Megatron!

This really happened on the first week of the season, just ask my wife.  

She wouldn't talk to me for days after that.

The Eat @ Shrimpy's 2014 Year in Review

We'll get back to the AC/DC discography review shortly, but first, the annual "year in review!"

I have combed through my reviews this year to bring you a best of list.  If you neglected my recommendation the first time*, follow the links to re-read the reviews and make some post-New Year’s purchases.  If I neglected something, or you think I ranked one too low, please let me know in the comments, we’ll start a dialogue.

Please note, that this was a pretty lean year in terms of spending as legal bills were a major hassle, so the lists may not be as extensive as in years past.  I invite you to help me flesh out those lists with some of your own favorites.

*Where I have failed to provide a previous review there will be a small blurb as to why I included that particular thing.

Concerts:

1.  Clutch

That's it, one concert last year.  Jeez.  Luckily next year starts with a bang as Black Label Society is coming to Syracuse in January!

CD’s:

1.   Black Label Society: Catacombs of the Black Vatican
2.  Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band: Goin' Home
2.  Dio: This is Your Life
4.  Black Stone Cherry: Magic Mountain
5. Slash: World on Fire

Comic Series:

I read no new comics this year (I know, it's a shame).  I did pick up a few trades though, and in no particular order, my recommendations are Invincible, The Goon, Chew, Atomic Robo.

Seriously, those four books are awesome, go pick them up!

Video Games:

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - 3DS

2.  Mario Kart 8
3.  Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (Review coming soon!)
4.  Pikmin 3
5. Diablo III

So what are your favorites? 

Riding the Pine

I may have been the king of leaving high scoring players on my bench all season.  I feel his pain.

Megatron?

Sometimes, the real conversations you have during fantasy football are the scariest conversations.

He Sees You When You're...

Remember that, kiddos.

The Math Doesn't Add Up

Week One

Standings:

Shrimp:		Assorted Freaks:
The Masked Shrimp	0-0	The Slugomatic	0-0
Fred	0-0	The Wormy Guy	0-0
The Masked Shrimpette	0-0	Mr. Happee	0-0

Schedule:

The Masked Shrimp v. The Masked Shrimpette

The Slugomatic v. The Wormy Guy

Fred v. Mr. Happee

What is that above the strip, you ask?  Well, every "week" within the Fantasy Football schedule, I'll provide the standings, as well as the schedule of who plays who for the upcoming "week" (week is in quotations because the number of strips within each particular week will vary).  

Album Review: AC/DC – Stiff Upper Lip (2000)

Overview: 

I have a confession to make, this was my first AC/DC album, yes, before Back in Black, before Highway to Hell.  I still have a bit of a soft spot for this album, and while it’s a little long and tends to overstay its welcome by the end, I still hold it in very high regard.

Tracks you may know: 

Stiff Upper Lip – One of my favorite tracks in the catalogue, a killer riff with a great solo about halfway through the song.  AC/DC at its finest.

Tracks you should know:

Come and Get It – There’s something about hearing Brian Johnson growl the challenge “come and get it” that makes me very confident he’d have my back in fight.

All Screwed Up – A fast moving romp of a song, not quite “Rocker” level, but the guitarwork on this one is cleaner.

My personal favorite:

I have to go with “Stiff Upper Lip”.  If you listen to no other song on this album, listen to that one. 

Album rating: 

A great album (I am a little biased, I admit) that just builds on their late career resurgence.  By now the myth of AC/DC was just as important as their output, and their output was phenomenal.

8/10

Kicker

Fantasy Football Tip #251: Always check to make sure the player you're picking up is in the league.

The Sad Truth

Note, this was written before the start of the season, when the dominance of the Dallas offensive line was not a sure thing.  It's nice being able to look back on these and see where things were three months ago.

That being said, I wasn't the only one that thought Dallas was going to be terrible this year, and I'm a Cowboys fan!

