#anyway a rather overlooked song from 1993!

[eurovisionart]

🇹🇷 Burak Aydos - Esmer yarim

[radiotransylvania]

5 Seasonal Things To Watch In November

There’s plenty of great media to watch in October and even more for December, but what about the month in between? If you’re looking for some great seasonal content to watch in November and aren’t a fan of Thanksgiving, check out these movies, miniseries, and TV specials:

The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad (1949)

This underrated Disney movie is probably best known for being the source material for the beloved dark ride Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. It’s basically a double feature, with two separate literary adaptations linked by a bit of narration and some library footage. The first half is The Wind In The Willows, which tells the story of Mr. Toad and his motormania. It’s got fun antics, sneaky weasels, and charming as hell animation. There’s also a part at the end where it’s Christmas for a bit. It’s not a huge part of the plot tbh, but it feels like enough of a nod to earn its place on the list. The second half of the film is The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow which is obviously the spooky part of this one. It also contains “The Headless Horseman” a criminally overlooked Disney song sung by Bing Crosby (though if you want to hear my favourite cover, you’ll have to seek out the Thurl Ravenscroft version).

Over The Garden Wall (2014)

This is Tumblr, so y’all know this one but I’m going to talk about it anyway. While it’s spooky throughout, I put this one in the “transition” category because I don’t necessarily associate it with Halloween so much as I think of it as quintessentially autumnal. The visuals of the woods transition from falling leaves to snow-covered, barren trees throughout the course of the episodes, so I feel like works nicely as November viewing. Also the whole thing is just fantastic, from the turn-of-the-century style music to the gorgeous backgrounds. The visuals and audio are each great enough to stand out on their own, but put together they create a truly magical experience. Even though I didn’t see this one until after I had graduated college, it’s so timeless that part of me just feels like it’s been around forever.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

You all knew this one was coming. “Tim Burton’s” classic tale (neither written nor directed by Tim Burton) of what happens when Halloween and Christmas collide. A lot of great Danny Elfman songs that don’t fit neatly into the “Christmas Song” box or the “Halloween Song” box (I don’t want to put “Kidnap The Sandy Claws” on my Halloween playlist because it’s not the time of year I want to be thinking about Santa yet, but it’s too dark to go on my Christmas playlist. On the other hand, I would find it totally reasonable for someone else to put it on either playlist for themselves) and visuals that have fun with mixing the two holidays together.

Anna And The Apocalypse (2017)

The only live-action entry on the list and the only one that’s not family-friendly. This British Christmas zombie musical is about a horrific apocalypse that just happens to coincide with the holidays. This leads to a lot of fun gory Christmas imagery, like a zombie in a snowman costume getting decapitated and Anna using a large candy cane decoration with a spike at the bottom as weapon against the undead. It also has a bunch of catchy songs: some that work for Halloween (”Soldier At War”), some that work for Christmas (”It’s That Time Of Year”) and some that aren’t seasonal but are really fun to sing (”Turning My Life Around”). There’s a lot of blood. There’s a lot of tinsel. It’s a good time! (For the audience, I mean. The characters do NOT have a good time).

Halloween Is Grinch Night (1977) & How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

Rather than a single piece of media, this last one is a recommendation for two specials you can watch as a double feature. While How The Grinch Stole Christmas is a well-known classic, Halloween Is Grinch Night is fairly obscure. Is some of that because of the difference in quality between the two? Probably. But I would argue that Grinch Night is still definitely worth watching. It’s written by Seuss himself, it has some weird and wonderful songs, and it contains this iconic exchange:

Since Boris Karloff was dead by the time it was made, the Grinch is voiced by Hans Conried instead. Conried is best known as the voice actor for Captain Hook (and Mr. Darling) in Disney’s Peter Pan. He puts his cartoon villain skills to good use here, having fun with being a delightfully nasty Grinch. Grinch Night can be considered a prequel to How The Grinch Stole Christmas (as long as you come up with some sort of headcanon for what happened to Max in-between) so the two work well as a back-to-back viewing experience.

This has been a text post version of this vlog:

If you love Halloween songs like “The Headless Horseman” and “This Is Halloween,” check out the Radio Transylvania podcast! You can find it on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts, or follow me here, where I post when each episode comes up and share other spooky content.

[splashesdarling]

A comprehensive evaluation and ranking of all Mariah albums:

Y’all want to dive deep into Ms. Mimi’s discography? Well too bad, we’re doing it anyway (skip to the end for rankings).

Mariah Carey (1990) Mariah’s debut is a great collection of songs, but a great collection of songs and a great album are not one and the same. The songs individually (with the sole exception of Prisoner) are fantastic, but there is no real album cohesion, in either sound or theme. Its main purpose was to introduce the world to Mariah’s voice, and it does so with admirable panache. 

- Album Highlight: Alone In Love. Album Lowlight: Prisoner.

