#also that came from the pinball hall of fame

[daily-table21]

Video: How States Act: Fidget Toys

Status: Public

Link: How States Act: Fidget Toys - YouTube

Date Posted: April 4th 2022

[sixthoctavarium]

It's Been A Good Run

This is a decision I've mulled for a long time, and after some thought, I've made a final decision.

As of this moment, I consider myself retired from fic writing. Unless something drastically changes, I am through writing fanfiction. This was something I was hesitant to post, particularly because I knew it would disappoint people, but I figure it's better than never saying anything and leaving everyone hanging.

Unfortunately, this means that the Sword Saint Chronicles is now dead. I did not intend for this, particularly because I'm always one who believes in finishing what I started, but at this point, barring any drastic change, the series will not be completed.

To explain my decision, let me give a little background on my adventures in fic writing and about me.

You see, prior to writing fanfiction, I had a lot of things going on in my life. I spent time with friends, I played the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game, I played a lot of video games and pinball, and I attended a lot of conventions. I had plenty going on. In early 2020, I discovered Hamefura by chance while browsing TVTropes, and seeing that, the premise interested me. I then read some manga scanlations and was even more hooked. Then I found out an anime was coming and got excited. Now when this originally happened, I didn't think I'd get too much into the fandom. But then COVID happened, and suddenly I was working from home, and most of my pastimes were now a no-go due to things being on lockdown. Because of that, and because of the stress of this sudden change, as well as (unfounded) concerns about my job, I began to immerse myself into Hamefura. It was a major reason I got through the pandemic sane, and seeing new episodes on Saturdays was a highlight of the week for me.

Then one day, I began thinking of potential fanfics to write. Now that I suddenly had time, I decided to jump in and write. I started off with That Night In A Safe Haven, which turned out well. Afterwards I then did Six Interesting But Ordinary Weeks, which people seemed to like but now I can't stand. I read that and cringe. But I kept it up because it's a reminder of how much I improved.

Then I came up with the idea for Fight Like A Lady, which I consider to be my first true "hit" fic. And then things went from there and I kept writing. I had the time, and I had ideas, and also a sounding board in the r/otomegame Discord, so I kept writing.

I've gone places I never imagined with my writing. I saw fics which got their own entry on TVTropes, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think something I wrote would make it. Then I wrote Catarina Claes MUST DIE, and at the conclusion, someone found it worthy enough of warranting a TVTropes page. I was honored. And moved. I actually got emotional from it. I told my best friend that I think I now know what it feels like when a baseball player gets the call that they've been elected to the Hall of Fame.

And so I continued to write, and things went on. But then the pandemic lockdown began to let up, and I slowly began to do more of what I'd used to do. In July of last year, I went back into the office and began working from there instead of my home. And then this past winter and spring, I worked a ton of overtime. Suddenly, the time I had to write was shrinking, and unlike when I first began, I started to be somewhat annoyed at writing because it was taking time away from my preferred pastimes. But I still had ideas and wanted to write them.

Eventually, I began my most recent (and as of now my last) fic, My Next Life As A Planeswalker: All Routes Lead To The Multiverse. And I found while writing it that my interest in the Hamefura fandom was not what it once was. I went through and finished the story, but at the end of it, I knew I needed a break. Unfortunately, that break will be permanent now. Simply put, I've got a lot of other things I want to do, and with work, my interests, and the like, I just don't have the time to really dedicate myself to fic writing.

If you're disappointed, I understand. I totally get it. But I wanted to be upfront and let everyone know what I've decided. If things change, or I get the itch to write again, I might jump back into it. But as of now, I don't think I'll ever get back into it.

I want to thank everyone that's read my stories, left kudos on AO3, and commented on them. Your comments, praise, and criticism were what fueled me, and I can't thank you enough for them. Its your noticing my stories that made this such a rewarding experience.

Thanks for taking the time to read this as well. I'm glad to have gone through this and learned things about myself, but I feel it's time to move on, and again, I'd rather let you all know what's happening.

Until next time.

[mainsportable]

Roger daltrey imdb

Roger daltrey imdb free#

In 1964, the band discovered another band performing as the Detours and discussed changing their name. Daltrey would explain, later in life, that his harsh approach came from the tough neighbourhood he grew up in, where most arguments and debates were resolved with a fight. If you argued with him, you usually got a bunch of fives ". According to Townshend, Daltrey "ran things the way he wanted. Townshend wrote in his autobiography, "until he was expelled Roger had been a good pupil." Įarly on, Daltrey was the band's leader, earning a reputation for using his fists to exercise discipline, when needed. When his father bought him an Epiphone guitar in 1959, he became the lead guitarist for the band and was soon expelled from school for smoking tobacco. They told him that he had to bring a guitar, and within a few weeks he showed up with it. ĭaltrey made his first guitar, from a block of wood, in 1957, a cherry red Stratocaster replica, and joined a skiffle band called the Detours, who were in need of a lead singer. He showed academic promise in the English state school system, placed at the top of his class on the eleven-plus examination that led to his enrolment at Acton County Grammar School. ĭaltrey attended Victoria Primary School and then Acton County Grammar School along with Pete Townshend and John Entwistle. Harry Daltrey was an insurance clerk who was called up to fight in the Second World War, leaving three-month-old Roger and his mother to be evacuated to a farm in Scotland. JSTOR ( May 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)ĭaltrey was born on 1 March 1944, in Hammersmith Hospital, East Acton, London, the eldest of three children of Harry and Irene Daltrey.Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This section needs additional citations for verification. Planet Rock listeners voted him rock's fifth-greatest voice in 2009, and he was ranked number 61 on Rolling Stone 's list of the 100 greatest singers of all time in 2010. Daltrey has also been an actor and film producer, with roles in films, theatre, and television. He and Pete Townshend received Kennedy Center Honors in 2008 and The George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement at UCLA on. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. As a member of the band, Daltrey received a Lifetime achievement award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1988, and from the Grammy Foundation in 2001. The Who are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century and have sold over 100 million records worldwide.

Roger daltrey imdb free#

His solo hits include " Giving It All Away", " Walking the Dog", " Written on the Wind", " Free Me", " Without Your Love" and " Under a Raging Moon". Since then he has released ten solo studio albums, five compilation albums, and one live album. He began his solo career in 1973, while still a member of The Who. ĭaltrey's hit songs with The Who include " My Generation", " Pinball Wizard", " Won't Get Fooled Again", " Baba O'Riley" and " You Better You Bet". He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the rock band The Who. Roger Harry Daltrey CBE (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor.

[bolintheturtleduck]

Song Ranking

So I did that song ranking thing and it took HOURS. literal HOURS. Don’t ever do it, I won’t even link it. I hated doing it. But here is my list. And dare I say my Top 130 is immaculate hjgkhg

Some of this is not really accurate though. Could be me or the generator. Like ‘Cold Hearted’ being 500 something???? Not in my house. 

Also don’t go looking for christmas songs. They are all somewhere down there lmao

Anyways! Let’s go!

1 Nasty / Rhythm Nation

1 Rumour Has It / Someone Like You

3 Be Okay

4 Love You Like A Love Song

4 Seasons Of Love

6 Mustang Sally

7 So Emotional

8 Tightrope

9 Barely Breathing

10 Cough Syrup

11 Shake It Out

11 The Boy Is Mine

13 Back To Black

14 Valerie

15 Paradise By The Dashboard Light

16 River Deep, Mountain High

17 Problem

18 Faithfully

19 Gloria

20 I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You

21 How Will I Know

22 We Are Young

23 How To Be A Heartbreaker

24 Hand In My Pocket / I Feel The Earth Move

25 If I Die Young

26 I Feel Pretty / Unpretty

27 Bust Your Windows

28 Candyman

29 American Boy

30 I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) / You Make My Dreams

31 If I Can't Have You

32 It's All Coming Back To Me Now

33 Crazy / U Drive Me Crazy

34 ABC

35 Bad Romance

36 It's Too Late

37 Hungry Like The Wolf / Rio

38 I Wish

39 Need You Now

40 Landslide

41 Start Me Up / Livin' On A Prayer

42 Thriller / Heads Will Roll

43 What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)

44 There Are Worse Things I Could Do

45 Losing My Religion

46 The Edge Of Glory

47 Teenage Dream (Acoustic Version)

48 Make You Feel My Love

49 My Prerogative

50 Singing In The Rain / Umbrella

51 Songbird

52 Spotlight

53 Mine

54 Take Me Or Leave Me

55 Take Me To Church

56 No Surrender

57 Never Say Never

58 Constant Craving

59 Brave

60 Born This Way

61 Pumpin' Blood

62 Blame It (On The Alcohol)

63 Glad You Came

64 Give Your Heart A Break

65 It's All Over

66 It's Not Right, But It's Okay

67 Everybody Talks

68 Here Comes The Sun

69 Into The Groove

70 In Your Eyes

71 I Don't Want To Know

72 I Lived

73 I Kissed A Girl

74 Halo / Walking On Sunshine

75 You Can't Stop The Beat

76 She's Not There

77 Nutbush City Limits

78 True Colors

79 Can't Fight This Feeling

80 Breakaway

81 Dancing Queen

82 Don't Stop Me Now

83 And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going

84 Empire State Of Mind

85 Doo Wop (That Thing)

86 Arthur's Theme

87 Happy Days Are Here Again / Get Happy

88 Toxic

89 This Is The New Year

90 Last Name

91 3

92 A Change Would Do You Good

93 Got To Get You Into My Life

94 Tongue Tied

95 Smooth Criminal

96 Papa Don't Preach

97 Animal

97 Another One Bites The Dust

99 Don't Speak

100 Don't You Want Me

101 A Hard Day's Night

102 Some Nights

103 Somebody That I Used To Know

104 Superstition

105 Survivor / I Will Survive

106 My Life Would Suck Without You

107 The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

108 Misery

109 My Love Is Your Love

110 Somewhere Only We Know

111 Blow Me (One Last Kiss)

112 Me Against The Music

113 I Follow Rivers

114 Mean

115 Here's To Us

116 Stronger

117 Summer Nights

118 Make No Mistake, She's Mine

119 Love Song

120 Waiting For A Girl Like You

121 We Got The Beat

122 We Found Love

123 We've Got Tonite

124 Love Shack

125 The Scientist

126 Love Is A Battlefield

127 Run Joey Run

128 Wings

129 When I Get You Alone

130 Uptown Girl

131 Roots Before Branches

132 I'm The Only One

132 I've Gotta Be Me

134 Hopelessly Devoted To You

135 Hit Me With Your Best Shot / One Way Or Another

136 Dinosaur

137 Dog Days Are Over

138 Hung Up

139 Everytime

140 Go Your Own Way

141 Every Breath You Take

142 Fire And Rain

143 Fighter

144 Not While I'm Around

145 Not The Boy Next Door

146 Fly / I Believe I Can Fly

147 Girl On Fire

148 Oops!... I Did It Again

149 Stop! In The Name Of Love / Free Your Mind

150 Stereo Hearts

151 Bills, Bills, Bills

152 Somebody Loves You

153 Hold It Against Me

154 Turning Tables

155 Wide Awake

156 You May Be Right

157 Cell Block Tango

158 A Boy Like That

159 All Out Of Love

160 Alfie

161 Jessie's Girl

162 I'm A Slave 4 U

163 I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

164 I'll Stand By You (Amber)

165 I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

166 Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself)

