My Top Ten Favorite Music Videos of All Time

A lot of people will complain that MTV doesn't play music videos anymore. But I'm pretty sure that's BS, because I've seen that awful 'Lil Wayne video where he rips off both Inception and that table scene in Beetlejuice at least three times. And I hardly EVER watch MTV. So, yeah, they still play videos. Maybe not with the same frequency that they once did, but the network still showcases what the young people around the world are listening today. But so what? Those videos suck. The true art of making videos has pretty much disappeared, and that's a shame because music videos can be beautiful. To prove it, I've put down my top ten music videos below. See if any of yours make the list, and leave a comment below telling me some of your favorites of days old.

(Image taken from: sceper.eu)

10. Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai

Really, the idea was simple. Have the lead singer, Jay Kay, wear a silly looking hat (Which was actually the fashion of the day. Can you believe it?) and have the floor move. But oh, what an arresting visual it portrayed. Yeah, sure, the lyrics didn't have much to do with the video, but just seeing Jay Kay dancing around while the floor pulled him toward the screen was absolutely classic. And the song wasn't too bad, either. Take a gander.

(Image taken from: quieroletras.com)

9. Joints and Jams by The Black Eyed Peas

It may be hard to believe now, but The Black Eyed Peas DID exist without Fergie. And they produced this awesome video to boot, which had them all break dancing in the end and showcasing a side of themselves that you NEVER see from them anymore: The side with talent. Yeah, the group has made some catchy music since then and some very, very funky music videos, but this will always be my favorite by them. It's in your face. Literally.

(Image taken from: chinashopmag.com)

8. Star Guitar by The Chemical Brothers

Genius through simplicity is what I love, and you won't find another video more complex, and yet simple, as this magnificent video from The Chemical Brothers. I actually used to do this when I was a child and tried to link the music that I was listening to on the train with the landscape that was passing by. But I never imagined that anybody else did this, too. It just goes to show you how connected we all really are.

(Image taken from: gordonandthewhale.com)

7. Sabotage by The Beastie Boys

This video is just too much fun. Cop shows in the 70s were the shit, and the Beastie Boys, with the help of genius, Spike Jonze just nailed it with this one. Believe it or not, it's actually not one of my favorite BB songs, but this is definitely their best video. No question about it.

(Image taken from: happenstance-and-reason-why.blogspot.com)

6. Criminal by Fiona Apple

Music videos, if done right, should make you FEEL something, and this video by Fiona Apple did. It made me feel dirty. It made me feel like a perv, and that was a very good thing for me back then as a teenager who couldn't get enough sleaze in my music videos. But this video actually felt like a classy kind of sleaze. I mean, it was almost an innocent kind of sleaze, and THAT'S what made it feel so dangerous. Fiona Apple had a lot of songs that were better than this, but none were as provocative as "Criminal." Man, oh man. To be young again.

(Image taken from: blackgirlslikeus.blogspot.com)

5. Hey Ya by Outkast

Speaking of fun videos like "Sabotage." There have been very few videos that I can remember that always got me out of my seat and doing karate chops in the air. But this one did. Always. Andre 3000 plays all of the roles in this playful video mimicking the Beatles and it did a great job of winning the crowd over. Me included. I probably would have bought the album anyway, being a big fan of the group, but I rushed to the store after seeing this video. Definitely the best from the eclectic group.

(Image taken from: amiright.com)

4. King of Rock by Run-D.M.C.

What balls. This one goes on my list purely for the fact that Run-D.M.C. are awesome and stepped on Michael Jackson's white glove because "This is not Triller!" You're damn right it ain't. And while this may sound like sacrilege, I don't care. "King of Rock" is BETTER than "Thriller." Yep, I went there. It's just so raw and powerful. Run-D.M.C. were an indomitable force of nature. There was nothing like them. And nothing since.

(Image taken from: reefer-madness.tumblr.com)


3. Come To Daddy by Aphex Twin


Definitely the scariest video I've ever seen in my entire life. I remember seeing this for the first time at night, and I seriously couldn't go to sleep. I also kept the lights on. I have no idea what the video is meant to symbolize, but the woman getting screamed at in the end is bonkers. I. Love. This.

