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ADigitalMan

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Join date
26-Sep-2004
Last activity
7-Aug-2025
Posts
2,944

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Post
#185347
Topic
Queensryche: Operation Mindcrime II
Time
They remastered all their EMI releases recently and it got me back into their music. Promised Land was helped perhaps the least from the mastering because it was already engineered within an inch of its life. It's amazing how sonicly perfect that album is. Give it another spin if you have it laying around and listen to it on a really good system.

I bemoan the loss of well-engineered albums in this century. Several albums were gorgeously mixed in the 90s. Roger Waters' "Amused to Death," Sting's "Ten Summoner's Tales," Tori Amos' "Little Earthquakes," Soundgarden's "SuperUnknown," Clapton's "From The Cradle" and Rush's "Counterparts" are all starkly different albums that share one important quality: Perfect engineering. I put Promised Land in that upper echelon as well.

I'm VERY hopeful about this album in this very respect, because Queensryche were always sticklers for quality sound with good instrument separation.
Post
#185265
Topic
Bond, James Bond
Time
EON screws up their Bond choice every other time. Even if he's a good actor or the direction of the series is right, they don't get the one who jibes with viewers.

Lazenby ... what a great story to tell, what a bold way to end the film. The actor was not bad at all. But he wasn't Connery and people didn't show up.

Dalton ... this guy was the first one to actually portray Fleming's Bond. He had the look. He had the acting chops. He had respect for the role. He portrayed Bond as a lethal weapon of Mi6. But he wasn't Brosnan and the people didn't show up.

Now there is Craig. He isn't Brosnan. He isn't Clive Owen. He isn't Hugh Jackman. He's a bloody tow-head to boot. He creeps my wife out to no end. She absolutely hates the choice. I predict all the women who flock to these films because they secretly love misogynistic men (as long as they are tall, dark, handsome, and speak with a lovely British accent) aren't gonna show up. It'll just be some Bond fan boys who arrive, and it'll be the biggest box office dud since Pluto Nash.

Sadly, the movie will probably kick ass.

They'll blame Craig, but it'll be the fault of EON, as it always is.
Post
#184983
Topic
Queensryche: Operation Mindcrime II
Time
I've known this has been in the works for some time, but I finally saw the official press release. Heard a live version of one of the new tracks too on www.queensryche.com. For fans of the original, I think this disc is going to please.
REVENGE, ROCK, REDEMPTION -- QUEENSRYCHE’S OPERATION: MINDCRIME II

Long-Awaited Sequel to Platinum-Selling Concept Album Available From Rhino April 6

LOS ANGELES — Queensrÿche returned to the studio this summer to record the long-anticipated sequel to 1988’s acclaimed concept album Operation: Mindcrime. Praised by critics and certified platinum, the original remained on Billboard’s album chart for more than a year and its dynamic music and powerful message still resonate today. Rhino Records helps unravel the mysteries of the original with OPERATION: MINDCRIME II. The album is available April 6 at regular physical and digital retail outlets and at www.rhino.com for a suggested retail price of $18.98.

OPERATION: MINDCRIME II contains a 15-song story and is performed by the Seattle-based quintet – singer and chief songwriter Geoff Tate; guitarists Michael Wilton and Mike Stone; bassist Eddie Jackson, and drummer Scott Rockenfield.

Tate says the current political and social climate inspired him to revisit the storyline. “I left the original open-ended with the intent to come back with a sequel to finish the story up,” he says. “Considering where we are today and how little things have changed, it was too ironic not to continue the story.”

Operation: Mindcrime’s intriguing and complex plot revolves around Dr. X, a political puppet master who brainwashes Nikki, the story’s main character, to assassinate corrupt public figures. The story also includes Nikki’s lover, Sister Mary. A former teenage prostitute who becomes a nun, Sister Mary is murdered mysteriously, leaving the cliffhanger “Who Killed Sister Mary?”

Set 20 years after the original, OPERATION: MINDCRIME II explores Nikki’s fate after being released from prison and reveals the identity of Mary’s killer. “I tried to put myself in Nikki’s shoes and imagine what it would be like for him to come back to society after spending 20 years in jail stewing about what happened to him,” Tate says. “I became fascinated with the concept of revenge and what that would do to a person like Nikki. The story is ultimately about how Nikki wrestles with his conflicted emotions. On one side, his base instincts are pushing him to kill those who wronged him. On the other side, his conscience–represented by the spirit of Sister Mary – urges him to learn from his past mistakes and find salvation.”

Earlier this year Queensrÿche launched a sold-out tour featuring the original Operation: Mindcrime performed in its entirety with actors on stage portraying the characters alongside the band. Tate says the band plans to launch a tour in 2006 that will feature a stage performance of both Mindcrimes in their entirety. “The actors on stage with us add a new dimension to the music,” he says. “It’s different than your typical rock show, but the audiences really got into the Mindcrime I tour. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to combine both albums into one show. It’s going to be epic.”

Since its formation in 1981 near Seattle, Queensrÿche has released nine studio albums. Empire, the 1990 follow-up to Operation: Mindcrime, sold more than two million copies thanks in part to the enormous success of the hit, “Silent Lucidity.” Released in 1994, Promised Land was certified platinum and featured the hits “I Am I” and “Bridge.”

QUEENSRYCHE - OPERATION MINDCRIME II

1. “I'm American”
2. “One Foot In Hell”
3. “Hostage”
4. “The Hands”
5. “Speed Of Light”
6. “Signs Say Go (Will I Surrender?)”
7. “Re-Arrange You”
8. “The Chase”
9. “A Murderer”
10. “Circles”
11. “If I Could Change It All”
12. “An Intentional Confrontation”
13. “A Junkie's Blues (Everything Will Be Alright)”
14. “Fear City Slide”
15. “All The Promises”
Post
#184911
Topic
Bond, James Bond
Time
I love Casino Royale, but I think that's largely because it was the first book, and until now hasn't been made into a (real) movie.

Live and Let Die was an AWESOME book. Unquestionably my least favorite movie, but perhaps my favorite book. So much of the cool stuff that was in Licence to Kill was actually taken from that book, including what happened to Felix Leiter. Plus the bad guys had some one-liners about him that usually we only hear from Bond in the films.

And I already gushed about Moonraker. If they'd only adapt THAT plot into film ...
Post
#184819
Topic
Sleep
Time
JS, have you been to a doc about that? I'm never one to recommend meds over psychological decompression since it doesn't address the root cause. However, some of the newer meds to help you train your body to get the sleep it needs without the need for long-term use. Ambien in particular helped get my wife back into her natural sleep cycle after only a couple of weeks.

Healthy sleep habits promote a more positive outlook and greater interpersonability (is that even a word?) so it's always good for you and everybody around you. If you're having sleep probs you probably have something (or a lot of somethings) on your mind. Finding a good outlet for dumping your stress is important for the long term (routine excercise like jogging or gym work, and/or what I call "routine exorcise," like writing poetry or prose or model building or *ahem* editing), and perhaps a M.D. can help you in the short term.
Post
#184708
Topic
Worst song covers EVER!
Time
I wonder if you could set "Raining Blood" to the tune of "It's Raining Men." You could really freak people out on Karaoke Night with that.

Kinda like when, on my 21st Birthday, two of my best friends and I got up and sung, in three part harmony, to the horror of the entire bar, "Shiny Happy People F'ing Dogs." Uncensored, of course.

Meet me at the pound
Puppies, puppies
Spread your love around
Puppies, puppies

I am NOT kidding.