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Next up is "What Is and What Should Never Be," and...all right, I've danced around the issue long enough. Something every Zeppelin fan needs to accept is that Robert Plant is, quite simply, a god-awful lyricist. Not the worst, certainly. He at least has a decent sense of meter - which is to say that he isn't constantly tripping over excessively long, clunky lyrics full of idiosyncratic uses of overly-technical terms that seem to have been written with the intention of showing off how smart the lyricist thinks he is rather than whether or not they can be sung well (Guess which lyricist that barb was directed at. Go on, guess.) But still, they're pretty bad, and nowhere does it show more prominently than songs that are apparently trying to be poetic, mystical, fantasy-influenced, or the like. "What Is and What Should Never Be" is one of those songs. It's meant to be a love song, and it has a nice melody, alternating smoothly between soft verses and a heavy chorus, but man, the lyrics suck, and it's really distracting.
Led Zeppelin IV
Sorry, what?
Technically, this album is untitled.
I just finished Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke about an invasion of sufficiently advanced aliens who use their technology to bring peace, prosperity and wealth to the people of the Earth, whilst maintaining an enigmatic ulterior agenda.
The novel starts well, framing the 'invasion' through the eyes of the leader of the UN who becomes the human face of the 'overlords.' The early chapters involve his efforts to balance the demands of the overlords against the wishes of the human subjects, managing protests and dealing with violent rebel groups. The novel then skips ahead fifty years and it's this part of the book which is the weakest and yet occupies the greatest volume of the book. The overlords have revealed themselves, humanity is settling into a peaceful yet dull golden age and there is no real mystery or challenge to drive the plot forwards until we reach the final fifth of the book.
On one hand, the ending comes too quickly without enough buildup but the last few chapters are what cements this book in the SF canon. The bland utopia novel you thought you were reading suddenly leaves you feeling small, insignificant, and faintly depressed as the real purpose of the overlord's invasion becomes clear and mankind changes beyond all recognition in a swirl of beautiful prose.
In conclusion, I'd give the opening chapters a 4/5, the middle a low 3/5 and a full 5/5 to the final chapters. Overall 4/5 - Definitely worth reading but you'll have to struggle through the bland middle section to get the most out of it.
Harry Potter is really just a cheap carbon copy of DC Comics' Tim Hunter.
No way, it was all stolen from Nancy Stouffer:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/01/style/author_stouffer032801.htm
My favorite part:QuoteFor example "Neville" is another name in the books I have trademarked.
I grinned when Tuco opened the door with the gun. It might get stupid if they try too hard to weave characters from Breaking Bad into the story but I like what they are doing with Tuco. I'm more on the fence about Mike, but it's been amusing and I'm eager to see what it leads to. Bob Odenkirk has been spectacular. I'm loving it so far.
It makes sense for certain characters to make an appearance. Mike is introduced in BB as Saul's private investigator. It would be weird if we didn't see him.
Why the fuck is seattle passing the football on the 1 yard line, with the most powerful running back in the league?
It may go down as the worst call in the history of the Super Bowl.
Somehow this thread feels even less necessary than Parsifal's Zappa threads. I hadn't thought that possible.
Well obviously this isn't necessary. I'm not trying to cater to your tastes, just doing what I like. :]
I'm reading The World of Ice and Fire. It's really good. The artwork is excellent, the lore lore lore is interesting, and the in-universe perspective is immersive. If you're a big fan, you might want to check it out.
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother: This was…interesting, to say the least. In a good way, but not a particularly amazing way in my opinion. “Atom Heart Mother” and “Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast” were interesting to listen to, but aren’t really tracks I feel any desire to listen to again. That’s not to say they were a bad experience—they were quite good—but mostly as a sort of curiosity. “If” was really pleasant and “Summer ‘68” was very nice as well (not as much so lyrically, but who cares), and surprisingly I preferred those two to the two big tracks. I definitely preferred The Piper at the Gates of Dawn to this album, though, and probably A Saucerful of Secrets as well. So yeah.