DominicCobb

Nope.

If you really love making music that shouldn't discourage you.

I listened to a bit of one of your tracks and it was well done, but it's not at all the type of stuff I listen to, so that was it for me. Everyone has different tastes, and I'm sure a lot of people you've presented your stuff to probably just aren't into that type of music. It's an incredibly subjective medium, and even if you can appreciate someone with good musical talents, that doesn't mean you want to listen to them. Don't take it personally.

The other possibility is that you're an amateur musician and people in general are uninterested in amateur musicians because there are so many. Again, the talent doesn't matter. People like listening to people that are popular. Again, don't take it personally.

At the end of the day, you just have to ask yourself, who am I making this music for? If you just want to be popular and have other people like you, then I understand why you would feel compelled to give up. Even if you're not that shallow I know how much it can hurt to be unappreciated when appreciation is really warranted.

But really, I have friends who make metal music and from my experience most people I know who make music just really love making music. I'm sure you do to. So you do you man.

Some, uh, interesting choices.

SilverWook said:

That's like saying guns made boxing obsolete though. ;)

 Yep, nothing primitive about boxing...

Oh I definitely plan on reading that. Those are sort of the quintessential EU books. I'd be crazy not to check them out.

But not yet. My journey through the EU needs some sort of rhyme and reason, and since (some of) the makers of the old EU loved continuity, I've decided to see how well everything works chronologically. So I've got a list of books I'll be reading. I'll probably get to the Thrawn trilogy in a few months, maybe even sooner.

Been reading some EU. It's getting close to TFA now, and my Star Wars interest levels are rising, so I need to get a fix. I've never really read any EU before (some junior novels when I was younger and I think I got a chapter or so into Heir to the Empire but that's it), so now's the time. I'm trying to go somewhat chronological, but I'm not really interested in the really early stuff, or the really late stuff. Once you get too far away from the movies it's sort of like, what's the point? I want stuff that deals with the characters from the movies. So I want my EU to be filling in the blanks between the movies (and within them). (Also just the idea of the really early and late stuff in the timeline has me considering depressing existential ideas which I don't need from this franchise.)

Unlike most here, I'd imagine, I actually don't mind the PT stuff so I've been delving into that. I was really young when I first saw the OT, and it wasn't long before the PT came along, so most of my preconceptions and speculations about the world pre-ANH were simply replaced and supplanted (rather than squashed) with what I saw as the real events. Obviously I can look back at the PT and list the ways things should have been done differently, but I won't ignore the fact that the PT is canon, and I honestly don't mind it either.

So I read Darth Plagueis by James Luceno, and it was pretty good. I appreciated the way he explained all of the machinations of the PT in ways that Lucas never could, fully developing threads like Dooku and Sifo-Dyas that were only vaguely explained in the PT. It's pretty cool to get a behind the scenes account leading up to the dawn of the Empire, and Luceno details things well. I would probably prefer that the origins of Palpatine and Plagueis went unexplained, but that's the whole point of the book really so I can't complain. The one thing he never explicitly states is whether or not Plagueis and Palpatine created Anakin with the force, but it's pretty heavily implied and I'm okay with that.

I'm not sure if it was the best first EU book for someone to read. The beginning was a little tough, and I had to consult Wookiepedia quite a bit to figure out what the species Luceno was referring to were. It was also just hard at first to become invested into the Plagueis character, and I really just wanted to see him interact with the stuff I'm already familiar with, but I guess if I had already read a lot of EU stuff a book like this would be a nice change of pace, following an unknown villain prominently for once. Still, the first part of the book was still rather dull with politics and such (and sort of the rest of the book for that matter), but things started to pick up once Palpatine arrived. The last third was exciting, but very rushed. This is partly due to it (from my understanding) covering events that were more fully fleshed out in the novels Cloak of Deception and Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, and of course The Phantom Menace. Ultimately, however, it was a satisfying read.

Next up, Terry Brooks's novelization of The Phantom Menace, in an attempt to see if the book version might be any better than the film itself. And well, it is, of course, but, like many fan edits, once you wipe away all the crap you're still left with a rather boring story. Some of the bad dialogue is still here, but I don't have to worry about any bad acting or racially insensitive accents. Jar Jar's tolerable, but ends up feeling really out of place. The truth is, reduce the really bad stuff, and you notice there's not much that's interesting about TPM.

What I really do appreciate is how Brooks expanded character motivations and thoughts. Anakin's additional material works really well, and there's a good bit of foreshadowing with the Tuskens (though way too much bad foreshadowing with Padme). Obi-Wan is the other notable. Turns out if you really pay attention to him he's actually a dick in TPM, but thankfully Brooks uses this as part of a character arc for him, something that is sorely missing from the film where he has nothing to do. Brooks's writing itself is serviceable, though at times repetitive and even childish during the Anakin stuff (obviously on purpose, but not very well done, in my opinion). Still, I enjoyed it.

