Edward's November 2018 Mix

Winter is here. We’ve had some really brisk nights. But you know what? That’s okay. It’s just the excuse I need to stay inside and dive into my love of CDs, Blu Rays, books, and PC games. I’ve been hitting my guitar more than I ever have before. Each little conquest is hard fought, but it’s like scaling over the top of a mountain. You’ve heard me say this before, but my biggest regret is that I didn’t delve into this much younger in life. I hail from a family of musicians. I could have been a contender! Seriously kids, buy a guitar or a piano now and practice, practice, practice! I guess the old adage might be true, however. You’re never too old to learn, yeah? And who knows, maybe I just wasn’t interested when I was younger. Maybe this is where I am supposed to be at this point in my musical universe.


1.      The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly on Blu Ray: Finishing up my Man with No Name trilogy, this is the last movie in the series. But you already know that, you probably also know it’s one of the coolest westerns in the history of movies. Sergio Leone who made mythical westerns based on what was mythical in the first place, created a magnum opus with this one. I don’t know if Eastwood’s taciturn observant character or Eli Wallach’s scoundrel rapacious Tuco Ramirez is my favorite character. Both of them have earned a spot in my book of coolness. The Blu Ray treatment is okay, nothing special. The film now has a gritty yellowish tint to it. From what I read, it’s the look Leone wanted. I’m okay with it, but beside the yellow tint, the film itself isn’t substantially different than the DVD version. Still, this version contains some great interviews with Eastwood and Wallach and two commentaries by noted film historians. It’s definitely worth the rewatch just to catch these great commentaries

2.     Blackstar HT-1RH Stack Amp: When I discovered there were only 750 of these made, and it was a tube amp my interest was piqued. And then I found out it was only a 1 watt amplifier. I was like, huh? And then I read the reviews. It was the multitude of 5 star reviews that urged me to pull the trigger. I ordered it from Sweetwater based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and I had it the next day. (As an aside, a company with some of the best customer service of any company I’ve ever dealt with.) When I plugged my guitar into it and strummed the strings the first time, it was then I was wholly convinced. This thing sounds incredible! I never would have believed 1 watt would have me keeping the volume on the down low to prevent awakening the household. And then there are the aesthetics. With its vintage good looks, this thing looks like a wedding cake stolen from a Lawrence Welk show. 

3.      Created By by Richard Christian Matheson: Who would have known a writer who penned screenplays for early 80’s television shows like The Incredible Hulk, Knight Rider, B.J. and the Bear, and Three’s Company could spin out one of the best novels I’ve read this year. A young screenplay writer, Alan White creates a television series that tops the ratings. The show exudes state of the art death and dazzle, full frontal nudity and geysers of blood. Alan’s made it, enjoying success beyond his wildest dreams. But then terribly strange things begin to happen. The morning headlines start to read like grisly reruns of his action hit. And then plots which Alan White hasn’t written or spoken of yet begin to blood-blossom into reality. The main action anti hero that White has created takes on a dastardly life of his own outside of television. Matheson has talent and I'm surprised it's taken me this long to discover him.

4.   Gun on PC: Supposedly a good game with its all star voice cast: Lance Henrickson, Tom Skerritt and Kris Kristofferson. And not to mention an award winning screenplay writer at the helm of the game’s story. In truth, it’s a six hour game artificially lengthened by its outlandish difficulty spikes. For being a shoddy PlayStation 2 port back in 2005 with its mud graphics and wonky control scheme (made slightly better with an Xbox Controller) I could forgive its shortcomings. But I can’t. I got to the penultimate boss, a crazed outlaw in the guise of a bible toting preacher out to deliver God’s justice. The fight was nigh impossible. This “mini” boss hides out and his health regenerates. So, as you expend your bullets and health flasks (comically in the form of bottles of whiskey) he becomes impossible. I called up the last boss fight on YouTube and realized there was no way I was going to spend 30 minutes taking him down, especially not being able to take out the boss before him. This makes the 3^rd attempt I’ve taken to beat this game since it came out. I’m done. This game stomped me. I guess I'll fire up Read Dead Redemption on the household PS3.

5.   S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat on PC: It took me two rage quits and three installs to finally beat S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl but it was a ride well worth it. Now I’ve finally gotten to this game, the second in the series. It took me 39 hours to beat, which is good considering it’s a 40 hour game. The story line was a little slow to start but escalated to a great ending. The game looked pretty amazing in 1440P resolution, and it exuded the same haunting bleak look of the first game which helped with the immersion factor. I’ll look forward to moving onto the Metro games now.

6.   Sasha Airdrawndagger on CD: Alexander Paul Coe (born 4 September 1969), known musically as Sasha is a Welsh DJ and record producer. He is best known for his live events and EDM as a solo artist. I picked up this CD years ago and was at first put off by its heavy drum and bass. I remember thinking, “Is this all there is?” And then toward the end is two songs that sound amazingly good. Reviewer Glenn Swan gave it four stars out of five, summarizing his review with "Airdrawndagger has a sharp blade, and hovers with threat, but it takes almost half the album before it draws blood" But those two songs near the end, boy howdy! “Requiem” and “Wavy Gravy.” Both songs are the epitome of upbeat EDM, but imagine being in a starship and passing Heaven, and being physically able to see it, the beauty and the grandeur. This song is the sound of that.

7.   Conquest of the Planet of the Apes on Blu Ray: I’d seen this way back as a kid in the ‘70’s and not since. Detailing the ascent of the apes over man, this film is probably the most brutal of the series, and the screenplay was somewhat inspired by the racial riots of the 1960s. The violence in the movie almost caused it to earn an R rating, but producers were able to "trim" some of the rough scenes down and the movie was able to be shown to a full age audience.

Roddy McDowall plays Caesar, a less than friendly version of his usual Cornelius character. The transition to Blu Ray from DVD is gorgeous and a must have for any fan of this outstanding 1970s action series.

8.   Neverwinter Nights on PC: I finally beat it. I had to cheat on a few fights, and you know how I hate cheating, but if that’s what it takes. I just wanted to get the game over with. It took me 102 hours which is quite a lot for a 60 hour game. You can probably see why I was ready for the game to be done with.