BASHMC Part 9 out of 25: Earth Rocker by Clutch

I will catch some flack from a few of my buddies for not putting Robot Hive/ Exodus on here for Clutch, but it's my blog so I can put whatever I want. See?

Clutch is one of the coolest bands out there. They sing about rocking and back it up with their rocking music. Earth Rocker was released this year and has been on a lot of album of the year lists that I've seen. I'm putting it on the best heavy metal albums of all time list, so eat that.

Earth Rocker opens with the track Earth Rocker (redundant) and forces your head to start moving back and forth. You will have an instinct to drive fast and pump your fist outside of your window while listening to this album, so be careful. The fun doesn't stop after track one. Crucial Velocity rips through your speakers or headphones or whatever device you're listening to, and yet again forces you to turn up the volume. The louder the better. Earth Rocker does let you rest a bit with a bluesy, deep down swamp tune in Gone Cold.

Clutch is so important for a solid metal collection. They aren't the heaviest band on the list, but they are so unique they deserve a spot.

Key tracks: No. 5 - Unto the Breach, No. 6 - Gone Cold. and No. 10 - Oh, Isabella.

Room 237

Do you ever get that feeling in your head when you know that something is going to be totally rad? It may start as a rumor, and slowly get put together like a huge 50,000 piece puzzle? You wait and wait for all the red tape to clear and finally you get yours hands on it and you discover that it's just a big old pile of dump wrapped in fancy artwork and sealed with empty promises.

That's the disappointment I've felt while watching Room 237. It was worse than watching Jar Jar Binks for the first time on the big screen. I heard about a documentary that centers around The Shining a couple of years ago. Being one of my favorite movies of all time, I got a little gitty when hearing the news. I followed the production team on Twitter, I favorited their website and even signed up for an email newsletter when the movie was available in my area. Simply said, I have put a lot of work into making sure I saw this movie when it was available. They finally released the movie independently and had shown it throughout the world in small theaters. I missed the Chicago debut, definitely dropped the ball on that one. It toured the festival scene for a while so I waited patiently. It was released in September of 2013 and I finally got a copy through Netflix last week.

I made some tea, put on the pj's and popped this in the computer. I was hoping to dig deep into The Shining and uncover some of the questions I had about the film. Learn some new things that maybe I haven't caught before. Boy was I wrong.

The documentary is four people (they don't tell you their profession, which really discredits anything they say) talking over movie footage (not particularly from the Shining, plenty of footage from other movies that aren't relevant) and making crazy accusations about what The Shining is "about." You don't get to see the people being interviewed which is kind of weird. I'm all about crazy theories, if they have reputable arguments behind them. One dude assumed that the Shining was about the Native Americans being slaughtered by the white man because there are Native American paintings and artwork throughout the hotel. That was the only reason he gave! No ties to the violence in the movie or the spirits that haunt the place, just because the tapestry is Native American in origin.

I appreciate what they tried to do with this documentary. There are so many unanswered questions I had, so many questions about changes from the book. I hope someone else gives this idea another shot because they really failed on this one.

Rated: NR
Run Time: 102 Minutes

I give Room 237 -  2 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Podcast Review: AOW w/ Stone Cold Steve Austin

Episode 174 features the best wrestler of all time. I say this not only because he has sold the most t-shirts of all time in wrestling, but he is the total package in and out of the ring. Stone Cold was my idol for the longest time. Watching him as teenager, I was able to connect with his anti-authoritative character. Not saying I was a rebel of any sorts, but it's what wrestling needed at the time and the character I needed at the time. Colt Cabana mentioned that he talked to Stone Cold on Twitter and was trying to get him on as a guest. Stone Cold actually had Colt on his show a few weeks before this podcast was released.

The conversation between the two was fluid, and it seemed like they have been friends for a long time. They delved into Stone Cold's early career which really wasn't covered before. I've watched a lot of WWE/ WWF/ WCW/ ECW documentaries and what they covered was pre- all of that. They talked about how Austin got into the business, who he trained with and some stories that I've never heard. If you haven't started listening to the Art of Wrestling Podcast, this is a perfect episode to jump in on. If you like the format, all the other episodes will be just as entertaining. Even the Harvey Whippleman episode was great. And I knew next to nothing about Harvey Whippleman.

