Saturday, June 28, 2014

The House of the Rising Sun

So I am going to talk about music this time around.

The House of the Rising Sun is a really old song that no one is sure of the actual origins of. It has been recorded many times by many different artists over the years. Originally it was from the point of view of a woman (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bob+dylan/house+of+the+rising+sun_20021207.html), but with what is most likely the most famous version of the song by The Animals, they switched it to a male POV (http://www.metrolyrics.com/house-of-the-rising-sun-lyrics-the-animals.html).

This last year the band Five Finger Death Punch released their version of it. The song is updated and the music is noticeably heavier. The song is very catchy and is getting a lot of play on the radio station I listen to. It has been stuck in my head for several days now.

Now to get geeky.

The most noticeable change in the Five Finger Death Punch version is the change of location from 'New Orleans' to 'Sin City' (http://www.metrolyrics.com/house-of-the-rising-sun-lyrics-five-finger-death-punch.html). It is a change that for me really changes the over all idea of the song.

I'll be interested to know if others agree with me on this.

I always had the feeling that The House of the Rising Song was kind of a hidden place, that might be known about but no one admits to it. This idea works well with New Orleans, as it is a city that is known to have such places while at the same time people are not going to admit to it, but instead will help to keep it a well known secret.

So when they switched the city to 'Sin City', (my understanding is it is a direct reference to Las Vegas, and not a open reference a generic corrupt city or the comic book city of that name) it didn't feel right to me. In a city known for, if not celebrated for, being a center of corruption, does not have the same impact. To say you are going to Sin City or Las Vegas to take part in what the city is known for, it seems a little pointless and needless. For me the concept just does not have the same impact. With our main reference being gambling, it just does not seem like there needs to be a hidden, mysterious house in Las Vegas to sing about.

Still an enjoyable song and one that has an interesting history with a good deal of mystery to it.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Let's Talk About Taurin Tales

As many of you know I am a writer. This year I was invited to contribute to a new shared world anthology titled Taurin Tales.

http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/taurin.htm

I am looking forwards to seeing just what we ended up creating, as I have only read my pieces (I will have two stories in this anthology).  I have seen some hints as to what some of the other writers came up with. It was an interesting experience to flush out the workings of these people. I think it will come together to make an enjoyable set of stories.

J, the editor, is hoping this goes over well as he is already thinking of doing a second anthology that will have open submissions. However Nomadic Delirium Press is an independent small press and could use a little help to get Taurin Tales funded.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1521750492/taurin-tales

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Comic Book Ads



Now I shall start to reminisce about childhood memories in an attempt to show that I am one of those parents.

I have started to go through my old comic books. I have a good sized collection. I’ve been collecting most of my life. I started in the mid-80s and had to cut down a few years ago, picking up a few here and there since then. I been enjoying the Mile High Comics dollar bin to pick up some old issues to fill in the gaps. Reading them has been a highly reminiscent experience. Odd thing is I mainly remember the ads.

Now this is where I will start to sound like an old man.

Comic ads today just are not as interesting and unique as what they were when I was growing up. It is hard to explain the personality of comic book ads to those unfamiliar with them. The most famous of those ads is most likely the old Hostess snack ads where known heroes from both Marvel and DC would use tasty Hostess snacks to distract the villains and save the day. They really were classic ads that stand out.

You also had ads in the comics every year promoting the Saturday morning cartoon line ups. Yes, there was a time when it was big deal to watch cartoons on Saturday morning. The ads from the 80s show cartoon shows I remember well, most of which I watched. Looking through my comics I ran across one that I am unsure as to how it got into my collection, Captain Savage and His Battlefield Raiders. It is from 1969. It has a Saturday Morning Cartoon ad in it for cartoons that I had never heard of before. I actually did not know they had done a Smoky Bear cartoon show. There was also something titled The Cattanooga Cats, which looks extremely 60s.

If you look through comics from decade to decade you do see an interesting evolution of comic book personality that so reflects the time in which they came out. It is in essence a form of time travel and there is something lost when they get converted into graphic novels or e-comics and the ads get discarded.

Okay, that is my geeky quota for now.