I love the Misfits. You may or may not love the Misfits. They have some great songs. They have some really great songs beyond the confines of the Misfits. There also exists many terrible terrible things under the Fiend Club umbrella.
We’re going to play a game.
Which is the worst?
Please, spill some fanboy tears and discuss. I’d love you to elaborate on your answers, and maybe even point out something I’ve missed.
What’s the Worst Misfits-Related album?
☠💀☠
Batman - Mic Check
So, soon we’ll be having Batman movie night. Batman has always been my favorite comic book character. He’s smarter, he’s darker, he’s a crazy detective, he’s relentless, he’s not invincible. He’s most likely just as insane as the villains he helps take down. I like that.
I’ve been a comic book & especially Batman fan since I can remember. I’m sure it had to do with the 60’s TV show being rerun in my youth in addition to Super Friends and Batman popping up on Scooby Doo for whatever reason. As a kid, I remember digging the Hulk (even though I ran out of the room during the transformation scenes), Spider-Man, and especially the Greatest American Hero. I want to say I even used to play with my aunts’ Barbie-doll sized Batman & Robin action figures.
The Dark Knight Rises (a.k.a. Magnus Rex) has been filming in Pittsburgh. Anyone with an ounce of geek cred or anyone that lives in or around the ‘Burgh knows this. There are a bunch of photos, videos, & spoilers and crazy stuff all over the place if you do a quick Google search. I won’t bother re-posting/rehashing here. (Here’s a cool article about the day. …And another one here.)
I went to one of the open casting calls but wasn’t called… but it worked out better as the wife & I were both able to do some unpaid extra work thanks to BeInAMovie.com (peep their Facebook page for possible spoiler photos)! It was all in all a really long but incredibly fun day. It was cool to see a bit of the daily grind on a film that’s sure to be a blockbuster. When else will I get to say that I was an extra in a movie… let alone a BATMAN movie? Ha ha. That’s just awesome. Whether we make the cut or not, it’ll be an experience we’ll never forget.
In an email from BeInAMovie.com after the fact…
What gracious and appreciative people are the family that Warner Brothers are.
And they so appreciated each of your participation and how you came dressed for the scenes. And stayed through rain and heat and humidity.
AND Chris Nolan was awed by your acting ability when Bane and Mercenaries blew up the stadium and mayhem was everywhere.
In with all that, I’m just a fanboy at heart… so we arrive (again) at Batman movie night. The wife & I hosted a series of Star Wars movie nights that were a good time, a good excuse to get together, and a good excuse to nerd-out with a group of people… fellow fanboy geeks & newcomers alike. (On a side note… we never did get past the movies proper… we’ll perhaps have to revisit these to delve into the Ewok & Holiday Specials, Fanboys, then the cartoons & parodies.)
How awesome is this painting?
Whereas Star Wars is one man‘s singular vision (with a couple of ridiculous re-writes), Batman is an iconic character open to many valid interpretations. Some of the old Legends of the Dark Knight books would showcase this, as well as the recent Gotham Knight movie.
Batman & Jokers
This brings us to… the movies I’d like to show:
Why not Batman Begins out of the Nolan series? I’d argue it’s all about Batman vs. the Joker here. Sure, some other villains clutter up the ’66 movie, and I ought to include something animated with Mark Hamill & Kevin Conroy… but 3 movies in one night is about all this attention span can handle. The Joker is as mad & random as Batman is cold & calculated. The characters play of off each other so well. In the comics anyway, Batman won’t kill. He won’t cross that one line to become a madman. (And after the early 40’s, he wouldn’t use guns either.)
I love all of these interpretations of both of the characters. The ultra-straight-laced Adam West & zany Cesar Romero are a great pair. They play off of each other well in the campy style of the old show. I remember being old enough to think “Mr. Mom is going to be Batman?” in the late 80’s, but Michael Keaton was a stellar Bruce Wayne/Batman. He played such an odd person, and it worked. I also remember thinking Jack Nicholson was too fat… the Joker in the comics & in novels was very tall & lanky. I was surprised on both counts. Nicholson plays a maniacal psychopath like no other. Christian Bale is gruff and guarded, and Heath Ledger has redefined the Joker for a whole new generation, effectively making Dark Knight a Joker movie, not a Batman one.
If these nights work out, perhaps we can delve into Return to the Batcave, some of the animated films, Batman Begins, & maybe even a Joel Shumacher film.
We’re looking at Sat. Aug. 27th for Batman movie night. Let me know if you’re interested! We even got Batman cookie cutters!