(Image taken from: djbozo.blogspot.com)

2. Triumph by The Wu-tang Clan

Believe it or not, but I wasn't in love with the group until this video, which has got to be the most elaborate and kick ass rap video ever. ODB (RIP) was jumping off a building, the RZA had wings, and Ghost and Rae were rapping in a cage. The Killer Bees were never more entertaining, or deadly.

(Image taken from: videodetective.com)

1. Prison Sex by Tool

The whole reason why I decided to do this article in the first place, Tool's "Prison Sex," is one of the most disturbing and evocative videos I've ever seen. It's said that this video is about when the lead singer, Maynard James Keenan, was molested as a child, and it shows. It's very hard to watch, even today, but you can't look away from it. It's a masterpiece. A sheer masterpiece.

Simply Marvelous: The Top 10 Best Games Based on the Marvel Universe

See the article here: http://www.complex.com/video-games/2011/05/10-best-marvel-games/

Oh, Marvel, Marvel, Marvel. What don’t we love about you? Well, how about your movie related video games for one? While your comic books, feature films, and even those old hologram cards of yours are the shit, you have a pretty sketchy track record when it comes to taking those same characters from the big screen and putting them on the Playstation or 360. We mean, besides Spiderman 2, everything else you’ve given us has either been mediocre at best (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ghost Rider), or outright garbage (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Iron Man, Blade, etc). And with the new game Thor (May 3) looking like something in-between the two, we’re not going to get our hopes up anytime soon.

But that doesn’t mean that good Marvel games don’t exist. In fact, lots of them do (Well, at least ten of them do). Here are the ten best Marvel games that we can think of. Can we get an “Excelsior!” Mr. Stan Lee?

10. Captain America and the Avengers (Arcade)

To hell with Thor and the Hulk. Who needs ‘em when you’ve got Vision (Who?) and Hawkeye? With Iron Man along for the ride as well, Captain America and the Avengers stormed the arcades and later the home consoles with this beat-‘em-up classic in the early 90s and we’re all better for it. Red Skull was of course the big, big baddie in the game, and all of the characters had their own special projectile attacks and hover vehicles (Except for Iron Man and Vision, they could fly) to combat him with. Other Avengers like Quicksilver and Namor: The Sub-Mariner, would also make cameo appearances, so this was Marvel stuffing the whole Avengers concept down your throat way before the second Iron Man movie. Oh, we thought you knew.



9. Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage (SNES, Genesis)

Coming in a black cartridge on the SNES, you knew that this game meant business right from the get-go. And with a soundtrack by Green Jelly, it only intensified the stage of battle. Set with the backdrop of the epic Maximum Carnage series behind it, Spider-man and Venom teamed up to take on the creature that once went by the name Cletus Kassady. Lots of characters joined in for the Final Fight-esque battle, like Iron Fist, Cloak and Dagger, and Morbius, but only Spider-man and Venom were playable, which sucked. What also sucked was that it got a little repetitive after awhile, but still, with both Spider-man and Green Jelly on one cartridge, how could you possibly go wrong?



See the rest of the list at the link above

Review: Thor: God of Thunder

(Image taken from: cinemablend.com)

Is Thor for the Wii a great game? No, of course it isn't. We already knew that. It’s a movie tie-in game, and movie tie-in games, besides The Chronicles of Riddick are notoriously bad. You can count on it. But is Thor for the Wii at least a good game? Well, yeah, I’ll give it that, as Sega has managed to make a movie tie-in game that doesn’t fall into awful territory. It might be repetitive as all hell and sometimes even annoying with its “epic” boss encounters that you’ll encounter more than once, but I’ll say that Thor is a decent title. It definitely could have been worse.