167 Lovefool

168 Just Can't Get Enough

169 Just Give Me A Reason

170 Keep Holding On

171 Like A Virgin

172 New York State Of Mind

173 My Dark Side

174 More Than A Feeling

174 My Cup

176 I Want To Hold Your Hand

177 I Want To Break Free

178 I Want To Know What Love Is

179 I Want You Back

180 Teenage Dream

181 Take My Breath Away

182 America

183 Glory Days

184 I Say A Little Prayer

184 I Wanna Sex You Up

186 I Will Always Love You

187 A Thousand Years

188 Like A Prayer

189 Don't Rain On My Parade

190 Disco Inferno

191 Don't Stop Believin' (Regionals)

192 Dream On

193 Get It Right

194 Gold Digger

195 Telephone

196 Without You

197 You're The One That I Want

198 Tell Him

199 Let Me Love You

200 Good Vibrations

200 Raise Your Glass

202 Run The World (Girls)

203 Gimme More

204 Hey Jude

204 How Deep Is Your Love

206 Higher Ground

207 Vogue

208 Something's Coming

209 Footloose

210 Forget You

211 Gives You Hell

212 Everybody Wants To Rule The World

213 Far From Over

214 Fat Bottomed Girls

215 Hair / Crazy In Love

216 Hall Of Fame

216 Hello

216 Hello, I Love You

216 Somebody To Love

216 Time Warp

216 To Love You More

222 Last Friday Night

223 Hate On Me

224 Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

225 Locked Out Of Heaven

226 Rose's Turn

227 Everybody Hurts

227 Express Yourself

227 Loser

227 Shout It Out Loud

231 Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours

232 Pompeii

233 Party All The Time

234 Our Day Will Come

235 Perfect

236 Old Time Rock & Roll / Danger Zone

237 Greased Lightning

237 Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

237 Live While We're Young

240 Firework

240 Love Child

242 Fire

243 You're All I Need To Get By

244 The Scientist (Acapella)

245 Afternoon Delight

246 Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)

247 Listen To Your Heart

248 Tik Tok

249 You Keep Me Hangin' On

250 The Rose

251 You Can't Always Get What You

Want

252 Let's Have A Kiki

252 Listen

254 Pretending

255 More Than A Woman

256 More Than Words

257 Hot For Teacher

257 No One Is Alone

257 Not The End

257 Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag 257 O Christmas Tree

257 One Hand, One Heart

257 One

257 Only Child

257 Proud Mary

266 Heroes

267 Hey Ya!

268 Getting Married Today

268 Happy

270 Hell To The No

271 Night Fever

271 Sgt. Pepper's Lonley Hearts Club

Band

273 The Music Of The Night

273 The Only Exception 273 The Rain In Spain 273 The Safety Dance 273 Thousand Miles 278 Billionaire

278 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 278 The Happening

278 The Lady Is A Tramp

282 Borderline / Open Your Heart 282 Born To Hand Jive

284 Control

284 The Longest Time

286 Give Up The Funk

287 Chasing Pavements

288 Man In The Mirror

288 Say

288 Sexy And I Know It 288 Shout

292 Marry The Night

293 Mamma Mia

294 Loser Like Me

295 Don't Stop Believin' (Season 1)

296 Colorblind

297 Diva

297 Don't Cry For Me Argentina

299 Don't Dream It's Over

300 Let It Be

301 Don't Stop

302 Highway To Hell

302 Hold On

302 Holding Out For A Hero 302 We Will Rock You

302 What I Did For Love

302 What It Feels Like For A Girl

308 Take On Me

309 For Once In My Life

309 Good Riddance (Time Of Your

Life)

309 Hello Goodbye

309 Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love

309 Home

309 Homeward Bound / Home 309 Honesty

309 Human Nature

317 Drive My Car

317 For Good

317 I'll Remember

320 I'll Stand By You (Cory)

321 On My Own

321 Taking Chances

321 The Bitch Is Back / Dress You Up 321 Werewolves Of London

325 My Man

326 My Life

327 My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)

327 Never Going Back Again 327 No Scrubs

330 Creep

331 Come What May

332 Never Can Say Goodbye

333 Who Are You Now?

334 You Give Love A Bad Name

335 Womanizer

336 Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

337 Come See About Me

337 P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 337 People

337 Popular

337 River

337 Roar

337 Rolling In The Deep 337 Santa Baby

345 Boogie Shoes

346 At Last

347 I'm The Greatest Star

348 Jar Of Hearts

349 It's Time

350 It's My Life / Confessions Part II

351 It's Not Unusual

352 I'm So Excited

352 I'm Still Here

354 Don't Stop Believin' (Season 5) 354 Don't You (Forget About Me) 354 Dreams

354 Unchained Melody

354 Uptown Funk

359 Bohemian Rhapsody

359 Don't Stop Believin' (Rachel) 359 Lucky

362 Don't Stand So Close To Me /

Young Girl

363 Bridge Over Troubled Water

363 Bust A Move

365 Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee

366 Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee

(Reprise)

367 Longest Time

368 Applause

369 All Of Me

370 Any Way You Want It

370 Anything Could Happen

372 Red Solo Cup

372 Rock Lobster

372 Rockin' Around The Christmas

Tree 372 Rockstar

376 Saving All My Love For You

377 (I've Had) The Time Of My Life

377 Piano Man 377 Poison 377 Poker Face

381 A House Is Not A Home

382 4 Minutes

383 Black Or White

384 Blackbird

385 All By Myself

385 Smile

385 You Make Me Feel So Young

388 Wrecking Ball

389 (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural

Woman

389 (You're) Having My Baby

391 Superman

392 Ain't No Way

392 Stayin' Alive

394 Still Got Tonight

394 The Most Wonderful Day Of The

Year

394 The Way You Look Tonight / You're Never Fully Dressed Without A

Smile 394 This Time

394 Whatever Happened To Saturday Night?

399 They Long To Be Close To You

400 All About That Bass 400 Sing!

400 So Far Away

400 Some People

404 Addicted To Love

404 Moves Like Jagger / Jumpin' Jack Flash

404 Sing

404 Someday We'll Be Together 404 Somethin' Stupid

404 Something

404 Somewhere

404 Stand

412 Scream

413 Rather Be

414 Next To Me

414 No Air

414 Papa Can You Hear Me? 414 Physical

414 Piece Of My Heart

414 Pinball Wizard

414 Pony

414 Rehab

422 La Isla Bonita

422 Lean On Me

422 Let's Wait Awhile

422 Little Drummer Boy

422 Little Girls

427 Light Up The World

428 Science Fiction Double Feature

428 Silent Night 428 Silly Love Songs

431 Le Jazz Hot

432 Out Here On My Own

432 Pure Imagination

434 School's Out

435 Hey, Soul Sister

435 I Kissed A Girl (Season Six) 435 Sway

438 I Believe In A Thing Called Love

439 I Have Nothing

440 I Am Changing

441 I Saw Her Standing There

441 I Was Here

441 I Won't Give Up

441 I'll Be Home For Christmas 441 I'll Never Fall In Love Again 446 Funny Girl

446 I Look To You

446 I Only Have Eyes For You 446 I Still Believe / Super Bass 446 Story Of My Life

451 I Love New York / New York, New

York

452 What Makes You Beautiful

453 What The World Needs Now

454 An Innocent Man

454 Bad

454 Because You Loved Me

454 Bein' Green

454 ByeByeBye/IWantItThatWay 454 IfIWereABoy

454 Take A Bow

454 Take Me Home Tonight

462 Barracuda

463 Beauty School Drop Out

464 Chandelier

465 Baby It's You

466 It Must Have Been Love

467 At The Ballet

468 Baby One More Time

469 Beautiful

469 Being Alive

469 We Built This City

472 Being Good Isn't Good Enough 472 I Just Can't Stop Loving You 472 I Love It

472 Isn't She Lovely

476 All That Jazz

476 Blurred Lines

476 Bootylicious

476 Extraordinary Merry Christmas 476 Father Figure

476 Fight For Your Right (To Party)

476 Flashdance... What A Feeling

483 I Don't Know How To Love Him

484 Fix You

484 I Could Have Danced All Night 486 Push It

486 Rainbow Connection 486 Rise

489 Promises, Promises

490 Oh Chanukah

490 Ohio

490 One Love (People Get Ready) 490 Only The Good Die Young 494 Baby

494 Dancing With Myself

494 Defying Gravity

497 Baby, It's Cold Outside

498 Cherish / Cherish

498 Christmas Wrapping 498 Closer

498 Downtown

498 Endless Love

498 Forever Young

498 Friday I'm In Love 498 Friday

498 Gangnam Style

498 Get Back

498 Safety Dance

509 Cold Hearted

510 Clarity

511 Centerfold / Hot In Herre

511 Just The Way You Are 513 Jumpin', Jumpin'

513 Kiss

515 Juke Box Hero

515 L-O-V-E

517 Jolene

518 Jump

518 La Cucaracha

520 Dream A Little Dream

521 A Little Less Conversation

521 Beth

521 Bitch

521 Don't Sleep In The Subway 521 Girls Just Want To Have Fun 521 Have Yourself A Merry Little

Christmas 521 Help!