After that was Greg Bear's Rogue Planet. I hadn't heard much about it, but my thought was that there should be a novel to fill in the ten year gap between TPM and AOTC. Since this was the only adult EU novel that fits (oddly enough I remember reading an old Jedi Quest book when I was a kid that I thought did a pretty good job filling that gap), I thought I would read it to see how the old EU handled that timeframe. It started out well enough, with an exciting first chapter that put the characters in an interesting situation that helped define them. And then the book slowly became what I was worried it would become - another boring and pointless story. So much time is spent on this random and largely uninteresting planet "Zonama Sekot" that reading became rather tiresome. The other problem was the whole story is built on a bunch of mysteries - mysteries neither the protagonists nor antagonists have answers to. And then when they're finally answered, at the very end, they're anticlimactic and don't even make that much sense. And the worst part of it all is that the main reason I was reading this - to see Obi-Wan and Anakin's relationship develop - is one of the most undercooked aspects.

Despite all of this, the novel is actually very well written and characterization is also well done. Tarkin also shows up for a bit and we get a good insight into what he was like before the Empire (not very different) so that's fun. All in all, it wasn't a terrible book, but it was a disappointment. A lot of wasted potential.

Now I'm on to Attack of the Clones. Let's see how this goes. I'm only a few chapters in and author R.A. Salvatore is already twisting himself into knots trying to explain this assassination plot. Novelizing Lucas's screenplays must be a hard job.

Maybe you both have something you feel guilty about that you really need to tell someone.

Um... is this photoshop crap?

You're right about Chamber of Secrets though. They did scrap that. Shame.

Those are pretty cool, though I am partial to the "faces" covers as they were what I grew up on.

Woah, those covers are awesome. Which release was that? How might I find bigger versions of them?

A feature length version has some real potential... but even though Christian directed the original short, his filmography as of late has been pretty bad. Best case scenario this could be a great little film. Worst case scenario it could like like a Syfy channel original.

DuracellEnergizer said:

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) -- C

12 Years a Slave (2013) -- B

Superman (1978) -- C-

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) -- C

 You asshole.

Kung Fury, obviously.

Just showed my friends (who had grown up watching the SE only) Harmy's Despecialized Star Wars. They loved it. One said "I get it now."

I'm fighting the good fight boys.

DrDre said:

How about the fact that at the start of TPM it is established that Jedi have super speed, when they escape from the Destroyer droids, but Obi-Wan seems to have lost this ability when his master's life is on the line. 

Maybe he was just being careful, as this video demonstrates: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3dI-ghYimg

I honestly think it went something like this. Lucas heard that Disney wanted to make new movies after the purchase of Lucasfilm, and hastily came up with story "treatments" as an afterthought. He then tells Kathleen Kennedy that these story treatments represent his "original vision" for the franchise that he had in '76. Kennedy's thinking "well, I don't know, let's see if we can get someone to make sense of this," and hires Michael Ardnt. He writes a sort of unfinished draft that's fine but the story kind of sucks. JJ reads the script and passes. Kennedy's like "fuck it" and tells JJ he can do whatever he wants. JJ hires Lawrence Kasdan, they break the story for the film and outline the next two (with likely some similarities to the Lucas treatments but probably just general stuff that's similar by chance) with Rian Johnson (I honestly think JJ started from scratch, more or less, which you might think is a hard thing to do given how little time they had, but what Star Wars fan doesn't have an idea about where things go after Episode VI?). Then the trilogy gets made and everyone's happy and the Star Wars saga is declared, officially, to be solely consisted of Episodes IV-IX.

Well that last part is wishful thinking. But I think the other stuff is mostly true. Apparently the Lucas drafts were teen-centric, and probably just had Han, Leia, and Luke's kids as the main characters. I like that JJ has expanded things and with a genuinely new bunch of characters, only one of which may or may not be an offspring of the OT's big three. Also, it appears the early rumors about Episode VII being driven by the big three are unsubstantiated, based on the prominence of what appears to be the new big three (Finn, Rey, Dameron). If they weren't the main characters, why would the trailers and Celebration panel focus on them, when the OT characters are obviously more marketable?

Long story short, I think JJ and co. made the right choice from what I know, but obviously I don't know a lot because they haven't really told us anything and the movies aren't out yet. I'd love a comprehensive behind the scenes doc about the new trilogy starting with the Disney deal that really lets us know how things when down. Unfortunately we probably won't have one of those or know what Lucas's treatments were like until after Episode IX because of spoilers and such.

I've wanted to see this forever, and was excited to see it was on iTunes. But I'm cheap, so I didn't see it until just now, because of the Youtube release (and in honor of ESB's 35th anniversary).

Awesome film! Amazing visuals and mystical atmosphere. Left me wanting more.

Speaking of, Roger Christian gives a short intro before the film on the Youtube version. He says there'll be a special announcement about Black Angel on June 2. But what kind of announcement could that be? I'm hoping for a feature length version. But there are a number of cool possibilities. 

.

Why didn't I think to add a pic of my ticket to my nostalgia post? Missed opportunity. 

I still have it of course:

Some things you'll notice:

- "Star War 3"

- Wow, $5.

- I bought it in advanced. And then no one was there, so I have both parts of the ticket.

