Random: 02/19

Been a while.  Here be the random.

First up is the new Transformers 2 trailer.  Holy fuck is it awesome.  Prime jumping off of a freway to take on 1/7th of Devastator was just breathtaking.  Yes, that was only a piece of the massive constructicon.  It is supposed to stand 120 feet tall.  Let’s just hope the rumored Optimus Prime/Jetfire combination is strong as hell.

Saw the movie Push.  Wasn’t bad.  Really liked it overall.  The only irritation is the fact that the filmmakers made it seem like there was so much more going on.  That is all well and good with an established franchise, but in a newbie film, it got a little annoying trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

The International with always great Clive Owen was well boring.  I fell asleep.  It was like a 20 minute movie jammed into 2 hours.  The only highlight is the phenomenally well-choreographed gunfight in the Guggenheim Museum.  That was one of the most realistic fights I’ve seen in a while.  Except for the lack of reloads.  A 6 shot revolver has, gasp, 6 fucking shots.  Not 15.

Picked up Army of Two for cheap and played through that.  Short, sweet, and surprisingly fantastic.  Where was I when that released?

GI Joe: Rise of Cobra the movie still looks awesome.  I don’t care how crappy the plot is.  I don’t care that they all look like X-Men rejects with the black leather.  I don’t care that the action figures are really shitty looking (how Hasbro messed that up is beyond me).  The movie is going to be balls to the wall action.  Period.  End of story.  Awesome.

The Street Fighter movie (the Legend of Chun-Li one, not the Van Damme, Raul Julia classic) still looks stupid.

Killzone 2 comes out next week.  The demo was pretty good.  A little loose in the aiming but enjoyable.  Looked really pretty.

DiRT is finally getting a sequel.  The screens look great and the fact that there are now X-Games style arenas to drive in, I am seriously pumped.  Makes me wanna go buy a Subaru and rally down the street in front of my house.  Weird I know.  Leave me alone.

Knight Rider is getting better.  Too bad it will most likely, if it isn’t already, be cancelled.  I really wante da re-match between KITT and Optimus Prime.  That was sweet.

Weirdly, I haven’t played skate 2 in over a week.  It’s funny because I couldn’t put the first one down, but I kinda have left the sequel in the dust for Gears2 and COD4.  now I wanna play DiRT again.  Maybe the new DLC will make me want to pick the game up again.

Well, that about does it for this guy.  Holla at yall later.

Look, in the sky! Explosions!

As I said, I was going to be doing things a little different and for the first in that I figure what better way than to share one of the greatest bands I have ever heard.  No I don’t mean Journey, though they are still the greatest.

I’m talking about Explosions in the Sky or EITS.  This post-rock band that I first heard in the movie Friday Night Lights (and the subsequent TV show) has some of the most heart-felt and emotional songs I have ever heard.  Oh, did I forget to mention, the songs have no lyrics.

That’s right, they have three guitarists and a drummer.  That’s it.  With that arsenal of weaponry they have created a truly unique sound that is unlike anything I have every heard before.  The songs all tell stories in and of themselves, but combine these individual tracks with their parent albums and you get a story that is unlike any other.  Highs and lows abound.  This is truly the type of music that pushes the limits of the mind.

Like I said, I first heared EITS in the movie Friday Night Lights.  The background to 95% of the movie had this weird instrumental music that fit the scenes perfectly.  I bought the soundtrack and found that the tracks, while good, were only bits and pieces of full songs from their second and third albums, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever and The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Space respectively.

So I picked those albums up and to my surprise there were only 6 or 5 tracks that lasted anywhere from 6 to 12 minutes.  Despite the length, I didn’t feel any song was too long since they were expertly crafted and beautiful stories.  If anything a few tracks were too short in my opinion.

I want to touch on a few highlights.  “A Poor Man’s Memory” is my favorite from Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever.  It was used in the Friday Night Lights movie trailer and in a few key scenes from the movie.  Not sure if it is the relationship with the amazing movie or not, but the almost military style cadence in the song is phenomenal.  Just an amazing build up and peak that the song just sticks with you.

The entirety of The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Space is amazing.  Every track is great but “Your Hand In Mine” is a standout.  Just amazing.

Their newest album All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone is more of the same, but in a good way.  Never once does monotony set in or you wish the album/song is over.  I have never heard a band crank out 5 albums and there isn’t a stinker in sight. 

Thank you Explosions In The Sky for opening up my eyes to what music can and should be.  Never in a million years did I think that music could affect me in such a way without heart-felt lyrics, but yours has. 

Every one of their albums is a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and the soundtrack as well.  Perfect introduction for such a great band.