Hunting the Dear...

Hey guys,

No, I haven't forgotten how to spell...

I'm just going to take a look at a band called The Dear Hunter, (that's D-E-A-R) for a little bit...

I really like the first two albums put out by this "band" and I've grown excited at the prospect of going to see them since they're coming to Pittsburgh soon.

I say "band" because the group is really mostly comprised of one person named Casey Crescenzo. He's got a little help from his friends on the first two efforts of his project, but it's mostly him doing the performing...

It didn't all begin there for Mr. Crescenzo, though...

He was in a band called The Receiving End of Sirens for a while. They put out a pretty decent album on which I think you can hear the roots of The Dear Hunter coming to light. Casey did some guitar, vocals and a lot of other things on this disc.

In this first post examining The Dear Hunter, I'm going to post all the music videos that The Receiving End of Sirens made for the above mentioned album: Between the Heart and the Synapse which involved Casey...

Enjoy below and stay tuned for more stuff involving The Dear Hunter...

Titles for the songs will appear ABOVE the videos...



Planning A Prison Break



*- In the above song "Planning a Prison Break", That's Casey that begins singing in the "Like a felon..." part. Also, notice that the song starts sounding significantly more like something from The Dear Hunter at that point...



This Armistice





The Evidence





Despite liking this album, there are more than a few moments on it that are, for me, a little too modern-pop/punk-esque... Sometime after this album, Casey left The Receiving End of Sirens to begin working on what is a significantly better project (IMHO): The Dear Hunter... Casey's new project is evolving into to one of my favorites and its entire catalog hasn't left my iPod since I discovered it. Keep checking back and reading the Llog for more things on The Dear Hunter and other stuff that I deem awesome...

Peace...

C'MON!!! All aboard Flight 815!!!

Hey guys,

As I've posted earlier, I'm getting into watching LOST again and I'm pretty still pretty early in Season 1.

I know I've ranted a lot about the show and a lot of you have heard me and said you might be interested in watching...

Now's your chance...

What's that? You don't have the DVDs? NO PROBLEM! You can still watch the entire series on www.abc.com.

If any of you are interested, please let me know. We could just all plan to watch some episodes alone and blog about them here or we could set up a sort of party or something (those of you who are within distance of me) and kind of start the whole series together or at least watch some episodes together... OR BOTH!!!

This is something I'd really be interested in doing. I'm gonna be watching them anyway in preparation for the LOST podcast The Transmission reviewing some episodes from Season 2. (HEY, Ryan and Jen!!!)

Again, if anyone wants to take me up on this, I'll give it a week and see who responds and then we'll make plans as a big group if anyone's into it...

Het me back, people...

Namaste... and peace...

Raised by Another in Solitary

Hey guys,

I've gone and done it again...

That's right I'm getting into watching LOST again...

I just watched two episodes tonight: "Solitary" and "Raised by Another" from Season 1...

So...

BEWARE: IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE SHOW YET AND PLAN TO, THERE MAY BE SOME SPOILERS FROM THE SHOW BELOW... THAT'S LOST I'M REFERRING TO... LOST...









With that being said, I guess I'm not gonna go too deep into spoiling anything... I love the whole golf game thing in "Solitary". Especially the part where Michael and Jack are face to face and you think there's going to be some kind of big problem and they're just deciding what club to use... Classic...

I also like the part where Sawyer makes his little effort to be accepted by betting against Jack's shot... Pretty touching when you're as attached to these characters as some of us are...

The burning question in my mind and this isn't the first time I've typed this today: With what we know now (that's by the end of Season 4) why isn't it still important that Claire raises Aaron... Surely there couldn't be that big of a plot hole... I mean in "Raised by Another", it's life and death that Claire raises Aaron and NO ONE ELSE... Now we know that he's with Kate and Claire may be dead!!! Is it destiny that Aaron becomes wicked or that danger befalls the little tyke or is this just that big of a plot hole??? Can someone tell me? Any theories?

This is my rant on LOST for now...

Anyone may reply and I hope that a lot of you do...

Peace...

The move that wouldn't die...

Hey guys,
As most of you who are actually reading this know, I've been moving...

I've gotta say... I'M SICK OF IT...

I'll be glad to settle into my new place once all the shit gets put away, but for right now, it's a mess. There's stuff EVERYWHERE... I've not even been able to reap the benefits of one of the main reasons why I moved up here yet: SAVING ON GAS! I've been making so many trips back and forth that I've been burning as much gas as I would have (and the extra weight doesn't help the gas mileage...).