While doing a Google image search for Star Wars Guitar, I came across several photos of this…
Now, that’s a hell of a guitar. It’s made from guitar parts (obviously) and an old toy Millennium Falcon. It’s even got Han & Chewie action figures inside. How insane is that? Despite the plastic-laden sound that it gives off (you can hear it in the video below), I’d love to have something like this, just for the sheer oddity and geekiness. Can you imagine rolling up to a show, and pulling that out of a case on stage? People wouldn’t know what to think. (Unless you were in the Phenomenauts and they’d already seen your van.)
Urlesque has a cool initial interview and a nice follow-up about the guitar and the process that Stevens used to put it all together. Oddity Central has a good article too. I’d love to see how much this goes for when it sells. Sadly, probably more than I can afford to drop on a guitar right now… but maybe I’ll hit up some toy shows & build my own. Ha ha.
Heh. So I tweeted (to? at?) Sebastian Bach about his absence from the Slash album. I had wondered about it in my review because I could swear that I’d read something indicating that Baz was going to have a guest spot.
All I said was this:
@sebastianbach I thought you were going to be on the @Slash album…? What happened?
The reply seemed a little angry:
@AiXeLsyD13 never said that ever
Seeing that my initial question could be read with a snotty inflection, I tried to quickly follow up with this:
@sebastianbach It was implied though, wasn’t it? Ha ha… or is something else in the works?
…and this:
@sebastianbach At any rate, I’d love to see a Slash/Baz effort somewhere someday.
Heh. I didn’t want to come off as insulting, just really wanted to know what happened. It was one of the things going into the album that I had been looking forward to.
I did some Googling, and I found this though…
From NME:
Sebastian Bach has revealed that Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash has contacted him about working on a ‘top secret project’ together.
The ex-Skid Row frontman denied rumours he’ll be taking Scott Weiland‘s place as the singer of Velvet Revolver, saying it would be “awkward” given his friendship with Slash‘s former Guns N’ Roses bandmate Axl Rose, who is no longer on good terms with the guitarist.
Bach told Billboard he’s been sworn to secrecy about the new project, but said it was “mind-blowing”.
From Billboard:
But he did confirm that VR guitarist Slash did contact him “out of the blue … to talk to me about working together, but it was not Velvet Revolver. It was a completely different project, and I can’t tell you what it is ’cause it’s mind-blowing, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy on that. But nothing’s happening right now with me and him.”
From A.V. Club:
In a typically breathless announcement, former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach says guitarist Slash has contacted him “out of the blue” about a “top-secret job”–though despite rumors and all logic to the contrary, it was not to invite him to replace Scott Weiland as the frontman for Velvet Revolver. Such a move would be “awkward,” Bach says, considering his friendship with Slash’s estranged former partner Axl Rose. (Though, uh, apparently there’s a loophole that still allows him to be a part of whatever this mystery project is.) Practically begging you to care, Bach was not particularly forthcoming with details, saying only that he was “sworn to secrecy,” but did insist that, whatever it is, it’s “mind-blowing.”
And, even Slash’s Wikipedia page…
Slash was quoted saying that the work alone in the studio on the solo album was “cathartic”, and that he really enjoyed working alone in the studio. He also said he plans to bring a different singer for each song on the album, and that he has a list of guests to appear on the album, and most of them are already committed, though he refused to tell who are those guests. Rumored singers for the project include Lenny Kravitz, Sebastian Bach, Alice Cooper, Vince Neil, and past Guns N’ Roses bandmates Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan.[22] According to Slash’s wife during an interview with Rockerrazzi.com, both Ozzy Osbourne and Fergie will make appearances on Slash’s upcoming solo album, saying, “It’s going to be Slash and friends, with everyone from Ozzy [Osbourne] to Fergie.”[23] Other musicians set to appear on the release include Josh Freese, Chris Chaney, Travis Barker, M. Shadows and Jason Bonham.[24]
I guess a lot of those names from the “rumored” list didn’t make the cut, or were just that — rumors from the start. At least now I have validation that I didn’t dream the idea. I mean, news came out that they would work together outside of a Velvet Revolver context, and soon after Slash started talking more heavily about his solo album… What other conclusions are we to draw?
There is the possibility that it fell through due to scheduling, not having a great song lined up, or some ominous Axl-related conspiracy.
Maybe he was slated to tour with Slash’s in support of the disc instead of Myles Kennedy?
Or, there is the possibility that the rumored project is much more “mind blowing” than just a solo album and yet to happen. Perhaps it’s a concert? Video? Movie? Super-group? Book? Collaboration? Reality show? Documentary? Bach being instrumental in reuniting Axl, Slash, & the rest of GN’R?
Who knows?
At any rate, I didn’t mean to insult you, Mr. Bach. I just wanted to know what was up. I enjoy following you on Twitter, and I really dug Angel Down. I also think that it’s awesome that you take the time to interact with & reply to fans, obviously being a rock n’ roll fanboy at heart yourself.
World (and Lunar) Domination 