Geek Force FiveCast 297: The Dream

In which ECC geeks out about a very geeky dream he had.

Worth Your Consideration #027

I’m collecting links like mad lately, so it’s time for another edition of Worth Your Consideration.

• Let’s start off by linking up the Star Wars burlesque story that Jon mentioned during this week’s episode of Generation Goat. And, if the still image above and other images in that first link aren’t enough to sate you, here’s video of the debauchery courtesy of Geekologie. And, if that still isn’t enough for you, be sure to check out this video of Princess Peach shaking it for Bowser and all the other toads in the audience.
• You know that we love amazingly disgusting (yet somehow mouth-watering) burger photos. Well, here’s another one: Krispy Kreme Donut Bacon Cheeseburgers.
• You know that we also love Nine Inch Nails. Here’s a video of former NIN drummer Josh Freese kicking ass and taking names on a live version of “Wish.”
• Also on the video front, here’s an oldie but goodie: a circa 1984 dealer training video for the then brand-new Macintosh computer.
• Speaking of Apple, didja know that they confirmed they’ll be announcing their “latest creation” on January 27? Rumors indicate that we’ll hear about the fabled iTablet, iPhone OS 4.0, and iLife 2010 (the WSJ seems pretty sure about the tablet’s arrival, and is suggesting that families will share the device). There are also whispers that we’ll soon be hearing about our iTunes media collections living in the cloud.
• One more Apple link: Every Get A Mac Ad in One Place.
• Moving on! It looks like Spider-Man 4 has a director, and it’s Marc Webb, whose (500) Days of Summer is still on my to-watch list.
• Marc Webb once directed a Green Day video ("21 Guns"), and Green Day is going to be the center of the next Rock Band video game. Dude! How’d you like that transition?
• And, oh, if Green Day ever needs a drummer to replace the maniacally, indecently awesome Tre Cool, then they should check out this kid, whose chops, according to Mashable, “will melt your face off.”
• I’ve become kind of obsessed with videos of talented kids lately. Something else I’ve been obsessing over: stats for things that don’t need stats. And here’s a prime example: Charlie Brown’s lifetime baseball stats.
• Moving on! How long until someone runs over a real prostitute in their real car while too busy running over a digital prostitute in the new iPhone version of Grand Theft Auto to pay attention to the road?
• Something that keeps me from tearing my eyes away from the iPhone or the computer, wherever it is I happen to bump into these things: promos for season six of Lost and jokes about how the sixth season is going to make fans like me even more obnoxious than ever.
• Something I wish I could experience for real, and not just through the hype machine: Marvel Comics. I am really digging the poster for Siege that Joe Quesada did, but the pricing for comics is out of control and I ain’t coming back until they get real and bring cover prices down (which will probably never happen).
• Well, never say never, I guess. I mean, if Marvel’s new overlords at Disney keep making decent money on films like the rumored Tim Burton version of the Sleeping Beauty tale, called Maleficent, then maybe they’ll find some way to bring prices down.
• And, not that the House of Mouse needs any suggestions from me on how to make some dough, but here’s one: Disney princesses dressed up as the villains from their movies.

Geek Force FiveCast 283: Another Version of the Truth

In which ECC geeks out about the fan-made Nine Inch Nails concert film, Another Version of the Truth: The Gift.

Top 25 Most Played Songs in 2009

Okay, it’s time for me to fess up and rattle off the list of the 25 songs I listened to the most in 2009 (according to Last.fm).

