Monday, December 5, 2011

Very Soon....

December is here and it time for my annual catch-a-cold/sore throat thing.  I was hoping to finish the voiceovers for Episode 42 today, but I'll have to wait until my voice is a little less scratchy. Then of course, we're off to Episode 43, and then... probably some more Chronsega and Chronturbo.

This is probably a sign of getting old, but for the last week I've felt the urge to listen to some classic rock live albums during my commute to work.  Currently I've got The Who's Live at Leeds and Deep Purple's Made in Japan in rotation on my car stereo. I've come to a realization lately: I don't think that Tommy is exactly the Who's best work.  Sure, there are some cool songs, but in spots it drags a bit, and the story doesn't make much sense.  Even live, it drags a bit in spots, and I'm starting to question whether there ever were any really good "rock operas."  Composing a rock opera is one of the early warning signs of a band's artistic decline (e.g. The Kinks,) if you ask me.

Anyhoo... I've been thinking about buying Skyrim at some point. Expect production delays if this happens.  For the immediate future, however, we should be seeing Episode 43 pretty soon.

14 comments:

Skymaster T said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Skymaster T said...

I've heard Skyrim has over 300 hours of gameplay, so I'm pretty sure that would hamper production a wee bit.

I think your rock opera theory is pretty spot on. Green Day seems to be the latest example of this.

ShaneWM said...

If you liked Oblivion and Fallout 3, Skyrim is right up your alley. If you've got the hardware, there is already some great mods out for it too! :)
I mean, uh, DON'T DO IT I NEED MORE CHRONTENDO. XD

matt.mcneely said...

I am not a fan of The Kinks' later work, and I'm not even sure if you could call it a "Rock Opera" (certainly a concept album though), but I do enjoy Arthur. I'm guessing this is the warning sign you are referring to? I suppose that's a fair assessment but I do think it's a good album for what it is.

I do love The Who's Live at Leeds. Dig that extra long "My Generation." May I suggest adding Cheap Trick's Live at Budokan to the rotation?

P.S. I saw your name come up in the thanks on Greg Sewart's new Generation 16 series. The format reminded me a great deal of Chrontendo.

InsaneDavid said...

I can relate. Four weeks ago I got my annual bout of the flu and then over the week of Thanksgiving I had laryngitis. Fun times.

Tommy does drag in a few spots but it did spawn the early 1990's musical that spawned my favorite modern (all right, it's probably my all time favorite outright) pinball machine.

GeoX, one of the GeoX boys. said...

What exactly defines a "rock opera?" Does Ziggy Stardust count? 'Cause THAT is a great album.

Anonymous said...

Hey Dr. S, you've made comments regarding being a fan of metal, classic rock, krautrock, post-punk, and also some cheesy new wave. Where are the boundaries of your taste spectrum? Are you anything else like punk or indie rock?

Doctor Sparkle said...

Matt - Yes, Live at Budokan is a killer record. One of the highlights of my musical life was getting to see Cheap Trick at a tiny, cramped local bar. The five-necked guitar is truly an awe inspiring sight.

Anon - As for my musical boundaries, I stopped listening to modern commercial rock radio about the time Limp Bizkit's "Dookie" was getting constant airplay (I also saw Limp Bizkit live early in their career. For various reasons I was under the impression they were a gay-themed rap metal band for quite some time) so I guess I hate all mainstream rock since then? And what's with this "Dubstep" stuff? Is that seriously what kids are listening to nowadays? Is that even a real kind of music?

Kamiboy said...

I never cared much for Bethesda's horrendously broken RPG's. In fact I generally detest the western school of RPG design because it places first priority on narrative, dialoug trees and storytelling with the actual gameplay mechanics themselves being treated like an unwanted limb having been left to atrophy through neglect.

In fact That is a general problem with the genre in general, but I find one that at least once or twice upon a decade an RPG that focuses on strong mechanics does manage to come out of Japan such as Vagrant Story and Demon's/Dark Souls.

Unfortunately most so called critiques and commenters are too focused on the difficulty borne out of the arcade level design of the Souls series to part with any praise for how deep and rewarding its gameplay mechanics are compared to what everyone else is doing in the genre.

If I were not so lazy, and lacking in equipment I would do a video commentary of the Souls games in order to address the sheer refreshing genius of their design, as well as criticize the parts I feel do not work as well as they should.

If you weren't so preoccupied already Dr.S, then I'd venture to say you would be the perfect candidate for that task.

Anonymous said...

Yeah Skyrim just SWALLOWED a hundred hours from my life, and I have barely even touched the main quest... Definitely a game you'd want to set aside for when you have more time. Like over the holidays. It's also not a game that you play for an hour at a time, because you get so little done in one hour that it would probably take you half a year to see a good amount of the game that way.

Happy to hear ep 42 is coming along nicely. 41 was good and informative as usual. Looking forward to the next =)

mercatfat said...

I've always been more partial to Quadrophenia, but I can't say I much cared for the film version. I'd heard good things about it, so I was pretty surprised that it turned out to be kind of a pointless mess. To me, it seemed a pretty tame "youth in revolt" film by today's standards. Maybe if I were younger and it seemed more relevant?

Heck, I would have been fine if it were a cheesy trainwreck the way Sgt. Pepper the Movie turned out.

I'm especially stoked for more Chronturbo/Sega. I can only pray that you avoid the temptation of Skyrim, as that'll likely freeze your free time for at least a month. Great way to keep your mind off of being sick, though. :/

Anonymous said...

I certainly can't blame you for ducking out of commercial radio in the post-grunge hellhole of the mid to late 90s... pretty much any vital work being done by anybody moved to independent labels. There's definitely been great music made since Limp Bizkit, hahaha.

Also, dubstep is/was the newest stylistic wave in electronic dance music, but its initial wave of innovators ended about 2 years ago. Like House or Electro or any other standardized dance genre, only it's most obnoxious elements have transitioned into the mainstream. Interestingly, it seems to have supplanted jam bands as the neo-hippie music of choice. Weird how things change.

When I say 'neo-hippie,' I of course mean the commercial, bastardized versions who bought their costumes at the mall and bring no semblance of ethos or ideas (not that hippies should necessarily be idealized anyway).

Kevin "k8track" Moon said...

Dr. Sparkle, how are you feeling? Are your scratchy pipes almost back to their normal velvety smoothness? Are you continuing to be thwarted by the Thyme Bandits? Are you celebrating the Twelve Days of X-men? Hope to see you back on the internets soon! Take care!

Doctor Sparkle said...

No everything's fine. I have just been finishing up the new episode.