It’s that most wonderful time of the year: my annual vacation from work. And I’ve been taking advantage. I’ve been so indulged it’s caused me to be tardy in posting the mix this month. Inflated gasoline prices have smashed records. Grocery bills are twice and sometimes three times higher than previous years. Going on a day trip or two was discussed, but sheesh, who can afford to go anywhere this summer? I can’t complain though, not really, not when I have such diversions and nuggets of joy as this month’s mix. Enjoy!
Sid Meier’s Railroads! on PC: It’s a rare thing when I play a PC game more than once. Having said that, this game reigns supreme. I’ve played through it four times since its release in 2006. And here I am working on completing it a fifth time. Railroad Tycoon 3 ((2003) is the better game when it comes to game mechanics, strategies, campaigns and scenarios. But this one has much better graphics (although cartoony compared to RRT3.) I’ve tried Railroad Empire which was released in the past few years, and I admire the game’s intentions, I eventually uninstalled it due to its overwhelming complexity. I tried multiple times to beat one campaign scenario, finally giving up. Like other Sid Meier games, this one is compelling enough to cause one to sacrifice sleep and do some serious head scratching at dawn when the sun peeks over the horizon and birds are singing, all the while wondering where the time went. Now if Sid came back for one last hurrah, and gifted us with Railroad Tycoon 4, the gaming world would be perfect.
Ozzy Osbourne Bark at the Moon on vinyl: Released in 1983, this was the third studio release from Ozzy Osbourne, former front man for Black Sabbath and his first attempt at a more synth based pop metal album. I was only familiar with the titular “Bark at the Moon” before this listen. I found the album engaging and once I listened to its entirety, I wanted to immediately put it on for another spin. Definitely a product of its time the album bleeds 80’s hair band stylization. The real gold nugget for me, however, was hearing Jake E. Lee for the first time. Color me impressed. Lee was pretty much self-taught, using Mel Bay books to learn how to play. (He went on to co-found the San Diego band, RATT.) I discovered he co-wrote several songs on the album but was hoodwinked by the Osbourne’s (Sharon was Ozzy’s business manager at the time) into signing contract agreements giving full credit to Ozzy for writing or publishing any of the album. (This led to an eventual lawsuit by Lee and bassist Bob Daisley and an admission by the Osbournes giving credit where credit was due.) The song, “Rock and Roll Rebel” I have now laid claim to as a personal favorite on the album. Listen to Lee’s great intro and blistering solo and you’ll see why.
Gun Machine by Warren Ellis: This is a gritty action-packed police novel with supernatural elements. Ellis, who is more known for his graphic novels, his Netflix series Castlevania and for the video game, Dead Space, is a man of a few talents apparently. This novel concerns a washed-up police detective, who, after losing a partner in a shootout, is assigned to further investigate the perpetrator who took his partner’s life. The detective discovers the criminal had a wall in his apartment which displayed firearms, each used in unsolved murders for the past hundred years. The plot moves at breakneck speed, and Ellis has a penchant for creating compelling characters, and fun metaphors. I will look forward to reading more of his stuff.
Taylor AD17 Dreadnought Guitar: I’d been wanting a new acoustic guitar for a little while. Summer being here, what better time to be outside than being on a park bench with a nice acoustic? I’ve had an Ibanez for a few years, but I thought it was time to step into a bigger league. I narrowed it down to either a Martin or a Taylor. I like American made guitars, so I knew neither of them were going to be cheap. Thanks to Reverb.com I found a deal on the Taylor I couldn’t pass up. A guy had it who had played it less than five hours. He was so confident with the sale that he messaged me before he even shipped the guitar and told me I was going to love the guitar. Once I tuned the guitar out of the case and strummed it the first time, I realized the seller was right. I’ve never heard an acoustic so boomy yet bright and sparkly at the same time.
Batman Arkham Asylum on PC: I beat this back in 2010. It was an important game for me because it taught me how to use my Xbox controller which made playing Assassin’s Creed a breeze (albeit a long one) to get through. This game, much like Bioshock was a game in which the main character was the environment itself. Arkham Asylum with its host of most infamous Batman arch villains was a place of eternal Halloween. Not a single part of the game is depicted in daytime. Arkham Asylum is a dismal desiccated backdrop for the stuff of nightmares and even prompts Bruce Wayne to doubt his own sanity. The game was compelling enough to haunt me into revisiting it. This time I can do so while acquiring Steam achievements. I call that a win-win!
Elvis! on the silver screen: Were you to ask me, I’d say, musicals? Nope, not a fan. But seriously, who can deny the childhood magnetism of MGM’s Wonderful Wizard of Oz? I remember when Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge made its debut in 2001, I watched it three times. So, the truth is, I’m not a fan of movie musicals, not in intent anyway. But I have a soft spot for certain ones. Perhaps it’s more of an affinity for Baz Luhrmann’s flamboyant art style he puts into his musicals. Elvis! is no exception. In this rush of recent music biopics, this one is every bit as good. Tom Hanks plays Colonel Parker, Presley’s manager who took 50% of everything the king of rock and roll ever took in, and exploited him almost to the point of utter embezzlement. And Austin Butler as Elvis Presley. Wow! In the first five minutes of his appearance of the film, all doubts melted away. This kid was Elvis Presley.
Hunt:Showdown on PC: Finally. A battle royale even I can be good at. I’m not a young buck anymore. I don’t have the micro twitch reflexes I had back in the days of Unreal Tournament 3 or Novalogic’s Black Hawk Down which caused caustic remarks accusing me of being a cheater. Hunt:Showdown takes place in the Louisiana bayou swamplands in 1895. Mixing supernatural elements with 19th century weapons (e.g. single shot rifles, manually loaded shotguns, and bows and crossbows) this game is a stress simulator at best. Losing is disheartening, but winning, oh let me tell you, winning is cause for busting open a bottle of Champagne. Robbing lucrative bounty from boss monsters, and then having to safeguard it to an extraction point with a good team of buddies is the stuff idyllic PC gaming is made of. The game is 50% off on the Steam Summer Sale right now. It’s a good time.
Haerts New Compassion on FLAC: Originally a duo comprised of Germans, Nini Fabi (vocals) and Ben Gebert (keyboards, guitars). The two moved to New York and garnered a few more band members and began getting exposure amongst the indie bands circuit. I was first exposed through the Netflix series, Northern Rescue. I find Nini Fabi’s voice to be perfect. She sounds a bit like Stevie Nicks pre smoker’s voice, tinged with a hint of an 11 year old whose voice never matured. I just picked up their sophomore effort, New Compassion and was joyous to find not a single bad track on the album. Dip your toes into the pool with “Sign.” You might find them as appealing as I did.