1. “This Year” by The Mountain Goats
2. “Bruises" by Chairlift
3. “Hometown Glory” by Adele
4. “Sometime Around Midnight” by The Airborne Toxic Event
5. “Just Dance” by Lady GaGa
6. “My Life Would Suck Without You” by Kelly Clarkson
7. “Shake It” by Metro Station
8. “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You” by Black Kids
9. “Love Love Love” by The Mountain Goats
10. “It’s A Shame About Ray” by The Lemonheads
11. “Hot N Cold” by Katy Perry
12. “The Moneymaker” by Rilo Kiley
13. “Shut Up And Let Me Go” by The Ting Tings
14. “Mercy" by Duffy
15. “Love is Dead” by The Lovemakers
16. “Strange Kind of Love” by Trent Reznor, Jeordie White, Atticus Ross, and Peter Murphy
17. “Foundations" by Kate Nash
18. “One of the Three” by James
19. “Just Like Honey” by The Jesus and Mary Chain
20. “U Want Me 2” by Sarah McLachlan
21. “Disorder" by Joy Division
22. “Astronaut: A Short History of Nearly Nothing” by Amanda Palmer
23. “Dark Halls” by Au Revoir Simone
24. “Great DJ” by The Ting Tings
25. “Handlebars" by Flobots

What strikes me most about this list is how much of it is comprised of songs I purchased with iTunes gift cards just after Christmas 2008 based on lists and suggestions made by my friends Andy Hicks and Jon Martin for that year.

If I had to guess, the 2010 list will be far more diverse (and, potentially, current), as the latter half of 2009 finally found me investigating new music on my own again. “Love is Dead” by The Lovemakers is a perfect example of this: a song I totally latched onto on my own (it’s become one of my favorite songs of all time). Were this a list of the top 25 of the last six months, it would be number one.

So, whaddayathink? Anything on here that’s cause for disowning me? And hey, while we’re talking best ofs and most popular lists and such, what would yours look like?

Worth Your Consideration #025

• Be a Mind Blower has collected the “Top 25 Mind Blowing Ideas” on how to control devices by blowing air at them. Now, we the people have a chance to vote and determine the Top 5, which may be integrated into Zyxio’s projects in the future. Ideas include everything from how to stop excessive spread of swine flu to how to create HarmonicaHero-type games.
• Our friends at Film Pop! are running a workshop on “Indie Film Marketing On A Shoestring” in Nashua, New Hampshire on December 16, and they’re running it at our favorite Gate City venue Studio 99.
• My favorite band of all time, Nine Inch Nails, is auctioning off their gear on eBay. Thanks to our friends at Moss Creek Media for reminding us to write about this.
• Another Moss Creek reminder: Amanda Palmer’s Party on the Internet. I’m not sure how often it runs, but Amanda Palmer doing live Web video definitely seems like something kick-ass and worth our consideration.
• Speaking of things that kick ass, be sure to check out this poster of McLovin as Red Mist in the new Kick-Ass film adaptation.
• And then, when you’re done with that, why not give a listen to an iPhone orchestra. We’re all sick of Christmas tunes by now, right? So, why not broaden your horizons? Here’s another link, just in case you’re not convinced yet.
• If you’re interested in broadening your toddler’s horizons, and you want to make sure they’re even more ahead of the curve than the rest of the kids at your daycare center, why not buy ‘em a Twoddler for Christmas? It’s a toy that allows babies to use Twitter. Now, doesn’t that sound like a wonderful idea?
• Switching gears, here’s something for you video game mashup lovers out there: a sweet Half-Life 2/Contra mashup (embedded above, for your convenience).
• And, if Contra’s just a wee bit too violent for you, what about Dragon’s Lair for the iPhone and iPod Touch? That sounds neat, right?
• Also neat: Apple buys streaming music service Lala. What does this mean for iTunes? Is cloud storage of our tunes forthcoming?
• And, speaking of things forthcoming, what about Clerks 3? Kevin Smith says it’s a possibility if he makes it to his late 40s.
• Wrapping up, here’s a peek at the temple that’s been mentioned but never seen on Lost. Excited for season six yet? I know I am.

Nine Inch Nails on the FRINGE

I haven’t been avoiding the television series Fringe on purpose—that, my friends, would be stupid—but I’ve just never gotten around to watching an episode. That, dear reader, may be about to change. You see, I’m a huge Nine Inch Nails fan, and I’ll check out pretty much anything related to the band at least once. And now, according to Entertainment Weekly, NIN’s Trent Reznor has contributed an alternate version of the song “Zero Sum” to the Powers That Be at Fringe for the low, low cost of absolutely zilch. That’s right, Reznor re-recorded the vocals to the song (to make them Fringe-specific) and handed over the completed track for free. “No, no, I just want to have fun and be part of something cool,” was apparently the response that Trent gave when he was offered payment.