At the end of the podcast, Austin suggested that him and Colt break down their favorite matches in a special edition of each other's shows. I really hope that this made into a reality. I can't really get enough of Stone Cold Steve Austin even though he's been off  wrestling TV for about ten years now.

I give this podcast 5 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Listen to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher Radio or http://tsmradio.com/coltcabana/

Movie Review: Frankenweenie

Frankenweenie was a nice treat to watch on a random weekday. Thanks to the free Netflix trial (I'm still milking that) I received Tim Burton's latest animated film. From the get go, you know there will be some unhappy scenes. I mean the main character is a re-animated dog, he has to go somehow. Burton plays on the heart strings of all dog lovers and makes Sparky's scene pretty excruciating even though you know it's coming.

The dog's owner, Victor Frankenstein (clever) is completely distraught over the lost of not only his dog, but his only and best friend. He's forced to pair up with fellow classmate Edgar Gore (e. gore, clever again) for a science project. Frankenweenie becomes a rehashing of the classic Frankenstein monster story, but Burton takes it to a new level. Victor and E. Gore re-animate life, and the other class mates catch wind and try to replicate. Each experiment gets exponentially more evil and eventually there are a town of monsters.

The animation is very unique, as are all of Tim Burton's animated works. It's a classic tale with a modern twist and executed really well. I love Burton's homage to old horror movies and his constant monster movie references.

Rated: PG
Run Time: 87 Minutes

I give Frankenweenie 4 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

BASHMC: Part 8 of 25

Death holds a very special place in my heart. They were releasing albums throughout my entire childhood and I wasn't even aware of it. I didn't discover this band until 2001, when I saw an ad in Revolver magazine for their new Live in L.A. CD. I was attracted by the logo and decided to check them out. I was so upset with myself that I didn't know who they were. They are one of the most influential metal bands of all time. They created the Death Metal genre, even though they are much more than that. I'll tell you another reason, why I was so upset that I discovered Death so late. I have never seen them live nor will I ever be able to see them live in concert. I will never be able to experience their genius and ferocity in a small intimate setting. Chuck Schuldiner, the core, leader, soul, nucleus of Death, passed away on December 13, 2001 of complications with a brain tumor. His talent was boundless, and from what I have read and heard, he was the nicest person in the entire world. He was too talented for this world.

The Sound of Perseverance was Death's last studio album which was released in 1998. It mixes thrash, death and progressive metal.  If you listen to the entire Death discography, every album is better than the last. Each build towards something better. I would love to have heard what Chuck and Death were capable of after listening to this album. I'm not sure if they could top it, but I know they would try their damnedest to. The Sound of Perseverance is about human struggle. Chuck was diagnosed with cancer in 1999, after the release of this album, but the song titles and the title of the album suggest that this album correlates to the fight with cancer. Bite the Pain, Spirit Crusher, Story to Tell, Voice of the Soul, To Forgive is to Suffer and Moment of Clarity are a few song titles that support this theme.

Voice of the Soul has to be the most beautiful song ever written. There are no lyrics, nor drums, just Chuck Schuldiner pouring out his soul on guitar. The passion and love for music comes through loud and clear on this album but especially on Voice of the Soul. In a perfect world, Chuck would be alive, and I would have seen Death in concert 5 times already. I would be waiting for the newest Death album to drop next year. Luckily some of his unreleased tracks have been printed and released. I have also heard rumors of an entire album's worth of music to be released some time in the next year.

Key tracks: No. 3 - Spirit Crusher, No. 5 - Flesh and the Power it Holds, No. 6 - Voice of the Soul (of course) and No. 8 - Moment of Clarity.

Book Review: Cycle of the Werewolf

Stephen King published Cycle of the Werewolf in 1983, the same year Christine and Pet Sematary were released. Cycle of the Werewolf was a little over shadowed that year, but its a solid story nonetheless.

I'm a big fan of the layout of this book. Each chapter is one month of the year and follows a year where the werewolf exists. Each month is pretty much its own short story. The coolest part of this book are the illustrations. They appear every other page or so, and Bernie Wrightson did a great job of making the wolf look terrifying. I like this format so much, I might have to steal it, I mean borrow it and credit the author of course........

