Rhyan\djay

This album was just released yesterday. I hadn't been paying much attention to Soulfly. I haven't heard the third album at all yet, still. (it still seems like a new album to me, even though itwas released almost two years ago)
So, I got this one, and I have to say, I'm impressed as hell. This is damn good shit, a lot closer to Roots-era Sepultura than previous efforts, in my opinion, which is an excellent thing.
And, in checking out Soulfly's website, I come to find out that Max has David Ellefson (formerly of Megadeth) playing bass for them now. Dang!

I'm a person who listens to a lot of live music. I download entire concerts, and generally, listen to them in their entirety. I do this almost on a daily basis (with the exception of the last month or so). I have 91 Grateful Dead shows alone. In fact, I had a copy of this very show before the CD/DVD was ever produced.
So, one would think that this–one full show–wouldn't be that impressive for me. I mean, it's something I already had!
And yet, I can't help loving it.
I'm listening to it at work on the iPod, not even experiencing the full package or anything. It's a soundboard recording, just as most of my Dead shows are.
I can't find a reason why I should enjoy this so much, and, yet, I do! Maybe it's because, with the DVD, I have visuals to go along with it. Maybe it's because I have seen the artwork (even if it's not here in front of me), and there's a residue feeling left by that. I don't know.

The point is, I love The Closing Of Winterland.

Hey, did I call it, or what? ;^)

Donnie Darko is an awesome movie. I went into it thinking I was going to get a weird horror movie, but it turned out to be more of a creepy thriller kind of thing. It reminded me of Memento in it’s coolness, although, this one’s a little darker and weirder. 4 and half out of 5.
Dee Snider’s Strangeland is a piece of shit. Especially disappointing because I respect Dee Snider, and this movie had an awesome soundtrack. It confused me that a person like Dee Snider would write a movie in which the whole point seems to be that people who listen to heavy metal music and have tattoos and piercings are psychotic, should be shunned by society, and, in some cases, be lit on fire while they’re hanging from a hook.
Also, this movie was actually two movies in one, so I basically got suckered into watching a sequel I never wanted to see.
And it has some of the absolute lamest representations of the apparently dark and mysterious world of online chat rooms.
The ‘hero’ in this movie is a completely inept police officer who can’t figure out how to turn off a computer even if there’s a very obvious power button on front of the box. There are scenes in this movie where the guy is randomly hitting keys on the keyboard trying to get the computer to do something (what is not clear in the movie). He’s a one-finger typist even though his job is extremely paper-work intensive and he must use (at least) a typewriter on a daily basis.
Also, the villain has over a dozen piercings in his face that he removes halfway through the movie when he spends four years in a mental institution. You would think that, after four years, these piercings would have healed over. Yet, somehow, this guy manages to get them all back in in a matter of a day or so, with no visible bleeding or irritation. Just, poof! They’re back!
… why do I find bad movies so much more interesting than good movies? Oh well.
I also watched Jackie Brown this weekend. I had seen it when it was out in theatres, but at that time, like many people, I was expecting another Pulp Fiction, and, so, was of course disappointed. This time, however, I enjoyed it a lot more. I don’t think it’s as quotable as other Tarantino films, but it is an extremely good movie. I was especially impressed by the buildup of the story.