https://www.feanorsworkshop.com/blog/logorss.jpg An online journal... of DOOM! Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:12:00 +0000  by Fëanor

When I was younger, I feel like my default unit of music was the album. My brother's, too. When we heard a song we liked, we didn't buy the single. (Well, maybe once or twice we bought some cassingles. Remember those??) We went out and bought the whole album. If we liked the album, we went back and bought all the other albums that band had made. Or, as many as we could find at the record store. Remember when you had to just keep going back to every record store you knew of to find albums you wanted? And if those stores didn't have those albums, you were just out of luck? Crazy.

Anyway, not long after I embraced MP3s and moved my entire music collection onto my iPod, my default unit of music changed to the song. I stopped listening to whole albums and I started listening to playlists on shuffle. It was kind of a seismic shift. It felt freeing. I love the weird juxtapositions a random shuffle can create. And there's no commitment or continuity in a random shuffle; you can break off and start again whenever or wherever.

But for whatever reason, I'm starting to embrace the album again. I'm buying albums of music, and I'm listening to whole albums with my son, instead of playlists on shuffle. And I'm seeing again what you can do with an album, how it can be a deeply meaningful grouping, how putting a bunch of songs together like that can give them more power and meaning than when they're just ripped out and played alone, out of context.

All of which is to say, I'm playing albums when I give my son a bath at night, and here are some of the classics I'm revisiting and new stuff I'm discovering:

• Abacab - Genesis


• Abbey Road - The Beatles


• Achtung Baby - U2


• Act II: The Father of Death - The Protomen


• The Suburbs - Arcade Fire


• Band on the Run - The Wings


• Beaster - Sugar


• Genesis - Genesis


• Sheer Heart Attack - Queen


• So - Peter Gabriel


• Specter at the Feast - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club


• Strange Cousins From The West - Clutch


• Jesus Christ Superstar - Andrew Lloyd Weber


• The Protomen - The Protomen

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Tagged: Children, Griffin, Lists, Music, Parenting]]> Children Griffin Lists Music Parenting Tue, 18 Dec 2012 14:27:00 +0000  by Fëanor

10. Some Nights by fun.

I'm a little embarrassed to include this on my list, because to be honest this album is just a bunch of cheesy hipster music. But it is really catchy, well done, emotionally effective, cheesy hipster music, so what can I do?

9. Neck of the Woods by Silversun Pickups

Although I like their previous stuff a bit more, the new record from Silversun Pickups is solid indie rock.

8. Blunderbuss - Jack White

Jack White finally strikes out on his own and... it sounds a lot like Jack White when he plays with other folks! Which means when it rocks, it really, really rocks (see embedded video). And when it doesn't rock... it's kinda dull. But mostly it rocks!

7. King Animal - Soundgarden

Dude, Soundgarden is back!!! No real surprises here - this is just another Soundgarden record - but I'll take another Soundgarden record any day. Steady, reliable rock.

6. Port of Morrow - The Shins

The Shins are probably one of my favorite contemporary bands. Unexpected, heart-piercing lyrics, beautiful music that just embeds itself in your soul. The song I've included here is probably my favorite on this record, but they're pretty much all fantastic.

5. Silver Age - Bob Mould

Gotta love Bob. Dude just keeps churning out the noisy rock year after year. He's doing it again here, louder than ever. Long may he reign.

4. Channel Orange - Frank Ocean

I didn't expect to like this record as much as I did, mostly because it's classified as R&B, a genre I generally don't take to. But it's really more an expert melding of pop, R&B, and hip-hop, and it's clever and wry and personal and heartfelt.

3. Sun - Cat Power

I wasn't nearly as big a fan of The Greatest as everybody else seemed to be, but this record really impressed me - especially the track I've embedded, "Ruin." Catchy and powerful.

2. The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do - Fiona Apple

Another raw, beautiful, poetic, bruised record from Fiona Apple. "Hot Knife" is probably my favorite track, but there are many stand-outs, including "Every Single Night" and "Daredevil."