Emotions (1991) Mariah’s Debut album introduced the world to her voice, Emotions introduces the world to Mariah THE ARTIST. Her skills as a songwriter and music producer are on full display, as is her voice, which is allowed more freedom and spontaneity her second album out. Carrying the listener to dizzying highs throughout a distinctive yet cohesive album.

- Album Highlight: Till The End Of Time. Album Lowlight: None.

MTV Unplugged (1992) Its sole reason for existence was to prove Mariah’s voice was not a studio creation, MTV Unplugged proves it, though the performances are held back by some sloppy music cues and Mariah’s obvious stage fright. There are some lovely live instrumental rearrangements and vocals, but there are better live performances from Mariah. 

- Album Highlight: Negligible. Album Lowlight: Negligible.  

Music Box (1993) Serving as a transitional period for Mariah musically, Music Box sees Mariah experimenting with new sounds and singing styles, most of which work wonderfully and those that don’t are at worst only forgettable. Much like her Debut, Music Box is a great collection of songs, but as an album experience it’s lacking. The album doesn’t inspire you to listen from beginning to end, rather you skip to the songs you want to hear. 

- Album Highlight: Everything Fades Away. Album Lowlight: Hero.

Merry Christmas (1994) Do you like Christmas music? Do you enjoy talented vocalists? Do you like when talented vocalists sing Christmas music? You’re in luck, but the rest of us will have to wait for a real new album.

- Album Highlight: AIWFCIY. Album Lowlight: It’s a Christmas album, the entirety of it is a lowlight.

Daydream (1995) The title is apt, this dreamy album is a pleasure. Though cohesion is still an issue, it's not so blatant here. Many of the songs tie into a central theme, and soundwise there is a through line. That is not to say the songs that deviate bring the album down, quite the contrary. For the first time Mariah’s hip hop, r&b, and soul inspirations and deep-seated love for the genres are coming through clearly, but they’re somewhat held back, which would become blatant with the subsequent release of Butterfly.

- Album Highlight: Always Be My Baby. Album Lowlight: (If only for me) One Sweet Day.

Butterfly (1997) Mariah Carey crystallized. Her first album to truly capture the woman she was and the phenomenal artist she is when unrestricted and allowed to express herself freely. From the lyrical artistry, to the pitch perfect production, Mariah’s breathtaking vocals and the depth of the album as a whole, Butterfly still stands as Mariah’s magnum opus. The album is cohesive, while still allowing each song to stand easily on their own. Some will argue the exception is her cover of The Beautiful Ones, but I wholeheartedly disagree. If taken on its own perhaps, but within the context of the album it is as essential and beautiful as each of the other tracks featured.

- Album Highlight: Outside. Album Lowlight: None.

#1′s (1998) A celebration of Mariah’s (then) 13 #1′s. The inclusion of I Still Believe, When You Believe, Sweetheart, and a newly duetted Whenever You Call, along with her established hits makes this a worthwhile listen. 

- Album Highlight: When You Believe. Album Lowlight: Do You Know Where You’re Going To.

Rainbow (1999) Often overlooked due to its busy musical production and the arguable disappointment at its relative weightlessness in comparison with Butterfly, Rainbow is underrated but undeniably disjointed. A half and half of an album, with half cohesively flowing from one song into the other (this is even the first use of interludes by Mariah) while the other half stumble the album’s momentum and flow. For the most part it’s an easy listen, the melodies, vocal layering, and production making for an enjoyable experience, but the album’s failings sadly result in a missed opportunity on the whole. 

- Album Highlight: Bliss. Album Lowlight: Did I Do That?.

Glitter (2001) Intended as a soundtrack more than a traditional Mariah album, however it doesn’t embrace the concept or style of a soundtrack enough to differentiate from the rest of her body of work. Glitter contains the absolute peak of Mariah’s ballads, while the non stop party anthems are fun enough to bring the house down, and there are touching dives into the somewhat autobiographical story of the character Mariah plays in the film from which the album takes its namesake. Audio clips from the film are included only sparingly towards the start of the album, uncommitted interludes if anything, they add nothing to the listening experience and serve only to undermine the album’s strengths. 

- Album Highlight: Lead The Way. Album Lowlight: If We.

Greatest Hits (2001) Released a scant three months after the critical and commercial flop of Glitter, the message couldn’t have been clearer. Ironically the strength of Mariah as a vocalist, songwriter, and music producer highlights exactly why writing her off as they did with this release was a resounding mistake. 

- Album Highlight: Take your pick. Album Lowlight: Here in the UK we had Against All Odds feat. Westlife included, soooo.

Charmbracelet (2002) The only album to close in on Butterfly’s position atop Mariah’s discography. Generally overlooked and ignored by even the lambs themselves, Charmbracelet is a criminally underrated masterpiece. The revised priorities of musical production and vocal arrangement following the somewhat overproduced Rainbow and erratic Glitter, Charmbracelet is a bracing reminder of Mariah’s overwhelming talent and ability to imbue her music with such beauty and poignancy, to invoke both personal evaluation and universal truths. It is also, incidentally, my favourite Mariah album, just in case you hadn’t guessed it.