Not so New Comic Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (1991) #58

                Last issue ended with the arrival of the High Evolutionary.  This issue starts with Talon attacking the High Evolutionary (of course).  This does not go over well as The High Evolutionary is well equipped to deflect any attack.  When the rest of the Guardians fail to heed the pleas of Ripjak to actually think for a second and stop just attacking without a clear reason, Yellowjacket (the only member of the team that knows who the High Evolutionary is because of her time spent in the present day where he was more of a fixture) stops them herself.  She then explains to them who he is and why he should be trusted. 

                At that point The High Evolutionary and Ripjak decide that Vance is the only one that can help them take on Bubonicus because there is no more room in Ripjak’s ship for the whole team (his ship has superior technology but no extra seats so they are going to use that).  Talon gets all butt-hurt about not being allowed to go but the rest of the team supports their leader.  It is then revealed that because of Vance’s bodysuit that he will be impervious to the disease that Bubonicus uses as a weapon.  To fight him, Vance and Ripjak need to team up!  The rest of the Guardians, despite now knowing that Ripjak is not the enemy, still don’t understand why Vance would work with him. 

                Now, on a distant planet, Bubonicus is striking again.  However, he is taken by surprise as Vance is among the populace (though the rest of the people are dying, so I guess they were just the bait?).  Ripjak, meanwhile is in his ship and shoots at Bubonicus to disorient him before jumping down to engage him face to face.  Ripjak and Vance fight Bubonicus until an explosion shows that both Bubonicus and Ripjak have disappeared, leaving Vance alone.  The High Evolutionary has saved the citizens of the planet at least, but that is it.  There is no actual conclusion to this storyline.  Bubonicus and Ripjak are out there…somewhere.

                Back on the ship, Vance comes to find out that while he was out there saving lives, the rest of the Guardians have decided that they’ve had enough of being a team and are all taking a sabbatical.  Aleta has decided to stay behind with Vance to rekindle their relationship, but everyone else has left to do their own thing for the time being. 

                As we finish up this issue, we focus on Starhawk who comes across a beaten and broken Silver Surfer floating through space. 

                Next Issue:  Who did this to the Surfer, and is this the end of the lover’s quarrels between Vance and Talon? 

The Cost of the Steal

This may or may not have actually happened.

Album Review: AC/DC – Ballbreaker (1995)

Overview: 

AC/DC continued to ride the high from The Razor’s Edge with their most consistent album to date.  Nearly twenty years later, and the band was only getting better.

Tracks you may know: 

Hard as a Rock – Probably the most standard AC/DC track on the album, so it makes sense this would be the track that was well known. 

Cover You in Oil – A relatively traditional AC/DC track with a great chorus.

Tracks you should know:

Boogie Man – A rich, bluesy track, the likes of which we haven’t really seen in a while. 

The Furor/Hail Caesar – Pick one, they’re both very similar, but they are great songs on an album full of quality.

My personal favorite:

The Furor – It’s a very danceable beat, coupled with something that probably pissed off a lot of Germans, you can’t go wrong!

Album rating: 

The Razor’s Edge was good, Ballbreaker was better. 

9/10

Wrong Fantasy

A fight over nipple clamps?  Yup, sounds about right.

Purple Attack

Sometimes, the heaviness that is talking about character flaws of football players needs to be broken up by Sluggy talking about bean dip.

*Note: this was at the beginning of the season when Ray Rice was only suspended for two games, before the video and before Roger Goodell became especially adept at talking out of his ass.

Not so New Comic Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (1991) #57

                So, at the end of the last issue, we found out that the Guardians are basically responsible for the suffering of millions of people, no not the readers of their comic, the population of a planet that has been hit by a plague.  Apparently Ripjak, the supposed interstellar serial killer is actually an interstellar mercy killer, snuffing the lives of the afflicted before they can suffer that same fate to the diseases ravaging their world. 