521 I Dreamed A Dream 521 I'm His Child

521 I'm Still Standing 521 Ice Ice Baby

521 Imagine

521 In My Life

521 It's A Man's Man's Man's World 521 Lose My Breath

521 Memory

521 Outcast

521 Over The Rainbow

521 Same Love

521 Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 521 Teach Your Children

521 Tell Me Something Good

521 The Final Countdown

521 Uptight (Everything's Alright) 545 Big Ass Heart

545 I Love L.A.

545 I Melt With You

548 Big Girls Don't Cry

548 Mary's Boy Child

548 O Holy Night

548 On Our Way

548 One Bourbon, One Scotch, One

Beer

548 One Less Bell To Answer

554 Maybe This Time 554 My Favourite Things 554 My Sharona

557 Marry You

558 Cool

559 Cool Kids

560 Celebrity Skin

560 Cheek To Cheek

560 Dance The Night Away

560 Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend / Material Girl

560 Don't Go Breaking My Heart 560 Don't Wanna Lose You

560 Feliz Navidad

560 Here Comes Santa Claus 560 I Know What Boys Like

560 I Know Where I've Been 560 Trouty Mouth

571 Total Eclipse Of The Heart

572 Don't Make Me Over

573 Call Me Maybe

574 We Are The Champions

575 Time After Time

576 Bring Him Home

576 Broadway Baby 576 Buenos Aires 576 Burning Up 576 Yesterday

581 Boys / Boyfriend

582 Mercy

582 You Get What You Give

582 You Have More Friends Than You

Know

582 You Learn / You've Got A Friend

582 You Should Be Dancing

582 You're All The World To Me 582 You're My Best Friend

582 You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 590 Break Free

590 Jingle Bell Rock 590 Jingle Bells

590 Joy To The World 590 One Of Us

590 Tonight

590 You're The Top

590 You've Got To Hide Your Love

Away

590 Your Song

599 To Sir, With Love

600 Torn

601 Wake Me Up

601 Wannabe

601 Wedding Bell Blues

604 Touch A Touch A Touch A Touch Me

604 UpUpUp

606 All Or Nothing

606 Alone

606 Cry

606 Leaving On A Jet Plane

606 Let It Go

606 Mickey

606 Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) 606 Mr. Roboto / Counting Stars 606 Try A Little Tenderness

606 U Can't Touch This

606 Uninvited

606 Vacation

606 Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 606 What Kind Of Fool

606 Whistle

606 Will You Love Me Tomorrow /

Head Over Feet 606 Wishin' And Hoping

606 YouAndI/YouAndI

624 Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?

624 Do You Hear What I Hear? 624 Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh

Yeah)

624 Lucky Star

624 Merry Christmas Darling 629 Damn It, Janet

629 Danny's Song

629 Daydream Believer

629 Deck The Rooftop

629 Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead 634 All I Want For Christmas Is You 634 Angels We Have Heard On High 634 Anything Goes / Anything You Can

Do

634 As If We Never Said Goodbye

634 As Long As You're There 634 Bamboleo / Hero

634 Bella Notte

634 Copacabana

634 Do They Know It's Christmas? 634 Last Christmas

634 Let It Snow

634 We Need A Little Christmas

634 Welcome Christmas

634 Whenever I Call You Friend

634 Whip It

634 You Are The Sunshine Of My Life

650 All You Need Is Love

651 Americano / Dance Again

652 Crush

653 Big Spender

653 Make 'Em Laugh

653 White Christmas

653 Yeah!

657 (Charlie Chaplin song)

657 (originally by Michael Bublé) 657 Away In A Manger

657 Baby Got Back

657 Christmas Eve With You 657 Come Sail Away

657 You Are Woman, I Am Man 657 You Spin Me Round (Like A

Record)

665 You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch

666 Starlight Express

666 The Trolley Song

666 The Winner Takes It All

666 There's A Light (Over At The

Frankenstein Place) 670 Take Care Of Yourself

671 Sweet Caroline

672 Ben

672 Best Day Of My Life 672 Blue Christmas

672 Candles

676 Starships

676 Suddenly Seymour 676 Sweet Transvestite

679 Thong Song

680 The Fox (What Does The Fox

Say?)

680 The Living Years

682 The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)

682 The First Noël

[2bstudioblog]

Konami’s wheels are turning... slowly

Lot’s of interesting news heading to our heads this Monday from what I heard from Yong Yea’s video about Konami wanting to outsource their IP’s to 3rd parties.

Obviously, Akira Yamaoka has kinda given away a strong hint that he’s working on a project with Bloober which in this case would be the long awaited SH remake or the direction they had with PT before it got cancelled. Akira Yamaoka also decided that (too late) he wanted to amend the article from his interview and release it later down the line. It’s very unusual that these news happen, but we all know Yamaoka is most famous for his music in Silent Hill.

Which brings me to a funny story about my own involvement of a Silent Hill game. I mentioned this on a podcast that I was part of 2 Konami-owned IP’s that went into another direction and killing off their franchises which have been like dead bodies in a morgue for the last 7 years.

I got the request to write industrial-metal music for a Silent Hill (of course at this time I only knew the IP and their most famous version of the game has been Silent Hill 2.) game. First I was of course very excited to be part of the series, but I jumped to early until I found out it was a Pachinko-machine (A japanese style pinball-game mixed with a touch-screen and a one-armed bandit and a slot-machine in one.), and my heart sank a little. I think I produced 4-5 cues for the machine, but I’m glad that nobody will be able to hear my “mediocre” masterpieces because all you would hear are metal-balls falling into a tray. But the thing about this machine, it had taken cut-scenes from Silent Hill 2, upscaled or even re-mastered/remade the graphics which would have looked great if it was its own game. But it was the same thing they’ve done with all their other IPs when those transfer over to this kind of entertainment. All what was left of it, Jim Sterling turned the game into a Meme and all I can hear is the -”HIT THE LEVER!” and the effects overpowering the music behind it. But I’m glad it didn’t go further then that. Technically here, Silent Hill(s) died with the arrival of the pachinko-slot machine and the series have tried to re-establish itself ever since.

Another game I was a part of was a Castlevania (Dracula in Japan) themed Pachinko-slot machine, with the revolutionary phrase “Erotic Violence” in it’s PR material and video-commercial. I mean, they took the music production part of this machine very seriously because I wasn’t aware of the “EV” part. I just thought it would be a machine praising the history of Castlevania. I was assigned to re-write and re-orchestrate a few songs from Neo-classical Metal music into more Progressive Metal style, and I was super-proud of this one because they had the sheet-music already available for me. All I had to do was re-arrange some parts for a string-quartet (1 cello, 2 violins and 1 viola) and I believe it was engineered and recorded by famed engineer Kenji Nakai who was under and working with famed engineer Mr Bruce Swedien (Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones).

From that moment me and Mr. Nakai stroke a friendship because he has a passion for Progressive Metal and he asked me if I could send more songs his way. From this we both have been incredibly busy on both of our ends, but I hope we can be able to work on something in the future. I have a feeling that might be soon.

So a long story short, Konami spent a lot of money for recording, they approved everything and we were done. But when it turned out to be a pachinko-machine and not a world-wide videogame release, I just had to facepalm myself, asking the question why they keep doing so many poor decisions. Why leaving all those fans out in the cold and really start making Castlevania mean something. This void of “lots of fancy things, but no substance” started right here...

Konami are turning their wheels a little bit too late and too slow until now. After they got rid of Hideo Kojima (Who I believe was thinking of the international-market rather than the domestic one), Konami had only one thing on their minds: Making money quick and domestically. No more wasted time on translations, straight for the gambling crowd. No need to write interesting stories. No need to introduce kids to this adult material. They wanted to earn it back as fast as possible. But we all see their decisions put them on the map as a “black-company”, who mistreat their staff, shaming them out in the office for overstaying their lunch-breaks. Moving staff from one business to another, from a programmer to a Konami-fitness Center-staff, or as a toilet-cleaner at a Konami-owned pachinko-slot gambling hall. The management of the company has been horrendous for the full-time employee. I’m glad I was not part of these later projects and only wrote stuff for them for Pro Evolution Soccer series from 2009-2012. (My work on 2010-2012 was unfortunately un-credited work. :(

Metal Gear Solid V - The Phantom Pain In My Ass

When the playable teaser called Metal Gear Solid - Ground Zeroes, came out on the PS3 and later on the PS4, it was an introduction for the new graphics engine designed by Hideo Kojima’s team, simply called The FOX-Engine. Basically this “game” was more of a demo rather than a full-product. But it looked great and with a fantastic score by Akihiro Honda, Ludvig Forssell and Harry Gregson-Williams, it had everything going for it to become something really awesome. It became a standard approach from Hideo Kojima now to produce “Playable Teasers” to show a great concept while offering a 3-4 hour short campaign, showing off the engine’s graphical capabilities.

Still, the story was under progress and I knew early on that Hideo Kojima really didn’t want to do it after he always felt that Metal Gear Solid 4 was final. But here is the curse of the die-hard fans, and I’m sorry to say it. No matter how many Iron Man movies Marvel crams out, at the 3rd movie, I started to feel “This does not feel like Iron Man anymore”. But that’s what the fans wanted and is a standard in the movie industry. Always produce a trilogy. Indiana Jones has always been the 3 movies from 1981-1989. The 4th one doesn’t really need to be called Indiana Jones at all. It was there I felt, just like with Metal Gear Solid V, they were beating a DEAD RACE HORSE.

I can’t deny the talents on display for Metal Gear Solid - Ground Zeroes. It laid down some really cool foundations for the gameplay, but I still believe the better game-series for stealth was beaten by the likes of Splinter Cell and most recently Thief. Stealth in MGS has always felt a little bit childish and I only really enjoyed MGS 1, MGS 2, tried to play MGS 3 (still have it one my Vita!) and will try to finish it. MGS 3 has felt like the TRUE Zeroes experience, with the inception of the story and lore behind the cloning of Big Boss. MGS 4 finally brought it all to a great finale and I felt, there is NOTHING more to tell. MGS 1, 2 and 4 is the Trilogy, MGS 3 serves as the Prequel and I see nothing wrong with that.

Mission - Erase Kojima’s Legacy

The making of MGS V - The Phantom Pain is kinda true to it’s title. Can you feel the nostalgia? Or are we just imagining the sensation of a Metal Gear Solid game past it’s prime? The missing link? The missing limb? And with the worlds biggest cop-out  of everything that had to do with story was completely missing.