And the reason why it doesn’t suck is because Thor, like Ghost Rider before it is a God of War rip-off. But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If there’s any franchise worth ripping off, it’s GOW, as there’s just so many different directions that you can take it in. Thor for the Wii, unfortunately, doesn’t take it in all that many directions, as bosses get repeated, enemies get recycled, and a lot of the territories look the same. That said, there’s enough variety in this game with the progressing events that take place that most of it is forgivable. Most of it, I said.

The story involves Loki tricking his brother Thor into a world of trouble because that’s what Loki does. But the story can be put to the side. Personally, Thor has never been one of my favorite Marvel characters, but I would think that he has a bigger rough gallery than is presented in this game. Aside from the bosses, you face very similar foes that can mostly be dispatched by just tapping the attack button over and over again. There are other attacks available that can cut through the monotony, but there actually might be too many attacks, as you’re sometimes given so many different commands that you forget special attacks in key moments when you need them the most. But the moves are at least all there, like lightning attacks and slamming the ground with Thor’s mighty hammer, Mjollnir, so you definitely feel like the God of Thunder (And, as I mentioned earlier, like the God of War, too, what with defeating the seemingly endless waves of enemies before you can progress to the next section).

The combat system is based on combos, which you can link together to create even stronger magical attacks. The combo system is interesting in that you can continue with them even after you’ve been knocked down if you’re quick enough to leap right back into battle. The game may consist of a whole lot of button pounding, but the combos add a bit of strategy, especially with the boss battles where you can get creamed if you continue the same strategy of just tapping the attack button in close quarters. There are also some flying sections where you can shoot lightning and deflect projectiles to send them back at who fired at you, which is similar to Kratos’ Golden Fleece. But the hit detection in this game is a little off, which leads to it feeling more like luck than skill. Overall, Thor for the Wii is a decent title but it’s nothing memorable. If you like the comic or movie, then you won’t feel like you’ve wasted your money if you purchase this game. If you like, either, I said. If you don’t, then you’ll probably just peg it off as another generic GOW clone, so only pick this up if you’re a fan of the Son of Odin.

Now, the DS version of the game, which I was also sent a copy of, is a whole different story. Relying on both screens for combat, Thor for the DS is a 2D side-scroller that also relies on combos, but in a far more interesting way. Thor has a wide-arsenal of techniques like hurling his hammer and shooting out lightning, but it just seems to work better in 2D. I feel like this game is just superior to the Wii version. The story isn’t anything to write home about and it’s also about Loki deceiving his brother, but ripping apart columns and picking up baddies, only to hit others with them, is a total blast that harkens back to the good old days when beat-em-up’s were actually fresh.

br> With both screens to play on, Thor can jump to either screen and take out his foes in a variety of ways, by hammer or by picking up objects in the level, including other bad guys, and slamming them into each other. The only problem that I have with the game is that it may be even more repetitive than its next-gen brethren. But again, Thor just seems to work better in 2D. So add an extra half star for the DS version if you plan on getting it. It’s better that the Wii version, but it’s not a massive leap or anything like that. By Odin’s beard, they’re decent! And for movie-tie in games, that’s actually quite an accomplishment.



Players: 1
Platform(s): Wii (Reviewed) Playstation 3, X-Box360, Nintendo DS (Reviewed)
Developer: Wii (Red fly Studios) Nintendo DS (WayForward)
Publisher: Sega
ESRB: Wii (Teen) Nintendo DS (E10)
Rating: Three stars out of five

The Top 10 Most Hazardous Racing Conditions in Video Games

We love us some sim racers, and think that Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport, and GTR, are all great series. But you know what? Even though we love driving around in expensive cars that we’ll never be able to afford unless we win some huge cash settlements, sometimes, we just want to abandon realism and send our cars through motorized Armageddon. And that’s why we have a soft spot in our hearts for arcade style racers, a genre that’s all about achieving major dents and driving on unthinkable terrain. With Motorstorm Apocalypse coming out tomorrow, which is literally about racing during the end of days, we thought it’d only be right to look at the most hazardous racing conditions in gaming history, picking out the top ten games that force you to be reckless if you want to win the race and survive. So buckle your seatbelts, kiddies, as it’s going to be a bumpy ride. Actually, second thought, screw the seatbelts. Who needs them anyway when somebody’s shooting missiles at you and trying to knock you off a cliff?