                Of course this means nothing to the Guardians who continue to attack Ripjak until Yondu (again, the only Guardian worth a damn) forces them to stop.  Of course this is a perfect time for Talon to start fighting with Yondu, because Vance was busy I guess?  Anyway, the fighting stops when Ripjak tells his origin to the guardians, beyond what they already know I guess.  He explained how he came to be the Kevorkian of the future and finally Vance realizes that Bubonicus is the true villain here (remember Bubonicus from that one issue that featured the Galactic Guardians?)  Apparently Martinex told Vance about him and even uploaded some info to Icarus, but no one on the Guardians does their homework, so no one knew of him.  Vance, trying to make up for being a dumbass and missing the correlation, is willing to let Ripjak aboard Icarus in order to learn more about Bubonicus, which pisses off Talon (of course). 

                We now take a break and head out to deep space where Starhawk has found Hollywood.  Starhawk wants to know about his parents, but Hollywood doesn’t want any part of helping him, so of course, in grand Guardians of the Galaxy tradition, they fight.  Of course, while they fight, they also talk so when they eventually stop pummeling eachother they help eachother.  I am not sure whether West is unable to draw two people having a normal conversation or whether Gallagher refuses to write that.  They seriously spent three pages beating eachother up in order to have a conversation.  That’s lazy.  In the end, Hollywood suggests that Starhawk find the Silver Surfer, that he may be able to help find Starhawk’s parents, or at least point him in a direction to get the search started, and they part company.  Starhawk then leaves Hollywood with the chunk of info that “Doom lies beneath his dome”.  If you remember, Hollywood has been searching frantically all over the universe for Doctor Doom (or Wolver-Doom as he is now known) and it appears that he was in the same spot the whole time.  Great detective work Hollywood. 

                Back on the ship, everyone is finally looking at the info on Bubonicus (which, by the way, comes in the form of a hologram and most likely a narration, so they didn’t even have to read about him, super laaaaazy).  They learn some more about Bubonicus, even calling up Martinex for his input (weren’t he and Vance mad at eachother last issue?) and they all start to argue about the validity of a plan that involves teaming up with their enemy to fight a greater enemy (they’ve apparently never read a Marvel comic) until out of nowhere, who shows up but the High-freaking-Evolutionary!

                Next Issue: It’s High-Evolutionary hijinks as we finish up this story-arc.

Stolen

Yes, this actually happened. 

Yes, I still occasionally hear about it.

Album Review: AC/DC – The Razor’s Edge (1990)

Overview: 

A lot less filler equals a much better album this time around.  In fact, instead of going out with a whimper, AC/DC goes out with a bang on The Razor’s Edge as the last three songs are some of the strongest on the album.

Tracks you may know: 

Thunderstruck – Have you ever seen a sports movie?  Then you’ve probably heard “Thunderstruck”.

Moneytalks – More good fun from Angus and the crew as the hook gets you and never lets you go.

Tracks you should know:

Let’s Make It, Goodbye and Good Riddance to Bad Luck and If You Dare – The best closing trio of songs on any AC/DC album in their career, incredibly solid and leaves you feeling satisfied instead of cheated (like the ending of the last few albums did).

My personal favorite:

If You Dare – I don’t know why this stands out so much, the backup vocals maybe…it’s got a creepy vibe to go along with the great riff.  The best closing song in their catalogue.

Album rating: 

Back with a vengeance.  One of their best albums and the best of the late 80’s for sure.

8/10

Draft Party

Are they asleep, or did they commit ritual suicide at the prospect of a three hour Musburger-called game?  

That's a valid question.

The Hand You're Dealt

Yup, Shrimpy is an old-school Carolina Panthers fan.  Kerry Collins for the win!

