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Top 5 Greatest Geek Songs/Videos

Monday, September 14th, 2009

Lots of people try to make parodies of songs with geek-ish themes and/or origional geek content, but most are too terrible to even finish listening to a single song.  There are also tons of great nerd-core style songs out there, but these 5 are on a level all of their own.  It was really hard for me to not include songs by artists like Danger Mouse and MF Doom in a list like this but here is what I got.

#5.  Deckard Cain – Greetings

I don’t expect anyone besides fellow Diablo fans to understand this song or it’s reason for being on this list, so if you’re not a fan of Diablo then proceed to #4.

Deckard Cain, from the Diablo video game series, is one of those helpful NPC’s that you always go to when you return to town.  Obviously this song is not nearly as good as the rest on this list, but it deserves to be included in any Diablo Universe geek’s collection.

#4.  Star Wars Gangsta Rap

This classic rap was one of the first viral internet videos in the 21st Century.  It’s also one of the best fan made Star Wars properties ever  (outside of Ryan vs Dorkman).  Details of this video and rap can be found here.

#3. “Weird Al” Yankovic – White & Nerdy

Official Video -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw (Embedding is disabled)

Not only is the beat and melody totally phat, but the lyrics and rhymes are badass for a “nerd” song.  Normally I wouldn’t support nerd songs as I consider myself a geek, but this song is way too awesome not to have on this list.

#2.  Sniper Twins feat. Rob Collier – “Computer Friends” [Stack the Memory]

This is one of the coolest and most original geek songs I’ve ever heard.   Granted for most of it they are talking about macs… but that aside, this song is still totally awesome.  Props to the Sniper Twins for awesome new music that I can relate to.

#1. “Weird Al” Yankovic – It’s All About The Pentiums

Official Video (better audio but worse video)-> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky-JTAPhmUo (Embedding Disabled)

There was never any song made with lyrics as great as Weird Al’s parody of Puff Daddy’s “It’s All About The Benjamins (remix)”.    And even for a 10 year old song, it’s still relevant to today’s technology.  If you don’t like this song, then you are not a geek.

“Play me online, well you know that I’ll beat you.  If I ever meet you, I’ll control-alt-delete you.”

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Top 5 “Box Office” Movies of the ’90s

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Hello there,  I haven’t made a post in a while so I felt like I should at least post something.  I am currently compiling a list for my Top 5 Greatest Arnold Movies, Top 5 Greatest Cheap Beers, Top 5 Greatest Pizzas, and more.  So, while I continue to compile those lists with real references other than Wikipedia or IMDb pages, here is a small list of some 90s box office movies.

Just as a note, I used the term “box office” because if I chose the actual top 5 greatest movies of the 90s, they wouldn’t even been in the top 100 of the box office movies.

#5.  TIE: Jurassic Park and The Fugitive.

Jurassic Park was a great thrill ride and one of the first best uses of computer animation outside of of a James Cameron film.  The Fugitive was one of the best TV series to movie adaptations ever made.  The 1993 movie is a non-stop mystery-action movie with a fantastic cast, great writting, and excellent directing.  US Marshalls has nothing on The Fugitive.

#4. Braveheart

Braveheart is a Mel Gibson directed and starred bloody action adventure.  There are a few quotable lines but the best parts of the movie are the battles.

#3.  Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan is a fantastic World War 2 movie that has one of the most memorable opening sequences in modern cinema.  Some parts of the movie are slow for a war movie, but the direction and character development is above-par for any war movie.

#2.  Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is one of the greatest non-standard Hollywood movies ever made.  Aside from a fantastic ensemble cast, Quentin writes dialoge and situations that fly far above that of his other impressive works.

#1.  Office Space

While Office Space is not as big of a box office success as the others listed on this list, it has become one of the most quoted, referenced, and funny-in-repeated-viewings funny movies ever made in the 90s.  If you have never seen Office Space then you are missing out on jokes that employees, employers, individuals, bands, movies, and friends make every day.

Again, I appologize for the weakness of this list, but I just had to post something.

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Top 5 Live-Action Anti-Heroes

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Similar to my animated anti-heroes list, this list contains the greatest anti-heroes in live-action performances from both film and television.  There are actually close to 20 great anti-heroes that could be interchanged with this list but I am going to list what I feel are the greatest 5.  You can see the others that I was thinking about using in the runner-up section below.

#5.  Richard B. Riddick – Pitch Black, Dark Fury, Chronicles of Riddick

Riddick, played by Vin Diesel,  is a fictional character from the Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick series.  Most activities in his life are guided by his instincts rather than thought making him a more savage and barbaric character than normal heroes.  His priority is survival and he will use whatever or whoever he needs to ensure his survival.  He is incredibly strong and can perform feats though to be impossible for normal humans.  The introduction of Riddick in the first film, Pitch Black, is one of the first times you meet a dangerous convict who ends up being the only source of salvation for the rest of the characters in the story… but again, he doesn’t care about that.