- Album Highlight: Yours (fight me). Album Lowlight: None.

The Remixes (2003) Much like the release of a Greatest Hits album following Glitter’s critical and commercial failure, so too was The Remixes released following Charmbracelet’s lukewarm reception. A reminder of Mariah’s talent and decade long stretch of hits across Billboard’s various music charts, another plea for listeners to realise you can’t write off talent like Mariah. The first disc of this two disc set features the club remixes (most courtesy of longtime collaborator David Morales), the only real stumbles are the Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely Remix, which doesn’t blend together or sample each song well enough to justify itself or its inclusion here, the other is the Hq2 Remix of Through The Rain. I appreciate the need to promote the newest album of original content but we know Mariah can do better. The first disc is somewhat of a letdown, as the exclusion of certain club remixes are especially egregious (Always Be My Baby and The Roof specifically) The second disc (featuring the commercially released singles remixes) fares far better, and probably would have been better served being released separately. 

- Album Highlight: Thank God I Found You (Make It Last Remix). Album Lowlight: Through The Rain (Hq2 Remix).

The Emancipation Of Mimi (2005) Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, which is amazing given how needlessly bloated the album is. The album benefits from the cohesive sound and style utilized throughout and from containing an abundance of chart ready songs, but ultimately the experience is dampened by all the throwaway filler. There is no justification for the inclusion of To The Floor when we have Get Your Number, no reason for a Part II to So So Lonely when Part I was so forgettable, Circles, Joyride, and I Wish You Knew are too similar in sound and lyrical content to appear almost one right after the other. The highs of TEOM are likely to make you giddy, but the interruption from second-tier material drags the album down. The album is 19 tracks long when it should have been a brisk and memorable 13.

- Album Highlight: Fly Like A Bird. Album Lowlight: Makin' It Last All Night (What It Do).

E=MC² (2008) Much like Rainbow, E=MC² is often overlooked due to its busy production, and make no mistake the album is very busy production-wise. The album lacks the restraint even Rainbow was capable of. That is not to say the album is bad by any means, far from it. The biggest issue of the album is the lackluster beats. Generic for the most part, missguided in certain cases, and overall a less engaging and original sound than we’re used to from Mariah. What saves the album is the infectious fun of it all, Mimi’s celebrating and you’ve been invited to the party. Not that it’s one long party record, there’s an array of lyrical depth to be found hiding within the deluge of uninspired beats, that is if you’re willing to stick with the album long enough to hear them. 

- Album Highlight: I’ll Be Lovin’ U Long Time. Album Lowlight: Cruise Control.

Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel (2009) THIS is how you do a long album. 17 tracks long but, unlike TEOM, there’s no filler, no redundant repeats. The album is long but tight and cohesive, flowing effortlessly between songs, rewarding for those willing to listen from beginning to end. The first time since Rainbow that Mariah had used interludes (Glitter’s half-assed attempt does not count), though they’re more satisfying here. Mariah is telling a story with this album and the languorous pace and the breathers the interludes provide enhance the album’s listening experience. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the lyrical skill on display throughout the album, it’s deep but Mariah still has plenty of fun here, the line ‘it's going down like a denominator’ is a personal favourite. 

- Album Highlight: The Impossible. Album Lowlight: None.

Merry Christmas II You (2010) Do you like ‘modern’ Christmas music? Do you like iconic artists slumming it? Do enjoy watching music icons try desperately to reinvent Christmas classics with a ‘modern’ twist? First, what is wrong with you? And second, please don’t come to my house during the holidays. 

- Album Highlight: When Christmas Comes (it’s actually sweet, just avoid the duet version). Album Lowlight: All of it.

Me. I Am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse (2014) The album delivers on the epicness of its audacious title. One of her best albums, period. Many balk at the 62 minute run time (74 if you go Deluxe) but it’s well worth the time. This album is an experience, Mariah said that if this were to be her last album she wanted to say everything she needed to say with it, and she does (and then some). It’s a beautiful and inspiring album, managing to balance that classic Mariah sound while still sounding fresh and new. The album is a tour de force, and had this been Mariah’s last album? She would have been going out on a high note. 

- Album Highlight: Meteorite. Album Lowlight: None.

#1 To Infinity (2015) For the love of God, stop releasing greatest hits compilations whenever her albums underperform. Yes, sadly MIAM...TEC failed to grab the public’s attention (for context, the biggest songs of that year were Happy, Dark Horse, All Of Me, and Fancy, soooo, there’s clearly no accounting for taste that year) so we got an updated #1′s album, given that by this point her initial 13 had increased to 18. If you enjoy her #1s the album’s a great way to have them all in one convenient disc, Infinity the song is fine but nothing special. Fun fact, the UK release swapped out Someday, I Don’t Want To Cry, and Thank God I Found You for Endless Love, Without You, and Against All Odds feat. (SIGH) Westlife. Because when you’re buying a disc featuring Mariah’s record breaking 18 American #1′s, obviously you don’t actually want those original songs of hers, you want 3 song covers because they went to #1 in the UK!