Not so New Comic Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (1991) #56

                Somehow, someway, the Guardians always wind up escaping certain death at the last moment.  This time, after Ripjak has blown up his base, after detailing his origin to the Guardians first, of course, it is revealed that Vance teleported the Guardians back to their ship just before the explosion, because of course he did.  Once back on Icarus, Vance and Talon have yet another fight, before everything starts acting normal.  Yondu and Yellowjacket take Aleta to the infirmary to recover from her attack by Ripjak, while Martinex calls Vance on some sort of holographic video phone.  He chides Vance for breaking the quarantine around Mars, as well as questioning him about Charlie’s frame-job from a few issues ago.  Instead of having a conversation like a normal person though, Vance blows up at Martinex, one of his oldest friends and partners, and then tells him to not look into the goings-on.  It’s a level of trust that probably should be expected at this point in their partnership, but Vance could have very easily said that “Charlie was framed and we’re going after the real villain”.  Bam.  Done.  That was not difficult and it took less time than his little speech did.  I don’t know why Gallagher wants us to hate Vance, but it’s working. 

 

                We then get a quick update from the prison warden who basically blames the Guardians for everything (even though he promised not to), and this makes Charlie mad, then sad because it reminds him how rough he had it for all of a couple days I’m assuming.  Nikki then cheers him up and it’s romance rekindled!

                Wait, wait, wait.  It’s time for another Talon and Vance fight.

                Okay, now that that is out of the way we cut to Ripjak in his ship.  It turns out that his motivation for destroying these worlds has more to do with ending their suffering than actually killing them.  He is an interstellar Jack Kevorkian basically. 

                Back on the Guardians’ ship, Yondu is trying to heal ALeta by doing some sort of spiritual cleansing thing…and it works.  Yondu is consistently the only member of the team that has any real worth. 

                The Guardians show up at the planet that Ripjak has managed to make his way to.  Of course, a fight ensues, where Ripjak attacks the Guardians and surprise, surprise, he’s winning.  While he is kicking everyone else’s ass though, Yellowjacket shrinks down and blindsides him, knocking him down.  When he gets up though he shows the Guardians the error of their ways as the denizens of the planet they are on continue to die from a plague, writhing in pain and fear. 

                Next Issue: The Guardians made the wrong decision…go figure.  Now we get to see them deal with their foolishness, and I would be willing to put money on another Talon-Vance fight.

Pull Your Punches

I'm not going to point any fingers, but this may or may not have been a conversation I had before the draft in my league.

Album Review: AC/DC – Blow Up Your Video (1988)

Overview: 

Blow Up Your Video was well received, especially after the debacle of the last two albums, but it still fell under the “can they play anything else?” umbrella that has followed the band throughout their career.  That being said, the energy from the band is and always has been undeniable.

Tracks you may know: 

Heatseeker and That’s The Way I Wanna Rock & Roll – They are lumped together because they are so similar.  They are not bad songs, but like the rest of the AC/DC catalogue, they are interchangeable. 

Tracks you should know:

Meanstreak – The best track on the album, and one of the best of the Brian Johnson era.

My personal favorite:

Meanstreak – A walking beat and a killer guitar lick make this the best track on the album, by far.

Album rating: 

Looooooots of filler tracks on this one don’t make for a great album. The critics and general public may have liked it, but aside from a few tracks I’d rather listen to any other album.  This is probably my least favorite, and their most forgettable album.

3/10

'Tis the Season

Okay, I've been touting this as a big deal for a couple weeks now, and here's why.

1.  Every storyline I have done has been completely written in advance.  This is the first time I am writing the story as it happens, so this story has not be completed yet as the final week of the fantasy football season just ended.

2.  This is the longest story I have created to date.  Seriously, it will be going until June at least as it's 

currently constituted.

3.  Because this is a storyline that is based around an actual fantasy football season, it is very topical, most of the jokes, in fact will be little reminders as to what has happened in the current football season.

Note: You may not like fantasy football, or football in general, but I ask that you refrain from checking out until June.  This is still Eat @ Shrimpy's, so it's still going to be the same level of hilarity you're used to.