Also, I feel it is my duty to state that I have seen every version of Chronicles of Riddick, I saw it in the movie theater twice, bought the first dvd release, saw it on cable/on demand, and bought the directors cut.  PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CABLE AND ON DEMAND VERSIONS HAVE ADDED DIALOGUE GIVING RIDDICK ONE-LINERS WHERE HE ACTUALLY SAYS NOTHING IN THE REAL MOVIE.  DO NOT WATCH ANY VERSION OTHER THAN THE REAL MOVIE (DIRECTORS CUT PREFERRED).  IF HE SAYS ANYTHING DURING THE SCENE WHERE HE’S BEING ESCORDTED WHEN FLYING TO THE PLANET AFTER THE OPENING SCENE, THEN YOU ARE WATCHING THE SHITTY TV VERSION… HE SAYS NOTHING IN THE REAL VERSION WHEN HE CLIPS THAT WING, HE JUST DOES IT.

#4. Snake Plissken – Escape from New York, Escape from LA

Snake, played by Kurt Russel, is a former Army Lieutenant turned criminal.  In this world, the prison population became so large that they turn Manhattan island (LA in the sequel) into a prison where if you get sent there, you never leave.  After being picked up by the authorities, they offer Snake a deal to retrieve the president (a device in the sequel)  and bring him out of the island in exchange for his freedom.  They use timed death as the motivation to make him do what they want him to do, but Snake is just in it to survive.  In the end of both movies, it is clear that he flat out does not care about the “mission” whatsoever nor does he care what his actions have on individuals or society.  Also, for a guy with no depth perception, he can play a mean round of hoops.

#3. William Foster (D-Fens) – Falling Down

In the movie Falling Down, William Foster, played by Michael Douglas, has a bad day.  All he’s trying to do is get across town to his daughter’s birthday party but everything just seems to be going wrong.    D-Fens going postal is one of the greatest things Michael Douglas has ever done.  The great part about the movie, is he is technically right all the time, it’s just not his day.  Also, there wouldn’t have been a Frank Grimes without D-Fens.

#2. Porter – Payback

Porter, played by Mel Gibson, is a bad guy trying to get his share of money from another bad guy.   This is one of the only movies I’ve ever seen where you have no choice but to root for the bad guy because in Payback, there are no good guys.  So you pick the best of the worst which is a criminal who only goes by the name of Porter.  He goes through the movie continuing to be the bad guy but is still the hero even after making himself the most violent, but most honorable,  of the bad guys.

#1. Gaius Baltar – Battlestar Galactica

Gaius Baltar from Battlestar Galactica is the 2nd greatest anti-hero in history (Vegeta is #1).  His only goal is self-preservation and he is very talented at it.  The entire conflict of the series is because of his actions.  The attacks that wipe out most of humanity, the ousting of high ranking officials, the selling of his fellow people as slaves, and all the other conflict in the show is directly caused by him.  Even after he tries to become peaceful, every action that he takes directly affects the outcome of the show.  He does grow in the series, but at the end, he is still the evil good guy.

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Runner-ups:

Brodie Bruce – Mallrats,  The Dude – The Big Lebowski,  George Costanza – Seinfeld,  Ben Linux – Lost,  Michael Scott – The Office,  Jack Bauer – 24,  Ash Williams - Evil Dead,  Leon – The Professional,  Travis Bickle – Taxi Driver,  Peter Gibbons – Office Space

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Top 5 Guilty Pleasure Songs By Michael Jackson

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

I wanted to do something as a tribute for Michael besides just watching Moonwalker.  I grew up in the 80’s listening to Michael and watching his wacky life unfold.  I was even potty trained because of Michael Jackson (my rewards were getting to listen to MJ records and getting to eat Gummy Bears).

So, even though it is somewhat embarrassing, I have decided that I should let you know what his greatest guilty pleasure songs are.  According to Wikipedia:

A guilty pleasure is something one considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. Often, the “guilt” involved is simply fear of others discovering one’s lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes, rather than actual moral guilt.

I really won’t listen to these songs below with anyone else around… But by myself with headphones on I will even sing along.

NOTE: It is just coincidence that my 5 guilty pleasure MJ songs happen to be from only 2 of his albums.  And these are in no way his greatest songs, just my guilty pleasures.

So, here they are; The Top 5 greatest guilty pleasure songs by Michael Jackson:

#5. They Don’t Care About Us – HIStory

They Don’t Care About Us was a single from the album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I.  There’s just something about this song that I love so it’s made my list.

#4. Stranger in Moscow – HIStory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfZz-q8CRLE (Embedding Disabled)

HIStory makes a 2nd appearance on this list with Stranger in Moscow.  While this song itself is kinda lame, the melody reminds me of the theme from the game Secret of Mana.  I don’t know if it’s because I was playing it around the time when this album came out but it does something to me.

#3. Liberian Girl – Bad

Bad, Michael Jackson’s greatest album, has a great song hidden away in the midst of all the platinum hits.  Liberian Girl has great vocal work and every time I listen to it I just want to sing along as loud as possible, especially at the end of the track.