10. RC Pro Am (NES)

Greatest Hazards: Other Racers, hindrances on the track

RC Pro Am was Mario Kart before there was Mario Kart. It was all about drifting and picking up power-ups like missiles and bombs to screw over your opponents. This was all in the purpose of winning trophies that didn’t really mean anything in the long run. There were also water puddles, oil slicks, rain clouds, and pop-up walls on the later tracks that you had to avoid if you wanted to stay ahead, so if you thought that you didn’t already have enough shit to deal with, then prepare to meet your maker.

You were also constantly being attacked by the other three competitors, so the frustration level was high when you were on that last lap and got shot down by an enemy missile right before crossing the finish line. We told you that this was like Mario Kart. The only catch? These weren’t real cars but rather, RC vehicles, so nobody wound up flying through a windshield when there was a collision. That doesn’t mean that fists weren’t bloodied when they went flying through TV screens at yet another near loss from a well-timed bomb, though. This game pissed us the hell off back when we were kids and it still pisses us off today. Damn enemy missiles.



9. F-Zero GX (Gamecube)

Greatest Hazards: Extreme Speed and Rollercoaster tracks

Yeah, sure, the original F-Zero on the SNES was dangerous, what with its futuristic opponents willing to knock you around the tracks. But F-Zero GX for the Gamecube took that danger to the next level, mostly because you were piloting a hovercraft at inhuman speeds around tracks that were usually no bigger than a roller coaster rail. Oh, and did we mention that your competitors are trying to send you off into oblivion during the race? Whoever thinks that racing in the future will be easier because of technology is an idiot and needs to plays this game to get a good schooling on what the future will look like—Death in hover car form. This game was also notorious for being insanely hard, and driving over the recharge strips to regain energy and hitting all of the speed boosts (As if the game wasn’t fast enough) is the only way that you would make it to the end of the race. We still haven’t beaten the Sapphire Cup on the highest difficulty. But we’ll get to it someday. We will. Honest.



See the rest of the article here: http://www.complex.com/video-games/2011/05/10-hazardous-driving-conditions/

Osama's Death Foretold Back in 2003 on the Playstation 2

(Image taken from: gonzotimes.com)

Osama Bin Laden was evil to the core--the kind of guy who deserved to be killed or tiger kneed into a helicopter for capture. But despite the fact that the world just found out yesterday that Osama was killed, did you know that his death was already foretold in 2003 on the Playstation 2 in a game called Fugitive Hunter? It's true, and the game was so bad ass that it even had a sick rap song for it that talked about what it would take to kill the most wanted man in America. Check it out below.

"When I grow up, I want to be a drag queen garbage man"

(Image taken from: flickr.com)

When I was younger, and the teachers used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my response was always "drag queen garbage man." Why I had this combination of career choices in mind back then, I have no idea, but I've had it ever since I was in 4th grade, and I know this because of a story that I'm about to tell you.

Well, I went to a Catholic grade school--One of the many Sacred Heart's that you'll find in the Tri-state area--and it was as Catholic as you could get. So yes, Jesus turning water into wine was taught right alongside lessons of Pangaea and The Grapes of Wrath. In that way, religion played a huge part in my upbringing. But so did RuPaul.

(Image taken from: 1051jackfm.com)











Now, as a fourth grader who didn't even know what the female genitalia looked like back then, you can hopefully excuse my ignorance for not knowing that RuPaul really looked like this:

(Image taken from: blackgaygossip.com)













rather than this:

(Image taken from: popcrunch.com)

But that's besides the point. The point is, I thought RuPaul was hot, and I also heard that she was a drag queen. I didn't really know what that meant at the time, but it sounded cool, like a drag racer, or like Queen, the rock group starring Freddie Mercury (So with RuPaul and Freddie Mercury, there's a double doss of gayness for you from a totally hetero 4th grader). I really liked the word, "Drag Queen," and even back then, I was kind of cynical, so when we were asked to write what we wanted to be when we grew up, I once wrote this: "When I grow up, I want to be a drag queen garbage man!" thinking that a garbage man would be the only possible career I could get with the way that I was heading. The Drag Queen thing was just added for shits and giggles.

