Top 5 Songs: Paul McCartney's Flaming Pie

Well it's finally Thursday bitches, and that means we near the end of another week.
Hopefully it hasn't been too traumatic for you, and oh, what's that? Yes, Easter is this Sunday as well.
So yeah, Easter eggs, bunnies, and Jesus. Sounds like the usual fun but dysfunctional mix doesn't it?;)

I was kind of wondering just what to talk about today for the Top 5 list. To be honest unless I already have a particular artist or album in mind, I usually just wait to the last minute to pick a topic.
And thus that's what brings us to today's album: Sir Paul McCartney's 1997 album, Flaming Pie.


At the time it was his first solo studio album in 4 years. after having just completed work on the 1995 Beatles Anthology box set. Well he recorded this album over a two year span, and won much deserved critical praise and acclaim for Calico Skies.

5). "The World Tonight"


It's nice little video right? Paul's clearly having fun, and so it seems to be the case on this song and next one as well, Well actually the whole album, since he wanted to just have fun and jam while making this record.
It's a fun song, and definitely a signature sounding one from Sir Paul at this stage of his career.

4). "Beautiful Night"

Hey, this one's a really nice one. It was an older song left over from Paul's last collaboration with fellow Beatle Ringo Starr from '86, and it just sounds really nice hearing them riff off one another. With some beautiful musical arrangement and extra by former Beatles producer George Martin, you have what doesn't sound that far off from a what could be a lost Beatles song. Yeah it's that good. And what a cool video too right?

3). "Flaming Pie"

The title and song were both taken from a funny story John Lennon told a reporter one time in 1961 when asked how the Beatles got started. Here's his(then) usual response to the question:
"Many people ask what are Beatles? Why Beatles? Ugh, Beatles, how did the name arrive? So we will tell you. It came in a vision--a man appeared in a flaming pie and said unto them "From this day on you are Beatles with an A." "Thank you, Mister Man," they said, thanking him."

This is still a fun song, and you can just tell by listening to it, that Sir Paul had a hell of a lot of fun making this.


2). "Great Day"

True, it's probably now recognized due to being in that Chase Sapphire credit card commercial, but any exposure to Paul McCartney songs is still a win/win for me. With backing vocals from his dear departed first wife Linda, this song is pure McCartney in the purest sense; from the arrangement to the lyrics to the vocals, you just can just tell a Sir Paul song when you hear it. And this one's no different. I love it.

1). "Calico Skies"

Yeah, I'm just gonna' say it; I love this song. Again, it's pure McCartney, and what he does best besides writing pop songs, is writing love songs. I don't know where he gets his inspiration from, but he always seems to have the magic touch when it comes to this stuff.  Seriously, how can you not love the way he mixes in images and themes of war with love? It's just a sweet, sweet song, that's simple and to the point, yet also fully expressive and detailed about how he feels about his special someone. Great, great song.

And that's me. You know the drill, if you have a Top 5 list from this album, or just any old favorite 5 songs from Paul McCartney, feel more than free to type 'em out in the comment section.

Have a great Easter weekend folks, and don't fill up too much on those chocolate easter eggs you scamps;)

Back-Issue Spotlight: Fantastic Four#267(vol.1)

So it is isn't it?;)


What's up people?

Today for the weekly edition of Back-Issue Spotlight,  I picked one that features what has got to be the one of the worst days in the life Reed Richards ever. The day he lost what would've been his second child after his son Franklin.

That's right, I'm talking about Fantastic Four#267(Vol. 1) June 1984  "A small loss" by John Byrne.

The premise of this issue is basically that Reed's wife Sue(The Invisible Woman) is both pregnant and dangerously sick with radiation poisoning/sickness. This is due to the nature of how she and the rest of the team got their powers due to Gamma Rays. And this isn't the first time this has happened. Nope. Back in Fantastic Four Annual#6(Nov 1968) Sue was sick then too while pregnant with their first child, Franklin. And it took having to go into the Negative Zone and stealing Annihilus' Cosmic Rod to cure Sue.

Well that doesn't happen this time, and despite the aid of such notable doctors as Bruce Banner(The Hulk), Michael Morbius(The living vampire), and Walter Lanskowski(Sasquatch) there's still nothing they can do.

So, the only other recourse is to go out and find the one expert in the field of radiation that can save Sue and her baby. But it's a dozy; it's Dr. Octopus!

At first, Reed's like "Ah hell no!"