- Album Highlight: Take your pick. Album Lowlight: (Why do you keep doing this UK?!) Against All Odds feat. I hate you talentless bastards.

Caution (2018) Mariah could have gone out with MIAM...TEC, but thank God she didn’t because then we wouldn’t have been blessed with this gem. A brisk 11 tracks (only 10 if not for the internet, because apparently Mariah doesn’t want us to have nice things) go by far too quickly, they’re each so enjoyable you don’t want them to end, and though they each have their own distinctive sound they blend together to form a cohesive whole. Mariah is clearly through trying to appeal to the general mass public in any way, shape, or form, and Caution is all the better for it. Mariah has nothing to prove at this point, and she knows it. This is an album made entirely from a place of self-assuredness and an unsuppressable love for writing, singing, and producing music. May she never grow tired of doing so. 

- Album Highlight: Giving Me Life. Album Lowlight: None.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overall Album Ranking:

#1 Butterfly

#2 Charmbracelet

#3 Me. I am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse

#4 Emotions

#5 Caution

#6 Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel

#7 Daydream

#8 Mariah Carey

#9 Music Box

#10 Rainbow

#11 Glitter

#12 E=MC²

#13 The Emancipation Of Mimi

#14 MTV Unplugged

#15 Greatest Hits

#16 #1′s

#17 The Remixes

#18 #1 To Infinity

#19 Merry Christmas

#20 Merry Christmas II You

[yogaadvise]

How Sitting with Heartbreak Helped Me Heal

Joe Mieloch initially discovered meditation-the Buddhist kind, anyway-in 1993, a year prior to his divorce.

He was 40 years of ages, juggling a day job in design, graduate school during the night, an effective band that he kept up his better half on the weekends, as well as two young sons.

' I was in a transitional duration in my spiritual and moral life,' he recalls. Increased in a conventional Polish Catholic home, he had actually practiced reflective petition because youth, however as he puts it, 'I didn't feel that I was placing my understanding into the functional realm-my partnerships, my activities.'

' I took a business course on the relationship in between religious beliefs as well as business societies around the globe. That was the very first time that I read regarding Buddhism, as well as it right away struck home within me. There wasn't a new deity to praise. One did not require to toss away one's past, but might incorporate it right into the new technique.'

He saw an ad for Zen Mountain Abbey in a neighborhood paper and made a decision to attempt it out: 'I opted for an initial weekend at their monastery in the Catskills Mountains. I actually appreciated it and also when I returned I started meditating-or as it is stated in the Zen practice, 'resting'- mainly irregularly.'

' The fundamental strategy is entering into a strong, sittinged position (a chair is great too), breathing and also counting each breath-one, in-two out, etc, up until you get to 10. If you have actually a thought of something-anything-you ended up being conscious of it, recognize it, as well as return to counting. It's often surprising how difficult it is to obtain to '2' or 'three' prior to something turns up.'

Something large did come up-but not during reflection. Later that year, his other half informed him she was seeing someone else.

What complied with was a blur of shock, anger, sadness, complication, and self-pity. Regardless of his discomfort, Joe made time to practice meditation. 'Through reflection one intends to see feats even more plainly as well as honestly, although not necessarily much more easily,' he clarifies. 'My method had not been as mature as it is now, but it aided me gain access to the undersurfaces of myself-even if somewhat erratically. I had much less skill in refining my rage, and also became part of some interactions shall we say, unproductively.' He doesn't remember the precise minute when his point of view began to alter, however he does bear in mind that reflection helped open up area for the quality he was looking for. He hung out sitting with the Zen precepts-which 'typically aren't commandments, even more like guidelines,' he claims. The ones he concentrated on most?

' See the excellence, do not speak of others' errors as well as faults.'

' Recognize self and various other as one, do not elevate the self as well as blame others.'

' Actualize harmony, do not be upset.'

Doing his best to honor these principles, he considered his very own activities thoroughly. 'It's usually said that there is no distinction between exactly what you do as well as just what occurs to you. There was an intricate dynamic that resulted in the breakup. As well as I belonged to it. My activities belonged of it. That realization was a big component of releasing my anger.'

When he reflects on how his technique impacted his actions throughout this hard duration, there is one memory particularly that stands apart: 'We were having a great deal of back and forth in the lawful area, speaking about dividing all the money-typically it's 50-50. Another one of the principles is to provide generously, and not be holding back. So one day as I'm overlooking the spreadsheet, I said allow's just divide it 40-60. And also she was type of blown away. We had a deal right there, which conserved us both a whole lot of time and heartache. Without my practice, I could have hung on to getting 'my fair share' due to the fact that I was harming. But I was able to release and claim all right, this is just what I need to do. I'm unsure I was doing it consciously at the time, but it did appear of my practice.'

