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Joe Elliott recommended Clash by The Clash in Music (curated)

 
Clash by The Clash
Clash by The Clash
1977 | Rock
8.6 (5 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"1977. I'm a sixteen-year-old kid and glam rock has died. Disco has come in but this saved my life. Lennon once said to Bowie that glam rock was just 'rock & roll with lipstck' and if that's the case then punk was glam without the musicianship. It certainly wasn't disco and it sure as fuck wasn't overblown proggy stuff. They blew Yes and Genesis and all that stuff out of the water. They took us back to the three minute pop song. Punk songs were short and sweet. That first Clash record was amazing. There was a huge amount of melody on that record that nobody ever takes any notice of. Mick Jones was a huge Mott the Hoople fan - he was a member of the Sea Divers [the Mott fan club] and used to follow them around the country. 'Janie Jones' is brilliant; their version of 'I Fought The Law' is just outstanding, the best ever recorded. They might have written better songs on London Calling but, as an album, this was a breath of fresh air amongst the 70s stuff. I was still playing Diamond Dogs and Ziggy but this was like a newer version. When punk started kicking off it was brilliant, because they all came to Sheffield - more so than the glam bands. I could actually go and see them. I saw the Clash, the Ramones, Slaughter and the Dogs, Eddie and the Hotrods, Dr Feelgood - that whole intersection with pub rock. It was a lifesaver."

Source
  
Fight Club 2
Fight Club 2
David Mack, Chuck Palahniuk, Cameron Stewart | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I am Jack's emerging sense of Nerd Rage...

Firstly, WHY? Why on earth would you even think about writing a sequel to one of the best books ever written that spawned one of the best cult classic movies ever made?

Secondly, WHAT? I mean, I read it and all, but...

Thirdly, OH WOW.

This book will be polarizing for fans. You will either love it or hate it. Period. I doubt there will be any middle ground here. Some fans will argue that Palahniuk is spent creatively, or that this was a giant FU to the Tyler Durden fan club, or that it was just ill conceived all they way around.

Others will think it's the most beautiful messed up thing they've ever read.

At the moment, I fall very much into the later category, but I just finished this set, and the resonance of the final pages have left me a little shell shocked. I need to discuss this with friends, like NOW.

More to come as it unravels for me...
  
NR
NYPD Red (NYPD Red, #1)
James Patterson | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry
6
8.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Detective Zach Jordan works for NYPD Red. A distinct branch of the NYPD that is in charge of cases involving the rich and famous He's about to het a new partner and a new case all in the same day. The new partner, Detective Kylie MacDonald is an old lover The new case comes at the start of Hollywood on the Hudson, where the L.A. elite come to examine movie making in New York City. So people in the T.V./movie business will be everywhere.
The Good News: NYPD Red will be busy.
The Bad News: They have a serial killer on their hands.

The first murder is at the Regency Hotel. A movie producer takes a nose dive into his breakfast plate. Not long after arriving on the scene, do they get a call for a murder at Silvercup Studios....and the day begins.

Will they find the killer before half of Hollywood is dead in NYC?

I'm a big James Patterson fan, and this book didn't have as much Umph to it that the Cross or Women's Murder Club books do.
  
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JT (287 KP) rated Moneyball (2011) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020  
Moneyball (2011)
Moneyball (2011)
2011 | Drama
If you like your baseball and statistics, if you know your ERA from your RBIs then this is surely going to be a film not to miss. Directed by Bennett Miller the film stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane the general manager of the Oakland Athletics during the 2002 season in which the club went on a 20 game winning streak.

The theory and reason behind this success was using player stats and computer generated analysis to pick a team of relative nobodies, a practice that is now used by almost every baseball club in the National and American leagues today.

During this monumental season the club achieved 103 total wins doing so on a tiny budget, matching the mighty New York Yankees whose budget was well over $100m. To say that Beane’s method was out there was an understatement, and not everyone agreed, and in some cases they still don’t. The film however is living proof that it did work!

Beane’s sidekick in all of this and one of the only other people backing him was Peter Brand (Hill) the brains, whose ability to value and assess players on their potential to get to first plate and thus increase the likehood of runs was almost invaluable.

So how do you make a film about pure stats an exciting one, there is not enough live action to depend on, although the clubs pivotal game to reach twenty straight wins is pretty amazing when you see how they almost let an elven run lead slip through their fingers.

The acting is solid, Pitt and Hill gel extremely well and Philip Seymour Hoffman ads a gruff dimension as the clubs manager, seemingly having to succumb to Beane and Brand’s mathematical insanity.

You don’t need to be a fan of the game to enjoy this one, its an underdog story from the perspective of the back room and at the end when you see just how much Beane turned down to take the same post at the Boston Red Sox you can really get a feel for just how much it all meant to him.
  
Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club by Benjamin Alire Śenz was a recommended to me by a dear friend. It definitely was an experience.

This book is filled with short stories that take place at the Kentucky Club which is located in Júrez. Each story takes you through the life of someone that is experiences a hardship. The hardships are real, and the stories written between these pages can tug on your heart strings.

I will admit, I had a hard time relating to some of these stories. I found that a lot of the stories in this book were of situations that I had no experience with. I have never questioned my sexuality, nor have I had to deal with death or living in a rough part of town so I had a pretty hard time relating to the characters. With that said, it was fascinating to try to relate to the characters. I wanted to know what they were experiencing and I wanted to be able to relate in some way.

I also had a hard time reading this novel because of the writing. I'm not a huge fan of novels that constantly start their sentences with pronouns. When reading a book I tend to like when the author starts sentences with other words and not just "he, she, it, or the person's name." When I see this happen, I tend to become disconnected with the story.


Ultimately, I give this book 3 cups of coffee due to the fact that I wish that I felt more connected with the characters. It was a good book, but I found it hard to relate with the characters.