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1

/dev/random / Re: Whatcha watchin'/streamin'...

« Last post by |iR|Focalor on Today at 12:50:39 AM »

Crossing over from the "whatcha listening to" thread...

Started branching out into jazz late last year.

Chet Baker.

Found this sort of documentary about Chet Baker released a few months after his death in late 1988. Features lots of other musicians, etc.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9B8BeJKwY4

2

art, music, etc. / Re: Live Performances

« Last post by |iR|Focalor on April 03, 2026, 10:34:23 PM »

I'd always heard of this guy but never listened to anything from him. Probably wouldn't have liked it until now anyway. For the past year or so I've been getting into some jazz stuff here and there. This guy is RIDICULOUSLY talented. I don't think he's human, I think he's a biomechanical conduit through which an alien race broadcasts their music to us.

Jazz is "almost" like saying "ALL THE NOTES AT ANY TIME ARE POSSIBLE!" only... thats not entirely true. It's more like ALL the notes, but at DIFFERENT TIMES, and only THESE SELECT NOTES right now, and THOSE SELECT NOTES in the next second. In reality, you have the chords in a progression, and scales based on the notes of those chords,... easy enough... but then again, you can also have blue notes like in blues that aren't part of the scale, but if you play them at the right time, it's okay. And theres the thing about jazz: you have to pick up an instrument first and then MASTER it... and then when you've done that, you can start the journey learning how to play jazz without fucking up and sounding terrible.

I bet none of that makes any sense to anyone. Whatever. Listen to Allan Holdsworth. He's really good. Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai both considered themselves hacks next to his playing. And they might be right.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX46MC8lfjQ

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/dev/random / Re: Whatcha listening to?

« Last post by |iR|Focalor on April 02, 2026, 03:24:03 PM »

(Angine de Poitrine)

I've seen them all over youtube but I don't really pay attention to them.

Their weird style sort of reminds me of this other jazz fusion duo I came across. Domi & JD Beck. In my opinion, EONS more talented than those two, not that they suck by any means, but these two... WOW. Like the classical guitarists I posted above, they were also child prodigies, starting their music journeys as mere toddlers. She's every bit as good as Keith Emerson (of Emerson Lake and Palmer) ever was on keys. And JD Beck is mindblowing on drums. He goes with an old school jazz kit with just a snare, one tom and the kick, but can make it sound like 3 people playing at once, it's INSANE. He sounds like a machine.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4td2EImaG4

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/dev/random / Re: Whatcha listening to?

« Last post by yahoo on April 02, 2026, 02:56:02 PM »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ssi-9wS1so

5

/dev/random / Re: Whatcha listening to?

« Last post by Punk_FAS on April 02, 2026, 07:09:48 AM »

A relative nobody doing covers of rock songs on YT and this one is now #1 on Billboard's Hot Hard Rock tracks:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6L-GUOAhGo

6

/dev/random / Re: The last movie you saw....

« Last post by |iR|Focalor on April 01, 2026, 03:32:57 AM »

I was chatting with Zether and others in the Tastyspleen discord channel about various Coen Brothers movies. There's so many really good ones, and I realized I hadn't seen some of them in a long time, so I went on a Coen Brothers binge - Decided I'd try to watch all of their films, earliest to latest, in order. Some of them I had never seen, or had seen only bits and pieces of them.

Their very first movie, Blood Simple (1984), was one I had never seen before. I figured with it being their very first movie, it wouldn't be very good. Very surprising though, because if you hadn't told me who directed it or that it was their writing and directorial debut, I would've never guessed it. Very well done. A twisted pulpy crime drama. I figured it would kinda suck. NOPE. Does not suck at all. A very underrated and un-talked about Coen Brothers movie.

Raising Arizona (1987), one of my favorites of theirs. A classic. And the scene with John Goodman hollering like a psycho as he's slowly being birthed up from the muddy hole in the rainy prison escape scene is still one of the most comically surreal things ever put to film. On the surface it seems like a silly hicksploitation kind of film, but there's a lot more going on.

Millers Crossing (1990) - a gangster kind of film. I'm not too fond of it.

Barton Fink (1991) and The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) I had never seen before. Probably wont ever watch them again. Didn't really like either one of them, moreso Hudsucker Proxy. Jennifer Jason Leigh with her horrible sounding 1920's accent/voice got on my nerves and ruined the whole movie.

Fargo (1996) - A great story. And while at times it clearly satirizes the whole Minnesotan/Canadian accent, it still strangely doesnt subtract from the real tragedy of the story. It's weird how good the Coen Brothers are at that kind of thing, blending a sort of surrealism and reality seamlessly.