Very cool.

Also cool: this trailer for a fan-made DVD of NIN’s performance from Webster Hall earlier this year. NIN fanatics will remember this as the show that featured the first-ever live performance of the album The Downward Spiral in its entirety. And this DVD, the result of a relaxed camera policy instituted for the final string of shows, has apparently been so well-received by the people inside the NIN camp that it’s brought Trent Reznor out of Twitter retirement. His retweet of Rob Sheridan’s announcement of the trailer was only his second tweet since the middle of July (when he gave up the service due to constant harassment by trolls).

Just when you think you’re favorite band is done making news for the foreseeable future (NIN is done touring, possibly forever, and Reznor just got married), a day like this come around. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Trent Reznor and Gary Numan to Make Music Together?

PHOTO: Trent & Gary Shaking Hands on Flickr by M.NINE CC BY-NC-SA

According to The NIN Hotline, Gary Numan and Trent Reznor might be making music together in the near future. Nine Inch Nails fans will know that Reznor and Company covered Numan’s “Metal,” and hardcore fans may have even gotten to see the pair play together during the Wave Goodbye tour this summer.

I confess that I know next to nothing about Numan—I love his song “Cars” and almost bought a 90s album that he did that featured artwork by comic book illustrator Joseph Michael Linsner, but never got around to it—but I think this collaboration could be awesome for both performers. Any Numan fans out there want to dispute that? Or any NIN fans, for that matter?

Pink is the New Blog Interviews Trent Reznor Before the Final Live NIN Show

I would never expect a site called Pink is the New Blog to be able to score one interview with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, let alone two (or, has it been several?). But the people who run that site do good stuff. Their latest happened just before NIN’s final live show and it’s a great snapshot of what Trent was thinking in the hours just before his live swan song.

The 10th Anniversary of the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards

On the evening of September 9, 1999, I was to be found in my friend Jon Martin’s basement apartment watching the MTV Video Music Awards. I had been waiting like a giddy school girl in knee-highs for the first ever VMA performance by my favorite band of all time, Nine Inch Nails. The band had already released to radio two tracks from their forthcoming album, The Fragile, and I (like most people) had been expecting to hear one of those tracks. What we got instead was the album’s title cut, which was filled with weird little rhythmic tics that, at the time, not having heard the record yet, I couldn’t be sure were intentional.

Anyway, I was psyched to see NIN perform, but that was only one of the amazing sights to behold that night. We also got Kid Rock, Run D.M.C., and Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith performing a medley of their hits, and Britney and Justin before they hated each other, and, of course, Ricky Martin, whose performance I (mercifully) couldn’t find on YouTube. And it was all hosted by Chris Rock!

Remember when the VMAs used to be awesome, or at least awesomely bad? They’re just frighteningly mediocre nowadays, aren’t they? I long for 9/9/99 on this wannabe day, 09/09/09. How about you?

The Downward Spiral Live In Its Entirety

Nine Inch Nails took the opportunity to play their album The Downward Spiral live in its entirety on August 23, 2009 at Webster Hall in New York City. This means that the lucky bastards in that hot, sweaty club got to hear “A Warm Place” played live for the first time ever, and got to hear “Big Man With A Gun” played for the first time in more than a decade, not to mention getting to see the best NIN album of them all played front to back in what to be a thrill for the performers as well as the audience.

I call them “lucky bastards,” but when I read the news on The NIN Hotline this morning, my first reaction wasn’t anger. No, it was pure, unadulterated joy. I may not have gotten to see this happen, but someone did, and a great many Nine Inch Nails fans out there have got to be happy Goddamned campers this morning.

Apparently, there will be no professional recording of any of these shows, so we’ll just have to wait and see if a bootleg emerges. But good on ya, Webster Hall attendees. I’m sure that most of you would say that all that sweating really was worth it.