Ah well, I'll be settled soon enough...

Just ranting on how much it sucks to move, but there should come a reward at the end of it...

'Til next time and as always: Peace...

Studies of the Clown Prince, Part Eight

Hey guys,

This is a pivotal study in the history of the Joker. The feel that the viewing of The Dark Knight has probably made it that way, whether I wanted it to or not. Also, the study up until this point has been pretty much in chronological order. That's really another thing that's made this pivotal... Having viewed the film that is basically the latest piece of Joker mythos, anything that I would read or view now will be a step back in the Joker's timeline... That being said, let's take a look a what I've taken in so far...

-The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told (Graphic Novel, 1988; Collecting stories from 1939-1983)

-Batman: The Animated Series (Cartoon, 1992-1995)

-Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Comics, 1986)

-Batman: The Killing Joke (Comic, 1988)

-Batman: A Death in the Family (Comics, 1988-1989)

-The Dark Knight (Film, 2008)



Now then, let's move on...

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS A FEW SPOILERS FROM THE COMICS SERIES "BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM".

Finally, another Joker story that I've really been looking forward to. Any of you who've read prior posts of this blog, looked at my MySpace, or been around me long enough to hear me start rambling about comics know that I love Grant Morrison's work. Batman: Arkham Asylum is a story that is crafted by the one and only Grant Morrison with the unmistakable abstract genius Dave McKean doing the artwork.

Some of you may have read some Grant Morrison, but I'd be willing to bet that all of you have seen Dave McKean's artwork... He's done various comics (all of the covers to DC/Vertigo's landmark series The Sandman), over 150 CD covers, ad campaigns for Kodak, Nike, BMW, and Smirnoff, and has contributed to the production design on some of the Harry Potter films. His style is very abstract and has a presence that you won't soon forget... Just wait 'til you see some of the pics of the Joker I'm about to post from this book.

If you thought Heath Ledger's Joker was disturbing or frightening and you didn't think it could get any worse, check this book out... This Joker is completely insane.

The story centers around the building of Arkham Asylum, a facility that houses the Joker and all of Batman's other foes when he catches them time after time. With the Joker leading the charge, the inmates take over the facility, beckoning Batman's presence inside... What Batman arrives to is something of a grand haunted house with a gallery of vicious madmen supplying the bumps in the night...

The Joker first lures the Batman inside by saying that he has a nineteen-year-old girl hostage (among others). He talks on the phone to Batman. "She just drew me a beautiful house," he says. "She drew it with this pencil. The one I've just sharpened. OPEN YOUR EYES WIDE, PEARL! Beautiful... Blue... Oh..." The scene ends with a blood-curdling scream and Batman exclaiming, "Jesus, NO!" (Could the Joker's "magic trick" in his opening scene in The Dark Knight be a reference to this?)

If the Joker's sexuality in The Dark Knight Returns was questionable, it's markedly more ambiguous in this tale. At one point he actually grabs Batman's ass saying, "Loosen up, TIGHT ASS!" He also calls Batman "honey" and "honey-pie" on different occasions... Is this just a grand jest or is the Joker in love with the thrill that Batman gives him? Or in love with the man himself? Hmmmm...

Though not really the "Joker story" that Batman: The Killing Joke or The Dark Knight are, this tale definitely has its Joker moments... It's a tale that I'd include on my short list simply because I've really never seen the Joker this way before thematically or visually...

FINAL VERDICT: This is a Joker story you should read. As I've said, it's the Joker as I've never seen him before and that's thanks to Grant Morrison and Dave McKean. C'mon! With two geniuses such as these at the helm, the story's gotta be good!

I'll now include the cover the to the 15th Anniversary Edition of this book and an interior shot of the Joker below by Dave McKean.







If you guys know anything else that pertains to the Joker that I should check out, let me know. My plans for future studies include but are not limited to:

-Batman (Film, 1989)

-Batman: The Man Who Laughs (Comic)

-Mad Love (Comic)

-Slayride (Detectice Comics #826)

-Robin II: Joker's Wild (Comic)

-Going Sane (Legends of the Dark Knight #65-68)




Let me know if there's something I should read/watch that I missed...

Until next time...

Studies of the Clown Prince, Part Seven

Hey guys,

And here... we... GO!

What can I say that hasn't already been said?