Big Lebowski (1998) - Like I said, blending surrealism and reality. One of my favorite Coen Brothers movies. And again, John Goodman steals the show when he dumps out Donny's ashes from an old Folgers coffee can into the wind and it blows the ashes all over himself and The Dude.

O Brother Where Art Thou (2000) - Didn't really like it. It's supposed to be a version of Homers Odyssey.

The Man who Wasnt There (2001) and Intolerable Cruelty (2003) - Meh. Not terrible. But not very good either. I had never seen them before. Don't think I'll bother watching them again either.

The Ladykillers (2004) - Another one I had never seen before. A strange one. A black comedy. I love the cast. Such a variety of characters. And I really liked the absurdity of the ending (i won't spoil it). Maybe not one the "best" Coen Brother Movies, but definitely a "good" one, at least in my opinion. Worth seeing at least once or twice.

No Country For Old Men (2007) - Their #1 best movie in my opinion. Lots of subtext involving the unpredictability of life and the inevitability of death. And that final scene with Tommy Lee Jones talking about the dream he had about his father... KA-POW. If that ending doesn't hit you in some way, then you aren't human.

(Several movies after that, most of them I didn't like.)

Burn After Reading (2008) and A Serious Man (2009) - Had never seen them before. Didn't like them. Meh.

True Grit (2010) - A great movie, I liked it. I thought Jeff Bridges was maybe one of the only guys who could've played a Rooster Cogburn type of character the way John Wayne did. I'm a big John Wayne fan, I've seen virtually EVERY SINGLE ONE of his movies (and he was in LOTS) and True Grit was maybe my #1 favorite Wayne movie. As good as this remake is, I still prefer the John Wayne original. There's just no contest. There was only one John Wayne.

And after being so bored by Burn After Reading and A Serious Man, I decided to skip Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) and Hail, Caesar! (2016). I watched the first 5 or 10 minutes of Inside Llewyn Davis, but in addition to it just being boring, it was shot with this fuzzy soft focus effect that drove me bananas. So I said fuck it and skipped it. Same for Hail Caesar. I'm not a fan of George Clooney as an actor. Didn't feel like sitting through 2 hours of his crappy acting.

Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) - Eh... interesting, yes. It's just a collection of little various western tales. It's "good", it's worth watching, but not my favorite.

7

/dev/random / Re: Whatcha listening to?

« Last post by |iR|Focalor on March 23, 2026, 01:18:08 PM »

Ana Vidocic, classical guitarist.

Absolutely FLAWLESS technique and she seems to play all of these pieces completely from memory. Just WOW.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e26zZ83Oh6Y&ab_channel=OmniFoundation

Ana Vidovic is immensely good. But I dunno, I think Thu Le might have her beat just slightly. El Choclo is a RIDICULOUSLY hard piece to play, and out of any 10 people who actually CAN play it, maybe only 1 of those 10 will play it flawlessly to where it sounds fluid and natural like Thu Le does.

How is she so good? Like Ana Vidovic, she started learning as a child (4 years old). That'll do it. Start doing anything that young and training hard at it every day of your life and by the time you're 25, you'll be a world-class master at whatever it is.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkdrX2UnzDQ

8

/dev/random / Re: Whatcha listening to?

« Last post by |iR|Focalor on March 22, 2026, 02:13:16 AM »

I was sort of a reluctant fan of country. When I was growing up, I was all about ROCK. "COUNTRY SUCKS!" That was the crap your grandparents listened to. But as I became a teenager, more and more people started listening to country. Then around 12 or 13, I got into playing guitar and it opened my mind to all sorts of different stuff - blues, smooth jazz, etc, and I even started giving country a chance. I started getting into classic country too especially, stuff like Hank Williams, Glen Campbell, Merle Haggard, Johnny Paycheck. I discovered that maybe the music wasn't always the best produced or most technically flawless and talented, but the songwriting was so good. They could employ a masterfully crafted economy of words in a few short verses to paint a vivid picture in the listeners head. Almost magical how they could make you see places you've never been and feel a certain way.

Anyway, Merle Haggard was always one of those guys. He passed away back in 2016. His youngest son, Ben, followed much of the family and got into music. He sounds a lot like his dad, but a lot more agile with his voice, and actually... he sounds better than his old man in my opinion. Maybe not a better guitar player though, I dunno. Merle was as brilliant of a telecaster player as he was a songwriter.

Anyway, came across this watching a musical tribute Merle's family did a few years ago. His son Ben did a fantastic little version of one of my favorite Merle songs, It's All in the Movies.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqjE4Nx4IIQ

Speaking of guitars, Merle had THE NUMBER 1 best looking signature Fender telecaster in my opinion. Velvety looking quilted maple top. I usually don't like the 2-color black to wood stain color sunburst finishes (I prefer the 3 color sunburst that transitions from black to brown with more subtlety), but with that super deep looking quilted figuring to the maple top, it looks perfect. Neck is actually a glued-on set neck whereas other telecasters are almost always bolt on neck. White body binding, nice walnut stained stripe down the center line of the body, gold hardware, pearl button tuners. This guitar is a work of art and looks like a million bucks. And almost costs about that, they go for $10,000 these days.