Each mission is playing out every time the same, with an intro to a TV-show, giving away massive spoilers to who would appear in the mission, you do your thing (not so much of story, just a “go-here, do that approach, sneak back out, head to pick-up) rinse and repeat. I wonder how much of this was Kojima’s fault? I don’t think he was up to it. I’m sure he fought for more story but the big heads didn’t want to listen to what makes a MGS game a MGS game. The new management had now already played the hand to disown the man who put Konami on the map for games since the mid 80s.

The game is no longer marketed like before. The tagline “A Hideo Kojima Game” no longer exists and will never be part of Konami’s mission of erasing the person who gave them their fame and the recognition that a game carrying the name Konami was a brand of quality for any gamer out there. Me myself, personally only played PES because of the stellar animations, but its recently since 2012, I stopped playing the series. FIFA had already cheapened itself, PES likewise. Updating the graphics, but the same old animations have been recycled back to the PES3 days. Maybe there’s been an update in the collision engine, but otherwise everything stayed the same, with the huge amount of data collected from previous years of motion-capture, why do it all over when its all about the brand recognition? Saving money on processes wherever possible. Simple Math. And here it is. MGS V is not a MGS game.

We already knew it was going to be a massive budget behind the game of MGS V. But what can Konami do to save money on MGS V? They already have the Fox Engine running from Ground Zeroes. The assets for “Snake” (I’ll let you know why I put quotation-marks around it) and standard models will extend somewhat. Oh, yes, let’s save money on a character that doesn’t speak (Quiet), over-sexualize the character to start a fan-base of people who just dig character design, animated a sexy “shower” routine for the character for boys to go nuts over. What about voice? Let’s not really try to sync the voices to the mouths. Let’s have the guy from “24″ record his performances onto tape-logs. Kiefer Sutherland would have been a good “Snake”, but I understand now that you are not “SNAKE”. The game explains pretty soon at the end that you are just a Medic and all the tapes you’ve been listening to is the original Big Boss. You never where the character of Snake. Even though this all could have been handled better, Konami wanted to save money wherever possible. We also knew David Hayter was not asked or put forward to return as “The Voice of Snake”. But in this case I start to wonder myself, David Hayter might have dodged the biggest bullet in the most expensive, commercial and very controversial game of all time once Konami decided to kill everything that built up their reputation.

Even during production Kojima managed to start working on PT. The game Konami “silenced” after it was released on the PS-store. Guillermo Del Toro and his friendship with Hideo Kojima’s dream-game was put on ice. All because Kojima was about to get frozen out of the company that was according to Konami “Wasting too much bloody money”. I might get blacklisted for saying this, but once the new management started to mess with the other IPs for just domestic/gambling market, that’s where everything went sideways. Konami wasn’t treating their heritage with respect.

It took them 7 years to realize their mistake! And now, for those who wants to be part of 3rd party developers who would get a crack at a new Castlevania, a new Metal Gear Solid (remake I hope), Konami has realized that the only way they will survive (Yeah, Metal Gear Solid Survive killed them HARD) is to let other’s take over. Maybe my dream of scoring a Metal Gear Solid game would be somewhat more possible now rather than working in the confined space of limitations posed by the higher ups at Konami. Let 3rd party developers breathe life into the IPs because I know there are smarter ways to tell a story and I would gladly like to see the return of David Hayter in the seat, without having to deal with the blank-face approach that he was faced with every time he had to audition for Snake in MGS 2, 3 and 4! David Hayter is a fantastic writer, actor and voice-actor. He has the chops and I think we are all ready for either a re-make or a better follow up to MGS 2 and the time between that one and MGS 4.

[yasbxxgie]

Reggae Britannia (BBC Four, 2/11/11)

385 Willesden High Road is tucked away behind a row of dilapidated 19th century houses, its entrance obscured by high locked gates and a walled yard. But 385 is a treasure trove of reggae history. It's called Theorem, Music Village, and it's where we're recording several artist interviews for Reggae Britannia. As we arrive, there's a band in the studio rehearsing a romantic Lovers Rock number, there's a man up a rickety ladder painting the walls and another mopping up from an all night dance in the 'functions room' with its damp lino and garish red felt walls. T-Jae, the tall soft-spoken proprietor of what was once called BBMC (the Brent Black Music Cooperative) helps us with our camera gear. He's got coffee brewing in the kitchen beside an open can of condensed milk. Before T-Jae's time this was a leisure centre filled with rattle of pinball machines and the click of snooker balls - now replaced by the drum 'n bass of reggae rhythms leaking from the studio.

We're here to interview Dave Barker, one half of the Dave and Ansell Collins vocal duo who set the teenage mods alight, back in 1971, performing a novelty number called 'Double Barrel'. Dave's a quietly spoken man with a hint of a stammer. He tells us how, when he first came to this country (and he stayed here ever after) he peered out through the window of his BOAC plane as it banked over the smoking chimneys of the snow-covered houses below and wondered 'how come they have so many bakeries in England?' On the drive from the airport he was shocked at seeing white men digging the road and taking out garbage: 'Wow man, that was strange, you didn't see those things in Jamaica'. Nor dogs wearing winter vests, nor steak and kidney pies, nor that little sparrow he spied pecking the top off a milk bottle. He can't help himself: Dave sings a refrain from Matt Munro's 'Born Free' and segues into 'Summer Holiday'.

Dave arrived in the U.K exactly ten years before Theorem opened its doors to top British and Jamaican reggae artists passing through. Today, there's the legendary Max Romeo sitting on bench in the winter sunshine, his grey locks neatly tucked into a woolly beret. In 1969, Max brought his wicked song 'Wet Dream' to Britain and its risqué lyrics - which got it banned in clubs and on the BBC - made it an anthem for skinheads in dance halls all across Britain. He sings a few lines, diffidently explaining how it caused an 'upstir' among the rebellious youth of the time. He's a little ashamed of it now because, by the mid 70s, Max had embraced the wisdom of Rastafari. That was when he wrote and recorded some of reggae's most powerful and memorable music in the Black Ark studio of Lee Scratch Perry: 'War In A Babylon' and 'Chase The Devil'. When those songs arrived here, first as pre-releases and then remixed by Island Records, they inspired our fledgling roots reggae bands and then the punks and then Bob Marley too. Max intones a few lines from 'Chase The Devil', an ironic, cautionary tale that has been covered or sampled by dozens of musicians - including Jay-Z in 'The Black Album' - and was featured in the video-game Grand Theft Auto.

'I'm gonna put on an iron shirt and chase Satan out of earth' he sings. 'I'm gonna send him to outer space to find another race'. Max explains: 'The devil is the negative within the psyche. Chasing the devil means chasing the negative out of your mind.' There are people wandering in and out while he speaks; musicians carrying drums and guitars into this studio that's cold as a morgue, or dropping off an amp or a heavyweight speaker, or they've come to pay their respects to the master, with a hug or a high-five.

T-Jae comes sauntering by with a piece of carpet under his arm to help our sound recordist dampen the 'live' acoustic of the room (yes, we still have a sound recordist on our crew) and he tells me that among the band members in the studio today is none other than Bigga Morrison. Bigga's not a front man like Max, but a keyboard virtuoso and music director of renown. Reggae royalty. The band take a another break for a smoke in the yard and Bigga, immaculate in pin-striped suit and brogues, describes growing up in this country as a second generation West Indian: 'My parents had experienced troubles and threats on the streets, back in the '50s, with the Teddy Boys and such, but they wouldn't discuss those things because they wanted to keep you free from the pressures. But as we grew up, we took our message and our fight onto the streets with the roots and culture music we played in bands like Steel Pulse and Aswad.'

Later during the interview, I asked Bigga to show us how the British reggae producers, back in the early 1970s, added violins to the Jamaican imports to make them sound 'more classical'. Unfortunately, he's lost his glasses and so can't read the score. Tee Jay's on hand to send for a replacement pair. Bigga fills in time by playing us a delightful new track by his band the Skatronics, but when the glasses arrive, they're all wrong for Bigga. He wears them anyway, and peers astigmatically at the music for 'Young Gifted And Black' which is layered in symphonic-style strings. Bigga (educated at Trinity College of Music) explains how Jamaican reggae gradually transformed into a British musical experience, first through the dub sounds and conscious lyrics of hardworking roots groups like Aswad and then by the bands that went platinum: the 2 Tone crowd, UB40 and The Police. Bigga's being called back to rehearsals now, so we break for a late lunch. It's a choice of The New Golden Duck Chinese Take Away or the Caribbean place half a mile up the road. We do the walk and settle for salt fish and akee. Or rather, the others do. I choose the goat curry on plantains and soon regret it.

Back in Theorem, Bigga's at the keyboards and a couple of pretty female vocalists are delivering more saccharine Lovers Rock. And that's where we see Big Youth, in among them, gyrating his hips to the pounding bass and chugging upbeat of the guitar. He's chaperoned by a petite Italian lady from an artists' agency called Roots Rockers. She's Trish, and she's exhausted because they've only just returned from a nightmare flight from Spain. Trish is a miracle of calm and efficiency in the maelstrom of the struggling reggae business and it's clear all the artists adore her. Trish has offered us the opportunity to interview Big Youth, the toaster who excited British reggae fans with his revolutionary, rasta-inspired lyrics in the mid '70s. He's on top form today, his wiry body twisting and swaying in the interview chair as he sings lines from 'Hit The Road Jack', telling me how the great Ray Charles called him up one Christmas-time to admit that Big Youth's version was just 'the best'. 'Big Youth stole the scene,' he concludes. Modesty isn't one of Big Youth's virtues. But I can vouch for his status, and integrity. I first met him inside Randy's Record shop in Kingston Jamaica back in '77. He was checking out the sales of his album - visiting these record stores was about the only way an artist could tell how many were selling. He was as big a name as Marley at the time, and revered both on the island and over here. We met again - by chance - in Lagos, Nigeria, when he was on the run from some unscrupulous promoter. He's older and greyer now, but with no loss of energy, showmanship or sharp humour. And the red, gold and green implants in his front teeth are still there.

The filming days at Theorem haven't only been productive for our ninety minute programme, they've also been enormous fun. Maybe it's the familiarity and affection the artists have for this building, or maybe it's what they call 'the spirits' of the house: a combination of all those sounds and experiences imbedded in the cracking plaster walls, the creaky floorboards which once the feet of hallowed artists trod, or the reverberating bass you can hear down Theorem's honeycomb of corridors.