Well, I handed it back to my teacher, and I'll never forget the way that her eyes expanded when she read what I wrote. She collected the rest of the papers but I remember her putting mine on the top of the others. I was thinking that maybe, with her approval, she could possibly lead me on the road to this career choice of being a drag queen garbage man, but boy was I wrong.



Two days later, I was called down to the office and my father was there, where our principal, a nun, sat me down to sit next to him. I was quite surprised to see that my dad had taken off of work and that he looked pretty upset, not sad upset, mind you, but mad upset. Probably because he knew me well enough to know that I had said or written something stupid and that was why he was called down to the school. The principal solemnly pushed forward my response and I looked at it and smiled.

"Richard," she asked, "did you write this?" which I obviously had since my name was on it, so I nodded and said "Yep, I did," and my father just shook his head. Before the Principal could proceed with asking me a slew of unnecessary questions, my father said this: "Richard, do you even know what a drag queen is?" to which I shrugged and said, "Is it a cross between a drag racer and a queen?"

My father looked back at the principal as if to say, "Now do you see who I have to raise," and the principal let me leave with him. So yeah, this could have been me:



If I only I had known what I had been enlisting for back then...I probably would have tried much harder. Ah, to be young and ignorant. I miss those days. I really do.

You'll Read This in the Morning-Five Reasons Why San Francisco is Better Than Jersey

San Francisco is better than New Jersey, no question. And not by only a little but by a lot. More than by five reasons, even, but I'm tired, my eyes are bloodshot (I still don't know why exactly) and it's late here and even later there, so here are five reasons why San Fran is better than Jersey. All of them true. Damn true, actually, damn true.

5. People are just nicer here

I've lived in Jersey for so long, that I've almost forgotten the the entire human race isn't full of sleazebags and Beiber wannabees. The people in San Fran all ride bikes and they're all nice, saying things like "Sorry," when they have to pass you and "Thank you," when you compliment them on their tye dye shirts or their exotic ponytails. Even the bums are nice. Seriously! Good people here, good people.

4. The buses all have schedules that you can depend on

You know how in New York and New Jersey the public transportation comes at "Any damn time we feel like getting there" o'clock? Well, here in San Fran, you know EXACTLY when the buses are coming because there's actually a timer at all of the bus stops that tell you when the buses are coming, and they're dependable and accurate, too. I'm hoping that the 2012 Mayan Apocalypse comes up on it soon so that I know exactly when I should be buying a surplus of beans for my bomb shelter. I need to get prepared, you know.

3. The weather here is be-you-ti-ful

San Fran is just sheer gorgeous. Everywhere you look, you're just like, "Gee, the weather here is nice, by gum." But in Jersey, all I've ever said about the weather is, "Snow can go to hell," or, "This is nice, but we deserve it, cause the snow here is brutal, and snow can go to hell." But here, I'm told the weather is great all year round, so suck on that, Jersey. Suck on that.

2. Landkmarks galore

Fisherman's Wharf, Castro St, the Golden gate Bridge, the opening shot of Full House, the set location for Big Trouble in Little China-Seriously, if you're a touristy kind of tourist like myself, all camera ready and annoying, then you will ADORE San Fran. There's shit all over the place and then some. I have blisters on me toeses (Rhymes with roses. Or Moses), I've been walking so much. Definitely a place to remember. Definitely.

1. The hills are like roller coasters

Possibly my favorite part about San Fran is that the whole city is like one enormous roller coaster, as cars and buses go up and down hills with such ease that you think you're on El Toro with some of these drops. I even put my hands up when I was on the bus, but put them back down quickly, because people were looking at me. Sorry, folks.

More on San Fran soon, and pictures! The internet at the hotel is too slow for that. More to come.