We've come to that point in our studies of the Clown Prince...

The Dark Knight.

I loved this movie so much that the only thing I'm going to do or say in the way of spoilers is put a couple of clips at the bottom of this post. If you've had any interest in the film or have seen it, these won't really be spoilers for you and you've probably already seen them...

Again, what can I say?

I will say that I started to become afraid when I heard all of the hype about Heath Ledger as the Joker. People talking Oscars for the performance already, teenage girls touting the Joker as their favorite character, and Heath Ledger's death prior to the role really scared me. I thought, "Can this role and bit of acting really be THAT good?"

The simple answer:

YES.

For once, all the hype is true. If you're into movies at all, if you're just a comic book geek, if you're a chick that thinks Heath Ledger is the hottest thing ever to walk planet Earth, if you're Mr. Ledger's father giving the thumbs up as he walks from watching his dead son's performance, if you're Jack Nicholson's #1 fan... Any of that... If you don't think the Heath Ledger's performance of the Joker is amazing, I doubt you have a pulse...

Heath Ledger has immortalized himself and the Joker on the silver screen for eras to come...

Our look at the evolution of the Joker has come full circle and then some. From the Joker being a cold blooded killer in the 1940s to him having to be tamed in the 1950s to The Dark Knight Returns to The Killing Joke and beyond, Heath Ledger, Christopher Nolan and The Dark Knight have made the Joker complete...

You've GOT to see some of this for yourself (if you haven't already), so I'm gonna post a couple YouTube clips right below here. If you haven't seen the flick and don't want absolutely ANYTHING spoiled, don't watch... However, these clips aren't plot-breakers or anything and are really just examples of a couple of my favorite moments from the film... Check 'em out...





Amazing...

Just one more thought... You know, if no one ever told you who the actor was and the Joker was never shown without the make-up, would you be able to tell who the actor was? That's how great Heath Ledger's performance was...

Well, there it is: Some of my thoughts on The Dark Knight... The Studies of the Clown Prince aren't over, though... (Well, maybe just the first round of them are...) I hope to read more comics and take in more media in the coming weeks and keep this thing going... Hope you guys have enjoyed it and will enjoy it as much as I am...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Studies of the Clown Prince, Part Six

Hey guys,
Finally back from the complications of the big move and on to another installment in my studies of the Joker...

You guys were probably expecting me to blog about the stellar film The Dark Knight... That will come in the next post about the Joker...

As for this one...

BEWARE: SPOILERS FOR THE COMICS EPIC "BATMAN: A DEATH IN THE FAMILY" FOLLOW...

Okay...

So we've been reading and reading. The Joker's gotten more and more disturbing, more and more crazy, more and more developed as the character that he's come to be known as...

Until now...

Batman: A Death in the Family seems for the most part to just be a step backward for the Joker's development if we're viewing it as a progression up until now. The Joker has become concerned with politics in this series of books. Most of his evil doings take place in foreign countries, some with cruise missiles!!! The Joker we've come to see and come to love watching and reading through all these magnificent stories up until now isn't going to care about politics or war... HE'S TOO CRAZY!!!

Maybe this was just the story-telling (or simply the story) of the day back in 1989... It just doesn't seem like the same Joker that we've just seen in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns or Batman: The Killing Joke, though... These were madmen, these Jokers... They had deep personal reasons for killing and pranking...

Maybe this was the next logical step for the Joker, as he seemed bent on world-domination...

The moment that saves this story (if any does) and the evolution of our Clown Prince is where the Joker beats and beats... and beats... and beats on Robin with a crow bar... As some of you may know, this is the story where DC Comics editors and writers opened up a phone poll to the public, posing the question, "Kill Jason Todd (Robin) or let him live?" The public gave him a thumbs-down... The Joker's brutal beating of Jason Todd is disturbing and detonating a bomb that blows young master Todd up just as he finds his real mother is heartbreaking...

All in all, though, reading this (especially after seeing The Dark Knight this past weekend) just seems like a step that's out of place in the Joker's evolution...

FINAL VERDICT: Though it appears on many lists as a must-read Joker story, the tale is really driven by Jason Todd's search for truth and independence. I guess where this falls in as a Joker story is that the Harlequin of Hate ends that search... brutally...

You knew I HAD to include a visual... Below is part of the cover to Batman #429 which was part of the series, art by Jim Aparo, Mike Decarlo, and Adrienne Roy