Revisiting Some Christmas Time Nightmare

Revisiting Some Christmas Time Nightmare

I already attacked ONE Disney item, might as well go for a combo and pound on another while I have it in my system. We're almost to the end of the Celebrating of Holidays for 2009 and the big one is coming up. Christmas Day! Yes, that's right, we've moved past Halloween and stuffed ourselves over Thanksgiving leaving us with Christmas. Though dropping Thanksgiving from the whole picture you get Halloween and Christmas.

And if you're anything like me, you'll realize that those two are the really good ones. If not for anything else, than just for the fact that it's the perfect time to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas any time between Halloween and Christmas day. It's perfect because it's chronologically taking place between that time frame in the film as the opening happens on Halloween and the ending is where Jack finds out the true meaning of Christmas.



So perhaps it's time that you crack out that DVD, or if you're like me, that Blu ray disc and watch it. But whatever you do, do not go to your local record store and buy or even listen to this awful "revisit" to the NBC franchise that a couple of bands went and did. It's utterly awful in every possible way and if you don't believe me, let me explain;

Nightmare Before Christmas Revisited is a cover of the nightmare before Christmas soundtrack.. pretty simple enough, right? I guess the real question would be why would you want to do that? The soundtrack was good enough as it was. The answer.. Because there could be money to be made here.

I'm positive I tell this story every time I talk about NBC, but back when it was released in the early 90's, no one gave a shit about it. It was under Disney's Touchstone banner because, like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, it was deemed "too adult" in content. You would not see Disney make mention or make products for it. In Japan though, it was huge with promotional material, key chains, toys, etc. Then around the early 2000's, Hot topic started marketing the hell out of it and the Goth kids ate it up.



I really don't care for the fan base of the movie. As much as I love it, I just can't see any situation where I can wear my old Jack Skellington shirts around. It's really a shame. Thanks Hot Topic, you really ruined and over saturated a good thing. I mean that because if it hadn't caught on like that, maybe that crowd wouldn't have latched on so tightly to it? Maybe, just maybe this revisit would have never happened an we wouldn't have had these Hot Topic tailored bands singing and really giving these songs a bad name.

Oh, don't believe me? Take a listen to these songs that are on on this abortion of an album.

First up we have Marilyn Mansions rendition of This is Halloween;


Ugh! What the hell was that shit?

Jack's Lament by All American Rejects

......

Fucking seriously?

What's this by Flyleaf


I have no fucking idea who the hell flyleaf is. Maybe I'm just out of it and I don't know the latest music, but they have not made any impact on my listening of radio and music to even show up on my radar. Their use of this song.. well, it's really just awful all around.

The Polyphonic Spree - Town Meeting Song


Why would you do this? It just.. seems really odd. The band has this sort of silverlake vibe to it and it's not needed for this song.

Jack's Obsession by Sparklehorse


Fuck Sparklehorse and Fuck this. Really was a bastardization of the song. No need for all that extra sound to get any point across. Fuck this gay earth.

Korn performing Kindap the Sandy Claws


I don't even know where to start on this one. Really does make it so that those suburban kids can be all emo and what not. Oh poor you, you live in track homes..

I guess the banks are foreclosing on them now anyway, so maybe they do have something to be completely emotional about. The loss of their homes.


Rise Against performing Making Christmas


How is this not considered complete shit by anyone who was working on the album? Oh, because their taste was utterly shit. How is this even remotely close to the original in way?

Christmas eve montage RJD2


Hey, I know.. what if NBC was created back in the 70's and injected full of 'da funk'?

Poor Jack by Plain White T's


I'm not sure what that is suppose to be.. but I know it's not music. I'm not just reaching a "Get off my lawn" sort of mood. That music was really awful.

Here's two versions of Oogie Boogie's Song:


That one is done by Tiger Army.. Which can go suck a dick going from ass to mouth.

On the other hand....

Rodrigo y Gaberilla performing Oogie Boogie's Theme


Was something I enjoyed. It was close enough to the original without having to do so much over the top bullshit that the other songs so far have done. I enjoyed this one. Why? Because it was at least not

Shiny Toy Guns performing Finale/Reprise


Yeah.. that one can go fuck itself as well.

Sally's Song by Amy Lee


That one was alright because they didn't put too much into it other than what was originally there.

After my ears stop bleeding and I stop screaming on how much of a travesty this is, I come to the conclusion that I should just ignore this like I do any other thing that Hot Topic has spawned after the success of this commercialization of Nightmare Before Christmas.

So there you have it folks. A reminder that you could also be watching NBC right now before Christmas comes around and just forget this album ever existed. If you didn't know it did till this blog post, I'm terribly terribly sorry for putting that on you.

Keeping An Open Ear For A New Moon

Keeping An Open Ear For A New Moon

How embarrassing this must be. I feel like a republican getting caught in the restroom with another women.. or even worse, another man, shortly after making a speech about the sanctity of marriage. It's like I just got caught doing some double standard I would normally be rebelling against or talking so much shit about.

You see, you caught me. Or more to the point, I'm just fessing up to this. I listened to the soundtrack to the new Twilight movie, New Moon. But there's a pretty good reason why. After the album dropped both in record stores last week as well as its fair share of panties, I'm sure, I was told that I should take a listen to this compilation.