But seeing as how there's no better alternative, and with time rapidly running down, Reed has no choice but to go and ask the not so good doctor for his help.

Reed goes to a Psychiatric facility in South Brooklyn where Doc Ock's staying to be treated for his criminal behavior due to the accident that created him.

Reed disparately appeals to the scientist and doctor side of him, and actually manages to convince Doc Ock to help him.

                                           

                                                

Everything's nice and fine until Doc Ock just happens to see a Daily Bugle billboard sign declaring Spider-Man a menace. That's all it takes to slowly but surely trigger the evil side of Doc Ock to resurface, as first his tentacles bust out of a maximum security prison, seeking Octavius out. The tentacles then go on to attack Reed, before joining back up with Doc Ock for a full-on attack on Richards.

After a brief battle, Reed once again manages to get through to Doc Ock again, and they both head back to the hospital to save Sue and their baby.

Unfortunately as in life, Reed's too late. Sue survived, but the the baby's dead......

And thus the reader, just like Reed Richards, gets punched in the gut by such an emotional and devastating blow.

 This was a bold story from Byrne at the time, and not something usually discussed or brought up in the world of comics. Say what you will about Byrne, and who hasn't, but when the man was on, he was really, really on!

It wouldn't be years later until both Reed and Sue got a second chance to have another child in Valeria, but there was a What If? dedicated to this particular issue.

Yep, What If?#30(Oct 1991) explored two realities where the child lived; In one world she brought about world peace, and in the other....not so much. In fact the Valeria child here was an evil monster that killed off the FF and even Dr. Doom, before Franklin was able to seal her off in another dimension.

One question I do have though, is if Reed knew about the complications Sue had with their first child due to the Cosmic Rays they absorbed, how come as smart as he is, he didn't come up with a solution for her just in case it happened again? I guess for the sake of the story we have to suspend belief a bit, and just go with it. But again, since Reed's so damn smart, you'd think he would've better prepared for this situation again.

Either way, this is still a very moving and solid piece of writing on John Byrne's part, and what helps make his run in FF so damn good.

"Paging Dr. Quest! Paging Dr. Quest!"

I'm sure this happens more times than The Chief wants to admit;)

Extra:

You know, if you look for it or quint the right way, he kinda does look like Lionel Luther(John Glover) from Smallville. Hmm.

"Splitting Hairs"

Yes it is my friends, but that's cool because I have a brand new skit for ya' to chase away the Monday Blues.


Enjoy;)

The End

Extra:

Hey, that's how I'll always remember it going down;)

Top 5 Songs: Let It Roll: The Best of George Harrison

TGIT!!!!

Well it's official; I'm sick as a fucking dog, and no I'm not talking about being dirty-minded or perverted, although I am, and will always remain that way too;)

No, I'm just fucking sick. Snot running free like a Gazelle, making my nose look redder than Rudolph, and just that all-around shitty, icky feeling.

Oh well, it'll pass.


I figured I'd still do/make a Top 5 list though, so bear with me here.

I was watching the awesome documentary by award-winning director Martin Scorsese  about George Harrison called Living in the Material World. I'd seen before of course, but it's still fresh in my mind, thus why I picked this album:

It's the best, best of compilation out there so far about George Harrison's music and career. It encompasses his Beatle days and solo career.

One of the the things that sets it apart from other "Best Of" albums, is the swapping in of some live versions of his popular hits written while still in The Beatles. And really, the sheer amount of songs, both hits and b-sides is very appealing and worthwhile for any and all George Harrison fans.

I'll attempt to pull 5 top songs with a tie(or two) from this album, but damn if it isn't gonna' be tough as hell to do.

Let's do this thing!

5). Isn't It A Pity/Marwa Blues:

I really love "Isn't it a pity" even though it's a sad song. It's realistic and is all about the different ways people hurt each other, whether intentionally or not. The accompanying music to the last parts of the song feel epic and so beautifully moving. If you happen to get misty-eyed it's okay;)

Plus as an added pathos bonus, it seems George wrote this while he and long-time love Patti Boyd broke up and she got together with one of his best friends Eric Clapton. "Layla" anyone?

Marwa Blues is an instrumental, but damn is it beautiful. This one really showcases just how damn talented of  a guitar player George was. Plus it's soothing. Like lay out on the beach with a drink in your hand, or just admire the sunset/sunrise kind of song. Definitely good enough to meditate or fall asleep to as well.