We'll be back here later in the week to interview the fiery, bubbly Lovers Rock singer Sylvia Tella, from Manchester; and Tippa Irie who came to fame DJing for the Saxon sound system, and maybe Dennis Bovell, the multi-talented producer/song writer and bass player, who did so much to anglicise reggae music in this country. Oh, and Trish says Dennis Alcapone's coming by, the dapper, bowler-hatted vocalist who brought a whole new style of toasting to these shores with songs like 'Guns Don't Argue': 'Don't call me Scarface, my name is Capone, C-A-P-O-N-E!'

For him, we'll haul our equipment boxes down the dark corridors of Theorem (we never could find the light switches, thriftily hidden away in recesses above door frames). Because we'll place him in a room, behind the studio, which is every reggae fan's dream, an Aladdin's cave of antique tape machines and mixers, and an expansive crimson casting couch. The wood-trim Rainderk desk dates from the early '70s when Reggae first exploded onto our pop charts with songs like 'Young Gifted And Black', bringing an upbeat musical thrill not just to those of Caribbean origin and the packs of skinheads who followed them around the country, but to the whole nation. This mixing desk was donated by Pete Townshend of The Who. It has made history since, recording reggae artists like The Wailers, Gregory Isaacs, Aswad, Janet Kay, Maxi Priest ... and so many more.

The traffic's slow on Willesden High Road as we leave the studios and T- Jae waves us into the evening gridlock and shuts the gates. Back-in-the-day, Theorem would be filling up with dreadlocked musicians and their natty entourage, ready for another all night session. Sometimes it still does, but with the proliferation of cheap home studios and a music industry in crisis, it's a whole lot quieter now. No sessions tonight. Just the rattling pipes, the whispering corridors, the vacant studio and the ghosts of British reggae history.

[classicrockblog1]

Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE (born 1 March 1944) is an English #singer and actor. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Daltrey came to prominence in the mid 1960s as the founder and #lead #singer of the English #rock #band The Who, which released fourteen singles that entered the top ten charts in the United Kingdom during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including “I Can’t Explain”, “My Generation”, “Substitute”, “I’m a Boy”, “Happy Jack”, “Pictures of Lily”, “Pinball Wizard”, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, and “You Better You Bet”. Daltrey began his solo career in 1973, while still a member of the Who. Since then, he has released eight studio albums, five compilation albums, and one live album. His solo hits include “Giving It All Away”, “Walking the Dog”, “Written on the Wind”, “Free Me”, “Without Your Love”, “Walking in My Sleep”, “After the Fire”, and “Under a Raging Moon”. In 2010 he was ranked as number 61 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 greatest singers of all time.

Daltrey has been known as one of the most charismatic of rock’s front-men and famed for his powerful voice and energetic stage presence.[1][2]

As a member of the Who, Daltrey received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1988,[3] and from the Grammy Foundation in 2001.[4] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.[5][6] and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005.[7]The Who are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century, selling over 100 million records worldwide.

Daltrey has also been an actor and film producer, with roles in films, theatre and television.[8]

[julialouisdreyfest]

NIAT Interview

So to start off, what does the name N.I.A.T. stand for?

JR - Never ingest apples, Timmy. Will - NIGHT IN AT TIANANMENS - Take your time and sound it out. Danny - Nice Interstate At Toronto

I saw that you guys recently went on tour, how'd that pan out? 

JR - We had a great time! Looking forward to our next tour in October! Will - For our first tour it went exceptionally well.  Minor vehicle issues halfway through but we were able to perform every date with minimal setbacks.  We are going back on the road in October for a little over a week and playing with some good friends - couldn't be more excited. Danny - It was really dope. I haven't been out in a really long time so getting back out there was awesome.

Favorite venue from that tour?

JR - The Plaid Pig in Tacoma for sure. The locals were all super nice and made us feel right at home.  Will - Haufbrau House = Hall of Fame - the venue in Tacoma, The Plaid Pig, was badass.  Major Railyard (R.I.P.) vibes for sure. Zach - Substation in Seattle! Danny - The pinball bar next door to The Plaid Pig, the venue we actually played at.

Over the years you have had quite the lineup change, how has that affected your sound, or has it? 

JR - I think it has changed our sound in a lot of ways. Everytime we have a member change, the most important part to me is keeping the feel that we have always created. The chaos, the energy. At this point I am the only original member but luckily for this last member change, Danny and I had worked together playing crazy weird music in the past. So it just felt obvious to me to ask him. I have always loved making music with Danny. I can honestly say this new chapter has me more stoked than ever!  Will - The sound has changed to a degree - I think much of that lies in Edward Longo's departure from the band in 2019 (that guy is in a league of his own) but with Danny integration into the band, it has brought back an element that I thought we had once lost.  Having to deal with those abrupt lineup changes has also allowed us to explore different avenues - I started a solo noise project called PLVMES in mid 2020 after Tony Morales departed and now incorporate elements of that into our live sets to replace the samples he wrote for our first album, "Blasphemist".  Slowly working on re-incorporating that again but at the moment, the noise walls become more and more cohesive as we get along it might be awhile before that happens.    Danny - I'm the new guy, It seems like it's changing a lot, but also, it doesn't?!

For the metal laymen, how can you describe the fucked-up sound that is grindcore? 

JR - Imagine driving by a music festival going 90 miles an hour with your windows rolled down trying to make out who's playing. Will - The sound of a government building being razed. Zach - A garbage bag of empty paint cans rolling down a hill on a windy day. Danny - S.C.U.B.A. if you know you know.

I was super excited to see you guys contribute to the Nirvana grind cover album. How did that come about and why Aneurysm as a song choice? 

JR - I want to say Will found the Label that put it together and asked if we could submit. "Territorial Pissings" was already taken so I picked my second favorite song, "Aneurysm". The recording process for that one was a lot of fun. Will - I came across a post in a random grindcore group on social media and contacted Sudden Strike Records out of Ireland about submitting - it only took us a few rehearsals for it to come together before we recorded, mixed and sent them the track.  There were a good number of bands that had already picked their songs so it was our first choice but even if we hadn't been able to get on the compilation, we probably would have ended up covering it anyways.  Zach - Always one of my favorites, we all immediately gravitated towards it (seems kinda obvious). Danny - I have no idea. I was not in the band. If it was up to me we would have tried to do a Weezer song and see if anyone notices.

What's your take on Montanas metal scene, its growth and what it could benefit from? 

JR - It has come a long way. I think the biggest thing is just more bands. More bands making more music. Like Zach says, go record your homies if you can. Make terrible music with your friends until you make something you think is awesome. There's no fast way to make our scene bigger or better. It comes from more people, trying new things. Will - The scenes are ever changing, ever growing - we're still reeling from losing The Railyard and Smiling Dog Records, two DIY mainstays that provided countless bands here the opportunity to play.  The influx of residents in the state has resulted in there being many more musicians around than there used to be, leaving us in a good position where we can really expand what we're working towards if we put in the work - I think much of this can be addressed with better organization and networking.  It is also beneficial to provide a service to your scene if you're able, whether it is flyer design, street-teaming, shooting photos, promoting online, etc.  The list is endless. Zach - At this point in my life I’m very thankful for the metal scene, and Montana music scenes in general for their sense of community and the friendships. I think something the scene could benefit from is more DIY boots on the ground: house shows, homies recording homies in the basement for free, cross genre DIY shows, etc. Danny - It has definitely come a long way. I think we just need more  high quality music of all sorts, there is never too much. Hahaha. 

What is the most annoying thing that people do at a metal show, besides just standing there looking at their phones? 

JR - Gatekeeping. Also people requesting you to play literally anything lol. Will - Showing up late or ditching out early because you gotta work in the morning.  Your job ain't going anywhere, bucko. Zach - Karate bullshit in the pit. Danny - Smoking weed when I'm trying to worship the Lord with my music.

What goes into your writing process? 

JR - When this band started we just liked the idea of writing with no limits. I think we still encompass that. It usually starts with a drum part I make but lately we have been jam writing more with Danny. Will - Generally starts with a skeleton brought to the table by JR; Danny and Zach then take the reins and construct the guitar parts.  Vocals are constantly evolving just like the lyrics and go through multiple edits before anything is set in stone but there have been a few songs where the lyrics were basically written on the spot ("How Long Does Shit Burn?", "Coffee Is For Closers").        Zach - One person brings an idea to the table, usually JR with a drum part, and we expand upon it. Danny - Mostly just starts with a riff, work around it, bring it to the guys and if they like it we keep working around it. Sometimes we just jam one out too. I don't think there's really a right or wrong way to do it, just whatever works for you. Don't be afraid to try new things.

Favorite Seinfeld character and why? 

JR - Morty Seinfeld, I mean the guy worked for Harry Fleming for 38 years. Will - You got a question, you ask the eight ball. Zach - Kramer Danny - Bender

React to this: You're watching a stage play. A banquet is in progress. The guests are enjoying an appetizer of raw oysters. The entree consists of boiled dog stuffed with rice. The raw oysters are less acceptable to you than a dish of boiled dog.

JR - The only reaction I can think of, would be to go home and hug my dogs. Will - *lights blunt* Zach - Raw oysters are absolutely delicious. Pop one with a little hot sauce, uncultured swine. Danny - Wait, you guys aren't eating boiled dogs? I thought this was metal.

Working on any new material, what can we expect to see in the future?

JR - Well, you can watch us attempt to write ourselves into a never ending wormhole of weirdness and loud angry noises. Will - Find out for yourself this Saturday @ The Nova Danny - Degeneracy, overall.

You can catch NIAT during this year's fest at Nova Center on August 6th at 10:15pm!

[heraldshaka]

Right: April 13, 2008. Dear Journal, I have grown a lot sence last page. I was 6 then. I still remembered you. you were just lost I am 8 now and I like haveing memories from you. all that writing back there my mom wrote. I did the drawing. Yes Joel still has his but nowhere near as many drawings. It’s fun having you to me your like a scrat book. - Shwaka

Left: Pin Ball Hall of Fame. -Shwaka

Right: April 4, 2008. Dear Journal, My dad bought us a pinball game in a place called “The Hall of Fame.” It was a place in L.A. In the 1900′s. It’s not super fun but still its fun! I hope my kid will have as good as tmies in there life as I have in mine. The Hall of Fame doesn’t exist anymore but on the play station its fun enough. And also today Baylee saw some bird eeggs and to top it all off Jonah (my little bro) caught a turtle. And it ran away.