At first I chuckled, nay, laughed in the persons instant messengers virtual face. My disgust for this franchise said no, but my taste in music says yes. That factoed with the realization that I had nothing else to download lead me down the road to where I am now writing this. To my surprise, it's a really surprisingly good soundtrack. I mean, take a look at the list of artist on this thing;

1. Death Cab For Cutie - Meet Me On The Equinox 3:44
2. Band Of Skulls - Friends 3:09
3. Thom Yorke - Hearing Damage 5:04
4. Lykke Li - Possibility 5:06
5. The Killers - A White Demon Love Song 3:34
6. Anya Marina - Satellite Heart 3:33
7. Muse - I Belong To You (New Moon Remix) 3:12
8. Bon Iver & St. Vincent - Roslyn 4:49
9. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Done All Wrong 2:49
10.Hurricane Bells - Monsters 3:16
11.Sea Wolf - The Violet Hour 3:32
12.OK Go - Shooting The Moon 3:18
13.Grizzly Bear - Slow Life 4:21
14.Editors - No Sound But The Wind 3:48
15.Alexandre Desplat - New Moon (The Meadow) 4:09

For such a mainstream soundtrack to a pile of dog shit that is the Twilight franchise, they sure got themselves a pretty extensive list of Indie bands that would make any hipster and scenster wet themselves. I have to say it again, that's a large amount of Indie credibility that they have going on one disc. It's so sharp that you should watch your wrist as it could cut them.. and not just for show!

How could you not get down with your emo self with stuff like “Possibility” sung by the Swedish indie artist Lykke Li on the cd? Looking into the way the disc came to be should have been a good justification as to why it carries the sound style it does. It's said that the soundtrack selection reflects the film's cracked out teenbopper love stories direction that this new Twilight film will carry.

The artist and songs were chosen to portray that aloneness. And really, when you're all the way up in the sticks areas of Washington state, aloneness is really all you have going for yourself. I should know. I was a simple couple of hours away from the little shit hole area that this franchise takes place and from what I hear, it's become the tween destination. I say screw it, just go to Seattle and enjoy the delicious foods and leave it at that.

Now, there's been some really good soundtracks this past year. I loved Away We Go for the way it set up the movie's mood and just how it progressed the story. 500 Days Of Summer was another one that, well, needs no explanation as I've already written at least two blogs about it. So to put up a soundtrack from the Twilight series next to those is a bit crazy. But it's absolutely true.

I couldn't care any less about this movie franchise. I saw the first one in Rifftrax form, so know I only watched it so I can berate and make fun of how utterly awful it was. I mean, I struggled with myself. Do I admit that I enjoy this soundtrack or do I delete all the artists who contributed to this from my computer? Until I heard it all, I didn't know for a second. The end result is that I have no interest in the film and will more than likely never watch it unless really drunk or it's being mocked. The soundtrack, though, is really good.

Lost In TransLAtion

Lost In TransLAtion

When I first saw the movie Lost In Translation I loved it. Sophia Coppela once again redeemed herself for her bad acting in the Godfather III. Then again, she got shot in that so that's punishment in itself. Virgin Suicide was also really good and highlighted Kristen Dunst actually looking really good.

Back to Lost In Translation, I later picked up the DVD of it and watched it again and I have to say I didn't like it as much. Something was indeed lost in translation between the movie theater and the dvd release. The scale and scope of the film. On the big screen you were lost in this sea of colors. The Japanese background and the hotel acted as a character in themselves.



These two characters were surrounded by massive amounts of people and yet were still alone together. Isolated and discovering this new place together. That's one of the best things about the film. So when I hear that Sophia Coppela is going to make a movie about LA based on the Chatea Marmont Hotel my interest was peaked.

The writer-director who shot her "Lost in Translation" at the Park Hyatt in Tokyo, practically making a character out of the antiseptic structure, will set her next film at the iconic Chateau Marmont in Hollywood.

Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning will star in the Focus Features dramedy "Somewhere," which Coppola penned.

Story centers on a bad-boy actor stumbling through a life of excess at the Chateau Marmont. With an unexpected visit from his 11-year-old daughter, he is forced to reexamine his life.

This is the place that all the big listers partied at and OD on whatever they are taking. The fame last location where John Belushi stayed. I hear you can still hear him call up for Dan Akroyd so that they can make that Blues Brothers sequel. Either that or he's haunting the place because he did see the Blues Brothers sequel.

The place is nice. I have to admit that I've come here on a couple of instances just to look at the place. Never actually stayed there. Then again, I often avoid the sunset strip. It's not that it's a bad place, it's just not my scene. I'm not Rodney on the Roq or anything. The streets get way too crowded on most nights and it's just a nightmare to navigate. Not to mention the general over pricing of just about anything there. No thank you.



I can't remember what hidden character the virgin suicides had. Who cares, it had a really hot Kristen Dunst. Nuff said, right? Add in that it had an amazing soundtrack by Air and you have yourself a winner in my book.

Even though I have very little love for the sunset strip, I'm still looking forward to it. Maybe then I could wash away the bad taste I have for it with Mayor of the Sunset strip. God, Rodney on the Roq thinks he's god's gift to music fans or something. F' that dude and his Sunday relic of a show.



But more than that, I think I like Sophia more than I give her credit for. I think it's a love/hate relationship without all that much hate. Maybe I'm just siding with her since her marriage with Spike Jonze went south. I mean, as much as I love the man, Where the Wild Things Are just seems like something I can't understand how you can make a movie out of.

So here's for me getting lost in the translation of my own blog.