4). While My Guitar Gently Weeps

How could you not include a song like this on a top 5 list right? Now while the live version on this album's fine, I prefer both the original and the version on the Beatles Love album. This was written during a rough period near the end of the Beatles existence as a group, and it seems as though George was trying to let everybody know ins his own way how he felt about the whole experience and his take away from all that.

Classic Harrison all the way.

Oh and did I mention Eric Clapton played with Harrison on the recording of this song? Well I did now;)

3). What Is Life?

Now you want a fun, poppy song, and this one's your man. I guess it's basically George asking one of those deep, introspective questions we all ask ourselves or someone else from time to time, and that's no different here. 

I first became aware of this song while watching my favorite movie of all time, Goodfellas, also by directed by Martin Scorsese. Amazing how those two projects wound up lining up with Scorsese huh? Hey, whatta' ya' gonna' do? The man has great tastes in music;)

2). Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp( Let It Roll)

I really, really love this song. Inspired by the very eccentric man who's house he bought in the the early 70's, The Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp is a really well-put together song that plays to Harrison's strengths, such as his guitar-playing, and the he had with words and phrasing things. And of course, the arrangement of accompanying instruments is impeccable as usual. But would you expect anything less from an ex-Beatles?;)

Bonus pop-culture reference, the sit-com show on CBS, How I Met Your Mother really kind of brought this song back into the collective consciousnesses once it started the playing the song during really important episodes.

1). My Sweet Lord

On the George Harrison documentary, legendary musician and for a time, unofficial fifth Beatle Billy Preston explained how George had come up with this song, but wanted it sound very Gospel-like and if Billy could help him out. I'm glad(or maybe he did) Billy Preston didn't flat out state the obvious to Harrison that his background and start to stardom was his Gospel roots/background. In no time at all, Preston worked his magic on the piano, and a massive hit song was born.

Even legendary music producer and convicted killer, Phil Specter loved this song so much, he pushed for it to be released as THE single from the very album this song originated from. Harrison wasn't so sure at first. He thought people wouldn't care for the chanting or the choir, or the different mantras included in the song, but he was proved wrong when it was released and became a colossal hit. It remains to this day one of Harrison's signature songs, and is definitely one of my favorites.


And that's it for me for this week. I hope you all have a great weekend no matter what you're doing.

"We interrupt this regularly scheduled programming to present the following"

What's up people?

I'm officially back in town @ The House, after the wild crazy St.Pat's Weekend that lasted up to today.

Not to brag or anything, but I take my drinking very seriously. Ask my friends. I don't fuck around it comes to picking them up and pounding them down.

Out of the 5 days I've been gone, I drank 4 days in a row, with the first two being marathons starting from the time I got up in the morning, until the time I laid my head down on a pillow.

Again, I'm no bad-ass, but I can still handle my booze.













So, here's 5 things I learned while on my vacation:

5). 

My friends and I went to Wet Willies in downtown Charlotte, NC(a favorite bar and restaurant of mine)  after a long day of drinking. We decided this was going be the night cap of sorts for the evening. Now for those who don't know, all of the mixed drinks contain 120 proof Everclear grain alcohol.

So yeah, doesn't take to much to get fucked up off them, as they have a habit depending on the flavor, of sneaking up on you hard. Well you know how you get brain-freeze from drinking a slushy too quick? Well the same principal applies to what basically are slushies with alcohol in them. I drank one of the large ones, an Irish, St.Pat's concoction, and power-drank a good portion of it. Well I got the brain-freeze of the stomach, and man did that shit hurt! My gut was completely fucked up by that brain-freeze, leaving my feeling almost sick enough to puke. I didn't, but man did I learn a valuable lesson that night.


4). I really, really suck at Bowling.

No seriously, I really do. My friends and I went to Dave & Buster's, and man that place is fucking awesome! It's like Chuck E Cheese's but for adults....and for kids too. But yeah, small bars in the arcade play area? Love it.

Anyways, we all go to play bowling first. I'm up last, and I'm just tossing that poor fucker all over the place. By the third go, I bounced that damn ball clear off the wall, off the lane, and into the next adjacent gutter.
It was messed up. I really thought I'd put a hole in the wall and broke some of the wall lights since the ball hit that hard. I was doing that the WHOLE TIME!!!! The last game I played was me tossing/rolling the ball through my legs like the little kids do. So sad;)

So yeah, if you want to go bowling, I'll go but I'll suck. You've been warned.