Blue Friday

Is Sluggy a hypocrite?  Absolutely.  

Is Sluggy a hypocrite that is going to get a huge TV for $50?  Absolutely.

Not so New Comic Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (1991) #55

                Kevin West is back on pencils as this issue picks up with Ripjak ambushing the Guardians that were searching for him (Talon, Aleta and Yondu).  They fight back and forth with Ripjak coming out on top.  He somehow pulls the light, the source of both her powers and her life, right out of Aleta.  As Yondu goes to find help Talon is bested by Ripjak as well.  Ripjak then finds Yondu and defeats him as well, knocking out three of the most powerful Guardians in rapid succession. 

                The rest of the Guardians find their teammates’ lifeless bodies but Ripjak is nowhere to be found.  In fact, he hightailed it right off of Mars completely.  I do wonder how Ripjak avoided detection by the Sentinels when he came and went, but that, of course, is never explained.  The rest of the Guardians stumble upon Ripjak’s lair as they search for him and while Talon and Yondu don’t seem to be too bad, Aleta is critically injured, to the point where her Power-Girl-esque boob-window might not even save her. 

                Just when you think things can’t get weirder, we get the origin of Ripjak!  He was the lone survivor of the Martian race, the lead scientist in charge of saving the planet from a plague.  Unfortunately he was the only one that was saved as he created the antibodies (from the body of Spider-Man) too late to save anyone else.  He then created a “battle suit” to contain himself (one that gave him pecs and other humanoid muscles apparently. 

                Upon hearing his origin, Ripjak promptly uses the self-destruct feature of his lab playset and a giant hole is blown in the planet.  That’s not the only destruction that Ripjak is providing though as we see him carry out his mission and incinerate another, well-inhabited, planet, committing the planetary genocide that got him the moniker of interplanetary serial killer. 

Next Issue: So…the Guardians are dead, right?  They have to be.  Plus Ripjak is on the loose to kill again.  Damn, these guys suck at this super-hero thing. 

Communication Breakdown

Obviously The Mighty Fishstick saw this coming.  Really, who didn't?

Album Review: AC/DC – Fly on the Wall (1985)

Overview: 

Another album that followed in the mold of Flick of the Switch in that it was not well received by the critics or the general public and sounded pretty much like every other AC/DC album before it.  In fact, many of the songs on this album sound the same as well, which has a lot to do with Brian Johnson and his unique but limited vocal capabilities at this stage in his career.  “Fly on the Wall” “Shake Your Foundations” and “Hell or High Water” could be the exact same song.

Tracks you may know: 

Shake Your Foundations – Probably the most recognizable song from this album, and a good one in its own right.  It features Brian Johnson going up an octave or two as well as a higher pitch on the guitar part than was usual.  The solo in the middle still knocks it out of the park (but you could have guessed that).

Tracks you should know:

Danger – Brian Johnson doesn’t alter his vocal delivery at all, but the fact that this song deviates from the speed of the other tracks into more of a plodding, bluesy delivery is a welcome change.

Playing With Girls – One of the best riffs/choruses in the entire AC/DC discography.  Seriously, listen to it and you won’t be able to get it out of your head.

My personal favorite:

First Blood – From the opening guitar riff to the sing along chorus, this should be a staple in any AC/DC playlist.

Album rating: 

Sometimes, the critics and fans are wrong.  Here they were slightly wrong.  Could there have been more variety on the album itself? Absolutely.  Do I really care?  Nope.

7/10

STAN

Duh.

Home Sweet Home

To be fair, if I was left home alone for a week, that is what my sink would look like too.

That's it for "Weird NJ".  Next week we have a handful of hilarity to tide us over until the next story starts and then, December first is the big day.  A new storyline and a first for this strip.  

New Comic Review: The Almighties #0

We are going to take a slight detour from the Guardians of the Galaxy this week and look at a new comic from Actuality Press that may ring a few bells.  Next week we'll get back to our retro review of the space-travelling heroes.