Cycle of the Werewolf starts in January is Tarker's Mill, Maine where the moon is full and a vicious murder occurs. This happens each month when the moon is full, and the people of Tarker's Mill start hearing things, and spreading rumors of a serial killer. Eventually the story changes to a werewolf because of evidence of foot prints and fur at the scene of the crimes. As the body count heightens, a smart teen-aged boy in a wheel chair discovers the secret of the wolf and is determined to stop him.

If you're looking for a quick scare, this is the book for you. The illustrations really make the werewolf creature come to life.

I give Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King 4 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Movie Review: End of Watch

End of Watch gives a new, and much needed, definition of buddy cop movie. It's not a goofy pairing of opposites, forced to be partners against their will. No one is paired with a dog, child or orangutan. End of Watch provides a positive, strong bond between two policemen who are more than friends. They look after each other as if they were family.

End of Watch is shot in a first person, documentary style which is usually preserved for horror films, but its nice to see it used in another genre. Brian Taylor ( played by Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Savala (Michael Pena) are street cops working in the L.A.P.D. They are shining examples in their department and are regarded as heroes to some and seen as show offs by others. The patrol the tough southern neighborhoods of L.A. and deal with a lot of drug and gang related crimes. The neighborhood they patrol is engaged in change of population. It was highly populated by African Americans, but a lot of  people of Hispanic heritage are moving in. This causes a lot of tension between the two, causing crime to go up. On a routine pullover, Savala is shot at, but they subdue the shooter and arrest him. They find a jewel encrusted handgun, loads of money hidden in a pot of soup, and a golden AK-47. Savala and Taylor tie these items to a string of incidents and stumble upon some disturbing findings and get entangled in crime that is way above their heads. They take it on together, diving head first, because its the right thing to do. It's good to see that both characters are completely genuine. There is no double cross, there isn't even a hint at it. It's two real, honest human beings that have each other's backs no matter what.

End of Watch has a good amount of humor, heart-warming and intense scenes. It's really easy to get invested in both characters. It's a solid story that constantly builds to the crescendo at the end of the movie.

This was one of my Netflix requests. I usually check out the special features if I liked the movie enough. I was excited to see that there were 20 deleted scenes and two alternate endings. I pressed Play All and was presented with a message stating that Netflix only distributes discs for rental and doesn't include the special features. You will have to buy the DVD to watch them. Weak sauce.

Rated: R
Run Time: 109 Minutes

I give End of Watch 4.5 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Book Review: City of the Dead by Brian Keene

**Spoiler - If you haven't read The Rising, don't read this review**

If you follow me on Goodreads.com, I've been reading this book the entire year of 2013. And for the most part, that is the case. Something has always come up or some other book or movie distracted me from finishing this book. Well I finally finished it, and I am glad I had.

Brian Keene is described as the next Stephen King. Quite the bold statement, but Keene has quite the resume. He isn't known in the huge circles of the writing community but is well respected in the horror community. He has won two Bram Stoker Awards, which is the highest award you can receive as a horror writer. Keene has over 100 original works including novels, comics and short story collections.

City of the Dead is the sequel to The Rising. In The Rising, Jim Thurmond starts his journey in a bomb shelter, built for the Y2K scare. Zombies are inhabiting the Earth. These zombies aren't the typical zombies, they are creatures from another dimension, that take over any formerly living organism with a brain. They can take over humans, birds, lions, etc. They are extremely intelligent as well. They are only limited by the decaying bodies they inhibit. Jim's mission is to find his son who is at his ex-wife's house in New Jersey. Along the way he befriends a minister named Martin and a former stripper named Frankie. After some crazy roadblocks and insane enemies, they meet throughout their adventure, they find Danny. Keene left a major cliffhanger at the end of The Rising, so you have to read the City of the Dead to really find out what happens. A genius move by Keene.

City of the Dead picks up at Jim's ex-wife's house with them trying to escape with Danny. They hear rumors that there are a safe haven in a skyscraper in downtown New York, so they set theirs sets to the Big Apple. The building that is supposedly indestructible is Ramsey Towers. Ramsey has holed himself up in the tower and has "saved" the rest of humanity. The tower contains a community of survivors and is heavily armored. In the wake of 9/11, Ramsey didn't spare any expense to make his building impenetrable. Jim and his group eventually make it to the tower and blend in with everyone pretty well. Eventually people start losing their minds, and find the end inevitable. Ramsey himself watches Ob and the army of the dead start to amass a gigantic army.