At first, meditation did not come naturally. 'I was physically uneasy and squirmy. Sitting still and also concentrating on my breath was hard, and somewhat I appreciated allowing my mind roam rather of counting my breath.' Progressively, he hired solace in resting a lot more frequently and, with method, has came to be more experienced at simultaneously counting breaths as well as developing awareness: 'I exercise examining ideas without judging them, attempt to see the emotion independently from the event, after that allow go as well as resume the counting.' Songs is an additional path to reflection. 'Art technique,' as it's called at Zen Mountain Abbey, is among 8 concrete ways to pursue spiritual course. 'I'm a musician-a drummer-and songs assists me share the inexpressible and also promotes self-questioning,' he explains.

About a year after his split, he fulfilled his currently other half, as well as though he calls his relationship with her 'recovery per se,' it wasn't something he jumped right into rapidly. 'At the beginning of our relationship I was very conscious regarding where the relationship was mosting likely to go. I wanted to make certain that I would not be hurtful in any type of method. We were very cautious regarding creating a relationship. I was still refining the means in which I was hurtful to my initial spouse and also I really did not wish to duplicate that.' Today, they have actually been happily married for 16 years as well as have an 8-year-old kid together.

Along with time, songs, and love, reflection has actually plainly been a crucial resource of recovery and also development for Joe, but he is quick to clarify that meditation in itself isn't really necessarily a solution. 'It's not such as, well, I had this infection and also I took this medicine and the infection improved. It's done in the context of one's life. It is the process of creating area for understanding, openess, and clearness, not necessarily much less pain.'

' I obtained separated over 20 years back and had simply begun meditating. As I have continuouslied practice, I have actually discovered that mediation was vital, however it was fed by mindfulness in my daily life. If I really felt that I was 'stuck' in my meditation experience, I found out that I frequently had to show on my exactly how I was living my life, and just how I was connecting to others.'

' A popular quote from the wonderful 13th Century Zen Master Dogen Zenji about meditation is, 'To research the means is to examine the self. To research the self is to fail to remember the self. To fail to remember the self is to be enlightened by all feats of deep space," he states. 'That is what I aim to practice.'

In 2006, Joe transformed into a formal Zen pupil in the Mountains & Rivers Order, and also in 2013 he took the Buddhist Precepts-a serious commitment that requires a minimum of two years of training-in a public event called Jukai. While some 60-year-olds may be thinking about retirement, he's busy as ever before, working and aiming to keep up with his 8-year old child. He likewise participates in several weeklong meditation retreats every year and meditates for Thirty Minutes in his house virtually everyday. Also so, he bewares to explain that he is just a trainee, not a teacher.

' Simply to allow you know we're all newbies,' he says.

[oneweekoneband]

A 1985 - 1997 Survey Of Low-To-No BPM Dinosaur Jr., Pt 2

Dinosaur Jr, “Sludgefeast”

Pardon the intermission and welcome to the home stretch of back-loading the week with Dino Jr (and related) spotlights. This entry is my second parsing of the slower, balladry-type material that seemed to occupy about ⅕ to ⅙ of each full-length released during the timeframe noted above. We will also be hearing J. Mascis other approach to vocals; a falsetto that REALLY brought the Neil Young comparisons, initially to his chagrin (though “Cortez the Killer” made it into a set way back in 1986 and the latest incarnation covered it several times in 2015).

However, this does not apply to “Sludgefeast” and “Tarpit” (from You’re Living All Over Me), which I meant to include in the last entry...before it got too long. Carrying them over to this one does, however, allow for a good opportunity to touch on the huge disparity between the production/fidelity of the Homestead/SST era and the subsequent major label material of the 90s, from which I culled the strikingly beautiful “Not The Same” and epic, emotional scorched-earth devastator that is “Alone”. Prior to immersing myself in Dinosaur Jr. on behalf of this week’s writings, I held a position of indifference when it came to how the major label records sounded. I might have even basked in the widescreen hugeness of something like “Alone”, whereas at the moment I consider it one of the handful of instances where the higher-than-high fidelity of Mach II might actually work. But I could use some dirtying up of the more rocked-out and heavy songs of that period. Or rather, the ones that I can stomach in the first place, which hints at another opinion that has changed over the week but I’m clearly in danger of taking too many off ramps away from the overarching theme at hand, so let’s get into these four songs.

