The Rest of the Best

[Johnny Unusual]

LoC Rest of the Best Day 4 - Favourite Robots!

I'm picking a classic super-villain, mostly because I always thought he looked cool.  I almost went for Joe Pi from Top Ten, but decided to go less obscure...

Ultron

Ultron is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Avengers #54 (1968), and was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema.

Great villains are often made, not born, and Ultron is a very literal example. He’s one of the worst experiments gone wrong in the Marvel universe, which puts him toward the top of an awfully long list.

He began his mechanical life as the creation of Hank Pym, also known as Ant-Man and Giant-Man of the Avengers. Pym sought to build a self-willed android, using his own mind as a template for its artificial intelligence, but as tends to be the way of such things, Ultron developed a mind of his own. He soon acquired two very dangerous qualities: the ability to upgrade and improve himself, and an intense hatred of his human “father.”

Ultron’s own scientific genius is considerable. He’s even proved able to “reproduce,” after a fashion, building the Vision to help him in his quest to destroy Pym and the Avengers. Ironically, the Vision rebelled against his own creator in turn, joining the good guys and helping the Avengers shut down that particular version of Ultron.

The trouble with Ultron is that he’s more or less impossible to kill. Around 20 different versions have popped up over the course of his long career, and it can be assumed that he has his mind backed up in any number of other hidden replacement bodies. Most recently, he’s been spotted very far from home, venturing into deep space as the leader of the Phalanx. That version, like so many others, met a violent end, but it’s probably not the last we’ll see of him.

Practically speaking, Ultron has any powers he wants to design for himself. As a rule, he takes the form of a human-shaped android, albeit with a clearly artificial (and highly durable) skin made of shining adamantium. However, he can and does take other forms when the situation requires.



Personal Thoughts - Well, first of all, he just looks bad-ass.  I love that hideous perma-sneer that's basically every malicious emotion rolled into one and carved into his face.

Then there's the weird oedipal stuff with his "dad" Hank Pym (AKA, Ant Man, Giant Man, Yellowjacket, ETC) and his wife, the Wasp.  It's like it's less about actually ruling the world (though that is in the cards) and more about showing daddy that he's superior and can and will hurt him (especially since Hank knows every murder is indirectly his fault).  Also, the guy murdered an entire (fictional) country.  That's something most villains ever get to say, even when they can take on the Avengers.

[MontyServo]

LoC Rest of the Best - Day 4 - Top Robots

My newest most favorite robot ever!  Just friggin brilliant!

Geoff Peterson

The Wiki:
Geoff Peterson is the robot skeleton sidekick for The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on CBS. His debut appearance was on Monday, April 5, 2010. Geoff Peterson was designed and built by Grant Imahara of the Discovery Channel show Mythbusters  He has blue eyes, a metal mohawk and wears an over-sized suit with his name scrawled on a contestant's name tag from The Price is Right. New York magazine's Vulture blog described him as "the de facto animatronic 'King of the One-Liners' for this generation".

The robot is voiced by Josh Thompson, either live or as a set of pre-recorded phrases.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/qAHSUTB5BJc?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US&amp;amp;rel=0" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/qAHSUTB5BJc?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US&amp;amp;rel=0</a>

[D.B. Barnes]

Duck Soup
Man, I haven't seen this in ages, and I mean at least a decade. I think it's time to give it another spin and it just so happens it's available on Netflix Instant Watch. How convenient.

The Wrong Guy
Damn. This is a movie that has been wallowing in my Netflix queue for what seems like forever. I think it's time to kick it up to the top and finally watch this sucker. Heh, Enema Bag Jones.

Johnny Dangerously
I remember this showing up on the Guilty Pleasures list. Definitely good for some laughs. Some of Piscopo's better film work, whatever that's worth.

Defending You Life
Great pick, and yes, any one of the other three Brooks movies would've also made fine picks. I'm a Huge Albert Brooks fan and have seen all four of those movies you listed at least five times and in the case of Modern Romance and Real Life, probably closer to ten. And Johnny couldn't be more right. Not only is it extremely funny, but heartfelt and thought provoking.

Real Life is just genius, by the way. I love everything about that movie. So many classic scenes. The testing of the potential families, the first night home pizza dinner, the conference calls with the producer, the horse scene, the Baby Broker, the Ettinauers, it goes on and on. Goddamn that movie makes me laugh.

"We were just supposed to introduce the project. Why were you singing to those people?"

"Well, you know, it's Phoenix."

"We're all gonna be on Jonas Salk's coffee table!!!"

Very quotable movie.


P.S. Geez. This list doesn't waste any time. Already two robots on the board!

[D.B. Barnes]

L.O.C. #4 - Top Robots

GERTY

Thoughts
One of the nicest, most compassionate robots you'll ever meet. Kevin Spacey was programmed by the same people who programmed HAL 9000.