Left: April 17, 2008. Dear Journal, yesterday Josh caught a snake. We are gonna let it go soon over at the nature walk down the road. It is a water snake and has an amazing defense. It fatens it’s body and makes his head a triangle making it look like a mocosan.

Right: April 11, 2008. Dear Journal this week hasn’t been to bad we’ve caught one turtle, a legless lizard, and 2 snakes. Today were going to watch “Tarzan 2.” Can’t wait until tomorrow then I get to make a warlock that atomatticly is 70 with all its spells. My birthday is in 3 days and I can’t wait.

Right: April 18 (2008). Dear Journal, 4 days ago was my birthday and I got a bunch of awesome stuff. I got my floating pen and the transformers video game. Also 2 days ago we caught a thorny lizard and another black racer but baylee let him go by accident.

Right: 04-29-08. Dear Journal, two days ago josh caught a green snake it was the first one we’ve seen in florida. But the problem was the day Josh caught it, it got away. He also caught a turtle that we still have. We have three turtles now. They haven’t eaten yet but they should soon. Yesterday a pupy came to are yard. Her name was Bella. It was Christian and Camrens dog though.

Left: Dear Journal, a few months ago we went camping at a beach with a military fort. In the morning I got up, grabbed a sausage sandwich, a juice box, and a bag of chips and climbed a tower and ate.  It was a lot of fun and the Millers came. At night we tolled stories and played games. - Shwaka (this page was written in 09)

Right: 5-2-08. Dear Journal, tomorrow we mite go camping at “black water”. we are going to be with the Millers. It mite rain but that shouldnt stop us. I have so been looking forward to it. It is going to be so cool. No rules, hulking down goodies, and awesome coyotes howling. One of my favorite parts is the fire wood finding. This time baylee is coming so she’ll feel to free and eat it all before us probably. Shaka.

Right: Dear Journal, a few weeks ago I went camping. We were at black water with coyotes. Josiah slept in my tent with me. At the next day we did a big 9 mile trip in kyaks and canoes. I barely got any sleep. We also caught 30 snakes and around 7 turtles.

Right: August 28, 2008. Dear Journal. Last wensday maw-maw came to visit for three days. Her first night me and Joel slept over at her hotel, then Josh and Jonah, and last Bria, baylee and brenna. And on her last night we went to see sea turtles. What happened was these people were taking them from there nest because of a tropical storm.

[bmiremodeling]

but check back position tomorrow

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Con Review: Silicon Valley Comic Con 2018

Silicon Valley Comic Con returned to San Jose for another big year, bringing a plethora of comic and TV stars to the city. Held at the San Jose Convention Center, the event spanned three days filled with things to do and see.

The convention offered a nice array of events and activities, with a wide range of panels covering topics from cosplay to illustrations. While there were multiple panel rooms off in the side halls, the largest area was set aside for the main events, where the big guests would speak in moderated panels before packed crowds.

For those who couldn’t get through the lines into the panel room, though, the convention wisely set up television screens around the area to stream the event. That way even those who couldn’t find a seat would still be able to watch and enjoy the main events.

Outside the main halls, there were a few areas of interest for people wandering around. There was a kids’ area, with hands-on activities for younger attendees, as well as an area to teach people the basics of lightsaber fighting. Adam Savage of “Mythbusters” fame had a room to showcase some of his projects, and several arcade and pinball games were set up in a spacious area.

One new addition was an area for “Dungeons & Dragons” organized play, sponsored by the Bay area Gamer Guild. They had experienced dungeon masters running Adventurers League modules throughout the weekend, specifically chosen to be good introductions for new players, and offered pre-generated characters to let anyone join. First-time adventurers were always welcomed, with DMs willing to walk them through the game’s mechanics.

Inside the main hall, attendees were welcomed to multiple rows of vendors and dealers. There were all the usual trappings of a convention, from comics to collectible figures, but there were also booths for NASA or a tattoo parlor specializing in nerdy designs. There was also an artist alley of decent size, featuring a nice array of fan artists selling their wares.

Naturally, there were plenty of cosplayers wandering around. Attendees of all ages wore their favorite costumes, representing a wide array of series and genres. Of course, as many came to see the guests, there was no shortage of Hobbits, time travelers, or alcoholic super-powered private eyes.

Yes, SVCC went all-out with the guests this year. Stan Lee was a headliner, of course, although while he had recovered from his bout with pneumonia, he was still rather tired throughout the weekend. Drawing equally large crowds was David Tennant, known for his role as the 10th Doctor in “Doctor Who,” Killgrave in “Jessica Jones,” and the new voice of Scrooge McDuck in “Ducktales.”

The heroine of “Jessica Jones,” Krysten Ritter, was also in attendance, along with Freema Agyeman, who played Martha Jones in “Doctor Who” alongside David.

“Star Wars” fans also had plenty of great guests to meet, such as Ian McDiarmid, Ray Park, and Temuera Morrison. For those who prefer fantasy to sci-fi, they could meet Sean Astin, who played Samwise Gamgee in “Lord of the Rings.”

Yet the guest list didn’t stop there, with even more guests ranging from actors to comic artists to particularly popular cosplayers. Some were doing meet-and-greets with fans, others had paid autograph sessions and photo ops which could cost anywhere from $40 to well over $100, depending on the guest. Attendees had to budget wisely to meet the guests they really wanted to see.

There was a noticeable increase in security this year, following events at other comic cons where attendees brought in weapons. In addition to peace bonding props and having attendees scan their wristbands upon entering and exiting, there were metal detectors and bag checks set up upon entry. Overall, though, they didn’t slow down entry that much, and the need for added security is understandable in today’s environment.

Overall, Silicon Valley Comic Con 2018 proved an enjoyable event, with a wide range of guests to see and activities to enjoy. For those looking for a comic con experience in the bay area, it’s certainly a fine choice.

Photos provide by Agent P. G33ktography, visit his official Facebook page for more.

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LAS VEGAS—When we weren’t pounding the pavement at last week’s overloaded CES trade show, we at Ars Technica took whatever opportunity we could to nerd out in uniquely Vegas style. That didn’t mean dumping our spare quarters into a Lord of the Rings-themed slot machine; it meant hitching a ride to the Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame.

This collection of roughly 260 working pinball, electromechanical, and video games has been open to the public for over a decade, with its 2006 opening followed by a size-boosting relocation in 2009 to a venue two miles down Tropicana Avenue. It arguably includes the most varied and valuable open-every-day collection of pinball and pinball-like games in the United States, if not the world—but you’d never know it by simply passing the building.

Inside this concrete slab hides the biggest collection of the rarest pinball and electromechanical games ever made.

Sam Machkovech

This was taken by standing on a chair in one corner of the venue. You can get a sense of the machine variety here: mostly pinball and electromechanical, with about one-fifth of the space dedicated to video games.

Sam Machkovech

This is probably the best representation of the dim lighting in the room.

Sam Machkovech

Follow the rules.

Sam Machkovech

The rarest machine in the house by far, Midway’s Pinball Circus. Only two were ever made.

Sam Machkovech

We chose not to reproduce most of the information cards so you would have more to read should you visit the venue. But we had to post a few. This one’s crucial.

The VPHoF’s oldest pinball machine is from the 1920s. “These things used to be outlawed!” our guide reminded us.

That old machine sits next to arguably the collection’s highest-tech virtual pinball machine.

An average dive into an older machine. Start with the full, beautifully restored machine.

Then look closer at the Atlantis pin’s general body and layout.

Then zoom in on its information card. You’ll possibly need to squint.

Nearly one third of the room is dedicated to this ’50s and ’60s era of pins.

A few Elton John-based machines were in the house.

We did the best we could with the room’s weird lighting, in terms of imbalances thanks to inlaid lights in the machines.

Abra-ca-dabra! It sure was a different era when Gottlieb made so many pins.

Imagine if this game’s designers pulled off a mechanical way to arrange dominoes like shown in the art. Even so, it’s a striking design as drawn.

Rockin’.

I’m still floored by how the bouncy balls inside that Hi-Score Pool pin worked in action.

A closer look.

The collection’s more modern machines flank the wall near the entrance.

It’s impossible to get a photo that makes Black Hole look as good as it does in real life. Its black-on-black-on-black style has an incredible glow and effect.

More of Gottlieb’s best era.

A collection so bustling, Creature Of The Black Lagoon gets crowded out.

Not to be confused with Peppy the Clown, who appears in the second gallery.

KISS returned with a modern pin via Stern; this is not that version.

Street Fighter II: The Video Game: The Pinball Game.

This probably cost less to produce than the related film.

No shortage of sci-fi-themed pins at the VPHOF.

Not every day you run into the phrase Goldeneye 007 flanked by a big Sega logo. This came before Nintendo and Rare’s N64 classic.

I can think of two Elvira-themed pinball games from the 1980s, including this one.

One row had a space theme.

Another angle of those two pins, with ST:TNG flanking.

Continuing the space-license theme.

A zoom on that Spider-man machine.

This rare Q-bert machine is a treat.

Great ramps and action.

Not many of these exist.

And even fewer of its Goin’ Nuts spinoff exist. Like, only 10.

It’s hard to tell from the photo, but this Flintstones cab is gargantuan. About as big as a typical arcade-hall basketball game.

Giant flippers.

More Flintstones info.

Vegas, baby.

In case the full pinball table didn’t make it clear, this is a pinball game. Hold that pinball, Freddy.

Nightmare’s game board.

For a short spell, a few games capitalized on the popularity of Caddyshack by including old white dudes, golf, and pesky gophers. None of them officially mentioned Caddyshack.

The warehouse’s nondescript exterior only stands out thanks to a shopping-center marker and a single yellow sign above its front door. Walk in, and you may very well wonder if it’s technically open, considering the full room is unlit and there’s nobody acting as a greeter, taking a cover charge, or explaining how the venue works.

But what this room lacks in glitz or presentation, it makes up for in sheer pinball fandom. Every machine includes an index card covered in misspelled, chicken-scratch handwriting, with all kinds of details about a particular game’s general-interest trivia and minutia about the VPHoF’s edition in particular. (A few information cards appear in the above and below galleries.) The venue’s staff, meanwhile, keeps busy. Rather than work the door, they typically manage ongoing machine repairs and game swaps, as the venue frequently swaps its roughly 260 playable games out from a nearby warehouse with another 800-plus machines. Newer pinball games, along with the VPHoF’s rarest and most popular classics, are the inventory-swap exceptions, enjoying near-permanent status in the playable collection.