The Rising was a great start for this two book series, setting the tone and developing the characters perfectly. The massiveness of City of the Dead was unexpected but highly favorable. Keene knows what scares people, and what scared people would do in these extraordinary circumstances. I own 5 other books by Keene and I am excited to see what he can do outside the zombie genre. He has the potential to be the "next" Stephen King, but he has some stiff competition from Joe Hill.

I give City of the Dead 4 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Album Review: Negativity by Deer Tick

My first experience with Deer Tick was an interesting one. I was sitting in a Chicago bar with a close friend of mine, playing hooky from work of course. The bartender was an interesting cat. Big dude, big beard, big flannel. You get the picture. There was no one in the bar since it was early afternoon so we got to chatting with the bar keep. He played a ton of folk and indie rock for us. A lot of it I wasn't too familiar with. The last band he played was Deer Tick. At first they had a generic indie sound, but unexpectedly they started integrated folk and blues into their repertoire and made for a cool mix. The bartender noticed that our interest in Deer Tick had been peaked so he offered to give us the CD. Of course we couldn't take his copy, so we declined. Then Grizzly Adams pulls out a plastic shopping bag overflowing with burned CDs, paws through them and gives us a copy of Deer Tick. This guy was really into music and sharing it, which I'm a big advocate of. I hope he still is handing out CD-R's to anyone who listens.

Negativity is a pretty cool album. The opening track, The Rock, is a solid opener displaying some soft, subtle vocals ripping into an emotional bridge. I was really excited to hear the rest of this album, considering how much I liked The Rock. I was disappointed by the next few songs. They were ok, but nothing really popped out at me. Just sounded like some generic indie stuff. What was really weird is that his voice reminded me of Weird Al Yankovic's. That's not an insult, I'm a huge Weird Al fan, but it can get a little whiny when hitting those higher notes. Luckily the streak of mediocrity ended when track 5, Mirror Walls, started with some sweet piano. My favorite song on the album is In Our Time. It's an old fashioned country sounding duet, speaking of the trials and tribulations of a relationship. The female voice was provided by Vanessa Carlton of A Thousand Miles fame. Throughout the album, they insert some violin, cello, and some horns which brings some uniqueness to Negativity. I remember there being a piano solo and saxophone solo, so that gets them some bonus points. There are definitely some gems on Negativity and definitely some snoozers, but all and all its some good music.

I give Negativity by Deer Tick 3.25 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Podcast Review: Stone Cold Steve Austin Show w/ Samoa Joe

The 39th episode featured one of my favorite pro-wrestlers of all time, Samoa Joe. I've only listened to a hand full of Stone Cold's pod-casts and he's really progressed as a conversationalist and doesn't really follow a script or guideline when interviewing. Steve Austin was one of the greatest talkers in wrestling history so it makes sense that he can carry an interview well.

If you aren't familiar with Samoa Joe, you have some catching up to do. If you are familiar with his work in TNA, you still have some catching up to do. Joe's matches with Kenta Kobashi and CM Punk in Ring of Honor are absolutely legendary. I bet Joe felt like a million bucks when Stone Cold claimed to be a huge fan of his work and especially his work with Kobashi. Joe vs Kobashi was the very first Ring of Honor DVD I bought and I was instantly hooked. Joe's size makes him unique and his strength and endurance make him look unstoppable. They discuss where his name comes from, which is a pretty funny story. They also discuss Joe's journey through wrestling to television and the current state of wrestling.

The interview is a good hour and two minutes including commercials and an intro, but its completely worth getting through. It's definitely for fans who consider themselves insiders and gives an insight on how cool Samoa Joe really is. Austin brings up a good point where he asks Joe why TNA isn't 100%  behind him, and push him to his full potential. I wish Stone Cold Steve Austin, Jim Ross, William Regal and Jake the Snake Roberts pooled their money together and started a wrestling organization of their own. They know real talent, and they all absolutely love the business and would put together something special. I know these are only dreams, but a man can dream right? Anyways, download this pod-cast onto your phone, iPod or whatever and give it a listen. If you like what you hear, check out Joe's work on youtube or ask me to borrow some DVDs.