If you haven't seen this movie, you should. It's fantastic.

The Wiki
In director Duncan Jones' plot-twisting sci-fi film Moon (with obvious filmic references to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Silent Running (1972), and others), lone astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) was at the end of a three-year contract on the far side of the Moon at a moon base named 'Sarang.'

Sam was supervising the strip-mining of lunar rock (with gigantic robotic machines) to obtain Helium-3, a major component of fusion technology for green solar fuel energy. His only contact and companion was a semi-mobile, multi-tasking AI robot named GERTY 3000 (voice of Kevin Spacey) with a robotic arm. The questionably-helpful, smooth-voiced, programmed GERTY used yellow smiley face emoticons to communicate emotions and monitored Sam's every move (as well as engaged in a clandestine conversation with HQ).

Director Duncan Jones on comparisons with HAL 9000:
"We could have either completely ignored that or we could have...accepted that people are going to make that connection and then sort of take their expectation and take it in a very different direction."

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/YQnqTjhv1h8?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/YQnqTjhv1h8?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

[Johnny Unusual]

Moon is a great movie.  Duncan Jones may be one of the best sci-fi directors of this generation.

[Johnny Unusual]

LoC Rest of the Best Day 4 - Favourite Rock Bands/Stars!

Here's the original list:

#50: Exodus
#49: Neil Young
#48: "Weird" Al Yankovic
#47: Gatby's American Dream
#46: The Tea Party
#45: Motorhead
#44: The Police
#43: Stabbing Westward
#42: Korn
#41: Foo Fighters
#40: The Doors
#39: R.E.M.
#38: Prince
#37: Lynyrd Skynyrd
#36: Anthrax
#35: Dethklok
#34: Green Day
#33: The Velvet Underground
#32: Jimi Hendrix
#31: Alice in Chains
#30: John Lennon
#29: The Pixies
#28: Pantera
#27: The Jimi Hendrix Experience
#26: Jethro Tull
#25: Ramones
#24: The Smashing Pumpkins
#23: Bob Dylan
#22: They Might Be Giants
#21: Pearl Jam
#20: The Eagles
#19: Radiohead
#18: White Zombie
#17: AC/DC
#16: Spinal Tap
#15: Soundgarden
#14: David Bowie
#13: Oasis
#12: Nirvana
#11: Nine Inch Nails
#10: Iron Maiden
#9: Black Sabbath
#8: The Rolling Stones
#7: The Who
#6: Elvis Presley
#5: Metallica
#4: Led Zeppelin
#3: Queen
#2: Pink Floyd
#1: The Beatles

...and now my pick for a band I think needed to be on the list:


Devo   

Devo is an American rock group formed in Akron, Ohio, United States in 1972. The band split in 1991 and returned in 1996. The band currently consists of Gerald Casale (vocals, bass), Mark Mothersbaugh (vocals, synthesizer), Bob Mothersbaugh (guitar), Bob Casale (guitar, keyboards) and Josh Freese (drums). The band released their first album in 20 years, “Something For Everybody” on June 15, 2010.

Their style has been variously classified as punk, industrial and rock, but are most often considered to be the 70s/early 80s New Wave band that ushered in the synth pop of the 1980s, along with other acts such as Gary Numan and The B-52s.

Devo’s music and stage show mingle kitsch science fiction themes, deadpan surrealist humor, and mordantly satirical social commentary, often dealing with the concept of De-Evolution, in sometimes-discordant pop songs that often feature unusual synthetic instrumentation and time signatures.

Their work has proved hugely influential on subsequent popular music, particularly New Wave, alternative and grunge music, they created some memorable music videos popular in the early days of MTV.

The name “Devo” comes from the concept of Devolution (also referred to by the band as “de-evolution”). This idea was developed as a joke by Kent State University art students Gerald Casale and Bob Lewis as early as the late 1960s. Casale and Lewis created a number of art pieces in the vein of Devolution. At this time, Casale had also performed with the local band 15-60-75. They met Mark Mothersbaugh around 1970, who introduced them to the pamphlet Jocko Homo Heavenbound, which would later inspire the song “Jocko Homo”.

The pivotal moment for the formation of Devo was the Kent State shootings of May 4 1970. Casale knew two of the murdered students, and even saw one student, Allison Krause, with exit wounds from the M1 Garand rifle. At this moment, Casale claims he changed the idea of Devolution into a serious concept.

Personal Thoughts – I got really into Devo a few years ago and last year went nuts with listening to all their music when their latest album came out (first in almost 20 years).  I think they have an interesting (if goofily pessimistic) message and want to say something with their music, but that doesn’t stop them from having cool compositions with neat time signatures and it is fun to sing along with.  In fact, the chant like lyrics of many of their songs fit in perfectly with the message, since it has been proven that when people chant, their higher brain functions are used less.