                A while back, Sam Johnson, creator of The Almighties, asked me to review The Almighties#1 as well as Geek-Girl and Mr. Mash-Up #0.  He recently contacted me as The Almighties are back with a Zero Issue!  While I was not super impressed with issue #1, let’s see how issue zero shakes out.  But first, the official stuff from Sam himself:

The Almighties #0 is out now - along with a chance for newcomers to catch up on the team's debut adventure in The Almighties #1 new Limited Variant Edition – both available at www.actualitypress.com

Cover:

                Artistically, the cover is better than that of issue 1 in my opinion.  While it is still a team shot, the overall drawing is much better this time around.  Though the “team” concept seems a bit fractured as no one looks happy or very trusting of one another.  Regardless, Juan Ramirez does a decent job of drawing each character, and the inking and coloring just add to the quality of the illustration.  I really enjoy the clarity of the Almighties logo as well.  It is instantly iconic and something that should remain relatively unchanged, regardless of the media that the Almighties may inhabit in the future.

8/10

Writing:

                Despite the fact that this is a zero issue, the events actually take place after those of issue one.  The first thing we get is an abbreviated origin of Maxi-Tron (I’m sorry Sam, I can’t read that name without thinking of Maxi-Pad).  I’m not really sure where that fits in the grand scheme of things, but I am always down for a good origin story.  Johnson does a good job of managing a multitude of artists by giving each one of them a specific story to tell.  Some are more successful than others, but the fact that he splits the art duties up in this way helps to ensure that there isn’t a strange and abrupt transition between pages, it all feels more natural.  Johnson also does a good job with the issue as a whole.  By utilizing the tried and true “tell me about your teammates” way of storytelling, we are able to learn the origins of the various members of the team in a more natural manner.  While this way of doing this is far from revelatory, the fact that Johnson doesn’t take the easy way out of just telling the origins shows that he has thought about the book and how he wants it to flow. 

                Unfortunately, most of the meat and potatoes of the stories themselves aren’t great.  Nite Fang’s story (written by Mike Gagnon) doesn’t really do much besides tell us that he was a jerk that was bitten by a werewolf.  There is very little backstory contained in those two pages that would make us really care about the character.  The Ms. F story, while not really an origin, is just…odd.  The dialogue is a bit unbelievable.  It’s almost like he’s trying to make it conversational, like how real people talk, but it comes out a bit forced.  The origin of Mason is two panels and a bunch of dialogue, again, not really making me care too much about the character.  That’s the problem.  In an issue that is supposed to be a re-introduction of the characters, we don’t really wind up caring too much about any of them.

                This takes us to the new character, Wayne Winston.  The fact that his origin story takes up so much space is a blessing and a curse.  While it causes me to start to care about him as a character, it shows what Johnson could have done with the other characters.  The final story revolves around Stefanos.  After an odd introduction to his character (something tells me getting a blowjob behind the counter of your restaurant violates all sorts of health codes), President Obama comes in to offer an opportunity to Stefanos.  In issue one, Agent Coleslaw is killed in the big fight at the conclusion of the book.  Obama wants Stefanos to go back in time, using a cosmic cube with a reset button (seriously?) on it and prevent this from happening.  Stefanos accepts the mission, goes back in time, and fails miserably at his assignment. 

                At first, I thought it was silly to even have him go back in time if he was going to fail, then I thought, you know what, showing that the superhero doesn’t always save the day isn’t a terrible thing.  Then, when I saw how Johnson ended the story, I not only understood why he wrote it the way he did, but I disliked it even more.  By going back in time, Stefanos upset the timestream enough to get George W. Bush elected to a third term.  Hardy har har…  That’s some low hanging fruit you’re picking with that one.  It’s neither original or funny, unfortunately.  IN all honesty, instead of going for the easy joke, he could have spent those extra pages filling out the origin stories of the Almighties.