1. Theatre Is Evil - Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra

Warning: the video above, like pretty much all of Amanda's videos, is NSFW! I'm perhaps biased towards this record a bit because I contributed to its production, by funding Palmer's slightly controversial, but wildly successful, Kickstarter. But setting all that aside, I think if you give it an impartial listen you'll agree it's a pretty powerful piece of work, just as raw and brutal and personal as Apple's release, but with a New Wave spin. This record will tear your heart out of your chest and dance on it. (UPDATE: I feel it necessary to note that one of the B-sides for this record, "Ukulele Anthem," is easily one of my favorite songs of all time - a silly, angry, defiant, insightful, passionate, screaming, loving manifesto on art and life.)

Honorable Mentions

• Sounds from Nowheresville - The Ting Tings


• A Blessed Unrest - The Parlour Trick (listen to the whole thing here, and then purchase if you like)


• Life Is Good - Nas

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Tagged: Lists, Music, Video]]> Lists Music Video Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:19:00 +0000  by Fëanor

Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.

• YESSSS new Broship of the Rings! Eowyn slaying the Witch-King and Thranduil and Legolas. Also, have you been reading Noelle Stevenson's Nimona? It's good stuff!


• Speaking of Lord of the Rings, GeekDad got some fun details on the upcoming LEGO game. I'm a little disappointed that it will stick closer to the movies than the books, but not too surprised. Anyway, it still sounds pretty awesome.


• I tweeted this a while ago, but good enough for a repost: somebody illustrated scenes from an imagined Harry Potter prequel focusing on James Potter and his buddies.


• Here is video of an SUV getting struck by lightning while driving.


• I like the T-shirt featured first in this Super Punch art roundup.


• A poster for one of the greatest movies never made, Jodorowsky's Dune.


• Some very neat art involving fantastic beasts by Chris Applehans.

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Tagged: Art, Avengers, Clothing, Comedy, Dune, Harry Potter, LEGO, Links, Lists, Mario, Mashups, Monsters, Movies, Recyclotron, Shirts, Tolkien, Toys, Video, Video games, Weather, Web comics]]> Art Avengers Clothing Comedy Dune Harry Potter LEGO Links Lists Mario Mashups Monsters Movies Recyclotron Shirts Tolkien Toys Video Video games Weather Web comics Wed, 23 May 2012 11:34:00 +0000  by Fëanor

Things that Love Is, according to the songs on my iPod:

• A Battlefield


• A Ghost in America


• A Good Thing


• a Mutt from Hell


• a Rose


• All We Have


• Blind


• Blinding


• Blindness


• Coming Down


• Not Enough


• Stronger Than Justice


• The Drug


• The Seventh Wave

UPDATE 1: If you're looking closely, you'll notice a glaring omission here - A Battlefield. I hope to correct this error soon.
UPDATE 2: Corrected!

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Tagged: Lists, Music]]> Lists Music Wed, 16 May 2012 15:05:00 +0000  by Fëanor

Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.

• I found this amusing.


• RDJ kitten!


• A common sight in England.


• A pretty wonderful story from the making of Toy Story 2.


• Another top ten list of movies from io9, this time dealing with time travel. Some great picks here! My only real quarrel is with Time Cop. That movie is just terrible, dude.


• The star of the upcoming Suspiria remake.


• ABC is still planning on airing Guillermo del Toro's Hulk TV show! But apparently the Punisher TV show is kaput.


• How about a shot-for-shot remake of the video for The Beastie Boys' "Sabotage," starring a cast of all kids?


• Here are some pictures of Superman with a duck on his head.


• I bought myself Diablo III! Haven't played it yet. This dude did a 5 hour, 35 minute speed run already. That's just sick.


• Want to watch 60,000 dominoes fall over in ten seconds?


• The first official photo of Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu as Holmes and Watson in CBS' upcoming updated Sherlock Holmes series Elementary. Hmm. Lots of plaid!


• Some cool upcoming Marvel comics covers.


• I enjoy that there's a Tumblr devoted entirely to shots of people eating in Law & Order.


• Here is a penguin wearing a penguin backpack.