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/dev/random / Re: The last movie you saw....

« Last post by |iR|Focalor on March 16, 2026, 05:32:27 PM »

Dunno why it took me this long to get around to watching this one. I've seen bits of it before on movie channels, but I've never seen it start to finish.



The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) starring Sam Rockwell, Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel, Bill Nighy, John Malkovich, voice talents of Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Bill Bailey, Thomas Lennon, Helen Mirren. Loads of great people in it.

Comedy Sci-fi kind of thing, absurdism, surrealism, take your pick. Very off the wall in a very good way. Sam Rockwell was a perfect pick for this movie, he plays crazy better than anyone and he's one of my favorite actors. Other great movies he's done that I'd recommend: Green Mile (1999), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), Moon (2009), Seven Psychopaths (2012). I have another one of his movies I've yet to watch called Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2025). Looks like he plays another sort of wacky crazy character in that one too. The few reviews I've read about it have been kinda mixed.

Anyway, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy... kind of silly at times, but very entertaining. To describe it.... it's like if Terry Gilliam from Monty Python made a sci-fi movie. Would definitely recommend. Solid 9/10.

10

/dev/random / Re: The last movie you saw....

« Last post by |iR|Focalor on March 16, 2026, 12:36:23 AM »

I tried watching an old Peter Weller movie. A really strange one.



Naked Lunch (1991) starring Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, Julian Sands, Roy Scheider.

I love the cast. I've always liked Peter Weller as an actor and thought his talents went largely unnoticed and wasted. Ian Holm has had so many fantastic roles. Julian Sands is a cult favorite of mine, especially for his horror/fantasy classic Warlock, a really fun movie to watch at Halloween time. He was an avid hiker and backpacker. Sadly he died of most likely frostbite and exposure, possibly due to being caught in an avalanche in the San Gabriel Mountains of California in January 2023. Roy Scheider, another fantastic actor. He had a great career, but it still could've been better. The Deer Hunter starring Robert DeNiro and Christopher Walken... Roy Scheider was originally supposed to play the lead. If you've ever seen the whole thing, its a movie with an ending that hits you like a truck. And it was a great movie. But in my opinion, it would've been much better with Roy in the lead. DeNiro's done plenty of good movies, but I'm sorry, he just doesn't have the ability to convey emotion the same way Roy Scheider did. When you think about DeNiro, he's done lots of mobster movies, and he's good at that kinda thing. But lets face it, mobsters arent the kind of characters that show sadness and remorse because they're psychopaths, therefore someone like DeNiro (who can't do sadness and remorse worth a shit) flourishes in those roles. He's overrated. Just my opinion.

Anyway, Naked Lunch. This movie is insane. Obviously theres all kinds of subtext going on, but the surreal shit that happens on screen completely distracts you from being able to think any deeper than what is right in front of you. Also... I've had poison ivy recently and I've been on meds for it: antihistamines that make me loopy, prednisone that effects mood, also hydroxyzine which is something I take to alleviate itching at night so I can sleep better, but it's also used as an anti-anxiety kinda thing, I dunno it's weird, but they tell you DO NOT DRIVE WHILE TAKING THIS... so about 30 minutes to the end of it, I start dozing off, but waking back up every few minutes with the tv right in front of me and just absolutely FREAKING THE FUCK OUT, partly because of the weird shit that was on the screen at the time, and partly because of the really fucked up dreams and thoughts I was having before jolting awake again. I dunno, I think this movie has the ability to screw you up though. Probably don't watch it. DEFINITELY don't watch it right before you go to sleep. It makes no sense anyway. You can sit there and really try to make an honest effort to make sense of it... but theres NO WAY you will be able to.

The tagline for the movie is "exterminate all rational thought." That describes the movie pretty well. Things happen, normal sensible behavior... but then big talking bugs or an alien appears and you're like "why?".. the bug expects him to write a report on what has happened... but why?... Someone is an agent, he is an agent... agent of what and why? It's like the movie gets off on not letting you know everything that is happening and why. That's no way to make a movie. So yeah, not a fan of this one. I'm not convinced that the subtext is just too deep for me. It's more like a script based on the drug addled musings of a junkie that people have convinced themselves is a form of high art and I simply disagree. And from what I've seen about this movie, most people who saw it on release tend to agree with me. It did well with the hoity-toity critics, but bombed at the box office.

[sawg]

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