4 posts tagged “echo and the bunnymen”
While trying to build a list of terrible band names I came to the following conclusions:
1. Musicians are stupid-smart. Meaning, they are probably not literally mentally retarded, but they often make decisions based on retarded logic (and I apologize in advance: there is no better synonym for ‘retarded’; I will be using it repeatedly). A band name is a precious life, like a baby, and should be treated as such (i.e. would you name a kid ‘Hoobastank?’).
2. Musicians are pretentious. They have to be, otherwise the world would be filled with songs about getting audited or checking Facebook 1,735 times a day, and nobody wants to hear that. We need talented, attractive artists to take our boring feelings and interpret them as beautiful bastions of verbal bliss.
3. Musicians have a sense of humor. It’s possible.
What follows is by no means an extensive list. I’m sure that somewhere there exists a band with a truly horrific name like Diarrhea Jiz Baby Eaters or something, but I tried to select at least moderately reputable/notorious artists (it’s more fun to ridicule someone who could legitimately sue me for “character defamation”).
…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
Vu brought to my attention (and a quick perusal of the entire Internet confirmed his claim) that the band originally called themselves…(sigh)…The Clouds That Fondle Jagged Crags and Raging Storms Conspire and You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. It physically hurts, doesn’t it. According to Wikipedia, the name started as an inside joke; unfortunately, this doesn’t justify anything. It’s like getting a vanity plate that says “BIRDLUV” because you actually hate birds and enjoy irony, but everyone else just thinks you’re a homely bird enthusiast.
I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness
What’s surprising about ILYBICD is that they are not high school Hot Topic employees.
Death Cab for Cutie
I know, I know, Death Cab is a serious, important band. Forgive me. By the way, have I told you about my new musical project: Deceased Taxi for Sexycheeks? (Let’s christen this the Thesaurus Test. Death Cab for Cutie: 0, the English Language: 1.)
Echo and the Bunnymen
Will Sergeant once mentioned that they chose Echo and the Bunnymen because it was the least shit name from a list of shit names (even though they all agreed that the name was still a shit name). This is retarded logic (see #1). I wonder what happened between “we need a name” and “I hate this name, but I suppose it will do.” Did they simply give up? Is Echo and the Bunnymen the band name equivalent of stretch pants and an oversized embroidered sweater?
Butthole Surfers
Sometimes having a really, really dumb name doesn’t prevent a band from major success. Take Butthole Surfers, which sounds like an elementary school insult (and also a euphemism for anal sex)—dumb name. And yet, loved by Dead Kennedys, Sonic Youth, Kurt Cobain, and regular people (sold records). The problem is maturity: do you want that Mickey Mouse tattoo for the rest of your life? Do you want to be the Butthole Surfers for the rest of your life? Do you want young, nubile hot chicks saying “hey, there’s that Butthole Surfer dude. Isn’t it sad that he’s totally old now and still trying to be gross and funny and talk about balls or whatever? Let’s not fuck him, it’s too sad.”
Gay Witch Abortion
I know what they’re trying to do. I know it, and I can do it better: Fat Wizard Pedophilia. We can all play this game, it’s easy. Step 1: think of a non-offensive word that when used in a specific context becomes offensive; Step 2: witch, wizard, sorcerer, dragon, bear, turnip, it doesn’t matter; Step 3: ‘Gay Witch’ alone is kind of funny, kind of gay, but add a mildly taboo/generically topical issue, and voila! a mirage: seems shocking, but upon further inspection is actually a harmless rock formation.
!!! / Sunn O))) / 00|00
Guide to pronunciation:
!!!: “…Pronounced 'Chk Chk Chk' or any three repetitive sounds” (from Official Website). I pronounce it ‘… … …,’ which is the sound of rolling eyes.
Sunn O))): Pronounced ‘sun’; the ‘O)))’ is supposed to mimic the logo for the amp brand Sunn, the band’s namesake, and roughly translates as “lifetime supply of free amps.”
00|00: Pronounced “oh-oh-eye-oh-oh.” They’re Japanese.
If a band requires instruction to talk about, I don’t want to talk about it. So I won’t.
02/10/2009 18:07:44 ♥ lara (
/lara206.vox.com)
♥weheartmusic.com ♥ news.weheartmusic.com
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Crypticon 2008 ♥ Radisson Hotel - Roseville, Minnesota |
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So what does one do at these conventions ? Usually buying stuff, like 8x10 signed actor portraits and sometime overpriced merchandises. My sister did get a nice deal on the Lost action figures Todd McFarlane put out a few years ago. I contemplated on buying bootleg Hellraiser and Evil Dead stuff, but instead got an autographed Hellboy II. Was disappointed that there were not more obscure horror DVDs and packages for sale (it seems I already own 90% of whatever they were selling).
My brother took most of the photographs, including James Duval (Frank the Bunny), Chris Sarandon (famous for playing Jack Skellington), Doug Jones (Pale "Jazz Hands" Man), and here's a picture with Michael Berryman (that The Hills Have Eyes dude). Berryman, no offense or anything, is such a nice guy, but he's really scary-looking. He even seems like a fanboy as he was collecting autographs from the other attendees!
My complaints and suggestions for future shows is to keep the cost down. $30 per day is really expensive, and adding on additional purchases, you can easily tap out $100. The other problem is that the convention extends for three days - perhaps just keep it to the weekend. I also think that it would've been better to have it in the Summer or perhaps closer to Halloween (but I can understand that October might be too insane to try and organize anything).