I give this pod-cast 3.98 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Here is the link to Austin's show http://podcastone.com/Steve-Austin-Show?showAllEpisodes=true

Album Review: Vessel by Twenty One Pilots

When people describe something as "different," and it relates to music, its usually met with a negative connotation. It's a nice way to say, "Yeah I don't really like that, but I'm not going to tell you straight up." When I say its different, I mean just how I said it, it sounds different. Nothing is really comparable to it. Like nothing I've heard before. And that is how I describe Vessel by Twenty One Pilots.

Twenty One Pilots are a two piece band from Columbus, OH. Their sound is a mixture of hip-hop, indie rock and alternative rock. Vessel is their first major release and has done pretty well on the charts. As I mentioned before, I love this album because of how different it is. Different in a great way. It's a perfect blend of the aforementioned genres mixed with emotion and great song writing. Unpredictability is a major factor of the success of this album as well. The first time I heard it, I remember thinking, "that was a left turn out of nowhere" and "where are they going with this?" I find that very exciting when listening to new music. Not knowing where you're going to end up really heightens your senses and makes you listen.

I have a couple favorite tunes from Vessel. First off being Car Radio, track number 5. Car Radio is about how terrifying it could be to be alone. "Sometimes quiet is violent" portrays that point quite well. When you sit in silence and get a chance to think, sometimes the results can be pretty devastating. You can run a gamut of emotions and never find a resolve. This is some pretty powerful stuff and I'm glad they're getting some radio play. Its a lot deeper than a lot of pop out there. I'm also a big fan of The Run and Go which is track number 8. It is one of the least complex songs on the album, in regards to arrangement, but very complex lyrically.

If you are looking for something different and good, give Vessel by Twenty One Pilots a try.

I give it 4.25 out of 5 Burning Lariats.

Movie Review: Robot and Frank

I'm a sucker for cute, sad movies. Maybe I'm just a sucker in general. Who knows? Robot and Frank was a nice surprise and of course, was cute and sad. I recently received a free month's trial for Netflix's DVD service and this was the first one my queue. Thank goodness for free stuff. I could have checked it out at my local library, which has plenty of movies to choose from as well. (Cheap plug)

Usually when I pop in a movie late on a weekday, I'm snoring within ten minutes. Fortunately for me, I was able rip through my weariness and was able to finish this movie in one sitting.

Robot and Frank is set in the very near future. Robotics have become a part of everyday life. They work at the library shelving, gardening, and even providing therapeutic care to the elderly. Frank is played by Frank Langella, legendary actor known for his roles as Richard Nixon, William Paley, Dracula, John Wilkes Booth and my personal favorite Skeletor. Yes, Frank Langella played Skeletor in the 1987 release of Masters of the Universe and I own it on DVD. In Robot and Frank he plays an ex-con, known in his community as a cat burglar. Frank, now in his 70's, suffers from dementia and according to his son, needs someone around to ensure his safety. Instead of putting Frank in a home, he purchases a helper robot. The robot helps with chores and with some cognitive enhancing activities.

Frank is reluctant at first to accept the robot's help, but quickly builds a relationship with the robot. He figures a way to manipulate the robot and make him do tasks that he wouldn't normally do. This is due to the robot's function to build trust between the two. Frank plans a heist at the local library in hopes to impress the librarian that he is very fond of. After successfully stealing a rare, copy of Don Quixote, he has the intention of one more big heist. With the help of robot, they plan to steal some diamonds from some yuppies down the street. His children get tangled in the plan and complicate the situation.

I loved the relationship between robot and Frank. He didn't want anything to do with robot at first, but then he saw the potential in front of him. Eventually they became great friends. When his daughter came and shut down the robot. He truly missed him. This movie also shows how robotic technology is advancing so quickly, that I can actually see this happening in the near future. Even though the robot is so human like, they make sure that you know that he is still a robot. He can't feel, but has the ability to lie and manipulate just like humans. It's a little creepy in some parts of the movie, but it adds the perfect amount of sympathy for Frank. His best friend is now a robot and he knows it.

Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 89 Minutes

I give Robot and Frank 4.5 out of 5 Burning Lariats.