“Sludgefeast” (album version from 1987’s You’re Living All Over Me) - Surely everyone can move beyond the dumbass title of this song...I mean, it was 1987 and this was written by a 20-year-old. I challenge readers to find me another band or song from the late-80s that marries Black Sabbath/Candlemass/Trouble/St. Vitus doom-metal and an almost cringe-worthy but endearing love-song-from-a-distance fuzziness. This is one of the micro ways that the macro-groundbreaking You’re Living All Over Me stood totally alone upon release. And yes, I’ve included this song despite the thrash-metal-stumbles-through-a-dark-room ending/fade-out.

“Tarpit” (album version from 1987’s You’re Living All Over Me) - Another silly title, but hey, that’s how the sublime rolls sometimes. This song trades the crawling metal of “Sludgefeast” for a more understated but hairy strum…then the blanket of dense guitar noise that covers the last minute-and-a-half. Also...Mascis, especially during this era, had two distinct approaches to lyrics. “Sludgefeast” is his “directly addressing the subject” or “singing at the girl” or whatever one wants to call it. This song, on the other hand, shows his tendency to address of sing in the voice of a bedraggled little critter or ugly-but-sweethearted quasi-troll whatnot, of which he seemingly possessed an imaginary stable (though they are additionally realized throughout the band’s video and visual history).

“Not The Same” (album version from 1993’s Where You Been?) - One of the many songs that came back to me like an emotional brick-to-the-head after having fallen through the cracks for many years. Preceding album Green Mind had “Flying Cloud”, but as merely an attempt at this type of lush, Murph-free somewhat psychedelic balladry, it’s barely north of filler. That is so, so, so not the case with this song. “Not The Same” is the best early predictor of Mascis’ 2011 album, Several Shades of Why (Sub Pop), a work I consider to be the apex (so far) of his solo career. Like this song, and just as I stated above, it is strikingly beautiful. “Not The Same” has never been performed live by Dinosaur Jr. or Mascis himself.

“Alone” (album version from 1997’s Hand It Over) - Epic, unfuckwithable centerpiece of Dinosaur Jr.’s final album of the 90s, the unjustly overlooked Hand It Over. Seriously, how many fucking guitar tracks are on this thing? Anyway...is this worth ten minutes of your day? I’m leaning towards “yes”. The song made into a few ‘97 sets when the band was touring in support of its parent album, but it is a frequent if not static part of Mascis’ solo live sets.

[scheduledfor1fall]

Royal Rumble 1993 Review

Hello, everyone. After a (very) prolonged absence from the blog, I’ve finally decided to go back to reviewing some old WWE Network content, continuing from where I left off in 1993. I’ll be sticking with the more accessible, shorter reviews of matches, with an addition of personal star ratings. I should note that given the various styles of wrestling out there, even those seen in WWE, there really isn’t meant to be a thorough consistency to my ratings across all matches. For instance, I may genuinely enjoy Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit from the 2003 Royal Rumble more than I would Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio from Halloween Havoc 1997, and still give them both 5 stars. Ratings, in my mind, are not only subjective to an individual’s tastes, but also relative to the match. It may seem like my ratings are more similar in style to someone like Roger Ebert, who made no secret that his 4 star rated movie reviews were relative to the movie itself, rather than Dave Meltzer, who I believe rated Omega vs. Okada from WrestleKingdom 6 stars due to his belief that rating it 5 stars would be equivalent to saying the match was on par with a match like John Cena vs. CM Punk from Money in the Bank 2011. With all that out of the way, let’s get on with the review of the 1993 Royal Rumble!

 Right of the bat, we start with a shot the crowd, live in Sacramento, California, and are welcomed by Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon. I’m very grateful they stuck with these two for PPV commentary, as opposed to the peanut gallery on Raw. Out come the Beverly Brothers to signal our opening contest, and my god, do they have some of the most gaudy purple capes I’ve ever seen in my life. Out next are the Steiner Brothers, and, as always, I get a chuckle out of seeing a young Scott Steiner. I’ve got to say, if nothing else, the Big Poppa Pump look definitely made him look like more of a standout attraction.

 RICK AND SCOTT STEINER DEF. BLAKE AND BEAU BEVERLY BY PINFALL VIA FRANKENSTEINER:

 Not a blowaway match or anything like that. Just a perfectly decent showcase match for the Steiners, who did a great job of playing both dominant faces and faces in peril. The Beverlys did a perfectly good job of playing the underhanded heels, and this made for a fine start to the show. I should also note that after the match, they did a replay entitled “The Brain Scan,” which came off as a really low-rent John Madden analysis by Heenan, complete with some of the worst chalk marking you’ll see this side of a hopscotch game. I mean, it was funny, but not something I’d probably put on PPV. ** 1/2 stars.

 We go to a video package detailing Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty’s history with each other, starting from their time as the Rockers, to the infamous Barbershop segment, all the way to Jannetty’s return, which sees him accidentally break a mirror over Sherri’s head. Sherri comes out first to a pretty lukewarm reaction. You’d think people would feel more sympathy for a woman who had a fucking mirror broken over her skull. She’ll be in a neutral corner for this match. Out next is Marty Jannetty, to the old Rockers song. Shawn’s out next to the so bad it’s good version of “Sexy Boy,” as sung by Sherri. I’d be remiss if I did not point out the powder blue strap Michaels has on the IC title. Better than yellow, I suppose, but still pretty icky.

