I have conflicted feelings about Thunderball. On the one hand, it’s one of the best novels — the final book in what I consider the series’ apex. It’s also the book that kicked off the Bond phenomenon, by leading film producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli to secure the rights to the franchise. However, the conflict over its origins mired Fleming in a lawsuit that some would argue led to his death in 1964, and kept a shadow over the franchise for decades to come.
Continue reading “Tour de Bond: Thunderball (1961)”
Friday Music
OK, let’s get this out of the way. Yes, I’m going to do what everybody else does at this time of year, and post some Halloween-themed tracks. But I’m not making the whole entry themed — you’re only getting a couple. Plus, they aren’t the usual heard-em-a-million-times tunes (“Thriller”, “Dead Man’s Party”, etc.) — but I am sticking with the 80s, since that was, as near as I can figure, the last gasp of the spooky-themed pop song.
First up, we have UK proto-goths doing a positively bouncy song on a “spooky” theme. You might know them from such classic Halloween appearances as the “Video Nasties” episode of The Young Ones: The Damned – “Grimly Fiendish.”
Second, one of the most cheesetastic tracks in horror cinema, forming a big part of the club sequence in my favorite 80s horror film, Fright Night: Sparks – “The Armies of the Night.”
OK. There. I’ve gotten it out of my system.
On to my other choices for the week:
Here’s another brilliant track from the self-proclaimed (and hard to argue that, really) “King of Grime”, with an 80s-film-referencing title that my wife will find amusing (since she refers to Dotta Numba Two as “Teenager Two: Electric Boogaloo”): Wiley – “Electric Boogaloo (featuring Jodie Connor and J2K).”
Another track from Slash’s self-titled solo album, this time featuring Black Eyed Peas front-model Fergie on vocals. I like this song far more than it deserves — and Fergie does a passable Axl impression, which makes me actually want to hear her do more in this style. Slash – “Beautiful Dangerous (feat. Fergie).”
I watched the new HBO documentary The Promise: The Recording of “Darkness on the Edge of Town”, which reminded me of how much I really loved Springsteen, whom I had discovered in the pre-Born in the USA era, thanks to the record collection of a friend’s brother, who was away at school — pretty much how I got into Steely Dan, too. I listened to his stuff all the while I was going New Wave and Punk, and I sorta fell out of the habit once college started. The documentary reminded me of one of the album tracks from Darkness which was a favorite of mine. The melody hook of this track still gives me chills, and I had totally forgotten that. Bruce Springsteen – “Candy’s Room.”
Lastly, because nobody’s week is complete without listening to some 80s-anime-soundtrack rock inspired by Ellen Aim from Streets of Fire: Priss & The Replicants – “Konya Wa Hurricane (from “Bubblegum Crisis”).”
Enjoy.
Making the Negative Brand Work….
In the comments of the previous entry, Eddy Webb asked:
“Have you given any serious thoughts on ways you can take this toxic GMS brand and convert it into something that’s useful for your business?”
I said at the time that I hadn’t — I think that I’m too close to the issue, and I can’t figure out how that would work.
Unless…
A thought occurs to me. Imagine this: I put up a Kickstarter Project: Announce that if I can raise 25K in 30 days, I’ll leave the industry for good, never to look back — no releasing product, no posting on forums, nada. Then, I go to all of the hives of GMS-hate and advertise the offer. Offer incentives, like T-shirts for a certain level of funding that say “I Drove GMS Out of Gaming” or something equally triumphalist.
If it works, I’ve got 25K to cover me for a few months while I transition Adamant to other things. :)
(….and for the record, NO, I’m not serious. For one, I’ve still got stuff I want to release, even if it’s only as part of a more widely-focused effort. For the other, I doubt it would work, since the Haters talk a good game, but would never pony up. Amusing to contemplate, though….)