5/10 – While the way the story is told is good, the content, be it the actual stories themselves or the way they are written (sometimes I don’t know if Johnson is trying to write a specific dialect or if he just forgot to proofread) is not up to par.

Art:

                The only thing I can say, is that if Juan Ramirez had drawn the whole book, it may have pulled everything together and made up for some of the glaring weaknesses in the script.  Unfortunately, while the art is not terrible, it is not inspiring at all.  While I do like the cartoonier art of Graham Pearce’s contribution, that is unfortunately the highlight of a lengthy book.  Pearce does a decent job in his storytelling as well.  In fact, most of the storytelling is good throughout the book, it’s just the general artwork itself that doesn’t hold a lot of appeal for me.  Could it be a matter of taste?  Sure.  I will say though, the lettering is dicey throughout.  There are many times I had to read things multiple times as they were unclear the first time around (something you never want to have to do). 

                I will say this though, the drawing of Bush at the end of the issue is pretty spot on.

5/10 – No one is winning any awards here, but they put a lot of work into the book and it shows.  They should be commended for their efforts even if the results weren’t perfect.

Overall:  5/10 – Even if I saw this book on the shelf in a comic shop and picked it up, I probably wouldn’t have bought it based on the art.  After reading it, there are some good things here, there’s the seed of competent storytelling and a couple funny moments.  But it was mightily inconsistent.  I am looking forward to the further adventures of Geek-Girl though, as I enjoyed that book.

In the Dust

Amen to that Shrimpy, you and me both.

Album Review: AC/DC – Flick of the Switch (1983)

Overview: 

Flick of the Switch definitely follows in the pattern of the last two albums that featured Brian Johnson at the helm.  There is nothing wrong with this as it is still a competent album full of instantly recognizable AC/DC songs.  This album was not met with much acclaim as people at the time were getting tired of the fact that AC/DC’s discography felt like one big album.  I tend to like this album though as I feel it has more hidden gems on it than the other albums from this era that had massive radio airplay.

Tracks you may know: 

Nervous Shakedown – There were not too many songs from this album that the public gravitated to, but this was one of them.  It is more of the same, a traditional AC/DC track.

Tracks you should know:

Landlside – It opens with a very Ted Nugent-ish guitar part and then just barrels full speed ahead through the rest of the song.  Not a terrific song by any means by the speed at which it is played harkens back to songs like “Rocker” from the Bon Scott days.

Bedlam in Belgium – Yet again, another AC/DC song that sounds like the rest of the AC/DC songs.  This is a good one though, I love the guitar riff on this and Brian Johnson’s voice is absolutely one of a kind.

My personal favorite:

Badlands – Does it kind of sound like “Bedlam in Belgium”? Sure.  Is it still a good track?  Absolutely.  

Album rating: 

I can see why fans and critics alike were growing tired of the AC/DC sound.  I, however, enjoyed the fact that this album received so little fanfare that many of the tracks were ones I had never heard before. 

6/10

What's in a Name

After seeing Greystone firsthand, I can't imagine it was just the name that provided the gloom.

A Little Different

The things you had to do to be committed to a mental hospital back in Greystone's heyday were ridiculous.  Things that are celebrated nowadays, like being homosexual, would get you a one way ticket to Greystone or a similar institution.  

The picture above does very little to really illustrate the majesty and architectural beauty of Greystone as a whole.  Unfortunately, Greystone as we know it has been torn down and a more modern facility was erected on the grounds.  The building in the picture above was the last major building standing and the last building in use before 

it too was abandoned.  

Seriously, if you want to see beautiful architecture and what the ravages of time can do to that architecture, 

just Google Greystone.

