The Meme-Mandated, Semi-Regularly-Updated, Occasionally Coherent Thoughts of G.M. Skarka
I’m sure most of you have seen this already, but I’m posting it primarily for my own later reference.
It’s the “sizzle reel” (a trailer proposal for an unfilmed series) for a British SF series best described as “Ocean’s 11 in Space” — starring one of my favorite British actors — Sean Pertwee (son of Third Doctor Jon Pertwee):
SLINGERS from Mike Sizemore on Vimeo.
Sorry I’m a bit late today — busy, busy, busy.
Picked up the new Brian Setzer album, Songs from Lonely Avenue — which Setzer describes as a soundtrack to a film noir that hasn’t been made yet. Good stuff, as always. A lot of it is very appropriate to the period he’s looking to evoke. For example the following: Brian Setzer Orchestra – “Kiss Me Deadly.”
There are a few tracks which are out of place for the stated theme, but still amazing. There’s a pair of songs in the middle of the album — the first, “Mr. Jazzy Goes Surfin'” is a great bit of jazz guitar, which, as you might imagine, takes a turn towards traditional surf guitar towards the end. Quite fun. Even better, though, is it’s mate in the pair, which uses some of the same melodies, but in an entirely surf-oriented style. This is easily my favorite track on the album — and some of the hottest stuff that Setzer’s ever done. Plus the opening has a real “Courageous Cat & Minute Mouse” vibe to it (for those old enough to remember)…. Brian Setzer Orchestra – “Mr. Surfer Goes Jazzin’.”
The new HTC cellphone ads use one of my favorite tracks — a house remix of a classic soul tune by Nina Simone, the “High Priestess of Soul.” She’s been a favorite of hip-hop and electronic producers, and has been the subject of entire albums of remixes. Nina Simone – “Sinnerman (Felix da Housecat Heavenly House Mix).”
My friend Scott quoted lyrics from this song on Facebook this week, which reminded me how much I liked it. From the 1992 album Us: Peter Gabriel – “Steam.”
For Dotta Numba Two, by request. We’re introducing her to Firefly — she’s hooked, of course. It’s been years since I’ve watched them, and I’m glad to find that they really hold up. Sonny Rhodes – “The Ballad of Serenity (Theme from Firefly).”
This came up on iTunes shuffle for the first time in years. It’s one of my guilty pleasures. The soundtrack to early adolescence on turn-of-the-80s Long Island: Zebra – “Tell Me What You Want.”
And, lastly, the best use of Star Trek samples in a pop song, EVER. Information Society – “What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy).”
There you go, kids.
Enjoy.
One of the guys who publishes Diaspora posted this on the original RPGnet thread, summarizing their view on the subject:
“Sales are not of principle interest to us though they are, certainly, interesting. Well, sales-as-revenue that is. Sales themselves, absent the revenue, indicate interest and approval of our work, and THAT we care about. In a sense that means finding clever ways to maximize sales are in fact in opposition to our interest (they blur the metric).
*blink*
*blink blink*
Tell me I’m reading that correctly. It almost looks to me like they’re saying that to them, sales are only interesting in the abstract, as an indicator of approval… to the point where they feel that maximizing sales (and let’s be clear here — we’re talking about giving customers what they’re asking for) is a Bad Thing… because it blurs the metric.
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?
I’m not even going to bother to ask about this on the thread. People appear to have swallowed that with no difficulty, which has rendered me absolutely gobsmacked.