3). Transsexuals got game....and a little more

Allow me to explain.
While watching HBO on Demand, my friends and I decided to watch some of the sex shows/specials that occasionally air on HBO. Now let me preference by saying, HBO and I go back a long way. During the crucial puberty years of my youth, I had two main sources of sexual education; Sex-Ed in school, and HBO.
HBO taught me all about the wild and often crazy numerous sub-genres of sex, and the different types of perverted motherfuckers out there.

And trust me....there are plenty of weird sexual appetites out there.

Well this one show was similar to a popular series in the late 90's-early 00's, called Pimps Up, Ho's Down. In fact, it was a special all it's own devoted to transsexual/transgender prostitutes living and working in Las Vegas.

Long story short, after seeing just how hard these guys have worked to look like women, including sex-change operations to make a vagina down there, and get rid of their tackle-boxes, I was simply slack-jawed.
I shit you not, some of the working "girls" really did look like real women. Even in the face and adams's apple area.

And what made it all the more shocking, was the clients. Specifically the client that sought after the s/him's that were still packing their T's, their truths(penises) as the Lady Chablet would say in the book and movie, "Midnight in the garden of good and evil."

Who knew right? There are actually guys, gay or straight, that hunt down the "ladies" and well, let's just say there's plenty of giving and receiving with the same general equipment if you get my drift.
I was left in a state of shock thinking how I might have to give every potential chick I meet up with the Crocodile Dundee test.

You know, you strike a conversation with a Sheila who kinda, sorta looks like a dude in drag or leaves in doubt that this is a woman, and you give 'em a quick squeeze down there faster than you can say "Bob's your uncle", and ta-daaa. You find out pretty damn quickly who's who, and what's what.

2). "Must be Jelly, 'Cause Jam Don't Shake!"

Continuing on the topic of transvestites transsexuals/etc, RuPaul has her own show on the Logo Network, called RuPaul's Drag Race.

I only watched one episode, but just, damn.

I guess the premise of the show is not that far off from Tyra Banks' The Next Top Model, or something like that, but with drag queens. The "ladies" are pretty outrageous and over the top as you'd expect. Complete with all the bitchiness and drama that make them so damn fierce. Oh and did I mention that most if not all of them, have family members who either died from cancer or some other fucked up disease. This is usually revealed right after you see them being super bitchy or mean to one of the other contestants. Convenient huh?

and good god, that video!!!!


1). Let's hear it for true friends!!!!

Not these kinds of friends. Seriously though, what the hell happened it Courtney Cox's face? It went downhill faster than Joey or Matt LeBlanc's solo career.


This last one isn't so much what I've learned, as it is what I was reminded. True friends drink like a fish with you even if they're not feeling like it sometimes.

True friends go out of their way to make that day or time you spend with them special; even if they're having a shitty day themselves.

True friends find a way to call you out on your bullshit when they know you're wrong, but can do it in such a way that you agree with them, get over it, and then go drink;)

True friends, are just that; true friends. It doesn't matter if you have one or two, or as many as you need. Hold on to the ones you have for dear life.


                                                                So this basically

But lest you think I'm too much of a softie, true friends can also be this:

Hey, it can happen;)

"It's a Small World after all...."

What's up people?


Here's a quickie, but a goodie for today:

Poor Ray Right?

Seriously, DC has really dicked around a lot of former DC mainstays, and poor Ray here's definitely seen his share of heartache and bullshit heaped on him for a good while. In fact, on top of all that, I even think he might not have ever been The Atom in the new rebooted universe, because there's a female one instead. Hell, I bet even Ryan Choi doesn't exist either.

My, my, how the Mighty Mite has fallen far indeed:(

Extras:

"I'm Iron Man Bitch!"

So...........

Sure is.

Feeling like this the day/weekend of St.Pat's?

I hear ya' kid;)

Well don't worry people. Mr. Morbid feels ya'. After a raucous weekend that started the weekend off with drinking around 10 am until 10 pm two days later, myself and the entire staff @ The House know how you feel.

But hey, we're hardcore, and figured why not celebrate Hungover Monday with an icon of fellow alcoholics everywhere; the one, the only, Tony Stark, a.k.a., Iron Man.

Extra:

Oh, and FYI, I want to say a big thank you to Cartoon Network. Sure I was already planning on missing the last episodes of GL and YJ this previous Saturday due to be out of town. Well right before I left, at least with my cable company, Cartoon Network decided to have a Ben 10 marathon instead of showing those last series finale episodes. SO thanks for nothing assholes!!!!!

I'll be Youtube(ing) toot sweet to see what happened and how everything did or didn't wrap up.