Category: Generic

Envy of None

Go. Now. Make this a part of your life.

Not being much of a synth-pop guy, when I listen to this I think of some of the Smashing Pumpkins stuff that Flood produced, or maybe some of the post-Actung Baby electronic stuff U2 did. Wait… wasn’t that Flood too? Or was that Brian Eno? I don’t know. I heard an interview with Andy Curran where he said it sounds like Depeche Mode or The Cure. That works too.

So there I am, listening for the first time and really enjoying it purely on a holy-shit-this-hook-is-infectious level. I wasn’t hearing any stand out guitar parts, but I knew that was coming. Alex Lifeson (as well as everyone else involved in the album) has made a big deal out of the fact that he’s playing the guitar without ever sounding like a guitar. He’s basically a guitar synth player rather than just a guitar player. Then you get to Spy House, track five, and there’s a stretch of about four bars where he just shreds like the Guitar God he is, and then it’s back to synthy stuff.

I imagine Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew sitting in a room together listening. They both nod their head in approval. Then they look at each other and nod their heads in agreement. Then they look over at Alex Lifeson and nod in solidarity. Yeah. I’m 100% sure that exact thing happened.

No go and listen to it.

Another Marvel Flick Down

Here is The Great 2022 Marvel Cinematic Universe Chronological Rewatch of 2022 Update:

  • Captain America: The First Avenger
  • Captain Marvel
  • Iron Man
  • The Incredible Hulk
  • Iron Man 2
  • Thor
  • Marvel’s The Avengers
  • Iron Man 3
  • Thor: The Dark World
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  • Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron
  • Ant-Man
  • Captain America: Civil War
  • Black Widow
  • Spider-Man: Homecoming
  • Black Panther
  • Doctor Strange
  • Thor: Ragnarok
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp
  • Avengers: Infinity War
  • Avengers: Endgame
  • Spider-Man: Far From Home
  • Eternals
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home

I know I had seen Iron Man 2 before, but I didn’t remember most of it. It was okay. It ended with a suitable bang. A lot of it was on the boring side though. Not bad, just not great. I think I had a hard time accepting Mickey Rourke. I mean… it’s Mickey Rourke.

What I don’t recall from my one previous viewing was all of the references to Thor. I figured there would be an end credit thing, but Coulson shows up in the middle of the movie out of nowhere and tells Stark he’s going to New Mexico. That had nothing to do with Iron Man 2 and is just a nod toward Thor. Weird. Fury mentions it too during the donut shop scene.

Next up is the aforementioned Thor. I don’t mind Thor as a character, and I don’t mind the human gang he runs around with, but most of the Asgardian stuff feels a little snooze-festy to me. After that it ramps up big time with The Avengers and then snooze-fests again with Iron Man 3 and Thor 2. That’s okay. I can make it through. Just watch me.

Early Morning

The wallboard folks asked if they could come early this morning. 7:30 or so. We were up and ready to go before 7:00.

Jen is trying to figure out why the Roomba stops working before it finishes. I just put a big tarp over the washer and the dryer before the sanding starts today. I’m also trying to sneak in Iron Man 2. I started watching it last night but didn’t get far.

The weekend is so close I can almost smell it. It’s been a tough week. I need a break. Jen and I are both getting to the point where we are feeling the remodeling fatigue. The construction blues. Whatever you want to call it. We just want it to be over. We still have a couple of weeks to go though. They are going to start taping and mudding and sanding the drywall today (are those the correct terms?). It will likely carry over to the beginning of next week. Then paint, then hopefully around the same time the painting wraps up the new flooring will be delivered and that can start. Once that’s done it’s on to the finishing work. Baseboards and things like that. Then we bring in some furniture. Maybe a nice rug. Homey the place up, you know? Then I move my desk downstairs, and then we take a nice long break from construction while I get my insides rewired.

Oh yeah. That. The surgery is 26 days away.

Big Day for Prog Fans Tomorrow

Tomorrow is going to be a big day for prog rock fans.

I mentioned earlier that we are supposed to get a new Pink Floyd single tomorrow. We are also getting some new Alex Lifeson.

Envy of None’s album comes out tomorrow. It won’t sound even the tiniest bit like Rush, and based on the press they’ve been doing thus far, half the time you won’t hear guitar. Instead you’ll be hearing some other non-guitar sound that was actually played on a guitar.

I think the heroic Mr Lifeson may be embracing his inner Robert Fripp. Frankly, I am 100% here for it.

Yes indeed, it’s going to be a good day for prog fans.

Not a Good Look

I’m watching today’s new episode of Star Trek Picard. I’m only about halfway through, and I won’t spoil anything but…

The musical number will likely rocket this episode to the bottom of most peoples’ rank list.

Not a good look, Star Trek. Bad choice.

Robot Fail

Last night I took a picture of the Roomba to post here and somehow didn’t even notice that it was just barely off the charger. When it was supposed to run last night it did not because the battery was still dead from the last time it ran.

Stupid dead battery robot. How are you supposed to take over the world if you can’t even charge yourself? Sheesh.

The real reason I am posting this right now is not because of the utter robotic failure last night but because I am going to work in the office today and I don’t want to go so I am stalling.

That’s the ticket, right there.

Hulk Smash

So that MCU rewatch thingie… want an update? No? Sorry, you’re getting one anyway.

Here is The Great 2022 Marvel Cinematic Universe Chronological Rewatch of 2022 Update:

  • Captain America: The First Avenger
  • Captain Marvel
  • Iron Man
  • The Incredible Hulk
  • Iron Man 2
  • Thor
  • Marvel’s The Avengers
  • Iron Man 3
  • Thor: The Dark World
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  • Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron
  • Ant-Man
  • Captain America: Civil War
  • Black Widow
  • Spider-Man: Homecoming
  • Black Panther
  • Doctor Strange
  • Thor: Ragnarok
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp
  • Avengers: Infinity War
  • Avengers: Endgame
  • Spider-Man: Far From Home
  • Eternals
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home

So I watched The Incredible Hulk today. Like I mentioned before, most people don’t like that movie, but I do. Remember that Eric Bana played Bruce Banner in the first Hulk movie. Mark Ruffalo plays him in the Avengers movies. They are both great and I will never say a bad word about either of them… but to my untrained eye, Edward Norton just blows them both out of the water as far as acting goes. Yes, I may be basing that on American History X and Fight Club more than on playing Bruce Banner, but really… it’s Edward freakin’ Norton. That guy could probably play a dust bunny and make it absolutely riveting.

Up next is Iron Man 2, and then Thor. Thor was the MCU character that interested me the least. Then they made Ragnarok. Then they made him fat. Now he’s awesome. What I didn’t know was that the comics that Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, and Thor were based on (in part, at least?) were from the same series, and they all take place within a few days of each other. I learned that when the What If? show referenced all three of them in the same episode. How cool is that?

Okay. I am finishing packing up for the drive to work tomorrow, then I want to try and watch MoonKight episode two. Looks like I am going to be awake until after midnight again. I really have to stop doing this crap this late at night.