do you know what happens to a toad when it's struck by lightning*

They don’t make ‘em like they used to folks. And that’s a good thing. But also, kinda bad. MCU re-watch with my kiddo has taken us to the brink of the modern MCU so we took a detour to the past last week. We hit X-Men (2000), X2 (2002) and Spider-Man (Raimi, 2003). 

Pros: practical effects and real sets, limited reliance on VFX. Prosthetics and in camera stunts. Slower, more intentional story telling. 

Cons: KINDA boring, costumes suck. Maybe not great, except nostalgia (can be a nasty beast) carries it. 

X-Men and Spider-Man take so long to get going. They’re both so sluggish at the beginning. Henry and I talked about how the modern super hero trend is to mostly yadda yada their origin stories. BUTTTTTTT I did find myself enamored with the practicality of the movies. Compared to the Stranger Things finale that was set in a 2000s Linking Park music video, X-Men feels pretty real. Wolverine’s claws are real. Storm really flies. Sabertooth’s a dude in a suit. Mystique is very nude. 

Made me think about modern tech vs OG methods of creating. Now a days, music can be made on the computer. Bands used to have to go to a studio and rip some demos. Pros/Cons - old xDisciplexAD albums don’t sound great but they feel real. Hot Damn feels real. BUT music, today, is more accessible. A kid with a laptop could crank out 5 songs in a night. It’s pretty rad, tbh. 

I can’t really articulate how I feel. I think I’m grateful that I was young when X-Men came out. I don’t know. Dude… they actually build freakin’ pirate ships for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies! That’s so sick! Today, they just stick Ian McAllen in a green box and have him talk to a shiny little orb that’s supposed to be a Hobbit in post. 

I think this will be a good year. 

1. April 11 is supposed to be an all ages show in Los Angeles. We’re having trouble getting an all ages spot but when we find one, you’ll be the first to know. April 12 is Roadies in Vista. Announcing that any day now. We’re probably sneaking a Costa Mesa show onto the calendar in March. 

2. We get new movies from Spielberg, Nolan, Villanueva. New MCU. New Eggers. Social Network sequel. Inarritu w/ TC. Could be a great movie year. 

3. Oh! I watched F1 this weekend. I am terribly ashamed to have missed that in IMAX. Fingers crossed we get a re-release. My movie buddy and I both missed on F1 - we thought it was gonna bomb but daaaaaang. Brad Pitt rules. Kerry Condon is awesome. Javier is also suave. I’m not familiar with Damson Idris but he ruled! I’m not a racing guy at all, but F1 is a strong recommend from me. 

4. Band updates: see above for shows. We’re in the early stages of LP2. Need to write a gripe of songs. Then re-write. Then record. I’d guess that you’ll start hearing some music from us in 4 months. Like… early demos

*the same thing that happens to everything else

Song of the Week - I need Hans Zimmer at Furnace Fest one year.