 SHAWN MICHAELS DEF. MARTY JANNETTY BY PINFALL VIA HIGH HEEL SHOT AND SWEET CHIN MUSIC TO RETAIN THE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE:

 Really good stuff here. The story of the match was Michaels working over the injured left shoulder of Jannetty, until the tides turned once Sherri slapped Michaels across the face. From there Jannetty kept throwing different moves Michaels’ way, with Michaels kicking out of each one. The finish came when Michaels elbowed the referee, allowing Sherri to intervene once again, attempting to hit Michaels with her heel while Jannetty restrained him with a full nelson. Cue Michaels ducking the hit, much like he did with the mirror, followed by a Sweet Chin Music for the win. These two would go on to have better matches than this one, and obviously Shawn’s best days were yet to come at this point. But for a follow-up match to an angle filmed a year prior, this holds up as a pretty fun match. *** 3/4 stars.

 After the match, we see Mean Gene try to interview a distraught Sherri, which includes him shouting at her “Damn it! Sherri, you are hysterical!” The more I see of Mean Gene, the less I see him as a kind uncle type, and more of a drunk, mad at the world uncle type. Michaels shows up to confront Sherri, but is attacked by Jannetty from behind, causing a pull-apart fight between the two. What was the immediate follow-up to this, you may wonder? If you guessed “Jannetty gets fired due to drug/alcohol problems,” give yourself a pat on the back, because that is exactly what happened. Supposedly, he was released due to rumors stating that he was under the influence during the match. Jannetty for his part blames Michaels for starting the rumor, while an Observer from the time points out that Jannetty had been on probation for an arrest the month prior, making the decision to fire him easier. In any case, this would not be the last match between these two, nor would it be the last time Jannetty was fired shortly after his return.

 We cut to Heenan and Monsoon doing their “belligerent old men arguing at a family reunion” routine over what we’ve just seen, and then to the next entrance, as Bam Bam Bigelow comes out. Out next is Big Boss Man, as we get ready for our clash of the hosses here.

 BAM BAM BIGELOW DEF. BIG BOSS MAN BY PINFALL VIA DIVING HEADBUTT.

 On paper, this match sounds rather promising. Many people are aware of how gifted Bam Bam Bigelow was as an athlete, and Big Boss Man is probably just a notch below him in terms of talented big men in the business. Unfortunately, whatever expectations I had were dashed by this match. For one, Boss Man did not look like he was at his physical best here. Just in the way he moved and sold, it seemed like he was probably a bit out of shape at this point. At one point, Boss Man landed on the outside, supposedly hurting his back, which lead to several segments of heat based around Bam Bam working over Boss Man’s back with various holds and headbutts. These parts of the match were really dull, and unfortunately made up a good chunk of the match. At another point in their careers, this match may have been slightly better, but Boss Man was just not at his peak here, and it lead to a dull affair. * 1/4.

 We get a clip of Razor Ramon attacking Owen Hart backstage, leading up to his WWF Title match against Bret Hart here tonight. We then get an interview from the previous night from him, during which he promises to add Bret’s gold to his own collection, referring to his jewelry. Amusingly, there’s a Kings game going on in the background, as this was recorded in the arena the day before. A quick Google search shows that they beat my Minnesota Timberwolves that day. God, does it suck to try and follow basketball as a Minnesotan. We get the introductions as Ramon comes out to some impressive heat. We then get an interview with Mean Gene talking to Bret. Bret promises to defend his family’s honor and make Razor pay for what he’s done. Bret’s out next to a pretty big reaction. They show Stu and Helen Hart at ringside, and I kind of wonder how many times the WWF flew them out for these shows. Guess we’ll see as we progress through the years.

 BRET HART DEF. RAZOR RAMON BY SUBMISSION VIA SHARPSHOOTER TO RETAIN THE WWF TITLE:

 Fun, well-paced match here, that saw Razor work over the ribcage of Bret and overpower him with his height advantage, while Bret tried to wear him down, culminating in an awesome exchange which saw Bret go for an unsuccessful Victory Roll type move, only to turn it into the Sharpshooter for the win. Probably not really on the level of some of Hall’s best matches, and certainly not Bret’s, but a fun, often overlooked title match nonetheless. *** 1/2.