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Tagged: Animals, Animated GIFs, Art, Cartoons, Celebrities, Comedy, Comic books, Diablo, Doctor Who, Hulk, Links, Lists, Movies, Music, News, Photography, Pixar, Recyclotron, Superman, Toy Story, TV, Video, Video games]]> Animals Animated GIFs Art Cartoons Celebrities Comedy Comic books Diablo Doctor Who Hulk Links Lists Movies Music News Photography Pixar Recyclotron Superman Toy Story TV Video Video games Tue, 08 May 2012 18:35:00 +0000  by Fëanor

I realize it's totally pointless to argue with somebody else's top ten list, because opinions never match! But man, I have serious issues with io9's list of the top 10 best comic book movies of all time. To save you from clicking over if you don't want to, I'll give you the short version:

10. Superman: The Movie
9. X2: X-Men United
8. Hellboy
7. Spider-Man 2
6. Scott Pilgrim
5. Persepolis
4. Iron Man
3. Akira
2. The Avengers
1. The Dark Knight

Now, first off, I haven't seen two of the movies on this list (Persepolis and The Avengers), so obviously they get a pass. But I've never been all that impressed with the first Superman; Superman II I've always enjoyed a lot more, even if it is a ridiculous film. I have similar feelings about the next three movies on the list. The X-Men movies are pretty good, but X2 is probably my least favorite of them. And Hellboy 2 is definitely way better than the original Hellboy. Of the Spider-Man movies, 2 is maybe the best one, but that's like picking your favorite cancer. Those movies suck, dude. They are made of cheese.

The rest of the movies I can't really argue with. Scott Pilgrim, Iron Man, Akira, The Dark Knight - all great, great movies. But if you're going to include Akira, I feel like you have to take into account movies like Ghost in the Shell, the Lone Wolf and Cub movies, and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. It sounds like they left off Batman Begins for the sake of variety, but... dude. Batman Begins! And then what about Captain America: The First Avenger?! Thor? Constantine? The Incredible Hulk? Justice League: The New Frontier? Men in Black! Road to Perdition!

I think my list looks like this:

10. Men in Black
9. Captain America: The First Avenger
8. Constantine
7. Akira
6. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
5. Thor
4. Batman Begins
3. Iron Man
2. Road to Perdition
1. The Dark Knight

I wish I could have fit Shogun Assassin and New Frontier in there, but there wasn't quite enough room.

What does your list look like? Are you enraged by mine like I was enraged by io9's?

Thumbs Up? (3)

Tagged: Comic books, Lists, Movies]]> Comic books Lists Movies Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:40:00 +0000  by Fëanor

Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.

• Heh.


• My blues name is apparently Boney Bones Jones. That's pretty bad!


• Check out a featurette for Mirror Mirror, one of the various Snow White movies coming out soon. This is directed by Tarsem Singh, believe it or not. You wouldn't know from this video, except for all the crazy hats.


• Pretty cool redesign of Batman and the Batmobile.


• Fun illustration roundup.


• A 3D, animated poster for The Avengers.


• The surviving Pythons may reunite for a sci-fi farce directed by Terry Jones. It's called Absolutely Anything, and it's about a human being (Robin Williams) who's given absolute power by a group of aliens, just to see what a mess he'll make of everything.

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Tagged: Art, Avengers, Batman, Books, Celebrities, Comedy, Craft, Fairy tales, Harry Potter, Links, Lists, Monty Python, Movies, News, Recyclotron, Tarsem, Video]]> Art Avengers Batman Books Celebrities Comedy Craft Fairy tales Harry Potter Links Lists Monty Python Movies News Recyclotron Tarsem Video Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:21:00 +0000  by Fëanor

Hey, remember when I used to post things like this to this here blog?? Thought I'd try it again, just to see how it goes. Enjoy!

Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.

• Some fun recent posters on Reelizer: My Neighbor Totoro, Blade Runner, and Seven Samurai.


• Speaking of Blade Runner and My Neighbor Totoro... And here's another amusing mashup.


• Make your own chocolate D&D dice. (Via)


• This bootleg copy of the Dark Knight Rises trailer is crazy exciting. (UPDATE: Here's the official trailer.)


• A holiday-themed Wondermark! And here's one that's far too accurate to my experience.


• Dude! Officially licensed Lord of the Rings LEGO toys?? There goes all my money.


• Commercials are now legally obligated to not be so damn loud, which makes the fist-waving old man inside me very happy.


• The house banners from A Song of Ice and Fire, redone in super-cute, chibi style.


