgive the "Black album," I could even go as far as forgiving the terrible excuses for albums called "Load" & "Re-Load," but I cannot forgive "St. Anger." This is a terrible album, no two ways about it. I am completely sick & tired of hearing Lars & Co. defend this absolutely horrible album, claiming that it's "the fans" who don't want them to change, & that they're "making music for themselves," & that they "don't owe anybody anything." That is REALLY easy for a millionaire rock star to say, isn't it? Gee, do you think Lars has forgotten what's it like for his band to be the underdog, to not have multiple multi-platinum selling albums & have more money than God? I find it beyond disappointing that these idiots have not only sold out their fans, their music & themselves, & that they refuse to see just how lame they've become. All of the pre-release press on "St. Anger," including what the band members themselves said, was that it was supposed to be a return to the aggressive style that they had perfected on classic albums such as "Kill 'em All," "Ride the Lightning," & the all-time classic "Master of Puppets." And what they really gave us was a very safe, very poorly produced, very bad sounding, & very poorly written bunch of songs that we all were supposed to think was the second coming of speed/thrash metal in the 21st century. Sorry Lars, sorry James, sorry Kirk, sorry hired-gun-bass-player-guy-who-replaced-Jason-Newstead - WE ARE NOT BUYING INTO YOUR BULLS**T ANY MORE!! You guys are over & all your defensive posturing & finger pointing you keep exhibiting while continuing to defend an album that YOU ALL HAVE TO KNOW is so bad, is only making you look even more like the now sad hacks that you have become. What a shame...
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Looks like Peter Criss, the original drummer for the once-mighty KISS, won't be touring with the band any longer. According to a post on his personal web site, Criss says that when his contractual obligation with the band was up, it wasn't renewed, & the band has already made plans to have Eric Singer take his spot on the drum riser for their next round of dates in Japan. Granted, I think Criss is a hack, & not the greatest drummer, but this type of behavior has become so predictable with KISS, that I can't say I'm a bit surprised. KISS was/is one of my all-time favorite bands. All of their music up until 1977 was all great - everything after that is questionable, except for maybe the "Creatures of the Night" album, which was pretty good. It really bums me out to see my once great heroes reduced to doing a package tour with Aerosmith (who are a bunch of hacks now) & only netting the opening slot! And not to mention, the neverending "Farewell Tour" that began in 2000 & never stopped. Gene Simmons is an embarrassment to himself & all KISS fans with all the crap that he continually spews. After they continued to tour with Tommy Thayer in Ace Frehley's make up & costume, I was pretty disgusted. Now that they're going to tour with Thayer still on lead guitar AND Eric Singer on drums, AND they're still wearing the make up & costumes, trying to pawn themselves off as the "original" KISS, it makes my stomach turn. I wish they would just have some amount of self-respect & know when to call it a day. I guess while the money is still rolling in, they'll keep touring, not recording anything new & continuing to damage what was once an amazing legacy of music & stageshows. "You wanted the best? You got the best - the hottest HACKS in the world - KISS!"
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The Sopranos season premiere has come & gone & left me thinking that if the rest of the season is going to end up being as lame as this episode, then I won't be wasting my Sunday nights on this nonsense. I find it really hard to fathom how a show that started out so well, has just continually gone downhill in terms of the writing & character development. Watching the premiere, I found myself impatiently checking the clock, waiting for it to end. It's gotten to the point where Tony Soprano has become such an idiot, that I don't really care what happens to him, or the rest of the cast of hacks that make up this show. This show is another classic example of HBO exploiting the fact that they've got a loyal target audience that will tune in to see what's going on with characters that they've come to really care about over the course of the show's lifespan, only to be continually disappointed by terrible writing, horrible storylines, & absolutely ridiculous dialogue. This is the same exact thing that happened with Sex & The City (which I'm glad is finally over, before it could embarrass itself any longer). And yet, both shows have won multiple awards & it's happened when they had already peaked. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of both shows, & have been for a few years now. But, it's just a shame when you see something that was originally so creative & innovative just take the easy route & go for the cheap thrills, easy laugh & inane stories.
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Caught the movie "School of Rock" this past weekend. Oddly enough, this has probably been the best "new" movie that I've seen either in the theater or a recent release for purchase/rental in a long time. Jack Black plays his usual over-the-top type of character that he's become so well known for. One thing that I found out that was cool, was that all the kids in the movie played their own instruments. Not bad at all for a bunch of 10 year olds... Makes me wonder what I was doing wasting my time playing the tuba at that age when I should have been rocking out! Oh well, better late than never I guess. Anyway, check out the movie. It's funny, entertaining, & features some great music.
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One of my good friends & bandmates (RASH & RMF) Bob Rozwod sent me a link to his nephew's band called Malinger. They are a young up & coming band based out of Washington (the state, not the city). Their sound comes off to me as a modern rock type of thing. They state some of their influences are Sum 41 & AFI (who I LOVE by the way) & you can hear it in their sound. They've got their own self-financed & self-produced EP out too. Check out their site & their tunes. With any luck, we'll all be hearing great things about them soon. Damn, they make me feel old!
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Saw "The Passion of the Christ" last weekend. It's hard to say if it was a "good" movie or not. It certainly was filmed well & it looked great. Having seen a number of movies & musicals that have portrayed this part of Christ's life, I'd have to say this was done very well. I don't think it's a movie for everyone. I do think that the whole violence angle is being somewhat blown out of proportion. Is it a violent film? Absolutely, but not the MOST violent film I've ever seen, as some critics are calling it (remember folks, it got an "R" rating because of the violence). It's extremely graphic, but what I would venture a guess that bothers people the most, is because that they have to have a front row seat to watch their Savior get whipped, beaten & crucified. Believe me, it's not easy to watch. In my opinion, I think that the movie portrayed Christ in a very human way, but I think that some people have a difficult time being able to think of him that way, instead of a deity.
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Have you ran out & bought the new Probot album yet?? No - why not??? For those of you that may know know, this is Dave Grohl's (of Foo Fighters & Nirvana fame, if some reason you've been living under a rock & didn't know this) pet metal side project. Grohl wrote all the music & enlisted some of metal's finest vocalists to collaborate with him. It's a kick-ass album, worthy of being turned up to 11. Check it out or you'll be sorry.
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Well, it appears that our sad excuse of a current Commander-In-Chief we call G.W. Bush has gotten an adversary in John Kerry as of this past Tuesday. Kerry comes off as kind of a typical Democrat, which isn't the greatest of news, but at least he's better than Wubya - then again pretty much anyone NOT a Republican could be better than that clown. Even though it's months away, we have ALL got to get out & vote this year to push that moron out of office.
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All right, so here we are in March 2004, time to get busy again. Hey, I set a new record - no posts for over 7 months!! Man do I suck... In any case, I'm back, & as I always say, I will be making more of an effort to post regularly.
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