Also, in a bit of rhyming coincidence that Lucas would appreciate, I actually saw Star Wars on the big screen again tonight, ten years later. I was at the theater, going to Fury Road round 2, and heard John Williams blasting from next door. Caught the tail end of the TFA trailer. Good stuff.

Ten years ago today Revenge of the Sith came out. I know most of us hate it, and even I have a fair share of criticisms, but ten years ago today was a big day for me. 

When I was a kid, very young, I saw the OT and immediately fell in love. When I heard Episode I was coming out, I was excited for more Star Wars, but didn't really get why it was a prequel. These weren't my favorite characters! But I saw it, and I loved it. Not as much as the others, but still, I was a kid, and I ate it up. Star Wars was my favorite thing, and it was Star Wars.

I had been told that Lucas would go on to do a sequel trilogy after, and those were the ones I really wanted to see. But I'd take the Star Wars I was given and enjoy it. How did Anakin become Darth Vader? I was very curious to know.

Then Attack of the Clones came out a few years later. It was a bit of a disappointment (hated the romance, boy how right I was), but I still ate it up.

Then I learned something devastating. The sequels weren't being made. The prequels were it - the saga was about Darth Vader. I didn't like it, but I took it. Episode III would be the final film. Better get ready.

When May 2005 came around, I was SUPER into Star Wars. Like my mom said I was obsessed. If Revenge of the Sith was the last Star Wars movie ever, if it was going to finally link up to the OT, I was going to be ready. Never before then had I been so excited for a movie. And never since have I been so excited for a movie, honestly. May 19, 2005 was a great day for me. It was a Thursday, a school night, but I convinced my mom to let me see it. I did, and I loved it, more so than any of the other prequels. As it ended with the binary sunset, there was a tear in my eye. And so ends the Star Wars saga, I thought. Beautifully, I thought. 

Never would I have guessed the franchise's resurrection 10 years later, with the vey thing I wanted in the first place. If I were to go back in time to 2005 and show my 9 year old self a trailer for The Force Awakens, I honestly think my younger self would literally shit his pants. I don't know how he would handle the wait though. 

Somehow, it's been 10 years since May 19, 2005, but it feels like a lot less time has passed. Thankfully, it's 2015 now, and December is only 7 months away. Still, it's been about 17 years since I saw Return of the Jedi and asked for more.

I still like Revenge of the Sith. Through my nostalgia glasses it's even great. It has a special place in my heart, but, needless to say, move over Episode III; Episode VII will be my new most anticipated movie ever.

I never thought it would happen. Star Wars on the big screen again. It's like nothing else.

DrCrowTStarwars said:

Interstellar.

Okay I am a huge Nolan fan and I defended both The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel.  I also believe Person of Interest is one of the best TV shows ever made, so please remember that.

By the way, Nolan is not the reason for Man of Steel's suckage, that's a Zack Snyder film. And Person of Interest is Jonathan Nolan, not Christopher.

Well, the original negative1 doesn't post anymore, so it's more like a new account than a sock, even if he doesn't pretend it's him. Anyway, because he's only posting from one account, I imagine no one really cares. If the old one comes back that'd probably when the matter would be more seriously considered.

Interstellar is not an action movie. It's an epic, so I would say the near-three hour runtime is justified. Same goes for LOTR.

You could probably argue that Avatar didn't need to be so long, but it's James Cameron and he can do what he wants and it didn't stop the film from making money. Anyway, that's kind of an epic too, with an action movie climax. 

Nolan does tend to run a little long, but besides TDKR and Interstellar none of his pics run longer than two and a half hours and he balances story and action pretty well with much more of the former than typical blockbusters, so I think he gets a pass.

The two Avengers movies have so much going on that the long runtimes are pretty justified.

The main perpetrator seems to Michael Bay, I think. The problem is his movies keep making money, so the studios don't feel the need to force cuts.

He's not the only one who embellishes, of course. It just the times, I think. People are willing to watch longer action movies now, so we see longer action movies. Pacing is much more important than length, and quality too, as Silverwook points out.

I'm a big supporter of the 90 minute film, but I'm also a big supporter of the two hour plus film. If that's what the filmmaker needs, so be it. Better than the studios getting in the way, as has happened far too often in the past. 

DrCrowTStarwars said:

RicOlie_2 said:

No doubt his expectations were too high and he ruined the movie for himself.

 Not really, if Micheal Bay had directed this movie I still would have felt like throwing up when all that insanity about love controlling the laws of time and space showed up.

That is the kind of garbage that is it were put in a Disney movie it would get called out for the badly written sap that it is but because Nolan made it this trash gets a pass for some reason.  Every time he does something no matter how stupid it is it gets praised as the greatest thing the human race has ever produced when if you had Micheal Bay make the exact same movie it would have a 12% on RT.

People say that like Nolan's movies because it is cool to like them not because they really think they are any good.  He's a name brand at this point, not a director.  He needs to stop trying to make deep epics and start making smaller films that have to stand on their own merits.

 Um, no.

Yay conformity, right?!