 Cut to Bobby Heenan standing in front of a black curtain, preparing to unveil Narcissus to the world. I hate to sound like a dick, but every time Heenan says “Narcissus,” his lisp seems to render it “Narthiththith,” which I found to be kind of amusing. Anyway, the curtain is cast aside, and we get… Lex Luger! Luger basically does the Chris Masters kneeling routine, before posing in front of a huge tri-mirror, all while Heenan gives him a pep talk. Heenan name drops Mr. Perfect, before Luger cuts a promo about how he plans to make the other wrestlers bow down to him, including Mr. Perfect. This Narcissist gimmick is pretty much death, and the crowd seemed to agree, as they made very little noise during this segment, even when his name was revealed. I could make a joke here about Vince McMahon or the WBF, but I’ll take the high road on this and just say that this boring, shambling segment could be a sign of things to come with Luger down the road.

 Howard Finkel introduces “Caesar and Cleopatra,” a tie-in to the upcoming Wrestlemania IX PPV at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Boy, wait until we get to that one. The Caesar guy invites us to join them at Wrestlemania, and reminds us that the Rumble winner will get a shot at Bret Hart for the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania IX. The guy was actually not that bad, but Jesus, did this come off as corny. Back to Howard Finkel, as we get our first entrant, Ric Flair! Heenan reminds us that Flair had won the Rumble the previous year by coming in at #3. #2 is Bob Backlund, to a very tepid reaction.

 YOKOZUNA WON THE 1993 ROYAL RUMBLE TO EARN A WWF CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA IX:

 Some quick notes throughout the match:

-Backlund ended up setting the longevity record at 1 Hour, 1 Minute, and 10 Seconds, a record that stood until I believe 2004, when Chris Benoit broke it en route to winning the match. At first, Backlund came off like an antiquated, goofy old babyface, especially compared to Ric Flair, with whom he started the match. As time went on, however, the crowd seemed to be genuinely behind Backlund, cheering every time he escaped elimination, and booing loudly when he was eliminated near the end of the Rumble. Backlund’s success as a babyface in this era was dubious at best, but he deserves a lot of credit for getting a reaction despite lying there most of the match.

-Jerry Lawler made what I believe was his in-ring debut in the WWF by entering this match at #7. He would eliminate Max Moon, before being eliminated himself by Mr. Perfect.

-Genichiro Tenryu, who had wrestled at Wrestlemania VII, and was the owner of SWS, a Japanese wrestling promotion which would occasionally co-promote with WWF, made the first of his two Royal Rumble appearances here.

-Giant Gonzalez, best known for his insane height of 7’7, debuted here, eliminating The Undertaker, despite not being a participant in the Rumble himself. I suppose this was a pretty par for the course mid 90’s “Undertaker feuds with and slays the giant” feud starter, but it came off as pretty silly, thanks in part to Gonzalez’s stupid air-brushed muscle and hair bodysuit. I’m not saying he should have been put in a loincloth or anything like that, but was there anything wrong with the athletic shorts he wore in WCW? Why the hair? Why any of this?

-Carlos Colon, the father of Carlito and Primo, as well as the uncle of Epico, appeared here, and, yes, Gorilla Monsoon did indeed refer to him as a “youngster.” Seeing as Colon was approaching 45 by this point, I would assume Monsoon was being facetious, but WWE.Com also refers to him as a youngster in the description of a clip of him in the Rumble. I suppose compared to Monsoon himself, or even the work of Michelangelo, Carlos Colon probably would qualify as a youngster.

-The finish saw Yokozuna missing a running splash into the corner on Savage, causing him to fall. Savage then followed up with an elbow drop before inexplicably going for a pinfall on Yoko. Yoko then tossed him over the top rope to win the match and become the first man to earn a shot at the WWF Champion at Wrestlemania by virtue of winning the Rumble. Caesar and Cleopatra returned to congratulate Yoko, and I honestly think it would’ve been funny if he just leg-dropped Caesar right there.

 Though it accomplished the task of making Yokozuna look like a world-beater deserving of the main event at Wrestlemania, this had to be one of the dullest Rumbles I can recall seeing. A lot of laying around, goofy characters and relatively unknown guest stars made for a pretty hit and miss match. I’m not really sure I can give this a star rating, but it would probably be on the lower end of the spectrum if I had to.

 OVERALL THOUGHTS:

It’s tough for me to dismiss this entire show. After all, both title matches delivered in their own ways, and the opener was decent enough. But as a whole, the show felt like just a very middle of the road production; nothing to condemn too harshly, but nothing that I can really stand up and say “go out of your way to see this immediately.” As good as Michaels vs. Jannetty was, they’ve truthfully had better matches, and there are certainly better Bret Hart matches from this time. Overall, if you’re going through and watching every Royal Rumble, or every show from 93 like I am, it’s not all that bad. But for casual viewing purposes, this would probably be a show worth skipping.

 That’s it for now. Next time, we’ll delve into the first Raw review on the blog in over a year and a half. Will it be enjoyable? Will the build to Wrestlemania continue? Who will win the loser leaves town match- Mr. Perfect or Ric Flair? Will Rob Bartlett be an annoying dipshit? Stick around to find out the answers to these questions, and many more.