Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (4553)

Content

Graham Massey recommended Low by David Bowie in Music (curated)

Low by David Bowie

1977 | Rock

9.3

(4 Ratings)

Album Favorite

"Bowie was so important when we were growing up in terms of the way he chose different directions and that that was an acceptable thing to be doing. You'd just be getting into one thing and then he'd turn into the Thin White Duke or something and he'd invite you to twist your head around that. And when Low came out it was like, ""Whoah!"" because it was a complete head twister in terms of how the record sounded, and how Bowie removed himself from the music because there's hardly any upfront Bowie on it. I've always liked instrumental stuff – things like The Shadows and The Tornados' 'Telstar' and those kinds of things – and it's reflected in the music of 808 State, which draws from that kind of thing where melody is the central thing. But the instrumentals on Low almost sound like backing tracks and that's quite confusing. And it was beatless, and that took you to another place. Plus, it was also the record when I first fell in love. There's that theory of your first love record, where it soundtracks your summer and Low is that record. That kind of music and that hormonal rush creates a kind of nostalgia that's deeper than other records. The fact that Brian Eno is on it, when I first started making music, gave me a bit of elbow-room. With the musicians around now, there's a lot of technique, but technique isn't the key to everything. This idea of being a non-musician and using noise as your instrument defined me quite early on; the School of Eno was in me! Even though it was recorded in 1976 and released in 1977, in some ways this is the first post-punk record. This certainly coalesces with PiL's first album, and it they both gave rise to the notion that not everything proggy should be thrown out with the bathwater."

Source

Kudos

LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated JFK (1991) in Movies

Sep 20, 2020 (Updated Nov 26, 2020)

JFK (1991)

1991 | Drama, History, Thriller

8.0

(22 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

"𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶."

Jesus Christ. Back when conspiracy theories were good, now all it takes is a shitty, debunked, and obviously phony Facebook meme to get people to believe 5G causes coronavirus or whatever stupid shit Trump retweets from hate groups this week. On the other hand you have this seemingly never-ending and soul-stirring barrage of lies, cover-ups, threats, deaths/suicides/murders, extensively planned attacks, and general anguish which still plays more truthful and earnest than most things that come out of the CIA, White House, and/or FBI. Not a single word wasted, crams more exhilaration into a group of people talking at a dinner table than the vast majority of MCU 'action' scenes - and the meticulous, airtight extent of the writing is nothing less than utterly flooring. As a result of the beyond exceptional jam-packed conspiracy narrative I can't say any of these characters are that compelling in their own regard (even though the cast is an unforgettable all-timer of screen legends), but given the end result it's a fair tradeoff for the type of movie that bangs around in your head like a rubber bullet after watching it. Feverish, hot-blooded, commanding provocation - even made *my* ass paranoid. The final thirty minutes of - essentially - one long courtroom speech shouldn't work in theory; but not only is it thrilling as can be (and *that* moment just pierces your mortal soul), but it offers some of Costner's finest work throughout his entire career as an actor. Imagine this coming out and still getting shit like 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘉𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘺, and 𝘒𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥𝘺 - would have loved to have been there for the ensuing shitstorm this caused back in its day, must have been legendary. So great that it *actually* caused a big deal change in government legislation immediately upon release.

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation in Books

Oct 9, 2019

Can Charlie Be as Smart as Einstein?

Meet Charlie Thorne. She is highly intelligent, a great athlete – and twelve-years-old. She is attending college, if you can call only showing up on test days to be attending college, just biding her time until she is legally an adult. Until the day the CIA shows up and strong arms her into helping them on a mission of critical importance. It is believed that Albert Einstein developed an equation in the 1930’s that rivals his theory of relativity in importance, but he hid it to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. While people all over the world have been looking for it for decades, the race to find it has heated up, with the fate of the world potentially in the balance. Because Charlie is so smart, they think she can more easily decode the clues that Einstein left behind. Will Charlie be able to follow the clues to find it?

I was excited to dive into a new series from middle grade author Stuart Gibbs. It takes a little time to set up the characters and the story in the first half, but the second half is packed with action. When I got here, it was nearly impossible to put down. The main characters got some nice character growth over the course of the book. The rest of the characters aren’t quite as sharp, but they are developed enough to keep us engaged in the book. This doesn’t have quite as much humor as some of Stuart Gibbs’s other books, although I did laugh some. The more serious tone is reflected in the more serious nature of the story. There isn’t anything that isn’t appropriate for the intended audience, but there is more violence off the page than in his previous books. Only the most sensitive kids will be bothered by what happens here, however. The ending of this book will leave you ready for Charlie’s next adventure. I know I’m anxious for it.

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Haunted House Murder in Books

Aug 30, 2019

Cozy Halloween Hauntings

This collection of three novellas focuses on Halloween. The book opens with the title story featuring Leslie Meier’s protagonist Lucy Stone. A couple has moved into the old abandoned house in town, but they are rebuffing efforts from Lucy and others to welcome them to town. Then strange things start happening and rumors start flying. What is happening? Up next is “Death by Haunted House” by Lee Hollis which takes up back to 2009 and shows us what life was like for Hayley Powell while she was married. When the house next door, which is rumored to be haunted, gets a new family, Hayley’s husband Danny is certain that they are up to something. The discovery of a dead body in the nearby woods just confirms his theory – at least to himself. Is he right? Finally comes “Hallowed Out” from Barbara Ross. The local Haunted House tour is gearing up for Halloween, trying to bring some more people to town in the fall. However, when a reenactment of a crime leaves an actor dead, Julia Snowden must figure out what happened.

As you might expect in a collection of stories by various authors, some are stronger than others. Personally, I found the opening story to be the weakest – I think it might have worked as a short story, but even as a novella is was too long. The middle story was better, with some fun scenes and a good twist to the mystery. I adore Barbara Ross’s Maine Clambake mysteries, so it was the reason I picked up the book. It also means I found the third story to be the best, with some good twists and a very fun sub-plot. While each story has plenty of fall atmosphere, these stories aren’t that spooky – they are by cozy mystery authors after all. Still, fans of these authors will enjoy picking up the book.