Other disappointment was that legendary make-up artist and actor Toni Savini canceled out.
Other than that, it's worth checking out these conventions if you want to meet actors and get more merch. I wouldn't mind attending a Star Trek convention one of these days if they held one closer to home.
Links:
crypticonminneapolis.com
Videos
Trivia
The trailer for the game "Gears of War" uses Gary Jules and Michael Andrews's version of "Mad World". Although both game and song are great by itself, putting them together was uncalled for. |
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The first time I saw Donnie Darko, it blew me away. I absolutely loved the movie, especially the 80s soundtrack. The best song on the soundtrack, has got to be "Mad World" by Gary Jules.
Now, the first time I heard it, I didn't even know it was a cover of a Tears for Fears! The Jules song is completely stripped down and different than the 'Fears version, although I believe much of the credit is due to Michael Andrews who provided much of the haunting score for the film.
Since the film wasn't so successful on its first launch in 2001, the score soundtrack wasn't available until 2002 (due to demands from the growing cult fans of the film). The entire soundtrack was orchestra, except for the "Mad World" featuring Gary Jules on vocals.
In 2004, coinciding with the re-release of the film as a "Director's Cut", the soundtrack was re-issued with a 2-disc set. The first disc includes all the 80s pop songs featured in the film, while the second disc is the original 2002 score. Unfortunately, I believe the new soundtrack was only released in the UK.
Since I bought bought both DVDs (original cut and Director's Cut), I have to say that I prefer the original much better than the Director's version. Although there is an additional 20-30 minutes in the new version, I honestly didn't need those extra details. Part of what made the movie really fascinating to me was that I started making up things (filling in the gaps with my imagination) in the missing parts. I didn't need to see the time-travel or explanations.
I guess I have a real appreciate for the film editors, Sam Bauer & Eric Strand, who did an amazing job putting the film together and getting rid of the unnecessary parts - but still made it a watchable film.
My biggest complaint was the opening bicycling riding sequence which dropped the original "The Killing Moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen, in favor of INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart" song.
See for yourself and let me know which one you prefer:
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I understand that INXS was originally intended for this scene (probably due to copyright issues, it was dropped for Echo and the Bunnymen). Well this caused some problems because suddenly the scene with the wonderful Church's song, "Under the Milky Way", is now replaced with "The Killing Moon" in the Director's cut.
Although these are just little gripes that I have, both version of the film is still worth checking out.
If you're thinking of buying the DVD, I do suggest picking up the Director's Cut DVD because it comes with a bonus DVD with special features. For collectors, there is an oversized Tin Box (with Frank on the cover) covering the Director's Cut and a bonus Frank the Bunny pewter necklace.
Tip: I used DVDFab to import chapter 1 of both DVDs into an AVI file. Then I used the free Windows Movie Maker to edit the chapter to just the section I wanted to talk about. I love DVDFab, and about last year, they added a feature to let you import movies into iPod and PSP. You can try out the full software for 30 days to see if it works for you.
11/25/2007 00:02:30
vu
my♥posts
www.donniedarkofilm.com
| Mark wrote: Nov 25, 2007 3:22 PM |
My favorite song on the soundtrack is "Manipulated Living", which has that real machine-like sound. It makes me think of Bjork, Tricky, the soundtrack to Dark City, and Marilyn Manson all at the same time.
Rodney Bingenheimer is getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 9th, 2007 (tomorrow). They're just handing out these things like candy, huh?? To the world, nobody knows Rodney, but if you were in radio (or happened to live in Los Angeles), you'd probably heard of him. He's probably one of the world's most famous radio DJ, at least very influencial on his "Rodney on the ROQ" show on KROQ Radio.
Rodney was the subject of the documentary Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2003), which was directed by George Hickenlooper and produced by Chris Carter (not the X-Files creator).
Because it was produced by the bassist from Dramarama (Chris Carter) there was definitely a section about how Dramarama rose to fame in the US because of Rodney. Apparently, the band (formed in New Jersey in 1982), released their debut LP, Cinéma Vérité, in France under New Rose Records.
Rodney somehow got a hold of this record and started playing "Anything, Anything". He thought they were a French band (wow, their English is SO GOOD!). But it's all cool, because the airplay and demand for the band prompt the album to finally be released in America.
[copy/paste]
Rodney was the first to play records by - and interviews with such artists on his KROQ show as: Blondie, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, Van Halen, The Go-Go's, Nina Hagen, The Cramps, Nena, The Clash, The Cure, The Smiths, The B-52's, Billy Idol, Adam Ant, Echobelly, Ride, X, Siouxie and the Banshees, Bad Religion, Duran Duran, The Jam, The Bangles, The Runaways, Redd Kross, Bananarama, Joan Jett, Tom Petty, Dramarama, Teenage Fan Club, Suede, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Echo and the Bunnymen, No Doubt, Blur, Elastica, Belly, L7, Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Rialto, Placebo, Oasis, The Verve, Kent, Ash, Gene, Travis, Coldplay, Doves, JJ72, The Strokes, Starsailor, The Hives, The Vines, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and The Electric Soft Parade.
Trivia: Rodney, in the 60s, was best known as the stand-in for Davy Jones of the Monkees.
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