And now the Devolutionary Oath:
1.   wear gaudy colors or avoid display
2.   lay a million eggs or give birth to one
3.   the fittest shall survive yet the unfit may live
4.   be like your ancestors or be different
5.   we must repeat!
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/cadA5iANN2o" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/cadA5iANN2o</a>

[ColeStratton]

My favorite band...

THE FRAMES



The Wiki:

The Frames are an Irish band based in Dublin. Founded in 1990 by Glen Hansard, the band has been influential in the Dublin rock music scene. The group has released six albums. In addition to Hansard, the band's current lineup includes original member Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Joe Doyle, Rob Bochnik and Graham Hopkins.

The name The Frames arose from Hansard's habit of fixing bicycles of his friends. The large number of bicycle frames lying around his house led neighbours to dub it the "house with the frames". In a 2001 interview, Hansard said, "I worked in a bicycle shop for a little while, but the name came from ... my back garden was so full of frames, my house became known as The Frames house, much to my mother's distaste, she hated it. But my garden was full of frames, old bikes, I would make up bikes for my friends out of all the old bikes. So it sort of became known if anybody found a bike up on the hill on the way home they would throw it into my garden, a graveyard for old bikes."

In 1991, Hansard came to public attention after taking the part of "Outspan" Foster in the film The Commitments. However, Hansard regretted this role as he felt it distracted from his music career. Mac Con Iomaire also had a cameo in the movie as a violinist auditioning for the band. Bronagh Gallagher, one of Hansard's colleagues, can be seen wearing a Frames t-shirt in her appearance in the film Pulp Fiction. Hansard appeared on screen as the principal character parodied by Irish music comedy Web site Eyebrowy.com  and in 2007 as the lead in the movie Once which featured his songs.

Discography:
Another Love Song (1991)
Fitzcarraldo (1995) (as The Frames DC)
Dance the Devil (1999)
For the Birds (2001)
Breadcrumb Trail (2002) (live album)
Set List (2003) (live album)
Burn the Maps (2004)
The Cost (2006)

Thoughts:
I've seen them live around 8 times, and they never disappoint. Glen spends most of his time with Marketa touring as the Swell Season nowadays (and now he's on a ukele tour with Eddie Vedder), but the full band is always my favorite. Their albums are all fantastic (well, save for Another Love Song, which is just all right), and Set List, their live 2003 album, really captures the energy of their shows.

[anais.jude]

Of course this happens while i can't do anything on the Internet because my computer is in a box.

Number 1 of all time: The Beatles. If someone could post Strawberry Fields Forever or Lucy in te Sky that would be great.


Current Faves: Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, Coldplay


Yea, I like coldplay. What of it?

[D.B. Barnes]

L.O.C. #5 - Top Rock Bands

Wow. There a ton of very deserving bands missing from this list. It's a weird list. Pretty goofy list if you ask me. There were obviously some big-time metalheads weighing in (not that there's anything wrong with that; I love metal.) Bob Dylan and Exodus on the same list? What a country! Anyway, it was very difficult to pick just one that didn’t make the list. Wish I could make like five posts today.

TOOL

Thoughts
Given the hard rock/metal slant of this list, I'm at a loss as to why this bad didn't make it. TOOL is such a breath of fresh air in today's mainstream music scene. Not only do they absolutely fucking rock, but a lot of their lyrics are really interesting and thought-provoking. There is such a wide dynamic range to their music, from quiet sadness and vulnerability to blow the doors off rage. They can make a song build like few bands can. They also make some of the most innovative, imaginative videos in recent memory.

The Wiki
Tool is an American progressive metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour. Tool has won three Grammy Awards, performed worldwide tours, and produced albums topping the charts in several countries.

Tool emerged with a heavy metal sound on their first studio album Undertow in 1993, and later became a dominant act in the alternative metal movement with the release of their second effort, Ænima, in 1996. Their efforts to unify musical experimentation, visual arts, and a message of personal evolution continued with Lateralus (2001) and the most recent album 10,000 Days (2006), gaining the band critical acclaim and success around the world. Due to Tool's incorporation of visual arts and relatively long and complex releases, the band is generally described as a style-transcending act and part of progressive rock and art rock. The relationship between the band and today's music industry is ambivalent, at times marked by censorship and the band members' insistence on privacy.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/uCEeAn6_QJo?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/uCEeAn6_QJo?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/hglVqACd1C8?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/hglVqACd1C8?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

[D.B. Barnes]

Of course this happens while i can't do anything on the Internet because my computer is in a box.

Number 1 of all time: The Beatles. If someone could post Strawberry Fields Forever or Lucy in te Sky that would be great.

