Room 34

I've seen Yes live 5 times since 1997 and they're always great. You're in for a real treat! (Sadly, on the "Ladder" tour Jon Anderson had the flu when they came to Minneapolis, and they had to cut a few numbers, including "Awaken" which I REALLY wanted to hear...) My next show is going to be Rush in May, and a former coworker got tickets for us to see Return to Forever in June, which should be good too. Those are my definite concerts coming up in the near future.

I used to have a video tape of the video for Duran Duran's "The Reflex" taped seven times in a row, back-to-back. I spent the entire summer of 1984 either playing Atari or watching MTV nonstop for hours on end, with the VCR on record and paused, waiting for that video to come on, so I could record it yet another time on the tape. Yeah, I suppose I was a bit OCD. A year later, I watched "Midnight Madness" (taped off HBO) every day when I got home from school, through my entire year of 6th grade.

I did not like the acoustic set on the R30 DVD. I think "unplugged" is a worn-out gimmick, and Rush is wise to stay away from it now!

QUOTE (Lerxst2112 @ Sep 17 2007, 04:51 PM) LISTEN! I think that goes along with the shriek in "Cygnus X-1". Random high-pitched screeches are not really singing. Whereas, the vocal line in "Freewill" really IS singing and it's sustained for several measures. Then again, there's plenty of early stuff that's really high throughout, like "Anthem."

I don't think that manic wail at the end of "Cygnus X-1" should really count.

The section in "Freewill" right after the guitar solo/instrumental section is definitely the highest part in any song that he'll still dare to sing in the original key (and he NAILED IT at the St. Paul show last week!) but I'd guess that there's stuff from the earlier albums that must have been higher -- at least, higher overall. I notice that when they play "2112" these days they do it in a different key. I also noticed they are playing "Circumstances" in a lower key on this tour -- I could tell the moment I heard it, of course, but I also noticed that Geddy was playing his red bass and Alex was playing his black guitar... telltale signs that they're playing in a lowered key. But again, I think the impetus for playing in a lower key is that OVERALL the song's key is too high for him to sing in at a sustained level. It's one thing to belt out 4 measures really high (as in "Freewill") but if he had to sing an entire song in that range, or even slightly lower, it would be too much for him.

QUOTE (owlswing @ Sep 6 2007, 07:22 PM) I'd have to go with the missing - Better Off Dead. " I want my two dollars" Right off!

On the list I'd say The Breakfast Club, but since you offered "Other"... well, I have two big favorites that are missing: Sixteen Candles and Better Off Dead!

I love Fletch... I even named my kid Fletcher! (No kidding.) Not a big fan of Fletch Lives, although it did have its moments.

Huh... my wife and I just got back from seeing The Simpsons Movie, and they had shown the preview for this. We both agreed the preview sucked and we had very little interest in seeing the movie. Maybe we need to give it a chance...

That was out of left field. I hadn't even heard him mentioned as a consideration. I was rooting for what's-his-face... the J. Peterman guy.

Neil is not at the concert venue to "chill" backstage or to be anyone's buddy. He's there to do his job, which is play a kick-ass show. When he's done, he gets out, because he's back on his own time, and he'll do what he needs to do to make sure that time isn't compromised. More power to him. It's a shame things are such that he needs to do that, though. I used to think it would be cool to meet one of my rock heroes, but I read some stuff Robert Fripp wrote, and I realized, it really wouldn't. I have nothing useful to say to them, and they have no godlike wisdom to bestow upon me, either. Our relationship begins and ends at the music. So I leave it at that.

It's been a while since I've listened to VT. I voted for (or, I suppose, AGAINST) "Nocturne," only because it's the only one in the list that I do not remember at all. I'm not a big fan of "One Little Victory," though.

QUOTE (ReRushed @ Jun 10 2007, 08:51 AM) Batman Begins is a total reboot of the Batman franchise. It has nothing to do with the previous Batman movies. Agreed. It's also the BEST Batman movie (in my opinion) by a mile. Seems they kind of did the same thing to Bond with Casino Royale. The only problem was, the first half of the movie was great, but the second half was crap!

I think Reservoir Dogs is probably better as a fully realized work of art, but Pulp Fiction hit me at just the right time. (I was 20, a junior in college.) It transformed my entire understanding of the medium. I suddenly understood film as art, instead of just movies as entertainment. (Granted, it's still mostly entertainment... but it's a lot more artistic than what normally passes as entertainment.) Sadly I haven't really gotten into Tarantino's direction since then. Jackie Brown was OK; I hated Kill Bill Volume One. I haven't seen KBv2 or Grindhouse (although I do want to see Grindhouse).