• The trailer for Expendables 2. Just a teaser, really, but how about that cast!


• I was surprised that Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol was getting such good reviews until I remembered it's directed by Pixar genius Brad Bird. Yeah, I might have to see that.


• The Avengers trailer! You think you've seen it already, but have you seen this version?? It has extra scenes, and it's in German!


• So even though Ridley Scott's Prometheus is essentially a prequel to his Alien film, it will not actually feature the alien, or xenomorph, at all. Huh. Okay then.


• Every year Matthew "defective yeti" Baldwin writes a guide to the best new board games. Always fun! Here's this year's.

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Tagged: Advertising, Aliens, Art, Avengers, Batman, Boardgames, Comedy, Commercials, Craft, Food, Gaming, Holiday, LEGO, Links, Lists, Mashups, Movies, News, Recyclotron, Song of Ice and Fire, Star Wars, Tolkien, Toys, TV, Video, Web comics]]> Advertising Aliens Art Avengers Batman Boardgames Comedy Commercials Craft Food Gaming Holiday LEGO Links Lists Mashups Movies News Recyclotron Song of Ice and Fire Star Wars Tolkien Toys TV Video Web comics Fri, 16 Sep 2011 14:27:00 +0000  by Fëanor

... but here are some fun things I saw today.

Bat-Totoro!

Creepy llama.

Amusing Harry Potter animated GIF that imagines what Snape's after-life in his headmaster portrait must be like.

I like that license plate!

Steven Soderbergh is directing a new movie version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ryan Gosling, or Alexander Skarsgard may be up for a role?! Woah!

Thumbs Up? (5)

Tagged: Animals, Animated GIFs, Art, Batman, Celebrities, Comedy, Comic books, Harry Potter, Hayao Miyazaki, Links, Lists, LOL, Movies, News, Photography, Photoshop, Tolkien]]> Animals Animated GIFs Art Batman Celebrities Comedy Comic books Harry Potter Hayao Miyazaki Links Lists LOL Movies News Photography Photoshop Tolkien Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:26:00 +0000  by Fëanor

Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.

• Egon 4-evah!


• Yep, been there, done that.


• This styrofoam cup art is pretty awesome.


• Mr. Hipp does it again with a couple of amazing Lord of the Rings pieces.


• A huge timeline infographic reveals what the future will be like, according to films. (Via)


• io9 offers you the chance to vote for the greatest use of pop music in all of sci-fi and fantasy. IIRC, I picked "You Could Be Mine" from T2, "Mad World" from Donnie Darko, "Johnny B. Goode" from Back to the Future, and "Day-O" from Beetlejuice.


• io9 has also collected for you the most amazing space pictures of 2011.


• Doctor Who My Little Ponies!


• What if Darth Vader's infamous "Nooooo!" were edited into other classic movies? In that same vein, here's Star Wars before and after blu-ray-ification.


• The first two episodes of a new Fringe web series.


• The trailer for Luke Cage! (OK, not really. Sorry to disappoint you there.)


• I usually avoid reposting Blastr's top ten lists, because that's all they ever post and it's kind of sad (although I don't have much room to talk...), but this one is rather fun: fake TV shows inside of real TV shows. Itchy & Scratchy is a classic, of course, and All My Circuits is always hilarious.


• Apparently carrots are only orange for political reasons.


• More of Sucklord's fantastic custom action figures.


• Cool piece of art created with tape. Also, Olly Moss' scary/funny Pikachu, and Kate Beaton's more accurate version of the Cheesecake Factory's logo.


• Lovecraftian lollipops! They're unspeakably delicious!


• Huh. Threadless is doing a pretty cool new thing.

Thumbs Up? (5)

Tagged: Art, Books, Business, Clothes, Comedy, Comic books, Craft, Doctor Who, Food, Fringe, Ghostbusters, Links, Lists, Lovecraft, Movies, Music, Parenthood, Photography, Recyclotron, Shirts, Space, Star Wars, Tolkien, Toys, TV, Video]]> Art Books Business Clothes Comedy Comic books Craft Doctor Who Food Fringe Ghostbusters Links Lists Lovecraft Movies Music Parenthood Photography Recyclotron Shirts Space Star Wars Tolkien Toys TV Video