Let’s start this “electromechanical” gallery—meaning, games outside the pinball realm—with the delightful and weird Skid Row.

Sam Machkovech

An explainer. The HOF also had an Ice Cold Beer machine, which is similar in style but quite different in mechanics.

Need some two-player pinball in your life? The incredible and rare Challenger has you covered. Roughly 100 were produced. The table tilts depending on how well your side does.

Chicago Coin’s Slap Shot is also a fine two-player game, but it cannot be mistaken for pinball. This is straight-up versus hockey.

I appreciate this placement of the colorful, oddball clown machine next to the sex tester. Get a double dose of scary stuff, kids.

The collection includes quite a few gun games.

Plenty of bowling-launcher games, too.

Though, really, none of the bowling-styled games top this beast.

Another angle.

And you better believe the HOF has its share of baseball-like games.

Batter up!

The wind-up, and the pitch.

Baseball, arm wrestling, basketball.

In the center is Bally’s Target-Roll, a sort of roulette- and craps-like target-shooting game.

If this were working, you’d aim the rotation and angle of this ship as it spins around, trying to contact the other metal rods nearby.

This isn’t straight-up pinball; you’re actually managing the movement of cars around a track while playing, and you’re going for laps, not score.

Shoot-‘n-race. We had to wait for the video game era before someone combined these concepts.

“Shoot this rifle!” “No, shoot this rifle!”

Goalee is essentially a one-on-one hockey game. “One can play,” but it’s really like playing Pong against yourself.

We spent less time cataloging the video games on site, but we had to make room for this sit-down Star Trek cab.

Same can be said for this rarely-seen Nintendo duo of versus light-gun games.

We actually didn’t notice that the display was upside down until reviewing these photos. How odd.

“As machines go off to that big arcade in heaven, they lose their value,” a staffer told us while showing us around the collection. This is only made more complicated by the lack of new replacement parts existing for a lot of machines, the staffer added. “If the tech dies, the [game in question] either winds up in the Smithsonian or our backyard.”

VPHoF prices its games individually at 25 or 50 cents a play—hence, why it houses so many change-making machines, including a block of four side-by-side. That’s it for cost; visitors don’t have to pay a cover fee on top. These coin-catch mechanisms are specifically used, instead of being set to free-to-play, as part of the preservation process, in fact. “If the games aren’t played, they will say, ‘fuck you,’ because they dry out, and they get corroded,” the staffer told Ars. “They need to be played.”

Thus, while VPHoF, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, will gladly accept donations to maintain operation and repair costs, the owners and operators say they’re actually more interested in visitors coming to the place and going hands-on with the collection. If the above galleries (split into pinball, first, and electromechanical, second) aren’t hint enough, please accept our assurance that the venue is absolutely worth the detour during a Vegas trip, roughly eight minutes’ drive from McCarran Airport.

Listing image by Sam Machkovech

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); http://ift.tt/2mwkLVf January 14, 2018 at 07:16PM

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New Album from Neal Schon “SO U” Featuring Jack Blades

Guitar legend Neal Schon has joined forces with bassist Marco Mendoza (BLACK STAR RIDERS, TED NUGENT, WHITESNAKE, THIN LIZZY) and drummer Deen Castronovo (JOURNEY, OZZY OSBOURNE, STEVE VAI, HARDLINE) to create a unique body of work with jazz and blues-inspired virtuosic hard rock playing, entitled “So U”. The new album features Schon, Mendoza and Castronovo splitting vocal and writing duties, with many of the tracks also co-written by NIGHT RANGER/DAMN YANKEES songwriter, singer and bassist Jack Blades.

“So U” track listing: 01. Take A Ride 02. So U 03. Exotica 04. What You Want 05. Love Finds A Way 06. On My Way 07. Serenity 08. Shelter 09. Big Ocean

The video for the song “What You Want” can be seen here.

In a recent interview, Schon gave Ultimate Classic Rock some insight regarding “What You Want” and how it came together: “I had the opening riff floating around in my head. I went up to Jack Blades’ house, because he and I write very quickly, and I showed him the idea and we wrote the lyrics and put the song together. I did a demo of it pretty much as it sits on the record in the same form. Jack had sung the lead verses back then and I was singing the parts that I’m singing, so that one was [mostly] together when I walked in the studio with Deen and Marco. That was one of the first songs that I wrote for this project.”

“The song itself is kind of cool, it’s funky and it’s rockin’," Schon added. "I wanted to kind of do the SLY STONE thing with me singing the lower parts and Deen singing the high harmonies with myself and Marco, and then Marco lead singing and it’s sort of pinballing around. I think that’s a cool idea for a trio that I haven’t seen done in a while.”

Of “So U”, Neal Schon commented, “This is a great new record that features all three of us — Deen, Marco and myself — sharing lead vocals. Enjoy!” Best known as founding member and lead guitarist of JOURNEY, Neal Schon has enjoyed a remarkable career as one of rock ‘n’ roll’s top virtuosos, with a hand in creating some of the most popular songs of all time. Beginning his career more than 35 years ago in the San Francisco Bay area, the 15-year-old guitar prodigy left home to join Santana. Schon moved on in 1973 to form JOURNEY. With JOURNEY and other projects, he has earned 19 Top 40 singles and 25 platinum and gold albums, was awarded the prestigious “Legend Of Live Award” at the 2011 Billboard Touring Awards, received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 2005 and was individually inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall Of Fame in 2013. As the only member to record on all of JOURNEY’s albums, Schon continues with the band today in its latest incarnation. In addition to 6 solo albums and 14 studio albums with JOURNEY, Neal Schon has performed with Joe Cocker, Sammy Hagar, Paul Rodgers, Larry Graham, Betty Davis, Michael Bolton, fusion legend Jan Hammer, HARDLINE and supergroup BAD ENGLISH, as well as a variety of side projects. His latest instrumental solo album, “The Calling”, released in 2012 via Frontiers Records, won rave reviews from fans and the media alike, with Vintage Guitar declaring “'The Calling’ is a fine piece of work demonstrating that Schon still has it going on — and then some…The songs are strong and his guitar tones are absolutely luxurious.” In demand as one of the leading guitarists of his generation, Schon also worked with Gibson to manufacture his own limited edition Neal Schon signature model custom Les Paul guitar, but now uses custom PRS Neal Schon LTD Private Stock guitars, made especially for Neal by Paul Reed Smith.

[lasvegasbachelorettepartypa-blog]

5 Museums to Check Out Close to the Strip

Who said Vegas is all about debauchery and gambling? The City of Sin can boast about being one of the most visited cities in the world, but it’s not all bachelorette party packages and games of Texas hold’em that bring people to Las Vegas. Lurking In and among all the partying is a strong collection of museums that hold their own among any North American city. A lot of these museums hold important regional significance because Vegas is the largest city for a number of miles in an area that went through a number of major changes over the last 150 years, from colonization, to nuclear testing, to NASA research stations, and more.

Here is a rundown of the 5 best museums to check out in Vegas:

Atomic Testing Museum - From 1951 to 1992 the United States government conducted nuclear research and testing at the Nevada Test Site. It was here that nuclear came to be understood and developed into the partially helpful but also deeply scary tool it is known as today. The museum commemorates this tradition by giving visitors an experience as close as possible to what it would have felt like to observe one of the hundreds of tests at the site. There is also ample information about the history of nuclear power, including both the good and the bad.

Imperial Palace Car Collection - The Imperial Palace Car Collection shows off some of the wealth and elegance that has graced Vegas over the years. Autos owned by some of the world’s greatest heroes and villains are on show. Take, for example, JFK’s 1962 Lincoln; or perhaps more interestingly, Adolph Hitler’s 1936 Mercedes. Walking in and among some of the most beautiful cars ever made will probably invigorate the gambling attitude once again, because to be frank, winning at the slots is probably the only way most of us will be able to own one of those gems.

Las Vegas Natural History Museum - This is a smaller museum than perhaps it should be, given the complexity of the flora and fauna in and around Las Vegas. It might surprise some to see a model T-Rex in the museum. Vegas is located on arid planes that were once home to these great beasts.

Madame Tussauds - This wax museum is bound to be a real hit for those who love celebrity culture. Some of the best one’s are American—like Miley Cyrus, for example. There are about 100 figures in total, making it a nice afternoon alternative to frying in the sun on the strip.

Pinball Hall of Fame - This arcade game will never go out of style. The beautiful craftsmanship of a pinball machine can be appreciated by anyone, especially those who enjoy the cerebral activity of pinball.

These are only a few of the many great museums in Las Vegas that are worth checking out. Read more info here for more info about Las vegas bachelorette party packages.

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How Dr. J and Larry Bird Helped Build a Video Game Empire

Growing up, Trip Hawkins was a big fan of strategy board games; he's been a paying Strat-O-Matic customer for more than 50 years. While a student at Harvard University in the mid 1970s, he created AccuStat Football, blowing $5,000 of his father's money on a few hundred copies of a board game that found hardcore fans but not a larger audience. He loved his simulated pigskin creation, but for his friends it lacked a certain visual pizzazz.

"It was basically a computer game without a computer, and my friends didn't find it all that fun. They gravitated toward watching TV," says Hawkins. "I enjoyed the idea of a sports game that involved thinking, making choices, and living with the outcomes. When I first heard about computers, I thought, Someday, if I can combine the simulated gameplay with the pretty pictures of television, everyone will want to play it."

His first business venture may have been a flop, but he already had a plan to turn his beloved geeky football game into something bigger. Hawkins designed his own major with a focus on game design, and after the first retail store to rent microprocessors opened in Massachusetts in 1975, he began conceptualizing what his video-game company might look like.

After graduating from Harvard in 1976 and getting an MBA at Stanford, Hawkins spent a few years working for a small startup called Apple, eventually rising to Director of Strategy and Marketing before leaving to start his own company. Electronic Arts was officially founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982, with one major goal in mind: Hawkins, a sports nerd going back to his childhood, wanted to change the way sports games were played.

"It was hard to see the football game I poured myself into fail, but I realized two things. I loved being an entrepreneur, and I had a lot to learn about running a business," he says. "I'm not an engineer, but I was working with some of the best software developers in the world, who weren't seen as artists. The angle I decided to take was to embrace them as the creative divas that they were and treat video games as the new Hollywood."