Current Faves: Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, Coldplay

Yea, I like coldplay. What of it?

This list is for shit that didn't make the original list. So, can we put you down for Coldplay then?

Any particular favorite song?

[anais.jude]

That's not far. I wasn't around when the original was done so I never got to contribute.


Clocks and Speed of Sound

[D.B. Barnes]

That's not far. I wasn't around when the original was done so I never got to contribute.

Clocks and Speed of Sound

Well, aside from getting access to a time machine, we may have to make due with what we've got here.

Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, and The Beatles did made the original list.

One of the big reasons to have this is so people who weren't around for certain lists (like you and me for example) get a chance to participate. C'mon, it's fun!

Tomorrow is Top Horror Movies if you're interested.

And now, a couple of cold cuts goin' out to anais on the Rifftrax forum.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/TahH7B_aUZc?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/TahH7B_aUZc?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN GUIDO ADVERTISEMENT

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/5KkWGy7W3_o?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/5KkWGy7W3_o?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

[MontyServo]

LoC Rest of the Best - Day 5 - Top Rock Bands

My favorite band of all time is actually two bands.  Two sides of the same coin, you might say.

The Housemartins
1983-1988

The Beautiful South
1988-2007

The Wiki:
The Housemartins were an English indie pop band that was active in the 1980s.  

The band was formed in late 1983 by Paul Heaton (vocals) and Stan Cullimore (guitar), and they initially performed as a busking duo. They recorded a demo tape with Ingo Dewsnap of Les Zeiga Fleurs, which brought them to the attention of Go Discs. They then expanded by recruiting Ted Key (bass), former guitarist with The Gargoyles, and Justin Patrick [drummer on loan from Udomsuksa!] who was then replaced by Chris Lang. The band's membership changed considerably over the years. Key left at the end of 1985 and was replaced by Norman Cook (the future Fatboy Slim). Drummer Chris Lang was replaced by Hugh Whitaker, former drummer with The Gargoyles, who in turn was replaced with Dave Hemingway.  

The band split in 1988, but the members have remained friends and have worked on each other's projects. Norman Cook has enjoyed significant success with Beats International and then as Fatboy Slim, while Heaton, Hemingway and roadie Sean Welch formed The Beautiful South.

The Beautiful South were an English alternative rock group formed at the end of the 1980s by two former members of Hull group The Housemartins, Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway. The duo were initially joined by Sean Welch (bass), Dave Stead (drums) and Dave Rotheray (guitar) , all of whom stayed with the group throughout their 19-year career. Later additions included female vocalist Briana Corrigan; she was replaced by Jacqui Abbott, who in turn was replaced by Alison Wheeler.

The group broke up in January 2007, claiming the split was due to "musical similarities", having sold around 6,500,000 records worldwide

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/KLOyF50wlBU?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US&amp;amp;rel=0" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/KLOyF50wlBU?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US&amp;amp;rel=0</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/2sNffR-yTA4?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US&amp;amp;rel=0" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/2sNffR-yTA4?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US&amp;amp;rel=0</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/hR9LYrCR_4I?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US&amp;amp;rel=0" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/hR9LYrCR_4I?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US&amp;amp;rel=0</a>

Personal Thoughts:
I fell in love with the music of the Housemartins when I was in high school.  After they broke up and The Beautiful South was formed, It was pretty soon that they became my favorite band.  To this day, they are probably my two most listened two bands.  Just fantastic stuff.

[Johnny Unusual]

I hope your computer gets fixed soon anais.  I'm just glad to see another person participating.  I'll have to give these other bands a listen.  Tool is the only one I'm mildly familiar with (I know that the lead was a big Mr. Show fan and showed up briefly on an episode, if I'm thinking of the same guy.

[D.B. Barnes]

Tool is the only one I'm mildly familiar with (I know that the lead was a big Mr. Show fan and showed up briefly on an episode, if I'm thinking of the same guy.

That would be him.

Devo
Devo is great and absolutely deserves to be on this list. They were quirky, offbeat, and really good songwriters. They also made some classic videos.

Awesome cover of Freedom of Choice:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/wQWCZxi1ff8?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/wQWCZxi1ff8?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>


The Frames
Never heard of 'em so I checked out a few tunes on the YouTube. I like what they're doing melodically, but what I heard was a bit on the soft and mellow side for my tastes. Although I was impressed by these solo acoustic performances:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/hZdx9e3YdVY?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/hZdx9e3YdVY?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

This one would be right at home in an indie film soundtrack.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/-ckMuoi48z4?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/-ckMuoi48z4?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

The Housemartins/The Beautiful South
I've heard the name but I don't think I've ever really listened to them. I'm getting a real Smiths/Morrissey vibe here, but obviously much more upbeat. I liked the second tune the best. The "musical similarities" quote is hilarious.