Not so New Comic Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (1991) #54

                Everything we have learned to this point about the War of the Worlds has involved a huge hole where the fate of Spiderman is concerned.  Even the definitive War of the Worlds story, the three-parter that took place between issue fifty, Galactic Guardians number one and the fourth annual was vague as to what definitively happened to Spider-Man as his body was apparently taken back to Mars.  The cover of this issue shows Spider-Man’s costume.  Does this mean Spidey himself is alive and well on Mars?  I doubt it, it’s been 1000 years, but they sure as shit will let us believe anything in order to buy the book. 

                The good news here is that Scott Eaton is back as guest penciller.  While Kevin West was good at what he did, having a fresh “voice” for the artwork has been a nice change of pace.  We open on Mars, where the Guardians are about to enter the airspace of a planet that has been quarantined since the attack on Earth.  In order to enforce that Quarantine, Sentinels (the old X-Men villains) have been dispatched to watch over the planet and prevent any interference.  They are an old, outdated technology though and are easily dispatched by the Guardians.  Gallagher tries to build up tension, and drags out the fight, but once you hear Vance say to the crew that Sentinel technology is “outdated” you know the outcome. 

                Vance and Talon get into yet another fight, one that Nikki breaks up, leading to one of the weirdest looking panels I have seen in this comic, then we get another account of the War of the Worlds (hooray!)  After that we head down to Mars where Ripjak has seen all of this unfold, even though the Guardians had their ship cloaked the whole time.  The Guardians teleport down to the surface of Mars and immediately see a museum of sorts and begin to look around.  It is a museum of the war, complete with  the costumes and armor of Earth’s fallen heroes.  Vance sees Captain America’s mask and gets all fanboyish.  He opens the container housing the mask in order to take it and it disintegrates.   Let’s get this straight, Vance is on the search for an interplanetary serial killer, someone that has not just killed people, but committed mass genocide, and Vance Astro is more concerned with antiquing.  God damn I hate this character. 

                We see the Guardians going through more of the museum, complete with videos of the attack, until they stumble upon Spider-Man’s costume.  They are also greeted by a sarcophagus emblazoned with Spider-Man’s face.  Apparently the Martians were so taken aback by Spidey fighting them till the bitter end that they had his body enshrined after his death.  They then removed his body from the sarcophagus because the scientists were attempting to create antibodies from his blood to counteract a plague sweeping through their planet. 

                As you ruminate on that nugget of history, we are transported to deep space, where Starhawk begins his quest to learn who is true parents are. 

                Back on Mars, Talon and Vance get into another argument (enough Gallagher, we get it, they don’t like each other) and Talon, Aleta and Yondu split from the rest of the group to go and find Ripjak.  We end the issue with Ripjak welcoming their arrival, and their death.

Next Issue: Hopefully someone dies, or at least Talon and Vance stop acting like little bitches, and can we please hear about the War of the Worlds again!?

One More Stop

A little more on Greystone tomorrow, but in my short time living in New Jersey, it became an obsession of mine to learn as much about the institution as possible.  It's a beautiful place that has unfortunately been torn down by this point.  If you do a Google Search of it though you will see how captivating it is.

Album Review: AC/DC – For Those About to Rock We Salute You (1981)

Overview: 

This album feels like Back in Black side B, it is that close to the seminal AC/DC album.  In my opinion, it’s just as good.  The band was on a roll, probably still coming off the high that they garnered with the popularity of Back in Black.  On a side note, in the early 2000s, this album took a stranglehold of my car CD system for a good six weeks.  It’s just that good.

Tracks you may know: 

For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) – Another AC/DC classic.  Not much to say about this besides the fact that if you listen to classic rock radio long enough, you’ll undoubtedly hear this song.

Tracks you should know:

C.O.D. – Does it sound like every other AC/DC song?  Sure.  Does that bother me at all?  Not even a little bit.  Every song on this album is just begging to being cranked in your car stereo, this song is no exception.

My personal favorite:

Inject the Venom – It’s not the most popular song in their catalog, but it might be the heaviest.  This song is one that I could listen to on repeat for days.

Album rating: 

I put it on par with Back in Black.

10/10