As the company celebrates its 35th anniversary this week, it's worth noting one early title that proved to be especially pivotal in EA's transformation into the $4.4 billion juggernaut it is today, and did, in fact, fulfill Hawkins' dream.

The 1983 release of One-on-One: Dr. J. vs. Larry Bird brought professional athletes into the video-game realm for the first time. It was a big leap forward for the company, and for the industry. There had been games like MLB Baseball for Intellivision that slapped the logo on a box, but there had never been a video game that allowed people to play as the athletes they watched.

"Dr. J. vs. Larry Bird was a major breakthrough for us, and it held up really well over time," says Hawkins. "The all-time best games have mechanics players don't get tired of. One-on-One has that design elegance, and it stayed alive even past Dr. J's retirement when we brought Michael Jordan on board."

Over its lifespan, the game was a huge financial boon for EA Sports, but the biggest payoff was in how it shaped the company. Hawkins says One-on-One gave him the confidence to further develop team sports games, letting players live out their athletic dreams from the couch.

EA Sports now boasts best-selling Madden, NHL and FIFA franchises, but One-on-One was first.

"It's a fantasy streetball version of basketball, instantly appealing because as a fan, you know who Larry Bird and Julius Erving are," says Jeremy Saucier, assistant director for the International Center for the History of Electronic Games in Rochester, New York. "I grew up in Massachusetts, and in the early 1980s, it seemed like the Celtics and 76ers met in the Eastern Conference Finals every year. EA took the cultural currency of the rivalry to create a best-selling game the likes of which hadn't been seen before."

One-on-One was more than just a bridge from the rudimentary video games of yore to today's technical marvels. It was a unique gaming experience that's remembered fondly by kids of the short-shorts era. In a warm tribute to the game at the website Kill Screen, writer Abe Stein says One-on-One can be seen as "a piece of surrealist art" and "absurdist basketball" in comparison to naturalistic gaming experiences like NBA 2k17.

"I'm sure the game looks ancient now—today's games are almost like real life—but I'm proud I got to be part of an early success," Larry Bird told VICE Sports. "Knowing that Julius and I were the first guys ever involved in something like it is pretty cool."

Julius Erving and Larry Bird's on-the-court rivalry helped sell popularize the video game. Photo Dick Raphael-USA TODAY Sports

Other factors helped lay the groundwork for EA's success. One-on-One came out in the same year that the great video-game crash of 1983 decimated the home console market. Some blamed the catastrophic release of Atari's E.T. the Extraterrestrial, thousands of copies of which were infamously buried in a New Mexico landfill. But E.T. was far from the only phoned-in title, and the glut of consoles and games flooding the market is widely believed to be the main culprit.

The Atari 2600 had been instantly popular since its release in 1977, but the company's glory days were over. EA came on to fill the gaming void.

"I considered the 2600 a toy, played for amusement, destined to be an electronic hula hoop that was dead in a few years," says Hawkins. "It only had 128 bytes of memory—notice I didn't say 'K'—so you couldn't do anything with it. What I was interested in was simulation, so we leapfrogged the 2600 and went to home computers. At the time, they cost around a thousand dollars, but were so much more powerful and allowed EA to do real software development."

Originally released for the Apple II, One-on-One would also become available for ColecoVision, Atari 800, Tandy TRS-80, and, crucially, as a floppy-disc game for the Commodore 64, the most popular computer in history. EA envisioned sports games as a staple from the outset, but Hawkins admits that baseball and football came before hoops in his hierarchy. His early focus was on the gridiron. He knew there wasn't enough processing power at the time to do a full 11-on-11 football game, but he had an idea based on his personal fandom.

"I'm a 49ers fan and EA launched the year of their first Super Bowl win, which followed 'The Catch,' Joe Montana to Dwight Clark. I thought maybe we could animate a quarterback, a receiver, and a couple of defensive players," says Hawkins. "The one thing I was certain of was that the game had to have the actual players in it, real-life heroes in a box. As it turned out, Atari made a deal with Montana to be an endorser of its entire product line, so I had to go a different route."

In considering how best to create a mano-a-mano game, Hawkins recalled a one-on-one basketball tournament sponsored by the hair-care product Vitalis. (Hawkins says he saw short black-and-white clips when he was a kid, but the only reference we found to the competition dates it to 1972, when Hawkins would have been 19. Check out the amazing title match between Bob Lanier and Jo Jo White. To honor the concept, the winner was paid $15,000 in singles!) Hawkins believed that a two-player basketball game could work because it would reflect a version of the sport people played in real life. Once he decided on the concept, he knew he wanted his favorite player in the game: Dr. J.

Julius Erving flew to the company's original headquarters in San Mateo, California, for principal photography and to give Hawkins and his team pointers. That was great, but Hawkins also needed to find the perfect stylistic foil to Erving, a sharp-shooting yin to Dr. J's sky-walking yang. And it would help if they were already NBA rivals.

"I played pinball as a kid, wasn't much for video games, but I remember when my agents explained what the concept was, I thought it was a great idea," Bird says. "I specifically remember the cover, it turned out great, really looked like Dr. J. and I just finished working out on a New York City playground… I can't remember if we shot it in New York. We must have. Sure looks like it."

Actually, both men had attended an event at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. EA photographers went to Massachusetts and grabbed Bird and Erving for a quick shoot afterwards. EA didn't have license to use Sixers or Celtics jerseys in the game, but luckily NBA jerseys wouldn't have fit with the playground motif, anyway.

Instead, EA told both players to wear street clothes for the cover shoot. They also instructed Erving to go shirtless and socks-up, and for both men to give their hardest-ass glare. It wasn't the Rucker, but it didn't really matter. It's not like they would've played an actual game.

"The photo features sprayed-on sweat," Hawkins says. "They both had lucrative professional basketball contracts, so they're not actually going to play one-on-one. If one of them got injured, EA would've had major issues."

Even the way the game shipped out to consumers was unique. Previously, floppy disc games were delivered in standard plastic baggies, no style whatsoever. Hawkins upped the flavor by going with a custom-sized cardboard record-album package. The 8-inch-square gatefold, with a sleeve for the game, was an entirely new presentation.

(For the record, Hawkins' favorite version was for the Commodore Amega, which included ambient sounds he and producer Joe Ybarra recorded live at a Warriors game. The hot dog and beer vendor sound samples were legit.)

The cover for the game was shot in Springfield, Massachusetts. Courtesy Electronic Arts

For all of its early-80s technological innovation, One-on-One would've had all the lasting cultural cachet of Double Dunk had it not been a monster hit. The game starts, like so many amazing basketball careers, with two competitors, one ball, and a playground. It was as cool as Dr. J. from the jump, opening with a Mooged-out version of Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" with options to play against the computer, and four levels ranging from "Park and Rec" to "Pro." Or, of course, the version that whiled away many a sunny afternoon indoors, the head-to-head showdown, played either timed or to a certain score. Players even got to choose "Winner's Outs" or "Loser's Outs" on the possessions. (Law of the hooping land: half-court games are winner's outs.)

" One-on-One hit at a time that allowed it to be successful, but it wouldn't have had the same impact if it didn't have such great playability," says Saucier, one of the early video-game historians. "It was only six years after the introduction of Pong, the original sports game, but One-on-One seems like decades ahead in graphic advancement. Compared to Atari Basketball, which also featured two players, the game play of One-on-One has sophisticated movement. It's an extraordinary upgrade."

One-on-One didn't miss a trick. It features "Hacking" fouls called by a diminutive ref, traveling, 24-second shot-clock violations, instant replays (believed to be a video game debut), turnaround over-the-head baseline jumpers, 360-degree pirouettes in the lane, fallaways, putbacks, plus the sartorially correct vintage kneepads, accurate non-NBA jersey numbers, and, depending on your vantage point, rec-specs. There were also nifty audio details: dribbles that sound like a metronome, swishes that sound like rustling leaves, and a referee's whistle that sounds like nails on a blacktop.

"I'm an entertainment designer, it's what I do. I knew if we got Erving and Bird you already have built-in dramatic tension," says Hawkins, who currently teaches entrepreneurship and leadership at UC-Santa Barbara, and mentors men in recovery at his local rescue mission. "We kept the layout simple, half-court with a three-point line, so we could use all our animating power on these two spindly guys and their advanced moves. We wanted the shooting to be realistic, the matchup to have organic flow, and to have the attacking and defending be authentic, so you couldn't just run into a player and nothing happens. Physics had to be accurate. We also added the feature of making the jump and the release of the ball, at its apex, two separate motions. It was the game's most beautiful feature. I used it later with the John Madden 'Oomph' button."

As smooth as the gameplay was, there is one glitch that runs contrary to the popular collective memory of One-on-One. As it was being created, a young undisciplined developer was tasked with using accurate shooting percentages for Bird and Erving to highlight their individual skillsets. He failed to do so, which means they both have the same moves. It's true. Dr. J. didn't dunk more than Larry; Bird didn't make more threes than Erving.

Still, the legacy of One-on-One endures. Sure, it's graphically antiquated when stacked up next to the just-released NBA Playgrounds (which, side note, looks awesome as hell), but its hip-hop vibe is as relevant as ever. EA's statement game dropped right as rap records moved beyond the simple party songs that defined the genre's early years. It was released the same year as Kurtis Blow's "Basketball," which named-checked both Erving and Bird, and came hard on the heels of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's classic "The Message." One-on-One's packaging shared the gritty graffiti-strewn, baked-asphalt Rucker Park ethos of the song that took hip-hop in an entirely new direction, capturing the hard realities of urban living. The lettering looks just like the chalk scribblings on Gotham's streetball meccas. You could totally see The Get Down crew playing it at Shaolin Fantastic's crib.

Electronic Arts cleaned up. In 1983, One-on-One sold for $40 and reached No. 2 on the Softalk magazine bestseller list. (Over the long tail, it kept selling at annual sales cycle reductions to $30, $20, $10.) Hawkins estimates the original version sold more than a million units, with sales numbers of several million over its lifespan. It paid off for the Atlantic Division foes, as well. Both Erving and Bird signed deals for $25,000, and a 2.5 percent royalty rate, according to Hawkins. Dr. J. also got a bit of company stock, a perk not offered to his Indiana counterpart.

In return, the Larry Bird and Dr. J helped turn EA into a powerhouse.

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