#2. Earth Song – HIStory

HIStory brings another guilty pleasure with Earth Song.  Earth Song never picked up in the US (although the video did get a lot of airtime) but it was a huge hit overseas.  The operatic nature of the song is fantastic and the call-and-response at the end is one of the greatest things Michael did in the last part of his career.  This is one of those songs where you can really hear the passion in his voice.  It really is one of Michael Jackson’s true epic songs.

#1. Leave Me Alone – Bad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5KAJw4y8wE (Embedding Disabled but the video is great)

Bad has tons of great tracks, but the best guilty pleasure song is Leave Me Alone.  The vocal work, the chorus, and the harmony in the song makes me want to scream and shout.  The stop-motion video of this song is also epic and surely does the song justice.

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So, that’s it… Now that I’ve embarrassed myself by telling you about these songs, I need a drink.


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Top 5 Greatest Anti-Heroes in Modern Animation

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

One of the greatest things to watch on screen (or even read in books) is the anti-hero of any story.  As there are so many great anti-heroes that I would include in an “anti-hero” list (such as Snake Plisken, Gaius Baltar, and Porter), I have decided to make a separate list for animated characters.  By “animation” I am referring to cartoons and anime.  So here’s the list:

NOTE: This post is not complete… the descriptions will be updated before my next post.


#5.  Afro Samurai – Afro Samurai

Afro is the main character in the anime and game series Afro Samruai.  In this world, there are two headbands which denote rank.  The number One can only be challenged by number Two so the number Two is constantly fighting and killing off people who challenge him.  Afro’s dad was the old number One until he was killed when Afro was a child.  After aquiring the number Two headband, he sets out to revenge his father all while holding off others who would like a chance at the crown.  Afro slaughters and kills everyone, even his mentors, because of this system.  While he is the protagonist of the series, he is also an anti-hero because of his violent and somewhat immoral nature.   The American dub stars the voices of  Samuel L. Jackson and Ron Perlman with music by The RZA.

#4. Zaraki Kenpachi – Bleach

Zaraki Kenpachi is the captain of the 11th division in Soul Society which is the most powerful squad and he is the most powerful captain.  Other captains get their status and rank by performing tests showing their skills.  Zaraki is the only captain to gain his rank the other way… by killing the former strongest captain of the 11th squad.  He lives for fights and has no equal.  He is the only ranked member in Soul Society who doesn’t know the name of his Zanpaktou nor can he release it.  He even uses an eye patch to conceal half of his energy to make the fights more even.  He fights with brute force and strength alone and does not care about anything else besides the fight at hand.  His love for fighting brings him to where the action is but it is never his intention to help.  He just wants to fight the most powerful person he can.

#3. TIE: Homer Simpson and Bender Bending Rodriguez – The Simpsons and Futurama


Both of the characters of Homer Simpson and Bender, created by Matt Groening, are pretty much the anti-heroes of their respective series (The Simpsons and Futurama respectively).   While Bender is a much more immoral being with his love of stealing, drinking, and smoking; Homer is a non-intentional anti-hero.  Homer doesn’t do anything on purpose, but his character just seems to put him in the position of causing conflict in the show.  Throughout his 20+ years on TV, Homer has gotten more stupid and become a cornerstone of conflict for the Simpsons series.  Bender, on the other hand, does everything on purpose.  He knows who he’s hurting and has no remorse unless it affects him directly.  In a fight of anti-heroes, Bender would definitely beat out Homer but Homer has the experience that Bender just doesn’t have yet.

NOTE: I would have attached videos here but every real Simpsons or Futurama video gets pulled for copyright infringement.



#2. Eric Cartman – South Park

Eric Cartman is the anti-hero of South Park created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker.  This kid has done it all, from murder, to kidnapping, to arson, to lying in front of congress, to feeding a kid his parents, to starting a cult to rid South Park of the Jews.  Cartman is the main point of conflict in the entire series and pretty much every extreme thing that happens is because of him.   No video or image that I post will do him justice, you just have to watch him for yourself.  You can watch full episodes of South Park for free online from South Park Studios.

#1. Vegeta – Dragonball Z

Vegeta from the series Dragonball Z (he also appears in GT but Z is the best) is the greatest anti-hero in any live-action or animated series.   He is a prince of the Saiyans and comes to earth seeking immortality.  He has the power in one finger to destroy planets and enslave entire civilizations.   While he does grow and mature as the series progresses, he still retains the dark side within and is really a true anti-hero.  While Goku ends up being the strongest and best hope for Earth in the end, Vegeta is still my hero.  With the exception of Gaius Baltar, no character that is actually evil has had a better run than Vegeta.

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NOTE:  I will be updating my descriptions in this post soon, I just wanted to get a base draft posted before I figured how I wanted to praise each character listed above.  I hope to have this updated before I do the top 5 live-action anti-heroes.

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